Lemon Rice (Chitranna)

This post is for ‘someone’ who asked me recently, whether I had locked my kitchen up as he dint see any new posts on the blog :P Considering that ‘someone’ is also a Vegetarian and South Indian … this recipe should appeal to him. Lemon Rice is something that mom made in a jiffy for breakfast IF – she was out of time or there was rice leftover from last night’s dinner. So as a teenager I used to ho and hum when I saw lemon rice on my plate. But now I completely understand the lemon rice logic – it’s a healthy, simple, no wastage dish. Not to mention for all the ho-ing and hum-ing it was and is delicious!

Lemon Rice

Prep time: 15 mins
Serves: 4

What you need:
1 ½ cups Rice (uncooked) / 2 ½ cups cooked Rice
1 Onion sliced
1 Lemon (Juice of)
3-4 green Chilies
½ tsp Channa Dal
½ tsp Urd Dal
½ tsp Turmeric
½ tsp Ginger paste
½ tsp Mustard seeds
4 tsps Oil
6-7 Curry leaves
Salt to taste
Handful of peanuts
Grated coconut to Garnish

What to do:
Deep fry peanuts, keep aside. Cook rice and fluff out rice to cool and separate grains.
In a wok heat 4 tsps of Oil, Add mustard seeds, urd and channa dal and fry till mustard splutters. Add sliced onions and slit chilies and sauté till soft and transparent. Put in ginger and fry for a min. Finally add in turmeric and salt. Pour this mixture over the rice and mix well to incorporate the yellow color evenly. Mix lemon juice in, toss in the peanuts and garnish with grated coconut. Serve hot!

Note: Mixing the peanuts in the end keeps them crunchy to the bite.

Spinach and Corn Quiche

This quiche recipe is for all the non-meat eaters who obviously ignored my Bacon and Mushroom Quiche recipe. This recipe is also for everyone who likes a nice chewy cheesy quiche. So basically this recipe is for everyone :) Spinach and Corn is one of those excellent combinations that you can’t go wrong with. The colors compliment each other as well – yellow and green. I’ve told you all about quiches before – savory pastry with a filling of your choice. If you buy ready pastry shells then you can roll out quiches in minutes. Perfect for a weekday!

Spinach and Corn Quiche

Baking time: 25 mins + 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Serves: 4
What you need:
For Pastry
1 cup plain Flour
75 gms Butter, chopped
Large pinch of salt
Water

For Filling
2 cups blanched and chopped Spinach leaves
1 cup crumbled fresh Cottage Cheese
3/4th cup Sweet Corn kernels
3/4th cup Milk
2 Tbsp Cream
1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese
½ tsp dried Oregano
2 Tbsps Butter
Salt and Pepper
What to do:

To Make Pastry: Place flour and butter in a cold bowl. Rub together until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Gradually add ice cold water (2-3 Tbsp) and bring the misture together. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead mixture gently to form smooth dough. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to moderately hot 210ºC.

Roll Pastry on a flour board large enough to fit a 9 inch round loose bottomed flan tin. Ease pastry into tin. Trim edge with a sharp knife. Cut a sheet of baking paper large enough to cover pastry lined tin. Place paper over pastry; spread a layer of dried beans or rice evenly over paper. Bake for 15 mins, remove paper and beans; bake for another 10 mins or until pastry case is lightly browned; Remove and cool. Preheat oven to 230 ºC for the next stage.

To make Filling: Heat the butter in a pan, add corn and sauté for 1 minute. Dissolve the cornflour in the milk and add this to the mixture. Cook till the mixture thickens. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Keep aside.

Spread the spinach corn mixture over the baked pastry in the pie dish. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 mins or until mixture becomes firm. Serve hot!

Panchamrutam - The five Nectars

South Indian festivals are an excuse to indulge in food of the sweet and heavy kind. One of the staples is ‘Panchamrutam’ which means the five nectars. This is prepared as a festive offering and is a medley of all things sweet! It’s a sugar high to say the least and considering this is what we offer our Gods they must be getting off on the sugar buzz! Anyway there are no fixed five ingredients though Milk, Curd, Honey, Ghee, Fruits (esp bananas), Coconut and Sugar are interchangeable. My recipe is almost a fruit salad, but with a holy twist! Bless you…

Panchamrutam

Prep time: 10 mins

Serves: 10 -12

What you need:

2 Bananas

1 Apple

2 Guava

1 Sweet Lime (peeled and segmented)

Handful of Black Grapes

Half a Pomegranate (peeled and separated)

500 gms Thick Curd

250ml Milk

2 Tbsp Ghee

1 Tbsp Honey

5 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

What to do:

Wash and dice the apples, guava and Bananas. Peel the Sweet lime and segment it. Remove seeds and transparent layer as well. Toss into a big bowl. Add the curd, milk, honey, ghee and sugar. Stir to incorporate without mushing up the fruit. Add the Grapes and Pomegranate. Refrigerate. Before serving garnish with extra Pomegranate seeds. Mmmmm…..

Note: To segment Sweet Limes – Cut off a thin slice from the top and bottom. Make Incisions in the outer skin from top to bottom in 4-5 places. Now you can peel the outer skin easily. Next separate the segments. Make an incision on the back of each segment and pry open. Remove seeds. Break away the pulp from the skin in 4 pieces.

Chicken Steak with Mushrooms in a Brown Sauce

This is the kind of steak I remember eating as a kid, when there were no fancy restaurants in Bangalore and Chicken pepper steak was a special treat. You will still get this type of food in a Tiffany’s or Juke Box, but other restaurants have upgraded to more sophisticated versions. I found this recipe on a homely site - wholesome food, no pretence. It sounded very similar to the days of yore, so I gave it a shot and here’s the result. (Sorry for the pictures, I was too hungry and dint bother about appropriate lighting!) The brown sauce is great, I salted it a bit too much though. So just add your seasoning at the end. And don’t forget to go back in time to some childhood foods you can never forget! Happy Reminiscing!

Chicken Steak with Mushrooms in Brown Sauce

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

 

4 X 200 gms Chicken breast pieces

Marinade:

1/2 tsp crushed Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Mustard paste

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp Garlic paste

2 Tbsp Oil

For Brown Sauce:

1 Tbsp Oil

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Tbsp Onion chopped

1 Tbsp Flour

1/2 tsp White pepper

1 Cup Chicken Stock (1/2 chicken cube in 1 cup water)

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

2 Onion sliced

8 pieces Mushrooms

What to do:

Wrap the meat piece in a wet tea towel and flatten with a hammer. Marinate the meat by rubbing black pepper, salt mustard, garlic paste and Worcestershire sauce on each meat piece.

To make Brown Sauce: In a pan add 1 Tbsp Butter and add a little oil. Add chopped onions and lightly brown. Add flour, white pepper, salt and chicken stock. Add burnt sugar syrup - 1 Tbsp.

To make Fried Onions: In a separate frying pan, add 1 Tbsp butter and 1 tsp oil. Add sliced onions and 1 Tbsp brown sugar and sauté. Add 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce.

To cook the Meat: In another grill/frying pan, add 2 tbs of Oil and add the meat. While frying drizzle a little Worcestershire sauce. Whilst cooking prick the meat with the knife. Once the steaks are nearly cooked add the brown sauce over the steaks. Add sliced mushrooms. Add a little freshly ground pepper. Serve with fried onions and mashed potatoes.

Note: To make Burnt sugar: take an old saucepan, take 1 tsp sugar and let it burn, once it burns add 1/2 cup water and let it cook for another 2-3 mins

Baked Eggs with Tomatoes

First of all I would like to apologize to my beloved food – The Egg. I’m surprised I haven’t done a post on it as yet! Eggs are so versatile and so tasty and kind of a staple in the diet, so it’s easy to overlook them. Egg whites are often considered the perfect source of protein because the body uses 100 percent of the nutrients they provide. Plus they are free of saturated fats and excess carbohydrates. The egg yolk (the best part according to me) is jam packed with nutrients. There is a controversy with the cholesterol bit, but the doctors are changing their stance now to saying its OK to have about 4 yolks in a week. So there, we’ve tackled that bit. Remember when we were kids and we had half boiled eggs in a cup? Well, this is the more sophisticated adult version. According to me, serving anything in a mini ramekin is très chic :)

Baked Eggs with Tomatoes

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

4 Eggs

4 Tbsp chopped skinned Tomatoes

8 Tbsp Double Cream

4 x 150ml Ramekins

Salt and Freshly ground Black Pepper

What to do:

Spoon 1 Tbsp of cream into each ramekin, then break and egg into each one, taking care not to break the yolks. Season, and then top each egg with another tablespoon of cream and 1 tablespoon each of chopped skinned tomatoes. Sit the ramekins in a roasting tin, and pour hot water to come just halfway up their sides. Cover the roasting tin with foil, and then carefully slide into a preheated oven (180°C/350°F/Gas4). Cook for about 15 mins and serve immediately.

Fusili in a Garlic Mushroom Sauce

I’ve already extolled the virtues of mushrooms in another blog post, so it would be a waste of space to do it here. So let’s talk about the much maligned garlic. People shy away from garlic-flavored-anything cause of the strong smell. Even a big wad of gum can’t get rid of it easily. But if you knew that garlic is fantastic for a healthy heart and even ups your immunity, you would probably give it a second chance. I on the other hand, am a lover of garlic. Give me stinky garlicky nosh every day. :) Actually this isn’t a stinky dish at all. It’s so earthy and comforting that it reminds you of rain on a hot summer day. Poetic huh? The fusili on the other hand adds the ‘twist’ to the tale. The End.

Fusili in a Garlic Mushroom Sauce

Prep time: 5 mins

Cooking time: 30 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

200 gms Mushrooms (diced)

10 cloves of Garlic (chopped)

11/2 Tbsp Butter

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 cups Milk

2 Tbsp Flour

50 gms Cheddar Cheese (grated)

1 Tbsp mixed herbs (oregano, parsley etc.)

Salt and Pepper

350 gms Fusili

Parmesan Cheese (freshly grated to serve)

What to do:

Heat oil; add butter let it sizzle. Toss in the garlic; sauté but don’t brown. Add the chopped mushrooms and sauté for 2 mins. Coat the mushrooms with flour; stir till incorporated. Slowly add in 1 cup milk; stir to ensure no lumps. Simmer for 2 mins. The sauce will thicken. Add the remaining milk and stir till the sauce coats the back of the spoon. Toss in the herbs, seasoning and grated cheese. Stir till smooth and glossy. In the meantime bring a big pot of salted water to the boil. Toss in pasta and cook till al dente. (or according to instructions on the packet). Reserve some liquid and drain the pasta. Mix with the mushroom sauce. Add some reserved liquid to get the desired consistency. Serve hot garnished with some freshly grated parmesan cheese. Earthy!

Spaghetti Chicken Bolognaise

Bolognaise Sauce is a thick meat and tomato sauce served with pasta (usually spaghetti), originally from the city of Bologna in Northern Italy. The sauce is also known as Ragũ and traditionally contains chopped ham, beef, lean pork, chicken livers, several vegetables and white wine. The recipe I have is a special hand crafted one. (So let’s put it this way…I’ve tweaked the recipe to suit what was there at home and it turned out just fine). My star ingredient was the humble chicken (substituting the ham, beef and pork). I deserve credit for making the bolognaise sauce friendly for people who don’t eat red meat :)

Spaghetti Chicken Bolognaise

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 40 mins

Serves: 4-6

What you need:

400 gms Chicken Mince

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Onions (finely chopped)

2 Carrots (diced small)

8 Garlic cloves (finely chopped)

1 Celery Stem (finely chopped)

4 Tomatoes (finely chopped)

8 Tbsp Tomato Puree

2 Tbsp Ketchup

2 tsps Chili flakes

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Parsley

400 gms Spaghetti

Parmesan Cheese (freshly grated to serve)

Salt and Pepper

What to do:

Heat oil add garlic and then onion, carrot, celery and chili flakes. Saute well but don’t let the onions brown. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 mins. Add Chicken mince and sauté for 3 mins. Add the tomato puree and ketchup, mix well. Toss in sugar, herbs and seasoning. Cook for 2 mins. Add 1 cup of water and stir to get a thick sauce. Cook to desired consistency.

Meanwhile, bring a large heavy bottomed pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta return to a boil and cook for 10 mins, or until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain, transfer to a warmed serving dish, Drizzle with a little olive oil and toss well. Pour the sauce over the pasta and serve with grated parmesan cheese. Hearty and Tasty!

P.S. For a version closer to the original, substitute 400 gms chicken mince with 100 gms lean Bacon, 100 gms Chicken livers, 100 gms pork and 100 gms beef. You can also add in ½ cup white wine after sautéing the meat.

Bacon and Mushroom Quiche

Anyone who’s not a bacon fan can sign off at the moment because this recipe extols the virtues of fat … Pork fat… interspersed between salty pork meat…which melts and crackles on a hot pan… which curls into a heavenly roll… and then when you bite into it, just melts into your mouth.. sigh! See.. Dint I say anyone who’s not a bacon fan can sign off? A quiche is an open tart with a thin pastry shell (shortcrust) filled with a rich savory egg custard. I made the shortcrust pastry of the quiche at home, so will pat myself on the back. But you can buy the dough from any supermarket. Bacon and mushrooms top this one, but you can add anything you like. They say the original quiche din’t contain cheese... but for me a quiche is not a quiche without liberal amounts of cheese! You can eat this hot or cold, I prefer my quiche cold as the flavors mould in well after some sitting time. The co-resident loved this one and ate a recipe for 6 by himself... God bless his heart!

Bacon and Mushroom Quiche

Prep time: 30 mins + 20 mins refrigeration time

Cooking time: 1 hour total

Serves: 6

What you need:

Pastry

11/2 cups plain Flour

100 gms Butter, chopped

1 Egg

1 Tbsp Water, approx.

Filling

10 thinly sliced Bacon rashers

200 gms Mushrooms

6 Eggs

2/3 cup Milk

11/4 cup Thick Cream

½ cup Grated Cheddar Cheese

Salt and Pepper

What to do:

To Make Pastry: Place flour and butter in food processor. Process for 30 seconds or until mixture is fine and crumbly. Add egg and almost all the water, process for 20 seconds or until the mixture just comes together when squeezed, adding more water if required. Turn onto a lightly floured board. Knead mixture gently to form smooth dough. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to moderately hot 210ºC.

Roll Pastry on a flour board large enough to fit a 13 inch round loose bottomed flan tin. Ease pastry into tin. Trim edge with a sharp knife. Cut a sheet of baking paper large enough to cover pastry lined tin. Place paper over pastry; spread a layer of dried beans or rice evenly over paper. Bake for 15 mins, remove paper and beans; bake for another 10 mins or until pastry case is lightly browned; cool. Reduce oven temperature to moderate 180 ºC.

To make Filling: Reserve four slices of bacon. Chop the remaining bacon. Heat pan, cook bacon until crisp; drain on paper towels. Sauté the mushrooms in the bacon fat. Keep aside. Combine eggs, milk, cream, salt and pepper in a jug. Whisk well. Line pastry case with mushrooms; sprinkle with bacon; pour cream mixture over. Cut reserved bacon rashers in half. Lay strips over cream mixture, sprinkle with cheese. Bake 40 mins or until cooked through and golden. Serve hot or cold with a nice green salad!

P.S. Do not overwork the dough when making pastry in a food processor or pastry will be tough. Another way is to just rub the butter with the flour till it resembles bread crumbs and then just combine with enough water to pull together.

Grilled Red Pepper Pate Crostini

Better late than never I say.. So here’s my grilled pepper pate recipe which I promised to share last month. Pâtè is a fine textured spread or paste. The term also applies to mixtures that have been baked or sautéed, then pureed to a creamy consistency. Pâtè is generally served at room temperature either spread on bread or crackers as finger food. Here we use the pate liberally on French bread and grill with cheese to produce a colorful and bursting with flavor starter. This pate will keep in an airtight container for upto three weeks. So Bon Appétit!

Grilled Red Pepper Pate Crostini

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Makes 1 cup

What you need:

4 large Red Peppers

3 cloves Garlic, unpeeled

2 Tbsps Balsamic Vinegar

1 Tbsp Sweet Chilli Sauce

150gm Butter (melted)

Pinch of Sugar

2 tsps finely chopped Parsley

1 loaf French bread

100 gms Cheddar cheese

Handful of Basil leaves to garnish

What to do:

Preheat oven to hot 240ºC. Line an oven tray with foil. Cut the peppers in half lengthways and remove the seeds and membrane. Cut in half again. Arrange pepper pieces on oven tray with the garlic cloves. Bake for 20 mins. Remove from oven; cover peppers with damp tea towel until cool. Peel skins from pepper pieces and garlic cloves and discard skin.

Place peppers, garlic, vinegar and chilli sauce in a food processor and process until smooth. With motor running pour in melted butter in a thin steady stream. Process until the mixture is thick and creamy. Transfer mixture to a small pan. Stir over low heat for 15 mins. Remove from heat and stir in the sugar and parsley.

Cut the French loaf into thin slices and grill in a toaster (crostini). Spread the pate, garnish with basil and cheese and grill until cheese melts. Serve!

Char Grilled Red Peppers with Balsamic Dressing

Summer times call for grilling. While most people can’t think of anything other than meat to toss onto a grill, I say give some veggies a chance - especially red peppers. Don’t worry if you don’t have an outdoor grill, I make mine on an indoor one (with the window open!) and it tastes just as fine. Its funny how the heat makes peppers change their nature – they go from pungent to sweet! Just peppers for dinner might not sound satisfying right now, but I assure you – serve it with some mashed potato, feta and green salad and you have the most refreshing summer meal!

Char Grilled Red Peppers with Balsamic Dressing

Prep time: 20 mins
Marinating time: 1 hr
Serves: 4

What you need:
6 Red Peppers
11/2 Tbsp Olive Oil
3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
200 gms Feta
Green Salad

What to do:
Cut each pepper into quarters; remove seeds and stems. Place skin side up under a preheated grill. Cook until skin blisters and turns black (about 15 mins). Cover peppers with a clean damp tea-towel and allow to stand for 5 mins. Peel away skin. Cut pepper pieces into 2 cm strips. Combine olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisk. Place pepper strips in a small bowl, pour oil mixture over and marinate for an hour in the refrigerator. Serve with green salad and cubed feta cheese.

P.S. Roasting or grilling peppers and peeling off the skin removes bitterness and intensifies the sweet flavor. You can roast a large amount at once and preserve in oil. There’s a fantastic pepper pate recipe I will share soon for the leftover grilled peppers.