Monthly Archives

July 2014

bake casserole cheddar chicken creamy spinach

Creamy Chicken & Spinach Bake

This is a healthy and hearty FAMILY favorite ! Chicken and spinach are excellent together, and if you have kids who don’t eat veggies…this is something they’d love – rich in iron, vitamins and proteins. Oh! and how can I forget loaded with cheese. I like using cheddar cheese but you can use any variety of cheese such as Parmesan or mozzarella, any would work too.

Prepare this hearty, budget-friendly, quick-fix dish at your parties or for the weekend and “tickle those taste-buds”

Ingredients

  • Butter                             4 Tbsp
  • All-purpose flour            4 Tbsp
  • Cream                           1/2 Cup
  • Milk                               2 Cup
  • Salt                                1/2 tsp or to taste
  • Black pepper                 1/2 tsp
  • White pepper                 1/4 tsp
  • Grated cheddar cheese   1/2 Cup
  • Shredded Chicken          1 1/2 cup (boiled)
  • Spinach                           1/2 cup (chopped and boiled)
  • Chicken Broth                 1/2 cup
  • Breadcrumbs                   1/2 cup

Method

  1. In a large pot melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and mix well until foamy
  2. Now slowly add in milk and stir continuously to avoid any lumps. Let it boil and simmer for 2-3 minutes until it thicken.
  3. Remove the pot from heat and mix in cream, salt, black pepper and white pepper. Mix well
  4. Add chicken and spinach to the mixture mix. Now add the chicken broth and mix well again. (check for the consistency before adding the entire cup of broth, the mixture shouldn’t be too runny)
  5. Let the mixture boil for another 2 minutes. Turn off heat and taste check
  6. Transfer the mixture in a casserole dish. Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese and top with bread crumbs.
  7. Pop the dish in the oven for about 8-10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and crumbs are golden brown.
  8. Serve hot!
Serves: 8
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Chinese egg roll egg wrap vegetable

Chinese Egg Wraps

Wraps and rolls are timeless appetizers and are also great as party finger foods or an evening snack. They also are handy to serve guests as these can be prepared and frozen in advance.

There is generally a confusion about the difference between egg wraps/rolls and spring rolls. According to my information and knowledge, Egg wraps are a Chinese style snack that consists of shredded meat and vegetables wrapped in dough made with egg and deep-Fried. Whereas, Spring rolls is a snack that consists of vegetables wrapped in a thin sheet of flour that becomes delicately crisp when fried. It’s said that spring rolls led to the creation of egg rolls/wraps. (That’s quite interesting.. No?)

This recipe is interesting too and hey! everything in this recipe is home made, yes even the egg wraps. So let’s get started with the recipe.

Ingredients

For Stuffing:

  • Boiled and shredded Chicken     2 Cups
  • Carrots                                      2 julienne
  • Cabbage                                    1/2 head shredded
  • Capsicum                                   2 julienne
  • Soy  Sauce                                2 Tbsp
  • Chili Sauce                                 2  Tbsp
  • Oyster Sauce                              2  Tbsp
  • Black Pepper powder                 1  tsp (or according to taste)
  • Salt                                            To taste
  • Chinese Salt                                1 tsp (optional) – I used it in my recipe
  • Garlic Cloves                              3 minced
  • Ginger                                         1 tsp freshly grated
  • Green Chilies                               3 finely chopped
  • Vegetable Oil                               2-3 Tbsp
For Egg Wraps
  • Plain Flour                                  2 Cups
  • Eggs                                           2
  • Water                                         2.5 Cups
  • Salt                                             1.5 tsp
For Slurry
  • Cornflour                                    1-2 Tbsp
  • Water                                          1/4 Cup

Method

For Stuffing:

  1. Boil and shred the chiken
  2. In a wok or medium pan, heat oil. Add to it garlic and stir fry when it starts to change color add green chilies and ginger saute’ for about 30 seconds. Add soy sauce and mix 
  3. Now add to it boiled and shredded chicken, salt, pepper, Chinese salt and mix well. 
  4. Add the vegetables to the mixture, turn heat to medium high and stir fry vegetables until carrots have softened. (At this stage you will add oyster sauce – if you’re using it) toss well.
  5. Take the mixture out in a bowl and allow it to cool. (Make sure the mixture is cool when you start wrapping)
For Egg Wrap

  1. To make the batter, mix all ingredients together in a large bowl using a balloon whisk or you can even blend it in the blender. (Make sure there are no lumps in the mixture)
  2. Heat a pan onto medium heat. Pour 1/2 a ladle of batter on to the pan and quickly tilt it so that it covers the pan.
  3. Cook it from one side only. (remove from pan when the sides begin to curl)
It will look like this:

For Slurry

  1. In a small bowl, mix cornflour and water. A paste will be formed. This will be used to seal the wraps

To Make the Wraps

  1. Keep the filling on the uncooked side of the wrap. Place the filling as a line on the side facing you. (Make sure to leave some gap around the edges)
  2. Now carefully fold the left and right side of the wrapper over the mixture 
  3. Gently pull away the edges of the wrapper facing you and roll over the filling
  4. Continue to fold the roll. Seal the end with the slurry 
  5. Prepare all the rolls in the similar manner. You can either freeze the prepared rolls and fry later.
  6. For Frying: Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and shallow fry the wraps until golden.
  7. Serve hot with chili sauce!
Serves: 7-8
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baingan brinjal curry dahi spices yogurt

Brinjal with Yogurt (Dahi Baingan)

This is yet another simple but yummilicious recipe. When I ate this for the first time, I was quite impressed with how quick it was to make and tasted so good. The tangy flavor of the yogurt mixed with spices, surely tantalizes your taste buds. The Good part about this recipe is, that you can have it as is, with aromatic and fragrant white rice or even with chapatti.

Ingredients

  • Brinjals (Baingan) – 6 to 8
  • Yogurt                  – 1 Cup
  • Salt                      –  To Taste
  • Red Chili powder –   2-3 teaspoons
  • Ghee/Oil               –  For frying

Method

  1. Wash and cut brinjals. Keep in water until further use
  2. Heat ghee in a pan or griddle on medium heat. Shallow fry brinjal slices in it until golden. Set aside
  3. In the same ghee add red chili powder, mix for a minute then add whisked yogurt, keep mixing.
  4. Now add salt. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes and add fried brinjals to it
  5. Reduce heat and cook covered for 5-10 minutes
  6. Serve hot with boiled rice or chapatti

Serves: 5-6
 

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