Stuffed Snakegourd

Minced Meat Cutlets


As children, when my mother made these delicious morsels, we would quickly eat the mince and leave the green rings. Any vegetable was taboo and snake gourd was our bete noire. As we grew older, we actually managed to eat the "green things" and liked it. My children did the same and I guess we all have to go through this process. Today cutlets are a prized item on our menu and my sister in law Joyce is the Queen of Cutlets.

The Recipe

1 snakegourd, cut into 1 inch thick rings. Wash & boil the snake gourd rings in salted water for a minute. Use just enough water to cover the rings. Plunge into cold water and drain. Keep aside.

2 medium boiled potatoes, mashed; 1 egg; 1 cup breadcrumbs; oil for shallow frying.

1/4 kg minced meat; 1 onion, minced; 2 tbsp ginger - garlic paste; 2 green chillies; a few corriander leaves, chopped; 2 spring onions, minced; salt to taste.
Cook all the ingredients together till the water evaporates. Cool for 5 minutes. Add the raw egg and the mashed potatoes and mix well. Form into medium sized balls. Place a snakegourd ring on your left palm, stuff with the mince balls, roll in breadcrumbs and keep on plate. Repeat with all rings. Shallow fry in hot oil on both sides, drain on kitchen paper and serve hot for tea with tomato sauce or for dinner with dhal & white rice. Guaranteed to please any palate!

Fall For Falooda

Falooda


I fell for this the moment I had it and so began a love affair that has lasted all my life. My nieces had a craze for it some time ago and would hover around the kitchen until it was served. We introduced it to my girls successfully and enjoy it whenever we can. Faloodah is popular all over Asia and served in different ways. An adaptation of a Persian dessert, it was probably popularised by the Mughals. Call it whatever you want and make it any which way you like - falooda, faloodeh, faluda , bubble tea, nam manglak, with vermicelli, sev, noodles or tapioca pearls, this Indian Dessert has fast become everybody's favourite.

The Recipe

2 tbsp angel hair pasta; 1 cup cold milk; 2 tsp rose water; 1/4 cup red jelly (follow instructions on packet and reserve left over for the family to eat); 1 tsp sabza (basil seeds); 2 tbsp MTR Badam Mix; sprigs of mint for garnish.

To Serve: 2 Tall glasses

Boil the pasta is a large pan of water for 15 minutes until done. Drain under running water and keep aside. Clean and soak the sabza in 500 ml water for half an hour. Drain just before use in a strainer. Mix the milk, MTR Badam Mix and rose water together. Chill in refrigerator. Make sure the jelly is cold and wobbly.

To Assemble: Divide ingredients equally between the two tall glasses and start with the jelly, followed by the angel hair pasta, sabza and cold milk. Give it a swirl with a cocktail stick and garnish with nuts (optional)and a sprig of mint. Serve immediately.

Mussel Up

Anu's Spicy,Stirfried Clams


Back to Bangalore for long forgotten favourites and wonderful memories. This is one recipe that we all adore. My Aunt Shobha used to pamper us as kids and cook this for us whenever we visited and even packed up containers of it to take back with us. On my visit to Bangalore last month , my sister saw some mussels in the market and bought a whole lot home. We couldn't wait for it to get ready and finished it while watching Masterchef. Please may I have some more?

The Recipe

1 kg shelled mussels, clean, wash & drain. By clean I mean remove the black beard; pinch turmeric; 4 sliced onions;1 bunch spring onions, chopped; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic, minced; 1 tsp chilli powder or curry powder to taste; a large bunch corriander leaves for garnish; large sprig curry leaves for seasoning; 3 tbsp cooking oil; 1/2 cup water; salt to taste.

Heat oil in a large, flat bottomed non stick pan. When hot, add the curry leaves and stir fry a minute. Add the sliced onions & chopped spring onions and fry on a medium flame till onions are caramelised and still edible (avoid burning them). Add the ginger-garlic and cook till a wonderful aroma arises and the household makes a beeline to the kitchen. Stir in the chilli powder or curry powder and turmeric and gently fry for a few minutes. Put the mussels in and keep tossing until coated with oil and well fried. Add water, salt to taste and cover and cook till dry and ready for the table. Stir in the chopped corriander leaves, test for taste and serve hot with rice & dhal or warm crusty bread. Absolutely delicious and I am drooling while writing this.

By the Light Of The Moon

Snowskin Mooncake


Soon after we moved to Kuala Lumpur, a local friend invited us over to her house for the Mooncake Festival and I was quite thrilled. That was the time when my girls were small and the luxury of a meal cooked and served by someone else was very welcome. Imagine my surprise when what I assumed turned out to be an Ode to the Moon where we sat in the garden, looked at the full moon, sipped numerous cups of Chinese tea from dainty, delicate teacups smaller than my palm and enjoyed slice after slice of varieties of mooncakes. I have been a fan ever since and eventually learned to make them myself.
The Mooncake Festival or Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Lunar calendar when the moon is at its brightest for the entire year. There are many legends about this ancient Festival. My favourite is the one about how the Chinese overthrew the Mongols in the 13th century by passing messages about the planned rebellion in mooncakes. The uprising was successful and Mooncakes earned their place in history. Today there are numerous kinds of mooncakes with different fillings. All are delicious and here is a recipe that can be eaten immediately.

The Recipe

Mooncakes have two layers. The outer layer is called the skin and the inner layer the filling. You get special moulds to make them. This time I used jelly moulds as I wanted to experiment.

For The Snowskin
50gms Koh fun (commercial fried glutinous rice flour. This is a special flour that comes from Hong Kong and available at any cake speciality shop.
35gms Icing sugar; 7.5 gms margarine; 60ml ice cold water.

Filling
150gms Pure Lotus Paste

To Make Snowskin
Sieve Koh Fun and Icing sugar into a mixing bowl.
Rub margarine into the flour mixture to resemble breadcrumbs.Add cold water a little by little until dough is soft and spongy in texture. Scale and weigh 15gms per portion for each mooncake. (According to the size of your mooncake mould.)

Filling
Scale and weigh 40gm per portion for each mooncake filling. (According to the size of your mooncake mould.)

To Assemble
Wrap each portion of filling with a portion of snow skin. Sprinkle a little koh fun flour in moulds. Press assembled balls into mooncake/jelly mould.
Knock out and chill before serving.

Makes seven. Next time I will make more.

Panna Cotta

A Dessert To Savour


There are some recipes you fall in love with the minute you taste it. This is one such recipe and since it is both easy and delicious, any excuse to make it is welcome and we have it pretty frequently at home. Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert that literally means cooked cream and is very rich, so I have come up with my own version using yoghurt in place of cream. A favourite with the young and adults Panna Cotta will add grace to your dinner table for any occasion.
The Recipe

3 tsps. gelatine, ¼ cup water, ½ cup caster sugar, 2/3 cups curds, 425 gms stewed apricots (Mummy’s recipe), Mint leaves to decorate(optional).

Sprinkle gelatine over water in small bowl. Stand in hot water and stir till dissolved.
Beat yoghurt and sugar with electric beater until sugar dissolves. Then add the gelatine and mix well. Spoon into 6 tall glasses or bowls. When half set add apricots. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold.

This was very, very unusual and delicious.

Asian Panna Cotta: Use a combination of cream & coconut milk, curds and tropical fruits like pineapple or mango or a combination of both.

Stewed Apricots

¼ kg dried apricots; sugar to taste; 1 cup hot water.

Soak apricots in hot water overnight. Next day deseed and cook to boiling point with sugar to taste. Lower heat and thicken. Remove and cool. In the meanwhile extract the nuts and add to apricot s. Serve cold.

Birth Daze Classic

Nana's Tiger Prawns


With so many birthdays in the family and the obvious preference for Chinese food, we have been on a culinary safari these last two weeks. Hence decided to put up a Chinese recipe that has gourmet value for all lovers of Chinese food. Easy, quick and wickedly delicious to boot.
The Recipe
20 tiger prawns, cleaned with head and shell intact; 50 gms melted butter; 50 gms Minced garlic; 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper; salt to taste; coriander leaves for garnish.
Marinade the prawns with all the seasonings (butter, garlic, salt and pepper) for 15 minutes. Transfer to baking tray and grill for 5 minutes each side at 260 C or till pink. Remove and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve as an appetiser.
N.B. Can use crabs instead.

Serita's Birthday Treat

Simply Lasagna


The first time I heard of this dish I wondered what it was. Living in Malaysia has given me the opportunity to learn so much and hone my skills. When the girls were growing up, pasta was the in thing and so we had it every week. I even went to the extent of buying a pasta machine and made home made pasta regularly...gnocci, lasagna, tomato & spinach, spaghetti, fettuccini, cannelloni, farfelle, tortellini(this took me 4 long hours to make), ravioli, vermicelli, tagliatelli and a lot more varieties. In the beginning we could harly pronounce the names, but gradually we came to love these simple, satisfying meals and soon lasagna ruled the roost. Today is Serita's 24th birthday. So happy birthday girl, happy birthday. May you have many more and eat Lasagna in Italy one day!

The Recipe Serves Four
250 gms San Remo Large Instant Lasagna; 2 tbsp oil, 1 medium onion, chopped fine; 1 medium carrot, grated; 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 stalk celery, minced; 1/2 kg chicken mince; 400gms tin tomato puree(I use Hunt's);2 chicken soup cubes; 2 cups hot water;salt & pepper to taste; pinch of Italian herbs; 2 tbsp butter; 2 tbsp plain flour; 2 cups low fat milk; 125 gms Cheddar cheese, grated.

Meat Sauce Heat oil in a saucepan. Add onion, carrot, garlic and celery and cook till soft on a medium fire. Add mince, cook till brown. Next, stir in the broken soup cubes, tomato puree, hot water,salt pepper and herbs. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until thick. Keep hot.

Cheese Sauce Melt butter in a seperate pan, stir in flour and cook 2 minutes over gentle heat. Mixture should be pale and not brown. Remove from heat, stir in milk. Return to heat and gently stir until thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the grated cheese,reserving some for sprinkling on top of last layer, stirring all the time over low flame till cheese melts.

To Assemble Preheat oven to 180 Centigrade. Pour 1/2 cup of meat sauce into greased baking dish. Alternate layers of lasagna, meat and cheese sauces ending with a cheese sauce layer. (You get 4 layers usually).Sprinkle with remaining grated cheese and bake in oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until cooked through. Test if cooked by pricking with a fork or skewer. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving with a delicious salad or on its own. Guaranteed to vanish in one sitting.