#PerfectFoodle Recipes - Mango Chilli Rice Paper rolls (with illustrated guide to rolling!)

Anyone who has followed my culinary capers for any significant amount of time will have clued in to my love for Rice Paper rolls. They are so easy to do, allow for advance preparation, last perfectly wrapped in clingfilm and travel very well. Also they can be eaten with the fingers. Coming up with an innovative stuffing was another challenge but in the end the textures of the prawn smothered in spicy sweet mango reduction spiked with chillies and punched up with green onions works perfectly.

Mango Chilli Rice Paper rolls 
Makes 10 rolls, time 40 mins

Ingredients
250g Prawns, cleaned and deveined
1 tsp mustard
Salt
½ cup mango pulp
2-4 Thai Red Chilli, sliced
¼ tsp Lemon juice and zest
1 tsp oil
1 tbsp spring onion
½ tsp chilli oil
1 Pkt Rice paper
Shredded lettuce

Method
Combine lime juice chillies salt and zest mustard and mix add cleaned prawns and toss well. Leave to marinate for 20 mins. Then add mango puree and stir well. Heat oil in a pan add prawn mixture and simmer till prawns are cooked and sauce has dried. To make rolls Dampen rice paper in hot water and lay flat on a smooth surface. Place a little shredded lettuce down one side, top with cooked prawns, drizzle with chilli oil and spring onion. Fold edge of rice paper over the filling, fold sides over and then roll up. Repeat with rest of the rice paper.

Red Zen review and the Thai Bhel it inspired

 

Please be informed I was bribed with copious amounts of Red Zen’s version of Prik Nam Pla redolent with coriander root, garlic and fish sauce to write this review! I still have some in my fridge!

My first visit to Red Zen was because it was close to where I live and because I their PR representative was a long time friend. I went in to check out the Zen Power Lunch at her invitation. That said I went in with reservations. You see I consider South East Asian food a forte as far as my personal cooking skills are concerned and consequently set very high standards for oriental food at restaurants. We were met and soon settled down to our meal.

A basket of prawn crackers accompanied by a selection of – House made ‘Yum’, Tamarind and hot garlic sauces and the signature Red Zen version of Nam Prik Pla were set before us to tide us through the hungry wait for our food. This is where most other oriental restaurants would serve you bad tomato sauce doused ‘Kimchi’ so I happily dipped through them. And then I tasted the Prik Nam Pla. Once I tasted it, the others became invisible! Prik Nam Pla is a traditional condiment of thinly chopped Thai bird (prik) chillies in fish sauce that is present at every Thai table to spice up rice-based dishes such as fried rice or white rice with sides.

At Red Zen, Chef Praiwan the resident Thai Chef does a more elaborate combination using coriander root, garlic and sugar in which the hot, salty, sweet balance is achieved perfectly. Of course it is very hot, a fact my mouth discovered after the sheer satisfaction and endorphin high of the chilli wore off and burning of the tongue ensued! Thankfully a lovely gingery drink (whose name I have lamentably forgotten) came just in time to assuage the flames. The savoury Egg Drop soup that arrived soon after also hit the spot, hot, salty and comforting as only a well made stock based soup can be. My bento style set lunch was set before me. Egg fried rice accompanied by black pepper chicken, sweet chilli fish and stir fried vegetables. All perfectly executed and served.

Truth be told I was sold on the Prik Nam Pla and prawn  crackers itself. My only complaint was that dessert was a disappointment! After the well made and matched food, serving three tiny scoops of commercially made ice-cream was a letdown. Of course, in true Rushina fashion I expresses my views and let them know. What I did not expect was that they would bring out some of their more innovative desserts in response! Soon, a bowl of an oriental Coconut milk dessert and decadant chocolate Springrolls (with a piquant pineapple salsa to cut through the chocolatyness and chocolate sauce in case you wanted to pile it on!) sat before me.  

I came away pleased enough to organise a bloggers meet there down the line. But just to be sure that I was not over reacting to the food, I recently went back for a taste of their Thai Street food festival. Again the food was very satisfying. Chef Praiwan their adorable Thai chef got our palates excited with a chicken and coconut milk soup which he quickly followed up with a steaming hot dish of fiery Basil Chicken stirfry with rice and a fried egg on top. Thankfully our sizzling mouths were cooled down with the chilled Thai dessert followed sweet coconut milk with water chestnuts and Jackfruit!  And just to be sure, I also sent my husband in to try it out anonymously (he is very much a food lover himself) and his verdict “I liked the food, particularly the Thai curry although the service was a little slow.” It takes a lot for him to like a Thai Curry so now I have to go back to see what its like!

But here is my verdict? If you are looking for flourishes of gourmet extravagance, go somewhere else. At Red Zen you will find well presented, tasty, Oriental food done well,with flashes of pure brilliance. They might have chosen to take a well trodden path in serving Oriental cuisine but they do it well. Every element is given attention. From the decor and tableware to interesting drinks and well made food. And it is this attention to detail that shines through. If you have not been to this lovely restaurant at the slightly more than 1 year old Courtyard by Marriott (not to be confused with the JW Marriott) I highly recommend you go.  Soon. Because their Thai street food festival will be over before you know it!

And now for the Thai Bhel

I have a secret. I have a collection of Template recipes. Template Recipe is a term I coined for recipes that I can do various avatars of. You see one of my favourite things to do is cook meals around a theme – Chinese, Italian, Thai, Mediteranean to name some successfully executed dinners. And over time I have evolved template recipes, that I tweak for use depending on the cuisine I am serving. For example I always have potatoes on my menu. Usually these are baby potatoes, parboiled in their skins, pierced all over and stir fried slowly in a little oil. I will finish them with a herb or spice combination to match the meal – parsley and lemon for a Mediterranean meal, chillies, garlic and schezwan sauce for a Chinese meal or thai chillies, basil, palm sugar and fish sauce for a thai meal.

This summer I rediscovered Chivda in Dehra Dun and as made it, I remember thinking of the many ways I could innovate with it. With its base of puffed rice it would go so well with so many cuisines.... Toasted Sesame oil, Toasted Sesame, Chillies, garlic and a flower of Star Anise for a Chinese version, perhaps? Or Basil, pine nuts and sundried tomato for an Italian theme with a dusting of parmiggiano just before I served it? And how delicious would a Thai version be with basil, lemongrass, thai chillies, garlic and shallots, peanuts and dried shrimp? The possibilities were endless....  

So after I cam home with some of the Prik nam PlaI I was inspired to make a Thai version of Chivda, that I tossed with it into a piquant spicy bhel. Try it out, and see how you go!

For the Thai Chivda

250g beaten rice, puffed rice or a combination of both (you can even use other puffed grains such as corn, millets)

1 cup of raw peanuts, skinned

½ cup toasted sesame

1 cup of dried papaya (this is optional, I had some to hand) or raisins or both

1 cup of coconut flakes (optional)

5-6 finely chopped thai chilies (adjust according to your preference of heat)

4-5 sprigs Makrut / kafir line leaves

1-2 tbsp Toasted Sesame oil

½ tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Heat a large wok (here in India we use a Kadai which is shaped like a wok but much heavier) that can hold all of the ingredients on a medium flame. Add the oil and allow to heat up. Add the chilies and Makrut / kafir line leaves and saute until the chillies and leaves are crisp. Be careful, this stage is crucial, if the spices scorch you will have to start over. Once done fish out the Kafir lime leaves and reserve. Add the chickpeas and the raisins and fry lightly for about a minute. Add in the nuts and combine well. Lower flame and add the ground turmeric, chillies, sugar and salt, and give everything a quick stir. Quickly add the beaten/puffed rice – you do not want the spice powders burning. Sprinkle salt and sugar and mix well until all the ingredients are combined well. Leave heat all the way down to low and let the mixture heat through, for about 5 minutes, stirring all the time so nothing overcooks. Take off heat and allow to cool completely before transferring to air tight container to store.

Red Zen Sinature Prik Nam Pla

This is also great with khichdi and papad! NO I am not kidding, I SWEAR!

100 ml Light soya sauce
100 ml Fish sauce
100 g Lime juice
100 g Coriander with roots
100 g Fresh thai red chillies
30 g Garlic (little)

100 g Sugar (little) -
Pound the chillies, garlic and coriander and combine with all the other ingredient. Mix well and store in an airtight bottle in your refrigerator.

For Thai Bhel

1.5 cups Thai Bhel mix

2-3 tbsp Red Zen Sinature Prik Nam Pla

2-3 tbsp tamarind chutney

½ cup onion chopped fine

½ cup tomato chopped fine

½ cup green papaya, grated

1/3 c green mango grated

1 cup boiled potato diced fine

1/3 cup coriander chopped fine

2-3 handfulls of sprouts

Combine everything except the Thai bhel mix in a bwl and toss well. Add the bhel toss again and serve immediately.

GYAN and information.

Red Zen is Located on Level M at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel. Zen Power lunch available between  12.30– 3.00pm priced at Rs. 399 + taxes.

The Prawn crackers and THE sauce!

The Drink!

Egg drop soup!

Our lunches arrive giving new meaning to the term 'boxed lunch'

And viola!

Sweet Chilli fish

Egg Fried Rice

Stir fried vegetables

Black pepper Chicken and yum sauce

The chocolate springroles with Chocolate sauce and pineapple salsa

DROOLWORTHY stuff this!

Rushina's Recipes - Parsi Dhansak for James of the Spicery and YOU!

 

If you read my last post on A Perfect Bite my spice tour for James (if you haven't GO READ IT and come back), you might have noticed I made James buy Dhansak Masala and Kolahs Vinegar at Motilals with a promise to send him the recipe. And then I realized that it is the perfect dish to cook up on these horrid cold cold days we are having so I thought I would put it up here for you and James.  

Although Dhansak is a very homestyle meal, it was my first ever taste of Parsi food and has stayed a favourite comfort food ever since. When I was a boarder (at Mayo girls in Ajmer) I looked forward to outing Sundays when my local guardian Gul Marfatia would come take us out for the day. The collective illusion we students liked to live in at the time was that we were imprisoned in MCP (Mayo College Prison)! Deprived of freedom, tuck, meeting boys… you get my drift I am sure…

So you can imagine what a highlight it was to visit Gul Aunty on our monthly outing Sundays. The patterns of these visits typically began with us spilling into her house and settling down in various sections of it as Kishan, their house keeper and long time retainer came around with a tall glass of chilled Lemon Barley water (a local brand that we still ask for from people visiting Ajmer) to tide us through the hungry minutes until lunch was laid.

The Parsis are a community of Indians decended of Persian Zoroastrians that immigrated to the Indian subcontinent over millennia ago, fleeing persecution by the Turks. A rather charming legend attached to their arrival has it that when they arrived on the shores of Sanjan in Gujarat the sent an emissary to the local ruler for permission to settle there. He replied by sending them a brimming glass of milk to illustrate that there was no space for them and diplomatically turn them away. The Parsis replied by stirring in sugar and returning the glass indicating that they would assimilate into the culture of the country very smoothly. Just like the sugar dissolved in the milk without the glass overflowing. The Rana was convinced and the community made India its home. And not only did they assimilate into the country, they enriched it like sugar enriches milk, contributing to the culture and development of India in a multitude of notable ways, over the ages, not the least of which was with their food.

Food is intrinsic to Parsi culture and a richly layered cuisine has evolved over the years. Into the intrinsic richness of traditional Persian cuisine that they brought with them, rich with dry fruit, nuts, rose water, a proclivity toward pilafs and dishes that combined meat and vegetables were stirred the seafood, vegetables and coconut and spices that were the mainstays of the local Gujarati and Maharashtrian cuisines in their new home country.

But the Sunday lunch at Gul Aunty’s was always Dhansak, which is the name of the main dish as well as the whole meal built around it. Dhansak is not a festive dish. It is actually served when a family is coming out of mourning. But it is also often served as a special Sunday meal mandatorily washed down with a chilled beer or two and followed by a long snooze. Centred around a stew of meat cooked with lentils, vegetables and Dhansak masala and simmered until the lentils and vegetables have disintegrated and the meat is falling off the bone, Dhansak is traditionally served with caremelised brown rice, kachumber and kebabs or fried meatballs (wether you do all of that is up to you). The meatballs are usually made of Mince meat, but I could not get that the day I made it.

Dhansak Recipe Time: 1 hour 20 mins, Serves 6

This recipe is a combination of the recipe my friend Kalyan of the blog Finely chopped shared (It is Mammas his wife’s grandmothers recipe), the recipe Kishan shared over a busy phone line for Dhansak made in Gul Aunty’s house and a few adjustments to the whole made by me to match my memory of how it tasted. The cachumber of finely chopped onion, tomato and coriander distinctively flavoured with Kolah’s vinegar, the sugarcane vinegar that is characteristic to Parsi cuisine which helps cut through the meatiness of the dal.

For the Dhansak

500 g mutton/chicken

125 g Tur daal

2-4 small brinjals quartered

1 c pumpkin chunks

1 onion diced

1 large potato, cubed

1 tsp methi seeds

3-4 tsp Motilals Dhansak masala

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp chilli powder

1.5 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

Salt

1.5 tsp ghee

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

Method:

Wash and soak the toor daal for half an hour in two cups of water in a large preasure pan, then add the cleaned mutton, vegetable and all the spices to it. Place on a flame and heat. When it comes to a boil cover cooker with the cover and shut. Cook on a high flame until the cooker has whistled thrice. Then lower flame and cook for half an hour after that. Resist the temptation to open the cooker until it cools and the preassure is released. The dal and vegetables should have disintegrated completely or at least be cooked to a mush and the meat should be falling off the bone. Add a bit of water to loosen the daal if required and churn with a wire whisk so only the mutton pieces remain whole. Add coriander leaves and allow the mixture to simmer for five minutes stirring gently so no lumps are formed. Add the butter or ghee in, take off flame and leave dhansak covered for five minutes so that all the flavours infuse in.

For the Caramelised rice or Vagharela chawal

2 ½ c rice

2 onions, sliced

2 " cinnamon stick

8 cloves

6 cardamoms

salt to taste

2 tbsp ghee

Wash and soak rice for 20 mins, drain and keep in a strainer for another 20 mins. Heat ghee add spices and then onions and fry till onions are well browned. Add the washed rice and salt and saute for 3-4 mins. Add boiling water to cover rice (by an inch). Bring to boil and then lower heat and simmer with the pan half covered till holes appear in the surface. When water has more or less dried out, cover completely and lower flame so steam can build up in the pot. Put off flame after 5-6 mins and allow the rice to steam cook till done.

For the Kachumber

The kachumber consists of onions tomatoes, cucumbers, corriander and green chillies chopped fine, mixed together mixed together. Salt and lemon juice are added and the whole is set aside to marinate in its own juices.

For the Prawn Kebabs (Kolmi Na-Kevab)

300g Prawns, shelled and deveined

1 tsp Cumin seeds

2-3 Green Chilies, finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped

1 head garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp coriander leaves

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp.

Worcestershire sauce 1 tbsp.

Egg 1 no.

Oil For deep frying

Salt and pepper As per required

Wash and season prawns with salt and rset aside for atleast 30 minutes. Then wash again and pound or whizz coarsely in a blender. Add them and the rest of the ingredients except the eggs to mortar or blender and pound or pulse again until well blended but coarse. Knead in the egg and make into small balls. Deep deep fry for 6-10 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot.

 

 

Lasagna with Love for Rohan

 

 

When I decided to cook a special birthday dinner for my nephew Rohan just before I left for Kerala, I ambitiously but rather worriedly planned Lasagna. I had a full day that day;reviewing a restaurant at lunch, followed by a couple of meetings before I could get home to work. And Lasagna from scratch was an epic recipe, I had not made in years. I made Lasagna entirely out of my head based on tasting it once in a little Bagni in Italy a few weeks after I married. With no Pasta machine, it took me two days to get the whole thing done using a rolling pin to make the pasta, slow cooking sauce, but it was worht it because my husband still sings praises of it! However the sheer amount of time it took, always detered me from making it again and while I made many lasagnas with ready pasta sheets they were neve quite the same. It was becoming a thing of fantasy. But I was determined to make a special dinner for Rohan and this was a signature dish. 

What made it easier and very special was the entire Ghildiyal Family decided to pitch in. Shekhar who has been making pasta at home of late, did the Pasta sheets using my technique of flavouring them with pepper and herbs, helped by Rohan and 'assisted' by Aman (who kept stealing peices of pasta to make farfale and odd shaped bits of pasta). While I made the sauces in the kitchen. i usually do a tomato sauce but because Rohan loves mushrooms, I was going to do a Mushroom sauce this time. I also did a Minestrone soup and Baked corn on the side. So a few hours later we sat down to dinner and it was the best Lasagna in the world; whisper-thin sheets of fresh oregano flavoured egg pasta intersecting earthy mushroom sauce and warm, oozy, cheesy bechemel with oodles of love stirred in....

Now I COULD tell you that this is the only lasagna recipe worth making and that once you have this lasagna, you will never accept anything less. But you might not believe me. So give it a turn (of the pasta machine) and tell me I am wrong. I certainly will never make a Lasagna with ready sheets ever again. Be warned, however, this is not a Lasagna for the faint-hearted. Making it requires commitment, patience - and TIME (which is probably why I made it after years) and plenty of it. Although, you could shorten cooking time by a few hours, that's right. Hours. If you used Pasta sheets. But then you might as well order in Lasagna!

So while this thing IS a weekend project if there ever was one, we go everyone involved around here the good news is that it makes a lot, and if it does not get wiped out, you might be able to freeze some!
The best Mushroom Lasagna in the world (Time taken: 1 hour plus baking time, Serves: 4)
Notes: You need to pass the pasta sheets through a pasta machine a few times to achieve the most thin and delicate sheets of pasta possible - if you don't have a pasta machine a rolling pin will do, (it did for me all these years) but the results are not quite the same. But really fresh pasta with a rolling pin work better than ready pasta any day so... Also fresh pasta means you can skip the pre-boil step just use a little more sauce. Also remeber proper seasoning is important throughout this recipe, if you undersalt it is going to taste flat and this is one of those recipes you can't correct later.


Thin Oregano flavoured homemade pasta sheets layered with peppery mushroom filling cheese and Bechemel sauce.

Ingredients
For the Pasta sheets
250 g maida
½ tsp ground pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 eggs

For the Mushroom filling
1/3 c oil
1/2 c garlic, finely chopped
1/2 c onion, finely chopped
1/2 c carrot
1/2 c celery
1 kg mushrooms washed, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
2 tbsp black pepper or 1/3 cup pickled green peppercornscrushed coarsely
Corn flor or Maida (to thicken if required)

For White/Bechemel sauce
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 c milk
4 tbsp Parmiggiano cheese, finely grated
Salt to taste

To assemble
1 large or 2 small baking dishes
250 g mozzarella cheese grated

Method
For the Pasta sheets - In a bowl mix maida, oregano, salt and pepper together. Add oil and mix until mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add eggs and knead in as well as possible. Only if required, add cold water kneading well to form smooth dough. Divide into 5 portions and roll out as thin as possible, trim to the shape and size of your container and laying out to dry for about 10 mins. (To store bake on a tava on both sides for a couple of minutes or until little brown spots appear, roll up separated by foil sheets and freeze.)

For the Mushroom filling - in a large vessel, heat oil. Add garlic, onion, carrot and celery. Sautee on a low flame so the vegetables soften and cook but do not brown. Add mushrooms and cook untill done. If the mushrooms let off too much water and it looks like they will not dry out, dissolve 1 tbsp of cornflour or Maida in a little water and add to mushrooms. Allow to cool.

For White/Bechemel sauce - Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour. Stir in and cook, continuing to stir, for 1 to 2 minutes or until mixture bubbles. Remove from heat and slowly add milk, whisking constantly, until mixture is smooth. Return to heat. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, for 10 to 12 minutes or until sauce comes to the boil, thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese and salt.

To assemble – spread a little mushroom filling on the base of the baking dish. Lay a pasta sheet on top. Spoon over and spread a little more mushroom filling over the pasta sheet. Scatter grated cheese. Repeat pasta layer, spread a layer of bechemel sauce over, cover with a layer of pasta. Repeat untill you have finished saving the thinest pasta sheet for the top, spread last sheet over with white sauce, scatter with cheese and grill or bake in the oven until cheese is melted and top layer is browned. Serve hot!

Beautiful cakes from Le 15 Patiserrie for a sweet Finale! Mine was a Raspberry tart (that, Aman gobbled three pieces of) and Rohan's was a Chocolate Layer bit of deliciousness (that I gobbled three pieces of)! 

THe Family that cooks together... Weekend indulgence - Pasta from Scratch

 

Ok so we are all Pasta lovers around here, Aman likes his straight with Olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmigianino Regiano. Something that Natasha has picked up. (She still wears Diapers but she will go to an Italian restaurant and ask the server for “normal pasta with Olive Oil”). And because we like to do stuff with the kids on weekends, by popular majority (3:1) the final menu this weekend was homemade Pasta and Pizza, with yours truly wanting to just sleep...

Of course it’s easier to buy ready pasta and there are some great brands available in India now, but Fresh pasta is softer and has its own subtle, eggy flavour, making it can be therapeutic for the adults (an absence of fire, sharp edged things and urgency make it the a perfect kitchen project to undertake with kids - it’s like play doh, give them a little bit and they will be so busy making things out of it they will not bother you! Of course you might have to eat transformers and behead a few doll shaped pasta bits after).

It was a collaborative effort as usual with S in charge of the Carb part of the meal and me providing all the trimmings. He did classic Fettuccine that needed a light touch so I tossed them in plain but FABULOUS olive oil and sea salt for Natasha the pint sized gourmet and an intensely garlicky olive oil and coriander sauce for the adults spiked with my pickled green peppercorns.

Garlic and Green Peppercorn Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil/ butter

½ cup garlic cloves

1 bunch coriander/parsley stems and leaves separated and chopped fine

1/4 cup fresh / pickled green peppercorns

Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil or butter, add the garlic and allow to cook on a low flame until aromatic. It should be golden all over and starting to brown. Add the finely chopped coriander stems and stir fry until bright green. Crush and add the green peppercorns and add, mix well. Allow to heat through and add the chopped coriander leaves. Add cooked Pasta and some of the cooking water from the pasta, mix well taste and adjust salt if required. Serve hot!