Joyeux Noël

Joyeux Noel...............Merry Christmas !!

INDULGE IN CHRISTMAS AND LEAVE THE RESOLUTIONS FOR NEW YEAR :-)

Just like last year I am writing this year's Christmas blog just two days prior to Christmas. But this year that one thing which is different is that my family is there with me. After 4 long years all of us are together for this year's x'mas and new year. Its also been three years of me being away from my family and have been deprived of my family's presence for all festivals. This year will be special.

This year I am super busy with my chocolate and cake orders given by old clients and I had no time in this world to think about decorating my house and thinking about the family dinner menu for x'mas. This year not only my blog but each and every preparations are kept for that last minute chaos. But, I guess when you are surrounded by your family every challenge looks like a cake walk. Infact this festival is all about family. Christmas is just not complete without your family. Last year same time I was in Australia with friends. Everything was happening and full of fun. But there was something missing whcih was making me feel empty within............and that was due to my family being miles away from me.....though there were other challenges that I was facing up then which I would not like to recall, few annoying people and few annoying situations.

Even this year there are still some ups and downs that me and my family is going through but I am sure with time everything will be sorted out. For now its Christmas and its time to celebrate with friends and family, get togethers and gatherings. The awesome feeling of unwrapping the gifts. Going to the church to pray, seeing red being the colour of the festival, decorating your house, your christmas tree, listening to christmas carols, the smell of cinnamon, orange and ginger wafting in your kitchen, lots and lots of food. Its a festival striclty for indulgence and there is no room for weight watchers.

So, here I start with my reciepes for this season without wasting time in telling stories because in christmas what you need is food.....food....food....food......N only food..ahem yeah drinks ofcourse;-)

BRITISH CHRISTMAS PUDDING
1lb /450g dried mixed fruit (use golden raisins/sultana, raisins, currants)

1 oz /25 g mixed candied peel, finely chopped

1 small cooking apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped Grated zest and juice

½ large orange and

½ lemon
4 tbsp brandy, plus a little extra for soaking at the end

2 oz /55 g self-raising flour, sifted

1 level tsp ground mixed spice

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

4oz /110g soft, dark brown sugar

4 oz /110 g white fresh bread crumbs

1 oz /25 g whole shelled almonds, roughly chopped

2 large, fresh eggs

Lightly butter a 2½ pint/1.4 litre pudding basin.



Place the dried fruits, candied peel, apple, orange and lemon juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the brandy and stir well. Cover the bowl with a clean tea towel and leave to marinate for a couple of hours, preferably overnight.

Stir together the flour, mixed spice and cinnamon in a very large mixing bowl. Add the sugar, lemon and orange zest, bread crumbs, nuts and stir again until all the ingredients are well mixed. Finally add the marinaded dried fruits and stir again.

Beat the eggs lightly in a small bowl then stir quickly into the dry ingredients. The mixture should have a fairly soft consistency.  

Spoon the mixture in to the greased pudding basin, gently pressing the mixture down with the back of a spoon. Cover with a double layer of greaseproof paper or baking parchment, then a layer of aluminum foil and tie securely with string.

Place the pudding in a steamer set over a saucepan of simmering water and steam the pudding for 7 hours. Make sure you check the water level frequently so it never boils dry. The pudding should be a deep brown color when cooked. The pudding is not a light cake but instead is a dark, sticky and dense sponge.

Remove the pudding from the steamer, cool completely. Remove the paper, prick the pudding with a skewer and pour in a little extra brandy. Cover with fresh greaseproof paper and retie with string. Store in a cool dry place until Christmas day. Note: The pudding cannot be eaten immediately, it really does need to be stored and rested then reheated on Christmas Day. Eating the pudding immediately after cooking will cause it to collapse and the flavours will not have had time to mature.

On Christmas day reheat the pudding by steaming again for about an hour. Serve with  Brandy Butter or custard


MINCE PIES

• 12 oz/350g all purpose/plain flour
• Pinch of salt
• 8oz/ 225g butter, cubed or an equal mix of butter and vegetable fat
• 1 beaten egg + 1 cold water as needed
• 1 jar of mincemeat, shop bought or  
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Mix everything together. The mixture should reseble like bread crumbs. Keep it in the deep fridge for 20 mins. Squeeze an orange and put little salt in the juice and put it int he fridge. After 20 mins make a dough of the mixture mixing the orange juice. Clinge wrap and put it in the fridge overnight.

FOR MINCE MEAT

In a pan put 1/2 a cup of port wine, 1/2 a cup of dark brown sugar, half a packet cranberry fresh or frozen, 1 tsp ground ginger, 1tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, put 1/4 cup of each raisin, sultanas, dry cranberries, zest and juice of an orange. Mix all together and simmer for 20 mins.

Next, roll the pastries and cut with a cutter to make the pie case and a seperate cutter to make the star on the pie. In the mince pie mixture put a slosh of brandy, a drop of almond extract, vanilla essence, 1/4 cup of honey. beat with spoon. Fill the pastry cases with the mixtute put the star pastry on the top and put it in the oven preheated 170 c for 20-30 mins. Store it in an airtight jar after cooling. 

CHEESE FONDUE

Gruyere, Emmental, Brie and Camembert cheese 600gm in total

Put all the above into a cheese fondue dish

Pour any good white wine 300mls/ can use a any cider viniger

Switch on the heat

Take 2tsp of cornflour and mix it in 1/4 cup of Kirsh (cherry liqueur) or any of ur choice or just plain water.

Mix it well. Crush 1-2 big garlic bulbs, wipe arround the fondue dish and through it in the fondue dish. Sprinkle 1 tsp of crushed pepper and nutmeg. Disolve the cornflour mixture into the fondue dish. Mix it well. Serve with your choice of veggies, fruits and breads.

SWEET SPARE RIBS

You can use spare ribs/ cocktail suasages/ chicken wings

Marinade the meat in 1 cup of sweet chillie sauce, 1/2 cup of cranberry sauce, 1/2 cup thick soya sauce, juice of an orange with the leftover flesh as well, juice of an lime with the flesh. Mix all well. You can marinate it overnight as well. Cook it in the oven for 45 mins ( if using spare ribs) or else 20-30 mins. Sprinkle chopped corriander leaves.

MINI PEANUT BUTTER DELIGHTS

Take equal part of icing sugar ( 1 cup) and dark brown sugar, 150 gms unsalted butter, 1 tblsp peanut butter. Mix it to a wet sand consistancy. Make small balls out of the dough. Melt milk and dark chocolate together and spoon it on the peanut butter balls. Decorate it with your choice of edible sugar flowers, stars buttons preferably in golden colour. 

Because, its Christmas I would certainly like to share a couple of cocktails with you all.

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Double short of espresso coffee

60 ml vodka

30 ml kahlua (coffee liqueur)

30ml butter scotch schnapp

Put all of the above in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice cubes and shake it well and strain it on a chilled martini glass. As there will be crema on top garnish it with 2-3 coffee beans on top.

LYCHEENI (lychee flavoured martini)

1 part vodka chilled

1 part white rum

1 part creme de lychee

put all together in a martini glass and stir it well put some neat diamond shaped ice cubes. Garnish it with a whole lychee inserted in a cocktail stick and place it on top of the glass.

Cheers to all and a very very MERRY CHRISTAMS :-)

  

ABSOLUTELY..............." VEGELISIOUS"

ABSOLUTELY.........."VEGELISIOUS"

IF YOU COOK THEM RIGHT.................THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!!

Well. well, well..................I know I have disappointed some of my non- vegetarian friends and followers but this time I was very keen to write on vegetarian food as few of my friends and followers requested for some good vegetarian recipe. So, this time, the recipes I present to you all would be "STRICTLY VEGETARIAN" There is one another person for whom I would like to  dedicate this blog to..... my sister karuna Chatterjee.........

She was not a born vegetarian..........she has turned herself into a vegetarian...though its been long now but the incident is still fresh in my mind. The day when my sister was evoked to turn into a vegetarian. My sister is a person who has a heart with immense love for animals.....be it any. She has done quite a lot of work as an animal activist without any personal greed for fame. She has selflessly dedicated herself to work for animals. Even at the time of that inicident that turned my sister into a complete vegetarian, she used to be very particular about being sensitive towards animals.

It was, one fine evening when me and my family went for dinner to celebrate my brother's good academic results. We went to a very famous seafood restaurant, and this restaurant is famous for fresh seafood......fresh seafood means, if you want they will present a whole live seafood of your choice in front of you just to show you and proove you that how fresh the seafood is in their restaurant. People do like this idea a lot, infact most of the people purposely visit that restaurant to expirience the same  kind of  "FRESH" demonstration. So, my sister happend to see that for the first time.......But...just to let you all know that the live seafood presentation was done for someone else's table that evening, not our's. Unfortunately, my sister got a shock of her life by seeing that redheartedness towards live animals. She just could not eat anything that night and left the restaurant as soon as possible. Since then, not only seafood but she left having all non vegetarian dishes.

That was a day and today is a day when she compells me to think about becoming a vegetarian. Well though it's been ages that I have left having chicken and red meat is something which I was never into. I am on seafood and eggs. Me being a foodie and my career revolves around food, so it can be difficult for me to totally turn into a vegetarian and honestly speaking..I find it difficult to fight my temptation towards seafood. Though unlike other non vegetarians its really not a compulsion for me to have seafood everyday. I would like to admit one truth that......vegetarian food gives a lot of calmness to my digestive system in comparision to a non veg diet. 

I think its not that difficult to turn into a vegetarian because, IF YOU COOK THEM RIGHT......THEY ARE DELICIOUS!!! 

People give some lame excuses saying, its a "FOOD CHAIN" but food chain is meant for animals wondering in the forests and woods..because they dont have the availability of different choice of food like us. We humans use to hunt and eat but in the stone age. A period when people did not have choices of food........In that case my brother is a complete non vegetarian and he needs chicken everyday but the days when my mom cooks a good choice of vegetarian fare, my brother doesn't even bothers to ask that, why there ain't any chicken in his meal. he easily relishes the vegetarian platter.

My point is.............................there are so many choices in vegetarian food....so try and eat more and more of vegetarian choices and less of non vegetarian....who knows.......may be...may be one day anyone of you might turn into a vegetarian. If you go to search, most of the famous and great personalities are vegetarian. Vegetarian diet is also known as "SATVIK' diet which means pure. I have experienced it myself that non vegetarian food gives a lot of restlessness to your system and vegetarian food gives a lot of calmness. After all when we are eating a non vegetarian food its nothing but a dead body of an animal. Me, as a writer of this blog is a non vegetarian who eats only seafood and eggs. Left chicken long back. Never into eating any sort of red meat or pork. In a week I can only have non veg on monday, wednesday and sunday, rest of the days are strictly vegetarian for religious reason. The days I can eat something non veg even on those days I end up eating vegetarian food. So, I guess one fine day.....may be.......may be one fine day even I'll turn into a vegetarian just like my sister. For now......I agree that I give my sister a very lame excuse saying that "I AM INTO FOOD & BEVERAGE WORLD" so its going to be difficult for me to right away give up on certain food types. But that's exactly the reason why. 

I know the essence and value of a beautiful vegetarian food because my maternal family is vegetarian and the food that they make is out of the world...totally SATVIK...and soul satisfying. Being a cook I can say that if someone turns into a vegetarian then there are much more varieties to choose. Its hard to believe but even cuisine like Lebanese also has a wide variety of vegetarian fare. I remember going to a restaurant in Melbourne named Veggie Bar. This restaurant is a live example of one of the most successfuly running business. I couldn't believe that vegetarian food can also be made so interesting. While dinning in this restaurant I just did not miss any of my seafood favourites.

So, without any further delay I should start introducing you all to food that are VEGELICIOUS.......

P.S : This is not a blog for veganism. Its just for vegetarian food which might comprise of dairy products as well.

FINGER FOOD:
While making finger food the quickest way to win hearts is to make different colourfull dips served with your choice of  bread eg: walnut bread, turkish bread etc with some nice rice crackers and cheese crackers.

DIP 1: HUMMUS

1 can chick pea ( aprox 400gms)
3 tblsp lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic peeled
3 tblsp Tahini (sesame paste/ butter)
Put all of the above ingredients together and make a smooth paste (except lemon juice)
Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice.
Top it with extra virgin olive oil.

DIP 2 RED BELL PEPPER DIP

Red bell pepper 1 bottle or 2-3 fresh ones
If using fresh then half and deseed it and put in hot oven and brush olive oil and grill it till its done.
Cream cheese
Mint leaves
Pesto sauce
Lime juice
Jalapeno (optional)

Mix all the above together into a smooth paste. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top.

DIP 3: SPICY GREEN PEAS

Green pea 1 can
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 clove garlic
Lemon juice
Hot pepper sauce
1 cup tomato cut into pieces
1 tblsp cilantro
Mix everything together and make a smooth paste.

DIP 4: BABA GANOUSH

3 medium sized eggplant
1/2 cup (130g) Tahini
1 1/4 tsp coarse salt
3 tblsp lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
1/8 tsp chilli powder
1 tblsp olive oil
1/2  bunch flat parsley/cilantro
Preheat oven to 190 c
Grill the eggplants and later peel off.
Mix all the above ingredients with the grill eggplants.

Make a platter of all the above dips and serve with bread and crackers and see how colourful it looks.

VEG KOFTA BALLS

1 cup grated cabbage
1 cup grated cauliflower
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated or very very finallychopped green capsicum
salt as per taste
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
3 big cloves of garlic finally chopped or grated
1 1/2 tsp of garam masala
1/2 cup grated cheese (optional)
1/8 cup kasoori methi (optional)
1/2 cup corn flour for binding the kofta balls
Instead of garam masala one can also use meat masala, it adds the extra kick to the dish. For all the veg lovers............meat masala does not have meat extracts in it, its just the different choices of spices used in making the masala. I have often been asked this question.

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with just a tsp or two of water and make small balls out of it. Deep fry them until its golden brown. Serve with some salsa sauce or yoghurt dip with fresh garden salad on side.



CRISPY ARANCINI BALLS

500 gms leftover risotto, cooled
100 gms mozzarella cheese cut into cubes
optional: steamed peas and few tblsp of tomato sauce
200 gms all purpose flour
1/4 cup corn flour mix with little water to amake a smooth paste for binding the arancini balls.
250 gms breadcrumbs
grated zest of 1 orange
salt & pepper as per taste
oil for deep frying

Place about 1/2 cup risotto in your palm with wet hands and enclose a piece of mozzarella and any other creative addition, pushing it into the center, then roll again to make sure the rice has surrounded it on all sides. Set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and repaet until you have used all the risotto and mozzarella. Create your breading station by lining 3 dishes with flour, corn flour with water an salt and pepper and breadcrumbs. Working each ball at a time, dip and roll the balls in the all purpose flour first then in the cornflour paste, lift and allow any excess drip off, then roll in the breadcrumbs until completely combined. Shake off any excess and line it back in the parchment. Repeat the same for rest of the risotto balls. Place tray in the fridge for 30-60 mins. Line a large tray with paper towels. take out the arancini balls from the fridge and deep fry it until gorlden brown. Place the fried arancini balls on the paper towel to drain excess oil. Serve it hot or in room temperature, with chilled beer of your choice.



VEGETARIAN MAIN COURSE

NAVRATTAN KORMA
3 cups boiled vegetables ( 9 varieties: potato, carrots, green peas, french beans, cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, bottle gourd, cluster beans.
150 gms grated paneer (cottage cheese)
3 tomatoes/ readymade tomato puree
2 grated onions
3 tblsp ginger garlic paste
salt as per taste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp corriander powder
2 tsp garam masala
2 tblsp cream
6 tblsp vegetable oil
1 tblsp ghee
1 cup milk/water
1/4 cup dry fruits ( cashew nuts, raisins)
corriander leaves for topping

If using fresh tomatoes, first finish making tomato puree. Slightly fry the dry fruits in the ghee. heat oil in a pan and fry onions and ginger garlic paste till golden brown. Add salt, tumeric powder an all the above masalas and fry for 2-3 mins. Add tomato puree and dry fruits, stir well and cook the mixture for 4 mins, ensuring that the mixture doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. put milk/water and bring it to boil. reduce the heat and cook until the gravy becomes thick. Add paneer to the gravy and stir well. Finally add all the vegetables to the gravy and cook well for 5-7 mins, until vegetables are done. Serve it hot with naan, or paranthas or any indian bread of your choice. Do not forget to garnish it with cream n chopped corriander.

P.S : One can also put plain mawa while cooking the dish it makes it more rich.



MISSI ROTI WITH RAJASTHANI PANCHMEL DAAL

Missi Roti: a speciality indian bread from rajasthan, its an indian bread that is made with two different flour, one is plain wheat flour and another one is besan( bengal gram flour)

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup besan (bengal gram flour)
Salt as per taste
1 1/2 tblsp garam masala
1/4 cup kasoori methi
1 tsp chopped green chillies
1 tblsp chopped corriander leaves
1/4 cup of chopped onions
1 1/2 tblsp oil

Mix all the above ingredients and knead them into a dough with little water. Make small balls and roll them in to flat parantha shape. Pan fry them with ghee or your choice of oil. serve with chunda ( an accompaniment made with raw mango, sygar and spices or with rajasthani daal.



RAJASTHANI PANCHMEL DAAL

1/4 cup chana daal
1/4 cup whole moong daal
1/4 cup urad daal
1/4 cup toor daal
1/4 cup masoor daal
salt as per taste
1 inch piece ginger
2 whole dry red chilly
asofoetida (hing) pinch
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp corriander powder
1 tsp cummin powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
2 medium sized chopped tomatoes
3 tblsp oil
1/2 tsp cummin seeds
4-5 cloves
2 green chillies
chopped corriander leaves

Mix all the above daal (lentils) and soak then in water for 2-3 hours or best is over night. Cook them in a preasure cooker with salt and tumeric powder until done. Make a paste of ginger and green chillies. heat oil in a pan and add assofoetida, cummin seeds, cloves and dry chillies, when the cummin seeds starts changing colour then add the ginger and green cgilli paste and fry for few minutes. Now put all the above masalas with the chopped tomatoes and cook till it starts leaving oil on sides. Add the cooked daal (lentils) add water if required. Keep stirring until 10 mins and later flambe garam masala and ghee in a small container or a laddle and pour it over the daal and serve it hot with Missi roti or just plain steamed jasmine rice.




PANEER BUTTER MASALA

500 gms fresh paneer (cottage cheese) cut it in cubes
2 medium sized onion cut in cubes, boiled and then made a paste in a blender.
250 gms of small tetra pack tomato puree
salt as per taste
turmeric 1/2 tsp
1 1/2 tblsp red chilli powder
2 tblsp garam masala
1 small can of cream
150 gms butter (salted)
2 tblsp kasoori methi
1 tblsp chicken tandoori masala optional
oil for cooking
1 bay leaf

While some people like to shallow fry the paneer cubes, I personally like to dip those paneer cubes in hot water to soften them, so when you eat it with the gravy the paneer will melt in ur mouth leaving your taste buds with a divine experience.

Put the paneer cubes in hot water to soften. Heat oil in pan or kadai with little butter to start with. Put the bay leaf and then the onion paste, fry it for few minutes until the obion starts to leave oil on sides. add salt, and all of the above masalas and further cook it for 2-3 mins. Later add the tomato puree and keep stirring and cook it in slow flame for 5-6 mins and then add lil water to make a thick gravy, cook for another 4 mins. Add kasoori methi, remaining butter and in another 2 minutes add the cream ad stir well till its properly mixed. Now add the paneer, keep in slow flame and cook for 3-4 mins. Take it away from the flame and garnish it with some more cream. If you want you can put addisive red/orange edible colour. serve it hot with Butter Naan or Green Peas Pulao/Pilaff.

  

SOME MIXED SELECTION OF "SHAAM KA NASHTA" FROM DIFFERENT REGIONS OF INDIA:

DAHI BHALLE: Punjabi

1 1/2 cups split gram (dhuli urad daal)
Salt as per taste
1 tsp red chilli powder
15-16 raisins
Asafoetida a pinch
6-7 cups yoghurt
oil for deep frying
1tsp rock salt (sendha namak)
Mint chutney (garnish)
Sweet date and tamrind chutney (garnish)
2 tsp roasted cummin powder
2 tblsp fresh corriander leaves chopped
Ginger cut into thin strips
2 green chillies chopped

Wash and soak the daal in  cups of water overnight. drain water and grind daal to a smooth paste. Whisk 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder, raisins and asafoetida into the batter. Heat oil in kadai, drop the batter in tablespoonfulls in it and deep fry until light golden. drain on an absorbent paper. out bhallas in sufficient quantity of hot water, leave for 2 minutes and squeeze between your palms to drain out excess water. Whisk yoghurt well with rock salt and salt to taste. Place bhallas on serving plate and cover it with yoghurt. Add mint and tamarind chutney. Sprinkle red chilli and roasted cummin powder. garnish with corriander leaves and ginger julienne and chopped green chilli and serve immidiately. repaet this each time you serve someone.



JHAAL MURI: Bengali

2 cups of muri/murmura/ puffed rice, mostly used for bhelpuri
4 tblsp chanachur
4 tblsp sev
3 tblsp roasted peanuts
2 tblsp thinly sliced fresh coconut
1 green chilli very finely chopped
1 small onion finally chopped
1 big sized boiled potato cut into small pieces

Mix all the above ingredients with little salt, rock salt, juice of lemon and few dashes of raw mustard oil. Serve immidiately before it gets soggy.

Jhaal Muri is a very famous begal's street food. It is almost like bhel in Mumbai. It goes very well with chai served in clay cups.



RAJ KACHORI: Rajasthani

1 cup semolina/suji/rawa
1 tblsp maida/refined flour
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
salt as per taste
Oil to deep fry

Filling:
2 medium size potato boiled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup moong sprouts
1/2 cup chickpeas/kabuli channa boiled
10-12 papdi used in chaat
1 cup thick yoghurt
4 dahi bhalle (same like above recipe in dahi bhalla) slightly mashed
1 tsp roasted cummin powder
1 red chilli powder
1/2 sendha namak/rock salt
tamrind chutney and green mint chutney
1/2 cup sev
1/2 bunch fresh corriander leaves chopped

Make a stiff dough of suji, maida, red chilli powder, salt and water. Divide into 4 -6 equal parts roll into rotis of around five inches diameter and deep fry on hot oil on medium heat till well puffed and crisp. After they cool down ensure that they are not soft. If they are then fry again and keep aside. Dip the papdi in dahi/yoghurt. Take one kachori in serving plate, make a big hole in the centre fill with potato cubes, sprout moong, boiled channa, papdi dipped in yoghurt and mashed dahi bhalle. Sprinkle roasted cummin powder, rock salt, red chilli powder, tamrind and green mint chutney and yoghurt, sev, corriander leaves. serve immidiately before it becomes soggy.

 P.S : The above recipe is very time taking but it's worth the effort...........Give it a try!!!



I have put few of my favourites in this blog. If there is any other vegetarian recipes you want please write to me. Hope I could get you all interested in trying your hands on thse yummy vegetarian recipes. As, there is no end to the list of recipes I can present to you all but for this blog I will have to draw the curtain. Please write to me if ther is anything you want to know or any recipe that you would like to get. Till then..................................HAPPY COOKING. 

THIS IS A STEP TOWARDS CHOOSING GREEN ........

THE FOOD WILL MEND YOUR HEART...........

Its gloomy, its rainning  and its evening half past 5 and way too dark for this hour of the day. Well, its Saturday 9th July 2011 and its been 39 days i am back from Melbourne, back to Mumbai, India, my own home country. Have "Come back for good" sounds preety good  but doesn't really feels that good. I am back now, writing my blog after a good long break of six months. My last blog was on December, for Christmas and i was really excited to write another new blog after the christmas, unfortunately couldn't write.

Life is way too complicated and unpredictable as we think it to be. Life changes in a blink of  an eye. When bad luck strikes and your about to face a very bad time in life you start doing blunders and make such mistakes which confronts you to your bad luck. I took the decision of coming back which was sounding very rational to me, despite of all my friends telling me that its avery wrong decision. But when bad luck strikes you tend to make all rash and wrong decisions. I had my own reasons to leave Australia, reasons like visa and the changing situations of international students. I found it useless to stay back, thinking that i am wasting time and money. I had no idea that i will miss my life and the friends i made in Melbourne. I was happy just like a child. I just couldn't figure out the consequences.

I came back , but during my journey from Melbourne to Mumbai i started realising that what have i left behind. I left behind my heart, i left behind a house that i made my home with love, care and dedication, left behind all the memories lived in that house in that city. I have seen my good and my bad days in Melbourne. I studied hard and worked much more harder to achieve my dreams. Went out of my way to do hard work at my work place just so that one day i aquire my dreams.

I reached Mumbai but there were still hopes for me, hopes for me to see the same dreams which i left behind in Melbourne. I wanted to work it out, But it was only posible with help of some people whom i completelty trusted. But all of a sudden my dreams came tumbling out of my eyes with my tears. All of a sudden the truth was revealing and people started betraying. I could see sudden changes in people which was really not expected. Suddenly all doors of hopes were closing for me, people started turning there back on me. I also started feeling that even the most safest place in this world "HOME" was giving me a sense of insecurity. Time changes everything, its been three years i lived in Australia so, a lot of things changed for me, people had already priortised things in their lives in India. I never realised but dont know when i started getting the sense of belonging towards Australia. A house or a place makes you feel good only when there are people around whom you care and they care for you too.

There were reasons for me to feel so strong about Melbourne, reasons apart from my work and my career or friends............HUH...................I think I wrote quite a lot, wrote things which was just  not important to be shared in my blog. But my blog is very important to me and I can't lie to it. Though I would now like to stop spilling my heart out and show you guys the beautiful part of my life which still is FOOD....lots of food :-) temptation, mouth watering recipes.

So, today it's 15th August afternoon 3:26 p.m Independence Day!!!!! Everybody is enjoying this day as it's a public holiday with a long weekend. I believe that for me the best way to celebrate this day would be by liberating myself from within......breaking free from everything that is holding me back, trying to forget people whose memories are haunting me and not letting me forgive and forget them. I am dealing with my own self and i know i will win, as i always did. I use to say this to someone very dear to me that....Things will only happen to you if U LET THEM HAPPEN TO YOU............whether it is good or bad...........alas!!! I did not follow it. I'd let bad things happen to me, I'd let people hurt me by letting them know that they have the strength to hurt me, I'd let people pass judgements on me and believing that they are right. I can't believe I can't even take a decision of which phone to buy and i am wondering around asking people on facebook, writing status updates "CONFUSED...........WHICH PHONE TO BUY" don't I know what do i really want????? YES!!! i do know. I want to buy Nokia X7 without any second thought as i have always been loyal to Nokia and find it lucky ( call me superstitious) and user friendly. So, now I would like to start believing what i said to my friend and let good things happen to me, and what could be more good than surrendering oneself to Food.......

To start with.......I'll complete my blog today and win your heart with some lip smacking food. Without any further wait, I'll start penning down the recipes. My recipe for today will be a mix of Indian and Western cuisine :-)

STUFFED POMFRET FRY (A KOKAN CUISINE FROM INDIA)

4 (200 gms each)      Pomfrets

1 tsp                         Green chilli paste

2 tsp                         Ginger-garlic paste

1/4 tsp                      Turmeric powder

Salt to taste

2 tbspn                    Lemon juice

Semilina (rava)      Go by the eye ( as per required)

Oil to shallow fry

FOR STUFFING

1 cup                       Coconut scrapped

7-8                           Green chillies chopped

1/2 small bunch      Fresh coriander leaves chopped

2inch                       Ginger roughly chopped

METHOD:

Wash and clean the fish. Make green chilli paste, ginger-garlic paste, turmeric powder, salt and 1 tblspn of lemon juice and apply all over the fish and let marinate for an hour or so. Make slits on both sides of the fish and give a cut on the top to create a pocket for the stuffing. Grind scraped coconut, green chillies, coriander leaves and ginger into a fine chutney. Add the remaining lemon juice and salt to taste and mix well. Stuff some chutney into the pockets of each fish and also apply on all sides of the fish. Heat a flat griddle (tawa). Roll the fish in semolina and place on the griddle. Put little oil to shallow fry and cover and cook for 2-3 mins. Turn the fish and cook on the other side with some more oil till done. Follow the same for all the fish. Serve HOTtttttttttttttttttt!!! It goes very well with Solkadi. Mumbaikars....i am sure you know what i mean by Solkadi. If some one wants the recipe of Solkadi can write to me and I'll pen it down for you. 

   

GARLIC AND ROSEMARY MACKEREL (AN ITALIAN DISH)

1 tblsp           Olive oil

30gm             Butter

2 cloves        Galrlics crushed

4 large         Mackerel cutlets or any cut you like (preferably a fillet)

3 tblsp         Lemon juice

2 tsp            Fresh Rosemary, 1/2 tsp dry rosemary leaves

Freshly ground black pepper, salt to taste ( very little as there is butter added to eat)

Heat oil and butter in a large frying pan and cook garlic for 1 min. Add the fish and cook for about 3-4 mins each side until browned. Pour lemon juice over and sprinkle with rosemary. Season to taste with black peppercorn and salt. Cover and simmer for 5-8 mins or until done.

TIP: please dont leave the beautiful dish alone...........accompany it with a nice glass of Sauvignon blanc or preferably a Chardonnay......Cheers ;-)

MURGI GOTA MOSHLA / CHICKEN COOKED WITH WHOLE SPICES ( A BENGALI DISG FROM INDIA)

1 meduim chicken around 750gms in medium sized pieces

5-6 medium sized onions finely sliced

100gm Ghee

150 gms Dahi/ Curd/ Yogurt

6 large kashmiri chillies

4 Bay leaves

6-7 Cloves

12 Peppercorns

60gm Ginger, finely sliced

60gm garlic finely sliced

BELOW IS OPTIONAL

200gms dahi/ curd

Salt to taste                                               

A pinch saffron soaked in a tbspn of milk

METHOD:

Mix together ina big cooking vessel or kadai, all the ingredients except saffron. Leave to marinate for an hour (overnight would be good enough) turning from time to time. Whe ready for cooking, cover the vessel with tight fitting lid with foil to comletely seal. Place over a very slow fire and cook for 2 hours. Remove from fire, remove foil and uncover the vessel. Stir chicken and taste if done, Cover again and seal it foil and place it in a pre heated oven of 275F to 300F and cook for another half an hour till chicken is tender ( you can do the same in a very low flame if you don't have an oven). Remove from oven, uncover and strir the saffron soaked in milk into the curry.

Serve it hot with Rice or Puris / Luchi ( an sort of deep fried Indian bread)

BURGUNDY STYLE CHICKEN STEW

1 kg chicken diced or cut into any shape or size of your preference

2-3 onions chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 tsp chopped rosemary

100 gms carrots diced

30 gm flour

175ml red wine

3 tbsp tomato paste

Demi glace sauce originaly using but here it is optional as this sauce is made of veal stock and sauce espagnole which is one of the five mother sauces of the classical French Cuisine. Her it I'll let use a normal chicken stock.

Bouquet Garni for chicken stock: It's a bundle of  tied together with string amd mainly used to prepare soup, stocks and different kind of stews.

1/2 lt chicken stock

2 bay leaves

1 tsp parsley chopped

60 ml oil

METHOD:

In a suacepan heat oil and saute bay leaves, onion and garlic till translucent.

Add rosemary

Add the chicken pieces saute till the exterior is seared.

Sprinkle the flour over and cooked till brown roux* is formed.

Put the tomato paste and the red wine. Stir well.

Add the carrots and stock. Cook till the chicken is well done.

Finish with the Demi Glace if your using or just sprinkle chopped parsley.

Serve it HOT.

ROUX*a mixture of butter and flour used in making sauces.

WHITE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH PASSIONFRUIT & RASPBERRY.

6 egg white

6 egg yolk

300gms white chocolate chopped into small pieces

passionfruit pulp of 10 passionfruit or canned ones will do.

2 pints of raspberries

METHOD:

Melt the chopped white chocolate in a double boiler. Whisk the egg whites till stiff. Take off the chocolate from the boiler and put the egg yolks and passionfruit pulp and mix it. Stir in the whisked egg white in it. Align some serving glasses and put some raspberries and then slowely pour the white chocolate mousse on top. garnish it with 2-3 raspberries. Put it in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

SHAHI TUKDA ( AN INDIAN DESERT FROM ROYAL HOUSE CUISINE)

1 lt full cream milk

1 can condensed milk

1tsp cardomom

6-8 slices of bread diagonally cut and the sides as well

1/2 cup raisins or sultanas

Ghee to deep fry the bread

Blanched almond slivers to garnish

Saffron for garnish

Edible color optional

METHOD:

Mix the milk and condensed milk in a thick bottomed pan and boil till it reduces to half. Stir frequently to prevent burning. Whe its done add the cardomom. If you want to thicken the milk more than add 1 tsp cornflour to 1/4 cup of water and slowely stir in the milk while its on fire. get it down from the fire. Heat the ghee on medium flame. Deep fry the pieces of bread in it, till they are crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels.In the same ghee saute the raisins till puffed. Put a layer of bread pieces at the bottom of a flat serving dish and top with the thickened milk mixture. Keep repeating the procedure till all the bread and the thickened milk is used. granish it with raisin and almond slivers. Chill for an hour an serve.

So, here I pen up, Bidding a Bye for now. Though it took a lot of time and a hell lot of enthusiasm to finsih this blog. I wish I can keep coming up with much more and better contents for my blog and make a my blog a success. Wish me luck and i wish you a happy cooking!!!! and........................

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY................JAI HIND :-)

JINGLE BELL ROCKS.........

JINGLE BELL ROCKS
Christmas has arrived.............I just love this time of the year. The festive spirit of everything getting started, buying gifts, wrapping gifts, making home made goodies to gift, buying and decorating the Christmas tree, the house wafting with smell of cinnamon, orange and vanilla. Each and every year I am equally excited for Christmas. Christmas has been a very very important festival for me. For me Christmas is just not about party and dinner it's about prayers and  family gathering too. I love the sound when the church bell rings, when the quire sings, the mid night mass, the fire work and people wishing each other in the church when it strikes 12 at night and just after the mass coming home and gathering with friends for drinks and dinner. There are families who start preparing for the dinner prior to a month or two. Preparing the glazed ham, turkey, cranberry sauce, bread sauce, ginger bread turkey filling, brandy cream, Christmas pudding, short breads, ginger bread man, mince pie...the list wont stop. Festivals are for food and gatherings and both are things which I just love to do, cooking for friends and family and having a nice gathering. When I cook I love the whole idea of laying the table with variety, with heaps of food with different choices and Christmas gives me the reason to do what I love.


As a child I remember that each year for Christmas I use to force my parents to take me to the shop to buy Christmas cake as I was the only one in the family who wanted to celebrate Christmas as my family is Hindu. But with time and years passing by I made Christmas a quintessential affair in my family. Now when I am not there in India with my family they still follow the ritual of getting the Christmas tree and going to the church. I remember me and my mom use to buy gifts for my younger brother ad sister because I made them believe SANTA :-) Me and my mom use to keep the gifts near their bed and in the morning the joy in their faces we use to see were priceless. Christmas is such an innocent and beautiful festival. I don't know why some people waste it by going to night clubs and spending this wonderful festival in that crowded and noisy place. Christmas is about experiencing the good food at home, friends and family coming over, the Christmas carols, laughing and eating in a serene place like "HOME"        


Sitting thousands and millions of mile away from home at this auspicious occasion I still want to keep up the ritual. I miss my family very dearly at this time so I am all set to bake a cake tomorrow. My rocky roads and chocolate mousse has been made and kept in the fridge to set. Chicken is marinated and kept in the fridge too. All i have to do is make a nice Fattoush salad and cous cous for tomorrow night. You must be thinking why did i left the baking for the last minute well it's all my room mate's fault as he assured that that are plenty of flour to make the cake and at night when all shops are closed what do i see!!!!  OH NOOOOOOOOOO..........there is no flour at home :-(  anyway I will manage. But I suggest never to leave anything on your friends.......n last minute.


As, you all can see that this blog has got delayed so without any further waste of time i'll start with the recipes.

CHRISTMAS CAKE  

12oz plain flour

• 1tsp mixed spice
• 4oz ground almonds
• 8oz currants (although I changed this to chopped dates)
• 8oz sultanas
• 8oz raisins
• 4oz cherries
• 8oz butter
• 8oz soft brown sugar
• 6 eggs beaten with 8tbsp milk 1 tbsp black treacle

Mix flour, spice and ground almonds together. Mix fruit ( I let mine sock in a good glug of brandy for about an hour). Beat butter and sugar to a cream, beat milk and eggs together. Mix together all ingredients. Add the fruit last. Bake for 2 hours. First hour 180C (Gas 4), then slowly 150C(Gas2)

CHOCOLATE MOUSE:

150 gms mini marsmellows

50 gms unsalted butter

250 gms chocolate (dark)

4 tbls water

METHOD:

Melt them all together.

Beat around 280 ml thick cream with vanilla essence 

Fold in with the chocolate and marshmellow mix.

Pour it in separate cups or dishes

Put it i the fridge till it sets

When ready serve with little white chocolate shavings on top.

CHICKEN ZA'TAAR:

500 gms chicken breast/drumstickes/ thigh fillet

Olive oil 1/2 a cup

Parsley chopped

salt

Za'taar powder ( a middle eastern mix of spices)

2 onions cut into 4 pieces.

Marinate everything together and put it in high oven for 20- 25 mins 

Serve with Fattoush Salad.

Fattoush Salad:

Oven crisp the pita bread

Chop tomatoes, cucumber, spring onions, mint.

Snip the crisp pita bread in the salad 

Put lemon juice, olive oil and salt on top and toss.

Sprinkle little Sumak in the salad if available.

   Here I sign off and wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.............I have to take a good sleep as I have got a long day tomorrow. Merry Christmas.