Tag: One-Pot Meals

OneWholesomeMeal has many recipes for one-pot meals. They usually take less time to prepare. Therefore they are great options for a weeknight dinner.

What we like about these dishes is the flavour. One-pot meals allow the vegetables or the meat to take in all the flavours of the spices. Try these recipes at home.

spicy red chicken meatballs curry photography

 

Categories
Dinner | 8pm Meal Lunch | 1pm Meal

Black Chickpeas Curry | Toori Chana Sabzi

Black Chickpeas Curry
Angles Luffas Black Chickpeas Curry

With summer coming to an end, I am enjoying the last of the angled luffas (or as known in some parts of India toorai or jheenga). And today I am excited to share with you my favorite preparation with this vegetable, the black chickpeas curry.

Isn’t it amazing how nature’s produce is in sync with the body needs each season? Summer produce is all about vegetables high in water to keep the body hydrated. The winter veggies are slightly warming with lower water content.  While on the other hand, the autumnal produce is a gentle transition from summer to winter. The angled luffa is an excellent example of a summer vegetable with high water content.

This black chickpeas curry tempered with garlic and panchforan with a dash of onions and chilies makes for a perfect quick fix and light meal. Its slight sweetness makes it a favorite with kids too. The black chickpeas are packed with protein and other nutrients which is an added advantage. You can eat this curry with warm phulkas or even with rice. I hope you like this traditional Bihari dish.

Try it for yourself and let me know how you liked it. Scroll down for the full recipe.

 

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Angled Luffa-Black Chickpeas Curry (Toorai-Chana sabzi)

Ingredients

  • Angled luffa (toorai/jhinga), skin peeled and cubed- 2 cups
  • Medium-sized onions, sliced fine- 2
  • Garlic, chopped fine- 4
  • Black chickpeas (soaked overnight)- ½ cup
  • Dried red chilies (optional)- 2
  • Panchforan- 1 teaspoon
  • Turmeric powder-1/2 teaspoon
  • Salt-1.5 teaspoons or to taste
  • Oil-1 tablespoons

Instructions

  1. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add panchforan. Once the seeds start to splutter, add garlic and sauté for a minute on medium heat until fragrant
  2. Add sliced onions and sauté until translucent, then add the chickpeas with turmeric powder and salt and sauté for another minute
  3. Add the cubed angled luffa , mix well and put the pressure cooker lid on (no need to add water as this veggie releases a great amount of water anyway as it cooks) and increase the flame to high. Please see here for the right technique to use a pressure cooker safely (http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Pressure-Cooker)
  4. Once the pressure sets in (marked by a whistling sound of the cooker), reduce the flame to medium and let it cook for 10 minutes
  5. After 10 minutes, turn off the heat and wait for all the steam to release completely before opening the lid
  6. Turn on the heat and cook on medium-high heat stirring intermittently till most of the water evaporates and a semi-solid consistency is achieved.

Notes

Calories (per serving)- 100
Nutrition- Vitamin A/ Vitamin C/Vitamin B Complex/Iron/Magnesium/Copper/Fiber/Protein
It does wonders for your- Eyes/Skin/Type 2 Diabetes/Arthritis/Heart/Anemia/Muscles
This is “My 1pm/ 8pm Meal”

https://onewholesomemeal.com/black-chickpeas-curry-toorai-chana-sabzi/

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Lunch | 1pm Meal

Chicken Wings Made Two Ways

Chicken Wings
Chicken Wings Made Two Ways

While the recipe today is chicken wings, let me first tell you why I am not making any this week at home.

Durga Puja or Dusshera celebrations have now begun across most of India. The Steel City of Bokaro, where I grew up, was a melting pot of various cultures – a mini India which gave us a chance to understand and celebrate various cultures. Durga Puja was one of the biggest!

Apart from a mini-break from school, it used to be a huge social occasion with lots of fun, festivities, and good food. Pandal hopping from one sector (residential colony) to the other was eagerly looked forward to. Puja and Diwali is a time when I miss my city the most. My mother would fast and we would eat only vegetarian (but yummy none the less) food. It is a tradition I have been miserable at following but I try. For instance, in these ten days, I cook less meat in the house. Trust me it is not easy with the brood and their father all being hardcore carnivores.

The boys are missing their meat and I wish I could make my life easier and cook these chicken wings. I have two ways of doing it – hot and spicy for the adults and sweet for the kids. As a result, I have a stress-free mealtime. Here is the recipe.

Chicken Wings

 

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Chicken Wings (Two ways)

Ingredients

  • Chicken wings- 10-12 pieces each for both styles of preparations (separated at the joints and tips removed. See here for tips- http://thecookful.com/how-to-cut-chicken-wings/)
  • For the hot and spicy sauce:
  • Butter- 3 tablespoons
  • Hot Sauce (any kind would do, I used a mixture of Thai hot sauce and Maggi hot and sweet chili sauce)-4 tablespoons
  • Chopped garlic-2
  • Salt-1/2 teaspoon or to taste depending on the salt level of the hot sauce used
  • Pepper-1/2 teaspoon
  • For the sweet honey sauce:
  • Butter- 3 tablespoons
  • Honey- 4 +2 tablespoons
  • Soy sauce-1 tablespoon
  • Sriracha sauce- 1 teaspoon
  • Chopped garlic-2
  • Pepper-1/2 teaspoon

Instructions

  1. To make both the sauces follow similar procedure- Melt butter, take it off heat and stir in in the remaining ingredients and set aside
  2. For the hot and spicy wings-Place the prepared chicken wings in a deep bowl and using half the sauce marinate the wings overnight or for at least 2-3 hours in a refrigerator. Reserve the remaining sauce for later
  3. Keep the marinated wings out of the refrigerator half an hour before baking
  4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking tray with foil. Place the marinated wings on the tray and bake for approximately 20 minutes
  5. After 20 minutes take them out and pour the remaining sauce over making sure it evenly coats both sides using tongs
  6. Now, broil them for another 10 minutes, flipping them half way to make the skin crispier. If you do not have the broiler option you could just bake them for another 10 minutes at 350 degrees
  7. For the honey sauce wings- Using 2 tables of honey, glaze the wings on both sides and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes
  8. After 10 minutes pour the prepared sweet honey sauce over the wings, making sure both sides are evenly coated and bake for another 20 minutes or until the wings are cooked through
  9. Serve hot with a side of salad/carrots/celery

Notes

Calories (per serving)- 250 (for honey sauce wings), 200 (for hot sauce wings)
Nutrition- Protein punch/Good fat/ Vitamins B-3, B-6, E/Magnesium
It did wonders for your- Skin/Hair/ Bones/Heart
This is “My 1pm Meal”

https://onewholesomemeal.com/chicken-wings-two-ways/

[kkstarratings]

 

 

Categories
Lunch | 1pm Meal

Chicken Dum Biryani With Beetroot Raita

Chicken Dum Biryani
Chicken Dum Biryani With Beetroot Raita

If I were to go on a diet and be allowed just one cheat meal in a month, that meal would be Chicken Dum Biryani.

When I graduated from just a “noodles-sandwich” cook to a proper cook, one of the first dishes I wanted to make was biryani. I tried quite a few (and I mean QUITE a few) but nothing would match the authentic Hyderabadi Biryani. My search finally ended with Chef Sanjay Thumma’s restaurant-style biryani recipe. It is one of the simplest and yet the best I have tried so far. I must have made it at least 20 times if not more in the last few years. Each time it is appreciated and licked clean off the plate by one and all.

With multiple attempts, I have tweaked the recipe a bit but even if you follow Chef Sanjay’s original one to the T, the results would be as good. Let the list of ingredients not intimidate you. It really is extremely simple! Give it a shot and you would be hooked, just like me! You may serve it with a tomato and onion raita. However, what you see in the picture is the chicken dum biryani with beetroot raita.

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Chicken Dum Biryani

Ingredients

  • Chicken (a mix of drumsticks and thighs)- 500gm (remove the skin off the drumsticks and dice the thighs in approximately 2 inch sized cubes)
  • Long grained basmati rice- 1.5 cups
  • Hyderabadi Biryani Masala (I use Shaan brand. Chef Sanjay makes fresh masala but I struggle to find lichens here so just use the packaged masala)-3 tablespoons+1 tablespoon
  • Cumin powder-1 teaspoon
  • Coriander powder-1 teaspoon
  • Red Chili powder-1/2 -1 teaspoon or as per taste
  • Turmeric powder-1 teaspoon
  • Fresh mint Leaves (finely chopped)- 3 tablespoons
  • Fresh coriander Leaves (finely chopped)- 3 tablespoons
  • Freshly squeezed lime juice- 2 tablespoons
  • Yogurt-3 tablespoons
  • Green chili (finely chopped)-2 or to taste
  • Ginger-garlic paste- 2 tablespoons
  • Onion (1 medium)- Sliced fine
  • Tomato (1 small)- Chopped
  • Rose water-1 teaspoon (for fragrance only and doesn’t impact the taste so you can avoid if it doesn’t go well with you)
  • Kewra water-1 teaspoon (for fragrance only and doesn’t impact the taste so you can avoid if it doesn’t go well with you)
  • Whole garam masala (1 mace, 1 star anise, 2 centimeters long cinnamon bark, 1 big cardamom, 4 small cardamoms) wrapped and tied in a small muslin cloth
  • Bay leaf-2
  • Cumin seeds-1 teaspoon
  • Saffron- 4-6 strands
  • Salt-1.5 tablespoon+1teaspoon+1 tablespoon
  • Vegetable oil- 2 tablespoons+1/2 tablespoon+1 tablespoon
  • Ghee- 1 tablespoon
  • Whole wheat aata for making dough to seal the wok (the method is called dum)

Instructions

  1. Marinating-The most important step is the marinating the meat overnight. If you perfect this step, 70% of the job is done. Take a large glass bowl and mix ingredients number 1-13 (except the basmati rice) well. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and 1.5 tablespoons salt. Mix again, cover and place it in the refrigerator overnight to marinate. Minimum 4 hours of marinating is recommended.
  2. Preparing the biryani- Keep the marinated chicken out of the refrigerator 15-20 minutes before cooking. Soak the rice in water for an hour
  3. In a thick-bottomed wok (kadahi) add ½ tablespoon oil. Add sliced onion once the oil is hot and fry till golden brown. Keep aside half the amount for garnish later and to the remaining half add chopped tomatoes and stir for 2-3 minutes. Once the tomatoes are soft, add 1-tablespoon biryani masala and cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the masala is cooked through and starts to leave oil. Add 1-teaspoon salt, mix well for 2 minutes and keep aside
  4. Bring 3 cups water to boil in a deep wok and add the soaked rice, 1/2-tablespoon oil and 1-tablespoon salt, bay leaves and cumin seeds. As the rice is previously soaked, it would not take long to cook. Please note that we are not going to completely cook the rice at this stage as it would further cook with the chicken during the dum process
  5. While the rice is cooking, place the marinated chicken in the same heavy bottomed wok which you used to fry onions making sure all the chicken pieces are uniformly touching the base of the wok and not overlapping each other. To ensure this please use a wide bottomed wok. We do not turn on the heat yet
  6. Once the rice is 70% cooked turn off the heat and with the help of a strainer, take the rice out and place it gradually over the chicken layer. Make sure you do not add any water from the rice to the chicken wok during the straining process. Please note that we are not draining the water out of the rice all at one go, rather taking rice out with a strainer gradually and adding to the chicken
  7. Once you have transferred the entire rice, make a small well on one side of the rice-chicken layer and place the muslin tied whole garam masalas. This would add more fragrance to your biryani
  8. Spread the previously cooked tomato-onion mixture, saffron, rose and kewra water and ghee on top of the rice evenly and seal. How you seal would vary based on the kind of wok you use. I used a Le-creuset, which has a heavy lid, so I just covered as usual and then sealed the edges using kneaded dough. If you are using a wok with a light steel lid then place the lid upside down and then seal with the dough to avoid any steam leakage. Please note that the dum process involves cooking the meat (and rice) in its own steam thus retaining maximum flavor of rice, meat and spices. Hence proper leak-free sealing is important (see here for tips to proper sealing- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUC_Ksz1oPg)
  9. Place a flat iron pan on high heat and place the above sealed wok on it. Let it cook for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to low, remove the pan and place the wok on direct heat. Let this sit for another 15 minutes before turning off the heat. Wait for 20 minutes before taking off the dough seal using a kitchen knife. Open the lid gradually as it would still be very hot with steam inside
  10. Serve hot garnished with friend onion, mint and coriander and onion-tomato raita. I served with some beetroot raita and raw onion rings drizzled with lime and salt

Notes

Calories (per serving)- 380 (please note that I have used more chicken and less rice hence controlling the total carb intake making it lower than a traditional biryani. You could also swap chicken thighs with breast portion to further reduce the calories)
Nutrition- Protein/Fiber/Good fat
It does wonders for your- Muscles/Mood/Gut
This is “My 1 pm Meal”

https://onewholesomemeal.com/chicken-dum-biryani/

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Lunch | 1pm Meal

Wheat Grits, Egg Baked Dish in Béchamel Sauce

Egg Baked Dish
Wheat Grits, Egg Baked Dish in Béchamel Sauce

The humble daliya (wheat grits) gets a makeover. As much as I love Indian food, I am always looking for quick ways to fix a meal. This baked dish in béchamel sauce is just that – your one-pot meal with all the nutritional goodness combined. And a spicy masala omelette layer is just enough to add that desi tadka which I crave in all my meals.

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Wheat grits & Egg Baked Dish in Béchamel sauce

Ingredients

  • Wheat grits/daliya- 1 cup
  • Eggs-3
  • Onion-one small
  • Green chillis-3
  • Chopped Coriander- 2 tablespoons
  • Mild cheddar cheese- ½ cup
  • Mushrooms- ½ cup, sliced
  • Red and yellow bell peppers- ½ cup each
  • Finely chopped Spring onions(for garnish)- 2 tablespoons
  • Salt/Pepper- To taste
  • For Béchamel sauce (for 3 cups):
  • Butter- 5 tablespoons
  • All purpose flour- 4 tablespoons
  • Milk (can use low fat but full fat works best)-4 cups
  • Salt- 2 teaspoons
  • Freshly grated nutmeg- ½ teaspoon

Instructions

  1. For the sauce:
  2. In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted
  3. Add the flour and keep stirring until smooth.
  4. Over medium heat, cook until the mixture turns a light, golden yellow color, about 6 to 7 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil. Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth.
  6. Bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat. Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use
  7. For the baked dish:
  8. Pressure cook the wheat grits with 1.5 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt until soft and set aside
  9. Crack the eggs in a bowl, add the chopped onions, green chili, coriander and a pinch of salt and mix with a wire whisk for a minute
  10. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius, transfer the egg mixture into a baking tray, cover it with foil and bake for 15 minutes until set
  11. In the meantime sauté the mushrooms in some butter with salt and pepper until soft
  12. When the egg layer is ready, evenly spread the wheat grits on top, followed by bell peppers, mushroom, béchamel sauce and cheddar cheese
  13. Bake at 170 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes
  14. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot

Notes

Calories per portion- 150
Nutrition- Good fat/ Protein punch/ Vitamins B, C, D, E/ Phosphorous/Carotenoids
It does wonders for your- Skin/Hair/Immunity/Eyesight/Diabetes/Heart/Blood/Bones/Weight Management and Satiety
This is “My 1pm  Meal”

https://onewholesomemeal.com/wheat-grits-egg-baked-dish-in-bechamel-sauce/

[kkstarratings]

Categories
Lunch | 1pm Meal

Brown and Wild Rice Citrus Salad

Brown and Wild Rice
Brown and Wild Rice Citrus Salad

As much as I love cooking, there are days when I just do not have the energy(thanks to the two little monkeys)  to toil in the kitchen for more than twenty minutes. For times like these, I make it a point to stock up my refrigerator with as much fresh produce as possible so that lazy times do not equate to junk times and all I need to do for a quick healthy meal is boil some whole grain pasta, noodle or brown and wild rice, top it with some fresh produce and voila! My yummy 15-minute meal is ready! This citrus brown and wild rice citrus salad is one such quick-fix meal. Try it for yourself and you would keep coming back for more 🙂

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Brown and Wild Rice Citrus Salad

Ingredients

  • Brown and wild rice (cooked as per package instructions; for additional flavor cook in chicken broth)- 1 cup
  • Cherry tomatoes- 1 cup
  • Medium sized oranges-2 (one for juice(3/4 cup)and the other peeled and kept aside for salad)
  • Almond slivers-1/2 cup
  • Fresh mint chopped fine-½ cup
  • Spring onion chopped fine-½ cup
  • Green peas or edamame- ½ cup
  • Lime juice- 2 tablespoons
  • Olive oil-1 teaspoon
  • Salt and pepper-1/4 teaspoon each or to taste

Instructions

  1. For the citrus dressing:
  2. Combine all wet ingredients (freshly squeezed orange juice,lime juice, olive oil) in a bowl and mix well. Top it with fresh mint leaves, salt and pepper and mix.
  3. For the salad:
  4. Combine cooled rice and vegetables in a large bowl. Add the dressing and stir to combine. Let the salad sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, top with almond slivers and spring onions and serve.

Notes

Calories per portion- 180
Nutrition- Protein punch/Good fat/ High fiber/Vitamins A, C, B6, K/Magnesium/Copper
It does wonders for your- Gut/Bowels/Sleep/Skin/Immunity/Brain
This is “My 1pm Meal”

https://onewholesomemeal.com/brown-and-wild-rice-citrus-salad/

[kkstarratings]