Lamb Chintamani - The Three Ingredient Wonder

This one is a revelation. I came across the recipe at Spices and Aroma and was instantly intrigued. A lamb main course using just three ingredients? Now that must be either really simple or really a joke. I had to satisfy my curiosity. So I immediately bookmarked the page to try it and asked the co-resident to go meat shopping. (He knows this awesome butcher near my mom-in-law’s house, rest assured we always get the freshest and best cut of meat). The recipe says Lamb but I like to use Goat Meat. It’s less fatty and somehow so much more flavorsome. The recipe is an authentic Kongunadu (Salem, Erode and Coimbatore) recipe using lamb and onions in equal quantities with some many fiery dried red chillies to liven it up! The result is an almost pickle like consistency that you serve with some hot white rice and loads of ghee. Now, most people add ghee to their sambhar and curries to reduce the heat, but the purpose of serving ghee with this dish is to also enhance the flavour. Ghee brings the whole dish together. So leave your calorie conscious self aside when you liberally pour ghee over your hot rice and lamb to savour it. I loved the dish so much that it’s going to be a regular at the family dinner table. Remind yourself to have loads of yoghurt to sooth your stomach if it complains… the tongue however will be begging for more more more!

Lamb Chintamani

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serves: 4-6

What you need:

1 ¼ kilo Lamb/ Goat meat

1 ¼ kilo Onions – chopped

25 Dry Red Chillis

¼ cup Vegetable Oil

½ cup Water

To Serve:

White Rice

Ghee

Yoghurt

What to do:

Heat oil in a large pressure cooker. When the oil get smoking hot, tear the dry red chillies into half and add them to the hot oil. Let them sizzle and cook for 30 seconds. Throw in the onions and little salt. Cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes until the onions brown. Finally add the cleaned and cubed lambs and water. Mix well to combine.

Pressure Cooker Method: Cover the pressure cooker with the lid and cook for 8-10 whistles. Once the steam has settled down, open the lid and slowly remove the lamb pieces in a clean container leaving behind the liquid.

Turn on the stove to high and reduce the liquid to less than half the amount, or until they turn syrupy. At this point, mix in the cooked juicy lamb and cook for further 2-3 minutes.

OR 

Traditional slow cooking method: Cook in a large cooking pot. Follow the same steps as in the previous method. But instead of the letting it whistle, cook them covered for 45-60minutes stirring every now and then.

Serve hot with rice, ghee and yogurt. OMG yummy!

P.S. I prefer the Pressure cooker method, saves time and effort. And you don’t have to keep hovering over the stove and praying that the lamb is not burning. (Ok, it dosen’t burn in the traditional method, but who wants to spend an inordinate amount of time watching the pot?)

Red Bell Pepper Soup with Lime

I bought a new cookbook (yes, the umpteenth one!) and paid a ridiculous price for it. (Come on, 1000 photos don’t come cheap). I have so many cookbooks that I just stare at the pictures and sing myself a foodie lullaby. So this time I was determined to cook something from the new book, just so that I can redeem the guilty feeling of not having used it at least once! I admit that the reason I even made this recipe is because the color looked so gorgeous. Bright orangey red! And the fact that there was lemon rind in the recipe didn’t hurt either. I think Lemon rind adds a zing that is unmatched by anything else (Ok, maybe Basil). I must warn you that this soup is not some soothing balm before you start the meal. It’s more like a jolt that wakes you up and gets your belly fire started. Hot and Tangy, I give you Red Bell Pepper Soup with Lime!

Red Bell Pepper Soup with Lime

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Serves: 4 (but I think it’s more like 6)

What you need:

1 tsp Olive Oil

4 Red Bell peppers (seeded and chopped)

1 large Onion, chopped

4 Garlic cloves, crushed

1 small Red Chili, sliced

3 Tbsp Tomato Puree

1 Lime (Juice and the rind grated)

3 ¼ cups Vegetable/ Chicken Stock

Salt and Ground Black Pepper

To Garnish: shreds of lime

What to do:

Heat the oil in a pan over low heat. Add the peppers and onion, cover with a tight-fitting lid and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for about 5 mins until softened. Toss in the garlic and chilli, stir. Add the tomato puree, sauté. Add half the stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pan again and simmer for 10 mins.

Leave to cool slightly, and then ladle the soup into a food processor or blender. (In batches, if necessary). Process to a puree. Return it to the rinsed out pan. Stir in the remaining stock, the lime rind and juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Bring the soup back to the boil, then ladle it into warmed soup bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with a few shreds of lime rind and a few drops of extra virgin olive oil. Serve immediately.

Easy Stir-Fried Vegetables

I always believe that good Chinese food can never be replicated at home. Our palate has been assaulted by MSG and extra salt in every Chinese restaurant, that we have now acquired a taste for it! That’s why every time I try Chinese at home; I’ve already resigned myself that the recipe is going to be equivalent to a pirated DVD! My fear of ODing on MSG and Salt has prevented me from achieving greatness in my quest for restaurant Chinese. (By restaurant I don’t me the fancy 5 star’s…am sure they go easy on the MSG). Am I sad? Au contraire… I actually like the fact that I can indulge in dangerous liaisons only once in a while (OK, I actually eat Chinese almost once a week… but you get the drift!). Coming to the point … this Stir-Fried Vegetable recipe is really easy and tasty. (Cross my heart!). It takes care of the mid-week Chinese craving quite well. Toss in some Chicken or shrimp if you fancy and you’ve taken it to another level!

P.S. Here's some advice I nicked off the net about Chinese Cooking. It works!!

X========================================================================X

Principles of Chinese Cooking

1. Preheat the wok (before you put the oil in).

2. Season the oil (with whole pieces of garlic and sometimes ginger root, which you often remove when you add the food to be cooked).

3. Symmetry of cut (all pieces must be cut the same size and shape).

4. Have all ingredients cut and sauces mixed before you cook.

5. Use very high heat and cook fast.

X========================================================================X 

Easy Stir-Fried Vegetables

Prep time: 10 mins

Frying time: 10 mins

Serves: 4 as side/ 2 as main

What you need:

2 Carrots

1 small Green Zucchini/ Courgette

1 small Yellow Zucchini/ Squash

1 Green Pepper/ Capsicum

6 Babycorns

12 Mushrooms

2 Med Onions

4-6 cloves Garlic

2 Tbsp Peanut/ Sesame/ Vegetable Oil

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 cup Vegetable/ Chicken Stock – Keep warm

1 Tbsp Cornflour/ Cornstarch mixed in 2 Tbsp cold water

½ tsp Chili flakes

½ tsp ground Black Pepper

Salt to taste

What to do:

Cut vegetables into pieces that are the same size and same shape. (thick Matchsticks). Get oil, soy sauce, salt, cornstarch mixture and measuring spoons out and have them ready on the counter near the stove.

Put wok or frying pan on the stove and heat 1-2 minutes, until it's too hot to hold your hand over it. (You should be able to almost see the heat shimmering up from the wok.) Add the oil and heat about 30 seconds, then add sliced garlic and sliced onion and cook 20 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add the rest of the vegetables all at once, add salt, and cook 4-5 minutes, stirring every 20-30 seconds, or until vegetables are barely starting to soften.

Add soy sauce, stirring gently so all the vegetables are coated with sauce. Cook about 1 minutes more, stirring a few times. Stir in the warm stock and gradually mix in the cornstach mixture. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil and cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.Sprinkle with pepper and chilli flakes. Mix and Serve hot!

Onion Pakodas - For the Rains!

Monsoons! You either love it or hate it. I belong to the latter category. I know poems have been written about the rains and how it raises the spirits and blah blah blah. But clearly this is the work of someone sitting in the comfort of their homes and blabbing about the elements without experiencing its fury! For the ordinary man/woman who rides a bike to work or who needs to walk to a bus stop the monsoons are nothing but havoc to their plans and clothes and shoes might I add! I am always game for the occasional bout of rain, but five whole months of it??? Spare me the romanticism. Give me one person in Cherrapunji who’s waxed eloquently about it. Comon, think. No? There, I rest my case. Familiarity breeds contempt! It’s only freaking fantastic if you are a farmer looking for the rains for a good crop or someone in a really hot place who needs the spell of rain to cool the temperature down. Bangalore clearly does not need five months of it! Maybe two…tops…and right after summer. Yes, I’ve pleaded with God for this one! OK… maybe I’m being a bit too harsh. There is one time I really love the rains… when I am sitting at home in the balcony and enjoying a hot plate of Pakoda’s. Now that is something to write a poem about!

Onion Pakodas

Prep time: 10 mins

Frying time: 4 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

2 Med Onions

100 gms Chickpea Flour (Besan/ Channa Dal powder)

½ tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Chilli Powder

½ tsp Cumin Powder (Jeera)

20 Tbsp lukewarm Water (approx.)

Oil for frying

Salt to taste

What to do:

Peel and finely slice the onions. Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl and add all the powdered ingredients and salt to taste. Spoon in warm water, one table spoon at a time and stir vigorously until you get the consistency of thick yoghurt. Now whisk it well until large bubbles appear on the surface. Make sure there are no lumps.

Meanwhile heat the oil. Now stir the onions into the batter . When the oil starts to sizzle, using your hand or a spoon lift some of the battered onion and drop into the oil. Repeat until there pan is full. Now lower the heat. Fry each pakora for a few seconds on each side, before flipping over. Repeat. When they are a nice golden yellow, remove the pakoras and drain on kitchen paper. Serve pronto with Maggi hot and sweet Ketchup or regular ketchup with ½ tsp Chilli powder for a nice kick!

P.S. Its takes the sting off the onions, if you soak them in some water after peeling them and then slice them.

Cucumber and Dill Salad

There is a dish in India called ‘Bheja Fry’ which literally means Brain fry and is also used to denote a situation when you’re head is all messed up! I’ve had Bheja Fry for the past few weeks. And no, its not what I ate! In an exact opposite to Bheja Fry is another synonym – Cool as a Cucumber. With the current state of affairs around me, I wouldn’t mind getting to the cucumber’s state. Coming to the point – Cucumber and Dill salad is as cool as you can get. Soothes the palate as well as the head. Hopefully my mind will unscramble itself soon!

Cucumber and Dill Salad

Prep time: 10 mins

Marinating time: 3 hrs

Serves: 4

What you need:

1-2 Cucumbers (regular will do)

1 Tbsp White Vinegar

2 Tbsp Sugar

4 Tbsp Water

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

½ a Handful of Dill

Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do:

Trim and peel the cucumbers. (You can use regular cucumbers here as we marinate them to make them soft. Save the dainty English cucumbers to eat fresh). Cut in half lengthwise and then scoop out and discard the seeds. Cut into half rings or chunks.

Dissolve sugar and salt in water. Bring to a boil. Cool and add Vinegar. Now add the cucumbers and let it soak for a few hours in the refrigerator.

Drain the cucumbers. Toss with Olive Oil, Dill and seasoning. Savor and enjoy!

P.S. This is Julia Child’s recipe. So yes, it’s pretty much a blind rendition of the masterpiece with little tweaks.