Entrees

Mini Mac and Cheese cups
 
It’s a scientific fact that if you make any dish (quiche, pizza, bacon and eggs) in a muffin tin, the deliciousness factor doubles — isn’t it? Start with a super-simple recipe (maybe our easiest yet) for macaroni and cheese, scoop into muffin tins, top with yummy crumbs, and bake. Pure yum! I guarantee that you will love this one (even if you’re a cute-food hater).

1 tablespoon melted butter, plus more for baking dishes

1/4 cup store-bought or 3/4 cup homemade breadcrumbs

1 pound grated white cheddar cheese (4 cups)

Salt and pepper

8 ounces elbow macaroni

1 1/4 cups whole milk

8 ounces cream cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter four 14-ounce ovenproof dishes. In a small bowl, toss 1 tablespoon melted butter with breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup cheddar.

2. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni until al dente, according to package instructions; drain.

3. In a large saucepan over medium heat, bring milk to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; add cream cheese, cut into cubes, stir until melted, 2 minutes. Gradually stir in remaining cheddar until melted, 5 minutes. Add cooked pasta, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper; toss to combine.

4. Divide the mixture among prepared dishes. Bake until bubbling, 10 minutes. Remove from the oven; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until golden, 10 minutes more.

Mini Lassagna Cups

The solution to having too many leftovers from a huge pan of lasagna are mini lasagna cups. The recipe below by Jersey Girl Cooks can be meatless (provided you use marinara sauce), but you can add meat through another adaptation, which uses less sauce and adds in ground meat. You could also use a meat-based sauce if you prefer.
Ingredients:

• Cooking spray
• ½ cup ricotta cheese
• 1 small egg, beaten
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoon Italian seasoning, divided
• 24 wonton wrappers
• 2 to 3 cups meat or marinara sauce, heated
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix ricotta, egg, Parmesan cheese and ½ teaspoon seasoning in a small bowl and set aside. Reserve the rest of the seasoning.
Place 1 wonton wrapper in each tin, pressing firmly against each muffin cup. Spoon some sauce into each cup using half of the sauce. Spread the ricotta mixture into each cup using it all up. Sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Dip the remaining wonton wrappers in water individually before placing each one of top of the cheese. Top with the remaining sauce and shredded mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with remaining seasoning.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and tops are golden. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before carefully removing from the pan. Makes 12 individual lasagnas.




Mini Pot Pies

Giada De Laurentiis keeps the savory vibe going with mini pot pies. You can switch out broccoli for another vegetable if you’d prefer, like carrots. You’ll need a 12-cup mini muffin pan, which is slightly smaller than a standard 12-cup pan.
Ingredients:
Pot pie filling:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• ¾ cup whole milk, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan
• 1 small store-bought rotisserie chicken breast, chopped into ¼-inch pieces (about ¾ cup meat)
• 1 cup broccoli florets, cut into ¼ to ½-inch pieces, steamed (about 2 ounces)

Pot pie crust:

• all-purpose flour, for dusting
• two 10-inch round unfold-and-bake frozen pie crusts, thawed
• 1 large egg

Directions: Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 12-count mini-muffin pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Set aside.
For the pot pie filling: Melt the butter in a 1-quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Simmer over medium-low heat, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick and smooth, about 6 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper, Parmesan, chicken, and broccoli.
To assemble: On a lightly-floured work surface, roll out the dough ⅛-inch thick. Using the 3-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 12 pieces of dough. Using the 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out another 12 pieces of dough. Press the large rounds of dough into the bottom of the prepared pan. Spoon the sauce into the pastry.
Combine the egg and 1 teaspoon water in a small bowl, using a fork. Brush the edges of the pastry with the egg mixture and place the remaining pieces of dough on top. Lightly press the edges of the dough together to seal. Press around the edges of the pies using the tines of a fork. Brush the tops of each pie with the beaten egg. Cut a ½-inch-long slit into the top of the pies using a paring knife. Bake until the tops are golden and the filling is bubbling, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes and serve

  Italian love nests

  No, really, that is the name of this dish. Sometimes called Spaghetti Love Nests, pasta is twirled into the wells of a muffin pan after it has been cooked on the stove. The result are little baked “nests” filled with the cheeses and meats of your choosing. Center Cut Cook made them with Italian sausage, but you can omit this portion.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces angel hair pasta, cooked according to directions.
• 8 ounces of any meat of your choice — e.g. mild Italian sausage
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, plus additional for garnish
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups sauce of your choice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce like Tabasco sauce (optional)
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and lightly grease 12 muffin cups. In a large skillet on medium high heat, cook and crumble Italian Sausage then drain excess fat. Add in 2 cups of sauce and heat for a few minutes, then remove meat/sauce mixture from the heat.
In a separate bowl, combine eggs, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, Tabasco sauce, crushed red pepper flake and pasta. Stir to combine. Pour egg and pasta mixture over meat and sauce mixture. Use tongs to incorporate.
Using tongs, place enough noodles in a muffin cup to fill it. Twirl the pasta as you are placing it in the cup to form nests. Place the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sides and tops are starting to brown.
Allow the Italian Love Nests to rest for 5 minutes; then use a knife to run around the edges of each muffin cup. Use a spoon to get the nests out of the pan. Garnish with parmesan cheese and serve immediately

Breakfast Strata Lorraine

 

In this Williams-Sonoma strata, everything is prepared the night before and refrigerated until baking the next morning. In terms of texture, batard is similar to a baguette. It will be milder than a sourdough, but not as sweet as a dessert bread. Look for these properties if you wish to substitute, although sourdough will also work.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, sliced
• Kosher salt, to taste, plus 1 teaspoon
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 pound spinach
• 1 1/2 loaf sweet batard, crusts removed, bread cut into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares and toasted until dry (about 9 cups)
• 8 ounces ham, diced
• 6 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
• 10 eggs
• 2 1/2 cups half-and-half

Directions: In a large sauté pan over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add the onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until caramelized, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

In the same pan over medium heat, warm 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add half of the spinach, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to a colander. Repeat with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon olive oil and spinach. Using a rubber spatula, press out the excess moisture.
In a large bowl, toss together the bread cubes, the caramelized onion, spinach, ham, and cheese. Transfer to a 4-quart baking dish. In a bowl, beat together the eggs, half-and-half, the 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, to taste. Pour over the bread mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 16 hours.
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove the plastic wrap from the baking dish and cover with a lid or aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue baking until the top is browned and the strata is cooked through, 40 to 50 minutes more. Serves 12.

Savji Mutton/Chicken

Have you heard the saying ’Ignorance is Bliss’? I say ‘Not True’ when you are missing out on great food. Recently a friend raved about this dish which I had not heard of before, and therefore curiosity got the better of me.
At first, I assumed that ‘Savji Mutton’ was just the name of a dish like ‘Butter Chicken’ or ‘Dum Aloo’. But I soon found out that this is one of the signature gravy dishes of the Savji community, a business community that originated in the Malwa or North Central region of India. They are known for their hot and spicy flavored cuisine. Most of the recipes on the internet tie this dish to Nagpur, but my friend who is from Hubli says there are plenty of restaurants there that serve this dish as well.
I was surprised by the amount of spices called for. It seemed too spicy even for my taste. On my first attempt, I toned down the spice to what I thought was appropriate. But on tasting it, my friend found it too mild. It took me three attempts, each time increasing the amount of spices, to gain his whole hearted approval. I was only too glad to keep trying, coz each time it only got better.

There seem to be slight variations in the recipes I found, so I modified them based on my preference and the contents of my pantry. Some of the recipes used jowar flour instead of or in addition to coconut.  I don’t usually use jowar, so I left that out. Also, some of the recipes called for the spice, stone flower (dagad phool) which I couldn’t find. So I skipped that too. I avoided using too much oil as well. This dish can be made with chicken or goat meat. I tried this with each of them and it tasted awesome every time.

•  Serves: 6-8
• Prep Time: 30 min approx.
• Cook Time: 60 min approx.

Ingredients

• 750 gm mutton or chicken, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 12-15 Kashmiri red chillies
• 1 tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 20 black peppercorns
• 4 green cardamoms
• 2 black cardamoms
• 1/2 tbsp. poppy seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 mace flower
• 5 cloves
• 1/4 cup shredded dry coconut
• 6 tbsp. oil
• 3 medium onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste
• Chopped cilantro to garnish

  Directions

1. First prepare the savji spice paste. For this, roast all the whole dry spices along with the dry coconut on slow flame, stirring them till they begin to give off a nice aroma. This should take around 5-7 minutes. Be patient and do not increase the heat, as this may burn the spices and cause them to taste bitter. Remove this in a plate to cool. Do not leave this in the same pan as the heat may cause them to get roasted further. Grind them to a paste with a little water.
2. Apply salt and turmeric to the meat and leave it aside.
3. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Add the onions and sauté on medium flame till they are soft and golden brown and begin to leave oil.
4. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a couple of minutes, till the raw smell disappears. 
5. Add the mutton or chicken pieces and continue to sauté on medium heat till the meat loses its raw pink tint and changes in color.
6. Add the ground spice paste and mix in till the meat is well coated with it.
7. Add three cups of water. Pressure cook on high heat till the pressure builds i.e. till the first whistle. Then reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook till done. I usually cook mutton for 18 minutes from the time I close the cooker and chicken for 12 minutes.
8. Once the pressure reduces completely, open the lid. Check and add salt if required. Check if the meat is tender and cook further if required. Adjust to desired consistency. Boil uncovered if you need to thicken the gravy or add water and bring to a boil to thin the gravy.
9. Garnish with cilantro.
10. Serve hot with steamed rice or chappatis, accompanied with lemon wedges and onion slices.

Tips

• I prefer to pressure cook meat to reduce cooking time. I usually cook it for a little less time than most recipes suggest, just to make sure the meat is not overdone. if not completely done, it can be cooked further. But once overdone, cooking cannot be reversed.
• The spices can be roasted and powdered ahead of time to save some time while cooking.

This is one cra..a..a..azy, spicy, hot, hot, hot, dish. I am not exaggerating! Its like a celebration of red chillies. But if you like it milder, just reduce the number of red chillies and peppercorns. The rest of the spices gives this dish an amazing aroma and flavor. If you’ve eaten this before, you know what Im talking about. If you haven’t, you really must try it.

Besan Kaddhi Pakora

 

Ingredients

• Ingredients for Kaddhi
• 2 cups Curd/ Yogurt without salt or sugar (preferably sour. If you cannot find sour curd like me then add one tbsp of dry mango powder/ amchur and incase u cant find amchur juice of one lemon will serve the purpose)
• ¾ cup of Besan/ chickpeas flour / harina de garbanzo negro
• 1 tsp coriander seeds crushed / semilla de cilantro machacar
• 2 tsp fenugreek seeds/ methrey/ methi dana/ fenugreeko
• 1 tsp hing/ Asafoetida
• 1 tsp kasuri methi ( you can use methi dana or kasuri methi or both)
• 1 tbsp Haldi/Turmeric/Curcuma
• Salt to taste
• Red Chilli powder to taste
• 1 and a half litres of water
• Ingredients For Tadka/ tempering
• 1 tbsp Jeera/ cumin/cumino
• 1 tbsp Sarso /Mustard seeds/ Semilla de Mostaza
• Few leaves of Kaddi Patta (I used dried)
• 4-6 big cloves of Garlic/ ajo chopped
• Green chilies chopped to taste
• Fresh Coriander/Cilantro for garnishing
• 1 tpsp Garam Masala for garnishing
• 3-4 tpsp vegetable oil
• Ingredients for Pakora/ fritters (makes 6-8)
• 1 large onion sliced in length
• 1 green chilli chopped
• ¾ cup of Besan/ chickpeas flour / harina de garbanzo negro
• ¾ cup Water to make paste. .
• Oil for frying
• Salt and chilli powder to taste

1. Process for Kaddhi
2. Add all the ingredients for kaddi (not tadka) in a blender and add add only ¼ of water and run the mixer to form a lump free liquid.
3. Pour this mixture in a large pot (ensure its very deep) and add rest of the water.
4. Turn on the flame and let it boil for about 25-30 minutes. You must keep stirring it every minute and reduce the flame every now and then to stop the kaddhi flowing off the pot. You can put it on high flame again and likewise keep repeating till about half an hour
5. Once you feel the kaddhi is cooked turn off the flame.
6. Process for Tadka/tempering
7. In a skillet/ pan add oil and let it heat for a minute and then add mustard and cumin.Let it splatter for another half a minute. Ensure you do not over cook or it wont taste good.
8. Add kaddi patta and cook for additional half a minute.
9. Add garlic and chilli and cook till garlic starts turning golden.
10. Now add this tempering on top of your kaddhi in the pot. Garnish with chopped coriander and garam masala. Keep aside.
11. Process for Pakora
12. In a frying pan por oil and let it heat.
13. In the meanwhile mix besan, onions, chilli, salt, red pepper powder and water to form a paste. It should not be very liquid.
14. With a spoon pour the mixture in heated oil to make fritters. Ensure you make small and thin fritters pakora for kaddhi as they will not absorb a lot of kaddhi and there will be enough liquid.
15. Once you fry the fritters turning both sides till they acquire golden colour remove them on a paper towel to absorb extra oil.
16. Put these pakoras/fritters in kaddhi and heat for a couple of minutes.
17. Your Besan Kaddhi is ready! Serve with Rice and enjoy !

 

Chicken Curry (Kerala Style)

This is a simple and delicious chicken curry dish. What makes it different though is the "coconut"and the pearl onions/sambar onions (trust me....even thought its a real pain to peel of the skins, it makes a lot of difference when you use pearl onions instead of the regular red or white onions).

I am sure whenever you hear the word south indian, coconut is the next thing that comes to your mind hehe.....(no offense meant; and none taken, i am a proud keralite). The best thing about this curry is, you can easily replace the chicken with even prawns or fish.

Chicken (cut into small pieces, cleaned and washed) - 1LB/half kg
Freshly grated coconut - Approx 1 cup

Pearl onions aka sambar onions - 1 cup chopped 

Dried Red chilli - 2 nos. 

Coriander seeds - approx 1 tbsp

Cloves - 5-6 nos

Peppercorns - 6-7 nos

Cinnamon stick - 1 - 2inch 

Bay leaf - 1
Star Anise - 1

Ginger-Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomato - 1 (chopped)

Curry Leaves - 4-5 nos

Coriander Leaves & Mint leaves chopped - For garnishing
Oil for cooking - 3-4 tbsp
Salt to taste

Feel free to adjust the amount of spices depending on how spicy you want the gravy to be. My gravy turned out to be medium spicy.

1) Clean, wash and cut the chicken into small pieces (or as desired).

2) Dry roast all the spices that is red chilli, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, bay leaf and star anise along with the grated coconut on a medium flame. Roast everything together until the coconut turns brown in color. Be careful enough to not burn the coconut. Let it cool down for some time and then grind it into a nice thick paste in a mixer grinder.

3) Cut the pearl onions lengthwise and chop the tomatoes into cubes. I used coarsely minced ginger and garlic for this recipe but you can also use ginger-garlic paste.

4) In a deep pan heat about 3 - 4 tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot add the onions, ginger-garlic paste and curry leaves. Saute and cook until the onions become soft and translucent. Once the onions are cooked add the tomatoes and cook until they are nice and tender.

 5) Now add the turmeric powder and the coconut paste. Take little water into the mixer bowl clear off any leftover coconut paste and add. Saute for few mins and then add the chicken pieces to it. Do not add any water at this point as the chicken releases water during cooking. You can add water later on if you think the gravy is too thick. Add salt for seasoning.

6) Cover the pan with a lid and cook the chicken on a low to medium flame (for about 15-20mins or until the chicken is nicely cooked) so that all the spices are nicely incorporated in the chicken.
7) Finally garnish with lots of fresh cilantro/coriander leaves and mint leaves.

Kerala fish curry(Pollichathu)

Kerala fish curry(Pollichathu)
Fish 250 grams
Kokum 1 small pieces soak in 1/2 cup water
Shallot 5
Garlic 4 flake crush coarsely
Ginger 1" crush coarsely
Green chili 2

Soak tougher
Chili powder 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water 1/2 cup
Curry leaves. 2 sprig
Coconut oil. 1tbsp
Fenugreek seed. 1/4 tsp
Method
Wash the fish well
Het a clay pot ,pour the oil ,when well heated (not smoking ),add the
fenugreek seed when it start turning color add the crushed
ingredients ,fry till starts turning color (about 10 minutes) on low
heat ,at this stage add the soaked ingredients ,cook till oil
separate(about 10 minute)
At this stage ,add the Kokum along with the water ,bring to boil.
When the gravy starts boiling ,place the fish pieces sprinkle the
curry leaves. Cook without covering for 10 minute.

Like · · Share

Papda Macher Jhaal
Ingredients:
250 grams Papda Fish (a kind of cat fish…. Should be available in any of the Bangladeshi Grocery stores in your city)
1 medium sized onion
1 medium sized tomato
1 inch ginger
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp cumin powder
¼ tsp nigella seeds (kalo jeere/kalonji)
3-4 green chillies
1 glass water
4 tbsp mustard oil
Salt to taste

Method:
Apply little turmeric and salt to the fist and leave it aside for 5-10 mins.
In a wok heat 2 tbsp of mustard oil and shallow fry the fish till it turns light brown. Take it off from the heat and keep it aside.
In a blender add onion, tomato, ginger and cumin powder and make a fine paste.
In the same wok add the remaining oil (it is fine if you have some left over oil from the fish fry). Once the oil is hot, leave the Nigella seeds to splutter.
Then add the blended paste and fry till it leaves the wok/oil.
Now add turmeric and salt to taste. (Please be mindful with the salt as it was added to fish also while frying)
Once the raw smell of the turmeric is gone, add water.
Slit and add the green chillies.
When the water comes to a boil add the fried fish . Cover cook it on medium flame for 5 mins.
The consistency is your choice, some like a runny gravy and some like it thick.
And there, Papda Maacher Jhaal is all set to be served.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with steamed rice.

Roti Canai



For roti - all purpose flour 1 cup, melted room temperature ghee 1 tsp, 1 tsp condensed milk sweetened, 1/2 tsp baking powder,little salt, add little water n oil n knead very very smoothly...apply oil on top n let it sit overnite covered .
Before making try to knead very soft again ...apply lots of oil n try to stretch with hands ...do not roll by roller pin...stretch to max limit...fold to make a square...roast it...after roasting take it down and give it a beating to make it flaky...

For curry - turmeric root , baby ginger root, onion ,garlic cloves, fennel seeds, coriander powder, cumin powder, cinnamon stick... grind all this fine with oil (no water)..in a pan sauté this mixture until well cooked , add coconut cream or coconut milk...salt to taste n pinch of sugar..bring to boil....n its ready to eat