Beef Ball Curry in Coconut Milk

You could have this served hot with rice, chapathy or any variety of bread. It's rather different from the usual kerala dish one is used to eating. An ingredient list which I find long has a rather shorter method of cooking. So don't get panicked on seeing the ingredient list, and not have a go at this meaty dish.

Recipe Courtesy: From the book 'Sadya' by Remani
Ingredients:
Chilly Powder - 1tsp
Coriander Powder - 3tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Anise seeds - 1tsp
Cumin seed powder - 1/2tsp
Cloves - 6
Cinnamon sticks - 2
Cardamom pods - 4
Garlic paste or grated garlic - 1/4tsp

For the beef masala balls:
Minced beef - 375gms
Onion - 1tbsp finely minced
Ginger - 1/4tsp finely minced
Green chiilli - 1/4tsp finely chopped
Salt to tatse

To temper and saute
Mustard seeds - 1/2tsp
Curry leaves - two whole sprigs
Onion - 1cup finely sliced
Sliced ginger - 2tsp
Green chilies - 2 finely chopped
Coconut Milk - 3cups thin and 1cup thick
Vinegar - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Finely powder all the masala ingredients except the garlic paste and water in a dry grinder. Then mix with garlic paste and water. Take two teaspoons of masala and mix with beef onion, ginger, chilly and salt and form 12 beef balls.
Heat oil in a pan, splutter the mustard seeds and fry the curry leaves. Saute the onion, ginger and the chillies till soft. Reduce the flame and fry the remaining masla unto the oil starts to separate. Pour the thin coconut milk into the pan along with the vinegar and salt. Bring to a boil and immerse the beef balls in it. Cover and simmer for 25minutes. Finally add the thick coconut milk and stir until heated through. Serve hot.

Mutton Cutlet

A mutton cutlet from Indian Coffee House with your choice of eggs is a must-try dish. It simply compliments your eggs, or rather goes with simple buttered toast and a strong cup of freshly brewed Kaapi. Mine is no attempt of the restaurant version, but my thoughts are rested at Indian Coffee House for the moment...

Ingredients:
Mutton (you could use beef mince too) - 1/2kg
Pepper - 1/2tsp
Salt - to taste
Potatoes - 1/4kg
Big Onion - 1, finely chopped
Green Chillies - 4, finely chopped
Minced Ginger - 1tsp
Cloves - 4
Cinnamon - 1
Cardamom - 1
Aniseeds - 1tsp
Poppy seeds - 1tsp
Garlic - 8
Egg - 1
Bread crumbs - 1cup
Oil - 1cup

Cook the meat pieces with salt and pepper and then mince. Pressure cook the potatoes. Peel and mash them well. Grind all the ingredients from cloves to garlic into a smooth paste. In a frying pan, heat 2tbs oil and saute the onion, chillies and ginger. Add the ground paste and fry till the oil separates from the spices. Switch off the flame, then add the minced meat and mashed potatoes. Knead this into a smooth dough and shape into cutlets. Beat the egg. Dip each cutlet in the egg and roll over breadcrumbs. Deep frying hot oil until golden brown.

Lemon Pound Cake

It had been long since a cake had been baked, and since it was long overdue this truly divine delicacy with hints of lime pleasantly satiated our tea time today. A tight crumb indeed as promised by Rose, following the traditional path of cake making.

Perfect Pound Cake Recipe
[Recipe courtesy: The Cake Bible]

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Milk
3 large Eggs
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ cups sifted cake flour (150gm) -  recipe for cake flour below
¾ cup sugar
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
13 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (184 gms)
Zest of a lemon - 1tbs
Lemon Juice - 2tbs

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Butter an 8 inch by 4 by 2.5 inch loaf pan, or any six cup loaf or fluted tube pan. Lightly whisk together milk, eggs and vanilla in a medium bowl.  Using your fingertips, mix together the zest of the lemon and sugar till fragrant. Place dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix on low speed for 30 seconds, until blended. Add the butter and half the egg mixture, and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. On medium speed, beat for one minute. This will aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down sides. Add the lemon juice. Add the remaining egg mixture in two batches, beating for 20 seconds between each addition. Scrape down sides. Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth surface with a spatula. Bake for 35-45 minutes if baking in a fluted tube pan, until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minuets before inverting onto a greased wire rack. If using a loaf pan, flip the cake over so the top is up.

For making cake flour at home - Take 1 cup of all purpose flour and remove 2 tbsp from it. Replace the 2 tbsp flour with custard powder/ cornflour and sift together 2-3 times. Your Cake flour is ready to be used.

Amma's Mango Chutney

Mum has arrived on holidays and is here with me, so I'm enjoying every bit if her as long as stays. It's awesome to have her stay, because she is in charge of the kitchen, and then people in the house can now ratify themselves with her cooking, than give their valuable opinions on mine. So while she is here, she taught me a mango chutney, slightly different from the regular I know. It goes well with a biriyani.

Ingredients:
Grated coconut - 1/2cup, generous
Raw green mango - 1 medium sized
Dry red chillies - 3
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Onion - 1 medium, finely sliced
Salt to taste

Heat a pan over low fire. Add the coconut, curry leaves, dry red chillies, onion, salt and continuously stirring, simply roast till the coconut turns evenly brown. Once the coconut is browned evenly, into a food processor, add the mango and pulse till the mango is well chopped. Then add the coconut and blitz till the mango and coconut are well combined. Do not add water to the chutney. Scrape the sides of the bowl timely to well incorporate the ingredients. And there you have it, a chutney ready, to be served with rice or biriyani.

Nargisi Kofta ~ A desi version of the Scotch Eggs

The Food lovers Magazine had this specific article on Saad Bin Jung a former cricketer, cricket commentator, wildlife conservationist and even a resort owner, he dons the avatar of a cook too. Nargisi Kofta, his version of a recipe from experience and generations of cuisines meshed together. I cooked up this dish when our dear friends had come over only to leave them fully satisfied.

Ingredients:

Beef Kheema - 1 1/2kg

Chana dal - 50gms

Ginger garlic paste - 2tsp

Red Chili Powder - 1/2tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4tsp

Green Chillies - 4

Chopped Mint and Coriander Leaves - 1tbs

Egg - 1

Boiled Eggs - 10

Maida - 1 1/2tsp

Salt to taste

Pressure cook the mince with all the ingredients except the eggs and maida. Cool and grind it in the mixer to form a paste. Mix one egg and maida in the paste for binding. Cover the boiled egg one by one with the paste gently. Heat about 1/2ltr oil in a kadai and deep fry the koftas till golden brown. Cut them in half and serve hot.

Hot dosa with Brinjal Sambhar & Mint chutney

My chechi (domestic help), made this combination during the time I was sick and was literally bedridden for a week. She said "acca try this combination, don't know if you'd would like it, because you're used to the regular chutney and sambhar. I tell you this is in tamil style "romba nallathe" combo. I tried this today after having tasted what I was served atleast 5 months back..my words echo"mein khush or tummy bhi khush"!!

Brinjal Sambhar

Ingredients
Brinjal- 2 small quartered.
Green gram  - 1/2cup
MTR Sambhar powder - 2tbs
Tamarind paste - 1tbs
Jaggery or sugar - 1tbs or more
Onion - 1
Coriander leaves to garnish

Soak the green gram in water for about 5hours. Cook the green gram till it is soft and keep aside. In the meantime fry the sambhar powder and then add the onion and quartered brinjal and saute. Add tamarind paste  to the brinjal and a cup of water. Add salt and the cooked green gram and cook till the brinjal becomes soft. Once cooked, add chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Mint Chutney


Ingredients:
Mint leaves - 2 bunches
Green chilly - 1
Salt to taste
Water as required

Grind all the ingredients together. Serve with dosa and sambhar.

Honeyed Apple Slices~ for a Rainy Day

A GOD above sends the rain down below to wash his earth clean, to cut stones and chisel the grandeur mountains....to bring us refreshment in every season.

[Recipe Source 1 Mix 50 Cakes, Pg 84]
Ingredients:
Plain flour - 175gms
Unsalted Butter softened - 175gms
Caster sugar - 175gms
Vanilla Essence - 1tsp
Baking powder - 2tsp
 Red Apples - 4, cored and sliced
All spice powder - 1/2tsp
Honey warmed - 3tbs
Apple juice - 2tbs

Grease and line a 12 by 9 inch tray. Proceed to sifting the flour, baking powder and allspice into a large bowl and keep aside. To that add the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla. Beat really well till you get a smooth mixture. Then stir in the apple juice. Spoon the mixture into the greased tray. Arrange the sliced apples on top of the batter overlapping them without pressing them. Bake into a preheated oven of 180C for about 30minutes. Leave to cool in the tin and brush with honey before serving.

Sweet and Sour Chicken Drumsticks

Here's one recipe to simply wolf down, with some steamed rice, or some plain noodles. The sweetness of the sugar and the sourness of the vinegar, humbly satisfies you.

Ingredients:
Chicken Drumsticks - 6
Egg - 1
Cornflour - 4tbs
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the sauce
Onion- 1 small
Green Pepper - 1
Carrot - 1
Chicken stock - 2cups
Vinegar- 4tbs
Brown sugar - 4tbs
Sherry - 1tbs
Soya sauce - 1tbs
Oil for deep frying

Trim the drumsticks if  necessary. Beat the egg with 1tbs of water. Mix the cornflour with salt and pepper. Dip the drumsticks in egg, then in cornstarch and out to one side. Cut the onion into eights and the pepper and carrot into wedges. Drop these into a small pot of boiling water and cook for 5minutes. Drain well.
Mix together in a small saucepan the chicken stock, vinegar, sherry, soya sauce, brown sugar, corn flour. Bring to a boil and stirring constantly, simmer for 2-3minutes.
Heat oil in a skillet, fry the chicken drumsticks until golden and tender. Drain onto absorbent paper. Add the vegetables to the sauce and then the chicken, reheat for about 3minutes and serve hot.

Chocolate Banana Loaf for the Lil Get-together

I get an sms from Prerna, the following day after my birthday
"Are you at home tomorrow @5:30pm?"
I sms back saying "Yes I am, wassup?"
Prerna's sms reads "V are all coming tomorrow"

Surely enough, I knew the 'v' (we) meant much more than just her and her little son. The 'we' meant, Asma and her two daughters Rafa and Sidra, Sunehra with adorable Dhruv (my son calls him Dhrufee), Soumya with her little Princess Avni (my son is her Prince), Megha with her lil one Anya, Priyanka with adorable baby Hridaan. And of course, the sms sender Prerna, sadly her son Veer was asleep.
So with cups of coffee and slices of cakes, there was singing and chatting and lots more merry making.
The good thing from it all for me was that I was in the company of women who understand, women who are humbly grounded and women who are there to give you a shoulder hug when you need one......

Ingedients:
Butter - 1/2cup softened
Brown sugar - 1 1/3cup
Bananas - 3
Eggs - 2
All purpose flour - 2cups
Bicarbonate of Soda - 1tsp
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1tbsp
All spice - 1tsp
Yogurt - 1/3cup
Chocolate Chips - 85gms

Grease a 9 x 5 x 3inch loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 180C. Put the butter, sugar and eggs into a bowl and beat well. Peel and mash the bananas, then add to the mixture. Stir it well. Sift the flour, soda, all spice, cocoa powder into a separate bowl and then add the banana mixture to it. Stir in the yogurt and chocolate chips. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and level the surface. Bake for an hour until done. Cut into thick slices and serve warm.

My gift from them are these precious pair of earrings, which I simply loved. Thank YOU Girls!!

Going BananaS~ With Banana Jam

At boarding school, Remaniammama (one of mum's elder sisters) had sent across a bottle of banana jam. Frankly I'm not a fan of mashed banana's but, at boarding school anything and everything home-made was Good to Go. That bottle of jam was like manna from heaven. I remember having it for breakfast, tea, dinner and as a late night out of the bottle snack with anything we had in our stock. Since my stock of bananas right now is over ripe, and having baked three banana cakes, the option I had was to make bottles of jam. I referred to the recipe given in Joy of Desserts, tweaked it a bit to suit my preference.

Ingredients:
Bananas - 1 1/2kg
Brown Sugar - 3 1/2cups
Lime - 5
Water - 1 1/2cups
Vanilla Essence - 3tbs
Cinnamon Powder - 1tsp
Brandy - 1/4cup

Into a large pot, mix in water, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon powder, and the juice of the limes. In a moderate heat, bring the mixture to a syrupy consistency. Add the mashed bananas and cook for about 25-35minutes over low to medium heat. Just before taking it off the flame add the brandy, let it cook off. Put into jam bottles, cover and seal once cooled.

Banana, Blueberry and Orange Loaf

I actually forgot, about this month's sweet punch bake, when my mobile beeped a 'priority reminder' - Bake for Sweet Punch. Then started my madness of dashing back and forth, frantically searching of what to bake, what do I have, so little time....it so reminded me of one these songs I have seen Elijah watch "got to hurry, got to worry blues". With that as my background music, I fancied up this bake only because this month was 'our choice of the bake'- phew!!....the blueberries again I had stock thanks to my Lesa Gurl! Fresh garden produce of bananas from Shaicha's home (my dad's youngest brother) .and there you have have it...

Ingredients:
Self Rising flour - 2cups
Baking powder - 2tsps
Butter - 85gms softened
Caster Sugar - 115gms
Egg - 1 large lightly beaten
Pinch of salt
Medium sized ripe Bananas - 5
Blueberries - 125gms
Rind of 2 oranges, finely grated

Preheat the oven to 180C. Beat the softened butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Gradually add the egg and beat it into the butter and sugar mixture until smooth and well combined. Sift the flour, baking powder into a mixing bowl and set side. In a separate bowl, mash four bananas (reserving one for decoration).
Divide the banana mash into two equal portions and add half of it to the creamed butter mixture along with the blueberries and the orange rind. Gradually fold in the flour with the remaining mashed bananas until well amalgamated but not over mixed.
Pour the cake mixture into a lightly buttered loosed 3-pt/ 7 1/2cup French loaf tin lined with parchment paper,pressing the mixture lightly into the corners and smoothing the top with a back of the the spoon. Peel and slice the reserved banana and cut into pieces. Dust them lightly with icing sugar (cut side up) and lightly press into the surface of the cake mixture. Bake for 45minutes until a cake skewer comes out clean. Dust lightly with icing sugar and cut into thick slices when cold. Spread lightly with butter and enjoy with a glass of milk.

Coriander Yogurt Rice with Dry Chilli Chicken

This combo is not unusual for us, because for one, regular curd rice is an absolute no-no if not accompanied by non-veg. So at home mum would make curd rice with a mutton roast. Then during my spinster days, my curd rice would be accompanied by chilli chicken, because that used to be the take home dinner. If you want to try the option of a take home curd rice and chilli chicken, then I'd reckon getting it from Dolphin bar situated in Frazer town. Of course, there's much more than just curd rice at Dolphin bar, everything on their menu is a must - have!.  But you wouldn't want to get it all by yourself, the bar is a dark and dingy place with groupies of men, gulping down hard liquor and 'women' are a visual treat if you know what I mean (wink).

These recipes are from Ramani Aunty's book called Sadya - Meals for Four

Coriander-Yogurt Rice


Ingredients
Rice - 1cup
Butter - 1tbs at room temperature
For the yogurt mixture
Yogurt - 3/4cup
Milk - 1 1/2tbs
Lemon Juice - 1tbs
Asafoetida powder - 1/2tsp
Salt to taste
To temper
Olive Oil - 1 1/2tbs
Mustard seeds - 1/2tsp
Green Chillies - 2 finely chopped
Ginger - 2cm finely chopped
Chopped Coriander  - 1/2cup

Cook the rice in plenty of water until very soft. Drain thoroughly. Mix in butter to the hot rice. Gently fold in the combined yogurt mixture ingredients.
In a small pan heat oil, sprinkle mustard seeds and allow to burst. Saute the the green chillies and ginger in it.Finally add coriander leaves. Add in the rice mixture Spoon in individual molds. If preferred serve cold.

Dry Chilli Chicken


Ingredients
Chicken Breasts - 250gms cut into cubes or strips
For the Marinade
Gram Flour - 1/3cup
Five Spice Powder - 1tsp (mixture of Powdered cinnamon, fennel, star anise, cloves and szechuan pepper)
Chilli Powder - 1/2tsp
Pepper Powder - 1/4tsp
Salt - 1/4tsp
Vinegar - 1tsp
Egg - 1 small lightly beaten.
To saute
Butter - 1 1/2tbs for frying
Oil - 1tsp
Green chillies- 3 cut into thin rounds
Minced garlic - 1tsp
Minced ginger- 1tsp
Sieved Fresh Tomato pulp - 1/2cup
Soy Sauce - 1tbs
Salt to taste

Pat dry the chicken pieces and combine the marinade ingredients and marinate chicken for 30minutes. Heat the butter into a wok and stir fry the chicken for 3-4minutes until cooked and browned on all sides. With a slotted spoon remove onto a plate. Heat with 1tsp oil in the wok, the chillies ginger and garlic without browning. Add the tomato pulp, soy sauce and salt and bring to a gentle boil. Return the fried chicken to the sauce and stir till the chicken is well coated. Serve hot.

Double CHOC Brownie

Double chocolate, double indulgence, double the delight!

Ingredients:

Sugar - 1 1/2cups

Dark chocolate - 200gms melted

Vegetable oil - 1cup

Vanilla Essence - 2tsp

Eggs -4

Flour - 1 3/4cup

Baking powder - 1tsp

Chocolate glaze 

Dark Chocolate - 18gms

Vegetable Oil - 2tsp

Place the sugar, chocolate, oil, eggs, essence in a bowl and whisk to combine. Sift the flour and baking powder to the chocolate mixture and mix well to combine. Pour mixture into a greased and lined 20cm square tin and bake for 40minutes in a preheated oven at 180C until firm to touch. Cool in the tin, then cut into 5cm squares and place on a wire rack. To make the glaze, place chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat, stirring until chocolate melts. Stir in oil. Spoon glaze over the brownies and stand until set.

After they were set I put the brownies into the refrigerator owing to the present heat.

My second entry for Divya's event The Best Brownie Event

Chorizo and Cheese Quesadillas

At Goa, I remember eating goan sausages with some pan roasted potatoes. Ever since, its been on my mind to use these Indian Chorizos. The recipe I had for a quesadilla seemed just do it all...loved it. Just wish
I wasn't lazy to make the guacamole, but did have some preserved salsa to pair with. All in all a nice meal.

Ingredients:

Mozzarella Cheese - 115gms grated

Cheddar Cheese - 115gms grated

Chorizo (Or Goan Sausages) - 225gms cooked (outer casing removed), or ham diced

Green chillies - 2 de-seeded and finely chopped

Spring onions - 4 finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Flour Tortillas - 8

Guacamole and Salsa to serve

Place the cheese, sausages, spring onions, chillies, salt and pepper to taste in a bowl and mix together. Divide the mixture between the tortillas. Fold the tortillas in half. Brush a large non-stick pan with oil and heat over medium heat for over 4-5minutes until the underside is crisp and lightly browned. Cut each tortilla into a quarter and serve accompanied with guacamole and salsa.

Cinnamon Blondies~A Reason to smile!

Subhash, Su, Raj, Madhu, Tj and Myself have had some impeccably awesome fun when we worked together as Researchers....wonder what we were researching - we were Market Researchers, with data fed into PowerPoint presentations, lengthy transcripts and much more. Though everyone is split up and we are all in different parts of the world, the weekend saw TJ and Raj for dinner at moi place for our catch up sessions and hearty laughters. And of course, friends cannot leave without having to enjoy some goodness can they?

Ingredients:
Butter - 1cup
Brown sugar -1cup, generous
Egg - 1
Egg yolk - 1
Self Rising flour - 1cup
Ground Cinnamon - 1tsp

Preheat the oven to 180C, and line the base of a square 18cm tin with parchment paper. Place the butter and brown sugar in a pan over low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Cook, stirring for an additional minute. The mixture will bubble slightly but do not boil.Let it cool for 10minutes. Stir the egg and egg yolk into the mixture. Sift in the flour and cinnamon and stir until well blended. Pour the cake into the prepared cake tin and bake for 20-25minutes. Let cool in the pan for a few minutes, then run a knife around it the edges of the cake to loosen it. Turn the cake out into a wire rack and peel off the parchment paper. Let cool completely. When cold cut into squares.

Am sending this across for Divya's Brownie Event.

Whole Wheat Almond Eggless Cookies~ A Sweet Punch

A recipe accompanied by a video demo makes things way too simplistic. The cookies are wholesome goodness, without the guilt. And without a doubt, they'd go well for your evening tea. Using every ingredient within your pantry is the best reason you'd want to have a go at baking these awesome cookies. Throw in some chocolate chips or raisins and you'd have your own twist to the whole thing.

Ingredients:
Whole wheat flour - 1cup
Sugar - 1/2cup
Salt - 1/4tsp
Sliced almonds - 1/4cup
Green cardamom seed coarsely powder (ilaichi) - 1/2tsp
Unsalted butter  - 1/2cup (8 tablespoons or 4oz)
About 2 tablespoons of milk or as needed.


Pre heat the oven to 160C. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar, salt, sliced almonds and cardamom powder well. Next add soft butter and milk to the flour mixture to make dough. Dough should be very soft. Divide the dough into about 24 equal parts and make them into balls. Press each ball between your palms lightly; every piece should be about 1/2” in thickness. Place the dough balls on an un-greased cookie sheet about inch a part. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until cookies are lightly gold brown. After they become lightly golden brown remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Let the cookies cool down for two to three minutes before taking them off the cookie sheet. 

Peas Pulao with Fish Mapas

Fish  mapas is a coconut milk based curry which goes well with a pulao, plain rice, roti.. I had veena and little ivona home, so when you have the best people coming over to spend time with you. You want to be able to give them the best too. Before she and her little one came over I ensured I had summed this up, so as to be able to talk at length and not get caught in the kitchen.....

Fish Mapas

Ingredients:

Seer Fish - 1kg and cut into 2inch pieces

Onions - 2 medium thinly sliced

Curry leaves - 2 stalks

Green chillies - 4 sliced, slit

Red Chili Powder - 1 1/2tsp

Turmeric Powder - 1/4tsp

Coriander Powder - 2 tsp

Ginger and garlic paste - 2tsp

Tomato - 2 medium diced

Mustard seeds - 1tsp

Fenugreek seeds - 1/2tsp

Coconut milk - 1 cup thick

Mix the chili, turmeric, coriander powders together in a little water. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard sees, then add the fenugreek sees. Saute the onion, and curry leaves till onion becomes transparent. Add the ginger and garlic paste and saute for two minutes. Then add the powders and fry for another minute. Add the diced tomatoes and saute till the tomatoes are softened and the powders are well combined. Add about 1/2cup water and bring to boil. Gently lay the fish  and cook over a low flame for a few minutes and pour in the coconut milk and bring to a light simmer. Take care not to boil the curry.

Peas Pulao

Ingredients: 

Long grain Basmathi Rice - 2cups cooked

Onion - 1 big, finely chopped

Peas - 1cup, blanched

Cloves - 4-5

Black Cardamom - 2

Cinnamon - 1 2inch piece

Salt to taste

Coriander leaves - a handful

Into a heavy pan, pour in some oil and saute the onions till light brown. Add a couple of cloves, a piece of cinnamon and 2 black cardamoms and let it saute till the flavors are released. Then add in the blanched peas and quick it a quick stir. Add the rice and carefully mix the rice and peas. Add salt and then add the coriander leaves. Take it off the flame, put the lid on and give it 5 minutes to rest. Serve the rice with the hot mapas.

Oyster Bay - Restaurant and Food Review

Oyster Bay, a brand new Seafood Restaurant conveniently located on the busy Jyothi Nivas College Road, cannot be missed. Oyster bay tags out to seafood lovers and to vegetarians "equally". A big THANK YOU to Dimna from the PRHUB for having arranged the afternoon lunch, and made it possible.

Amuse Bouche

Who were my fellow blogger's who joined in for the afternoon Madhuri from Cook Curry Nook, Geetha and her husband Prakash from Fragrant Kitchen and Shubhada from Shubhada 1,2,3's It was the first time for me  with respect to a blogger's meet, taste testing and reviewing a restaurant. Was it worth it? Of course it is when a group of women who just simply got fired away like long lost friends catching up over good food - Cooked specially by Chef Thomson.

Chef Thomsun

Since I was the first to reach I had the privilege of having a nice chat with Mr.Philip the Managing Director of Penver Products which is one of the top 5 exporters of Seafood from Kerala. He is re-known in the Seafood Industry, with over 20 years of experience. And now Philips has decided to utilize Penver’s core strengths of sourcing world class food processing expertise, by setting up Seafood restaurants in the fast casual format of which Oysterbay is his first christened. The idea is to delight the Indian palate within inlands to a variety of global seafood dishes, with an Indian twist to it. The restaurant done in colours of white and grey, with the ceilings overcast with bright blue canopies, comes with a European hint. The restaurant is spaced out into a lounge and dining area. which came a buzz with the islands of families seated enjoying a gala spread of the buffet. The buffet consists of a spread of 2 Seafood grill, 3 Non-vegetarian dishes, 4 Vegetarian dishes, a salad bar and a dessert station with 4 choices, of which rested a Chocolate Fountain, all for a price of Rs.255 per head excluding taxes. We stepped away from the usual buffet counter style lunch and opted to try out the chef's recommendations.

My refreshing Orange blossom along with an Amuse bouche appeared in front of me. We tried the first entrée of our meal proper with a soup, my eyes fixed onto the Lobster Cappuccino in the menu - which I found a delight with the lobster pleasantly done justice to with a soul warming balance of flavor. A bemusing appeal of a soup served in a coffee cup, not to forget the foam effect too. Then came the nibbles with Tahini Scented Grilled Lebanese Prawns, Oyster Otang Otang which is oyster cooked in spices, wrapped in a banana leaf and grilled. And then came Spiced Pesto Tentacles - which is squid tentacles combined with a hot pesto sauce, all scored full marks.

Top L-R: Lobster Cappuccino,
Bottom L-R: Grilled Prawns, Oyster Otang Otang, Spiced Pesto Tentacles

Being a non-vegetarian has its advantages, because you get to try the vegetarian dishes too, of which I enjoyed the Cajun Aloo Tikki - An Indo Carribean delight topped with  a Cajun flavored raita. All the starters have a free accompaniment of choice of any one - harabhara kabab, potato wedges, french fries or steamed vegetables, mini pizza paratha which is a like a meal by itself. I was already quite full from the appetizing en trees. Yet I had to order the signature dish Jewels of the Sea, an association of grilled squid tubes, prawns, mussels, clams and cuttlefish served with crab claws and slow roast garlic in white wine. The portions were generous but to me required bit more moisture from the wine.

Jewels of the Sea

To round of the lunch on a sweet note, there came the dessert platter - A Missippi Mud pie, portions of Bebinca, Coconut Mousse, Tiramisu, Blueberry Cheesecake, Litchie Bavarian, the Winner Walnut Chocolate Brownie with chocolate sauce, not to forget a glorious Chocolate fountain to indulge in further. What took to a couple of more bites are the Palada Payasam and the Coconut Mousse a definite must try for those wanting a delicate hint of coconut. And with almost two hours after we had started, our meal drew to a close. Though some of the dishes may sound intimidating, the service is handled by exceptional service with dignified enthusiasm.

My verdict: Go if want to try out seafood in its options, a MUST TRY of their soups and entree's, needs wee bit more work on some of their dishes...

Oysterbay  Ground Floor, Cygnus Chambers, Adjacent to Bhima Jewelers, Jyothi Nivas College Road, Koramnagla, Bangalore 560095. Tel: +91 80 4209 0000

Working Hours: Lunch: 12 noon to 3 PM, Happy Hours: 3 PM to 7 PM, Dinner: 7 PM to 11 PM

Basement Parking Available

Banana and Cranberry Loaf

Cranberries from S'pore a pack specially sent in by Lesa, two about to rot bananas and the usual ingredients is all you need for this super, ultra moist loaf. It's simply easy to bake........

A big thank you to Binu, for wanting to click some pictures for me, and a big mention of another dear friend Chintu, for baby sitting my active little brat during the photo shoot.

Ingredients:

Self rising flour - 1 1/4cups

Brown sugar - 3/4cup

Baking powder - 1/2tsp

Bananas - 2 mashed

Chopped candied peel - 1/3cup [i used a mix of orange marmalade and pineapple preserve]

Mixed nuts - 2tbs

Orange juice - 5-6tbs

Dried Cranberries - 1/4cup

Eggs - 2 lightly beaten

Sunflower oil - 2/3cup

Grated rind of one orange

Icing Sugar - 3/4cup sifted

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 900gms loaf pan with butter and line the base with parchment paper. Sift the flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar, bananas, chopped candied peel, nuts and cranberries. Stir in the orange juice, eggs and oil together until thoroughly blended. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and level the surface with a spatula. Bake in a preheated oven for about 1 hour, until firm to touch or until the skewer comes out clean. Turn out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely.

Mix the icing sugar with a little water and drizzle the frosting over the loaf. Sprinkle orange rind over the top. Let the frosting set before serving into slices.

Sending this in for the Cooking with Fruits Event hosted by Taste Buds.

Carrot Cake You'll Crave

It's a carrot cake with a cream cheese frosting for my Bible Study fellowship aunties. I go to a bible study once a week. All my members are aunties who have aged with grace. They are women, who have experienced life. You look at them and their faces radiate with the happiness of standing through whatever life had to offer them. They are a group of women who to me have stood through the tests of time and conquered it all in their personal lives.

Ingredients:
Eggs - 2
Molasses - 3/4cup
Grated carrots - 1 1/3cups generous amount
Plain flour - 2cups
Baking soda - 1tsp
Ground cinnamon - 2tsp
Ground ginger - 1/4tsp
Grated nutmeg - 1/4tsp
Walnuts - 1cup roughly chopped
Sunflower oil - 1cup

Topping
Cream cheese - 1/2cup
Butter - 4tbs
Icing sugar - 3/4cup

Preheat the oven to 180C.Grease a 9inch square pan/ bundt pan/ ring mould  with butter and line with parchment paper. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until well blended. Add the sugar and oil. Mix well. Add the grated carrots. Sift in the flour, baking soda, and spices, then add the walnuts. Mix everything until well incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake till the center is nicely risen and from to touch. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the pan until just warm and then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.
To make the topping, put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and beat together until really smooth. When the cake is completely cool, spread the topping and smooth with a fork and leave to firm a bit before cutting into 16 portions. I was reserved with my frosting owing to the crowd I was serving. I didn't want my ladies indulging into too much sweetness. Thus using a spoon simply flicked the frosting making it look like a drizzle and left it to firm. Store in an airtight container in a cool place up to a week.

I'm sending this across as my entry for Priya's event.

Currant Slices with Spiced Apple Syrup

This cake chosen by the Sweet punch team, turned out to be a real treat indeed. The only thing I didn't have was a rectangular tray, which is something I'm definitely going to buy. But served in slices or wedges the cake is worth a try!!

Ingredients:
Currants - 175gms
Cinnamon Stick - 1
Apple juice - 300ml
Plain white flour - 175gms
Baking powder - 2tsp
Unsalted butter - 175gms
Caster Sugar - 175gms
Eggs - 3 beaten
Vanilla extract - 1tsp

Place the currants, cinnamon stick and apple juice in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and leave to stand for several hours or overnight. Drain the currants thoroughly, pressing the juices through a sieve, reserving the juices and cinnamon stick. Set aside the currants. Preheat the oven to180C. Grease and line a 12x9 inch rectangular tray-bake tin. Sift the flour, baking powder into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract. Beat well until mixture is smooth. Stir in half the reserved currants into the mixture and spoon into the prepared tin. Spread the remaining currants over the top. Bake in the oven for 30-35minutes or until firm and golden brown. Meanwhile, boil the reserved the juices and cinnamon stick rapidly and reduce by about half, until syrupy. Discard the cinnamon stick. Cut the cake into slices and serve warm with hot syrup spooned over.

Chicken Satay Sandwich for the Quick Breakfast!

Left over dinner of yesterday was Chicken satay. I always get up late, in spite of the alarm ringing, I turn it on snooze and cozily snooze till there's an hour left for everything to get done. The next you know, I'm worked up and already tearing my hair apart. I wish I could get up earlier everyday - "still remains one till date..." Never the less, I quickly got the chicken and the peanut sauce from the fridge, warmed it up and put it between two slices of bread. It pretty much worked fine with me to go along with my cup of 'tangerine tea' - courtesy teena who got me, quarter of a bag of dried tangerines from Mongolia.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breats - 750gms
Brown sugar - 2tsp
Lemon juice - tsp
Grated garlic - 1tsp
Grated fresh ginger - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Satay Sauce
Crunchy peanut butter - 4tbs
Soy Sauce - 1tbs
Honey - 1tbs
Grated ginger - 1tsp
Grated garlic - 1tsp
Onion - 1 small chopped

Using a sharp knife, cut the chicken into cubes and marinate the chicken with brown sugar, lime juice, grated ginger and garlic. Season the chicken with salt. Stash into the refrigerator for about half hour to one hour. Skewer the chicken using the wooden skwers. Onto a hot pan, drizzle in some olive oil/ any vegetable oil and griddle the chicken. Pour some of the excess marinade on the chicken and cook till the chicken is done on both sides.
In the meantime into a small pan saute the onion till translucent. Then add in the grated ginger and garlic and continue to saute. Then add in the soy sauce, peanut butter, honey and about 4-5tbs of water to loosen the peanut butter and make it a thick sauce like consistency. Once done, remove and serve the sauce immediately with the griddled chicken. The dish will serve as a good appetizer or starter.
For the sandwich: Left over chicken breasts need to be taken off the skewer and chopped up roughly. Into the frying pan, drizzle in some oil. Mix in the chopped up chicken and leftover satay sauce and combine well over low heat. Place the filling between freshly toasted bread and enjoy for breakfast.