Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup

Orzo, is a type of short-cut pasta, shaped like a large grain of rice. You can make some delicious salads and soups with orzo. One of our recent favourites is this Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup. It comes together pretty quickly and is very filling too. I only made half the amount of the recipe and it was perfect for all three of us. You can even add mushrooms or celery to this. If orzo is not available you can use mini macaroni or any other type of short cut pasta.

Creamy Chicken Orzo Soup Recipe

Serves 5-6

(Recipe from here)

Ingredients:

Olive oil -2 tbsp

Boneless Chicken breast - 450 gm

Garlic - 1 clove minced

Onion - 1/2 cup, diced

Carrots - 1/2 cup, diced

Dried Sage - 1/4 tsp

Dried Parsley - 1 tsp

Dried Oregano - 1/2 tsp

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Pepper powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste

Chicken broth – 4 cups

Water - 2 cups

Orzo - 1 cup

Heavy cream – 1 cup

Green onions - 1/4 cup, diced

Method:

• In a large pan heat olive oil over medium heat. Add chicken breast and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until no longer pink in the middle, about 6-8 minutes per side. Remove from heat and shred.
• In the same pan, add garlic, onions, and carrots and cook for about 5 minutes until aromatic.
• Add in sage, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper and cook until onions are translucent, another 3-5 minutes.
• Pour in chicken broth and water and bring to a boil.
• Add in orzo and cook on a low boil for about 10 -15 minutes or until orzo is tender.
• Lower heat and add chicken back in, and heavy cream. Let simmer 5 minutes until bubbly and thickened.
• Top with green onions and serve warm.

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Chicken Butter Masala / Murgh Makhani Masala Recipe

Chicken Butter Masala is a healthier version of Butter Chicken without compromising taste.... I adapted this recipe from the Paneer Butter Masala recipe I posted long back. This doesn’t have much cream or butter in it and we can reduce or completely omit it if you make this on a regular basis. Usually when I make it just for us, I never add cream and always reduce butter to half; trust me it still tastes great :)....

Chicken Butter Masala / Murgh Makhani Masala Recipe

Ingredients:

Chicken  - 500 gms cut into 1” cubes (I used boneless chicken)

Turmeric Powder - ½ tsp

Onion - 2 medium, sliced thin

Chilly powder - 2 tsp

Ginger paste - 1 ½  tsp

Garlic paste - 1 ½  tsp

Tomato - 2 big, pureed to a fine paste in a blender

Fresh Cream - ¼ cup

Cashew nuts - 25gm (soaked in little water & grind to a fine paste)

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Sugar - 1 tsp

Roasted Cumin powder / Jeera powder - ½ tsp

Fenugreek leaves /Kasoori methi leaves - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Butter - 2tbsp

Oil -1 tbsp

Tomato sauce - 2 tbsp

Water - 1 ½ cups

Coriander leaves - ¼ cup, finely chopped

Red food colour - 2 drops (I didn’t use it)

Method:

• Marinate chicken pieces with turmeric powder and little salt and keep aside for ½ hour. 
• Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan and add sliced onion and sauté until translucent and soft (no need to brown the onions). Grind the sautéed onions to a fine paste and keep aside.
• Heat butter in a pan and add onion paste, ginger and garlic paste and sauté for 5 minutes. Lower the heat and add chilly powder and stir well. Add pureed tomato and tomato sauce and sauté well till the mixture becomes thick and oil starts separates from the masala.
• Add marinated chicken pieces and sauté well for 6-8 minutes.
• Add ground cashew nut paste, cumin powder, garam masala and kasoori methi leaves and salt.
• Add 1 ½ cups of hot water and boil the mixture for 3 minutes. Add food colour if using. Reduce the heat and simmer the mixture for 10-15 minutes or until the gravy is little thick and chicken pieces are cooked well.
• Finally add cream and coriander leaves mix well and turn off the heat. 
• Serve hot with Indian flat breads or rice.

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Kerala Chicken Stew Recipe / Kozhi Stew

Stew or Ishtew is a mildly spicy and creamy Kerala special delicacy which goes very well with appam,bread, puttu, chapathi etc. In most Kerala Christian families, Christmas or Easter breakfast is incomplete without appam and chicken or mutton stew. Stew has to be white in colour and you have to make sure not to brown the onion while sautéing. Cashew nut paste will enhance the flavor and make the gravy thick and creamy.

Kerala Chicken Stew Recipe / Kozhi Stew
Ingredients: 

Chicken - ½ kg (cut in to medium pieces, I used boneless chicken)

Potato - 1 small, cubed

Carrot - 1 small, cubed

Onion - 1, thinly sliced

Green chillies - 4, slit

Ginger - 1 tsp, finely chopped

Garlic - 1 tsp, finely chopped

Cinnamon sticks - 1 inch x2 pieces

Cardamom - 4

Cloves - 4

Black peppercorns - 1 tsp

Medium thick coconut milk - 3 cups

Thick coconut milk - 1 cup

Cashew nuts - 6 - 8 ground to a fine paste

Curry leaves - few

Salt - to taste

Coconut oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon sticks, cardamom, cloves, black peppercorns and sauté. Add onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and curry leaves and stir fry until they becomes soft and translucent. (make sure not to brown the onion).
• Add chicken pieces and stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the meat is lightly seared.
• Add cubed potatoes and carrots, medium think coconut milk and salt, and cook for 15-20 minutes over medium heat until the chicken, carrot and potatoes are fully cooked.
• Add cashew nut paste, thick coconut milk and vinegar, mix well and simmer for 2 minutes or until you get the required thickness.
• Serve hot with palappam, vellayappam, Idiyappam, Puttu, Chapathi or bread.

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Grilled Chilli Lime Chicken Fajita Salad

This salad caught my eye when I first saw the picture on the net. Tender and juicy chicken grilled in a chilli lime marinade and served with avocado slices, grilled capsicum, onion and lettuce. The best part of this recipe is that the marinade is also used as a dressing. Just make the marinade and use half of it to marinate chicken and other half can be kept in the fridge to use as dressing. We really loved this flavourful salad and is a great addition to a party menu :) 

Grilled Chilli Lime Chicken Fajita Salad

(Recipe from here)

Ingredients:

Marinade/Dressing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

100ml (just over ⅓ cup) freshly squeezed lime juice

2 tablespoons fresh chopped coriander leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon red chilli flakes 

½ teaspoon ground Cumin

1 teaspoon salt

Salad:

4 boneless chicken

½ yellow bell pepper, deseeded and sliced

½ red bell pepper, deseeded and sliced

½ an onion, sliced

5 cups lettuce leaves, washed and dried

2 avocados, sliced

Extra coriander leaves to garnish

Sour cream (optional) to serve

Method:

• Whisk marinade ingredients together to combine. Pour half the marinade into a shallow dish to marinade the chicken fillets for two hours if time allows. Refrigerate the reserved untouched marinade to use as a dressing.
• Heat about one teaspoon of oil in a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat and grill chicken fillets on each side until golden, crispy and cooked through. (Grill in batches to prevent excess water being released.) Once chicken is cooked, set aside and allow to rest.
• Wipe pan over with paper towel; drizzle with another teaspoon of oil and fry pepper and onion strips until cooked to your liking.
• Slice chicken into strips and prepare salad with leaves, avocado slices, peppers, onion strips and chicken. Drizzle with remaining marinade/dressing and serve with extra coriander leaves and sour cream.

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Mongolian Chicken Recipe

It’s been quite a while since I updated my blog. My son had a short year end break from school and also had to travel to India for my mother in law’s funeral. Now I am slowly getting back to my routine. If you haven’t got a reply for an e-mail or query please excuse me, will revert back soon…

P.F Chang’s restaurants are very famous all over the world and when it opened a branch in Kuwait few years ago, it was so crowded that people had to wait hours to get inside. Of course the food is good and one never regretted the long wait :D...  After tasting their food, I have tried to replicate some of the dishes like Spicy Chicken, Mongolian Beef etc at home.... This Mongolian Chicken is a healthier version of the beef and we all really loved the sweet and spicy chicken, which goes well with fried rice, noodles or even with plain rice! Do try and let me know how it turns out...

Mongolian Chicken Recipe

(Recipe adapted from here) 

Ingredients:

Boneless Chicken - 500 gms, cut into bite size pieces

Corn flour - ¼ cup

Vegetable oil - 2 tbsp

Ginger - ½ tsp, minced

Garlic - 1 tbsp, minced

Celery - 3 tbsp, chopped

Pepper powder - ½ tsp -1tsp

Soy sauce - 4 tbsp

Chicken stock - ½ cup

Brown sugar - 2 tbsp

Sesame oil - 1 tsp 

Spring onions -4 stems, chopped

Method:

• In a bowl, mix chicken pieces with corn flour until all the pieces are evenly coated.
• In a pan over high heat, add oil and when the oil is hot, add chicken. Cook until chicken is cooked through (about 4 minutes).
• Add garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add soy sauce, chicken stock, celery, pepper powder and brown sugar and cook for 3-4 minutes, until sauce thickens.
• Turn the heat off, add sesame oil and spring onions. Stir well and serve with fried rice, noodles or white rice.

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Chicken Pickle / Kozhi Achar

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Chilli Chicken

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Keema Stuffed Idiyappam / Meat Stuffed String Hoppers

Idiyappam / Noolappam / String Hopper is a typical Kerala breakfast usually served with different types of curries or even with sugar. It can also be prepared with meat or vegetable stuffing. Since I had some left over Keema Masala, I used it as stuffing. You only need to make the stuffing ahead of time and you can make stuffed Idiyappam for breakfast or dinner quite easily. It can be eaten as is or served with egg roast or kadala curry.

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Chicken Biriyani / Kozhi Biryani

Like I said in my Mutton Biriyani post there are plenty of ways to make biriyani and every household has their own unique recipe for the same. This recipe is from my mom which many moons ago was published in Vanitha magazine. Whenever I make chicken biriyani I stick to this recipe as it is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time and baked just before serving. So if you are planning to make biriyani on Christmas or New Year try this one and let me know :)

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Chicken with Bell Peppers

I have been making this for quite some time and it’s a Ree Drummond recipe. The original recipe is with Beef and here I used chicken instead, but I have tried beef also many times and both are equally good.... The main thing we love about this curry is that it goes with almost anything like rice, noodles or even with chapathi.....  It can be served as a side dish or as a main dish after mixing it with some noodles..... 

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Arabic Stuffed Zucchini in Tomato Sauce / Kousa Mihshi Recipe

Kousa Mihshi (Stuffed Zucchini) is an Arabic main dish and widely popular in this region. Minced beef / lamb is mixed with raw rice and spices and then stuffed inside the cored Kousa / koosa (marrow squash / Arabic zucchini) and cooked in tomato paste. I used minced chicken instead of red meat.... I got the basic recipe from my maid and then I searched on the net and made this dish to suit our taste buds.... While searching the net I remember reading on one site that you can make a vegetarian version of this dish by replacing the meat with chopped mushrooms, I never tried it though.... If you like zucchini you will enjoy this mildly spiced dish. Serve as a main dish along with some nice salad.... 

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Pepper Chicken Masala

There are many different Pepper Chicken recipes; some are dry and some with little gravy…. Even I have a couple of different recipes … This recipe I got from my aunt and ever since I have been making this at least once a month… This goes very well with Indian pulavs and flat breads… Addition of coconut milk makes this curry very creamy…

My friend Bharathy of Spicy Chilly is hosting her first giveaway event along with CupoNatin… If you would like to participate in this giveaway and win exciting prizes check out her site and send in a spicy dish;  I am sending this spicy Pepper Chicken Masala to her… I love shopping through Flipkart…

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Nadan Kozhi Mappas / Chicken Mappas / Kerala Chicken Curry in Creamy Coconut Sauce

Kozhi Mappas or Chicken Mappas is a typical Syrian Christian delicacy, which is very common in Kerala Christian homes....Chicken cooked in a spiced creamy coconut milk and served with Palappam or Vellayappam is a regular breakfast in Christian families especially on occasions like Christmas, Easter and is also one of the items in ceremonies like Othukalyanam (Engagements), Weddings, Baptism etc... Back home we used to add potato and carrot along with the chicken and these veggie pieces cooked along with chicken in the gravy tastes delicious! You can make different versions of Mappas by substituting chicken with egg, mutton, beef, fish, duck or with vegetables like Broccoli, cauliflower, ladies finger, bread fruit etc…. Chicken mappas can be served with Palappam, Vellayappam, Chapathi, Idiyappam, Puttu or even with plain boiled rice with spiced yogurt.... 

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Armenian Kabab Recipe

A great Appetizer / Snack for a cocktail party which can be made ahead of time and fried just before serving. I used minced chicken but you can use any minced meat. Try this with your choice of meat when you plan a party next time.....

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Masala Chicken Fry

This chicken curry recipe I got from Mother in law and is a good side dish for Palappam, Vellaappam or even with some boiled rice and moru curry. Instead of chicken you can make this curry with beef or mutton too…

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Kashmiri Chicken Recipe

Like I told in my Butter Chicken post Kashmiri Chicken curry is the another chicken dish I learned before my wedding from my mom… This is our favorite recipe for chicken curry andit goes well with all types Indian breads or pulav....

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Murgh Ke Sooley / Koyla Chicken Curry / Smoked Chicken Curry Recipe

There are some recipes from my early days of blogging that definitely need a revisit.... This is one such Chicken curry recipe.... This Smoked chicken is one of my best and easiest chicken preparations; I make it very often and it compliments very well with Indian flat breads or pulav’s. It’s also a hit at dinner parties.... But may be due to the pathetic photos I posted earlier, I felt it didn’t get the attention it deserved, so recently when I made it again I took step by step pictures.... when ghee is poured on the hot charcoal, the resultant smoke gives the chicken a nice flavor.... This is a healthy chicken preparation and you can also marinate and smoke the chicken ahead of time and bake it in the oven just before serving.....

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Chicken Tomato Curry Recipe / Chicken in Tomato Gravy

Here is a simple & easy to make chicken curry recipe to all who had requested me to post easy chicken recipes :)...This curry is sans a lot of spices as compared to the usual Indian curries and goes very well with all kinds of Indian flat breads. I got this recipe from my mother-in-law. This is my son’s current favorite curry for chapati and I hope you will also like this simple curry.

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Punjabi Chicken Masala Recipe

When I posted the Garlic Naan recipe I had this curry picture along with the Naan and got so many requests for the recipe. I had intended to post this soon after but somehow couldn’t. This is a Lakshmi Nair recipe from the Magic Oven show. I like her recipes and whatever I have tried has turned out good. I make this Punjabi chicken recipe regularly as it goes very well with any kind of Indian flat bread or mildly spiced rice or pulav.  As always we prefer boneless chicken with small pieces for our curries, but you can use chicken pieces with bone in and bigger pieces if you prefer. 

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Chicken Croquettes Recipe

These Chicken Croquettes can be made ahead of time and fried just prior to serving. Kids will love this as an evening snack / nalumani palaharam or in their tiffin box along with some ketchup or wrapped in chapathi or bread.... This recipe was shown on a Malayalam TV channel by Lakshmi Nair sometime ago.... I have been making this since then with some changes as I lost her original recipe... When I made this recently I thought of posting it here so it will be easier for me to find it instead of searching through a pile of books :).... Try this when you host a party next or for your kids....I am sure you will love it....  I made this with chicken but you can even use minced beef....

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