Summer drinks

The weather has been incredibly good the past couple of days and we have resorted to keeping a bottle of chilled water in the refrigerator and taking glugs from it when needed. Ro's hay fever has flared up and he's irritated with it most of the time, but still refuses to stay indoors, and takes the cycle out for a spin to the nearby parks and such whenever possible. As much as I'm enjoying the heat and sunshine, it sometimes gets to me, especially at night when it gets too stuffy and warm, in spite of leaving the windows open. I should probably take off the duvet and use a normal sheet, but we are always jinxed when we do that, because the very next day after we vacuum seal the duvet and stash it away, it becomes cold and unbearable at night, leaving us sleepless and cranky. Same with taking the floor fan out. The day after we assemble it, it would be raining and cold and windy and we'd never have an opportunity to use it. 

Anyway's, coming to today's post, I have been making these gorgeous cold summer drinks whenever the weather is amazing (read HOT) and have been waiting for the right moment to post them. They are not really precise recipes, but more 'add as you like' versions, and so can be adapted in whichever way you prefer. Today I guess temperatures are soaring at 27C and its perhaps the best day to post the recipes for these summery drinks. I am sooo gonna go ahead and make some Pimms later in the day.

Mango Mood (serves 2 to 3) 

 

The moment I saw Finla's mango cocktail recipe, I knew I had to try it. To be honest, Ro and I dont crave for mangoes during the season. I mean we will pick some up if we feel like it, but dont crave it tremendously. I like mango flavoured drinks more than the actual fruit and that's why I had to give this cocktail a go. Its perfect to serve while entertaining guests and of course, you can never go wrong with anything vodka based :)

Mango juice- 250ml

Orange juice- 100 ml

Vodka- 100 ml

Lime juice- 20 ml

Ice cubes- as required.

Caster sugar- to rim the glasses (optional)

Take some caster sugar in a plate, rub a lemon lightly on the rims of 2 cocktail glasses to moisten i,t and then turn it upside down and dip the rims in caster sugar. 

Shake off excess sugar and chuck them in the fridge.

Pour all the other ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake away to glory.

Take the glasses out of the refrigerator and strain the drink into them.

Serve immediately.

Lime mint cooler (serves 4)

 

This brings back fond memories of college days. We used to hang out at this pretty popular juice joint called 'Fruit Shop on Greams Road,' but since we were all living off meagre pocket money, we could only afford the cheapest drink on their menu- the lime mint cooler which was Rs. 10 at that time (I'm sure its gone up like crazy now) and we would sit with that drink for as long as possible. Ah good ol days.

Its not a drink everyone would like as its got a very distinct mint flavour. Ro hates it, but that doesnt stop me from making a couple of glasses for myself. Add some grated ginger for some added punch, or replace sugar with honey for a lighter version.

Lime juice- 1/4 cup

Lemon juice- 1/4 cup

Mint leaves- 1/4 cup

Sugar- 4 to 5 tbsp (depending on taste)

Water- 4 to 4.5 cups

Ice cubes- as required

Lemon zest and mint leaves- to garnish

Blend together all the ingredients, except the garnish items, in a blender till all the sugar is melted and the mint leaves have broken down.

Strain the mix into a large jug, do a taste test. Add more sugar if needed, more water if its too tart and ice cubes if its not cold enough.

Pour into individual glasses and garnish with some zest and mint leaves.

Pimms- the quintessential British fav. (makes one large pitcher)

No summer in England is complete without a pitcher of Pimms and I for one love it. If you have a bottle of Pimms, making variations with different mixers is absolutely easy, and hardly would you have anyone say no to it. This is the basic version and recipe is adapted from here.

Pimms No. 1- 1 cup

Lemonade- 3 cups, chilled

Mint- a few springs

Cucumber- 1/4 cup

Orange- 1, quartered

Strawberries- 1/2 cup, hulled and halved

Ice cubes- as required (optional)

Into a large pitcher pour in the Pimms. 

Top with lemonade. Add ice cubes if required.

Garnish with cucumber, orange and mint and serve chilled.

while pouring it out, you may want to use a spoon to scoop out some of the fruits and add to individual glasses. 

Its best drunk with a straw and eating the alcohol soaked fruits might be a bit tricky, but after a couple of drinks, who cares if you use your hands :)

Sambharam (Spiced buttermilk- serves 2)

 

This drink definitely needs no introduction. It's a staple at every South Indian household, especially during the hot and humid summers. I am ashamed to say this, but I have made sambharam only once since coming to London and I had to click pics and record it for posterity. I remember glugging down packets full of this yummy stuff during my under grad days, from this small shack just outside college. God know what all they used to add in it, but it was the most yummiest, spiciest buttermilk I've ever had. Recipe adapted from here, styling from here

Buttermilk- 300 ml, chilled

Water- 100 ml (if required)

Ginger- 1 inch piece, peeled

Green chillies- 2

Shallots- 2 small (optional)

Cumin seeds- 1/4 tsp

Asafoetida- a pinch

Curry leaves- a sprig

Salt- to taste

If the buttermilk is too thick, dilute it with the water. The ones we get here are pretty thick and so i keep adding water bit by bit till i get the slightly loose consistency.

Add enough salt, mix well and keep aside.

Grind/ crush coarsely the ginger, green chillies, shallots, cumin seeds and asafoetida either using a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder.

Crush the curry leaves with your hand and all it to the buttermilk, along with all the crushed mix.

Give a good stir and serve cold.

If you dont like to bite into the spices, then let the buttermilk chill in the refrigerator for a while so the flavours get infused, and then strain before serving.

Bloody Mary (makes 1, double it if required)

 

My recent fav is the Bloody Mary. If made right, it's perhaps one of the yummiest cocktails ever, but if ruined, it could taste like tomato soup with a kick. I used to make this cocktail a lot back in India because vodka and tomato juice is readily available and there is very little or no effort whipping this up for unexpected guests. You can also make a virgin version without the booze. Recipe adapted from here

Vodka- 50 ml

Tomato juice- 125 ml

Celery salt- 1/4 tsp + enough to rim the glass

Black pepper- a dash

Tabasco sauce- a generous dash (less if you dont prefer it spicy)

Worcestershire sauce- a dash

Ice cubes- as required

Take some celery salt in a saucer. Rub a lemon lightly on to the rim of a tall glass to moisten it ,and then turn it upside down and dip the rims into the celery salt. Shake off excess salt, as you dont want it to be too salty. You can use a salt and pepper mix for the rims, if you dont have celery salt. 

Fill the glass with ice.

Pour in the vodka and top it up with tomato juice. You can dilute it with some water if you think the tomato juice is too thick.

Season with the celery salt and black pepper.

Add the Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces, stir it all in and serve.

If you can get hold of celery sticks, use that as a decoration (and a stirrer).

PS: My sister-in-law (brother's wife) is getting into London on Monday and she's with us for about 3 weeks. I am sooo looking forward to some girly time with both my sisters-in-law (Ro's sister is also in London) and so blog posts may not be that regular. 

Butterscotch-brioche bread pudding- A guest post for Collaborative Curry

Collaborative Curry was one of those first blogs that I stumbled upon, when I was new to the whole blogging scene; and Sunitha was the first food blogger I ever spoke to. We had a loooong skype session once and it was so so much fun:). Again, like I have mentioned before, I have a list of food bloggers I'd like to meet some day, and Namitha and Sunitha definitely make the list. But till then, I guess we will just have to make do with FB, skype, chats and blogs. 

I was mighty thrilled when Namitha wrote in asking me to do a guest post while she was away vacationing in India. I of course jumped at the opportunity and put my mind to work thinking what I'd whip up for a blog that has some amazing recipes and gorgeous pictures. After some brainstorming, we decided on the Bread Pudding and I was glad because it is one of my current favs. But wait a minute, that was not the case till recently. Care to read the story? Well! here goes...

My first taste of bread pudding was when I was in school or something. My mums favourite dessert to make when we had guests over was either the bread and butter pudding, a pineapple pudding or a biscuit pudding. She claimed they were all super easy to make which is why it made its way through to our parties ever so often. Last Christmas, when we were all home in India and while discussing the Christmas menu, we asked her what was dessert and these 3 options came up again. And my brother and myself in unison said, NOT AGAIN!! That's how much we detested the three desserts. (The fact that we still ended up having pineapple pudding after much discussion, speculation and arguments is another story altogether). 

With this aversion to bread pudding in mind, I never really bothered giving it a go anywhere else. It is mostly available in the dessert section of almost every pub menu along with the quintessential British favs sticky toffee pudding and apple pie, but I never really favoured it since it was something I'd grown up with. But it all changed, just recently. We decided to hit a riverside pub on one of those glorious spring evenings when the sun was out and every Londonite was either out in the park or in a pub. You would know by now that the pub culture in UK is so flourished, that even on a Monday afternoon, you can see pubs full of the working crowd. No Monday blues in UK I guess:)

Anyways, we grabbed a couple of beers and ciders and basked in the sun like nutcases who were sun deprived and invariably ended up having dinner there. Pub food is not so awesome, unless you go to a theme pub like a Thai or a Spanish inspired one and other than the usual burgers, fish and chips and bangers and mash, the options are not too varied. But I somehow always love pub desserts which I feel is as authentic as it can get. I'm probably wrong about this, but it works for me. I decided on a treacle tart but as luck would have it, that was sold out and my only other option was a brioche bread pudding. Ok what the hell I thought, never tried a 'brioche' bread pudding, so ordered it without much expectation. The pudding arrived and it looked as unappetising as I thought it would be, but one bite into the warm and gooey pudding and boy was I wrong. It was just absolutely delish.

The fact that it was made of brioche just took it a notch higher and the slight caramel taste was fabulous. The only thing I didn't quite enjoy was biting into the raisins, but that's a small price to pay for a tasty bowl of bread pudding. I called up my mom the next day and told her that the bread pudding she makes is not bread pudding at all and to chuck her recipe out. She replied that if she were to get her hands on bread with such high content of butter and eggs, even her pudding would taste great. I argued and have promised to make it for her when I have a chance. I was determined to replicate it at home and so set about googling the recipe. I was not too successful at it, but with some tweaks and adjustments to this recipe, I was able to recreate something close to what I had envisaged. The recipe is quite forgiving and the options are endless. This is however the basic version which since then, I have made quite a number of times, and the results just keep improving. The final outcome doesn't look all fancy and pretty, but trust me, it tastes so darn good, you have to make a conscious effort to not go for a second bowl.

I couldn't think of a better way to show my gratitude to Namitha and Sunitha than offer them a slice of this fabulous pudding, from across the pond. Head over to Collaborative Curry to check out the recope.
Hope you guys enjoy it and thanks once again for this lovely opportunity.

Quorn sausages with mashed potato and onion gravy

 

For someone who doesn't post that many vegetarian recipes here, I actually love vegetarian food. Well not vegetables per se, but you know the Kerala sadya items are an absolute favourite of mine, but sadly I don't know how to make half of them and the only respite comes from eating at a vegetarian restaurant.

We have something non vegetarian every day and when Ro was with his previous company he used to take lunch whenever possible (read, whenever there was leftover from dinner). The occasional one time, he took something vegetarian and apparently his colleague asked him if everything was fine at home. Ro asked him why he thought so, and this person replies that Ro always had non veg for lunch and since he didn't have any that day, he assumed something was wrong at home. That kinda made me sit back and wonder why we never had vegetarian food at home. So for the next few days after that I struggled, really struggled, to manage with just vegetarian food. Quite difficult I must say when you don't eat Indian food every day. Spinach, mushroom and pasta was consumed in abundance but we soon got bored of that. That's when Quorn came to our rescue.

Here's a little about Quorn. It is made of Mycoprotein, a naturally occurring and high quality form of protein produced using a form of fermentation process and the out come is then used as the base for different food products. You get a variety of products in grocery stores- from ready meals like Quorn lasagne and tikka masala to deli foods like ham style slices, peppered beef style slices and the best, you get Quorn mince, fillets and bacon which you can just adapt to any non veg recipe of yours and have a fabulous meal. If that doesn't convince you, then the fact that it is a much healthier option, should do the trick. Being low fat, low calorie and cholesterol-free Quorn can be termed as one of those 'wonder foods.'

 

I must admit, I was a bit apprehensive about using it in my cooking. But you have to start somewhere right? So I decided to give it a go. I picked up their summer special Quorn Sizzling Bangers and decided on the Sausages and mash with gravy and green peas recipe from the Quorn website (which btw has a tonne of easy recipes and is worth checking out). Cooking is fairly straightforward, with clear cut instructions and the outcome was also fairly decent. I however found a distinct flavour difference as opposed to the husband who said it was good. I mean you would obviously know its not the sausage you are used to, but it could easily pass for one when had with the mash and gravy. I also picked up the Quorn mince after that to make some kheema masala and that I must say was a winner. I guess its the fact that its mince and the masala catches on pretty well, which completely masked the fact that it wasn't meat. So considering all this, I guess it is a good option when you want to impress those finicky vegetarian guests at home. I would however stick to chicken style strips and mince meat as opposed to the ready meals in the future.

Mashed potato (serves two as a side dish)

 

Yukon or Russet potatoes- 350 gms, peeled and quartered

Butter- 1 tbsp (around 15 gms)

Double cream- 2 tbsp

Mature cheddar cheese- 1 tbsp, finely grated (optional)

Milk- 1 tsp (give or take)

Salt and pepper- to taste

Boil water in a sauce pan, season with some salt and throw in the sliced potatoes.

Keeping heat on high, bring the water to a boil once again and then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or till a knife can easily break the potato.

Drain the potato properly.

Wipe the same saucepan clean and place it back on medium heat.

Tip in the drained potatoes and toss around a bit just to get rid of any water content. Transfer the warm potatoes into a bowl.

Then into the same sauce pan add the butter.

Once it melts, pour the double cream and warm gently.

Pour on top of the potato, add the cheddar cheese (if using), season with enough salt and pepper and mash either using a masher or a fork..

Add the milk, a little at a time and using a strong spoon mash further till you get a smooth, lump less mix. Don't over do it though.

Serve warm as a side to meat or vegetables or as a topping (Cottage pie, Oven coddled eggs)

Onion gravy (adapted from here)

 

Butter- 2 tsp

Olive oil- 1 tsp

Red onion- 1 large, finely chopped

Sugar- 1/4 tsp

Balsamic vinegar- 3 tbsp

Chicken stock- 300ml (made using half a stock cube)

Plain flour- 1 tbsp

Salt and pepper- to taste

Heat the butter and olive oil in a sauce pan.

Add the onions and some salt and cook on low heat for about 15 to 20 minutes, or till the onions become a darker shade. Stir in between to prevent the onions from sticking to the bottom.

Add the sugar and wait for it to caramelise, about 10 more minutes.

Pour in the vinegar, stir to combine and cook for a few more minutes.

Sprinkle the plain flour over the onions and stir in the chicken stock bit by bit.

Season with enough salt and pepper (after tasting) and bring to a gentle simmer or until the sauce is slightly thick.

Pour into a gravy boat and serve hot.

Notes: Use white onion if you want it a tad less sweet.

Original recipe called for red wine which I substituted with balsamic vinegar

Chicken stock can be replaced with vegetable stock and plain flour with cornflour.

Assembling

 

Cook the Quorn sausages as per instructions. I pan fried it in about a tsp of oil, tossed it around a bit till the sausages were slightly charred on the outside and cooked through. Drained on paper towels.
Place a large dollop of mashed potato on a serving plate and place the sausages on top.
Scatter a spoon full of green peas (I just stir fried in in some butter, seasoned with salt and pepper and some lime juice) and pour the onion gravy on top.
Dig in :)

Spicy Bombay potatoes

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.

Gordon Ramsay's Cottage Pie

Another autumn dish, the Cottage Pie is a British favourite. I love how easy conti cooking is compared to the elaborate Indian meal. A couple of my brothers friends called up last Friday and said they were coming over....imagine 4 boys, early twenties. I thought, OK I'll just make a veg. bake, grilled chicken and get garlic bread and dessert from the store, when they pleaded with me and said they were dying to have mallu grub, that too kappa (tapioca) and fish curry. Blimey...I freaked out! As you all might already know, I suck at making Kerala dishes, leave alone something as authentic as kappa (mashed tapioca). But I felt so sorry for the fellas and decided to go all out and make it any way. So I started at around 12 in the afternoon and was only able to sit down and have a drink at 8pm when they actually arrived. And you'd think I cooked up a storm??? Well all I made was...rice, a prawn curry, a thoran (veg dish), kappa and beef curry. Yes it took me 8 hrs to do all this, and the mess I made..oh god don't even make me start on that. The tapioca was such a mess, but the boys were so unbelievable happy that there was absolutely no left over. They would have thanked me at least a hundred times for the awesome dinner..which, in spite of all that hard work, did make me feel happy. Also, the fact that I made Ro clean up afterwards, massage my back because I was standing all day, and then eating out the entire weekend did make it worth it, Id say (evil laugh...)

But seriously, never again am I gonna make Indian food when I have people over..the chopping, stirring, simmering and seasoning just made it so unpleasant, I decided to stick to some bakes and grills for the coming week..and that's just what I did...kick started the week with this cottage pie.

(Interesting trivia.... using beef mince makes it a Cottage Pie and lamb mince makes it a Shepherds pie).

Adapted from a Gordon Ramsay recipe that came on Channel 4.

Beef mince- 500 gms

Onion- 1 medium, grated

Tomato- 1, grated

Frozen green peas- a handful

Garlic- 2 pods, grated

Pepper powder- 1 tsp (or to taste)

Chilli powder- 1 tsp (optional)

Dried Thyme- 1 tsp

Dried Rosemary- 1/2 tsp

Worcestershire sauce- 2 tbsp

Red wine- 250 ml

Chicken stock- 300 ml

Olive oil

Salt- to taste

For the potato mash

Large potatoes- 1/2 kg

Egg yolks- 2 (optional)

Butter- 50 gms

Cheddar cheese- 1/4 cup + enough to sprinkle on top

Olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a pressure cooker, grate the onions and garlic into it with a grater and sauté till they turn translucent.

Grate the tomatoes into the pan and cook till it becomes a bit mushy.

Add the beef mince to this and mix well.

Season with pepper and chilli powder and also add the Worcestershire sauce and herbs. Cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, stirring continuously.

Add the frozen green peas and the red wine and cook till almost evaporated.

Add the chicken stock and put on the lid, followed by the weight when the steam comes.

Cook for about 8 to 10 minutes on medium- high flame, or for about 2 whistles.

Release the pressure, and open the lid. If there is way too much liquid, then boil again on high heat till they are more or less evaporated. It should be a thick gravy.

While that's taken care of, get the potatoes ready.

Boil the potatoes in salt water, till soft. 

Peel and mash them along with the cheese, salt and pepper and egg yolk if adding to a smooth consistency...not too runny or too thick.

Assembling:

Pre-heat the oven to 180C

Layer the bottom of an oven proof dish with the mince meat mix.

Spoon in large amounts of mashed potato on to the meat and carefully layer it, working from the outside, into the middle.

Generously grate some cheddar cheese on top of the potato, fluff it up with a fork if needed and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve with some bread or even better garlic bread...and feast on :)

Notes: You can use carrots, parsnips, leek or any veggie of your choice.

The good part of this recipe is that you can grate all this into the cooker and not use a chopping board..less things to wash ;)

If you want a very Indian flavour, feel free to use coriander powder, garam masala,meat masala etc.

Red wine is optional, just the chicken stock would do, but check the salt and only then add more..the stock can be really salty

I was lazy and so used store bought mashed potato instead of making my own. It was a tad too thick, so I loosened it up with some milk. Also, its not as thick as it should be...it only formed a very thin layer which was fine by us..less carbs :)

Welcoming Autumn with Chicken pot pie

Autumn is definitely here, I can vouch for that. Restaurants have even started advertising Christmas lunches and I have started seeing meat pies and the like in supermarkets.

After a spectacular and busy summer, we are back to gloomy, windy and rainy days. As strange as it sounds, I must say, I LOVE IT. Its time for soups, stews and one pot meals which brings us to this brilliant British delicacy....Chicken pot pie. This is one of Nigella Lawson's super easy recipes and I'm completely in love with the outcome. One thing I like about her is how she makes the process so simple, yet the outcome is extraordinary. This is an awesome brunch dish especially if you have a roll of puff pastry at hand. If you serve them in individual ramekins, its a perfect one pot dish. Yummeeeee!

Chicken breasts/ thighs- 250gms, boneless, cut into bite size pieces

Plain flour- 2 1/2 tbsp

Dried thyme- 1/2 tsp

Bacon rashers- 3 to 4

Onion- 1, roughly chopped

Butter- 1 tsp

Chestnut mushrooms- 125 gms, washed and dried

Green peas- 100 gms

Chicken stock- 325 ml

Freshly ground pepper- to taste

Salt- to taste

Olive oil- 1 tsp

Puff pastry- 2 rectangular size sheets, rolled

Put the diced chicken breasts, flour and dried thyme together in a zip lock bag and coat the chicken as evenly as possible. Keep aside.

Meanwhile, slice the bacon rashers with a pair of scissors and fry them till well done. Reserve the oil, but drain the pieces on a kitchen towel if you are feeling a bit psyched about the excess oil.

In a heavy bottomed pan heat the olive oil and bacon oil and sauté the onions till light brown.

Use the same scissors and slice the mushrooms and drop them directly into the pan along with the onion. Let them sweat it out for a while in there.

Add the fried bacon to this and sauté for about a minute or so. Season with salt and pepper if required.

In goes the butter. Once that melts, add the chicken slices and green peas and stir around a bit so that the flour and the onion mix are all well combined.

Add the chicken stock and on medium heat let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add more thyme if required at this stage. I did!

Get the pastry ready by that time. If you need to roll it out do so. I used already rolled out puff pastry, cut it in half and used it.

Assembling:

Divide the chicken gravy between individual ramekins (or a big casserole dish) till about 3/4th full.

Wet the rims with water, cut a few thin strips off the pastry and crown the ramekins (as shown in the pic below).

Cut a rough circle from the remaining pastry and place them carefully over the ramekin, covering the top fully.

With a fork, make pretty designs around it just to let the pastry puff up and also, like Nigella says, it looks pretty.

Its ok if the puff pastry is uneven, the more rustic the better. It gives that homely look you know :)

Make sure you pierce a few holes to let off steam.

Place the ramekins on a baking tray and shove it into an oven pre-heated at 220C for about 30 minutes or till the pastries are nice and puffed.

Break the crunchy pastry into the hot chicken gravy, and dig in I say :)

You can of course add a few slices of garlic bread as well.

Notes: The veg. version would be to omit the chicken and probably add spinach or corn.

If you want it a wee bit spice, feel free to add some chilli powder :)

Roasted Spatchcocked Poussin with veggies

Fancy eh? Yeah thats what I thought too when I saw this lil bird at Sainsbury's, only to realize its nothing but a small chicken, something like a Cornish game hen. And spatchcocked is just a way the bird has been cut to suit grilling, baking needs. Anyways, I decided to work with it and was pretty apprehensive since I've never really had the guts to cook a full chicken ever! Even eating a full bird, was never my kinda thing because most of the time the masalas don't catch onto the flesh and if its a big bird like turkey, whatever you do its still bloody tasteless. Sunday roasts, this side of the world are a common thing and I decided to do the same, except I did so on a Saturday :)

The bird (yeah I know, sounds like I'm referring to a chick) was cleaned and had some pepper seasoning on it, but I was sure it would be bland and so jazzed it up a bit. The end result was something I'm very proud of. My first time with a bird (again, sorry to sound so kinky) and it was awesome. Since it was tiny, the seasoning caught on well and the veggies accompanying the roast was even better. I would definitely pick up more of this tiny lil bird for future cooking.

Spatchcocked poussin- 450 gms, skin on (trust me its an advantage when you roast it)

To marinate:

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Lemon juice- a splash

Salt and pepper- to taste.

New potatoes- 8 to 10, quartered

Baby carrots- 12 to 15, washed

Asparagus- 8 to 10 heads

Chicken stock- 2 cups (i dissolved two Maggi chicken stock cubes in hot water)

Dried thyme- 1 tsp

Salt and pepper- if required

Olive oil- to drizzle

Mix all the ingredients in the 'to marinate' section together and generously rub onto the poussin. Keep aside till your veggies are half cooked.

In another heavy bottomed vessel, pour the chicken stock, the quartered potatoes, carrots and asparagus. 

Throw in the dried thyme salt (stock might be salty, so add after doing a taste check) and pepper (if needed) and bring to a boil.

After the veggies are half cooked, turn off the fire and keep aside.

In a roasting pan, place the poussin and snugly fit in all the pre cooked veggies around it. 

Drizzle some olive oil on to the bird and the veggies or spread it around with a basting brush.

Pour some of the stock over the bird and place on the middle shelf of an oven preheated at 190C for 45 to 50 minutes.

After about 15 minutes, take the pan out and pour some more stock on the bird and veggies and turn the veggies around a bit, if you can. This is to keep the bird moist. Continue doing so every 15 minutes.

At the end of the cooking time, cut a slice from the thigh or so and see if its cooked, the juices should run clear.

Carve the bird- since its small, each half can be easily gorged on by a person- pour a ladle full of stock over the meat and serve with some garlic bread.

Notes: Like I mentioned before there was already some pepper seasoning on the poussin which didn't really give out too much flavour and since we didn't want a spicy' too Indian' marinade, we went easy on the masalas. Go ahead and add as much chilli and cumin and coriander powder as per your liking.

You can throw in whatever veggies you want..parsnips, sweet potatoes, swede etc etc.

Left over (if any) can be shredded and used in a sandwich :)

A Beef Stew to complement the weather

Why why why is it raining non-stop and windy again??? Just when I was beginning to enjoy walking out in open shoes and thin jackets, the weather goes for a toss again...just when I started gym sessions and has to drag my lazy ass out, it starts pouring, and the devil in me contemplates on whether to bunk or not...just when i have a few markets to cover as part of my photography stint, the wind ruins it and I cant take pics with my gloves on...not to mention my plants which have been out on the balcony..some of them uproot and some almost dead. So its not been the best week for me, weather-wise, but on another note, I'm enjoying the work out sessions and already feel a whole lot better. My whole day goes by in a jiffy now that the gym takes up close to 2 hrs and I'm lethargic and tired to cook a full fledged meal. This stew, however, was super easy since i cheated my way through a bit (a lot actually) but i shall not harp on that. The point is, if you have a pressure cooker, life is just way simpler than usual. I still have my pressure-cooker phobic moments, but its of great help whenever i want meals in a short time span. Also, since it was any way cold and windy and wet, why not add to it with hot stew. Here is my take on it:

Lean, diced casserole beef- 500gms

Swede- 1 cup

Carrots- 1 cup

Onion- 1/2 cup

Leek- 1/4 cup

Baby Potatoes- 3

Red wine- 1 cup

Chicken/ Beef stock- 2 cups

Flour- enough to lightly coat the diced beef

Salt- to taste

Pepper- to taste

Thyme- 1 sprig

Oil- 1 tbsp

Green chillies- 2, slit lengthwise (optional)

Season some flour with salt and pepper and lightly coat the diced beef with the same.

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Chop up the swede, carrots, leek, onions and baby potatoes into big chunks and add it to the hot oil. Season with salt and pepper and sauté for a while. Add the wine, the beef and the stock and the green chillies, mix well. Add the sprig of thyme and close the cooker. Cook till about 3 whistles (approx.) and keep aside till the steam dies. Open, check for salt, spice etc. and add if required. The gravy should be nice and thick and the beef cooked through. Garnish with thyme and serve hot with dinner rolls..which i did make as well, but with a twist.

I followed this recipe from Spicy Chilly's blog and boy was it a delight. When I told you I cheated, I was not joking. I used the Hovis bread mix for the buns and spiced it up with a whole lot more chilli flakes and avoided the green chillies. I followed Bharathy's procedure to the dot and I must say its definitely a keeper. I could even chomp on it without any accompaniment, although I must say it made a world of a difference with the stew.

Notes: The stew can be made in a stock pot as well, just that the cooking time will be much longer, say 2 to 3 hours on low low heat. What's even better was that it tasted more sumptuous the next day:)

You can throw in mushrooms, celery etc. etc...its again, your choice of veggies

Sainsbury's has an assortment of casserole veggies, which i keep using for a lotta dishes, and its perfect for this stew.

I also used store-bought meat gravy instead of the stock and it tasted yum..although I had to dilute it with about half a cuppa water.

I would like to enter this recipe to the Julie & Julia competition give away hosted by Matt and Carla of foodforfriendsyeah.

PS: Don't you think Sainsbury's should start paying me for the immense amount of publicity I give them ;)

Can we be more Brit-Dish?

We had the tastiest Brit-dish of all, Bangers and Mash, two days ago and yes, i made it at home. I'm so proud for being able to recreate the exact same thing we've been having at pubs and making a big deal of, when its actually one of the simplest things to make. The first week we were in UK, about 2 years ago, we were staying in a hotel and had to depend on the various restaurants for our daily meals. I wasn't complaining at all. There were so many options and it was indeed the best time to experiment. So on a Sunday afternoon we decided to have brunch at this pub that had advertised their Sunday roast...in fact almost all the pubs had advertised Sunday roasts and we were quite sure we wanted to try the roast that was apparently so popular. So i opted for the chicken roast with mash and veggies and Ro ordered the beef roast with chips. Huge quantities, but unbelievably tasteless and bland to the core. So we put in ketchup and mayo and all the sauces that were available and still it wasn't worth eating. We wasted the entire things and i have vowed never to try out the roasts at a pub ever again. The apple pie with custard was however yummy.

Pub food is very basic and its more or less the same everywhere. Unless its a 'Thai Food' Pub or a 'Mexican Food' pub, they usually have the same fare. I realised I'm actually not a big fan of the usual British fare after my bad experiences with the Sunday roasts, fish and chips and pies ( yes all of them). I usually stuck to burgers and I'm so sick of it now. Bangers and Mash are available only at selected places and once i tried it, i knew it was the best of them all. So I now make it a point to check the menu before i go in. Yes, fussy would be an under statement :)

Bangers (sausages): Beef/ chicken/ pork/ venison- 6 (I used beef)

Extra virgin olive oil- 1 tsp (or just enough to coat a non-stick pan to fry the sausages)

Onion- 1/2, sliced

Button mushrooms- 100gms, sliced

Leek (optional)- 1 (only the white part) (replace with spring onions or shallots)

Salt- as required

Pepper- 1 tsp

Oil- left over from frying the sausage as enough oil oozes out

Colmans sausage casserole sauce mix- 1 packet diluted in half a pint water (replace with chicken/beef stock)

Fry the bangers or even better grill them. Keep aside

In a saucepan heat some oil and sautee onions, mushrooms and leek till soft and fragrant. Add enough salt and pepper and continue. Add the Colmans mix and bring to boil. Add the bangers and simmer.

For the mashed potato. I followed the recipe from BBC. Instead of cream i added milk and cheddar cheese and it tasted just fine.

You can use any vegetable of your choice, I used green peas and carrots blanched and then tossed with a bit of butter and pepper.

Place a spoon full mashed potato in the centre of a plate, arrange the bangers on top and pour the gravy over. Enjoy with a mug of beer and its almost like you are in a British Pub.