General Tao's chicken

General Tso's chicken (sometimes Governor Tso's chicken, General Tao's chicken, General Tsao's chicken) is a sweet and spicy, deep-fried chicken dish that is popularly served in North American Chinese restaurants.
Ingredients
1 kg boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
2 cups onions- finely chopped
8 small red dried chilies, seeds removed
Cornstarch slurry
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 egg
1 cup cornstarch
for the sauce
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh garlic, minced
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup white wine
1 litre chicken broth
Method

1. Place sauce ingredients in container with a lid and mix well. Keep aside. Mix well before using.
2. Mix cornstarch slurry in a large bowl- the mixture will be strange consistency but trust me it works. It will be VERY thick almost paste like. Dip in chicken pieces using a fork remove ONE chicken piece at a time and let the excess mixture drip off.  Deep fry the chicken pieces and remove excess oil by placing the pieces on a tissue paper.
3. In a separate wok or a large pot add a small amount of oil (you can use the same oil which was used for frying the chicken pieces) 
4. Add green onions and hot peppers and stir fry about 30 seconds.
5. Stir sauce mixture, and then add to pan with onions and peppers, cook until thick. If it gets too thick, add a little water. The thickness of the sauce should be similar to what you get when ordering this at a restaurant.
6. Add chicken to sauce in wok, and cook until it is hot and bubbly. The quicker this is done the crispier the chicken stays.
7. Serve with rice

Spaghetti Pasta in White sauce with veggies

Ingredients
1 cup chopped onion
400 gms spaghetti pasta
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp cracked black pepper
2 cups milk
3 tbsp plain flour (maida)
30 gm butter
1 tbsp dried mixed herbs
1 cup broccoli florets
1/4 cup sweet corn (optional)
1 cup chopped/sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup diced carrots (optional)
1/2 cup chopped french beans (optional)
2 tbsp grated cheese (processed/cheddar/ parmesan)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp olive oil/veg oil

Method

1. Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the cover. Drain water and keep aside.
2. Sprinkle a pinch of salt on the broccoli and steam cook for 3 minutes.
3. Heat the olive oil in a pan add the onions, cook on low heat until the onion is transparent, add garlic and cook on low heat for another minute.
4. Add the carrots and french beans, stir, cover the pan and cook for 5 min or till the carrot is almost cooked.
5. For white sauce- 
In a bowl, sieve the flour, add 1/2 of the milk and beat or stir to a smooth paste, gradually add the rest of the milk while stirring and ensuring there are no lumps. Melt the butter and add while stirring into the flour-milk mix. Add pepper, cheese. White sauce is ready.
6. Add the sweet corn, mushroom and dried herbs to the pan - cook for a further 3 minutes on medium heat. Add the white sauce to this pan. Stir continuosly.
7. Add the pasta, stir, add salt to taste and then the broccoli. Turn the heat off and mix everything.
8. Serve hot and sprinkle more grated cheese on top if you wish.

Note: If the white sauce becomes lumpy, grind it well in the mixer to get rid of the lumps. You can add some diced chicken with the onions if you like and follow the rest of the recipe.

Batata vada/ Potato vada

Batata vada or potato vada is the most common snack of Maharashtra. It is usually eaten with a Pav (bread) and called as 'Vada Pav'.I have just given the recipe for making vadas. If you want to make the 'Vada pav', just put the vadas in between a pav (bread) and enjoy it with garlic chutney and salted green chillies.

There are quite a few variations to prepare the potato stuffing. I like to season with spices, chopped onions and ginger garlic paste before combining with mashed potatoes

Ingredients

Filling

6-8 medium sized boiled potatoes

1 small piece ginger

4-5 flakes garlic

4-5 (or more) green chilies,

1/2 cup coriander leaves (chopped)

1 small onion (finely chopped)

Tempering

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

8-10 curry leaves (optional)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1 tbsp oil

Cover

2 cups gram flour (besan)

approx. 1 cup water

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp chili powder(optional)

salt to taste

oil for frying

Method

1. Grind ginger, garlic and green chilies together into a paste.
2. Peel and mash potatoes with a potato masher (or simply use hand). Do not mash completely. Let some small chunks remain.
3. Add ginger, garlic and green chili paste, coriander leaves, chopped onions and salt to the potatoes.
4. Put 1 tbsp oil in a pan/kadai. Add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add turmeric powder and curry leaves. Pour this tempering over the mashed potatoes and mix gently.
5. Make small flatballs of mashed potato mixture.
6. Add some salt, turmeric powder and chili powder to the gram flour. Add water gradually and keep mixing with a spoon or wire whisk. Remove lumps if any. The batter should not be too watery or too thick. If lifted by a spatula, it should flow in a ribbon like consistency.
7. Heat some oil in a pan. To check if oil is heated enough, drop some batter in the oil. If the batter immediately floats on the surface of the oil, the oil is ready. Also make sure that the oil is not too hot. Else, the vadas turn dark from the outside before they are actually done from the inside.
8. Now dip each ball in the batter, letting the excess batter drip off and slowly add to the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan, or the temperature of the oil reduces which in turn slows down the frying process. Like this, fry all the vadas until golden. Remove on a paper towel and drain. Batata Vadas are ready.

Chicken Keema

Ingredients
250 g - minced chicken (cleaned and washed well)
2 - medium size onions (finely chopped)
2 - tomatoes (make tomato puree or finely chop the tomatoes)
1 tbsp - oil
2 tbsp - ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp - coriander and mint leaves (chopped)
1/2 tsp - garam masala powder
a pinch - turmeric powder
1/4 tsp - red chilly powder
1 tsp - roasted coriander powder
2 boiled eggs for garnishing the keema
Method

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick kadai or pan and saute the onions on a low flame till golden.
2. Add ginger garlic paste and tomatoes (In case you are using tomato puree add it) Mix well.
3. Add all the dry masalas and saute on a low flame till oil separates. You need to saute for a longer time till colour of this paste changes to dark red.
4. Add the minced chicken and cook on a low flame for about 45 minutes.
5. Add coriander leaves. Add water (if needed) 
6. Mix well and simmer for 10 mins.
7. Serve hot with pav/bread. Garnish with half cut boiled eggs

Vaalachi Usal (Dry Hyacinth Beans curry)

Hyacinth Beans are popularly known as 'Vaal' in Marathi, 'avarekaalu' in Kanadda or 'mochai'  in Tamil. In Maharashtra some people prefer to call this curry as 'Vaalachi usal' or 'Vaalacha Birda' (Hyacinth beans curry)

Ingredients
Vaal - 1 cup (after soaking and sprouting the volume will increase to 2 cups)
2 medium size onions (1 1/2 onion -finely chopped, 1/2 onion for making paste)
ginger about 1 inch
garlic 15-20
coriander leaves for garnish, and 1/2 cup for making masala
1 green chilli (This depends how spicy you want your curry to be)
jeera seeds 1 tbs
coriander seeds 1/2 tbs
red chilli powder as per taste (depends how much spicy you want the curry)
salt as per taste
turmeric 1 tbs
mustard seeds 1 tbs
hing 1/2 tbs
amsul (garnicia indica) 4-5  (or use 4-5 pieces of raw mango when raw mango is in season)
fresh grated coconut -1/2 cup (1/2 cup coconut milk can be used too)
jaggery 1 tbs
Oil 2 tbs
water - as required (to make curry like consistency)

For making the masala

1. Grind 1/2 onion, garlic, ginger, green chilli(s), jeera, coriander seeds (add little water if needed. Keep aside.
2. Separately grind freshly grated coconut (add water to make it a paste like consistency) Keep aside. Do not mix with the masala made in step 1 above.

Method
These beans are dried ones and needs to be soaked for 8 hours, then tied in a muslin cloth for sprouting for another 8-10 hours. Then you need to remove the brown cover and what you get is white beans as shown in the picture above. This is a 2 day process but the end product is an amazing curry!!

1. Heat oil in a non stick pan (or kadhai) and add mustard seeds, hing. Let the spices splutter for sometime. Add the chopped onion and saute for a while.
2. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder and the masala done in step 1 above
3. Saute for 1/2 a minute. Add the vaal (beans).
4. Keep stirring for 2-3 minutes. Put 1 cup water and bring it to a boil.
5. The best way to cook these beans is to cover the pan/kadhai with a lid/plate and add some water on this lid/plate. (this method will help fast cooking of the Vaal (beans) Test the beans if they are cooked by breaking them in two pieces. Add water to make it a curry like consistency.
6. Add amsul, fresh grated coconut (or coconut milk ), salt and jaggery
7. Garnish with coriander leaves.
8. Enjoy this curry with steamed rice/ rotis and nice spicy pickle!!

 

Shahi Dum Aloo

Ingredients
Baby Potatoes – ½ kilo
Onion – 2 large
Tomatoes – 2 nos
Black jeera (Kalaunji) 1 teaspoon
Coriander (Dhania) seeds – 1 teaspoon
Cumin (Jeera) Seeds – 1 tablespoon
Fennel (Saunf) – 1 tablespoon
Garlic peels – 6-8 pcs
Ginger – sliced into thin long pcs – about 10 pcs
Red Chillies (Kashmiri preferably) – 3-4 nos
Black pepper – ½ teaspoon
Salt to taste
Thick curds – 2table spoon – a little sour
Fresh cream – 2 table spoons
Kismis – 1 tablespoon
Cashewnuts – about  pcs
Coriander leaves – 1 small bunch
Cooking oil or mustard oil – 4 tablespoons

Method

1. Grind one onion with dhania, jeera, saunf, red chilli, black pepper, garlic into a coarse paste with a little water and keep aside. (This is the masala paste)
2. Half Boil the baby potatoes with skin (if preferred) and poke a hole into each of them and then deep fry them with salt and keep aside. (If you do not want to deep fry the potatoes, fully boil them and peel off the skin and keep aside)
3. Grind tomatoes into a puree with cashewnut and keep aside.
4. Beat the curds and keep aside.
5. In a large Pan (Kadai) heat oil and add kalaunji on low heat. Once it sputters, add the finely cut onion (one) and masala paste and fry well. The oil will leave the sides of the paste at this stage add the tomato and cashew paste and continue to fry on low fire. Let it simmer well and cook together with the masala. Now add salt and once all cooked add the thin long pcs of ginger, curds and some water (to make a gravy). Cook for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes, fresh cream and the kismis and cover with lid and cook on dum on a very low fire for about 15 mins.
6. Serve with plain paratha/roti 

Chicken & Veg Stew

This is a quick meal which is serve steamed rice. It is easy to make and a wholesome meal for a lazy weekend lunch/ dinner!
Vegetarians can use Tofu instead of chicken. I have once prepared the veg version of this recipe and thought of cooking it with chicken this time.

Ingredients
1/2 kg boneless chicken cubes
1 yellow bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 carrot
5-6 button mushrooms
5-6 babycorns
1 small size brocolli
2 tbs cornstarch/ cornflour
6-7 red chiilies
2 tbs oil
butter 1 tbs
1 ltr chicken stock/ vegetable stock
garlic crushed 10-15 clove
salt as per taste

Method

1. Wash and cut all the vegetables (bell peppers, brocolli, carrots, mushrooms, baby corns) in cubes. Par boil the carrots and baby corn (as it takes longer time to cook) with a pinch of salt and keep aside. All the rest of the vegetables can be boiled later while cooking the dish.
2. Boil the chicken in 1.5 litres of water. Let the chicken cook properly. Remove the chicken pieces and keep the stock aside for later use.
3. Heat oil and butter in a cooking pot and add the red chillies. Let them sputter for some time and add the crushed garlic. 
4. Add all the vegetables in the pot along with chicken. Add the entire chicken stock.
5. Mix cornstarch/corn flour with little bit of water and add it to the cooking pot. Stir in continuosly while adding cornstarch/corn flour.
6. Add salt as per taste. Bring it to a boil. Check for the consistency of the sauce/gravy. It should not be watery or very thick. 
7. Serve with steamed / boiled rice.