Harissa spiced eggs on cheesy English muffins

My boss Dora is one of the best cooks I've come across. Till we moved to our professional kitchen a year back, I had the privilege of enjoying some of her cooking during lunch breaks and it was my first foray into the world of French food. Not only are her creations delicious, the fact that she used to whip them up in no time was something that amazed me. Be it a simple puff pastry pizza, or her signature vegetable lasagna- the taste was consistent all throughout, not to mention the copious amounts of mint tea we used to drink during brainstorming sessions.

I mentally wrote down her quick recipes and of course threw so many doubts her way as well. She is the one who made me experiment with aubergines for the first time, and enjoy fish in various forms (Ro secretly thanks her for my tolerance to mackerel now). Dora's Tunisian routes (which is her strong point, even when it comes to macaron flavours) made the dishes even more interesting. She introduced me to harissa, ras-el-hanout, brik pastry and so many other ingredients and dishes that were then new to me.

This recipe or rather creation is truly Dora's. When we were short of time she would whip this up in a matter of minutes and i would devour it without batting an eyelid. I have watched her do it so many times, but even now it just doesn't taste as unique as hers. I remember making it at home the first time and it was an instant hit with Ro. I have then made it at several brunch sessions and everyone s absolutely enjoyed it.

Over time i changed the procedure and ingredients a bit, but it still is hands down one of the best recipes I've learnt from Dora. I have also used the authentic home made harissa paste she gave me, which is as authentic as it can get.. Once you taste the real thing, you will not want to try any of the store bought versions.

On a different note, i think i have cracked my lighting issue. It's still a bit harsh, but i have narrowed down my light source and that is half of the issue sorted there. Now i just have to play around with diffusing and stuff to get it right. Talking about photography, this recipe goes straight to the #happyeggtastemakers challenge this month, which is to cook something using the happy eggs co and photograph it using food stylist and instagrammer Marte Marie Forsberg's top 5 tips for creating the best looking food. I hope i have done justice to the image, seriously, it tasted fab.

This harissa spiced baked eggs are so easy to make, you have to try it out. You can do so many different versions of it, and it would just not go wrong. Thank you Dora, for all those cooking lessons which you unknowingly instilled in me. I really do miss it :)

Serves 2

English muffins- 2, sliced in half to get 4

Cheddar cheese slices- 4

Spring onion greens- 2 tsp (to garnish)

Olive oil- 1 tbsp

Shallot- 1 large, finely chopped

Bell pepper- 1, finely chopped

Garlic- 1/2 tbsp, finely chopped

Harissa paste- 2 generous tsp

Tomato- 2 small, finely chopped

Double cream- 1/4 cup

Salt and pepper- to taste

Eggs- 4

Preheat oven to 175C and line a baking tray with foil paper.

Place the muffins, cut side up and top with the cheddar cheese slices

Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet and saute the shallot, bell pepper and garlic till soft, around 3 minutes on medium high heat.

Make a paste with the harissa and some water and add to the pan.

Stir till it loosens and coats the vegetables.

Add the tomato slices and cook till they turn mushy, after which you pour in the double cream and mix it all together

Season with salt.

Separate the mix in a few places and break the eggs into them.

Break the yolk and stir it gently into the mix. This is purely optional, you can of course leave the yolk intact

Bake for 10 minutes, or till the eggs are cooked. 

Around 5 minutes into the baking time, put in the tray with the muffins.

Once done- the eggs cooked and the cheese on the muffins melted, take them out of the oven, wait for a few minutes for the bubbling to settle.

Slice the baked eggs into four and place on the cheesy muffins.

Garnish with spring onions and serve warm.

Notes: You can use bread slices, ciabatta, crumpets (these are the best) and any break of choice as the base

Add prawns, shredded chicken, minced meat etc to the mix before topping with the egg

With thanks to the happy egg co for the voucher

Spanish scrambled eggs with spinach and chorizo

 

Breakfast is something i struggle with on days i have to head into work. I usually take the easy way out and have a bowl of cereal, or toast with some hummus or egg mayo or some days i don't even have breakfast, leaving me hungry by around 12 and with a bad headache. I promise myself i will never do it again, but thinking about being able to sleep that extra 10 minutes by skipping breakfast seems much more appealing when you turn off the alarm.

Ro on the other hand will not go a single day without breakfast. I really wonder how someone can have the same darn thing every single day for the past couple of years. Just recently he decided he wanted to alternate between fruits and toast and in spite of me saying id make him some hot breakfast (secretly hoping he'd say no) he declines.

 

Its only on weekends that we indulge a bit and make eggs (with bacon or sausage sometimes) or have a slightly more elaborate brunch with French toast, pancakes and the like. I love eggs in any form and given a choice would have it every day. So i was very happy to be selected as one of the Taste 100 #happyeggtastemakers by The Happy Egg Company, who pride in the fact that happier hens lay tastier eggs. Every month we are given a couple of activities to do and even though I've been thoroughly using the eggs in my cakes and bakes, I've not really been able to take part in those due to something or the other cropping up last minute. Today is the last date to submit this challenge and i thought i should somehow meet deadlines at least this time.

The challenge was to come up with a scrambled egg recipe of your own incorporating a vegetable or source of fish or meat, a herb or spice and a surprise ingredient of choice. I broke my head a bit and did come up with some interesting combinations but it all went down the drain when i saw a pack of chorizo half price at Sains. Its my favourite and i immediately decided to do Spanish style scrambled eggs instead. Its spicy, flavourful and so easy to whip up. Have it for breakfast on toast or with some Indian flat bread for dinner. We loved it both ways.

Serves 2

 

Chorizo- 1/4 cup, diced finely

Shallot- 1 small, finely chopped

Garlic- 3 pods, roughly chopped

Spinach- a generous handful

Peppers- half of one, diced

Paprika- 1/4 tsp

Eggs- 3 large

Milk- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Spring onion- 1 tbsp of just the greens to garnish (optional)

Cook the chorizo in a frying pan till done. 

Drain on to paper towels and keep aside. 

If there is a lot of oil that has oozed out of the chorizo, drain some of it and use the remaining to continue cooking. \its really flavourful oil, you don't want to throw it off.

throw in the shallot and garlic and saute for about 4 to 5 minutes, till the onions start sweating a bit. You don't want them golden brown.

Simultaneously, whisk together the eggs and milk in a bowl until slightly frothy. Keep ready

Add the spinach and peppers to the frying pan, and continue cooking till the spinach has wilted. The peppers need to retain their crunch.

Add the paprika and salt to taste and give a quick mix.

make a well in the centre and pour in the whisked eggs.

Let it stay for a about 15 to 20 seconds without stirring and then using a wooden spoon stir it up and fold, while mixing all the other ingredients.

Continue the stirring and folding till your eggs are cooked and they look fluffy. Don't over do the cooking or else they'd turn dry. 

Transfer on to serving plates, garnish with spring greens and serve with toast.

Notes: You can use prawns or even shredded chicken or pork instead of chorizo

Some Monterey Jack cheese would have been a fab addition, but i didn't have any.

Garnishing with coriander leaves give it a sort of Mexican flavour which i absolutely love.

With thanks to The Happy Egg Co. for the voucher to be redeemed against a carton of eggs.

Sri Lankan egg curry

How are you all doing??? Embracing the last few days of summer? Well, I am and I think I'm now ready to let go and welcome gloomy, chilly days and sweaters and pull overs. Last week was depressing with rains and winds and gloomy weather and I almost got out my night socks. Good thing I didn't because for the last 4 days we have been having brilliant weather, warm and sunny and still summer like.

Since I am still getting into the groove of cooking and stuff, it is an effort to make dinner. I am still exhausting stuff from my freezer and realised if I didn't start cooking soon I'd just get used to it and even worse ignore my blog and photography and such. So last week when we were a bit under the weather (literally) I brought out this new cook book called Serendip by Peter Kuruvita which has an array of Sri Lankan recipes and some gorgeous gorgeous photographs.

This is my current fav book and I have already tried out a couple of recipes which have all been fruitful. Usually my first trial at new recipes are always a failure and it very rarely tempts me to make them again, but this one somehow has managed to hit the spot and I have so so so many awesome recipes to try from the book. The book costs quite a bit and if I didn't use it as much as I promised Ro, I am never gonna hear the end of it. So for the past couple of days anything on the dinner table is Sri Lankan in nature. (I plan on doing it till Ro tells me, enough with it already!!!)

 

Truth be told, the picture of this egg curry tempted me more than the recipe. The fact that I'm impulsive doesn't really work always. I had already put the eggs to boil and then decided to go through the recipe which is when I realised it had 3 ingredients I hadn't even heard of and wondered, what now??? I still decided to go ahead with the recipe, omitting the two and it still was a welcome change to the usual Kerala egg curry. Very few ingredients are used and seriously, how can anything with coconut milk ever taste bad??? 

I had picked up some frozen idiyappams from the Indian store a while back and served it along with the curry. It was a brilliant combo and I'm kicking myself for not picking up a few more packs. Ro was quite thrilled to see them and asked where I got it from to which I pretended to be insulted and said what do you mean, I slogged it out in the kitchen and made them from scratch. How did you do the strings without the press was his next question. I avoided it saying there was a technique I'd learnt on youtube which I shall explain later and he bought that. And then just when we were about to eat I opened my big mouth and said, 'hey just check if the idiyappams have been cooked through, it was frozen.' Ro who usually doesn't listen to crap I say, picked this one up immediately. I will be teased about it for quite a while. Dammit!! :)

Recipe adapted from Serendip: My Sri Lankan Kitchen by Peter Kuruvita

 

Eggs- 4, plunged into boiling water for 5 minutes and then refreshed in cold water.

Oil- 1 tbsp + enough to shallow fry the eggs

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon stick- 1 inch piece

Onion- 1 medium, thinly sliced

Green chillies- 2 small, slit lengthwise

Curry leaves- a sprig

Chilli powder- 1 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Maldive fish flakes - 1/2 tbsp

Pandanus leaf- 1 inch piece

Dill seeds- 1/4 tsp

Coconut milk- 1 cup

Salt- to taste

 

Peel the cooked eggs, prick them all over with a fork and lightly salt them.

Heat enough oil in a pan and fry the eggs until golden, flipping sides as and when required. Drain on paper towels and keep ready.

Into a wok, tip in all the other ingredients and simmer for about 8 to 10 minutes or till the onions have become soft and the sauce has slightly thickened.

Add the eggs and continue to cook for 5 more minutes.

Season with enough salt, give a final stir and take it off the fire.

Serve with appam, idiyappam, roti or even bread.

 

Notes: I didn't have the fish flakes, pandanus leaf and the dill seeds which I presume were the main ingredients that gave the curry its distinct taste.

I also sautéed the onions with cumin, cinnamon, chillies and the powders till the onions grew soft and then added the coconut milk and let it simmer for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Although I'd pricked the eggs with a fork, I found that the masalas hadn't caught on to it. So next time I would halve the egg and throw it into the curry.

The base curry is perfect for a fish molee and even vegetable curries. 

Quails eggs with spicy potato (kaada mutta uralakizhangu mezhukkupuratti)

I was supposed to post this about 2 days back, but life got the better of me and I had to run off tending to certain issues, with an impromptu trip this coming weekend topping the charts. I love being spontaneous. I don't care for planning and such, much to Ro's annoyance. Which is why he made a big deal about travelling on a long weekend when every B&B would be packed, prices would be over the roof, infested with tourists and of course the weather (which btw hasn't improved since my last update).

But me... I found that challenging. I said I'd do all the planning and he agreed. But it was only when I started planning that I realised every decent B&B was indeed occupied or they all needed a minimum of 3 days stay on a long weekend (Bank holidays as we call it here). It still didn't stop me, and I spent my entire time researching and sending out emails to such extent that when I received replies, I was thoroughly confused as to which B&B it was and where, which- thanks to my poor organisational skills- I hadn't bothered to document. So it was double the job, going back and figuring out where it was etc etc.

 

I also wanted to make this an 'explore the nature' kinda trip which meant no castles, churches, museums and such, but trekking around the national parks in the rain and cold weather...maybe even hire cycles and go around the countryside. It all does sound awesome now, I know, but like Ro says, after walking for about a mile, I get tired, need to rest, need food, need to spot a tiger or elephant (yes I find monotonous scenery absolutely boring). I have only trekked along coasts and the scenery is not too diff all along, but this time I'm thinking exploring a national park would be more exciting. Even if I don't spot a tiger, I love coming across small streams and such. Its all in the planning process still and considering we need to leave by Friday afternoon, I think we are running out of time. If we don't end up going this weekend, I'm gonna take up on Ro's offer to take 3 days off during the week and set of. Nopes, not gonna let it fizzle off this time.

So that's precisely why this post took a while to make it here. I made this a couple of weeks back, when the weather was good and sunny hours filled my days. I haven't touched the camera in a while and its slowly beginning to grow on me. My oven is still not fixed and till I get that done, I guess I shall be very quiet around here. It's also my second time experimenting with quails egss. Initially I was a bit psyched out by them and I cant really explain why. But this time was more peaceful and the teeny tiny birds didn't come to my mind when I was boiling it. This is perfect as a side dish to rotis and parathas and even appams, but a word of warning, its bloody spicy. So go easy on the chillies if you don't want to have a heart burn.

Recipe adapted from Lekshmi Nair's cookery show

Quails eggs- 12

Potatoes- 2 large, peeled and diced into medium size pieces

Shallots- 5 small or 1 large

Dry red chilli- 2

Garlic- 10 cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

Whole peppercorn- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Oil- 2 tbsp

Mustard seeds- 1 tsp

Curry leaves- 2 to 3 sprigs

Water- 1/4 cup

Coconut milk- 1/2 cup (optional)

Salt- to taste

 

Cook the quails eggs in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain, peel, slice in half and keep aside.

Similarly, cook the potatoes in boiling water till about 3/4th done. Drain and keep aside

Grind to a coarse consistency the shallots, dry red chillies, garlic and peppercorns, either using a pestle and mortar or in a food processor/ grinder. It need not be smooth.

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

Once they start to splutter throw in the curry leaves followed by the crushed masala.

Once the raw smell of the masala disappears, add the Kashmiri chilli powder.

Sauté on medium heat till the oil starts separating, could take about 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the pre-cooked potatoes and salt and toss around, making sure they are well coated in the masala.

Add the water and coconut milk, stir and close with a lid. Let it cook for about 5 to 6 minutes on medium-high heat.

Open the lid and stir, scraping the bottom if the masala has stuck to the pan.

Add the sliced eggs and fold them in together with the potatoes and masala. It is ok if some of the yolk gets mixed with the masala, but don't over do the stirring bit.

Check for salt, add if required, give one final stir and take it off the flame.

Serve with roti, parathas or even appam and idiappam.

 

Notes: The original recipe calls for ducks eggs but I just went ahead and used quails eggs instead. You can of course replace it with hens eggs, about 5 would be good enough. You just have to dice it smaller.

If you are not using coconut milk, increase the water amount to 1/2 cup.

Original recipe called for about 4 dry red chillies. I only used only 2 and we couldn't handle the heat.

This is a semi dry preparation. If you want a gravy version, add more water or coconut milk.

Bobotie (pie)

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.

Anglo-Indian egg curry

First of all...Are we digging the new look yet???

I get bored real fast and since yesterday was a dull day (yes that time of the month), I sat at home and gave my blog a make over. Also to prove a point to Ro that purple is definitely a girl colour.

The weather has been absolutely amazing out here and tall glasses of iced tea and beers have started making its way through. BBQ season is just around the corner, but since we are in unpredictable England, planning for a weekend in the park with a BBQ idea in mind is still wary because most of the time we are jinxed and end up sitting at home and grilling. The bank holiday weekends are also approaching (yes we get 4 days off because the prince is getting married) and we are having our first BBQ party on the 1st of May...yes planning that ahead because, face it, Londoners are the most busiest people I have ever seen. I miss days where you can just make a few calls in the morning and meet up for lunch.

Who am I kidding, heck! it doesn't happen in my own home:

Me: Hey lets grab a couple of sandwiches and head to the park..the weather is awesome, I want to be out in the sun (also because I bought a new pair of shorts and I want to flaunt it..which I don't obviously say because Ro as it is thinks my priorities are royally screwed)

Ro: Oh, I decided to update some software on my laptop..once its over we will go..OK?

Me: OK! (but you're not touching my laptop)

5 hrs later

Ro: OK lets go

Me: Oh I decided to colour my hair...cant do it today baby. Maybe tomorrow?

Ro: Oh tomorrow I'm busy...

Me: (I don't even ask why....the moment has long passed)

So I shouldn't complain about others being tied down with this or that. In fact I have learned to respect it. That said, I am definitely looking forward to May though :)

I stumbled upon this recipe on the online version of Delicious Magazine and loved it. It was definitely different from the mallu preparation (which I still don't know to make) and the addition of celery kinda intrigued me. This recipe came into my mind when I thought of a salad idea for the BBQ and when served cold and a bit dry, it would be a great picnic snack. This time however I opted for a bit of a gravy because we were having it with chapathi for dinner.

Recipe adapted from here

Eggs- 3

Baby potatoes- 200 gms

Coriander seeds- 1 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Cardamom seeds- from 3 cardamom pods

Ginger- 1/2 tsp 

Turmeric powder- 1/4

Dried red chilli- 1 (more or less as per your heat tolerance)

Oil- 1 tbsp

Garlic- 3 cloves, roughly chopped

Onion- 1  medium, finely diced

Celery stalks- 2, finely chopped

Tomato- 1, pureed or 1 tbsp tomato paste

Double cream- 100 ml

Coriander leaves- to garnish

Boil the eggs. Drain, cool and shell. Slice into quarters and keep aside.

Similarly boil the potatoes in salt water till they are cooked, but not falling apart. Slice into four and set aside. (If using large potatoes, then you might want to slice them into smaller chunks)

Grind the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cardamom seeds in a spice mill or using a pestle and mortar to get a fine powder.

Add the ginger, turmeric powder and dried red chillies to it and pulse once or twice.

Heat a frying pan and dry fry the ground ingredients until fragrant.

Add the oil to this mix and when it sizzles add the garlic, onion and celery. Cook till they have wilted and have turned a little brown..about 12 to 15 minutes on medium flame.

In goes the pureed tomato. Cook till you see oil resurfacing.

Reduce the heat a bit and add the potato and double cream. Season with salt and mix well making sure you don't break the potato.

Add the quartered eggs and slowly mix, making sure the gravy coats the eggs and the yolks are in tact (which rarely happens to me).

Garnish with coriander leaves just before you serve.

Alternatively, divide the curry between plates and place the quartered eggs on top, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Notes: This curry was not spicy at all...in fact i think the next time I'll add one more red chilli.

I have changed the cooking method a wee bit where you add the tomato...the original recipe calls for passata and is to be added along with the potato and cream. I preferred to cook it a bit.
I am also wondering, instead of cream, coconut milk would be a better substitute...also very mallu

PS: Rashida sends her heartfelt thanks to all those who commented on her Pav Bhajj. She's thrilled beyond words. And all those who have jinxed me..if Rashida stops sending me stuff..i'll personally harass you guys later ;)
Have a great weekend. Muah!

Sunday brunch for two

I love the whole idea of a brunch. I've said that loads of times and here I am saying it again. There is something romantic about the whole brunch bit, even better when you are not making it and you just sit there with a cocktail and make idle conversation with friends. I keep thinking about making Sunday a brunch day, but I wake up at quite an ungodly hour and by that time Ro would have already had his breakfast and then brunch idea keeps getting pushed on to lunch. But I still like to refer to it as brunch, you know..because I can :)

Last Sunday wasn't any different. Had a late night out on Saturday and by the time I woke up it was close to 10 and of course Ro had made himself a nice lavish breakfast with eggs and the works and I was just getting into cooking mode when the husband decides he wants lunch NOW (this is probably at around 11.30- 12, and after a heavy breakfast). I was so damn pissed that I decided to ignore him and make my so-called brunch, whatsoever.

By the time I was done it was about 1.30 (perfect lunch time, if you'd ask me) and Ro obviously wanted to eat what I made and did so with a long face. And then we had to argue about random stuff (so not what I had in mind) and I stormed out of the room leaving everything in the kitchen as it is and vessels unwashed. If Ro hadn't even bothered to clean up, I would have probably stormed out of the house itself, but that drama didn't happen and by evening Ro pretended all was good with the world and I even bribed him into making me a hot cuppa ginger-lime tea (oh its awesome if you haven't tried it btw) and then caught a movie (The Lincoln lawyer which was interesting to say the least). Dinner out and cocktails were a great end to an otherwise normal Sunday and I decided 'all's well with the world, after-all' :)

Individual oven-coddled eggs with mashed potato and herbs (Baked eggs and potato)

I found this recipe while I was browsing and the bon appetit online version appeals a lot to me, the pictures at least and its very rarely I actually read through a recipe (typical me) unless I'm looking for something in particular. This recipe by Dorie Greenspan caught my eye since i WAS looking for a baked egg brunch idea and have no regrets. It tasted so darn good that I cant wait to throw a brunch party and flaunt it. Go ahead say it 'I'm so vain' ;)

Anyhoo, the herbs in this dish just added that awesome flavour and I cant imagine why I never really used Rosemary and Thyme in my cooking. But like I have mentioned before, its an acquired taste, and if you don't like it...then you just don't!

Also, I was wondering how incredibly cute these eggs would have looked in the amazing Le Creuset cookware. Cant wait to get my hands on some of those.

Milk- 1/4 cup

Bay leaf- 1

Potatoes- 7 oz (I used about 5 to 6 baby potatoes)

Shallots- 2 medium, thinly sliced

Butter- 1tbsp

Rosemary- 1/2 tsp, minced

Thyme- 1/2 tsp, minced

Eggs- 3

Whipping cream- 3 tbsp

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese- 3 tbsp or as per your taste

Salt & pepper- to taste

Chives or parsley- to sprinkle (optional)

Bring the milk to a boil, add the bay leaf and let it seep for about 15 minutes.

While that's taken care of, cook the potatoes in boiling water till mashable consistency..say about 15 to 20 minutes. 

Drain, remove skin and mash with a potato masher or fork.

Add the shallots, butter, rosemary, thyme and milk (discard the bay leaf), season with enough salt and pepper and mix well till you get a smooth consistency.

Butter 3 ramekins and divide the potato mix equally.

Crack one egg each carefully over the mashed potato in each ramekin.

Spoon 1 tbsp cream on top of each egg and also sprinkle enough (approx. 1 tbsp) Parmesan cheese.

Preheat the oven to 176C and place the ramekins in a baking tray. Fill the tray with enough hot water making sure they come half way up the ramekin.

Bake for about 20 minutes or until the egg whites are set but the yolk is still soft.

Take it out of the oven, sprinkle some parsley or chives and serve on its own or as a side to any main meal.

Notes: I halved the recipe. Double it if you need to please more guests :)

You can also make the whole thing in a baking dish rather than doing it individually in ramekins.

I baked it for a bit longer (30 minutes) cos I was a little scared of the uncooked yolk (salmonella and all that crazy stuff you know!). Also I hate runny yolk. But I think 30 was a tad too much and it became a bit too hard, so lesser time hence forth.

You also don't need to particularly bake it in a water bath. Tried both ways, not much difference.

The best ever beef chops with gravy

My mom-in-law, who is such an awesome cook, introduced me to these beef chops on my visit home last December. I stood by her side trying to grasp all that she was showing me but you know me, how spaced out I am, that I start thinking about what to wear for the dinner party that evening. So after the first few steps, it all went over my head. I told mamma that I will call her up for the recipe and method since I was pretty sure I wouldn't remember half of what she showed me. I went back to my place and bragged about this dish to my mom and one day while we were sitting around chatting, my mom asked me for this recipe and I had no clue. No problemo, I called up my mother-in-law and she gave me the details. Made it and it was such a big hit. Came back to England and obviously I had forgotten the recipe AGAIN! Lucky for me, my sister-in-law and family had just relocated to UK and time differences were not an issue. Called her up and got the details on how to make it. Made it and it was brilliant (although Ro would beg to differ). Made it again last weekend and it was even better. So before I forget here's the recipe for my mom in laws kick ass beef chops with gravy.

Thin cut beef steak or frying steak- 500 gms

Onion- 2 small, finely chopped

Ginger- 1 inch piece, thinly sliced

Garlic- 3 pods, thinly sliced (optional)

Soy sauce- 2 tbsp (or less if you don't want a strong taste)

Tomato ketchup- 1 tbsp

Freshly ground pepper powder- to taste

Salt- to taste (check if required at all)
Oil- 2 tsp

Potatoes- 3 large, cut into wedges or circles (you can also use baby potatoes)

Boil the potatoes till about 3/4th done. It shouldn't be over cooked. Keep aside.

Cut the beef steak into smaller slices and thin it out using a mallet or if you don't have that, just use a knife as a mallet and lightly chop it on either side..through the entire length of the steak (I know I'm not making much sense here, but I promise I'll post a pic the next time I do it)

In a bowl mix together the rest of the ingredients checking for enough salt and adding as required.

Place a pressure cooker on medium high heat and layer the beef steak slices at the bottom. Don't over crowd it and make sure they don't overlap.

Place a generous layer of the onion mix on top of the beef followed by the remaining beef and onion mix, till you are done, making sure you end with the onion mix.

Add a 1/4 cup water (if you want more gravy), close the lid, wait for the steam, place the weight and cook for about 4 to 5 whistles or about 10 to 12 minutes. You would know how long the beef you get cooks, so do accordingly.

Once the steam releases, open the lid and separate the beef chops from the gravy and the onion. Leave the gravy on medium heat to simmer for a while to get a thicker consistency. If there is not much gravy, you can add a wee bit water here.

Heat a frying pan and pour the oil. Swirl it around to coat the pan and once hot, char/fry the beef chops in batches. Just to get the beef a bit brown, you can skip this step if you are lazy. Remove and place in a serving dish.

Do the same with the pre-cooked potato wedges as well. Fry till the colour changes to a light brown. Place them on top of the beef chops and pour the gravy over it. Try and cover most of the chops and potatoes.

Serve hot with chapathi or garlic bread or like I did with the baked eggs.

Notes: My mom in law places the potatoes as well inside the pressure cooker so that also gets cooked simultaneously. I don't trust myself with that method because I always end up over cooking it.

Since I already had my carb in take with mashed potatoes, I avoided the potato wedges with the beef chops and hence its not in the picture.

Easy peacy chicken tart

How are you all doing? Been a while isn't it? Well I have just been super duper busy with something or the other and must say I'm not complaining. Except that I haven't had the time to hit the gym and that's not something I'd like to get used to. I also haven't really had time to visit your blogs as much as I'd like and I apologise for the same. 

This tart is really the easiest to make if you have the base ready. And by ready I mean store bought. Yes, my dilemma about not being able to roll out dough continues and the one time I tried, I ended up with a torn dough and then tried to mend it with some more dough and altogether it wasn't a pretty scene. That's when I discovered the savoury tart cases at Sainsburys...neat! I shall however give you the recipe for the base, just in case you might be interested:) (of course you will be, because not everyones handicap like me when it comes to rolling dough)

So here goes, a Sunday brunch favourite of ours.

For the tart base:

Plain flour- 200gms

Chilled butter- 100 gms

Baking powder- 1/4 tsp

Egg- 1, beaten

Ice cold water- a few drops

Salt- to taste

For the filling:

Chicken breasts- 2 medium sized (approx 200 to 250 gms), cleaned and diced into small pieces

Pepper powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Paprika- to taste (optional)

Onion- 1, roughly chopped

Tomato- 1, roughly chopped + 1 for decoration if required

Frozen green peas- 1/4 cup

Milk- 1/2 cup

Eggs- 2

Salt and pepper- to taste

Cheddar cheese- enough to sprinkle on top

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

To make the tart shell, mix the butter along with the flour, baking powder and salt till it resembles a coarse mix.

Add the egg and the water as required and mix till it forms a dough.

Knead for about 5 minutes and then roll it out, a little larger than your tart tin and carefully place it inside with the edges coming up a bit. Press it down well and cut off the extras.

Poke the dough with a fork in a few places and bake in an oven preheated to 170C for about 10 minutes. Ideally you fill it with baking beans when you do so, but I didn't have any, so baked it as it is.

While that's taken care of, make the filling.

Boil the chicken with salt and pepper and paprika (if using) till it is cooked. If the pieces are large, shred them. Keep aside

In a frying pan, heat the oil and saute onions and tomatoes till they are slightly cooked. You don't need it to brown or release oil or anything.

Add the cooked chicken, green peas and mix it all together. Check for seasoning and add as required.

Keep aside to cool for a while.

Beat the eggs and the milk together and season well with salt and peppah!

Assembling:

Once the tart base is pre-cooked. Take it out of the oven and fill it with the chicken mix. Try not to stuff too much in. Its ok if you have leftover chicken, I used it for a sandwich :)

Pour the egg mix into the tin, on top of the chicken. Try and get it as even as possible. Again, big deal if its not...being rustic is a charm I'd try and work on :)

Sprinkle enough cheese on top, arrange a few sliced tomatoes on top and bake at 170C for 20 to 25 minutes, or till it is slightly firm.

Once done, cool on a rack for 5 minutes, and carefully remove it onto a chopping board. I didn't want to slice them in the tin because for one, mine was a brand new non stick tart pan and two, its a bit difficult to get it out without creating a mess, for me that is!

Do do whatever suits you. Slice them in wedges and serve with a salad. I'd say brunch is ready.

Notes: You can really do any filling of your choice. I once did a mushroom and chicken mix. I'm sure paneer would be a great option as well.

I pre-cooked the tart base because the first time I made this, I thought the base was a bit undercooked and all doughy!

If you want to Indianise it, add a dash of meat masala while boiling the chicken.

You can freeze it and it would definitely last a week or if you just refrigerate it, definitely for 3 days. Its a perfect make- ahead breakfast item.
The above measurements fill two tart cases of that size, but the base recipe is just for a large 9 inch tart.


PS: All you guys who wrote in asking for the icing recipes and tips on cupcake decorating, I shall definitely get down to it once I bake and decorate something on my own first. Thanks a lot for those beautiful comments as well. You guys made my day. Hugs { }

'Brunch' ed Up, eh?

Oh don't you just love the whole idea of a brunch? Well, I do and i love going out to brunch rather than staying at home and making one. Especially after a night out on Saturday, you wake up late on Sunday and head out to a restaurant, have a 3 hour long brunch and if you have friends joining you, even better. So today was brunch day and for a change i decided to do it at home. Boy was it so much more easier and fun to have brunch than to have breakfast at 10 and then get prepared for lunch by the time you are done cleaning up after breakky.

We started off with a rather rich and heavy Frittata, washed it down with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice followed by buttermilk blueberry pancakes and a cuppa freshly brewed coffee. Yes, you guessed right..we were so full after that to even clean up and now i have a messy kitchen staring back at me. I thought id take a breather, come and blog about it and then get back to cleaning up (which basically means loading the dish washer) ;)

Bacon and Spinach Frittata

Frittata is an Italian omelet mixed with veggies, meats, cheese or rather anything of your choice and served open..and not folded. It is initially cooked on a hob top and finished off under a grill.

Bacon- 3 rashers, cooked and crumbled

Baby Spinach- 1 to 2 cups (depending on your taste. Ro didn't let me put more than a cup)

Garlic pods- 3, chopped fine

Spring onions- 3, chopped fine (both bulb and greens)

Garlic sausages- 3, cooked and chopped (optional)

Eggs- 4

Heavy cream- 30ml

Mature cheddar cheese- less than a 1/4 cup

Pepper powder- as required

Salt- to taste

Baking powder- a pinch (optional)

Clean the spinach leaves, drain and transfer them to a bowl and close with a lid. Cook in the microwave on high for about 2 minutes. Drain off the water and keep aside.

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon and sausages (if using) and preserve the oil.

If there is way too much oil, discard some and in the remaining, sautee the garlic and spring onions till light and fragrant.

Add the spinach, crumbled bacon and sausages. Season with some pepper powder and sautee for a few minutes. Check for salt and only then add, since the bacon and sausages will have some salt content in them.

Beat the eggs, cheddar cheese, cream, salt pepper and baking pwd in a bowl till light and fluffy.

Add this to the frying pan and mix well, without disturbing the ends too much. Try and distribute the filling evenly.

Cook on low fire for about 2 minutes and then cover and cook for a minute or two again. Transfer to a pre-heated grill for another 5 mins max..just to brown the top.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Notes: The garlic sausages were about to expire and so i added that too. The bacon would be good on its own or rather better, because somehow there was a conflict of flavours.

Whole milk can be used instead of heavy cream. I wanted to make sure we don't eat healthy today :)

Add mushrooms, carrots, peas or any veggie of your choice and make it an egg-etariandelight.

If you do not have an oven, you can just carefully turn the egg upside down to brown the top. Be careful though...you shouldn't crack the beautiful round shape. Invert it on to a plate first and then insert that plate back into the frying pan to be double sure. Am i making sense?

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes

This is my first time with buttermilk pancakes and i must say it does make a difference to the texture and a slight taste variation. Or am i imagining it, i don't know. I asked Ro and he said he cant remember eating pancakes made by me at all....but clarified that the Tesco one tastes a whole lot different (good different or bad different is a very time consuming argument, so i left it at that)....Thanks for that baby, i am so stupid i didn't know! DUH!

All purpose flour- 1 cup

Sugar- 4 tbsp ( optional)

Baking powder- 3/4 tsp

Baking Soda- 1/4 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Egg- 1

Buttermilk- 1 cup

Butter- 2 tbsp, melted and cooled slightly

Vanilla extract- 1/4 tsp

Fresh Blueberries- 100 gms

Mix all the dry ingredients (first 5) together and keep aside.

Whisk together the remaining, except the blueberries, and add to the dry ingredients. Stir until it is just blended and then add the blueberries. Give a final stir and keep aside for about 5 to 10 minutes.

Heat a non-stick skillet and pour in one ladle full of batter. After about 3 minutes, bubbles start appearing on top and at that time, flip and cook for another 2 minutes or till golden brown. Repeat till the entire batter is used up. I got about 10 medium size pancakes.

Drizzle some maple syrup, butter or even honey and serve with fresh blueberries on the side. Wanna die sooner? Add some whipped cream :0

Note: Buttermilk can be substituted with whole milk

I tried using an electric grill for the pancakes, but it was surprisingly taking too long and the bubbles were just not there...Hob top skillet is the best.

Use bananas, chocolate chips, strawberries in the place of blueberries, and I'm sure the result will be as 'fruitful' :)

Phew! that was awfully long, i think i'll get Ro to clean up ;)