Chocolate Chip Cookies

THESE melt-in-the-mouth chocolate chip cookies are simply divine. Give your friends a sweet surprise by gifting a box of these home-made cookies for a special occasion like a birthday. But you can also gift them for no reason at all! You bet they'll be appreciated far more than a store-bought gift.

What you need:
250 gm Amul salted butter; 150 gm powdered white sugar; 150 gm brown sugar; 2 eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla essence; 300 gm flour (maida); 1 teaspoon baking soda; 250 gm chocolate chips; 120 gm chopped walnuts.

Sieve the flour with the baking soda and set aside.

Cream the butter with the sugars till light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well till the eggs are well incorporated into the creamed mixture. Next add the sieved flour, and mix till all of it is moist. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and walnuts. Mix gently. Refrigerate for half an hour. Slide one tablespoon of the dough in the shape of a mound for each, leaving at least 2" space in between rows for the cookies to flatten and spread while baking.

Bake in an oven pre-heated to 170 degrees C for about 12 minutes, or until light brown around the edges. It's important to leave them to cool completely on the cookie tray before lifting them off the tray. They store very well in an airtight container for at least two weeks, but you may need to keep them hidden,even from yourself, if they must last that long!

Yield: About 4 dozen cookies.

PS: If using plain, unsalted butter, add 1/2 a teaspoon of salt while sieving the flour and baking soda.

Macaroni Hot Pot

THIS macaroni hot pot is a wonderful way to use up a can of baked beans left over from breakfast. It's a meal by itself, although you can also serve dinner rolls with a pat of butter alongside, if you wish. Before dropping the macaroni in boiling water, I first blanched the tomatoes in it, instead of boiling water in a separate saucepan. You can also save time by doing your chopping while the macaroni is getting cooked. Hardly takes up any time to rustle up this rather satisfying meal. For a vegetarian dish, leave out the bacon.

What you need:

300 gm baked beans
1 1/2 cups cooked macaroni
2 onions diced
2 capsicums diced
3 rashers bacon, chopped
2 tomatoes, blanched, skinned and chopped
2 flakes garlic, chopped fine
2 teaspoons red chilli powder
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup tomato sauce
Salt to taste
100 gm grated cheese
Capsicum rings for garnish

Heat butter, fry bacon well, then add the garlic and onions. Fry 2-3 minutes. Then put in the capsicum. Fry a little, then add the chilli powder. A quick stir, then in go the tomatoes and the baked beans. Cook for about two minutes and then put in the macaroni and salt to taste. Mix gently but thoroughly.

Spoon into a buttered baking dish, even out the top and sprinkle grated cheese. Garnish with capsicum rings if desired.

Microwave for 5-7 minutes or till cheese melts and turns a golden brown.

PS: I had used Amul mozarella cheese because I like the way it becomes stringy when it melts. The pics (before and after sprinkling the cheese) were shot before it went into the oven.

Healthy Morning Drink

KICKstart your summer mornings with this fresh, healthy and invigorating drink filled with the goodness of vegetables, a hint of mint, lime, honey and ginger. The kids, who otherwise eat veggies not because they love to but because they have to [no choice with mean old mom around:)], surprisingly, look forward to a glass of this mixed veggie juice everyday. That, for me, is the barometer of a recipe's success at home.

Ditch your morning cuppa during this summer and sip on this instead while taking in the day's dreary headlines.

What you need:
1 beetroot
1 carrot
1 big tomato
1 cucumber
5 mint leaves
Juice of a quarter
of a lime
1/4" piece of ginger
1 cup water
1 tablespoon honey

Peel beetroot, carrot and cucumber and roughly chop them and the tomato. Puree in a blender along with all the other ingredients, except the honey. Strain juice. Sweeten with the honey.

Minty Baby Potatoes

WIDELY grown and available throughout the year, the humble potato lends itself to almost the entire gamut of cooking procedures - boiled, mashed, fried, baked, in salads, as chips, french fries, to make aloo bhajias, aloo chaat, as a binding agent for meat or vegetable croquettes, as a stuffing or cooked with meat in a curry and much more. On a TV cookery show, it was even used to make a sweet!

Try cooking baby potatoes in this absolutely delicious minty-spicy-tangy masala. Any which way you choose to serve them - as a side dish with rice or with rotis or eat them straightaway like a snack (as my kids did), you will love them!

What you need:

[tbsp = tablespoon, tsp = teaspoon]

500 gm baby potatoes; 1 packed cup mint leaves; 1/2 cup green coriander; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 1/2 tbsp cumin seed; 1/2 tbsp cumin powder; 1/2 tbsp coriander powder; 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder; 1/2 tsp saunf (fennel) powder; 1/2 tbsp pani puri masala or amchur (dry mango powder); 2 tablespoons cooking oil; 1 cup water; Salt to taste

Boil and peel the potatoes. Grind the mint and coriander leaves into a paste.

Heat the oil in a pan and sprinkle the cumin seed. When it crackles add the ginger-garlic paste, fry nicely and add the cumin, coriander, red chilli and fennel powders. Fry for half a minute then add the ground paste and salt to taste. Allow to cook a little. Toss the potatoes in. Keep frying and stirring for about 5 minutes. Use the water to rinse your blender and add the water and the pani puri masala or amchur and continue cooking till a little dry.

PS: If you're using large potatoes, boil and dice them for use. Add a little salt to the water while boiling potatoes.

Summer Salad

HERE we go again with another salad for the summer. Lovely, light, fresh, crisp and crunchy with all the colours of the rainbow in it....well, at least it's got more than a combination of four colours you need for good health - red, purple, orange, green, yellow, white... Toss with a dressing of your choice and tuck into this healthy, refreshing salad this summer.

What you need:

Half a small red cabbage
1 small cucumber
1 carrot
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 big tomato
5 button mushrooms
Salad dressing

Shred the red cabbage (called red, but it's actually purple), and thinly slice the carrot and cucumber and mushrooms. Cut the peppers in diagonals. Chop the tomato. Toss together with salad dressing just before serving, else the salad will turn limp.

You can also add either a chopped apple or a couple of chopped pineapple slices, or fresh pomegranate to the salad, as well as a handful of chopped walnuts if you have them handy. A handful of fresh sweet corn kernels thrown in are also lovely.

PS: I used a shop-bought Italian salad dressing, but if you don't have that, a simple home-made French vinaigrette is just great! Here's how to make it:

In a small empty jam bottle, pour about a tablespoon of white vinegar, a dash of pepper and salt, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, two cloves of crushed garlic and two tablespoons of salad oil. Screw cap tightly on bottle and shake vigorously to blend all ingredients together. Ready for use.

And if you don't even feel up to making that, a loving squeeze of fresh lemon and a dash of salt is good enough.

Bow Tie Pasta Salad with Chicken

THIS satisfying salad is ideal for a light lunch. Also ideal to carry as a packed lunch, or as a dish to take along for a potluck. My kids love it. Try it for a change. This quantity is for three servings but that depends on the size of appetites. Vary the quantity proportionately to suit your taste and needs.

What you need:

1 1/2 cups bow tie pasta
2 boneless chicken breasts
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 tomatoes
2-3 tablespoons
of basil pesto (see
recipe under Labels: Italian)
1 tablespoon olive oil
100 ml fresh cream

Cook the pasta as per instructions on the pack, drain and drizzle the olive oil on it. Cook the chicken breasts, char grill the peppers and deseed the tomatoes. Dice all these ingredients and combine with the pasta. Add the pesto and cream and toss to coat.

PS: Cook the chicken in two cups of water to which you can add a chopped onion, a tomato, a small piece of ginger, a little green coriander and salt to taste. Reserve the chicken stock to make a light soup.

On the Wild and Wacky Side

Left: AN invitation to join the Mad Hatters Tea Party. Tea pigs anyone? Bath, UK.







Below: WHAT'S so wicked about purely divine milkshakes? Chester, UK

Left: A tribute to Shakespeare?
Stratford-upon-Avon, UK.














Below: Green is in! Cambridge, UK.

Oil-free Chivada

MY pick of the day from the local store was Navratna Chivada, manufactured by Avis Foods of Belgaum. This chivada (or "mixture" as its commonly called) had rice flakes as the main ingredient with a sprinkling of groundnuts, gram dal, curry leaves and green chilli. Those mysterious green and pink thingies you see in the picture are nothing but palak sev and beetroot sev. Since the pack boldly claims that there are 'no colours added' I'll take their word for it.

I found this chivada really crispy, crunchy and tasty. And best of all, it's oil-free! A 200 gm pack costs Rs.34.


The packet carries the address, email, phone number as well as a customer care number in case of complaints, but I don't have any.

THOUGHT FOR FOOD
It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.
Lewis Grizzard

I had clicked this picture when the first fruit appeared on a tomato plant that had started growing by itself in one of the pots in my apartment balcony a couple of months ago. The plant had yielded about eight or ten tomatoes, which I had allowed to ripen on the plant itself. It was such pleasure to see the plant flower and bear fruit. Naturally ripened and just off the plant, the tomatoes had smelled and tasted awesome.

The quote aptly describes the exact same feeling I had when sharing and eating the homegrown tomato...cut in quarters and sprinkled with a pinch of salt...the simple joys of life in an upper floor apartment!

Tomato Bhaji

LEST I incur the wrath of puritans I'll hasten to call this dish a Tomato Bhaji, rather than a Tomato Gojju, the latter being a singular dish made in the chastest manner possible with half a dozen more ingredients than I've listed, naturally involving a longer procedure. This one can at best be described as a quick and easy, if largely corrupted version of the asli tomato gojju...ah, but what the heck, it's tasty nonetheless. Besides, tomatoes and onions are two ingredients that are always found in every kitchen. No great imagination nor any ingenuity needed either to marry the two together to derive this bhaji that goes incredibly well with chapathis!

What you need:
6 tomatoes, chopped
1 big onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green chilli, chopped
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
2 teaspoons Kashmiri chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
A dash of vinegar

Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds, then add the curry leaves, garlic, green chilli and onion. Fry for a bit till the onion softens, reduce flame, then add the red chilli and turmeric powders. A quick stir and it's the turn of the tomatoes to go in next. Add salt to taste. When cooked, add a dash of vinegar.

Onion Chutney

THIS is a tasty chutney that goes very well with dosas, for when you want a change from the usual coconut chutney. When I had made it for the first time, no one could tell that the chief ingredient was onion! Won't bring on any tears, I assure you.:)

What you need:
2 medium-sized onions, diced
2 teaspoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon channa dal
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed
Marble-sized ball of tamarind
1 sprig curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida
1 tablespoon cooking oil
Salt to taste

Heat oil and add the cumin seeds. Reduce flame. Fry for a minute and add the channa dal. When the dal changes colour, add the onion and curry leaves and fry till the onion turns transparent. Next add the chilli powder and asafoetida and stir for half a minute. Cool completely and grind along with the tamarind in a blender along with salt to taste. There's absolutely no need for water while grinding.

PS: Channa dal is the same as Bengal gram dal.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Get people back into the kitchen and combat the trend toward processed food and fast food.
Andrew Weil

Simple Chicken Korma

THERE are dozens of chicken korma recipes, but everyone has their hot favourite. This one, shared by my friend Jessie, has become my favourite over the years. No prizes for guessing why. Extremely simple, that's why! Extremely delicious too! In fact, while it was simmering away, my daughter strolled into the kitchen to ask: What's that nice smell?? Now need I say more?

This korma can be served alongside a simple pulao, with rice or with rotis/parathas. The recipe below serves 4.

What you need:

750 gms chicken
3 potatoes
2 onions, sliced fine
2 tomatoes, quartered
3 cloves
1 cardamom
1" piece cinnamon
3 tablespoons ghee
Juice of half a lime
Fistful of green coriander
Salt to taste

For the masala:

Grind together 1 cup grated coconut, 15 flakes of garlic, 3 green chillis, 1/2 teaspoon saunf (fennel), 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1/2 teaspoon cus cus

Heat the ghee in a cooking pot and add the cinnamon, cardamom and cloves. Next add the onion and fry on slow heat, stirring in between, till golden brown. Grind the masala while the onion is frying away, so you save time. Now add the masala and fry for about 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, the chicken and potatoes, peeled and quartered. Rinse the blender with 2 cups of water and tip the masala water into the pot. Add salt to taste, cover and cook till chicken is tender. Sprinkle lime juice and garnish with green coriander.

PS: If you have time to plan ahead, it helps to marinate the chicken for about an hour in a cupful of yogurt and a teaspoon of salt. Add the chicken along with the marinade. Cashewnuts are a good substitute for cus cus.

Crumbed French Toast

HERE'S a richer version of the usual French toast to make when you're in a slightly indulgent mood. More of fresh cream than plain milk while lemon zest adds a refreshing, citrus note. These were shallow-fried, but methinks that since they're coated with breadcrumbs, a quick dip in hot fat in a deep fryer might make them nice and crispy on the outside and keep them soft inside.

What you need:

8 slices of day-old bread
200 gms fresh cream
1/4 cup milk
2 eggs
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
Zest of one lemon
Fresh breadcrumbs
Butter to shallow fry

Whisk the cream, milk, eggs, sugar, essence and lemon zest till smooth and creamy. Heat some butter in a non-stick, shallow frying pan. Dip a slice of bread on both sides in the creamy mixture, coat with breadcrumbs on either side and fry till golden on both sides.

Serve warm with waffle or maple syrup or honey. Enjoy!

Beetroot with Dry Shrimp

WHEN I've run out of stock of fresh fish or meat at home I have my store of dried fish and shrimp to dip into. With dry shrimp, it's usually a coconut-based chutney called galmbi chutney in Konkani. Like many others, I too will join the Mangalorean chorus that sings paeans to this humble chutney. It uplifts bland fare to such an extent that you can eat and eat and eat without feeling full!

Dried fish is usually fried to a crisp but also dropped into a sour-spicy curry while roasted dry shrimp is used to flavour vegetable curries made out of ladiesfinger (bhindi), Mangalore spinach (basale) and field marrow (mogem), or what is also referred to as Mangalore cucumber in the shops. Such dishes usually come in handy during the heavy monsoon season on the Konkan coast when there's hardly any fish of your choice available in the market. Fishermen hang up their nets at this time not only because the sea is choppy but also because of the fishing ban due to the spawning season.

Maldive fish mixed with vegetables such as cabbage (in a dry preparation) I found was quite common in Sri Lanka, but it was by watching my cook Mary that I picked up this beetroot with dry shrimp recipe. Initial scepticism at the rather incongruous combination of beetroot (which I used to associate mainly with salads) and dry shrimp quickly gave way to instant appreciation. Now it's a reliable standby that's at the top of my head when the freezer is empty.

You must make this more often...it's a good way to get people to eat beetroot..., chirps my daughter, who will push her luck (without much luck) to get away from eating her veggies. Coming from her, I think that statement is equivalent of a good review!

Meanwhile, cook Mary is no more with me, but her culinary legacy lives on in my kitchen.

What you need:

1 beetroot, grated
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped,
1 green chilli, chopped
3 tablespoons dried shrimp
1 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons oil

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they crackle throw in the curry leaves, garlic, green chilli and onion. Stir around a bit. When the onion turns transparent, add the dried shrimp. Fry for about 3 minutes, stirring now and then on low heat. Now add the chilli and turmeric powders, stir once and add the tomato. When the tomato turns soft, add the grated beetroot and salt to taste. Mix well and cook till beetroot is soft.

Goes very well with rice and dal or rice and sambar. Also with rotis. Simple ingredients, fantastic outcome.

Rum Balls

DON'T wait till Christmas time to make this sweet treat. It can be done in a jiffy, so try making a batch of these rum balls, put them in dainty petit four cases, arrange them beautifully in a box and you have a special confection ready to gift to your special friends. After that wait for the compliments to pour in.

What you need:

225 gms glucose biscuits
100 gms dessicated coconut
50 gms melted chocolate
2 tablespoons icing sugar
3 tablespoons dark rum
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Blitz the biscuits in a food processor. Put the biscuit crumbs in a bowl and add all the other ingredients. Mix thoroughly and bind into walnut-sized balls. If the mixture is too dry, add a little more melted chocolate (or condensed milk), just a little at a time to prevent the mixture from becoming too sticky. But if it does, fret not....add more crushed biscuits to get the right consistency. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Makes 2 dozen.

PS: Use any other biscuits you have handy - digestive biscuits, Marie, ginger or coconut cookies. You can also toss in a few crushed, toasted nuts of your choice.

Orange Melody

SUMMER is here with a bang and it's time to go on a liquid diet to quench your thirst and keep your cool! So go ahead and beat the summer heat with this refreshing cooler made with orange juice, a hint of ginger, lime, ice and some fizz.

What you need:

2 cups orange juice
1 cup ginger-lime cordial
Ice cubes
500 ml soda, chilled
Sprigs of mint

Combine orange juice and ginger-lime cordial and keep chilled. To serve, fill half a glass with the prepared mix. Add 3 - 4 cubes of ice and top up with soda. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Makes about 6 glasses.

PS: If you don't fancy the fizz, simply substitute the soda with cold water. You can even convert it into a delightful cocktail ....laced with vodka - 30 ml, 45 ml, 60 ml?? If after a few you're still sober, three cheers to you! If not, you'll still be forgiven if you've misspelled Orange Melody as Orange Malady!! Cheers!!!

Basil Pesto

ITALIAN food only makes an occasional guest appearance on my culinary stage. If I may liken the ingredients to actors, then of course, they must all be available together for any drama to happen. Some of the lesser performers like the pine nuts, Parmesan and olive oil were already around, waiting in the wings kind of. But without fresh basil, the star of the show, they had no great role to play.

So when I finally found some fresh basil at the local grocery, which does not always stock it, I picked it up and got the pesto act together without a second thought!

What I used:

100 gms fresh basil, de-stalked
55 gms pine nuts, lightly toasted
55 gms grated Parmesan
150 ml extra virgin olive oil
2 fat garlic cloves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Salt to taste

Pulse basil, pine nuts and garlic in a food processor, adding the olive oil in a slow stream. Add the Parmesan too and mix well. Add the lemon and salt to your taste. Pesto can also be frozen for future use, in which case it might be a good idea to leave the cheese out and add it just before use.

Although pesto and pasta are made for each other, pesto can also play versatile roles, such as a dip, or a drizzle over a vegetable soup, as a mix with steamed veggies or as a sandwich spread with a bit of mayo to make it creamy and spreadable....the possibilities are as endless as your imagination.

When you have a puppet in your hands, make it dance!

However, use sparingly lest it overpower the main ingredients of the dish.

Bread Pudding

THERE are just two things I usually make with day old leftover bread - a bread pudding and French toast. Just like my mother did. Both involve essentially the same ingredients - bread, milk, sugar, eggs, essence. One is steamed while the other is shallow fried to a golden glow. Both appear at regular intervals on our dining table at tea-time because they're very easy to make, don't require planning ahead and besides, I can't think of better ways to use leftover bread. Any ideas?

What you need:

10 slices of bread
1 1/4 cups of milk
5 tablespoons of sugar
2 eggs, beaten
A few drops of vanilla essence

Sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar in a pudding bowl and set on slow fire to caramelise. When it begins to turn golden brown, take off heat with a pair of kitchen tongs and twirl around to coat the sides and base evenly. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, tear bread slices into bits and combine with the milk, eggs, essence and the rest of the sugar. (Taste a little of the mix and add more sugar if you like it sweeter.) Pack firmly into the pudding bowl. Cover and seal the bowl with foil, folding the foil in the centre to make a pleat. Steam in a pressure cooker for about 20 minutes.

Loosen edges with a butter knife and invert on to serving plate. Cut in wedges and serve either warm or cold.

PS: My kids prefer the plain pudding as above, but you can spice it up a bit by buttering the slices of bread, or adding some jam, or dry fruit and nuts to the mix. A pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon too, perhaps?

Vintage Ads

THESE advertisements of biscuits, Lipton's Tea, Ovaltine and other foodstuff which I've photographed from the yellowed pages of what must be a priceless copy of a special supplement to The Illustrated Weekly of India dated May 5, 1935 evoke the simplicity and charm of a long bygone era. The supplement, printed at The Times Press, Bombay, was brought out to commemorate the silver jubilee of the coronation of King George V and contains a wealth of information as well as rare photographs of British and Indian royalty of those times. The only way I can connect to that year is to think that my father must have been a little boy of about five years of age, while my mother was yet to be born!