baked & grilled Fish

I had bought 3 whole fish roughly 2  months back and the last one of the lot was still  lying in the freezer long forgotten ,meanwhile I kept buying more fish . There were too many zip locks in the freezer,and this was probably buried in some forgotten corner in the freezer.

Recently I picked up  some methi/fenugreek leaves from the Indian grocery store and wanted to prepare fish in fenugreek leaves/Methi , it is a sindhi recipe and I planned on doing it with tilapia,then  while pulling out a zip lock with tilapia I see this whole fish underneath :) and decided the methi fish will have to wait :)

This  baked & grilled whole fish is one of mine & my husbands favorite, and we love to have it with Sula an Indian wine which goes very well with the Indian spices. I normally throw in some veggies like broccoli,capsicum and asparagus towards the end and broil these for 3-4 minutes  with the fish ,before I pull it out of the oven. The wine is cold and ready we will just squeeze some lemon on the baked& grilled fish and then  dig in .



The inside is juicy and soft

 You can use any fish you fancy:  Red Snapper,rainbow trout,gray Mullet or Pomfret or Tilapia and I baked this in an aluminium foil,if banana leaf is easy for you to procure than please bake it in a banana leaf.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Marination Time: 1 hour
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves 2-4 depending on the size of the fish

Ingredients:
whole Fish: 1
Tomato's: 2
Ginger: 1 tbsp
Garlic: 1 tbsp
Cilantro: 1 tbsp chopped
Mango: 1 not too ripe and not raw either
Salt: to your taste
Garam masala: 1 tsp
Red pepper: 1 tsp
Coriander Powder: 1 tsp
Lime Juice: 1 tbsp
Coconut grated: 1tbsp
Olive Oil: 1 tbsp

Make vertical cuts on the fish and rub in salt and lemon juice & leave for 15 minutes

Take the rest of the ingredients except fish ,mango and oil and grind them in a food processor.

Now stuff the masala inside the fish and spread it on the outside too, covering the fish on all sides.Chop mango into bite size pieces and spread these with the masala. Pour the tbsp of oil on this and also brush the foil with oil.

Bake it on 350  degree f for 20 minutes and then broil it for 10 minutes on 400 degrees F or till you get the charred effect.





Bon appetit :)

Crunchy Topped Cocoa cake

I was flipping through the Hershey's Classic recipes, I found the Crunchy-Topped Cocoa cake picture very tempting and I had never worked with the ingredients this recipe called for until now . This recipe is not very lengthy and  actually super simple to put together. It took me 10 minutes to pull out the stuff from the pantry and mix these in a bowl ,pour it in the pan and stick the pan in the oven. The topping took another 5 minutes-The result-Exceptionally good !!! The cake is not very rich as it has no eggs and butter but the topping more than makes up for that,and together this is a must bake cake :)

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: 35 minutes
Makes 9 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

broiled topping:
1/4 cup  butter ( 1/2 stick butter) softened
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1/2 cup mounds sweetened coconut flakes
3 tbsp light cream or evaporated milk

method for preparing the topping:
Stir together all ingredients in a small bowl until well blended. It makes about 1 cup topping.

Method Fir Cake:
1.heat oven to 350 degree f. Grease and flour 8 inch square baking pan.

2. Stir together flour,sugar,cocoa,baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Add water,oil,vinegar and vanilla; beat with a spoon or whisk just until smooth and ingredients are well blended.Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. bake 35 to 40 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centre comes out clean.meanwhile,prepare broiled topping; spread on warm cake. Set oven to broil; place pan about 4 inches from heat.broil 3 minutes or until top is bubbly and golden brown.remove from oven.cool completely in pan or wire rack.

Kati Roll / Kathi roll

I wonder why me and my friend invariably bring up food during our morning walks,now Now I  know why the walk is not effective ;) It was during one such morning walks we lightly touched upon ,Kati Rolls  in mid town Manhattan.A very popular place for a variety of kati rolls. It is more like a hole in the wall and  kati loyals mostly come  here for take away. My friend brought  this up very lightly not realizing that one day I was to become a die-hard fan of Kati Rolls. Honestly trips to the city are now insipid without Kati Rolls. Good news is this place stays open till 5:am on Fridays & Saturdays Ta-da :)

Can I write some more on the origin of the scintillating  Kati Roll .Hm mm Kati rolls originated as a street food in Calcutta. The roll probably started as a convenient and portable food for the British babu's who were  too fastidious to touch the kebab's . Originally Kati used to be heavy cast iron skewers used by the nizams for grilling kebab's ,later the nizam's discontinued the use of these for bamboo skewers . These in bengali stand for kati or stick . Hence the name kati  soon stuck.

 Traditionally a kati roll is a kati kebab wrapped in a layered parantha for which  the dough  is kneaded  into a rope and then coiled into a round  pattie and then flattened with a rolling pin . Cooked on a tawa/griddle with a pat of oil . Source wiki

I am writing this post after a satiating Kati Roll feast and I can very proudly say that I have to a great extent  succeeded in replicating the Kati Roll company's recipe . Hooray !!!

P.S Mahir, this one is for you , for deligently and zealously reading my posts even on your business trips:) I love you !!!

Preparation Time:  20 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients for Paneer Kebabs
Cottage Cheese/paneer : 1 pound cut into 2 inch pieces
bell pepper : 1 cut into 2 inch pieces, without seeds
Onion: 1 medium cut into 2 inch pieces
Oil: 2 tbsp
Hung Curd : 1/2 cup
Mustard oil: 1 tbsp
Chaat masala: 1 tbsp
garam masala: 1tsp
Fenugreek leaves roasted and powdered: 1 tsp
Red kashmiri pepper: 1 tbsp or as per taste (it is deep red in color and mild )
Mango powder: 1 tsp
Lemon juice: 2 tbsp

Method:
1. Take all the ingredients except paneer ,onion and bell pepper and mix well,now add the paneer and marinate this for 1/2 hour at least.
2. In a kadai heat oil ,when hot add onions and bell peppers and saute for a couple minutes. Now add the marinated paneer and saute for 3 -4 minutes. Keep aside.

Ingredients For rolls:
Whole wheat flour: 2 cups
2% milk: Enough to knead the flour
salt: 1 tsp

Method:
1.take the flour add salt and knead the flour and let it sit covered in a pat dry kitchen towel in a warm place for 15 minutes.
2. take a generous amount of dough to roll out a parantha,spread a tsp of oil and sprinkle flour on it, and fold it to roll it out again in a circle or square
3. Cook this on the griddle and use a brush to oil it on both sides,make it crisp till you see brown spots on the parantha.
4.Put this on  a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Now spread green mint& corriander chutney. take  3-4 paneer kebab  pieces along with bell peppers and onions and spread them evenly in the centre forming a thin strip. Now fold the roll and wrap the bottom half with a parchment paper or aluminium foil and enjoy this super delicious kati roll.

Note: Kati rolls are made with numerous fillings. To add some crunch you can use lettuce and thin strips of carrots.
I substituted sweet peppers for bell peppers.
You can add some ginger & garlic.
To save time you can substitute fat free greek Yogurt for hung curd,it is very thick and coats well.

8 Questions For 8 Food Bloggers

I was tagged by Nancy & Vijay of  http://kitchengypsies.blogspot.com/  yesterday in her post 8 Questions For 8 Food Bloggers. This is described as a rolling interview byAnthony at Flavorful World Food and drink Blog to get to know our fellow food lovers and giving  new comers  to our respective sites a chance to see what makes us tick . I am happy to be a part of this fun exercise,and thanks to Nancy for tagging me . I am more than happy to answer the questions she has asked and then I will tag 8 food bloggers asking them my 8 questions , who then will  tag 8 more food bloggers...


      Here are my 8 questions by Nancy and my answers to them :)

1.   What is the first dish you ever prepared, would you still fix it the same today?
       I have mentioned this on my blog in my very first post -Mushroom Vegetable/Khumbiyun Ji  Bhaji,this   is  the  first vegetable or first anything that I ever made. I made it roughly 25 years back and this is my father's recipe for me :) I will not change anything in this particular dish.
2.   Are you a strict measurer or do you just throw it in when you cook? 
I mostly eyeball ingredients,but for baking I stay loyal to the recipes I am referring to and will follow instructions to the T
3.In most celebrations food is a central theme, do you feel that serving a dish not traditionally served   (such as turkey for Thanksgiving) changes the feel of the celebration?
I will  for example make  turkey for Thanksgiving as that is the tradition but will experiment with the traditional recipe and alter it to suit my Indian palette or my guests palette.
4. Is there any food that makes you cringe just to think about it?
Not really,there are foods I am absolutely crazy about and foods I am OK with but I can't thing of any food that would make me cringe.
5. Someone drops by unexpectedly at dinner time, what would you serve them?
Nothing elaborate as the guests are unexpected. But I will try and fix something quick & decent . I have some quick recipes which are reserved for last minute guests.
6.What or who inspired you to write about food?
Food  itself and plenty of time were my source of inspiration to write about something I was told I am good at :)
7. Is there a charity or a cause dear to your heart that you would consider incorporating into your blog?
Yes there are couple causes I am passionate about,but honestly it never occurred to me that I could incorporate them here on my blog. Thanks so much for bringing it up,I have already started to think about it.
8. Why is it that there are always more lasagna noodles than sauce?
They suck the sauce to breathe and grow when cooked  :0

Thanks for taking the time to read this.  I'm looking forward to knowing you all better!


Nancy of http://Kitchengypsies.blogspot.com/ is a wonderful person and one of my first blogger friends :) She has a wonderful blog and I love the way she cooks south Indian food and pictures it at every step. For a non-Indian, cooking Indian food can be intimidating but I must admit that she does it with so much ease and I can tell from the step by step pictures  , that she has completely mastered the art of cooking south Indian food & that does not rule out her other non Indian recipes. They are equally amazing !!!

Nancy had sent me 8 questions which are posted above with my answers and it is about time I tagged 8 friends to answer these questions and keep the ball rolling:) So here are my 8 questions to my dear friends, I look forward to knowing you  some more :)

1. What is your take on organic food , is it a big deal for you ?
2. Do you time your breakfast,lunch & dinner or eat when you are hungry ?
3. What inspired you to write a food blog ?
4. You try a new recipe and it does not turn out good,what will you do ?
5. Name three ingredients you consciously avoid or eliminate even when the recipe calls for it ?
6. Name three things you have to use in most recipes ?
7. How important is eating meals together as a family to you?
8. You do not like a particular dish at your favorite restaurant,what will you do ?

Here are the 8 blogger  I am tagging:
jay: http://tastyappetite.blogspot.com/
Sangeeta: http://banaraskakhana.blogspot.com/
Malar: http://www.kitchentantra.com/
Aipi: http://usmasala.blogspot.com/
Lavi: http://homecooksrecipes.blogspot.com/
Elizabeth: http://foodandthriftfinds.blogspot.com/
Suja: http://kitchencorner.blogspot.com/
Kairali Sisters: http://cookingwithkairalisisters.blogspot.com/


Thank You for participating :) I look forward to your answers.

Award Time !!!

I am thrilled to have recieved these awards from my dear blogger friends. Please do visit their exceptional blogs with many versatile recipes. I bet you ,you will never run out of ideas,they keep inventing and reinventing recipes:) I am never running out of ideas for meals now, since I beacme a part of this wonderful blogosphere community.

The first one is from Kurinji of http://kurinjikathabam.blogspot.com/
She is extremely talented and does amazing Kolams along with equally amazing recipes. I always love to see her page,it brightens up my day with all the festive Kolams and exudes very positive vibes :)

The second award is from Priya Sreeram of http://bonappetit.blogspot.com/
She is an amazing blogger and the fact that she has been awarded with most awards since last night says it all:) I  love the heading  on her blog it is so apt and reads ,"Cooking is like love,it should be entered into with abandon or not atall". Please do visit her blog for some wonderful,mouthwatering recipes.

I will share these awards  again around New Year ,so long keep cooking and keep posting fun recipes :)

Award Time !!!

I was given the Sunshine Blog award by Sujatha of http://epicureansdelight.blogspot.com/  please do visit her blog for some very interesting recipes. It is now time for me to share this award and another award given by Elizabeth of http://foodandthriftfinds.blogspot.com/  Please do visit Elizabeth's blog for some true gems.
I am now sharing these two awards with my blogger friends and request them to come & pick up their award & show this award on their blog and further share this award with their blogger friends :)
Jay :  http://tastyappetite.blogspot.com/
Shanthi : http://shanthisthaligai.blogspot.com/
Jan: http://cookingbachelors.blogspot.com/
Malar: http://www.kitchentantra.com/
Prathima: http://pratscorner.blogspot.com/
Priya: http://bonappetit.blogspot.com/
Kuriniji: http://kurinjikathambam.blogspot.com/
Kairali sisters:  http://cookingwithkairalisisters.blogspot.com/
Sangeeta: http://banaraskakhana.blogspot.com/
Suja: http://kitchencornertryit.blogspot.com/
Anukampa: http://apinchofsaltmakeitall.blogspot.com/

No it is not over yet,I am sharing One Lovely Blog award with more blogger friends :)
Manasi G : http://cookingwithmoi.blogspot.com/
santosh: http://santoshbangar.blogspot.com/
Aipi: http://usmasala.blogspot.com/
http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/
http://cookerybits.blogspot.com/
Nitha: http://amateurperceptions.blogspot.com/
Nisa: http://cookingiseasy.blogspot.com/
http://darjeelingdreams.blogspot.com/
http://hgourmetfoodie.blogspot.com/
lavi: http://homecooksrecipes.blogspot.com/

I have enjoyed my time spent on all the blogs mentioned above and have come across some very unique cooking styles along with very interesting recipes. So I urge everyone to visit these special blogs.

 Have fun cooking & sharing the wonderful recipes :)