Dry Indian Chilli Chicken ~ Indo Chinese Recipe Series

Probably one of the dishes I crave the most on odd days. There are some restaurants that serve good Indo Chinese food in Singapore but they usually leave me feeling dehydrated because of the amount of oil and MSG they use.

This is a super simple version that I cooked at a friend's place. The two non-vegetarians at the table really enjoyed it!

Indo Chinese Dry Chilli Chicken Recipe
Serves 4
Adapted from: KhanaKhazana

Ingredients:
500gm boneless chicken pieces, cut into small cubes
1 onion, cut into cubes
1/2 of a green capsicum / bell pepper, cut into cubes
1 tbsp soya sauce
1/4 tsp white vinegar
1 tbsp green chilli sauce
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 green chillies, slit (we used the large red chillies that have lesser heat)
1 tsp dry red chilli flakes (optional)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp all purpose flour or maida
1 egg (optional)
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar (optional)
Oil
Spring onions for garnish

How I Made It:

1. Marinate the chicken in 1/2 tbsp soya sauce, egg, salt, pepper, flour, cornflour, half the garlic and half the green chilli sauce for atleast 30 mins. Leave it for an hour or two if you have the time.

2. Heat a shallow pan with about 1/4 cup oil and lightly fry the chicken pieces until golden brown. Set aside.

3. In the remaining oil, add chopped garlic and the chillies and flakes and fry for 2 minutes. Next, add the onions and capsicum and fry until soft (2-3 mins). Add vinegar and mix well. Top off with the fried chicken and the remaining quantities of ingredients used to marinate (1/2 tbsp soya sauce, 1/2 tbsp green chilli sauce, salt, sugar, and pepper).

4. Stir all the ingredients until well combined and fry for another 3-4 mins. Garnish with some chopped spring onions and serve hot. 

Am sending this over to The Kerala Kitchen hosted by Magpie's Recipes this month. 

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe - Indo Chinese Series

Understandably, you all loved the Chilli Paneer Recipe I posted last week. Of course, frying up something and mixing it in a delicious spicy sauce should be up everyone's alley, no surprises there.



After moving into the new apartment, we had friends over and I decided on an Indo-Chinese menu. I was badly craving some and grabbed the opportunity to cook some up myself. I made the Chilli Paneer, Vegetable Fried Rice and Schezwan Vegetables for some gravy to go with the fried rice.

Schezwan Vegetables Recipe
Adapted from Sailus Food
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large onion, cubed into 1" pieces roughly
1 carrot, cut into small, thin discs
8-10 french beans, cut into 1″ pieces
8 baby corns, each cut into 6 round discs
1 green capsicum, cut into 1" pieces roughly

2 tbsps oil

2 tbsps finely chopped spring onion greens (for garnish, optional)

For The Sauce:
2 dry red chillis, halved
1/4 tsp red chilli pwd
1 tsp crushed garlic (about 6 small flakes)
1.5 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsps tomato puree (or 1 tsp tomato paste)
1 tbsp cornflour
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups vegetable stock or water (I used vegetable stock)

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the onions. Cook until soft and transparent - about 3 mins.

2. Add the remaining vegetables with some salt and saute lightly for 3-4 mins.

3. Mix all the sauce ingredients together and add to the cooking vegetables. Let it simmer for 5 mins or until the vegetables are cooked, yet firm. If the gravy is getting too thick, add more water. Adjust salt and add pepper and spring onion greens - and its ready to serve!

This is one of those dishes where the preparation time is higher than the cooking time but the end result is very satisfying and can really help you get rid of your Indo-Chinese craving!

Chilli Paneer Recipe - Indo Chinese Series

Just like every other Indian, I love Indo-Chinese food. Deep fried goodness in a creamy sauce or coated in thick, spicy gravy - what's not to like! I even like the calories that come with it, I am very impartial that way!







I make Gobi Manchurian quite often but paneer usually gets made into Palak Paneer or Paneer Butter Masala and hardly ever an Indo-Chinese recipe, that too an appetizer. But it happened on the last day in our previous apartment. I was clearing out the fridge and realised I have a few cubes of paneer left which had to be made into something real soon or they'd die. No self-respecting Indian can kill paneer, trust me!



So they turned into a lovely plate of chilli paneer that gave some well-needed energy to TH and me to resume last-minute packing in full vigor.



Chilli Paneer Recipe

Serves 2



Ingredients:

2 cups cubed paneer (I used longer slices)

1 bell pepper / capsicum

2 large onions

4 green chillies, slit

1 tsp ginger garlic paste (use freshly ground paste if possible)

1 tbsp soya sauce

1 tsp green chilli sauce

1 tsp tomato paste / ketchup

2 tbsp + 1 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp cornflour + 3tbsp water (make a smooth paste)

Salt to taste



For the Marinade:

3 tbsp flour

2 tbsp corn flour / corn starch

1 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp minced garlic

A pinch of salt

Water



How I Made It:

1. Make a thick-ish paste with the ingredients for marinade. Dunk the paneer pieces in and let them soak in the marinade. It will be instant love, I promise.

2. Add 3-4 tbsp oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer pieces, turning them over when the cooked sides are brown.

3. Drain and set aside. Its okay to slightly burn a few sides, especially when you are packing to move out of your apartment!

4. In the same pan, add chopped onions, green chillies, and capsicum. Cook until the onions turn transparent - 2-3 mins.

5. Next, turn the flame to high and add soya sauce, green chilli sauce, sugar and tomato paste. Stir-fry on high for about 30 seconds until well blended and turn the flame to medium-low.

6. Add the fried paneer cubes and the cornflour-water paste. Taste and adjust salt (since the sauces will have salt). Stir and cook for another 3-4 mins until the sauce comes around and thickens due to the cornflour.

Serve steaming hot as an appetizer!