Butterscotch and Black Pepper Baby Carrots and Fennel

This recipe is also a modified original recipe. The original recipes has only carrots but I added fennel too because fennel has this natural sweetness to it. 

I made this recipe with the combination of Oven Fried Chicken. These two combination rocked! You can spice it up with pepper as much as you like, I made is spicier to give the recipe a kick. ;-)

Ingredients:

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2 1/2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound baby carrots, quartered lengthwise

1 bulb fennel cored and sliced lengthwise
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper


Method:
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1. In a medium skillet, heat the butter, sugar, and salt over medium-high heat, stirring until smooth. 
2. Add the carrots and fennel and toss to coat.
3. Cover and reduce the heat to medium. 
4. Simmer for 15 minutes or until the carrots are tender and glazed. 
5. Top with black pepper. Serve hot or warm.

Oven Fried Chicken

Today I am going to make simple  chicken recipe without any deep frying. I made healthy alteration to the original recipe and came up this new recipe. This chicken was so tender and moist inside and crunchy outside.

 I served this with Butterscotch and Black Pepper Baby Carrots and Fennel with Sweet lime and Orange wedges. (you can click on the link to see the recipe for Caramel Carrots with Fennel).

I used honey mustard for the chicken which I made for Anush and spiced up our chicken with a combination on Chipotle mustard and Dijon mustard.

Ingredients:

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Panko Bread Crumbs

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs

2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs (I used whole wheat bread crumbs)

1 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
4 tablespoons Olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons freshly minced Thyme leaves
Kosher Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup Dijon Mustard (you can use any kind of mustard or your choice)
2 tablespoons Water (I used Apple Cider Vinegar)2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless Chicken Breasts, pounded to 1/4 -inch thickness

How to pound a chicken video

Method:

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1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Line a baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place a cooling rack over pan and spray rack with nonstick cooking spray.

3. In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, cheese, 2 tablespoons olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.

4. In a separate shallow dish, combine mustard, water, salt and pepper, to taste, and remaining olive oil.

5. Coat each chicken breast with mustard mixture;dredge each in bread crumb mixture. Place on prepared rack in pan.

6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until chicken is golden brown. Serve immediately.

Vegetable Sambar (Pappu Charu)

Shoj and myself love vegetables and anything which involves vegetables. I always make this sambar or pappu charu (called in Telugu), but today it turned out so good that I thought of sharing it to you guys through my blog. 

This is another way to make kids eat vegetables.

This wonderful aromatic sambar can be served with steamed rice and papad.

Ingredients:

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3/4 cup Toor Dal washed

3 medium sized Carrots peeled and cubed to 1 inch thick pieces

1/4 lb fresh Green Beans de-stemmed and cut into 1 inch long pieces

1 big Chayote (chow-chow or seema/bengaluru vankaya) peeled and cubed

1 small Potato peeled and cubed

2 medium size Tomatoes cubed

2 medium size yellow Onions cubed

1 sprig Curry leaves

4 dry Red Chili's

Salt to taste

1 tsp Turmeric powder

2 tbsp Sambar powder

2 tsp Tamarind paste

2 pods of garlic

Oil for seasoning

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds

1/2 tsp Asafoetida

1/4 cup Cilantro chopped

Method:

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1. In a pressure cooker add the toor dal and enough water so that the dal is completely soaked in water and all vegetables excpet onions and tomatoes and pressure cook on medium high heat for two whistles and off the flame and let it come to room temperature before opening the cooker.

2. In a heavy bottom pan add oil and when it's hot add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter add curry leaves, asafoetida, cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds.

3. Now add the garlic and onions and saute them until onions turn transparent.

4. Now reduce the flame to low add turmeric powder, tomatoes and sambar powder and saute it until the tomatoes become tender and the raw smell of the sambar powder is gone.

5. Add enough water to the seasoning and bring it to boil.

6. Now open the cooker, add enough salt, tamarind juice and the seasoned water and bring it to 1 or 2 boil and garnish with cilantro leaves. 

7. Serve this Sambar with steamed rice and papad.


(Note: you can add your choice of vegetables there is no rule in adding vegetables. some suggestions are Okra, Eggplant (these should be sauted and cooked in the seasoning and not to be precooked as they tend to get mushy or overcooked in pressure cooker), raw banana etc., can be added to sambar).