Super Easy.....CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN HASSELBACK STYLE

Looks do matter when it comes to food…so what if it is crispy fried chicken?

Make it differently and impress everyone including yourself !

Calling all chicken lovers…come try this recipe. J

CRISPY FRIED CHICKEN HASSELBACK STYLE

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts – 2

Egg - 1

All purpose flour - about 1/2 cup

Bread crumbs - as required /(a cup)

Oil - for deep frying

Salt and pepper- to taste

 

Method:

1.    Clean the chicken breast. Make cuts that are ½ cm thick,  ¾ way down into the breast piece all along the length. You may place the piece in between two chopsticks and then slice. This way you can ensure that you do not cut all the way through by mistake.

2.    Once the cuts have been made, the breast piece will look like an accordion.

3.    Season it with salt and pepper. You may use any other additional seasoning that you like.

4.    Break the egg into a large flat bowl in which the pieces of meat will fit in comfortably. Beat it and leave aside.

5.    Keep the flour in a large dish. Lift the meat and place it into the flour. Coat the chicken with the flour making sure not to miss out any of the cuts.

6.    Put it into the beaten egg. Coat well with the egg … especially the cuts.

7.    Lift the chicken and drain off the excess egg from it.

8.    Place it into the breadcrumbs and coat it well. Make sure to cover the cuts and folds. Shake off the excess crumbs.

9.    Let it rest in the fridge for 30 mins.

10. Heat oil in a wok or pan for deep frying. Fry the chicken in the medium hot oil till it is cooked. This should take 3-5 mins depending on the size of the chicken piece.

11. Drain on absorbent paper and serve hot with fries/wedges, mayonnaise and onion rings.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017

Tangy Eggplant and Potato....Aloo Baingan Chatpata

Brinjal or eggplant is not a popular vegetable in my family. So, it becomes difficult to come up with ways to make it interesting….Well this is one of the interesting ones.

I have based this recipe on a Sri Lankan pickle dish with brinjals that I had watched on TV.

Though this recipe retains some of the ingredients from the original one, I have modified it to include  the ingredients I had at hand.

Tangy and mustardy….it is just right!

I’m sure your folks will like it too J

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFya7Iibe8A&t=3s

ALOO BAINGAN CHATPATA                                            Serves 4

Ingredients:

Brinjal – 1 large or 2 medium cut into long pieces

Potatoes – 3 medium cut into large pieces and par boiled

Onions – 3 medium cut into chunks

Green Chillies – 3 to 4

Curry leaves – 8 to 10

Mustard seed - ½ tsp

Cumin Seed - ½  tsp

Coriander pdr – 1tsp

Turmeric pdr - ½ tsp

Cumin pdr - ½ tsp

Red Chilli pdr - ½ tsp

Ginger Garlic – 1 tsp grated

Sugar – 1 tsp heaped

Salt – to taste

Vegetable Oil – for deep frying + 2 tblsp

Vinegar – 2 to 3 tsp

Mustard paste or Kasundi – 1 tblsp

Water – ½ cup

Method:

1.    Deep fry the potato pieces till golden in colour.

2.    Squeeze out excess water from the brinjal and deep fry in batches till cooked.
3.    Fry the onions till light pink in colour. Then fry the chillies on low heat or they may burst open.

4.    In another pan, heat 2 tblsp of oil. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. Let crackle. Add the curry leaves and fry till crispy. Reduce the heat.
5.    Add in the ginger-garlic followed by the dry spices – turmeric pdr, cumin pdr, coriander pdr, red chilli pdr. Mix well. Add ½ cup of water. Cook briefly. Add in the mustard past and vinegar and mix well. Turn off the heat.

6.    Add the sugar and salt and mix. Now add in the fried brinjal, potato, onion and chilli. Mix to coat the vegetables in the mustard sauce.

7.    Cook on low heat stirring the vegetables for about a minute.

8.    Turn off the heat and serve hot with puri or parantha or garlic brea

NOTE: *You may replace the onions with shallots.

             *The amount of vinegar may be increased slightly to make it more tangy.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017

Mac n Cheese with a slight variation....

For those days that you want to indulge yourself….here is the ever popular Mac n Cheese with a slight variation.

 I added some chicken sausages to make it interesting….you can just add whatever you have in the fridge. For a vegetarian version you may add in corn or mushroom.

It is one of those that you would want to eat straight from the baking dish itself!

Sharing the video link to this recipe :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQeULxBJXuU&t=38s

MAC N CHEESE N CHICKEN                                                                  Serves 4

Ingredients:

Macaroni (boiled) – 2 cups

Processed Cheese (grated) – 1 cup heaped (or Chedder)

Sausage (pieces)  – ½ cup

Bread Crumbs – 3 tblsp

Warm Milk – 2 cups + a little extra

Butter – 2 tblsp

Extra Virgin Olive Oil – 1 tblsp

Refined Flour – 2 tblsp

Pepper pdr – ¼ tsp

Nutmeg pdr – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Method:

1.    For the white sauce, use a thick bottom pan on very low heat. Add in a bit of the olive oil followed by the butter. The oil prevents the butter from browning.

2.    When the butter has melted and combined with the oil, add in the flour. Use a whisk to mix it up.

3.    Cook on low heat stirring constantly for about 2 mins or till the flour is cooked. You will know from the smell. Do not over cook or, the flour may take on some colour which is not desirable.

4.    Add in the warm milk and mix it quickly with the whisk to avoid any lumps.

5.    Cook the sauce on low heat till it just starts to boil. It will coat the sides of the pan and the whisk at this stage.

6.    Turn off the heat and add in the salt, pepper pdr and nutmeg pdr. Add most of the cheese reserving some for later use. Mix well. Keep aside. If the sauce becomes too thick add in a little milk to make it runny.

7.    In a large bowl, add in the macaroni, sausage pieces and ¾  of the white sauce. Mix it up.

8.    Prepare a baking dish by brushing it with oil or butter.

9.    Pour in the macaroni. Top it up with the remaining white sauce.

10. Mix the bread crumbs with some oil or melted butter. Sprinkle on top of the macaroni along with some grated cheese.

11. Grill or bake at 200°C for 5 mins or till the cheese melts and the bread crumbs turn crispy golden.

12. Serve hot.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017

A spicy paneer dish ...PANEER MATAR MAKAI .... with video

Hello friends.... I am happy to announce that I have also started my own channel on YouTube by the same name as my blog .... Rinki's Kitchen...  check it out.

A craving for something #spicy can be the perfect driver for invention! This recipe was invented with the common spices available at hand. However, the intention was to combine them and the other ingredients to create a special flavourful dish that is really simple to cook.

Give it a try and let me know how it turned out. It has become popular with those that have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jDfzX5jXSM&t=2s

PANEER MATAR MAKAI                                              Serves 4

Ingredients

Paneer/Cottage Cheese – 200g (cut into small cubes)

Maida/Refined flour – 2 tblsp

Shelled Peas – ½ cup (boiled)

Sweet Corn Kernels – ½ cup

Green Chillies – optional

Tomato paste – of  3 medium tomatoes

Vegetable oil – 2 tblsp + for deep frying

Spice Mix:

Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp

Haldi/Turmeric pdr – ¾ tsp

Kashmiri/Red Chilli pdr – ½ tsp

Coriander pdr – 1½ tsp

Cummin pdr – ½ tsp

Chaat Masala – 1 tsp

Garam Masala pdr – ½ tsp

Sugar – ½ tsp

Salt – to taste

Water – 1 cup

Method

1. Toss the #paneer cubes in the flour to coat them well. Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown, drain on absorbent tissue and keep aside.
2. In a large bowl, add the tomato paste followed by the spice mix. Using a spoon or whisk combine all the ingredients till thoroughly mixed.
3. Heat 2 tblsp of oil in a pan. Add in the tomato and spice mix paste.
4. Reduce the heat and cook the paste for 2 mins stirring constantly till it is well done and oil starts to separate from the masala paste. Add ¼ cup of water to the pan and mix it in. At this point you may add in some chopped green chillies or whole chillies as per your taste and cook for a few minutes.
5. Add the corn and peas and cook for a further 3 mins.
6. Now,  add the paneer cubes to the gravy and mix well to coat them with the gravy. Pour in ½ cup of water (you may add more water for a thinner gravy) and cook for another 2 mins.
7. If you have added whole green chillies, remove them.
8. Turn off the heat and pour the Paneer Matar Makai into the serving bowl. Garnish with chopped #coriander and ginger juliennes.
9. Serve hot with any bread or rice.

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2017

Cake Blog

Dear visitors
With great joy I share with you my cake blog....

https://www.facebook.com/cakewalk26

Have been very busy with my baking and that is the reason for not having posted here since February.....hope to return soon with an interesting recipe....in the meantime do stop by my other blog on Facebook.

Would love to share my baking tales with you all.

Ciao

 

SUKHA ALOO MASALA

#Potatoes ….have them in any form fried, baked, in pies, in salads or just as a simple vegetable dish to go with your puri or paratha. I love any kind of #aloo ki sabzi …

Came across this recipe on a TV show and had to try it out….but of course it was totally customized according to the ingredients at hand!

The outcome however was really exciting for me to share with all of you….

Find out for yourself….

And yes you could customize it to suit your taste perfectly J

Sukha Aloo Masala              Serves 2 - 3

 Ingredients

Potatoes (boiled) – 2 large or 4 medium

Cumin seeds – ½ tsp

Mustard seeds  – ½ tsp

Green chilli – 1 tsp chopped finely or to taste

Coriander pdr – ½ tsp

Cumin pdr  – ½ tsp

Red chilli pdr – ¼ tsp

Turmeric/ Haldi pdr – ¼ tsp

Salt – to taste

Asafoetida/ Hing – ¼ tsp

Dry Mango pdr/ Amchur -  – ½ tsp

Fresh coriander – a small bunch chopped

Oil – 2 tblsp

 Method

1. Boil, peel and cut the potatoes into dices.
2. Place the potato pieces in a large bowl and add the coriander, cumin, red chilli pdrs to them. Add salt and turmeric pdr and mix well. Keep aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add the mustard and cumin seeds to the hot oil and let splutter. Add the asafetida and mix it in.
4. Tip in the potato pieces into the oil and cook on medium heat stirring well till they take on a slight colour.
5. Add the Dry mango pdr and the chopped coriander and mix in well.
6. Take off the heat and serve with a bread of your choice.

Note: You could add ginger or garlic or ginger-garlic paste to the oil to flavor it differently.

            Chaat Masala or Lime juice may be used in place of the Amchoor pdr.

GINGERBREAD

It’s that time of the year again when you want to bake your heart out. 

There are so many wonderful and traditional recipes to choose from. Everyone in the family awaits eagerly for the baked goodies. 

The spirit of the season has certainly possessed me and I do not want to let down myself for not “baking” enough.

Here is an excellent recipe to try out for sure…

This recipe is my adaptation of a recipe by Rachel Ray’s sister Maria Betar ….

#GINGERBREAD

Ingredients

Maida/All purpose flour – 2 ¼ cup

Butter (salted) – ½ cup plus extra for greasing

Brown Sugar -  1/2 cup

Molasses – 1 cup

Hot water – ½ cup

Ground ginger – 1 tsp

Ground cinnamon – 1 tsp

Ground nutmeg – ¼  tsp

Ground clove – ¼ tsp

Salt – ½ tsp

Egg – I large

Baking soda – 1 tsp

Baking pdr – a pinch

Method

1. Mix the molasses, butter and hot water in a bowl. Combine till the butter has melted.

2. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and the ground spices into a large bowl.

3. Add sugar to the flour mixture and combine together with a whisk or fork.

4. In a small bowl break the egg and whisk it lightly.

5. Once the liquid mixture has cooled slightly, add it to the bowl of flour and mix well.

6. Now, add the beaten egg to the mix and combine thoroughly. You may use an electric mixer here.

7. Have a tin greased and dusted with flour ready. I used a 20x20 square tin.

8. Bake on a preheated oven at 150°C for about and hour. Check at 50 mins with a skewer inserted in the middle.

9. Serve warm with a drizzle of orange glaze and a sprinkling of candied ginger bits.

TO MAKE THE ORANGE GLAZE

Sift 4 tbsp of icing sugar into a bowl. Add a few drops of orange juice at a time and combine with a whisk till you get a thick pouring consistency. 

© Rinki’s Kitchen 2013