All posts filed under: Recipes

Minted Pea Soup

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Is it a guy thing, to be repulsed by the idea of green food? No seriously, even before tasting my pea soup the co-resident faked fullness of the belly, courtesy a late lunch. The office mate nearly choked on his food before being forced to try it. The other colleague acted like he was part of a science experiment before gingerly licking the back of the spoon! Men I tell you… gutless, literally. That said, they all concluded that it was ‘not so bad – for pea soup’! And as an afterthought grudgingly added that it was actually (gasp gasp) tasty! I for one, love this version , cause the mint really uplifts it and its really easy peasy! Minted Pea Soup Prep time: 5 mins Cooking time: 25 mins Serves: 4-6 What you need: 2 Tbsp Butter 1 large Onion, coarsely chopped 1 Tbsp all-purpose Flour 500 gms frozen Peas 5 cups (1.25 lt) Vegetable/ Chicken Stock ½ tsp Sugar 2 large Mint Sprigs Salt and Black Pepper Shredded fresh Mint for garnish What …

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

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Here’s a tricky one. The recipe uses raw eggs. Don’t freak out, I’ve been relishing carbonara for many years and I still live to tell the tale. The reason I said it was tricky is because of the technique. You need to keep everything hot, so that when you add the eggs at the end, they just cook in the residual heat but do not scramble. Otherwise we would have scrambled eggs with spaghetti – not the best combo! That said, it’s the quickest and yummiest thing you can have with pasta. Also when the final result tastes like restaurant goodness in under ten minutes, your guests are sure going to sing praises of your effortless magic. Shall we say Nigella style? (It helps if you wear lipstick! Wink wink 😉 Spaghetti Alla Carbonara Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 10 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 450gms Spaghetti 1 Tbsp Olive oil 225gms rindless pancetta or lean bacon, chopped 4 Eggs 5 Tbsp light Cream 3 Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese Salt and freshly …

Nutella Cupcakes

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Here’s a little treat for my sweet tooth! One – it’s a cupcake, Two – it’s got frosting, Three – Its nutella frosting. I nicked this recipe off the official nutella website – not promoting them, but boy was it worth it! You can’t really replicate the taste of nutella with anything else. Am I glad my supermarket had a buy one get one free offer. Considering the co-resident finished one whole bottle by just digging in a spoon and licking it all off, I needed to use up the other in more productive ways. So yes, this is an attempt at productivity – though it resulted in sheer indulgence! Nutella Cupcakes Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 25 mins Makes: 12 What you need: 1/4 cup butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup canola or mild vegetable oil 3/4 cup sugar 3 large eggs 1 tsp. vanilla 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 2 tsp. baking powder 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4-1/2 cup Nutella, at room temperature What to do: In a medium bowl, beat the …

Chili Chicken – Indian Chinese Style

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This recipe might not be understood by everyone. I say that with confidence, because to understand this recipe, you needed to have eaten Indian-Chinese Cuisine. You probably won’t find it listed even if you look hard in the dictionary. Fact is, its not got much of Chinese in it other than the soy sauce and stir fry technique. But as a nation we love this so much, that we’ve given it a top three slot in our hearts. 80% of our everyday restaurants will list themselves as, ”Serving Indian, Mughlai and Chinese”! And that my friends, is the ONLY way to stay in business! The most popular dish of this marvelous collaboration is of course the ubiquitous Chicken Manchurian. (And its vegetarian cousins – Gobi Manchurian and Paneer Manchurian). However another post shall sing its glory, but for today it’s the Chilli Chicken’s place in the sun! Chilli Chicken – Indian Chinese Style Cooking time: 25 mins Marination time: 2 hrs Serves: 4 What you need: 500 gms of Boneless Chicken cubes For the marinade: …

Zesty Roasted Broccoli

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I like broccoli. No, its not crazy. I just know how to appreciate something that’s gonna help me look svelte. Ooh… so NOW I have your attention. The last time I did broccoli, was with penne. (click here) It does taste fantastic but now I’m a convert and the only way to bring out all the awesome flavors is to roast it!! Maybe we should make that a commandment. ‘Thou shall roast your broccoli before thou savors it!’ And while we’re at it, let’s also add ‘Thou shall not obsess about thy weight!’ That will help when you reach the last line of the ingredients – I recommend generous shavings of Parmesan. Oh come on, isn’t the broccoli working overtime to burn calories?? Roasted Broccoli Cooking time: 25 mins Prep time: 5 mins Serves: 4 as side, 2 as main course What you need: 2 heads of Broccoli (cut into florets and dried thoroughly) 4 Tbsp Olive oil 1 ½ tsp Rock Salt ½ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper 8 Garlic cloves. sliced 1 Lemon (zest …

Macaroni with Spicy Sausage Meat

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So I bought some spicy sausage when I bought my bacon. It’s always the same routine. The co-resident will throw a fit if he knew that I came back from the deli one without the other. This sausage is really special, most likely not found outside Bangalore. It’s called the green masala sausage at the ‘Ham Shop’ on M.G. Road. The man’s been in business for decades and trust me he knows how to turn this one out to perfection. I’m pretty sure the sausage has coriander, chilies and pepper. And I’ve decided to not boggle my brains with deciphering the rest of the mix. You can substitute any other sausage for this recipe, but if you can head down to the Ham Shop nothing like it. (P.S. No, he did not pay me to write for him and No and I don’t think he needs any more publicity!) Macaroni with Spicy Sausage Meat Cooking time: 25 mins Prep time: 15 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 400 gms Pasta 1 Tbsp Olive oil 1 …

Classic Bacon and Egg Salad Sandwich

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It’s called classic because it’s a timeless combination. Bacon and Eggs. I could actually have an entire blog dedicated to the dishes you could dish out of this very combination. But we don’t want to be biased now, do we 😉 ?  New question… why do I need a separate blog post for the simplest of sandwiches? Because my friends it’s the little things that matter and this recipe has all the little things that will transform a slap dash sandwich into the classic it is. For a hint – it’s Mustard. Not convinced? Ok, Parsley. Still not convinced? Ok its mustard and parsley and mayo. Trust me, the combo works like a charm! Classic Bacon and Egg Sandwich Prep time: 10 mins Makes 2 sandwiches What you need: 2 rashers rindless Bacon 2 hard boiled Eggs 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise 1 tsp Dijon Mustard 1 Tbsp finely chopped flat leaf Parsley Salt and freshly ground Black pepper Butter or Margarine 4 slices Milk or other White Bread What to do: Grill bacon or fry in …

Ghee Rice Mummy Style

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My mum is a fantastic cook. So is my mom-in-law. Whatever I make falls two spots short of whatever they churn out, by just chucking random ingredients into the pan. Life’s not fair is it?! I always console myself thinking that they had 8 hours a day for the last 30 years to practice their art while I’ve just had weekends. Score settled. Anyway, they’ve always been more than willing to share their gems of wisdom with me, which I reverently jot down in a little notebook to ‘try’ replicating at home. Alas, it’s always a not quite. Am sure the wily women are not disclosing the magic ingredient! How else would they get me to come home often? So here is my mum’s Ghee Rice. It’s the most amazing accompaniment to any curry/ gravy. And don’t worry, even without her secret ingredient (shall we be soppy and say ‘love’) it still rocks my boat! Ghee Rice Prep time: 20 mins Cooking time: 10 mins Serves: 4-6 What you need: 3 cups Jeera Rice (or …