Invite your friends over this Sunday for a long, elaborate luncheon.Chef Manindra J Singh helps you put out the perfect spread

Mushroom And Beancurd Soup

Serves: Four
Time required: 15 minutes

15 g button mushrooms, sliced
20 g bean curd (tofu), cubed
a few drops cooking oil
10 g garlic
5 g green chillies, finely chopped
2 cups vegetable stock (see box)
salt to taste
sugar to taste
20 g corn flour
5 g coriander leaves, finely chopped

Heat some oil in a wok and add the garlic and green chillies and sauté for two minutes. Add the vegetable stock, mushrooms and bean curd, and bring to a boil. Check seasoning and remove the scum. Thicken the broth with the corn flour.
Garnish with the chopped coriander. Serve hot.
You can also add broccoli and baby corn if you want more vegetables in the soup.

Hot Pepper Chicken

Serves: Four
Time required: 15 minutes plus marinating time

200 g boneless chicken, diced
5 g salt
a pinch of sugar
1 egg yolk
20 g corn flour
30 ml cooking oil
20 g garlic, chopped
10 g crushed black pepper
5 g red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp butter (optional)
few drops chilli oil
20 g spring onion, chopped
10 g coriander leaves
10 ml rice wine (optional)

In a bowl, mix together the salt, sugar, egg yolk and corn flour. Marinate the chicken pieces in this mixture for half an hour.
Heat some oil in a pan and deep-fry the chicken pieces. Set aside.
Heat some more oil in a wok and add the garlic, black pepper, chilli flakes and butter, if using. Sauté for two minutes and add the chicken, chilli oil, spring onions, coriander leaves and rice wine, if using, or splash a few drops of water. Toss well to ensure that it does not get burnt. Serve hot.

Sour Chicken And Sweet Vegetables

Serves: Four
Time required: 15 minutes

200 g boneless chicken, diced
1 egg yolk
salt and sugar as required
25 g corn flour
oil to fry
1 cup chicken stock (See box)
50 g tomato ketchup
10 ml lime cordial
10 ml Chinese wine vinegar or plain vinegar
20 g tomatoes, diced
20 g carrots, diced
20 g cucumber, diced
20 g pineapple slices, diced
sugar to taste

Mix together the salt, sugar, egg yolk and corn flour and marinate the chicken pieces in it for 20 minutes. Heat some oil in a pan and deep-fry the marinated pieces. Set aside.
Heat the chicken stock in a wok, add the tomato ketchup, lime cordial, Chinese wine vinegar, a little sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring it to a boil, remove the scum and add the fried chicken pieces, tomatoes, carrots, cucumber and pineapple.You can thicken the broth with a little corn flour, if required.

Toss well and serve hot.

What is Chicken Stock?
Heat a litre of water in a thick bottomed pan, and add half kg chicken bones, one carrot cut into rough dices, one chopped onion, one celery, chopped, one spring onion, chopped, a small piece of ginger, three to four cloves of garlic, one bay leaf and a few peppercorns. Allow to boil till the water quantity reduces to half. Cool and strain through a muslin cloth or a very fine sieve. Check the seasoning and the stock is ready for use.


Mustard Chicken

Serves: Four
Time required: 15 minutes plus soaking and marinating time

200 g chicken breast, cut into small pieces
25 g mustard seeds
Chinese wine vinegar or plain vinegar as required
salt and sugar as required
20 g corn flour
oil for frying
10 g garlic
10 g fresh red chillies
20 g red and yellow peppers, diced
10 ml Dijon mustard oil
a few drops chilli oil
5 ml Worcestershire sauce
a pinch of white pepper

In a bowl, soak the mustard seeds in the wine vinegar for eight to 10 hours. Grind to make a paste and set aside.
Marinate the chicken pieces in the mustard paste, mixed with the salt, sugar, corn flour and a little water, for half an hour.
Heat some oil in a pan and deep-fry the marinated pieces. Remove and set aside.
Heat some oil in a separate pan, preferably a wok, add the garlic, fresh red chillies, red and yellow pepper, some more salt and sugar, chicken pieces, Dijon mustard, chilli oil and Worcestershire sauce. Sauté for a few seconds and add the white pepper.Toss well. Serve hot.

Pot Rice Fish

Serves: Four
Time required: 25 minutes plus marinating times

200 g boiled Basmati rice
150 g 'Bekti' fish slices (boneless)
salt to taste
sugar to taste
20 g corn flour plus a little extra
30 ml cooking oil
10 g star anise
30 g broccoli, chopped
20 g carrots, chopped
30 g red and yellow peppers, chopped
15 g jelly mushrooms
15 g button mushrooms
25 g Chinese cabbage, chopped
15 g baby corn, chopped
1/4 tsp oyster sauce
5 g five spice powder (A pungent blend of equal parts of ground star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and Sichuan peppercorns. Pre-made five-spice powder is available in most super markets)
10 ml soya sauce
1/2 tsp butter (optional)
In a bowl, mix together the salt, sugar and corn flour. Marinate the fish slices in this mixture for 20 minutes. Heat some of the oil in a pan and deep-fry the marinated fish, drain and set aside.
Heat some of the oil in a wok and over medium heat, sauté a little star anise and add the broccoli, carrot, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, baby corn, vegetable stock or water, oyster sauce, some of the five-spice powder, salt and sugar as required, and bring to a boil.Remove the scum and thicken the broth with the extra corn flour dissolved in a little water. As it thickens, add the deep-fried fish.
Heat the butter, if using, in another wok,add the star anise, and boiled rice and stir fry with some salt, soya sauce and the rest of the five-spice powder. Toss well, and when ready, transfer to an earthen pot. Place the pot in a cooker and steam the rice for five minutes.
Remove the pot from the steamer and add the fish and vegetables over the rice.

Serve hot.

Lychee With Cream

Serves: Four
Time required: 10 minutes

6-8 fresh lychees
cream (fresh or rich sweetened) as required

Remove the skin from the lychees and chill them. Remove and pour the sweetened cream over. Serve chilled.

Manindra J Singh, Executive Chef, The Club, Mumbai, has previously worked in various capacities with The Taj Group of Hotels, The Oberoi Group as well as the Sarovar Park Plaza Hotels & Resorts. He is known for his innovative Indo fusion and authentic Chinese food. He has successfully conducted live cookery shows in Spain, dabbled in food styling and also been a visiting faculty with catering schools in Hyderabad.