Figure-Unconscious Foodies

Pasta with Homemade Sauce

2009-02-28T15:04:00.002+05:30

I learnt cooking at my mother's side. She has got to be the best in the world (of course, all kids feel that way). I made macaroni yesterday, and it turned out brilliant (for my usual cooking standards of course).

Without further ado...

Recipe:

1 packet macaroni

1/2 red pepper, julienne

1/2 yellow pepper, julienne

2 leaves green cabbage, chopped

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 packet, mushrooms

3-4 pats of butter

2 tbsp flour (I used atta)

1 cup milk

2 tbsp fresh cream

100 gms processed cheese

3 tbsp port wine

Make the mushrooms first. Slice them, drizzle some olive oil and soya sauce, add a tiny dollop of garlic paste over them and cook them for four minutes in the microwave. While that is cooking, fill a bowl of water, add a pinch of salt and the macaroni, and put it to boil. Ideally, it should come to a boil and then simmer gently till the macaroni is cooked. The macaroni will start looking softer, and larger as it cooks and absorbs water. The test for cooked pasta is that it should be a la dente - when you bite it, it shouldn't be too soft, just enough resistance to bit through. Drain the water once the pasta is cooked and keep aside.

Once the mushrooms are done, season them with some salt. Add all the chopped vegetables together with a pinch of salt in a bowl and cook gently for 2 minutes. The vegetables should remain raw, but get hot and their colour should intesify. Add all the mushrooms, pasta and vegetables together in bowl, and keep aside.

The sauce is the most fiddly bit, and if the sauce is hot, the dish will be too. So don't worry about the other ingredients getting cold.

Melt the butter, and add the flour to it. Gently roast the flour, being careful not to brown it. Once the flour absorbs the butter, add the milk. Beat the milk and flour together, trying to dissolve as many lumps as possible. Don't worry if they all don't come out, they will start to disappear when cooking. Put the mixture back on the fire, and keep stirring till the mixture thickens into a paste. Add the cream and cheese, and keep stirring till they dissolve completely. The paste should be fairly thick. Add the port wine to thin it down, keeping in mind the sauce should be creamy.

Add all the ingredients together and serve.

I didn't have any meat, otherwise I would have put in some shredded chicken. Any kind will do.

Pak Choi Hakka Noodles

2008-12-22T09:26:00.000+05:30

I hadn't ever heard of pak choi, so when I went shopping in Mumbai and saw some in the supermarket last month, I was instantly intrigued. I like to think of myself as daring in the kitchen, mainly because I have no idea what I am doing. Well, that's not entirely true, but I do usually start making something without a clue as to what the final result will be. I sort of make it up as I go along. Most of my 'experiments' are based on cookery programs, watching my mother and well, tasting the result after every addition. (Yeah, that's all right until we are talking marinade. So gross.)

I picked up a packet, which contained two small cabbages. The cabbages remained in my fridge for a week before I decided to actually use them. Now my fridge is a massive freezer all by itself, as it freezes EVERYTHING. (Ever tried frozen bread? Awful. Trust me.)

Recipe:

1/2 packet Chinese hakka noodles
1 small pak choi cabbage
2 spring onions, sliced
7-8 french beans, julienne
3 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
salt to taste

Cook the noodles first, boiling them in slightly salted water. Cook until the noodles are a la dente, and drain off the water. Put the garlic, sesame seeds and the olive oil into a microwave-safe dish, cover and heat on high for two minutes. Covering the dish is important otherwise the sesame seeds will splatter the insides of the oven.

Slice the cabbage head off, leaving the stalks and the green leaves separate. Chop the stalks and the leaves lengthwise, making long thin pieces of cabbage. I read somewhere that the trick to making pak choi is to have the leaves and the stalks separately. Put in all the vegetables into the garlic-sesame oil and microwave open for 2 minutes. The vegetables should be hot, and slightly cooked without losing their raw flavour.

Mix in the hakka noodles and the sauteed vegetables in a big dish.

Any vegetables can be used while making these noodles; it's only a question of establishing a good flavour.

Garlic and Sage Chicken

2008-12-07T11:19:00.000+05:30

I have a tendency to go overboard in two places: supermarkets and bookstores. So I bought some boneless chicken recently, and I have exactly five days to empty out the contents of my fridge. Such an impossible task.

So yesterday I decided to marinate the chicken, and roast it today. What a happy idea for today!

Recipe:

500 gms boneless chicken

Marinade:

3/4 cup port wine

7-8 fresh sage leaves

5 tbsp oil

3 tbsp garlic paste

1 tbsp salt

pepper to taste

Mix all the contents of the marinade thoroughly, and then one at a time, drop the pieces of chicken in it. Rub the marinade into the meat gently, and pile into a container that ensures the marinade has covered the pieces completely. Leave to marinate for 24 hours.

To roast, preheat the oven to 170 degrees (I used my convection oven). Place the chicken in the roasting pan, with assorted chopped vegetables (I put cauliflower and spring onions because I didn't have potatoes) lining the edges. Roast the chicken for 35 minutes.

After removing from the oven, check the meat to see whether the meat is cooked all the way through. The meat should be moist on the inside, and slightly crisp on the outside.

Simple Trifle

2008-12-06T13:00:00.002+05:30

This trifle was a complete hit, and is very easy to make. Most of the ingredients are assembled rather than mixed together. The key to this dessert is to chill the trifle at every stage.

The picture looks awful, because I took it in hurry, before it was attacked.

Recipe:

First layer:

7-8 butter cookies, crumbled

3 pats of butter

Second layer:

1 packet jelly (strawberry)

4 tbsp fruit crush (strawberry)

Third layer:

2 bananas, chopped

1 1/2 cups cashewnuts, whole

Fourth layer:

2 tbsp custard powder, heaped

5 tbsp sugar

1/2 litre milk

Fifth layer:

4 cups cream

5-6 cashewnuts, halved

strawberry syrup

Mash the cookies in with the butter, and press it down hard onto the bottom of the seving dish. Cover the dish with clingfilm and put into the fridge for a couple of hours.

In the meantime, prepare the jelly mix as per the instructions on the packet, and leave to cool for 20 minutes. Once the mix has cooled a little, but not started setting, mix in the fruit crush. Leave the jelly to partially set. Once it has partially set, pour it into the serving dish with the biscuit base. The jelly needs to be at exactly the right consistency, otherwise the biscuit will rise into the liquid. Leave the jelly to completely set in the fridge.

Heat the milk in a microwave-safe bowl. Mix the custard powder and a little of the milk in a separate bowl to make a paste. Then mix the paste with the rest of the milk. Mix thoroughly with a beater, ensuring there are no lumps. Heat the mixture, till it boils. Be careful while mixing the boiled mixture, if using a microwave. Mix in the sugar and leave to cool, just before the mixture sets fully.

After the jelly has completely set, layer the banana slices on to the jelly surface. In the gaps formed, sprinkle the cashewnuts liberally. Pour the custard on top of the fruit and nut layer, allowing the custard to find its own level. Cover the dish with cling film and allow it to set thoroughly in the fridge. Only remove once the custard has set.

Beat chilled cream in a bowl, whipping to a pouring consistency. The cream shouldn't have any lumps. Then pour the cream onto the custard layer, letting it set once again.

Once the cream has completely set, use the cashewnuts and strawberry syrup to garnish the trifle. While serving, scooping up all the layers is more difficult in a deep dish, which is the mistake I made. I would suggest a shallower dish, which is clear so that the layers and colours are visible.

Tip: Orange Juice

2008-12-05T16:09:00.002+05:30

I love freshly squeezed orange juice, with a reasonable amount of pulp. The other day when I squeezed some juice, I had a lot of pulp left on the squeezer, so I scooped it up and put in a glass. Today, I mixed the pulp thoroughly, further breaking the fibres down. And topped the entire glass with Sprite. Tasted divine.

I imagine this would go well with alcohol as well, I suppose vodka. But since I am an indifferent drinker, I didn't try that out.

Cream-Cheese Toast

2008-12-05T12:45:00.002+05:30

I should warn everyone that this recipe also has my favourite Amul cream. I just think everything tastes better with it, but then again that's my personal opinion.

I was a little sick of the standard cheese that you get in India, the Amul or Britannia cheddar, maybe because I was watching a program on Travel and Living about cheese. The cheese that was in focus was this gorgeously creamy looking gorgonzola. Now I have never actually seen blue cheese before although I've had it in dressings. I always imagined a robin's egg blue cheese (which of course it wasn't), and recoiled from tasting it. However, after watching this program, I might actually taste it whenever I get an opportunity.

Recipe:

1 cup shredded cheese

4 slices of bread

3 tbsp of cream

2 spring onions, sliced (or 1 small onion as preferred)

2 leaves of cabbage, sliced

5-6 french beans, julienne

1 tsp white sesame seeds

1/4 tsp garlic paste

salt, pepper to taste

oil for frying

Put all the vegetables into a microwave bowl, with the garlic paste, salt, pepper and sesame seeds and microwave on high for 2 minutes. I have a combination oven with a grill, so I grilled the bread till it was golden brown on both sides.

Mix in the cream and the cheese with the hot vegetables. The vegetables should have a slightly more vibrant green colour, but they aren't cooked through, retaining the original raw flavour with a hint of crispiness.

Stir in all the ingredients gently, so as not to mangle the shapes, till the mixture becomes thick, somewhat like a dough. Ideally, the mixture should leave the sides of the bowl and should fall off a spoon.

Spoon dollops of the mixture onto the toasted bread, and put under the grill for 3 minutes, or till the cheese melts completely.

Ideal for a breakfast spread, I cut the slices into small triangles, and laid it out on a breakfast buffet for 2.

Stuffed Poie

2008-11-07T11:19:00.004+05:30

I've been living it up in Goa; writing all day, eating at intervals and of course, snoozing stretched out on the sofa. I have cooked up the occasional snack, but with a mother who can cook up the most mouth watering food, why would I settle for my own?

I have been trotting across the Indian landscape and I have had very little time to cook much less blog about my cooking. But I had to specially mention the snack I made the other day, because my mother liked it so much she makes it every day. Don't get the hopes up; it's a simple sandwich.

In Goa, there is fabulous bread that is available, known in the local dialect as Poie. I don't really know how it in spelt, but the pronounciation is po-eeeeee (which looks very inelegant so I stuck to Poie).

Stuffed Poie

4 poies

4 eggs

1 cup of milk

2 medium onions

2 spring onions

2 cloves of garlic

1 1/2 cups grated cheese

1/3 cup grated coriander

4 tbsp shredded bacon

salt and pepper to taste

pats of butter and oil for frying

First, fry chopped onions and mashed garlic in a little oil. Beat the eggs and milk together in bowl, and pour on top of the fried onions. As the egg starts to cook, scrape away at the bottom layer, so that the egg gets scrambled. (This is difficult to explain in words). Don't over cook, and just before all the eggs are cooked, add in the cheese and the bacon. Take off the heat and mix the coriander in thoroughly. Add the salt and lots of pepper. One could add in paprika or chilli flakes for the spicy touch.

The rest is even easier; take the biggest, flattest pan you own and bung in on the gas. Put in the pats of butter and wait for a second while it melts. Slit the poies halfway through the side, and fry them on both sides on a low-medium heat till they become crisp. Stuff them with the egg mixture, and leave warming on the pan on low heat for about 2 minutes.

Serve with freshly made chips and a dollop of mayonnaise.

Macaroni Bake

2008-10-09T14:55:00.002+05:30

I am a die-hard non-vegetarian. Not because I cannot live without meat, but because I find myself helpless when I have to make something savoury without it. And also I love the flavours. So when I was confronted with the task of cooking a meal for a vegetarian family, I was fairly stumped. Now, before I give the impression that I am completely useless, a salient point here is that I was not cooking at home. I was cooking for the people whose home I was staying in. Ah, I think I hear.

I nipped out and got a small packet of pasta, one of those Knour soup packets and a small block of cheddar cheese (that's the only kind you get in Indian supermarkets). Oh and my handy, staple Amul cream. Can't cook without the stuff.

Recipe:

1 packet of macaroni

200 gms of tomato paste

100 gms of grated cheddar

1 packet of Knour's Creamy Mushroom soup

2 cups of Amul cream

1 medium-sized potato

1 medium-sized tomato

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 an onion

handful of chopped coriander

salt and pepper to taste

First, I par-boiled the potato. I always, always manage to undercook the potato (in fact almost everything), but this time, I kept the pot of boiling water on the stovetop till I was hundred percent sure (I checked repeatedly).

Then put the pasta to cook, till it was a la dente. And on a third burner, I put a pan with the soup pwder mixed with half water and half milk. The packet said 600 ml, but I put about 450 ml, as I wanted it thick.

After the pasta was done, I removed it and drained away the hot water. Then, dumped the tomato paste into a container and mixed in salt, pepper, chopped onion and crushed garlic. I then lowered the flame and added the cream to it. Tomato paste tends to be sour, which I'm pretty sure nobody would have liked, so I added the cream. After beating the mixture together, I put in the pasta, and mixed it in well.

In the meanwhile, the soup had finished cooking, so I turned off the gas. Layered the macaroni on the base of an oven dish and flattened the surface. Thankfully the potato was finally done, so sliced that thinly and layered it on top of the pasta. Did the same with the tomato.

Then, tookk the makeshift bechamel sauce (soup) and poured it over the layers. As is the case with me always, the oven dish was too small. For the final touch, mixed the cheese and chopped coriander together, and sprinkled liberally over the surface.

I put the whole thing in the microwave to bake for 5 minutes. Just before serving, I put it back under the grill for 2 minutes so the cheese would melt.

Mulberry and Almond Delight

2008-09-06T21:26:00.002+05:30

I have to admit I made up the name for this post for the lack of recipe, experience or even general knowledge coming to my rescue. I am notoriously bad with titles of any kind, and frankly naming a dish boggles my mind.

When in Bombay, my mother had picked up a punnet of mulberries. I was totally fascinated, as I love berries in general. I decided to save them up for Pune, and make some mulberry muffins. However, I am still minus a muffin tray. So I thought I would bake a cake. That plan fell through as well, as I have no idea where to get unsalted butter here. Additionally, I was out of eggs (I'm always out of something or the other, aren't I?) and besides, I didn't have a sieve for mixing the flour and baking powder. So no luck there.

I set out to make kalakand, and met with fierce opposition from my mother. She is fed up of the stuff, although I can't see why as I only made the tiniest bit. So I halted in my tracks, and made something entirely different.

Recipe:

1 punnet of mulberries, chopped

1 1/2 cups of fresh cream

4 tbsps of sugar

250 gms of paneer

1 cup of condensed milk

3 drops of bitter almond essence

handful of almonds, peeled

Sprinkle sugar liberally on the chopped mulberries, and leave overnight in the refridgerator. Something called maceration takes place. Then mix in the cream thoroughly. The cream should take on a gorgeous purple hue.

As with kalakand recipe, mix the paneer and condensed milk thoroughly and microwave.

Once this is done, mix in the almonds and essence. I left the almonds in whole, thinking it would give a nice texture, but met with disapproval, so I guess slivering of almonds is in order. Pack in the mixture into a square container, patting down the top for an even surface.

Pour the mulberry cream on top. Don't smooth it, keep shaking the sides till it settles in an even layer. This will allow a natural gloss to develop. Leave the whole thing to cool and set in the fridge, for about an hour. Cut into pieces and serve on a plate with fresh mulberries at the side, if you like. My family ate it right out of the container, so I couldn't actually do much with it.

Sweet Corn Sour Soup

2008-09-05T20:21:00.004+05:30

An oxymoron - but what on earth was I supposed to call the concoction that materialised in my kitchen today. Confused? Let me explain.

We had no power all day long, reasons being alternatively, a faulty fuse situation and lack of supply from the electricity board. So our day started at 2. We had cereal in the morning, but come 1:30, we were ravenous. So I decided to trot into the kitchen to make sandwiches. I opened the freezer to look for cold cuts, and espied two massive packets of sweet corn. My mother isn't too fond of the stuff, so it had been lying there for absolutely aeons. I pulled out the packet, along with some chicken salami. I was out of vegetables, so my sandwiches were going to consist of soft bread, mayonnaise, grated cheddar, oregano and chicken salami. Boring. So I thought I would cook some corn and mix it in with the cheese and grill it.

But my plans went awry, again. Thanks to that lemon.

Recipe:

1 cup of sweet corn

half an onion, chopped

6-7 peppercorns

drizzle of olive oil

1/2 tsp of garlic paste

1/2 a SMALL lemon

2 tbsps of vinegar

sprinking of fresh dill

coriander seeds

shallots

dash of tobasco sauce

1 cup of cream

salt to taste

I first braised the garlic paste and the peppercorns in the olive oil (cover dish, and microwave on high for a minute). I then put the corn in a bowl and microwaved it for 8 minutes (since it was frozen), till it was warm. Then I put in the rest of the stuff, barring the cream, and cooked it for 5 minutes. No, actually it was 3 minutes. The electricity went off in the middle.

When I pulled it out, it was frighteningly sour. So my mother suggested I add in some cream to reduce the sourness. I did, and it turned out amazingly. Add a little more cream, if the soup is still too sour. I beat the concoction up with a beater, and it turned out beautifully frothy and creamy.

Oh, and don't forget the salt. I always forget to add salt.

Served with sandwiches, it was tasting magnificent. I dipped the edges in the soup, and they became really soggy and yummy. The middles I ate plain, and spooning in some kernels of corn as an after-thought.

The ingredients that are shaded in pink were not actually separate. I love gherkins, and I constantly have a jar of Tify's french cornichons in my fridge. I used the liquid that comes in that bottle to flavour the corn. I have listed them separately here, so that one can recreate the taste.

Coconut Chutney

2008-09-05T20:02:00.004+05:30

I love Malayali food; the appams, chicken stew, fried fish, the bullet-grain rice, red bananas, and all the coconut-based dishes there. (Most of the dishes are coconut-based, so that should explain how much I love the cuisine.)

Hardly surprising, as my dad is a true-blue Mallu, and I'm a hybrid. I am an extremely contrary person sometimes, so if I find myself in the midst of Malayalis, I will speak of only my Marashtrianand Kannadiga heritage, and vice versa. I hate the clannishness of this country, and that's my small rebellion against it.

Getting back to pleasanter things, I think that the coconut is the best. Ever. Whether in sweets or savoury food items, it tastes divine. So much so, that I love the Cold Sparkle in Cafe Coffee Day; the teens will recognise that as the ice-blended coconut-flavoured coffee. I know, I'm going overboard.

Recipe:

2 cups of grated coconut

1/2 cup of yoghurt

7-8 coriander seeds

pinch of mustard seeds

pinch of fennel seeds (jeera)

a few pounded kernels of pepper

a pinch of asafoetida

a pinch of turmeric

1/2 tsp of garlic paste

oil for frying

salt to taste

Put all the ingredients except the coconut and the yoghurt into a shallow microwave-safe bowl, cover and cook on high for a minute. Then put in the coconut, and mix well so that it is completely covered. Cook again for 2 minutes, this time uncovered. Put in the salt, mixing it in well.

Allow it to cool for a while, and then blend in the yoghurt. I didn't have any fresh coriander, otherwise I would've chopped some and added it in the first step. Instead, my mother has dried some in the fridge, and made a powder of it. I put 1/4 tsp of that instead.

I would suppose that it is possible to add in just about anything into this. Perhaps some onions, or even chillies. I am highly allergic to the latter, so that particular flavour will be conspicuous by its absence from my recipes.

I served this with idlis, as the sambar my mother made earlier ran out. The idli batter was obtained freshly-ground from a grocery store and made the fluffiest, most gorgeous idlis in the world.

Kalakand

2008-09-04T13:43:00.006+05:30

My earliest recollection of mithai was my dad used to take me shopping to Chhappan Bhog in Dubai. The had those big glass counter tops, with the scrumptious wares displayed in the annals of this structure, tantalisingly out of reach. I used to press my nose against the glass pane, longingly. Apart from their mouth-watering looks, I used to love the names: they sound so glorious and exotic, and Kalakand was one I always, always wanted.

Cut to many, many years later, and I can make most of these divine delicacies at home. Except for gulab jamuns - mine turn out like musketballs. Do not worry, I won't post a recipe, till I have mastered the knack of making those infernal jamuns. As for now, kalakand will have to do. This recipe is ridiculously easy, and I've used it several times. I was short on ingredients (as usual), so I made a miniscule amount. I ended up breaking them up into little pieces, to be picked out daintily to eat. Hardly ideal, but that doesn't impair the flavour any.

Recipe:
Equal quantities of paneer and condensed milk
couple of pods of cardamom
about 1 tsp of ghee

Mix the paneer and condensed milk thoroughly, and microwave it for 5 minutes. Keep taking the bowl out, stirring, and putting it back in for another 2 minutes. Depending on the quantity, this process can take variable amounts of time. It's done when it thickens considerably, but there is a little moisture left over.

Pound the cardamom, and put about 3/4 into the mix. Grease a square or rectangular dish with the ghee, and pour the mixture into it. It should level out itself, with a little help (shake the sides). The dish that is used to set the kalakand is really dependent on the cook, and what thickness is desired. Sprinkle the remaining cardamom on top.

Let the dish stand, until the mixture completely cools. Then cut the set kalakand into squares, or any other shape desired. Slowly ease away from the sides, and bottom, and lift away the pieces into another box.

Rava Ladoo

2008-09-04T00:28:00.004+05:30

I went slightly overboard, mithai-wise this Ganesh Chaturthi. That should probably explain the number of recipes that I have posted today. I was, in fact, planning to make the sitaphal rabdi again, before they go out of season, but I ran out of condensed milk.

Rava ladoos have been a hot favourite with me, forever. I can't stand besan ladoos, and even the hybrid tastes awful as far as I am concerned. I made these will a little extra ghee that what was strictly necessary, and what was in the recipe. But then again, I never follow recipes to the T. What's the point of writing all this down if I did?

Recipe:
2 cups of rava
3 tbsps of ghee
1/4 cup raisins and cashew nuts
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
1 cup of freshly grated coconut
2 cardamom pods

Mix the rava and ghee thoroughly in a large bowl. The ghee will coat the rava well, making it like damp sand. Microwave this for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally in between. The roasted rava should look light golden.

Microwave the coconut for 2 minutes, and then mix in with the rava. Make a sugar syrup with 1 cup of water. Microwave for 2 minutes, till the water gets hot, and stir to dissolve the sugar. Microwave again. Check the consistency - the mixture should ideally be sticky.

Mix in the rava and coconut mix, and add powdered cardamom, the raisins and nuts. Leave the mixture aside to cool, because it will not retain shape when it is that hot. After a while, shape the mixture into round balls.

Almond/Badam Kheer

2008-09-04T00:06:00.002+05:30

This is such an easy recipe, I'm almost afraid I didn't make it right! Multiply the quantities to make more, although the cooking times will substantially increase as well.

Recipe:
about 20-30 almonds
1/2 litre of milk
1/4 cup condensed milk
2 pods of cardamom
1 tbsp of fresh cream
couple of strands of saffron

Blanch the almonds, and grind them into a paste with a little water. In a microwave-safe container, microwave the milk till it boils. Take out and stir, then microwave for 2 minutes. Continue doing this till the milk starts thickening. Once a thick, viscous consistency has been reached, add in the almond paste, condensed milk, cardamom and saffron. Cook for a further 2 minutes, and then add in the fresh cream. Mix well, and leave to chill.

I have finally got a few pictures, but I haven't been able to upload them. Will add them to respective posts later on.

Modaks

2008-09-03T22:52:00.008+05:30

Ganesh Chaturthi seems incomplete with those little pockets of dry fruit delights, modaks. They're these small dumpling-like things filled with a sinful mixture of dry fruits, grated coconut and jaggery in their midst. Historically, my mom has never had any luck with these things, because they are exceptionally fiddly to make. Plus the recipe has to be absolutely exact, otherwise they crack.

Couple of thumb rules when making them: always keep the covering's dough moist; oil hands well for shaping the modaks; do not let people eat the filling (see below) before the modaks are made - it WILL run out!

Recipe:
2 cups fresh grated coconut
1 cup jaggery
1 tsp poppy seeds
2 pods of cardamom
a little grated nutmeg
a handful of dry fruits - raisin, cashew nuts

1 cup rice flour
1 cup water
2 tsp ghee
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

The stuffing is possibly the easiest; mix the coconut and jaggery well together and microwave for 2 minutes. Roast the poppy seeds, and crush them a bit. Then put in the cardamom, nutmeg, dry fruits and poppy seeds.

Then comes the seriously painful part: mix the water with ghee, adding the salt and sugar to it as well. Microwave this till the water boils. Be careful! (I am highly paranoid about delayed eruptive boiling.)

Then mix in the rice flour, cover, and microwave on 50% power for 2 minutes. Then oil hands, and the work surface well. Proceed to empty contents onto table surface and knead to make a smooth dough. This requires serious courage, as the kneading must take place when the mixture is moderately hot.

Then divide the mixture into equal sized balls, depending on the size you are looking for. Roll into balls, and store in a container covered with a wet dishcloth. Flatten the dough balls one by one, put a dollop of filling in the centre and then close the edges around it, pinching the top to make a tear-drop shaped item.

After, fill the microwave steamer with about 1/4 cup of water and place the stand in it. Dip each modak in water, and place on the stand. Cook on 50% power for about 8 minutes. Leave the dish standing in the oven for about 2 minutes, before taking it out.

Voila, modaks are served. Drizzle melted ghee and eat with a spoon, especially when hot - the filling tends to become quite scaldingly hot.

Grilled Sausages and Cheese

2008-09-03T22:40:00.003+05:30

I actually have some of this still in the fridge, but it looks highly unappetizing since it's been served that I didn't want to spoil the post with a picture.

Thanks to Ganesh Chaturthi, I have had nothing but sweet stuff all day, and frankly I was starting to feel nauseated (I hope that's not an irreverent remark). After rava ladoos, kalakhand, modaks and badam kheer, oh and the extra stuffing left over from making modaks, I desperately needed something savoury. And continental! I made idlis and coconut chutney as well, but that didn't quite satisfy the craving. So I decided to grill sausages. I had a packet of chicken franks in the freezer, and I thought I would just grill them, and have them plain with mustard. Sigh, but 'simple' doesn't seem to cut it with me.

Recipe:
1 packet of chicken sausages
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of garlic paste
1/4 onion, chopped
salt, pepper and oregano to taste

I grilled the frozen sausages for 8 minutes, till they thawed and were a little warm. Then after mixing everything else except the cheese and sausages in a microwave-safe bowl, I then proceeded to chop the sausages into bite-sized chunks. Mixed them in thoroughly in the bowl, making sure that the oregano coats it liberally.

Put back in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then remove, sprinkle with grated cheese, and grill the entire concoction for 3 minutes.

I ate this with fresh bread, lathered with mayonnaise and gherkins at the side.

Sesame Paneer Tikka

2008-09-01T22:14:00.004+05:30

Well, not exactly.

Today we were definitely out of food, and surprisingly all the shops in my area were closed. So no bread, no milk, no nothing. That means no coffee and quickie sandwiches for a post-lunch snacks. So what do I do? I am fairly jobless, as I wasn't in the mood to type out articles, and the computer screen was giving me a splitting headache. So when in doubt, cook!

Recipe:
200 gms fresh paneer
3 long sausages (I used pork, so omit this if you want)
1 small capsicum
2 small tomatoes
1/2 tsp of garlic paste
15 kernels each of peppercorns, coriander seeds, jeera
about 6 tbsps of sesame seeds
oil for frying
half a lemon

Put the sesame seeds, oil, garlic paste, crushed peppercorns, jeera and coriander seeds into a microwave-safe dish, cover, and put in the microwave for about 90 seconds. The garlic paste burns a bit, which tastes heavenly. Take it out, and mix thoroughly.

Put the chopped paneer, tomato and capsicum pieces into a big bowl. Squeeze the lemon on it, and sprinkle salt to taste. Put in the microwave for about 2 minutes, until the moisture gathers in the bowl.

Pick out paneer pieces and dump in the sesame seed-oil mix, and mix. Mix so the pieces are covered but the paneer doesn't crumble. Put back into the microwave, uncovered, for a minute.

Chop up the sausages, and put in with the tomatoes and capsicum. Cook the entire mix in the microwave for about 4 minutes.

I didn't do the following part because 1) I didn't have toothpicks and 2) I overcooked the paneer - so I reduced the times in my posts dramactically. But then again, I was using frozen paneer, so the wretched thing cooked when I defrosted it.

Anyway, soak wooden toothpicks in water before skewering the food on it. Thread pieces of paneer, sausage, capiscum and tomato onto the toothpick, and grill for a minute. Remove, turn over and grill again.

I unfortuantely didn't get to do that, so I just put everything together in a bowl, mixed it once and ladled the stuff into shallow bowls. There was a little gravy, which tasted divine, but I would have still preferred my paneer tikka style.

Mushrooms in Vodka

2008-09-01T10:47:00.003+05:30

Yeah, I know - Outrageous. Vodka with mushrooms.. But perfectly true.

I went to Mumbai for a day or two, just to pay off the bills at home. The place is a complete wreck, with plaster cracking, etc. It hasn't been maintained for eons. Anyway, there was very little food in the fridge, a packet of pav and some frozen dal and rice. So we trudged out to buy a few supplies. And since my mother went shopping, she bought a highly varied set of items: lemon grass, mulberries, fresh mushrooms, paneer, and milk. Hmm. Anyway, the first two were to bring back, the lemon grass for the prawn curry I had made earlier, and the mulberries because I want to try making muffins (although I'm still minus muffin pan).

So the next morning, for breakfast, she had taken out the bare ingredients: mushrooms, pav and two onions. And since she was busy and I was doing nothing, she asked me to chop up everything. Which was a big mistake.

Recipe:
2 packets of mushrooms
2 medium onions
200 gms of fresh paneer
3 tbsp of oyster sauce
handful of almonds
2 capfuls of vodka
a few peppercorns
thyme
1 tsp of garlic paste
oil for frying
salt to taste

Heat a little oil in a pan, and put in the garlic paste. Then dump in the onions, and fry them till they are translucent. Then put in the mushrooms, and fry them a little, till they reduce in size and moisture starts coming out. Add the oyster sauce, the powered peppercorns, thyme to the mixture. Add the vodka as well.

I put in salted almonds, because I didn't have the normal variety. Blanch the almonds and put them in. I put them in as they were, and my mother promptly peeled the lot afterwards.

Chop the paneer into small chunks and put in the pot. Turn down the flame to a simmering heat, and cover the pot for about 5 minutes. Don't do this for too long, otherwise the mushrooms will get rubbery and tough. Uncover the pot and let it dry a little.

I served this with butter-fried pav, ladling the mix on top. I also left a little of the gravy, as it tasted nice to dunk the crisp bread into it. I used the vodka because I wanted some liquid for the paneer to cook in (I was actually looking for wine in the cupboard).

My apologies, no pictures again. I always end up cooking when we are all ravenously hungry, so everyone eats up before I remember to take snaps.

Creamy Prawn Curry

2008-08-21T00:03:00.003+05:30

Ever tried to make something, made a colossal mistake, and have the finished product turn out fabulous? Well, that is exactly how my prawn curry was born today. I wish I could fashion a clever name for it, but I honestly can't think of anything better than 'Creamy Prawn Curry. Hmm. Moving on..

Today I set out to make lunch, will all the intentions of making a club sandwich. (There is always cold cuts stocked in my freezer for cravings like these.) Anyway, I pulled open the freezer and espied a bag of frozen prawns. Yum. Pull out gleefully. So I thought of a variation of club sandwich, an open cheese grill, with creamy prawns heaped on it. Yum again. Or so I thought.

Recipe:
1 packet of medium-sized prawns (or large, or small)
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 small onion
1 small tomato
1 small bell pepper
few leaves of cabbage
a few pepper kernels
4-5 tbsp mayonnaise
3/4 cup fresh cream
Olive oil, soya sauce, salt

First defrost the prawns thoroughly. Keep a little of the water in the packet to a side. Till then, mash garlic and pepper together. Cut a quarter of the onion (half of the half in the recipe) in small pieces, and mix with the garlic and peppercorns in a microwave-safe bowl. Put in about 2 tbsps of olive oil. Put the bowl into the microwave after covering (otherwise it WILL splatter). Microwave for a minute and pull out - the garlic will be smelling divinely by this time.

Put prawns into this and mix thoroughly, letting the oil coat the prawns well. Put back into the microwave for a minute.

Chop the tomato, bell pepper, onion and cabbage and mix in a big bowl. Empty the prawns into the vegetables, and season with salt. Add the mayonnaise and cream to it and mix thoroughly. Add the soya sauce and the water from the packet to make a fluid, but not watery consistency. The mixture should definitely be creamy. Put back into the microwave and cook for 2 minutes.

The way I served this was with pav bread cut in half, grilled with cheese. It's a great to dunk these hunks of bread into the curry. Alternatively serve with laccha or malabar parathas. Totally delicious.

PS: I have no picture of this because my mother ate two bowlfuls, so the remainder looked too pitiful to photograph. Sigh.

Sitaphal Rabdi

2008-08-19T16:35:00.002+05:30

The idea for this recipe came from a restaurant here in Pune, called Sukanta. It's a Marwadi cuisine restaurant that offers only thalis. And that isn't a bad thing by any stretch of imagination. The food is excellent, cooked in authentic Gujrati-Rajasthani style, with unlimited portions of everything. Including dessert. 100 bucks for more than you can eat is a definite bargain of no mean order.

Anyway, the first time I went to Sukanta, the thali had sitaphal rabdi as the dessert of the day. Being a devout sitaphal admirer, my somewhat jaundiced perception of the vegetarian restaurant brightened perceptibly when I realised that the waiters kept refilling the dessert bowl. Praise be to the Lord, I thought, gulping down the sinful concotion by the bowlful. Of course, in a while I started feeling quite queasy, as the mixture started playing havoc with my insides. But the rabdi was magnificent.

Many, many moons later, I have concoted, dare I say, a much better version of that memorable rabdi. I say better, because the consistency of mine is considerably thicker, and I know that I have used the purest of pure ingredients. (Allowing of course for the adulterations that may have taken place at the dairy.)

Recipe:
1 cup condensed milk
2 cups milk
1 cup grated paneer
2 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup sitaphal pulp
1/2 cup fresh cream (I use the Amul one)
2 cloves cardamom

Whip together condensed milk, milk and paneer in a big microwave-safe plastic bowl, which can hold about 3 times the quantity of the mixture. Powder the cardamom (which I couldn't do because I didn't have a mortar and pestle), and add that and the ghee to the mixture.

Put the bowl into the microwave and cook on high for about 5 minutes. Take out the bowl and mix. Do this very carefully, with face held far away from the bowl. This is because microwaving liquids sometimes causes delayed eruptive boiling, where the liquid surges up suddenly. Mixing the liquid will preempt this occurence, so be careful.

Microwave the mixture a few more times, for the duration of 5 minutes each time, till the mixture becomes thicker in consistency. It should resemble a thick porridge, but a little more fluid.

Mix the sitaphal pulp with the cream, whipping both together to make a paste that is lump-free. Then add the mixture to the thickened milk one, and whip together well. Grate a little nutmeg on the top, or decorate as per taste. Refridgerate for at least a couple of hours for a truly chilled dessert. Or freeze to make kulfi. I used a stainless steel container, and the cooling was super fast, which translated into being able to eat it sooner.

Do leave a comment if you liked the post, the recipe or the dessert. Or even if you didn't. Feedback is very welcome.

PS: Made the rabdi before I decided to create this blog, so I don't have a picture to put up.