#92 Iranian Style Koobideh Kababs with Black Bean, Beets and Banana Flower

 Kababs are always welcomed on my dinner table -- they should come with a warning sign as they tend to be very addictive. Persian gatherings almost always have an assortment of Kabab meats cooked on skewers over coals and laid upon flat bread for retaining the moisture in them. A bed of basmati saffron rice served with  many accompaniments like flatbread, sumac and raw onions to please everyone's palate..

Although "Chelow Kababs" are the national dish of Iran, the Persian Koobideh Kabab is also an authentic minced meat kabab made from ground beef, lamb or chicken mixed with parsley and chopped onions and  a popular favorite. The ingredients are mixed together until they are smooth. One egg is added to help the mix stick together and then pressed around a skewer, then grilled or broiled and served over a bed of basmati saffron rice.


Sometimes accompanied by grilled tomatoes and powdered suman sprinkled over the rice, Kababs are easy to prepare and can be made using just about anything! I am trying to incorporate good veggies into our diet at home, so this is my kabab-e koobideh with black beans, beet and an interesting new addition- banana flower or Mocha- I call it my "BBB Kabab" :). To the right is a picture of the flower that is used extensively all over Asia, because of its wonderful texture, taste and healing properties. I would like to think the texture is almost like ground meat.

Raw Banana Flowers are bitter and have to be prepared in advance. First you remove the outer two or three layers of petals that are darker than the interior.. Holding the flower by the tip, cut off and discard the "root". Then, you can either grate it or chop fine and the juices will stain the surfaces to a dark brown so be careful to chop it onto a disposable wax paper. Then toss into a bowl with salted water and lemon juice and discard the wax paper. Soak for at least an hour and drain out of the water. Rinse thoroughly and then squeeze out all the water just before cooking it.



Banana Flowers have tremendous nutritional value. They are a good source of fiber and protein and contain a class of phytochemicals called "saponins" that lower LDL or bad cholesterol, boost the body's immunity against infection and even considered to inhibit the growth of cancer cells. They have antioxidant properties that reduce our risk of cardiovascular disease. Not only are they an excellent source of Flavanoids, but they also have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging health benefits to enhance the quality of life.

Black beans contain a lot of nutrients needed by the body, such as vitamin K, vitamin C, manganese, vitamin A, dietary fiber, potassium, folate, iron, magnesium, thiamin, riboflavin, copper, calcium, phosphorus, protein, omega-3 fatty acids and niacin. Black beans are also a very rich source of fiber, these nutrients play important role to prevent cholesterol from becoming oxidized and heart disease. What makes them different from other beans/legumes is the color coat of black beans contain at least 8 different flavonoids that have enormous antioxidant potential used to prevent degenerative diseases.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
2 onions, chopped fine
Cilantro chopped - 1 cup
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tspn ginger paste
1 fresh jalapeno peppers, finely diced
1-1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 tspn cumin powder
14.5 ounces cooked and drained black beans
salt and black pepper to taste
1 raw banana flower
Beet-1 chopped fine
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

I am sending this "mocha" recipe as my entry to the event below@
http://sweetartichoke.com/2011/03/05/artichoke-hazelnut-sandwich-cookies-event-announcement-biscuits-noisette-et-artichaut/



I have also sent the entry to MLLA 33 to Ammalu's Kitchen
http://ammaluskitchen.info/2011/03/01/my-legume-love-affair-33/
 and to Susan at The Well Seasoned Cook
http://thewellseasonedcook.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-legume-love-affair-host-lineup.html


Also sent to the Large "Fast Food-- not Fat Food" event being hosted by Priya of

http://priyasnowserving.blogspot.com/




and Only Fusion also hosted by Priya and Pari of
http://cooking-goodfood.blogspot.com/2011/03/event-announcement-and-giveaway-for.html


Directions:
1. Grate the banana flower very carefully after removing the dark red outer layers and discarding them. Grate into a pan of water with lemon juice so that there is no discoloration. Squeeze water out and keep aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook onions until softened, about 1 minute. Stir in grated raw banana flower, ginger, garlic, diced jalapenos, and spice powders; cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add 1/2 cup water and cook the grated banana flower until cooked well and no liquid is retained. Cook chopped beets seperately and toss into the banana flower mixture.
3. Transfer contents of skillet to a large bowl. Stir in black beans, and mash with a fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Mix in egg and cilantro. Divide into balls, and roll into cylindrical patties.
4. Roll patties in the Panko bread crumbs. In the oven, set cooking rack about 4 inches from heat source. Set oven to broil. Lightly grease baking sheet with 1 tablespoon oil.
5. Place bean patties on baking sheet, and broil 8 to 10 minutes. Turn cakes over, and broil until crispy, about 3 minutes more. Serve with grilled tomatoes and saffron rice.

#91 Spicy Coconut and Raw Mango Chutney with Warm Yogurt Rice

In almost every ancestral home(tharavad) in Kerala there are at least two varieties of mango trees in the front or backyard. They produce an abundance of fresh green mangoes every season and gathered in baskets are used for pickling and cooking in many authentic dishes. The taste of those mangoes that come from your own backyard cannot be beat. No matter how organic or farm fresh the supermarket mangoes claim to be, there is no comparison to the genuine flavor that emulates from the taste of the traditional Kadu Manga, Uppu manga or Manga Chammanthi...it still lingers on my tongue up to this day. Well, I tried to re-create the same flavors --only I had to settle for the raw mango from my neighborhood supermarket. I don't think the mango chamanthi gets enough recognition among its co-condiments, even though it is an uplifting accompaniment to any vegetarian meal and can turn it into a completely satisfactory one.
Some posts ago, I had promised to share this recipe with you and here it is......The spicy tartness of the mango combined with the sweet coconut and ginger/curry leaf flavor is just so easy to make and the best part is there is no cooking involved!

Ingredients:
Raw Mango- 1 cut up
Freshly grated Coconut -1/2 cup
Green chillies-3
Red Chillies-2
Shallots-3
Curry Leaves- 1 sprig
Ginger- 1 inch piece

Salt to taste,
Method:
1. In a food processor add the cut up pieces of mango, ginger and the grated coconut with red chillies and salt to taste.
2. Process very well until the coconut and mango are pretty much meshed together well.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and process again with very little or no water.
4. Remove the processor from its base and after removing the blade, carefully roll the chutney with
clean hands and roll it into a ball. Place it in a dish and serve with Thair Saadam, pappadam and
vegetable sides to please you palate for a simple vegetarian meal.

For the Thair Saadam(Yogurt Rice)
Ingredients:
1. Long grain rice- 1/2 cup
2. Milk- 1 cup
3. Yogurt -1 cup
4. Seasoning spices-redchillies, curry leaves and mustard and cumin seeds.
5. Asafoetida-1 pinch

Method:

1. Cook the rice with more than double the liquid. Use 1/2 cup water and 1 cup milk to cook.

2. When cooked, remove from fire add salt and mix well with the yogurt.

3. Place a small saucepan on the fire add oil, asafoetida and the seasoning spices.
4. When the seeds splutter pour the seasoning over the rice, mix well and serve.

#90 Kicked-up Thai Style Spicy Chicken WIngs

How did Buffalo Wings came to be such a favorite? Do buffaloes have wings? There was a time when chicken parts like wings, back and neck were considered scraps that went into making a stock for soup. A restaurateurcame up with the chicken wing recipe and use this piece of meat that would soon sweep people off of their feet. Today, all the credit goes to the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, New York since they came up with the  buffalo wings and hence the name. In Buffalo July 29^th is considered “Chicken Wing Day” too!!

The Wings are deep fried and tossed in a sauce made with melted butter and liquid hot sauce. I "kicked it up a notch" and added an Asian themed sauce instead of the hot wing sauce.  As always, I prefer not to deep fry and cut up the wings into two, discarding the wing tip bone and used a Thai style sauce.

 

Ingredients:

Chicken wing parts-20

Rice wine vinegar- ¼ cup

Soy sauce- 2Tblspn

Honey-1/4 cup

Fish Sauce-1 Tblspn

Juice of ½ lime and grated lime peel-1 tblspn

Garlic paste- 1 tspn

Ginger paste-1/2 tspn

Chilli Sauce or sriracha- 2 Tblspn

Fresh chopped cilantro- 3 Tblspn

All purpose Flour- ½ cup

Method:

1. Clean and cut off excess skin of the chicken wings. Wash well and drain water out.
2. Toss the wings in all purpose flour and coat well.
3. Spray a baking pan with butter spray and place the wings on it. Spray over them
4.  Broil in an Oven for about 20-25 minutes based on your oven.
5. When the skins are a light brown color remove the wings.
6. Whisk together the sauce with the rest of the ingredients except for the cilantro.
7. Now take the wings and toss in the sauce. Place them back in the oven and broil for 5 more minutes.
8. When the liquid is coating the wings, remove from oven toss with chopped cilantro,
9. Serve with Celery sticks or Ranch dressing.

More Awards.. -Une plume à mon chapeau

I humbly accept this award from Pia of Cooking Healthy... thank you Pia for giving me this honor of Stylish Blogger.
I must mention some special blogger friends like Pia, Priya Sreeram, Nancy and Vijay and Rebecca who have all been so positive in their comments. Not only have they been regular visitors right from the time I introduced my kitchen experiments to the world, but they have also given me so much enlightenment with their comments, cheering me on to new ideas and unfailingly sending words of encouragement..... a special THANK YOU to you!! I have so many other visitor friends I would like to Thank there are no words to describe my joy ever since you accepted me into your world of food and travel. So thank you to each and every one of my visitors who stop by, read silently or stop to provide feedback... I am always looking forward to hearing from all of you because that makes it worthwhile to keep the blog alive and moving.




It certainly feels good to be recognized and especially by people like Pia who is a Pro in the blog world and actively hosts and coordinates large "blogger" events.  and Sonali who has a grand collection on her wonderful page.
I accept one more award from Sonali from Only Fish Recipes...
http://onlyfishrecipes.blogspot.com/
a page that I always visit because I love to cook with fish and she has some interesting and innovative fish recipes. Thank you Sonali for passing on the award to me ... I am truly honored by your gesture


I am sharing these awards with everyone who is an avid reader of my posts, since it would not be easy for me to pick 15 new bloggers within this short time. There are so many Great Blogs out there!!

While I am at it----I must Thank my better half who has always been patient with me and supported my blog.... R has waited patiently for me to capture the photos before he could dig into the food:) sometimes participating in the photography sessions!!



Now 7 things about myself???

1. I love to learn about new cuisine and culture, listen to music, read, travel and most of all laugh a lot.  Laughter is my best medicine. My latest desire--I have ventured on a journey to explore ways to cook healthy, trying out different vegetarian food, grains and incorporating relaxation techniques into my life.
2. Life is like an artichoke you go through so many tough layers to get to the soft center-after raising two beautiful girls and caring for family,  now I am trying to follow my heart and hobbies:).  I believe life is like a coin, you can spend it any way you wish but you only spend it once.
3. I am a very spiritual person, have extreme faith in the Hindu religion and have trust in God, although superstitious beliefs are not part of my agenda.
4. I am pretty straightforward and positive with people but I don't pick up on trivial blatant stuff.
5. I love art and believe life is a great big canvas and you can throw all the paint on it that you can in one lifetime.
6. Something that caught my attention and I stuck with it--Life is a compromise of what your ego(for lack of a better word:)) wants to do, what experience tells you to do and what your nerves let you do.
7. I support women's rights...as Reba McEntire once said "to succeed in life you need three things- a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone."

#89 Soothing Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I absolutely love Panera Bread Company’s Chicken and Wild rice soup. It exudes such delicious and soothing warmth that I can make a whole meal of one bowl of this luscious soup. The weather these days has been unpredictably sloppy ---some days get so warm you would not need a coat and then the windchill hits me the very next day. So I brewed this soup at home and came up with a way to enrich it to another level of heartiness. The secret is just plain old condensed cream of mushroom soup ---although the results were magical and cosy for any “last pangs of winter”. Even R seemed to enjoy the light dinner!!

Ingredients:

Chicken Broth- 6 cups

Water-1 cup

1 Cooked boneless chicken breast half shredded.

1(4.5 ounce) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice

With seasoning package.

Carrot-1 chopped fine

Celery- 1 stalk chopped fine

Mushrooms-10 sliced

Cream of Mushroom condensed soup- 1 can

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. In a large pot sauté the carrot, celery and mushrooms for 1 minute.
2. Combine broth, water and let it boil. Add the rice and seasoning.
3. Cover and let cook until the rice is almost done.
4. Add the chicken, salt, pepper and the condensed soup. No additional water is needed.

Cook for an additional 15 minutes until the chicken and cream are well incorporated

KEY WEST FL

Florida Keys are just a group of amazing little islands at the Southernmost part of the United States. I consider that as one of my best vacation spots after Cancun and Paris!!

R and I are outdoorsy people but we do not snorkel or go deep sea fishing.  However, we love beaches and the sea -- in February 2008 we visited Key West.  I think this was one of the best vacations we had had in a long time. Key West has the perfect climate for just about anyone who is looking to have a pleasant time.....an absolutely lovely place not limited to the usual touristy beach activities but so much more to explore and experience.

 

The Southernmost House was constructed in 1896 for the family of Dr Jeptha Vinning Harris and his wife Florida. Dr Harris was a surgeon in the navy during the Civil War and became a well known person in Key West. He built the home with attention to detail, strong enough to withstand treacherous hurricanes and storms. The beautiful home has just one bedroom but an adjacent guesthouse to accommodate visitors, at the same time maintain family privacy. The house gained popularity in the 1940's when the Ramos family took over the home. It is said that they were host to celebrities like Presidents, royalty and many more. Harry S Truman, Richard Nixon, John Kennedy, Jimmy Carter and Ernest Hemingway only to name a few, all of whom loved Key West's perfect climate and enticing nightlife. In 1996 the Southernmost House had a $3 million renovation restoring the old Victorian home into soft shades of the tropical colors and an appearance of a Cuban Cafe and historic Inn as seen in my photos. Now the guestrooms and suites resonate sophisticated furnishings and modern luxuries like the stunning Tiffany stained glass canapy that hangs in the side veranda.





 



  

We watched the sunset from the southernmost point of the US and in the horizon we saw little bits of Cuba that the local people pointed out to us. Besides the fabulous sunsets on Key West, there is amazing food influenced by Cuban cuisine of course. The drinks are amazing especially Mojitos made from the local Key Limes.

My trip was even better when I dragged R into the "Peppers of Key West" store with me, the hottest spot on the island. You can imagine my joy when I experienced  a whole new world of creations made from Chillies--wing sauces, jerk marinades, dry rubs, salsas, BBQ sauces, preserves, chutneys, pickles from travel size to jumbo bottles.  I bought home so many hot sauces it is not even funny. A Red Hot Pepper Jelly which was out of this world and there is a tasting bar too!!  I browsed around for most of the day in this unique store since it carried all my favorites. It was truly a feast for my imagination and so nourishing for any foodies out there with a love for hot peppers check it out:)

http://www.peppersofkeywest.com/About-Us-W6.aspx.aspx
Naturally,  Duval Street has several wonderful old-school fresh seafood restaurants. One of my favorites is the Conch Republic Seafood Company with their seafood specialties, Rum Runners and Caipirinhas. And although the Caipiranha is a Brazilian drink the cachaca, rum and Key limes make it extra special. 

#88 Refreshing Fruit Salad with Ginger dressing

Fruit salads are so versatile that you can cut up any three or more of your favorite fruits and toss in a simple dressing and voila! you have a colorfully healthy salad. If you prefer to make your dressing  from scratch, the flavor is enhanced converting the salad into a dessert!! If you can eat a salad and it tastes like dessert-- who could ask for more? With summer upon us, bringing with it an abundance of fruits I am ready to bring home all the seasonal tropical fruits. Anyway, this is only a gateway to a wonderful world of fruit salads.......

Ingredients:
Pineapple chunks- 1/2 cup
Strawberries cut up in chunks- 1/2 cup
Blueberries- 1/2 cup
Fresh Mint Leaves- 5
Fresh Ginger-1/2 inch piece
Honey- 1 Tblspn
Lemon juice- 1/2 lemon
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Water- 1/2 cup

This simple salad is being sent to Pia's Innovative Salad Event #2 Fruits at
http://www.cookhealthy.in/2011/03/innovative-salad-event-2-fruits.html


Method:
1. Toss together the chunks of fruit and Julienned Mint leaves. Refrigerate intil ready to serve.
2. Place  a saucepan on the stove add, sugar, sliced ginger and water and make a thick syrup.
3. When the syrup is sticky and thick,  add lemon juice and honey, stir well. Remove from fire, strain the ginger out and cool the clear syrup to room temperature..
4. To serve, take a pretty glass or bowl, scoop 2 Tblpns of refrigerated fruit mix.
5. Pour 2 Tblspns of cooled syrup over the fruit and enjoy!!

#87 A Simple Kerala Meal with Chicken curry

Nothing feels more "homy" than a simple Kerala style meal for lunch on a Saturday. I must share this  meal that R and I indulged in this Saturday and that too it did not take much time to stir up…  some plain rice served with a thoran, kitchedi, bitter melon pachadi and simple chicken curry on the side. A couple of non-Kerala diakon radish slices in chili, sugar and vinegar for a cooling relish and I have a completely satisfying meal on the table.

Here's how I put it all together........................

Diakon Radish and Green Pepper Thoran

Ingredients:

Diakon radish- 1

Green Pepper-2

Garlic paste- ½ tspn

Freshly grated coconut- ½ cup

Cumin seeds- ½ tspn

Chilli Powder- ¼ tspn

Haldi- ¼ tspn

Seasoning spices- mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.

Oil and salt as needed.

Method:

1. Scrape off the skin of the Diakon Radish to remove any extra roots and dirt.
2. Wash the radish and peppers and dry.
3. Chop both vegetables into small cubes and keep in separate bowls.
4. Place a frying pan on the stove add oil and on a medium flame add seasoning spices
5. When the mustard splutters, add the diakon radish, salt, chilli and haldi powders.
6. Add ½ cup water and keep closed until the radish is cooked.
7. Now, in a blender coarsely grind the coconut, cumin seeds and garlic.
8. Add the coconut paste to the diakon radish along with the green pepper.
9. Stir fry for a few minutes until the green pepper is just cooked and no water is left in the pan.

Tomato and Onion Kitchedi

Ingredients:

Tomato- 2 Plum tomatoes

Red Onion- 1

Coconut-1/4 cup

Chilli powder- ½ tspn

Cumin seeds- ¼ tspn

Yogurt-1 ½ cups

Mustard seeds-1/8 tspn

Seasoning spices: cumin seeds, red chillies, curry leaves

Oil and salt as needed

Method:

1. Chop the red onion finely and keep aside.
2. Chop the tomatoes finely and keep aside.
3. Grind to a smooth paste the coconut, cumin seeds and keep aside.
4. Crush the mustard seeds coarsely keep aside.
5. Place a pan on low to medium heat, add 1 tblspn oil.
6. Add onions and sauté. When the onions are almost light brown in color, add the tomatoes.
7. Add the ground paste and cook for a minute. Add yogurt and stir well and remove from fire.
8. Add  1 tspn oil to another pan and the seasoning spices, when they sizzle and pop, remove from fire and pour over the curry.

#86 A Brunch Pizza and a German Twist

Now, just because of their shape don’t think pretzels are hard to make. If you try to make them just once you will see that it is a fun activity and comes in handy as a snack any time. Normally pretzels come out chubby, soft and chewy when I make them using a real pretzel recipe.  It is just that for a regular pretzel I need to twist them up and boil them in water for 50 seconds before brushing with beaten eggs. I started this dough with the idea of making two small Brunch-Style Veggie pizzas, but I since I ended up with left-over dough, I twisted it into pretzels. But the crusty and soft pretzel dipped in some spicy mustard was just a lovely treat with coffee.

Crust:

1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 envelope Fleischmann's Pizza doughYeast(I used the regular "Active Dry" Yeast )

1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup very warm water

3 tablespoons oil Toppings and stuffing 1 small can sliced black olives. Dill-1 tspn Onions sliced- ½ Red Bell pepper sliced- ½ bell pepper Grated Pizza cheeses- ½ cup Egg- 1 beaten

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved Pizza Dough yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky. Knead on a floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes.

If using Regular Yeast, dissolve it in sugar and warm water and let proof for about 15 mins before mixing with the flour.
Pat dough with floured hands and divide into two small and 1 large ball. Spread the small balls into elongated discs on a baking sheet.  OR roll dough on a floured counter to 12-inch circle; place in greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Form a rim by pinching the edge of the dough. When the dough has risen in 15 mins top the pizza with the cheese, onions, Red Bell Pepper and black olives and bake in the oven for 20 mins or until edges are brown. Remove from the oven and make gashed on the top of the pizza. Pour beaten egg onto each disc  making sure that it does not spread outside the bread. Place in the oven  For another 5 mins to broil and cook the egg. Remove and serve with green salad.

In southern Germany pretzels have traditional meaning.  Some people give each other lightly sweetened yeast pretzels on New Year’s Day for good luck and fortune. The “Palm Pretzel” was made for Palm Sunday celebrations in Catholic homes.  In  Luxembourg, on the fourth Sunday in Lent there is a festival called “Pretzel Sunday” where boys give their girlfriends pretzels or cakes in pretzel twists as a symbol of their love. And so the history goes about the twisted pretzel bread.

German immigrants introduced the Pretzel to North America in the nineteenth century. The Pennsylvania Dutch make handmade pretzels using fresh farm ingredients and these can never be beat. There is a place that we like to haunt very often for homemade German treats. The Lancaster County Dutch Market in Germantown , Maryland is worth spending a few hours looking for vegetarian fed, farm raised chickens, apple cider, breads and the sausage and cheese filled pretzels are “out of this world” fantastic!! Wicked awesome fried chicken too   
To make pretzels from leftover dough:

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.
In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 12-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to a greased half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with Cheese or kosher salt. Bake at 450 degrees F until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

#85 Simply Easy Gujarati Style Masoor Dal

I love Gujarati food very much because of the subtle flavors.Some of my vegetarian favorites are pathra, Khaman dokhla and I make Undhiyo with mixed vegetables quite often. The food is so mildly flavored  that it brings out all the unique tastes, be it vegetables or dals. This is a recipe so simple and quick that it is a great way to start learning how to cook....

Ingredients:

1  cup(s) split red gram

1  tomato chopped finely

2  tablespoons oil

1  teaspoon each of mustard and cumin seeds

1  tablespoon finely chopped ginger

2  green or red chillies slit

4  cups water

4  curry leaves

1/8  teaspoon each of asafoetida and turmeric powder

a squeeze of lemon, jaggery and salt to taste

 Method:

1. Heat a pan with 1 1/2 cups water and add the pre-washed split red grams/lentils. Add turmeric powder, salt and a drop of oil to the gram along with the water in which it was soaked. Let it come to a boil and then on low level for about 20  minutes or till the gram is fully cooked.

2. Heat oil in a pan till it is hot and drop in the mustard seeds followed by the cumin seeds and then asafoetida. Fry on medium level for about 2  minute(s) till the seeds splutter. Add this to the cooked red gram and let it come to a simmer.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for about 10  minutes.

4. Serve with rice and dry vegetable sabzi.

#84 Phenomenal Sweet and Sour Chilli Fish

Chilli Chicken, Chilli Gobhi, Gobhi Manchurian, Chilli Potato and Chilli Idli----- and so the list goes with this popular Indo Chinese cooking style adapted to so many variations that it has been declared as a very popular dish in most parts of India. The concept is simply batter fried chicken, vegetables or idli stir fried in a sweet and spicy sauce.  

We shared a serving of Chilli Fish last week at an Indian Restaurant in our area, and R adjudicates it was not up to his standards. I decided to compromise with my home made version of Chilli Fish. It surprised me that even though my fish was so delicately caramelized by broiling in the oven it did not lose any of the texture and taste from the usual deep-fried version. It was distinctively gratifying with enormous flavor in the sauce served along with a bowl of fried rice.   Not that this is the best Chilli Fish ever,  but it got me thinking about how food and taste are all about individual likes and dislikes!  So please try this out.... it is really much easier than it looks:)

To marinate:

4 tbsp corn flour

4 tbsp water

½ Tbsp pepper powder

½ tsp Kashmiri chilli

1 egg

1 tsp minced ginger and garlic

A pinch of salt

Ingredients:

Fish fillets like King fish or Haddock- 1 lb (Any white fleshy fish that holds together. I used Cod.)

Baking Spray to broil fish

2-3 tsp sesame oil

2 whole Red Chillies

2 large cloves of garlic minced

1 Tblspn ginger julienned

1 ½ cups onion diced

1-5 green chillies split lengthwise

½ cup Red bell pepper cubed

½ cup Green Bell pepper cubed

2-3 stems spring onions

Rec Chillies- 2 whole

1 Tbsp hot Sriracha or chilli sauce

Chopped cilantro- 1 Tblspn

1 Tbsp Soy sauce

2 tsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp red wine vinegar

4 Tbsp water

2 tsp corn flour

1 cup water

Method:

1. Clean and cut fish fillets into bite size cubes. Mix together the marinade into a thick paste along with egg.

2. Coat the fish with the Marinade mixture and keep aside in fridge.

3. Take a cookie sheet and spray the baking spray liberally. Place the cubes of fish on the sheet and spray again.

4. Broil on low in the oven until fish is just cooked. Keep aside and slowly shake fish from the pan without breaking it apart.

5. Place a wok on the fire and add sesame oil. Cut up the red chillies and add to oil.

6. Add the garlic, ginger, onions, and saute until crisp.

7. Add the cut up bell peppers and spring onions along with all the sauces, vinegar, water, cornflour and tomato ketchup.

8. When the sauce thickens a bit add the fish and cilantro and remove from fire.