Yan can cook

Have been meaning to start writing a food blog. I am told by the more experienced ones who have now been blogging for a while that getting started is the most difficult bit. My sister felt that my food blog would probably sound like the cookery show 'Yan can cook'. Remember the show in the early 90's where this Chinese chap would dish up some really simple stuff and the sign off line would be something along the lines of " If Yan can cook so can you". I too started off rather disastrously in the kitchen, managing to burn a fried egg, surviving on 'Cup-O- Noodles' for the first two weeks of married life etc. etc. My husband has enough stories to fill up our cocktail evenings.
However given my passion for food I was not willing to give up. Over the years I pored over recipe books, learnt from friends/relatives/Cookery show hosts, sometimes even having long chats on food with perfect strangers on trains/flights/restaurants and learnt first to cook then to experiment and finally innovate. A willing audience in the form of my husband( who has had to 'stomach' quite a bit) and now my older son helped. Would like to share some of my favorite recipes with other foodies. Also hoping that someday maybe my children will read about them, want to try out some of them.

Since I started my cooking with Noodles( never mind if it was the instant variety and all you had to do is pour hot water- those days I thought even that required skill- getting the quantity of water right, ensuring you kept it covered for the right time, mixed with a certain defteness so that the masala did not remain at the bottom but coated the noodles evenly) I thought I would dedicate the first post to something Chinesey.

Chinese Konji( recipe passed on to me by husband's aunt) is easy to cook, easy to digest and nutritious. Tastes delicious too.

Ingredients
Basmati Rice : 1 Cup
Chicken stock cube: 1 to 2
Finely chopped mixed vegetables ( I like beans, carrots, green peas and mushrooms, feel free to add what you like best): 1/2 cups
Shredded chicken: 1/2 cup
Can also add shrimps ( tried it once and went well with the dish).
Soya Sauce: 1/2 tsp per serving
Eggs: 1
Salt to taste

Method

• Pressure cook the basmati rice with 5/ 6 cups of water and 1 stock cube. 6/7 whistles, should be a gooey gruel like consistency
• Open the pressure cooker( add water if the consistency seems too thick), add the shredded chicken, prawns and vegetables and allow them to cook for a couple of minutes( should not take more than 2/3 minutes). Add salt to taste( remember to keep the salt low as soya sauce which is added finally is high on salt)
• Add a well beaten egg, stirring continuously
• Transfer into individual bowls, add a dash of Soya sauce
• Serve hot

Best had on cold winter day or a rainy day. For my family this is comfort food. A one dish meal that is both wholesome as well as nutritious. Like an ad said " Fast to cook and good to eat".

For those of you on a diet this is a no oil dish and the quantity of rice being consumed per person is less than quarter cup so low carbs too.

This also goes well with a spicy chicken dish or stir fried vegetables (refer blog)