Christmas Dinner

 Christmas dinner~ its a pure family time when everyone gathers around at the kitchen table to enjoy what my mums makes, the only person missing was my brother this time, never the less mum is sending me some of her Turkey roast on my route back to Bangalore tomorrow. That's right my holidays are over and its back to the grind and  it's back to the workstation.

Our Christmas dinner menu consisted of Appam and Turkey Roast (Naadan style), Pan Seared Salmon. The drink~ Homemade Red Wine and for Dessert Christmas Cake.

Appam and Naadan Turkey Roast

The recipe on Appam has already been posted on 18 December, 2009. For the Kalappam that has been used here the batter has to be thick. Once the tava is hot enough, ladle a spoon of batter, cover and cook till done. And flip over the other side to cook as well.

Ingredients for the Turkey Roast
Turkey - 4.5kg with skin cut into medium pieces
Onions - 5 large ones finely sliced
Potatoes - 5 large ones peeled and cut into thin wafers
Coriander powder - 5tbs
Chilly powder  - 3tbs
Ginger garlic paste - 4tbs
Cumin powder  - 2tsp
Mustard seeds - 2tsp
5 spices whole - 3tsp (cardamom, clove, cinnamon, star anise and fennel)

Marinate the turkey with chilly powder and salt and set aside for half an hour. Into a large pan, dry roast the 5 spices and keep aside. Then pour in vegetable oil and fry the sliced potatoes till crisp and keep aside. Into the remaining oil, brown half the quantity of sliced onions and keep aside to garnish. Saute the remaining onions till almost brown, and tip in the turkey and fry the turkey pieces till brown. Cover and cook for 15minutes. Into another pan, splutter the mustard seeds, and roasted spices and saute the rest of the masala powders (ginger-garlic paste, coriander powder and cumin powder) till the fat separation happens. Transfer the sauteed masala to the cooked turkey and gently combine the masala and turkey. Once combined, put the lid on the pan and bake into a cool oven for 15mins at 140 C. Once baked spoon the fried onions and top with crispy potatoes. Serve hot with appams.

Pan Seared Salmon

Ingredients:

Pink Salmon - 250gms
Black pepper powder
Lemon juice  - 2-3tsp
Salt to taste
Shredded cucumber and carrots to garnish

Rub salt and pepper onto the salmon and keep aside for 10minutes. Into a flat pan, heat olive oil and sear the salmon on both sides till done. Shred Lebanese cucumber and carrots onto a plate, bed the salmon on top and squeeze lemon juice and serve immediately.

Red Wine

Ingredients
Water - 12litres

Grape Juice - 12litres
Sugar - 4kgs
Yeast - 1-2tsp

Mix all the ingredients together and leave to ferment in a closed barrel. You would need to stir the liquid once everyday during the fermentation period. The process should take about 14-21 days. After the fermentation period, strain the liquid into another barrel or cask and let the wine age.

Brown and White Cucumber Sandwiches

A light snack to please anyone and satiate a 4'o clock hunger pang or even woo a guest for a nice tea party.

Ingredients:

Brown Bread - 1 loaf (at least a day old)

White Bread - 1 loaf (at least a day old)

Lebanese Cucumber - 6-7 cut into very fine roundrels.

Butter - 3tbs

Light Mayonnaise - 5-6tbs

Tobasco sauce - couple of dabs (depending on one's spice levels)

Into a mixing bowl, melt butter and mix in the mayonnaise and then dab in tobasco sauce. Spread the buttery spread onto one slice of brown bread, arrange the cucumber rounds and  cover white bread. Slice of all the edges and cut the sandwich into small rectangles or squares and arrange alternatively onto a large platter. Serve with some cherry tomatoes and ketchup.

A warm brew ~ Orange Tea

With temperatures being 10-11 Centigrade in the evening, I'm forever scouting for something to keep me warm. At the same time I don't want to overdo myself with several hot cups of tea and coffee both enjoyed equally with milk and sugar. I thought why not try something for a change. So here's a brew I enjoy now!!

Ingredients
[Serves - 2]
2 cups of hot water
1 Yellow Lipton tea bag
1/2 cup of orange juice
1-2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick
1-2 tsp of lemon juice
Sugar to taste

Into a saucepan, boil water and leave the tea bag for about 3-4minutes along with the cloves and cinnamon let it simmer uncovered. Take it off the flame and add in the orange juice and lemon juice. Strain and add sugar to taste and enjoy the warm refreshing cuppa!

Hummus

I have grown eating Hummus all my life.Teamed with plain khubbus, julienne d vegetable sticks or sandwiched in a Shawarma, the taste of it has now lingered onto Satish's (hubby) palate as well.

Ingredients:
1 cup of chickpeas (soaked overnight and boiled)
1/4 cup liquid from boiled chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini/ sesame seed paste (you could totally do without this as well)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

Blend all the ingredients except olive oil until thoroughly mixed and smooth. Transfer to a bowl and create a depression in the center and tip in the olive oil. Serve with khubbus/ pita bread or even Chapathy.

BBQ Chicken

Like I mentioned in my previous post on bbq'ed plantains, mum had the chicken marinated in her barbecue marinade the night before we arrived. For the barbecue you would need..

Ingredients:
Chicken thighs - 1kg cleaned and slits made across
Sweet Paprika Powder - 6-8tbs
Ginger garlic paste - 2tbs
Black Pepper powder - 1tbs
Lemon juice - 2tbs
Lemon zest grated  - 1-2tsp
Salt to taste
A hot grill ready with hot coals

Marinate the chicken with all the ingredients, cling wrap and store into the refrigerator overnight. Grill the chicken over a hot coal and enjoy with some pita bread, hummus, moutabel and some green salad.

Papaya Pickle

A pickle adds that delicate tang to our lunch or dinner. It can even be a luxury item particularly during school boarding days when pickle jars would be brought out at night to be sandwiched in rotis or slices of bread stolen from dinner. In college hostels they were fuel for all night emergency study sessions. And for lonely graduate students they were a taste of home.

Ingredients:

Green Papaya - 750gms semi ripened cut into 1cm fingers

Garlic - 1/4cup finely chopped

Ginger - 1/4cup finely julienned

Kashmiri Red chilly powder - 3tbs

Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp

Fenugreek Powder - 1/2tsp

Asafoetida - 1/4tsp

Vinegar - to taste

Mustard seeds - 2tsp

Green chillies - 5-6 finely chopped

Jaggery  - 2-3tbs you could even substiute it with raisins or chopped up dates

Salt to taste

Into a large bowl, rub salt onto the papaya and keep aside. Into a saucepan, heat olive/ canola oil and splutter mustard seeds. Saute the ginger and garlic till evenly browned, add in the green chillies and saute till the aroma from the chillies are released. Combine in all the powders and saute till the fat separation starts to take place, and then add in the papaya. Cover and cook on low flame till the papaya becomes tender. Once the papaya is cooked add in jaggery and combine again on low flame. Take the pickle off the flame add salt and vinegar to taste. The pickle should be stored in the refrigerator.

Almond cake topped with a fruit cocktail

Brewed a strong cup of coffee, donned on my apron (this time I got a nice colorful one from my mum..felt like a real time chef..) and I was ready to bake a birthday cake for my mother-in-law. While she gets going with her famous Mutton biriyani, raita, pappad and pickle, I'm surprising her with a cake baked with love....
Thought I send in this for the event Show me your cake hosted by Divya Vikram.

Ingredients:
Flour - 1cup
Baking powder - 1tsp
Castor sugar - 1 1/3cup
Almond paste - 3/4 cup
Salted Butter - 250gms
Eggs - 6 large ones
Vanilla Extract - 1tsp
Almond essence - 1tsp
Fruit cocktail - 1 Can (small)
Icing sugar to sprinkle

For the syrup:
Open the can and do not drain the liquid. Empty all the contents into a non stick saucepan and over low flame lightly heat it infusing the cocktail with a 1tsp of lemon juice, 2-3 cloves and a stick of cinnamon. When the cocktail is warmed through, take it off the flame and leave it to cool.

For the cake:
Blanch and peel the skin of the almonds and grind to a fine paste without water and keep aside. Beat the eggs separately and keep aside.Sift the flour and baking powder and keep that aside too.
Preheat the oven to 170 C. Grease the cake tin and flour it. In a food processor, process the sugar and almond paste for about 3 minutes so that the paste is further made fine just incase it was not ground well. Then add the butter and process till the batter is nice and fluffy. Through the funnel drizzle in the beaten eggs little by little. Then add the vanilla. Next comes in the sifted flours till it is all incorporated well. Pour this into the prepared cake tin and bake for about 35-40 minutes.

Baking time so depends on the kind of oven you are using so just check in on your cake at the end of 35 minutes with a toothpick or skewer till the it comes off clean. This cake is absolutely moist and can be kept outside for storage. After the cake has cooled down, sprinkle with icing sugar.
Just before cutting the cake, spoon the fruit cocktail right in the center of the cake and moisten the cake with the syrup. Or else you could slice the cake and serve the fruit cocktail and some good quality vanilla ice cream side by side.

Appam with Seer Fish Pollichathu!!

I tell you nothing beats the taste of home cooked food, that too food cooked by mum. I'm on vacation in Kuwait with my parents and it was a welcome treat for breakfast, I love my mom's appams. My brother, while seeing us off at the airport reminded me to master the techniques of 'mom's appams', or else don't return is what he said. Now do I have a task to master in two weeks?!

Appam

Ingredients:
Raw rice -2 cups (long grained rice soaked in water for 6 hours)
Par Boiled rice - 1cup (cooked rice)
Yeast - 1/4tsp
Sugar - 3tbsp
Coconut grated -1cup
Water - as required

Grind the raw rice, cooked rice and coconut together into a blender using water as required. Once the batter is ground well, add in the sugar, yeast and salt and blitz the batter well. Empty into a large vessel and leave to ferment overnight. Make lace appams onto a appam chatti and serve hot. If the batter is too thick you could make small appams that look like dosas.

Meen Pollichathu

Ingredients:
Seer Fish Fillet - 500gms
Coriander powder - 3tbs
Red Chilly powder - 1tbs
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Ginger and garlic paste - 1tbs
Fenugreek powder - 1/2tsp
Cumin Powder - 1tsp
Onion - 1 finely chopped
Green chilly - 1 slit
Coconut milk - 1/2cup
Salt to taste

Into a large frying pan, saute the onion till pink. Add in the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 2-3minutes. Then add in all the masala powders (coriander, chilly, turmeric, cumin and fenugreek powders) and saute till the fat separation happens. Pour in 1/4cup water and mix in the masala, tip in the slit green chillies and slowly dip the fish. Cover and cook till the fish is done. Once the fish has become nice and soft, pour in the coconut milk. Whirl the pan, to let the coconut milk be thoroughly mixed. Throw in some fresh curry leaves and serve with appams.

Cake and Wine ~It's Christmas Time!

What's Christmas without cake and wine. Even better is when you get to assist mom to make the cake and wine. She already baked one beforehand, and waited till I came to make the second. I'm sending in this as  my entry to 'Show me Your cake' event hosted by Divya Vikram.

Christmas Cake

Ingredients:
Butter - 8oz
Sugar - 8oz
Eggs - 5 separated
Plain flour - 12oz
Brandy/ Rum/ Orange juice - 3tbsp
Salt - 1/2tsp
Mixed Spice - 1tsp
Vanilla Essence - 1tsp
Lemon and Almond Essence - few drops
Baking soda - 1/2tsp 
Fruits
Almonds/ Cashew nuts - 200gms
Cherries - 125gms
Raisins - 300gms
Sultanas and Currants - 450gms
Dates - 200gms
Mixed peel - 125gms
Caramel Syrup - 3tbsp
Pineapple Preserve - 1/4cup
Orange Marmalade - 1/4cup

Chop all the fruits and nuts and soak with the brandy overnight. Sift the mixed spice, baking soda and flour and keep aside. Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in the egg yolks and cream well with the butter and sugar. Then beat in caramel syrup and add in the sifted flours little by little each time and keep aside. Whip egg whites till stiff. Fold in egg whites to the soaked fruits till the fruits are well combined. To the creamed batter add in the pineapple preserve and orange marmalade and mix thoroughly. Add in the fruits and egg whites and evenly mix the batter. Into a greased 9" cake tin, line with aluminum foil and pour in the mixture. Bake in a cool oven at 140C for 3 hours.

White wine

Ingredients:

Water - 10litres

White grape juice - 10litres

Sugar - 5lbs

Yeast - 1 to 2tsp

Mix all the ingredients together and leave to ferment in a closed barrel. You would need to stir the liquid once everyday during the fermentation period. The process should take about 14-21 days. After the fermentation period, strain the liquid into another barrel or cask and let the wine age.

 

Barbequed Plantains

The first night of our vacation in Kuwait, my mom had the barbecue all set in celebration of her grand child visiting her. Of course we had chicken and sausages being char coaled, we had plenty of fire that we thought we'd barbecue the plantains too. You wouldn't want them rotting away. Mum said in her childhood days, barbecued plantains were a regular at her house using smoked coconut husks.

Ingredients:
Ripe Plantains - 1kg
Aluminum foil

Tightly wrap aluminum foil around each plantain and barbecue the plantains on the grill for 15-20minutes till well cooked. Unwrap the foil and enjoy the simple delectable musa with some sugar or honey.

Mocca Shake

My son created an absolute ruckus, while we driving back from playschool past the Corner House (Ice cream Parlor) road in Kammnahalli. I was forced to stop and buy him a Strawberry Cone, while I treated myself to a Mocha Thick Shake. I thought I'd recreate the same shake at home...to treat my husband. So my version of the Mocha Shake.

Ingredients:
Cold Milk - 1cup
Instant Coffee Powder - 1 1/4tsp
Vanilla Ice cream - 3 scoops
Hershey's Chocolate Sauce- 4tbs
Ground Cinnamon - a pinch
Sugar optional

Blitz in all the ingredients into a blender, and serve immediately. You could garnish it with some chocolate chips, sprinkles, gratings or even sprinkled coffee or cocoa powder.

Tip: You could use your judgment on the amount of coffee or chocolate sauce that is being used here to suit your preference.

3 P's ~ Pumpkin, Potato and Puris!

Ahmedabad, known as 'The Manchester of the East' is a city full of gastronomical surprises. This is one such recipe, authentic to the Gujurathis, a side dish to be rightfully accompanied with hot- puffed puris.

Pumpkin and Potato

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 300gms
Pumpkin - 400gms
Onion seeds - 1tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
Sesame Seeds -1tsp
Coriander Powder - 1tbs
Chilly Powder - 1/2tsp
Fennel Powder - 1/4tsp
Tomato -1 finely chopped
Cinnamon - 1stick
Asafoetida - 1/4tsp
Cloves - 3-4
Ginger-garlic paste - 1tsp
Cardamom - 1-2pods
Bay Leaf - 1-2
Suagr -1tsp
Salt to taste
Chopped Coriander leaves to garnish

Splutter the mustard seeds, add in the onion seeds and sesame seeds and fry for a minute. Then add in the cinnamon stick, cloves, bay leaf, and cardamom pods and let the spices release the fragrant aroma. Tip in ginger garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes, then add the powders- coriander, jeera, turmeric, chilli and salt and saute till the fat separation happens. The chopped tomato and asafoetida comes in next, cook till the tomatoes turns soft and is well blended into the masala. Add in the diced potatoes and pumpkins also add in the sugar, coat the vegetables well with the masala. Add in about quarter cup of water, cover and cook till the potatoes and pumpkins are tender and the masala turns semi dry. Serve hot with chopped coriander leaves. 

Puri

Ingredients
Atta - 1cup
Maida - 1/4cup
Salt to taste
Warm water

Into a food processor, add in the powders and salt. Using warm water process till a dough is formed and comes off the sides of the bowl. Roll into thin puris onto a floured board. Deep fry into hot oil till puffed and golden brown. Using a slotted spoon lift each puri and drain out any excess oil.

Rainbow Vegetable Noodles with Crispy Vegetables in Garlic Sauce

Noodles is one thing everyone especially my toddler gets excited for or looks forward to. I mean if I could make noodles everyday for the father and son....I've got one happy family.

Crispy Vegetables in Garlic Sauce

Garlic Sauce
Ingredients:
Tomato Ketchup - 1/2 cup
Tomato paste - 4 tbs
Onion - 1 small finely chopped
Garlic - 1 1/2 tbs finely chopped
Ginger - 1tbs finely chopped
Chilly paste - 2tbs (red chillies without the seeds soaked in vinegar and ground)
Oil - 2tbs
Sugar - 1tsp
Salt to taste

Heat oil and saute the onion till pink. Add in the ginger and garlic and fry till lightly browned. Tip in the chilly paste, and tomato paste sugar and salt and saute for about 2 minutes. Then add in the ketchup and bring to a gentle simmer. If the sauce gets too thick you could spoon in some warm water to loosen the consistency. Simmer for about 2 minutes and take off the flame.

Crispy Vegetables
Ingredients:
Boiled Vegetables - 2 cups (cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms and baby corn cut into bite sized pieces)
Plain Flour - 50gms
Egg - 1
Corn Flour - 25gms
Salt
Baking Powder - 1/4tsp
Water

Beat in the egg, add the flour, cornflour, baking powder and salt to make a batter. Dip each on vegetable into the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Drain on absorbent towels and keep aside.

Vegetable Noodles

Ingredients
Noodles - 1 family pack of Tom Ramen noodles
Duck Eggs - 2 whipped separately
Yellow Bell pepper - 1/4cup julienned
Red Bell pepper - 1/4cup julienned
Green Bell pepper - 1/4cup julienned
Carrots - 100gms julienned
Beans - 100gms diagonally cut
Ginger  - 1 inch sliced and julienned
Garlic - 3 pods sliced and julienned
Soya sauce - 2tbs
Tobasco Sauce - couple of dabs from the bottle
Sugar - 1tsp
Red Wine Vinegar - a spritz

Into a big pot of boiling water, add in some salt and a 1tbs of oil, and cook the noodles for about 10 minutes. Once the noodles is cooked, strain and run some cold water over it, drain and keep aside.
Heat a wok and lightly coat with vegetable oil. Once the wok is hot, tip in the ginger, garlic and sugar, saute till the aroma is released. Tip in the carrots and beans and saute till almost cooked. Tip in the peppers, and saute for a minute. Pour in soya sauce, a couple of dabs of tobasco, a generous spritz of red wine vinegar and fry till all the vegetables are well coated with the sauces. In the meantime, whip the duck eggs one by one and fry separately to make two plain omelets without seasoning. Cut the omelets into thin strips. Add it into the combined vegetables to get it lightly coated with all the sauces yet retain colour. Check in on the seasoning of the vegetables.

Onto a plate, bed a spoon of noodles topped with the vegetables. Just before serving, put the fried crispy vegetables into the garlic sauce and serve.

Tip: If the fried vegetables are put into the garlic sauce much before serving, the dish would turn out to be soggy and would lose its crunchiness.

Hors d'oeuvres ~ Pan Brown Chicken

Pan browned chicken a recipe from one of Ramani Aunty's series of Poultry dishes. This makes an excellent, side dish as well as main course.

Ingredients:
Chicken with skin - 750gms
Boiled vegetables - 1 cup of potatoes and beans
Yellow and Red Bell peppers - 1/4cup steamed and julienned
Vegetable Oil - 2tbs
Cinnamon Powder - 1/2tsp
Cloves Powder - 1/4tsp
Chilli Powder - 1/4tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1/4tsp
Salt to taste
Lemon Juice - 1tbs

Pat dry the chicken pieces.Into a large bowl mix together the cinnamon, clove, chilli, turmeric powders along with the lemon juice and salt. Rub evenly onto the chicken. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap. Let the chicken marinate for 2 hours. Into a wok, heat the oil and brown the chicken pieces till is evenly roasted on all sides. Pour about a cup of warm water, cover the pan tightly and let the chicken cook for about 20minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken onto a dish. Serve the chicken with pan juice and boiled vegetables.

Vegetable assortment ~ Avial

This is my favorite accompaniment for lunch. A dish that is healthy and creamy in texture and is considered essential to a Sadya. To make avial you would need ~

Ingredients:
Seasonal vegetables - Depending on what's available with the vegetable vendor like Drumsticks, raw plantains, potatoes, carrots, yam, ash gourd, dosakai (vellarika) -cut into fingers to yield 3cups
Frozen/ Fresh peas - 1/4cup
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Green chilly - 2 slit
Dried Red Chillies - 3-4 broken into pieces
Coconut gratings - 1/2cup
Garlic - 3-4 pods
Cumin Powder - 1/2tsp
Yogurt - 1/4cup beaten
Raw mango slices/ Green tomatoes slices- 1tbs
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Shallots - 20 finely sliced
Curry leaves - 2sprigs
Coconut oil to drizzle
Salt to taste.

Into a non-stick pot, combine all the vegetables with a cup of water and turmeric. Cover and cook till the vegetables become tender. Grind the coconut gratings with garlic and cumin to make a paste. Add this masala and the slit green chillies to the cooked vegetables, cover and cook for 5minutes. Once the masala is cooked through add in the mango/ tomato slices and salt. Temper the mustard, curry leaves, shallots and red chillies. Pour the tempering over the cooked vegetables. Simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the flame and add in the beaten yogurt. Once the yogurt has blended in well, drizzle in coconut oil and serve.

Flat beans with coconut slivers

Owing to the busy weekends that we have due to other commitments, lunch on Saturdays is rather elaborate at home. I do ensure there is a vegetable saute, thoran and non-vegetarian accompaniments to compliment the dishes I make for the day. Harini on her blog has posted her recipe on Avarakkai Poduthuval thought I'd try the same except substituted the coconut gratings for slivers simple, because that's what I had stored in my freezer. I was too plain lazy to go through the ordeal of grating the coconut. I have made some minor changes to the original recipe to suit our taste buds.Plus I'm sending in this entry to the Singing Chef and Zlamushka for the event 'Tried and Tasted' from Sunshine Mom's Tongue and Ticklers.

Ingredients:
Flat beans / Ammarapayar - 500gms string clean and chopped finely
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Shallots - 10-12 finely sliced
Cumin Powder - 1/4tsp
Garlic - 3 pods crushed in a mortar
Mustard seeds - 1tsp
Green chillies - 1 slit
Coconut gratings - 4tbs (I have used coconut slivers - 5tbs)
Salt to taste

Into a pan, cook the beans until al-dente with turmeric, salt and a dash of water. Into a wok, splutter mustard seeds, add the shallots and fry till browned. Add in the garlic and fry for a minute. Tip in the cooked beans and fry for 3minutes on medium flame. Add in the cumin powder, coconut gratings/ slivers and green chilly cook for another minute or two. Take it off the flame and garnish with curry leaves. And eat it whilst its still hot!

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Meat monsters such as our family need something as simple as a soup to mellow our diet. Especially after you attend a nice wedding where all kinds of meat from chicken, pork and fish were served, and you take every opportunity on savoring good measures of each dish. So this week we decided that we stick to soups for a nutritious and healthy us..I decided on a recipe from my aunt on Carrot and Coriander Soup. I'm also sending this vegan/ vegetarian soup for the theme: 'Soup for the happy soul' this month's monthly mingle hosted by Harini.

Ingredients (Recipe Courtesy: Freeda Ipe)
Butter - 1tbs
Onion - 1 large finely chopped
Ginger - 1 tsp grated
Water - 4 cups
Vegetable Stock Cube - 3 crumbled
Carrots - 400gms cleaned, peeled and chopped
Fresh Cilantro - 1tbs chopped

Melt butter into a saucepan, saute the onion and grated ginger. Stir over a medium flame till the onions become transparent pink. Add in the water, crumbled stock cubes and carrots and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 8-10minutes until the carrots are tender. Blend the mixture once slightly cooled, stir in the coriander. Cool and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving or serve warm with some croutons.

Tea time with Apple Muffins

My kitchen renovation started on Sunday, and I'm patiently waiting for that 'ultimate look'. So before the drilling, rumbling and complete demolition of my existing kitchen started, I wanted to stock my fridge with something light, compact and healthy. Something we would still be able to binge on.....

Ingredients:
[Makes about 18 muffins]
Green Apple - 1 medium size
Butter - 4tbs
Self Raising flour - 3cups
Caster Sugar - 1 cup
Egg - 1 lightly beaten
Milk - 1 cup

Peel and quarter the apple. Remove the core and and dice the apple into cubes. Sift the flour and into a mixing bowl combine butter, sugar and apple. Stir until all is mixed well. Then make a hole in the center and add the beaten egg, milk all at once. Mix well. Careful not to over beat. Spoon the mixture two thirds full into greased muffin tin and bake for 15-20minutes into a preheated oven of 180 C. Serve warm with butter or strawberry jam.

Cauliflower Charisma

Saturday nights we would always have cousins or friends sleeping over at our place, so one of the Saturdays I thought I'd go in for a vegetable bake rather than the usual meat and roti combination. All who come here are big time meat/fish lovers....including us! Without meat or fish we cease to part take in our every day meals. This is a quick and easy bake, and better you'd get people to think that you whipped up something really fancy.

Ingredients:
Cauliflower - 750gms cut into florets and boiled in salt water
Potato - 1/2cup diced and fried
Onion - 1 big finely sliced
Cheddar Cheese - 1/2cup
Salt to taste
Green Chillies - 3
Garlic - 3-4 pods finely sliced
Ginger - 1/2 piece finely sliced
Onions - 4 small
Chilly Powder - 1/2tsp
Oil - 1dsp

For the Bechamel Sauce
Flour -2dsp
Milk - 1 1/2cup
Butter 1 1/2dsp
Cheddar Cheese - 1/2cup
Tomato Sauce - 3tbs
Nutmeg grated - 1/4 tsp
Pepper - 1/4tsp
Salt to taste

Grind the small the onions, red chilly powder, green chillies, ginger and garlic together to a smooth paste. Saute the onions till transparent pink Then tip in the the ground paste and saute for 2minutes. Add in the fried potatoes, boiled cauliflower and fry till the masala is well coated to the vegetables. Fry on low flame for about 5 minutes. Add in the grated cheddar cheese and mix thoroughly. You would also want to check in on the seasoning, add salt only if required. Transfer to a greased baking dish.

For the roux (White Sauce/ Bechamel Sauce)
Into a heavy bottomed saucepan melt the butter, add in the flour and stir continuously till it forms a soft paste and bubbles. Careful not to brown the roux. Mix in the milk and keep stirring till the roux thickens. Add salt to taste, pepper and grated nutmeg and mix well. Pour the roux over the vegetables, Sprinkle with grated cheese and bake for 20minutes on 140 C. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro and serve warm with some garlic bread.

Tip: Do note that 1 1/2dsp is equivalent to 1tbs.

Fiery Chicken

Forever I'm in a frenzy, a zillion list of things to do, places to be, people to call etc etc. I'm always short of time, because I have an active toddler who keeps me on my toes. I had to cook up something real fast so that I'm done for the day and tend to all my other chores and plus do my son's homework. A two year old with homework?? just picture sticking that's all!
My mom gifted me this book written by a family friend on Classic Recipes of Kerala - A series of 5 books. I never got to personally thank Ramani Aunty for her culmination of recipes. This is also my entry to this month's Think Spice - Think Turmeric event hosted by Sudeshna.

Ingredients:
Chicken - 1kg cut into medium pieces
Onion - 2 finely sliced
Ginger - 2inch piece sliced and cut into strips
Garlic - 4-5 pods sliced
Peppercorns - 10-12 crushed
Dry red chillies - 5-6 broken into pieces
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Cloves - 3-4
Cardamom - 2
Black Cardamom - 1
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Salt to taste
Curry leaves
Water - 1/2cup

Into a non-stick pan, combine the powders with the chicken pieces and water. Cover and cook for 20minutes on high flame and 5 minutes on low flame till the chicken is coated with the masala and the chicken is done. In the meantime, saute the onions till evenly browned, fry the curry leaves too. Fry the cooked chicken till it is browned on all sides. And voila!! you have a quick saute ready!

Date and Prune Roll ~ Sugarfree Delight

I was at the cash counter getting all my provisions billed when my eyes darted to this magazine, Cooking and more by Tarla Dalal [Issue 1 Volume 8 May June 2009], got it quickly billed as it was sealed. Couldn't wait to get home to unravel what the magazine had to offer me. That's when this recipe of 'Date and Prune roll' simply mystified me. I had Prunes in the freezer thanks to my mum's obsession to dry fruits, I had a cup remaining. Just perfect for the recipe. I had the dates too....fresh ones from a friend who had come down from Bahrain.
The rolls weren't as close to perfection as per the photograph in the magazine but then my husband and myself treat ourselves to 'One roll a day'. I have also made some changes from the original recipe to suit my preferences.

\

Ingredients:
Clarified Butter - 1tbs
Dates - 1cup de-seeded and finely chopped
Prunes - 1cup de-seeded and finely chopped
Almonds - 1tbs blanched and chopped
Pistachios - 1tbs chopped
Walnuts - 1tbs chopped
Sesame Seeds - for coating

Heat the clarified butter into a non stick saucepan, add in the dates and prunes and cook gently on low flame till it forms a soft lump. Remove, and add in the chopped nuts and mix well. Shape the mixture into a roll. Coat each roll with the sesame seeds and refrigerate to set.

Tip: I did find it difficult to shape the mixture into a roll, so I used sesame seeds to bind the rolls and give it a shape. I also placed the rolls onto butter paper before refrigerating.

Steaming Idlis and Tomato Onion Express Chutney!

I'm like an upset apple cart when it comes to grating a coconut. For my morning chutney this time, I had some coconut gratings stashed in a zip-pouch in my freezer, like I always do!. My idlis though are made from ready- made batter, which I procure fresh from Nilgris Supermarket that's just a hop away from my apartment. Cheating isn't it?

Tomato Onion Chutney

Ingredients:
Tomato - 2 ripe roughly chopped
Onion - 2 medium finely chopped
Coconut gratings - 3tbs to 4 tbs
Mustard - 1tsp
Fennel - 1/4tsp
Green chilly - 1 finely shopped
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves - 1tbs to sprinkle
Salt to taste

Saute the onion till transparent. While sauteing the onions add in the salt, to quicken the process of frying the onion. Add in the tomatoes and saute till nice and soft. Add the green chilly, coconut gratings, fennel and saute again for a minute. Take off from the flame and blend into a grinder. For the tempering, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves, add the ground chutney warm it through, take care not to boil. Sprinkle coriander leaves and serve.

Idli Batter

Ingredients:
Raw rice - 1cup
Urad dal - 1/2cup
Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2tsp
Salt to taste
Soak the rice and urad dal long with the fenugreek seeds in two separate vessels for about 3-4 hours. Grind the urad dal to a smooth paste adding water little by little. Then add the rice and grind to a smooth paste again by adding water little by little. Mix them both, add salt to taste and leave it to ferment overnight. If the batter has reached a thick consistency it could be used to make idlis. Grease the idli moulds with oil and fill each mould about 2//3rds full and steam for 5 minutes on high flame and another 5minutes on low flame. Allow to cool before scooping them out of the mould.

Tip: Do not fret if there are no coconut gratings at all, the chutney is just as tasty without coconut. I have tried the version without the coconut, and you'd still end up a superb chutney.

Warm Croissant and Amma's Chicken Roast

Chicken roast is our comfort food, uncomplicated, easy to prepare, tasty, flavorful and one way to reward yourself. Amma made these on the days she and appa would have to go play badminton at the Sports Center. Amma would ensure that dinner was kept ready for children. So after her power nap she'd get to making this quick dish, to be had with a simple salad and pita bread.

Ingredients:
Chicken  - 1kg cleaned & cut into medium pieces
Potato - 4-5 cut into wafer thin rounders
Coriander Powder - 2tbs
Red Chilly Powder - 1tbs
Turmeric Powder - 1/2tsp
Ginger garlic paste - 1tbs
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Coriander leaves - a bunch chopped
Onion - 3-4 finely sliced
Salt to taste

In a pot combine all the powders and chicken with quarter cup of water for about 20minutes on medium flame. Cook till the water is absorbed and the chicken is pan coated. Simultaneously fry the potatoes in a wok till crisp and keep aside. Then fry the onions till browned and keep aside. Into the same wok saute the ginger garlic paste for about 2minutes. Then add in the cooked chicken and fry till the chicken pieces are roasted brown. Add in the chopped coriander and continue frying till the leaves have completely imparted its flavors. Add the fried onions combine the chicken well, check in on the seasoning, add more salt if required. Top the chicken with the fried potatoes and its ready to be consumed.