Few days ago I posted chicken nuggets recipe here. I had bought some ground chicken and half of it remained after making nuggets. It was those days when the child was refusing to eat chicken. I thought of making a different curry/gravy with it to see if he gives it a try. I made small balls out of the ground chicken, shallow fried and added them to gravy. It came out great and he wanted to try the balls – he called them soccer balls :). Ingredients for chicken balls : 1 lb (approx 0.45kg) ground chicken breasts 1 tea spn thick yogurt 1 tea spn chilli powder 1/2 tea spn garam masala 1 tbl spn finely chopped ginger 1 tbl spn finely chopped garlic 1 tbl spn finely chopped coriander leaves Oil Salt
Method: Add yogurt, chilli powder, garam masala, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves and salt to chicken and leave it aside in refrigerator for 30mins-1hr. Heat a tava (I used cast iron) and spread some oil. Make small balls of the chicken mixture, shallow fry them for few minutes. They don’t have to cook completely, just make sure they get browned. Keep them aside.
Ingredients for gravy: 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes 1 tea spn chopped ginger 1 tea spn chopped garlic 2 cloves 1″ cinnamon 1 bay leaf 2 cardamoms 1/2 tea spn cumin seeds 1/2 tea spn cumin powder 1/2 tea spn coriander powder A pinch turmeric 1/2 tea spn chilli powder Oil Salt
Method: Heat oil and add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamoms, cumin seeds. Then add chopped onion, ginger, garlic and a little salt. Cook for few minutes till the onions soften. Then add cumin and coriander powder, chilli powder, turmeric, fry till a nice aroma comes out. Add tomatoes, cover and cook till they soften. Take half the amount and grind to a smooth paste (grinding is optional, I do it to get some smooth gravy). Add the paste back to remaining tomatoes, onion mixture. Now slowly add the chicken balls and cook till they are completely done. Serve hot.
Serves : 2-3 Preparation time : 40mins
I was introduced to quinoa about 4 years ago. Some of my ex-colleagues talked about it all the time. Although I was intrigued, I had no interest in trying it. Then a day came when we were advised to reduce all kinds of starchy carbs. Our doctor told us to stop eating white rice and move to brown rice if we wanted. I started looking for things that would replace rice and I came across quinoa again. This time, I wanted to give it a try.
Then one day, I tried mixing quinoa with pearl couscous . The child loves these pearl shaped couscous (although he is not a fan of the tiny traditional couscous). The dish became a hit and now it is on the menu once a week atleast.
Quinoa - Pearl Couscous with Vegetables
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup pearl couscous
- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 2 and 1/2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 cup vegetables - onion carrot, corn, capsicum(bell pepper), celery
- 1/2 tea spn chopped jalapenos optional or use red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tea spn each dried basil and oregano
- 1/2 tea spn lemon pepper seasoning or 1 tbl spn lemon juice
- Olive oil and butter
- Salt
Instructions
- Wash quinoa in water a couple of times.
- Bring vegetable broth to boil and add quinoa, couscous. Cover and let it cook till all liquid is absorbed. Take off the heat and let it cool. Now fluff them with a fork. Keep aside.
- Heat little olive oil and butter (butter for extra taste) and add vegetables. Fry them for few minutes and then add jalapenos (or pepper flakes).
- Now add cooked quinoa-couscous, lemon pepper or lemon juice, dried basil and/or oregano. Mix everything very well.
- Serve hot.
Notes
