Greek Salad

Greek salad or horiatiki salata is a lovely Mediterranean salad made with fresh crunchy country vegetables. It’s a textural delight for every palette with its combination of juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp red onion, crumbly feta cheese and plump kalamata olives. Greek salad can be served as a starter, a side dish or even as a small snack with some crusty bread.


Serves: 4
Prep time: 10min
Cooking time: 5min

Ingredients
Veggies
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
½ red onion, sliced and ringed
½ cucumber, deseeded and sliced into thick half moons
¼ green bell pepper julienned
¼ red bell pepper julienned
¼ yellow bell pepper julienned
100g feta cheese, cut into small cubes
10 kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
Purple lettuce, whole leaves
Green lettuce, whole leaves


Dressing
3tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper


Method
Place the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and oregano in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Place the salad veggies in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently to combine just before serving. Garnish the Greek salad with a little freshly ground black pepper.


Bench notes
Place all the chopped veggies a large bowl and cover with cling wrap. Refrigerate until serving time.


Pour the dressing on the salad just before serving; this will prevent the veggies from sweating and making the salad soggy before serving.


To obtain neat onion rings: Peel a whole onion, cut into thin slices. Place the slices in a bowl of ice cold water. Open up the slices gently with your fingertips allowing the rings to separate. Retain in ice cold water until use (keeps the onions crunchy and fresh).

Mushroom and baby spinach tarts

This one is a real cracker, especially for a flawless first impression with your guests! Serve it as a starter, and see the impressed look on the faces of your worst food critics. Nobody is going to forget this welcome surprise; and I speak with experience when I say that.

If you can’t find white wine to work this recipe, don’t bother making it. The wine lifts and enhances the flavour of the dish to a different level; and I highly recommend that it is not omitted or replaced with something else.

So what’s important here is the making/baking of the actual tart shell. This requires a bit of hard work; read my blog on ‘The perfect puff pastry' and master this skill! I would advice you to practice puff pastry-making at least once before your final day; as there are a couple of ‘moments of truth’ involved in making them. Be sure to get your puff pastry right for a good crispy tart shell.

The rest of the dish is relatively simple for any home cook. It’s a fun starter for any party, so chuck that tandoori paneer out of the window, and think out of the box.




Serves: 6
Prep time: 60min (to bake the tart shells, can be done a day in advance)
Cooking time: 25min (includes oven time of 5-10min)
Baking tools: Baking sheet, ovenproof tart moulds/shells

Ingredients
200g fresh baby spinach leaves, washed and drained
100g mushrooms, chopped fine
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1tsp butter
1tsp olive oil
Red chilli flakes
Grated processed cheese, 1 cube
Salt to taste
White wine
Ground black pepper
Fresh rosemary, 1 sprig
Parmesan cheese
Black olives, pitted and sliced for garnish
Pre-baked tart shells

Method
Blanch the spinach leaves in hot water for 2-3min without a lid. Pull out the spinach leaves with tongs and shock treat by placing them in an ice cold water bath (helps retain the green colour). Remove and chop finely. Keep aside.

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Heat olive oil and butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add the chopped garlic, red chilli flakes and some fresh rosemary to the pan. Allow the garlic to brown sufficiently. Now add the chopped mushroom along with a pinch of salt; stir till the mushrooms are soft and release all their moisture. Add ground black pepper, and some more salt if necessary.

Turn the heat down to medium low, and add 3-4tbsp of white wine (be generous). Let simmer on a low flame till the wine is absorbed. Now add the chopped spinach, grated processed cheese, and some more rosemary. Stir till all the elements are well-combined and the mixture gains a thick consistency. The mixture will thicken on cooling.

Spoon the mixture into the pre-baked tart shells (let the shells remain in the ovenproof tart moulds). Garnish with some grated parmesan and a couple of sliced black olives. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 5-10min.

Remove the tarts from their moulds, serve hot.

Bench notes
You can keep your pre-baked tart shells ready a day in advance. They easily keep in a refrigerator for 24-48hr in a closed air tight box. However, keep them as they are in their tart moulds, so they don’t break or crumble.

Veggie au gratin

The veggie au gratin or as we call it, the baked vegetable, is a lovely continental addition to a dinner spread. It can be eaten as a meal in itself with some garlic bread and a soup or as an interesting supplement to a main course. It is best compiled with seasonal winter veggies, and the rich creamy cheese sauce makes it finger-lickin-good!

My mom used to make this when I was little, and ever since it’s been comfort food for me. The original recipe is hers, but my little twist to it is the addition of the Worcestershire sauce. I developed a natural liking for Worcestershire sauce during my student days in the UK; and I always have a bottle of it on my kitchen rack. I use it in soups, casseroles, dips, bakes, rolls etc. It has a distinctive taste which adds a nice body of flavour to the au gratin; and keeps your guests guessing why their au gratins never taste as good as yours!

Serves: 4-6 (depends on portion size)
Prep time: 30min
Cooking time: 40min (includes oven time of 10min)
Cooking bowl: Ovenproof bowl for baking


Ingredients
For the cream sauce
1tbsp butter
1½ tbsp plain flour
400-500ml milk
2-3tbsp fresh cream
Grated processed cheese, 1 cube
Tabasco sauce
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Nutmeg powder
1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
Salt to taste

For the veggies
1tbsp olive oil
Roasted garlic paste (read bench note below for details)
¼ cauliflower made into medium size florets
½ broccoli made into medium size florets
1 carrot cubed
½ red bell pepper cubed
½ green bell pepper cubed
½ yellow bell pepper cubed
50g baby corn slit centre-wise
1-2 sprigs of fresh thyme
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Red chilli flakes

For garnish before baking
1 large onion cut into rings (read bench note below for details)
Grated processed cheese, 1 cube

For serving
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Garlic bread




Method
For the cream sauce
For the sauce, heat butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add flour and roast until golden brown on a low flame. Remove from heat, and allow it to cool completely. Add 2‑3tbsp milk to the cooled flour and mix thoroughly dissolving any lumps. Add rest of the milk to the pan and simmer for 5-6 min, stirring continuously till the sauce thickens. Season with salt and ground black pepper; add the grated processed cheese, fresh cream and a sprig of fresh thyme. Add a pinch of nutmeg powder and a few drops of Tabasco sauce. Keep aside.

For the veggies
Preheat oven to 180°C.

Heat olive oil and some butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add the roasted garlic and sauté for a minute. Add cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and baby corn. Sauté the veggies for 2‑3min. Add a pinch of salt to the veggies, cover with a lid and allow the veggies to cook ¾ths. Add the bell peppers at this stage and stir well. Season with ground black pepper, red chilli flakes and some more salt if necessary. Add the Worcestershire sauce, and some fresh thyme. Do not overcook the veggies as the au gratin will further bake in the oven. Add the cream sauce to the veggies and stir till all the elements are combined.

Transfer the au gratin into an ovenproof bowl. Garnish with onion rings and generously coat with grated cheese. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for 10-15min till the top surface browns and the cheese melts.

Garnish with some fresh flat leaf parsley and serve hot.

Bench notes
Roasted garlic: Take a whole garlic pod (do not peel); smear it with a mixture of olive oil, butter, salt, pepper, and some fresh thyme. Roast in a preheated oven at 180°C for 15-20 or until browned and soft from within. Remove peel and crush with the back of a spoon to make a rough paste.

Onion rings: Peel a whole onion, cut into thin slices. Place the slices in a bowl of ice cold water. Open up the slices gently with your fingertips allowing the rings to separate. Retain in ice cold water until use (keeps the onions crunchy and fresh).

Chocolate Walnut Brownie

What can I say about the classic chocolate walnut brownie? It’s soft yet crumbly, with the bittersweet punch of dark chocolate and the delicate crunch of walnuts. This one is my personal favourite, and I definitely eat a huge piece every time I make it! I can’t imagine thinking of the calories when a scrumptious chunk of brownie is staring at me!

There are a million recipes for a classic chocolate brownie, but I can reassure you that this one is a full-proof one! It’s tried, tested and tasted. The ingredients are easy to find, the cooking time minimal, the taste spectacular and therefore, your admirers many!

Serves: 10
Prep time: 10min
Cooking time: 35min (includes baking time of 20min)

Ingredients
75g dark chocolate chips
175g unsalted butter
300g caster sugar
100g cocoa powder
150g plain flour sifted with 1tsp baking powder
1tsp vanilla essence
4 eggs, whisked
50g walnuts chopped roughly
25cm baking tin
Fresh double cream for serving

Method
Preheat oven to 190°C. Line a 25cm baking tin with butter, keep aside.

Whisk 4 eggs in a bowl, add vanilla essence, whisk some more and keep aside.

Heat a non-stick saucepan on a medium flame. Place the butter, sugar and cocoa in the saucepan and stir till the sugar and butter melt. Gently stir, bringing the mixture together till it turns smooth and gooey. Add the sifted flour slowly, folding it in evenly. Remove the saucepan from the flame. Add the whisked eggs (with vanilla essence mixed added to it already) to the cocoa-butter-sugar mix, making sure that the heat of the pan doesn’t scramble the eggs. Work fast, adding the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts to the pan, mixing all ingredients well. Quickly transfer the mixture to the greased baking tin and bake at 190°C in a preheated oven for 20min.

Allow resting time of 10-20min. Serve warm with fresh double cream.

Bench notes
The actual cooking time for the brownie (on the flame) is just about 5min. You need to work fast once the mixture is off the flame, as the butter will begin to cool down and thicken the mixture. This will make it hard for you to mix in the chocolate chips and walnuts evenly. The key is to keep everything ready before you start.

While adding the eggs to the pan, make sure that you create a layer of the cocoa mix at the bottom of the saucepan and pour the eggs onto this layer. Do not pour the eggs directly onto the hot bottom surface of the pan; this might scramble the eggs!

If you want to brown/crisp the upper surface of the brownie a tad more, adjust your oven so that the brownie is grilled just from the coil above for an extra 3-4min. Be careful (keep an eagle eye!), as the top surface turns black very easily, making it brittle, but retaining a soft interior. This might create a mess (crumbling brownie!) when you try to cut the brownie up for serving.

It keeps for 3-4days on the bench and for up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator. If you decide to refrigerate, be sure to warm it up in the oven/microwave before you eat it!

Fusilli with rosemary cream sauce

Rosemary is my favourite of all the Italian herbs. There are a million ways to use this herb and this one is the simplest. It provides such a beautiful base flavour to the cream sauce that you don’t need much else to carry it through. I have kept the sauce very simple with basic seasoning and simple veggies that you can buy from your vendor next door. This is a very easy and quick recipe, perfectly suited for a small bunch of girlfriends on a girls’ stay-over night, or even a candle light dinner date. Creamy, cheesy and so more-ish!




Serves: 3-4
Prep time: 20min
Cooking time: 20min


Ingredients
Fusilli pasta, 1 fistful per person
3-4 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1tbsp butter
1½ tbsp plain flour
400-500ml milk
Black olives, pitted and sliced
1 Green bell pepper, chopped into medium cubes
1 onion chopped into medium cubes
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
2-3tbsp fresh cream
Grated parmesan cheese
Grated processed cheese, 1 cube
Nutmeg powder
Tabasco sauce
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Method
Boil water in a big saucepan. Add the fusilli to the boiling water with some salt and a few drops of olive oil. Allow the pasta to cook 3/4ths and drain into a sieve. Pour cold water on the cooked pasta to cool it, and prevent it from clumping together. Loosen the pasta with your fingers; add a few more drops of olive oil if required. Keep aside.

For the sauce, heat butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add flour and roast until golden brown on a low flame. Remove from heat, and allow it to cool completely. Add 2‑3tbsp milk to the cooled flour and mix thoroughly dissolving any lumps. Add rest of the milk to the pan and simmer for 5-6 min, stirring continuously till the sauce thickens. Season with salt and ground black pepper; add the grated processed cheese, fresh cream and a sprig of rosemary. Add a pinch of nutmeg powder and a few drops of Tabasco sauce. Keep aside.

Heat olive oil and some butter in a non-stick saucepan. Add the chopped garlic and sauté for a minute till brown. Add a sprig of rosemary, and the cubed onions. Sauté till the onions golden. Now add the olives and green bell peppers. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Stir for a minute. To this, add the cooked fusilli, and the cream sauce. Boil for 2-3 minutes until all the elements come together. Mix gently, making sure not to disrupt the fusilli.

Serve with a fresh sprig of rosemary and some grated parmesan cheese.

Bench notes
Be careful while you make the sauce, as the smallest of lumps can change the consistency of the sauce.

Do not overcook the pasta. Remember to drain it while it is still only 3/4ths cooked. The intrinsic heat will help it to cook through within no time; and the pasta will cook again in the final sauce.

This cream sauce is very versatile in its flavouring. Add one herb, or many. Use dried oregano, or fresh basil, or a mixture of fresh rosemary and thyme. You can even make a sauce with sage leaves and scatter roasted pine nuts on top; or tarragon leaves with a splodge of lemon juice. Serve with a cold Greek salad or just a few rocket leaves dressed with salt, pepper and olive oil. The options are never-ending.

You can grow many of these herbs in your garden, or even in one big pot kept in your balcony. Most of these require medium sunshine, and can be grown together in one large, wide pot. They grow well in our winter months, but might be unable to sustain the dreadful summer heat; and so growing them in a pot will give you the flexibility to control temperature, sunshine, rain etc. Most of these herbs will be available in winter in local nurseries. Not that exotic anymore, are they?

Black magic cupcakes with honeycomb, strawberry cream and strawberry purée

My favourite place in the world is my gourmet wholesale store. It’s situated in a very crowded, busy (not to mention dirty), wholesale market in Kolkata. But when I’m there, I don’t see the filth and hear the loud noises, I just feel my senses going berserk with all the mesmerizing smells and flavours…cheeses, sauces, essences, vinegars, and chocolate! Yesterday I found these amazing Belgian bitter chocolate chips and I had to have them! Like a child in a candy store, my eyes gleaming with desire, I bought them home and made the most indulgent bitter chocolate cupcakes! Personally, I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but dessert is just incomplete without it!

I was disappointed when I couldn’t get the cupcake to ooze chocolate from within (as per my fantasy), so I made them a second time, without much success again (although these were better than batch 1; almost oozing but not wet enough). I realised that it’s the shape of the mould that requires changing and not the actual technique. Read my bench notes below to understand this concept better. Try them and let me know if you got the stubborn babies to ooze chocolate!

Ooze or no-ooze, this cupcake is just divine. Hence the name black magic (kala jadoo sounds more dramatic though)!




Serves: 12
Prep time: 20min
Cooking time: 40min


Ingredients
Cupcakes
125g unsalted butter, cubed
150g dark chocolate roughly chopped
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
125g caster sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp baking powder
50g plain flour, sifted with baking powder
Muffin paper shells
Muffin tray/moulds

Honeycomb
100g caster sugar
50grm liquid glucose
100ml water
1tbsp bicarb soda

Strawberry cream
50ml double cream, whipped
1tbsp icing sugar
50g fresh strawberries, puréed

Strawberry purée
50g fresh strawberries
1tsp caster sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
30-50ml water

Extra strawberries for serving

Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C.

Cupcakes
For the cupcakes, grease muffin paper shells with some unsalted butter, and place in a muffin tray.

Place butter and chocolate in a small heatproof bowl (use borosil) over a pan of one‑third full gently simmering water (don’t let the bowl touch the water). Stir over medium heat until the chocolate and butter are smooth and combined. Remove from heat and cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs, yolks, sugar and vanilla until thick and pale. Next, gently fold in the flour and then fold in the cooled chocolate mixture until combined. Divide the mixture among the prepared muffin moulds and bake muffins for 12-14min or until risen and just set, but wobbly in the centre. Allow to rest on the bench for 5 minutes, before removing the muffin paper shells.

Honeycomb
For the honeycomb, line a deep roasting tray with baking paper (coming up over the edges).

Place the sugar, glucose and water in a large saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low-medium and simmer for 5 minutes or until a pale-golden caramel. Remove from heat and working quickly, whisk in the bicarb soda (it will froth and bubble – don’t whisk too much otherwise you will knock out all the air bubbles). Quickly pour into the lined pan and lightly shake to level out (take care as pan will become very hot). Cool for 45min or until hard. Break into small chunks

Strawberry cream
For the strawberry cream, whip the cream with the icing sugar until it holds firm peaks. Stir through the pureed strawberries and set aside.

Strawberry purée
For the strawberry purée, place strawberries, cater sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and water in a medium saucepan. Stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5min or until syrupy. Remove from heat; allow to cool for a few minutes and purée in a blender.

Finally, remove the cupcakes from the paper moulds, drizzle with strawberry purée, scatter some honeycomb and extra strawberries and serve with a spoonful of strawberry cream.




Bench notes
This recipe requires the use of non-stick dariole moulds which I could not catch hold of, and so I used the usual cupcake moulds. The shape of the dariole mould (like a tiny bucket) is such that it allows the sides of the cake to cook quickly, while the centre remains gooey and oozes out when you cut the cake (12-14min is sufficient for the outsides to cook completely). This is difficult to achieve with the muffin moulds as the shape of the mould allows equal and quick distribution of heat, leaving the centre of the muffin, surely softer that the sides, but not gooey and wet.

However, if you have non-stick muffin trays, don’t use the muffin paper shells. The paper further blocks the transfer of heat to the sides, leaving you with no choice but to wait until the sides get cooked, by which time the centre is no more wet or gooey. If you do use non-stick muffin trays, be sure to grease the moulds generously with butter.

It is important that while melting the chocolate in the double boiler method, you do not let the chocolate boil; stop heating when it melts.



As easy as it sounds, baking involves a lot of science and technique and it’s only when you get your hands dirty will you actually appreciate these subtle intricacies.

Saffron ice-cream with dried figs poached in an orange reduction

I had to make something from the saffron that my husband brought from Kashmir last month; and I didn’t want to do the usual ‘biryani’ or ‘kheer’! So what more interesting that my very own version of the ‘kesar badam’ ice-cream! My version is more of a shrikhand ice-cream with buttermilk as a basic ingredient. This adds a favourable sourness to the ice-cream, making it less rich, and yet soft and creamy. I have slightly changed the flavour profile by eliminating the almonds and adding some cardamom powder instead. It is egg less, and doesn’t require the making of custard; the ingredients are just whisked together and chilled! S-I-M-P-L-E!

It is absolutely necessary that you use saffron strings and not an essence, as the whole flavour quotient of the ice-cream lies in the saffron. Use the saffron sparingly, a little goes a long way! Since the flavours in the ice-cream are so muted, I have done a sweet and tangy orange reduction (fresh juicy oranges are in season) to cut the monotony of the ice-cream. It would be ideal to use fresh figs to poach in the reduction, but dried figs work as well. The fruit neutralizes the sharpness of the orange syrup and adds texture to an otherwise creamy dessert. Every bite should surprise you, shouldn’t it?

I love to mix flavours and textures, and savour food that feels different with every bite! As you play with ingredients and understand the harmony of flavours, you will see what a difference it makes to your dishes. That’s exactly what makes you go back to your favourite restaurant every time and order for the same dish!

I did not use an ice-cream churner to make this ice-cream; instead I just placed the ice-cream in an air tight container in the freezer, removed it every half hour, blended it in the mixer and put it back to freeze again. This will prevent the formation of icicles in your ice-cream giving it the desired creaminess, and the right temperature that won’t make your teeth cry when you take a bite.




Serves: 3-4 scoops
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 20 min (plus the time you need to blend the ice-cream every half hour)

Ingredients
Ice-cream
1 cup double cream
scant ¼ tsp saffron threads, loosely packed
1 ½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup caster sugar
pinch of salt
pinch of cardamom powder
1 tbsp lemon juice, to taste

Orange reduction
½ cup fresh orange juice
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
6 dried figs

Method
Ice-cream
Bring ¼ cup milk to a slow simmer, take off the heat and add the saffron threads to bloom their flavour. Cool the saffron-infused milk. Keep aside.

Whisk the double cream and buttermilk together. Add the caster sugar, pinch of salt, pinch of cardamom powder and the lemon juice, to taste. Adjust the sugar to your taste if you'd like a sweeter ice cream. Pour into a clean airtight container.

Chill thoroughly, preferably for 2-3 hours for the first time. Once the ice-cream in chilled, remove and churn in a blender every half hour to dissolve the icicles (they will form because of the water content in the buttermilk). Do this 4-5 times or until the ice-cream turns a creamy consistency. Refrigerate and serve cold.

Orange reduction
Punch tiny holes into the figs with a fork. Combine the orange juice, sugar and vinegar in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the figs to the pan. Bring just to a boil and reduce, turning the heat down to medium-low. Continue cooking until it thickens and is reduced by about half. The mixture will continue to thicken as it cools. Once cooled, serve along with the ice-cream.

Tagine Veggies with Couscous and Babaganoush

Moroccon food is very similar to Indian food in terms of its intense and complex flavours, its use of fresh seasonal produce and its sweet-sour-spicy quotient. One bite gives you a little of everything- the strong aromas, the creative blend of flavours, the mix of ground and whole spices, and the use of unusual vegetables for curries. Somehow the whole experience of making it and eating it is colourful, dramatic and luxurious.

A tagine is a dish from North Africa, which is named after the special earthenware pot in which it is cooked. A traditional tagine pot is formed entirely of heavy clay, consisting of two parts: a base unit that is flat and circular, and a large cone shaped cover that sits on the base during cooking. The conical top is designed to promote the return of all condensation to the bottom, retaining all the flavours within. Tagines, in Moroccan cooking are slow-cooked stews braised at low temperatures for long periods, resulting in meat that is tender with aromatic vegetables and a curry sauce.

Although, I didn’t use a tagine to make my vegetables, I tried to replicate the mechanism by simmering the vegetables on a very low flame for 40-60 min in a non-stick saucepan covered with a lid. Meat lovers may alter the recipe and add any meat they favour along with the veggies.

The ‘Couscous’ is something of a culinary delight. It is a semolina-based pasta dish, and is usually served with a meat or vegetable stew spooned over it. It provides a beautiful main course supplement to the tagine veggies; accounting for the carbs that we love so much. It is light, tasty and so quick to make. In fact, I love eating it with just about anything!

Babaganoush is a slightly twisted version of the Indian ‘baigan ka bharta’. The taste however is quite different and requires some getting used to. The main ingredient in babaganoush is the ‘tahini’ which is basically roasted sesame seed paste. You can buy this readymade or make some at home.





Serves: 4
Prep time: 30 min
Cooking time: 60 min
Cooking pot: Tagine (or any non-stick wide saucepan)

Ingredients
Tagine Veggies
1 cup cooked chick peas (keep the stock)
1 onion cut into slices
1 carrot cut into round slices
1 sweet potato cut into round slices
1 potato cut into round slices
1 parsnip (can use radish instead) cut into round slices
¼ cauliflower cut into medium pieces
½ raw banana cut into round slices
2 tomatoes halved and sliced
Fresh coriander
Fresh flat leaf parsley
Fresh mint leaves
4-5 dried apricots, de-seeded and chopped fine
3 strings saffron, heated in ¼ cup milk to release flavour
½ pickled lemon
5-6 fennel seeds (Sauf)
2-3 tsp olive oil
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste
Tagine spices:
Cumin seeds
Coriander seeds
1 inch cinamon stick
Red chilli powder
Dry ginger powder
Turmeric powder

Couscous
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Mint leaves
Couscous
Juice of half a lemon
1tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Babaganoush
1 big aubergine roasted, de-skinned and chopped fine
1 tbsp tahini
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
Juice of half a lemon
½ tsp cumin powder
½ tsp ground black pepper
Fresh coriander or fresh parsley finely chopped
½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

Method

Tagine Veggies
For making the tagine spice mix, dry roast some cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cinnamon in a pan. Grind into a powder. Keep aside.

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the sliced onions, and sauté till they brown. Now add the rest of the veggies (except tomatoes). Season with salt and the tagine spice mix. Add red chilli powder, dry ginger powder and turmeric powder. Mix well, cover and cook for 3-4 min. Now add the cooked chick peas, along with its stock. Add some fresh coriander, mint and parsley leaves. Add the dried apricots, saffron strings and fennel seeds. Cover and let simmer for about 20-25min checking once or twice in between. Now add the tomatoes, pickled lemon and season with a pinch of sugar. Cover and cook for another 5 min; garnish with some fresh coriander.

Couscous
Put the couscous into a bowl and add hot water to it (can add vegetable stock) according to the instructions on the box. Season with salt and add some extra virgin olive oil. Cover and set aside for 5-7 min. Once the couscous absorbs all the stock it will become soft and fluffy. Use a fork to loosen the couscous. Now add the cherry tomatoes, some lime juice, and garnish with mint. Serve hot along with the veggie tagine.

Babaganoush
Mix all the ingredients together and drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil. Serve as a dip or a side dish along with the couscous.

Tortilla wraps with Mexican beans, tomato salsa, and jalapeño cream

This is something I love not just to make, but to gorge on as well. It’s healthy, tasty and easy to make. Although the recipe might look cumbersome at first sight, (considering it has so many small elements) the final product is worth all the effort! On a boring weekend when your taste buds tingle for something tangy, spicy and fun, these homemade tortillas are your nirvana.

The tortilla wraps can be easily bought in any grocery store, but I like to make them at home. The homemade ones can be as humble as simple whole wheat tortillas or as elaborate as the ones made with puff pastry dough. If you have a dinner party, go for the elaborate ones; they are tastier and crispier with gorgeously browned grill marks. However, for a more healthy meal, use whole wheat flour.

The recipe for the perfect puff pastry involves ‘practice’ as one basic ingredient. Working with the pastry dough can be tricky, leaving you with a sense of frustration. But I strongly recommend that you at least give it a shot. Refer to my post on the perfect puff pastry for its complete recipe, methodology, and presumptive issues you might face. I have tried to include all my experience in making and perfecting them. I hope you find success with your first attempt!

For the Mexican bean mix, I have used a preserved hot sauce available in gourmet stores called the Zulu sauce. It’s available in a variety of spicy flavours and comes in low heat, medium heat, hot and very hot versions! If you can’t find this sauce, replace it with some lemon juice and pureed jalapeños.



Serves: 6 wraps
Prep time: 20 min
Cooking time: 30-40 min
Cooking pan: Grilled pan (Indian labels include Nirlep, and Prestige)

Ingredients
Tomato salsa
4 medium tomatoes- blanched, peeled and chopped fine
1 large onion chopped fine
Fresh coriander chopped fine
Fresh flat-leaf parsley chopped fine
1 green chilly chopped fine
1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 pods of garlic finely chopped
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of sugar
Salt to taste

Jalapeño cream
4-5 tbsp Fresh cream
3 tbsp pickled jalapeños chopped fine
½ tsp ground black pepper
3-4 drops Tabasco sauce
Salt to taste

Mexican bean mix
2 cups of cooked kidney beans (add salt while cooking)
½ tsp Ground black pepper
½ tsp Red chilli powder
Fresh coriander chopped fine
Zulu sauce

Stir fried veggies
1 onion chopped finely
Bell peppers chopped finely (red, yellow and green)
3-4 drops Tabasco sauce
½ tsp Ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Pomace or extra virgin olive oil

For the final assembly
Butter
Cheese slices
Lettuce- whole leaves

Method
Salsa sauce: In a bowl, mix the blanched and chopped tomatoes with all other ingredients mentioned above for the salsa sauce. Keep aside.

Jalapeño cream: In a bowl, mix the chopped jalapeños with all the other ingredients mentioned above for the Jalapeño cream. Keep aside.

Mexican bean mix: Mildly mash the cooked kidney beans, and add all the ingredients mentioned above for the mix. Keep aside.

Stir fried veggies: Place a non-stick saucepan on a medium flame and add some pomace olive oil (use extra virgin if you can’t find pomace). Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onions. Fry till golden brown. Add the chopped bell peppers. Stir for a minute. Add ground black pepper, some Tabasco sauce and salt to taste. Do not overcook the vegetables. Remove from heat and keep aside.

The final assembly: Keep your tortilla wraps (round in shape) cooked 3/4ths and ready for assembly at dinner time because this is something that needs to be served hot. If you are using ready-made ones, get them of out of the refrigerator well before dinner time and let them thaw, so they don’t break or crumble while assembling the wrap.

Use a grilled pan instead of a normal one to get the grill marks on the tortillas. Butter the outer side of the tortilla (the side that goes on to the grill) and place it on the grilled pan. On one half of the tortilla, place a whole lettuce leaf. Next, spoon some of the Mexican bean mix on the lettuce leaf. Top it with the stir fry veggies, tomato salsa and jalapeño cream. Place a slice of cheese over the filling and fold the tortilla in half. Once the surface of the tortilla attains golden brown grill marks, remove from heat. It should resemble half a pizza. Cut into 3 triangular pieces, each like you would cut a pizza slice. Serve hot with tortilla chips and some more tomato salsa (for the spice and tang lovers!)



Bench notes
If you can’t find balsamic vinegar, it can easily be omitted from the tomato salsa. For those who can handle some quirkiness, add a dash of red wine (instead of the balsamic vinegar) or some beer to the tomato salsa. Add kitsch to kitchen! Make sure that the salsa is not too runny, as you don’t want it to make the tortilla wet and soggy.

The Mexican kidney beans should be well cooked and soft, such that you can easily mash it with your hands.

The lettuce leaf is used to create a ‘plastic effect’ in the tortilla. This ensures that your tortilla is not soft and soggy before it reaches your guests.

If you don’t have a grill pan, don’t bother too much. This is not going to change the taste of your wrap.

I don’t necessarily preach ‘healthy’, but if you make the tortillas at home with puff pastry dough, you can get away with baking them too. A lot of ovens come with a grilling tray, so you get your grill marks and you get baked tortillas! Win-win! Your guests will be thrilled that you thought about how hard they work to keep in shape!

The perfect puff pastry

A basic puff pastry fulfils innumerable needs for a kitchen addict. I use it to make pies, flans, tarts, tortillas, rolls, samosas (yes, baked ones!), biscuits and crumbles. Sweet or savoury, whatever the need of the day, puff pastry always provides a classy and contemporary base element pulling all the flavours of your dish together. Although very versatile in its usage, it can be a bit messy for a nascent learner. So read the instructions carefully, and you should be fine. Those who get it right the first time feel like it’s the easiest thing to make, but for those who struggle with it, it sort of becomes a love-hate relationship- love to eat it, hate to make it. I hope I can help you to join the former group!

It does help, that as Indians, we are very accustomed to the idea of kneading dough for our mums and rolling out perfectly round paranthas like second religion. So keep what you learnt from mum in mind, because you will thank her when you present your guests with the most delightful apple pies and mushroom tarts! Fingers crossed!

Alright, let’s talk shop.

There is some technique involved in not just making the dough, but also baking it. The recipe below is a very general one, and can be edited as per the intended use of the pastry. I have divided this recipe into two halves, the first for dough preparation and the second for baking the puff pastry.


Serves: Enough to line a 25cm tin
Prep time: 10 min
Cooking time: 90 min (includes 30 min chilling time)

Ingredients
For dough preparation
125g plain flour (chilled)
75g salted butter (for savoury)/unsalted butter (for desserts); chilled and cut into small cubes
50-60ml sour cream
Baking sheet

Method
For dough preparation
You can either use a food processor or your humble hands to make the dough. Whatever you chose, make sure that you always maintain the low temperature of the mixture.

In the food processor: Place the plain flour and chilled butter cubes in a food processor and blend till the flour and butter resemble a large breadcrumb consistency. Quickly, add the sour cream to this mix, and pulse slowly, never for more that 2 seconds. Use your discretion to add the sour cream; do not add all of it if not necessary. Use a chilled spatula (kept in the refrigerator) to remove the dough from the food processor.

OR, use your hands: Place the plain flour in a big bowl. Add the chilled butter cubes to the flour, gently using your fingertips (both hands please, we need to work fast) and incorporating the butter into the flour. For your first attempt, place this bowl in a larger bowl filled with ice (add some salt to the ice so it wont melt away quickly). Once the dough resembles the consistency of large bread crumbs, start adding the sour cream. Add very little at a time, making sure that the mixture is still cold and not turning too wet or sticky. Do not knead too much.

Now work quickly placing the dough on a baking sheet (so it won’t stick) and pull the dough together with your hands into a neat rectangle. Do not knead; this increases the temperature of the mixture, melting the butter and making the dough sticky. Cover the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for at least 30min before baking.

Bench notes for dough preparation
Your mantra while making this dough should be to maintain the chilled temperature of the dough. Chilled flour, chilled butter, chilled sour cream, chilled spatula, chilled bowls, and chilled hands!

If you do not have sour cream, mix some fresh cream with homemade curd or commercially available plain yoghurt. Remember, the final amount of sour cream should equal 50-60ml, not more.

Ingredients
For baking
Cooking tin
Baking sheet
Salted butter (for savoury)/ Unsalted butter (for desserts)
Kidney beans (or any other beans for blind baking)
Plain flour (for dough rolling)

Method 
For baking
Once the dough is cold, remove it from the refrigerator and turn it on to a well-floured bench covered with baking sheet. Roll into desired shape, flouring generously.

If making a pie or tart, you need to blind bake the pastry first, before you add any filling to it. To do this, butter the inside of your cooking tin, place the rolled pastry in the tray and cut out any extra bits. When lining the tin with pastry, have the pastry come up high on the sides, as it will shrink on baking. Place a cut-out piece of the baking sheet in the tin, covering the base of the pastry. Now place fistfuls of dry kidney beans (these are your blind weights) in the pastry shell. Bake in a 200C preheated oven for 10-12 min until slightly brown. Remove the blind weights, and the piece of baking sheet, and bake for a further 5 min. Remove, add filling of your choice and bake as per the need of your filling.

Bench notes for baking
Blind baking is a technique used to cook and crisp the pastry shell, before adding a filling to it. If the filling is added without blind baking first, the pastry will be soft and probably uncooked at the bottom.

Blind weights are used to prevent the pastry from rising. You want your pastry as a base for your pies, so you need to make sure it remains flat.

A baking sheet is used to cover the base of your pastry before adding the blind weights, because you don’t want the beans to leave behind impressions on your pastry base.

Do not add any baking powder to the dough; remember you don’t want it to rise. This is not a cake. It’s a pastry base.

Try it, I know you can do it!

Coffee and walnut mousse

I have to begin with admitting that this recipe is borrowed from a very dear friend and full credit goes to her for its taste and simplicity. This is a very versatile recipe, and you can replace the coffee in the mousse with any other flavouring. Use fresh mangoes, strawberries or even melted dark chocolate instead of the coffee.

I used Columbian coffee for the flavouring but you can use any instant coffee with a strong and aromatic flavour. My version of the mousse leaves a mild bitter aftertaste in your mouth (which gives it its charm!), so add sugar as per your preferred degree of sweetness.



Serves: 12 (shot glasses)
Prep time: 15 min
Cooking time: 40 min

Ingredients
Mousse base
100g Chocolate cream biscuits
1tbsp unsalted butter

Filling
4 tbsp Custard powder (vanilla flavour)
500ml Full cream milk
150ml Double cream
1 tsp Coffee essence/coffee powder dissolved in 2tbsp milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
125g caster sugar
2tbsp walnuts roughly chopped
12 choco sticks for garnish

Method
Pulse the chocolate cream biscuits in a blender with 1 tbsp unsalted butter to form a fine rubble. Spoon this soft rubble into the shot glasses, pressing down with an inverted thin-necked bottle to get a smooth top surface. Refrigerate the shot glasses till you make your filling.

In a bowl, add custard powder and 25% of the milk. Whisk till you get a smooth mixture without any lumps. Place the remainder of the milk in a thick-bottomed non-stick saucepan and bring to a boil. On a reduced flame, add the custard mix slowly to the boiling milk, stirring continuously for 3-4 min. Set aside and allow the custard to cool.

To the cooled custard, add the double cream, coffee powder, 1 tbsp unsalted butted, and caster sugar. Transfer this final mixture into a blender and pulse till the mixture attains a smooth consistency.

Pull out the chilled shot glasses from the refrigerator and spoon the final mousse into these glasses. Garnish with chopped walnuts and choco sticks. Refrigerate for 3-4 hours allowing the mousse to set completely. Serve cold.

Bench notes before you begin

• Your final mousse mix should be thick, with a spooning and not a pouring consistency.
• If your final mousse mix is too runny, feel free to make some more thick custard and add to the mixture.
• DO NOT chill the mousse in a deep freeze. This spoils the consistency of the mousse.
• If you plan to use dark chocolate in the recipe instead of the coffee, place the dark chocolate into a heat-proof bowl. Create a double boiler by placing the bowl of chocolate over a saucepan of simmering water (approximately 3-4cms deep). Slowly melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally until the chocolate is silky smooth. Set aside to cool. If the chocolate is too thick and burning on the sides add 2-3tbsp of water to the chocolate while melting.

Mint and Kiwi Mousse

This recipe is an adaptation of Nigella Lawson’s ‘Grasshopper Pie’. I had to make some changes to the original recipe because I couldn’t find some of the ingredients in our Indian local markets. A Grasshopper Pie basically contains two main ingredients- crème de menthe (green peppermint liquor) and crème de cacao blanc (colourless chocolate liquor). The pie gets its flavouring and green colour because of these ingredients. But sadly, these liquors are not easily available in India (please let me know if you find them!). However, they can be easily ordered online at http://http://www.thedrinkshop.com// and http://www.drinksdirect.co.uk/index.html. The best brand to buy would be De Kuyper.

I have replaced these two ingredients with peppermint extract/essence (available in grocery stores) and pureed fresh kiwi fruit. If you want to avoid the kiwi fruit, you can use the mint extract alone. Be creative, marry flavours that go together.

I haven’t used any green food colouring in the pie, but feel free to do so if you want your pie to have better aesthetics.

It is a very indulgent pie, so make and eat at your own risk!



Serves: 8-10
Prep time: 20 min
Cooking time: 30 min
Cooking tray: 25cm tin (need not be ovenproof as this is a cold dessert)

Ingredients
Pie crust
300g bourbon biscuits (or any other with a choc cream centre)
150g dark chocolate cut into small pieces (or dark choc chips)
50g unsalted butter

Filling
125ml full cream milk
175g mini marshmallows (vanilla flavour)
375ml double cream
2 fresh kiwi fruits peeled and pureed and 1 kiwi fruit peeled and sliced for granish
½ tsp peppermint extract
2-3 drops green food colour (optional)

Method
For the pie crust, pulse the bourbon biscuits, dark chocolate and butter in a food processor until you end up with a soft rubble. Tip this mixture into the cooking tray and line the base and sides of the tray pressing with the back of a spoon or with your knuckles until you get an even top surface. Save some chocolate rubble for garnishing your final pie. Refrigerate the tray till you prepare the filling.

Whisk the double cream in a bowl until it holds soft peaks. This is important because we don’t want our final filling to be a runny liquid that will not set.

Place the milk and mini marshmallows in a non-stick saucepan and heat on a low flame, whisking gently until the marshmallows melt and the mixture comes together. Do not increase the flame, and remember to never let the mixture boil. This will split the gelatine in the marshmallows leaving you with an unusable mixture. Your end product should be a warm gooey white mixture. Allow to cool for 3-5 min, whisking gently. Now, add a few drops of green food colour if you wish to, and mix well.

Combine the whipped cream with the marshmallow mixture, folding in gently. Add the peppermint extract and kiwi puree at this point and mix well. Pull out the tray from the refrigerator and pour this entire mixture into the tray. Even out the surface with a spatula. Chill in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until the gelatine sets.

Before serving, sprinkle some chocolate rubble onto the pale green surface of the pie and garnish with fresh kiwi fruit slices. Serve cold.

Bench notes
Marshmallows are used because they contain gelatine and you can avoid the mess and confusion that comes with melting actual gelatine.

Use confectionary cream if possible. This should be available at whole sale stores. It is thicker, and is naturally sweetened, which is why the recipe does not call for any added sugar.

If you plan to go with the original Grasshopper Pie recipe, eliminate the peppermint extract and the kiwi puree. Instead, add 60ml crème the menthe and 60ml crème the cacao blanc to the whipped cream and marshmallow mixture.

The final consistency of the pie should be such that you should be able to slice through it and lift it with a fork.

• It’s good to use a tin with collapsible sides, as this will help you cut and serve the pie as nice clean triangles. I have put up some pictures below to help you understand how these work.
• They generally come with corrugated sides (see picture 1)
• They have a separate central base that can be removed from the corrugated side piece (see picture 2)
• Once the pie is ready place the tin on a thin-necked bottle (see picture 3)
• Give the sides a mild twist and slowly slip it down, making sure the central base (with the pie resting on it) is resting safely on top of the bottle (see picture 4 & 5)
• Use a spatula to ease the pie off the central base and onto a serving tray.