All posts filed under: Main Course

PanchPhoran Dal (Five Spice Lentils) – Comfort food at it’s Best!

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I know I’ve said many times that making regular dal and rice bores me. That dosen’t mean I don’t make it. No week is complete without Dal being made atleast twice. It’s what we grew up on and it’s what I crave when I come back from a long trip to unfamiliar places. Eating dal and rice with a veggie on the side and a smattering of pickle is nothing short of a homecoming! The fact that it’s such a commoner on the dinner table and gets made so often, I’ve actually never written down a recipe for dal. So this was my first attempt at documenting the precise quantities. I kept a little sheet of paper next to me and kept jotting down what I threw into the pan. Now I finally have a dal recipe that I can pass to the co-resident and ask him to attempt it when am too bored to move a muscle J We use mustard seeds and curry leaves to temper the dal. However, this one uses a …

Singapore Black Pepper Prawns

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Singapore’s most famous dish is undoubtedly the Chili Crab and the Black Pepper Prawns. When you walk down Clark Quay or Boat Quay you will find innumerable restaurants and street café’s serving up these super fiery dishes. The Chili crab is generally made with huge Sri Lankan crabs. If you put both your palms together, the crab will probably be larger than that! I’ve spent quite a bit of money on many many nights in Singapore digging into these critters! Another one of my favorites is the Black Pepper Prawns – buttery, peppery, hot awesomeness! They generally use Tiger Prawns for this with the tails (and sometimes the head on.) You yank the head off and start slurping down the sauce and the prawn meat, then finish by digging out whatever else in left in the tail. At the end of the night you have steam coming out of your ears and are sticking your tongue out and downing litres of beer but you can’t stop smiling, because it was so awesome! So here’s my …

Flame Grapes and Green Apple Salad

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Yes I’m trying to show off and no the grapes are not on fire. That’s just a name for a variety of grapes that are both white and red in colour. Quite pretty really. They are also seedless and firm. Perfect for use in a salad. The tang of the green apple superbly complements the sweetness of the grapes and we bring it all together with some lovely lemon herb mayonnaise dressing. Now I, (like most people) was not a very big fan of salads in the younger days of yore. We even called it Ghas Phoos. (Those who know, will know!). But now that’s I’ve grown older wiser, I gladly fill up my plate with the goodies. I’ve even been known to order just salad for lunch! (Ha ha ha … really got you on that one din’t I??) Anyway, the point I’m trying to make is … some salads do taste awesome! And though you probably won’t bypass a meal to eat just one, it won’t hurt to pile some on your plate. …

Grilled Chicken Souvlaki

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It’s been a Greece obsessed month. Started with Tzatziki, then to the Cucumber Cooler and now to the famous Souvlaki. Maybe it has more to do with summer and the fact that Greek cuisine is so suited for hot balmy weather. When you scrutinize their cuisine, it’s filled with light and fresh recipes packed with flavor. Lemons are abundantly used, as are olives, yoghurt, herbs and cheese. Souvlaki is actually Greek fast food – Meat on a skewer. But unlike the fast food of the west (burgers and fries), this one is a lot more healthy, wholesome and delicious! Greeks generally use pork/ lamb for souvlaki but chicken is popular as well. The grilled skewers can be eaten as a starter or combined with Pita, tzatziki, lettuce and tomatoes to make a super sandwich! The most refreshingly light and filling lunch for a hot day! Now to complete the picture ….I’m on a Greek island overlooking the aquamarine ocean and have a gorgeous Greek God for company …. Sigh! (Yes, I remember I’m married already, …

Thai Fish Cakes with Coriander, Lime Mayo

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I love fish cakes. Especially the ones made with Sear fish. Sear fish is a delicacy in South India and Sri Lanka and is generally the costliest fish in the market after Pomfret. In Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu it’s called “Vanjaram” and in Kerala its christened “Neimeen”. Some people also refer to them as king mackerels. I am partial to the seer, because a. it’s an ocean fish, b. it cooks beautifully in a curry or a fry, c. It’s isn’t riddled with too many bones, d. It’s so tasty! My mom-in-law makes the best fish cutlets (south Indian style with loads of masala!) and the co-resident can’t stop eating them. Since I can’t compete with the mother recipe, I din’t try to replicate it. Instead I found one that uses thai red curry paste to give a fantastic spin to the basic fishcake recipe. It’s really simple to make. You can even make the cakes in advance and refrigerate them, just pull out and fry before serving. Now isn’t that what we all …

Green Goddess Frittata (Spinach, Broccoli and Mushroom)

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Frittata is a variation of an omelette and is derived from the Italian word fritto meaning to fry. The difference between an omelette and frittata are four fold. (A) Ingredients are combined with the beaten egg mixture before cooking, unlike an omelette where its tossed on top before the omelette is fully cooked. (B) The mixture is cooked over a very low heat, but for a longer period of time (10-15 mins) compared to an omelette (4-5 mins). (C) The frittata is not folded over like an omelette, but grilled briefly to set the top (D) and finally a frittata is for sharing, unlike an omelette which is a one person dish. So after getting all technical on you, I’d like to conclude by saying – it tastes just like a fat, fancy omelette or a baseless quiche. Both of which are fully acceptable and appreciated with gusto in my home. I would serve the frittata cold with some toasted baguettes for a fuss free lunch. It’s also a great option to lug around for …

Summer Pasta Salad – a la Infinitea

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I’m more of a summer person than a winter person. Or so I thought, till I got baked in the sun the past couple of days. The heat has been unbearable. I have the fan on full speed at home and there’s still no respite. Being Bangalorean, I always think I don’t need an AC in our pleasant city. Boy, am I wrong! The only time I’m happy these days, is when I’m in the car and I have the AC on full blast in my face or when am under a cold shower! Which leads me to change my earlier notion of what weather person I am – I am an opti-weather person. I don’t like it too hot or too cold, too dry or too rainy, too windy or too still! I’m not fussy, but that’s the weather I would like. If wishes were horses, right? But I still concede that when it comes to satisfying my weather requirement, no other city in the world gets it as close to perfect as Bangalore. …

Ham, Bacon and Green Apple Quiche

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So today has been a frustrating day. I made a cheese cake which did not set and made a Mexican Chicken Mole which had too much cinnamon! And on a hot day tempers can flare everywhere! Clearly some days are not for culinary adventure or rather just any culinary venture. Every woman who rushes home from work and still wants to whip up a fancy meal a la Nigella, is living in a dream world if she doesn’t have failsafe recipes to fall back on! It’s times like these that I have even more reverence for a good recipe, a blogger who tests the recipe and finally a book that publishes only tried and tested recipes. That is why you can be rest assured I am not putting up dubious recipes on my blog. I don’t want to inflict the pain of failure on anyone. (No, seriously, that’s how it feels when a recipe screws up!) So it’s with supreme confidence that I am posting the Ham, Bacon and Green Apple recipe. It worked liked …