Chicken & Spinach Soup

Organic Chicken - 1.5 lbs (around half a chicken, cut into small pieces with or without bones)
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Yellow Onion - half of a big onion or 1 small, chopped into medium pieces
Ginger - 1 inch, cut into chunks
Garlic - 3 cloves, chopped
Bay Leaf - 2
Whole Black peppercorns - 10
Organic Baby Spinach - 2 cups
Carrots - 2, chopped
Celery - 2, chopped
Potato - 1 small, cubed
Dried Thyme - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Water - 4 cups

Heat oil and add the bay leaf and whole peppercorns.

Then add the chopped onion, ginger and garlic. Cook for a minute.

Add chopped celery, carrots, potato, spinach, dried thyme one after another.

Add the chicken pieces, salt, fresh ground pepper and 4 cups of water.

After full pressure is reached, cook in the pressure cooker for 8 minutes on low heat.

Serve hot.

Note : This is grain free but if you want to add wild rice, omit the potato and add 1 tbsp uncooked wild / brown rice in place of potato and increase half a cup of water.

You can also omit the whole peppercorns and instead increase the amount of ground black pepper.

Hakka Noodles

Brown Rice Noodles / Whole Wheat Noodles - a fistful
Salt
Peanut Oil - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves, thinly sliced
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Green Chilli / Fresh Red Chilli - 2, chopped
Chopped Mixed Vegetables - carrots, onions, beans, cabbage, peas, capsicum, spring onion
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato ketchup - 1/2 tbsp
Green Chilly Sauce (optional)
Scrambled Eggs (optional)

Boil the noodles in plenty of salt water. Switch off the burner the moment the noodles become al dente and take care not to overcook. Strain it out and hold the strained noodles under a running tap of cold water. Separate the strands with a fork. Keep aside

Take 2 tablespoons of oil in a big skillet / wok. Once the oil is very hot, add the chopped garlic, ginger, green chillies. 

Immediately add in the vegetables and stir fry on very high heat. The trick is not to overcook the vegetables, they should remain crunchy. After 3 to 4 minutes, when the vegetables are almost cooked, add the noodles and add a tablespoon of soysauce, green chilly sauce and ketchup.

If using eggs, then add the scrambled eggs. Stir for a bit more time on a high flame so that a few strands of noodles become a bit crunchy. Serve hot.

French Toast

Eggs - 3
Whole Milk - 3/4 cup
French Bread (like brioche or challah )- 4 slices, cut into 8 pieces
Pure Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp
Cinnamon Powder - a pinch
Turbinado / Raw Sugar - 1 tbsp

Butter for frying the toast
Pure Maple Syrup to serve with the french toast

Mix all the ingredients together and beat well.

Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture and leave for a minute.

Heat butter over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Remove each bread slice from the mixture and place in the skillet.

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side till they become brown and crispy. Remove and serve immediately with pure maple syrup.

Fresh Sardine Fry

Whole Small Sardines
Turmeric
Red Chili Powder
Rock Salt
Brown Rice Powder
Mustard Oil

Wash the sardines well. Remove the gills and slit the stomach and clean.

Marinate with salt, turmeric and red chili powder.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Roll the fish in rice powder  and pan fry till cooked and crisp on the outside.

Barramundi Fish Fry

Barramundi Fillet - 1/2 lb

Shallot - 1

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 4 cloves

Green chili - 1

Red Chili powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemon

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup

Cornflour - 1 tbsp

Egg - 1

Oil for shallow frying

Make a paste of shallot, ginger, garlic, green chili, red chili, salt, lemon juice. Marinate the fillet in this paste for at least an hour.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Take each fillet, drain marinade, sprinkle cornflour, dip in egg wash, roll in bread crumbs and shallow fry on both sides till golden brown.

Serve with wilted kale and tomato ketchup

3 Pepper Baked Salmon

Salmon Fillet - 2
Salt
Black Pepper
Chili Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Turmeric
Garlic Paste
lemon Juice

Olive oil for cooking
Sweet Onion / Asparagus (optional)

Marinate the fillet in the refrigerator with the above ingredients for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Take a cast iron pan. Add a little olive oil. Add the marinated fish and cook for 1 minute on both sides.

Add a few roundels of sweet onion on top of the fish. A few asparagus pieces can also be added in the skillet to make a complete meal. Then place the skillet in the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Switch to broil and broil for another 5 minutes.

Trout in Mustard Sauce

Trout - 2 small ones (around 1 lb)
Mustard Powder - 3 tsp, make a paste with half cup water
Green Chillies - 3
Nigella Seeds - a pinch
Turmeric
Salt
Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp

Marinate the trout pieces in salt and turmeric for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a kadai and fry the trout pieces. Remove and keep aside.

Add some more oil to the pan. Temper with nigella seeds and green chili. Then add the mustard paste and cook for a minute. Add a cup of water. Bring the mustard sauce to a boil, add the fish pieces and cook for 5 minutes.

Light Chicken Curry

 

Chicken Drumsticks - 5
Greek Yogurt - 3/4 cup
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chili Pepper - a pinch
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Yellow Onion - 1 big, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece, sliced
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Bay leaf - 2
Whole Black Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Mixed Vegetables - a handful of green beans, 1 carrot, 2 red potato, 2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt

Marinate the chicken pieces in yogurt, turmeric and red chili powder for atleast an hour.

Heat oil, add the bay leaf, black peppercorns, chopped onion, ginger and garlic.

Cook for 5 minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables and toss well.

Reduce heat and add the marinated chicken pieces with all the liquid. Mix well. Add a cup of water and salt.

Cook in the pressure cooker for 5 minutes after full pressure is reached.

Remove from heat, cool down a little and serve with steamed brown rice.

Baked Fish in Mustard Sauce

Fresh firm white fish such as snapper - 2 fillets
Salt
Pepper

For sauce
Creme Fresh
Dijon Mustard - 1 tbsp
Whole Grain Mustard - 1/2 tbsp
Shallots - 1 tbsp, minced
Capers - 1 tsp
salt
Mix everything for sauce. Lay the fish skin side down on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spoon the sauce on top.

Heat oven to 425F. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes

Light Chicken Stew

Organic Chicken Drumsticks - 6, marinate with a little salt, ground black pepper and lemon juice
Onion - 1, cut into big chunks
Green Papaya - 1/2, cut into big chunks
Carrots - 2,
Red Potato - 1, cut into big chunks
Green Beans - 10, each cut into half
Tomato - 1, big
Garlic Cloves - 3, each clove cut into 2
Ginger - 1 inch, cut into chunks
Whole Black Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Bayleaf - 2
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Fresh ground Black Pepper

Heat oil and add the peppercorns and bayleaves. Add onion, ginger and garlic. Saute for a few minutes.

Add the chicken pieces and saute till light brown.

Add the rest of the vegetables. Saute for a minute more.

Add 2 cups of water. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper and cook in the pressure cooker for 8 minutes after the pressure is reached. Remove and serve hot.

Fried Mackerel

Mackerel - 2 to 3 steaks
Vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Turmeric
Onion grated
Red Chili powder
Lemon Juice
Tamarind extract
Salt
Brown Rice Powder
Semolina

Add a tbsp of vinegar to the fish and thaw in the fridge overnight.

Make a paste of grated ginger, grated garlic, grated onion, turmeric, red chili powder, lemon juice, tamarind extract, salt. Discard the vinegar, wash the fish and apply the paste well all over the fish pieces and marinate for at least an hour in the fridge.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Roll the pieces first in brown rice powder and then in semolina and pan fry on both sides till are cooked and crisp on the outside.