Friday, April 22, 2016

Steamed Fish









Hurry Burry Steamed Fish
This is a recipe that I make when I am in a hurry and have very little time to spend in the kitchen.  It's a great way to also use up the odds and ends in my vegetable basket and serve up a satisfying, delectable meal during the week or even when you have unexpected guests;

The Recipe:

500 gms boneless fish, cubed; salt and pepper to taste; 3 spring onions, chopped; 1 inch piece ginger, grated; 2 tbsp thin soy sauce; 2 tbsp olive oil; 5 cloves garlic, minced; 2 dried red chillies, broken into bits; 1/2 tsp brown sugar; 1 medium sized green capsicum cut into strips.

Wash and drain fish.  Season with salt and pepper and  1/2 tsp sugar to taste.    Add half of the ginger, garlic, spring onions, oil  and soy sauce and mix well so that all the fish is seasoned.  Place the fish in a heat resistant dish and steam  in a pressure cooker or any large dish for 20 minutes.  Keep warm.

Heat remaining oil in a non stick pan and stir fry the remaining ginger, garlic, red chillies, salt and capsicum  for a few minutes.   Add the remaining soy sauce and spring onions and stir to combine.  Pour over the fish and serve hot with white rice or kichdi.








 https://plateculture.com/where-to-eat/optimummm-indian-cooking-workshop

Thursday, April 21, 2016

Semolina Bread


A Different Kind Of Bread


 As children, one of our pet hates was Uppuma which my Mum made every Monday without fail  for breakfast.  It is one dish that I seldom make.  I was quite surprised to see this recipe online a while ago from Sanjeev Kapoor's Khazana and was eager to try it out.  So when my husband bought sooji or semolina instead of the sago I wanted,  it was the right time  to make this different kind of  bread, tweaked to suit our taste.  It passed our taste bud test and am looking forward to making it again.  Surprise, surprise!

The Recipe:

1 3/4 cups fine sooji; 1/4 tsp salt; 3/4 cups water; 7.5 gm instant yeat; 1/4 tsp brown sugar; 1 1/2 tbsp warm water; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1/2 tsp mustard; 2 green chillies, minced; 1 sprig curry leaves, chopped fine; 2 spring onions, minced; 1 medium tomato, chopped fine; coriander leaves for topping; 2 tbsp nuts for the topping; 1 tbsp olive oil for drizzling on top.

Additional 1 tbsp olive oil for seasoning.

Add the yeast and sugar to the warm water in a glass bowl and keep aside for 10 minutes.  Next, mix the sooji, salt and water together with a wooden spoon and add the yeast to it.  Mix really well and add 2 tbsp olive oil.  Mix together and leave in a warm place for 15 minutes to prove.

In the meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a non stick pan.  Lower flame and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, chillies and spring onions.   Stir fry till the onions are glazed.  Throw in the tomatoes and fry till mushy.   Remove from the fire and cool for about five minutes.  Add this seasoning to the sooji and mix well.  The dough must be moist and of a dropping consistency.   Transfer to a 9 inches x 4 inches rectangular loaf tin.  Scatter the nuts of your choice and chopped coriander leaves on top.  Drizzle the olive oil all over and bake in a preheated oven at 175 C for 20 minutes or until skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Remove from oven, cool , unmould, slice and enjoy plain or with your favourite curry.

NB: the tomato can be omitted.  My Mum never used it while making Uppuma.  














Monday, April 18, 2016

Dulce de Leche Tartlet








Dulce de Leche Tartlet
I do love ready made tart crusts.  I stock up on them whenever we do our baking shopping and they can be turned into a savoury or sweet in a jiffy in vast quantities that is so satisfying.  Today is no exception.  I came across some left over Dulce de Leche from Nehru's birthday party and had some cream cheese too.  The result- an absolutely delectable dessert to die for!

The Recipe:

50 mini pie crusts- readymade; 1/2 cup dulce de leche; 1/2 cup cream cheese; nuts for topping.

Bring the dulce de leche and cream cheese to room temperature.  Whisk together to a smooth consistency.  Drop teaspoonfuls into the tart crusts and top with nuts.  Refrigerate overnight.  They are so simple that a child could do it.  It's very easy to forget yourself and lick your fingers and the bowl.