Beef 360, the Science of Steak

Both of us love a good steak and we are in the process of learning how to cook the perfect steak. So i was pretty much looking forward to the Beef 360, the science of steak event hosted by Simply Beef and Lamb, the home of Red Tractor and Quality Standard beef and lamb. On a warm day when the Tube strike was creating havoc in the city, I took off to Le Meridien in Piccadilly Circus to spend an evening learning all about beef.

The evening started off with an introduction to what makes quality beef, and how high standards are followed to ensure a good quality of meat is delivered every time, by putting it through rigorous procedures. Dr Phil Hadley, who is an expert in the field, took us through an intense session explaining what ingredients make different steaks from around the country unique- precisely- how feed, age and breed type make for quality beef.

We blind tasted a wide variety of beef- from grass fed to grain fed, ones aged for different periods of time and so much more, that at the end of it all we were in a beef coma, not one that we complained about though. We then sat down to a fabulous meal put together by the talented Denise and also got to catch up with fellow foodies. We then packed away gorgeous chunks of beef to work on back home and also got tips on how to make a perfect steak by expert Hugh Judd

I froze the beef soon after and put it to good use a couple of weeks later by making the Coronation Steak, radish and pea salad that was served on the day, and was one of my favourites. Ro cooked the steak to perfection, i think this is the first time he's got it spot on, and it tasted delicious. Medium rare, just the way we like it. The salad recipe is pretty straightforward. Cook the steak as per your preference (rare, medium, well done), cover and leave side till you get the other things going.. Toss together the rest of the salad ingredients like lettuce, radish and defrosted peas and arrange on a large plate (or a bowl). The dressing is the best bit and I'll give you the exact recipe as provided by The Meat Elite.

Coronation steak salad (dressing) adapted from Simply Beef and Lamb

Curry powder- 2 tsp

Mayonnaise- 3 tbsp

Cold water- 2 tbsp

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp

Place all these ingredients in a bowl and mix together till well combined.

Slice the steak into strips and arrange on the plate, along with any of the juices.

Spoon the delicious dressing over the beef and serve with crusty bread.

And that's exactly what we had, and also some gorgeous red wine.

There was still some leftover steak and I made a quick Philly Cheese Steak for lunch the next day. I followed this recipe to the T and its a keeper. I agree it does take a bit of time, because everything needs to be made separately. But trust me, it tasted so darn good. 

The session that evening did open my eyes to a lot of aspects and I'm now aware of the Quality Standard Mark Scheme that provides the highest level of independently-inspected quality assurance for meat in the UK. It cares for the environment, animal welfare and food safety which i believe makes a difference.

With thanks to The Meat Elite for inviting me to the event. 

Pea, mint and feta dip & a Bloody Martini

 

I have been busy, very busy, but good busy. Those of you on my Facebook page would already know that Chaiparty has pretty much taken over our lives. Read all about it here. Its a lot of work, but absolutely rewarding at the same time. We are also doing themed lunches in the next coming months and cant wait to get started on the next big chaiparty in September. We also just got back from a holiday in Spain, which was eventful to say the least and I have also been busy attending a lot of fun food events around London, not to mention thoroughly enjoying summer, or what's left of it.

A couple of weeks back I was invited to the Putting on the Ritz event where we were treated to some gorgeous cocktails and dips, all paired with the new Ritz thins. Ritz teamed up with supper club expert Alice Levine and the very popular mixologist Richard Woods (of Duck & Waffle) to come up with a series of tips, recipes and ideas to Ritz-Up socialising this summer. It was held at a stunning penthouse apartment in East London with amazing views over the city. 

The 4 new flavours of oven-baked potato crisps from Ritz- Cream Cheese & Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Sweet Red Chilli and Sea Salt & Black Pepper- are delicious. They were paired with equally delicious dips, with the pea, mint and feta and the smoked paprika topping my list. Of course, the glamour side was intact with 4 very unique cocktails that were paired with the crisps. The weather was great, the company was good and we all had a nice time 'Putting on the Ritz.'

I had to make the pea, mint and feta dip at home, especially after bragging about it to the husband. It turned out great and was wiped clean in a matter of hours while watching a movie. Of the cocktails that were served on the day, the Mates Martini, a (very) complicated version of the Bloody Mary was my favourite. Trust the cocktail expert Richard Woods to make things easy ;). Since i like complicated i decided to make it at home. It took me 2 days and a lot of patience to make the drink, but it was totally worth it. Yes, I do go out of my way for that perfect cocktail. I am however trying to figure out an easy way to do this mix, because you know, the urge to have a bloody Mary doesn't quite last for 2 days.

Pea, mint and feta dip (Recipe adapted from Alice Levine who prepared this dip at Ritz event)

Frozen peas- 250 gms, thawed

Feta- 50 gms, crumbled

Fresh mint- 3 tbsp, roughly chopped

Garlic- 1 clove, chopped

Green chilli- 1/2 of a small one, chopped (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil- 2tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Pepper- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients in a food processor and season to taste.

Add a splash of water if you would prefer it a bit loose.

Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle some olive oil on top, garnish with some mint leaves and serve as a dip with the Ritz Sea Salt and Vinegar.

Bloody Martini (Makes a little more than 2 drinks. Recipe adapted from Richard Woods who prepared the drink at the Ritz event)

Vodka- 100ml

Basil- 15gms

Bloody Marry Consommé- 100ml (recipe below)

Ice cubes- 4

Bloody Marry Consommé

Ground black pepper- 2 gms

Sea salt- 1.5 gms

celery salt- 1 gm

Tabasco original- 5 dashes

Tabasco green- 8 dashes

Lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp

Worcestershire sauce- 8 dashes

Tomato juice- 300ml

Infuse the vodka with the basil leaves for about 24hrs. Make sure you don't infuse it longer or else it would turn bitter.

Strain and use as required.

The consommé also needs to be made a day before.

Into a freezer safe container with lid, pour in the tomato juice and all the other ingredients and stir well.

Leave to infuse for about an hour and then put on the lid and place in the freezer.

The following morning, remove the frozen tomato mix from freezer and do a drip thaw, which essentially means you create a filter through which the block thaws naturally.

I used a muslin cloth and my sieve to do this.

This takes an entire day so patience is much advised.

You can make this in bulk, and it will keep for 7 days in the fridge.

To make the Martini, chill the martini glasses prior to serving.

Stir together the vodka and consommé along with the ice cubes until well chilled.

Strain into chilled glass, garnish with a floating basil leaf and serve.

With thanks to Ritz UK for inviting me to the event and for all the delicious crisps.

Grilled chicken and Comte cheese wraps

Work has been crazy hectic for me with late nights and early morning runs to the kitchen, churning out hundreds of macarons and delivering to Selfridges where we have a stand at the moment as part of the 'Meet the Makers' campaign that runs till the end of August. If you do want to pick up some printed macarons, do drop by :)

Anyways, coming to the recipe. I have trouble sorting out the lunch scene in between all the chaotic baking. I almost always never eat lunch on time and its around 4 or so in the evening that i manage to grab a bite and by then I'm famished. On days i wake up early enough, i manage to make something for lunch, and by make i mean pack the leftovers from last night or make a sandwich. This wrap happened on one of those days I was sick of eating rubbish sandwiches from the nearby supermarket. I had grilled the chicken a day before and so it was really easy to put together. I chucked it into the microwave for a couple of minutes and it tasted so so so much better than the store bought ones.

Comte cheese has turned out to be a favourite of ours and i keep adding them to almost all of our pasta and sandwich dishes. I was sent a 24 month aged Comte and I've been very stingy with it. I used it in this sandwich and its been nicely wrapped and put in the freezer for future use. The nutty flavour of Comte is perfect in this wrap and i love it even more a bit melted. This recipe was passed on from Comte as part of the Bastille Day Celebrations and its a fabulous one to take to picnics and such as Comte is a hard cheese and doesn't melt that quickly in this hot weather, which btw has gotten to me so much, i actually want the cold to come back. Its so muggy and stuffy during the night, and the days are even worse. I know, I know, i complain when it cold, i complain when its hot as well :)

Serves 4

Tortilla wraps- 4

Boneless chicken thighs- 2, around 250 gms

Paprika- 1 tsp (optional)

Salt and pepper- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Yoghurt- 3 tbsp

Mayonnaise- 1 tbsp

Lemon juice- a splash

Carrots- 150 gms, grated

Red pepper- 1, small

Lettuce- 1 small head

Comte cheese- 100 gms, grated

Wash, pat dry the chicken and cut into bite size cubes.

Season with enough salt and pepper and the paprika. Keep aside for half an hour.

When ready to cook, preheat oven grill and line a baking tray with aluminium foil.

Arrange the chicken pieces on the tray and grill in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, flipping each of them after about 10 to 12 minutes.

Once cooked, keep it wrapped in the foil itself.

Make the sauce by whisking together the yoghurt, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Grate the carrots, dice the red pepper into long strips and tear the lettuce into big slices. 

Lightly heat a tortilla, either in the microwave or in a frying pan. Place on a serving plate.

Generously spread the yoghurt sauce on to the tortilla leaving about an inch from the edges.

Place the lettuce, peppers, carrots and chicken slices on the wrap and top with freshly grated Comte cheese.

Roll the wrap tightly and gently heat in the microwave for a couple of minutes, just to get the cheese melting. Of course, this step is purely optional, but i like it this way.

Cut the wrap diagonally and serve warm.

Do the same with all other remaining tortillas.

Notes: Feel free to use chicken breasts instead and you can even pan fry it in about 2 tbsp of oil.

Original recipe called for corn as well, but i didn't have any at home so omitted it

With thanks to Comte cheese for the samples.

Ribbon sandwiches

 

I know that picnics and days out in the open are long gone, but I couldn't resist posting these delicious ribbon sandwiches before it was ridiculously late. The temperatures have dropped significantly and its no fun waking up in the morning to a cold apartment. The moment you are out from under your duvet you shiver and wish to crawl back in. We have finally taken out our winter clothes much to my dismay and Ro is already psyching me out saying winter is gonna be horrible. After 3 years of running back to India for Christmas, this year we are staying put. But that's about 70 days away and I have enough time to whine about it ;)

Coming to the sandwiches. These, when my mum used to make way back when we were kids, were not received with much enthusiasm. In fact I hated the coconut chutney more than anything. Fast forward to some 20 years later and I think I love it. I called up mum a couple of weeks back to get the recipe and she laughed so much at the irony. Also because, Ro is not a big fan of coriander leaves or any leaf for that matter and while my mum kept mentioning coriander leaves I kept referring to it as that thing, because Ro was sitting right next to me listening in on the conversation. He finally found out that a major chunk of the sandwich was made using coriander chutney and begged and pleaded to not do so. If its one thing I've learnt after 6 years of being married, its to ignore the other half when you see signs of the drama queen surfacing. And that's exactly what I did.

 

I also have to bring to your notice this uber cool gadget the lovely people over at The Handipcked Collection sent me. Its a Herb Saver Fridge Pod that keeps herb cuttings fresh and watered inside your fridge, thereby prolonging their live for a longer period. I can very happily say, 'it works.' The coriander leaves I used for this recipe were fresh even after about 2.5 weeks, except for a few leaves turning yellow here and there. I have had trouble trying to make them last in my fridge and they always end up rotting on me. If there was one downside to the product it would be that the plastic see through cover is a bit tough to handle. Its not something that just comes open with a quick pull and is a bit of a struggle. Other than that its quite a handy thing to have. It snugly fits on my fridge door and apparently can be used for vegetables like asparagus and stuff. Don't forget to check out The Handpicked collection for some great Gift ideas. I'm definitely a big fan.

Anyhoo, once the sandwiches were done, Ro completely forgot about his coriander leaf aversion and all was good with the world. I made the two chtneys over 2 days and then on the 3rd assembled the sandwiches. If you do everything together at one go, I doubt you would ever want to make it again. So spread it out and its much easier. Will I make this again...hmm maybe when I'm in one of those proactive cooking moods. This sandwich is great for picnics and for an English Tea where finger sandwiches are a must. Its also very lah-di-dah :)

(Makes around 20 quarter sandwiches)

Bread- 15 slices (brown or white)

Coriander chutney- approx. 1 cup (recipe follows)

Tomato chutney- approx. 1 cup (recipe follows)

Butter- 1/4 cup (at room temperature)

Coriander chutney

Coriander leaves- 2 cups, washed and roughly chopped

Grated coconut- 1 cup

Mint leaves- 10 to 12

Tamarind paste- 1 tsp (approx.)

Green chillies- 2 (adjust according to preference)

Salt- to taste

Sugar- 1/2 tsp

Grind together all the ingredients in a food processor/ blender, scraping down the sides at intervals, until you get a smooth-ish paste.

Resist the urge to add water though!

Transfer into an air tight container and refrigerate till ready to use.

Tomato chutney

I followed this recipe of mine, except I didn't roast the tomatoes, just sliced them and used as it is. Feel free to roast them if you prefer it that way. I also used vegetable oil instead of olive oil and added curry leaves along with the mustard seeds. Once the chutney is done, keep aside to cool and then store in an air tight container till ready to use. It stays for about a week in the fridge.

Assembling:

Bring both the chutneys to room temperature.

Into the coriander chutney add the soft butter and mix it well. No traces of butter should be seen.

Do a taste test, add salt if required, and keep ready.

Onto the first slice of bread evenly spread about 1 tbsp of coriander chutney.

Top with another slice and spread the same amount of tomato chutney on it.

Finally top with a third slice and gently press it down to settle the fillings in.

Slice into half diagonally and then into quarters, or if you prefer, slice into smaller squares.

Serve for tea or at a picnic. It would be a hit trust me.

 

Notes: You can spread butter on the bread slices as well, but I didn't bother to.

I left the edges in tack as well, because Ro is a sucker for stuff like that. Feel free to slice them off if you think its too hard or something.

My mum sometimes does 3 layers with the third one being an egg mayo sandwich. Our cheap thrill when we were young was that it was made to look like our Indian flag :)

Store leftover sandwiches in an air tight container, slightly warm it in the oven for about 10 mins and have it the next day. that would make it slightly crisp as well.

Cornflake crusted chicken and announcing the World's Biggest Coffee Morning

I have exhausted almost everything from my drafts and this was a recipe I hadn't planned on posting, not because the recipe was a failure, but because I wasn't too happy with the pictures. Since I hadn't fed my blog in a while, I thought, why not, lets get it out there. 

My last set of guests have left and I must say its awfully quiet around here. No rushing between houses, no early morning sightseeing and no travelling in the car (which I dread completely. Hail the London Underground). I haven't cooked in a reaaaallly long time and as always, its a slow start. Even with taking pics and stuff, I haven't really got down to it and I hope it wont be long before I'm up and about with the camera and props.

 

Anyways, this cornflake crusted chicken was the after effect of a cornflake over dose, more like, I want to finish it off as soon as possible so I have to think of recipes to use them in. So dinner on one night was taken care of with these crispy, crunchy chicken which I served with a healthy salad. I still had some more remaining which I force fed my sister-in-law when she stayed with us for a month :) :)

Its an easy peacy recipe and quite tasty for a picnic and such. It wont go soggy on you if you store it in an air tight container. I even used up the boneless crusted pieces of chicken in a sandwich the next day and it was just as good. So go on, try it and I'm sure you'll thank me later. Don't judge the recipe by the pics, it was waaaay better tasting than it looks :)

Recipe adapted from here

 

Chicken- 1/2 kg (mix of drumsticks and thighs, cut into large pieces)

Buttermilk- 300ml

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Spicy chilly powder- 1 tsp (paprika)

Black pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Garlic powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Cornflakes- 3 cups (crushed using a rolling pin. Don't powder it)

Parmesan cheese- 3 tbsp (grated)

Salt and pepper- to season

Whisk together the buttermilk with cumin, chilli powders, pepper, garlic and salt. 

Place the chicken pieces in a non reactive bowl and pour the marinade over. Mix well and keep it covered in a refrigerator for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to cook, pre heat the oven to 220C.

Place a wire rack over a baking tray and keep aside. You can place a sheet of foil on the baking tray to catch any juices or crumbs falling off the chicken. Less cleaning that way :)

Season the crushed cornflakes with the Parmesan and salt and pepper. Mix well and keep ready in a shallow bowl.

Shake off the excess marinade from the chicken, keeping some on for the cornflakes to stick and then roll the pieces in the crumb mix properly, making sure they are completely coated.

Place on the wire rack and into the oven. 

Bake for about 25 minutes, making sure you check the chicken pieces every 10 minutes and turning them around if required. They should not brown too much.

To check if its done, slice through to the bone and if the juices run clear, and the meat is not pink, you are good to go.

Take out of the oven and serve when still hot.

Notes: You can basically add any spice of choice and then coat the chicken with cornflakes.

To get a much crispier version, place under the broiler towards the end. Again, make sure you don't burn it.

On a different note, I would like to announce that on the 28th of September this year, the World's Biggest Coffee Morning is going to take place. It is a one day fund raising event hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support to raise money for people with lives affected by Cancer. 

Silver Spoon, the homegrown sugar people, are the official sugar sponsor for the event and this year they have decided to launch a fantastic competition as part of their activity. By launching the Silver Spoons Little Local Hero Awards, they are scouring the country for local heroes under the age of 18 who have done something truly special. It could have been from looking after their little sister when they were ill to gone to great strengths to make Mother's Day very special or done something great to raise money for charity. If you know anyone falling into this category, then just follow this link and explain in less that 100 words who you are nominating and what you would bake to say thank you. Master Patissier Eric Lanlard will choose a Silver Spoon national Little Hero and to celebrate he will bake them a special cake of their choice and 10 runners up will also receive a Silver Spoon baking hamper with full of exciting treats.

Also don't forget to register to hold your own coffee morning on the 28th September, and to do so just follow this link and you can help raise money for people with lives affected by cancer.

Summer fruit salad

No time to ramble, been super busy with taking the in-laws around. By the time this post goes up, we'd be in Scotland, taking in the highlands and whiskey and all that's Scottish, well except Haggis maybe.

I made this salad on a day I felt too lazy to fix up something for lunch and since my fruit basket was crying out to me I thought I'd whip up something fruity. I thought it wouldn't fill me, but strangely it did and I think I should make it a practise. There is no recipe as such, just throw in a bunch of fruits you like, do a simple dressing and if you like, add a chilli or so for some spice. Here is another fruit salad I made a while back

Use fruits that are in season and if they are fresh, then nothing like it. But mine was about 2 to 3 days old and was almost at the wilting stage when I decided to rescue them. It tasted great nonetheless. I love fruits but I'm kinda lazy to eat fruit, especially when it involved peeling and slicing and stuff. If someone has it ready for me, then I'm more than happy to eat away :)

Mango- 1 cup, peeled and diced

Watermelon- 1 cup, deseeded and diced

Orange- 1 half, peeled and cut into rounds

Apple- 1 half, cut into rounds

Grapes- 1/4 cup (I prefer seedless)

Kiwi fruit- 1, diced

Ginger- 1 tsp, julienned (optional)

Green chilli- 1 small, roughly chopped

Caster sugar- to sprinkle (optional)

Lemon juice- 1 to 2 tsp

Coriander leaves/ mint- to garnish (optional)

 

Mix together the ginger, chilli, sugar and lemon juice. Gently squash the mix with your hands, enough to get the chilli and ginger flavours infused. Add a bit of salt if required.

Arrange the fruits in a platter (or in a bowl) and pour over the dressing.

Garnish with some mint or coriander leaves.

Gently mix before serving.

Notes: I also tried adding some pomegranate seeds once and it was great.

If the fruits are too ripe and sweet, avoid the sugar altogether.

On another note, my Grilled chicken wings- the Indian way got published in the Huffington Post Kitchen Daily. I'm pretty thrilled about this :). Check out the link

Bean and potato salad- A guest post for Shab's Cuisine

If there is one blogger I can say I have a lot in common with, that is definitely Shabeena (Shabs as we fondly call her) of Shab's Cuisine. I cant remember how or when I stumbled upon her blog, but she was the first UK blogger I started following. It is a big deal because majority of the bloggers I follow are based out of the US or India, and disscovering that Shab was from this side of the pond was indeed something worth being excited about.

She has been blogging for many years now and somewhere along the way I discovered I had a lot in common with her. Thanks to Facebook, we send each other loooong messages regarding our blogs and have the longest chat sessions, that too at 11 and 12 at night. From endless discussions about prop shopping to charity store finds to ebay auctions to photography tips and new blog discoveries, the topics are forever flowing. Sales and deals at stores are immediately passed on and we make sure we check it out and get back with our inputs without fail. It's like shopping with your girlfriends, but virtually :)

 

I recently did a birthday cake for a friend and I must say that I couldnt have done it without Shab's help. I used to keep calling her up each and every time I had a doubt about fondant, frosting etc. and she would be such a sweetheart and help me out whatsoever. It is indeed great knowing that I have a blogger friend just a phone call away to solve doubts and more importantly to sit and talk mindlessly about props and painting boards and photography, instead of forcing the husband to listen to blog issues. So I didnt think twice when Shab asked me about a guest post, because there was no way I was gonna pass. We decided on a salad and so here's an easy peacy summer recipe- a bean and potato salad, which is a favourite at ours.

We have picnics in the park during summer and deciding on what to take is always an issue especially because only some parks allow bbq's and they are almost always the ones that are far away, which makes us think twice about heading there in the first place. So food items that are super duper easy to pack and tastes good when eaten cold are given priority. Sandwiches and salads mostly win after all the discussion and this salad is my first choice always. It is so easy to put together and tastes so good, you would have to try hard to stop yourself from eating spoonfuls while preparing it. It is also a very forgiving reciipe and you can add more ingredients or adapt them to your liking without compromising on taste. It is great eaten warm or cold, so there is no issue there. When I make it at home, I usually pair it with some grilled chicken and its a perfect meal and quite filling, I must add.

 

So without further ado, do head over to Shabs's Cuisine and check out the recipe and while you are there, dont miss out on her amazing array of Malabar dishes. She is a pro at it, and I hope some day I will be able to meet her in person and taste her food. Thanks a lot for having me over Shab :)

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!

Shall we 'wrap it up?'

Oh don't panic, I'm not talking about wrapping up my blog, I'm talking about a chicken wrap which tasted so goddamn lovely and was so easy to prepare. See, being in London has its perks....there are so so many free festivals all over the place and if you are into cultural stuff, this is the place to be. I love London for all that and more...and now honestly I just cannot think of settling elsewhere...even a one month vacation to India makes me miss this place.

So whole of last year we did all the cultural stuff, the festivals, the food shows, the jazz concerts and everything London had to offer in Summer. This year, we did a selected few things only because we were super busy with guests and travelling- a weekend at home meant staying put and catching a movie or so. The last of the summer festivals here are the open air movies or 'Movies under the stars' as they call it..again free movie screenings and if you didn't go early enough, you'd be stuck in a very sad corner of the amphitheatre or park. We decided to catch three movies this time, since we'd seen all the others. Last week we saw 'The Kite Runner' and we loved, loved, loved it. Yesterday we saw 'North by Northwest,' an Alfred Hitchcock movie from the 1950's and next week we are catching 'Invictus.' I have always loved the old Hollywood movies, with Gone with the Wind topping the charts (after I had to do a presentation for my film studies class) and this one we loved for the hilarious one liners and of course the suspense thriller, Hitchcock was known for. 

A night out meant packing blankets, cushions (oh yes we did and we were the ones with the least obvious of them) and definitely food and wine. Last week we had sandwiches and so this time I decided to make some wraps with left over chicken roast. Smothered the wheat tortillas with some spicy yoghurt sauce, topped it with onion rings and shredded chicken, rolled it up and we were ready to go.

This chicken roast recipe is one that I learned just after coming to England. I was new to the whole blogging scene and this recipe was passed on by a friend and from then, its been a favourite of ours. It never fails and the flavours are just brilliant. I have posted the recipe here. It is definitely a meal on its own and I'm telling you, you'd love it if you try it once (now you gotta believe me, cos I very seldom say things like that about my dishes).

Yoghurt sauce (adapted from Sig)

Greek yoghurt- 3 tbsp

Red chilli flakes- 1/2 to 1 tsp (depending on your heat in take)

Garlic pods- 2, thinly sliced and crushed

Lime juice- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

For the wraps:

Whole wheat tortillas- 6, small ones

Onion rings- as required

Lettuce or rocket - a few leaves (optional)

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a ramekin and place in the refrigerator for the flavours to infuse..say for about 15 mins and shred the chicken in the mean time.

Assembling:

Warm the tortillas lightly and place on a chopping board.

Place about 1/2 a tbsp of the yoghurt sauce on to the centre of the tortilla and spread it out like how you'd make a dosa..ok that's irritatingly dramatic..just spread it out however you like, just make sure its goes out to the edges.

Place a few spoons full of shredded chicken on one side, followed by the lettuce (if using) and onion rings and roll it up tightly.

You can wrap it up with a foil paper or just leave as it is (I did) and for convenience, I sliced it in half.

Notes: You can use any filling, paneer and mushrooms would be a good option and you can use the exact same masala

If you have over done the sauce, it might ooze out which, if were having at home, would be awesome to lick, but since i was taking it out to a public place I made sure it wasn't a messy affair.

If I hadn't used the sauce, I would have gone for some shredded cheddar cheese.

Tortilla Pinwheels- absolute party snack (did I say EASY?)

Had a summer picnic at a friends place today and it was kinda like a pot luck and I was given the job of bringing dessert. Since I was swarmed with work on Saturday- cleaning the house and making some grub for guests coming in on Monday, I conveniently bought a Thorntons celebration cake which was sinful to the core, but ya ya I agree, for a person who considers baking therapeutic, I should be ashamed to buy ready-made cake. I also had to pick up some nibbles, and again was about to buy crisps when I had this sudden thought and decided to MAKE something instead. I'd come across tortilla roll ups on Pan Gravy Kadai and thought of mixing and matching a few other recipes to come up with an easy option. Thank god, this moment of enlightenment happened on isle 6 of Sainsbury's and so picked up all the ingredients required and scooted. 

These tortilla pinwheels turned out nice (atleast Ro and myself thought so) and is incredibly easy to make especially if you have all the ingredients at hand. 

Tortilla- 3 large

Garlic and herb Philadelphia cream cheese- 1 tub, 200gms (room temperature)

Spring onions- 4, sliced

Jalapeño pepper- 1, de seeded and roughly chopped (optional)

Freshly ground pepper- to taste

Baby spinach- 3 cups or more if you please

Cured and cooked ham- 12 slices

Cheddar cheese- 1/2 cup (optional)

Cling film- to roll the tortilla

Mix the softened cream cheese, spring onions, jalapeño and pepper powder together in a large bowl. If its too thick, add a wee bit of water and loosen it up. You can either add grated cheese at this stage or later. 

Clean the spinach leaves (chop if required), drain and transfer to a microwave safe bowl with just enough water clinging form the leaves. Cover and cook in the microwave for 3 minutes. Drain the water.

Heat the tortilla's for about 6 to 7 seconds in the microwave.

Spread the cream cheese mix generously on the tortilla, sprinkle a cup of spinach leaves and spread out four ham slices on to each and top with grated cheese. If you want, sprinkle some freshly ground pepper too.

Roll it up tight, wrap with cling film and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 to 3 hours or over night.

Once ready, peel off the cling film, cut off the edges and slice the tortilla rolls into bite size pieces.

These pinwheels are best had cold, but you could warm it up too, if you are not that big a fan of cold food. Serve on a platter with salad leaves.

Notes: You can basically choose from a whole array of filling like turkey slices, olives, salmon, prosciutto ham etc.

You can use any soft cheese for the base or maybe even mayo.
Stick a toothpick through and serve it as an appetizer with drinks.


Edited to add: A big big big thanks to all my friends on FB who started following my blog (well after i shamelessly announced I was one follower short of a 100). It did mean a lot to me :)