My brother and his family came for dinner and I’m pretty thrilled at how this dish turned out, mainly because I made it off the top of my head, just based on how I thought a dish like this should taste. It actually tasted great too, and looked a lot better than the picture below (Lousy phone camera)
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Chicken in Honey & Soya Sauce Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
1 kg Chicken drumsticks
1 1/2 cup honey
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire Sauce
2 onions
1 tablespoon garlic paste
1 large carrot
1 small green capsicum
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
Salt to taste
Oil

PREPARATIONS
Mix together all the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, the chili powder, garlic paste and 1 cup honey in a large bowl.
Make small cuts all over the chicken and marinate in the mixture. 20 minutes is the bare minimum but I actually remembered to do this ahead for a change, covered and kept it a whole 7 hours in the refrigerator. I think it made a difference.

Slice the onions fine and long and fry them to turn golden brown. Remove half and set aside. (more…)

If you’re on diet and you just have to go out to dinner at a restaurant that serves Indian food, chances are the most healthy thing on the menu probably is the Tandoori Chicken.

Three people wrote in to say I’d forgotten the most interesting thing about Tandoori Chicken. That its good for dieters.
Hmm, maybe, but well I’m going to modify that a bit here.
If you’re on diet and you absolutely have to go out to dinner at a restaurant that serves Indian food, chances are the most healthy thing on the menu probably is the Tandoori Chicken. Dieticians suggest it. It will definately have less fat on it and in it than any other dish. I’ve seen dieting friends order a full Tandoori Chicken, where they would have otherwise had a leg piece, and then pat themselves on the back. Get real. Look at your plate. Use your head. Er, and skip the ghee on the Roti.

For One-pot recipes you need to just think one of each food type, – 1 base (pasta or rice), 1 (or at most 2) vegetables, 1 meat, 1 sauce, 1 spice and 1 topping, and you’ve got combinations that work brilliantly.
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TUSCAN WHITE BEANS with SAUSAGE Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS

1 pound dried cannelloni beans (or kidney beans), soaked overnight
2 quarts water
2 medium onions, 1 cut in quarters and the other chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped sage
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 pound sausage, casings removed and crumbled
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 celery, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
1 cup canned chopped tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

PREPARATION
Drain the beans. Combine the drained beans with water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Skim off the foam, reduce the heat to low.

Add the quartered onion, 2 of the minced garlic cloves, half the sage and the bay leaf. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and cover.

Allow to simmer for 1 1/2 hours until the beans are very tender. Drain and measure out 2 1/2 cups of the broth.

Meanwhile cook the sausage till it has browned lightly, about 7 to 11 minutes.

Add the chopped onions, carrots, celery and parsley. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes. Add the remaining garlic and cook for another minute.

Add the tomatoes, the remaining sage, reserved beans and reserved broth, and continue cooking for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper as per taste.

Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese and hot garlic bread.

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RICE and CHICKEN ONE-POT Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
4 cups rice
4 onion chopped fine
6 Chicken legs & thigh
2 tsp. Sage
1 tsp pepper
2 vegetable or chicken soup cubes
½ tsp butter

PREPARATION

Saute the onions till golden brown.

Add the soup cubes, chicken and sage and 2 cups water and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the rice and another cup of water. Simmer till the rice is almost done, probably another 20 minutes, stirring with a fork occasionally and adding a little more water if you need to.

Check for salt if the soup cubes were unsalted.

Add the pepper and a dollop of butter just before serving.

Believe me, this one is a lot more delicious than it sounds.
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ALETI PALETI Serves 6
( Savoury Chicken liver & gizzard)
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INGREDIENTS
350 gms chicken liver, washed and chopped
350 gms chicken gizzard, washed and chopped
350 gms chicken hearts, washed
4 large onions, sliced
2 inch piece ginger chopped fine
3-4 garlic cloves chopped
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp chopped coriander
Salt to taste
Oil

PREPARATION
Heat the oil and fry the onions till well browned.

(more…)

This rice dish is so simple, but tastes and smells absolutely exotic.

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GOLDEN PULAO Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
2 cups long grain white rice
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 cups reduced chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch of saffron
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tbsp milk
1 large onion, chopped fine

PREPARATION
Soak the saffron in the milk and set aside.

Saute the onion in the olive oil until golden brown

Add the chicken broth, turmeric and saffron; heat to boiling.

Add another 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Stir in the rice; cover and cook, without stirring, until the broth and all the water is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes.

Add the oregano.

Let it stand covered. Serve steaming with a few sprigs of coriander or parsley on top for garnish