Tag: chinese food

Monsoon’s Here!

It’s start of July and there had been few showers to subtly start the season of drizzle. Monsoon’s here! Except the all unpredictable showers and muddy pools on the road, there are so much beautiful stuffs to root for. Romantic day offs and bread pakoras!
Thinking of bread pakoras, we all have specified snack list for almost every season. Summer season had Mango chutneys, ice creams, shakes and squashes. For the monsoons spicy and crispy snacks do the roles of best treats. One of strong points of evening snacks are they gratify the hunger between the two meals that is lunch and dinner. Whether it may be a school going child who came home after playing outside for hours or a housewife retiring from chores, evening snack refreshes us. Now, what snacks could we relish especially in some seasons, like for instance you would not want samosas on a summer evening or ice cream in winters? And as the topic goes all in for monsoons, we won’t deny relishing warm snacks on the rainy days.
Just before we start, notice for all the calorie-watchers! Snacks mentioned below aren’t in any order put up considering their calorie values. So, indulge in the post warding off the concern for fat count.

BREAD PAKORAS!

For the stale yet to be passing the date of expiry bread loaf, stuffed pakoras are a delicious rescue. It can either be stuffed with preferably mashed-spiced up potatoes or cheese and then can be shallow or deeply fried. The bread is soaked in gram flour and then fried. Bread pakoras like many varieties of pakoras are best when served with mint/coriander sweet, sour and spicy chutney. The chutney is prepared by grinding coriander and mint leaves along with ginger and garlic. Salt and a small amount of tamarind paste can be added, totally as per your taste preferences.

CHOLE BHATURE!

Next in the line is the best Punjabi meal to energize up a lazy damp afternoon.
Chole Bhature is prepared in two parts and served as one dish. Chole is made by soaking chickpeas and then is prepared in typical North Indian style which includes ingredients like chopped onion and tomato cooked with coriander seeds, spices and ginger and garlic paste. Dried mango powder or as known as Aamchur powder is often used too. Bhature part is basically a kind of Puri made up by dough containing maida flour with yogurt, baking powder and sugar (as per taste). This dough is covered in damp cloth and kept overnight in a clean and dry place. Chole Bhature serves as a perfect mouth watering meal for an unpredictable monsoon afternoon.

SAMOSAS!

How can we discuss an Indian snack list and not mention the very popular Samosas? A samosa is a fried pastry with filling of generally spicy mashed potatoes, onions and lentils. Very popular yet not expensive at all and relished snack all over India, WAIT! Abroad too, Samosas are just blessing on a cold monsoon evening. You wouldn’t like missing on to some Green or sweet chutney with it.
Like samosas, kachoris are also a popular spicy snack alternative and can be easily prepared in the household.

POPCORN TIME!!

Watching a movie? We all know that popcorn is a must. So, why it is specially mentioned here? Well, it’s about how we wade away the clamminess of weather by adding some flavors to the popular snacks. Butter, chili flakes or cheese can be added in the popcorn for that warm snack for the movie time. If you are not much fan of popcorn, then you can also prepare “Pyaaz (Onions) ke pakore”! It serves as an excellent movie time snack and one or two of pakore equals a handful of popcorn, so you munch less.
Easy to prepare pyaaz ke pakore is prepared by chopping onions in long slices and dipping them in mixture of Besan (Gram Flour), water, salt and chili powder. The dipped onions are then shallow or deep fried and served with the obvious green chutney or even tomato ketchup would do.

FOR THAT SEASONAL FEVER.

It’s not unknown to most of us that whenever season changes and especially from summer to winters or monsoons, there is a scare of catching viral fever and cold. For the cold, soups and dals are the best. Now, how can we make it more tasteful? Yes! Additions! Manchurian balls, chicken and mushrooms!
Okay, before we miss. Dal Makhani! Perfect cure for the “mood gloom”. Nutritional balance? Check. High on potassium and sodium value, it doesn’t deny the presence of calories but that shouldn’t be an excuse for not indulging into this elegant rescue from the taste bud numbness caused due to the cold.

Jeez! CHINESE!

Discussing soups and just about to forget Chinese food! Almost everything available in this cuisine goes so well for the monsoon season snack. Yes! Especially Maggi Noodles! Now, if you’re bored with noodles, MOMOS!
Momos are steamed/fried dumplings stuffed with either vegetarian or non vegetarian ingredients. They originally belong to Nepali culture Hot momos served with the chili sauces are just the excellent evening snack ever. Other to be mentioned Chinese snacks and starters just for this weather are (In no particular order) :
(a)    Spring rolls
(b)   Shanghai Chowmein (Well, it comes under noodles category)
(c)    Siopao (Stuffed steamed dumplings)
(d)   Jian Bing (Chinese crepes)
So, here there you have! This checklist mentions just some of the worth savoring snacks and dishes for the monsoons, all must tries. Other than that, experiment and make your own custom season based dishes checklist!
Don’t let the rain damp away the hunger pangs! Happy Monsoons!

July 14, 2014
JEEZ! Chinese
Familiar with fried rice, spring rolls and Manchurian?

Thanks to the Chinese for blessing us with such an appetizing cuisine. Unlike the Italian and French cuisines, Chinese cuisine is less sophisticated has far more outreach to the general population around the world. No wonder it’s ranked among the best cuisines the world.But sadly, noodles bears the overused symbolism of Chinese in food, like Butter chicken and Naan to the Indian cuisine.

History of Chinese cuisine dates back to thousands of years and has encountered change at every level from time to time. People in china are especially particular about their food and hence they have eight culinary traditions namely, ANHUI, CANTONESE, FUJIAN, HUNAN, JIANGSU, SHANDONG, SZECHUAN and ZHEJIANG cuisines. The prominence of this cuisine had taken it out past the national boundaries to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India and America who have incorporated their native flavors to the cuisine.

Let’s learn more about it in particular, Staples in Chinese cuisine involve rice, noodles, vegetables, sauces and seasonings. It doesn’t include much of Dairy products but the same is subtly compensated by variety of seafood, poultry and meat. Corn, millet, cabbage, sweet potato and tofu are eaten the most under vegetables and cereals categories. It is said that that when in past famines were frequented much, it posed a threat to the food supply for general population. At that time rice became an important part of every meal as it was available in plentiful and was observed to go well with both vegetables and meat based on what was available. This gave rice a revered position in their platter which is cherished still the same. And yes! It is traditional for them to use chopsticks and soup spoons for every meal.So now that we had familiarized ourselves to the cuisine, moving towards more exciting part let’s regard some really delectable must have dishes. Shall we?
1. PEKING DUCK
Peking duck is a duck dish originated from Beijing and cooked from the imperial era is now considered a national dish. Relished for the thin and crisp duck skin, the dish is eaten with scallion, cucumber and sweet bean sauce with pancakes rolled around the fillings. After cooking, dish is served in three steps: skin dipped in garlic and sugar sauce, meat served with steamed pancakes, sweet bean sauce and spring onions. The rest and vegetables is either eaten separately or mixed with the broth which customers often takeaway.
1. KUNG PAO CHICKEN
Next on the list is the very delicious Kung Pao chicken, categorized under Szechuan cuisine originated primarily from the south-western parts of China. Known for its spicy twist, dish is made up of chicken, peanuts, vegetables and chili peppers. The original version of Kung Pao chicken involves marinating diced chicken and stir frying it with vegetables and peanuts. In vegetables, chili peppers and Sichuan peppercorns are important components. While preparing, peanuts or cashew nuts are deep fried in the wok first till they are golden brown and afterwards rest of the ingredients are added. In the westernized versions of Kung Pao chicken instead of marinated diced chicken, beef, pork or seafood are often substituted which is then cooked by adding orange or orange juice with ginger, garlic and corn starch. The dish is garnished with roasted peanuts or cashew nuts.
1. CHOWMEIN
Now who wouldn’t know this? Very well relished by everyone, it literally means “stir-fried” noodles”. Though there are many regional variations to it, it’s basically they are prepared in two ways: 1. Steamed and 2. Crisp. The Steamed chowmein has long and rounded noodles with softer texture than crispy chowmein, which has fried and flat noodles and is crisper and drier in texture.

The popularity of chowmein is so widespread that it has more than 5 varieties collaborating with respective regional cuisines all over the world. There are still differences except the basic texture of noodles between crispy and steamed noodles. Like crispy noodles May or may not contained any vegetables or and be simply strained and stir fried, while steamed chowmein usually carrots, onions or celery, cabbage and sprouts.

The former is served with thick brown sauce while the other is topped with soy sauce. Chowmein can be custom incorporated into Frankies, burgers or you can add chicken or egg to increase the nutrient value of this delight.
1. WANTONS
Dumpling! Yes, wantons are a common addition to soups in Chinese cuisine. The dough is prepared by using flour, water, egg (as per preference) and salt which is then made into small wrappers filled with meat or shrimp or steamed vegetables seasoned with spices, garlic and green onions. The shapes are made as per desire but most versatile shape is right triangle, made by folding the wrapper in half by pulling two diagonally opposite corners.

Relished by boiling and serving them in soups, wantons are also preferred deep fried, like other Chinese dishes it also has various regional variations. Basically the differences lie between the shapes and the filling inside the wantons. If not comfortable with sweating to cook, the pre cooked versions of wantons are available in the market. Enjoy the delicacy with Hoisin or garlic sauce.
1. POPULAR INDO-CHINESE ENTREES
Now talking about what we plate after collaborating with Chinese cuisine, we actually have plenty from appetizers to desserts. One of the most popular appetizers is momos apart from apart from spring rolls and soups.Popular entrees include chilli and Manchurian dishes which is often cooked with either chicken for non vegetarian foodies and is mostly substituted by paneer and other vegetables like cauliflower and baby corns for Vegetarians.

All this and more delicacies are there to explore in this cuisine, which is ever evolving and still have roots to the Chinese tradition. So, explore into the finesse of Chinese.
June 24, 2014