Pollo al Ajillo (Chicken & Garlic)

I have recently developed this love for Spanish food as well...the tapas dishes (appetizers) especially are a welcome change to the usual. There are Tapas only restaurants here in London and we used to frequent this one called La Tasca, till we kinda tried almost everything on their menu and now its boring. I am yet to try out some of the other tapas joints. My second blog entry was that of a tapas dish called Chorizo al Vino and a favourite of mine. The first time i discovered this ingredient called Chorizo was at La Tasca, and i had to try it out. Its such an easy thing to make, its difficult to screw up.

This dish, on the other hand, is a bit difficult..well difficult according to my standards. I don't know why, but i hate having to deep fry or even shallow fry anything. First of all i think I'm doing something wrong and the whole place is smeared in oil and what not. Second, I have always managed to burn my hand when I'm frying and three, the amount of oil that goes into the food and the rest of the oil that goes to waste..kinda puts me off the whole frying deal. So i try and bake whenever i have an option. But anyways, i managed to get through frying without the second part, but did the 1st and 3rd. But it was so worth all that trouble, the chicken and garlic combo was kick-ass.

Chicken- 1 kg, bone in pieces, no skin

Paprika- 3 tsp

Chilli pwd- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Pepper pwd- to taste

Salt- to taste

Garlic- 10 cloves

Sherry/ dry white wine- 150ml

Oil- to fry

Fresh parsley- to garnish

Clean the chicken pieces and marinate with paprika, chilli pwd, pepper pwd and salt.

Heat oil in a frying pan and add the pieces of chicken batch by batch along with two smashed garlic cloves. It brings out a nice flavour to the chicken, Now i covered the chicken and fried, for fear of oil splashing all over and burning my hands. In spite of doing all that, i still managed to mess it up and so you don't really have to do that. Shallow fry both sides till golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

Either discard some of the oil or if there is very little left, add some more and throw in the rest of the garlic and continue frying. Add the chicken pieces and mix well.

Pour in the sherry and cook on low heat till the liquid is almost absorbed by the chicken...stirring in between and making sure it doesn't get stuck to the bottom. This might take some time..so patience is the answer.

Serve with some gravy over and garnish with parsley leaves and also raise a pitcher of Sangria to complement the meal.

Notes: Chicken wings can be used and i think boneless can do the trick as well.

I drained the chicken on paper towels due to fear of so much of oil intake..if you really don't freak out like me, then you can just add the garlic to the chicken pieces directly.

I used dry white wine instead of Sherry and the taste was very different. It was slightly sweet in spite of using dry wine. So use Sherry if possible.

Borrowed recipes: trial & error

As you might have already noticed, i have given my blog a make-over. If you haven't, I'm a bit bummed, but its ok..not everyone can be as excited as i am about the blog make-over. I had too much time on my hands yesterday and so played around with the blog features a bit. Did some Picasa edits and after numerous trials and errors i finally came up with this new interface. I tried to incorporate the previous header text, but it was a bit 'in your face' and so decided to chuck it. So, what do you think? I think variety is the spice of life and that's exactly what i did to my food blog, 'SPICEd' it up a bit. I love it :)

I haven't been cooking the past couple of days mainly because we had so much left over from the weekend and then it was Ro's birthday on Tue and we ate out etc. Did i mention that the Buffalo wings tasted even better the next day? The sauce flavour is so much more stronger and it has nicely caught on to the wings. Its like biryani..the longer you keep, the better its tastes. So the next time don't feel bad if you cant finish your wings all at once. Keep it refrigerated and feast on it the next day. Tastes twice as nice.

I finally decided to get off my ass and make something for dinner yesterday. Made the Beef Vindaloo from Cicily's blog and mine didn't look half as nice as hers. I think i goofed up somewhere and have promised myself, I'd give it a try again...this time with more patience. Thanks Cicily, for sharing the recipe. Shall do a better job next time and post a pic.

I also tried out the Aloo Methi (Potato & Fenugreek leaves) preparation from eCurry. This was my first trial with methi leaves, and i must say I'm not too disappointed. I usually don't getmethi leaves at the local grocery store. I have to go all the way to an Indian store to get em. A couple of days back i was browsing through Asda and saw one last bunch of methileaves, and pounced on it (ya literally). Asked them if it was a regular and they said no, and gave me some gyan about it. Ro somehow is not a big fan of methi leaves, he says it reminds him of hostel days, and so i don't think id go out of my way to get them. Also because one bunch is quite a bit and i still have some left over which I'm going to use for methi dal which my friend R swears by. Here is a pic of my preparation. I followed Soma's recipe to the dot. Thank you Soma.

I also made some cabbage thoran and that didn't disappoint me either. I followed the same beans and carrot thoran recipe, except it was just white cabbage this time. I am not sure if there is another or better way to do this, but if there is, do let me know and i would love to give it a go. Sharing the pic.

Chorizo Quesadillas with Margaritas and Mexican Cookies

I am a big sucker for Mexican food and i can have it any number of times in a day and continuously for a couple of days..well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but i love Southern food so so much. Sunday lunch like i mentioned before was very southie...almost. We had the Buffalo wings, quesadillas and margaritas and Mexican cookies..yes I'd like to go all out when it comes to themes.

Quesadillas can have any sort of filling and you can basically jazz it up your way. Since i had already tried my hand at Chicken quesadillas, i thought id use Chorizo (Spanish/ Mexican cured sausages spiced with different seasoning etc) instead. Good choice, i must say. It was over in no time.

Flour tortillas- 4

Spanish Chorizo- 1 cup, diced (or you can remove the casing and use the meat only)

Spring onions- 1/4 cup (both greens and bulb)

Red pepper- 1/3 cup, diced (optional)

Monterey Jack Cheese- 1/2 cup

Mexican blend cheese- to garnish

Salsa- i cup ( i got ready-made ones)

Sour cream- 1/4 cup

Cilantro- freshly chopped, for garnish

In a frying pan, lightly cook the chorizo. There is no need to put any oil, as quite a bit of oil oozes out of the sausage. Make sure you do not over cook, as it becomes hard. Remove and drain on paper towels

Discard some oil and in the same pan, sautee the spring onions and red pepper till soft. Add the sausages to this and give it a final stir. Remove and keep aside.

Keep a stove-top grill ready. Assemble the tortillas, i.e., spread some sour cream and salsa evenly on the tortilla, load it with the chorizo stuffing (about 3 tbsp) and then layer with the Monterey Jack cheese (again about 2 to 3 tbsp). Grate some Mexican blend cheese on top, just for the flavour, garnish with cilantro and sandwich with another tortilla. Slightly press them so that the ends are sealed

Place on the hot grill and cook for about 2 minutes, each side. Carefully flip it and once the cheese has slightly melted, take it off and repeat the process with the remaining tortillas and filling.

Serve with a dab of sour cream and salsa and some Mexican blend cheese.

Notes: If you do not have tortillas, you can use chappati's...yes you can..have tried it

You do not need a grill per se. You can do the same procedure in the frying pan, or in a pre-heated oven for a few minutes, or if you are extremely lazy, in a microwave...i have tried all three methods, and the best would be the grill.

The measurements given here are approx. You can increase, decrease the cheese, cream, filling etc. as per your choice.

I usually make my own Margarita, but since i knew i was going to be super busy i picked up a Sainsbury's Margarita (all mixed and ready to serve) instead. I brushed the glass rim with lime juice and dipped it in salt and topped the glass with the mix and some tonic water, since the mix was a little too strong for me. This is not how the real one is made, but i liked the fizz though.

The Mexican Cookies' recipe can be found here. It says Melting Moments, but this is more or less how it is.

All American Spicy Buffalo Wings with a sour cream dip

Merely described as a Super Bowl Snack or rather a party snack, Buffalo Wings are a favourite of ours. Hooters in Nottingham was a favourite of mine, and Ro's (for obvious other reasons ..ahem!) and their buffalo wings were super hot and we'd be soaking in sweat by the time we finished a plate of wings. Sadly London doesn't have a Hooters outlet and so we have to make do with the usual chains which are ok, but not the best.

I was so sure i wouldn't get the authentic Franks Red Hot sauce in any of the grocery stores, and no where could i find the sauce recipe. I almost gave up and then decided to throw in a search on the Sainsburys website and what do i find, the original sauce itself. Didn't waste any time and ran to the nearest Sains and got em, along with the wings and a few tid bits. Sunday lunch was heavenly and i have decided, the next time i throw a party, this is definitely on my list. Other than the frying bit, i think everything else is damn easy..and the taste..oh so yumm. I kept the recipe printed at the back of the bottle as the base, and played around with the measurements a bit to adjust spice levels etc.

Ok so I'm gonna let you in on a little secret..i was completely grossed out by the chicken wings at the super market and surprisingly, so was Ro who usually does the dirty work of cutting and cleaning meat etc. Chicken drumsticks on its own were too big and so we decided to use the ready-to-eat buffalo wings which were supposedly spicy and cooked, but we knew from previous experiences that these ready made meals were tasteless and horrible and had to be jazzed up a bit. So we bought 2 packs of those and decided to work on it. The result was spectacular. I shall however, give you the recipe of the original and maybe some day il try it out.

Chicken wings- 1 kg

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Paprika- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

All purpose flour- about a cup

Oil-to deep fry

Franks Red Hot Extra Hot Cayenne Pepper Sauce- 1/4 cup + a little more

Butter- 3 tbsp

White vinegar- 1 tsp (optional)

Discard the tips of the chicken wings. Cut them at the joint.. into the wing and the drum.

Mix together the pepper powder, paprika, salt and flour in a large bowl. Toss the chicken pieces in it till they are evenly coated.

Now you can either oven cook it for about an hour at 230C, flipping the chicken on and off or deep fry them in oil in batches of 10 or so (depending on your vessel) until golden brown. Drain on paper towels.

While the chicken is frying, in a sauce pan, melt the butter and add the hot sauce and vinegar. On low flame bring it to a simmer. Now i like mine well coated, so i waited till it was a bit thick. This could take some time.

Put the fried/ baked chicken wings in a large bowl and pour the hot sauce over. Toss it well, so that the pieces are evenly coated. Now if you keep them for a day, i realised it becomes more spicier and tastes a whole lot better. Since we were incredibly hungry, we greedily ate them then and there with the cream dip.

I followed the recipe from the hot sauce bit, since my chicken wings were already cooked.

Notes: Chicken breasts can be used instead of wings.

It is not required to follow the first step for the chicken. You can just fry it as it is or bake it..without any seasoning because the sauce is powerful enough.

Vinegar is optional, i just wanted to add a tang to it.

if you don't want the chicken wings to be coated in sauce, you don't have to simmer it for long. It can be loose gravy.

Celery sticks are also an accompaniment to buffalo wings and dip.

Sour cream dip

The buffalo wings are usually paired with a blue cheese dip, but i don't really like blue cheese and so i made my own sour cream dip which was fantabulous (I'm so humble, right?)

Sour cream- 3 tbsp

Mayonnaise- 1 tbsp

Cheddar cheese- a handful (i used the Mexican mix)

Spring onions- a handful (just the greens)

Mix all this, except the spring greens, in a bowl and microwave for a few seconds, just to get the cheese melted. Mix in the greens just before you serve.

Here are two of my favourite party snacks which you might enjoy. Jalapeños stuffed and wrapped in bacon and Jalapeño Poppers.

I am sending this recipe to the Valentine & Super Bowl Recipe Carnival event hosted by fun and food cafe.

Potato Gratin spiked with Fennel and Spinach

I have always been intrigued by the fennel bulbs at the super market ..well for one, how pretty it looked with the bright greens and whites and second, what flavour it gives out and what preparations would complement fennel. Its only after hoards of research that i learnt it was a main ingredient in those after dinner digestion thingies you get at Indian restaurants..a mouth freshener kinda thing. I still don't know what its actually called so id like to keep it at 'Mouth freshener.' I always thought it was jeera or something..yeah that's how clueless i am about ingredients and yet i continue to bedazzle myself with something or the other. I have the names of all the masala powders on the containers because it was not so long ago that i messed up masalas..yeah amchur for coriander powder..seriously..can anyone ever be so dumb?

Anyways, coming back to fennel...i did a few searches online and stumbled upon a potato gratin recipe. I incorporated fennel and some spinach into it and voila, I had my very own twisty bake which was pretty darn delicious. Accompany this creamy baked dish with some fried chicken and its a whole meal, serve with some garlic bread and its a starter or just gorge it all up as it is. I made some Pollo Al Ajillo (recipe shall follow) along with it..Yeah Spanish and French was kind of a conflict of flavours and cultures altogether, but who cares..i get to eat what i like :)

Although the flavour fennel unfolds is quite distinct, i feel its an acquired taste or better put, you either like it or you dint. I must say i liked it and would definitely be trying out more recipes with my new found herb/ vegetable.. or is it neither?

Fennel bulb- 1 large

Onion- 1 medium, thinly sliced

Baby spinach- 1 to 2 cups (as per your liking, really)

Garlic- 2 cloves, thinly sliced

Butter- 1 tbsp or more if you please

All purpose flour- 1 tbsp

Heavy cream- 3/4 cup

Baby potatoes- 4

Grated cheese- 1/3 cup (I used Cheddar)

Salt and pepper- as required

I was lost as to how to cut fennel bulbs and so i had to depend on a video (ok now you are convinced I'm a useless cook). Basically what you need to do is cut off the green stalks and reserve them for garnish, remove the dirty outer covering (if any), chop it in half, remove the central core if you don't need it and slice them thin. Keep aside

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.

Also wash and clean the baby potatoes and slice them into rounds. Keep aside.

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C.

Heat a skillet and melt the butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook till soft and fragrant.

To this, add the spinach and about 3/4 th of the sliced fennel and sautee for a few minutes. Do not over cook as the flavour will be lost.

Stir in the flour, mix well and add the thick cream. Season with salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer and add the grated cheese.

Pour into a casserole dish and layer the potato slices on top.

Place it in the pre-heated oven and after about 30 minutes, take the casserole out, sprinkle the left over fennel and if you want, some grated cheese and bake for another 30 minutes or till the potatoes are tender and top is crusty and bubbly.

Garnish with the green stalks and serve hot.

Notes: You can basically add anything to your gratin like mushrooms and cauli and non veg items like bacon and sausages as well.

I only had cheddar cheese at home and so used it. You can use goats cheese instead

Heavy cream can be substituted with whole milk and baby potatoes with Russet potatoes.

I made a mistake and sprinkled the fennel and cheese the first time itself, and so it kinda got a bit burnt. So make sure you put it only half way through..its just needs to partially soften.

I am sending this entry for the JFI: Fennel event hosted by Siri's Corner this month. This is the first time im participating in a JFI event and thanks to Indira, the mastermind behind the concept, I am enthusiastic enough to try out new ingredients.

Fried masala idli's with a coconut chutney

I am not sure i have mentioned this before, but i have never ever made my own dosa/ idli batter. Even when i was in Chennai and in spite of having an awesome maid i still used to buy the ready mix and i was very happy with it. Enter Nottingham and we had to pay close to 6 quid for a dosa whenever we craved it..which was actually not too often. We didn't miss dosa/ idli an awful lot to actually grind and make the batter. So the occasional visits to the mallu restaurant just around the corner was a lot enough to quench our requirement.

London was different. East Ham, the hub of South Indian restaurants and grocery stores, was like culture shock. Even though it was a bit far away from where we stayed, a once in two months visit there gave us the pleasure of acquiring all things mallu. We also discovered that idli/ dosa batter was available in packets..freshly made and was glad we didn't have to pay a humongous amount of money to satisfy our dosa cravings. So now we pick up 2 on each of our visits to East Ham and that lasts us for ever. When we get sick of the dosa and idli, we buy an uppma mix (yes, i have never made my own and don't intend to either...the MTR ones are so awesome) and gobble on that . Honestly, Indian food is no longer a preference in our household now. We are so happy with the pastas and the bakes and the stir fries. Initially we had to have rice at least once a week..now we don't even miss it and so don't have to whip up a million other curries and veggies to go with it.

So last weekend we headed to East Ham and picked up a packet of dosa batter, but completely forgot to buy the sambar powder. So i had to make do with a coconut chutney and some fish curry (again the instant ones). Had a wee bit of batter left over from the dosa and so tried out fried idli's which my grand mom used to make as a tea-time snack. Now, as much as i like the idea of a tea-time snack, its horrible to have to slog it out and make something on your own and then enjoy it. By the time I'm done making it and cleaning up, I am in no mood to enjoy what i made. Same story for almost everything i make btw!

The recipe for fried idli and chutney was adapted from a blog i stumbled upon. They have named it Masala Paniyaram, a name I'm familiar with but I've always referred to it as fried masala idli. Now i didn't have the particular vessel to fry them in, so i used a mini egg pan and made cookie-size idli's which were so cute and came out just as i wanted.

Fried Idli

Idli batter- 1 cup

English Shallots- 2, roughly chopped

Green chilli- 3, chopped

Ginger- 1 inch piece, roughly chopped

Cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Pepper pwd- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- a handful, chopped

Coriander leaves- a handful, chopped

Salt- to taste

Asafoetida- a pinch

Oil- enough to fry

Mix all the above ingredients together, except the batter, and lightly crush with a pestle or the back of a spoon...just to get the flavours out. Add the batter to this and mix well. Check for salt, spice etc. and add more if required.

Heat oil in the pan and pour a spoon full. Flip and fry the other side after a few minutes.

Drain on paper towels and serve with chutney.

Notes: I added quite a bit of curry leaves and coriander leaves because i love the taste. You can reduce it if you want.

I added a wee bit of ghee to the oil just to get a nice flavour...its not advisable to do so on a regular basis, for obvious health reasons.

I am not typing out the chutney recipe as I followed the exact measurements and procedure as mentioned here. I personally would have liked it a bit more spicy. Maybe next time.

Chicken in a spicy garlic sauce

We have a Chinese restaurant/take away just around the corner and we frequently visit the same. The chicken and beef in black bean sauce and the seafood/meat in garlic sauce are incredible that we keep ordering the same again and again. I tried to recreate the chicken in garlic sauce recipe here, but failed miserably. Its nowhere close to what i had at the restaurant, but it tasted delicious anyway.

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts- 1 lb (450gms), cleaned and cut into bite size cubes

To marinate

Dark soy sauce- 2 tbs

Chilli powder- 3/4 tbs

Salt- to taste

English shallots- 2, julienned

Pepper powder- 1 tsp

Garlic- 6 pods, chopped fine

Ginger- 1 inch piece, chopped fine

Chicken Stock cube- 1 (I use Knorr)

Water- 3/4 cup, slightly warm

Corn flour- 1 tbs

Spring onions- 1/4 cup (greens and bulbs) + 2 tbs to garnish (just the greens)

Oil- 2 tbs

Marinate the chicken with the soy sauce, chilli pwd and little salt. Keep aside for 15 to 20 minutes.

In 3/4 cup warm water, dilute the stock cube. Add the cornflour. Mix well and keep aside

In a frying pan, heat the oil and sautee the shallots, garlic and ginger till soft and fragrant.

Add the marinated chicken pieces and pepper pwd and cook on high till the chicken changes colour.

Cover and cook on medium heat till they are cooked.

Once the water starts separating, open the lid, add the chicken stock , mix well and cook open on high flame till the gravy reduces to about half.

Add the spring onions and stir well. The chicken pieces should be well coated.

Garnish with the remaining spring onions before serving.

Notes: The chicken stock cube is really salty, so watch before you add more salt

Don't over cook the garlic and ginger. The sauce really emits a nice garlicky flavour

PS: I got myself a neat studio corner with efficient lighting and background. So now i dont need to worry about taking pics with table lamps and decor lights. I am still perfecting the art of shadow less lighting, diffuser etc. So pics are still a bit bleak. I however went ahead and clicked a few extra pics, just cos i was darn excited:)

Oh and the new DSLR adds to the quality of the pics..I'm loving the EOS 500D