Grape Chilli Chaat

#365PerfectFoodles - 5 (9 Apr 2012) Grape and Chilli Chaat - Add green chillies + Rock Salt + Coriander to a bowl of halved or whole grapes. Toss well. Serve Chilled! Also great on a Cheese Board!

Citrus Feta Salad

 

#365PerfectFoodles - 4 (8 Apr) Citrus Feta Salad 1 cup orange segments +1 tbsp Orange Zest + 1/3 cup feta / paneer +1 tbsp flat parsley + juice of 1 lemon + salt + pepper

Pomegranate Salad Shots

#PerfectFoodles 2 - Pomegranate Salad Shots

#Twecipe - Layer 1 tbsp pomegranate, 1 tbsp finely chopped onion & 1 tbsp finely chopped cucumber in a shotglass rimmed w salt+pepper. Serve chilled with a wedge of lime. 

Cooling Watermelon Salad

Perfec Foodles - 1 Cooling Watermelon Salad 

My first ever foodle. This salad of cooling watermelon is ideal for the summer. 

Toss 2 cups wmelon chunks +1cup Feta +1/3 cup melon seeds + 1/2 cup Spearmint. Serve chilled!!!  

Asian Coleslaw

 

Asian coleslaw (Serves 4-6, time 20 mins)
Cabbage, has to be one of the most underestimated vegetables we have in the Indian kitchen. But as the foundation of this Asian style coleslaw it gets a delicious new leasse on life. Make ahead of time (it only gets better the next day) just add bean sprouts, onions and garnish before immediately prior to serving. Add spicy cooked prawns, chicken, tofu of mushrooms for a full meal in a bowl.

For the Dressing
½ c natural vinegar
¼ c honey
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 clove garlic crushed
1 tsp grated gingerroot
1 tbsp finely chopped chilies
½ tsp chili sauce

For the Salad
½ head cabbage, grated/shredded
½ head red cabbage, grated
1 cup assorted vegetables sliced into matchsticks (carrot, babycorn,
French beans)
½ cup assorted peppers sliced thinly
1 pkt bean sprouts
1/3 c chopped green onions
For garnish
½ c herbs, (coriander, basil and mint) finely sliced into chiffonade
½ cup toasted peanuts crushed coarsely
½ cup toasted sesame

Method:
For the dressing, Put everything into a small screwtop jar and shake well.
Leftover dressing can be stored in the fridge.


To make the salad; Combine cabbage, vegetables and capsicum in a large bowl. Add
dressing and toss well. Refrigerate. When ready to serve add bean sprouts, green onions and toss well. Garnish and serve.

Rushina's recommentations why don’t you – put together a Pasta!

(image courtesy http://www.italien-pasta.com)

As I put together a quick pasta for his tiffin this morning, my husband was busy ticking of some of his favourite pasta meals I make and it struck me, pasta - usually drenched in white sauce and smothered in cheese - is everywhere these days but this incredibly easy to cook but the potential of this versatile ingredient has barely been explored. The fact is Pasta can be the base for an amazing spectrum of dishes from soups and salads to whole meals in one.

I always use imported Italian dried pastas. These stretch the budget somewhat but a 500 gm packet usually makes it possible to stretch dinner into lunch. But any Italian dried pasta is preferable to a domestic equivalent because besides the fact that Italians do pasta so well they would never sell an inferior product these pastas are also made from Durum wheat Semolina which is high in protein and gluten. Local pastas like Bambino and others of its ilk are usually just maida, with no nutritional benefit and also fall apart on cooking!

Pasta should be cooked in plenty of well-salted water aim for enough water so your pasta has enough room to “swim” and doesn’t end up sticking together and for saltiness the equivalent of seawater. Once you have added pasta to the boiling water, stir it well so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Check on your pasta so you can tell it’s ready when it is “al dente”, or tender to the bite but with a slight resistance. Only mix your pasta with it’s sauce when you are ready to eat. When ready to eat “refresh” past by immersing briefly in boiling water and then mix with the sauce.

Pasta should be integrated with the sauce so toss the pasta with the sauce well just before serving over a low flame. The shape of your pasta will determine the sort of sauce you serve it with - light thin sauces are better for delicate long pasta like spaghetti or vermicelli and thick meaty sauces for thick, short pasta, like penne and fusilli. That said sauce for pasta should be of a thick almost jammy, chutney-like consistency with no watery residue collecting at the bottom of a bowl of pasta. Serve pasta in wide shallow soup plates like the Italians do - it makes it easy to eat. Pasta is often served with Parmesan and its will be great if you have some handy but ready cheese will do in a pinch. Just avoid that pre-grated stuff you get – it’s not worth the price you pay for it.

I like to keep cooked pasta in the fridge. Just toss in olive oil once it is cooked and stoer in an airtight box. It makes for a great way to bulk up salads. Combine lettuce, steamed diced beans, finely chopped leafy veges, fresh herbs, cooked sweetcorn, chunks of carrot, and whatever else takes your fancy and toss with pasta in a dressing of honey, lemon juice cooked, chilli powder and pepper. Add finely chopped green chillies for added fire!

At the end of long days I like to toss hot penne liberally with olive oil, finely chopped garlic, lemon zest, plenty of lemon juice, parmesan, freshly ground black pepper and salt. Sometimes I will add several handfuls of rocket or spinach leaves if I have some. Just mix well so the rocket wilts and serve immediately. 

Another quickie pasta I sometimes do is Ligurian pasta dish in which I add chunks of peeled potatoes (they’ll take as long as the pasta to cook) to the boiling water with the pasta. Then about 5 minutes before they're done I add a cup each of trimmed French beans, peas, spinach, snow peas and any other tender greens I have to hand. Everything gets cooked almost together and after draining it out I stir in a good-quality basil pesto or sauce of my choice while it is still warm. It’s great with lots of grated parmesan.

A variaton of the above is a rich stew in which I cook add the chunks of peeled potatoes (they’ll take as long as the pasta to cook) to boiling stock spiked with ginger garlic and chillies, adding whatever vegetables I have handy carrots, beans etc 5 minutes before the pasta is done. Everything gets cooked almost together but this time I don’t drain it, just stir in salt, fresh herbs EVOO lots and lots of freshly ground pepper and serve steaming hot.

The beauty of Pasta is that even if I have nothing else at home, I will always have garlic for garlic pasta! Its easy peasy to make too! Just heat 1 cup olive oil till warm (not smoking), add a handful of broken dry red chillies and half a cup of coarsely crushed garlic cloves, (it will splutter like the dickens so keep covered). Give everything a few minutes to come together and when the garlic is browning at the edges remove pan from the flame. Leave for half an hour so flavours can develop and meanwhile cook pasta, (spaghetti works best but whatever you have will do in a pinch). As soon as the pasta is cooked al dente drain out the water, return to pot and replace on flame. Add salt to taste and Garlic chilli oil. At this point I like to add a cup and a half of finely chopped fresh herbs (coriander, parsley, green garlic, celery or a bit of them all) for zest but finely chopped tomatoes, olives and grated parmesan are also options. Toss well, serve as warm as possible and watch it disappear. 

Spain, Portugal, Italy and Pork

Mad about Meat, Mad about Football

There are two very good reasons for not cooking today. One, its Friday, it rained like crazy all week and you deserved a break. Two, three football matches! Oh wait, and three more on Saturday and three more on Sunday. (Yes, I too am salivating as I write this and for many reasons as well). So yes, why cook when there’s so much football (and eye candy) on tv? My suggestion is that you stock up on beer or juice if you don’t drink and as many cold cuts are your fridge will allow. For those supporting European teams, here are two particularly delectable possibilities and the ways you can have them.
Chorizo enjoys pride of place in every Spanish and Portuguese kitchen (Spain/Portugal fans are you listening?). Pork meat coloured a deep maroon by the paprika added to it and embedded with fat, Chorizo is dry and chewy bursting with intense sweetness before tapering out into a spicy, salty aftertaste. It works (I am told my trusted beer drinking friends) fabulously with beer.
Or try Parma Ham (the more fancy name is prosciutto) from Italy, which is traditionally thinly sliced (the Deli should do that for you) and served as an accompaniment with drinks. Or try this easy salad recipe that will take one commercial break to whip up.

(Photo Courtesy: www.thea4angel.com)
50g Parma Ham slices
20 Fresh Spinach leaves, washed, cut into bite sized pieces
1 packet of Oak leave lettuce, shred into bite sized pieces with hand
4 Figs, slice each into 6 pieces
Dressing
1tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp any dry white wine in your kitchen
2 crushed sage leaves
In a bowl, place ingredients, pour dressing on top. Add salt to taste and grind dried green peppercorns and toss. Serve with forks .

Tuna Olive Salad and Fabio Cannavaro

Dear Rushina,

So Italy plays Paraguay today. For those of us who only follow football during the world cup, a great way to get an idea of how well the teams are matched out is to go to the FIFA website and check the ‘Head to Head’ box. You pair the teams playing against each other, and the box gives you the statistics (http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/statisticsandrecords/headtohead/team1=ita/team2=par/index.html). Judging from this box, Italy seems to be the stronger team. Of course that won’t be why I’m supporting them. I’ve had a crush on Italian captain Fabio Cannavaro since he galloped onto the TV screen and into my heart at the 1998 World Cup. (He had chin length hair which flew in the wind when he ran…sigh!).
Ok, before I digress, I think what I’m trying to say is that I’m really looking forward to this match. Since I’ve been trying to eat healthy, I’ve been trying to think of a salad I had munch on throughout the game without feeling (too guilty). Here’s what I plan to eat tonight.

Tuna, Olive and Corn Salad
1 can of Tuna
1 can of Sweet Corn
½ Cup of Black Olives, rinsed and halved
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper. Diced
1 small raddichio, cut into small square pieces.

For Dressing
1 tsp Saveurs deSapalisse Almond flavoured oil
1 tsp White wine vinegar
1 tsp Garlic flavoured Olive oil
1 tsp Salt
½ tsp Black pepper

Mix salad ingredients in salad bowl. Mix ingredients for salad dressing in bottle, shake vigorously and pour over salad ingredients. Toss and serve.

Shitake Mushroom and Iceberg Lettuce Salad

Dear Rushina,
Do you remember the time I had to throw a birthday party for a friend? You helped out by giving me an insane amount of Shitake Mushrooms. Inspired by the way they taste in your mushroom stuffed rice rolls (the first time, I took notice that a vegetarian dish could taste so good), I decided to follow suit and stir fry them in roasted sesame oil before using them. Suffice to say, the night was a hit, a sinful amount of food was consumed and thanks to your little trick, I managed to keep the vegetarians happy with the mushrooms. The next morning however, I realised that there were lots of leftover shitake mushrooms. And we were also still too stuff from the previous night to eat any heavy meal. So I made salad.

Here’s the recipe.
Ingredients
½ cup Shitake Mushrooms, Sliced
1 tbsp Roasted Sesame Oil
1 packet of Trikaya Iceburg Lettuce, Shred with Hand
½ Cup of Spring Onion leaves, Cut into 2 inch long pieces
For Dressing
½ tsp of Salt
1 tsp Real Apple Juice
1 tsp Rayo Chilli Oil
1 tsp of Roasted Sesame Oil
½ tsp of Keya Japanese Seasoning
Directions
For Dressing
Place ingredients in a bottle and shake well.
For Salad
Soak Shitake Mushrooms till soft, slice and stir fry with roasted sesame oil. Mix Mushrooms, Iceberg lettuce and Spring Onion leaves in a Salad bowl, Pour dressing and toss.