Cosmopolitan Currymania

Cosmopolitan Currymania has a new address!

2013-05-20T07:16:00.000-07:00

Hi readers,

Cosmopolitan Currymania has come up a long way, with all your support, encouragement and appreciation. I really thank you all for that! We are glad to announce that we will be shifting to our own website very soon, and the new website will continue to bring a lot more new Indian and International recipes for you.

The new address will be www.cosmopolitancurrymania.com. Hope to see you all there very soon! :)

Till then, I am taking a short break, but I shall continue visiting all my bloggy friends' blogs in this period. Have a good time!

Thanks and regards,
Purabi Naha

Malaysian Street Food in Langkawi Night Market

2013-05-08T06:04:00.001-07:00

Malay curries in Langkawi night market. Which one will you have with some rice or roti canai?

Sampling Malaysian street food in the night market in Langkawi was much more than a mere eating experience. I could see a mélange of Indonesian, Indian, Chinese, Thai and of course, Malaysian food cultures in these stalls. I was one step closer to understanding the amazing food culture in this awesome tourist destination. Watching the locals making delectable foods out of simple ingredients, some of the foods which I had never heard of or seen before, was really a pleasure and a learning experience. I am happy that we took one evening out from our Langkawi trip for the visit to a local night market and it was really worth paying a visit! We actually ended up tasting a lot of dishes and desserts because the prices were very reasonable and the sight of the freshly made food in front of your eyes only makes you craving for more, isn’t it?

Beef sticks

Night markets (Pasar Malam in Malay) or open-air street food are not only the places where you can enjoy cheap eats, but these are the places which will give your tastebuds the exact and unadulterated taste of the local cuisine. Night markets in Langkawi are set up in different locations across the island and these locations keep on changing throughout the week. With just RM 15, you and your partner can have a filling meal for sure. You will get a huge variety of hot and cold foods to try, even you can shop for fresh local fruits or vegetables if you like. Malaysian vendors are friendly and approachable. But as with any street food stall, you have to be a bit careful with the hygiene factor. To avoid stomach infection, always eat fresh food being prepared right in front of you, and not those which are already sitting idle for a while.

These are Malaysian curry puffs or empanadas. Try the sweet potato (ubi) version.

We were glad to see Indian samosas here, but we tasted the local popias instead.

We started our “taste trip” with the Malaysian curry puffs or kind of empanadas with savoury filling, varying from sweet potato, fish, chicken to beef. We tasted the chicken-stuffed one and it was quite interesting. Although a bit spicy for the kids, this makes an excellent snacking option for the grown-ups otherwise. We popped on some popias or Malaysian spring rolls with a Chinese origin, and those were fun. We loved both these treats.

Malay chicken and fish balls in sweet-n-spicy barbecue sauce. Divine!

The next visually appealing food to try was sumptuous Malaysian fishballs and chicken balls coated with a sweet and spicy barbecue sauce. I had tasted similar kinds of balls in Hong Kong street food stalls as well, but the sauce in this night market was something which I really liked to eat with. This package was just “wow” and we could not stop ourselves being a bit too greedy. As we were determined to taste other local delicacies, we left this stall and moved to the next one, only to find something even more tempting!

A vendor in Langkawi, making the popular Murtabak.

The Murtabak (or Martabak) was definitely something we wanted to try since the time we planned the Langkawi trip. And it was before our eyes: freshly made with a generous size to suit our appetite. We were progressing towards a phase where we could say that we had a hearty dinner, rather than snacking on! The Murtabak tasted somewhat similar to the Indian Mughlai paratha. Murtabak was tasty, no wonder, but I expected the filling to be richer. As the meat content was rather less, I was a bit disappointed. Time to move on.

A Malay spicy salad on the left. Then anti-clockwisely, chicken wings, chicken feet, fish fritters and salted eggs.

The local people were happily trying dishes such as the Nasi Goreng Kampung, Mee Goreng Mamak, Char Kway Teow, Nasi Lemak and Chicken Curry Kapitan. Nasi goreng kampung is a spicy traditional Malaysian fried rice with boxing chicken, chicken satay, fried egg, local pickled vegetables and Asian shrimp crackers. Mee goreng Mamak is Mamak-style yellow mee or bee hoon (vermicelli) cooked with prawns, squids and chicken. The popular Char Kway Teow is wok-fried flat rice noodles with shrimps, leeks, bean sprouts, eggs, lard and sweet soy glaze. Nasi Lemak is actually steamed coconut flavoured rice with chicken rendang (a popular curry), sambal paste, fried anchovies and boiled eggs, served with local picked vegetables and cucumber. Chicken curry Kapitan are slow-cooked chicken drumsticks in local Malay herbs and spices and are best served with fragrant chiang mai rice.

Fried vegetarian noodles with soy sauce

Crisp-fried chicken: cheap and tasty!

We skipped a few stalls offering these mouth-watering “grab-and-go” dinner options. These were pre-packed and we doubted the hygiene factor. So better to avoid, we thought. As mentioned earlier, we tasted only those foods which were cooked fresh in front of us: no compromise on the quality of course! After passing by a few stalls, we discovered this stall. AN suggested that we should try the crispy fried chicken along with the vegetarian stir-fried noodles and wow, both of them were tasty and complemented each other. The kids tried a few of the grilled, local sausages and enjoyed every bite of these hand-held treats.

Local Malay sausages. Great for kids too!

Lai Chi Kang: a fun package!

By now, we were full and needed some break. As it was hot, we tried the cold fare in the stalls. We tried iced Lai Chi Kang, a fascinating colourful dessert-cum-drink comprising red dates, dried longan, lotus seeds, winter melon candy, barley pearls and grass jelly. We packed some dorayaki and Srikaya for our late-night dessert and left the awesome and buzzing night market, with unforgettable Langkawi food memories to share with friends back home.

Dorayaki and Srikaya: yummy desserts from the Langkawi island. Must try!

Vegetarian Breakfast Hand Pies with Mildly Sweet Cottage Cheese (Paneer) Filling

2013-04-24T10:14:00.000-07:00

Vegetarian breakfast hand pies with mildly sweet cottage cheese (paneer) filling

Sundays are the days when I am in full spirit to experiment and to give in to the urge to bake! So last weekend morning, I baked these cute little heart-shaped, mildly sweet hand pies for breakfast. These hand pies have a flaky crust and the filling is the mélange of a creamy, fruity and nutty goodness. These pies are completely vegetarian. I used edible food colours (Wilton) to make it a little colourful and more exciting. I love hand pies because these are neat and can be hand-held: so even your kid can munch it on their way to school. You can make these hand pies a day or two in advance and store in Ziploc bags in the refrigerator. Whenever you want to eat, just warm a little and you are ready for a quick snack (or dessert) anytime of the day! These sweet pies are especially great for breakfast or brunch.

These sweet vegetarian hand pies with cottage cheese filling are great for picnic and in the kids’ lunchboxes. We have used fresh, chopped Alphonso mangoes in this recipe, as this is the time when Mumbai is raining Alphonsoes. I happened to make some fresh paneer (Indian cottage cheese) on Sunday morning for cooking Palak Paneer, but I changed my mind and used the paneer for this recipe instead. I used pine nuts and dried blueberries for the crunch. I used very less amount of butter, as compared to the conventional hand-pie recipes, as I wanted a healthier version of sweet hand pies.

Homemade paneer for the Hand Pies

The homemade paneer is made by boiling (and stirring from time to time) 500 ml milk, lowering the flame and adding 1.5 tbsp of vinegar dissolved in 5 tbsp water.

The paneer or the Indian cottage cheese separates from the whey.

As soon as paneer separates, add 8–10 ice cubes to arrest the process and to stop the paneer to become harder and drier. Pass the paneer and the whey through a muslin cloth. Drain the whey and sprinkle 3 cups of cold water on the paneer in the muslin cloth. Hang the muslin cloth (with the paneer) or leave it over a perforated sieve for 15 min. The paneer for these hand pies should be very soft and not too dry.

Vegetarian breakfast hand pies with mildly sweet cottage cheese (paneer) filling

Ingredients:

Freshly made soft paneer (Indian cottage cheese): made with 500 ml full-cream cow’s milk

Fresh Alphonso mangoes (chopped into small pieces): 1 cup

Small-sized banana: 1

Sugar (unpowdered): 1 tbsp

Pine nuts: 1.5 tbsp

Dried blueberries: 1 tbsp

Chilled butter (grated or cut into tiny pieces): ½ cup

All-purpose flour: 4 cups

Salt: ¼ tsp

Chilled buttermilk: as required (to knead the dough)

Wilton’s orange and brown edible food colours: each just enough to smear half of a toothpick

Method:

Mash the paneer, sugar and banana well. Add the chopped mangoes and blueberries, ensuring that these do not become mushy. Add the pine nuts at the end and mix lightly. This is the sweet stuffing.

The healthy cottage cheese-fruit stuffing for the hand pies.

For the pie crust, mix the all-purpose flour, salt and butter together. Now add 1 cup buttermilk and knead. Add the rest of the buttermilk in very small batches, until you get a smooth and non-sticky dough.

Dough for the pie crust.

The dough is chilled, rolled out, divided into two portions and then chilled again. This will ensure that you get somewhat flaky layers. Take out the two doughs from the fridge and add Wilton’s orange colour into one and the brown into the other dough and create a “marbled” effect with these colours as you gently incorporate the colours into the doughs.

Roll out half of the coloured pie dough on a floured surface, ensuring not to roll it too thinly. Using a three-inch, heart-shaped cookie cutter, cut out hearts. Do the same with the other dough as well.

Put a little of the filling over one heart and seal with the other heart, using a pie press or the tines of a fork to crimp the edges. Transfer to parchment-paper-lined cookie sheets.

Preheat the oven to 220⁰C. When the oven is ready, brush the tops of the pies with a little molten butter and sprinkle some sugar. Bake for 30 min, or until the crusts get light brown at the edges.

Cool for 10 min before serving.

Have a bite of this!

Chingri Macher Malai Curry (Bengali Prawn Curry with Coconut)

2013-04-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Chingri Macher Malai Curry (Bengali prawn curry with coconut).

Undoubtedly, Chingri Macher Malai Curry or Chingri Malai Curry is among one of my favourite Bengali dishes. A curry cooked with Chingri Mach (a common Bengali term used for lobsters, prawns or shrimps) is generally a part of the Bengali menu, especially on occasions such as the Noboborsho or Poila Boisakh (Bengali New Year). Be it jumbo prawns or small shrimps, Bengalis love to include them in their cooking in myriad ways. There are traditional dishes where shrimps are cooked with bottle gourd (lau chingri) or cabbage (badhakopir ghonto chingri mach diye). Sometimes these are steamed with mustard paste in a banana leaf parcel (chingri paturi), whereas sometimes these are cooked with chopped banana flowers (mocha chingri) or cooked in an awesome chutney base (chingri macher chatni)!

Coconut paste is used in the preparation of Chingri Macher Malai Curry. We might find replacing with coconut milk as an easy option, but the texture of the curry would be different in that case.

So we Bengalis, who are one of the hardcore fish-eating communities in India, love gorging on chingri, among others. Since today was the Bengali New Year or the Noboborsho, I thought it was the perfect time to make this authentic lobster curry with coconut. The Chingri Macher Malai Curry is one of the Bengali regal dishes, just fit for those special days when you feel like eating like a King, and surprisingly, without going overboard on spices!

A bit about the history of the Chingri Macher Malai Curry. Some people believe that this dish has a Malaysian influence and the early version of the recipe might have been bought by Malaysian sailors to the Bay of Bengal, many years ago. The word “Malai” is actually “Malay”, meaning Malaysian. The use of coconut paste or milk in curries across Asia is one common thread among the cuisines. Interestingly, Malai in Hindi means “milk cream”, but the dish doesn’t use milk cream. So, it is apparent that Malai is the distorted way of saying “Malay”. But, this is just one school of thought.

Now, there is no single recipe for the perfect Malai curry. Different Bengali families use slightly (and sometimes, hugely) different recipes. Some add cashewnut paste, garam masala powder and/or tomatoes in this, but I don’t. Some may not like to add a little mustard paste, raisin paste and ghee, but I do. Some add coconut milk, but I prefer freshly scraped coconut paste. These are certain factors which make one Malai curry taste quite different than the other, but at the end of the day, the best Malai curry is the one which is rich, creamy and doesn’t taste too spicy, and only then will the flavor of the shrimp or prawn be at its epitome!

This Bengali (Indian) dish tastes majestic with jumbo prawns or lobsters, with heads intact, but you can replace with any kind of shrimp for a regular curry. Mustard oil is the recommended oil, as it adds great flavor to this dish, but if you don’t find this oil, replace with any good oil with high smoking point. The black-mustard-seed paste used in this recipe is ground with a pinch of salt and half a green chilli to remove bitterness. The black skins are then removed by passing the paste through a fine wire mesh or muslin cloth. The yellow paste is used for this recipe.

Chingri Macher Malai Curry (Bengali Prawn Curry with Coconut)

Ingredients:

Jumbo prawns or lobsters, with the skin over the heads and tails being intact (deveined): 4 (medium-sized)
Freshly scraped coconut paste: ¾ cup

Turmeric powder (for marination): ¾ tsp

Salt (for marination): ¾ tsp

Mustard oil: ½ cup

Onion (very finely chopped): 1 cup

Ginger paste: ¾ tsp
Freshly made black-mustard-seed paste: 1.5 tsp
Whole dried bay leaf: 1 (big)
Whole cinnamon (cassia bark): 1 (one-inch stick)
Whole green cardamoms: 4
Raisin paste: 1 tsp
Cumin seeds: ¼ tsp
Red chilli powder: ½ tsp
Cumin powder: ¾ tsp
Turmeric powder (for the curry): ½ tsp
Salt (for the curry): ¾ tsp (or according to taste)
Granulated sugar: ¼ tsp
Ghee (Indian clarified butter): 1 tsp
Green chillies: 4
Water: 1 cup

Method:

Marinate the lobsters (or jumbo prawns) for atleast 15 min, with turmeric powder and salt.

The lobsters are marinated with turmeric powder and salt for atleast 15 min.

Heat oil in a kadai or a pan. When it starts smoking, reduce the flame to medium and introduce the lobsters carefully and close the lid immediately to prevent sputtering. After 1 min, turn the lobsters and fry the other side for another minute. Remove the lobsters from the oil.

The marinated lobsters being fried in mustard oil.

In the same hot oil, add the bay leaf, whole cinnamon (cassia bark), green cardamoms and wait for a few seconds. Add the cumin seeds and let these seeds turn light brown. Add the chopped onion and half the salt (for the curry). Sauté for 7 min, or until the onion looks golden-brown and soft.

Add the turmeric and the cumin powders, combined with 4 tbsp water. Sauté continuously to prevent burning of the powders. Add the ginger paste and sauté again, sprinkling a little water if the onion mixture starts sticking to the pan. After 5 min, add the rest of the salt, sugar, red chilli powder, black-mustard-seed paste, raisin paste and coconut paste and sauté till the mixture starts separating from the oil.

We saute-ed the mixture till oil started separating: an important step in Bengali cooking.

At this stage, add the fried lobsters and sauté for 5 min at a simmered flame. Add whole green chillies and ¾ cup of water. Let the curry boil for 10 min, simmered and covered. Before serving, add the ghee to the curry.

Chingri Malai Curry is best served with steamed rice.

Pooran Poli/Puran Poli (Indian Whole-Wheat Flatbreads with a Sweet Filling)

2013-04-11T10:40:00.000-07:00

Pooran Poli/Puran Poli or Indian whole-wheat flatbreads with a sweet filling is a festive food. This is served with shrikhand (an Indian sweet made from yogurt) or aamras (mango pulp, mixed with milk and sugar).

Puran poli or pooran poli, the festive flatbread, is known by various names in India: poli, puranachi poli, holige, obbattu, and god poli. Here in Maharashtra, eating puran poli is auspicious today, as today is the Maharashtrian New Year, or Gudi Padwa. This stuffed flatbread has a filling made with sweetened, cooked chana dal or split Bengal gram (looks like yellow split peas or tuvar dal, although the tastes are quite different). Maharashtrians love using chana dal or the Bengal gram for the stuffing, while the Gujarati Indians love the tuvar dal or yellow split pea stuffing for making the same polis. The dough is made up of wheat flour, but if one prefers, refined flour can also be added. This sweet flatbread is generally eaten with aamras (ripe mango puree with sugar and milk) or shrikhand (a sweet made with hung curd or yogurt).

Today is the day for a new beginning for Indians. This traditional New Year is celebrated by the names of Ugadi, Gudi Padva, Sukladi, Navreh, Chaitra Cheti Chand and Sajibu Cheiraoba in different parts of India. But one thing is common among the Indians scattered in different states: every auspicious occasion is celebrated with something sweet. And here in Mumbai, puran poli is on the menu in almost every Marathi household. Although I am not a Marathi, still I love making and feeding my family this amazing traditional breakfast on Gudi padwa. Make this once, and you’ll be convinced about why this is a delicacy in India!

Boiled and strained split Bengal gram or chana dal is an essential ingredient for the puran poli stuffing.

The texture of the lentils after being blended with sugar (or jaggery) and cardamom and fennel powders. This stuffing is healthy, being protein-rich!

Pooran Poli/Puran Poli (Indian Whole-Wheat Flatbreads with a Sweet Filling)

[Traditionally, for the sweetener in the stuffing, grated jaggery is always preferred in place of sugar, although the latter also yields delicious puran polis.]

Ingredients:

For the dough:

Whole-wheat flour: 2 cups
Salt: 3 pinches
Warm milk (or warm water): as required, to bind the dough
Pure ghee (Indian clarified butter): ½ cup

The puran poli dough, with the goodness of whole wheat flour.

For the stuffing:

Split Bengal gram (or chana dal): 1.5 cups
Sugar or grated jaggery (gur): 1 cup (this amount can vary, depending on how sweet you want your polis to be)
Green cardamom seed powder (don’t take the skins): ¼ tsp
Toasted fennel (saunf) seeds: 1.5 tbsp

Method:

Make a fine powder of the toasted fennel seeds. Set aside.

Wash the lentils (Bengal gram) thoroughly and soak for 10 min. Pressure-cook with 3 cups of water, till these are soft. Strain the mixture and discard the water (actually, you can utilize this protein-rich water to make soups and curries). Blend (or whisk) the lentils to a very fine paste, along with the grated jaggery (or sugar), finely powdered fennel seeds and green cardamom powder. Heat a pan on a medium flame, add this paste to the wok and simmer. Keep on stirring on a low flame until the water in the mixture almost evaporates and the mixture turns thicker (this takes around 5 min). Remove the lentil stuffing into a bowl and cover. When this pooran poli stuffing is cool enough to handle, make the flatbreads.

The puran poli stuffing has to be moist, but not "wet". So it is dried up to get rid of excess water and make it thicker by cooking it on the gas stove for just about 5 min.

Knead the dough by mixing around 2 tbsp of warm ghee and enough warm milk (or water) to bind the dough. Knead this dough for 10 min, so that it becomes very soft, moist, smooth and yet, non-sticky. Divide the dough into equal-sized balls (size almost of the size of an egg). Put these balls into a bowl and cover with a lid, to prevent drying up.

Make small balls out of the lentil stuffing as well, but the size of each lentil ball should be half of that of the wheat-flour-dough ball. Cover to prevent drying up.

Flatten each of the dough balls with your hand, so that it covers almost half of your palm. Put one lentil ball at the centre and enclose it inside the dough ball, as shown.

Dust the rolling surface with flour. Roll the dough ball very carefully and slowly with the help of a rolling pin. While rolling, flip and again roll it bigger. Do this flipping and rolling, dusting some more flour if you need, until you get the size of a roti (1/2-inch-thick and 5-inch-diameter flatbread).

Heat a griddle and cook the rolled puran poli on a medium flame, until light brown on both sides.

Add a tablespoon of ghee over the flatbread and flip it. Cook for a few seconds on both sides and remove on a serving plate. Similarly, make all the puran polis.

You may serve with and additional smear of ghee while serving.

Japanese Omurice with Chicken Teriyaki

2013-04-08T08:24:00.000-07:00

Japanese Omurice with Chicken Teriyaki.

My kids love the dynamic presentation of Japanese Omuraisu or Omurice (rice covered with omuretsu or omlette, and ketchup drizzled over it) with Grilled Chicken Teriyaki and shallow-fried or grilled vegetables. While in Hong Kong, we had omurice umpteen number of times in Food Republic (Tung Chung). Additionally, my kids loved the pretty and colourful ready-made omurice Bento boxes for the school. Now that we have settled in Mumbai again, we crave for Japanese food and Asian fusion dishes more than ever. Yes, there are good Japanese restaurants here too, but obviously, some of the dishes served in these are priced exorbitantly. Yesterday was Sunday, and I made up my mind to surprise my kids with an Asian lunch, without making a hole in my pocket. I knew they would be super-excited to see omurice and chicken teriyaki on their table, so I just gave it a go! AN helped me to make the beautiful omlette, and clicked the photographs, while I made the grilled chicken teriyaki and my special fried-rice stuffing for the omurice. My kids were so excited to watch the making of this entire dish that they kept on jumping and screaming with excitement while the food was getting ready! Yes, the lunch was terrific!!

Teriyaki chicken in the process of making. Basting a few times with the homemade teriyaki sauce is important.

Speaking of the Chicken Teriyaki, this is one grilled Asian dish we love to keep on nibbling. The word “teri” in Japanese means sheen and the word “yaki” means grilled. For making the teriyaki, chicken legs and thighs work the best, and choose these pieces with skin on, as this will result in a crispy and caramelized exterior and succulent chicken meat inside. But, in India, chicken is always preferred without the skin. As my family doesn’t like chicken skin, I made the teriyaki with skinless chicken. I do not use the readymade teriyaki sauces available commonly, but make my own. Making your own teriyaki sauce actually allows you to play with the amounts of the ingredients used in this slightly sweet sauce. For example, I love an extra dash of mirin and garlic in my sauce. If you are among those foodies who settle for nothing but the best, then believe me, what makes an unforgettable teriyaki chicken is the homemade sauce and a careful balance of the ingredients in it. So next time, try this easy-peasy homemade teriyaki sauce and let your chicken teriyaki do the rest of the talk!

Japanese Omurice with Chicken Teriyaki

Ingredients for the omurice:
Cooked rice: 1 cups
Onion (finely chopped): 1 cup
Tomato ketchup: 5 tbsp (plus extra for decorating the omlette)
Dark soy sauce: 3 tbsp
Black pepper powder: ¾ tsp (or according to taste)
Carrots (finely chopped) ½ cup
Green bell pepper (capsicum; finely chopped): ½ cup
Chinese cabbage (finely chopped): ¾ cup
Pepper powder: ½ tsp
Butter: 2 tbsp (plus ½ tsp oil)
Chopped dried oyster mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 30 min: ½ cup

Chopped sausages (I used the Chinese Lap Cheong, available at HyperCity, Malad, Mumbai): ½ cup

Salt (for the rice): according to taste
Eggs: 8–10
Milk (for the omlette): 8–10 tbsp
Salt (for the omlette): Two pinches for each egg
Oil (for each of the omlettes): 1.5 tbsp

Ingredients for Chicken Teriyaki:

Chicken legs: 5
Chicken pieces with bones: 250 g
Pepper powder (for marination): 1 tsp
Garlic paste (for marination): 1 tsp
Salt for marination: ¾ tsp

Ingredients for the Teriyaki sauce:

Japanese naturally brewed soy sauce (I used Kikkoman, available in gourmet food stores in Mumbai): ½ cup
Dark soy sauce: 4 tbsp
Mirin: ½ cup
Sake: ¼ cup
Water: ¼ cup
Honey: 5 tbsp
Pepper powder (for the sauce): ½ tsp
Toasted sesame seeds (for garnishing)

Shallow-fried or grilled vegetables, such as broccoli, corn, babycorn, carrots, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, French fries, etc.

Method:

Stuffing: For making the omlette stuffing, add the butter-oil mixture to the wok. When it is hot, add the onions. Stir-fry briefly.

Add the finely chopped carrots, green bell pepper and the cabbage. Stir-fry for 3 min.

Add the oyster mushrooms and the chopped sausages. Sauté for 3 min on high flame.

Add the cooked rice. After cooking for 2 min, pour in the ketchup and soy sauce and sprinkle the pepper powder. Adjust the seasoning and cook for two more min.

Omurice stuffing is ready.

Omlette and omurice: For each omlette, break two eggs into a bowl and whisk in with 4 tbsp milk and four pinches of salt, until frothy. Heat a pan and add oil. Spread the oil evenly. When the oil is hot, slide in the whisked egg mixture and spread the omlette evenly on the pan, so that it is thin, yet removable from the pan.

The omlette should not be too thick.

When the bottom side looks cooked and the top is almost cooked, spoon in a little rice and fold the omlette in such a way that the rice gets sealed in. Serve the omurice on a plate, seam-side down.

Omurice in the pan. See how the omlette is sealing the rice!

Teriyaki sauce: Combine all the ingredients and cook on a medium flame, stirring continuously, till the sauce looks glossy and thicker.

Homemade Teriyaki sauce.

Teriyaki chicken: Marinate the chicken for 30 min with pepper powder, garlic paste and salt. Transfer the chicken to a baking dish and grill for 10 min. Brush with teriyaki sauce and grill again for 10 min. turn the pieces over and repeat the basting. Keep on basting a few times and then grill until both the sides look brownish. Smear some more teriyaki sauce over the chicken and serve with toasted sesame seeds.

Chicken teriyaki (in process) just taken out from the oven for a click. After this stage, I had basted the chicken with the teriyaki sauce a few more times and re-grilled the chicken to make it crispier.

Serve the omurice with teriyaki chicken and grilled (or shallow-fried) vegetables. Using ketchup, make any pattern of your choice on the omurice before serving.

Enjoy your Japanese omurice and chicken teriyaki with grilled and shallow-fried vegetables for a complete Japanese meal.

Poori/Puri/Luchi: Indian Puffed Bread

2013-04-01T11:08:00.000-07:00

Poori/Puri/Luchi: Indian Puffed Bread.

Poori, puri or luchi are Indian names for puffed deep-fried breads made with whole-wheat atta (flour) or maida (refined flour). This is a very delicate bread and it is soft, yet chewy. If fried in fresh oil and if the dough is kneaded properly, every poori is expected to rise and puff up.

This is an easy recipe, but there are a few factors which you should ensure:

· Add a little warm oil to the flour at the beginning of kneading the dough and at a time. Don’t add the oil in batches.

· Add a little sugar, salt and fine semolina (sooji) to the poori flour as well. Semolina makes the puffs stay longer.

· Kneading the dough patiently is extremely important. Knead it continuously with warm water for atleast 10 min.

· This dough should not be kept for a long time. I just give a standby time of 10 min to the dough (at room temperature) and always cover it to prevent drying up.

· Some like to roll each of the small balls by smearing each with a little oil, whereas some just roll the pooris by dusting flour. Both ways, you can get fluffed up pooris.

· While frying the pooris, always ensure that the oil is very hot and well-enough to make the poori float. Less oil will lead to flat pooris!

· Always use a perforated spoon to take out pooris from the oil. Remove on a big plate lined with absorbent paper. Serve immediately.

· Frying the pooris in ghee makes them taste and smell much better. But people use healthy and light oils now, instead of ghee, which is heavy and expensive.

· Don't stack the puris one above the other after rolling them (before frying).

· Baking powder or yeast is not needed for this Indian bread recipe.

Poori/Puri/Luchi

[Talking about the flours, some prefer to make pooris with just refined flour or maida, whereas others prefer just the whole-wheat flour or atta. I prefer to use a flour ratio of 3:1 for maida:atta. For each cup of this mixture, I add ¾ tsp fine semolina (sooji). While kneading, adding warm milk instead of warm water will enhance the taste, but I don’t do that. Adding warm water is just fine.]

Ingredients:

Refined flour: 3 cups
Whole-wheat flour: 1 cup
Fine semolina: 1.5 tsp
Salt: ¼ tsp
Sugar powder: little less than ¼ tsp
Warm oil for the dough: 2 tbsp
Warm water: as required to knead a non-sticky dough
Oil for deep-frying

Method:

Mix the first five ingredients together. Using your hand, knead the dough adding warm water in two to three batches. Avoid adding extra water.

This is the stage when the kneading is half-done.

Kneading over: compare the texture of the dough with that of the previous picture.

The dough should be kneaded for atleast 10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and non-sticky. Put the dough in a bowl and cover with a lid. Let this dough stand on your kitchen platform for 10 minutes.

Make uniform-sized balls (of the size a little bigger than the Ping-Pong balls) and dust the rolling surface with flour. Roll out a few pooris.

Heat enough oil in a kadai (see the picture below). We generally use any utensil which is not flat at the base, but round. When the oil is very hot, carefully slide-in a poori, taking care that it doesn’t fold on doing so. At this point, the flame should be at the “high” mode.

Use the back of a perforated spoon to gently press the poori down, so that the whole poori is submerged into the oil for a few seconds. The poori will fluff up. Reduce the flame, as it gets deep brown with the blink of an eye. Flip over, as soon as it swells up like a balloon. Fry for a few seconds, till both sides look light brown or golden.

Remove on an absorbent paper.

Similarly, for the next poori, increase the flame first. Introduce the next rolled poori and press it down. When it is fluffed, flip immediately and reduce the flame to “medium”. Fry for a few seconds. Remove on the absorbent paper.
Likewise, fry all the pooris. Don’t stack them one over another. Serve immediately with your choice of curry. For summer breakfast, we just love these with aamras (a mixture of mango pulp and a little milk) and dum aaloo (simmered Indian potato curry). You can have these at any time of the day.

For a complete Indian meal, try the pooris with Alu-Phulkopir Torkari (potato-cauliflower curry), Murgh Kasoori Methi, Panchratan Dal (Indian five-lentil stew) and my special Old-Fashioned, Mixed-Fruit Chutney.

Thandai: An Indian festive drink

2013-03-26T10:18:00.001-07:00

Thandai

Tommorrow is Holi, the festival of colours! Indian festivals like Holi and Shivratri are incomplete without this refreshing beverage called Thandai, which is extremely popular in North and Central India. The thandai drink is a beautiful combination of various kinds of nuts, saffron (called kesar or zaffran), milk, rose, a hint of spices and white poppy seeds (called khuskhus in Hindi). This beverage, when served chilled, has a magical effect on your tastebuds: with every sip you will feel that the subtle smell of rose and the saffron is calming you down and relaxing your senses, while the assorted nut paste mixed with just the right amount of spices add a sense of fullness and satisfaction. Such is the power of this wonderful festive beverage from India!

Generally, bhang is added to this traditional drink during Holi, which has an intoxicating effect. But bhang is optional, and I would totally avoid this ingredient. If bhang balls are added to this thandai, then it is called bhang ki thandai or Sardai.

Some points to note before you begin:

· Adding full-cream, chilled milk to this beverage is highly recommended. But for a Vegan version, just replace the milk with drinking water or soy milk.

·        Black peppercorns add a distinct spicy flavor to this sweet festive beverage from India. Please don’t omit this ingredient for the sake of authenticity.

·        Traditionally, fresh or dried rose petals are added. Alternately, you can add good-quality commercially available rose syrup, as I have done here.

·        Ideally, you should use melon seeds, so I have mentioned it in this recipe. But if you don’t find these at the last moment, like in my case, don’t panic. Just increase the amounts of almonds and cashewnuts to compensate for the ½ cup of melon seeds, as I did.

·        You can always add the optional ingredient called bhang (a traditional intoxicant used in thandai, especially during Holi) to add fun to this drink. I did not add this, however.

Thandai

Ingredients:

Almonds (blanched and peeled): ½ cup
Cashewnuts: ½ cup
Fennel seeds: 1.5 tbsp
Good-quality rose syrup: 2 tbsp
Black peppercorns: 15
White poppy seeds (khuskhus): ½ cup
Melon seeds (magaz): ½ cup
Green cardamoms (choti elaichi): 30 (peels not needed)
Pistachios (blanched and peeled): 40 (plus a few more thinly chopped ones for garnishing)
Saffron strands (for garnishing): few
Drinking water: ½ cup
Sugar: 1 cup
Full-cream milk: 1 litre

Method:

Boil the milk. Simmer and add the sugar. Stir continuously, till the sugar dissolves. Switch off the gas and let the milk cool at room temperature. Refrigerate for atleast 1 hour.

Grind cashewnuts, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, white poppy seeds, melon seeds, green cardamom seeds and pistachios to a very fine paste, by mixing ½ cup of water (in batches) and rose syrup. Add the almonds and grind again to a very fine paste.

Store this thandai paste in the refrigerator an airtight container.

To serve, add about 2-3 tbsp of the paste in a medium-sized serving glass, fill up to the top with the chilled milk and garnish with chopped pistachios and saffron strands.

Happy Holi to all my readers! Please play a waterless Holi and save precious water.

Dulce de Leche Fudge

2013-03-19T01:56:00.003-07:00

Now that I already have a few cans of thick, chocolate-brown homemade Dulce de Leche resting inside my fridge, I am all set to explore other possibilities with this wonderful dessert ingredient. As I already told you all in my previous post, I made these really easy and delicious dulce de leche fudge pieces, wrapped them into small pieces, and served these to the little guests at a weekend get-together at my home. They loved these! These are melt-in-the-mouth, soft fudge and you can refrigerate them atleast upto one month.

People generally love to use pecans and chocolate in Dulce de Leche fudges, but I was running short of both chocolate and pecans. So I decided to make the fudge differently. I used powdered Marie biscuits (actually, any unflavoured or mildly flavoured biscuit would serve the purpose) and marshmallows.

This fudge is semi-soft in texture. Even if you keep this in the deep-freeze, it will not become very hard. This texture is really important, as you can enjoy the taste of dulce de leche with every soft, creamy bite. Always serve them chilled.

Dulce de Leche Fudge

Ingredients:

Thick, homemade deep-brown-coloured Dulce de leche (click here for the recipe): 5 tbsp (heaped)
Marie biscuits: 6
Toasted almonds: 12
White marshmallows: 100 g
Milk: 2 tbsp
Unsalted butter: 80 g
Vanilla essence: ½ tsp
Cling film, 18-cm (7-inch) cake tin

Method:

Finely powder the Marie biscuits and the toasted almonds.

In a microwave-safe bowl, put the butter, milk and the marshmallows. Melt the marshmallows and the butter in the microwave for 30 sec. Stir and microwave for another 10 sec, or until the marshmallows melt.

Stir and add the dulce de leche to this warm mixture. Stir lightly until everything is combined. If you see small lumps of dulce de leche, don’t break these lumps: these actually add a different texture to the fudge.

Add the powdered mixture of biscuits and almonds. Mix, until everything is combined.

Grease and line with parchment paper, an 18-cm (7-inch) shallow cake tin. Pour the fudge mixture into the tin. With the help of a spoon, level the surface of the dulce de leche fudge. Refrigerate in the deep-freeze for atleast 3 h or until it is firm enough to handle.

Loosen the parchment paper (along with the fudge) from the tin by pulling up its two opposite ends very slowly. Cut the fudge into bite-sized pieces. Refrigerate for 1 h.

Remove each of the fudge pieces and wrap individually with the cling film. Put these in airtight container, back into the fridge. Eat this fudge chilled.

Homemade Dulce de Leche

2013-03-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

Homemade Dulce de Leche made with just one ingredient: condensed milk.

Also known as "milk jam," Dulce de Leche is truly a wonder ingredient to work with. Having a rich caramel flavour, the heavenly Dulce de Leche or the "sweet of milk" is the one of the simplest desserts I have tried at home. The Central and South Americans enjoy Dulce de leche with their morning toast, infused into their pastries or drizzled over their breakfast pancakes. It is also used widely in brownies, ice creams, cakes, cookies (especially the Argentine alfajores), croissants, fudges, drinks, liquors and candies. When these are used as fillings in pastries, crepes, etc, this milk jam may be flavoured with cinnamon, rum, chocolate or vanilla.

It is believed that in 1829 in Argentina, a serving woman was preparing "La Lechada" (made with milk and sugar) for an army camp. She went out of the kitchen for something urgent and forgot about the La Lechada on the stove. When she came back to the kitchen, she saw that the milk became thick and brown. Someone around tasted it and it tasted great! That’s the history of Dulce de Leche, which was born by accident!

Dulce de leche is known by different names in different countries, and even the colour ranges from pale cream to intense brown. Not only that, the flavor and the texture are also not exactly the same in these countries. In Mexico, it is called cajeta, made with a combination of goat’s milk and cow’s milk, with cinnamon as an optional ingredient. In Colombia, Panama and Venezuela, it is known as arequipe, meaning, "milk pudding." Eucador and Chile’s manjar and Peru’s manjar blanco are paler versions because of the mild caramelisation of the milk. The Bolivian manjar blanco is a heavier version, owing to the addition of ground rice or rice flour. The French call it confiture de lait or the "milk jam."

Dulce de Leche is used to flavour a variety of desserts. For example, I made fudge using my homemade dulce de leche and those tasted really good (recipe coming up next)!

Argentina and Uruguay are one of the biggest producers of Dulce de Leche. Although it is becoming popular even beyond Central and South America, this product has still not hit Indian supermarkets yet. As I live in Mumbai now, the easier option to taste this culinary goodness is to make it at home. And I am glad I did so! I spent just Rs 99 to buy a can of sweetened condensed milk (I used the popular Indian brand called Amul Mithai Mate) and what I got after processing this is a can of pure sin!

Everytime I taste this awesomeness, I love it. Honestly, I am addicted to this now and as I write this post, I feel like grabbing another can of homemade Dulce de Leche and finishing it off just like that! It is amazing to think that how a combination of milk and sugar can transform a simple mixture into something so scrumptious and unique. Richer the milk, better the Dulce de Leche. Vegans can use thickened and sweetened coconut milk instead of condensed milk. You do not need any fancy equipment for making this dessert. A crock pot or an electric rice cooker will serve the purpose. Some do it in the microwave as well.

Homemade Dulce de Leche

Ingredients:

Sweetened condensed milk: 1 can

Dulce de Leche made with condensed milk. I used the Indian brand called "Amul Mithai Mate".

The crock pot method (the method I used here):

Place upto three sealed cans of sweetened condensed milk in slow cooker. Add enough water in the cooker to submerge the cans by atleast 1 inch. If the cans are not submerged, these can burst. Cook on low for 4 hours. Let the cans come to room temperature completely before opening.

The oven method:

Preheat oven to 420⁰C. Pour sweetened condensed milk into a shallow baking dish. Cover and seal with aluminium foil. Place baking dish in a larger pan, filled with hot water, so that the inner baking dish is atleast half-submerged into the water. Cook for about 50 min. When you remove the foil, the colour should change to rich caramel brown. If the colour is not achieved, continue for another 10 min and then check again. Remove from oven when done and let it cool. This should be stored in the fridge for atleast one month.

Murg Kali Mirch (Indian Black Pepper Chicken)

2013-03-06T01:45:00.002-08:00

Murg Kali Mirch (Indian Black Pepper Chicken)

Murg Kali Mirch is an evergreen Indian chicken curry with black pepper (kali mirch), made in various ways across the nation. The aroma of freshly ground black pepper integrated with the flavour of chicken and assorted spices in this Indian simmered pepper-chicken curry is bound to drive you hungry! Over the years, I have tried experimenting with the combo of pepper and chicken along with various Indian spices. By now, I have five different recipes of chicken with black pepper powder, but the one given here scores the highest when it comes to entertaining my guests.

One has to be careful about the balance of spices in this curry. The dominating flavour would be obviously the black pepper, so we have to minimize the amounts of other spices in this dish. We Indians generally love the “fiery version” of any curry, especially if it is a meat dish. The amount of black pepper powder used in this chicken curry recipe will give the dish a “medium-spicy” tag, from the Indian taste perspective. So, if you are among those who eat spicy food rarely, please feel free to decrease the amount of pepper powder according to your tolerance level. You can always add extra pepper powder towards the end of the cooking, if needed, isn’t it?

Before jumping on to the recipe, let me tell you something. I already told you in one of my recent posts about my newly acquired frugal lifestyle. I have found out another great website, which offers coupons on food and dining. This is 27coupons.com and the offers they have right now are irresistible. For example, every time I buy any product from Green-n-Good.com through 27coupons.com, I get upto 50% discount on the entire range of food and beverages. (I bought quality organic spices and organic ghee through this offer and saved some money using the coupons!) Among other lucrative coupons, I often use the 20% discount offer on the minimum bill of Rs 350 on ordering anything from Domino’s Pizza. Well, 27Coupons.com will also provide you with a free movie ticket when you order food online from Foodpanda.in. Do check out this couponing website: really an exciting one!

Murg Kali Mirch (Indian Black Pepper Chicken)

Ingredients:

Whole chicken (de-skinned) and chopped into medium-sized pieces: 1.2 kg
Medium-sized potatoes (de-skinned and halved): 3
Purple onion paste: 1.5 cups
Garlic paste: 1 tbsp
Ginger paste: ¾ tsp
Black pepper powder (freshly powdered): 2 tsp
Salt (for frying the potatoes): ¼ tsp
Salt (for marinating the chicken): 1.25 tsp
Turmeric powder (for marination): ½ tsp
Dried bay leaf: 1
Whole cinnamon (1-inch-long; called dalchini): 3
Whole green cardamoms (choti elaichi): 6
Whole black cardamom (badi elaichi)
Cumin powder: 1.5 tsp
Desiccated fresh coconut: 2.5 tsp
Fresh cream: 2 tbsp
Salt (for the curry): 1.5 tsp
Turmeric powder (for frying the potatoes): two pinches
Turmeric powder (for the curry): ¾ tsp
Green chillies (slit): 4
Water: 2 cups
Oil: ½ cup (for cooking)+ 1.5 tbsp (for marination)

Method:

Marinate the chicken for atleast 1 hour with salt, turmeric powder and 1.5 tbsp oil.

Heat oil in the kadhai or wok. Add the bay leaf, cinnamon and the cardamoms to the hot and smoking oil, regulating the flame to “medium”.

Fry the potatoes with ¼ tsp salt and two pinches of turmeric powder, till these become brownish. Remove the potatoes, but leave the whole spices in the oil.

Add the onion-garlic-ginger paste to the oil. Add 1.5 tsp salt and sauté till the onions lose the water content. Now add the cumin powder and sauté for 5 min, or till the paste looks light brown.

Saute-ing the onion paste.

Adding the cumin powder.

Add the desiccated coconut and continue to sauté till the mixture becomes dry.

Add the marinated chicken and ¾ tsp turmeric powder and continue sautéing till the chicken has a brownish tan. This should be done at medium-to-low flame for best results.

Add the pepper powder and mix with the chicken. Continue to cook over medium flame for 5 min. Then, add the cream and cook for 10 min.

Add the water and the green chillies. Stir the chicken and close the lid. On a simmered flame, leave this curry to boil for 20 min.

Enjoy with Indian flatbreads or with steamed rice.

Baked Pasta with Chicken and Vegetables

2013-02-25T01:30:00.001-08:00

Once in a month, I love to make Baked Pasta with Chicken and Vegetables for my family. As it is a complete meal in itself, I make just this healthy pasta for the dinner and I am done! This creamy, baked pasta recipe has all the magical ingredients to make it one of our favourite family dinner choice: sausages, lots of veggies, chicken, eggs, olives, capers and above all, the cheesy white sauce to die for! This baked pasta dish is layered with thyme-flavoured chicken and then with a hearty throw of vegetables, followed by a final layer of boiled eggs topped with mozzarella, cheddar and ricotta. My kids love to eat the vegetables in this pasta, although like most other kids, they are actually not quite fond of eating vegetables!

Baked Pasta with Chicken and Vegetables

Ingredients:

Spiral pasta: 300 g

Fresh thyme: roughly 12 sprigs

Chopped chicken breast (marinated with ¼ tsp salt and ½ tsp crushed garlic for 20 min): 1.5 cup
Finely chopped onions: ½ cup
Garlic paste (for the vegetables and the chicken): 1 tsp+ 1 tsp
Zucchini: 1
Broccoli florets: 1 cup
Fresh button mushrooms (chopped): 1 pack
French beans: Handful (chopped)
Worcestershire sauce: 1.5 tsp
Tomato: 1
Salt: According to taste
Mixture of olive oil and canola oil: 6 tbsp
Butter (for the white sauce): 2 tbsp (mixed with 2 tsp canola oil)
All-purpose flour (for the white sauce): 4 tbsp
Hard-boiled eggs (chopped into circles): 8
Full-cream milk (can be replaced with low-fat milk): 2.5 cups
Water: ½ cup
Sausages (chopped): ½ cup
Grated white cheddar cheese for the white sauce: ½ cup
Grated white cheddar cheese for the top layer: ¼ cup
Mozzarella cheese for the top layer (cut into small pieces): ¾ cup
Crumbled ricotta cheese for the top layer: ¼ cup
Capers: few (for garnishing)
Kalamata olives: few (for garnishing)
Tomato slices: few (for garnishing)

Method:

Chop the vegetables as shown.

Add half the oil in a skillet. When the oil is hot, add half of the garlic. Sauté briefly and add the marinated chicken and half of the fresh thyme. Sauté for 10 min on high flame, or until the chicken is just cooked. Do not overcook. Remove the contents in the skillet with a spoon.

Add the rest of the oil again to the same skillet. Introduce the onions when the oil is hot. Sauté continuously on a medium flame for 5 min. Throw in the vegetables, rest of the thyme and the remaining garlic. Sauté the vegetables on medium to high heat for around 7 min. Add the salt as per the taste (I added ½ tsp.). Add the Worcestershire sauce and sauté for another two minutes. Remove the cooked veggies into a bowl.

Make the white sauce. Add butter and 2 tsp of canola oil to the same skillet. When the oil is just hot, add the all-purpose flour and sauté continuously for 2 min over medium flame. Add a little milk and stir continuously to prevent lumps.

Add the rest of the milk and stir. There should be no lumps at all. For this, you have to keep on stirring the white sauce over medium flame and keep on breaking the lumps, if present. When the sauce starts to thicken, add ½ tsp salt and the grated white cheddar cheese. Stir again.

Add the sausages and the water and cook for 3 min. (I added water because I want the sauce to be little runny, which while baking later, thickens.) Switch off the gas and mix the pasta with the white sauce.

Take a large baking dish. Transfer the pasta (mixed with the white sauce) to this.

Next, layer the chicken over the pasta. Over the chicken layer, spread the vegetable layer.

The top layer should be boiled eggs. Sprinkle the chopped mozzarella, crumbled ricotta and grated cheddar over the eggs. Bake at 220⁰C for 7 min, or until the mozzarella melts.

Garnish with tomato slices, capers and chopped Kalamata olives. Baked pasta with chicken and vegetables is scrumptious and addictive!

Mini Cheese Crescent Rolls

2013-02-18T02:08:00.000-08:00

The Valentine’s indulgence is now over and I am back to my normal routine. Valentine’s Day was the perfect occasion to shop and eat out, and obviously, on such a special day, your partner can’t say “no” as you proceed to fill up your shopping bag with a few sweet things which you fancied for quite some time. Well, as for me, I admit that I am a hearty shopper. Although one of my new year’s resolutions is to spend less, this wasn’t actually happening, till I realised something recently.

To be able to save more by living a more frugal life is actually thrilling me now! This doesn’t mean that I will not buy things I desire, but I have now learnt the knack of buying smart and saving money at the same time. In short, I have discovered a great website, which has opened my eyes and has given a new dimension to my shopping experience. This is Cupo Nation, which helped me to smoothly stretch my family budget! Now, I shop for a majority of my groceries from Cupo Nation and using the coupons in this website, I have actually been able to save a lot. Cupo Nation offers a variety of home- and kitchen-related discount coupons for a number of leading online retailers in India, such as futurebazaar.com, ekstop, etc. For example, the all-purpose flour in this recipe post has been bought by using Cupo Nation coupons for futurebazaar.com recently, along with the other items from my monthly grocery list, and I got a discount of flat 25% on my bill!

Mini Cheese Crescent Rolls

[As in any yeast recipe, it is important to check the temperatures of water and milk. If the liquids are hotter, yeast will not make the dough rise properly.]

Ingredients:

All-purpose flour: 2 cups
Sugar: 1.5 tbsp
Active dry yeast: 2.5 tsp
Warm water (at 100⁰F): ¼ cup
Warm milk (at 100⁰F): 1/3 cup
Salt: ¼ tsp
Softened butter at room temperature: ½ cup
Grated ricotta cheese or sharp cheddar cheese: ¼ cup
Extra butter (molten) for brushing

Method:

Mix the yeast, sugar, water and milk. Let this mixture stand at room temperature for 15 min, until foamy.

Yeast mixture after 15 minutes.

In a big bowl, add the flour, salt and the butter. Crumble the whole mixture and add the yeast mixture to this.

All the ingredients (except cheese) just put together.

Knead lightly for 5 min. Cover and leave it undisturbed in a warm place (I use a rice cooker in “warm” mode. I add some water at the base of the cooker. Then I put a small metal bowl at the centre and then the covered big bowl over the small bowl. Oven is also good for this.)

After 5 min of kneading.

After 30 min.

Re-kneading after punching the dough.

After 30 min, take out the dough. Punch the air off and divide the dough into three equal parts. Dust some flour on a rolling surface and roll each of the balls into not-too-thin circles. Cut each of the circles into eight triangles.

Now add a little cheese to the base of each triangle and fold, as shown in the pictures. Leave the crescents for 10 min.

Preheat the oven to 200⁰C for 10 min.

Brush the rolls with molten butter before you put them inside the oven. Bake the crescent rolls for about 20 min, or until the top becomes golden brown.

Cool on wire rack until the rolls come at room temperature.

Spaghetti Kitchen (Malad, Mumbai): Restaurant Review

2013-02-12T22:34:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend, we often love exploring new restaurants in Mumbai. This fine-dining Italian restaurant particularly caught our attention when we were recently searching for the culinary “Eureka!” of the weekend. We had dinner twice in this place, and now, it is one of our Mumbai’s favourite restaurants. As you step into the restaurant, located at one corner of the food court in In Orbit Mall in Malad (W) in Mumbai, the simple and chic décor captivates you for sure. For a moment, you will feel like you are sitting in a home kitchen in Italy. Small jars and decorative Italian plates hanging on the walls adore this cozy little place. The atmosphere is casual and relaxed: a perfect place to shed all your stress that you might have built up over the busy week, and enjoy life (and of course, the delectable food and drinks) the Italian way!

Inviting and neat, with no loud music, this is the place where you can just unwind and enjoy your Italian food experience in Mumbai. What we loved about the restaurant is that a number of dishes come with different kinds of innovative sauces, and you will love the variety of sauces served here. The portions are big and the ingredients are authentic. Food styling is taken up creatively for each dish and the chefs are very competent, as is evident from the taste of every morsel we ate there: the taste lingers!

Cappuccino-of-four-mushroom soup served with a mushroom crouton

Going through the menu, you will be spoilt for choices. As we settled down to a nice and cozy corner in the Spaghetti Kitchen, we went through the elaborate menu, which is really impressive, as the name of each Italian dish is translated and explained with a special mention of the main ingredients used in them. As soon as we ordered our food, a complimentary bread basket arrived at our table, with an array of freshly baked breads such as focaccia, herbed garlic roll and homemade bread sticks. The kids loved the bread sticks and we loved the herbed garlic roll. As the zuppe or the soup arrived, the place was filled with the delicate aroma of Cappuccino aifunghi (cappuccino-of-four-mushroom soup), which the chef made with fresh wild-forest and button mushrooms. This was served with a delicious mushroom crouton. The soup is worth a try because it is not overpowering and yet we loved the rich and creamy taste. At Rs. 240, this was justifiable.

Try the Ciabatta bruschetta here, which come with choicest exotic toppings such as Greek feta cheese, fresh Italian mushrooms, Sumac, truffle oil, etc. As we are non-vegetarians, we opted for the Olivette dipollo (citrus-marinated grilled chicken served with olives and served in white wine and butter sauce) as the Starter, which was quite satisfactory. Even for vegetarians there are a plenty of options to choose from, such as Baked portabello mushrooms and Parmesan cream cheese baby potatoes.

The range of pizzas is absolutely incredible. You have the option of choosing three different pizza crusts: the cracker crust, thin crust or the whole-wheat multi-grain crust. There is a range of delectable toppings on the offer. There is even a low-calorie salad pizza and an all-vegetable pizza for the health-conscious!

Fusili with chicken and mushrooms

Flipping through the various dishes in the pasta section of the menu, we were almost confused. We were actually not able to decide whether to go for the Gnocchi alla gorzongola (potato gnocchi in gorzongola and cream cheese sauce), Penne affogate (penne with vodka) or the Ravioli in Magro (spinach and ricotta ravioli), as all sounded mouth-watering! Finally, we settled for yet another pasta dish, Fusili con Pollo e Funghi (fusilli with chicken and mushrooms), which was good, though the price (Rs. 500) could have been a little lower.

Escallops of veal from Valdosta

As any hardcore non-vegetarian would do, now it was the time to order for the meats. We ordered for the Cottolette di maiale (US grilled pork chops served with a choice of two kinds of sauces; Rs. 620) and Scaloppini alla Valdostana (Escallops of veal from Valdosta, served with white-wine cream sauce; Rs. 650) and both were outstanding. Both the dishes were cooked to perfection and the meats were succulent. We enjoyed every bite of these dishes, along with the wonderful sauces, which made these meats taste divine! The veal dish was topped with mushroom duxelle, Belgian ham and melted Fontina cheese. For food styling, the chef used mashed potatoes, artichokes and asparagus. All-in-all, these two meat dishes were just fabulous and I would go there again and again to try these: strongly recommended to our readers!

Tiramisu

The Tiramisu (Rs. 250) was no less either. By the time we ordered for the dessert, we were so full and satisfied with the huge servings, that we ordered just one Tiramisu for the four of us! And our guess was right: when the Tiramisu was served, one cup was actually enough for all of us. It was plenty and definitely, heaven in the mouth.

The wine cellar

Being non-alcoholics, the humble peach tea served our purpose. But for wine lovers, there is an impressive wine cellar, offering choicest wines at your service. The dining experience is definitely worth every penny spent!

Grilled Tofu with Toasted Peanut Chutney

2013-02-08T01:34:00.004-08:00

These days, I am experimenting quite a bit with tofu. Frankly, I was not much of a tofu person until I lived in Hong Kong. It was there where I had seen how the localites would shop for fresh tofu every day (and it is very cheap) and make mouth-watering delicacies out of this. We Indians often tend to compare the tastes of tofu (made with soy milk) and paneer (made with buffalo or cow’s milk) and as we are used to the creamy taste and smell of the latter, we tend to experiment less with tofu. So I took up the challenge for myself to love this wonderful ingredient. I wanted to do something Indian with tofu and then, this dish was born. Yes, I loved the way the dish tasted!

Tofu has the property to absorb the flavours of other ingredients cooked with it. This tofu dish is a snap to assemble and tastes great. You are going to love this, teamed with this tangy chutney generously topped over it, which is indeed quite addictive.

Grilled Tofu with Toasted Peanut Chutney

Ingredients:

Lime juice: 1 tbsp

Honey: 1.5 tsp

Salt: ½ tsp

Hard tofu: 250 g

Toasted peanuts (skin removed): ½ cup

Tomatoes (finely chopped): 1 tbsp

Coriander leaves (cilantro; finely chopped): 1.5 tbsp

Purple onion (finely chopped): 1 tsp

Garlic paste: 1.5 tsp

Green chillies (chopped): 1 tbsp

Salt: According to taste

Water: 3 tbsp

Method:

Cut tofu into medium-sized rectangular shapes. Marinate them with the first three ingredients for just15 min. Grill on the gas stove or oven for 5 min on each side (or until there are dark brown grill marks on both sides). Remove.

Combine all the other ingredients together and blend to a fine paste. Adjust the seasoning.

Pour the chutney over the grilled tofu and serve as an appetiser.

I am sure you will find this recipe a little different than what you generally come across on the net. If you liked this recipe, do try it. And yes, if you bought some extra tofu, try yet another flavour:

Steamed Tofu in Dried Shrimp Sauce

I wish all of my readers a very Happy Chinese New Year. Eat healthy and stay fit!

Light Indian Mutton/Lamb Stew

2013-01-31T10:11:00.000-08:00

Light Indian mutton/lamb stew

We are just back from Kodaikanal in Tamil Nadu, India. This was our first trip outside Mumbai, after relocating from Hong Kong a few months back. I must say, this was a much-awaited break and we thoroughly enjoyed every moment of being so close to nature. The weather was perfect there and we loved the greenery. When we saw the beautiful pine forests, the trees reminded me of old Bollywood movie songs: singing and dancing around the trees was a common sight in the Hindi movies of the yesteryears. Kodaikanal was amazing in its own right. There was a sense of space and freshness everywhere, which we really miss in a metropolitan like Mumbai. The Berijam lake near Kodaikanal was particularly serene.

While driving back from the Berijam lake, we had a homely mutton stew at a local restaurant and that was something which was so warm and satisfying in the evening when it was so cold outside. Nothing better would have suited our palate that evening. That moment itself, I decided to replicate this simple South-Indian stew at my home kitchen, with reduced amount of spices, so that it suits my family’s taste. As I sit in my Mumbai home and write for this post, the warm aroma of fresh curry leaves being infused into the stew and the waft of flavours arising out of cooking succulent pieces of meat and fresh winter vegetables together, made me nostalgic of my Kodaikanal trip. It was truly memorable.

Light Indian Mutton/Lamb Stew

[Choosing the right meat is very important. Never compromise on the quality of the meat. For tender meat, it must be derived from a very young goat or lamb. A pressure cooker is very convenient for making mutton stews.]

Ingredients:

Mutton or lamb pieces with bones (front thigh meat with bones preferred): 500 g
Fresh curry leaves: 15
Spring onion leaves’ paste: 2 tbsp
Salt for marination: 1.5 tsp
Salt for the stew: 1 tsp (adjustable)
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Red carrots (roughly chopped): 2
French beans (roughly chopped): 15
Medium-sized potatoes (de-skinned and halved): 2
Dried bay leaves: 2
Green cardamoms: 3
Black cardamom: 1
Spring onions: 7
Spring onion stems (around 2-inch size): 7
Purple onions (small; quartered): 2.5
Ginger paste: ½ tsp
Lime juice: 4 tsp
Sugar: ¾ tsp
Freshly ground black pepper powder: 1 tsp (adjustable)
Medium-sized tomatoes (each quartered): 3
Warm water: 4.5 cups
Oil: 3 tbsp

Method:

Marinated meat

Marinate the meat with the spring onion leaves’ paste and 1.5 tsp salt for 3 hours.

Fresh vegetables for the stew

Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the bay leaves and the cardamoms. When these start sputtering, add the quartered purple onions. Sauté for 5–7 min.

Add the tomatoes, potatoes and the curry leaves, along with the salt, ginger paste, lime juice and turmeric powder. Mix the contents in the cooker well.

Add the carrots, beans and the spring onion stems and continue cooking for 5 min.

Now add the marinated meat and give the mixture a good stir. Cook for 10 min, stirring after every 2 min. Add the water, sugar and the ground pepper.

Just before securing the lid of the pressure cooker

Secure the lid of the cooker tightly and simmer. Let it have two pressures. Open the lid and give the stew a gentle stir. Remove the vegetables into a bowl (so as to prevent over-cooking) and transfer the meat and the soup once again to the cooker. Secure the lid and simmer once again. Pressure-cook until the meat is tender (around five cooker whistles). Switch off the gas and open the lid after 15 min. Check for the tenderness: if you are not satisfied with it yet, pressure cook for some more time.

Once the meat is cooked thoroughly, transfer the cooked vegetables back to the cooker and cook everything together (with lid open) on a slow flame for just 10 min more. Serve hot with appams, chapatti, paratha or steamed rice.

Nepali Mutton Momo (Dumplings) and Three Mouth-Watering Momo Dips

2013-01-21T06:44:00.001-08:00

Nepali mutton momo

Nepal. Simple people and heart-warming food. One of the most popular Nepali dishes is the momo, which can be both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Although it looks similar to the Chinese dim sums or dumplings, but it is not. What makes the difference is the filling. This filling (in case of meat momos) has cilantro (coriander leaves), unlike Chinese momos. Additional ingredients are turmeric powder, curry powder nutmeg powder, pepper powder and a special spice mix called momo masala, although these ingredients are optional. Nepali momos are best enjoyed with a variety of Nepali achar (spicy dips), such as the classic spicy tomato-sesame dip or a special kind of soy sauce dip (explained in the recipe below). In addition to the latter, I make another special dip which tastes awesome with Nepali momos. This dip has some mutton (or lamb) broth in it, which acts as the base. I add a little ginger juice, tomato sauce, toasted sesame paste, chilli-garlic sauce and soy sauce to this. Only six ingredients and you get something so addictive that you will find excuses to slurp it just like that!

Although meat is never pre-cooked in the actual momo, I do it. I have a “thing” for semi-cooked meats (the same reason why I avoid eating “raw” steaks). I always quickly pre-cook the meat before I use it as a filling, but that’s just my own preference. (Actually, I pre-cook the meat for another reason as well. I get the mutton broth after pre-cooking, which I use for making my special momo dip!) Momos are not only popular in Nepal itself, but also in Myanmar, Bhutan and in many parts of India (especially in Darjeeling and Sikkim).

What is a momo?

When steamed meat or vegetables (along with other ingredients) are wrapped in flattened-out refined flour dough, you get momos, which are just great for any meal: be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. But momos are best eaten hot, right from the steamer. The momo sauce or dip is treated very seriously: it is the sauce which decides the overall taste of a momo platter. So using the right ingredients in the right amounts is very essential for a good momo achar. Both steamed and fried momos are popular; the shapes may vary from full moon to half-moon. The fried momo is called kothey.

The kinds of stuffing used
If you happen to visit Kathmandu in Nepal, do try the buff momo (which is actually buffalo-meat momo). Chicken and mutton (goat) momos are equally eaten there. Beef, yak, lamb and pork momos are also eaten among the localites. Shrimp momos and vegetarian momos (made up of cabbage, cottage cheese, etc.) are also common.

Three amazing momo achars (dips)

(Achar means pickle. Many people in and around India eat this as a dip with a variety of dishes.)

Red tomato achar: Roast two large tomatoes until charred. Remove the skin and reserve the tomato flesh. In a pan, toast 3/4 cup sesame seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds and 1 tbsp mustard seeds carefully under low flame. Grind these seeds into a powder. Now blend roasted tomatoes, 1 cup water, ½ cup chopped cilantro, five fresh and red chilies, 3 tbsp lime juice, and salt. Add the ground seed powder, 1 tbsp garlic paste, 1 tbsp ginger paste, 1 tsp white pepper powder and a pinch of asafoetida and process in the blender till you get a smooth mixture.

Black soy achar: This is very simple to make and is also called Sherpa achar. Combine 4 tbsp light soy sauce, 2.5 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp mustard oil (this adds a spicy flavour), along with 1 tsp each of finely chopped ginger and garlic. Add 1 tbsp honey and 1 tsp of white pepper powder and mix well with a fork. Do not add water.

My special momo dip: When I am in a hurry, I would rather make my own simple and tangy dip. For this, take the mutton broth (obtained from the momo stuffing, as described in the recipe below), sweet chilli-garlic sauce and dark soy sauce in the proportion of 3:2:1. Add a little crushed garlic and mix well.

Nepali Mutton Momo

(Makes around 30 momos)

Ingredients for the wrapper:

Refined flour: 4 cups

Oil: 1 tbsp
Salt: ¼ tsp
Water

Ingredients for the filling:

Minced mutton meat (alternately, chicken or lamb mince): 500 g
Salt: ¾ tsp
Finely chopped garlic (small): 14
Ginger paste: ½ tsp
Coriander leaves or cilantro (finelychopped): ¼ cup
Soy sauce: ½ tsp
Vinegar: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
White pepper powder: 1 tsp (adjustable)
Finely chopped green chillies (de-seeded): 4
Spring onion greens (finely chopped): ½ cup
Finely chopped onion: ½ cup

Method:

Combine flour, oil, salt and water. Knead until the dough is soft and pliable. Cover and keep aside for at least 20 min. Make ping-pong-sized balls out of the dough. Flatten out each of the balls with a rolling pin to make not-too-thin circles. (If you make very thin circles, the momos will tear, as the stuffing is a little juicy.) Cover.

For the filling, mix all the ingredients together, except the last two. Marinate for atleast 30 min.

Marinated meat. Choose meat with a little fat for a creamier taste.

Add 3 tbsp oil to the wok and when it smokes, add the last two ingredients. Sauté briefly and add the marinated meat. Cook for 5 min. Cover for 3 more min.

When you open the lid, you will see some water coming out of the meat. Switch the gas off and strain the liquid, ensuring that a little amount of liquid is still left in the meat stuffing. We will use this liquid for making the Special Momo Dip.

This water (broth) which comes out is reserved for making my Special Momo Dip.

Take 1 tbsp of the meat stuffing and put it into one of the flour circles. Seal this as shown.

Oil the steamer slightly and place the momos one by one. Cover and let it cook for 7 minutes flat. Momos are ready. Remove carefully, so that the wrappers don’t tear.

MURI GHONTO (Fish Head Curry)

2013-01-15T09:33:00.000-08:00

Bengali Muri Ghonto

MURI GHONTO is an authentic fish dish for a Bengali. Being a Bengali, I have always loved fish and Muri Ghonto is among my favourite fish dishes. We grew up eating fish (maach in Bengali) almost everyday. Fish, meat and eggs (also onion and garlic) were only restricted on Thursdays due to religious reasons. When my younger sister and I were small, our father used to buy different kinds of fishes (mostly freshwater) on weekend mornings and my mother would do the dressing for each of the kinds and divide those fishes for the whole week by putting into neat plastic containers in the deep-freezer. Fish heads (called muro in Bengali) were kept separately for making a variety of authentic Bengali dishes (including the recipe shared today). My sister and I were very fond of eating the soft and juicy fish brain, so fish head curry was often in the menu. Sometimes my mother would cook the heads with lentils (muro diye dal), sometimes with green leaves, potatoes and mixed vegetables (pui shaak muro diye) and sometimes the Muri Ghonto was cooked with cabbage (muro diye badhakopir ghonto). The fish heads commonly used for all these Bengali dishes are those of Rohu (Latin name: Labeo rohita) or Catla (Latin name: Catla catla). Actually, you can pick up any big carp (or salmon) head for this. I generally prefer heads of fishes weighing 2–3 kg for this.

The recipe which I am going to share today is a heirloom Bengali recipe, and this dish is still made in Bengali weddings or other important occasions. Traditionally, a special kind of rice (called gobindo bhog or govind bhog) is added to the fried fish and everything is cooked together, along with assorted spices. Sometimes, good-quality (fragrant and long-grain) basmati rice can also be added. There is, however, no particular ratio of rice and fish and it depends on each family’s own preference: some like the amount of rice more than that of the fish heads, some like to use rice sparingly. I have not used rice at all in this recipe, as my kids don’t like rice incorporated into this curry. So the amount of rice is really a personal choice. However, for one fish head and a small piece of a 2-kg fish, you should add a little less than ½ cup of rice, if you wish to do so. Do not omit the potatoes.

By the way, if you love reading my posts, please feel free to add me to your foodie friend circle on Twitter (@purabinaha) and Facebook.

Bengali Muri Ghonto (Fish Head Curry)

[White Chinese onions should not be used for this recipe. Indian purple onions, which are less juicy and can be browned easily, should be used for best results. If you have an aluminium or iron kadai or skillet, use it for better browning, instead of the non-stick. Mustard oil can be replaced with any other light oil.]

Ingredients:

One fish head and a small piece of a 2-kg fish

Potatoes (medium-sized, cut into lengthwise pieces): 10–12 long pieces out of a single potato

Onion (chopped into medium-sized pieces): 4 tbsp
Onion (cut into very thin strips): ½ cup
Ginger paste: ½ tsp
Dried bay leaves: 1
Cinnamon stick (one-inch stick): 1
Green cardamoms: 3
Cloves: 4
Peppercorns: 6
Mustard oil: 6 tbsp
Salt: According to taste
Slit green chillies: 4
Cumin seeds: ¼ tsp
Fenugreek seeds: 1/6 tsp
Fennel seeds: ¼ tsp
Turmeric powder: 1 tsp (divided)
Cumin powder: ½ tsp
Coriander powder: ½ tsp
Water

Method:

Marinate the fish with ½ tsp turmeric powder and ½ tsp salt for atleast 20 min.

Heat the skillet. Add the mustard oil and heat it to the smoking point. Add the fish and cover immediately (oil sputters at this point, so be careful). The flame should be medium. Open the lid after 5 min and flip the fish heads.

It is important to break the fish heads when these are almost fried. This process adds on to the taste of the final dish.

After 5 min, break the fish heads (this is important) and add the chopped onions (4 tbsp). Continue to fry until the onions lose their purple colour and become very soft. Remove the onions and the fish from the oil with a perforated spoon.

In the same oil at medium flame, fry the potatoes, sprinkling a little salt, till the potatoes are well-browned and can be broken easily with a spoon. Remove the potatoes from the oil and keep aside.

In the same oil (if it looks very less, add some more), add the bay leaves, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, and fennel seeds. When the cumin seeds look light brown in colour, add the dried bay leaves, cinnamon stick, green cardamoms, cloves and peppercorns.

After these start sputtering, immediately add cumin powder, coriander powder and ½ tsp turmeric powder, mixed with a little water. Stir continuously.

When oil starts separating from the spices, add the thinly cut onions and sauté till the onions lose colour and become very soft. Add the ginger paste and ½ tsp salt.

Notice the change in the colour for the onions. The onions should turn very soft and lose their colour. Crunchy or raw onions are an absolute no-no in Bengali cooking.

The oil should separate from the spices (as shown in this picture). Only then you can add the fish heads, as shown in the next picture.

Add the slit, green chillies, fried potatoes and the fried fish heads. (If you wish to add rice to this, add pre-soaked rice at this stage.) Mix everything together and sauté for 10 min.

Add a little water (about ½ cup in case no rice is added and about 1 cup if rice is added). Cover and cook till the amount of water reduces to one-fourth (in case you add rice, continue cooking for a longer time, until the rice is cooked).

Aloo Paratha (Mashed-potato-stuffed Indian flatbreads)

2013-01-07T01:39:00.000-08:00

Aloo Paratha

Aloo Paratha is basically paratha (flat bread) stuffed with aloo (mashed potatoes). If you love Indian food, it is quite likely that you love Indian flatbreads, isn’t it? Indian parathas are filling, nutritious and are made in a number of different ways, with a variety of stuffings. The humble aloo paratha makes and awesome Indian breakfast, clubbed with some tamarind chutney, achaar (Indian spicy pickle) or raita (a yogurt side-dish). We love frying these in butter or ghee, but if you are health-conscious, replace that with a light oil (canola, sunflower, groundnut, rice-barn, etc), as I do. If you have never made parathas, but you are good at rolling out fondants, cookie dough or pizza dough, then be confident, you can easily make these. Many Indian mothers love to pack their kids’ lunchboxes with aloo parathas because these are soft and being rich in carbohydrates, these make a good lunchbox option for active kids.

This should be the texture of the dough for Aloo paratha: smooth, moist, yet non-sticky.

Aloo parathas are actually North-Indian in origin, but now these are made across India. Depending on the location, people in each state sometimes might like to adopt a slightly different combination of spices, adjusting to the local taste. For example, one of my South-Indian friends loves to add a little sambhar masala to the stuffing, as sambhar is very popular in the South and they are used to the flavour of that particular spice mix. Similarly, a Bengali (East-Indian) might love adding their spice mix called bhaja mashla, instead of the usual Punjabi garam masala powder. The outcome is always scrumptious: you can go ahead and add your Italian oregano seasoning and grated cheese instead of the spices and still you will get a magical Indo-Western fusion twist. Sounds exciting? Let’s make it! The recipe is the actual North-Indian authentic way of making these parathas.

Aloo paratha (mashed-potato-stuffed Indian flatbreads)

Ingredients for the paratha dough:

Whole-wheat flour: 3 cups
Salt: ¼ tsp
Warm water: to knead
Warm oil: 1.5 tbsp
Oil for shallow frying: 1.5 tbsp for each paratha

The mashed potatoes are mixed with other ingredients and spices to form the Aloo paratha stuffing.

Ingredients for the potato stuffing:

Boiled and mashed potatoes (medium-sized): 6
Purple onion (finely chopped): ½ cup
Green chillies (finely chopped): 4
Turmeric powder: ¼ tsp
Salt: ¾ tsp (may vary)
Punjabi garam masala powder: ½ tsp
Amchoor powder (dried mango powder): ¼ tsp (optional)
Cumin seeds: ¼ tsp
Carom seeds (ajwain): ¼ tsp
Cumin powder: ½ tsp
Coriander leaves (finely chopped): 3 tbsp
Oil: 2 tbsp

Method:

Make the paratha dough first by combining the first four ingredients, adding water to bind the dough and kneading for 10 min. We need a soft, moist, but non-sticky dough for making the parathas. This is called the atta dough.

Let’s make the potato stuffing now. Mash the potatoes with hand, as finely as you can. Add all the other ingredients and knead again, so that the ingredients are distributed almost uniformly. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadhai or wok and add this potato mixture and sauté for just 2 min, so that the raw taste of the spices goes away. Remove and set aside.

The stuffing is just cooked for two minutes, so that the raw spices don't smell "raw" in the paratha/

Make a ball from the atta dough, almost three-fourth of the size of your computer mouse. Dust the rolling surface with wheat flour and roll this ball into a palm-sized circle. Add the potato stuffing at the centre, flattening in slightly.

Seal the flattened dough, with the potato stuffing inside, as shown stepwise.

Flip the ball and place the smooth side up on the rolling surface. Dust this ball with wheat flour and slowly roll the ball, taking care to avoid applying too much pressure, which will tear the paratha. A slight tear here and there is okay if the stuffing is still intact inside. The trick is to dust the paratha on both sides and roll both the sides, as you make it bigger.

Heat a pan or a tava. Add 1.5 tbsp of oil (you can also add ghee or butter instead of oil, for an enhanced taste), spreading it across the whole pan. When the oil becomes hot, carefully slide in the paratha. The flame should be medium throughout.

After 2-3 min, flip and cook the other side, until well-cooked. Remove on an absorbent paper and serve hot with a little butter on each of these. I enjoy it with my favourite green-mango pickle.

The paratha is now getting cooked. I had flipped the top side down later, as the sides had to get cooked more (as you can see in this picture). These parathas are thick, so you have to press the parathas down slightly while cooking in the pan, so as to ensure these to be fully cooked from inside as well as outside. Flip occassionally.

(Loved the recipe? Do have a look at my other paratha recipes here. )

Tomato-Paneer Curry (Without Onion and Garlic)

2013-01-01T10:23:00.002-08:00

Tomato-paneer curry without onion and garlic

A very happy new year to all my readers! Hope the year brings you good luck, good health and good taste. I am sorry for keeping you waiting for this post. Let me tell you all that we have shifted our base from Hong Kong to my own motherland: India. We are living in Mumbai now, which is not only the financial capital of India, but also an amalgam of different cultures across India. I am lucky that now I will have a chance to bring to your palate some of the tastiest Maharashtrian, Gujrati and Goanese dishes with detailed recipes, so that anyone, anywhere across the world can try these. I will also continue to put up other Asian and Continental dishes from time to time.

Mumbai sandwich: A popular street food in Mumbai

Hong Kong was truly memorable for me as my blog Cosmopolitan Currymania was born there and I truly enjoyed experimenting with different Asian food ingredients there. And now, my tastebuds are relishing authentic desi food here, with fresh ingredients. Street food is amazing here. I can’t stop myself eating these Mumbai sandwiches at a stall in Ville Parle.

Mumbai vada pav: another street food to die for.

Mumbai vada pav is worth a try for all the foodies visiting here. This stall is one of the vada pav stalls in Ville Parle and they make mouth-watering vada pavs, with just the right blend of sweet, sour and hot flavours for that “kick” to your tastebuds. Highly recommended!

So what did I cook in the new year? Well, it was on a Tuesday: the day when my family, due to some religious reasons, eats strict vegetarian food. Tuesday cooking at my home excludes the use of onion and garlic. But it is new year after all. So I made some parathas, potato-cauliflower curry, green mango chutney and my special paneer (Indian cottage cheese) curry: all made without using onion and garlic.

Tomato-paneer curry (without onion and garlic)

[Homemade paneer-curry powder is made by roasting cumin seeds, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, dry ginger, dry chillies and cinnamon sticks in equal quantities and grinding them together to a fine powder.]

Paneer cubes (fresh)

Ingredients:

Ripe tomatoes (medium-sized): 3
Fresh or frozen paneer (cut into cubes): 600 g
Potatoes (medium-sized, cubed): 2
Ginger paste (unsalted, homemade): 1.5 tbsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Star anise: 1
Cumin seeds: ½ tsp
Cinnamon sticks (one-inch): 2
Green cardamoms: 4
Cloves: 5
Green chillies (slit): 5
Homemade paneer-curry powder: 1 tbsp
Coconut milk: ½ cup
Salt: according to taste
Sugar: ¼ tsp
Light oil: ½ cup
Coriander leaves (chopped) 1.5 tbsp
Water: 1.5 cups

Spices used: clockwise from right are cinnamon sticks, cloves, homemade paneer-curry powder, turmeric powder, star anise and green cardamoms. Centre: cumin seeds.

Method:
Make a smooth paste of the tomatoes and ginger in the food processor. Shallow-fry the potato cubes with a little salt until these are breakable with the back of a kitchen spoon and the colour turns light brown as well. Take the cubes out and keep aside.

Shallow-fry the paneer cubes, sprinkling a little salt, till these just turn light brown. Plunge them in a bowl of water. This is done so that the paneer becomes very soft and juicy. Also, by doing so, the paneer cubes will not absorb the water in the gravy totally and turn the gravy absolutely dry.

Paneer cubes are plunged into water after frying to keep these juicy.

Heat oil and let it smoke. Add the star anise, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon sticks and green cardamoms. As these just start sputtering, add the tomato-ginger paste and sauté for 5 min. Add the turmeric powder and the homemade paneer-curry powder dissolved in a little water. Sauté continuously till oil separates. Add salt and sugar. Sauté for 1 min.

Add the fried paneer cubes, chillies and the fried potatoes. Simmer the gas and cook this for 7 min, ensuring that the paste is smeared all over the paneer cubes and potatoes.

Add the sugar and coconut milk as well. Cook for 5 min. Pour in the water and cook for 10 min, lid on.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

A short break

2012-10-11T19:26:00.004-07:00

Friends, as you can guess, I am on a short break right now. A lot of new and exciting things are happening in my life, and I will reveal all these in my next post. Cosmopolitan Currymania will see a little change, so keep tuned!

Till then, please be patient and do keep visiting Cosmopolitan Currymania. Also, please feel free to send your feedback to me. Thank you for stopping by!

Kakrar Jhaal (Bengali Crab Curry)

2012-08-13T19:40:00.000-07:00

To those who are not very familiar with Indian cuisine, let me tell you that in India, many prefer to eat vegetables, rather than fish (or even meat or egg), on a regular basis. A huge percentage of Indians are vegetarians or shuddha shakahari. But, I am from West Bengal (Kolkata): the part of India where fish is a celebrity and forms an integral part of the food culture. There is a popular saying in India, “Agar macchi pakana ho, toh bangali se seekho!”, which means, “If you want to cook Indian-style fish, learn it from a Bengali!” There are many fish recipes in Kolkata households, which have been passed down from generation to generation and till today, these recipes are extremely popular. Kakrar jhaal is such a Bengali recipe. I am proud to share with you such heirloom Bengali recipe, just fit for special weekend lunches, parties and special occasions!

The crabs must be very fresh. The shells must be cracked (as shown) and the crabs are broken in this manner, with the body and legs separated, for any Bengali-style crab curry.

Crabs are so fresh and have such variety in Hong Kong that you will not resist yourself from such delicious seafood. I mostly prefer crabs cooked in Indian style (Bengali, to be precise), cooked with a careful balance of spices. This Indian crab curry is from West Bengal, where fish is a part of the everyday meal.

Kakrar jhaal (Bengali crab curry)

Ingredients:

Fresh crabs: 2

Bay leaves: 2

Whole cinnamon: 1 (one-inch stick)

Whole cloves: 4

Whole peppercorns: 6

Whole green cardamoms: 3

Whole cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Onions (finely julienned): ½

Onion paste: 2 tbsp

Garlic paste: 1 tsp

Ginger paste: 1 tsp

Tomatoes (finely chopped): 1 cup

Turmeric powder: ½ tsp

Whole chillies (slit): 4

Salt

Oil

Water

Method:

Wash the crabs thoroughly under running water. Plunge them into boiling salt-water. Boil for 5 min. Remove the crabs and reserve the soup.

In a wok, add oil and let it reach the smoking point. Now add the whole spices. Wait till the cumin seeds turn brown.

Spices used for kakrar jhaal

Add the whole onions and garlic and sauté, till the onions become brown and crisp. Add the onion paste now and continue to sauté for 5 min. Add the ginger paste, turmeric powder and salt. Add the chillies. After 2 min, add tomatoes. Stir and cover, stirring occasionally, till the tomatoes become mushy.

Add the crabs and sauté for 7 more min, until the mixture coats the crabs well.

Add some crab soup (about 1 cup) and check the seasoning. Bring this to a boil and then simmer for 7 min. Serve with steamed rice.

Also try this: Indian Crab Curry

Bengali Omlette Curry

2012-08-06T07:06:00.001-07:00

[This article was originally published in Zomppa, the International food magazine with a social cause.]

There are a number of Indian recipes which never find their way to the restaurant menu. Omlette curry is one of them. This is a very easy dish and it can be cooked in a jiffy. When the omlette boils in the gravy, it swells up a little, absorbs the flavours of the gravy and becomes soft and juicy. This curry is made in different ways in different parts of India. I am sharing this recipe from West Bengal (Kolkata), where it is called dimer jhol, and is cooked in a simple way. The gravy is always less in this dish, for a concentrated and culminated taste arising from carefully chosen spices mixed with omlette’s own flavour and aroma.

There is one interesting thing about omlette curry. If you have to feed a large number of people and have just half the number of eggs you need to make boiled egg curry, this humble omlette curry would be the answer. For example, if you have just three eggs and you want to make egg curry for six people, mix some besan (gram flour) with the beaten eggs and then make the omlettes. In this way, the omlettes would be denser and bigger and one omlette would easily suffice two.

Bengali omlette curry

[Mustard oil is pungent and Bengalis love to cook with this oil. Once the oil is heated and begins to smoke, the raw smell goes away, leaving an appetizing aroma behind. However, you can substitute with canola or sunflower oil if mustard oil is not available. ]

Ingredients:

Eggs: 6
Onion paste: 2 tbsp
Green chilli paste: 1 tsp (divided)
Milk: 2 tbsp
Salt: ½ tsp for the omlette and 1 tsp for the gravy
Finely chopped onion: ½ cup
Finely chopped garlic: 1 tbsp
Ginger paste: 1 tsp
Bay leaf: 1
Cinnammon sticks (one-inch each): 2
Cloves: 6
Green cardamoms: 4
Peppercorns: 10–12
Dried red chillies: 2
Coriander powder: 1.5 tsp
Cumin powder: 1 tsp
Turmeric powder: ½ tsp
Yogurt: 2 tbsp
Spring onion greens’ paste: 1.5 tbsp
Mustard oil (or white oil)
Water

Method:

Break the eggs together in a bowl. Add ½ tsp salt and beat well. Add the milk, onion paste and half the green chilli paste and beat once more. Divide into six (or eight) equal parts and shallow-fry each part to make six (or eight) vertically folded omlettes. Keep aside.

Heat oil to the smoking point. Add the bay leaf and dried red chillies. When the chillies darken a bit, add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, green cardamoms and peppercorns. When these start sputtering, add the finely chopped garlic and sauté for 1 min. Add the chopped onions and sauté till the onions are browned and soft.

Add the ginger and sauté for 3 min. Now make a paste by mixing the salt, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders with a little water (roughly 3 tbsp). Add this paste to the pan and keep the flame at medium. Sauté constantly, till the mixture starts leaving oil. Sprinkle some more water and sauté till oil starts leaving from the mixture one more time.

Mix the yogurt, spring onion greens’ paste and the rest of the green chilli paste together in a bowl with around 2 tbsp water. Add this yogurt mixture to the pan now. Sauté for 5 min and then add 3 cups of warm water.

When the gravy starts boiling, slowly insert the omlettes, one at a time.

Cover and simmer for 5 min. Serve with rice or chapattis.

Seafood Soup - Japanese Style

2012-07-30T00:16:00.002-07:00

The Japanese Seafood Soup is inspired by the successful response for my Tonkotsu Ramen Soup. Ever since I made my Tonkotsu Ramen Soup, I have been experimenting with more Japanese recipes. I have tried out Japanese seafood soup few times at restaurants and it's liveliness, warmth and richness of taste inspired me to try it at home. Recently, I bought a pack of readymade miso paste and was finding ways to use it. Based at Hong Kong, I am in luck to grab the freshest seafood in the wet market too: fresh to the extent that the shrimps are swimming lively in the fish tank and the clams in the water are all with closed shells! The day I bought some of these “alive-and-kicking” seafood from the wet market in Tsing Yi, I determined to make this soup on my way back home. Well, it was raining for the past few days here in Hong Kong, although Typhoon Vicente was just over. I seriously needed a hearty seafood soup to warm me up!

I have used two kinds of mushrooms in this soup: shiitake and straw mushrooms. You can use enoki, shimjei or nameko mushrooms as well. The brown-coloured Shiitake mushrooms are my favourite choice while cooking Japanese or Chinese dishes. Not only I love the texture, but I want to include these mushrooms in some way or the other in my weekly family menu plan because of its health benefits. Apart from other good reasons, shiitake is considered beneficial for health because of its ability to reduce bad cholesterol in the body.

I have also added some shoga (fresh ginger) juice to my soup to reduce the strong smell of the clams. In Japanese cooking, fresh ginger root juice is preferred rather than the old, dry ginger.

What is miso?

If you are cooking Japanese, you need to know about two ingredients: shoyu and miso. Shoyu is what is popularly known as soy sauce, although the Japanese version tastes and smells quite different than the Chinese. Miso is a salty, fermented paste. It is made by boiling and crushing soy beans and mixing it with a culture of wheat and rice, barley or beans. The mixture is fermented for as long as three years before it becomes the commercially available “miso paste”. Based upon its intensity in terms of flavour and colour, miso is graded into three groups: shiro-miso (white and light), aka-miso (red and medium) and kuro-miso (black and strong). These kinds of miso are made with rice, barley and soy beans, respectively. It is important to add miso at the end of the cooking to preserve its health benefits, taste and aroma. If you are adding miso paste in a soup, do not add generous amounts, but dissolve a small amount of miso in a little amount of the boiling soup and then mix into the main soup towards the end of cooking.

Japanese seafood soup

Ingredients:

Small clams: 16
Small shrimps (de-veined): 16
Chicken stock: 2 cups
Water: 2 cups
Fresh ginger root juice: 1.5 tsp
Commercial red miso paste: 1.5 tsp
Pak choi (greens): 7
Shiitake mushrooms (chopped lengthwise): 6
Straw mushrooms (chopped lengthwise): 6
Salt: ½ tsp (or according to taste)

Method:

Wash the clams thoroughly under the running water, preferably with a brush, to remove sand and gravel. Discard those whose shells are open.

Boil a mixture of chicken stock and water, along with the salt and fresh ginger root juice. Plunge the clams into the boiling soup and wait for 3 min. After 3 min, all the shells would open up. Discard those clams with un-opened shells. Add the shrimps to the boiling soup and continue boiling for 1 min.

Add the pak choi and the mushrooms and cover the soup for 10 min. At the end of 10 min, take out ½ cup of boiling soup and dissolve the miso paste in this. Add this to the main soup and boil for 2 min on high flame.

Japanese seafood soup is ready!

Steamed Tofu in Dried Shrimp Sauce

2012-07-24T06:34:00.001-07:00

I have one confession to make. Being an Indian, I had always preferred paneer (Indian cottage cheese), rather than experimenting with tofu in my cooking. When I came to Hong Kong around 1.5 years back, I was so surprised to see the local markets full of so many kinds of tofu, but at that time I was quite reluctant to buy something which I never tasted in my lifetime. But one day, my four-year-old son suggested me to buy tofu, and said that he had it in school and really loved the taste. And that was how dau fu (tofu) was introduced in my home. Although taste-wise and texture-wise it is so different than paneer, I appreciate this unique ingredient and now I love to cook dau fu more frequently. Whenever we go to a Chinese restaurant (and we love to), I always order one tofu dish just to get an idea of the ways it is professionally cooked. Now, as the days are passing by, I feel that I am actually getting addicted to it! What I really liked about tofu is its silky smooth texture and of course, the nutritional value. Plus, it is cheap: I can have two blocks of fresh bean curd by paying just HKD 7. Now how cool is that!

Steamed tofu

Fresh bean curd is called dau fu by the Chinese and tofu by the rest. Initially, I was quite intrigued to see how tofu is appreciated here locally. Whenever I visited the local wet market, I saw that every third person is carrying two ingredients for sure: fresh bean curd and spring onion leaves! Here, tofu is sold compressed into square cakes, around 3 inches in length and breadth and height, respectively. Made from soybean milk, fresh bean curd or tofu is a boon for the Vegans and the lactose-intolerant.

Hong Kong boasts of a number of dau fu (tofu) dishes. Bean curd, although tasteless in itself, has an ability to absorb flavours of the sauce or the ingredients it is cooked with. Steaming is one of the most common ways to eat dau fu the Chinese way. Sometimes, it is cooked with ground meat (pork or beaf) and sometimes it is cooked with vegetables such as water spinach, string beans, etc. Hong Kong is a place where seafood is abundant, so shrimps (fresh or dried) are often added to tofu for an enhanced taste. This recipe uses the smallest, white dried shrimps, which I picked up from a dried fish stall at Cheung Chau. The sauce was so tasty that I used the extra sauce to cook fried rice with Chinese brown mushrooms and it was indeed very good as well!

Steamed tofu in dried shrimp sauce

[Traditionally, a medium-sized block of whole tofu is used for this recipe. However, you can cut the tofu into big pieces after steaming it, which makes the serving easier.]

Ingredients:
Fresh tofu: 2 cakes
Dried shrimps (small): ¼ cup
Oyster sauce: 1 tbsp
Cornstarch: 1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce: 1.5 tsp
Sugar: 1 tsp
Vegetable stock (without salt): ½ cup
Spring onion greens: ¼ cup (plus extra for garnishing)
Peanut oil: 2 tsp

Method:

Steam the tofu for 10 min. Combine oyster sauce, cornstarch, dark soy sauce, sugar and vegetable stock in a bowl.

Frying dried shrimps

Adding spring onion greens to the fried shrimps

Heat a wok over high heat and add the peanut oil. When it smokes, add the dried shrimps and stir-fry for 2 min. Add the spring onion greens and stir-fry for 1 min.

Adding the sauce into the wok and stirring continuously till the sauce turns thicker

Add the sauce mixture and stir continuously over medium flame, until the sauce turns thicker and glossy.

The sauce is now thick and glossy and the flavour of dried shrimps is well incorporated

Pour this sauce over the whole bean curds and garnish with chopped spring onion greens.