Noodles Omelet

Difficulty: Medium | Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins| Yield: 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS
1 Packet Dired Noodles (Approx. 75 gms)
4 Eggs
½ Green Capsicum
½ Red Capsicum*
½ Yellow Capsicum*
1 Small Onion
½ cup Shrimps
¼ cup Diced Bacon**
½ tsp Pepper Powder
20 gms Cheese
½ tsp Pepper Powder
1 Green Chilli
1 tsp Vinegar
6 tbsp Oil
Salt to Taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Boil the noodles in water with salt till just done. Drain out water and mix about a tbsp of oil to avoid the noodles sticking to each other.
   
2. Dice the onions and the capsicum into small cubes.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan. Use a pan which is approx. 8” in diameter.
4. Add the shrimps and sauté till lightly fried. Add the bacon and fry for a little longer.
5. Take them out and leave aside.
6. Now add 4 tbsp of the oil and add the onion. Allow the onions to get fried for about a minute before adding the capsicums.
   
7. Finely chop the green chilli and add them as well.
8. Fry till the capsicums have softened a little.
   
9. Now add the shrimps and bacon back into the pan.
   
10. Add the pepper, vinegar and a little salt.
11. Mix in the noodles.
12. Add the remaining oil along the sides of the pan.
13. Beat the eggs and pour on the noodles.
14. Cover and cook on low to medium heat until the eggs are done.
15. Remove from heat. Grate the cheese and sprinkle over the omelet.
16. Put the pan inside an oven and grill the top till the cheese is melted and browned.***Let the omelet cool a little. Now carefully, with a flat ladle, take out the omelet onto a plate and divide into 4 equal portions and serve hot.

NOTES
*Add green capsicums only if you do not have red and yellow ones at home.
** Optional.
*** If you can’t put the whole pan inside the oven, using a flat ladle, carefully take out the omelet from the pan onto a foil and then grill it.

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Chicken Kadam

This is to my father, who himself is an ardent cook and a connoisseur of food. He picked up this recipe half way from a cook show and developed it to suit his taste. The name also has been coined by him!

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 1 hr | Cook Time: 10 mins| Yield: 12 Pieces

INGREDIENTS
150 gms Minced Chicken
½ cup Rice*
1” piece of Ginger
1 Green Chilli
Salt to Taste
1 tsp Oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Wash and soak the rice for about an hour.
2. Finely chop the ginger. Should make about 1½ tbsp chopped ginger.
3. Finely chop the green chilli.
4. Drain out the rice and take it on a plate. Ensure there is no excess water in the rice.
5. Mix the ginger and the chilli with the chicken adding salt according to taste. Divide into 12 portions and make them into balls. The balls might tend to be a bit sticky at this stage. If unmanageable, apply a little oil on your palms.
6. Roll the chicken balls on to the rice and cover it well with the rice.
   
   
   
7. Now steam the balls in a covered container. Or just make sure that water doesn’t reach the chicken balls while they are getting steamed.
   
8. Do smear the oil in the container before placing them.
   
9. If cooked in a pressure cooker it should take about 10 mins to be done (first on high, then on medium). Or steam them until done.
   
10. Serve hot as a starter or snacks.

NOTES
*Ideally use fine, small grained rice.

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Cheesy Grilled Mushrooms

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins| Yield: 8 Pieces

INGREDIENTS
8 Medium Button Mushrooms
4 Cheese Slices
2 tbsp Boiled Peas
2 tbsp Boiled Corn
4 tbsp Diced Bacon*
1 tsp Oil

DIRECTIONS

1. Remove the stems of the mushrooms and clean well and leave them aside.
2. Heat a pan and add the bacon. Fry them a little in their own fat.
3. Once the bacon is slightly brown, remove from heat and mix the peas and the corns.
4. Divide into 8 equal portions
5. Cut the cheese slices into halves.
   
6. Take a mushroom, and place it upside down. Now place a piece of cheese slice and then a portion of the bacon mixture on top. Press this in a little and seal it up with the cheese slice itself. Repeat for the rest.
   
   
   
7. Heat a griller or pan and smear the oil.
   
8. Grill the bottoms mushrooms for 5-7 mins on medium. Now place it in an oven and grill the top until they are browned. **

NOTES
*Optional. You can also use shredded chicken instead.
** I prefer not to bake the mushrooms in an oven as they become slightly too soft by the time the browning is done.

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Baati Chochchori

You need not be a typical Bengali to love this recipe. Provided one doesn’t have allergies from shrimps, any food lover would fall for this one!! This simple and mouth-watering recipe is thanks to my sister-in-law, from whom I have picked it up in the first place.

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 30 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins| Yield: 8 Servings

INGREDIENTS
2 Medium Jhinge (Ridge Gourd)
1 Medium Potato
1 Medium Onion
1 Large Tomato
½ cup Shrimps (shelled)
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
¼ tsp Chilli Powder
2 Green Chilli*
3 tbsp Mustard Oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Peal the jhinge and the potato and cut them into 2” long and ½” thick pieces.
   
2. Thickly slice the tomatoes and the onion.
   
3. Break the green chillies into 2-3 pieces each.
4. Take a pan and mix all the ingredients together.
   
   
5. Cover and place the pan on low heat. Cook for about 15 – 20 mins or until the potatoes are done.
6. Now uncover and cook on high until the vegetables get slightly mashed and the excess water evaporates fully.
7. Check seasoning and remove from heat.
8. Serve hot with steamed rice.

NOTES
*Add according to taste.

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Wurst Curry

My first taste of ‘wurst curry’ was at an almost deserted railway station in Germany at the middle of the night. It was past 11.30 p.m. and we had reached Nuremberg, Germany, waiting at the station extremely hungry for our next connecting train. The only shop open were two small food stalls outside the station…one selling ‘kebab’ and the other ‘wurst curry’! My husband and I, decided to go for the latter as we always have been adventurous about food and love trying out new things. And till date, we have not regretted our choice that day.

We even thought that may be our hunger pangs made us love it so much…but we have tried our way of making it at home and it still tastes delicious. Hence now, this is a very fast and yummy dinner we often have in our household. Actually, this is something I tried to replicate of what I had, but you can try any kind of sauce and gravy…..just give it a try! It’s a big yes especially for kids and sausage lovers!!

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 10 mins| Yield: 2-3 Servings

INGREDIENTS
250 gms Sausages (Pork/Chicken)*
1/2 Large Capsicum
1 Medium Carrot
1 medium Potato
2 tsp Barbecue Sauce
1 tsp Red Curry Paste
1 tsp Green Curry Paste
3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
1 tsp Lemon Juice
1/2 tsp Pepper Powder
1/2 tsp Paprika Powder
1/2 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the sausages into 1” thick pieces.
   
2. Dice the capsicum.
   
3. Slice the potatoes and the carrots into little thick discs.
4. Heat the oil in a pan and add the sausages.
   
5. Fry them for about a minute and then ass the rest of the vegetables.
6. Continue to fry them together until they are lightly fried.
   
7. Now add all the other ingredients and stir for another minute.
   
8. Now add water (approx. 2 cups) and bring it to a boil.
9. Simmer and cook until the carrots and potatoes are cooked and the gravy is of a nice thick consistency.**
10. Check the seasoning and remove from heat.
11. Serve hot with warm buns or French fries/mashed potato or maybe even with rice.
    

NOTES
*I used the thicker variety of sausages, but you can use anything that’s available. Also the pork ones taste better in this preparation.
** You may need to uncover and cook on high heat until the gravy is thick. This will depend on the quantity of water you have added and also on your taste and preference.

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Potato and spring onion hash with fried eggs

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 5 mins | Cook Time: 15 mins| Yield: 3 Servings

INGREDIENTS
3 Eggs
3 Stalks Spring Onion
1 Medium Potato
¼ tsp Pepper
1 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut the spring onions into 2” pieces.
2. Peal and dice the potatoes. Dice them into small sizes, about ¼” cubes.
3. Heat oil in a pan (ideally a non-stick pan) and add the potatoes.
4. Stir and fry until they are half cooked.
5. Now add the spring onions and a little salt.
   
6. Stir for another minute or two.
7. Now divide the vegetables into 3 segments, keeping a gap in between for you to drop the egg.
   
8. Break one egg at a time and drop them into the empty space. Repeat for all the eggs.
9. Now sprinkle some more salt and the pepper.
10. Cover the lid and cook on low heat until the yolk is fully done.
    
11. For browning the top, put the pan into the grill and grill it till you get a nice golden brown colour on top.*
12. Now serve with toasts for breakfast. Each portion should have one egg along with some of the spring onions and potatoes.

NOTES
*You can avoid this step. Like, in the picture I did not grill it as I did not have a large oven to do the same.

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Methi Fish

Difficulty: Easy | Prep Time: 15 mins | Cook Time: 30 mins| Yield: 6-8 Servings

INGREDIENTS
500-600 gms Fish (12 pieces)
1 Large Onion
½ tsp Garlic Paste
1 tsp Ginger Paste
2 tsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tsp Red Chilli Powder*
½ cup Yogurt**
1 tsp Kasoori Methi
¼ tsp Methi Whole
¼ tsp Garam Masala Powder***
6 tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean and wash the fishes. Add about 1½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp turmeric powder and mix well. Marinate the fish aside for about 15 mins.
2. In the meanwhile make a paste of the onions.
3. Once the fishes are marinated, heat about 4 tbsp oil in a pan and lightly fry the fishes.
4. Leave them aside.
5. Add the remaining oil into the pan.
6. Add the whole methi and then the oinion paste. Add the onions immediately after the methi. In case the methi gets burnt the whole preparation might get a bitter taste.
   
7. Fry the oinions till they are dark brown in colour.
8. Add the ginger and the garlic paste and fry for another minute or so.
9. Now add the coriander, red chilli and the remaining tumeric powder. Add a little water along with these.
10. Also add some salt at this stage.
11. Fry till oil separates, then add some more water again. Repeat till the water has evaporated once more.
    
12. Now add the yogurt. Make sure the yogurt is smooth before adding. Whip it if necessary.
    
13. Stir and simmer for a minute or so.
    
14. Again add about ½ cup water and add the fishes to the gravy.
15. Cover with a lid and on medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.
16. Uncover and add the kasoori methi and the garam masala powder.
17. Stir and check seasoning.
    
18. Dry up the excess water, if any, at this stage by increasing the heat. The gravy should be of a thick consistency, not too dry and not too liquidy.
19. Remove from heat and serve with plain rice, jeera rice or peas pulao.

NOTES
* Add as per taste.
** If the yogurt is too sour, add ¼ cup.
*** Garam Masala includes equal proportion of cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon grinded together

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