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BIRYANI/YAKHNI PULAO…Mingling with ‘One Dish Dinners’
“In the childhood memories of every good cook, there’s a large kitchen, a warm stove, a simmering pot and a mom.” Barbara Costikyan LAMB BIRYANI/YAKHNI PULAO Decided to make a biryani/yakni pulao for lunch last weekend. Have been procrastinating making it for long as it is just a bit involved. Then I thought, might as well, & went off to dust the cob-webs off my biryani utensil which hadn’t seen light of day for a while. Life seems to be all about eating & drinking…so I got on with tying my bouquet garni!! In a strange quirk of fate, after eating the Mughlai dish for lunch, we unexpectedly got invited…
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TOMATO-CARROT SOUP…DELICATELY FLAVOURED WITH STAR ANISE
“Men are like soup: you always want to have one on the back burner, just in case.”Unattributed feminist quote Tomato-Carrot Soup with Star Anise Tried my hand at a tomato-carrot soup this morning, flavoured delicately with a spice that has intrigued me endlessly over the past few days. None other than the pretty star anise ! A nice & gentle vegetarian soup, beautifully flavoured & great for the winter chill that has descended upon us. This is an adaptation of a soup my mother makes almost everyday in the winter months.Star Anise…the pretty spice! Star anise plays a key role in the slow cooked dishes that characterize Eastern Chinese cuisine.…
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FOR THE LOVE OF FOOD….
“For me, the cooking life has been a long love affair, with moments both sublime and ridiculous.” Anthony Bourdain Rice Noodles with Stir-fried Chicken & Veggies…& a mild chili sauce! And my search goes on, carrying me further into the far-east in search of pan-asian cuisine. Thanks to Andaliman I’ve figured out that there are many more sauces than I ever thought there existed. AB from HomemeadeS gave me some more direction, & I made a chunky chili sauce from her blog. I’m getting there….this meal tasted really nice & with a lot of flavour! Me thinks it was the sauce that did the magic! A sauce full of flavour…Not…
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ROGAN JOSH…A popular lamb curry; Served here with stir-fried cawliflower
” Vegetables are interesting but lack a sense of purpose when unaccompanied by a good cut of meat.” Fran Lebowitz LAMB ROGAN JOSH…a passionate curry! A very popular dish from North India & Pakistan, Rogan Josh is just mildly spicy. It gets its fiery red colour from paprika, & like all popular recipes, has many versions. Here is my own simple rendition of Rogan Josh…mild, tasteful & one we all like very much. I like this recipe for a change because it has no tomatoes & isn’t too laden on calories. Though traditonally cooked in clarified butter or ghee, mine is cooked in sunflower oil. I served it with a…
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SIMPLE HOME STLYE LAMB CURRY / TAMATAR GOSHT…FOOD FOR THOUGHT!
“What is patriotism but the love of the food one ate as a child?” Lin Yutang SIMPLE HOME-STYLE LAMB CURRY…Tamatar Gosht! Food nostalgia is something I am sure all of us hold dear. My mother was, & is still, a marvellous cook, & is famous for her traditional meals like lamb/chicken curry, biryanis etc. People would flock to our place during festivals to grab a bite. Strangely for me, I have few memories of what I ate as a child. The fault lay with me of course, as I was a distracted soul, with little interest in what I ate. Hardly worthy for someone who has such a HUGE interest…
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SOUP FOR THE SOUL…Roasted vegetable soup with toasted croutons.
“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.” Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949) SOUP FOR THE SOUL…Roasted Veggie Soup! Its been a chilly winter so far, with winds threatening to sweep you off your feet. I read about a roasted vegetable soup eons ago, & its always been at the back of my mind to make it someday. A trip to the market tempted me to buy an array of fresh veggies…& then I trotted back home to set to work. Roasting these vegetables enhances flavours…