An evening with children, stories and gourmet food!

(This is my entry to the Indiblogger-ITC Kitchens of India contest. The contest is about one's own dream weekend party with gourmet food from Kitchens of India)

Weekends. They are a boon. Time for us to escape the drudgery and indulge in luxury, isn’t it? But for some, especially women in the Indian context, what unfolds is more to do with grocery, cutlery, crockery and cookery!  Phew!!!!

I like food. I sometimes enjoy cooking too. Note the word ‘sometimes’. When I have something more interesting to do, something that would give me more gratification and make me immensely content, then I’d rather do that than invade the kitchen. One such ‘something’ is donning my storyteller hat. Go and blurt out stories to children. I visit one particular place in Bangalore where the children welcome me with open arms. While I have to accept that I’m not going there as often as I wish to, my connection with those children is rock-solid.

By now, you would have guessed where my party would be and who the guests would be.  Yes, it will be at the orphanage cum school and my guests would be the children! These children are either orphaned or come from the weakest sections of society, so a gourmet party would be a life-time experience for them. My son and I will play hosts and will plan out the menu. If my little one approves it, those little ones will approve it too, right?

The guests

Here comes the first factor – Ambience. Chirping of the birds returning to their nests, cool late evening breeze and loads of laughter. When you have happy, lovely little children around, what more can one ask for? I’d probably put up a makeshift pandal, just as a contingency measure. Weather in Bangalore is totally unpredictable.

The location

The second thing to take care of is entertainment. What do you think? Would there be any other source of entertainment than my stories??? The idea may not interest you that much, (may be even make you queasy!) but for those little children, I’m their Story Aunty! So that evening will see free flowing stories including impromptu performances by children, story contests and more!

The entertainment!

As you can see, there are big plans, which means, me cooking for the party is out of question. Here is where I see Kitchens of India coming to my rescue. I can make/order rice and rotis and just get the accompaniments from Kitchens of India! Talk about convenience! Not just that, it would also help me focus on the stuff that I’d need to get done for the D-day.

Finally, here comes my menu. I have carefully selected the items based on the nutritional value, taste factor and of course, my son’s inputs!

     

• Chapati rolls lined with Apple-Cinnamon conserve or Mango-Saffron conserve

• Rotis

• Veg Biriyani (Made with Veg Biriyani Mix)

• Nutritious Dal Bukhara

• Mild Mughlai Paneer (peppered with a story from the Mughlai era, of course!)

• Spicy Mirchi Ka Salan (for the little grown-up ones)

• Cucumber Raita (To counter the Spicy Mirchi and to balance the Biriyani)

When children are around, can sweets be far behind? So I’ll grab a few packets of every dessert available with KOI, especially the nutritiously yummy Jodhpuri Moong Dal Halwa . I can imagine the ecstasy in their faces as they lap up the delicious dessert!

So, that would be my dream weekend gourmet party - an evening of stories with lovely little children and great gourmet food.

I am sure, at that moment, I’d be the most contented person on this planet.

(Do visit Shishukunj Vidyalaya in Ramesh Nagar, Bangalore. The children’s English skills will leave you awed. Even the tiny tots in primary school speak excellent English. Kudos to the teachers and the management for envisioning and executing it all!)

Mmm...Fluffy, white, non-sticky Basmati rice at home? Doable!

If the title of the post got you here, then you are at the right place. Yes, it wasn't just a crowd-pulling or attention grabbing gimmick. Having tried, tested, failed, tried all over again and finally succeeded (Mohammed Ghazni isn't related to me in any way :) ), I can comfortably say that I almost always get my Basmati right. Be it Pulao or Veg Biriyani, the rice I cook nowadays adheres to all the adjectives mentioned above. And getting there isn't a big deal. All you need is a little caution. 

Basmati is a type of long-grain aromatic rice and is primarily grown in India. (Yes there are other varieties too!) It is by nature longer than the usual raw rice and tends to stay separated from the other grains when cooked. However, it is very easy to overcook Basmati and make it mushy. South Indians are used to working with aged raw rice which is very tolerant to the amount of water used.  For example, a cup of well-aged raw rice can take in upto 3 cups of water, tolerate even an extra whistle in the pressure cooker and still stay nice and good. But do the same to Basmati, it is sure to take its revenge. So respect the rice and follow these steps:

• Soak the Basmati for at least 15-20 minutes before cooking. This reduces the cooking time of the rice and also removes some starch.
• The thing that makes rice grains stick together is the starch content. Repeated washing of the rice removes the outer coating of starch (the thing that makes the water white while washing), thereby leaving the rice less prone to stickiness. So make sure you wash your Basmati multiple times, but exercise caution – your over enthusiasm may actually break the grains. 
• Measuring the amount of water that you add to cook your Basmati is of absolute importance. You may be an expert cook, but if you are new to cooking Basmati, I suggest you stick to measuring cups for a while.  You may use your eyes for measuring at a later point in time.
• NEVER cook Basmati in a pressure cooker!!!! The result is almost always pathetic. I recommend the stove top or the electric rice cooker method. In the stove top method, cook every cup of Basmati in 4 to 5 cups of boiling salted water for and drain excess water once cooked. In the rice cooker method, add 1.5 cups of water per cup of Basmati and cook till done. There won’t be any water left to drain in this case. Adding spices like elaichi, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves etc. and a little ghee while cooking makes the end product extremely aromatic and inviting.
• Post-cooking care also plays a significant role in plating up a perfect Basmati recipe. Cooked basmati is extremely fragile, handle with care. Stir it gently with a flat spatula. Never stir too much.
• Now for the Pulao Biriyani segregation – When I make Pulao, I half-cook the harder vegetables like beans, carrots and peas separately with a little salt. Then I sauté the softer veggies like baby corn, mushrooms, cauliflower, soya chunks etc., add the soaked rice and the half cooked veggies and dump them all in the rice cooker. This consistently yields a superb Pulao!
• For Biriyani, I cook the rice as in step 6 and then spread it out on a plate to cool. Then I layer the rice and veggies alternately in a heavy bottomed vessel and cover it with aluminium foil and a plate and then place a weight on top to simulate ‘DHUM’. I put it in a double boiler to prevent burning. The end result is astounding!
• Don’t try making fried rice with Basmati rice. Raw rice works much better. If you are bent on using Basmati, then use cooked and cooled rice. But do so at your own risk!
• Last but definitely not the least important - don't fall for the trap. It is not necessary that you have to buy the costliest variety of Basmati to get the best results. Even the mid range varieties or the 'Everyday Basmati' varieties can give please your eyes and taste buds if cooked correctly.

Phew! Now you see, cooking Basmati isn’t a big deal after all! A little patience is sure to reward you with great results. Now storm you kitchen with a warrior spirit, cook up a plate of jaw-dropping Basmati and let me know!

The billion dollar Pulao – Biriyani – Fried Rice confusion!

The other day, I had been to a Darshini (one of the many standby restaurants in Bangalore) where I happened to order a 'Biriyani'. As we were waiting, the boy at the counter announced “Veg rice ready”. As expected, what came to the table was a blob of yellow rice with some under-cooked beans, tomatoes and carrots. Needless to say, it was miles away from a Biriyani.

In several parts of India, especially South India, the words ‘Veg rice’, ‘Pulav’, ‘Biriyani’, ‘Tomato Rice’ and ‘Brinji’ tend to be used interchangeably. To add to the chaos, there are innumerable posts in the blogosphere that chronicle about the ‘Best Pulao ever made with left over rice’ or ‘Instant cooker biriyani’ and one cannot help but wonder what is what.

I was in such a situation a few years back. However, I wanted to get a clear idea and hence decided to do a bit of research J. Here are my research findings peppered with a bit of history:

• Pulao is derived from the Turkish word Pilaf. It is the Indian answer to the Turkish/Persian rice challenge. Pilaf/Polow is a staple in many middle eastern and Balkan countries. The traditional recipe calls for boiling aromatic long grain rice with vegetables or occasionally, meat. The criteria for the dish to be called a Pulao is that the rice has to be fluffy, long-grained and non-sticky and the flavours mild. Hereafter, you won’t feel stupid and left out when Vicky Ratnani teaches you how to make a great Pilaf on NDTV Goodtimes!

Veg Pulao with Raita

• Biriyani entered India with the Mughals. In fact, it is said to have been invented in their kitchens. For a rice dish to be classified as Biriyani, it has to satisfy the following criteria:    

1. Fluffy, non-sticky long grained rice to be used.
2. Loads of spices to be used.
3. Generally meat based, but can be vegetarian too
4. Most important!!!!!! – HAS TO BE COOKED ON DUM! Rice and veggies cooked separately and then layered and cooked covered in low heat to infuse the flavor into the dish. This holds especially for the non-vegetarian versions.

Veg dum Biriyani, ready to be mixed and plated

•  Fried rice is of Chinese origin. Ha! Don’t we all know that, courtesy, the many ‘Chainese Frid rice, Gopi Manchoori stalls’ all over the place? Fresh cooked rice is too moist to be fried. Hence, the best choice of rice for this dish is left over rice or rice cooked and cooled for a couple of hours.  The second most important and often overlooked need is a hot wok/kadhai/pan.  Thirdly, the sauces play a significant role too - soya, chilli, schezwan etc.  and oh yeah, vinegar shouldn't be forgotten. Just by adding gram masala and ginger garlic paste and frying rice on a hot wok, one cannot expect to have a plate of ‘Fried rice’!

Fried rice served with stir fried Tofu

• Tomato Rice - This is quite popular in South India, especially as a lunchbox favourite. This can be loosely equated to a Pulao having only tomatoes, onions and garlic and devoid of all other vegetables.
• Brinji or Veg rice - These terms are used mostly in Tamilnadu. They are the 'raw rice' equivalents of Pulao, but with fewer spices. Bay leaves and fennel are the commonly used spices.

Henceforth, if you are ordering a plate of biriyani at a restaurant, you will exactly know what to look out for! What’s more, you will know how to protest when someone tries to pass off a plate of pulao for fried rice!

Watch out this space for some delectable Pulao/Biriyani recipes!

Pasta 101 for the Indian cook!

Humble yet yummy spaghetti

Pasta. We all love it, don’t we? There’s definitely something fascinating about the different shapes and sizes. Though made from the same raw material, mostly Durum wheat or whole wheat, the various shapes lend varied textures to the final dish, thereby making it extremely inviting. Not just that, the shapes cause your creative juices to ooze and overflow just like that gooey white sauce in your yummy macaroni! Cooking pasta isn’t rocket science, but requires a little bit of thought, at least initially. The cooking times differ. The sauces differ. However, once you get the basics right, the possibilities are endless. Here is a guide to those who are just getting ready to experiment.

Choosing your pasta

The Italians have spent a lifetime inventing pasta shapes and sizes, I guess. Here is an almost exhaustive list of various pasta shapes and sizes. The ones commonly available in India (Bangalore, to be precise) are Spaghetti (strings), Penne (rods), Macaroni (elbows), Fussili(spirals), Farfalle(butterfly). If you are new to cooking pasta, you can just pick up one of the cheaper 'Bambino' varieties like Macaroni or Spaghetti. Once you are confident, you can invest in the more expensive imported brands like Barilla and Agnesi. They taste more authentic and offer more options – Fettucine (this mostly contains eggs), Tagliatelle, Machcheroni, Rigatoni, Trinette, Lasagna, Gnochchi and so on. They cost anywhere between 125 and 400 rupees for a half kilo pack. While fresh pasta is made with eggs and flour, the dried ones in the store are mostly devoid of eggs. So vegetarians, don’t worry!

So which shape to use? My opinion is that the rods and tubes go well with chunky veggies while the strings and flat noodle like pasta gel well with gooey sauces.

I generally pick up my pasta from one of the following outlets:

1.     Nature’s basket, Indira Nagar
2.     Nilgiris, Brigade Road.
3.     Food World Gourmet, MG Road
4.     BigBasket.com

Penne tossed with Zucchini and Broccoli

Cooking your pasta

Every pasta shape has its own cooking time. In most of the international brands, the cooking time is specified on the pack itself, right below the name of the pasta. In general, the thinner/shorter the pasta, the quicker it cooks.  Here is the method:

Boil water in a large pot with enough salt required for pasta. SALT HAS TO BE ADDED AT THIS STAGE. Put pasta in boiling water (and not before that as it will become soggy and sticky) and cook for 5-7 minutes until it is done. The pasta should be cooked but not soft. Drain all the water immediately and pass it through running cold water. Drain the water again and mix in some extra virgin olive oil so that each pasta is coated with oil to prevent sticking. This method applies to all varieties. Extra care should be taken with lasagne as they tend to stick to each other and tear if left unattended while boiling.

If you are cooking spaghetti, DO NOT BREAK IT. It isn’t Vermicelli.  Boil salted water in a large pot and add the spaghetti. If the spaghetti sticks out, it’s okay. In a minute or two, it will start softening and you can gradually push it inside the pot.

Making the sauce

1.     Olive is the choice of oil for pasta. In the Indian market, you can find both cooking olive oil and extra virgin olive oil. While cooking olive oil is used to sauté veggies and stir fry, the extra virgin olive oil is used for drizzling and seasoning. Never overheat olive oil as it spoils the taste and flavour. I buy Borges, Farell or Musa Olive oil from one of the above mentioned stores. Watch out for ‘Buy 1 Get 1’ offers or 5 kg super saver packs if you are serious about Italian cooking.

2.     There are many different choices of sauce for pasta, especially for meat eaters. Italians call this ‘ragu’, which is primarily made of some meat and tomatoes. However, for vegetarians, most sauces are based either on tomato+cheese or milk+cheese. Knowledge of a basic tomato sauce recipe and a basic white sauce recipe should get you going.

3.     Dropping veggies directly into the oil without any ‘tadka’ or ‘thaalippu’ may seem weird initially. But yes, that’s how it is! Please refrain from adding mustard, cumin, turmeric, asafoetida or any ginger-garlic paste. Then, you will end up having a masala desi pasta.

4.     Herbs are to Italian cooking as ‘Tadka’ is to Indian cooking. They impart loads of flavour and nutrition. You can add any of these - mint, parsley, sage,  basil, thyme, rosemary, oregano. I find that thyme and rosemary go together well as is the case of basil and oregano.

5.     Vegetables that can be used include leeks, zucchini, squash, peppers, baby corn, sweet corn, spinach, asparagus(it costs a bomb in India though), green and black olives(pickled in brine) , broccoli, cauliflower, aubergine (brinjal, the big fat purple ones). Don’t use hard vegetables like beans, carrots etc. or Indian veggies like gourds, chow-chow etc.as they don’t go that well with pasta. Leeks belong to the onion family but are milder and sweeter. Zucchini tastes more or less like cucumber with lesser water content.

6.     When pasta is done with white sauce (popularly known as the Bechamel sauce), then some recipes call for baking. In such cases the pasta has to be cooked ‘Al dente’, that is 80% cooked. The best pasta for this purpose is macaroni or any similar tube shaped pasta as it oozes sauce when you bite into it. Yumm!!

7.     Pasta is a little bland to the Indian palate. However, you CANNOT and SHOULD NOT add chilli powder and garam masala to spice it up. You can add black pepper powder or Jalapeno peppers (available in all gourmet stores, pickled in brine) for the much needed zing. I sometimes even drizzle Tabasco sauce or Mexican salsa on my Italian pasta but that’s your choice.

8.     Cheese is an important ingredient for pasta, the most popular choice being Parmesan. However, vegetarians need to know that Parmesan cheese isn’t vegetarian. It is traditionally curdled with calf rennet, which is of animal origin. Hence when you buy Parmesan, read the ingredients carefully – if it says microbial rennet, then it’s ok to buy. Most of the other cheeses in the Indian market such as Cheddar, Gouda and processed cheese are curdled with whey or lime juice so feel free to buy them.

I think enough has been said. Before you dismiss  my post as too long, let’s get cooking! Here is a recipe for a basic spaghetti in tomato basil sauce. This would serve 3-4 people.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti - 250 gm
Fresh Basil – a few leaves, finely chopped
Cooking olive oil - 2 to 3 teaspoons
Ripe tomatoes – 5 to 6, pureed
Extra virgin olive oil – 1 to 2 tablespoons, for seasoning
Butter (or) Margarine - a dollop
1 big onion, chopped
6-7 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Salt, pepper
chopped jalapeno peppers if you want it spicier.


Procedure:

1. Cook pasta as per the instructions above.
2. In a pan, heat cooking olive oil + butter on medium flame. Add the finely chopped garlic and sauté for some time. Add onions and stir fry till they become translucent. Add the pureed tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Add basil, salt, pepper, jalapenos and season with extra virgin olive oil. Stir for 2 min.
3. Add the pasta and toss it till the sauce is coated on all the pasta. Sprinkle some grated cheese(parmesan/cheddar) and serve immediately.

Whole wheat spaghetti in a tomato basil sauce, served with sliced olives

Happy cooking!

The case of a bitter butter fruit

Yes, this post is about my tryst with an avocado, better known as butter fruit in this part of the world. Having developed a keen interest in exquisite dishes and enchanting cuisines in the past few years, I've been experimenting with 'exotic' fruits and veggies left, right and center. The latest in this list is the butter fruit. I'd rather like to call it the bitter fruit. My first experience with avocado had gone that sour, sorry, bitter.  However, after some research, I realized it wasn't the fruit's mistake after all. It's in its nature to taste bitter when raw(looks bright green), taste better when ripe(green with brown streaks) and again taste bitter when over ripe(dark green with a more pronounced brown tinge). Strange indeed! 

Very ripe avocados. Courtesy: Wikipedia

Hmm, what do I do with these now?  I hate wasting food, so I was, of course, hell- bent on using it. My Guacamole dreams might have been shattered this time and the avocado might have been unripe, but the time was ripe to invent a desi guacamole. Now take my word, this was one mast desi guacamole! Absolutely no bitter aftertaste!

Now for the brief recipe: Deseed two avocados and scoop out the white part. Blend it to a smooth paste along with a glove of garlic, a couple of shallots, a green chilli and half a cup of yoghurt. Transfer contents to a bowl and add salt n pepper to taste. Now add a pinch of chat masala, half a spoon of amchur and some fresh mint leaves. If you don't have these three ingredients, you could simply add my very own secret ingredient -  a spoon of jaljeera powder! Squeeze half a lemon into this and voila! You have your desi guacamole!

A humble beginning....a diary note.

It started with a humble yet divine tasting choco cupcake - my love for baking. Though I've been cooking ever since I was about 9 years old (There was no Masterchef series then!) initially because of compulsion and later exultation, I've hardly ever ventured into this unfamiliar territory   - it wasn't because of trepidation or anything, but sheer ignorance. Following several futile attempts at baking ready mixes and producing burnt rocks and gooey masses, I’ve finally gotten to a point where I can produce a decent looking, fairly tasty cake. I find baking scientific and cake decoration artistic and creative.  I'm recording this post here as a diary note, to serve the purpose of motivating me to bake more, every time I visit my blog. Let’s see how far it goes!