Easy Capsicum Sabzi for Chapathi | Capsicum Stirfry | Kudamilagai Poriyal

I have been cooking and trying some really good recipes and bakes for a while now. But Dhruv and my Cuemath classes keeps me busy and away from the blog for a long while. I do regret that but when I think of the beautiful times and memories I'm making with Dhruv, I feel that's ok :) This time can never be retrieved and I do not want to regret that in my future. You do agree with me on that right :) 

So, you all know that I try on a lot of veggies and mostly sticky to 'easy to make' and 'tasty ones'! And in that regard, this is a very easy stir fry with capsicum and tastes absolutely awesome with phulkas or rotis. It is a bit sweet as sugar is added to retain the color of the capsicum. You can omit it if you do not like that taste. Easy to make and even one who doesn't eat capsicum is sure to like this simple sabzi :)

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 2 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

I Used:

Capsicum	-	1 no (medium - big sized)
Onion	-	1 no (medium sized)
Oil	-	2 tbsp
Mustard	-	½ tsp
Cumin Seeds	-	½ tsp
Red Chilly powder	-	1 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	¼ tsp
Sugar	-	½ tsp
Soya sauce (optional)	-	½ tsp (substitute with lemon juice if need)
Salt	-	As needed

The Way:

1. Rinse the capsicum in water and cut them into two. De-seed the capsicum and remove the white inner portion (optional). Then cut the capsicum into cubes. Also cut the onion into cubes

2. In a pan heat oil. Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Take care not to burn the cumin seeds

3. Add the cubed onions and salt and saute for 3-4 minutes till they turn transparent

4. Now add the red chilly powder and turmeric powder and saute for 2-3 minutes till the raw smell of goes off

5. Now add the capsicum and saute. Leave it for a minute or two. 

6. Then add the sugar and give a nice stir. 

7. Close the pan and cook till the capsicum is done (another minute or so). It will not take long for the capsicum to cook. It is better to leave it crunchy as the flavor and taste is best then

8. Before switching off the flame, add the soya sauce (can substitute with lemon juice) and give a quick stir. The sabzi is ready to be devoured !

Cheers,
Chitz

Chinese Scallion Pancakes with Ginger dipping sauce - IFC Challenge #1 | Cong You Bing

When  Saraswathy and Shobana geared up to create this new event 'International Food Challenge' I knew I that I am definitely gonna participate in this one ! C'mon, who would want to miss a chance to learn some exotic dishes from the cuisines around the world? The added advantage is you can make them at home without having to search for that speciality restaurant in your locality :D And as it would please anyone, the first challenge was to experiment on Chinese cuisine especially from the Cantonese region. So let me give you guys some heads up on this cuisine as shared to us from the event organisers. 

Cantonese Cuisine, also named Yue Cuisine or Guangdong cuisine, is one of the main cuisine styles in China. It comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and it is one of among the eight great traditions of Chinese cuisine. The basic cooking techniques of Cantonese cuisine include roasting, stir-frying, sautéing, deep-frying, braising, stewing and steaming. Steaming and stir-frying are most commonly used to preserve the ingredients' natural flavors. The most characteristic cooking methods of Cantonese Cuisine are cooking in salt, cooking in wine, baking in a pan, and soft ¨C frying. 

We were given four recipes to choose from namely Spiral Moon Cake, Cantonese Savoury Glutinous Rice Dumplings, Cantonese Wonton Noodles Soup & Chinese Scallion Pancakes. I chose Chinese Scallion pancakes, the simpler one. This closely resembles the Kerala parottas in that APF is used to make these pancakes. Spring onions or Scallions is used as a stuffing. This is served with a sweetishly sour dip. I enjoyed having these, especially the dip which made the pancakes more tastier !

Recipe Source: Adapted from here

I Took: 40 minutes

Serves: 3-4 pancakes (5 or 6 inch dia)

I Used:

For Pancake:

All purpose flour/Maida	-	1 cup + more for dusting
Scallions/Spring Onions	-	¼ cup
Oil	-	4 tbsp
Salt	-	1 tsp / As Needed
Boiling-hot Water	-	¼ cup / As Needed

For Ginger-Dipping Sauce:

Thin Soya Sauce	-	¼ cup
Rice Wine Vinegar	-	¼ cup
Chopped Scallions	-	¼ cup
Crumbled Dried Red Chilly	-	1 tsp
Ginger	-	1 tsp
Toasted Sesame seeds	-	1 tsp
Sugar	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Sift together flour & salt. Add 2 tbsp oil and mix well
2. Slowly add the boiling-hot water & knead until it forms a soft & smooth dough
3. Cover with a damp cloth & allow it to stand for 20-30 minutes
4. Divide the dough into 3-4 pieces of equal size & roll them into balls using hand
5. On a floured surface, place a ball & roll it into a thin circle using a rolling pin
6. Spread a tsp of oil evenly over the pancake & sprinkle 1-2 tbsp of scallions over it
7. Roll up the pancake from one end (horizontally) like a rug
8. Curl (vertically) the roll around in a spiral. With the palm press the top of the spiral to flatten it. Using a rolling pin, roll again & flatten to achieve a 5 or 6 inch pancake
9. In a hot non-stick pan, pan sear both sides of the pancake (like you make chapathis) until golden brown. Add oil if necessary
10. Mix all the dipping ingredients together. Cut the pancake into wedges and serve them with the dipping sauce

Notes:

• I omitted rice wine vinegar in the dip as I did not have them. Still tasted awesome !

Cheers,

Chitz

Gobi Manchurian - Dry | Cauliflower Manchurian

 Deep fried Cauliflower florets sauteed in onions & Chinese sauces

Gobi Manchurian, that's the first dish that comes to my mind when I am expecting some vegetarian guests at home. Coz, it's rich & heavy and very seldom vegetarians have an aversion to it and moreover, it's deep fried !! Definitely a winner, right?? Many of those who do not like to have cauliflower curry or gravy or stir fry, would say YES to Gobi 65 & Gobi Manchurian :) And it's very difficult to find a restaurant that doesn't have this in their menu, isn't it?? Be it any cuisine restaurant, this would be definitely on their list... So how about we look into the recipe, which is a perfect side for Chappathis and Kulchas and even fried rice..

Recipe Source: Ma

Serves: 3-4 persons

I Took: 

Preparation Time: 90 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

I Used:

Caulliflower	-	A small sized one
Maida	-	3 tbsp
Cornflour	-	3 tbsp
Ginger Garlic Paste	-	1 tbsp
Pepper	-	2 tbsp
Onion	-	1 no - medium sized
Ginger	-	1 tbsp
Garlic	-	1 tbsp
Green Chilly	-	3 nos
Soya sauce	-	1 tbsp
Chilly sauce	-	2 tbsp
Tomato sauce (optional)	-	2 tsp
Turmeric powder	-	1 tsp
Salt	-	As needed
Oil	-	For Deep frying
Spring Onion	-	2 sprig

The Way: 

1. Clean & separate the cauliflower into medium sized florets
2. In a wide pan heat water, sufficient enough to submerge the cauliflower florets. Add turmeric & salt to it
3. When the water boils, add the cauliflower florets to it. Allow it to be in the boiling water for about 2 minutes. Then drain off the water completely. This process is to get rid of the small worms that are prevalent in cauliflowers 
4. In a kitchen towel, pat dry the excess water off the florets. Else they will absorb excess oil while frying
5. In a wide bowl mix maida, cornflour, ginger garlic paste, pepper & salt with water. Marinate the cauliflower florets in this for about an hour
6. Heat oil in a kadai & deep fry the marinated cauliflower florets & keep aside. Place the deep fried florets on a kitchen tissue to drain off the excess oil
7. Preserve the remaining marination mix to add in to the manchurian
8. In a kadai or wok heat 2 tbsp oil. Add chopped ginger, garlic & green chilly & saute
9. Add chopped onions & whites of the spring onions & saute till translucent
10. Now tip in the sauces - soya sauce, chilly sauce, tomato sauce & pepper powder
11. Add the fried cauliflower florets & mix well
12. Now add the remaining marination mix to the manchurian. If the quantity is less add in little corn flour and mix with water & add this to the manchurian & saute well
13. Remove from fire & garnish with the greens of the spring onion 

Cheers,

Chitz

Chicken Spring Rolls | Chinese Chicken Spring Rolls using Pastry Sheets

What's the first dish that comes to your mind when you hear 'Chinese' ? It must be 'Fried Rice' or 'Noodles', correct? Okay, now what's it that comes to your mind when I say 'Chinese Starter'. For me it's always 'Spring Rolls'. A visit to the Chinese restaurant is never complete without gulping this all time favorite of mine. And yes, not to for get the 'Sweet corn corn chicken soup'. I used to order this every other time, that my dad used to ask me, 'Why don't you try something new at least this time?' :D

My mom used to make these spring rolls for us at home. So I knew it was not a Herculean task, barring the vegetable chopping. I think that's the only time consuming factor in Chinese cuisine. Once that's done, the rest is very simple.  It is one of the all time favorites of Deeps too.. He simply loves them and would be in full praises when I make them. And he did come home very early from office yesterday. I am still not sure which one of these two is the reason, 'Not much work today' (as he said) or 'I am making spring rolls for evening tea today' (as I told him in the morn). Anyways we both enjoyed this little delicacies over a hot cup of tea.

Recipe from Ma

I Took:

Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 12 nos

I Used:

Carrot	-	1 cup (refer notes)
Capsicum	-	1 cup
Beans	-	½ cup
Celery	-	½ cup
Chicken	-	1 cup
Soya Sauce	-	1 ½ tsp
Tomato Sauce	-	1 tsp
Chilly sauce	-	1 tsp
Worcestershire sauce	-	1 tsp
Sugar	-	½ tsp
Pepper powder	-	½ tsp
Ground paste	-	1 tbsp
Oil	-	For deep frying
Salt	-	As needed
Aginomoto	-	A pinch (optional)

To grind:

Ginger	-	1 tbsp
Garlic	-	1 tbsp
Chilly powder	-	1 tsp

The Way:

1. Chop all the vegetables. Clean and cut the chicken into small pieces (like chops)
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add the chicken pieces. Add a little salt & pepper and saute for 3-4 minutes
3. Then add the ground paste and onion and mix well (Ignore the previous step for veg spring rolls)
4. After 2 minutes of sauteeing add carrot, beans, capsicum, celery and aginomoto and fry
5. Then mix in salt, soya sauce, tomato sauce, chilly sauce, worcestershire  sauce and the remaining pepper powder and saute in
6. The veggies should become crisp & crunchy. Do not over cook as they again have to be deep fried
7. The filling for the roll is ready. Allow it to cool and dry. Moisture content in the filling will make the wrapper wet which will suck in more oil during frying. Hence best to wait till the filling has cooled down with minimum moisture in it
8. Now off to the spring roll sheets. Defrost them to room temperature before using them. Use the sheets after defrosting as they will dry out & crack if left unattended 
9. Lay out one of the sheet. Place about a tbsp (depending on the size of your sheet) of the filling on one corner. Lesser the filling, the better. Over sized filling have a tendency to break apart in oil

1. Fold over that corner and roll in
2. Fold over both the left & right sides
3. Make sure there is very little or no air pockets when you fold in the sheet, as they can allow oil to get inside the roll
4. At this point you can freeze the rolls if required for future use. Make sure the rolls are placed one aside the other (not on top) & covered suitably to prevent drying while freezing
5. Heat oil in a kadai. Deep fry the rolls. Keep turning the over in oil till the turn golden brown evenly 
6. Place them over tissue paper to drain off the excess oil. Serve with tomato ketchup

Notes:

• You can include more vegetables like cabbage & cauli flower. I had run out of them. So did not use here
• Aginomoto is added to enhance flavor but comes with a list of side effects. So highly recommended to avoid

Linking this to 'Flavors of Chinese Cuisine' event at Julie's 'Erivum Puliyum'

Cheers,

Chitz