Naadan chicken chilli roast

Recipe adapted from here

Chicken (with bone)- 650gms
Coconut oil- 2 tbsp
Curry leaves- 3 to 4 sprigs
Small onions (shallots)- 3/4th to 1 cup, crushed (refer notes)
Red chilli flakes- 3 tbsp (refer notes)
Soy sauce- 1/2 tbsp (optional)
Salt- to taste

Heat coconut oil in a frying pan and throw in the curry leaves.

Fry till slightly crisp and then add the crushed small onions.

Saute for about 4 to 5 minutes and then add the red chilli flakes.

Cook on low to medium heat until the mix turns a dark brown in colour. 

Make sure you don't burn the flakes, and keep mixing in between. This step is important as it determines the final colour of the dish.

The mix should be a dry one, as opposed to a wet masala.

Tip in the chicken, add enough salt, mix well with the masala, close and cook for about 10 minutes.

By now water would have released from the chicken, stir well, cover and cook till the chicken is almost done.

Then open lid and on high heat, saute the chicken till all the water has evaporated and the masala sort of clings on to the meat.

Reduce heat a bit and add the soy sauce. Roast the chicken till all the masala coats the chicken and the colour turns a dark brown. This can take a while, about 10 to 15 minutes. Don't skip this step though.

Add a few torn curry leaves, give a final mix and transfer to serving plate.

Notes: I've used chicken wings here, but you can use any part really. If using a whole chicken, make sure you cut them into small pieces. I've also tried this with boneless chicken thighs and it works great when you want to serve as an appetiser with drinks.

Using small onions (cheria ulli/shallots) make all the difference. Using a pestle and mortar gently crush them. If you don't have one, then roughly slice each small onion into two or so.

That said, I've made this using normal onions and it tastes fine as well. I've sliced them to the size of a small onion and used that. Haven't bothered crushing them.

Use dried Kashmiri chilli flakes for this, as you need about 3 tbsp and you don't want it to be unbearably spicy. I get ready made chilli flakes here and I've used that, but you can just dry roast whole Kashmiri chilli till crisp and roughly grind it to get flakes.

Soy sauce is my personal addition and i love the flavour, but it tastes perfectly fine without the soy as well.

I sometimes add a handful of coriander leaves at the end instead of the curry leaves.

Shikampuri kebab (cheese stuffed kebab)

Recipe adapted from Vah Chef (makes around 20)

Meat- 500 gms (I used minced beef, you can use beef cubes, minced lamb, lamb cubes, or even chicken)

Chana dal- 1/2 cup, washed till water runs clear

Ground pepper- 1/2 tsp

Cinnamon- 2, 1 inch pieces

Cardamom- 3 pods

Cloves- 2

Dried red chilly- 3

Salt- to taste

Mint leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Fried onions- 2 tbsp

Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp

Garam masala powder- 1 tsp

Red chilly powder- 1 tsp

Lime juice- 1 tbsp

For the filling

Ricotta cheese- 250 gms (Traditionally, hung curd is used)

Green chillies- 2, finely chopped (add more if you want it spicy)

Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Onions- 2 tbsp, finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Oil- to shallow fry

Cook together the meat, chana dal, ground pepper, whole spices and red chilly in a pressure cooker with little or no water. I used about 1/4 cup water.

Once you open the cooker, if there is lot of stock, cook on high flame till most of the water has evaporated. 

Keep aside to cool completely and then blend to a paste. Do not add any water.

Transfer this mix to a mixing bowl and add the mint, coriander, fried onions, cumin, garam masala, red chilli powder and lime juice. 

Using your hands, mix the masala into the meat paste, as evenly as possible. 

If you feel that the mix is slightly moist, keep in the refrigerator so its easier to shape.

While the meat is cooking you can also get the filling ready.

Mix together all the ingredients for the filling in a bowl. Keep refrigerated till ready to use.

I used ricotta because it was a more convenient option. But even then there was quite a bit of water content in the cheese, so i still hung it in a cloth and tried to get as much water out. 

Assembling

At this stage if you fee that the meat mix is too dry, as in, its cracking while you are tying to make balls, then sprinkle some water and knead well. Add water bit by bit, or else the kebab will fall apart while frying,

Make lime size balls out of the meat mix, you should get around 20 of them.

Flatten it out , make a well and stuff about 1/2 tsp of cheese filling. Bring edges together and seal.

Gently flatten the kebab using your palm, and shape into a round

This takes a wee bit of practise. If the filling is too much then it oozes out, so start with a small quantity and once you get the hang of it, add more filling.

Heat a tawa and drizzle the oil. Not too much oil, just enough to shallow fry.

Fry the kebabs on medium heat till both the sides turn crisp and brown.

Serve with mint chutney.

Notes:

If you are using minced meat, you can cook it in a frying pan as well.

Ive also tried it with Mascarpone cheese and it works fine.

Make sure your filling isnt loose, as it will ooze out of the kebab while frying. remove as much water content possible.

Prawn vada/ balls with chilli mayo dip

 

Recipe adapted from here

Prawns- 200-225 gms

Grated coconut- 1 cup

green chillies- 4

Shallots- 1/4 cup, peeled and roughly chopped

Ginger- 1/2 tbsp, peeled and roughly chopped

Garlic- 6, peeled and roughly chopped

Curry leaves- 1 big sprig

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp

Kashmiri chilli powder- 1 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- to fry

Chilli mayo dip

Mayonnaise- 1/2 cup

Tomato ketchup- 2 tsp

Green chilli sauce- 1 tsp (you can also use the green Tabasco sauce but reduce the quantity as they are more potent

For the vada, grind together all the ingredients to a coarse paste.

Grease your palm with a little oil and make small balls out of the mixture.

(You can also flatten it to make them look like vada)
(You can freeze them at this point and then defrost at room temp and make them into balls for frying)

Heat oil in a deep pan and add the prawn balls into them in batches

Fry till brown on all sides, about 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Serve with a dip as an appetiser or as a side to rice.

Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Adjust the heat by increasing or reducing the amount of green chilli sauce. Refrigerate till ready to use.

Spinach and artichoke dip stuffed garlic bread

 

How are Christmas preps going on you loverly people? I am off to my sister in laws next weekend for a pre Christmas bash and then to a blogger friend's place for a fun pot luck. We have a tradition of exchanging home made gifts for Christmas, and last year we all went out to brunch to a fancy restaurant sans the husbands, and exchanged them there over cocktails and conversation. This year we have been so busy with chaiparty pop-up stalls and other interesting business ventures, that we couldn't actually do a day out. We are still doing home made gifts (I have taken the plunge and made something I'm very excited about, fingers crossed on how it would ultimately turn out) but exchanging it on Christmas day, like it should be, with family and dear ones.

We have been busy on our whatsapp group discussing the theme, menu, gifts and so on and I have been entrusted with the vegetarian starter. I've made this recipe as a dip again and again at parties, and was quite convinced this is what I was going to take to the party, when I thought I should try this version, one that I book marked eons ago, a try before i decided. It's a fab appetiser idea and you score points on uniqueness. It doesn't take any time to put together, and you can cart it off anywhere and finish off the last baking in the oven just before serving. Stress free, hassle free and delicious.

I decided to use the Norwegian cheese Jarlsberg instead of the traditional mozzarella because I was sure the nutty flavour from the cheese would be a perfect match with spinach and artichoke and it was. Maybe next time I'll up the quantity to 1.5 cups (oh please, its the holiday season, no ones on a diet). Its a cheese I was not familiar with until I attended a soiree hosted by Jarlsberg at the Good Housekeeping Institute where Signe Johansen and Lucie Bruckner took us through a session on how to use the cheese in different recipes, and of course treated to some delicious canapés using the same. After creating our own mac and cheese sandwish, we sat down to a glorious meal with wine and chatter. (I also got to drink a shot of the famous Aquavit for the first time. It shall be remembered is all i can say).

Recipe adapted from here

 

Baguette- 1

Oil- 1/2 tbsp

Shallot- 1 small, finely chopped

Spinach- 250 gms 

Canned artichoke hearts- 200 gms, drained and chopped

Salt and pepper- to taste

Chilli flakes- 1/2 tsp (optional)

Garlic powder- 1/2 tsp

Cream cheese- 230 gms

Jarlsberg cheese- 1 cup + enough to garnish

Butter- 2 tbsp

Garlic- 3 cloves, finely chopped

Slice the baguette into 4 and using a long serrated knife cut out the insides, leaving about a cm of bread around the edges, and scoop/ or push it out to make the baguette slices hollow. Keep aside. (Use the scooped out bread to make bread crumbs)

Heat oil in a frying pan and saute the shallots till translucent. 

Add the chopped artichoke hearts and saute for a couple of minutes.

Tip in the spinach, mix it all together and cover and cook till they have all wilted.

Open lid and cook till all the water has evaporated. 

Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and chilli flakes and transfer the mix into a mixing bowl.

Add the cream cheese and Jarlsberg cheese and give a thorough mix, making sure all the cheese melts.

Pre heat the oven to 175C and line a baking tray with silver foil.

Stuff the baguette quarters with the dip, using a teaspoon and pack it in as much possible. I found it was much easier to do this using a piping bag. Fill it with the dip, nip off the end and pipe into the baguette. 

Place the filled baguette quarters on to a chopping board and slice them carefully to pieces that are about an inch thick.

Place the sliced pieces on to the lined baking tray, arranging them back into the shape of a full baguette, or if your tray isn't that big, you can arrange them side by side.

Mix together the butter, garlic and parsley in a small bowl .

Cover and melt in the microwave for a couple of seconds.

Brush the garlic butter generously over the bread, and in between the slices if possible. Also make sure all the minced garlic gets used up, just top it all on the bread.

Cover the baguette with another foil and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Take the tray out of the oven, open the foil, sprinkle the remaining cheese and place back in the oven open, for a couple more minutes, for the bread to lightly brown and the cheese to melt.

Serve warm as a starter or as a side with soup.

Notes: Feel free to use mozzarella cheese instead of Jarlsberg and sprinkle parmesan right at the very end.
Add some shredded chicken to it and make it a non veg starter
If you want to do the dip, after you mix in the cheese, dump the mix on to an oven safe bowl, top with more cheese an dbake for about 20 minutes or till the mix is bubbling away. Serve with crusty bread.

With thanks to Jarlsberg cheese for the fab evening and for the cheese sample.

Egg and coconut chutney bondas (kebabs)

 

My mum used to make a version of this when we were young. It was that rebellious period where we didnt like anything home made, leave alone bonda's, which were the most boring things ever. Instead we wanted things from the bakery, or burgers and hot dogs from the fast food joints. Fast forward 20 years later and I want all these boring dishes I never bothered to notice. Dont get me wrong here, I love my steaks, pizzas and pastas, but I realised I want these simple unassuming memories of home also, unusually a lot more these days.

Blame the 2 week short trip back home, the depressing weather (I am not joking, but I havent seen the sun for more than 10 minutes at a stretch since i got back), the winter chill, or you know just to find out if you could make the dish the same way mummy made. I wanted to call her up to get the exact recipe, but my globe trotting mother was in Thailand with her friends and so had to make do with my memory of the recipe she had once mentioned over the phone. 

To be honest, I cant remember if it tasted anything like hers, but I can assure you it tasted darn good. I wouldn't say the husband gobbling up 4 of them one after the other is proof, but you get the idea right? I would say these are like Scotch eggs, but like a poorer cousin with coconut chutney instead of meat. Its a great appetiser and a different one at that. Using quails eggs make it a tad fancier and also an easy finger food since you can just chuck the whole thing into your mouth.

Serves 7 to 8 as a starter

Eggs- 12, hard boiled (I used quails eggs)

For the chutney

Grated coconut- 1 cup

Coriander leaves- 1 cup

Mint leaves- 12

Tamarind paste- 1 tsp

Green chilli- 1

Salt- to taste

For the batter

Gram flour- 2 tbsp

Plain flour- 2 tbsp

Ajwain seeds- 1/4 tsp

Chilli powder- 1/2 tsp

Fennel seeds, powdered- a generous pinch

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Water- enough to make a thick batter

Cook the quails eggs in boiling water for about 6 minutes to hard boil them. Drain, peel and keep aside.

Grind together all the ingredients for the chutney in a food processor/ blender, scraping down the sides at intervals, until you get a smooth-ish paste.

Resist the urge to add water.

Transfer to an air tight container and refrigerate till ready to use.

Mix together all the dry ingredients for the batter in a mixing bowl and add enough water to make a thick batter, almost paste-like.

Make sure its not too loose, or else it wont stick to the egg. That said, if it does end up being too loose, just add some more flour to get the desired consistency. Or if too thick, loosen it with water, 1 tsp at a time.

When ready to cook, heat oil in a deep pan.

Wrap the coconut chutney around the quails egg and make into a smooth ball. Do so with all the eggs, making sure you dont over do the chutney on each egg.

Cover the balls in batter and drop them into the hot oil.

Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen towels.

Serve hot with spicy ketchup.

Notes: I used quails egg and the chutney quantity was perfect for 12 of them. The said quantity should cover 5 to 6 medium size eggs easily. The chutney recipe can easily be doubled.

I made the chutney the previous day. Bring it out to room temperature half an hour before making the bondas.

Also, I found that the chutney had dried a bit the next day, so i stirred in 2 tsp of water so it would stick to the eggs. Please add water bit by bit because once it becomes too watery, there is no way to fix it.

The chutney works great on its own with idli, dosa or even as a sandwich filling.

Pea, mint and feta dip & a Bloody Martini

 

I have been busy, very busy, but good busy. Those of you on my Facebook page would already know that Chaiparty has pretty much taken over our lives. Read all about it here. Its a lot of work, but absolutely rewarding at the same time. We are also doing themed lunches in the next coming months and cant wait to get started on the next big chaiparty in September. We also just got back from a holiday in Spain, which was eventful to say the least and I have also been busy attending a lot of fun food events around London, not to mention thoroughly enjoying summer, or what's left of it.

A couple of weeks back I was invited to the Putting on the Ritz event where we were treated to some gorgeous cocktails and dips, all paired with the new Ritz thins. Ritz teamed up with supper club expert Alice Levine and the very popular mixologist Richard Woods (of Duck & Waffle) to come up with a series of tips, recipes and ideas to Ritz-Up socialising this summer. It was held at a stunning penthouse apartment in East London with amazing views over the city. 

The 4 new flavours of oven-baked potato crisps from Ritz- Cream Cheese & Onion, Sea Salt & Vinegar, Sweet Red Chilli and Sea Salt & Black Pepper- are delicious. They were paired with equally delicious dips, with the pea, mint and feta and the smoked paprika topping my list. Of course, the glamour side was intact with 4 very unique cocktails that were paired with the crisps. The weather was great, the company was good and we all had a nice time 'Putting on the Ritz.'

I had to make the pea, mint and feta dip at home, especially after bragging about it to the husband. It turned out great and was wiped clean in a matter of hours while watching a movie. Of the cocktails that were served on the day, the Mates Martini, a (very) complicated version of the Bloody Mary was my favourite. Trust the cocktail expert Richard Woods to make things easy ;). Since i like complicated i decided to make it at home. It took me 2 days and a lot of patience to make the drink, but it was totally worth it. Yes, I do go out of my way for that perfect cocktail. I am however trying to figure out an easy way to do this mix, because you know, the urge to have a bloody Mary doesn't quite last for 2 days.

Pea, mint and feta dip (Recipe adapted from Alice Levine who prepared this dip at Ritz event)

Frozen peas- 250 gms, thawed

Feta- 50 gms, crumbled

Fresh mint- 3 tbsp, roughly chopped

Garlic- 1 clove, chopped

Green chilli- 1/2 of a small one, chopped (optional)

Extra virgin olive oil- 2tbsp

Lemon juice- 1 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Pepper- to taste

Blend together all the ingredients in a food processor and season to taste.

Add a splash of water if you would prefer it a bit loose.

Transfer to a serving bowl, drizzle some olive oil on top, garnish with some mint leaves and serve as a dip with the Ritz Sea Salt and Vinegar.

Bloody Martini (Makes a little more than 2 drinks. Recipe adapted from Richard Woods who prepared the drink at the Ritz event)

Vodka- 100ml

Basil- 15gms

Bloody Marry Consommé- 100ml (recipe below)

Ice cubes- 4

Bloody Marry Consommé

Ground black pepper- 2 gms

Sea salt- 1.5 gms

celery salt- 1 gm

Tabasco original- 5 dashes

Tabasco green- 8 dashes

Lemon juice- 1/2 tbsp

Worcestershire sauce- 8 dashes

Tomato juice- 300ml

Infuse the vodka with the basil leaves for about 24hrs. Make sure you don't infuse it longer or else it would turn bitter.

Strain and use as required.

The consommé also needs to be made a day before.

Into a freezer safe container with lid, pour in the tomato juice and all the other ingredients and stir well.

Leave to infuse for about an hour and then put on the lid and place in the freezer.

The following morning, remove the frozen tomato mix from freezer and do a drip thaw, which essentially means you create a filter through which the block thaws naturally.

I used a muslin cloth and my sieve to do this.

This takes an entire day so patience is much advised.

You can make this in bulk, and it will keep for 7 days in the fridge.

To make the Martini, chill the martini glasses prior to serving.

Stir together the vodka and consommé along with the ice cubes until well chilled.

Strain into chilled glass, garnish with a floating basil leaf and serve.

With thanks to Ritz UK for inviting me to the event and for all the delicious crisps.

Announcing the Indian #chaiparty event and a recipe for Khari puff sticks

With the weather changing and the cold creeping in on us, its getting more and more depressing. Diwali is coming up, so that's something to look forward to, but come November and then we are in that awkward state, where you know Christmas is a few weeks away, but not close enough to start planning or shopping for. So we at Bloggers' Buzz thought we should do something to bring the colour back into gloomy London by hosting an Indian #chaiparty. Yup, a traditional afternoon tea party with an Indian touch. Its going to be held in a leafy bylane of SE10, conveniently located for everyone to get to and we've collaborated with some fabulous brands which we shall be revealing in the next couple of weeks. You can call it a supper club of sorts, cos we are going to be cooking and serving the food we serve at the event, but we are not following the traditional sit down supper club format. I don't want to reveal too much now, but i promise this is going to be a super duper fun event.

What's a chai party without some steaming hot, well chai? Tea India, with their exotic range of rich, flavourful teas have gladly agreed to be part of the #chaiparty and will be providing us the tea for the afternoon. We will be serving a tea inspired cocktail as welcome drink and there would be unlimited glasses of masala chai doing the rounds.

Talking about food, we don't want to harp on the word fusion, but we promise it would be something fabulous. It would be predominantly Indian inspired but with a touch of what the quintessential afternoon teas are all about. To give you a teaser, we're thinking gajjar ka halwa tarts, vodka spiked golgappas (I know!!), mango flavoured macarons, lamb and pistachio kofta's etc. 

If thats not enough, we also have in store some fun festive games, mehendi corner, music and dancing to get the party going. The tickets will go on sale soon, and spaces are limited, so you might want to jump in and book one off right away. I shall be back with more details but till then, leaving you with a lip smacking canapé.

Since we are on the whole fusion food topic, here is a recipe for the traditional Khari biscuits (spiced puff pastry biscuits), but with the addition of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, it takes on the form of cheese sticks, that, needless to say, no one can stop with just one. Topping 2, with a South Indian twist, were my absolute favourite. I cant explain the aroma while these were baking. 

Makes around 20 long cheese sticks

Puff pastry- 1 pack, thawed

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese- 1 cup, finely grated

Topping 1

Dried fenugreek leaves- 1 tbsp, crushed

Pepper- around 1/2 to 1 tsp

Red chilli flakes- 1 tsp (optional)

Sea salt- to sprinkle

Topping 2

Oil- 1 tsp

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 1 sprig, fresh ones

Shallot- 1 small, finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Preheat oven to 176C and line 2 baking trays with baking paper

If your puff pastry is not ready rolled, then roll it out to about 30 cms, 1/4 inch thickness.

Cut this sheet in two and sprinkle them both with Parmigiano Reggiano cheese . Generously

Sprinkle all the ingredients for topping one, one after the other on top of the cheese and using a rolling pin gently roll over the pastry sheet, just to put the ingredients all in place and to make sure they don't fall off.

Cut into long strips and carefully place them on the baking tray 1/2 inch apart.

For filling two, heat oil in a small pan and throw in the cumin seeds and curry leaves

Once they turn crisp, in about a minute if the oil is perfectly hot, add the finely chopped shallot and keep sauteing till they turn crisp.

This could take a while, but make sure you don't burn them, or else its could taste bitter.

Once the mix turn crispy, drain them on paper towels and leave to cool.

Once cool, crush them with a pestle and mortar, not to paste like consistency, but leaving a bit of bite to it.

Season with salt and sprinkle this mix on top of the puff pastry.

Cut them in strips and place on the baking paper.

Bake for about 15 minutes or till the pastry is golden brown in colour.

Take out of the oven, cool for a few minutes and bite into the crispy puff sticks warm.

Serve with a cup of tea and its perfect.

Sending the Cheese Sticks for the Parmigiano Reggiano #dinnertogether competition in association with London Restaurant Week. Wish me luck :)

Bitterballen (Dutch beef croquettes)

 

We were in Amsterdam last week for Ro's cousins graduation and other than doing all the wild stuff Amsterdam is known for, we also got around to sampling some of the Dutch food. Well, Ro and his cousin wanted to eat Indonesian food, while i made a big fuss and said I wanted to try Dutch food, which to be honest was nothing to brag about at the end of the day. I tried fried cheese, bitterballen, stroopwaffels (waffles filled with caramel syrup), poffertjes and i was almost talked into trying the raw herring, but that definitely didn't happen. 

The bitterballen was my favourite from the lot i tried and i had to figure out how to make them at home. I scouted around for recipes and finally put together all the info i got and came up with my version. Its basically white sauce and meat mixed together, refrigerated, made into balls and deep fried. Yeah, whats not to like about that? 

I am soooo going to serve this as an appetiser at my next party which reminds me, i haven't thrown a party in so long. Work and other commitments have got in the way, but don't get me wrong, I'm loving every bit if it. Bitterballen is served with a mustard dip, since I'm not that big a mustard fan, i made my own version with the addition of some mayo and chilli sauce.

Makes around 30 medium size croquettes

 

Stewing beef- 400 to 450gms, cut into cubes

Ginger garlic paste- 1 1/2 tsp

Meat masala- 1 tsp (optional)

Salt and pepper- to taste

Minced beef- 1 1/2 cups

Butter- 90 gms

Flour- 2/3rd cup

Beef stock- 2 1/4 cups

Nutmeg- a generous pinch

Salt and pepper- to taste

Parsley- 1 tsp

Egg- 1, large, beaten

Bread crumbs- 1/2 cup

Oil- enough to deep fry

Cook the beef with the ginger garlic paste, meat masala and enough salt and pepper till done. I used a pressure cooker to make this process faster, but you are more than welcome to cook them with some water on the stove top, or use a slow cooker.

Once done, shred using a fork, mince in the food processor or just finely chop.

This mix can go right into the freezer.

Make a roux by melting the butter on medium heat and slowly whisking in the flour to form a smooth paste.

Pour in the beef stock bit by bit, whisking well after each addition, and the roux absorbs all the liquid.

Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper, stir it in.

Add the beef and chopped parsley, mix thoroughly.

Take it off heat and transfer to a shallow container

Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hr for the mix to harden which would make it easier to work with. This step is highly advised. *

When ready to fry, take the mix out of the refrigerator.

Take about 1 tbsp of the mix and roll into a ball, roughly the size of a golf ball. Arrange on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Meanwhile, pour in the oil into a frying pan, and heat on medium heat

Drop a crumb into the oil and if its floats to the top immediately, then that means the oil is hot enough.

Quickly dip the balls in the egg, roll in the bread crumbs and drop into the oil.

Once it turns golden brown, turn it over and fry the other side.

Once golden and fried all over, transfer to a kitchen towel to drain.

Serve hot with a mustard dip.

Notes:*I lined my baking tray with silver foil and spread out the mix so it would firm up faster and evenly. I also kept it over night in the fridge, covered.

I am not a fan of plain mustard, so i mixed a bit of mayo into the mustard for the dip.

I also froze the remaining balls, after dipping and rolling them in eggs and crumbs. Placed them in a ziploc bag for a rainy day.

Adding cheese to the beef mix is not something i didn't think about, but it was too late to defrost the cheese from the freezer. Feel free to add some. Cheese can only take it a notch higher.
You can try the same with any meat or even seafood. Finely chopped cooked vegetables should do the trick as well.

Potato and chickpea cakes

Are you all enjoying the weather wherever you are? Too hot? Too cold? Too much rain?? or is it just perfect? Too many questions??? :) :)

We have had gorgeous sunny weather for the past few weeks and its been good. Well most of the time that is. I have been out galavanting with friends, attending events and generally being busy which sometimes drains me out in the heat. But I'm not complaining.. Work has taken a back seat for the time being and I'm glad it is so, because I really do need to figure out how to handle the backlog of work that has accumulated over this past few months..yes, you read it right, months. I'm slowly finishing it off and hopefully will learn how to manage time more efficiently. My husband would be very glad I've even declared this in public because he has the biggest issue with me not managing time responsibly and planning well.

Coming to the recipe. No offence to all the vegetarian, but I have the toughest time cooking for them. Its not because there are no recipes available, but because I suck at it. My vegetarian dishes don't really come out nice and paneer, potatoes and spinach are the only options I usually play around with. Its become boring and I've run out of ideas. This combination of potatoes and chickpeas however was a welcome change. The recipe is by Alfred Prasad from Great British Chef's Vegetarian Recipes and a very easy one at that. Few ingredients needed, can be put together in no time and you get a decent vegetarian starter.

I had a bit of trouble with cooking the patties, since there was nothing to really hold them together like egg white or bread crumbs. So after two failed attempts at getting perfect shaped cakes, I decided to try the method mentioned in the recipe (I know, I should have just stuck to it the first time) and then it worked. I happily ate the first two that didn't turn out well without any complaint though. The recipe is apt for kids, but I don't have kids and so chucked in a green chilli which was such a fab idea. Serve it with just ketchup and you have a perfect snack to please your guests

Recipe halved from Great British Chefs

Potatoes- 2 large

Cooked chickpeas- 100 gms (I used canned)

Cumin seeds- 1/2 tbsp

Garam masala- 1/2 tsp

Green chilli- 1, finely chopped

Coriander leaves- 1/2 cup, finely chopped

Salt- to taste

Oil- 1 tbsp

Slice the potatoes into quarters and steam in a dumpling steamer for about 15 minutes or so. I find steaming much easier than boiling. But feel free to boil till tender and a fork goes through easily.

Cool for a while and then peel. Break the potatoes with a fork, but don't mash it completely.

Into a big bowl add all the remaining ingredients except oil and mix well using a masher or even better, your hands.

Again, they need not be completely smooth, a few chunks here and there is fine,

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

While that's heating, shape the potato mix into small discs.

Cook each cake in the pan, making sure you press it down so it gets cooked evenly.

Drain on paper towels and serve hot with ketchup.

Notes: Don't add a lot of oil, the cakes will only fall apart and make life difficult. The 1 tbsp oil was enough for all the potato cakes, but if you feel you need more oil, add bit by bit and fry.

The recipe calls for refrigerating the cakes after shaping them, which i didn't. I'm thinking this would sort the falling-apart issue.

Baba ghanoush (Moutabel)

Let me say this over and over again. The best part about blogging are the friends you make in the process. Friends who have now become such an essential part of your life, that even if you stop blogging, they wont just disappear. I have been lucky enough to meet some of the UK-based food bloggers and most of us try and catch up once in a while.

Last week, Suchi of Kitchen Karma invited Manjiri (Slice off me) and me over to her place and we had such a blast. She'd made a Mediterranean spread for lunch and everything tasted fab. The baba ganoush she'd made from scratch was the winner for me, closely followed by the Moroccan braised chicken. Got the recipe links from her the next day and made myself a Mediterranean feast for dinner :)

I am a big fan of Mediterranean food. In fact, a breakfast staple for us is hummus and toast. But I've never really tried making any of this at home, simply because I thought I'd never get the taste spot on. Suchi totally inspired me to give it a go at home and I'm surprised at how a few common ingredients prepared in a different way bring about awesome flavours. Talking of which, I recently got myself a citrus juicer from this really cool online store called Red Candy. Yes, all these years I was painstakingly squeezing limes and lemons and oranges, till the gorgeous red coloured beauty made an appearance. I love it to bits and its made my life so much easier. Previously I used to waste a lot of the juice, but now (like for example in Mediterranean cooking, a lot of lemon juice is used), I squeeze the heck out of the fruit and it gives me immense pleasure :)

The really cool thing about the store is that it is dedicated to the colour red. Be it home furnishing, interior accessories, kitchen stuff or gifts, red is the colour you'll get them in. They have some really innovative products and designs and some of them make really cool gifts. I got myself the citrus juicer, the pretty red and white tea towel and a nice churn jug. Hint: you know where to go for your Valentines day gifts right??? :)

Back to the recipe...To be honest, I had no idea baba ganoush and moutabel were the same thing. Its one of those dishes we religiously order at our favourite restaurant on Edgware Road, and till now thought it was a complicated recipe with speciality ingredients. Well, I couldn't be more wrong. The only ingredient I actually had to buy was the Tahini paste, which is now easily available in all the grocery stores. If it wasn't for my flat glass hob I would have charred the aubergine on fire and would have taken only half the time. Not complaining! It was yum and Ro is so thrilled I made food from his second favourite cuisine in the world (first being Chinese, no kidding!).

Recipe adapted from here 

Aubergines- 3 large, cut in half lengthwise

Garlic- 4 cloves (read notes)

Lemon juice- from one small lemon

Tahini paste- 3 tbsp 

Olive oil- 3 tbsp

Pepper- two grinds (around 1/4 tsp)

Salt- to taste

Chilli powder- to sprinkle (optional)

Preheat the grill/ broiler and line a baking tray with silver foil.

Pierce the aubergine halves with a fork, rub them with about a tsp of olive oil all over and place them, cut side down, on the baking tray.

Place the tray on the top most rack (closest to the broiler) and cook for about 30 minutes or till the aubergines are charred nicely on the outside. Keep checking half way through to avoid burning.

Once done, remove them carefully from the tray and chuck into a zip lock bag and zip it up. Keep aside for about 15 minutes, so that the aubergines can steam in their skins.

Scoop out the flesh from the charred skin (it comes off easily) and place in a bowl. 

Add the garlic, lemon juice, tahini, 2 tbsp olive oil and salt and pepper and pulse using an immersion blender or just whisk vigorously using a fork till they all come together.

Transfer the goodness into a serving bowl, swirl the remaining olive oil on top, sprinkle the chilli powder and serve with pita bread, vegetable sticks, bread or even tortilla crisps.

Notes: The original recipe called for only 2 cloves of garlic, but i had 4 peeled ones lying around and used that. Bad idea, as it was very garlicky. Id stick to two the next time.

I don't like chunky pieces of aubergine in my dip, so I blended it to a smooth consistency. Feel free to leave some of the texture in your dip by just mashing it with a fork.

You can also char the aubergines in the oven. Follow the above prep. methods but instead of grilling just bake them in an oven preheated at 200C for about 40 minutes.

With thanks to Red Candy for sending me the red props to review :)

Netholi fry (Fried anchovies)

I've been a bit busy (good busy) with work catching on and a cousin visiting from India. Its been quiet around here and I haven't really cooked that much or taken pics in a while. Its a long weekend here and for some strange reason, the weather has been great. We've been out enjoying the sun before the next set of rains and temperature drops happen. 

I made nethili fry a couple of weeks back with the intention of serving it as a starter for a party we threw at home. Since it was my first time with the fish, I decided to try it out a day before, just to see if it would turn out ok. It didn't. It went all soggy on me and I decided to not serve it at the party. Instead I just bought crisps :)

I have this thing against deep frying and after some helpful inputs from Ria, I decided to give it a shot again. I didn't deep fry it, instead shallow fried it. It does make a terrible mess (or maybe that's just me) and takes a tad longer than deep frying, but you do get crispy anchovies..the way its supposed to be. If cooked well, they are great to snack on and perfect with some cold beer. 

Recipe adapted from here and here (serves 2)

Nethili- 250 gms, cleaned- remove head, tail and all the unnecessary inside parts

Lemon juice- 1 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Oil- to fry

Marinade

Kashmiri chilli powder- 2 tsp

Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp

Fennel powder- a lil less than 1/4 tsp

Pepper powder- 1/4 tsp

Coriander powder- 1 tsp (optional)

Ginger paste- 1/2 tsp

Garlic paste- 1 tsp

Yoghurt- 1/2 tbsp (optional)

Curry leaves- a sprig

Salt- to taste

Marinate the fish with lemon juice and salt for about 5 minutes. This really gets rid of the fishy smell. Rinse well and keep aside.

Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. If it is too dry, feel free to add a spoon or so of water to get a smooth paste. 

Do a taste test and add more salt or spice if required.

Add the fish to the marinade and mix well to coat the pieces well. Keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a kadai or frying pan (enough to cover the base of the pan properly). It should be really hot, otherwise you will end up with soggy ones. 

Add the fish (in batches if required) and fry on both sides, till brown and crispy. Keep the heat on medium all through.

Remove the fish and the crispy curry leaves with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Squeeze a lemon over and serve warm.

Notes: The recipe can be easily doubled.

Curried coconut shrimp and Merrydown cider review

I love cider, more than beer. I started off with the really sweet ones and now my preference is the medium or the dry ones which are perfect to glug on a hot summer afternoon. A couple of weeks back, we had some great weather and as luck would have it Merrydown Cider sent me their cider to review. It was my first time with Merrydown and my first cider this season and so was really excited. Yes, I do have seasonal drinks, in case you ask ;)

They also sent me a Great Summer Celebrations recipe booklet featuring some great ideas using cider as a key ingredient, which you can download. Since summer is just around the corner (or I'm hoping its just around the corner), I thought the cider would be a great addition to the BBQ parties and brunches. I paired it with this simple coconut shrimp starter and it was perfect. I always think fried food and cold drinks go hand in hand. My initial plan was to make a cider-batter for the shrimp, but the dry cider bottle broke in transit and so had to just do a pairing instead. I promise I'll update the post once I get hold of their dry cider, which I'm pretty sure would be my favourite out of the two. Not that the medium cider was any bad, but it was a teeny tiny bit on the sweeter side and since I've evolved from  the really sweet drinks (be it wine, cocktails or cider), the dry version would have hit the spot (or so I think). 

Anyways, coconut shrimp has made its way through to my blog before and this time I did a curried version which is not too bad, but I preferred my first version better. The marinade options are endless and if you do get your hands on some dry beer or cider, then the batter would be even better. I served the shrimp with a mayo-ketchup sauce (recipe here), but feel free to serve with just ketchup or any other hot sauce.

Serves 2 to 3 as starter

Shrimp- 250 gms, cleaned and deveined

Curry powder- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Plain flour- around 1/4 cup

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp (optional)

Pepper- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

Egg- 1, small

Water- 1 to 2 tbsp

Dessicated coconut- 1/2 to 1 cup

Oil- to fry

Marinate the shrimp with curry powder and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, pepper and salt.

Add the egg and enough water to make a smooth batter. It shouldn't be too loose.

Tip in the marinated prawns into the batter and mix well to coat the prawns evenly.

Get the dessicated coconut ready in a plate

Heat oil in a deep saucepan. Check that the oil is done by dropping some batter into it. If it floats to the top immediately then you are good to go.

When ready to fry, take each shrimp out of the batter, drip off any excess and roll in the dessicated coconut a couple of times to coat as evenly as possible.

Drop into the oil. 

Repeat with remaining shrimp. 

Once the prawns turn golden brown on one side (in about 2 minutes), turn them over and cook for another 2 minutes or so.

Remove the shrimp with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

You may need to fry them in a couple of batches, depending on the size of the pan.

With thanks to Merrydown Cider for sending me the samples.

Kuzhi paniyaram

That's one more thing crossed off the "to make" list. I kept whining about not having an unniappam/aebleskiver pan for so long, my mum sent hers through my sister-in-law last year. For some strange reason I thought I couldn't use it on my flat glass hob and packed it up to send it back. But an over packed suitcase meant she had to leave some stuff behind and this pan was the first thing to be thrown out of the suitcase because my mum really couldn't care less about unniappams and she said she dint really want it back. So it was stashed away in a corner and forgotten....

...till a few weeks back when Vineetha sent me some yummy unniappam from her Vishu celebrations and I decided it was high time I fixed my unniappam pan issue. I mean I was having unniappam after some 2 or 3 years and it brought back all those memories and cravings for the same. Took the pan out and decided to give it a go (before Ro got back home from work, or else he would find some fault with it). As usual the necessary ingredients- jaggery and bananas- weren't in stock, but since the pan was out I HAD to make something in it. 

The dosa batter (store bought) came to my rescue and since kuzhi paniyarams were a close second on the list, I got down to business. The pan worked and the paniyarams came out great. I was so excited at the outcome I couldn't wait to show Ro when he got back home. Of course he couldn't understand why I was getting hyper about the "idli's," after he bit into one. Thank god for whatsapp, I sent my sister-in-law (yes the one who brought me the pan) a pic and she was as excited as me, cos I introduced her to paniyarams at a South Indian restaurant here in London.

I served these with coconut chutney and it was the perfect tea time snack. The pan was put to good use shortly after where I made tiny vada's using the MTR vada mix. Like a fellow blogger friend said, it would be great as a starter with drinks and such.

Idli/ dosa batter- 2 cups

Baking soda- 1/4 tsp

Coriander leaves- 3 tbsp, finely chopped

Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Curry leaves- 6 to 8, finely chopped
Ginger- 1 tsp, finely grated (optional)

Green chillies- 2, finely chopped

Shallots- 1/4 cup

Asafoetida- a pinch (optional)

Grated coconut- 2 tbsp

Salt- to taste

Oil- to fry

In a large bowl mix the batter with baking soda and salt and keep aside for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp oil in a saucepan and splutter mustard seeds followed by curry leaves.

Tip in the ginger, green chillies and shallots and asafoetida and sauté till the onions wilt and turn light brown.

Add the grated coconut, stir for a couple more minutes and take it off the heat. Keep aside to cool.

Into the batter throw in coriander leaves and cooked mix and stir well to combine. Do a taste test and add more salt if required.

Heat the paniyaram pan and add a few drops of oil into each of the holes.

Once the oil is hot, add a tbsp of batter into each of the holes.

Cook on medium heat till the edges start turning brown.

At this point flip them using a fork or a skewer and let the other side cook equally. Drain on paper towels.

Add more oil into the holes and repeat till all of the batter is used up.

Notes: The batter I get from the store is very thick and so I dilute it with a bit of water.

The baking soda helps in achieving nice soft idlis and such and so by practise I always mix it in my batter. The paniyarams puffed up nicely with that addition.
Of course, you can make the same without a paniyaram pan, just that you wont get the perfect rounds. I have tried the same here is the recipe. Tasted just the same.