‘Going green has never been so deliciously exciting. Bon Apetit…’
Farhan Akhtar
Roasted Red Bell Pepper & Broccoli Salad from Vicky Goes Veg. Everything about the book is colourful, fresh, exciting, full of flavour and vegetarian of course! It’s an exciting new book by Chef Vicky Ratnani and holds a LOT of promise. Vegetarianism is no longer considered ‘second food. Slowly but surely vegetarian centric cookbooks are appearing on bookshelves, grabbing eyeballs as they do so!We were hosted by Harper Collins & Nachiketa at the lush and beautiful ‘The Palms‘, Gurgaon for the book launch. Vicky Ratnani has infectious energy, is animated and absolutely passionate about food. I was fortunate to meet him in Jan last year at a tea & food pairing session, and it certainly was a pleasure to meet him again.
He held fort by the poolside under the blazing setting sun, which shouldn’t have been quite so blazing in Mid March … but was! Sporting that he is, he didn’t blink an eyelid, no complaints nothing. He was there well before the guests began to arrive and after a short delay {thanks to the TV crew}, he fired up!
Sauteing, chatting, sharing tips and trivia and a load of his passion, he held the attention of the select audience. As he stirred up magic, we were served the same from the kitchen alongside. The flavours blew us away! Who wants to eat non vegetarian food if vegetarian food can be so exciting. Not me!! The Braised Plantain with Thai spices was out of the world good, as was the Eggplant & Bok choy in sambal.
I love the energy throughout the book. It entices you to ‘try’ something different. I also love that Vicky has stuck to the concept of sourcing local produce, something that makes the locavore in me do a merry dance. The photographs that liberally colour the pages are a journey of the food chain in India including the merchants and the local bazaars.
Vicky is often seen arm in arm with the guys who matter … yes, those who grow, deliver and sell local produce. It’s refreshing to see so much space dedicated to the local sabziwala i.e. vegetable vendors. The recipes in the book are unique, hail from across the world but come with an Indian twist, all green and fresh!
The good thing is that Vicky encourages you to think out of the box, constantly innovate and evolve. He offers his book as a stepping stone for new ideas in vegetarian cooking, and tells you to be fearless. If you don’t have this, use that. There’s plenty of trivia tucked within that makes the book even more interesting. One downside is that the number of portions or ‘servings’ aren’t specified. So I set off to make the RoastedRedBellPepper& BroccoliSalad. Of course, my heart followed his advice and my recipe meandered off as I was short on time. I didn’t blend the dressing, only whisked it. Substituted apricots for walnuts, simplified the dressing a bit. I also made Stromboli from the book which disappeared too quick!
If you’d like to win a copy of the book, VICKY GOES VEG, please leave a comment below telling me which your favourite vegetarian dish from across the globe is. Please be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you. This giveaway is open to residents of India, or anyone with an Indian mailing address. {GiveawaysponsoredbyHarperCollins}
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Recipe: RoastedRedBellPepper& BroccoliSalad
Summary: Summary Info Goes Here
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutesIngredients:
Salad
1 red bell pepper, roasted
1 yellow bell pepper, roasted
1 big head of broccoli, cut into florets
1 broccoli stem, peeled, thinly sliced
Salt to season
A pinch of cracked black pepper
A few sprigs of thyme
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves
Dressing
2 cloves of garlic, cut into chips
2tbsp olive oil
1/2 a white onion, sliced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
1 spring onion, cut into 3cm long batons
4-5 dried apricots
Method:
Season the bell peppers, broccoli florets and stems with salt, pepper, thyme and olive oil {I blanched the broccoli for 2 minutes first and then plunged it into ice cold water}
Cut the bell peppers into strips
Fry the garlic in olive oil, and allow to cool and crisp. Reserve the garlic flavoured oil for the dressing.
Dressing
Sauté the white onion in the garlic oil. Deglaze with red wine vinegar. Transfer into a bowl to blend it to a dressing.
Season with salt and pepper. Add the coriander leaves including their juicy stems. Whizz to blend to a smooth, sour, creamy, garlicky dressing.
Mix the spring onion batons and apricots along with the broccoli and peppers. Spoon the dressing over the veggies. Garnish with the fried garlic chips.
Yum! Toss all the veggies along with the dressing. Chill before serving.
“I am starting to think that maybe memories are like this dessert. I eat it, and it becomes a part of me, whether I remember it later or not.”
Erica Bauermeister
Dark Chocolate Nutella Kumquat Pudding turned out bowl scraping good. It was just an experiment. The result was deeply, soul satisfying, smooth and beautiful texture; quite delightful for an eggless chocolate pudding. Using oats meant that it was gluten free too! Did I mention I put in some whole kumquats too? They added delightful citrus undertones!Life has been busy as usual with annual exams on and the kids hungry ALL THE TIME! It’s a wonder they ever get anything else done because IMHO they are always eating! It’s also a wonder I get anything done at all because I am always in the kitchen.
Chocolate is one thing that needs to be on hand all the time. Chocolate everyday, and the savoury nibbles too. Store bought anything is a huge NO with the daughter, so I am BUSY!! It’s a double edged sword though. I love being in the kitchen, I get to experiment {read LOTS} … yet on the other hand I have time for nothing else!
I’ve been diving into bags of oats of late. When it’s not oats, it’s amaranth flour, peanut flour, walnut meal and barley flour. Adds new dimensions to what you can do … and often what you cannot too! In a larger perspective, it helps you push your boundaries, something which I currently enjoy! The failures are there of course.
So the pudding was meant to be just a chocolate pudding, but then along came Ruchira visiting from Islamabad. Among bagfuls of exciting stuff, she also brought hazelnuts. That was inspiration enough. Suddenly a Dark Chocolate Nutella Kumquat Pudding made more sense! Kumquats because they are in season and hanging heavy on the branches of my tiny tree!
The rest of the day just went in trying to save the pudding from the ‘forever hungry for dessert at anytime of the day‘ kids, and attempting to shoot the brown in a nice way. Well, brown isn’t easy to shoot! I tried!
The Dark Chocolate Nutella Kumquat Pudding turned out heavenly good. Fuss free to make and eggless. I used oats instead of cornflour to thicken it and that paid off well. The texture was smooth yet had some viscosity maybe from the kumquats or possibly cooked oats.
Everything about it was delightful. Scraping the bowl {or rather pottery mug} the lad asked several times if he could have more. “I can eat this forever,” he declared … and I rolled up my eyes! Thats how good it was!
[print_this]Recipe: Dark Chocolate Nutella Kumquat Pudding
Summary: Dark Chocolate Nutella Kumquat Puddingturned out bowl scraping good. Deeply, soul satisfying, smooth with beautiful texture; is is quite delightful for an eggless chocolate pudding. Using oats meant that it ended up being gluten free too! Whole kumquats added delightful citrus undertones! Serves 4-6
Place all ingredients in a heavy bottom pan and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until it begins to thicken. Once it becomes as thick as a custard, take off heat, allow to cool, then puree with an immersion blender or blitz in a food processor.
Strain and pour into serving bowls / glasses.
Cool and then chill for 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.
Top with a spoonful of Nutella and roasted hazelnuts, or fruit.
“Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite.”
Auguste Escoffier
Mushrooms and Onion Scapes Soup … for the soul! I was completely mesmerised by the onion scapes I bought at the local bazaar. I love this fantastic season. Each time I step into the overflowing fruit and vegetable shop, I rediscover seasonal produce from last year. That day two large bunches of scapes stared at me, and again, shouting my name out LOUD!
How could I resist it? I asked the guy for a few stalks, and he packed the whole bunch off with me. Said, “Take the whole bunch. I know you’ll do something with it. All yours!!” Seriously, they are beautiful. I put some in a milk-jug and they began opening into the most beautiful flowers a while later.
Wasn’t very sure what I’d with so many, but knew how pretty they would look in a vase! Sometimes the real beauty of nature comes from flowers like these. I love them! A discussion with Man Friday followed where he declared these were garlic scapes. A nibble later, I figured they were definitely more oniony than garlicky.
I had mushroom soup on my mind that morning. With the weather nippy all over again, soups offer the ultimate comfort; a healthy option, even better. This one is simple, uses staple pantry ingredients, and can go gluten free too.
In the past I have made it with mushrooms, potato and a generous amount of fresh coriander. The base is often milk and some vegetable stock as I usually have a large jar of homemade stock in the fridge. When I feel indulgent, you can find me pouring in some low fat cream too! Oh and often walnuts to add texture…
Some onion scapes needed a more handy alternative to sitting in the milk jug as it was rather full. The soup offered the perfect destination. As I said, you can pretty much play around with the ingredients. Is fun!
I did something else with the soup too that night. I was making breaded chicken fillets for the kids. Instead of doing the normal egg, flour and breadcrumbs coating assembly line, I sneaked some soup into a bowl. Dunked the Italian seasoning marinated breast fillets first into soup, then into wholewheat home made breadcrumbs, and shallow fried the fillets.
While the son enjoyed his in burgers, the ‘constantly on a diet’ daughter ate crumb fried fillets with char grilled broccoli. The son came back to say these were the best tasting burgers ever! “Really nice Mama!” Must have been the soup!! Soup has been the call this winter! Loads of it.
So what’s your favourite comfort or soul food in winter? Do you make soup from scratch? I did an amazing Smokey Roasted Tomato Soup {pictured above} for a client I am developing recipes for. Heard the other day that a friend was making pumpkin and peanut butter soup. I was completely intrigued. I guess it’s time to explore more soups as winter is still here.
And before I scoot, it’s time to announce the winner {s} of the Nirlep giveaway on my blog. A 1000 apologies for the delay, but I was travelling a little bit, and now the elder teen has her board exams. Between driving her up and down, and feeding her ‘comfort food’ on demand 24 X 7, there seems to be little time to blog!
Food however is always cooked in the PAB household, so the handi has been put to good use. I am really happy to have received it for review because I didn’t know what I was missing! The Nirlep handi is very very versatile indeed. From cooking pasta until al dente to making pasta and pizza sauces, to numerous rounds of steamed bathua leaves or chenopodium{or lamb’s quarter}of bathua ka raita, to delicious stir fried chicken mince, then meatballs too, I have seriously used it a lot!
I am thrilled to offer one as a giveaway that was announced when I reviewed the utensil. The winner of theEbony Handi is Swapna Mickey. Since we had a load on entries, Nirlep offered to send Nirlep Cookwareto two more participants. They are Reeta Skeeter and Manjeet Kaur. Congratulations ladies and thank you so much for joining the giveaway {and for waiting so patiently}. Will mail you shortly.
[print_this]Recipe: Mushroom and Onion Scapes Soup
Summary: Soul satisfying, rich and creamy without extra calories, Mushroom and Onion Scapes Soup is pure comfort food for winter. Serve with a chargrilled broccoli salad, oven wedges, crumb fried chicken / fish, some crusty bread, maybe a green salad.
Heat oil in the handi or a heavy bottom pan. Add the onion and garlic and sweat until light pink. Add the onion scapes and saute briefly.
Now add the mushroom, chili and potato. Saute for a minute.
Add the milk and water / stock. and simmer covered for about 20 minutes until the potato is cooked.
Stir in the cornflour mix and stir until the soup thickens. You can skip the cornflour for a GF version. Reduce the water/stock, or add it only if required.
Add salt to taste. Take off heat once the desired consistency has been reached. Puree with an immersion blender once it’s cool enough to do so.
Thermomix version
Place onion, garlic and onion scapes in TM bowl and process for a few seconds on speed 5 to chop.
Drizzle in olive oil and cook on 100C, reverse speed 1 for 3 minutes.
Add whole mushrooms and a quartered potato and run on speed 5 for a few seconds until chopped.
Add the milk, cornflour, salt and water. Stir for 10 seconds on reverse speed2.
“… the way we eat represents our most profound engagement with the natural world. Daily, our eating turns nature into culture, transforming the body of the world into our bodies and minds.”
Michael Pollan
Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto is what my roasted bell peppers were headed for! It’s strange how winter in the subcontinent is different from winter in the west. Come winter and the local bazaars are flooded with the best of fresh produce. It’s the time of the year when colours paint the vegetable shops in brilliant hues. It’s time for bell peppers, celery, broccoli, strawberries, cape gooseberries, mustard greens, fenugreek, garlic greens, beets and beet greens, juicy tomatoes ... and of course truckloads of cauliflower!
This year we’ve had a deluge of local bell peppers. At a dollar and a half a kilo, these beauties are a steal. I toss bell peppers into just about everything. The kids thankfully love them in every form, the dog is a willing accomplice too. Any obliging little bits that jump off the chopping board head straight into Coco’s greedy little mouth!
Each time I bake something, I throw in a few peppers to roast alongside. I love char grilling them; sometimes use the Air Fryer when the oven isn’t on! Roasted bell peppers work well in tossed into pastas, in salads, in sandwiches, on bruschetta, also in pasta sauces.
Which brings me to the pesto. It’s absolutely brilliant and so adaptable! Play around with the ingredients as you like. Use the pesto in a pasta sauce, as a sandwich spread, as a dip, thin it out as a salad dressing, add it to a chicken bake, in quesadillas, with kebabs, stuff it into roast potatoes, even add it to soup …. it never fails to please!
I LOVE it paired with peppery arugula which is growing with wild abandon in my very neglected patch. Add a little feta, maybe caramelised onions, some smoked chicken ham to please the kids …. and I’m in business! I love a good green pesto too, and you can well imagine where my next bunch of arugula is headed! What is your most fun way to use pesto? And which pesto do you love the most?
Please don’t forget to enter the ‘Nirlep Handi giveaway‘ if you have an Indian address. I’ve been cooking up a storm in mine. You could soon be doing the same very soon! The giveaway ends tomorrow!
[print_this]Recipe: Roasted Red Bell Pepper Pesto
Summary: Fire up your tastebuds with this simple and fingerlicking good Red Bell Pepper Pesto. Play around with the ingredients to suit your tastes.
Preheat the oven to 180C. Place the bell peppers and full head of garlic on a baking tray. Roast / char grill the bell peppers until the skin blisters and gets black, about 25 minutes. Place in a bowl, cover lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to cool. Tip: You can grill peppers in the oven while baking a cake etc to save energy.
Peel the skin off, remove the seeds and place in bowl of food processor. Squeeze out the roasted garlic from the pods and put into processor.
Add the oregano, almonds, salt and balsamic vinegar. Process until you get a chunky puree. Drizzle in oil and process again. Add lime juice and mix.
Reserve in a jar. This will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days, and can be made ahead.
“It is remarkable how closely the history of the apple tree is connected with that of man.”
Henry David Thoreau
Apple, Oats and Walnut Skillet Crumble … true comfort food and ever so simple. It’s one I make often, a crumble I mean. This year began in a special way. I had a surprise visitor and she brought me something I have longed for forever! A cast iron skillet, straight from the kiln, well almost, unseasoned and raw!
Thankfully Sangeeta has a world of knowledge about this stuff. This looked raw, rustic and a little scary to tell you the truth. Man Friday was happy as ever to see it and went on to tell me how much cast iron was cooked in when he was young, and that the benefits are tremendous. How times have changed, and healthy practices have been buried under the sands of time!
Well he scrubbed it well with a piece of brick, removed the dusty coating etc. I dried it well, seasoned it with some cold pressed mustard oil. Then baked it in a hot oven for 30 minutes. It came out looking moorish. Can you fall in love with a skillet?I did! The great thing about cast iron utensils are that they can go from the stove top into the oven, and back again! The other huge benefit of course is that they gently seep iron into your food adding additional iron into your diet.
I was quite over the moon this morning and since I had just apples on hand, I set out to make an Apple, Oats and Walnut Skillet Crumble. { …for those who noticed, I meant to use thyme, but sans glasses, I think I used oregano from the fridge instead! Oops! }. Simple, basic, easy apple pie, something that comforts and warms, especially in these cold winter days. Baking it in the skillet took this up a few notches for me. I loved using the skillet, built an emotional connect with it, and want to use it all the time.
Past the crumble, I grilled a cheese and tomato sandwich for the daughter in it . Crisp, beautiful, comforting! Fried eggs and roasted tomatoes too. I can’t get enough of it. You’ll see a lot more of it popping up all over the place. Thank you Sangeeta, and thank you too for the coloured glasses! It’s been an inspiring beginning to the new year!
[print_this]Recipe: Apple, Oats and Walnut Skillet Crumble
Summary:Simple, basic, easy apple pie, something that comforts and warms, especially in these cold winter days. Baking it in the skillet takes it up a few rustic notches! Enjoy this gluten free version of the Apple, Oats and Walnut Skillet Crumble .
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes Ingredients:
Apple filling
450g apples, cored, peeled, diced
juice of 1 lime
20g brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon powder 30g walnuts
25g craisins
15g rolled oats
15g butter
15g brown sugar
Few sprigs of thyme, leaves only
Topping
25g oat flour
40g unsalted butter
25g walnuts
30g rolled oats
15g brown sugar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease a 6-7″ round pie dish, or use a 6″ skillet.
In a large bowl toss the apples in lime juice. Then add 20g brown sugar, cinnamon powder, walnuts, craisins, rolled oats and thyme leaves if using.
Mix well. Reserve.
Heat 15g unsalted butter in the skillet over low heat. Add 15g brown sugar and allow to bubble and dissolve. Mix well to cover bottom of skillet.
Turn the apple mix into the skillet, and mix well to combine. Take off heat.
Push into place gently, top with crumble, press firmly.
Bake at 180C for 25-30 minutes.
Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and or warm salted butter caramel sauce.
“At home I serve the kind of food I know the story behind.”
Michael Pollan
Banoffee Pie … it was the first ever banoffee I truly loved. Indulgent. Addictive. Impressive. More impressive as the recipe comes from 16 year old Oraya, the youngest baker in the Sood family. She’s firmly booked her spot in the ‘The Sood Family Cookbook‘ and her dessert sang out loud.
It was a winner at the lunch I will talk about in a bit. I had a slice. Then, guilt ridden after a virtual food marathon, I reached out for a second helping. I am not a banana person, but this was different. I got home and HAD to put one together for the family. Unfortunately, things got delayed. A lot.
Went to Mumbai for a cookshow shoot {it’s under wraps at the moment} for 2 days, stayed on for 4. It was a memorable experience. Met up with food blogger friends. Ate every bit of Mumbai street food we could find. Was part of a fantastic team. We eventually shot all night long, a’night duty‘ after a long 19 years as Mr PAB messaged. My years in the airlines came alive again…
Back home and I hit the ground running. The Sood Family Cookbook on my list of things to do {read cook from}. As I flew in, the husband flew out on work emergency. He somewhat managed to fly back just in time to take junior to Hongkong for a short vacation. This was dessert to celebrate!!
Rich, indulgent, addictive and made with simple pantry ingredients, Banoffee Pie comes together easily. I baked the biscuit crust as a matter of habit {read I bake everything; well almost!}, but it’s great sans baking. This is one of the many recipes that makes Aparna’s ‘from the heart‘ cookbook a star.
Condensed milk is the main {read finger licking good} ingredient here. You can make the toffee as in the recipe below. There is an alternative if you have a pressure cooker {which is pretty much standard in Indian kitchens}, and aren’t terrified of the thing exploding as I used to be at one time. It works well.
Place the tin {I do 2-3 together to save time and energy} in a pressure cooker, cover with water and place on heat until the steam comes out. Put the weight on once the steam builds up. After whistle number 1, reduce heat to minimum and allow to cook for 30 minutes. {or 40 like me if you want it really thick}. Turn off heat, allow tin to cool. Use as required.
About the book now. A family cookbook is a celebration in itself, a concept as comforting as it is interesting. The value a community adds to a cookbook is huge; a family adds even more! The Sood Family Cookbook offers an absorbing mix {of recipes and food memories}, a potpourri as varied as the mind can envisage. I LOVE the design and layout.
Aparna writes it well, a connect runs through the book. Stories come alive as you read through it. It’s interesting how her life criss crosses with that of the audience in different situations. We’ve all been through the nostalgia, the missing ‘taste of home’, the calling family at odd hours for a recipe, the childhood taste that lingers forever …
With a post grad degree in hospitality, Aparna has literally had a finger in every pie. From Silicon Valley, to Cosmopolitan and Good Housekeeping, to the now somewhat clouded Tehelka, she has an intriguing background. Vibrant, warm and passionate, she played the perfect host!
It was a delicious experience to be part of the launch that beautiful Sunday morning. The warmth and connect embraced you as you entered. With the whole family rallying behind the cookbook, it was difficult not to notice how food excites them.
Everyone had a food story to share, each one brimming with nostalgia about the journey of the book, proud to be part of the book. Recipes were discussed, ingredients shared, pahaadi khaana accorded its deserved status …
Lunch offered dishes straight out of the book cooked by the Sood family. The food was finger licking good food. Each recipe as different and special as the book promises is testimony to how good a cookbook it is. Some of my favourites … crispy bhindi, ghee roast, pahadi mutton {a winner}, pahaadi madra, pahaadi mani, pahaadi hara namak, shrimp biryani. And of course Oraya’s Banoffee Pie!
[print_this]Recipe:Banoffee Pie
Summary: Rich, indulgent, addictive, this simple Banoffee Pie {banana + toffee} will win your heart over.
Prep Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes {plus toffee making time} Ingredients:
1 tin condensed milk {sweetened} 400g
15 digestive biscuits {or Marie}
6 tbsp butter, soft
2 bananas, chopped
1/2 tbsp salt
1 cup cream {for whipping} or canned whipping cream
Method:
In a large pan that has a tight lid, place the tin of condensed milk, and cover it with water. Ensure that the water covers it. Heat for 1 1/2 hours. {Refer David Lebovitz’s post}
In the interim, crush the biscuits with the butter. Mix well.
In an 8″ non stick pie pan, push the butter and digestive mixture down to the base of the pan to form a crust.
Now cut the bananas into slices and layer the base completely with them.
Once the condensed milk is ready, open the tin carefully after cooling. It should have turned into a beautiful caramelized toffee-coloured semi-solid mix called Dulce de Leche.
Mix the salt in and spread over the bananas to form the topmost layer.
