Recipe - Spring Rolls (Chicken/Lamb/Beef/Vegetable)

So today, I decided to make something that I have never made before. Suddenly remembered that I bought Japanese rice paper last week. The decision to go for spring rolls was a logical one then :)

Ingredients: Makes about 12

1. Japanese rice paper (refined wheat flour based dough can be made - but I was lazy)
2. Chicken - 500 gms (including bones)
3. Onion - 1
4. Cabbage - same quantity as sliced onion
5. Capsicum  - 1
6. Ginger/Garlic chopped - 3 tsp
7. Carrots - 1 small (if you like it)
8. Sprouted beans (if you like it)
9. Bamboo shoots (I love it, but couldn't get it)
10. Chilli powder - 1 tsp
11. Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp
12. Chilli vinegar - 2 tsp
13. Salt - To taste
14. Oil - LOADS

Method:

1. Cook the chicken in a pressure cooker. 3 whistles of the cooker should do the trick and then let it cool down. Take the meat off the bones and use the bones (and the water in the cooker) to make chicken stock for use in other dishes. Make small (and if possible long) pieces of the meat. Any meat can be cooked in the same way.

2. Chop the onions, capsicum, cabbage and other veggies in long thin slices.

3. In a wok, heat some oil and put the garlic and ginger in it. After about 15 seconds, put the onions in and let it cook for 2 minutes. Then put the other veggies and let them cook for another 3 minutes. Put the chicken pieces in and mix well. Put some salt, red chilli powder, vinegar and soy sauce and mix. Cook for another 3-4 minutes and take off the stove.

4. For making the rolls from the readymade rice paper, some things need to be made ready first. Take a metallic sieve and keep it inverted. Take a flat pan or metallic box lid and fill it with water. Start heating the oil in the wok for frying.

 

5. This is how a rice paper will look before doing anything

6. Immerse one rice paper into the water in the pan with your hands, and hold it there for 5 seconds. Keep one finger below one edge of the paper so it's easy to take out. Take it out and put on the inverted sieve for 10 seconds till it becomes soft.

7. Put some of that filling that we made on the rice paper below the center horizontally.

8. Roll the lower side of the rice paper over the filling.

9. Then roll the mixture towards the top of the rice paper, thus making a nice rolled up rice paper with the filling.

10. Fold the sides on to the roll and stick them properly with your finger using a little water.

11. Put it in the hot oil for frying slowly. As soon you put it in, immerse another rice paper into the water for 5 seconds and put it on the sieve for softening. The roll takes about 20-25 seconds to cook. Be careful not to over cook it.

12. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

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It turned out to be quite good. A couple of the rolls did break while frying, but overall all the rolls turned out quite well. Next time, I am planning to make the wrappers using wheat flour myself.

Recipe - Kheema Bharwa Mirch (Stuffed Chilli with minced meat)

Kheema Bharwa Mirch is what I decided to cook last night after a shopping filled weekend (more food items and storage... that's my fav shopping). Now, this recipe is something that I have been wanting to make since a long time. Had a few ideas that I implemented yesterday.

Ingredients - 

(Serves 2-3 people at least)

1. Minced lamb - 250 gms
2. Big sweet chilli - 125 gms (or 5-6 in number)
3. Onions - 2 medium
4. Tomato - 2 medium
5. Peanuts - 1/4 cup
6. Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
7. Cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
8. Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
9. Red chilli powder - 1-1/2 tsp
10. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
11. Garam masala - 1 tsp (or more)
12. Salt as per taste
13. Oil - 2tsp, 3 tsp and 1 TabSp

Method - 

1. Finely chop onion and tomatoes. Very fine!

2. Roast the peanuts in a pan and peel off the skin by rubbing them between your palms, a few nuts at a time (make sure they are not too hot when you are doing this). It's not necessary to peel them, just remember that the taste and colour of the dish changes a bit depending on whether you do this or not.Grind them into a coarse powder.

3. In a smaller wok, take 2 tsp of oil and put about 1/3rd of the chopped onion. When they are almost golden brown, put 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste and then mix in 1/4th of the minced lamb. Put half a tsp of red chilli powder and cumin powder. Put the ground peanuts and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, take 5-6 big green chillies. They are not spicy; they are also called sweet chillies. I used only three coz mine were a little too big!

5. Make a slit along the length of the chilli using a sharp knife.

6. De-seed the chillies

7. Fill the chilli up with the mixture we made earlier. The slit should be made such that the chilli cavity is tight enough not to spill the mixture. If it's loose, then you can tie the chilli with a clean thread.

8. In another pan, heat 3 tsp of oil and put the cumin seeds in. Put the remaining onions and mix well till golden brown.

9. Put the remaining minced lamb and mix well.

10. Put the remainder of the ginger garlic paste, red chilli powder, turmeric powder and Garam masala.Mix in the tomatoes and put salt as per taste. Let it cook for 3 minutes.

11. In the earlier wok, put 1 tablespoon of oil and shallow fry the stuffed chillies till the skin becomes a little white in colour. 

12. Put the chillies in the other pan and "submerge" them in the mix as much as possible.

13. Put 1-1/2 cups of water and cover the pan. Cook on low flame for 30 minutes or until the meat is nicely cooked. Serve with chapati/roti or plain/jeera rice. Also, an accompaniment of Raita is nice as this kills the heat of the dish a bit.

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I will be trying out different fillings in future and upload the recipe. And needless to say, this dish tasted amazing! A successful experiment!

Recipe - Roasted Black Pomfret.. a new experiment

So, I braved the rains and went to the fish stall to get prawns. But, they were not fresh. Eventually I got a couple of Black Pomfrets. Decided to make roasted fish instead of one with curry. I don't like the curried fish much. Now, this is the first time I made this fish. So wasn't sure how it's gonna taste. Just smelled it a little and decided on a few things that would be best for marination. I am not going to put any numbers here as I usually cook by instinct. Any and all of these ingredients can be and should be put as per taste.

Ingredients - 

• Tamarind
• Schezwan paste
• Salt
• Rice flour
• ... Fish :)

Method -

1. Clean the fish thoroughly with water and take all the innards out. We don't want to taste them. The best way to take them out is cutting the front underbelly of the fish and scooping them out. Cut the fins off and also the tail.

2. Cut the fish into manageable pieces. I like roasting the whole fish as well. In this case, make diagonal cuts on the body of the fish so the spices are absorbed better. Today I wanted to make smaller pieces.

3. Heat a a small amount of water (say about half a cup) and put the tamarind in it. Mix well and take the tamarind pieces out. Put this tamarind water in a bowl and marinate the fish pieces in it for 10 minutes in the refrigerator. This is not needed for all fish, but I find Black pomfret a little pungent. This helps remove that smell.
4. After 10 minutes, take the bowl out and throw the excess tamarind water away. Today, I decided to use Schezwan sauce which I had in the fridge. It tastes good. But instead of that, a lot of spices can be put. Red chilli powder, a little turmeric, Garam masala, Cumin powder, Amchur. This is what I normally put. And of course salt. Apply it well to all the pieces. Toss them around in the bowl and then put in it in the refrigerator for at least an hour.

5. After the fish pieces are marinated for an hour, heat oil in a frying pan. Just about half a centimeter depth should be enough. Even less.

6. In a flat container, take out the rice flour.
7. Put the pieces one by one in it and coat it thoroughly with the flour from all sides. A little cornflour and bread crumbs is also good. But rice flour has a different taste.

8. Put the pieces in the heater oil carefully. Shallow fry the pieces on all sides till they are brown. After a few tries you will know how much you want to fry them. I like them well done (I like my steak VERY well done :) ).

9. Take the pieces out and put on a kitchen towel to remove excess oil. And serve with thinly sliced onions and lemon.

I gotto say, it looks amazing! I have stored some marinated pieces in the fridge and I am gonna probably bake them tomorrow. That's gonna be another experiment! Right now, I am gonna eat! Hungry!!!

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30 min later.

Ok. The marination was amazing. The crust was good. BUT. I messed up on one most important thing due to my inexperience. I didn't buy good fish :(