Daily Archives: October 11, 2014


Semiya filled egg pizza

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Preparation Time : 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 25 -30 minutes

Serving : 8 -10 members

Description

A yum combination,  fresh , innovative , fusion dish that was present on the table for the first anniversary of sauté , fry n bakes recipe swap by Saaliha azeem . Saaliha azeem was so enthusiastic to take part in the recipe swap that she postponed her flight tickets to the Middle East for holidays to her mothers place . It was worth , or else we all should have missed out on this exhilarating flavoured fusion dish .  I remember hubby dear and myself sharing a piece as we wanted all the food lovers present to have a sneak peak to relish  this dish . Every one just thronged to this dish on the table though there was an array of dishes and vanished in seconds .This  dish captured the essence of fusion cooking in a classy wonderful way .  I have been wanting to try it out but the right time has not yet come . It was these type of innovative fusion dishes that helped to high lighten the table spread on the first recipe swap and made it a grand affair with unforgettable culinary experiences . Thank you Saaliha for your contribution that introduced us to this novel multicultural dish .

Ingredients for semiya filling

ingredients
quantity
Semiya 1cup
Boneless chicken 200 grams
Onion1small sliced
Tomato chopped2 tablespoons
Green chilli2 chopped
Chilli powder3/4 teaspoon
Turmeric powder1/4 teaspoon
Coriander powder1teaspoon
Crushed ginger , garlic3teaspoon
Thick coconut milk1/2cup
Lemon juice of one small lemon
Garam masala powder1/2teaspoon
Coriander leaves few
Curry leavesone spring
Saltto taste
Pepper to taste
Oil and ghee 2 tablespoons

Method for filling

  1. Cook chicken with little pepper crushed garlic and salt.cool and shred the chicken . Reserve the chicken stock and set aside .
    Heat 1tablespoon of oil in a pan and roast semiya / vermicelli to light brown in colour .
  2. In a cooker heat little oil and ghee.sauté onion till light brown . add ginger(11/2tsp) garlic(11/2tsp),green chilli,tomatoes and saute well.Add tur powder,chilli powder and coriander powder. fry for a min .
  3. Add roasted semiya/ vermicelli and 1cup water(including the reserved stock),1/4cup shredded chicken and salt(beware as stock has salt).cover with lid and keep in low flame for just one whistle.then remove from flame.
  4. After 10 minutes open the lid and add garam masala,lemon juice,coriander and curry leaves,shredded chicken and coconut milk. Mix well n keep in low flame for few minutes .

Other ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Bread6 slices ( remove crust and cut into very small pieces)
Eggs 4
Milk3/4 cup
Pepper1/2 cup
Coriander leavesfew chopped
SaltSalt to taste

How to proceed

  1. In a bowl beat the eggs.mix all the other ingredients together with the beaten egg . In a greased non stick pot(small) layer half of of the bread mix.then layer semiya chicken masala.
  2. press and level with spoon . On top spread the remaining bread mix n fill the sides with egg mix . cover and cook for 15 minutes .
  3. Then turn the other side carefully and cook for another 10 minutes .serve hot turning it over a serving platter .
  4. You can even bake as well in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 25 – 30 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean .

Crispy bread salad dressed with orange and maple syrup

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Preparation Time : 20 minutes

Cooking Time : 5 minutes

Serving : 2-3 members

Description

My father – in – laws elder brothers wife mrs mahmudha Rabbani is a foodie like me but a vegetarian by choice and a bit fussy too . But she enjoys experimenting with new dishes in her kitchen that she gets to know through her enormous traveling around the world . She makes sure to send her trials home to me for a second opinion flaming with passion of a true food lover . My challenge next is to send some thing in return which has to be healthy that tastes good and must be a vegetarian dish . So on one such occasion I came up with this salad instantly . Amma loves salads in any form but with out water melon in it . She went head over heels with this salad that she finished her savoured lunch just by eating the salad alone with her eyes and taste buds alike . My secret  was the right balance of various textures , flavours  and the right combination of colours used . The ingredients mentioned for this salad are often in use in my cooking . Now it’s your turn to wow all your loved ones around food lovers .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Boiled sweet corn1 cup
Capsicum1/2 chopped
Red bell pepper1/2 chopped
Yellow bell pepper1/2 chopped
Onion1 big chopped
Red cabbage1/4 cup thinly shredded
Spring onion greens 1 string chopped
Celery 1 stalk chopped
Bread slices 6 to 8 cut into cubes
Oilto deep fry bread cubes

Ingredients for Dressing

Ingredients
Quantity
Apple cider vinegar 2 tablespoons ( can substitute with normal vinegar 1 tablespoons )
Maple syrup 2 tablespoons
Dijon Mustard 1 teaspoon
Orange juice of one orange
Olive oil1/2 teaspoon
Salt + pepper to taste

Method

  1. Heat oil to deep fry . Fry the bread cubes to a deep brown colour and crisp . Drain and store in an air tight container .
  2. Mix all the other ingredients together except for deep fried bread cubes and set aside . Mix dressing ingredients together .
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning . Drizzle over the mixed salad . Place in the refrigerator until to be served . Just before serving toss the deep fried bread cubes and serve chilled over a bead of lettuce leaves in a platter .

Spinach and sweet corn macroni and cheese bake

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Preparation Time : 40 minutes

Cooking Time : 30 minutes

Serving : 8 members

Description

Being bored with the usual creamy and cheesy mac n cheese , I wanted to come up with a good vegetarian version that’s a treat to the eyes and tasty at the same time . Following my version of Mac n cheese recipe , decided to add puréed spinach for a change in colour and the delightful twist for the veggie version . Tasted after mixing in the spinach purée was good but some thing missing and felt was a bit bland . Added boiled sweet corn kernels and it’s sweetness  and crunch helped to break the blandness of the popular treat and added a surprising contrast in colour that I didn’t except at all . Baked and was happy with the total out come of the stylish stunning dish but can’t taste it until on the table as all this pains taking experimenting was done for the vegetarian table spread of sauté , fry n bakes first anniversary celebration . There were more than ten dishes on display that day so was confident will end up with some left overs but I managed to get just a tiny bit ( nearly 1/4 teaspoon ) to just nibble around it . These sort of do ahead dishes help you enjoy a lot of me time leaving way for more fun and bonding with others that makes entertaining much more easy . I made sure to repeat this recipe on a relaxed week end so that we at home could enrich our taste buds with my memories of the 1/4 teaspoon of nibble as it brought with it a melange of flavours .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
macaroni400 grams
butter50 grams + to grease + to dot
plain flour ( maida )2 tablespoons
milk500 ml ( 2 cups )
grated cheese2 cups ( I use Amul cheese cubes 1 cup grated and 6 Amul cheese slice )
Onion 1 big chopped
Mixed dried herbs rosemary , thyme , dill , oregano and basi a pinch each
Chilli flakes to taste
Green chillies 2 slit
Garlic2 flakes crushed
Curry masala powder 1 tablespoon ( coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon + red chilli powder 1/4 teaspoon + cumin powder - a huge pinch +
fennel powdera huge pinch . Mix altogether to get curry masala powder )
Spinach2 cups
Sweet corn and capsicum chopped 1/4 cup each ( optional )
Saltto taste
Bread crumbs1 1/2 teaspoons

Method

  1. Cook the macaroni in a large pan of boiling water according to packet instructions (different brands may vary in size & cooking times)
    Cook washed spinach with salt to taste and little water . Cool completely and blend to a smooth purée and set aside .
  2.  melt the butter in a medium non stick sauce pan and add chopped onion , slit green chillies , crushed garlic and fry to translucent . add the flour. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute over medium-low heat.
  3. Gradually add the milk, stirring until smooth. Add spinach purée and Stir gently until the mixture comes just to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
  4. Remove from the heat, add the 1/2 the grated cheese and 4 cheese slices , stir until melted and smooth.top with a pinch of all the dried mixed herbs , chilli flakes , salt ( be care full with salt as cheese is already salty )  sweet corn and capsicum .
  5. Add the curry masala powder making sure the sauce colour remains green in colour . Taste and adjust the sauce . The sauce should be in a semi thick gooey flowing consistency .
  6. Drain the cooked pasta . Pour cheese sauce over the pasta and stir until well coated.remove the slit green chillies . Grease a ceramic baking tray . pour the cheese sauce coated macaroni .
  7. top with remaining grated cheese . Sprinkle bread crumbs over . Cut the remaining cheese slice ‘s into thin strips . Place it in a criss cross pattern over the grated cheese .
  8. Dot the top with little butter all around . Bake in a pre heated oven at 180 degree celsius for 30 minutes . serve hot .
  9.  I like my mac n cheese creamy so I always make sure it’s still gooey with a cheese melted crust .
  10. Just add more milk to get a gooey saucy mac n cheese

Gulab jamun cheese cake

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Preparation time : 25 minutes

Cooking Time     : 15 minutes + 3 hours or over night in the refrigerator to set.

Serving               : 8-10 members

Description

Gulab jamun cheese cake. It’s nearly more than a year since I made this dessert the very first time for the first anniversary of sauté, fry n bake.  I have made it at least more than six times after that but some thing or the other just keeps me away from posting this mighty fusion dessert always. I guess the new tried experiments excite me leaving way to over taking the older trials. As the saying goes old is gold. I just happened to check my picture gallery and found so many interesting pictures that are just put to sleep with out posting. So have made up my mind to post the old trials first from now on and get to the new trials in order later. Coming to this dessert. Fusion dishes are the in thing now that’s a change from the moaning  thundering dullness of predicted menus. I still remember my first home science class was about not to mix too many cuisines  when hosting a party. Well now a days it’s just the vis- versa. Besides, it’s fun to do something outside the scoop of your comfort zone, right ? I always make sure that a fusion dish does not turn into a confusion. Here the cardamom and rose flavour helps to balance and marry with the cheese cake with a global edge. This dessert was one among the best liked dessert on the first anniversary of sauté, fry n bakes dessert table spread. In fact I, myself didn’t get a tiny bit to taste that day. This cheesecake fusion idea will swing you into the on going deevali festive mode like never before and sure is damn addictive too. So hope you all enjoy trying this fusion dessert recipe that’s eclectic, fun, an expression of my  craving and love for the cuisines of the planet .

 Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
mini gulab jamuns30 pieces
fresh cream250 gm whipped with 75 gm powdered sugar
Digestive biscuits15 crushed
Melted butter 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon to grease the spring foam
rose water 1 tablespoon
agar agar / china grass10 grams soaked in 1 cup water
Cream cheese1/2 cup
vanilla essence1 teaspoon
cardamom powder 1/2 teaspoon
dried rose petals2 teaspoons or more to decorate

Method

  1. Mix crushed digestive biscuits with melted butter 3 tablespoons to get a bread crumb texture . Place over the bottom of a greased spring foam . Press gently and place in the refrigerator to set .
  2. Take a pan and cook agar agar / chic a grass with rose water and 1/4 cup water until agar agar dissolves completely and cool to room temperature .
    In a bowl, cream the cheese and make it smooth.
  3. Add the agar agar mixture to it and mix well. Now fold in the whipped cream with one teaspoon of dried rose petals . place a layer of gulab jamuns tightly all around the set biscuit layer . Pour in half of the cheesecake mixture.
  4. Spread a layer of gulab jamuns again and top with rest of the cheese cake mixture.Level and set in the refrigerator for 3 hours or more . Garnish with more gulab jamuns all around the top . Sprinkle dried rose petals and serve chilled .

Shepherds pie

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Preparation Time : 35 minutes

Cooking Time : 20- 25 minutes

Serving : 8- 10 members

Description

Shepherd’s pie , an authentic   English dish which is believed to have originated from Scotland, Ireland and other northern England regions. Traces of pie recipes that have been found show that it was prepared as a meal in the middle age of 1700 ‘s . This dish is ideal for home cooks like us to rustle up a meal with left overs to result in a comfort food for the family or host a gathering . It also has in its flavour the fact that it is no more than an easy assembly job , and is prepared in advance , making it ideal for entertaining large groups when the pressure is mounting and time and energy declining . Having a lot of fish left over from the previous days  fish curry , I ended up making this shepherd’s pie . The original recipe of shepherd’s pie fish mix demands for a white sauce with fish but I have indianised the fish filling with our every day ingredients and religiously followed the original recipe for the potato mash . The final dish was to die for and yum , one main reason being  the potatoes were organic potatoes from our farm at kodaikanal . This dish served as an eye opener and let me know that one’s individuality shines through the variations they lend to the food , and the way they disregard tradition to play around with our local ingredients .

Ingredients

ingredients
Quantity
boneless fish 1/2 kg
gingergarlic paste1/4 teaspoon
chilli power1/4 teaspoon
turmeric powdera pinch
saltto taste
oil1 tablespoon
onions3 small chopped
green chillies1 chopped
pepper powder to taste
coriander leavesfew
potatoes750grams peeled and chopped
milk50 ml
butter50 grams
grated cheese50 grams

Method

  1. Boil cleaned fish with ginger garlic paste,chilli powder ,turmeric powder and salt to taste .break the boiled fish to flakes with a fork and set aside.
    heat oil in a non stick pan ,add onions ,green chillies and saute to a light brown in colour .
  2. Add the fish flakes and toss well.season with pepper powderand garnish with chopped coriander leaves .toss well and set aside .
  3. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water until tender .mash the potatoes with milk and butterUntil smooth.season with salt .
  4. Pre heat the oven to 180 degree celsius.pile the fish mixture in a one litter capacity greasewd baking dish ..spoon the potato mash
  5. On top and smooth with a spatula.trace a pattern into the potato mach with the tines of a fork and sprinkle with grated cheese .( i omitted the cheese to avoide
  6. A few calories at least ).bake for 20-25 minutes or until you get a golden crust on top.

Coconutty crispy fried prawns

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Preparation Time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 4-5 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 2-3 members

Description

Coconutty crispy prawn fry . On one of my daughters visit here at my place , it was prawns for lunch . I decided to make a dry , deep fried dish something like a batter fired prawns as i didn’t want to break a sweat in the kitchen .  But my gal wanted me to make some thing new , though she does not even touch prawns . She googled and decided on two dishes . I went through both and loved the idea of coconut being used to crust the prawn and stuck to this recipe . The  original recipe demanded for Japanese paco bread crumbs , not having the ingredient substituted it with bread crumbs . Felt the recipe to be too bland with just coconut , bread crumbs and seasoning . So I added a few ingredients to the liking of our Indian palate , re – imaging them as new , exciting versions of themselves  . Deep fried one prawn and checked . It needed some thing more as it felt too dry . Came up with a creamy dipping sauce and then it was bang on , creamy enlobed with a crunch   .  i can eat this dish every single day of the year . My gal changed my mood of not wanting to be in the kitchen and it turned to be a kitchen , houseful of cooks + relaxed holiday cooking resulting in a never before experience of cranking up the fun in the kitchen  :-)) .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Prawns 20 cleaned with tail ( I have done it with out the tail as it was removed accidentally )
Coconut 1/2 cup grated
Green chillies 6
Garlic flakes3
Ginger 1 inch piece
Small onion 1/2 hand
Coriander leaves few
Bread crumbs1 cup
Eggs2 beaten with salt and pepper
Oil to deep fry

Method

  1. Coarsely grind , ginger , garlic , green chillies , coriander leaves and small onions . Mix it with the grated coconut and bread crumbs .
  2. Season with salt . Taste and adjust the coarse mixture and set aside . Dip each prawn in to the beaten egg and immediately roll over the coconut mixture , making sure it is coated well all around the prawns .
  3. Do the same with all the prawns and place on a plate lined with parchment paper or foil . Heat oil to deep fry . drop prawn gently and fry in medium heat , until both sides of the prawn turn golden brown in colour .
  4. Drain and serve immediately with spicy Tatar sauce .

Ingredients Tartar sauce

Ingredients
Quantity
Mayonnaise1/2 cup
Red Chilli sauce 1/2 teaspoon
Onion1 big chopped
Celery 1 1/2 tablespoon chopped
Lime juice 3 drops
Saltto taste

Method

  1. Mix all the above ingredients together .Taste and adjust .
  2. Serve along with hot coconutty crispy shrimp.

Notes

  1. You can use Japanese paco bread crumbs instead of normal bread crumbs .Helps to give a better crispy texture .

Spicy chilli fish

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Preparation Time : 20 minutes + marination time for 1/2 an hour

Cooking Time : 15- 20 minutes

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Spicy chilli fish . Fish is the most loved source of flesh at moms place but getting fresh fish in Coimbatore is not possible . So fish was always prepared the authentic way as a fish curry ( meen charu ) and a fried fish . Once in a while if we manage to get fresh fish from some where a fish cutlet was made , that’s it . At hubby’s place its just the opposite about fish .point one we get fresh fresh fresh fish here and experimenting part oops its the same here to . The first time I gave this dish a try was when manchurians were the in thing in all the restaurants . At hubby’s place we make cauliflower and chicken manchurian , so I decided to do the same with fish one day . My mother – in – law hates anything made with sauce and hubby dear sticks on to his mothers habits ( back then , now there’s nothing he says no to :-)) ) so the fish dish had to be eaten by my father – in – law , brother – in – law , co – sister and myself . Not wanting a gravy made a semi dry dish with a change of few ingredients .served and waited for the verdict . My father – in – law liked it and he made sure my mother – in – law and hubby had a taste of the dish . Finally my co – sister and myself were left with an empty bowl  which we both licked out clean :-))

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
fish pieces (Boneless cubes ) 1/4 kilograms
maida1/2 cup
corn flour1/ 2 cup
Egg whites 2
pepper1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
Oilto deep fry + to sauté the sauce

Method

  1. Marinate fish with maida , corn flour , salt , egg white and pepper . Set aside for half an hour .
  2. Heat oil and deep fry to a golden colour . Drain and set aside .

Sauce ingredients

ingredients
Quantity
Capsicum 1 cubed
Onions1 big cubed
ginger1 tablespoon chopped
garlic1 tablespoon chopped
green chilly 1 tablespoon chopped
light soya sauce 4 tablespoons
tomato sauce5 tablespoons
chilli sauce 1 tablespoon
Sugar 1/4 teaspoon
Vinegar 1/4 teaspoon
Chilli powder 1 teaspoon
corn flour1 tablespoon
Red food coloura pinch ( optional )

Method

  1. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil ( the same oil that you deep fried the fish in – gives more flavour to the dish ) in a pan. Sauté Onion , garlic, ginger , capsicum and green chilly for a minute .
  2. Add soy sauce, chilly sauce , vinegar and tomato sauce to it.top with red chilli powder and sugar . Bring to boil . Taste and adjust . The sauce should be high on hot , sweet and tangy taste at the same time .
  3. Finally add corn flour mixed with water to it and stir well. Once it starts to boil, simmer and add the fried fish pieces . Toss well and simmer for a minute letting all the flavours infuse together .
  4. Garnish with spring onions and celery chopped . ( I didn’t do so as I was out of stock ) . Serve hot with anything and every thing .

Meen pollichathu

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Preparation time : 30 minutes + marination time of 2 hours .

Cooking time : 15 -20 minutes

Serves : 2-3 members

Description 

Meen pollichathu . A dish I came to know on my holiday trip to the back waters of gods own country , kumarakom  , Kerala . Just loved the rustic appeal to this dish of using the banana leaf to steam fish . The aroma of the banana leaf blends into the fish and it creates  pure magic Which is incredibly light , and just as delicious as its deep fried counterpart .  Did experiment a lot over this dish , got 60 percent near it but not 100 percent . Again on my visit to meet my beloved friend Sindhu Krishna in Trivandrum , we had lunch at travancore heritage hotel in kovalam and got to taste meen pollichathu once again . This time it was an explosion of flavours on the plate , tasted even better than what I had in kumarakom  . Some how managed to get the recipe from the chef and realised that I didn’t sauté the ground masala for marinating the fish . Following this new recipe , gave it a try and wolla it worked pitch perfect . From then on I religiously follow this recipe for meen pollichathu . From kumarakom  to kovalam … Some how I managed to get the right recipe and its always gratifying and popular with every one … and is treat for health freaks as its steamed and yummy yum .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Cleaned Fish 500 grams , ( you could use whole medium sized fish or big slices of a fish . I usually like using Kari meen / black spotted pearl fish )
Small onion 1 cup
Ginger1 inch piece
Garlic 1 pod
Turmeric powder 5 grams
Dry Red chillies7
Salt to taste
Curry leavesfew
Coconut oil 1/2 cup
Vinegar 1/4 cup
Banana leaves3 to 4

Method

  1. Clean fish .Grind small onion , ginger , garlic , turmeric powder , dry red chillies , salt to taste along with vinegar to a paste .heat oil , fry the ground masala until oil floats on top and raw smell has gone . Cool completely .
  2. Apply all over the fish and set aside to marinate for at least 2 hours .apply coconut oil over banana leaves and place over high flame on both sides for the banana leaves to become pile able .
  3. place the marinated fish over the pile able banana leaves , sprinkle few curry leaves and pack the fish tightly into a parcel .
  4. Set aside to marinate for another one hour or more .steam in low flame for 15 -20 minutes ( I used my idli steamer ) and serve hot .

Squid fry

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Preparation Time : 25 minutes + marination time of 2 hours

Cooking Time : 3 minutes for each batch deep fried

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Squid fry . Squid is some thing I got to know very recently .. After my sister – in – law had shifted to ramnad ( a coastal town near rameshwaram , in Deep South Tamil Nadu ) I always heard wired stories about squid , each time I heard some one talk about it . So me wanting to experiment  with it or eat it was out of the box thing . Through out Last month , the fish market at my place was over loaded with squids and on my every visit , seeing people go head over heels over squids .. i was wonder struck .The fisher man kept insisting me to buy and give a try as its available only during a specific season once a year . Still I just didn’t get convinced enough . Then finally one fine day having my friend meera aboo thamby come over for lunch to my place , made up my mind to give a try and got some squid . ( Because she and her entire family are a carnivorous bunch  ) While cleaning the squid I was shocked to see whole tiny fishes come out of the squids !!!! But once cleaned and cut , they were the cleanest looking white rings with no foul smell . Searched the world wide net for a simple recipe that would be apt for a beginner and stuck to this one which is simple yet fun dish .  But I had my doubts as the recipe was asked in particular to cook the squid only for about 3 minutes but the wired stories I got hear were like you have to pressure cook squid and its got a chewy texture to it . Stuck to the demanded recipe and followed it religiously .  Tasted it with fear …. But it tasted so delicate and yum .serve these deep fried squids as finger food on its own as a starter or as an accompaniment .  Made it once again for my father – in – laws birthday . My mother – in – law thought it was paped ( vadagam ) :-)) . Very hesitantly ( as he already had an experience of having tasted a badly prepared squid dish before )  my father – in – law tasted it and surprisingly  he just loved it . So never ever under estimate any ingredient unless and until you have experimented with it . For me it served as a lesson learnt for life to expand my culinary repertoire .

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
oil for frying2 cups
buttermilk 1 cup
all-purpose flour / maida1 cup
salt to taste
ground black pepper 1/2 tablespoon
dried oregano 1 teaspoon
squid, cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch rings1/2 kg

Method

  1. Pour buttermilk into a medium bowl and add in the squid rings . set aside to marinate for 2 hours . In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Dip squid rings into the seasoned flour.
  2. Heat oil in a saucepan or deep-fryer to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  3. Place the coated pieces in the hot oil, and fry in small batches for three minutes , turning if necessary, for even cooking. When evenly browned,
  4. Remove to paper towels to drain, and continue with the rest of the squid. Serve hot immediately .

Baked sweet Romano peppers filled with cheesy prawns

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Preparation Time : 20-25 minutes

Cooking Time : 30-35 minutes

Serving : 3-4 members

Description

Baked sweet Romano peppers filled with cheesy prawns . These sweet Romano peppers were gifted to me by my friend meera aboo thamby , all the way from U.K . I have seen these peppers only in magazines and on the telly .  These peppers were there in my fridge for quite some time and I nearly forgot about it . 2 days back with my cleaning spear found these and made up my mind to use them .Not knowing how it would taste or what to cook with it ???
Did ask baby ( meera ) what she does with it ? Her answer was she uses this instead of capsicums in every thing possible . I just didn’t have the heart to use these lovely peppers for sides , wanted them to line our stomaches  as a main course or a meal in itself . Came up with an idea of stuffing and baking the peppers . To be on the safer side made up my mind to stick to the white cheesy sauce as it always raises eye brows where ever served . Had prawns in hand so made a filling with prawn and cheesy white sauce .  A million doubts in mind while prepping for the dish like should I marinate the peppers with salt and some Harissa ? Will the peppers be hot or bland ? What flavour will it have ? Will this cheesy sauce go well with it ? Or should I opt for a pesto sauce ? I just pushed away all these doubts , cleared my mind and stuck to my guts of the first  choice and went ahead . Half way through , I am being invited to my in – laws place for lunch as its my father – in – laws birthday . Went for lunch with this dish and my father – in – law just loved it . Do you need a better reason to celebrate these all in one meal  that helped to leave a mark in your memory and sure to spark conversations there after . The peppers were soft and sweet ( dum me !! its called sweet pepper and i had so many doubts about the flavour and taste ) with the cheesy prawn sauce topped looked rustic and had the wow factor written all over it . Every bite just oozed out with a burst of flavours and did keep my self reminded that my heart doesn’t  burst because of this fatty culprit :-))

 

Ingredients

Ingredients
Quantity
Butter 50 grams
Flour ( maida ) 1 tablespoon
Green chillies 2 chopped
Tomato1 chopped
Milk 1 cup
Dried oregano1 /4 teaspoon
Mushrooms1 packet sliced ( optional , tastes good with and without the mushrooms . )
Prawns1/2 kg cleaned
Onion 1 big chopped
Garlic 1 teaspoon chopped
Crushed pepper1 teaspoon
Cheese slice 4
Crushed chilli flakes to taste
Saltto taste
Mozzarella cheese to garnish
Mixed dried herbs basil thyme oregano dill a pinch each ( optional )
Sweet Romana pepper2 ( cut into equal 2 portions horizontally
deseeded and washed or red bell peppers / capsicums2 cut at the top with the stem to get a lid , de - seeded and washed

Method

  1. Cook cleaned prawns with salt and pepper to taste . ( I pressure cook it for one whistle with very little water ) . Heat butter , sauté onions to brown .
  2. Add the sliced mushrooms ,green chillies , garlic and tomato . Top with cooked prawns ( if any water is there in the cooked prawns pour it along ) ,
  3. chilli flakes and toss well . Add flour and cook till raw smell goes for a few minutes .
  4. Add milk , keep stirring to get a saucy consistency . Add cheese slices and oregano . Remove from heat . Cool down to room temperature.
  5. Deseed and wash the sweet peppers or red capsicum . Fill in with prawn filling and bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for 10-12 minutes .
  6. Remove top with grated mozzarella cheese and dried mixed herbs (optional ) and bake again until the cheese melts . Serve hot with garlic bread or as it is .