Fried Salmon in lemon infused cream sauce!

Last Friday, we had a wonderful couple over for lunch. The husband was Indian and the wife French :)...clearly, love has no boundaries! And obviously, the experimenter that I am, I had to make something French...with an Indian touch to it. Luckily for me, the 2 of them were not fussy eaters at all...in fact, they loved spicy food, not too much of it though, but I knew that I had to make something special.

You can never go wrong with salmon. It is the easiest...and the tastiest fish that you can have at the table. I would normally never use the words "elegant" and "fish" in the same sentence, but for me, salmon is somewhat associated to royalty...do not ask me why....or maybe because it's so notoriously expensive! It hardly takes time to cook, but the end result is magical in itself. I just added some cream coz I was in the mood actually...he he! On to the recipe. I am not even going to bother listing out the ingredients coz it's that simple.

METHOD

• Wash salmon fillets in a mixture salt and lemon juice to get rid of the smell.
• Marinate these in a mixture of salt, pepper and lime juice. Leave it for a minimum of 30 minutes.
• In the mean time, prepare the sauce. I had 4 salmon fillets, so I took half a cup of fresh cream and to this added the juice of 1 lemon, pepper powder (2 teaspoons), garam masala powder (1 teaspoon), basil leaves (1 teaspoon), oregano leaves (1 teaspoon) and salt to taste.
• Boil this till you get the thickness you desire.
• Fry the salmon fillets. I used "Lurpak Cooks Range" oil, simply because I'm in love with the product, but salmon releases it's own oil so you can fry as is. Fry this on each side for approx 3-4 minutes on a medium flame till it turns a pale pink and starts flaking. You can alternatively bake or grill.
• Layer this on a plate, top of with the sauce and garnish with some steamed beans on the side and coriander leaves on the top. Do not bother cutting the beans. Simply put them into boiling water for 15 minutes and use as garnish.

Now was'nt that simple!

Till next time, take care and God bless!

Roasted lamb chops with Tahini Sauce!

I love lamb chops...period! I mean, who doesn't?? Let me rephrase that..which non vegetarian in their right mind does not savor lamb chops?!?

I believe, the secret to succulent lamb chops lies in the marination, and the time you take to roast it. Mind you, lamb chops roasted for a long time, can result in the meat turning hard. Considering that I love spice in whatever I make, I decided to make an Indo-Italian marination for my lamb chops. Minimum ingredients, all in the pantry and the result was absolutely succulent, to-die-for lamb chops!

The tahini sauce was an inspiration from Nigella Lawson. I mean, what would I possibly do without her :)

Tahini sauce is basically sesame seed paste. You can just eat it simply, but I chose to make it a little more fancy...trust me, really easy! Enough with the chit chat already, let's get cooking!

INGREDIENTS

• Lamb chops (6 pieces)
• Red chilly flakes- 3 tablespoons
• Garlic infused extra virgin olive oil- 2-3 tablespoons (You can also use normal olive oil and grate 1 garlic clove)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Garam Masala (All spice powder)- 1 teaspoon
• Basil leaves (A pinch- optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste                                                             
  

METHOD

• Mix together chilly flakes, lemon juice, garam masala, salt, pepper and olive oil and marinate this on the lamb chops. Set this aside for at least 15-20 minutes. The longer you marinate, the better the taste.
• Roast this in an oven set at 190 degrees celsius for 15 minutes. Some ovens would require only 10 minutes. Remember not to overcook the meat.

Tahini Sauce

In a bowl, mix together 3 tablespoons of tahini sauce, together with the juice of 1 lemon and some salt. Garnish with basil or mint leaves (optional).

Now, was'nt that easy! Do try it out and let me know how it turns out!

Dynamite Shrimps!

Have you ever been to PF Chang's? It's an American-Chinese joint that serves some really fantastic food. I would recommend it for any occasion, honestly! And as always, when I have something I like, I have to try it out, at any cost :D You know, I am obsessive when it comes to food :)

Their signature dish is something called Dynamite Shrimps, which is basically batter dipped shrimp that's deep fried and tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce, served in a martini glass. Hmm, heaven in a martini glass! So obviously, I had to try it out ..he he!

Clearly, it was not the exact recipe from PF Chang's...just my own "copy cat" version, lolz! Whatever said and done though, the end result was really good, and the best part of it all, was it was super healthy! Reason? Because we used an "Air Fryer", details of which I shall post in my subsequent posts. Long story short, this was not deep fried in oil, rather cooked in hot air, without a drop of oil. So, isn't that healthy?

The best part of it all was that I finally got to use the martini glasses that were given to us so lovingly by a friend. So, Anurag, this one is truly for you! Special dedication also to my sis in law Amy, who is a big fan of this dish. So Amy, this one's for you too! Incidentally, do not panic if you do not have martini glasses, you can use ordinary bowls, and they will still look absolutely gorgeous!

RECIPE (Serves 2)

• 250 gms shrimp, de-shelled and de-veined. I used medium shrimp

Marinade for the Shrimp

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup corn flour (corn starch)
• 1 teaspoon paprika (red chilly powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 2 eggs
• Salt to taste

Sauce

• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 3 tablespoons Sweet Chilly Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Hot Sauce (or tabasco sauce)
• 1 teaspoon honey (optional, I used this)
• Pepper (Optional)
• Salt (A pinch)

Garnish

• Spring onions, cut into small pieces 
• Lettuce

METHOD

• Marinate the shrimp in turmeric, chilly and pepper powders and set aside for about 5 minutes.
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, corn starch salt and pepper and set aside.
• In another bowl, beat the eggs.
• Dip the prawns, first in the flour mixture, and shake of the excess. Then dip into the eggs, and finally dip again in the flour mixture,ensuring that the prawns are covered completely.
• If using oil, deep fry the prawns till a golden brown. Since I used the Air Fryer, I did not use any oil, and cooked this for 7 minutes.
• While the prawns are cooking, make the sauce. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients mentioned under "Sauce" and set aside.
• Toss the cooked prawns in the sauce.
• Arrange lettuce leaves in the glass or bowl that you are using. Place the prawns in the lettuce bed and top with spring onions.

Why would you possibly want to go to PF Chang's, when you can cook this in the comfort of your home :) Do try this out and let me know how it turns out! Till next time, take care and God bless!

Meatza~Meat based pizza!

I have mentioned earlier that I consider Nigella Lawson to be one of my biggest inspirations when it comes to cooking...and I still stand by it!I love pizza, but then again, who doesn't :) I am a little biased, I have to be honest, just the name "Pizza Hut" and I go totally gaga!

The idea of making a pizza, quite frankly, has never appealed to me, simply because it involves making  crust, and I am never confident when it comes to making dough of any sort. So, when Nigella showed this particular recipe, for a pizza, minus the crust, I did not think twice..and trust me, neither will you :D. This truly is so simple, that you can get the even the little ones to pitch in for you. And the best part i, dinner is served in 20 minutes flat!

On to the recipe for more details

INGREDIENTS

• Mince meat (1/2 kg)
• Parmesan cheese- shredded (4 tablespoons)
• Red chilly pepper paste (optional- 3 tablespoons depending on the spice level)
• 2 eggs
• Parsley Leaves- Handful
• Canned tomatoes (200 gm jar) or if using fresh tomatoes, 2 small ripe ones
• Oregano- 1 teaspoon
• Back pepper- 1/2 teaspoon
• Extra virgin olive oil- 1 tablespoon
• Salt- A pinch (Bear in mind that parmesan is salty so adjust accordingly)
• Mozarella cheese- A small cube cut into triangular pieces

METHOD

• In a large bowl, add the cleaned mince meat. To this add the eggs, parmesan cheese, red chilly paste (optional) and the parsley leaves and blend using hands. Do not overwork the mixture, else it gets hard and rubbery.
• Spread the mixture evenly into a greased baking dish.
• Separately, strain out the tomatoes from the can so as to remove the liquid from them.
• To the tomatoes, add the black pepper, oregano, oil and salt and mix with a spoon.
• Spread this over the mince meat mixture.
• Cut out the mozarella cube into triangular pieces and place over the mince meat mixture.
• Place this into a hot oven at 200 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

And that's all there was to it! Now,wasn't that easy? Do try it out and let me know how it turns out!

Till next time, adios amigos!

Roast Peri Peri Chicken!

I have this weird habit...if I see someone eating something appealing and that I cannot have at that moment, I need to make it that very same day! I guess we all have our weird little ways..he he!

Just yesterday, in fact, a colleague of mine was the inspiration of this particular recipe, coz she was having this absolutely divine looking roasted chicken leg and I knew, then and there, I needed to have it. Of course, I had to be a bit civilized and not snatch it from her hand (now that would have been something!), so I decided to hold off just an hour longer till I got home and set about making this.

In actual fact, this dish is just a typical one pot meal that takes hardly any time for preparation and just a wee bit time in the oven, but the end result is absolutely succulent, divinely gorgeous chicken...and you've hardly spend any time at all int he kitchen!

On to the recipe then, am sure you must be hungry already!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 whole chicken, defrosted and cleaned thoroughly. Do not remove the skin, that's where all the taste is!
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste (I used store bought, if using fresh, mash half a ginger and a clove of garlic)
• 1 tablespoon red chilly flakes
• 1 tablespoon peri peri sauce (or you can use 1 tablespoon hot sauce)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 potato, sliced into wedges
• 1 carrot, sliced thinly
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Olive oil (to apply at the base of the baking dish and over the chicken, approx 3 tablespoons)

METHOD

• Marinate the cleaned chicken with the ginger and garlic paste. red chilly flakes, lemon juice, salt and pepper thoroughly. Apply inside the chicken as well to enhance the taste. Keep this aside for 15 minutes to half an hour.
• Apply olive oil at the base of the baking dish and over the chicken and place into the oven.
• I use a gas oven, so I placed the chicken at gas mark, and this was NOT pre heated. 
• After 25 minutes on one side, turn over and roast the other side.
• 5 minutes before taking the chicken out, place potatoes and carrots in the baking dish. They should take not more than 5 to 8 minutes to roast.
• Switch off the oven, wait for 5 minutes and take out the chicken.

Tada, delicious peri peri roast chicken (or the other way around!) is ready!

Now, was'nt that easy? Try it out and let me know how it turns out!

Spaghetti Carbonara!

One of my all time favorite cuisines, apart from Indian of course, is Italian.  Whenever we go out for a buffet, I always end up ordering for the pasta and in the process don't eat anything else..he he! Both A and my dad say it's a total waste of money taking me out coz I end up eating just one dish. Incidentally, pasta is also one of the easiest dishes to make, especially if you are too lazy to cook a big meal. It gets done in 15 minutes but needs to be eaten instantly. If you microwave it, it loses its flavor completely.

There are different types of pasta. One of my favorites is penne, but I also enjoy spaghetti and linguine. I have already made a linguine dish that you can find here. This dish involves a white sauce and I have used sausage. You can have a completely vegetarian pasta as well if you eliminate sausage, though it does use eggs. So, shall we start? Here goes...

INGREDIENTS (For 1)

• Spaghetti- A handful
• Egg- 2
• Thick cream- 1/4 cup
• Grated Parmesan cheese- 1/4 cup
• Black pepper powder- 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt- 3 tablespoons
• Boiling water- Enough to cook the spaghetti
• Butter- 3 teaspoons
• Sausage- 1 cup uncooked, cut into small pieces/cubes
• Parsley leaves- Garnish

METHOD

• Boil a vessel of water. Once the water is boiling thoroughly, add salt. To this add the spaghetti. Different brands of spaghetti have different cooking times which are mentioned on the packet. I cooked it for 11 minutes.
• While this is cooking, we have to prepare the sauce. Beat the egg, cream and cheese to a smooth mixture until they are all blended properly. Add the pepper powder to this and mix. You an use a fork for this. 
• Heat butter in a separate saucepan and fry the sausages to a golden brown.
• By now, the pasta will have cooked. Save a bit of the liquid in a cup (about a quarter) and drain  out the rest. Transfer the pasta to the pan containing sausages and mix thoroughly.
• Finally add the sauce and the liquid in which the pasta was cooked and coat completely.
• While serving, garnish with parsley leaves and a bit of cheese.

Here's how the final product looks like..

And a closeup!

Notes

• You have the option of making this veg by not adding sausage. You can try not adding egg as well, but the sauce may lose a bit of it's thickness. Worth a try though! 
• Instead of sausage, you can also use pancetta, ham, bacon or any other type of meat that you are comfortable with. 
• Pepper powder is optional. I need spice with everything which is why I added it to the sauce.
• Parmesan cheese is sufficiently salty, so you can use the liquid in which you cooked the pasta only if you want to. The liquid also helps the sauce from being too thick.
• Spaghetti can also be replaced with linguine, penne or any other form of pasta you are comfortable with.

Do try this out and let me know how it turns out! Till next time, God bless!

French Toast!

I woke up on Sunday morning, my stomach grumbling and crying out for food. And I went down memory lane to the time when mom used to make french toast for us as kids...she still does actually whenever we go home! Of course, nothing can beat mom's taste, but I was desperately craving for french toast, so much so that I ran down to the grocer's like as if my behind was on fire, got a pack of bread and got cooking. Seriously, even the girl in there was wondering whether to call an ambulance for me..he he! Anyways, french toast is really basic and am sure all of you know how to do it, but this is for all those newbies in the world of cooking. I remember the first time I made this after we got married and I burnt it, but my poor A still happily ate it. So A darling, this one's for you!

INGREDIENTS

• 3 slices of bread
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 4-5 tablespoons granulated sugar. If using icing sugar, 2-3 tablespoons
• 3 tablespoons butter, to fry
• Icing sugar for dusting (optional)

METHOD

• Beat the eggs and add milk and sugar to this. Set this aside for 5 minutes.
• Heat the butter in the frying pan.
• Reduce the flame to medium-low, soak the bread in the egg milk mixture and fry for 2 minutes on each side, till both sides are golden brown.
• Repeat the same step for the other 2 pieces.
• Garnish with a bit of icing sugar (optional).
• Serve hot.

The pics, for your viewing pleasure!

What do u think of the pics? Looks yummy, no?? If any of you make french toast, do take pics and send them across too! Take care u guys!

Linguine and the 2 minute sauce!

If you ask me who inspired me to cook, 2 names would spring to mind...Dr.Lakshmi Nair, also called the "pachakarani" (Food Queen) of Kerala, and Nigella Lawson, also called the "Domestic Goddess". seriously, these 2 women make cooking look like child's play. So today, I present to you one of the simplest recipes ever, and this one's courtesy Nigella Lawson.
Pasta is one dish that I could eat all year around. Seafood penne pasta with white sauce is my all time fav. The very thought is making me drool all over my keyboard...now that's not a pretty sight is it...:P. Anyway, this one does not involve penne, but another fav of mine, linguine. This is how it looks uncooked.

 



 Now, on to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 of 1 packet linguine (depending on the amount you can eat)
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/2 cup fresh cream
• Grated mozzarella cheese
• Parsley leaves
• 1/2 litre boiling hot water

METHOD

• The first step is to boil water. Once the water starts boiling, add a generous amount of salt. bear in mind not to add salt at the beginning, else the water takes extremely long to boil. the water also needs to be extremely salty to cook pasta, so be generous with the salt!
• While the linguine is cooking away, prepare the sauce. Separate 2 yolks from their whites (Refer notes).
• Beat the yolks until frothy and creamy. To this add grated mozzarella cheese. You can add as much as you like.
• After mixing in the cheese, add cream. Again, adding cream is your individual choice. i love cream which is why i added half a cup. If you want your sauce to be thicker, add more.
• Add lemon zest to this, followed by lemon juice.
• Give everything a final swirl. Your sauce is ready!
• Once the pasta is done, drain out the excess water, and add 2 tablespoons of butter.
• Add 1/2 the juice to this to mix it in.
• Once the pasta is ready to be served, pour the remaining juice on top.
• Add mozzarella cheese as a final garnish.

Notes

• Please note that I have'nt added salt, since mozzarella cheese is salty enough. pepper is optional, but I recommend not adding as it would kill the flavour of the lemon juice.
• When separating whites from yolks, I make a small hole at the top of the egg, and pour out the white. i fell this is the easiest method and a lot less messier than breaking the egg in half and separating with your fingers. Also, when separating the whites, ensure you transfer them to a bowl with absolutely no droplets of water. Egg whites make great omelets, so don't worry about not using them!
• I have been pretty vague with measurements here, compared to my previous recipes, the only reason being that this particular dish falls under the label of "comfort food", so measurements are completely your choice.

So, there we are. Lemon linguine is ready! This recipe is strictly for those days when you cant be bothered to spend any effort in the kitchen, so I hope you have fun making this!

The final product!

Do try it out and let me know what you think! Sending this ober for an event at Akhila's Kitchen titled

Dish Name Starts with L