Teriyaki Chicken on Skewers

Chicken Teriyaki on Skewers.

Ingredients:

75ml teriyaki sauce 2 tbsp clear honey 1 tbsp soy sauce Colored peppers cut into cubes 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks bunch spring onions, trimmed 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 20 mins to prevent them from burning. Heat grill to high and line a baking tray with foil. Mix together the teriyaki sauce, honey and soy. Add the chicken pieces and mix to coat. Thread the chicken and peppers onto the skewers. Place on the lined baking tray and cook under the grill for about 15 mins until charred, turning and basting from time to time with any extra sauce. Check that the chicken is cooked through before serving. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until hot. Toss the spring onions in the vegetable oil and some seasoning, tip into the pan and cook for 3-4 mins until nicely charred and softened. Serve with the chicken skewers.

Chocolate Chip Crust (Dessert Pizza)

Chocolate Chip Crust (Dessert Pizzas)

Ingredients

Crust

1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 packet instant Yeast 1/4 cup sugar 3/4 teaspoon salt 2/3 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)* 3/4 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract 3 tablespoons melted butter OR margarine 1/2 cup miniature chocolate chips

Toppings

An assortment of "sauces" such as peanut butter, hazelnut spread, hot fudge, caramel sauce, frosting or puddings. An assortment of toppings such as fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, candies, cookies, sprinkles and more.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 425° F.

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water, vanilla extract and butter; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Just prior to finishing kneading, add in miniature chocolate chips. Allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough in to 6 equal portions. Pat each portion with floured hands (or roll out on a floured counter) into a 6-inch circle. Place on greased baking sheets; three per sheet.

Bake for 11-15 minutes or until crusts are golden brown. Remove from oven and allow crusts to cool. Serve crusts with a variety of sauces and toppings, allowing guests to top their pizza crusts as they desire. Enjoy!

Guacamole

Guacamole.

Ingredients:

1 large ripe tomato 3 avocados, very ripe but not bruised juice 1 large lime handful coriander, leaves and stalks chopped, plus a few leaves, roughly chopped, to serve 1 small red onion, finely chopped 1 chilli, red or green, de-seeded and finely chopped tortilla chips, to serve

Method:

Use a large knife to pulverise the tomato to a pulp on a board, then tip into a bowl. Halve and stone the avocados (saving a stone) and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into the bowl with the tomato. Tip all the other ingredients into the bowl, then season with salt and pepper. Use a whisk to roughly mash everything together. If not serving straight away, sit a stone in the guacamole (this helps to stop it going brown), cover with cling film and chill until needed. Scatter with the coriander, if using, then serve with tortilla chips or spicy wedges and sour cream

Watermelon and Feta Salad

Watermelon and Feta Salad.

Ingredients:

1 small red onion 4 limes 1.5 kilograms watermelon (sweet and ripe) 250 grams feta cheese 1 bunch fresh flat leaf parsley 1 bunch fresh mint (chopped) 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 100 grams pitted black olives black pepper

Method:

Peel and halve the red onion and cut into very fine half-moons and put in a small bowl to steep with the lime juice, to bring out the transparent pinkness in the onions and diminish their rasp. Two limes' worth should do it, but you can find the fruits disappointingly dried up and barren when you cut them in half, in which case add more. Remove the rind and pips from the watermelon, and cut into approximately 4cm / 1½ inch triangular chunks. Cut the feta into similar sized pieces and put them both into a large, wide shallow bowl. Tear off sprigs of parsley so that it is used like a salad leaf, rather than a garnish, and add to the bowl along with the chopped mint. Tip the now glowingly puce onions, along with their pink juices over the salad in the bowl, add the oil and olives, then using your hands toss the salad very gently so that the feta and melon don't lose their shape. Add a good grinding of black pepper and taste to see whether the dressing needs more lime.

Kung Pao Chicken

Kung Pao Chicken.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns 2½ tablespoons cornflour 4 skinless, boneless higher-welfare chicken thighs, (350g) groundnut oil, or vegetable oil 4 cloves of garlic 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger 2 spring onions 6 dried red chillies 2 tablespoons low-salt soy sauce ½ tablespoon rice wine vinegar 1 heaped tablespoon runny honey 50 g unsalted peanuts

Method:

Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry frying pan until lightly golden. Transfer to a pestle and mortar, grind to a fine powder, then sieve into a large bowl, discarding any large, tough bits. Add 2 tablespoons of cornflour and stir to combine. Chop the chicken into bite-sized chunks, then toss in the cornflour mixture to coat.

Pour 2cm of oil into a large non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken and fry for 7 to 8 minutes, or until golden and cooked through. Meanwhile, peel and finely slice the garlic and ginger, then trim and finely slice the spring onions.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a double layer of kitchen paper to drain. Carefully remove and discard most of the oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan, then return to a medium heat. Add the garlic and ginger and fry for 2 minutes, or until lightly golden, then stir in the spring onions and whole chillies and fry for a further minute.

Meanwhile, combine ½ tablespoon of cornflour and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix in the soy, vinegar and honey, then pour the mixture into the pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, or until slightly thickened. Lightly bash and add the peanuts, stir in the chicken, then toss well until warmed through. Snip the cress over the ribbon salad, scatter the reserved coriander leaves over the chicken, then serve.

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Chewy Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients

8 oz (226 grams) semisweet baking chocolate, chopped 6 (84 grams) tablespoons butter 2 Eggs 3/4 cup (150 grams) Brown Sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 1/3 cups (160 grams) all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/3 cup (30-40 grams) chopped nuts 4 oz (113 grams) chocolate chips or chunks 1 cup (160-170 grams) chocolate chips or chunks

Directions

In a heatproof bowl, melt 8 ounces of chocolate and butter in the microwave or a double boiler. If you choose to use the microwave, take the bowl out every 30 seconds and give it a gentle stir. Doing so, there are less chances you’ll burn the chocolate. While the chocolate is melting, in a mixing bowl, beat together 2 eggs, sugar, and vanilla until pale and creamy, for about 5 minutes at medium speed. The mixture thickens up and become slightly frothy. Stir the melted chocolate into the egg mixture and gently stir in the flour and baking powder. With a spatula, fold in the chopped nuts and 4 ounces of chocolate chips or chunks. Place the mixing bowl in the fridge and chill for 30 minutes. Once the cookie dough is somewhat harden, using a large ice-cream scoop, drop cookie dough on a baking wheel lined with parchment paper. Refrigerate the scooped cookie dough for at least 2 hours before baking. Heat the oven to 350F. Just before baking dot the cookies with the remaining 1 cup of chocolate chips and chunks. Alternately, you can do this step once the cookies are baked. Bake the cookies for exactly 16 minutes. Remove the baking sheet for the oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Ennjoyy!!

Puffed Puris

Puris.

INGREDIENTS

For dough

Wheat flour - 1 cup 

Melted ghee - 1/2 tsp 

Semolina (Sooji/rava) - 1/2 tsp 

Sugar – A pinch salt -

 as needed Water - as needed ( i used around 1/3 cup)

METHOD

In a wide bowl,take the flour.Add semolina, salt,a pinch of sugar,ghee and mix well to make a crumbly mixture. Add water little by little and make the dough. Dough should not be sticky,wet or too soft like chapati dough. It should be smooth and stiff but not hard.

I used around 1/3 cup plus 1- 2 tbsp of water.It may vary based on the flour u use. Keep this as reference. Initially u may feel the dough little bit hard.knead well in between your palms for few minutes.It will become smooth and soft.Do not allow the dough to sit for long time.Start rolling. Make small lemon sized balls. Dust the balls in flour and make small sized puri of palm size.Use less flour for dusting.The thickness should be medium,not too thin like chapati. If u make it thin, puris won’t puff up.Arrange the puris in a paper or a greased plate without overlapping each other.

Heat oil to deep fry. To check the right temperature of oil,put a small piece of dough.It will rise immediately at the same time it should not be browned. This is the perfect heating of oil. Immediately slide the puri and after a second,press it with a slotted ladle.It will puff up well.Flip it carefully and allow it to cook for few seconds till the bubbles cease.Remove and lower the flame till u drop the next puri . Drain in a tissue paper. Keep the flame high and repeat the same for remaining puris.

POINTS TO NOTE

Addition of ghee keeps the poori soft and gives a nice flavour.But do not add more than the mentioned quantity. Adding sooji/rava is to maintain crispness.The puffed poori won’t break till u break it with ur hands.Some people soak the rava in little water before adding.If u add more quantity of semolina, it would be good.But here it is not necessary as we are adding negligible quantity.U can also omit semolina and try.It is completely optional. Adding a pinch of sugar gives a nice golden color to the poori.But it is optional to use. Dough consistency is more important.If u make it too hard or sticky,poori will be too hard. If the dough is too soft , poori will become very soft. If u feel , u have added very less water and the dough is too tight,beat the dough well for few minutes. It will become soft.Then make pooris.It will come out well. Do not rest the dough.Make puris immediately else it will drink more oil. Always use less flour for dusting else the dusted flour will spoil the oil and will be settled as sediments.So dust only once.U can apply oil on the rolling board and make pooris. Thickness should be medium ie slightly thicker than chapati and it should be even.Else poori will puff only in some places where it is thick.Make sure there are no holes while u roll.Pooris won’t puff up if there is a hole. Right temperature of oil is more important.Never allow it to fume or smoke.Poori will turn dark brown in color.Check the oil as mentioned above and proceed. After u make 2 –3 puris, adjust the flame,check the oil temperature again & fry the pooris.If the oil is too hot,switch off the flame for few minutes to reduce the heat.Else add some more fresh oil to reduce the heat.By doing this way,u can make pooris of even color till the end.

Chicken Drumsticks with BBQ sauce

Chicken Drumsticks with BBQ sauce.

Ingredients

10 chicken legs For the marinade: 4 tbsp dark soy sauce Freshly ground black pepper 250ml sweet chilli sauce 250ml smoky barbecue sauce Micro coriander, to serve 4 spring onions, finely sliced, to serve Limes to squeeze, to serve

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C and lightly grease a roasting tin with oil or cooking spray. 2. In a large bowl mix together the marinade ingredients. 3. Add to chicken legs and mix until fully coated. 4. Transfer to the roasting tin and spread into one even layer. 5. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until the legs are cooked through and golden. 6. Transfer to a large serving platter and garnish with the micro coriander, spring onions and lime wedges. (I used black sesame seeds for garnish.)

Firni (Milk and Rice pudding)

Firni (Milk and Rice pudding)

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 2.5 heaped tbsp Full Cream Milk - 2 cups (1/2 litre / 500ml) Sugar - 1/8 cup + 1 tbsp Saffron - 5 strands Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp Chopped Mixed Nuts - for garnish(I used almonds and pistachios)

Method:

Rinse basmati rice and soak in water for an hr.Transfer to mixer and with little water grind it to a semi fine paste, slightly coarse.When you touch it with your fingers you should feel the coarse texture. Set aside. Take a heavy bottomed wide pan and boil milk.Take a tbsp of warm milk in a bowl and soak saffron , set aside.Boil milk for 3mins then add the rice paste. Whisk it well to avoid lumps.Let it cook for 10-12mins in simmer.Check whether rice is cooked to soft, else cook for 5more mins.Once rice is cooked add saffron milk mixture and sugar. Give a stir. Once sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is thick more like pudding consistency add cardamom powder and switch off.Spoon the mixture into serving bowls and garnish with saffron and chopped nuts of your choice. Refrigerate it atleast for an hr. Serve chilled ....yummm!!