Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup

I love winters. I love to feel the winter sun on me, the feel of my winter jacket and shawl, the smell of 'nolen gur' (jaggery), the feel of fresh vegetables, playing badminton, reading books and having my favorite ginger-cardamom-cinnamon tea umpteen number of times. With the onset of winter, we love to gorge on food - sometimes healthy and sometimes junk. It is that time of the year when you know you can just let go and enjoy the season. I love to cook for hubby and little munchkin always. So this time hubby - is in his fitness freak mode ;) and he wanted to have Soup for his Friday dinner!!!!

So I thought of making a thick, creamy Chicken and Broccoli Soup. Had lots of Broccoli, cauliflower, peas, carrots and hence a healthy and nutritious and at the same time yummylicious soup for them and also for you all.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken                                    100 gms 

Carrot                                       1 big chopped finely

Brocolli                                    a fistful of florets

Green Peas                                3 -4 

Cauliflower                               a fistful 

Onions                                       3 medium sized

Spring Onions                            3

Garlic                                         3 bulbs 

Maida                                         2 tbsps

Butter                                          2 tbsps

Milk                                            2 Cups

Oregano                                      2 tsps

1) Soak the chicken pieces in vinegar and salt for 15 mins.

2) Meanwhile chop the vegetables.  Boil water in a pan and once it starts boiling switch off the flame and put the cauliflower and broccoli florets. Cover the pan and keep for 15 minutes.

3) Pressure cook the chicken in one cup of water for at least 3 whistles.

4) Also pressure cook the other veggies for 3-4 whistles.

5) Now strain the chicken pieces and keep aside. Do not throw away the Chicken stock. 

6) Strain the broccoli and cauliflower and throw away the water.

7) Strain the veggies and do not throw away the vegetable stock either.

8) Also make a paste of the garlic in a mortar and pestle.

9) In a Kadai, put butter and fry the onions, garlic and spring onions. When the raw smell disappears, put the broccoli, and the other veggies.

10) After stirring for few minutes, put maida and again stir. Then add the chicken and vegetable stock and stir continuously so that no lumps are formed.

11) Now shred the chicken pieces and add to the kadai.

10) Now add little sugar (1 tbsp) and salt as per taste.

11) Now add milk and cover the kadai and let it simmer in medium flame.

12) After 5 minutes lift the cover and add oregano. Again cover and let it simmer for 5 minutes and then remove from flame.

13) Garnish with oregano and crushed pepper and some  more broccoli florets.

Take my word for it you are simply going to enjoy this creamy delicious soup with the goodness of chicken, broccoli and other veggies.

Chowlette

This snack reminds me of the cold winter evenings in my hometown when my brother and myself would return from the playground and Ma would feed us her 'made-in-a-jiffy-super-tasty-nutritious' Chowlette'!! The recipe is very easy to make and tasty to eat.

Ingredients

Noodles                                 -        small packets of 6
(I used the Licia Noodles.you can also use Maggi or Sunfeast noodles )

Onions                                   -        3 Big ones

Eggs                                       -        6 

Chilli Flakes                           -        1 tbsp

Oregano                                  -        3-4 tbsp (as per taste)

Pepper                                     -        1 tbsp (optional)

Green Chillies                          -        2-3

Salt                                          -        As per taste

Cheese for garnishing

Step 1:     Boil noodles in water ;

Step 2:     Strain the noodles in a strainer when they are crispy and separate them with a fork. Apply butter or refined oil on the noodles.

Step 3:      In a bowl beat eggs, add salt, chopped onions, green chillies, Chilli flakes, oregano, pepper and beat the batter.

Step 4:     To this batter add the crispy boiled noodles.

Step 5: Now with a ladle pour this batter in a non-stick pan and fry like an omelette.

Step 6: when one side is done flip on the other side.

Step 7 : Garnish with the oregano, chilli flakes and cheese.

Your Chowlette is ready!!!!!!

Bombay Duck- Bombil - or Loitta Fish in bengali

Well I am a 'Ghoti'# by birth and 'Bangal' by law ;) so there are some 'bangal' cuisines which I have learnt to cook solely for the sheer love of hubby, and one of them is cooking 'Loitta mach' or Bombay Duck Fish or Bombil (whatever you name it....'whats in a name'!!!). 

Loitta Mach is a slimy lizard fish (for more details on its Etymology you can refer and read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombay_duck. Hubby loves to eat it and my duty as a doting wife is to learn to cook the dish and then gradually strive to master it. While I am still in the process of mastering it, I thought I should share the recipe with you all because cooking the fish is very easy and effortless. i am sure you are going to love this dish.

Ingredients

Loitta Fish            -      1 kg (get it beheaded from the fishmonger since the teeth is very sharp and                                                     might hurt your fingers)

Mustard Oil          -       10 - 12 tbsps
Onions                  -       500 gms

Garlic                    -      2 big pods

Tomatoes               -     2 big tomatoes

Turmeric powder   -     1 tbsp

Red chilli Powder  -     2 tbsp

Green chillies         -     3-4 chopped finely (as per taste)
Salt                         -     according to taste

The best thing about Loitta fish is that it can be eaten with its central bone!!! The central bone disintegrates while cooking and doesn't hurt you while chewing. If you want to remove the central bone then include Step 1 in your recipe or else omit the same.

Step 1 : Boil the fish in salt water for few minutes and then let it cool down. You can now remove the central bone by spreading apart the fishes.

Step 2 : In a non-stick kadai add oil and put the onion and garlic paste.
Step 3 : Add a little bit of sugar (optional)
Step 4 : Fry the onion garlic paste till raw smell disappears, and then add the chopped tomatoes and green chillies.
Step 5:  Add turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
Step 6: Add the fish pieces one by one and keep on stirring.
Step 7: Now, add salt.
Step 8: Keep on stirring and you would notice that the fish releases lots of water, the fish needs to get cooked in its own juices and hence keep the flame on medium and let the water dry out completely.
Step 9: After a while you would notice the water dried out and the fish dissolved and disintegrated into a paste like consistency and oil oozing out of the gravy. By this time the gravy arrives at a very rich texture and colour and lets do a Hi-Five :) our Loitta fish aka Bombay duck is ready!!!!!!

# Wikipedia - "Amongst the Bengali Hindus of India, "Bangal" and "Ghoti" are used as social sub-groups indicating the ancestral origin of a family. Those whose families came from East Bengal are Bangals and those whose families originated in West Bengal are Ghotis. The term 'Bangal' as used here has little relation to actual geography, since most members of these groups all now live in India. The term is used freely and not considered derogatory within this social class."