PRAWNS IN COCONUT MILK

For me, food should not only tingle your taste buds.... it should be able to bring back fond memories... and that's what these coconut milk prawns do to me...... a very simple dish..... brought to life by my grandfather...... brings back fond memories of days when like a royal chef he would declare in the mornings that he shall engage in preparing yummy prawns for us..... and we would be super excited because we would look forward not only to the dish but to his 'shahaana andaaz' of cooking!..... you need chopped tomatoes, chopped spring onions and green chillies, half a teaspoon of ginger garlic paste, whole garam masala, deveined prawns, sugar and salt to taste and coconut milk.... heat oil in a pan.... wait till its fairly hot and add all the whole masala...(bayleaf, peppercorns, cloves, peeled big and small cardamom and cinnamon stick) ..... you can remove it after you feel that the oil has absorbed all the flavors( i dont remove it, I dont mind accidentally crunching upon a cardamom or a clove) next goes the ginger garlic paste and the spring onion and green chillies... keep a fair amount of leafy bit aside, chopped and add the rest in the pan.... fry, fry, fry till the onion is tender...... add chopped tomatoes, pinch of turmeric and salt.... cook alternately on high and low flames till the tomatoes are done.... add half a teaspoon of sugar..... mix well.... the base is ready..... put the deveined prawns in and let the prawns absorb all the luscious flavors on a low flame..... check the prawns after 8-10 mins... they should be done by now...... now is the time for the magic ingredient...... pour generous amount of coconut milk in the curry....observe the beautiful white and red swirls that appear in the pan... sigh!...... also throw in the chopped green tails of spring onions.....let it simmer on a low flame for 5-6 mins..... and its ready to be served....... tastes best with rotis or steamed rice..... enjoy! :)

Fun chocolate mosaic

This is a quick and easy yummilicious dessert which is ready in minutes...... you need Marie biscuits, cadburys coco powder, cold milk, and powdered sugar.... crush Marie biscuits coarsely( a big packet), add two big tablespoons of cocoa powder, powdered sugar according to taste and mix together with a spoon.... pour cold milk into the mixture gradually..... mix gently.... the mixture should be of the consistency of molten lava( strange comparison, but I am drooling at the imagery of a huge volcano spitting out chocolate lava!) ...... pour the mixture in a rectangular aluminum tin.... let it set in the fridge for two hours....... when set, cut into slices... add heavenly touch by pouring gooey chocolate sauce and sprinkling loads of chocolate rice on top..... PURE SIN PEOPLE!

Remembering Mixed Grill Lasagna

I am here in Hyderabad... and I tremendously miss mixed grill lasagna and ice tea at cafe Churchill, Kolaba, Mumbai.....Presenting below, my version of mixed grill lasagna which I tried making yesterday...


Saute 3 large chopped onions in adequate amount of olive oil. Add chopped garlic and fry till the onions go translucent. Add 5 large chopped tomatoes and cook on a high flame. When tomatoes turn soft add salt, green chilli sauce, a little chilli tomato sauce, torn basil leaves (u can use 8-10 Tulsi leaves), and oregano. Cook till it acquires a thick consistency. Transfer in a large bowl and keep it aside for cooling down...

I used pasta instead of Lasagna, conchiglie, which is sea shell shaped... Boil it till it softens. Pasta needs to be a little raw coz it will subsequently cook in the sauce. Strain and keep aside.

Chop some sausages and salami and keep aside. In a bowl, mix grated mozzarella with sour cream/ cream and add salt and pepper to the mixture. Keep two hands full of grated Mozzarella aside.


Churn the tomato mixture which would cool down by now. In a baking dish, pour a quarter of the tomato mixture. Sprinkle two hand full of conchiglie and lay a layer of sausages and salami.... put 3-4 dollops of cream and cheese mixture. Repeat the layers till your ingredients are exhausted. On the top sprinkle a layer of Mozzarella... Dump this into the oven for a good 25 minutes at appx 200 fht.

Aftre 25 minutes your mixed grill pasta is ready oozing with oodles of cheese!!!

Go ahead and dig into sinful pleasure! :)

So you are hungry.....!!!!!

So you are hungry....... and theres not much option that you have...... all you need is a couple of slices of brown bread.... you can make some delicious sandwitches from whatever is locked up in that fridge of yours..... :) ........ many people store milk cream/malai to later make it into ghee..... whip some malai, apply on the bread slices, sprinkle some sugar (be generous) ........ put another slice on top and bite into a yummy malai sandwitch...... if you are one of those who are more fond of salt than of sugar, go right ahead and instead of sugar, sprinkle some salt and pepper.... add few cucumber slices and youll have a yummy summary cucumber malai sandwitch....... another fun option is malai on one slice and a teaspoonfull of chilli tomato sauce....... the malai softens the flavour os the chilli sauce and this sandwitch will melt in your mouth....... left over chicken....... vegetables......... chopped onion tomato green chilli and grated cheese....... these are some other options that can be stuffed between two slices and eaten as a snack...... have you ever tried cheese and onion sandwitch? finely chopped onion, grated cheese, salt and freshly ground pepper..... tastes best when toasted.....heres another one... chopped boiled eggs,a teaspoon of cream and some grated cheese, with some salt and pepper...... they are all simply yummm........ People... have any more ideas???

Secret to good adrakh ki chai

I am sure most of the chai drinkers just love adrakh ki chai...... I get to have the best of it at my own house...... My Ma makes it the best........ the tea which I would make would never turn out to be as good as hers until one day I decided to observe how does she stir up a wonderful cup of ginger tea...... I discovered that the secret is a generous helping of a giner pod which is crushed and put into the tea whole...( do not squeeze the juice out and put)..... secondly, she leaves the chai to simmer on a low flame for almost five minutes.... till a layer forms on the top of boiling tea...... another indicator to look out for is the aroma.... after 5 minutes of boiling you will get the characteristic smell of ginger tea..(make sure ginger doesnt smell raw)....... strain it out....... nothing like a cup of hot ginger tea on my terrace with my eyes on the drifting large clouds, after a long day at office...... cheers.... :)

Curd Pohe

Curd Pohe is another popular Maharashtrian breakfast........ I got a chance to taste it while staying at my friend Amitas place in Mumbai...... Amita, I miss the days when I would sit together with you guys early in the morning... looking at the sunrise and waking Mumbai life.... and sipping on to hot chai flavoured with lemon grass plucked from your pots.... :)

Curd Pohe is delicious, healthy and gets digested easily..... and its really simple to make....... wash 2 cups of pohe and keep aside..... take around 250 gms of thick curd and churn it to make it thin.... if you feel that the consistency is thick, add some milk..... the curd should be of the consistency of milk shake.... add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of sugar powder to the curd.... mix and keep it aside....

In a tadka bowl heat some refined oil... add musturd seeds, lil jeera, curry leaves and dried stuffed chillies(they are called Sandki Mirchi in Maharashtra and are easily available in the market, in Hyderabad they are called curd chillies and are available anywhere)...... when the seasoning is ready add it to the curd and mix well....... add the soaked pohe in the end and mix well...... let it stand in fridge for 5-6 minutes so that the pohe absorbs the curd and the flavours of tadka...... if you leave it inside for longer the pohe will absorb a lot of moisture from the mixture, in that case add a little water/milk to bring it to a desired consistency...... I prefer water..... it is desirable that you consume it immediately, because the pohe will keep on soaking moisture and will become extremely soft..... you dont want to be eating dahi pohe khichdi!

Amita.... my roommates in Mumbai had become a fan of this dish and there was a time when I had seen my flatmate eating curd pohe for 5 consecutive days!...... Thanks a lot for introducing this delicious breakfast to me :)

Phodnichi Poli

Phodnichi Poli is a popular Maharashtriyan breakfast........ I heard about it first from my dear friend Amita Gadre.... I had forgotten about it till one day I realized that I have 8 left over rotis, that was when I first decided to try this preparation... it turned out so well that it has become one of my comfort foods..... nothing better than a plate of hot steaming phodnichi poli with adrakh ki chai when I come back from office.....

A little explanation of the name..... Rotis are called Poli in Maharashtra and seasoning is popularly called 'phodan' in hindi....... so Iam guessing that phodnichi poli would mean seasoned rotis...... Amita, need help :)

Crumble the rotis in a plate and mix salt and a little red chilli powder... In a pan heat a little refined oil, add musturd seeds, curry leaves and slit chillies, fry them till done and add the rotis...... mix the rotis with the seasoning and saute till rotis become soft and you feel they have absorbed the flavours of the seasoning...

I like my phodnichi poli simple... with minimal seasoning..... one can add peanuts, a littlt chane ki daal and urad ki daal into the seasoning...... a little white til would also enhance the flavour....

I feel that the secret to good cooking is to keep the preparation simple and uncomplicated..... so that the flavours of the base ingredient emerge through the masalas and the seasoning....

People... try this when you have left over rotis..... I bet you will get addicted .... :)