Cornflakes Chiwda

About 4 weekends ago, I went over-board and bought a BIG box of Cornflakes, since they were on a offer of some sort. We weren't exactly getting around to finishing them before they went stale in the killer humidity that Singapore has, so I decided to put them to better use as a weekend treat for ourselves and some friends. I know, I know... this isn't exactly in perfect alignment with my resolution to have a 'healthy' weekend and all that... but doesn't one deserve a treat sometimes if one has been good?? :) Made with just about 3 tbsp of Olive oil for about 4-1/2 cups of Cornflakes, this isn't all that bad after all :)

Ingredients:
4-1/2 cups Cornflakes
1/2 cup plain Peanuts
1/4 cup roasted Gram seeds (futaane)
1/4 cup golden Raisins
2 green Chillies, chopped into 1/2" pieces
6-7 Curry leaves (kadipatta)
For tempering:
3-4 tbsp Olive oil
1 tbsp Mustard seeds (rai)
1 tbsp Cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp Turmeric powder
1 large pinch Asafoetida (heeng)
1 tsp Red Chilli powder
Salt & Sugar, to taste

Method:
1.) Heat a large pressure cooker over a medium flame. Dry roast the cornflakes till they're nice and crispy. About 8-10 mins. Keep turning the cornflakes slowly using a wooden spoon to keep them from browning. Transfer to a large bowl/plate and let them cool.
2.) In the same pressure cooker, add half the quantity of oil. Once its hot, fry the peanuts till they're nicely browned. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon, and transfer onto a plate to cool.
3.) Add the remaining oil. Allow it to heat and add the Mustard seeds. Allow them to start sputtering and add the Cumin seeds & pinch of Asafoetida. Add the roasted gram seeds and fry for a few minutes till they're lightly browned.
4.) Add the Raisins + Turmeric powder + red Chilli powder + chopped Green chillies & + Curry leaves. Continue to stir to keep the mixture from burning.
5.) Add the Cornflakes followed by the fried Peanuts. Add the Salt & Sugar. Stir gently to coat the cornflakes nicely in the tempering. Switch off the flame and allow the Chiwda to cool before you pounce on it :) Eat up!

Tomato-Olive-Shrimp Salad

Although our food habits in general border on healthy, Vineet and I occasionally get into the mood to go super healthy. On days like these,we fill up on Salads & fresh fruit, refrain from alcoholic beverages of any kind and actively indulge ourselves in the outdoors. Saturday, was one such day. We stepped out for a walk to discover Punggol beach, some 3.5 kms from our home, and came back with cheeks flushed, and our hearts happy. But ofcourse an evening like that HAD to end on an equally refreshing and healthy note, so we made a Olive-Shrimp-Tomato salad, munched on Vegetable crudites and Hummus and washed it all down with a chilled Watermelon-mint & lemon Spritzer :) This recipe is quantified to Serve 02 persons.

Ingredients:
12-15 Prawns, medium sized, shelled ( I used pre-cooked frozen prawns)
2 Tomatoes, deseeded & cubed
8-10 pitted Kalamata Olives, halved
1 small bunch Coriander, chopped
2 tbsp Extra virgin Olive oil
1 tbsp Black peppercorns, cracked
1/2 Lime, to squirt
Salt, to taste

Method:
1.)  De-frost the frozen prawns under running water. Drain and set aside.
2.) Toss the tomatoes, olives and coriander together. Add the prawns.
3.) Drizzle the olive oil over the salad. Add the cracked black peppercorns, a pinch of salt & a squirt of lime juice. Toss gently to ensure that the prawns are coated well in the dressing.
4.) Chill in the refrigerator for upto 3 hours before serving.

Crudites with Home-made Hummus

So here goes Part-2 of our super-healthy Saturday night dinner :)

Ingredients for Hummus:
1 cup Chickpeas (chole seeds), soaked for 4-6 hours
2 tbsp Extra-virgin Olive oil + 2 tbsp for drizzling
2 tbsp Water
2 tbsp Lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tsp Cumin powder (jeera)
1 tsp Red Chilli powder




Method:
1.) Pressure cook the soaked Chickpeas with 2 cups of water for 2 whistles, till they're cooked and soft but not mashed. Discard the water and allow them to cool.
2.) Put the cooked chickpeas in a blender/mixer along with all the other ingredients.
3.) Whirrr away at the mixer, till its a nice thick paste-like consistency (see photo :)
4.) Serve along with sliced Carrots, Celery & Cucumbers. Eat up!

KP's Sopa Mexicana

So, for this weeks weekly-food-exploration, I was keen to try something different & delicious, yet healthy. I was wondering which part of the world we'd explore on our plates this week, when I remembered a recipe that Krithika (my sister from another mother, and probably the most loyal reader of my blog) had passed on to me a couple of months ago. She ofcourse had access to the most authentic ingredients, and since I could'nt find them here easily (i.e. at the store next-door!) I decided to substitute a few of the ingredients. The result was a healthy, supremely-delicious and filling, one-bowl-meal, that was perfect at the end of a lazy Sunday evening. 
The list of ingredients is a little exhaustive, but trust me, its worth it! Although the original recipe calls for Taco seasoning, I used dried Oregano since I couldn't find any. This version uses boiled chicken, and chicken stock as a base, but can easily be made vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead and enjoyed with some toasted bread. 
Comer bien a mis amigos! :)

Ingredients:
200g Boneless Chicken (2 lbs)
2 tbsp Olive oil
1 Large onion, finely chopped
2-3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup Celery, finely chopped
1/4 cup Carrot, finely chopped
1/2 Green capsicum, finely chopped
1 cup Rajma beans (soaked,cooked)
7-8 Cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Avocado, cubed (1/2" pieces)
4-5 tbsp Oregano flakes
2-3 tsp Black peppercorns, cracked
1-1/2 tsp Red chilli powder 
Salt, to taste
4-5 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped 
1/2 cup Cheddar cheese, grated


Method, if Using Chicken:
1.) Cut the chicken into curry sized pieces. Put into a microwave-safe container. Pour about 1-1/2 cups of water, and microwave for about 5-6 mins till chicken is cooked. Remove the boiled chicken and set aside to cool. Store the broth (the water) as this will be the base for your soup.
2.) While the chicken boils, Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the chopped Onion & Garlic. Saute till the onion is golden and softens. At this point, add the chopped Celery, Carrots & Capsicum. Cook till soft.
3.) While the contents of the pan are still cooking, shred the chicken pieces using a fork. Add the shredded chicken to the pan and stir to mix well. Add the cooked Rajma beans (black beans) and mix well. 
4.) Add the chicken broth and allow the soup to simmer for a few minutes. Add the chopped Avocado & cherry tomatoes. Add the cracked Black pepper, dried Oregano leaves, Red chilli powder and salt.
5.) Add the chopped Coriander leaves, and let the soup bubble away for a few minutes.
6.) Squeeze the juice of about 1-1/2 limes into the soup. Serve hot garnished with shredded Cheddar cheese. Yum!

To make this Vegetarian:
Leave out step 01. Begin with step 02 and follow through Step 03. Dissolve 1-1/2 cubes of Vegetable stock in 1-1/2 cups of warm water. Add in place of chicken broth in step 04. Proceed with the rest of the recipe as usual.

Greek Lamb Burgers with Tzaziki, Aurugula & Feta

As someone who loves to cook, and being married to someone who is more that willing to be adventurous with food, I have found myself not doing justice to our willingness to try out foods from different parts of the world. So this week, we made a decision. Starting yesterday, we have solemnly promised ourselves to try making atleast ONE meal a week, something we'd never cooked before, and from a part of the world that we have'nt necessarily been to but hope to see someday.

I have been fascinated with Greece for a long time now. It features in the top 3 on my list of places I want to travel to before I die. Having never cooked 'Greek' food before, the world was my ocean. I found that Greek cuisine shares a lot in common with food from other parts of the Mediterranean, including extensive use of Olive oil, meat, olives, cheeses and yoghurt. The food is extremely flavorful, with the natural flavors of the ingredients coming through, and a refreshing change from our regular Indian cooking.

So here comes post no.1 on my list of Weekly-food-explorations, a flavorful Minced lamb burger with Greek Tzatziki, Arugula and feta cheese, a combination resulting from mixing three recipes that I shortlisted from www.epicurious.com. Makes 4 generous sized burgers.

'Tzatziki' is a Greek yoghurt sauce that is usually served as an accompaniment and eaten with pita bread. Here it is used as a dressing for the burger. Make this ahead, so you can allow it some time to chill in the refrigerator, while you get on with the burgers.
Ingredients for Tzatziki:
1 cup Yoghurt (hung, strained)
1 medium Cucumber, peeled
6-8 Fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp Honey
Salt, Pepper to taste
Method for Tzatziki:
1.) Hang the yoghurt in a clean muslin cloth to drain it of most of its water content.
2.) Peel a cucumber and grate finely. Grate only the outer fleshy part. Discard the seeds or just nibble at them while you cook. Using a strainer, squeeze out as much water as possible from the cucumber.Transfer in to a bowl.
3.) Add the rest of the ingredients and the hung yoghurt and mix well. Chill till its time to assemble the burgers.

Ingredients for Burger patty:
400 g Lamb, minced (kheema)
3 tbsp Bread crumbs
1 medium Onion, finely chopped
4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
12-15 mint leaves, chopped
2 tbsp Oregano flakes
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Red chilli powder
2 tbsp Milk
Salt & Pepper, to taste.

Method for making the Patties:
1.) Put the chopped onions, breadcrumbs,mint, garlic into a mixer or food processor. Puree in short bursts (on 'pulse' mode) till combined. Transfer into a large mixing bowl.
2.) Add the minced lamb to the bowl. Add the ground Cinnamon, Red chilli powder and splash the milk into the lamb.Rub both hands well with olive oil and knead the pureed mixture into the lamb till well integrated. Season with salt and pepper and mix well.
3.) Divide the lamb mixture into four parts for generous sized patties or six for regular sized patties. Roll them between both palms into balls and flatten into a patty about 3/4" thick. Make all the patties.

 4.) Heat a stove-top grill pan. Brush it with a little olive oil. Once hot, grill the patties till they're nice and browned and cooked through- about 5-6 mins each side. Transfer onto a paper towel to drain.

Ingredients for assembling the Burger:
4 Burger buns / or / Pita breads
1 large Onion, thickly sliced
1 large Tomato, sliced
1 cup fresh Arugula leaves /or/baby Spinach
5-6 tbsp crumbled Feta cheese
1 Bowl Tzatziki sauce, as per recipe below
4 Burger patties, as per recipe below

Method for Assembling the Burger:
Slice the burger buns in half. Spread a little Tzatziki on the lower half. Lay out the baby arugula / or baby spinach leaves. Lay the patty on top, followed by the sliced onions and tomato. Top it off with another dollop of Tzatziki and Arugula leaves. Sprinkle the crumbled Feta and finish with the top half of the bun and insert a toothpick all the way through to hold it all together. Eat up!

These burgers turned out absolutely brilliant. I would've preferred to be more authentic and actually stuff these patties and other goodies into a toasted pita bread, but sadly din't find any :( The mint and oregano were delicious together and the splash of milk in the patty made the burgers really juicy, while the bread crumbs helps bind the patty together. Nice. Real nice! :)

Mini Cupcakes with Lemon-Cream cheese frosting

Our friends Ritesh & Archisha are expecting their first baby in a couple of months. I scratched my head, wondering what to get them on their babyshower...Rattles? toys? baby clothes? gift vouchers?....hmmm... none of these seemed like as much fun to me as an edible babyshower gift! As a result of that I spent a rather enjoyable Sunday afternoon, baking a batch of 24 mini-muffins.
The base for these cupcakes comes from my mom's basic cupcake recipe, and for the frosting I referred Rachel Allens lemon cupcakes (found here).
I wanted to try something that wasn't too sweet, but at the same time most definitely qualified as dessert. So I used cream-cheese for the frosting, flavoured with freshly grated lemon zest and lemon juice.
This recipe will yeild 12 normal sized cupcakes or 36 mini cupcakes. I hope Archie enjoyed eating them as much I enjoyed making them :)

Dry Ingredients for Cupcakes:
1 cup All purpose flour (maida)
1/4 tsp Baking powder

Wet Ingredients for Cupcakes:
2 eggs
3/4 cup soft brown Sugar
3/4 cup Unsalted butter (at room temp)
2 tbsp plain Yoghurt
1 tsp Lemon zest
1 tsp Lemon juice

Kitchen Essentials (for complete recipe):
Convection Oven | 3 Piping bags(or ziplock bags)| Hand -held mixer | Mixing bowls | Rubber spatula | Paper muffin cups | muffin tray

Method (for Cupcakes):
1.) Preheat your oven to 180 deg C. Sift the flour and baking powder into a dry bowl and set aside.
2.) Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs one-at-a-time and beat on medium. Once the eggs are creamed into the mixture, add the Yoghurt, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat on high for a few seconds till well integrated.
3.) Add the flour mixture in 3 steps - i.e. add 1/3rd of the flour, then beat on medium for a few seconds till well mixed. Add the next 1/3rd and beat again. For the last addition of flour, beat on slow for a few seconds. Scrape the batter off the mixer blades.
*At this stage, the mixture might look 'curdled', do not worry about it.*

4.) Fill the batter into a piping bag/ ziplock bag. This I discovered, makes filling the tiny paper cups MUCH easier. To make this transfer from bowl to bag quicker with minimal mess, set the bag into a tall-ish glass with the edges folded over as shown in the image on the left. (this image is borrowed from google, since I forgot to take one myself) Scoop the batter into the bag. Remove bag from the glass and squeeze the batter towards a corner. Secure the bag with a rubber band or tape, after removing as much air as possible from the batter. Snip off the tip with a scissor and your bag is ready to use.

5.) Line the muffin tray with the paper cups and pipe the batter into the cups. Bake @ 180 deg C for about 10-12 mins (baking time is for the mini-cupcakes, for regular sized cupcakes, allow about 15-16 mins) till a toothpick/ knife comes out clean.

 6.) Transfer baked cupcakes on to a wire rack and allow them to cool down completely.Meanwhile, get on with the frosting ! :)

LEMON-CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Ingredients for Frosting:

50g Cream cheese + 25g Unsalted butter + 75 g Icing sugar + 1 tsp Lemon zest + 1tsp Lemon juice + Food colouring ( I used yellow and grape colours)

Method to make Frosting:

Cream the Butter and Cream cheese together in  a bowl using an electric mixer, till soft and fluffy. Add the icing sugar in stages (or it will fly out of the bowl!) and cream till well mixed.

Add the lemon juice and zest and a dash of food colouring and cream again. Transfer into a piping bag (using the technique described earlier) and Chill for about 20 mins.

Method to Frost the cupcakes:

Since I don't have the appropriate nozzles needed to create a pretty frosting, I proceeded by simply snipping off a small tip from the piping bag. I'm not proud of my artwork (as yet) but am hoping to develop my frosting skills as I go along. But these pictures should come in handy for someone willing to try :)

Pipe the frosting onto the cupcake by creating a spiral as you go along. Sprinkle with coloured edible decorations. Chill for about 20 mins to allow the frosting to set again.

Methaamba ( Raw mango chutney with mustard & fenugreek)

One of the biggest advantages of living in Singapore, is that I get my hands on my favorite fruit almost all year around. Whether is the Jumbo-sized Thai ones, or the sweet-golden Malaysian ones, Mangoes seriously are my absolute favourite! Raw or ripe, mangoes are extremely versatile and delicious. Raw mangoes especially go very well with a host of spices, mustard, fenugreek, cumin, red chillies.... you name it! All these combined to form a fragrant, tangy-chutney 'Methaamba' is one of my childhood obsessions, where I'd end up eating copious amounts of this with warm rotis, bread, and also straight from the jar.
Stored in a airtight jar or bottle, this will keep very well in the refrigerator for about 10-12 days.

Ingredients:
2 Raw Mangoes, peeled and cubed into 1/2" pieces
2 tsp Vegetable / Olive oil
1-1/2 tsp Mustard seeds (rai)
1 tsp Fenugreek seeds (methi-dana)
1 pinch Asafoetida (heeng), powdered
3/4 tsp Red Chilli powder
2-3 tbsp Jaggery, grated, alternatively 2 tbsp Brown/white sugar
Salt, to taste (about 3/4 tsp)

Method:
1.) Wash, peel and cube the raw mango into 1/2" pieces. Set aside.
2.) Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Add the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder. Wait for the mustard to start sputtering, and add the fenugreek seeds. Fry for a few seconds till the fenugreek seeds are lightly browned.
3.) Add the raw mango, and red chilli powder and saute for a few minutes till the mango cubes begin to soften. Add the jaggery/ sugar, salt and 1/2 a cup of water. Allow the contents to bubble away till the mango cubes are soft and fully cooked.
4.) At this stage, the liquid in the chutney, should begin to thicken and not be too runny. If the liquid is too thick and sticky, add a little water to adjust the consistency.
5.) Switch off the heat and allow the 'methaamba' to cool. Transfer to an air tight jar and store in the refrigerator.