Orange French Yogurt Cupcakes

Baking is an exotic art, or so I'd like to think. It's magical how some gooey-doughey stuff placed in the oven turns into spongy, springy cakes! Besides it's addictive. An addiction that's hard to get rid of. So for three days in a row I baked. Then I ran out of eggs and was lazy to get more or look up egg substitutes....thankfully! Instead I found the box of ricotta I had picked on my last grocery trip and made some baked rasmalais. Well, if there's an oven eating up valuable kitchen space, it must be used right? Somebody stop me!!

Red Bell Pepper Soup

I had my eyes on Sig's Red bell pepper soup and was completely floored when I tried it. Grilling the bell peppers and the touch of curry powder enhances the flavour of the soup incredibly. Try it and enjoy the sweetness of the peppers, sourness of the tomatoes and spices, all in one hot bowl of soup!

You need:

2 large red bell peppers
2 large tomatoes peeled and chopped
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 1/2 cups water or stock
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup sliced shallots/onions
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp curry powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

For the garnish:
Thinly sliced green onions
Garlic croutons
Cream

Grill the bell peppers turning them on and off till the skin starts to turn black for about 6 to 8 minutes. Remove and cool for 10 minutes. Peel, remove the seeds and chop. Heat oil in a large enough saucepan and add the shallots/onions and garlic. Cook till the shallots/onions start to soften. Add the chopped bell peppers, tomatoes, red chilli powder, curry powder and cook for about 10 minutes stirring frequently. Add the water/stock and milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for about 20-25 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and into a smooth liquid. Stir in the lemon juice, salt and pepper.
Serve hot in individual bowls and garnish with garlic croutons, sliced green onions and a dollop of cream.

Fish in Tamarind Sauce

A fish curry that's been tried, tested and polished off our plates quite a number of times is this quick and easy recipe from Sig's Live to Eat. The beauty of this recipe is the unique blend of tamarind and coconut milk that makes this curry very likable for its mild spiciness. While Sig used halibut in this recipe, I've tried it with both king fish and pomfret and both taste great. Frying the fish and then dunking it in the sauce leaves it crunchy and soft at the same time. The curry tastes great with rice and sliced onions rubbed with lime and salt.

You need:

For the Marinade:
4-6 pieces of king fish filets or 2 pomfrets, cleaned
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
salt to taste
1/4 tsp olive oil

For the Sauce:
1/2 cup shallots thinly sliced
1 tbsp diced garlic
1 green chili pepper slit
a few curry leaves
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 cup coconut milk

Wash the fish and pat dry with paper towels. Rub the fish pieces with the olive oil and season with pepper, paprika and salt.

To make the sauce, heat oil in a sauce pan, and saute the shallots, garlic and green chilli till soft. Add the curry leaves and saute for another minute. Reduce the heat and add the spice powders and saute till the spices are cooked well. Add the tamarind paste, salt and coconut milk and bring to a boil on medium heat.

In the mean time, heat some oil in a pan just enough for shallow frying. Fry the fish pieces, skin side down for four minutes on high heat. Turn the pieces and cook the other side on medium heat for four more minutes.

To serve, arrange the fish on the serving plate and top with two table spoons of sauce. Serve with rice or a salad.

Karkade

I've seen many vendors in my part of the world selling dried little blossoms called karkade and wondered how popular it was with the Arab women - aren't they a fashionable lot? Someone suggested using karkade as a natural hair conditioner and colouring agent, I bought a bunch and used it regularly along with henna, but I didn't see it having any effect on my hair colour! I had no idea what karkade was, only after seeing this post did I learn it was the good, old and very common hibiscus!

The outer leaves of the hibiscus flower called the hibiscus calyx/ rosella/ natal sorrel/ karkadé is commonly used in many parts of the world to make hot and cold infusions. Nutritionally, it contains vitamin C, flavinoids, amino acids and other antioxidants, and its extract has been used in medicine to improve metabolism, liver and pancreas function, reduce fevers, clear a blocked nose, regulate appetite, improve digestion, decrease blood pressure and cholesterol, improve resistance and reduce eye fatigue. Karkade is Egyptian hibiscus tea believed to be the preferred drink of the Pharoahs. In Egypt and Sudan, wedding celebrations are traditionally toasted with a glass of hibiscus tea. In other parts of Africa, roselle is used to make wine, in the Caribbean as tea with ginger and other spices, in Guatemala to cure a hangover. Hot or cold, it is a delicious drink having a ruby-red wine hue and tastes tart like a pomegranate or cranberry juice. Read more about karkade here, here and here.

For the hibiscus tea, you'll need:

1 cup water

a handful of karkade petals

sugar or honey as per taste

Boil the water along with the karkade petals and simmer for five minutes. Add sugar/honey and cover for a few minutes till it infuses. Serve hot like tea.

I made the hibiscus cordial from Happy Cook's blog but cut down the quantity.

For the hibiscus cordial you'll need:

2 cups karkade

2 cups sugar

3 cups water

Heat the sugar and water till the sugar dissolves completely. Add the karkade and bring it to a boil. Reduce the flame and simmer till the volume reduces and you get a deep red syrup. Remove from flame, strain and cool. Bottle the syrup in sterilised bottles - keeps well in the fridge.

To serve add one part syrup to nine parts water and mix well. Top with some ice cubes and a dash of lime.

This goes for MBP to Nupur of One Hot Stove who says Less is More.

This also goes to JFI-Edile FLowers hosted at Soul Food and Summer Splash hosted at Nalabhagham.

Cucumber Tomato Sandwich

At every nook and corner of Mumbai you will encounter intense aromas of street food and discover new fusions of flavour and spice at the ever-popular and densely crowded "khau-gullies". It is hard to say which street food is the most popular for there are takers for every kind of food and drink available on the streets. A sandwich stall is probably the most visible street food and the speed at which the sandwich-wallahs dole them to customers is amazing! So sandwich it is with the green chutney, cucumber and tomato for the Street Food edition of Monthly Blog Patrol, hosted by Sia at Monsoon Spice from Nupur's One Hot Stove. Makes a good breakfast too!

For the green chutney:
2 cups coriander leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1/4 cup roughly chopped onion
2 green chillies or more to suit your taste
2 tbsp roasted peanuts
1 tbsp yogurt
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend with a little water to get a thick chutney.

For the sandwich:
Softened butter
Green chutney
Sliced cucumber
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced onions (optional)
Boiled and sliced Potato
Boiled and sliced Beetroot(optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese slices (optional)

Spread softened butter and then green chutney on two slices of bread. Then place some sliced cucumber, tomato, potato, beetroot, onion (use the veggies as per your preference), cheese and top with the other slice of bread. Serve. You may grill it - ofcourse you must! Press lightly and cut into squares and add a drop of tomato ketchup on each square. Mmmm!

Also goes to Zlamushka's Tried and Tasted event - the blog in the spotlight being One hot stove!

Babycorn-Carrot-Koosa Masala

A packet of babycorn, a handful of baby carrots and koosa were languishing in the crisper. That is when Sia's Babycorn-carrot masala came to the rescue. The unusual combination of carrots and babycorn in a creamy gravy was enticing. One of the changes incorporated into it was the addition of koosa, the Arabic name for a pale green, cucumber-like vegetable also called "squash", "zucchini" and "marrow vegetable" on signboards in supermarkets - I have no idea what it is called in English. It is widely used in Lebanese cuisine and tastes great in curries.

For the ground masala, I replaced the cashew nuts and sugar with 1 tbsp of yoghurt which gave the gravy a creamy richness without the extra fat and sweetness. I also pressure cooked the vegetables along with the masala for 2 whistles. The carrots and babycorn were just tender and had absorbed the masalas very well.

The verdict: It was a change from the routine and we particularly liked the creamy gravy. The addition of kasuri methi and kitchen king masala lent a nice balance to the sweet taste of the vegetables. Next time I'll try adding a different combination of vegetables, paneer or chicken to the gravy or even cook the gravy with cashew nuts and some cream!

Here's the recipe with Sia's permission and my own changes. Thanks, Sia!

For Ground Masala:
1 small Onion, quartered
3 large Tomatoes
2-3 cloves of Garlic
¾ -1 inch Ginger, peeled and chopped
2-3 Dry Red Chilli
¾ -1 tsp Garam Masala
½-1 tsp Kitchen King Masala
½ tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Coriander Seeds


Grind the above ingredients to a smooth paste and keep aside.

Other Ingredients:
One packet Baby Corn, cut into fingers
10-12 Baby Carrots
2-3 koosa, cut into fingers
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
2-3 Green Chillies, slit
1 tsp Jeera/Cumin Seeds
½ tbsp Kasuri Methi/Dried Fenugreek Leaves
1 tbsp Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp Yoghurt
¼ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tbsp Oil/Ghee
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When cumin splutters, add finely chopped onion and slit chillies and sauté till it turns golden brown. Add ground paste, kasuri methi, yoghurt and sauté for 2-3 minutes till raw smell of masala disappears. Add salt, turmeric and the vegetables and sauté for a minute. Add sufficient water and pressure cook for two whistles. Turn off from the flame. When the cooker cools, open lid and adjust consistency if required. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis/parathas.

Knock-knock! Someone's at the door….

…. And that's me.:) I've been blog hopping, if that's a word. Reading recipes of fellow bloggers and trying them out within the confines of my tiny kitchen. Not too difficult when someone else has painstakingly tried and tested the recipe to perfection and blogged a step-by-step pictorial presentation of the same. Sometimes I add my own twist to the recipe, sometimes it's cooked per se and sometimes I take pictures. Did you read "sometimes"?! Yeah, my endeavours turned out well and the dishes were gobbled up before I could reach for my camera….!

So here are those delicious treats which deserve a thumbs-up, my small way of telling all you wonderful cooks, YOU ROCK!!!!

Tandoori Vegetables from Coffee's Khazana of recipes. Tried and tested over and again. Recently made it with bell peppers, onions and chicken, this recipe is for keeps!

Vazha Chundu Cutlets from My Treasure, My Pleasure. Annita came up with a wonderful idea of using banana flowers in cutlets. Nope, didn't tell what the cutlets were made from until they were wiped clean!! Too bad, I don't have a picture…

Hara bhara kebabs from Seema's Recipe Junction. I added green peas which is the only variation to the recipe. A good way to have greens. Did I hear someone say 'loaded with fats'… Munched away watching the Dubai Open Tennis, photos totally forgotten!

Spanakopita from Porcini Chronicles. Hey, now I know some Greek cuisine! The tastebuds loved it! Now I have to hide in shame, I didn't take pictures of this either!