Some days are salad days. Your system is literally lusting for some greens. Generally when I’ve had too many night outs and take away days – I’ll whip myself a salad. It’s like I’m absolving myself of the excesses – even if for one meal! It’s winter though (Bangaloreans shiver at 16 degs, #truestory) and the idea of a cold salad gives me the heebie-jeebies. So my easy out is to make a warm one 🙂
Let’s face it – porcini mushrooms are expensive. It’s not something that finds its way into my grocery list AT ALL. But there are odd days (when the salary account has been credited) that one is inclined to feel generous. So I picked up a teeny tiny bottle of it for half a thousand rupees. When coming up with an idea to use it judiciously – a Porcini Mushroom Risotto was a no brainer. The mushrooms would lend themselves nicely to being slowly rehydrated while cooking the risotto and the flavor and color would permeate the stock. And to be fair, just half a cup of Porcini mushrooms is more than enough to make that risotto praise worthy. Cooking risotto is like barbequing something – you have to hang around. The stock has to be poured in ladle by ladle while the rice absorbs the liquid and gets plump. And you need to use your intuition and your tasting spoon to know when it’s ready. Lucky for you, I use a fail-safe risotto recipe that …
The thing about leisurely cooking in the afternoon, is that I get to take pictures. And that is a privilege that I seem to have lost with my current work schedule. Add to that, the imagined pressure of blogging about something fabulous and you have yourself a pretty non-existent blog over a couple of months. (Sorry Shwe!) So I’m breaking the jinx and blogging about something. Even if it’s something really simple. Something I make myself pretty often and something that I really like. My normal grocery shopping always includes a packet of button mushrooms. I like to toss these babies into omelets, pulaos, stews and casseroles. But what I like to do most is just sauté them in butter and garlic and pile them mile high on some good bread. The key to making this more than ‘mushrooms on toast’, is to know how to sauté the mushrooms. What we are looking for is a nice seared brown outside and a juicy plump center. Overcrowding mushrooms in the pan and/or adding them in before …
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 …
‘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 …
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 …
This is the kind of steak I remember eating as a kid, when there were no fancy restaurants in Bangalore and Chicken pepper steak was a special treat. You will still get this type of food in a Tiffany’s or Juke Box, but other restaurants have upgraded to more sophisticated versions. I found this recipe on a homely site – wholesome food, no pretence. It sounded very similar to the days of yore, so I gave it a shot and here’s the result. (Sorry for the pictures, I was too hungry and dint bother about appropriate lighting!) The brown sauce is great, I salted it a bit too much though. So just add your seasoning at the end. And don’t forget to go back in time to some childhood foods you can never forget! Happy Reminiscing! Chicken Steak with Mushrooms in Brown Sauce Prep time: 10 mins Cooking time: 40 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 4 X 200 gms Chicken breast pieces Marinade: 1/2 tsp crushed Black Pepper 1/2 tsp Salt 1/2 tsp …
I’ve already extolled the virtues of mushrooms in another blog post, so it would be a waste of space to do it here. So let’s talk about the much maligned garlic. People shy away from garlic-flavored-anything cause of the strong smell. Even a big wad of gum can’t get rid of it easily. But if you knew that garlic is fantastic for a healthy heart and even ups your immunity, you would probably give it a second chance. I on the other hand, am a lover of garlic. Give me stinky garlicky nosh every day. 🙂 Actually this isn’t a stinky dish at all. It’s so earthy and comforting that it reminds you of rain on a hot summer day. Poetic huh? The fusili on the other hand adds the ‘twist’ to the tale. The End. Fusili in a Garlic Mushroom Sauce Prep time: 5 mins Cooking time: 30 mins Serves: 4 What you need: 200 gms Mushrooms (diced) 10 cloves of Garlic (chopped) 11/2 Tbsp Butter 1 Tbsp Olive Oil 2 cups Milk 2 Tbsp …
