Remi's Ratatouille ..

Overview : 

So, my project of this year was this gorgeous dish, rather presentation. I am sure many cooking enthusiasts who have watched this movie  "Ratatouille" must have fallen in love with the rat "Remy" and must have definitely fantasized preparing Ratatouille and savoring it just like "Anton Ego". I fantasized too and read about it. It didn't seem to be a tough job after all, considering also the fact that I go gaga over French/Italian food. But the presentation they showed in the movie was so elegant that I could not help giving it a try..

So, I made a fully vegetarian presentation, with vegetables like yellow squash, Italian eggplant, zucchini and red bell pepper. Here it goes..

Cooking time: 50 minutes, excluding dicing vegetables. Serves 2-3 

Ingredients :

• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves (Grated)
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small Italian Eggplant
• 1 small zucchini
• 1 small yellow squash
• 1 long red bell pepper
• Fresh or dried Thyme leaves
• Salt and pepper
• Mozzarella cheese and little  tomme de chevre cheese

Recipe : 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degree F or 190 degree Celsius.
2. In a large/longish baking tray(approx) 10 inches in length (regular corelle dish) , spread the tomato puree evenly. Add salt and pepper generously over the puree and add the grated garlic and chopped onion. Mix 1 tbsp olive oil and stir the sauce. Sprinkle chopped parsley if you have, but its not necessary.
3. Sprinkle some Mozzarella and  tomme de chevre cheese over it.
4. Now slice all the vegetables in the cross-section across width, into thin slices.. The slice should be half a centimeter thin.
5. Arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a little edge of each flat surface is visible. Do that by alternating vegetables.
6. Spread the remaining olive oil over vegetables and season them evenly with salt,pepper and dried thyme leaves.
7. Sprinkle some fresh mozzarella finally and cover the dish with a parchment paper that is cut in exact size as that of top of the baking dish. Paper should be put and cut in such a way that, it covers the vegetables exactly and doesn't sag inside them.
8. Now put the dish in preheated oven and bake for 50 minutes. Do not over-bake, otherwise the vegetables can burn and flavor may be spoiled. La Ratatouille is ready for presentation !!

Presentation:

Serve in a platter with any way you like. Its a presentation dish, so you can be very creative with it. I like the movie presentation. But it can be served with Rice/Pasta as well. I personally feel it tastes awesome with rice..!!

Chicken Do-Pyaaza

Overview :

A very aromatic, North - Indian style chicken curry. Its famously called as Chicken "Do-Pyaaza" because of the technique of marination of chicken. Its kept in onion-ginger-garlic paste twice(one time in marination and other while cooking) and hence called "Do-Pyaaza". "Do" is Hindi for "twice". It is actually a Mughal legacy.

Cooking Time : 30 mins including pre-cooking preparation.

Marination :  6-7 hours. Plan your cooking accordingly. The chicken needs to be marinated for this much time atleast.

Ingredients :

• 4 lbs ( roughly 2 kilogram) of  your choice of  boneless chicken 

• 2 big onion, one big piece of ginger and 7-8 cloves of garlic, few green chillies blended together.

• flavor spices : 3 big black cardamom(badi elaichi), 2 Bay leaves(tej-patra), 2 small Cinnamon sticks(Dalchini), salt to taste

• dry spices : 4 tbsp coriander powder, 2 tsp red chilli powder

• 2 tbsp cooking oil.
• MDH Chicken curry masala for additional fragrance.
• salt as per taste
• 3 tbsp tomato puree

Recipe : 

1. Wash chicken properly and cut into smaller chunks, say 3X3 inches.
2. In a bowl, take half of the blended onion-ginger-garlic mixture and add 2 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder and 2 tsp chicken curry masala. Add 2 tsp salt and mix well. Now add all the chicken pieces and mix gently. Set aside for 7 hours. So you have to plan the cooking accordingly.
3. Heat oil in a large vessel with cover or a pressure cooker on high flame and add all the flavor spices like black cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks etc.  Now add the rest of the onion-ginger-garlic paste and saute until dark brown.
4. Lower the flame to medium and add the rest of the spices like 2 tbsp coriander powder, 1 tsp red chilli powder, salt to taste and 1 tsp chicken curry masala to the sauteed mixture. Stir evenly and add the tomato puree.
5. Now add all the marinated chicken and keep the flame on medium low. Add 3-4 tbsp water and cook covered for around 15 minutes, till the chicken has completely cooked. It may take additional 10 minutes to cook it completely.
6. If using a pressure cooker, let go just 1 or 2 whistles and then turn the heat off. By this time you will definitely come to know how aromatic this particular recipe is.

Presentation:

Serve hot garnished with cilantro leaves and green chillies. Enjoy with rice or chapatis.

Asian Shrimp Fried Rice

Overview :

Another quick, easy and tasty Asian recipe using shrimps, red and green bell peppers,onions and scallions.

The best things about Asian cuisine is that a regular flavor is obtained with a little spices. Its a game of sauces actually. 

Cooking Time : 30-40 mins including pre-cooking preparations, Serves 3-4

Ingredients :

• 3 cups plain boiled rice ( preferably brown rice).  Authentic Asian recipes use more brown rice than white.
• 3 grated garlic cloves
• 1 cup finely chopped red pepper.
• 1 cup finely chopped green pepper
• 1 bundle finely chopped scallions
• 15-20 washed medium sized shrimps
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp white vinegar
• 2 tsp red-chilli garlic sauce
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tbsp lemon juice for final acidity.
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt as per taste
• 1 tbsp sugar

Recipe : 

1. Heat the cooking oil in a medium/large skillet over high flame and add the grated garlic. Saute until golden brown.
2. Add all the chopped vegetables and stir-fry gently. Add salt and 1 tbsp sugar generously all over the vegetables.
3. Reduce the heat to medium and keep covered for a minute.
4. Now add the mentioned amount of soy sauce, vinegar, garlic sauce to veggies. Stir gently. You will notice that the color of the gravy has changed to a darker brown.
5. Now add the lemon juice and the washed shrimps. Stir gently. The shrimps will loose some water. That is a normal thing to happen. Reduce the flame to medium low and cook opened.
6. Now stir well one last time. There will be a little gravy left in the vegetables.

Presentation :

Mix the vegetable-shrimp gravy with brown rice and serve hot. You can even make a presentation with rice by any contrasting way you like :-) . For spicier gravy, add more red-chilli garlic sauce or add some chopped green chillies as well. 

Spanish Frittata

Overview:

My apologies for the delayed advent into writing about another eggitarian delicacy I prepared last month itself. The Spanish Frittata or most conveniently described as the baked Spanish Omelette. Making use of limited vegetables like potatoes, onions,mushrooms, tomatoes, red and yellow bell peppers, French Goat cheese, mozzarella cheese, Some fresh parsley and basil and a little spices like salt and black pepper.

Cooking Time : 40 mins including pre-cooking preparations and baking.

Ingredients :

• 8X1/4 inch aluminium pie pan.
• 4 large white eggs
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin Olive oil
• salt and crushed/powdered Black pepper
• 1 thinly sliced red pepper and yellow pepper
• one thinly sliced Potato
• one big onion thinly sliced
• half cup thinly sliced mushrooms
• one thinly sliced small tomato
• fresh Parsley and basil leaves (chopped)
• Fresh French Goat cheese and shredded Mozzarella cheese

Recipe :

1. Beat all the eggs in a large bowl and add salt and crushed black pepper to them.
2. In a separate skillet, heat olive oil on high flame and stir fry all the sliced vegetables, namely potatoes, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms and onions. Saute till they are medium glazed with a grilled appearance. Using an old skillet does the trick of giving that charcoals glazed look and flavor to the veggies. Turn off the flame, Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the veggies and mix finely diced tomatoes at the end. Keep covered.
3. Preheat the oven at 380 degrees F or 194 degree Celsius approximately. In the pie pan, pour the egg batter and add all the vegetable mixture to it. Cut 0.5X0.5 inch cubes of the goat cheese(around 10 cubes) and place at various places in the batter inside the pie pan.
4. Now sprinkle chopped parsley and basil all over the batter and garnish it with good amount of fresh Mozzarella cheese.
5. Very carefully , place the pie pan inside the oven and bake for around 20 mins. Keep on checking in between to make sure that the texture looks okay and not burnt. That has to be done because eggs cook very fast, and you would not want the awesome flavors of cheese and eggs to just be covered by a burnt stench ;)
6. Result will look something like this ;) . You will be able to smell the aromas of the eggs baked in those herbs and cheese by now. Its all done !!

Serving and Presentation :

Carefully cut a piece and serve with salad and bread sticks  I made a sauce by mixing mayonnaise and parmesan-romano sauce with lemon juice and garlic, and made a little presentation of my own !!

Omelette du fromage

Overview:

Easy to make and probably a snooty french breakfast ;) I bet, after you prepare this once , almost everyone having it would feel sitting in Paris :)

Well, its always good to have a change in the regular omelette breakfast for us Indians. With flavors of parmesan and smooth creamy french goat cheese,  dried thyme, basil, rosemary and fresh parsley leaves,  omelette du fromage (fromage : french for cheese) makes a filling and tasty and aromatic breakfast. Prepare it or savor it with butter, some crisp bread.

Cooking Time : 15 - 20 mins including dicing peppers and onions. Serves 4

Ingredients :

• 5 large white eggs
• grated Parmesan cheese, mixed with some freshly grated Mozzarella cheese.
• finely chopped onion, red , green and yellow pepper.
• finely chopped fresh parsley leaves.
• dried thyme,basil, rosemary leaves(these can be obtained from any dried seasoning mix)
• salt as per taste ( 1 teaspoon roughly)
• fat free cooking spray or 1 tbsp butter ( as you please)
• fresh french goat cheese( I use "President" french goat cheese. Its smooth creamy, mostly used for salad blends)

Recipe:

1. Beat the eggs nicely in a large bowl along with salt. Set aside.
2. Mix the grated cheese (parmesan and mozzarella  with some seasoning mix of thyme, rosemary and basil. This will help spread the aroma of these herbs into the inner layer of the omelette along with the cheese. With every bite, you'll be able to distinctly taste the cheese and relish the aroma of these herbs :)
3. Cut the goat cheese into small cubes of a little less than an inch. I recommend setting aside atleast 4-5 cubes for each omelette you prepare.
4. Heat a medium-small skillet on high flame and spread some cooking spray on it. You can also use butter to fetch the authentic french taste, but I suggest going easy on calories because we would be adding nice amount of cheese as well.
5. Reduce the heat to medium and keep that for another 2 mins. Now pour 1/4 th of egg batter in the pan and let it set. 
6. When the top of omelette is just a little moist, sprinkle the mixture of grated cheese we prepared evenly over the omelette so that no area is left that isn't sprinkled with a little cheese mix. Garnish with some red, green and yellow peppers. 
7. Keep the flame on medium low to low and now add the small cubes of goat cheese at all places evenly over the omelette.
8. Sprinkle some more dried seasoning mix of thyme,rosemary and basil  to increase the aroma. The goat cheese and vegetables will release a very little amount of water. Let it evaporate for a while and then put the freshly chopped parsley over the omelette. Now fold the omelette into half. This will be easy to do as the omelette must have cooked thoroughly by this time under low flame.
9. Let the omelette set for around 45 seconds In this interval, all the water lost by the vegetables will almost dry up keeping the inside of the omelette soft, mushy and moist by the melted cheese. By this time you will be able to smell the aroma of all the cheese along with the seasoning of rosemary, thyme,basil and fresh parsley filling up the kitchen. This means we are done !!

Presentation:

Serve in a platter garnished with fresh parsley, along with freshly baked crisp bread and butter....

Or... just the plain omelette. It tastes and smells like something you can find in a high end restaurant, but its just at the counter of your very own kitchen ! Bon Apettit !!

PS: I did not cut the vegetables very finely so my omelette broke in between. That's why I suggested "finely chopped everything" :)
The pic on the left is the perfect outcome !

Saag-blend with rice( eastern-UP saagpaitha)

Overview:

Green veggies have been my weakness since like forever.. well actually may be from the time I began to like the greens.. Let me strike an analogy.. Its like a child loving candies but despising them as he or she grows old.. and loving something he or she despised as a child..  seriously, how many of you like those sugary candies that much now.. and how many of you have started to like the greens, ones you despised when you were kids..

Anyway, so this one is also a recipe that runs in the family from my mother's side I suppose. Makes use of greens like Spinach, Methi (oregano) and Dill. Its extremely healthy.. look for yourself.. other than the fat from desi ghee, rest all is I guess Iron and chlorophyll from the greens. And as far as the taste is concerned, I am a huge fan of it !! So trust me, its good. Even my 2 year old daughter likes it :)

Serves :4 , Cooking time : 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 400-500 grams fresh Spinach leaves
• 400 grams fresh methi(Oregano leaves)
• 200 grams fresh dill leaves (Soya saaag)
• 5-6 cloves of chopped garlic
• 3X3 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
• 5 green chillies(chopped)
• salt as per taste
• black lentils (100 grams : urad chilka split)  
• 2 tsp desi ghee
• turmeric and red chilli powder (1 tsp each)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera)
• 1 tsp hing 

Recipe:

1. Clean all the greens thoroughly(separate leaves), wash them separately and chop them. Set aside.
2. Wash the lentils. Put approx 1 cup water in a steam pressure cooker. Add lentils and salt and turmeric.
3. Add the chopped greens that we set aside earlier.
4. Add chopped green chillies and chopped ginger .
5. Cook on high flame and let go atleast 4 whistles off.
6. Turn off heat and let the lentils and greens cook in the steam.
7. In a separate skillet, add desi ghee and heat on high flame. Add cumin seeds, hing powder and chopped garlic. Saute till garlic is reddish brown and crisp in texture.
8. Now add red chilli powder and turn the heat off. Add this tadka to the saag in the steam cooker.

Presentation:

Serve hot in a bowl along with freshly boiled rice or chapatis. I personally like it with rice, that is the UP style. 

PS: I have heard "Amitabh Bachhan" mentioning this in an interview as one of his favorite dishes in childhood times.

Chicken Biryani (North Indian style)

Overview:

To all my non-vegetarian friends searching for delectable and healthy Non-vegetarian cuisine, this one is easy , requires comfortable preparations and of course, is a delight for eyes and taste buds!!

A biryani, traditionally has to be spicy, with aromas from green chillies and cardamoms whether it is non-vegetarian or vegetarian. These two things will give the best flavor to it. The rice has to be Basmati/Tilakchandan because they give the best Rice-Aromas. In North-Indian cooking the biryani's are given a distinct aroma of cardamoms by a special technique of flavoring the rice. I learned it from my mom who in turn learned it from her father.This method was used by the chefs of "Nawaabs" at that time.. well atleast that is what my mom told me :)

Cooking Time : 50 mins (excluding Marination and Baking) , serves 4-5

Ingredients:

You will need

• Boneless Chicken Meat of your choice cut into 2X2 inch chunks.
• 1 cup Yogurt (Dahi) : With water  drained.
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 2X2 inch peice of ginger (chopped)
• 2-3 garlic cloves(chopped)
• Spices : Tandoori chicken masala(3 tbsp), Red chilli powder( 2 tsp), salt, Dhaniya Powder(2 tbsp), 2-3 cloves(laung), 2 bay leaves(tej-patra)
• tomato puree( one cup)
• green chillies diced into halves
• chopped coriander(Cilantro)
• lemon juice
• crushed black pepper
• 3-4 cups of boiled rice.
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds(jeera) 
• 3 cardamoms(break opened)

Marination:

For marination, drain water from yogurt by keeping it in a seive/peice of cloth for around 2 hours. Collect a cup of water drained yogurt. you might need around 3 cups of standard yogurt for this purpose. Now in a bowl mix some salt, red chilli powder, 2 tbsp Tandoori chicken masala and a little crushed black pepper.

Now add all the chicken in the bowl, mix well and set aside with a cover. The chicken needs to be marinated for around 10 hours, so its best to do it first thing in morning if you are planning for dinner, or a day before if you are planning a lunch.

Baking:

Bake the marinated chicken for around 35 minutes at 450 degree Fahrenheit or around 232 degree Celsius.

After baking separate the chicken in a bowl and splash some lemon juice evenly over it.

Recipe for chicken:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the cloves(laung), and bay leaves to it. Now add onion, garlic and "half" of the chopped ginger and saute for a few minutes until the onions turn golden brown.
2. Now add the spices like Dhaniya powder, 1 tbsp tandoori chicken masala to it and stir well. Add the baked chicken to this and mix well. Cook for a minute with a lid on.
3. Now add the tomato puree and cook covered for 2 minutes. Add salt if necessary.
4. Simmer for a few minutes and add chopped green chillies and coriander.

Flavoring the Rice:

The rice should be freshly boiled. Now, flavoring the rice is extremely important to give the Biryani its authentic aroma and even taste. This is a very common method practiced in North Indian culture as I mentioned earlier too. Just heat 2 tsp oil/desi ghee in a large spoon or small skillet and add the mentioned quantity of jeera and cardamoms to it. Make sure, you break open cardamoms so that few seeds get into the   ghee. I recommend ghee instead of oil for a better taste and aroma, but if some of you are really picky about the ghee fat, you can replace that by oil. Fry for 5-6 seconds and add this to rice. Mix well so that all of rice gets the aroma from cardamoms.

Presentation:

In a large serving bowl, make a layer of flavored rice and run a layer of chicken gravy on it. Run alternate layers of rice and chicken till you reach the top of bowl. Decorate with green chillies diced in halves and cilantro, serve hot !!