Meen Moilee

One of my favourite curries, especially with appams as it adds some bite to cut the sweetness of the appam. Incredibly easy to make, with just a hand-full of spices and loads of coconut milk. It can be made with any tender white meat, like chicken or a firm white fleshed fish, like pomfret, bass. I made this with fillets of Emperor fish, which added a sweetness to the entire dish. You can have this curry with plain rice or appams, the recipe for which can be found here: Appam with Nadan Mutta Curry
Ingredients

• 200 g firm white fish fillets or 400g white fish steaks; cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 cup thick coconut milk (first extraction)
• 1/2 cups thin coconut milk (second extraction)
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 4 green cardamoms
• 2 split green chilies
• 1 inch ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 1 tomato cubed
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Wash the fish and add some salt and half the turmeric to it. Coat the fish evenly with the turmeric and salt and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Crush the ginger and garlic together into a thick paste.
3. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a flat bottomed pan and add the fish. Lightly fry the fish till it turns brown around the edges and remove from the oil.
4. Add the cloves, cardamom, curry leaves and cinnamon and lightly fry it to release its aroma. Add the garlic-ginger paste, onions and green chilies, and fry till the onions turn translucent. 
5. Then add the tomatoes and cook until they turn tender. Then add the thin coconut milk, bay leaf and fish, and let it cook on high heat for around 4 minutes.
6. Add the remaining turmeric, salt and pepper to taste and lower the heat. Let is stew covered for another 5-7 minutes, so that the flavours meld together.
7. Now add the thick coconut milk and let it simmer on a low heat for 3 minutes before taking it off the heat.
8. Add the lime juice after taking it off the heat and let it sit aside covered for 10 minutes before serving.

Pain d'epi

I love the smell of fresh bread and the warmth of a loaf fresh out of the oven. I initially thought of making a baguette and sticking some emu mince in it, but remembered seeing this wheat stalk shaped bread being made on the Hairy Bikers. With the dough having risen, it was just a matter of hitting it with a pair of scissors and shaping the loaf to resemble a wheat stalk.

Add a touch of butter and watch it disappear.



Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup luke warm water
• 1 tbsp yeast
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the luke warm water and set it aside to activate and turn frothy.
2. Mix the flour, sugar salt and yeast mixture and make a soft elastic dough.
3. Knead the dough by pressing down and stretching it with the base of the palm to get the gluten out for at least 10 minutes and leave covered in a warm place to rise.
4. Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and roll into a thick rectangle.
5. Roll the longer sides inwards and roll the dough to produce a baguette and place, seam side down, on a floured baking tray.
6. Use a scissor to cut into the dough at an angle of 45 degrees and through half its thickness. Turn the cut portion one way and continue down the length of the dough, turning each cut in the alternate direction as the previous one.
7. Now that the wheat stalk is ready, let it rest covered for at least 1 hour.
8. Pre-heat the oven to 190-200 degrees centigrade. Once heated, pour 1/2 a cup of water into the oven and stand back to let the steam escape.
9. Add the baking tray to the oven to cook for 20 minutes.
10. Halfway through the cooking time, pour another 1/2 cup of water below the baking tray and stand back from the steam. Close the oven door and let the bread cook.
11. After 20 minutes, the bread should have a golden brown crust. Take it out of the oven and serve buttered.

Chicken Baozi

Little steamed parcels filled with minced chicken. I used to love having these off street vendors in Chinatown, and wanted to make it in Pork, but finding pork mince in Bangalore is far to painful. So, used chicken mince instead to make it much lighter and easier to digest. The quantity of this recipe is enough for 8 baozi, and the same dough can be used to make Liuxiabao, with the substitution of the minced chicken filling with custard. I've served these dumplings with an light soy dressing.
Ingredients

Dough

• 2 cups plain white flour
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• salt to taste

Filling

• 100 grammes minced chicken
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 inch minced ginger
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. Activate the yeast by dissolving it in the lukewarm water and setting aside for a few minutes.
2. Once the yeast is frothy, add it to the dough ingredients and knead into an elastic dough.
3. Set aside in a warm place for 2 hours to rise and double in size.
4. Heat some oil in a pan, and fry the ginger and garlic.
5. Once the ginger and garlic start to turn brown, add the white part of the onion.
6. Fry for a minute and add the minced chicken.
7. Turn the chicken around to cook it evenly and add the chili powder, soy sauce and fish sauce.
8. Reduce the heat and let it simmer gently to get the chicken to absorb the sauce.
9. Once the filling mixture becomes a little dry, take it off the gas and let it cool.
10. Once the dough has risen and doubled, punch in down and divide into 8 parts.
11. Roll out the dough, add a bit of the filling and close out the dumpling. I like to make my dumplings using this method: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3FYCE5DHH4&feature=related and leaving a little hole at the top to let the steam escape.
12. Place the dumplings on a piece of parchment and steam for 15-20 minutes. Leave some room for each dumpling to expand, as they will double in size as they steam.
13. Take them out, pour some of the dressing on it and serve up.

Soy Dressing

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup light soy
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 spring onion chopped
• 2 chopped red chilies (reconstituted in water if dry)

Method

1. Mix the ingredients together to make the dressing.

Appams with Nadan Egg Masala

There's nothing quite like tucking into crisp appams with a sipcy egg curry on a cold wet afternoon. I've been craving appams ever since Nilam decided to flood Bangalore, and while I'm making these on an overcast, but dry, afternoon, I'm telling myself its the sentiment that counts.

The accompaniment is simple enough, a kerala style dry egg masala called Nadan Mutta Roast, but appams are great by themselves with a little sugar or with a coconut based stew. 


Appams

Ingredients

• 2 cups rice flour
• 3/4 cup cooked rice
• 2 1/4 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 1/2 cup lukewarm water
• 4 tbsp sugar
• salt to taste

Method

1. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water and leave it aside to activate and turn frothy
2. Mix the rice flour, 2 cups water and coconut milk together.
3. Grind the cooked rice with 1/4 cup water to make a thick and smooth paste.
4. Add the paste to the rice flour mix, and run the mix through a food processor to create a thin and consistent batter.
5. Add the yeast-water and sugar to the batter and set aside, covered, in a warm place for at least 2 hours
6. After the batter has risen, add some salt and stir the batter once.
7. Heat an appa-chetti and pour one ladle full of batter, swirl it around to fan out the appam and cover and let it cook on a low flame for 2 minutes.
8. Once the appam is cooked, with the underside turning brown, pull it off the appa-chetti and dig in. With the amount of coconut in there is should just slip off the appa-chetti.
9. With respect to the appa-chetti, I used a non-stick chetti, but its just as easy to make it with a flattish kadai/wok with a lid. Just remember to add a drop of oil and swirl that around the kadai if you're using a non-stick one.

Nadan Mutta Roast (Kerala style Egg Masala)

Ingredients

• 3 hard boiled eggs
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 6-7 curry leaves
• 1 chopped green chili
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1/2 inch ginger, chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt to taste

Method

1. Halve the hard boiled eggs.
2. Mix the garam masala, coriander power, pepper, turmeric and red chili power together with some water to make a thick paste.
3. Heat the oil in the pan and add the mustard seeds.
4. Once they stop crackling, add the ginger, garlic and green chills, and fry for a minute.
5. Add the onion and sweat them out till they turn translucent.
6. Add the curry leaves and let them splutter before adding the tomatoes and spice paste.
7. Stir the mixture so that the spice paste evenly coats the tomatoes and let them soften.
8. Add some water, salt to taste and reduce the heat and cover to let the masala stew.
9. Once the tomatoes have softened and the masala is pulpy, add the eggs, pour the masala over them and cover and cook for a minute on a low flame.
10. Stir the egg curry once and dry it out uncovered if a little wet, and serve up with the appams.

Soymeal Dumplings

With the Navratri on, the only way I could recreate pork dumplings was with the use of soy meal. Also, I had the steamer that I was dying to use so ended up making soymeal dumplings. It has the same texture as pork dumplings, but without fat and since its soymeal, it should keep the entire khandan happy.

Ingredients

Dumplings

• 2 cups flour (makes around 10)
• 3/4 cup boiled water
• 1 tsp salt

Filling

• 1 1/2 cup soybean meal, soaked for 10 minutes
• 1 tbsp honey soy (or 1 tbsp light soy with a teaspoon of honey)
• 1 tsp vinegar
• 1 inch ginger, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 cup cold water
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

Dough

1. Mix the flour, salt and water to create a soft elastic dough and let it rest for 30 minutes to an hour in a cool dry place.
2. Divide the dough into 10 parts and roll out each ball on a lightly floured table into thin roundels.

Filling

1. Heat the oil in a pan and lightly fry the ginger. As it starts to turn colour, add the vinegar and reduce the heat. 
2. Let the liquid in the pan evaporate before adding the soaked soybean and honey soy.
3. Let the mixture cook on a low heat till some of the water evaporates before adding the cornflour water and salt to taste. You can also add some chili powder or paprika for some bite.
4. Stir the filling and cover. Let it simmer for around 10 minutes, until the soymeal is cooked through.
5. Remove the lid and let the liquid evaporate to create a firm mass of filling.

Dumplings

1. Add portions of the filling to the centre of the dumplings and roll to create little parcels. I rolled them into a circular shape, but bringing to sides together to create a half-moon shape, sealing the edges and then then bringing the two edges of the halfmoon together to create a circular dumpling.
2. Make sure to press down on the edges to seal the dumpling.
3. Lightly oil the steamer tray and prepare the steamer.
4. Place in the steamer and let it cook for 6-8 minutes.
5. Hog in with a light soy dressing, made with 4 parts light soy, 1 part sesame oil and chopped red-chilis or topped with some instant noodles.

Malai Tikka Thin Crust Pizza

I missed baking while away; as I couldn't be bothered to maintain anything that resembled a pantry in the student halls. So, with my mum's entire pantry at my disposal, I decided to make pizzas for the entire family. Four pizzas in all, with two topped with chicken, jalapenos and pineapple, and two others with paneer, jalapenos and pineapple. The picture by the side is of the chicken one, which I was able to steal away and capture with the camera before it was cut up and munched down. 

Ingredients

Base

• 5 cups plain flour (I used a mix of 2 cups wholewheat flour and 3 cups plain)
• 1 tsp dry yeast
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup water
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp salt

Sauce

• 7 peeled fire roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tbsp shredded basil
• 4 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 basil leaves

Toppings

• 200 g pineapple, cut into thick cubes
• 300 g chicken malai tikka (or leftover roast chicken) 
• 200 g jalapeños
• 400 g grated mozzarella cheese

Method

Base

1. Mix the flour, oil and salt.
2. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in lukewarm water. Let it froth and add it to the flour mix.
3. Add enough water to make a soft dough
4. Then knead for another 10 minutes with your palms to get the gluten out.
5. Cover the dough and keep it aside for 4 hours (or overnight) for it to rise

Sauce

1. Pulverise the tomatoes and basil in a food processor.
2. Heat the oil in a flat bottomed pan, and fry the garlic till it starts to turn brown.
3. Add the tomato paste, water and basil leaves. Add salt and pepper and reduce the heat.
4. Let is simmer away uncovered till it thickens. If its too thick to spread, add some warm water.

Pizza

1. Set the oven to gas mark 8.5 (around 250C)
2. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and divide into 4 portions.
3. Take one potion on a lightly floured board, press down with your palm and keep turning it to flatten it out.
4. Add some more flour to the board and use your fingers to spread it around.
5. Oil a perforated baking tray and add the dough to it. Lightly spread it around the tray.
6. Spread some of the sauce on the base and evenly spread the toppings (1/4 of each).
7. Baste the sides of the pizza with oil and place in the oven.
8. Let it cook for around 15-20 minutes, till the crust crispens and turns a light brown
9. Take it out and let it rest before cutting it into slices and chomping away.
10. Repeat the same process with the remaining three potions of dough.

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with a light Lemon Glaze

Ingredients

Biscuit Base

• 80g Digestive Biscuits
• 40g Butter
• 1/2 cup sugar

Cheesecake

• 500g Fresh Ricotta
• 300g Cream Cheese
• 1/2tsp Vanilla Essence
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 Caster Sugar
• 1tbsp Cornflour
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 cup Water

Glaze

• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp Cornflour
• 1 cup Water

Method

Biscuit Base

1. Pre-heat the oven to 230C 
2. Crush the digestive biscuits by placing them in a zip-loc bag and hammering it with a mallet. Add the sugar to the crushed biscuits, melt the butter and mix it into the crumbled mash. 
3. Rub the mixture it feels like wet sand, then place it in an oiled baking dish. Push down and spread the mixture with your fingertips so that it forms a nice base.
4. Bake it in the oven for 7 minutes, and then let in cool in the fridge.

Cheesecake

1. Reduce the oven temperature to 160C.
2. Whizz the ricotta, cream cheese, vanilla essence, eggs, lemon juice and caster sugar in a food processor. Mix the cornflour with the water, and add it to the mixture. Whizz it lightly to turn into into a smooth mixture.
3. Lightly butter the sides of the baking dish. Pour the mixture over the cooled base and place it in the oven.
4. Leave in the oven for 1 hour. Then switch off the heating and let it stand in the oven for another 1 hour. 
5. Once done, remove and let it chill in the fridge.

Glaze

1. Nearly there. Mix the water and sugar, and heat till all the sugar dissolves.
2. Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a smooth slush. Add this to the sugar-water mixture and bring it to a boil.
3. Keep stirring the mixture till it thickens. Then remove from the heat and let it cool a little.
4. Spread the mixture onto the cheesecake and place it in the fridge for 3 hours to set.

Notes

1.  You can substitute the cream cheese with hung yogurt and add a tsp of lemon rind to the cheesecake mix for a little tartness.
2. Also, will add a pic soon.