Schezwan Sauce

One of my favorite and spiciest recipes of all time. Any dish you cook using this sauce will be gone in no time. So, I strongly recommend you cook larger portions. Here's the recipe with out further delay!!

Ingredients:

Dried red chillies - 60

Garlic cloves - 45

Ginger - 5 tbsp

Tomato ketchup - 6 tbsp

Soy sauce - 2 tbsp

Sugar - 4 tsp

Oil - 1/2 cup

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Water - 1.5 cups

Procedure:

1. Cut open the dried chillies and remove all the seeds. Boil these (seedless) chillies in about 1.5 cups of water for about 5 to 9 mins. 
2. Drain the water and blend the cooked chillies in to a fine paste
3. Heat oil in a separate sauce pan. Add in crushed garlic and ginger and saute till they turn golden color.
4. Add the pureed chilli paste from Step-3 and mix well. 
5. Add tomato ketchup, Soy sauce, Sugar, Salt and Pepper and mix well. Cook for about 5 more minutes and remove from heat. 
6. Let it cool and store it in a glass jar. 

Enjoy!!

Note: There are several Rice, Noodle & snack dishes that can be prepared with this sauce. Make sure that there are no seeds left in the chillies, as it is already super spice as is. 

Bottle Gourd & Toor dal curry

I recently went to an Asian shop and saw Bottle Gourd. I immediately bought it, but was very confused later, as I was completely clueless about what to cook with it. I immediately called up mom and she gave me a healthy recipe. I was very easy to prepare and I am sure several variation of the same are already available out there.

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd - 3 cups

Yellow moong dal - 1 cup

Dried coconut powder - 1/2 cup

Dry red chillies - 3 

Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

Rice flour - 1 tbsp

Oil - 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Urad dal - 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 spring

Hing - 1 pinch

Salt - to taste

Chilli powder - to taste

Water - as needed (1.5 to 2 cups)

Procedure:

1. Grind Coconut powder, red chillies, cumin seeds, turmeric powder and rice flour in to a fine paste. 
2. Add chopped bottle-gourd, moong dal, salt and water in a cooking pot. Cook for about 15 to 20 mins till the dal and Bottle-gourd are cooked well.
   
3. Add in the paste from step-1 and bring it to boil. 
4. In a separate pan heat oil and add mustard seeds. Once they start crackling, add urad dal, curry leaves, hing and mix well. 
5. Add this tempering to the curry from step-3 and mix well. Let it cook for few seconds and serve. 

Enjoy with some hot rice or hot chapathis!!

Note: If you could get fresh coconut, its better use that.

Carrot cupcakes

I recently started baking cakes and cupcakes and I realized that love everything about it(baking). Well, in the beginning it is normal to burn your fingers, hands etc but the end result is totally worth it. Simple rule of baking (which always gives great results) is to just follow the recipe. You can always experiment, once you get hold of the basics. Here comes my first successful recipe.

Ingredients:

Carrots (finely grated) - 2 cups

All-purpose flour - 2 cups

Baking soda - 1 tsp

Vanilla extract - 1 tsp

Baking powder - 1 tsp 

Vegetable oil - 2/3 cup

Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

Salt - 1 pinch

Ground nutmeg - 1/4 tsp

Eggs - 2

Sugar - 1 cup

Brown sugar - 1/3 cup

Milk - 1/4 cup

Walnuts & Raisins - 1 cup (Optional)

Procedure:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. 
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon powder, salt and nutmeg in a bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, sugar, brown sugar, vegetable oil and milk until light and thick.
4. Slowly add the dry ingredients from step-2 to the above wet mixture and keep mixing continuously. Stir in grated carrots, vanilla, walnuts and raisins until well blended.
5. Grease a muffin tray, using an ice-cream scoop fill each muffin cup (only 2/3 full). Bake until golden brown. Insert a tooth pick in the middle of a muffin, if it comes out clean - its a sign that the cupcakes are done. 
6. Mine took about 20 to 22 mins to bake completely. Remove the cupcakes from the pan and let them cool. 

Enjoy with some cream cheese frosting on the top!!

Note: Every oven is different, so make sure to check on the cupcake every 5 to 7 minutes. 

Crispy Homemade - Potato chips (Microwave)

Who doesn't like Potato chips. I love them and I eat them almost every day. Well, here is a non-fat version of the recipe. It doesn't taste the same, but at the end of the day, we don't have to feel guilty and we can eat as many as we like. I made these chips using Microwave instead of the convection oven or fryer.

Ingredients:

Potato (Large) - 1
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 to 2 tsp (for greasing)

Procedure:

1. Slice a large potato in to very thin (almost transparent) chips as shown in the picture. Drop the pieces in to salted water. (this removes the excess starch)
   
2. Dry the pieces using a paper towel. Coat the chips with some oil and salt. You can also add any flavoring of your choice at this point. 
   
3. Grease a microwave safe plate and arrange the chips individually on this plate. 
4. Microwave on high for 1.5 to 2 minutes. (Every oven is different, so keep an eye)
5. Remove and turn the chips to the other side and Microwave again for 2 minutes. 
6. Repeat this process till the chips turn crispy. (I had to do repeat it for 3 more times)

Enjoy !! 

Note: It's a bit time taking procedure, than directly frying in the oil. But, you can eat as many chips as you like, guilt free :). 

Guacamole

I probably made this several hundreds of times. Every time, different version of it. No matter, how spicy or sour or creamy I make it, it is still our favorite snack dip. This is the basic version of Guacamole and of course best with Tortilla chips. 

Ingredients: 

Avocados - 3

Lime - 1/2

Tomatoes - 2

Red Onion - 1/2

Fresh coriander leaves - few leaves

Green chilli (non-spicy) - 1

Olive oil - 1/2 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Procedure:

1. Separate the skin and the seed from the Avocados. Mash them up with a fork in a clean bowl.
2. Add lime juice and mix well.
3. Thinly dice onion, tomatoes, green chilli and fresh coriander leaves. Add them to the above mixture and mix well. 
4. Add Olive oil, pepper and salt and mix well. At this point adjust the seasoning to your taste.  

Enjoy with some Tortilla chip!!

Note: I just used a blender and it makes your life much more easier. Make sure to slowly blend the mixture. If we use high speeds, its just a mush, and the texture is completely lost.

Peach Crumble with Blueberries

This is the first recipe I tried, which is completely out of my comfort zone. Usually, I like food which is either very spicy or very sweet. But, this recipe is different, in this dessert we can actually taste the fruits. It can be made sweet though :P. But, I stuck to the recipe and it was good. 

Ingredients:

Flour - 200 gms

Salt - pinch

Brown sugar - 100 gms

Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp

Vanilla sugar - 2 pkts

Vegan Margarine - 100 gms

Peaches - 3

Lemon juice - 2 tsp

Blueberries - 150 gms

Vanilla essence - 1 tsp

Honey - 2 tbsp 

Powder sugar - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

1. Add salt, brown sugar, cinnamon powder, vanilla sugar and Margarine to the flour. Mix everything together and using the tip of your fingers knead the dough gently till you get a crumbly texture. Refrigerate this mixture for about 30 mins.
2. Take fresh peaches and chop them in to small pieces. Add lemon juice to the pieces and mix well. 
3. Add Blueberries, vanilla essence and honey to the above mixture and mix well.
   
4. Preheat the oven to about 175 C.
5. Take about 4 to 5 clean ramekins and grease them with margarine. 
6. Divide the crumble mixture from step-1 in to two parts. 
7. First portion of the crumble mixture is layered on the surface of the ramekins. Then add the fruit mixture from step-3.
   
8. The above is topped again with a second layer of the crumble mixture as shown in the pic.
   
9. Place the ramekins in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 mins, till the crumbles turn golden brown. 
10. Remove from the oven, let them cool down a bit and serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar on the top.

Enjoy with family and friends.

Note: Agave syrup can be used instead of honey. This gives it a bit more sweetness. 

Chicken with Cashew nuts

One of the easiest chicken recipes ever. Can be prepared in matter of minutes, once we have all the ingredients. There are several variations of this recipe available. I made mine a bit more sweet and spicy. So, watch out if you want less spicy. 

Ingredients:

Chicken - 300 gms

Peppers - 1 (Red)

Onion (medium) - 1

Cashew nuts - 20

Red chilli - 2

Ginger - 1 inch 

Garlic cloves - 4

Tomato - 1

Spring onion - 2 to 3

Salt - to taste

Pepper - to taste

Corn starch - 1 tbsp

Ketchup - 1 tbsp

Rice Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Hot chili sauce - 1 tbsp (Sambal oelek)

Brown sugar - 1.5 tbsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Water - 1 cup

Procedure:

1. Fry chicken in a 1/5 tbsp oil shown in the picture. 
   
2. Cut this chicken in to bite size pieces and sprinkle salt and pepper.
   
3. In a bowl take 1 cup of water. Add corn starch, ketchup, rice vinegar, hot chilli sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and mix well. Keep this aside. 
4. In a separate pan heat 1.5 tbsp oil and fry chopped red chillies. Then add chopped Ginger & garlic and let them fry for few seconds.
5. Add Cashew nuts and let them fry. Add chopped chunks of Onions, Tomatoes, Peppers and let them cook for a couple of mins.
   
6. Add chicken pieces from step-2 and cook for a minute.
7. Add the sauce from step-3 and keep mixing. The sauce start to thicken. Adjust the thickness of the sauce at this point by adding more water if required. Cook for about 3 to 5 mins.
8. Adjust the seasoning at this point and keep mixing.
   
9. Add chopped spring onions and mix well and serve. 

Enjoy with some hot rice!!

Note: Add more salt and pepper in step-8 only after tasting. I added more water as I wanted more gravy.