HUNGER IS ATTACKING..

Gourmet Ice and the story of the 'ice entrepreneur'

2011-01-25T06:16:00.000-08:00

Everything is not done before, and there is always scope for invention/improvement.

Molecular gastronomy, cooking with nitrogen and now this. To know more, click here.

Rajma pakode (Red Kidney bean fritters)

2011-01-22T18:19:00.000-08:00

What you would need:

For the fritters:
Rajma (red kidney beans), soaked overnight- 2 cups
Onion - 3 large
Green chillies - 2 to 3 big sized
Ginger - 1 inch
Almonds - 10
salt to taste
Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Vegetable oil for deep frying the fritters (You can use Olive oil as well)

For the dip:
Yogurt - 1 cup
Processed cheese - 2 tbsp
Capsicum (finely diced) -for garnish

Prep:
For the fritters:
Coarsely grind the soaked kidney beans, mix in finely chopped onions, fresh chopped coriander leaves, ground chillies, ginger, salt and coarsely ground almond.

Heat the oil in a deep pan, and deep fry the fist sized flat fritters made of the above batter.

For the dip:
Heat the cheese in a microwave oven for 20 seconds till melted, quickly blend in the yogurt, whisking to avoid cheese lumps. Garnish with chopped capsicum.

Serve the fritters hot with the dip.

---
Quick and easy, this snack is a welcome break from the traditional chilly/onion fritters.

Nutty Chicken

2011-01-17T05:21:00.000-08:00

What you would need:
A mix of Walnuts, Almonds, Cashew nuts - 1/2 cup (Blanched, skin removed and ground coarsely, you can use a single variety as well)
Chicken - 400 grams
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1 medium sized ( finely chopped)
Tomato puree - 4 tbsp
Chilly powder - 1 tsp ( only if you like the curry hot, else skip this)
Green chillies - 4 no's
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Fresh cream - 2
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for tempering (You can use Olive oil as well)

Prep:
Marinate the chicken for about half and hour in yogurt along with salt, cumin powder and half the garlic and ginger paste.

Heat oil, saute the onions till translucent, add the tomato puree, green chillies, coriander powder and cook till aromatic and lightly brown. Blend in the chilly powder.

Add the chicken and allow to cook on medium flam for 10 minutes. Add the nuts and about 1 cup of water (if you have stock, that works great too). Cook for another 10 minutes with occasional stirring. When the chicken is almost done, stir in the fresh cream and garam masala, then cook for 2 minutes with a lid on the pan.

Garnish with blanched and peeled nuts. Serve hot with rice or roti (bread).

--
Cream, yogurt and nuts make this dish rich and extremely delicious. :) .

Eating Out - Cafe Coffee day Lounge

2010-11-07T07:38:00.000-08:00

Props to Cafe Coffee Day for changing it a bit and bringing in 'The Lounge'.

Refreshing, tasteful and an overall pleasing first impression. Finer interiors, better music and a larger variety to choose from.

We tried the Siphon ( which is strong coffee, minus milk and sugar and is served with dates for the sweetness - I felt a craving for tea with cherries when this was brought in : ), Lounge Frappe ( this was a little weak in flavour, but was a satisfying tall glass of smooth cold coffee ), and the veggie nuggets with mint chutney.

All in all, much prefer this to the regular CCD, I just hope that in trying to achieve a lot I hope it does not end up with a identity crisis - confused borderline lounge/bistro/coffee shop :) ??

Veggie Nuggets - the mint chutney was divine.

Siphon - As promised a pleasure to the senses.

P.S: The Lounge also allows you to customize your sandwiches and pizzas- you can choose the bread, filling and spreads you want in a order slip and pass it to the chef.

Crunch and Syrup

2010-08-24T21:48:00.000-07:00

Pancake sandwich with diced apple filling, dash of maple syrup topped with a drizzle of flavoured powdered sugar **. Breakfast today :D.

** Flavoured powdered sugar :

You would need :

Roasted Chana Dal (roasted bengal gram)- 1/2 cup

Sugar - 4 tablespoons

Elaichi (Cardamom)- 1 0r 2 for fragrance

Prep :

Grind all ingrediants to a smooth flowing powder. Sprinkle on the hot pancakes to get a nutty sugary taste. :)

You can store the left over powder in a air tight container for future use.

Ragi Rotti

2010-08-23T21:15:00.001-07:00

Ragi Rotti a delicious succulent chewy bread made of Ragi (Finger Millet) is perfect for a snack or even a meal.

Seen in the picture this very traditional dish is served with another Andhra speciality - 'Allam pacchadi' or ginger pickle.

Personally I love to eat the ragi rotti with fresh curd, potato curry and dal :). You can store ragi rotti for couple of weeks to a month, which makes it the perfect 'back up food' :).

For the recipe of this very special dish, do mail me at jchaitanyareddy@gmail.com .

We take breakfast very seriously

2010-08-22T21:02:00.000-07:00

Healthy, nutritious, filling and packed with energy. If there is a contest for families that take their morning meal seriously, mine would end up in the top.

Breakfast today was 'Grilled Chicken' Sandwich NOT Grilled 'Chicken Sandwich' :D.

What you would need:
Grilled Chicken ( you can buy this off the counter in many restaurants, if you wish to make your own you will need to marinate chicken in curd, chilli powder, salt and grill this on slow heat with constant application of butter) - cut into bite size
Fresh baked bread
Onions - Finely chopped **
Tomatoes - Finely chopped
Green Chillies - Finely chopped
Fresh coriander leaves - finely chopped
Butter
Cheese slices ( You can use grated cheese of your choice as well)
Pepper

Prep:
Apply butter on one side of the bread, put the cheese slice over this.
Then put layers of chicken, onion , tomoatoes, green chillies and corainder leaves. Sprinkle some pepper
Butter another slice of bread and cover the sandwich.

You can grill, toast or pan toast this sandwich. I made the pan toasted version today and it was delicious :) . Enjoy with a bit of ketchup !!

** Do not restrict your sandwich to these vegetables, use what you have at home, thin slices of mushroom, carrots capsicum etc would make this sandwich even better.

Keeping it simple

2010-08-14T07:15:00.001-07:00

Lunch Today - Dal, dahi raita, bhindi masala and roties.

Planning for lunch on a working day can be done easily if you pick basic, simple dishes for the menu. Try and complete as much prep work the night before so the morning effort goes into adding the finishing touches.

Desi Tadka Pasta

2010-08-10T01:30:00.001-07:00

My grandmother more often than not complains about how I keep bombarding her with flavours and ingredients for which she has not yet acquired the taste :). Hence, this time I tried a desi spin on making pasta using local ingredients - my granny loved the results and so did the rest of the family including me :).

So here goes, (the recipe makes enough to serve 3 people ):

What you would need:

- Ribbon Pasta - 3 to 4 fistfuls
- Mixed vegetables (cut in julienne style) - 6 to 8 cups
(I love my pasta loaded with veggies and for this recipe, I used potatoes, cabbage, spring onions, mushrooms, red onion, tomatoes, beans, green chillies and asparagus)
-Olive Oil
-Roasted Coriander and khus khus ground to powder
-Tomato puree
-2 cloves garlic
-Salt to taste

Prep :

For the pasta: cook the ribbon pasta in boiling water with a dash of olive oil and some salt. Drain, run under cold water and set aside.

For the Vegetables: Heat oil, add garlic and cook till light brown ad the onion and toss occasionally till translucent. Now add the vegetables that take longer to cook foll wed by the ones that take lesser time. Stir in the tomato puree, ground powder and little salt. ( As I like my veggies to be crunchy the cooking of the vegetables is very stir-fry style, also be careful on how much the salt you add at this stage as the pasta already has been infused with the same during the boiling)

Once the vegetables long enough to suit your taste, add these to the pasta and garnish with a drizzle of grated cheese.

Do try and let me know how it works, I would also be really glad to hear about any variations that you may have tried.

Cheers!!

Ridge Gourd Chutney

2010-08-09T22:37:00.000-07:00

Made this tangy, spicy chutney as part of lunch today - great side accompaniment to the meal.

What you would need:
Ridge Gourd - 2 large
Mustard and Cumin seeds - 1/2 teaspoon each
Green Chilies - 3
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Asafetida - Pinch
Roasted chickpeas - 2 Tbsp
Black split gram (Urad Dal) - 2 Tbsp
Refined Oil (I ran out of this so used Olive oil instead)
Tamarind Pulp - 1/2 cup (To get this soak a marble sized tamarind in water and extract pulp)
Salt to taste

Prep:
Heat Oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds, when they begin popping add the roasted chickpeas and black split gram. Once all these ingredients take a golden hue, add the chopped ridge gourd and turmeric. Cover with a lid and cook in low flame till the gourd is cooked. (You will need to periodically stir to ensure uniform cooking).

Once the gourd is cooked, turn off the heat and sprinkle salt to taste and mix, allow this to cool.
Grind the cooled cooked gourd along with the tamarind pulp.

The super yummy and tangy ridge gourd chutney is ready :). I like to eat this with rice, rotis and dosa's.

Many variations of the same can be tried:
1. Add a small eggplant chopped along with the ridge gourd while cooking
2. Add tomatoes while cooking the gourd
3. Replace the green chilies with dry red ones
4. Roasted peanuts when added while grinding the veggies also renders a unique taste

Try the basic recipe and do share if you tried any twist in it :). Cheers.

War of the Instant Noodles

2010-01-06T18:18:00.000-08:00

First there was noodles, then along came smoodles and now we have foodles. The naming is possibly where the differentiation against Maggie noodles and new entrant Horlicks foodles* ends.

Foodles tastes just like Maggi noodles ( and possibly better, the quantity of the spice mix looked a little more than in the Maggi packs – which seems to lend a richer taste).

The verdict : When Maggie noodles and Horlicks Smoodles are so close in taste, texture, quantity and pricing I would not bother much about which to pick. Although I really like the aroma that comes only from cooking Maggi noodles .

* Horlicks smoodles claims to be a a multi grain noodle which comes with multi-vitamin enriched spice mix. Maggie has also being playing on the health angle by promoting its product as a healthy snack with its now popular tag line “Taste bhi Health bhi”.

Also did you know that there is a World Instant Noodles association?

When??!!

2009-11-29T19:00:00.000-08:00

When will this convenience hit our city??

Pasta Mania -2

2009-11-29T07:31:00.000-08:00

So, here is another quick easy and smoking version of a hot Pasta Salad.

What you would need : As always I recommend that you use your flavour profile to mix and match the quantities, just be careful not to overdo it though :).

Pasta- 2 cups (I used a combination of penne and fusilli)
Red Onion - 1 small
Tomatoes - 4 large
Capsicum - 3 large
Spring onion whole - 3 sprigs
Milk cream - 2 tbsp
Cheddar cheese - 1/2 cup
Green Olives
Black Olives
Olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper

Prep :
Cook the penne and fusilli in water with a little salt and a drizzle of oil (to avoid the pasta from sticking) - drain and keep a little stock aside.

In a wok, heat some olive oil add finely chopped red onion and half of the tomatoes. Toss around till they blend into a course sauce, add the milk cream and allow to thicken. Now add the chopped spring onions and toss. Remove from heat, add the capsicum and mix so that it absorbs the heat of the sauce. Toss in the pasta and mix. Put on slow flame and top with the cheese. In a bowl mix the remaining tomatoes(big chunks) and medium size chops of capsicum, add some olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix and add to the pasta. give a quick stir and serve hot.
I enjoy mine with a lot of fresh tomato and capsicum. Do try and let me know :).

Pasta mania - 1

2009-11-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

I have had just about enough of cheesy creamy pasta, so I decided to take it on my self to make two simple variations of pasta that focus less on the dressing and a bit more on the pasta itself.

The first of which is a extremely simple : 'Penne in Eggplant sauce'.

What you would need : always I recommend that you use your flavour profile to mix and match the quantities, just be careful not to overdo it though :).

Pasta- 2 cups (I used Penne)
Eggplant - 1 medium
Spring onion whole - 3 sprigs
cherry tomato - 3 ( If you do not find these u can use any tomato with citrus notes)
Red Onion small - 1/2
Tomato puree - 2 spoons (If you do not have puree you can whip up some or use some ketchup)
Green Olives
Black Olives
Olive oil
Sal to taste
Cheese

Prep :
Cook the penne in water with a little salt and a drizzle of oil (to avoid the pasta from sticking) - keep a little stock aside

In a wok, heat some olive oil add thinly sliced eggplant and toss till brown and slightly crispy. Remove the eggplant chips and in the same wok add diced onions followed by the finely chopped tomato. Add the spring onions and toss, follow with 3/4 cup of the penne stock and simmer till the paste thickens. Add the tomato puree and close flame, grate some cheese , add the olives and the eggplant chips. Mix well.

Now lightly fold the penne into this sauce till the pasta is lightly coated, drizzle some olive oil and enjoy.

Although a huge fan of the traditional creamy pasta or the sundried tomato pasta I like to experiment with the simpler dressings. Do tell me how this turns out for you.

Ganesh Chaturthi Festival – Vinayaka Chavithi

2009-08-22T23:29:00.000-07:00

Like all festivals celebrated in India, Ganesh Chaturthi is also celebrated with a great deal of enthusiasm. Recipes passed down from generations are used to prepare sweets and savoury dishes.

The dishes prepared on this day are offered to Vinayaka first.

To me this festival marks another day of feasting and a mighty great day for cooking and sharing.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi, and as always happy reading and happy eating :).

Cheers!!

Dressing up .. the noodles ;)

2009-08-21T22:15:00.001-07:00

There are many reasons why I love cooking and eating Chinese - it is delicious, it is quick, it is healthy and one great dish makes for an entire meal :).

Most of the Chinese noodle recipes involve a quick stir fry of cooked noodles and veggies. I have tried to add a variation to this by finishing of the stir fry with a "dressing" made of fresh spring onions and ginger.

What you would need:
For the noodles:
Chinese noodles - 200 gms
Vegetable julienne - 2 cups ( I used Carrots, capsicums and cabbage)
Garlic (sliced) - 4 no's
Dry Red chillies (chopped) - 1 to 2 no's
Chilli sauce - 3/4 tbsp
Chilli Vinegar - 2 tsp
Black Ground pepper - 3/4 tbsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
Oil

For the spring onion and ginger dressing:
Spring onions (Finely chopped including the whites) - 2 cups
Ginger (finely chopped) - 4 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Ajinomoto - 1 pinch
Olive oil - 4 tbsp ( You can use sesame oil as a variation)
Salt - 2 tsp

Prep :
We need to prepare the dressing first, giving it enough time to cool before using on the noodles.
Spring onion and ginger dressing:
Mix all the ingredients except the oil in a bowl. You will notice that the potion of the spring onions shrink and the colour deepen as a result of using salt and sugar. heat the olive oil in a pan till smoky, remove and pour over the spring onion prepared. Mix well and set aside to cool.
Tip: Pour from a arm's length distance to avoid hot oil splattering on you.

Stir fry veg noodles:
Heat water (about 10 cups) in a large pan and bring to boil, add 1 tbsp salt and 1 tsp oil (regular cooking oil will do) add the noodles and cook till almost done. Drain and set aisde, if you feel that the noodles will stick to each other drizzle a little olive oil.

In the same pan heat some oil, add garlic and red chillies add the vegetables when aromatic. Stir as you mix in the chilli sauce, pepper and ajinomoto. Add the vinegar and the noodles and stir fry for about 3 minutes.

Remove and mix in the spring onion dressing.

Serve hot and fresh :).

I hope you guys enjoy this recipe, do write in to let me know.

Peanut Butter with a twist. Ofcourse!!

2009-08-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

My knack of trying variation's to any recipe has made me come up with some great dishes.
This post is about one such fabulously rewarding experiment.

You must have all tried different variations of the peanut butter spread - smooth, chunky ... spicy???

You heard me right .. spicy :).
This spicy home made variation of the peanut butter is so good and unique, that I am actually having second thoughts about sharing it ;) .

What you would need:
Roasted peanuts - 2 cups
Roasted dry red chillies - 4 to 5
Garlic Flakes - 6
Salt

Tip: Go easy on the chilli and garlic if you do not want it to be super hot mix and match the quantities of chilli and garlic to reduce spice or enrich spice.

Prep:
Combine the peanuts, chillies and grind coarsely. Now add the garlic and salt and grind to the consistency that you like.

This is a dry spread and can be stored for weeks in a air tight jar without loss of flavour or freshness.

Use this along with regular butter and spread on toast :).

I absolutely love it, do try and let me know how it works for you.

Cheers!!

Smell like the food you make?

2009-08-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

Here is how to avoid it.

When marinating vegetables/meat with spices, using the hands is the most efficient way, using wooden spatulas doesn't quite render the same uniformity and gentleness to marination.

The downside to this that you hands could go on to smell like the marination spices even after repeated hand washes , think fish or garlic.

.. Ewww.
But there is a way out, here are tricks that will get you fabulously marinated ingredients minus all the fuss:
1. You could use gloves
or
2. You could use the technique I follow : gently place all the ingredients - vegetables/meat, spices inside a zip lock pouch and seal it.

Now holding the pouch from the outside, simply knead from the outside till the ingredients are mixed right. Simple isn't it :) , a definite must follow.

Another plus to this is that you can store the marinated ingredients as is in the pouch in the refrigeration for as long as required and then open when needed.

Do write in if you use similar tricks in the kitchen.

Rains make me happy :)

2009-08-18T10:06:00.000-07:00

The city of Hyderabad recorded 11.23 cm rain yesterday, the highest this season. Everything turned green, fresh and pure :).

Just before it poured - Grey skies and happy trees

The rains were a reason for lot of happiness and the perfect excuse for some masala chai ( spicy tea) and mirchi bhajji ( chili fritters).

Mirchi bhajji's with cheese :)

What you would need:
Long green chillies - 4 no's
Besan (Gram flour) - 1 cup
Ajwain (Carom seeds) or Jeera (Cumin seeds) - two pinch's ( use any of either, each lends a distinct flavour to the fritter)
Cheese spread - 3 to 4 tsp's
Salt to taste
Soda Bi carbonate - really tiny pinch
Water - as per requirement
Oil for deep frying the fritters

Prep:
Wash the chillies thoroughly. Slit these and remove the seed, stuff each with about a tsp of cheese spread and keep aside.

Stuffed Chillies

In a bowl, mix the gram flour, seeds, salt, soda and water. Use enough water to make the batter slightly runny.

Tip:Be careful not to add to much soda, it will cause the batter to adsorb excess oil when cooking. Also do not add to much water, else it will not cling onto the chilli.

Tip: Use a wide mouth bowl, this will enable easy dipping of the chillies, later on.

Heat oil in a large frying pan , dip the stuffed chillies completely in the batter till well covered and immediately transfer into too pan for deep frying. This should be done quickly and carefully to ensure that the chillis remain well coated with the batter,

Tip: Always slide the fritters from the side to prevent the oil from splattering.

Periodically turn the fritters to ensure even cooking, remove when golden brown.

Transfer on tissue to enable excess oil drain and serve hot with tea, along with a choice of sauces/chutneys.

Crispy golden chilli fritters, perfect for a rainy day

Cheesy Gooey goodness - Yummmm

Imagine a plate full of these piping hot chili fritters in a weather where the wind brings with it just a hint of rain spray. Sounds like heaven :).

Variation :
Feel free to get creative with the stuffing. You can use grated vegetables, boiled spicy potato, or even dry roasted spices, cottage cheese as a variation to the cheese stuffing.

If you have tried anything similar and interesting, do write in.

P.S:
Next time I will try a non-vegetarian version of the chili fritter, will keep you posted.

Garden chronicles - Chickoo/Sapodilla/Sapota :)

2009-08-16T22:47:00.000-07:00

The house garden has a Chickoo( Sapodilla) tree which has been laden with the amazing fruit for a week now.
The only problem is they are taking forever to ripen and the ones that reach that stage are either eaten by the birds or plucked by the neighbourhood kids :) .

Looks like I might have to eat these raw or figure out a recipe which incorporates raw chickoo's. :D

Do let me know if you have any ideas or recipes up your sleeve :).

Pasta (with cauliflower) :) ...

2009-08-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

Underneath all my meat eating greediness, I guess I prefer fresh veggies more. What else could possibly explain my urge to cook each time I look at fresh colourful vegetables. :)

So, when I see this wonderful creamy white cauliflower with green stems sitting pretty on the refrigerator shelf, I decided on trying some pasta :).

(Penne with cauliflower served with a quick tomato salad)

What you would need:
For the Pasta:
Pasta (tubular - I used Penne) - 2 cups
Cauliflower - 1 Medium
Black Olives - 6 to 7 no's
Green Olives - 5 to 6 no's
Chili Flakes
Garlic cloves - 4 to 5 no's
Olive Oil
Salt
Fresh ground black pepper
Coriander 1tsp
Mozzarella cheese (grated) - 1 tsp
Water

For the fresh tomato salad:
Ripe tomatoes (I used plum and globe tomatoes) - 2 no's
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Prep:
Pasta :
Steam the cauliflower for a 5 minutes till lightly cooked, you should be careful not to over cook and make it mushy.
Drain the water and keep aside ( for flavour we will use the same stock for cooking the Penne).
Break the cauliflower into small florets and press with a fork to give it a 'tousled' look and keep aside.

Cook the Penne in stock water, drain excess water and keep aside. Drizzle the Penne with olive oil (to prevent them from sticking) and keep aside.

In a pan, heat olive oil add the finely chopped garlic and Chili flakes. Once lightly browned add the cauliflower and saute, add a little of the pasta stock and cook on medium flame till a creamy texture is attained. Add the cooked Penne, sliced olives, Coriander leaves , salt and pepper and give a quick stir. Let it cook on slow flame for about 3 to 4 minutes. Garnish with grated cheese and serve hot with the tomato salad.

Prep:
Tomato Salad:
Chop large chunks of tomatoes, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Serve with the pasta.
You can add a bit of citrus like a dash of lemon or even sections of sweet lime to make this more interesting. :)

Enjoy!!

Do try this and tell me how it turned out. If you have any suggestions for a variation that you have tried to write in.

For the next time, I am planning a spin where the cauliflower will be pureed into a sauce with other ingredients and will essentially be a replacement of sorts for the white sauce. Will keep you posted.

Happy Independence day Y'all :)

2009-08-14T20:00:00.000-07:00

India's independence day is marked on 15th August to celebrate freedom from the British rule.
The entire nation celebrates this day with passion and fervor. It is a day for feasting, rejoicing and celebrating our nationality.

Today will be a day of celebrating with some very Indian recipes, beginning with a tribute to my state Andhra Pradesh's most popular snack/meal , the Dosa - spiked up with traditional chutneys and pickles.

Breakfast today:
Filter coffee
Dosa and four types of traditionally ground chutneys.

Happy Independence day Y'all :)

--
What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child? ~Lin Yutang

Sunday lunch recipe - Coconut and Coriander Chicken

2009-08-13T11:16:00.000-07:00

You cannot go wrong with coconut, it adds a little nutty-fruity taste and gives a fresh bite to any dish.
Although dried coconut ( copra in Hindi) is used extensively as a replacement to fresh coconut, I find that it makes the dish dry and gritty.
Fresh grated coconut on the other hand adds juiciness to the food.

What follows is the recipe of 'Coconut and Corainder chicken' from my Sunday lunch :

What you would need :
Chicken - 1/2 Kg
Onion - 1 medium
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic - 2 to 3 cloves
Tomatoes - 2 to 3 medium
Fresh grated coconut -3/4 cup
Fresh coriander leaves - 1 to 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Curry leaves - 5 no's
bay leaf - 1 no.
Cloves 2 to 3
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Turmeric power 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 3 tbsp

Garnishing (Optional):
Capsicum (diced) - 1 small

Spices to be ground into a fine dry powder: ( note that these are additional to the ingredients given above)
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch
Cloves - 1.5 no's
Green cardamon - 1 .5 no's
Whole black peppercorns - 2 to 3 no's
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Fenugreek seed - 1/4 tsp
Khus khus - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies - 3 to 5 no's

Prep:
Marinate the thoroughly cleaned and evenly cut chicken in lemon juice, salt and turmeric for at least half hour ( and a maximum of one hour).

Dry roast all the spices to be ground on slow flame till lightly aromatic, now grind the same to a fine dry powder and keep aside.

Heat oil in a cooking pan add the cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf saute till aromatic, then add curry leaves and finely chopped onions and saute till the onions turn a light golden brown.

Add the finely chopped ginger and garlic, chopped ripe tomatoes and salt. Stir and cook for five minutes, now add turmeric and the ground spices.

Finally add the grated coconut and coriander leaves. Add the chicken and cook till almost done.
Top with half a cup to 3/4 cup water and cook on slow flame with the lid on till the chicken is tender and well done.

Garnish with fresh diced capsicum and serve hot. Goes will with roti/bread and rice.

Enjoy!!

Stocking up .. fresh versus processed

2009-08-12T10:59:00.000-07:00

Well stocked cabinets and refrigerator that get constant replenishment are signs of a kitchen well used.

Many factors prevent us from stocking up with the right ingredients:
As we cannot roll out our own pasta, we buy the ready to cook type. Lack of local cultivation of a ingredient would mean that you either buy 'not so fresh' produce flown in or you reach out for the preserved version. Time does not permit cooking, so we grab the microwavable ready to eat meals.

Despite wanting to eat fresh, processed food makes way to our daily diet.
Following some basic guidelines to choosing what food you buy can make all the difference between healthy, junk and harmful:
- Pick the brands known for hygienic and nutrient retaining processing
- Choose brands that use a minimum of artificial preservatives and colouring
- Always be aware of the nutritional value of the food that you pick (check for ingredient details on the packaging)
- Always shop from a hygienic store
- Always check the manufactured and expiry date ( avoid supermarket sales as although the items sold have not expired more often than not these are aimed at cleaning the stock - which means that you are not picking the freshest product out there)
- Be an educated customer, try and familiarise yourself with the various additives and their advantages and disadvantages.
- Finally if you are presented with a choice of fresh and processed, always.. ALWAYS choose fresh .

Now that you are better aware of how to pick your groceries - Happy stocking ;).

Grocery shopping - stocking up for all the cooking :).

Sunday lunch recipe - Tomato chicken

2009-08-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for ways to incorporate vegetables and fruits in the food that I cook.

Tomatoes are one of the most versatile of vegetables ..... oops fruit ;) .
If used right they can give a instant face lift and flavour boost to any dish.

The many , many varieties of tomatoes available only adds to the possibilities of using them to complement any meal in endless and fun ways :D.

Here is a super quick and simple recipe of chicken with fresh ripe plum tomatoes .

What you would need :

Ingredient Quantity
Chicken - 1/2 kg
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin - 1 tsp
Whole black peppercorns- 3 nos.
Whole dry red chilli - 3 nos.
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Garlic - 7 to 8 cloves
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 medium
Plum tomatoes - 2 large
Salt As required
Fresh coriander leaves - 1 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Prep:

Dry roast coriander and cumin seeds along with the peppercorns and grind. Keep aside.
Grind the red chillies, ginger and garlic to make a fine paste.Keep aside.
Heat oil and ghee in the pan that you will use to cook the chicken. Add onion and saute till translucent, now add half of the dry ground powder and half of the paste.

Stir and saute till aromatic, now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till they soften. Add the chicken (thoroughly washed and chopped evenly) along with salt and give a quick stir. Add the coriander leaves** and the remaining spices and let the dish simmer away till the chicken is well done. You can add 1/2 a cup of water, if you like to have a little bit of gravy.

**You can also optionally add the red chilli powder at this point.

Garnish with tomato slivers and enjoy with rice or roti/bread!!! :)

Using measurements while cooking..

2009-08-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

Whenever I cook, the ingredients are weighed and measured by sight and feel, rather than with a measuring cup ( except when baking).

The easiest way of making any dish your own is to let go and add a little extra dash of cream or sugar or chilli :) - or even introduce a new ingredient to the recipe.

This gets a little tricky when cooking classics, where it is recommended to stick to the original ingredients in the quantities they are meant to be brought together.

The key to good cooking is being comfortable with the elements you use, in quantities that you think will make it a hit and not hesistating to customise what you read from a cookbook.

Sunday lunch recipe - Parsi brown rice with a veggie twist

2009-08-10T10:22:00.000-07:00

This has to be, hands down, my favourite rice recipe when I want to keep it simple and delicate.

What you would need :
Rice - 1 cup
Water -2 1/2 cups ( 2 times the rice quantity and extra for the veggies)
White sugar - 1/4 tsp
Onions - sliced 1/3 cup
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1/4 inch stick
Chopped Veggies - As much and whatever you like - I used 1 cup of chopped capsicum, cabbage, beans , cauliflower florets and sprouts :). Just remember that you are adding only 1/2 cup water for the veggies to steam. So if you add more//less veggies vary the quantity of water accordingly.
Oil - 2 tsp

Prep:
Wash the rice and then soak in cups of water for half hour.
Heat some oil in the rice cooker , add the cardamom stick till lightly aromatic.
Add sugar and stir till it melts. Now add the onion slices and ensure that they are well coated with the caramel. Add the garam masala and stir for a few seconds till the onions brown.

Add the rice along with the water and cook over high flame till the rice is half boiled ( do not completely close the cooker.)
Give the rice a quick stir and add the veggies.

Cover the lid completely and let the rice cook till well done ( 2 whistles in a pressure cooker and around 15 minutes of rice steam setting in a micro wave.)

Serve Hot and enjoy. Do try this out and tell me how you like it.

Adding the vegetables was my variation, tell me if you have any other ideas that can add a twist to the traditional Parsi brown rice recipe.

Sunday Lunch

2009-08-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

If I had to choose one consistent tradition in my family - it has to be Sunday lunch ritual.
I cannot remember a single Sunday where we did not relish home cooked delicious and rich food.

Although my mother has to be thanked for it, a little credit is due to the TV channel Doordarshan :). My mother would make delicious lunch and snacks to be relished along with the exclusive Sunday 'special' movie aired on Doordarshan.

Although we have many more channels and nothing exclusive for arranging a 'in front of TV lunch' , I did what my mom has been doing - cook a hearty Sunday meal with chicken and rice as the main ingredients.

Menu:
Coconut and Coriander Chicken
Boondi Raita
Tomato Chicken
Parsi brown rice with vegetables
Poori
Chapati

Recipes soon to follow :).

.

Hunger is attacking :)

2009-08-05T20:57:00.000-07:00

What more could describe my love for food than my passion of beating the ultimate enemy .... hunger.

So when it came to decide a new name for my blog, there was no better catch phrase than the one that I always use to convey that it is time to eat.

Happy reading you all!!!! Cheers!!

P.S: With all this talk of food, hunger and killing looks like we are going to start a movement of sorts :D (Pun intended ;) )

Sweet, Sweet lime

2009-08-02T22:41:00.000-07:00

Breakfast today -
Sweet lime 'jewels' with a healthy doze of news :)

Sweet lime jewels glistening away

To make it more interesting, you can add a dash of honey or the quintessential Indian spice : the chat masala :) Yummm Yumm.

My niece gobbled a whole glass of fruit after I poured some sugar over them beautiful 'jewels' :).

Why cook, when ....

2009-07-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

Cooking is ... evening tea and toast with family, hot porridge and fresh fruit for breakfast, seven course dinners and dirtying all the dishes :).

Why order .. when you can cook ;) .

Garden Chronicles -1

2009-07-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

A glimpse of some fruits in the house garden.

Succulent Custard Apples, the split in the grooves (notice the creamy texture of the grooves) is an indication that the apple has just about reached its full size and can be plucked in a day or two. Yummy :)

These are the Kalee Kayalu berries ( sorry I don't know the english name for this). When fully ripe and ready to be eaten these ruby red berries turn jet black. The flesh is a gooey sweet paste that can satisfy a kids sweet tooth and an adults seasoned taste bud.
The Kalee Kayalu shrub, when in full bloom you can see more red than green :) .

Guava fruit buds, these will take around 3-4 weeks to grow full size and a few more days to ripen.

( The battery of my D60 went dead before I could capture the other fruits in the garden, will keep you posted.)

The way forward :)

2009-07-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

When your medical check up screams Anemia, fruit is just what the doctor would order.

With my mind set on greater variety and larger portions of fruit in my daily diet, what better fruit to start with than the Mango. The summer has begun to fade away, thinning along with it the supply of mangoes.

I however managed to get a few of the last of the lot - fresh from the farm, pluck ripe :) right off the tree.Fruit Today : Mango Almighty

Tasting portions for the Curious and Greedy

2009-03-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

It is true that the senses of sight and smell taste the food even before the taste buds get their chance. This is possibly why, more often than not, I eat out of greed and curiosity rather than of hunger.

Which is also why buffet - although an alluring option almost always fails to satisfy. The plate is full not with dishes I would enjoy, but with those I am curious about.

What could help, is the idea of 'Tasting portions' - tiny portions open for tasting in case of doubt. Not only will this prevent wastage of food but will help the diner truly choose on what he likes based on all the senses.

If thin slivers of the pie/cake/bread and tiny portions of rice/curry are kept as optional tasting, diners have the option to taste and move on.

How will this make business sense?

Keep the tasting portions open to those who have already taken the buffet coupon.

You would be surprised on how picky diners become when they have a choice!

Iranian bread wrap

2009-02-23T21:36:00.000-08:00

Last week I chanced upon the local bakery selling some Iranian bread. Just looking at it made recipes spin about in my mind.

I bought the bread and tried various dishes with it, one of which is the Iranian bread wrap.

Ingredients :

Filling :
1. Cheese Slice
2. Cabbage - as per requirement
3. Chicken ( Chopped into dices) - 1/2 cup
4. Mushrooms (Chopped ) - 1/2 cup
5. White Onions (Chopped) - 2 small
6. Soy sauce
Salt to taste
Butter for Garnish

Preparation:

Filling:
1. Heat some oil in a pan
2. Add the onions mushrooms and chicken and a pinch of salt
Cook on medium flame with constant stirring
3. Add a drizzle of the soy sauce and cook till the meat is tender.

Iranian bread wrap:
Roll out the Iranian bread and put a slice of cheese, some chopped cabbage and sliced white onions in the center.

Top this with the chicken mushroom filling and fold the bread from four sides.

Add shavings of butter on this folded stuffed bread and heat over a pan till the butter melts.

Serve Hot!.

You can use any variation of bread/roti in place of the Iranian bread.

Chicken and Rice

2009-02-17T17:52:00.000-08:00

Chicken Rice is a popular main course in Malaysia. Streets are lined with restarants selling their own versions of chicken rice. Along with chicken these restaurants also serve roasted/boiled/curry/fried versions of other meat like beek, pork and fish.

(Although such restarants have much to offer, sadly there is close to nothing available for vegetarians.)

Traditionally groups order rice or noodles with choice of meat meat cooked as per specification, along with different sauces and bowls of bean sprouts. teh food is then shared from the large platters they come in.

After trying the numerous versions of chicken rice, I made my own version.

Recipes:

Rice:
Ingredients:
Rice -1 cup (Rice must be thoroughly washed to remove starch)
Water - 2 cups ( This may vary depending on the properties of the rice, like its age, type etc.)
Peas - about half cup
Cumin Seeds - Small Pinch
Salt - Small Pinch

Preparation
Dry roast the cumin seeds till aromatic. Add the rice and water giving a quick stir. Add the peas and cook on high flame.

I used a microwave to prepare the rice, which takes approximately 14 minutes. If you are using a pressure cooker it will take two whistles.

Chicken:

Ingredients:
Chicken pieces thoroughly washed - Half Kilo
Red Onion (small) - 3
Tomatoes - 1
Green Chilies or dried red chilies - As per requirement
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Garlic - 4 cloves
Cloves - 5
Cinnamon -1 small stick
Red Chili Powder - As per requirement
Turmeric Powder - Small pinch
Pepper (ground)- 1/2 tsp
Parsley - As garnish
Oil

Heat the oil in a thick bottom pan add the ginger and garlic and cook till aromatic, add the sliced onions and the chilies, cook till the onions have just started to brown. Then add the tomatoes and give a quick stir.

Once the tomatoes begin to grow limp add the chicken along with red chili powder and turmeric powder. Cook over slow flame stirring occasionally to avoid the food from burning.

Add a dash of pepper and stir. Now cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes with occasional stirring.
Depending on the thickness of gravy add some water and cook over medium flame till chicken is tender. Just before taking the chicken off the stove add a dash of parsley as garnish.

Serve the chicken and rice with a simple red onion and green chili salad spiked with a dash of lemon.

Mamak Mee Goreng

2009-02-15T21:45:00.000-08:00

Mamak mee Goreng* served with the traditional Soy and fish sauce along with some chicken flavoured crackers)

Kuala Lumpur offers a great variety of fast food.
Streets and shopping malls are filled with vendors selling spicy and huge portions of nasi (rice) or mee (noodle) dishes alongside steamed buns and the widely popular curry puffs.

One such noodle dish is the Chicken and Mushroom Mamak Mee. Mamak Mee is a locally made yellow noodle made of flour.

Vendors keep the cooked Mamak Mee Noodles ready for consumption. Then depending on your choice of flavouring and garnish a quick stir fry is created.

My order was freshly prepared by tossing large slices of ginger, onions and carrots in a hot pan. The chef then added a few pieces of cooked mushroom, chicken and the Mamak Mee ( which after being cooked is seasoned with Soy sauce - hence the brown appearance). After quite a bit of vigorous stirring this wonderful dish is served with fish sauce and hot chilles in vinegar.

Delicious :).

* Mamak Mee Goreng translates to Indian Muslim style fried noodles.

Star Of the Day - Carambola !

2008-12-23T22:15:00.000-08:00

I have very recently discovered the fresh taste of Carambola.

Commonly known as Star Fruit, it has become a regular in my diet.

This beautiful fruit has a distinctive taste, which I can only describe as a cross between the bite of a sliced guava and the taste of grape-apple.

You can find the freshest of Star-fruit being sold in quaint old towns lining the shores of Malaysia ( Which incidentally produces the highest volume of this fruit world over). The villagers ( not necessarily farmers) sell surplus fruits from their back yard garden at unbelievably low prices :D.

However you have to be careful what you pick from the loot, Star-fruit tastes best when it is sunny yellow ( which also means that it is ripe enough to be eaten, but not ripe enough to juice). The raw greenish Star Fruit are usually tasteless, however if you are especially unlucky it might have the bitter taste of certain green vegetables.

Star Fruit Drink Recipe:

Ingredients:

2 Star Fruits

1 Apple

1 tea-spoon lime juice

2 teaspoons sugar

Crushed Ice

Method:

Blend all the ingredients.

Pour into a glass.

Garnish with a piece of Star Fruit.

P.S: Pictures soon to follow :).