Chicken in Pepper Sauce.

Vegetarians can use paneer (cottage cheese in place of chicken) in this recipe and can also add other vegetables like broccoli, carrots, french beans and mushrooms.

Ingredients:
2-3 tbsp black pepper sauce.

600-700 gm diced boneless chicken.

1/2 tbsp chopped garlic.

1/2 cup chopped onions.

1 tbsp cornflour.
Some freshly crushed black pepper.
Pinch sugar (optional).
1-2 tbsp oil for cooking.

Method:
Marinate the chicken with pepper sauce.

Mix well and keep aside for half an hour.

Heat oil. Once the oil becomes hot add chopped garlic.

Let the garlic sizzle a bit and then add chopped onions.

Stir fry onions on a medium flame for a minute or two and then add chicken.

Continue to cook chicken on a medium flame stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile mix cornflour with some water (I added water into the container used for marinating the chicken and hence the water is brown in color) to make a smooth paste.

Add freshly crushed pepper in the chicken and stir well.

You may add a pinch of sugar, but this step is optional and you can skip it.

Mix well and check to see if the chicken has cooked.
Add the cornflour and water preparation into the chicken and cook further for 2-3 minutes stirring well and till the sauce thickens.

Add water to adjust consistency of the sauce. Do not make it runny because it tastes better if its on the thicker side. So add water accordingly.

The pepper sauce already contains salt, however you may want to add more after you have tasted the chicken and adjust accordingly.

Chicken in pepper sauce is ready. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot with steamed rice.

The two biggest sellers in bookstores are the cookbooks and the diet books. The cookbooks tell you how to prepare the food and the diet books tell you how not to eat any of it.
Andy Rooney

Soy Sauce Tofu.

Ingredients:
1 packet of tofu (buy the one used for frying).

2-3 tbsp corn starch.

1/2 tbsp finely chopped ginger and 1/2 tbsp finely chopped garlic.

Pinch of sugar.
2-3 tbsp kikkoman soy sauce.
Freshly chopped green coriander and finely chopped spring onions for garnishing.
Any vegetable oil for deep frying the tofu.
1 tbsp sesame oil.

Method:
Cut the tofu gently into big square pieces.

Dip each piece into the corn starch and deep fry tofu pieces on a medium flame.

Once they are light golden in color, remove and keep on a tissue paper to drain off excess oil. They should be crispy from outside but soft inside.

Dilute the kikkoman sauce with 1-2 tbsp of water.

Add a pinch of sugar.

Add 2-3 tbsp of water in the corn starch and mix well. Keep this aside.

Heat sesame oil.

Add chopped ginger and garlic and let them sizzle.

Add the diluted kikkoman sauce prepared earlier and stir well.

Add the fried tofu pieces and stir gently or the tofu will break.

Cook on a low flame and now add the corn starch solution and stir again, but very gently.

You may want to add more soy sauce depending on how strong you like the taste and color.

Garnish with chopped spring onions and freshly chopped coriander before serving.

Serve hot with rice or you can even it just like that. It tastes delicious.

You can also replace the tofu with paneer (cottage cheese).



NUTRITIP:
In addition to being wonderfully inexpensive, tofu is high in protein, low in fat, and very low in saturated fat. Other healthy benefits of soy: Some studies show it can lower cholesterol and may even help prevent certain types of cancer, including breast and prostate. One daily four-ounce serving is an excellent addition to a healthy diet.

Steamed Salmon.

Ingredients:
Salmon fillets (I have used 2 fillets).

2-3 tbsp of ginger cut into thin and long strips.
Chopped spring onions (use the green part of the stalk).
Fresh lemon juice.
1-2 tbsp Kikkoman soy sauce. (You can also use light soy or dark soy sauce, dark soy will give you a darker color).

The bottom part of spring onion's stalk. These are more whitish and less greener. Cut diagonally into thin diamond shaped strips. Keep this aside as it will be used for garnishing in the end.

1-2 tbsp sesame oil.
Few stems of fresh green coriander.

Method:
Wash well in running tap water, drain excess water and marinate the salmon fillet with little salt (as the soy sauce will have salt in it as well). Sprinkle all the ginger on the fillets.

Squeeze lemon juice.

Add all the chopped spring onions (use the green part here).

Pour the soy sauce onto the fillets. You can put 5-6 fresh coriander stems on top of the fillets about 3-4 inches long.

Prepare your steamer and allow the water to come to a boil.

Once the water has started to boil, steam the salmon fillets for 20 minutes on a medium high flame. Keep the steamer covered with a lid during the entire steaming process.

I have kept a heavy container so as to not allow any steam to escape.

After 20 minutes switch off the flame and open the steamer 5 minutes after switching off the gas. Do not open immediately as the hot piping steam coming out may burn you hands.

You may want to pour some more soy sauce on top of the fillet.

Now heat sesame oil in a small container. Once the oil has become hot, pour it onto the fish fillets.

Add the diagonally chopped spring onions that were kept aside to be used for garnishing in the end.

Steamed salmon is ready. You can have it just like that accompanied with some salad or even with rice. In the picture below you can see the watery juice. You can pour the juice on rice and have it. It has a great flavor with all the steamed ginger and spring onions.

NUTIRTIP:
The health benefits of eating salmon include speeding up your metabolism. This facilitates your sugar absorption rate and can lower your blood sugar level, which in turn lowers your risk of developing diabetes.
The Omega-3 acids and amino acids help prevent macular degeneration. This is an age-related condition that affects older people that can result in vision damage and loss.
If you want shiny hair, bright eyes and healthy skin salmon consumption can provide that as well. Credit those Omega-3 fatty acids and selenium in the salmon for that.
Four ounces of wild salmon gives you a full day’s required amount of Vitamin D. The same amount of salmon also gives you more than half of the B12, niacin and selenium that you need daily. In addition, a four ounce serving of salmon gives you almost thirty grams of protein. That is more than half of the Food and Drug Administration’s recommended daily amount.
Salmon’s health benefits are far too many to ignore. It is power packed with disease fighting acids, minerals and vitamins. So whether you bake it, broil it, grill it or eat it raw salmon is a powerful addition to your healthy lifestyle.