Book Review "Gujarati Kitchen''; Murghanu Shaak (Chicken Curry)

Although this comes a lil late, here's wishing all my readers the best for the New Year. And I am back this New Year with yet another review. And the book reviewed is Gujarati Kitchen by Bhanu Hajratwala. I have had many a Gujarati friends and have had their typical Gujarati food  from their lunchboxes. I always assumed all Gujaratis to be vegetarians until I scanned through this book which denoted otherwise.

The book starts off on a very interesting read about the author's culinary journey throughout the world, her inspirations and so on and also on cooking authentic Gujarati cuisine despite the limited availability of ingredients. Following her Introduction comes three very important section which is beneficial to any amateur cook. It explains preparing and washing of Dals, meat, seafood, vegetables and so on; equipments and utensils and their uses; different spices and their uses. She even has a separate section on the preparation of different spice masalas. So those of you who prefer making masalas from scratch, this is the book for you. Then comes the recipes that are sectioned from starters to mouth freshners to end the meal. Very neatly put together, they are easy to replicate. I expected better pictures but the illustrations are much appreciated.

The recipe that I chose to do is from the non vegetarian section. Marghanu Shaak / Chicken Curry was my choice.

The chicken curry on its own is very mild compared to the Chicken curries of Kerala that my palate is so accustomed to. This curry makes use of very little spices but this curry can make you lap up every last bit of its remanants on your plate.

What you need for the recipe are: 
900 g Chicken, cut into serving pieces
1/3 C Oil
4x1" stick Cinnamon
8 Cardamoms
8 Curry Leaves or 4 Bay Leaves
1 Onion, Chopped
2 T Fresh Masala (For the recipe, find under fresh spice blends on pg 45 in the book. I made mine and have stored some in the refrigerator and also have freezed some)
1 t Chilli Powder
1 T Turmeric Powder
2 t Salt
1C Water
2 potatoes, quartered
1 tomato, diced
1 T Garam Masala
2T chopped Coriander Leaves
1T garlic greens, chopped

To hot oil, add cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, curry or bay leaves and brown lightly. Add onin to this and sauteuntil a light brown. Stir in the fresh masala, chilli and turmeric powders . Add chicken and cover and cook until the chicken turns colour. Add water and cook for a further 5 mins. Add potatoes, tomatoe and cook covered until the potatoes are tender. Stir in garam masala, coriander leaves and the garlic greens. Serve hot.

This review is a part of the http://blog.blogadda.com/2011/05/04/indian-bloggers-book-reviews" target="_blank">Book Reviews Program at  http://www.blogadda.com">BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Book Review,The Tuleeho! Book of Cocktails and three types of cocktail

 

 Blogadda  sent me the Tuleeho! book of Cocktails for review. A book on cakes, bakes etc have been reviewed on this space but a book on alcohol is the first here for the sole reason that I don't drink. My husband on the other hand does. So this book was welcome because I now get to mix him a drink. I have always been fascinated by the mixing and the stirring of the drinks but never knew where or what to  start with. This book is quite apt for a novice like me.

Three different types of cocktails were made as per what was available with the husband. So read below the talk that took place during the making. The recipes are included within the talk.

"Would you like to have a drink?" my wife asked as I got home last Saturday afternoon.

OMG, another fuse wire waiting to be lit. I pretend not to have heard it.

"I got to do a review on a book on cocktails".

All right, this looks relatively safe. "Sure"

"You will have to make it, I will give you the proportions", said my wife.

" Whisky 40 ml, Guava juice 100 ml, Tabasco 6 drops into a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake well, strain into an old-fashioned glass with salt on rim and slit green chilli as garnish. After I take the photographs, you can drink it and tell me how it tastes".

OMG! I don't like Guava juice. Silence helps in maintaining the status-quo.

Got myself some Indian Whisky and found a tetra pack of Tropicana guava juice in the fridge and had the drink strained into the glass in less than 300 seconds. The wait for the photo session was painful.

"Is it good?" asked the wife.

"Hmmmm. By the way, what is it called?"

"Old School"

Is she pulling my leg?

"It is great".

The truth is that it is a fairly good drink before lunch. And it can be fixed real quick. It makes guava juice taste better. I would'nt mind another drink.

"Lunch is ready". she called out soon.

"So am I".

"After lunch, pick up some fresh cream for me"

"What for?"

"I want to make another cocktail in the evening".

God bless blogging and book review.

 
It has been raining in Chennai for the past two days and the evenings were quite chilly. An hour or so has passed since the sun has set and still no news of the cocktail.

"So what are we making tonight"

She pretends not to hear me.

"I am going to my friend's place for a drink".

"Brandy Alexander", she said.

The name sounds good.

"What all do you need"

"Brandy and Crème de Cacao", said the wife.

"I am ready"

"Into the ice filled shaker, pour 60 ml brandy, 30 ml fresh cream and 15 ml Crème de Cacao. Add a bit of nutmeg powder and shake well. Strain into a glass".

I am getting used to the photo session.
 

"How is it?"

"It's great".

The warmth of the brandy makes it a good drink for a chilly evening. The taste of the concoction does not justify the use of Courvoisier. Next time should try this with an Indian brandy. A definite ace in your hand for the Christmas season.

"What is the book called?"

"The Tulleeho! Book of Cocktails"

"Do we get to keep the book?"

"Yes".

"Good".

 

Sunday afternoon, she asks me, "Can you try a ladies cocktail?"

"Why not? I think a vodka based one would be a popular choice"

"Try Caipiroshka", she said.

"What!"

"It is the Russian counterpart of the famed Brazilian Caipirinha, using vodka instead of cachaca as the base spirit", she rattled out.

Can one book make an expert out of her?, I thought to myself,

"Ok. Shoot".

"I will make this one. If you want to know, here is how it is made", she said confidently.

"Put 6 lime chunks, 1 tsp brown sugar, 5 ml lime juice, 10 ml sugar syrup and muddle in a glass. I hope you know what that means", she asked nonchalantly;

"I do". 
"Next pour 60 ml vodka, top glass with crushed ice and stir once"

"You have not crushed the ice".
"Do you want it or not?"
"It looks good. Can I taste it?"
"In a minute".

 

The photograph session got over even before I finished admiring the drink in the glass. The muddling and the brown sugar gives it a sinister look.

"To my personal bartender"

"How is it?"
"It's great".
It is really a great day drink for the ladies. A bitter taste stood out. It could be because of the quality of the lime or too much muddling. 

And so ended the session :)

Coming back to the book itself, it  is a very informational book. It contains everything regarding cocktails right from the different types of alcohol, barwares, glasswares, mixers, the types, techniques  to tips and tricks. An impressive book but could have done with better pictures.



Linking this to Colours Dekor .

Buttered and Baked Potatoes and a Book Review

Vegetable markets to me are a delight. There is so much that you can find in a market rather than what is displayed on the shelves of any supermarket. At most times, when I buy the packaged vegetables off the shelves, I am in a surprise when I cut the package open. Under all that good looking vegetables that are made to line the exterior of the package, they have decaying ones on the inside. This is so with all vegetables and fruits , especially with boxed strawberries. Plump red ones stand on the top and when you look on the underside, they box is covered with leaves. I always fall for the berries only to come home and find minuscule and decaying berries underneath. And the price I end up paying for them, let's not even go that way. 

Anyways, I had planned to grill chicken for last night's dinner and there was a request for potatoes as a side dish for it. Of late ever since I received a review copy from Sellers Publishers, the Big Book has been helping me with such requests. Talking about the book, it contains about 125 recipes all categorized under salads, pasta, vegetables, fruits etc. The author, Rick Browne, the host of Barbecue America presents recipes that he had tasted on his pilgrimage across the American heartlands and also some of his mom's cooking notes. He also encourages us to try his recipes but adapt it to our taste. And that is what I did with these baked potatoes. The only downside about this book would be the absence of photographs which would have been a treat if present of those lovely recipes.

What you see is a bowl of buttered and baked potatoes. A very simple recipe but a flavour that would liven up any meal. Fresh rosemary sprigs is what the recipe asks for, but since I wanted to adapt it to our palate, I added crushed garlic and lots of black pepper. When these are baked, they can be sinfully delicious.And now I can figure why this starchy spud still continues to be our favourite.

 

Buttered and Baked Potato (From the big book of barbecue side dishes)

Serves 4


1/2 a kg of small potatoes ( I halved each for the flavours to seep in better)
3 T butter (Do not substitute)
Salt
Pepper
Garlic- 5 cloves, crushed

Preheat the oven to 375 degree F
Scrub the potatoes under water. Use them whole or halve them or cut them too.
Place thes in a casserole in one layer.
Toss in the crushed garlic.
In another bowl, mix butter, rosemary sprigs as the author used and salt. Pour this over the potatoes. Bake until tender.
Remove, season with pepper, remove the rosemary sprigs if using and serve. Note that the potatoes nned to be browned. The skin would crinkle. Butter and the slow cooking lend these spuds a flavour good enough to experience.


And yes, get this book if you can because it has a lot to offer.

Celebrating the Holiday season with 3 cookies from 500 cookies by Philippa Vanstone *Book Review*

The book, 500 Cookies by Philippa Vanstone couldn't have come at a better time than this festive season all thanks to Sellers publishers. This book features 500 recipes for cookies, both sweet and the savoury kind. Neatly categorized under 10 subsections, it is quite hard to decide on one cookie to bake because each photograph that accompany the recipes are a treat to the eye. What impressed me the most is the author has taken the effort to provide recipes for special diets and also wholesome healthy cookies. Yes, this has recipes for people who have food allergies as in recipes free of wheat, diary products, gluten or nuts. Impressed? I am!

The book contains sections on the equipments, ingredients and the different types of cookies thereby being very useful to a novice baker. Although I do bake cookies more when it comes to holidays these sections proved to be a lot helpful. Another factor that has to be mentioned is the section on variations provided for most cookies in the subsection. There you have it, a basic recipe for a cookie followed by variations. How neat is that now?

So while I was browsing through this compact yet a book full of mouthwatering recipes and keeping in min that I am someone who when it comes to baking believe in recipes that have been there since generations, I chose one from the classic cookies. And that legendary cookie is the Peanut butter cookie.

I love peanut butter but the Mr. does not nor does my little one. Normally it is their preference than takes the stand, but this time, it was mine. So what you need for these cookies that claimed to be a real indulgence for peanut butter fans are:

Makes 2 dozen cookies
1 + 1/2 C All purpose flour
1/2 t Baking Soda
1/2 cup Sweet Butter (Until now I have never heard of the term : sweet butter. In India, it is either salted or unsalted butter. So when I turned to the net for help, what I realized was that sweet butter was another term for unsalted butter! Duh!!! So much for all that thinking on what it could be... Some sources also say that it is the butter made from uncultured cream. I used unsalted butter.)
1/2 C Superfine Sugar
1/2 C unrefined light brown Sugar
1 Egg
1 C Crunchy Peanut Butter
A pinch of Salt

Sift Flour + baking soda. In another bowl, beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add in the egg, flour, peanut butter and salt. Add in the butter + sugar mixture. Mix to a fine dough. Wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. I refrigerated mine overnight. Preheat the oven to 160 degree C. Shape the dough into 1 and 1/4" balls and flatten them using a fork. Bake for 15 minutes or until done.

Despite the overnight refrigeration I had a crumbly dough which when flattened which either crumbled on the tray or stuck to the fork. With repeated attempts of dipping the fork in hot water before spreading the dough worked to an extent. The recipe says baking the cookies for 15 mins at a temperature of 160 degree C. Mine were unbaked at the bottom. So I baked it for a further 10 minutes at 200 degree C. despite these hiccups the cookies were a treat especially for a peanut butter hater. The Mr. couldn't stop with one. This cookie does not have the overpowering taste of peanut butter. So this recipe works for me and the family!

The second choice of mine were the brownies from the cookie bars section. Everyone has their fool proof brownie recipe. Mine has been these sinful brownies so far from the joy of baking site. I love bars made in trays for the ease of slicing them in any way and the array of topping and flavours that they can hold. This recipe was given to the author of the book by her friend, a pastry chef who used to make brownies at a restaurant in London. I did the basic recipe for the brownie and followed a variation from the section of variations provided like I had mentioned earlier.

What you need are:

1/2 C Sweet Butter
4 oz Unsweetened Chocolate
4 oz Bitter Sweet Chocolate
1 Cup unrefined light brown sugar
pinch of Salt
1 t Vanilla Extract
2 Eggs
1/4 C AP Flour
1 C (coarsely chopped Pecans) ( I was doing cream cheese brownies, so nuts weren't used. Recipe  follows.)

Preheat oven to 160 degree C. Line an 8" square pan. Melt butter and chocolate in a heat proof bowl placed over a pot of simmering water. Once, melted, add in the sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add in the flour followed by the nuts if using them. Pour into the pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Cut into square and serve.

 For cream cheese brownies:

Prepare the basic above recipe and put a third of the batter in another bowl. Add 1/2 C of cream cheese and mix to incorporate. Pour this into the chocolate brownie batter in the pan and swirl for a marbled effect.. bake as above.

 I expected a swirled brownie post baking but he cream cheese sank. And the bars were not as firm as in the pictures. However the taste wasn't compromised here. It was gooey on the inside just the way I like it.

I did mention this book has recipes for savory cookies and crackers. It was difficult to narrow down on what I wanted to bake. Lemon and black pepper butter biscuits it was finally!

What you need for these are:

1+1/2 C AP Flour
1/2 C Sweet Butter
1 t Grated Lemon Zest
1/2 t Freshly Ground Black pepper
1 Egg
2 t Rock Salt

 Preheat the oven to 175 degree C. Cut the butter into the flour to form a bread crumb like mixture. Add the lemon zest, black pepper and then the egg. Mix to form a stiff dough. At this stage there was no lemony aroma that I preferred and so added in another teaspoon of lemon zest and more pepper. Using a cutter, cut the dough into desired shapes. Brush with egg white and sprinkle salt. Bake for 10 minutes.

Dissapoitning were these cookies in the flavour. They were just plain butter biscuits. Crumble and soft but not true to the the flavour. Don't know whether it is because of the lemons that I get here but I guess the amount of lemon zest should be more.

This book has some very good recipes. Sutable for every palate, diet, and age, this book is definitely a good one to own. With easy to follow recipes, this book is ideal for a cookie enthusiast like me.

 More reviews coming up soon, so stay tuned.

Book Review and Pazha Manga Curry/ Ripe Mango Curry

If you don't have a copy of Kerala, Syrian Christian Favourites by Thressi John Kottukappally, I think you are missing out on it... The picture of the graceful elderly lady on the cover is so welcoming..you can feel her warmth emanate onto you as well...

The book features recipes for authentic syrian christian dishes that include vegetarian and non-vegetarian categories. Being a Syrian Christian myself, the book features a lot of the traditional favourites. The history of the Syrian Christian is briefly accounted for and the recipes speak of a blend of Indian and European cuisine.

Although all the dishes can be adapted to suit a palate, nothing beats the authentic style of Syrian Christian cuisine. The well captured pictures of each dish is what you get when you follow the recipes to a T. I can vouch for that. Each recipe is provided a history of the concerned dish. The only drawback of the book is in it being a paperback..and the ingredients ushc as chillies, grated coconut and such given in grams. I prefer cup/tablespoon measurements. I guess it differs person to person..

The recipe I have for you from the book is Pazha Manga Curry or Ripe Mango Curry.

When mangoes are in season, this is a must in most homes, mine included. This is known by quite a few names according to the various regions in Kerala.. the other most common name being maga pachadi. This a sweet and sour curry. Served with white rice, this makes an excellent meal.

The recipe is as per the book but the quantity is not in grams.

Ripe Mangoes- 6 (preferably the small variety also known as country mangoes)
Green Chillies-6 (slit lengthwise)
Water- 250ml
Salt-1t
Shallots- 1/2 C (chopped)

Cook mangoes with the above in a heavy bottomed pan. You can either add the shallots at this stage or while making the gravy. What you see below is after the boiling stage.

The mangoes become soft and the flavours seep in at this stage.

For the Gravy

Grated Coconut- 1 C
Shallot- use here if not using at the boiling stage
Green Chillies-1
Turmeric Powder-1t
Cumin Seeds-1/4 t
Salt-2t
Water -300ml

Grind the above and add to the mangoes. Heat this on a low flame for 5 minutes and do not let it boil. The raw smell leaves the curry.

 For seasoning

Oil- 2T (preferably Coconut oil)
Mustard seeds-1t
Shallots-1T sliced finely
Curry Leaves-2 Sprigs
Dried Red Chillies- 2

Saute the above when the mustard sputters in oil. The shallots should turn a golden brown. Pour this over the curry and the pazha manga curry is now ready to be devoured....