A hint of tang, a hint of honey…….A cakey ode to our 40’s!!

My Mom, has what in my family we call the ‘Recipe Book Graveyard’. She loves to buy different recipe books, especially those featuring the varied regional cuisines of India. So we have Parsi cookbooks and Bengali cookbooks, recipe books of the Konkanastha Brahmins as well as those of the Goans, cookbooks featuring Marwari cuisine as well as a whole variety of books written by Indian TV Chefs. However not one recipe from any of them has ever been tried out.They are relegated to the ‘Recipe Book Graveyard’ situated near my Dad’s ‘Telephone graveyard’….well that’s another story all together……so lets just stay on track.

This tendency to buy recipe books and just read them, not try a thing or try out something that was merely a hint of the original, comes to me, I believe, in a gene from my Mom.

I am not a strict follower of recipes. Wayward in many ways, I loathe following recipes…..and I don’t. Yet, most often than not, I strike success, brought about by another gene, also inherited from my Mom…..talent in the cooking department.
As a subscriber to the BBC Good Food Magazine, India , I enjoy reading the magazine, marvel at the photography and often plan what to cook. But never ever end up cooking anything from the magazine.
My son J, whined and whinged and flung back at me all the lectures we give him about valuing and making use of all that he gets/buys. “Well, Ma……YOU NEVER make anything from your Good Food Magazines!!

So Mama, that’s ME, slunk away, tail between legs……to cook….following a recipe from the magazine.

I searched in some of the latest issues and found the right recipe for me to follow. A Cake. An Orange and Almond Cake.

This cake was perfect. It looked stunning and was so different to anything I had baked before. I had, of course, previously done a Pineapple Upside down. But in this one, I liked the use of honey and orange rind (which is a flavour I am shamelessly partial to), as well as ground almonds in the batter!! Almonds, oranges, honey and of course eggs, how much more goodness could a girl wish for?

As I ate this cake and savoured every bite, I realised I really liked it. Every new mouthful revealed something different. Honeyed sweetness, followed by the bitterness of the orange rind, the nutty texture of the almond and the tang of the oranges. This is such a ‘grown-up’, ‘ adult’ cake. Yet my youngest, 8-year-old D, particularly liked it. She thought it looked stunning and was supremely delicious. Heaving a sigh of relief, that I had spawned children with superior taste buds thus feeling rather superior myself, I continued nibbling.

As I nibbled, savoring each bite….(think wine connoisseur swirling the glass of a particularly prime vintage and you’ll get the picture), I couldn’t help thinking about my bunch of friends. Wonderful women who have either already turned 40 or will be doing so over the next year or two…..and one very lovely 30-year-old who fits in with the rest of the ‘oldies.’ We are all stunning….and sunny. Nutty? Oh yeah….and love it that way. The hint of the rind, a reminder of another facet of our personality…..forthrightness and honesty….often thought of as cattiness. If that be so then MEOW!! But the citrus hit reminds me of all the spunk and ‘devil may care attitude’ that comes only with the age and I’d like to think…AHEM….maturity.

So this one is for all my lovely friends and family as well as all the women out there….who have embraced their forties and rock on with style and panache, wind-blown hair streaked with grey and the confidence to care a damn about whether the grey shows through or not. Who laugh so heartily not worried whether we look like a jackass but confident that any smiling, laughing face is gorgeous, neither does the thought of laugh lines cross our minds.

“We’re not 40, just 18 with 22 years experience.”

Go on try this one….its full of character and its sure to leave an impression on you just as much as it does on everybody.

ORANGE AND ALMOND UPSIDE DOWN.(adapted from the BBC Good Food Magazine)

4 Medium sized Oranges
6 tbsp honey
200 gm butter + extra for greasing
200 gm brown sugar
200 gm flour
2 1/2 tsp Baking powder
100 gms ground almonds
4 eggs.

METHOD:

* Pre heat oven to 180 deg C.

* Finely grate the zest from two oranges.

* Peel the skin of all the oranges using a serrated knife.

* Cut the oranges into thick slices.

* Grease a 9 inch round baking pan. Drizzle the honey all over making sure that it covers the entire bottom.

*Arrange the best slices of orange all over the bottom.

* Finely chop the remaining orange slices.

* Cream butter and sugar till its light and fluffy.

* Bit by bit add in the egg a little at a time, ensuring that its incorporated into the butter/sugar mix before adding some more.

* Sieve flour and baking powder together and add in the ground almonds.

* Fold the flour and almond mix into the wet mix, adding in the chopped oranges halfway through.

* Pour the cake batter over the Oranges and honey in the tin.

*With a spatula or wooden spoon, make a depression in the centre of the cake.This will help the cake rise evenly when baked and not ‘dome’.

* Bake at 180C for 50-60 mins or till a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

* Allow it to settle for around 5 minutes before turning it out.

* Serve as it is or drizzled with honey.

Personally, I prefer the flavour the next day.

But I’m sure you know your own likes.

“At the age of 20, we don’t care what the world thinks of us; at 30, we worry about what it is thinking of us; at 40, we discover that it wasn’t thinking of us at all.”

So sit back with a piece of this cake and savour the sweet, the bitter, the tang and nuttiness……embrace it’s flavours and personality.

ENJOY!!

Entering this into the Tea Time Treats Citrus Challenge hosted by Lavender and Lovage and What Kate Baked.

Moroccan Magic…..Chicken with Parsley and Corriander.

Morocco.

Just saying the word makes me think of all things exotic.

Spices and unusual flavour combinations.

Brightly coloured, intricately woven carpets.

The sensuous mud and clay architecture.

Mt. Atlas and the Sahara.

Romance……Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman….SIIIIGHH!…..in CASABLANCA.

Winding labyrinths of the souks and the whiff of mint tea.

But this post is not about Morrocco….but rather about a recipe which I find just as exotic.

I love the combination of Parsley and Corriander…..unusual for us in India who regularly use coriander and mint together.

When I think back to when I first heard about Parsley, I remember the characters out of the Asterix and Obelix comics who used bunches of it in theirs ears to block off Cacaphonix’s cacophony.

I have been making this recipe for ages….not too sure where I got it from, but we all love it.

MOROCCAN STYLE CHICKEN

500 gms boneless chicken. (this recipe was originally with jointed chicken or around 1kg 300 gms)

2 small shallots (use sambar onions)

1 bunch of parsley

1 bunch coriander(equal to the parsley)

2-3 cloves garlic

1 1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper ( I use chili powder)

1 1/2 tsp ground cummin

3 tbs butter( I use olive oil instead)

1/2 -1 lime

Method:

Wash and cut the chicken into pieces.

Process the shallots, garlic, herbs, salt and spices in a food processor or mixer till finely chopped.

Add butter or olive oil and process to make a smooth paste.

Rub the chicken pieces with this paste and allow to marinade for @ 2 hours.

Squeeze lemon over and bake or broil till done.

Serve with Pita bread, humus and crudites

Enjoy!!

Don’t Forget the Frozen Pizza Dough!

Remember when I made the whole wheat pizza dough?

If you don’t or are reading this blog for the first time….check it out here.

I froze a part of  it for later.

Well, the kids are back at school and I’m back to dusting the cobwebs off my creative brain cells, urging them to somewhat creakily wake up and think up interesting goodies to pack for lunch.

5 am…..Y A A AWN and S..T..R…E…C…….H………………

Desperate scramble for my morning jolt……a cuppa coffee…….

Light bulbs pop……hey there is some frozen pizza dough!!

I took the dough out and left it to thaw and rise again.

(You could leave it in the fridge the previous night)

Using the pizza sauce which I always have on hand, frozen, I sautéed some mushrooms, corn and leftover grilled chicken and mixed it with the pizza sauce.

Cut the dough into equal pieces….as many as you require.

Roll it out and put some of the filling along with some cheese.

Fold over and seal by brushing a little water or egg around the edges and pressing

with the help of a fork.

If you look carefully, you will notice that I have left a small corner unsealed.

This allows for the steam to escape and prevents the bread from splitting while baking.

Cover with a damp cloth and leave it to rise for @ 10-15 minutes.

Brush with egg wash before baking.

Bake at 200 deg C for 10 min or till firm and golden.

….And TAA DAAA…….

Perfect little CALZONE for the lunch box!  Delicioso!!!

CALZONE literally meaning a stocking or trouser is nothing but a folded pizza.

It’s filling consists of ingredients similar to pizza toppings.

My 7-year-old only eats a Pizza Margherita and hates any toppings on her pizza.

This is a great way to stuff all kinds of veggies into a bun…..it’s not visible!

But considering that it is a ‘totally cool’ lunch…..it goes down with pride!!

So don’t forget that frozen pizza dough………….

I talked to a calzone for fifteen minutes last night before I realized it was just an introverted pizza. I wish all my acquaintances were so tasty.
”

― Jarod Kintz, This Book Has No Title

A Surprisingly Healthy ‘Junk’ Meal

This wasn’t something I’d planned to blog about AT ALL.

But my slap dashing about in the kitchen this evening turned up gold!

I was thrilled and so were the kids.

Trying to tackle the 41+C temperatures in Chennai at the moment can really muddle up my foodie brain.

As I tried to plan our menus this morning, all I could think of for dinner today was something that did not require too much effort and time in the ‘roasting’ kitchen.

So I pulled out a pack of frozen chicken breasts, flattened it with a mallet and marinated it very simply with:

Salt, pepper, mustard, olive oil, Worcestershire sauce and a splash of ketchup.

Put it away to rest in the fridge and thought……”what the heck, I’ll tackle that in the evening when it’s cooler.”

This evening, extremely disgruntled at having missed my daily swim, I decided that ‘Burgers and fries’ would be our dinner.

However the thought of the oily fries in this heat was not appealing at all, other than the guilt that I was offering my kids ‘junk’.

So I decided to experiment and bake a few fries.

I just used the McCain’s Frozen French Fries,

 

Spread them out on a baking tray,

drizzled some olive oil

and popped it in an oven pre-heated to 200C.

and baked it for 30 minutes.

The result was fabulous! I had crispy golden fries, without having to fry them.

Try it ……it was just superb.

Oven Baked French Fries, Crispy and Golden

The chicken breast, I popped under the grill for @ 10 minutes.

I turned them over midway so that each side was grilled for 5 minutes.

After toasting the burger buns, I topped them with

Lettuce, chicken breast, cheese, balsamic grilled onions (see recipe below), slices of tomato and gherkins.

It was delicioso!

Finger lickingly good.

( For my 7 year old, I made a wrap with the grilled chicken)

Grilled Onions

2 onions

1tbs balsamic vinegar

1tsp sugar ( brown or white)

1 tsp olive oil

 

Inspired by a fellow blogger Stephanie from Modern Christian Woman who made slow roasted raspberry balsamic onions today, I decided to use balsamic vinegar instead of my usual Worcestershire sauce in the grilled onions.

 

You can see Stephanie’s recipe at:

http://modernchristianwoman.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/slow-roasted-raspberry-balsamic-onions-and-garlic/

 

Although I call them ‘grilled’ onions, I just do them on the stove top, in a pan.

Heat the oil and saute the onions. Add in the sugar, balsamic vinegar and a pinch of salt.

Saute over low heat till the onions are translucent and just beginning to caramelize.

Use it in burgers, sandwiches or hot dogs.

Now if only I could source some wholewheat burger buns…..my ‘healthy junk’ would be truly healthy.

 

Resource guide for Chennai:

McCains French Fries – Nilgiri’s and Mercado.

Balsamic Vinegar, various brands – Nilgiri’s and Mercado

Worcestershire Sauce, Lea and Perrins – Nilgiri’s, Mercado, Amma Naana

Boneless Chicken Breast, Suguna Protein – Nilgiri’s

Burger Buns – Nilgiri’s, Winners Bakery, French Loaf

Olive Oil – Econut

Gherkins – Tify

Lettuce – Veggie vendors outside Nilgiri’s, Besant Nagar, Cathedral Road and Indira Nagar.

My Official Family Dish

We hear about family motto’s and crests, maybe even an animal or color that identifies a family in certain ways, something that is so ‘my family’.

We all know musical families, sporty ones, adventurous families and quite ones, boisterous families and snobby ones, even organic ones…….attributes or activities that make us identify a family in a a certain way.

I don’t know how people identify my family, but if we had to assign official family themes, much like a national flower, sport, animal etc I would not have a clue what ours would be…..but I know what our official family dish would be.

A simple but extremely wholesome meal of ‘Hainanese Chicken Rice.”

We ALL loooove it.

I love to cook it coz it’s so easy, the kids go ‘AAAhhhh’…….never a protest, even the hubby smiles peacefully…..all is well !

Hainanese Chicken Rice is supposed to be the national dish of Singapore…..officially or not, I do not know.

All I know is that we love to eat it and prepare it any time.

There are tons of recipes for it all over the net ( read a very detailed description at http://steamykitchen.com/5068-hainanese-chicken-rice.html )

….but this is my simple version of it as taught to me by a friend in Malaysia.

I have adapted the traditional recipe to suit my family’s eating habits.

Traditionally a whole chicken is poached in water with soome ginger, garlic and onions. The stock is used to cook the rice.

However we rarely use the whole bird, but just buy boneless chicken breast.

Also, I always have chicken stock on hand in the freezer(recipe at the end of this page), so all I need to do is defrost a box full and use it in this recipe.

HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

The Chicken

1/2 kg Boneless Chicken Breast

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1″ piece ginger, crushed

@ 2 tbs Light Soya Sauce

A dash of Chinese sesame oil

Salt (if needed)

-Marinade the chicken with the above ingredients and keep aside at least for an hour, more would be better.

-Place on a greased baking tray and grill for around 8 mins, then turn and grill the other side.

-Check with a fork to ensure it’s cooked.

( you could also steam the chicken, if you like)

Meanwhile, The Rice

2 cups rice

4-41/2 cups chicken stock (recipe below)

2-3 cloves garlic

1/2-1 ” ginger

1 long pandanus leaf*

Sesame Oil

– In a pan heat some sesame oil and sauteed the garlic till a little brown.

-Add ginger and the pandan leaf and sautee.

-Add rice and fry. Add salt if your stock does not have any.

-Add the stock and cook in a rice cooker till done.

The Sauce

I do not make a chilly sauce as some recipes mention, but make one by mixing,

2.5 parts light soya sauce : 2 parts sesame oil

( This more or less suits our taste, but play around with it and try what suits you. Also differnt brands of the sauce may differ in flavour)

Serve with

A boiled egg

Slices of cucumber

The above sauce, on the side

And a soup made with the chicken stock and some spring onion and cabbage.

Garnish the rice with some freshly chopped corriander leaves.

Sit back and enjoy………..

(Just to include some veggies in the meal, I normally make a Chinese greens stir fry along with this.)

Making Chicken Stock is super duper easy.

Start with @1/2 kg chicken bones.

( you could use the back and wings, if you use a whole bone-in chicken in your cooking)

2 lts water

1 bayleaf

6-8 whole peppercorn

Then remember this…..O-C-C-L

Onions-Carrot-Celery-Leek

1 large carrot, roughly chopped or cut into 3-4 pieces

1 large onion, quartered

1 stalk celery, with leaves

1/2 leek, roughly chopped

-Through all the ingredients into a large stock pot and bring to a boil.

-As the stock comes to a boil you will find a foam forming on the top. This is called the ‘scum’.

-Skim the scum of the surface of the stock and reduce to simmer.

-I simmer my stock for about 1 1/2 hours…..the longer you simmer it, the more intense the flavour.

Don’t even talk to me about doing it in a pressure cooker……it’s almost sacrilege!!!

Slowly simmered is the only way!

HOT TIP: Sautee the bones and veggies in a little oil or roast it in a low oven to caramelise before adding to the stock pot and you will have an even more intense flavour.

Once done, I cool the stock and put it into different boxes and freeze.

Defrost and use in soups, sauces and gravies…….and of course Hainanese Chicken Rice.

Resource Guide for Chennai:

Light Soya Sauce and Chinese Sesame Oil – Brand ‘Woh Hup’ or ‘Blue Elephant’ available at Nilgiris and Mercado

Pandanus Leaf * I have a stock of this from Singapore, but in Sri Lanka its called Rampe and it is called Screw Pine in English. In India we use Kewda water…..which comes from this leaf.

Of course, the idea is that you try it yourself…..but just incase your just too lazy, there’s always Bee’s Kopitiam in Chennai, with the bubbly Beebee Chong cooking up a yum version.