Singapore Mei Foon (Rice noodles, Singapore-style)

Hello friends,

Have I told you about New Market located at Esplanade, Kolkata. It is a magical place where you can find the rarest of ingredients that you haven't even heard the names of, for example: a napa.

I know, I too went 'what in God's green earth is that', when I saw the vegetable on display. To me, it looked like a hybrid version of a lettuce head, but it was a won bok or napa or Chinese cabbage. Well, what do I know!

I didn't even know what exactly happened, but after five minutes I found myself carrying a napa, a bok choy (don't ask, just Google it!), a sprig of spring onion (which was obscenely expensive for it was not in season) and a beautiful red carrot.

It must have been some Chinese voodoo.

Anyways, since I had all these ingredients at hand I remembered an excellent meal I had at the Singapore Airport back in 2008, with Singapore mei foon (how I loved the cliché) and naturally I started hunting for rice noodles next (I totally went about it in reverse, didn't I?). Naturally, I found it at New Market, rice noodles that was of excellent quality and imported from...somewhere, for I definitely didn't recognise the language written on the packet when I tried and failed to look for the expiry date. The shop-keeper assured me it was fresh and I believed him for he looked elderly and kind and not the murdering-the-customers-in-their-sleep-or-when-they-unsuspectingly-have-mei-foon-one-fine-day sort.

As usual I tweaked it to suit my taste buds and the availability of ingredients. I used shrimp (fresh ones, not the frozen ones) in stead of meat of any kind and Sunrise Chow Mix in stead of curry powder (it has loads of garlic powder and some other spices including cinnamon and cloves). I didn't have hoisin or oyster sauce either. I used a little bit of Schezuan sauce for I love it hot and spicy.

Ok, enough talking! Here are the pics and the recipe itself:

You see how the noodles have broken into little pieces. Well, it was because I didn't have a Chinese wok which is the best utensil for cooking noodles. If you try to do it in your saucepan like me, you will end up breaking up the noodle threads. A pity, for as it turned out, the noodles were indeed of excellent quality.

Ingredients:

100 gram rice noodles (should feed two people)

1 egg (cracked and beaten)

1/2 a cup of carrot (julienned)

1/2 a cup of napa (julienned)

1/2 a cup of regular cabbage (julienned)

2 sprigs of spring onion

1/4th of a green capsicum (julienned again)

10 shrimps (peeled and de-veined and thoroughly cleaned)

10/12 cloves of garlic (peeled and chopped finely)

1 large onion (cut into long strips)

3/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder

Salt to taste

4 tablespoon of vegetable oil

For the sauce:

Mix 1/2 a teaspoon of Schezuan sauce with 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon or light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of white vinegar and 1/2 a teaspoon of sugar. Mix well and keep aside.

Preparation:

Boil water and let simmer. Cook the rice noodles in gentle heat for a couple of minutes and take off the flame. Let it sit in the warm water for another five minutes or until softened. Drain and keep aside.

Cut the white and harder part of spring onions into 1 inch long pieces and finely chop the leaves portion. Keep them separate.

Add one tablespoon of oil in a wok (I used a large saucepan, but I strongly urge you to use a wok instead). Add the beaten egg. Cook on high flame, but don't overcook it. Take the omelette off the wok as soon as it gets cooked. Set aside.

Add oil if necessary and add the shrimp. Stir-fry for one minute in medium heat and remove the moment they turn opaque and pink. 

Now crank up the heat to the highest degree, have all your ingredients ready at hand including salt and pepper. Add oil to the wok and let it smoke. Let the oil coat your entire wok before you start adding the vegetables. Start with chopped garlic, onions and carrots. When the aroma of the garlic comes out, add the white part of spring onions and cabbages (both types) and stir-fry again. After around half a minute add the capsicum and add a tiny pinch of salt. Stir on high-heat for 10 to 12 seconds before adding the drained noodles and shrimps.

Add 1 tablespoon of curry powder or Sunrise Chow Mix, salt, white pepper and mix. After a few seconds add the sauce and stir-fry again. 

The entire process shouldn't take more than five minutes.

Now add the shredded omelette on top after taking off the flame.

Serve hot.

And you have a piece of Singapore on your plate :)

Please recommend me on Google if you like this post! 

Caramel Custard (Flan)

Hello friends,

Imagine tucking into a sugary delight that looks like edible silk and tastes like world's most decadent cream. Imagine a desert bathed in dark amber caramel, which can make you salivate by simply looking at it. Imagine a desert that is made of only three ingredients and is ridiculously easy to prepare, but is full of drama.

Yes, I am talking about caramel custard or caramel pudding or flan!

There are so many different names and so many different variations of the beautiful desert that looks as well as tastes like a piece of heaven.

And I will teach you the foolproof method of preparing the famous desert so that you get it right every time.

See the beautiful toffee coloured top and the dark caramel around. That is what I am talking about :)

Ingredients:

500 ml milk
3 eggs
50 grams of sugar
3 to 4 tablespoon of sugar for making caramel (I always make more for I love to bathe my pudding with caramel)
1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla essence (this time I used almost one teaspoon and the result was quite good as the flavour of vanilla came out really well)

Preparation:

First, prepare your caramel. Place a heavy bottomed sauce-pan on high heat along with four or five tablespoon of sugar. Make sure the sugar is placed in an even layer in the pan.

Wait patiently (without stirring) for around four to five minutes or until the sugar starts to melt from the sides. When it does, swirl the pan (again, DON'T stir), so that the caramel is cooked evenly. Keep swirling it and you can see the magic happening in front of your eyes as the sugar starts melting, giving way to the rich, deep, caramel. At this point, don't leave your hold on the pan-handle for your life because it will take about 3 seconds for the caramel to burn.

So just keep on swirling the caramel and sometimes remove it from the heat, but again, keep on moving the liquid so that it doesn't stay in touch with the overheated bottom of the pan for more than a few seconds at a time.

Soon the entire sugar will melt and there will be tiny bubbles in the liquid and your caramel is done.

Your eyes and your nose should be your guide to make the caramel for as I said, it is risky to make caramel without water, but where is the fun in that! I, for one, love to live dangerously.

So, a strict and resounding 'NO' to adding water to my sugar.

Also, I don't like the washed up colour of the caramel made with sugar and water. However, if you would rather not take the risk you can (read don't ever) add a couple of teaspoons of water to your sugar for the caramelisation. Totally your choice (don't do it, don't do it, don't do it!).

Now that you have made the caramel, pour it immediately into your glass baking dish (a regular cake tin won't do) or ramekins if you have them around (what kind of people have ramekins lying about at their home!). Make sure the entire bottom is coated with the caramel.

Cool it until the caramel becomes hard.

Now, to make the custard break three eggs in a large bowl. Add the vanilla essence to it and mix them gently. Don't beat them vigorously for we don't want bubbles forming. It is not a cake people, it is a custard and you don't want bubbles in your custard for it will be holey (I hope nobody likes a holey custard).

Bring the milk to a boil and let simmer for a few minutes. It will thicken up the milk a tad bit. Add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. For some weird reason the recipes I have read on caramel custard always suggest mixing the sugar with the egg. I am sure there must be an explanation, but it is beyond me. I find it much easier to melt it in my milk.

Take the milk off the heat and wait for a couple of minutes so that it is not boiling hot, but still pretty warm. Now pour the milk into the egg mixture with one hand and stir with a whisk (what did I say people, about the magic utensil?) with the other one. If you end up with scrambled egg then:

1) Don't blame me.
2) You have excellent scrambled egg (I mean you must look at the bright side) and so just add salt and pepper and have it with bread.

Wait, I am just kidding!

It won't become scrambled. I mean, have some faith please! Trust in yourself and in your whisk (magic utensil man).

So all kiddings aside, stir the entire mixture until the milk is thoroughly incorporated into the eggs and let it cool.

Only when it has cooled down, strain and pour it into your baking dish which has already been layered with crystalised caramel at the bottom.

Now preheat your oven to 180 degree Celsius and pour hot water into your baking tray. Place the baking dish carefully into it and bake for around 40 minutes. your baking time will totally depend on how thick your custard is (mine was around 1 inch). It is better to err on the side of caution. After forty minutes, open your convection and give your baking dish a little shake. If it is liquid in the middle, it will be pretty obvious. The custard will still wiggle a bit if it is done, but it will be a different kind of wiggle. Still, if you want to be extra sure, just pierce it with a knife in the middle and if it comes out clean, your custard is done, if not, it goes back into the oven for another five minutes or ten depending on how underdone it is. If you see a dark film forming on top, don't panic, for you can remove it easily after you take it out of the oven.

After it comes out of your oven, let it rest on a wire rack for at least ten to fifteen minutes before demoulding. Traditionally it is done after chilling the custard, but I have never dared to do it lest it sticks to the bottom or something. It is probably a groundless fear, but well, I just do it this way and it works for me.

So, demould it from the sides using a sharp knife. Place a plate on top of the baking dish (use gloves or a thick towel while handling it for it is still pretty hot) and reverse it in one quick motion.

And pray...

Now slowly, ever so slowly, pull your baking dish up. so that the pudding remains on the plate and the caramel gathers all around it.

I wish I could show you a video for it is SUCH a glorious sight!

Now place it in the refrigerator for an hour or until thoroughly chilled. cut into pieces and serve chilled, spooning a little bit of liquid caramel on top.

Tuck in  :)

PS: If you like my blog please recommend it on Google by clicking the link below...

Focaccia (with black olives and tomato)

Hey friends,

Today I proudly present you one of the most beloved breads of the entire world, a closely guarded secret of the Italian kitchen, a litmus test for all amateur cooks like me, the deceptively simple bread layered with flavours that are subtle yet breathtaking in its simplicity...

Focaccia!

I am yet to get over the fact that I got it right the first time and it came out oh-so-moist and super soft and way better than the store-bought variety.

Now, focaccia dough is almost similar to a pizza dough. It is also a very flexible bread as you can top it with almost anything you like. I like the combination of black olives and sun-dried tomato in my focaccia. I didn't have the latter one and so I just used fresh tomato instead. I used a non-hybrid, desi (indigenous) tomato which is tastier and more sour than the regular ones (that is my preference but if you want, you can use a sweeter variation). Also, I used basil in stead of rosemary because it goes well with tomato (I am not a great fan of rosemary), though if you want to go traditional, please use rosemary.

Now let us discuss the recipe:

[I know there are too many pictures. It was such a thing of beauty that I just couldn't help myself :) ]

Ingredients:

200 grams plain white flour
1 teaspoon of fine-grained semolina flour
3 grams of dry active yeast
1/2 a teaspoon of sugar
1/2 a cup of extra virgin olive oil
70 ml warm water (110 to 120 degree Celsius or micro it for 30 seconds)
Italian seasoning (optional)
1/2 a teaspoon of salt
1/2 a teaspoon of dried basil
1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt (I used table salt and it tasted perfectly OK so don't freak out if you don't find it in the super-market)
8 to 10 pitted black olives (cut into half, lengthwise)
1/2 a tomato (de-seeded and diced into cubes to match the size of the olives)

Preparation:

Start with mixing the yeast with warm water, sugar and a little bit of flour in a large bowl and mix well. Set aside at a warm place for ten minutes or until bubbles form. Pour in a tablespoon of olive oil, salt, dried Italian herbs (about half a teaspoon or to taste, but again it is completely optional), flour, semolina flour and combine with a spatula. It should be sticky, if not, add a little bit of water. Tip the dough on to a floured surface and knead with your hand. Add another teaspoon of olive oil at this stage and knead for a couple of minutes again. If it is too sticky, dip your hand in the flour bag and knead again. Once the oil is incorporated entirely into the dough place it in a well-oiled (use olive oil of course) bowl and cover with another teaspoon of olive oil and let it rest for at least one hour at a warm place. It should be double in size after that.

Grease a baking tray with olive oil. Sprinkle some salt and tip the soft dough on the tray. It should be very soft and elastic. Press it gently to shape into a roughly rectangular size and poke with your fingertips to make deep dents on the entire surface. Brush olive oil on top and let it rest for another forty five minutes.

After that, place the pieces of tomato and olive on top and press down with your fingers. Brush generously with olive oil again (it is absolutely essential to bring out the flavours of the tomatoes and olives). Sprinkle with herbs and a little bit of salt (traditionally it should be rosemary and kosher salt, but I used dried basil and table salt).

Preheat the oven at 200 degree Celsius and bake for fifteen minutes. Take it out and brush with olive oil again (patience, people, this is focaccia!).

Put it back in the oven and bake for another five minutes at 180 degree Celsius.

Take out the bread and place on a wire rack and let it cool for at least ten minutes.

Cut it into rectangles and server warm.

Enjoy :)

PS: If you like my blog, please recommend it on Google by clicking the link below.

Garlic Breadstick with Cheese Dip

Hello people,

Monsoon is here, the season of waterlogged streets and ever-grey sky and bad lighting and mood swings and long drives and khichri with begun bhaja.

We celebrated the monsoon a little bit differently last weekend; with oven-fresh garlic bread-sticks with cheese dip and trust me it was exactly like the Domino's.

It is not only super yummy but a sure-shot way to impress your friends who would never guess how easy it is to prepare this beloved snack item.

I am sorry that I was so busy admiring my handiwork and then I was too busy to pounce on it before others could grab it that I did not get a good picture. I promise to upload a picture series later explaining the process step by step.

As of now, here is what I have:

Pretty impressive, huh?

Enough patting on my own back, let us get back to the actual recipe...

Ingredients:

500 grams of plain white flour
2 tablespoon of olive oil (Extra Virgin) of any good brand
3/4 cup of melted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
10/12 pods of garlic (finely chopped, please resist the urge to blend them or to mince them)
1 tablespoon of Domino's oregano seasoning (or make your own seasoning by combining Italian Seasoning mix, salt, pepper and dried oregano)
7 grams of dry active yeast
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 and 1/2 cups of warm water (around 100 to 120 degree Celsius)
Semolina or suji (the super-fine variety), roasted on low flame for a couple of minutes [you should use cornmeal for that is what is traditionally used. I couldn't find it in the market and so I substituted it with semolina.]

Preparation:

Prepare a mixture of warm water, yeast, sugar and a teaspoon of flour. Mix and set aside. After ten minutes or once bubbles start appearing and the mixture thickens up, add oil and butter (keeping a tablespoon of butter aside for basting the bread later), the finely chopped garlic, salt, pepper, half of the oregano seasoning and flour and mix with a wooden spatula. After a couple of minutes or when everything is combined well, tip the dough on a floured surface and knead with fingertips for at least ten minutes. If the dough keeps sticking to the surface, keep flouring it generously. Now make a smooth ball (it can be somewhat sticky) and place in a well-oiled bowl (olive oil, of course). Cover and put aside for one hour for rising.

After an hour or so, the dough should increase in volume, If not, let it rest for another half and hour. Now punch the dough to knock out the air and knead it for a few minutes again. Divide into two equal portions. Make a smooth ball out of each portion and let them rest for another fifteen minutes.

Now sprinkle semolina flour on a surface or a large plate and place one ball of dough. With your fingertips, start to flatten it out. You should aim for a round shape, just like a pizza, but not so thin.You may roll them out with a rolling pin too, but for me the fingertips method worked better.

Once you have achieved a roughly round shape, fold it into half. The semolina flour/cornmeal that is stuck to the bottom and the upper surface will give the bread a good crust. Grease a baking tray with butter and place the semi-circle breads on it. Now slather them generously with melted butter and sprinkle the rest of oregano seasoning on top. If you like it spicy, you may also sprinkle some red chilli flakes on top along with the spice mix. Now with the help of a sharp knife cut grooves on the bread (1/2 inch apart), like the ones you can see on the Domino's garlic bread.

Now bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree Celsius for ten minutes. You will see that the bread has risen, but the colour is still whitish. So crank up the heat to 200 degree Celsius and bake it for five more minutes. If it still looks under-cooked (which it shouldn't), bake it again at 180 degree Celsius for five minutes more. Again, remember if you overcook the bread, it will be very dry.

After you take it out of the oven, let it rest for five minutes. Then serve with the cheese dip and impress your friends :)

Cheese dip:

Combine 4 grated cheese cubes, 3 tablespoon of milk,1/2 a tea-spoon of milk powder and a tablespoon of melted butter in a large bowl. Place a saucepan with half a cup of water on the gas oven and bring to a simmer. Place the bowl on top of the saucepan in such a way the water simmering in the saucepan doesn't touch the bottom of the bowl. Now stir the cheese mix with a whisk (Now you will probably ask me if a fork will do. The answer is 'no'. You must invest into some kitchen essentials and TRUST me, a whisk is almost a magic utensil and I will rave about it at some later date).

Stir, stir, stir...

Stir, stir, stir..

Stir, stir, stir...

Go on....keep stirring...

I know your arm is hurting, but...

Still keep stirring...

Until the cheese melt (believe in yourself, it will melt eventually and please refrain from increasing the heat for you will end up with and inedible cheese mixture).

Finally after fifteen minutes of stirring the cheese mixture will reach a smooth, velvetty texture. Even if there is a single small lump, you need to keep on stirring.

Your cheese dip is ready!


Enjoy :)

Jeera Rice (Cumin Rice) and Soybean Korma

Hello friends,

Of all sorts of pilaf, jeera rice has always been one of my favourites. The subtle aroma of cumin along with the overall lightness of the popular Indian dish makes it an ideal accompaniment for any spicy side-dish.

My chosen side-dish for today was soybean korma. Korma is historically a Middle-Eastern dish. It is a rich curry made of yogurt, cashew-paste etc. It has been indianised and is featured regularly in the menu cards of most restaurants serving Mughlai cuisine.

Soybean korma is however, much rarer.

Trust me, even those who are scrunching their noses at the name of Nutrela or soybean, would absolutely love this preparation.

So, here we go:

Jeera Rice

Ingredients:

2 cups of good quality Basmati rice

4 cups of water

1 heaped teaspoon of cumin seeds

2 bay leaves

2 cloves

1 cardamom

1 inch stick of cinnamon

4/5 whole black pepper

4 green chillies (optional)

1 sprig of coriander

1 teaspoon of lime juice

2 tablespoon clarified butter (ghee)

1 teaspoon vegetable oil (or any flavourless oil)

Salt to taste 

Preparation:

Wash Basmati rice and soak for half an hour. Try not to stir the rice much. Basmati rice is very delicate and if you handle it roughly or stir it around too much there are possibilities of breakage. 

Heat ghee (clarified butter) and oil together in a heavy-bottomed pan/kadai/dutch oven which has enough room for the rice to fluff up. Add the whole garam masala (clove, cinnamon, cardamom, whole black pepper and bay leaves). Add the cumin seeds. Roast on medium heat. Don't let them burn. Here is where you need to follow your nose closely. The moment the aroma of cumin comes out, add the chillies and the drained rice. Lightly toast the rice, stirring gently with a spatula. Add salt, and most of the chopped coriander leaves (leaving some of it for garnishing). After a couple of minutes, pour in the water. The measurement of rice and water should always be 1:2. So for two cups of rice, you need to add four cups of water.

This is one of those rare cases that you absolutely cannot substitute water with chicken stock to enhance the flavour. Please don't! The rice is plenty flavourful and chicken stock will completely undermine the delicate flavour of cumin which is the whole point of this particular pilaf.

Crank up the heat. Cover the lid (if your lid doesn't have a steam escape hole then don't cover it fully). Bring it to boil. Now lower the heat and let it simmer for around ten minutes. Keep an eye on it for it doesn't take a long time to cook Basmati. After ten minutes, remove the lid and check. Again, do not disturb the rice. Gently move it a bit from the side with the help of your spatula and check how much moisture is there at the bottom. It should be ready within a couple of minutes. Remember the rice at the bottom continues to cook long after you have turned off the heat. So as soon as the rice of the top portion looks done, you should take it off the heat. 

I kept the lid of my kadai slightly askew. It helped the rice to dry out completely and not stick with each other. If the bottom portion still remains sticky, just dig in with your fingers (after it has cooled down of course) and break the clumps with very gentle hands.

Finally, garnish the rice with a little bit of chopped coriander leaves and serve with a side dish.

Soybean Korma

Ingredients:

2 cups of Nutrela soybean 

1/2 cup hung curd (1 cup normal yogurt placed in a piece of clean, cotton cloth and suspended for a couple of hours until the water is drained)

4 large onions (sliced thinly and deep-fried until crisp and brown)

7/8 cashew nuts

1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli (or paprika powder)

1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder (or cayenne pepper powder)

3/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1 teaspoon of coriander powder

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon garlic paste

1/2 teaspoon of garam masala powder

2 bay leaves

4 cloves

2 cardamom

1 inch stick of cinnamon

4 green chillies (optional)

1 cup of clarified butter/ghee (I know, I know...but you are not making korma everyday and soybean doesn't have any fat)

A few drops of keora water/rose water

1/2 cup of milk

Salt to taste

Preparation:

Boil soybean in water mixed with 1/2 cup milk, one teaspoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt for ten minutes. Drain and press down with the back of a spatula or a potato masher. Let it dry for at least half an hour. The key is to drain the water from the soybean as much as possible.

Blend half a cup of soybean and keep it along with the rest. It would give body to the the gravy.

Beat the hung curd until it reaches a creamy consistency. Soak the cashew nuts for half an hour in water. Blend together brown onion along with cashew and set aside.

Heat a nonstick pan and add clarified butter. Add the bay leaves, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon. Fry until they splutter. Add ginger and garlic paste. Stir for a few minutes and add the dry spices, that is turmeric, chilli powders, coriander and cumin powder. Stir on medium heat for a couple of minutes. Lower the heat and add curd. Mix gently with the spices. You can remove the pan from heat altogether while adding curd. Simmer it on very gentle heat for around three to four minutes or until oil separates from the curd. Add the brown onion paste and mix again. By now the spice mixture should look reddish brown and it should smell cooked. Add the soybean and salt and stir on high heat for three to four minutes. Add half a cup of water and put on the lid. Simmer in gentle heat for five minutes.

Open the lid and stir the korma. it should be done by now. If not, add some more water (very little at a time) and let it cook for five more minutes.

Finally sprinkle a few drops of keora water, garam masala and a tablespoon of clarified butter on top. Put on the lid and let it cook at low flame for two minutes. Take off the heat.

Garnish with coriander leaves (optional) and lemon wedges and serve with rice/naan/pita bread.




Enjoy...... :)

Korean Sweet Bun

Hey friends,

I recently bought some high-quality dry active yeast from New Market (otherwise known as Hogg Market) which is a paradise for shoppers as well as foodies like me for they say you can get tiger milk if you search really well! That...is a pretty weird concept (I certainly don't know anyone brave enough to try to milk a tiger) but you get the general picture.

I got this recipe from a Korean website and this was my first attempt at bread-making. There were nerves and a broken cup involved. I better not get into the details.

Rather let's dive into the recipe straight away:

Ingredients:

500 grams plain white flour
12 grams active dry yeast
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
1 small pinch of salt
1/2 cup warm milk (micro it for 30 seconds and the temperature will be perfect)
Water as required
1 large egg
1/2 cup of vegetable oil or melted butter
Extra flour for dusting the work-surface
1 egg (beaten along with two tablespoon of milk)

Preparation:

First prepare the yeast mixture by mixing together yeast, sugar, warm milk and a tablespoon of flour and set it aside for ten minutes. After ten minutes or when the mixture looks thickened up and bubbles appear around the edges, put in the rest of the flour, egg, oil and mix with a wooden spatula. The mixture should be too sticky to handle. If not, add some water to it. Give it a thorough mix. The dough should be sticking to the side of the bowl. Scrape it on a floured work-surface and continue kneading it with fingertips dipped in flour. Knead gently for five to seven minutes and transfer to a large oiled bowl. Cover and let it rest at a warm place (I had put it inside the microwave) for at least one hour. After one hour the dough should be almost double in size. If not, let it rest for another half an hour or so.

Tip the dough on a floured surface again. Punch the air out of the dough and knead for one or two minutes lightly. By this time, the dough should be smooth and supple and if poked the surface should bounce back. Now divide the dough into equal portions. You can give them any shape you want. I rolled them out like long sausages and made a simple knot. You can just shape them into balls.

Place your buns on a greased baking tray. Keep them slightly apart from one another and let them rest in your oven without turning it on. After half an hour check and see if they have risen further or not. If you have followed all the steps correctly, they should puff up well.

Now brush the top or the entire exposed portion of the buns with beaten egg and milk mixture. This is absolutely crucial if you want a nice, brown crust.

If you want you can top your bread with sugar or sesame seeds. It would look pretty and would add an extra layer of taste/flavour.

Bake your bread in a pre-heated oven in 200 degree Celsius for 20 minutes. After twenty minutes check the bottom of the bread. If it doesn't look cooked, put it in for another couple of minutes. Your bread will become dry if overcooked so be really careful here.

Finally take out the bread and serve warm with butter and jam (preferably mixed fruit).




..........and welcome to nirvana by freshly baked bread! :)

Tomato and Cashew Rice

Hey everybody,

I haven't posted for a long time, but that doesn't mean I have been idle. I have experimented with some really interesting recipes. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures. Without images it is difficult to get a feel about how a dish looks like. Next time I promise not to be so lazy.

So last weekend I had a near constant party at my place for 2-days at a stretch for some friends and relatives came over and we had a blast cooking, eating, singing, chatting, guzzling drinks and in general making fools of ourselves.

Naturally the next day when they were gone and I was alone in my house, I didn't have the energy or the inclination to go out to buy something and I wanted to make something simple anyway after the hectic day at office.

I found a cup of diced tomatoes, a cup of cooked rice, a handful of cashewnuts (gone soft) and half a cup of chopped cilantro leaves (I had used up the stalks elsewhere) and I had to make do with these.

Surprisingly it came out so delicious that I decided to post the recipe. It is dedicated to lazy people like me who want to make something quick but comforting with things that are available in their refrigerator after a long day.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice (the regular one, no need for the long-grain and more expensive variety)

1/2 cup of chopped cilantro/coriander leaves

1 large tomato diced and puréed

1 handful of cashew-nuts

1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds

1 green chilli (chopped)

1 dried red chilli (whole)

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

Salt and sugar for seasoning

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan and throw in the mustard seeds and the whole dried red chili. once they start to splutter add the cashew. As soon as the nuts turn golden brown add the tomato puree and the coriander leaves and stir. Add the chopped green chilli. Add half a teaspoon of sugar and salt as required. I added a few drops of lime juice too. When the mixture doesn't look watery anymore and the colour is darkened add the rice. Stir all the while on high heat. The entire thing should not take more than five minutes. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Mangsher Ghughni (dried white peas cooked with chicken)

Hello,

So today I am going to divluge you the secret of making the Kolkata-style ghughni with chicken. You can forgo the chicken of course, but where is the fun in that?

Ghughni is a quintessential Bengali delicacy which was no doubt imported from the middle-east like many other food items favoured by the Bengalis. We really need a deep and meaningful research on the connection between the two places, but as of now, let us just concentrate on the recipe.

Ingredients:

250 grams of dried white peas or matar
200 grams chicken (on bone, but without liver) cut into small, bite-size pieces
1 tablespoon ginger and garlic paste
2 onions and 1 large ripe tomato ground together into a coarse paste
1 tablespoon cumin powder (dry roasted)
1 teaspoon coriander powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon red chilli/paprika powder (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
1/2 cup oil (any flavourless vegetable oil will do)
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 sprig of coriander, chopped (for garnish)
Julienne of cucumber, onions, carrots and de-seeded chillies for garnish

Preparation:.

Soak the white peas for at least 12 hours. Rinse thoroughly and drain. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and add the ginger-garlic paste. Sauté and add onion and tomato paste. Cook on high heat until water evaporates. Add the chicken pieces and the dry spices. Stir on high heat for about five minutes or until half-way cooked.

Add the dried peas and sauté again. After a few minutes add salt and 2 cups of water. Close the lid of the pressure cooker and let it simmer for fifteen to twenty minutes or until the peas soften. It does take time for they are really stubborn. The chicken pieces will break and mix with the gravy and will enhance its taste.

Once done, remove from the heat and add lime juice. Sprinkle the garnish on top and serve hot with toasts.

Apple Hand Pie

Hello friends,

So I have been bogged down with work of late that really don't leave me much time to experiment. But I wanted to try my hands at an apple pie for a long time. Since I am yet to buy a pie tin, I decided to go rustic and make a hand pie instead.

It came out FABULOUS!

I really did not imagine it to be so good at my very first attempt.

Here is the recipe...enjoy!

Ingredients:

For the pastry dough:

1/2 cup butter cubes (frozen and grated and re-frozen)
2 cups of flour
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3 ice cubes (crushed)
1 tablespoon chilled water
A pince of salt (ONLY if you are using unsalted butter)
1 egg mixed with two teaspoon of milk
1 tablespoon of granulated sugar

For the filling:

2 green apple (peeled, cored and diced)
1/2 cup sugar (based on how sour the apple is)
1 teaspoon honey (optional)
1 pinch of salt
3 to 4 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon melted butter

Preparation:

First prepare the filling by melting butter in a saucepan and throw in the cinnamon sticks. When the butter is aromatic, add the diced apple and sweat until they are softened. Add sugar, salt and honey and let it cook over low heat until it is cooked to its desired level. You can cook it until the apple cubes are almost breaking down, so that the filling is more like an apple jam or you may want to cook them less and let them be somewhat crunchy. I cooked them until they were tender and caramelised but still holding their shape.

Set aside and let lit cool (don't forget to take out the cinnamon sticks with at this stage for they have served their purpose.

Now place the bowl and the fork with which you are going to make the pastry dough for at least half an hour.

Sift flour into the chilled bowl. Add the sugar, salt and mix. Add the butter and mix with the fork. Don't use hands. The trick is into keeping the mixture at a low temperature so adding body-heat is a strict no-no. Break the butter cubes to mix them with the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Now add the crushed ice cubes and mix again. It will soon look like wet sand. At this stage take a little bit of the crumb between your thumb and index fingers. If they come together and sticks like a dough it is ready. If not add a teaspoon of chilled water.

Now using your fingers very sparingly make the dough come together. Don't knead. Just make sure that the dough holds itself together, wrap it up in a plastic and stick in inside the fridge for half an hour.

When the filling has cooled down and the pastry dough has been chilled, divide the latter into three/four portions and roll them out individually. Place the filling inside them. Brush the border with melted butter and fold them in a half-moon shape. Cut the edge so that they look even. Now press down the borders with fork to seal it or you can carve them with fingers like I did. Be creative, but just make sure it is airtight.

Now, most importantly, make a few holes with knives on the top of each pie. Otherwise your pie may burst inside your oven and that will not be pretty!

Deep your cooking brush/spoon in the egg and milk mixture and paint the top of the pie (very, very important finishing touch for achieving the striking golden-brown colour). Sprinkle sugar on top.

Bake at a preheated oven at 200 degree celsius for 30 minutes in the convection mode.

Cool the pies for at least 15 minutes. Serve warm, but not scalding hot.

What can I say...it is one of the most delicious things I have every tasted!

Doi Ilish (Hilsa fish in yoghurt gravy)

Hello friends,

Recently I made a most extravagant purchase and therefore I thought it warranted a post on the blog. It was a hilsa fish weighing around 1 kilo. I know monsoon is the traditional season to enjoy them, but I just couldn't resist myself. Don't even ask how much it cost!

Now those who don't have access to hilsa, can replace it with shad. I have it on good authority that North American shad tastes pretty similar to our beloved hilsa and is supposed to be a good substitute. I never had an opportunity to put the theory to test (or taste) though.

But one component is absolutely essential and that is the mustard oil and that the dish must be accompanied with steamed rice, piping hot.

So please follow the recipe and enjoy:

Ingredients:

1 hilsa/shad fish with bone (weighing around 1 kilo, cut into 8 to 10 round pieces after discarding the head and the tail portion)
1 cup hung curd/plain Greek yoghurt (placed in cheesecloth or a rectangular piece of cotton cloth, folded once and tied up and hung for an hour or two over the sink so that the excess moisture is drained off)
3 tablespoon white mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon onion seeds (nigella seeds or kalonji)
4 - 5 green chillis (slit in the middle) (or whole, depending on how much heat you like)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 cup mustard oil
salt to taste

Preparation:

You can prepare doi ilish in microwave or in ordinary gas oven. I have described both methods here.

Preparation in microwave:

Wash and clean the fish thoroughly. Pat dry with paper napkin. Grind the mustard seeds  in a food processor  into a smooth paste with a little amount of water and a pinch of salt. Mix the mustard paste, salt, turmeric powder with the hung curd and beat thoroughly. Add it to the fish pieces. Add the oil and green chillies to it. Mix everything with hands very gently. Layer the fish into your oven-proof baking dish. Pour the marinade over it. Don't add any water. Preheat the oven to 210 degree Celsius and cook for 45 minutes. If the hilsa comes with eggs then it will take more time to cook - possibly close to 1 hour. You can prick the fish with a toothpick to see it is cooked thoroughly or not.

Preparation in gas oven:

Rub salt and a little bit of turmeric on the fish pieces and set aside for 10 minutes. Heat mustard oil in a saucepan. Fry the fish pieces lightly on both sides. Add the onion seeds and the slit green chillies. When the spices begins to pop, remove the pan from the flame and add the curd and mustard paste mix with a little bit of water. Bring it back to the flame and cook over very low heat. Add salt and a pinch or turmeric. Mix with a light hand. Cover and let shimmer for five to eight minutes on gentle heat. Add 1 to 2 tablespoon of water if needed. Turn the fish pieces once, so that they are all well-coated with the gravy. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Mutton Curry (Bengali-style)

Hey everybody,

It has been some time since I posted the last recipe. I have not been very active in the kitchen lately because my mom was staying with me for a few weeks, preparing the food for both of us. Also, I have been busy with writing a fanfic on my favourite character of Teen Wolf - the adorable douchebag Derek Hale, who is a devastatingly handsome grumpy werewolf on the surface, but really a teddy bear at heart. I have provided a link below if you are interested (you better be, for I spent a lot of time and emotions on it) and therefore had little time to cook.

Anyways, my mom left this afternoon and I prepared a farewell dish for her, which happened to be one of my favourites.

So here we go...

Ingredients:

1 kg mutton with fat (medium pieces, preferably the front leg portion of a goat or you can replace it with lamb as well and it will taste just as good)

1/2 cup lime juice

5 large onions (red/Spanish ones will taste better)

1 whole garlic

1.5" piece of ginger

2 large tomatoes 

1/2 cup well-beaten curd (yogurt) (optional)

1 tablespoon of cumin powder

1.5 tablespoon coriander powder (optional)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilli powder/paprika powder

2 or 3 green chillies (or according to taste)

3/4 teaspoon sugar

4-5 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon garam masala (or half a teaspoon of baharat whichever is available)

1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

3/4 cup mustard oil (or any vegetable oil if mustard oil is not available)

Preparation:

First clean the mutton well and pat dry with paper napkin. marinade for 1 hour with lime juice. It will help tenderise the mutton as well as lend a nice flavour. In the meanwhile, slice the onions thinly and chop the garlic finely. Make a paste of ginger in a mixer-grinder with the help of a little water. Roast the garam masala/baharat for half a minute or until the flavour comes out on high flame and set aside. Chop the tomatoes after discarding the seeds. 

Now heat mustard oil in a large wok/Dutch oven until smoke comes out. Reduce the heat and wait for half a minute. Put in the bay leaves first. After half a minute, add the sugar. Stir and immediately after and add the chopped garlic. When the garlic gives out a nice aroma, add chopped onions. You have to be very quick otherwise the the sugar will burn and stick to the bottom. You may of course add the sugar after you add the onions in oil just to be on the safer side. Stir fry the onions until pink and glossy and some of them at least has started to take reddish golden colour. Now increase the heat and add the meat pieces one by one. Continuously turn them to make sure they start to brown on all sides. Stir-fry the meat with the aromatics for about 10 minutes. Add the ginger paste. Continue turning the meat pieces after every 1 to 2 minutes. Keep doing it on high flame for about 5 more minutes or until the moisture from the meat evaporates. If the mutton catches the bottom of the pan, then reduce the heat and add a few drops of water. At this point the mutton pieces should look cooked at least from the outside. This is the time to add the chopped tomatoes, whole green chillies (slit them if you can handle the heat) and all the spices, that is: the cumin and coriander powder, garam masala, the turmeric powder the red chilli powder/paprika powder and salt. Now continue stir frying the mutton on low heat. after 10 more minutes, add the curd. Mix with light hand, cover and let it shimmer for a few minutes. Now transfer the the entire curry into a pressure cooker add 1 to 2 cups of warm water (it depends on how long it will cook in the pressure cooker) and pressure cook on high flame for 10 to 15 minutes or until tender. Wait until it cools down. When you open the pressure cooker, you will see the fat has risen to the top and the curry has taken a wonderful reddish-golden hue. This is the best time to taste the seasoning and to see if the mutton has cooked thoroughly or not. If it hasn't, put on the lid and cook the mutton for further 10 minutes. Serve steaming hot with steamed rice or flat bread (roti) or even pita bread. You can garnish it with chopped coriander leaves, but it is not really needed. The sight of a bowl of mutton curry with an angry red gravy is itself a balm for sore eyes.

Try it out and enjoy...

In the meanwhile, here are the links as promised:

http://archiveofourown.org/works/5662795/chapters/13043074

http://archiveofourown.org/works/6049900/chapters/13870195

Soybean Sami Kabab

Hello everybody,

So imagine it is a winter evening and in stead of dining out you have invited a special someone to your home to showcase your newly acquired (or barely there) culinary skills. It is both unique and exciting because home is after all the cosiest place of all, and you can be more relaxed in the familiar surroundings. Also, it is a sneaky way to engage your special someone in an informal atmosphere which usually brings out the real person. So, there are more than one reasons you should opt for a date at your home. It is even better if you have an open kitchen for then you can bond over chopping onions and mincing garlic. 

However, what if your date is vegetarian. The usual option is paneer (cottage cheese) in such case, which is predictable and boring. Now we all know how winter is the season of tandoori chicken and kababs. So here is a special recipe for my vegetarian friends or friends who have vegetarian friends. 

Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

250 gms of Soybean chunks

1/2 litre of milk

1" piece of ginger

10 cloves of garlic

2 green chillies

1/2 teaspoon of garam masala (or 1 teaspoon allspice)

1 teaspoon of cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon of chickpea flour/gram flour/garbanzo bean flour

1/3 teaspoon of dried mango powder or aamchur (or juice of 1 lime)

1 sprig of coriander leaves (finely chopped)

1 sprig of mint leaves (finely chopped)

1 teaspoon of chaat masala (absolutely essential)

2 tablespoon vegetable oil

Salt to taste
Vegetable oil for shallow frying

Preparation:

Bring the milk to boil and add the soybean chunks. Keep on high heat for a couple of minutes before switching off the gas. Let the soybean sit in the warm milk for 15 to 20 minutes and then strain and discard the milk. Squeeze the soybean well so that there is very little moisture. coarsely grind in a food processor. Chop and blend ginger, garlic and green chillies together to make a fine paste. Heat oil in a non-stick saucepan. Add the ginger-garlic paste and sauté. Add garam masala, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir for 10 to 12 seconds before adding the soybean paste. Add salt, mango powder (or lime juice) and stir fry on medium heat until the paste leaves the side of the dish. It should take anything between five to eight minutes depending on the moisture content of the soy paste. Set aside and let it cool. Add chopped coriander and mint leaves, chickpeas flour and a couple of pinches of chaat masala to the soy paste and mix well. 

Now put a saucepan on medium heat and add oil for shallow frying. Clean your hands well. Keep a bowl of water near you. Take a large spoonful of soy mix on the palm of your slightly moistened left hand and with both hands form a thick, roundish patties and immediately place in the oil. Moisten your palms and fingers occasionally and this will help to shape the patties easily. If the patties are breaking down, either the mixture was not sautéed thoroughly or it needs more chickpeas flour. Cook each side of the patties for 3 to 5 minutes and take them out on a paper napkin to absorb the excess oil.

Sprinkle chaat masala on top and serve with yoghurt chutney. For this blend coriander and mint leaves and add to a cup of yoghurt along with rock salt and chaat masala.

Zero Carb Caesar Salad (My patented version)

Hi friends,

So let's be honest...we usually don't think 'yummy' when it comes to salads (unless you spice it up with chaat masala or tabasco sauce). However, I make a version of Caesar Salad (let's say a remote cousin of the original one) that is actually tasty as well as super healthy, with loads of anti-oxidants, fibre, Vitamin C, Calcium and what not. I don't use the traditional Caesar Salad dressing, therefore you would be cutting down on mayo and unnecessary oil consumption also. So without further ado, here it goes...

Ingredients:

1/2 a head of romaine lettuce (cut into 1/2 inch stripes)
100 gms of grapes (green and black in equal quantity)
1/2 green apple, cubed (please use nothing but green apple and if you don't have it, skip the apple altogether)
1 boiled egg (hard or soft, based on your preference), diced
1 handful of roasted peanuts (for the crunch, NOT optional)
2 cubes of processed cheese (cut into small cubes)

For the dressing:

1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder (freshly ground)
1/4 teaspoon of rock salt
1/2 teaspoon of sugar

Preparation:

Assemble the fruits and the lettuce in a bowl. Add the peanuts, diced eggs, cubed cheese and toss well. Add the ingredients for dressing and toss lightly again. Serve at room temperature.

There you are...simple enough! Please refrain from adding lime juice and trust me when I say this because I am a compulsive lime-juice user in pretty much everything. But the salad will already be quite tangy from the natural tartness of the green apple and the grapes. Prepare it and please keep me posted if you like my version of Caeser salad or not.