Chilli Chicken

You'll need:
1lb Boneless chicken
4 Green chillies
1 Red chilli
Fresh garlic : 4 cloves
Fresh garlic
Corn starch
Salt  & Pepper
1 Onion : chopped
Green onions
Soy sauce : 3 tbsp
Vinegar : 1.5 tbsp
Chilli sauce

How:
Sprinkle salt, pepper and corn starch on the chicken pieces and fry the chicken in a kadai/wok till it is fully cooked.
Make sure the chicken pieces fry individually and are not clumped together.
Set aside. In the same pan, add some more oil.
Dump red chilli and let cook for a min.
Dump green chillies (cut up) and fresh garlic and let cook for a min.
Add ginger garlic paste and let cook for a min.
Add Onions and fry till golden brown.
Add soy sauce, vinegar, chilli sauce to the mix.
Add the chicken and mix it completely with the above mixture. Make sure the chicken pieces are separate and not clumped together.
Sprinkle green onions. Ready to serve!

Deem (egg) curry

Today was possibly one of the better days I've had in the past few weeks....which is why I decided to resume blogging! I got on the shuttle wanting to come home to some yummy home cooked food.
I get home after what seemed like the longest ride of my life, I discovered the only "raw ingredient" I had in my refrigerator are eggs! So, of course, I decided to make my favorite, bangla deem curry!

You need:
4 boiled eggs : boil for 12 mins
1 onion: chopped up
2 spoons of tomatoes
Green chillies

How to cook:
Heat some oil in a pan, add jeera and some red chilli flakes.
Add onions and fry till golden brown.
Add some salt, haldi, dhanya powder, jeera powder - cook for another 5-6 mins
Add green chillies and cook for couple mins more.
Finally add the tomatoes and mix it up and cook for another couple mins.
Add some water to make gravy and put the boiled eggs cut up in halves into the mix.
Mix and cook for another minute.
Top with some coriander leaves.
......and there you go - slightly tangy, lil spicy bangla deemer curry.

Thai curry Chicken - green curry

You need:
1 lb chicken - cut up into tiny pieces
Trader Joe's Thai Green Curry simmer sauce - 1 bottle

To marinate:
Marinate the chicken in salt, ginger garlic paste and soya sauce for about 20-30 mins

Fry the marinated chicken in 2 tbsp of oil in high flame for about 10-15 mins - until its all cooked.
Add the sauce and bring to boil - all done! :)

Pepper Chicken

You'll need:
Chicken wings/legs/breast fillets (2.2 lbs - 1kg)
Finely chopped onions - 2
Diced Tomatoes - 2 (or 7oz - half a can)
Pepper - 1.5 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp

Heat 3 tbsp of oil in a pan. Switch to simmer for the rest of the show.
Saute onions till light brown.
Add the chicken (you can marinate it in a lil bit of salt and very little pepper) pieces - saute for a couple mins.
Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper - saute for another 3-4 mins.
Mix everything and cover the lid and let cook on simmer for about 15 mins.
Open periodically to stir the chicken around so it doesn't burn form below.
Check if the chicken is tender enough - if not, keep it covered for a bit longer until its tender.
Once done, open the lid and dry out the gravy.

All done! Garnish with a lil spring onions and basil leaves and serve!

Paneer Capsicum

Paneer capsicum - in under 30 mins!

Paneer - cut up in cubes
Peppers - strips (frozen)
Onions - half, chopped
Jeera
Mustard
Ginger-garlic paste
Diced tomato - 2 spoons
Dhanya leaves
Salt, Haldi and Chilli powder

Cut up the paneer pieces, and marinate in salt, turmeric powder and some chilli powder.
Fry the paneer on a medium flame for 10 mins until it starts to brown slightly. Keep aside.
In a pot, heat oil and add mustard seeds, jeera and some chilli powder.
Once the mustard seeds start to pop, add the onions and fry on medium flame till they start to brown.
Add salt, jeera powder, dhanya powder and lil more chilli powder.
Fry for about 5-7 mins.
Add ginger garlic paste - cook for couple mins
Then add tomatoes - cook for another couple mins.

Now add the pepper strips - mix it up with the spices and saute for 3 mins.
Add the paneer cubes and mix the peppers/spices with the paneer.
Cover and cook for 5-6 mins.

Add fresh dhanya leaves.
Serve hot!

Wearing the boyfriend blazer

The boyfriend blazer is probably the most adorable look I've noticed this fall.
I wear my Banana Republic 3/4th sleeve beige boyfriend blazer over a simple white or yellow tank, pink burnout tee.
They go well with almost anything. For a casual look, you can dress down the blazer by pairing it with something less formal - charcoal shorts (with the top tucked in a braided belt) are the cutest! 3/4th denims or denim skirts go well too.
Wear a scarf round your neck or chain necklaces.
You could dress it up by wearing it over a dress or a jumpsuit too!
They look best with high pumps or booties. But you could even wear converse sneakers and look super cute :)

Paneer Manchurian

You'll need:
Paneer - cut in small cubes
Half onion - cut in thin long pieces
1 green Capsicum
2 cups of Corn Flour
Manchurian paste - 100g
1 tbsp chilli paste

How to make:
In a bowl, mix 7-8 tbsp of corn flour, chilli paste and water to make a thick paste. Dip the paneer cubes in this paste and deep fry in pan till they turn golden brown. Keep aside.
In a pan, fry oinions and capsicum till onions turn golden brown. Keep aside.
In a saucepan, take 1/2 cup of the Manchurian paste, 1/2 cup water and bring to boil.
Add 2 tsp flour and 6 tsp water to make the gravy a little thick. Simmer for couple mins.
Add the fried paneer and onions + capsicums to the gravy. Mix gently.
Serve hot! :)

The end of a dream

Its wednesday. T-3 days before I say goodbye to my favorite city in the world! Bellevue, WA!!
Yep - it feels like the end of an era!
Well my boyfriend and I have been in a long distance relationship for over two years, and shockingly we were more comfortable with the arrangement than we should've been! So we figured that one of us needs to move to tighten the knots! -Lol..no I'm kidding ;)
Well, it seemed to be taking forever to get a job that I wanted, a job I'd leave Microsoft for! And then after five months of applying/studying/interviewing/more studying/more interviewing, I went ahead and accepted an offer. And then began the legal procedures, selling furniture, packing, planning...
By the time I got to step back and catch a breath, its already the end of June and I have a week left to really think about all that I'm leaving behind!
Microsoft has been and will always a be a dream for me - even in a world of Google, Facebook and Apple! Microsoft is magnificent, and its a pity really, that I have to leave!

Seattle - wet and gorgeous! Makes you fall in love! The smell of rain - becomes a part of you! The one place you need to have lived to know how wonderful it really is - its where I met some of the most interesting people I have and will know for a long time. The last one year has been everything and more, than I'd anticipated my life in a quaint city like this to be! The mad parties, the insane games, the love, the friendships - the one place we could all be ourselves to the point we'd lost the idea of boundaries! We became so close, talked about anything under the sun, acquired new tastes, picked up new habits - we've made a whole ecosystem!
And then there's my life itself - living alone, my own choices, my freedom, my independence - everything I wanted to do, I did my way. Seattle was the first place I realized I could be on my own, and take the weight of anyone that needed me! The lone hours I've spent at the waterfront, my thoughts and myself... drive in the whee hours, giving me the confidence to go anywhere I wanted... the lone glasses of wine, sometimes some whiskey... playing my guitar to the new songs on the radio, sometimes a few classics...
Too many memories, too much pain.
My little life here has given me too much to forget, and now I have a week to soak in all that this city has to give me. Seattle will always have a very special place in my heart.

Best cake I've made

My first Christmas

My healthy new life

My alarm goes off at 7:10am.
I'm up by 7:20am. Brush my teeth, wash my face.

Early morning:
1 glass of water + few drops of lemon juice.
A few almonds.

I pack a quick lunch and head off to the Pro Club.
I run for 30 mins, and another 10 mins on the Elliptical trainer; sometimes I swim.
I shower and then head off to work.

Morning:
1 small bowl of Cheerios wih 1% chocolate milk

Lunch:
1 sandwich which includes 3 slices of bread, low fat butter, 5 slices of chicken cold cuts (fat free), lettuce, some peas, carrots, corn/chic peas, italian seasonning, chilli flakes.

Evening:
Some baby carrots and grapes in my box
Some crackers.
I have 1-2 glasses of green tea during the day.

Dinner:
Sometimes I end up eating relatively fatty stuff like dosa, poha, or sabudhana khichdi, coz I get really hungry by the time I get home. But other times I have soup, Whole grain pasta+low fat alfredo sauce+marinara sauce. Sometimes I make more sandwich.
I always have 1 apple after that.

Aaaaaaaand then brush my teeth, sit on my ass and watch TV :) Am in bed by 11:30pm!

भिन्डी Bhaja

You need:
Cut bhindi into reeealy thin rings
Cut potatoes into small cubes.
Finely chopped onions (optional)
4 Green chilies

Add salt, turmeric powder and a little chilli powder to the above and let sit.
Heat oil in a pan.
saute finely chopped onions. (optional)
Add jeera and chillies.
Once jeera starts to pop, add the vegetables.
Fry them for 6-7 mins.
Then cover and let cook till bhindi and potatoes are completely cooked.

Paneer masala

Cut paneer into small cubes
In a pan, lightly fry paneer cubes with some salt and turmeric.
Keep aside.

In a pan, take some oil.
Stir fry onions, ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, jeera, basic masalas.

Add the fried paneer to the pan, mix it with the gravy.
Let cook for 5-6 mins.

Sabudana Khichdi

1 Cup saboo dana
1 cup finely chopped/ground peanuts
1 potato, finely cut
5-6 green chillies, finely chopped
Lemon juice
Dhania leaves
some jeera seeds

Soak saboodana and ground peanuts for 1hour.
Fry potatoes, chillies, jeera.
Add saboo dana
Cover and cook on low till saboo dana is translucent
Add cilantro leaves.

Hakka noodles

You need:
Hakka noodles
1 capsicum
Carrots and peas
4 Green chillies
Ground red chillies
Pepper, salt and ginger garlic paste

Boil noodles (almost) and drain noodles
Add salt to noodles and keep aside.

In a wok/pan, take some oil.
Add ginger garlic paste.
Add chopped capsicums, carrots, peas and finely chopped green chillies.
Add some salt, ground red chillies and pepper.
Stir fry.

Add noodles to the wok/pan.
Add some soy sauce (2-3 caps) and mix well.

Poha

1 glass of Poha
5-6 green chillis, finely chopped
1 potato, cut into small cubes
some cilantro (dhania)
Peanuts
Chana dal

wash and dry poha (Do NOT soak)
Add salt and turmeric powder, mix and keep aside

Take some oil in a pan.
Add mustard, jeera (cumin) seeds, peanuts, chana dal
stir till they pop.

Add potatoes, saute for few mins.
Add chillies. Allow potatoes to cook.

Then add poha, mix well, cover and let sit for 2-3 mins.
Ta da!!

Vegetable Biryani

Add oil in cooker
Make tadka of jeera + Mirchi
Saute onions
Add garam masala
Add vegetables: peas + carrots
Add Biryani Mix
Add Salt

Little of these:
Add Haldi
Add Dhanya powder
Add chilli powder

Add raw soaked rice
For 1 measure of rice, add 2 1/4 cups of water
Put 4 whistles

Chilli Chicken

Cut chicken in small pieces
3 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp chilli powder
Marinate chicken with all of above.

Fry 1 finely chopped onion, with ginger-garlic paste
add little tomatoes.
add capsicum
mix chicken with this.
add spring onions.

Put 2 whistles.

Potato Peas

Cut potatoes in small cubes
Take some oil in a pan
Add jeera and mustard seeds in the oil, till they start popping
Add some ginger garlic paste next
Then add potatoes, stir fry in cooker (little)

Then add red chillis, salt and haldi
stir fry

Add peas next
Add water
put 1 whistle
Done :)

My dream home

Its been my dream, to have my own little place, arrange it the way I want it, live the way I wanna.. with no one to judge me or even have a say in what I do. Here's a few pictures: