Comfort Food - Khichdi

There are some foods that you always associate with being simple and  home cooked. The humble khichdi may not make it to the menu of a gourmet restaurant (yet!), does remain fairly popular across different Indian cuisines. Most versions involve cooking rice to a soggy consistency, but this one, the hyderabadi style retains the grains intact and can be eaten on any day regardless of the condition of the stomach!

Ingredients
150 gms rice
20 grams masoor dal
Around 3 cups of water
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 an onion
1/2 inch cinnamon
1 cardamom
1 table spoon oil
Salt to taste
a few sprigs of cilantro leaves

Method
Wash and soak the rice and dal separately for about 15 mins.
Heat oil in a thick bottomed vessel and fry the onions to translucent.
Drain the water off the dal and add to the onions. fry for about a minute.
Add turmeric, cardamom and cinnamon and mix for about half a minute.
Add the drained rice and water; sprinkle salt let in cook with the lid closed for 10 mins
One the grains are about 80 % cooked, check to see if a sprinkle of water in required. Add cilantro and let is cook for about 5-7 mins.

Serve hot with til ki chutney ( will do a post on it), tamatar ki chutney or kheema.

El Tablao - When spain said hello to Bangalore

At first there was a vinyl flyer announcing 'opening shortly - el tablao' and in a few months stood many more announcements of operation; I would glance at it everyday on my way to work conjuring up images of delectable spanish delicacies served my way. A few weeks later when husband and I found ourselves contemplating choices for a quiet sunday night dinner - el tablao it was.

As I entered the restaurant, I felt a sense of warmth that is characteristic of all things Spanish. The decor was eclectic with spanish themes spashed all over. The USP of the place was of course their Tapas. Tapas are small sized potions of appetizers and snacks that are essential to spanish cuisine. We ordered about 4 such potions veggie, seafood and chicken and we are not disappointed. The flavors were unique and the combination well chosen. My top picks from the menu were -Gambas al ajilo, which was shrimp in chilli garlic oil and Alitas de pollo, which was grilled chicken served with rice.

The experience was definitely different and the food was refreshingly unique with no major ugly surprises. It was such a pity that the place had few takers even on a weekend considering that Bangaloreans are first to lap up any new cuisine, maybe we like our food big !

Overall, please try out if you need a break from the usual cuisine offerings.

Restaurant review - Elements Eatery

Mosque road in Frazer town is a foodie's delight. If you are a serious non vegetarian this street will not disappoint you. Kabab places, biryani joints, a customary Empire restaurant, small chai and samosa shops, a great shawarma place (a separate post on that in the future) and some set ups serving authentic 'muslim dishes' such as paya and kheeme ki roti. In the midst of the busy road and the strong aroma of grilled meat stands Elements eatery. The word "eatery" almost trivializes the scale of things that take you by surprise as you enter the place. Designed as a middle eastern villa the restaurant is subtly opulent yet homelike warm. 

The concept is similar to open grill cooking seen in many other cuisines, the table is essentially a rectangle with the grill in the center and two chefs serving up a delectable fare. One such table can accommodate up to 15 people so this is ideal for a big group, else you can hope to make some friends over a shared eating space and sumptuous meats.
The beginning of the meal was with  a coconut lime juice that was excellent and so was the mutton soup. The kababs are beautifully flavored and made from all the meat types – mutton, chicken, fish and prawn. This is a true non-veg heaven but quite disappointing for the veggies.The salads and sides can also be given a miss.

The staff is courteous and the service great, I mean they are literally standing in front of you the whole time.

Highly recommended for a family dinner.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

I came across this amazing blog, full of great low cal recipes. I had some stewed strawberries and some grape extract which got me craving for some pancakes. Gina had the perfect answer in the form of this recipe. Here goes the recipe after a few modifications by me 

Ingedients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 cup slim milk
• 4 regular egg whites
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp sugar or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Pam spray ( can use regular oil in asmall teaspoon)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add wet ingredients to to it and mix well with a spoon until there are no dry spots. Don't over-mix.

Heat a large skillet on medium heat. Spray oil to lightly coat and pour 1/4 cup of pancake batter. When the bubbles settle and the edges begin to set, flip the pancakes. Repeat with the remainder of the batter.

Serve warm with stewed fruit, maple syrup or honey

Prawn Biryani

I decided to give my husband a surprise a few days back by cooking one of his favorite dishes. Wanting to make something authentic, something reminiscent of the taste he grew up with I decided to go with – Prawn biryani. I had recently laid my hands on a traditional cutchi memon cook book by Hajira Mohammad and was waiting to try one of the recipes from there. I made a few modifications to the book’s version with inputs from my mother in law, so about 85% of the following recipes is Hajira’s. The result was quite spectacular, husband enjoyed it thoroughly and a new recipe made its way into my bank.

Will keep posting more recipes from the book.

Ingredients

For masala

1 kg Prawns
1 cup Oil
4 large onions
1 1/2 tbsp Ginger paste
1 1/2 tbsp garlic paste
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tbsp salt
3 large tomatoes roasted , skinned and pureed
1 tbsp fresh coconut paste

Grind to paste

5 green chillies
1 cup coriander leaves chopped
2 tbsp water

Rice

1 kg basmati rice
8 mint leaves
4 tbsp sea salt


For layering

Juice of 2 limes
1 tsp saffron strands soaked in milk

Method

·         Shell and de-vein the prawns. Marinate the same in 4table spoon lemon juice

·         Wash and soak the rice for 30 mins 

·         Fry the onions in a heavy bottomed pan till golden broown ( the edges should start getting crispy)

·         Add ginger and garlic and fry well for about 15 mins . Sprinkle water if required

·         Add all the spice powders, spice paste and salt and fry for about 10 mins

·         Pour in the tomato puree and cook till raw smell is gone

·         Meanwhile prebiol the prawns in 3 cups water for about 3 mins

·         Add the prebioled prawns to the gravy and stir in for 3 mins

·         Add the coconut and continue stirring till the gravy just about begins leaving oil on the side.

·         Boil the rice with sea salt and mint leavestill its about 85-90 % done. Drain the watyer and start assembly

Assembly

·         Place a flat skillet (tava) on the stove

·         Place a large vessel on top of it and start layering the rice

·         Spread  half the  rice in the vessel

·         Add a layer of prawn gravy and then spread the rest of the rice (Sandwiching the prawns between two layers of rice)

·         Sprinkle some cilantro, drizzle the rest of the lime juice and the saffron milk.

·         Cook on high for 5 mins and for medium for 15 mins

Orange Tart

I had a tin of preserved mandarin oranges lying in my kitchen for months, so one weekend when I felt like baking a light and fruity dessert I searched for a good tart recipe and finally decided to modify a few to get to this one. The tart was light and had a great citrusy punch, next time around I would probably modify the recipe to make sure the curd filling is not as runny as it was.

Ingredients

Orange curd 

Juice from firm oranges - 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice - 1/3 cup
Egg yolk - from 6 large eggs
Whole Eggs -2 large
Sugar - 1 cup
Orange zest -2 table spoon
Butter- cold,cut into small squares - 1/2 cup

Crust
All purpose flour (Maida)- 1 cup
Powdered Sugar - 2 tbl spoon
Salt -1/4 tsp
Unsalted butter -1/2 cup
Whipping cream/ fresh cream -2 table spoons
 Egg yolk -1 large

Decoration 
Orange Juice
Canned orange segments
Strawberry
Chilled fresh cream


Whisk the eggs and egg yolks for 2-3 minutes, add the rest of sugar, orange juice, lemon juice and zest and continue for another minute. Set up a double boiler by placing a vessel filled with water on the stove and let in reach boiling point, place a smaller steel vessel into the bath.
Add the butter, blend and pour into the smaller steel vessel. Constantly whisk the mixture for about 10 min or till it thickens. Remove from the bath and leave it to cool. After it reaches room temperature cover it with clingwrap and place it into the freezer for an hour or the fridge if longer.

For the crust

Pre heat oven to 185'C. Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor (this can be done by hand as well). Add butter and cut in, using on/off turns, until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add cream and egg yolk and process until dough clumps together. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Roll out dough on floured surface to 13-inch round.

Grease a 10 inch tart dish with butter and line the dough, cut the sides out neatly and pierce the surface with a fork all over.
Place the dish  in the hot oven. Bake crust until cooked through, about 30 minutes. Cool crust completely in pan on rack.

Sprinkle orange juice on the crust to soften and pour in the curd. Decorate with strawberries,oranges and cream / icing.

Chill for minimum an hour before serving.

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 !