Stroganoff is one of those quintessential Russian dishes like Borscht (the beetroot soup) that has gone on to adapt itself to various local cuisines and has been witness to the addition of several unusual ingredients. Essentially, stroganoff is beef slices that are cooked in a sauce that is flavoured with sour cream but now there are versions that are made with chicken, seafood and even a vegetarian one. This dish is often served with a helping of some steamed rice or some mashed potatoes and veggies on the side. Here are two unique adaptations of the traditional Stroganoff.

Chicken and corn stroganoff
Ingredients:
250 gm chicken breasts, cut into cubes
1/2 cup white wine
2 tbsp butter
1 tsp oil
2 tbsp refined flour
2 tbsp of mushroom soup powder mixed with 1 cup of warm water or
1 cup of vegetable/
chicken stock
½ cup of sweet corn kernels
¾ cup of sour cream
¼ tsp of black
pepper powder
Salt to taste

Method:
Use a fork and prick the chicken all over, marinate with the wine and salt. Cover and keep in the fridge for an hour.
Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium heat and pour in the oil, this prevents the butter from burning, add the chicken pieces to this and cook until they begin to change colour. Lower the flame a little and add the flour, mix till it has evenly coated the cubes of chicken. Follow this by pouring in the mushroom soup/stock and allow it to simmer until done. Adjust the seasoning and stir in the sour cream and corn, turn off the heat. Serve hot.

Fusilli with creamy wild mushroom stroganoff
Ingredients
300 gms of fusilli, cooked as per instructions on the packet
150 gms of button
mushrooms, sliced
150 gms of shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 mins and then sliced
150 gms of flat, white
mushrooms, sliced
1 white onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of vegetable stock
1 cup of sour cream
½ cup of milk
2 tsp of English mustard
3 tbsp of dry white wine
1 tsp of paprika
2 tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of olive oil
Salt to taste
To garnish: Chopped parsley

Method
Heat butter and oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions until they begin to turn light golden brown. Now add the garlic to this and stir continuously until it loses the raw aroma. Add the mushrooms to this and sauté till it releases out all the water.
Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Lower the flame and add the stock, allow it to simmer for a while. Now add the mustard, paprika and milk. Check the seasoning and allow the sauce to simmer until it has reduced a bit. Sprinkle the chopped parsley to garnish. Divide the pasta into equal portions and spoon the sauce over this. Serve hot.

The author is an expert on cuisines from Russia, Uzbekistan and Central Asia