Ranjini Rao's Blog, page 4
July 30, 2016
Piping Hot, Sticky Sweet
The Indian palate is well-accustomed to the stipulated mixing in of flavours – be it hot and sweet, or sour and spicy. Still, those fall on the ends of a broad spectrum of tastes, with the fine, nameless nuances of some others waltzing along the scale. (Some words in the vernacular cannot effectively be translated into English, and chatpata is just one of them).
Honey-chilli potatoes with corn kernels is one dish that reflects all of the above, and it’s a hit from the word go in our households. This recipe resulted from an experiment to re-create a restaurant-style appetizer, sans the deep frying and cornflour-aided thickening, both of which tend to leave a slurry-like after taste in the mouth. It’s really a breeze to put together and works great as a side dish with fried rice, noodles, or just as an evening snack, all on its own.
Honey-chilli Potatoes ‘n Corn
(Serves 2-3)
For the sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
3-4 tablespoons water, stock or orange juice
Mix the listed ingredients well, set aside.
For the potatoes ‘n corn
2 tablespoons groundnut oil
4-5 pods garlic, minced or crushed
4 medium-sized potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup corn kernels, thawed
Salt to taste
A pinch of red chilli powder
Finely chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
Heat the oil in a pan, and add the crushed garlic, fry for a minute.
Add the potatoes and fry on medium flame until light brown, then tip in the corn, toss well.
Add salt, cook covered, for about 8 minutes, on a low flame. Add the chilli powder, mix well.
Add the prepared sauce and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes on a high flame, turn off heat.
Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.
July 29, 2016
Piping Hot, Sticky Sweet!
The Indian palate is well-accustomed to the stipulated mixing in of flavours - be it hot and sweet, or sour and spicy. Still, those fall on the ends of a broad spectrum of tastes, with the fine, nameless nuances of some others waltzing along the scale. (Some words in the vernacular cannot effectively be translated into English, and chatpata is just one of them). Honey-chilli potatoes with corn kernels is one dish that reflects all of the above, and it's a hit from the word go in our households. This recipe resulted from an experiment to re-create a restaurant-style appetizer,...
June 15, 2016
Restaurant Review: Fabelle Chocolates
Growing up, there were few things more exciting than receiving a box of filled chocolates, poring over the little descriptions printed on the crinkly paper inside, tasting, sharing and arguing over which had the best centre. A visit to the spanking new Fabelle Chocolates boutique recently brought back this childhood memory with a vengeance! The Fabelle Chocolate Boutique is an ITC Hotels initiative, and as one would expect, they have poured a whole lot of love, thought, attention and style into every detail. The brand has been in the making for almost a decade, and has just been launched in...
June 1, 2016
Tadka Travels: Spiti Valley Road Trip
Starkly, dramatically beautiful, relatively unknown and much off the tourist tracks, Spiti valley in Himachal is neither a breezy weekend getaway, nor is it in any way like that restful trip you last took to a sheltered hill resort. Most of the trip is spent bumping along the Hindustan-Tibet Highway, and this mad, crazy drive is as much a part of the experience as are the breathtaking landscapes that will have you scrambling for your camera at every turn. Geographically, Spiti has cold, desert-like conditions where rain is a rarity and snow rules. The terrain is bleak and inhospitable, but...
May 16, 2016
Picnic-friendly Pizza Muffins
When you love pizza, you find several ways and means to enjoy its warm, savory flavors. Just the thought of an overload of cheese oozing in little puddles amid little moons of tart tomatoes or pepperoni, the oregano asserting its grassy intensity on your tongue, bits of garlic accentuating the essence of the sauce..makes you go weak in the knees. For us, pizza for dinner can begin as an engaging afternoon-long affair, involving the kneading and rising of dough along with the slow simmering of the sauce on the stove, and the sizzle of vegetables - on the grill or...
Picnic-friendly Pizza Muffins
When you love pizza you are wont to find more than one way to savour those salty, savory flavours, that cheese oozing smoothly into puddles, stretched lazily in cream and toasty brown tones over tart tomatoes, the oregano asserting its grassy intensity on your tongue. For us, pizza for dinner can be an engaging afternoon-long affair, the kneading and rising of dough along with the slow simmer of the sauce on the stove, and the sizzle of vegetables, on the grill or roasting companionably in the oven. But, as we just said, there’s more than one way to get a pizza fix, and these Tomato and Cheese Pizza Muffins do very nicely when we’re in a rush. Bursting with plump shreds of two kinds of cheese, tomatoes and the signature pizza herbs, they work for breakfasts, parties, snack boxes and picnics as well. Top them with some torn fresh basil leaves off that pot on your windowsill or a a shake of the herb dispenser..as you please.
Tomato and Cheese Pizza Muffins
(Makes 15 muffins)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon red chilli flakes
100g Cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
100g Mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated, divided
1 egg
60g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 cup lukewarm milk
1 tablespoon tomato paste
3 tomatoes cut into slices
Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F.
Place paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tray or grease the cups well with oil.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices.
Stir in the Cheddar cheese and half the Mozzarella.
In another smaller bowl beat the egg. Pour in the melted butter, milk and tomato paste, and stir well.
Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl containing the dry mixture. Whisk gently until just blended.
Use an ice cream scoop or a ladle to transfer the batter to the prepared muffin tin.
Top each muffin with a slice of tomato and some of the remaining grated mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle a pinch of chilli flakes and oregano to finish, if desired.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into one of the muffins comes out clean.
Transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool slightly and serve warm. Or cool completely before packing away for that picnic or lunchbox.
Freeze the muffins in a ziplock bag or airtight box. Defrost on the counter or in the microwave.
April 24, 2016
Warm & Delightful Tropical Bread
The sun has been particularly ruthless lately here in Bangalore. While we get through our days with tall pitchers of iced tea and melt into a sweet puddle of delight at the very mention of ice cream, there's also the cooking and baking routine that curiously alleviates some of the strain caused by soaring temperatures. Is that even a thing, you ask? Well, we make sure we are guzzling down lots of water, and listening to the new-age music that blares from the kids' rooms (without wincing). We throw open the windows and doors to let the breeze in as...
Warm & Delightful Tropical Bread
The sun has been particularly ruthless lately here in Bangalore. While we get through our days with tall pitchers of iced tea and melt into a sweet puddle of delight at the very mention of ice cream, there’s also the cooking and baking routine that curiously alleviates some of the strain caused by soaring temperatures. Is that even a thing, you ask?
Well, we make sure we are guzzling down lots of water, and listening to the new-age music that blares from the kids’ rooms (without wincing). We throw open the windows and doors to let the breeze in as we work in the kitchen, and we love to attune our recipes to the notes of seasonal produce. Tons of fresh cucumbers and gourds glide into our salads and side dishes, with the lots of greens turning flaccid and droopy, rendering them unfit for crisp meals. Sweet and juicy fruits like melons and mangoes, papaya and pineapple, waltz through our dessert bowls and bake pans with a poise reserved for those blessed with immaculate footwork.
With April taking the cake as the busiest month of the year on our calendars, as we ring in our girls’ birthdays, there’s never a dearth for recipes that employ the aforesaid. Here’s one such – a bread brimming with the essence of the tropics, hearty from the inside out, built as it is with a host of healthy ingredients. Whether you’re hosting a Luau party, swinging the hula hoop, or just unwinding after a long day..this bread that smacks of sunny island flavors, is great to enjoy with your afternoon tea, under the whirring of a trusty ceiling fan (if air-conditioning isn’t your thing).
Pineapple, Dates & Coconut Bread
(Makes one 9″x5″ loaf)
2 cups organic whole wheat flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup melted butter
1/3 cup jaggery powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup chopped or coarsely ground dates
1 1/2 cups crushed pineapple
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut (for topping)
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds, for topping
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 9 x 5 inches loaf pan and line base with parchment paper.
Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside.
Mix the jaggery into the warm, melted butter and whisk until it turns slightly creamy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well.
Mix in the dates, pineapple & 1/2 cup coconut, and fold everything together gently.
Add the flour in two measures, mixing gently with each addition.
Pour into prepared loaf pan, top with pumpkin seeds and scatter the reserved 1 tablespoon coconut all over the top.
Bake for 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for a while, then transfer to a cooling rack. Slice when completely cool.
*We like to use Navadarshanam organic whole wheat flour, especially in our breads, as it lends a nice grainy texture. Besides, we think it’s cool to support local farms that practice organic farming.
April 11, 2016
Toasty Roasted Baby Potatoes
It doesn't take too long for us to munch our way through a kilogram or more of potatoes as a family. Somehow this pantry staple manages to sneak into our meals, bulking up vegetable curries, binding cutlets and paratha fillings, or handily slipped into toasted sandwiches. In many Indian households, it is de rigueur for large chunks of potatoes to be added to the everyday subzi, be it aloo-methi, aloo-palak, aloo-paneer or the pretty much inescapable, aloo-gobhi. We've tried consciously to shift out of this cooking paradigm, and occasionally we do like to cook potatoes on their own, to savour...
Toasty Roasted Baby Potatoes
It doesn’t take too long for us to munch our way through a kilogram or more of potatoes as a family. Somehow this pantry staple manages to sneak into our meals, bulking up vegetable curries, binding cutlets and paratha fillings, or handily slipped into toasted sandwiches. In many Indian households, it is de rigueur for large chunks of potatoes to be added to the everyday subzi, be it aloo-methi, aloo-palak, aloo-paneer or the pretty much inescapable, aloo-gobhi. We’ve tried consciously to shift out of this cooking paradigm, and occasionally we do like to cook potatoes on their own, to savour and celebrate their many irresistible qualities.
These Basil Roasted Baby Potatoes were made for a party recently, and they disappeared so quickly that another batch had to be tossed and slipped into the oven. Roasting the potatoes in their skins is a great way to add texture and crispiness, and these tiny taters are much too hard to peel anyway. Any herbs can be used in place of the basil, fresh thyme and rosemary are particularly good, but basil is what was in the fridge that day, so that’s what went in. The dried and fresh herbs provide double the flavour hit, you get the deeper, savoury flavour of the dried basil and the anise tones of the green leaves too.
A shower of salty Parmesan or Emmental cheese right when you bring the tray out of the oven would not be out of place. Or you could stir in a dollop of fresh pesto to add even more flavor. We served these with Pasta Primavera, mixed greens and homemade focaccia, but if you stick in a few toothpicks and put them on the coffee table as an appetizer, you’d surely be making a lot of folks very happy.
Basil Roasted Baby Potatoes
(Serves 8)
1 kg baby potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt to taste
A handful of fresh basil
Preheat the oven to 200ºC / 400ºF.
Soak the potatoes in warm water for a few minutes and then scrub well to remove any dirt. Dry them in a clean kitchen towel and set aside.
Line a large baking sheet or jelly roll pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Pour the oil in a large mixing bowl and add the red pepper, salt ad dried basil.
Tip in the potatoes and toss well.
Transfer the potatoes to the prepared baking sheet and arrange them in a single layer, cut side down.
Roast for about 25-30 minutes, tossing once, or until the potatoes are tender.
Tear up and toss in the fresh basil, and serve hot.
