Chicken Lasagna

When I bought the lasagna sheets from the store, Shrikant had no inkling what I was going to do with them, or even what they are for. He thought it is just another one of my buying spree where I buy all these exotic ingredients for cooking. So yesterday I made Lasagna finally and served it to him. And wonders of wonders! He liked it! He doesn't have too much of a leaning for pasta, but here he was telling me, "I don't know why we have to go out and eat, when you can practically cook everything better here!"

Now that was a complement! But sorry boss, even the chef needs time-out sometimes :-)

Here's the recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 cup chicken pieces
• 4 lasagna sheets
• 1 cup mozarella cheese (or more if you like)

For the tomato sauce

• 4 large tomatoes
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4-5 pods of garlic
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 bay leaf (tej patta)
• 1 small sprig of tarragon
• 2 basil leaves 
• 3 tbsp tomato ketchup
• dry red chilli powder as per taste
• salt and sugar as per taste

For the white sauce

• 3 tbsp plain flour (maida)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (you can buy maggi magic cubes from the market, and make a stock with one cube in half cup water)
• salt and pepper to tast

Rub some garlic paste and lime juice onto the chicken pieces and keep them aside for marination.

Finely chop the tomatoes, onions and garlic. Heat olive oil in a wok, and place a bay leaf in it. Now put the garlic and onion and saute till they are evenly cooked. Now add the tomatoes, basil and tarragon and saute for about seven minutes till the tomatoes are tender. Finally add the ketchup, dry red chilli powder as per your taste, salt and sugar as per your taste. Taste it once to see that all the flavors are evenly balanced. Nothing should overpower the other.

Keep it aside and make the white sauce. Mix a little cold water in the plain flour till you get a smooth paste. Heat the stock and bring it to a boil. Now add the flour paste in it and whisk quickly or you will get lumps. Now add the milk and seasonings and bring it to a boil once. (In case lumps do form, do not panic, cool the sauce and put it in a blender. Whisk it once or twice in the blender and you have a smooth-as-a-baby's-bottom white sauce.) Keep it aside.

Cook the lasagna sheets as per the manufacturer's instructions.

Preheat the oven for ten minutes. In a baking tray, first layer the tomato sauce. Place the pieces of chicken on it. Now put t lasagna sheets on the chicken layer. The next layer will be the white sauce and some of the mozarella cheese. Line two more pasta sheets on top of the second layer and put the remaining tomato sauce on top. Coat the top evenly with mozarella cheese and then push the baking tray in the oven for twenty five minutes. Remove from the oven, cut into wedges and serve hot!

The vegetarians can replace the chicken with pieces of cottage cheese (paneer) or tofu. Alternatively they can also use veggies of their choice.

Those who do not have lasagna sheets, can also use any other variety of pasta to layer the lasagna.



I have no picture. I thought my hubby must have clicked some pictures, but he didn't. And now the lasagna is all gone. Sorry folks.

Anyway...

Happy Cooking!