Cajun Chicken and Mozzarella, Pizza Style Omelette

I was googling for chicken omelette recipes and found this delicious - looking Cajun dish. I have tweaked the recipe a little to suit the availability of ingredients from https://homemadewithmess.wordpress.com/2013/11/12/cajun-chicken-mozzarella-pizza-style-omelette/

Makes 3 omelettes

Ingredients
For the chicken marinade

• 150 g chicken mince
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of 1/2 lemon, I used 2 tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 tsp mustard powder (I bought yellow mustard and powdered it)

For the chicken mixture

• 2 medium onions, finely chopped 
• 5 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped

For the tomato sauce

• 1 garlic clove
• 400 g tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup tomato paste (Pureed and blended)
• Pinch sugar
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Olive oil

For the omelette

• 4 eggs beaten and seasoned with salt and pepper
• Grated mozzarella cheese as required
  

Preparation

• Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients and set it aside for an hour.
• Heat oil in a pan and cook the garlic till browned and aromatic. Add all other ingredients for the tomato sauce and bring to a boil on high heat. Simmer it for about 20 to 25 minutes or till it thickens.
• In another pan, heat a little oil and fry the marinated chicken, onion, red pepper and mushrooms till the chicken is cooked and vegetables are soft. Remove to a bowl and set aside.
• Heat a smaller pan, add a drop of oil and ladle one third of the egg mixture into it. Cover and cook on low heat. Once cooked, remove to a glass plate. 
• Ladle tomato sauce on it and spread the chicken mix over it. Top it with mozzarella.Bake at 185 degree Celsius till cheese is bubbling and golden, about 7 minutes.
• Repeat process for the second and third omelette.
• Serve hot with any sauce or salad of choice.

White Asparagus Soup with Shrimp

I had these 2 bottles of asparagus from my friends in Denmark sitting on my kitchen shelf for a long, long time.  I finally decided to make soup of them. I looked up some recipes in the internet and then created my own tweaking from a couple of them.

Serves 2 to 3

Ingredients

• 2 bottles white asparagus
• 200g shrimp, deshelled and deveined
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tbsp butter, divided by half
• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided by half
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 3 cups water
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Preparation

• Heat half the butter and olive oil in a pan. Add three fourths onion and cook until translucent.
• Remove and puree along with asparagus and the liquid. Set aside.
• Heat the remaining butter and olive oil and add the remaining onion and cook until translucent. 
• Add the garlic and thyme and cook until garlic smells aromatic. 
• Add the shrimp and saute until shrimp is cooked, about 3 to 5 minutes. 
• Now add the asparagus and onion puree, the chicken stock cube and water to the pan. Bring to a boil and add salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Dhokla

I had tried the instant dhokla recipes and failed miserably. So I decided to do the traditional dhokla with the traditional dhokla batter and it did come out very well! No shortcuts! Quite elaborate and time consuming but worth the wait and energy! Recipe from www.foodviva.com

Makes about 16 pieces

Ingredients
For the batter

• 1/4 cup gram lentil (chana dal)
• 1/2 cup rice (I used idli rice)
• 1/4 cup sour curd
• 1/4 cup water
• 3/4 tbsp green chili, ginger, garlic paste
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• Salt, a pinch
• 1/2 tsp Enos fruit salt
• 1/2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• Paprika powder, pinch

For tempering

• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, optional (actually, better without!)
• 1/2 tsp white sesame seeds
• 2 curry leaves
• 2 to 3 tbsp water
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander, for garnish
  

Preparation

• Clean and soak gram lentils and rice for 6 to 8 hours or overnight.
• Drain and grind to a fine paste with sour curd and water. The batter should not be of idli batter consistency. 
• Add salt and turmeric, cover and allow to ferment in a warm place for 6 to 8 hours.
• Grease a container with oil and prepare a steamer with 2 to 3 cups water. (I used the idli cooker)
• Add oil and green chili, ginger and garlic paste to the batter and mix well. Add Enos fruit salt and mix in one direction for a minute. The batter should be doubled now.
• Pour it immediately into the greased mould. Sprinkle cumin seeds and red chili powder on the top and steam for about 10 to 15 minutes or till a fork comes out clean if inserted.
• Allow to cool for a couple of minutes and cut it into squares.
• Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add sesame seeds and stir for 30 seconds. Add curry leaves, remove from flame and add water. Pour immediately over the dhoklas to coat evenly and serve immediately garnished with chopped coriander.

Indonesian Mango Sago Pudding

This is an authentic Indonesian version of the popular South Asian dessert Mango Sago Pudding. This is much simpler than the Indian version which calls for the elaborate and time consuming reduced milk. Recipe from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLBqESkDVnk

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup sago
• 2 cups mango cubes 
• 1 1/4 cups thick coconut milk
• Sugar as per taste, optional
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup ripe mango cubes for garnish
  

Preparation

• Soak sago in water, about 5 minutes while bringing water to boil in a vessel. After water boils, drain sago and add it to the water. Allow to boil about 15 minutes till it turns translucent. Drain and wash in cold water to avoid sticking together. Drain and refrigerate till use.
• Blend mango cubes, coconut milk and sugar, if using, in a mixer till smooth. Remove to a mixing bowl.
• Add sago and refrigerate at least for 2 hours.
• Serve garnished with mango cubes.

Mango Sago Pudding

Mango Sago pudding is a South Asian dessert popular in Indonesia, China and Thailand. Recipe from www.sailusfood.com as tweaked in the blog. 

Serves 5

Ingredients

• 2 cups mango puree
• 1/2 litre milk
• 1/2 cup sago, soaked for 1 hour in water
• 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tsp cornstarch, mixed in 1 1/2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup sugar or sugarfree substitute
• 1/2 cup ripe mango cubes
  
  
  

Preparation

• Set aside mango puree in the refrigerator.
• Bring milk to boil in a vessel and simmer till reduced to 3/4 cup. Switch off flame and bring to room temperature.
• Boil soaked sago in enough water till soft. Switch off flame and drain. Wash in normal water, drain and refrigerate till use.
• Boil coconut milk in a vessel, add sugar, cardamom and stir. Slowly add cornstarch mixture and stir till thickened.Switch off flame and bring to room temperature.
• Blend reduced milk, coconut milk mixture and mango puree in a mixer till well combined. 
• Remove to a mixing bowl and mix the chilled sago thoroughly. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
• Garnish with mango cubes and serve.

Mango Phirni

Phirni is believed to have come in with the Mughal kings and is a popular sweet dish in North India and Pakistan. Mango Phirni is made by adding mango puree to the basic phirni. Recipe from www.sailusfood.com.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Basmati rice, washed and soaked in water for 20 minutes
• 4 cups milk
• 8 to 10 almonds, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, peeled and ground to a fine paste
• 1 cup mango puree
• 1/3 cup sugar (You could use sugarfree substitutes)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
• 8 to 10  strands saffron, soaked in warm milk
• 15 pistachios, chopped for garnish
  

Preparation

• Bring milk to a boil in a vessel and simmer until reduced to three fourths.
• While milk is simmering, grind soaked basmati rice to a fine paste with 1/2 cup simmering milk and set aside.
• After the milk has reduced, slowly add the ground paste into it and keep stirring constantly till it mixes well and begins to thicken, about 10 to 12 minutes.
• Add almond paste, sugar, saffron and cardamom powder and stir to form a creamy and smooth mixture without any lumps. Switch off flame and bring to room temperature.
• Add mango puree and mix till well blended. Refrigerate until serving time.
• Serve garnished with chopped pistachios.

Mango Shrikhand (Amrakhand)

Mango Shrikhand is made by adding mango puree to the basic, Maharashtrian sweet Shrikhand made with strained yogurt (hung curd) and flovoured with cardamom and saffron. Recipe from www.sailusfood.com.

Serves 3

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 to 2 cups mango puree
• 2 cups strained yogurt (hung curd)
• 1/4 tsp cardamom
• Few saffron strands, soaked in warm milk
• 2 to 3 tbsp powdered sugar (I used sugarfree drops)
• 8 pistachios, chopped
• 6 almonds, chopped
• Ripe mangoes, chopped for garnish
  

Preparation

• Place curd in a muslin cloth over a vessel and leave it in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
• In a bowl, add the strained yogurt and mix well till blended. Add the powdered sugar and mix well. Add the mango puree, saffron and cardamom into the mixture till well blended, smooth and creamy. You could also use the mixer to blend them. 
• Chill for at least a couple of hours and serve garnished with chopped nuts and mangoes.