Pan grilled chicken with home made pesto sauce & a side of grated carrot

Its a simple weekday dinner in a  slightly healthy version (subsitute cheese for coconut milk in pesto sauce & instead of mashed potatoes a side of grated carrots) 

For pesto sauce (without cheese)

Fresh basil leaves - 1 bunch 

pine nuts  1/4  cup- toasted slightly
garlic cloves - 3/ 4
olive oil - one generous spoon full
salt to taste 
table spoon of coconut milk

For Chicken 


Make small incision in chicken pieces with knife  (instead of breast , i went for a large thigh piece,more succulent),  rub 3/4 of pesto sauce all over and leave it to marinate for an hour or so

After an hour in a non stick pan ..add a tea spoon of olive oil, add chicken piece and cover and cook each side of 10 mins on medium heat

Remove cover add remaining pesto sauce and cook on high for couple of minutes each side so it browns all over 

After an hour in a non stick pan ..add a tea spoon of olive oil, add chicken piece and cover and cook each side of 10 mins on medium heat 

For Side dish 

I love mashed potatoes with chicken , i mean who doesn't , but mashed potato definitely doesn't fall into the healthy food criteria so instead i used a side of grated carrot. I had it for the first time in one of the tiny restaurant in Auroville and have been making it since then. Not as great as mashed potato, but a close second.

Grate a large carrot  mix salt , a tablespoon of lemon juice & olive oil. Keep aside for 5 mins so all the flavour mix well.


Serve it with chicken once done.

Tasty & healthy weekday dinner ready to be served ! 

Iced green tea (cold brew)

In a effort to bring something healthy into my diet , I started with Green tea every day mid morning, despite my various attempts i some how never got around liking its taste. Then I thought about having cold green tea and surely it tasted infinitely better and was easier to incorporate in my daily diet.

Further to that, i read somewhere about cold brewing tea, one attempt and i was hooked. This is so much better and easier and tastier. During my 'research' i also read how cold brewing is better health wise (here), but honestly there were some articles claiming otherwise so we'll leave it to that.

Plus it does not have a 'cloudy' look that you get when you cool hot tea in fridge

Here is how you do it

In a bottle add water and tea bags (or leaves) and leave it in fridge - yes its that simple.

I had with sliced guavas , surprisingly good !!


Simple, right ?? Now go ahead and experiments with all possible flavors

P.S. - Although it tastes best when left in fridge for about 8 hours , i have had it in time ranging from 4 to 30 hours ..almost as good

Red cabbage soup

Its been raining continuously for the last 2 days and if you step out early in morning or late night you can feel a slight nip in the air. With this weather  I wanted to have soup for dinner and made myself red cabbage soup.

This is my sister's recipe and honestly when she offered me first time I was very skeptical, Purple food really?? But after my first taste I was hooked on to its earthy , hearty flavor and its my go to soup all the time .


You need
Serves 2 

Red cabbage - 1 medium size
Potato - 1/ 2 medium size
Cumin - half tea spoon
Garlic - 2/3 cloves
Salt to taste
Water - 1/2 ltr
Oil/ butter  - 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Clean and cut cabbage into 6/8 pieces

Cut potato into 4 pieces

Heat a pressure cooker , add oil and cumin , cumin will splutter in 30 seconds in hot oil.
Add garlic cloves, potatoes, cabbage, and water .

Let it cook on medium heat for 2/3 whistle, in case you are cooking in a pot on stove cover and cook on medium heat for 30-40 minutes,  adjust water accordingly.

Once its cooked completely and slightly cool , blend this mixture completely (if you are using hand blender you can blend directly in cooker , just make sure its cool enough) , adjust water so it has a thick soup consistency.

Put it back on heat, add salt and bring it to boil.

Remove from heat and serve hot with garlic bread ....

Salad on a stick

Last saturday few friends came over for dinner , since i had cooked a big indian meal for main course i wanted to keep the starters easy and light. So along with my all time hit chilly chicken i went with a 'salad on stick' (inspired from here)

For my version of salad on stick, i used

Cheese cube - i used amul cheese cubes cut into four
Olives - pitted
Guava - cubed
Watermelon- cubed
Basil leaves - cleaned , stalk removed

I prepared all the ingredients and left it in fridge, just before the serving time , i assembled it in  skewers and with a dash of tabasco sauce & pepper , it was ready to be served.

P.S.

Dont prepare the skewers in advance, cheese cubes are likely to break and crumble when left in skewers in for long period.

Clean basil , let it dry on paper towel and put it in ziploc bag in freeze, leaves tend to turn dark when left with moisture.

From the middle eastern kitchen - Tabbouleh

Husband is a huge fan of mediterranean food so i invariably end up making Tabbouleh to go with kebabs & breads. Simple, refreshing and super duper healthy salad 

All you need

2 Bunches of fresh parley coarsely chopped 

5-6 mint leaves finely chopped 

1 full tablespoon broken wheat -soak it in normal temperature water for 10 mins , strain & leave aside for 10 mins 

Lemon juice - 2 tbps

Extra Virgin olive oil - 2 tbps

1 large Tomato (ripe but firm) - de seeded and finely chopped , remove the middle gooey portion. 

Pinch of salt - preferably sea salt 

Mix it all well and leave it for 5 mins to infuse all the goodness together and then serve.

P.S. this salad doesnt hold too well when prepared in advance, the crunch of fresh parsley & wheat is highlight, prepare just before serving.