CHICKEN SHAMI KEBAB

Chicken Shami Kebab is a healthier fast food option because they are not deep-fried and include bread and salad.  When it comes to starters, this is one of the best non-vegetarian snacks to be served. You will not only love eating it, but also enjoy cooking this quick snack. Shami kebabs are succulent minced chicken with chana dal and spicy masala filling inside and crispy fried on the outside. 

Ingredients:

1. Chana dal - 1 cup

2. Boneless chicken 200 gram

3. Oil - 2 tsp

4. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

5. cloves - 3-4

6. Black pepper - 3-4

7. Cinnamon - 1 stick

8. Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

9. Salt to taste

10. Water - 1 cup

11. Ginger - 1 tsp finely chopped

12. Green chilli - 2 

13. Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup - chopped

14. Mint leaves - 1/2 cup - chopped

15. Eggs - 2

Process:

1. Soak 1 cup chana dal for at least 30 minutes. In a pressure cooker, heat oil and add cumin seeds, cloves, black pepper, cinnamon, coriander seeds and saute for 2 minutes. 
2. Add the soaked chana dal and mix thoroughly. Add the boneless chicken pieces and salt. Bring to simmer, adding required quantity of water. Cook until all the water has evaporated and chicken is tendered. Let it cool for some time and after that grind all the ingredients to a thick paste.
3. In this paste, add ginger, green chilli, garlic, coriander leaves and mint leaves. Mix all the ingredients to combine well. Now add the raw eggs liquid and mix thoroughly. Using your palm make the kebabs of any desired shape and size, generally flat round shape. Now dipping in egg fluid shallow fry the kebabs from both sides till golden brown.
4. Serve hot with any chutney of your choice.

CHICKEN BIRYANI

A rich and flavorful layered Indian dish. Everyone loves Biryani. This biryani recipe is the simplest one, I have tried this several times and trust me, this turned out to be the best.

Ingredients:

1. Basmati rice - 1 cup
2. Chicken - 300 gram (thighs & leg pieces)
3. Curd - 1 cup
4. Ghee - 2 tsp
5. Onion - 2
6. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
7. Refined oil
8. Salt to taste
9. Garam masala powder - 1 tsp
10. Turmeric powder - - 1 tsp
11. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
12. Milk - 1/2 cup
13. Saffron - 1 dash
14. Bay leaf - 2
15. Cardamom - 2-3 
16. Green chillies - 2-3
17. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
18. Rose water - 1 tsp
19. Mint and coriander leaves - 2 tsp each
20. Clove - 2

Process:

1. First step is to marinate the chicken, biryani gets a lot of its flavor from the marinade. I am using curd as a tenderiser and fried onions (birista), chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, ginger garlic paste and salt to flavor the chicken. Add all these to marinate and keep aside for at least two - three hours. 
2. Soak the saffron in milk and keep aside to use later.
3. Boil the basmati rice for 5 minutes in boiling water with salt & cardamom. You can use two drops of rose water also (optional) - I have used rose water in the final stage of cooking.
4. Fried onions are the key ingredients to any biryani. Cut onions into slices and then fry them on medium flame in oil. Make sure they are deep golden brown without getting burnt.
5. Once your rice and fried onions are ready and chicken is marinated, In a heavy-bottomed cooking pot / pan (its very important to use a heavy bottomed pot when you cook chicken biryani or any other biryani, else the chicken pieces can be scorched or burnt) add ghee, bay leaf, cumin seeds, cardamom, clove and cook the marinated chicken partially (at least for 15 mins). Add a layer of fried onion, mint and coriander and pre boiled rice once you cook the chicken for 15 mins.
6. Finally too with socked saffron and ghee and sprinkle some more coriander and mint leaves.Sprinkle the rose water and cover the pot with an aluminium foil or simple lid. It will take approximately 35-40 minutes to get the biryani ready. Please note, the flame is not high, it should be cooked on low flame.
7. After 25-30 min, you can check once if this is done, you can check with a fork if the chicken is done and rice is fully cooked.

Chicken Biryani is ready to serve, you can add raita along with biryani. 

Do try and share your experience.

Note : If you want the chicken  to be juicier in your biryani, do not use boneless chicken.

DIM POSTO CURRY

Posto or poppy seeds are used in West Bengal in number of dishes. Dim Posto curry comes similarly from this state where this traditional recipe makes use of poppy seeds to bring out the unique taste. A saying goes like "You cant keep away posto (poppy seeds) from Bongs". The texture of the curry can be varied with your personal choice, I have not used turmeric powder as I like this posto curry in white texture, hence I have not fried the Eggs too.

Ingredients:

1. Eggs - 4

2. Mustard oil - 2 tsp

3. Salt to taste

4. Onion - 1 cut (sliced)

5. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

6. Poppy seeds - 2 tsp

7. Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

8. Coriander leaves for garnishing (optional)

Process:

1. Soak the poppy seeds in warm water for 30 mins. Blend them in a grinder adding one green chilli to make a smooth paste.

2. Boil the eggs till done, peel and cut into halves.

3. In a frying pan, heat oil and fry the onions till translucent. Add green chillies, ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 mins.

4. Add salt and red chilli powder and fry for another min. Then add the poppy seed paste, boiled eggs and 1 cup water and cook for 4-5 mins. Your dim posto white curry is ready to serve. Garnish with fresh coriander if you like.

Note : You can fry the boiled eggs to get a different color, I have not fried them as I like white curry with white eggs.

SWEET & SPICY GRAPE CHUTNEY

Growing up in a Bengali family, fruit chutneys were almost always a regular part of our daily meals. We would have chutneys made with whatever fruit was in season - Mango, Tomato, Pineapple, star fruits, grapes, dates or plums. The key to Bengali chutney is often the spice mix known as paanch phoron. Paanch phoron is made up of equal parts of black mustard seeds, nigella seeds (kalonji), cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and fennel seeds, which is readily available at grocery stores.

Ingredients: 

1. Green grapes - 1 cup sliced

2. Paanch Phoron - 1/3 tsp

3. Sugar / Jaggery - 1/2 cup (whichever you want to use, I have used Jaggery)

4. Cardamom powder - 1/3 tsp

5. Ginger - 1 tsp (grated)

6. Dry Red Chilli - 1

7. Salt - 1 small pinch

8. Oil - 1 tsp

Process:

1. In a non-stick pan add oil on medium heat, add dry red chilli, ginger and paanch phoron and saute for 1 minute. 
2. Add grapes, one cup of water, salt and stir continuously on low flame.
3. After 2-3 minutes add sugar or jaggery (whichever you are using), see the change in color. Add cardamom powder. Keep stirring and scraping the sides also.
4. Let it boil for 15-20 minutes to get a thick consistency. If you like the chutney in liquid form, you can stop the flame before the chutney starts getting thick.
5. Let it cool, serve with roti paratha or papad. You can also store this chutney in a glass jar and use later on.

Try out this amazing and simple chutney and trust me everyone will love this.

AAM PANNA

This is made from raw mangoes and is yellow to very light green in color, I have added few pieces of ripe mango also to make this drink more healthy and tasty, you can see the color is also neither yellow nor light green, its kinda orange. This refreshing drink is a very tasty and healthy beverage to fight against the intense summer heat. 

I have followed this recipe from Chef Kunal Kapoor 

Ingredients:

1. Raw mangoes - 2 

2. Ripe mango - 1 

3. Water - 2 ltr

4. Sugar - 1 cup (as per your taste)

5. Salt as per taste

6. Black salt -  as per taste 

7. Black pepper as required

8. Jeera (roasted) - 1 tsp

9. Chilli powder 1/3 tsp

10. Mint leaves

11. Ice cubes

Process:

1. Peel the mangoes and cut them into pieces. Put them in a grinder.

2. Add all the ingredients and grind them well for 2-3 minutes. Aam Panna is ready.

3. Put this panna in a glass (half glass), add cold water and ice cubes, and they are ready to serve. 

Note - You can store it in your fridge for a week time. 

PALAK PATTA CHAAT

This is a very easy to cook & eat recipe. Spinach leaf (Palak Patta) chaat is made with batter fried spinach leaf loaded with curd, chutney and then topped with fruits (whatever is available at home), chaat masala and anything that you enjoy eating can be the topping.

Ingredients:

For Pakoda
1. Spinach leaves - 10 leaves
2. Green chilli - 1 (chopped)
3. Besan - 1 cup
4. Ginger - 1 tsp (chopped)
5. Salt to taste
6. Water - to make the batter
7. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
9. Chaat masala - 1/2 tsp
10. Oil - for frying

For Sweet curd
1. Curd - 1 cup
2. Sugar - 2 tsp
3. Salt to taste
4.  Pepper or black salt - 1/4 tsp

For Chutney - You can make Tamarind chutney if tamarind is available. In this covid-19 pandemic, I have not got Tamarind, so I have used ready made tomato-chilli ketchup

Process:
1. Wash and pat dry the spinach leaves. In a separate bowl add besan salt, turmeric, chilli powder, chopped green chillies, chopped ginger and water, whisk it to make a smooth batter.
2. Heat oil in a deep vessel. Dip the spinach leaves in the batter and deep fry them. Once all the pakodas are done, keep them aside.

Note : You can also serve these simple pakodas with chutney and sweet card.

3. Make the sweet curd by combining all the ingredients and keep aside.
4. For preparing chaat, place all the spinach leaves on a plate, drizzle sweet curd and tomato-chilli ketchup (you can use tamarind chutney also as i have mentioned before). Sprinkle chaat masala. 
5. Do the topping with fruits (whichever is available), I have used grapes and mango pieces for the topping. Serve immediately. 

ALOO TIKKI

Aloo tikki is a popular shallow fried North Indian Snack made with boiled potatoes, spice powders and other basic ingredients. It is basically a spicy potato patty which is mostly used making aloo chaat. 

Ingredients: 

1. Potatoes - 3 (boiled)
2. Ginger paste - 1 tsp
3. Chat masala & Garam masala - 1.2 tsp each
4. Red Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
5. Ghee - 1 tsp
6. Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - handful
7. Green chilli - 2-3 chopped (as per taste) 
8. Corn flour or Maida - 2 tsp
9. Bread crumbs (from fresh bread) - 3 to 4 bread pieces
10.Salt to taste
11. Oil - for frying

Process: 

1. Mash the boiled potatoes and add all the other ingredients except oil and ghee. Begin to mix and make a firm and non sticky ball, if it's sticky you can add more bread crumbs.
2. Divide the mixture to equal parts and make balls, flatten them and give shape. Give shapes as you wish - round, square or heart shape.
3. Heat oil and add ghee (to add a good aroma) in a pan and fry them until golden. Keep flipping them to both the sides and fry.
4. Serve them hot with tomato ketchup or green chutney.

P.S. You can use these tikkis for making aloo chaat also.

BREAD PUDDING

Bread pudding is a very classic yet simple bread based desert. It is simple to make with very few ingredients available at home and everyone always loves it. You can serve this as breakfast also. 

Ingredients :

1. Bread - 4 slices

2. Eggs - 2

3. Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup

4. Sugar - 1/2 cup

5. Butter - 1 cup

6. Cardamom powder - 1/3 tea spoon (You can use vanilla essence if available)   

7. Kismis (raisin) - for topping

Note : I have used custard and chocolate sauce for garnishing. This is totally optional. You can have this bread pudding without any garnishing. Its delicious.

Process: 

1. Cut all the bread slices into small cube pieces and keep aside.

2. In a mixing bowl, add rest of the ingredients and mix well. 

3. Now grease the baking pan with butter and place a paper in the pan. Place all the bread pieces in the pan and pour with the mixture. 

4. Add raisin at the top and sprinkle some powdered suger.

5. I have used pressure cooker to bake this. Keep the bowl inside the cooker and In low flame cook for 20 mins without whistle.

6. Once done, let it cool in room temperate and then put it in the fridge for 5-6 hours.

Garnish with chocolate sauce or simple vanilla custard. I have tried with both.

CHILI CHICKEN (BONELESS)

Boneless Chili Chicken is one of the most popular Indo-Chinese chicken appetizer or starter. This recipe is popular not only in Chinese restaurants, but in Indian restaurants too. This is a very easy recipe you can make it at the comfort of your home according to your own taste. 

Ingredients:

1. Boneless chicken pieces (diced) - 200 gram
2. Cornflour - 1/2 cup
3. Garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
4. Garlic cloves - 1/2 tsp (chopped)
5. Ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
6. Ginger - 1/2 tsp (chopped)
7. Red chili powder - 1 tsp
8. Salt to taste
9. Onion - 1 cup (sliced)
10. Capsicum - 1/2 cup (sliced)
11. Green chili - 3-4 (sliced)
12. Oil - to fry
13. Soy sauce - 1 cup
14. Chili sauce - 1 cup 
15. Spring onions - 1/2 cup

You can use capsicums (green, red, yellow - whichever is available). I have tried without capsicum.

Process:

1. Marinate the boneless chicken pieces with soy sauce, chilli sauce, pepper, salt (to taste), red chili powder, ginger garlic paste, cornflour with enough water so that the chicken pieces are coated with the batter. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the chicken pieces over high heat to begin with and then lower the flame. Fry until  the chicken is cooked through. Do not fry all the chicken pieces together, do in two three rounds.
3. Once the frying part is done, in the same wok, heat 1 tsp oil, add sliced onions, garlic, ginger and stir fry over high heat until they are translucent.
4. Add green chilies, soy sauce, chilli sauce, salt (as required) and the deep fried chicken pieces and toss well. 
5. Mix remaining cornflour with little water and add in the wok and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Garnish with some spring onions and serve hot with Fried rice.

P. S. You can use the same recipe for cooking Chilli Paneer 

CHOLE MASALA

Chole (Chickpeas) is a delicious and protein pack recipe. You can cook this in many styles, here I am sharing a very simple and easy recipe. Chole cooked with onion and tomato gravy, this is also called as Punjabi chana masala.  Chole has other names like kabuli chana or safed chana and Chickpeas in English.

Ingredients:

1. Chole - one cup 

2. Onion - 2

3. Tomato - 2

4. Green chillies - 3-4

5. Bay leaves - 2

6. Cardamom - 3-4

7. Cloves - 3-4

8. Pepper - 4-5

9. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch

10. Ginger - 1 inch piece

11. Garlic - 7-8 cloves

12. Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

13. Salt as per taste

14. Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

15. Turmeric powder - 1 tsp

16. Coriander powder - 1 tsp

17. Coriander leaves - handful (chopped)

Chole needs at least 7-8 hours or overnight soaking before cooking. Pre-soaking the chole reduces the cooking time. 

Process : 

1. Wash dry chole under running cold water till water runs clear. Soak them in enough water for 8 hours or overnight. After soaking they will double up in size, drain the soaking water.

2. We will make dry spice powder.  Take bay leaves, black cardamom, cloves, peppers and cinnamon stick in a small pan. Dry roast them on low flame for 2 mins. Once you get a nice aroma of spices, turn off the heat and let them cool. Once cooled, take into grinder and make a fine powder.

3. Now add the chopped onion, tomato, ginger garlic and green chilli into the grinder and make a smooth paste.

4. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit. Add onion tomato paste and sprinkle some salt.

5. Let it cook by cover it partially. Cook till oil starts to leave and moisture is evaporated. Then add red chilli powder. turmeric powder, coriander powder and prepared spice powder and mix well.

6. Now add pre-soaked chana and 2 cups of hot water. Mix all the ingredients well and cover the pressure cooker with lid. Let it cook for 20-25 mins on medium flame. During cooking time, it will keep whistling. Turn off the flame after 25 mins and wait for the pressure to go down by itself. Once you open the lid, oil will be floating on top.

7. Check the chole, it should be cooked and soft, not mushy. If the gravy is thin and watery, then let it simmer for a few more mins. If the gravy is thick, add some hot water and simmer for 2-3 mins. 

8. Add coriander leaves to garnish the chole. You can serve with puri, bhature, paratha or  simple steamed rice.