Thai Basil Fried Rice

Quick Recipe:
take oil in a pan, add crushed garlic+red chillies and fry ; add tofu or chicken or both + fish sauce + oyster sauce + soy sauce +palm sugar (optional)- fry for 2mins ; add basmati or jasmine or regular rice - mix well ; add fresh basil leaves + green pepper + red pepper + sweet onions - fry for another 2 mins and serve hot.

Tom Kha Gai - Thai Soup

Cook Time: 30 min
Serves: 2 -3

Ingredients:

Coconut Milk – 1, 14 oz can
Water – 2 cups
Lemon Grass – 1 stalk, cut to 1″ pcs
Galangal/Galanga – 6 pcs.
Kaffir Lime Leaves or Lime Rind
Thai Chilli – to taste, slit
Salt – to taste
Soy Sauce or Fish Sauce – to taste
Palm Sugar – to taste
Baby Corn (small size) – 5
Bamboo Shoots – 10-15 slices
Straw Mushrooms – 5-6
Thai Basil – 2 sprigs
Tomato – 1, med, cubed
Mushrooms – 5-6 , sliced
Extra Firm Tofu – 1/4 block, cubed
Thai Basil – 2 sprigs
Spring Onions – 1 stalk, chopped
Lime – 1 good squeeze
Cilantro – 5 sprigs

Method:

1. In a sauce pan, pour the Coconut Milk can.
2. Add Water to it and allow it to come to a boil on medium heat.
3. Add in the Galanga, Lightly bashed Lemon Grass, Lime Leaves or Rind, and Thai Chillies.
4. Mix and allow the soup to boil for 15 minutes.
5. Add in the Palm Sugar, Soy Sauce and the Salt to taste and get the right balance.
6. Add in the Baby Corn, Bamboo Shoots, Straw Mushrooms, Tofu, Tomatoes & Mushrooms.
7. Add a few Basil Leaves to the Soup.
8. Once the Soup is boiling, add in the Lime Juice and the Spring Onions.
9. Switch off the stove and pour in a serving bowl.
10. Garnish with Basil and Cilantro.

To make it Non-Vegetarian, add Cubed (bite size) Chicken Pcs. or Shrimp before adding the Vegetable and then allow the Chicken or the shrimp to cook before adding the vegetables.

Quickie :
In a pan - add 14 oz of coconut milk + 2-3cups water and bring to boil; add 5 small pieces of galangal + 1 tbs fish sauce + 1tbs soy sauce + 1/4 tbs spoon palm sugar or regular sugar or brown sugar and cook for 2mins ; now add lemon grass+ lemon leaves(or lemon skin)+ baby corns+ mushrooms+ tofu+ 1 tomato cut into small peices + chopped basil leaves and bring to boil (for 3mins);add 1 spoon lemon juice and serve hot. (remove the galangal + lemon grass + lemon skin before serving).

Thai Red Curry

Cook Time: 20 min
Serves: 4 – 6

Ingredients:

Oil – 1 tbsp
Red Curry Paste – 2-3 tbsp
Coconut Milk – 2 cans (14oz/400ml each)
Palm Sugar or Brown Sugar or Regular sugar – 2 tbsp
Soy Sauce or Fish Sauce – 1 tbsp
Snow Peas – handful (optional)
Red Bell Pepper – 1/4, sliced (optional)
Green Bell Pepper – 1/2, sliced
Canned Straw Mushrooms or regular mushrooms – 1/4 cup
Bamboo Shoots – 4-6 pcs., bite-size (optional)
Carrots – 1/2 thin slices
Sweet Onion – 1/4, sliced
Frozen Peas – 1/4 cup (optional)
Thai Basil Leaves – 4-6, torn up
Thai Basil Leaves – for garnish

Chicken Breast – 1.5 lb, bite size pieces - for Non Veg
Extra Firm Tofu – 14 oz block, cubed - for Veg

Method:

1. In a pan, heat the Oil.
2. Once hot, add in the Red Curry Paste and mix well.
3. Add in the Coconut Milk and mix again.
4. Also, add in the the Grated Palm Sugar, Soy Sauce and Fish Sauce (optional).
5. If you are making the Non-vegetarian dish, you can add in the Chicken now, mix , cover and allow chicken to cook 3/4th of the way (approx 5-10 min).
6. After that, you can open up the dish and carry on with the rest of the procedure.
7. If you are making the vegetarian style, skip steps 5 and 6 and add vegetable to the gravy.
8. Start adding the vegetables – Snow Peas, Red Bell Pepper, Green Bell Pepper, Mushrooms, Bamboo Shoots, Carrots, Sweet Onions, Peas, Baby Corn.
9. Add in Tofu and mix gently.
10. Also, add in some torn Basil Leaves and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
11. For Non-vegetarian – cook till the chicken is cooked all the way through.
12. For Vegetarians – cook till the tofu is heated all the way.
13. Garnish with a few more Thai Basil Leaves and serve hot with some Jasmine Rice or Basmatic Rice.

Black Forest Delight

Prepare Chocolate cake sheets and cut them into heart shape

Make whip cream

Mix water+sugar +rum or whisky

sprinkle rum water syrup on each layer followed by whip cream and cherries

sprinkle chocolate chips on the top layer and decorate it with cherries :)

Butter Chicken

Quickie:
1) oil+ jeera+ onions+ cashews+salt+ ginger garlic paste+ garam masala + tomatoes fry - grind into paste.
2) In same pan - add oil + chicken pieces+ pepper powder+ salt+chilli garlic paste (optional)+turmeric and fry.
3)Add the ground paste to this fried chicken and cook for 10mins. Add Butter+ kasuri methi - cook for another 10mins. Serve with Naan or rice.

Fish Curry / Chapala Pulusu

Ingredients:
Coriander leaves - 1 bunch
coriander powder - 1 tbsp
cumin - 1 tsp
cumin pdr - 1tbsp
curry leaves - 8 leaves
fenu greek seeds - 1/2 tsp (optional)
fish - 1/2 Kg
garam masala pdr - 1 tsp
ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
mustard - 1/2 tsp
onion - 3 small/medium
red chilli pdr - 1/2 tbsp
sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
tamrind - 1 1/2 cups (or to taste)
turmeric - 1 pinch

Directions :

1) roast sesame seeds, coconut powder, fenugreek seeds (optional) and grind into a paste.
2) Take oil in a pan and fry fish 70% and keep aside (optional- you can add raw fish too, but it would take more time for cooking). In the same pan, add some more oil and add chopped onions, salt and fry till golden brown. Now add ginger-garlic paste,cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and fry for 5mins. Grind this mixture into paste and keep aside.
3)In the same pan add mustard , cumin curry leaves and green chiili and add both the pastes (1 & 2)Cook until oil separates from the gravy.
4)Add tamrind paste/juice and cook for 15 min
5)Add fried fish and simmer for 10mins. garnish with coriander leaves.