Lamingtons

When i saw the picture of the Lamingtons in a booked at rainmaker shack in Lonavala near Mumbai, India. I immediately wanted to make and have them. But for some reason we couldn't. I borrowed the book from Dhanya, (the chef at the Rain maker shack) and photocopied that ... Thanks Dhaniya! She told me that that book belonged to her and she had bought at very younger days. This book has really good recipes. No wonder they still have that book.

when i reached came back to Delhi, i immediately wanted to make them ..and made them couple of times after that when we had to go to somebody's house.. i love to make hand made and take.

Recently on my hubby's birthday, he had to take some sweet to office, so i thought what could be better than Lamingtons. He was bit skeptical about it ... give that he had never tried them and also when he tasted them while i was making he was little confused .. may be with new taste or the cocoa and sugar syrup hadn't soaked-in yet.

Next morning when he pinged me on chat.. first thing he said .. people saying very good!! aah i was again on top of the world! :)

so here is how i make them :

Ingredients

Makes about 20

Cake

11/3 cups Maida (flour)

1 tspn Soda bicarbonate

1 tblspn Custard powdered

1 cup Caster sugar

½ cup Milk

¼ cup Margarine/soft butter

2 Eggs- lightly beaten

½ tspn Vanilla essence

Icing

2 cups Icing sugar

½ cups Cocoa

½ cups Boiling water

For Coating

Desiccated coconut

Method:

1. Combine al the cake ingredients in the large bowl and mix well. Pour the mixture into well greased tin bake it at 180 degree for 25- 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool it in tin for 5 minutes then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool. Make the cake the day before required as its easier to cut.

2. Cut cake into squares or any shape you wish.

Icing. Sift icing sugar and cocoa together into a bowl, add sufficient boiling water to make a fairly runny icing.
Using a fork or your fingers, dip each cake into the chocolate icing until well coated.

Roll in the coconut then place on a wire rack.

Another way to coat the lamingtons is to place the coconut in the plastic bag, add the cake and toss gently until cake is well coated.

Vada Pav (Indian Burger)

Wow it has been 3 months that i have posted any recipe ..well for 6 weeks i was travelling to India .. where i had great culinary experience as me and my husband were travelling for the first time there after marriage. We were booked for first 2 weeks for either dinners or lunches or sometimes both. Shall write in detail about it in another post. I am writing this recipe immediately after trying it for Kiran, who had asked for it, when she saw its photo on my Fb.

Yesterday, Ruchi, (my only friend here in the city, returned from India. Her family lives at Pune in Maharshtra in western part of India, From where this dish comes from) had come over to meet me after work and had brought the red chili chutney for me, which i had asked her to bring only for Vada Pav. You cannot cannot make the authentic Vada Pav without it. So, we decided to make the Vada pav for dinner.

Vada Pav is one of my favourite street food from Maharashtra. Though, I had first tasted it in Singapore. These were sold at Jade(Indian film cinema), Shaw towers and there used to be limited quantity of them before each show. So, just for vada pav, we sometimes used to go there an hour in advance.

For Vada Pav, you require Pav (bun).. which is rectangular in shape, but we don't get it here so i made using round buns! Then, Green Dhaniya Chutney and of course as I mentioned above the Red Chili chutney. Well, in the market there are different type of red chili chutneys available..dried or semi dried, with roasted and crushed peanut or just chili with garlic and other spices. I used the one which Ruchi got for me was with crushed Peanut one. Recipe for all is as follows:

For Pav: Get ready made from your nearest bakery.

For vada: Makes 7

Ingredients:

Vada filling

3 medium Potatoes (Boiled)
3-4 Garlic cloves
1/2 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves (chopped)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp asofoetida (heeng)
2-3 green chilies
Salt to taste.

Covering:
2 tbsp Besan
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp oil
Pinch of baking soda

Oil for fry

Method:

1. Make the past of garlic, ginger and green chilies in your mortar or food processor.
2. Peel and mash the potatoes
3. Add the above ginger,chili, garlic paste and salt. Mix it well.
4. In the pan, heat up a little oil and mustard seeds, when they splutter add curry leaves, heeng, turmeric powder. Mix.
5. Add the potato mixture. Combine the mixture with spices really well. Remove from the heat and let it cool.
6. After the above mixture is cooled, divide it in 8 portion and make balls. if the mixture is sticky which means you have over boiled the potatoes. don't worry just add little oil in tour hands so that the mixture doesn't stick to your and.

For the covering:
1. in a bowl, mix besan, turmeric powder, salt.
2. Add enough water to make thick batter not the watery consistency.

Frying:

Vadas are deep fried. So heat enough oil in the frying pan.
when oil is hot. dip the balls in the batter and fry them until they are golden brown on high heat. (you can more than one ball in the pan depending on the size of the pan at one go.)


For Green Chutney

100gms green coriander leaves and stacks (washed properly)
2 green chilies
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dried mango powder
1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1/2 garam masala
1 tbsp curd
Salt to taste

Method:
Churn all the above ingredients in a food processor and its ready.

Ingredients
Red Chili Chutney

Since i used the one from the packed which Ruchi had got me from Pune. Here is the recipe from Tarla Dalal.

Ingredients
1/3 cup garlic (lehsun) cloves, peeled
1/4 cup grated dry coconut (kopra)
2 tbsp chilli powder
1 tsp oil
salt to taste

Method
Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the garlic and coconut for 2 to 3 minutes over a medium flame.
Cool, combine all the ingredients in a blender and grind till it is a smooth paste.
Use as required.

I shall try this soon. :)

Variation:
Use roasted and peeled peanuts, grinding them with red chillies,salt,garlic clove(small),olive oil and chat masala to a fine paste using a blender.

For serving:

1. slice the Pav from middle upto 3/4. don't divide them into 2.
2. Brush the Pavs with butter and toast them on flat pan (tava).
3. spread the green chutney top inner layer and the red one on lower layer.
4. Place the Vada in the Pav and serve with green chili or tamarind sauce. (optional)

Chili Time Thai Restaurant

I really crib about the bland food i get at the restaurants here. What would be an Indian food with spices. I bet, a normal khichdi(cheese less indian risotto) would taste better than that. The Mexican food is not really Mexican, all the taste has been adjusted to dutch palate. I understand that they can't really take spices. But, for the people like us, who have arrived from Asia recently, they have to compromise on the taste. Being a vegetarian, I am anyway left limited option.

Well, last Friday me n hubby, finally went to a Thai restaurant that he had been telling me about for past couple of weeks. He didn't really say much about its food to me than about the owner/worker there. who speaks Hindi very well and is a big fan of Bollywood movies.

I liked the decor, nice cozy place, red walls with Buddha face masks and wall hangings and just right amount of light. Since we weren't very hungry and also limited vegetarian options, we ordered spring rolls for starters and ice teas and in main course mango salad and 'Kaeng Khiaw Wan' Green curry with coconut sauce prepared with various Thai vegetables(as this curry was marked with two chilies, means mild chili. there wasn't any curry with three chili mark) and i thought per dutch standard this would suit us) and steam rice were on the house.



Spring rolls were nice cooked, golden and crisp, but the quantity of vegetable filling was very less. Mango salad as you saw in the picture above, was made of ripe mangoes. which was little sweet but tasted good. The Thai green curry, as i mentioned above was mild but would had appreciated more variety of Thai vegetables having said that, the flavor was great. I was happy with it. At least no bland food. Dessert section didn't offer any Thai dessert so didn't have any there.

And about that owner/worker (looked South East Asian, i didn't try to confirm, who he was of the two, was quite a friendly person, was personally going to take the feedback at every table that too in their language. I heard him speaking in Spanish and dutch as well and he spoke to my husband in fairly good Hindi.

As we were walking back home which was around 3 km, we stopped by for coffee at a Very Italian Pizza, a new Italian joint just outside Blaak Station. We ordered a cappuccino each and a Panna Cotta.


Panna Cotta was yum. And for cappuccino this has become my favourite place in Rotterdam. where, the second time i tasted the real cappuccino. I had mentioned about my first here

My First Cup Cakes and Lamingtons

Quick and yet Tasty Biryani

Well, I know the Quick and Biryani never match! As traditionally Biryani is slowly cooked over charcoal pit. No doubt about the taste that comes out. But these days we don't have luxury of time and yet we want to eat the tasty food. Definitely. One option is to go out and there are couple good restaurants in almost every city where you can get good Biryani. Unfortunately here, we don't get good indian food or it has been dutchised! (like indianised).. which is quite bland as per Indian standard.

As i mentioned in one of my previous blog that i am veg. and cook non-veg. for my hubby. I gave a shot to this recipe of Boneless Chicken Biryani found at sanjeev kapoor.com. with minor variation in ingredients and cooking time as proportionate to my requirements.

Ingredients:

300 Gms of Boneless chicken (Chicken Breasts)

1 cup Basmati Rice (soak them for at least 30 mins)

3 tbsp Desi Ghee (Clarified Butter) or Vegetable Oil

1 " Cinnamon Stick

1 Bay leaf

3-4 Cloves

2 green Cardamom

1 Black Cardamom

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 Onion(medium), sliced

2 Green Chilies, Slit

1 Tomato, Chopped

1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 tsp Coriander Powder

1/2 tsp Amchur( dried Mango Powder)

1/2 tsp Cumin Powder

Salt to taste

1/2 tbsp Ginger paste

1/2 tbsp Garlic paste

1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder

1/2 cup Yogurt thick ( i used Greek yogurt)

2 Onion (medium), sliced and fried brown

A few Mint Leaves, washed and torn

A few Coriander leaves, Washed and torn

1/2 tsp Garam Masala

1/3 cup Milk

A few drops of Rose Water

1/2 Tbsp Raisins

Method:

1. Boil the rice (3/4 cooked) and set aside.

2. Cut the chicken into 1" pieces

3. Heat the 2 Tbsp Ghee/oil in a deep pan. Add whole spices (Cumin, Cinnamon, Cardamoms, Cloves and Bay Leaves) and saute for a minute.

4. Add Sliced Onion and saute until transparent

5. Add green chilies and chicken cubes and saute

6. Add turmeric, Amchur, coriander and cumin powder, tomatoes, ginger n garlic paste, Salt and mix.

7. Add Red Chilli Powder and Yogurt . Mix well and let it cook for a while.

8. Spread half of the fried Onions followed by half of the bowled Rice on the above mixture.

9 Spread another layer with rest of fried Onion, half of the Mint and Coriander Leaves.

10. Add the remaining boiled Rice followed by remaning mint and coriander leaves.

11. Sprinkle Garam Masala, Rose water, Milk,Raisins and 1 tbsp of desi ghee.

12. Cover the pan and let the biryani cook for about 10 minutes on low heat.

13. with in time you would see little smoke filled with aroma come out of lid, which means the Biryani is ready!

14. Mix it well...

I serve it with Raita, which i make by gently whipping the yogurt, add Rock salt, raita powder and roasted cumin powder.

Last Sunday, when our dutch friend had come then also i had prepared Biryani. Since they can't take spices so I had put a pinch of red chilli, coriander and cumin powder instead of 1 tsp and didn't slit the green chilies. And instead of Raita, served only yogurt to balance the spice. Well the aroma of whole spices, rose water, ghee, mint and coriander leaves fills you completely. The way non smoker are passive smoker when somebody smokes in front of them, likewise being veg. with the aroma i also become a 'passive eater'!

My New Toy n a Dinner with friends

Day before yesterday, i got my new toy! A food processor Yeah!!! "Chopping or cutting se ab na ho pareshan ... prastut hai aapka samadhan ... har grahni ka rakhe dhyan aur badaye samman..." by me!

PS. this is not endorsement of any brand and product. These are my personal views.

This is a bliss.. specially here at maid less houses. where i have to do everything on my own. So next few days, i will be spending exploring ts functions. Well, until now i had hand blenders n mixers n mixies but never a food processor as such.

Well, Yesterday we had invited my husband's friends for dinner. Non- Indian and they couldn't take spice. So i had to cook an Indian food without spice. which was a challenge and i failed because till now i really dunno, how can i not put spices in food or just skip chili powder and Garam masala.

Anyway, to play safe, i cooked, Baked Stuffed Mushroom with cheese...Pita bread n Hummus... Mozzarella,Black olives n Pesto bruschetta...Gazpacho... Biryani....Lemon rice..Tiramisu. Out of these only Biryani and lemon rice were out of Indian cuisine. Well they liked it all and my husband (without me asking him .. how was it?) himself praised about the Tiramisu. Which means i passed with distinction :. Out of his friends, one was Spanish and he really liked the Gazpacho i prepared .. which has definitely boosted my confidence.

Gouda Cheese Market- Goudse kaasmarkt

My Cousin Pragya visited us in July this year, while she was travelling to Germany for some official work. She arrived here on Tuesday and we wanted to cover as much Netherlands we could in next 2 days.

We were searching on net and lonely planet for the 'to do activities'. And we found about this cheese market at Gouda which is held on every Thursday 10 am to 12:30 Pm during summers.

We planned, we would get up early then breakfast and would reach there by 10 so that we leave on time and head to Amsterdam.Great Planners!

Next day, lazy us, got up at 9 am, by the time we got ready, it was already 10:30 am. We were contemplating on the idea of going Gouda or straight to Amsterdam. Given that it takes 15 Mins. by train from here..we should take a chance..thinking that we just got out of the house. We reached Gouda station at around 11:15 am.

It was a great sunny day! there market is held in front of the Gouda - Town Hall, which is 10-12 minutes walk from station. From the approaching street we could see lots of hustle bustle on the other side. We reached there and found food stalls. we were wondering, if we had reached at the right place. We crossed the weekly market, which is also held on thursday for the obvious reasons.

We reached a open place and found cheese, cheese n cheese on the floor. The horse carts, weighing scales, cheese stretchers, the Dutch Cheese Girls in their traditional outfits posing for photographs with visitors and the retail cheese stalls around selling cheese.

Cheese has been traded at the market in Gouda for over 300 years. Farmers would come from far and wide to bring their cheese stretchers to the market every Thursday morning.They still do the same things they were doing all those years ago.The cheese market is held every Thursday morning from mid- June to the end of August.



We tasted various cheeses at this stall, cumin, herb, pepperika,black pepper, plain gouda n many more. we loved the one with herbs and pepperika so bought some!


I asked Pragya to enquire about cheese classes from her in dutch (as she speaks German and manages to speak in dutch). The lady said yes!, but guess the class would be in dutch, so i would have to wait until i learn the language. Well, this should be great motivation to do so! isn't?

This happens to be a craft market also, traditional crafts and products made in and around Gouda, such as earthenware, pipes, clogs, farm produce, treacle waffles. But by the time we were done with our cheese tasting and shopping, they were winding up.

Now, i would have to wait until next year as it held only till August end. The day after is Thursday but its first of September. I shall enquire, if they are on.. then will definitely pay a visit.



Anyways, after the hard work of cheese tasting, we headed to Dezalm stadcafe just in front of the market.(i don't remember where; but i had read about this cafe somewhere). Very crowded, but we managed to get a table for 2 outside with a perfect view of market. We had 'Goude stoopwafeltart'(a kind of cheese cake)topped with thin layer of honey caramel, which was awesome! a must try!

There local market around was great. Unlike Rotterdam, there were a lot of local shops for bags and shoes... n they were offering great discounts too..we did the typical girly shopping from buying bag to clothes and make up stuff!!! which of course led us to delay to reach to our next destination- Amsterdam.

Pictures Courtsey: Pragya Taneja