Crunchy Tofu Salad

Tofu, or bean curd is very "IN" these days, Everyone is becoming very heath conscious an the idea of a high protein diet is pretty much on everyone's finger tips. Tofu is pretty much set curds of Soy milk with a coagulating  agent Epsom Salt. There are various types of Tofu but only a few available on India. Majorly it is considered to have oriental roots and there are various alternates available world wide, from pickled, dried, smoked, fermented, cured, and sweetened.

The Most popular ones and the ones that are available easily are The Rustic home made tofu and the silken tofu. The hand made tofu are much like Paneer or Cottage Cheese and is available at grocers in New market or most people dealing in exotic vegetables. Silken on the other hand is available at leading stores selling imported food items and available in Firm or Soft variants . 

This Particular recipe uses the Local tofu and is an amazing salad and also a lovely snack .



Tofu 200g ( cut into tiny cubes)
Corn flour 100g

• Coat the tofu in the corn flour and keep deep fry 
• Fry till golden and crisp 
• Keep aside to cool 

Onion 1 nos chopped
Red capsicum 3 tbsp (diced)
Yellow Capsicum 3 Tbsp ( diced)
Green Capsicum 3 tbsp Chopped
Tomato deseeded diced 1 nos
Chopped spring onion 3 tbsp
Litchees 5 nos chopped
Chili oil 2 tbsp
Tabasco sauce 2 tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Salt
Pepper
Lemon juice ½

• Make dressing with lemon juice , chili oil, Tabasco, salt, pepper 
• Mix the tofu with the chopped ingredients and toss in dressing 

This dish has one of the best textures and is riot in the mouth ,

Seeya !

 . 

Winter Soul Comfort :Short-cut Cream of Tomato Soup

Cream of tomato, is one such dish that appeals to people of all ages. Old, young, all love it and its very difficult to find a substitute of it. A tomato soup is what is very difficult to displace. On a cozy winter evening, a big mug of soup with some crunchy grissini or some cheese straws, the combination is nothing but eternal.

Tomato as an ingredient is very soul comforting and the redness is very pleasng to the eye. Thus most tomato based soups taste nice. It requires a herculean effort to run a tomato soup. Be  it a basic Creme de Tomate or a rustic Minestrone or a homely Tomato Dhania Shorba, all of us love tomato in out soups.

Well, there are many ways of making a cream of tomato soup but I being my lazy self always like to simplify it. Sharing a simple but super scrumptious recipe below.

Cream of Tomato Soup

Tomato juice 2 cups

Tomato puree ½ cup

Tomato ketchup ½ cup

Butter 1 heaped tbsp

Maida 1 tbsp

Cream ½ cup

Salt

Pepper

Chili powder ½ tsp

Onion 1 nos chopped

Celery chopped 2 tsp

Carrot grated ¼ nos

• Melt butter in a pan and sauté onion celery and carrot red chili powder
• Add the maida to make roux
• Add tomato juice and cook till thick and puree and ketchup and boil
• Finish with cream and seasoning and strain the soup
• Garnish with a cream swirl

 This recipe is not authentic but super easy to make and really appeals to the palette ...

Bon Appetit ...

Christmas.... Here I Come

The coming of Christmas, means joy, happiness, and smiles, and not to forget the main reason this happens to me is ... THE FOOD ! Its time for Sangria, Roasts, Loads of strawberries, Eggnog, and last but not the least the Cake .

I know that Christmas is still over a month away and I might be looking stupid to be dancing already. I am doing so because guess what I was smelling like last Sunday... I was smelling of Figs, Dates, Rum, Brandy, Wine, Cinnamon, Allspice, Mace, vanilla, Honey ... and lots more. Still guessing? It was my cake mixing. Christmas cake mixing usually a ceremony I love to celebrate. So I called some friends over at the Cafe and we got an amazing mix. The aroma in the air just made everyone high and the the whole process was Brought to life thanks to Plugged In who covered the vent and gave us some priceless pictures.

A dear friend and the first lady of Kolkata's Food blogging scene Poorna was there too and it was really sweet of her to write about us on the Blog. Believe me ... She has a brilliant blog. I am sharing some awesome pictures that we clicked ... I am sure you will see the joy coming through .

14 kgs of dry fruits
12 lts of booze
2 kgs of spices
and a million bubbles of happiness

Whats the recipe of a good cake mix? That is !!

HIC HIC !

Wishing everyone a beautiful Christmas !! Cheers !!

One Bowl Cookies ... As easy as baking can get

I have seen people make a huge cry about baking chocolate hip cooking especially the ones that are slightly chewy inside and crunchy outside and I have always wondered why in the mane of the lord.
In-fact this recipe I stumbled upon ages ago in an old book and that I bought from a shop if second hand books and I have always found it so easy to make.

There are many people who just throw in some chocolate chip in a basic short bread, those I detest. Have a look at these beauties and tell me how it was ...

Here goes ...

150 g Maida/ Refined Flour

1 tsp Baking Pwd

125 g margarine

85 g mascavado sugar/ brown sugar

5 tbsp fine caster sugar / breakfast sugar 

2 tbsp Cocoa powder

1 egg

125 g chocolate chips / chopped chocolate 

• · Mix all ingredients in a bowl with a wooden spoon . Do not use hands… make sure the egg is chilled and the margarine is at room temp
• · Make 12 – 14 equal balls or scoops of the dough and chill for 30 mins in the freezer spacing then with a gap of 1.5 inches all around on a baking tray lined with butter paper
• · Bake in preheated 190 degrees Celsius oven 
• · Cook till evenly golden
• · Cool on a wire rack and serve once hard

These are so easy to make but pleas make sure you follow all the measurements to the hilt. Even slight changes can change the product quite a lot 

Suhaag and Matthi .... Forgotten traditions

Punjab is a very colourful state, and Punjabis are people who are known for their larger than life ways. Be it hospitality, Festivals, food, weddings, traditions, We punjabis just know how to do it crazy. Not many know that punjabis are very sensitive about their traditions. And they have many such customs and rituals that are gradually disappearing. Its disappointing to see that the present day punajbis barely can even speak the language. Thankfully so, in Punjab even today a lot is being done to preserve the dying arts and customs.

Punjab is the Wheat Bowl of India, we studies this in class 4 in school ( not sure if many really bothered) and wheat plays a very important role in the cultures of Punjab. Wheat is Worshiped, wheat is respected. and is considered a blessing. I am here to talk about MATHI..  or some call it Mathri . 

Most think that it is nothing but a flour fried snack but in the life of a Punjabi Housewife, it plays a very important role. 

Some time back i had written a post on karwa chauth and the mathis associated with them. Mathis hold a lot of significance in the marriage customs as well. On the morning of the wedding, when the bride-to-be is being blessed by all her relatives. Most people call it Haldi, But the true name is Maiyan. Where the MATHI JHOLI ceremony is done. The uncles of the bride fill up her wrists with a Choorha ... Or red and white bangles, which ideally a bride is supposed to wear for one year, Now a days the girls remove is in 40 days ( calling it a Chiliya ), and Matthis are placed in her lap. It shows significance of a new life, and the mathis symbolise the advent of the process of become a woman. Suhaag songs are sung, A paste of sandal and turmeric is applied all over the girls body by all her female relatives, and each person makes her eat a little mathi and halwa and blesses her.

A marriage has a lot to do with carrying the traditions of the family forward . And a daughter evolves into a wife and parents bid her adiew with a smile on thier faces and tears in the eyes 

Madhaniyan
Hai o Mereya Daadeya Rabba
Kinna Jammiyan Kinna Ne Le Jaaniya

Loyi – Babul Tere Mehlan Vicho
Teri Lado Pardesan Hoi Hai

Chhole Chhole Chhole - Babul Tere Mehlan Vicho
Satrangiya Kabootar Bole-Hai
Babul Tere Mehlan Vicho
Satrangiya Kabootar Bole-Hai

Talliyaan O Talliyan – Maanvan Dheeyan Milan Lagiyaan
Chare Kandha Ne Chubaare Diyan Haliyaan Hai
Maanvan Dheeyan Milan Lagiyaan
Chare Kandha Ne Chubaare Diyan Haliyaan Hai

Pheeta Pheeta Pheeta Pheeta Pheeta – Aena Sakiyaan Veera Ne
Dhola Tor Ke Agaanu Keeta-Hai
Aena Sakiyaan Veera Ne
Dhola Tor Ke Agaanu Keeta-Hai

Mehndi…. Mehndi Mehndi Mehndi – Lagdi Suhagana Nu
Nai Marde Dama Tak Laindi
Lagdi Suhagana Nu
Nai Marde Dama Tak Laindi

Jhumke Jhumke – Amrhi Da Dil Kambeyan
Aj Mu Lado Da Chum Ke

Maape Maape – Naazan Nal Palke Dheeyan
Ho Jaan Paraye Aape Hai
Naazan Nal Palke Dheeyan
Haan Naazan Nal Palke Dheeyan

Choodiyan Choodiyan – Saure Ghar Jaan Waliye
Shaala Hon Muradaan Puriyan Hoi
Saure Ghar Jaan Waliye

Sharing a Suhaag song very common song that usually i have sung at most weddings and made sure people are in tears and the atmosphere is very somber .

The mathi also goes with the daughter to her new home as a blessing from the parents. During karwa-chauth, Where most bollywood movies show a coy bride shying and looking at the moon through a drum sieve, well, Punjabis have a "Mathi with a Hole" ... and they see the moon with that mathi, and then break their fast. ( Cute, isn't it?)

Most such small traditions are just phasing away with time and its there little traditions that i aspire to carry with me in the form of heritage and values. Hope this post will give a small insight to the emotional aspect of a community that is usually known for its heartiness and colors.

Pommes Marquise .... A Classic

First of all let me apologize for such a long gap in my post. Let me make it up with a timeless dish, a classic, The Pommes Marquise ... A classic dish that is not just delicious but is like a melody is taste on the palette.

Here goes ...

Boiled potato 6 nos

Salt

White Pepper Powder 

Powdered sugar

Egg yolk 2 nos 

Cheese spread 2 tbsp

Tomato Concasse / home made tomato sauce 6 tbs

• Mash the boiled potato and pass through a sieve 
• Blend in cheese spread and seasoning 
• Pipe through a piping bag and make cups with mash 
• fill with tomato sauce and gratin-ate for 10 minutes at 200 degrees and bake till golden 
• P.s. Make sure the potato you use are old potatoes (aged)

For Tomato Sauce

Tomato 4 nos

Tomato ketchup  ½ cup

Tomato Puree ½ cup

Salt

Pepper

Chili flakes

Onion 2 nos chopped

Garlic 2 cloves grated

Celery 2 tbsp chopped

Sugar 2 tsp

Chili flakes

Olive oil 3 tbsp

• Deseed the peeled tomatoes and chop them
• Sauté onion. Celery. Garlic  in olive oil
• Add the chopped tomato, and the puree and the ketchup
• And dry spices and herbs and cook till oil leaves sides

This is a simple recipe but when done right it can taste marvelous. Bon Appetit ...

Coco-Choco Wedge

A few days back i had the chance of going to the heavenly place Mcleodgunj, Himachal Pradesh. I
had gone there with friends from Mystic Yoga Studio. There we chanced upon this brilliant dish that they called Bhagsu Cake (Bhagsu was where we were staying) at the German Bakery. This dish had a very simple cheesecake like base and and was topped with a thin layer of fudge ganache. My friends told me there to recreate this and I added my personal touches and made a version of it.

So here goes...

For base 

1/3 tin condensed milk 

50 g butter (salted) 

1 tbsp corn flour 

100 g coconut biscuits 

50 g wheat flakes 

1 tbsp flax seeds 

For topping 

150 g dark chocolate 

70 ml cream 

25 g butter 

• In a chopper / food processor blend wheat flakes, coconut biscuits, and flax seeds
• blitz till they look like coarse bread crumbs 
• in a pan heat butter and condensed milk and till it starts bubbling 
• add the cornflour and cook till u see it coming together 
• add the crumbs and turn off and mix well with a wooden spoon 
• set in a greased lose bottom tin 
• for topping melt the butter and chocolate in a double boiler
• warm the cream and add to the chocolate. 
• whisk till its mixed homogeneously 
• pour over the biscuit base and set for 1 hour in the refrigerator 
• cut into wedges and serve