Rudaba Aunty has come up with a new recipe for butter chicken. The last butter chicken recipe was easy, but a lot of things needed to be done. This one on the other hand, barely any ingredients are needed, and the cooking time is so much faster! I think I took 5 minutes to marinate the chicken last night. And today evening, when I cooked it, it was done in less than half hour. In the same time, the rice got done in rice cooker. Butter chicken, and hot steamed rice, what more do you want from life? 
Ingredients:
for marinade:
Shan Tikka Masala BBQ mix (less than half of the packet)
chicken boneless, chopped in pieces,
yogurt about couple tbsp for marinade,
ginger garlic past 2 tsp
for sauce:
oil for cooking, few tbsp
1 can tomato sauce,
1 can diced tomato,
1 tsp ginger garlic paste,
1 inch cinnamon stick, 2-3 cloves
1 handful crushed fried onion,
salt, black pepper for seasoning, if needed
1 tbsp fenugreek (kasturi methi) leaves (dried)
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp sour cream or 3-4 oz whipping cream
1 onion, diced
Method:
Marinate the chicken at least overnight, so the chicken will get tender (the more time you marinate it, the more soft and tender the chicken pieces will cook). In one pan, heat some oil, add the cinnamon stick and cloves, then fry the chopped onion golden, and then add the marinated chicken. Stir-fry till all the water evaporates, and its semi-done.
In the other pan (medium high heat), heat some oil, then add the cumin, to it. After it crackles, add the tomato diced, and tomato sauce to it. Cook, covered till oil separates out. Then add the ginger garlic paste, and a couple tsp of Shan Tikka masala. Again fry for sometime.Then add the fried chicken to this. Mix well, add a couple tbsp of the sour cream, kasturi methi, and the sugar. Get it to a boil, add some water, and cover and let it simmer, till the chicken is all done.
We like this best with simple, steamed rice.
Notes: R Aunty uses salt, black pepper, but I did not need any. So, taste and see if you need some.
June 25th, 2008
I know, I know I have way too many tandoori recipes, but I cant help it, all my friends follow different recipes, and I have to have them Its just my quest for the perfect/fool proof recipes, that gets me in trouble.
Well, this is from Sumaiya, my dear friend, whose son is always dressed up (and he is not even a year old!). I am going to miss them all as they are moving back to India in a few days.
She had made this recipe, and I thought she had ordered it from the Indian restaurant. It was that good!
Ingredients:
Shan Tikka masala,
garam masala,
vinegar/lemon juice,
ginger garlic paste,
1 tbsp yogurt,
oil/butter
salt,
oops and chicken!
Method:
Marinate the chicken with the above ingredients for at least overnight. Then just bake it in the oven. Thats it!
June 23rd, 2008
Paneer is my favorite (fuudie here, of course I am allowed to have many favorites, aren’t I?). Well, this is equivalent of chicken for vegetarian people! It is that good!
But, this recipe which I got from my friend Sumaiya’s Mother in law, is just A-Awesome! Just like her. 
This is not how typically we in India make a paneer dish. And I have not tried it as yet, but the recipe seems very simple, with minimum number of ingredients.
Well, why don’t you try it, and let me know. If I dont make it before you do.
Ingredients:
1/2 kg or 1 lb paneer, cut in 1/2 inch thick pieces,
2 cups water,
turmeric, (haldi)
fennel seeds powder, (saunf)
cloves (laung)
salt,
3 big tomatoes,
1/2 big onion (or 2 small), thin sliced
spices: red chilli powder, 2 cloves, 2 brown cardamoms (badi elaichi), 1 green cardamom (choti elaichi)
oil for cooking/frying
Method:
First fry paneer pieces in oil. On the other stove top, boil the water, turmeric, fennel seeds powder, cloves, and salt. The fried paneer pieces should directly be added to the boiling water with spices (be careful dropping the pieces in the pot).
In another pan, fry the onions till golden brown, then add the blended tomatoes. Cook this till oil separates out (very important). Add the spice mixture (#2) to this. When its all ready (the surface is shiny, oily), then add that to the paneer.
Let everything simmer for a few minutes. Then serve it with hot steamed rice.
June 23rd, 2008
I just remembered the Turkish restaurant we were taken to by our dear Turkish friends in NJ. The name of the restaurant is Hunkar, it has Turkish and Mediterranean food. It was very very good. I had Chicken Adana kebabs. And we ordered an appetizer sampler plate, which was a variety of dips (baba ganoush, hummus, eggplant salad, etc) along with hot fresh out of the oven breads.
All in all, a neat place to get good Turkish food with over 50 dishes on their menu. A must-go!
Address:
319 Hackensack Street,
Carlstadt, NJ 07072
Tel: 201-507-0606
June 23rd, 2008
I did a disappearing act again! Well, lots of things have happened in the past few weeks, my neice and sister in law came to visit us, then we went to Texas, met some of Yasir’s friends, then went to Detroit to bid farewell to some dear friends.
We ate out in amazing places while traveling, forgot the names of some restaurants. But I can recommend some awesome places to get good good food, especially if you are a foodie like moi!
In Dallas (Texas) we ate chicken wraps (I thought that was very unique). It was lettuce, and chutney spread with boneless tandoori bits wrapped up in a really fresh out of the oven naans (hmmm…yumm!)
Then ate Indian chinese food in another restaurant.
Then we went to Austin. One night we were treated to Italian food, I think the restaurant name was ‘Vespaio’ (Its located on Congress avenue) a couple miles from Downtown Austin. Since I didnt have much choices, I settled for a flat pasta topped with cheese and pesto sauce. It was very delicious! A huge plate, very satisfying. Only if they had some vegetables or anything on the side, cos it was just pasta, pasta and some more pasta.
Then the next day, after I had researched every restaurant in Austin, we decided to go to Clay Pit, it is an Indian restaurant, which was bought over by its head chef Mr. Singh about 9 months back. Me and Yasir are very picky and critical when it comes to Food. But we have only good things to say about this restaurant, not only was the food the best Indian food I have eaten in United States, also they serve halal goat meat. And the recipes are very unique. If I could rate this restaurant, I would put 5 stars! If ever you are in Austin, I highly recommend that you have at least one meal here. They have a restaurant in Dallas too.
Websites and addresses of restaurants I visited:
Clay Pit
1601 Guadalupe St
Austin, TX 78701
ph: 512.322.5131
4460 Belt Line Rd.
Addison, TX 75001
ph : 972.233.0111
Vespaio
1610 S Congress Ave
Austin, TX 78704
ph: 512.441.6100
Chaat Cafe
18101 Preston Rd, Suite 202,
Dallas Tx 75252
June 16th, 2008
What’s a quiche, hmmm.. it is a variation of a pie. It uses a pie crust (similar to the one used in apple pies, etc) and other ingredients. Its salty; not sweet like a pie. So its not a dessert, actually its quite the opposite. One big piece of this quiche, and you dont need anything else. Its excellent for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner! How versatile.
I am not sure if all Southeast Asians (from India and surrounding countries) will like this recipe the first time, because, salmon has a very specific taste, and this is not spicy! Over the years, my food choices have changed, and I no longer can eat extremely spicy Indian food (even if I want to). I like bland foods, where I can get the flavor of the ingredients, rather than the spices.
This is just that kind of recipe! You will get the rich taste of salmon, and the unique taste of spinach, their flavors blend so well together. A little bit of Thyme (that is the only herb used in this recipe) enhances the overall taste. I love it.
Oops, I forgot to mention, this is one of Mrs. Vanards recipes.
Ingredients:
1 Pie Crust, unbaked (Pillsbury brand, in the frozen section, or you can make your own)
1 - 8 oz salmon crumbled,
3 oz cream cheese,
1 box frozen chopped spinach, (or you can use fresh too, I think about packed 2 cups)
8 oz Monterey Jack cheese (grated)
1/2 -3/4 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp salt,
1/2 grated onion (optional)
4 eggs mixed with a cup of milk
Method:
First bake the pie crust at 375 deg F for 10 minutes. While its baking, mix together, softened cream cheese, grated Monterey jack cheese, spinach, thyme, onion, and salt. Keep this ready.
When the pie crust is baked half way, let it cool for a couple minutes, then crumble the salmon on it. Then put the spinach cheeses mixture, then finally pour the egg-milk mixture all over.
Bake this at 375 deg F for about 45 minutes, till the eggs are firm.
Cut a slice, and serve immediately!
To store, cool it completely, then lay over a wax paper. Refrigerate.
Note: Another variation try chicken and mushrooms. I think that would be delicious. I must try that myself!
May 20th, 2008
Reshmi Kebab has a special little place in my heart! I used to eat it in restaurants in India, where they served it with mint-coriander chutney (pudina and dhania chutney). It is a great appetizer! When done right, it really melts in your mouth. I think marination is the key.
My friend Tehsin is into barbecuing these days, and she happened to experiment with a few ingredients, and she says, this recipe is pretty close to the Reshmi kebabs served back home in India.
I am going to try it this weekend. And I will let you all know for sure, what I think. But till then if you would like to try it out, here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
2 Onions (grilled on barbecue or in oven, wrapped in aluminum foil) till smooshy
few green hot peppers,
Whole Spices: 2 tsp coriander seeds (akha dhania) , 2-3 cardamom (elaichi), 4-5 cloves (laung) , cinnamon stick (daalchini)
3 tbsp yogurt,
1 tbsp garlic,
salt, black pepper
Chicken breast (or boneless chicken, any part)
skewers (bamboo, or metal)
Method:
Grind all the listed ingredients in a blender (except the chicken). Cut chicken in little cubes and marinate it in the prepared marinade for atleast 5-6 hours, the longer the marination, the velvety your kebabs will be.
Put them on the skewers, and at this point, you have 2 options. Either you can grill them, or if you dont have a grill, then you can just fry in the pan, with a little oil. (If you dont have a pan big enough to hold the skewers, trim off the skewers to the desired size).
Serve hot with mint chutney!!
May 19th, 2008
I got this Betty Crocker Cooky recipe book from Mrs. Vanard, and it is a really old book. I have to look up the book details, it has wonderful cookie recipes (including brownies, bars, etc). Here is the website address: http://www.bettycrocker.com/
I made the stir and drop cookies(sugar and oatmeal), what it means is, you put your ingredients and stir, and then with a tsp drop them on a cookie sheet.
The sugar recipe yielded lots of cookies (unfortunately, I put either too much of the vanilla essence or the fresh grated lemon rind) because it has a bitter after taste. I have to see how to use them with something else, so the bitter taste gets neutralized. Other than that, it is really easy, and they look so cute!!
Click here for the recipe on Betty Crocker website, or go to: http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipeID=7280&Source=SearchResultPage
The only thing extra in my recipe is the 1/2 tsp lemon rind (grated lemon skin, but I think you leave that out, maybe that was what gave the bitterness, I must have not grated it right!)
The oatmeal cookie made a small batch of cookies (about 20 something). But they are soooooo good! I think i am going to make another batch if possible. I couldn’t find this recipe on the website.
And did I mention, I am not a baker, and I could still manage these recipes!
May 19th, 2008
Just pictures today to titillate your senses! Mrs. Vanard, or Jeanie as everyone calls her, is the best neighbor anyone could have! And I am lucky to be her neighbor!
These are a couple things she made recently, I am putting up pictures now, I just have to get the recipes from her soon. She also made oatmeal and sugar cookies, but I ate all of them before I could get to my camera! 
May 16th, 2008
Banana Split Sundae is an all around favorite! Its practically made in every country, if not, you should start it! This is not really a recipe, its more like an assembly to make Banana Split Sundae. It cannot get easier than this.
You could modify or add to this recipe. It is very very flexible and there are no rules. Actually, just one rule, you have to have a split banana to start with… duh!
Ingredients:
Banana, split, lengthwise
vanilla ice cream,
Toppings:
Strawberry Syrup (or homemade straweberry sauce I have to get this recipe from Ulfet, she makes a killer fresh Strawberry sauce),
Chocolate Sauce, and
Crushed Pineapple (from a can is the easiest, or you could cut up fresh Pineapple)
Whipped Cream
Method:
First put the split banana in a dish, then put 3 scoops of icecream over it. Drizzle on one scoop, lots of strawberry syrup or sauce, then on the middle scoop put crushed pineapple, on the last scoop, my favorite part, lots of chocolate syrup. Finally garnish it with whipped topping!!!
So, what do you say, for the next barbecue, Banana split sundaes for your friends and family. You don’t even have to make all of them, just organize all the ingredients in an assembly line, and ask your guests to make them to their liking. You could also have nuts like walnuts, pecans, and fresh fruits like strawberry, pineapple, etc as extra toppings!
May 12th, 2008
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