Ek Kali Do Pattiyaan

I am looking for inspiration. And I get oodles of it from my cuppa Darjeeling. A long while back, I wrote a post on Cha, on Butkintuparantu. Adding the link here. And if any Makaibari cha lovers are reading this post, make sure to watch this video, to see and know everything about Makaibari.

Wake up and smell the tea :-).

 

Have a lovely, inspiring weekend. Ciao.

Egg-xotic

 

Aziz Bi taught me to make this, and I make it very often. Especially when I am in a mood for something tangy and different. You can’ t go wrong with this- some people even mistake it for a bake! Simple yet exotic! Try it and lemme know :)

1. Chop one big onion and one big tomato.

2. In a pan pour 3 teaspoons of oil and sauté the onions until brown.

3. Add 1 teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste and sauté for 2 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes, mix. Add 1 teaspoon of red chilly powder, pinch of turmeric, salt, 2 teaspoons of tomato ketchup and 2 pinches of sugar . Mix well and wait for tomatoes to soften as shown in the picture.

 

 

5. break in 3 eggs

6. Break the yolks over the tomato paste

7. DO NOT MIX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. 8.Cover with lid over very very low flame.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Wait for 12 minutes, till the egg is cooked.

10. Serve with rotis or hot steamed rice as a side.

Roasted!

Are you one of those who can eat just about anything that is baked? I am, and love my oven. Here is a quick veggie roast, if u are in the mood for some diet meals that taste great. The simplest thing I have ever made, this is a must make if you like veggies.

All you need to do is put together your favorite veggies- cut into big chunks. In an oven proof dish, lined with aluminum foil, add the veggies, whole green chillies, whole garlic, sprinkle salt, sprinkle oregano, two teaspoons of tomato based pasta sauce (optional), and spray some olive oil. Bake at 180-200 degrees C for about 30 minutes or till the veggies turn brown.

Eat it like an entree or main with bread.

Variations – use mustard sauce, or just red chilli powder, dhania (coriander powder) and salt.

I used egg plant, tomatoes, beans, onions, capsicum, carrot pumpkin, and potatoes for the roast. Whatever you use, do use pumpkin and tomatoes! You can add bits of chicken, if you can’t bear te thought of just vegetables! Just coat the chicken with pasta sauce and add.

It might not look the most appetizing, but take my word, it tastes out of the world. I should have spent some time in presenting the dish! Next time perhaps. :)

Till then, eat well and cook up some great meals.

Raw Banana Koftas/Kaanch Kolaar Kofta >> Via Amma

I am not going bananas- he he, not yet! I thought while, we are at bananas, why not add another banana post. Only, this one has to do with raw bananas. This post is for Amma, our cook in Hyderabad- at my In-law’s place. She has been with us for close to 13  years now, and continues to support the house hold. Kaanch Kolaar Kofta or Raw Banana Koftas , in Bengali style is one of my husband’s favourite. And Amma made it well, when she was in a good mood, of course. I make many versions of this. Here is Amma’s version.

Steps:

1. Pressure cook 2 raw bananas with 2 potatoes. 2-3 whistles are enough.
2. Once done, peel off the skin form the bananas and potatoes and mash it in a bowl.
3. Add to this mash one small chopped onion, green chillies, salt, Garam Masala powder, a handful of chopped coriander leaves an mix well.
4. Make round balls of this mash. If the mash is too soggy, then add a spoon of gram flour or besan to this.
5. Shallow fry this. Be careful with this, the kofta balls tend to break. Be gentle in turning them. Drain the fried Koftas.
6. In a non stick pan, pour 3 tablespoons oil.
7. Add whole spices- a few cardamom, a small stick of cinnamon, 2-3cloves, and 1 bay leaf.
8. Add 1 big chopped onion to this and sauté till it browns.
9. Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté some more.
10. Add tomato paste or puree, 11/2 spoons of Dhania/coriander powder, red chilly powder, 1/4 spoon sugar, 1/4 spoon turmeric powder. Mix well and wait till oil separates.
11. You can add green chillies if you want it spicier.
12. Once the oil separates pour one big cup of hot water and bring it to a boil. Don't be very conservative with water- you can add another half a cup.
13. The Koftas tend to sap all the gravy, so you need not worry about the gravy going too watery.
14. Once done the gravy boils well, sprinkle with Garam Masala, and add coriander leaves to it.
15. Transfer this to the serving dish and let it cool down a bit.
16. Once its warm, add the Koftas, else they will break. Do not add the Koftas to hot boiling gravy.
17. Enjoy with hot steamed rice or rotis!

 

Other versions:

1. If you are watching your diet, you can pan roast the banana koftas. Just make flat patties and roast them like we do with tawa cutlets.

2. Some add cream, to make the gravy richer

3. Dip the round kofta balls in a batter of gram flour/besan and deep fry them, for a totally different taste.

4. Instead of chopped onions, if you have the energy and inclination, add onion paste, that makes the gravy thicker.

So long, then!

Walnut Banana Bread >My Daughter’s Current Favourite

when my daughter says- ‘My favourite’ to something edible, it somehow becomes my moral responsibility to make it myself at home, instead of buying it readymade. I haven’t understood the nature of this mad streak in me, yet, but for now it seems to satisfy her immensely. So be it baby cupcakes or banana bread, I'd rather bake them at home, than pick it from the supermarket or the local baker.

There’s one more thing- each time I make a very complicated dish, like say Dum Biriyani, preparations for which, which span over 2 days, my husband only comments on the taste and never about the effort. But when I bake something like a banana bread or a cheese cake, he  looks at the piece of creation in mock disbelief. Its strange that he never thought baking banana bread at home was possible. That’s R for you.

The bread was awesome, you know. It was my first attempt and it came out just right- like the ones my daughter picks from those Boost Juice bars….so yaaay to my banana walnut bread. Here’s how you make it- its simpler than making a cuppa coffee.

 

Method:

Mash 3 ripe bananas in a wide mouthed bowl. Add 3/4 cup of brown castor sugar and 1/2 cup of softened butter. Mix well with a spatula. Add two beaten eggs to this and mix again. Add 2 spoons of sour cream (optional)to this mixture and beat more till the mixture is creamy.

In another bowl take 1 1/2 cups of self raising flour and sift it with 1 spoon of cinnamon powder. Add chopped walnuts (as much as you’d like- I added about half a cup of them), to this. Slowly add this mixture to the wet batter and mix well. Add 3/4 teaspoon of salt and 1 spoon of Vanilla extract. Fold with the spatula.

Grease a bread making dish and pour batter into this. preheat oven to 180 degree C and then bake the bread for 40 minutes or till its crisp golden brown.

Slice it and have it hot and fresh with a cuppa or leave it for the next day, when you toast it and spread butter over it to be instantly transported to bliss land.

Spice Temple, Sydney

One of the things R and I hadn’t done in Sydney was to try out cool new restaurants and have a nice relaxing lunch. We did that often back in India where we’d leave our lil rascal with mum and go gallivanting about the streets of Koramangla or Indiranagar in Bangalore, trying out the newest restaurant or watering hole on the block. So R decided to take me out as a prelude to my birthday, on Friday, when junior goes to day care. We chose Spice Temple at Bligh Street, in the city. I had read enough and more on Time Out Sydney about Spice temple and I was very very keen on eating something spicy, exciting and new. So we decided to try Chinese but not the run of the mill  fare.  We chose Spice Temple only based on what Timeout Sydney wrote-  And special it is – a Chinese restaurant that does not serve any Cantonese dishes. Instead, you'll find a menu that roams China from Sichuan to Yunnan to Guangxi. But the question tingling on everyone's lips is the chilli factor. "The dishes [on the menu] that are in red, they're hot," explains Perry. "Chilli isn't just about blowing people's minds out. It really is about adding that flavour and mouth-feel and excitement." Go with a bunch of friends and try as many different dishes for the table as you can. You're guaranteed to taste something here that your mouth has never experienced before. In a very, very good way.

I was so unprepared for what came on the table that afternoon - the aromas were invigorating, heady and mysterious and the food tasted like nothing I have had before. By far, my best dining experience, yet. Very very different from what you might expect. The ambience is perfect and they also have a scintillating white bar. Below are some pictures of what we ordered and ate. If you are in Sydney, don’t give this place a miss at any cost!

 

 

(In the pics from top left: A beautiful bowl :), Bloody Mary in a  chilli, sesame, sugar and salt rimmed glass, Chicken Wings – Super Hot!, Fish with green and red chilli sauce (I’ve forgotten what it was called),  3 shot chicken, Ginseng tea, peanut, caramel and chocolate parfait, dessert menu :-) )

Maju’s Simple and Sipcy Prawn Masala

We know very few people in Sydney. And the ones we know are thankfully gastronomes. Especially, the Jacobs. We love dining at their place, though the much promised Appam and Stew are yet to savored. The first time Maju and Manoj had us over, we came back so content and gloating with happiness – all thanks to Maju’s spicy prawns settled in our tummies. For many days we couldn’t get the taste out of us, especially, Raj couldn’t. So yesterday, I finally decided to give Maju’s recipe a try. Its amazing how simple it is. I was done in 10 minutes flat! If you are a lover of south Indian food, this recipe rocks. Simple and most kickass!

Here goes:

You’ll need

250 gms prawns – medium sized, shelled and deveined

Tomato- 1 medium sized

Onion- 1 medium sized

Garlic paste/crushed- 1 teaspoon

Chilly Powder- 1 –2 teaspoons (totally depends on how much you can take- for me the spicier the better)

Curry Leaves

Oil- 2 to 4 teaspoons

Tamarind – Maju suggests we get the Mallu variety of tamarind – round ones, apparently. I used regular tamarind. Though i vouch for her version. She had an altogether Mallu touch. So if you can find that tamarind go on and add 2 of those. Else just soak a little tamarind in water.

Method

If you are using fresh prawns then par boil it (2 minutes) with very little water, turmeric and chilly powder and keep aside. If you are using frozen prawns they can be used directly.

In a pan pour oil, add curry leaves, onions and sauté till they go just about brown. Add garlic and sauté more. After a few minutes add tomatoes and mix well. Let the tomatoes soften, and oil separate. Add chilly powder, turmeric and salt, mix well. Add the cleaned prawns to this and mix well. On medium flame keep mixing this till the mixture dries and stick to the prawns. Add the soaked tamarind pulp and mix. Don’t add water.  The masalas have to cook well and dry out. Don’t take it off flame when still soggy.

I added some ground pepper too- that’s optional. It adds to the flavour, and I recommend freshly ground pepper.

Serve with hot steamed rice on a nice wintery day.

Lemme know how it goes!