FEBRUARY 2018: Nankhatai (Butter cookies Indian style)

photoed by A. Rajan

Christmas and New Year's sweets have spoilt me rotten. My over-indulgence --in eating all the confectionery-- certainly made me gain few pounds and opened up my taste buds more for cookies, Belgian cookies, etc.
I particularly liked Indian cookies --called Nankhatai-- for its buttery goodness and beautiful crumbly crusty texture. I failed miserably first time when I made it. 
I craved for it again to continue Christmas spirit into 2018, and thought I must try again, and see how it turns out. One must not give up, eh?
Ingredients 1 cup of organic all-purpose flour ¼ tsp of baking soda ¼ tsp of cardamom powder a pinch of himalayan salt ¾ cup of powdered sugar ¾ cup of softened butter a few pistachios or slivered almonds
(makes about a dozen cookies or more) How to make it?

• Using a wire whisk or electric beater, whisk the softened butter and powdered sugar together for about 10 minutes till it becomes light and a little fluffy. 
• Now add flour, baking soda, cardamom powder, salt into the butter mixture and 
• Fold the mixture gently. 
• Once done, combine all the ingredients to form a dough without over kneading it. 
• Now make small balls with the dough and 
• Place it on baking sheet, and flatten them a little bit. 
• Place a pistachio or slivered almond pieces in the middle of a raw cookie.
• Place in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes. 
• Once the cookie starts browning a little bit, just remove it from the oven, and let it rest. It's cooked, so you need not worry. It will have a nice crunchy texture.

photoed by A. Rajan

Enjoy a cookie on its own or with a glass of milk.

P.S. If you feel you are not able to form a dough with the mixture, then add a little milk and a little softened butter to it. It should work just fine to get it all together. 
Just as a variation, you can make a savoury cookie by adding spices, caraway, cumin seeds, etc. Cooking is all about experimenting. Try it, and let us know about your experiments as well.
--A.R.

JANUARY 2018: Dilly Bar @ DQ

photoed by D. Liongson

Although most of us have tried out so many places to eat, we come up with places to go back to as our favorites.

There is one of those ice creams I go back to instead of those one-offs never to return to. That would be the Dairy Queen (DQ) Dilly Bar. 

Does it look like the illustration on the packet? Have a look...

photoed by D. Liongson

Tahdah!

It is a frozen ice cream bar with chocolate coating. Ice cream on a cone is eaten by licks. This dilly bar on a stick is eaten with bites, chews, and licks.

Explore that frozen goodness of creamy vanilla ice cream together with thin crisp chewy chocolate. When out on a hot day, this is a bundle of joy to eat. Chilled chewy sweetness melting in the mouth. Whose mouth? His mouth, her mouth, your mouth, my mouth, everybody's mouth!

A word of caution. While eating this, be extra careful to prevent staining clothes. Not only does the white stuff melts and drips, so does the chocolate coating. If you love to daydream while eating, put that dream on autopilot while taking care of drips and stains.

If you have no dietary restrictions with this dessert, by all means give it a go!

--D.L.

DECEMBER 2017: Murgh Malai Tikka

photoed by A. Rajan

Mumbai is an amazing place for great food. Amongst my favourite foods, Murgh Malai Tikkas have special place in my heart, for its melt in your mouth texture, not like overcooked stringy rubber texture that I often get here, disappointing me so much that I don’t order them at restaurants here anymore. 

So, I decided to start making at home, I saw some recipes online but as usual went with my gut instincts to modify according to my taste buds. 

I prefer chicken thighs or drumsticks for this. This time went with chicken drumsticks for I didn't want to go through dicing or cutting part of it.

Ingredients

---------------

8 chicken drumsticks

¼ cup grated paneer (Indian cottage cheese)

½ cup cream

6 tsp. of garlic paste

3 tsp. of ginger paste

5-6 green chillies, finely chopped 

Some chopped cilantro (about 2 tbsp.)

½ tsp. mace powder

½ tsp. nutmeg powder

1 tbsp. lemon juice

Some Chat Masala (optional)

1 tbsp. corn flour

1 egg to bind the mixture (optional)

Salt to taste

1 tsp. of black pepper 

How to?

-----------

In a bowl, beat an egg, and 

combine all the ingredients above. 

Marinate the chicken drumsticks in this mixture and 

let it sit for 4 hours in the fridge to absorb and soak in the marinade in the meat.

Preheat the oven at about 400 degrees, 

Bake the chicken Tikkas in the oven for about 18 -20 minutes. 

You can baste the chicken midway with some butter or skip it. 

One can also try barbecuing or use charcoal grill for this. It gives the best flavour.

Once done, check the meat whether its done cooking and 

all the pink meat has turned white but still has moisture making it tender and melt in the mouth consistency. 

Let the meat rest with some aluminium foil on top for few minutes. 

Serve with some slivers of red onion and lemon wedges. 

NOTE: Towards last three minutes or so I broil the chicken to get those burnt bits, I like that idea as there is no barbecue or charcoal I am using here.

Enjoy the delicious goodness.

--A.R.

NOVEMBER 2017: Seafood Pizza

photoed by D. Liongson

Quite a different pizza experience @ Domanis. Paper thin crust loaded with the ocean catch of creatures from the vast sea, leaves and fruit from the fertile earth, cheese from generous cows. All of them set on a 6" crust and baked (way before the burns kicked in). 

At first, I thought it was acceptable to eat the pizza with my hands. Plop-plop went the toppings to my plate. Bad idea. Bless the resto's heart for providing a fork and knife set. Able to slice 'em up, chew 'em up, and gulp 'em up.

I have eaten pizza in many different places. But what makes the pizza experience in Domanis stand out is the warmth and quality service.

1. While I was outdoors reading the menu, the lady of the resto smiled and offered to be of help. I asked her about the open hours. Although it was a lot to remember, she sent me the information handwritten on card.

2. She offered me a table with the view of the mermaid fountain. After I was settled, there was strong winds and heavy rains outside. My location was cosy and safe from the wet huffs and puffs.

3. The staff offered sparkling water or tap water. I picked tap water which is also clean, chilled, and satisfying to quench my parched lips.

4. Aware I had a bag with me, they gave me an extra seat next to me to put my bag.

5. When the pizza was served, they offered me cracked pepper, hot chilli, and a wedge of lemon. I accepted the pepper and the lemon.

6. Although it wasn't a must to leave a tip, my pleasant dining experience was so wonderful that I happily left a tip.

7. There was an opportunity to rate and evaluate the dining experience. To sum up my feedback, it was more of keep up the good work! :-)

Domanis is more than just pizza of all sorts. It is also known for steak, seafood, pasta, and 80+ fine wines.

Have a test drive with this resto.  If you like it so much, why not bring your mates and yourself over for an eat-up drink-up meet-up?

Indulge!
--D.L.

OCTOBER 2017: South India Fish Curry

photoed by A. Rajan

I make this curry with any type of fish. Trout, halibut, or tilapia could be a good choice of fish for this curry in western countries wherein it's not easy to get fresh Indian fish.

This is my comfort food with a lemon wedge and slices of onions on the side. Beautiful red color curry glistening on the bed of white Basmati rice is oh so tempting.

So how will you make this? Very simple. :)

You will need: 
Fillet of salmon (cut into big cubes to fill 2 cups)
1 tsp ginger, crushed
1 tsp garlic, crushed
Some curry leaves, optional
1 tsp tamarind pulp
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 Tbsp Kashmir chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste
1 tsp garam masala powder
cilantro for garnish


In a wok, add some coconut oil. 

Once hot, add mustard seeds and curry leaves into it. 

Once the mustard seeds start popping, add onions. Saute. 

Once the onions start looking a little golden, add ginger and garlic into it. 

Now add tomato paste into the mix. Saute till this mixture cooks and you see oil leaving the sides. 

Add chilli, turmeric, and salt. Now add the fish. 

Add about 2 cups of water and stir in the tamarind. 

Let the fish cook for about 6-7 minutes or more. 

Add cilantro and garam masala for garnish.

Serve with a bowl of rice.

Enjoy!
--A.R.

SEPTEMBER 2017: Classique Crepe (sweet)

photoed by D. Liongson

Bon jour!

In this edition, I gave a go to try out Le Jardin Cafe-Restaurant.

Although I'm a big fan for chocolate stuff, I ordered something else for a kick of dining adventure. I picked...

Classique Crepe
(In a previous menu photo, it was spelled "Classic".
Somehow there seems to be a switch before I first browsed their menu.)

It is like one large paper thin pancake with caramelized sugar and lemon juice with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.  Like most of the available sweet crepes, it's served with whipped cream, ice cream, and a strawberry.

It is an exploration of textures such as smooth, creamy, chewy. Temperatures ranging from warm to chilled. Tastes from sweet to tart.

Smooth and creamy creams; chewy crepe; warm crepe; sweet caramelized sugar and powdered sugar crepe; room temperature whipped cream; chilled ice cream; tart lemon juice and fresh strawberry.

A pleasant combination to be enjoyed by those who are immune to allergies (that may come from this treat).  Now you know what the visible components of this dish are, you may decide if this is for you or not.

If you'd like to give this resto a go, you aren't limited to just crepes. Quite an interesting assortment to explore what they have to offer. Have a look at their menu.

Based on feedback from foodies (FFF ;-) it rates above average. Feeling an uncertainty about this? Have a read at this and that.

Although websites glorify this resto, is this the best cafe of all time? Add to your foodie bucket list and figure it out. :-)
--D.L.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
D'HAIKU
Try the Classique Crepe;
berry lemony sweetie;
warms heart, cools temper.
--D.L.

AUGUST 2017: Cream of Vegetables Soup (with a twist)

The twist is nacho chips & cheese

I remember having tortilla soup somewhere. So I experimented a bit with nacho chips.

photoed by A. Rajan

Ingredients 

----------------

2 carrots

2 potatoes

Few stalks of celery, chopped 

1 medium size onion

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 Tablespoon of dill, chopped

1 Teaspoon of rosemary, chopped 

946 mL of organic chicken stock

Butter

Salt & pepper 

1 tablespoon of unbleached all-purpose flour 

2 cups of milk

a handful of old Dutch nacho chips

shredded Cheddar cheese 

How to?

-----------

In a big pot, add 1 Tbsp butter, garlic, celery, carrots, potatoes and onion; sauté.

photoed by A. Rajan

Once the onion is transparent, add chicken stock. Let the vegetables cook till they become soft.

After about 20 minutes, remove some of the cooked vegetables. Cool them a little to blend them later (to be added in a soup later).

In another pan, add 1 Tbsp butter. Sauté the flour ensuring its cooked through. Once fragrant, add milk or cream. Whisk to remove any lumps. 

photoed by A. Rajan

Blend the cooled vegetables with few nacho chips. Add this mix to the pot of stock & vegetables. Stir in the cream sauce. Then add dill, rosemary, salt, & pepper.

Combine well. Bring to a boil.

Your soup is ready to enjoy. Add a little cheese and crushed nacho chips to your hot bowl of soup.

photoed by A. Rajan

Try it and let us know.

--A.R.