THAI RAW PAPAYA SALAD

An awesome tangy sweet and sour healthy salad.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups julienned ( like matchsticks) raw papaya

1cup diagonally thinly sliced French beans

1tsp sugar

1 medium sized tomato.

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

2 tsp light soya sauce

3 dry red chillies( Can use fresh red/ green too)-If using dry, soak in hot water for 5 minutes to soften it

4 to 5 fat garlic cloves

Juice of 3 lemons

Salt-To taste

1/2 cup -Roasted coarsely crushed peanuts

METHOD:

Julienne the raw papaya.

Boil the sliced beans in water just enough to cover it.Add 1 tsp sugar to it, coz sugar helps to retain the green colour.Take it off from the fire , immediately after the first boil.Let it remain in the pan for 5minutes.Then drain the water and add ice cold water.The beans must be crunchy and green.Mix it with papaya.

Dice the tomatoes, discarding the seeds.Add this to the papaya , beans mix.

Make a paste of dry red chillies and garlic in a pestle and mortar.( Tastes better than the one made in a mixie)

Boil sugar and water till sugar dissloves.Add this to the chilli garlic paste.

Add the sugar chilli garlic mix to the vegetable mix.Add salt and lemon juice. Mix well.

Sprinkle groundnuts just at the time of serving, otherwise they will cease to remain crunchy.

VARIATION: 1 cup of diced cucumbers (after discarding the seeds) and ½ cup of fresh pomegranate seeds (Fresh anar ) added to the above mix tastes very nice too. Accordingly, increase the amount of red chillies, garlic and lemon juice.

JUNGLI MEAT

INTRODUCTION:

This is a recipe I hit upon , while going through a cookery book titled " Cooking with Maharajas" , By Digvijay Singh of Sailana.Excellent simple recipe.I have lost count of the number of times I have made it. Recently I made it again, when Shyam Benegal, the renowned film maker was over for dinner.He told us that he had a had it , long ago , when he had dined with the royal family of Sailana. I recall vividly the day, when I first made it.My husband wanted mutton for dinner. I wanted to try this recipe.However,I was slightly sceptical , since it had bare minimum ingredients and was worried that it might turn out bland.So I divided the mutton into two portions. With one ,I made the usual regular mutton curry and with the other, I proceeded to experiment making"Jungli meat". The recipe stated that no weights and measures were given ,as in a jungle one doesnt have the wearwithall and one makes with "Andaza" or approximation or instinct. However, one can carry dry ingredients like salt & dry red chillies and treat the "shikar" (The hunt) with this recipe.Coming back to the day when I first tried it out, my husband came back home after work, he being a foodie & a die hard core mutton lover, heard my introductory speech about the two praparations and decided to check out the jungli meat first. The first bite and his lament was" itna thoda kyon banaya" i.e why did you make such a small quantity?. But then this was an experiment and wasn't quite sure that it would be a successful one. Thereafter the next time I made it , I innovated and added garlic to it and wow , it tasted even better now. So the original recipe got modified and now is a constant feature of my parties.I have figured out measures too, so that my cook can replicate it and now he is a pro.

The recipe is as follows:

PRINCIPLE: The meat is cooked in minimum cooking medium and water, so that the meat is neither boiled nor fried.In fact ,my assumption is, that in the jungle , it must be cooked over slow fire with wood and no cooking medium coz meat has its own fat and it must be getting cooked in that.

INGREDIENTS:(Serves 4 to 5)

Mutton-16 pieces( Thats how I usually buy-one each of nalli, gole , machli and chop per person, so that everybody gets all the various kinds of cuts)

Unbroken dry red chillies -8 ( 1/2 the number of pieces of mutton)

Cooking medium-1 tsp ghee ( Sorry, the taste is not the same with oil-Like my husband says ghee aur nahari ko upar vale ne khud apne haathon se banaya hai ).Dont add more than 1 tsp please ( read aforementioned principle).

Garlic chopped fine- 4 tbsp ( Almost 1 tbsp per person)

Salt -According to taste.

Water- variable amount ( bare minimum)

METHOD:

A WORD OF CAUTION-Do not break the red chillies and please do not cook in a pressure cooker. It will be unpalatably pungent.

Take a kadhai/ pateela ( any pan of your choice). Add 1 tsp ghee.When it is hot add, the washed & drained meat. Cook on high heat for 10 minutes , by the watch. It will start releasing water.If at the end of 10 minutes, no water is left, add 2 tbsp water.Add salt, garlic and red chillies.Now cover it with a tight fitting lid and cook on slow fire for 1 and a 1/2 hour, checking every 15 minutes, to ensure there is some water, so it neither boils nor fries. If water dries out before meat is fully cooked, add 2tbsp water. Once tender, uncover and cook on high heat and dry out the water. Serve piping hot, either as snack with cocktails or as part of main course.

NOTE: NO GARNISHING REQUIRED WITH GARAM MASALA /HARA DHANIYA ETC.

VARIATIONS:

I have tried it with small round unpeeled potatoes( 1 chilly for 5 potatoes) after washing them, piercing with a fork and with chicken too after puncturing with fork coz chicken , unlike meat is bland and spices should seep in for it to taste good. Both potatoes and chicken will cook earlier than 1 and ½ hour.Do experiment with green chillies, vary the number ,depending on the variety of chilly and how pungent it is.

SUNDAL( South Indian chick pea salad)

SUNDAL (South Indian chick peas salad)

Sundal is a traditional salad and snack.Its easy to prepare healthy, filling, spicy, tasty and tangy.It is served as a Prasad ,very often during the 10 day festival of Dussehra/Navratri, called " Golu"in Tamil Nadu .( which is where I hail from) This is the time when one goes to the homes of friends and invites them to come and witness the display of “ Golu Bommais”, at one’s home.Golu is a display of dolls & figurines, decorated in 5/7/9 /11 (i.e odd numbers) step like tiers, so as to have optimum visibility of all the figurines. Beautiful kolam or rangoli is made. When visitors come, the women (only married and unmarried but not widows-!!horrible practice ) are offered kumkum (Vermillion), haldi , chandan ( sandal paste) , betel leaves ( Paan) with betel nut (supari), Prasad and a gift – usually a blouse piece.The Prasad is very often “ SUNDAL”, made with white chick peas, black chick peas, white or red lobhia or black eyed beans, Bengal gram dal( chana dal) etc.Occassionally sweets are given as prasad after offering it to the Gods , following the puja.As kids , me and my siblings would love to go to various homes , sampling an array of the prasad.It was so much of pure and simple fun.

INGREDIENTS:

Chick peas (motay safed chole)- 2 cups

Turmeric powder( Haldi)-1/2 tsp

Refined Oil-1 tbsp

Asafoetida( Hing)-1/2 tsp

Dry red chillies-2

Cummin( Jeera) seeds- 1tsp

Mustard seeds-1 tsp

Bengal gram( Chana Dal)- 1tsp

Black Gram ( white in colour) i.e Dhuli urad Dal- 1tsp

Curry leaves-10

Salt –To taste

Red chilli powder -1/2 to 3/4^th tsp ( Depending on how spicy one likes)

Raw mangoes peeled and chopped into tiny pieces-2 tbsp

METHOD

Soak peas overnight.Pressure cook with turmeric ,salt and just enough water to cook till done. In case you have forgotten to soak or decide to make it without advanced planning, pressure cook unsoaked chick peas.Simmer for 10 minutes after the 1^st whistle.Let it soak in the cooker for an hour and a half. Then add turmeric & salt and pressure cook again for one whistle and simmer for ten minutes.Let the pressure drop spontaneously.

Now take a pan , add oil, heat it up.Add asafoetida, broken dry red chillies, cumin and mustard seeds till the seeds splutter.Now add the two dals-bengal gram and black gram, cook on slow fire till they are slightly brown in colour.Now add the curry leaves. Add the boiled & drained chick peas, salt and red chilli powder.Mix well.Turn off the heat.Garnish with chopped raw mangoes and have it hot.It tastes very nice even at room temperature.
Optional garnishing-grated fresh coconut and lemon juice.

You can substitute chick peas with green peas, peanuts, other beans and all the other alternatives mentioned in the introduction.The same recipe can be used to cook various vegetables like fresh green beans, finely chopped potatoes, green or purple cabbage, small boneless fish pieces, boiled mutton & chicken cubes etc.Make sure the veggies remain crunchy and not overcooked.Let your imagination run wild and try the recipe with other alternatives of your choice.

Traditional trifle, tiramisu cake etc

Cooking is therapeutic. At the same time, if you are in a bad mood and carry it on while cooking,it can very easily ruin your food and your already ruined mood. So when in a bad mood, enter the kitchen with a view to create something and elevate your mood.You are sure to do a great job.
I was always interested in cooking or let me put it this way ,that I always had a desire to cook.It never seemed mundane to me.In fact , I wanted to study home science, but ended up a medical doctor.My mother who is 85 ,cooks till date and that too fabulously and has been a great source of inspiration for me.My mother , however,wanted me & my siblings to focus on our studies & hence I really dint cook much till after my marriage.Luckily ,for me, my mom in law & sisters-in-law all were fab cooks and that really motivated me further to learn to cook.I could'nt even light the gas stove, when I got married.So I firmly beleive,cooking is not a big deal at all, if you are motivated.
I must mention, a major source of inspiration here,Mrs.Kamla Lal, who was our land lady, a math teacher and an awesome cook.My mother,mom & sisters in law were all into traditional Indian cooking, but Mrs Lal , makes food from any part of the world.Before she went into full time catering, she would send something that she'd cook,every day, to my kitchen.Mini burgers, chocolate fudge,meringues,pop overs, mini chocolate eclairs,plum cakes, Khao Suey...the list is endless.My major interest was in baking and confectionery and Mrs Lal's dishes were there and made you feel that these are not just something you see on the shelves of a bakery and salivate but something you can actually make at home.That did the trick.So here I am ,cooking with passion and have my dear family, colleagues and friends encouraging me , so much so, that one of them created this blog for me.Thanx ,my dear guinea pigs.
Since my last post, I made traditional trifle which has a sponge cake as its base.I like to make my own, but you can buy ready sponge cake, soak with juice of your choice/condensed milk diluted with milk/diluted liquer....use your imagination.Top it with fruits and jelly cut into cubes.Finally drizzle cream/custard over it.You can garnish with roasted nuts. When made in individual glasses they look very colourful and appetizing.
Today i made Tiramisu cake.It was really a "Cake walk".I had already made the sponge cakes yesterday. So i just sliced each into two, so I could ice them.I soaked them in a mixture of strong coffee & Kahlua.The mascarpone cheese from Sugar & Spice was very nice.I just had to whip the cream,add strong coffee & Kahlua to the cheese, fold the cream into the cheese coffee Kahlua mixtur and my icing was ready.I iced the cake halves , placed one half over the other and iced the top & sides.I had seen some Kopikos imported coffee candies in a tin,in the market.I picked some coz I thought I would crush some and use them like praline to garnish my coffee cakes and Tiramisu .This is precisely what I did. The other cake, I covered with grated coffee flavoured chocolate. I made some individual tiramisu desserts, as well, in liquer glasses, .Tiramisu was really easy.Its my favourite dessert and I am so delighted that I could churn out not one but multiple.I shall post the detailed recipe subsequently.Till then.....Take care.Thanx for following my blog.
P.S.Remember, if I, who could'nt light the gas , can cook today, anyone can!!!

Capuccino Oreo Trifle

Today ,for the first time, I made this dessert called Capuccino Oreo trifle,with the goodness of Oreo cookies, cream and the ultimate,my favourite coffeee.Anything that has coffee in it,is a favourite of mine.No wonder I love Tiramisu,coffee ice cream, coffee cake, coffee flavoured chocolate & candies and Bailey's Irish Cream, ooooooooooh.I am salivating at the thought.One will wonder that I must be having a sweet tooth, which is true but I prefer my filter coffee without sugar.Coming back to the trifle, it wasnt like a traditional trifle with sponge cake.It was from a recipe book and damn easy to prepare.....No OTG /oven required, no eggs or gelatin.So it turned out to be a no fuss dessert. So all you need to do is to make thick coffee custard , flavour it with Kahlua, throw in some broken Oreo cookies , mix them up and serve it in individual liquer glasses.Decorate it with cream/grated coffee chocolate.Dont forget to place a full cookie in the centre or side and Hurray, you are done.Just chill it and HAVE IT.Enjoy.