General Tso's Chicken

General Tso's Chicken
It is a sweet, slightly spicy, deep-fried chicken dish that is popularly served in most Chinese and Asian themed American restaurants. The dish is most commonly regarded as a Hunanese dish.
The dish is named after General Tso Tsung-tang, or Zuo Zongtang, a Qing dynastygeneral and statesman, although there is no recorded connection to him.
Informative source Net..

For Chicken Marination and Frying
Ingredients
500 grams boneless chicken cubes
3 tbsp Soy sauce
1 Egg beaten
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
5 tbsp Cornstarch
All purpose flour as needed
Salt as required
Oil for fry

Method
Combine the chicken cubes with the egg, soy sauce, and pepper. Add  cornstarch to coat the chicken. Take all purpose flour give second coat to the Chicken cubes. Heat oil in a wok and fry the chicken cubes.

For the Sauce
2 tbsp  Soy sauce
1 tbsp  Rice vinegar
1 tbsp Oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp Sesame seed Oil
1 tbsp Sugar
3 tablespoons Water
1 tbsp Ginger minced
2 tbsp Garlic minced
2 tsp  Cornstarch 
2 tbsp spring onions chopped for garnishing
5 small Dried red chilli for seasoning
1/2 tbsp oil for seasoning
Note: As soya sauce is salty add salt as required..

Method
Combine the sauce ingredients in the bowl, stir to mix the ingredients. Add 1/2 tsp oil in a wok. Add red chillies. Sauté it for few seconds. Add the sauce. Cook it till thick. Add the fried chicken cubes and mix it. Add the chopped spring onion for garnishing. Serve hot.

Mini Cheese Margherita Pizza

Mini Cheese Margherita Pizza
Ingredients
2 cup Wheat flour 

1 1/2 cups   All purpose flour 

9 grams Dry Yeast

1 tsp Sugar

1/4 cup Luke warm Water

Salt to taste

1cup grated Mozzarella 

1/2 cup grated Cheddar Cheese 

1 cup Pizzasauce

2 Tomato chopped 

1/4 cup Basil leaves chopped 

2 tbsp Olive oil 

Method
Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
Add wheat flour, All purpose flour, salt in a bowl, mix it and keep it aside. Take lukewarm water and add sugar and yeast. Let it rise. Add the yeast water and more water if required little at a time to the flour. Mix it and knead it into a soft dough. Add 1/2 tbsp olive oil, cover and let it rise. Punch the dough and divide the dough in to 2 portions. Take one portion of the dough. Sprinkle some flour on the platform and roll the dough out. Take a cookie cutter and cut out in to round disc shape. Repeat the process till the dough is over. Grease a baking tray with oil. Arrange the cut out dough on the tray. Take a fork and prick on the cut out dough. Add 1 tbsp spoon of mozzarella and cheddar mix. Add the tomato and basil leaves, add a tbsp of pizza  sauce and again top it up with cheese.  Bake for 15-20 mins at 180 degrees celcius till the bread has become brown from the sides and cheese has melted on top.  Serve hot..

Option - Add chopped onions and capsicum to make vegetable pizza..

Aloo Chigrier Kalia (Potato Prawn Curry )

Kalia is a thick gravy prepared with fish like Rohu or Katla. I have prepared it with prawns. 

It is a Bengali dish and it is served with hot steaming rice. It's a must try dish, worth the try. 

Ingredients 

22 Medium size Prawns cleaned and deveined 

2 medium sized Potatoes cut into cubes 

1 large Onion paste

1 large Tomato paste

1 1/2 tsp Garlic - Ginger - Green Chilli paste
2 Green Chillies slited 

1 Bay leaf 

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1 tsp Garam Masala powder 

1 tsp Turmeric power

1/2 tsp Chilli powder
1/2 tsp Coriander powder 

Salt to taste 

1 tsp Sugar 

1/4 cup + 2 tbsp  Mustard Oil 

1 tbsp Ghee

Method 

Marinate the prawns with little salt and 1/2 tsp turmeric powder. Keep it aside for 10 minutes. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a wok, fry the potato cubes until light brown in colour.  Keep them aside. In the same oil, fry the prawns in batches for a minute until the colour of the prawn changes.  Remove the prawns and keep them aside. Add the remaining oil, let it heat. Add cumin seeds, green chillies and bay leaf, sauté it for few seconds.  Add ginger - garlic and chilli paste, sauté for a minute. Add the onion paste, fry till the paste turns light brown in colour. Add the salt, sugar, turmeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder and 3/4 tsp of the garam masala powder. Sauté for another minute.  Add  the  tomato paste. Saute for 5 minutes, till the oil separates out from the masala. Add fried potato pieces, stir it and add 1 1/2 cups of water. Mix well. Cover and cook with the  lid closed until potatoes are cooked, add the prawns and simmer for 5 minutes. Drizzle ghee and  sprinkle the remaining garam masala powder over the gravy.  Serve hot with rice.

Begun Pora / Bengali Style Baigan Bharta

Begun Pora / Bengali Style  Baigan Bharta

Ingredients 

1 big  whole Eggplant  

1 Onion chopped 

1 Tomato chopped 

2 Green chillies chopped 

1/2 tsp finely chopped Ginger 

1 tbsp of chopped Coriander leaves 

Generous drizzle of Mustard oil 

Salt to taste

Method 

Take the Eggplant and give 2 slits on the eggplant, keeping the stem of the eggplant intact. Roast the eggplant on the gas... Roast the eggplant till cooked completely. Once cool peel off the skin. Take the pulp and mash it. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix it well. Have it with hot Chappati / Phulka / Roti...

Achari Chana Aur Luki ki Dal Achari Yellow Split lentil and Bottle Gourd Dal

 Achari Chana  Aur Luki  ki Dal

Achari Yellow Split lentil and Bottle Gourd Dal

Ingredients

1/2 cup half Boiled Chana Dal / Yellow Split lentil

1 small size  Luki / Bottle Gourd cut into small  stripes ( preserve the skin for Lauer Khosha Bhaja)

1 Green  chilli slit

1 Tomato chopped

1 Onion chopped

1/2 tsp Garlic paste

Few  Curry leaves

1 Dry Red Chilli

1/4 tsp Nigella seeds

1/2 tspTurmeric powder

1 tbsp Achari powder

Salt to taste

1 tbsp Coriander leaves chopped

Water preserved from the boil dal + more if required

1 tbsp Sesame seed Oil

For the Achari powder

Ingredients

1/4 tsp Coriander seeds

1/4 tsp Cumin Seeds

2 Dry Red chili powder

1/4 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Carom seeds

1/4 tsp Fennel seeds

1/4 Fenugreek seeds

1/4 tsp Dry Mango powder

Method

Grind all the above spices into powder..

 Method

Take a pressure cooker. Add 1/2 tbsp oil and let it heat. Add the chopped onion and green chilli. Stir it till translucent. Add the chopped  tomato.  Cook it for 3 minutes. Add salt, turmeric powder and the Achari masala. Sauté it for 2 minutes. Add the half boiled dal and bottle gourd. Stir it well. Add preserved water from the dal and more water  if required. It should be 1 1/2 cup water. Cover the cooker and give 3 whistles. After the cooker cools down.. open the cooker. If the gravy is dry then add 1/2 cup water or more as per the gravy required. Add dry mango powder. Simmer the dal for 10 minutes. Add another 1/2 tbsp oil and let it heat. Add nigella seeds, curry leaves and dry chilli. Drizzle the seasoning over the dal. Add coriander leaves for garnishing. Serve it  hot with Roti or Rice..