Valentine's Day Special Vegan Dip

It is often said, 'You are blessed doublee if you are in love'. So how many thumbs up for this? Valentine's day is here, express your feeling of love, affection and friendship. No matter how you dice and slice it, food and love are always inextricably tied. What are you planning for the love struck holiday? If your girl is hot, I've got something to really heat up your romantic date. Appetizers is a must from small to large scale gathering and even for a date. 

Hope you enjoyed my last year’s Valentine’s day special recipe, Cheesy hearts. A winning dip or spread can score big at any special occasion. This is a classic hot vegan dip that can be served with almost anything your soul mate likes whether it is crackers, chips or roasted vegetables. Do you really want the good times to roll? Serve her with something sizzling, tangy and spicy apart from your love.

Vegan Walnut and Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients:-

1 cup Water,

3/4 teaspoon Salt,

3 red bell Peppers,

1 small Garlic Clove,

1 1/2 teaspoons Paprika,

1 tablespoon Lemon juice,

2 slices Toast Pita Bread,

Black Pepper as required,

3/4 teaspoon ground Cumin,

1 tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar,

4 ounces toasted Walnut pieces,

2 teaspoons Extra-virgin Olive Oil.

Preparation Method:-

1. Roast peppers over gas burner till they are black. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Cool for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skin, stem and seeds. Keep aside.
2. Toast pita bread until crisp. Break into 2 inch pieces and place in a bowl. Cover with water. Soak until soft for 10 minutes. Transfer to a sieve and drain well. Press out excess of water. Keep aside.
3. Blend garlic and walnut pieces in a food processor. Now add paprika, cumin and reserved peppers and pita bread. Process for another 10 seconds.
4. Add lemon juice, oil, vinegar and salt. Season with black pepper. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate it overnight.
5. Before serving, bring the dip to room temperature. Drizzle with oil. Garnish with walnuts. Enjoy with any snacks.
   

Happy Valentine’s Day

Healthy and Spicy Thai Fish Curry

A delectable Malaysian fish curry is cooked with goodness of your fav veggies, infused with lemony fragrance. This curry makes a perfect dinner for the chilly weather. It is spiced enough to prompt a dizzy drowsy appetite and keep you warm. The best part is that the curry not only works with all kinda fish such as snapper, warehou, ling but also with seafood, from crabs to prawns, lobsters etc. For now, I have tried the fish recipe using my fav tuna fish. 

Fish sauce provides the essential savory flavor that is typically found in traditional Thai cuisine. I just love the aromatic amber-coloured liquid. I have also used homemade orange sauce. Believe it or not, it can be made in a jiffy using few ingredients. I’m sharing my homemade sauce recipe too. Coconut cream is similar to coconut milk. It contains less water. It has a thicker and paste-like consistency. This is a lite recipe with very low calories. I have therefore chosen it to get rid of heavy meals, that we had in abundant on Christmas and New Year holidays.

Ingredients:-

3/4 cup Water,

1/2 teaspoon Salt,

Handful Curry Leaves,

1 teaspoon Fish Sauce,

3/4 cup Coconut Cream,

3 chopped Garlic Cloves,

500 grams firm Fish Fillets,

1 teaspoon Orange Sauce

1 tablespoon Tomato Paste,

2 tablespoon Grated Ginger,

3 tablespoon Extra-virgin Olive Oil.

Preparation Method:-

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add onion, garlic and cook over a high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion begins to brown. Stir in grated ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
2. Add the fish sauce and orange sauce. Cook, stirring for another minute. Add tomato paste, 1/2 cup of water, the coconut cream and salt to taste. Mix well. Allow the sauce to come to the boil.
3. Stir in the fish cubes into the sauce. Then cover the pan and cook for 3 minutes, or until the fish is just cooked through, adding the extra 1/4 cup of water. Remove from heat.
4. Take another pan and add oil. Add curry leaves. Sprinkle them over the curry just before serving. Enjoy with steamed rice.

 

Ingredients for Orange Sauce:-

3/4 cup orange juice,

2 tablespoons sugar,

1 teaspoons olive oil,

1 teaspoons cornflour,

1/4 teaspoons lemon juice,

2 teaspoons orange squash.

Preparation Method:-

1. Take a pan. Add oil. Add orange juice, squash, sugar and cornflour. Cook until thick, by stirring continuously. Allow it to cool.
2. Add the lemon juice. Now mix gently.
3. Taste the sauce before you use. Enjoy!
   

Happy New Year!

Christmas Colors Chilli Fish

Sweet and chilli flavored food is always welcomed on fests and occasions. For many of us, appetizers are the favorite part of the Christmas feast. Isn't it? And on top of that tangy-spicy appetizer is something you can't resist. So, I decided to prepare tangy fish. Yummzz! Hope you liked my recipe, grilled fish (cod). I am very fond of varieties of fish especially pomfret as it is rich in vitamin A, vitamin B3 and vitamin E. It also helps in fighting wrinkles and skin redness. It adds moisture to your skin. 

 

Soy sauce is an awesome ingredient to flavor recipes. It's the most common in Asian cuisine. Most dishes don't specify the type of soy sauce that we use, but they vary wildly as per flavor, texture and appearance. I have used a strong one here to imbibe the Asian flavors. I have used homemade green chilli sauce here to add-on extra spice to the recipe. Tomato Sauce that is a bit sweet is recommended.

Ingredients:-

1 cubed Onion,

1 cubed Capsicum,

1 teaspoon Honey,

3 tablespoons Flour,

Olive Oil for deep frying,

1 teaspoon Tomato Sauce,

1 tablespoon Soya Sauce,

31/2 tablespoons Cornflour,

1 teaspoon Green Chilli Sauce,

1 bunch chopped Spring Onions,

250 grams cubed deboned Fish,

2 teaspoons Ginger-garlic paste,

1 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder.

Preparation Method:-

1. Make a thick batter of 3 tablespoons cornflour, flour ,1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste, salt, pepper powder and water. Dip the fish pieces in this and shallow fry in oil until golden brown.

2. Drain and set aside. In the same oil, add the onions and capsicum. When the onions start to turn pink, add the ginger-garlic paste. Stir until fragrant.

3. Turn the heat to high. Add the soya, chilli and tomato sauce. Mix well and reduce heat. Add the fried fish pieces. Again mix well and cook on low heat.

4. Mix well the 1 teaspoon cornflour in 4 tablespoons water. Add to the fish mixture and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the fish completely. Add chopped spring onions and honey. Serve hot with your fav drink.

Merry Christmas!

Glazed Smoked Ham Easter Recipe

Hi friends, I prepared Glazed Smoked Ham, this Easter. My folks simply loved it. The best way to enjoy the ham is with rich apricot homemade jelly. I prepared the apricot jelly few days ago in order to save time. To add on to this, Worcestershire sauce is savory and sweet with a distinct tangy taste due to malt vinegar. I got smoked ham too, it’s time saving. The rich recipe is really a quick meal. It added to the festive mood. Let me share it with you..

Ingredients:-

1 Large onion,

1/4 Cup water,

8 Sprigs fresh thyme,

3/4 Cup apricot jelly,

7 Pound smoked ham,

2 Teaspoons molasses,

4 Tablespoons cider vinegar,

1 tablespoon unsalted butter,

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour,

1/4 Teaspoon ground allspice,

3 Tablespoons yellow mustard,

1/2 Teaspoon Worcestershire sauce,

1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth,

Kosher salt as required,

Ground cloves as required,

Ground black pepper as required

Preparation Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Score the ham with a crosshatch pattern through the thick layer of skin and fat. Arrange the onions in the center of a foil lined sheet pan large roasting pan and set the ham on top of them. Bake for 1 hour.

2. Meanwhile, stir together the apricot jelly, water, thyme leaves, mustard, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar, the molasses, Worcestershire, allspice, and cloves in a saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until the jelly has dissolved and sauce is smooth, about 4 minutes.

3. After the ham has been baked for 1 hour, brush with the apricot mixture every 15 minutes for another 45 minutes or until nicely glazed. Transfer the ham to a serving platter, tent with foil and set aside while making the sauce.

4. Discard the onions, remove foil and pour the sauce into a skillet. Add the broth and bring to a boil over high heat. In a small bowl, mix the butter and flour together until you form a paste.

5. Whisk into the pan juices and let sauce simmer until thickened like gravy. Finish with the remaining tablespoon of vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Thinly slice the ham and serve with the sauce.

Hope you had Happy Easter!!

Panipuri and Women – The Eternal Bond Stronger Than Love

It was an awesome autumn evening. Everything was looking just so perfect for a romantic evening walk. We were discussing about our future. How our life should go? Where we will buy our first house, our first car, and what not. I was looking down, all ears to her. This was perhaps the first time I found her talking sense.

But my illusion shattered the very next second. She penetrated the air filled with romance with an outloud holler. “Hey, Stop”, she yelled. I raised my head in anxiety just to see if a weird mechanic goliath from Transformers had appeared all of a sudden. I looked around but couldn’t see anyone. Then I followed the direction in which she was waving her hand while shouting “Stop, Stop…”.

Yes, that was it. How could I miss that. It was that Panipuri van again. We were in the mid of something very important when those larger than life Panipuris came into the picture. We rushed to the van. The Panipuri seller humbly said, “Madam, I’m short of minced potatoes for stuffing. Will take five mins to do that.” “Do it fast”, she said.

While the guy was mincing potatoes, I passed a look at her, and she responded with a casual careless gaze. Her look was as if we have been talking about Panipuris only, as if the whole world only cared about whether she would get those Panipuris today or not. I battled her ignorance with a look that can be compared to a cute helpless pup. But that didn’t work out either.

She just kept nagging the Panipuri guy to make it fast. And bam, then came the moment when she got her first Panipuri. I felt like all my emotions had been drifted away in that tangy water. I felt abandoned for that very moment.

Anyways, I’m not the only guy who had gone through such an oblivious experience. It’s a popular street food snack in South Asia, and has many names including “Puchka”, “Golgappe”, “Gup Chup”, “Bataasha”, etc. It consists of a round, hollow puri, fried crisp and filled with a mixture of flavored water (“pani”), tamarind chutney, chili, chaat masala, potato, onion and chickpeas. It is generally small enough to fit completely into one’s mouth.

Next time you visit South Asia, don’t forget to ask about it. Although the name might vary as per the region, but there are chances that you’d see the streets flanked by vans selling this special street food. Only when your teeth sink in through the crispy skin of this dish, and the tart splash inundates your mouth, you’d understand that the title – “Panipuri and Indian Women – The Eternal Bond Stronger Than Love” isn’t a hype.