This make ahead salad is simple to prepare. Yet special enough for guests.
Chicken

Chicken - 1 kg
Water - 21/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Pepper - 1 tablespoon
Green capsicum - 1
Red capsicum - 1
Refined oil - 1 tablespoon
Juice of lime - 1
Mustard powder - 1/2 tablespoon

Rice

Refined oil - 2 tbsp
Rice - 1 cup
Curry powder - 2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise - 1/2 cup
Lime juice - 1/4 cup
Lettuce leaves
Roasted cashewnuts - 10
Raisins - 15

Cut up the chiken in pieces. Pressure cook with the water, salt and pepper for 10 minutes. Strain and reserve stock. Debone and cut up the chicken flesh in bite sized pieces.

Deseed and dice both the capsicums. Add to cooked chicken alongwith 1 tbsp oil, lime juice, mustard powder and little salt. Cover and chill to blend flavours.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large saucepan, saute the rice and curry powder for 2 minutes. Add the stock, heated and 1/2 tsp. salt.Cover and cook on low heat till the rice is done and liquid absorbed.

Spoon the rice in a large bowl white still hot. Fold in the mayonnaise and lime juice. Cover and chill to blend flavours.

Line a salad bowl with lettuce leaves. Just before serving mix the chicken and rice together. Spoon the rice salad onto a platter.

Garnish with roasted cashewnuts and raisins.

This makes a lovely accompaniment to cold roast chicken or meat.

Brown rice - 90 gm
Salt - to taste
Almonds, chopped
and toasted - 50 gm
Capsicum, cored,
seeded and diced - 1
Spring onions,
finely chopped - 3
Sticks celery,
chopped - 11/2
Button mushrooms
sliced - 4
French dressing - 4 tablespoon
Finely chopped
parsley - 2 tablespoon

French Dressing

Olive oil or refined oil - 4 tablespoon
Vinegar - 2 tablespoon
Lime Juice - 1 tablespoon
Mustard sauce - 1/2 tablespoon
Honey - 2 tablespoon
Salt and pepper - to taste
Clove garlic, chopped
(optional) - 1
Cook rice in boiling, salted water till done. Do not overcook; the grains must remain separate. Rinse and drain well. Place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients and toss thoroughly. Chill. At the time of serving transfer to a shallow dish.
Dressing
Put all the ingredients in a screw topped jar. Shake well before use.
Note
Use a combination of red and green capsicum for better visual effect. You may also add tomato and peas. This salad can be made and kept.

An addition of fresh lemon grass gives this soup a wonderful lemony fragrance. Do use it if you can find some.
Chicken - 500 gm
Large Onions - 4
Grated ginger - 1 tablespoon
button mushrooms - 125 gm
Spring Onions - 6
Stock - 1.5 lt
Refined oil - 1 tablespoon
Basmati rice - 50 gm
Light soyabean sauce - 1 tablespoon
Salt and pepper - to taste
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tablespoon
Take the fleshy parts of the chicken, like te breasts, legs and thighs. Slice the onion, mushrooms, shred the spring onions in juliennes including some of the green tops as well.
The chicken stock must be refrigerated for a couple of hours before use. Discard the congealed fat on top. Use only the clear stock.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and lightly brown. Stir in the ginger and rice and stir briefly just to coat the rice with oil.
Pour in the stock, soya sauce and bring to the boil. Add the chicken, salt the pepper. Cover and simmer for about half an hour or till the chicken and rice are tender.
Take the chiken out of the pan and shred the flesh. Return to the pan with the mushrooms, spring onion and worcestershire sauce. Simmer 5 minutes and serve hot.

In cold, weather, a really filling soup is a meal in itself – warmin, delicious and satisfying.

Apple - 1
Large carrot - 1
Onions - 2
Refined oil - 2 tablespoon
Rice - 50 gm
Curry powder - 1 tablespoon
Mutton or 1 small
chicken - 1/2 kg. cut into small pieces
Stock - 1 lt
Mango chutney - 1 tablespoon
Sultanas - 25
Salt and Pepper - to taste
Pinch sugar, Lime
juice - to taste

Chop the apple and vegetables into tiny pieces. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Toss the apple, vegetable, rice and curry powder in the hot oil.
Saute 2 minutes.
Add the stock, and rest of the ingredients and cook for 15 minutes. When cool enough to handle, take out the meat pieces and debone. Blend the soup in the mixie. Return to the pan along with the meat and taste. Season, if necessary and add a little more sugar and lime juice.

For the Rice :
Basmati rice – 350 gm
Large onion, chopped – 1
Oil or butter – 4 tbsp
Stock -? 700 ml
Salt – to taste
Eggs, grated cheese to taste – 2
Bread crumbs as required
Paneer, sliced, a little butter – 200 gm
For the meat balls:
Minced meat – 225 gm
Chicken or a combination of both slices of bread – 2
Egg yolk – 1
Grated cheese – 2 tbsp
Salt – to taste
Grated nut meg, a little flour – 1/4 tsp
Oil – for frying.
For the sauce:
Button mushrooms, finely chopped – 6-8
Oil – 2 tbsp
Cornflour – 1 tsp
Brandy (optional) – 1/4 cup
Stock – 1 cup
Rice:
Soak the rice for half an hour, saute the onion in oil till transparent. Add the well drained rice and stir – fry till the rice has a parched look. Add a little salt and hot stock. Stir gently, cover when it comes to a boil and lower heat when the water gets absorbed and holes appear on the surface. Stir once with a light hand and let it remain on very low heat till done.
Remove from heat, blend in the eggs and cheese. Spread out rice on an oiled tray to cool.
Meat balls:
Use very fine mince, soak the bread in milk, the squeeze dry. Mix the mince, bread, egg yolk, cheese, salt and nutmeg, using wet fingers prepare walnut sized balls. Dredge the balls with flour and deep fry in hot oil until golden.
Sauce:
Heat the oil. Saute the mushrooms for a few minutes. Add the flour and stir fry for one minute. Sprinkle the mushrooms with the brandy, if using, and let it evaporate. Add the hot stock and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened.
The finale:
Take a high sided baking dish; grease and lightly dust with bread crumbs. Line the bottom and the sides with the rice reserving some of it.
Fill the dish with alternate layers of meat balls, mushroom sauce and paneer slices (these can be very slightly sprinkled with pepper) and grated cheese to taste.
Cover with the reserved rice, sprinkle with bread crumbs and dot a little butter on top.
Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degree F / 200 degree C for 25 – 30 minutes.
Unmould, cut in wedges and serve hot accompanied by a green salad.

KHATTA MURG

Ingredients:
chicken – 1 kg
tamarind – marble size
groundnut oil – 4 tsp
mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp
large onions, chopped – 3
medium tomatoes, chopped – 3
ginger paste – 1 tsp
turmeric – 1/4 tsp
salt – to taste
spring curry leaves – 1

Roast and rind to a powder:
whoel dry chillies – 8
coriander seeds – 2 tbsp
fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
curry leaves – 5-6

Method:
?Cut the chicken in small pieces. Soak the tamarind in 1/2 cup of hot water for 1 hour. Strain the pulp.
?Heat the oil in a degchi. Season with the mustard seeds and add the onions. When the onions start to pick up brown spots, add the tomatoes and ginger paste. Stir fry till the tomatoes soften. Now, add the chicken and turmeric. Cook for 5 minutes over a medium heat.
?Put 3 cups of hot water, the ground masala and salt. Stir well; cook, covered till done. Add the strained tamarind pulp. Cook over a low heat till the oil floats on top.
?Garnish with the curry leaves and serve with rice.

The ingredients used for chicken fried rice are almost ~e same as tho~e used for vegetable fried rice. The only ifference is that instead of chopped and parboiled mixed ~getables, W Have to use cleaned, boiled and shredded
chicken. The chicken should be boiled along with ginger?garlic paste. The quantity of chicken to be used for 3 cups of boiled rice is 250 grams. We can also include mixed vegetables in this dish, if desired.
COTTAGE CHEESE FRIED RICE

The ingredients used for cottage cheese fried rice are almost the same as those used for vegetable fried rice. The only difference is that instead of vegetables, we have to use cubed and fried (in oill cottage cheese. Mixed vegetables can also be included in this dish. if desired. The quantity of cottage cheese to be used for 3 cups of boiled rice is 250 grams.

Ingredients:
Chicken-tender (washed & cleaned) – 1/2
Rice (washed) – 11/2 cups?
Warer?- 12 cups
Spring onions (chopped) -1-2
Salt – to taste
Pepper – to taste
Ajinomoto – pinchful

Method: Cover the chicken with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 2112 hours until tender. Drain and reserve the stock.
Debone the chicken and sprinkle with salt. Cook thE rice in the reserved chicken stock on a low flame unti: tender. Add chicken. Also add the remaining ingredient1 along with seasoning. Serve hot.