Quick-n-Easy Brownies

BROWNIES (Pic by June Carvalho)

THESE lovely, scrumptious brownies are so quick and easy to make. Forget about earning brownie points...just wow your family and friends with this delicious treat. You cannot go wrong with cocoa or chocolate... 

What you need:

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup cocoa

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts

1 cup melted Amul butter

4 eggs

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp vanilla essence

Sieve flour, cocoa and baking powder. Whisk eggs, melted butter and vanilla essence. Tip the sieved ingredients in, the sugar and the walnuts and mix with a spatula till all the ingredients are moist. Line a 9" x 9" pan with grease-proof paper and pour the mixture in. Spread evenly. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees C for 35 minutes. Let cool for 15-20 minutes, then turn over on cooling tray. When completely cooled, cut into squares. 36 pieces. 

This was baked in a microwave oven on convection mode.

Black Russian

Black Russian (Pic by June Carvalho)

RUSSIA meets Mexico like old buddies in this delightful, if potent cocktail comprising equal parts of vodka and Kahlua served on the rocks. Extremely simple to build and the perfect epilogue to an equally great dinner!

What you need:
45 ml vodka
45 ml Kahlua or any other coffee liqueur
Ice

All you need to do is fill an old-fashioned glass with ice (about 8-10 cubes) and pour the vodka over, followed by the Kahlua. Enjoy!

Clover Club Cocktail

Clover Club Cocktail (Pic by June Carvalho)

I came across this drink on a cocktails website and it sounded good and very doable, with an interesting history to boot. It seems to be a forgotten classic originating in Philadelphia way back in 1911, and now, nearly a century later, is experiencing a revival.

Needs gin, grenadine or raspberry syrup, lemon juice and also a raw egg white, which may sound queasy to some, but it acts as an emulsifier and gives the drink body and a foamy head. The grenadine and citrus strike a perfect balance between sweet and tart. Shake it up for a good 20 seconds in a cocktail shaker with ice to get a frothy finish and the head. Would have looked pretty in cocktail glasses, but I don't have 'em, so I served it up in wine glasses instead. My friend enjoyed every dainty sip of it. So did I. Who wouldn't? Truly a classic.

What you need for 1 serving:

60 ml gin (I used Bombay Sapphire)
30 ml lemon juice
10 ml grenadine
1 egg white
Cracked ice

Shake up all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker for about 20 seconds and strain into a cocktail or wine glass. Garnish with a lemon  wedge. Cheers!

Raw Mango Chutney

THIS is another gem from my house-help Ratna, who is indispensable to me in keeping my home running on well-oiled wheels. The other day, finding a raw mango that had been lying in the fridge for a while, she took the initiative to make this tongue-tickling chutney, even as I was trying to sleep away a nagging headache. This chutney goes very well with idlis and dosas, but can also be mixed with plain, cooked rice, for a quick-fix lunch on a day when you don't feel up to rustling up anything elaborate. A fine example of using simple ingredients to create an unpretentious, but attractive and appetising accompaniment. Loved it so much that I had to add it to my repertoire of chutneys, with due credit to Ratna.

Raw Mango Chutney (Pic by June Carvalho)

What you need:
1 big raw mango
2 cloves garlic
a good pinch of cumin
1 tbsp fresh coconut
1 tbsp fried gram dal
3 dry red chillies
Salt to taste

For seasoning:
1 tsp mustard
1 sprig curry leaves
1 onion, chopped
A pinch of asafoetida
2 tsps oil

Peel and grate the mango. Then wash and drain the grated mango, to reduce the sourness. Grind to a fine paste with all the ingredients listed under What You Need. 

For seasoning, heat the oil and add the mustard, allowing it to crackle. Add the curry leaves, chopped onion and asafoetida. Stir around a bit on low heat till onion is transparent and mix into the chutney.

Masala Vada

MASALA VADA (Pic by June Carvalho)

A perfect tea-time snack for a rainy day evening, crisp and crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside. To make your rainy day evening even more perfect, invite a friend over to share it with, over cups of masala chai and some light-hearted banter. Enjoy!

What you need:

1 cup channa dal 

1 onion chopped

1 green chilli

1 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 clove & 1/2" cinnamon

A fistful of fresh dill, chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

A pinch of asafoetida

Salt to taste

1/4 cup water

Oil to deep fry

Wash and soak the channa dal for about an hour and a half. Set aside one tablespoon of the soaked channa and coarsely grind the rest of the channa with the green chilli, clove and cinnamon, using the quarter cup of water. Remove from the blender. Add all the remaining ingredients including the tablespoon of channa that was set aside.

Heat oil in a deep frying pan or deep-fryer. Take a little mixture at a time (about the size of a lime) and form into round, slightly flattened shapes and slide gently, one at a time, into the heated oil. Fry on medium heat, turning over to fry the other side as well. When brown, lift off with a perforated spoon and drain on absorbent paper. About 15 vadas.

Begonia blooms

I WOKE up this lazy Sunday morning to find a beautiful, vibrant red bloom on a begonia plant that was gifted to me by my dear friend Gita. Just like 'sindoor' or a red 'bindi' on the forehead of a woman brightens up her face, this tiny red burst of colour brightens up the green in my balcony. A first bloom is always a sheer joy and pleasure to behold...had to capture it!  

Spinach & Corn Bake

Spinach n Corn Bake (Pics by June Carvalho)

THE other day I was faced with a problem of plenty when my friend Geetanjali, better known for her home composting drive in my locality, gave me three or four huge bunches of spinach and equally fat bunches of methi leaves (fenugreek leaves). Methi leaves keep well for up to a week in the fridge if they are pinched off their stalks and stored in an air tight container, which gives me ample time to think of ways to use it well.

But spinach needs to be used as quickly as possible. I used a portion of it to make this Spinach and Corn Bake. Palak paneer is next in line...it's still fresh in my mind, having tucked into it just the other day along with melt-in-the-mouth parathas at Bobby da Dhaba, a no-frills place which serves up authentic Punjabi vegetarian food in Bangalore.

What you need:
2 packed cups of spinach
1 cup frozen sweet corn kernels
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 tsp pepper  powder
1/2 tsp oregano
4 flakes garlic, chopped fine
2 tbsps olive oil
3/4 cup grated cheese
Breadcrumbs from 1 slice
1 tbsp butter
Salt to taste

For white sauce:
2 tbsps butter
3 tbsps flour
2 cups milk
1/4 cup grated cheese
A pinch of pepper, nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt

Wash spinach well and chop. Thaw the corn kernels and drain off water if any.

Heat the olive oil and lightly fry onions till transparent. Add the garlic, saute a bit, then add the pepper and oregano. Tip the corn kernels into the pan and allow to cook two minutes. Put the spinach in and stir for a minute. Add salt to taste.

For the white sauce, heat the butter, tip in the flour and with a wooden spoon blend and cook on slow heat for about 4-5 minutes till the "raw" smell of the flour goes. Pour the milk in a thin stream, stirring constantly, to avoid lumps. Add the grated cheese cook till the sauce is smooth and of a thick, creamy consistency. I used cheddar. Cool the white sauce a bit and pour over the spinach and corn. Gently mix together and transfer to a baking dish. Smooth the top with a spatula. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly and then the fresh breadcrumbs. Dot with a tablespoon of butter and bake at 170 degrees C until golden on top.

PS: The roots and stems from the cleaned greens went straight into my wet waste composting pot. The composting is going on beautifully. I must write a separate piece on that effort. (Geetanjali, are you listening?). Meanwhile, a friend of mine asked me for some of my home-made organic compost for use in re-potting her plants. I was only too glad to give her a bagful...the simple joys of giving and the supreme satisfaction of having created something useful out of waste that's going back into the earth from where it came, is unbeatable!