Sunday, August 26, 2012

Spicy Semolina Crepe - a.k.a Rava Dosai

Rava Dosai a typical South Indian favourite was not my favourite dish for a long long time. As a kid, I've always tried every other dosa variety BUT Rava dosai. For some reason the thin crispy crepe never caught my attention until very recently. It is one of those restaurant specialities and definitely not a staple dish that one would eat on a daily basis. The reasons became obvious once you start cooking (and eating) them. It is a painstakingly slow process to cook the dosa (not the batter). The outcome of course is definitely well worth the efforts. This recipe is for those living far away from home and not able to get a decent one at your local desi joint.

Ingredients:
Ingredients

1) Rava (Semolina powder)
2) All purpose flour (Maida)
3) Rice flour
4) Yogurt
5) Ginger
6) Green Chillies
7) Coriander leaves (Cilantro)
8) Curry leaves
9) Cumin seeds 
10) Freshly ground black pepper

You can have some chopped / diced onions for an extra kick, but completely optional.

The Process

Batter
1) Prepare the batter by adding all the dry ingredients in an almost equal ratio. You might want to reduce a bit on the Maida (3/4ths measure of Rava) if you are looking for a crispier outcome. The batter looks so watery, but do not get misled by that consistency. Of course, please add some salt to the batter.





2) Heat a skillet / tava / dosai kal and "pour" the watery mixture once the skillet sizzles on liquid contact. The difference here between a regular dosai and rava dosai is you do not spread the batter on the skillet using a spoon (or a cup as the professionals do). You pour the watery liquid and maybe rotate the skillet so the batter goes around evenly and makes an almost round version.

3) If you are using onions, you need to scatter the chopped onions on the skillet first before pouring the batter.

4) Wait PATIENTLY until the surface turns brown and then flip them over.

As mentioned earlier, if you want it crispier, reduce the maida content and of course a generous amount of oil.

Rava dosai - ready  - to be served with chutney (any variety goes).

Happy Cooking!!

C

Friday, August 10, 2012

Gaeng Daeng Goong -Thai Red Curry with Prawns

Gaeng Daeng Goong or Red Curry with Prawns is yet another staple of Thai curries. When I was first introduced to Thai cuisine I was told that it was the closest I can get to Indian curry (apart from an Indian restaurant). Of course sometimes even Indian restaurants (outside India) don't get close to what actual curries are meant to taste like. If you look at the ingredients used to make the Red Curry, it is no surprise that it tastes like an Indian (South Indian to be precise) curry. Especially the ones such as coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, garlic. Of course there are a few ingredients that can make any dish Thai - lemon grass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves. You sure can buy the  paste in a store, as with any packaged food, it's just not the same if not made at home. Once done the curry paste can be stored frozen for months and used for a variety of dishes.

Ingredients:

Red Curry Paste

  1. Dry Red Chillies - 20 chillies
  2. Lemon Grass - just the bottom white section finely chopped. - 8 stalks
  3. Coriander stems - 15-20 stems finely diced
  4. Kaffir Lime leaves - 1/2 cup - ensure the middle stalk is removed
  5. Galanga - 200 gms - remove the skin and finely chopped
  6. Garlic - 1 bulb
  7. Ground Coriander, Cumin and Pepper seeds - 1 tablespoon each

Curry

  1. Prawn (or Shrimp if you are in the USA) - 500 gms
  2. Baby corn - 200 gms
  3. Bamboo shoots - 1 can
  4. Curry paste - 4-5 tablespoons
  5. Coconut cream - 1 can
  6. Sugar - 2-3 tea spoons
  7. Fish sauce - 4-5 tablespoons (vegetarians might replace this with salt)
  8. Thai basil leaves - 1/2 cup



The Method

Curry Paste


  1. Soak the dry red chillies in hot water for about 30 minutes. Once soaked  remove the seeds and stalks from the chillies. Make sure you wear gloves for this step.
  2. Blend the ingredients above for the curry paste. I first smashed them in a mortar before transferring the content to a blender. Use minimum water just enough to get the blender going.
  3. Once blended heat a wide sauce pan and pour about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and sautee the blended paste for about 20-30 minutes until the paste is cooked and oil separates.
  4. You can then freeze the paste (once it has cooled down to room temperature) and store it for a few months.

Prawn Curry

  1. If the curry paste is frozen - first thaw it to room temperature.
  2. Wash the bamboo shoots (from the can) with cold running water to remove the salt content in the can.
  3. In a large wok heat about 4-5 tablespoons  of vegetable oil and saute the curry paste until oil separates.
  4. Add about half of the coconut cream and mix well and bring the mixture to a boil.
  5. Add the baby corn and bamboo shoots and cook for about 5 minutes until the bamboo shoots become tender.
  6. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes until they curl up and turn pink.
  7. Add the sugar, fish sauce and basil leaves, mix well and simmer for a few minutes.
  8.  Serve hot with steamed jasmine rice.



Happy Cooking !!

C

Friday, July 20, 2012

Gong Bao Ji Ding aka Kung Pao Chicken

Ni Hao!! If you followed my Shanghai Connection it might be obvious on what my next recipe should be. Yes, I have been influenced... Kung Pao Chicken was one of my staple lunch diets at Panda Express at Lloyd Center mall along with Black Pepper chicken and Chowmein. I guess that was the one of the few "spicy" chinese dishes I could have almost anywhere in US. After a few years they came up with Kung Pao Prawns - not sure if they still have it. Anyways...had an opportunity to experiment this out for a few guests at home last week. After a long contemplation between Gong Bao Ji Ding (traditional Chinese name) and Black Pepper, ended up with Gong Bao. 

Ingredients

1) Chicken breast fillets
2)  Raw peanuts (skin less)
3)  Dried Red Chillies
4) Soy Sauce
5) Chinese Cooking Wine
6) Spring onion (bottom white part only)
7) Corn flour
8) Vinegar 
9) Minced Garlic

Of course you can add some red capsicum (bell pepper) to add some colour.

The Method

For a dish that looks simple it's actually a bit of a process involved. It had to be done in different phases.

1) Marinade the the diced chicken breasts in soy sauce with a bit of salt and corn flour powder. 
2)  In a large wok, add a few "generous" tablespoons of oil and fry the red chillies and peanuts for a few minutes. Try not to burn the red chillies. You can stop when you see some brown spots on the peanuts. Strain the fried mixture from the oil and set aside. By this time the wok should've got a nice smoky nutty flavour.
3) In the same oil (please note it has to be the same oil) shallow fry the chicken for a few minutes. Add a dash of vinegar and rice wine as the chicken cooks. You will have to ensure the chicken is cut in such a way that it cooks in a few minutes. Strain the chicken (if you still have excess oil) and set aside.
4) Sautee the garlic and shallots in few tablespoons of oil (use remaining oil if available after frying the chicken).
5) Mix the chicken along with a few dashes of soy sauce, rice wine and vinegar. 
6) After a few tosses with the chicken add the peanut / chilli  mixture and toss it around. If you had some red capsicum now would be a good time. Check and add some salt to taste as required.

Gong Bao Ji Ding ready... 

Serve hot with steamed rice or just by itself as an appetizer.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Vegetarian American Chopsuey


American Chopsuey yet another Indo-Chinese delight which you can rarely find anywhere outside India. Niven - this one is for you. :-)  American Chopsuey is neither American nor Chinese. I think my first attempt at eating American Chopsuey is either at China Tower or Golden Dragon. It was a very unique experience to eat "Murukku Noodles" with gravy. Not particularly a huge fan of american chopsuey, but did have it every once in a while including "Chung Wah" in Koramangala. They used to dish out a killer chopsuey with just the right amount of everything.

Technically it is not supposed to be a very complicated dish. Chopsuey is nothing but a Chinese Avial where you put in all left over veggies and make some sauce out of it. The difference with the "American" version is of course the usage of Ketchup.

Ingredients:
1) Boiled noodles. (Do  not use fresh - ready to eat ones).
2) Garlic (thinly sliced)
3) Green chillies
4) Onions, Cabbage and Capsicum - all cut into 1.5 inch wedges
5) Carrots - thinly sliced
6) Baby corn
7) Vinegar
8) Soya sauce
9) Tomato Ketchup
10) Corn flour
12) Seasme oil

The Method
1) Boil the noodles, drain, dust it with corn flour (this is very very important!!)  and set aside.
2) Heat up a wok and pour a few tablespoons of sesame oil.
3) Once fuming add garlic and chillies and sautee for a few seconds.

(If you would like to add any thin slices of meat now would be a good time.)

4) Add the onions and carrots and sautee for a 1-2 minutes.
5) Add a few teaspoons of vinegar.
6) Add cabbage, baby corn and capsicum. Sautee for a few minutes. (Note: Do not let the veggies go too soggy)
7) Add few tablespoons tomato ketchup.
8) Add water as much sauce is needed and bring to a boil.
9) When the water comes to a boil add the corn flour water.
10) Bring the mixture to a boil until the sauce thickens to the required consistency. It should not be too watery or should not be a porridge either.

Tip: If it becomes too sour add a bit of sugar.

....Now comes the tricky part....frying the noodles

11) Heat up a wok with generous amount of oil.
12) Once the oil is hot enough start frying the noodles one handful at a time. Of course you can do more if you have a bigger vessel. This is THE most trickiest part of the recipe. It took a few batches of trial error.
    a) Once you plonk the noodles spread it around so it forms a circle.
    b) Leave it to fry until you hear frequent crackle. Another test is to slightly prod the noodles. If it is soft, it needs further frying. If it is hard enough then flip it over and give it another minute or 2.

13) Fry an egg and keep aside.

14) Place the fried noodles on the plate, pour the veggie sauce over the noodles and top it up with the fried egg. American Chopsuey Ready!!!