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ASPARAGUS CHICKEN ROULADE WITH CREMINI MUSHROOM SAUCE



    This gorgeous hearty dish which I named Asparagus Chicken Roulades with Cremini Mushroom sauce is one of our family favorite. It’s such an easy fix and so flavourful and certainly a crowd pleaser dish. The unique taste infused with juniper berries and fresh flavours of oregano mixed with the layer of creamy ricotta filling makes it an interestingly flavourful centerpiece dish when you serve it to your family and friends. The creamy mushroom sauce combined together with these roulades makes it an interesting combination which levels it up to a totally restaurant style dish.


    Make your dinner evenings more fascinating and memorable for your loved ones by serving this dish. I'm sure you will be all praises and you can thank me later for that.



    PREP TIME: 30 minutes

    COOK TIME: 15-20 minutes

    SERVES: 4



    INGREDIENTS

    For roulades:

    • 3 small chicken breast fillets

    • 24 baby asparagus (thin and small size)

    • Salt and pepper

    • 2 tbsp oil


    For filling:

    • 100g ricotta cheese

    • 1 tbsp spreadable cream cheese

    • 2 tbsp, finely grated Parmesan cheese

    • 5-6 dried juniper berries, pound

    • 1/2 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

    • Salt and pepper to taste

    For Mushroom Sauce:

    • 150g / 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced

    • 2 tbsp butter

    • 2 tbsp cooking oil

    • 2 cloves garlic, chopped

    • 2 sprigs fresh oregano

    • 1 cup cooking cream

    • 1/2 cup chicken stock

    • 1/4 cup milk

    • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

    • Salt and pepper to taste

    METHOD

    1. Wash the chicken and pat dry with kitchen paper towel. Slice it in half from the fat end to make two thin breasts. Hammer the breast with mallet until thin and wide but not bruised else the filling will ooze out.

    2. In a small bowl mix all the filling ingredients. Divide and spread evenly on the chicken breasts.

    3. Width wise, place 3-4 asparagus on top and roll it down to make roulades. Season them with salt and pepper.

    4. In a wide pan, heat 2 tablespoon oil, place roulades, with open side down. Pan sear and cook them from all sides. Make sure its cooked from inside. Remove.

    5. To make mushroom sauce, in the same pan, add butter and oil, add oregano sprigs and garlic. Once butter is melted add mushrooms, sauté on high heat until roasted and slightly golden in colour.

    6. Add cream, chicken stock, milk and cheese. Stir to mix and just heat through. If sauce is bit thick add little more milk or stock to adjust the consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

    7. To serve, place the mushroom sauce in a platter, place the roulades on top and enjoy with salad or rice.



    COOK'S NOTES


    1. For this dish , its best to use smaller size chicken breast as the bigger breast will make the rolls very thick and will not cook properly through the center.

    2. Hammer the breast by placing a piece of cling film on top of the sliced chicken breast, this way the chicken doesn't bruise and also the chicken flesh doesn't stick to the hammer.

    3. It's important to use baby asparagus as they are tender and cook easily along with chicken roulades. If using thicker or fatter version of asparagus, peel of the stems, steam them and then use as described in the recipe. Use only one or two asparagus if using the thicker ones.

    4. I used Cremini mushrooms for more earthy flavours in the dish but you can certainly replace them with ordinary button mushrooms.

    5. If the sauce has gone thinner adjust the consistency by adding bit more cheese and cream. Vice-versa, if its gone thicker, adjust by adding bit more milk and stock.


    LAUKI KOFTAS



      Lauki koftas is a delicious and a popular Indian curry made with bottle gourd dumplings (koftas) and simmered in onion and tomato gravy. Its originally from the times of Mughals and travelled through Arabic countries like Iran and Afghanistan. Nizam's or Mughals would generally make koftas with meat but in India there are many vegetarian versions of kofta curries. Lauki kofta curry happened to be one of those vegetarian versions of kofta curries which is relished by most.


      It's a vegan and gluten-free curry easily suitable to people with such allergens. It can be served with roti, naan, paranthas or rice.



      PREP TIME: 20 minutes

      COOK TIME: 30 minutes

      SERVES: 6-8



      INGREDIENTS


      For Koftas

      • 1 medium Lauki (bottle gourd), peeled and grated, 4 cups roughly

      • 1 green chilli, chopped

      • 2 tbsp coriander, chopped

      • 1 tsp ginger chopped, finely

      • 3/4 cup besan or chana atta (I used half and half both)

      • 1 tsp ajwain (carom seeds)

      • 1/2 tsp salt or to taste

      • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder

      • 1 tsp coriander powder

      • Oil for frying


      For Gravy

      • 2 red onions, roughly cut into chunks

      • 1 large beef tomato

      • 1” piece ginger, roughly cut

      • 2-3 fat cloves garlic

      • 1 1/2 tbsp tomato paste

      • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

      • 4 tbsp oil

      • 1 tbsp coriander powder

      • 1 tsp salt or to tastebuds

      • 1 tsp turmeric powder

      • 1/4 tsp garam masala

      • 1/4 tsp red chilli powder

      • 1 tsp sugar

      • 4-5 cups water

      • Freshly chopped coriander leaves for garnishing

      • 1 tsp fresh cream for garnishing


      METHOD

      For Koftas:

      1. Place grated Lauki in Muslin cloth and squeeze all water. Reserve the water for gravy.

      2. Add all the ingredients and mix them all together. Shape them into small balls.

      3. Heat oil in wok and gently drop half the balls in oil and deep fry the koftas on medium high heat until golden brown.

      4. Drain on absorbent paper.

      For Gravy:

      1. In a small blender, coarsely blend onion, ginger and garlic. Don’t make a fine paste.

      2. Blend the tomato into a purée and keep aside.

      3. Heat oil in a deep skillet pan, add cumin, sauté for few seconds, add coarsely ground onion ginger mix and chopped green chilli. Stir and roast until it turns light brown in colour. Keeping the flame on low, add salt, chilli powder, coriander powder, and turmeric, stir to mix the spices for a minute.

      4. Add the blended tomato and tomato paste. Roast until the oil is separated from the onion and tomatoes masala. Now add sugar and 4-5 cups of water along with reserved lauki water, cover and let it come to a rolling boil. Check seasoning, add salt or sugar if required.

      5. Add the koftas , stir and cover the lid and simmer on low fire for 15-18 minutes. Add garam masala and give a gentle stir.

      6. Serve and garnish with chopped coriander and cream.


      COOK'S NOTES

      • Use the tender Lauki for this recipe. If the lauki has larger and thicker seeds, discard them before grating.

      • I generally make this curry with just besan but I tried adding chana atta along with besan and the results were equally amazing. Hence its a tip, if you run out of besan and you have some chana atta at hand, you can easily replace it for making koftas.

      • If you are vegan, skip the cream for garnishing. Instead use dairy free cream, coconut cream for garnishing or serve just as is.

      • Do not discard the lauki water as it has all the nutrients. Add it to the gravy to bring more flavour.


      DAL MAKHNI



        Dal Makhni is one of the most loved dal's in India which is rich, creamy and buttery in texture.


        This creamy buttery dal is made with black lentils (whole urad) and is slowly cooked by simmering it for hours on low heat traditionally. It often has kidney beans added to it.... Here I am sharing my little tips and tricks to make this restaurant style dal at home in a much less time and yet achieving that unique flavour you get in Dal Makhni cooked traditionally.


        Lentils are quite a staple diet in every Indian household. Different dals are cooked almost every day and at my maternal house, mum would always make masoor, moong, chana or toor dal as the regulars on a daily basis and Dal Makhni would be cooked only on special occasions. This norm is still prevailing in my house after marriage.


        Dal Makhni is quite meaty in taste and creamy in texture. It's a rich dal with lots of cream and butter which makes it a delicacy and is cooked only on special occasions.


        I am sharing my recipe of making the best Dal Makhni recipe ever and do give it a try and tag me on my Instagram page and do write comments below as well. Would love hear feedback from you. Keep cooking!

        PREP TIME: 15 minutes

        COOKING TIME: 45 minutes

        TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

        SERVES: 4



        INGREDIENTS

        • 3/4 cup urad dal (whole)/ black lentil

        • 2 tbsp rajma (kidney beans)

        • 3 tbsp butter/ ghee

        • 1 tsp cumin seeds

        • 3-4 cloves

        • 1" long cinnamon stick

        • 3-4 cardamom green

        • 1 medium onion, chopped

        • 1" piece ginger, chopped

        • 2 tsp garlic, chopped

        • 2 cloves garlic whole, peeled

        • 2 green chilli, cut in half

        • 1 cup tomato puree

        • 2 tbsp tomato paste

        • 1-2 bay leaves

        • 2 pinch asafoetida powder

        • 2 tsp coriander powder

        • 1/2 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder

        • 1/4 tsp garam masala

        • 1/2 cup fresh cream

        • 2 tsp salt or to taste

        • 1/2" piece ginger, julienned

        • 15g butter (cut in small cubes)

        • 1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

        METHOD

        1. Wash dal and rajma 3-4 times and place it in the pressure cooker. Add 4 cups of water, salt, whole garlic, cinnamon stick, bay leave and cloves. Cover the cooker with lid, leaving on high heat let the pressure build, once it starts whistling, reduce the heat and pressure cook for 25-30 minutes on low flame or until it is cooked.

        2. Allow the steam to escape before opening the lid.

        3. For tempering, melt butter in a heavy based deep saucepan, add cumin seeds. When cumin seeds crackle add chopped ginger & garlic, green chillies, asafoetida and stir for 1 minute.

        4. Now add onions, roast until little brown, add chilli, coriander powder and garam masala, stir for a minute to roast spices. Add tomato puree and tomato paste and stir. Cook over medium heat until the mixture leaves oil on the side of the pan.

        5. Add cooked dal to the mixture and mix well. Add little warm water to the dal (if required) and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

        6. To this add fresh cream, (reserving 1 tbsp for garnishing); mix well. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes. Ladle into serving bowl.

        7. Garnish with chopped coriander, ginger strips, cubes of butter and cream. Serve hot.


        COOK'S NOTES

        • If not using pressure cooker for making dal, soak it overnight along with rajma or for at least 5-6 hours and cook by simmering for 50 minutes to an hour on low flame.

        • These are best served with any staple Indian breads like garlic naan, lachchaa parantha, tandoori roti or rice pulaos like jeera pulao or peas pulao.

        • Wash and rinse the dal thoroughly, at least 3-4 times before cooking.

        • If making in pressure cooker, always lower the heat after first whistle and cook on low flame else water will evaporate quickly and your dal can burn. Hence simmering at lower flame is an important step.

        • If using fresh tomato puree you must add tomato paste as tomato paste is concentrated and adds an extra rich colour and flavour.

        • You can also enhance the flavour of the dal by infusing smoky flavour. place a steel cooker stand or trivet inside the dal pot. Put hot coal in a small steel bowl, place it on the trivet inside the dal pot. Drop a teaspoon of ghee on hot coal and immediately cover the pot with aluminium foil or a tight lid. Leave it for 10 minutes and then remove bowl and trivet from the dal.

        • #vegetarian #dalmakhni #indianfood #maincourse #dal #lentil #blacklentil #indiancurries

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