Calling all lovers.. er.. ‘curry’ lovers!

There are lots of things different here in the UK as compared to India.

Like for example, many of us (Indian parents/grandparents) pride ourselves in saying our children are ‘Oh soooo naughtyyyy….’ whereas here ‘naughty’ indicates the kid is ‘bad’!

And when I say ‘tea’ I really mean the sweet, hot liquid with milk.. tea! Not the ‘London’ version of tea that means a nice evening snack (that tea is a part of!)

Or for example, ‘curry’, which to me, means vegetables, diced/chopped/etc, tempered with mustard seeds and seasoned with regular, mundane spices and not a thick gravy flavoured with cream or coconut milk! Which by the way, reminds me of what a local tour operator once said… ‘Britain’s favourite food isn’t Fish n Chips, but ‘Chicken Curry’!

So here is a dish, that we absolutely LOVE! With a Japanese/Chinese flavour, this is a one-course dish, scrumptious, filling, healthy (well, in part!) and absolutely droolicious.

Its actually a signature dish of Wagamama, called ‘Yasai Katsu Curry’ (Fried vegetables curry with rice). Obviously this is the ‘vegetarian’ version (actually, ‘eggetarian’ as you do need a little bit of egg to coat the veggies in). However, you could easily replace the veggies with slices of chicken and it would taste just as good (my non-vegetarian friends would claim it tastes even better!) The curry here refers to a Japanese style of curry. Wiki says it all!

First, let me post a picture.. to see if it tempts you!!

Did you like this, did you? Did you?

Ok, so I hope I have your very kind (stomach-growling) attention now!

Before I very generously share this magic recipe with you, let me give you an estimate of how much time this dish takes, to make. Er.. around an hour (more, if you make all the ingredients from scratch, and less, if you decide to play smart like I did, and buy some of it from the store).

The trick, really, is to get all the ingredients ready before-hand, and then the actually cooking/serving is actually quite quick.

I can guarantee you, the effort is really worth it, considering this is a one-pot meal, that your folks are going to LOVE!

So, for the ingredients.

We actually have FOUR sets of components here.

1) For the main Yasai Katsu:

(a) Vegetables like Brinjal (aubergine), Butternut squash and Sweet potato work best. Just slice them. This really depends on how you want your veggies. Wagamama serves thick slices, whereas I like em thin so I sliced a brinjal into 0.5 thickness.

(b) Half a cup of ordinary white flour with a pinch of salt

Crisp bread crumbs mixture

(c) Two full cups of a mixture of crumbs (Bread crumbs and plain salt crackers (I used Melba Toasts) ground into fine crumbs, to add a crisp texture to the veggies)

(d) One egg, beaten lightly.

You could add your choice of spices to any of these, really. I just added some salt to the flour, and some more salt, coriander powder and tumeric powder (Tee hee… an Indian cook after all!) to the bread crumbs mixture. But make it the way you like it. If you like your food spicy, then go for it!

2) The side: Now you could serve either crunchy vegetables or a side salad. I chose the veggies, simple because I had no salad at home Take your pick of colourful capsicum(peppers), baby-corn, mange-tout… vegetables that will suit a quick stir-fry.

Mmmm... stir-fried crunchy vegetables!

3) White rice. You could either use plain ponni rice/sona masoori rice or basmati rice. It tastes good either way. Wagamama serves this dish with some yummy sticky white rice, that I have NO clue how to make. So I faithfully stuck to our aromatic basmati

4) And lastly, the curry sauce. Now, Google says it is to be prepared this way.

Onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder – Fry it all, simmer with a little water for about 15 mins, cool it, and grind it with a little more water. Simmer again for about 15 mins.

Now, how do you cook this delicious meal? Really , truly simple!

Step 1: Cook your rice. I washed 1 cup of basmati rice, added 2 cups of water to it, and chucked the bowl into the microwave, first for 10 mins, then a quick stir, and another 7 minutes.

Step 2: Now, while your rice is getting cooked, take a couple of minutes to grind the bread and the crackers together to get a fine bread-crumbs mixture. Beat an egg, and keep it aside. Keep the flour ready. Start heating up the oil. Don’t slice your brinjal until it is time to fry them.

The Yasai and Katsu stuff

Step 3: Get your curry sauce organized. I’ll be honest. I didn’t make the curry sauce myself. Just bought a pack of ‘curry sauce powder’ from the supermarket and added it to boiling water. Voila!! A nice, thick, sticky curry sauce.

Side aside

Step 4: Roughly chop your side vegetables into 1-inch pieces. Heat one teaspoon of mild/medium olive oil (for health reasons… well, don’t ask me why I insist on olive oil, when the bleddy veggies are going to be deep-fried!!), and throw the veggies in. Stir-fry on high heat for about 3 mins and take them off the pan. Puhlees, for heaven’s sake, don’t cook them soggy!

Also, if you have a couple of minutes to spare, do peel a carrot, and slice slivers of it, for garnishing. It adds that ‘special’ touch, you see

Step 5: OK, now for the frying bit. By this time, you should have your rice, your curry and your side salad/veggies READY. So take those slices of brinjal (if you are using sweet potato/squash, please cook them in boiling water before frying them), coat them lightly in flour, dip them in the egg, and load them with the crumbs. Once you have about 3-4 ready, slide them gently into the hot oil. You know how to fry, don’t you? Just ensure it does not get burnt! And, drain excess oil onto tissue paper.

Step 6: Pile your plate and serve Hot Hot Hot!!!! Invert a cup of rice, arrange the fried veggies, add some side veggies, ladle the curry sauce, and garnish with carrot!! And.. Bon Apetit!!!

Mmmm.... Yasai Katsu Curry!

So, tell me, did you like it? Did you?

Awfully Awesome Parathas

If you are wondering about how silly the title is, wait until you see the pictures. They are self-explanatory

I received an email from dear Swaram, about recipe exchange. The crux was that it should be a simple and easy-to-make recipe. And this is what I ingeniously came up with:

1- Take any left-over steamed or cooked veggies from the previous day, or the day-before as long as there is no mould/fungus on it, that should be fine To this, add, a pinch of Salt, Turmeric, Jeera Powder, Aamchur, Pepper powder (I use this instead of Chilli powder, so that even Kids can eat it. Psst: By kids I mean moi I hate spice ), Ginger-garlic paste.

2- Now mash it up really well, or even better, just quick grind it in the mixie without any water. You should end up with an AWFUL looking gooey paste.

Btw, I used a little bowl of freshly steamed Beans, Carrot and Peas and another little cup of left-over aloo-gobi sabzi. No, I didn’t mix the two, now even I cannot stand such a disgusting concoction I made two different types of parathas

3- Take a small lemon-sized ball of dough, and divide it into two. Roll it out into little circles. Drop a lump of the awful mixture into one circle, place the other circle on top, and press the edges together to seal them. Now roll them out into a big paratha, but don’t let the goo get out through the edges.

4- Cook this on a hot Tava, and remember, wherever the goo has indeed squeezed itself out, just add a few drops of ghee and let it roast.

Trust me on this folks, the left-over-mixed-veggies-parathas taste AWESOME. Needless to say, they are extremely nutritious too.

Try it out for yourself…

(P.S: Warned you in the beginning : These look awful, but taste awesome. Do try!!)

Friday Feast 2 – Utterly simple

I was wondering if my Friday Feast posts were turning boring, when Deeps said she was actually looking forward to it!!! So I plunged into writing this post, on a Tuesday, and scheduling it to be published on Friday (Whoa @ my commitment to blogging, no?).

This Friday, I have not one, but Two Feasts for you!

1- ONE-POT STIR-FRY MEAL

As always, a quick n easy one-pot meal idea :  Stir-fry noodles/rice

Utterly simple - Roughly chop up loads of veggies – Spring onions, onions, baby corn, carrot, capsicum (all colours), cabbage, mange tout, beans – toss them into a pan with a tablespoon of oil. Stir-fry them on high heat, for about 2-3 minutes, until they get slightly brown, but not fully cooked. Do remember to keep the veggies crunchy.

Now add in some salt to taste. I don’t usually add Ajinomoto as I cannot serve that to my little brat. If you like, you could add in a tablespoon of soy sauce and vinegar. Or a ready-made packet of Knorr hakka noodles masala (which tastes quite good!).

Finally, throw in the cooked rice or noodles (as you like), toss briskly, without mashing either the rice or the veggies. Basically, you are doing a stir-fry and not cooking food.

Knorr goodies for foodies

For the more enthusiastic folks around, a side-dish (cauliflower manchurian or paneer manchurian and the likes!) could be made as well. I usually just stock up on the Knorr Manchurian or Knorr Schezwan packets, and use them sparingly on my feeling-lazy-days!

They are extremely simply and taste divine. Just follow the instructions on the pack and its really easy to make the side-dish. Otherwise, ofcourse, you can do it from scratch, and there are loads of recipies on the internet, that I don’t want to bore you with now!!

Personally, I am very happy with this one-pot meal. Its simple, easy to make, tasty and well, let’s face it -what could be healthier than vegetables?

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2- THOMAS DOSAI!!!!

The second Feast for today, is specially meant for your Kiddies and Kiddos: A yummy dosai in the shape of a Thomas train (with wheels!), decorated with cooked potato and spinach

My mum used to make dosais in the shape of Ducks and Houses when we were young!

The important thing to remember while making dosai in different shapes, is the temperature of your tava. Heat your dosai tava slightly, not too hot (otherwise the batter will become clumpy), and not too cool either (as then, the batter will not cook!!).

When the tava is warm, ladle the batter onto it. First draw a circle, and then a little rectangle adjoining it. Lastly, spoon a tiny bit on the top to make a funnel! Don’t forget the wheels!!! Cook little circles of batter, and just arrange them under the train before you serve.

You can top this with any veggies to make a face. The possibilities are quite endless, really! I am quite sure your child will wolf this down in no time

Do try and let me know!

And – Happy Weekend, folks!!!

Friday Feast – Fussy eaters!

This one is for mommies and daddies of children who happen to be fussy eaters A lunch-box idea that is really and truly easy peasy for the parent, and even easier for your child!

(Apologies for the poor picture quality).

 

No kid can refuse this colourful and balanced meal

 

1- Roughly chop veggies like baby corn, carrot, beans, capsicum (green, red, orange and yellow – really just any colour available), cabbage and a little onion if you please. Stir-fry these for about 5 mins in a teaspoon of oil, add a pinch of salt. Add some cooked white rice (basmati makes a great combination).

2- Complement the rice with a few cherry tomatoes and fruits like apple, grapes or peeled orange.

Voila! Your child has a lovely balanced meal!! And the chances are pretty good, that he/she will gobble this up without making a fuss. Mine did

Happy weekend, girls and boys and uncles and aunties

If you liked cheese parathas, you will love…

…..Egg parathas!

For eggetarians, this is a delicious one-dish meal. And for harassed Mommies and Daddies of fussy eaters, this is an outright boon!!!

Ok folks, I can proudly say I have come a long way from the days of trying to master the art of making chapatis.

All you need:

(a) Chapati dough (b) Beat together: 1 egg, a pinch of salt (add pepper, if you like), some chopped coriander

Step 1- Roll dough into circle, spread few drops of oil, fold into half, spread another drop of oil, fold again to make it a triangle. Roll out into a bigger triangle, taking care to not smash the layers into each other

Step 2- Pop this onto the Tava (griddle/pan), cook for a few seconds on one side, turn over the chapati and cook for a few more seconds on the other side. Don’t let it turn brown, just cook it very very little, so that the layers are ready to peel away from each other.

Step 3- Take the semi-cooked chapati off the Tava, and gently peel the layers, without tearing them apart! Use a spoon (not a knife, please)

Step 4- Now place the chapati back onto the tava, and spoon half the egg mixture into the triangle. The cheeky mixture will try to leak (outside the chapati), but ‘you’ can be smarter and do a little acrobatics with the Tava. Tilt it a little, to help the mixture run back inside the chapati. Yeah yeah, you can also cheat a little, and scrape any mixture off the tava and spoon it right back into the chapati!

Step 5- Give this a couple of minutes to cook well on both sides, and ensure the egg is also fully cooked inside! The chapati turns into a yummy filling paratha.

Step 6- Actually, there’s no step 6. All you have to do, is E.A.T You could dip this in ketchup or a salsa dip to make it tastier. The only real drawback is, you have got to eat this hot, not cold.

EDITED TO ADD:-

I guess the shape and technique seem a little daunting. It really is quite easy, once you practise making the parathas a couple of times. For those who don’t wish to try, there is a really easy way.

Roll the dough into a regular chapati, make it really thin though.

Cook the chapati slightly on one side, then turn to the other. Turn back the slightly cooked side now, and spoon in the egg mixture. Now fold the chapati from both sides, and also slightly seal the top and bottom so that the egg remains inside.

Easy peasy egg roll

Leave this to cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes until the egg is fully cooked. You could turn this over and let it cook for a minute longer.

Enjoy!!!

Friday Feast – Cheese Paratha

Simple cheese parathas are a sure hit with Kids (er… and non-calorie-conscious-adults too ). And the best part – You don’t even need a side-dish This is tasty just on its own!

All you need: Dough, Grated Cheese. Roll dough, pile on the cheese, fold from all sides, roll again, and cook on both sides! Finito!!!

More enthusiastic cook-ers can even try out variations by adding in some chopped onions, coriander, blah blah blah!

For lazy bones like me, this is a simply perfect one-meal dish!

Recipe courtesy Sanyash!

Now I leave you with two pictures that will leave you hungry…

Roll dough, pile on ball of grated cheese, roll again

Cook on both sides, crunch asap

(Due apologies for such bad quality pictures)

I hope you try this out soon-est and let me know how it turned out.

Friday Feast – Palak in a Jiffy

I hate cooking. Period.

Therefore, if at all I try a recipe, it just HAS to be something really quick and easy. So is this recipe for Friday Feast… Palak (paneer or aloo, whatever!)

Step 1 - Very very very roughly -Chop palak (spinach), onion and tomato (separately)

Step 2 - Cook these individually (i.e. palak in one pan, and onion/tomato – together with a little ginger-garlic paste in another) on a medium-high flame for about 5-7 mins.

Leave it to cool.

Do whatever you like for 15-20 mins. Check your Facebook status, Leave some spam comments on other peoples’ blogs, Tweet if you like… just enjoy.

When you are back:

Step 3 - Grind onion/tomato mixture first. Heat a teaspoon of oil in pan, throw in some jeera, a bay leaf and the ground mixture. Grind the palak, add that too.

Step 4 - Add all the powders you have in your kitchen – salt, chilli, haldi, dhani, jeera, garam masala – just whatever you like, really Don’t bother too much about quantities and proportions. You like it salty, add more salt. Like it spicy, add extra chilli or pepper powder. Its YOUR recipe, so cook it the way you want to!!

Let it simmer for 3-4 mins.

Step 5- Optional – Add either soft paneer, fried paneer (yummyyyyy ) or boiled potato. I chose boiled potato simply because it wasn’t as fattening as paneer!

And the best part, eat this with roti or some really yummy aloo paratha.

That utterly drooolicious paratha, btw, is the easiest thing ever! Gets done in less than a minute!!! All you have to do, is dial lunchbrunch.co.uk and order it home (Thanks, Kanagu, for that awesome tip )

Kaju Katli in a jiffy

This post is for the sweet-lovers And this is seriously simple. If I can make it, then ANYBODY can!!

What to keep ready:

- 1 cup cashews

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/4 cup water

(That’s it!! Can you believe it?!! )

How to make this thingy:

- Grind the sugar (10 secs or so, to turn it into a fine powder)

- Boil the water, add the sugar, let it simmer a while (5 mins or under)

- Grind the cashews (ditto), add to the simmering sugar syrup thing

- Let it thicken, no lumps, until the mixture turns dry Don’t let it get burnt though.

How to test if its ready: In about 6 – 8 mins or so, if you take out a drop (don’t you DARE touch it by hand, or you won’t forget me or this blog in a long long time!!) of the mixture and leave it outside, it should ideally become hard. That means your mixture is ready.

- Pour it onto butter paper and wait till it cools a little (5-10 mins). Trust me, you don’t want to even touch it at this temperature!!

- Knead it well into a ball (for about 2 mins) – roll out into a circle (I kneaded it using butter paper, as the mixture was way too hot for me to handle, and I couldn’t wait that long for it to cool )

- Once fully cooled, cut into diamonds That is my favourite part I remember my Paati making Beda (Jeera Para) this way. Its very therapeutic, actually!!

FINITO

End to end, this should take less than half hour or so. Not bad, huh?

Tasty Tuesdays

Inspired by (and in direct contrast to) Vimmu’s fascinating TasteLESS Tuesdays, here is my TastY Tuesdays

Btw, the above is an original Strawberry cheesecake picture from the M&S website!

My not-so-delectable version of a slice (ready made, bought from M&S, and pre-cut into rectangles.. phew..):

Burrrrppp…

Indiblogger and Indivine again

Hey Peepals,

In case you are an Indi-Blog-ger and are checking out the latest posts on IndiVine, please do ‘promote my post’ titled ‘The Two Minute Tikka’ which I am quite sure, you lovely people, have already read.

Here is the link:

http://www.indiblogger.in/indipost.php?post=5269

Thankooo.

xx

(P.S: Have a good weekend!)