A Hint of Spice

I used to have 50-50 success with Shrimp preparations. Some were so good that we would look for second or thirds & yet there were some dishes that well, I’d rather not talk about. But this dish is an all time favorite in our household. Spicy Shrimp sautéed in spices and served over a bed of garden salad and topped with fresh homemade guacamole. What more to ask for?
The trick to get the flavors incorporated in the Shrimp is to marinate it well in advance. But if you forgot to do that; you can still make this dish with only 20 minutes marination.



the trick to get perfectly cooked shrimp is to heat the skillet to a very high temperature. I used my cast iron skillet to cook shrimp as it retains the heat and therefore the shrimp is cooked evenly while retaining the moisture.

Ingredients

1 avocado peeled, seeded and cut into chunks

1 jalapeno seeded and chopped

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice from half a lime

1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves coarsely chopped  

Hello fellow followers,
I don’t even know how many followers I have . I know that I have been MIA for a long time ( well 8 years to be exact; bit who is counting 😊). It’s not that I have not been cooking; it’s just that I lost my art of  putting my actions in words. So here I am trying it again. Bear with me as I dawdle my way in the blogging world again with the recipe for “Murg Makkhani” aka “ Butter Chicken”.
This is made in my favorite kitchen tool Instant Pot(IP). It is my sanity saver for crazy busy day. This recipe needs 12 minutes of cooking time and is really yummy.




Ingredients:-
1.5 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (don't worry about cutting it into pieces)
2 tbsp. butter
1 green chili
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 onion large, cut in pieces
2 tbsp. ginger garlic paste
4 tomatoes cut in large pieces
1/4 cup cashews
2 tbsp. dried fenugreek leaves
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp. honey
 
   Spices:-
     1/2 tsp. haldi
     1 tsp. coriander powder
     1 tsp. Red chili powder
     1/2 tsp. Garam masala
     1 tsp. salt
 
  To Powder:-
    2” sticks cinnamon
    5 green cardamom
    2 black cardamom
    1 tsp. black peppercorns
    1 tsp. cloves

Recipe:-
1. Start IP in sauté mode.
2. Put butter in IP and let it melt.
3. Then put diced green chili.
4. Add jeera seeds and let them crackle.
5. Add the powdered spices.
6. Except chicken, cream, honey ; add all the ingredients to IP. Place chicken on top of ingredients. Close the lid with vent in sealing.
7. Set the IP to manual for 12 minutes. After the manual cycle is done , leave the IP to release pressure naturally (NR) for 10 minutes & then release the remaining pressure by turning the vent to venting (Manual Release).
8. Remove chicken carefully. Blend contents in IP with an immersion blender.
9. Add cream & honey . Stir into sauce.
10. Cut chicken to smaller pieces & add back to sauce. Stir them into sauce.

Serve hot with Naan, roti or rice.
‘Njoy!!!

1/2 cup green peas (cooked)
6-7 strands coriander leaves-finely chopped
2 green chillies,finely chopped
2 tbl spn bread crumbs
1/2 tea spn ginger paste
5 bread slices
1 tsp Garam Masala
1/2 tsp Amchoor Powder(Dry Mango Powder)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil for deep frying


Directions:-
1.Boil and mash potatoes.
2.Boil the green peas so that they turn a little soft.
3.Mix mashed potatoes,peas,finely chopped onions,ginger paste,green chilli,coriander leaves,salt,garam masala powder,red chilli powder,Amchoor Powder together.
4.Remove the bread edges and sprinkle a little water all over the slice.Remove the excessive water by squeezing the bread slices gently between both hands.Do not sprinkle a lot of water on the bread slice,it will make it soft,mushy and difficult to handle and also the rolls will absorb more oil while deep frying.
5.Place 1-1& 1/2  tblsp stuffing on the center of the bread and wrap the bread piece completely around the stuffing.If there is any crack the oil will seep in and make the rolls more soggy.
6.Roll the bread rolls in bread crumbs and deep fry in oil over medium heat till they are golden brown.
7.Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Note:-You can try the same thing using a mix of grated cheese , a little finely chopped capsicum and black pepper. Tastes too good! Though a little fattening .
'njoy!!
.

I think this has happened to all of us more often than we admit. You are all set to try out a new recipe or even a old one and halfway though you realize…….uh –o “I am missing something important”. What you are missing or running short of is a spice you really really desperately need. So….maybe you can try an alternative. Here are a few of them.