Chinese: Sweet Chilli Chicken with Veggies

Happiness in 15 minutes. I promise. Here’s how.

In a wok, pour oil. Add boneless chicken (breast fillets). Once it browns, add diced ginger, garlic and green chilly – lots of it. Sprinkle some cornflour. Mix well till chicken coats well with the cornstarch. Add soya sauce- about 1-2 teaspoon and 2 spoons of fountain sweet chilli sauce. Stir fry. Add salt to taste. when almost done, add mushrooms, capsicum, broccoli, shallots, baby corn and all the veggies you’d care to consume. Pour cornflour dissolved in water – 1 tsp. Bring it to a boil.  If you don’t want gravy, then, don’t add the cornstarch in the end.

Serve with rice and watch the grin on yours and his face widen.

Sushi in Sydney

Sydney food courts are a delight for foodies. Especially for Japanese food lovers. Every street corner will have a Sushi bar, and all food courts will have an Asagao. Asagao is a Sushi chain, perhaps the largest one in Sydney. They are always crowded and in city, people queue up to be seated. But I have seen most people grabbing a Sushi roll or a takeaway Sashimi plate and hurrying back to their offices. The Asagao near our place, at the Rhodes shopping mall has plenty of seating space, of course at peak lunch hours, these are taken too.

 

 

 

The dictionary meaning of sushi is -Cold cooked rice dressed with vinegar that is shaped into bite-sized pieces and topped with raw or cooked fish, or formed into a roll with fish, egg, or vegetables and wrapped in seaweed.

I am fascinated by how Sushi is made and the way they look. By far the most interesting and pretty looking food I have seen. And when they are stacked in rows they look really lovely. And they say Sushi tastes best when freshly made and eaten. If your Sushi is hard, then its probably stale or has been sitting on the shelves for way too long. I however, am not a Sushi lover. But I have heard how Sushi in Sydney is ‘remodeled’ to suit the palates of a floating Indian population, with stuff like Tandoori Chicken Sushi!! Besides these the dumplings, which are called Gyozas look pretty out of the world too. For the busy office goers you have the regular lunch boxes, and for the more choosy ones there is a pretty extensive menu to choose from- chicken teriyaki, ramen, noodles, pork dumplings, stir fries, BBQ noodles, sea food rolls and plenty more to choose from. The  Asagao at the Rhodes Shopping mall doesn’t have a Sushi Train. I’ve heard that the Asagao at Pitt Street is a Sushi train restaurant. Wondering what a Sushi train is? Sushi Train restaurants are said to be a cost effective way of eating sushi. At these restaurants, the sushi is served on color-coded plates, with each color denoting the cost of the sushi serving. The plates are placed on a conveyor belt – yah just like the airport ones :-). As the belt or boat passes, the customers choose their desired plates. After finishing, the bill is tallied by counting how many plates of each color have been taken.

 

But my man here, was not very impressed with all the Sushi talk. He decided to go for a seafood noodle instead. When it finally arrived, I was ready with my camera to shoot him devouring octopuses, muscles, scallops, shrimps and what not. Yah, there is marine life in his stomach.

 

 

 

Apparently it tasted pretty good. But not as good as what I churn out in KG’s kitchen. Now, that’s what he said. Hmmmm :D Grin grin.

When Kolkata beckons

Have you ever visited Kolkata?

Have you ever stopped by the countless sweet shops to just stand and take in the invigorating aromas of Singara, Kochuri, freshly boiled Rasogullas  & Rasamalais being dumped into sugar syrup and condensed milk?

Have you ever stood by the corner near Globe and had Phuchkaas, while gulping down the over sized round looking bombs into your mouth while simultaneously cleaning your running nose with your forearm (or may be with tissues for the more discerning individuals)

Have you ever taken your girlfriend to Badshah and ordered on her behalf a double egg, double Mutton, roll?

Have you ever taken your wife to Regent and had fish fry like you did on your first date with her?

Have you ever had Alu Kabli near Girish Park or BBD Bag?

Have you ever packed a kilo of Langchas in an earthen pot to take it to your Jamai babu?

Have you ever bought Lichus and Jamrul for your children in summers?

Have you ever asked your wife to rest one Sunday morning, while you went to Sharma’s and got home a sumptuous breakfast of Radha Ballabi and Mishti Doi?

Have you ever stuffed your mouth after a meal with Kolkata Mitha Pan?

Have you ever gone to Tangra for the most authentic Chinese that you can possibly get in India?

Have you ever spent a hot sweaty afternoon in Aminia with Chicken Biriyani ?

Have you ever specially couriered Nalen Gurer Sandesh to your relatives?

Have you ever stopped by to ogle at the beautiful writer’s building, while sipping the most awesome cha from a cute little earthen cup?

Have you ever had multiple tummy upsets because you one too many of those Kabirajis, Moghlai Porotas and Jhalmuri?

Have you ever squeezed under a blue plastic sheet that barely covers a tea stall in pouring rain and had Begunis and Penyajis?

Have you ever taken your boss to The Coffee House instead of a Cafe Coffee day for some heady conversation over coffee and Marie biscuits?

 

For if you have, you are indeed blessed and you can now die in peace.

Supah Sexy Scallops

Now, first things first. This recipe is not mine. I learnt it at Sydney Seafood School. So the recipe featured here is courtesy them. And you know what? If you don’t try this recipe, I think you are not foodie enough :), more so if you are a seafood lover. So then get set, bring home that barbeque, call your best pals, order in the best wine, throw a party, and show off your culinary skills.

Ready to toss some Scallops?

Red Curry Scallops with Mango Mint Salsa (serves 6)

150 ml Coconut cream
1 tablespoon Red Curry paste
3 tablespoons fresh Ginger, Grated
1 tablespoon Palm Sugar
6 Scallops on Half Shell
18 Scallops without Shell
Mango Mint Salsa

1 mango, finely diced

1 tablespoon Freshly Chopped Mint leaves

2 red Shallots, finely Chopped.

1 tablespoon Lime Juice

Heat a couple of tablespoons of the thickest coconut cream (from the top of the tin) in a small saucepan as shown below. Add red curry paste and ginger and coconut till fragrant.




Remove from heat and add palm Sugar, stir to dissolve. Place Mixture in a small bowl and add remaining coconut cream. Remove Scallops from shells, wash and dry shells. Combine Scallops and red curry mixture, mix well and stand for 1 hour.

Washed, de-veined and de-shelled Scallops





Washed Shells, that is used to serve the barbequed Scallops





Scallops in red curry marinade





Meanwhile, make the salsa: Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.





Now, after about 45 mins to an hour, take the marinated scallops and cook them on heated oiled char-griller for about 1 minute each side, till they become opaque. They cook super fast, so be careful not to over-cook it.




Place spoonful of salsa on the shells and top it with Scallops. Whoa! Its ready to give your guests a very pleasant shock!





Top Tips from KG:

1. I think this recipe as is can be used for shrimps too. This is just in case you don’t get Scallops.

2. This is generally served and complete with a grilled fish and bread.

3. If there is no wine, please don’t dine :). No, really, white wine goes fabulously with this!

4. For the Red Curry paste- either buy it ready made in any of the fancy supermarkets or write to me for the red curry paste recipe. :). Email: aparna dot das at gmail dot com



So long then! Bon Appétit!

Hearty Dosa

You, Him and a breakfast full of Love!!

HAPPY VALENTINES!

Corny Chaat :-)

Step 1: Roast sweetcorn on cob

Step 2: Set aside

Step 3: Shave the corn kernels as shown in the pic

Step 4: chop onions, coriander, green chilies, lemon wedges.

 

Step 5: Add salt, Red chilly powder (optional), Chaat Masala and squeeze the lemon into the mixture. Add the rest of the stuff, mix well.

Step 6: Dig in

Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm bliss!

Top Tips:

# Add boiled potatoes and tomatoes to make this a heavier, fuller snack.

# The roasted sweet corn on cob by itself is yummmmmy- spread butter over it and bite in, else, try it the usual way with lemon juice, chilli powder and salt.

#The chaat as mentioned above is excellent as a starter in parties, and sure to set a few tongues wagging about how J they are of your chef-giri.

(I owe this recipe to Corn Club, our most favourite hangout in Pune after college. And I can’t thank Poopsie enough who introduced us to this totally novel (then) place.)

Fish fingers in a jiffy

1. Cut fish fillets in finger shape (skinless, boneless)

2. Rub lime juice, a pinch of mustard powder, salt and white pepper powder. Keep aside for 10 minutes

3. Take bread crumbs in a plate. Dip the fingers into beaten egg mixture, roll over the crumbs

4. Deep fry or oven bake.

5. Serve with Tartar sauce or Tamatar sauce :)

6. Yenjaaay!