Grape Raita

Graped Raita!!!!

300 gms of  Yoghurt

100 gms of walnut kernels broken up to reasonable sizes

200 gms of Red Grape, deseeded and quarter sliced

20 odd mint leaves

½ tsp of Cumin seeds

2 Dry Red Chillies

Black Salt

½ tsp sugar

Whisk the yoghurt.

Dry Roast the Cumin seeds and Red Chilies grind to a coarse powder.

Mix in all the ingredients into the yoghurt, nice and tender. (Keep a bit of cumin chilly powder aside)

The Mint Leaves to be shredded by hand

Once done sprinkle the unused CC powder and refrigerate. Serve Cold

Sphere: Related Content

Khatta Meetha Baingan

Khatta Meetha Baingan

Tok Mishti Begun

Sour Sweet Aubergine

Fresh Dwarf Aubergines – Slit into fours leaving the stem intact. The pices whould whole with deep cuts.

Soak the Brinjals in salted water for about 30 minutes and drain the liquid.Apply Salt and Turmeric and set aside for 15 minutes.Shallow Fry the Aubergines until evenly red on all sides and set aside.Soak Tamarind paste in warm water.Heat Oil in a Wok and add Kashmiri Mirchi Powder. Immediately put in some dissolved Asafoetida.Cook for a minute and add the tamarind water.Add a bit of turmeric and some whole Garam Masala.Bring to a boil (add some water if required) and add the veggies. Add some sugar, fennel powder and ginger powder.The dish is done as soon as the aubergines are nicely napped with the masala and amino acids.

Sphere: Related Content

Chilly Garlic Stir Fry Shrimp with Veggies

Chilly Garlic Stir Fry Shrimp with Veggies

Ingredients:

300 gms of deveined shrimps

2 tbsps of Chopped Garlic

1 tbsp of Oyster Sauce

1 Carrot cut into strips (blanched)

6-7 French Beans cut into halves (blanched)

1 Capsicum cut into strips

3-4 Spring Onion Whites cut into strips

Same Spring Onions Greens cut into strips

3-4 Green Chillies Deseeded and cut into strips

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Butter

Melt 1 tbsp of butter in a wok and add 3 Tbsp of EVOO. Throw in chilli and garlic and stir. Add the white Onion Strips and prawns and cook until the prawns are done. Remove the prawns and set aside.

Add all the vegetables other than capsicum and stir-fry until tender. Add the capsicum and stir fry for another minute or two. Add the sauce and seasonings and stir. Add prawns back into wok and mix until heated through.

Serve with Rice!!

Sphere: Related Content

Thai Stir Fry Chicken with Basil and Red Chillies

Thai Stir Fry Chicken with Basil and Red Chillies

Ingredients:

300 gms of Chicken Strips

2 Tbsps of Chopped Garlic

1.5 Tbsp of Anchovy Sauce

6-7 Thai Basil Leaves

4 Tbsp of Thai Green Curry Paste

4-5 Deseeded Whole Red Chillies

3-4 Spring Onion white slits

Pinch of Brown Sugar

Pour  Oil in a Wok

Fry the Basil Leaves till about reasonably crisp and then remove them and set aside and discard the oil.

 In fresh oil,  stir fry the chicken till done and light brown in colour on Medium High Heat, remove and set aside.

Now fry the Whole Chillies and remove before it turns too dark and set aside.

Now put in the chopped garlic and stir for a minute until you smell the heavenly flavours.

Add the Sugar and stir.

Add the Curry Paste and stir and cook for about 2-3 minutes on medium flame. Add drops of water if it sticks.

Once done add the anchovy sauce and stir. Add seasonings(may not be required) now according to taste and stir.

Add the fried chicken.

Add the Fried Chillies.

Stir for a minute or two.

Transfer to a dish. Spread those basil leaves on top.

That’s it.

Sphere: Related Content

Beef Pepper Masala

Beef Pepper Masala

The item in the agenda had to be fulfilled some day or the other and we ventured out in this NO- rain-delayed- Monsoon sunny Saturday afternoon towards Joseph’s at Bandra. Asked for some tenderloin steak beef about 500 grams and a few packets of bacon, the latter having nothing to with the topic here.

Came back home and slept after some delicious homemade Pav Bhajji. Post siesta had a cuppa tea and then cut the steak pieces in to medium-small pieces.

Peeled about 25 cloves of Garlic and kept it on my arrangement plate. De-skinned about 4 medium sized potatoes and cut them into…not too big pieces. Fried them in oil, fully cooked and set them aside.

The actual action started after this.

Heated the oil mixed with a tbsp of ghee and put in the following:

Medium Crushed – 5 Green Cardamoms, 10 Cloves, I Black Cardamom, 10 Pepper Corns

And a Bay Leaf.

Once the above was kind of done (all in medium flame), diluted 1 tbsp of Ginger Paste and 2 Tbsp of Garlic Paste and put it in and waited for the moisture to dry up.

Increased the flame now, and in went the meat. Stirred the meat nicely for the juices to seal and then reduced the flame to low. Some moisture would come out and once that evaporated, I put in the masala as follows-----------> ½ tsp of Turmeric powder, 1 tsp each of Coriander, Cumin and Red Chili Powder and 1 tbsp of Black Pepper Powder. Mixed the meat and the masala nicely and stirred often and on until the oil separated. Added those Garlic Cloves too while the masala was being cooked and along with that added  a few whole red chilies.

Then poured in 2 tbsps of beaten curd, 2 tsps of vinegar and stirred it again. Added salt to taste along with a minute pinch of sugar. Heated up some water and added the same and covered and cooked until the meat was fully cooked. Before covering the wok I spread those potatoes on top of the stuff but did not mix it in.

It would have taken another 10 minutes or so and then switched of the flame and transferred the same to a bowl.

We had this with some buttered rice, but any Indian Bread would go well too.  Next is your turn!!

Sphere: Related Content

Vegetarian(????) Frittata

Vegetarian Frittata



Chop Spring Onions…Greens and Whites separate. Meaning separate them before and chop them up …blah blah blah. Green Capsicums, cut into small strips. If you are fond of Holi, go ahead and use red and yellow ones too. Grate Amul Processed Cheese. The firangs out here could use whatever brand – I don’t want to bother myself with that. Slice some potatoes…thinny round/square thingies.

Boil the potatoes in salt water…not too soft…not too hard…u know what I mean.

Now sauté the potatoes in oil (for the utterly health conscious use olive oil) . In goes the spring onion whites. Stir nicely and gently. Last goes the capsicum and 20 seconds later you are done. Now mix some salt and pepper to taste and set aside.

Beat eggs with some milk. Say 8 eggs and a half cup of milk and some chopped green chillie. Mix salt and beat until you count 137.

Get hold of a fire friendly and oven friendly pan/casserole…whatever. Put it on medium flame and heat up some oil and some butter. Pour in half of that egg mix. Reduce heat and cover. Let the liquid turn semi solid. Switch off the flame. Now spread the potato mix on top. Take a cheese slice, tear it into pieces and drop them over the veggie layer.

In the meantime, pre heat the Oven to 160 d C. Pour the balance egg mix in the pan/casserole and spread the grated cheese and bake it for hmmmm…20 minutes. Keep a check. Too much and then you might have to start all over again and who wants that. You would find that the stuff has solidified but the centre would be still kind of soft and liquidy. Switch off the oven and turn on the grill now. Wait till the top is brownish…not too much!! Done!!!

Take the vessel out of the oven. Use a knife and ensure that the frittata sides are freed. Flip over a plate and then flop on to the final serving plate. Cut with a sharp knife just like you would cut cakes and the rest do I need to tell you.

By the way, what’s so vegetarian about this one? I actually bought some eggs produced by some vegetarian hens!! You have any better ideas?

Sphere: Related Content

Coq a Vin - My version

Main Item:

Mix of Chicken Breasts and Legs  – 1 Kg

Marination:

Make some incisions in the meat with a toothpick or sharp pointed thingy

Place it in a bowl.

Take the following ingredients in a sauce pan:

250 ml Red Wine

1 Onion cut into slices

1 Carrot cut into slices

2 whole smashed Galrlic cloves

A few Black Peppercorns

Bring this to a boil and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside and cool. Once done,  pour this marinade into the bowl of chicken. Now drizzle about 1 tbsp of olive oil, cling the bowl and refrigerate for about 12 – 15 hours.

Cooking:

Take out the chicken from the bowl and keep it aside. Separate the vegetables and the liquid and store them.

Take about 300 grams of bacon, cut them in bits and fry them. Once brown and crispy, set the bits aside and let the fat extract remain in the Sauce pan used for frying them.  Now fry the chicken browning them all around and set aside.

In the same fat, stir fry about 20-30 pieces of button mushrooms (cut into two or four pieces), a few pieces of whole garlic cloves and set aside.

Keep about 2 tbsp of fat in the pan and discard the rest.  Heat up the oil and add some chopped garlic and stir them until done.  Add back the vegetables from the marinade and stir on low heat until they are kind of soft.  Throw in about 2tbsp of white flour and brown the stuff. Then add the marinade liquid and, about 250 ml of chicken stock the vegetables that you had set aside and bring to a boil.  Put in those chicken pieces and simmer until chicken is done.

Take out the chicken. In the remnant gravy put in the Mushrooms and the Bacon bits and convert the gravy to a thick consistency. Add back the chicken and ensure that everything is mixed up properly. Serve on a plate with sautéed boiled baby potatoes!!

Sphere: Related Content

Spear My Chicken

Spear my Chicken!!

Sautéed Asparagus is great hit at home and then you when you mix some chicken with it we land up with this produce. First I would go to the Super market or the local meat fella and get some boneless chicken organised and of course some asparagus spears of the thinner variety.
I insist that you get hold some malt vinegar or balsamic vinegar. Not those white ones produced from distilleries named as Acetic Acid!!

The rest of the stuff I am presuming you have at home.

For a 3-4 people get hold of 6 pieces of Boneless Skinned Chicken Thigh Portions. You could use breasts too but when chicken I like thighs (no aspersions on my character please).

Fillet the Chicken yourself into 1 inch pieces. Width should be about 0.5 inches. You could borrow that plastic scale from your progeny and then use and wash it give it back. You would then marinate the chicken pieces for about 2 hours with about 3 Tbsp of Vinegar, 2 tsp of pepper powder and a bit of salt.

In the meantime don’t leave the kitchen. Rather get organised for the immediate future with the following:
3 Spring Onion Sticks
8 Baby Corn Sticks cut into half
30 grams Slivered Roasted Almonds
10 cloves of Garlic (Chop Chop Chop)
4 Tbsp of Light Soya Sauce
1 Tbsp of Fish Sauce

That was done in about 27.5 minutes and now you need to get away to read a book or watch Television or plain and simple worry about other minor details in life. Or organise your cereals.

After precisely 92.5 minutes the kitchen beckons you: “Come on baby Light my Fire!!”

Take out that wok you had purchased but never used. Surely not that frying pan that you use for everything you cook. Pour that Olive Oil into it and then when reasonably hot (not smoking hot) stir fry the chicken pieces in 3 batches - 3 minutes (max) per batch max.

After setting aside the last batch of the kind of glowing chicken, throw those crushed or chopped Garlic into the oil. Sauté for a minute and make sure they are not brown. If they are, I am watching you!!

Next, in goes the chopped spring onions and then you stir the stuff for a minute or so. Then goes in the asparagus and baby corn; your hand constantly stirring the lovely stuff. Two minute later the chicken goes in too. 90 seconds later the climax sequence starts.

Put in the pepper powder, Soy Sauce and Fish Sauce one after another in any random order and stir again. (What a pain in the hand?) The almonds please, why forget them?

Two minutes later, you are done. Transfer into that glass bowl gifted to you but never used it earlier.

And all this while I hope you did not forget your cereals. Steamed Rice, Fried Rice or for that matter some noodles. Slurp!! Slurp!!

Sphere: Related Content

Masaledar Qeema Lajawab

Masaledar Qeema Lajawab



Arrangement:
Procure about 1 Kilo of Minced Meat , medium minced in a machine. Wash if you have to and then let the water run away.
Take a couple of Black Cardamoms, 8-10 Green Cardamoms and about 10 cloves and roast them on a pan and then prepare a powder of them.
Make a paste of One Fried Onion and 150 ml of Yoghurt.
Blend a paste of 3 tbsp of Posto, 2 Tbsp of Chironji and 2 Tbsp of Grated Coconut.
Prepare 3-4 Tbsp of Saffron Milk
Organise 4 Tbsp of Coriander leaves and 2-3 Tbsp of Mint Leaves – Nicely chopped.
Some Ghee, Some Oil and a 3-4 Tbsp of Lime Juice.
A piece of Charcoal.
A Metal Hand.
4 tsp of Chili Powder, 3 tsp of Coriander Powder, 2 tsp of Cumin Powder, 2 tsp of Shah Jeera, 4 tbsp of Garlic Paste, 3 tbsp of Ginger Paste.

Composition:

Heat 3 Tbsp of Oil and 2 Tbsp of Ghee in the Handi and stir in 3 tsps of Shah Jeera. Next goes in the ginger and garlic paste. Sauté on medium heat for 2-3 minutes and then put in the Meat and salt to taste and increase the heat. Depends upon the meat, some water would come out. Once you get to a boil, cover and cook on low heat for a while. Then, goes in the Chilly, Coriander and Cumin Powders. Stir them in nicely and let the meat cook. Ensure that the meat kind of becomes dry. Medium Heat please.

Then you would mix in that Yoghurt, Onion paste and cover and cook for a while. 5-6 minutes later mix in the Posto Paste and again cover and cook. Have some hot water ready so that if the meat dries up too much you could add some. Cover and cook.

Once the meat is done, throw in the chopped leaves and the lime juice and mix nicely. Next goes in the Garam Masala powder that you had created. All happening on low flame!! Mix it up nicely. Mix in that saffron milk too!!

Separately take a charcoal and burn it. Place it in a steel bowl and pour 2 tsp of Ghee on it. Smoking now eh?

Place that steel bowl inside your handi and cover it for 30-45 seconds..not more. Take out the bpwl and keep it aside. Your dish is done. Transfer to a bowl, garnish with coriander leaves and serve with Parathas!! Kya baat hai!!

Sphere: Related Content

Colors, The Colorful and Life

Women’s Day and Holi kind of coincided today. It was a great coincidence of the colours meeting up with the colourful. Throughout the day there have been symposiums, seminars, television discussions on women’s equality, women’s reservations (In India everybody wants to reserve everything) and many more while others played with the colours.

Somebody mentioned the facts that while women want equality at office it would be a case of inverse snobbery if the same woman wants a man to lift her suitcase or perhaps open the door for her. There could be other examples should one stand up when a woman enters a room or that debate on whether a man should pay the bill at a restaurant or allow her to pick up the tab.

But these are rather trivial stuff when compared to the basic issues of women’s education that start at home where a girl since the time she was born is fed with the tenets of life. Housekeeping, cooking are the priorities she is being brainwashed with. The men will be the provider and would be the one in actual control.

This basic mindset needs to change the world over in families when they bring up their children. The responsibility is shared by both the parents and the elderly of the society. Are we really working towards this?

The colours of the spectrum cannot hide this basic anomaly in the way we teach life to kids!! Sphere: Related Content