Hortobagy Pancakes

Soft crepes stuffed with either chicken or a vegetarian protein (like paneer) and served with a creamy sauce. These 'pancakes' are very vocally claimed to be a Hungarian creation from the 1950s and can be served at breakfast with a hot cup of strong coffee or at lunch. Its really easy and uses a handful of ingredients. Its also a very creamy and rich dish. I had these at the winter wonderland christmas market at Hyde Park, and spent many hours of the next week googling away to figure out its name.

The total preparation time is around 30 minutes and the cooking time is around 30 minutes.

Ingredients

Crepe

• 1 1/2 cups plain white flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup carbonated water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp sugar

Filling

• 300g boneless chicken filets, sliced (I used thigh, but you can use any cut)
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1tbsp plain white flour
• 3 tbsp fresh cream
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 tomato, finely chopped
• 3 tsp sweet paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

Crepe

1. Mix all of the ingredients together to create a smooth batter. In case you dont have carbonated water, just add 1/2 tsp baking powder to the mix. Set it aside for a hour.
2. Heat a flat pan on medium high heat, and oil its surface lightly.
3. Add a ladleful of the batter to the hot pan and turn the pan to spread the batter out.
4. Let is cook for a few minutes, until lightly brown.
5. Turn over and let it cook for a minute.
6. Take off the heat and set aside to cool.

Filling

1. Heat the oil and fry the onions until translucent. 
2. Add the tomatoes and let it cook down on high heat till it softens.
3. Add the chicken slices, paprika and pepper and let it cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add some water and salt to taste and cook covered till the chicken slices are completely cooked through.
5. Beat the cream lightly with the flour to create a smooth mixture. Add a little milk if the mixture is too thick.
6. Reduce the heat and add the cream mixture and let it infuse on low heat for 3 minutes.

Pancakes

1. Grease an oven proof tray and pre-heat the oven at 180 degrees centigrade.
2. Take a crepe, add some of the chicken slices in the centre and bring the sides in to create a thick roll. Tuck the sides in and place fold side down in the oven proof tray.
3. Keep the stuffed pancakes close in together to prevent them from unravelling.
4. Take the leftover cream sauce from the filling and spread it over the pancakes.
5. Place in the oven for 10 minutes, and serve up right after.
6. These pancakes can be served either as it is, or with a cream sauce, made by heating, on a low heat, 2 tbsp cream with paprika and salt, poured over.

Kanom Krok

Little thai dumplings that are crisp on the outside and gooey on the inside, with a sweet coconut milk jelly filling. I had these in thailand, stuffed with crisp bacon and scallions. These little dumplings need a special pan, called an appa pan, a flat bottomed pan with small circular indentations for batter (like an aebleskiver pan), and with the amount of coconut milk in, are quite easy free to make as it slips off the pan. It needs around 30 minutes of preparatory time and 4-5 minutes to cook. They're great by themselves, or can be served with a little sweet chili sauce to add some heat.

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp rice flour
• 2 tbsp uncooked rice
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 1 tbsp cornflour dissolved in 1/2 cup water
• 5 cups coconut milk
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• chopped cilantro to garnish (or finely chopped scallions, ginger or bacon bits)

Method

1. Heat 1 cup of the coconut milk with the cornflour water mixture and 2 tbsp sugar. Heat on a low flame and cook until it thickens to create a sweet thick coconut jelly. Set aside and let it cool.
2. Grind the grated coconut and uncooked rice together into a fine mixture.
3. Add the remaining coconut milk, sugar, rice flour and salt and blend it with the ground rice mixture to create a thin batter.
4. Heat the appa pan on a low flame and pour spoonfuls of the batter into each indentation, making sure that it remains just below the rim of each indentation. I used a non-stick pan and thus didn't need to add any oil to the pan, but in case your pan isn't non-stick, brush some oil over it prior to pouring the batter. 
5. Add a small spoonful of the jelly to the top of the batter and garnish lightly with the chopped cilantro.
6. Cover and let it cook for around 3-4 minutes on a low flame, until the bottom of each dumpling half is a crisp brown.
7. Take out each dumpling half with a spoon and keep aside.
8. While still hot, place one half over another to create a circular dumpling and leave aside. Do this while hot as the jelly will act as a glue and keep the dumpling halves together.
9. Keep stirring the batter prior to pouring as the ground rice will settle to the bottom.
10. Serve hot, but be aware that the jelly will be piping hot. So avoid gulping down or biting directly into the dumpling. Gin Dee Dee

Hummus Bi Tahini

Have a new food processor, or your food processor is just being a cranky old cow, give it a good work-out with hummus. Nothing tests out the capacity of a food processor than hummus, especially when you make the tahini just before it. Its a simple enough recipe, with all of 5-6 ingredients and a minimal preparatory time. The only thing that really needs to prepped are the chickpeas, either by soaking the dry chickpeas overnight or by soaking it for 4 hours in boiling water, in both cases with a little baking soda added to help it soften.

Ingredients

Tahini

• 1 cup white sesame seeds
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt to taste

Hummus

• 2 cups chickpeas
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• salt to taste

Method

Tahini

1. Roast the sesame seeds in a pan, and keep shaking it around to prevent it burning. 
2. Roast until the seeds are aromatic and have turned a light brown.
3. Take them off the heat and place into another pan to stop the cooking process.
4. Once cool, add it to the food processor and grind until fine.
5. Add the olive oil and some salt to the mash and run the food processor again to create a thick paste. 
6. This tahini can be stored away and used as a spread or dip.

Hummus

1. The quantities listed above will make about a 1/4 cup of tahini, or about 2 tablespoons.
2. Boil the chickpeas 4 cups water with the garlic and a tsp of baking soda.
3. Boil until cooked through, where you can crush the chickpeas between your fingers.
4. Strain the chickpeas and garlic and keep the cooking liquor aside.
5. Add the chickpeas, garlic, chili powder and tahini to a blender, add around 2 tablespoons of the cooking liquor.
6. Blend until smooth to create a thick paste. You can add a little more of the cooking liquor to make a lighter paste.
7. This hummus can be serves by itself with jalapeneos, or in a wrap with some  baby spinach, onion and a light fruit vinegar.

Mutton Donne Biryani

A gloriously minty and ever popular biryani here in Bangalore, with significant variations from one locality to another. This quick and hassle-free biryani comes in colours that vary from bright almost phosphorent green to a muted yellow with specks of green. This biryani can be made with chicken or mutton and needs around 40 minutes to prepare, with the cooking time being around 15-20 minutes. The proportions in this recipe will be enough for around 4 people. Serve with a chilled cucumber and onion raita and a hard boiled egg.

Ingredients

Mutton

• 1/2 kg Mutton, cut into big bite sized chunks
• 1 tsp red chili power
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• salt to taste
• 1 tbsp oil

Mint Paste

• 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3 green chilies, chopped
• 1 bunch mint leaves, chopped
• 1 bunch coriander leaves with stalks (or substitute with a handful of mint)
• 1 tbsp oil

Biryani

• 3 cups basmati rice, washed and cleaned
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 2-3 strands of mace
• 8 black peppercorns
• 2 inches cinnamon, broken
• 1 tbsp ghee
• salt to taste

Method

Mutton

1. Mix the ingredients, other than the mutton and oil, together to create a thick paste and rub it into the mutton.
2. Set aside for 2 hours.
3. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker and add the mutton with the marinade.
4. Stir and cook the mutton for 2-3 minutes and add 5 cups of water.
5. Close the pressure cooker and cook for 10 minutes, until the meat is tender.
6. Separate the meat from the stock and keep both aside.

Mint Paste

1. Heat the oil and ghee together and add the onions.
2. Fry the onions till they turn brown around the edges.
3. Add the ginger garlic paste and chopped green chilies and let it cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add the mint and coriander and let it cooked covered for another 2 minutes.
5. Take it off the heat, let it cool and make a blitz in a food processor with a little water to make a thick paste.

Biryani

1. Heat the ghee in a cooking pot and add the spices.
2. Cook until fragrant and add the mint paste, rice and mutton.
3. Stir it around to ensure that the paste evenly coats the mutton and the rice.
4. Add the stock, cover the lid and let it cook on medium/high heat till the rice absorbes all of the liquid.
5. Serve with raita and a hard-boiled egg.