Year: 2011

Coq Au Vin with a Twist

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 Coq Au Vin simply means Chicken in Wine. The French sure know how to make simple things sound so ooh-la-la. Traditionally Coq Au Vin is made with red wine and mushrooms. This recipe however is made with white wine and green olives. The result is simply delish! Use chicken pieces with the skin on – this gives it a lovely brown color on the outside, while keeping the flesh inside nice and juicy. Serve it with some mashed potatoes or some buttered carrots to make a complete meal. This takes 50 mins tops to make, so if you want to impress the family on a weekday… I’d say go for it. Coq Au Vin with a Twist Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 40 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 1 kg Chicken, cut into serving pieces 1 Onion, sliced 12 Garlic cloves, to taste, crushed 1 tsp dried Thyme 2 cups dry white wine 1 cup pitted Green Olives (16-18) 1 bay leaf 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice 1-2 Tbsp Butter Salt and Black Pepper …

Spirulina Spaghetti with Garlic Butter

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Spirulina is a blue-green algae which is being developed as the superfood of the future. Spirulina is 70% complete protein in comparison to beef which is only 22% – it has all amino acids in complete balance. That being said, you can imagine why I fell for the fancy all organic packing of the spirulina spaghetti. I thought I’d toss it with Garlic butter to serve as a simple sauce so that the flavor of the spirulina can shine through. And shine through it did… actually all I could taste was the spirulina! It was a completely new taste on my palate… sea like, veggie like, earth like…. I don’t like!!! The co-resident graciously took a small portion and insisted that he was really full. I on the other hand had to prove that I had an iron gut and frankly bit off more than I could chew! On the whole … what’s life without a little jolt to the palate once in a while?? Recommended for the earth mother loving organic farming people who …

Savoury Cheese Souffle

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Featured in Zomato’s monthly newsletter CRUNCH – 23rd Nov 2011. http://www.zomato.com/crunch/cheese-souffle/ Souffle means breath or to take ones breath away. I was definitely holding my breath when I waited for it to rise in the oven. After which I was so proud of my fluffly soufflé that I moved around it in circles to figure out the right angle for the shot. That’s when I realized that a soufflé is called so because it takes one big breath and then releases it. Once out of the oven I saw the steam escaping from my soufflé and I lost some steam as well. (But I read that a soufflé holds its shape for only 3-4 mins… so that’s some balm for my wounded ego). Before making the effort, you need to ask yourself the question… “Will you appreciate a subtle dish?, Can you dive into the meal at break neck speed? Will you be happy with a really small portion? (The French I tell you!)”. If the answer to all these questions is a resounding YES… …

Dreamy Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting

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 Oh yes we like this one! Happy, fluffy and creamy… and if I might add, at the cost of sounding cheesy … quite dreamy!  Cupcakes bring back memories of schooldays and lazy summers, of the guilty pleasures of licking the cream off the cake and then off your fingers, of having something special just for you. Oh yes we like this!  If something can make people forget that age is pulling them in the wrong direction, then this is it. Why, I feel like a little girl of five when biting into this buttery heaven! Enjoy… Vanilla Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting Prep time: 15 minsCooking time: 20 minsServes: Makes 12 cupcakes What you need:1 ½ cup all purpose Flour½ tsp baking powder¼ tsp fine Sea Salt½ cup unsalted Butter, softened¾ cup granulated Sugar2 eggs, room temperature2 tsp Vanilla extract2/3 cup whole MilkFor the Frosting: (enough for 24 cupcakes)100 gms Butter3 cups Icing Sugar3-5 Tbsps Milk1 tsp Vanilla extractFood Colouring (if tinting frosting) What to do:Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature. Preheat oven to …

SPIGA (St. Marks Road)

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Spiga has always been one of my favorite restaurants in Bangalore. It was located in a quaint little house on Vittal Mallya road and has now shifted to the more spacious 4th floor of the Halycon Building on St. Marks Road. I must have visited Spiga a gazillion times and have not been disappointed by the food. The menu has been the same, with a few tweaks here and there and thank the lord for that. I went in the afternoon this time with a couple of friends from work. The place has a Mediterranean feel to it with the whole whitewashed effect – quite pleasant and serving as an excellent backdrop for the colorful food. I’ve seen it at night as well, fairy lights and pleasant alfresco dining add to a lovely view of the city lights. The only grouse I’ve always had is the music is too loud near the bar area. Comon guys … it’s a lounge NOT a discotheque. However a few tipples and all is forgotten and forgiven 😉 We …

Prawns in Garlic Butter

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Like most seafood dishes this one is non fussy and just divine tasting. Well, the fate of anything doused in butter is sealed – the final result has to be Fantabulous! I use fresh prawns which I clean and devein myself… yes its fishy business, but somebody’s got to do it. Frozen prawns are fine as well, but it tends to be less juicy. Prawns can be just as easily substituted with mussels, lobster, crayfish or calamari. You can eat this as a starter or serve it on top of homemade fettuccine. Either way it’s a weekday winner. Well anything you can whip up in 10 minutes flat should be right?? Prawns in Butter Garlic  Prep time: 5 mins Cooking time: 5 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 400 gms Shrimp 4 Tbsp Butter 25-30 cloves Garlic 1 Tbsp Mustard paste 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice 8-10 Peppercorns A few sprigs Parsley Salt (if needed) What to do: Wash and drain cleaned shrimps thoroughly. Chop parsley finely, keep aside. Crush peppercorns. Grind garlic to a rough …

Too good to be true Pesto

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 What would you say, if I told you that I had the best Pesto recipe ever??!! Impossible right, cause I’m not even Italian, nor can I trace any of my roots to that hallowed land of food. (Ya, sometimes I dream I was Italian, eating their food everyday … bliss, bliss.) But I DO have the best pesto recipe. The result of trial, error, trial, error, consultation of many books and amalgamation of the best tips from the net – I give to you – Too Good to be True Pesto. I can’t even tell you it kicks store bought pesto’s ass because that would be like comparing a diamond to a piece of coal! I’m not claiming its authentic, I’m not even claiming that its by the book, but what it is, is heavenly green awesomeness that I could wrap my tongue around and ride off into the sunset with! Am I getting carried away? No, No, No… when you’ve found the holy grail of pesto’s wouldn’t you be shouting it out from the …

Chicken and Mushroom Pie

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Comfort  Food! This is a classic one. The smell of tender chicken and veggies in a hearty sauce, simmering away on the stove … pure rustic joy!  There are days when you want to eat fancy restaurant food and other days when nothing but a home cooked meal of goodness will do. Well, this is for the other days! I make this often, not just cause its yummy but cause its really easy as well. Actually it’s easy cause I skip the pastry crust on top. I know its cheating, but who wants the unnecessary calories? OK fine… that’s a lie as well… the truth my darlings – ready pastry is not available in India. Well not the cheap variety anyway and it’s a pain to make short crust pastry in a hurry. I’ll give you the pastry recipe however, for lazy Sundays when you can luxuriously knead the dough till it cries foul BUT today my friends I’m going to enjoy this sans the frills. (Eg: Minus Pie Crust , Add Dinner Rolls). Its …