Grilled prawns atop yogurt dip

Tried my hand at making grilled prawns atop a Greek yogurt dip. The modern plating is inspired by the restaurants visited recently.

For the marinade:

1 tbsp of Harissa paste (as per your threshold of handling chili)

1/2 tbsp of ginger garlic paste freshly made

3-4 sprigs of original and dried rosemary & thyme

1 lemon zest 

salt & black pepper to taste

Make sure you add no lemon juice to it as that may harden up the prawn flesh. Marinate the prawns for about 30 minutes. 

For the yogurt dip:

1 cup thick creamy Yogurt- you can try using hung curd as well

6 cloves of garlic chopped and minced

a bunch of fresh chives 

salt and pepper.   

how we do it:

On a long rectangular white plate just spoon and spread the dip first and keep ready. Prawns should be grilled on skewers only for 2-3 minutes max both sides or depending on the size. Once they catch color put on top of cold dip. Garnish with more chives and dried mint.  And serve immediately.

love Anu 

MEAT THE BAN

Anda, machhi, chicken! Naam bhi matt lo, BAN hai!

Recently we have been ‘told’ what we should NOT be eating. The beef ban in Maharashtra was a ‘dream come true’ according to a senior minister. And now, all those who were supporting that ban are also in for a shock as the government has again decided a four day meat ban during the Jain paryushan. While it is wise and nice to be sensitive to all communities and cultures in our country, this excuse is clearly pushing it too far. We are not just being told but dictated as to what should be eaten in the pious country of India.

Many Ban-believers forget that Indian cuisine is most popular in the world because of its ‘Butter Chicken’ and ‘Balti curry’ both of which are meat dishes. Popular or not, most importantly we as free citizens should not have to fight the battle of food choices! And that is why I bring to you a unique way of ‘meating’ this ‘ban’ by giving you some non-veg recipes that you can make and enjoy albeit even more ravenously to make the point J

Butter Chicken

As I Said, the pride of Punjab ‘Sadda butter chicken’ is one of the best and the most sinful creations that the world and its cousins love. Yeah I heard some stories about aliens relishing it too..haha!

Can you believe it that Butter chicken was invented by accident at Moti Mahal Restaurant in Daryaganj, New Delhi? I bring to you the same recipe of this joyful creation which delivers for me every time.

butter chicken 

1 kilo chicken Marinated in half a tsp of red chilli powder, one tsp of finger garlic paste, half a kilo of dahi (curd) and salt to taste.  While the chicken marinates put together the following for the gravy.

175 gms regular or preferably white butter, ½ kg of tomato puree- blanched, skinned and deseeded, 100gms fresh cream, 4-5 green chillies sliced from the middle, ½ tsp each of sugar, jeera, red chilli powder, kasuri meethi and finally salt to taste.

Make sure that the chicken is marinated and refrigerated for at least 6 hours or overnight before you put it in the oven. A clay oven is ideal but I use regular oven (preheated) at 180 degrees and full power to roast the chicken for 15 min until it’s just a little underdone.

Now add half the butter in a kadhai and pour in the tomato pureee. Saute of 3-5 minutes and add all the masalas. Now add the roasted chicken, white butter, the fresh cream, chillies and kasuri methi. Now keep cooking the gravy until the chicken is completely cooked. Now serve hot with Nan. Life set!

Sali per Eedu

Mumbai Bawajis are known for breaking an egg on everything possible. But this eedu (egg) recipe is arguably the best in the Parsi Bhona treasure trove. It’s so simple yet a bit tricky. This recipe is essentially fried egg on top of fried potato chips/shavings.

Sali-per-eedu

It’s tricky because while the egg cooks through, the Sali must not burn or steam up to being soft instead of crunchy J

All you need for this is eggs and potato Sali, the thinner the better. Now, heat a tsp of ghee/ unsalted butter and add sali-potato chips in the pan so that they form a circle on top of which you have to break an egg. That would be just the same way as you would do when you make fried eggs.

Sprinkle 2-3 drops of water on the egg (not the Sali) and cover the pan. In about 30 sec, the egg would get some color and it’s ready to eat. Lastly, season it well and ensure that the potato shavings do not become soggy before you serve.

Tandoori Fish

This fish recipe is by far my most favourite. It is also a hot favourite of fitness addicts too. Low in calories, it packs in a punch of flavour. All you need is a whole big white fish, preferably a pomfret, half a kilo.

Now for the marinade: take 6-7 cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp coriander leaves, 2 inches ginger, 2tbsp Lime juice, 1tbsp Kashmiri red chili powder, ½tsp jeera powder, 1/2tbsp garam masala, 1 ½tsp salt, 50ml Refined vegetable oil, 1tbsp ‘roasted’ Gram flour, 100g thick dahi.

 Take all the ingredients (other than oil and curd) and blitz in a mixer to make a fine paste. Add to the oil and dahi and make a thick paste. Now marinate the fish by giving it 3 slits in the middle. Make sure you rub the marinade in the fish as well for even coating. Keep the marinated fish for 1 hour.

Now pre heat the oven at 200 degree C. Put the Fish on the top rack for 7-8 minutes, turning it once after 3 minutes. If you don’t want to use the oven, you can simply put it on the tawa and oil grill it. Baste it well with the marinade during cooking. Serve will lemon segments stuffed between slits and some garden salad.

With that I hope you do explore at least one of these recipes during these four days. It would not just add vivid aromas to your home kitchen but will also reiterate your freedom to ‘Meat the ban’ the way you like it J

Pizza@Home

It wasn’t very long ago that I realised that making pizza dough is no rocket science! I used to steer clear from kneading any kind of dough to avoid long hours of wait for it to rise and shine.

So here’s a quick way to make the most amazing pizza base in just 45 minutes. An extra perk along with that is my favourite unique toppings ideas :-)

Ingredients for the pizza base:

flour

1.5 cups of warm water

2 tsp of dried yeast

A pinch of sugar & salt

4 cups of plain flour (Maida)

¼ cup of cooking oil of your choice. I prefer olive or grape seed

Method:

the risen dough balls

Now simply combine water, sugar and yeast in a bowl and allow it to froth for say 5-10 minutes. In a bigger bowl combine the flour and salt and then add the worked up yeast and oil to it. You can use a fork or a pizza cutter to mix all the ingredients together but eventually it’s the magic of your hands that would bring the dough together. It will take about 10 minutes to smoothen the dough. I suggest you dust the surface with some flour beforehand. Once done, tip this dough in another big bowl that has been brushed with oil. Turn the dough around a bit so that it gets an even oil coat. Cover with cling film and let it rest in a warm nook of the kitchen for 30 to 40

minutes. You would notice that the dough has doubled in size.  

 Toppings:

Margherita pizza

pizza margherita tastes even better with mozzarella & thick crust

During one of the food tours in Italy I discovered that Pizza Margherita was a dedication to the three colours of the Italian national flag. The basil represents green, cheese signifies white and tomato translates to the third colour that is red.

For the tomato sauce cook some garlic in olive oil until fragrant and pale. Now add 200ml tomato puree, basil leaves and a pinch of salt and let it simmer until it thickens. This should take about half an hour. Now add seasoning of salt and let it cool. Now place the dough on a parchment sheet dusted with some flour. With a rolling pin, roll out the pizza base into 14 inches diameter. Put together the pizza by first spreading the tomato sauce, then crumbling soft cheddar cheese on top and then baking in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree till such time that the cheese melts and turns golden in some places. Serve hot with a further sprinkling of basil leaves on top.

Goat’s cheese and caramelised onions

Goat's cheese and caramelized onions

The husband’s favourite pizza topping. Fairly simple with the most amazing goat’s cheese. Take 2 thinly sliced onions and leave them to sweat on the stove with a good drizzle of olive oil. If the onions start to get a little crisp, cover with a lid after adding a spoon of water. Once ready, add a pinch of salt and pepper to them.

Now thin down the goat’s cheese by adding a little bit of water so that it becomes spreadable. Now on the base first put goat’s cheese spread, then the caramelised onions, then some sautéed spinach leaves and small blobs of fresh goat’s cheese again. This beauty then goes straight into the oven. Before serving throw on a few arugula leaves.

Chocolate pizza

fruit and chocolate pizza

I am fascinated with pizza served as a dessert. When I was young, Baskin Robbins had come up with the polar pizza my biggest go to dessert every time I craved crispy dough and chocolate. This one is my version of Chocolate pizza which is more of a Nutella pizza

On the pizza base, brush on a little bit of butter and bake for about 20 minutes until its nice and golden. Smooth over the Nutella, some bitter, sweet white and dark chocolate chunks and some toasted hazelnuts. You can also add bananas, a few blueberries and strawberries if you wish. To replicate the cheese, you can also use blobs of crème fraise.Delicioussss!