MINCED BEEF & POTATO CURRY

Ingredients

1. 1kg lean minced beef
2. 2 medium onions, chopped finely
3. 60ml vegetable oil
4. 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
5. 2 teaspoons ginger, minced
6. 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
7. Approx ½ teaspoon red cayenne powder (more or less to taste)
8. 1 tablespoon ground coriander
9. 2 teaspoons ground cumin
10. 2 teaspoons garam masala 
11. salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
12. 5 medium potatoes diced, preferably parboiled
13. handful of coriander to garnish
14. 150ml water

Method

1. In a large pan, heat the oil on medium high and add the onions.
2. Fry gentley onions until golden and slightly caramelised.
3. Lower heat to medium and add the garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrance released.
4. Add the turmeric, cumin, coriander and the garam masala and cook for about two minutes.
5. Add the minced beef  to the onion and spices and mix together.
6. At this stage season with cayenne pepper to taste and stir occasionally.
7. When the minced beef mixture is cooked through add the parboiled potatoes.
8. Add the water to the pan and cover. This will allow the potatoes to cook all the way through.
9. Uncover when they are almost soft to allow the curry to dry out a bit by evaporating some of the water.
10. If you intend using  raw potatoes, you will probably need to add more water and cook for an extra ten minutes or so until they are softened and cooked through.
11. Garnish with fresh coriander and season to taste with salt & black pepper.

Potato/egg Cutlets...
Ingredients:
boiled and mashed potatoes 1/2 k.g hard boiled eggs 4-5 green peas boiled and slightly mashed 1/4 cup cumin seeds roasted and crushed 1-1/2 tsp coriander seeds roasted and crushed 1 tsp garlic paste 1/2 tsp chilli flakes 1 tsp (less or more) salt to taste chilli powder 1/2 tsp (less or more) green chillies chopped 1-2 coriander chopped 1/4 bunch onion finely chopped 1/4 cup bread crumbs as required egg 1 (beaten)
Method:
cut the boiled egg in 4 pieces (length wise) In a bowl mix mashed potatoes, peas and all the ingredients except beaten egg and crumbs. Take a little amount of potatoes mixture and keep the boiled egg inside .wet your palm with water or cooking oil and give a shape of egg ,now dip the cutlet into the beaten egg and roll it in bread crumbs, keep all the cutlets in fridge for at least 15 minutes, deep fry them till golden brown and crispy, serve hot with your desired dip..

Spicy Chicken and Rice 

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes with mild green chilies, undrained
• 2 medium green peppers, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper
• 6 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream

• Directions

  1. Place chicken in a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, green peppers, onion, garlic, paprika, salt, cumin and chipotle pepper; pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is tender.
  2. Remove chicken; cool slightly. Shred with two forks and return to the slow cooker. Stir in rice and beans; heat through. Garnish with cheese and sour cream.
  
  

Spicy-Sweet Chinese Chicken

Spicy-Sweet Chinese Chicken

2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

¼ tsp. ground ginger

½-1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

¼ cup apple juice

⅓ cup packed light brown sugar

2 tbsp. ketchup

1 tbsp. cider vinegar

½ cup water

⅓ cup low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tbsp. water

In a large skillet, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat. 

Add the chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the pan to a paper-towel lined plate to drain. 

Add the garlic, ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, apple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, ½ cup water and soy sauce to the skillet and cook over medium-high heat until well mixed and the sugar dissolves, stirring occasionally. 

Add the chicken back into the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer for 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. 

In a small cup or bowl, combine the cornstarch with the 1 tbsp. water and add the slurry to the skillet. Turn the heat to high and continue to cook and stir until the sauce thickens slightly. 

Dahi Bhalla Chaat

Ingredients

• For preparing Vadas"
• Black gram lentil - 1 cup, urad dal without skin, washed, soaked for 3 hours
• Yellow moong dal - 2 tbsps, soak for 2 hours (optional)
• Ginger - 2″ piece
• Green chilies - 2 to 3
• Salt to taste
• oil for deep frying
• To prepare dahi bhalla chaat:
• Fresh curd - 2 cups, thick yogurt (it should not be sour)
• Water - 1 1/2 to 2 cups
• Powdered sugar - 1 1/2 heaped tbsps
• Red chilli powder - 1 heaped tbsp, approx
• Roasted cumin powder - 1 heaped tbsp, apporx
• Chaat masala powder -1 heaped tbsp, approx
• Pomegranate seeds - 1/2 cup
• Green chutney - 3/4 cup, approx
• Sweet tamarind chutney - 3/4 cup, approx
• Sev for garnish
• Fresh coriander leaves for garnish

Method

1. Grind the urad dal, moong dal, green chilies, ginger and salt together to a fine pase. Add very very little cold water while grinding. (approx 2-3 tbsps). Remove to a wide bowl. Using your hand or hand beater, beat the batter for a good 5 mts till it is airy and light.
2. Pre-heat oil in a deep frying vessel, slowly drop large lemon sized quantity of batter into the hot oil. Deep fry on medium heat for sometime and then fry on high heat till golden brown.
3. Remove these deep fried vadas into a bowl of luke warm water and place them in it for a mt. Remove and gently press between your palms so that excess water oozes out. Keep them aside.
4. Finish making vadas with the rest of the remaining batter and put them in water like you did for the earlier batch, remove excess water and keep aside.
5. Beat curd well till smooth and add the water as required, 1/4 tsp red chilli pwd and 1/4 tsp cumin pwd and salt to taste.
6. Place the vadas in a serving bowl and pour the chilled curd mixture evenly all over the vadas, covering them completely.
7. Chill the vadas for sometime before serving. At the time of serving, take 2-3 vadas and place them in a serving plate, pour 2 tbsps of green chutney followed by 2 tbsps of sweet imli chutney, sprinkle some chaat powder, roasted cumin powder and and garnish with sev, fresh coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds.

Chicken Tikka Kebabs

Chicken Tikka Kebabs

Ingredients:
3lbs Chicken 
2 Tbs of canola oil
wood skewers 

The Marinate:
2 inches of ginger peeled and grated
4-6 cloves of garlic
1 cup plain yogurt ( I used Greek Yogurt)
2 Tbs of gram masala
1/2 tsp turmeric powder 
2 Tbs of paprika
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of salt (or to taste)
1 tsp of red chili powder
Directions:

Mix all the marinate together and then add the chicken.  Mix well until all the ingredients coats the chicken. Marinate the meat in a ziploc bag or a bowl that you can seal.

When you are ready to cook your Chicken Tikka, take it out of the fridge for 30-45 minutes to get the chill off the meat. I skewered mine on wooden skewers here.  Since I was cooking them on the stove top I didn't bother soaking the skewers and they were fine.  If you decide to broil yours in the oven, I would suggest you soak the skewers in water for 20 minutes before skewering up the chicken.

I used a flat griddle to cook the tikkas.  I oiled the griddle with about 1 Tbs of oil and allowed it to get heated on high heat. I placed the skewers down and lowered the heat to medium heat after about a minute. You want the chicken to cook on each side fully without burning the outside of the chicken.

Apply oil on the other side of the skewers before you flip them over.   You will want to stand there and baby-sit the chicken skewers.  I did flip the skewers several times to make sure all the sides of the chicken got heated. Cook until the chicken is cooked through.

Slow Cooker French Dip

Ingredients

• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 c beef broth
• ¼ c soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp mustard
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 lb beef shoulder roast, trim the fat
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 8 french bread rolls
• 16 slices of provolone cheese

Instructions

1. lay onion and garlic in the bottom of the slow cooker
2. in a small bowl combine the broth, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard
3. pour broth mixture into the slow cooker
4. rub the salt and pepper on all sides of the roast
5. place on top of the onions
6. place in the bay leaves into the broth mixture on the sides of the roast
7. cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 7 hours
8. remove the roast and shred the meat
9. return the meat to the broth and cook for a few more minutes while you prepare the rolls
10. slice the rolls in half, lengthwise and toast in the oven until golden brown
11. remove from the oven and place the shredded meat on the bottom half of the roll and cover with two slices of provolone cheese and return the bottom of the sandwiches to the oven until the cheese is melted.
12. remove and place the top of the bun on the bottom of the sandwich
13. serve with a little bowl of the cooking juice to dip the sandwiches in
14. enjoy!