Hungry and excited!

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2011-08-21T17:22:00.003+05:30

Hungry and Excited is now here: http://hungryandexcited.wordpress.com/
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Chicken Vindaloo (Balsamic vinegar style)

2011-08-21T14:56:00.004+05:30

Confessions of a quickly turning Goan

It's really a sign of turning Goan when you choose to make your own Vindaloo, and you dare to improvise and adopt new flavours in your own kitchen, than just go out and get some Vindaloo!

This is another original recipe concocted by Anand, after much trial and error and permutations and combinations. But the winning factor, I think, is the use of Balsamic vinegar, as opposed to regular vinegar.

Believe him, like I did, and try this one out.

What you need:
900 gms diced chicken

For the spice mixture
1.5 teaspoon black peppercorns
1.5 teaspoon mustard seeds (black)
1.5 teaspoon cumin
2 medium sized stick of cinnamon
6 cardamom pods
10 cloves
6 red chillies (vary as per capacity for spice)
1 petal star anise
1 bay leaf

For the marinade
3/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons freshly crushed ginger + garlic
1/2 cup Balsamic vinegar
5 tablespoons tomato puree

For the curry
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 large onions diced
2-3 medium tomatoes diced

What you need to do:
Wash, chop and get your chicken ready to marinade in a non-metallic bowl.

To prepare the spice mixture, begin by roasting all the whole dry spices on a low flame for about 5-6 minutes, till the aroma wafts through your kitchen.

Set aside to cool, and then grind to a fine powder.

Add the turmeric and salt to the chicken. Quickly crush up some fresh ginger and garlic (about 3 teaspoonfuls) and add it in too.

Next, in goes the Balsamic vinegar, followed by the puree.

Then, add in the spices and mix well with your fingers, so the chicken is evenly coated and sinks into the marinade.

Cover up in foil, and let this sit for up to 8 hours. Marinading it overnight usually results in wonderful deeply flavourful Vindaloo. But if you're badly planned like me anything from 4-8 hours should do.

In a pressure cooker add some oil and sauté onions till translucent. Add the coriander powder and stir till lightly cooked.

Next, throw in the diced tomatoes and cook till slightly soft.

Then, pour in the chicken with the marinade. Add water at this stage if necessary. cook for a short while and then shut with the pressure weight on.

Pressure cook for about 10 minutes on high and 10-15 minutes on sim. Once open, add salt if necessary.

Done!

This Vindaloo turned out darker than is usually is, presumably because I used Balsamic vinegar. However, it didnt disappoint. So much so that I'm considering pre-preparing the spice mix in bigger quantities, to enable making it more often.

It is best enjoyed, as we had it, with pao on the side. And if you can get your hands on Goan Poi, there's really nothing like it :P

And comments are closed. Head over here to leave a comment!

Another simple salad

2011-08-13T18:36:00.001+05:30

Avocado almond joy

I loved avocados since the very first time I tried them at a family lunch when I was really little. Considering they're not a very local fruit (yes, most people believe its actually a fruit), I hadn't seen or tasted one until said family lunch at fancy aunt and uncles house, where one generally got to taste exotic and strange looking things. And that's what avocados have always been to me: exotic and strange. Because to look at they're pretty hardy and you expect a taut consistency, but what you get is a creamy, almost buttery soft pulp, which is altogether surprising and comforting when tasted.

I dont find them very often here in Goa. I dont have the slightest green thumb, so I can't even do what Anand does either. So when I chanced upon these beauties this morning at the supermarket, I grabbed not one, not two but THREE nice ripe ones, and rushed home to make my salad as an accompaniment to the husbands culinary expedition.

I love salads, especially fresh ones where I throw in whatever I have handy and fancy at that point. I don't follow any rules, so you shouldn't either. Try all kinds of vegetables and dressings and you're sure to find your perfect mix!

What I used:
For the salad
1 big tomato
1 medium cucumber
2 small beetroots
2 medium carrots
1 ripe avocado
A handful of fresh corn
A handful of almonds, chopped coarsely

For the dressing
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
A generous drizzle of olive oil
A splash of balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon mustard
Salt
Pepper
Dry basil

Patrani Macchi

2011-08-13T18:04:00.001+05:30

Or what happens when the husband takes over my kitchen

VC has never made me anything more than some eggs, toast and my morning tea. And today I discovered that its not because he can't or he doesn't want to. It's mostly because I have never let him have a go, unperturbed, uninterrupted, unsupervised. So today, after much coaxing, I agreed. I tried to calm down and have an open mind because I have never known VC to cook, or even experiment. But I stand corrected. The man can cook. And how!

Here's how. From calling his mother up for her recipe, to bringing me some fresh water fish, to cleaning it, following the recipe step by step and ensuring that we had a wholesome lunch, VC did it all.

So this post is dedicated tot he surprise visitor who took over my kitchen for the day, cooked up a storm and left me very, very satisfied.

Here's what he used:
450 gms basa fish, deboned (We chose this fresh water fish because given that its the monsoon river fish is way fresher than sea fish, but technically any light, white fish would work)
2 handfuls of fresh coriander
1/2 coconut grated
4-5 cloves of garlic
1 big thumb of ginger
2 green chillies
Juice of half a lime
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon chaat masala (this was my little contribution/experiment, and it added quite a distinct tanginess to the dish)
2 large banana leaves

Here's what he did:
First VC ground together the coriander, coconut, ginger, garlic, chillies and salt till it was nice and pasty. Next, add in the lime juice, garam masala and chaat masala and grind again till well mixed.

Start off without adding any water, because you don't want a runny mix. What you can do is have a go without water, and then add in very little if need be so you end up with is a finely ground mixture slightly thicker in consistency than chutney.

Next, he heated some oil in a pan and sauteed the chutney for about five minutes. This is done to cook the masala a bit and get rid of any unwanted moisture.

Then set he the masala aside to cool till it was okay to handle it with his fingers when he got down to wrapping the fish in banana leaves.

Next VC mopped the banana leaf dry so there was no moisture getting in the way.

Once he had chopped the leaf into squares big enough to wrap the pieces of fish, he placed a piece of fish towards the top.

Then, he covered both sides with masala, dabbing it with his fingers so it was tightly packed.

Next, I helped him wrap the fish in the banana leaf and secured the pieces with thread.

In a pressure cooker with more water than you would usually use, place a deep dish/vessel. Cover the vessel with another shallow one. Place the wrapped pieces of fish in it and steam in the cooker without a whistle.

15 minutes later, when we opened up the cooker, the entire kitchen was filled with the aroma of freshly steamed coriander and spices, and VC peeped over the dish with a look that can only be compared to a toddler with a new toy.

Carefully pulling them out, he heated some oil in a pan and lightly pan fried the fish, which was still intact, wrapped in the banana leaf.

When slightly browned on either side, it was time to open it up!

Done!

For all those of you who love fish and thought this was a complicated, intimidating dish to try at home, you have to try this out. If VC can make it, so can you!

Surprise salad

2011-08-07T17:49:00.001+05:30

Doing my mother proud

Because all meals need some veggie content.
Because my mother told me so.
Because I believe her.
Because she is just so right.
And because I love colorful salad.

Here's what I used:
For the salad
1 big tomato
1 medium sized capsicum
1 medium cucumber
2 medium carrots
A handful of olives
A handful of fresh corn

For the dressing
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Lots of olive oil
1 tsp mustard
A splash of Balsamic vinegar
A pinch of salt
Lots of freshly ground pepper
Assorted herbs, as your heart fancies
A dash of sugar
Juice of half a lime

Channa masala

2011-08-07T16:41:00.002+05:30

Or what to do when you soak too much channa and dont know what to do with it

In my haste to make my hummus experiment a success, I ended up with a little too much channa that had soaked overnight and tripled in quantity. Making jummus of all of it would have given me enough to feed my neighbourhood. So I decided to make channa masala.

The way I usually make it is exactly like I make home-style rajma, where I grind and cook my masala, add in the rajma and pressure cook the whole thing.

But the channa was pre-soeaked and pre-cooked just the way you need it for the hummus. So what I did was this:
1) Used the exact same ingredients for my masala, as in the rajma recipe
2) Roasted it nicely, till it was almost completely cooked and blended in with the onions and tomatoes
3) Threw in the cooked channa and some water (lesser than I would have added if i were pressure cooking it)
4) Added a tablespoon full of kasuri methi, just to see how it turns out
5) Let it simmer away for 15-20 minutes
6) Topped it up with freshly chopped coriander and a squeeze of lime

Channa overload, one might say. But when I can make tomorrow's lunch, today, I can't complain!

Hummus

2011-08-07T16:24:00.005+05:30

Real hummus, makeshift non-pita bread

Its time for a comeback. And a comeback of this sort, battling laziness and the lack of time, doesn't just happen. It needs inspiration. And I found inspiration here. And here. And also in a recipe Anand shared with me yesterday, straight from his Israeli friend's home.

So if you're looking for inspiration to get back into the kitchen, this could very well be it. Easy to do, gorgeous to look at, simply yummilicious to taste, and you can do it all be done in no time at all!

Here's what you need:
1 cup kabuli channa (white) soaked overnight
1.5 tablespoons Tahini (easily available in stores, thought Praerna tells me you can do without it too!)
Olive oil
Lime
Salt
Pepper
Jeera powder
Chilli powder
Chopped coriander, to garnish

Here's what you need to do:
Pressure cook the channa for about 20 minutes, in sufficient water and a dash of salt. When it cools, put the channa with just a little bit of the boiling water in a blender.

Add in one and a half tablespoons of Tahini.

Next, slice a nice ripe lime in half and add in the juice of one half. Save the other half for later.

Then, in goes the olive oil, salt, pepper and the jeera powder.

And we're done.

Pour yourself a nice tall mug of beer right about now. Here's where you start chilling, because lunch is going to be ready in no time at all.

Pulse till nicely pasty, and pour into a serving dish/bowl.

Drizzle with the juice of the other half of the lime and some more olive oil. Sprinkle with chilli powder and freshly chopped coriander. And we're done!

Erm, almost done, save the makeshift non-pita bread. Which in our case was actually store-bought pizza base, which i cut into wedges, slathered with butter and toasted on the tawa till golden brown.

Together, even the makeshift pita bread totally hit the spot.

But I'm determined to make my own pita bread the next time. And Anand has promised to show me how, illustrations and all.

To go with it, I whipped up a quick salad, because one must have some veggie quotient too!

Mango parfait

2011-06-04T19:17:00.002+05:30

Using up the last mangoes of the season, to fix a wretched day

Lets just say today needed fixing. When you spend a Saturday glued to your computer, in an office chair, it needs fixing. So I decided Id welcome the rains, by saying goodbye to the summer, by finishing up the last of the mangoes. Iv discovered theese glorious Goan mangoes and enjoyed them thoroughly this summer. So there!

I basically followed the Strawberry Parfait recipe, just replacing strawberries with chopped fresh mangoes, that were so sweet they didnt need added sugar! Anand tried this a few days ago with fresh peaches thrown in, and he said it was divine (for those of you who like to pair interesting flavours). However, today I had no time to go look for peaches. I needed comforting, and I needed it quickly.

So Im not going to elaborate the recipe all over again. Just leaving you with some pictures. Try this one, quick! Before the mangoes say goodbye for the year!

Homemade chocolate fudge

2011-04-24T17:18:00.000+05:30

When VC has an intense chocolate craving that must be quickly satiated

Its been a slow and lazy Sunday, with me struggling to finish some pending office work before I head back to work tomorrow. Given that I woke up 3 hours later than usual, decided to paint another picture (rather than get straight to work), blog about the weekend and the strawberry parfait and the cheese omelette (rather than get straight to work), do a batch of laundry (rather than get straight to work). With great difficulty, I managed to get my butt down to it and had finished 1 out of 3 things when VC declared that he had this intense chocolate craving. I was looking for a distraction and a reason to stop working and do something more interesting.

I also had some digestive biscuits and cream leftover from yesterdays parfait experiment, which I knew I could put together with the cooking chocolate thats been lying neglected in the fridge.

The thought of instant chocolate also excited VC enough to volunteer to shoot the process (something he hasnt done in forever) so here is the recipe with pictures a la VC. I dont know about you, but I can tell the difference :)

What we used:
200 gms cooking chocolate
50 ml fresh cream
200 gms digestive biscuits, crushed
A dash of brandy

What we did:
Chop up the chocolate nice and fine.

Put it in a dish, which you can immerse in a bowl of boiling water to double boil, so that the chocolate melts evenly.

While this is slowly melting and coming together, powder the digestive biscuits. Use your hands because you dont want a fine powder, a little rough unevenness is good!

Set the biscuits aside and turn to the chocolate, which should have melted by now. Keep the flame going, stirring continuously until the chocolate is molten and smooth.

Add a dash of brandy, pour in the cream and mix well.

Next, combine the powdered biscuits with the molten chocolate and stir well. This should give you a thick chocolate-biscuit paste.

Pour the mixture into a wide plate, spread around evenly and set in the fridge to cool.

When it has set, chop into pieces and enjoy!

Done!

Cheese omelette

2011-04-24T12:23:00.000+05:30

When VC takes over the kitchen

There are days when I just dont feel like cooking. Days when making the effort to chop, saute, blend, mix, season, taste is uninspiring. And I would much rather sit back and read. Or paint. Or browse the internet. Or vegetate in front of the TV.

Yesterday was one such day, and while I continued to paint wishing I had my secret angel to whip up meals in a jiffy, so I didnt have to stop painting, the husband was in the kitchen whipping up lunch for me.

When the husband is in the kitchen cooking, theres ONE thing he can make: EGGS! He can makes eggs in various forms, but his favourite is the good ol omelette. You can't really go wrong with it. Over the months, he's mastered the omelette, with a few variations too!

Yesterday he made this giant, wonderfully fluffy, perfectly seasoned, cheesy omelette that I could swear is amongst the best I have ever eaten. It was so well-whipped up that while cooking, it rose like a cushion-y futon worth of diving into! It was taller than my toast!

Here's what he used:
Eggs
Milk
Salt and pepper
Oregano and thyme (dried)
Grated cheddar cheese

Here's what he did:
Crack open and beat eggs in a bowl. Add in the milk and whip really well. The more you whip and beat, the fluffier the omelette gets, so keep going :)

Add in salt, pepper and any other seasoning you like. Beat some more.

Grate in the cheddar cheese and mix well. Whip some more.

In a pan, drop a knob of butter, melt and spread all around. Pour the beaten mixture, spread it around and cook covered. This really does the trick, the omelette swells up like a little balloon and gets so amazingly fluffy.

When the top is cooked stiff, transfer into a plate and enjoy with hot toast.
Done!

Strawberry yoghurt parfait

2011-04-24T11:41:00.002+05:30

Anushruti's Strawberry Parfait, except I didnt make it in "tall glasses" parfait style

The weekend began well with a bright watercolor painting session at the beach, which set the mood perfectly for the rest of the weekend. I love it when something spectacularly joyful happens right at the start of the weekend, because it then feels like no matter what the rest of the weekend is like, I'll still feel happy, satisfied and content. It was such pure joy to be painting again :)

On the way home, still on my watercolor high we stopped by at the market, and I saw some bright and juicy looking strawberries that just looked like they were asking to be bought. Nothing like fresh fruit in dessert. I couldnt have made the weekend better than by using Anushruti's recipe for Strawberry Parfait.

Now parfait is technically made in individual servings in tall glasses. But when I finally got down to making it in the evening, after a day of painting and cleaning up the house and watching Rio in between, we got an impromptu call from Ravi, inviting us to yet another BBQ experiment at his place. Going by the success of Ravi's last BBQ party, it was hard to turn the invitation down!

Last time, I planned a day ahead and took some tandoori chicken along. So considering I didnt have any meat to contribute this time around, I decided to take dessert instead. And thats how the individual servings were swapped for one big bowl. Also, given that I was suddenly now racing against time, I skipped a few ingredients, which I dont think altered the recipe too much (apologies, Anu!) but I intend to try this out again and get it down, pat!

For those who want the "original" recipe, check out Anushruti's most divine blog. For those who want to see what I did, read one..

What I used:
2 small cartons of strawberries
100 ml fresh cream
1 big carton Nestle yoghurt, hung for about an hour
1 + 2 tablespoons of sugar
150-200 gms digestive biscuits crumbled/powdered
2 tablespoons butter

What I did:
First, chop us all the strawberries into small bits. Add in 1 tablespoon sugar, mix well and allow to rest.

Powder the digestive biscuits. While Anushruti does this by putting the whole lot in a ziploc bag and pounding them, in the absence of ziploc bags, I simply put them in a big bowl and crushed them by hand. Add in 2 tablespoons of butter and mix well.

In a large mixing bowl, add the hung curd, 2 tablespoons of sugar and 100 ml fresh cream and whip well.

Thats pretty much all the preparation this dessert requires! Thats another reason it was such a joy. It was done before I knew it. Now to assemble it.

Spoon some cream+yoghurt into a bowl and spread evenly. Next add on a layer of biscuits. Follow this up by a layer of sugared strawberries. And repeat, until you reach the top of the bowl.

End with a layer of biscuits. I also added some chopped walnuts right on top, just for that extra crunch.

Chill until you're ready to dig in.
Done!

Meaty pasta

2011-04-17T08:08:00.002+05:30

Old pasta with a new perspective

This pasta is a combination of a much tried and tested creamy tomato pasta that I make often, along with some tricks from Sandhya's winning meaty pasta. It seemed like a logical and sinful add on for my basic pasta recipe, so I decided to be brave and give it a go. And it turned out brilliantly.

I dont have an oven, which is what prompted me to combine an old recipe with Sandhya's, which involves one round of baking. But for those of you who have an oven, I would advise you to go ahead and give Sandhya's recipe a go. It sounds so yummy!

What I used:
2 medium tomatoes
2 medium onions
5-6 pods of garlic
400 gms minced meat, I used chicken kheema
1 packet of tomato puree
Olive oil
A knob of butter
A dash of wine
Seasoning: salt, lots of pepper, lots of basil (dry or fresh), some thyme, some oregano, some sugar
Cream
Grated cheese
Pasta

How I made it:
You could look over my basic creamy tomato pasta recipe before you begin this, if you like. Because I havent covered each step with a picture this time around. I decided to be brave and go with the flow this time.

Begin by getting all your chopping done :)

Melt some butter and add some olive oil in a deep pan. Throw in the chopped garlic and onion and saute well. Very few smells transport me to another world like the smell of freshly chopped onion and garlic sauteed in olive oil and butter. To call it heavenly would not be an understatement methinks.

Next add in the minced meat and stir around. If youre using chicken, it tends to cook pretty fast, so keep stirring to keep it from sticking.

Add in the tomatoes next, followed by a whole packet of tomato puree.

Next in, a dash of wine. Sandhya uses white wine in hers, but I had some red, and Iv seen Smitten Kitchen recommend it many times in her tomato-based pasta. So I decided to be brave.

The next thing to do is be brave, cover the sauce and let it simmer. The longer the better. I let my sauce be for a good long 45 minutes, opening it occasionally only just to get a whiff and stir it around. Let it bubble away and meld in its awesomeness.

45 minutes later, I opened up the lid and faced a serious tomato-attack. But I decided to be brave and forge ahead, by adding in some herbs. And because my super market didnt have any fancy herbs, I settled for this shady "Tushraj Oregano". This experiment was really all about being brave and going with the flow.

Next up, some cream. As much as your bravery allows you to dunk in. I put in about quarter carton, around 50 ml. And then grate in some yummy meltable cheese. As much as your bravery allows you to. And I dont have pictures to show you how brave I was because my hands were too messy amidst all the cream pouring and cheese grating.

But once it was plated up, I was too hungry to stop and take pictures. I just had to have a go.

The husband and I both devoured our dinner in no time. The quantities were just right, and the cream and cheese makes it filling enough not to even want seconds. For some veggie factor, I put together a pretty decent salad with tomatoes, bell peppers and fresh corn, with a dressing of Balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and a tiny bit of herbs. It was perfect, if I may say so myself. Being brave has its advantages. And this experiment was proof of that.

Sambar with palak

2011-04-09T21:13:00.001+05:30

Sambar-with-a-twist

Its been a peaceful Saturday. The first in a long while. And I spent the morning tending to all the things I have ignored all week long. The mound of clothes piling up on the bedroom chair, the overflowing laundry basket, the dusty corners of my kitchen, the cobwebs in the balcony, the dining table strewn with random objects (that dont belong there!), and the list is endless. So the day passed by rather quickly, involving such things as changing pillow covers and sheets, taking things down from the kitchen shelf and dusting the area and neatly replacing the boxes, making the dining table sparse like it should be, doing a giant batch of laundry, putting away clothes. And the best part -- Im not complaining :)

Some days are just meant for all things homely. And today was one such. I also had in my fridge what was an utterly green and fresh bunch of palak. It was utterly green and fresh day before yesterday when I bought it, but having soaked a cupful of channa that couldnt be wasted yesterday I had to put off using the palak until today. So while the bunch had lost its really verdant color and crunch, I knew it had to be used now or never.

And what better way to make the Saturday more homely, than with some good ol sambar rice? Except this sambar is a combination of the versions I have heard and read about. So without really following a recipe, I tend to go with the flow and do things as I feel. Like in this instance, throwing in some palak into my pot of sambar.

What you need (for 2 people, 1 small cup of dal):
2 cloves of garlic
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato
1 handful french beans
1 medium carrot
1 small bunch palak
1 green chilli
2 tablespoons sambar powder
2 teaspoons tamarind paste
Mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves for the tadka

What you need to do:
Chop up all your vegetables. The carrots, tomato and beans roughly, but the onion and garlic chopped fine.

In a pan, heat some oil. Throw in the garlic and onion. Saute well till the onions are translucent. Next, throw in the chopped beans and carrots. Saute till lightly cooked.

In a pressure cooker, add the washed dal and adequate water. To it, add the sauteed vegetables.

Next, chop the palak roughly and add it in.

Add the sambar powder, a pinch of asafoetida and salt to taste. Add some more water if required and cook for about 3-4 whistles.

When cooked and the pressure has released, open, add water if required and give it a good stir. Simmer the sambar for 4-5 minutes. Add in some tamarind paste and bring to a boil.

In a small pan, heat up some ghee, when its hot, add in the mustard seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves. Add in the sputtering mixture to the sambar.

Done!

The best thing about sambar is that you can virtually throw in every vegetable, and follow a sequence of rather simple, almost robotic steps and you just cant go wrong. I hope this is as much of a reminder of the warmth of your home, as it was for me.

Caramel custard

2011-04-04T22:35:00.005+05:30

Remembering an old favourite, and trying to get it right

With a lot of weekend time on my hands all of a sudden, I have been catching up everything I have ignored for a while. That includes catching up on the many blogs I read, and sifting and sorting through my pictures/movies/data. While going through my hard disk today, I discovered some unposted pictures that were meant to go into this blog. Thats what led to the noodles post earlier today.

I also found a bunch of pictures from a cookout Anand, the husband and I had at home the last time he was down. And I was reminded of the best, most perfect caramel custard we turned out...

It also reminded me about how I have been missing in action from my kitchen, my blog and the hobby of cooking in general. This is such a simple recipe that Anand shared with me, I realised I had almost everything I needed ready at hand. So inspired by the most perfect caramel custard, I decided I must give it another go. Here it is!

What you need:
500 ml milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar (for the custard)
3-4 tablespoons sugar (for caramelisation)
Vanilla essence

What you need to do:
Boil the milk, and add in 1/2 cup sugar, stirring continuously so it is completely dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Crack open the eggs in another bowl and beat till really fluffy. Set aside.

In a pan, spread the sugar out for caramelisation, pour a few cap-fulls of water to moisten it and begin to caramelise on a medium flame.

The sugar will first dissolve, then begin to bubble and slowly caramelise.

If you like it sweet, stop when it is golden. For those who like it slightly burnt, let it cook a while longer.

Pour into the mould and set aside.

Combine the eggs with the milk and mix well. Then pour the mixture into the mould.

Pressure cook for about 20 minutes. And it should come out looking something like this.

Voila! Done!

Spicy noodles: home style

2011-04-03T13:28:00.001+05:30

A quick flavourful fix, by no means "really" chinese

Last weekend, the husband and I ate every single meal at home. Weekends are usually when we step out, try out new restaurants/drinking places, and enjoy the Goan outdoors, and get time alone after the hectic round-the-clock-work-week. But last weekend we didnt want to step out into the crowd. So quick meals at home was the only way to go. I had a packet of hakka noodles lying at home and we decided to put it to use.

Iv also discovered that this food blog thing is a good thing for us to do together because it combines 2 of the things each of us loves to indulge in: cooking/food experimentation and photography. So it makes for interesting together time :)

What I used:
1 packet hakka noodles
1 medium onion sliced thin
1 small bell pepper sliced thin
1 medium carrot julienned
A handful of french beans chopped long and thin
A generous amount of finely chopped garlic
Some freshly chopped ginger
Chilli garlic sauce
Dark soya sauce
Tomato ketchup
White vinegar

How I made it:
Chop up an assortment of veggies you would like to use in the noodles.

In a wok/kadhai, heat some oil (I used olive :P). When its hot enough throw in the chopped ginger and garlic and saute till brownish. Then quickly add in the onions, before the ginger burns. Saute for a minute until the onions get lightly golden-brown. Then, add in the soya sauce and chilli garlic sauce, some ketchup and a few drops of vinegar,and continue to stir around.

After a couple minutes more of sauteing, add in all the vegatables and mix well. Cook on an open flame till the vegatbles are semi-cooked, but still crunchy.

Then, add salt and pepper to taste. Its good to taste it before you add in the salt and pepper, because the soya tends to make it a little salty to begin with. Then, add a pinch of ajinomoto.

Meanwhile, in a pot of boiling water, add a packet of egg noodles, and cook till soft. Drain and run through col water.

Add the noodles to the vegetables and mix. At this point, continue to cook it for a while, if you feel the need to blend the two components really well.

Done!

Strawberry souffle

2011-01-16T00:46:00.000+05:30

A simple-to-make dessert with wonderful results

It all started with the office cook-out. A tradition that features new joinees cooking for the rest of the office. Yes, the whole freaking office. All 50 of them. So as luck would have it, my turn came. And with it, I was clubbed with 3 fresh-out-of-college boys, who dont cook. I consider myself a novice. I can barely cook for more than 3 people, with confidence. And here I was, with the daunting task of cooking for 50 very hungry people, with very high expectations. That, and the will to generally rag the new joinees.

So the menu was decided. We wanted to keep it simple. Chicken curry, paneer butter masala, jeera rice and green salad. And just as an add-on, I thought Id experiment with a quick-fix idea for souffle, that my super efficient and pro-cook friend Praerna had shared with me a while ago. Shes my ultimate recipe-yellow-pages, and comes to my rescue in my moments of doubt about quantities, recipes, what-to-make-moments and generally anytime I need some home-maker-kind-of-support. And for that I am SO grateful :)

I knew Id have to probably quadruple the quantities, but Id have to make it at home and let it set overnight. When the night in question arrived however, I was faced with a huge power cut and resorted to spending the evening in the office. The "evening" ended at 10 pm. So of course making dessert was out of question, and it promptly got dropped off the menu. But to address my thwarted intention to make souffle, I decided I should make some for myself and the husband this weekend. VC likes fruity desserts (I know that sounds very UNmanly, but he does! And theres no other way to say it!), so this sounded perfect. Besides its simple and so easy-sounding that is would be a crime NOT to try it!

Here's what you need (for about 8 servings):
1 packet jelly, in any flavour you like. I used strawberry, but Praerna tells me it tastes lovely in orange.
1 big box of curd. I used Nestle, but any of the other packaged store-bought curds will do.
200 ml fresh cream

Here's what you need to do:
Prepare the jelly in advance, and set it fully. This takes a few hours. Since I planned the previous night I let it set overnight.

Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for at least 5-6 hours. Again, I left it overnight, and I have to say this gave me a wonderful result. The curd had lost all its water and reduced to less than half its quantity. Which is exactly how you want it to be.

When the jelly is fully set, grab a whisk and break it up, till its nice and scrambled into tiny bits.

Next, add the hung curd and mix it together. If youre using a balloon whisk and dealing with possible CTS like I think I am, this can be quite laborious and takes longer than if you use an electric hand mixer.

When the curd and jelly are slightly mixed up, add in the cream. All 200 ml of it, and continue to whisk, till its nice and smooth.

My souffle turned from a deep magenta pink to a lovely soft and smooth light pink. At this point, simply stick a finger in to this gorgeous velvety mixture, lick it, and taste for sweetness. I added a leeeeetle bit of powdered sugar, because I felt it needed it.

Stick the bowl back in to the fridge and let it set.

Done!

Slow cooked tomato basil pasta

2011-01-05T00:21:00.001+05:30

Quick-fix meal for when youre too lazy to really cook.

I know slow cooking and quick fix dont really go together, but even though this is a slow cooked dish, it makes for a quick fix meal because the recipe is just a series of acts in assembling the dish, rather than really cooking it. The cooking sort of just happens on its own.

This recipe was shared with me last week by Anand: friend, culinary partner in crime, inspiration and my biggest source of entertainment and company through my days in Goa. Anand visited us last week, a trip that was mostly prompted by the promise of much cooking. We didnt get to do all of what we had planned, but we did get up to some pretty fun kitchen shenanigans. This pasta was just one of the things ;)

It was also just what I needed today, when the flu has left me too tired to really cook and too sick to order in. I needed home cooked food. Even if it was slow cooked pasta. With just tomato and basil.

And a ton of cream and cheese to make it all worthwhile. But Im trying not to focus on that part.

Here's what I used:
1 large onion, chopped
7-8 pods of garlic, finely chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 pack tomato puree
1 knob of butter
Olive oil
Some grated cheese (parmesan if youre feeling fancy, but cheddar will do if you want to make do with what you have in your fridge..like I did)
Basil (fresh would work wonder, but in the absence of fresh basil dry works just as well)
Fresh cream
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste
Pasta (I used fusilli, because its easy to eat)

Here's how I made it:
Heat up some butter and olive oil. Throw in the chopped garlic and onions and saute till nice and golden.

Next, add in the chopped tomato and stir around, and quickly add in the tomato puree.

Anand showed me how to get every last bit out of the carton, and it only made me realize just how much puree Iv possibly wasted in the last few months :O

Add in the salt, pepper and sugar as per taste. Sugar cuts the overtly tangy tomato-ness, leaving you with just the right smooth creamy silken tomato pulp you need.

Then, cover the pan and let the puree simmer for a good long while. At least 20-30 minutes, opening it only to give it a turn every now and then. This is where you can take a long break and come back only to throw in the last few ingredients in the assembly line.

It isnt called "slow cooked" for nothing. You'll notice that every time you take a peek at the puree when you take the lid off to stir it, the puree would have gotten thicker and darker.

Let it bubble away for as long as possible. In the meanwhile, get a pot of water on. Add some salt and bring it to a boil. Add in the pasta and let it cook. This usually takes anything from 7-10 minutes if youre using fusilli for 2.

After your pasta has cooked for about 10 minutes and your sauce has simmered away for about 30 minutes, turn the heat off on both.

Turn to your sauce, add in the grated cheese, basil and cream. And mix!

Drain the pasta, retaining some hot water. Just in case you want to loosen the sauce a little bit. The slow cooking tends to dry out the tomato puree quite a bit and the best way to bring it back to a looser consistency is to add hot water from cooking the pasta! Something else Anand taught me.

Mix together. And we're done.

Butter-garlic Prawns

2010-12-18T23:33:00.011+05:30

Prawns and veggies. And a butter overload.

First off, the husband has made a come back with photographing this experiment. Hes been hiding away, while I juggled the camera through the last few experiments that I have posted here.

Part of the reason he was so enthusiastic to shoot this was because hes been dying to eat prawns at home forever and we finally found a supermarket close to home that has started selling fresh fish that they clean right in front of you. No more bloody visits to the bloody market. And I mean that "bloody" quite literally..eeruughh! Call me faint hearted, but I cant stomach that assault to my senses.

Moving along..todays experiment was a simple prawns in butter garlic sauce. Something we eat a lot here in Goa. This is however the very first time we tried our hand at it at home. It was gorgeous. Taste-wise. And looks-wise too. Prawns photograph so well!

What we used:
500 gms prawns, shelled and cleaned
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
8-10 pods of garlic, finely chopped
Juice of 1-1.5 lemons
Some freshly chopped coriander

How we made it
To begin with, clean out the prawns and set aside. The husband and I had our first shot at deveining the prawns even though they were supposedly cleaned at the supermarket. And it was quite an experience. We decided to spare you of the pictures.

Next, finely chop up the garlic.

In a pan, heat the oil and the butter, till the butter melts and mixes with the oil.

Add in the finely chopped garlic and let it sizzle for a bit. Saute the garlic, making sure that it doesnt burn.

When the heady aroma of sauteed garlic begins to drive you crazy and you can take it no longer, add in the lemon juice, and almost immediately add in the prawns.

Saute and watch as the prawns shrivel up into tiny coral curls. They're gorgeous. Its amazing how ugly they look before being cooked and just how pretty pink-orange they get when cooked!

And thats about all there is to it. Saute the prawns until theyre cooked, which doesnt take longer than 3-4 minutes at max. Turn off the heat and let the prawn sit in the butter-garlic sauce for a while. Garnish with a little coriander, for just that extra flavour.

I must say that I didnt need to add any salt because I used salted butter. But for those who like everything a little extra salty, you might want to season this a little more.
Done!

We decided to keep it simple today. And had the prawns with some lightly steamed and sauteed veggies. It made for an intensely satisfying meal and I suspect all that butter had something to do with it :)

Crispy Potatoes

2010-12-17T20:36:00.009+05:30

Another quickie!

Im on a quest to learn to cook things that are easy to make, dont take much time and are tasty. So here's another recipe that definitely goes into my quick-to-make-and-perfect-to-take-to-work log. Because its simple, quick, crispy and tasty. Oh and it features POTATOES. who doesnt like potatoes? And when the potatoes in question are crispy, theres no doubt about it.

Here's what I used:
Potatoes, chopped into fingers. Not too thin so they turn into wafers, and not too thick so they dont get crispy. They need to be just right.
Jeera
Mustard
Turmeric
Chilli powder

Here's how I made it:
Peel, wash and chop potatoes into slender fingers.

Heat a little oil in a pan. When relatively hot, throw in some jeera, followed by mustard and a pinch of turmeric. When the mustard and jeera begin to sputter, throw in the potatoes and toss around continuously.

Continue to toss around on a medium-high flame, so that the potatoes cook and get crisp. Add some chillipowder, as per taste/spice threshold and continue to toss. The potatoes will first turn a golden brown, and later crispy brown. You'll know when its done.

Crispy Potatoes go best with a humble dal rice and a wintry night.

Done!
EDIT: Not quite done. As my mother rightly pointed out i forgot to mention the pinch of asafoetida that needs to go in right after the jeera and mustard seeds and right before the turmeric!

Home-style Rajma

2010-12-12T21:40:00.015+05:30

Giving in to my Rajma calling

Its been a week since work started and I have yet to wholeheartedly fall into the new schedule and routine of things. I have to now cook my lunch for work an evening in advance, to avoid a maddening rush the next morning. So I have resorted to the few 1-2 dish meals I know, basically combining rice or rotis with a curry of some sort, or dal or gravy. A lazy Sunday demanded that I make something utterly simple, something that involved throwing together a bunch of things, but with a yummy result. Thats how we decided rajma it would be.

I have tried several different versions of rajma, based on recipes Iv found online and some techniques people have recommended. But Iv finally hit upon this method, after much trial and error, and this works best for me. Most recipes I have seen call for the rajma to be pressure cooked separately and then added to the masala and cooked together. But I have taken a short cut of sorts, which funnily enough, I have found to be much tastier. I love how it turns out, and I love the process because its basically a 3 step easy-peasy way of doing it. Mince/grind, roast, pressure cook. Done. Just what I needed today.

Here's what I use:
1 and 1/2 small cups rajma (for 2 people)
3 small onions
4 small tomatoes
3-4 cloves of garlic
Ginger
2 green chillies
A handful of fresh coriander
Turmeric
Chilli powder
Jeera powder
Dhaniya powder
Garam Masala

Here's how I make it:
Wash and soak the rajma in sufficient water for at least 4-5 hours prior to cooking it. I usually leave it soaking overnight, but today I soaked it in the morning and cooked it in the evening. I doubt it really makes a life changing difference.

When ready to cook, peel and roughly chop the onions. Also chop the tomatoes into smallish cubes.

Grind the onions to a paste along with the green chillies, ginger, garlic and coriander.

In a pressure cooker/pan, heat a bit of oil and ghee, and roast the masala (paste) on a medium flame until its semi cooked and has dried up sufficiently. Add in the turmeric, chilli powder and chopped tomatoes, and continue to mix and cook well on a medium flame. Keep this going till the masala has fully cooked, the tomatoes are almost pulpy and the masala begins to release oil.

Next, drain the soaked rajma and add it in to the masala.

Mix well, add sufficient water and shut the pressure cooker/pan. On a high flame, cook for an appropriate number of whistles, till the rajma is soft.

Make yourself a cup of chai and kick back and relax while the pressure cooker does its thing and fills your kitchen, your senses and your head with the amazing aromas of what lies within. But you'll have to waitforitttt!

Done!
This tastes equally good with rotis and with hot rice, along with a simple onion and tomato salad, drenched in lime, salt, a dash of pepper and coriander!

Cucumber Raita

2010-12-04T18:29:00.011+05:30

The most refreshing way to polish off leftovers

Iv been through a series of days spent all alone, ensconced within the cosy walls of my home, with the husband working ludicrously long hours. One never knows if he is going to have the time to eat his meals at home like he used to until a few weeks ago. Therefore, it often happens that I cook for the two of us, but end up eating my meals alone, and carrying leftovers forward and finishing them off the next day.

It was no different with the pulao I made yesterday. I was all alone in basking in the joy of finally getting it right and also proceeding to methodically finish it over the next meal too. Except, the second time round, I decided to make a raita to go with it. Here's how.

What I used
Main ingredients:
1 small cucumber (since it was just me)
1 small cup of curd
A dash of milk

Seasoning:
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Chaat masala
Red chilli powder
Jeera powder
Sugar
Juice of 1/4 lime

How I made it
First, I chopped up the cucumber. Its also nice to grate it in, but i prefer the crunch of the cucumber.

I beat the curd up well. I like my raita to be neither too thick nor too runny, so I usually add a dash of milk just to loosen it out a bit. This is of course left to your discretion. The milk also cuts the overly tangy edge that curd can sometimes have, giving it a more creamy taste.

Next, I added in the seasoning in one by one. First the salt and pepper, followed by a tiny bit of sugar. Then the red chilli powder, chaat masala and a dash of jeera powder.

When the seasoning is all stirred in, I then added a squeeze of lime juice. Lastly, I added the chopped cucumber and serve with pulao.

Done!

This raita was so refreshing and cooling, I could eat it as a meal just by itself. I also make the raita sometimes using cucumbers+tomatoes+onions, or boondi, or grated cucumber+thinly sliced onions. It works with pretty much anything you think is raita-worthy...so feel free to innovate!

Vegetable Pulao. My way!

2010-12-03T14:42:00.014+05:30

When I decided to get brave and let the experiments begin

Its been a while since I made a veggie pulao at home. Mostly because I have never been able to get it right, spot on. Yeah its always just short of hitting the spot and leaves us feeling like "something's missing", without being able to really say what that something was!

Today though, I decided to give it another shot. I decided to trust my instincts and the many months of experience I have added on to my culinary repertoire. I decided to go with my gut and throw things in as I felt they would fit, combining a few lessons and tricks I have picked up along the way, with my sense of smell and flavour. Dont look so confused. I did say this was going to be about being brave and letting the experiments begin.

What you need
For the pulao:
Assorted chopped veggies. I used potatoes, carrots and beans, but feel free to add in whatever you want.
Rice, soaked for at least 30 mins before cooking. I used 2 cups, and it was enough to feed 3 hungry people.
One handful of roughly chopped mint leaves

For the pulao masala
1 large tomato chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1/2 a handful coriander leaves
2 green chillies
A large-ish piece of ginger
3-4 cloves of garlic

Dry masalas for the rice
1 tsp jeera (whole)
2-3 cloves
1" piece of cinnamon
1-2 bay leaves
1 star anise (if easily accessible)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp dhaniya powder

What you need to do
Wash and clean the rice. Leave it to soak in water for at least 30 minutes (until you get all the rest of the preps done).

Chop up all the veggies you need and keep them aside.

Grind all the ingredients for the wet masala to a fine paste.

Dont add any water to begin with as the tomato and onion releases juices. If it is too dry you can add a wee bit of water, just enough to grind it easily.

In a pressure cooker/pan, heat some ghee/oil. When its hot enough, throw in the whole spices like jeera, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon, and star anise, and saute till it smells divine.

Next, add 1/2 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp red chilli powder and 1/2 tsp dhaniya powder. Then, add the wet masala and saute continuously till the masalas cook well, dry out a bit and the oil begins to separate.

Next, throw in the vegetables and mix it well with the masala. Add salt to taste at this stage. It will release a bit of water, so dont add any extra water just yet.

Add the soaked rice and slowly add the required amount of water to cook it through.

Finally throw in the chopped mint leaves and mix well. Shut the lid and let the pulao cook to as many whistles as your pressure cooker would need to cook rice.

Done!

If I started off by calling this an experiment, I must say it ended being a successful one. The pulao was fresh-tasting (thanks to the coriander and mint) and light and flavourful. I tend to enjoy a pulao when its not overly packed with masala. While I did use a wide variety of spices, using them in smaller quantities balances it out, giving just the right amount of flavouring.

I can already see this recipe being repeated at our home on a night when I cant think of what to make and dont wish to spend too much time in the kitchen!

BisiBeleBhaath

2010-12-02T22:49:00.018+05:30

..OR, what to do on your last week of freedom

With one week of extended freedom before I step back into the world of having a regular job, I find myself with a lot of empty time that I hadnt planned for. Im all about planning what I want to do, even if it is to laze around all day. In a happy coincidence, I also had this really strong longing to have my cooks (back home) BisiBeleBhaath. Because the way she makes it, is to die for. It is comforting, homely, satisfying and altogether scrumptious.

There are some tastes that are just meant to be reminders of home. Comfort food, home food, call it what you want. These are things one tends to enjoy best at home and no substitute can come close. BisiBeleBhaath (BBB, as I call it) is one such home delicacy for me. Since Iv moved out, every trip back home features one BBB meal, and truly completes my going-home-experience. Without it, something is amiss.

Despite the massive cravings and pangs for BBB I have had since I moved to Goa, I still hadnt mustered the courage to try my hand at making BBB on my own. However, there is always a first time, and it seems that time for me, was today.

What you need
For the masala:
1 tbsp poppy seeds (khus-khus)
1" piece of cinnamon
2-3 cloves
3-4 tbsp dry coconut (if you dont have dry coconut, you could dry roast freshly grated coconut, like I did)
2 tbsp sambar powder (I get this home-made from my cook back home, so I dont really know what secret ingredients she puts in it, unfortunately)

For the main dish (to feed 2 hungry people):
2-3 cups chopped vegetables of your choice. I used carrots, potatoes and peas because thats all I had handy. But you can even add cauliflower, french beans, double beans, or even sambar onions or small brinjals.
1 cup toor dal
1 cup rice
2 small tomatoes chopped
1 small onion chopped (I took the liberty to add this in, inspired from an online recipe of BBB that I was looking at yesterday)
1-2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies roughly chopped

What you need to do
First, dry roast the poppy seeds, cloves and cinnamon on a low flame. Keep this going till the poppy seeds turn nice and brown.

Next, dry roast the fresh coconut till it has lost all its moisture and begins to show some brown specks. If youre using dried coconut to begin with, you can skip right to the next step.

Grind together the sambar powder, poppy seeds, cinnamon and cloves, along with the coconut. This should give you a deep brown, rich and flavourful dry masala.

Meanwhile, par boil the chopped veggies. Start to cook the dal and rice (mixed together) on a low flame.

In a deep bottomed pan/pot, generously add some ghee. When its hot, throw in the mustard seeds, curry leaves, onions and roughly chopped red chillies.

When the mustard seeds stop sputtering, add the onions and saute till slightly translucent. Next, add the dry masala and roast well. Continue to saute this on a low flame till the masala is cooked. Note that this is all done without adding any water.

Next, throw in the chopped tomatoes, add the tamarind paste and a cup of water. Continue to cook the masala.

By now, the dal and rice should be more than half cooked. Tip it into the masala, mix well and continue to simmer on a low flame.

The best BBB is usually mixed so well that the masala, rice and dal are well combined into one giant pot of flavourful splendour. So continue to simmer and add water when necessary, until you get that rich silky looking BBB.

At the very end, add in the parboiled veggies and add salt to taste. Cook for a few minutes more so that the various components are all well combined.

BBB is best enjoyed with something crunchy. Traditionally it is served topped with khara-boondi, but back home it was tradition to have it with locally made potato chips.

Done!

My first endeavour at making BBB was quite a success, so I can safely say that future BBB-homesickness-pangs will be efficiently dealt with and put to rest.

Chocolate Custard

2010-12-02T15:19:00.010+05:30

Happiness is in a bowl of chocolate

Recently, Curry Spice's wonderful blog was featured in the Grazia magazine, in a feature on food bloggers! Like I said on my other blog, following a bunch of blogs has created a sort of inner circle for me. And being a part of this little blogosphere is a bit like knowing a group of people and having something in common with each of the authors. Despite the fact that you have probably never met so many of them, you cant help but feel a connection. Perhaps because of the common interests, passions, quirks and even writing styles. Its but natural to share in another's happiness and moment of glory. So when I read about it on her blog, I was truly happy for her, and to see that a blog I follow and frequently look up is going places. In that very same article, Curry Spice lists some of the top food blogs and their authors featured in the article. Thats how I stumbled on Anushruti's blog: Divine Taste!

I was randomly surfing through the pages of her blog, and I recognized several recipes that are close to/exactly like the kind of food/cuisine I have back home. Radish Huli, Beetroot Sasive, Tambli! Tempted and lured on, I ventured deeper, and suddenly found this truly divine sounding recipe for an eggless Chocolate Custard. Whats better: it looked easy, uncomplicated, hassle-free and most importantly, I had everything I needed.

I used her recipe down to the T, so Im not going to pen it down here since Anushruti has done that in the most organized fashion (refer link above). But I did enjoy the process, so here are snapshots of my version of Anushruti's Chocolate Custard.
Milk, cream, chocolate..you cant go wrong.

This is what happens when you try and make your custard and shoot it too. Next time, Im going to force the husband to stick around.

Clearly, I could do with a lit bit of finesse in the kitchen. But at least spill-overs like that make good pictures. And present opportunities to lick the sides of the bowl too.

Done!

Films, food, films, food..

2010-12-02T15:13:00.007+05:30

The recently-ended IFFI, might as well have been a food festival, for all I cared.

It was entertaining, fulfilling, cheap and we went back for more yet again, this week.

Read more>> Click here!

Chickey Curry. My way!

2010-11-21T11:31:00.009+05:30

..OR what to do with marinated meat

This is a product of what happens when you have leftover meat that must be used pronto, and youre out of seemingly innovative recipes.

Im bored of the regular chicken curry I make at home, and I suspect the husband is too. Trouble is, I had some marinated chicken leftover from the batch I contributed to the BBQ lunch we went to on Sunday. I would have hated for the whole batch to go to waste, so I decided it must be put to good use.

The outcome was tasty, and the process of making it was quick and uncomplicated. The gravy was home cooked yet had that hint of "something special", out of the ordinary home-cooked menu. I think theres definitely going to be a repeat of this one.

Heres what I did..
What I used:
Chicken (enough for 2 people)
3 tbsps tandoori masala
3 tsps freshly made ginger-garlic paste
Juice of half a lime
4 tbsps thick curd
A pinch of salt (lesser than you would require)

2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 small onions chopped
2 green chillies chopped
A small handful of chopped coriander
A small piece of cinnamon, some cardamom and 2-3 cloves

How I made it:
First of all, I must say that the chicken I used, soaked in the marinade for over a day, so that probably made a huge difference. However, I think a few hours (3-4) should do the trick all the same.

Chop up the chicken and let it soak in the lime juice and salt for 15-20 minutes. Then, add in the curd, tandoori masala and ginger-garlic paste and let it sit for a good long while.

To prepare the gravy, in a little oil, saute onions, chillies, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves till the onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and continue to saute till tomatoes are cooked well.

Once this is done, turn off the heat, throw in the chopped coriander and mix well. Set aside and allow this to cool completely.

Once completely cooled, blend the onion+tomato+coriander in a mixie till smooth.

In a pan with a little bit of oil, add marinated chicken and saute till semi cooked. Add the pureed onion+tomato+coriander and simmer till chicken is fully cooked.

Done!

BBQ masti

2010-11-16T21:20:00.009+05:30

Sunday afternoon was spend amidst food, fire, fun, rain, beer and music. We went to a BBQ lunch. On the menu featured 3-4 different kinds of chicken, fish marinated and wrapped in banana leaves, prawns, feta cheese and tomato salad, bbq paneer and roasted potatoes and beets. The weather was just perfect, and to make things better we had a downpour. The BBQ menu was largely improvised and experimental, or so it seemed. Everything was tasty, though :)

Until Sunday I didnt imagine a BBQ get together could get so many people together having so much fun. The lunch began at about 2 and ended close to 7. 'nuff said.

Dont have any recipes to share, but just some snapshots that capture the fun we had:

Laddoos

2010-11-05T11:07:00.009+05:30

Diwali happiness + nostalgia = a first attempt at laddoos

Perhaps our first feelings of being "away" from home were felt day before yesterday. Like Iv said before, thats when we realized that Diwali is right around the corner, and yet nothing in our immediate vicinity screamed "Diwali!" like it would, had we been in Bangalore. I suddenly identified with what NRIs must feel like, miles away from their homes, families and their roots (I hate using this word in this context, because I think it has become so cliché and overused) during the time of festivals. When one is back home, one tends to just take it for granted. Things just happen and we are a part of events and happenings almost as if by default. But this is our first time away. I made a conscious choice to stay in Goa during Diwali this year, even though I had the option of going home to celebrate it, because I wanted to bring a bright and beautiful Diwali into our very first home together.

But as Diwali drew closer, I realized its not easy to feel festive with just the 2 of us. Half the fun of festivals like Diwali is about being with family, meeting one another, exchanging sweets and the rest. However, I still want to make this Diwali, our first Diwali in our own home, as special as possible. And the closest and fondest association I have with the festival, is of course the sweets! So here's a basic laddoo recipe that I tried for the very first time today.

What you need (for about 18 smallish laddoos)
2 cups of atta (wheat flour)
1/2 cup ghee and oil
1 and 1/4 cup powdered sugar
A pinch of elaichi powder

What you need to do
Roast the atta in a pan on a low flame until it turns nice and brown and begins to smell wonderful. So wonderful that you'll wonder how atta could smell so divine. Add in the ghee+oil mixture. This will cause some lumps, even them out and continue to roast. The fragrance only keeps getting better and makes you want to ditch making laddoos and eat the mixture as it is. I wish pictures could capture smells, then you would know exactly what I mean.

Next, add in the elaichi powder. This is optional. Some people dont like the flavour, so its alright to omit. Continue to roast, all the while on a low flame. When you cant bear to enjoy the fragrance any more, turn the flame off. After about 2 minutes, add in the powdered sugar. and mix thoroughly.

Allow this powdered mixture to cool just enough so you can get your hands in and begin the laddoo making. Once cooled, turning powder to solid spheres is virtually impossible. So this part does call for some palm-scalding and some pain-threshold testing. Being my first time making laddoos, it took going through about 4-5 misshapen ones before I got the hang of it. 16 uneven, fingerprinted spheres later, I was done!

The fragrance brought back memories of Diwali at home and Shantamma (my cook back home) making the very same laddoos. However, this morning I asked my mommy-in-law or help with her version of the recipe, because in true Sindhi style theyre richer, more ghee-laden and therefore VERY yummy. See for yourself!

Fish Curry and Fried Fish.

2010-10-31T17:56:00.014+05:30

The perfect Sunday lunch: Granny's fish curry, fried fish and rice

After VC turned non-vegetarian again, it has been almost as if his sole preoccupation in life (aside from work, of course) is food. IE: what shall we eat next? Food/meals/cuisine/culinary choices and experiments have become his biggest preoccupation. I dont blame him though..after years of nothing paneer, mushrooms and baby corn, allowing himself meat again must feel like stepping into utopia.

So today, we decided to attempt the proverbial Fish Curry and Fried Fish combination at home. This was my first time buying fish, cutting cleaning and marinating fish, and cooking it all alone. VC helped, and I wouldnt have been able to do it otherwise. This was a joint effort in every sense.

I consulted my Granny for advice on what fish to buy, how much to buy and of course HOW to make it. I was astonished at how simple it sounded, and even turned out to be once i tried my hand at it! I bought a pair of white pomfrets, and we were set! At the risk of sounding immodest, I must say that the end result was pretty satisfactory for Fish Curry and Fried Fish virgins that we are!

Fried Fish

What you need (for about 6 pieces)
Freshly squeezed tamarind pulp
Red chilli powder
Garlic paste
Turmeric
Salt

Rice flour
Rava

What you need to do
Mix together the above ingredients and apply on the fish evenly. Let the fish sit in the marinade for atleast 2 hours.

When ready to fry, make a mixture of rice flour and rava. This powder, when coated on the fish gives it the crispiness you want. Dab the fish in the powder and coat it evenly on all sides. Shallow fry in a pan till golden brown and crisp!

Fish Curry

What you need (for about 6 pieces to serve 2 hungry people)
Juice of half a lime
Turmeric
Salt

3/4 cup coconut
1/2 a medium sized onion chopped
4-5 dry red chillies
Freshly squeezed tamarind pulp
2-3 pods of garlic
3 tbsp whole coriander seeds

2 slit green chillies
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1/2 tsp finely chopped ginger

What you need to do
Marinate the fish in a mixture of the lemon juice, salt and turmeric and allow it to sit for a couple of hours.

In the meantime, grind together the fresh coconut, chopped onion, red chillies, tamarind, garlic and coriander seeds to make a fine paste. This is the masala that is the basis of the curry.

In a pan, heat some oil. Saute the finely chopped onion till almost brown. To this, add the freshly ground masala, some water and salt. Bring this to a boil on a medium flame stirring occasionally. Turn down the flame and throw in the slit green chillies and fresh ginger. Stir it in and let it simmer for a while.

Once the masalas are cooked and the heady fragrance of the masalas takes over your senses, drop the pieces of fish in. Gently, one at a time. Pomfret usually cooks quickly and didnt take u longer than 5 minutes. The fish should be incorporating the flavours by now.

And thats pretty much all there is to it!

Done!

This is best enjoyed with steamed rice, onion and tomato salad, with lots of lime. Big hugs and a giant thank you to my dearest Ammama for helping me out today. She wished me "best of luck" too :P and assured me that it was simple enough for a novice like me to get right even in the first attempt. And she was right. My fish curry and fried fish will probably never be as good as hers, but it was pretty darn tasty to spice up our Sunday afternoon. This ones easy-peasy and if youre a fan of coastal fish curry and fried fish, you have to give it a shot!

Chilli Chicken

2010-10-31T15:03:00.007+05:30

Inspired, impromptu Chilli Chicken

I cant take credit for this one. I first saw this incredibly easy recipe on Finely Chopped's wonderful blog. And like I said to him, merely reading the post made me crave that Chilli Chicken. And it made me want to have it right then and there! So make it, we did!

What you need
Finely minced garlic
Sliced onions
Sliced capsicum
2-3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
Ajinomoto
Green chillies slit
Chicken

What you need to do
Heat 3-4 tablespoons of oil in a non stick pan. This is the kind of Chilli Chicken that will only taste nice if you are brave with the oil, forget about your heath for a bit and enjoy!

Add a tablespoon of finely chopped garlic and saute till slightly brown. Then, add two to three tablespoons of dark soy sauce. Add a teaspoon of green chilly sauce. Stir around until the soy sauce spreads across the pan and forms an oil slick like layer at the base.

Add sliced onion and capsicum. Stir till onion looks a bit pale. Chilli Chicken, for me, tastes best when the onions and capsicum is cooked, but still retains some of its crunch.

Throw in the chicken cut into two inch long pieces. Toss around with a ladle to ensure that the pieces cook evenly. Finely Chopped says it usually a maximum of about five minutes.

Add salt and a pinch of ajinomoto. Keep the flame high so that the chicken really absorbs the juices and flavours.

Add 5,6 slit green chillies.

Done!

Ps: this one made me wonder if its worth starting a Chilli Chicken cart somewhere around town.. :P

Thai Peanut Noodles

2010-10-31T14:47:00.008+05:30

Yet another comeback!

Its like we're jinxed or something. Every time we decide to come back to this with all our enthusiasm and gusto, something invariably sweeps the wind right out of our sails. After the last post, which was shot using my dads camera, we promptly had to return the camera and go back to our former camera-less state. This time though, not for long. Last month, VC bought us a spanking new D5000. You can read about it here. And here.

The first thing we did of course was plan our next cook-in. So here it is:

Thai Peanut Noodles
This recipe was shared with me by Praeru, a dear friend who has been credited on this blog before (for sharing the recipe of the Oreo Cookie Brownies). Apart from sharing recipes and cooking tips, Praeru has always silently inspired me to get my hands dirty in the kitchen -- something that i was seriously averse to, thought it wasnt my scene, and never in my wildest dreams imagined I would one day cook!

What you need
1 packet hakka/egg noodles
1 cucumber
1 carrot
Bean sprouts (Optional. I couldnt find these, so I skipped it.)
1 onion
1/2 cup shelled peanuts
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/4 cup sugar (Preferably brown, but I had to make do with regular sugar.)
1-2 tbsp peanut butter (Optional, if you like.)
1" ginger
2-3 dried red chillies

What you need to do
Slice onions thin. Julienne carrots and cucumber into matchsticks.
Whisk the soya sauce, lemon juice and sugar. Add peanut butter at this stage, if using, and whisk together till sugar dissolves.

Crush peanuts, ginger and red chillies in a mortar pestle/chopper/mixie. The chunkier, the better.

Boil noodles in salted water and drain.

Mix with the sauce, chopped veggies (and beansprouts too) and peanut mixture.

Done!

Tuna Cutlets

2010-08-01T17:16:00.014+05:30

...and we're back!

So, after a hiatus of just less than 365 days, we're back. And with good reason too. A lot had happened in the interim. Many changes (more about that HERE), some life changing. One of the biggest changes is that we have a kitchen of our own now. All the better to experiment with!

After weeks of cooking, bettering culinary skills, significantly widening the repertoire of things that can be cooked at home (yes, there is a world beyond dal-roti!), and thinking many-a-time that we should revive this spot, we decided finally, to quote a much overused cliche, JUST DO IT.

Presenting this weeks kitchen adventure:

TUNA CUTLETS:
Ingredients
2 cans of tuna, drained
3 medium sized potatoes, mashed
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1 large piece of ginger, grated
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 handful of coriander leaves
1 heaped teaspoon crushed pepper
Salt to taste
Juice of half a lime
Oil for sautéing

1 egg
2 cups breadcrumbs

Procedure

Finely chop onions, coriander and chillies. Grate the piece of ginger finely. Keep aside.

Boil potatoes and mash them. Add salt, pepper and chopped coriander and mix well. Keep aside.

In a kadhai, heat some oil. Sauté onions till translucent (take care not to brown them). Add ginger and chillies and sauté well.

Add the drained tuna and mix well.

Keep mixing till the tuna is semi-cooked and separates into shreds.

Combine the mashed potatoes and tuna mixture. Mix well.

Add juice of half a lime.
Add additional salt and pepper if required.

Beat an egg in a bowl and lay out the breadcrumbs in a separate dish.

Take spoonfuls of the cutlet mixture and roll into patties (1 cm thickness to ensure they cook evenly). Keep aside.

Take the cutlets one at a time, roll in the beaten egg and coat with breadcrumbs.

Shallow fry cutlets till golden brown on both sides.

Enjoy hot, with bread!

Credits

Lekha (AKA Chandresh), for all the inspiration, transfer of knowledge, chicita company and motivation to embark on this tedious and laborious adventure! I couldnt have done it without you. Im going to miss our food-obsessions, random cravings and experiments!

VC, for bringing back his enthusiasm to shoot this adventure, despite the light and setting being inadequate for his pro-skills!

Warm Croissant Pudding

2009-08-30T22:36:00.007+05:30

Quick, easy-to-assemble, deceptively sinful

What you need:
3 croissants – crunchy on the outside, soft and airy on the inside. We bought these at Daily Bread.
200 gms caster sugar
60 ml water, to caramelize the sugar
125 ml full cream
125 ml full fat milk
60 ml bourbon. If you’re unfortunate like us, and don’t have this, use rum. Like we did. It works well too. (if you think you’d it a little stiffer, go ahead and indulge yourself ☺)
1 egg, beaten.

What you need to do:
First of all, preheat the oven at 200 degrees centigrade for about 15 minutes. While that’s getting done, roughly tear the croissants and place the pieces in a baking dish.

In a saucepan, put the caster sugar and 60 ml water and stir (without heat) till the sugar has dissolved almost completely. This took longer than we anticipated, and I can safely say my right arm was well exercised. Then put the mixture on a medium to low flame and allow it to caramelize. This should take about 5 minutes or so, and the mixture should turn relatively thick and amber in color. At this point, we have to say, our concoction didn’t turn amber as expect ☹ it was just thick and whitish-gray, but that didn’t deter our enthusiasm. We went ahead with it anyway.

Once caramelized, add the full cream, ignoring all sputtering and splattering, while you continue to stir steadily.

Then quickly add in the milk as well. Next goes in 60 ml…ok 120 ml of rum. Make sure you’re stirring it the whole time or the mixture tends to solidify around the edges and this is not what you want. Especially after step 1 didn’t go as planned.

Continue to stir till the mixture turns into a toffee kind of slurry. Again, we must stop to mention that our mixture didn’t turn into “toffee” as we know it. That’s probably because the sugar didn’t turn amber either. But it did SMELL deliciously toffee-like, so we went ahead nonetheless.
Take the saucepan off the flame and add the beaten egg, while stirring it in. Make sure it doesn’t scramble too much, as it would tend to.

Next you simply need to pour the mixture evenly over the pieces of croissant, and stick it in the oven for 20 minutes, at 200 degrees centigrade. It’s ridiculously simple, and smells heavenly as it bakes.

All you need to do next is swoon as the warm rummy, toffee smells waft from the oven. And wait in anticipation.

When done, take it out, allow it to cool slightly but enjoy while sill warm.
We imagine: it would taste even better if you drizzle some Kahlua or Irish Cream over it. YUM!

I’d like to thank VC for being such a sport. For being ever ready with his camera to go click-clicking whenever I’m in the mood to experiment. Also, I thank him for being my eternal guinea pig, and bravely tasting almost everything I make.

PS: You need to click the pictures to view them enlarged, becuase otherwise its just no good.

Acknowledgements by VC:
• Aditi for letting us waltz into her kitchen on a Sunday afternoon, and make ourselves at home, and turn it into a laboratory/photo studio yet again.
• Reva for her enthusiasm to make something again.
• Nigella for her lusciously lovely recipes that whet Reva’s appetite and curiosity enough to tempt her to give it a try.

Gooey Apple Cinnamon Cake

2009-08-10T14:12:00.010+05:30

What do you do when you dont have a muffin tray? You make a cake instead!

We’ve made cake since we didn’t have the moulds for muffins.

You will need

- 2 apples

- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder (cinnamon sticks can also be ground into this)

- 1 cup sugar

- A handful of brown sugar

- Quarter teaspoon salt

- Unsalted butter

- 1 egg

- 1 teaspoon baking powder

- 1 cup regular flour (maida)

- 1 cup wheat flour

- Curd

- And an oven

You will also need the basic other stuff like bowls, cutlery, plates and a baking dish.

If you have a tablespoon of cinnamon power, great. If not, take the sticks and grind them. Remember we’re aiming for a tablespoon of powder, not chunks or pieces. So you will have to grind this and then use a strainer. Once that’s done…

Take the two apples and skin them. We don’t want the skins because they kinda ruin the taste. Also, skins are waxed these days to make apples look shinier. We don’t want that. So we discard the skins.

Take a big mixing bowl and add one cup of regular flour,one cup of wheat flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, the tablespoon of cinnamon powder and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt. Make sure you mix this well so that all four ingredients are evenly distributed.

Next, take the unsalted butter and cut away a generous piece. Then chop it to shards. Ideally you should be using butter which is at room temperature, but we being amateurs, we pulled it right outta the refrigerator and decided to make it work instead of waiting for it to warm up. We’re aiming to get half a cup of unsalted butter. We then have to cream it. Creaming essentially means that you need to use a fork (probably works best) and kneed it till it looks like whipped cream. It needs to be a nice thick substance, rather than lumps of butter we started out with.

At this point, set the oven at 220 degrees centigrade. The reason we’re doing this is because the oven will have to be preheated for 20 minutes before we put the batter in. It should take us roughly 20 minutes to get it ready from this point.
Then take a cup of sugar and put it in the blender. When it becomes powdery fine, add it to the butter and continue kneading. Make sure it’s mixed well. Ideally you should use a fork when mixing, but if you’re slightly short on patience, feel free to get your hands in there.

Add in an egg, and beat. Then add in a bowl of curd and beat again. At this point, make sure you don't over beat after adding the curd. (If you over mix, the curd will cause the mixture to curdle). So do it quickly.

Great, now once that’s done, add the mixture into the dry ingredients. Mix again.

Remember, your skinned apples are still lying on the counter. Chop it up into chunks and add that into the batter. Then mix. Your batter is now ready. Go ahead and try it.

Pull out your baking dish, grease it with butter and line it with flour. Again, this is important simply because you don’t want the pie to stick to the dish when you pull it out of the oven.

Put the batter into the baking dish, spread it out and sprinkle some brown sugar on it.

If 20 minutes are done, stick the dish into the oven.

We had to pull it out coz we realized that the oven was not switched on. We just set the temperature and forgot to switch it on. This time, we switched it on and made sure the red light came on.

After 20 minutes we stuck the dish into the oven again… and prayed. Even our granny joined us. After all, we hoped that we didn’t screw up.

After 10 minutes of baking, lower the temperature to 220 degrees centigrade and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes. Once done, pull it out.

We pulled it out and extracted it from the baking dish with much difficulty. We had to turn it over and give it a few whacks so that it would come out. Then we turned it over again.

Now cut it up and serve. We had it with Vanilla ice cream but I’ve been told, it tastes yummmm with custard as well. Trust me, our prayers worked. It was gooooooodddddd…

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Acknowledgements

- Reva again for baking it just right.

- Aditi for letting us use her kitchen again, and this time, remaining completely calm during the whole process.

- Shanta and Leela for helping us cut and pound when we were not doing it right.

- Dodda for praying.

- I know I should be thanking someone here for the recipe…..humm…oh yes… smittenkitchen.com

- Reva said that I should also credit the photographer as well. I will do so by thanking myself here.

Until next time, STAY HUNGRY AND EXCITED!!!

Oreo Fudge Brownies

2009-08-03T09:42:00.001+05:30

A dummies guide to making great brownies

This is a dummies guide to making great chocolate brownies. Mushy at the core with little lumps of chocolate and crunchy on the surface.

I’ve never stepped into a kitchen.But this an easy tutorial. A step-by-step procedure,supplemented with pictures, which I will follow.

Lets get started. This serves (I would like to think 1) four healthy people. You will need the following…

- 400 gms - Cooking chocolate. You will get slabs of these in any super market. You can even use dark chocolate. We went with regular to be safe.

- Cooking butter also known as unsalted butter – also available in any super market.

- A box of Oreo cookies

- Sugar

- A food processor (for those who don’t know what a food processor is, it’s one of those things that convert lumps to powder, popularly known as grinders). See, this really is a dummies guide.

- Three eggs

- A tablespoon of vanilla essence

- Baking powder

- Some basic stuff that you would find in a kitchen, like bowls, a stove and some cutlery.

- Some non-basic stuff that you would find in a kitchen like an oven and a food processor.

- And if you really wana have some fun making your brownies, get amacbook and play some music on it.

Great, so once that’s organized…

Take the slab of cooking chocolate and cut it up real nice. Pound on it, slice it up, do whatever you have to, but break that big slab into shards. We used a knife and a cutting board, which will also work just fine. Please understand that we’re not cutting it up for fun. We’re cutting it up so that it’s easier to melt

Once that’s out of the way, pick up a big bowl and put 6 to 7 tablespoons of unsalted butter in it. Then add the chocolate shards in.

Now this is tricky so pay attention. You have to melt the chocolate and the butter until it becomes a thick, liquidy, and heavenly substance as seen below.

But make sure that when you melt it, you use two bowls. This is very important. Keep the outer bowl directly on the stove and fill it with water (refer the picture below). Then keep the smaller bowl, which contains the chocolate shards and the butter inside the larger bowl containing water. The idea here is to gradually heat the chocolate; otherwise you may end up burning it. So effectively, the water gets hot, and in turn the chocolate and butter melt. Oh before I forget, keep stirring this slowly with a spoon till you get the above results. If your forearms start hurting, switch hands.

Now spare a moment to take a whiff. I can promise you, it ‘s one of the best smells ever. I love the smell of petrol and make it a point to take deep breaths whenever I refuel at a station. I can proudly say that this smelt marginally better. Keep the chocolate aside for a bit (it needs to cool down).

After you’re done taking deep breaths, if you can get yourself to stop, get one and a quarter cups of sugar and throw that in your food processor. (Just the sugar, not the bowl).

You need to turn those granules into powder. So fine that you should be able to inhale it.You can also manually grind this with a pound. But you will have a lot more difficulty inhaling, if done this way. WAIT. DO NOT INHALE. That was just to give you an idea of how fine it should be.
Great, now put that into a big empty bowl and add three eggs to it. Crack the eggs open with a fork or a knife. Do not squish them with your bare hands (even if you think that’s more fun).

Grab a fork and start beating (Make a quick clockwise rotation with the fork) until mixed thoroughly.

Now add one tablespoon of vanilla essence and beat again. Take a moment to smell the vanilla essence. Not as good as the petrol smell but still worth it.

Now take both of your greatest creations, combine them and stir (also known as “folding”) well.

If it looks somewhat like this, you’re on the right track.

We’re still not done. Another 40% to go. Add in 1 cup of flour (popularly known as “Maida” in India) as shown below. Then “fold”.

Phew, when it looks something like this (below), add one tablespoon of baking powder. Then “fold” again.

It’s time to rip open the box of Oreo biscuits. Break the Oreo biscuits into small pieces as shown below.

Now add a little flour to the broken Oreos. Half a cup should suffice. Mix them up with your hands. This is to ensure that the Oreo biscuits are lined with a layer of flour so that they don’t stick to the chocolate immediately.

Throw in the Oreos as well and... “fold”.

Doesn’t that look nice and lumpy? Smell it some more. Aaaahhhhh... does anyone remember petrol anymore?

Now find a baking dish or a baking tin. Grease it with butter and line it (also called “dusting”) with flour as shown below. You want to make sure you do this. If you don’t, believe me, the baked brownies will stick to the base of the baking dish and will not come out unless scraped.

Now transfer the mush into the baking dish. All we need to do now, is to shove it in an oven. You need to pre-heat the oven for 30 minutes at 150 degrees centigrade. This means that you should have done this 30 minutes ago. Then shove the mush in for another 35 minutes. DO NOT open the oven before time.

After 35 minutes, open the oven and stick a toothpick into the brownie. If the toothpick comes back out clean, its ready and you can safely pull the brownie out of the oven. If the toothpick comes out with come dough stuck on it, you’ve messed up big time. Stick the dish back into the oven and continue to bake. Repeat the toothpick test process every 10 minutes. If the toothpick doesn’t come out clean after 5 attempts, book your losses, quit wasting more time on it and start all over again. This time, pay more attention.

On the other hand, if all goes well, (J) it should look like this (below) when you pull it out from the oven.

Cut it into pieces, force it out of that dish and sprinkle powdered sugar on it. Enough time wasted. Sink your teeth in.

Best served with vanilla ice cream, but feel free to get creative.

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Acknowledgements:

Reva for her willingness to make me these brownies.For having the patience to tolerate my camera and for being hungry and excited.

My mother-in-law (below) for losing it just ONCE when we were busy messing up her kitchen and more importantly, when we almost broke her baking dish.

Praerna Arora for sharing this recipe with Reva and inspiring her to try it at least once so she could discover her domestic side.

Lastly Oprah, for sharing this recipe with Praerna through her website.