Life 'n' Such

I am on a roll today! Another quick recipe from my mil. This one is for making ‘harissa’; Harissa is a very popular meat preparation which is made for breakfast (rather brunch). It is usually slow cooked for many hours, with spices. And yes, hand stirred for hours and hours. Tastes great, at the end, but who has the time to make it nowadays.

Guess what? You can make it with this recipe under 1 – 2 hours. Yippee!

So what are you waiting for… lets get started.

Ingredients:

3 lbs chicken legs/thighs or breast (we used legs thighs today, but my mil says, breast would be best); boiled with salt, garlic, and fennel seeds tied in a little fabric pouch (we used fennel powder) till it falls off the bone; remove the bones.
3 tbsp rice flour paste (use cold water)
1/2 whole wheat pita soaked in water, crushed
5-6 cardamom powder,
2 inches cinnamon stick,
1/3 tsp cinnamon powder,
4-5 tbsp oil for cooking,
1 sliced, fried onion; retain the oil
Method:

Heat the chicken, add the flour paste to the smooshed chicken and mix till a boil. Add all the other ingredients listed above, except the fried onion. Keep stirring at times, or keep covered on low heat. After about an hour, it should be done. Finally when serving, add the fried onions with the oil. Give it a mix, and serve hot with pita bread, or tandoori roti.

Voila! Its done. Now what did I tell you?

Notes: I made this recently all by myself, and I followed the recipe exactly. During stirring or cooking time, I added a couple tablespoons of oil. I had to do this a few times. And finally, it didnt need any more oil, it was leaving out oil. That means, its ready!

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I have a yakhni recipe on my blog, but I thought for our fast paced life, this quick recipe by my mil, will be perfect for a quick dinner party. She has tons of quick recipes. Today I am going to put a couple.
So here it goes:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lb meat pieces (if you get the “raan” piece of lamb or goat, its best; “raan” means the thigh/leg portion of the animal)
salt, ginger powder, garlic paste (while boiling the pieces)
1 cup beaten yogurt (dahi); full fat is best, but low fat will work too
spices: 4 cracked cardamoms (elaichi), 1 inch cinnamon (daalchini) stick broken into few pieces, 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp corriander powder (dhania), 1/2 tsp fennel powder (saunf)
handful of fresh (or dried will work too) mint leaves (pudina)
1 fried onion; ground preferably
few pinches of roasted cumin seeds, for garnishing

Method:

Boil the meat pieces with salt, ginger, garlic till tender in little water. When its a little cold, add the beaten yogurt to this. Mix well. Add the spices to this. Get it to a boil. Add the fresh mint leaves and the fried onion paste. Boil, taste for salt, add if required and its done.

Finally, when its done, rub the cumin seeds between the palm of your hands, and add it to the yakhni.

Note: Yakhni is one of the most popular dishes from Kashmir, every Kashmiri household prepares it for their guests, and its a big part in the weddings.

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Finally I have the recipe for the sweet and sour chicken by Fauzia. I have eaten it several times at her place, and I made it once too. I didnt have all the ingredients, but it was not bad for the first try with the available ingredients.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs chicken boneless pieces, cut into cubes
Marinade: 1 egg, 3-4 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp corn starch, 3-4 tbsp all purpose flour, lots of black pepper, salt
Oil for frying

For the gravy:
Olive oil for cooking,
chopped garlic,
red chilli flakes,
Louisiana hot sauce,
Ajinomoto (Fauzia uses Vegetta brand); it is a chinese seasoning we use in India,
black pepper,
salt as per taste,
1 tbsp cornstarch mixed in cold water (if needed for thickening at the end)
Honey or pineapple juice
Method:

Marinade the chicken pieces for about 3-4 hours at least. Deep fry, and scatter the pieces on paper towel to absorb excess oil. To make the sauce, heat the olive oil, add the garlic, and chilli flakes. Then after a bit, add the hot sauce, ajinomoto, black pepper, and salt; mix it well. Drop the fried chicken chunks into this. Sautee for a few minutes, add little water. Get it to a boil. If needed add the cornstarch dissolved in water, for thickening the sauce. Finally, at the end, add honey or pineapple juice. Ta-da! Its ready.

Best served with fried rice.

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Sorry my dear friends, for the long dry spell! No fear, cos I am here now! I am going to put up some recipes, authentic kashmiri recipes too, which will get your taste buds thanking moi.

And guess what, as my site always promises, yummy, easy, and best part, fast!

p.s. I was in the windy city (Chicago) the last weekend, it was fun! Thanks to dear Badi aunty and Uncle. Had a good time with Zara, Zaid, and Sarah. Oh yeah, ate buffalo chicken wraps at Navy pier, some road side cafe, it was great!

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Sorry dear friends, I am not getting into blogging mood recently. Hopefully, I will get over it soon enough! Its not that I dont have new recipes, I swear I do! And lots of pictures too!

p.s. I think its because I miss my dearest of friends!

 

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Leftover chicken or any cooked meat? Ok then! Cut a pita bread into half, open it so that it forms a pocket, and throw in some shredded chicken, some mayo, some hot sauce, some cheese, and some lettuce! Voila! Instant lunch or dinner or a snack!

Enjoy!

p.s. Dear Mumtaz aunty and Qam uncle were visiting us, and this is just one of her quick recipes! She made Ras malai one day, I am going to put up its recipe next! Yes, the REAL deal!

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