Pizza Tarts

These delicious little tarts really pack a punch. They're great as a whole meal or as an appetizer. They're quick and easy to make, and once made, they're easy to freeze for lunches or big parties!

Pizza Tarts

Serves: 2
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 15 mins

Ingredients:
2 frozen short crust pastry sheets
1 cup pasta sauce
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped feta cheese
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 medium tomato, thinly sliced
1 small capsicum, thinly sliced
Chopped spinach leaves to garnish
Salt & Pepper

Direction:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C
2. Trim the edges of the pastry sheets, then cut each sheet in 4 quarters.
3. Line them up in the greased baking tray.
4. Spread pasta sauce over each sheet and top it up with sliced veggies.
5. Sprinkle feta and parmesan cheese.
6. Spray olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
7. Bake for 15 mins or until golden.
8. While serving add sliced spinach leaves to garnish.

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Noodles

This is healthy and colorful recipe which will please everyone at dinner time. Now I can make my own favourite Chinese takeaway and I know that it tastes even better and is also much healthy! This recipe can alternatively also been served with rice. 

Sweet & Sour Chicken with Noodles

         Sweet & Sour Chicken with Noodles

Serves: 2
Preparation: 15 mins
Cooking: 35 mins

Ingredients:

500gms Hokkein Noodles
1 chicken breast, thinly sliced
3 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
3 tablespoon salt-reduced soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
2.5cm piece ginger, grated
2/3 cup Orange juice
1 large onion, thickly sliced
1 large capsicum, sliced
1 bok choy, quartered
1 medium carrot, sliced
Fresh coriander to garnish
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Boil the noodles as per the packet instruction & strain & set aside.
2. Combine sweet chili sauce, soy sauce & vinegar in a bowl. 
3. Add chicken and let it marinade for 10 mins.
4. Spray oil in a large frying pan & only add strained chicken when hot.
5. In the remaining marinade add orange juice.
6. Cook the chicken for 3 - 4 minutes or until golden. Remove from the frying pan.
7. Spray the pan with some more oil and add ginger, carrot & onion followed by the rest of veggies.
8. Let the veggies turn a but soft before pouring the reserved sauce mixture, chicken and noodles.
9. Stir over high heat for a couple of minutes.
10. Garnish with coriander and serve immediately.

Lentil & Orange Salad

Lentil & Orange Salad

Lentil & Orange Salad

Serves: 2 
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 10 mins

Ingredients:

1 cup Lentil sprouts
Grated Rind of 1 orange
1 diced carrot
1 diced cucumber
1 small diced onion
1 Tablespoon roasted cashews
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup orange juice
1 teaspoon Moroccan seasoning 

Directions:

1. Combine all the salad ingredients in a mixing bowl.
2. Add with olive oil, orange juice and Moroccan seasoning.
3. Chill and serve in lunch or dinner.

Piri Piri Fish with Broad Bean Salad

Another wonderfully spiced recipe for my 2013 winter. With all the oily and over eating during winters, this below recipe is a simple classic to keep me on my diet track as well as have sharp taste  in my dinner plate. Strangely even my husband Mayank made it through with the Piri Piri seasoning mix👍.

Piri Piri Fish with Broad Bean Salad

Serves: 2
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 15 mins

Ingredients:

2 Basa Fillets
2 tablespoon Piri Piri Seasoning
1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic paste
1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
Salt to taste
Oil Spray

Broad Bean Salad
1 can Broad Beans (washed and drained)
1 Cucumber (roughly sliced)
1 small Red Capsicum (roughly sliced)
1/2 Red Onion (roughly sliced)
1 cup Mixed Salad leaves
1 teaspoon Lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Direction:

1. Mix in all the salad ingredients and keep it refrigerated until ready to serve.
2. Cut the Basa fillet into half and marrnate with the Piri Piri seasoning, ginger garlic paste and salt for 10 mins.
3. Spray the griddle pan with oil and heat it on high temperature.
4. Once hot place the marinated fish fillet and let it cook for 2-3 mins per side or until nice and crispy on both the sides.
5. In the serving dish, place the salad and stack it up with the fish fillet.
6. Drizzle some lemon juice and serve immediately.

Note: As these are my measurement, please add or subtract ingredients as per your taste.

Pepper Chicken Masala

It's the peak winter time in Australia and the best way to beat the cold is with a hot n spicy Indian curry recipe. Even though my 'pepper chicken masala' didn't have the distinct peppery taste to generate that heat, but it still was very pleasant to eat with plain paratha's and mixed salad 😋😋

Pepper Chicken Masala

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 mins
Cooking: 30 mins

Ingredients:

500 gms Chicken thigh pieces
2 medium size Onion (roughly chopped)
2 medium size Tomatoes (roughly chopped)
1 tablespoon Garlic paste
1 tablespoon Ginger paste
1 teaspoon  Red chili powder
2 teaspoon Whole Pepper (add more to make it more spicy)
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1 teaspoon Coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon Garam masala
1 teaspoon Kuskus(couscous)
6-8 Cashew nuts
2 tablespoon Oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves to garnish

Direction:

1. Soak cashew nuts in warm water for 5 mins.
2. In a pan, boil kuskus and chopped onion in 1/2 cup of water  for 3-4 minutes.
3. Grind together soaked cashewnuts and onion mix to make a fine paste.
4. Grind chopped tomatoes and pepper to a fine paste.
5. Heat oil in a kadai add ginger-garlic paste and once it is light brown, add red chili powder, turmeric powder and coriander powder.
6. Once the raw smell goes away add chicken pieces and mix well.
7. Add 1/4 cup of water to it. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
8. Once the chicken is cooked well, add cashewnut-onion paste, salt and garam masala powder to it. Mix well and cook on low flame for another 5 minutes.Remove from fire.
9. Heat 1 tbsp oil in another pan and add the tomato paste to it and cook until the oil separates from the pan.
10. Add it to the chicken mix and stir well.
11. Garnish with coriander leaves and pepper powder.

Note: Instead of cooking the tomatoes separately, you can also add this to the chicken mixture and let it cook along with the onion gravy.

Chicken Chettinad

It's so difficult to imagine that even after being born and bought up in India I haven't really tried and tasted so many traditional dishes. It's only when you travel you learn so much about your origin, different cultures, religions and food habits about your own country. This recipe is one such find that surprised me with its flavors and cooking technique.

Chicken Chettinad

                         Chicken Chettinad

Ingredients:

1 Chicken cut into medium sized pieces
1 bunch curry leaves
2 medium onions chopped
2 large tomatoes chopped
1 teaspoon each of red chilli and turmeric powders
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons oil
2 cups water
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

For paste: 
2 teaspoons poppy seeds (khus khus)
4 whole dry red chillies (Reduce this for less heat)
1 cup grated fresh coconut
1 teaspoon each of coriander, cumin and fennel seeds
1" piece cinnamon broken
2 cloves and green cardamoms each 

Directions:

1. In a little hot oil roast greeted coconut, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds. 
2. Add the dry red chillies, cinnamon, clove and the cardamom. Allow to cool.
3. Add the poppy seeds, ginger and garlic. Put everything in a blender and make a paste.
4. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan till it smokes and add the chopped onions and sauté till golden brown. 
5. Add the curry leaves and sauté for 1 minute.
6. Add the ground paste, turmeric and red chilli powders and fry till the oil separates.
7. Next add the chopped tomatoes and cook till the oil starts separate.
8. Finally add the chicken and mix well. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes.
9. Add the lemon juice and Sprinkle little salt.
10. Now pour in about 2 cups of hot water.
11. Put the lid on and cook on low heat for about 20 minutes.
12. Check the seasoning and adjust salt.
13. If chicken is cooked by now sprinkle chopped fresh coriander.
14. Cook without lid on high flame for 30 seconds and bring it to desired consistency.
15. Serve hot with Rice or Dosa or Neer Dosa.

Tip: Do not pour in cold water on chicken pieces otherwise the chicken will become chewy :)

Indian Chicken Curry

There are certain recipes that you inherit from your family, and this is exactly one of them. Basic chicken curry recipe just like how my mom made and very similar to what my mother in law makes. Simply divine.

Indian Chicken Curry

Indian Chicken Curry served with roti and onions

Serves: 4
Preparation: 20 mins
Cooking: 60 mins

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken curry pieces (preferably with bone)
3 large onion, sliced
4 small tomatoes, roughly chopped
5 cloves of garlic, grated
2 inch ginger, grated
1 tablespoon chicken curry powder or garam masala
3 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste

Dry spice
2 black cardamom
6-7 cloves
6-7 peppercorns
2 bay leaves
2 dry red chili
1 tablespoon cumin seeds

Directions:

1. In a large wok heat oil. Once oil is hot add all the dry spices and stir until aromatic.
2. Be careful bot to burn them.
3. Add sliced onions and cook for few minutes.
4. Once the onions change there color add grated ginger and garlic.
5. Let it cook for a couple of minutes before adding chicken pieces.
6. Let the chicken seal in the onions mixture.
7. Mix chicken curry powder, red chili powder and salt in warm water and pour it over chicken.
8. Reduce the flame to minimum and let the chicken cook on low heat for 15 mins or until almost chicken 80% done.
9. Add chopped tomatoes and cover the wok and keep cooking until chicken is completely cooked.
10. By the end the chicken gravy would have changed to a rich brown color.
11. Add chopped coriander and serve hot with roti's.

Note: If you feel that the mixture is sticking to the wok, then add little water instead of oil.