Chicken in wine With Crunchy Veggies

Drunk-Tangy Chicken With Crunchy Veggies

Chicken is a lean meat and for all non-vegetarians it is one of the best foods to be incorporated for keeping weight and cholesterol under control. The benefits of chicken diet is lost if it is cooked with too much of oil/fat. This recipe deals with tastier and easy to cook method of making chicken, retaining all the benefits of lean meat. The veggies by the side of juicy, slightly sweet, chicken with wine and mustard flavor add not only crunchiness to the meal, but also all other type of required proteins, dietary fibers , minerals and vitamins which chicken alone chicken cannot provide. Those who are not averse to carbs can add any type of bread. I prefers it without any accompaniment. My daughter in law loves this preparation of chicken and needless to say how much I enjoy the happiness and appreciation I see on her face while she is relishing the dish.

Preparation Time: 20 min.(marination time not included)

Cooking Time: 10 min.

Servings 2 Large servings

Ingredients Required For Making Chicken Sautéed in Wine:

• 500 gm. Boneless Chicken
• 100-120 ml. Red Wine (I used homemade wine which is not having any sweet taste)
• 3 Teaspoon Honey
• 2 Teaspoon Mustard powder (Preferably freshly powdered yellow mustard)
• 1/2teaspoon Red chili Powder (Optional)
• 3-4 Tea spoon Thick Curd
• 2 Teaspoon fresh Ginger-Garlic Paste
• Salt to taste
• 5-6 French Beans
• 1 Medium size Carrot
• 1 Medium size Capsicum
• 4-5 Mushrooms

Veggies 

• 1 ml. Olive Oil

Directions For Making Typsy Chicken:

• Making Marinade For Chicken:
• In a bowl take:
• 50 ml. wine
• Ginger- Garlic Paste
• 3-4 Tea spoons of thick curd
• Red chili powder
• Mustard powder
• Honey
• Salt
• Mix all ingredients with a spoon. It will be slightly liquidish marinade.
• Marinade for chicken is ready.
• Wash the chicken and cut them to 3-4 inches pieces.
• Drain all water from the washed chicken.
• Poke the pieces of chicken with a fork so that the marinade reaches inside the chicken pieces.
• Add marinade to the chicken and mix nicely to ensure every piece coated with the marinade.
• Cover and keep for minimum of 30 min. for marinating. (It can be kept in fridge for 2 days also for later use). I normally keep for 5-6 hrs for marinating to get full taste of marinade in the chicken.
• Wash all vegetables.
• Devein the beans and remove any thin roots present in the carrots. (I prefer not to peel it as lots of nutrients are lost in the process).
• Dry the mushrooms with a cloth.
• Cut beans to 2-3 inches pieces.
• Cut carrots to 2-3 inches long and thin pieces.
• Remove the stalk and seeds of capsicum and cut capsicum to the thin 2inches pieces.
• Cut each mushroom to 4 pieces and if they are huge then to 6-8 pieces.
• In a thick bottom pan take ½ ml of Olive oil and heat till hot (not smoking hot)

Olive oil for Chicken

• Put all chicken pieces and the marinade in the pan and cook on medium flame/heat flame with continuous tossing / stirring and turning to make sure chicken gets cooked with marinade evenly.

Marinated chicken with marinade in hot oil

• Add remainder 50-70 ml. of wine and bring down the flame to medium and let the chicken cook in wine for 4-5 min. Stir two or three times to ensure even cooking. Do not allow the juices to dry up completely. The chicken should be moist, juicy with little wine sauce along with it.

• While the chicken is cooking the color of chicken will change to pink. If not checked then the honey will get caramelized leading to brown color of chicken. This will also change the taste.
• While the chicken is cooking in wine take 1/2 ml. oil in another pan and heat it.
• Add carrots and beans and capsicun to the hot oil and stir for just 1 min. keeping the flame on high.

Veggies in 1/2 ml. oil on high flame

• Add mushrooms and cook for 1 more min.



Mushrooms added and being cooked

• Sprinkle salt to taste and mix all the while heat being on high flame for just one min.

• Switch off the gas and sprinkle 3-4 drops of honey and 1/2ml. of vinegar to the veggies and stir. I use apple cider.
• While the veggies were cooking the chicken becomes ready to be plated.

Chicken ready to be plated along with Veggies

• Place the veggies and chicken side by side in a plate and serve hot.



Drunk-Tangy Chicken with Crunchy Veggies

• Clear chicken / vegetable soup and any type of bread goes very well along with this dish .

Tips:

• In the absence of boneless chicken, chicken with bones can also be taken.
• If you are not comfortable cooking veggies and chicken together then cook chicken and keep aside then do the veggies as it takes 3-4 minutes only to do the veggies. Heat chicken by sprinkling 2-3 ml wine, then plate it with piping hot veggies.
• Too much reheating of chicken causes it to become dry so avoid heating again and again.
• Veggies should be cooked for 2-3 min. only. They should be crunchy not limp.

Suggested Variations:

• 1-2 ml of dark soy sauce can be added to the chicken while it is cookeing with marinade.
• Broccoli, Asparagus, cauliflower, Red/yellow/purple bell pepper can be added to the veggies. Let your imagination run wild in choosing veggies. It will add a different dimension to your dish.
• Little (2-3) ml. honey can be poured to the cooked chicken just before plating. Believe me it tastes yummy.

Two-in-One Cupcakes With Whole Wheat Flour

Two-In-One Cupcakes

While making marble cake I came with the idea of having two distinct layers of different flavor in a single cake. With the layers slightly merging to form an uneven pattern it looks great and different. The two layers give different taste in each bite. My friends and clients loved this version of cake. The cupcakes made on the similar pattern were instant hit with my clients. Piping of molten chocolate/butter cream icing inside the cake also tastes yum. But I prefer cakes with minimal icing or filling to enjoy the full taste of cake itself.

Preparation Time: 30-35 min.

Baking Time: 20 min. / batch

Servings: makes 20-25 Cupcakes of 20-25 gm.

Ingredients Required for making Two-In-One Cupcakes:

• Preheat oven to 180^o  C.
• Line/oil and flour dust the baking cups.
• 250 gm. Whole wheat flour
• 50 gm. Unsweetened Coco powder
• 2 teaspoons Baking powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking soda (Cooking soda)
• 200 gm. Sugar Powder
• 8 Eggs
• 100 gm butter (I use Nutrelite butter)
• 100 ml. Milk
• 10-15 gm. Mildly sweetened Choco-chips
• 1-11/2Teaspoon Vanilla essence
• 1 Teaspoon coffee powder (Heaped)

Directions for Making Twi-In-One Cupcakes:

• Roll the choco-chips in flour and keep aside.
• Mix flour and baking powder and cooking soda and sieve three to four times minimum to ensure proper mixing and aeration of the flour.
• Divide the flour into two portions. One with 150 gm. of flour other with 100 gm. of flour, Keep 150 gm. separate in a box and add coco powder and coffee powder to the other part with 100 gm of flour. Sieve two to three times to ensure proper mixing of the coco powder in the flour.
• Divide butter into two equal parts of 50 gm. each.
• In two different bowls beat egg white of 4 eggs to stiffness. (To ensure same amount of egg is going in each part of cake).
• Take two big bowls and beat 50 gm of butter separately in each bowl with the help of separate fork/beater( This will help the two batters not getting mixed up).
• When the butter becomes creamy add 100 gm sugar in each and beat till creamy.
• Add 4 eggs yolks to each part and whisk till frothy and creamy. Each part can be done simultaneously or one after finishing the other.
• Two one part of egg yolk-sugar-butter mixture add spoon full of egg white and mix lightly so as to retain the airiness. Add one teaspoon of flour mixture and mix with folding action. Repeat till all egg white and flour finishes.
• Once all flour and egg white has been incorporated with the creamy mixture of sugar-butter-egg yolk then add 20 ml of milk to bring the batter to pourable consistency.
• Add 1/3of Choco chips and mix with light touch.

Batter with Coco powder

• Repeat the same as above with the flour without coco powder.
• The batter without coco powder will be thicker than the one with coco powder. To bring the consistency almost same add 50 ml. of milk and vanilla essence mix lightly.

Batter without Coco powder

• Fill 1/3 of the oiled/paper lined baking cups with vanilla batter. Top it with almost same amount with the batter with coco powder.
• Sprinkle 4-5 Choco chips at the top.

• You have option of placing the batter with coco powder at the bottom/both batters side by side (By scooping the batter in two separate spoons and pouring simultaneously from the two sides in the cup).

Cupcake ready to be baked

• Bake at 180 ^o C for 20 min. or till the tooth pick inserted in the baking cakes comes out clean.

Cupcakes Baking at 180 C

Aftetr 10 min of baking

• Take out the baked cakes from oven and cool on the rake. Remove when still warm as leaving them in the hot cup will cause the moisture to evaporate leaving the cupcakes on little the drier side. (I learnt this hardway).

Baked Cupcakes cooling on the rake

• Spongy delicious Two-In-One cupcakes are ready to be enjoyed with tea.

Two-In-One Cupcakes

• These are best for children lunch box as the different color, flavor and the melting Choco chips entice the kids a lot. (and elders too. Well I am a granny yet they entice me too).
• So much can be done with these cupcakes. Just pipe in some melted chocolate/butter cream icing into them. Slice then vertically and layer with thin layer of vanilla icing and chocolate icing then join them again. If you love your cupcakes with loads of cream and sugar then give then a marble icing. Let your imagination fly high.  I love them with piping of chocolate.
• These cupcakes can be stored in fridge for a week also, only micro them for 10 sec. before eating.

Tips:

• Keep mixing equipment’s separate for both the batters.
• Keep checking for the baking state of cake and remove immediately once the needle you are checking with comes out clean. The time for baking may vary with the size of cups/type of oven.
• Bake in the middle shelf with only lower heater on.
• Keep a small plate with 100 ml water in the oven below cakes this ensure cakes are very moist and nice.
• If you have less cups for baking as compared to batter or your oven is small then both batters can be covered with a foil and kept in fridge till ready for next batch baking.
• Cover the cupcakes with moist thin cloth while cooling on the rake this will help them to retain the moisture.

Suggested Variations:

• If whole wheat flour is replaced with all-purpose flour (Maida) then baking soda (eating soda) should be replaced with baking powder.
• Tutti-frutti/Small pieces of roasted nuts/raisins can be added tgo the batter/ Walnuts go very well with Chocolate.
• you can brush the cup cakes when they are blmost done (just 2 min. before taking out with egg white and butter mixture to get good shine on yhe top).
• one ml. soda water of any brand can be poured once the cakes are out of oven before cooling this will make them more moist.

Creamy-Fruity-Custard

Creamy-Fruity-Custard

Custard powder though does not have much nutrition value except pure calories due to corn flour, flavor and coloring agent being the main ingredients; it is the filling in custard which makes it more tasty and nutritive. Lots of fruits coated with custard is a wonderful and healthy dessert. It is the simple, tasty and easy to make dessert. Children love it for the taste of it and mothers love it not only for the taste of it but also for the less work they have to put to make family happy.

Preparation Time: 15 min. (Fruit cutting time)

Cooking Time: 15 min

Servings: 4 Large Serving

Ingredients For making Creamy-Fruity-Custard:

• 250 ml. whole cream Milk

• 2 Tea spoon Custard Powder

• 50 gm. Cream (Optional)

• 50 gm. Sugar

• 1 banana

• 1 Small size Apple

• 20-25 Grapes

• 10-12 Straw berries

Directions For making Fruity Custard:

• Dissolve 2 teaspoon custard in 50 ml. milk. (Not hot milk).

Custard Powder Dissolved in milk

• Boil milk in a thick bottom container.

Milk for Custard boiling in thick bottom container

• Add sugar to the boiling milk and stir till the sugar dissolves in the milk.

• Lower the flame and add custard powder- milk mixture and stir nicely.

Custard-milk mixture being added to boiling milk

• Cook for just one minute with continuous stirring. Switch off the gas. Cover and allow the custard to cool.

Custard cooking on low flame

Consistency of custard before cooling

• When the custard comes to room temperature add cream mix nicely cover and keep it in the fridge for chilling.

• Peel banana, slit from center lengthwise and cut to thin pieces.

• Peel and cut apple to small pieces.

• Cut the grapes to half.

• Cut straw berries to half lengthwise.

• Mix all fruits in a bowl with chilled custard.

• Take the Fruity-Custard in a serving bowl and top it up with some grapes and straw berries.

Creamy-Fruity-Custard

Tips:

• Guava, chickoo and pomegranate with small pink fruit having big seeds do not go well in custard. do not taste well in custard. 

• For one measure of cooked chilled custard two measure of fruits are the best proportion. If not so at least the ratio should be 1:1.

• Taste the fruits before adding to custard. Fruits should be absolutely sweet, little bit of sour taste will spoil the taste of Fruity-custard.

• Mix the fruits just before serving otherwise they will lose their moisture and will become limp.

• Cut the fruits just before serving.

• If the fruits are cut and kept in fridge, then bananas and apple will become red and will spoil the looks and taste of custard. Remember the freshness of fruits and their individual flavor gives the Fruity-custard unique delightful taste.

• Custard should neither be thick as cake nor too runny. It should be of the consistency of cake batter.

• Do not remove the cover at any stage of cooling.

• Do not cover while custard is being cooked.

• Immediate and continuous stirring after milk-custard powder mixture is added to the boiling milk is must to avoid lump formation as well as to avoid it selling at the bottom and getting burnt.

Suggested Variations:

• Mango can be cut to cubes and added to the mixture of fruits for custard. make sure the mangoes do not have fibers and is sweet.

• Cubes of any flavor cake can be placed at the bottom of serving bowl before putting Fruity-custard in the bowl.