Baked Salmon

I am very picky when it comes to eating fish. Back in India I loved fish cooked in spicy gravy. After moving to US the only fish I ever bought was catfish. Over the years I tried couple other fishes but they didn’t appeal to me, so went back to eating only catfish.

I have heard a lot about how healthy salmon is. After hesitating a lot, finally decided to give it a try. Initially I marinated it with Indian tikka masalas along with ginger, garlic and yogurt.

Recently, this Italian seasoning sitting in my pantry made me try this new recipe. I added whatever I felt like adding. The result was a tender moist salmon which became an instant family favorite.



3 one inch thick Salmon steaks
2 tsp Italian herb seasoning
4 tsp grated garlic
1 tsp pepper
2 tsp white vinegar
2 tsp lemon juice
6 tsp extra light olive oil
4 tsp cilantro finely chopped
Salt to taste

Mix all the ingredients and marinate fish in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Place the salmon in a baking dish and cover it with foil.

Bake it at 350 degrees for 45 mins.

Remove foil and bake for another 10 mins at 450 degrees to evaporate the juices.

Tender and moist salmon with a side of salad or steamed vegetables tastes great.

Beans stir fry with peanut flavor

Cooking is a joy, but time is precious. We don’t always have enough time to indulge in cooking. For those days I come up with quick n easy recipes. Frozen french beans are something I always have in my freezer. French beans fry is what I make in a snap when I am in a hurry.


Ingredients:
One frozen pack of French cut beans
1 medium onion sliced thin
2 tbsp roasted peanuts coarsely ground
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp turmeric
½ tsp mustard
½ tsp cumin
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste


Heat oil in a wok, add mustard and cumin.

When mustard starts to pop add onions fry for couple minutes.

Add frozen beans and fry on medium heat.

When the beans look cooked add turmeric, chilli powder, salt, coriander powder and cook for couple more minutes.

Add ground peanuts, stir until it is evenly mixed with the beans.

Tastes great with roti or white rice.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

For chicken:
1 lb boneless white chicken cut into bite size pieces
2 tsp ginger, garlic and chilli paste
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp corn flour
1 egg
Salt and pepper
Oil for deep frying

For the sauce:
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 spring onion chopped just the green parts
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp chilli sauce
2 tsp corn flour
1 tsp oil
Salt and pepper

Marinate chicken with all the ingredients under chicken except corn flour and egg for 2 -3 hours in refrigerator.

Add corn flour and egg to the marinated chicken and mix well. Chicken should be well coated with the batter, add a little water if necessary.

Deep fry chicken, do not over cook. I recommend double frying.

For the Sauce add oil to the sauce pan fry garlic just a little, add all the ingredients except spring onions and corn flour. Add a cup of water and bring it to a boil.

Add corn flour dissolved in water. This makes the sauce thick. Adjust the sauces to taste.

Add the fried chicken pieces and chopped spring onions.

Serve it piping hot with fried rice. :)

Chicken Fried Rice

2 Cups Basmati Rice
3 Eggs
¼ lb Boneless Chiken
½ Cup finely chopped Carrot
½ Cup finely chopped Green Beans
½ Cup finely chopped Spring Onions
3 tsp Ginger, Garlic and Green Chilli Paste
½ tsp Pepper
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Butter
Salt to taste
Soy Sauce to Taste

Cook Rice and spread it on a plate to cool so that the grains are separate.

Marinate chicken with a little of ginger, garlic, chilli paste, salt, pepper and soy sauce.

In a kadai add a tsp of oil and on medium flame fry the marinated chicken, stirring continuously for about 5 minutes, remove and set aside.

Add couple tsp of oil and ginger, garlic, chilli paste, salt, pepper and mix them together, to that add eggs and stir continuously until they are set, do not let them over cook, remove and set aside.

Now add the rest of the oil and the rest of ginger, garlic, chilli paste, salt, pepper and all the veggies and stir on high flame, they should be just cooked but still be crisp, now add the chicken and egg and stir for couple more minutes.

To this add rice and butter and stir till the rice is heated through, add salt and soy sauce to taste.

Yummy Chicken Fried Rice is ready!

It goes well with Sweet and Sour chicken which is going to be my next post.