By DEBBIE FERNS.
. So here are a few recipes that will chase your winter blues away and leave you feeling warm and fuzzy in your tummy!
Chicken 65
1kg boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 tsp mixed powder of cloves, cinnamon and cardamom
1-1/2 tsp garlic paste
1 -1/2 tsp ginger paste
2 tsp red chilly powder
2 tsp all-purpose flour
1 egg
4 drops red food colouring
2 cups yoghurt
12 green chillies
2 tsp cornflour
3 tsp lime juice
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt to taste
Onions, for garnishing
Mix cornflour, all purpose flour, ginger garlic paste, chilli powder, egg, spice powder and salt, and make a thick batter, adding water if needed. Add chicken pieces to the batter and marinade for an hour. Deep fry marinated chicken pieces until they turn golden brown. Heat a little oil in a kadhai, add fried chicken pieces, slit green chillies, yoghurt, colouring and salt. Fry for about 5 minutes and remove from heat. Add lime juice, mix well and garnish with onions. Serve hot with nan or kulcha.
Tamatar ka shorba
600 gms tomatoes
1 tbsp. chopped ginger
1 tbsp. chopped garlic
1 tbsp. whole garam masala
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp. chopped green coriander
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tbsp. sugar (optional)
1 tbsp. oil
2 green chillies
Salt to taste
1 tpsp low fat sour cream – optional
Wash and cut tomatoes into quarters and cook with chopped ginger, garlic, green chillies and whole garam masala. Add 5 cups of water and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Simmer for twenty minutes on a slow flame until tomatoes are mashed completely. Strain the mixture with a soup strainer and keep aside. Heat oil in a saucepan or kadhai. Add cumin seeds, let them crackle. Add strained tomato liquid and season with salt. Bring to a boil, adding a little sugar if the taste is too tangy. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot. To give the shorba a thicker consistency, stir in a tablespoon of sour cream just before serving.
Shami kabab
500 gms mutton mince
2 eggs (beaten)
1 medium sized chopped onion
5 green chillies (chopped)
100 gms chana dal (Bengal gram) soaked overnight
10 pods garlic
1 tsp jeera (cumin) seed
4 cardamoms
1″ long cinnamon
1″ long ginger
6 peppercorns
4 red chillies
3 cups water
Salt to taste
Oil or ghee for frying
Boil minced meat in 3 cups of water and a teaspoonful of salt till water is absorbed and meat is tender. Grind meat into a fine paste. Grind garlic, cumin seeds, cardamoms, cinnamon, ginger, peppercorns, red chillies and soaked gram dal into a fine paste. Mix both pastes thoroughly. Add beaten eggs and form a dough from the mixture. Add finely chopped green chillies and onion to dough and mix well. Shape the dough into small round flattened balls or kababs. Heat oil or ghee and deep fry kababs till golden brown. Serve hot with sauce or chutney.
Comfort cuisine- A deliciously perfect way to warm up your day