Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients
1.5 cup All purpose flour (maida)
3/4th cup Powdered sugar
1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Baking powder
1/3 cup Oil
1 Egg
1/3 cup Milk
Blueberries can or fresh, you can substitute with cranberry
A few drops Vanilla essence

Method

Preheat the oven to 200'C

Mix all the wet ingredients in a large bowl

In another bowl mix in the dry ingredients (you can sieve them if you want)

Add the wet mixture gently to the dry and fold in . There is no need to use a blender or a mixer. Simply use a spatula.

Leave the mixture for 10 mins. Meanwhile prepare you muffin tin, you can use a paper liner or just use vegetable oil to grease

Add the batter to the muffin cups next, I used a table spoon. First pour enough mixture to fill little less than half of the cup, next add the berry sauce or a few fresh berries.
Next add more batter to fill the cup till the brim( this will result in the muffins spilling out upon baking giving the characteristic shape). If using fresh berries add some more on the top and let them just sink a bit before transferring to a baking pan.

Bake for 15-20 mins in the oven (this time may very , just observe the muffins as they bake, pierce a toothpick to make sure its done.

Cool on a rack and serve !

Chargrilled Broccoli with Chilli and Garlic

Posting on this blog after ages, but I've decided to restart food blogging after I realized how much I enjoy it. It takes some effort to document , picture and then actually post your cooking but I guess its worth doing coz a) it gives me a chance to indulge in cooking which I love b) lets me experiment with another one of my hobby - photography.

With out further ado my newest fav dish - Chargrilled Broccoli with Chilli and Garlic
I got the recipe from gourmet traveller which in turn if from adapted from the Ottolenghi cookbook.
Ingredients
1 medium broccoli
olive oil
7-8 small garlic cloves, thinly sliced
4 green chillies red chillies/jalepenos, thinly sliced
coarse sea salt
black pepper

Separate the brocolli into florets and blanch in boiling water for 2 minutes – don’t be tempted to cook longer! Remove immediately to a bowl of ice water, then drain and leave to dry completely.

To chargrill the broccolli I used a thick bottom anodized pan, Take olive oil in the pan and let it warm for a minute , toss in the dried broccolli into it and let it grill. Do not cover the dish as it will not be crunchy.

If required do this in batches so that it does not become soggy. It took me about 5 mins per batch to char grill this to medium.

While the broccoli is cooking, place some more oil in a small saucepan together with the garlic and chillies and cook on a medium heat until the garlic begins to turn golden brown. Be careful not to let the garlic and chilli burn – they will continue cooking in the hot oil even when off heat.

Pour the garlic and chilli oil over the hot broccoli and toss well. Season to taste and serve immediately or at room temperature

I served it with a tasty readymade tzatziki sauce.

I'm gonna be back

Watch this space !!

Coconut chutney

Remember the dosas in India? the expert cook making crisp pancakes in the svelte ring heat of a udipi restaurant kitchen, bowls full of sambhar to dip dosas and eat like a soup when the dosa's no more, the spicy yet bland coconut chutney that proves to be the best accompanist to the mashed and spiced potatoes.
I'm not great at making dosas from scratch but can use a mix at its best, same goes for sambhar but chutney is a different ball game. So here goes a recipe for a simple coconut chutney south Indian style.



Ingredients

Chutney
1 cup coconut ( you can use fresh coconut and grate it or unsweetened dry flakes, try and avoid frozen)
6-8 serrano / indian chillies
1 tiny red onion or shallot
1/3 cup coriander and mint chopped)
1 tablespoon coconut milk or yogurt
1/4 cup of tamarind extract ( imlee or tamarind soaked in water)
¼ tsp of salt
Salt to taste


Baghar,tadka,tempering

1 tsp each of mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, fresh curry leaves and few pieces of dried red chilli.


Method

Take all the ingredients under chutney and in a grinder and coarsely grind.

Taste and adjust spice level according to your taste

Take a small pan or kadhai heat two tablespoons of oil

Add the ingredients under tadka into the oil

Let them fry till dark, add to the chutney

Serve with dosa , idly ,upma , anything !

Chatpate Chicken kabab

This is a very simple dish that goes well as a snack as well in sandwiches. Its chicken kabab with a lot of sweet and sour masale. It does not require a lot of oil so I basically just added a few drops of oil and a good non stick pan to cook. Also its super quick to make.

Ingredients
1 pound minced chicken
1 tbl spoon chaat masala
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tblspoon lemon zest
2 tsp amchur (dry mango)
2 tsp anardana powder (pomegranate seeds powder)
4 Green chillies chopped finely
salt to taste
oil for frying




The kneaded chicken



The kababs after frying

Method
1 In a big mixing bowl mix all the ingredients except for oil
2 Mix it well to make a uniform 'dough'
3 Make out small kababs in your desired shape
4 Heat a flat non stick pan to high
5 Reduce the heat to medium and add a few drops of oil
6 Lightly fry your kababs in the oil
7 Serve hot

Gobi Manchurian

I got a few requests for desi Chinese dishes. So here goes the first of the dishes. Please pardon my lack of pictures, I made this for a friend's dinner and was running late to click any pics.

1/2 pound frozen cauliflower florets
1 cup corn flour
5 Green serrano chillies
4-5 pods of garlic crushed
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 table spoon any hot sauce
1 teaspoon redchilli powder
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Oil for frying


Preparation
1) Thaw and pat dry the gobi with paper towel
2) Heat oil in a kadai/ deep pan/wok
3) Take cornflour add salt , pepper and red chilli powder
4) Mix with water to make a streaming consistency batter
5) Add cauliflower in batches and deep fry
6) In the same wok using about 1 tablespoon oil fry , chopped chillies , add crushed garlic shallow fry till done .
7) Add the fried gobi
8) Add soy sauce and hot sauce
9) Adjust the spices and serve hot

Frittata

Frittata is a finger licking good breakfast dish that won't make you slog till lunch time. Very simply put its a baked omelet ! I used mainly bell peppers,mushrooms and herbs to make this but you can practically anything potatoes, sausages, spinach or chicken.



Ingredients
4 eggs
3 tablespoon milk
butter for greasing
1/2 a bell pepper chopped into small cubes
1 tomato diced
1 cup mushroom (Any kind) chopped
2-4 serrano chillies slit
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 pinch oregano
2 springs thyme
1/4 cup chopped parsley + cilantro
(Any herb that you want to add)
A sprinkle of parmesan cheese



Method
1) Pre heat you oven ot 350 F
2) In a suitable dish whisk the eggs, add milk , salt pepper and all the herbs (parsley , cilantro,oregano, thyme )
3) OPTIONAL - you can lightly saute the vegetables in a pan if you are not a raw veggies person
4) Add all the vegetables ( bell pepper,tomato, mushroom and serrano chillies ),and mix in.
5) In a (preferably round) baking dish, apply liberal greasing of butter
6) Add the egg mixture
7) Place it in the middle rack of the oven, let it cook for 5-7 minutes
8) Add the sprinkle of cheese ( if done earlier the cheese sinks )
9) Bake for an additional 8-10 mins
10) Remove, cool for 3-4 mins and cut out wedges to serve

So enjoy your next brunch with a hearty frittata !

White bread

Yipee this is my first bread !!! yes an actual bread that you make sandwich from .I got the recipe from the this website and here is the modified version. The bread turned out pretty decent for a first time albeit a little bland but who cares the doors of bread baking are open!!!

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups water (105-115 F)
* 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 7 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon salt
* 1/4-1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

Directions

1.Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a bowl and mix with yeast and sugar til foamy.
2.Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy.
3.Put the yeast mixture, rest of the water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour into the mixer with the dough hook.
4.Mix slowly until blended then add the rest of the flour.
5. Add salt and mix at medium speed for 10 minutes (or do half in mixer and half kneading) til dough is smooth and elastic. ( you can do all this by hand too
6. Back in mixer add butter 1 tbsp at a time (dough may come apart, but mixing will pull it back together).
8Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball then place in a large buttered or oiled bowl.
7.Turn dough so it is completely coated in the fat, then cover in plastic for 45 minutes to an hour (I did an hour and half), til it has doubled in size at room temperature.
8. Roll out into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.
9.With the short end facing you, fold the dough into thirds like a sheet of paper to go into an envelope, creating a roll.Place on a aluminum foil sheet.
10.Cover the loaves with buttered plastic wrap and allow to rise again in a warm place (80°F) for 45 minutes, until they double in size.
11.Preheat the oven to 375°F and put the rack in the center of the oven.
12.Bake for 35-45 minutes til they are honey brown.
13.Immediately turn out of pans onto a rack to cool.

Aloo sabzi with kalonji

INGREDIENTS :
Potatoes - 500 gm.
Nigella seeds - a pinch.
Green chilies - 6 gm.
Sugar - 4 gm.
Poppy seeds - 20 gm.
(heaped)
Oil - 30 ml.
Ghee - 25 gm.
Red chili powder - 5 gm.
Salt to taste.
METHOD :
Heat oil and add nigella seeds. Add diced potatoes and fry lightly for 10 mins. Grind poppy seeds with a little water and add to the potatoes. Cover with lid, stirring occasionally and adding 2 tbspn. of water. When water dries and potatoes are done, add green chilies, sugar, salt and red chilly powder. Top with ghee and allow to cook for one minute. Serve hot with rice.

Happy Earth Day

Yesterday was world earth day. Over the past years 'saving our planet' and 'going green' has gained prominence but beyond the big words and fancy jargon is a simple concept of using your share of the earth. This link contains the bigger picture the ugly turn of events perpetuated by us, the dwellers of planet earth.

But question is how can we help, what can we do and how will it help ? Most people associate being environmentally friendly with fancy organic products at exclusive markets or high priced green products, but the problem can be tackled at an even more basic level than that. Take a look at this you tube video which simply demonstrates little changes we can make and also see what Oprah has to say on this.

Here are a few on my suggestions for being kind to the environment.

1) Use a tap fitted water filter, its so much better and cheaper than buying water jars at the grocery store. Trust me its really worth it, the cost and convenience aside the water is safe pure and available to you as desired.

2) Recycle plastic,metal,paper,fiber,cloth and anything reusable. Recycle jam and sauce jars to store spices, grocery bags to throw out trash, old worn out fabrics to wipe surfaces, aluminum foil can be used more than once, the list is endless.

3) Plan your grocery shopping is such a way that you don't end up wasting food. Have a good idea about your consumption to buy and cook only as much as you consume.

4) Do away with the extras while eating out, share meals to avoid wastage, do away with accompaniments that you never eat ( like sticky rice in a Chinese restaurant). Use your disposable crockery with discretion ,you don't need 5 sets of plastic spoons for two people and why bother take those chopsticks when you are never going ot use them.

5) While doing laundry try to do a full load and try to be judicious with what goes for laundry (that scarf you wore for 2 hours need not be washed).

These are just a few of the little changes in our lifestyles that can go a long way in creating a better planet for tomorrow.We have been using up more than our share of resources so its time now to give back to the environment.