Spiced-up Chicken sandwich

This sandwich is one of my favourite lunch items. Once you have prepared the spiced up chicken mixture, it can serve as a sandwich filling for up to three lunches!!

The spiced-up chicken mixture is also very versatile - it can be served as an appetizer over a salty biscuit, filled in pastry shells, eaten in lettuce wrap or filled in rolls with other veggies.

Here's the super simple recipe for making it.

Ingredients:

5-6 pieces chicken tenders

Vegetable oil

Salt

Pepper powder

Mayonnaise(optional)

Greek Yogurt

Raisins

Roasted cumin powder

Red chilly powder

Garam masala

Dijon mustard

Method:

1. Season the cleaned chicken tenders with some salt and pepper. Put some oil on them so they do not dry out while baking. Bake these in preheated oven at 350F/177C for 30 minutes(or until cooked).

2. In a bowl add yogurt, mayonnaise, dijon mustard, raisins, cumin powder, chilly powder, pepper powder, garam masala and salt. Mix well. You can add very little milk or water to ease mixing and make it thick running mixture.

3. Shred the cooled cooked chicken tenders and add them to the yogurt mixture.

4. Take a rustic baguette and warm it a bit in the oven. Add some lettuce and chicken mixture and pack to-go for office or picnics!

Tip: I chopped the lettuce finely and dressed it up with some homemade blue cheese dressing. The sandwich tastes even better with it! You can substitute lettuce with arugula or spinach. Enjoy...

Spinach-n-Mushroom pasta bake

Looking for a quick and easy way to entertain... Or just want to pamper yourself for a classy Italian meal on a weeknight... Either way, this recipe is definitely worth a try! :)

Ingredients:
Handful of spinach
Button mushrooms - quartered or chopped in thick slices
Pasta
Parmesan cheese - grated
Mozzarella cheese - grated
Salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes
Minced garlic
Some dried Oregano
Some dried Thyme
~1/2 tbsp Butter
Olive oil
Some flour
Some Vegetable/mushroom stock

Method:
1. While the pasta water is kept to boil on one stove burner; heat olive oil with salt, pepper, red chilly flakes, oregano, thyme and  minced garlic in a deep saucepan on another burner.
2. Once everything starts to sizzle, add the mushrooms. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Let the mushrooms ooze their juices in to make the sauce.
3. After about another 2-3 minutes, remove the cooked mushrooms along with their juices in a bowl.
Note: At this point, put the pasta in the boiling water to start cooking.
4. In the same saucepan, add some butter and olive oil. Once butter is melted, add some flour and cook well to make a roux.
5. Add some stock to this and let it thicken. Add mushroom and it's juices to the sauce.
6. Add some roughly chopped spinach leaves to the mixture along with the drained pasta.
7. Empty this pasta mixture in a baking dish.
8. You can sprinkle some Parmesan cheese and Mozzarella cheese on top OR you can skip the cheeses as well.
9. Bake this for 7-10 minutes at 400F/205C oven.

Serve hot!!

Spinach will cook in the heat of the sauce and later in the oven. That way it retains it's green color and has a bite to it.

You can substitute spinach leaves with any other sturdy greens such as arugula, water cress or chard leaves. 

Indian style cheese corn puffs

One of the quickest and a popular appetizer is this cheese-corn puff... my twist - spice it up with some  Indian flavours!!
All you need to make sure is that your freezer is stocked ;)

Ingredients:
Some frozen spinach
Some frozen white corn
Some frozen yellow corn
Ready made frozen mini puff pastry shells
Ricotta cheese
Salt
Pepper
Peanut oil
Roasted cumin powder
Roasted coriander powder
Red chilly powder
Garam Masala

Method:
1. Place the frozen spinach with some water, to thaw and cook, in microwave for 2-3 minutes.
2. After this drain and remove most of the water from the spinach so that it is almost dry.
3. Repeat step 1 and 2 with frozen corn.
4. In a pan, heat some oil. Now put chilly powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, pepper and salt - roast for a few seconds.
5. Now put spinach and corn and mix well with the spices.
6. Turn off the heat and let it cool until just warm(5-7 minutes).
7. At this point, add some ricotta(or skip, your choice!).
8. While the mixture is cooling, cook the pastry puffs(typically 20 minutes in 400F/205C oven).
9. Now put the filling inside the shells and serve.

These taste delicious when the pastry is warm but at room temperature they still do justice to their look! :)

Melon Salad

This is a pretty salad that matches perfectly as a BBQ side! Bring on summer...


Ingredients:
One bag Baby Arugula leaves
Half watermelon(medium size)
Half muskmelon(medium size)
2 tbsp Crumbled Feta cheese
1 tbsp Roasted and chopped Pecans
2-3 tsp Sugar
1 lime juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
3 tbsp Olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method:
1. Melons: You can prepare melon in a number of ways - slice into 1/2 inch thick triangles, shave them using ice-cream scoop, cut in squares or make rounds using a melon baller.
2. Put 3/4 of the lime juice on melons and set it aside.
3. Pecan crunch: In a non-stick pan, put sugar and allot it to caramelize on a low heat. Once sugar is melted, add the chopped pecans and toss to coat them well in the syrup. Take these out on a parchment paper and allow to cool.
4. Dressing: In a bowl add Dijon mustard, salt, pepper and remaining lime juice. Mix well. Now while whisking add olive oil slowly to make an emulsion.
5. Assembly: Toss the dressing with the leaves. In a platter add these leaves as base. Top it with the melons, feta cheese crumbles and pecan crunches. Enjoy this refreshing salad!

This salad also tastes good with watercress leaves.

Leek-Tomato Pasta

A great weeknight meal that uses two basic ingredients straight out of fridge - tomatoes and leeks.
Make food and be done with dinner in less than 30 min!

Ingredients:
2 leeks - thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Dried pasta seasoning
Salt
Black pepper ground
Olive oil
1/2 tbsp butter
1/4 tbsp flour
1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - grated
1 cup uncooked pasta(serves two)

Method:
1. Start cooking the pasta for two servings on one stove.
2. On another stove, heat some olive oil, half butter, garlic, salt, pepper and pasta seasoning.
3. Once the oil is heated, put in the leeks and cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes and cook for another 4 minutes.
5. Make a small hole in the pan by setting the vegetable mixture aside and put remaining butter. Put the flour and cook it to form a paste.
6. Now mix the paste with the vegetables and stir in the stock(or water). Let it bubble for a minute.
7. Now drain the pasta and add it to the sauce.
8. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley.

Enjoy your simple yet delicious weeknight meal with a glass of good red wine!

Zabaglione

It's a classic Italian dessert that I love and I can have it any day and anytime of the year!
Eggs, sugar and cream - what else do I need to think of for a heavenly dessert.

Ingredients:
3 egg yolks
6 tbsp sugar
Some pure vanilla extract
1 cup double cream

Method:
1. Whip the cream with some vanilla essence and 3 tbsp sugar until it forms stiff peaks. Set aside in the fridge.
2. Keep a large pot of water to boil. Set the flame such that it gently steams.
3. In a separate bowl, lightly mix egg yolks, remaining sugar and some vanilla extract.
4. Cook this mixture while constantly whipping over the gently steaming water bath.
5. It will take about 3-5 minutes to cook. It should be a smooth running, pale yellow mixture.
6. Immediately immerse the bowl in ice cold water while still whipping to cool the eggs completely.
7. Gently fold the egg mixture in the whipped cream and transfer to individual bowls.
8. Set aside to set in the fridge for at least at hour.

Serve it on crushed butter cookies and to with some roasted grapes. That's what I did for my Greek Dinner Party :)
Enjoy!

Greek food revisited

My first encounter with authentic Greek food was four years back in Greece. There was an unusual sense of thrill and excitement in exploring the small cobbled alleyways and boutique shops of Santorini as it resonated with the excitement of starting a new chapter in my life! It was here that we found the perfect tzatziki to whet our appetite and a hearty moussaka to fill our stomach and satiate our senses.

In today's party, I tried to recreate the same recipes and finish it with, Zabaglione, a dessert that probably took most of my 'cooking' time in the kitchen! But it's definitely worth a try and considerably easy if you have a hand blender ;)


Menu Idea:
Here is the menu detail for your greek party:
1. Salad: This is my interpretation of a simple and quick greek salad that's elegant to serve.
2. Appetizer: Tzatziki and toasted pita bread - yet another super quick and delicious meal in itself.
3. Main course: Moussaka - this is a lighter version of the dish made with ground chicken instead.
4. Dessert: Zabaglione - eggs, sugar and cream - ingredients for a perfect dessert :)

Time: 2hr 30min, from opening the fridge to take out ingredients to cleaning the last inch of the countertop(utensils washing time included).

 

For serving the Greek salad, I used endive leaves as my base. I chopped tomatoes, onions, cucumber, olives and feta cheese and dressed them with little lemon juice and olive oil. The sourness in lemon works well with the bitterness of the leaves.

Table Setting:
For a cute Greek table setting I used simple white and blue place mats as everything on the Greek Islands is white and blue, including their flag!!

For the center piece I recycled an old can, dressed it up with some twine and used living thyme to spice up the entire atmosphere on the table.

I wrapped some blue tissue paper around yogurt cups and places tea lamps for a cozy effect and randomly arranged lemons next to the lamps.

Using decorations of herbs and spices that you have used in the food are a great way to start interesting conversations.