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Onion Pakodas – For the Rains!

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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

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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.

Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto

Published by thefoodporndiaries

This one is inspired by the Pasta Salad that I have in Café Max every single time I go there. One rainy day I was craving for it, but the car was out of commission and there’s no way I was going to hail a rickshaw and pay triple! After pacing up and down the hall swinging between ordering something else or hailing the hell ride, I decided to make it myself. I generally have readymade pesto in the fridge for just such emergencies, but today was one of those days. Ok, no problem, I’ll whip up my failsafe Pesto. I opened the fridge to realize I also didn’t have Basil at home. Pesto without basil? Was I going to lose this battle? Necessity is the mother of all inventions. Cilantro looked like a good substitute for Basil (Ok, it was leafy and green, beats using a carrot!). The problem with cilantro though is it reminds me of Chutney. So after I wrestled the idea out of my mind, I finally got mixing. I must tell you that I was pleasantly surprised. The result was a fantastic light salad!

Pasta Salad with Cilantro Pesto

Prep time: 20 mins

Serves: 4 small portions/ 2 large portions

What you need:

½ portion Pesto Recipe (click here) (Please substitute Cilantro for Basil)

2 cups cooked Pasta

1 onion, chopped

2 Tomatoes, seeds removed and chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do:

Make ½ portion of the Pesto Sauce according to my fabulous recipe 😉 Don’t forget to substitute Cilantro for Basil. Or you can use the basil as well and then it will be a regular Pesto salad. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions and drain.

Now is the simple bit. Just toss all the ingredients together. Make sure the pesto coats everything. Drizzle with some extra olive oil and grate some more parmesan if required. Stuff your face blissfully.

Sweet Corn Soup Chinese Style

Published by thefoodporndiaries

I had a can of Sweet Corn cream style in the pantry. I had picked this up in the market to produce something exciting. But as it happens with most things in my pantry, the exciting recipe never gets produced and the expiry date on the can looms close. So one fine day when I look at the contents in the pantry (which happens to be a big drawer actually!), I find things that should have been thrown out six months ago and things that need to be used as of yesterday. The Sweet Corn, thankfully, belonged to the latter category. So I poured into my innumerable cookbooks for a recipe with cream style corn and I didn’t find anything I fancied. Finally out of desperation and hunger gnawing at my tummy, I did the unthinkable! I followed the recipe on the back of the can. *Eyes wide with horror*. Ok, I was just kidding, of course I don’t give a damn if the recipe is from the back of the can as long as it tastes good. And this people, did taste good. A penny saved is a penny earned, or in this case – ‘A can of corn saved is a can of soup eaten’!

Sweet Corn Soup Chinese Style

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 12 mins

Serves: 4 small portions/ 2 large portions

What you need:

1 can Sweet Corn Cream Style (I used Delmonte)

2 cups Stock (vegetable/ Chicken)

1/2 cup Chopped Vegetables (Carrots/ beans/ asparagus)

1 Tsp Corn Flour

2 Tsp White Vinegar

Salt and White pepper powder to taste

1/4 cup Chopped spring onions – to garnish

What to do:

Heat 2 cups of vegetable stock/ water in a pan. Mix in cream style sweet corn, add chopped vegetables and bring it to a boil. Blend 1 tsp corn flour in a Tbsp of water and stir in the boiling soup to get the desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper powder and white vinegar to taste. Garnish with spring onion greens and serve piping hot with soya and chilli vinegar!

P.S. You can crush a Maggie tastemaker cube into 2 cups of water to make a substitute for Vegetable/ Chicken stock.

P.S. Delmonte din’t pay me for this. The can just looked so colourful, it was begging to be photographed. Also if Delmonte would like to pay me for this, please call me for my bank account number. (People can dream can’t they? :P)

Twice Cooked Rosemary Chicken

Published by thefoodporndiaries

Rosemary is a woody herb mostly used in Mediterranean cuisine. In Latin it means ‘dew of the sea’. Apparently Aphrodite rose from the sea with rosemary draped around her. (Ahem Ahem!). The herb is also associated with Virigin Mary. Please go figure the dichotomy yourself! There are so many other tales around rosemary – curative, memory enhancer, love charm, protection herb, etc. etc.! But today, we will limit ourselves to its use in food. Rosemary is highly aromatic, so a little should suffice. When burned, it smells similar to burning wood, so it’s great for flavoring barbeques. If you want an easy recipe with five star results, it’s the rosemary Chicken. It’s simple enough to cook and elegant enough to impress. Perfect for busy bees and gourmands! Yes, I am both and therefore this recipe is my failsafe. The technique is essentially pan frying and basting the chicken with the herb, thereby allowing the flavours of the herb to mould with the chicken, then roasting it to seal the juices in. The end product is crispy, soft, earthy awesomeness!

Twice Cooked Rosemary Chicken

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 20 mins

Makes: 4 portions

What you need:

4 Chicken Thighs (with skin)

4+2 Tbsp Oil

2 Tbsp Butter (unsalted)

2 sprigs Fresh Rosemary (10-12 leaves)

Salt and Pepper

What to do:

Pat the chicken dry using some tissues, making sure to keep the skin intact. Drying the chicken reduces cooking time. You can even pop it into the fridge for half hour uncovered to dry it out. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat the oven to 200°C. (We are going to roast the chicken after frying). Heat the oil in a frying pan to just below smoking point. Place the chicken skin side down and wait for the skin to brown nicely. About 6-7 mins a side. Stand away from the pan, as the chicken tends to sizzle and splutter. Turn the chicken over and wait for the other side to brown as well.( It’s better to do two portions at a time to avoid overcrowding in the pan. ) Now toss in the additional oil as well as butter into the pan. Toss the rosemary in and start basting chicken with the fat and herbs. (Easy way to do this is by using a spoon with a long handle. Take some of the liquid fat from the bottom of the pan by tilting the pan and then spoon it over the chicken). Do this 2-3 times till the herb releases the aroma and the chicken skin looks wonderfully brown and crispy.

Now pop the chicken into the pre heated oven and let it cook for 12 mins. (7-8 if you are cooking without bone/ chicken breast). Remove and let the chicken rest for 3-4 mins before serving. This lets it absorb the juices. Voila! Serve with something creamy like mashed potatoes or risotto.

Divine Mushroom Risotto

Published by thefoodporndiaries

‘Risotto is an Italian dish of rice cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be meat-based, fish-based, or vegetable-based; many kinds include parmesan cheese, butter, and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy’ – or so says Wiki. But in most of the restaurants in Bangalore it looks and tastes more like Pongal – which is the biggest insult both to the humble pongal and the exquisite risotto! This is the reason that I religiously bypass the risotto in any restaurant menu here. I hadn’t seen anyone who could get the final product creamy but not gluggy and still have some bite to it…. Until I ate at Graze. Oh… my…. God!! It was like I died and went to heaven! So of course I begged the chef to tell me his secret. Let’s just say I now have the ingredient list! Ahem ahem…There arose the problem – the man was using truffle oil and pea sprouts and Enokitake mushrooms and all the wonderful, if not crazily expensive ingredients to make it taste the way it does!!! So could I replicate it at home? – Yes, but I’d have to lock and stalk my pantry 24/7 to safeguard these items. As this is feasible only in theory I begged him again to give me substitutes. This he gladly obliged, because now he knew, no matter how I try to replicate it at home, I’d have to come back to Graze for the original! (Clever man!) That said, this version is the closest you can get to heaven with your pockets not devoid of cash.

Mushroom Risotto

Prep time: 10 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

1 ½ cup Arborio Rice

300 gms mixed Mushrooms (Button, Oyster)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp + 2 Tbsp Butter

4 Shallots, finely chopped

3 cups Chicken/ Veg Stock (kept hot) + 2 cups extra if required

½ cup grated Parmesan

Salt and Pepper

To Garnish:

1 Tbsp chopped Chives

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

4 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar with 2 cloves, ½ inch cinnamon, 4 peppercorns (reduced to 2 Tbsp)

What to do:

Wash the rice and drain. Brown each type of mushroom in batches in 2 Tbsp of Olive Oil. Remove. In the same pan add 2 Tbsp of Butter and sauté the shallots till soft but not colored. Toss in rice and stir to coat each grain with the butter so that the rice looks shiny. Pour in a ladle of hot stock. Wait for the rice to absorb it. Repeat the process till you have poured in about 3 cups of stock. Check to see if the rice is 80% cooked. (Smash a grain with your finger – there should be resistance but no hard bits). Now toss in the mushrooms and stir to incorporate. Put another ladle of stock if you feel the rice needs more cooking. Continue till you get the consistency of double cream. Take off the flame and add in the 2Tbsp of butter and Parmesan. Stir. Garnish with chopped chives, Dash of olive oil and the reduced balsamic vinegar. Eat up immediately!

P.S. For the Balsamic reduction – Heat the balsamic vinegar with cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns till the liquid reduces by half. Take it off the stove, strain and use as required. You can also do the same with some Port wine.

Masala Fried Fish with Salad Nicoise-ish

Published by thefoodporndiaries

If there is a French person reading this, I apologize for turning a perfectly authentic salad on its head. If there is a person on a diet reading this, I apologize for luring you in here with a salad and then saying it’s topped with ‘fried’ fish. The original recipe calls for tuna, which I replace with fried sear fish. (Go ahead and grill yours, if you want to be on the safe side of the scales). I also omit boiled green beans and add fried croutons instead for crunch. (Blasphemy, I know). At this stage you might understand why I called it ‘Nicoise-ish’. Should I have just called it ‘fusion food’? Or should I have called it ‘things I like to eat’? Like Shakespeare said, ‘a rose by any other name would smell as sweet’. Now, who are we mere mortals to argue with that kinda logic, right? It’s a fantastic meal in one and looks so freaking amazing. That said, I love this version of Salad Nicoise (Nee-sh-wah) more than the original! Gasp Gasp :P.

Masala Fried Fish with Salad Nicoise

Prep time: 15 mins

Marinating time: 1 hr

Cooking time: 15 mins

Serves: 4

What you need:

For the Masala fried fish:

4 steaks (400 gms) Sear Fish/ any white fish (1 inch thickness)

½ tsp Turmeric

2 Tbsp Chili Powder (or according to taste)

½ tsp Ginger Garlic paste

Salt

Oil for frying

For the Salad Nicoise:

1 big Cos Lettuce, (rinsed and well dried)torn into shreds

4 Tomatoes, chopped

3/4th cup sliced Black Olives

4 hard Boiled eggs

1 Onion, finely sliced

2 slices old bread, cut and fried into croutons (use the same oil as the fried fish for awesome flavour)

For the Vinaigrette:

3 Tbsp Virgin Olive Oil

2 Tbsp white wine Vinegar

1 tsp Dijon Mustard

Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

What to do:

First of all, don’t be alarmed by the list of ingredients. It’s just assembly. Artful tossing together. Starting with the fried fish. Make a thick paste with turmeric, salt, ginger garlic paste and chili (add as much heat as you can take, but be advised that extra chili powder tends to blacken the fish and leave debris in the cooking oil). Marinate the fish steaks by rubbing the paste on both sides of the fish. Set aside. Add all the vinaigrette items into a bottle and give it a good shake till it looks like everything is homogenously incorporated. Keep cool in the fridge.

Heat oil to just below smoking point, put in the fish steaks and immediately lower the heat. Fry for 4 mins on each side. The extra masala will settle to the bottom of the pan. Drain and keep warm.

Wash the lettuce and pat the leaves dry. (Or use a salad drier). Toss in the rest of the ingredients (tomatoes, onions, olives) accordingly. Toss over the vinaigrette (Approx. 1 Tbsp per plate), just before serving to avoid the lettuce leaves becoming limp. Divide among four plates with one boiled egg per person. Place the fried fish in the center and serve with pride. Dig in with absolute abandon!

AU BON PAIN (Koramangala)

Published by thefoodporndiaries

Au Bon Pain (pronounced O-Bo-Pa) literally means ‘the place of good bread’. So when you walk into the ‘international bakey café (as they call it) that’s what they expect you to expect. I like that they call it a bakery café – sets them apart from the gazillion coffee shops around. Not that they don’t serve a mean coffee… but you get the drift! The outlet at Kormangala is located at the Sony world junction. The said junction becoming a kind of a food fest, what with ten to twelve restaurants within a 500 meter radius! Au Bon Pain is quite easy to locate considering the trademark cheery yellow colour of the café. (I have the same colour painted on my walls, so excuse me for thinking it’s a great colour!). That said – where do you park once you reach that junction?? Street parking in this area is like a game of musical chairs and most often than not, you are left without one! We parked next to Sapphire and gingerly crossed the mammoth signal.

Stepped in to a buzz of activity, considering it was lunch time. I guess people would consider this the ‘healthier’ option compared to the fried chicken and cheesy taco across the street. The décor is basic and functional, albeit cheery, which is what we’ve grown accustomed to in a café. Besides, it’s self service, so you shouldn’t expect a fine dining atmosphere! They have different ‘areas’ from where you choose your food and plonk it onto your tray and then go get the whole mish mash billed at the counter. I say mish mash cause that’s how my tray looked. Choices choices! It’s basically a pay for what you eat buffet and thank the lord for that, otherwise I would have more muffins and glazed rolls than the tummy can handle!

They have fresh juices that you can pull out of a dispenser, Salads, a dessert and beverage bar, a soup section, the main course counter and finally the freshly baked goods section (my fav!). So I hobbled across with hubby and we picked up a veritable (questionable) combination of eateries! The Litchi iced tea for me and the apple juice for him. The apple juice was good and seemed au naturale, though I know the litchi ice tea had enough sugar in it to give you a nice afternoon buzz. I also picked up a soup – Tuscan Chicken and veggie. I only did this cause I am a sucker for what they serve it in – a bread bowl! Thankfully someone told me to take the soup in a sensible paper cup and just before eating, to fill up the bread bowl. Excellent advice, considering the amount of time I took in making the rest of my selections, the soup would have definitely either a. got absorbed in the bread or b. breached the bowl wall and made its way down my shirt! I would advise you to try it once. Just for fun!

For the mains I ordered a Jalepeno and Corn crostini and hubby ordered a Turkey, Ham and Cheese sandwich. The crostini was nice and crusty with a hit of garlic. I like my bread to have a bit of character and be crusty and chewy, but I doubt the rest of the population would agree. The sandwich on the other hand was quite insipid for the price. Slice of turkey and ham on a bed of wilted lettuce and tomato soaking the bread is not what I would pay good money for. I’ve had the Mediterranean Humus and Olive sandwich on a different occasion and that was actually decent. There’s other ‘Indian’ stuff on the menu like biryani’s and paneer etc., but I fail to understand why someone would come here and order that. Go to Richies or an Andhra mess! In a bakery – head to the baked goods, and that’s exactly where my heart lies!

At the freshly baked goods counter, my hand was making these strange uncontrollable movements and at the end I had four things on the tray. (Note to self: All their breads are trans fat free.. Yeah!). Chocolate muffin was good and hubby said he would definitely grab this for brekkie. I loved the Blueberry Danish, it was all jammy and buttery and crisp in the right places. The Cinnamon Roll however was to die for! It had the right hit of cinnamon and sprinkling of raisins and topped with a sugar glaze….heaven! I headed to the beverage section to get some water… needed to cleanse the palate you see. All these varied flavors were playing tic tac toe on my tongue. Hubby picked up a Chocolate mousse on the way back (yes, I know its gluttony!). Now, I’m not generally a mousse person but this was great. Dark chocolate glaze, raisins embedded in the mousse, sinfully rich. Yes sir, that hit the spot!

Will I go back to Au Bon Pain? (19 outlets in Bangalore, apparently). Yes, for the baked goods and desserts. (Their Bagels are insane by the way, divine with the cream cheese. Tried this on a different occasion). The sandwiches however left me wanting. Not because of the taste, but because of the quantity and associated price. Maybe I should try the Indian next time… Actually Na! The service needs a special mention – helpful without being intrusive and as cheery as the yellow walls 🙂 That said, for the convenience of a quick bite in a happy setting, I would definitely pick this one over the other café options!

AU BON PAIN

No. 650, 6th Block, Koramangala,

Ward No. 67, Bengaluru – 560095.

Landmark: Sony Center Crossing

Bakery Café, Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. No Alcohol. Accept Credit Card.

Parking: Street, actually bylanes.

Other Outlets I know: Cunningham Rd, Indiranagar 12th Main, Old Madras Road (RMZ Infinity)

Price Point – Beverages – Rs.35-75. Sandwiches – Everything is less than Rs.150/- (Except for the turkey and Ham Sandwich), Desserts – Rs.55-75/-. Baked Goods – I don’t care, they were so good! Ok, they were all less than Rs.60/-.