An evening with Foodies !!!

Spent a lovely evening on 15th July at the IFN (India Food Network) office, meeting other chefs, food bloggers and experts. So impressed with the super achievements of this young team in such a short time! Relaxed ambiance, great company, wine, cheese and yummy snacks and this beautiful hamper as take away!

Interesting Soup Bowls!!

Spent the weekend in Goa attending a family wedding at Radison Blu. Over the three days enjoyed different cuisines and elaborate buffet meals. One of the interesting soups served with dinner was a delicious cream of mushroom served innovatively in bread bowls. I added a pinch of pepper and a dash of lemon juice to give my soup an additional zing. The piping hot soup tasted yummy and slowly some of it got absorbed in the bread, which we all ate after finishing the soup. It was crunchy on the outside and soft and delicious inside.

Quick ’n’ tastyy Eggs

Easy to make healthy and delicious breakfast to enjoy on the weekend .

Ingredients

2 eggs

1 medium-sized tomato, finely chopped

1-2 green chillies, finely chopped

4 tbsp milk

Few coriander leaves, chopped

1 tsp butter or pure ghee

Salt to taste

Procedure

Melt butter/ghee in a non-stick frying pan or kadai on low flame. When hot, add green chillies and then chopped tomatoes. Mix and cover. Cook on low flame for a couple of minutes. When tomatoes are soft, break the eggs over them. Now pour the milk all around, sprinkle salt, add half the coriander leaves and cover. Cook on low flame for two to three minutes mixing occasionally till the eggs are soft but firm. Remove on a flat serving dish, sprinkle remaining coriander leaves on top and serve hot with toast or fresh bread.

Tasty Fish Cutlets

A yummy Sunday snacks/meal. Most of us like to have a light snack or meals on Sunday evenings. Fish cutlets with salad fit the bill perfectly.

Ingredients

• 4 slices of a medium-sized surmai or rawas fish
• 2 medium-sized potatoes
• 2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1-inch piece ginger
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 4 slices bread
• Oil for frying
• Few coriander leaves, finely chopped
• Salt to taste

Procedure

Wash the fish pieces well. Boil fish in a little water for about five minutes till done. When cool, remove from water, debone and mash. In a pressure cooker place the potatoes, add two cups of water and boil for 10 minutes on low flame after the first whistle. Remove from cooker after a few minutes, peel and mash while still warm. Add mashed potatoes, ginger, green chillies and ground spices and salt to the mashed fish. Soak bread in water for a minute or two. Squeeze out water and add to fish mixture. Mix well into a smooth dough. Take a little oil on your palms and smoothen the dough.

Make 10 to 12 portions and flatten each into a oval shaped cutlet. In a non-stick pan, heat three to

four tsp of oil. Fry four cutlets at a time on medium flame, till both sides are golden brown. Serve hot

with tomato ketchup and chopped onions.

Kala chana, anar and aloo chaat

A Healthy Summer special...

Ingredients
1 cup black chana soaked in a bowl of water for 5-6 hours
2 medium sized potatoes boiled , peeled and cut into small pieces
1 large pomegranate peeled and de-seeded
Salt, pepper, chaat masala to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tblspn olive oil
a few mint leaves for garnish


Method
Boil the soaked chana in a pressure cooker with 2 cups of water for 10 minutes. After the first whistle on low flame. When t he cooker cools, drain out any excess water. In a salad bowl, put boiled gram, boiled potatoes and pomegranate. In a small bowl, mix olive oil, lime juice and spices and pour over the salad in the bowl. Mix well and garnish with a few mint leaves and serve.

Kothambir Wadi

Kothambir wadi is a yummy and easy to make snack that goes well with drinks, at  tea time and as a side dish with a meal.

Ingredients

1 bunch coriander leaves removed from stem, washed and finely chopped
1 small bowl of gram flour/ besan
1 tblspn ginger, garlic, green chilli paste
1/2 tspn jeera/ cummin seed  powder
1/4 tspn turmeric/ haldi powder
Salt to taste
few tbspns oil for frying

Method

In a deep bowl / tray, mix wet coriander leaves with all the other spices. Slowly add the gram flour and mix well to make a dough. Divide the dough into 2 parts. Flatten each into a roll of about 2 inches diameter. Place the rolls in a large sieve and put the sieve on a pan of boiling water. Cover the sieve and let the rolls steam for 10-15 minutes on medium flame till they are cooked. To check if done put a knife through one roll. If it comes out smooth, it is done. Turn off flame, allow the rolls to cool and cut into slices of 1 cm thickness. Heat 2 tblspn of oil in a non stick pan and put around 6-8 slices and fry till both the sides are golden brown. Serve hot with coriander mint chutney, coconut chutney or ketchup.

Chilled Dahi Aloo chaat

In the sweltering May heat, Dahi aloo chaat makes a great meal accompaniment as well as an in between meals and tea time snack.

Ingredients

2 cups chilled blended yogurt
1-2  potatoes boiled peeled and cut into small pieces
1 small bowl of fresh pomegranate seeds
Salt, pepper/ red chilli powder and chaat masala to taste
few strands of coriander leaves

Method

In a bowl put boiled potatoes. add all dry spices and chilled yogurt. Mix well. Now pour out the contents in a glass serving dish. Garnish with fresh pomegranate seeds and coriander leaves and serve chilled.