No-cook Dahi Vada recipe

For the life of me... I can't remember where I got this recipe from. It surely wasn't from my mom, for she was fairly amused the first time I made these dahi vadas for her.

However much I may love cooking, there are times when it's just too much of an effort to make everything from scratch. So right at the onset, I must confess, that this IS a cheat recipe... in that I use some ready made ingredients to reduce the time (not to mention the effort) of making the dahi vadas from scratch. Honestly they may not taste much like the traditional dahi vada made from udad dal batter - but I can guarantee that its an interesting and palatable version - worth a try! 

INGREDIENTS

For the Vada

A packet of butter biscuits (variously called Surti Batasa biscuit, Makhania biscuit, Namkeen Khari Batasa biscuit)

Some luke warm water

For the Garnish

Beaten Yogurt / Curd

Sugar and Salt to taste

Pinch of Red Chilly powder

1 tsp Roasted Jeera (Cumin) powder

Besan Sev (optional)

Fresh Coriander

Fresh Mint and Coriander Green chutney

Tamarind chutney

METHOD

Place the butter biscuits flat side down, in a shallow/broad dish. Slowly pour in the luke warm water till it fills the dish for about an inch. Let the biscuits soak-in the water. This may take around 5-10 minutes, depending on the size of the biscuits.

Lightly press the top of the biscuits to see if the water has been absorbed right upto the top of the biscuits. Now, slowly lift each biscuit and press very gently to remove some of the excess water.Take care not to press too hard or the biscuits will get crushed. Besides, some of the water content in the biscuits will make them lighter and moist. So don't try to press them dry.

Next, line up a flat serving dish with these biscuits. 

Add some salt and castor sugar to the beaten yogurt to make it sweet and tangy. Drizzle the curd to cover all the biscuits in the dish. Sprinkle some red chilly powder, roaster jeera powder, sev and fresh coriander as garnish. Lastly add some green chutney and tamarind chutney for that extra punch of flavour.

Let it rest in the fridge for atleast half an hour before serving!

Cooking Quotes....!!

• Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian, wine and tarragon make it French, sour cream makes it Russian, lemon and cinnamon make it Greek, soy sauce makes it Chinese, garlic makes it good. ~Alice May Brock

• There is no love sincerer than the love of food. ~George Bernard Shaw

• He was an innovator, an experimenter, a missionary in bringing the gospel of good cooking to the home table. ~Craig Claiborne

• I don't like gourmet cooking or "this" cooking or "that" cooking. I like good cooking. ~James Beard

• The best sauce is cooked in an old pan. ~African Proverb

 

• When we decode a cookbook, every one of us is a practicing chemist. Cooking is really the oldest, most basic application of physical and chemical forces to natural materials. ~Arthur E. Grosser

• Life is too short to stuff a mushroom. ~Storm Jameson

• Where there's smoke, there's toast. --Anon

• I feel a recipe is only a theme, which an intelligent cook can play each time with a variation. ~Madam Benoit

• Kissing don't last: cookery do. ~George Meredith

Goan Sausages... as you like it !!

The only words you think of when you hear the name GOA -  beaches...beaCHES... BEACHES...!! Afterall, that's what Goa is known for. But as far as I am concerned, my experience of visiting a new place or travelling to a new destination is generally through my gustatory sense... afterall, I am and have always been 'crazy-bout-food'.

OK... so I'd heard people rave about Goa and its beaches and its night life not to forget the drinks and plethora of sea-food... but what I was most looking forward to during my short visit to Goa, was sampling the authentic Goan cuisine !

Well, you don't always get what you want and wish for... sometimes you get MORE...   :-) and I was lucky that that was the case with me; for I happened to meet two of my class mates, Ahva and Shikha, after 18 years. It was a memorable re-union made even more special by the serendipity of the meeting and it was a wonderful time I spent with Ahva, her husband and Shikha catching up and chatting up over food, drinks and the salty breeze. I tasted some of the most delectable Goan cuisine - Cafrael Chicken, Prawn Recheado and Golden friend prawns prepared by Octavio (Ahva's hubby) who as it turned out had worked as a professional chef  for many years!!.. and ofcourse, all the food was washed down with a few bottles of Goa's very own Kings beer. The scrumptious dinner culminated on a high crescendo of a heavenly chocolate mousse made by Shikha ! 

Then there was this awesome sea-food lunch I had with an office colleage... a lunch of the most exotic Balchao prawns, golden fried squid,  goan fish curry and rice. On my last night, Ahva and co. took me to this roadside "thela" (mobile restaurant), where we had an awesome meal of Sorpotel and pork stuffed buns... all washed down once again, with beer !! Well, didn't I say "you don't always get what you want.... sometimes you get MORE !!".... but then all good things must come to an end... and so did my wonderful trip !! 

On the return, I took back some unforgettable memories of the trip and some Goan food stuff  like the Recheado masala, Balchao masala, and some Goan sausages.

Back home I got down to preparing the Goan sausages. There are many ways in which they can be made, but I stuck to the simple method of sauteeing them with onions and tomatoes. So here goes my recipe -

Ingredients:
One string of goan sausages
3-4 medium size onions
2 medium size tomatoes (optionally you can use half a cup of tomato puree)
salt, sugar and vinegar (optional) to taste
2-3 tbsp oil

Method:

Dice and sautee the onions till they turn transparent.

 Meanwhile remove the sausage covering and put the meat into a separate bowl.

Add a bit of sugar to the onions and let it caramelize for a minute. Next add the diced tomatoes (or puree). Stir well to blend the onions and tomatoes. Add the meat to this mixture and stir again.

On low heat let it cook for 10-20 minutes, occassionally stirring. This enables the fat to be released and the sausages will be cooked well. Finally add the salt and if you find the sausages lacking in their tanginess, add a tbsp of vinegar.

The sausages are now ready to eat.... !

Serve them hot with rice and dal or store in refrigerator in an air-tight container - that way they can stay well over a week. However, if you find the preparation turning too spicy and hot as it seeps on longer in the masala and oil, you can add boiled potatoes to accompany them or use them as a filling for a yummy sandwich. Thats what I did!

For the sandwich, layer the sausages between slices of buttered brown (or any other) bread along with layers of sliced tomatoes and cucumber.  

Enjoy and GO...A...AAAHHH...!!! 

Ananas au Caramel de Vin Rouge

This high sounding recipe is just  French for Pineapple in Red Wine Caramel. As high sounding this recipe is, its as easy to make and even  better to eat !!

What you Need...
One Pineapple
Large chunk of butter
Sugar
Red Wine
Cinnamon

The Method...
1. Chop the pineapple into large bite sized chunks....

2. In a frying pan saute the pineapple chunks in butter till golden brown.

Remove from pan and set aside.

In the same pan heat sugar and cinnamon on low flame and as soon as the sugar starts to melt, add a cup of red wine to it. Let the sugar caramalise while the wine reduces to a syrupy consistency.

Plate the fried pinapples in a flat serving dish and pour the caramel sauce over it and serve hot !!

It can be served with freshly baked sponge cake... or pan cakes or even good ol' plain vanilla ice-cream !!

ENJOY !!

Barbari Bread Roll

A fluke recipe this!!

I happened to buy a barbari bread (typically oblong shaped Iranian bread) out of curiosity. Once home, I wondered what I could possibly make using it. On rummaging through my refrigerator, I came up with some lettuce, sauteed mushrooms (which I keep for instant use at all times), cocktail sausages, eggs, mustard paste and cheese.

So using all the ingredients I finally stirred up a quick and yummy roll using the unusually bland tasting Barbari bread.

Step 1.
Cut the bread breath-wise into two pieces.

Step 2.
Whisk 2 eggs into a hot frying pan... making a kind of plain omlette.


Step 3.
Layer each half of the bread with the egg and mushrooms.

Step 4.
Add some sausages (cut into length-wise halves)

Step 5.
Now add a layer of lettuce leaves, some grated cheese (optional) and drizzle with some mustard paste/sauce.

Step 6.
Finally roll the bread  and......

EEEEE....EEEE....EAT !!