My version of desi style szechuan chicken

This is my version. And it's slightly desi. But it's easy and fast (took me all of 15 minutes). So enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 lb. chicken breast, cut into small strips
1 onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
1 cup julienne carrots
1 cup julienne celery
1 green bell pepper, julienne
1 cup thinly sliced cabbage
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
pinch of haldi
SAUCE:
5 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp chili paste
1 tbsp sriracha sauce (red bottle, green top, rooster on the front)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar/rice vinegar
1 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp corn starch mixed with cold water

Mix the sauce ingredients together in a bowl, except for the corn starch. Heat some oil over medium-high heat. Add the ginger-garlic paste, jalapeno and haldi and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the chicken and cook until no longer pink. Throw in all the veggies and the sauce and cook for a few minutes. You don't want the veggies to get soft. Add the corn starch to thicken. If you need more sauce add water and more spices if needed. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve with steamed rice.

Banana Crumb Muffins

I made this for the husband to take in to work once and have been getting requests for them ever since.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup chocolate chips (optional)

3 bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup butter melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

dash of cinnamon and nutmeg

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 tbsp all purpose flour

1/8 tsp cinnamon powder

dash of nutmeg

1 tbsp butter

couple handfuls of chopped pecans (optional)

Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl combine the smashed bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla and melted butter. The bananas will be slightly lumpy. Pour the dry ingredients into the banana mixture and stir until combined. This mixture will also be slightly lumpy. Mix in any chocolate chips or pecans here if desired.

To make the crumb topping, combine the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl. Cut in the butter until it becomes a coarse mixture. Add the chopped pecans if using.

Fill greased or paper cup lined muffin pan 2/3 full with batter and top with a generous amount of the crumb topping. Bake at 375 for about 15 -18 minutes.

Chicken and Orzo

I made this up one day, and it's really a versatile dish so you can add or subtract protein and veggies as you like!

Ingredients:

2 cups Orzo pasta

1/2 lb chicken in small strips, shrimp, beef, whatever you want.

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

a bunch of spinach, chopped

1 can mushrooms

1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1 inch pieces

sun-dried tomatoes chopped

sliced black olives

green beans

broccoli florets

etc.

parsley

Italian seasoning, Mediterranean seasoning, paprika, mirchi powder, cumin powder, other desi masalas if you want it more desi, salt and pepper to taste

parmesan cheese

Boil the orzo in chicken broth until cooked.

Saute the onions in olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and then chicken. Add any and all seasonings and cook until no longer pink. Add the veggies according to cook time. When everything is cooked, mix the orzo in. Add parmesan and parsley at the end and voila!

Beef Wellington

This is my version of a beef wellington. A lot of original versions use pate and sometimes bacon. Was much easier than I thought it would be.

Ingredients:

1 beef tenderloin OR individual fillets

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed

1 can mushrooms, or 1 package fresh mushrooms, chopped

1 shallot (you can use an onion too) chopped

2-3 garlic cloves minced

Italian seasoning, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, salt and pepper to taste.

It would probably be best to marinate the beef with salt, pepper and a bit of meat tenderizer for at least a few hours to overnight. I only marinated for like a couple hours and it still came out tender.

Melt a couple tbsp of butter in a pan and add a tiny drizzle of olive oil. Sear the beef over high heat until all sides are brown. This should take about 3-5 minutes each side depending on the size. If you like your meat well done, pop it in the oven for a bit, but do not cook all the way through as it will be baked later as well. Set aside.

Melt about 2 tbsp butter in a pan and add some olive oil. Throw in the onion/shallot and saute until translucent. Add garlic and the mushrooms and seasonings and saute until dry.

Unfold the puff pastry and make sure it's big enough to wrap around the meat completely. If you're using individual fillets just make sure there's enough pastry to wrap each one. Place some mushroom mixture in the middle of the pastry then place the meat on top. Add more mushroom mixture to cover the meat. Carefully fold the pastry up to wrap the meat completely, and seal with water. Place fold down on a baking sheet and brush with egg wash. Bake at 400 for about 15-20 minutes or until the pasty is golden brown. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Candied Nuts

This was my husband's idea and it was quite successful so I thought I'd post. It's a yummy but slightly healthier snack (you know, other than the butter, sugar and cream :-P) BTW, these are all estimations and not exact measurements.

Ingredients:

a cup or two of your favorite nuts. We started with pecans and then I decided to make a mixture of pecans and almonds. Husband requested a batch of salted cashews.

4 tbsp butter

about 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar

couple pinches of cinnamon powder

about 1/4 to 1/3 cup heavy cream

Roast the nuts either on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes, giving them a stir halfway, or on the stove in a pan. This gives them a nice toasty flavor a good crunch factor. Let cool.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and then stir in the sugar and cinnamon powder. After about 30 seconds of stirring, add the cream and stir for about a minute to let the sugar dissolve. Throw in the nuts and stir quickly to coat evenly. Pour onto a baking sheet or sheet of foil and quickly spread out with a fork. Let cool and enjoy!