Black Pepper Crab

 

Black Pepper Crab - a dish I have not eaten anywhere else but Singapore until now. I always thought it was a very complicated dish to prepare and stayed away for a very long time. Thanks to these lockdowns I was getting these urges and memories of those yummy dishes I garnered strength to try it out. It turns out that it's not super complicated to prepare. They say it can be prepared using any type of crab but to get the real impact it has to be a mud crab. Thankfully the seafood shop nearby had this and they also cut and cleaned it for me as well. Which otherwise is a story by itself. 

Ingredients

1. Mud crab - 1 for 2 people (I got 2) cut in quarters
2. Black Pepper - 50 gms
3. Garlic - 1 whole garlic (minced)
4. Ginger - 1 inch (grated)
5. Red onion - 1 (thinly sliced)
6. Butter - 50 gms
7. Chicken stock - 1 cup
8. Oyster sauce - 3-4 table spoons
9. Kecap Manis (Sweet soya sauce) - 3-4 table spoons
10. Dark Soya sauce - 1-2 table spoons
11. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
12. Corn flour - 2 tea spoons
13. Curry leaves - a handful

Method

1. Crush the black pepper into a coarse powder (not smooth)
2. Dry roast the crushed pepper in a wok for about 10-15 seconds (until you can smell the pepper).  Preferably use the same wok you will use for further steps and keep aside.
3. Deep fry the crab pieces until they turn red using any vegetable oil and set aside.
4. Transfer the oil and whatever remains to a container.
5. Melt the butter and add the minced garlic, ginger and onions and saute them for about a minute.
6. Add the chicken stock, oyster sauce, kecap manis, dark soya sauce, sugar and the crushed pepper.
7. Keep stirring until this mixture comes to a boil.
8. Add the curry leaves and toss it up.
9. Add the corn flour mixed in water and stir for a few minutes until the sauce thickens.
10. Add the deep fried crabs and saute for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Serve hot as an entre.

Dragon Chicken

 

Dragon Chicken - an "Indo Chinese" dish that caught my attention very recently. The term dragon could be because of how the chicken would look like or what your mouth could feel like after a few  bites. :) When I did a bit of research I was determined to try this rather sooner than later. This is very similar to Kung Pao chicken that is very popular in the US of A. This is an interesting recipe with a medley textures, flavours and colours. It's juicy, crunchy, spicy and a tinge of sweetness. So here's my take on this dish.

Ingredients

1. Chicken breast - 500 gms
2. Eggs - 2
3. Ginger garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
4. Dark soya sauce 
5. Black pepper powder - 1 table spoon
6. Corn flour - 2 table spoons
7. Maida / All purpose flour - 1 table spoon
8. Red food colour (optional) - 1 pinch
9. Red onions - 2
10. Red Capsicum - 1
11. Green Capsicum - 1
12. Garlic (minced) - 2 tablespoons
13. Chilli jam (optional - can substitute with Chilli sauce if needed) - 2 table spoons
14. Kashmiri red chillies - 5 or 6
15. Dried red chillies (spicy one) - 5 or 6
16. Cashews
17. Sesame seeds - 2 tea spoons
18. Sugar - 1 tea spoon
19. Tomato ketchup - 2 table spoons
20. Chives (or spring onions)
21. Salt to taste
22. Vegetable oil

Method

1. Slice the chicken breast into very thin strips. It is important you cut it in strips and not diced.
2. Make a batter with eggs, ginger garlic paste, pepper powder,1 table spoon of soya sauce, salt to taste, food colour, corn flour and maida.
3. Marinade the chicken strips in this batter - at least for 30 minutes.
4. Cut the onions and capsicums in strips.
5. Deep fry the chicken strips in small batches.
6. In a large wok heat the oil (I use the same oil used for frying the chicken).
7. Toss the garlic, chillies and cashews for about a minute.
8. Add the onions and capsicums and stir fry them for about a minute.
9. Add 2 table spoons of dark soya sauce, chilli jam, tomato ketchup, sugar and mix well.
10. Add the chicken and toss well to mix the chicken with the sauce.
11. Add a few table spoons of water and toss well.
12. Add  the sesame seeds and chives to garnish and give it a quick toss.

Enjoy!!

C

Salem Thattuvadai Set

 

There are so many triggers for nostalgia and to me food definitely comes up in the top few. There was this street snack I used to enjoy as a high school kid usually after a tuition class or a weekend trip to the "shopping complex".  The Salem famous Thattuvadai Set. This such a simple yet tasty and healthy thattai sandwich. A thattuvadai or thattai is a thin crispy  deep fried snack made with rice flour and urad flour. This is also known as nippattu or chekkalu in neighbouring states. This healthy sandwich involves 2 chutneys (red and green) and a some crispy vegetables. I was never a big fan of beetroot and that too raw....no way. However just in this one instance even raw beetroot tastes great. This was one snack which I haven't tried (does 30 years count as long?) a long time. Fast forward to last week I found these yummy crispy thattais made by one of my friends here. So without further ado here comes the recipe.

Ingredients

Red Chutney

1. Dried Kashmiri chillies - 3 to 4 (for the colour)
2. Dried red chillies - 2 to 3 (for the heat)
3. Sliced Red onions - 1
4. Garlic cloves - 4 to 5
5. Tamarind (softened) - 1 teaspoon
6. Tomato - 2
7. Salt to taste
8. Vegetable oil

Green Chutney

1. Coriander leaves - 1 cup
2. Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
3. Green chillies - 8-10
4. Grated coconut - 2 table spoons
5. Salt to taste
6. Ginger - 1 inch

Salad

1. Carrot
2. Beetroot
3. Onion
4. Green Apple (this was my twist - raw mango is used typically)
5. Lemon
6. Chopped Coriander leaves 

And of course a lot of thattais. Preferably the bite sized mini ones.

Method

Red Chutney

1. Blend all the ingredients of the red chutney together to a smooth paste.
2. In a wide sauce pan heat 2 to 3 table spoons of vegetable oil and saute the paste for a few minutes until oil separates.

Green Chutney

1. Blend all the ingredients of the green chutney. (Yup nothing more just blend).

Salad

1. Slice the onion into thin slices.
2. Slice the remaining vegetables in equal amounts.
3. Mix them up in a bowl.

The Set

1. Take a thattai and smear it with the green chutney. Repeat as many as needed.
2. Place the salad on the thattais and sprinkle lemon juice over along with chopped coriander leaves.
3. Take thattais and smear it with the red chutney and place on top of the salad.

Best served on a piece of newspaper to get the authentic feel and consumed as quickly as possible.

Enjoy!!

C

Hot and Sour Chicken Soup

Here's one of my favourite spicy and tangy Indo-Chinese soups that can warm up your body and mind. As in any soup the broth is what that makes or breaks it. While I've tried a different home made and store bought broths - here's a version which worked out well for me.

Ingredients

Broth

1. Chicken with skin and bones. I used about 6 large chicken drumsticks.
2. Garlic - 1 bulb smashed
3. Ginger - 100 gms - cut and smashed
4. Spring onion twigs - a few bumches
5. Black pepper - 1 table spoon
6. Salt - 2 table spoons

Soup

1. Chicken broth - 4 cups
2. Carrot - diced - 2 table spoons
3. Cabbage - diced 2 table spoons
4. Green chilles - diced - 2 table spoons
5. Vinegar - 1/2 cup
6. Dark soy sauce - 2 table spoons
7. Corn flour slurry - 1/3 cup
8. Eggs - 2  egg yolks and 3 egg whites beaten
9. Seasme oil - 1 table spoon
10. Cooked Shredded chicken - 1/2 cup 
11. Spring onions - diced - 2 table spoons

Method

Broth

1. In a large sauce pan or vessel boil the chicken for about 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain the chicken and the water.
3. Fill the same sauce pan with water, transfer the chicken, add the garlic, ginger, pepper and salt.
4. Bring it to boil and then simmer it for about 30 minutes.'
5. Take the chicken pieces out, let it cool and then remove the flesh out with hands or fork.
6. Put the bones and skin back in the broth and let it simmer for another hour or so.
7. Drain the broth out into a container.

Hot & Sour Soup

1. In a sauce pan, saute the chillies, carrot and cabbage for about a minute in seasme oil and vinegar.
2. Add the chicken broth and bring it to a boil.
3. Once boiling add the corn flour slurry and bring it to boil.
4. Add the soya sauce and mix well.
5. Add the shredded chicken and mix well.
6. Stir the soup mix well that the broth is rotating around.
7. Add the beaten egg mix and twirl it around with a folk.
8. Serve hot with a dash of spring onions as a garnish.

Enjoy!!

C

Paneer Do Pyaza

Paneer do pyaza yet another dish that I picked up in Bangalore. Really dont remember how I landed up with this dish. Must have been bored with the typical paneer butter masala or paneer mutter masala in the restaurants and picked this weird Italian sounding dish. If you knew me well in those days I didn't understand what "pyaaz" meant. So here it is from our Persian cousins where Do Pyaza literally mean a curry with 2 types of onions. It's one of those versatile curry bases that you can prepare a multitude of do pyazas - chicken, okra (bhindi)... pretty much with any chunky piece of food. 

Ingredients

1. Paneer - 250 - 300 gms
2. Red Onions - 3 large ones
3. Green chillies - 4-5
4. Tomatoes - 2-3
5. Ginger garlic paste - 2 table spoons
6. Lemon juice - 1 table spoon
7. Cumin seeds - 2 table spoons
8. Green cardamom - 4-5
9. Cinnamon sticks - 3-4 small ones
10. Cloves - 5-6
11. Bay leaves - 2
12. Cumin powder - 1 tablespoon
13. Coriander powder - 1 table spoon
14. Garam masala - 1 table spoon
15. Kasoori Methi - 1 table spoon (crushed)
16. Turmeric powder - Half teaspoon
17. Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 table spoon
18. Vegetable oil - 4-5 table spoons
19. Ghee - 2 table spoons
20. Salt to taste
21. Coriander leaves for garnish

Method

1. Chop 2 onions into fine mince and 1 onion in cubes and set aside in different containers.
2. Heat a large kadai and pour 1 tablespoon of ghee and 2 table spoons of vegetable oil.
3. Sautee the cumin seeds (1 table spoon), green cardamon pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves and bay leaves until the fragrance comes out.
4. Add the finely minced onions and saute with a pinch of salt until they turn brownish.
5. While the onions are sauteed finely dice the tomatoes and set aside.
6. When the onions are brown add the ginger garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes until the raw paste smell clears off.
7. Add the diced tomatoes and saute for about 10 to 15 minutes along with turmeric powder, cumin powder, garam masala, kasoori methi and the kashmiri chilli powder. 
8. While the masala gets sauteed dice up the paneer into bite sized cubes - but not too thin or small.
9. Add about half a cup of water and simmer the masala adding salt to taste. By now it should result in a mushy masala gravy.
10. Once the masala has reduced to your preferred consistency remove the cinnamon sticks, cloves and bay leaves and transfer the content to another bowl.
11. In the same kadai pour the remaining ghee and vegetable oil and wait until it heats up.
12. Once the oil is hot add the green chillies, 1 table spoon of cumin seeds and the diced onions and sautee for about a minute or so.
13. Add the diced paneer and sautee for about 2 minutes until the ingredients mix well with the paneer.
14. Pour the masala (done in step #10) over the paneer and sautee for a minute or so with but more water as per the consistency preferred.
15. Switch off the heat and add the 2 table spoons of lemon juice and stir well. Be careful not to stir it too much else the paneer will break.
16. Garnish with chopped coriander and voila restaurant style Paneer Dopyaza is done. Serve with warm roti/chappati.

Enjoy!!

C

Banana Nut Bread

Banana Nut Bread introduced to me by the United States of America most probably in the form of a muffin and then as a slice of bread (or cake?). Many a times this has worked as breakfast accompanied with coffee. Not sure if there would be anybody who would not like it unless they have some sort of aversion to banana. So today was the day for me to experiment on banana bread - from scratch. After the one sided World Cup final - there was not enough reason to watch it - so why not bake.

Went through a few recipes on the internet - each having it's own slight variation. Eventually arrived upon a mix and match of options from here and there. Nothing like the power of convenience. :-) So here it comes...

Ingredients

1) Banana (Ripe) - (enough to make about a 1.5 cups of mashed banana)
2) Nuts (I used a mix a walnuts and pecans) - 1.5 cups

3) All purpose flour (Maida) - 1 & 3/4 cups
4) Butter - 150 gms (Melted and cooled)
5) Sugar - 1 cup
6) Vanilla Essence - 1 tea spoon
7) Baking soda - 1 tea spoon
8) Baking powder - 1 tea spoon
9) Eggs - 2
10) Cinnamon powder - 1 tea spoon


Method

1) Pre-heat oven to 150 Deg C

2) Chop the nuts roughly.
3) Mix sugar, butter and vanilla essence using an electric mixer for about 10 minutes.
4) Add the egg and beat the mix for a few minutes.
5) Add all the remaining dry ingredients and give it a good stir with the electric mixer and finally with a wooden spoon.
6) Transfer the contents to a baking pan covered with baking paper. Garnish with some nuts.
7) Bake it in the pre-heated oven for about 80 minutes

Note: Check about every 5 to 10 minute after the 50th minute with a toothpick. If it's not cooked well you could see the mix sticking to the toothpick.
8) Remove the dish from the oven and cool it for about 10 minutes.

Banana nut cake done.


Happy Baking!!

C

Banana Nut Bread

Sweet Corn Chicken Soup

Sweet corn chicken soup - one of those soups that gives a meaning to "Chicken Soup for the Soul". It has all the goodness in it to bring your spirits up - especially on a gloomy cold night. After tomato soup this would have been one of my earliest memories of soup consumption - especially in a restaurant. There's something about the smell, the texture, the consistency and of course the flavour. So without much further ado - here's how to prepare sweet corn chicken soup - restaurant style - at home.

Ingredients

1. Sweet corn - fresher the better. If not a frozen packet would do just fine. (2 cups)
2. Chicken - Boneless - either thigh or breast pieces - thinly sliced or cubed
3. Chicken stock - either store bought or stock made out of boiling chicken with bones for about an hour.
4. Vinegar - 1 tablespoon
5. Garlic - minced (1 tablespoon)
6. Corn Flour - 50 gms
7. Eggs - 2 (beaten)
8. Milk - 1/2 cup
9. Sesame oil - few tablespoons
10. Spring onions (for garnish)

Method

1. Take about 3/4th - 1 cup of the sweet corn and pulse it to create a rough / chunky mixture.
2. In a large sauce pan or wok heat the sesame oil and saute the chicken and garlic for a few minutes. Saute until the pinkness is vanished in the chicken.
3. Add the vinegar and give it quick toss.
4. Add the sweet corn (whole and the chunky mixture) and saute for a few minutes.
5. Add the chicken stock and milk and bring it to a boil.
6. While the chicken stock is boiling, create a corn flour slurry by mixing water to the corn flour - about 1/4 cup.
7. Once the stock has come to a boil add the corn flour slurry and let the soup thicken up for a few minutes. I like my soups thick - so if the consistency is not thick enough for you, prepare more corn flour slurry and add it to the soup.
8. Once the soup is thick enough pour the beaten eggs in a circular fashion around the soup and stir it around in ONE direction with a fork. This should create the "egg flower" - which BTW is also another name for this soup in Chinese restaurants.
9. Simmer the soup for 2-3 minutes.
10. Serve hot with a garnish of spring onions.

Note: Some people like to have this with a bit of chilli vinegar mixed for a bit of a tangy and spicy flavour. If you would like it - just chop of a few green chillies in a few tablespoons of vinegar before you start this process.

Restaurant style - Indo Chinese - Sweet Corn Chicken soup ready!!

Happy Cooking!!

C

Chewy Crunchy and Fudgy Chocolate Brownies

Can anyone not like chocolate? Especially when heaps of the cocoa goodness is mixed with egg, butter and sugar - that's simply an irresistible combination. Thanks to the likes of Max Brenners and Oliver Browns we've been exposed to some good variety of chocolate fudges and brownies. Thanks to the school holidays kids and I - this time it was just the boys who wanted to experiment some brownies at home. While researching I realized there were 2 schools of brownies - the fudgy and the cakey. I thought why not introduce a 3rd school which lies somewhere in between and also crunchy as well. So without further ado, here comes the recipe.

Ingredients

1. Chocolate chips - 225 gms
2. Butter - 170 gms (3/4 cups)
3. Brown Sugar - 250 gms (1 1/4 cups) (I used brown sugar for the extra moistness / fudginess - you can use normal sugar too)
4. Eggs - 2
5. All purpose flour (Maida) - 95 gms (1/2 cup)
6. Cocoa powder / Hot Chocolate - 30 gms (1/2 cup)
7. Vanilla essence - 2 teaspoons
8. Salt - 1 teaspoon
9. Walnuts and pecans - 1/2 cup

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C (or 350 deg F) - slightly less if it is fan forced
2. Boil water in a medium sized sauce pan.
3. Place a ceramic bowl on top of the boiling plan and melt the butter and half of the chocolate chips.
4. Once well mixed and melted keep aside and mix the sugar and vanilla essence in. Keep stirring until the sugar is all mixed up.
5. Leave the mixture to cool down for about 10-15 minutes.
6. Mix the eggs one at a time - not beating / mixing it too hard. The key here is not to overmix.
7. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and salt and fold it in slowly into the chocolate mixture.
8. Mix the remaining chocolate chips, walnuts and pecans and fold it in. Do not mix it too hard.
9. Line a baking tray (preferably square) with baking/parchment paper and transfer the batter into the parchment paper.
10. Bake for 20-25 minutes - as always using your nose as an indicator. Stop baking when you can insert a tooth pick and it comes out fairly clean.
11. Let it cool for at least 1-2 hours.
12. Use a sharp knife to slice it nice and thick squares (or rectangles).
13. Chewy crunchy and fudgy chocoloate brownies are now ready to be devoured.

Enjoy Baking!!

C

Pad Kee Mao - Thai Chilli Basil Noodles aka Drunken Noodles

Pad Kee Mao also known as Chilli Basil Noodles and also known as Drunken Noodles is a huge family favourite for us. I don't remember the first restaurant where I started relishing it - but has been on our orders during pretty much every visit to a Thai restaurant. No - there is no alcohol involved in the "drunken" noodle. The legend goes that some drunkard stumbled across this dish by accident and became very popular later on. Another story goes like Thai people made this after a night of hard partying. Of course definitely a great dish that could go very well with a nice cold beer. The best part of this dish is the aroma. This was the first recipe when I came to know that basil - thulasi (or tulsi) can be used in cooking. In fact you need what they call as Thai Basil or Holy Basil. Do not try this with the Italian basil - it's not going to be the same. Vegetarians - you can try making this with just the veggie ingredients but it's never going to be the same.

Ingredients

1. Flat rice noodles - the fresh variety from an asian store - 500 gms
2. Thai Holy Basil - you will need about a cup since you will need this during different stages of cooking.
3. Garlic - 1 bulb
4. Thai Bird's Eye Red Chilli - 8 - 10
5. Shallots - thinly sliced - 1/3 cup
6. Veggies - Sliced carrots, beans, some leafy vegetable
7. Green pepper corn - 3-4 twigs
8. Thinly sliced galanga - 2 table spoons
9. Protein - I used prawns this time. One can use any thinly sliced meat or tofu.
10. Fish sauce - 1 table spoon (got to be careful with this one) - Vegetarians feel free to skip. 
11. Sugar - 2 tea spoons
12. Dark Soya sauce - 2 table spoons
13. Oyster sauce - 2 table spoon
14. Any vegetable oil - 3-4 table spoons

Method

1. Create a sauce mix with fish sauce, oyster sauce, soya sauce and sugar.
2. Marinade the meat with a few tablespoons of sauce.
3. Prepare the noodles as per the packet instructions. Some may need a blanch in boiling water.
4. Pound the garlic and red chillies roughly.
5. If not done already keep your vegetables sliced and ready. Once the process starts then there's no stopping. :)
6. In a large wok heat a few table spoons of oil and saute the garlic-chilli mix.
7. Add the shallots, galanga slices and the pepper corn twigs and saute for a minute.
8. Add the prawns (or any meat) and saute until about 75% cooked.
9. Add the stems of leafy vegetable, beans and carrots and saute for a minute.
10. Add the remaining sauce and mix well.
11. Add the noodles and mix well.
12. Add the basil leaves and toss it around for about a minute.

Happy Cooking!!

C

Schezwan Chilli Chicken

Schezwan or should I say Sichuan cuisine is known for it's spiciness thanks to extreme climate of the Sichuan province in China. As with many other Indo-chinese adaptations here's my version of Schezwan Chilli Chicken made using home made schezwan sauce. It's a great appetizer / entree that has a slight amount of sauce in it. 

Ingredients

1. Diced chicken - 500 gms - I normally use chicken with bones for this one.
2. Schezwan sauce - 3-4 table spoons. Something you can keep adding later if you want to increase the "heat".
3. Finely diced red onion - 1
4. Dried red chillies - 10-15
5. Egg - 1
6. Corn flour - 2 table spoons
7. Vinegar - 2 table spoons
8. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
9. Tomato sauce - 1 table spoon
10. Spring onions - for garnish

Method

1. Marinade the chicken with egg, a table spoon of schezwan sauce and corn flour. Let it marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. In a large wok - heat a few table spoons of vegetable oil.
3. Add half of the minced onions and saute for a few minutes.
4. Add the schezwan sauce and the red chillies and saute for a few minutes.
5. Add the vinegar and sugar and mix it up.
6. Add the marinaded chicken and cook for about 15-20 minutes.
7. Add the remaining onions and saute for a few minutes.
8. Finally add the tomato sauce and mix it up well.
9. Garnish with spring onions and serve.

Enjoy!!

C

Prik Gaeng Ped - Thai Red Curry Paste

Add caption

Prik Gaeng Ped aka Thai Red Curry paste is a great condiment to have at home to make yummy Thai curries. A word of caution - once you have tasted home made curry paste you may not quite like the curry from your favourite Thai restaurant. There's not many ingredients involved but you will need to have a bit of patience if you want to do it the right way. But hey if you are after tasty food...who's looking at the clock. :)

Ingredients

1. Red Chillies (Dried or Birds eye) - about 20 chillies 
2. Lemon Grass - just the bottom white section finely chopped - 4-5 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 dice it up
6. Garlic - 1 bulb
7. Coriander seeds - 1 table spoon
8. Cumin seeds - 1 table spoon
9. Black Pepper seeds - 1 table spoon

The Method

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. Now comes the best part - just pound all of the ingredients in a mortar. This might take a good 30-40 minutes. You absolutely need this since the galanga and kaffir leaves need a good pounding before it gets to the next step.
3. Once you have made a coarse paste blend it to a smooth paste in a blender with water used sparingly. 
4. 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 with a teaspoon of salt until the paste is cooked and oil separates.
5. You can refrigerate / freeze this paste once it has cooled down to room temperature. The last time I made it this lasted for a few months.

Enjoy!!

C

Chilli Chicken - Indo Chinese Style

Since the time I left India there is always a craving for good Indo Chinese food. Unfortunately there have not been many restaurants that fitted the bill. I ended up re-creating those dishes I was missing. Chilli chicken is definitely one of those. This can be made in a different ways - dry, semi-dry or with a bit of sauce. I like this as a starter and hence made the dry version. This is a great starter to go along with the drink of your choice or as a side dish for noodles or fried rice. So without further ado...

Ingredients

1. Boneless chicken - 500 gms
2. Eggs - 2
3. Corn flour - 1.5 cups (add more as needed to get the required batter consistency)
4. Maida / Plain Flour - 1/2 cup
5. Red chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
6. Onions - 1 - cut in cubes
7. Green chillies - about a dozen depending on your spice appetite
8. Vinegar - 2 table spoons
9. Garlic - minced - 2 table spoons
10. Ginger - grated - 1 tea spoon
11. Sugar - 1/2 tea spoon
12. Dark soy sauce - 1 table spoon
13. Capsicum - 2 diced in cubes
14. Vegetable oil
15. Salt - to taste

Method

1. Dice the chicken breast in small slices. It is important to cut / slice it thin and diagonally. DO NOT chop it in cubes. Idea is to make it cook fairly quickly or a flash fry.
2. In a large bowl mix 2 eggs, corn flour, plain flour, red chilli powder and some salt. 
3. Create a thick paste and add water slowly and create a smooth but thick batter. If too watery add little amounts of corn flour to make it thick.
4. Marinate the cut chicken in the batter until you get done with other chopping / preparation tasks.
5. Chop up the onions in small cubes.
6. Slit the green chillies.
7. Mince the garlic in small pieces.
8. Grate about 2 inches or so of ginger to get about 1 tea spoon of grated ginger.
9. Dice the capsicums.
10. In a large hot wok fill about 1 cup of oil and heat it up. Test the heat by dropping a small piece of batter and it should pop up immediately.
11. Fry the chicken pieces in batches and keep aside.
12. Once done transfer the oil into a separate bowl, wipe it with a towel and heat it again.
13. Pour a few table spoons of the oil.
14. Once hot add the garlic, chillies and onions and saute for about 2 minutes.
15. Add vinegar and sugar (to balance the pungentness of vinegar) and toss it up.
16. Add the deep fried chicken pieces with the soy sauce and toss it up.
17. Add salt to taste.
18. Add the capsicums and toss it well.
19. Make a corn flour slurry with a tea spoon of corn flour and few table spoons of water.
20. Add the slurry and toss well for about a minute.
21. If you want more sauce add about a cup of water and bit more of corn flour slurry and let it boil until a thick sauce is prepared.

Enjoy!!

C

Japanese Souffle Pancakes

Pancakes has been a weekend affair at home for a while. Every now and then the "Tasty" channels throws in a feed of these super fluffy souffle pancakes tempting me to try. Well it didn't take too long for me to fall for it. After a look up on a few YouTube videos finally landed on one which I though would work for me and of course customised it a bit for my needs. It only took 3 attempts for me to get here. So here's a "Chetty proof" version which I would love to get some feedback. As one of my friends suggested I tried to include more photos of the process as "behind the scenes". Hope they help.

Ingredients

(these measurements makes about 8 pancakes - good for a family of 4)

1. Plain flour - 1 cup
2. Baking soda - 1 tea spoon
3. Milk - 3-4 tablespoons
4. Vanilla extract - 1 tea spoon
5. Eggs - 6
6. Sugar - 1 teaspoon
7. Cream of Tartar - 1/2 teaspoon
8. Salt - 1/4 tea spoon

Method

1. Separate the egg whites and yolks in different large bowls.



Step 2

2. Add sugar and cream of tartar powder in the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
3. Mix the egg yolks with flour, milk, salt and vanilla essence until all of them are mixed well into a smooth paste.
4. Fold in the egg white meringue into the batter slowly until a smooth foamy batter is formed.
5. Create a ring using baking paper. The ring should be 2 cms tall and about 8-9 cms in diameter. This dimension is very important folks. Any other size will mess things up.
6. Heat a non stick tawa on low heat.  The lowest possible on your stove. 
7. Sprinkle a few drops of water. The tawa is ready when the water sizzles.
8. Place the baking paper ring and pour about 3/4th of a cup of the batter into the ring. Remember this will raise up a bit so do not pour until the brim.



Step 3

9. Add a few table spoons of water around the side and steam it for 1 minute with a lid on. The timing is very important. This may slightly vary based on your setup.
10. Flip it around and steam it again with water on the side for another minute.
11. Remove the pancake into a plate and remove the paper ring.
12. Serve hot with butter and maple syrup.

Enjoy!!

C

Some behind the scene images

Step 4

Step 10

Step 8

Step 9 

Fish Fry

Fish Fry - a dish I first tried during one of my stays in Yercaud. It was a river fish with so many bones and I had no clue how to eat it. Over the years got to know the difference between a river fish and a sea fish and began to start liking the sea fish - simply because it had less bones to take care of. :) Of course not every fish is suitable for a cutlet for a shallow fry.  Some that I liked are King fish, Cat fish, Barramundi and now Rainbow Trout. So here it comes - a shallow fried Fish Fry.

Ingredients

1. Fish cutlets (we used Rainbow Trout) - 1.5 kg
2. Ginger garlic paste - 1 table spoons
3. Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tea spoon
4. Black pepper powder - 1/2 tea spoon
5. Curry leaves (finely chopped) - 1 table spoon
6. Corn flour - 2 tea spoons
7. Lemon juice -  2 table spoons
8. Salt - to taste
9. Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup

Method

1. Create a paste with all the ingredients with a little bit of water.
2. Marinade the fish in the paste for about 1 hour.
3. In a wide and deep grill / tava pour any vegetable oil for about enough to cover the entire base for up to 1/2 inch height.
4. After the oil is hot shallow fry the marinaded fish pieces in low flame.
5. Turn after 4 to 5 minutes and cook for another 5 minutes.
6. Rest it on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Enjoy !!

C

Stuffed Mushrooms

Stuffed Mushrooms - Something that the American restaurants blessed me with on many occasions.  Stuffed mushrooms along with corn meal biscuits are an amazing combination. A good part is we can experiment with it in so many different ways for the stuffing. Few years ago I tried masala stuffed mushrooms.  This time it's a bit more traditional but with my own twists. It's a great option for an appetizer / entree and goes very well with a glass of red. :) 

Ingredients (these measurements for about 15-20 mushrooms)

1. Mushrooms – preferably the wide ones that you can stuff after removing the stem
2. Garlic – minced (about 3-4 cloves)
3. Onions – finely chopped (1/2)
4. Cream Cheese (100 gms)
5. Parmesan Cheese – grated (1/2 cup)
6. Mozzarella Cheese - grated (1/2 cup)
7. Sundried tomato - minced (optional) 3-4 tablespoons
8. Italian herbs - 1 tablespoon
9. Butter - 30 gms
10. Coriander leaves – finely chopped - 2 table spoons
11. Bread crumbs - 3-4 table spoons
12. Black Pepper powder - 1 table spoon
13. Olive oil spray

Method

1. Remove the stem of the mushrooms and chop them finely. This is of course going to be the core of your stuffing.
2. Heat a sauce pan and melt a few tablespoons of butter.
3. Saute the onions, garlic, mushroom stems and sun dried tomatoes for a few minutes with Italian herbs, black pepper powder and salt to taste.
4. Keep the mixture aside and bring it close to room temperature.
5. Using a fork, mix the cream cheese, bread crumbs, parmesan.
6. Add the cooled down mushroom mix into the cream cheese and mix well.
7. Use a teaspoon of this mixture and stuff the de-stemmed mushroom cups.
8. Garnish the stuffed mushrooms with a sprinkle of parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
9. Place the mushrooms on a baking tray lined with aluminium paper.
10. Spray them around with olive oil. This is optional.
11. Bake the mushrooms in an oven at 175 degrees Celsius for about 5-7 minutes – just until the parmesan starts turning golden (or you start smelling a burnt smell – whichever comes earlier).
12. Allow the mushrooms to cool for a few minutes before serving.
13. Garnish with a sprinkle of chopped coriander leaves.

Enjoy!!

C

Chicken Kolhapuri

Chicken Kolhapuri -  a Marathi delicacy was brought to my attention during my multiple visits to Bombay Talkies. This is one of my favourite restaurants here in Sydney (Harris Park). The owner recommended it once and we never looked back. It has such a different and refreshing flavour that was not usually found in the more common Punjabi or Chettinadu chicken curries. There was something different to it that I couldn't put my finger on. After a bit of research I realised the spices made all the difference. It was almost like the mix for Vaangi Baath but with that subtle twist which made all the difference. It is no surprise here since Kolhapur where this dish originated from is not too far from the Karnataka border. You will notice a good kannadiga / coastal influence. So here's my version of it with a few twists that Uma brought in. 

Ingredients

Masala (good enough for up to 2 kg of chicken)

1. White Sesame seeds - 1 table spoon
2. Desicated coconut - 2 table spoons
3. Coriander seeds - 2 table spoons
4. Red Chillies - 2 or 3
5. Kashmiri Red Chillies - 3 or 4
6. Cinnamon stick - a small twig about 1 to 2 inches
7. Cloves - 4 to 5
8. Cardamom (Green) (Elaichi) - 4 or 5 pods
9. Poppy seeds (Khus khus) - 1 table spoon
10. Cumin - 2 tea spoons

Curry

1. Chicken with bones (1.5 kg)
2. Large red onions - 2 (diced)
3. Tomatoes - 3 (diced)
4. Ginger Garlic Paste - 2 table spoons
5. Kolhapuri Masala (from above) - 3 to 4 table spoons
6. Kashmiri red chilli - 4 or 5
7. Ghee - 2 table spoons
8. Turmeric - 1 teaspoon
9. Coconut milk - 220 ml
10. Mint leaves - a handful
11. Coriander leaves - 1 handful (chopped)

Method

1. Dry roast the ingredients of the masala and keep it aside to cool down to room temperature.
2. Grind them to a coarse powder.
3. Chop up the chicken to small pieces, wash and rinse them.
4. Add the powdered masala, turmeric with the ginger and garlic paste on the chicken and mix them up and let it marinade about 30 minutes.
5. While the chicken is marinading heat up a large kadai (sauce pan) with about 3 to 4 tablespoons of any vegetable oil.
6. Once hot, saute the onions until they turn slightly brown.
7. Add the tomatoes and saute until the mixture turns mushy and oil separates.
8. Let this onion-tomato mix cool to room temperature.
9. Once cooled down blend this mixture to a smooth paste.
10. Heat the same kadai with about 1/3 cup of vegetable oil.
11. Once hot add the blended paste and saute until oil separates.
12. Add the marinaded chicken along with the mint leaves and cook well (in medium heat / flame) with a closed lid for about 20 minutes. 
13. Keep mixing it up with a little bit of water ( to the level of consistency preferred) so that the masala mixes well and the chicken doesnt get burnt.
14. Add the coconut milk and let it boil for another 5 minutes.
15. In a separate kadai or a large spoon add the ghee and kashmiri chillies and lightly roast it for a few seconds until the chillies expand in size.
16. Add this chilli and ghee to the curry, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with roti/naan/chappati or steamed rice.

Enjoy!!

C

Hot Cross Buns

Hot cross buns...hot cross buns...1 a penny 2 a penny hot cross buns. The classic nursery rhyme is how I knew hot cross buns for almost 35 years. It was only in Sydney when I came across this lovely treats and it's association with Easter. Apparently these are eaten on Good Friday. This is a sweet spiced bun with dry fruits. It's usually made with raisins (or sultanas as we call it down under). I made these raisins and cranberries for an extra punch. These buns can be eaten just like that or toasted with butter. This recipe while simple is time consuming and needs a lot of patience. Do not attempt when you are rushed for time.

Ingredients

Dough

1. Plain  flour - 500 gms (keep another 100 gms for kneading time)
2. Active Dry Yeast powder - 2 teaspoons (There are several varieties of yeast make sure you get the "active" variety else there would be extra steps to "activate" them.
3. Caster Sugar - 50 gms
4. Cinnamon powder -  2 tea spoons
5. Nutmeg powder - 1 tea spoon
6. Unsalted butter - 50 gms (soft)
7. Water at room temperature - 350 ml
8. Egg - 1 
9. Dry fruits (Raisins/Sultanas, Cranberries) - 300 gms

White Cross

1. Plain flour - 75 gms
2. Vegetable oil - 2 table spoons
3. Water - 75 ml

Glaze

1. Caster Sugar - 1/2 cup
2. Water (boiling) - 1/2 cup

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients for the dough in a large bowl and knead until gooey elastic dough is made. Keep adding a sprinkle of plain flour every now and then. Keep mixing until the dough does not stick to the bowl and shape it like a ball. If you have a stand mixer - great. However I don't and I did it by hand. If you have kids at home now would be a good time to involve them to knead the dough.
2. Once done cover it up with a damp cloth or clingon wrap and set it aside in a warm place for about an hour. I kept it in the oven with lights on for a bit of warmth. The dough should raise a few times in size by then.
3. Knead the dough again releasing the air bubbles and bring it to a ball shape.
4. Leave it to raise for another 30 minutes.
5. Knead the dough again and prepare separate balls about 80-90 gms each. Yes - I did weigh each bun. You might want to dust your hand with flour while doing so.
6. Set the balls in a flat baking tray lined with baking / parchment paper. Leave about 1/2 an inch gap between the balls.
7. Set this aside in a warm place and let it rise for 30 minutes.
8. For the white cross prepare a slush with flour and water. Add the water slowly until a thick but flowing consistency is done.
9. Transfer the slush to a piping bag or ziploc bag with a small cut at the end.
10. Once the balls have risen for 30 minutes pipe the flour slush cross across the buns.
11. Bake them in a oven pre-heated at 190 deg Celsius for about 25 minutes. Turn the tray around once around 10 or 12 minutes.
12. While the buns are baking prepare the glaze by mixing caster sugar in boiling water until the sugar is dissolved.
13. Take the buns out once you see a light brown cover on top.
14. Brush the glaze over the buns while the buns are hot.
15. Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.

Warm and soft hot cross buns are now ready to be relished!!

Enjoy!!

C

Masala Mushroom Cheese Omelette

Whenever I have an omelette I go down the road of nostalgia where so many things that come to my mind. Back in those days omelettes had to be cooked in separate vessels and not in the kitchen. I still remember a Bud Spencer movie where he eats a 12 egg omlette. The most I've gone up to has been 3. 😀 The "bread (masala) omelette" in Kovai Express was always something we looked forward to in our trips to Madras. Fast forward few decades later cheese omelettes came into play thanks to Denny's and IHOPs. So here's a mix of few of those memories - Masala Mushroom Cheese Omelette.

Ingredients

1. Eggs - 2 (or 1 or 3 or 12 if you like) :)
2. Onions - 1 table spoon (finely minced)
3. Green chilli - 1 (minced)
4. Mushroom  - 2 tablespoon (minced)
5. Grated cheese - 2 table spoons I used a 3 cheese mix (Mozzarella, Parmesan & Cheddar)
6. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
7. Cumin powder - 1 pinch
8. Salt - 1 pinch
9. Black pepper powder - 1/2 tea spoon

Method

1. Heat a wide sauce pan and grease it with a few drops of any vegetable oil.
2. Saute the onions, chillies and mushroom along with salt, turmeric powder and cumin powder.
3. Beat the eggs well with a pinch of salt until the yolks and white are blended well.
4. Add the sauteed onions, chillies and mushrooms to the egg and mix well.
5. Grease the sauce pan (while keeping the stove to low flame / heat)
6. Add the egg mixture and circle around the pan to have an even spread.
7. Add the grated cheese and cook with a covered lid for about a minute until the cheese melts.
8. Roll the omelette up and serve with toast (and tomato ketchup).

Enjoy!!

C

Vaangi Bath which can also be called as Brinjal (Egg Plant) Pulao was first introduced to me by a good old friend Aravind Swami (no not the actor) during my initial stint at the Portland short term boys "hostel". Brinjal was not necessarily my favourite vegetable to consume then, but with Vaangi Bath it turned around in my taste buds. This is one of the top contributions from the Kannadiga food specialities. Am sure there are plenty of ready made store mixes for the masala (MTR being my favourite), it definitely adds flavour when made fresh at home. So here it comes ladies and gentlemen.... 

Ingredients

Masala

1. Kashmiri red chilli - 3 or 4
2. Urad dal - 2 teaspoons
3. Chana dal - 2 teaspoons
4. Methi / Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
5. Coriander seeds - 2 tablespoons
6. Poppy seeds / khas khas - 1 teaspoon
7. Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
8. Green Cardamom / Elaichi - 3 or 4
9. Cloves - 4 or 5
10. Desicated coconut - 2 table spoons
11. Roasted peanuts - 2 table spoons

Vangi Bath

1. Steamed (pressure cooked) rice - Basmati / Sona masoori - 2 cups (before steaming)
2. Brinjal / Egg plant - 500 gms (diced in 1 inch cubes)
3. Onion - 1 (thinly sliced)
4. Red chillies - 3 or 4
5. Turmeric powder - 1/2 tea spoon
6. Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
7. Vangi bath Masala - 2 - 3 tablespoons
8. Tamarind water - 1/4  to 1/2 cup
9. Curry leaves - 1 or 2 twigs
10. Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
11. Vegetable based oil - 4-5 table spoons 
12. Ghee - 1 table spoon

Method

1. Dry roast the ingredients of the masala - preferably one at a time. If you are running out of patience feel free to do all of them but keep the poppy seeds, peanuts  and coconut to the end.
2. Let it cool down to room temperature and grind it to a smooth powder.
3. Heat a large kadai add some generous (4-5 table spoons) of any vegetable oil.
4. When hot temper it with mustard seeds until they crackle.
5. Add the red chillies with curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.
6. Add the sliced onions and saute until translucent.
7. Add the tamarind water and bring the mixture to a boil.
8. Add the diced egg plant along with turmeric and salt to taste and saute until the egg plants have become soft.
9. Add the powdered Vangi bath masala. Exercise caution if you are not a big fan of spicy food.
10. Mix well until oil separates. 
11. Taste the mixture for spicyness and salt. It should be just be just a saltier than what your taste buds would like.
12. Mix the steam rice well so that the mixture is blended evenly.
13. Finally add the ghee and mix it well.

Serve hot.

Enjoy!!

C

Mutton Chops

Mutton - a meat that I had avoided for a very long time for whatever reasons. I was not a big fan of the gamy flavour. However I got to understand recently that if done well you can camouflage the flavour with the right spices. These days we started making it more frequently for it's iron content apparently good for the ladies in the family. So here's a recipe for a semi-gravy type chops which is a huge hit at home.

Ingredients

Mutton Masala

1. Coriander - 2 table spoons
2. Cumin Seeds - 1 tea spoon
3. Fennel Seeds - 1 tea spoon
4. Cinnamon sticks - 2
5. Cloves - 6
6. Bay leaf - 1
7. Red chillies - 4
8. Small star anise - 1
9. Poppy seeds - 1 table spoon

Chops

1. Diced Mutton with bone - 1kg
2. Diced Onions - 2
3. Garlic - 2 cloves
4. Shallots - 3
5. Tomato (small) - 2
6. Ginger/Garlic paste - 2 table spoon
7. Cumin seeds  - 1 tea spoon
8. Fennel seeds - 1 tea spoon
9. Coriander leaves
10. Curry leaves
11. Red Chilli powder - to taste
12. Black pepper powder
13. Lemon juice - 1 table spoon
14. Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
15. Green chillies - 2
16. Mustard seeds
17. Coriander powder - 2 tea spoons

Method

1. Pressure cook the mutton with turmeric, salt and 2 cloves of garlic for about 7 or 8 whistles.
2. While it is being pressure cooked, dry roast the ingredients of the masala and let it to cool down.
3. Saute mustard seeds, fennel and cumin seeds.
4. Saute onions and green chillies until onions turn translucent.
5. Add tomatoes and saute until oil separates.
6. While you wait for the saute to complete grind the roasted masala to a fine powder.
7. Add ginger garlic and saute until oil separates.
8. Add coriander powder and the masala and mix well.
9. Filter the mutton from the pressure cooker and add the pieces.
10. Use the water used from the pressure cooker to the consistency needed. 
11. Add salt to taste.
12. Saute for about 15 minutes.
13. Add lemon juice and pepper powder and mix well.
14. Garnish with coriander leaves and curry leaves and serve hot.

Enjoy

C