Look Who's Cooking Too

Green chilli pickle

2012-01-23T12:18:00.001Z

How are you all my lovelies? Has the New Year been fruitful to you? It has been uneventful for me so far and I want to fast forward to spring. Although winter has not been terrible this time (we haven't had to turn on the heaters regularly), I am really looking forward to spring and summer which, at the moment, is so far away.

The trip home was good fun and 3 weeks went by so so fast and I'm kicking myself for not staying on for some more time. Its strange how a country and its ways just grow on you and you head to the place you called home only to find their ways annoying. I had a couple of epiphanies after I got home. Care to read?

1. I will give up cooking and baking altogether if I move back to India. I care too much about convenience and much less about my passion (if I can call it that) for baking. UK has spoilt me with ready made ingredients, like simple powdered sugar for instance. I hate having to grind sugar (large as rocks btw) and make a mess with the powder. The weather makes it impossible to store maida, baking powder, etc etc at room temp, which means the refrigerator is packed with things and I hate a stuffed refrigerator. I cooked thrice in 3 weeks and hated every moment of it. The 2 cakes I made was a disaster and the butter chicken, my family complained, was too bland like the Brits have it (this, after gloating on my previous post about how I figured out the perfect, traditional chicken tikka masala).

2. I expected people to stand in line at payment counters and like an IDIOT followed it twice or thrice until I realised it was never going to happen. I was jostled around and lost my cool once, after which Ro decided to never come out shopping with me. I realised I was a sucker for anything organised (This, coming from someone who thinks you don't need to organise anything. So you can imagine my shock after I realised this)
3. Zebra crossing is just a pretty design on the road. I got shouted at by a driver because i was trying to cross at a zebra crossing.

4. To prove that I could still handle street food, I went ahead and had all sorts of junk from the road side only to be gently told by my immune system that I couldn't handle it. I was devastated that even milk was creating issues for me :(

5. Movie channels are fab, and I realised I missed watching all the nonsensical mallu movies so much

6. Rains are still the most awesomest in Kerala. Ah so green and lush and absolutely romantic it is. It poured like mad a couple of days I was there and unlike here when I tell Ro, 'ah I wish I could have hot vada and chai right now' and could do nothing but just wish for it, back home, I exclaimed it out loud and in an hour I actually had steaming hot vada's and chai on my table.

7. That said, I'm absolutely sick of mallu food. Although I'm having rice withdrawals now and am trying hard not to go ballistic on it, it feels great to not have anything mallu for a while.

8. I hate Indian Chinese. Its got nothing Chinese about it except a bucket full of soy sauce. We went to our fav Chinese restaurant the day we landed and it was heavenly. We both decided that getting back to London was so worth it :)

9. I am not the emotional type who misses the parents and broods about it once I'm back (unlike my brother who is still such a baby about it), but I wished for the first time the entire clan lived in the same country at least (not India though). Close enough to drop in whenever we wanted to but far enough to not be visited often. That is more likely to become a reality in the US where half of the clan already is :(

10. Its soothing to know that Ro and myself, we still miss each other when apart (even though we are about 6 yrs into our married life)

Ok that's enough ranting to make up for not having written in 2 weeks right? Coming to the recipe, this is probably the yummiest chilli pickle I've ever had. My best friends mom, who is also my neighbour and like a mom to me, made this the last time I was in India. I could only bring back very little of it last time and it got over in a jiffy. I got the recipe from her, made it once by quartering the recipe and without the right ingredients and it was not delightful, to say the least. So this time I decided to just bring one whole bottle full, clicked some pics and decided to blog it since its definitely a keeper. There's no cooking involved and its super duper easy to put together. I have this with dosa's and parathas and with just about anything and trust me its divine. I have given the exact measurements, but feel free to halve it for convenience sake.

Green chillies- 1 kg

Lemon juice- 50gms

Turmeric powder- 5 gms

Split mustard seeds (kaduku parippu)- 100 gms

Asafoetida- 2 tsp

Fenugreek powder- 5 gms

Salt- 250 to 300 gms

Gingelly oil (sesame oil)- 1 cup

Wash and pat dry the green chillies, cut into small rounds and transfer to a large bowl.

Add all the ingredients except oil and mix well till the chilli pieces are all more or less evenly coated with the masala.

Slowly pour the gingelly oil on top of the chillies and gently stir it in.

Transfer to clean bottles, seal with a tight lid and leave it to mature for a minimum of 1 week, after which the chillies would be soft and ready to be dug into

Notes: Go for the mild green chillies if you cant handle the heat. Definitely not the birds eye, but finger chillies should be OK if spice is not too much of an issue. Apparently, the big ones you now get in India are not that spicy any more, so choose that if you have the option

You can either buy split mustard seeds or make your own by coarsely grinding/ pounding black mustard seeds with a pestle and mortar, but not too fine.

Espresso macarons filled with dark chocolate ganache

2012-01-10T10:04:00.001Z

I finally tackled my fear of egg whites- learning to separate them, whipping them to desired consistencies etc- and am very proud. After making the creme brulee I had some egg whites maturing in the refrigerator and I had no clue what to do with them. Well I sort of had a clue, but since my confidence levels were not up to mark, googled for hours deciding what to do with the egg whites.

Nothing interesting came out of the search and so I finally gave into the macaron frenzy that almost every food blogger is now aware of. I was very very sceptical as to how it would turn out and Shab and Finla totally helped me out with the entire thing. To be honest it was Shabs continuous FB status updates about her awesome mac flavours and finding feet that made me even consider making macs (at some point in my blog life), but it happened sooner than I thought.

I know I'm making it sound like an achievement, and trust me it is, when you see the feet (which you obviously know what it is) you feel joy (melo drama to the core, but please humour me). I would have been devastated if my macs hadn't come out decent, because for 1 it is not an easy job, 2, the quantity of ingredients used is not less and 3, its bloody messy. So after all this if my macs hadn't come out well, I would have cried, seriously, I would have screamed and cried and maybe even pulled my hair out.

I went through the mac bible (as I would like to call it) like a girl studying for the exams, that if someone questioned me what the first line on page 3 was I would say it, even in my sleep. I don't think I have ever been this determined to make something right. I was warned that I would be addicted to making macs again and again and in different flavours, once I got the hang oft it...but I must say, I'm done with the whole mac thing. Its too much of work and I care way too much about feet that I cant handle that pressure again :). But like I have previously mentioned, every food blogger should have tried making a red velvet cake, baked bread and made macarons at least once in their blog life. Now that the macaron bit is out of the way, I have all the time to experiment with bread (I do bake bread, but it's still not perfect) and the red velvet cake (this doesn't count as I made it with a mix).

Word of advice to those trying to make macarons for the first time, read the mac bible mentioned above and Meeta's notes on the same and you should be good to go. If you don't find feet, that's fine too. Just sandwich them anyway and give it to your husband saying its this awesome new dessert that you came up with. Mine would believe it in a second and so I wasn't too concerned about the "omg who will eat these feetless things' part of it. Pics are not that great cos after I was done with the whole episode, it was about 3pm and there was very little light. I was also in no mood to make it presentable, and hence the gloomy pics.

Recipe adapted from here

Icing sugar- 117 gms

Ground almonds- 60 gms (refer notes)

Espresso powder- 7 gms

Cocoa powder- 15 gms

Egg whites- 60 gms (refer notes)

Granulated sugar- 40 gms

Filling:

Dark chocolate- 100 gms, chopped fine

Double cream- 75 ml

Get the baking tray with baking paper ready. You would ideally need two trays for this quantity.

In a food processor or grinder pulse the icing sugar, ground almonds, espresso powder and cocoa powder till nice and powdery.

Then sift the mix a couple of times and make sure there are no lumps. The mix may still be not fine as icing sugar, but it should not have any larger chunks or lumps whatsoever.

Using a free standing mixer with whisk attachment or a hand mixer, whisk the egg whites till frothy.

Then add the granulated sugar bit by bit, while continuously beating, till soft peaks form. It should hold its beak shape when you lift the whisk up, but shouldn't be too dry and stiff. (Refer the mac bible for explicit guidelines)

Into the almond-sugar mix add the meringue and fold it in using a spatula by starting from the bottom and continuing to the top (again refer the bible), till you get a smooth even mixture.

The batter should fall back in ribbons when you lift the spatula. Also put a spoonful on a plate and if it spreads out on its own, then you are good to go. If it doesn't, then give a couple more folds and it should be fine.

Place the batter into a piping bag with a plain tip, and pipe away, leaving about 2 inches gap between the shells.

Leave aside to dry for half an hour.

Towards the last 10 minutes, pre heat the oven to 140C and once the time is up, place the tray in the middle rack and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. At this point praying to the mac gods for feet would be a great idea (I swear I did this)

Once done, cool on a rack completely before doing the filling.

For the filling, bring the cream to a gentle boil and pour over the chopped chocolate. Keep aside for a few minutes.

Once the entire chocolate has melted, stir gently to mix it all in and get a smooth and silky texture.

Keep aside to cool completely

When ready to assemble, slather on to (or pipe) the macaron shells, sandwich them. EAT

Notes: The espresso powder I used was really strong, so the coffee flavours were a tad too prevalent. If not a coffee fan, then you might as well replace with instant coffee powder.

The macarons are immensely sweet, so the dark chocolate ganache paired fairly well with the sweetness. Perfect balance, if you ask me.

The almond powder is a pain in the a**. The ones we get here are coarse and so I had to sieve it a couple of times, then pulse it with the other mentioned ingredients and then sieve again a couple of times to get a somewhat fine consistency.

Use egg whites matured in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days for best results. I brought them to room temperature before using though.

If you have a template it makes matters easy, but as usual the last minute madness made me forget all about it and so i just randomly piped them on to the paper.

YOU NEED PATIENCE to make them :)

Paneer tikka masala

2012-01-04T03:00:00.002Z

...is such a popular dish here in UK, it puts me to shame. I mean at least the ones I have tasted are so goddamn horrible, I have no idea how people eat it assuming its one of the most awesomest Indian dishes to date. I tried it at a restaurant once and it was so sweet and horrible, I don't even want to describe how the store bought ones tasted.

See, when I first came UK 4 years back, for one whole year, we survived on store bought ready meals and such and since the tikka masala's looked popular here, I used to quench my poor Indian palate with those pathetic store bought tikka masala preparations and each time I swore never to buy it again.

It was only recently I made myself a batch of the paneer tikka masala at home and realised it was actually so so so much more different and better than the restaurant/ store bought ones. I'm sure the authentic Indian restaurants will do justice, but I've had terrible bad luck with take always and never again will I buy this.

That said, making it is no easy feat. Its time consuming and messy, not to mention highly unhealthy. But once in a while I guess its ok to indulge (although I notice, this once-in-a-while is becoming a little too often), so go ahead and make this. Its fabulous with parathas and naan.

Recipe adapted from here and here

For marinade

Paneer- 200- 220 gms (around 2-21/2 cups), cut into cubes

Greek yoghurt- 3 tbsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Tandoori masala- 1 tsp (optional)

Kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)- 1/2 tsp, crushed

Lime juice- a few splashes

Salt- to taste

For the sauce

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Tomato purée- 1 cup

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Kasoori methi- 1 tsp, crushed

Single pouring cream- around 1/4 cup

Sugar- 1/2 tsp

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Water- 1 cup

Salt- to taste
Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp (optional)

If the paneer is store bought, then cut them into cubes and pour some hot water over. Keep aside for a couple of minutes and then drain to get soft, clean paneer.

Marinate the paneer with all the ingredients under the 'to marinate' section and keep aside for 1/2 an hour.

When ready to use, preheat the oven to about 200C.

Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and layer the paneer on it.

Bake for about 5 minutes on each side and then turn the grill mode and broil on high for about 3 to 4 minutes on each side, to get a charred effect.

Remove from the tray and keep aside.

In a large saucepan heat the oil and add the ginger and garlic paste. Cover to avoid spluttering all over the place.

Add the tomato puree and cook, stirring in between, for about 5 minutes

In goes the chilli powder and coriander powder, stir it in a cook further, till you start noticing the oil separate.

Add half the water, stir and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce heat and add the sugar and kasoori methi. Stir it in and cook for a couple of minutes

Finally slide in the paneer tikka and garam masala and stir to cover the paneer pieces with all the gravy.
Add about 1/2 cup more of water, stir well and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Check for salt, add if required.
Just before taking it off the flame, reduce heat and stir in the cream.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Notes: Replace paneer with chicken, voila..chicken tikka masala :)
I am thinking, there are so many ways of making this, but this clicked for us and we loved it

Nigella's triple chocolate cookies

2011-12-29T03:00:00.009Z

The husband came back one day after a conference at some fancy hotel and kept raving about the double chocolate cookies they served with tea. I didn't really care for it much, since I don't have the hots for chocolate. A couple of days later he brought home some chocolate cookies which he claimed came close to those he had, but still not there yet.

It lay on my kitchen counter till one day I got back after my swimming session so totally hungry and since there was nothing in the house I could eat (without preparation) I opened one cookie packet (they came in individual tiny packs) and popped into my mouth.

It tasted good, not divine or absolutely awesome, but good. I thought, why not make some for Ro since he keeps begging for chocolatey things all the time. I scouted around the net for a while and landed on Nigella's recipe. Its weird that I say this, but somehow all Nigella's chocolate based recipes have turned out pretty decent for me. This one didn't fail me either. It was as chocolately as Ro wanted and disappeared in 2 days, like I wanted, win-win situation if u ask me.

I love any kinda cookie straight out of the oven and after that don't really care for it that much. This too made its way through to my stomach immediately after it was taken out of the oven and after that it was all left for Ro. Its not the crunchy cookies, its more like a cakey, slightly chewy cookies which are so easy to make and as per Nigella, you can even freeze the dough for later use. She says you get 12 large cookies out of the measurements, but I halved it and made smaller cookies which are much easier to handle. Feel free to double it and make huge chunky cookies if you please.

On another note, I'm thoroughly enjoying my time at home doing absolutely nothing. Tried to bake some cupcakes but i seriously had no patience. Hats off to you guys in India who manage to bake well. I hated the fact that there was no brown sugar available, no ready made confectioners sugar, hated the heat which caused the frosting melt etc...wayy too much trouble to go through for a batch of cake. So I just decided it I shall never be baking if at all I get back to India. The convenience of UK has spoilt me, there I said it.. :)
Hope you all have a fabulous New Year with your loved ones. I will NOT be spending NYE with the husband this year, instead we are heading to two different parties. What fun :)

Recipe halved from here

Dark chocolate- 62 gms

Plain flour- 75 gms

Cocoa powder- 15 gms

Baking soda- 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Butter- 62 gms (softened)

Dark brown sugar- 38 gms

Caster sugar- 25 gms

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Egg- 1 small

Dark chocolate chips- 125 gms

Break the dark chocolate into smaller pieces and melt in a double boiler or in a heat proof bowl kept over simmering water.

Keep stirring till the chocolate has completely melted. Keep aside to cool a bit.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Into another bowl add the butter and cream it along with both the sugars till light and fluffy. A good wire whisk would do the job with a bit of an effort.

Pour in the melted chocolate and stir well to combine evenly.

In goes the vanilla extract and egg and beat it in to combine well.

Tip in the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon combine well, making sure there are no traces of flour seen.

Finally fold in the chocolate chips.

Line a baking tray with parchment paper and using an ice cream scoop, scoop out the dough and place at least 2 inches apart. (if you are making large ones, you would get about 6 of them).

Bake in an oven pre heated at 170C for about 10 minutes.

Get a tooth pick and gently insert it into the centre of a cookie, if it comes out clean (without any wet batter sticking to it) then you are good to go. If you have accidentally punctured a chocolate chip, then try again in another part of the cookie.

leave to cool for about 5 minutes on the tray and then transfer to a rack and cool completely before storing in containers.

Notes: The original recipe called for about 175 gms of chocolate chips, but I thought that was a tad too much, although next time I may try it out that way.

As per Nigella, make the dough as per instructions, scoop them into the baking tray as mentioned above and freeze just so they become hard enough. Then remove them from the tray, transfer to freezer bags and stash it back into the freezer till you are ready to use. I guess you can then bake directly from frozen, just that it might take a tad longer than usual.

Add some raspberry liqueur to the dough and I'm thinking it would be heavenly, or all spice for that matter.

Replace caster sugar with granulated sugar, I don't see that much of a problem there.

Kept them out for Santa on Christmas Eve and there was none left. He definitely loved these with his glass of milk, I hope you do too :)
Sending these to Forever Nigella: #10 Christmas Presence hosted by the lovely Sarah of Maison Cupcake

Chicken stuffed buns

2011-12-23T03:00:00.003Z

Here is something to take centre stage on your Christmas table, something I absolutely love, thanks to Ria's easy recipe. I have tried this a couple of times and love it. You can play around with the stuffing and what's even better is, you can freeze them and bake as and when required.

Ria's recipe yields absolutely soft and spongy buns and although they are a delight to feast on, Ro keeps complaining about them sticking in his mouth (which I agree, but he's all dramatic about it). So I now make a whole wheat-plain flour combo which still yields soft buns and doesn't have the sticking problem. I would like to think its more healthier as well :)

Recipe adapted from here & here (yields around 15 medium sized buns)

For the dough

Plain flour- 1 1/2 cups (plus enough to dust the work surface)

Wholemeal flour- 1/2 cup

Active dry yeast- 1 tbsp

Sugar- 1 tbsp

Warm water- 2 tbsp

Warm milk- 1/2 cup

Oil- 1/4 cup

Egg- 1, lightly beaten

Salt- to taste

Egg white or milk for wash

Sesame seeds- to sprinkle on top (optional)

For the filling

Minced/ shredded chicken- 400 gms

Onion- 1 large, finely chopped

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Green chillies- 2, finely chopped (optional)

Tomato- 1 large, finely chopped

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Potato- 1 large, diced into small cubes

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Coconut milk- 1/4 to 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves- a couple of stalks chopped fine (optional)

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Whisk together both the flours along with some salt and keep aside.

Take 1/2 tbsp flour from the mix and combine it with 1/2 tbsp sugar and yeast.

Add the warm water to that and mix well till the sugar and yeast has completely dissolved.

Keep aside for 10 minutes to activate the yeast. You would know its alive by the bubbles that form.

Into a large mixing bowl pour the milk, oil and remaining sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar.

Tip in 1 cup of the flour mix and using a wooden spoon mix well till you get a paste like consistency.

Add the beaten egg followed by the yeast mix and stir it in.

Finally add the remaining 1 cup sugar and stir vigorously till everything comes together. You can do this entire process using a mixer with dough hook attachment.

Otherwise, knead it well on a floured work surface for at least 10 minutes, till the dough is soft and pliable.

Oil the same mixing bowl lightly and keep the dough in it. Cover with a kitchen towel and leave in a warm place to rise. I preheat the oven to 100C for about 5 minutes, turn it off and then place the dough inside.

While the dough is proofing, get the filling ready.

Heat oil in a large frying pan and saute the onions till they turn a light golden brown in colour

Add the ginger and garlic pastes and stir for about 2 minutes or till the raw smell disappears.

In goes the chilli, coriander and turmeric powder. Stir for a minute or so for the spices to cook

Throw in the diced tomato/ paste and cook till the oil starts separating. This could take about 6 to 7 minutes on medium heat.

Add the diced potato followed by minced/ shredded chicken, season with enough salt and stir to bring all the ingredients together.

Cook till the chicken and potatoes are done and the water has completely evaporated.

When it is more or less dry, add the coconut milk and stir well. Cook further till you get a semi-gravy like consistency. It shouldn't be too watery, nor too dry.

Sprinkle the garam masala and coriander leaves and give one final stir. Do the taste test, add more if required.

Once done, transfer into a bowl and keep aside to cool completely.

Assembling

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down gently using your hands, give a couple of gentle kneads and divide the dough into 15 equal parts. (If you have an obsession like me, then weigh each ball to get the exact size)

Take a dough ball, make a small disc shape (either using your rolling pin, or stretch using your hands) and place 1 tbsp of the filling into the centre.

Wrap it up by bring all the edges together and pinch the top gently to seal the filling.

Try and reshape them into a perfect ball and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper.

Continue doing the same with all the dough balls and keep them aside for about 30 minutes to prove again.

Towards the end of your proving time, preheat the oven to 200C.

Just before you chuck them into the oven, whisk the egg white a bit and brush generously on top of the buns.

Sprinkle sesame seeds (if using) and bake in the middle shelf for 10 to 12 minutes or the tops are golden brown and glossy.

Take it out of the oven, cool for about 3 to 4 minutes, arrange them in a bread basket and serve with all the Christmas charm you can muster up :)

Notes: If you cant get hold of chicken breasts, then get chicken breasts, slice them into small chunks and precook in a saucepan along with a pinch of turmeric powder, salt and 2 tbsp of water. Once cooked, shred them and use that instead.

If you plan on making the buns only the next day, then place them in the refrigerator overnight. Bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the filling.

Curried carrot and lentil soup

2011-12-18T10:00:00.011Z

Its absolute soup weather here, and since this year winter came in a lil late (thank god for that) we haven't really had much of a soup thing going on. The other day Ro got back from home craving for a bowl of hot tom yum soup and even insisted we head out to a Thai restaurant to have some. I shrugged it off saying I slogged in the kitchen for one whole hour (yes too much time) to come up with dinner and also left overs in the fridge make me uneasy. I love an empty fridge as opposed to others who love an over filled fridge :)

Although I love a good bowl of soup on and off, I am not really an expert at making them. In fact I honestly suck at it. So its all soup sachets and canned soup jazzed up with veggies and all sorts of stuff. If it wasn't for some carrots I needed to get rid of from the fridge, I wouldn't have made this soup either. Carrots are not really a favourite of mine, and other than eating them raw, I really cant handle them. This soup however was a welcome change. The sweetness actually was a good thing, since it matched perfectly well with the lentils and Indian flavours.

On a completely different note (although those of you on FB will already know), we are off to India, tomorrow, for 3 weeks (rather unexpectedly) and I am super thrilled that I get to spend Christmas and New Years with family and friends. This time, unlike last year, I shall just be resting and relaxing and watching loads of mallu movies and harassing my brother and sis-in-law. Although I have promised mom a lot of baking and this and that, I am pretty sure I WILL NOT be doing any of those. Good thing my mom doesn't read the blog :)

I wanted to fix up a couple of guest posts by a few of my favourite bloggers in my absence, but then a one week notice to all of them is rather unfair and so I have just decided to go ahead and schedule a couple of posts while I'm away. So if I don't visit y'all for a month, please do pardon me, its only because I'm either sitting in front of the TV, or prop shopping (plan to do loads of it) or sleeping, or eating, in Kerala. But do drop in, as I have a couple of interesting recipes making its appearances here.

Onion- 1 large, roughly chopped

Garlic- 4 pods, peeled and roughly chopped

Carrots- 200 gms, peeled and chopped into cubes or rounds

Red lentils- 1/4 cup

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Red chilli powder- to taste

Pepper powder- to taste

Soup cube- 1 small (vegetable or chicken)

Water 500 ml

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Milk- 1/4 cup

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and throw in the onions and garlic. Sauté for about five minutes on medium heat till wilted.

Throw in the cumin, coriander and chilli powders and cook till the raw smell of the masala's disappear, about a minute or so.

Add the lentils and carrot and stir around, making sure all the masala catches on to them.

Add the soup cube, water and bring to a boil.

Place the lid on the cooker along with the weight and cook for about 15 minutes or 3 to 4 whistles.

Once the pressure dies, open the lid, add the milk, season with enough salt and pepper and bring to a gentle boil.

Take it off the fire and wait for the soup to cool a bit before using an immersion blender to make a smooth mix, or if you prefer to leave it chunky, go ahead and serve it with some herbed garlic bread (I adapted Shabs recipe, just that I used chopped parsley instead of basil)

Notes: Freeze the soup in an air tight container and use it later on a rainy day

Replace the masala powders with about 2 tsps of curry powder

The soup cube makes all the difference, so don't omit that

Sending these over to the Christmas Carrot Competition over at Love the Garden.

Caramel pear (upside down) cake- A guest post for Monsoon Spice

2011-12-15T10:27:00.001Z

The great thing about blogging is the fact that you can make so many friends in the virtual world, and somewhere along the way you are itching to meet them face to face and talk about all things food and photography related. Sia of Monsoon Spice is one person I'd like to meet some day and if lucky, get to taste some of the amazing food she makes as well. Although Monsoon Spice had a permanent position on my bookmarks bar, it was only recently that I got to befriend the gorgeous person (with the gorgeous hair, if I may add) behind the blog. Thanks to facebook, I now not only wish to see Sia, but also her lil dumpling who is simply the cutest.

Monsoon Spice is nothing short of perfection and her recipes are all worth devouring into. Her moong and spring onion dal, one of my absolute favs, still saves me on a rainy day and I have bookmarked quite a few other recipes to try, with the mirch ka achar (seriously, I'm drooling just thinking about it) topping the list. So imagine my delight when Sia asked me if I could do a guest post for Monsoon Spice while she was holidaying in India. Of course I wasn't gonna pass and so here I am with a delicious caramel pear cake which is divine in taste and EASY to make.

The base is a French yoghurt cake which is so easy to put together, even an amateur baker can do it. Trust me when I say that because this was the first cake I learnt to bake on my own. It has never failed me and no matter how hard you try to goof up, the end result will always be good. The cake is also my base for any fancy cakes, and adapts to almost any flavour, fruit, topping and frosting. I particularly like the upside down cake combo because the caramel kinda bubbles up when it is baking in the oven, causing an overall caramelised effect and the cake becomes more like a sponge pudding which you can never say no to.

So without rambling further, here is an utterly delicious cake you can whip up this holiday season. Head over to Sia's space to check out the recipe, and enjoy more pics. Once again thanks a bunch Sia, for this lovely opportunity.

Crème Brulee

2011-12-08T22:06:00.000Z

I always thought making a crème brulee was such a big task since I didn't have the fancy schmancy blow torch and such. So I'd given up even thinking about them until a while back we were at a French restaurant and I had the most yummiest and creamiest of crème brulee's. It was so good I decided to tackle the task as soon as possible.

Just like a million other 'plans' of mine, this too was forgotten and life went on. But the food gods had other plans. I was again put forth with the option of trying a crème brulee at yet another French restaurant and this time, although it was not as fabulous as the first experience, it pushed me well enough to make it at home.

And so I did- the research and the recipe search and how to go about doing the caramel topping without a blow torch etc. Now to make things clear, the crème brulee (which means burnt cream) is a tad different from caramel pudding/ custard. The procedures are different, obviously, but other than that the textures are completely different. While the caramel custard is more jello/wobbly-like, the brulee is rich and dense and much, much creamier. I also think the brulee is much easier to make as opposed to caramel custard where you have to first make the caramel (watch it like a hawk), swirl it around in a bowl blah blah, whereas here, the grill does the job for you, and probably an even BETTER job.

Now if you have a blow torch, you don't have anything to worry about. But for people like me who don't own one, the oven comes in handy, and fetches the same result as a blow torch. I must admit, however, that the first time I tried it, I managed to literally burn the cream. I turned around for a couple of seconds to clear my kitchen counter and there I could already smell the burnt caramel and it was torturous trying to get it off my pretty ramekins. The second time I watched it like a hawk and came up with beautiful, even caramel topping. So here I shall explain in detail how to go about the process (since I'm kinda jobless right now) :)

Recipe halved from here (makes 3 servings)

Double cream- 250ml

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Caster sugar- 50gms + enough to sprinkle on top

Egg yolks- from 3 eggs

Pour the cream into a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring continuously so that it doesn't form a film on top.

While that's happening, pre heat the oven to 150C, separate the eggs and whisk the egg yolks with caster sugar till light and fluffy. I just used a wire whisk for this. Its pretty easy to work with.

Increase the heat a bit and bring the cream to a boil.

Then take it off the flame and stir in the vanilla extract.

Immediately pour it over the egg mixture, bit by bit, whisking well continuously.

Keep whisking continuously till the mixture becomes a bit thick. This happens because the eggs have begun to cook slightly.

Using a ladle, pour in the mixture into 3 individual ramekins/ crème brulee dishes, till it is more or less full, leaving maybe 1/2 an inch on top (refer notes)

Gently tap each dish on the work surface to remove all the air bubbles and place them into a large roasting pan.

Fill with hot water, making sure it comes up at least half way up the sides (bain-marie its called) and gently place on the middle shelf of the oven.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until they are just about set. Its OK if it is a bit wobbly in the middle and looks a bit under done, as it will set in the refrigerator.

Remove dishes from the water bath and cool on wire racks.

Chill in the refrigerator till you are ready to use.

About half an hour before serving time, take the dishes out of the refrigerator and sprinkle caster sugar on top, as evenly as possible. Twirl it around to distribute them evenly.

Place the oven rack right on top and pre-heat the grill/ broiler for about 7 minutes.

Once the time is up, place the dishes (one at a time) under the grill for 2 minutes (approx.). Watch it carefully, it doesn't take long to mess up.

Once you see the top bubbling and getting caramelized, take it out and keep aside to cool. Hold back the urge to touch it, it can burn your fingers (yes, been here done that)

Repeat the procedure with the remaining dishes and once the caramel has hardened, chill in the refrigerator for a further 20-30 minutes and then serve.

Notes: The flavour options here are endless. Infuse the cream with cardamom pods, orange zest, lavender, coffee etc while the cream is boiling and then strain it before segregating them.

The first time, I made double the quantity and made them in proper ramekins. What I noticed was that the cream was a tad too much whereas the caramel topping was not enough to balance the creaminess. That's why i used a shallow dish this time. If using ramekins, don't fill right to the top, instead fill only 2/3rds.

I baked the crème brulee the night before and grilled it just before serving. I had one leftover and so I stored it in the refrigerator for a day and the caramel topping became soggy. Not a great idea, so grill it only if you are going to use it in the next half hour or so.

A friend mentioned that when she put the ramekins under the grill, the custard started cooking further, which is not a good sign. Its because the grill is not hot enough to caramelise the sugar fast. Its for that reason that I preheat the grill and first try with one ramekin to check if temperatures are right (if you notice the pics, one of the dishes have a lighter brown colour and you can even see traces of caster sugar). If you feel that the rack is not really close to the grill, place an inverted baking dish on the rack and the ramekin on top of that. Be extremely careful while removing the dishes.

Also turn it around if you see only one side browning.

Aromatic chicken pilaf

2011-12-04T22:42:00.001Z

I have realized that I should just stop making biryani altogether. Other than the few times I have succeeded, its all been a bad experience. I mean we still eat it with gusto even if it turns out a little less like biryani and more like a sadam, but I cant entirely depend on it to fetch brilliant results. Its simply because I still haven't mastered the art of cooking rice to perfect consistency, chicken to perfect gravy amounts and then doing the dum. Most of the time I have a very impatient husband whining in my ear about 'the damn dum' method saying its been kept for too long, and its ready to eat now, and we don't even need to really do the dum method. By that time even I'm impatiently waiting to dig into the biryani and fall for everything Ro has to say.

So to sum it up, my biryani expeditions are rather funny and so I've resigned to making pilaf which is much much much easier, more or less the same flavours (although connoisseurs in the field would beg to differ) and most of the time quenches my biryani craving.

Remember me telling you about an unassuming cookbook a friend had gifted. Well that book is called 200 curries by Sunil Vijaykar and it has sooo many amazing and super easy recipes, perfect for a lazy bum like me. This pilaf recipe has been adapted from the book and can be whipped up in no time. The ingredients list may look massive, but really, it can be whipped up in a jiffy. Its also kind of like a one pot meal, perfect for those winter nights indoors.

Boneless chicken breast or thighs- 350 gms (approx 4 large chicken thighs/ breasts)

Basmati rice- 200 gms (1 cup)

Yoghurt- 2 tbsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Chilli powder- 2 tsp

Curry powder- 2 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Cardamom- 2 pods

Cloves- 2

Cinnamon- 1 1/2 inch stick

Bay leaf- 1

Onion- 1 large, thinly sliced (preferably red onion)

Garlic cloves- 4, roughly chopped

Milk- 1 tbsp

Saffron threads- 1/4 tsp

Frozen green peas- 1/2 cup

Chicken stock- approx. 500 ml (or 2 cups)

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp + enough to fry the shallots

English shallots- 2 small, sliced lengthwise

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp, chopped finely (for garnish)

Clean and slice the chicken thighs into small bite size pieces and marinate with yoghurt, coriander powder, chilli powder and curry powder for about 1/2 an hour or if you have time, longer in the refrigerator.

Wash the rice till water runs clear and then soak in warm water for a while (optional)

Warm the milk a bit and soak the saffron threads in them.

You can go about getting all your other ingredients ready while the meat is marinating.

When you are ready to cook, place a deep, heavy chefs pan on medium high heat and pour in 1 tbsp of oil.

When the oil is really hot, add the marinated chicken and cook, stirring continuously, for about 5 minutes or till the chicken is cooked 3/4th. (I went ahead and cooked the chicken completely)

Once cooked, drain and keep aside.

Into the same pan (add more oil if required) throw in the spices- cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaf- and wait for it to sizzle and release all the aroma.

Throw in the onions and garlic and sauté till the onions wilt and turn a golden brown.

In goes the frozen peas and the precooked chicken. Sauté well on medium heat, just to thaw the peas.

Add the drained rice and stir it in gently, so that all of the ingredients are well combined.

Into the chicken stock, add the saffron milk and give a gentle stir. Colour would change, but that's fine really. Also do a taste test to check for salt as you don't want to over do it while adding salt to the rice.

When the rice becomes a wee bit glazy add the chicken stock, season with salt and give a final stir.

Close with a tight fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes or till the rice is perfectly cooked.

While the rice is cooking, heat some oil in a sauce pan and fry the shallots till crispy and brown. Drain on paper towels and keep ready.

When the rice is cooked, take it off the flame and leave it covered for a further five minutes.

Then fluff the rice using a fork and transfer to a serving bowl.

Garnish with the fried onions and coriander leaves and serve with some cucumber raita.

Notes: The original recipe called for dried apricots/ sultanas (125gms) but I don't like to bite into those and so didn't bother adding them. If using, stir it in with the chicken stock.

I dissolve a chicken cube/ bouillon in 2 cups of boiling water just before adding to the rice, which starts boiling on the hob top almost immediately. I then close with a tight fitting lid and cook on low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, checking half way through with a fork, if the rice is cooked or not.

If you don't want to marinate the chicken before hand, then throw in all the masala powders after you cook the onions and garlic and then add the chicken and cook completely. Continue from the step where you add frozen peas.

You can replace the oil with ghee if you prefer it that way.

Also, adding the spices (cardamom, cloves and cinnamon) are completely optional.

Add paneer instead of chicken and also slice a bell pepper and add along with the onions if you want a veg version.

Replace curry powder with any meat masala.

Jewish honey cake

2011-11-29T22:05:00.000Z

This is a favourite cake of mine.Period.

I should seriously just stop with that and let the recipe speak. But obviously I cant just leave it at that. Its a cake I had posted long back and has fetched brilliant results all the time.

Its a one bowl cake that is really easy to make and you get a spongy, moist cake perfect on its own. The first time I baked it, I had halved the recipe and still managed to get a large-ish cake. But this time I was baking it to give away some to my neighbour and so made the actual quantity and it came out as a dense and heavy cake, which I am just going to blame on the bundt pan I used as opposed to a pan with a larger circumference.

I was a wee bit disappointed by its fudgy texture (others begged to differ), but after a day of keeping it at room temperature, it actually was quite nice. I mean not that it was not nice right out out of the oven, but a little too rich for my liking, especially because I like my cakes light and airy with tea.

I would definitely not bake this in a bundt pan again, and halve it and bake two separate cakes if I want the entire quantity. So here's the recipe for one of my absolute favs. If you want to see the difference in the texture check out my initial recipe here

Recipe adapted from here (makes one large 9 inch bundt cake)

Plain flour- 3 1/2 cups

Baking powder- 3/4 tbsp

Baking soda- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon powder- 3 tsp

Ground cloves- 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil- 1 cup

Honey-1 cup

Granulated sugar- 1 1/2 cup

Dark brown sugar- 1/2 cup

Eggs- 3

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Warm coffee- 1 cup (dissolve 1 tsp instant coffee/ espresso in 1 cup warm water)

Orange juice- 1/2 cup

In a large mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon powder and ground cloves.

Make a well in the centre and add all the remaining ingredients.

Using a wooden spoon first mix in all the ingredients (to prevent a mess really) and then either use a hand blender or use paddle attachment in a free standing mixer and mix away till all the ingredients come together.

Make sure you scrape the sides and bottom so nothing sticks.

Once you have a well blended mix, pour into a well greased pan and bake in an oven pre heated at 176C for 60 to 75 minutes.

Do the skewer test and if it comes out clean then transfer the pan on to a cooling rack and after about 10-15 minutes, unmold and wait till its completely cool to cut a slice.

if you want, you can dust some icing sugar on top. Not really required as the cake is incredibly sweet.

Notes: Original recipe calls for a 1/4 cup of whiskey and almonds to be scattered on top of the cake. I avoided both.

Make sure the coffee is warm and not hot, as it could cook the egg

Increase or decrease the cinnamon powder as per taste. The first time i tried it, I thought the cinnamon was a bit over powering, but this time I was pretty OK with it

Make sure you properly grease your baking tray, as its a bit stubborn when you unmold.

Tandoori chicken wings

2011-11-22T22:40:00.001Z

Can you believe this is the first time I've made tandoori chicken per se. I have made chicken tikka masala and butter chicken, but never made it on its own to have as part of a meal. After seeing a couple of gorgeous tandoori chicken recipes in the blogosphere, I was itching to give it a go. So I got down to it yesterday and wasn't disappointed :)

I don't get a whole chicken, sliced into small pieces at the grocery store, and I don't know how to cut a whole chicken on my own, which means thighs and drumsticks are what I use in curries and bakes. Its so damn boring to eat it again and again and it doesn't even taste that great. They are huge, chunky pieces and I hate the very look of it. So instead of those I used chicken wings for the preparation and I am so so so glad I did, it turned out perfect. Juicy and moist and no hassle of cleaning and cutting (we get skinless wings here, all cleaned and ready to use).

I bought it yesterday, marinated it and was getting ready to grill it when the hubster called from work saying he was in the mood for Chinese and to be ready by the time he gets home, so we could head out to our fav Chinese restaurant round the corner. I was back late after my swimming session and was in absolutely no mood to cook and had to drag myself off the couch to marinate the chicken. And then when I get all enthu about the outcome, there, I was asked to leave everything and get ready for Chinese grub.

If it was any other day I would have said yes to it before thinking twice, this time however, I didn't want to go out. But Ro convinced me to refrigerate it and use it the next day, in which case the marinade would have caught on better. Now I hate to admit it, but that was such a fabulous idea. It was perfect when I grilled it today. This recipe is very similar to the Grilled chicken wings- Indian style but without the sauce and such, but taste-wise it was a while lot different, somehow.

I hadn't planned on taking pics and blogging it, but it was too good to pass and in spite of it being a gloomy and foggy day, I stepped out on to my balcony, arranged everything and was getting ready to click away when the cleaning lady who was raking leaves called out, 'isnt it a bit too cold for a meal outside love' and I was embarrassed. I was shivering in my shorts and jumper and how on earth would I explain to her I was taking pics for my blog, and about lighting issues. I just shrugged and said I wanted to take a couple of pics and she went back to her job with a quizzical expression on her face. So I couldn't take too many pics, one because it was biting cold and two, the moms going to pick the kids up from the school behind my apt all started staring at this wacko woman in shorts, taking pics of food outside on her balcony.

Chicken wings- 500 gms (about 10 to 12 wings)

Yoghurt- 2 tbsp

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Tomato paste- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Lime juice- 1/2 tsp

Dried fenugreek leaves/ kasoori methi- 1 tsp

Dried mint- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Mustard powder- 1/4 tsp

Tandoori masala- 1/2 tsp (optional- I use this just for the colour)

Salt- to taste

Wash and clean the chicken wings and place in a large bowl.

Whisk together all the remaining ingredients and give a quick taste test to see if there is enough salt and spice and adjust accordingly.

Pour over the chicken wings and toss it well it the marinade, making sure all the wings are evenly coated.

Cover using a cling film, or place in an air tight container to marinate over night in the refrigerator. If you are time constrained then a couple of hours should do.

When ready to grill, arrange the wings on a baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Retain the leftover marinade.

Preheat the grill/ broiler and place the tray on the middle rack and cook on one side for 7 minutes.

Remove, flip it over and grill for another 7 minutes.

Take it out and brush the wings with the left over marinade.

Place the tray back in and grill for a about 2 to 3 minutes, just to cook the masala.

You can check if its done by inserting a knife into the fleshy part and if juices run clear, you are good to go.

The wings will definitely be done in a matter of 15 minutes as your are grilling on high heat.

Let it rest for a couple of minutes on your kitchen counter before serving it as a starter or with a salad as a side.

Notes: Not a spicy preparation at all, so increase the chilli powder quantity as required.

I don't see the need to add oil in the marinade, but you can add about a tsp or so of oil/ ghee if you want

I also don't place the rack right below the grill, as it just chars the meat way too fast. So I keep it in the middle, but still grill on high heat, which makes for even cooking and a bit of charring as required.

Bobotie (pie)

2011-11-20T21:58:00.001Z

Well here I am, earlier than expected, but that's only because I made this amazing pie yesterday for brunch and couldn't wait to share it with you all. Before I lost interest I clicked a few pics (with whatever was lying around- no styling blah, blah) and decided to post it yesterday itself. But the enthusiastic husband instead decided to drag me to Oxford Street on a Saturday afternoon, to the midst of all those Christmas shoppers and chaos and then after strolling (pushing through would be more apt) through just 3 department stores, he threw his hands up and said I hate this crowd, I hate Oxford Street (how on earth can you hate OS??)

Well, what did he expect it to be like 5 weeks (eeks only 5 more weeks) before Christmas? empty? I suppose not. So while I waited in line at Starbucks for a cup of eggnog latte, Ro was eating my head about the situation. I had warned him about the crowd and said we should go to a mall in the suburbs to avoid the crowd, but no OS was the ultimate shopping destination. And then I had to listen to all this nonsense and was so so so close to losing it when I suddenly had an idea- tea should do the trick. So I dragged him into the coffee bar at Debenhams, got him a pot of tea and scones and saw that smile return to his face. Really, if that's all it takes to keep a man happy, here I am bowing down to tea and scones.

So anyhoo, after all that galavanting I came home excited at the prospect of going back again ON MY OWN and just when I sat down to write a blog post, Ro came and nagged me again saying it was pizza and movie night. I was convinced pretty easily and so we sat and watched a cheesy mallu movie with wine and pizza :)

So here I am finally in the mood to write a post after I spent the whole of today moping around the house as a reflection of the foggy climate outside. I have a very unassuming cook book a friend gifted to me which has all these really easy but delicious recipes. I am too lazy to get up and go check the name of the book, so you will just have to take my word for it. I came across a Bobotie (pronounced Ba-boor-tea, apparently) recipe in that book and decided to make it for brunch, since its a one pot meal and I had all those ingredients it called for (well most of it, at least). But the internet obsessed me still googled for it and came across a much more interesting recipe. I had some left over herb rice which I served alongside, and it was heavenly. Both of us agreed.

I admit it is not the traditional way of making Bobotie, because I just went ahead and did what was convenient for me. It was tasty nonetheless.

Recipe adapted from here

Minced beef- 500 gms (use chicken, pork or mutton and it should be fine as well)

Butter- 1/2 tbsp (I used oil)

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Onion- 1 large

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Tomato- 1 small (optional)

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Garam masala- 1 tsp

Coriander powder- 1/2 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp (optional)

Dried mixed herbs- 1 tsp (I used thyme and parsley)

Dried apricots and sultanas- 2 tbsp each (I used only apricots)

Chutney- 3 tbsp (I used mango chutney)

Bay leaves- 2 + enough to bake

Single cream- 200ml

Eggs- 3

Salt and pepper- to taste

Heat the butter in a saucepan and add the cumin seeds and bay leaves.

Once it sizzles slightly, add the onions and sauté till light brown in colour.

In goes the minced meat of choice. Break it down with your spatula and cook on medium high heat till they have all changed colour (until you don't see the redness of the meat any more)

Reduce heat to medium and add ginger and garlic pastes and mix it all in and cook till the raw smell disappears.

Add all the remaining ingredients, except the eggs and cream, and stir well to combine.

Season with salt.

Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring in between.

While that's taken care of, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk lightly.

Add the cream, season with enough salt and pepper, whisk together and keep aside.

The water should have evaporated from the meat by now, leaving a moist mixture.

You can either go ahead and cook the meat completely or leave it 3/4th done, because you are going to cook it further in the oven. I chose to cook it all the way, since I really didn't want to take a chance.

Once the meat is cooked divide between 4 ramekins, pressing it firmly and leaving about an inch space above.

Stick a couple of bay leaves into the meat and using a ladle pour the egg mix on top of the meat. Fill all the ramekins.

Bake in an oven preheated at 180C for 25 minutes or till the topping has set firmly and has become golden brown colour.

Once done, cool on a rack for about 5 minutes and then serve with a salad or rice or just bread.

Notes: If you get curry powder, instead of all the masala's just use a tbsp of that.

Use apricot jam if you don't have dried apricots and whole milk instead of single cream

Original recipe called for 50gms each of dried apricots and dried sultanas. I thought that would be a bit too much. Use according to your preference. Next time id just use the jam instead.

It also called for 25gms of flaked almonds which I didn't have, so omitted it.

After reading a couple of reviews that said the egg mix just got mixed with the meat, I decided to pour the egg on top just before placing in the oven and I think it did the trick. I got a pretty decent layer on top.

You can just go ahead and make it in one large casserole dish, in which case bake it for an addition 10 to 15 minutes more.

Coffee-walnut cake

2011-11-11T12:22:00.002Z

This post along with another one is probably the last in my drafts. I am staring at my Picasa album to realize I don't have any more food pics (blogworthy) in it. So I think it would be safe to say it will be a while till my next post. Unless otherwise I get all enthu over the weekend and cook up a storm and then style it and take pics. By the looks of it, I don't think I will be..well for one, its supposed to be an over cast weekend with rains on and off and two, I have so much frozen food, I need to eat it some time or else my freezer would remain full and i wont be able to fill it with more junk.

I blame myself for running around the Indian grocery store like I'm crazy (and Ro for not stopping me). I picked up mooli paratha, peas paratha (I don't even like peas) and paneer paratha by the truck loads and ignoring Ro's eye rolling I even picked up canned pavakka theeyal..really, canned theeyal...who does that you might wonder. Oh well, here's living proof of the fact that I can buy the most bizarre of things. And like that's not enough, both of us hate bitter gourd with a vengeance. I will just have to say a little prayer and open it and pretend to like it, so Ro cant say 'I told you so'

While we are on the 'buying' topic, I have gone ahead and picked up a shelf to keep all my blog stuff. Although it is not as droolworthy as Soma's and Aran's gorgeous collection, I am so proud of it that each time I pass by I exclaim how amazing it looks (with dramatic sighs and oohs and aah's. Now that its all out in the open (before it all used to be in a cardboard box), the not-so-fun part is Ro shooting questions at me like, where did you buy this from, how much did that cost and so on. Of course I understand that he wanted to know what I was gonna do with the Christmas decorations, when we didn't even plan on buying a Christmas tree (Here's the answer...it was because I was doing a post for a magazine with Christmas as the theme and without candles, baubles and holly, it wouldn't have been a 'merry' Christmas would it?). Obviously I didn't say that and distracted him with a tea pot I picked up because Ro is a sucker for anything tea related. (Note to self: first find a place to hide the huge cake stand before I buy it.)

Anyhoo, coming to the cake, its not a fancy schmancy cake, but I loved it. Its a simple coffee cake that pairs well with, err..coffee perhaps? Also, the best part- its a one bowl cake. No cleaning up tonnes of vessels and all that which usually puts me off making a cake altogether. I whipped it up quite a while back to serve with tea for some unexpected guests and strangely had all the ingredients it required. The original recipe calls for a mascarpone frosting which I didn't do, because for one its a painstaking job and two, I somehow have this notion that tea cakes are supposed to be plain. Click on the link for the filling and frosting recipe if you are going all out. I am a sucker for anything coffee flavoured and this cake just made me fall in love with it all over again.

Recipe adapted from Delia online

Plain flour- 110 gms

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Caster sugar- 110 gms

Unsalted butter- 110 gms, at room temperature

Eggs- 2 large

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Instant espresso coffee- 1 tbsp

Boiling water- 1 1/2 tbsp

Finely chopped walnuts- 50 gms

Dissolve the instant espresso in boiling water. Keep aside.

Into a large mixing bowl add the flour, baking powder and salt and whisk together.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the coffee and walnuts and combine well either using an electric beater or if you are lazy like me, use the whisk or a wooden spoon and get the job done.

Mix till you get a smooth consistency.

Pour in the coffee, add walnuts and fold it in, making sure you have a well combined mixture.

Transfer the batter into a greased 9 inch cake pan, even it out, tap a couple of times to release the air bubbles and bake in an oven pre-heated at 170C for 30 minutes or till the skewer comes out clean.

Cool for about 5 minutes after which you can transfer it from the cake pan on to a wire rack and cool completely.

The cake stays in an air tight container for about 4 or 5 days at room temperature. Mine lasted just one evening :)

Notes: The original recipe calls for self-raising flour, so if you have that, reduce the baking powder to 1 tsp and omit the salt.

For caster sugar, just pulse normal granulated sugar in a blender once or twice for a finer version. Don't over do it or else you will end up with icing sugar
Replace espresso powder with normal instant coffee if espresso is not available. You might have to increase the quantity a tad bit to get strong coffee flavour in the cake though

If you don't like biting into the walnuts, then pulse it in a blender, along with a couple of tbsp of sugar, (from the measurements given) to a fine powder and then add it along with the flour.

Hazelnuts or almonds can also be used instead of walnuts.

Foil-baked pomfret with Indian spices (meen pollichathu)

2011-10-31T22:45:00.001Z

I didn't mean to stay away from the blog for 2 weeks, but things just got a wee bit crazy over at my end with guests one after the other and then the lethargy and laziness that caught on, leaving me drained and void of energy. I mean I have completely ignored my work for the past 2 weeks, stopped swimming classes and cooking has invariably taken a back seat.

So tomorrow being a new month altogether, I have decided to get my bearings right and get back on track with the whole routine life. September according to me was kept aside for time with friends and relatives, theatre shows and short breaks, loads of eating out and drinking (yes it has started to show, again!!!), and sometimes just doing nothing at all. As much as I enjoyed that phase, I feel much better when I'm swamped with work and under pressure. Its really strange, I know, but it makes a weekend or a mid week break much more enjoyable and worth it.

So it was after a long time that we enjoyed a quiet weekend at home and strangely I was in the mood to cook, not simple unnerving things, but elaborate dishes that needed a lot of prep and time. Saturday I made a gorgeous Sri Lankan beef roast, which I thought I should take pics and blog but as usual after that long procedure, all I wanted to do was dig into it. A hungry Ro who kept asking, is it done yet? is it done yet? was not helping either. And then for dinner (which is usually leftover stuff or we go out) I made aloo parathas which were not really awesome, but after a movie we were so hungry that they actually tasted decent.

Came Sunday and there was no stopping. I'd picked up a whole pomfret from the Chinese store nearby and decided to work with it. Well after Ro cleaned it up and did the needful that is. I must say, I have the awesomest husband ever when it comes to things like this. As mentioned before, I'm not a big fish fan and if it has bones, I don't even go near it, leave alone clean it. So if at all I buy fish, I pick up the cleaned fillets from the grocery store and masala-fy it so much, it hardly tastes like fish anymore. This preparation was no different, and if it wasn't for the whole cleaning and dealing with the stench, I would have made it a regular.

I'd taken it out of the freezer to thaw it and when it was about 3/4th thawed Ro cleaned the fins and peeled off the entire skin (which was a great idea) and then we marinated it over night. The fish is wrapped in banana leaves and then roasted, which is the traditional way of doing this preparation. But since I couldn't get hold of banana leaves, I had to make do with the foil. No worries, it still tasted amazing to me, the gravy/masala was the best and the next time I try it, it would be with a fish fillet and loads of gravy. This time, although the gravy had covered the fish well enough, I still preferred some more to quench my craving.

Also, here's a really late Halloween wish coming your way. We didn't do anything exciting, except I made these super cute 'Boo'tatoes which I'm rather proud of :)

Recipe adapted from here and appears in the book Flavours of the Spice Coast by Mrs K. M. Mathew

To marinate

Black Pomfret- 500 gms (any firm fish should be fine-King Fish, Tilapia, River Cobbler, Pearl Spot etc.)

Pepper powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

For the masala

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/4 tsp

Fenugreek powder- a pinch

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Shallots/ button onions- 1 cup, finely chopped

Garlic cloves- 8 to 10, peeled and roughly chopped

Green chilli- 1, chopped

Tomato paste- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- a sprig

Coconut milk- 1/3rd cup

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Oil- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Clean the fish, and if using a large one with skin on, make gashes on both sides.

Mix together the marinade ingredients and generously rub it on to the fish. Keep aside for at least 1 hour.

About an hour or so before you start preparation, bring the fish to room temperature.

Make a paste with coriander, chilli, turmeric, pepper and fenugreek powder along with the ginger and garlic paste and keep aside.

Heat about 1/2 tbsp of oil in a large non-stick frying pan, swirl it around and fry the fish till lightly brown on both sides. You don't need to cook the fish, just sear it on both sides, say about a minute or so on each side.

Remove and drain on a paper towel.

Into the remaining oil (or add some more if required) add the shallots, garlic, green chillies and curry leaves and sauté till the onions have wilted a bit. Remove and keep aside.

Add the remaining oil and splutter the mustard seeds.

Keeping heat to low add the previously prepared paste and cook, stirring continuously, till it is no longer raw. It might splutter vigorously, so be careful.

Tip in the cooked onion mix, followed by the tomato paste and salt and mix it all together.

Keep the heat to medium and cook this masala till you start noticing the oil surfacing.

Add the coconut milk at this point, bit by bit and stir it into the masala.

You would get a semi-gravy like consistency and at this point add the fried fish.

Carefully cover the fish with the masala as much as possible on both sides and turn off the heat.

Assembling

Leave the fish in the pan as it is, while you get your foil ready.

Preheat the oven to 175C at this point

Place a large sheet of silver foil on a baking tray and layer with some masala from the frying pan.

Carefully place the fish on top and cover with the remaining masala from the pan. Clean it out completely.

Place another large sheet of aluminium foil over the fish and crimp the sides to make a parcel. Make sure you seal the edges well so that no steam can escape.

Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Take it out and check if the fish is done. If it flakes off easily, then you are good to go. Otherwise cook for a further 10 more minutes.

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Notes: This is not a spicy preparation. If you want it spicier, use normal chilli pwd instead of the Kashmiri one.

I marinated the fish over night and so placed it on a plate, covered with a cling film and then refrigerated.

The process might look elaborate, but it really is not that difficult :)

My 'go to' tomato sauce and a chicken tikka pizza

2011-10-18T22:47:00.003+01:00

Till recently I used to buy pizza sauce and marinara sauce for pasta and such and after using half of the bottle, the remaining used to stay in the fridge where it would grow other inedible stuff and finally make its way through to the bin. And then again, when I needed a couple of spoons of tomato sauce for a pizza, I'd go out and buy a bottle which would repeat the same cycle.

That's when a friend mentioned she made her own tomato sauce and it freezes really well. I shrugged off the idea saying I'd never really do it because it sounded like a tough job. What I didn't know was the number of easy peacy recipes on the internet that fetched me same results. So off I went on a fanatic search and came up with this easy to do recipe that suited my taste buds and more importantly, was easy to prepare. I now use this for any kinda dishes like in a lasagna, for spaghetti meatballs and of course as the pizza sauce. If not anything, it works well as a dip for those tortilla chips as well.

So yesterday after a rather heavy dinner, the husband suddenly announces that he wants pizza. I had a doubt if I heard him right and asked him what he meant. He said he had a craving for pizza. Yes, craving is the exact word he used. I said if he was hungry, I could make a couple more rotis, but no he wanted pizza and only pizza.

Well too bad, I wasn't going to make pizza at 8 in the night nor was I gonna order pizza because I was too damn full to eat anything more. Fed him some grapes and promised I'd make pizza soon. Well little did I know it would be this soon, but I ended up making it today and even had the will power to take some pics in spite of the lighting being shitty and such.

I happened to have some sauce tucked away in my freezer and thought it was a good idea to blog it since I intend on making it again. I also had some leftover chicken tikka from a dinner party on Sunday and decided to go for an Indianised version, just for kicks. I'm mighty thrilled with the outcome, as I have evolved from the amoeba shaped pizza to a rather round-like one in about 6 months. I'm getting there people, I'm getting there :)

On a completely different note, a big thanks to my uber creative friend Arun for doing the header for me. He's such a genius, you should check out some of his work here. When he becomes an aspiring film maker, I'm not gonna have this privilege. But till then I'm definitely gonna harass him for random stuff like this. Thanks a bunch A.

Sending the tomato sauce and pizza to the 'Taste for Tomatoes' competition over at Love the Garden. Now I'm just crossing my fingers and waiting to see if I've won :)

Tomato sauce (loosely adapted from Jamie Oliver's recipe)

Chopped tomatoes- 400 gms (canned)

Garlic- 5 cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Fresh basil leaves- a handful, cleaned and torn

Olive oil- 1 1/2 tbsp

Dried oregano- 1/2 tsp

Dried red chilli- 2, broken in half (optional)

Salt and pepper- to taste

Into a saucepan add the olive oil and once it becomes hot throw in the chopped garlic.

Swirl it around a bit and once it changes colour a bit, add the tomato followed by all other ingredients.

Stir well and bring to a boil.

Then reduce heat to low and let it simmer away for about 20 minutes, and remember to stir in between.

Once it becomes thick and saucy-like, remove from heat and let it cool for a while.

using an immersion blender, blend to a smoother consistency.

Store in sterilized glass jars and once completely cool, freeze.

When ready to use again, thaw at room temperature, gently heat at a really low temperature and use again.

Notes: I added a wee bit of home made garam masala to the tomato sauce because i was doing a chicken tikka pizza.

The red chillies add a bit of spice, so omit if you dont want a spicier version.

Chicken tikka pizza (makes 2 8-inch pizzas)

For the base (recipe halved from here)

Plain flour- 250 gms

Olive oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Luke warm water- 150 ml

Active dry yeast- 1 tsp

Sugar- 1/4 tsp

For the topping:

Above mentioned tomato sauce- 1 cup

Chicken tikka pieces- 2 cups (recipe from here, the first part only i.e, the marinade and then grill as per instructions)

Grated Mozzarella cheese- 1/4 cup (optional)

Fresh mozzarella balls- 2 medium, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices

Cherry tomatoes- 1/2 cup, each of them sliced in half

Spinach leaves- 1/4 cup, pre cooked in the microwave for a couple of seconds

Grated Parmesan cheese- a couple of spoons (optional)

Olive oil- to drizzle

In a small bowl mix together the yeast and sugar and pour in 50ml lukewarm water.

Mix well and leave aside for about 10 minutes by which time the yeast would bubble up.

In another large bowl whisk together the flour and salt and rub into it the olive oil, till slightly crumbly.

Once the yeast mix is ready, pour it into the flour mix along with 100ml lukewarm water, and using your hand mix till they all come together.

Lightly flour a work surface and knead till it is no longer sticky, say for about 4 to 5 minutes (yeah that's all it takes, trust me).

Place it back in the bowl, cover with a damp kitchen towel and keep aside to rise for about an hour.

When you are ready to make the pizza, punch down the dough, knead it a couple of times and roll it out into the desired shape and to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. I used my silicone mat for this purpose so didn't need any flour. If doing so on your work top, then lightly flour the surface.

Place in a lightly greased pizza pan and then using your fingers stretch it out further.

Generously douse with the tomato sauce, leaving about half an inch from the edges.

Top with grated mozzarella, if using, or else place the chicken tikka slices randomly. Don't crowd it too much though.

Next, arrange the chopped tomatoes followed by fresh mozzarella.

Finally top with the cooked spinach leaves, drizzle some olive oil and place in an oven preheated at 200C.

Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes, by which time the cheese would have melted.

Once you take it out, you can sprinkle some freshly grated Parmesan cheese, drizzle some more olive oil, slice and serve with a glass of wine...BLISS!

Notes: Add olives and mushrooms if you feel like and as a veg option, paneer tikka can be used. Just replace the chicken in the recipe with paneer.

The pizza is crisp around the edges and soft at the centre, just like we love it.

It is thin crust and not deep pan. For that you will have to keep the base thicker while rolling it out.

Passion fruit- two ways

2011-10-11T16:52:00.000+01:00

K I admit it, I have a slight obsession for passion fruit going on :)

It all started when I discovered a brand of exotic fruit juices and there was no looking back. Passion fruit and mango are my current favs and once I was done with the mango obsession, I jumped to passion fruit. I'm sure the next is lychee, but till then I'm gonna over do the passion fruit juice a bit. Bear with me

I have been experimenting with a few cocktails and loving the outcome. Made passion fruit mojitos for the ladies when we had some family over last weekend, and it was a hit (If I may say so myself). And then this Indian Mojito which I came up with, after Ro taught me the only way to eat the fruit- slice it in half and onto it add some sliced green chillies, sprinkle loads of salt and using a spoon mix it all in and eat to your hearts content. Believe it or not, while I'm typing this, I'm drooling.

Apparently that's how he used to have it when he was younger..and one whole afternoon we spent eating passion fruits with salt and chillies. The combination is just so awesome, I wondered how it would be as a cocktail. Whipped it up one evening and I wasn't wrong. Its sooo good, I'm thinking I should patent it ;)

Indian Passion (Mojito with an Indian touch)- makes 1

Vodka- 50 ml

Lime wedges- 3

Mint- a few sprigs

Sugar- 3 tsp

Jal jeera mix- 1 tsp

Crushed ice

Passion fruit juice

Soda water

Green chilli- 1, half slit

Passion fruit- one half (optional)

Salt- for the glass rim (optional)

Take some salt in a saucer. Rub a lemon wedge lightly around the rim of a glass to moisten it and then turn it upside down and dip the rim in the salt. Slightly shake it, so all the excess falls off. You don't want it to be too salty.

Then into the glass add vodka, lime wedges, sugar and jal jeera mix along with about 4 or 5 sprigs of mint.

Muddle well to give out the lemon and mint flavours and then top with loads of crushed ice.

Pour enough passion fruit juice to fill about 3/4th of the glass and then top the remaining with soda water.

Using the slit chilli, slightly stir the contents and leave it in or take it out if you don't want it too spicy.

Spoon out the passion fruit pulp and seeds and add it to the drink, sprinkle some more jal jeera mix on top, garnish with mint and drink away.

Notes: Rimming the glass is purely optional. I have tried it both ways and it's really a personal choice.

Crushed ice is available to buy, but you can also make your own by putting some ice cubes in a freezer bag, wrapping it in a towel and then whacking the hell out of it using a mallet or rolling pin. Store it in the bag itself.

I ran out of crushed ice when I made the drink, so used ice cubes, which was absolutely perfect as well

The jal jeera mix also can be avoided if you are not that big a fan. In that case, rimming the glass is a must for that salt kick.

Go ahead and do a non alcoholic version without the vodka, and I'm sure it would be just as nice.

Passion fruit Iced tea

This was the outcome on one of those Saturdays the heat wave took over UK. Ro had somehow managed to sleep in spite of the dreadful heat and I was getting pretty agitated by that, and to keep myself sane, I whipped up this iced tea. It turned out pretty decent and although I may not really have to make them for the next 6 months, here I am adding it to the passion fruit madness.

Makes 3 to 4 tall glasses, recipe from here

Tea bags- 4

Boiling water- 1 litre

Caster sugar- 3 to 4 tbsp (adjust according to taste)

Lemon juice- 1/4 cup

Passion fruit juice- 3/4 cup

Lemon, 1 thinly sliced

Place the tea bags in a pitcher and pour in the boiling water.

Let it steep for about 3 minutes and then remove the tea bags.

Stir in the sugar till dissolved followed by lemon juice and passion fruit juice.

Refrigerate for at least half an hour.

When ready to serve, add the lime slices and pour into a glass filled with ice.

garnish with mint leaves and drink away.

Notes: Add some orange juice as well for more flavour.

I like it pretty sweet so I ended up adding more sugar. You can use honey as well.

Don't keep the tea bags in for long, it could turn out bitter

South Indian chicken curry

2011-10-05T11:52:00.000+01:00

So here's a fact about me...I just cannot make a decent chicken curry. I mean one that you can whip up whenever you are stuck with some chicken and has no time to make anything fancy, one which you don't really need a recipe to follow and one which tastes great after that wee bit of effort. I have tried following umpteen recipes and procedures, but it just doesn't feel right. Of course, Ro thinks otherwise. He thinks I should just put the masalas and the chicken together in the pressure cooker and just make a curry. Although it is one of my easier methods (recipe here), it really doesn't taste awesome.

So the other day I made this 'authentic' chicken curry after a lot of trouble..and by trouble i mean dry roasting the spices, grinding, then marinating and cooking and the final outcome was just like any other boring chicken curry. I asked Ro how it was and he said 'tastes like usual' which was enough to trigger the emotions. I whined about how the chicken curries always taste so horrid and how I hate it when things don't work out fine, and of course my favourite, how I hate cooking altogether.

Ro's answer was to turn off 'Desperate Housewives' on the laptop and instead concentrate on the cooking procedure and everything would fall into place. Easy for him to say, this way at least while stirring the damn curry, I'd not be bored. So anyhoo, I also whined about it on FB and also to my mom who asked me to just follow the recipe given behind the chicken masala packets. Even Ria had mentioned the same and coincidentally, both of them mentioned the Eastern chicken masala brand. So on one of our recent visits to the Indian grocery store, I picked up one packet, and just 2 days back decided to try it out.

I must say its my favourite chicken curry so far. I mean taste wise its not out of this world or anything. But its damn easy to make and goes well with appams, rice, roti and even pulao. I have the habit of emptying the contents of the masala packets to glass containers (cos I personally hate those paper packs) and I was itching to do the same with this packet, but had to hold on till I wrote down the recipe. So pardon the horrid pictures (blaming the weather here) and the hurried post.

On a completely different note, I have started writing a food column for an expat magazine and I'm thrilled to say that the first edition is out. You can check it out here (Gorgeous Goa, pg. 18).

Chicken- 1 kg (skinned, cleaned and cut into medium size pieces- thigh, breast, legs, anything works)
Eastern chicken masala powder- 4 1/2 to 5 tbsp
Onion- 1 large, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
Ginger- 1 tbsp, peeled and roughly chopped
Garlic- 5 pods, roughly chopped
Green chillies- 2
Water- 2 cups
Slightly thick coconut milk- 1 cup
Potatoes- 2 medium, peeled and cut into cubes (optional)
Salt- to taste
Oil- 2 tbsp
Curry leaves- 2 sprigs
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Marinate the chicken with the masala powder and salt and keep aside for about 10 to 15 minutes or longer if you have the time.
Meanwhile grind together ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste (it need not be really smooth). Keep aside.
When you are ready to cook, heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan and splutter mustard seeds.
Add half of the curry leaves and onions and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Once the onions start sweating and becomes translucent, add the ground paste.
Continue sautéing on medium heat till the raw smell disappears, about 4 to 5 minutes.
Tip in the marinated chicken and fry for a couple of minutes, just to char the exterior (this step is optional)
Add the cubed potatoes and 2 cups of water, give a proper stir and cover and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or till the chicken is cooked through. Keep stirring in between.
Then open the lid and add the coconut milk and remaining curry leaves.
Check for salt and continue cooking without the lid for about 10 more minutes.
Once the gravy has thickened a bit, take it off the flame and serve hot with some steamed rice or appams.

Notes: Next time I would use ginger and garlic paste instead of grinding them, as I feel its an extra step. So perhaps 1 tbsp each of ginger and garlic paste and the chilli I will slit and add along with it.
The curry is spicy, but not in an overpowering way, it was just right for us. I used mild green chillies and perhaps that was the reason. If using hot chillies, adjust according to taste or omit altogether.
The original recipe called for just 3 cups of water, I substituted 1 cup with coconut milk
Once the curry cooled down, I froze it in an air tight container. You just need to thaw it and then heat it on the hob top when ready to use.
You can use more or less any meat/chicken masala the same way or replace with about a tbsp of coriander powder, a 1/4 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp pepper powder, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (these measurements are approximate, so don't count on it entirely).

Passion fruit-basil lemonade

2011-09-30T22:01:00.000+01:00

We have been having some exceptionally hot weather (30C) this side of the world, and its horrible. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for skimpy shorts and margaritas, but when you are kinda done with summer and want to move on to the changing leaves, scorching hot and humid weather doesn't really work well for me. I mean it was just last weekend I put away my summer wear and pulled out all my knitwear and even shopped around for some new scarves and jackets. When on earth will I be able to pick up this gorgeous pair of ankle boots, that I have been eyeing?? When, when, when???

So instead of dreaming about hot chocolate and mulled wine, I have gone to making cold drinks, yet again. I was out all of yesterday and by the time I got to my last stop, the grocery store, I was pooped and wanted something cold. Strangely I was craving passion fruit juice (I mean who craves passion fruit juice???)..and I dint think twice before picking it up. Came back home, jazzed it up with some fresh basil and lemonade and it was an awesome combo.

I was so thrilled with my discovery, i forced myself to keep about a glass in the fridge for Ro, who came back from work, spiked it with gin and said it was much better...Hmmmpfff...so much for all the hard work! (although i admit it tasted great). There is not much of a recipe here, I just threw in a few ingredients, but I thought I should pen it down, just for picture sake :)

Passion fruit juice- 3 cups (any brand, I used Rubicon)
Passion fruit pulp- from two small fruits
Lemonade- 1 1/2 cups
Basil- about 3 tbsp, torn
Ice cubes- as required

Muddle together the basil leaves and passion fruit pulp lightly.
Top with the passion fruit juice followed by the lemonade
Throw in the ice cubes, garnish with a basil leaf and serve

Notes: Add some gin or vodka for some extra kick
The passion fruit juice can be really sweet, so dilute it with some water if required.

Chilli, ginger and coriander focaccia

2011-09-25T20:49:00.001+01:00

Its unbelievable that we are having awesome weather and apparently it continues on to next week. We have been enjoying it thoroughly and as we do every year we also went for the open air movies at the London Scoop. We have one more coming up on Wednesday and that should officially end our summer sojourns :)

I am also super thrilled, I've managed to post another recipe without much of a gap, thanks to a 'no working on weekends' rule Ro has come up with. So while he's spread out on the sofa reading Asterix and watching the F1 highlights, here I am typing out a recipe. Its been ages since we've spent a weekend at home and today also would have been no different if it wasn't for the Greenwich marathon that passes through our place and they've shut down all transport and even the tube station.

So all day we lazed around, got drunk and the initial plan was to just not do any cooking, but the past few days we've been eating out and so I got down to it and cooked. This focaccia was the outcome and we dunked it in olive oil and munched away with a chicken roast. Discovered this fab website with a lot of baking tips and recipe ideas and I have already bookmarked a few. Do head over and check it out when time permits.

I must admit that the first time I tried out a focaccia recipe, it flopped on me, big time. This time however, I was determined to follow instructions properly and although a couple of ingredient substitutions did leave me confused, I managed to pull it back together. The coriander leaves add a great flavour to the bread and you know the chillies are present, but not in an over powering sort of way.

Recipe has been adapted from here
Plain flour- 200 gms
Sea salt- 1/2 tsp + enough to sprinkle
Chillies- 3, finely chopped
Coriander leaves- a small bunch, finely chopped
Ginger- 1/2 tbsp, grated
Active dry yeast- 3.5 gms
Water- 112ml (roughly 4oz), warm
Olive oil- 1/2 tbsp

Slightly warm the water and add the yeast. Whisk to dissolve and leave aside for 6 to 7 minutes to reactivate.
In the meantime whisk together the flour, salt, half of the chillies and coriander leaves and ginger in a mixing bowl.
Once the yeast has frothed, add it to the flour mix and knead using a dough hook attachment for about 5 to 6 minutes or if using your hands, flour the work top and knead well for 10 minutes, till the dough is no longer sticky, but smooth and pliable.
Lightly grease a bowl, place the dough in it, cover with a wet cloth and set aside in a warm place to rise.
After about 2 hours, the dough would have doubled in size, so punch it down, knead for about 2 to 3 minutes and make it into a presentable round shape. Roll it out if you cant really stretch it, but don't thin it a lot.
Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and dimple it at intervals with your finger.
Top with the remaining coriander leaves and chillies and keep aside for an hour or so to proof again.
Once the dough has risen again, brush with olive oil generously, sprinkle some sea salt and place in an oven preheated at 190C.
Bake for 17 to 20 minutes or till golden brown.
Take it out, cool on a rack for about 5 minutes and then slice and serve.

Notes: The ginger was a wee bit over powering for my liking, so id go easy on it or maybe even avoid it altogether next time.
The original recipe called for a mix of very strong and strong bread flour. Didn't have any, so used plain flour instead. I'm sure the outcome would have been much better if I'd used bread flour.
If using instant yeast, then add everything together to the mixing bowl and knead. You can also go directly to the second proofing stage if using instant yeast.
Replace the toppings with garlic, sun dried tomatoes, olives etc. if you want variety.

Dark chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter cream cheese frosting

2011-09-22T22:32:00.000+01:00

It was Ro's turn to select a cake and he selected the boring chocolate cake (well no surprises there). I tried to convince him to change his decision saying he needed to have variety in life and too much chocolate is bad for character building (inside joke btw!) and things like that, but he said he'll live with it. So chocolate cake it was.

To be honest I don't even know why I made up this system where we alternate our preferences when it comes to dessert because unlike me, Ro is not fussy at all. he will eat anything I make and even say wow. The occasional once or twice he said something vaguely dissatisfying and I was almost in tears. Now you know why I panic when I have people over, simple..its because Ro keeps saying everything is nice and I honestly cant figure if he's just saying it to make me feel great or its ACTUALLY nice.

Anyhoo, I made a passion fruit and poppy seed cake the last time and so this time Ro selected the chocolate one. All he asked was a simple choc cake, but I cant leave it at that can I? So I searched (yet again) and decided on a recipe from Bakers Royale. I also had a tub of cream cheese which I had to use up and since the peanut butter was also sitting in the fridge untouched, I decided to pair the two together. I am not a big fan of heavy cakes and chocolate is not my thing, so I only took a bite and from that it was not that bad. The cake is not that sweet and the frosting imparts the sweetness that the cake lacks. It blends pretty well. But that's all I'm gonna have of the cake. It's all for Ro to devour. The things you do for love, I say! :)

Cupcake recipe has been adapted from here

Dark chocolates- 1 oz (more than 70 percent cocoa), roughly chopped

Unsalted butter- 4 tbsp

Cocoa powder- 1/4 cup

Plain flour- 45 gms

Baking powder- 1/4 tsp

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Egg- 1

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- 75 gms

Yoghurt- 1/4 cup

Peanut butter cream cheese frosting from here

Cream cheese- 3 oz

Icing sugar- 17 gms

Creamy peanut butter- 1/2 cup

Vanilla extract- 1/2 tsp

Whipped cream- 1/4 cup

Into a saucepan throw in the chocolate, cocoa powder and butter and stir until melted and combined. Keep aside to cool.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Keep aside.

Into a mixing bowl break the egg and whisk well with the sugar and vanilla until pale yellow.

Pour in the cooled chocolate mix and stir well to combine.

Add about 2 tbsp of the flour mix and fold it in till well combined.

Add the yoghurt, whisk well and throw in the remaining flour. Fold it in together till they all come together.

Pour into 6 muffin liners till 2/3rd full and bake in an oven pre heated at 176C for 20 minutes.

Cool on a rack completely and only then frost.

Into a clean mixing bowl add the cream cheese and sugar and whisk on medium speed for about a minute or so.

Add the peanut butter and vanilla extract and continue whisking for a couple more minutes, till everything is mixed well and its light and creamy.

Fold in the whipped cream gently until you get a smooth mix.

Either pipe it on to the cake or dab a couple of spoons onto the cupcake and make a mess out of it like i did :)

Notes: The original recipe for the cake asked for sour cream which i substitutes with Greek yoghurt

Don't bring the cream cheese to room temperature. Keeps the consistency thick

place the cakes in air tight containers and it stays in the fridge for a couple of days.

Tindora and prawn stir fry (kovakka-konju mezhukkupuratti)

2011-09-18T23:02:00.003+01:00

Not in the mood to blabber today, just that we were at an Indian grocery store yesterday and Ro and me were like kids left loose in a candy story. Went ballistic and picked up a whole lot of junk, one of which was fresh tindora, a vegetable I absolutely love.

I remember seeing a prawn and tindora dish at my place once and I conveniently put it aside because I couldn't care less about the tindora. Years later and here I am desperately trying to replicate the recipe in my home. So are the ways of life, said my intellectual husband while savouring this tasty dish. I had to pen it down before I forgot the recipe.

Tindora (kovakka)- 350 gms, cleaned and sliced lengthwise thinly
Small prawns- 200- 220 gms, peeled and cleaned
English shallot- 1, finely chopped
Chilli powder- 3/4 tsp
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Sambar powder- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves- a sprig
Dry red chillies- 2
Salt- to taste
Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Marinate the prawns with 1/4 tsp chilli powder anda pinch of turmeric powder.
Pre cook the tindora in a pan with a few drops of water and the remaining chilli powder and turmeric powder.
Keep stirring in between and if you find that it is sticking to the bottom, add some more water and cook uncovered.
Keep it on medium heat and cook uncovered till they are no longer crunchy, but be cautious and prevent it from becoming mushy.
Once done, keep aside
Heat oil in a frying pan and splutter mustard seeds.
Throw in the curry leaves and dry chillies, stir for about 3 to 5 seconds and add the shallots.
Saute till they turn light brown.
Tip in the pre cooked tindora, prawns and sambar powder, season with enough salt and stir fry for a couple of minutes, or till the prawns are completely cooked through.
Serve with some steaming hot rice.

Notes: Use 2 or 3 small Indian shallots if you don't have English shallots
The original recipe uses dried shrimp, but since I'm seriously averse to it, I decided to use fresh ones.
If the prawns take time to cook, pre cook it the same way you did the tindora and then add it together at the end

Minced pork cocktail kebabs

2011-09-09T17:15:00.003+01:00

First of all Happy Onam to all you gorgeous people. I am craving a traditional feast, but then sheer laziness to make it and the unnecessary exorbitant prices the restaurants are charging for it is making me stick to er, a pizza for dinner. My plans of posting the pictures have also gone awry as I dove straight into work and was left with no time whatsoever. Now I have just lost the enthusiasm to do the same.

My life revolves around the weather, a fetish I developed after moving to the UK, and so here is the update. Its officially Autumn in our neck of woods and I must say its not as depressing as I thought it would be. In fact I'm secretly enjoying the gloomy weather and continuous rains to an extent. The only down side is the fact that photography has taken a back seat as it starts getting dark early and since I start cooking only by around 5, I've missed out on what little sunlight is pouring through.

This dish however happened by fluke. I had picked up some minced pork to make some burger patties and since I didn't know what else to do with the leftover meat, these kebabs were born. Since it was a comparatively warmer and brighter day today I decided to embrace the occasion by taking these pics outside on my balcony. I am pretty sure I wouldnt be seeing this kinda weather any time soon, so I'm thinking there would be a bit of a delay with my next post as well. Just letting you all know in advance, you see. Coming back to the recipe, you can make them as patties if you prefer or make larger kebabs using the entire skewer. I am thinking this is a brilliant appetizer idea served along with a dip.

On a completely different note, please head over to Miss Tam Chiak owned by the lovely Maureen, and check out my guest post 'South Indian Egg Roast' among other fabulous reviews and pics. Once again thanks a lot for giving this amazing opportunity.

Minced pork- 450 gms
Curry powder- 3 tsp
English shallots- 3, finely chopped
Coriander leaves- a handful, finely chopped
Green chilli- 1, sliced
Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt and pepper- to taste
Wooden skewers- 5, broken in halves

Soak the wooden skewers in a glass of water for at least 1 hour.

Into a mixing bowl add all the other ingredients and using your hand, mix well until well combined.

Cover and keep the bowl in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

When you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to 176C and line a baking tray with parchment paper.

Wet your hands lightly, take small portions of the meat and press on to the skewers, leaving a couple of inches below.

Make sure they are not too heavy, or otherwise it would fall off.

bake for about 9 minutes on each side and then drain on paper towels.

Serve with a spiced mint yoghurt dip and some salad greens and you are good to go.

Notes: You can use minced beef or even boiled and mashed vegetables instead of the meat.
The above mentioned amount makes about 5 medium sized patties as well.
The curry powder mentioned is a mixture of all sorts of spices and powders and we get it here in grocery stores under- mild, medium and strong. I think you can use any meat masala in its place.
The kebabs are not spicy at all, so increase the amount of chilli powder or green chillies for a more spicier version. I made the dip spicy instead.
While adding salt, go according to your instinct because you obviously cant taste raw meat. The next time i am definitely going to jot down the measurement.
Go ahead and grill it on an outdoor BBQ or even in an oven for a max of 3 to 4 minutes each side. I tried one batch in the frying pan, but that means you have to add oil and I ended up making a mess. But not everyone's like me, so go ahead and fry it if that's more convenient.

Chocolate crinkle cookies (Snow caps)

2011-08-31T22:23:00.000+01:00

I am back from my holiday and it sucks. It means back to daily chores like cooking, cleaning and writing and having nothing much too look forward to. Well life must go on right? Anyways, we had a lovely time down at the coast and pigged out so much, I can assure you I have gained a few pounds. Cornwall is known for the cream tea's and just looking at the clotted cream served with scones will gain you a few calories, seriously! But on another note they were probably the best cream tea's I've ever had. All the while Ro kept dabbing huge amounts of cream on to his scone I kept chanting heart attacks and cholesterol levels which fell on deaf ears. So we left all those behind and indulged in food on all 5 days.

I haven't yet sorted through the pictures, but will try and do so at the earliest and post a few as well. There were a couple of interesting food items I wanted to try, but Cornwall being the fish central, most of it had to do with fish and I am not that big a fish fan as you all might already know. Convincing Ro was too much of an effort so i let it pass. But seriously how interesting would the Stargazy Pie have been? I think a darn interesting one to at least photograph. Ro thought otherwise, and so we decided Cornish Pasty instead. So we went all the way down south to the tip of England to actually eat the best Cornish Pasty evah. Not overrated people, not overrated at all. I loved it. I am thinking of actually trying it out at home "some day."

Coming back to the cookies', since it was a 6 hour drive from London, I decided to pack some goodies for the road trip. My husband, yes the one who is such a sucka for anything chocolate, pleaded with me to make some chocolate cake. Of course I didn't listen, because as we all know, I am not the awesome wife who will listen to stuff the husband says. Instead I went ahead and made a cake of my choice and was happily packing it when I realised I had a wee bit of butter left over from my previous expeditions which would expire in a couple of days. So I googled and googled and googled and landed on a picture of crinkled cookies which looked so darn pretty, I had to make it.

So I searched for a recipe and came up with one that was really easy, but didn't need butter. But by then I was so excited at the prospect of photographing the crinkle cookies, butter was the least of my problems. Made the cookies in a jiffy and gosh they were the prettiest ever. I ate one or two right out of the oven and it was nice. Taste wise, well I would say it's a wannabe brownie/ cake. Its somewhere in between a cake and a cookie to be precise. The husband and friends who were travelling with us actually thought they were bought from some bakery (I'm wondering if that's a compliment or not) and happily gorged on them as well. I took a bite from a few leftover cookies the next day and actually hated it, to be honest. I decided to give chocolate one more chance but it failed me. So sorry chocolate, you and me need to part ways. We obviously want different things. (Ro claims that's like saying he and I need different things, because his ultimate aim in life is to die and go to chocolate heaven).

So anyhoo, the recipe is a keeper cos I'm sure those chocolate lovers out there would fall for it and if not a chocolate lover, then it would at least grab the attention of the photographer in you. Either ways, its easy to make and is perfect to gift for Christmas or serve for kids' parties. I don't intend to do either, but decided to keep the recipe, just in case I became a convert!

Recipe adapted from here (makes about 24 to 26 cookies)

Dark chocolate- 1/2 cup, broken into medium slices (I used Green & Blacks, 70 percent choc.)

Brown sugar- 1/2 cup, packed

Oil- 2 1/2 tbsp

Egg- 1 large

Vanilla essence- 1/2 tsp

Plain flour- 1/2 cup

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt- a pinch

Icing sugar- 1/4 cup

In a bowl stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Melt the chocolate in a saucepan over low heat.

Remove from heat and add sugar and oil and mix well till the sugar has dissolved, somewhat.

Add the egg and vanilla and mix well till you no longer see any traces.

Mix in the flour and stir till you form a smooth batter.

Close the bowl with a lid and chill in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

The batter would have hardened a bit. If not keep it for some more time.

When you are ready to bake, line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil paper and put the powdered sugar in a plate large enough to roll the cookie balls.

Using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon scoop out the dough and make balls.

Roll in the icing sugar and place on the tray, about an inch apart. This is what cracks when the cookies are baking and gives the crinkled effect.

Bake in an oven preheated at 175C for about 10 minutes for a chewy one or 12 to 13 minutes for a crunchier version.

Once done, cool completely on the rack and then store in air tight containers or zip loc bags

Notes: You can add any nut of choice (walnuts, hazelnuts etc) right after mixing the flour. Just chop them up and fold it in.

By the time you finish rolling the entire batch, the first few might have no icing sugar visible because it gets absorbed. No problem, just lightly roll it again and place into the oven immediately.

I thought 1/4 cup icing sugar was a little too much, as I ended up wasting a bit once I was done.

I preferred the chewier version better.

Grilled chicken wings in a chilli garlic sauce for 'A Pinch of Love'

2011-08-25T20:48:00.001+01:00

I stumbled upon Ananda's blog 'A pinch of Love' quite by chance and if I'm not mistaken she had just started her food blog. The pictures made me go back again and again and soon we were exchanging comments on each others' blogs. Then I guess it was the power of Facebook that eventually brought her into my friends circle and there was no looking back. I love the way she pens down her thoughts on her blog and the pics are to die for. If I let you in on a little secret- i sometimes head to her blog and take a peek at the gorgeous salmon soup pics taken in the beautiful snowy setting. There is something about that picture that screams out warmth and cosiness. I am so happy that Ananda asked me to do a guest post on her blog and I hope I have done justice to it with these spicy chicken wings in a chilli garlic sauce.

The recipe was the aftermath of a chicken wing obsession which i ~~have been~~ am still going through. Once i discovered skinless and cleaned chicken wings, there was no looking back. I love how easy it is to cook with them- marinate, grill and if I feel like it, make a sauce and serve. Since the supermarket stocks only a couple of these at a time, when I find them, I go ballistic and stock at least 2 packs in my freezer, scared they would suddenly stop stocking them or something. Yeah totally weird behaviour if you ask me. I have become a lunatic when it comes to storing some stuff like this (I'll leave the story of the frozen Swedish meatballs for a later time). Sadly my freezer has not much space (which Ro thinks is good, because one day he opened the middle rack to find about 10 to 15 packets of frozen chapatis and freaked out). I mean who does things like that? Well me for sure because, believe it or not, I don't know how to make chapathis. So in fear of them stopping the manufacture of these chapatis, whenever i find them i stock them to hearts content.

Anyways, we are not here to talk about my pitfalls are we?. I'm sure you'd like to know more, but let me not steal the limelight from the chicken wings. So these are so damn easy to make and taste amazing with some chilled beer or cider. The best part- you don't need to have a BBQ grill or any such fancy schmancy appliance. Just your oven grill would do. The marinade is a mixture of all sorts of sauces (from various countries that too) and like Ro says, is slightly confused as to which ethnicity it belongs to. But who cares when it tastes so darn yummilicious?

So while I head down to the coast for a short holiday, head over to A Pinch of Love and check out the recipe. Once again a big thank you to Ananda for the wonderful opportunity to kick start the guest post series. :)

Cinnamon rolls (buns)

2011-08-23T22:36:00.002+01:00

I was never that big a fan of Cinnabon when we were in the US. In fact I used to hate anything with cinnamon till we came to the UK. The apple pies served in the pubs here all had a generous amount of cinnamon and I began to absolutely love it. Sadly, my husband doesn't share the same excitement when it comes to cinnamon, making me stay away from desserts with cinnamon as the hero (heroine???).

That was until I picked up a couple of Cinnabons from the only outlet here in Piccadilly Circus (after paying a bomb for it that too) and brought it home. Since it was one of those lovey dovey days, I kept one aside for Ro, 100 percent sure he would say, 'so bloody overrated Cinnabon is' and let me have it. I guess it was one of those lovey dovey days for Ro as well, cos he said he would eat it since his wife lovingly kept aside one for him (bummer!!! is what I actually thought, but lets just let it pass shall we?)

So anyways, he loved the cinnamon roll to the extent he asked me why I don't make it at home. And so that's what I did, make cinnamon rolls. The first time I didn't take pics nor did I bookmark the recipe and so had to search around a bit this time. No luck still and so I had to make do with a new one. It wasn't as perfect as the first time, but we loved it nonetheless. I have bookmarked another recipe as well, and if it turns out better than this one, it shall be replaced. For now here are the details:

Recipe adapted from here

Dough:

Milk- 1/4 cup

Water- 1/4 cup

Butter- 1 tbsp

Active dry yeast- 1 1/8 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Plain flour- 1 1/2 cups

Granulated sugar- 1/4 cup

Egg- 1 small

Filling:

Butter- 1 1/2 tbsp, melted

Brown sugar- 4 tbsp

Cinnamon powder- 1 tbsp

Glaze:

Powdered sugar- 1/2 cup

Butter- 3/4 tbsp, melted

Milk- 3/4 tbsp

Vanilla essence- 1/4 tsp

Heat together the milk, butter and water in a saucepan until just about warm.

Stir in the yeast till it is diluted. Keep aside for 5 to 6 minutes.

Into a large mixing bowl add the flour, salt, sugar and egg. Mix well.

Pour the yeasted mixture into the flour mix and using the dough hook attachment on your mixer, knead till the entire thing comes together.

Alternatively, dust your work top with enough flour and knead till the dough becomes pliable and is not sticky any more.

Place in a lightly greased bowl and leave in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours.

Once the dough has risen well, punch it down and place on a floured surface.

Roll it out into a rectangle shape, about half an inch in thickness, using as little flour as possible.

Brush the melted butter generously on to the rolled out dough.

Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle this mix on top of the butter, as evenly as possible.

Then carefully start rolling the dough from the longer side. Pinch the edges once you reach the end to seal it in.

Using a serrated knife, cut the log into 8 to 10 slices.

Place the dough, cut side down on to a greased baking pan and leave aside to rise for another hour or so.

Once it has doubled in size place in the middle shelf of an oven pre heated at 190C and bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

Once done, remove and let it cool for 10 minutes

In the mean time make the glaze by mixing together all the ingredients under that section till you get a thick frosting.

Pour over the warm cinnamon rolls and enjoy with a cuppa.

Notes: The dough ended up being pretty loose and sticky and I kinda struggled with it. So had to use quite a bit of extra flour for kneading.

I preheated the oven at 100C for about 5 minutes and placed the dough inside for it to rise the first time.

I knew it would be a problem while rolling it out so I placed a baking paper under and started rolling. Although it wasn't easy, I was sill able to manage without the dough sticking too much to the paper.

The second rising time exceeded quite a bit because we suddenly decided to catch a movie and so it stayed that way for about 3 hours. I don't know if it made any difference though.

Replace the brown sugar with granulated sugar if you don't have the latter.

Sending this to the Monthly Mingle event hosted over at Kulsum's Journey Kitchen where this month the theme is Yeasted Doughs. The event is the brainchild of the ever talented Meeta of What's for Lunch Honey.

Almond and pistachio cake

2011-08-18T13:06:00.000+01:00

Two posts in a week, yaaay! Its an achievement for me to be honest. What with the weather being so shitty, my pictures never come out well and I hate doing a blog post with horrid pictures. This ones not too great either, but then the recipe is definitely a keeper and since I couldn't anticipate when I'd make it again, I had to pen it down for posterity.

I hadn't baked in ages (well, a month to be precise) and somehow that urge to eat a freshly baked cake right out of the oven passed along with a lot of other urges and so baking has been kept to a minimum. We have turned religiously to eating fruit after meals, trying to make the most of summer bounty before the bloody autumn sets in (which by the looks of it, has already set in UK- Its 12pm here in London but looks more like 7pm).

So when I somehow stumbled upon this recipe on the Good Food website, I decided to bake. I left aside all my work and declared the day as a lazy day. I even had half a mind to skip my swimming session, but since i was enjoying it so much, I didn't. I even watched a couple of movies (blinding out the fact that I would have double the amount of work to do the next day, since I had deadlines to meet), and was almost gonna call Ro and ask him to pick up some Chinese food on the way back, when I thought I should make him some Tagliatelle pasta which he has been asking me for so long. So instead I asked him to pick up a bottle of Italian wine :)

This is the first time I've used pistachios in baking, or rather cooking at all. I was really sceptical about the final outcome and so halved the recipe. The cake caught me by surprise as it was one of the moistest evah. The pistachios were not too overpowering, but at the same time the cake did taste exotic, not to mention how easy it was putting it together

So, while I'm typing out this recipe, and its pouring outside, I have declared today also as a lazy day where I shall not even be going to the pool, but be sitting at home and researching on the places to visit and treks to do on our annual holiday, end of this month. See what lethargy can do to me? I'm now so concerned I would continue this state till end of the week :O (and maybe even block my editors off gtalk, so they wont harass me about corrections and deadlines)

Recipe halved from here

Butter- 125 gms at room temperature

Caster sugar- 100 gms

Eggs- 2

Ground almonds- 60 gms

Ground pistachio nuts- 50 gms

Plain flour- 25 gms

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Beat together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition

Mix together the plain flour and baking powder and stir this into the egg-butter mix followed by ground almonds and pistachios.

Alternatively, mix the flour, baking pwd, and ground nuts together and add it altogether.

Give a good stir and pour into a greased 9 inch baking dish.

Place in an oven pre heated at 180C and bake for about 40 minutes.

Do the skewer test and then cool on a wire rack.

I dug into it while it was still warm.

Notes: The original recipe called for lemon zest, which I avoided.

Replace the plain flour with cornmeal for a gluten free version

I bought a pack of pistachio nuts and ground them at home. I kinda over did it, so the oil kinda made it clump together. That's why you can see specks of green here and there. Make sure you get the pistachio in the powder form itself.

The cake was a bit too greasy and so I'd probably reduce the butter next time.

The cake was nice and sweet for my liking and so I avoided the pistachio topping. Feel free to try it out, recipe is available in the link.

Spicy Bombay potatoes

2011-08-13T20:05:00.001+01:00

I honestly never intended to take such a long break from blogging. It just happened and I kinda started enjoying the peace and quiet that came after the cooking process. I mean I enjoyed not rushing to catch the sun for good pictures, to arrange and wash the props and to be honest, I kinda liked the 'not cooking fancy dishes so i can show off on my blog' phase a whole lot that I pretended I didn't even have a food blog.

In between I would whine to Ro about how I haven't updated the blog in over 10 days and he would be least bit bothered. It kinda rubbed off on me too, I must add. So when a whole lot of you guys wrote in asking if everything was fine, I was overwhelmed. The London Riots didn't affect us much, except for a day when all the nearby supermarkets and shops were shut, just as a precaution, which put me in a bit of a distress considering I plan on a day to day basis (not just grocery, everything in life really). But otherwise, the affected areas were no where near ours and so it was fine. Its all under control now and thank you so so much for writing in.

Anyways, coming to the recipe...a couple of days back I was so lazy to cook that I decided to pick up one of those ready meals from the store. I would never learn from my mistakes, and so picked up Indian grub. Yes I bought Bombay Potatoes and pulao from a British grocery store. Did I think it would be authentic? I don't know, those Bombay potatoes looked so yum and I decided to just go ahead and buy it (without thinking, of course!). It tasted so horrid but I had to force it down my throat, because I had to "pay" for my actions. That's when I wondered, c'mon how difficult can it be to make these at home, and I did, today!

Bombay potatoes are so damn popular here in UK, you can find it in almost all the grocery stores and heck Shwartz even has a spice mix called Bombay potatoes. I wonder if there is actually something called Bombay Potatoes errr.. in Bombay? Or is it like the Chicken Manchurian which I presume originated in India and the Chinese have no idea about? Whatever the scene, I made it today and it was waaaay better than the store bought one. You can serve this hot or cold, and serve as a side to grilled chicken or Indian breads.

I have also entered this into the 'Love the Garden' competition (which I should have done long back, but obviously waited till 3 days before it ends), so it would be great if you can head over and vote for this recipe. I already feel kinda lame asking you guys for a favour :)

Baby pearl potatoes- 250 gms (washed and scrubbed well)

Red onion- 1 large

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/8th tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Tomato- 1 small (optional)

Garam masala- 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves- a sprig (optional)

Oil- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Pre cook the potatoes till they are about fork tender. Not too mushy though. You can do this either in a microwave, pressure cooker (1 whistle) or on the stove top by boiling it in water. keep aside.

Heat oil in a large wok and splutter the mustard seeds.

Add the curry leaves at this point (if using) and stir for a couple of seconds.

In goes the onions. Sauté till they are about light brown in colour, on medium heat.

Add the ginger and garlic paste and continue to cook till the raw smell disappears, about 5 minutes or so on medium heat.

Add the spices- coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder and turmeric powder- and mix well. Cook till they no longer smell raw, but nice and fragrant instead.

Tip in the chopped tomato and stir well. Cook till oil starts separating. Add a wee bit of water if it starts scorching at the base.

Season with enough salt.

Add the cooked potatoes and mix them all together, making sure the masala coats the potatoes well.

Increase the heat a bit and let it roast in the spices for a couple of minutes. Make sure you keep stirring in between.

Sprinkle the garam masala on top, give it a good stir and after about 2 minutes, take them off the flame.

Transfer to a serving bowl and enjoy!

Notes: You can do the same with large potatoes, just that pre cooking them might take a bit longer. You might also want to peel them in that case.

Adjust the spice level if you are not up for it.
Some versions have bell pepper, I didnt have any at hand, so omitted it. Feel free to add it along with the potatoes.

French beans with mung dal

2011-07-29T13:32:00.002+01:00

If I don't use up all that bounty we picked up at the PYO farm, I'm gonna be in deep shit. While I was going berserk picking this and that from the farm, Ro kept asking me "are you sure you know what to do with this?" "Do you need so much beans?" and then a threatening one "If I see these rotting in the fridge or being thrown out..." I didn't let him complete the sentence as usual :)

So I'm in a frenzy trying to finish off all that stuff I picked up, and must admit that I'm loving it so far. These beans for instance were so darn fresh even when I snapped it in half yesterday. Crunchy and so green, not to mention how cheap that whole packet was compared to the mere 250 grams packet I usually pick up at the grocery store.

I didn't want to make my usual stir fry and so with a bit of googling I chanced upon this beautiful blog Akshayapaatram and a beans' recipe that looked so damn pretty. Yes, I totally decide how good a dish is based on the pictures. So I went about making it and I think hence forth I shall make my beans only this way. We totally loved it.

Recipe adapted from here

French beans- 3 cups, chopped

Mung dal- 1/4 cup, washed

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Dried red chillies- 2

Curry leaves- a sprig

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Green chillies- 2, slit

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Rows and rows of beans waiting to be harvested

Cook the mung dal in a sauce pan with just enough boiling water. The dal should still be firm and not mashed.

Heat oil in a large wok and throw in the mustard and cumin seeds.

Wait for it to splutter and add the dried red chillies and curry leaves. Stir for a few seconds.

Throw in the chopped beans followed by cooked mung beans, green chillies, turmeric powder and salt. Stir well to combine it together.

Cover and cook, stirring in between to prevent the beans from sticking to the pan.

If you feel there isn't enough water, then add about a tea spoon of water and continue to cook.

Once the beans have been cooked through, do a taste check, add enough salt if required, give a final stir and take it off the heat.

Serve hot with some roti or rice.

Notes: I over cooked the mung dal a wee bit and so it got a bit mashed in the process.

I wanted to add some shredded coconut as well towards the end, but completely forgot. Thoroughly optional though

Adding green chillies is optional, i kinda like a bit of heat. The husband complained though

Curried lentils with Swiss Chard

2011-07-26T12:25:00.000+01:00

We went to a pick-your-own farm in North London last weekend and brought back our bounty of fruit and vegetables. I don't think I've ever eaten strawberries that were so juicy and sweet and oh what pleasure just plucking them off the plant and popping them into your mouth. Yeah yeah I didn't wash it or wipe it or anything, just ate them with all the gusto I could muster on that hot summer day.

The 10 acres of land was filled with fruits and veggies of all sorts- from blackberries, to raspberries to beetroot to courgettes- I had a tough time deciding what I wanted to bring back. Ro who, till now, was of the opinion that strawberries were so over rated, succumbed to the stereotype and decided strawberries and cream were most certainly heavenly. I had major plans of making strawberry this and strawberry that, but at the rate its going I don't think I'll have any left to make my planned desserts, instead we have just been devouring them with whipped cream. Yummville!

I had picked up some swiss chard as well and honestly it was the after effect of an article I wrote recently about growing swiss chard and since then I have been curious. I knew it was part of the spinach family, but hoped it wasn't like the radish greens I recently cooked which was quite bitter. Maybe it was a mistake I did, but I don't think I will be trying that out again.

Initial plan was to make a gratin with the chard, but then slight miscalculations and a whole day spent on a debate with my friends on fb, with bits and pieces of writing thrown in between meant I had very little time to prepare dinner. So I decided to incorporate the chard into a dal preparation. Thanks to the pressure cooker, frozen chapathis and the last stash of chicken cutlets, dinner was ready in no time. The downside however was that I missed out on the lighting bit and hence the dark, shadowy pics. Well, you gain some, you lose some right?

So anyways, I made the dal and it turned out good. The chard tastes very similar to spinach, just that I thought it didn't wilt as much as the spinach and so there was enough greens floating around in my lentil curry. I am hoping to use up the other veggies I picked up asap and as time permits will blog about it too.

(Damn the articles I'm writing, I sound so bloody formal here too) :( :(

Masoor dal- 1/4 cup

Toor dal- 1/4 cup

Mung dal- 1/4 cup

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Swiss chard- about 3 cups chopped and packed (washed properly and the tough stalks removed)

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Onion- 1 medium, thinly sliced

Garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida- a pinch

Fenugreek powder- a pinch

Coriander powder- 1.2 tsp

Lime juice- a dash

Garam amsala- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Water- about 2 cups

Throw in the dals (washed), turmeric powder, swiss chard and salt along with water into the pressure cooker, give it a good stir and cook on medium heat for about 3 whistles. Release the pressure and keep aside.

Meanwhile, heat oil in frying pan and add the cumin seeds.

Once it sizzles, add the onions and garlic paste and wait for it to cook and wilt a bit.

Add all the powders- chilli, coriander, asafoetida and fenugreek- and saute well. Cook till the raw smell disappears.

Put the pressure cooker with the cooked dal back on medium flame and add the onion mix. Stir well to combine,

Do a taste test and add more salt, spice as per requirement and bring to a boil.

Add a dash of lemon juice and sprinkle some garam masala on top, give a final stir and take it off the flame.

Pour into individual containers and serve as soup or as a side to rice or roti.

Notes: Add chickpeas (garbanzo) to this and it can be converted to a stew on a cold winters night.

Replace chard with spinach and you have palak dal.

You can do the above prep with any dal of choice.

Freeze it once it cools down and trust me it will be a blessing on a day you don't want to cook.

Super moist chocolate cake

2011-07-19T22:22:00.003+01:00

Sorry I have been MIA for a while. Work caught on pretty well and the fact that I ~~was~~ am on a diet made me stay away from fancy cooking. Although I had tonnes of posts in my drafts, I wasn't in the mood to sit and pen down a whole blog post, edit the pics etc etc and it came to a point where I wasn't even signing into blogger and checking in on my fav bloggers. So if I haven't visited you guys in the near future, it is because of random stuff like this.

I hadn't baked in ages, and somehow wasn't even having any withdrawals this time. But yesterday, we had a lil something to celebrate and I fell prey to the husbands nagging for a chocolate cake. Like I have mentioned loads of times before, I actually don't like chocolate that much. And every time Ro bugs me for a choc cake, I bake my moms easy Beat & bake chocolate cake which takes no time and you get the desired effect.

Was a bit in the experimenting mood yesterday, but not so much as to spend hours googling and grocery shopping, and so decided to head over to Marias Menu and borrow her recipe this time. Of course it was extremely moist like she said and pretty easy to put together as well. I didn't do the ganache or any frosting, since my love for plain cakes still rule. Even though I have restricted my in take to about one slice, the husband has been gorging on it non stop. So while I chew on those salads and fruit, you can go ahead and enjoy this yummilicious chocolate cake.

Recipe adapted from here

Milk- 1 1/2 cups

Butter- 100 gms

Oil- 1/4 cup

Cocoa powder- 1/2 cup

All purpose flour- 1 cup

Baking soda- 1/2 tsp

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Granulated sugar- 250 gms

Egg- 1 large

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Pour into a sauce pan the milk, oil, butter and cocoa powder. Mix together on medium low heat till the butter completely melts. Keep aside to cool, stirring in between.

Into a mixing bowl throw in flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Whisk to combine.

Add the beaten egg and vanilla extract followed by the wet ingredients.

Whisk/ beat well to combine all the ingredients. There shouldn't be any traces of flour visible. The batter would be really loose, but not to worry.

Pour into a 9 inch pan lined with baking paper, and place in the middle shelf of an oven pre heated at 180C for 45 to 55 minutes.

If making cupcakes, then reduce time to about 15 to 20 minutes.

Do the skewer test at around 45 minutes and then continue if required.

Take it out of the oven, let it rest for about 10 minutes and then turn it onto a cooling rack and leave it there till it cools down completely.

Slice and serve with some vanilla ice cream or store in an air tight container.

Notes: I added vanilla extract, because I like the vanilla taste in chocolate cakes.

Add self raising flour if you have it and omit the salt and baking powder from above.

The cake is not really sweet (for my liking at least) so it would pair really well with some ice cream. A ganache frosting would also be sufficient
The cake cracked a whole lot on top and since im used to it now, i didnt panic. I turned it over and sliced it. hence the neat surface :)

Kothu Paratha (finely shredded Paratha's cooked with meat and spices)

2011-07-08T20:48:00.000+01:00

My mom used to make kothu parathas with left over parathas and we used to love it. She used to do variations of it with bread and chapathi also. I have tried making the bread version here but it was pretty sad and so never really ventured into that again. I never really bothered making them with parathas because, for one I have no clue how to make parathas and two, store bought parathas were too precious to be torn up and used.

That's when I came across a frozen packet of 'kothu paratha' while scouting around the Indian grocery store. Picked it up thinking I'd give it a shot, hoping it would actually be worth it. My craving for kothu paratha made me prepare it the very next day for dinner. My mom and dad are holidaying In Delhi at the moment so I couldn't get the recipe she uses, but searched around a few blogs and came up with this.

It tasted so darn good, I am kicking myself for not picking up more than one packet of kothu paratha. They are nothing but parathas shredded (which is for the plain lazy people like me). You can use left over chapathi's or frozen parathas for the same, but make sure you cook it before tearing it up.

Shredded paratha- 2 cups (about 5 to 6 medium size parathas chopped or shredded)

Onion- 1 large

Tomatoes- 2 medium

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder- 1.2 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

Meat masala- 1.2 tsp (optional)

Minced chicken- 250 to 300 gms

Curry leaves- a sprig

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Oil- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Eggs- 2, lightly beaten (optional)

Chopped coriander leaves- to garnish (optional)

If you are using frozen parathas or chapathis, then cook them on the tawa as per instructions and then chop it up or shred it. Keep aside.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and splutter mustard seeds, followed by curry leaves.

Then add the chopped onion and sauté till it wilts a bit and turns a light brown.

Add the green chilli, ginger, garlic pastes and mix well. Cook till the raw smell disappears.

Throw in tomatoes and cook till it becomes one mushy ,mix.

At this point add all the spices- turmeric, chilli, coriander, meat masala and cumin. Season with salt and cook till oil starts appearing on top.

Add the minced chicken and stir to coat it well.

Cook till the chicken is done and all the water evaporates, but make sure its not too dry. Keeping it in semi gravy form is also ok, but not too watery. (If you feel that the chicken is too much, then store some away at this point).

Add the shredded parathas and give it a good stir to get the masalas and chicken to mix in with the parathas.

Raise the heat to high and stir fry for a couple of minutes continuously.

Then make a well in the centre of the pan and add the beaten egg. Scramble it well and cook along with the paratha mix.

The kothu paratha is done when the egg is cooked through.

Transfer to a serving dish, garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with yoghurt and pickle. (I made an okra-yoghurt side for it)

Notes: You can of course do a veg version of it avoiding the egg and chicken and maybe adding some green peas, carrots etc.

Technically the paratha pieces are shredded much finely, but I kept it as it is. Watch this to get a better idea about what and how kothu paratha is made.
If you don't have minced chicken, then use chicken breast or thigh fillets. Chop them up into tiny pieces and pre cook with a bit of salt. Then add that to the onion-tomato mix.
I read somewhere that you can also used left over chicken curry as the base and then add the shredded parathas into that. Mighty easy that sounds, I must say :)

Cappuccino at home

2011-07-05T22:56:00.001+01:00

From scorching 32C a couple of days back we went to 15 degrees today and heavy rains. Although the heat kinda got to me at one point, I actually haven't had enough of sunshine (literally) in my life. I have also not been cooking too much, simply because I don't feel like it. After researching and writing and editing 2 to 3 articles a day, and an hour gone swimming, then grocery shopping, I am pooped by the end of the day. There is no energy left to whip up something nice, leave alone style it, take pics and blog. If Ro's working from home then its even more tiresome with lunch also thrown in.

But the good thing is, I learned a couple of interesting things with the articles I have been writing. For example, I learned that you don't need a fancy schmancy espresso maker with a foam nozzle to make a cappuccino at home. The bad thing, however, is the craving I get for all the things I write about :O

I used to love a good cuppa cappuccino when we were in India. The Coffee Day ones were so amazing, I could easily have 2 to 3 at one go. But here, its not the same. Its way too milky for my liking. So whenever I head to a Starbucks or Costa, I end up ordering an Americano and then add a wee bit of milk. I prefer super strong, super sweet coffee's and I must add that the coffee maker/ cafetiere ones come no where near our South Indian filter coffee. But we are now so used to having it, or rather we are so used to the convenience of just pouring it out of a pot that we have forgotten how yummy it really is. Ro has made it a point to grind his own coffee and use it, which is fine when you take it black. But with milk, it all just goes for a toss.

Anyways, coming back to the cappuccino. It is so darn easy that I cant even imagine how I never came across this procedure. Don't believe me? Read on.

Instant espresso powder- 2 tsp per cup (1 tsp if you don't want it too strong)

Sugar- 2 tsp (as per taste really)

Boiling water- 1/3rd cup

Milk- 1/2 cup

Tip in the espresso powder and sugar into a coffee cup.

Add the boiling water, stir and keep aside.

Heat the milk in a microwave for about 20 to 30 seconds and pour into a cafetiere/ French press and pump the plunger about 8 to 10 times continuously till you see enough froth.

It should be ideally half milk and half froth, but its OK if its not perfect.

Pour the milk over the strong espresso slowly followed by the froth.

You can top with some coffee powder or chocolate if you please.

Notes: I first tried using an immersion blender to make the froth but in vain. It just took forever, and the froth produced was meagre compared to the cafetiere.

Watch this video for a better idea. I gasped at the end of it cos it was as simple as that.

If you don't have instant espresso powder then make normal coffee and use that instead.

You can add some sugar to the milk to make it extra sweet :)

Review: Domino's Reggae Reggae pizza

2011-07-03T20:35:00.000+01:00

As you all might already know, I'm a big Domino's fan. So when I was asked to review their newly launched Reggae Reggae pizza, I didn't think twice. Gladly agreed to do so.

If you are a regular viewer of Saturday Kitchen Live, you would know Levi Roots who does gorgeous Caribbean cooking; and his new Reggae Reggae sauce is the main ingredient in this pizza. Its a very Caribbean inspired pizza with roast chicken, tomatoes, green peppers, pineapple and of course glorious mozzarella cheese.

We went a notch further and ordered the large non-veg Reggae reggae pizza with a stuffed crust, which is also a new addition to their collection. The delivery, as usual, arrived on time (something I absolutely love about Domino's) and we dug into it with all gusto. First bite, and honestly I wasn't that impressed. I mean I don't usually prefer sweet/ spice combinations and maybe it was because I'm not a big BBQ sauce fan, that I didn't like the sauce too much. The addition of pineapple also was a bit of a bummer for me, but hey that's what Caribbean cooking is all about, so you need to go with the flow.

That said, after a few bites, the whole taste just grows on you. Prior to my observation, my husband thoroughly declared this pizza as more juicy and flavourful and he loved the sweet-spice flavours it imparted. But otherwise, the chicken was cooked to perfection and the cheese did its job really well. The stuffed crust was a bit of a let down and I don't think I'd order that again. But the next time if we pick up a Reggae Reggae pizza, I would do a thin crust and maybe try and omit the pineapple (just cos of preference, nothing else).

If you like BBQ flavours with a tint of sweetness, then this pizza is definitely for you. Vegetarians worry not, there is also a Vegetarian reggaie Reggae pizza with sweetcorn as an addition and can also be bought as one of Domino's oven baked subs. Go ahead and order and while you are at it, don't forget to check out their amazing pizza offers. We did ours as a 'Two for Tuesday' deal and paired it with an equally gorgeous 'Full House' Pizza.

Nigella's saffron scented chicken pilaf

2011-06-27T11:38:00.001+01:00

I am obsessed with trying out new rice recipes. Maybe its because we have rice only over the weekend, that too just for lunch, and instead of the boring plain rice I'm always looking for a variety of ways I can play around with rice. I keep getting updates from nigella.com and this recipe was updated on one of the days. I realized I had everything in hand and so made it.

I must say that it tasted good, except I may not actually add the chicken henceforth. It would be perfect on its own, with maybe a side of chicken curry or something. I love the fact that the procedure is easy and of course Nigella just makes it a tad more exotic. I watched her video for this recipe and the first few minutes I was completely distracted by her home and kitchen. Then the next few minutes I was trying to understand why she uses so many adjectives to describe food. Seriously this is how she describes the pilaf on her website:

"The cinnamon and lemony yoghurt marinade gives the chicken a soft, perfumed tenderness; the saffron in the rice, itself studded with nuts and the musky breath of cardamom (??????), is almost lit up with gold. "

Are we describing a hunk out of Mills & Boon or just some random Pilaf??? So while I was serving the rice, I started talking like Nigella (sans the fairy lights in the background) and telling Ro, "here's a touch of the Arabian nights in sunny Greenwich ...mmm beautiful isn't it?" Ro was annoyed and said I'd soon look like a "fat" version of Nigella if I didn't stop making rich carb-high food like this. That was uncalled for, but anyways, I enjoyed making this rice and eating it too :)

Recipe adapted from here

Skinless, boneless chicken thighs/ breasts- 250 gms, cleaned and sliced into small cubes

Yoghurt- 100 gms

Cinnamon powder- a little less than a 1/4 tsp

Pepper- to taste

Salt- to taste

Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Basmati rice- 250 gms (approx. 1 1/3rd cups)

Chicken stock- 500 ml (approx. 2 cups) I dissolved a cube of instant chicken bouillon in boiling water.

Saffron threads- 1/4 tsp

Cardamon pods- 2, bruised

Oil- 2 tbsp

Lemon zest- of half a lemon

Lemon juice- of half a lemon

Coriander leaves- to garnish

Marinate the chicken pieces with yoghurt, cinnamon powder, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Toss well and keep aside for at least an hour or overnight. Whichever is convenient.

Soak the saffron threads in the chicken stock.

In a large pan, heat the oil and add the rice.

On medium heat, sauté till the rice turns lightly translucent/ glossy.

Add the chicken stock with the saffron followed by lemon zest, lime juice, some salt and crushed cardamom pods. Give a good stir and cover with a tight fitting lid.

Turn the heat to very low and cook for about 15 minutes, or till you have noticed that the rice is cooked, and all the water has been absorbed.

While that's taken care of, remove the chicken from the marinade and shallow fry it in a pan with little oil or like I did, grill it on high in the oven for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Once the rice is cooked, remove from the fire and fluff it with a fork.

Transfer the rice into a serving dish, arrange the fried/ grilled chicken pieces on top and garnish with some chopped coriander leaves.

I served this with some chilled cucumber raita, baby tomato salad and some glorious white wine.

Notes: Now the original recipe calls for roasted pine nuts, cashew nuts and almond flakes. I didn't go there because for one, I don't really like the whole idea of biting into the nuts in rice and two, didn't want to add to the calories and three and most importantly, I was too lazy to dry roast it :)

Coriander leaves can be substituted with parsley leaves. I didn't have any fresh leaves and dried ones would have been bleh!

The chicken stock is salty, so watch before you add more.

The cinnamon taste in the chicken is quite obvious, so reduce or omit if you are not a big fan

Double the recipe to serve about 4 to 5 people.

Zucchini mezhukkupuratti (zucchini stir fried with Indian spices)

2011-06-21T22:03:00.001+01:00

My friend J, my sis-in-law and myself were having this conversation on FB about a beetroot chocolate cake, a while back, and somehow the conversation turned to zucchini bread. We were commenting on each others' reaction to using vegetables in baking and J mentioned her moms yummy zucchini mezhukkupuratti. It sounded like a great idea and I made a note to pick some up the next item I went grocery shopping.

That very evening we headed to Sainsburys to pick up some stuff and Ro started his usual rants about 'how we don't eat enough veggies' and how 'brocolli is awesome.' So to shut him up I said we'll pick up anything but the wretched broc and steered towards the spinach and cabbage aisles. 'Cabbage has absolutely no health benefits, he said (I have to check on that btw!) and made a face. Since I am now so used to just nodding and agreeing to anything he says (without actually listening), I nodded this time too, but put in a packet of spinach into the trolley. That's it? was his next question and by then I was losing it..this is about 5 minutes into the shopping experience. I saw a packet of zucchini and grabbed the last one saying this is very good. 'But its like a cucumber, only water.' Me (rolling my eyes) managed to ignore him. At that point I would have done anything to not let him pick that broccoli. God I hate that vegetable with a vengeance.

(Just a note to all the new wives out there...never take your husband grocery shopping. If he's anything like mine, you'd go mad, and also end up with a whole lot of unnecessary stuff which you'd have to eventually cook..not to mention the hefty bill amount. If the bags are too heavy to carry, call him just before you pay the bill). If there is one thing I've learned after 5 years of being married, its never to take your husband grocery shopping or send him grocery shopping alone. I get at least 10 calls from the shop asking me which variety of oil did i think was best. Trust me, I have proof for this...

Anyhoo, back to zucchini. Having experimented with zucchini only a few times, I was pretty apprehensive about how it would turn out. I am not too good with mallu preparations and till now don't know how to make the perfect thoran or mezhukkupuratti. So when J wrote back saying it is made like the usual mezhukkupuratti, I was a bit concerned. I don't know how the usual one is made, and so googled it. This would probably be my 1st ever mezhukkupuratti on my blog (after the really sad looking one here) and I hope you guys enjoy it. We loved it a lot!

Thanks a lot to J and her mom for the brilliant idea :)

Zucchini- 3 medium, chopped into cubes (approx. 3 cups)

Onion- 1 small, roughly chopped

Garlic- 3 pods, finely chopped (or 1 tsp garlic paste)

Ginger- 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped (or 1/2 tsp paste)

Dry red chilli- 1

Green chillies- 2, slit

Cumin powder- 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves- a sprig

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Heat oil in a kadai and throw in the mustard seeds.

Once they splutter add the curry leaves, green chillies, red chilli, garlic and ginger. Saute for a few minutes.

Add onions and cook till they turn soft.

In goes the turmeric powder and cumin powder. Mix well to coat the onions and cook till it doesn't smell raw any more.

Throw in chopped zucchini and salt, stir to combine. Close with a lid and cook on medium low for about 10 minutes, stirring in between to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom.

The zucchini lets out enough water, so you might want to open the lid and cook after a while. Over cook it, and it will turn mushy.

We had it with rice, dal, cutlets and pickle..bliss!

Notes: The oil somehow oozed out quite a bit when I used about 1 tbsp, and so have reduced it to 1/2 a tbsp

It was also a tad towards the spicier side, so go easy on the chillies if you want a milder version.

Guest Post on Journey Kitchen

2011-06-18T16:28:00.000+01:00

Its a very exciting day for me. My first ever guest post is up and running on Kulsum's Journey Kitchen.

I stumbled upon Journey Kitchen quite by accident on one of those blog hopping days and there was no looking back. Her pictures are mind blowing, not to mention her writing which is simply the best. I sometimes head there just to check out her food styling and photography.

So when she asked me to do a guest post on her blog while she was busy preparing for her exams, I was thrilled...and honoured! I have never done this before and I was a bit sceptical as to what to blog. She wanted breakfast ideas and so I set about wrecking my brains and finally came up with a Channa Bhatura recipe.

Do head over to her gorgeous space and see what I've whipped up. Kulsum, thanks a bunch once again for this lovely opportunity.

Grilled chicken wings- the Indian way

2011-06-16T14:34:00.001+01:00

About 2 weeks back, we had some friends over for dinner and I did a Mexican theme with buffalo wings, quesadillas, ranch dressing and guava mojitos..a little Cuban influence there, but who cares?

So having discovered cleaned, skinless chicken wings at another grocery store nearby, I was pretty much over joyed, to say the least. The problem is, they get over really fast (which is probably why I never knew they existed in the first place) and so if you are not lucky (in my case early enough) you may not get it. I had stocked up on 2 sets of wings the last time I chanced upon them and was very happy when the others who came by looking for them were disappointed (yup, totally mean, if you're wondering)

One set I used for the lunch party and the other set, I made some Indian inspired chicken wings which were served with a baked potato and a tomato salad. Now that's my kinda dinner. I have posted a recipe for buffalo wings and quesadillas here, here and here, if you're interested

Recipe has been adapted from here

To marinate

Thick curd- 3/4 cup

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp

Garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Dried fenugreek leaves- 1 1/2 tsp

Ground black pepper- 1/4 tsp

Oil- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Coriander leaves- to garnish (optional)

Skinless chicken wings, tips removed- 1 kg, cleaned and dried with a kitchen towel

Sauce:

Onions- 1 medium, finely chopped

Tomato- 1 medium, finely chopped

Garlic- 5 largish pods, peeled and roughly chopped

Ginger- 2 inch piece, finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Water- 1/4 cup (optional)

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Mix together all the ingredients under the 'to marinate' section in a bowl until well combined.

Pour over the chicken wings, toss well, cover and marinate over night or for at least an hour.

When ready to grill, line a baking tray with aluminium foil and place the chicken wings in rows. Don't over crowd.

Save the remaining marinade for basting and for the sauce

Preheat the grill for about 10 minutes on high and grill the chicken for a total of 10 to 12 minutes. Take it out after about 5 minutes, baste it with more marinade (if required), turn it over and cook for the remaining 5 or 6 minutes. Repeat with the remaining wings.

Once they are all grilled, transfer them into a clean mixing bowl.

To make the sauce, heat a frying pan with oil and throw in the onions, ginger and garlic.

Saute on medium-low heat till they are slightly wilted.

Throw in the tomatoes and salt and cook till the oil starts separating.

Add the remaining marinade from the chicken and cook till oil starts resurfacing again. Do this on low heat to prevent the curds from curdling.

Once completely cooked, pour the sauce over the cooked chicken wings, toss to coat well and garnish with coriander leaves. Alternatively, if the sauce is cooked in a vessel large enough to hold all the wings, then throw in the chicken and toss it around in the same pan itself.

Notes: Grilling chicken on high heat takes no time at all...be careful not to burn it (as you can see, i did manage 2 burn it)

The sauce is completely optional, I didn't want it to be too dry, so opted for a sauce. If serving it dry, then probably a dipping sauce on the side would be a good idea.

Sable Viennois by Pierre Herme

2011-06-13T10:27:00.000+01:00

One of my favourite things to do of late is to walk around the food halls of Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Selfridges and generally gawk at all the glamorous food they have to offer. Everything is just so expensive, so gawking is all I do and maybe once in a while relish the occasional Laduree macaroon. I was in Selfridges the other day and came across the Pierre Herme section in their food hall. The macaroons and pastries and all things French were so pretty that I actually spent a good 10 minutes taking it all in. These tiny biscuits were packaged well and I had half a mind to pick it up, but again, the price almost made me blind and so I chucked the idea, mentally making a note to do a search online and make it myself.

Days passed and I completely forgot about it, and that's when the lovely Shirley of Kokken 69 blogged about a similar looking biscuit on her blog. Didn't think twice and so set about making a batch. I must say they are the easiest biscuits to make and are so delicate and pretty, I didn't even want to eat them, but just go on clicking pictures.

Recipe adapted from here

Salted butter- 95 gms (at room temp.)

Table/ sea salt- 2 gms

Powdered sugar- 40 gms

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Egg white- 30 gms

Plain flour- 125 gms

In a mixing bowl cream together the butter, salt and sugar till smooth. You can use a wire whisk, no need for a mixer.

Add the egg white and whisk to combine well. Like Shirley says, the mix may look a bit curdled, but its fine, really!

Whisk in the vanilla extract and then fold in the flour making sure you have a smooth, lump free dough an the end.

Scoop the batter into a piping bag fit with the nozzle of your choice and pipe away on to a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Make circles or any shape you prefer. Not a concern, they are gonna be awesome whichever shape :)

Bake in an oven pre-heated at 180C for about 10 to 12 minutes or lightly brown. Please don't keep it longer than that.

Notes: The original recipe calls for Fleur de Sel, but obviously I didn't have it and so added some extra sea salt which did give out a nice salty taste, but if you have fds use that instead.

I accidentally ended up with 30gms of egg white when the original said 15 gms. I don think it made a difference though..to me at least!

Thai red prawn curry with sticky coconut rice

2011-06-07T10:40:00.004+01:00

I have been busy with my freelance work for the past few days which involves a lot of research and writing and I'm exhausted. So I am not going to rant on the blog because of all the typing I've been doing, and here I am going straight to the recipe.

This was an easy peacy friday night dinner for two. It works out best if you have ready made red curry paste. Even the pics don't look nice, but the recipe was really easy and good and I'd also promised my mom I'd post the recipe since Id sent her a box of red curry paste.

Thai red prawn curry

Prawns: 250 gms, cleaned and deveined

Shallot- 1 small (optional)

Ginger- 1 inch piece, julienned

Garlic- 4 pods, chopped up fine

Thai red curry paste- 1 tsp (store bought..mine was really spice so i used onlt a tsp)

Thin coconut milk- 1 cup

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Thai basil/ coriander leaves- to garnish

Heat a non stick pan and add the oil.

Once hot, sauté the shallot (if using), ginger and garlic till nice and fragrant. You don't want to over cook.

Add the red curry paste and on medium-low heat sauté it till you see oil appearing. This is important.

Add coconut milk with the heat on low and mix well. Bring to a gentle boil. Season with salt.

Once the coconut milk has slightly thickened (if its too thick, thin it out with some water), add the prawns and cook till done...max. 6 to 7 minutes on medium high heat.

Chop the basil/ coriander leaves and garnish just before serving.

Notes: If you want to make your own curry paste, here's the link

Sticky coconut rice

Basmati rice/ sticky rice- 1 cup (cleaned and drained)

Coconut milk- 1 cup

Water- 1 cup

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tsp

Coriander leaves- to garnish (optional)

In a chefs pan, large enough to handle 1 cup rice, heat the oil.

Add the rice and sauté gently for a few minutes, till the rice becomes slightly transparent.

Reduce the heat to low and add the coconut milk, followed by water.

Season with salt, stir well and close with a tight fitting lid and cook for about 15 to 20 minutes or till all the water has been absorbed.

Fluff the rice with a fork, sprinkle some coriander leaves and serve hot.

Notes: You can use 2 cups of coconut milk for a stronger taste. I wasn't too sure if id like the strong taste that much so i diluted it.

The rice will be slightly sticky, but that's the whole point really.

I would also like to announce the winner of the giveaway- Ananda Rajashekar. Ananda, do pass on your address so I can send the books across :)
Thanks to all the others who participated. Stay tuned for more giveaways :)

Lemon polenta cake (gluten free)

2011-06-03T00:10:00.000+01:00

It is officially summer people, it is officially summer (imagine me screaming this). We are enjoying highs of 25C all throughout the day and I am glad I can go out in flip flops and shorts. I have also decided to start my swimming sessions next week, something I've been putting off for so long. Well I blame the weather for my lethargy really, I mean who wants to go jump into the water when its 10 degrees outside??? Not me!

I picked up a packet of cornmeal after craving for some corn bread (reminiscing our Chicago days) a couple of days back. I have never really cooked with cornmeal, and I would have gladly picked up a ready cornmeal muffin mix from Selfridges, if it wasn't 6 bloody pounds. That's a ridiculous amount to pay for a small pouch of ready mix which I decided wouldn't taste half as good as home made. So while searching for the perfect cornbread recipe (the level I was trying to attain was the cornbread from Famous Daves btw!), I came across this in Delicious Magazine. Changed my mind immediately and came up with the most prettiest cake evah!

This cake is as summery as it can get. It is perfectly moist, lemony and oh so yellow...the epitome of summer if you ask me. The only confusion being...is polenta and cornmeal the same thing?? After posting this question on FB, and some research online, I was able to come to the conclusion that it is. The cake actually turned out to be gluten free and I was damn thrilled about that as well. Serve it with a dab of crème fraiche and its a perfect cake to serve at a BBQ party or a picnic in the park.

I am not usually a big fan of citrussy desserts or cakes, and so have reduced the lemon content drastically. In spite of that, the cake gave out a subtle lemony flavour which I must say is something I enjoyed. It would have otherwise been too plain a cake. There is also the lemon syrup and mascarpone with lemon curd topping which I almost did but then laziness got the better of me and so the cheese went straight into the freezer. When I am actually throwing a summer party, I'll probably make the whole thing. I am however giving you the recipe for a basic lemon glaze which can be drizzled over.

On another note, you still have time to enter the giveaway. Win 3 recipe books (Soups, Leftover, Desserts), and all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. I shall announce the winner on 5th or 6th June.

Recipe has been adapted from here

Butter- 160 gms, at room temperature

Caster sugar- 150 gms

Fine cornmeal- 65 gms

Ground almonds- 150 gms

Baking powder- 3/4 tsp (use gluten free if you have it)

Eggs- 2 large, at room temperature

Lemon zest- from one large lemon (add the zest of one more if you want a stronger flavour)

Lemon juice- 1 tsp (or more if you please)

Cream together the butter and caster sugar till light and fluffy, say about 3 minutes on medium speed.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. It might look a bit curdled, but its fine.

Fold in the almond flour followed by cornmeal and baking powder. The batter would be a bit thick.

Add the lemon zest and juice and mix well to combine. I did this on the lowest speed in my free standing mixer.

Transfer the batter into a greased pan (9 inch round or square pan) and even it out.

Bake in an oven pre heated at 160C for 40 minutes or till a skewer comes out clean.

Place on a cooling rack and once marginally cool, remove from the pan and cool directly on the rack.

Basic lemon glaze

Confectioners sugar- 1 cup

Lemon juice- 1 to 2 tbsp of lemon juice depending on how strong you want it to be

Place the sugar into a mixing bowl and gradually add the lemon juice, whisking continuously till you have a pourable consistency. It shouldn't be too thick. Pour over the cake/ muffin/ bundt.

Notes: I used a small 7 inch cake pan and 2 mini bundt pans.

The bundt cake cooked in a matter of 30 minutes.

If you want to add flour..reduce the ground almonds to 100 gms and add 50 gms of plain flour.

Aloo paratha & a giveaway (flaky Indian bread stuffed with potatoes)

2011-05-29T20:08:00.000+01:00

My blog turns two today and boy am I proud. I still remember the first blog post I did. We had just moved to London from Nottingham and I was every bit apprehensive. In Nottingham, for one whole year, I never really did any major cooking. Trust me when I say this, but we would have tried out all the possible ready meals from the supermarkets, switching between the five that were near our apartment. We were staying right in the heart of the city, which meant restaurants and bars and pubs were aplenty and food was the least of our problems.

Came to London and the scene changed. Staying in Central London was out of question and so I was left with no other option but to start cooking. It was torturous initially. I mean I just couldn't handle everyday-cooking, and packing Ro lunch cos he didn't have a cafeteria at work, altogether was pretty stressful. That's when I discovered the world of blogs and decided to keep a journal so I could fall back on them instead of spending ages googling for recipes (I still end up doing so sometimes, but its reduced a lot). This food blog of mine has been of great help. When everyone holds their old recipe books or moms recipe books close to their heart saying they cant do without it, I feel the same about this food blog of mine. Its not a joke when Ro says out loud to fellow strangers that we would be doomed if we didn't have internet connection and I would not have a clue how to cook. Its sad, but true...I would be lost.

But hey, from a pathetic looking beans mezhukupuratti to aloo paratha...the journey has been fun, not to mention the wonderful blogger friends I have acquired along the way. You guys rock.

Now coming to the recipe, this is probably the first ever Indian bread recipe I'd be posting out here. Its no surprise for most you when I say I suck at the whole consistency-kneading-rolling procedure most Indian breads require, and I still buy frozen chapathis. I decided to get over my fear and tackled it one at a time...my pretty lil Kenwood Chef does the whole kneading bit beautifully, the consistency, I follow recipes that give me exact water-flour ratios and that way its quite difficult to screw up and the rolling out bit, well even if its the 'map of the world' that I started off with, I have now managed to keep it at an oval or oblong shape..much closer to a circle if you ask me.. I'm getting there peeps, I'm getting there. Although I don't think I'll ever be making chapathis on a regular basis, when I crave the occasional paneer paratha, bhatura or poori, I wouldn't be stuck.

So, do you guys remember a friend of mine Rashida, who made the Pav Bhaji?? Well as I'd mentioned before, her aloo parathas were gorgeous and I asked her if she could come over one day and show me how to make the whole thing. She agreed and so on a warm Thursday afternoon we set about making aloo parathas from scratch. She showed me how to do the whole process, which also gave me the opportunity to take step-by-step pics. I tried to grasp whatever I could and wrote down the recipe as accurately as possible. So here you go, my first ever paratha recipe:

Makes about 20 odd parathas

For the paratha dough:

Whole wheat flour (atta)- 2 1/2 cups (I used Pillsbury)

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Water- 250 ml (give or take 1 or 2 tbsp)

Oil- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

For the stuffing

Potatoes- 6 large potatoes
Onions- 2 medium, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Mint leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped (optional)

Green chillies- 2, finely chopped (or to taste)

Ginger garlic paste- 2 1/2 tbsp

Black salt- 1 heap tsp (optional)

Cumin seeds- 1 1/2 tsp

Garam masala- 1 heaped tbsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 1/2 heaped tsp

Cumin powder- 1 tsp heaped

Chaat masala- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Salt- to taste

Flour- to dust

Oil- to cook

Place the potatoes in a pressure cooker half filled with water and cook for about 5 to 6 whistles on medium heat. They should be cooked just enough to grate, not to mash. So about 6 whistles should be fine, but if you find that the potatoes haven't been cooked, put it back on the fire and pressure cook for another 4 to 5 whistles.

In the mean time, get the dough going.

Place all the ingredients for the dough in a free standing mixer with the hook attachment and knead well till you get the desired consistency, more soft and elastic, but not sticky. If you don't have a mixer, then flour the work top and knead well using your hands, for about five minutes or till the dough doesn't stick any more.

Wet a kitchen towel and keep the dough covered for at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Once the potatoes have been cooked, cool and peel them.

Grate them into a large mixing bowl. That way you make sure you don't have any lumps (very imp.)

Add the remaining items from the stuffing and mix well to combine evenly.

Make large balls out of the stuffing and place on a baking tray. Keep aside

Knead the dough one final time and make lime size balls out of it. Keep it ready.

Assembling:

Flour a wooden board. Take one dough ball, flatten it a bit, dip it in some flour and roll it out to a size big enough to wrap the potato stuffing. Make sure you keep the centre part a bit intact (refer pic below).

Flatten the centre part a bit, not too much, and then place the huge potato ball in the centre.

Wrap the potato ball with the dough and gather and pinch the top.

Flatten this ball, sprinkle some more flour on top and roll it out into a disc (approx. 6 inches in diameter), not too thick.

Continue this process with the remaining dough and potato balls as and when you are ready to cook.

Cooking:

Place a tawa on medium- high heat and once hot, place one rolled out paratha on it. Brush with some oil lightly.

You will start seeing light brown spots on the upper side at that point, flip the paratha over and oil the other side.

Continue this process till the paratha doesn't look raw any more. It should take about 2 to 3 minutes per paratha.

Place in a hot case or a pre heated oven (on low) till you finish cooking the remaining parathas.

Serve hot with some thick yoghurt and pickle of your choice.

Notes: You can also mash the potatoes, but make sure there are no hard lumps present.

I froze the paratha except for a few I was going to use the very same day. If you want to freeze it, do not oil them, instead pre cook them on medium heat for a few minutes on each side, cool on a cooling rack and store in the freezer. To remove them easily, place foil paper or baking paper in between each paratha. When you are ready to cook it, heat the tawa and follow the procedure as mentioned above, adding oil at this point.

Thin out your parathas as per your choice, If you want it thick, you might not want to roll it out into a larger circle.

These are perfect for freezing and on a day you are lazy to cook, just heat up these lil darlings and have it with yoghurt and pickle (which I'm sure most of the households would have at any time). Its a meal on its own.

Now to show my appreciation to all my lovely readers, I am giving away 3 basic recipe books. It covers soups, mains (using leftovers) and desserts and in my opinion is all I need to whip up an awesome 3 course meal. There are some interesting, but basic recipes which you can whip up in no time.

The Soups book has some easy, every day soups as well as some exotic stuff, but still doesn't use fancy schmancy ingredients. Its all stuff you get at the local grocery store.

The Leftovers book (one of my personal favourites) covers anything from breads and pasta to dairy and fruit. We all have leftover stuff in our fridge at some point or the other. Turn open this book and let the ideas pour in.

Desserts (the best part of a meal, I think) have all those crumbles and pies and ice creams and jellies and just looking at the pics make me wanna keep this for myself :)

All you need to do is leave a comment and tell me which course of a meal you enjoy the most. Is it a soup or starter or drinks or desserts or whatever it is you like or await at the dining table. Or if you don't want to tell me that, its fine, just leave a comment :)

I will randomly choose a winner and will ship the books over to any part of the world (oh yeah I'm being very generous here).

Just make sure you leave your email id, or any sort of contact detail if you're not a blogger, so i can hunt you down and get the address etc. If the winner doesn't reply within 2 days, I will have to select another winner.

So comment away peeps, the giveaway closes on 5th June.

Strawberry Lassi (smoothie)

2011-05-26T11:16:00.001+01:00

I cant believe I'm actually posting a recipe for a lassi, when I don't even like it that much. I'm not a big fan of smoothies and breakfast drinks...I don't even like fruity milk shakes for that matter, except the occasional mango lassi I share with Ro when we head to any Indian restaurant.

Picked up strawberries thinking I'd make strawberry cupcakes and then changed my mind since it was too much work. I am also not craving any cake now, because I bought the awesomest banana loaf from Respect Organics and cant stop eating it. So, so, so moist, I cant stop at one slice. I can easily finish off the entire loaf but I'm struggling not to. (In my defence, its a really tiny loaf OK!)

I made the lassi thinking I'd force it down Ro's throat, but even the non-fussy Ro didn't want it. So I had to force it down my throat and it was actually not that bad. I added loads of sugar and it did come close to my taste. I still had one glass left, but after rotting in the fridge for a day, I threw it out :(

I have to STOP making things I don't like, or things that have failed to come out well. Like the chiffon cake, for example,..I made it again yesterday and it was a disaster. Losing 3 eggs was sad, not to mention half a cup of honey and the other ingredients...sigh!

The strawberry lassi recipe is a no-brain recipe and why am I blogging it still..because I woke up this morn, completely enthu to write a post only to realize I didn't have anything interesting. Since I couldn't let my enthu-ness fizzle out, here's a brainless post from my end, with very lethargic pictures.

Fresh strawberries- 1/2 a pound (227gms), cleaned, hulled and halved

Sugar- 1/4 cup or as per taste

Honey- 2 tbsp (I loved how sweet it was)

Cold strawberry yoghurt- 1 cup (use plain yoghurt as substitute)

Salt- a pinch (optional)

Puree the strawberries along with the sugar, honey and salt using an immersion blender.

Add the yoghurt and give it one more whizz, just to mix it all in.

Pour into individual glasses and top with a strawberry. I got about 3 medium size glasses full.

Notes: Add milk instead of yoghurt if you don't want it too thick

I read somewhere that a pinch of cardamom will give it a nice flavour. Go on improvise.
Use ice cubes if you yoghurt isn't cold enough

Potato bhajias (fritters)

2011-05-22T18:44:00.005+01:00

I think this is probably the second recipe I would be posting from a recipe book taken from the library, the first being Amritsari dal, again from a Madhur Jaffrey book. For some strange reason, both the libraries in my Borough seem to have a lot of Madhur Jaffrey Books. I'm wondering its because most of her recipes cater to the locals, or so I think!

The book I have with me now, Simple Indian Cookery, has a bunch of neat recipes, but most of which I think are nothing great, just average and a little bland considering they are curry recipes. The potato bhajias, along with a flaky flat bread with cumin seeds were the only two recipes I thought were worth noticing.

These bhajias are pretty simple and straightforward and I wouldn't have given it a go if it wasn't for the cold, windy weather we experienced a couple of days back. It was so sunny and bright the first half of the week and then suddenly it became very unpleasant.

I was craving some banana fritters and Ro wanted English scones. Too bad that I was the one with the upper hand in the kitchen and he had no idea how to make scones. But with no bananas at hand, I was left with the option of something savoury. These potato bhajias served the purpose...I mean it was deep fried, it was hot and paired with a cuppa it was bliss.

On another note, do you guys prefer an electric hob or a gas hob. I have an electric one and I'm pretty happy with it, except when I want to use certain utensils with a curved bottom on it..like the kadai or an appam vessel. And that's when I stumbled upon this awesome website Appliances Online, where you get anything from Cookers, Hobs, Ovens and so on. The next time I want to replace my hob top, I know where to look, and I think I'd go for a gas hob :)

Potatoes- 2 large, well scrubbed and peeled

Besan/ Chickpea flour- 100 gms

Soda powder- 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Chilli/ Cayenne powder- 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder- 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Water- about 100-150ml

Vegetable oil- for deep frying

Sift together all the dry ingredients and the cumin seeds.

Pour in the water bit by bit stirring as you go, to make a smooth batter.

Cut the peeled potatoes into rounds, about 1/4 inch thick and drop into the batter.

Stir to coat them well.

Heat the oil in a kadai or deep frying pan. test to see if batter is hot by dropping a wee bit of batter into the oil and it should fizzle to the top immediately.

Take as many potato pieces as will fit in a single layer and scatter them evenly in hot oil.

Fry, stirring occasionally, until they are golden brown in colour on either sides.

remove them with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels.

repeat the process till you are done with the entire batch.

Serve hot with some chutney. I did an array of dips like a tamarind chutney, a mustard relish and chilli ketchup.

Notes: The potatoes need not be peeled. I just did it by accident :)

Try the same with courgettes or even brinjal/ eggplant

Mocha-walnut marbled loaf cake

2011-05-19T12:52:00.001+01:00

It was my moms birthday yesterday and I actually wanted to post this cake yesterday as well. But some guests arrived unannounced and I was left with very little cake to take pics, and no time to blog. I am one of those people who don't plan in advance, who don't have a pantry stocked with awesome things, a freezer full of cutlets etc. I am the type who wakes up in the morning, heads over to make coffee, only to realize I have no milk or sugar. I drag on my tracks and run to grocery store right across the street and pick up the milk. I come back home and realize I don't have enough sugar as well..yes, story of my life, I am that disorganized. Hell I even get into the bath only to realize I don't have shower gel and have to scream my lungs out to Ro who will have to lend me his (free advice: the key to a happy married life, don't share your bathroom with your husband). He sometimes pretends not to hear too.

Ro keeps asking me to write down a list of things I'm out of, but who's listening? I spend hours at the grocery store contemplating and trying hard to remember what I need back home. I will most certainly not learn my lesson, I'm sure.

But yesterday, these friends arrived unannounced (which is very very rare, mind you) and I panicked. They called me from the underground station (about 5 minutes from my house) and I said Id pick them up. By some crazy intuition I had decided to bake yesterday and this marble cake was in the oven when they called. There was about 24 minutes more to go and I could have easily kept the oven on and left the house but crazy things like the cake burning and the house catching on fire went through my mind and so, not worrying about the outcome, I turned off the oven leaving the cake inside. I guess that is one big NO in the book of baking, especially cakes.

Took a last look around the apartment to see if it was presentable (by that I mean dumping all the vessels into the dishwasher) and ran to pick them up. Came back home and checked the cake, well suddenly remembered that a cake was still in the oven after some 10 minutes of catching up, and found that it had not sunk or anything. So I turned it on again and waited to unravel the disaster in front of my guests. The problem with having an open kitchen is that you cant hide your mess or your blunders which in my case is in abundance...so I warned them and took out the cake and cut into it only to realize it was the yummiest, moistest cake evah!

....and served warm, it was such a treat. The kids loved it and kept asking for more. I also (thankfully) had a bag of chocolate covered pretzels which I'd received at their launch party and so served that as well. Unprepared I was, but at the end I managed it..which is what I tell Ro all the time. I may be disorganized and a last minute person, but I always end up with some solution (mostly by fluke). Each time Ro gets bugged with this act of mine, I remind him that he once mentioned how he loved the fact that, 'I keep him on his toes.'

So anyhoo, the reason I rambled on and on was to explain why I didn't have time to blog this recipe yesterday...So here's wishing my mummy dearest a very happy birthday. I'm celebrating it with you, virtually.

Recipe halved from here (originally from Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan)

All purpose flour- 145 gms

Ground walnuts- 1/4 cup

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Unsalted butter- 113 gms + 1 tbsp for chocolate

Dark chocolate- 43 gms (1.5oz)

Coffee- 1/4 cup (1oz)

Instant Espresso powder- 1/2 tsp (I used 1 tsp because I like the coffee taste)

Sugar- 175 gms

Eggs- 2 large

Vanilla extract- 1 tsp

Whole milk- 1/2 cup

Mix together the flour, ground walnuts, baking powder and salt. Keep aside.

Break the chocolate into lumps and place it in a heat proof bowl along with 1tbsp butter, coffee and espresso powder. Place this bowl over a saucepan of simmering water.

Keep the heat on low and once the chocolate and butter has slightly melted, mix well to form a smooth and creamy consistency. Keep aside to cool.

In a free standing mixer with paddle attachment or using a hand mixer, beat together the remaining butter and sugar till you form a lump free mixture. This wont be light and fluffy but should be a thick paste-like consistency.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition with the batter having a smooth and satiny texture.

In goes the vanilla extract.

Now reduce the speed to the lowest and add the flour mix and milk alternatively..starting and ending with the flour. You should have a smooth batter with no flour seen.

Pour a little less than half of this batter into the bowl with the chocolate and thoroughly mix it. Not vigorously.

Butter and dust a loaf pan and alternate spoons full of dark and white batter. I placed the white-chocolate-white as the lowest layer, then the second layer was chocolate-white-chocolate and then topped with a thin layer of white. Continue till about 3/4th full.

Swirl the batter with a butter knife right till the bottom, to get that marble effect.

Place in the centre rack of an oven pre heated at 176C and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or till a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Transfer to a cooling rack and after about 10 minutes unmould.

Serve with some vanilla ice cream.

Notes: You can use normal instant coffee powder instead of espresso powder

There are various methods of doing the marble pattern. You can do an entire layer of white and then top with the chocolate and then do the swirl as well.

My cake was done in a little less than 45 minutes.

Satay & Sangria

2011-05-16T14:39:00.003+01:00

...is a weird combination, I know! But with the grilling season fast approaching I couldn't help but give this a go over the weekend. Sangria is my all time favourite drink and with a never ending supply of wine at home, I kinda whip up this cocktail ever so often.

I always went for the traditional sangria using red wine whenever I made it at home, but this time I thought of trying out the white sangria or the Sangria Blanca using white wine. The fruits used can be anything, but because of previous not-so-pleasing outcomes, I decided to go all citrussy. I have used apples, peaches, nectarines, blue berries etc. before, but the problem is, after they stay in the liquid for a while, it kinda ferments and the taste sucks. So what I'd suggest is..make them a wee bit before you want to serve, so it can chill for a while in the refrigerator and try and finish it all at one go (oh yes we were super drunk by the end of the meal), so you don't have to drink fermented and slightly horrid tasting sangria later on. And since you'd put so much effort (and alcohol) into it, you don't want to pour it down the drain as well. It works best if you are serving this at a brunch or BBQ party, cos then you have made just enough for everyone to have a glass or two max.

Satay on the other hand is making its way through to my kitchen for the first time. Although I've had them plenty of times at Malaysian and Indonesian restaurants, I have never tried them at home thinking its quite a tedious task. It was at the back of my mind to try it out some time, but wasn't breaking my head over it.

That's when one of Ro's cousins, a brilliant cook from what I hear, passed on a satay recipe which he said he'd perfected while he was in Louisiana for 2 months on work. He had an outdoor grill at his hotel and after playing around with the recipe he finally settled on this one. Good for me I should say, cos I didn't have to waste my time googling for recipes...which incidentally takes more time for me, than making any dish. He was so clear with his recipe that I didn't even harass him with doubts. He even gave substitutes which was great because I would have wasted significant amount of time researching. He's tried to be as close to the authentic as possible and I have tried to stay as close to the recipe as possible.

Ajoy's Satay recipe

Chicken boneless breasts- 2 pounds or approx 900gms to 1 kg

Wooden/ metal skewers- about 10 to 12, soaked in water for at least an hour

Marinade:

Shallots- 1/3 cup finely minced (I kinda chopped it finely)

Minced lemon grass- 1/3 cup (I bought lemon grass paste from the store)

Ginger paste- 1/2 tbsp or 1 to 2 inch ginger piece minced

Garlic- 1/2 tbsp or about 3 cloves, minced

Cumin powder- 3/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1 tsp

Oyster sauce- 1 1/2 tbsp

Soy sauce- 1 1/2 tbsp

Fish sauce- 1 tbsp

Molasses- 2 1/2 tbsp (I used brown sugar)

Rice vinegar- 2 1/2 tbsp (use tamarind paste mixed with water as substitute)

Cooking oil- 2 tbsp (use peanut oil for a more authentic taste)

Sambal chilli paste- as per taste (I used 1 tsp of red chilli powder). Substitute with paprika or chilli flakes

Wine or sherry- 1 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Salt- add only if needed

Slice the chicken breasts lengthwise, about 1 inch wide. My chicken breasts were really thick, so I placed them on a cling film, wrapped it up and pounded with a mallet to thin it out a bit.

Mix/ blend together all the ingredients under the 'marinade' section.

Mix the meat with the marinade making sure they are all evenly coated. Marinate overnight for best results or at least for 2 to 3 hours.

Thread each marinated strip on to the skewer, leaving about 2 to 3 inches at the top and bottom of the skewer free. I gave the job to Ro to thread the meat so he managed to do about two strips on to one skewer.

Pre-heat the grill for about 10 minutes and line a roasting pan, that can hold the skewer vertically, with a silver foil.

Place the chicken skewers vertically on the roasting pan, so that the skewer edges rest on the pan edges and the juices from the chicken get collected in the pan. You can also just place it on a normal baking pan, but this way its easier to turn them over without a mess.

Cook each side for 4 to 5 minutes, basting them in between if you have left over marinade.

Serve with some peanut sauce (recipe follows).

Dipping sauce:

Chunky peanut butter- 3 tbsp

Thick coconut cream/ milk- 1/2 cup or as required (blend in equal parts with peanut butter to get thick gravy-like consistency

Honey- 1 to 2 tbsp, depending on how sweet you want it to be

Thai green chilli- 1, chopped fine or to taste

Shallots- 2 tbsp, minced

Garlic- 2 tbsp, minced

Salt- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients together and serve with satay and wedges of lime.

Notes: You can use thin cut boneless pork cut against the grain at 1 inch width or even beef skirt steak cut against the grain at the same width. Both need to be pounded to about 1/4 inch thickness.

This is best cooked on a BBQ grill, but I did it in my oven in the grill mode and it turned out fine. I'm thinking an electric grill like a George Foreman would also do the trick. Ajoy also says it can be broiled.
I didn't make the peanut sauce, but since I had the recipe I thought I should post it.

Sangria Blanca (serves about 10 to 12 glasses, adapted from here)

Sugar- 1/2 cup

Orange juice- 1 cup

Vodka- 1/2 cup

Brandy- 1/2 cup

Dry white wine- 1 bottle (750ml) I used a Chardonnay

Lemonade- 350 ml

Lime- 1 half, thinly sliced

Orange- 1half, thinly sliced

Lemon- 1 half, thinly sliced

In a glass pitcher stir together the sugar, orange juice, vodka and brandy till the sugar has dissolved.

Add the white wine and throw in sliced lime, lemon and orange.

Just before serving top with the lemonade and serve cold. Add ice cubes if required.

Notes: You can do a non alcoholic version of this using white grape juice.

Like I mentioned before, you can throw in apples, peaches, apricots, blue berries, strawberries etc.

Sending the Sangria Blanca to Radhika's Fun n Sun event over at Tickling Palates.

Toblerone cupcakes

2011-05-10T12:46:00.000+01:00

My husband is such a sucker for anything chocolate, it makes me sick. He wont buy anything other than chocolate ice cream, chocolate cake, dark chocolate bars and even chocolate biscuits (????!!!). I on the other hand is slowly getting sick of chocolate. I mean I can have the occasional bite of a dark chocolate bar, but nothing more than that. In fact I'm thinking its a good thing and trying to appreciate it. There used to be a point in time where I had to have a bar of chocolate or something chocolatey after a meal, but now I detest the thought of it. I cant really explain where, when or why I started hating chocolate so much, but I sure seem to be OK with it, considering I have moved on to greener (no not the healthy green) pastures and have replaced my after meal chocolate bars with a nice big bite of the red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting or the date and walnut cake or the plain vanilla cakes (which I'm a sucker for). You see, I have replaced it with something more calorious (I just made up that word).

Ro, although he eats all the useless (exactly his words) desserts I make or buy, says he's being unfaithful to his first love (oh I'm waaaaay below in line, in case you were wondering). A loving wife who's born to make the husband happy will only make chocolate desserts henceforth, but me, as you all might already know, is not that wife and so haven't really made a chocolate cake in like FOREVER. I think my last chocolate cake was this one almost a year back and my last something chocolatey were the Nigella bars which I kinda liked because it had all those crunchy stuff in it and was not that chocolatey.

Ro's been nagging me to make chocolate cakes for so long, but it falls on deaf ears. But a couple of days ago, we decided to go for a walk through the English countryside and since the initial plan was to pack a picnic lunch I decided to bake some cupcakes. Was scouting around for recipes and I stumbled upon this beautiful blog What Katie Ate and the Toblerone muffins caught my eye. Now if there is one chocolate I don't mind once in a while, its Toblerone...the original that too. So I decided to give it a go and I admit I was excited at having baked a choc-something, but it didn't last that long....I screwed it up royally.

I have no idea why, but all the cakes Ive baked recently have been disastrous. This one was sooo easy to follow, but I managed to ruin it. I don't know where I went wrong, but it was dry and the only part that was worth eating was the Toblerone spotted areas. Even Ro, the chocolate addict, was like 'hmm its a bit too dry." I was disappointed and had to chuck the plan of taking it to the picnic. Instead I piled it into an air tight container and kept it thinking Ro might eat it anyway, after all its chocolate.

A couple of days later, it still was there untouched and I was just about to throw it when I decided to take a few pics anyway..and blog it because the recipe is such an easy-to-follow but unique one that I had to keep it...just in case I decide to try it another day. I would like to blame the cocoa powder used, for the colour and for not getting the double choc effect. Next time I'm definitely buying Dutch processed cocoa powder even if its gonna cost an arm and a leg. Considering that I don't use it on a regular basis, I think its alright. So this recipe is not one of my successful ones, but if any one out there decides to try it out, do let me know how it turned out so I can take notes and correct my mistakes.

Recipe halved from here

Plain flour- 1 1/2 cups

Cocoa powder- 1 1/2 tbsp

Baking powder- 1/2 tbsp

Brown sugar- 3/4 cups

Butter- 63 grams, melted and cooled

Milk- 3/4 cup

Egg- 1

Toblerone chocolate- 1/2 cup, roughly chopped

Sift together the flour, cocoa and baking powder. Mix well.

Add the brown sugar and stir well, making sure there are no lumps.

Whisk the egg lightly and add to the melted butter along with milk. Mix well.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour-cocoa mix, tip in the chopped chocolate and mix them all together until no traces of flour is seen.

Transfer into cupcake/ muffin cases till 3/4th full and bake in an oven pre heated at 160C for about 16 to 20 minutes.

Cool on a rack and when ready to serve, heat it for a lil while in the microwave, so the chocolate melts a bit (optional).

Notes: I used Cadbury cocoa and probably that's why the colour is not that strong. Use Dutch processed as the original recipe says.

I made cupcakes and so the cooking time was a little less.

Goan prawn curry

2011-05-05T20:28:00.002+01:00

OK I spoke too soon about posting a recipe everyday. The days just got incredibly busy with the long weekend and then a trip to Nottingham kinda messed up my 'post a recipe everyday' regime. I also didn't have enough recipes in my draft to post, that being another reason.

We have been eating out or are being invited over to friends' places and so cooking at home has taken a back seat. I should also mention that pigging out on food has started showing on me which is a very bad sign, especially cos summer is fast approaching and there are no more jackets and sweaters to cover the bulges.

I actually wanted to post a dessert recipe today since its been ages since I'd posted one here, but I cant seem to find any in my drafts. I haven't been baking or making anything sweet recently, just to go easy on the whole butter, egg intake and then the three times I tried making something cos I had guests over turned out to be big flops and I threw my hands up in the air and decided I had lost my mojo for baking.

Ro claims its cos I am distracted, and says watching 'Gossip Girl' while cooking will not make it any better. But I love watching something while cooking and my lap top is perched on my kitchen counter while I'm at it (which also explains the dal that was stuck under the keyboard).

I also want to say a very special thank you to all my lovely blogger friends who wrote in with words of consolation. I am so glad I have a bunch of awesome friends out there in the blogosphere. Second...I won the aesthetics category in the DMBLGIT event and Im super kicked about it. All the entries were lovely and I am thoroughly honoured to be one among all the amazing photographs. Look forward to taking part again.

Coming to the recipe, Ro has been working from home the past couple of days and so lunching on left over stuff is no option. I am forced to make something for lunch and dinner and I'm exhausted. Goan prawn curry was one of those dishes which I whipped up in a jiffy and it just goes well with plain rice. It reminds me so much of our honeymoon days in Goa where one whole week we spent lounging around, eating, drinking and partying like there was no tomorrow. I had a Goan fish curry on one of the days, which was so yum, and tried to make the same, but with prawns. Recipe has been adapted from here

To grind:

Dry red chillies- 2

Cumin seeds- 3/4 tsp

Coriander seeds- 1/2 tsp

Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Prawns- 200 gms, cleaned and deveined

Garlic paste- 1/2 tsp

Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp

White vinegar- 3/4 tsp

Onion- 1 small, thinly sliced

Tomato- 1 small, thinly sliced

Coconut milk- 3/4th cup

Oil- 2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Grind together all the ingredients in the 'to grind' section to a fine powder.

In another bowl mix the garlic paste, ginger paste, white vinegar and the spice powder mix to form a smooth paste. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the onions. Sauté till they become light brown in colour.

Add the spice paste and sauté for a few minutes, till they become nice and fragrant.

In goes the sliced tomatoes. Cook on medium heat till the oil starts resurfacing. Take your time here.

Once the mix becomes nice and mushy, add the prawns and mix well making sure the masala coats the prawns

Add the coconut milk and salt to taste. Give it a stir and bring to a boil.

Simmer for a few more minutes, make sure the prawn is cooked, check for salt and if everything's fine, take it off the heat and serve with some steaming hot rice.

Notes: You can replace prawns with any firm fish fillets

The original recipe asked for green chillies along with the tomato. I avoided that since our spice tolerance level is really low.

The curry tastes even better the next day I felt

Appetizer ideas

2011-04-27T14:08:00.002+01:00

Raspberry-lemon spritzer recipe here

Cool Lassie kinda inspired me to try and post a recipe every day for a week. I know its already mid-week but then you have to start somewhere right? :)

Another reason being...my computer is low on disc space and I need to move all my pics on to an external drive in fear of losing it if something happened to my comp. So probably for the next couple of days I shall post stuff from my archives..stuff that I have either been too lazy to post or have refrained from posting because the pics haven't come out great. The recipes however are too good to lose, so here are a few appetizer ideas that I have borrowed from other blogs. The weather is back to being awful and I have been sneezing like mad for some strange reason. Hope it is not the hay fever that Ro is now going through and being a baby about.

Oh and one more thing..this is for the anonymous lurker out there. Please leave me a name and address I can reply to the next time you decide to grace my blog with your comment because I can then directly address you personally and not have to write shit like this in public (a major waste of time). If you find it incredibly painful to read my blog..please stop doing so instead of sending me anonymous messages. First of all you are spamming me and second no one out here is forcing you to read on..I really couldn't care less if you are not interested in the fact that I use words and messages that might make you uneasy. Its my blog and sadly I can post whatever I want.

See I don't take blogging seriously and I didn't want to impose restrictions and things like that. I don't mind being criticised or whatever as long as you say who you are. Judge me all you want but I don't owe anyone explanations. Posting nasty stuff unnecessarily is like back stabbing and I am too bored and lazy to create an issue about this. But these anonymous messages are getting to me and I have allowed only registered users to post comments. Sorry about this. I have some lovely readers who post anonymously but still give their name at the end (thanks you guys), sorry that you will have to now use your email id to post comments. I had to write this out because I didn't want you to suddenly realize that you are not able to post comments. Hope you understand.

Anyways, coming back to the kick-ASS recipes.

Chicken 65

Numerous bloggers have posted recipes and reasons as to why it is called Chicken 65, so I am not gonna ramble. I found this recipe on vahrehvah, but Nashira of Plateful has described it gracefully and I followed her recipe to the dot, except I used boneless chicken thighs and didn't have the chilli-garlic paste so I substituted that with chilli ketchup. It was a nice substitute and I don't think it made that much of a difference to the final outcome. I also omitted the ajinomoto and red food colour. The next time however, I am gonna try and bake/ grill the chicken instead of deep frying because I kinda detest the whole idea and I somehow end up making a mess. Do hop on to her blog or to the vahchefs website for the recipe. Pics are horrid because we were still having longer nights then.

Tortilla cups with meat filling

A blogger that I recently got introduced to is Kankana of Sunshine & Smile. Her pics are gorgeous and her recipes versatile. The moment I saw her Tortilla cups recipe, I knew I would try it and it was such a big hit. You can basically fill it with whatever you want and serve as an appetiser or as a snack at a picnic. I followed her procedure for the tortilla cups, but filled it with mince meat (this recipe) and topped it with some cheddar cheese and grilled it for about 8 to 10 minutes, just to get the cheese melted. Topped it with an jalapeño and it was a great starter to our Mexican inspired dinner.

Pigs in a blanket

The quintessential British favourite especially during Christmas time, is this easy peasy starter. I had a friend over for lunch a few weeks back and I made this with some leftover puff pastry sheets. It is so easy to make and I'm sure it will be a big hit among all, kids especially.

Rolled puff pastry sheet- half of one (I used jusrol)

Chicken or any sausage- 8 (I used small frankfurters)

Egg- 1, (for wash)

Ketchup- to serve

If you are not using the rolled out pastry, then roll it out and cut into two. Store away the other half.

Place the pastry sheet on to a lightly floured surface and cut them into four equal halves and then each half into two. So basically you get 8 medium rectangles.

Place the sausage on each pastry and roll/ fold over and seal the edges lightly with your hand. If it doesn't stick, brush the beaten egg and stick it. Repeat with all the sausages.

if you want you can serve the sausage as a single one, but I sliced each of it into 4 small ones which looked incredibly cute.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and so an egg wash for that light golden colour.

Bake in an oven preheated at 220C for about 12 to 15 minutes.

Serve with some ketchup.

Sending the Raspberry-lemon spritzer to Food Palette series- Pink over at Torviewtoronto