Macaroni-Tuna Bake

This is something I bake for dinner, in many different forms, but all with the same basic recipe, when I'm really exhausted or lazy or just time-starved. I can safely say it's my own recipe, but I'm sure many others would have thought of the same thing at some point or the other. It's basically a baked mac 'n' cheese, but with a base of meat/fish/vegetable. It's delicious, satisfying, and combines carbohydrates with proteins-so you don't have to feel guilty about not cooking anything "substantial"!


For this version, I used a can of tuna that I had in my pantry (tuna flakes in spring water-forgot the brand).

      Serves 4
      Step 1:

1. 200 g macaroni
2. Water to cook
3. Salt to taste
4. Oil to sprinkle over

• In a saucepan, bring water to boil, tip in the macaroni (with salt if needed) and cook till done.
• Drain the water and sprinkle some olive oil on the macaroni to keep it from sticking.

     Step 2:

1. 2 tablespoons olive oil or 2 tablespoons butter
2. 2 tablespoons maida (refined flour)
3. 1 cup milk
4. Half to one teaspoon chilli flakes
5. Half to one teaspoon each of dried oregano, chives, and parsley( or just dried mixed herbs)
6. Pepper, to taste
7. Salt, to taste (if using salted butter, then reduce the salt afterwards)

• In a saucepan, melt the butter and tip in the flour.
• Stir vigorously until it turns a light brown.
• Pour in the milk and stir again, making sure there are no lumps. Take off the heat, if necessary.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and check for taste.
• Add more milk if necessary. The consistency should be thick, like that of a creamy soup.

     Step 3:

1. 1 tin canned tuna (flakes or chunks, doesn't matter)

• Open the can.
• Tip over into a baking dish.
• Mix the macaroni into this.
• Pour the white sauce on top.
• Mix everything really well.
• Sprinkle grated cheese on top (the more, the better, obviously-but for health reasons, a little moderation won't hurt!)
• Preheat your oven to 180 C.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the top layer of cheese turns a golden brown.
• Serve with tomato ketchup.

TIPS: 
Vegetarians can just sauté diced mixed vegetables (potatoes, beans, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, capsicums, tomatoes, etc.) in olive oil, adding some garlic and onions to taste and do everything else as above.
You could also add blobs of tomato sauce or tomato chilli sauce in between before baking.


Footnote: A few weeks ago, I baked this with some leftover luncheon meat scramble (for recipe, click here). I used a plain white sauce for this, as the meat was already spiced. And of course, I topped it with cheese!

Fish Vindaloo (or Fish Preserve)

This is an unusual fish curry recipe, unusual for Kerala, that is, but is very much a true-blue, authentic one, from Cannanore. It used to make a regular appearance on my grandmother's (dad's mom) dinner table, whenever she bought a particular type of fish called "mulluvaala" in Malayalam. I don't know the English name for this fish (if anyone can help on this one, please comment or email me!), but it's an extremely bony one, which is why this method of cooking is perfect for it, as it makes the bones soft, mushy, and chewable. You can make this with any other small, bony fish-I like to use sardines.

This is one of those recipes that nobody knows what the name is, but when my grandma used to make it, I used to be reminded of the pork vindaloo preparations, maybe because of the vinegary flavor to it-so I just named it Fish Vindaloo! I got this recipe from my dad's sister, Kanchana aunty, who used to make it often. This sometimes reminds me of the taste of tinned fish in tomato sauce-it's delicious, very easy to prepare, and keeps well for a few days (if there happen to be leftovers, that is!).

This is a recipe you should try at least once-even if you're skeptical about it!

I'm going to list out the exact, original recipe here. I normally cook it with half the quantity of fish, so naturally, use half the quantity of all the other ingredients.

      Serves 6

1. 50 nos. sardines (about 2 kilos), washed and cleaned, topped and tailed
2. 2-inch piece of ginger, julienned
3. 3 pods garlic
4. 4 green chillies, slit
5. 1 large onion, chopped fine
6. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
7. 1 to 2 tablespoons chilli powder
8. 1 cup vegetable oil (preferably coconut oil for the authentic taste)
9. 1 cup tomato ketchup
10. 1 cup vinegar (reduce this if you want it less tangy)
11. 1 sprig curry leaves
12. Salt to taste

• Now comes the unbelievable part-Just add all the above ingredients into a pressure cooker, mix well, close the cooker and after the first whistle, simmer for 45 minutes-not less and not more!
• Take off the flame after the 45 minutes is up, wait for the cooker to cool, then open and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve hot with rotis, cooked tapioca (kappa), rice, or bread.

TIPS:

Even if you're halving the quantity of fish (and the other ingredients), stick to the 45-minute cooking time.

I have only tried this with sardines, so I don't really know if there are other fish (other than "mulluvaala") that could be suitable for this.
If you are using any other bony fish (like "mulluvaala") which has harder bones, then add half cup of water to the mix.
If you want it less sweet and more spicy, use tomato chilli sauce instead.

Can also be used as a sandwich filling, if you mash the fish afterwards.

Can be used as a preserve-will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

(Most of these tips courtesy Vrindechi, another exponent of this curry!)

Neypathiri/Neypathal/Star-Appam

This is my 25th post, in the 26 days since I started this blog. Never did I think, when I began, that I would be able to post a recipe almost every day-but somehow I did. I hope I'll be able to maintain this enthusiasm as time goes by.

I'm aiming at a more realistic target of 3 to 4 recipes per week in the long term. This is because I've just landed a job that I could easily call my dream job at this point in my life-that of a featured writer on a women-centric website, where I have to write on topics as varied as marriage, feminism, spirituality, metaphysics...all my pet subjects. I will be working from home, which gives me the much-needed flexibility and freedom that is crucial to me, while at the same time giving me a certain degree of financial independence that is also important to me, after having tasted that for almost 8 to 9 years prior to my choosing to be a stay-at-home mom. In another month's time, I will also be starting my postgraduate studies in psychology, by distance learning, which is again, something I'm looking forward to.

Somewhere deep inside, a niggling doubt I have is whether I've bitten off more than I can chew-especially since the whole purpose of my being at home is so I can nurture and pay attention to my child's development-so that would mean keeping late nights and doing all this when he's asleep! Well, where there's a will, there's a way is what my mom and dad always say, and with a supportive husband in tow, I guess I shouldn't be worrying too much! So let's celebrate this 25th post of mine with something that is my all-time favorite dish-a North Kerala (Malabar) speciality called "Neypathiri" or "Neypathal" which can roughly be translated to mean "fried rice cakes"?!

My grandmother (dad's mother) used to make this for me as my "tiffin lunch" to take to college. Normally, this is shaped as discs, but she used to make it in another shape (see photo below), which my kid brother took to calling the "Star-appam" and the name stuck....

In almost every recipe for this, you'll find that it requires rice to be soaked for a couple of hours and ground to a paste (too complicated for me). But in my family, I remember this being made with rice flour-in my grandmother's time, this used to be made at home, but nowadays we use readymade roasted rice flour. You could use the rice flour used to make "idiyappam", "pathiri" or even "puttu" (will be mentioned on the label). A good brand to use is Double Horse or Eastern.

To serve 4

1. 2 to 3 cups rice powder
2. Salt to taste
3. 1 to 2 cups hot water

     To be ground to a fine paste:

1. 1 big onion, chopped coarsely or a handful of pearl onions
2. 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
3. 1 tablespoon fennel (perinjeera) seeds
4. 1 cup fresh grated coconut

• Tip in the rice flour into a mixing bowl.
• Combine well with the salt.
• Add the ground coconut paste and mix.
• Now add the hot water, gradually mixing with a spoon at first, and later with your hands (when it's cool) to get a soft and moist dough.
• Divide into lemon-sized balls.
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a wok or kadai (about half to one cup of oil).
• Rub your palms together with a little oil.
• Take one ball in your hand and flatten into a disc that is about 4- to 5-mm thick (If you want the star shape, then flatten the disc and pinch all around the rim to get an inverted V-shape running all round it).
• When the oil is really hot, slowly slide the pathiri into the oil (depending on the size of your wok, you can fry 4-5 pathiris simultaneously).
• The pathiri will slowly rise to the top of the oil and float, at which point you should turn it over using a slotted spoon.
• When both sides become golden brown, remove and drain the excess oil by placing on paper towels.

Serve hot and crisp with stew-chicken, mutton, or veg-for breakfast, lunch, or dinner (or for all 3 meals a day-I promise you, you won't be fed up!).

See Swift Stew for recipe.

TIPS:

It is difficult to say exactly how much water you would need for mixing the rice flour, so just add in the water slowly and use only as much as needed until it gets combined into a dough that is moist and soft. If it is dry, the pathiris will crack up while frying.

Sometimes I add a little ghee (clarified butter) to the dough to keep it moist.

Don't forget to rub your palms with oil before shaping each one so they won't stick to your palms.

You could also place a plastic sheet with oil on your hand and shape the pathiri on the sheet, sliding it off the sheet into the kadai (I believe in the golden olden days, they used a banana leaf for this purpose).

This dough also keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

Tomato/Egg Aviyal

This recipe is versatile in that it can be used to make a vegetarian curry or an egg curry. It's something my mom's mother used to make often, with eggs, and the recipe was given to me by my mom's sisters-Geetha aunty and Beena aunty. Although my mom too had spoken to me about this dish, she didn't really know the exact recipe, but everyone was unanimous in their opinion that this was an easy and mouthwatering curry.

I don't think I will ever have the kind of culinary skill that my grandma had-she was known to be a fantastic cook. In fact, my mom always says that she could eat rice with just a sambhar if it was cooked by her mom-you didn't need any other side dish, meat or fish, pickles or pappads, etc. I think my grandma's culinary skills were matched by her generous, compassionate, and motherly qualities-traits that my mom and her sisters seem to have inherited! My only regret is that I didn't get the time to get to know my grandma really well-she passed away when I was only 9 years old. But I think a part of her lives on in me, through my mother-after all, isn't that what life is all about, in the end? So I like to collect and make recipes that she used to make and somehow it makes me feel connected to her in some way. So here's to her tomato and/or egg aviyal!

To serve 2

1. 3 medium-sized tomatoes, chopped coarsely
2. 1 large onion, chopped coarsely
3. 3 green chillies, slit open
4. 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut, ground to a fine paste with a little water
5. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
6. 2 teaspoons chilli powder (adjust to your liking)
7. 1 sprig curry leaves
8. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
9. Salt to taste
10. 2 eggs, hardboiled, shelled, and halved (you can leave them whole too or add more eggs, obviously...)

• In a pan, add the tomatoes, onions, green chillies, turmeric powder, chilli powder, salt and 1/4th cup water.
• Cover with a lid and cook on low heat until the tomatoes get pulpy.
• Now add the ground coconut paste and stir well. Simmer for a minute.
• Add the boiled eggs and stir.
• Pour in the oil and the curry leaves.
• Remove from fire and serve hot.
• Goes well with poories, rotis, or even rice.

TIPS:

If making this into a vegetarian curry, just omit the eggs and do everything else the same way.

It tastes even better with coconut oil.

Add more water at the later stage to get the consistency you like for your gravy.

A Warm Winter Soup That's Good For Body and Soul!

Sometimes I don't know where my food blog begins and where my personal blog ends...the lines begin to blur after a while.

Like today, my recipe is for a soup that I make for my son, and I thought about it because today was a sort of landmark day for me-in the 16 months since he's been born, I was away from him for nearly 8 hours today, for the first time ever. Up until now, I've only been away from him for a maximum of 2 to 3 hours, but today was an exception as I had a class to attend, and so with my husband holding fort, I bravely set out, but with my heart in my mouth, all along thinking about them and calling up whenever I could. I needn't have worried, because apparently father and son had a great bonding time, with Riyaan eating and sleeping like a model baby-maybe he understood I was away and he shouldn't be any trouble for his dad! But the moment I walked into the door and he saw me, the way he came running and crying, "mummeee mummeee"....whoa! I was hit with a whole truckload of emotions I never even knew I had in me! Every little thing I've done for him till now seemed worth it, all the so-called "trouble" and "efforts" I take to give him the right foods, the right nutrition, the right upbringing, values, etc. etc...And of course, the right soup!

This soup is great to have in the cold, winter months. It's great for adults too and is packed with the goodness of cereals, proteins, leafy greens and vegetables. Its an amalgamation of recipes I got from two friends, Anita and Priya, with the end result being a new, but equally hale and hearty soup, which has been certified delicious by Riyaan and his friend Prathulya (Priya's son)...So here's the recipe, to serve 2.

1. 1 chicken breast, or 2 large pieces of chicken, chopped into chunks
2. 1-inch piece ginger, slit fine (julienned)
3. 1/2 cup quick cooking oats
4. 1 medium carrot, washed, peeled and diced
5. Half a bunch spinach leaves, washed and chopped
6. 1 teaspoon cornflour (optional), dissolved in 1/4th cup warm water
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. 1/2 cup milk

• In a pressure cooker, put in the washed chicken pieces, ginger, salt and pepper.
• Pour enough water to cover.
• Close the lid, place the weight on, and after the first whistle, simmer for 8 minutes.
• When cool, open, and if you've used chicken pieces with the bone, remove from the cooker and debone it, then put it back into the cooker.
• Now, into the broth in the pressure cooker, add in the rest of the ingredients (with the already cooked chicken also), except the milk.
• Pressure cook again for 10 minutes, if making for toddlers, and for 5 minutes if it's for grownups.
• When cool, puree the mixture in your blender, adding the milk to make it smoother.
• Warm again if necessary.
• Transfer to a soup bowl and slurp away-feel the soup warm up your cold-battered bones!

TIPS:

For grownups, garnish with a dollop of cream and croutons.

You could also add other dried herbs as seasonings, like oregano or thyme.

For my friends who are novices in cooking-To make croutons, just cut bread slices into cubes and saute them in butter on low heat until golden brown on all sides. Dunk them into the soup when you're ready to eat...adds an extra crunchy yummy texture to the soup.

Vegetarians can make this soup by substituting the chicken with a cup of mixed vegetables instead.

Stewed Apricots

This recipe is an easier, literally effortless version of the more complicated Qubani-ka-Meetha. Qubani means apricots and qubani-ka-meetha is a traditional Hyderabadi sweet delicacy that is served with fresh cream or, in the modern version, with ice-cream. It's a personal favorite, but I have never made it myself because the thought of stewing the apricots, mashing them, pitting them, and sieving them-as needed in the traditional recipe-used to put me off.

That is, until today, when I had a version of it that tasted divine, just the same as the ones you get traditionally in Hyderabad, but made absolutely effortlessly, by Liz (Koshy) aunty. That is her trademark anyway-that of simplifying cooking and not breaking into a sweat even if she had to host a party for 50 people (check out her Greengram Pulao). So here's her recipe for stewed apricots.

Since we are not taking the trouble of deseeding the apricots, its left to the guests to remove the pits themselves after eating-so you might do well to provide an extra plate for the seeds to be put in (they actually look like mini-almonds and can be eaten, if you have super-strong teeth!).

To serve 6, or more

1. 300 g dried apricots
2. 1-1/2 cups sugar
3. Water

• In a pan, tip in the apricots, sugar, and water-the water level should ideally be about 2 inches above the apricots.
• Cover with a lid and simmer for about 45 minutes until the apricots become soft (if you are planning a party, you can cook the other dishes within this time!).
• Just check from time to time to make sure the water has not evaporated. Add more water if necessary.
• Let the apricots continue soaking in the sugar syrup after you take it off the flame, and through your dinner party (the apricots should be floating in a thick sugary syrup at the end).
• Serve with a dollop of fresh cream or vanilla ice cream on top.

TIPS:

For best results with this dish, buy the whole dried apricots (with seed), which is brown in color. You will not get the same taste with the Turkish dried and pitted (seedless) apricots, which have a bright orange hue.

Bitter Gourd Stir Fry

Bitter gourd (karela in Hindi) may not be a favorite of many. I wasn't a fan either, until I had it this way (courtesy my neighbour, Usha aunty). The secret lies in cooking it, covered, on simmer, for as long as needed to soften the pieces. It doesn't require any masala powders and because of this, you can truly appreciate the taste of the vegetable. This is another easy-to-cook recipe that's great to have in your collection!

Serves 4

4 medium-sized bitter gourds (cleaned, cut in halves, the inner pulpy part scored out, and then cut into thin semi-circles-the thinner, the better!)

2-3 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 sprig curry leaves

1 small onion, thinly sliced

2 green chillies, slit into 2

Salt-To taste

In a pan, heat the oil and throw in the mustard seeds.

When they sizzle, put in the curry leaves.

When they turn a dark green, add all the other ingredients together and combine well.

Cover with a lid and simmer for as long as necessary to soften the pieces.

Keep stirring in between to make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Add more water or oil if necessary.


TIPS:
It would be better if you cooked this in a nonstick pan.

Here's to more new recipes!

Be forewarned-there is no recipe in this post!

A few friends of mine had been suggesting that I post more vegetarian recipes...and coincidentally or telepathically, today I received two cookbooks as gifts from my dad and mum, and one of them was a vegetarian cookbook! Wow! I'm so excited about these two books, as now I have so many more recipes to cook from, and which I can now share with you all on this blog.

Both the books are from the Reader's Digest collection-and my dad must be one of the most prolific customers that Reader's Digest ever got-most of the cookbooks and other books he has gifted me has been from the Reader's Digest catalog. In fact, this magazine has been one of the mainstays of mine and my family's reading repertoire ever since I can remember. When I was a teenager, I remember chancing upon a stash of old issues of the magazine dating back to the 1960s, all safely stored in the family home attic. Although we still subscribe to it, I must say that the new editions lack the magic and charm of the old ones-I miss the condensed book section and the picture of the paintings that used to adorn the back cover. Now the back cover is filled with an advertisement instead and almost every other page is an advert! Call me an old-fashioned RD loyalist, that in spite of these bickerings, I still buy the RD for pure nostalgia and old-habits sake.

So about these two books-the first one is a pure gem- India's Vegetarian Cooking (A Regional Guide) by Monisha Bharadwaj. It is fantastic in that it has neatly divided sections for North, South, East and West and under each, subsections for Vegetables-Breads-Rice-Pulses-Dairy-Accompaniments-Puddings-Drinks and Snacks. Yippee! Thanks, Dad, for another thoughtful addition to my cookbook collection!

The other book is called Baking With Love-and I can't wait to get started on that one either! Its got sections on cakes, pies, tarts, cookies, muffins, breads, and pizzas. What more do I need? I don't think I will ever require another book on baking-and the illustrations are so mouthwatering too! Here is the cover-

On an aside, here's this cute little ladybug-shaped kitchen timer that's another gift from my parents. This not only looks great on my kitchen shelf, but I no longer have to keep an eye on the clock when cooking or baking.

I love sharing my favorite cookbooks and kitchen gadgets and I'm hoping all of you would also share what your favorites are. Let's have some fun-so put in your comments, people!

Chicken "Mulakittathu"

The Malayalam word, "mulakittathu", could roughly be translated as "put into chilli"! Surely you've all heard of "Mulligatawny soup", which is a South Indian spicy soup, but which basically features pepper. I can't help but wonder if this curry and that soup are somehow related...

Coming back to this chicken curry, I remember having this since forever and my dad says that it's his grandmother's recipe-that's my great-grandmother (of Girija Vilas, Tellicherry) and I'm sure my children and grandchildren will be having it too! It's charm lies in its simplicity-it uses just two masala powders and two whole spices, but the taste and color of the curry, if made correctly, will be delicious and a vibrant red.

Without further ado, here's the recipe (to serve 4)

1. 500 g chicken (increase the quantity if you're a chicken lover, obviously!)
2. 5 cloves
3. 1-inch piece cinnamon
4. 1-inch piece ginger, chopped fine
5. 5 flakes garlic
6. 1 large onion, chopped fine
7. 1 large tomato, chopped fine
8. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
9. 2 tablespoons chilli powder (or more, if you can handle it)
10. Oil-As per your discretion
11. Salt-To taste

• In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and let the whole spices (cloves and cinnamon) splutter.
• Add the onions, ginger and garlic and fry till they get translucently pink.
• Now tip in the tomatoes and fry till pulpy.
• Add the masala powders and fry till the raw smell is gone.
• Add the chicken pieces and stir around till well coated with the masalas.
• Add about half or one cup of water, enough to cover the chicken pieces.
• Put the lid on, wait for the steam, put the weight on, and after the first whistle, simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.
• Cool and serve hot with either rice or chapathis.

TIPS:

My mother says it's much more tasty if you cook it in a pan or kadai, on a slow flame, with the lid on, rather than pressure cooking it.

My dad likes to add cubed potatoes and carrots to it (along with the raw chicken pieces). This gives the curry a whole new flavor, especially with the carrots, which makes it sweet and spicy.

In the picture taken above, I had added coconut milk (thick milk, half a cup or 2 tablespoons coconut milk powder dissolved in half a cup of warm water). This was to reduce the spice level for a friend of mine. If you do this, while it will still be delicious, you won't get the original fiery red hue of the chilli powder-so the curry won't be living up to its name!

The No-Fry Chicken Pulao

I love technology...whether it's in the form of a new web browser, a new handset, a new TV set, a new camera, domestic appliances..whatever it is, the moment I get it, I get this urge to get to the bottom of it, into each and every nook and corner, find out how it works, what it can do for me, how it can make my life better and easier; in short, I like to milk it to its maximum potential! Even when I started this blog, I couldn't help staying up late at night, tweaking the template, trying out new color schemes, changing the fonts, researching gadgets and widgets, adding and removing elements and changing layouts....you get the idea!

So it was when I got a new microwave oven - I have used it in whichever way it could be used, all the options that came with it, tried out most of the recipes in the cookery book that came with it, and also the cookery books that came with my friends' microwave ovens! After all, if a piece of technology is there for your use, why not use it to the maximum for your own benefit? So I will be adding a new category here-Microwave recipes.

This recipe, simply called "Murg Pulao" is from the Nita Mehta microwave cookbook that came with my friend Lakshmi's oven. I've made it a couple of times and I think it's a great recipe to have in your repertoire. For those times when you have unexpected guests (as a certain friend of mine seems to be having trouble with!)....you might want to give them great food, but not feel like slogging away in the kitchen while everyone else seems to be having a fun time in the living room! Or you just might want to give your family a delicious Sunday lunch, but feel like taking a rest from the kitchen yourself. Or you might just be lazy to cook. Or you might have a toddler who wants all your attention and you just can't spend too much time in the kitchen without a major toddler nuclear meltdown! Or you're a bachelor/bachelorette, wanting to impress that special someone or just your friends, but don't know much of cooking. This recipe is perfect for all these scenarios.

Serves 2 (according to the recipe in the book-increase the quantities if you want more)

The measurements for the spices are my own approximate measurements

    1 cup (185 g) Basmati rice, washed and soaked in 2 cups water for 20 to 30 minutes

    250 gm chicken, cut small (or 2 chicken breasts, cut into chunks)

    To be ground to a fine paste:

1. 2 onions, large
2. 1-inch ginger
3. A handful of garlic flakes
4. 3 red chillies
5. 1 tablespoon black peppercorns
6. 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
7. 1 teaspoon saunf (perinjeera)
8. 1-inch cinnamon stick
9. 1 teaspoon cloves
10. 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
11. Salt to taste
12. 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• Wash the chicken and keep in a strainer to drain off all the water.
• Mix the ground paste with the chicken pieces (no need to keep for marination).
• Transfer to a FLAT and DEEP microwaveable dish. Microwave, covered, on high power for 3 minutes.
• When the 3 minutes is up, add the rice with its water, salt to taste, and a pinch of turmeric powder. Stir to combine everything well.
• Cover again and microwave on high power for 13 minutes (open and stir again at around 6 minutes).
• Serve after 5 minutes with papad, raitha, and pickle....

Because most of the whole spices in the Indian garam masala repertoire is included in this list, the aroma that wafts out of the oven and when you open the lid of the dish is incredibly aromatic....just a friendly warning, in advance :-)

TIPS:

Make sure to drain all the water from the chicken pieces after you wash them.

Resist the temptation to rinse out the mixie jar with water to get out all the spice paste to pour into the chicken. If you stick to just the water that's with the rice, you'll get a better result.

Garnish with cilantro if you like.

Chocolate Fudge

Wow! Today when I opened my blog, the stats showed it had crossed 1000+ in viewership. A more detailed analysis showed that in the last 14 days (I started this blog on September 2nd, but installed the stat counter on 4th), it has been viewed 1000+ times, by exactly 396 different visitors, and from 10 different countries (including India). I'm overwhelmed and overjoyed...never expected this for something I started as a creative outlet, something I get to do only when my lil' man is sleeping! Thank you all so much for visiting, reading, commenting, emailing me, browsing around-even those who are shy/hesitant/too busy to comment or don't comment for whatever reason :-). And a special thanks to those who've subscribed-I'll make sure it's worth your time!

So let's have a sweet dish featured on this post, in keeping with the occasion, shall we?

This is a chocolate fudge recipe that I found in a book given to me by mom, a book called "The Ladies Club of Cannanore Exotic Recipes". This book's pages are now yellowing and tattered, there's no publication date on it, and it seems to be recipes contributed by the club's members-and I reckon it must have been published prior to 1982, because of the 4-digit phone numbers printed in it. This recipe was contributed by a Vanaja Lakshmanan. It's very easy to make and I often make it when I have a chocolate craving and there are no chocolates in the pantry!

The only trick is to know when to remove it from the fire after reaching the correct consistency. I've never been to a cooking or baking class, and have only learnt from my mom/grandmother/aunties /cousins and friends, so when this recipe says "one-thread" consistency, I've been told it means to dip a spoon into the boiling mixture, take it out, and when the sugar drips down like a single thread, then it has reached the correct point. If you boil it beyond this point, the sugar somehow re-crystallizes and the fudge doesn't turn out to be smooth. Also, this recipe produces a very small quantity, so you might want to double it!

    Ingredients:

1. 3/4th cup Sugar
2. 3 tablespoons Cocoa
3. 5 tablespoons Milk powder
4. 2 tablespoons Butter
5. 1/4th teaspoon Vanilla essence
6. 2 tablespoons Water

• Mix the sugar and water and melt it over a very slow fire.
• When the sugar dissolves, let it bubble rapidly until it forms a one-thread consistency.
• Immediately remove from fire and add the butter and vanilla essence.
• Then add the cocoa and the milk powder and combine well.
• Spread onto a buttered plate/tin.
• Cut into squares when slightly warm.

      Indulge!

TIPS: You could also add chopped nuts and raisins if you like.
You'll get a smoother fudge if you use castor sugar or powdered sugar.

Luncheon Meat Scramble

I know that fresh foods are any day healthier than canned/processed foods. That said, I still stock my pantry with one to two varieties of canned foods, like luncheon meat and tinned fish, for emergency situations-unexpected guests, arriving home late at night after a long day out and having no energy or time to cook, or just for those times when you don't get fresh meat/fish.

Personally, I love tinned fish and luncheon meat as it was also a favorite with my family when growing up. Although luncheon meat technically is ready-to-eat, I guess being Indians, we like it curried up a bit! 

This recipe is my dad's signature dish. He is a natural, intuitive cook who invariably comes up with a mouthwatering dish even if he doesn't have a pre-planned recipe in mind. The only thing is that he needs an assistant while cooking-the way a surgeon in an operation theater needs an assistant who hands over the correct instrument at the correct time, my dad needs someone by his side to hand over the masalas and spices at the correct time!  But the end result would be well worth the effort. I still remember how once, when I was about 9 years old and all of us were down with a cold, my dad marched into the kitchen and made a pepper chicken-which made our cold vanish without a trace! Guess that's the advantage of having a doctor who can also cook :-)

This recipe has very simple ingredients, but it's supertasty-more so when my dad makes it!!!

Serves 4

Ingredients

1. 1 tin luncheon meat, cut into chunks (I used pork)
2. 1 large onion, chopped fine
3. 1 green chilli, chopped fine
4. 1 large tomato, diced
5. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
6. 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
7. 1 egg
8. A handful cilantro (coriander leaves) chopped
9. Salt and pepper to taste

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Put in the onions and green chillies and stir around till translucent.
• Add the tomatoes and stir till pulpy.
• Add the chilli powder and turmeric powder and stir for a minute.
• Tip in the chunks of luncheon meat and smash and stir it around till it's a messy scramble! Fry on low heat for 5 minutes.
• Make a well in the center and break the egg into it. Turn on the heat to high and wait for a minute.
• Now scramble the egg in the center and mix everything around once again.
• At this stage, you can add some water if you want a gravy and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish with cilantro.

TIPS:
Serve with rotis or rolled up in a chapathi or tortilla, like a wrap!
Adding an egg is optional. In the picture above, I have not added an egg-but only because I forgot!!
Adding some tomato sauce at the end stage would jazz it up even more :-)

Apple Crumble

I'm starting a new tag on this blog-Toddler Treats or kid-friendly recipes. I had this idea when some of my friends asked me to put up recipes of dishes I cook up especially for Riyaan. This recipe, apple crumble, is a quick dessert that is generally made with refined flour and served with fresh cream or icecream. Here, I've modified it only slightly to use wheat flour or multigrain flour instead of the refined flour.

It's funny how becoming a parent can suddenly make you health conscious, reading up on vitamins, food groups, organic foods, multigrain flour, etc.! There have been days when I have survived on macaroni alone...but now after becoming a parent, I find it imperative to feed my little one something from all the food groups daily (even if my own food habits are still somewhat erratic!). While I know that being a good role model is more important, I'm keeping that on hold for the time being, at least until he gets to be 2 years old :-). 

For Riyaan, I make sure that, on a daily basis, he gets his carbohydrates (doesn't matter if it's from rice, wheat, pasta or a mashed potato!), proteins (as of now, only eggs, chicken, lentils/pulses and paneer), vegetables, fruits, dairy (doesn't matter if he doesn't like milk-lots of smoothies, yoghurt, and cheese will also do!), and of course, fats (ghee, butter). Plus lots and lots of water (no harm in starting good habits too early, is there?). This recipe, by the way, is a great way to serve both a fruit and a carbohydrate together. Its super quick to make and delicious to boot!

For two servings

For the base:

One apple, peeled, cored, and diced roughly.

1 tablespoon sugar (I used brown sugar)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

For the topping:

Half cup wheat/multigrain flour (you could also add a couple of tablespoons of crushed wheat/corn flakes or crushed quick cooking oats)

2 tablespoons sugar ((I used brown)

25 grams butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

First, tip in all the ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl.

Rub the butter into the flour with your fingers, to make it into a bread-crumb like consistency (or if you've made "puttu", then puttu consistency!).

In the baking dish, add the ingredients for the base.

Sprinkle the topping on it.

Preheat your oven to 180 C and bake 20 minutes, or until brown on top, or until a wonderful apple aroma wafts out of your oven.

Serve as it is, or with milk, custard, or cream.

TIPS:

If you are cutting the apple beforehand, sprinkle with lime juice to prevent browning.

I cut the apples directly into the baking dish, only at the last minute (some kids don't like the tangy lime taste on the apple).

I also mashed the apples using a potato masher, just to make it smoother.

Quickest Paneer Chilli Ever!

I love paneer. In fact, I love it so much that it's surprising how late in the day a paneer recipe has made its appearance in this blog. Normally I always end up making paneer butter masala (my love for paneer only being rivaled by my love for butter!). If not that, then I just grate paneer into my chapathi when rolling it out to make it a paneer parantha or make pakoras (fritters) out of it.

This recipe was given to me by Neeraja (chechi), my cousin, who is actually more like the elder sister that I don't have. She is someone whose advice and suggestions never fail to make sense, and who I look up to for her articulate, confident, down-to-earth and practical approach to life. She also seems to have inherited the gene for culinary expertise that runs in the family (her mom's Shepherd's Pie has made its way into this blog). While her persona as the head of the psychology department at a well-known women's college is one of being a strict disciplinarian, she indulges us all with her recipes and food, cooked and baked, sourced sometimes from the home science department of her college :-), other times from newspapers and magazines. The recipes she sends are invariably always something different and unique. I have a backlog of recipes from her to cook through, and they will be featured here as soon as I photograph them!

This paneer chilli takes hardly 15 minutes to make!

Ingredients:

1. Paneer                      350 grams, cubed
2. Egg                           1
3. Cornflour                  Half cup
4. Ginger-Garlic paste    1 teaspoon
5. Onions                      1, large, coarsely chopped
6. Green chillies             2, chopped fine
7. Soya sauce                1 tablespoons
8. Vinegar                     2 tablespoons
9. Coriander leaves        2 tablespoons, chopped

• Make a thick batter with the egg, cornflour, ginger-garlic paste and salt (to taste) with a little water, if needed. Just thick enough to coat the paneer.
• Dip paneer pieces in this and shallow fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
• In the same pan, fry the onions on high heat for less than a minute.
• Add the green chillies, soya sauce, vinegar, fried paneer, and salt to taste.
• Mix well, garnish with coriander leaves. Take off heat.
• Serve with a smug (again!) smile.

TIPS:

You could use a stock cube or Maggi vegetable cube as seasoning in the end, to make it even tastier. Just remember to use less salt on the whole then.
You could also add capsicums for an extra crunch.
Also try it with tomato sauce or tomato chilli sauce (thanks for this and the previous tip, Prateik!)

She also used leftover dosa batter once instead of the cornflour and it turned out really yum-try it out that way too!