DECEMBER 2014: Pakora

photoed by A. Rajan

This month's blog is about the finger food, which is a very famous tea time snack. Onion or any other vegetable fritter which is known as pakora. 

We particularly crave for this when it rains. And, the food goddess starts dancing on our tongues asking us to eat this very tasty, lightly spiced, crunchy snack.

Ingredients are simple :-)

* One onion sliced thinly lengthwise, 

* potatoes sliced thin,
* Some long green chillies whole.

Make a batter of:

* chickpea flour, 
* crushed oregano seeds (or Ajwain), 
* pinch of red chilli powder,
* turmeric,
* pinch of baking soda, 
* salt.

1) Add water to make semi-thick consistency. 

2) Now just dip your veggies in this, and transfer them in hot oil to fry them. 

3) Once done, sprinkle a little chaat masala over it. 

4) Serve hot with hot cup of chai tea.

I couldn't wait to eat it immediately after I made it. l especially love spicy green chilli fritter the best! It's all about preference. Do try making this on a rainy day, and you won't regret it ever.

Yummy ...already in my tummy :-)

--A.R.

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D' HAIKU

If red shoes make you

toe-dancing, then pakoras

make you tongue-dancing.

--D.L.

NOVEMBER 2014: Free Birthday Churros!

(SERVIETTE: "Better to have enjoyed & made a mess
than never to have enjoyed at all!")
photoed by D. Liongson

Ahhh... Chocolateria San Churro! It has been more than one birthday where I receive birthday churros for two. This includes a platter of 6 churros and 2 dipping sauce bowls. All I did was register to their free newsletter. Once accepted in the mailing list, I received an email voucher for the free churros (on a few days closer to my birthday!).

Churros are fried pastries. The ones I ate were served hot, subtly salted, crisp on the outside, and soft in the inside. Melted chocolate is the dip for these. I usually choose dark chocolate. Mmm... taste the sweetness with a hint of bitter twang that dark chocolate has. It slipped my mind what other dips do they offer. It helps to ask the staff who takes your order.

To minimize waste of this luscious dip, I recommend you dip the churro in the sauce and bite up to the level within what the sauce covered. As much as possible, no sharing of dip bowls. But if you are okay with the mouth germs of the dip bowl from whom you are sharing with, then I guess sharing is cool.

When you are ready to claim your free churros, bring an ID that bears your photo and birthdate on it.

There are three days to redeem them: 1)on the day before your birthday, or 2)on your birthday, or 3)on the day after your birthday.

Interested to have a go for the free birthday churros for 2? Simply register for a free email newsletter at: 

http://www.sanchurro.com/newsletter.

Delicioso!
--D.L.

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D' HAIKU

Churros with choc'late:

Dry crisp bites; melted sweet dip...

Now a birthday treat!

--D.L.

OCTOBER 2014: Pan Seared Rainbow Trout (Chinese inspired recipe)

photoed by A. Rajan

I am a true Fish-eterian. Being from Mumbai, fish has always been a staple food at home. Simple fish plus curry over rice is my comfort food.

Living in Canada, I have developed and acquired taste for fish that’s available here.  I absolutely love Rainbow Trout, for its mild flavour and good health profile.  This sort of fish isn’t really a curry delight.

I bake the Rainbow Trout with some lemon garlic butter on top, served with mashed potatoes on the side; this is how I usually make it.

This time, I wanted something different. I had some left over rice, which I wasn’t in mood to save for next day. Rice and fish are great with each other. I was not in the mood for any curry, so I decided to experiment with Chinese style Rainbow Trout.

Ingredients:

• Fillet of Rainbow Trout, cut into two pieces
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• Crushed black pepper and salt
• Brown sugar (dash on each fillet)
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• A little ginger, minced
• 2 Scallions (spring onions), thinly sliced lengthwise (little bit of greens saved for garnish later)

photoed by A. Rajan

The Procedure is simple…

* Drizzle some soy sauce over the fish, sprinkle salt and pepper and brown sugar on each fillet.

* Put some Olive Oil in the pan; add the scallions in the skillet. Sauté.

* Add minced ginger and garlic.

* Then, place the fillet onto the skillet, skin side down.

* I cooked the fish three minutes on the each side equalling six minutes. It was not over or underdone and turned out moist and flaky. Just the way it should be. Skin was nicely crisp and golden, which made it all the more special.

* I served it on the plate of rice with some garnish of scallion greens.

photoed by A. Rajan

Utterly gluttony delicious! J

--A.R.

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D' HAIKU

Chinese inspired meal

from a trout who stained its scales

from the rainbow's end.

--D.L.

SEPTEMBER 2014: Pad Thai

This is the place that serves the yummy Pad Thai that I keep coming back to:

photoed by D. Liongson

Love that goodness of rice sticks (noodles) --firm to the bite-- with its special sauce, succulent prawns, and topped with spring onions, and your choice to add tangy lime, chilli flakes, white sugar, and crushed peanuts. My, what richness in color (and flavor too)! Feast your eyes before munching away. 

photoed by D. Liongson

Speaking of munching, I recommend to eat this slowly at one bite at a time, and explore the flavors and textures in your mouth before digesting. Take it easy with the chilli flakes; otherwise, the burning sensation will keep you watering it down with glasses of chilled drinks-- obviously this will kill the pleasure of eating this meal.

This can be enjoyed with chopsticks or a fork.  

I usually grab most opportunities to eat with chopsticks. I learned to eat with them when I was little. The motivation was either to learn to eat with chopsticks or don't eat at all. And thus began my quest to eat with them... Learning to eat with chopsticks was more of a fun experience and less of a chore.

from http://studyinchina.universiablogs.net/files/eating-with-chopsticks.jpg
For more toons, see www.lefthandedtoons.com.

If you are somewhere in Broadbeach, have a go with Boonchu Thai. They serve more great food choices than just Pad Thai. (I have no clue what the other dishes are like. Worth a try perhaps? Pardon me for not exploring the other meals because I look forward to eat Pad Thai whenever I am there. Mmm-mm...)

--D.L.

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D' HAIKU

A meal from Thailand:

Rice sticks, sauce, prawns, and flavors

That's delish Pad Thai!

--D.L.

AUGUST 2014: Mumbai Style Sandwich

The name might not describe much, but the sandwich in this style, is an experience extraordinaire.

This is one of a kind Mumbai street food.  Not at number one, as it would be unfair on Vada Pav (potato dumpling with chick pea flour coating, deep fried and served with Dinner Roll).

For me, it’s a delicate slice of soft white bread with layers of goodies sandwiched between the slices.

The process of watching the street vendor making those sandwiches is a very delightful sight. These vendors making those sandwiches versus me making them… a world of difference. 

They win hands down.

How is it made?

• Two Slices of Bread
• Mint Cilantro Chutney (I use a cup of cilantro to half a cup of mint, 3-4 green chillies, a little piece of ginger and salt, grind them into a smooth paste, and use it within 2-3 days.)
• Butter, softened
• Cucumber, sliced              
• Tomato, sliced
• Onion, sliced
• Potato, boiled and sliced
• Beetroot (optional)
• Some chat masala powder (you get it in Indian stores)
• A little salt
• And a slice of cheddar cheese or grated cheddar.

photoed by A. Rajan

The process is way too simple just like any other sandwich.

First, apply butter on the bread slices and slather some chutney on top, and then layer your veggies.

photoed by A. Rajan

Sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and a slice of cheese or grated cheese (I used grated Marble cheese).

photoed by A. Rajan

And then, toast the sandwich on the grill... 

Serve it with some Cilantro Mint Chutney and a little bit of Tomato Ketchup …some potato chips on the side will be awesome, and will make it complete.

This Sandwich tastes super good… you can make it without cheese, and without toasting it on the grill. The result will be very delicious still. For I am from Mumbai, any other sandwich in the world can’t compete with this one. With a hot cup of tea, the experience is complete. 

photoed by A. Rajan

Comfort food par excellence. No pretence, nothing gourmet, yet delicious simple flavors. 

Try it, you won’t regret it. :-)

--A.R.

JULY 2014: Afternoon Tea @ Zarraffa's

A lovely afternoon at Zarraffa's Coffee. I had a chilled mini mud cake served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of hot camomile tea.

Have a good look at the art form of this coffee shop treat...

photoed by D. Liongson

If I started to please my eyes first before eating this, I wouldn't have forked my way through this yummy cake. As you can see, the fork seems excited to go for it before the photo shoot. 

If eating this spongy cake, it is oh so delightful to fork it with a morsel of the chocolate piece at the top and some ice cream together. Mmm-mm! If you prefer to eat the cake warm, the shop would be happy to heat the cake for you. Since the ice cream is optional, the cake can also do without it if you'd like to cut down the sweet side.

photoed by D. Liongson

Some people have the habit of putting sugar in most cups of tea. With sweeties like cake and ice cream, a sip of unsweetened camomile tea is divine. Zero additional sugar indeedy! The camomile tea has a blend of the camomile flower we love with hints of citrus. (TRIVIA: According to the dictionary, camomile is an aromatic European plant of the daisy family, with white and yellow daisy-like flowers.) 

I love the colors and textures produced by the teabag contents. As for enjoying the hot tea in a cutie cup, sipping it at warm level (which is minutes past hot level) is best. It wouldn't burn nor would it be as bummer as tea with zero warmth.  But if you're a fan of iced tea, you might want to throw in some ice cubes in the cooled (formerly hot) tea. Hmm... where can we get ice?  When there's a will, there's a way...

photoed by D. Liongson

Have a little feast at Zarraffa's Coffee! I had my cake and ate it too... with vanilla ice cream and hot camomile tea. ;-)
--D.L.



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D' HAIKU
Mud cake with ice cream
and some hot camomile tea:
cools temper; warms heart.
--D.L.

JUNE 2014: Linguini with Citrus Spice Infused Salmon

Summer heat is here (in Canada). I don’t want to complain as we crave for this season of lots of sunshine, greenery with lots of flowers, and lots of veggies growing in the garden... 

So, I decided to tackle the weeds in my garden by putting in 6 hours of labour intensive efforts to pull out the pretty little devils. And then, I got so hungry that I craved for a meal-- which is going to make me feel pampered and relaxed.

To regain the lost strength, I wanted healthy protein of fish such as Wild Atlantic Salmon. I prepped my darling salmon fillets with precision. 

I marinated them with freshly ground black pepper, sea salt, lemon juice, red chilli flakes, and some lemon zest (to ensure that I coated all sides of the fish). And, there they went in the fridge for an hour to soak up all the goodness that I showered them with.

photoed by A. Rajan

Next step was to put each fillet on parchment paper separately (just enough paper to parcel the individual fillet later), drizzled them with clarified butter, and put thinly cut pieces of lemon on top. 

photoed by A. Rajan

I parcelled each fillet with its individual paper, and put them in the pre-heated oven at 375 or 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. 

photoed by A. Rajan

I took out the parcel paper, and put the salmon on a plate after making it rest for 5 minutes (just as you make your steak rest for making it juicy and succulent).

photoed by A. Rajan

This needed to be paired with some good pasta. So, I cooked Linguini with little lemon zest and salt. In a pan, I put some olive oil with butter. And then, I sautéed garlic, spring onions, and bell pepper. I spiced it up a little bit with red chilli flakes, dried oregano, dried basil, and a little bit of salt. And then, I tossed the Linguini in this mixture. And, I added some lemon zest and cilantro (coriander) leaves in it. I am not a fan of cilantro (as I am partial to my Asian heritage after all). But, I love the citrusy taste of it.

photoed by A. Rajan

Next thing was to plate it all up on the bed of Linguini with generous sprinkle of three kinds of shredded cheese (Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago). You simply put the prepared salmon fillet on top of the prepared Linguini. And, enjoy it with a glass of wine. 

Bon appétit! :-D

photoed by A. Rajan

Love, love, love this dish! It's a staple in my diet once a month for now.
--A.R.

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D' HAIKU

Pasta and salmon:

Seasoned, baked, pasta'd and served;

Love to eat it too!

--D.L.