Friday, March 30, 2012

Scotch eggs... with a noodle-y twist...

A Scotch egg consists of a hard-boiled egg wrapped in sausage meat, coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried. Read more here!
Been wanting try out Scotch eggs since some time - though i wasn't really keen on handling meat in the morning. Was going through some recipes at the Nestle site yesterday and found one using maggi. Maggi & eggs are T's all time favorites.. so, if i can make something more with them, why not? ;)
The potatoes, instant noodles & eggs can be cooked simultaneously while you get to finish other chores & all you have to do is - put them together in the end & fry them. Gets done in no time & is a fun breakfast / picnic option.

I made them using soft boiled eggs only coz T likes them runny. Harder to work with since you need to be really realllllyyy careful. Will stick to hard-boiled eggs from now on! ;) You need:
For 2 hard boiled eggs -
1 small pack instant noodles cooked - i used Maggi
1 big potato - boiled
salt & chilly powder for seasoning
Breadcrumbs - 2 tbsp for mixing & extra for coating
Oil for deep frying

How to:
Once your potatoes, eggs & instant noodles are ready...
Mash the potatoes, season them (i used only salt & chilly powder) and add the noodles. Add 2tbsp bread crumbs & mix well. This will now come together to form a dough. Shell the eggs, grease your palm with a little oil and divide the dough into two portions. Wrap it around the egg so as to get an even coating (refer pointers below for easy steps).
Now roll the coated eggs in bread crumbs & deep fry them. Gently spoon out the Scotch eggs when they turn golden brown & crispy. Drain on a paper towel, cut into halves(length-wise) & serve with ketchup.
If you still plan on going with soft boiled eggs, you could serve some toast to dip into the runny yolks. :)

Pointers:
>> Figured that the easiest way to wrap the egg evenly is to pat out a thick rectangular sheet length about 3/4th the size of your palm, breadth about an inch more than the height of the egg. Start by rolling the wrap around the egg from one end - covering the egg when you reach the other end. Pinch the top & bottom & pat slightly to ensure an even coat.
>> Oil you hands when you work with the dough - makes it a lot easier!
>> Add onions,left-over veggies, additional seasoning - anything that catches your fancy.
>> Guessing that leftover cooked rice (plain/flavored) could replace the noodles. Will try it out & post the results.

This onez for the BP gang that i luuuv & miss soooooo much!!! :)

Of some of the most amaazing people i know... herez to a gang that made the US seem like a DrEaM!! :D Picked up the cartoon from here! :)

Thursday, March 29, 2012

A yummy treat from banana fritter batter! :)

I had quite a bit of batter to finish up when i was making Banana fritters. Since i'd already fried up enough, all i wanted to do was dispose all the remaining batter! I couldn't really throw it away, right? So then.. the easiest way to finish them up? Pancakes of course! ;)

Herez some fun stuff to do with the batter used for Banana fritters How to:
Pour a ladle of the batter on a lightly greased hot griddle or frying pan. Don't bother spreading it out - just stand back & let gravity take it's course :). Lower the flame & cook covered for a few minutes till the top looks done(the bottom would have a golden brown shade). Now flip it over & cook for about a minute or two.

Transfer to a serving dish, scoop out a generous serving of vanilla ice-cream, a drizzle of maple syrup, top with fresh fruits - maybe bananas? I used some fresh strawberries that were in season. :)

Pointers:
You could make these pancakes & store them in the refrigerator (need not be frozen). Heat it up in the microwave for a minute before you plate up.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

An experiment with Chicken gone right! :)

We usually marinate all the meat or fish over the weekend & freeze them in single serve packs & then, we are set for the week. Ideally that would mean 3 fillets of fish or 2 chicken drumsticks and so on in each pack.
Saves us a lot of marinate-&-wait time during hectic week days & the trouble of defrosting the whole lot just to chip out a few pieces.
Marinade used:
curd , a pinch of turmeric, salt & chilly powder

We were already done with dinner & since T was home a little early yesterday we experimented with some stuff in the kitchen. Yaaayy! :)
We already had a few chicken drumsticks marinated over the weekend & sitting in the freezer. Herez what we ended up with.. You need:
marinated chicken - i used 2 drumsticks
**To be ground into a paste:**
corriander(cilantro) leaves - a finely chopped handful
mint leaves - half the quantity of corriander leaves
green chilly 1 large - (lesser if you don't prefer the heat)
juice of half a lemon/lime
1 tbsp Olive oil
salt to taste

How to:
Heat about 3-4 tbsp of oil in a pan & sear the chicken on both sides enough to get a caramelized crust. Coat the chicken completely with the ground paste mentioned above & wrap firmly using cling film. Secure with string to ensure that the wrap doesn't open up.
Boil water in a saucepan & drop the wrapped chicken into the same, letting it cook covered for about 15 to 20minutes. Spoon out the cooked wraps onto a plate, remove the film & serve garnished with lemon wedges & cilantro.
T did have something to lament about - "we should have made some more!!" ;)

Pointers:
>> Using curd in the marinade makes poultry succulent.
>> You could skip the resting time for the marinated chicken (minimum 30min) if you are short of time.

Friday, March 23, 2012

A slice of my B'de cake baked by T... :)

About a month back, T had this bizarre thought of baking me a cake for my B'day... this coming from a guy who'd once asked me if he had to make noodles in a tawa or kadai!! :O He was being adorable by wanting to bake a cake.. but then, i HAD 2 supervise - else he had planned on using rice powder & was going by 'a little of this' & so on!!
He made the Choco Mocha cake, but used brown sugar instead of white & since the batter was sitting outside the oven for about 45min(thanks to the once-in-a-bluemoon power failure which chose this day!), when the cake was half-way done, we poured in about half a cup of soda(carbonated water) over it. The result - a deliciously yummmmy goooooey cake! :)
Since T came home real late & still insisted on baking the cake, i ended up cutting into a warm cake - first time ever on my B'de!!! :) He was so ecstatic about 'his' cake & the grin still remains! :)
Cakez over, though! :D

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Kalakand... :)

I was oooohhh soooooo happy with the way this turned out & the recipe is a sure-shot one & EASY too! We like to munch on stuff that is not overly sweet...& now that we make it at home, we get to decide the sweetness of the Kalakand.. :D
You need:
milk 2 litres
citric acid crystals 1/2 tsp, dissolved in 3 tbsp of warm water
sugar 1/2 cup - i used a little lesser
sweetened condensed milk 3 tbsp - i used milkmaid **see pointers
ghee(clarified butter) 2 tsp + 1 tsp for greasing the plate
Optional, but would be a great add...
Finely chopped nuts - i used a handful each of almonds & cashew nuts pounded with a mortar & pestle
good quality silver sheets (vark) for garnishing

How to:
Boil 1 litre milk and add the citric acid solution, simmering and stirring lightly till the milk curdles(forms paneer). Sieve this and let it rest for about 15min in the sieve till all the water drains out.
Meanwhile, boil the remaining 1 litre milk in a wide-mouthed wok and stir lightly occasionally till it reduces by half. Now add the drained paneer and stir continuously till the mixture thickens. Add the finely chopped nuts and the sugar, followed by the condensed milk. Allow it to cook and reduce further ensuring you stir to avoid burning.
You will know that it is ready when the mixture comes together to form a mound. Now add 2tsp of ghee and stir well, cooking for about 2 to 5 min. Transfer this into a well greased plate and allow it to cool. Garnish with silver sheets and cut into squares of oodles of goodness!!... :)
Pointers:
>> Feel free to add more sugar in this recipe if you so desire.
>> Adding sweetened condensed milk is optional. I like adding them since they lend a cream-ish color & taste. You might as well replace the same with sugar.
>> You could use 2tsp vinegar or juice of half a lime if you don't have citric acid crystals.
Source: Adapted from my stack of newspaper-cut-recipes Deccan Chronicle.

Peanut Brittle... Chikki - with crushed peanuts...

T LUUUUUUvvvs chikkis in any form... since he was working this Sunday & we couldn't go out to buy some, i planned on making a few to replenish the dwindling stack.. Had made some chikkis(peanut brittle) earlier, so this time, thought i'd use coarsely pound peanuts. T was reeling off chikki ideas & totally veto-ed buying them.. ;) More with sesame seeds & dessicated coconut will follow... :)
You need:
peanuts 1 cup - coarsely ground
sugar 3/4 cup - i used white
clarified butter(ghee) 2 tsp + extra for greasing the plates

How to:
In a wok, heat the sugar with about 2tbsp water till all the crystals dissolve. In a few seconds, it will take on a brownish hue & start to caramelize. Stir, making sure that it does not burn. Add in the crushed peanuts & stir well. To this, stir in 2tsp of ghee.
Transfer this onto a well greased plate and mark lines halfway through - as in chocolate bars. Now let them cool - the brittle hardens during cooling. Pop them out of the plate once cooled & break along the indent. Store in air tight containers.
Pointers:
>> I toasted the peanuts & used a mixer to pulse through them.
>> Found it easier to work with granulated sugar rather than powdered sugar while making these.
>> Ensure that you don't skip greasing the plates.
>> Caramelize a wee bit more for a different taste & darker shade.
EnJoY!! :)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Pork - Coorg style! :)

Usually served with kadumbutt or otti, this is a favorite dish among Coorgs! :)

@ Sausalito, CA...

This quaint village by the bay is one of the prettiest & most enchanting places that just makes you feel wooooowww!!! :) The place is dotted with bright flowers in pots all around, cozy caffes & oodles of joyyy!!!! This was where we met the supposedly guitar playing dog.. :D The owner did the singing & was a rather colorful character... i just found them on YouTube too! :D This place is a dream! :) Clicks by V... :)

Spinach (Palak) Parathas...

While making the dough, I used sautéed spinach. The spinach had been sautéed with cumin seeds, a pinch of turmeric powder, finely chopped onions & green chillies with salt to taste. If you are in a hurry, you could just chop the spinach finely & add it to the dough with seasoning.

Shahi tukda...with a twist :)

I had some rabdi leftover from the batch i made for some carrot halwa. In a corner, some bread slices looked lonely...so put them together ;) Since we had been high on sugar throughout the week, decided to cut some here. It still tasted real good & T polished off most of it by the time i started on my share. :)
The twist:
Slice off the edges of the bread, brushing them lightly with ghee(clarified butter) & sugar. Toast this till the sugar is caramelized & the toast has some crunch.
Cut each slice in half or 4 pieces and arrange alternating with toast,rabdi, crushed nuts till all the slices are used. Top with rabdi & nuts. Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour(if you can put up with the waiting - worth it ;)..tastes better if you let it rest. Yummmmmmm! :)