Kitchen Confidential

Look Mom!!! I made Biryani!!!

Biryani is always considered a treat for special ocassions. I’m guessing all the hardwork and not to mention time associated in making this luscious fullfiling aromatic meal has definitely got something to do with it. There are over 30 varieties of Biryani made in India - and I can confess I haven’t tasted them all!

For me, my mom has always been and always will be the Biryani Queen, for only she is fit to wear that crown. Her biryani is well known and loved among all the people we know, and that means every person each member of our family has ever invited into our humble home.

I have never really tried making it, always thinking I just don’t have that much time and patience! But today was different, very different! I came home from work more hungry for a lavish home-cooked meal than tired. And that’s when I got to work.

I knew chicken and lamb would take much longer to cook, so I opted for ground meat instead! Now, honestly, I really don’t think anyone anywhere makes meatball biryani. But I did, and you know what, it tastes just as great with half the time! I think I should be next in line to inherit the crown from Mom!

What say Ma?!

Meatball Biryani

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati rice
2 cups finely chopped onions
2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
1tsp chopped green chillies
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
salt, to taste
a pinch of saffron
7-8 black peppercorns
7-8 cloves
2-3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp cumin seeds
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Sliced boiled eggs for garnish (optional)

For the meatballs:

1/2 kg minced meat (I used lean ground chicken, but feel free to use any kind of ground meat)
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp chopped garlic
salt, to taste
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp bread crumbs

Method:

Mix all the ingredients for meatballs in a large bowl. Make mixture into bite-sized balls and fry in a little bit of oil till meatballs are brown on all sides. Set aside.

Par-boil rice and set aside. (You can use about 2-3 cups pf water to cook 2 cups of rice. Just make sure the rice is not fully cooked through, or else the Biryani will turn out mushy.)

Heat oil and add cumin seeds. Add onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies, and fry on medium-low heat till they start to brown a bit. Add cinnamon, bay leaves, pepper corns and cloves, and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add tomatoes, salt, chili powder, coriander powder, garam masala and cumin powder. Continue to cook on medium heat till it begins to dry up and starts to give out oil. Add meatballs and covercook for 5-6 minutes till it forms a thick, rich and dry gravy base.

In a non-stick deep pan, put a layer of the meatball gravy, without the meatballs. Now add a layer of rice, topped with a layer of meatballs. Alternate layers of gravy, rice and meatball till everything is used up. Make sure that the top most layer is rice.

Crush a pinch of saffron into 2 tablespoons of water and mix with your finger till the water catches colour. Pour the saffron water over the top layer of rice.

Cover cook for 15 minutes on a low flame, without stirring. Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and boiled eggs (optional) and serve alongside Minty Yoghurt Chutney!

On memories from the Arabian desert…

I spent the first seventeen years of my life in Kuwait, a small country on the Arabian gulf, in the Middle East. Unlike what many people think, Kuwait is not a only desert and no, I did not live in tents and ride on camels!

One of my best memories of living in the Arab region is the exotic food. Just thinking of the luscious kebabs, crispy falafels and yummy melt-in-your- mouth shawarma sandwiches, makes me drool. One thing I never, and I mean NEVER ate during my stay in all those years is Hummus. I never knew why, but whenever my family would relish Hummus, I always thought that something that looked so creamy would obviously taste like, well, cream of course! And needless to say, I dislike cream in the raw.

My first tryst with Hummus was here, in Canada, several years later when I decided to give it a try after my boyfriend (now husband!) looked at me with such suspicion on never eaten something that tasted so good! Well, I did give it a try, and yea, you guessed it…I loved it!

So here’s how I make this delectable dip. And served with Pita Chips, its a great conversation starter!

Hummus

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas
1/4 cup tahini
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

Put all the ingredients into a blender and grind into a fine paste. Garnish with fresh parsley and a few drops of olive oil.

Put on a good movie and relish with seasoned Pita Chips!

Grilled to perfection…

My husband has this undying love for Paninis. Infact, I didn’t even need to tell him twice that I wanted a Panini maker. Just a promise that he would get home-made Paninis to his heart’s desire, seem to convince him enough! Our Honeymoon in the exotic plains of Rome was filled with cups of delicious Cappucino teamed up with warm crispy Paninis.

I often try out various Panini combos using mainly whatever I have at home with some Indian touch added in. But this recipe always wins the game. Its simple, light and just plain delicious! This is my way of fusing International favourites with Indian tastes.

Roasted Red Pepper Paninis

Ingredients:

2 baguettes (use any kind of bread you like, I love Foccacia for this sandwich) 1 large sweet red pepper a handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

1 large onion, thinly sliced 1 tsp garlic butter 1 tbsp butter 1/2 tsp curry powder salt and pepper, to taste

Method:

For Roasted Red Pepper:

1. Spray red pepper lightly with oil and roast over a flame, or broil in the oven at 450 degrees, till charred on the outside.
2. Set aside and allow to cool. Once it comes to room temperature, peel the outside skin of the pepper and slice thinly.

For Caramelized Onions:

1. Heat butter in a non-stick pan and saute finely sliced onions with salt, pepper and curry powder till caramelized and tender.

For Paninis:

1. Spread a little garlic butter on one side of the bread.
2. Layer roasted red pepper slices, caramelized onions, and top with chopped coriander leaves and a dash of pepper.
3. Top with other slice of bread and heat in a Panini grill till warm.
4. Serve with a side of fries and warm Cappucino.

There are days when I’m dying for a lavish full-course home-cooked meal, and then, there are days like today, when I’m craving for a richly sinful decadent bite! To be truly honest, I have a sweet-tooth, infact, my hubby always says I have sweet-teeth!!

I’m the kind of person who always looks forward to dessert. No matter how good the food is, I make sure I don’t stuff myself just so I have space for dessert. At times it gets so bad that I even skip the meal and head straight to the dessert table!!

With hubby dear in Chicago for a business meeting, I had the option of NOT cooking dinner today. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to starve. No siree!!, it just means that I get to satisfy my hunger with decadent goodness!

I’m not into baking all that much, so bringing a big fancy cake out of my oven rarely happens. Instead, I love desserts that I can make in a jiffy and enjoy bite after bite. With the sugar craving setting up, I went into the kitchen to see what my choices were. There was my sister’s leftover cake in the fridge, but I decided against it…had too much already!!

Then my eyes set upon a big bowl of fresh strawberries! Two minutes later, I was cooking up a sin!

Chocolate and Strawberry grilled Croissants

Ingredients:

3-4 strawberries, sliced 2 tbsp Nutella

1 tbsp semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 large croissant

Method:

1. Slice croissant lenght-wise into halves.
2. On the inside of one slice, spread Nutella and layer over with fresh sliced strawberries.
3. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and cover with other slice of croissant to form a sandwich.
4. Grill for 4-5 minutes till strawberries soften and chocolate chips start to melt.

Don’t feel guilty while enjoying this taste of heaven!

Cool as a cucumber…

Raita is traditional north Indian salad made of yoghurt. The base is always plain yoghurt and various ingredients and flavours are added to jazz it up in a million ways. It’s a great side to any spicy dish since the coolness of the youghurt balances the spices.

Cucumber raita is hubby’s favourite kind. This is great eaten with Biryani or any simple rice dish.

Cucumber Raita

Ingredients:

1 cup plain yoghurt
2 tbsp water
1 cup grated cucumber
a pinch red chili powder
a pinch of cumin powder
salt, to taste

Method:

Mix everything in a large bowl till smooth and serve chilled.

Of rainy days and deep-fried foods…

What is it with rainy days and cravings for deep-fried goodies going hand-in-hand? Well, in my house, its just the norm.

So while it drizzled, rained and poured all through the weekend, there was nothing much we could do than watch tons of movies and eat good food! While the movie list was dominated with animated flicks, the kitchen had just one theme - Deep Frying!

Usually, hubby dear and I would simply settle for a big bowl of fries and spicy wings, but it was not to be the case this time. Yup, we wanted something different and not to mention, GOOD!!

So as we debated and counter-debated what we wanted to dip our fingers into, there came a point where we both knew it was a fine compromise. Considering the fact that this is one of hubby dear’s favourite rainy-day eats, and the fact that this would be the first time ever I was attempting a hand at it, made it quite an adventure. Needless to say, I found yet another dish I excelled at, and hubby dear, well, let’s just say, he was in food paradise!

Dal Kachoris (Deep-fried lentil-stuffed bread)

Ingredients:

For the Kachoris:

2 cups whole wheat flour (atta) 1 tbsp cooking oil 1/2 tsp salt

water, as required oil for deep frying

For the filling:

1/2 cup toor dal, soaked in hot water for 1-2 hrs salt, to taste

1 tsp cumin seeds 1/4 tsp red chili powder 1 tsp cooking oil

Method:

1. Grind soaked dal coarsely in a food processor and set aside.
2. In a non-stick pan, heat 1 tsp oil, and saute cumin seeds till they begin to sizzle.
3. Add in coarse ground dal, salt and chili powder and fry for a few minutes till dal dries up and starts to toast a bit.Set aside and allow to cool completely.
4. Mix flour (atta) with salt and one tbsp of oil and form into a smooth dough with water.
5. Separate dough into golf-sized balls and set aside.
6. For each dough ball, roll out the dough into a small circle and put around one tbsp of the filling in the centre. Bring the ends of the circle together and form into a ball.
7. Seal the edges completely so that the stuffing does not come out. Roll out these dough balls into a small puris.
8. Deep fry till brown and crisp on both sides.

Enjoy warm with chutney and masala chai!

Cooking up Comfort

A large part of Indian comfort food consists of spicy tantalizing street food. Wherever you look, at every street corner, there stands a hawker frying up these little tasty treats in large quantities. And its no surprise that his tray gets empty as soon as it is filled!

The monsoons in India certainly boasts of many comforting specialities. One of my personal favourites of this weather is the Vada-Pav - a yummy potato fritter sandwiched between soft buns (called Pav) spread with a tangy Tamarind Chuteny. One bite and sip of warm chai is enough to give you all the comfort you are looking for!

Vada Pav

Ingredients:

• 2 large potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2-3 green chillies, chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp ginger, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• salt, to taste
• 1 cup gram/chickpea flour
• water, as needed
• a pinch of baking soda
• oil for deep frying
• slices of bread/buns of your choice
• 3-4 tbsp of Tamarind Chutney

Method:

• In a non-stick pan, heat a little oil and saute cumin seeds, coriander seeds, green chillies and ginger till fragrant. Add in onions and fry till they get transparent.
• Add salt, red chili powder and turmeric powder and fry for a minute. Throw in mashed potatoes and mix well to incorporate with the spices.
• Add coriander leaves and mix well. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, mis flour with salt, baking soda and water, and make a batter just thick enough to coat.
• Heat oil for deep frying in a skillet.
• Make potato mixture into golf-sized balls and dip into the batter.
• Fry till golden on all sides. These fritters are called Bondas/Vadas.
• To assemble, heat bread/bun slices on a warm pan and spread chutney evenly on one side on a slice.
• Put 1-2 bondas (depending on the size of the bread slice) and top with a second slice.

Serve warm and enjoy with delicious Masala Chai!

A change of heart…

It was time. I quietly walked into my beloved kitchen and looked around for a bit. “Hmmn… now what should I cook?”, I thought. When a glance at the pantry didn’t give me any inspiration, I decided to try the fridge. Rummaging around the crisper, I noticed him sitting queitly in the corner, neatly tucked away. “Okay, I guess your time has come, my friend.”, said I, and he seemed to agree. Strange! But I still had no idea what do with him.

I’m not too fond of eating cabbage cooked the Indian way. Never have been. The only reason I seem to buy this big round fellow, is when I begin to crave for a stir-fry. But today was definitely different. Yes siree! I was in no mood for a quick saute of assorted veggies. Nopes! Infact, what was that again, oh yes, the spicy bug bit me again. This time, I must so add, quite hard, since I willing to give Mr. Cabbage a try!

I’ve always loved green peas (I buy the 2lb bag of frozen peas almost every 3 weeks!!), and seriously believe that have the ability to enhance the taste of anything!! I had this big green ball of leaves, my ever-growing-never-satisfied spice rack, and a cup of delicious frozen peas! The stage was all set and so was I! So take your seat folks, buckle up and enjoy the ride. The show is going to begin.

Cabbage with Peas

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sliced cabbage
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• salt, to taste
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat oil in a non-stick pan and saute cumin seeds till it starts to sizzle.
• Add onions and fry for a few minutes till it turns transparent. Add cabbage and fry for a few minutes till it tenderizes and gives out water.
• Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder and garam masala and fry for a few minutes till spices all blend in.
• Add chopped tomatoes and cover cook for 5-6 minutes. Stir in peas and let cook for another couple of minutes.

Serve hot with warm rotis, or over a bed of rice with some Dal.