Honey Cheese Toast

A favourite dessert which we had at a mall in Bangkok, Thailand!! What a dish, the warm crisp toast, the honey and the combination of the salty cheese and the chilled ice cream!! mmm,  so tasty and so palatable that, so long after the trip none of us have forgotten it. The heavy rain, the walk through the rain and then this yummy treat.  A must try... my daughter Ashwini made it and passed on the recipe to me, here goes my version of it.

Ingredients

Brioche bread, you need to cut it into thick slices

Vanilla ice cream

Honey

Butter

Cheese, I used kraft cheese (grated)

Method

On a skillet keep the bread slice and toast it to a crisp golden colour with butter on it, transfer to a plate, first drizzle honey as per your taste, keep a scoop of ice cream, then again drizzle some honey, now grate cheese on it, as much as you want and have it warm to get the best taste.

             

                                                                      Sweet Sour Okra

A dish that is very much popular in North Karnataka, it is called Gojju in Kannada and Kayras in Marathi. Sweet, sour, spicy and tasty to go with either rice or chapatis. My recipe....

Ingredients

250 gms of okra washed, wiped and chopped into medium sized pieces

1/4 cup of powder made of roasted peanuts

1/4 cup powder made of roasted sesame seeds

2 tbsp of tamarind pulp

2 tspns of jaggery powder

1 tbsp of saar masala or sambar masala

1 tspn of chilli powder

Salt to taste

Coriander for garnishing

Method

First in a kadhai take some oil, make a tempering of mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder, add the chopped okra and cook till almost done, now add the powders, the tamarind and the jaggery. Add water enough to mix all the ingredients well, a little to a curry consistency. Bring this to a boil on slow flame. Once done add more water if needed or adjust as you would like to have, whether with rice or roti. Transfer to a serving bowl once done, garnish with some fresh coriander and savour it.

 

  Mushroom Gravy With Cream Cheese And Thousand Island Sauce

This is an experi-mental dish which was so amazingly delicious that I would recommend as a must try. Awesome with phulkas and rotis. Here goes my recipe.....

Ingredients

250 gms of mushrooms washed and chopped to medium sized pieces

2 large onions chopped fine

2 large tomatoes chopped fine

8 cloves of garlic and 1 inch of ginger pounded

2 tspns of thousand island sauce

1 tbsp of cream cheese (garlic cilantro)

2 tspns of kashmiri chilli powder

!/2 cup chopped coriander

Salt to taste, use wisely since the sauces have salt in them

Method

First of all in a pan with olive oil saute mushrooms till they are cooked and change colour. Keep aside. In the same pan add some olive oil, saute the onions to a golden brown colour, add the ginger garlic, cook well, add the tomatoes cook till mushy,  add the chilli powder,the sauces mentioned, the coriander and salt to taste, mix well and now add the mushrooms and cook till they get well mixed. Your dish is ready to serve.

 

                                 
                                                          Bhindi Kurkuri/Crispy Okra

An extremely tasty starter, okra crisp fried to perfection can be a delight on the palette. Made it after my son saw the fresh green bhindi sent to us by Sahyadri Farms. First try was an awesome success. Hope you enjoy making this in your kitchens too. I made it this way....

Ingredinets
1/4 kg okra washed wiped and left spread to dry on a cloth
For marination
1/2 cup chick pea flour
Salt to taste
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn chilli powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn dry mango powder
1 tspn chaat masala
1 tspn garam masala

Oil for frying

Method 
Once dry, chop each okra into four pieces length wise, spread in a large bowl, add all the ingredients given for marination, give them a nice mix and leave this for about 5 to 7 minutes, now keep the oil for frying them, you need to separate and fry the pieces, a long process... yes, but you want to eat tasty food then you need patience!! So, fry them in small batches, keep on a plate with tissue paper, to absorb excess oil, and also, they don't release water and all you efforts go waste. After frying all the ladies finger, you can eat them as they are or with dal rice, rolled in rotis, as you wish.

Pictures of how to chop and marinate.

                             
                                                          Bhel, The Bombay Street Food

Bhel is one of the most relished of the Bomay street food varieties. An asli Bambaiyya would surely vouch for the taste and satiating quality of this dish. It is an anytime dish. I learnt this way of making this from my Mother-In-Law. She loved it and all the family loves it. I don't know if I can make like her, the original is gone with her!!  Here goes my recipe...

Ingredients
A pack of lighter variety of the puffed rice(Kurmura)
Sev, I prefer the sev a little thicker than the nylon variety
Onions chopped finely
Tomatoes chopped finely
A coarse paste of  green chillies made in the mixi jar with a bit of salt
Tamarind paste
Boiled and mashed potatoes
Finely chopped coriander

For those who like the sweet chutney
 Grind together 4 dates soaked in water, seeds removed and water drained, 3 tspns of tamarind paste, some cumin powder, salt to taste, two teaspoons of jaggery. Make a little thick pouring consistency.

Method
In a mixing bowl, take the required amount of puffed rice, sev, add the onions, tomatoes, chilli, salt, tamarind paste and a little coriander, add all the ingredients in proportion with the puffed rice or as per your taste. We prefer it without the sweet chutney, but those who like it sweet can add the chutney to according to your taste,give this a good mix with your hands, this way it tastes the best. Now serve in a serving bowl topped with more sev and coriander, as you wish. Enjoy this dish for breakfast, lunch, teatime or dinner. It can be had at all times!!

                               
                                                            Tamilian Omlette Curry

Came across this Tamilian Omlette curry which is super if you love eggs, the recipe credit goes to 
Chef Zac. Was first introduced to this by my niece Shruti. Loved making it and more so loved eating it. Helped by my son Nidhi, who has more patience than me!! You can make this with chicken or, potatoes. Chicken made for my son and husband, omelette for me. So here I am sharing the recipe with you.....

Ingredients
3 large onions chopped into not very thin long pieces
3 tomatoes chopped in the same way
3 tspns of tamarind pulp
3 tspns of ground garlic, green chillies and ginger
2 cups of coconut milk
1 tspn chilli powder
1 tspn cumin powder
1 tspn coriander powder
1 tspn black pepper powder
1/2 tspn turmeric powder
A few curry leaves
2 green chillies cut into halves
Salt to taste
Coriander for garnishing
Clarified butter as needed

An omelette made of four eggs in the traditional way, I folded it and made it, kept ready for adding later

Method

In a pan take some clarified butter, add the onions cook till they are caramelized, add tomatoes, cook till mushy, keep adding salt bit by bit to help the curry to be moist, add the ginger, garlic, chilli paste, cook till done, add turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder, cumin powder, pepper powder, mix well, add little water to mix it well, now add the coconut milk, salt and the tamarind paste, stir a bit, in another pan make a tempering of clarified butter, mustard seeds, green chillies and curry leaves, add this to the curry. Now add the omelette cut into pieces as shown in my picture. Tate check the salt and add only if need be. Mix well and your curry is ready. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and serve hot with roti or steaming hot white rice. 

                                                       
                                                               The Classic Hummus

This classic Middle Eastern dip is one of the dishes that I personally enjoy with the extra drizzle of the amazing olive oil. It can be eaten as is or with Pita or even the normal toasted bread makes a good company. Here goes the way I made it.

Ingredients

For blending

2 cups of chick peas soaked overnight and pressure cooked to 2 whistles/according to your cooker, I add a bit of edible soda and salt to it
1/2 cup olive oil
10 cloves of garlic roughly crushed
3 tbsp of tahini (sauce made with white sesame seeds and olive oil)
Juice of one lemon

For the garnishing
A few sprigs of parsley
Olives for garnishing
Olive oil for drizzling

Method
Blend all the above ingredients for blending in a blender, check and add salt if need be, transfer to a serving bowl and smoothen the  surface of the paste with a spatula, drizzle olive oil and garnish with olive pieces and parsley. I could not get hold of it, so not there in my dish!! I like paprika or chilli powder is an option too. Now dip the bread of your choice and enjoy.