Creamy Pasta with Zucchini, Mushrooms & Pepperoni

While I constantly complain about my weight, I am also constantly on the look out for quick recipes that don't have you spending too long in the kitchen.With a 7 month old baby these come handy on days when she's fussy and ensures I spend no more than 15 minutes in the kitchen. Here is one of my favourites:

Ingredients:

Fusilli - 250 gms

Mushrooms - 250 gms

Zucchini - 1

Pepperoni Sausage - 1 (approximately 250 gms) *

Herbed Cream Cheese - 200 gms **

Salt & Pepper - To taste

Method:

Cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packing. Slice the mushrooms, zucchini and the sausage. 

Cook the sliced sausage in a pan over medium heat without adding any oil for 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms and zucchini slices and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Make sure you stir often. The vegetables shouldn't be overcooked because then they tend to turn soggy. 

Now, add the cream cheese and cook for 2 minutes making sure it's well mixed with the sausage and vegetable slices.Toss in the pasta and add salt and pepper to taste. 

Serve hot. 

* I use the Swiss cervelaatworst but regular pepperoni slices should work just as well. 

** I use the garlic and chives flavoured boursin cheese. If you use plain cream cheese you can add some garlic and herbs for flavouring.

(Inspired from a supermarket recipe)

Strawberry Cheesecake

I met a dutch friend for coffee and she suggested that I try making a no-bake cheesecake with kwark and digestive biscuits. I decided to use the season's last strawberries for my first attempt with the cheesecake. (It's possible to try the same recipe with mango, blueberries, apricots, lemon, etc.)

Kwark (Quark) is a creamy curd-like yogurt which is sold in tubs at every local supermarket in The Netherlands and Germany. Although it's easily available here I was wondering what people in India could use as a substitute. I believe the process for making kwark is quite similar to the process we follow for making chakka for shrikhand. 
As I looked on the internet for ideas I stumbled upon a website with some really nice recipes. Coincidentally  the author Deeba Rajpal is based in Delhi. She's been making cheesecakes with homemade kwark. I would definitely recommend Deeba's recipe for the cheesecake.

Here's the link to the recipe on her website - http://www.passionateaboutbaking.com/2010/05/no-bake-strawberry-quark-cheescake-and-a-hang-tags-giveaway.html


I've used ingredients in a different proportion than Deeba. I also have easy access to kwark in all the supermarkets here so I opted for the vanilla flavoured variety.

Vanilla kwark - 500 gms
Digestive biscuits - 300 gms
Low fat cream -250 gms

I have used 500 gms of Vanilla kwark and used 300 gms of digestive biscuits for my base as I like it thicker. You will also need more butter (I used low fat butter) so that the base binds well.

I bought a box-full of strawberries and use one half for decorating the cake and the other half to make strawberry coulis.

I made the strawberry coulis by cooking chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice together until I got the right consistency.

Hope you have as much fun making this cheesecake as I did. Happy Experimenting!!

Be right back!!!

So, we haven't blogged in over a year. We've been busy. We moved to a different city and we had a baby!! What an eventful and hectic year it's been!! We haven't stopped experimenting with food but it's been difficult to post all our new food exploits.
  Our little girl is now 6 months old and we promise to post some new recipes soon(including the kwark cheese cake that we promised a while ago).

Frosted Green Beans with Sesame

Harsh bought me 'The Silver Spoon', which they say is the bible of authentic Italian cooking, for my birthday. The book has been very successfully sold in Italy and most Italian households have it on their bookshelves. A lot of Italian brides receive this book as a wedding gift.
I was very excited as i flipped through the 2000 plus recipes in the book as this meant months and months of experimenting in the kitchen. There are really simple recipes and some quite complicated ones as well, but they're all explained very simply. The only flip side is that there aren't too many pictures in the book and sometimes I find it hard to imagine what a dish would really look like. In fact, often it's the photograph that makes a dish tempting enough for me to try it out and lack of pictures can be a little intimidating.

This week I had 200 gms of green beans that I'd plucked off the bush beans I'd grown in our balcony and I thought it would be a great idea to try something Italian with them. More often that not, Italian cuisine is limited to pizza, pasta and risotto, and I thought I'd use this opportunity to bring you a recipe that falls into none of these categories.

Read on for the recipe to make Fagiolini Glassati Al Sesamo or Frosted Green Beans with Sesame.

Ingredients:


Green Beans (or French Beans) - 200 gms
Finely sliced Spring Onion - 1
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Grated rind of a lemon - 1/4 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
A blob of butter
Olive oil - for drizzling
Salt - to taste
Pepper - to taste

Method:


Cook the beans in salted boiling water for ten minutes, then drain and set aside.
Melt a blob of butter in a pan and saute the spring onions over low heat until they're softened. Stir in the lemon juice, the rind, salt and pepper and stir to mix well.
Now, add the green beans, mix well and continue to cook for another 5-10 minutes. In a separate pan roast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes until they're fragrant.
Transfer the beans to a serving dish, sprinkle with sesame seeds and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well and serve hot. 

Pumpkin Risotto

Ingredients:


Pumpkin (diced) - 100 gms
Risotto Rice - 200 grms
Chicken bouillon cubes - 2
Finely chopped onion - 1
Finely chopped parsley - 2 tbsps
Olive Oil - 2 tbsps
Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water

Method:


Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan and saute the onions until they turn translucent. Add the pumpkin and two bouillon cubes and saute for a couple of minutes.
 Now, add a cup of water and cover the pan, and cook until the pumpkin is soft. Turn off the heat and mash the pumpkin.
Add the risotto rice and stir it into the mashed pumpkin mixture. Pour in 2 cups of water and let the rice cook.
You need to stir often to ensure that the rice doesn't stick to the bottom. If needed add some more water. The rice should take about 20 minutes to cook. Once the rice is cooked you can turn off the heat and add the Parmesan cheese, chopped parsley leaves and the seasoning.
Stir well and serve hot.

Tips:

If you let the rice stand for too long it can become a little hard. So, if you cook it in advance make sure to add a little water and mix the rice well before serving it.

Most bouillon cubes have salt in them you might not need additional salt in your risotto.

Vegetarians can use vegetarian bouillon cubes.

The Perfect Carrot Cake!

We found the most awesome recipe for Carrot Cake on the internet and we baked it this weekend! The result was so good that we thought we have to share the link with you.

Here goes: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sams-famous-carrot-cake/detail.aspx

This recipe has a lot of ingredients but don't let that be a deterrent for you. We followed it to it T and the cake was just perrrrrrrrrfect!!! 

Tabbouleh

I've never eaten Tabbouleh in a restaurant but Harsh has, and he absolutely loves it. I've been promising to make some for him at home for months now.
Finally a couple of days ago I tried my hand at this Lebanese salad made with bulgur, mint, parsley, spring onions and tomato.
This salad is especially refreshing when served cold on a warm summer day.

Ingredients:


Bulgur wheat - 2 cups
Flat left parsley - 200 gms
Mint leaves - 50 gms
Spring onions - 4
Tomatoes - 2
Freshly squeezed lemon juice - 1 lemon
Olive oil - 4 tbsps
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste
Cold water - 2 cups

Method:


Wash the bulgur with cold water. Drain it and place in a large bowl and pour cold water over it. Leave it to stand until the bulgur has absorbed all the water and the grains have swollen.
Now, add the lemon juice and olive oil to the bulgur and mix well. Season with salt and pepper.
Finely chop the parsley, mint, spring onions and tomatoes and mix into the bulgur.
Serve cold. 

Bulgur Salad

We've been planning to do a barbecue in the park all month but it's been a very rainy summer. Finally, we decided that since we hadn't got any respite from the rain in weeks we'd go ahead with a little barbecue at home with our electric table grill.
We bought some marinated chicken from Lidl, the German supermarket. (Their marinated meats are pretty good and also very reasonably priced.)

 I decided to make some salad at home as an accompaniment to our grilled chicken. I wanted to make something that's healthy as well as tasty, simple and yet filling and so I decided to make us some Bulgur Salad. The recipe is simple but you need to prepare a few hours in advance.
 Here it is:

Ingredients:


Bulgur wheat - 2 cups
Chicken bouillon cube - 1 1/2
Water - 2 cups
Chopped tomato - 1
Chopped cucumber - 1/2
Chopped carrot - 1
Chopped yellow bell pepper - 1
Finely chopped parsley - 2 tbsps
Lemon juice - 1/2 a lemon
Freshly ground garlic powder - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Freshly ground pepper - to taste

Method:


Wash the bulgur wheat with cold water and drain completely.
Add one bouillon cube to two cups of water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the bulgur. Let it stand for 45-60 minutes.
Mix the bulgur with the chopped vegetables and the parsley.
 In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, garlic powder, chilli powder and half of the chicken bouillon cube. Pour this over the salad and mix well.
Sprinkle a little freshly ground pepper.
Refrigerate the salad for a couple of hours and serve cold.

Vegetarians can replace the chicken bouillon cubes with vegetarian ones. The bouillon cubes usually have a lot of salt so I haven't added any extra salt but you may need to vary the quantity of cubes you use as per taste.  

Murg Methi

I harvested another crop of methi this weekend and put it to good use. Balcony farming is so addictive and fulfilling!!

Here is the recipe for Murg Methi:

Ingredients:


Boneless chicken cut into pieces - 500 gms
Chopped Methi - one cup
Finely sliced Onion - 1 (large)
Finely chopped tomato - 1 (large)
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped Green chillies - 2
Curds - 1/4 cup
Kashmiri chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp
Jeera Powder - 1/2 tsp
Dhana powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp
Oil- 2 tbsps
Salt - taste

Method:


Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Saute the onions until brown. Add the methi leaves and continue cooking for 5-8 minutes. Now, add the chopped tomato, green chillies, ginger and garlic and cook until the oil begins to leave the side. Add the chicken, chilli,  turmeric, jeera, dhana and garam masala and cook until the chicken is almost completely cooked. Lastly, add the curd and a tea-spoon of sugar and cook until the chicken is tender and ready to be served. 

Aprikosen Kuchen

I must admit that as much as I love cooking, baking cakes has never really been my cuppa tea. I've always looked forward to birthdays in our family because it meant that my mother and sister would be busy planning and baking their next cake. Dropping by the kitchen to lick the cake batter off the bowl was more like my kinda thing to do.
Recently, ever since Harsh's birthday, I've suddenly felt inspired to start baking cakes. And I must tell you...it's very addictive!!
My first was a simple, microwave recipe for a  chocolate-walnut cake that I found on Sanjeev Kapoor's website. I then tried making his equally simple Zesty Lemon Cake. Happy with my efforts and the results I decided to try something else.
Just last weekend I'd bought a bagful of apricots at the farmer's market. I sometimes get carried away while buying fruit and end up buying a lot more that I can eat. Baking an Apricot Cake seemed like the perfect plan!!

I searched the internet and found a German recipe for the cake.

It's a great recipe but I've made a few changes to it.

Ingredients:


Softened butter - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Eggs - 3
Maida/Flour - 2 cups
Baking powder - 2 tsp
Soda Bicarbonate - 1 tsp
1/4 cup - beaten curds
Fresh Apricots (cut in half) - 8-10

Method:


Sieve together the maida, baking powder and soda bicarbonate and set aside.
In a separate bowl cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla essence. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the flour, a little at a time and mix. Now, add the curds. Mix/beat well.

Grease the cake tin lightly with butter. Transfer the batter in the cake tin and place the apricots on top (cut side facing down).
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 40 minutes.

Serve with sweetened whipped cream.

Healthy Barley Soup

When I was a child my Grandmother used to make barley soup quite often. She was convinced that it was extremely good for health and had a lot of benefits. A few days ago, while I was grocery shopping, I found barley in an oriental store. I decided to buy some and tried making a soup inspired by my childhood memories.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:


Barley - 3 tbsps
Sliced Onion - 1 medium
Garlic Paste - 1 tsp
Finely chopped carrot - 1
Finely chopped parsley - 1 tbsp
Vegetable stock - 1 litre
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Pepper - to taste
Salt - to taste

Method:


In a large pan saute the sliced onions in olive oil. When the onions are soft, add the garlic paste and saute for a little while longer. Now add the barley, chopped carrot and vegetable stock and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer till the barley is well cooked. It usually takes around 30-45 minutes for the barley to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with parsley.

Bramboracky ( Czech Potato Pancakes)

It was my first white Christmas last  year and I loved it! European Christmas markets, snow all around, decorations, concerts, oliebollen ( a winter specialty in Holland) and gluhwien (mulled wine) all made for a perfect winter setting. We spent a day in Cologne walking through the Christmas markets and then decided to spend Christmas weekend at home in Eindhoven.
   As Harsh and I strolled through the Eindhoven centrum the biting cold left our finger tips and toes quite numb. My nose and ears hurt despite being covered in warm wool. After a couple of hours I couldn't bear the cold any more and we started walking back home. On the corner of a street, a restaurant (Usine) had set up a stall. The two local boys who manned it urged us to try some mulled wine and potato pancakes. The mulled wine brought back some warmth to our freezing bodies and we stood in the snow watching the boys fry the potato pancakes for us. The pancakes were delicious and I decided that I would try to make it at home before winter passed.
It's almost the end of spring now and I realised that I'd forgotten to try my hand at potato pancakes. I didn't want to wait until next winter and had a recipe for the Czech version (sent to me by my friend Sharavati) so just we had Bramboracky for dinner just a few days ago.

Here is the recipe :


Ingredients

• 4 large potatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 pinch dried marjoram (optional)
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (optional)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• oil for frying

Directions

1. Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes, squeezing out as much liquid as you can. Transfer the shredded potatoes to a mixing bowl. Stir in the crushed garlic, salt, pepper, marjoram, and caraway seeds.
2. Beat the eggs with the milk. Add the egg mixture to the potatoes and stir well to combine. Gradually mix in the flour to form a thick but still pourable batter.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat; the oil should be about 1/4-inch deep. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into the hot oil, flattening it slightly. Fry the pancake until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Drain on paper towels. Taste the first pancake and adjust the seasoning if necessary; repeat with remaining batter.

Recipe source - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/bramboracky-czech-savory-potato-pancakes/Detail.aspx

I replaced the dried marjoram with fresh marjoram leaves from my herb garden.

This a 'must try' recipe for the winter months and also for the monsoon in India. 

Mince and Mushroom Hotpot

Food has always been by biggest stress-buster. In the past, my bosses and colleagues have accepted that I always work better under pressure and on deadlines if I'm well-fed.
      Jayanti and I worked together 8 years ago (has it really been that long!). We met on the first day of our new job, having joined the company on the same day. We clicked instantaneously. Among a million things we had in common, it was our love for food that bound us inextricably. She'd recommend restaurants that I 'had to eat' at and I would maintain a diary with a checklist to ensure that I'd visited every single one of them.
Over the years we changed jobs, moved to different continents, stopped meeting each other as often as we did but we stayed in touch. (She is one of my closest friends!!)
It's hardly possible to visit restaurants together now unless we visit each other or meet in Mumbai sometime but that doesn't stop us from sharing our passion for food.
Every now and then I see an email from here telling me about a new recipe she's tried and from across the seas she inspires me to experiment with the same in my kitchen.
A few weeks ago Jayanti discovered 'Potts and Mince' as she calls it and sent me the recipe with the picture of a delicious looking, half eaten pie (they attacked it the minute it was ready so by the time the photograph was taken only half the pie remained).

This recipe is hers barring a few minor changes I've made to it. The measurements are approximate and you can play around with them to create a combination that works best for you. You must try it out!

Ingredients:


Chicken mince - 500 gms ( you can use lamb or beef too)
Potato Croquettes - 10 pieces
Button mushrooms - 10 pieces (sliced)
Cream of mushroom soup - half a packet
Parmesan cheese - 1/4 cup
Parsley leaves - a tsp

Method:


You can try my recipe here for cooking the mince. Make Cream of Mushroom soup with half a packet of the soup mix (knorr , maggie, etc) and keep it aside. We're going to use the soup as a sauce for the Hot Pot.

Pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Put the mince in an oven-proof baking dish and pour half the mushroom soup over it. Add a layer of sliced mushrooms and then the croquettes. Pour the rest of the soup over it. Now add a final layer of mushrooms and place the baking dish in the oven and cook for 20 minutes. When the croquettes are cooked well sprinkle the bake with parmesan cheese and cook for ten minutes or until the cheese melts. Serve hot and garnished with parsley.

Pasta Pilaf

Last week I experimented with a recipe I found in the book ' Fresh Ways with Pasta'. I really liked the outcome so I thought I'd share the recipe with you.
Pasta Pilaf can be served as a main dish or as a side dish with roast chicken or grilled fish. I have made a few small changes to the original recipe. Here is it:

Ingredients:


Rice shaped pasta - 2 cups ( you can use Orzo, Riso or any rice shaped pasta)
Butter or Margarine - 4 tbsps
Finely chopped onion - 2 large
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped Tomatoes - 3 large
Fresh Basil leaves - a few
Water - 1/2 cup
Frozen Peas - 1 cup
Whipping cream - 1 cup
Grated Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup ( I am a little diet conscious so I serve the cheese separately so that each person can top their pilaf with just the quantity that suits them)
Salt and Pepper

Method:


Cook the pasta in boiling water and a little salt or as per the instructions on the packet. Cook it until it's just tender to bite. Do not overcook it. Once it's ready drain the water and keep the pasta aside. 


Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook till the onion is soft (not brown). Add the tomatoes and 1/2 cup water; reduce heat and cook covered for 10 minutes. Now, add the peas and the cream to the mixture and bring to a boil. The peas should cook quickly.
Mix in the pasta. Season with crushed basil leaves, salt and pepper. You can either stir in the cheese or serve the cheese separately so that it can be added to taste.

Butter Beans Bhaaji

Ingredients:


Butter beans (soaked overnight) - 1 cup
Finely chopped onion - 1 large
Chopped tomato - 1
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Finely chopped coriander - 2 tbsps
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Dried desiccated coconut - 3 tbsps
Salt - to taste


Method:


Pressure cook the butter beans with two cups of water and turmeric. Let it cook for 4 whistles.

In a separate pan saute the onions until browned. Then add the ginger garlic paste and continue to saute for another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, coriander, garam masala and dried desiccated coconut and continue to saute until you have a paste-like consistency. Now, add the cooked butter beans(with the water in which they were cooked) and salt. Bring to a boil and cook uncovered for ten minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with chapatis.

Methi Batata Bhaaji

You almost never get Methi in Eindhoven barring the frozens packets that're available sometimes at the Indian stores. We both really like Methi and so I decided to try growing some at home. Just a little over a month ago I planted some methi seeds in a little pot to see if they'd grow. It's still quite cold here so I had to place the pot indoors on the window sill. In a month's time my methi was ready to harvest.

Methi is very easy to grow and usually germinates within a week. It is fast growing and needs little maintenance. You need to water the plants regularly and place the pot in a sunny position. In a months time you have fresh methi leaves ready to be cooked.

Last night I harvested my methi crop and made some Methi Batata Bhaaji. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:


Methi - One bunch
Potatoes - 4
Onions - 2
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Grated Jaggery - 2 tbsps
Salt - to taste
Oil

Method:


Wash and finely chop the methi leaves. Peel and cut the potatoes into pieces. Finely chop the onions. Saute the onions in a little oil until browned. Add the garlic paste and fry for another 2 minutes. Now, add the potatoes, the methi leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric, grated jaggery and salt ( the methi leaves shrink in size once they're cooked so you need to be careful with the salt). Cover the pan and cook until the potatoes and methi leaves are well cooked. You need to stir the bhaaji from time to time to ensure that it doesn't stick to the bottom or burn.

Note : Since I was growing Methi for the first time in Eindhoven( I've done it a few times in Mumbai) I hadn't planted enough to make a lot of bhaaji. You will notice in the picture that there are more potatoes in proportion to the methi.
        

Brown Bean Soup

Here is another popular Dutch soup recipe. The Brown Bean Soup is a very common winter soup and there are many variations to making it. It is a wholesome meal by itself and is often served with buttered brown bread.
I found this recipe in 'Dutch Cooking Today' and made some very minor changes to it.

Ingredients:


Dried brown beans - 350 gms
Large Potatoes - 2
Bay Leaves - 2
Peppercorns - 6
Cloves - 3
Butter - 50 gms
Finely chopped Onions - 3
Curry Powder - 1/2 tsp
Finely chopped celery leaves - 3 tbsps
Worcestershire Sauce - 2 tbsps
Freshly ground pepper - to taste
Chicken/Beef Bouillon cubes - 2
Salt - to taste

Method:


Soak the beans for 12 hours in slightly salted water. Peel and dice the potatoes. Add bay leaves, peppercorns and cloves to the beans and bring them to a boil in their soaking liquid. Simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Add the potatoes for the last 30 minutes of the cooking time.
In a separate pan, heat the butter and fry the onion until it's soft. Add the curry powder and fry for a few more minutes.
Remove the bay leaves, cloves and peppercorns from the pan. With a hand-blender puree the beens and potatoes in the cooking liquid. Add this to the onions and simmer the soup for another 10 minutes. Add the bouillon cubes, celery, and Worcestershire sauce. Season with pepper. Add salt if required.

Note : I saved time by cooking the beans in a pressure cooker for four whistles( the beans can take a while to cook). I opened the pressure cooker after it cooled down and then added the diced potatoes and cooked for another 2 whistles.
The original recipe uses parsley; I've used celery instead (simply because it was easily available).
I've used mild madras curry powder where it says curry powder.
The bouillon cubes were my addition. I think they add a lot more flavour to the soup. But since they're not in the original recipe you can omit them and make a purely vegetarian soup.

Malvan Cha Batata Vada

A lot of people asked me for this recipe after I posted a picture online. I've taken forever to respond. Apologies!
The Batata Vada made in Malvan is slightly different from how it is made in the rest of the state. This is how my Mom makes it at home and I think her's is the best batata vada I've ever tasted.

Ingredients:

Boiled and mashed potatoes - 4 large
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 2
Chopped onion - 1
Coriander leaves - a small bunch
Garam Masala - 1/2 tsp
Besan - 1/2 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - for deep frying

Method:

Fry the onions in a little oil until they're brown. Now mix the fried onions, the ginger garlic paste, the coriander leaves, green chillies and the garam masala and grind to a paste. Mix this paste with the mashed potatoes and add salt to taste. Your filling is ready.
Heat the oil in a kadhai. Take a spoonful of the heated oil and mix it with the besan, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and water to make the batter for the vadas.
Roll the filling into equal sized balls. Dip each of the balls in the batter and then deep fry until golden brown.

Serve hot with bread, chutney and onions.

Kolhapuri Mutton Sukhe

Here is another of Bhairavi's recipes. This recipe is a little time consuming but well worth the effort you put in.

Ingredients:


Mutton/Lamb meat - 500-750 gms
Finely chopped large onions - 2
Finely chopped tomato - 1
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1tbsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Grated dried coconut - half
Sesame seeds - 2 tbsps
Poppy Seeds - 2 tbsps
Kolhapuri Masala - to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
Salt - to taste
Oil

Method:


Heat oil in a large pan and slightly fry the curry leaves. Now fry the onions until they're brown. Next, add the ginger garlic paste and saute for a couple of minutes. Add tomato and fry until soft & pasty and the oil begins to leave the side.Now add the Kolhapuri masala (this masala is usually very spicy so you'll need to go easy on the quantity) and fry for a couple of minutes. Add salt. Add the pieces of lamb and stir to mix well with the masala. Cover and cook till the meat is tender. Stir from time to time to ensure that the meat is evenly cooked (I use slightly more oil so I can cook the meat without using water).
In a separate pan roast the coconut until it's brown. Remove from pan. Now roast the sesame seeds and the poppy seeds still they change colour slightly. Grind the coconut, poppy seeds and sesame seeds to a coarse consistency using a little water. When the meat is almost cooked add this paste to it and continue cooking until the meat is tender.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Mutton Sukhe goes very well with rice bhakri (tandalachi bhakri) and an chopped onion salad.

Dutch Cream of Tomato Soup

Eindhoven has a lovely large library in the center of the city. Unfortunately, most books are in Dutch with the exception of a small English section. As I was browsing through the cookery section last week, which is also mostly in Dutch, I came across one English cook book.It's probably the only one in the section! And it's a Dutch cook book!
 'Dutch cooking today' is a collection of 60 modern and traditional recipes of popular Dutch foods.

I started out by trying their 'Cream of Tomato Soup' and since it turned out really well and I thought I should share it with you.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:


Ripe tomatoes - 1 kg
Chicken/Vegetable stock( made from bouillon cubes) - 1/2 litre
Finely chopped onions - 2
Finely chopped cloves of garlic - 2
Finely chopped thyme - 2 tbsps
Fresh Cream - 125 ml
Salt - to taste
Freshly ground pepper - to taste
Finely chopped mixed fresh herbs - 1 tbsp

Method: 


Wash the tomatoes and chop them into large pieces. In a large saucepan bring the stock, tomatoes, onion, garlic and thyme to a boil. Allow it to simmer for 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are cooked and soft.
Let the mixture cool. Puree the soup in a blender and stir in the fresh cream. Season with salt, pepper and with the fresh herbs. You can use whatever fresh herbs you have available. I used coriander, thyme and basil.