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Malai Masala Sauce

This is a really simple sauce that’s based on the classic sauce Soubise, which is really an onion sauce. I’m aware of two classic recipes. Both start with sweating onions in butter. One variant then blends this onions-butter mixture in Bechamel sauce, and the other, in cream. I prefer the cream variant.

The picture was Indu’s lunch from a few days ago. I used the Malai Masala sauce with some leftover cooked chicken breast.

This malai masala sauce ended up being used in a few dishes before it was over, demonstrating its versatility. This is a high fat, high calorie recipe.

Ingredients:

  • Cream, 200 ml tetrapak
  • Onions, 2 medium, finely chopped
  • Garlic, 5 – 7 cloves, finely chopped
  • Meat Masala, 1 tbsp (I used Kitchen Fables)
  • Butter, 2 tbsp
  • Oil, 2 tbsp
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  1. Heat oil to medium, add meat masala, reduce heat to a simmer, gently fry, set aside.
  2. Heat butter to medium, add onions and garlic, mix well, reduce heat to a simmer, sweat for about 10 minutes, add meat masala mixture from step 1, gently cook for another 10 minutes, set aside and let cool.
  3. Blend mixture from step 3 with cream.
  4. This will likely set into a thick-ish paste.
  5. Dilute with hot water in a pan and add cooked meats or quick cooking vegetables of your choice to use.

Notes:

  • If you don’t want to store it, add water to the cream while/before blending and use it all up. I liked having it in the fridge and being able to quickly mix it with water, salt and cooked chicken or mushrooms etc.
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Chicken and Vegetables in Alfredo Sauce

Sometimes, we feel the need to eat rich foods without compromising on flavour in the name of health. I do that too every so often, and dishes like this are the end result – loads of calories packing a bunch of flavours and textures.

You can choose any pasta of your choice to go with this dish. We chose penne and next time, may go with hand-made noodles, which always taste so very good!

chicken and vegetables in alfredo sauce on a bed of penne.

Ingredients:

  • Broccoli, 1 medium sized piece, trimmed and finely chopped
  • Bell pepper, red, 1 medium sized piece, trimmed and finely chopped
  • Mushrooms, button, 1 packet, trimmed and finely chopped
  • Chicken breast, optional, 250gm, finely chopped
  • Garlic, fresh, peeled and finely chopped
  • Garlic, powder, 1 tbsp
  • Italian spice, per taste
  • Chili flakes, per taste
  • Salt, per taste
  • Cream, 200 gm pack
  • Butter, 100 gm pack
  • Cheese of your choice, 100gm, grated

Method:

  1. Melt butter in pan
  2. Saute the garlic first, then the mushrooms and then the chicken
  3. When the chicken is no longer pink anymore, add the bell pepper and broccoli and mix a bit.
  4. Add the cream, mix in all the spices (garlic powder, Italian spice, salt, chili flakes), lower the flame to a simmer.
  5. Cook for 2 – 3 minutes to soften the bell peppers a little.
  6. Stir in the cheese.
  7. Serve hot on a bed of rice or pasta.

Notes:

  • We used Domino’s spice sachets. If you don’t have any of the two, basil+oregano works well. Fresh basil, even better.
  • You can also add onions if you like to the initial mixture
  • You can also add other vegetables like peas, finely chopped cauliflower, blanched spinach among others to increase the nutritional density.