Grilled Chicken Taco

Ingredients:
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For Chicken Marinade:
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4-Chicken Breast(Grill Slices)
Salt & Pepper
1 tsp-Garlic Powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tbsp mixed herbs(i used fresh thyme and parsley)
1 freshly squeezed Lemon Juice or 1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp chili flakes
1/4 cup-Olive oil

Garnish:
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Avacado
Sour cream
shredded Ice berg lettuce or Cabbage
Pico De Gallo

For Southwest Pico De gallo:
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1 small Onion chopped
1 Jalapeno sedded and minced
1 small Tomato
few sprigs chopped Cilantro
1/4 cup Black Beans
1/4 cup Corn
1 freshly squeezed Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

Mix all the ingredients listed under Pico De Gallo and keep aside.

Preparation:
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Wash the chicken slices and pat dry.Add garlic powder,cumin,paprika,lemon juice,mixed herbs,chili flakes,salt,pepper and olive oil.Marinade atleast 2 hrs or overnight.

Heat the Grill ,Spray or Brush the grill with olive oil.Place the marinated grill slices and cook 4 mins per side until the chicken is lightly charred and cooked through.Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with foil.Let sit for 5 mins.Cut the grill chicken into strips and serve with warmed corn tortilla.Top with with pico De Gallo,shreded lettuce,avacado and sour cream.

Breakfast Biscuits

Ingredients:
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3 cups all purpose flour
1-1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
9 tbsp unsalted Butter cold or shortening ,cut into small pieces
1-1/4 cup cold milk
1 cup Cheddar Cheese(opt)
Extra Butter for Brushing the Top

Method:
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Preheat oven to 450°F.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or use cooking spray on aluminium foil .

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Add Butter or shortening and cut in with fork or cutter until the mixture resembles course crumbs to the size of a pea.Add Cheese which is optional and then Pour milk slowly working gently with a wooden spoon or spatula just until combined.Do not overmix which will make the biscuits tough.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gather into a ball Kneading the dough 2 or 3 times and pat out to 1/2 inch thick.

Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 or 2-1/2″ biscuit cutter.Pull the cutter straight down and up without twisting the cutter to get a fluffier Biscuits.

Place the Biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet.Brush the top with some melted butter and sprinkle one of your favorite herbs(opt).

Bake in Preheated oven for 10-12 mins until golden brown on top.

Yields: 1 dozen 2″ biscuits.

Green Bell Pepper or Capsicum Curry

Ingredients:
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1-Green Bell Pepper
1-small Onion chopped
3-cloves of garlic smashed
1 tsp -cumin seeds
Coriander leaves for garnish
1/4 tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Red chili powder
2 tbsp-Coconut oil or Veg oil

Toast and Grind:
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1 tbsp-Coriander seeds
2 tbsp-grated coconut
2 Dry red chili
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 cup Peanuts

Method:
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Dry Toast and Grind all the ingredients listed under toast and grind .Keep aside.

Heat a wok,add Veg or Coconut oil.Add cumin seeds,chopped onion,smashed garlic.Saute until onions turn soft and add 1 chopped green pepper,saute until the pepper turns tender for abt 2 or 3 mins.

Add the ground powder,saute for a min and add about a cup of water and salt.

Cook to a gravy consistency until oil floats on top.Remove and Garnish with coriander leaves.Serve with roti.

TIP:I personally use coconut oil for all my sauteing recipes since it is a good source of fat and tastes absolutely delicious.

Spiderman Cake

This Spiderman Cake was made for my son's 4 th B'day.It Turned out Really Good as i Expected.I used a Box Cake Mix and a 9 inch round cake pan.After i let it cool completely i trimmed the edges off to get the spiderman face.I then filled the cake and Crumb coated the cake with Buttercream Icing.I used Marshmallow fondant which i made a day before to cover the cake.Then i painted the face with red gel food coloring.With the help of a Toothpick i just drew the spider lines.The End Result was REally Amazing.Overall My Son was so excited to see the SPIDERMAN Cake.The Recipe For the Marshmallow Fondant is Listed Below:

Marshmallow Fondant:
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1 (16 ounce) package miniature marshmallows
2 pounds confectioners' sugar, divided
1/4 cup water
Vegetable Shortening To Grease your Hands from sticking

Method:
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Place the marshmallows in a large microwave-safe bowl, and microwave on High for 30 seconds to 1 minute to start melting the marshmallows. Carefully stir the water into the hot marshmallows, and stir until the mixture is smooth. Slowly beat in the confectioners' sugar, one cup at a time, until you have a sticky dough. Reserve 1 cup of powdered sugar for kneading. The dough will be very stiff.

Rub your hands thoroughly with Shortening, and begin kneading the sticky dough. As you knead, the dough will become workable and pliable. Turn the dough out onto a working surface dusted with confectioners' sugar and continue kneading until the fondant is smooth and no longer sticky to the touch, 5 to 10 minutes.

Form the fondant into a ball, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. To use, allow the fondant to come to room temperature, and roll it out onto a flat surface dusted with confectioners' sugar.

Singapore Rice Noodles

Ingredients:
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fine noodles or rice sticks or vermicelli
3 large eggs
2 tbsp curry powder
2 tsp oriental sesame oil
5 tbsp peanut oil or vegetable oil
5 or 6 shrimp, shelled and deveined(opt)
4 oz boneless skinless chicken breasts,cut 1/4 inch julienne
1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 -2 fresh hot chili pepper seeded and chopped
1/2 (red bell pepper and green pepper)julienne
4 whole scallions, cut diagonally into 1-1/2 inch lengths
1-1/2 cups shredded cabbage

SAUCE:
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1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp dry sherry
pinch of salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
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Bring a large pot of water to a boil.Drop the rice noodles and boil until firm to the touch 1 to 2 minutes.Drain and rinse under cold water.Let the noodle air-dry and firm up in a colander for at least 30 minutes ,toss occasionally.

whisk together the eggs, 1/2 teaspoon of the curry powder,sesame oil until blended.
Heat a wok,Spoon 1/2 tbsp of peanut or vegetable oil over moderately high heat.Pour the egg mixture and reduce the heat to low.Scramble the eggs just until set,Remove to a plate.Keep aside

Return the wok,spoon 1/2 tbsp oil,add the shrimp and stir fry about 1 minute.Remove the shrimp and reserve in a small bowl.
Return the wok to high heat and spoon in 1 tbsp of oil,add the chicken and stir fry until just cooked, about 1 minute. Remove and keep aside.

Heat the wok back ,when hot, spoon in 2 tbsp of oil,add ginger, garlic, chilies, and the remaining curry powder.Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds,add red and green bell peppers and stir fry for 30 seconds.Sprinkle 1 to 2 tbsp of water and cook until it evaporates.Add the scallion whites,cabbage and noodles and toss over high heat until very hot, about 30 seconds.

Pour in the chicken broth and bring to a boil.Return the shrimp and chicken to the wok and add the soy sauce and sherry.Toss well and add salt and the reserved scrambled eggs.Garnish with scallion green parts and cilantro.Serve hot.

Mini Idli Powder Fried Idlis

This is another great way to spice up your idlis.This is a very easy recipe especially if you have any leftover idlis.Guess!you dont really have to make any chutney for this as it tastes amazingly delicious.

Ingredients:
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Mini Idlis
Idli Powder(i used shakthi brand)
Pure Coconut Oil

Seasonings:
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1 tsp-Mustard
1 tsp-cumin
1/2 tsp-urad dhal
1/4 tsp-Hing or Asafoetida
Curry leaves

Method:
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Heat a pan,Add a tbsp of pure coconut oil,when hot add the seasonings one by one and then add the Idli Powder,mix for 5 secs and then add the mini idlis and fry for a minute.Serve.

Mini Sambhar Idlis

This is my all time favorite lipsmacking dish.It tastes absolutely delicious especially when you add a drop of ghee to the dish.

For the mini Idlis:
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Grease the Mini Idli Molds and Pour a tbsp of idli batter in each mold.Steam 5-10 mins.

Sambhar Ingredients:
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1/4 cup =(1 tbsp Toor dhal+remaining Moong dhal)
1 small Onion
1 large tomato or 2 small
1 inch chopped ginger
1 or 2 green chilies
1/4 tsp Hing or Asafoetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp Sambhar Powder or chili powder
coriander leaves

Seasonings:
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1 tsp-Mustard
1 tsp-cumin
1/2 tsp-urad dhal
curry leaves
2 or 3 dry red chilies

Method:
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In a Pressure Cooker,Add toor dhal,chopped onion,green chilies,chopped ginger,tomato,turmeric powder,hing and chili powder.Pressure cook for 3 whistles.Cool and quickly run through the Blender(use a hand Blender to make it easy).
In a separate Pan,Add a tbsp of oil,when hot add the seasonings one by one and add the Blended dhal.Add salt and a tsp of ghee.Garnish with coriander leaves.Serve over the mini Idlis.