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I believe that salt is to food, what food is to life. In right proportions, it can heighten the taste of what you eat..and in the wrong - destroy! Even the most delicious sweets come added with some salt...to taste!

As for me, I've never enjoyed cooking. And as contrary to my owning a food-blog as it may sound, I always think about daily, routine cooking as a chore. But my tryst with the pots and pans began when I got a kitchen all to myself...I began experimenting and exploring new worlds in my own home. Some outcomes were excellent and some plain disasters. Then sprouted the need to keep track of all those good ones...and hence this blog!

Here, I share those experiments that pleased more than one palate!




Showing posts with label Noodles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noodles. Show all posts

December 11, 2011

Brown Rice Spaghetti with Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken

A couple of stores in the US carry some really interesting things. Among others, I hate why Trader Joe's hasn't yet opened a store around where we live. So, every time I'd go to meet people who lived near one, I'd never miss a chance to hop by and gape at all the line-up of organic, naturally delicious stuff they stock up. I flip like a teenager in love, each and every time I see their packaging and brown bags made using recycled paper.

On one such voracious trip to Trader Joe's I picked up this packet of brown rice spaghetti. Following the package instructions, the first time around I cooked it and tossed it in some regular marinara sauce. No great shakes. Tasted good. But, this spaghetti was so earthy and wholesome I just had  to put it to better use.

On another (not so voracious) mundane grocery shopping day, I picked up some Oscar Mayor  Carving Board Rotisserie Seasoned Chicken. I could possibly eat just this thing all by itself and not want anything else with it. Randomly cut the chicken into chunks, add tomatoes, onions, lettuce, seasoned bread croutons and your favorite dressing and it is a meal in itself! 

And, on another wonderful day when I really was voraciously hungry, I married the most delicious spaghetti with the best deli chicken in town and made this scrumptious lunch.


You need very few ingredients for this one but the outcome will make people thing you slogged for hours in the kitchen. You can even make this with regular pasta and deli chicken (or cooked shredded chicken). Yum is the word. Try it for yourself!

April 6, 2011

Broccoli And Egg Stir-fry Noodles

I am a sucker for routines. My husband will swear by this. He, for one, is the complete opposite. Laid back and 'let-things-happen' kinda person. But, I need to have a fixed time for everything. So, after a good eight years of being married we've slowly but gradually found some sort of an equilibrium. I flex my rules and he, his. Still with all this flexing and bending, there's almost no time on weekdays to prepare laborious meals for us. Preparing lunch comes on the close quarters to running a marathon as I juggle all my chores. Yet, I want to give my little son and myself something worth sitting down to eat together. Enter Stir-fries!!


I do not normally use eggs in my stir-fry noodles. But, who cannot do with some extra protein, huh?

July 16, 2009

Quick Veggie Noodles

To say I like Indo-chinese cuisine would be an understatement. It is so much among my favourites of food choices that I could possibly eat it every single day. The flavours and textures transport me into another world. I love the gravies and sauces but have not yet mastered making them myself. But when it comes to noodles, it's all tried and tested. I might not be a professional in this genre of cooking but I know this recipe for noodles can have you asking for more!
Ingredients
200gms Noodles (or as much as you desire)
1/2 Cup Onions - Julienned
1/2 Cup Broccoli florets
1/4 Cup Cauliflower florets
1/2 Cup Bell Pepper (Capsicum) - Julienned
1/4 Cup Carrots - Julienned
1/4 Cup Green beans - Julienned
1/2 tsp Pepper
3 Green chillies - chopped
Oil
And, of course, some salt to taste!


Method
- Heat water in a large saucepan and bring to boil
- Add salt and the toss in the noodles
- Let cook for just about 1.5 minutes (till they become soft and "stirrable" but not overcooked)
- Drain water and flush the noodles with cold water. Drain.
- Sprinkle some oil over the cooked noodles and stir it and set aside
- In a wok/kadai, heat some oil and add the green chillies
- Next add the onions and fry until translucent
- Add all the remaining veggies and stir fry until veggies are crisp
- Sprinkle some more salt to flavour the veggies
- Toss in the cooked noodles and stir using tongs
- Add pepper and stir further


Noteworthy Notes
1. If you like your veggies to be completely cooked then (before you do the stir fry) boil some water, and toss in the veggies for just over a minute to give it a more soft texture. But by doing so, you are running the risk of having mushy veggies in the noodles, hence I avoid this.
2. You can add any variety of veggies/scrambled eggs/chicken/lamb/seafood to this recipe to turn up its volume and taste
3. Use ajinomoto to achieve authentic Chinese restaurant-like taste


SERVES 2