cut - Travels for Taste

Chicken and Red Lentil Stew – a complete ONE POT meal (Suran & Red Lentil Stew)

February 3, 2014 by manjirichitnis 33 Comments

There are times when I really want a hearty meal but don’t have the energy to stand and cook an elaborate meal. It is at times like that I turn to One pot meals, served with a warm baguette it is a filling, healthy and easy and quick to meal option which NO compromise on taste whatsoever! Moreover, its homemade, has flavour and is a satisfying experience to make .

I had been meaning to try and cook a stew using red lentils (masoor – Marathi for red lentil )for some time , they are my most favourite lentils and I am ALWAYS stocked up on a large 2 kilo pack of dried red lentils split and without skin , from my local Indian grocery shop at Tooting called Dadu’s. Also since all the other fresh ingredients were procured from my local LIDL this dish is GREAT value for money too! Am totally in love with the FRESH fruits and vegetable selection at LIDL right now.I bought some bright red long crunchy sweet peppers, a pack of medium hot chillies, fresh chicken breast fillets, a very cute packet of garlic, mixed pack of cauliflower and broccoli florets and a packet of gorgeous looking Shallots.( I have always wondered why the lentils are called RED when clearly they are a lovely light orange colour !)

I love inventing a recipe as I go along and when I got my vegetable tray out on Sunday morning I had all these lovely vegetables staring at me and I just threw in what I thought would taste good together and VOILA ! A Steaming hot , thick, wholesome and tasty chicken and red lentil broth was born.

I love having some baby potatoes in stock and they are always handy in a stew , besides being quite the self-proclaimed ”queen of curries” I always am well stocked on Indian spices so bay leaves and cinnamon sticks aplenty in my kitchen larder – oh yes

Please don’t feel put off by the ingredient list , trust me they marry well together in the taste department and the end result is well worth your time and effort!

The biggest bonus of this stew recipe is that you can create your OWN vegetarian version by replacing the chicken with Quorn or if you don’t for some reason like or have never tried or have no access to Quorn then try replacing the chicken fillets with Suran/Elephant Foot Yam, it can be chopped into big chunks and it takes up flavours very easily. But with the yam the cooking time drastically will reduce as it can go from just right and chewy to soft, goeey or totally disappear into the stew ! My aai (mum) always used suran as a meat replacement and marinated it well in the spices we would use for chicken or lamb and made a thick gravy dish with it, when I was younger she has managed to fool me many times over thinking it was mutton 🙂 – Aai I miss you and all the food you cook – sigh…. no India trip in sight anytime soon 🙁

(Dangerous though it looks the elephant foot yam is very very tasty! )

Serves:4 Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking time:35 minutes

Ingredients:

Red Lentils / Massor Dal -3/4th cup
Chicken breast mini fillets – 750gm / Comparable Quorn fillets
5-6 baby potatoes
6 shallots approx 200gm
2 large sweet and crunchy pointed Red Peppers – approx 200gm
2 short medium hot chillies
2-3 bay leaves dry
red chilli flakes as per taste
sea salt as per taste
1 veg stock pot
3 dried red Kashmiri chillies
1 large roll of cinnamon
4 tbsp sunflower oil
a handful of Broccoli and Cauliflower florets
2 large tbsp of tomato puree or half of a large tomato finely chopped
Red chilli powder
Sugar 2 tsp

Method:

Wash and soak the red lentil in water to soften them so they cook more quickly then get on with all the other chopping and cutting prep’s.
Chop the shallots lengthwise.
In a large stew pot or huge saucepan heat the oil and add the bay leaves,cinnamon stick and dry red kashmiri chillies which I have a very big packet of and am trying to finish , they only add colour and no heat so if you don’t have these you can totally leave them out – no harm done here.
Now add red chilli powder and sugar and just when the sugar starts to caramelise add the shallots and shallow fry them till they reduce and begin to turn a lovely brown colour.
Now add the 2 large tbsp’s of tomato puree or half of a large tomato finely chopped and stir till it mixes well with the shallots.
Add the roughly chopped long red peppers and baby potatoes and saute’ for 2 minutes.
Add the washed chicken fillets/suran (elephant yam), soaked red lentils with the water it was soaked in.
Add the washed and roughly chopped Broccoli and Cauliflower florets and now add enough water.
I did not measure the water I added but add enough to get a nice thick stew , while the ingredients are cooking together on a low flame ,feel free to top up with more water as the lentils easily soak up as much water as you feed it with. Having said that you don’t want to end up with a watery stew so don’t add more than 3/4th cup at one go.
Season with sea salt , I love MALDON SEA SALT which I use and I have a few packets ALWAYS stashed away, great n salads it is!
Then sprinkle red chilli flakes and gently place a veg stock cube on top on this lovely pot of goodness bubbling away. I prefer the KNORR veg stock cubes , they have a great bouquet of flavour and are very handy at times when am exhausted and need to quickly cook up something tasty!
Stir well, cover with a lid and cook on a medium flame.
The red lentil will froth as they cook not to worry simply stir now and then and mix well, don’t allow the stew to get too thick we want enough lovely gravy to slurp this stew and dip the baguette into!

I was so hungry that I didn’t click any photos of my lovely fresh ingredients but it was a brilliantly sunny day yesterday and after this wholesome stew for lunch we had to really force ourselves to go and get some much needed fresh air at Morden Hall Park – I happily left my smartphone behind so photos to share but suffice to say that it was a gorgeous walk through the huge grounds and we saw many happy families ,happy couples and cute old folks and even happier kids and dogs romping around in the muddy park fun! And because we were so good we treated ourselves to hot tea and a sandwich at a local Turkish Cafe 😉 hehehe

Am very happy and proud of this new original recipe creation from my experimental kitchen. Next time I make this stew I will smoke the sweet and crunchy long red peppers and peel off the skin , to add a deep smoky flavour to the stew and not have the skin floating around – double whammy I say 🙂

Sweetcorn and Paneer Bhaji/Sabzi

November 15, 2013 by manjirichitnis 2 Comments

In March I had rushed to be by my mothers side when her recovery post a double knee replacement surgery which was supposed to give her a new lease on life went badly wrong.

She was put on a very strict diet and asked to avoid more food stuff than she could eat, besides the heat in Pune was killing and the numerous medicines made her terribly hungry and moody. Not to mention the times when she was in so much pain I regularly went in the room next door and sobbed my guts out into a pillow…

On one of the better days when she really wanted to eat something tasty and refused all the options I gave her my maushi (that’s we call mum’s sister in Marathi language – my mother tongue) saved the day by making her this simple yet delicious vegetable which was packed with flavour in-spite of having on onion,no garlic and no tomatoes which mum was not allowed at all…If you have someone at home who is being given blood thinner medicines to avoid blood clots you may be asked to avoid foods that contain Vitamin K which is a natural blood coagulant.

Since this was only for one person we took a handful of each ingredient and used spices as we thought appropriate to suit her taste buds dead with all those medicines. Please feel free to amp up the spice if you wish.

Serves 2 as a side or 1 as a main

Preparation of veggies and Cooking Time:45 minutes

Ingredients:

Cauliflower florets 150 gm
sweet corn 50 gm
carrots chopped into tiny cubes 50 gm
green peas 50 gm
Paneer cubes/Cottage Cheese 50 gm
2 bay leaves
salt as per taste
a pinch of red chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin and coriander powder mix
a small pinch of ground clove powder
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
Finely chopped fresh green coriander leaves -just enough to garnish.

Method:

In a pan take 1/2 tbsp of olive oil and sautee the bay leaves, clove powder and cumin and coriander powder for about 30 seconds.
Add the sweet corn and cook for about 3 minutes with spritz of water on a very low flame with lid to allow the corn to cook well.
Add the chopped carrot cubes and add water and cover an allow to steam for 2 -3 minutes on a low flame.
Reason for cooking the sweetcorn first and then the carrots is that they will take longer to cook than the cauliflower and peas which will become mush in the vegetable if all these are added at once. To save time you could used boiled sweetcorn and carrot. Avoid canned and ready to eat variety.
When carrots are almost cooked add the cauliflower florets ,green peas and season with the turmeric and red chilli powder and salt.Mix Well.
Add very little water just enough to allow the veggies to cook well.

When they are almost cooked after not more than 5- 8 minutes , add the soft paneer cubes and mix well and serve hot with a chapati fresh off the pan.
Garnish with a tiny bit of fresh coriander leaves finely chopped.Ensure they are washed thoroughly to ensure no muddy bits are hiding between the delicate leaves.

Needless to say aai loved the bhaji and after almost 15 days of bland food she was really upbeat. Soon after she really began to recover at a desirable pace and was coming up with many of her own ideas to make delicious food with less oil, minimal spices and without any tomato. Cheers to you aai , you are a very brave person to have come out of such a bad health situation only a few months ago, to a point where you are 100% independent and cheerful as ever.God bless all those that stood by us and the few special people who came to help me in the hour of need, no questions asked, you know I love you people tons right ?:)

Disclaimer: Please note this is a true account of what my mum had to eat with her many food restrictions and is not meant to be treated as a medical advice for anyone following a diet where they have been asked to stay off Vit K .Please always consult your doctor before eating anything that is out of the ordinary for your condition.

An Omelette with a twist

January 23, 2012 by manjirichitnis 4 Comments

Your regular omelette but better

What’s life without a bit of a twist I say!

So here’s one of my “different” omelette recipes, I love eating eggs in all shapes and forms and am more so obsessed with omelettes and scrambled eggs.

This recipe is for hungry morning times when you have a rumbling tummy and need time to hold the tummy quiet and prepare for rest of the day. It is a filling, satisfying yummy start to the day, I serve this with 2 slices of toast buttered with a generous blog of organic grass-fed butter and a large glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to wash it down 🙂

Ok so you will need the following ingredients and a really easy short process to cook this yummy egg omelette

An Omelette with a twist

Fluffy, delicious egg omelette

5 from 6 votes

Print Recipe

Prep Time 5 mins

Cook Time 6 mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Fusion

Servings 1 person

Equipment

1 Non-stick frying pan
1 egg-whisk or fork
1 Spatula
1 Knife
1 Chopping Board

Ingredients

2 Eggs
1 large Red onion chopped lengthwise
1/2 Garlic cloves sliced very fine lengthwise again
1 Chicken Sausage
2 Green chillies
1 tsp Red chilli powder
Olive Oil as required or unsalted butter
Salt as per taste

Instructions

Chop the red onion lengthwise and so also the garlic clove.
Heat frying pan over medium heat.
Sauté the red onion n garlic slices in a generous blob of butter on a pan until the onion starts to reduce turns a mild brown n stays ab it soft.
Transfer the onion and garlic onto a creamic plate and allow to cool down a bit.
Crack two eggs in a mixing bowl, beat them well using a whisk or a fork until you see loads of bubbles forming and the eggs have a nice thick consistency.
Now mix in the onions and garlic into the eggs, add the chopped chillies, red chilli powder.
Roughly chop the chicken sausage and add into the egg mixture, mix well
Heat the same frying pan on a medium add and add some more butter if you like, when the pan is hot , pour the egg mixture into the pan.
Cook with a lid for a few minutes, then using a wooden spatula loosen the omelette around the eggs, flip and cook until done on the other side without a lid, reduce the heat as required.
Serve hot with toasted sourdough smothered in butter, a nice strong cup of masala chai and some freshly squeezed orange juice or a slice of grapefruit.

Keyword Omlette

Recipe Notes:

I like to chop the red onion and garlic lengthwise. Why, you ask? Because in an omelette the tiny square bits will loose themselves and vanish I like to chomp on and feel the taste of all the ingredients as I eat the omelette and appreciate each and every ingredient, it’s just so much more fulfilling and creates an immense feeling of happiness as a creator of a true mouth-watering masterpiece.
The red onion should be sauteed to the point it is still soft and light brown so that when you bite into it, it releases a sweet burst of onion taste on your palate.
Feel free to swap the butter for olive oil or an oil spray.
I prefer to use unsalted butter, I mean who wants to pump their body with extra sodium, not me, hellow normal blood pressure!
A fluffy, well-cooked omelette is a joy to cook and serve and even nigger pleasure to eat so it is imperative to get the timing of flipping it over absolutely spot-on and correct, it comes with practise and you will love it!
Feel free to innovate and improvise this recipe, throw in bits of sweet pepper, sweet corn, spinach that is about to go off, or some kale that is looking tired, add in your favourite cheese or not. I leave that to your imagination, creativity, and what is available at hand!

AAAHHH pure omelette pleasure.