Chicken & mushrooms in red wine

The purpose of the blog is to keep the recipes simple..(for my sweet non- kitchen friendly relative) so here's something I cooked last night, which is simple enough to make a country style dish...

2 onions sliced
6-7 garlic pods cleaned
200 gms boneless breast of chicken, diced
100 ml red wine
2 tsp each of mixed herbs, paprika, black pepper powder
2 tomatoes,chopped, or 3 tbsp tomato puree
Salt to taste
Olive oil for cooking

200 gms mushrooms, sliced
2 tsp butter
1 tsp crushed garlic
Salt to taste

Heat the butter in the pan, add mushrooms, a little salt & sautee till limp. Let the water evaporate. Remove from pan.

In a separate pan, heat the olive oil on medium flame. Add the garlic pods & onions. Cook till the onions are soft & translucent. Add the chicken. Still every few minutes. Once chicken cooked on the outside, add the salt. Cook till all the water from the pan evaporates.

Add the tomato puree. Cook for a few more minutes till the colour turns darker.

Add the herbs, paprika, pepper. Sir in the mushrooms, top it up with red wine.( if required, some water) Let it cook on slow fire till the gravy is reduced unto 25% and the chicken is soft with flavours. Serve with rice, or crispy bread..

Not just Shots..Some Tequila experiments

A few months ago I attended the Jose Cuervo Tequila workshop. I wasn't To enthusiastic about it. As tequila as a drink was limited to just shots and Margaritas. David Dennis, the brand ambassador of Jose Cuervo definitely proved me wrong... Through the workshop he went through the history of the company, the process of how tequila was made ..and of course the better way to have it.
More about the brand on the following link: http://www.cuervo.com/home/
 Getting back to the better way to have it- We were given 2 shot glasses of the Silver tequila. Chilled & Room temperature. All these years we've had it at room temperature.. well that proved why I wasn't much of a fan..Chilled Shot was the obvious winner. Refreshing, and also easily exciting to the palate.

I had an opportunity to challenge David to make a cocktail for me by choosing 2 ingredients. I had just made a watermelon salad with salsa a few days ago. so the ingredients I chose were obvious- Watermelon & Chilly. David thought it was the most difficult challenge he faced. Even then he created some magic of the Ingredients. He muddled the watermelon with some cucumber, added Lots of Tequila, gave it a good shake in a cocktail shaker, & poured it on a glass with chilly coated rim, with a garnish of watermelon stick soaked in tequila.. Truly refreshing..Every Sip had a hit of chilly followed by the sweetness of watermelon & the coolness of cucumber. Have made this cocktail many times later..will post pictures soon.
Also made 2 of the following cocktails recently:

Kiwi Creeper
60 ml Jose Cuervo Silver Especial
20 ml Kiwi crush
Juice of 1 bear lime
Soda water
Stir the Kiwi, Lime Juice with the tequila. Add ice in a tall glass pour the mix & top it with soda water.

Pink Lemonade
60 ml Jose Cuervo Silver Especial
20 ml Grenadine
10 ml Sugar Syrup
Juice of 1 bear lime
Soda water
Put ice in a Tall glass. Pour the juice, sugar syrup, grenadine & tequila. Stir & Top with Soda water.