Cook. Eat. Rinse. Repeat.
I love a good old slice of banana bread with a moist crumb and strong banana flavour. But by adding chocolate and tahini, it gives the ordinary banana bread a much needed makeover. Tahini gives the bread a more nutty flavour and chocolate, well, is just good to add in anything. After watching Adam Rose make a tahini banana bread on her Instagram and ever since wanted to make one myself.
Yes, the looks like one sad pile of brown things that didn’t belong together. However, they tasted pretty good. And that’s because shiitake is so flavourful, it could lift any boring dish. This was my first time cooking shiitake and I wanted to pair it with something that wouldn’t take away from it. Enter, tofu. Tofu essentially soaks up anything that’s around it. Simply put these two together with some soy, chilli, ginger and garlic. Easy and quick dinner in under 20 mins.
It’s what you think it is. Cucumber, crushed and served with a dressing. As simple as that. I recently saw someone on I follow and admire on Twitter post her meal which had this cucumber crushed and served on the side. Given how hot it still is in this part of the country, a cucumber salad seemed ideal. Well, I took it to my friend’s place and it was a hit. You can make this is in 5-8 minutes and is a great addition to your dinner.
First off, I was plain lazy to cook something elaborate on a Saturday. To top that, the humidity in Gurgaon right now makes me want to crawl into my air conditioner. You can imagine the kitchen. That’s why something quick was the need of the afternoon. All I had was chicken, garlic, one too many lemons and coconut milk. You see how red it is? I simply added a couple of teaspoons of tomato puree. You could add any kind of tomato-based sauce or paste, it would work.
A few weeks ago I was hooked on Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes. Inspired, also read as easy-to-make, I made one of his Turkish breakfast dishes called Ciblir. It was a delight. Who would’ve thought eggs and yoghurt could be on the same plate? After that, I made another one of his dishes. Well, almost. He baked his eggs, I went with the stove. There are a few other tweaks too, but that’s not important. What’s important is that it turned out just as delicious as the cilbir.Wilted spinach atop of which nestled eggs that were cooked just enough so their yolks would run, dollops of cold Greek yoghurt with streaks of hot chilli butter and of course, crunchy bacon bits. What’s not to love?
I’ve always complained how I miss eating seafood here in Gurgaon. Supermarkets and online stores do stock some gems from the ocean but I never bothered getting myself any. I thought they’d be way more expensive than what it is back home. As it turns out, some of it costs just the same. Like blue crab for instance. The ones I saw at this supermarket were lovely. Without missing a beat I got myself 3 big ones.
I’ve always hesitated to buy seafood in Gurgaon because, well no sea. But since I’m currently unemployed with no place to be and nothing else to do, I thought I’d buy some good looking seafood and cook some delicious things. Some big prawns and blue crab caught my fancy at the supermarket and I promptly picked them up. The prawns were plump and gorgeous, costing just about the same as they do back home. So did the blue crab. Anyway, with the prawns, I knew what I wanted to do. A spicy Thai style fiery noodle soup. That’s also because I spotted some fresh Thai red chillies.
..well, as fiery as you want it to be. Batate saung traditionally is a Mangalorean dish. If I have to narrow it down further, it’s a Konkani dish. Konkani style fare is most sought after vegetarian food in Mangalore, as I remember it. That’s why grandma took on to making some of them at home regularly. Most of their dishes are light and relatively healthy. But this batate saung was something else. Fiery, sour and delicious. Using only onions, potato and a spice paste with chillies, coconut, coriander seeds and tamarind, this one takes just about 15-20 mins to make.
Yes, this is yet another chicken curry recipe and that’s why the title remains. More often than not, many recipes have the same ingredients and methods of cooking. But every once in a while you can change a couple of things and turn it into a new dish. I was binge watching Chef John’s Food Wishes channel on YouTube because there is hardly anything more entertaining than when food and humour come together. Anyway, in one of his Indian recipes he grinds the onion and tomatoes together before adding it to his dish. The norm is to grind them to pastes and purees separately and then go about your business. This method was different.
It’s too long a title for something so simple. I’ve always wondered what ricotta tasted like. Yes, I’ve had them at nice cafes but it’s a distant memory and let’s just say I wanted to make some. From cooking shows to books, they all tell you how easy it is to make ricotta. Although, there are many Italians who I see refuting the commonly found recipe of ricotta. The recipe asks you to make it out of milk or a mixture of milk and cream. But I’ve also read that ricotta is traditionally made from the whey collected after the milk solids are separated. Phew.