Paneer Kalimiri or Peppered Cottage Cheese

Ishani has been advising me to try this lovely easy creation for a long time. Pepper being a source of vitamins, A and C coupled with fresh and crunchy vegetables, makes this dish appetizing in looks, taste and health. 
Last Sunday we were spending another lovely day with the Talwars who love simple and fresh food which do justice to quality produce. 

All you need is coloured peppers, all three colours,  red-green-yellow, one each, a large onion, about 300 grams of fresh cottage cheese and some salt and home-milled pepper powder.

Chop the vegetables in round rings and the cottage cheese in cubes.In a hot wok or sauce pan, add about 2 tbsps of olive oil. Layer the onions, sprinkle salt and pepper powder. Now layer all the coloured peppers and sprinkle salt and pepper. Cover with a lid for 2/3 minutes and keep the flame low. The onions begin to caramelize and the peppers start to soften. Top with cubed cottage cheese. Sprinkle salt to taste and generous amount of pepper powder. Again cover with the lid for 4/5 minutes while your flame is low.

Enjoy as a side dish, a warm salad or a main course item. 

Beef Bafad

Use medium to small pieces of beef. for a kilo, you will need 8 dried red chilies, 8 peppercorns, 2 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp turmeric, 5 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon stick, vinegar and salt to taste ,4 boiled potatoes, 2 onions, 3 green chilies  2 cups coconut milk, 7 cloves garlic, 1 inch ginger pc,

Cut and wash the beef and marinate with ginger garlic paste. Grind together red chilies  coriander seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, peppercorns,cloves, cinnamon and mustard seeds. Keep coconut milk handy. Chop onions, green chilies  ginger and garlic. Now in hot oil , brown the onions. Then add ginger, garlic and chilies  Add the beef pieces and fry. Add the dry masala now. Stir fry for 3 minutes.Now add coconut milk and allow the meat to cook in low heat. You can also cook in a pressure cooker. Once the meat is soft, add vinegar and boiled potatoes.

best had with rice or 'sannas'. 

Black Grape Cake or Jeweled Cake

I was driving past a fruit cart and the gleaming black grapes caught my attention. My mother really loves these and she was telling me the other day how much she misses them in Kolkata. Well, I made a mental note to carry some in the my next trip, along-with the usual white onions for Baba, and the idea of baking a cake with them came my way.

So, all you need is half a kilo of black grapes, 1/5 cups of flour, 4 tbsp vegetable oil, 2 small lemons, 1/2 cup of sugar,1 tsp vanilla essence, a pinch of baking powder and 2 eggs.

Beat the eggs well. Add the sugar and beat some more till the sugar dissolves. Add the oil and beat for another minute. Now add the vanilla essence, lime juice and grated lemon rind. In the side sieve the flour and add the baking powder. Now mix the wet and dry ingredients and fold in the batter together. If a bit stiff, add a little milk just to make your movement easy.

By now ensure your oven is preheated. Now in your baking tin ready with baking paper, pour a bit of the battera nd spread it out. Throw in the grapes randomly. Continue in layers till the batter is finished. Right on top jewel the cake with some more grapes. bake at 140 degrees for 45 mins or till it is cooked. Use the usual needle testing method. The colour is light and soft. 

BBQ'ed Chicken sticks

Tara and I were driving to Crawford market, my first time, and discussing new ideas for starters with chicken. Lo behold, this lip smacking starter was born! I included it in a menu for a Saturday night party at a successful couple's and many of their guests asked for the peppercorns contact. Yay!

Marinate boneless chicken pieces(Chilly chicken sized) with Bar-B-Que sauce (Kraft, the best and Fun Foods pretty good too) , generous amount of cayenne pepper seasoning and salt. Keep in the fridge for 24 hours.

At cooking time, warm olive oil in a wok. Add crushed garlic. When the garlic turns light brown, add in the chicken. Stir fry at low heat on a covered wok for 15 minutes. Keep stirring every 2/3 minutes. The chicken will cook in its own juices. In the last minute, increase the flame and stir fry till chicken is dry and golden brown in colour and of course well-cooked and soft. Keep the chicken aside till it reaches room temperature.

On small sized wooden skewers or tooth-picks, add cheese cubes, length wise cut half black grapes and chicken pieces, all one each.

You are ready, now get to the Margarita!

Breakfast Toast Cups

Kavery discovered this recipe and Ishani tried it. I am late in the band wagon. It was high time and it is also a lovely day, wish all of you a happy Gudiparwa, 2013. A simple quick-to-do breakfast for a happy family.

Apply olive oil or butter on the muffin tray. Take FRESH bread and fit it into the tray like in the picture below.

Stick it into the oven for 8-10 mins at 150 degrees.

Till then, stir fry finely chopped onions. once pink, add in baked beans. Another 2 minutes of stirring and you are done with that. Now take some beaten eggs and garnish with salt and pepper. Once the bread gets slightly crisp, take them out. Fill each cup with beans, the beaten egg, some bacon or ham or sausages chopped and crisped and lastly some flaked Parmesan or any grated cheese for that matter.

Put the tray back into the oven and toast for 10 more mins or so. Once done the toast cups come out of the muffin cups cases easily. Serve hot.

Spicy cod rice

I am a huge fan of one-pot meals. They are great for today's on-the-go society. You get your carbs, veggies and proteins in one large pot, and yet no one is complaining! Sharing this lovely recipe, a one pot spicy cod rice.

So take some 12-14 cod pcs (can use deboned Rawas instead) and lightly salt it. Now take 2 tbsps flour, 1 tbsp cumin powder and 1 tbsp of coriander powder and mix them well, they are all dry. Now coat the fish well and set them out on a baking paper on a tray. Store in the fridge for 30 mins.

Till then de-shell peas(can use frozen ones), chop red carrots in julienne pieces, finely chop bird eye red chillies and spring onions. Also fry a few cashews till golden but do not over fry them.

Now boil a cup and a half long grained rice, please avoid over cooking the rice.

In well warmed oil in a large pot or wok, shallow fry the fish till both sides are golden brown. Set aside. To the same warm oil, add the spring onions and toss for 1 min. Then add the carrots, peas and the red chillies. Fry for 2 mins. Next add the cashew nuts and toss everything together. Add 2 tbsp soy sauce and 2 tbsp sweet chilly sauce. Now add the rice and stir well. Add salt to taste remembering that soy sauce is salty on its own. Finally add the fried fish and once again give the pot a nice big toss.

Make this your Sunday family meal. It is lip smacking and wholesome.

Banana bread

So, Tara has a beautiful friend called Ekavali who bakes in a jiffy! The stuff that she dishes out are 'to die for'.

Enough for me to pile on to her famous banana bread recipe. It is truly amazing! Just get baking asap-it is divine.

Take 2 eggs, 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of butter(soft 100 grams works out well), 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder(optional though I recommend) , 1 banana.

Chop the banana into small bits. beat the egges, not separately with a hand beater. Add in everything. Mix well with a spatula and beat with the spatula for 20 mins or so. If required add 2 tbsp milk to ensure easy movement.

Put in a bread baking tray. bake at 200 degrees for 25 mins or so. Of course, check for complete baking with the old fashioned needle prick.

Enjoy!