The Things That I Do

Muesli Cookies

2011-05-17T23:21:00.002+05:30

I am not much of a muesli fan...but had two big jars lying unutilized from when I had bought them during my pregnancy time. So one day, I decided to bake simple and healthy cookies with them...so that I can carry them as a snack everyday when I leave for work.

The 1st time that I was baking these cookies, I was very sceptical. While hunting on the blogosphere for a doable recipe, my only intention was to finish off the muesli!! I found plenty of muesli cookie recipes, all most of them seemed quite simple with tasty and healthy outputs. I modified my recipe based on what was available - i hope I am remember all the ingredients:)

Ingredients (to make 16 cookies)
1 cup muesli (untoasted)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup brown sugar (i use powdered jaggery)
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins/black currants (i use a mixture of both)
50 gm butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tsp baking soda

Method:
1. Lightly grease your mini muffin paper cups/cookie liners or baking trays
2. Mix all the muesli, flour, sugar, coconut and raisins well in a big mixing bowl
3. In a saucepan, melt the butter on low heat (take care not to boil it or overheat it). Add the honey and baking soda in it. It will froth nicely.
4. Make a well in the centre of your dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients in it. Mix it lightly with a fork so that everything sticks together
5. Make small balls of the dough and press it down in the paper liners. Bale in a pre-heated oven for 10-15 mins at 175 C.
6. The cookies will get a nice golden color and the smell of butter and dry fruits will waft in the air. Take out the cookies to cool...after which they will be crunchy to eat.
These stay good for 4-5 days.

2

Super eggless chocolate cake

2011-04-10T21:19:00.002+05:30

I was digging around in blogosphere for a do-able recipe for eggless choclate muffin recipes, whenI came across this blog. I also prepare a similar eggless cake, only uwse yoghurt instead of milk as is used here. I decided to prepare this..and it was over in a jiffy. It is as advertised - easy recipe and super moist chocolately cake. Method: 1. Sift 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1 cup powdered sugar, 3/4 cup cocoa powder. 2. Mix 1 cup milk with 1/2 cup melted butter in a mixing bowl.Add vanilla essence to this. 3. Mix the dry indgredients into the wet mixture and put it evenly in a baking tin and bake for ~ 20-25 mins @ 180C. The batter is quite thick, but the result is that the cake is very moist and dense. Will post the pics soon - I will be baking this cake very often. Happing baking!!

Coconut Macaroons

2011-03-31T10:43:00.003+05:30

Year 2010 was a particularly difficult year for me - the only silver lining being that my son was born in September. Difficult in all senses - health, personal and professional. Therefore I never felt like publishing anything on this blog....so now that my life is back on track, am uploading all the dishes which I had prepared last year. These are coconut macaroons which I'd baked log time back...the recipe is fairly simple using shredded coconut, egg whites and condensed milk - I got the recipe from JoyofBaking (click here for recipe). The macaroons are fairly easy to make and has a sweet coconutty flavour. Do remember to use vanilla extract, or else the macaroons will get an eggy smell.

Another chocolate cake

2011-03-30T17:07:00.004+05:30

These are snaps of a chocolate cake that I had baked for hubby's prof's birthday. I am not very keen on cake decoration, but had tried my hands on icing it.

Chimichurri/Argentinian Lamb

2011-03-30T13:24:00.012+05:30

This lamb dish is hubby's favourite at Copacabana, a restaurant very near to our place in Pimple Saudagar, Pune. Not only is their food very tasty, but the menu is also extensive (somebody pls categorise the dishes according to cuisine...Lal gosht shares the same page as Quesadillas and Thai green curry!!) and the seating area is huge along with ample parking space. What else does one wish for in a restaurant?!!:)The first time we'd dined there, hubby had randomly picked out this lamb dish for ordering. He liked it so much, that whenever we go there now, atleast ten more times after the first time, he always orders this dish!

Yes, the dish is v nice..lamb is soft and succulent with nice spices, served on a bed of spinach, along with sauteed mushrooms and herbed rice. We were so impressed by this adaptation of the Chimichurri lamb, that I decided to recreate it in my kitchen. I googled for the recipe, and learned that Chimmuchuri is a green spicy rub, made primarily with parsley, and is meant for marinating steak. I tweaked the recipe and ingredients according to availability and my taste, and made this.

The basic chimichurri marinade is made by blending the following ingredients into a thick paste (more like a dhania chutney):

1/2 cup coriander/parsley leaves

1/4 cup olive oil (check how much is required to blend into a thick paste)

4-5 cloves garlic

2 green onions/shallots

1 tsp fresh/dried herbs like oregano or basil

1/2 tsp chilly flakes

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

2 tsp vinegar/lime juice

salt to taste

I marinated my lamb pieces in this paste for 2-3 hours and then cooked it in a little oil and browned onions, till cooked and tender.

I served this with cooked spinach greens and sauteed mushrooms (simply saute sliced mushrooms in a little butter, with black pepper and salt).

Pancakes for Breakfast

2011-03-30T13:00:00.002+05:30

Had made these soft fluffy pancakes for breakfast, again based on Nigella's recipe (will be posting the recipe soon), am sure kids will love these along with fruits.

Both me and hubby are not too fond of sweet breakfast..so will not be really repeating them much.

Chocolate Christmas Cake

2010-01-20T19:42:00.006+05:30

I made this Christmas cake with a twist (Yes! It has chocolate in it:) during New Year break. Though I enjoy watching Nigella's shoes on the telly, but I have never really tried out any of her recipes. Hubby has placed an order for a fruity rummy christmas cake well in advance, so I decided not to disappoint him and baked her famous Choco X'mas cake for New Year's. I did not follow her recipe to the T, but have tweaked based on preference and availability. The result was soo amazing that I still can't believe that I had myself baked the cake in my puny oven:)

I found the recipe from here after reading praises on her website as well as other blogs. The only changes I made were in the ingredients: Nigella has specified prunes, raisins and currants as the dried fruits for the cake. I used chopped almonds, cashews, cherries, dates, raisins and currants (keeping the same total quantity). Since I did not find any coffee liqeour in the market, instead I used dark rum and soaked the chopped fruits overnight.

The aroma when the cake was baking was simply overwhelming...therapeutic should describe it aptly:)

So this cake was not just a traditional christmas cake, but also healthy and tasty...also not very difficult to bake. Just remember to plan well in advance so that all the ingredients are with you.

Happy Baking!!

Christmas Road Trip - Malvan, Sindhudurg

2009-12-28T12:49:00.016+05:30

Wishing everybody a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We were really looking forward to the 3-day break we got for X'mas this time (25-27th) - I guess the hectic work schedules and long hours at office really take a toll on one's mental peace:) So hubby and me decided to go off on a nice road trip, which would be relaxing, pleasant, and fun. Both of us did not want to hit the usual Goa jamboree...so after some net search, we finalized on Malvan - a small coastal fishing town, 80 - 100 km before hitting Goa. And let me tell you - it was simply purrfectt!! Malvan had everything we were looking for - a small quiet tucked-away town with a great white sand beach (Tarkarli beach about 6 kms away), the famous Sindhugurg fort, and great cheap seafood!

Though there are quite a few tourists from Pune and Mumbai this time of the year - most of us were here for a quiet time, and not party-time. I think it was a perfect vacation. Let me describe our three days with some nice pics we took -

25 Dec (Friday) - We left early at 5:00 in the morning, and it was biting cold initially, but we stopped for tea on the highway and prospects were much brighter thereafter! The sunrise was spectacular (p'haps bcause we NEVER rise early enough to watch it!) and the traffic was minimal in the morning. We covered good ground and reached Kolhapur by 10:00 am - including a couple of pitstops for b'fast and pics.

In Kolhapur, we took the Rankala Lake exit from the city and then the Gaganbawra route through the Western Ghats. This is awesome route - once we crossed all the sugarcane fields on the plainlands, and touched the mountains, the riding was smooth, though slow - but we really loved it! The temple on the edge of the mountain looks like some out of the world monastery in Spain:)

From Talere, we entered into NH-17 (Mumbai-Goa highway) and after some more biking - reached Malvan by 2:00 in the afternoon. The place were we had booked (Madhuban Village Resort) is a really nice cozy place with clean room and bathroom, and a sturdy hammock outside in the garden. It was 2-3 minutes walk from the closest YD beach, which is mainly used by fisherfolks. Lunch we had at Geetai restaurant (Chaitanya was bursting at its seams, so we went in here instead). Fish a la Malvani style was delicious, though slightly spicy at Geetai. Evening we strolled on the beach and watched the sun set in the Arabian Sea. Dinner we had big juicy prawns and pompret at Madhuban - cooked by Mrs Sadaye, the owner of the place - it was yummy beyond words.
26th Dec (Saturday) - Started with some lazy b'fast of pohe at Madhuban, and later on we hit the Tarkarli beach. Check out the live starfish we found there - we then put it back in the sea. (Pic of the starfish coming soon!)

Post some scrumptious seafood at Chaitanya's (highly recommended) - the Surmai fry filled the big steel thali, and afternoon siesta, we went to the famous Sindhudurg Fort, which was built by Shivaji. Its only 15 minutes by boat-ride from the Malvan jetty, and again, is a must-do if you are there.

We were back at Malvan by 6:30 - 7:00 in the evening, and for dinner, we went hunting for veg thali (too much of seafood does not really suit us landblubbers:). Watched Rab ne bana de jodi (sic!) on the telly and retired for the night.

27th Dec (Sunday) - After another lazy b'fast at the resort, went to Tarkarli beack and said "goodbye, see you again soon" to the sea, and hit the road again. The traffic was much high now, since many holidayers were returning to Mumbai and Pune, and we reached home at 8:30 in the night.

A few things-to-do at Malvan are still waiting to be done like snorkelling, stay at MTDC boathouse at Tarkarli, dolphin spotting, and crab-eating. Guess , that warrants another visit to Malvan/Tarkarli sometime:)

Bhuna Kaleji

2009-12-09T17:36:00.003+05:30

Now this is a typical Punjabi dhaba food, which is very popular in the northern part of India. We both like this spicy chicken liver dish with hot parathe. Recipe is fairly simple:

1. Saute 2 chopped onions with ginger-garlic paste in oil.

2. Add spices like turmeric powder, salt, coriander and jeera powder, and garam masala. When the onion starts leaving oil, add chopped tomatoes and green chillies to the wok.

3. Saute till you get a nice dark coloured spicy masala. Add the wasked and diced liver pieces and toss in the masala. The liver gets done in 4-5 minutes. Serve while hot!

Crispy fried chicken

2009-12-09T17:13:00.002+05:30

My hubby is a fan of the Kentucky fried chicken, or the Col Sander's chicken as he likes to correct me:)

Therfore as always, I one day decided to make these at home. Now - Col Sanders crispy fried chicken is one of the best kept secrets, but there are umpteen variations to it on the blogosphere. I read a few here and there, and depending on availability at home, I made my own version of the crispy chicken. It turned out very well...though I will admit not 'exactly' the same as Col Sanders, but then.......who is complaining!! Certainly not me, nor hubby - who has already placed a request for another test run:)

My version of the crispy fried chicken recipe:

1. Prepare a marinade of buttermilk, salt, and pepper, and dunk the chicken drumsticks/wings/breast pieces that you would like to fry. Marinate them for anything between 1 to 24 hours.

2. In a ziplock bag - prepare a good quantity of coating. I added flour/maida, cornmeal, salt, red chilli powder, and dried mixed herbs like rosemary

3. Beat a couple of eggs and keep aside

4. Now is the messy part of the recipe - make sure all the things needed are close to each other. Pick up the chicken piece and shake to remove the excess marinade, dunk it in the egg mixture, then inside the ziplock to coat evenly, then again into the egg mixture and again in the ziplock bag.

5. Take out the piece from the bag and place them on a dripping tray, so that the flour gets some time to settle down and become soggy. Do this precedure with all the marinated chicken pieces and give them some time to settle down.

6. After 5 minutes, deep fry them in a heated wok - place as many as you can at high flame till it gets a nice golden colour on the outsie, then turn down the flame to medium and cover to cook till it gets done, At then end - again turn up the flame to high and drain out the pieces from the oil. This will ensure that the chicken gets cooked, but also retains its crispness.

Do try out this recipe - but take care while deep frying:)

Stuffed Poblano Peppers

2009-12-09T16:56:00.001+05:30

I love this dish..because it is hot, spicy, cheesy, goeey, and yummy at the same time! Also - fairly easy to put together for those pasta nights.

We get good quality poblano peppers here in Pune, and while others buy it to make bhajjis and pakodas, I had never once bought it. Then one day I chanced upon some cookery show on TV which was showing tex-mex foods. Thats when I registered that these huge glossy peppers can be used very differently.

The recipe goes like this:

1. First char the skin of the green peppers over a flame (do not overcook - they have to remain crisp and sturdy) and immediately drop them in cold water. Remove their skins and also slit them lengthwise and carefully deseed the peppers. Take extreme care in deseeding these peppers, and also carefully remove the white pith from inside.

2. Parallely, lets prepare the tomato sauce. Blanch 2-3 big juicy red tomatoes and remove their skins and puree them. Heat some olive oil in a wok, add finely chopped onion and garlic and tomato puree to it. Season with chopped fresh green basil leaves (dry ones are also fine) and salt and pepper.

3. Grate some good quality cheddar cheese and stuff them generously in the hollowed out peppers. Press the sides to close the slit, or you can also tie a thread around the pepper. I generally just press the cheese to close the slit.

4. Gently place these stuffed peppers in the bubbling tomato sauce. It should not take more than 2-3 minutes for the cheese to melt. Serve with pasta bowl. The pepper-cheese-tomato-basil combination is highly recommended. These peppers are very hot, but the heat strikes at the end. So be careful while taking the first bite:)

Prawns in lemon butter sauce

2009-12-09T15:06:00.002+05:30

Hubby is very fond of lemon-butter sauce - it has all his fave ingredients, butter, lemon juice and loads and loads of garlic:) Earlier we had made rawas fish in this sauce, but this Sunday we tried it out with prawns. It was heaven!! (a la Nigella Lawson:)

I will post Ashrut's recipe for this dish:
1. Thoroughly clean and devein all the jumbo prawns
2. Chop a handful of garlic pods and half an onion, and keep aside, and also squeeze some lemon juice and keep aside
3. Next in a wok, he put a generous lump of butter along with some olive oil (so that the butter does not burn). To this he added the finely chopped onions and garlic and sauted for a while till the garlic aroma fills the kithen
4. Then he added 1 tsp of flour/maida and cooked it in the butter - take care not to burn it
5. Finally he added the prawns and tossed them till they turned pink and firm and quickly added a few mls of water to get the lemon-butter sauce

Spagetti Carbonara

2009-12-09T14:50:00.000+05:30

Though its been a while since I last posted any recipe on my blog, and though since joining my new job in September, I hardly get much time to experiment in the kitchen, I did manage to put together a few good and new dishes on Sundays.

Let me describe the spagetti carbonara which I recently made - though I did not click any photographs that day, I am sure to make this dish again and will definitely click some pics then:) I found this simple recipe in a fitness column in our newspaper, which mentioned that the eggs and cheese combination is good to add calories to one's diet and beef up. Since I seem to have lost some weight recently, I quickly set about to put this simple dish together. Its a very basic vegetarian carbonara spagetti recipe, you can make a lot of variations with this.

1. I first boiled the spagetti al dente and after rinsing in cold water, moistened it with olive oil and kept aside
2. Then I sauted some diced aubergine (the big purple eggplants), green zuchchini, and onions in olive oil. Add some salt and pepper to these veggies and check if cooked.
3. Once cooked, I tossed in the spagetti and along with it, 2-3 egg whiles beaten along with grated parmesan cheese.
4. Toss to coat the spagetti with the egg and cheese mixture. Serve hot.

I know the recipe does not sound like much fun, but believe me - the taste was very good - light and non-spicy. If I might also add, very authentic:)

Plateau of Flowers

2009-09-20T20:00:00.000+05:30

No...we did not go to Scotland this weekend for our holiday, but only biked down 155 km from Pune to Kaas. This small till-recently a nondescript place near Satara has become famous for its fields of wild flowers of every hue imaginable, which bloom for only a few weeks after monsoons!

You have to go there to experience the beauty of nature at its best - vast patches of white, pink, violet, magenta, green and yellow flowers and grasses shimmering between hardy granite rocks and bubbling streams - and home to hundreds of buzzing bees and butterflies. I am no botanist, and cannot identify the flowers found there, but I sure am a nature lover enough to respect and enjoy nature:)

It was a very nice trip - short and sweet, and the weather was perfect to picnic outside under the mellow sun. Some newspaper reports had mentioned about the irresponsible behaviour of the tourists visiting there - but I was genuinely surprised to see no littering around the plateau, and also hardly anyone was damaging/plucking the flowers. We also went to the Kaas lake and spent a good hour just staring at the placid lake, hoping for its own Nessie to appear:)

Posting a few pictures of hubby and me posing with the flowers:) Will look forward to reading your comments on this soon.

Pasta Salad

2009-09-18T00:15:00.000+05:30

This pasta salad makes for a very healthy and snappy meal to fix up, for those lazy weekend brunches:) Plus, it doesn't hurt at all that it tastes great too!

We like using penne rigate for our salad - since it has this definite bite to it when its cooled just right or 'al dente'. Also the ridges help in holding the salad dressing. We like changing the recipe to whats available in our fridge that day, and what we both are in the mood for - cheese type, dressing, veggies, and herbs.

This particular salad was prepared last weekend, using finely chopped onions and cucumber, bite-sized pieces of green capsicum and ripe red tomatoes (use the small tomatilloes if you can find them in the supermarket), and steamed corn. Mix all these with the al-dente pasta (ensure that every ingredient is cold), add chopped cheddar (or crumble in some feta cheese), season it with salt, pepper and dried/fresh herbs, and dress it with your dressing-of-the-day. For this particular salad, we used a blue cheese-mint viniagrette straight out of a bottle:)

If your in the mood to prepare your dressing - simply mix extra-virgin olive oil with freshly squeezed lime juice, and add salt, pepper and mixed herbs. Shake well to prepre an emulsion, and drizzle over the salad. Quick, healthy and very tasty - you have to try this to belive my claims:)

Fish cutlet from Udaipur

2009-09-17T23:44:00.000+05:30

This yummy recipe has come all the way from Udaipur, from my MIL's kitchen:) My pa-inlaw is very fond of fish, so this was made especially for him. I will be posting the exact recipe after a detailed discussion with MIL, but I know that she first pre-cooked the fish (frest-water rohu), then mashed it and removed all the bones. This she seasoned with freid onions, green chillies, and spices and salt. Shaped into flattened balls and then grilled on a hot pan with minimal oil, you get these yummy cutlets, for a very tasty and healthy snack/appetiser.

The picture below is of a fried fish dish - also prepared by my ma-in law. I guess these dishes are definitely on the menu when we reach Udaipur next month:)

Paneer Kofta

2009-09-14T14:18:00.000+05:30

I am quite fond fo kofte..an Indian preparation of food where small balls of the desired material is deep fried and then eaten along with a rich-creamy gravy. These kofte that you see in the pictures are made out of paneer, or cottage cheese. Generally many cooks prefer to stuff the paneer balls with finely chopped dry fruits like cashews, raisins and almonds - I personally feel that depends on how rich do you want your dish to be. So for me, the stuffing is generally optional.

The kofte are quite simple to prepare, the gravy requires a bit more of preparation:).

Paneer Kofta - Grate 250 g of soft fresh paneer (cottage cheese) along with 1 medium sized boiled potato. Season with salt and pepper/red chilli powder. Shape into elongated balls - use cream if required, and deep fry to get crisp golden kofte balls. If you want - stuff with either grated cheddar cheese, or even chopped dry fruits.

Gravy - Soak 10 odd cashews in water. Meanwhile fry some chopped onions, garlic and ginger in oil and keep aside to cool. Finely grind onion-garlic-ginger to a fine paste, and also the cashew. Next, keep oil in a kadhai, and pop some cumin seeds, cinnamon sticks and green cardamom pods. Add the onion and cashew paste and fry for a little while. Season with salt, red chilli powder or white pepper powder, and garam masala powder. Add water to get a thick rich gravy. Add the paneer balls/kofte and simmer gently. Garnish with fresh gren coriander and serve while hot. I like to have my kofta with buttery naans

Fish Masala Fry

2009-09-13T17:56:00.001+05:30

I am a fish lover. But not my hubby:( So it is quite an occasion when I eat fish - either outside in some restautant, or at home. Yesterday - Hubbs insisted that I buy some fish, and make it for myself:) So off I went to a new fish store, to buy some. Though I am personally fond of fresh water fish, they were out of stock, so I instead got a full 'Rawas' or some type of salmon.

Rawas is quite a popular fish here in India - especially with hotel chefs and in South Indian homes. I know that Hubbs likes crispy fried fish more than any other preparation - so I made these masala rawas fry yesterday. They turned out divine! Hubby liked it a lot..and took second helping:) The pictures have not turned out too well..they were taken in a hurry just before we started on them:) Do try this recipe - I am sure any fish will go well with this recipe.

Recipe: Clean and pat dry the fish pieces. Marinate in giner-garlic -green chillies - fresh coriander-lime juice/vinegar juice paste, along with salt. Ensure that the marinade is thick and completely coats the fish pieces. These spices will give the taste to the fishy. Try to keep it in the marinade for atleast 30 minutes. Next prepare a not-too-thick batter of egg, salt, pepper and corn flour, and keep aside 1/2 cup of semolina. Dip all the fish pieces in the batter, and then coat in semolina, and keep aside for 5-10 minutes. Next deep fry the fishy - it does not take long to cook - give or take 2-3 minutes per side.

Chicken Lollipops

2009-09-13T17:32:00.000+05:30

Sharing this indo-chinese recipe with you all. It is a very popular appetiser and take-away here in India, and you will find many a non-veg foodies sharing their 'best chk. loppipop' joints with each other:)

Yesterday for dinner, we decided to make a batch at home, especially since we found a nice fresh packet of prepared lollipops at the super market. Generally, one has to ask the local butcher to prepare the lollipops from the chicken wings, or else, do it yourself. The lollipops came out wonderful..soft, succulent inside, and nice and crispy outside! We will be surely making this more often from now on.

How to make: Marinate the lollipops in ginger-garlic paste, a little soy sauce,salt and ground pepper. Keep it marinated as long as you can - I could only manage half an hour. Prepare the batter, using 1/2 cup cornflour, 2 tbsp maida, salt, few drops of red food colour (optional - I did not use it), 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp red chilli sauce, 1 egg while, and water. Check the seasoning and add more of sauces and salt if required. We want the batter to be thick enough to coat the chicken evenly, and also it to be spicy:)

Now - it is advisable to pre-cook the lollipos a bit to ensure that the chicken is thoroughly cooked. But if are sure to cook them properly while frying, you are most welcome. I popped them in the microwave for 2 mins, then dunked them in the batter, and deep fried in hot oil. I am sure - the pictures speak for themselves:)

Hot cross buns....

2009-09-10T14:26:00.000+05:30

..hot cross buns. One of my favourite nursery rhymes ever:)

A few months back, I bought some dried yeast and used it to bake a small batch of sweet buns. The smell when the buns are in the oven is simply heavenly...and had me and hubby swooning over it:) Reminded of my kiddy days when Mom used to bake buns for us (but she used fresh yeast..the results of which are much much better).

These are the buns I baked..they were soft and sweet and slightly chewy when hot..straight from the oven. But they turned hard when cold:( I think the 'proofing' was not properly done. But..worry not! We simply used to heat them up in the microwave for a few seconds to get the same soft chewy buns again;)

Sabudaana wada/pancakes

2009-09-04T14:38:00.001+05:30

This is one of my favourite evening snacks ... goes great with a cup of steaming hot coffee, is super easy to make and hopefully is also healthy. I generally deep fry it (yep - not healthy, but quicker and tastier), but you can also grill it on a hot pan with a drizzle of oil.

Its extremely simple to make - just remember to soak some sabu daana (also called as pearl tapioca) in water for 30 minutes. Boil some potatoes and cool. Then press out all the water that you can manually manage from the pearls, and mix it with mashed potatoes. Also mix finely chopped green chillies, roasted split groundnuts, and salt to taste. Shape into wada/pancakes of your chioce thickness, and either deep fry or grill to get yummy sabu daana wadas:) Enjoythese with tomato ketchup and mint chutney - have these while still piping hot.

Crunchy Prawns

2009-09-03T14:30:00.000+05:30

Hmm..dont judge me by the lack of blog posts here. I enjoy trying out new dishes in the kitchen, and so does Ashrut. So while nearly everyday, we try to make something special, or add a something special to an ordinary mundane dish like khichdi - I hardly remember to take pics and post them in this blog.

This dish that I am posting here was prepared some time back after our Vengurla-Goa bike trip in Jan 09. Its inspired by the yummy rawa jumbo prawns which we ate in Vengurla.

The prawns were soo good..crunchy and full of flavour!

How to do it:

I marinated the deveined jumbo prawns in marinade of garlic paste, lemon juice, salt, and pepper powder. For about an hour perhaps. Then dipped each in white-egg batter, followed by rawa/suji. Dust off the excess rawa, and deep fry till golden Drain excess oil and serve with chutney and salad - quick and tasty appetiser.

Pizza with pizzaz!!

2009-09-03T14:09:00.000+05:30

We like our pizzas. And somehow the delivered out-of-box pizzas were not hitting the spot, when we decided to make our own. (Thanks to Mum..she used to bake pizzas, complete with the homemade base way back when we were kids, when pizza was not even a popular term). Partly because I am slightly lazy, and partly because nowadays pizza bases are commonly available in the super markets today, I just made the toppings, on an already- baked market pizza base.

These are super easy to assemble, especially if you are not making your own tomato salsa/sauce (depends very much on the time in hand). Ashrut likes the mountain-pile pizzas, as you can make out from the pics - here we have used mozzarella/cheddar cheese, green olives with pimento, buttonmushrooms, onion slices, capsicum & tomato squares. Other times, we have also used bits of chicken sausages. Drizzle with EV olive oil, some oregano mix and chilli flakes, and bake it in a pre-heated oven for 10 odd minutes, or till the cheese melts/starts bubbling.
There - you are done. A perfect snack for those lazy weekend evenings:)
Very soon, will be trying to make my own pizza base - will post that too. The market ones are firstly small in size - not okay for a meal, and secondly, and most importantly, are fluffy like a big bun!!

Our Nighoj Trip

2009-07-26T18:12:00.000+05:30

This post is about a small half-day trip to a nearby place called Nighoj village (105 km from Pune) which is famous for its potholes. Well - before you get this all wrong and laugh at me, and invite us to your neighbourhood to see huge craters on the roads, let me tell you that these potholes are special! They have been created due to water action on basalt rocks. Due to this erosion, the river has carved out these huge craters which gives the area the popular name of "Moon land". Posting some pictures from our trip - check them out. It was a nice short trip...200 odd km round trip with a few friends from Ashrut's office.

No - this post has nothing to do with food..except perhaps that I was planning to bake a cake for all of us, which in the end, I did not ;D

Orange Chocolate Cake

2009-05-11T18:09:00.000+05:30

I have baked this yummy orange flavoured chocolate cake umpteen number of times, and is amongst my most successful baking creations so far;)

This aprticular pic was taken by Annu sometime last year - so you can imagine how late I am in posting this. The recipe has been modified from Neeta Mehta's cake recipe book - I will post the recipe soon.

Ashrut's birthday cake

2009-05-11T17:59:00.000+05:30

Had baked and frosted this chocolate cake for Ashrut's birthday on the 25th Apr.
For the 1st time in my life, I tried my hands in piping :) - though its not gr8, but it served the purpose. Have tried to draw a small red-nosed plane (Ashrut is crazy about plane models and is making a P-51 Mustang right now). I used "Magic candles" and we all (mom n pa-in law, as well as Annu) had fun time cheering him as he tired to blow the candles. Can you make out the small red-jacketed pilot amongst the candle haze?? No - its not edible, but again is a tiny candle:)

Mushroom Quiche

2008-11-22T19:44:00.000+05:30

Baking a quiche was on my to-do list for quite sometime. I even got my Mom to get me a pie dish (ones with removable bases and fluted sides) - but somehow I was not getting time and motivation enough to bake one. But I had planned it out this week to bake a mushroom quiche this weekend - so right after coming back from office on Friday evening, the 1st task I did was knead the dough for the pie shell. I did lots of blog surfing before I started on my task, and some of the blogposts I read were http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001753mushroom_quiche.php and http://happyhomebaking.blogspot.com/2007/12/mushroom-pie.html.

I was quite concerned about getting it right, since all the blogs seemed to tell me that its difficult to get it right the 1st time. How I got the pie shell is here:

1 cup flour + 1 tsp salt
~ 100 g cold white butter (I grated this into the flour)
3-4 tbsp ice cold water
I took care to use all ingredients which were cold and also not to knead the dough a lot. As soon as the dough stuck together, I stopped the kneading and packed it in a ziploc bag and put it in the fridge (not the freezer).

This evening, I simply rolled out the dough, then realized that my pie dish is ~ 12 inches, so my dough will not be enough for it:( So ultimately I used the smallest baking disk I have, and lined it with Al foil, which I kept longer than the edges of the dish. After carefully placing the dough in the lined dish, I punctured holes in the base of the shell and baked it for 10 mins at 190C. I did not use beans to weigh down the pie dough to prevent it from rising, but kept small steel dish on top;)

For the filling, I sauted some sliced button mushrooms and finely chopped shallots in olive oil. This I seasoned with salt, pepper, marjoram and dried italian herb mix. I then grated 2 cubes of cheddar cheese on the base of the pie shell, put the mushrooms on top, grated some more cheese on top and poured egg mixture (beat 2 eggs + 1/4 cup milk + 1/4 cup thick cream + salt/pepper) on it. I then placed the dish in a preheated oven and baked it for 25 mins at 190C.

I am quite a happy (and relieved) person after trying out this dish:) This was weighing onmy mind for quite sometime. I really liked the outcome (dont the pics speak for themselves?), and so did my hubby. We had initially decided to eat a couple of slices with evening tea on Saturday and spare a few for Sunday b'fast - but as you can very well realise, we polished up the entire quiche in the evening itself:) My hubby has already planned on making a chicken version of this quiche very soon - and I wait for his
trial.

Super Eggless Yoghurt Cake

2008-11-21T15:25:00.000+05:30

Last week, I had an appointment with my Doctor in Mumbai, so we planned to stay with our friends Prateek and his new wife Shivangi for the weekend. Since S is a vegetarian, I baked an eggless cake for her. My previous eggless cake experiement was not very successful, so I called up Mom to pass me one of her yoghurt cake recipes. The ones with 'Milkmaid" somehow turn out very dry for my taste.
I have to accept that the cake turned out very well...appreciated by all who had a piece out of it, including my colleagues in office as well as my hubby's colleagues! Most had assumed that the cake had been bought from a bakery shop!! I guess, this was one of the biggest compliments that I have received as yet.
I am sorry - but I did not click any pics of the cake..but it turned out nicely moist, dense and dark chocolaty brown (obviously bcoz of all the cocoa powder).
I did lots of approximations during the measurements, since I was in a hurry. Also, since we were packing for our short weekend getaway, I wrote it hurriedly someplace I dont remember now:) Some of the approx measurements that I do remember are:
1. 1 1/2 cup plain flour or maida (my cup was 200 ml)
2. 1/2 cup or slightly less cocoa powder
3. 1 small container of amul dahi or yoghurt (I think - 200 g pack)
4. 3/4 cup powdered sugar
5. 1/2 cup refined vegetabel oil
6. 1 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking powder
Process -
1. Sift the dry ingredients together
2. Mix curd and sugar together, and to this mixture. add the flour mixture and curd alternately. Also pour in the oil slowly and mix with the hand-held whisk. I just used up one mixing bowl and one whisk to prepare the batter...wasnt that cool!:)
3. The batter turned out slightly thick..Mom had asked me to add a few tbps of milk if the batter was not in pouring consistency, but then I was not in a very patient mood, so I simply dumped the thickish batter into the greased/dusted 9" round baking dish. I baked this initially at 220 degress for 10 mins and then lowered the tenmperature to 180 for the other 20 mins.

I will be making this cake again very soon..since not only was it super-easy to bake, super-dense and moist to eat, but also because it is quite healthy, with no eggs and minimal oil. Just take care of the quality of curd you use for the cake - I purposefully did not use home-made curd for this,since I wanted to thick creamy curd to give the cake its moistness.

The Omnivore’s Hundred

2008-09-30T15:27:00.000+05:30

well...since i've not yet blogged about my recent recipes, but am listing the The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred list (from http://www.verygoodtaste.co.uk/uncategorised/the-omnivores-hundred/), you can very well understand that I enjoy reading blogs more than writing myself:)

anyways, as asked by the UK bloggers, I will copy the list of 100 things that they think every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list includes fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food - but a good omnivore should really try it all. The instructions are quite explicit...
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
So! this is it! The verdict is out. I have failed the examination with a measly score of 21/100:(
I guess, it calls for me becoming more experimental in my foodie eatout sessions from today onwards.

Apologies for my inactivity

2008-09-22T10:31:00.000+05:30

I am aware that I had promised to be more active on my blog..a promise which I broke within a month's time..but then I know many of you would commiserate with me that it is more fun to read other peoples blogs than to make the effort of writing one oneself:)

But, worry not - I will try to make amends. Last few weeks did not provide me with much online time, what with many relatives over, both of us traveling, planning and arranging long-pending dinners and lunches...yes! I did cook quite a bit in the last 6 weeks. When Annu was here for a fortnight, we also baked many a cakes - I have taken pics of most of these ...will write a post on each as soon as I convince myself to download all the pics from the camera:)

I was visiting my folks recently after they came back from NYC, and they were sweet enough to carry a few baking stuff that I had ordered..a 9" Wilton pie dish, a springform pan and a muffin pan:) I am yet to come across any store here at Pune which has good baking accessories, and since I am right now in a 'baking frenzy', I simply asked my mom to pick these up for me in NYC. I am yet to use these - but I am really excited about making a pie/tart/quiche in my new dish. In his last visit, Annu was really keen on baking a quiche - but we had been limited by the lack of a pie dish. But, Annu - worry not! When you are here next, we will make n number of quiches and tarts as you desire:)

My next few posts will describe the varios cakes I had baked in the last 6 weeks.

Scalloped Chicken in Mushroom & Mustard Sauce

2008-07-14T16:32:00.000+05:30

It is soo much fun (and yes touching) when friends and family call up to say that they actually open and read my blog and are looking forward to reading more about our escapades in our tiny kitchen:) I am really touched when Ma and Papa from Udaipur tell me that they regularly read my blog to know whats going on in our life, and when my Mom (the last person I thought would ever become net-savvy and read my blog) from NYC emails to tell me that the blog pics look very nice and that this is a very cool way to not lose good recipes as well as be in touch!! :)

Also, I am soo surprised to learn that people I never knew existed, people outside my circle of friends and family - actually dropped in to read (and comment) about my recipes:) Folks!! this makes me feel soo happy and special:) A big thanks to all who are reading this:)

Yes - I simply cant stop myself from grinning now..but its ok! am sitting all by myself..so no pains:) Now lets get back to business..serious business. Scalloped Chicken Dish recipe. Like I had mentioned in my earlier Fruit Salad post, I had served this simple chicken dish with some Penne in Tomato Sauce for V-dinner.

(Ahh...I am re-writing the post from here on - somehow I was not connected to the internet when I completed and published the post...so I lost all that I'd written in one sitting session:( ..so here it goes..again).

The Chicken: I got these really fresh succulent boneless chicken breasts, which I then cut in thin slices (you can in turn, pound them under a layer of plastic foil with a mallet to get nicely scalloped pieces).These I marinated for a couple of hours in extra-virgin olive oil (EVO), minced garlic, salt, pepper and Worchestershire sauce.

The Sauce: I sauteed some finely diced onions and garlic (can be omitted as well) in some EVO and then a cup of diced fresh mushrooms. To this, I added 2 tbsp of cornflour, and salt, pepper, dry mustard powder and Worchestershire sauce - add water to this, stirring continously till I got a creamy sauce bubbling away in my saucepan:) Ideally, I should have added some chicken/vegetable stock..but then I was too lazy to make that also, so just adjusted the seasonings in the sauce:)

The Assembling: While the sauce is bubbling over the fire, I pan-fried the chicken scallops in EVO over a skillet - this does not take too long and the scallops turn crispy and golden in a few minutes:) I simply placed the scallops on the dinner plate and poured the sauce over them. You can garnish with some finely chopped parsley..we were to hungry to even bother by then:)

Tangy Fruit Salad

2008-07-14T16:09:00.000+05:30

I was browsing through the past pictures of our dinner, when I came across this Fruit Salad pic..and felt like sharing this colorful pic with you all:)

Actually this pic is from our V-day dinner that I'd cooked for my hubby dearest. Since we could not go out for our 1st V-day dinner together because of his multiple fractures, he was feeling pretty low and lousy, so had made his favorite pasta dinner for him:) - Penne in Tomato Sauce with Chicken Scallops in Mushroom Mustard Sauce, teamed with a tangy Fruit Salad and some Chocolate Custard.
I just used a few fruits available round the corner in February here, and since Pune is simply run-over with fresh strawberries then, it was the main fruit for the salad. So I simply diced some apples &oranges and added some whole strawberries and cherries, with some ruby red pomegrenate seeds to the salad bowl. For the salad dressing, I mixed some olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper with fresh coarsely hand-broken celery leaves and sticks and poured over the fruits. Done! The Salad Bowl was ready in a jiffy:)

Our new baking dish

2008-07-14T15:27:00.000+05:30

After the moratorium imposed on me by hubby dearest on baking any more cakes for a while, I was sulking that I was not getting much baking to do..so yesterday he took me to Shopper's Stop for shopping:) and guess what?? We ended up buying a nice 1.5 L borosil baking dish for preparing our pasta dishes:)

Yes..yes..I know it is a bit too big for 2 people, and also our microwave, as well as our OTG (we had to place the dish diagonally to close the oven door), but then both of really liked the rectangular smooth shape:)

So obviously, after buying the dish..both of us rushed back home (on the way picked up a packet of button mushrooms and american sweet corn) and prepared a simple pasta dish for dinner. Our original plan was to use penne rigate for the pasta, but somehow we had runout of it, and I was not too keen on spagetti, so we settled on elbow macaroni to get a dish very similar to the Baked Veggies recipe, only instead of the white bechamel sauce, we prepared this real yummy tomato sauce.

Tomato Sauce: We blanched 4 big red tomatoes in the microwave and then pureed it. In the saucepan, saute some minced garlic and add the puree. Season it with some Worchestershire Sauce, mixed dried herbs, some more oregano mix and salt and pepper. Since we underestimated the volume of our dish, we had used only 3 tomatoes, so then we had to add some thick cream (or milk - your choice) to the sauce - it not only added bulk to the sauce, but also make the pasta smooth and creamy:)

We smothered the pasta-vegetables-pasta layer combo with the sauce and grated some cheddar cheese on top. The cheese gave a very crunchy crust on top, which we completely loved:)

Pasta dinners are fairly common at our place, generally once a fortnight is the norm, but both of us really like baked pasta dishes..it does give something extra to it:) So apart from being nutritious, healthy, simple and non-fussy, it is also soo very delicious!

No-fuss Margarita Cake

2008-07-08T17:27:00.000+05:30

Had baked this simple no-fuss cake a while ago, since I wanted to try out cakes other than chocolate cakes and also because I like simple flavoured cakes. I had made this small cake in my 5 inch cake tin, and my hubby liked it soo much, that he again pestered me into baking a big one after 3 days. Since we were leaving on a biking trip with a few friends early the next morning, I forgot to take pics of the big square cake - but since I'd packed it for the trip, everybody enjoyed it immensely:)

I followed the recipe from here - though I took all 1/3rd of the measurements listed. Also my cup reference was 180 ml, instead of the usual 250 ml since I used a small egg. For the glaze, I omitted the tequilla and did not cook the glaze much the 1st time. For the bigger cake, I cooked the sugar mixture till it turned quite thick and gooey, but somehow though it looked very nice on the cake, yet biting into it was slightly messy, since the glaze would stick to the teeth:( Next time, I will not overcook the glaze, but leave it slightly runny.

The cake came out very soft and delicately flavoured..my hubby simply loved the idea of grating lime rind/zest into the cake batter:) Also, I had no trouble taking out the cake from the caketin. Overall, this was a great recipe to try - simple, non-messy, quick and delicate lemony flavoured:)

Chocolate Truffle Cake

2008-07-08T11:08:00.000+05:30

Baked this lovely chocolate cake last saturday evening on a whim - and it simply turned out great. I am fond of baking cakes which are non-fussy and which do not require me to use all the utensils and gadgets available in my small kitchen. This cake batter was prepared within 15 mins using only a small hand-held manual whisk and a big porcelain bowl:) The top icing was a little fussy - somehow it was a bit too runny for my taste.

Actually I did not have a 8" round baking cake-tin, only a big square tin and a small (hardly 5") round tin. Somehow my cakes in the square tin always were cracking on the top, so this weekend, we bought our new 8" round cake -tin:) I have described the recipe below, which I had longtime back written down from somewhere I dont remember now.

Ingredients for the Chocolate Cake

# 3/4 cup flour (maida) - my base cup is 250 ml here for reference

# 2/3 cup cocoa powder

# 4 eggs

# 1/2 cup vegetable oil

# 3/4 cup powdered sugar

# 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda

# 1/4 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

1. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and baking soda together and keep aside.

2. Beat sugar and eggs in a big bowl till very frothy. Add the vanilla essence. Gradually add oil while beating the mixture lightly. Slowly fold in the flour mixture in this egg-oil mixture. Do not over-beat. The batter is done!!:)

3. Meanwhile, have a 8 inch round cake tin greased and dusted, and preheat the oven at 150 C. Pour the cake batter in the tin and bake for 30-40 mins till a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool a while, before removing from the tin. My cake turned out simply divine - soft, fluffy, with no cracks and an uniform dome with nearly 2 inch thickness.

Ingredients for Middle Icing

# 75 g softened white butter

# 1/2 cup sifted icing sugar

# 2 tbsp cocoa powder

# 1 tsp vanilla/brandy/rum essence

Method: Beat the white butter till soft and creamy, then add in the icing sugar - beating well till it turns fluffy. Add the cocoa powder to the get the desired colour - preferably lighter shade than the cake. Keep this icing in the fridge for a while. Meanwhile, cut the cool cake into two parts (We used a string, or you can also use a big flat knife). Soak both the parts of the cake with some sweet aromatic liquid (we used water+sugar+essence, or alternately you can also use coke or milk instead of water). Spread the icing on the lower half of the cake using a spatula and cover it with the top half.

Ingredients for Chocolate Icing for top

# 1 tbsp white butter

# 1 big dark chocolate slab - 80-90 g

# 1/2 cup icing sugar

# 2 tbsp water

# 1 egg

Method: Boil the water in a small saucepan and break the cocolate slab in small pieces and put it in the sauce pan for melting. Keep stirring it all the time, on low heat and when completely melted, add the butter and stir. Remove from heat and add the icing sugar - mixing all the time for it to dissolve completely. Break an egg into this and immediately stir vigorouly and cook on low heat. Stir continously, till you get a thick smooth pouring consistency. Do not let this mixture boil. Somehow, we had to cook this icing for a longtime, and then refrigerate it for 5-10 mins to get a nioce thick icing. Just pour this over the cake - it will flow on its own and cover the cake completely. Decorate the cake as you wish - we simply threw a handful of cadbury gems on it, to make it vibrant and colorful:) Refrigerate the cake for a couple of hours to set the icing completely.

As you can imagine - this is a huge cake between the two of us - so we've been hogging on it for the last 2-3 days:) Now that people have started complimenting my hubby on his new-found paunch, he has strictly prohibited me from baking any more cakes this month:(, so I guess, now I will have to fish out pics of earlier taken food and put them on my blog. Tho' the good part is that I get to finish off the rest of the cake today and lick the crumbs off the plate, since he is on a "strict diet" since this morning;)

Banana Chocolate Cake

2008-07-03T16:17:00.000+05:30

I am not too fond of bananas, but my hubby always assures me that he simply adores them. So whenever I feel like indulging him ;), I buy a few bananas for him. As it so happens, he has never ever (in our 7 months of marriage) finished off all the bananas - which means that I've to see atleast a couple rot before my own eyes. So when I was reading this blogpost by "happyhomebaker" as a great way to use up over-ripe bananas, I simply shouted out with joy:) You see - there were again a couple of these over-ripe bananas sitting on my 'fridge top, which I knew none of us would eat, and I simply HATE having to throw away good food stuff. So I promptly set about to bake this cake - and I must say, that I was simply thrilled with the outcome. Firstly, it was soo simple to prepare the batter (unlike a few cakes - this required only one big mixing bowl) and since I dont have a food processor or blender, the batter required only brisk whisking with hand. Also, the cake came out soft and moist (am not too fond of dry cakes). I had substituted 2 tbsp of dark cocoa powder for the flour, and used demerra sugar (dark brown sugar), because of which my cake turned out dark brown in colour, with a nice subtle chocolaty flavour, masked by the distinct banana flavour. Since I did not have spare bananas to decorate on the cake-top, I sprinkled some icing sugar after turning it out. I think the outcome is pretty good (though the cake had cracked a bit on top) - do not go with my pics - am not a very good food photographer:(

I think this cake will go down very well with kids or as a coffee cake. You can increase the cocoa powder quantity, if you want a more chocolaty flavor:) Happy Baking!!

Baked Vegetables and Macaroni

2008-07-03T14:26:00.000+05:30

This is for my friend Shobhana who wanted a simple baked pasta recipe - or else I am too lazy to compose a blogpost and publish it:) This was created by reading a few classic "Macaroni and Cheese" recipes and "Baked Vegetables" recipes - I simply married the two.

I have divided this recipe into 3 parts for convenience sake (Shobs, very much like me, is not much of a cook - so this break-up is helpful)

A. The Macaroni - I bought durum-wheat elbow shaped macaroni and boiled around 1 cup of it in salt water till al dente (keep checking while stirring - we dont want it to get too soft, since it will also go through the baking cycle). Then rinse it out with cold water and strain it and keep it aside - you can drizzle a bit of oil to prevent it from sticking).

B. The Vegetables - I chopped around 2 cups of assorted vegetables (red, green and yellow bellpeppers, carrots, french beans, cauliflower or you can use broccoli, button mushrooms and red spanish onions). Separately, I boiled a little bit of sweet corn niblets and green peas in water till just cooked. For cooking the vegetables, in 1 tbsp of olive oil, saute the veggies along with 1 tsp of minced garlic. I added the bellpeppers at the end, since I like them crisp. Mix these veggies with the boiled macaroni and keep aside.

C. The White Sauce (or the bechamel sauce) - In about 1 tbsp of butter or margarine, saute some finely chopped onions (about 1/2 cup). Once the onions have caramelized, add 2 tbsp of all-purpose flour or maida and fry gently till it becomes brown. Take care not to over-brown it since it burns very fast. Then add 2 cups of milk and stir so remove any big lumps of flour. While the sauce simmers, add salt and pepper to your taste and a dash of dry mustard powder and Worchestershire sause. If cholesterol is not an issue for you, crumble some Cheddar cheese in the bubbly sauce. If the sauce becomes too thick, you can add some extra milk.

These 3 things are then simply dumped together to create our dish. Grease a large baking dish (I used a deep porcelain baking dish), and put the veggies-macaroni mixture in it. I've seen cooks who prefer to layer the veggies and macaroni - I was in too much of a hurry to do that:) Then simply pour the thick creamy-cheesy white sauce on top to swamp our colorful vegetables. Sprinkle some bread crumbs on top, along with some grated cheese and decorate with halved cherry tomatoes and olives. Bake the dish uncovered at 200 C for 30 mins. If the crust becomes too brown - you can loosely cover the dish with some aluminium foil.

This healthy and colorful dish is enough for a family of four - myself and hubby had it for lunch as well the next day and we enjoyed every bit of ut:) If you are health conscious, you can simply avoid adding any cheese or alter the amount accordingly.

I would like to read your comment and suggestions on this post. I am not much of a photographer as you can see from these pics, but I am still learning. Also since since this just my 2nd blogpost, I am also learning "blogging":)

Heavenly Chocolate custard!

2008-05-20T13:28:00.000+05:30

Both me and hubby are chocolate fanatics..you'd find a liberal addition of chocolate in most of the desserts that we prepare. Cakes, gateaux, cookies, custard, puddings, milk shakes, ice-creams or even coffee!!

Last month - when we were enjoying our extended honeymoon since both of us were confined to home - me due to no job and him due to a freak accident leading to heavily plastered hands to heal many broken bones in both his hands, we prepared loads of stuff. Alas! we never bothered to take pics of all or even bothered to take good pics of the few we did - but still, will have to make do with what we have.

Since the docs had adviced him to take milk and milk-products to help his bones heal fast, I came up with this chocolate custard. He is not very fond of milk, and can go to any lengths to avoid it:) I modified this recipe from Nita Mehta's cookbook.

Let me know if anyone is interested in the recipe..

a few somethings that i cooked up in the kitchen ...

2008-05-20T11:34:00.000+05:30

I have started this new blog today - my first! I sincerely hope that you all will like stuff that I post on my blog. Firstly, I feel that I should explain (briefly - no worries:)) my intention behind starting on this blog. This is the first time in my life (in the 28 odd years till now) that I have been sitting at home with nothing much to do - recently was diagnosed with quite an acute case of hyperthyroidism only 3-4 months after my marriage:(

Since I have also resigned from my job recently, and not joining anyplace soon - I thought, it would be nice to mention a few of 'the things that i do'.

I have not been much of a cook - since have mostly relied on mum's cooking when at home or else on take-aways when not at home. Only after my marriage in December, have I really started cooking in earnest - and enjoying it too!! I guess, its also something to do with the fact that my husband and myself, both are self-styled foodies and experimental cooks:) I seriously believe that one of the best bargains about marriage is that you finally get a life-long ally..someone who will always be there for you..your confidante..with whom you can plot and plan..and basically create a mess in the kitchen:P

Well..yesterday we decided to make Paneer Tikka Masala on the spur of the moment (reason - we tried our hands at making Vegetable Spring Rolls during the weekend, but they were a complete disaster. So tried doing something simpler yesterday).

The tikkas came out really well...crispy and yummy:) I was too tired to make a gravy for the tikkas, so we used some fresh green chutney (made from fresh green coriander and mint leaves) as an accompaniment. We used the tikkas as a side dish along with our ajwain parathas and masoor tadka. To cut it short - we had a wonderful dinner!:) Just check out the tikkas yourself and try out this simple improvised recipe for quick home cooking.

Paneer Tikka (Cottage Cheese Tikkas)

Ingredients (for marinade):

# 100 gm - thick yoghurt/dahi

# 1 tsp grated fresh ginger

# 1 tsp grated fresh garlic

# 1/2 tsp each of garam masala, red chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera powder.

lemon juice and salt to taste

Method:

1. Cut big pieces of onion, capsicum, tomato and paneer (~ 1 inch sq pieces). Remove seeds from tomato and capsicum before dicing.

2. Wash and pat dry buttin mushrooms (we used small buttons - so they got grilled easily).

3. Mix these veggies in a big bowl with all the marinade (mix tenderly so as not to break the soft cottage cheese squares). Cover the bowl with a cling foil and refrigerate for 12 hours or less. We could only marinate ours for a little over an hour.

4. When its time for grilling - take out the veggies and skewer them gently so as not to break any of the pieces. We grilled the mushrooms on a separate skewer so as to cook them thoroughly.

5. Drizzle a few drops of oil on the veggies and grill them at 200 C for 20-30 mins. Grill time depends entirely on how you want the veggies to turn out - soft and mushy or al-dente and crisp. Serve with green chutney (pulse fresh washed coriander, mint leaves with roasted red tomato - skin charred and removed and 1 clove of garlic).

Your suggestions and comments are most welcome!