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Minted Pea Soup

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 to do:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped onion and cook very gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes until soft but not colored. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for a further 1-2 mins, then add the frozen peas, stock, sugar and sprigs of mint. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer gently. Stir occasionally for 5 mins or until the peas are soft. Do not simmer any longer than this otherwise the peas will lose their fresh green color.

Remove the mint sprigs and discard. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Return the soup to the rinsed out pan, reheat and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot garnished with shredded fresh mint.

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 ground Pepper

What to do:

Bring a large heavy bottomed pan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta, return to a boil and cook according to time instructions on the packet. The spaghetti should be tender but still firm to the bite. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottom skillet. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently – 8 to 10 mins. Beat the eggs with the cream in a small bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta and return it to the pan. Tip in the contents of the skillet, then add the egg mixture and half the parmesan cheese. Stir well, then transfer to a warmed serving dish. Serve immediately sprinkled with the remaining cheese.

Nutella Cupcakes

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 butter, oil and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth.

In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt; add to the butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. The batter will be thick. It needs to be in order to swirl in the Nutella!

Divide the batter between 12 paper-lined muffin cups. Drop a spoonful of Nutella on top of each, and swirl through the batter with the tip of a bamboo skewer, knife or other pointy object. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until springy to the touch. Tilt them in the pan to help them cool. Makes a dozen cupcakes.

Chili Chicken – Indian Chinese Style

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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:

1 Egg

2 tsp Yoghurt

1 tsp Chilli Powder

1 tsp Kabab Masala powder (available in stores)

Paste of 3 pods Garlic and 3 Green Chillies

2 Tbsp Cornflour

Orange-Red Coloring (optional- available in stores)

Salt to taste

For the Stir Fry:

1 Onion sliced

4-6 Green Chillies, split lengthwise

¼ tsp Ginger paste

½ Capsicum, cut lengthwise

1 Tbsp Soya Sauce

2 Tbsp Oil (Refined Oil/ Peanut Oil) for stir fry

Oil to deep Fry

What to do:

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and coat the chicken with it. Refrigerate for 2 hrs to tenderize it. Heat the oil and deep fry the marinated chicken pieces for 10-12 mins till tender and crispy. Set aside to drain on a paper towel.

Heat 2 Tbsp Oil, toss in the Onion and ginger paste. Saute. Toss in the chillies. After 3 mins toss in the capsicum and sauté till the onions just start to turn brown. Add the soya sauce and mix well. Check seasoning. Add salt if required. Now toss in the fried chicken pieces and sauté till the sauce coats every piece. Serve hot!!

Zesty Roasted Broccoli

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 and juice)

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

What to do:

Preheat oven to 200°C. Cut the broccoli into small florets. Dry thoroughly. Obsessively. It roasts beautifully when dried. Put the broccoli on a cookie sheet. Toss with 3 Tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss in garlic and roast for 20-25 mins. This is when it gets nice and tender but crispy and browned around the edges.

When done pull out of the oven. Zest a lemon over it and squeeze the juice. (If a whole lemon is too tangy you could do half). Add the remaining tbsp of oil, Mix well. Now sprinkle the parmesan cheese. The heat will cause it to go all melty on the broccoli. Enjoy as a side to a meat dish or as a great vegetarian main course.

Macaroni with Spicy Sausage Meat

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 large red Onion, very finely chopped

6-8 good quality pork Sausages (skin removed)

1 fresh medium-hot red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper

1 small glass of dry White Wine

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Pinch of dried Oregano

150 ml hot Vegetable stock

300 ml Double Cream

Salt and freshly ground Black pepper

Handful of fresh flat leaf Parsley, finely chopped

What to do:

Place pasta in a pan of boiling salted water and cook until just tender. Drain, keep back a tiny amount of cooking water.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the onion, and cook over a low heat for 5 mins or until soft and translucent. Chop up the sausage meat and add to the pan, using the back of a fork to break it up. Cook until they are no longer pink, about 5 mins. Add the chili and cayenne and stir. Raise the heat, add the wine and simmer for a few mins. Add the garlic and oregano and season well with salt and pepper. Pour in the stock and cream, bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins.

Toss the pasta with the sausage sauce, get your desired consistency with the cooking liquid. Garnish with parsley and serve hot. (Not cold, because the pork fat tends to get heavy when cold.)

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Classic Bacon and Egg Salad Sandwich

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 a dry non-stick pan until crisp. Allow to cool, then chop. Chop up eggs and mash with the mayonnaise, mustard and parsley. Stir bacon pieces through and season with salt and pepper.
Lightly butter bread, spread egg mixture on two slices and top with remaining bread.

P.S. This sandwich is also tasty when toasted. Or if you please, you can ditch the bread and have it as an Egg Salad instead!

Ghee Rice Mummy Style

Published by thefoodporndiaries

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 any aromatic short grain)

½ Lemon, juice of

3 med Onions, sliced

3 tsp Ginger Garlic paste

6 Green Chilies

2 pieces Cinnamon (1 inch each)

2 Bay leaves

8 Cloves

5 Cardamom pods (green)

10 whole Cashews

75 ml Oil

100 ml Ghee (Clarified Butter)

Salt and Pepper to taste

To garnish:

Handful of fresh peas/ chopped Fresh Coriander

What to do:

Soak the bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom in 3 Tbsp of water for 5 mins. Wash and soak rice for 5 mins. Drain and mix with lemon juice, set aside. Heat the oil in a cooker frying pan. When it is hot add in the ghee. (This is to prevent it from burning). Put in the whole spices sans water, reduce the heat. Toss in Onions and sauté on medium flame till they turn translucent. Add ginger garlic paste, fry well. Toss in the chilies and sauté for 5 mins. Add the cashews, sauté again. Now add the rice and stir well to coat the grains with the oil mixture. Pour in 4 ½ glasses of water. Wait till the water comes to a boil. Pressure cook with weight on for 10-12 mins. Let it stand for 10 mins before serving or till pressure disappears. Serve hot with curry. My favourite is Chicken Chops Masala or Andhra Chilli Chicken. Maybe I’ll share the recipes in the coming posts. Heaven!