Ingredients for making the Hummus Crusted Grilled Chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 zucchini, chopped
1 yellow squash, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup hummus,
1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 lemons
1 tsp. smoked paprika or sumac
Method of making the Hummus Crusted Grilled Chicken
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Prepare one large baking dish or two smaller baking dishes with cooking spray.
Pat the chicken dry. Season the chicken breasts with generous pinches of salt and pepper. In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, squash and onion with olive oil until evenly coated. Season with salt and pepper.
If using one baking dish, place all of the vegetables on the bottom of the dish in an even layer. Lay the four chicken breasts evenly on top, then cover each chicken breast with the hummus so that the entire breast is covered. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the chicken and vegetables. Then sprinkle the pan with smoked paprika or sumac. Thinly slice the remaining lemon, and place the slices in between the chicken and vegetables if desired.
Bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the vegetables are tender. Serve along with Hummus on the side, one of the most delicious innovation from the chef’s nectar you must try it. you will for sure fell in love with it.
Soak saffron in two tablespoons of warm milk and set aside. Boil half litre of milk. As it comes to a boil add lemon juice and keep stirring till all the milk curdles.
Strain the whey and tie up the chenna in a muslin cloth and dip in ice water till it cools completely. Then squeeze till all the liquid drains away. Set aside.
Boil milk, add a pinch of saffron, reduce heat and let it simmer till reduced to half the original quantity.
Add sugar, stir and simmer till it dissolves. Mash chenna in a bowl. Add it to the milk. Simmer for two minutes.
Add almonds and pistachios and the soaked saffron and take off the heat.
Serve hot or cold as per your preferences, it has unique flavor in both ways, serve hot or cold garnished with dry fruits and saffron sprigs.
“Shiitake mushroom are one of the specialty ingredients which is very nutritious and have the special appearance in the oriental dishes, available dry and fermented in the Asian market and in any grocery stores in the metros.”
Ingredients for making the Shiitake
18 dried shiitake mushrooms
3 cups boiling water
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp coarse salt
3 tbsp peanut oil
1 small leek (white and pale green parts only), cut into matchstick-size strips
1/4 cup Asian fermented black beans,* minced
2 tbsp minced fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili-garlic sauce
1/4 tsp finely crushed Sichuan peppercorns (wild pepper), or coarsely crushed black pepper
2 14-ounce containers soft tofu, drained, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Fresh cilantro sprigs (for garnish)
2 tbsp assorted bell peppers (red,yellow & green)
Method of making the Shiitake Mushroom with tofu
Place mushrooms in large bowl. Pour 3 cups boiling water over; let soak until mushrooms soften, at least 25 minutes and up to 4 hours. Drain the excess water squeeze gently to remove the moisture and keep the caps.
Dissolve cornstarch in 2 tablespoons vegetable broth in 2-cup measuring cup. Stir in remaining broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and salt.
Heat oil in heavy large wok or nonstick skillet over high heat until very hot. Add mushrooms; stir-fry until browned, about 3 minutes. Add leek; stir-fry until beginning to brown, about 1 minute. Add black beans, ginger, garlic, chili-garlic sauce, and peppercorns; stir-fry 30 seconds. Stir cornstarch mixture to blend, then stir into vegetable mixture. Add Diced tofu toss gently to coat with sauce. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 4 minutes.
Spoon diced tofu into the mushroom caps into serving dish. Garnish with cilantro and assorted bell peppers pour rest of the sauce on the top of the mushrooms.
Served hot with steam or sticky rice.
Please Note
Available in the Asian markets and specialty foods stores in the oriental foods section of some supermarkets.
Chicken Shu Mai (Siu Mai) is a popular dim sum item. Learn how to make chicken shu mai with this quick and amazing recipe that is better than the” Main Land- China”
Ingredients for making the Chicken Siu-mai
1/2 lb boneless and skinless chicken thigh, ground
8 peeled and de veined medium shrimp, diced into small pieces
2 black fungus, soaked in hot water and cut into thin threads, or fresh shiitake mushrooms
1/2 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1/2 tbsp finely chopped scallion, white part only
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3 pinches black pepper
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
1 pinch salt
wonton wrapper
green peas and tobiko, fish roes, for garnishing (Optional)
Method of making the Chicken Siu-mai
Using a mini food processor, ground the chicken but make sure that it’s corsely ground. You can also chop with a knife. Mix the chicken with all the ingredients together, set aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.
Place about a tablespoon of the filling on each wrapper, gather up the sides and leave the center open. cut off the uneven edges with a pair of scissors if you like the shu mai to look prettier. Garnish the top with a green pea and some tobiko. Steam in a bamboo steamer for about 5 minutes. Serve steaming hot with choice of sauce of your choice e.g sweet chilly sauce or fermented light soy sauce.
Personnel favorite with full of Proteins and Nutrition
Chicken Shu Mai (Siu Mai) – Popular dimsum (Dimsum literally means “Touch to heart” recipe which can be made at home easily and shu mai that is easy to make bursting with freshness. … My brunch this morning
⅛ teaspoon baking soda½ cup water or 125 ml water or add as required
3 tablespoon khoya (mawa or dried evaporated milk solids) or about 50 grams khoya or 3 tablespoon whole milk powder
3 tablespoon curd (yogurt)
3 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) for frying
for sugar syrup
½ cup sugar
¼ cup water
for rabdi
1.25 litres milk
2.5 to 3 tbsp sugar
5 to 6 green cardamoms
½ tsp cardamom powder
2 pinches of saffron strands
1 tsp rose water or kewra water
2 tbsp almonds – blanched and sliced
2 tbsp pistachios – blanched and sliced
Method of making the malpua
In a mixing bowl take 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 3 to 4 cardamoms, crushed or 1/3 tsp cardamom powder. Mix the dry ingredients well.
Add 3 tbsp khoya and 3 tbsp curd/yogurt. Please use fresh yogurt. Instead of khoya you can also use milk powder.
Add 1/2 cup water and begin to stir to a thick flowing batter without lumps.
Allow the batter to rest for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile when the batter is resting blanch the almonds and pistachios in hot water. Keep them soaked in hot water for 20 to 30 minutes. Then peel and slice them. Keep aside.
Making of sugar syrup
Also heat 1/2 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water. On a low flame simmer this mixture. Also stir well so that the sugar melts.
You need to have a 1/2 inch string or 1 string consistency in the sugar syrup. If you cannot achieve these string consistencies than just make a sticky syrup. The sugar needs to be kept warm. For this keep the sugar syrup on a hot water bath so that it stays warm throughout and does not crystallize. Meaning keep the sugar syrup pan on a bowl or another pan filled with hot water. The hot water should touch the base of the pan containing the sugar syrup.
Making of malpua
Heat ghee in a pan or griddle.
When the ghee is heating up add 3 pinches soda or 1/8 tsp baking soda to the malpua batter.and mix well.
Reduce the flame, take 2 tbsp to 3 tbsp of the batter and gently pour it on the hot ghee. Spread the batter lightly with the back of the spoon. Make 2 to 4 malpua depending on the size of the pan.
Fry on a low to medium heat till crisp and golden flipping the malpua a couple of times.
Drain them on paper towels to remove excess oil.
Soaking malpua to sugar syrup
Then immediately place them in the warm sugar syrup. Gently coat the malpua with the sugar syrup with a spoon or small tongs.
Immediately remove them and place them in a serving tray or plate. Prepare all malpua this way and coat them with the sugar syrup.
Pour some rabri on top. Garnish with the chopped almonds and pistachios. Serve the malpua with rabdi hot. You can also just serve them coated with the sugar syrup and garnished with the dry fruits.
Making rabri to serve with malpua
In a broad thick bottomed pan or sauce pan or a kadai take 1.25 litres of full fat whole milk and bring it first to boil.
Lower the flame and continue to simmer the milk. Stir at intervals.
Bring the clotted cream/malai which forms on top of the milk to the sides of the pan. Also keep on scraping the dried milk from the sides and add them back to the milk.
Do stir and scrape often so that the milk does not get browned or burnt from the bottom as well as the sides.
Keep on simmering, stirring, removing the clotted cream and scraping.
Switch off when the milk has reduced and become thickened.
Add sugar. Stir well so that the sugar dissolves.
Next add crushed saffron or saffron powder along with kewra water (pandanus water) or rose water. Add the sliced almonds and pistachios.
It will take about 1 hour for the milk to thicken on a low flame.
Remove the rabri in a bowl and serve it later with the malpua. Refrigerate if not using it immediately. The combo of malpua rabdi taste good and is liked by many people. Its best and recommended to have malpua with rabdi hot to get the actual taste of it.
some are serving it to make sandwich out of it, its up to you how you want to serve it, you can garnished it with some crushed or whole nuts as well.
Please Note there are so many different version as well, please have a look and choose one which suits your palate
For a low fat version, you can also cook the malpua like pancakes by just adding a bit of oil or ghee.
Sugar can be added to the batter and you can make sweet malpua. This way you don’t need to make sugar syrup or rabdi.
Whole wheat flour can be substituted. You need to add some more water if using whole wheat flour. Please seive the whole wheat flour before making the batter.
You can also fry them in oil instead of ghee.
If you are not in a hurry, then allow the malpua batter to ferment for 6 to 7 hours. If you ferment the batter then you don’t need to add baking soda.
Fruits like mashed bananas or applesauce or mango pulp can also be added to the batter.
10-12 medium shrimp (approx.. ½ lb.) peeled and de veined
1-2 Tbsp lime juice (according to taste)
1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Jasmine rice, cooked (optional)
sriracha sauce (optional- to taste)
Method for making the Tom kha Goong
In a large pot or Dutch oven add broth, ginger, lemongrass, curry paste and fish sauce and simmer for about 10 mins.
Add coconut milk, mushrooms and red bell peppers. Continue to cook stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft (about 5 min.). Add shrimp, continue to cook until shrimp are fully cooked (about 5 min.). Remove from heat, remove lemongrass stalks and stir in lime juice. Stir in cilantro, reserving a small amount for garnish.
Can be served as a soup or over jasmine rice for a heartier meal option.
you should be able to find fish sauce at well stocked grocery stores, fish sauce is the only seasoning for this authentic devil cuisine.
Heat olive oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add in chicken and let brown on bottom about 3 – 4 minutes then flip and continue to cook until center registers about 160 degrees, about 3 minutes longer.
While chicken is cooking, in a small mixing bowl (or liquid measuring cup) whisk together soy sauce, water, sake, mirin, brown sugar, rice vinegar, sesame oil, ginger, garlic.
Stir the sauce in with the cooked chicken and continue to cook and toss until sauce has thickened, about 30 – 60 seconds longer.
Serve warm garnished with green spring onions and sesame seeds if desired.along with sticky rice.
Please Note
Boil the water in a pot then add the rice till its done/cooked retain the water inside and keep a side covered with a lid, so that remaining water will be absorbed in the rice.served hot with teriyaki chicken Gari/or any exotic green vegetables as an a side dish with this heavenly creation.
1 1/2 ounces minced scallions or Chinese chives (about 2 scallions)
2 tsp minced fresh garlic (about 2 medium cloves)
2 tsp Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
40 thin square wonton wrappers
For the Sauce
4 to 8 whole hot Chinese dried red peppers (or arbol chilies), stems removed
2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 tbsp roasted sesame oil
3 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (or a mixture of 2 tablespoons rice vinegar and 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic (about 3 medium cloves)
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
To Cook and Serve
2 tbsp lightly crushed roasted peanuts (optional)
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro leaves and fine stems
Method of making the Dumplings
1. For the Dumplings: Combine pork, salt, sugar, white pepper, scallions, garlic, and wine in a medium bowl and knead and turn with clean hands until the mixture is homogeneous and starting to feel tacky/sticky, about 1 minute. Transfer a teaspoon-sized amount to a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high power until cooked through, about 10 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, white pepper, and/or sugar if desired.
2. Set up a work station with a small bowl of water, a clean dish towel for wiping your fingers, a bowl with the dumplings filling, a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet for the finished dumplings, and a stack of dumplings wrappers covered in plastic wrap.
3. To form dumplings hold one wrapper on top of a flat hand. Using a spoon, place a 2 teaspoon- to 1 tablespoon-sized amount of filling in the center of the wrapper. Use the tip of the finger on your other hand to very gently moisten the edge of the wrapper with water (do not use too much water). Wipe fingertip dry on kitchen towel.
4. Carefully fold one tip of the dumplings wrapper across to meet the opposite tip to form a triangle. Seal edges of the triangle, carefully pushing out all air from within the wrapper as you work. Pull the two corners on the hypotenuse of the newly formed triangle to meet, moistening one with a little water, crossing them and pinching to seal, Transfer finished dumplings to the parchment lined baking sheet.
5. For the Sauce: Place chilies and Sichuan peppercorns on a microwave-safe plate and microwave on high until toasted and aromatic, about 15 seconds. Transfer to a mortar and pestle or a food processor and crush until it’s about the texture of store-bought crushed red pepper flakes. Transfer to a small saucepan.
6. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Immediately pour hot oil over chili/peppercorn mixture (it should sizzle). Let cool for 5 minutes then transfer to a medium bowl. Add sesame oil and set aside.
7. Combine sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, and garlic in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add chili oil mixture. Set aside until ready to use. (Sauce can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks).
8. To Cook and Serve: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 12 to 16 dumplings and cook until they are completely cooked through, about 4 minutes. Drain dumplings and transfer to a warm serving platter. Spoon sauce on top. Sprinkle with peanuts and minced cilantro and serve hot. enjoy this magically hot and numbing dumplings full of aromatic and Sichuan flavor.
1. Bring the stock or water to a boil in a large pot. Add the rice and salt. Reduce heat and simmer, covered with a tight-fitting lid, for 45 minutes. All the water should be absorbed. Fluff the rice with fork.
2. Mix together the rice and all the other filling ingredients in a large bowl, tossing thoroughly with a spoon.
3. Rinse the grape leaves. Spread the grape leaves out and spoon 1 ½ tablespoons of the filling on the end of each leaf, and then roll up, folding the outer edges in.
4. Take three 5-inch-long chives and dip briefly in boiling water to make them more pliable. Tie them around each stuffed grape leaf.
5. Place the leaves in a small casserole dish and drizzle 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice over them. Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes at 350° F. Serve warm or cold as an accompaniment with other main dishes.
250gms butternut squash, chopped into small chunks
2 tbsp Olive oil or rapeseed oil
120gms pack thin-stemmed broccoli, cut into small pieces
250gms pouch cooked quinoa
small handful coriander, leaves picked and chopped
small handful mint, leaves picked and chopped
4 spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
50gms pomegranate seeds
20gms pistachios, roughly chopped
1 small ripe avocado
juice ½ Lemon
handful sprouts (alfalfa or china rose sprouts are nice) or baby herb leaves
For the dressing
1 tbsp tahini sauce
½ small ripe avocado , stoned, peeled and roughly chopped
small handful coriander, leaves picked
small handful mint, leaves picked
zest and juice ½ lemon
2 tsp honey or maple syrup
Method of making the Salad
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6 and line a baking tray with parchment. Tip the butternut squash onto the tray, drizzle with 2 tsp oil and season well. Roast for 20 mins, then push the squash to one end of the tray, add the broccoli to the other end and drizzle with 1 tsp oil. Season and roast for 10 mins more.
Meanwhile, make the dressing. Put all the ingredients in the small bowl of a food processor, add 1 tbsp water and a pinch of salt. Blitz to make a loose dressing, adding a little more water if necessary.
Squeeze the pouch of quinoa to separate the grains, then tip into a large bowl. Add the herbs, spring onions, pomegranate seeds and pistachios. Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil, season and toss everything together. Add the roasted veg too.
Divide the salad between two plates and drizzle over the dressing. Halve the avocado and remove the stone, then slide a dessertspoon between the skin and flesh to remove it in one piece. Place on a chopping board, rounded side up, and thinly slice. Squeeze over the lemon juice, then slide a knife underneath and lift half the avocado onto each salad.
Garnished with assorted bell peppers and mint sprigs, just for plating made the squash net to make it more appealing.
Chefs Nectar 