Asian Chicken Noodles

Chinese Chicken noodles are a delicious and a quick lunch/dinner that requires few ingredients that are easily available in your pantry. Also it gets from kitchen to dining table in a matter of few minutes. And its just a perfect meal for weekends. Egg noodles cooked with chicken and few veggies with a few sauces mixed in together with Garlic fried in a smokey flavor makes a perfect Asian style Noodles and they come out so amazingly delicious that you will never feel the need to order take out from a Chinese restaurant again. This dish is so mouthwatering that you will making it very often.

My kids can actually eat these Chicken noodles for every other meal. These Chicken noodles are pretty easy to make, I usually add Onions, scallions and green chilies. You can add broccoli and bell peppers as well if you feel like. Usually I also add in corn kernels at times and something that I feel adds a lot of flavor to this dish are Peanuts. The key to preparing perfect noodles is to cook everything separately and mix things together and then add in the mixed sauce. Also, one thing that I feel makes these noodles perfect are cooking them with tongs specially when you mix things together.

One of the reasons why Chinese food does not taste the same at home as in restaurants is that ingredients that are put in Chinese noodles, including the sauce, all are cooked on high heat. The food cooked on high heat and that kind of gives a smoke flavor to the ingredients and the smoked or charred flavor is absorbed pretty fast. A lot of people suggest using a Wok but honestly, I don’t use one and feel my Asian Takeaways tastes better than homemade ones is the smokey charred flavor in the dish. Ingredients are tossed on high heat, really quickly to give the flavor. It sometimes feels impossible to recreate the same flavor at home, of course without the flavor enhancers and God knows all what goes into your food to make it taste so good, but honestly, the food made at home tastes much more fresh and if made using the right recipe with all ingredients in proportion will make a mouthwatering dish.

Now its not possible for everyone to have a Chinese Wok at home. But its always better to cook in a pan that is shaped like a dome. It gives you more surface area to work. For making noodles stir fry or Rice stir fry, a large pan is always good. Tossing in high heat with sesame Oil adds the smokey flavor to the noodles. Enjoy!!!

Stir Fried Chicken

Indian Chinese dishes are pretty popular with people. I experimented this dish which c is made with crispy chicken chunks. Its lightly tossed in a spicy chili sauce.

You will like this dish if you like the Indo Chinese fusion dishes. Its wonderfully delicious and the technique in various dishes where the flavors are combined always makes the dishes scrumptious.

If you have never had this dish before then definitely try it out. If you enjoy takeout dishes like sweet and sour chicken, then you will probably enjoy this dish as well. It uses the Chinese takeout technique of ‘deep frying and tossing it in a thick sauce to coat it’ that most of us are very familiar with but uses a dark spicy chili sauce instead of the usual sweeter sauces.

This recipe is a dry chili chicken version, however if you prefer the gravy version of chili chicken then just double up the sauce recipe to make it more saucy. The type of peppers you use in this dish will be your preference, depending on how spicy you like your food. Though my kids are pretty good with taking spice, I used bell pepper and dry Red chilies to flavor it up.

I personally LOVE crispy foods, but find it slightly irritating when it when it is 60% batter and 40% chicken. This dish is lightly coated and therefore has a very light crispy exterior. This makes for a less greasy end product as well.

Korean Barbecue Chicken

We love chicken, Biryani, Kebabs, curries, soup. Its easy to cook and loved by all. I am always on a lookout for new recipes, specially recipes that can be eaten by kids from all cultural backgrounds. Indian foods offer large variety of kebabs, but sometimes kids just want a different flavor altogether, and I am always trying to experiment with different flavors.

We once went to this wonderful Korean BBQ Restaurant. We could only stick to the seafood since the chicken or meat wasn’t halal. The live BBQ was awesomely set up on our table and though they do serve with different salads and Rice bowls with sauces, but the there was nothing that we enjoyed more than the seafood. The amazing part was that the seafood they got was not marinated, and they carried marination sauce bowls that they would brush on the seafood and this was the first time I ever came across a marination that can be put directly while the food is being cooked. That’s when I felt I had to try this at home with Chicken or meat, and that trying turn finally came after almost a year.

I marinated the chicken slightly with salt and vinegar. The Indian me wanted to add a little ting to it before I started cooking it. It was lovely making the sauce, I tried to make it as close as I could to what I had tasted. the kids loved it and it can be made with ease and in when you have little time in hand. There are some modifications to make it look pretty, you may or may not. Enjoy!!!

Gobhi Manchurian

We are a hard core Non vegetarian family. But, as much as people see our love for non vegetarian food, we equally love vegetarian as well, which kind of goes unnoticed. I don’t blame anyone, since with the huge variety of Biryanis and kebabs that we make, people believe that we can never go complete vegetarian.

Anyways, so I tried this recipe not just to test my veggie cooking skills but also because most of my close friends are vegetarians and that I think is the first reason why I tried a chicken dish with cauliflower.

This dish is as delicious as the chicken one. The good thing is that being vegetarian, it keeps your belly feeling lighter and less bloated. It can be served with plain boiled rice on the side or just by itself. Makes a great side dish or an appetizer.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Buffalo Chicken Wings are easily one of America’s most beloved chicken dishes. Crispy, golden-fried wings coated in a spicy, tangy buffalo sauce are irresistibly delicious, juicy, and packed with flavor. No game night feels complete without a platter of these crowd-pleasing wings.

And if you’re part of an Indian family like ours, with sports-loving men in the house—my husband and two boys, who never miss a chance to watch a game—then learning to make Buffalo Chicken Wings is practically a necessity. They’re always a hit, whether it’s football season, a cricket match, or simply a weekend gathering with family and friends.

Chicken wings have become a regular feature in our living room during cricket matches, basketball games, soccer tournaments, and even wrestling events. Yes, we watch them all—and sometimes, much to my surprise, they even win over movie nights!

A few years ago, we discovered a halal restaurant that served Buffalo Chicken Wings, and they quickly became our go-to game-day snack. Every match seemed incomplete without them. But over time, the excitement faded. By the time we brought the wings home, the crispy coating had turned soggy under the sauce, and they simply weren’t as enjoyable. Eventually, Mr. Parveez gave up on wings altogether, and our sports nights became completely wingless… LOL!

Then one day, while picking up my regular halal meat order, I casually asked the butcher if he sold chicken wings separately. It sounds like a funny question now, but you have to remember that it was coming from someone who had never bought wings in her life. Armed with a pack of wings and a bottle of hot sauce, I headed home determined to recreate our favorite game-day treat.

After a little experimenting, this recipe was born. It may be slightly different from traditional Buffalo Wings and perhaps a little spicier, but trust me—it is absolutely worth it. Of course, you can always adjust the heat level to suit your taste.

Since then, there has been no looking back. These wings have become a favorite among family and friends alike. My kids’ friends request them whenever they visit, and I still remember the day my son came home smiling because one of his friends had apparently been telling the entire class about the amazing wings he ate during a playdate at our house. Needless to say, that made both of us very proud.

These Buffalo Chicken Wings are crispy, flavorful, and guaranteed to win hearts—whether you’re serving them on game night, at a gathering, or simply because you’re craving something delicious.

Chicken Sizzler

Chicken sizzler is just such a super amazingly happy dish. I feel your hunger just grows by a 200% , seeing that sauce sizzle on that hot iron plate and the sizzling sound is so very pleasing.

Sizzler is best with boneless chicken or fish served with boiled rice and your choice of vegetables. I love the sizzlers in India, the spicy, smoky flavors at our favorite joint is just like a dream come true for people like us, who are so far away and that we don’t get halal sizzlers in USA, or at least not around us. So, for people like us, we invent our own.

So, there is a very sweet story to share as well. Mr. Parveez saw me longing for sizzler and bought me these wonderful iron sizzler pans and they were lying in my pantry closet waiting to be inaugurated. So, finally one day, while kids were at school and Mr. Parveez was working from home and I decided to test my gift. Usually, I always prefer making new things in my own time and keeping it a surprise and once I was done making it, the look on Mr. Parveez’s face is hard to express in words. I do have a picture of him but, he would not allow me to post it here …LOLzzz. It will always be treasured in my personal collection.

Chicken Manchurian [Gravy]

This one is different from the regular Manchurian, which is partially dry. This one on the contrary has enough gravy to be served with boiled Rice. I substituted Bell pepper with Big green chili or Badi Mirch to change and experiment with flavor, or if I use the right term, I did that to to make the taste different from the regular dry Manchurian.

Isn’t it funny how playing with flavors id so exciting and yet so easy, even then most of the time people refrain themselves from trying out something new or do not make an attempt to alter the taste that they have inculcated with time. But, the fact is that basic flavor of all food is the same. The difference is only with the timing of when that flavor is introduced to the dish or which member of that family you pick. Like choosing bell pepper, Green chili or ghost pepper, same family, different members and each one holds the capability of changing the taste of your dish completely.

Now, at times, people use ingredients as a substitute and new flavors are invented. I, personally do not agree to substitute ingredients unless you willingly accept to experiment with the flavor. I am against using tamarind in place of lemon. Oh! yes I know people who would do that and even then disagree that they knowingly messed up a dish.

Cooking is an art and we all know that, and the one who masters this art becomes a  very respectable artist/ chef and we all wish to be in that group and that’s the reason I created this website and the same reason why you are here. So, my suggestion is stick to the rules of nature. Switch flavors that you can imagine with your taste buds. Introduce new flavors little at a time because then you always have time to improvise. Making mistakes is acceptable but try to not ruin a dish to an extent where it isn’t edible.

This dish is an awesome option for school/ office lunch box. My boys look forward to Manchurian in their lunch box and it goes well with boiled rice.

Chicken Manchurian dry

I always had a soft corner for Chinese cuisine. Despite of all the horror stories about how unhealthy it can be at times, due to high contents of sodium in soya sauce and restaurants using MSG and more. The only thing was that my love for Chinese food was restricted to seafood only since most Chinese restaurants in USA do not serve halal food and if you are a meat eater, you do understand that sometimes, you just want your meat and though, fish is wonderful in taste but, doesn’t give you that satisfaction of meat. So, we got down to trying our own chicken version and when its Chinese and chicken, what can be better than making chicken Manchurian.

Its funny but the first time I tried Chicken Manchurian, I measured the ingredients tsp by tsp, and now I am so pro at it that i can cook this dish with my eyes closed, I mean it.  Its a family favorite and the flavors are sweet and sour with a dash of spice and easily impresses anyone.

This version of Manchurian is dry, so its best served as a side dish or an appetizer. You cook serve it with strips of Butter naan [recipe in Bread] if you are looking to make it more fancier.

Saucy Chicken Lollipop

This is second kind of Chicken Lollipop that I invented and all because my older one came in asking that he needs sauce “dripping” on the lollipops. I have mentioned it numerous times in my other food stories of how well demanding my boys are. So, after thinking out in detail about how I can make them extra juicy, I came up with this recipe.

It requires a little marination and further its cooked in little oil, unlike other chicken lollipop recipes, where they are deep fried, so its kind of a guiltless pleasure that lets you over indulge. Further, more sauces are mixed in and you let it cook further in the sauces.

This recipe is super saucy and the chicken lollipops are not too crunchy but soft and juicy.