Chicken Pesto

Ingredients
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Oil
1 tablespoon pine nuts
1 to 2 garlic cloves
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
For pesto, combine the first five ingredients in a blender; cover and process until blended. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Place chicken in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking dish; brush with butter and pour the pesto sauce over it. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30-35 minutes. Serve hot with pasta!

You can also make this dish the meatball style as I have done following the same directions except you can buy the chicken meatballs to prepare the dish.

Rajma Masala( Red Bean Curry)

Ingredients
Rajma Seeds - 1 cup
Onions - 1 (cut thinly)
Green chillies - 4
Tomatoes- 4
Curry leaves - few
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala Powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 2 pinches
Chilli powder - to taste
Salt to taste
Jeera (Cumin) seeds - 1 tsp
Cloves - 5
Butter - 1 tbs

Method:
Soak Rajma Seeds overnight

Pressure cook Rajma Seeds with two cups of water until 4-5 whistles.

Cut & puree tomatoes, green chillies in a blender

Heat oil in a vessel & add jeera, onions, ginger garlic paste, curry leaves. Saute until onions turn golden brown.

Add the blended mixture and little water & let it boil for about 5 minutes.

Add pressure cooked red beans to this (with the leftover water in the cooker). Add coriander powder, garam masala powder, salt and chilly powder. Cook until the extra water evaporates & the gravy begins to thicken.

Add a dash of butter and remove from flame. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with rice/rotis.

Shrimp Curry

Shrimps - (medium sized, cooked)
3 medium sized onions chopped
Green chillies - 8
(split half)
Curry leaves - 2 stems
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 4 tbsp
Tomato(big) - 1
(sliced)

For marinating:
Vinegar - 1 tbsp
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 2 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt- As reqd

1)Marinate shrimps with vinegar, ginger-garlic paste, chilly powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, black pepper and salt for atleast 1/2 hour.
2)Heat oil in a pan.
3)Splutter mustard seeds.
4)Add marinated shrimps into it.
5)Saute for 5 mins on a medium-high flame. Stir it occasionally.
6)Add chopped onions, green chillies and curry leaves and saute on a medium flame for 15 mins.
7)Let the juice in shrimp and the onions mix with each other.
8)Add sliced tomato to the boiling curry and close with a lid.
9)Turn off the flame and let it stay undisturbed for atleast 15 mins.
10)Add required salt.Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rice.

P.S: You will easily find the ginger-garlic paste in the market but there is nothing like the homemade taste. So get a mortar-and-pestle and start cooking!

Chocolate Rum cake

Ingredients:
1 bar of chocolate, chopped coarse
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 tablespoons bourbon or dark rum
1 1/2 cups pecans (about 6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup egg whites (from 7 to 8 large eggs)
1/4 teaspoon salt
confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9- by 2-inch round springform pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper or foil.

In a bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water melt chocolates and butter, stirring until smooth. Remove bowl from heat and stir in bourbon or rum.

In a food processor pulse pecans with 3/4 cup sugar until finely ground. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in flour.

In another bowl with an electric mixer or hand mixer beat whites with salt at medium speed. Gradually add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, beating at high speed until whites hold soft (not stiff), slightly glossy peaks. Stir in pecan mixture with a spatula until well blended and fold in chocolate mixture.
Pour batter into pan and smooth top. Bake cake in middle of oven 50 minutes, or until a fork inserted into center comes out clean. Run a thin knife around edge of cake to loosen and invert cake onto a rack to cool completely.

Remove parchment or foil and transfer cake to a platter. For a fancier look, dust cake with confectioners' sugar.

Spicy Carrot Soup

Ingredients
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds packaged baby carrots, from produce section
6 cups chicken stock, available on soup aisle
1 tablespoon mild curry paste or 1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

Method:

Preheat medium pot over medium high heat. Add olive oil, butter, onions and carrots and saute for 5 minutes till onion turns pink. Add 4 cups chicken stock, curry powder and cayenne, and about 1 teaspoon salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 15 minutes. Pour the soup in a blender and blend soup in 2 or 3 small batches until soup is smooth and carrots are fully pureed. Return the blended soup to the cooking pot and place back over low heat. If the soup is too thick, add remaining stock, up to 2 cups, to achieve desired consistency. Granish with chopped cilantro or parsley.

baigan bharta( eggplant curry)

Ingredients:

1 medium Baigan (eggplant)
2 Finely chopped onions
3 Diced tomatoes
4 Finely chopped green chilli
1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
3 tbsp Vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnishing

Method :
Brush baigan (eggplant) with oil and roast it on a gas burner over medium heat(or bake poked eggplant in oven at 400 degrees).
Frequently turn the eggplant upside down, until fully roasted.
Once done, hold it under cold running water or in a bowl full of water. Cool it and peel off the blackened skin.
Mash the flesh.
Heat oil in a pan / kadhai . Add green chilli and onion and fry over medium heat until light golden brown.
Add red chilli powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt and stir. Add tomatoes and cook until tender.
Add the mashed baigan (eggplant). Stir well. Fry the baigan bhartha for 5-7 minutes over medium heat.
Garnish the baigan bharta with green coriander leaves and serve hot with naan.

Chicken Parmesan( quick and easy)

Ingredients
1 clove garlic, minced
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup or 1/4 pound), melted
1 cup dried bread crumbs
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 lbs of skinless, boneless, chicken meat, cut into pieces no larger than 2x2 inches
6 tbsp tomato puree( a mix of approximately 4 tomatoes, basil and red pepper)
Method:

1 Preheat oven to 450°F.

2 In a bowl, combine the minced garlic with the melted butter. In another bowl mix together the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, salt, garlic salt, and pepper. Dip chicken pieces into garlic butter, then into crumb mixture to coat.

3 Place coated chicken pieces on to a 9x13 baking dish. Try to leave a little room between each piece. Drizzle with remaining garlic butter and bake uncovered 15 minutes. Pour the tomato puree on top of the cooked chicken and sprinkle with some grated cheese on top. Bake till top turns golden brown (in 10-15 mins). Serve hot with angel hair pasta!