PANEER & PEPPER QUICHE

We all read about food and try to learn new dish for any place avaliable, some recipes sound so interesting that it just gets us thinking....the same happened with me when I read about quiche some years back. My love for eggs is no secret and this dish has eggs as the main ingredient so exciting right :) . But I didn't know of any place in Bangalore where I could get them and I didn't have oven at that time so I didn't try making it. I have been introduced to a lot of dish by my elder sister-Kankana and I tasted my very first quiche with her. Before my sister was leaving Bangalore, we used to spend every weekend together, so one Sunday she took me out for dinner to a beautiful resturant. She ordered a lot of yummy dishes including a creamy chicken quiche. When I saw the quiche I was not sure if I would like it coz it didnt look very appeling to me, but my sister said I should try it before I make up my mind and when I did I was lost in the flavour. The chicken filling was creamy and juicy and the crust was crunchy......honestly I ordered another slice of the quiche, I just could not leave with one :) . Since the last Tuesday I was not well, I was surviving on cornflakes and milk so Friday morning as I was feeling a little better I decided to make some tasty and quick and definately savoury brunch. When I saw the eggs the very first thing that came to my head was Quiche....simple, easy and filling. Quiche can be with a pastry crust or without it, I went for the crustless one. I didnt have any readymade crust available and I wanted a quick brunch so had no plans in making the crust. As for the filling, I had pepper, paneer, onion and beans so I ended up with Paneer & Pepper Quiche. The best part was that the food was ready in 30 min and I had a satisfying brunch :) .

FOR QUICHE
Eggs	4 numbers
Red Bell Pepper	1 number
Paneer	200 gms
Beans	6 numbers
Green Chilly	2 numbers
Onion, big	1 number
Garlic cloves	3 numbers
Milk	1 cup
Dried Thyme	1 tablespoon
Oil	2 tablespoons
Salt	As per taste
Black Pepper	1 teaspoon

    Paneer & Pepper Quiche:-

1. Chop the onion, red bell pepper and pepper separately into small cubes. Cut the chilly very finely.
   
2. Blanch the beans for about 5 min and then, shock them in ice water. Keep them aside.
3. Pre heat the oven at 140 C for 10 min.
4. Heat 2 tbs oil in a pan and add the garlic, fry till the garlic turn brown.
5. Add onion and pepper to the pan and saute them till the vegetables are soften.
6. Then add the paneer and green chilly and fry for 10 min.
7. In a big bowl, whip the eggs with milk, dried thyme, salt & pepper.
8. Add the cooked vegetables and paneer to the bowl and mix them properly.
9. Grease a baking pan with some oil and pour the egg mixture to the baking pan.
10. Arrange the bean on top of the egg mixture on the baking pan
11. Bake it at 180 C for 30 to 35 mins.
12. Quiche is ready to be served.

I had a great start for the weekend and have planned to have a very relaxing one :) .

MURGH MUSALLAM WITH PADINA PULAV

Every human likes to experiment with food. Either we try a new restaurant or we cook something different. We like to try different ingredients or different cooking techniques or even different cuisines. In spite of all this we all long for a perfect home cooked meal....by home cooked I mean anything from Mom's kitchen....can anything top that...NO WAY :) . Remember those days when we would run home after school and waiting for us in the table would be some delicious and yummy food made by Mom. As you know I cannot imagine Sunday lunch without Chicken. Well this is a hereditary thing I suppose, my Dad says on ever Sunday my grandfather would come back home from his work location with lots of fishes and chicken and there would be a feast so you get my point :) . Even Dad gets Chicken on every Sunday and now that he is retired he even cooks the Chicken.....and let me tell you this.....its delicious and healthy, he never uses too much of spices or oil yet its YUMMY....sadly I can never re-create his dish....this time I will note down all the steps he follows and try again.....TRY TRY AGAIN right. I miss my Mom everyday and just talking to her over phone is not enough but now that I am counting my days to go home I am just waiting to try all of my Mom's creations. Since the last 2 weeks the feeling is so intense that I just wanna eat only dishes that remind me of home.. :) . Last weekend I made Bhapa Dim again and this weekend Murgh Musallam. I know that's not a typical Bengali dish but as I have told my mom is a great cook and she makes several types of dishes and this dish is also from her list of creations. I had made it for the first time some 5 - 6 years back for my birthday party......ya I know I had to cook on my birthday....NO COMMENTS. :( . Anyways this Sunday I decided to try to re-create this dish with my own twist. Murgh Musallam is part of both Lahori Cuisine & Awadhi Cuisine. The Awadhi Cuisine is from Lucknow capital of Uttar Pradesh,India. Awadhi Cuisine has been greatly influenced by Mughal cooking techniques, and this bears similarities to those of Persia, Kashmir, Punjab and Hyderabad. However as far as this dish goes , in Lahori style the chicken is stuffed with rice and dry fruits where as in the Awadhi style the dry fruits are part of the gravy. I selected the Awadhi style for no special reason, just that my Mom made it that way. Serve it with Padina Pulav and it make a great combination.

FOR MURGH MUSALLAM
Chicken , curry cut	750 gms
Yoghurt	3 tablespoon
Onion, red ones	2 medium sized
Ginger-garlic paste	3 teaspoons
Lemon juice	1 number
Tomatoes	2 numbers
Green Chilly	2 numbers
Almonds	5 numbers
Cashew Nuts	5 numbers
Raisin	1/4 cup
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Red Chilli powder	2 teaspoons
Garam Masala	1 tablespoon
Bay Leaf	2 leaves
Whole Dried Red Chilli	2 numbers
Salt	Just a pinch
Ground-Nut Oil	1/2 cup

FOR PADINA PULAV
Long grain rice	1 cup
Whole Cumin Seeds	1 teaspoon
Whole Red Chilli	2 numbers
Turmeric Powder	1/2 teaspoon
Green Chilly	2 numbers
Mint	1 cup

     MURGH MUSALLAM :-

1. In a large bowl, mix together ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and lemon juice.To the mixture add the yoghurt and mix well. 
2. Make small slits on the chicken flesh and add the Chicken to the mixture and let it stand for 2 hrs.
3. Make a wet paste of almonds, cashew nuts, raisins and green chilli.
4. Chop the onion lengthwise as finely as possible. Blanch the tomatoes for 10 min , then remove the skin and puree it.
5. Heat oil in a large pan, add the bay leaf and whole dried red chilli.
6. As the aroma is released, add the onion julienne to the pan with salt and fry the onion till its translucent. Add the dry fruit paste and cook till the oil is released
7. Add the chicken with the marinate to the pan with salt and cook over low flame with lid for 15 - 20 min or till the chicken is done.
8. Add the tomato puree to the cooking chicken and cook for 5 min. 
9. Finally add the garam masala and cook till the oil separates out. 

    PADINA PULAV :-

1. Soak the rice in water for 2 hrs.
2. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds and whole dried red chilli.As it start to spatter, add the soften rice and fry.
3. Mix the turmeric powder with little water and add it to the rice and fry well.
4. Chop the mint leaves roughly. Chop the green chilli to small size.Add them to the frying rice.
5. Fry till the minty smell is released.
6. Then add water and cook till the rice is ready.

         

That reminded of home, not that its anyway close to my Mom's but it OK FOR NOW .

CREAMY BROCCOLI SOUP

The very first thing that comes to my head when I hear SOUP is warmth and comfort... :) . After a long hectic day I always have a huge craving for some warm soup and I do end up with a large bowl of the warm wonderful, however they are just perfect for any time and any day. Soups are considered to be healthy food but I am not a healthy eater, I just love to try various types of food. My liking for soups started during the last year of my School Days.....I would be busy running from one tuition to another. My mom would never allow me to leave the house without eating anything and I had no time to sit and eat so Mom created a vegetable soup so that I am set for the whole day....,till date that vegetable soup is my favourite --- super yummy and so healthy ... :) . Having said all that, the story behind this soup is totally different. Last week I learnt that Nupur is hosting an event called Soup it Up !! and as the name suggested we are suppose to create or recreate any soup dish of our choice....I decided to join the gang so as to say :) . Now the next big question.....what kind of soup should I make. I spent the next 3 days pondering about what type of soup I would like. I do cook for my blog but end of the day I have to eat it all by myself so it had to be something to my liking... :) . Unable to decided on anything, Saturday I went for ingredient hunt and hoped that on seeing the ingredients I could decided on the type of soup, surprisingly my plan worked.... I saw broccoli siting on the counter shelf and WALA !!! . My liking for broccoli is very recent, in most of the movies they show that no one likes them ; this had an affect on me, I never bought them fearing that I wont like it and it would be a waste. Around 4-5 months back I just happened to try broccoli(unknowingly of course)in a restaurant and I just loved it. Since then I always make it a point to have broccoli in my freeze and they are perfect for any simple vegetarian dish, however this time I wanted to make it into a soup. I opted for a creamy soup without the cream element :) , so the Creamy Broccoli Soup was created. Sharing the recipe in Soup it Up !! :: Kitchen Chronicles and Kitchen Chronicles - Host Lineup

FOR SOUP
Potato, big	1 number
Broccoli	250 gms
Onion, big	1 number
Garlic	2 cloves
Green Chilly	1 number
Milk	2 cups
Dried Thyme	2 teaspoons
Cheddar cheese	1 cup
Butter	2 tablespoons
Salt	As per taste
Black Pepper	1 teaspoon

    Creamy Broccoli Soup:-

1. Cut the Potatoes and Broccoli into large chunks and parboil them. 
2. Chop the onion is large chunks , slit the green chilly in half (remove the seeds if you don't like heat) and grate the garlic separately
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over low heat so that the butter doesn't burn.
4. Add the chopped onion and garlic to the saucepan and cook till the onion soften.
5. Then add the green chilly and dried thyme and cook for 2-3 min more.
6. Finally add the vegetables and milk. Also add about 2 cups of warm water.
7. Add in the seasoning - salt and pepper to the saucepan.
8. Cover the pot  and let it cook for 30 - 35 min over medium heat or till the vegetables are soften and can be pureed, see that all the liquid is not evaporated.
9. Using a hand held blender or a mixer , puree the mixture into a creamy soup.
10. Garnish the soup with parboiled , grated carrots or cheese -- choice is yours.

This creamy & warm soup was perfect for my Sunday dinner. I could relax the night while getting ready for the week ahead-- this week :) .

FLORENTINE MAC & CHEESE

Finally the weekend is here...yahoo!!! , I have been waiting for it so eagerly. Last 2 weeks were super hectic , double shifts in office are a serious NO NO but at times we are so helpless. I missed out a lot of things due to this -- cooking , post on my blog , checking out my favorite blogs , watching TV even missed out on Supernaturals and above all SLEEP :) . I have a huge list of tasks to be done in the weekend -- get all the electrical fixings done , shopping , cooking , blogging and catching up with all of my fav. TV shows. Lets see how many can be checked off by Sunday night :) . All I wanted today was relaxation , and I wanted some type of "comfort food" -- heard a lot about comfort food not sure what it means as I find every food to be very comforting. So I did a bit of research and found of long list of food in that category or as explained by Wikipedia - easy-to-eat, easy-to-digest meal rich in calories, nutrients or both. However my eyes twinkled when I saw Mac & Cheese....who needs an excuse for that :) . My love for pasta is no secret but off late I have been trying out the lighter versions without cheese so today I was up for some indulgence. I baked the dish as I love those crunchy bites of cheese, then it looked very pale and I wanted some color in my plate thats when Cherry Tomatoes and Spinach came into picture. So I call my variation -- Florentine Mac & Cheese.

FOR MAC & CHEESE
Conchiglie pasta	2 cups
Milk	1 cup
Fresh Cream	1 cup
Flour	2 tablespoon
Worcestershire sauce	3-4 drops
Nutmeg (grated)	1 teaspoons
Mozzarella Cheese	1 cup
Cheddar cheese	1 cup
Butter	1 tablespoon
Salt	As per taste
Black Pepper	1/4 teaspoon

FOR GARLIC SPINACH
Garlic cloves(grated)	2 numbers
Spinach	2 bunches
Butter	1 teaspoon
Salt	As per taste

FOR TOMATO
Cherry Tomatoes	12 numbers
Butter	2 teaspoons
Salt	As per taste

    Mac & Cheese:-

1. Preheat oven to 180° for 10 min.
2. In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, melt butter. Add flour to the melted butter ; cook for 1 minute stirring constantly.
3. Add milk to the pan and whisk so that no lumps are formed.
4. Add cream & worcestershire to the milk mixture and keep whisking till the sauce slightly thickens.
5. To the cooking sauce , add 1/2 cup of cheddar and mozzarella cheese each. Whisk till the cheeses melt.
6. Add grated nutmeg , salt and black pepper to the sauce. Remove from flame and set aside.
7. Boil water in a large pan and add the pasta with salt and a bit of oil. And let it cook till the pasta soften. 
8. Drain out the pasta and let it run under cold water for a min. 
9. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well. Pour the prepared pasta on a baking dish.
10. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the pasta dish and bake for 30-35 min or till the top is browned and cheese is bubbling.

    GARLIC SPINACH & CHERRY TOMATOES:-

1. Heat butter in a pan , add grated garlic and fry.
2. Add the spinach to the pan , sprinkle salt and let it cook in low flame.
3. Fry till the water is evaporated and the spinach is done. Remove and set aside.
4. Cut the cherry tomatoes into halves.
5. Melt butter in a pan , add the tomatoes to the pan skin side down.
6. Sprinkle the salt on the top side. Cook for 5-6 min only and done.

A comfortable meal after all the hectic work was totally refreshing :) .

ORANGE CAKE WITH ORANGE ICING

Beauty lies in the Eyes of the Beholder -- A very famous saying by John Keats. I truly believe it, having said that I have to admit that I feel winter to be a beautiful season....WHY ??? not very sure, may be its cause of my birthplace. Being brought up in beautiful state of Meghalaya, my love for Winter season is kind of very natural. The long winter vacations might have something to do with it as well :D .  Along with winter comes the beautiful fruit -- Orange. Mangoes mark the start of Summer and Oranges mark the onset of Winter. Shillong has abandace of Oranges, every house has at least 2 orange trees. And in the chill weather, having oranges after lunch is a different feeling all together. I still remember those days, we had a tree just near the bedroom window ; before lunch Mamoni would call us (Me and Anna) out and she would pluck the oranges and me and my sister would run to the yard with a basket, we were responsible to catch the oranges before it hit the ground...soon we would have a basket full of oranges--- plump, sweet and juicy. The orange is one of the most common and popular fruit. Delicious and juicy orange fruit contains an impressive list of essential nutrients, vitamins, minerals for normal growth and development and overall well-being. It goes perfectly in any sweet or savory dishes and its also perfect on its own. :) .My love for the Oranges has nothing to do with the healthy benefits, anyways let me share some of the health benefits of oranges I have read ; Regularly consuming vitamin C retards the development of hardening of the arteries and oranges is abundant source for vitamin C. Oranges contain a compound called liminoid, has been found to help fight cancers of the mouth, skin, lung, breast, stomach and colon.  The high vitamin C content also acts as a good anti-oxidant that protects cells from damages by free radicals. The alkaloid synephrine found under the orange peel can reduce the liver's production of cholesterol.  Whereas the anti-oxidant fights oxidative stress that is the main culprit in oxidizing the LDLs in our blood. Even though the orange "tastes acidic", it actually has an alkaline effect in the digestive system and helps stimulate the digestive juices, relieving constipation. A high intake of flavonoids and vitamin C has been known to halve the risk of heart diseases and oranges is abundant source for vitamin C. Studies have shown that a flavonoid called hesperidin in oranges can lower high blood pressure. Drinking orange juice daily can significantly drop the risk of formation of calcium oxalate stones in the kidney. The anti-oxidant in orange help protect the skin from free radical damage known to cause signs of aging. Consuming vitamin C rich foods helps to lower the incidence of peptic ulcers and in turn, reduce the risk of stomach cancer. Oranges have abundance of polyphenols have been shown to provide protection against viral infections. On the 26th Jan, we celebrated the 63rd Republic day. Watching the flag hosting and parade on the television, just fills me with a great zeal and pride to me an Indian. Last year on this day I enjoyed the day with Colorful Mash, and I won the first award for my cooking.....it was great. This year I wanted something sweet. It so happened that last weekend I bought loads of oranges, and was planning to turn that in a cake. 26th Jan'2012 seemed to be a great day to make the cake.....finally my Orange cake with Orange Icing was created.

FOR ORANGE CAKE
Orange, finely grated zest only	1 medium sized
Eggs	2 numbers
Flour	1 & 1/2 cup
Baking Powder	1 tablespoon
Sugar	1 cup
Nutmeg (grated)	1 teaspoons
Butter	1/4 cup
Salt	Just a pinch
Ground-Nut Oil	1/2 cup

FOR ORANGE ICING
Orange juice, freshly squeezed	1 medium sized
Icing sugar	1/2 cup

    ORANGE CAKE:-

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Butter and flour the sides of the cake tin and set it aside.
2. Grind the sugar till it becomes fine and powdery.
3. Whisk together eggs and powdered sugar till the sugar is dissolved.
4. Add the orange zest to the egg mixture and whisk again till the mixture becomes light and fluffy.
5. Melt the butter in a saucepan , add the oil to the melting butter in the saucepan.
6. Add the oil + butter mixture to the egg mixture and stir well.
7. Sift in the flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
8. To the flour mixture, add the grated nutmeg and salt ; mix well.
9. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and fold it all together gently.
10. Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes at 150C or till a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
11.  When the cake is done,place the tin out of the oven and allow to stand for about ten minutes before removing the cake carefully from the tin. Allow the cake to cool completely.

    ORANGE ICING & ASSEMBLY:-

1. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in just enough orange juice until it is soft; see that the icing is not runny. 
2. Place the cake on a serving plate and spread the orange icing over the top in a zigzag pattern. 
3. Let it stand for 15 minutes and serve.

         

The slice of the sweet and orangey cake given a very pleasant feeling .

1st BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION WITH 'SALAD RICE WITH SWEET & SPICY CHICKEN'

A year has passed by and along came in 2012 with lot of new hopes and dreams. Wishing you all a Great New Year Ahead.......may every moment be filled with joy and hope all your dreams come true....!!!! It’s been more than a month that I wrote anything. Did I lose the excitement......No way; rather I was caught in the hands of faith. I met with an accident and was in bed-rest all this time. Sadly I missed a lot of important and fun occasions in the process --- I missed to celebrate my blog's birthday, SORRY BUON APPETITO :( , I missed the new year celebration and I even spent my birthday lying in bed. Well no use crying over spilt milk, today I started cooking and I decided to making something that celebrates my cooking experiments and it’s my way of saying sorry to my blog for missing out on her birthday :) . Do join me to wish BUON APPETITO a very Happy 1st Birthday. I just cannot believe that one year has passed by and I had a lot of fun with you (BUON APPETITO). Before I begin with the recipe I want to share the story behind my blog. I was always interested in cooking since childhood but I have started serious cooking some 6-7 years back ---after I moved out of my home and I was tired of eating out. Over the years I had treated my friends & family now and they would always encourage me a lot. My friends would often ask for my recipes and it got me thinking that I should have a space where I could note down my recipes and everyone could access it. During the same time, my younger brother started blogging and he explained me all about it and it seemed to be a great idea........and I started my first blogs -VERSATILITY. In a few days I realized that blog could be a great way of noting my recipes and anyone could access them easily if they wanted. With this thought in head I came to office on December 18th, 2010 and I determined to start my recipe blog. However I didn’t know what to name it and the whole day in office I kept thinking about it, I even involved my younger sister in the process. At night 11:00pm it struck me.......I had read an article sometime back, that Italians never start their meal without wishing "BUON APPETITO" meaning 'Enjoy your Meal' to all and it felt just perfect. I have some fascination with everything Italian---the architecture, food, men everything stands out in my eyes :) . And I want everyone to enjoy my dishes.....so my blog is named "BUON APPETITO". I started blogging with no knowledge about it. I thought blog is only for personal entries---that’s what I saw in Movies, I didn’t even know that there are other peoples who blog about recipes. Over the last year I discovered the blogger community; I met many wonderful people and loved the experience. Now let’s move to the recipe---SALAD RICE with SWEET & SPICY CHICKEN. I wanted to make something special to celebrate the birthday......however I was torn between trying something new or revisiting an old recipe. Finally I decided to make this dish.....it has a great importance to me. This is the dish that marked the beginning of my journey with kitchen. The first time I made it was some 4 years back just for me.....and then I had it again for my parents some 2 years back. Today when I made the dish I had made a few changes and I liked the variation.

FOR SWEET & SPICY CHICKEN
Chicken thighs	8 pieces
Potatoes	2 medium sized
Carrots	2 medium sized
Red Onion	1 large
Ginger-garlic paste	2 teaspoons
Grape Juice	1 cup
Lime Juice	1/2 of a Lime
Honey	1 tablespoon
Tomato puree	1/2 tablespoon
Paprika	3 teaspoons
Salt	As per taste
Ground-Nut Oil	2 tablespoons

FOR SALAD RICE
Basmati Rice	2 cups
Onion	1 large sized
Carrot	1 large sized
Cucumber	1 medium sized
Tomato	2 medium sized
Yogurt	4-5 tablespoons
Lime Juice	1 number
Turmeric powder	1/2 teaspoon
Paprika	1 teaspoon
Salt	As per taste
Ground-Nut Oil	2 tablespoons

    SWEET & SPICY CHICKEN:-

1. Marinate the chicken thighs in a bowl with salt, 1 teaspoon paprika and lime juice. Let it stand for 15-20 min.
2. Chop the vegetables --potato, carrot and onion, in medium sized cubes.
3. In a large pan, add oil and fry the chicken till it get golden. Remove the pieces in a foil and fold the foil so that the chicken pieces stay warm.
4. In the same pan, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry. Add the cubed vegetables and lightly fry them.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together paprika, tomato puree, honey and line juice. Pour the liquid mixture in the pan. 
6. Add the warm, fried chicken pieces to the cooking pan and cooking again for 4-5 minutes; see that every vegetable and chicken are properly coated with the liquid mixture.
7. Pour the grape juice to the pan; let it cook on medium heat till the chicken and vegetable are cooked and the liquid is a evaporated.

    SALAD RICE:-

1. Heat oil in a large pot; add the rice to the pot and fry it for 5-6 min.
2. Whisk together the yogurt, turmeric powder, paprika and salt in a bowl.
3. Pour the yogurt mixture to the frying rice, mix well and let it cool for 6-7 min.
4. Add water to the pot and let the rice cook.
5. Chop the onion, carrot, cucumber and tomato into small cubes. 
6. Add lime zest. lime juice and salt to the chopped vegetables and let it stand for 10 min.
7. Mix the tangy vegetables to the cooked rice.

         

The tangy Salad Rice with Sweet and Spicy Chicken makes a great combination.