The Famous Mexican Chicken & Cheesy Tortellini Soup

Mexican Chicken & Cheesy Tortellini Soup

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 14½-oz BPA-free can unsalted diced tomatoes
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 9-oz package fresh whole-wheat cheese tortellini
• ¾ lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• 1½ cups frozen corn kernels
• Juice of 1 lime
• ½ cup fresh cilantro (leaves and thin stems), chopped
• ½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
• 2 oz queso fresco cheese

Method :

To a large saucepan, add tomatoes and broth, cover and bring to a boil. Add tortellini and return to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-high, cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (TIME SAVING TIP: Chop cilantro and slice chicken while tortellini simmers.) To saucepan, add chicken and return to a boil. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add corn and stir until heated through, about 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice, cilantro and pepper. Divide among serving bowls and crumble cheese evenly over top

Time : 20 Min 

THE FAMOUS BAKED CHICKEN WITH CREAMY MUSHROOMS

BAKED CHICKEN WITH CREAMY MUSHROOMS

Ingredients :

• 750 grams chicken thighs (about 6 to 8 pieces)
• salt and pepper, to season
• olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed but left whole
• 300 grams fresh baby portobello or Swiss brown mushrooms, or a mix of both
• 250 ml all-purpose cream
• 100 ml chicken stock
• parsley sprigs, leaves picked and chopped, for garnish

Method :

Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a couple of generous glugs of olive oil in an ovenproof casserole or pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken, skin side down, in one layer; do not overcrowd the pot and do this in batches if necessary. Sear chicken for a couple of minutes on both sides until golden brown. Remove chicken from pan; set aside.

Remove oil from pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon and taking care not to lose the brown bits that have stuck to the bottom. Add garlic; sauté for under 1 minute or until fragrant. Add mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until mushrooms release their liquid. Scrape the brown bits at the bottom of the pan. Stir and scrape until mushrooms have reabsorbed the liquid, lost a lot of volume, and taken on a dark, caramelized color. Add cream and stock; mix well. Season to taste. Tuck in all the chicken pieces over the mushrooms; cover.

Place covered pot in a preheated 350°F oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is done. Garnish with parsley.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cooking Time 45 minutes to 1 hour

RECIPE OF SRI LANKAN FISH CURRY

SRI LANKAN FISH CURRY

Ingredients :

• 500g firm boneless white fish fillets (such as ling), cut into 4cm pieces
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• Finely grated zest and juice of 2 limes
• 100ml coconut milk
• 1 cup (200g) brown rice

CURRY SAUCE

• 1 tbs peanut oil
• 2 onions, halved, thinly sliced
• 4cm piece ginger, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 10 curry leaves
• 2 long green chillies, sliced
• 2 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 3 cardamom pods, bashed
• 10 vine-ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tbs tamarind paste
• 300ml coconut milk

Method :

Place the fish in a bowl with the turmeric, lime zest and juice, and a large pinch of salt. Gently toss to coat, then chill for 1 hour to marinate.

Combine the coconut milk with 300ml water and a pinch of salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the rice and bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 20 minutes or until rice is cooked.

Meanwhile, for the curry sauce, heat the peanut oil in a large flameproof casserole over medium-high heat. Cook the onion, ginger, garlic, curry leaves and green chillies for 5-10 minutes until the onion is softened and golden. Add the mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, turmeric and cardamom, then cook for 1 minute or until fragrant. Stir in the tomato, tamarind paste, coconut milk and 100ml water, then simmer for 10 minutes or until the tomatoes begin to break down and the sauce has thickened.

Add the fish to the sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the fish is just cooked through. Remove and discard the cardamom pods and serve the curry with rice on the side

Recipe of famous lamb kebabs

lamb kebabs

Ingredients :

500 g finely minced lamb
2 tablespoons plain yoghurt
3 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon mashed garlic
1/2 teaspoon granted ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
very small pinch powdered cloves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried mint
2 tablespoons melted ghee
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 small onions,cut into rings
1 small lime,sliced

Method :

1. place minced lamb in a food processor with the ingredients from yoghurt to mint. Process to a smooth sticky paste.
2.  Using wet hands,shape the mixture into walnut-sized balls.thread three onto each skewer
3. brush kebabs with melted ghee and grill or barbecue until cooked through and well browned on the surface, 5-6 minutes
4. Mix vinegar with sugar to give a tar-sweet taste,add the onion rings and knead gently with the fingertips until the onion softens.
5. Serve the kebabs on the a bed of rice,garnished with the onion rings and lime slices.

Note: Brush metal skewers with oil before using. If using Bamboo Skewers soaks in water for several hours to prevent them during during cooking.

Recipe of Spicy Tandoori Chicken

Tandoori Chicken

Ingredient :

6 pieces --- Thawed chicken, skinned

2 tsp --- Ground Coriander

2 tsp --- Masala (Tandoori paste is available)

to taste --- Red pepper powder

Dash --- Garlic powder

to taste --- Salt

1 tsp --- Ground jeera

              Soy sauce (or yogurt)

              (needed only if tandoori masala is used)

Method :

1. If you are using the ready made tandoori paste then life is a lot easier.Replace all occurences of masala and soy sauce(or yogurt) with the tandoori paste.
2. Take the chicken and make "deep" cuts in it (so that the Masalas seeps in quickly)
3. If you are using soy sauce as the base, put some on the chicken pieces and let it seep in the cuts.
4. Rub in the Masalas as a mixture or one at a time. The idea is to let the Masalas seep in the cuts with the soy sauce. You can leave it for little while to seep in.
5. If you are using yogurt, you'll get a more authentic taste since the original TC is after all marinated in it. In this case, mix the Masalas in the yogurt first and then rub the stuff into the chicken cuts as before. The yogurt tends to leave a considerable amount of water behind. DON'T THROW THIS AWAY. Let it evaporate in the oven with the chicken. This will keep the pieces from getting dry if over- cooked. I have not faced the same problem with the soy sauce version (of dry chicken).
6. Cook the chicken until it starts turning brown. and the cuts you made start "expanding."