Schezwan Sauce

I have been making this sauce using Tarla Dalal's recipe for years.
Originally I followed her recipe, but now I have increased and decreased certain quantity of ingredients to suit my family's taste. I have written down her recipe and the quantity I now use in the Bracket. Play around and find out what best suits your family.

Ingredients:

Dry Red chilli - 12, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes

Salt - 1 tsp

Sugar - 2 tsp

Garlic - 2 tbsp (I use only 1 tbsp)

Vinegar - 4 tbsp

Til oil / Gingelly oil / nallena - 2 tsp (I use 1 and 1/2 tbsp)

Method:

Grind together the soaked chillies, garlic, sugar, salt and vinegar into a fine paste.

Transfer to a heat resistant bowl.

Heat the Gingelly oil to smoking point and add to the ground paste.

Mix well, cool and transfer to an air tight container.

Use as a dip or in curries.

(Broccoli and different coloured capsicum in schezwan sauce)

Spring roll

Spring rolls!!
When we were young, any visit to the Chinese restaurant was incomplete without Spring rolls.
Crisp on the outside with mouth watering vegetables inside.
Now that spring roll wrappers are available in the market, we can easily make it at home as an evening snack for kids.

I have made a standard filling with loads of vegetables.
The usual filling has onion, cabbage, carrot and capsicum. I had added zucchini and beans. And I cut the vegetables as small cubes, to make cooking easier. You can always 'julienne' them.

Ingredients:

Standard ingredients are onion , carrot, cabbage, capsicum , green chilli, ginger and garlic. My addition is zucchini and beans (not pictured). Feel free to omit. 

For 40 sheets Phyllo / Filo Pastry, I have taken 1 bowl chopped of each vegetable.

(To know how to make Homemade Phyllo Sheets at home, please follow the recipe)

Salt

Pepper

Celery

Sugar - 1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 1tbsp

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Maida / all purpose flour - 1 heaped tbsp mixed with water to make a thick paste

Oil -2 tbsp + extra for deep frying

home made warka sheets

 

Recipe is pretty straight forward.

Heat oil, add in the green chilli, ginger and garlic and fry till golden

Add the onion.

Once it gets translucent add the carrot.

After 2 minutes of frying add the zucchini.

And after 30 seconds add the cabbage and capsicum.

You may add the beans also.

Season with salt and pepper.

Make a well in the middle and add the sugar.

When it caramelises, add the sauces.

Mix well, and keep to cool.

Garnish with celery.

Roll this vegetable mix in the spring roll wrapper and use the thick maida / all purpose flour batter to seal the edge.

Deep fry and enjoy.

Chinese mixed vegetable soup

A wholesome soup with vegetables and noodles. Almost a complete meal.

Ingredients:
Ginger - 1 tsp
Garlic - 1 tsp
Green chilli - 1 tsp
Onion - 3 tbsp
Carrot - 1/2 medium, cut into rounds
Mushroom - 3
Cabbage - 2 tbsp
Tomato - 1 medium
Mint leaves - 1 tsp (optional)
Coriander leaves - 1 tsp
Capsicum - 1 tbsp
Corn flour - 1 heaped tbsp mixed with 1/2 cup water
Soy sauce - 1&1/2 tbsp
salt (add less in the beginning )
Pepper - 1 tsp
Noodles - 1 cup, broken
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation:
Keep all the vegetables chopped and every other ingredient close by. We have to do the initial cooking on high flame.

Take a heavy bottomed vessel ( I used a pressure cooker bottom).
Heat the oil on high flame and when it starts smoking, add in the ginger, garlic and green chilli.

After 30 seconds, add the onion.

After 30 seconds, add in the mushroom and carrot.

Stir this for a minute , but take care to not break the mushroom.
Next add in the rest of the chopped vegetables.

After 1 minute of frying, add the salt, pepper and soy sauce.
Pour in 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Add in the broken noodles.

Reduce flame and cook without covering till the carrot softens.
Mix in the corn flour slurry.

When the soup thickens, turn off flame.

Add the vinegar, while it is still hot.

Taste and adjust the salt / pepper level. Add more soy sauce if you want.

Serve hot and enjoy!

Mushroom and broccoli in soy sauce

A fairly easy chinese curry with 2 exotic ingredients - mushroom and broccoli
.
Mushroom (button) - 150 gms

Dry shiitake Mushroom - 4 numbers , soaked in hot water and sliced thin (optional)

Broccoli - 1 small , broken into small flowerets

Ginger - 1 tbsp chopped

Garlic - 1 tbsp chopped

Green chilli - 1 tbsp chopped

Corn flour - 1 tbsp mixed with 1/2 cup water

Water - 1 1/2 cups

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil / sunflower oil - 2 tbsp

Mix the following together:

Soy sauce - 1 tbsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Heat the oil and add the ginger, garlic and green chilli.

Next add the button mushroom and sauté stirring continuously on medium flame till it wilts.

Add the shiitake mushrooms, if using and mix well.

Add the salt, pepper and the mixed sauces.

Add 1 cup water and stir well.

When it starts to boil add the broccoli and reduce flame for 1 minute.

(If necessary, add more water.)

Add the corn flour slurry and turn off flame while stirring continuously. Curry will thicken.

Serve hot with fried rice or noodles.

Chilli paneer

Best example of an Indo-Chinese dish!

Paneer - 200gms

Chilli sauce - 1 tbsp

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Cornflour - 1 tbsp

Ginger - 2 inch

Garlic - 4 pods

Peppercorn - 4 to 6 no:s or 1tsp powder

Oil for deep frying

Onion - 1 medium

Capsicum - 1 medium

Green chilli - 4 to 6

Garlic - 3 pods

Soya sauce - 1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 1 tbsp

Salt 

Oil - 1 tbsp

Celery / spring onion - for decoration

Cut the paneer into desired shape. Pound the ginger, garlic and pepper.

Now mix together the soya sauce , chilli sauce and pounded ginger-garlic-pepper mix.

Add the corn flour to this and mix well. You may have to add some water (1/4 cup) but don't make the batter too thin.

Add the paneer to this and mix well. Marinate the paneer for minimum 10 - 15 minutes. You can cover and refridgerate for upto 6 hrs. But keep stirring carefully often.

Now deep fry the paneer and drain on a tissue / absorbent paper. You need the rest of the marinate for later. Do not throw it.

Tends to splutter, so be careful. It will be clumpy. We will seperate it later.

Cut the onion and capsicum into medium size squares. Try to seperate the onion layers. Mince the garlic and green chilli.

(I have taken ripe green chilli for colour and also cut it a little thick for easier recognition!)

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan and first sauté the garlic and green chillies.

After 30 seconds on high flame,add  the onion and fry  until translucent.

Now add the capsicum and wait for it's skin to start spluttering. As the flame is high, that takes around 1 minute. (Sorry, no pic)

Then add the soya sauce and tomato sauce mixed with 1 cup water.

And cook for 1 minute on high flame. Add 1/2 tsp salt. Mix well.

Add the deep fried paneer.

Boil for 1 minute. Dilute the (paneer) marinade with 1/2 cup water and ...

Add to the curry.

The curry will thicken almost immediately.

Once thick , turn off flame.

Decorate with spring onion / celery / leek and serve hot.

Enjoy with fried rice.