Feb 03

Pan Seared Chicken in a Drunken Fig Sauce

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I am part of a group of like minded foodies who interact on a daily basis about all things Food. Recently we decided to challenge ourselves by working on a common ingredient and presenting different dishes with it. With Valentine fast approaching, we agreed on an ingredient that is considered an aphrodisiac too. FIGS.

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Figs, whose leaves became clothing in the biblical story of Adam and Eve are the ultimate paradox in sensual food; their many seeds represent fertility while their leaves are associated with modesty. Curvy temptress Cleopatra loved figs and when she decided to take her own life they were a part of her last luxurious meal. Also she had the cobra that she used to poison herself sent to her hidden in a basket of figs. The erotically shaped fig has been associated with sexuality in almost every culture. In Ancient Greece, where they were believed to be a symbol of love, the arrival of a new fig crop elicited a copulatory ritual. Figs have been believed to increase fertility since ancient times, and now we have scientific evidence. Figs contain a lot of iron and are filled with antioxidants, flavonoids, fiber and potassium, which are important for healthy eggs and ovulation.

A romantic meal that presents as a wonderful gourmet dish, perfect for date night. Here I have used dried figs in the sauce and served the chicken on a bed of wilted garlic spinach, smoked portobellos and mashed potatoes.

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FIG SAUCE

3/4 cup chopped dried figs

1 cup cognac

1 chopped onion

1 cup chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1″ cinnamon

2 sprigs thyme

4 chopped garlic

3 tsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp maida

Pinch of salt

CHICKEN

6 pcs chicken

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

salt

1 tsp paprika powder

olive oil

1) soak the figs in cognac overnight. Add the bay leaf and cinnamon.

2) marinate the chicken for 2 hrs in all ingredients mentioned under chicken.

3) Add oil in the pan and when its hot add the chicken. Sear on high on both sides for a couple of minutes till you get a good colour. Lower gas and cover and cook till chicken is nearly ready. Remove the pieces and keep aside

4) in the same pan, with the leftover oil, add the onions and garlic and sauté them

5) when pink, add the maida and mix well. Add the stock. bring to a boil and simmer for 3-4 mins.

6) add the soaked figs and 2 tbsp of the cognac and cook till it become tender. If the sauce is drying out add little more stock/water

7) add the salt, balsamic vinegar and thyme. Cook for a minute. Shut gas and let it cool

8) Strain the sauce and keep aside

9) at the time of serving, add some leftover cognac to the same pan in which the sauce was cooked. Deglazed it and then add the chicken and few tbsp of the fig sauce. Gave it a good mix and shut the gas when the chicken is well coated in the sauce.

WILTED GARLIC SPINACH

1 bunch cut spinach

5 sliced garlic

salt

oliveoil/butter

1) heat oil/butter in a pan, add the garlic and let it become lightly golden.

2) add the spinach and cook till wilted and the rawness goes out. Dry out excess water

3) Season with salt and pepper

MASH POTATOES

5 boiled potatoes

1-2 tbsp melted butter

2 tbsp hot milk

salt

1) Mash the potatoes and pass it through a sieve to remove lumps

2) mix everything else and season well

SMOKED PORTOBELLOS

10 portobello mushrooms

2 tbsp spiced garlic butter (readymade or butter mixed with minced garlic, hebs and chilli flakes)

3 cheese cubes

olive oil

1) Rub olive oil on the mushrooms. stick a fork and char over the gas till emits aroma

2) remove the stalks and stuff the caps with spiced garlic butter

3) microwave for 7 mins at 600

4) top with a piece of cheese and microwave again for 1 minute or till cheese melts.

Feb 02

Strawberry Decadence

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14th February changed for us around 9 years ago. From being Valentines Day to being the birth of our daughter. Ever since we rarely celebrate Valentines as the focus is on our daughter Inaya.

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My neighbour recently gifted me a bag of humongous strawberries and was wondering what to do with it. Since I have ventured into food in a big way, thought of making a few romance centric dishes to commemorate Valentines Day.

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The first one is Strawberry Decadence. A mix between strawberry cheesecake and strawberries and cream. A sprinkle of chocolate powder and a sticky sweet kick of marshmallows makes it an interesting dessert. Super easy and apt for the special day.

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Ingredients

!/2 tin condensed milk

1 lime – juiced

1 tsp vanilla essence / !/2 tsp extract

150 gms cream cheese

1/2 pkt thick amul cream

12 big chopped strawberries + 1 for decoration

1 tsp powdered chocolate

4 chopped marshmallows (optional)

1) blend the condensed milk and lime juice well in a mixer

2) add the vanilla extract and strawberries and blend once more

3) Add cream cheese

4) whip the cream (use only the thick part, discard the liquid) in a separate bowl and then fold the strawberry cream cheese mixture into it

5) Pour into glasses or bowls and refrigerate till serving time

6) At serving time, decorate with chocolate powder and a sliced strawberry piece.

Recipe inspired by Ina Parmaan

Jan 30

Rustic almond and chocolate chunk Biscotti

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I enjoy my evening tea and when the clock strikes 5, my senses start craving for a hot cup of tea. Yesterday a virtual friend Sarika Shah pinged me and mentioned that she would be in the vicinity. Now for the uninitiated, I have made many friends  in the virtual land of Facebook. Being a member of various foodie communities, I have got the opportunity to befriend many like minded foodie friends. Have been lucky to meet some of them recently and hoping to meet many more in the near future

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Now a foodie friend deserves something special to welcome her. Couldn’t go elaborate, so decided to attempt a recipe I had saved from Epicurious a while back. Almond and chocolate chunk biscotti. So set to work in the morning, a little nervous, as this was my first attempt. The problem is that my maid has gone AWOL and I have a lot of running around to do. Did all the prep and by the time I got to baking, it was time to pick up my son. Now the biscotti requires 2 bakes. I did the first and unfortunately resorted to some shortcuts as had to run. When I came back and started slicing the logs, it started to disintegrate as it had not cooked enough on the inside. Oh god, nearly was in tears. But no option so I put it in for the second bake. This time I let it cool properly before doing anything further.

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Well the end result is a rustic looking biscotti but super yum. Polished off all the crumbs with an early vanilla and cinnamon tea that I had recently bought from Coorg, sweetened with some leftover caramel glass. Now just waiting for her to come. Hope she likes it.

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Have pasted the recipe from Epicurious for you

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups (350 g) all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup (200 g) sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (155 g) almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

7 ounces (200 g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/2-inch (1.5-cm) chunks

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and the baking powder.

In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla on medium speed until the mixture thickens and holds its shape, about 5 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture, then mix in the almonds and chocolate.

On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half. Using dampened hands, shape each half into a log 3 inches (8 cm) in diameter. Set the logs lengthwise on the prepared baking sheet, evenly spacing them apart. Dampen your hands and smooth the surface of the logs.

Bake, rotating the baking sheet midway through baking, until the logs are lightly browned, about 20 minutes. (They will flatten out during baking.) Remove the baking sheet from the oven and decrease the oven temperature to 300°F (150°C). Let the logs cool on the baking sheet for 10 to 15 minutes.

Transfer the logs to a cutting board. With a serrated bread knife, cut each log diagonally into slices 1/2 inch (1.5 cm) thick. Place the cookies, cut sides up, in a single layer on the baking sheet. (If necessary, use an additional baking sheet.) Bake until the biscotti are firm, about 20 minutes, flipping them midway through baking. Let cool completely; they’ll continue to firm up as they cool.

The biscotti will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

You can substitute 1 1/2 cups (240 g) chocolate chips for the chopped chocolate, if you like, although I prefer the irregularity of chocolate chunks in these cookies.

Jan 28

Mexican Rice

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Long ago, I read this recipe in a magazine. Don’t remember which – Woman’s Era, Caravan. Yeah my mom still subscribes to them. Now this is before I got into cooking. I had the habit of writing recipes in a long note book and saving it for a rainy day.

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A few years back, this rainy day did come and I decided to attempt this dish. Oh My, the Sun was shining suddenly. It had such a wonderful flavour and you really don’t need anything to accompany it. An entrant in most of my party menus and one of my aunts still asks me to make it when she visits.

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Some modifications later, this masala paste is something I make often and freeze. (Shelf life in freezer – about a month) Have no idea how Mexican it really is, but I call it my Mexican red paste. I use it to make rice like i have today. Sometimes I keep it simple and sometimes I add chopped sausages or sautéed chicken or prawns. (In the picture above there is some sautéed chicken in the blue bowl to mix in later)

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I use this paste to cook my chicken which I then stuff in different Mexican dishes like Tacos, Quesadillas, Wraps, etc. I am a capsicum hater, Yes i declared it in public, but this recipe is the only one where  I will allow Capsicum to enter my kitchen. Hope u like it

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Ingredients

1 big red capsicum,

4 tomatoes,

4 dry Kashmiri red chilies (Adjust as per spice preference)

10-15 garlic,

1 sliced onion,

salt,

Olive oil,

1 glass washed and soaked rice,

2 glasses water

1) Chop tomatoes, capsicum, garlic. Big pieces are fine
2) sauté tomatoes, capsicum, garlic and red chillies together in olive oil in high flame. Keep the flame high and keep mixing.
3) the mix needs to char a bit but be careful not to burn it.
4) blend it in a mixer with minimum water. The extra leftover paste, you can freeze if you wish.
5) heat olive oil in a vessel and sauté onions
6) add 3 tbsp of the Mexican paste and washed rice
7) fry it for some time, add salt. (I also add a cube or two of maggi masala/chicken cubes-Optional)
8) add the water and cover the lid. Keep on high flame
8) when it comes to a boil then lower the gas and let it cook for 15 minutes. Shut the gas. Keep it covered for 5 more minutes after shutting the gas.

Jan 28

White Forest Fudge – Version 2

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In my previous post, i told you about the dinner invitation and my plan the white forest fudge. So leisurely made the fudge and set it. Did a photo shoot too. Then decided to give my husband a taste and he declared it was too sweet. My kids took a bite and absolutely adored it. Now I was in a fix. What if my guests didn’t enjoy it because of its sweetness. Oh God, will it be a flop.

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Racked my brains, called up Nidhi (my foodie bestie) and discussed it with her. As usual her advice was right on the mark. Was running super late but had to get this done, quickly opened the Monaco biscuits and blitzed them in the mixer with butter, chopped some walnuts, melted the already set fudge. Phew looks like it can be modidifed in time. Layered the dish with the salted biscuit base, set it in the freezer for half hr, then poured the semi melted fudge on it and topped with chopped walnuts. Set it in the fridge till we we could get ready for the party. Some more setting time at the guests house and finally was ecstatic that everyone loved it at the party.

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When the host said, I wish you had brought some of the original pieces, i just gave my hubby a look. Well alls well that  ends well.

PS – saved some of the original fudge for my brats.

Ingredients

500 gms white chocolate

300 gms condensed milk

1/2 cup dried cranberries

15 oreo biscuits (remove vanilla filling to avoid extra sweetness)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

2 packets of Monaco Biscuit (or any salted biscuit

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1 big tbsp butter

1) line a rectangular bowl with baking paper and grease it. Blitz the Monaco biscuits with butter in a mixer to make a fine powder. Layer the bowl with the biscuit powder and keep in the fridge.

2) In a double boiler (heat water in a vessel, when it boils put a slightly bigger vessel on top of it, the chocolate needs to melt in the top vessel. This is the double boiler method. Water should not come in contact with the top vessel, the chocolate should only cook with the steam of the boiling  water in the bottom vessel)

3) when it melts, add the vanilla extract and salt, mix well. Be careful not to get the chocolate too hot. You can remove from heat if u feel its getting too hot.

4) Add the condensed milk and mix well. It will start to solidify. Work quickly. Add the halved cranberries and quartered oreos. Mix well

5) Pour into the bowl and flatten it out. Top with the chopped walnuts. Let it cool and refridgerate for minimum 2 hrs

6) cut into square and enjoy.

Jan 28

White forest Fudge

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We were recently invited over for dinner to my husband’s office colleagues house. I was keen on taking something with me but couldn’t afford to do anything elaborate. My maid was away at her village and elaborate translates to a lot of prep work and clean up post cooking.

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An easy dessert, that uses minimal ingredients but still is delicious and presents well is Fudge. There are so many variations you can experiment once you have the basic concept of fudge at hand. I had made dark chocolate and nuts fudge twice before and decided to try the white chocolate that I had picked up from my recent visit to Coorg. A packet of dried cranberries and the ever present Oreo biscuits were calling out to me from the pantry. Put them together and made a delicious fudge. It comes with a warning, that it tends to be quite sweet but a guaranteed super hit with the kids.

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Ingredients

500 gms white chocolate

300 gms condensed milk

1/2 cup dried cranberries

15 oreo biscuits (remove vanilla filling to avoid extra sweetness)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

1) line a rectangular bowl with baking paper and grease it.

2) In a double boiler (heat water in a vessel, when it boils put a slightly bigger vessel on top of it, the chocolate needs to melt in the top vessel. This is the double boiler method. Water should not come in contact with the top vessel, the chocolate should only cook with the steam of the boiling  water in the bottom vessel)

3) when it melts, add the vanilla extract and salt, mix well. Be careful not to get the chocolate too hot. You can remove from heat if u feel its getting too hot.

4) Add the condensed milk and mix well. It will start to solidify. Add the halved cranberries and quartered oreos. Mix well

5) Pour into the bowl and flatten it out. Let it cool and refridgerate for minimum 2 hrs

6) cut into square and enjoy.

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Jan 28

Sweet potatoes 2 Ways

An ingredient that I had not eaten since I was a kid and surprisingly my husband too had never tried it. Sweet potatoes.

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A healthy ingredient which sees a presence in many a Christmas dinner. Oven baked sweet potatoes with my special mix and my first attempt at hasselbacks but with sweet potatoes. Surprisingly filling and the texture of crispy outside and melt in your mouth inside makes this a dish to welcome back in our lives

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Oven baked sweet potatoes

1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp Cajun seasoning
1 tsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried Parsley
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt
2 large sweet potatoes
1 1/2 tsp olive oil
Sea salt at the end

1) Preheat oven to 180 degrees C
2) In a small bowl, stir together all the ingredients except oil
3) cube the sweet potatoes. Brush with olive oil. 
4) Rub the seasoning mix all over. 
5) Place sweet potatoes on a baking tray covered in foil. 
6) Bake in preheated oven until tender, or about 45 mins
7) sprinkle any left over spice mix and sea salt. 

Rcp inspired from allrecipes.com

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Hasselback sweet potatoes

2 sweet potatoes
1 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp thyme 
2-3 grated garlic 
salt 
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp herbed cream cheese
Chopped chives

1) Preheat the oven. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and grease it with olive oil. 
2) Make a series of thin slices along each potato, slicing 2/3 of the way through. (In order to make each slice the same, postion the sweet potato between a set of chopsticks. When when you cut down, the chopsticks will prevent you from cutting all the way down- I used the ends of a pakad)
3) Stir together all the ingredients in a small bowl. Rub the potatoes all over with the mixture, getting in between the slices. Be careful not to break the potatoes. 
4) Place on the baking sheet and roast until the center of the potatoes are tender and the outside is crisp, 45 minutes at 180 degrees. 5) 30 mins later through the roasting time, remove the potatoes from the oven and run a fork gently across the tops of the potatoes, using light pressure, to fan the slices and separate them from one another.
6) Once cooked, slather some cream cheese and garnish with chives. 

Rcp inspired from ncsweetpotatoes.com

Jan 28

Mangalorean Padengi Gassi with Masala Dahi Bhaath

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A home cooked Mangalorean meal usually features Padengi gassi – green moong coconut curry and a dahi bhaath. The tangy curd rice is such a wonderful partner to the spicy creamy lentil curry. Its the simple meals that we crave at times and it never fails to satiate our tastebuds and cravings.

 

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Padengi gassi – green moong coconut curry

1 cup green moong
1 freshly grated coconut
5 garlic flakes
1 marble size ball tamarind
1 big tbsp saboot dhania
1 big tsp jeera
1 big tsp rai
4-5 dried Kashmiri chillies
Salt

Tadka:
Oil, rai, garlic, karipatta, Kashmiri chilli

1) wash and soak the moong in the morning. In the evening tie the moong in a cloth and keep in a warm place for sprouting. Wash the sprouts well in the morning.
2) boil moong sprouts in water till nearly soft. It should not get too mushy. Shut before it gets cooked as will need to cook it again with the coconut masala
3) dry roast the dhania, jeera, rai and chilli till it emits aroma
4) grind it in the mixer. When it’s powdered add the garlic and tamarind and little water and grind to make a chunky paste
5) add coconut, salt and little more water and grind to a coarse paste. Do NOT make it very fine.
6) mix this masala with the boiled sprout and cook it till the raw smell is gone
7) give tadka with the ingredients mentioned.

This is a semi dry masala. So we keep the coconut paste coarse and use minimal water.

U can also make a Bhindi curry with the same masala. Just make the coconut paste fine and then boil the Bhindi in this masala by adding water. Everything else is same.

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Masala Dahi Bhaath

1 big cup cooked rice
1/4 kg Dahi (little sour)
2-3 tbsp milk
1 tsp rai
5-6 karipatta
2 dried red chillies
2 slit green chillies
1 tbsp urad dal
Pinch of hing
Salt

1) heat oil and add rai, when it splutters add karipatta, red chilli, green chilli, urad dal and hing.
2) fry it for 1 min and add the beaten Dahi. Add salt and mix well
3) add the milk and mix. Add the rice and mix well. Shut the gas.

Jan 28

Eggless wholewheat orange cupcake

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I love my desserts and usually they are sinful with an addition of eggs. Was looking at some alternative ingredients to bake a cupcake. Browsing through the various talented bloggers in India, I found an interesting recipe by Priya Shiva. Eggless and wholewheat – not my preference but thought let me try atleast. Can give hubby an excuse that it’s healthy and still gorge on cake.

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Presenting Wholewheat eggless orange cupcakes with Choco chips and topped with Nutella (yeah leave it me to make a healthy recipe overindulgent).

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Priya’s recipe

Ingredients

Whole wheat flour – 1 & 1/2 cups
Sugar – 1 cup
Unsalted butter – 1/3 cup
Milk powder – 3/4 cup
Milk – 1 cup
Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp
Fresh orange juice with pulp (remove seeds) – 1 cup
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Baking Powder – 1 & 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda – 1 tsp

 Method:
1) Peel oranges and remove the seeds. Make sure to juice it with some pulp and keep it aside.
2) Sieve wheat flour and keep it aside.

3) Add sugar, butter in a bowl and mix it well until sugar completely dissolves. Add milk and blend it well.
4) Now add all wheat flour, milk powder slowly to the mix and blend it well. Make sure there are no lumps in the batter. Add baking powder, baking soda, vanilla essence, salt and mix it well.
5) Now add orange juice and blend it well. (I added chocochips now)
6) Preheat oven at 180 degree C.
7) Grease the cupcake cups with some oil evenly and add the batter to it. Fill each cup till 2/3 cup.
8) Bake at same temperature for 20 minutes. Check after 20 minutes by inserting a toothpick at the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, then your cake is done or else continue baking for 5 more minutes and keep a watch on it. (top with Nutella at serving time)

Tips:

1) Juice oranges just before making cupcakes as fresh juices tend to get bitter if you keep them for a long time.
2) You can also add nuts and raisins to make this cupcake more healthy.
3) You can also add orange zest in place of vanilla essence.

Here is Priyas link http://priyakitchenette.blogspot.in/2013/12/eggless-whole-wheat-orange-cupcake.html?m=1

Jan 28

Red Masala Fish Curry

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There are so many fish curry’s available in the varied cuisines of India. This one is more Southern coastal, but difficult to pinpoint it to one region.

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A big plus point for this curry is that its one of the easy to make recipes and it’s super yum. Steamed rice and a generous serving of the curry would make a wonderful Sunday lunch. Give it a try.

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10-12 pcs of Rawas/Surmai
1/2 tsp haldi
7-8 curry patta
2 slit green chillies
Oil
Lemon size tamarind ball soaked in water

Masala paste – grind together with little water :
1 grated fresh coconut
10 flakes garlic
1&1/2 tsp jeera
5-6 peppercorns
10 dried Kashmiri chillies
2 Laung
1″ cinnamon stick

1) wash the fish and apply some salt and haldi. This will take the smell away
2) grind all the ingredients listed under masala paste. Make a fine paste.
3) heat oil in a pan, add curry patta and sliced chillies.
4) when it sizzles, add the masala paste, haldi and salt and fry it for 1 min
5) add water as per desired gravy consistency. Bring to a boil and let it simmer on low till the raw smell goes off.
6) add the tamarind water and mix well. Add the fish.
7) let it cook and try to avoid stirring the gravy as the fish will easily break.
8) adjusts seasoning and leave it covered for a bit after shutting the gas. Let the masalas soak in.