When sammy came home

I was on GM diet- that’s when I cooked all this and didn't taste any of it. Dosa & rice with prawn curry, spicy chicken curry and Paneer.

It was apparently yummy :(. I fished this picture out and am drooling ….guess will make it again tonight? Now that’s a happy thought :)

Creamy Prawn Curry

Ananya made this one night for dinner, and I still haven’t forgotten the taste. Each time I make it, i want more of it. you can create wonders by just replacing one ingredient from a curry. This is similar to Malai Curry, but you replace coconut milk with fresh pouring cream and I use tomatoes in this.

You’ll need:

500 gms fresh prawns/shrimps – cleaned, deveined

1 teaspoon garlic

1 teaspoon Ginger

1 chopped onion (large)

1 teaspoon tomato paste or 1 diced tomato

1/2 to 1 spoon of red chilly powder

1/2 spoon turmeric

1 tablespoon dhania powder

1/4 spoon cumin powder (optional)

1/2 cup pouring cream

3 table spoons of ghee or oil (i recommend ghee)

2 teaspoons lemon juice

salt to taste

1/4 teaspoon Garam masala

Bunch of coriander

Preparation:

Mix lemon juice and turmeric to the prawns and set aside for about 10 minutes. In a non stick pan sauté the prawns till pink. Set aside. Sauté onions till brown in ghee. Add ginger, garlic and sauté come more. After about a minute add the tomatoes, chilly powder, dhania powder, cumin, salt, turmeric and mix well to form a paste. Now stir in the fresh cream and mix well. Add the prawns and mix for about a minute. Pour water as per your gravy requirement. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes. After 5-7 minutes, sprinkle garam masala and top with lots of coriander.

Serve with hot steamed rice!

Chicken Skewers

I always go overboard with starters for any party at home. That’s because I believe my guests will appreciate the food most, when they are still sober, and not intoxicated with scotch and wine- and that happens only in the starter stage. By the time they move on to main course, half of them are thinking of a good night’s sleep and the other half can’t tell the difference between chicken and  lamb. So then, if you are entertaining guests over drinks, work on your starters and keep the main course simple. :-)

I make chicken skewers very often, mostly because it is simple, and tastes out of this world.

You’ll need:

500 gms diced chicken

Teriyaki/barbeque/honey chilly/sweet chilly sauce/ ANY sauce :-)

1 –2 teaspoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

salt to taste

Preparation:

Mix the chicken pieces with garlic, salt, lemon juice and the sauce of your choice. You can make 3 different portions and make different kinds of sticks for the sake of variety! Dump in the fridge for 3-4 hours. Remember- the more you marinade, the better it is!

Soak wooden skewers in water for about one hour.

Half an hour before the guests arrive, arrange the chicken pieces n skewers and grill it in the oven, ocassionally turning it. I grill it at at about 200 degrees for around 15 minutes.

 

You are now, all set to entertain!

Vietnamese Spring Roll

Made Vietnamese Rice paper spring rolls the other day. It was a welcome change after the deep fried Indian version. Loved it.  They look so peaceful too- white and serene. Perfect mood food for those soul searching moments.

The best part of the entire spring-roll experience is how light and happy you feel despite having 10 rolls! 

Go on, roll one!

Sasuri’s Doi Maach / Fish in Spicy Yoghurt Sauce

This one is Via Ma-in-law. A little twisted to my liking of course! One of the many reasons I feared marrying a Bengali was the idea of eating fish everyday. I couldn't stand the smell of fish back then. That’s when Ma would make Doi Maach for me, which surprisingly would smell of spices and tasted liked heaven. Ma's version of Doi Maach has green chillies, was sweeter and had no onions. I tried this the other day for Ananya, and she can vouch for this recipe! Well, between us we finished two full fish fillets!!

For the marinade: 500 gms of firm white river fish / fish fillets. Add 1 big cup of yoghurt, 1 –2 bay leaves, 2-3 cardamom pods, 1 inch stick of cinnamon, 2 –3 cloves, 2 pinches of turmeric. Mix all together and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours at least.

After 2-3 hours, take out the marinated fish.

Step 1: In a small non-stick pan, sauté 1 small grated Onion/paste in 2 table spoons of mustard oil. Add green chillies, 1/2 teaspoon of ginger grated (optional), 1-2 teaspoons of red chilly powder. Sauté till oil separates.

Step 2: Add the marinated fish with spices to the sautéed onion paste in the pan. Coat the fish with the masala. Turn the flame to the low. This is important as Doi Maach is made over very low flame. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and salt to taste.

Cover it and let it simmer over low flame for about 10-12 minutes.

 

After 10-12 minutes, you’ll see the yoghurt has diluted, oil separated and there is enough gravy. If you think you need more gravy just add a little warm water to it. The fish will be cooked by now. Check with a fork if you are unsure. Just before you transfer the fish into a serving bowl, add about 1/2 teaspoon of mustard oil for the flavour.

Serve with piping hot rice!

Bon Appetite!

Top tips: Some make this without red chilly powder, onions and ginger, like Ma. That tastes equally good. Try either, they both have knock out taste!

Vanilla Cup Cakes – happiness in a paper cup :)

  

Technorati Tags: cup cakes,vanilla

AAAAHHH, UUUUUUUUUH, TIRAMISU

It is my favourite dessert. I have been trying to make it for years now, but for want of the right ingredients in India. Sydney fulfilled my Tiramisu dream. But the funny thing about Tiramisu is the number of versions that really exist. Use sponge cake if you don’t get lady fingers, use Marsala wine or don’t, don’t use whipped cream, actually you can you know, it doesn’t matter really, so on and so forth.

So Via my mad mad friend MS Jaya Naomi Datt, and the many searches on the internet, KG set to make the first Tiramisu of her life.

Step one:

Break in 5 large eggs- separate the yolks from the whites. You’ll need the yellow. Take a large bowl and add 2/3 cups of brown castor sugar and the egg yolks. Beat it with an electric beater or a hand blender, till it reaches a nice thick consistency (or as Jaya puts in- like cake batter). Add 450 gms of Mascerpone cheese and fold in well till it blends in completely. Add marsala wine - 5 to 6 table spoons. This is optional. I did not use it.

  Step 2

Whip heavy cream, about 1/2 cup till they form soft peaks and add to the Mascerpone cheese, egg and sugar mixture set aside.

 

step 3:

Make 1 large cup of very strong esspresso coffee. Cool. Once cooled add 4-5 table spoons of coffee liqueur – Baileys Irish cream or Kahlua. Mix well. Set aside

Step 4: Take lady fingers and soak each one of them in the coffee-liqueur mixture and arrange on a square dish or individual dessert bowls. If you cannot find lady fingers then you cna use a firm sponge cake, which I did. But I highly recommend not to do this, to keep the authenticity of Tiramisu intact. note in the picture below, the cake it not soaked in the coffee mixture. Youc an first arrange them in a dish and use a spoon pour the mixture over the cake.

Step 5

Now make layers of the cake and the cheese mixture.

Step 5: cover it with aluminum foil, and refrigerate it over night. Just before serving the next day, dust cocoa powder over it evenly or use dark chocolate shavings! You Tiramisu is ready to melt in your mouth!

Ingredients in detail:

2/3 cups: Castor Sugar
4-5 large eggs
Coffee Liqueur- 4-5 tbsp
1 cup strong esspresso
500 gms- Mascerpone Cheese
Cocoa Powder for dusting or Dark chocolate shavings
Heavy whipping cream (optional)
Marsala Wine (optional)
Lady fingers/Sponge cake

(This serves 6-8 people)

Top Tips:

Try and stick to lady fingers
I think its best when set in individual dessert bowls, there is no hassle of serving.
Always, sit back and have a Tiramisu. Play some soft romantic number in the back ground, preferably.

Enjoy!