Lemon Rice

Left over steamed rice from last night? No problem at all. In just few minutes you can make it into one of the most delicious flavoured rice dishes.This was such a staple in our family when we were kids as there always was left over rice from the night before at home and Mom would make this in the morning for our lunch boxes.

Having said that, there is a devotional side to this dish. This is made in many South Indian Temple kitchens as an offering to God and then distributed among all the devotees who visit the temple for the rest of the day by the priest as they consider that God has blessed the offering. Temple style Lemon Rice always tasted better than home made one. I still do not know the reason why. This dish is also made almost for every festival  in South Indian homes.So, I prepared it last night as it was Diwali festival and my friends who tried it for first time thought it was absolutely delicious.

 Also, I would strongly recommend to serve this rice as an accompaniment with sea food. Be it fried fillets or grilled prawns or even a seafood curry with coconut milk. This can also be your summer rice salad when served cold.
Here is the recipe for 4 sides.
Steamed rice- 250 gms
Lemon juice- 2 medium lemons
For tempering
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
Dry red chillies- broken in halves- 2
Green chillies-cut in qaurters-2
Curry leaves- as many as you like
peanuts- 50 gms
yellow split peas(optional)- 1 tbsp
Ginger chopped-25 gms
Oil- 50 ml
salt -to taste( if you cooked rice in salted water then do not add more salt to tempering)
Method
-heat the oil in a shallow frying pan on a medium heat
- add mustard seeds and allow them to crackle
-add ginger, red chillies, turmeric, green chillies and yellow split peas and quickly stir fry them for a couple of minutes.
- add curry leaves and peanuts and mix them with rest of tempering spices and let them cook for another 2 mins.
-turn the heat off and pour in the lemon juice and give it a quick stir.
-add the tempered mix to cold rice and mix well.
-taste and see if you need more salt, if you do then dissolve a little bit of salt in water and sprinkle this water over rice.
-mix well again and if you want to have it hot while serving,cover the dish with a foil and put in the oven at 100 degrees C for about 10 mins.
That's it!!! It's all done and ready to eat. I told you, it's really quick and easy. Enjoy!!

Quick and easy Lentil and potato kichidi

Kichdi or Kichree is inspiration for the famous British dish 'Kedgree'. This is a very basic recipe with two main ingredients being rice and lentils. It is a popular comfort food cooked al over India but has it's variations as different regions have their local influences and versions of it. This is also a student favourite to cook because it's simple and takes less time with really few ingredients to use. This dish made it's way into Greek and Russian books dated 15th  century AD and  was very popular in the kitchens of Mughal Emperors. It's actually funny I say that because generally this is considered to be a poor man's diet. Though traditionally all the ingredients are cooked together in one pot, I used an Italian technique of cooking Risotto to make this version of  Kichidi. It worked and made complete sense to me. You can use vegetables of any kind that you would like to eat in it , I only had tomatoes and potatoes at home and as it was raining and cold I did not bother going out shopping and this is such a perfect dish for a cold , rainy day. Let's have a look at the ingredients and method of cooking.

 Before we prep the vegetables, let's start boiling the lentils.
Toor daal or Yellow split lentils(you can use any sort of lentils you want)- 100gm
Bay leaves-2
Whole crushed garlic cloves-2
Sliced Ginger- 20 gms
Dried Red chilli -1
-Wash the lentils and place them in the pan with the rest of the ingredients and add lots of water.This water is what we will be using to cook our rice with.

While the lentils are cooking prepare the required vegetables. The list of veggies I used for this recipe-

Onion- medium size- sliced- 1

Tomatoes- Medium size- sliced-2

Potatoes- cut into small cubes- med.size-2

Chopped ginger- 50 gm

Chopped garlic- 25 gm

Coriander leaves- 1 bunch

For Tempering-

Whole cumin seeds- 1 tsp

Whole mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp

Dry red chilli- 1

Black peppercorns- 5-6

Turmeric Powder- a pinch

Sunflower oil- 2 tbsp

Rest of the ingredients-

Basmati Rice- 200 gm

Cripsy onions- 100 gm(These are just for garnish, if you don't find them in supermarkets, don't bother making them at home. Just use some toasted nuts for texture.)

Corinader powder-1 tsp

-Once the lentils are almost cooked, switch off the heat and add all the potatoes into the water that lentils are being cooked and leave them in there so that they start getting soft.

-Heat oil in a deep pan and add all the ingredients for tempering.

- I quite like to bite into pepper corns so I leave them whole. If you are not comfortable with the idea then just crush them and add.

-Once, the tempering spices have been sautéed for a minute , add chopped ginger and garlic.

- Add the onions once the ginger and garlic are cooked for 2 minutes.

- Once the onions become transparent, add washed rice and stir for a couple of minutes.

-Then add sliced tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes.Add Coriander powder.

-It's time to add the water in which lentils and potatoes have been cooked and do not add it all at once.

-Just add a ladle full of lentil water at a time and let the rice soak it and cook gently on low flame.

-Once all the water is in add the salt, lentils and potatoes and cover with a lid and cook for about 5 mins.

-Take the lid off and check if the rice is cooked and once it is then let the reaming liquid evaporate but not all of it. Kichdi should be a little moist and a bit starchy. 

-Add the coriander leaves and sprinkle some crisp fried onions or toasted cahsewnuts and serve it.

In the English adaptation of this dish, they use smoked Haddock and boiled egg as garnish. Give it a go. It's Delicious.

I personally do not enjoy this dish piping hot as you do not get to taste all the lovely flavours in it so I tend to wait for about 10 minutes after it's been cooked and then eat it. 

Potato, Butternut Squash and Mixed Pepper curry

I do not know what to call this dish. I just thought of few ingredients to begin with and then made it up as I kept cooking. So, yet to find a name for it. But, I did take some influences of 'Kadai Masala' cooking which is popular in North India.This recipe is quick, simple and packed with flavours.I always make my own spice powders and try a different combination each time. This time I kept it very simple. So, lets have a look at the spice mix.

Coriander seeds - 2 tbsp
Dry red chillies- 2 nos
Cumin seeds-1tbsp
Cinnamon stick-1
Fenugreek seeds- 1 tsp
Dry roast all the above spices in the pan for about 2-3 minutes on a medium flame and make a coarse powder out of them either using a pestle and mortar or spice blender.

Vegetables-
potatoes- cubed- 250gm
Butternut Squash-cut into 1/2 inch-200gm
Red pepper-1
Yellow pepper-1
Chopped onion- 1
sliced Green chillies-2
Ginger- 25gm-ground into paste with garlic
Garlic-25 gm
Chopped tomatoes in can -400 gms
chopped Coriander leaves- 1 bunch
Garnishes- single cream and roasted peanuts.


Whole Spices-
Bay leaves- 2
Cloves-4
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Cardamom pods- 3
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Method -
Heat vegetable oil in a deep thick bottom pan on medium heat and all the whole spices to it.
Sauté the whole spices for a minute and let the oil get infused with all the whole spices.
Add the turmeric powder and 2 tbsp of the ground spice powder. Cook for about another minute.
Add the chopped onions and green chillies and cook at least for 10 minutes till the onions have caramelised .
Add ginger and garlic paste and sauté for another 5 minutes.
Add potatoes and stir them till they are well coated with the onion and spice mix.
 After 5 minutes add the butternut squash and  salt.
Add chopped tomatoes and then stir in the peppers.Add just enough water to cover the veggies and let them simmer for about good 12-15 minutes.
The starch from the potatoes will thicken the sauce and you will end up with a sauce of coating consistency.

Check for the potatoes if they are cooked. They should be well cooked but not mushy.
Check for the seasoning and add more salt if needed.
Add the chopped coriander leaves and finish it with a swirl of single cream.
Sprinkle some roasted peanuts or any nuts of your choice or no nuts at all if you are allergic.
Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatis.

Old Delhi Murgh Makhani/ Butter chicken

So, we come to what is popularly knows as 'The National Dish' of India.
Murgh Makhani is what it is traditionally known as but then Brits fell in love with this dish and came up with a simple name 'Butter Chicken'.Few generations later the off spring of this curry was born in Scotland and was named  'Chicken Tikka Masala' which went on and grew up to become  national dish of The UK. WOW, Mother is National dish of India and son, UK. Though it comes form the state of Punjab in India, I tried the best version of it in Old Delhi. Hence, I  called it Old Delhi Butter Chicken.

North India , Punjab in particular is a dairy rich state so you see a lot of dairy products such as butter, cream, ghee, yogurt, paneer(Indian honemade cottage cheese) etc. in the cooking.They use nut pastes like almonds and cashew nuts to give richness to the sauce.Tandoor , is a clay oven that is used to make delicious tikkas, kebabs and naan breads. Here, since not all of us can have a tandoor oven in our kitchens, we will make do with our regular kitchen oven. Let's get cooking then..
For the marinade-
Boneless chicken thighs- 1 kg( I  recommend thighs because when you oven cook the chicken the fat in thighs help to keep chicken moist)
Full fat yoghurt- 200 gm
Ginger paste- 2tsp
Garlic paste-2 tsp
Coriander Powder- 1 tsp
Cumin Powder- 1tsp

turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Kashmiri chilli powder/ mild paprika- 2tsp(this powders give the curry a good red colour but does not make it too hot)
Lime juice- 1 lime
salt - 1 tsp

For the sauce-
Medium sized onions- chopped-2
Chopped tomatoes-(best  to use italian chopped tomatoes in can in case fresh tomatoes are not juicy)- 500 gm
Green chillies-sliced- 3
Dried fenugreek leaves/kasoori methi/fresh fenugreek leaves- 100 gms (if you have an Indian supermarket close by then you can go for kasoori methi or dry fenugreek leaves. If you cant get hold of it then try to get fresh bunch of fenugreek leaves)
Butter- 200 gms
kashmiri chilli powder/mild paprika- 1 tsp
Garam Masala powder- 1 tsp
double cream- 50 ml
Honey- 10 ml
Cardamom powder- 5 gms
Whole cardamoms-5
Bay leaves -2
Cashewnuts- 50gm
Corinader leaves- 1/2 bunch
salt - to taste
Method-
- pre heat your oven to 220 degrees C.Mix all the ingredients for marination, cut each boneless thigh into 2 or 3 pieces.
- get the chicken into the marinade and make sure all the marinade coats pieces of chicken well.Rest it in fridge for about 4 hours.
-Chop onions, tomatoes(if using fresh) and chillies.
-Place the chicken pieces on a rack and get the tray into the oven for 20 minutes, 10 on each side.
-once chicken is in the oven cooking,place a heavy bottom pan on the stove on medium heat.
-melt butter, add whole cardamom, bay leaf and sauté for 30 seconds.
-add onions and chillies. Cook for about 10 minutes till onions become transparent and then add fenugreek leaves.
- saute for another 5 minutes and add cashew nuts.some prefer soaking the cashew nuts and grinding them into a paste separately but I do not see a point in doing that. Cashew nuts will any ways soften up while cooking along with onions and tomatoes.
-After a couple of minutes add chopped tomatoes and slow cook for another 10 minutes till tomatoes are all mushy.
- get the bay leaves out, switch off the flame and let the mix sit for 10 minutes till it becomes warm.
- add this mix to a jar and blend till it turns smooth and rich.
- get the sauce back into the pan and simmer it on a low heat.
-add chilli powder, garam masala ,cardamom powder and honey and mix .
-by now the chicken should be cooked and out of the oven.
-add the chicken to sauce and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes.
-here is a tip, instead of adding water add all the juices from the chicken and marinade that has dripped into the baking tray because it adds a lot of flavour to the sauce. So, please do not throw the liquid away.

- finish with cream and coriander and give it one final stir so that the cream is mixed well into the sauce.
-check for seasoning and add salt if required.
- Serve hot with naan bread/chapatis/parathas or even steamed rice.


This definitely is one  recipe that any one who loves Indian cuisine should try. Its not hard to cook and not too spicy at all. So, non spicy eaters will love it too. Also, for vegetarians, use paneer cheese  instead of chicken and call it 'Paneer Butter Masala'-another most popular Indian Vegetarian dish. HAVE FUN!!

Roasted Vermicelli Upma- A south Indian Breakfast dish with Italain Pasta

Hello from The  USA. I came here to spend some time with my family in Denver, CO. I did not know what to expect form this city but to be honest I really like it. It has a beautiful country side with a lovely view of Rocky mountains. Unfortunately, most of the roads are closed due to horrifying floods that hit the state recently and terrible damage that it has caused. So, had to spend most of the time indoors which I wanted to make most of. So, started doing some cooking with my mom and sis-in-law and it's so much fun learning and teaching at the same time.
Last night I showed of my skills by making Chicken curry and this morning my mom made one of my favourite dishes for break fast called 'Semiya Upma' which is made out of roasted Vermicelli pasta.Vermicelli is used in many forms in Indian Cuisine. We make desserts out of it, snacks, sweets and breakfast too. How did this Italian ingredient become so popular in Indian cooking? I do not know to be honest, I have to do some research on it.I know that Romans used to trade gold and other ingredients in exchange of Black Pepper, silk and pea cocks but did vermicelli date back to 30 B.C? Their port was Tamil Nadu which is in South of India so it makes a lot of sense that Vermicelli is used a lot in South Indian cooking. OK,  that’s enough of history, let’s get to this recipe that I took form my mom but I did add my tweaks and twists to it.

Ingredients-
Roasted vermicelli- 500 gm
Large onion chopped- 1
Green Chillies slit in half - 3
Curry leaves- 2 stems
Ginger grated- 20 gms
Carrots grated- 50 gms
Green Peas fresh or fresh frozen- 100 gm
potatoes- small dices- 50 gms
Lime zest- 1
water- 1 lts
For tempering-
Sunflower oil/veg oil/olive oil- 100 ml
Mustard seeds- 10 gm
split yellow chick peas/chana dal- 10 gm
Dry red chillies -2
Garnish-
Lime wedge
Roasted cashew nuts
Method of Preparation-
 - heat oil in a pan and add the tempering ingredients.
-stir for a couple of minutes then add green chillies, grated ginger and sauté for another 2 minutes.
-add onions and curry leaves and cook till onions become transparent.


Note- the pictures are a little different from my recipe as I have changed the recipe a bit.
-Add potatoes and then pour in water.The ratio of water must always be double the quantity of vermicelli.
-let the water come to a slow boil and add some salt into it.
-add carrots and green peas and cook for a minute before you add vermicelli.
-then add vermicelli and stir for a minute and you will notice that it soaks up most of the water and at this point , lower the flame and
keep stirring  once every 30 seconds.
- make sure that vermicelli is not over cooked and it stays separate,not sticking to each other and form into a lump.
-stir in the grated lime zest before finishing and check for seasoning.
- garnish with some roasted cashew nuts and a wedge of lime.
- get the Upma into a bowl, press it gently with a spoon and de mould it onto a plate for presentation and use the lime wedge for garnish.
*adding vegetables not only enhance the flavour of this dish but also makes it look very colourful but in case you are in a rush you could do it without veggies, just like my mom did this morning.Enjoy this breakfast dish with a steaming cup of coffee.LIFE IS GOOD!!

Amma's famous Andhra Chicken Curry- My mom's Sunday special.

The best recipe according to me is something that you remember for years without writing it down and such recipes most of the times are from the kitchen of your mother. As a kid, I spent a lot of time with my mom in the kitchen which I believe has inspired me to become a chef and I am sure many chefs have a similar story to share. Mother is always the first teacher and the best teacher too.
India is not a big meat eating nation. So, even for those who like meat it's not a part of daily diet. Sunday is the'NV' day (non-veg day) as they call it as it is the day where mom gets help from the rest of the family members to prepare lunch. This is one such chicken dish that I consider to be one of the best of my Mother's cooking. I don't remember even a single time that she went wrong with it. I remember those Sundays where I was asked to go to the chicken shop( Yes, it was a place where only chicken was sold) and if I did not go as early as 8.30 am there will be a big queue at the chicken shop and I was worried that I would miss my 'Mickey and Donald Show' at 9.00 am on TV. Ah, memories!
I also used to be her sous chef as she would always get a piece of chicken with sauce on the plate and ask me to taste for seasoning before she turned the hob off. I guess, because of tasting this chicken again and again for years I still remember how fragrant it is and how it should exactly taste like.
After many years, I re created her recipe and hope to cook it for her for first time when I will visit her in Denver next week. I am very excited. Now, that I shared the history behind this great family classic, it's time for me to share it with my friends. Remember,Sharing food is sharing love.
Ingredients
Chicken thigh and drumsticks- 1 kg
Chopped onions - 500 gm
Green chillies-slit in half- 3
Chopped Tomatoes- 3
Curry leaves-handful
Coriander leaves- 1 bunch
poppy seeds-soaked and coarsley ground into paste- 100 gm
Marinade
Ginger paste- 100 gm
Garlic Paste- 50 gm
Turmeric Powder- 10 gm
Red chilli Powder- 10 gm
Spice power
Coriander seeds-50 gms
Cloves- 4
Cinnamon- 2 sticks
Cardamom pods- 4
Black Pepper seeds- 10 gms

- mix ginger paste, garlic paste, turmeric powder and chilli powder and rub the marinade mix all over the chicken.
-in a small bowl , take some hot water and soak the poppy seeds for about 15 minutes.
- meanwhile, chop the onions and green chillies.
-Get the whole spices into a pan and dry roast them for a couple of minutes before pounding them into a powder. ( I strongly recommend doing the spice powder fresh right before we cook and always make it from whole spices instead of shop bought spice powders. It only takes 5 minutes but makes a lot of difference in flavouring the dish)
-strain the water form the poppy seeds and coarsely grind them into a paste using a pestle and mortar.
This is all your prep done.

- heat some sunflower oil in a pan and add a couple of whole cardamoms, cloves, stick of cinnamon broken into pieces, green chillies and curry leaves into the oil.
- The whole oil now is infused with the flavours of all the spices in it. Just after a minute of stirring add onions.
-here is where you will have to spend some time and need lot of patience as the onions need to be slow cooked until they caramelise and release all the sweetness.
- this will take good 10 minutes. once the onions are caramelised, add the marinated chicken in and stir for another 5 minutes until the pieces are sealed properly.

- then add in half the spice powder and poppy seed paste and stir  for another 5 minutes.
-Then add the chopped tomatoes and cover the pan with a lid so that the chicken is cooked in it's own juices which is much more tastier than adding water to the pan.
-add salt and cook on low flame covered with lid for another 10 mins.
- take the lid off and add the rest of the spice powder and let the liquid in the pan evaporate till the sauce thickens.

-check for the seasoning and sprinkle coriander leaves and serve it with some steamed rice or flaky parathas as I did.
P.S. The recipe of the fluffy and flaky paratha bread will be my next post.
- This yummy , spicy and aromatic chicken recipe is great for cold evenings or even for a great sunday family luch , just like how my family used to enjoy it.Before I end this post, there is one most important thing I need to do....
THANK YOU AMMA!!!!

I am back, I am back, I am really really back.....
Hello my friends, I am really sorry that I took a really long break from my blog but I have been doing really exciting stuff with food. I promise that I shall keep posting regularly.
News  is I am looking forward to do the Asian Gastronomic week in Tenerife, Spain in October and there is something much more exciting that will happen after that but then it is too early to reveal what will it be.

Here are some of the posters that have been made by the hotel H10 Conquistador( one of the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed at) for the forthcoming food festival in Spain. 

Also, a popular tour and travel company called 'The Rickshaw Travels' came to 'Recipease' and did a cooking lesson with me and were kind enough to post it on their web site, here is the link.

http://www.rickshawtravel.co.uk/turning-up-the-heat-at-recipease-vietnamese-street-food-lesson/

There is more  happening in the pipeline and I shall keep you all posted as and when but above all I will again  start doing the thing I always loved to do, post some mouth watering recipes. So, watch out for this space.

My first video on 'You Tube'

http://youtu.be/QmK09oiv8O8

MY 'SOUP'ER LUNCH

Hello Amigos! I know ...i know its been ages since my last post on here. I also see that some of you have been checking my blog regularly to see if I have posted anything new. I kind of hibernated the whole winter and now that it's spring officially, i am back with some lovely recipes perfect for spring time. I made a lovely soup early this week using all my favorite ingredients such as Butternut Squash , Carrots, Garlic , Sage , Cumin and Habanero Chilli. The sweetness of butternut always compliments the spices.The other secret ingredient is orange juice to give the soup a bit of sourness.
INGREDIENTS

Butternut Squash or Pumpkin- 300 g
(I roasted them in the oven with some garlic, red chilli and olive oil but you do not have to if you don't want to)
Carrots- 300 g
Garlic- 6 cloves
Ginger- 50 g
Sage leaves- 4-5
Habanero Chilli(if you want to go crazy with spice levels) or just use regular red chillies- 1
Cumin Seeds- 1 tsp
salt- to taste
Double cream - 1 tbsp
Water or vegetable stock
Orange juice- 150 ml
olive oil- 15 ml
Coriander leaves- 2 stalks

METHOD

 -Heat up the olive oil in pot and add cumin seeds, garlic, ginger and red chilli.
- saute on a medium heat for about 3 mins.
- Add the carrots  and squash. Saute for another 5 minutes.
- This will help the carrots to caramlaise and release the sugars.
-Add stock or water to cover the ingredients and cover the pot with lid and let the soup simmer for about 10 mins.
-Take the lid off and check if he carrots and squash has been cooked till soft.
-Add salt and orange juice and use a potato masher and start mashing up the ingredients in the pot.You can use hand blender or food processor if you want but i like my soup to be chunky with pieces of carrots and squash. Hence, I use the potato masher.

-Simmer the soup for another 5 mins and then stir in some double cream and chopped sage leaves before you finish.
-Do not forget to taste the soup and adjust the seasoning before switching the stove off.
-Get the soup into a bowl, swirl some cream on top and garnish with coriander leaves.

THAT'S IT!!!YOUR 'SOUP'ER LUNCH IS READY.This is one of the quickest and easiest soups that you can make at home. Absolutely delicious and amazingly healthy.Give it a go and you will not be disappointed.