Pumpkin Cranberry Pistachio Salad

I quite enjoy having pumpkin.  My BFF absolutely detests it. Nothing in life is a given.  Pumpkins are good for freckles.  Pumpkins are 90% water retained and barely calorific. Like the Irish rotund pumpkins can be carved to make will-o’-the wisps or  jack-o'- lanterns. Pumpkins are also gluten free. Now you tell me, why can everybody just not like pumpkins? C’mon, they even come in handy during snake bites….

Anyway pumpkins aside, yesterday I had friends over. These are the types who have absolute clarity on their gastronomical pangs. They know the calling of their palate two days beforehand and I was given a wished menu. So, I grilled some chicken on the bone with a Peri Peri rub, ‘on the bone’ being another operative twice repeated instruction here There was salad and a French onion soup in the plan. I added some roasted and her-bed jacket potatoes and fresh fruit with cream cheese custard with crumble to the lunch carte. They brought the soup along with them; with Emmental melting on a multi grain toast it was as classical and as delicious as it could be.

I set about to make the salad - a pumpkin-cranberry-pistachio one. I took about 200 g pumpkin for the four of us. Skinned the fruit and then cut it into cubes sized like those in a rubix. Mildly salted it. In a bowl I folded in together 11/2 tsp maple syrup, 3/4 tsp paprika powder, 3 pods of finely chopped garlic and 11/2 tsp water. Gently seasoned the pumpkin with ¾ of the dressing and baked for 30 minutes at 150 degrees C. I took the tray out of the oven, sprinkled cranberries and pistachios and baked again for 5 more minutes.

Before serving, I washed some lettuce. You can opt for any baby salad leaves. I popped in the pumpkin-cranberry-pistachio roast. A sprinkle of lemon juice and the remaining ¼ of the dressing. A last dash of some finely chopped fresh coriander leaves. We were good to gorge.

BFF, please rustle this one and just quietly have it and do not forget to love it too! And you should have thought once before acquiring a Bengali BFF. We impose.

Chicken Kurma With Melon & Sesame Seeds

I had read this somewhere long back. A line that stayed in my mind. 

The little seed knew that for it to grow it had to be dropped in dirt and covered in darkness and struggle to reach the light.

Seeds of ideas. Seeds of thoughts. Seeds of actions. Seeds of work. The little beginnings that those things are. Seeds. I love this recipe. It uses two kinds of seeds. Musk melon seeds and sesame seeds. And cashews. So I bring to you my nutty seedy gravy of a little bird!

Chicken Kurma, An inspired variation. 

At first take a kilo of chicken on the bone, wash well and marinate with 2 tbp ginger garlic paste, juice of 1 lime, salt to taste, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 1 tsp red chilli powder. Marination time ought to be about 4 hours. 

When you get to the cook, in a blender jar take 4 tbsp yogurt, 2 heap tsp sesame seeds, 2 heap tsp magaz or musk melon seeds and 1 heap tbsp cashew nuts blitz to a smooth paste. 

Step next is that you chop 2 large onions and warm 2 tbsp oil in a wok. Add the onions till they turn pink and then add 1 chopped succulent tomato. Stir well for 2 min and pour in the yogurt paste. Keep your flame at medium heat and keep stirring. You will see the oil separating. At this step you add in the chicken with all its marinade and fold everything in gently and smoothly. In about 3 minutes, add 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, salt to season and 1 tsp red chilli powder. Stir well and lid the wok for a good 6 mins. In the 7th min please check if the chicken has cooked through. Keep the lid on if the chicken is not perfectly cooked.

Chop fresh mint leaves and coriander leaves and set aside. In a skillet pour in 1 tbsp ghee. When warm spoon in 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp shahjeera. When both sputter glide into the main wok adding the fresh leaves. Stir well.

Enjoy with parathas. It is pure perfection. Yes, you are welcome.  

Mixed Daal

Sharing a mixed daal recipe. But before I do, one cute trivia I wish to share is that split pulses or daal/dal gets its name from the Sanskrit word "Dhal" which means "split". Though in India and Pakistan we do eat un-hulled pulses as in the ones with the skins intact, hulling I think adds to the digestive ease of pulses though the skins do have high dietary nutrients. 

I am going totally Indian for this recipe. Using Indian names for the pulse varieties. This quantity serves about 6 to 8.

So you will need 1/2 cup Toor or Arhar daal, 1/2 cup yellow Moong daal, 1/4 cup Chana daal, 1/4 cup Urad daal and 1/4th cup Masoor daal. 

For this, chop 2 mid sized onions and 4 pods garlic. Wash the pulses well and mix with the chopped onion and garlic. Add water in your andaaz or say about 2 glasses and pressure cook till one whistle goes off. Reduce the heat and keep in the lowest flame heat for 20 minutes. 

For the tadka, heat 2 - 3 tbsp oil in a wok. Add 1 heap tsp Hing. Immediately pop in 12 curry leaves and 3 whole green chillies. Stir. Add 1 large chopped onion and 1 large chopped tomato. Stir again and then add 1 tsp red chilli powder, 11/2 tsp coriander powder and salt to taste. Stir well for 3 minutes at medium heat. Now add the boiled daal and about 1 large cup of hot water. Bring to a simmer.

Time to spike the yellow bubbling gravy with a tsp of garam masala powder, a squeeze of lime juice and freshly chopped coriander leaves. In a pan warm a tsp ghee and fry half a chopped onion till pink and garnish the daal with this. 

That is it. Please make it. Everyone will savour it. 

No Fuss Chicken

I bring to you a keeper recipe. 

My ex-neighbour aunt messaged me this one recently and this could be one of the simplest non fussed and non prepped chicken preparations I know which turns out piquant, delicious and quirky. Great to eat with breads like pararthas or paos. Of course, please use wheat paos or if I may suggest methi parathas. 

Sharing the recipe for a kilo of chicken. Marinate the chicken on the bone after washing well with a whole lime juice and salt to taste. Marinate for 5 to 6 hours. 

In a warm wok add 2 tbsp ghee. Fragrant 2 tsp Hing or asafoetida in the ghee will add to the kitchen aromas. Now add a tsp cuimin seeds and when they sputter add 3 whole green chillies. Stir and add 3 cups of gently beaten curd stirring constantly. Next add 2 tsp freshly ground pepper and 2 tsp coriander powder. In a minute after stirring at low to medium heat add the chicken. Gently stir all over and cover the wok with a lid.Every 3/4 minutes toss till the chicken is cooked through. 

Take a generous bunch of mint leaves, wash well and add to the chicken. You can now increase the heat and generally stir well. 

Simple, well seasoned and appetising chicken on your table!

Stuffed Spiny Gourd or Stuffed Kakrol

For some strange pompous reason I assumed Momordica dioica is Bengali. Kakrol is what we call it in upstate West Bengal and I kind of thought no other community even knows of this bristly balsam pear commonly called spiny gourd. Well, please do not take offence as honestly it is not really a luscious piece of lamb or a white juicy piece of fish that we are talking about. The hero here is an oblong prickly slightly mildly bitter Asian vegetable. No great flavour lender to a curry but with the traditional scoop out & scoop in recipe I am about to share, it is, my friends a delightfully traditional and classy little piece of cookery art.

Wash the gourd well and cut them by half through the centre longitudinally. Then with a spoon scoop out the fleshy seedy centre till the vegetable looks like an open boat. Next in salty water parboil it for about 5 minutes or so. Set aside on a tissue and allow it to lose any water droplets. 

In a small blender jar, make a mustard paste with black mustard seeds, a green chilly, a dash of salt and a tad bit of water. For 4 gourds, take 2 tbsp mustard seeds. Next take half a dry coconut and make a white wet paste again in a blender. Also chop one large red onion finely. 

In a warm iron wok, take one and a half tbsp mustard oil and allow it to warm. Gently slide in the onions and cook till pink and transparent. Time to add the mustard paste, salt to season, a dash of chilli powder and turmeric and cook it all for 2 to 3 minutes. Next add the coconut paste and stir well and in another 2 minutes add the scooped out flesh of the gourd. Cook everything well, stirring all the time for about 4-5 minutes in medium to low flame. Taste the filling. It should be sharp and delicious. 

Now spoon in this filling when at room temperature into the depth of the open boats of the spiny gourd and fill them right upto the brims or the edges. 

In a bowl, take 4 tbsp gramflour, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp nigella seeds, salt and chilli powder to season. Spoon everything around well and make a thick paste adding water. Remember the paste needs to be of a 'pakora' consistency. 

In an open deep pan, warm any white oil. Now dunk the filled boats into your gramflour paste and fry like a 'pakora'. The whole half gourd should be coated with the gramflour paste. Fry till golden on all sides. While frying keep the pan covered for a bit as the skin cooks a little more at then step. 

Enjoy hot with plain white rice. Just squash the 'pakora' and the mustard coconut filling will ooze out and merge with the rice with the crisp skin adding to the palate senses. It is a village imagery I am creating for you which I assure you will make you feel loved, warm and fuzzy. 

Enjoy the way I like my kakrols!

Caramel Pecan Pound Cake

"I'll have what she is having" 
or
"It is so nice when you can sit with someone and not have to talk"
or
"I thought you didn't believe men and women could be friends"
or
"There are two kinds of women: High maintenance and low maintenance" 

Well, I bet you are guessing where I am headed. Back to 1989 New York City. When Harry met Sally, we all fell in love. Since then I have said it aloud several times - I am proud to partake of your pecan pie. Aloud in my head. Always ending with a glint in the eye with a whoop in my stride. And the word "PECAN" stayed. All these years later I bring to you a recipe; A Caramel PECAN pound cake. It is fingerlickingly tempting! Hurry! Preheat your oven.

Cream 100 g butter with 11/2 cups brown sugar for 4 minutes or so. Now add 5 eggs, but add one at a time while whisking with the electric whisk at mid speed. Flavour with 2 tsp vanilla extract. 

In another bowl mix 2 cups all purpose flour, 2 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Sieve and add to the above bowl. Gently fold it all in and then add 1 cup of butter milk and continue folding. Chop a cup of pecan nuts and tumble them in and once again blend it all in.

Use a bundt pan. Grease with oil and pour the batter in. Bake at 180-200 degrees C for 30-35 mins. The baking time does vary from oven to oven. use the needle technique to check for perfect baking.

Time to get a glaze ready. In a semi deep pan melt 1/2 brown sugar and then add 4 tbsp butter. Stir continuously. To this golden heaven smelling sauce add 2 tbsp corn syrup and 2 tbsp cream. With a spatula mix well and throw in half a cup of chopped pecan nuts. 

Once the cake is ready and is at room temperature, glaze it with the caramel sauce. 

Where is your cake knife?

Burnt Sugar Cake

There is something to be said about burnt sugar cakes. They remind you of an English Grandma from the country or the church. The thing is that this genre is losing its remembrance because you simply cannot bake a burnt sugar cake out of a packet. You just have to have to make the burnt sugar yourself and you have to make it fresh. The flavour of a burnt sugar cake is just so unique. I have discovered that almost all burnt sugar cake pictures show them glazed and iced, I have not done that, I preferred to retain the genuine caramelisation in the cake flavour but I reckon that inspite of icing and frosting the strong gorgeous flavour of burnt sugar will remain.

Sharing a simple recipe. Thanks Kavery. 

Melt half a cup of sugar over low heat until clear medium brown. You do not need to stir much. If you feel tempted to stir, then quickly water your pots of make a phone call. Once in a while gently shake the pan. This will stop the sugar from sticking. Add 1/2 a cup of hot water and now stir constantly to avoid lumps. 

In another bowl mix 2 and 1/4 cup of flour, 3/4th cup of sugar, 1 tsp salt and 3 tsp baking powder. Add half a cup of butter, can use about 50 grams and blend with a cake whisk. Now pour in 2/3 of the burnt sugar mix and beat at low speed. In 2 minutes add the rest of the burnt sugar and again whisk. In a separate bowl beat 2 eggs with a tsp vanilla essence. Add 2 tbsp warm milk. When folded pour this liquid into the batter mixing bowl. Gently fold till smooth. Your dough will be slightly golden brown in colour.

Bake at 150 degrees for about 40 minutes. As it depends from oven to oven, check with a needle and adjust your baking time. The cake is springy. 

Andhra Mutton

I am listing a course meal for you. 

Annam (rice) with Neyyi (ghee) is served throughout the meal until the end. You are being served on a Vistari which is a large plate made of several leaves sewn together.

Modhati Muddha(first bite) is an appetiser of Ooragaaya (spiced pickle)
Pappu (lentils - plain or with vegetables)
2 or 3 Koora bowls(curries - veg and non veg)
Rasam or Charu (Kadi)
Perugu (Yogurt) or Majjiga (Butter Milk) accompanied by a spiced pickle
Sweet, if you are celebrating something
Paan

Are you satiated? Now tell me which state of India are you in? 

Yes, you are being served a celebratory meal in Andhra Pradesh/Telengana. Cuisine in this part of India, influenced by cultures, inhabitants and topography is absolutely unique from the rest of the nation. The variety the cuisine boasts of is multi faceted. Options are available for every hour of a day. Telugu food is cooked by Andhra-ites living in their own land and also by Telugu speaking people in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu which of course has a nuance of local influences. 

One such Kannadika has shared this recipe with me. Kavita is one of those South Indian Brahmins who lives for her meats and fish. Food is her manna. Inspite of very long work hours at a gym and at her bank, she cooks on many days of the week and is always updating me with new recipes and food trivia. Here is one of her teachings. To die for!

I cooked with a kg of mutton on the bone. I used goat meat. 

Take 2 large red onions and chop them lengthwise. Freshly make a tbsp of ginger garlic paste. Take equal stalks of Coriander leaves, Fenugreek leaves and Mint leaves - about a palm full of each. Chop roughly. Chop 2 large tomatoes. Grate half a coconut and blend with 2 tbsp of curd. 

In a warm cooker bowl, heat about 3 tbsp oil. Season with 4 green cardamom seeds, 1/2 an inch bruised cinnamon stick, 6 peppercorns and 6 cloves. When this sputters throw in the onions and toss till pink. Next goes in the ginger garlic paste and in another minute go in the leaves. Stir well for a minute and season with a tsp full of chilli powder, 2 tsp coriander powder, 2 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt to season. Toss about for another minutes and pop in the tomato pieces. After adding the pink meat mix well and at medium heat keep stirring the mutton every now and then ensuring nothing sticks to the base. I did this for 15 or 20 minutes for sure. In your kettle heat 11/2 glasses of water and pour the same into your cooker bowl. With your spatula gently mix the meat and paste in well. Cover the cooker bowl with its lid and pressure cook the mutton till soft. I waited till I heard 10 whistles.

When the hot gas has all naturally released from the cooker, open the lid. Ensure the meat is tender and there is some gravy. Check for salt seasoning. Bring to a boil at high heat and pour in the coconut curd mix. With a ladle fold in the white mix. 

That's it. Ladle out portions onto a bowl and mate it with 'parathas' and lose yourself!

Vietnamese Chicken Stewed In Coconut Water

I was watching an episode of Luke Nguyen's Vietnam. This recipe fascinated me. It was like being in the lanes of Hanoi all over again. Shopping for little nothings from quaint corners, buying local art with the blazing red eye catching flowers on canvases everywhere, sitting to eat on really low plastic chairs and thanking the heavens with every intake of the brilliant textures of quail-squid-clams-what not, hearing the shrill sweet noises of rubber horns on local rickshaws, drooling over innumerable mugs from the romantic coffee repertoire, and wanting to eat more and more and everything that was on display at every street joint. Yes, Vietnam wins hands-down amongst many destinations that I have been lucky to visit and a re-visit with girlfriends is now on the bucket list. Who wants to come with me? You can enlist only and only if you are a lover everything that is delicious. 

Back to my recipe. I could not remember all the steps that the brilliant chef was showing on telly and I also would not be ambitious to  recreate his version because his essential ingredient was fresh green little bunches of peppercorns which he plucked from trees in a pepper plantation. This lucky act of cooking amidst the green under the liquid blue sky on a rustic stove itself I am sure will make his creation top class. But try my version that I share with you from my black and white modern kitchen in Mumbai. My recipe is a take-off from his with my own twists in it.

I used a kilo of chicken on the bone. Wash it well and marinate with about 4 pods of crushed garlic, 2 tbsp red wine vinegar and about 20 pearls of roughly crushed peppercorns. Keep it overnight. 

Also remember to source 1 large tender coconut with abundant water in it. Dice 1 tomato. Keep ready half an inch of 'galangal' and bruise it. Also keep ready a sprig of lemon grass. I like to use 4 or 5 red bird eye chillies for the recipe. 

On the day of cooking which is the next day, shallow fry the chicken making both sides burnt golden. Slice 1 red onion and take 4 or 5 pink shallots. Side-wise make slant cuts of 6 or 7 baby corn tubes. 

In a warm wok, add the chicken along with the pan oil, the baby corn, the onions, the shallot, the 'galangal', salt to taste, 2 tsp freshly ground pepper powder, the bird chillies and the tomato. Toss everything in the heat for 3 minutes at high flame. Now is the refreshing addition to the recipe. Pour in the whole coconut water and bring to a boil. Toss in the lemon grass and allow the chicken to simmer at medium heat for a good 10-12 minutes till it softens. Pierce the meat to ensure it is soft. Add about 3 tsp full fish sauce. 

Pour on sticky rice or brown rice and dig in while it is fresh from the wok. Delicacy...sublimity..., sophistication.... rich sweetness.......peppery sharpness -  these are the sensations which will overwhelm you.  

Kerala Mutton Fry or Kerala Beef Fry

What if Vishnu avatar Parasurama had not thrown his axe across the sea from Konkan to Kanyakumari? Would we still have Kerala? A land of temples, churches and mosques? Is that really why it is considered as God's own country. I would like to believe that pristine beaches, emerald backwaters, dense forests, exotic wildlife, deep rooted cultures, jeweled lagoons and bays, long river networks and mind blowing food is what win the state its name. I have not seen enough. But I have seen enough to believe in the miracle called Kerala. 

Even before that I met Angela. She was recruited just before me or maybe even earlier in the Customer Service team at Standard Chartered credit cards, Bangalore. Our work was intense and chaotic. We would vacillate between fire-fighting and crisis management. Lunch breaks were treasured moments. We would share our lunch boxes. She was lucky. Her mom packed her food. Often she would get the Erachi Varattiyathu aka the Kerala beef fry and I would partake of this hand-created bliss and reach heavens or maybe God's own country itself!

Beef is not available here any more. So I tried the recipe with mutton. I recommend you use beef and that you use the boneless variety. Rest, just follow this recipe. It is bang-on. 

For this recipe, I used half kilo mutton as in lamb and I kept it on the bone. So, first steps would be that in a pressure cooker you boil the mutton with one red onion sliced, 1 tsp ginger garlic paste, salt to season, 1/2 tsp turmeric powder and 3 cups water. Allow about 6- 7  whistles. The meat should cook well. 

Take 1/4 of a dry coconut. Slice them. Fry them till golden. Set aside. Take a hand full of fresh curry leaves. Set aside too.

Take 2 tbsp broken cashew and grind into a paste with a tad bit of water.

Now take about 2 red onions and slice them long. Fry them till pink. Add 2 slit green chillies and half the above curry leaves. Toss for 2 minutes.

To this add 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste. Next add cashew paste. Stir for 2 mins in low heat. Add chilli powder depending upon your taste remembering that it is a spicy preparation, 2 tsp coriander powder and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder. Suate well. 

Chop one large tomato into medium small pieces. Add to the above wok. When you do this increase the heat to high flame. Stir well so that the mix does not stick to the surface of the wok. 

I added the meat now with about a cup of the water it was boiled in. Blend everything in with your spatula. Season with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1/2 to 1 tsp freshly ground fennel powder and 1/2 tsp pepper powder. I also poured in 1 tsp white vinegar now for acidity. Cover and keep at low heat now for the meat to roast. 

In about 5 minutes, add the fried coconut slivers, the rest of the curry leaves and some freshly chopped coriander leaves. The final colour will be a delicious blackish brownish gold and the meat will be tender and well roasted. 

Transfer to a dish. Enjoy with ghee rice or the traditional "puttu". I served it with plain crisp "dosas".

Indo - Western Broccoli

President H.W. Bush said broccoli tastes like medicine. In 1990 he banned the cooking of it in  Air Force One. A slogan in 2002 by one produce company saying " broccoli and bush, we are both good for America" failed to change the president's mind about the ban. Wonder if he would have been re-elected had he eaten some broccoli. 

I am sharing a broccoli recipe. It is indeed indo -western in its flavours. You will feel the sense when you have it. And I promise you even your Bush alike broccoli hating child will love this dish. 

I learnt this recipe from Prajakti, my little ex neighbour who had made this for her mom in Kolhapur. For me to think that Prajakti is wedded and kidded itself is a lot to handle. Then to learn a recipe created by her is just too much. And too too lovely!

Take a mid size broccoli flower. Cut broccoli florets keeping a little bit if the stem. Blanch in hot water. Set aside.

In a small blender make a paste with 3 tbsp broken cashew nuts. I use broken ones to save some money. Blend this cashew paste with a cup of milk and about 2 tbsp fresh cream. Do the blending with a fork or a gentle hand whisk. 

Grate about 1/2 an inch of ginger. In a pestle and mortar crush 6 pods garlic and 1 large green chilly. You can use a garlic crusher too. Chop a large red onion in long slices. 

In warm 1 and a 1/2 oil lightly fry the ginger, garlic and chilly for 1/2 a minutes and toss the broccoli with a dash of salt. Make the green vegetable crisp and warm.

Separately again in 1 and a 1/2 tsp warm oil caramelize the onions till they are pink and crisp. Add the cashew-milk-cream mix. Gently blend in medium heat and season with salt and pepper or chilly flakes.

To serve place the broccoli on a plate and spoon on the sauce ensure generous coating of the green florets. Enjoy with multi grain bread or even as it is.

Dry Coriander Chicken

I call this my Monday Magic recipe. You have done the groceries last weekend and you don't want to step out to buy stuff until Friday. The family wants something delicious and new, 'new' being the operative word here. You don't have much time on your hands and you need already-at-home ingredients. 

I give you a  magical solution dear chicken likers. 

Marinate a kilo chicken on the bone because bones emit a juicy flavour with ginger, garlic and coriander paste seasoned with salt and chilli powder and sour curd and set aside for 6 hours. For the paste you should take 1 inch ginger, 6 pods garlic and a fistful bunch of coriander leaves with stalks. The sour curd quantity will be 200 grams.

Finely chop 4 onions. 

In a wok, heat 1 tbsp oil and 1 tbsp ghee. To this pool throw in 2/3 cloves, 5/6 peppercorns, 2/3 green cardamom and 2 dried bay leaves. In less than a minute add the onions and let them turn brown. Next just add the whole chicken with the marinade. Stir and mix well. Cover with a lid at medium heat. The chicken should cook in its own juices. Please don't add anything, no water at all. Keep removing the lid and stirring every now and then. Once the chicken is soft add 1/2 tsp 'garam masala'(can be store bought at an Indian store for those living abroad) and increase the heat. Just toss it around for another long minute. 

You will serve delicious, juicy, tangy, kicky chicken to the lucky eaters. I bet you they will bless you!

Drumstick Pumpkin Gourd Gravy

Calling out to vegetable lovers. A subtle wholesome delicate vegetable gravy making you feel as though you are walking through vast fields under a blue sky. It could be a bright summer day or a comforting winter afternoon. Sweetness from fresh vegetables combined with piquancy from fragrant spices creates a mystical nuance. Mother taught me this recipe over one recent long phone call. Must remember to pat her on this one. Like many before.

Take 2 drumsticks, clean the unnecessary threads from the sides and cut them in 2 inch lengths. Next take 250 grams sweet pumpkin and cut in cubes. Also add about 2 ridge gourds, scrape the sides and cut them into chunks. 

Fry 3 red chillies in a tsp warm oil. Grind into paste when cool. Take 2 tsp nigella seeds and make a paste with half tsp water. Keep aside. 

In a tsp ghee, add a tsp of the following mix of spices - fenugreek, fennel, nigella, cumin and black mustard seeds. In Bengal this is a backbone spice always stored in a jar and called 'Paanch Phoron'. Once the seeds sputter, grate an inch of ginger root. In another minute add all the vegetable and add salt to season. In another 2-3 minutes pour in a cup of warm water. Let the vegetables cook and the gravy simmer. Season with a dash of sugar, the red dry chilly paste and the nigella paste. In another minute the dish is done.

Steam some white rice. Enjoy with the fragrant vegetable gravy.

Lemon Pound Cake

When we were little girls, the pretty girl in the class was supposed to be snobbish or unkind or immodest or just not nice. Sour grapes of course. It took a few years and a few pretty women to lend grace and maturity to my growing out of this bias. Sigh! One such pretty woman is my friend Resh. Reshma is gorgeous. We hung out a lot in my Bandra days. My discerning hubby would know instantly that I was with her from my exceptionally sweet tone over the phone Ha ha! This is Reshma's always lilting influence on others and this is also too many years of marital know-it-all!

Reshma loves aqua colours. She bakes beautifully. She hand paints and restore furniture which most often she transforms into aqua hues. She makes artistic cushion covers. She never gets angry. She loves living in a joint family. She is a superb mom to two beautiful girls. And every single thing around her is pretty. And I wish she would give us her homemade 'choles' as Diwali gifts which we could freeze for 40 days!

So is this recipe of lemon pound cake which she taught me during my tea cake bazaar last year. It is luscious lemony and lilting!

You will need 5 eggs, 200 grams unsalted butter, 3 cups of flour, 1/2 cup of shortening which can be vegetable oil, 1 level tbsp baking powder, 1/4th tsp salt, 1 cup of milk, 3 level or less cups of sugar, 6 tbsp lime juice and grated rind of 11/2 lime(if the lime is large then use 1 only).

In a bowl, beat with an electric whisk the butter, shortening and sugar and allow it to soften and be smooth and creamy. In about 5-6 minutes of beating, add 1 egg at a time beating constantly. This means add an egg and beat for 2 mins and only then add the next egg and repeat. 

In a separate bowl mix the flour, baking powder and salt and after mixing with a dry spoon pass through a sieve.

Now reduce your beater speed to medium low. 

Add a bit of milk, beat for a minute. Next add a part of the dry mix and beat again. Repeat this in similar steps with the milk going in the last. You batter is creamy and soft now. 

With a cake spatula fold in well after now adding the lime juice and rind. Pour onto a prepared cake tin. Bake at 150-160 degrees for 40 minutes. The baking time changes from oven to oven. A needle prick will help you decide if the cake is baked well. 

Brew some tea. Cut a slice of lemon pound cake. Reach heaven. 

Fish Casserole

I find it rather cute that the word casserole can apply to the dish in which it is cooked and also to the dish itself. The container meaning is that it is cooked in or on an oven and also used for serving. The dish meaning is that it is a stew which is slow cooked. I know everyone knows all this, but it is fun to write. 

For this recipe of a fish casserole, I had about 10 one inch thick fillets of Beckty. Red snapper or cod will do well too. Wash the fish well. marinade with salt, fresh pepper powder and lime juice. I marinated for about 6 hours. 

Make about a cup of usual vegetable stock. 

At the the time of cooking, peel, wash and cut chunkily about 2 red carrots. Slice finely 2 red onions. In a tbsp warm meted butter add 2 bay leaves and the onions and allow them to turn transparent and pink. To this add the carrot. season with salt and pepper remembering that you had coated the same seasoning onto the fish. After about 2 minutes add the vegetable stock cover with a lid and let it simmer for 10 minutes. take the lid off and gently place the fish in one by one. The cooking time will now be only 4 minutes. The fish will become soft and creamy. Add to teh fragrance with a sprig of thyme and dramatise with a spoon of capers. In this picture, I added parsley instead of thyme, but please keep thyme handy. Works better.

Your fish casserole is ready to enjoy. The flavours are subtle, gentle and romantic. Bread will be a perfect accompaniment. 

Grilled Sweet Potato, Carrot, Spring Onion Salad

Soak a handful of kidney beans overnight. In the morning boil them keeping a crunchy yet soft feel. 

I used two longish sweet potatoes, scraped them clean and peeled them. Make slanting fat pieces. Par boil them for 2 minutes or so. Do the same for one carrot. Drain out the water and rub olive oil, salt, pepper and crushed garlic. Now grill them at high heat in the oven for about 6 to 8 minutes. Set them aside.

Scoop out the flesh from 2 luscious tomatoes. Slice them round. Pan roast with salt and pepper.

Take about 6 spring onion bulbs. Cut them lengthwise. Apply a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper and pan roast them too.

For the dressing, take 6 tbsp yogurt, 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Add 2 cloves of crushed garlic and 2 tbsp lemon juice. Fold everything in, Please don't beat too much. 

In a large salad bowl, place washed drained crisp salad leaves like aragula and lettuce randomly. Place the sweet potato, carrot, onion bulbs, tomato rings gently on the leaves, layering as you go along. Blob onto the bowl dollops of the dressing. As you serve yourself, ensure you are getting a bit of everything. It is lovely, I assure you.

Peshawari Vegetable

Did you know that foods eaten by denizens of ancient civilizations namely Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were a part of the umbrella cuisine called 'Peshwari' food? Dishes that belong to Pakistan, parts of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber area all really add up to 'Peshawari' cuisine.This cuisine emerges out of history, religion, geography and stories of these lands. I am sharing a vegetarian dish, a gorgeous way to enjoy one's vegetables and I am calling it "Peshawari vegetable'. I also want to boast that the final result is fabulous. Please get to it. 

Cut the florets from a cauliflower, take a bowl of peas, chop all the three coloured peppers, one each in small pieces and cut one carrot in small pieces. Golden fry all the vegetables. This is your vegetable kitty. Next take half a fist of cashews and fry them to golden also. To this add a 100 grams of small cubes of 'paneer'. Place all of this in a bowl.

Next take a fist full of cashew nuts. For this step I use broken ones as it works out a bit cost effective. Make a paste with a little bit of water.

Then take 2 onions, slice them and fry them to pinkish brown. Once cool, blend them into a paste. 

In a cup of water dissolve 3 tbsp yogurt. Set aside.

Grate a 100 grams 'paneer'.

In a warm wok take a tbsp oil and a tbsp butter. When warm, add finely chopped garlic and ginger. Quantities could be 5 pods of garlic and 1 inch of ginger. Once it sputters, add the cashew paste and the fried onion paste and stir well. Time to spike up things with a tsp of 'garam masala' powder, salt to season, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and 1/2 tsp or a bit more of red chilly powder. Mix well with a spatula and allow the mix to cook for about 2 odd minutes. Add the grated 'paneer' and toss again for another minutes.Pour in the cup of yogurt water. This makes the gravy. Once this simmers, add that bowl which is waiting and ready. 

Once the vegetables acquire a crunchy yet cooked texture, add 2 tbsp fresh cream and a dash of lime. Enjoy with crisp 'parathas'.

Fennel And Peppercorn Flavoured Dry Chicken

Ranadive Aunty shared this recipe. She says it is a dry chicken recipe with 'Badishop' which is none other than fennel. Made me think that this chicken can be cooked anytime of the year given that it is flavoured with the perennial herb, the Fennel. Indigenous to many lands especially around the Mediterranean and also in other dry lands, the Fennel boasts of many many many helpful values. Why, even H.W. Longfellow wrote a few words about the Fennel tree. May I quote him just a little bit...

Above the lower plants it towers,
The Fennel with its yellow flowers;
And in an earlier age than ours
Was gifted with the wondrous powers
Lost vision to restore..

To the recipe. Marinate about a kilo of chicken in a tsp salt, chilly powder, turmeric each and one and a half tbsp of ginger and garlic paste and 3-4 tbsp yogurt. You need about 3 hours of marination. 

Slice longitudinally 4 red onions and take about 4 whole chillies. In a warm pan, dry roast 1 tbsp whole peppercorns and fennel seeds each for about 2 or 3 minutes in medium heat. Once cooled, powder the mixture.

Next in a warm wokin about 2 tbsp oil, fry the chicken until golden brown on all sides. Keep aside. 

In the same wok, add 1 or 11/2 tbsp ghee. You can use oil instead. Once warm, throw in 6-7 peppercorns, 4 green split cardamom seeds, 6 cloves, 1 inch bruised cinnamon stick. Once these crackle, add the onions till light pink. Now add the green chillies and about 10 leaves of curry leaves. Now it is time to chop up 1 large tomato and put that in. In a minute or so, spoon in a tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp garam masala powder, a dash of chilly powder if you like it zesty and salt to season. After another two minutes add the chicken pieces. Toss and turn the chicken in the seasoning and keep at low heat covered until the chicken is cooked. Once the chicken is tender, in high flame add a tsp and a half of the peppercorn and fennel powder and a few fresh leaves of curry leaves.

Hunan Chicken

Hunan cuisine is rated to be one of the really popular cuisines of Chinese cuisine. The history of this cuisine dates back to many centuries and eras. Hot spicy flavours, fragrant aroma and deep colours are the trademark nuances of the cuisine. One very interesting concept of Hunan cuisine is that the menu changes with the season. Winter months will find a hot pot on the table so as to help tackle the body chill. Yet again in summer a typical menu would be a platter with a selection of cold meats with chillies.

In India, we often find a Hunan chicken on a Chinese menu. I don't much care much for Indianised Chinese gravies but I do make an exception for this one. I guess I enjoy using Sherry, fresh ginger root and fragrant fresh peppercorns to toss up the chicken. 

At first grind 4/5 tbsp peppercorns. Then in a large bowl mix a tsp honey, 2-3 tbsp soy sauce, salt to season, 2 tbsp dry sherry and 1 tsp pepper powder. This will be good for about 3/4 kilo of boneless cubed chicken pieces. Gently coat the chicken with the whole sauce. 

Now chop really finely to get a tbsp each of fresh ginger and garlic. Take about 5 stalks of spring onions and chop finely. Next take a tsp full of red chilly flakes. In 2 tbsp warm vegetable oil add all of the above and stir for about a minute. Then add the chicken with its whole marinade and allow the chicken to cook for about 10 minutes at medium heat.

On the side blend in 1 tbsp black bean sauce, 2 tbsp rice vinegar and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Pour this in to the chicken. At high flame stir. Add half a cup of warm water for gravy and allow it to simmer for only a minute.

You are done.

Vegetable Manchurian

Did you know that Manchuria is a region in now North East China. And the people who live there are called Tungusic people. The Tungusic people inhabit Eastern Siberia. They are not the Mongols. The Manchu people are the largest clan of the Tungusic people. The red tasseled hats belong to the Manchus. 

Interesting read, all of the above. But I could not establish if the Manchurian gravy could be dated back to the Manchu culture of food though the namesake is too much of a coincidence. I am finding it rather romantic to imply a connection. -)

For the recipe, I used one green cabbage, two plump red carrots and about one and a half green peppers. All of the vegetables have to be chopped really finely. Honestly, I used a chopper. To this mix, add one and a half tbsp corn flour and 4 tbsp flour. Wheat flour should do. Now add one finely chopped green chilly, salt and pepper to season and heartily mix it all. Make balls your palm. Here is where I am sharing my trick. When I make the balls, I squeeze out the extra juice in a bowl so that the balls hold out. Save the juice. Lets call it the magic juice just for a lark. 

In a deep wok, warm vegetable oil. Fry each ball till they turn golden on all sides. Gently place them on a kitchen towel for the extra oil to drain out.

Now to the gravy. You will need to finely chop one or two green chillies (for kids add the green chillies whole), one and a half handful of spring onions, two inches of ginger root with skin and about ten cloves of garlic. In about three tbsp of sesame oil which has been warmed, add the above. Separately and before hand mix three tbsp tomato ketchup, 3 tbsp soy sauce and one and a half green chilly sauce in a bowl. Once you have sauted the ginger-garlic-spring onion-chillies, add the sauce blend. Now add a cup of water and the rest of the strained magic juice. It is time to slowly put in the balls, one by one. Allow to simmer for atleast two minutes. If you need further thickness, mix a tbsp corn flour in a cup of room temperature water and add to the above. 

Allow a bubble or two. Enjoy with fried rice. 

PS: Wonder if the Gobi Manchurian perfected by Black Cadillac and Pub World and Konaark even existed in Manuchria! I am sure NOT. But I am also sure that all good Bangaloreans, gourmet food proponents or not swear by beer and yummilicious Gobi Manchurian coloured with orange tandoori colouring....Aha, those days!

Peas Puree As A Flat Bread Stuffing

In most Kolkata homes winter day refrigerators are stocked with a steel box filled with this rich green pasty peas mix. I reckon some of the steel has been replaced by Tupperware but the heritage of the peas puree continues. Another heritage that continues in Kolkata which I find rather refreshing is that people still drop in unannounced adding to the everlasting romance of the city. And they are not disappointed because with a cup of tea there is a magical serving conjured up of "motorshutir kochuri" aka "matar ke puri" aka "fried bread stuffed with peas puree"....

So, Bengalis, I know you do not need this recipe. All others, please do stock up with this stuffing and enjoy your winter breakfasts and make the kiddy lunchboxes healthy and interesting. Peas are loaded with good vitamins and remember to inform your kids that peas are botanically regarded as fruits because they have seeds. I just love this little trivia. 

For the recipe, I used 2 kilos of peas and shelled them. Then I blended them with 2 green chillies and 1 inch of grated ginger in the mixer with only half a cup of water. Allow the puree to be a bit coarse and not too pasty. In a warm wok, add 2-3 tbsp oil. In the warmed oil add 11/2 tsp asafoetida and 2 tsp cumin powder. In a bit add the peas puree. Keep stirring at medium heat. In 5 minutes or so, add salt and red chilly powder to taste. I also add a smallish dash of sugar. Now the trick and the hard work is to keep stirring until the puree is cooked and takes on a dark olive colour. If you taste it you will not feel a raw taste. This means you are ready. I would advice about 15 minutes of stirring time. If you are mad at someone put that person on the job. Allow the puree to cool. 

In little wheat dough balls, make a well. Spoon in a chunk of the puree. Close the opening with the help of the dough sides. Roll them out into rounds. You can either deep fry them or pan roast them. While pan roasting them you may add just a dash of oil to lend a tasty glaze. Okay honesty blaze...we cheeky Bengalis make our dough with white flour but then they say Digene sells the most in Kolkata!!! Enjoy!