April 2016 - Purple Cinnamon

Chicken, Chinese and Thai, Healthy, Makeover for Leftovers, Soups and Salads

Chicken stew with ginger – with leftovers

April 29, 2016 No Comments

Recipe for chicken stew with ginger

I’m leaving for Bangalore in two days and it was time to empty out the perishables in the fridge. That included – marinated chicken, open pack of coconut milk, ginger and coriander leaves. I didn’t have enough ingredients for a curry, but I sure have enough for a stew. This one turned out pretty good. Fragrant with ginger and turmeric and fresh with the coriander, this took me 10 mins to whip up at the end of the day for dinner.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken – 1 breast cut into cubes

Coconut milk – 100 ml (I had half an open pack)

Turmeric powder – Almost 1 tsp

Ginger – 2 inch piece sliced

Paprika/chilli powder, salt, ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp each to marinate the chicken in

Coriander leaves – handful chopped

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Optional – chopped vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, broccoli and the likes

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan and saute chicken in it for 3-4 minutes.

Add ginger and a splash of water (about half a glass) and let the chicken cook for another 3 minutes on low flame.

Add coconut milk, turmeric, any vegetables you have and salt.

Cook for another 2 minutes or till the chicken is done and tender. It shouldn’t take long since the pieces are small.

Take off heat and garnish with coriander leaves.

Note: You can add cumin seeds or any other spices you’d like while the chicken cooks.

Baking, Chocolate, Desserts

Cocoa Fudge Cake

April 28, 2016 No Comments

I have been eating healthy for about a month and a half now, and that meant no sugar or desserts. Which by extension meant, no baking for me to avoid the temptation. But baking is more therapeutic than anything else. And I can always bake for friends and colleagues. That’s exactly what I did. The cake turned out pretty good from what it looked like and the reaction I got for it. Although, I wasn’t happy about the frosting at all. I got this recipe from That Skinny Chick Can Bake and as it turns out, you will need to alter the recipe for the frosting. I’d say go with the regular chocolate buttercream one, or even ganache. Also, this is quite a large cake. Use two 8 or 9 inch baking tins here.

Ingredients:

Flour (maida) – 1 and 2/3 cups

Sugar – 1 and 1/2 cups

Cocoa – 2/3 cup

Yoghurt – 1 and 1/2 cups

Butter – 1/2 cup at room temperature

Eggs – 2

Vanilla – 1 tsp

Baking soda – 1 and 1/2 tsp

Method:

Preheat oven at 180 C.

Mix dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Make a well in the centre and add the wet ingredients one after the other.

With a whisk, mix it all together till it’s a smooth batter. Do not over mix.

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes.

Do check with a toothpick if the cake is cooked through. If not, bake for another 5 minutes.

Frosting is optional. If you want to, just heat half a cup of cream with a tbsp of butter and pour it over roughly chopped dark chocolate in a bowl and leave it for 5 minutes before mixing it till smooth. Then frost the cake with it.

Chicken, Healthy, Quick meals

Chicken and Mango Salad

April 26, 2016 No Comments

The best thing about my colleague is that he orders a lot of salads. And I get to taste most of them. Yesterday he got a sweet potato and chicken salad. I wanted to replicate it at home, but I thought of something even better. Replace sweet potato with mango. I figured I’ll make the chicken a tad spicy and pan grill it, and make a balsamic chilli vinaigrette to bring it all together.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast - 1 cut into cubes

Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp

Chicken masala/Paneer tikka/any other mixed spice powder or even just garam masala powder - 1 tbsp (I used paneer tikka masala powder)

Salt to taste

(Marinate the chicken in the above ingredients while you prep the rest of the salad)

Salad greens - As much as you'd like. I got half a bowl of lettuce and basil.

Red/green/yellow bell pepper - 1 cut into cubes

Mango - 1 cut into cubes

Dressing:

Balsamic vinegar - 2 tbsp

Extra virgin olive oil - 2 tsp

Paprika/chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Honey - 1/2 tsp

Method:

In a hot pan with a tbsp of olive oil, grill the chicken pieces till they're nice and brown. Charred would be even better! Keep aside.

Tear up salad greens and place them in a bowl.

Tip the mango, bell pepper and chicken on the greens.

Whisk the ingredients for the vinaigrette and pour over salad.

Done!

Breakfast, Healthy, Quick meals

Banana Chocolate Breakfast Smoothie

April 22, 2016 No Comments

After a successful series of breakfast smoothie bowls, I’ve moved to breakfast drinks on the go. I needed something with more protein, not very sweet and of course with fruit. The easiest one I could think of was a banana smoothie. Now, I didn’t want it to be a plain and boring smoothie, so I added a few more things to make it more appealing to my palate.

Chicken, Healthy, Quick meals

Honey Soy Chicken with Carrots and Broccoli

April 14, 2016 No Comments

One of my favourite quick meals is to just toss chicken in the pan with some veggies and be done with it in 10-15 minutes. No need to slave over the stove on a weeknight. But I do plan ahead. The night before I marinate the chicken and the next night I just need to get it on the pan. If you can’t or couldn’t marinate the chicken overnight, just let it marinate till the time you prep the veggies. This one’s one of those meals. It’s got some honey soy, pepper and basil for flavour. And dinner is served. You can save more time by put the chicken and the veggies on a tray and into an oven for 20 mins. But I like the charred bits I get when I grill it on the pan with a dash of sesame or regular oil.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast – 1, cut into strips

Honey soy – 1 tbsp OR 1 tbsp soy + 1 tsp honey

Ginger paste – 1 tbsp

Paprika – 1 tsp

(Marinate chicken in above ingredients overnight)

Carrot and broccoli – 1 cup, cut into bite size pieces

Basil – 4-5 leaves chopped (you could use coriander instead)

Honey soy – 1 tbsp OR 1 tbsp soy + 1 tsp honey

Pepper – 1 tsp (go higher or lower according to your love for it)

Sesame or regular oil – 2 tbsp

Fish sauce – 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Heat oil and toss the marinated chicken strips. Don’t move it for a minute so it browns well.

Flip them around so the other side browns as well.

Toss in the basil, pepper and veggies. Add the honey soy and basil.

Mix well. Add a splash (roughly 2-3 tbsp) of water and cover the pan. Let it cook for around 5 minutes.

Taste and add salt (or fish sauce), pepper or even the honey soy to adjust the balance. When it tastes right, take it off the pan.

Note: Ideally, a gravy version of this would go great with plain rice. You could add more water mixed with a tsp of cornflour, pour it over and let it come to a bubble before turning the heat off. I’m not a fan of cornflour though. I believe it masks the flavour of the whole dish. I’d rather add more oyster sauce to thicken the gravy. Do whatever fits your taste.

Healthy, Quick meals

Pan Grilled Prawns with a Yoghurt Dip

April 9, 2016 No Comments

Gurgaon is the last place one should eat seafood at. But the heart wants what the heart wants. A hankering for prawns and a browse at the frozen section later I got myself a pack of frozen jumbo prawns. I didn’t want to make something elaborate. I’m all about quick meals these days. I just marinated them with some spices and pan grilled them for a couple of minutes – and BAM! quick and delicious plate of dinner was ready.

Ingredients:

Jumbo prawns – 250 grams or a packet

Chilli garlic paste – 1 tbsp OR 1 tsp garlic paste and 1 tsp chilli powder

Mint – 1 tsp finely chopped

Turmeric – 1/2 tsp

Honey – just a dash

Salt – to taste

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Marinate the prawns in the chilli garlic paste with mint, honey, salt and turmeric for about an hour.

Heat olive oil and grill these beauties for a couple of minutes on each side (or even less).

Yoghurt dip:

Take 1/2 a tub of plain yoghurt (or Greek), add some chopped coriander, mint and dill along with 1/2 tsp of garlic chilli paste or some chilli powder.

Chicken, Healthy, Soups and Salads

Chicken Salad with Caramelized Onions

April 9, 2016 No Comments

My friend and colleague ordered a salad from Freshmenu recently. I, as always, took a bite. I loved it so much that I attempted to replicate it. Must say, not too shabby. Only downside is that this isn’t a quick fix salad. The chicken has to be cooked, onions have to be caramelized, and I have to be patient. Still, worth the wait.

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken breast – 1, cut into slices

Chilli garlic paste – 1 tbsp OR 1 tsp garlic paste with 1 tsp chilli powder

Honey – 1 tsp

Onions – 1 medium, sliced

Bell peppers – 1

French beans – a handful cut in half

Lettuce – handful torn into bite size pieces

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Sugar – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Method:

Marinate chicken in the chilli garlic paste for an hour or till you go on with prepping the rest of the salad.

Saute the onions in olive oil on a hot pan.

Sprinkle sugar and salt and let it caramelize.

Once the onions turn brown, take it off the heat and keep aside.

In the same pan toss the beans and sliced bell peppers to roast a little.

Saute for 5 minutes and take it off the pan.

Add another tbsp of olive oil to the pan and tip the chicken in and let it cook for 6-7 mins.

Arrange the lettuce, bell peppers and caramelized onions in a bowl and top with chicken.

Dressing:

To a 1/2 cup plain yoghurt, add finely chopped mint leaves, coriander and dill, along with chilli powder or paprika. I also added a dash of honey. Mix well and serve with salad.

Breakfast, Desserts, Healthy, Quick meals, Vegetarian

Roasted strawberries swirled yoghurt

April 9, 2016 No Comments

The last few boxes of strawberries called out to me at the grocer’s the other day. I picked up one. I would always use them on my French toast, pancakes or with muesli and yoghurt. But since I’m on a low carb diet, I skipped the muesli and stuck with the yoghurt bit. This time around I roasted the berries so they intensify in taste and colour. They turned out beautiful.

Chicken, Healthy, Quick meals

Roast Chicken with Dill Baby Potatoes

April 6, 2016 No Comments

I love me some roast chicken. Particularly the charred bits. The fact that it’s a no fuss, quick fix dinner makes it a winner (didn’t mean for it to rhyme)! Marinades can vary but the idea of searing it on a pan and then letting it cook in a hot oven remains. This time I roasted some baby potatoes along with the chicken. I didn’t make a sauce as such but a creamy yoghurt dip worked great with this.

Ingredients:

Chicken – one whole leg with thigh on the bone

Chilli garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Onion powder/paste – 1 tbsp

Lemon juice – 1 tsp

Salt – to taste

(Marinate chicken in above ingredients for a couple of hours or overnight)

Baby potatoes (or regular potatoes cut into cubes) – 1 cup halved

Dill – 1 tbsp chopped

Olive oil – 1 tbsp for searing chicken and 1 tsp to drizzle over potatoes

Yoghurt – 1/2 cup whipped

Herbs – 2 tbsp (dill, mint, coriander)

Paprika/chilli powder or paste – 1 tsp

Method:

Sear the marinated chicken leg in hot olive oil for a minute on each side so it browns well.

Pop it in a preheated oven and cook for 40 minutes along with the baby potatoes sprinkled with dill, salt and drizzled with olive oil.

Meanwhile, add the herbs and chilli powder to yoghurt and keep aside.

Take chicken and potatoes out of the oven and serve with yoghurt dip.

Fish, Healthy, Quick meals

Grilled Sole with Veggies

April 6, 2016 No Comments

After a day’s work, all I want is a good plate of food. Light, simple and easy to cook food. Also, healthy. My go to these days are grilled things – fish and chicken, along with a few veggies I can manage. This time I got a couple of sole fillets. A simple marinade and then on to the pan and into a hot oven with some carrots and broccoli. Comfort in a plate. And tastes bloody good!

Ingredients:

Fish – 2 fillets (I got sole)

Yoghurt – 2 tbsp

Dill – 1 tbsp chopped

Garlic paste – 1 tbsp (or more if you want it garlicky)

Salt – to taste

Carrots and broccoli (or any other veggies) – 1 cup

Olive oil – 1 tbsp

Method:

Marinate fish in yoghurt, dill, garlic paste and salt for a couple of hours or overnight.

Sear it on a hot pan with olive oil for a minute on each side so it gets that nice brown colour.

Pop the fillets into a preheated oven and cook for 15 mins at 180C, along with the veggies.

Take it out of the oven and serve!