Asian Style Baked Basa with Crispy Noodles

 
Basa is the name some marketing dude has coined for Vietnamese Catfish (like the Patagonian Toothfish became popular on menus around the world as Chilean Sea Bass). This fish has become very popular in India in recent years - the restaurants were the first to begin and now it is available in most metros at neighbourhood frozen food outlets. In just a few years, the annual import of basa has crossed 1,500 tonnes with Kolkata alone consuming 500 to 600 tonnes - that local seafood loving city!

With its firm, white flesh which lends itself to almost any kind of dish, and lack of "fishy" smell, it has become much favoured by the local palate especially for grilled and Oriental dishes.  The supply chain supports this demand by making perfectly frozen fillets available at competitive prices. My neighbourhood guy sells it at Rs. 450 /kg - I got 6 servings out of it, enough for 2 meals for 3 people. Compare this with Rs. 600-Rs. 700/kg for sole or even local fish like surmai or pomfret which are between Rs 350 - Rs 400 per kg. 

Of course, I would never use basa to replace local fish in Indian curries - but it seems perfect for appetizers and grilled mains. This time I used Asian flavours to marinate the fish and then baked it and served it over stir fried noodles. Delicious.

 Asian Style Baked Basa with Crispy Noodles

Serves 2


Basa Fillet - 1 large - about 350gms
Marinade/Dipping Sauce
Fish Sauce - 1 tbsp
Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
Sriracha Sauce (or any Hot sauce) - 1 tbsp
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 1tbsp, finely chopped
Ginger - 1 tbsp, thinly shredded

For the baking process
Rice wine vinegar - 1 tbsp
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Coriander - 2 tbsp chopped
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Freshly crushed black pepper
salt to taste


Spring Onions - 2 sliced (reserve the green tops)

Green chilli - 2 slit

Noodles - 200gms (I was out of noodles and used spaghetti)

Olive oil  - 1 tbsp
salt to taste
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped finely

1.  Mix all ingredients for the marinade, lightly whisk and keep aside.
2. Divide the Basa fillet into two portions and marinate in the prepared marinade for about half an hour to an hour
3. Pre heat oven to 180C. Mix the rice wine vinegar, Olive oil, lime juice, chopped coriander, salt and pepper.
4. Pour the prepared vinegar mixture into a baking tray, remove the fish fillets from the marinade (reserve the marinade for the spaghetti) and place on the baking tray. Top each fillet with half of the chopped spring onions and one green chilli
5. Bake in the pre heated oven at 180C for 15 minutes, till the fish is just flaky.
6. While the fish is baking, bring a pot of water to boil, add the spaghetti to the boiling water and cool till just done (al dente). Takes about 6-8 minutes.
7. In a wok or heavy bottomed pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil, add the finely chopped garlic cloves and saute for half a minute. Add the reserved marinade mixture and boil 2 minutes.
8. Add the spaghetti to the wok and stir fry for 3-5 minutes till slightly crispy, season with a little salt if needed, usually the marinade mixture has ennough salt in it from the sauces.
9. To serve, divide the noodles between two plates and place one fillet of fish on top of each pile. Garnish with chopped spring onion greens and a wedge of lime.

Lamb Chilli with Pumpkin and Kidney Beans

 Chili Con Carne - the classic stew with Mexican origins but now known more as a part of Tex-Mex cuisine - has long fascinated me. The flavours of the various chillies that are used in it and the method of slow cooking the meat in a rich gravy always made me wonder how it would taste. I still don't know what the real deal is - BUT I can say that I have made my own version of it and it was much appreciated!


There were a couple of substitutions involved of course - not having access to the different kind of peppers or spice powders - habanero, poblano, chipotle etc - I had to come up with a spice mix of my own which I did after consulting a few recipes for chili spice mixes, online. I also substituted beef mince with goat's meat mince - what we call mutton in India. And instead of a crockpot, I simmered it for a couple of hours in my rice cooker.

I served it with some French bread and Spaghetti Aglio e Olio and by the end of the dinner with friends, there wasn't much left over. There's something about a slow cooked stew which has had time for the flavours to come together (I made it the previous day) which makes for a great meal - especially one shared with dear friends.

 Lamb Chili with Pumpkin and Kidney Beans  

(adapted from this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen)

Mutton Mince (I used goat's meat, you can use lamb) - 750gms
Rajma (kidney beans) - 1 cup soaked overnight and cooked in a pressur cooker
Pumpkin - 350 gms chopped
Bell peppers - 2
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Onions -2 diced
Green chillies - 3 chopped
Tomatoes - 6 chopped
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Chili spice mix (store bought or see below for homemade) - 1 tbsp
Beef stock cube (or chicken stock cube) - 2 cubes dissolved in 1 litre water


Spice Mix
Red chillies - 5
Coriander seeds - 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
black pepper - 1 tsp

Roast and grind to a fine powder and mix with

dried thyme - 1 tsp
dried oregano - 1 tsp
onion powder - 1 tsp
garlic powder - 1 tsp

Run through the blender one more time

1. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pressure pan or pressure cooker and saute the mince in it for about 8-10 minutes till browned. Remove and keep aside.
2. In the same pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil and saute the onions and the bell peppers for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, chili powder, cumin powder, chili spice mix and saute for a couple of minutes more. Add the tomatoes and pumpkin pieces and saute for 3 minutes till soft.
3. Add the beef stock and salt and bring to a boil, close the pressure pan and cook for 2 whistles on high and then lower flame and cook for 5 minutes.
4. When cool enough, release pressure, open cooker and add the cooked kidney beans - mash about half a cup of the cooked kidney beans. Check seasoning and pour into a rice cooker.
5. Switch on the rice cooker and making sure there is enough liquid, cook for 90 minutes to 2 hours till the stew reduces to a thick consistency.  Stir occasionally and check for the seasoning adding cumin powder or spice powder or chili powder depending on the overall taste. (Alternatively, you can cook the dish on the stove top in a heavy bottomed vessel for about an hour)
6. Serve (preferably after keeping overnight in the fridge) with coarse bread or rice. (I served it with Spaghetti Aglio e Olio - a simple spaghetti dish tossed with olive oil, garlic and chilli flakes garnished with cheese - I also added some bacon)

Laksa

Laksa is one of my favourite noodle soups and I always try to order it when we are eating out at a restaurant which serves Oriental cuisine (and come to think of it we seem to land up at these places a lot because both of us love those flavours). This is a Malaysian dish, though to be more accurate it is supposed to have a lot of Chinese elements to it, so its popular in a place like Singapore as well.

I was recently reminded of this dish when I saw a vegetarian Laksa being made on Rachel Allen's Home Cooking show - she made it with sugar snap peas and bean sprouts. I suddenly had a craving for Laksa and since I am still recuperating, decided to try making it at home with the help of my trusted Tara. It turned out to be a delicious one pot meal for our Sunday lunch which even my 6 year old enjoyed and smacked the last bits from her bowl.

It was a perfect dish to have for my starved palate which has been surviving on khichdi and mostly bland food....the chicken was cooked to perfection as well. I used glass noodles instead of rice noodles and they made a nice change. You could use Thai curry paste instead of making the paste from scratch but I do believe that the freshness of the ground ingredients adds to the flavours which may otherwise get submerged in the coconut milk. Season this dish with caution since it has fish sauce as well as stock cube in it, both already have salt in them.

Chicken Laksa - recipe adapted from Rachel Allen's Laksa

Chicken - 200gms boneless cut into strips and marinated with a little salt and lemon juice
Vegetables - 1 cup sliced - I used babycorn and bell peppers
Coconut milk - 400 ml
Chicken stock cube - 1 dissolved in 400ml of water
Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Spice paste:
Ginger - 1" piece
Garlic - 4 cloves chopped
Lemon grass - 1 tbsp chopped (only the tender inner part not the tough outer stalks, if you'd rather not grind this because of the fibres, then just add the lemon grass whole to the laksa when its cooking)
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup chopped
Fish sauce - 2 tbsp
Green chillies - 4-5

Rice noodles/Glass noodles - 250 gms, soaked in hot water till soft and then rinsed in cold water.

1. Grind all ingredients for the spice mix to a paste - it will be a little coarse and not fine.
2. Heat the sesame oil in a wok and fry the spice paste for a few minutes, then add the chicken pieces and fry on high for 3-4 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk and chicken stock to the wok and bring to boil. Then simmer for about 20 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Add the chopped vegetables and cook for 5 more minutes.
4. I usually take out a portion for my daughter at this stage and add a couple of slit green chillies for a little heat.
5. Check the seasoning and add some salt if necessary.
6. In individual serving bowls, portion out the cooked noodles and then pour some laksa over it.

A Nigella Spread for New Year's Eve

This New Year's Eve was the third consecutive year we stayed home - After many, many years of partying the night away from home.  2008 saw our dear friends from Chennai spending New Year's with us, so we had a great time with them. Then hubby was diagnosed with swine flu on New Year's Eve last year, so that was a very quiet New Year's Eve dinner. This year too, we decided we didn't want to be driving around Delhi in the fog; also since Christmas vacation began, our daughter had been staying up later than usual and we thought it would be so much nicer to have her up with us as well, now that she is older.

So we planned to have dinner with some friends - our neighbours from upstairs and another couple of friends who live down the road, came over. It was a lovely evening - great conversation, excellent company, wine and music and a sit-down dinner to complete things.

The menu came together just the day before for me - a combination of things I had in my mind for some time - they fitted together very well. For appetizers there was -  

Bacon Wrapped Dates   - A lovely mix of sweet and salt flavours - seedless dates wrapped in strips of bacon, held together with a toothpick and then roasted in an oven at 180C for about 25 minutes. Easy Peasy as my daughter would say.

 
Crackers with a Roasted Red Pepper Hummus    

This is adapted from Nigella's recipe in her book Nigella Express - it has the usual chickpeas pureed into a slightly grainy hummus, but with a twist in the form of roasted red peppers being added to the mix. Garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and a dash of paprika powder make up the rest.

                         

 

                                                                                

                                                                             

Crudites with Hung Curd Dip 

This is basically yoghurt, about 500ml, hung for about an hour or so and then mixed with salt, a tsp of chopped garlic and a tbsp of chopped coriander. Squeeze of lime if needed and sometimes a tbsp of cheese spread mixed in.

Cocktail Sausages

Another Nigella Express recipe - Sausages tossed in honey, sesame oil and soy sauce and then roasted for 40 minutes at 180C - I cut up the sausages though, instead of roasting them whole as in the recipe.

 A from upstairs, brought a  lovely broccoli salad and I had baked this Rapid Light Wholemeal Loaf earlier in the day

And for the mains there was

Spanish Chicken baked with onions and potatoes 

The original recipe from Nigella, was supposed to have Chorizo sausages, I had some Chorizo salami which I thought I would add half an hour before it was done - but I forgot. Still good though, the flavour of the roasted onions mingled with orange zest marinated chicken was fabulous - a must try addition to your party menu, because it literally cooks itself while you spend time with your guests.

And a creamy Meatball Stew with Chickpeas, Sweet Potatoes and Pumpkin served over steamed rice
This stew is perfect for winter - it brings a touch of the Carribean summer and warms you up. Nigella's recipe had store bought "mini meatballs" - I made them from scratch using minced meat (lamb or goat mince is fine) mixed with bread crumbs, egg, oil and some herbs and spices. Make balls and then deep fry or bake. These were then simmered for about an hour and a half in coconut milk and stock along with chickpeas, sweet potato and pumpkin (in lieu of the butter squash in the original recipe).

And to end the meal and begin a New Year- a decadent Chocolate Pudding

Now while, I did plan the Pudding and the Hummus - I have made the pudding before and the hummus is something I have been wanting to try - the Spanish Chicken and the Stew just came together at the last minute (especially the chicken which I made up my mind about only in the afternoon!) and it all turned out to be Nigella's recipes!! Truly, her stuff is eminently doable and so so hassle free.

 I also made some Chocolate Fudge for my daughter to have through her vacation - though mine had Macadamia Nuts and Raisins in it and she picks all the nuts out!

For any of the recipes, just mail me at peppercornmill AT gmail DOT com or leave a comment naming the dish you want a recipe for and I will be happy to mail it to you.

Maison de Cupcakes is hosting the first edition of a brand new event called Nigella Forever - this time's theme is centred around Seasonal Sensations  - "anything Christmassy, anything celebratory for New Year, do party canapes or even wintery comfort food for snow days".

Kathrikai Gosthu (Eggplant in Tomato Sauce)

Remember this story of pongal and first love? Well, I clean forgot to post the gosthu which went with that pongal. Its only when SIL reminded me about it and asked me to make it for the whole family two weeks back when we were together for Diwali, that I decided to come back and post it.

I am definitely going to make this more often - even my usually pernickety family (Dad can tell which ingredient is missing in Mom's rasam just by smelling it when its cooking!) loved it. My brother, when I tried to serve him the gothsu, sniffed and said he "preferred" his ven pongal with coconut chutney - if not anything, we are definitely food snobs that way! But after hearing my Dad raving about it, he finally tried it and then ended up polishing it off completely!

The base recipe is from Suganya's Tasty Palette and I have adapted it to our taste. I didn't use the freshly ground masala and instead used Sambar powder. I, however, sauteed the sambar powder in oil along with the brinjals and other vegetables first, before adding the tamarind extract and boiling. Once the vegetables were half cooked, I added the tamarind pulp - else, I find, the vegetables take a longer time to cook if the souring agent is added beforehand. I omitted the jaggery as well since we usually prefer savoury flavours for breakfast. The moong dal and potatoes mean that the curry thickens up nicely and doesn't need gram flour.





This is going to Nupur's Blog Bites #9 - The Holiday Buffet - the potluck edition which goes on till December - can't wait to see the entries for this one !

Asian Style Five Spice Grilled Fish with Spinach

 

Hope you all had a beautiful Diwali celebration this year....we certainly had one of the most memorable ones in recent years. We celebrated Diwali with my family (parents and brother's family) in Mumbai - the last time we did that was in 2005. The kids had a blast and the sweet teeth of my family meant that the amount of sweets consumed was more than what I have had in the last two Diwalis! Plus there was hubby's birthday the day before Diwali. Then on Saturday, we moved to my best friend's place and celebrated with her whole family - a truly special time for us. My daughter didn't want to come back to Delhi!

 

Coming back to reality and the rush hour of work days, I have today a very convenient and time saving grilled fish recipe which is also very delicious.
This is a dish which I made quite impulsively, one of those times one cooks according to a recipe seen somewhere and from vaguely remembered bits and bobs of it - but you do remember that it sounded like a really good recipe and you just have to try it.You know what I mean right.....What?!- you mean, no one else does this? Oh ok. Fine then.


I do things like this all the time - see some cookery show on TV (and don't have the patience to actually note things down) or read some recipe in a library book (again, postpone noting down the recipes I like till its too late and the book has to go back) or even worse, read a recipe from a book while standing in the library waiting for hubby to choose his books (I take 5 minutes since I have a list from here to Timbuctoo, while he only knows what he doesn't want!) - so no question of writing it down anywhere!

Well this Asian style Grilled Fish recipe doesn't even have these sources to boast of! I rushed into the newly opened outlet of Godrej's Nature Basket in my next door market one evening, to pick up some bread on my way back from work. While I was drumming my fingers on the cashier's desk waiting for him to bill it, I saw a stack of fliers. These are the usual ones they keep every week, with recipes using the exotic ingredients they stock - I guess to encourage people to buy  said exotic ingredients - think Fleur de Sel, African Meat rubs and marinades, Corn Relish, Mustard Pickle, plum conserve - you get the drift.

This particular flier had two recipes from the host of some cookery show on the NDTV Good Times channel - I guess if they were quoting him as the source, he must be a minor celebrity but I couldn't recognise his name. I picked up the flier since I quite liked the Five Spice Powder Chicken recipe it had.
The next day was a Saturday and I bought some fish while doing my weekly grocery shopping, intending to use the Five Spice recipe for that evening - yes, I know the original was for chicken, but I'm like that wonly!

But, when I reached home I couldn't find the flier - likely it must have gone into the old paper cupboard or even the trash because my hatred for the fliers that fall out of newspapers is well known in this house (I even rip out the bookmarkish kinds of thick advt pages in magazines because I find them sooo annoying!) So, I decided to wing it with whatever I remembered. The five spice powder, the onion powder and the garlic powder I definitely remembered - the rest are all approximations of what I think should go into an Asian Style Grilled Fish. The original recipe had a sweet plum sauce made to go with the chicken, but I just decided to serve some spinach on the side. Asian greens like bok choy would be good too for this dish.

The pictures don't do enough justice to the lovely, lovely meal this turned out to be. The fish was seared and crisp on the outside and soft and flaky on the inside. The taste of the spices mixed with the honey and soy mixture was unusual and very tasty.

 

                                                 

  Five Spice Grilled Fish with Spinach

Sole Fish fillets - 350gm cut into 3 large pieces

Marinade:

Five spice powder - 1 tbsp
Onion powder - 1 tbsp
Garlic powder - 2 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Honey - 1 tbsp
Crushed peppercorns - 1 tbsp
Rice wine vinegar - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Spinach - 2 cups washed and chopped long
1 onion sliced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp oil
salt to taste


1. Mix the spice powder, garlic powder and the onion powder together and rub into the fish fillets.
2. Mix all the other ingredients of the marinade together mix the fish into it into a wide bowl. Keep aside for half an hour or refrigerate if cooking after an hour.
3. When ready to cook, pre heat the oven to 350C. Heat the oil in a wide pan and saute the garlic for half a minute, then add the onions and saute 3-4 minutes till soft.
4. Add the chopped spinach and saute on high for two minutes till it just wilts, Add the salt and remove from flame

5. In the same pan add a little more oil if needed and sear the fish fillets on high heat - 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove and keep aside.
6. In an oven proof bowl, arrange the sauteed spinach and then the fish fillets on top.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or till the fish is flaky.
8. Serve with some crispy noodles on the side or even some sticky rice. The spinach can be served on top of the fish fillets.

You could stir fry the spinach for a few minutes and serve it on the side without baking it with the fish. that way it would retain the fresh green colour. However, you may want to add some more seasonings. By baking it along with the fish, the spinach soaked up some of the marinade juices and was just right.

Burmese Khow Suey (Kauk'swe)

 

I discovered Khow Suey quite late - the first time I tasted it was in a friend's house in Chennai. Her mother is an expert cook and she had made this dish for dinner. My friend's Dad was in the merchant Navy and had travelled a lot around the country. Her mother learnt to make this dish when they were posted in Calcutta. I was very, very impressed with that delightful mix of flavours I tasted that day - the creaminess of the gravy, the lovely array of toppings which made it a sort of a customised delight for oneself (while still letting someone else do the cooking!) and of course my undisguised love for coconut milk. The next time I tasted Khow Suey, was also in Chennai - in a delightful, little restaurant on TTK Road in R.A.Puram called Stop at Sam's (which sadly closed down) which had quite an eclectic menu. The fact that I got to meet and speak to my only fav B town hero Aamir Khan (those were the days he was dubbing for Lagaan) , may have added to my memories of the dish, but it definitely left me hankering for more.(The dish not Aamir).

But its been after coming to Delhi that I have really been able to eat Khow Suey to my heart's content. The Kitchen at Khan Market - run by the same team which manages Ploof and Blanco - serves up an excellent Khow Suey and I don't think we have managed to try much of the other items on their menu because their Khow Suey is so heavenly. They have managed to crack the code completely - not too cloyingly thick, not too sweet, not bland at all - a perfect blend of flavours which pleases the palate. Their Khow Suey counter was running well into a hundred thousand, the last time we visited. I have heard rumblings that the one at the next door Market Cafe is better, but why miss with perfection, really?! Unless of course, we are talking of the Khow Suey cooked by one of my friends in Delhi - I would abandon all pretensions of loyalty to have the one she slaves over for a couple of hours, till it is just right.

 It was after quite a while therefore, that I even decided to try this at home....I am still tinkering with recipes to create my version of what is just right - Khow Suey is perfectly suited for tinkerings, there are as many recipes there are people who love it. The main ingredients are coconut milk, onion, ginger, garlic and lentil paste for the creamy consistency. The piece-de-resistance, according to me though, are the toppings - the noodles of course are much the main dish; and then boiled eggs, chillies, lime juice, crushed peanuts, fried garlic - you can add as much or as little of what you want to create YOUR perfect dish. Soupy noodles? or noodles with a bit of gravy. More heat? Less tang? medium crunchiness? NO annoying add ons between you and your dish? As you please. It makes for a perfect dish to have on a party menu, precisely for this reason.

This time I have played around with this recipe I found on the Food Fairy's blog. I brought down the proportion of lentils considerably to suit our taste, but I did think that the idea of using lentils itself was much better than the gram flour (besan) which is usually recommended. It lends itself far better to melding with the coconut milk than flour does. It also does not mask the taste of coconut milk like gram flour might. I also increased the chilli powder, since between the lentil paste and the coconut milk, the heat just wasn't coming through.

For the toppings, I added chilli flakes and fried garlic to the toppings - I would also recommend chopped spring onions since it lends a lovely crunch to the dish. Hubby loves green chillies while I like red chilli flakes and our daughter loved the boiled egg. I also marinated the chicken for a bit and it absorbed the flavours of the curry beautifully - I would definitely recommend doing this, though since it cooks for quite a bit, its not really necessary. The lentils were cooked in a pressure cooker instead of on the stove top and this saved a lot of time; plus I didn't have to puree the lentils, just whipped them and they were smooth.
With the weather turning cooler, this is a perfect dish to have. The combination of noodles drowned in a delicious, creamy curry topped with some piquant bites of this and that makes this one of those irresistible meals where you can keep going on and on.

I am sending this to Nupur's Blog Bites 8 - the latest edition is themed around One Pot Meals. While I usually don't write out the recipe for this event since the intention is to share recipes from other blogs, I have adapted this a quite a bit and have just written the quantities out for my own reference, while I go about trying to see what happens as I tweak things around a bit. Do however, visit the original post for Malini's step-by-step recipe complete with pictures.

Burmese Khow Suey

(adapted from a recipe from Food Fairy)

Egg Noodles - 1 packet, boiled in lots of salted water, tossed in 2 tbsp of hot oil in a wok for 2 minutes and kept aside. (Next time I will use thinner noodles, like the ones you get ready made in Delhi's local markets)

Chicken - 250 gm of boneless chicken chopped into cubes and marinated in a mixture of lemon juice, salt and a pinch of turmeric for half an hour.
Oil - 1 tbsp

2 onions chopped
1" ginger piece chopped
10 small cloves of hill garlic or  6 big cloves of garlic chopped
2 green chillies chopped
To be sauteed and ground to a paste.


1/2 cup chana dal soaked in water for 1 hour;
 then pressure cooked with turmeric in 5 cups of water for two whistles and 3 minutes on low. Remove, drain a little of the water and reserve and whip the lentils till smooth. I kept adding  a little of the reserved lentil water as and when the curry thickened, since we like to have it thinner.

Coconut milk - extracted from 3/4th of a big coconut (about 350 to 400 ml)

Chilli powder -  1 tsp or more, according to taste
Chicken stock cube - 1

Coriander leaves for garnish
Salt - to taste

Detailed recipe - here 

In short, the chicken needs to be sauteed with the onion paste and then simmered with the lentil puree, seasonings and coconut milk for about 20-25 minutes till smooth and creamy. Water down as needed and keep stirring from time to time.

Chicken Goulash with Mashed potatoes

Goulash or "gulyás" is a Hungarian dish which is somewhere between soup and a stew. Authentic gulyás is usually a beef dish cooked with onions, paprika powder and peppers. Potato or noodles are sometimes added to this to make it a hearty main course. The dish is very different from other European dishes in that it uses caraway seeds (shahi jeera) as well as a relatively high heat quotient. This dish fits in perfectly with my near obsession with one pot meals and our love of spice.

I made this on New Year's Eve - we were confined to the house since hubby was diagnosed H1N1 positive a day before that. I know - shock and awe have followed us whenever someone has heard this news - but frankly I myself know of so many people who have been diagnosed that its turned into a normal flu and probably even lost some of its severity. I was just happy that the symptoms were not severe and that we had been careful to keep him away from us even before he was diagnosed. Fingers crossed that we don't get it - this time atleast!

Anyway, since I knew we would be having a quiet one this year and hubby was otherwise quite normal and did not have any diet restrictions, I started looking for an interesting dinner - something like the one we had last New Year's Eve, which would practically cook itself. Turned to Jamie Oliver - a nice springboard for ideas which I then adapt to our requirements with usually great results. There I found his Pork Goulash recipe which I adapted heavily - chicken instead of pork, no sour cream garnish but creamy mashed potatoes on the side instead, pao instead of rice to accompany the stew and green chillies instead of red, chicken pieces dredged in flour before sauteeing to thicken the stew a bit.

It was a wonderful meal - the red peppers lending a touch of sweetness to the spicy stew, the chicken amazingly tender and the pao a perfect accompaniment to mop up all that liquid goodness. Happy New Year!

Chicken Goulash

Chicken - 400 gms (I had boneless chicken marinated with lemon juice, chilli powder and salt. Whole cut chicken pieces do very well in this dish since it cooks for almost an hour)

Onions - 2 sliced
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped (the original recipe has fresh red chillies)
1 tbsp chilli powder (substitute with mild paprika powder to lower the heat quotient)
1 tsp caraway seeds (shahi jeera)
8-10 fresh basil leaves, torn
2 red peppers, sliced
5 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 stock cube dissolved in 2 cups warm water
fresh coriander leaves - 1 cup chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Flour - 2 tbsp seasoned with salt and pepper

1. Dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour till well coated and keep aside. Reserve the remaining flour, if any.
2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the chicken pieces for about 5 -8 minutes making sure both sides are browned. Remove from the pan and keep aside.
3. Scrape the pan of any browned bits and add to the reserved flour. Mix the stock water into this and keep aside.
4. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil and saute the sliced onions and green chillies till the onions are soft (about 10 minutes).
5. Add the caraway seeds, basil leaves, salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes. Pre heat the oven to 180C
6. Add the sliced red peppers and chopped tomatoes as well as the fried chicken - mix and then add the stock to the pot and bring to boil.
7. If the pot is oven proof and can fit into the oven, you can use the same. Else transfer the stew to an oven proof dish and cook for 45 minutes.
8. Sprinkle fresh coriander and serve with coarse bread and mashed potatoes.


For the mashed potatoes - I boiled 4 big potatoes, peeled and put them through a potato ricer (absolutely amazing for lump-free mash) and then mixed in half a cup of warm milk, a pat of butter, some salt and pepper finished with a dash of lemon juice.

Pumpkin & Bean Casserole

Another lovely one pot meal from my trusted Good Food 101 Healthy Eats. As I have said before, the recipes from this book make for quick and healthy weekday meals, at the same time very delicious. There is this Egg curry which is made with spinach, a lovely chicken casserole , a delicious Lemon Chicken & Cauliflower Pilaf each one had that "something different" factor about it which helped break the monotony of our everyday meal.

This casserole recipe has black eyed beans cooked with pumpkins into a lovely stew kind of consistency with herbs and spices and then baked with a lovely topping. The original recipe called for a breadcrumb, walnut and herb mixture, but I couldn't resist going for a mashed potato topping which one usually finds in a cottage pie recipe. Also, I have done the bread crumb topping before for this dish and we found it turned out too dry for our liking....I know I'm probably doing something wrong, but right then the mashed potatoes beckoned! ;) Unfortunately, I didn't take a photograph of the finished dish after it was baked with the lovely crust.

So, if you have been wondering what to do with those black eyed beans in your pantry besides the usual Indian dishes we make; or if you have a hunk of pumpkin sitting in the fridge and don't want yet another bowl of soup - try out this recipe. Some bread on the side to go with it and you are all set.

This casserole of goodness goes to that wonderful event My Legume Love Affair (MLLA) which is the brain child of Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook and this month's edition has come back to her blog after being hosted by many enthusiastic members of our food blogging community.

Pumpkin & Bean Casserole
(adapted from BBC Good Food - 101 Healthy Recipes)

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked black eyed beans (chowli/lobia/karamani)
(Soak approx. 1.25 cups of dried beans in water overnight, drain the water and cook in fresh water in a pressure cooker or on the stove top till tender)

2 tbsp olive oil
Onions - 2 chopped
Garlic cloves - 4 finely chopped
Green chillies - 2 , finely chopped
2.5 cups fresh tomato puree (the original recipe called for passata, you could use store bought tomato puree)
1 " stick cinnamon
3-4 cloves
400ml white wine
400 ml vegetable stock (I used a stock cube dissolved in 400ml warm water in which the beans were cooked)
350 gms pumpkin (kaddu/sitafal/sigappu pushnikai), peeled and cut into 2 " cubes.
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
salt to taste

For the potato topping:
4-5 big potatoes, boiled and mashed (I ran them through a potato ricer)
2-3 tbsp milk
salt to taste
freshly crushed black pepper

Method:
1. Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the onions and saute for 10 minutes till lightly browned. Add the garlic, green chillies, red chilli powder, tomato puree, wine, vegetable stock, salt and pepper and bring to boil.
2. Reduce heat, simmer and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes. Add the chopped pumpkin and cook for another 15 minutes.
3. Pre heat the oven to 180 C, add the beans to the pumpkin and tomato gravy and mix. Transfer the entire pan into a large baking dish or two smaller ones.
4. You can now opt to cover the casserole with the original recipe's suggestion of a crumble mixture (breadcrumbs, walnuts, herbs and oil) or my choice which was a mashed potato topping.
5. Combine the ingredients for the potato topping together and then spoon the topping over the beans casserole carefully, taking care not to press down too hard.
6. Bake at 180C for 20-25 minutes till the topping is golden brown on top. Serve with warm bread.

Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a rustic vegetable stew which has its origins in the South of France - the region of Nice to be precise. It also goes by the name of Ratoutille Nicoise for that reason. This dish can't get any simpler- it literally means to stir together. What does one stir together - vegetables like eggplants, zucchini, bell peppers, courgettes, tomatoes - all slow cooked together till the flavours meld and the juices combine.

This dish is usually cooked on the stove top for upto an hour; but one of my favourite weekday cookbooks - Good Food - 101 Healthy Eats - has a nice recipe which cooks up fast and turns out delicious too. Though this could potentially be a convenient fridge clearing recipe, I would recommend using fresh vegetables as far as possible.

I'm sending this fabulous recipe to this month's edition of Heart of the Matter - Budget Friendly Recipes; this event which is focused on recipes which are heart friendly ("low in saturated fats (lean meats and fish), be low in salt (sodium), and abundant with vegetables or fruit") is hosted by Michelle of the Accidental Scientist. and Ilva of Lucullian Delights. This month's edition is about trying to eat food which is healthy but at the same time doesn't pinch our pockets in the time of recession. What better dish than this ratatouille which has just vegetables and no exotic, expensive ingredients which may make us think twice?

Ratatouille

Adapted from Good Food - 101 Healthy Recipes

Ingredients:

2 red or yellow peppers ( I used 1 yellow pepper and 1 green pepper)
4 large tomatoes
1 large aubergine (bharta baingan), cut into large chunks
4 small courgettes (I used zucchini) , sliced thickly
1 onion, sliced thin
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
2-3 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Peel the peppers (if possible) and cut into 1" squares. I was able to peel the peppers because they were fairly large and firm. Next time I will skip this step!
2. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds, plunge into cold water immediately. Peel, chop and deseed. Make a small cross on the base of each tomato before blanching to enable the skin to come off easily.
3. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the aubergines for about 5 minutes, till soft. Remove and keep aside
4. In the same oil, fry the courgettes till golden, adding a little more oil if necessary. Fry the bell peppers, onions, paprika powder and garlic.
5. Add the vinegar and sugar, the tomatoes and coriander as well as the aubergines with some salt, pepper and cumin powder and cook for 10-15 minutes, till the vegetables are cooked but not mushy.
6. Serve warm with soup on the side.

Lemon Chicken & Cauliflower Pilaf

The dog days of summer are here and planning meals is even more of a chore now - the only thing one feels like having is lots of cold water, buttermilk and a chilled glass of beer. Can't survive on that though, so one has to think of something to eat. Cold soups, chilled salads, cold pasta, curd rice - after exhausting all the permutations and combinations I was quite stumped for our Sunday evening meal. So out came my go-to book in these situations - Good Food's 101 Healthy Eats. And to make it even easier, I plonked it down in front of Hubby and asked him to pick!

Lemon Chicken & Cauliflower Pilaf is what he asked me whether I could rustle up - he couldn't have picked anything easier than that! Chicken breasts cooked along with long grained rice and cauliflower and beans - a one pot meal. My neighbourhood guy delivered the chicken breasts in half an hour in which time I cut the onions and vegetables and soaked the rice. The whole meal was done in a a little over an hour.

I modified it to suit our palate which needs a little more spice than the recipe called for. Some whole spices in the tempering along with some slit green chillies and half a tsp of red chilli powder and it was just right - not too spicy and not too bland. I also marinated the chicken breasts for about half an hour - I just can't seem to bring myself to cook chicken without marinating it first, it seems to make all the difference to the dish.

This one pot meal is just the ticket for when you are pressed for time and don't have the energy to fuss - the taste is absolutely delicious - that balance between comfortingly familiar and still refreshingly different. This dish goes to this month's edition of Meeta's Monthly Mingle - Ravishing Rice Recipes being hosted by Nags of The Edible Garden

Lemon Chicken & Cauliflower Pilaf

4 Boneless chicken breasts (the recipe asked for skin on, I prefer skinless)
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 cube chicken stock dissolved in 4 1/4 cups water
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup beans, cut into 2 inch pieces

1 tbsp oil
2 green chillies slit
1'' cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 bay leaf
1 large onion, sliced thin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp curry powder (I used sambar powder)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 cup coriander leaves, stalks separated and kept aside
1 lemon, halved anc cut into slices
salt to taste

1. Clean the chicken and marinate in 1 tbsp lemon juice and a tsp of salt for about half an hour.
2. Soak the basmati rice in water for half an hour.
3. In the meanwhile, slice the onions, chop the cauliflower and beans.
4. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add the whole spices and then the slit green chillies. Saute for 3 minutes , then add the sliced onions and saute 5 minutes till transluscent.
5. Put in the marinated chicken and fry on high, keeping each side for about 4 minutes till it browns just a bit.
6. Add the turmeric powder, the sambar powder and the chilli powder and finally the rice and fry for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add the vegetables, the salt, lemon slices, coriander stalks and the chicken stock. Bring to boil, then turn down the flame and simmer after covering the pan with a tight fitting lid.
8. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, stirring just once in a between - the rice will be cooked but separate and the chicken will be tender.
9. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with a tomato raita.

Tom Yum Soup with Noodles (Vegan)

Thai Noodle Soup - as I have posted before - is a favourite in this house. Light on the stomach and tongue tickling to the palate, it's an instant favourite! I'm posting this last but it was a wonderful beginning to the Thai meal I cooked for a friend and her daughter.

There was also Som Tam Mia Noi - a piquant salad of cucumber and cherry tomatoes tossed with a dressing made of garlic, chillies, jaggery, lime juice and soy sauce pounded together and served over with crushed,roasted peanuts - and a creamy Thai Red Curry (Gaeng Daeng) with babycorn, mushrooms, bell pepper and tofu.


My version of Tom Yum Soup is almost the same as this one here (which could probably be called Tom Kha). The changes I made to that recipe -
--- I added 2 fresh red chillies, cubes of tofu, sliced galangal and ginger.
--- I did away with the coconut milk and the peanut butter.
--- I added a stalk of lemon grass and several stalks of coriander leaves.
--- I put in a tsp of the Thai Red Curry paste (more if you want it spicy) and increased the vegetable stock.

I know I know, seems like a lot of changes - but really - its very, very simple. (Sigh.. If you really think I'm being lazy and would like to know the complete recipe, please mail me and I will send it to you.)

Coincidentally, just after I posted the first of the Thai dishes I made, Priya of Akshayapaatram announced the next edition of Vaishali's event It's a Vegan World and the theme she picked was Thai! So sending the Thai Noodle Soup to Priya - can't wait for the delicious round up!

Aubergine & Tofu Bake

I have Vaishali of Earthvegan to thank for this dish and her first food blog event - Its a Vegan World. She is one of my favourite bloggers and I love how she does so many interesting things with recipes. Of course, we all know how much she loves her bananas ;)! But seriously, though I am not a vegan, I have learnt a lot about how one can adapt recipes without losing any of the flavours.
So, while trying to think of something to make for her event which was not a pasta based dish (the theme is Italian this time), I really racked my brains and pushed myself to come up with something as original as she might have thought up. AND I promised myself not to take the easy way and peek into her blog .....

A tall order indeed then - to make an Italian dish which was vegan and not pasta based. I finally remembered that I make a pretty decent Italian aubergine bake (which turns out a bit like this recipe) and if I did away with the milk, parmesan cheese and the egg white I usually added - I could adapt it quite well to suit the vegan theme. Once I started thinking on those lines, I decided to add some tofu with the aubergines and to substitute the parmesan cheese with a soy milk based white sauce.The funny part is that as I adapted and improvised the recipe it almost resembled a vegan moussaka! Well, call it what you want but it sure tasted delicious and made a great one dish meal for us. The bread crumb crust was crisp and golden while the tofu bits combined with the creamy mashed potatoes and the crispy aubergines made for an interesting texture. Sending this to Vaishali's first event - Its a Vegan World - Italian.

Aubergine & Tofu Bake

Aubergines

1 (bharta type) round aubergine - medium, sliced in 1/4" thick slices and sprinkled with salt and set aside for about 30 minutes. (the aubergine slices may look too much in the beginning, but will shrink after roasting)
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Tofu
200gm extra firm tofu cut into 2" slices, sprinkled with tabasco sauce, salt and pepper and kept aside.
50 gm extra firm tofu crumbled
1 big onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
5 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp jeera powder
salt to taste
1tsp olive oil
5-6 fresh basil leaves

Potato
3 medium potatoes cooked in a pressure cooker till soft, peeled and mashed along with the ingredients below:
salt to taste
crushed black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 cup soy milk

Breadcrumbs
1 cup bread crumbs (I usually toast leftover bread, powder it and store in the fridge)
1 tsp dried thyme
salt to taste
minced garlic clove-1
Mix together and keep aside.

Sauce
1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp flour
salt to taste
freshly crushed black pepper
2 tsp olive oil

1. Arrange the salted aubergine slices (after draining any liquid) on a baking tray, sprinkle with the dried thyme and pepper and roast in a pre heated oven at 200C for about 15- minutes
2. Heat 1 tsp olive oil in a pan, add the minced garlic and finely chopped onion and saute 10 minutes.
3. Put in the cumin powder, red chilli powder, tomatoes and salt and fry for another 5 minutes till the tomatoes turn mushy. Add the crumbled tofu (not the sliced one), basil leaves and salt and remove after another 3 minutes.
4. Pre heat the oven to 180C, grease a deep 8"oven proof dish and arrange half of the aubergine and tofu slices on the bottom and top with half the tofu tomato mixture and then half of the mashed potato mixture.
Repeat - aubergine & tofu slices,
- tofu tomato mixture
- mashed potatoes.
5. Make the white sauce, by frying the flour on a low flame in 2 tsp of olive oil till it loses its rawness but doesn't burn. Add the soy milk a little at a time and then whisk over a flame till there are no lumps and the sauce thickens and is smooth. (about 7 minutes)
6. Pour the sauce over the pre arranged layers in the oven dish and then cover with the seasoned bread crumbs.
7. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes at 180C till the breadcrumbs are golden. Remove, slice carefully and serve warm.

Special Chicken Casserole

This New Year's eve would have been the first one spent without the company of friends we have been celebrating for the past 6 years now. We did have the company of our new friends though whom we would have loved to be with, but we decided we didn't want to be out on New Year's eve and would rather stay home. Lucky we decided to, because at the last minute, our close friends from Chennai called to say they were flying in on New Year's eve and would stay the weekend!

We met these friends 10 years back as newly marrieds and have been through so much together, they are like family. So, we were really happy to have them over, especially since it's C's birthday on the 1st and we have some, well, "fond" memories of bringing in his birthday AND New Year together ;)

I, of course, realised I had to stock up on groceries and veggies at home and did a frantic early morning run on the 31st before work. I racked my brains about what to cook and finally decided that since they would be reaching only about 9pm and would probably end up having a lot of appetisers, I should probably stick to a one-pot dish which would take away the bother of heating up a lot of dishes in this cold weather.

So, chicken casserole it was - I started with something I saw on BBC Good Food and a Jamie Oliver recipe but changed a lot as usual. The best part of this casserole was that it had just enough gravy and was really moist. Of course, the fact that it practically cooks itself is a really good way to enjoy your party...and the wine! Here's to friendship!

Special Chicken Casserole

Boneless chicken breasts - 8
Marination:
Juice of 1 lemon
Black peppercorns - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 "
Garlic - 4 cloves
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Flour (maida) - 2 tbsp
Onions - 3 sliced long
Garlic - 3 cloves chopped
Fresh tomato puree - 1 cup ( I used 4 tomatoes, blanched, peeled and then pureed)
Red wine - 300 ml (optional)
Chicken stock - 300 ml (add 200 ml more if doing away with the wine)
Salt to taste
Freshly crushed peppercorns - 1 tbsp
Dried rosemary - 1 tsp

1. Crush the pepper, ginger and garlic together and mix with the lemon juice and salt. Marinate the chicken breasts in the mixture and refrigerate for about an hour. Just before cooking, coat the breast pieces in flour and dust the excess off.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan and fry the marinated, floured chicken on high for about 4 minutes on each slide. They will first turn white and then brown a bit. Remove and arrange the breasts in an oven proof dish.
3. Add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil to the pan and saute the garlic and onions with any remaining flour for about 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the pureed tomatoes and heat through; add the chicken stock and bring to boil, reduce flame and add the red wine and simmer for about 20 minutes till it reduces to a little more than half. Adjust salt and add the rosemary and pepper and remove from flame.
5. Pour the reduced sauce over the chicken pieces in the casserole and cook in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for about 45 minutes to an hour till the chicken is cooked through. I cooked it covered with aluminum for the first half an hour and then grated some parmesan over it for the remaining part.
6. Serve with garlic bread.

Sweet Corn, Pepper & Pumpkin Stew

Winter evenings are magical, especially when you have a bowl of steaming "something" to warm your insides. No wonder people put on weight during the winter, my appetite seems to increase by leaps and bounds as the temperature drops. But winter is also when some of the best vegetables are available so it's also the best time to come up with healthy recipes.

I came across some fresh sweet corn on the cob at the local Mother Dairy and it was reasonably priced too - surprising considering even French beans are Rs. 40 a kilo!! So after my daughter polished off a couple of them - microwaved and buttered - I was wondering what to do with the rest.
I remembered a dish my friend made for lunch sometime back - it had sliced sweet corn on the cob in a thin gravy with coconut - apparently an African dish in origin. I also remembered seeing something with sweet corn and coconut on Cynthia's fabulous blog Tastes Like Home. I couldn't wait to ask either for the recipes - I wanted to cook it NOW!

So, I decided to make a stew. Stews are very forgiving....you can put pretty much anything you want in them, flavour and spice them as you like and it will turn into a dish you can peg into some kind of cuisine or the other.
I kept the spices to the minimum - bay leaf, garlic, chilli powder and thyme - and used a stock cube by Better than Bouillon. This is a brand which I have seen much recommended by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi so when I was in London last month I made it a point to pick it up. It added lovely flavour to the stew and I don't think I will return to Maggi cubes till I run out of these!

Black eyed peas or chowli / karamani/lobia added some much needed thickness to the stew; I soaked them and cooked them in a pressure cooker for two whistles so that they would cook at the same pace as the vegetables in the stew. The sweet corn was simply amazing in the stew - juicy and dripping with flavour as you bit into the tender kernels. I served the stew with brown basmati rice. Perfect for the start of winter!

Sweet Corn, Pepper & Pumpkin Stew

1 big sweet corn-on-the-cob sliced
1 carrot chopped into big pieces
Pumpkin pieces - 1 cup
1 green pepper sliced
1 big tomato chopped
1 big onion chopped
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt to taste
Olive oil - 1 tsp
1 stock cube dissolved in 500 ml of water (I used Better than Bouillon vegetable stock cube)

1/4 cup of black eyed peas (chowli/karamani/lobia)
soaked for 1 hour and cooked in the pressure cooker for 5-7 minutes (1-2 whistles) till just done

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add the bay leaf and after one minute add the garlic and onion and saute for 5 minutes.
2. Add the red chilli powder and the chopped vegetables (carrot, pepper, sweet corn,pumpkin) and the black eyed peas and the warm stock. Add salt and bring to boil.
3. Turn down the flame and cook covered on low for about 15 minutes till the vegetables are cooked.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and some dried thyme and cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off and serve warm with brown rice.

Murgh Biryani (Chicken Biryani)

My beloved blog hasn't been getting as much attention as it used to, as some of you may have noticed (and pointed out!!) I have just returned to full time work, its been three weeks now and with a full day at work and trying to spend as much time as possible with 3 year old, its been tough to spare much time for blogging.
BUT, I hope to be better organised and keep up with it - I definitely don't want to give it up. Thank you A for prodding me on and reminding me that there ARE people (even if they are only a handful :) ) who read this blog and making me want to make that effort!
This post for example, I did write it on the weekend, but just didn't end up uploading the pics....well, this morning I did. I have also decided to schedule my posts in advance so they get published regularly and I don't have to find time during the week to post.
Your comments are much appreciated, do keep them coming; they inspire me to blog!

Biryani – the name conjures up images of aromatic Basmati rice, each grain cooked to perfection yet retaining its indivudality. The saffron tinted rice hides within its bosom succulent pieces of lamb which have been marinated in a mixture of yoghurt and spices and then cooked along with the rice till the meat falls apart from the bone. Visions of huge "degchis" being cooked on "dum" (slow cooking) for feasts for special occasions come to mind.

Though these images are probably more nostalgia than reality, things haven’t really changed much where the biryani is concerned. Sure, now they can be had anywhere - from a dhaba to a five star restaurant without waiting for a wedding, but authentic recipes, freshly ground masala and the slow cooking have not been completely forgotten.
The Biryani has a rich history –it is supposed to have originated in Persia and come to India via Afhanistan, brought by the Mughals (Taimur is usually credited with this) as part of the rich heritage they brought with them when they invaded Northern India. After that, it seems to have taken on a life of its own, going South from the Avadhis to the Nizams of Hyderabad and morphing into even more different varieties. Read more about its history here

For me, a good Biryani has always been more about the flavours than the meat - I know, sacrilege! Chitrita Banerjee in her book "Eating India" - writes about the difference between the rich Avadhi Biryani and the "kucchi" Hyderabadi Biryani and prefers the former over the latter.

Well, for me its, the other way - Biryani in the North has always seemed to be less flavourful than the Hyderabadi Biryani or even the biryani made down south in Tamil Nadu. Maybe its to do with the fact that Avadhi biryanis rely more on the flavours from the meat itself(which is precooked and added). I love the Hyderabadi biryani because the meat when cooked with the rice in its rich marinade, imparts a heavenly flavour to the rice.

In Mumbai, there was nothing , according to me, to beat Lucky's biryani - a small joint in Bandra which had the most amazing biryani ever; I still remember ordering it for my 22nd birthday, my last one as a Mumbai resident. On later vists I have had biryani from Urban Tadka and it was passable, in an assembly line kind of way.

I have had more biryani since then, mostly in Chennai. Crescent in Nungambakkam was a favourite with my boss, he ate it practically every day;then there was Deluxe - a hole-in-the-wall in Pondy Bazaar, T. Nagar which served up a mean prawn biryani as well as a Deluxe special which was a favourite with out-of-towners because of the fried chicken pieces in it. Amravati's biryani was a hit-and-miss affair and depended on the day you went while Anjappar's was quite good. Ponnuswamy's biryani was overrated according to me while I have heard the biryani in Velu's Military Hotel is quite good.

Often while driving on the highway to Ooty or Kodai, we would see these signs at roadside dhabas "briyani ready" and I would wonder how these would taste if only we had the time and inclination to stop by. While waiting in the car in Mylapore one day, while my husband ran an errand, I saw this small shop which had a huge "degchi" (vessel) of biryani right outside the cash counter. As people would come and pay up, the guy manning it would take a quarter plate and just plunge it into the vessel and remove a plateful of biryani which he would shape into a heap with another plate, making sure it had the requisite three to four pieces of meat in it with one boiled egg. He served a cool 5 plates in the fifteen minutes I was parked...

The best biryanis I have had till date are:
1. Biryani catered by this lady in Kilpauk for my last birthday - it was the first time there were no leftovers.
2. Biryani at a small eating joint in Egmore (Marhaba Thirumana Biryani) which served only biryanis - nothing else.
And now coming to the biryani I made this Sunday. It was chicken biryani (I know, sacrilege again, but we prefer chicken to red meat!) ; hubby "felt like eating biryani" and I didn't feel like going out and experimenting in Delhi (haven't yet found a place which we like, have heard a lot about Andhra Bhawan though and need to check it out).

So I made it at home - the chicken was really tender and the rice loaded with the taste of spices and the marinade. It took me just about an hour to make, not counting the marination time for the chicken which was about another hour and a half; I actually marinated the chicken, went out grocery shopping and then came back and made it in time for lunch.
So, you can try this simple version when you are in the mood. You can add biryani masala which is available under different brands, if you want the restaurant taste.

Murgh Biryani

Chicken - 8 pieces

Marinade:

yoghurt - half a cup

red chilli powder - 1 tsp

coriander powder - 1 tsp

turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp

salt 1/4 tsp

Basmati rice - 1.5 cups

few strands of saffron soaked in warm milk

Cardamom - 4

Cloves 6

Cinnamon - 1 " stick

Tej patta - 2

Onions - 2 sliced

Oil - 1 tbsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp

salt to taste

1. Mix the marinade ingredients and marinate the chicken in it for about an hour and a half atleast. Soak the basmati rice in three cups of water for about half an hour.

2. Heat the ghee in a heavy bottomed pan, add half the whole spices and fry one minute till they change colour.

3. Add the sliced onions and fry till well for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the chicken pieces along with the marinade and fry on high heat for about 5 minutes turning mid way so that both sides get seared. Lower flame, add 2 cups of water and simmer for another 10 minutes till the chicken is cooked.

4. Remove the cooked chicken pieces from the pan and strain the stock and keep aside.

5. Heat the remaining oil in the same pan, add the other half of the whole spices and when they change colour, drain basmati rice (reserving the water) and add to the pan. Fry for three minutes, then add the chicken pieces.

6. Measure the chicken stock you have reserved and add the basmati water and saffron milk to it to make 4 cups.Add it to the pan along with salt, bring to boil and then cover with a tight fitting lid (or seal with atta dough) and cook for about 10-12 minutes, till the rice is cooked but stays separate.

Switching it off a bit earlier helps since it will cook further with the lid closed.

Thai Noodle Soup

I thought I was more or less done with soups once the dog days of summer began. But surprise, surprise! summer this year was much kinder than it usually is. We had lots of showers and cloudy days, cool evenings with a light breeze, balmy mornings with a hint of rain. Perfect weather for soup!

Lisa and Holler's blog event No Croutons Required is a perfect place to look for some great soups; check out the round ups here, here and here for some fabulous ideas.

I did, and came across this delicious soup posted by Pixie of You Say Tomato....which is actually a One pot meal in itself.

A few variations to the original recipe and I had a delicious meal in a bowl! The flavours of coconut milk, the vegetables, peanut made it so appetising and the best part of the whole meal was the lemon leaf my friend gave me; its called Gandhraj (Gondraaj by the Bongs!) and is comparable to the Kaffir lime leaves in flavour - just one leaf lent an incredible aroma to this dish.

Thai Noodle Soup goes to this month's edition of A Fruit A Month (AFAM) which is being hosted by Suganya of Tasty Palettes. June's chosen fruit is the Coconut and the originator of this event is Maheswari of Beyond the Usual.

Thai Noodle Soup

100gm Rice noodles halved
4 babycorn sliced lengthwise
1 carrot sliced thin
5 spring onions sliced thinly, greens chopped fine
1/4 cup mixed sprouts

1 tsp oil
2 dried red chillies
Half a coconut grated
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbsp peanut butter
1 tsp haldi (turmeric powder)
1 tsp chilli powder
4 cups vegetable stock
juice from one lime
1 or 2 Gandhraj lemon leaves (I keep these frozen and they keep very well)
handful of chopped coriander leaves

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy bottomed pan.
2. Add the dried red chillies and the garlic and saute for half a minute.
3. Put in the sliced spring onions and saute for 2 minutes.
4. In the meantime, add one cup of warm water to the grated coconut and blend in the mixie. Remove from blender and strain well to extract the coconut milk. This is the first extract and is thick.
Add one and a half cups of warm water and return the strained coconut gratings to the blender and run it one more time. Run it through the blender again to get the second extract which will be much thinner.
5. Add the second extract of coconut milk, peanut butter, chilli powder, vegetable stock, babycorn, sprouts, carrots and salt and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce flame and simmer for about 10 minutes till the vegetables are cooked.
7. Add the first extract of coconut milk and the noodles and simmer on a low flame for another 3-4 minutes, then add the lemon juice and Gondhraj lemon leaves and cover tightly and leave for about 5 more minutes till the noodles are cooked through.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and spring onion greens. Serve warm.