Tag Archives: quick

Breakfasts n Brunches, Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Tea-time Titbits

Chicken/Beef Cutlets

October 6, 2015 Marsha Leave a comment

A perfect crust and a warm mushy inside, pan fried in 3 minutes… for those days when you need a break from the kitchen!

“Your veal cutlet gets up off the plate, It walks down to end of the counter and beat the shit out of my cup of coffee. I guess the coffee just wasn’t strong enough to defend itself. – Tom Waits, American actor and composer”

The Fact: The word ‘cutlet’ originates from the French word côtelette. It finds itself in the European wiener schnitzel, the Japanese katsu and even in the Russian chicken kiev. In most cuisines, a cutlet is a thin slice of veal, pork, or mutton, run through flour, egg and bread crumbs and then fried in a pan. In the Indian sub-continent, however, cutlets originated to ensure that food never went to waste. Left over bits of meat and vegetable were shaped into patties, spiced up, rolled in breadcrumbs, fried and then served as entrees or snacks.

The Inspiration: Much like the fact above, I’ve grown up eating the Indian-style cutlet, which allowed my mother to throw in absolutely anything we had left over from the previous day. But on most other days, her mince cutlets were the yummiest appetizers or sides we looked forward to, especially when the meal was a simple daal and rice. When I got married, my mother in law kept the trend alive. I… I’m simply furthering tradition… and of course, on days when you need a break from the kitchen, these cutlets, which I keep frozen in my refrigerator, are your dream come true!

The Ingredients

Makes about 15 – 20 patties/cutlets

500 gm chicken or beef mince
½ bunch of coriander leaves; finely chopped
20 mint leaves; finely chopped
1 medium-sized onion
1 medium-sized tomato
2 – 3 medium spicy green chillies
1 heaped tsp ginger garlic paste
¼ tsp haldi or turmeric powder
1 tsp dhania or coriander seeds powder
½ tsp turmeric or haldi powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
¼ tsp kanda lassoon masala (optional)
2 tbsp vinegar
½ tsp sugar
2 cups water
2 slices of dry bread
¼ cup bread crumbs or semolina (rawa)
2 tsp salt

The Method

Making the cutlets

Wash the mince and transfer it to a bowl. Do not drain in a colander.
Sprinkle 1.5 tsp salt, the finely chopped coriander leaves and the finely chopped mint leaves over the mince. Mix well and keep aside.
Chop the onion, tomato and green chillies into large bits and blitz them with 2 – 3 tbsp of water for a few seconds. How fine you blitz the mixture depends on whether you want your cutlets smooth and pasty or with fine bits of onions and tomatoes to bite into. I personally prefer the non-pasty cutlets and so blitz the ingredients for only a few seconds.
Next, heat a skillet on medium flame. Add 2 tbsp of oil to it and allow the oil to heat up (not until it reaches smoking point, but just before that). Once hot, add the blitzed onion, tomato and green chilli mixture to the skillet and lightly fry for about 2 minutes.
Create a well in the centre of the skillet. In this hot part of the skillet, add the ginger garlic paste, haldi/turmeric powder, dhania powder, red chilli powder, kanda lasoon masala, and sugar. Fry the spices in the hot centre of the skillet to enhance their flavours and then, mix the spices with the blitzed onion and tomato mixture. Add the remaining ½ tsp of salt and fry again. Do not burn or over-fry the spices at this point.
Next, add the mince to the skillet, once again in the centre of the skillet, to fry off that raw meat smell. After a couple of minutes and once you can no longer smell the meat, mix the rest of the mixture with the mince thoroughly.
If using chicken mince: Allow the mixture to fry for about 2 minutes. Add a cup of water, stir well and cook on high flame for about 3 minutes. Then, simmer and cook until the water dries up completely, while stirring from time to time.
If using beef mince: Allow the mixture to fry for about 5 – 7 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and allow to cook on high flame for about 5 minutes. Then, simmer and cook until the water dries up completely, while stirring from time to time.
As the mince cooks, soak 2 slices of bread in a little water – just enough water to completely soak the bread and make it pasty.
Making the cutlets
Once the mince has dried, cool it. Add in the soaked bread and mash it up with the mince. The bread helps to give the cutlets structure and bind them. Make small balls until you’ve used up all of the mince mixture. The size of the balls can vary based on your preference.

Roll the mince balls in rawa or bread crumbs sprinkled on a dry plate.

Flatten the balls and smoothen out the edges.

I use the broad end of the knife to flatten the balls and then smoothen out the edges by rotating the cutlet on its flat side between the knife and the palm of my other hand.

You’re cutlets are ready! Fry them to eat them right away or place them in a box and freeze them for later use.
Frying the cutlets
Remember that your cutlets have already cooked. All you want now is a lovely golden crisp outside. Remember that if your cutlets are frozen, thaw them for about 10 minutes before frying them. Heat a frying pan with 2 – 3 tbsp of oil. Don’t let the oil smoke. Place the cutlets in the frying pan and allow them to sizzle for a minute or two on a high flame. Then, turn down the gas to a medium flame and cook for another couple of minutes.

Flip the cutlet and allow the other side to brown in the same way.

Remove the cutlets and place them on a kitchen towel or on kitchen paper and serve hot. You can eat these cutlets as a snack with tomato ketchup or green chutney, or can serve it as appetizers before the main meal. You can also serve these as sides with a simple meal of daal and rice.
Bon appétit!

Decadent Desserts, The Kitchen Diary

A Couple of Cream Cheese Frostings

March 17, 2015 Marsha 1 Comment

I use cream cheese in everything I possibly can—salads, bakes, frostings, pie fillings, sides, dips … you name it. I can even eat it plain, right out the tub while watching my everyday episode of Breaking Bad. And so, I’m thrilled to share with you two of my favourite, tried and tested cream cheese frosting recipes to decorate your cakes and cupcakes, and also to simply pig out on 🙂

“Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can certainly buy you a cupcake with cream cheese frosting – Me 🙂 ”

The Fact: Neufchatel cheese, the inspiration for conventional block cream cheese, originated in France in the 1500s. In 1872, William Chester, a New York dairyman, accidentally discovered a cheese making method that produced a creamy mild cheese while trying to duplicate the French Neufchatel recipe. He sold it as ‘cream cheese’ to the Empire Cheese Company, who in turn marketed it under the ‘Philadelphia’ brand.

The Inspiration: Who doesn’t like cream cheese? It’s the perfect in between for those who don’t quite get the cheese frenzy and think cream’s too fatty and tasteless to be loved as much. As for me … I love the soft, almost-smotherable, velvety-smooth texture and the lightly salted flavor of the cheese. But then I also love cream and cheese, independently, just as much.
I use cream cheese in everything I possibly can—salads, bakes, frostings, pie fillings, sides, dips … you name it. I can even eat it plain, right out the tub while watching my everyday episode of Breaking Bad 🙂 The cream cheese in my home goes into cake and cupcake frostings more often than not. And so, I’m thrilled to share with you two of my favourite, tried and tested cream cheese frosting recipes to decorate your cakes and cupcakes, and also to simply pig out on 🙂

Plain Cream Cheese Frosting

This frosting has a more distinctive tang than the Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting recipe I share below, simply because it uses pure cream cheese and whipped cream. It’s wickedly delicious, less sweet and works better with cakes in general, where you want the cake to carry the main flavor and the frosting to complement it; for example, red velvet cake or carrot cake. This frosting is also relatively stable and forms firmer and steadier peaks and swirls than the second frosting recipe on the blog, below. Since this frosting uses whipped cream, it’s less stable outdoors and in the heat for long hours.

The Ingredients

Frosts one 9” cake or approximately 15 cupcakes

227 gms cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
70 – 80 gms icing/confectioners’ sugar (sifted to avoid lumps)
160 ml heavy whipping cream (cold; 32% – 40% butterfat)

The Method

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until it’s creamy and smooth.
Add the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar and on slow speed, beat in the sugar until it’s smooth and fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl using a spatula.
Add the cold whipping cream and whisk on high speed, until the frosting is thick and stiff peaks are formed. It should take no more than a few minutes. If it’s not yet stiff, add more sugar, tablespoon at a time. Remember that the temperature and brand of whipping cream is very important. The cream has to be absolutely cold, preferably being beaten in a chilled bowl. It should also be a brand you’ve tried and tested before. If it’s one that doesn’t form peaks easily, beat it separately and fold it into the cream cheese and sugar mixture.

Notes:

It’s the icing sugar and the whipping cream that gives this frosting its stiffness and structure. By adding more or less of the sugar, you can adjust the stiffness of the frosting depending on what you what to do with it. If you want to pipe well-defined roses, swirls, peaks, and other structured decorations, you need a firmer frosting, which means more sugar and stiffer whipped cream. For irregular and not very structured swirls and flecks, a softer frosting with lesser sugar works perfectly.
If your cakes/cupcakes are going to be standing outdoors or in the heat for a while, avoid this frosting because it won’t hold too long in heat.
Ensure that your cakes/cupcakes are completely cooled before you frost them or once more, the frosting will melt.

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

Use this frosting when you want the frosting itself to be your highlight—sweet, yummy and addictive, like in most cupcakes. This one has a wicked taste and texture. It also pipes softer peaks and swirls and is easier to handle compared to the frosting above, simply because of its higher butter content, because of which it won’t last too long in the heat; however it can stand for hours at room temperature or in a relatively cool place because the frosting tends to crust lightly when exposed to air.

The Ingredients

Frosts one 9” cake or approximately 15 – 20 cupcakes

113 gms butter (softened at room temperature)
113 gms cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
240 – 270 gms icing/confectioners’ sugar (sifted to avoid lumps)
Optional: 1 – 2 tbsp whipping cream (cold; 32% – 40% butterfat)

The Method

In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until it’s creamy and smooth.
Add the cream cheese and vanilla and continue to beat until the entire mixture is smooth and you can no longer differentiate between the butter and the cream cheese.
Scrape down the sides of the bowl and gradually increase the speed to high. Beat on high for a little less than a minute. Then, on low speed (stir speed), beat in the confectioners’ sugar until well combined.
Once you’re sure of the sweetness and stiffness, beat the frosting on high speed for about 2 minutes. At this point, the frosting should no longer feel grainy. It should be fully incorporated. If you need the frosting to be stiffer than what it is, add more icing sugar by the tablespoon. Alternatively, you can also add 1 – 2 tablespoons of whipping cream.

Notes:

It’s the icing sugar that gives the frosting its stiffness and structure. By adding more or less of it, you can adjust the stiffness of the frosting depending on what you want to do with it. If you want to pipe well-defined roses, swirls, peaks, and other structured decorations, you need a firmer frosting, which means more sugar. For irregular and not very structured swirls and flecks, a softer frosting with lesser sugar works perfectly.
If your cakes/cupcakes are going to be standing in the heat for a while, avoid frosting altogether because it won’t hold too long. However, if your cakes/cupcakes will be standing in a relatively cool place, they will last for hours because this frosting tends to crust lightly when exposed to air.
Ensure that your cakes/cupcakes are completely cooled before you frost them or once more, the frosting will melt.

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Chicken Cafreal

March 16, 2015 Marsha 4 Comments

Chicken in red and brown curries is the norm; a green gravy, though not a recent discovery, is a refreshing change. This recipe blends some local spices to bring together a lovely Portuguese dish that’s loved and respected along the south-western coast of India. Nothing quite compares to the perfect ‘hot n sweet’ balance this dish offers. Give it a try!

“Pounding fragrant things… is a tremendous antidote to depression… juniper berries, coriander seeds and the grilled fruits of the chilli pepper. Pounding these things produces an alteration in one’s being — from sighing with fatigue to inhaling with pleasure. – Patience Gray, cookery author”

The Fact: This famous Goan dish is a version of grilled chicken from the former Portuguese colonies in Africa. The name is believed to have originated from ‘kaffir’, which is what the local Africans were called.

The Inspiration: I came home last Tuesday evening knowing exactly what I wanted to eat for dinner—chicken curry with rice. But bored of the many red and brown curries I’m used to making, I decided on a spicy green version, which I learnt from my mother in law … something I’m sure you’ll love only if you have the palette for spice 🙂 This recipe blends some local spices to bring together a lovely Portuguese dish that’s loved and respected along the south-western coast of India. Nothing quite compares to the perfect ‘hot n sweet’ balance this dish offers. Give it a try!

The Ingredients

Serves about 8 – 10 people

800 – 900 gms chicken on the bone, cut up into medium/small pieces (medium: 2 – 3 inch pieces, lengthwise; small: 1 – 2 inch pieces, lengthwise)
2 onions (1 large + 1 medium)
3 cups coriander leaves or dhaniya patta (use a large tea mug to measure, or American cup measurements)
5 long green chillies (use dark green spicy chillies; if using the light green ones that only add flavor, increase the number of chillies to 8 – 10)
4 tbsp 8 – 9 sauce (This is a date-based sauce with raisins, tamarind and other ingredients; it’s used in a lot of Goan dishes and is available in a few local stores. If you absolutely cannot find it, you could make the dish without it, but note that the sauce is a key ingredient, so you’re definitely missing something.)
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
18 cloves of garlic or lassan
1 inch of ginger or adrak
8 cloves or lavang
8 peppercorns or kalimiri/kalimirch
2 one-inch sticks of cinnamon or dalchini
1 tsp cumin seeds or akha jeera
1 tsp poppy seeds or khus khus
15 cashew nuts
5 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

The Method

Wash and drain the chicken pieces for 5 – 10 minutes.
Marinate the chicken in turmeric powder, 8 – 9 sauce and salt, for about 30 minutes, if not more.
Dry roast the cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, cumin seeds, poppy seeds and cashew nuts in a pan or in the microwave. Allow them to cool.
Grind together the large onion, coriander leaves (washed), green chillies, garlic, ginger, cloves and all the roasted ingredients, with about half a cup of water, until a thick paste is formed.
Place a skillet/vessel on medium heat. Add the oil to it and let it heat up as well. The oil should never smoke – any ingredient tossed into the oil at smoke point will burn.
While the pan and oil are heating up, slice the medium onion. Sauté the onions till they turn a lovely golden brown.
Place the marinated chicken pieces over the onions and without stirring, allow the chicken to brown a little – say for about 2 – 3 minutes. Then, toss the pieces around in the oil and onions, and allow to cook for about 5 minutes.
Add the green paste, which you ground earlier, to the skillet. Toss the chicken around in the green sauce. You’ll notice the green paste and the brownish chicken marinade come together to form a dark green, thick gravy.
Add the tomato ketchup and adjust the salt.
At this point, add water to your liking. About 1.5 cups of water will allow the chicken to cook and give you a semi-dry chicken, which can be eaten plain as an appetizer or with rotis (Indian bread) or bread. Anything more than that, say 3 – 4 cups of water, will cook the chicken and give you nice gravy, which will go perfectly with hot rice.
Cook the chicken until fully done, say about 10 – 15 mins, or until the gravy has thickened enough. Note that if the gravy is too spicy and you can do with a little more sweetness, add some more ketchup; but avoid making it too sweet.

Serve hot as an appetizer or with rotis; or then with rice as the main meal. Bon appétit!

Breakfasts n Brunches, Lockdown Recipes, Tea-time Titbits

Classic French Toast

March 13, 2015 Marsha Leave a comment

Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that are the hardest to do! Think about it—whipping up an egg until the peaks are stiff, making an omelette and flipping it perfectly, kneading the dough… And so, it occurred to me to dedicate some articles to the ‘simple’ things … things easy enough for the untrained husband or kids to do.

“I went to a restaurant that serves ‘breakfast at any time’. So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance. – Steven Wright”

The Fact: Contrary to popular belief, French toast was not invented in France. Earliest references date back to the 4^th century, Rome, way before France even existed as a country.

The Inspiration: “Who doesn’t know how to make French toast?” was the response from my husband, on being asked to take over breakfast, one morning; the outcome, unfortunately, began with “Okay! What do I need?” :)Sometimes, it’s the simplest things that are the hardest to do! Think about it—whipping up an egg until the peaks are stiff, making an omelette and flipping it perfectly, kneading the dough… And so, it occurred to me to dedicate some articles to the ‘simple’ things … things easy enough for the untrained husband or your kids to do. Here’s the first of those dedications on how to make the much-famed French toast.

The Ingredients

Makes 6 – 8 slices

1 egg
1 cup milk
½ tsp pure vanilla
A pinch of salt
1.5 – 2 tbsp sugar
¼ cup softened butter
Stale bread or relatively dry bread (or bread dried out in the microwave—that’s how I do it)
Optional: Caster sugar
Optional: Cinnamon powder (take a few sticks of cinnamon and dry roast it on a pan or in the microwave; grind it to a fine powder)

The Method

Lightly whisk the egg. You don’t need stiff peaks or anything fancy, so don’t try really hard. Season it with a pinch of salt.

Add in the sugar and continue to whisk it until the sugar melts. Notice that the colour of the mix changes to a pale yellow.

At this point, add the vanilla and continue to whisk.

Pour in the milk and stir.
Dip the dried bread slice in the egg mixture, for about 5 – 7 seconds on each side.

Heat your pan to medium heat. Pop in a quarter tsp of butter in the pan.

Carefully place the soaked bread slice into the pan. Remember to take the bowl holding the egg mix and the bread slice as close to the stove as possible; if not, you’re going to have a lot of the eggy mixture on your counter/stove. Attention: Cleaning. Wastage. 🙂

Here’s what I do with my optional ingredients. While the slice is sitting in the pan, I sprinkle a very small amount of caster sugar and cinnamon powder on the top-facing side of the slice. Remember to do this before you’ve flipped the slice. Caster sugar works to get you the beautiful brown and the slight crust or crispiness; while cinnamon powder is simply for the taste.

Each bread slice takes about a minute or two to develop the perfect golden brown. If you’re not sure, lift the corner of the slice to check the colour. Then, flip only when you’re sure of it.

Serve hot and eat away! A serving of beautifully roasted/fried bacon on the side or over the bread is a sinful, but delicious addition 🙂 Bet you can’t stop at one…

Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Decadent Desserts, Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Tea-time Titbits

Carrot Cake

Image January 16, 2015 Marsha 5 Comments

My all-time favourite cake! It’s best eaten warm in any weather. It’s rich, moist, full or flavour, and is the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

“If carrots got you drunk, rabbits would be pretty messed up.” – Mitch Hedberg

The Fact: During World War II, due to food scarcity (except that of carrots and potatoes), the Government resorted to an oversupply of carrots and suggested, through propaganda, that the Royal Air Force’s exceptional night-flying success was due to eating high carotene-content carrots. The ruse sharply increased carrot consumption and took the pressure off other food supplies.

The Inspiration: Our family has always been very enthusiastic about baking cakes for birthdays rather than ordering ready-made ones from the famous Baker’s Basket or Copper Chocs. It all began with mum, who, since we were born, baked us our favourite pink or green cakes (the green, creepy in hindsight) without a whisk or cake beater. I still remember my brother, sister, and I gathered around her in our kitchen as she mixed the cake batter with her bare hands and transformed a then, boring whitish batter into a fascinating pink or green. And ever since, the tradition has continued, though now, with slightly upgraded equipment and with the responsibility having shifted from mum to me.

As I sat thinking about what cake to bake for my 24^th birthday, rather bored by the myriad chocolate versions, and certainly considering healthier options, I stumbled across the Carrot Cake recipe on one of my favourite baking websites, Joy of Baking. And ever since, this comforting, moist, pretty (the orange flecks are simply adorable), spice cake has been my all time favourite and will never go out of fashion in my home!

The Ingredients

This cake serves approx. 15–20 people.

Dry ingredients

250gms/2 cups flour (for a healthier cake, use wheat flour, but note that the batter will turn out denser and a little dry)
250gms granulated sugar (if you’re using really sweet carrots, reduce the sugar by about 100 grams and then, gradually increase by tasting)
100gms roughly chopped and lightly toasted walnuts (for a more nutty cake, throw in some more; you could toast them on a pan/in a microwave/ in the oven)
2 tsp freshly ground cinnamon powder (throw in an extra teaspoon for a stronger flavour; I do for the taste and aroma)
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Wet ingredients

350gms/2.5 cups not-too-finely grated carrots (carrots should be sweet; also remember to measure the carrots after grating – so start with half a kg of carrots)
4 large or 5 small eggs
240ml unflavoured oil (such as vegetable or canola oil)
2 tsp vanilla extract (preferably pure, if not, don’t worry about it)
Optional: 3 – 4 tbsp/half a cup pineapple syrup (although optional, the syrup adds a glorious taste – remember to lower your sugar quantity if you add more syrup – vary the quantity until you can lightly taste the pineapple flavour)

The Method

Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.
Prepare your cake tin (standard 9 x 2 inch) by spraying it with grease or lightly greasing it with butter.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder.
In a separate bowl whisk the eggs for about a minute until frothy.
Add the sugar to the eggs and whisk until the mixture is slightly stiff and almost whitish (and has lost most of the yellow tinge). Note that the sugar should have more or less dissolved by now.
Gently pour in the oil in a steady stream and beat until incorporated (do not over beat the mixture; it might incorporate too much air).
Add the vanilla extract and whisk in.
Now, whisk in the flour mixture, just until incorporated (again, do not over beat).
Gently, fold in the grated carrots and the walnuts (fold in by making an ‘8’ motion with your spatula; do not beat this in).
Add pineapple syrup. (Taste the batter and adjust sweetness by adding sugar or pineapple syrup. You should be able to taste the pineapple flavour. Of course, don’t overdo it or the cake will be too sweet.)
Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin(s) and put it into the oven.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. (This might take longer for larger quantities or if your batter is very dense. In such situations, keep the cake in for another 10-15 minutes and check again.)
Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack

You’re done 🙂 This cake is best served warm. Cut a slice to look at your beautiful, orange-speckled cake! Bon appetit!

This cake can be kept for a few days without refrigeration. In warmer climates, refrigerate within 2 – 3 days.

If you’d like to frost this cake since it does make pretty pictures, try my cream cheese frosting recipe. You can layer the cake and cover the layered stack for prettier presentation.

Here’s what I did, only for the picture…

Or then, this …

Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Decadent Desserts, Lockdown Recipes, Tea-time Titbits, Vegetarian Varieties

Banoffee Pie

October 20, 2014 Marsha Leave a comment

Make this one out of love for the name of the dessert, if not the banana-toffee combination 🙂

“Q. Ever wondered where the phrase “to go bananas” came from?
A. Why try when banana pancakes, choco-banana cakes, banana splits, and banoffee pies are all capable of driving you crazy?”

The Fact: Banoffee Pie was invented in 1972 at the Hungry Monk restaurant in England. It is rumored to be Mrs Thatcher’s favourite pudding.

The Inspiration: It was 10pm on the 11th of August, the eve of my birthday. As weird as it sounds, I love baking my own birthday cake, but this time, I wanted something different… “Why not some pie?”… thought I (rhyme attempt alert!).

The Ingredients

Makes 12 – 15 servings

The Base

100 g melted butter
250 g digestive biscuits; crushed (wrap up the biscuits in a soft cloth and beat it up any way you like; it can be a lot of fun)

The Toffee Filling

100 g butter
100 g Demerera sugar or any other soft brown sugar (avoid the regular white sugar because it makes the dessert too sweet)
400 g condensed milk (sweetened)

The Topping

6 – 8 ripe, but firm bananas (make sure that the bananas are sweet or the topping ends up being quite tasteless)
250 g whipping cream

The Method

Take a 9-inch, loose-bottomed pie pan/tart pan and tip the crushed biscuits into it.
Add the melted butter to the crushed biscuits and mix well. Using the back of a spoon, press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of the pan, firmly, to form the pie shell. Chill in the refrigerator until the filling is ready.

Place a frying pan or a skillet on the fire, on medium heat. Add the brown sugar to the pan. As the sugar starts to melt, add the butter.

Stir together lightly and then leave undisturbed till the sides begin to melt. Nudge the edges from time to time, but avoid disturbing the melting process. Remember that you want the lovely burnt caramel colour and aroma; don’t worry about burning the sugar too far as long as the stove is on medium heat and not on high. The colour of the toffee depends on the colour of the caramel.

When the sugar has completely melted, add the condensed milk and bring the mixture to a boil on medium heat, stirring continuously. Turn off the heat as soon as the now-formed toffee takes on the right colour.

Pour the toffee into the biscuit base and leave undisturbed to cool. Move to the refrigerator and leave until the toffee becomes firm. This should take a few hours if the toffee has been cooled sufficiently before refrigerating.

After the toffee is firm, slice the bananas and place them over the toffee layer. Avoid slicing the bananas too much in advance because they’ll turn black due to oxidation, and won’t make a pretty plate.

Quickly whip up the cream and place it over the bananas. You can add your layers in any way you like it and can vary the thickness of each layer too.
Chill the dessert before serving it, if not, it makes the servings difficult and messy to cut through.

Eat away. Bon appétit! 🙂

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Spaghetti tossed with Spinach, Mushrooms & Minced Beef

June 10, 2014 Marsha 2 Comments

Trust me. This dish smells delicious, looks even better, and tastes like something I’d want to be served in Heaven! I almost felt like a professional chef making this one.

“No man is lonely eating spaghetti; well… it requires that much attention.”—Christopher Morley

The Fact: 212,595 miles of 16-ounce packages of spaghetti, stacked end-to-end, is enough to circle the earth’s equator nearly nine times.

The Inspiration: My sister, Janice, literally. So while I poked fun at her for growing her own spinach in a little pot in her terrace garden, she went and created this amazing dish with it. She made the vegetarian version of this dish with spinach and mushrooms, and posted pictures on her Facebook page. Of course, it took only one look at the pictures to decide what to make for dinner. I could literally taste the dish—the spaghetti, the spinach, the mushrooms and the meat. And I absolutely loved it. It was quick, ridiculously simple, and just delicious! Thank you, JanaRose 🙂

For those of you who wanted something quick and easy and yet, sophisticated, this is it.

The Ingredients

Makes 6 servings

250 g spaghetti
200 – 250 g or 8 cups lightly-packed spinach leaves; washed, drained, and roughly chopped into large bits (not finely chopped)
200 – 250 g mushrooms; chopped into large bits
Optional: 250 g minced beef
Optional: 4 slices of salami or ham; roughly cut up into 1-inch bits
A palmful of garlic cloves, skinned and pounded using a mortar and pestle (chopping it takes forever and the grinder makes it too pasty and fine)
½ cup milk
50 g butter or 4 tablespoons of olive oil
Optional: 3 tablespoons Oyster sauce
2 tbsp dried or finely chopped basil
1 soup cube
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste
Rock salt

For a vegetarian/vegan dish, simply drop the minced beef and salami/ham bits.

The Method

Place a large pot of water on the stove and season it with some rock salt for the spaghetti. The easiest way to remember the right water to salt ratio is through the ratio formula 1:10:100, which is, 1 litre water to 10 g salt to 100 g spaghetti.
Add a tablespoon of oil to the water to prevent the spaghetti from sticking (I honestly don’t know if this really works, but I’ve been doing it since I learnt to cook pasta and the pasta’s turned out fine). While the water comes to a boil, make the sauce (it’s not really a sauce, but then, what do I call it? 🙂 )
Take another skillet or pan and place it on the fire, on medium heat.
Add the butter or the olive oil. When the oil is warm enough, toss in the pounded garlic and sauté.
Sprinkle the dried/finely chopped basil over it and stir. For the vegetarian version, jump to Step 7.
When the garlic begins to turn golden brown, add the minced beef in the centre of the pan and fry well for about 10 minutes. Frying the minced beef in the centre of the pan, which is the hottest part of the pan, gets rid of the meaty smell.
In between stirring the beef, make sure that you wash and cut up the spinach and leave it to drain in a sieve.
Season the minced beef with about half a teaspoon of salt, the soup cube, the oyster sauce (which is optional), a generous addition of freshly ground pepper and a sprinkling of sugar. Mix well with the garlic, stir from time to time and cook for about 15-20 minutes.For the vegetarian version, in this step, simply add the seasoning and move on to cooking the spaghetti in the next step.
While the beef cooks, check on the water for the spaghetti. If the water has begun to boil, take the spaghetti and without breaking it, place it in the water, at an angle. It’s alright if only half of the spaghetti is in the water. As the spaghetti softens, you can gradually push the remaining half into the water. Spaghetti should cook in boiling water for about 20 minutes, after which, you should drain it using a sieve. The spaghetti should be ‘al dente’ or at just the right softness at which you can bite into it, not any softest or it’ll get mashy. Once the spaghetti is cooked, keep it aside. If the water hasn’t yet boiled, wait a little longer and then perform this step.
Now, back to the errr…sauce. Toss the chopped mushrooms into the skillet containing the minced beef and garlic. Mushrooms release a lot of water. Sauté until the water dries up.
Optional: Add the chopped bits of salami/ham and stir.
Next, add the milk and allow the mixture to thicken a little. If you’re health conscious and find this becoming too rich for you, skip the milk altogether.
Add another generous dash of freshly ground pepper. Stir well.
Your spaghetti should have cooked by now and should be sitting in a sieve to drain.
Only if your spaghetti has drained well, add the spinach to the mixture. If you add the spinach too early and it cooks for too long, it’ll become soggy and that’s something you certainly don’t want. This dish is wonderful when the spinach is still a lovely, vibrant green and is still chewable.
After about a minute, add the spaghetti.
Toss it up well, allow it to cook for about 3-5 minutes and serve piping hot.

Avoid storing this meal in the refrigerator because the spinach gets soggy and does not make a very pretty plate later. Eat it all up, while it’s still hot. It’s really not that difficult. Bon appétit! 🙂

Breakfasts n Brunches, Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Decadent Desserts, Lockdown Recipes, Tea-time Titbits, The Kitchen Diary, Vegetarian Varieties

The Perfect Pie Crust/Short-Crust Pastry

June 1, 2014 Marsha 1 Comment

The perfect pie crust is golden brown when baked, buttery, soft and flaky, and practically melts in your mouth when you bite into it. Can you taste it already?

“Only very clever men can bite pie without breaking crust.” — Carl Sagan

The Fact: The Ancient Egyptians around 2,500BC are known to have eaten pies made with ground oats or wheat wrapped around a filling of honey or figs.

The Inspiration: There’s something quite beautiful about making the short-crust pastry pie. It’s gorgeous to look at, beautifully simple to make, and quite an experience to eat the perfect pie. I started out quite badly but am quite proud to have mastered the art. I really hope you do too 🙂

The Ingredients

Makes 1 pie with 6 – 8 portions

For a Pie Crust WITH A COVER

2½ cups (350 grams) all-purpose flour
1 cup (226 g pr ½ lb) frozen or chilled butter
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup (120 ml) cold water
Optional: 2 tablespoon (30 grams) granulated white sugar (Add the sugar only when making a sweet pie/tart/quiche; not for the savoury ones).

For an OPEN TOP Pie Crust

1¼ cup (175 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup (115 g or ¼ lb) frozen or chilled butter
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup (60 ml) cold water
Optional: 2 tablespoon (30 grams) granulated white sugar (Add the sugar only when making a sweet pie/tart/quiche; not for the savoury ones).

The Method

The secret to getting the perfect, flaky pie crust is to make sure that the butter is very cold and just out of the fridge and to try and use your fingers as little as possible to prevent your body heat from melting the butter.

Making the Pie Crust

Take the butter out of the fridge and quickly chop the butter into ½ inch pieces. Pop the butter cubes back into the freezer/fridge until you get the other ingredients in place.
Measure and whisk together the flour, sugar (optional) and salt.
Pop the butter cubes into the flour mixture and with a light hand, knead the butter into the flour, until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Remember not to overdo this step since the longer your fingers touch the mixture, the faster the butter melts, which is what you do not want. Alternately, you could use a food processor.

What this step does is it coats the flour molecules (or the glutenin and gliadin) with fat, preventing them from absorbing too much water in the next step. Water when in contact with wheat flour forms gluten, which makes dough elastic. But for preparations such as pies and tarts you do not want too much gluten to form because it makes the dough tough and gives it structure, which works for breads but not for soft, flaky crusts.

Sprinkle the cold water across the mixture and gently bring the dough together. Do not pour in the water. Stop when the dough just holds together, if pinched. If necessary, add more water. Do not knead or process more than a minute. Form a ball of the dough.

Divide into 2 portions if making a cover for the pie, if not, leave as is. Lightly flatten each ball using your palms. To prevent the dough from sticking to your palms, sprinkle the dough with loose flour.

Cover the disk (two in case of a covered pie) with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about one hour before using. If you do not cover the disk, it will harden and cracks will form, making it difficult for you to roll the pie.
After sufficient chilling, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured counter. Lightly press the heel of your palm into the dough to soften it. This also flattens the butter into the pastry layers. Leave the dough to soften a little at room temperature.
Sprinkle the rolling pin with some flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Using a rolling pin, roll the pastry into a 12-inch circle. As you roll, keep turning the pastry circle a little each time. This will allow you to roll out a uniform pie. Also, always roll from the centre of the pastry, outwards.

Gently transfer the rolled pastry circle to a 9 inch pie pan. You can do this easily by folding half of the pastry circle over the rolling pin, then moving the rolling pin to the pie pan and unfolding it. Brush off excess flour and trim the edges of the pastry to fit the pie pan. Cover with plastic wrap once more and chill in the refrigerator.
In the same way, roll out the second pastry disc. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.

Blind Baking the Pie Crust

Blind baking is partially baking the pastry base before adding the filling. Although this process is completely optional, it creates a stronger crust that can hold moist filling without getting soggy. Blink baking is also done when the filling needs less time to cook than the pastry.

After the pie pan has chilled for about an hour or more, preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF.
Remove the pie pan from the fridge (leave the cover in) and fill it up with dried beans, dried lentils, dried rice or pie weights; something that will weigh the base down and prevent it from rising (air bubbles will leave the pie weakened). Pop it into the oven.

Bake for approximately 15 minutes (for a pastry containing sugar, 10 minutes). The key is to remove the pie pan when the pie develops a light golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before you pour in the filling.

You’re done! Now pour in the filling and continue with your recipe.

Breakfasts n Brunches, Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses, Tea-time Titbits, Vegetarian Varieties

Sausage Potato Quiche

June 1, 2014 Marsha Leave a comment

The quiche has always been one of those fascinating kitchen creations that has an exotic appeal with a sprinkling of humility. I’m not sure whether it’s the many variations of the dish, its humble beginnings in Germany and France, its popularity after World War II, or the sheer simplicity of the dish. Just can’t seem to put my finger on it…

“Real Men Don’t Eat Quiche”— A book by Bruce Feirstein; a bestseller satirizing stereotypes of masculinity

The Fact: Why is the Quiche Lorraine named so? It is believed that Quiche Lorraine is a recipe traditionally from Lorraine, France, near the border with Germany. In reality, the classic Quiche originated in Lothringen, Germany, a region initially under German rule; however, it was renamed Lorraine when it came under French control. In fact, the word ‘quiche’ is derived from the German word for cake, ‘kuchen.’

The Inspiration: My fascination with the “quiche” began when I was 16 and was introduced to a quaint little French café that opened up next to the college I went to. A little late, I agree, but quiche was just not a regular in my house. I still remember spotting the quiche as a cute little something with pretty, wavy edges, and beautiful, golden brown bacon bits sprinkled over it… I just had to give it a try! And with that introduction, began my love affair with quiches and tarts and pies and short crust pastries, and the eagerness to master them all. To me, this dish is really not so much about the taste; it’s about the beauty in its simplicity—the simplicity in the ingredients, the preparation and the result.

The Ingredients

This dish makes 6 – 8 servings.

Pie Crust or Short-Crust Pastry

1¼ cup (175 g) all-purpose flour
½ cup butter (115 g or ¼ lb) frozen or chilled butter
¼ to ½ cup (60 – 120 ml) cold water
½ teaspoon salt

Quiche Filling

3 large potatoes; grated, using a regular cheese grater

2 cups of diced, chopped or minced sausages
1 cup of chopped bacon

For a vegetarian/vegan quiche, simply drop the sausages and bacon or then, add any other ingredient you like.

½ cup of diced bell peppers (Use a combination of yellow and red for a pretty quiche)
1 cup diced mushrooms
About 15 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped (I love garlic and usually use a lot of it.)

3 tablespoons butter
Freshly ground pepper
Salt to taste

Egg Custard

3 large or 4 small eggs
2/3^rd cup milk
A pinch of salt for each egg

The Method

Making the Short-Crust Pastry or Quiche Crust

Click here to read up on how to make the perfect short-crust pastry, pie crust or quiche crust.

Making the Filling

Heat a skillet or frying pan on medium heat. Add the butter to the pan and allow it to simmer lightly. Do not burn the butter or allow it to turn brown.
Toss in the finely chopped garlic and allow it to brown slightly.

Add the bacon and let it release some lovely flavor into the pan as the fat melts. Allow the bacon to brown.

If you haven’t already grated the potatoes, now’s the time to do it. Remember to sprinkle a few pinches of salt over the grated potatoes. Give it a toss. Keep it aside.
Add the mushrooms and let them cook in the butter and fat, while absorbing the flavours in the pan. Mushrooms also release a lot of water. Allow the water to dry up as much as possible.
Now, toss in the chopped/minced sausages and the shredded potatoes.
After about 2 minutes, add the diced bell peppers.
Sautee the ingredients for a few minutes, or until all the water has dried up.
Season the mixture with salt, freshly ground pepper, and a sprinkling of sugar. You could even add a soup cube for more taste, but if you do, remember to adjust the salt.
Take the skillet off the heat and allow the mixture to cool down a little

For a vegetarian/vegan quiche, simply drop the sausages and bacon or then, add any other ingredient you like.

Making the egg custard

Whisk the eggs, the milk and the salt together. You’re done.

Assembling the quiche

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Take the ready pie base. Sprinkle the sausage filling into it. Pour the egg custard over the filling.

Sprinkle a little shredded cheese over it. This is completely optional 🙂
Bake for about 40-50 minutes, until the top is golden and the egg custard is set.

Serve hot and enjoy! You can refrigerate leftovers for later as well.

Bon appétit!

Breakfasts n Brunches, Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Decadent Desserts, Lockdown Recipes, Tea-time Titbits, Vegetarian Varieties

Mango Milkshake

May 13, 2014 Marsha 2 Comments

Summer is gorgeous—it’s pretty, it’s colourful, it’s vacation time, it’s hot (not always a good thing—ask the 42°C outside), it’s time for fun clothes, and in my part of the world, it’s also mango time! And though winter will always be my favourite month, nothing beats mangoes and fresh mango juice, mango salsa and mango milkshake!

“Sometimes, a summer afternoon needs a whole mango to be kept entirely for oneself, and eaten in one sitting.” – Alison Pill

The Fact: The mango is the national fruit of India, Pakistan and the Philippines. It is also the national tree of Bangladesh.

The Inspiration: It’s summer. The markets are filled with that lovely sweet aroma that draws you, no matter which market you go to. It’s another thing that I’m grateful for when it comes to India and or warm, tropical climate. So, the mangoes called out to me… I bought a few dozens… didn’t know how to finish so many mangoes before they got overripe… solution: mango milkshake. And though I agree that this probably didn’t require a post because, I mean, “Who doesn’t know how to make milkshake, right?” But then the pictures that I took with my Samsung Galaxy S4 were so lovely, I just had to put this up.

The Ingredients

Makes 4–5 milkshake servings

4 sweet, fully ripe mangoes

The colour does not determine the ripeness of the fruit; the smell and firmness do. When you lightly squeeze the head or the stem end of the fruit, it should lightly give in. The stem end should also give out a lovely sweet, ripe smell. Remember that the sweetness and flavour of the mangoes decide what your milkshake will taste like. Get the mangoes wrong, and you’re not quite going to enjoy the milkshake.

A cup of milk (or more, depending on what thickness you prefer)
Sugar to taste
Optional: one scoop of vanilla flavoured ice cream
Optional: A sprinkling of cardamom (peeled)

The Method

Wash, dry and peel the chilled mangoes. Using warm mangoes will give you a warm shake—something you definitely do not want.
Roughly chop up the mangoes, while carefully discarding the seed. Try not to get too close to the seed; it’s usually not as sweet as the fleshy part of the fruit.

Toss the chopped up mangoes, the ice cream, the sugar and the peeled cardamom into a blender/grinder and blend the ingredients together.

After a smooth paste is formed, stop the blender and pour in half a cup of milk. Then, blend once more.

In this way, keep adjusting the milk until you reach the desired thickness. There’s no harm in tasting the shake until you get exactly what you’re looking for.

Serve in lovely tall glasses. If you prefer a cooler milkshake, toss in a few ice cubes—just not too many or it will water down the milkshake. Cover and store in a refrigerator for a day or two.

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Baked Fish in Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

April 27, 2014 Marsha 3 Comments

Happy Easter and welcome back! So, this Easter, while I decided to send all my readers on that delicious roast chicken chase, I decided to go fish. And what a lovely dish it turned out to be!

“A fishnet is made up of a lot more holes than strings, but you can’t therefore argue that the net doesn’t exist. Just ask the fish.” – Jeffrey Kluger

The Fact: Most fish can see in color and use colors to camouflage themselves or defend themselves. Most fish also have the best eyesight for their habitat and can see you peering at them in a fish tank. Some fish can even see polarized and ultraviolet light.

The Inspiration: Since Christmas was all about chicken, this Easter, I decided to restore the balance and go fish.

My Easter meal wasn’t extended to the entire family; it was restricted to Ally and me, and so a single Black Pomfret worked perfectly. Sunday started off with a quick trip to the fish market, a quick stop at the vegetable market, a lovely lunch with mum and dad, and finally, destination “Home” to cook the lovely fish.

It was one of the simplest and quickest meals. And so, for those of you who hate the long kitchen hours and are looking for something fancy yet quick, you’ve found just the thing. I certainly enjoyed the lazy cooking style, the lovely flavours, and the fishy mélange of a formal meal and silly company (Ally and me, of course; I’d have it no other way 🙂 )

Happy Easter, everyone! And don’t forget to ‘Go Fish’.

The Ingredients

This meal serves 2–3 people.

One Black Pomfret (locally known as halwa) weighing approximately 600 gms (Adjust weight to feed more/fewer people)

You can use any other fish, such as the Red Snapper, White Pomfret, Basa, the John Dory and so on. I love the taste of this particular local favourite; blame it on the relatively high oil content if you please, but in case you’re concerned, note that 2- 3 portions of oily fish a week is recommended to help maintain heart health.

2 big lemons
1 medium-sized onion
Quarter cup orange juice (optional)
A palmful of peeled garlic cloves (approx 25 – 30 cloves) Note: I love garlic and usually use a lot of it.
3 tablespoons butter
Freshly ground pepper
Fresh or dried parsley (I couldn’t find any fresh parsley, so used the dried version)
Kosher or rock salt to taste
Any veggies of your choice (I used mushrooms, red and yellow peppers and carrots)

The Method

The Preparation and the Marinade

Preheat the oven to 190C or 374F.
Make sure that your fish is scaled, cleaned thoroughly, and the innards removed. I usually get the fish cleaned at the fish market itself. It’s an easier and quicker solution.
Wash the fish well and pat it dry with a kitchen towel. Season it with half a fistful of rock salt, freshly ground pepper (as much as you like) and some parsley. Remember to rub the seasoning into the fish, on the outside and lightly on the inside by making a fine slit at the bottom, on both sides.
Leave the fish to rest in a baking dish as you prepare your lemon garlic sauce.

Making the Lemon Garlic Butter Sauce

Pound the garlic cloves using the mortar and pestle; I don’t really think that the finely ground garlic paste works, but if you like the taste of whole cloves, go ahead and use them whole.
Slice the onion.
Squeeze the lemon juice from one and a half lemons; the remaining can be used for decoration.
Add the butter, the freshly squeezed lemon juice and the orange juice to a saucepan on medium heat and allow it to simmer.
Add a pinch of salt, a little bit of ground pepper and a sprinkling of sugar to the sauce. The sugar and the orange juice balance out the sourness of the lemon juice that can sometimes become a little overpowering. Taste and adjust the flavour as per your liking. Allow the sauce to simmer for a minute.

Simultaneously, place a frying pan on medium heat. Add about 2 tablespoons of the sauce to the frying pan. (Hope you’ve turned off the sauce by now. The sauce should smoothly coat the back of a tablespoon; it shouldn’t be thicker or thinner than that.) Once the sauce in the frying pan simmers, toss in the pound garlic. Some chefs prefer adding the garlic directly in to bake, but I found the outcome a little too raw for my liking.
After sautéing the garlic for a few seconds, add the onions.

Sauté the mixture until it is slightly brown. Don’t burn it.

Cooking the fish

Allow the mixture to cool for a bit and then rub it over and into the fish.

Chop your veggies anyway you like them and place them around the fish.

Pour the sauce over the fish and the veggies.

Bake for about 25 – 30 minutes. Use a small knife or fork and check to see if you can easily separate the fish flakes. If yes, your fish is done. The fish meat should be opaque white and not transparent.
If you want a browner top, use the grill or the overhead flame in your oven for about 2 – 3 minutes; not more.
Remove from the oven and serve hot.

You can serve the fish with plain or garlic toasted bread. Don’t complicate the meal any further. Cut as you like. Note that if you use fillets instead, they should cook in about 15 – 20 minutes, are easier to serve and simpler/neater to eat if you’ve got company.

In case of any leftovers, refrigerate, but not for more than a day or two. Tuck in. Bon appétit!

Breakfasts n Brunches, Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Lockdown Recipes, The Kitchen Diary, Vegetarian Varieties

Better Buttermilk

April 13, 2014 Marsha 1 Comment

I swear by butter and cream and milk too; buttermilk was new and certainly was a welcome change!

“I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose.” – Woody Allen

The Fact: To get the amount of calcium in an 8-ounce glass of milk, you’d have to eat one-fourth cup of broccoli, seven oranges or six slices of wheat bread.

The Inspiration:So my research began when I visited about seven dairies and four supermarkets in search of buttermilk, and still didn’t get any. They blamed it on the winter—“Nobody drinks buttermilk in winter, ma’am—and the lack of demand in the winter. And so I gave up. I decided I’m going to make some and I’m going to make it better. And I did.Buttermilk sits right in the middle of milk and cream; it’s slightly thicker than milk and not quite as thick as cream. It’s also more acidic than milk, has a lovely flavor, and is a super alternative for lactose intolerant people because much of the lactose has been broken down to lactic acid. Buttermilk has quite a few benefits—it’s low in fat and calories (lower than that in milk—a cup of buttermilk contains 2.2g of fat and 99 calories while a cup of whole milk contains 8.9g of fat and 157 calories), is cooling for the body (which is why it’s perfect for summers), aids digestion, makes the yummiest, lightest, and softest pancakes and cakes, and lasts much longer in the refrigerator because of its acidity, which inhibits growth of pathogenic bacteria.Since most store-bought buttermilk is quite fake and not quite the real thing, here are some easy ways in which you can make your very own homemade buttermilk.

#1 Super easy, all of 10 minutes, but rather watery kinda buttermilk

This buttermilk is very easy to make at home and takes a maximum of 10 minutes. And although you can use this buttermilk in your baking recipes to make cakes, biscuits and pancakes, I found this version to be very light, watery and rather tasteless. But if you need a substitute, it works.

The Ingredients

1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar
1 cup of milk (minus 1 tablespoon)

The Method

Pour the lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup.
Add enough milk to bring the mixture up to the one-cup line.
Stir once and let the mixture stand for 5 – 10 minutes. You’ll notice tiny curdled bits in you measuring cup. If you do, you have your buttermilk. If you don’t, add a further half tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice and try again.
Refrigerate.

#2 Easy, perfect and yummy, but takes 1 – 2 days to make kinda buttermilk

This buttermilk is easy to make, requires cultured buttermilk (thick, real, buttermilk preferably from a health store or an organic store) and takes a day or two to make. This buttermilk is perfect to drink and use as a substitute in your baking recipes.

The Ingredients

1 cup of cultured buttermilk
3 cups of milk
A glass jar with a lid (screwed-on or clipped)

If you want smaller quantities, you can do so by reducing the quantities of the ingredients but maintaining the proportion, which is a 1:3 ratio.

The Method

Pour the buttermilk into the glass jar.
Next, add the milk, screw the lid on and shake the jar.
Leave the jar to rest in a relatively warm place for about 24 hours. You can check whether your buttermilk is ready by tilting the jar slightly. While milk does not coat the glass, buttermilk will (as you can see in the image right at the top of this post).
Now pop it into the refrigerator and it will stay for a few weeks.

#3 Not-so-easy, the best, but takes about 5 days to make kinda buttermilk

This buttermilk is still easy to make, however, it involves you making your own buttermilk culture from raw milk and then takes a day or two to make. This buttermilk is the best buttermilk you could ever have, is perfect to drink, use in your baking recipes, and will make you a buttermilk addict (yes, that’s possible :)).

The Ingredients

1 cup of raw milk
1 cup of regular milk
A glass jar with a lid (screwed-on or clipped)

The Method

Let a cup of raw milk sit covered, at room temperature, until it has clabbered or thickened. This usually takes about 2 – 3 days.
Take a quarter or one-fourth of the clabbered milk in a glass jar and add a cup of regular milk to it.
Screw the lid on and shake the jar. Now, allow the jar to sit at room temperature until clabbered.
Repeat this sub-culturing process several times until the milk clabbers within 24 hours. To know that you’ve got the right buttermilk, taste it. It should be tart (not bitter), thick, and should not have a bad or off taste. If it’s perfect, you’ve got your buttermilk culture.
Now use the buttermilk culture with milk in the 1:3 ratio that was used in the Method #2 above, mix and allow to stand for 24 hours.
Refrigerate and use.

#4 Easy, quick, not the best, but makes butter and buttermilk

This method is lovely because it gives you lovely homemade butter and buttermilk. The method is simple, quick and gives you buttermilk that’s nice to drink. I haven’t yet used this buttermilk to bake, so you could be my judge??

The Ingredients

Heavy cream (as much as you want)

The Method

Pour the heavy cream into a blender and blend the cream (with the lid on)
When you notice the yellow butter starting to separate from the now formed buttermilk, stop the blender and let the cream sit for a minute or two to allow the butter globules to rise to the top.
Pour out the buttermilk. Use a spoon to squeeze out as much buttermilk as possible. You have your buttermilk.

Now for the butter. Your homemade butter is already ready, but if you want it to last longer, wash it with ice-cold water by pouring ice cold water into the blender and blending it for a minute. Pour/squeeze out ALL the water, add a little coarse salt (for salted butter) and mix. Voila! You have your yummy homemade butter ready for use.

#5 Insanely easy, super quick, only for drinking kinda buttermilk

This method is everything I’ve called it. All you have to do is use store-bought curd, add some water to it to lighten the consistency as much as you want. Stir or blend. You have your buttermilk. Once again, I haven’t used this buttermilk to bake, so let me know if you do.

So that’s it from me. I know it’s easy to simply go out and buy fake buttermilk, but you really should give these simple methods a try. I’d love to hear from you on these 🙂

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, The Kitchen Diary

No Bratwurst, No Switzerland

April 12, 2014 Marsha Leave a comment

There cannot be a sausage tastier than this … not until another sausage proves me wrong!

“Laws are like sausages, it is better not to see them being made.” – Otto von Bismarck

The Fact: In 320 AD, because of their association with pagan festivals, Roman Emperor Constantinus I and the Catholic Church made sausage eating a sin and their consumption was banned! This led to sausages going underground until the ban was lifted.

The Journey:The title’s an exaggeration, of course! Switzerland’s famous for its wine, cheese, fondue, raclette, rösti, chocolate and certainly, the Alps, but the one thing I couldn’t dream of leaving Switzerland without was a bagful of vacuum-packed Bratwurst sausages that I’d handpicked from the Christmas markets around Zürich Hauptbahnhof (Zurich HB), the largest railway station in Switzerland. And although these sausages are supposedly available all over the world, there was something about this perfectly cured, steaming-hot Bratwurst pork sausage coupled with the minus temperature around Christmas, the carols playing in the distance and the warm Glühwein I was happily drinking.

Everybody dreams of visiting Switzerland at least once in their lifetime; my dream was no different. As luck would have it, I was given the opportunity when I was asked to visit Zurich to meet a business client, right around Christmas. It was a dream that was getting bigger, brighter and certainly more probable each day in December of 2013.I did everything a lot of what I would have loved to do in the short while I spent in Zurich—I worked of course, walked around in my new boots, window shopped at the super expensive Bahnhofstrasse, took a train ride to Lucerne, briefly walked around Lake Lucerne, took a cable car ride with the most exquisite view, went up Mount Pilates and got a perfect view of the Alps, clicked a lot of pictures all along the way (something I’d do almost anywhere), stayed in a quaint little hotel right off the Enge train station, strolled around the Christmas markets for a good 2 hours, explored Old Town, shopped and almost got broke, and yes, that includes the sausages.

The Ingredients

1 packet of Bratwurst Sausages

The Method

So, here’s what I did with the Bratwurst after getting home. You can’t go wrong with this and it’s apparently the best way you could eat a Bratwurst sausage (but I speak only for the pork one since the sausage is also available in veal and beef and not they’re not quite the same)…

Thaw the Bratwurst sausage if it’s frozen.

Boil some water; enough to cover the sausage.
Drop the sausage in the boiling water and allow it to cook, covered, for 20 minutes.
Remove from water, slice it up if necessary, and serve right away.

Serving suggestions: Plain ol’ sausage by itself is amazing; however, you could also serve it with toasted brown bread with a little butter, or a salad on the side. Try not complicating the plate with too much stuff, or the sausage won’t get its due.

I think I’m going to make one right now! Bon appétit!

Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Decadent Desserts, Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Tea-time Titbits

Banana Pound Cake

April 9, 2014 Marsha 11 Comments

Not everybody loves bananas the way I do. I eat them plain, slice them for crepe filling, mash them in pancakes, whisk them in milkshakes, fry them as fritters, and as the title says, bake them in heavenly, moist, pound cakes!

“Life is full of banana skins. You slip, you carry on.” – Daphne Guinness

The Fact: The scientific name for banana is musa sapientum, which means ‘fruit of the wise men’.

The Inspiration: Christmas came and went, but left me with this need to abstain from cakes, desserts, and pretty much everything sweet. But as all good things come to an end, so did this phase of abstinence.

As I made the climb back on to the ‘food’ wagon, I decided to start small with a few desserts and some hearty servings of fruit—watermelons, apples, oranges, pears, grapes, mangoes (yes, I’m blessed with the perfect tropical climate for these fruits) and bananas! But not everybody loves bananas the way I do. I eat them plain, slice them for crepe filling, mash them in pancakes, whisk them in milkshakes, fry them as fritters, and as the title says, bake them in heavenly pound cakes.

So here’s my attempt at combining fruit and cake in a rather popular way… banana cake! I write this entry as the warm cake aroma continues to waft through my kitchen...

The Ingredients

This cake serves approx. 15–20 people.

Dry ingredients

1½ cups sifted flour
¾ cup granulated sugar (use 1 cup if you prefer sweeter cakes)
1½ tsp freshly ground cinnamon powder
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 heaped tbsp chocolate shavings or chocolate chips

Wet ingredients

2 large or 3 small eggs
I cup softened butter
I cup milk or sour cream or buttermilk
2 large or 3 small ripe bananas mashed to a pulp

The Method

Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.
Prepare your cake tin (standard 9 x 2 inch) by spraying it with grease or lightly greasing it with butter.
Whisk together all the dry ingredients except the chocolate shavings.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter for about 1 minute with a hand-held or electric beater.
Gradually, whisk in the eggs.
When the consistency is smooth, add the milk or cream and the banana pulp and whisk for about 1 minute.
If you’re someone who’s bothered by the smell of eggs, add a teaspoon of vanilla essence/extract. If not, you’re fine.
Now, gently whisk in the dry ingredients, just until incorporated. This should take you less than a minute because the consistency of the batter is thinner that most cake batters. Do not beat this batter for more than 90 seconds; if you do, gluten will begin to form and make your cake denser and not as moist.
Gently fold in the chocolate shavings or chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into the prepared cake tin and put it into the oven.

Bake for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Remove cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack

You should know by the aroma in your kitchen that you’re done 🙂 . This cake has a lovely, strong banana flavour. If there’s someone at home who dislikes bananas, the aroma is sure to drive them out of the house. Trust me; I speak from experience.

This cake is best served warm. Cut a slice to look at your beautiful, cinnamon-and-chocolate-speckled cake!

This cake can be kept without refrigeration for a few days. In warmer climates, refrigerate within 2 days. Bon appétit!

Cookies, Cakes n Cavities, Decadent Desserts, Lockdown Recipes, Vegetarian Varieties

Panna cotta

Image February 3, 2014 Alvito Fernandes Leave a comment

The quickest, sophisticated-looking, and by far, the easiest dessert recipe I’ve ever known…

“In the 1960s, you could eat anything you wanted, and there was no talk about fat and anything like that, and butter and cream were rife. Those were lovely days for gastronomy, I must say.” – Julia Child

The Fact: Panna Cotta is an Italian dessert that literally means “cooked cream”.

The Inspiration: Honest. I didn’t have the time or the ingredients for anything else. My in-laws were coming home for lunch. My main course was almost done. And I’d forgotten about dessert!!! So I held the refrigerator door open and stared at my options for a whole minute. My panna cotta ingredients practically called out to me, saying, “Use meeee” 🙂

So if you find yourself in a similar situation, you know what to do.

The Ingredients

Makes about 8 servings

2 ½ cups heavy cream
1 ½ cups whole milk
2 tablespoons cold water
1 tablespoon powdered, unflavoured gelatin
5 tablespoons sugar (flat; not heaped)
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: a few tablespoons of rum
Optional: a handful of strawberries or any fruit of equal measure

The Method

Making it

Pour the water into a bowl and sprinkle the gelatine over it. Stir and set aside. The gelatine will absorb the water, soften and swell up.

In a saucepan, combine the cream, milk, sugar and split vanilla bean (if using the vanilla bean; if not, incorporate the vanilla extract in the next step), and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Do NOT let it boil.

Remove the saucepan from the heat, and stir in the softened gelatine and the vanilla extract (if using extract; if using the vanilla bean, at this point scrape the vanilla seeds from the bean pod into the mixture, and discard the pod).

Whisk the mixture until it reaches room temperature. If you have a warm kitchen, whisk the mixture with the saucepan in an ice bath.

Check to see whether your mixture is smooth and that the sugar and gelatine have dissolved completely.

If you like a slightly rummy taste in your panna cotta, add in the rum now. You can taste the mixture to check whether you’d like a little more and adjust accordingly.

Setting it

Now to set the panna cotta… I like the quick and simple presentation where I set the panna cotta in whatever I’m going to serve it. I use wine or shot glasses. If not, you can lightly oil a few ramekins or any bowl with a neutral oil and then use them (the oil so that the set panna cotta comes out easily).

Pour the mixture into the preferred containers and chill at least 4 hours or overnight. If you’re keeping them longer than overnight, cover them with plastic wrap.

What I like to do almost always is add some fresh fruit (strawberries on this day) into the serving mould or serving glass and pour the panna cotta over it so that the fruit sets in the panna cotta itself. It’s the lazier and easier way out.

Serving it

You can serve panna cotta with whatever you want—fresh fruit (my favourite), berry compote, chocolate shavings and even leftover cake crumbs—like I said, absolutely anything.

If using a mould, before serving, run a thin-bladed knife around the inside of the mould. Dip the mould briefly in a bowl of hot water, and then carefully invert onto the serving plate and tap slightly. If the panna cotta doesn’t unmould right away, return it to the hot water bath for another five seconds and repeat. If stressed for time, do it my way and serve it in whatever you’ve set it in, without unmoulding.

Lockdown Recipes, Non-vegetarian Nonchalance, Sumptious Main Courses

Lemon Pepper Chicken

Image February 2, 2014 Marsha 3 Comments

Grilled chicken cooked with the combined fragrance and flavour of freshly ground black pepper and freshly squeezed lemon… hmmmm…

“The disparity between a restaurant’s price and food quality rises in direct proportion to the size of the pepper mill.” – Bryan Q. Miller

The Fact: It is believed that when the Goths defeated Rome in 410, they demanded a ransom of 3,000 pounds of pepper, along with other valuables such as silk.

The Inspiration: Although we live a hop, skip and jump away from my parents and my in-laws, a Sunday family meal with them does not take place that often. This Sunday was different.

We had a late and well-deserved, fun Saturday night and a mild hung-over Sunday morning; nothing that a hot cup of coffee and a quick shower couldn’t fix. On a day like this, when you’re expecting your in-laws for lunch, a quick meal, like this one, was just perfect. So that’s my inspiration for this addition—a quick, homely and simple recipe.

The Ingredients

Serves approximately 6 people

1 kg chicken cut into roughly 8 – 10 pieces
5 tablespoons barbeque sauce
1 tablespoons soya sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce (optional)
1 medium or ½ large lemon
3 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 – 2 tablespoons of olive oil

The Method

Wash well and drain the chicken pieces. Dry the chicken pieces using a kitchen towel.
Mix all the above ingredients (except the olive oil) for the marinade.
Slit the chicken pieces so that the marinade permeates the meat.
Apply the marinade to each chicken pieces carefully, remembering to massage the marinade into the slits as well. Place chicken pieces in a baking dish and pour the remaining marinade over it.
Allow the chicken to sit covered on the counter or in the refrigerator for about 20 – 30 minutes. Refrigeration is preferred if your kitchen is warm and not at room temperature.
Ten minutes before your marination time’s up, preheat your oven to 375°F / 190°C.
Drizzle the dish with the olive oil and pop it into the oven for about 30 – 40 minutes.
Your chicken’s done when the meat seems to leave the bone easily and the meat doesn’t look pink and raw. You can prick it with a skewer or fork to check. Remove the chicken from the oven and serve while it’s hot.

Note: I used chicken on the bone; if you’re using boneless chicken, your meal should be done in 20 minutes.

You could serve the chicken with a salad on the side. I also added a lovely garlic-flavoured potato mash (mashed potato) with it. A light white wine will make for a great drink to go with the meal.

A lovely Jacob’s Creek Chardonnay, some country music in the background, a few sways in the kitchen, a lovely sit-down meal, followed by a cosy nap! A perfect end to the weekend!

A perfect crust and a warm mushy inside, pan fried in 3 minutes… for those days when you need a break from the kitchen!

The Ingredients

The Method

Plain Cream Cheese Frosting

The Ingredients

The Method

Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting

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The Method

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The Method

My all-time favourite cake! It’s best eaten warm in any weather. It’s rich, moist, full or flavour, and is the prettiest cake I’ve ever seen!

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The Method

Make this one out of love for the name of the dessert, if not the banana-toffee combination 🙂

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The Method

Trust me. This dish smells delicious, looks even better, and tastes like something I’d want to be served in Heaven! I almost felt like a professional chef making this one.

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The perfect pie crust is golden brown when baked, buttery, soft and flaky, and practically melts in your mouth when you bite into it. Can you taste it already?

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Happy Easter and welcome back! So, this Easter, while I decided to send all my readers on that delicious roast chicken chase, I decided to go fish. And what a lovely dish it turned out to be!

The Ingredients

The Method

I swear by butter and cream and milk too; buttermilk was new and certainly was a welcome change!

#1 Super easy, all of 10 minutes, but rather watery kinda buttermilk

#2 Easy, perfect and yummy, but takes 1 – 2 days to make kinda buttermilk

#3 Not-so-easy, the best, but takes about 5 days to make kinda buttermilk

#4 Easy, quick, not the best, but makes butter and buttermilk

#5 Insanely easy, super quick, only for drinking kinda buttermilk

There cannot be a sausage tastier than this … not until another sausage proves me wrong!

The Ingredients

The Method

Not everybody loves bananas the way I do. I eat them plain, slice them for crepe filling, mash them in pancakes, whisk them in milkshakes, fry them as fritters, and as the title says, bake them in heavenly, moist, pound cakes!

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The Method

The quickest, sophisticated-looking, and by far, the easiest dessert recipe I’ve ever known…

The Ingredients

The Method

Grilled chicken cooked with the combined fragrance and flavour of freshly ground black pepper and freshly squeezed lemon… hmmmm…

The Ingredients

The Method

I did it my way