There was a time when I wasn't at all into cooking. I mean I did manage to make the daily fare, but anything that involved elaborate cooking steps was something I completely stayed away from. We would eat out very often, but then, there is no substitute to home cooked food, is there? Luckily, some of my friends were excellent cooks, but rather than be inspired by them to cook, I was shameless enough to ask them to cook whatever I fancied.

When we moved cities and those friends were miles away, I realised that either I had to make do with restaurant food or well, start cooking myself. So one such day, when I was really craving a friend's pav bhaji, I called her for the recipe and she pointed me to Nupur's blog. Not only did I discover great pav bhaji, but through her blog, I stumbled into the wonderful world of food blogs.
Somehow, the food blogs ignited the passion for cooking in me, and there was no looking back...in fact, here I am writing my own blog!!



Pav Bhaji

Translated, it sounds as mundane as bread and vegetables. But anyone who has eaten it would aver that Pav Bhaji is anything but mundane. The (arguably) most popular of street foods today has had very humble beginnings. This melange of vegetables actually started off as a quick fix lunch for textile mill workers in Mumbai who had a very short lunch break and therefore (leftover) vegetables, dressed up in some spices and wrapped in some bread seemed to fit the bill of a filling yet nutritious lunch.

Slowly, it made its way to people's hearts and the phenomenon called "pav bhaji" was born.

Ingredients:

(adapted from Nupur's Pav Bhaji recipe , this makes enough for about 4-6 people)

Ginger and garlic paste - 1 tsp each
Green bell pepper - 1, julienned
Tomato - 5-6 (or enough to make about 2 cups of puree)
Tomato paste - 2 tbsps
Potato - 2
Cauliflower - about 10 -12 large florets
Carrot - 1
Green peas - 1/2 cup

Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pav bhaji masala - 2 - 4 tsps
Red chilli powder - 1.5 tsp (more or less, depending on how spicy you like it)
Cumin powder, coriander powder, chaat masala - 1/2 tsp each
Oil - 1.5 tbsp
Butter - 50 gms (gasp)
salt - to taste
sugar - 2 tsps

for garnishing

onion - 1, finely chopped
corainder leaves - 2 tbsps, finely chopped
lemon wedges

Method:

pre-preparation

Puree the tomatoes in the mixie, add some salt, 1 tsp sugar and red chilli powder and bring to a boil. Simmer for a further 5 mins.
Boil and mash the potatoes.
Steam the cauliflower and the carrots and pulse in the mixie to get a chunky puree. Alternatively, mash them by hand.
Thaw the peas (if using frozen), boil them if using fresh ones. I normally add a bit of sugar while cooking peas, makes them really sweet.

Once you are done with the pre-preparation, making the pav bhaji is really really simple!

making the pav bhaji:

Heat oil, and fry the ginger garlic paste till fragrant. Next, add the bell pepper and stir fry for 2 mins.
Add the tomato puree and the tomato paste and cook till it no longer tastes raw. Now, add all the dry masalas, salt and sugar and and let cook for about a minute.

Time to add all the mashed vegetables and give those arms a good workout - stir the mixture till you get a homogenous mess of absolute aromatic delight!
Add water depending on how thin you want the bhaji to be. Taste and adjust the masalas as per your taste and spice tolerance level.

Add the lemon juice, some chopped coriander leaves and half the butter and cook the bhaji for a further 10 -15 mins.

I normally rest my bhaji for about half an hour, before re-heating it and serving piping hot - resting the bhaji allows the flavours to really integrate themselves into the bhaji.

Garnish the bhaji with the chopped onions and coriander and serve with pav ( haven't been able to source these in Singapore) and so I use burger buns. Slice the buns into two, apply some butter and light toast them on a flat pan.

Don't talk. Eat.

Sending this to:

FIC: Orange hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen, an event started by - well someone whose very name spells orange - Sunshinemom

JFI: Cauliflower hosted by Mythreyee of Paajaka Recipes, the branchild of Indira of Mahanandi.

Flashback to 14th Feb 2008.

While we - my daughter, a friend and I - were waiting for the lift at the lobby in our condo, we saw a flower delivery guy with a huge bouquet at the security counter.

Me (laughing): Some lucky babe is getting some very very expensive roses today!

My friend: Well these could be for you!

Me: Nah, no way, Terradaze knows I don't care too much for Valentine's Day.


Well, by now, you would have guessed that the roses were indeed for yours truly. Imagine how terrible I felt that I hadn't bought/made anything for the husband!

So this year, I baked him this cake.



Pecan Butter Cake

Ingredients:

unsalted butter 125 gms
caster sugar 1/2 cup
raw sugar 1/4 cup (use an additional 2 tbsps if you are not planning to use any frosting at all)
eggs 2, lightly beaten
pecans, ground 3/4 cup
self raising flour 1 1/2 cups
salt 1/4 tsp
milk 1/2 cup
vanilla essence 1 tsp


Method:


Sift the flour and salt together 2 times. Ensure that all the rest of your ingredients are at room temperature. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C for 10 mins. Grease and line a 8 inch cake tin.


Cream butter and both sugars till light and fluffy. I know this is a very vague term, light and fluffy. I cream butter and sugar till it becomes a very light cream colour. And when you drop a small pearl sized ball in a bowl of water, it should float on top. That is when you know that it is "light and fluffy."


Add the eggs, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add the essence and beat until combined.


Now add the ground pecans. Next, add the flour and the milk alternately, starting and ending with the flour, until the batter is smooth.


Bake for 30 -35 mins, mine got done in 30 mins.



Caramelised Butter Frosting: (recipe from Shuna Fish Lydon)



for the caramel syrup (the original quantities are different, this is what I used)


sugar 12 tbsps
water 3 tbsps + 6 tbsps


In a small stainless steel saucepan, with tall sides, mix water and sugar until mixture feels like wet sand. Brush down any stray sugar crystals with wet pastry brush.

Turn on heat to highest flame. Cook until smoking slightly: dark amber. When color is achieved, very carefully pour in the 6 tbsps of water. Caramel will jump and sputter about! It is very dangerous, so have long sleeves on and prepared to step back.

Whisk over medium heat until it has reduced slightly and feels sticky between two fingers. {Obviously wait for it to cool on a spoon before touching it.}

For safety reasons, have ready a bowl of ice water to plunge your hands into if any caramel should land on your skin.


for the frosting:


unsalted butter 12 tablespoons
Icing sugar, sifted, 453 gms
heavy cream 4-6 tbsps
vanilla extract 2 tsps
caramel syrup 2-4 tsps
kosher or sea salt to taste


Cook butter until brown.and pour through a fine meshed sieve into a heatproof bowl, set aside to cool. I waited until the butter solidified again.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, add confectioner's sugar a little at a time. When mixture looks too chunky to take any more, add a bit of cream and or caramel syrup. Repeat until mixture looks smooth and all confectioner's sugar has been incorporated. Add salt to taste.

Cool the cake and top with the frosting.


Verdict:

First of all the frosting. Eversince I saw the November 2008 Daring Bakers Challenge, I knew I would make the cake and the frosting sometime. Nuts and caramel go well together and so I decided to pair the Pecan Butter Cake with this frosting.



And oh boy, was it delicious! The lovely flavour of the caramel blended so very nicely with the nutty flavour of the cake. It was absolutely awesome. And though several DBs had mentioned that the frosting was too sweet, since this cake per se is not very sweet, I didn't have any complaints on the sweetness. In fact, the next time I make this, I will most certainly slice the cake into two and sandwich them with the frosting.


And now the cake:


Singapore weather can be quite unforgiving. The hot and humid weather here leads to mold and fungus in almost everything, if not stored properly. So I end up putting a lot of things in the fridge.


The only problem with putting cakes into the fridge is that you can't eat it straight out of the fridge. You have to let it rest outside for about 10 mins before you can dig in. No problems there, unless you are like me who can't wait to eat the cake.


And this is where this cake scores. Thanks to the pecans, it stays soft and moist even when it is left in the fridge. Just grab a slice and eat!


Sending this cake to Bindiya's My Favourite Things Event - Love is in the air, Notyet100's Create with Luv for Luv and Let's Go Nuts: Walnuts and Pecans hosted here.

Few vegetables inspire such diametrically opposite emotions as eggplant. People either love them or hate them. It is the same in our house. The husband doesn't like eggplant (he will eat it, but at every bite remind everyone how he doesn't like it) while I love eggplant.

But with this baingan ka raita, it is an entirely different story. Love and sharing be damned, we are very likely to fight over who'll have the last spoon! Try it, the most ardent of eggplant haters will take second and third helpings of this one.



Baingan ka raita

Ingredients

Eggplant - 2 (preferably the long thin ones)
Yoghurt - 250 gms
Rock salt
Sugar
Oil for deep frying, plus some more for tempering
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves, thinly sliced
Curry leaves - 7
Hing/Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Red chillies - 2

Method:

Cut the eggplant into thin round slices - think wafers. Deep fry till crisp and set aside.

Add salt and sugar to the yoghurt - this has to be on the sweeter side and whisk it together. Just before serving, place the fried eggplant on top of the yoghurt.

Heat oil reserved for the tempering - I use about one and half tbsp. Add the garlic to the oil and cook till the garlic is nicely browned. Next add the mustard seeds, followed by the curry leaves, red chillies and finally, the asafoetida. Pour the tempering on top of the fried eggplant. Squeeze lemon juice on top, mix and serve.

While you can fry the eggplants in advance and mix the yoghurt with salt and sugar ahead of time, do ensure that you place the eggplants on the yoghurt and make the tempering just before serving - else the eggplants will go all soft and mushy - the crispy eggplants with the cold yoghurt is the essence of this raita.

And now lets talk about the deep frying bit - I've done all possible things with the eggplant for this one - roasted on a pan, grilled them, shallow fried them. All of these are fine and don't affect the taste too much. But if presentation is what you are seeking, especially when entertaining, then deep fried is the way to go.


This is a very versatile raita and goes very well with just about anything. I love to have this as a side when I make rajma or chhole or biryani.

As a result of all the visions she kept having over all these years, Arva had become obssessed with Chinese food. She kept going to every Chinese restaurant she could find, kept cooking Chinese food and had an enviable collection of chopsticks - all in the hope that something would trigger a recall - but until now, nothing had worked. All that had happened was that she could whip an excellent Chinese meal at the drop of a hat.



Chicken in oyster sauce

Ingredients:

Boneless chicken - 500 gms, cut into cubes
Onions - 2 , cut into cubes and separate the slices
ginger and garlic, 1 tbsp each, finely minced
Bell pepper - 1.5 (I used a mix of red, yellow and green for a better look), cut into cubes
Mushrooms - 6, sliced
spring onion, for garnish
oil - 1.5 tbsp

for the marinade:

oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
soy sauce - 1 tsp
red wine vinegar or grape flavoured vinegar - 1 tbsp

for the sauce:

(these are approximate measures, since I eye -balled these)

oyster sauce - 3 tbsps
soy sauce - 1 tbsp
red wine vinegar - 1 tbsp
brown sugar - 1 tsp
red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp (or as per your spice tolerance level)
cornflour - 1 tsp, dissolved in a little water

Method:

Whisk the marinade together and add to the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for about half an hour.
Heat oil and stir fry the ginger, garlic and half the onion on high flame for a couple of minutes. Add the chicken and cook till done. Set aside.

While the chicken is cooking, mix the ingredients for the sauce together.

In the same pan, add a little bit of oil and stir fry the mushrooms, followed by the remaining onions and the bell peppers. Cook for a minute - you want the onions and the peppers to retain their crunch. Add the cooked chicken and stir for a half a minute. Make a well in the middle of the pan and add the sauce. Cook till sauce starts to bubble and thickens. Since all the sauces contain salt, taste at this point and then add salt, if needed. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot with rice.

Red - the end (continued from part 1 and part 2)

The abortion was scheduled a week hence. It was an agonising time for Arva. The visions kept recurring, yet she felt unable to share it with Raghav. Though he was extremely caring, Arva knew he was actually very unhappy with her decision and this was causing a considerable strain in their relations.

For just a few moments, she was actually tempted to go ahead with the pregnancy, just for his sake. But those were fleeting thoughts and here she was now in the OT. Arva looked around her as the doctors and nurses buzzed about in the procedure room, their movements so well co-ordinated and seamless. "This is it," she thought. "There's is no going back now..." Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud clanging noise - one of the instrument trays had fallen to the floor.

And then it came back to her. The memory came gushing out as if someone had opened the floodgates.

They were at a Chinese restaurant. Arva, all of 8 at that time, had encountered chopsticks for the first time and was absolutely intrigued at the prospect of eating with them. Her excitement was, however, somewhat dampened though by her normally gregarious older sister who appeared extremely anxious about something. "Here didi, from me to you, with love. The pretty waitress in red let me keep these," she said to her sister, handing her the chopsticks, hoping to humour her.

That night, she was woken up by the sound of muffled sobs. Curiously, she walked to the source of the sound - the bathroom. Curiosity quickly turned to horror when she saw her sister in the bathtub, curled up in pain, her pyjamas completely stained in blood, the bloody chopstick in her hand clanging as it fell to the floor. "Mama," Arva had screamed.

Lying here in the hospital, as the long suppressed memory returned and the horror of her sister's actions and the reason for all those visions now became clear to her, Arva saw the doctor moving in to start the procedure.

One year later....

She was returning to her desk after a year. So much had happened in the last one year, so much that she had to share with her colleagues. "My my, look at you Arva! You are looking absolutely gorgeous. Who would say that you had a baby just few months ago,"gushed Divya.

The end.