Tomato Salsa

Tomato Salsa


Tomato Salsa is a Mexican cuisine often served with Nachos as a dip. This Tomato Salsa recipe is a bit different from the traditional Mexican Tomato Salsa as it will not have the usual Mexican Peppers such as Serrano or Jalapeno. All the ingredients are easily available at any store in Malaysia.

Ingredients:

• 3 Tomato
• 1 Onion
• 1 green Chili
• 2 tablespoon chopped Coriander
• 1 Lime (juiced)
• Salt
• Pepper

Directions:

• Remove seed from tomatoes and dice into small size.
• Chop chili and mix with the tomatoes
• Chop onion into small pieces and mix with tomatoes and chili.
• Add the chopped coriander and mix well.
• Finally add the lime juice and mix thoroughly.
• Mix salt and pepper according to taste.
• Keep salsa in the fridge until serving time.

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast with Tomato Salsa

Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breast 

Usually stuffed chicken breasts are grilled or oven baked. Since I do not have a grill or an oven, I would be frying the chicken. It's not the best way to do it, but it carries a different taste none the less.

Ingredients:

• 2 piece of Chicken Breast
• 200gm of Spinach
• 75gm Grated Cheese (Mix Cheese)
•  ½ cube Chicken Stock
• 1 Egg
• All Purpose Flour (for frying)
• Oil
• Pepper
• Toothpick

Directions:

• Cook the washed spinach in a pan until it wilts (do not use oil, the water from the washing should be adequate).
• Add chicken stock and pepper and mix with the spinach.
• Take out spinach from the pan and drain excess water. Put aside.
• Slit the chicken breast lengthwise and form a pocket. Do not slit all the way through
• Fill chicken breast pocket with the cooked spinach. Leave space for grated cheese.
• Once the pocket is ¾ filled with spinach, fill the pocket with grated cheese until it's full.
• Compact the pocket and close the opening with toothpicks. Keep aside.
• Break the egg and separate the yolk from the egg white.
• Prepare two plates. One with egg white and the other with all purpose flour.
• Heat adequate oil in frying pan until it's ready to fry.
• Dip the chicken breast in egg white. Make sure it is fully covered in egg white.
• Next dip the chicken breast into the flour. Make sure it is fully covered with flour.
• Repeat the process with second piece of chicken breast.
• Fry chicken breast in pre-heated oil until it turns golder brown and is fully cooked.
• Once done, drain away excess oil. Remember to remove the toothpicks.
• Spinach stuffed chicken breast is ready can be served with Tomato Salsa.

Chicken Biryani (in Rice Cooker)

Chicken Biryani

Chicken Biryani

There are a lot of ways to cook Chicken Biryani. Some use normal pots, some use clay pots and some simply use rice cookers. The recipe I’m writing uses a rice cooker to cook the Chicken Biryani. There are a lot of rich and complicated recipes out there. What I have presented today is an easy way to cook Chicken Biryani using simple ingredients that can be obtained in any store.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cup Basmati Rice
• 500gm Chicken Breast or Thighs (cut into small 1 inch pieces)
• 1 large Onion (chopped)
• 2 medium Tomatoes (chopped)
• 1 Green Chili (chopped)
• 5 tablespoon Coriander Leaves (chopped)
• 2 sprigs Curry Leaves (leaves stripped)
• 1 tablespoon Curry Powder
• 1 tablespoon Garam Masala
• 3 tablespoon Chili Powder
• 1 inch of Ginger (crushed using mortar and pestle together with Garlic)
• 4 cloves of Garlic (crushed using mortar and pestle together with Ginger)
• 135gm Natural Yogurt
• 4 tablespoon Oil
• 2 tablespoon Ghee
• 3 pods Cardamom
• 3 whole Cloves
• 1 Star Anise
• 1 Cinnamon Stick
• 3 Bay Leaves

Directions:

• Wash the rice and keep aside. Make sure it is well drained.
• Heat oil and ghee in a pan.
• Add cardamom, cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick and bay leaves.
• Fry until you get an aromatic smell.
• Add onion and chili. Fry until it is soft and golden brown.
• Add coriander. Fry and stir constantly until it is well mixed.
• Once it is well mixed, add the curry leaves.
• Next, add the garlic and ginger mixture. Fry and mix well.
• Add chili powder, garam masala and curry powder. Stir and fry until the mixture is well cooked.
• It should have a thick paste-like consistency.
• Add the tomatoes to the thick paste.
• Mix until the tomato is mixed and forms a pulp.
• Next add the chicken. Mix and cook until it is half done.
• Add yogurt and mix until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add salt.
• Lower the heat and add the washed rice. Stir properly until the rice is fully mixed with the chicken and paste.
• Transfer the rice and chicken mixture into the rice cooker. Add water and set the rice cooker to cook.
• Once its ready, serve hot with Raita.

There is Always a Why

This is usually my first post when I start a new blog, the why. This is my fourth blog. That should make me seem like a professional blogger. Well I’m not. But the best part is all my four blogs were created for different reasons.

My first blog, Moments is something like a personal blog where I indulge in my passion for writing. The second blog, My Photoshop is where I display all the works I have done in Photoshop. It’s not a tutorial; it’s just an exhibit of my work. My third blog, 365 Photo Project was created for a mini project that I was doing. My project was to snap a different picture a day for 365 days. Sounds easy right, actually it’s not.

Well, there you have it, my three blogs so far. Now, let’s come to this blog. What is the purpose of this blog? I have taken a liking towards cooking in the recent years and would try cooking something new whenever I can find the time. It wasn’t that often, but it’s something that I really like doing. Over the past few years, I have tried some new recipes, but I never compiled the recipes or kept any records of my cooking. Sometimes I end up not remembering the exact recipe that I used.

So, as you have guessed by now, this will be my cooking blog where I post recipes and the pictures of my cooking. Each time I decide to cook something, I do not solely depend on one recipe. I will read a lot of recipes, combine the recipes, make some changes according to my suitability and make even more changes while I’m cooking. Even though, the recipes are not authentically mine, but the recipes will have my personal touch and twist. In short, the recipes will be ala Venoo.

For those who do stumble upon this blog, you are free to try my recipes. The recipes worked for me, so it should work for at least one of you. Cook away.