THE RECIPE LARDER

Cheesy paprika beans – by Rekha

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Cheesy paprika beans - by Rekha
Print Recipe
A quick easy and super tasty recipe by Rekha, one if my favourite cooks in this whole wide world. Best part about this recipe is that it can be used as a dip or a main.
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Cheesy paprika beans - by Rekha
Print Recipe
A quick easy and super tasty recipe by Rekha, one if my favourite cooks in this whole wide world. Best part about this recipe is that it can be used as a dip or a main.
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 15 min
Cook Time
10 min
Ingredients
Servings: pax
Instructions
  1. Char the corn, pepper and jalapeno.
  2. Take the corn kernels off.
  3. Chop the charred peppers and jalapeno and keep aside.
  4. Skin and finely chop the tomaotes.
  5. In a pan, add the oil. When hot add the onions and saute for a bit till onions are translucent
  6. Then add the ginger garlic paste and saute till a bit brown.
  7. Add the chopped green chillies and saute again.
  8. Now add the chilli paste and saute once for for appx 2 minutes.
  9. Add the skinned tomatoes, and saute till it becomes a bit pulpy and mashed. Add water and let it cook till completely mush. Add the salt.
  10. Add the charred and chopped peppers and the jalapeno and saute for a bit.
  11. Now add the corn and mix well.
  12. Then add the cheese and stir till it melts completely and incorporates with the other ingredients.
  13. Add the olives stir and turn off the fire.
  14. Add the beans and mix and incorporate everything together.
  15. This can be served on toast, on cream cracker or salted biscuits, on sourdough etc. Can be served as a starter or a main dish.
Recipe Notes

 

My mami (Rekha) is my backbone and my best friend. All that I have learnt in cooking and about cooking is from her. She has this fabulous gift – she opens her pantry cupboard, randomly pulls out ingredients and makes the most amazing dish you could never have thought of. Some ingredients you would not even imagine cohabiting well together. And the best part is that all these dishes are simple, and can be made really quickly. What I find most amazing is that she rarely ever repeats any dish!

For this post, I asked her to come up with one of her creations. We were in Mahabaleshwar, with odds and ends and luckily I had all the things she wanted for this dish. I tried it and it was as usual flawless.

 

At this point, when things are going all over the place, I really want to express my gratitude for having her in my life. We have had such wild, hilarious and at times intense moments together. Life has been very good because she existed in it. Her laughter is so infectious, her dancing so enjoyable and she sparkles wherever she goes.

I love you mami, and may we do more wild things together soon!

 

About the recipe :

Char the corn and peppers very lightly. We don’t want black stuff coming onto the dish. The purpose of charring is to draw out the juices and not burn it. Once charred, scrape off the few black skins that have burnt completely.

Olives gave an excellent tang to the dish. If you don’t have sliced olives, just pit the ones you have and slice them. Add them last like I have shown in the recipe. It does not cook and leaves the slight sour and crisp taste at every bite.

Skinning the tomatoes is a must. It mashes super well into the mix and leaves behind no fiber. It looks better also, than pieces of skin floating around in a otherwise neat looking, colourful dish.

Jalapeno is optional if you don’t like heat. But do not reduce quantities of any other ingredients.

It can act as a main dish, just serve with toast. Or serve it on cream cracker biscuits or on sourdough. Garnish with some chilly flakes and I would also recommend a hint of finely chopped chives.

Any cheese which melts and does not clump is good. I used normal Britannia cheese mixed with a little left over Britannia Cheeza (pizza cheese mix).

 

The Trick: in this recipe is that, each time you add an ingredient, sauté it for a bit. Take your time, the flavours just swell up and burst.

I hope you like this recipe. Do tag us on our insta page. #therecipelarder

PS: the dish in the video and pictures were made on two different days. Same recipe - different cheese.

Cheers!

YOUTUBE LINK to recipe :   https://youtu.be/uXKI5UPpY-s

 

 

Recipe Video here:

 

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Amla Chutney

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Amla Chutney
Print Recipe
A quick, easy and healthy chutney, to serve with - everything!!
Servings Prep Time
100 gms 10 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
100 gms 10 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Amla Chutney
Print Recipe
A quick, easy and healthy chutney, to serve with - everything!!
Servings Prep Time
100 gms 10 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
100 gms 10 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: gms
Instructions
  1. Add all ingredients to a grinder and grind to a paste
  2. Serve with lunch, dinner, pakodas, snacks, etc.
  3. Refrigerate for up to 4/ 5 days in a closed container
Recipe Notes

Bangalore is always a green and refreshing break for me. This time I was there only for a day, but I took the time to wander around in the garden. My friend Nishi and me saw our Amla tree flourishing with green gorgeous star shaped fruits.

The ones we have growing in our garden are not the traditional variety of Amla. We have a variety called Harpharouri in Hindi, or Malay gooseberry or Tahitian gooseberry. But as tasty and as edible.

 

You can of course and must use the Amla found in market. No point going on a hunt for this particular kind!

We had met after a long time, so we spent the entire day with each other. It was time for some drinks and snacks, and I must say that the Amla Chutney went well with everything - masala papad, pakodas, rice crisps, chips. We had some of it for dinner too, with our chapatti and veggies.

It's really simple to make. Takes only a few minutes. The only time consuming part would be the de seeding of the Amla. It's healthy. The Amla gives you a shot of Vitamin C (who does'nt need an extra shot of that huh?), the sesame seed has calcium and the chillies build immunity not to mention add a super zest to the whole thing.

Do send me comments. What did you eat it with? How did it taste? 

Cheers and Ciao till we meet again.

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Soong Dal

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It’s that time of the year when Mahabaleshwar beckons, with its myriad sunsets, fresh fragrant strawberries and over powering array of flowers. We had ourselves farm fresh and organic vegetables just off the farm.

 

Since we do not use fertilisers or pesticides of any kind, we pluck off cherry tomatoes and radish straight from the Canadian pharmacy plants and merrily munch it on the go!

fresh off the farm.

For a day and a half, we were just mom and son! We ate, drank and had some crazy conversations.

We both wanted something a bit healthy for our brain doping lunch, and anyways friends who love this dish have been asking for the recipe. So we decided to make it and blog it.

This is a super healthy snack.  I sometimes have it as the lonesome dish for dinner too. It’s super filling, high in protein and very very healthy. It does not sit in your tummy, but leaves you feeling full and satiated. The tangy, spicy flavour makes it soooo very edible and tasty.

I optionally also add finely chopped raw mango (kairi) to it and reduce the lemon a wee bit. You can play around with it as you like. Reduce the spice, increase it (yaay!), add onions, take off the coconut, add a dash of green chutney!!! Just go for it. Not much can destroy this dish!

Add to it a dhokla mix, or to some other chaat item. Serve it mixed with broken idli and podi chutney. Let your creativity flow and do tell me also how you played with it!

Soong dal goes amazingly well with drinks. But serve it chilled. Like – absolutely and totally chilled. If you think of heating it – u might as well eat dal. So DO NOT HEAT this dish!!

Have fun! Cheers!

 

PS: Here is the video shoot we did for the Soong Dal. It’s very basic and rustic, as is the kitchen in our farm.


Soong Dal
Print Recipe
A healthy and tasty snack. Super with drinks.
Servings Prep Time
4 pax 5 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
5 minutes 4 hours
Servings Prep Time
4 pax 5 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
5 minutes 4 hours
Soong Dal
Print Recipe
A healthy and tasty snack. Super with drinks.
Servings Prep Time
4 pax 5 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
5 minutes 4 hours
Servings Prep Time
4 pax 5 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
5 minutes 4 hours
Ingredients
Servings: pax
Instructions
  1. Wash and soak the yellow moong dal for 4 hours.
  2. Drain the water, rinse the dal and keep on a draining sieve for appx 20 minutes, so that no water is left.
  3. Once the water has drained, get the tadka ready. Keep the moong dal in a mixing bowl.
  4. In a tadka pan, add the oil.
  5. When hot, add the mustard seeds.
  6. When spluttering, add the hing and finally the curry leaves.
  7. All the curry leaves should splatter, so mix it with a spoon once, while still on the fire.
  8. Take off the fire and put it on the moong dal.
  9. Now add the salt, chopped corriander, coconut and green chillies (and optionally the raw mango)
  10. Lastly squeeze in the lemon juice.
  11. Mix well.
  12. Serve completely chilled.
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Palak Kebab

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Palak Kebab

Another shout out from my daughter, for this recipe. I had made it for their friends when they were here and it was polished off in no time.

Well, many a good news hovering around me. The daughter got into Yale, my cooking classes have taken off and this darned blog has got fixed. There were some major issues, so all those of you who tried to come back for your favourite recipes and found gibberish in the ingredient section, my apologies. My very profound and heartfelt apologies. It could have got fixed earlier, but as usual, I was travelling.

I was in Mahabaleshwar, a small quaint hill station a few hours from Bombay. I have a home and a farm there, so this time the 12 days I stayed there, I ate off the farm, played with the new pup and chilled with my best friend Nishi.

We cooked, ate and drank!

We would wake up in the mornings, sit in the sun, (it was cold there!), and sip our tea and coffee. Then after a leisurely breakfast, we would put face packs (moisturising ones – like I said it was Brrrrr!) and jabber away for an hour or so. By the time the watch thought of turning both its hands to 12 – we would be sitting with our afternoon drinks – again yakking away to our hearts’ content. It was the most idyllic holiday one can have.

I plucked fresh Spinach, from the field and made this ultra easy and very delicious recipe. It needs very little preparation time. I have cooked it on a non-stick, with very little oil, but if you have a large party you can easily fry it in oil. I did it for the kid’s 21st birthday party and it vanished into mouths as soon as freshly fried plates were put in front of them.

cocktail snacks

I have also made a video, for a quick look-see. The first video I made was not “good enough” and my niece and son insisted I work a little harder and produce a better one. Well, they are not all that happy with this one either, but I lack patience so there is for all to view.

Unfortunately, I am not able to load the video here because of (temporary – I will fix it asap) data restrictions. But here is the Facebook URL

FACEBOOK URL FOR VIDEO OF PALAK KEBAB

and there is the google drive URL.

CLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE DRIVE LINK

I hope you will see the video and try the recipe. It makes for great cocktail snacks, lunch box sides, or sides.

Promise to get back with a recipe soon. I’ve been tardy!

 

 

Palak Kebab
Print Recipe
Quick and easy, with minimum fuss and preparation. Great as cocktail snacks.
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Palak Kebab
Print Recipe
Quick and easy, with minimum fuss and preparation. Great as cocktail snacks.
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3 /4 Pax 30 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
Garnish
Servings: Pax
Instructions
  1. Soak the dal for 30 minutes.
  2. In a mortar and pestle, pound together the chilles, garlic and ginger.
  3. Wash and chop the spinach into very fine strands.
  4. Bring water to a boil, and boil the Spinach for a 2 / 3 minutes.
  5. Wash and grind the soaked dal into paste with as little water as possible. Preferably no water.
  6. In a non stick skillet, add a appx 1 Tbspn oil.
  7. Add the ginger, chilly and garlic paste. Fry till it is brown.
  8. Add the onions, and fry till brown.
  9. Now add the Dal paste, and again fry till it forms lumps and all the water has evaporated.
  10. Now add the spinach and mix and cook till incorporated.
  11. Add the cottage cheese/ ricotta cheese. Break it and sprinkle it all around for a better mix.
  12. Mix till incorprated.
  13. Add the cashews, garam masala and salt.
  14. Mix well and take off the fire on a plate to cool.
  15. Oil your hands and make small rounds, appx the size of a small lemon.
  16. Flatten it. Repeat with the entire mix.
  17. In a skillet add appx 1 Tbspn oil and cook the kebabs, pressing it and turning it till it browns on both the sides.
  18. You can also fry these kebabs in oil.
  19. Serve hot, sprinkled with chaat masala and garnished with onions. Serve with a corriander chutney.
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Mirchi ka Thecha

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I first had this fiery crushed green chilly mixture, many many years ago, made by a Maharashtrian lady. It fired up my taste buds, made my eyes water, my nose run, but I craved more. That day I ended up overeating my lunch because I wanted to keep eating more and more of this spirited dish. Over ate lunch because one cannot have this just as it is by the spoonfuls. You have to eat it with some sort of roti or rice.

Non heat eaters – REFRAIN!!

 

My taste buds start craving this, as soon as December starts fading away. The best spicy green chillies, come around January first week, and these make the best Thecha. I went hunting in the farmers market and came upon a lady selling only chillies. Luster green, shinning chillies. I did not have my camera with me ( a lesson learnt), else it would have made a very evocative and vocal picture.

This is a very quick recipe. Eat it with traditional, dal chawal, roti, khichdi, omelette – just about anything. If you are game to experiment – add to Kachumber, any vinaigrette, in yoghurt for a raita mix — let loose your imagination.

I used a mix of spicy and less spicy green chillies. You can use the entire lot as spicy green chillies, or less spicy ones. The less spicy chillies, will not give it the punch, but hey if you cannot stand too much spice, at least you will get a taste of this amazing chutney.

If you are allergic to the spice of the chillies – oil your hands before chopping, or wear gloves. If  I have any sweat on my face, the vapour of the chillies sets my face on fire. I always, always use help for chilly chopping. If I have to do it myself, I use kitchen scissors.

This stays well in the refrigerator for a month or two. Use a clean spoon to take out as much as you need, (each time), and nothing will happen to it.

Enjoy! And do write back and tell me how you liked it.

 


Mirchi Ka Thecha
Print Recipe
Fiery, spicy, highly addictive chutney/ pickle.
Servings Prep Time
500 grams 20 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
500 grams 20 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Mirchi Ka Thecha
Print Recipe
Fiery, spicy, highly addictive chutney/ pickle.
Servings Prep Time
500 grams 20 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Servings Prep Time
500 grams 20 minutes
Cook Time
15 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: grams
Instructions
  1. Wash and dry the chillies.
  2. Cut each chilly into three pieces. The larger ones cut into four.
  3. Heat the oil, in a heavy bottomed pan, large enough to hold all the chillies.
  4. Add the jeera and rai and let it splutter.
  5. Add the hing and curry leaves. When the curry leaves crackle, add the garlic and coconut, and sauté well, till it browns a bit.
  6. Add the chillies and cook for 10 odd minutes - till it looses a little of its original colour.
  7. Add the salt and vinegar and cook for 5 more minutes.
  8. Take off the fire and cool down completely.
  9. Blend in a mixie, using pulsing action. Do not over blend and make into a chutney. Keep it coarse. Pieces of chillies should be seen.
  10. Store in sterile jars.
  11. Refrigerate. Shelf life is appx 1 to 2 months.
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Zucchini flowers stuffed with goat’s cheese

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zuchini growing

It’s that time of the year when the farm turns green once more. Flowers, fruits and vegetables, growing over red soil, makes my heart soar. The thought of walking around the gardens and randomly plucking what is ready to harvest, tasting ripe strawberries on the way back to the house – and planning in my mind, what to make with the mud-encrusted produce in my hands.

pea shoots

Pea Shoots.

I planted Zucchini seeds this year, hoping we will get some fresh organic ones to eat. Frankly, I am not a great lover of Zucchini. I was actually eyeing the flowers. I had eaten some delicious stuffed Zucchini flowers, in a restaurant long ago. These flowers are not available in Bombay markets. The only way to get hold of them was to grow them – so grow them we did.

zuchini flower

And grow they did –Oh! Boy. How they grew!! Wild and unrelenting. An entire plot is covered with various sizes of Zucchini. I was completely delighted to see huge Zucchini’s hidden amongst the foliage. Sunshine yellow flowers, curling under the leaves, nestled next to the vegetable.

The flowers are very very delicate. I had my camera and some more equipment in my hand and bent down to pluck a flower. –And I damaged it. By the time I could stand up to see what I had pulled out, the poor little flower was almost wilting. I freed my hands and did what the flowers wanted to me to do. Show them some reverence. We were only two of us, so I slowly, with great care, plucked 5 more flowers from the stems.

zuchini flowers

The flowers in themselves, have a soft cosy mouthfeel, and a certain mild sweetness leant to it by the stamens. I had goat’s cheese at hand, so I decided to use that, with no additional flavouring.

stuffed flowers

I had to gently reach into the flower, (an not matter how careful I was, the petal tore at one end) and pull out the stamen. There is only one stamen per flower. Then I stuffed the cheese into the flower and gently, very gently closed the mouth. At this point, the flower should not be handled too much. Just a gentle two-fingered pinch at the mouth works. The cheese is a bit sticky, and will not come out, so this process is just to our satisfaction.

After this, I dredged the flower in egg batter, and then in breadcrumbs. I like the egg batter as it gives a lovely crisp edge. But I will also be giving you the recipe for eggless batter, which works just as well.

frying zuchini flowrrs

When you bite into soft petals, oozing with salty yet tart, goat’s cheese and the mouth fills up with a party of textures, just close your eyes and savour the goodness of this sunshine yellow very seasonal, and very difficult to get – flowers.

close up pf finsihed flowers

zucchini flowers stuffed with gat's cheese

zucchini flowers stuffed with goat’s cheese

finished stuffed zuchini flowers

close up of finished flowers2

Zucchini flowers stuffed with goat's cheese
Print Recipe
Exotic soft flowers, tart interior and crunchy crumbly crust. Simple to make, yet so fancy it makes a party come alive. The sunshine yellow flowers will take a powerful hold over you.
Servings Prep Time
2 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Zucchini flowers stuffed with goat's cheese
Print Recipe
Exotic soft flowers, tart interior and crunchy crumbly crust. Simple to make, yet so fancy it makes a party come alive. The sunshine yellow flowers will take a powerful hold over you.
Servings Prep Time
2 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 people 10 minutes
Cook Time
10 minutes
Ingredients
Egg batter
Eggless batter
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Open the flowers delicately with two fingers, pinch the stamen and pull it out.
    Open the flowers delicately with two fingers, pinch the stamen and pull it out.
  2. Make oblong shaped rounds of Goat's Cheese, just a little smaller than the flower that you are going to stuff it in. Compact the cheese, to make it like a small lump.
    Make oblong shaped rounds of Goat's Cheese, just a little smaller than the flower that you are going to stuff it in. Compact the cheese, to make it like a small lump.
  3. Open the petals very gently, and pop the lump of goat's cheese inside the flower. Don't push and prod too much.
  4. Gently close the mouth of the flower. Be careful not to put too much pressure.
Egg Batter
  1. Whisk egg and milk together till it is just mixed. Do not over-beat.
  2. Transfer the crumbs in a shallow plate.
  3. Dredge the stuffed flowers in the egg batter, turning it continuously. The flower should only touch the surface of the egg batter. Do not drown the flowers.
    Dredge the stuffed flowers in the egg batter, turning it continuously. The flower should only touch the surface of the egg batter. Do not drown the flowers.
  4. Gently flick away excess egg batter and now coat the flowers in the breadcrumbs.
  5. In a flat pan, take approximately 1/2 an inch of oil and fry the stuffed flowers turning it till all sides are done.
    In a flat pan, take approximately 1/2 an inch of oil and fry the stuffed flowers turning it till all sides are done.
  6. Drain in paper towel. Eat immediately.
Eggless Batter
  1. Whisk the flower in ice cold water really well, so that no lumps remain.
  2. Dredge the stuffed flowers in the excess batter, turning it continuously. The flower should only touch the surface of the excess batter. Do not drown the flowers.
  3. Gently flick away excess batter and now coat the flowers in the breadcrumbs.
  4. In a flat pan, take approximately 1/2 an inch of oil and fry the stuffed flowers turning it till all sides are done.
  5. Drain in paper towel. Serve immediately.
    Drain in paper towel. Serve immediately.
  6. In a flat pan, take approximately 1/2 an inch of oil and fry the stuffed flowers turning it till all sides are done.
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Aamba Haldi on Goat’s Cheese toast.

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amba haldi

amba haldi

This is something my grandmother used to have on her table, every winter – with big chunks of garlic and green chillies. This tart, sour mix tastes absolutely amazing with Indian meals. Try it with khichadi, roti, rice and dal, anything.

I made something completely off beat with it though. This is how it happened – I had guests coming over for dinner, I had fresh goat’s cheese on hand, and I love goat’s cheese, – And – I was bored of serving the same old goat’s cheese with the quintessential caramelised onions, or roasted veggies. So I looked in the fridge and saw my freshly made amba haldi.

I ran the tastes of both goat’s cheese and amba haldi in my mind, and thought it was worth taking the risk. I served it with great trepidation and waited with baited breath for feed back (no I had no time to taste it before serving it! – in any case I had already liked the pairing in my head!)

amba haldi on goat's cheese toast

amba haldi on goat’s cheese toast

Everyone liked it. They loved the taste. And thank God, because it was very offbeat and very risky to serve something so bizarre!

Amba Haldi, is basically fresh white turmeric or mango turmeric. This is the yellow slices you see. The orange one is new turmeric. Ordinarily these two go together in this very traditional Indian pickle, optionally along with garlic and green chillies. It’s available in the onset of winter, and makes for a good healthy pickle which also works to build your immunity.

amba haldi with garlic and green chillies, in lemon juice

amba haldi with garlic and green chillies, in lemon juice

Amba haldi, tastes sour and tart. A lot like raw mango; even without the lemon juice decoction. Turmeric – well most of us have turmeric as a spice in our food. It really has no taste, but the raw turmeric does. It has an odd piquant taste, not very strong. Not something you need to get used to like truffles. It’s just a very different taste. I cannot liken it to any other flavour I have had.

Scrape the skin with a sharp knife, as the peeler will take away too much of the flesh. The skin is so thin and new that scraping with a  sharp knife is good enough. Be careful as the turmeric will colour your hands yellow. It needs a load of lemon juice. Adding garlic and chillies is completely your call, as is adding salt. We Indians, any case eat a lot of salt in our diet, so I skipped it in my amba haldi pickle.

amba haldi on goat's cheese toast 5

pile on the amba haldi as per your taste

pile on the amba haldi as per your taste

It hits the market as soon as the weather starts getting pleasant and the skin feels a bit dry! Also, try and get the fresh green peppers. I will give you the recipe for that real soon.

Enjoy and do send me feedback about this very off the beaten track combination.

 

Aamba Haldi on Goat's Cheese toast.
Print Recipe
Sour, tart amba haldi with soothing goats cheese.
Servings
4 -6 people
Servings
4 -6 people
Aamba Haldi on Goat's Cheese toast.
Print Recipe
Sour, tart amba haldi with soothing goats cheese.
Servings
4 -6 people
Servings
4 -6 people
Ingredients
amba haldi
goats cheese toast with amba haldi
other stuff
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Scrape the amba haldi and fresh turmeric and dip in cold water to clean remnants of peels
  2. Slice into long thin slices (juliennes)
  3. Put the juliennes and the optional green chillies, garlic, salt in the glass jar.
  4. Top with lemon juice
  5. Keep in sun for 2 days (optional). You can also just leave it outside at room tempreture
  6. Use after two days.
  7. Can be served as a pickle with meals. Referigerate.
For the goat's cheese toast
  1. Slightly toast the baguette slices
  2. Add a good thick layer of goat's cheese (appx 2 tbspn) and spread it.
  3. Add juliennes of amba haldi on it. Do this just before serving, as the goat's cheese will get stained yellow. Add as many juliennes as you would like.
  4. Some people will not be able to have too many at a go, while some might like a load of it. You could leave it for your guest to add at their discretion. Though I wouldn't do that. Forcing them to try atleast a slice, with a few pieces would be ideal.
  5. You could leave some of the amba haldi in a bowl for people to add more if they so desire.
Recipe Notes

To keep your amba haldi fresh and uncomtaminated till it's over, always use a fresh clean and dry spoon to take it out of the jar. If you need to take out some more after the first round, use another spoon. We normally keep our spoons on the counter, where it either mixes with something else, or gets contaminated via the surrounding air and its bacteria.

Remember - each time a new spoon. And don't leave the spoon inside the jar.

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Cheese Toast

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Cheese toast with Cucumbers, onions and green chillies

Cheese toast with Cucumbers, onions and green chillies

Whats so special about cheese toast? For me — very special, because my grandmom used to make it the minute I entered her house. It was my absolute favourite and I still have it when I need some comforting.

Why is it special for you? Because it’s not just a cheese toast. It is many other things clinging to the cheese. Cucumbers, onion, green chillies….

My grandmom (Nani) was an amazing cook. Hell- she was an amazing lady. We lost her a few years ago, and that hole will never fill up. But the memories now make me smile and laugh and sometimes shed a tear or two. Always perfectly coiffured, immaculately dressed, Nani taught me everything I seem to know to survive and exist.

my perfect grand mom

my perfect grandmom and me

She decided she must perfect her English, so she grabbed hold of a teacher and started reading and understanding books I would not read unless I had an exam on it. She borrowed some money from her husband, learnt how to dabble in stocks, and struck gold. Then she decided she should help the underprivileged kids for education, so she opened an NGO, which now runs 2 schools and 1 vocational training centre. We used to get sweets as treats every year when the school results were declared.

When I made the cheese toast recently, the smell emanating from the oven, gave me a huge wave of nostalgia. I was thrown back into her house where I practically grew up.

open cheese toast

open cheese toast

The heavenly very soothing and reassuring fragrance of my favourite food, unlimited coke, my Nani’s gorgeous smile, those days spent learning how to walk, speak, garden, just about everything that a kid needs to feel loved and wanted. I know she is with me, when I cook when I eat and when I hug my loved ones.

my nani's special cheese toast

my nani’s special cheese toast

I make many of her recipes, but this one has a special place in my heart. It can be a complete meal on its own, or just pair it with soup- serve it as an appetiser. However, you use it – don’t forget to derive comfort from the melting cheese and crunchy cucumbers and onion as it hits your palate.

And Hey!! Go hug your grandmom right now!! Life is full of small pleasures!

cheese toast

cheese toast

 

 

Cheese Toast
Print Recipe
Melting cheese with a heavy dose of cucumbers and love.
Servings Prep Time
2 slices 10 min
Cook Time
10 min
Servings Prep Time
2 slices 10 min
Cook Time
10 min
Cheese Toast
Print Recipe
Melting cheese with a heavy dose of cucumbers and love.
Servings Prep Time
2 slices 10 min
Cook Time
10 min
Servings Prep Time
2 slices 10 min
Cook Time
10 min
Ingredients
Servings: slices
Instructions
  1. Slater the bread slices with butter and keep aside
  2. Pre heat oven to 150 Deg C
  3. Grate cucumber and squeeze out the water.
  4. Chop onions finely.
  5. Add all ingredients together and give it a good mix.
  6. Spread the cheese mix on the toast and bake in hot oven till cheese melts.
  7. Cut into squares and serve hot with ketchup or chilli sauce.
Recipe Notes

You can increase or decrease the spice level to your liking, but don't do away with it altogether.

Enjoy!

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Kachcha Sambhar (raw sambhar)

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kachcha sambhar

I was all set to meet the husband for a romantic lunch, but Bangalore being crowded, overpopulated, Bangalore, the traffic was such that it was either the lunch or the airport. And that airport had a plane parked which was going to take us to Goa! So really there was no dispute, the airport on time – it was.

 

I surprised our caretaker with a lunch request. She wasn’t prepared to make anything since I had announced gleefully about my romantic plans. So she hemmed and hawed, wondering what to make. (And I was feeling fussy about food that day!) Her husband (I have mentioned him before in my blogs. He is a complete foodie- for which I am eternally grateful!) Well her husband suggested “Kachcha Sambhar” in his typical local accent. It took him three repeats of the word before I realised that is what he actually meant. Raw Sambhar.

I have learnt to experiment and sometimes leave the suggestions to the experts. AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. In fact, I was in food paradise. Every spoonful going in was ambrosia. Now I love garlic, and I love spice, and the most fun part was it has not one drop of oil!! Perfect right??

We did take off to Goa, and we had an amazing time, caught up in that leftover romance and all that! 😛 But I raved and raved about the Kachcha Sambhar, and he finally told me to use other methods to turn him on!! ( 😛 we are a foodie family!!)

Here is the recipe — the tomatoes have to be burnt — burnt black on a high flame. Wait for it to cool, and skim the skin off. Please do wait for it to cool — this way the skin comes off and does not leave small pieces of black burnt skin behind. We don’t want any black stuff in the sambhar. Same goes for the green chilly.

This is a very spicy dish. Deseeding the chilly reduces the spice. If you want it less spicy, reduce the quantity of the chilly, but don’t delete it completely. That would be a SIN! and Karma will pay you back!!

Tastes absolutely amazing with rice and a bland veggie. I love it with chilla. You make your own combinations and message me.

I was on the floor worshipping this dish! Hope you like it too!

Ciao!!

 

 

 

 

 

Kachcha Sambhar (raw sambhar)
Print Recipe
Quick, elegant and earth shatteringly tasty!
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Kachcha Sambhar (raw sambhar)
Print Recipe
Quick, elegant and earth shatteringly tasty!
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Servings Prep Time
4 people 5 minutes
Passive Time
5 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: people
Instructions
  1. Burn the tomato over high flame. Tomato should be rotated. It should char completely.
    Burn the tomato over high flame. Tomato should be rotated. It should char completely.
  2. Burn the green chilly over high flame. Rotate and burn till completely charred.
  3. Let the tomato and chilly cool.
  4. When cooled, peel the black skin off the tomato and discard.
  5. Wash your hands so that no black stuff sticks back on the peeled tomato
  6. Chop as finely as possible. This reduces the time required later while pureeing with hand blender.
  7. Peel the black layer of the green chilly. Deseed the chilly. (This is very important)
  8. Chop the chilly into small pieces.
  9. To a pot, add the tomatoe, green chilly, salt and water. Mix well with a hand blender. No large pieces of tomato should be left.
  10. There will be a few small pieces of tomato floating around, let them be.
  11. Transfer contents to a serving bowl, add onions, garlic and garnish with corrinader. Serve cold.
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Mexican street corn (Elotes)

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corn the mexican way

corn the mexican way

I am really not that big a fan of corn. According to me, eating it off the cob is the only way – boiled, roasted, barbecued! But man! It is too much of an effort! The son took me to Puesto, in San Diego. We had Mexican Style Street Corn, and I tell you, the effort of stuffing huge gobs of corn in your face, yanking off the kernels, and getting all the mayo and cheese stuck on your nose and cheeks was well worth it.

Many years back, I read an article, on corn in National Geographic magazine. A very young and naive me, almost had a hysterical moment, when I saw the variety of different types of corn grown around the world. Mexico takes the top position for it. I saw pictures of blue corn, 2 coloured corn, black corn, red corn, small corn.

See the images of different types of corn here!

The world just opened up for me. So now while I travel, I look for the local food caverns and stops, drink the local alcohol and eat the local food. My friend is a big believer in this – and has tasted alligator meat too. (Yup! she landed up with a massive stomach pain the next day!) I have always been taken by surprise on how local salt, local water and local ingredients can paint each dish with different colours.

When we have dal ki pakodi, in our native village in Rajasthan, the flavours are so original, so specific off each ingredient. And the same thing tastes a bit bland and bleh, back in Bombay. It is the local dal, and the water, which makes the dish all that much more delicious.

Corn with mayo and feta and mexican chillies

Corn with mayo and feta and mexican chillies

Corn from my farm in Mahabaleshwar tastes really good. It’s organic, and we cut it just a few minutes before we want to cook it. This recipe requires crumbled Feta Cheese. I like to freeze the cheese for an hour or so, then grate it with a cheese grater, then again freeze it. Just thaw it an hour before I need to use it. The cheese looks really nice and even and does not coagulate. I use the same trick when I need to crumble Goat’s cheese.

mexican style corn

mexican style corn

See the link of “how to roast corn”  as shown in my previous post. You can, of course, use boiled corn too for this recipe.

Let’s go – visit the streets of Mexico with this one!!

mexican style corn

mexican corn

Mexican street corn (Elotes)
Print Recipe
My favourite way to have corn! Very easy to make.
Servings Prep Time
2 person 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 person 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Mexican street corn (Elotes)
Print Recipe
My favourite way to have corn! Very easy to make.
Servings Prep Time
2 person 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Servings Prep Time
2 person 10 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: person
Instructions
  1. Brush corn with mayonnaise, turning the corn to get it spread evenly.
  2. Keep the feta cheese on a flat dish or plate, and roll the corn on it, so that it sticks on all sides.
  3. Stand the corn on the serving dish and sprinkle paprika (or any other chilli powder) on the corn.
  4. Serve warm.
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