Shavige Payasa - Sweet Vermicelli

Payasa is an Indian dessert from the Karnataka region. I discovered it when I was in India, and what I immediately loved was the cardamom cream flavor. The vermicelli in the dessert was more an acquired taste. But I think at the end, it gives an original texture to the cream.

For about 4 portions, you will need:

• 15 grams of vermicelli
• Some butter (about 2 teaspoons, only to roast the vermicelli)
• 2 cups of milk
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 5 cardamom pods

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Resting Time: At least 2 hours

Start by breaking your vermicelli in small pieces.

Remove the shells from the cardamom pods and crush them in a mortar or with a heavy pan.

Keep the cardamon powder on the side.

Place the butter into a saucepan and add the vermicelli pieces. Let them brown.

Once the vermicelli is golden brown, reduce the heat to medium-low, add the milk and stir for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Then add the crushed cardamom and the sugar, and stir for about 4 to 5 minutes.

 

Turn off the heat, transfer your dessert into a container and let it cool down.

Once it had cooled down, place the container in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

Enjoy cold by itself, or with a few brownies!

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Charline Leblond

Lemongrass and Basil Chicken Curry

This is a quick and easy curry to whip together when you have that craving anytime during the week; yes, you even have time to make if after you get back from work! A lot of people get scared out of making curries and opt to use pre-made curry mixes in a jar, but this is very easy, and you can control how spicy you would like it to be. As I have made it below, it was not too spicy at all, which really allowed the lemongrass and ginger to come forward and support that fresh basil flavour.

For this dish, serving 2-3 people, you will need:

• Half an onion, chopped.
• Roughly 1/3 cup of chopped ginger*, or ginger powder.
• 4 stems of lemongrass.
• One clove of garlic, chopped.
• Half a cup of basil leaves.
• One tablespoon of curry powder.
• 500 milliliters of chicken stock.
• 3-4 pieces of chicken, as desired.
• One can of coconut milk.
• 1/3 cup of chopped green chilies (optional).

Preparation time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

I made my own curry powder for this, using some cayenne pepper, yellow curry powder, paprika, turmeric, and some other pantry staples, but you can pretty much use any store-bought brand. Naturally, the taste of this curry will change depending on the powder you use, and that will also allow you to control the spiciness. You will note that I did not add any chillies! Feel free to chop up about 1/3 cup of green chilies for an awesome flavour kick ... I cannot find good green chilies where I am at the moment, so I had to do without.

Okay, first we need to tackle that lemongrass. If you are using lemongrass powder, just add it with the rest of the curry powder below.

Remove the outer husk of the lemongrass, we aren't going to eat this bit.

Next, chop that lemongrass up into little pieces.

Get your chicken stock to a boil and add the lemongrass directly into it. This will serve two purposes; it will infuse your stock with the lemongrass flavour, and it will soften the lemongrass.

Meanwhile, heat some oil in your skillet or wok.

Add the onions, garlic, and ginger, and fry them until the garlic starts becoming golden brown.

Then add the curry powder to the ginger, garlic, onion mixture and mix it in well.

Once the curry powder is well mixed with the onion, garlic, and ginger, add your chicken to the pan. I had drumsticks left over, so that is what I am using. Normally, I prefer chicken thighs for a curry.

Turn your chicken around to get it nicely coated with the curry and spices and brown the chicken.

Once the chicken is browned, add your chicken stock and lemongrass to the pan.

Throw in your basil leaves, cover the dish, and leave it for 10-15 minutes to let the chicken finish cooking.

Once the chicken is cooked, add your coconut milk and mix it in well.

Let it stew for a couple of minutes, and then serve with some warm rice!

*Tip: Don't throw away your ginger! Refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your leftover ginger.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken with a Honey Ginger Glaze

This is a lovely, silky chicken dish with a lip-smacking sweet and tangy glaze. Preparation is ridiculously easy and ingredients are readily available in most supermarkets. You can make your own teriyaki sauce if you like, but I just used the bottled sauce in this recipe.

Ingredients for 4-5 servings:

• 600 grams or so of chicken, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• Two, 1/3 cups of honey (divided)
• 300 grams of tinned pineapple*
• About a cup of fresh coriander
• Tablespoon of ground ginger

To start, whisk together the teriyaki sauce, half a cup of juice from the tin of pineapples, and the first 1/3 cup of honey. A whisk is the best way to get the honey really well incorporated; a spoon will just make honey streaks in your teriyaki sauce.

Next, add about half a cup of coriander.

And finally your chicken pieces and a pinch of salt, and mix to get the chicken coated evenly.

Cover this and refrigerate for an hour or so.

When you are ready to start putting dinner together, cut up your pineapple into small pieces (if it wasn't already in pieces).

In a hot pan, or a wok, add your mixture that has been marinating. 

Let the entire thing come to a boil, and keep turning the chicken around with a spatula. Do not reduce the heat, there is enough liquid for the chicken to cook at high heat.

When your chicken is no longer pink on the outside, add about a cup of the pineapple pieces. You can always add more or less to your liking. If you reserve some fresh pieces, you can serve them on the plate with the chicken.

Keep stirring the mixture as the liquid boils for about 5 more minutes, and then check to verify that your chicken is cooked through. I added a few chilli flakes at this stage to provide some spice. Once your chicken is cooked, take out the chicken and pineapple and set aside (a slotted spoon would work best), leaving the liquid in the pan.

Keeping the pan on high heat, add the ground ginger, or ginger powder, into the sauce and the remaining 1/3 cup of honey. Stir frequently, this mixture is going to caramelise and become syrupy very quickly. In fact, it would help if someone was plating the chicken while you finish the sauce.

Finally, serve the chicken with some plain rice, and fresh pineapples. Pour about two tablespoons of sauce over the chicken and garnish with the coriander.

*Tip: Don't throw away your unused pineapple pieces, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use them.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki

Salmon with Sesame and Ginger

Salmon, salmon, salmon. Its not only good for you, but also easy and quick to put together for dinner. I have previously tried out Orange and Ginger Salmon; but for a bit of an Asian flair here is Sesame and Ginger Salmon. Served with a bit of rice, it makes for a lovely light and easy dinner.

Yes, you can have dinner ready in 20 minutes.

For two servings, you will need:

• One tablespoon of sesame seeds
• One half-palm size of ginger* (or slightly less if you use ginger powder, minced ginger, etc)
• About two or three tablespoons of soy sauce
• One teaspoon of sugar
• One tablespoon of oil

Of course, it would help of you had some salmon filets. I have served my salmon with rice, but I shall leave you to pick whatever side you would like to use.

Depending how much rice you are making, you might want to start the rice first. Check the package for instructions on how to cook your rice.

While the rice is cooking, start with your ginger. I used about a half-palm sized piece.

To retain some nice texture of ginger in the final dish, slice it into toothpick-long sticks. Don't fret about how thin or how thick to make them; it won't matter much at the end. I made three horizontal slices into the piece above before slicing it. You will also need one tablespoon of sesame seeds.

Lets start with the sesame seeds, roast them in a pan at medium-high heat with a bit of oil. You don't need too much oil as the sesame will ooze some of its own. Let your oil heat up well before adding the seeds.

You want to roast the sesame until it becomes nicely browned.

Now add your ginger slices.

Let the ginger become well browned, continuously stirring on high heat.

Now reduce the heat to a bit below medium and add your soy sauce.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of sugar and stir it in to the sauce, now we will let it simmer and reduce for a few minutes.

It is now time to cook the salmon, but if you are making rice on the side you might want to check the progress. There is no point in having your salmon ready if your rice is still cooking. Assuming the rice is ready, or whatever side you are using, you can add your salmon to the grill.

For the salmon, a bit of oil in a frying pan and just leave the salmon a few minutes on each side ... you can check the progress as it cooks up the side of the salmon filet.

By the time your salmon is done, the sauce will have reduced enough and is ready to serve.

Plate your rice, add a salmon filet, and spoon the ginger and sesame on top of the fish. If you like, you can spoon some of the infused soy sauce on the rice.

There! Less than 20 minutes and such an easy way to prepare a healthy dinner.

*Tip: Don't throw away your ginger, refer to our "Let's not waste anything!" page, and check out few ideas on how to use your ginger.

As with all the other recipes we put on this site, this is meant to be easy to follow. We are hobby chefs who love to cook, and we are always up for learning new techniques. If you know of anything in this recipe which can be done a different way, whether for increased ease of preparation or better taste, please add a comment below!

Whipped up by Shyamal Addanki