Category: Indo-Chinese Cooking.

Indo-Chinese Cooking. · Rice Varieties.

Cashew Fried Rice >> Under 10 mins.

ShobaLeave a comment

There is really no substitute for the comfort that the soul derives, from forking out a large spoonful of piping hot fried rice and eating it slowly, with exploding flavors. We love our cashew fried rice from our favorite Thai restaurant Pearl at St Louis, and Simply Thai at Frisco, Texas.

This is a small effort to try to recrearte this magic. Hope you enjoy it and please leave your comments. You can substitute jasmine rice with brown rice/ quinoa/ cauliflower rice for a low carb version.

Sauce:

1 Tbsp  Sugar

1 Tsp Light Soya Sauce

2 Tsp Dark Soya Sauce

3 Tsp Hoisin Sauce

1 Tsp Red Chilli paste

1/2 Tsp Pepper Powder

1 Tsp Sesame Oil.

INGREDIENTS FOR FRIED RICE:

1 cup Jasmine Rice cooked.

1 Cup Firm Tofu.

4 Garlic cloves chopped.

2 inch Ginger Chopped.

3 stalks of green onions chopped.

1/2 onion diced into large pieces and separated.

Handful of raw cashews.

PREP:

  • The process of cooking is very easy and cooking time is very less and on high flame, Keep all ingredients close to you.
  • 1 day  old rice is the best if not substitute with jasmine rice or long grained rice.
  • Chop all veggies and keep ready.
  • Add all ingredients for Sauce in to a cup and whisk.
  • Remove all water from the tofu. Pat it dry. 

PROCEDURE:

  • Add 2-3 tbsp of oil, sauté Tofu in oil and remove from wok. 
  • In the same wok add 2 tbsp of oil on medium high flame and add the chopped ginger, garlic, and base portion of the green onions.
  • Fry for a few minutes and then immediately add onions. 
  • In 30 seconds, add the prepared sauce on the wok. Do not allow onions to get mushy.
  • It will bubble and cook in the oil. Stir, to coat the garlic and  onions getting fried in the wok.
  • Add the cooked and cooled rice, tofu and cashew and quickly start mixing  to coat the rice and tofu.
  • Add salt as needed.
  • Cook until slightly caramelized and transfer to a serving dish. Garnish with cilantro and spring onions. 

Serve HOT.

Indo-Chinese Cooking. · Kid Friendly Recipes. · Snacks & Tiffin Items

Chappati Chowmein (Wheat flatbread sliced and spiced in to stir fry!)

Shoba6 Comments

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All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come!!!

–Victor Hugo

One of my most popular posts that tops the hits on Anubhavati everyday, is the Restaurant Style Indo Chinese Fried Rice, and I am sometimes overwhelmed at the comments posted on the blog. So many people also e-mail me saying that it thrills them that they can make something so close to a restaurant taste – sans the grease! This keeper recipe is simply a rehashed version of the Fried Rice. Only we make it all the more interesting by playing with the textures  – Remove the rice, replace noodles – Remove the noodles replace Chappati Slices.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Chappatis.

1 Inch Ginger julienned.

2-3 Elephant Garlic pods sliced thin. (Use 4-5 of the thin variety).

1/2 Cup thinly sliced Cabbage.

1/2 Cup thinly sliced Carrots.

1 Capsicum sliced thin.

2 stems of green onions chopped fine.  – (Seperate the white parts and the green leafy parts.)

3/4 Tsp Pepper Powder.

1 Tsp Soy Sauce.

Salt to taste.

PREPARATION:

  • Its always been on my mind to fashion leftover chappathis from dinner in to chowmien the next day, but my little one always liked to smear fresh fruit jams on them and roll them up and enjoy the burst of sweetness after the bite in to the flatbread. I never had any leftover chappatis!
  • This time I went ahead and make a couple extra just to try out the chowmien. My pantry co-operated with the right ingredients and I made it for lunch for S.
  • Roll up the chapattis and slice them lengthwise. Now cut  away thin slices with your kitchen shears. Set aside.

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  • Heat up a kadai and add the required amount of oil. Pop in the sliced ginger and garlic and allow a minute or two for them to get fried in the oil. Do not hasten this step as this is what provides the flavour to the chowmien!
  • Now add the white portion of the spring onion and give it a quick saute.
  • Nice, now dunk in all the veggies in to the pan and give it a quick stir.
  • Add salt, pepper powder and soy sauce and allow to saute. DO NOT allow to cook enough to get mushy, as the veggies need to retain their crunch.
  • Now toss in the sliced chappati slices and mix in well.
  • Garnish with the green portion of the spring onion.
  • Serve hot with tomato ketchup! Kids love this for lunch!

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Indo-Chinese Cooking. · Rice Varieties.

Restaurant Style Steamed Vegetable Dumplings/ Dimsum/ Momos – Delicious Indo Chinese Starters!!!

Shoba25 Comments

 

Steamed Vegetable Momos.

The very first memory if having a steaming hot dimsum was in a restaurant in Bangalore just after I was married. I remember that I really loved the taste of the filling, combined with the soft elastic outer cover, almost stuck with the filling, and dipped in a red fiery sweet sauce in a teeny white ceramic cup, I was transported to heaven. It always strikes me as to why appetizers always taste way better than the main course, and the reason why we only get to sample one or two???  The next time around, it was at Mainland China, Chennai. I remember the plate of steaming hot dumpling served with the fragrant Black Pepper Sauce. This time around I had been craving for this dish as usual and I decided it was really time to try it on my own. It is a slightly labour intensive procedure but the end result is definitely worth the effort. As a starter for a small party or at a dinner for friends, it is better to make the stuffing ahead and simply assemble it before hand. Easier said than done right???

INGREDIENTS FOR OUTER DOUGH:

2 Cups All Purpose Flour/ Maida.

1 Tsp Sesame Oil.

1 Tsp Salt.

Water.

Vegetable Stuffing.

INGREDIENTS FOR FILLING:

( I grated all the veggies in a mini food processor so the filling was very finely chopped. )

1 Cabbage julienned.

1 Carrot grated finely.

1/4 Cup fresh Sweet Corn kernels.

1/8 Cup Shredded Paneer.

6 Garlic Pods chopped finely.

2 Inch Ginger chopped finely.

1 Bunch Spring Onions chopped finely.

1 1/2 Tsp Pepper Powder.

Salt to taste.

3-4 Green Chillies Chopped very fine.

1 Tsp Sesame Oil.

Finely Chopped Cilantro.

PREPARATION:

  • For the outer dough mix all purpose flour, sesame oil, salt and water to make a pliable dough. Keep covered until assembly.
  • To prepare the filling, take a wok and allow to heat. Add the sesame oil and the chopped ginger, garlic and green chillies.
  • Allow a few minutes for the oil to get perfumed with the ingredients in it.
  • Now add the thinly chopped cabbage, carrots and the sweet corn. (I was out of  paneer to I made my dumplings without them.)
  • Optionally you could run the veggies through a food processor and mash them up roughly to get a homogenous mass. I am guessing the guys at Mainland China do that!!!!
  • Allow all the veggies to mix in with each other. They should not be overcooked at this point as they will  anyways getting steamed inside the filling.
  • Add pepper powder and salt and finally the shredded panner. Mix thoroughly.
  • Garnish with finely chopped cilantro.
  • This step alone could be prepared ahead and stored in an air tight container.

ASSEMBLING THE DUMPLINGS/DIMSUMS.

  1. Roll out 4-5 balls with the all purpose flour dough and take out one. Keep the rest covered.
  2. With a rolling pin make in to thin chappatis dusting with the flour.

  1. Using a round cookie cutter or a steel tumbler, cut out rounds from the chappatis.
  2. Flatten and roll out each little circle to make them thin and elastic.
  3. Transfer the  cover on to your left palm and spoon out some of the filling on to the centre.
  5. Use sesame oil to line the inside of the top semi circle of the dumpling.
  6. Use your fingers to pleat and pinch the edges together to form a closed dumpling.If this is too challenging, simply make the dumplings in to “half moons” ( bring the edges together) or “big hugs” ( almost like a kozhakattai.)
  7. As you make each dumpling, transfer them directly to the  idli plates generously brushed with sesame oil and arrange on them neatly so they do NOT stick to each other.Keep these dumplings covered too.
  9. Once you have completed making the little dumplings, steam in medium heat for about 8 minutes.
  10. Switch off and transfer to a casserole and serve HOT with Tomato Sweet & Spicy Dipping Sauce.

HINTS:

  1. Keep the dough and dumplings covered at all times as they dry up very fast, as its the quality of maida to harden with exposure.
  2. While making the fillings, you can also try stretching the little dough circles that you have cut up. If the consistency is  just right, you might be able to make them a little longer just by stretching. Else you can always use the help of the rolling pin.
  3. I served them up in Manchurian Sauce as a gravy side dish with Indo Chinese Fried Rice.
Indo-Chinese Cooking. · Side Dishes for Rotis/Dosas/ Naan.

Mainland China Inspired “Seasonal Vegetables and Mushrooms in Chinese Parsley Sauce”

Shoba11 Comments

One of the best restaurants that I never miss every time I visit India, is Mainland China. I simply love their twists on the indo chinese version of gravies and sides. Every time I have been to this restaurant, I have come out supremely satisfied. The consistency of their preparations amazes me, so does the “to die” for Vegetable Momos dumplings served steaming hot in little cane baskets, with a side of their secret Black Pepper Sauce, swimming in pools of sesame oil redolent with the aroma of pepper, garlic, soy sauce and everything else nice…One of the most constant order that I would place would be the “Seasonal Vegetables and Broccolli in Chinese Parsley Sauce”. At that time, I never knew chinese parsley was our cilantro…which would explain why I loved it so much. This is my version of the recreation of the  original, and I must say, a very good one.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Carrots Sliced in to diagonally oval strips.

1 cup thinly shredded cabbage.

1 Zucchinni sliced in to thin semi circles.

1 Pound of Fresh baby Corn sliced long.

3 leaves of Romanie Lettuce Chopped.

1 Cup Chopped Cremini/Button Mushrooms.

1 Spring Onion – Seperate the White roots and the green portion. Chop the green portions finely.

Salt to taste.

1 Tsp Pepper Powder.

To Puree for the Sauce Base:

1 Stick of Ginger at least 2″ long.

5 Green Chillies.

1 Bunch of fresh Chinese Parsley (Corriander/ Cilantro).

White portion of the spring onion.

1 Tsp Soy Sauce.

Dash of water.

PREPARATION:

  • Puree all the ingredients for the Sauce base, specified to a smooth paste. Set  aside.
  • Chop all the vegetables and keep ready.
  • In a wide mouthed kadai, add 2  tsp of sesame oil and allow to heat up.
  • Add all the chopped veggies, salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes. The idea is to retain the crunchiness of  the vegetables and not cook them till they turn mushy.
  • In 2-3 minutes, add the ground paste and mix it in well.
  • Add 2 cups of water to allow it to cook well.

  • Stir carefully so as not to break the veggies. Add more salt if needed.
  • When the gravy loses its raw flavours, its time to turn down the stove. This took roughly 8-10 minutes.
  • Garnish with finely chopped spring onion and serve with Restaurant Style  Indo Chinese fried Rice.


Indo-Chinese Cooking. · Rice Varieties.

Restaurant Style Indo Chinese Veggie Fried Rice.

Shoba66 Comments

All my life my favourite order in any restaurant would almost always be “Veggie Fried Rice and Gobi Manchurian. Unfailingly, my mom and cousins would throw up their hands in despair….”Why don`t you even want to try anything else”?? In my opinion, If a restaurant would make fantastic Veggie Fried Rice, they would get notched up a few more stars in their ratings with me!!! Not that my ratings had anything to do with the overall rating of the restaurant. But almost always, this would most definitely work.  One of my favourite haunts in the last few years has been “Ginger Capsicum Fried Rice” from Mainland China. I would order Vegetables in Chinese Parsley Sauce on the side and order their amazing Black Pepper Sauce on the side. I simply love their black pepper sauce which was a side with their soft and tasty Veggie Dumplings….I had been craving for this Veggie Fried Rice for a long long time and I decided it was really time to take matters in to my own hands….I must say I was extremely pleased with the results and all of us were up for seconds and “thirds”…

INGREDIENTS:

2 Cups Basmati Rice.

1 Cup Red/Yellow/Green/Orange Pepper sliced thin and long.

1 Cup thinly shredded Cabbage.

2 carrots sliced thinly.

2 stems of Spring onion shredded finely.

1 inch Ginger chopped very fine.

4 Garlic Pods chopped fine.

Salt to taste.

1 tsp Pepper Powder.

A pinch of Ajinomoto.

1 Tsp Soy Sauce.

Sesame Oil / Canola Oil.

PREPARATION:

  • Cook the basmati rice with just 1 1/2 cups of water. Totally for 2 cups of rice, use 3 cups of water, add a spoon of oil to the rice and cook using rice cooker.
  • Set aside to cool when done.
  • Meanwhile take a wide mouthed wok and add 3 spoons of oil.  I used the oil leftover from frying the manchurian balls for making Veggie Manchurian. I am sure that would have worked its own magic in adding tons of flavour and taste.
  • When  the oil is hot enough, add the diced ginger and garlic. This is what adds the flavour and authentic indo chinese taste to the fried rice. The more finer you chop the ginger and garlic, its better as it flavours and perfumes the oil, which is the base for sauteing all the other veggies.
  • After a few seconds, add the thinly sliced peppers, cabbage and the carrots. Stir fry in the oil for a few minutes.

  • Add salt for the veggies, pepper powder and a pinch of ajinomoto. Stir well.
  • Dont allow the veggies to get mushy and lose their crunch so dont cook the veggies too much.
  • In a few minutes, add the cooked rice and carefully stir all the ingredients.
  • Add 1 tsp of soy sauce, salt and mix well.
  • Garnish with chopped spring onion and enjoy the aroma wafting around you.
  • Enjoy hot Veggie Fried Rice with Vegetable Manchurian Gravy.