Vegetarian Cooking Series II : Simple Potato bhaji

Hari, this dish is a quickie... u can just do this when u have very little time n patience and yet feel like having somethin nice n tasty...

just peel n chop some potatoes finely... in some hot oil, add a few cumin(jeera) seeds, put in 1 tbsp chilli pwder, 1/4 tbsp turmeric powder and also some garlic(optional). then add your potatoes and some salt and toss them around, till the masala coats it. chop some coriander leaves and mix it in just before serving... just fry for 5-8 minutes till the potatoes are cooked. DONE !!!

P.S: do give the potatoes an occasional stir.

Vegetarian Cooking Series I: - Bhagare Baingan

(Hari, this post is for you )

I found this recipe in one of the books ive recently purchased from South africa - Indian Delights. This book reflects the amazing amalgamation of the various cultures and cuisines that south africans have been exposed to over the years. Indian, Pakistani, Malaysian etc...

I dedicate this post to my very good friend Hari. He being a vegetarian requested me to add some vegetarian recipes that he could try. Hari being an excellent cook (Self declared !!) i wanted to give him some different recipes, that he normally would not try... Here goes bacchu..oops Hari...

Ingredients :-
6 medium sized brinjals
1 onion, finely sliced
chilli & coriander powders (1 tbsp each)
turmeric powder - 1/4 tbsp
tamarind pulp/extract - 5-6 tbsps

for grinding
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2-3 dried red chillies


Method:
Dry roast (fry in frying pan without any oil) all the ingredients for grinding. Fry till you see the coconut browning and can smell all the spices. Grind this mixture with as little water as you can add. Slit the brinjals lengthwise into 4, keeping the stems intact. Smear the mixture inside the slits and over the brinjals.

In some oil fry the onions till nicely browned , add the masala powders adn the remaining ground masala and fry them for 5 minutes on medium heat. if they start sticking to the pan, add a few drops of water. Add the brinjals and stir carefully till the masala is coated onto thebrinjals Add the tamarind pulp/extract and 2 cups of water. Add salt to taste and let the mixture simmer for 15-20 mts, or till the gravy thickens.
Serve with chappatis or as a side-dish with rice and daal.

Note : You can omit adding water, if you prefer a dry dish. That tastes equally good...

Grilled Butterfly Prawns

I never enjoy my food when i eat using a fork and knife. It just doesnt taste as good as when you eat using your fingers and ofcourse the last yummy lick to your fingers...dont you love to get your fingers dirty. This dish lets you dig in with both your hands and watch your guests/family enjoying every second of it.

Ingredients
Prawns - With shell and tail intact (500 gm)
butter - 1/2 cup
red chilli paste - 2 tbsp
ginger/garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Method:
Cut out the head of the prawns. Now with a sharp edged knife, make a small incision which runs against the length of the prawn. Do not make the incision too deep as it would then cut the prawns into two halves, which we obviously wouldnt want.

When the incision reaches the tail, make the cut a little deeper and you will find that the prawn automatically opens up easily. With the help of the knife, make smaller cuts on the incision so that they open up further.

Wash and pat dry the prawns. Now marinate the prawns with ginger garlic paste, lemon juice and salt to taste. Leave the prawns to marinate for 15 mts to an hour.
Note: In case you are using salted butter, adjust salt levels accordingly. Ideally i marinate the prawns and pop it in the oven just before im serving. That way, im sure the prawns are nice and piping hot. It doesnt taste as good when its cold.
Now mix the butter with the red chilli paste.Apply this mixture to the insides of the prawns. Arrange the prawns on a baking tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the prawns and let it grill in a preheated oven for 15 mts at 180C.

Serve immediately.

P.S: This is another one of my dearTholsieAmma's recipes

Egg Roast

This is a family favourite and my mom just whizzes this up, when there is nothing interesting for dinner.. Ive also been following her footsteps religiously ;)

Boil and shell eggs(4), make 4 tiny slits on the egg. Cut 1 big onion into thin slices, also chop some ginger into juliennes. In a frying pan, add some oil and add the onions and ginger and some curry leaves. when the onions are nicely brown, add coriander powder(1 tbsp), chilli powder (1 tbsp), turmeric powder (a pinch), some salt. when the oil starts to separate from the mixture, add the eggs. Coat the eggs lightly with the masala mixture and let it fry for around 5 mts or so. Take it out from the heat and serve the eggs roast with chappati's or rice. I had made rice and some boring daal, so served the eggs with it :)

Easy Breezy Crab Curry

Ive learnt this recipe from one of my most adorable person here in South Africa - Tholsieamma. She calls me her daughter-in-law :) Last time we went to their place, she painstakingly cleaned the crabs and cooked it.. Her recipe was so simple and the taste so delicious that i wanted to try it out immediately. But unfortunately for me, having never cooked crab before i was skeptical. The other day i found some nice frozen crabs which were cut into decent pieces. Atleast no tension of prying apart the claws and wondering which side to cut !!

One of the hints amma told me while cleaning/cutting the pieces is that you must cover the piece in a kitchen towel and then give it a nice whack to break it. Else the shell splinters and can also enter your eye. Thankfully for me i didnot have to struggle with the crabs i got, cos they were nicely cut and only had to give it a few cuts here and there. Lots of small talk now lets crawl to the recipe.:)

Clean and wash the crab. Marinate the crab with ginger/garlic paste and red chilli paste for 15 mts. In some oil/ghee, fry the crab pieces with some curry leaves, till the crab pieces turn pink.Remove and set aside.

To the same pan, add some more oil/ghee and add diced onions(1 big) and fry till golden. Add some cumin/jeera powder(1/4 tbsp), red chilli powder(2 tbsp), coriander powder(1 tbsp) and fry till the raw smell goes. Now, add a can of tomato puree or you could make a paste of tomatoes(1 big) which have been added to briskly boiling water and then have their skin removed and ground to a nice puree. i prefer the second version, as it adds more flavour to the curry. Once the oil starts separating from the onion/tomato puree mix, add tamarind paste (1 tbsp) 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then add the fried crab pieces to it. Season with salt and allow to simmer with the lid closed, for 10-15 minutes till the gravy thickens. If you wish to thicken the gravy further, add some more coconut milk/cream just before you take it off the heat.

Serve hot with rice/chappatis

Strawberry Cheesecake

Strawberry cheese cake served with a nice dollop of vanilla icecream and fresh strawberry.


Baking has always spelt disaster for me. I never ever follow the measurements given in a recipe and always end up with what cannot even closely be described as a "royal mess". Finding fresh strawberries the other day urged me to find a recipe in which to use them and so began the hunt for a great recipe. All search results pointed towards cheesecakes and i gave up, wise that i was from past experiences. As the strawberries were fast moving towards decay, i gave myself a now or never motivation and began. I found the following recipe on http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,196,152170-245199,00.html

1 3/4 c. fine graham cracker crumbs (about 20)1/4 c. finely chopped walnuts (opt.)1/2 c. butter, melted1/2 tsp. cinnamon

FILLING:
3 well-beaten eggs 1/2 c. sugar, 1/2 tsp. almond extract, 2 c. dairy sour cream ,2 (8 oz.) cream cheese, 2 tsp. vanilla,1/4 tsp. salt

GLAZE (opt.):
2 c. fresh strawberries
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. sugar

Make crust and press to sides and bottom of 9 inch springform pan. Sides should be 1 3/4 inches high.

FOR FILLING: Combine eggs, cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Beat until smooth. Blend in sour cream. Pour in crust. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or just until set. Chill thoroughly 4 to 5 hours. Filling will be soft.
GLAZE: Crush 1 cup strawberries. Add water and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until mixture is thick and clear. Cool room temperature. Halve remaining berries. Place atop chilled cheesecake. Pour glaze over. Chill 2 hours.
Serves 10.

As usual, i didnt follow the recipe exactly and made a few modifications and behold...surprise..surprise...it turned out well...

These were the modifications i made...

• I used marie biscuits to make the base. I put the biscuits in the grinder to get a smooth powder and then mixed this with the butter. Kept it on low flame till the butter melted and was well incorporated with the biscuit crumbs. This ensured that the base set well.
• I had purchased cottage cheese and not cream cheese. I also added some 250ml of cream to the mixture.
• The cake did not set well after 30 minutes, so i kept it in the oven for another 15 mts.
• Some recipes call for adding 1/4 tbsp of cornstarch to the glaze, to make it thick, but i avoided this as i felt it would change the taste of the glaze...