As much as I love to eat, I hate to cook. But then I have realised that sometimes you can’t survive without cooking. You are too lazy to go out and your maid ditches you. So I enjoy cooking some ‘quickie stuff’ as I call it, and my friends say I have mastered the art quite well. This recipe, my favourite, is for all those who want to enjoy some chat pata taste, that too in a real jiffy. It’s a delight.”

CITRUS CHICKEN STIR-FRY

Ingredients
250 gms frozen, fully cooked, breaded tenderloins chicken
1 tbsp cooking oil
450gm frozen stir-fry vegetables
½ cup stir-fry sauce
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 cups cooked rice (should be hot)
¼ cup sliced almonds

Method
1. Cut the tenderloin chicken into half, make crosswise cuts.
2. In a vessel heat oil, add the vegetables and stir-fry for about five minutes. Add stir fry sauce, orange juice and brown sugar. Continue cooking over medium heat for three minutes. Toss in the chicken with the vegetable mixture.
3. Serve the preparation over rice and top it with almonds.

Coconut milk has been very controversial. The concern? The saturated fat present in the milk. However, studies reveal that this fat is a good one that is easily metabolised to give your body instant energy. Contrary to popular belief, it does not clog up arteries. In fact, cultures around the world that depend on coconut as their main source of fat have been found to be free of heart disease.

Not all that bad: The principle fatty acid in coconut milk is lauric acid, which is the same fat found in mother’s milk and is known to promote normal brain development and contribute to healthy bones.One of the most commonly used ingredients in many cuisines is coconut milk.

What it is : Coconut milk is diluted cream pressed out from the thick, white flesh of a well-matured coconut. Coconut milk can be classified into three categories — thick, thin and coconut cream. Thick milk is the result of the first soaking and squeezing. Refrigerate this and it will separate, the top layer is the cream. 

Make it right: Making coconut milk is simple. Finely grated coconut is steeped in hot water until it is cool enough to handle. It is then squeezed until dry; the white fluid is strained to remove all the pulp.

Coconut milk has the quality of blending together and mellowing the flavours of the dishes in which it is used. Used as a liquid medium in meat and fish curries, it offsets the pungency of many of the sharper and stronger ingredients. Often, a third pressing is done to get a very light coconut milk, used for stewing meats.

The right use: To make the curry sauce, coconut cream is first reduced over fairly high heat to break down the cream and allow the oil to separate. The curry paste is then added and fried in the coconut oil until all the herb and spice flavours are released and blended before the rest of the coconut milk is added to make the sauce. Finished Thai curries will have a thin layer of oil floating on top of the sauce. It picks up the colour of the curries — bright red for red curry, glistening green for green curry — giving them a lovely appearance rather than a dull, whitish sameness.

The best way to laze away a summer afternoon is to slip into a relaxing mood and sip something refreshing. Whipped up using seasonal fruits these spring-summer mocktails will surely to do the trick.

First crush
60 ml crushed strawberries
5-6 cubes of ice
30 ml chocolate syrup
60 ml pineapple juice

Method
Blend all the above in a blender and top it off with lemonade. Garnish with fresh strawberries and serve in a Hawaiian glass.

Mango moods
Ingredients
200 ml canned mango juice
50 ml orange juice
20 ml coconut milk
4 ice cubes

Method
Shake all the above in a cocktail shaker. Serve in a brandy balloon glass garnished with mango slices.

Red sea
Ingredients
20 ml blue cruacao
200 ml pineapple juice
20 ml coconut milk
4 ice cubes

Method
Shake well in a cocktail shaker and and top it off with lemonade. Garnish with pineapple cone and serve in a casablanca glass.

Tropical punch
Ingredients
15 gm fresh pineapples chopped
15 gm fresh apples chopped
15 to 20 fresh mint leaves
Half a banana chopped
15 ml apple juice
15 ml pineapple juice

Method
Blend the above in a blender and serve in a spindler glass, garnished with an apple slice.

Calling Foodies Are you a good cook?
Send in your recipes to: Cooking Tips, Wine & Dine, Deccan Chronicle,  36 SD Road,  Sec’bad or e-mail them to Lifestyle@ deccanmail.com. Only original entries will be published.