Chicken Cacciatorre (Simplified)

This was the first "fancy" recipe I ever learned how to make. However, there really isn't much to it! It's so incredibly simple to make, a quick throw-it-all-in recipe which tastes absolutely delicious.

Chicken Cacciatore goes very well with any bread. I would suggest corn bread or simple garlic bread.

Ingredients -

• 500g Chicken
• 3 Onions, chopped
• 5 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 boxes Tomato Puree
• 2 tbsp Tomato Ketchup
• 2 Bay Leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oil to shallow fry
• Splash of White Wine (optional)

Brown the chicken in a shallow pan with salt and pepper and set aside.

In a larger pan heat oil add garlic and onions and fry till onions are pink, nearing translucent. Pour in the tomato puree and ketchup and cook for 5-6 minutes.

Toss in the bay leaves and the chicken. Sprinkle seasoning as per your taste, cover and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

Add a splash of wine just before serving and enjoy!

Biscuit Fudge

This recipe is one of my all time favorite dessert recipes. It instantly takes me back to when I was 6 years old, which was when I got my first taste of this decadent dessert.

Coincidentally, I found out later that Regina uses nearly the same recipe! The only difference was what we soaked the biscuit in; I in warm milk and she in coffee water!

Ingredients -

• 250g Chocolate
• 100g Butter
• 1 tsp Coffee
• 1 cup warm Milk OR Coffee Water mix
• 1 pack (200gm) Marie Biscuits

Melt the chocolate and butter together and add the coffee to it. You could just stop here and eat this mix with a spoon and have a bad stomach and a smile on your face!

The idea of this dish is to layer the biscuits and the chocolate sauce. So soak the biscuits in warm milk or coffee water mix (don't let them get soggy!) and place them at the bottom of the dish forming a neat layer. Over this, evenly spread a layer of chocolate sauce. Next comes another layer of biscuit and then chocolate sauce; repeat this till you have used up all of the sauce and biscuits.

If you want it to look even fancier than it already does you could add a layer of crushed biscuit on top.

Refrigerate for 4-5 hours and serve.

Baingan ka Bharta

This is one of my favorite sabjis. It is spicy and really packs a punch. It is simply perfect with rotis and some curd or raita to cut the spice. I even managed to convert Varun from a baingan hater with this recipe!

Ingredients –

• 500g Baingan (Aubergine/eggplant, the round fat ones)
• 2 Onions, sliced
• 2 Tomatoes, diced
• 1 square inch Ginger, minced
• 5 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp coriander powder
• ½ tsp cumin powder
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 3tbsp oil
• Salt to taste (baingan soaks up quite a bit of salt)

Roast the baingan over the stove till it is nice and blistered.

Allow it to cool slightly, and peel off the burned skin. You don’t need to be very careful about getting all the skin off. A few bits of skin in your sabji will give a lovely smoky flavor. You could also roast the baingan in a tandoor or barbeque. Once you have peeled the baingan, mash it with a fork. It doesn’t need to be completely smooth.

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions. Once the onions are slightly translucent throw in the ginger and garlic; fry till the onions are browned completely.

Next, put the tomatoes in and add all of the spices (apart from the salt). Continue to fry the masala till a little oil releases from the mixture.

Add the roasted baingan to the masala and cook for a couple of minutes. You can add salt at this point. Serve hot with rotis and some raita.

Peanut Butter

Ever since I can remember I've been in love with peanut butter. As a kid I would sneak into the kitchen when no one was around and gobble up a nice big spoonful and then scurry out, making sure there were no traces left behind.

In fact, my love for peanut butter was so deep that I once got caught red handed by my mother and all she said was,"Go ahead!" I wasn't going to pass up such an opportunity so I dipped the spoon in and had a nice, big, not so yummy mouthful of ginger garlic paste!

This recipe gives only a rough idea of quantities as some people may prefer their peanut butter sweeter than others would. 

Ingredients -

• 300g Peanuts
• 2-3 tbsp Sugar
• 1/2-1 tsp Salt

Roast the peanuts on a medium flame until they turn brownish and let them cool. Place the peanuts in a grinder with the desired amount of sugar and salt and grind till it starts to come together. This may take a while as you will have to keep opening the grinder and scraping down the sides as it tends to get stuck all over the place. Also, check for sugar and add if required.

This recipe does not require any oil as the peanuts release more than enough oil to reach the desired consistency. If you prefer your peanut butter smoother, simply grind it for a while longer!

Bacon Wrapped Chicken

If you're looking to cook a special meal for that special someone, this is the perfect recipe! Although this dish looks amazing and tastes sinfully delicious; it is incredibly easy to make. You can happily pocket all the praise and act as if you were slaving away in the kitchen all day long! And trust me, the look on that special someones face when they bite into this juicy treat is worth the effort!

Ingredients -

• 3 boneless Chicken Breasts
• 100g Cheese OR 1 box of Cheese Spread
• 1 tbsp Butter
• 6 strips Bacon
• 4 cloves Garlic
• Salt and pepper to taste 

Before you start preparing the dish you need to prepare the chicken breasts. Fillet the breasts along the length as you would fillet a fish and beat down with a mallet or rolling pin till they are about half a centimeter thick. You may find it easier to do this by placing the chicken between two sheets of cling film. Slice each breast fillet into half, so that you are left with 6 strips of chicken.

Grate or spread a generous amount of cheese onto the chicken strips and dot with butter. Add some finely chopped garlic and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Starting from one end roll the strip of chicken into a tight cylinder; don't worry if a little cheese falls or oozes out, you can always push it back in.

Lay out a strip of bacon and place the rolled chicken on one end. Holding both the chicken and the end of the bacon strip, roll again and fasten the loose end of bacon with a toothpick. This should give you 6 neatly wrapped, already delicious looking rolls of chicken wrapped in bacon.

Place these in a lightly greased baking dish and bake at 175C for 25 minutes and then at 200C till the outer layer of bacon crisps up slightly.

Cheese Sauce

Cheese sauce is one of the best things that happened to the planet. It can be eaten with practically anything; and can really spruce up a boring dish. This recipe makes around a cup and a half of thick, yummy sauce. 

Ingredients –

·         ½ cup Milk

·         200g Cheese, grated

·         20g butter

·         2 tbsp flour

·         1 green chili, finely chopped

·         2 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 tbsp celery, finely chopped

·         2 tbsp spring onion, finely chopped

·         1 tsp dried oregano

·         Salt and Pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the flour. Fry for a couple of seconds and pour in the milk, whisk quickly to get a thick sauce. Add the grated cheese while continuously stirring till the cheese has melted. Add all the remaining ingredients to the sauce. Serve hot with boiled and fried potatoes.

Note – you can use this sauce as a sandwich spread for the next day.

Grilled Cheesy Potatoes

This recipe has a very funny origin. One fine day I get a call from Regina saying that she dreamt of a recipe and that I had to try it out! So I try it out and this is by far the yummiest take on cheese and potatoes I've ever tasted. Simple and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients –

·         4 fist sized Potatoes

·         100g Cheese

·         6-7 cloves Garlic

·         40g Butter

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Cut the potatoes in half and boil till they are cooked through.
  
Meanwhile, chop the garlic fine and cut the cheese into small cubes. 

Once the potatoes are boiled using a spoon scoop out the halves leaving a little bit adhering the skin so you’re left with little potato cups.

Now mix the scooped out potato with the cheese and garlic and add salt and pepper to taste. Fill the potato, cheese and garlic mix back into the empty potato skins, add a dollop of butter on the tops of each and bake in the oven at 200C for 15-20 minutes.

For those of you with the willpower to wait, you might want to let it cool for 5-10 minutes before digging in as the melted cheese can be piping hot!

Note: Replace grated cheese with cubed cheese wherever you possibly can. It tastes so much better!