Sweet Chilly Roast Pork

According to German tradition, partaking in a roast of pork dinner on Christmas Eve will prevent evil and promote prosperity in the New Year. Most food folklore suggests that New Year's celebrations should include pork and sauerkraut to ensure good luck in the coming year.

What better time than now to share this recipe!

It was Debita's son's birthday.Who cared what the 3 year olds were eating or doing or not doing. Four of us adults were devouring (no other word can describe the ardent eating act), sweet chilly pork. Vowed to re-create then and there, with maybe one twist and here goes or rather lo behold!

Use a kilo of pork, a good cut to use would be pork belly without skin with fat, chopped in cubes. Wash and clean well. Marinate with salt to taste and a paste of ginger and garlic. I used about 2 inches ginger and about 15 pods of garlic. Keep this marinated in the fridge for 1 - 2 days. 

On the day of serving, boil in a pressure cooker, allow about two whistles and let the steam blow out on its own. This will enable the meat to be tender. Now in 2 tbsp warm white oil, toss in about 3 finely cut red onions. Stir till the onions take on a transparent pink colour. Next goes in the pork with its marinade. Stir well. Now add about 10 tbsp of chilly jam, in Mumbai I used the Moshe one. Try and check out at Indigo or one of the Food Halls. Toss well. Keep a lid on and continue this for a good ten minutes or so. Sprinkle red chilly flakes. Now throw in two large red peppers cut in cubes. Toss again, allow the liquids to dry up though retain the wetness.This would need another 5 mins.Check for salt. 

Serve hot. Leftover cold is also absolutely delicious. 

Grilled Tilapia

My Bengali fish eating mother would quirk up her nose at the sight of a Tilapia fish. To her it is really a step down from the 'Papda', 'Parshe' and 'Tangra'. All these three are names of classic small whole fish that we make curries out of. Bengali me, with a natural instinct to not agree with Ma, I always loved the flavours of the Tilapia fish cooked normally in a curry. 

Even the poorly regarded Tilapia has such an interesting history. It was one of the three fish caught in the Biblical times from the sea of Galilee. In Egyptian art one finds a Tilapia hieroglyph above the heads of a tomb.

As they say, everyone has a story to tell. So does the Tilapia. I have always seen the black Tilapia. This time I caught (there goes my usual romantic drama again!!!) - I meant spotted and bought pink ones. They were beautiful, smiling, almost tickled pink. So this is what I did to them. You must too. Soon.

Assuming that you have asked the seller to clean it well, wash the whole fish nicely. Now make a couple of slanting gashes on the body on both sides. Marinade for about half an hour with salt, turmeric and chilly powder using measures up to your taste. I used half a tsp of each. Then lightly pan fry in little warm oil on both sides till lightly golden in colour. For this use a non-stick pan please.

Make a paste of 3 onions, 4 pods of garlic and 1 green chilly. In 2 tbsp warm oil, fry the paste in low heat. After 3 mins, add 1 full tsp of coriander powder, cumin powder, chilly powder, dried curry powder, pepper powder and coconut powder each. I usually keep this powder medley ready in my fridge. For quickness you could instead use ready in a packet East Indian fish masala. Nicely cook the paste for atleast 6 mins or so. Now allow it to cool till it is at room temperature.

With your hand coat the masala onto the fish lovingly with some shoving into the gashes you had earlier created. Do this on both sides. Sprinkle some fresh coriander leaves and slit green chillies. 

Grill for 20 mins at 150 degrees. Serve with a dash of lime or allow that to be a choice. 

Mediterranean Vegetable Pie

This is a rather Turkish pie. Did we know that the word 'turquoise' comes from the word 'Turk' meaning Turkish. This is derived from the beautiful jewel-like colour of the Mediterranean sea on the South Turkish coast. I have always found the word 'Mediterranean' hauntingly enigmatic. Its like there is a story in every shore, and honestly so it is. Every city the sea has allowed to park is a beautiful destination. The magic is everlasting.

I am calling this dish a pie though it is not a true-blue one. The base is made with potatoes. So you can change the name if you feel you are cheating.

Like most pies, this too has a base, but the base is made with potatoes. For a serving of around 4, take 3 large potatoes, wash them well and make slices. Brush the slices with 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper exactly in that order. Line them up on a baking try and bake for 8 mins. Then set them aside. I did not bother to skin the potatoes. 

Next grind the following spices in a small grinder to make a powder. And once again keep the powder aside.

1 tsp dry ginger, 5 peppercorns, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of mace, seeds of 1 large cardamom, 1 inch stick of cinnamon, 4 cloves, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder, 3/4 tsp coriander powder and salt to taste. 

In a warm wok with 4 tbsp of warm olive oil,  toss in 2 small chopped onions, 4 chopped pods of garlic and 1/2 inch of chopped ginger. Cook till light golden brown. Now add 3 cups of chopped carrot, peppers, beans and cauliflower. Allow the vegetable to become soft and cooked but keep the crunchiness. Now add the spice powder mix. A romantic fragrance will waft through your kitchen. Enjoy. In about 4 mins, add 1/2 a cup of white wine and a handful of good quality raisins. You can use prunes instead. Now add a bunch of chopped washed spinach and cook for 4 mins. Lastly throw in a handful of chopped walnuts. Taste for salt. Remove from heat. 

This is your filling. Layer your base dish with the grilled potatoes. Next fill up with the vegetable filler.  

By now your oven should be pre-heated. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 mins. Serve hot after sprinkling some pomegranate.

Enjoy this aromatic brilliance!

A Baby Corn Carrot Water Chestnut Zucchini Curry

I do not consider myself to be a very innovative cook. I am a recipe follower. Conditioned to be obedient more often than not I follow the instructions to the last word. On a rare occasion, I do come up with an idea which so far has been pleasurably edible if I may a bit immodestly declare. Also, often I find entertaining 19 ardent non vegetarian guests and 1 strictly vegetarian guest. I am sure many are empathizing with me as they peruse this post. On one such evening I came up with this recipe. It is a miracle but the carnivores also really enjoyed this broth. 

So, you take a packet of baby corn, wash well and cut into one inch slants. Par boil and set aside. Do exactly the same to to two small hopefully red but orange will also do carrots. Next cut the zucchini like you do the others but please do not boil it. Peel the water chestnut and just halve them.

I use about 2 large onions paste and about half an inch of ginger paste and one large chopped tomato. In a warm wok, add about 2 tbsp oil and add the onion ginger paste when the oil is warm. After stirring gently for 3 mins in not very high heat, add 1 tbsp full coriander powder, 1/2 tsp chilly powder and salt to taste. Next add in the tomatoes and mix well. Cook till the paste is cooked and there is no raw smell. Add the baby corn, water chest nuts and the carrots. Mix again and cover the wok with a lid and reduce the heat control to the lowest. After about 5-6 mins, open the lid and add the zucchini. Stir well. Cover again for another 3 mins. Now pour in about 200 ml of coconut milk, blend everything well with a spatula and allow the broth to simmer for 4 more mins. It is time to add about a cup full of warm water. Check the salt, let the gravy simmer. For a quick punch add a dash of tomato ketch up and you are done. 

Enjoy with steamed rice or steamed noodles or rice noodles. The taste is slightly oriental, kind of Burmese. The beauty is that you can serve with either oriental or South Indian cuisine and of course it sparkles in a fusion menu. 

Beetroot Yogurt With Parsley

Anecdote

Manita is an international word mainly Spanish or Turkish, kind of meaning a beautiful woman. Our Manita is a 'Desi' Nepali now almost Marwari full of life and action and true to its meaning. There is no dull moment around her.You are either dancing (she grooves gorgeously with raunchy Hindi numbers) or singing (some are trying to as they are not given the mike thanks to her over zealous other guests) or eating (especially her delicious desserts) or planning what to wear (her MIL designed Indian wardrobe has been raided by yours truly often) or or or............But you are definitely not just sitting around. Friends of friends, Ady and Manita have often opened up their abode to us and I must say each and every time it has been amidst peals of laughter and pools of alchohol (Ady, are you reading this?)....

At one such karaoke night, Manita made this lovely Beetroot yogurt which I re-created for Shalina's 40th and it was equally appreciated.

Stuff that you must have

3 large beetroots
400 grams yogurt, I use the store bought packs of any brand
4 sprigs of parsley
2 tsp dry oregano
Salt to taste

What to do

At first skin the beetroot and then chop them into 1 by 1 inch cubes. Boil in a pressure cooker with salt and oregano till you hear 4 whistles. This means the the beetroot needs to be boiled but it should still have its crunch. Allow the cubes to cool and come to room temperature. Here I must add that you can serve the beetroot warm water as a warm drink to yourself since you the one toiling as it is packed with nutrients.

Beat yogurt with a gentle whisker. Finely chop parsley and add to the creamy yogurt.  Now add the beetroot cubes such that they dunk well into the yogurt. The creamy yogurt will turn into a luscious pinkish purple colour. Refrigerate. 

The beauty of this side dish is that it can be served as a 'Raita' with Indian food, or a side with Mediterranean food or a salad with Turkish or Moroccan food. This universal aspect and of course the delicious cool flavours is what attracted me the most to request Manita for the recipe. 

How to serve

Just pour in a bowl matching your cuisine and serve.

Trivia

Beetroot cultivated originally by the Greeks and the Romans come in three colours. The red ones we eat, the white ones are grown to procure beetroot sugar and the yellow ones are fed to livestock.  

Eggless Vinegar Dense Chocolate Cake

Not a regular at TV football, the FIFA world cup does garner excitable energy to generally cheer for the losing team, especially for the 2014th year one, to stay true to The Indian Spirit of being the underdog fan. Must confess here that the Bengali influences were also rather heavy leaving no choice but going for the blue and the white!

Friends, Shalina and Rajesh organised a potluck with a fun mix of buddies and I decided to rustle up a couple of cakes. Crazy night ahead, so why not the crazy cake?

The crazy cake became rather popular during depression since the recipe did not need the usage of eggs. Basically, simply take 3 cups of white flour, 2  cups (1 and 3/4th will also be great) of white sugar powdered in your blender or of course castor sugar, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp baking soda and 1/2 cup cocoa. Now sift this all together. Once done, make 3 wells in the mix. In one well, pour in 3/4 cup vegetable oil and in the 2nd well pour 2 tbsp distilled white vinegar. Finally into the 3rd well pour in 2 tsp vanilla extract. Now add 2 cups of cold water and mix well with a cake spatula. 

Pour into a prepared cake tin, use a large tin, 9 by 13 inch is a good size. bake at 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C for about 30 mins or till the cake needle comes out clean. 

Enjoy once cooled. Frosting with your favourite frosting will make it yummy too. The feel of the cake on your palette is moist and rich. It is rather lovely I must add. 

Pho In A Chicken Broth

Vietnamese food so well enjoyed by the French is considered to be the healthiest cuisine in the world. It is known for its balance of five elements. Most Vietnamese food conform to the perfect composition which adheres to the principle of the yin and yang.
Try the Pho, it is wholesome, healthy and happy, happiness enhanced by its communal nature. Families in Vietnam are known to eat together with the only non communal bowl being the small to medium sized bowl with rice or noodles in it. Children are known to serve themselves after the elders have done so. 

The list of ingredients would be one large onion, a 2 inch piece of ginger, a 3 inch stick of cinnamon, one start anise, two cloves, a tsp coriander seeds, 4 cups unsalted chicken stock, two tsp soy sauce and four carrots. Also you will need a bunch of flat rice noodles as shown in the image. For toppings, some mushroom(button ones can do), boiled chicken and posy of pak choy. Finally for the garnish, some scallions, coriander leaves, one Thai chilly, two wedges of lime, a few leaves of Thai basil and Hoisin sauce.

For the broth char-grill in an open flame the onion and the peeled ginger root, this step will take five minutes. Next in a dry heated wok,  dry roast the dry spices. Pour in the chicken stock, bring to a boil and allow it to simmer for 30 mins. Simultaneously boil water and plunge the noodles in the hot water with the heat switched off. When the noodles is soft and chewy drain it out.

Back to the simmering broth, chop the mushroom, pak choy and boiled chicken in semi chunky pieces and add. Simmer for further five mins.

To serve, take a soup bowl or a large deep bowl, at first spoon in the noodles. Pour in the broth along with the toppings so that the noodles get well drowned. As garnish, sprinkle in the finely chopped scallions, thinly slit Thai chillies, chopped coriander leaves, chopped Thai basil, Hoisin sauce and a squeeze some lime.

Run for your chopsticks!

Black Rice Salad With Mangoes

Well, anything forbidden is fun. True to its name black rice alias forbidden rice adds the same extent of intrigue to its dishes. Be it a pudding, a risotto or a simple salad, black rice more like wine in colour when cooked elevates the dish by its sheer presence. Legend has it that black rice was tagged as forbidden rice because the Chinese emperors refused to share the rice with commoners so that only first family could enjoy the high end nutritional qualities of the rice. The rice is a tremendous source of vitamin E, iron and antioxidants

For this salad, take a cup of black rice and boil it till soft. Along with this cup of cooked rice, you need about 4 stalks of scallions or spring onions, one red onion, coriander leaves and diced mangoes. Cut the scallions slating wise in about half an inch sized pieces. The red onion can be cut vertically and the mangoes are diced in cubes. Chop the coriander leaves semi-finely.

For the dressing, make a lemon vinaigrette. In a small blender put in the leaves from 3 stalks of coriander leaves along-with a bit of stalk, 2 pods of finely minced garlic, juice of one lime, salt and pepper to taste and 1/2 tsp of Kosher salt. Whisk for a min. Your dressing is ready.

Dress the salad, serve cold. If you dress the salad for atleast 2 hours before serving, it lends more flavour and therefore character to the salad. It is indeed a beautiful summer salad.

White Frosting For Red Velvet Cake

I have always been a sucker for drama cinema with multi starer casts. One such fave since 1989 has been Steel Magnolia. It was to me an iconic movie with inspirational icons like Julia Roberts, Sally Field, Shirley Maclaine and Dolly Parton ruling the screen. In Steel Magnolia I first saw the red velvet cake, it was the groom's cake made in the shape of an armadillo. A few years later the Magnolia bakery in Manhattan popularised the red velvet cupcake and that got struck off the bucket list last summer. Only remaining KRA was making it at home, which got accomplished yesterday. I must add that I was not really 100 percent proud of the cake, which is why I will put up the recipe of the cake later once I have perfected it, but yes, the white frosting was 200 percent on the dot! The frosting had such an interesting flavour to it that you must really try whipping it up yourself soon.

I used 1/2 cup all purpose flour, 11/2 cups milk, 11/2 cups icing sugar, 11/2 cups or 150 grams butter ( I used Indian Amul butter) and 1 tbsp vanilla essence.

Soften the butter. 

Mix the flour into the milk and help it dissolve well by stirring. Now heat this liquid, stirring at low heat all the time till the mix is very thick. Set it aside and allow it to reach room temperature.

Whisk the butter and the sugar together. This should be done in a largish bowl with an electric beater. Whisk at medium speed. Continue till the mix is light and fluffy. Now add in the flour batter slowly, a tbsp at a time while whisking with the same beater at high speed. Go on till the entire flour batter is fluffed into your frosting. Lastly fold in the vanilla. 

When your cake is at room temperature, fill it up with this gorgeous white as snow frosting. You can store the frosting in the refrigerator.

Aubergine Peanut Pickle

I read this recipe in a food magazine while listening to birds chirping in a warm summer morn while sipping dark coffee. It was as calm as it can get in busy noisy Mumbai. Can any other moment be as inspiring? 

I also learnt while googling that aubergines which belong to the nightshade family of plants have relatives which are potatoes and tomatoes. One more really cute finding was that the explorer Amerigo Vespucci, for whom America was named was a pickle merchant before he became an explorer.

I twisted the recipe a bit to suit the ingredient list in my larder, and over a warm summer lunch with friends really enjoyed the pickle.

Chop a large aubergine into small square pieces. Dry roast two fistful of peanuts in a warm wok for 5-7 minutes. Then dry rub the peanuts in your palms till all the skins come off. Next chop one large tomato into small pieces.

Warm a tbsp of olive oil. Throw in a tsp of cumin seeds and a tsp of nigella seeds. When both start sputtering, add in 8-9 curry leaves. In less than half a minute add in the tomatoes. Stir fry for a min. Add in salt to taste, 1/2 tsp red chilly powder and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Toss for a min at low heat. It is time to add the aubergine and mix everything well. I always keep a tamarind paste in my fridge, the Indian brand Funfoods is very good. Add a tbsp and a half of the tamarind paste and stir well. The peanuts go in now and the pickles is ready after tossing gently for another 2-3 mins at low heat. 

A delightful pickle is ready to be picked on! Savour!

Oatmeal Buttermilk Pancakes

Even the most common breakfast food, the pancake has such an interesting story about it. The formally known 'Shrove Tuesday' is called the 'Pancake Day'. It marks the beginning of Lent, a period that commemorates the 40 days and nights that Jesus spent fasting in the desert before beginning his ministry. 

This is a very very very healthy recipe for the pancake batter which does not include flour but includes oatmeal flour and whole wheat flour. Please mark that you need to prepare the batter the night before.

You will need for the recipe;

One cup oats, toast and grind it

¼ cup and 2 tbsp whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp cinnamon powder

¼ cup honey

One large egg

11/4 cup butter milk

Vanilla essence

Once you have collected all of the above, you need to follow the following steps.

Mix the dry ingredients well.

Lightly beat the eggs and add it to the dry ingredients

Add rest of the ingredients and mix all till well combined

Refrigerate overnight

Heat pan well.  Just lightly brush with oil. Spoon one a large spoon of the batter and pour it within the pancake ring. Nicely even it out. Cook pancakes in medium heat. Turn once.

Enjoy with maple syrup

Zucchini Salad

Before I share the recipe I would like to alert my readers that the marinade has to be prepared two days in advance. Critical piece of information to be noted and followed.

Zucchini, a squash is considered to be a vegetable in the culinary universe but is a fruit in the botanical world. The Pennsylvanian joke that on 8th August of every year, children or adults often in camouflage sneak in at midnight and leave bags of zucchini at their neighbours' doorsteps  and make a dash for their life after ringing the doorbell speaks of sweet friendships and neighbourhood sharing. True to this story, I also experienced this salad over a warm dinner at Neha and Glenn's home. 

For the marinade/dressing; mix olive oil, oyster sauce,vinegar,sugar, soy sauce, chopped mint leaves, chopped Thai red chillies and minced garlic. All the ingredients except the red chillies are in equal proportions. Use half the quantity of red chillies. Store in the refrigerator for 2 days.

Slice zucchini, use both green and yellow ones. Toss with the dressing. Serve after 20 minutes. Serve cold. 

Pumpkin In A Coconut Gravy

Hey..wrong timing to put this up, no one is about to make a Jack-o-Lantern for months now. So be sure to try this recipe on 31st October and of course asap now too. 

Warm 1 tbsp oil, you can use any white oil. Once warm, allow about 6-8 curry leaves and one long slit green chilly to sizzle in the heat. Chop a lovely red tomato into small cubes and add it in. To season we need 1 heap tsp coriander powder, best is the home roasted variety, salt to taste and 1/2 tsp chilly powder. Stir for two mins at low heat. 

By now you needed to have cleaned about 300 g of a luscious orange pumpkin, skinned it and cut it into semi small cubes. 

So now back to the wok, once the tomatoes are done, add the pumpkin and add 1 cup of hot water. Cook for 3 mins, remember your flame is low. It is time to pour in a large cup of coconut milk, if you are using a tetra pack, use the entire 200 ml one. Slow cook till the pumpkin is soft but it does not lose its shape.

Enjoy with brown rice!

Cauliflorets Grilled

This recipe is called the Tree Of Life as quoted to me by my pretty, attractive, ever-smiling and ever-thin friend, Sai. When we heard of it for the first time, we did laugh at the preposterous nomenclature. Though the giggles could partly be attributed to some rice wine and potato vodka, mostly, the funniness of the name in itself won hands down. I mean Tree Of Life has been used in science, religion, mythology and even philosophy as a concept. But in food and cooking, this was the first.

Having said all of the above, this rather step by step recipe does branch out into something quite delectable if I may say so and yes of course, pun intended.

We start by gently breaking off about ten cauliflorets from its base and parboil them for 8 mins in turmeric water.

Grill one red pepper and then chop it and put it in a blender. To this add one small chopped onion, 3 cloves chopped garlic, a dash of white vinegar, 1/2 tsp sugar and salt to taste. Then make a smooth paste.

Crumble 75g cottage cheese. Mix well with 2 tsp chopped coriander leaves and one finely chopped de-seeded green chilly.

Stuff the cheese mix into the florets. As shown below.

Now make some white sauce, about 8 tbsp. Flavour it with thyme and parmesan. Blend the red pepper sauce with the white sauce mix.

Set the stuffed florets on a baking dish. Pour the sauce all over it generously.

Bake for 12-14 mins at 160 degrees till the cauliflower is soft. Have it warm and fresh from the oven with some bread.

Oyster Chowder

One interesting tit-bit about a traditional chowder is that crackers or biscuits are used to thicken the broth. Though in this recipe flour is used, many recipes use oyster crackers finely chopped to create body.

I took about 10 oysters for this recipe and this served well for two of us. Clean the oysters and rinse out the water well. You will need one medium size onion finely chopped, one small potato diced into smallish cubes, 8 cleaned button mushrooms, a handful of cleaned roughly chopped spinach, a cup of milk, a tbsp flour, some regular cheese and a cup of salt seasoned chicken stock. Spoon the flour into the milk and mix well. Chop the mushrooms into small bits.

In a wok, warm a tbsp of olive oil. Fry the onions till they are transparent pink. Once this is done add the potatoes, toss a bit and put a lid for 4 mins at low heat. Once the potatoes are a bit soft, throw in the mushroom and stir for 2 mins. Next add the spinach and again stir for 2 mins. Next pour in the milk and the stock. Bring to a boil and gently release in the oysters. Cook again in low heat for 5-6 mins. Grate about 11/2 tbsp cheese in the broth. Your chowder is good to dig in!

Midnight Cookies

723 Baxter St. Athens, GA 30605. 706-850-5478

This is where you can get late night cookies. This comes under the category of coffee house and cafe and they have a delivery system of late night cookies.

Back in India, we just make do by making midnight cookies ourselves. And why not? it is indeed just so simple, so quick.

Prep first. Preheat oven up to 180 degrees centigrade. Line baking trays with butter sheets or baking paper.

Next place 120g butter and 175g castor sugar in a bowl and beat together until light and fluffy. Add one beaten egg and 1/2 tsp vanilla essence and mix until smooth. Sieve in 125g plain flour, 35g cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda. Beat and mix well.

Dampen your hands, roll lime sized dough into smooth balls. Place on the baking sheet keeping gaps. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 mins.

Transfer to a wire rac and allow it to cool. Bring it on! Its midnight!

PS-This recipe makes about 25 odd pcs

Mocha Cupcakes

Mocha is the name of the largest port in Yemen where from African coffee is the most traded and transported. It is also a type of coffee bean. This recipe creates a rather evolved sense of coffee magic, an experience so refined and so subtle that one feels kind of elevated. Try it. In fact the first time that I baked them initially one felt that they were not kinda sweet. Finally even kids were devouring them. Of course different matter, these were hungry kids....

In a saucepan please take 85 g butter, 1 tbsp clear honey, 85 g sugar, 2 tbsp instant coffee powder and 200 ml of water and mix well. Place it on heat, stirring constantly. Once the sugar dissolves, allow it to come to a boil, reduce heat and let it simmer for 5 mins. Keep it aside to cool till it reaches room temperature. 

In a separate bowl sieve 225 g flour with 2 tbsp cocoa powder. Add it to the cooled above mix, fold in smoothly.

In 2 tbsp milk, add 1 tsp soda bicarbonate and make a paste. Fold in gently to the batter.

Now finally, add 1 lightly beaten large egg and beat the the mixture together until smooth.

Lace the cupcake molds with paper cases. spoon the mix into the cases. 

Your oven should have been preheated to 180 degrees centigrade. Set in the cupcakes molds and bake for 15-20 mins or until well risen and firm to the touch. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

In the picture, I have not added any topping as we were carrying them on a trip. It is enjoyed the most with a swirl of whipped cream dusted with some sifted cocoa powder. 

Choco Chip Cookies

Ruth Wakefield was baking her regular divine butter cookies at her Toll House Inn in 1938 and one time she decided to chip some chocolates and add it to the batter expecting the chocolate to melt. Lo behold! The chocolate remained as soft chips thus going on to give birth to the world loved choco chip cookies. Ruth then wrote to Nestle about her discovery and the even then corporate choco giant printed her recipe on their wrapper in return giving Ruth a lifetime supply of delicious chocolate.

Back home Gautam Ganapthy's beautiful photographer mamma shared her way of baking her divine choco chip cookies with her DIL and Kavery then passed on this magical recipe to me. Trust me, it is easy.

Cream 1/2 a cup of butter in a bowl until light. To this add 3/4 cup sugar which in turn constitutes of half brown sugar and half white sugar. Gently whisk till the sugar butter mix is light and creamy. Now add one egg and whisk well for 3 mins. Fold in 1 tsp vanilla essence. 

In a separate bowl, sieve 1 cup flour with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp baking soda. Gently blend in the flour mix to the creamy batter and once well blended, add 3/4 cup of choco chips. Once again fold in the chips gently and well into the mix.

Heat your oven at 350 degrees centigrade. Place butter paper on your baking rack and just blob little cookie dough with your hand on the paper one after the other. Bake for about 20 mins. This amount of dough should make you a batch of about 20-25 approximately. When you allow the baked cookies to stand, they become firm.

A cup of milk, a cookie and your book, sleep sweet soon!

Rum Soaked Cranberry, Banana and Walnut cake

An interesting trivia about cranberries is that they are also called bounceberries because a good ripe cranberry bounces. They also have medicinal qualities but we are not interested in that fact now.

Five or six hours prior to preparing the batter, soak about 2 heaped tbsp dried cranberries in half a cup of dark rum. Mash 2 ripe bananas well. Chop half a cup of walnuts. 

In a mixing bowl, throw in 200g butter and whisk 140g castor sugar, 1 tbsp honey amd 1 tsp vanilla essence well with the butter with an electric whisk. Once soft and creamy, add 3 eggs, but one at a time giving it a nice whisk each time so that the eggs softly blend in. The mix will look light yellow and creamy.

In a separate bowl mix 300g flour with 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1/4 tsp salt. Sieve once. Add half of this to the butter mix and with a spatula mix well. Now add the banana mash and fold in completely. Next add the rest of the flour mix and once again blend thoroughly again with a spatula. It is time to pick out the cranberries from the rum cup and add them to the batter along with the chopped walnut. One more good round of gentle folding and the batter is ready to go!

Pour into the waiting prepared baking tin and set it into the pre-heated oven. It takes about 30 mins at 150 degrees centigrade. Have fun!

Coffee Cake

Who doesn't  enjoy the romantic whiff of dark coffee brew? Coffee shops have become an universal phenomenon. Working, chatting, catching up, meeting, being alone, thinking, doing nothing...all of these qualify for a shortie or a longie at a coffee shop.

At a tea at Kavery's we had this lovely coffee cake. I am anyway a black coffee fan, It was love at first taste.

Take 150g each of castor sugar, butter, flour, 3 eggs, 1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp of coffee and 1 tbsp of hot water to dissolve coffee. Use a whisker and cream the butter till it is soft. Once creamy, add the castor sugar and mix well. Separate the eggs and beat them separately for 4 mins each, if you are using an electric whisker. In another bowl fold in the baking powder with the flour. With a flexi spatula add the flour mix to the creamed sugary butter. Smoothly mix the batter till the flour folds in completely with the butter-sugar mix. Now, dissolve the coffee in the hot water and once done add this to the batter. Pour into your prepared baking tin. Bake at 160 degrees centigrade for 30 mins. Your itchen will be filled with a sexy subtle aroma, enjoy!

To make the icing you will need 225g icing sugar, 100g butter, 1tbsp coffee and hot water. Again cream the butter which was kept at room temperature. Once soft, fold in the icing sugar and finally add the coffee which you need to again dissolve in the hot water. 

Once the cake is at room temperature, with an icing knife gently coat the cake with the coffee icing. Sprinkle some choco chips or chocolate shavings. Keep in the fridge. Whenever you are serving, take it out for a bit from the cold, slice out a delicious wedge and sway the lucky one off his or her feet!

Egg Cabbage Salad

I call this salad "The Indian Khimchi". It is unique in the way it is dressed. Tamarind and roasted cumin gives the salad an interesting zing. Potatoes, an all time fave and eggs, loved by many create magic with fresh green cabbage.

Take 4 hard boiled eggs, 2 potatoes. 4-5 and cabbage leaves which are fresh and green, 2 de-seeded green chillies, 1 large onion and 2 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves or cilantro. Cut the cabbage leaves into rough chunks or squares. Finely chop the onion and the green chilly.

For the dressing, you need 11/2 tbsp of tamarind pulp(use a fun foods jar if you have), 4 tbsp of tomato ketchup, ½ teaspoon of chilly powder. ½ teaspoon of salt, ¼ teaspoon of pepper and ½ teaspoon of cumin powder.    

Boil eggs for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and put the eggs in tap water immediately. Peel and cut the boiled eggs into 4 long or round pieces. Boil potatoes, peel and cut into ¼ inch thick round slices. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet/pan and allow the oil to spread all over. Warm the oil well and slowly place the potatoes all over without creating a double layer. The potatoes need to be fried to a light crispy state on both sides. Set the potatoes aside and add a wee bit of olive oil onto the same pan and golden fry the chopped onions. Once the onions turns transparent pink, please add the green chilies and 1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro. It is now time to add the pretty green cabbage leaves. Stir fry in low heat for about 3 mins.

For the dressing, spoon all the elements of the dressing int a bowl. Gently mix with a spoon. Add a tbsp of water for the right consistency. Mix 2 tbsp of the dressing with the salad elements. 

Now plate the salad and randomly position the boiled eggs. Dot the eggs with the dressing. Sprinkle some cilantro and serve warm (as in the temperature it is at).

Spinach & Corn On Crackers

We often find ourselves struggling to put together a sumptuous vegetarian snack, something off the beaten track yet mainstream. Something not terribly high on calories and yet very delicious. Something pretty that even the carnivores will be eyeing, maybe sideways, but eyeing with some greed alright.

I had read this recipe a while back, but since I had forgotten it, the final outcome here is a bit far from the original. My guests however quite liked this version. 

Use a cup of fresh American corn, wash and steam for about 3 mins or so till soft and whole. Drain and set aside. In a tsp of olive oil, saute one finely chopped onion and one pod of finely chopped garlic. Take one green chilly and de-seed it. Once the onion turns pink, throw in the chopped chilly, stir for a min and throw in the golden corn. Sprinkle one squeeze of lime, salt and pepper for flavour and a tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves. Your corn is done, set it aside.

I used about 2 cups of chopped freshly cleaned spinach. In a warm wok, melt a tbsp of butter. Add one finely chopped onion. Do the same thing with a green chilly as above.Now it is time to add the chopped spinach. Cook for 3/4 mins. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup of milk and 3/4th tbsp of corn flour.  Add this to the spinach mix and cook till the mix is thick. Add salt to taste. For more flavour you may add some grated cheese, about a tbsp full but this is optional.

To serve, pour out the corn filling on a cracker or a canape or a toastie. Then pile on some of the spinach puree. If you have not added the cheese in the spinach mix, you can sprinkle some cheddar cheese. Grill for 1/2 mins at semi-high heat. Serve hot. 

Mediterranean Quinoa salad

The grain Quinoa has taken the world by storm and hence a must-consume in today's day of being healthy and wise. Quinoa is a pseudocereal with high iron content and super low fat content. The Incas who held crops as sacred referred to quinoa as the ‘mother of all grains’. Still celebrated and respected, 2013 had been declared as the International year of Quinoa by the United Nations.

To make this beautiful salad you need 3-4 cups water or vegetable broth, 1 1/2 cups quinoa, uncooked, 1/2 cup olives or grapes, 1/3 cup fresh parsley, 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, 1 red onion, 1 cup cherry tomatoes or one large tomato, 1/2 cup broccoli florets, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese.  

You will also need for the dressing ¼ cup apple cider vinegar, 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 lemon, 2 cloves garlic, 3 tbsp sugar, 2 tbsp water

For the dressing, mince the garlic and squeeze out juice from the lemon. Mix together with the vinegar and the oil.

For the salad, slice the olives or the grapes and chop the parsley and cilantro. Next dice the red onion. Now take some gorgeous red cheery tomatoes and cut them into halves. In case you are using a large tomato instead, scoop out the soggy part and gently cut the crunchy part into long strips. The broccoli needs to be steamed. Parellely the quinoa needs to be boiled in the cooker using one whistle and a one : two water ratio. The grain is cooked and it absorbs the water. Set aside the grain until it is at room temperature. Gently toss the quinoa with the other salad ingredients except the feta. Now pour the dressing into the salad and mix gently. In the end add the feta and salt and pepper to taste.

You are good to go, teenagers and adults absolutely love this salad as the feta lends a lovely kick and the grain a generous body!

Pasta and mince in sun-dried and roasted tomato sauce

In 1950 Ischian jetsetter Sandro Petti, co-owner of a famed restaurant and nightspot was asked one evening by some friends to cook them some food. In his pantry he found only four tomatoes, some capers and olives. He used them up to make some sauce with spaghetti. and called it spaghetti alla putttanesca, the famous pasta dish.

Pretty much on the same lines, I set out to make some penne with a few tomatoes and sundried tomatoes in my pantry and some chicken mince in my freezer. Dinner was cooked in a jiffy and the consumers went all ga and ga!

Take 4 tomatoes and roast them in an open flame till the skin is charred and black. Then set them aside till they are cool. Now skin them and put them in a blender. To this add about 8 strips of sun dried tomatoes. Blend the two to a coarse consistency.

You now need a lovely large aubergine. Slice them up into 2 mm thick slices. Marinate with salt, olive oil and oregano. After about 8 mins, set them to grill at medium heat.

Now warm 2 tbsp of olive oil, add 1 large finely chopped red onion and 6 cloves of finely chopped garlic pods. To this add the washed mince, salt to taste and 1 tsp dried basel. Fresh chopped basel could be even better. Now cook this in low heat. 

On the side boil a packet of pasta in some salted water. Once cooked, strain, wash with cold water and fold in with some olive oil to keep the penne pieces individual. 

Back to your sauce, after cooking in low heat for 5 mins or so, add in the tomato puree. Stir well. Add 1 tsp chilly flakes. Stir for 5 more mins. Your sauce is ready.

It is time to layer your pasta. At first spoon out some pasta, on this place a layer of the grilled aubergine and then gently layer on the meat sauce. Repeat a few times. sprinkle some dried basel and devour!

Chilly Yogurt Dip

A dipping sauce commonly nomenclatured as  a dip often ushers in the success quotient in a party. The name was attached simply because food items were dipped into the sauce which is thicker than a spread and then eaten. In a recent home party I was toying with some ingredients and making different dips and tasting them myself, and having a lot of fun, mind you!

I must say I hit gold with this little concoction I came up with quite by chance. The guests were actually having the dip with spoons and I had to hide some away for the late comers. 

You need a tbsp of coconut slivers, 2 tbsp green chilly pickle (you can use Mother's recipe or  Nilon) and 4 tbsp yogurt. Blend the coconut and the pickle in a small jar in a blender. Now add in the yogurt and whisk till smooth with a smooth.Serve chilled with side accompaniments. 

PS-In the picture, this is the slightly lime coloured one.

Spinach Lasagna

Viraj and Nitu have a farmhouse near about of Bangalore, they sent some fresh homegrown (literally) spinach. A regular struggle is how to make the green look like gold on the dinner table. Tried this quick recipe and it was really well received, am sure Popeye would have loved to be in the fourth seat. 

Take a bunch of spinach, wash well and steam in an open pan for 5-7 minutes. Once cool, blend into a puree. Now in one and a half tbsp of warm olive oil, add 2 finely chopped onions and 6 cloves of finely chopped garlic. Once golden, add one similarly chopped tomato. To this add the puree, salt to taste and some dried oregano and a dash of pepper powder. In about 2 mins, add a large cup of grated cottage cheese. Stir for 3 mins or so. Add a dash of ketch up and your filling is done.

Now layer the spinach onto lasagna sheets( I used ready to cook Barilla) each time, spraying little milk on the sheets. Make 4 or 5 layers. On the top sprinkle some parmesan. Bake for 20 mins or so.

Enjoy!