Daily Archives: August 16, 2016

Fresh green pepper corns fish fry

Preparation time : 15 minutes
Cooking time : 10-12 minutes
Serves : 6 members

Description

Cooking with seasonal local produce always brings a lot of joy to me. Fresh green pepper corns are always soaked in salted, vinegar water and had as a pickle at home. Nothing else is done with the mighty spice other than that. This time when I got a few from my uncles estate, I tried making a fish fry using them. Believe me, the results were mind blowing with the heat and flavour dominating. I didn’t want to over complicate the dish so kept it easy and clean. A simple dish of home made style isn’t always a crime as what ever or how ever we dine finally we crave for ghar ka khaana ( home made food ). The brilliantly contrasting flavours with the redolent spices, fresh greens, crispy sensation was beautiful and bracing. This has become a house specialty that brings smiles at the table always. The best part being which hardly involves any effort. So to spread more smiles at your homes too,the easy way. I am sharing the recipe. Give a try and add more joy through food.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Sardin fish	20
Green chilly	1
Turmeric power	1/4 teaspoon
Ginger	1 inch piece
Curry leaves	few
Garlic	6
Small Onion	2
Tamarind pulp	1/4 cup
Red chilli powder	1/4 teaspoon
Fresh Green pepper corns	2 tablespoons
Salt	To taste
Coconut oil	2 tablespoons

Method

Grind all ingredients together except for, fish, curry leaves and coconut oil to a smooth paste. Mix with cleaned fish, coconut oil and curry leaves.
Cook in low flame until cooked and dry.
Serve hot.

Potato roses

Preparation time : 20 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes
Serves : 4 members

Description

My first cook book ( in Tamil ) release that was taking place at home with a small gathering of my friends and well wishers. I had planned a high tea party along with the book release. Wanting the high tea spread to be grand I took maximum efforts to make the table shine. This potato rose was one gimmick that I tried to pop up all eyes that saw it. I did place it along side the cutlets served to decorate the plate. Every one did ask me what it was and when I told them about it, I had raised eye brows in front of me. The mighty, normal, every day potato just created magic with this rose twist. I still am surprised on how I had time to click step by step pictures when doing this on that nervous busy day. A big pat to myself for that. Happy potato rose making to one and all.

Ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Potatoes	6 medium sized
Salt	To taste
Oil	To deep fry

Method

Slice the potatoes into thin rounds with the skin ( I peeled the skin but it looks better when done with the skin ) using a slicer dicer.
Rinse in water, wipe the potato slice with a cloth to dry.
Heat oil to medium low. Drop the round potato slices in batches and fry to soften the potato slices so it’s easy to pile them and roll together. Drain and keep aside.
Preheat an oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 10 -15 minutes.
Place a batch of 12 -15 round slices of potatoes together over lapping one another. Roll tightly but gently. Then turn the rolled batch and place them straight to get a rose shape. Do the same to all the potatoes.
Place the potato roses over a greased muffin tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 5-8 minutes until the potato roses crisp up.
Remove from the oven and serve as a garnish adding more glamour to the snacks or food served in style.

Panner lemon curd pudding

Preparation time : 30 minutes
Cooking time : 20 minutes + setting in the refrigerator for 50 minutes.
Serves : 6-8 members

Description

Other than lime juice, I never could relate to lime being used for a dessert or a sweet dish. But then as always breaking the stereo – type mind in me ends up with banging results letting way for new inventions and more experiments to be added to my bucket list. This dessert also played a similar role as such. The tang of lemons with the sweetness breaking through and the sunshine yellow colour the lemons gave were to die for. Lemony, acidic and zesty. Perfect for a sunny afternoon with its fresh citrus notes. These can be made a day ahead and kept chilled until you need to serve them. If you ever flipped through pages of magazines and wanted to eat the photos, here’s your chance to try it out and surprise your loved ones.

Ingredients for the cream cheese layer

Ingredients	Quantity
Panner	1 cup
Condensed milk	1 cup
Sugar	3 teaspoons
Vanilla essence	few drops
Gelatine	1 teaspoons

Ingredients for the lemon curd

Ingredients	Quantity
Fresh lemon juice	5 tablespoons
Grated lemon zest	1 teaspoon
Sugar	1/2 cup or more to taste
Salt	A pinch
Butter	5 tablespoons at room temperature
Cornflour	1 heaped teaspoons
Yellow food colour	A few punches ( optional but gives a good look to the pudding )

Method for cream cheese layer

Soak gelatine in 1/4 cup water to bloom for ten minutes. Then microwave for 30 seconds to dissolve. Cool to room temperature.
Beat Panner, condensed milk, sugar and vanilla essence together with the help of an egg beater to smooth. Add the dissolved gelatine and pour into individual pudding cups to 3/4 full. Place in the refrigerator to set for 40 minutes or more.

Method for lemon curd

Mix lemon juice, grated lemon zest, sugar, salt, food Colour and cornflour together with little water to get a loose consistency liquid.
Heat over medium flame until it thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and cool completely. Add butter and keep stirring until all combines together and thick. Taste and adjust seasoning. Pour 3 tablespoons of lemon curd over each set cream cheese layer. Place in the refrigerator, until to be served.
Serve chill garnished with mint leaves and lemon slices.

Raw mango mixture

Preparation time : 8 minutes
Cooking time : nil
Serves : 3 members

Description

Growing up with a lot of cousins, aunt’s and relatives around. We were fed with home made stuff from scratch. No matter what time of the day or night it was. Those days of no access to fast food or dial for take away. The hungry kids ( that’s around 29 of us in all age groups ) were always served with some thing to munch on that was made then and there. Most of the time it was this raw mango mixture recipe that used to be made right in front of our eyes. As it’s being chopped, the un patient us would grab a hand full and have a taste. The mangoes were mostly plucked from the trees by a senior cousin. The minute it’s ready, we all would just want to grab our share. The lucky person who gets hold of the bowl is chased around for a spoon full. All of us would go umm and ahh with it in our mouth. Our eyes would close automatically with the sourness from the raw mangoes hitting at the right spot. Every thing crystal clear till date with in me. Hot summer carefree days with all of us keeping ourselves busy playing around, climbing trees, ludo, snake and ladder, hide and seek, dark room, trade… Making joyous memories out of the little that was left for us to explore. I am so happy I was born in that ear of no wifi, Internet, mobiles and computers. We knew nothing but still felt so content and happy with the little we had. I am sure each one of you reading this who survived the golden ear ( 1978 to 1989 ) I am talking about would agree. My heart is pumped with joy now filled with nostalgia hitting me hard. How I wish, I could just rewind the days and go back to those fun filled cherish able days. Well all I am left to do now is take a deep breath and feel blessed for having gone through such a good childhood.

Raw mango mixture

Ingredients	Quantity
Raw mangoes	2 chopped with skin
Salt	to taste
Red chilly power	1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Coconut oil	1 teaspoon

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and enjoy.

Home style Pita pockets

Preparation time : 40 minutes
Cooking time : 30 minutes
Serves : 5 members

Description

Any food item that is sent home for a tasting from my father – in – laws elder brothers home sure has a surprise element to it. It’s always a new out of the box try done by my elder mother – in – law mahmoodha Rabbani. This home style pita pockets were sent over once a few years back. Immediately I made sure to get the recipe from her. From then till date, I have been making this recipe at home quite often but when wanting to share the recipe, thinking about how much I have to type always made me put it aside for later. This time I made sure to type the recipe over beating my laziness. Reading the recipe might look like a lot of work to be done but once you prep, it’s so easy to assemble and serve. I always am blown away on how my elder mother in law comes up with substituting ingredients and methods that she tries with recipes, she’s had on her abroad trips. In this recipe, instead of using the authentic pita bread, she’s substituted it with a home made wheat semolina poori that stays puffed up like the pita bread and serves to be a pocket as well. Her experience in the kitchen and knowledge of food sure does get me awestruck with my mouth wide open always. I am in love with food and cooking for this surprise element and never ending learning process it has. I know you all must be thinking is there so much to be learnt in every day cooking.. Come, join me and see how much more we have to explore, learn, give trial and errors, share, inspire and spread the joy of food making memories to cherish for life.

Home style Pita pockets

Ingredients	Quantity
Broken wheat semolina	1 cup
Wheat flour	1/2 cup
Salt	to the taste
Water	little

Method for cover

Mix all the ingredients for the cover together and knead into a tight dough. Let it rest for thirty minutes or more.
Heat oil to deep fry. Make round poories that is rolled out a bit thicker than we usually do for normal poories with the dough.
Drop poories and deep fry to puffed up for 30 seconds on each side. Drain and set aside. Once cool, cut into equal halves using scissors. Keep the pita pockets aside.

Ingredients for filling

Ingredients	Quantity
Tomato	2 sliced to strips
Cabbage	1/4 cup shredded
Capsicum	1 cut to strips
Potato	3 cut into fingers
Egg plants	4 cut to fingers
Eggs	3 scrambled
Boneless chicken	1/2 cup cut into tiny cubes
Dried green peas	1 cup soaked for four hours
Dry red chillies	2
Salt	To taste
Oil	To deep fry

Method for filling

Cook the chicken pieces with salt and pepper powder to taste. Keep aside.
Grind the soaked, drained dried green peas with salt to taste and dry red chillies to a coarse paste.
Heat oil to deep fry. Deep fry the potato fingers and egg plant fingers to crisp. Drain and keep aside. In the same hot oil, drop goose burry size of the ground dried green peas thick corse batter. Deep Fry to crisp. Drain and keep aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil, break the eggs, add to the oil, season with salt and pepper to taste. Scramble to done. Remove and keep aside.
Mix cabbage, tomato and capsicum together. Season with salt and pepper powder to taste.

Sauce ingredients

Ingredients	Quantity
Mayonnaise	1/4 cup
Red chilli flakes	1/2 teaspoon
Garlic paste	1/4 teaspoon
Tomato sauce	4 tablespoons
Sugar	1/4 teaspoon
Salt	To taste

Method for sauce

Mix all the above ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning. Keep aside.

How to proceed

Take one half of the pita pocket, layer the bottom with a teaspoon of the raw vegetable mix.
Top with a few deep fried potato fingers, egg plant fingers and dried green peas fries.
Sprinkle cooked chicken bits and scrambled eggs. Top with sauce generously.
Repeat the same once again. Serve immediately.