Chicken & Shrimp Wontons

This is a deep fried version of chicken & shrimp wontons which is extremely easy to make and it serves as an excellent appetizer, side dish, or even a snack.

Just start by grinding into a paste the shrimp, spring onion, ginger and garlic.

In a bowl, combine well the paste, minced chicken, cornflour, white pepper, light soy sauce, salt and sugar.

Take a sheet of the store bought wonton pastry and place 1 tsp of the mixture in the middle. Wet the edges with water and scrunch up all the sides to makes the wontons.

Heat some oil in a pan and start frying the wontons once the oil is hot enough. Fry the wontons till golden brown and remove from heat and place on kitchen towel to drain the excess oil. Serve hot with soup or preferred condiments.

CHICKEN & SHRIMP WONTONS

+PRINT RECIPE HERE
INGREDIENTS:

200g minced chicken
100g shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup spring onions, chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp garlic, finely grated 
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 tsp cornflour
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 packet wonton pastry
Oil for frying
Water

METHOD:

1) Grind together the shrimp, spring onion, ginger and garlic to make a paste.
2) In a bowl, combine well the paste, minced chicken, cornflour, white pepper, light soy sauce, salt and sugar.

3) Take a sheet of the store bought wonton pastry and place 1 tsp of the mixture in the middle. Wet the edges with water and scrunch up all the sides to makes the wontons.

4) Heat some oil in a pan and start frying the wontons once the oil is hot enough.

5) Fry the wontons till golden brown and remove from heat and place on kitchen towel to drain the excess oil. Serve hot with soup or preferred condiments.

*This recipe makes about 24-30 wontons

Horseradish Stir Fry (Mullangi Poriyal)

This is a very simple and healthy indian style horseradish dish, taught to me by my mom.

Firstly, peel and finely dice the horseradish and keep aside.

In a wok, heat up some oil. Once the oil is hot, throw in the onion, garlic, ginger and red chilli and fry for about 1-2 minutes.

Then, add in the diced horseradish and give a quick stir.

Go on to add the turmeric and salt and cook for a couple of minutes.

Add the grated coconut and sliced curry leaves and give a good stir. Continue to cook for a minute and remove from heat.

HORSERADISH STIR FRY (MULLANGI PORIYAL)

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INGREDIENTS:

1 horseradish, peeled and finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 inch ginger, finely minced
1/4 cup grated coconut
Curry leaves, a sprig, shredded
1/2 red chilli, deseeded & finely chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tbsp oil

METHOD:

1) In a wok, heat up 1 tbsp of oil. Once the oil is hot, throw in the onion, garlic, ginger and red chilli and fry for about 1-2 minutes.
2) Then, add in the diced horseradish and give a quick stir.

3) Go on to add the turmeric and salt and cook for a couple of minutes.

4) Add the grated coconut and sliced curry leaves and give a good stir. Continue to cook for a minute and remove from heat.

*This recipe serves 4

Healthy Rasam

Rasam is sort of an Indian soup, made with tonnes of spices. Generally, it is quite a healthy side dish and it is really good for cold and digestion. But I'm going one step ahead and calling this recipe healthy rasam because not even a drop of oil was used in this recipe.

Start by peeling and roughly crushing a few small onions using a mortar & pestle. Once crushed,remove it and keep aside.

Repeat the same as above for the garlic. Remove and keep aside.

Lastly, add in all the required spices and give a good pounding.

In a large bowl,place about 1/4 cup of tamarind. To that, add some water and start rubbing the tamarind using your fingers to extract the juice. Once the juice of the tamarind has been extracted, strain the excess pulp and seeds.

To the strained tamarind juice add the crushed onion, garlic, spices, crushed tomato, curry leaves, turmeric and salt give a good mix.

Heat a pan and add the mustard. Once the mustard is lightly toasted transfer the whole mixture to the pan. Bring the rasam to a boil. 

Once it has started boiling, just let it boil for about 30 seconds and immediately remove from heat. Be sure not to over boil the rasam.

HEALTHY RASAM

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INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup tamarind

4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 small onions, crushed

1 tomato, crushed

1 sprig curry leaves

1/4 tsp turmeric

2 1/4 cups water

Salt to taste

1/4 tsp mustard

Spices:

1 tsp fennel
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp black peppercorn

METHOD:

1) Peel and lightly crush the small onions and garlic using a mortar and pestle. Remove the crushed onions and garlic and keep aside.

2) Add in all the spices in the mortar and pestle and roughly crush the spices.

3) Smash a tomato using your finger and keep aside.

4) In a bowl, place the tamarind and to that add 2 1/4 of water and start rubbing the tamarind using the tip of your fingers to extract the juice.

5) Strain the excess tamarind pulp and seeds.

6) To the strained tamarind juice, add the crushed onion, garlic, spices, tomato, curry leaves, turmeric and salt to taste and give it a good mix.

7) Heat a pan and add the mustard. Once the mustard has toasted lightly, transfer the whole mixture to the pan. 

8) Bring the rasam to a boil. 

9) Once it has started boiling, just let it boil for about 30 seconds and immediately remove from heat.

NOTE:

1) The spices used in this recipe has been washed, dried and dry roasted before use. If you have obtained your spices from the supermarket or the sundry, you need not wash them. Just dry roast them till fragrant before using it.

2) Be sure not to over boil the rasam.

* This recipes serves 4

Rustic Garlic Mashed Potato

Mashed potato serves as an excellent side dish for most meat western  dishes and it is very easy to make it. This time around, instead of making plain mashed potato, I added a bit if of garlic to give it an oomph. If you are watching your carb intake, you could easily substituted the potatoes used in this recipe with cauliflower and the butter with olive oil.

I started off by boiling a few peeled and cubed potatoes till fork tender in salted water. 

Place the cooked potatoes in a bowl, add the butter and start mashing up the potato with the back of the fork. 

Add in the milk, finely grated garlic and greek style yogurt and continue mashing the potato. The mashed potato need not be smooth, that's why I'm calling it rustic garlic mashed potato. But if you prefer it smooth, go ahead and make it smooth and if want the mashed potato a little more creamier, add a bit more milk.

Go ahead and taste the mashed potato at this point to check the seasoning. Add salt if necessary. 

Lastly, gently fold in the chopped spring onion. 

RUSTIC GARLIC MASHED POTATO

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INGREDIENTS:
3 potatoes, peeled, cubed and boiled
3 cloves garlic, finely grated
3 tbsp butter
1 tbsp greek style yogurt
4-5 tbsp milk
1 tbsp chopped spring onion
Salt to taste

METHOD:
1) Peel and cube the potatoes. 
2) Bring to boil some water in a pan. Add about 1 1/2 tsp of salt and throw in the potatoes. Boil the potatoes for 10-15 minutes till fork tender.
3) Remove the boiled potatoes and place it in a bowl.
4) To the cooked potatoes add the butter and start mashing it up using a fork.
4) Add the greek style yogurt, milk and finely grated garlic and continuing mashing till desired consistency.
5) Add salt to taste and chopped spring onions and mix well.

* This recipe serves 3