Roti Roll

Ingredients

4 wheat/flour tortillas
2-3 tbsp cilantro leaves (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
2-3 green chilies finely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt & pepper, to taste
2 tbsp grated cheese
2-3 tbsp olive oil

For different fillings-

Vegetables- 1 cup of assorted vegetables like carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, capsicum, cabbage, green beans etc

Eggs – 1 or 2 eggs as desired with assortment of grated or minutely chopped vegetables

Paneer (cottage cheese)- 2 cup of paneer diced

Chicken- 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts shredded

Method

Preparing Filling

* In a wok heat oil on medium flame.
* Add chopped onion. Fry till they turn golden brow.
* Then, add ginger garlic paste followed by chopped tomatoes. Mix them and cook for few minutes.
* The spices are then added- pepper, salt, turmeric powder, cumin powder and lemon juice.
* Let the spices cook for further few minutes.
* Lastly, you can add vegetables, eggs, chicken or paneer according to the type of frankie you want to have.
* When the filling is cooked, add cilantro leaves and let it cool at room temperature.

** Only chicken frankie will take longer time to cook.
** For eggs, you will have to beat them and make into diced omelet.

Preparing Frankie

* Take a non stick with 1 tbsp oil. Heat it and add a tortilla.
* If you want you can brush a side of tortilla with egg also.
* Flip and cook from both sides, adding the filling on one side.
* Add grated cheese and roll the tortilla.
* Serve hot with tomato sauce or green chutney.

Prawn Pakoras/Fritters-2

SERVES8 (FIRST COURSE)

• ACTIVE TIME:45 MIN
 
• START TO FINISH:45 MIN

MARCH 2009

Dotted with bits of vegetables and seafood or meat, savory pancakes are both a popular side dish on the Korean dinner table and a beloved street-food snack. To make them more elegant, we’ve kept these crisp, colorful pancakes on the small side so they can be easily picked up with chopsticks and eaten in a few bites.

     2 garlic cloves

• 3/4 cup water
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 bunch scallions, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks
• 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil, divided

• ACCOMPANIMENT:

   
  soy-pickled jalapeños including liquid

• Preheat oven to 200ºF. Set a rack in a 4-sided sheet pan and put in oven.
• Mince and mash garlic with 3/4 tsp salt, then whisk together with water, eggs, and sesame oil. Whisk in flour until smooth. Stir in scallions, bell pepper, and shrimp.
• Heat 1 Tbsp oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Stir batter, then cook pancakes in batches of 4 (2 Tbsp each, with some vegetables and 1 or 2 pieces shrimp), pressing down lightly with a large spatula to flatten and evenly distribute vegetables, turning once, until golden and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Drain on paper towels, then transfer to rack in oven to keep warm. Add oil to skillet between batches as needed.

COOKS’ NOTE: Pancakes can be kept warm up to 1 hour.

Prawn Pakoras/Fritters

• 2 cups of Plain flour
• 400g fresh prawns - roughly chopped
• 30 cooked prawns - de-vein and shelled
• 1/2 cup of fresh chives - chopped
• 2 handful of beansprout
• 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder
• salt
• Sweet Chilli sauce to serve

Mix everything in a mixing bowl... add water adequately to make a smooth batter. Shallow fry in a large frying pan using canola oil. Drop in 2 serving spoonful of the batter into the hot frying pan... top with the cooked prawn. Turn the fritters over once the bottom side is cooked and golden brown in colour. Repeat with the other side... Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Tandoori Chicken

Two things to keep in mind to get the taste just right ( like the secret restaurant recipe)
1.The tandoori chicken needs to be marinated well and so it is advised to be left in the refrigerator at least overnight to marinate.
2. The oven needs to be heated to the max ( 200 to 300 ) before you put the chicken in the oven

The restaurant style recipe for tandoori chicken

secret Tandoor recipe Ingredients
A 1 kg whole chicken
1 teaspoon salt ( + add little rock salt if you have any)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon orange food coloring
2 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoons chilli powder or a little bit more is you want it spicier
2 teaspoons Corriander powder
1 teaspoon tumeric powder
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon kalonjee seeds( Black cummin seeds)
1 very very small pinch of ( kala namak)black salt ( between your 2 fingers pinch)
1/2 teaspoon raw dry mango powder

DIRECTIONS

Remove skin from whole chicken , and cut slits ( 5 to 6) into them lengthwise in different areas of the chicken where you want the marinade to penetrate. Place in a deep mixing bowl and sprinkle all the above mentioned spices and powders over the whole of chicken with salt and lemon juice.
Sprinkle all the above mentioned spices + lemon juice + salt over the whole skinned chicken and mix it with yoghurt and spread this marinade to let it seep into all the grooves of the chicken and the slits you made in it. Set it aside in the refrigerator overnight or then at least for 4 to 5 hours minimum.

Preheat your oven the maximum heat ( maybe 250 to 300) high heat. Make sure you have drizzled a generous sprinkling of vegetable oil on the chicken and around the chicken ( but don't go overboard and set the house on fire) . Check the chicken after half hour and turn it on the other side and drizzle any juices or oil left in the tray over it ( or sprinkle some more oil when turning it upside down) cook for a further 15 minutes or then check if the chicken is looking already cooked by piercing it with knife.
You are now ready to have a nice tasting tandoori chicken just like in the restaurants
( The 2 main steps that help you get that nice moist juicy chicken taste is letting it marinade overnight and also heating the oven up nice and hot before putting the chicken in , so that it cooks in the least possible time with a high temperature just like a nice clay hot oven. Make sure you turn down the temperature a bit 10 mins after putting it in the real hot oven)

Goan Fish curry

Serving size: Serves 4
Cooking time: Less than 60 minutes

INGREDIENTS
6 dried whole red chillies1 tablespoon cumin2 teaspoon coriander seeds1 teaspoon mustard seeds2 teaspoon ground turmeric3 garlic cloves3cm piece ginger2 tablespoons white vinegar2 tablespoons vegetable oil1 onion, thinly sliced1 ripe tomato, chopped3 large green chillies, seeded and sliced thinly440g can coconut milksalt to taste800g fillets flat head, halved
METHOD
Using a spice grinder blend chillies, cumin, coriander, mustard seeds and turmeric to a fine powder. In a pestle and mortar crush garlic and ginger to a fine paste. Add spice powder and incorporate well into the ginger paste. Mix in vinegar.In a large deep frying pan heat oil. Add onion and fry until slightly coloured. Add spice paste and fry for 3 minutes until fragrant. Add tomato and chilli and cook for 10 minutes or until tomato breaks down. Add coconut milk, season with salt and then add fish fillets. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, turn fish over and simmer for remaining 5 minutes or until fish is cooked as desired, this will vary with size of fillet used. Serve with basmati rice.

Chettinad vegetables

Ingredients :

Carrot/Potato/Beans :1cup (Cubed & boiled)...can also add cauliflower
Fennel Seeds :1/2tsp
Cinnamon Stick :1" piece
Curry leaves :1sprig
Shallots :1/2cup (sliced)
Tomato :1nos (chopped)
Turmeric powder :1/2tsp
Coriander powder :1/2tsp
Red chilli powder :1tsp
Grated Coconut :3tbsp
Oil :2tbsp
Salt to taste

Method of Preparation :

1.Boil the veggies with salt and drain the excess water and keep it aside.
2.Grind the grated coconut to coarse paste and set it aside.
3.Heat oil in the pan on medium heat,add fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks, curry leaves and fry for a couple of minutes, now add sliced shallots; saute till it turns to translucent.
4.Add chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes turns to soft and mushy.



5.Add turmeric,coriander,redchilli powders and saute till the raw smell goes. 
6.Add the coconut paste and 1/4 cup of water; saute well untill the oil separates from the sides.
7.Add boiled veggies and mix everything together well.
8.Serve hot with any Indian Bread or with rice.

Momos or Potstickers.....boiled or steamed

The most important traditional food ,Chinese boiled dumpling

Dumpling is a traditional Chinese food. On the lunar New Year’ s Day, most families make a lot of delicious dumplings. There are a few days of the Spring Festival is coming, and I said for dumplings.It named Jiaozi in china. The history of jiaozi dates back to ancient times, some 500-600 years ago. As the Spring Festival marks the start of a new year, people choose to eat jiaozi to connote their wishes for good fortune in the new year. China has been perfecting the art of dumpling making since the Sung dynasty. Chinese dumplings may be round or crescent-shaped, boiled or pan-fried. The filling may be sweet or savory; vegetarian or filled with meat and vegetables. Of course, all this variety can be confusing.As China is a country with a vast territory, there are great difference in various regions in ways of making jiaozi or even serving it. For example, dumplings wrappers are made with a rolling stick in most areas of Beijing and Hebei Provinces, whereas in some parts of Shanxi Province and inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, wrappers are hand- pressed. Ways of serving Chinese dumplings also vary from place to place. Generally, Chinese dumplings are boiled in clear water and served dry with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic or pepper oil if one likes them hot. In some parts of the Northeast China, however, dumplings are boiled in broth together with vermicelli made from bean starch, and served together. Chinese dumpling is one of the most important foods in Chinese New Year. Since the shape of Chinese dumplings is similar to ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots, they symbolize wealth. Traditionally, the members of a family get together to make dumplings during the New Year’s Eve. They may hide some coins in one of the dumplings. The person who fined the coin will likely have a good fortune in the New Year. Chinese dumpling is also popular in other Chinese holidays or festivals, so it is part of the Chinese culture or tradition. Making dumplings is really a team work. Usually family members will join the work. Most Chinese start to make dumplings when they was a kid in family, they know how to make dumplings.Especially good at making dumplings, particularly making skins, which is the hardest part of making dumplings.

Details of making Chinese dumplings:
Filling:
*1 lb. ground pork , beef or chicken
*6 T. sesame oil
*2 t. sugar
*0.75 t. salt
*0.25 t. pepper
*0.25 lb. chinese cabbage
*1 t. salt
*0.25 lb. chopped green onions

Skin:
*3 c. flour
*0.75 c. cold water
*0.5 c. flour (to prevent sticking during kneading)
soy sauce
water
vinegar (white or rice)
garlic (fresh, chopped fine, or powdered)
ginger (fresh, chopped fine, or powdered)
small bowl with water for dipping

Details of making Chinese dumplings
1. Filling: Mix ground pork, oil, sugar, chop cabbage，salt and pepper until fine. Let sit for 10 minutes; then squeeze out the excess water.

2. Skin: In a bowl, add water to the flour and knead into smooth dough; let it stand for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into a long baton-like roll and cut it into 50 pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll each piece to a thin circle.

3. Combine: Place 1 portion of filling in the center of a dough circle. Fold the circle in half and moisten the edges with water. Use index finger and thumb to bring the sides together. The smooth edge will conform to the decreased length of the pleated edge. Pinch the pleats together then pinch to seal. Place the dumpling on a floured tray and repeat this with the remaining dumplings.

4. Boil: Boil 10 cups of water and add dumplings; gently stir to prevent dumplings from sticking together. Bring to a boil; turn the heat to low and cook for three minutes. When serving, use vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, hot bean paste, etc. as dipping sauces.

5. Serving: Serve the dumplings hot (if you cook them in bamboo baskets you may wish to serve them from it directly at the table) with bowls of soy sauce mixed with red wine vinegar.

Different shapes of dumpling

Garlic Pickle

Ingredients: 
1 cup garlic cloves( if too big then cut into half)
1/2 cup mustard oil. ( or anyone you like - traditionally we use mustard seeds oil for making pickles)
1/2 cup pickle masala( if you dont have this ready made then follow this simple process . Take coarsly grounded fenugreek seeds(methi na kuriya) ,coarsly grounded mustard seeds( Rai na kuriya) and red chilli powder in the proportion of 1:2:2 . Mix all together with slight hing(asafoetida powder ) and little turmeric powder - pickle masala is ready to use. )
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds(saunf )
salt to taste
Lime juice to preserve .

Method:
In a small pan heat the oil, when little hot first add the garlic cloves, remember to cut them in halves if they are too big. in a medium to slow flame let it fry till it turn yellow to slightly brown next add pickel masala and fennel seeds, salt and coriander seeds to it.
Mix all together very well and turn off the heat. Add 2 tsp lime juice to it. Let it cool and store in a air tight container. You can serve it fresh though this tastes best after 2 days . while storing it check that the proportion of oil should not be less i.e. oil level should be such that garlic cloves should be dip into oil.This way it can be store for a long time at room temperature.
Its simple , easy to make and full of wonderful flavor of fennel and coriander . 

Pink Ice cream soda

Ingredients :
2 tsp of rooh-afza ,
3/4 cup of milk , I used plain milk ,and no cream .
little water about 1/4 cup,
2 Vannila ice cream scoop .

In a mixer, take all the ingredients together except ice cream and mix it well for a while ,it may take a minute or 2 . In a serving drink ware pour it and then add 2 scoop of vanilla ice cream, serve all chilled a great drink to go along in summer days :).

Momos or Potstickers.....

Chinese dumplings

The most important traditional food ,Chinese dumpling
Details of making Chinese dumplings:

Filling:
*1 lb. ground pork , beef ,or chicken
*6 T. sesame oil
*2 t. sugar
*0.75 t. salt
*0.25 t. pepper
*0.25 lb. Chinese chive
*1 t. salt
*0.25 lb. chopped green onions
Skin:
*3 c. flour
*0.75 c. cold water
*0.5 c. flour (to prevent sticking during kneading)

Seasoning:
soy sauce
water
vinegar (white or rice)
garlic (fresh, chopped fine, or powdered)
ginger (fresh, chopped fine, or powdered)
small bowl with water for dipping

Details of making Chinese dumplings
1. Filling: Mix ground pork, oil, sugar, chop chives，salt and pepper until fine. Let it sit for 10 minutes; then squeeze out the excess water.

2. Skin: In a bowl, add water to the flour and knead it into a smooth dough; let it stand for 10 minutes. Roll the dough into a long baton-like roll and cut it into 50 pieces. Use a rolling pin to roll each piece to a thin circle.

3. Combine: Place 1 portion of filling in the center of a dough circle. Fold the circle in half and moisten the edges with water. Use index finger and thumb to bring the sides together. The smooth edge will conform to the decreased length of the pleated edge. Pinch the pleats together then pinch to seal. Place the dumpling on a floured tray and repeat this with the remaining dumplings.

4.Fried:Heat up a pan with a little oil,Put the raw dumplings in the pan and fried until the bottom of skin is golden,then add in a cup of water and cover the lid with pan,cook until without water,dish off.

5.Serving: Serve the dumplings hot (if you cook them in bamboo baskets you may wish to serve them from it directly at the table) with bowls of soy sauce mixed with red wine vinegar.

Attention:
If you want to eat fried dumpling  add in a little oil in the pan ,fry till the bottom side is brown then add a cup of water and cover and cook till all water is absorbed .

Stir fry chicken with hot chillies

Chinese have a saying that people living in Chongqing is not afraid of spicy taste.So this dish is a famous dish in Chongqing Province.The real method of this dish is to be more chili than chicken.All in pursuit of fun is search for chicken in the chili.Of course,if you don’t like spicy you will put some less chili.

Ingredients:
Chicken
Wild pepper(1 tbsp of)
Dry chili(1 cup of)
Sesame(2 tbsp of)
Ginger
Green onion
Garlic
 
Marinades:
2 tbsp of Chinese rice wine
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
2 tbsp of starch
2 tsp of salt

Seasoning:
2 cup of oil
1 tsp of essence of chicken
1.5 tsp of sugar

Methods:
1.Clean chicken and cut it into pieces.Put the cutted chicken in the marinade and it for about 30 minutes.

2.Slice ginger,garlic and green onion.Cut dry chili from the incision in the middle.
3.Deep fry the cut chicken until its  golden then drain oil.

4.Heat up with 3 tbsp of oil in the pot and fried ginger,garlic,dry chili and wild pepper until fragrant.

5.Add in chicken and fry until well done.

6.Pour in all seasoning and green onion , cook for about 2 minutes then lastly pour in sesame oil,dish off.

Attention:
When you fry the dry chili,wild pepper and chicken ,you should use low heat. Otherwise they will burn.