Tarriwala Aloo Ghost

The original recipe isn't mine. I recently stumbled on this recipe in a food group but I tweaked it to suit my families tastes.

Ingredients:- 
1.5 lbs Mutton
1 big potato cut into 1/4 inch circles
2 large onions to make Birista ( Golden fried Crisp onions) set aside a little for garnish
Oil for cooking
1 tsp whole cumin
1 no. Bay leaf
1-2 tsp Ginger garlic paste
3 nos. Green Cardamom
2" stick Cinnamon
4-5nos. whole cloves
1 tsp Turmeric powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 1/2 cup tomato puree
1 1/2 cup Water Red Chilli powder (Or any spice powder of ur choice - I used homemade Bottle Masala
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 cup hung curds
Salt as per taste
1/2 cup cilantro washed and finely chopped (optional)
Boiled egg for Garnishing.

 Method:- Wash, drain the mutton, season it with salt & set it aside. In a cooker heat sufficient oil, I used my new Instant pot to make this, but you can use any stove top cooker. Deep fry finely sliced onions to make Barista.Once the onions are fried nice and crisp spread them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil & cool. Once cool, keep them aside. Now in the leftover oil fry the potatoes till they cook to a nice Golden color, once done drain & set aside to use later. Now in the cooker add some more oil if required and fry the pieces of mutton on high flame and sear them till they are a bit brown. Then transfer the mutton to a bowl. Now in the cooker add some fresh oil, once the oil heats up add the Cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger garlic paste. Fry well, now to this crush the crisp fried Onion Birista and add to the spices. Once it is incorporated with the spices add the hung curd, red Chilli powder, Tumeric , coriander powder and Kashmiri Chilli powder. Mix well, it will look kind of like a thick paste. Once the oil starts to leave from the paste add the fried mutton to it . Thereafter add the tomato puree & water to the mixture. Now season the gravy with salt as per taste. Once the mixture starts to heat close the lid of the cooker and cook till the mutton is done. Once done, dunk the fried potatoes to the gravy along with the cilantro. Once the potatoes soak in the gravy garnish with the leftover Birista and boiled egg. Serve with hot steamed rice, preferably long grain Basmati rice.

Chowmein Noodles

Hi All,

I know its been really long since I last updated my blog. Have been busy being a Soccer mom to my now 6 year old. Almost forgot I had ever created this blog :-)
This year we've had a lot of rain in California. I'm not complaining coz we've had a drought past few years & we needed all that rain. Grateful to God that he answered our prayers and sent us all the rain we needed to end the drought.
So this morning when I got to know we were expecting a storm heading to the Bay, I thought why not make something hearty

to beat the dull gloomy weather. Checked my pantry and zeroed in on noodles as I had everything possible needed to prepare it.

Here's the recipe for my Chowmein Noodles

Ingredients:-

1/2 large Onion Finely sliced ( I used a red onion)

1 tsp Garlic minced

1/2 cup carrots cut into juliennes

1/2 cup finely chopped green beans (chopped diagonally)

1 red bell pepper cut into juliennes

1 green/yellow bell pepper cut into juliennes

Red chili sauce as per taste 

Green chilly sauce as per taste 

Red wine vinegar as per taste 

Ketchup as per taste 

Soya sauce as per taste 

Oyster Sauce as per taste 

1 packet of noodles ( I used Pancit Canton you cud use any egg Hakka noodles)

1 bunch scallions finely chopped

Oil

3 eggs

Dash of Milk for the eggs.

Shredded rotisserie /Roast chicken

Hot links- beef or chicken, cut into medium size pieces.

In a big pot heat water till it comes to a rolling boil. Season it with some salt. Then add the noodles and let it boil till 3/4th done. Now add some oil to the water to prevent noodles from sticking to each other. Drain in a bowl and add some cold water to it to stop the cooking process.

In a bowl break n beat the eggs, now add a dash of milk( milk helps make the eggs fluffy), with some salt & pepper. Heat a large frying pan with oil & fry the egg. Flip & cook on the other side. Then glide into a plate or board & cut into strips.

In the same pan heat some more oil if required and lightly fry the chopped Hot links. Once done set them aside to use later.

Now in a wok heat some oil . Now stir fry all the veggies in the hot oil on high flame , starting with the sliced onions along with the bulbs of the scallions ( Save the green part of the scallions, we will use them towards the end). Once they get a little soft add the garlic, followed by the carrots & the green beans. Drizzle some vinegar. Now drain the cold water from the noodles and add it followed by all the sauces one at a time, first the red, then the green, soya sauce, Oyster sauce & lastly the ketchup. Now add your meats , the shredded chicken and the fried links. Once everything is incorporated add the Red & yellow bell peppers. I like some crunch to the noodles so like to add the bell peppers at last so they don’t get soggy. They just cook in the steam of the noodles. Then add the egg strips followed by the tops of the scallions. Serve hot & enjoy!

Kheema - Ground Mince

Ingredients:-

1 lb ground meat (Beef or goat)
1/4 cup frozen petite peas
1/2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp finel chopped garlic
1 1/2 tbsp Shaan Kheema Masala
1/2 large onion minced
1-2 nos. Thai green Chilie pepper finely chopped
salt to taste
1 no. medium size tomato
1/2 cup washed and finely chopped cilantro
Juice of 1/2 sour lime
1 tbsp cooking oil (I used canola)
Optional - 1 large potato diced into 1" pieces

Method-

In a pressure cooker heat oil , then to it add the minced Thai Chillie peppers, fry for 1 min then add the minced onions, fry with a hint of salt till onions turn translucent , then add the ginger,garlic , followed by the tomatoes & let it cook till the tomatoes soften. Now add the Shaan Kheema Masala. Let this mixture fry well for a 3-4 of minutes then add the washed n drained mince to the mixture along with the diced potatoes.Fry on high heat for couple of minutes & keep stirring continuously. Now add salt as per your taste (but keep in mind that the Shaan masalas already have some salt in them). Cover n cook for 8mins. Once done release the steam & open the cooker. Now add 1/4 cup of Frozen peas. I use petite frozen peas which do not take long to cook n hence cook in the steam of the mince itself. Lastly garnish with chopped Cilantro n Lime juice. Can be eaten with naan, roti , chapati or loaf (pav).

Drunken Shrimp Pasta

Drunken Shrimp Pasta

Ingredients:-

12 Shrimps with Head

1 slice of smoked ham diced into small cubes

Pepper corns 8-10

Crushed Red Pepper flakes - 1/2 tsp or as per taste

1 Jar of store bought Marinara Sauce

2 spring of fresh parsley / herb of your choice

8-10 button mushrooms washed & sliced

1 box of Angel Hair Pasta

1/2 Bunch of spring onions sliced into rings

1/2 cup White Wine (I used Sherry)

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp Crushed pepper

1/2 yellow onion finely chopped.

6 cloves of Garlic thinly sliced

3 tbsp for sauce +1 tbsp Olive oil to use when boiling pasta.

1/2 cup shrimp Broth

Method:-

Preparing Shrimp Broth:-

First separate the heads off the shrimp. Peel the skin of the shrimp leaving the tail then devein it. Do not discard the head & skin off the shrimp. Put it in a small sauce pot with water, pepper cloves, 1 spring parsley & 2 cloves of sliced garlic to boil. After it has boiled, strain & save the broth to use later when preparing the Pasta sauce.

Preparing Pasta:-

Follow the instructions on the box & add 1 tbsp of Olive oil to the water when boiling to prevent the pasta from sticking to each other.

Preparing the Pasta Sauce:-

In a wide nonstick pan heat the remaining olive, then add to it the garlic flakes, when it starts getting fragrant & sizzles. Now add to it the crushed pepper , then add the bulbs of the spring onions sliced along with some finely diced onion.Once the onions get translucent add the mushrooms & saute on medium high. Now add the red wine to it & let it cook for 5mins. Then add the Marinara sauce to it along with the shrimp Broth.Sprinkle some crushed pepper, cover & let it simmer till the sauce comes to a boil & all the ingredients blend. Lastly add the shrimps to the sauce , (do not stir) let the shrimp cook for 4-5mins & add the diced ham & some chopped parsley. Now give a light stir & take it off the flame. 

In a serving dish spread some pasta & top it with the pasta sauce, garnish with spring onions. 

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Ingredients:
2 nos. Boneless Chicken Breast/Thighs cut into bite sized pieces
1 small onion finely chopped
Salt to Taste
Juice of 1 lemon
Chings Green Chillie sauce as desired
freshly crushed pepper
minced garlic 2 tbsp
1tbsp oil.

Method:-

Season the chicken cubes with salt & keep aside. Then in a pan heat some oil , now add the onions & let it cook till the get soft & transparent. Now add the chicken, some salt & let it cook. When the chicken is almost done add the green chillie sauce , minced garlic , crushed pepper & lemon juice. Serve hot.

Fried Rice

This is something I make often becoz it tastes yummy. Although it requires a long list of ingredients its worth the effort.

Ingredients :-

1 Tbsp + 1Tbsp cooking oil for frying egg & the veggies
Par Boiled Rice 2 cups
3 Eggs 1/4 cup Green Capsicum diced into small bits
1/4 cup Red/Yellow Bell pepper diced into small bits
1/2 cup carrots diced into small bits
1 bunch Spring onions chopped
1/2 cup shredded Cabbage
4 Jumbo Chicken Franks diced into bit size pieces
2 Slices of ham chopped (optional)
1 tbsp or as per taste Soya Sauce
Chings Red Chillie Sauce 2 tbsp or as per taste
Chings Stir Fry sasuce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsp or as per taste Tomato Ketchup
1 tsp Tabasco Sauce

Method:-

In a 10-12 inch frying pan heat oil.Then in a small bowl whisk the 3 eggs , add some salt & pepper as per taste & pour it into the pan.Let the egg cook ,then flip it over & cook on the other side.Toss it in a plate & let it cool, then dice it into small pieces & set aside to use later.In the same pan toss the Chicken franks or ham for 1-2mins & keep aside. In a large wok or deep pan, heat some cooking oil to which add the Spring onions, then add the carrots & gradually keep adding all of the other vegetables.Give all the veggies a quick stir on med-high heat & then add the Chicken Franks & Ham to the mixture. Don't over cook the vegges, let them be crisp.Now add the sauces starting with Worcestershire sauce, then add the Stir Fry sauce, next add the Chillie sauce followed by the Tomato Ketchup & lastly add the Tabasco sauce. Now Gradually add the cooked rice. Mix well and top with dices of Fried egg.

Shrimp Biryani

I got these king size Shrimps at my local super market & decided they were good enuff to make Shrimp Biryani. Making Biryani is an elaborate process & requires sufficient time for marination , however with Shrimp its much faster as shrimp cooks real fast & needs less time for marination.It is best accompanied with corn salad or Raita.

Tandoori Fish Fry

I love using Pompret to make Tandoori Fish Fry .I season it with salt & marinate it in a paste of vinegar & tandoori spice mix, I then dust a little rice flour & shallow fry it in a pan.The Rice flour forms a crisp crust .I find this easy to make & yummy to eat!!!