Lemon Pickle

Ingredients:

Lemons - 4
Salt       - 4 tbsp
Sugar   - 4 tbsp
Chili powder - 2 tsp

Method:
Dice the lemons. Put them in a air tight sterilized jar. Add the salt, sugar and chili powder. Mix well to marry all ingredients well.
 

Close the jar and keep it in a sunny spot for a couple of days. Remember to bring the jar indoors in the evening.

This pickle is best served at room temperature. Great accompaniment to any Indian meal, also try it with couscous and Moroccan lamb stew (Will be sharing it on the blog soon).

Storing Tips: Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of months and best consumed within a month if kept at room temperature. The taste intensifies with time.

Chocolate Bombs

This was a joint venture with my eight year old daughter. There were two caramel cupcakes, some crushed biscuits which no one wanted to reach out for. Following the adage "waste not, want not" I crushed the cupcakes and the biscuits in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of cream and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.  rolled with dessicated coconut and viola! a yummy dessert was ready in a jiffy.

Before:

During: This is what the biscuits and cupcakes looked like after a blitz in the food processor, with cream and cocoa powder.

My little daughter helped me roll the chocolate bombs, made my day when she said "mum, I enjoy cooking with you" :-))

Perfect little Choc Bombs........

Fruits of labor..............

We discovered that the chocolate bombs tasted better after keeping them in the fridge for a couple of hours.

These were simply divine, shared some with a friend, devoured a few after dinner and saved two for my little helper's lunch box to take to school tomorrow :-))

Oven Roasted Veggies

I love these oven roasted veggies, so easy to make and delicious with a meal or on their own.  I have indulged in a bowl full of these roasted treats topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt, taking comfort food to a whole new different level...yummm.......!

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 4 big
Sweet potato - 2
Olive oil - 2tbsp
Garlic- 1tsp chopped finely
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh dill leaves to garnish

Method:
Peel and cube the potato and sweet potatoes. Take an oven proof dish large enough to spread the potatoes evenly. In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, oil, salt and chopped garlic. Mix well to spread the oil and salt evenly on the veggies. Spread the veggies out onto the oven proof dish. I cooked them uncovered in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes in a fan forced oven at 160 degrees Celcius. The cooking time will vary I suppose according to your oven type.

Garnish the veggies with chopped dill leaves and serve hot.

Tomato Chutney

My family is very fond of Pickles and Chutneys. Most meals are accompanied by one or the other.

This recipe originally was a pickle recipe used by my mother and mother in law.... a long drawn laborious process which takes at least 3 days; where you have to sun the chopped tomatoes and then start the pickling process...hmph! I'm tired just thinking of it !!

Unfortunately I lack the patience and the due diligence that is required by the original recipe, so I have tweaked it to suit my fast paced lifestyle and let me tell you, after a tasting both mum and mum-in-law approve - even if a bit grudgingly ;-)

Try this recipe and I can assure you of some approving nods at your dining table too :-))

Ingredients:

Tomatoes               - Big sized 2 (must be ripe and juicy)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder  - 1tbsp
Cumin powder       - 1tsp
Vinegar                  - 1/4 cup
Sugar                     - 3 tbsp
Salt                        -  2 tbsp
Red Chilli powder   -  2tbsp
Oil                          - 3tbsp

Method:
Chop finely the tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger garlic paste stirring constantly as the ginger has a tendency to stick to the pan. When the paste turns light brown add the dry powders (Coriander, Cumin, Chilli). Mix them well in the pan. Add tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook on slow flame, mashing the tomatoes in the pan along with other ingredients. Add vinegar once the oil separates from the tomato mix. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Cool the chutney completely before pouring it in an airtight jar. This keeps well outside for a week and for about a month in the refrigerator. You will find that the taste of this chutney improves with time. You can serve this as a delicious accompaniment with any meal or even as a spread over sandwiches mixed with some mayo. As is the case with all pickles and chutneys, always use a dry clean spoon to take out the chutney from the jar.

Spaghetti with home made meat sauce

This is true comfort food as far as I'm concerned. Nothing soothes me more than a bowl of spaghetti slathered in the goodness of rich home made sauce, garnished with parmesan or cheddar and served with garlic bread, Yummo :-))

ingredients:

Spaghetti - 3/4 pack of Barilla
Salt

Sauce:
Onions          - 2 big, diced finely
tomatoes       - 4 big, diced finely
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Celery stick   - 1 diced finely
Minced beef   - 300gms
Capsicum      - 1/2 cup diced
Garlic             - 2 tbsp, chopped
Sugar             - 1tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1tsp (optional)
white flour         - 1 tbsp
Salt & Pepper to taste

Garnish: Grated Parmesan

Method:
Boil Spaghetti in salted water and cook until al-dente. Drain and keep aside.

Sauce: Heat oil in a pan, add onion and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and sugar. Cook until the tomatoes are mashed completely into the onions. Add capsicums, mince, cayenne pepper if using and cook on medium flame, stirring every now and then. Mix the white flour in half cup water and stir into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer gently for about 20 minutes, covered.

Once the sauce is done spoon the sauce over the spaghetti  and garnish with grated Parmesan. In my case it was the cheddar as I didn't have the Parmesan on hand :-))

GARLIC BREAD:
Garlic bread shown in the picture above is Ciabatta. I minced a clove of garlic, added a dash of salt and Italian herbs. Mixed the garlic with a tablespoon of butter and smeared this on top of the Ciabatta cut diagonally. You can either grill this or heat it in the oven until the butter has melted and the bread is a bit crisp.

Potato Salad

My son is here from the boarding house!! His first stop after landing in Singapore is almost always for Laksa. This time it was at the Food Republic in Somerset, more out of convenience than anything else.....

After having his fill of the street food, yesterday he requested his all time favorite - Potato salad !! It is probably one of the most re-hashed recipes. I try to improvise it according to the ingredients available in my fridge. So here's how I made the super easy salad and super delish (atleast that's what my son said :-)) Potato salad.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 5 medium ones
Buttercup lettuce - 1 bib
Avocado - 1
Feta - 1/2 cup cubed (optional)
Red onion - 1 chopped finely
Sour cream- 1 cup
Mayonnaise - 1/2 Cup
Dijon Mustard - 2tbsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Boil the potatoes until soft. Peel and cube them into small pieces. In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes and  all the other ingredients. Give it one good toss and serve either at room temperature or chilled, your choice. Depending on the availability, I sometime also add crispy bacon bits or ham chopped into small pieces. Tastes great with or without the ham or bacon.

I would love to hear if you have any other variations to making this salad.

Egg Curry

This one is actually inspired from my mother's recipe. I remember her relying on this dish whenever she was short of ideas as to what to cook for lunch or dinner. This recipe is unique in that the eggs are poached in the rich gravy rather than boiled and added.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 4
Onion - 1 chopped finely/paste
Tomato - 1 chopped finely/paste
ginger and garlic paste - 1tbsp
turmeric powder - 1tsp
cumin powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 1tsp
Red chili powder - 1tsp (optional)
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in a pan, add onion and brown lightly. Add the ginger garlic paste, stir for a couple of minutes and then add the tomato paste. Add the turmeric, coriander, cumin and chilli powder to the pan, add a spoonful of water if the paste is sticking to the pan. Fry for another 2 minutes and then add two cups water and Salt. Mix well. cover and cook on medium flame for about 5 minutes.

Break the eggs one at a time straight into the pan. Lower the flame before you start to add the eggs. Cover and cook if you like the yolks well cooked, I personally prefer to cook it uncovered just until the whites are cooked and then cover the pan and switch off the flame.

The result is yummy gooey yolks in delicious gravy. You can serve this with toast, pita or steamed rice.... whatever takes your fancy.

Try it and I'm sure you will not be disappointed !

Besan Ke Gatte (Gram flour dumplings in yogurt sauce)

This is a personal favorite and was a big hit at a recent lunch that I had for some girl friends. This dish originates from Rajasthan in India and has many variations. Rajasthan is a land of royal palaces and sand dunes. Hot days and cold nights, with a rich vibrant history and fabulous food!

For those of you who are familiar with making gnocchi, the first half of the recipe uses the same method of broiling the dumplings in boiling water.

Ingredients:
For the Gatte:
Besan (Gram Flour)      - 1Cup
Oil                                - 1tbsp
Baking powder             - 1/4 tsp
salt to taste
Water to make dough

Sauce:
Besan                     - 1 tbsp
Yogurt                   - 1 Cup
Oil                         - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder   - 1tsp
Corriander powder - 1tsp
Cumin powder       - 1tsp
Red Chilli powder  -1tsp (optional)
Curry leaves          - 10 leaves
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Tomato paste         - 1 tbsp
Chopped Cilantro to garnish - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
Gatte:
Mix the gram flour, baking powder, oil and salt together. Add water to make a stiff but pliable dough. Divide the dough into four equal parts and make sausage like cylinders out of each of these. Use a drop of oil on your hands while rolling if the dough sticks to your hands.

Seperately, fill a deep pan half with water, and bring to a boil. Add the cylinders of gram flour into the water gently and simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes on a medium flame. The cooked Gatte will float on top, remove them gently with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. When cool, chop the gatte into small pieces.

Sauce:
Heat oil in a pan. Add curry leaves, turmeric powder, cumin powder, salt, chili powder, ginger garlic paste and stir fry for a minute. Add tomato paste and cook for another couple of minutes. Whisk the yogurt and gram flour together, add water if you like the sauce thin. Pour this into the pan and keep stirring this until it starts to boil.

Add the gatte into the sauce and simmer coverd over a low flame for about ten minutes. You can adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding more water if the sauce is too thick for your liking. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

This recipe is served with steamed rice or any indian bread like puris, naan, chapati etc. Enjoy :-))

Rai wala Kaddu (Pumpkin with mustard)

This recipe is from Himachal Pradesh, in the Northern India. Its a family favorite and is a great accompaniment to any meal. Traditionally it is served with fresh steamed rice but I have always marvelled at its versatility. I have used this recipe as a dip with Pita chips or even smeared over a piece of toast. Truly delish!!

Ingredients

Yellow pumpkin - 2 cups (peeled and diced)
Plain yogurt        - 1cup
Oil                     - 2tbsp
Mustard powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - 1tsp
coriander powder - 1tsp
cumin powder       -1tsp
Green chili           - 1tsp (chopped finely, optional)
Cilantro                - 2 tbsp (chopped finely, to garnish)
Salt to taste

Method:

Heat the oil in a pan, add the turmeric, coriander and cumin powder (keep the flame low at this stage as it is easy to burn the spices). To this add the diced pumpkin and salt. Mix well, cover and cook on a gentle flame until the pumpkin is soft and mushy. Switch off the flame and let the pumpkin rest for at least 30 minutes at this stage. Once cool, add whisked yogurt to the pumpkin along with chopped green chilies and the mustard powder. Mix well and garnish with the chopped cilantro. Serve at room temperature or cold.

The Beginning..... A Journey!

Hi, my name is Monica and I have created this blog to share my favourite recipes with you all. I am wee bit nervous and at the same time quite excited about entering the blogging world ! Well, as they say nothing ventured, nothing gained, so here goes.........

In the coming weeks I will be sharing some much loved, tried and tested recipes, some new, some old (passed down from my grandmother and mother). Originally from India, over the last fifteen years, I have had the opportunity to live in Vietnam, Hongkong, Australia and now Singapore. This has influenced my family's eating habits - A big juicy steak or Pho' are devoured with the same gusto as the dal and rice. So the recipes you see in this blog are not going to be restricted to any particular part of the world but from all over.

I look forward to your comments and feedback on my blog, thanks :-)