Sara Dhanani

Archive for the ‘Favorite Recipes’ Category

Bihari Chicken

In Favorite Recipes, Meat & Poultry on July 31, 2013 at 10:58 pm

An incredibly easy recipe! My family loved the depth of flavors and I loved the ease of prep and wow factor of this dish.

Ingredients:
2 pounds of Chicken breast
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 – 1.5 cups yogurt
2 tablespoons gram flour/besan
Shan Bihari kabab masala
Charcoal
1/2 cup of oil

Method:
In a hot  non stick pan, toast the besan carefully till it has a golden color (you should also be able to smell the roasted aroma). Cut the chicken breast in 3 inch cubes and marinate with the ginger garlic paste, yogurt, shan bihari masala, half the oil and the roasted besan. Marinating overnight is ideal, but a few hours should also suffice. Heat oven to 375. Once heated place the marinated chicken in an oven proof casserole dish with a lid and cook covered for 15-20 minutes. Switch the oven setting to Broil (HI). Add remaining oil to the chicken and cook uncovered for another 15-30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes untill the chicken has charred edges and the gravy has cooked off. The chicken may need another sprinkle of oil.

Dhooni : Make a small well in the middle of chicken. Place aluminum foil or a small steel bowl in that well. Heat a piece of charcoal on stove top till its red-hot in the center. Place coal in the foil boat/steel bowl, and add 1 teaspoon of oil on it. Replace lid on the saucepan and cover for 15-20 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander. Serve with paratha or naan.

Club Sandwiches

In Appetizers, Favorite Recipes, Week night meals on June 9, 2013 at 1:33 am

Club Sandwiches

These delightful sandwiches are sure to be enjoyed at any tea party or as a light lunch.

Ingredients:

Boiled chicken (use 3-4 pieces of bone in chicken)
Mayo
pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt
Black pepper
Mustard
Tomato
Lettuce
Cheddar Cheese – thinly sliced
White bread with edges cut off

Method:

Boil chicken, once cooked through and cooled, remove meat from bone. Pulse the chicken with a tablespoon or 2 of mayo and a pinch of cayenne pepper, such that it is incorporated and the meat is shredded. Add salt and a dash of black pepper. Apply mayo to one side of the bread (you will need 3 slices per sandwich. Put the chicken mixture on one slice of bread, top with lettuce and a second layer of bread. Apply mayo on this layer and then add cheddar and tomato and finish with the 3rd slice of bread. Cut into 4. You will need a toothpick to hold it together!

Christmas Fruit Cake

In Dessert, Favorite Recipes on December 25, 2012 at 7:24 pm

Fruit Cake

We loved eating fruit cake for Christmas, laced with plump raisins, currants, candied fruit peel and nuts! It’s such a decadent indulgence for Christmas and I’m lucky that everyone in my household loves a homemade fruit cake. Over the years, I’ve tried many different recipes, but this is best quick fruit cake recipe. I have also tried the traditional fruit cake recipe and the mincemeat cake from this site, which are all excellent for holiday baking.

I deviated from the boiled fruit cake recipe by incorporating nuts and mincemeat in the recipe. The cake was moist and well balanced with the nuts and spices. Its best to let the cake rest a day or two wrapped in a kitchen towel at room temperature to let the flavors meld.

Christmas Baking

Ingredients:

Boiled Fruit Cake:

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup unsalted butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup seedless raisins & currents

1 cup mincemeat

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup candied and chopped mixed peel

1/2 cup chopped mixed nuts

Method:

Butter a nonstick  9 x 5 x 3 inch  loaf pan.  Preheat oven to 350F.

Add the candied peel and nuts to the flour, baking soda and salt.

In a large saucepan, over medium heat, bring to a boil the sugar, water, butter, spices, and raisins.  Boil for five minutes, remove from heat, and let cool till lukewarm. Once cool, stir in the mincemeat and vanilla. Stir into this mixture the lightly beaten eggs followed by the flour mixture.  Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 45 – 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.  Cover and store, if possible, for a few days before serving.

Makes one – 9×5 inch loaf


Lemon Cream

In Dessert, Favorite Recipes on December 25, 2012 at 6:02 pm

Lemon Tarts

Recently, an aunt gifted some gorgeous lemons from her lemon tree. These were the freshest, most succulent lemons I have ever seen and I was so grateful for these lovelies to come into my kitchen. They yielded some delicious lemon cream for lemon tarts and gifting which a few left over lemons, begging to be made into a lemon pound cake.

The recipe for lemon cream comes from Dorie Greenspan and cane be found on Serious Eats. I had a hard time getting the temperature to 180 C, but eventually it did reach and the results were luscious!

Lemon Tarts

Chicken Corn Soup

In Favorite Recipes, Meat & Poultry, Week night meals on October 23, 2012 at 10:11 pm

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Chicken corn soup is perfect for those sniffly dreary cold evenings or when your toddler only wants soup!

Ingredients:
3-4 Chicken pieces with bone
Four cups water
One packet chicken yakhni mix
Half a handful of baby carrots
Half an onion – sliced thinly
One cup canned sweet corn
Four tablespoons corn flour
1/4 cup water
One egg very lightly beaten
salt to taste
pepper

Condiments:
1/4 cup white vinegar with diced green chillies
1/4 cup white vinegar with 1 teaspoon red chilli powder

Method:
Heat four cups of water with one yakhni packet mixed in, along with chicken, onion and carrots. Bring to boil and cook till chicken is cooked through (approximately 15 – 20 minutes). Sieve through the stock, reserving the stock and chicken and discarding carrots and onion. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and keep aside, discarding the bone.
Using a food processor or blender, gently pulse the sweet corn so that it is smushed, but not mush (a quick 2 or 3 pulses). Add this to the chicken stock and bring to boil. Now dissolve the corn flour into the 1/4 cup of water till a thin paste is made. Add this paste very slowly to the boiling stock and corn while stirring constantly to get to the soupy consistency you like (I only used about half to get the soup consistency I like). Add the chicken. Very slowly add the beaten egg, again stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with chile and vinegar mixture and/or soy sauce.