Food

Chilli Chicken

Boneless Chicken ( you can even make this with chicken on bone) – 400 grams

For the marination
Ginger and garlic paste- one tablespoon
Soy sauce- 4 teaspoon
Oyster sauce – 2 teaspoons  (if you don’t have this add a wee bit of sugar )
Tobasco sauce ten drops or some chilli sauce about a teaspoon spoon
Salt

For the rest of the dish
Green chillies sliced horizontally – 4 to 5
Capsicum – 3 large
Garlic – ten cloves chopped
Ginger – one inch piece chopped

Black Pepper powder crushed coarsely – 1 teaspoon 
Spring onion – the greens to be chopped fine and the white to be coarsely chopped. I did not have them so I used regular onion
Soy sauce and oyster sauce as required 

Marinate the thinly sliced chicken with the ingredients and set it aside for an hour. In a hot pan add oil (be a bit generous) and add the garlic and ginger. This needs to be fried in order to take off the raw taste. In the same pan which should be hot, add the marinated chicken. Stir fry this on high heat for about four minutes. Don’t overcook the chicken as it has been thinly sliced and it will cook quickly. Now add the remaining marinade if any. The white onions and capsicum can now be added along with the pepper powder. You can adjust the dish with some more soy sauce and oyster sauce as desired. Finally add the capsicum and give it a quick stir. Turn off the gas and serve hot. 

Few tips 

Do not make this dish in advance and let it standing – bad idea

This dish should ideally be made in a wok as a wok transmits heat quickly. If you are using a pan  and this pan and the oil is not heated well you will end up stewing and not frying the chicken as chicken begins to sweat. If it sweats, turn it into a chilli chicken gravy. Alternatively you may want to cook this in two batches. Remember restaurants don’t make ten portions at one time.

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Faith

Memorial – Mary Mother of the Church GN 3:9-15, 20, JN 19:25-34

In the year 2018, Pope Francis decreed that the ancient devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, under the title of Mother of the Church, be inserted into the Roman calendar. He raised the celebration of Mary Mother of the Church from the rank of a votive mass to an obligatory memorial to be celebrated a day after Pentecost. The Holy Father wished to promote this devotion in order to “encourage the growth of the maternal sense of the Church in the pastors, religious and faithful, as well as a growth of genuine Marian piety”.  

The Church has several ranks of celebrations; there are Solemnities, Feasts, Memorials and Votive masses. Votive masses are celebrated for special intentions and are optional but by raising this feast to an obligatory memorial the Holy Father has highlighted this title of Our Blessed Mother as a  celebration will help us to remember that growth in the Christian life must be anchored to the Mystery of the Cross, to the oblation of Christ in the Eucharistic Banquet and to the Mother of the Redeemer and Mother of the Redeemed, the Virgin who makes her offering to God.

History of this celebration

The veneration of Mary as Mother of the Church goes back to St Augustine (354 – 430) and St Leo the Great (440-461). St. Augustine says that Mary is the mother of the members of Christ, because with charity she cooperated in the rebirth of the faithful into the Church, while the latter St. Leo the Great says that the birth of the Head is also the birth of the body, thus indicating that Mary is at once Mother of Christ, the Son of God, and mother of the members of his Mystical Body, which is the Church.”

On 21 November 1964, at the conclusion of the Third Session of the Second Vatican Council Pope (Saint) Paul VI declared Our Blessed Mother as the ‘ Mother of the Church’, that is to say of all Christian people, the faithful as well as the pastors, who call her the most loving Mother” and established that “the Mother of God should be further honoured and invoked by the entire Christian people by this tenderest of titles”.

In 1975 during the Holy Year of reconciliation, the Church inserted the votive mass of Mary the Mother of the Church into the Roman Missal. In 2018 this votive mass (or mass for a special intention) was raised to a obligatory memorial by Pope Francis.

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Food

Prawn or fish caldine – quick method

The Caldine is a yellow non spicy Goan curry, its usually made with fish or prawns as well as vegetables. Making traditional caldine is a bit of a pain. It requires coconut juice and that process can be tedious and messy. I have a quick method that satisfies the taste buds and meets the craving. 

Prawns – 250 grams
Pumpkin – half a kilo
Coconuts – 1/2 grated
Onion – one
Coriander seeds – 1 tablespoon
Cumin seeds – 1/2 teaspoon
Ginger – 1/4 inch
Garlic – six cloves
Turmeric – 3/4 teaspoon
Cloves – 3
Pepper corns – 10
Green chillies – 3

Wash and clean the prawns and de-vein them thoroughly. Boil all the prawn heads and shell of the prawns for five to ten minutes, strain and reserve the stock. Wash the prawns in water and then add half teaspoon vinegar and set aside

Grind all the above ingredients to a smooth and very fine paste. Make sure this paste is really smooth, and I mean it. Add water as required while grinding.

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Food

Chana dal or baby chick peas with white pumpkin

Don’t be put off by the sound of this dish. Chana dal also known as Bengal gram and baby chick peas has a very distinct flavour. It cooks faster than others and lends itself to both vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. you can add bengal gram to any dish cooked it red meat and the outcome is superb.

In this dish I have satisfied the flavours of both groups. Using any roasted masala or meat masala (any packaged meat masala/Sunday masala will do) I have combined the non vegetarian flavour with a good hearty pulse. This dish serves six super to eight hungry souls

Chana dal – 200 grams
White pumpkin- 400 grams chopped fine
Mustard seeds – 1 teaspoon
Garlic – eight cloves sliced
Curry leaves – two sprigs
Onions – two large minced
Tomatoes – two large minced
Green chillies – 3 or 4
Meat masala (any ready made one) – two large tablespoons
Fresh coriander – handful chopped
Oil and salt as required

Soak the chana dal overnight. In a pressure cooker, cook it for three whistles with water and salt. Allow it to cool and then purée half the cooked dal with some stock. Add this to the remaining half and set aside.

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Food

French beans – light, crisp and not cooked to death

Most vegetables are overcooked in Indian households. This explains the aversion of many non vegetarian households towards vegetarian food. This dish of french beans has a few ingredients, not even the ‘mandatory’ ginger and garlic paste. French beans are sweet and have a nice buttery taste. You can even sauté them in a pan with salt, pepper and garlic and it makes a great accompaniment to dish.

For this dish, take the trouble to cut your french beans well. String them from the sides and with a sharp knife cut them diagonally. Vegetables look appealing when cut well.

French beans – 250 grams
Onions – two large, sliced
Tomatoes- two large chopped fine
Curry leaves – two sprigs
Green chillies – four, chopped
Mustard seeds – half teaspoon
Pepper powder – 3/4 teaspoon coarsely crushed
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Salt
Oil

In a pot heat some oil, roughly about four table spoons. Add the mustard seeds and let it crackle. Now add the curry leaves and green chillies and stir fry this for half a minute. Add the onions to this mixture giving it all a good mix. Allow the onions to fry till they are translucent. Now add the tomatoes and continue the cooking process for another minute. At this stage add the salt, turmeric and pepper powder. Stir well and constantly as the mixture tends to stick to the bottom of the pot.

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