INTERNATIONAL CUISINE | Saute Fry N Bake

Bruschetta

Preparation Time : 10 minutes + 15 minutes marination time

Cooking Time : 8 to 10 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

Bruschetta . A very simple healthy fuss free recipe. I usually serve this with a vegetable soup for breakfast at home. The tang of tomatoes brings in more zink to the bruschetta . This is my version on the italian dish. I have just made two little changes by substituting some ingredients. Every thing around me revolves around food. Now a days at times i just forget where i am because i am kept busy with my own world of cooking , experimenting , working on recipes … But when it comes to great healthy eating options and relative recipes my mind goes blank. I usually focus mainly on show off recipes. (oops please, i am not one though) i read recently that the best way of eating healthy is to be 80 percent sensible and 20 percent indulgent. Well most of us have our eating habits the other way round.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
French bread	1 sliced horizontally to get oval shaped slices ( the thin long breads like your hands , you can use normal bread also but with thick slices )
tomato	2 chopped
onion	1 big chopped
garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
vinegar	1 teaspoon
butter	3 tablespoon ( at room temperature )
garlic	5 flakes chopped
basil leaves	few chopped ( I used thulasi leaves from my mother - in - laws backyard )
chilli flakes	1/4 teaspoon
pepper	to taste
salt	to taste
olive oil	1 tablespoon
cheese	grated to garnish

Method

Preheat an oven at 180 degree celsius .
Mix onions , tomatoes , chopped garlic , basil , olive oil , vinegar , chilli flakes , pepper and salt together and let it marinate for 10 to 15 minutes .
Mix the ground garlic and butter together . Apply on the base of the sliced breads on one side .
Top with the marinated mixture . Garnish with grated cheese .
Bake the bruschetta slices for 8 to 10 minutes until you get a crisp crust base and the cheese melts on top .
Garnish with more basil leaves chopped and serve hot , any time of the day .

Siriyan Kibbha bin saniya

Preparation Time : soaking broken wheat over night + 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour

Serving : 8 to 10 members

Description

Siriyan kibbha bin saniya . I got this recipe from a satellite channel . A very meaty dish. My knowledge about world cuisine was very little until satellite television channels were launched in india.This dish is a baked savoury dish . from the time i started to cook till a few years bake i was not at all at ease with baking and using an oven let it be for savoury or sweet.One fine day i made up my mind to break the myth of my baking fear. I pushed myself to get out side my comfort zone and started baking. Only then did i realize that thinking what i know is enough is not the attitude you should have in you.Always be ready to welcome more and more new challenges and get experimental. I am a self taught cook and whatever i know till date are learnt by my change in attitude. Oops i just went far away from the dish.I did use mixed vegetables for the stuffing along with meat but its better of as the original recipe demands.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
minced meat ( keema )	1 kg
seven spice powder ( mix of cinnamon , clove , cardamom , coriander ,pepper , chilli , turmeric )	1 teaspoon
chilli flakes	to taste
onions	6 chopped finely
butter	2 tablespoons
broken wheat (wheat rawa big ones kurunai )	2 cups heaped soaked in water over night
olive oil or ghee	3 tablespoons
pine nuts or any nut of your choice	1/4 cup chopped
salt	to taste

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil cook 1/2 the minced meat with seven spice powder , salt , pepper , chilli flakes , 1/2 chopped onions till the minced meat is cooked and gets to a dry consistency .
Fry the chopped nuts with butter and mix along with the cooked minced meat mixture . Set aside .
Grind the other 1/2 of the minced meat to a smooth paste . Season with salt , pepper , chilli flakes , onions and socked , drained broken wheat and mix together to get a dough .
Take a round baking pan . Grease it with butter . Fill the bottom of pan with 1/2 the ground minced meat mixture evenly to form a 1/4 inch thick base . Use wet hands to flatten the top to get an equal proportion on top .
Top the dough base with the minced meat nuts mixture evenly . Then top the other 1/2 of the ground minced mixture .
Repeat the same process as for the base . Cut the entire kibbha bin saniya with a wet knife like we cut a pizza .
Pour oil over the top . Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 40 to 45 minutes or until cooked through .
Serve hot .

chinese egg plant stir fry

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

Chinese egg plant stir fry , a recipe I came across in the telly where a Chinese chef prepared this dish with chicken powder and cooking wine as ingredients . I have substituted chicken powder with chicken stock cube and omitted the cookin…g wine . tweaked the recipe to suit our times . so I guess my version must be a bit different in taste from the original version but not to complain at all . I did take note of one thing , every time I post a recipe with egg plant the number of likes the post gets is just in single digits . Well , I am not ready to give up as this local produce is a staple through out our country in all regions and things have changed from the way we eat to think about food . Even if it’s a simple family gathering or a grand celebration in any corner of the globe , we Indians are sure to find the egg plant in the menu adding to every moment of it … Isn’t it ????

Chinese egg plant stir fry

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Big violet egg plants	2 cut into finger size long pieces
Dry red chillies	6 to 8
Vinegar	1 1/2 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon
Sugar	1 tablespoon + 1 /2 teaspoon
Oil	to deep fry + 1 teaspoon
Ginger	1 /2 inch piece cut into thin strips
Garlic flakes	3 cut into thin strips
Spring onion	1 teaspoon chopped + 1 teaspoon chopped to garnish
Cooking wine	3 teaspoons ( optional – I , myself didn’t use it )
Chicken or vegetable stock	1 cup
Salt	to taste
Chicken or vegetable stock powder	1/2 cube
Light Soya sauce	1 teaspoon
Corn flour	1 1/2 teaspoon diluted in 1/4 cup water

Method

Marinate dry red chillies in 1 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar for an hour . Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and grind to a smooth paste . Heat oil to deep fry .
Deep fry the egg plant fingers to a golden brown colour and crisp . Drain and set aside .
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a non – stick wok . Add the ginger , garlic strips and chopped spring onion 1 teaspoon and toss well for 20 seconds .
Add the red chilli vinegar paste and stir fry for 30 seconds . Pour cooking wine over ( optional ) along with one cup of the chicken stock .
Bring to boil , add the fried egg plant strips , sugar 1/2 teaspoon ,the chicken or vegetable stock cube and light soya sauce . Cook for two minutes in low flame .
Taste and adjust seasoning as we have not added salt yet but be careful with salt as the chicken or vegetable stock cube and soya sauce contain a lot of salt .
Pour the diluted corn flour and let the gravy thicken and stick to the egg plant strips . Garnish with chopped spring onion and serve hot as a side dish .

Notes

Vegetarians can stick on to vegetable stock and vegetable stock cube for the vegetarian version .

Chinese Noodles

Preparation Time : 15 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

My kids both of them love it but then have to make 2 versions always one veg for my veggie gal ANISHA and non – veg for the rest of us . I used to like noodles but in between started prefering fried rice but now it’s back to noodles . As I mentioned before my entire schooling was in good shepherd public school in ooty . We were fed so well but not allowed to keep snacks or chocolates . Still we ( sindhu , sulu my best buddies and myself ) used to manage to have snacks through out the academic year . Our main staple snack was maggie noodles . Catch hot water from the hot water tap in our toilet mug . Run to our secret place near the trunk room . Break the noodles with the masala packet and wait for 3 minutes for it to cook . The longest 3 minutes of our lives . Gobble it out with the runny watery liquid and the noodles . Life was fun fun fun..

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Chinese noodles	200 gm
carrots	2 juliens
capsicum	1 big juliens
cabbage	100 gm shredded
beans	1/4 cup cut slanting long strips
spring onion	few chopped
onion	1 sliced
ajinomoto	3/4 teaspoon ( optional )
oil	4 tablespoon
light soya sauce	1 teaspoon
tomato sauce	1 1/2 table spoon
sugar	1 teaspoon
salt and white pepper	to taste
vegetable or chicken stock	1/2 cup

Method

Heat water in a large heavy bottomed vessel .
When boiling add salt , 1 teaspoon oil and broken noodles .Cook till noodles are just soft . Do not over cook .
Drain and rinse in cold water to prevent noodles from sticking to each other . Heat oil in a large wok .
Add one garlic flake crushed , top with onion and all the vegetables except for onion stem . Stir on high flame for 3 minutes .
Add ajinomoto , salt and sugar . Keep stiring till vegetables are 3/4 cooked still having a bit of crunch in them . Add all the sauces , white pepper and onion stem . Mix well . Taste and adjust .
Stir in the cooked noodles along with the stock and fry till the stock has been absorbed into the vegetables and noodles .
Once all the flavours have infused together and is dry remove from heat and serve hot with tomato ketchup .

American chop suey

Preparation Time : 45 minutes

Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

My favourite chinies dish . My mother used to accompany dad to help him out in work at our saree shop in Coimbatore every day . So my holidays were always no parents at home most of the time ,but even we were taken along with them to our shop often . Family time at home was so rare . It happened only once in a blue moon . In one among the blue moon occasions , we had lunch ordered a take away , from a three star hotel surya (Now its vivantha taj ) I usually order only new wired names from the menu . I did order american chop suey . I remember we all were watching a scary English movie in the down bed room having lunch together . The American chop suey was so yum but the movie was not letting me enjoy the meal and company of my parents and brother .

Ingredients for Sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
Onion	2 sliced
carrot	1 juliens
beans	6 juliens
cabbage	1 cup shredded
capsicum ( red , yellow , green )	1 cup
light soya sauce	1 teaspoon
chilli sauce	1 1/2 teaspoon
vinegar	1 teaspoon
tomato sauce	1/4 cup
sugar	1 teaspoon
cornflour	1 1/2 teaspoon diluted in 1/4 cup water
salt	to taste
garlic	2 flakes crushed
pepper	to taste
chilli flakes	to taste
oil	2 teaspoon

Ingredients for Fried Noodles

Ingredients	Quantity
1 packet par boiled chinese eggnoodles	Drained and Dried on a kitchen towel
cornflour	1/4 cup
maida	1/4 cup
Salt	to taste
oil	to deep fry

Method

Heat oil in a large wok , add garlic and onions fry to translucent .
Top with all the vegetables and sauté for 5 minutes . Mix together all the sauces , vinegar , pepper , sugar and salt . Mix well . Taste and adjust .
Pour over the vegetables along with 2 cups of water or stock . Bring to boil and cook for 3 to 4 minutes .
Add the diluted cornflour and stir continuously till thick and coats the vegetables . Remove from heat and set aside .

For Fried Noodles

Mix cornflour , maida and salt to taste together .
Sprinkle over the boiled noodles and toss well making sure no moister is left on the noodles .
Heat oil to deep fry . Fry one cup noodles reducing the flame to medium to get crisp and golden colour noodles .
Drain in absorbant paper and repeat with the rest of noodles . To serve , place the fried noodles on a plate .
Ladle the vegetables sauce over the bed of fried noodles and top with the half boiled bull’s eye fried egg . Serve warm .

Quiche Lorraine

Preparation Time : 45 minutes

Cooking Time : 40 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

One fabulous dish which I learnt from Pallavi . ( a friend of mine from Kollam ) the minute I heard the recipe I wanted to prepare and eat it . This is a French dish . We can have it once in 3 months as the calorie count is terrible . I have made some changes in the recipe to our Indian taste buds. Pallavi just gave me approximate measurements . Gave it a try and it was pitch perfect .

Ingredients for Pastry

Ingredients	Quantity
maida	250 gm
butter	100 gm
salt	to taste . ( if using salted butter avoid using salt . )

Method for pastry

Mix maida and salt to taste .
Rub the butter into the maida mix to get a bread crumb consistency .
Then sprinkle cold water little by little and bring together to get a dough .
Do not knead to much . Cover with cling film and keep in the refrigaratore for half an hour .
Roll the pastry dough to an 1/2 inch thick equal circle . Place it over a greased pie tin .
Press the pastry dough on to the pie dish gently so the impression on the pie dish gets to the dough .
Prick all around with a fork and blind bake in a pre heated oven at 200 degree Celsius for 10 minutes till the pastry base is half cooked .
Take out cool and keep aside .

Ingredients for Filling

Ingredients	Quantity
oil	1 tea spoon
onion 1 big	chopped
capsicum	1 chopped
mushroom	1/2 cup chopped
bone less chicken	200 gm ( boiled with salt to taste , 1/4 teaspoon each of ginger and garlic paste , reduce to dry consistency , cool and shred )
chilli flakes	1 tea spoon
salt + pepper	to taste

Method for Filling

Heat oil , add onions , capsicum , mushrooms , salt , pepper to taste and sauté till vegetables are half cooked .
Then top with chicken and chilli flakes . Toss well taste and adjust . Cool and keep aside .

Ingredients for Sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
eggs	3
milk	1 cup
cream	100 gm
salt + pepper	to taste
cheese	3 cubes grated

Method for Sauce

Mix eggs , milk , cream , salt and pepper to taste ( add less salt as cheese will add a salty taste to the quiche Lorraine ) cheese – 1 cube , cooled filling mixture together .
Pour the sauce filling mixture into the pastry base and bake in a pre heated oven at 240 degree Celsius for half an hour or until cooked through .
Then spread cheese over the quiche Lorraine and bake again till cheese melts .
Serve hot with tomato sauce .

Lasagna

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour 15 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

I have a habit of exploring and tasting new recipes . Any restaurant I go to I make it a point to order what ever is new in their menu . Once On a holiday to ooty , we were recommended to a new place called Kings cliff by a friend for lunch . (Its one among the best restaurents in my best liked eat outs ) I got to see lasagna on their menu and ordered for myself . I was been laughed at by all my cousins , hubby n kids . Gosh the lasagna was so very delicious that I got just a signal spoon for myself . My kids kept talking about lasagna after that . I got this recipe from the net but have made changes according to the Indian taste buds .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Onion	1 chopped
chicken(boneless)	1/2 kg (minced)
garlic	3 crushed
coriander leaves	4 table spoons chopped
oregano	1 tea spoon
basil	1 tea spoon
tomato	1/2 kg ( blanched , skin removed and chopped )
tomato paste	8 ( grind tomatoes without water )
cottage cheese	24 ounce
eggs	2 beaten
pepper	1/2 tea spoon
dry red chillies	8 to 10 ( ground coarsely )
Parmesan cheese	1/2 cup grated
mozzarella cheese	1 small packet
lasagna noodles	12 to 15 sheets
salt	to taste

Method

Brown onion, garlic and minced chicken in 2 table spoons of olive oil . Add salt to taste , chilli flakes, oregano ,basil, 1/2 of coriander leaves , blanched tomatoes and tomato paste .
Cook till chicken is cooked and gets to a thick saucy consistency . Cook lasagna noodles according to packet instructions . Drain and keep aside .
Combine eggs , pepper , salt to taste , cottage cheese , rest of coriander leaves , Parmesan cheese and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese together .
Grease a square or rectangle baking dish . Layer the noodles sheet length wise first , top it with meat sauce followed by egg mix spread evenly all around .
Top with grated Parmesan Cheese and mozzarella cheese making sure it is covered Well .Repeat with 2 more layers as such.
Top layer should be lasagna sheet . Sprinkle evenly with mozzereella cheese and Parmesan cheddar . Bake at 200 degrees centigrade for 30 to 40 minutes until cheese mixture is cooked thoroughly .

Hummus

Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

A yummy healthy dip very own to middle eastern countries . I had this dip first in a Lebanese restaurant in Dubai , where my cousin brother Mohideen had hosted a dinner for my family . I got the recipe from master chef India season two . I serve it with vegetable sticks and pita bread or toasted wheat bread sticks .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Boiled check peas	2 cups
tahini paste	2 tablespoons ( roasted saseme paste 1/2 cup ground with 1/4 cup olive oil together to a smooth paste is tahini paste )
garlic	2 pods
lime	½ nos
olive oil	2 table spoons
salt	to taste
cumin powder	1/2 teaspoon
chilli flakes	1/4 teaspoon
corainder leaves	to garnish

Method

Grind boiled chick peas , tahini paste , garlic , olive oil and little water from the boiled chick peas together to a smooth , thick , creamy paste .
Add salt to taste and lime juice . Mix well . Taste and adjust .
In a shallow plate , spread the hummus . Top with cumin powder and chilli flakes .
Make a dent in the Center and pour some olive oil . Garnish with corriander leaves and serve with vegetable sticks , pita bread or normal toasted bread sticks .
I use vegetables like carrot , celery sticks , capsicums , cucumbers ……..

Broccoli Mousse

Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 10 minutes + 2 hours setting time in the refrigerator .

Serving : 6 to 8 members

Description

Took note of the recipe from a satellite tv channel . Tried it out for the first time 3 days back . It was an instant block buster hit . High on calorie count so can have this for special occasions .

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Broccoli	1/2 kg steamed and cut into small flower lets (can use cauliflower instead )
fresh cream	1 cup
cheese spread	100 gm
garlic	1 tablespoon sliced ( fried in 1 teaspoon oil to golden brown )
lemon juice	1 teaspoon
gelatin	2 tablespoon
red pepper capsicum	1 roasted ( skin , seeds removed and cut into thin strips )
stock	1 cup ( veg or non veg )
chilli flakes	1/4 teaspoon
chicken	1/4 cup boneless cooked and shredded ( if doing the non veg mousse )

Method

Soak gelatin in stock . Mix fresh cream , cheese spread , lime juice , fried garlic , red pepper strips , chilli flakes , steamed broccoli , chicken ( if doing the non – veg version ) together .
Double boil the soaked gelatin and dissolve the gelatin to a liquid consistency .
Cool to room temperature and mix into the broccoli mousse mixture . Mix well .
Grease a jelly mould with a little oil and pour in the broccoli mousse mixture . Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours .
Unmould the mousse and serve .
Avoid the chicken for the vegetarian version and use veg stock . Be careful with salt as cream cheese has a high salt content .

Chicken Sathey

Preparation Time : 30 minutes + 3 hours marination time

Cooking Time : 10 minutes

Serving : 4 members

Description

My co – sister Farzana has a connection with Malaysia as her grand mother is a Malaysian . Her coming into our family , opened doors to me into Malaysian food . It was from her that I first heard about sathey , nasi kanda , nasi goorin , beegoon , koipoo …… Every time after her visit to her parents place she used to get some Malaysian dish . I would wait for the surpriseing dish always . What ever my kids , hubby and myself like . I make sure to take note of the recipe . That’s how I got the recipe for sathey .

Ingredients for marination of chicken

Ingredients	Quantity
chicken	1 /2 kg boneless cubes
red curry paste	1 tablespoon
brown sugar	1 table spoon
cumin powder	1/2 tea spoon
coriander powder	1 1/2 tea spoon
turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
salt	to taste
lemon grass	few chopped
lime leaves	1 chopped
thick coconut milk	100 ml
light soya sauce	3 table spoon
Red , yellow , green capsicum cubes	2 cups
onions	2 cubes

Method

Marinate all the above ingredients together for 3 hours or more in a refrigerator.
Skewer the chicken , red , yellow , green capsicum and onion alternatively . Grill till cooked . Serve with peanut sauce .

Ingredients for peanut sauce

Ingredients	Quantity
roasted peanuts powder	100 gm
red curry paste	100 gm
lime leaf and lemon grass	chopped few
turmeric powder	1/4 teaspoon
tamarind paste	1 tablespoon
coconut milk	2 cups
brown sugar	1 teaspoon
saseme oil	1 table spoon
onion	1 chopped

Method

Mix all the above ingredients together . Set aside .
Heat oil in a pan . Saute onion for a minute , add little water and mixed peanut sauce .
Stir and boil for 5 to 7 minutes . Cool and serve with the grilled sathey chicken .

Ingredients for red curry paste

Ingredients	Quantity
galangal	1 1/2 tablespoon chopped
lemongrass	3 tablespoon
coriander roots	1 tablespoon
garlic	2 tablespoon
red dried chillies	10 soaked in water and salt
lime leaf	2 teaspoons
small onions	1 tablespoon

Method

Blend all the above ingredients to a smooth paste . This is red curry paste .
Use as required and store in the refrigerator and can use when ever necessary .
We do get ready made red curry paste in department stores too .