Hot and sweet poached pears - Review

To read a blog and to day dream about it – That can happen. But, to read one and actually dream about it -That’s what happened to me about this one. The picture was so mind blowing that I drooled about this one for days. And one night, I even dreamed about this one. After a few days, I slowly forgot about this. When Chuks saw pears one day at Wal-Mart, he called me asking whether he should pick some for my ‘dream recipe’. Gladly, I accepted. I had high expectations for this one when I started. First, I made the sweet and sour sauce. It was good. Actually, I was a bit doubtful about cooking a fresh fruit. I just hoped it might be good. Finally, when I tasted the dish, I was disappointed. I did not like it, really. The pear tasted a bit odd.  The sauce was good to eat with chunks of fresh fruits.

Recipe : http://sunitabhuyan.com/?p=4330

Verdict : The recipe disappointed. The hot and sweet sauce was good, though.

Apple-Banana Teabread - Review

By the time I start early for work,it is still midnight for both Chuks and Poppins.When I give a kiss on Poppins’ tiny cheeks, she utters something and curls into the warmth of the comforter. Chuks raises his hands and say “Drive carefully” and go back to his sleep as usual. When I am in the car, I feel bad for those two who have to munch down on cereals. My Poppins’ doesn’t get to know the taste of “Steamed Puttu and Kadala Curry”. “Appam and Stew “,”Dosa & Sambar” are all weekend delicacies for her. So,I am always in search of easy breakfast recipes. On a lazy work day,redirecting from one link to another, I landed on SunitaBhuyan’s blog. Most of her dishes were ‘foreign’ to me. I don’t remember seeing Assamese recipes anywhere else.And my eyes were struck on “Apple Banana Tea Bread” recipe. One thing I noticed was that  she  bakes a lot of stuff with whole wheat flour (wholemeal) instead of all purpose flour. Plus, the recipe does not have any butter .Its all healthy stuff. So I decided to give it a try.

Having three big sweet tooth’s at home, the only change I made was instead of 4tbsp of Honey, I added 6 or seven tablespoons ( I don’t remember exactly). This gave a little more natural sweetness to the bread. Plus, I put a little more than a quarter cup of olive oil instead of half cup on the recipe. Since I reduced the amount oil, I was a little doubtful that it may be a little dry. But, it was perfect. Believe me, it was really good. Healthy? Yes! Tasty? Yes! I had made it a number of times.

Recipe : http://sunitabhuyan.com/?p=83

Verdict : Yes! Yes! Yes! .

Rajma Curry - Review

Rajma!  It was always something which I can never cook properly. Sometimes, its undercooked, masala did not add up well, overcooked.I was never able to made it to perfection.Chuks loved the rajma curry his mom makes. I had made the curry a hundred times, with no avail.Poor me…I kept experimenting with a number of recipes.But,for Chuks it is always “its too watery”,” its not well cooked”,” the masala is not good”. I envied and ate the Rajma curry made by my north Indian friends.The taste is perfect!The masala is awesome!Everything is good.But,when I try the same thing,’Sankaran is on the coconut tree,again’ hmm…Slowly,I learnt to completely ignore the small jar of rajma in my store.Finally,I landed on this recipe.The name itself was tempting. “Malai Maar Ke! The pictures was so tempting that I decided to give it a final try.After all,I have to finish the rajma hidden in the corner ;) Or else,I will have to throw it out.

In slight variation to this recipe,I added whole milk instead of heavy cream.

Recipe: RAJMA - Malai Maar Ke :)

Verdict : The best rajma curry,I have ever made or eaten!It looked inviting,tasted delicious.

 

Tindora Aloo Curry - Review

The only time I check a food blog is either to look at the beautiful pictures or when I don’t know what to make. I am amazed at the variety of cuisines. More over, when I look through the pages one by one,I am inspired to cook something special for Chuks and Poppins. The search for “Something special” always ends in a sweet dessert. I should say we all got very big sweet tooth.

Last day, while browsing through the food blogs, I suddenly remembered that I will have to make some curry for chapatti.A quick look into the fridge: I have some Tindora(Kovakka).Its been there for a week now. That’s the only vegetable there. I usually make Tindora Mezhukkupuratti. Been bored of that for a while.So,as usual, typed into google “Tindore Recipes".The first one that caught my attention was “Tindora : 41 Recipes”.Being a lazy cook,I completely ignored the stuffed variety completely.My motto is to spend the least time in kichen.Picked up the “Tindora Aloo Curry”. Inspired by the recipe,I made the dish.Instead of cutting it in long pieces ,I cut them into small square ones and I avoided the urad dal.

Nothing went wrong. It was just an Ok dish.The only problem was tindora(Ivy guard) did not get cooked well.I put both tindora and the potato together and by the time potato was well cooked,tindora was lagging behind.Next time,I may cook both of them separately.Anyway,finished the dinner with chappathi,tindora curry and raita.

Recipe- Srikar's kitchen:Tindora Aloo Curry

Verdict: The potato pieces tasted good. Tindora was undercooked. I did not like it really

Peas(Beef) Curry

When I was newly married, I was a total stranger to the kitchen. Was never interested in cooking(Even now,I believe in Cooking for Survival).The only thing I knew was moru curry and coffee.

Many an ISD calls been made to both my mom and MIL to check how to make sambar,chicken curry,fish fry.Questions to amma included how much mustard do you need for moru curry,is there any other trick to revert the burnt onion etc.etc.Both my sisters,being very good cooks,'celebrated' my doubts.

One fine day,hubby casually mentioned that one of his childhood favorite was Peas curry.I made a mental note.As soon as he left for office phone at my home rang...

"Hello"

"enna undu vishesham ?"(How are you)

"amme...peas curry enagneya vekkunne?"(Mom..How do you make peas curry?)

"kelkkan vayya...bhayankara mazhaya ivide..."(Cant hear you..Its raining heavily here)

"amme peas curry enagneya vekkunne?"(Mom..How do you make peas curry?)

"ohh..atho...athu bhayankara easya...aadyam uppum mulakum kurachu manjalum thirumi vevikkanam..adhikam vellam ozhikkanda.nalla pole vekanam"(Oh...thats so easy...First,marinate it with some chilly powder and turmeric.Dont pour so much water.It should be cooked thoroughly)

"ok"

"athu kazhinju kurachu ulliyum veluthulliyum icnchiyum nalla pole vazhatti kurachu manjalum mulakum malliyum garam masalayum ittittu ,athu nalla pole vazhannu kazhiyumbo vevichu vecha pieces eduthu nalla pole ulathi edukaknam.last,add some pepper"(after that,stir fry some onion,ginger and garlic,add chilli powder,turmeric,coriander powder,garam masala.When it is well done,add the cooked pieces and dont forget pepper)

"vokei.."(ok..)

By the time,hubby reached home...Peas curry was ready.The curry was dry,that was an Ok dish. We both enjoyed it.Hubby said it was good.May be he dint want to make me sad.He,being a better cook with some sense and sensibility,suggested that I can make it gravy for chappathy.Ignorant as I am..I ran to the laptop.After some search ,(Thank you Google gods) I boiled some coconut milk and water(canned coconut milk is very thick) and mixed it to the gravy.It definitely tasted better.It was good.

Some days later,the phone rang again.This time,hubby was also present.

"Hello..how was ur curry?"

"It was good.The dry one was just ok.But,we both liked the peas curry."

"Peas curry?what peas curry.Am asking about the beef curry?"

"Beef curry???????Remember,that day I asked you the recipe for peas curry.."

"Hmm..It was raining here.I heard beef curry...I gave you the recipe for beef curry"

Silence.

Result :That day,I understood one thing.In order to make most Indian curries,splutter some mustard seeds in oil,add onions,ginger-garlic,chilli powder,coriander and turmeric powder and add the cooked 'pieces'.Dont forget the salt.

It all started...

This is the story of my love and hate relationship with my kitchen