Sesame Chicken

A few of you might have tried this dish from local food courts in Singapore. It's a non spicy item that everyone enjoy as a side dish. Here I'm with a very simple recipe that anyone can prepare within minutes.

Ingredients
Boneless Chicken-1kg, cut into thin slices

Ginger garlic paste-2 teaspoons

Pepper powder-1 teaspoon

Soy sauce-2 table spoons

Honey-5 tablespoons

Vinegar-2 tablespoons

Sesame seeds-2 tablespoons

Sesame Oil-3 tablespoons

Spring Onions-2 tablespoons, chopped

Salt-to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons sesame oil in a wok and add chicken pieces. No need to add water as there will be water coming from chicken. Saute until the chicken is cooked and ¾th water gets drained off. Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl and keep aside. To the remaining chicken stock in the wok, add ginger garlic paste, soy sauce, honey, vinegar and salt. Stir well until you get a creamy sauce. Now add the cooked chicken pieces and sesame seeds and mix until the sauce coats well on the chicken. Add pepper powder. Remove from the fire and add remaining sesame oil. Garnish with sesame seeds and spring onions.

Mathanga Payasam (Pumpkin Dessert)

As I always make palada, parippu or semiya payasam, thought of trying a different payasam for this Onam which I have never tried before. A few options came up in my mind like carrot, pineapple or pumpkin payasam. Pumpkin payasam is something which I haven't tasted before and was not confident enough to try. Finally I decided to give it a try and to my surprise it turned up a very yummy dessert. It's different from our usual payasams and easy to prepare too. I would recommend this recipe for all my friends who love to try something different. Please do try and let me know your feedback.

Ingredients
Pumpkin-2 cups, cubed
Almonds-10nos
Sago-5 tablespoons
Jaggery-1 ½ cups, grated
Cardamom-5, crushed
Thin Coconut Milk-2 cups
Thick Coconut Milk-1 cup
Ghee-1 ½ tablespoons
Cashew nuts-a few
Raisins-a few

Method

Pressure cook pumpkin cubes upto 3 whistles and low the fire for 5 minutes. Soak almonds in hot water for 20 minutes and remove the skin. Grind pumpkin and almonds until smooth. Boil some water and add grated jaggery to it. Mix until jaggery is completely dissolved. Allow it to cool and strain. Cook sago in boiling water and wash in cold water and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a pan and saute the pumpkin-almond mixture for 5 minutes. Add jaggery syrup and mix well. Add crushed cardamom and cooked sago. Add thin coconut milk and let it boil for a few minutes. Add thick coconut milk and simmer the fire. Let it boil for 2 minutes and turn off the fire. Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and garnish the payasam.