Fish Pie

Have you ever been consumed by guilt for having been mean or rude to someone you love, more so because that person did not feel hurt? I was recently rude to my father and then overcome with a lot of sadness for the way in which I had spoken to him. I called to check with my mother as to whether he was upset and was astonished to hear that he was smiling over my childishness and was not upset at all. Should I have felt better on hearing this? I did not. I was amazed at his reaction and felt worse for my behaviour! A huge lesson

This fish pie is something that my father really liked. I’ve been inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Fish Pie recipe which is a lot healthier than most others. I’ve adapted it based on the ingredients I get here and of course as per my taste. So here goes:

Ingredients

1 kg fish fillets (Bhetki or Aar)

3 medium size boiled potatoes, grated

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons chopped sundried tomatoes

5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped

2 stalks of celery, grated

1 tablespoon of chopped celery leaves

1 carrot, grated

1 tsp chopped parsley

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chilli flakes

Zest of one lemon

Juice of one lemon

Cheddar cheese, grated

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in a pan and immediately add the oregano, thyme, and garlic. Toss for a minute or two and then add the sun-dried tomatoes. Toss for another minute.

2. Add the fish fillets, salt, smoked paprika, and pepper. Cook for 6-7 minutes or however long it takes for the fish to cook. Once it cools, flake the fish by hand and set it aside.

3. Add the grated celery, carrot, lemon zest, lemon juice, parsely leaves, celery leaves, and chilli flakes to the fish and place this in a baking dish. You could add some cheddar at this point into the fish. I did not and it tasted fine.

Fish layer

4. Grate the potatoes while they are hot, whisk with with some butter or olive oil and season with salt and pepper and some dried herbs (optional). Add the layer of potatoes over the fish.

5. Grate cheddar on top as much as you like.

6. Place in a oven preheated at 200C for about 25-30 minutes. You could leave it for a bit longer for a crunchy crust.

Fish Pie

Chicken Meethi Golis

I got the recipe for meethi golis from my aunt in Kolkata.  As the name suggests, these chicken meatballs are on the sweet side. They are not overwhelmingly sweet though and are balanced by loads of garlic and green chillies. These golis are delicious and one can really innovate with them. I’ve stuffed them in pita bread, dunked them in pasta, and even made tortilla rolls with them.

Pita Pockets

Pasta with meatballs

They are quite yummy just like that too. The recipe is very simple and calls for very few ingredients.

Ingredients

500 gms chicken keema

10-12 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup raisins

2-3 green chillies

1 tablespoon ghee

1 egg

Salt to taste

Few sprigs of parsley (optional)

Method

1. Grind the raisins, garlic, and chillies into a fine paste. Add parsley as well in case you are using it. You can add the salt at this stage if you like.

Meethi Goli Masalas

2. Add the paste, ghee, salt, and egg to the mince. Mix well. In order to check for salt and flavour balance test one goli by shallow frying it. Taste and then adjust according to your preference. You may want to add an extra chilli or chilli flakes in case it is too sweet for your liking.

3. Line a dish with parchment paper and with a tablespoon scoop the keema on to the dish. I’ve started using parchment paper while making this because it is easier to clean the dish afterwards.

4. Bake in a pre-heated oven (200 deg C) for 20 minutes. Remove and let it cool.

Baked Methi Golis

Meethi Golis

 

Dilli ke Pakwaan Festival, 2013

The Dilli ke Pakwaan Festival is on at Baba Kharak Singh Marg in CP.  We headed there this afternoon with a single point agenda – to eat Daulat ki Chaat, a delicacy that I had read about and not managed have to on my last trip to Old Delhi.  Of course, I was rather open and eager to eat dozens of other things! The idea of the festival is very attractive. It saves one multiple trips of congested Old Delhi and other parts and brings the best of chaats, kebabs, and curries, all on one stretch. It is definitely worth a trip. 

Daulat ki Chaat

A little research is necessary to make the most of this festival. We learnt it the hard way. There were plenty of stalls selling chaats, chillas, and tikkis and we made our way to one which looked reasonable populated. We ordered a plate of papri chaat (Rs 50) and moong dal chilla (Rs 50). Both, were largely inedible because of the green chutney that was slathered over them – it was spicy and bitter. This was by far one of the worst things that I’ve ever eaten. The bitter taste lingered even after I returned home.Unfortunately, I don’t remember the name of the stall. What would work here is to ask people around if they like what they are eating and accordingly decide about the chaats. We ended up eating not as much as we would have liked to, but clicked loads of pictures. The highlights for me were the daulat ki chaat, which indeed leaves up to the description of “God’s own street food”, jalebi, and the bajra roti thali.
So, here goes:Inedible Chaat

Moong dal chilla, daulat ki chaat, and papdi chaat

Sweet Clouds – Daulat ki Chaat

Daulat ki Chaat

The jalebis being whipped up in one of the counters were huge and cost Rs 50 per piece.  It resembled a murruku and was really yummy.

Yummy Jalebis

  

Jalebiiiii

Chicken shawarma @ Mahir Qureshi Biryani  – On a friend’s recommendation, we decided to order one shawarma roll. I asked the guy making it what masalas had gone into it. He looked me and said “Is ke liye machine chahiye hota hain”, to suggest that I could not make this at home. I persisted with my query to only receive a broad smile and no response. One bite into the roll and it was clear that these was chicken tikka chopped into smithereens. Easily avoidable!

Chicken Shawarma/Tikka Roll

The Bajra Roti Thali takes at least 20 minutes to be put together and I was informed by the lady running the stall “is not for people who have no patience”. I saw her turn people away without a qualm who said they couldn’t wait that long by simply saying that “our food is not for you”. Honest and attractive :)  

Nomadic Thali

The Chulha

The meal was definitely worth the wait. The bajra roti is made on a clay tawa, cooked over wood fire, and then served with lahsoon chutney, onions, jaggery, gate ki sabji, and raita.

Bajra Roti Thali

Pictures that follow now are of food that I did not eat. My friend had the Chicken Biryani @ Mahir Qureshi and said that it was okay and nothing spectacular.

Chicken Biryani

Sheermal priced at Rs 100 a piece!

Moong Dal Chilla stuffed with alu and paneer

Tikkis

Paan

Kulfis

Fried Chicken & Fish @Naseem Chicken & Fish Corner

Kachoris

American sandwich!!

Frenches, anyone?

Amma Mess, Madurai

I know I haven’t blogged in ages. Hope to be more regular now. The past few weeks have been interesting. I have simultaneously experienced extreme bliss and sadness. I could not imagine that meeting my niece for the very first time could bring with it inexplicable peace, joy, and happiness.  At the same time a spate of bad news from close friends and family had dampened my spirits. But, taking inspiration from the positive message in Life of Pi, I’ve decided to blog.

This post captures our annual visit to the village for Pongal 2013 as well as a spectacular meal at Amma Mess in Madurai. I think Amma Mess in Madurai can be compared to Karim’s in Delhi in terms of fame and hype.

Kamal Hassan, Rajnikanth, and Mallya at Amma Mess

Last Saturday, we walked in for dinner at around 7.30 pm or so. The decor is quite plain. We were profiled as soon as we sat down as a Mineral water bottle was placed on our table before we even asked for it. The servers figured that we were not locals and were interested in sampling the menu. I asked them if they had mutton kola and they responded by immediately serving us two kolas each. These were fabulous. The sweetness of the coconut and the heat of the spices lent it a very distinct flavour. I was quite excited by the addition of coconut to the mutton mince. On my request, Akka made this on the day after pongal. The recipe follows below.

Mutton Kolas

We scanned through the menu and were intrigued by the mention of rabbit, pigeon, and emu on it. 

Menu

In the specials, bone marrow omlette caught our attention and we ordered for it.

Specials at Amma Mess

The omlette had a meaty flavour to it and we quite liked it.

Bone Marrow Omlette

It was also interesting to note that the only vegetarian stuff they had are actually meant to be accompaniments with the meat – idlis, dosas, and idiappams, for instance, are served with chicken curry or fish curry.

I ate rabbit for the very first time. It appeared and tasted like a very tender chicken.

Rabbit 65

The chicken dosa was served with chicken curry and was decent.

Chicken Dosa

We tried the Veechu Parota next. This was like a Mughlai Paratha and was served with chicken curry.

Veechu Parotha

Even though we were quite stuffed, we decided to try a fish dish. Mahesh ordered Ayrai Fish Curry with Idiappams. The fish curry was really tangy and spicy and went well with the idiappams.

Fish curry with idiappams

Akka’s  Mutton Kola

250gms boneless mutton/mutton mince

4-5 green chillies

1/4 coconut

2 tablespoons ginger-garlic fees

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

12-15 sambhar onions

1 sprig of pudina leaves

2-3, cardamom pods

2-3, cloves

1 inch cinnamon

2-3 tablespoons ground channa dal

pinch of turmeric

salt to taste

Ingredients for the Mutton Kola

Method

1. Grind the boneless mutton in case you are not using mince. Then add all the above ingredients except the ground channa dal and grind into a semi-fine paste. if you are using mince then you can proceed to grind it with the spices.

2. Add the ground channa dal, one spoon at a time in order to bind the mixture. Shape into round balls and then deep fry them.

Mutton Kolas

The coconut flavour in Akka’s Kolas were not as pronounced as the ones in Amma Mess. I think a tsp of coconut oil and some more coconut may enhance the flavour of the kolas. The menu on the day after Pongal was meat all the way. Along with the Kolas, we had mutton biryani that Mahesh made, chicken curry, and mutton dalcha.

Chicken Curry

Mutton Biryani

I am already looking forward to Pongal 2014!

Mutton Biryani

Each city has its own sense of humour, often displayed by shopkeepers, rickshaw-wallahs, and those you meet on the road. I was at the receiving end of something of the caustic variety recently. We had gone to GK-1, M-Block market for pre-Diwali shopping. It was around 10.45am or so and for some strange reason both Mahesh and I were quite hungry. The Chaat guy near Prince Paan looked very inviting. They were just setting shop when I walked up to the guy and pointed to a container with paani (for paani puri) and asked him “Bhaiya, yeh kal ka hain ya aaj ka” (Bhaiya, is the water from yesterday or today’s). With a deadpan expression on his face he told me “Yeh do teen mahine purana hain” (This is two-three months old). I laughed out loud and told him “phir toh khaana hi padega” (Then,  I will have to have it). Mahesh, told me I deserved it. I guess, I did

Diya painted by Mahesh

The menu for Diwali was simple this time – biryani and raita. Mahesh would learn how to make Biryani from his friend James’s mother  – Sakkammal Aunty. Aunty suggested that he watch her make the biryani and note the recipe. Armed with a notebook and almost tempted to carry a tiffin box to bring the biryani back, Mahesh set out early on a Sunday morning for his masterclass. Not only did he eat some biryani there he also brought back loads. We had to make a trip to Rama Stores in Munirka as Mahesh was very particular about the biryani rice. A day before Diwali was a bad time though as the shop was super crowded. After waiting for what seemed like forever to get someone to hear our order, Mahesh decided to go inside and procure what we needed. Soon, people started waving at him and asking them to hand them certain items! With all ingredients in place, Mahesh set out to make the biryani all on his own.

Here is the recipe that has been tried, tested, and perfected by Sakkammal Aunty. It is highly recommended:

Ingredients

1. 750 gms mutton

2. 1/2 kg jeera rice

3. 4 onions, thinly sliced

4. 5 medium sized tomatoes, chopped

5. 1/2 packet Biryani Masala (Aunty gave Mahesh a packet of masala she got from Tuticorin)

6. 1.5 tsp fennel seeds

7. 1 inch cinnamon stick, 2 nos

8. 6 cloves

9. 3 cardamoms

10. 1 star anise

11. 1 tsp ghee

12. Water

13. 2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste

14. 1 bay leaf

15. Handful of curry leaves

16. 1 tablespoon chilli powder

Method

1. Dry roast one stick of cinnamon and spices 7-10, let it cool, and then grind into a fine powder.

2. Heat a tablespoon of ghee and toss the rice in and stir continiously. Do not let the rice colour. This step helps ensure that each grain of the rice remains separate.

3. Heat a tablespoon of oil, add 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste and let it cook. Add 2 thinly sliced onions and fry till the onions turn glossy. Add the mutton in and fry for about 2 minutes or so. Next, add 3 chopped tomatoes and 4 glasses of water or enough water to submerge the mutton. Pressure cook this – two whistles are sufficient.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in another pan. Add cinnamon, curry leaves, bay leaf, 1 tablespoon of ginger-garlic paste, and 1 thinly sliced onion. Fry well and then add one finely chopped tomato and 1 tablespoon of chilli powder.

5. In a cooker, add the fried masala (Step 4), roasted and powdered masala (Step 1), boiled mutton with spices, water (double the quantity of the rice- you can use the water in which the mutton was boiled), biryani masala, rice, salt, turmeric powder,  and stir it for about 10 minutes or so on high. Then turned the flame on sim, cover the cooker, place the weight, and cook for 8 minutes (no whistle). Wait for at least 15-20 minutes before you open the cooker.

This biryani is so delightfully yummy that I ate it without any raita. I was amazed at how tender the mutton was and surprised that just 2 whistles did the trick.

Heritage Walk and Street Food in Old Delhi

A trip to old Delhi to sample the kebabs and chaats has been on our agenda for a long time. When a friend forwarded a link to Delhi Heritage Walks, it sounded a perfect way of sampling the best the streets had to offer. The heritage element was an added bonus. Priced at Rs 900 per head, the walk entailed 3 heritage stops and 4 food stops. We were all meant to assemble at Gate No.1 of Jama Masjid. Mahesh and Megha were horrified to hear that only vegetarian fare was part of the deal - a fact I shared with them only after we got down at Chawri Bazaar. We hopped on to cycle rickshaws outside the station and decided to head to Karim’s first. We go-karted along the crowded lanes to reach our destinated. The rickshaw I was on collided with 1 scooter and 3 rickshaws on the way. As our guide told us later, in this part of Delhi “you are always in someone’s way”.

Whose Way is it Anyway?

We were lucky to find a place (not really a table as we shared our table with 6 others) for 4 and were seated immediately. We ordered 2 rotis, 1 plate of Mutton Qorma, and 2 pieces of seekh kebabs.

Mutton Qorma

While the qorma gravy was delicious, the mutton was hard and chewy. The yeasty rotis were wonderful. We also liked the soft and sleek seekh kebabs. The plan was to pack dinner from Karim’s a plan that remained unexecuted on this trip.

Seekh Kebab

Our first stop on the heritage walk was Jama Masjid. The mosque is breathtaking from the inside. Unfortunately, Mahesh and I were not very impressed with the heritage aspect of the walk. Our experience with Bangalore Walks had raised our expectations.  We were looking forward to anecdotes and fun trivia along with a dose of history.

We also hoped that the food aspect of the walk would also capture the history of the shops and their creations. Unfortunately, this was missing. A quick online search on all our food stops revealed that there were interesting stories behind most of them. Sharing that with the walkers would have definitely enhanced the experience. Our first stop was the Jain Coffee House. The entry into this place was a dark narrow lane which added to its mystique. We were informed that most of the shop-keepers around the area ordered their lunches from Jain Coffee House. The USP of this joint was its elaborate fruit sandwiches. We sampled chikoo and pineapple sandwiches. The fruits were sliced, placed on the bread, topped with paneer, butter, pomegranate seeds, and jam. You can read more about this place here and here.

The Assembly

We also sampled the samosa sandwich that was topped with paneer and pomegranate and was a tad too salty. The sandwiches are very reasnably priced. The fruits ones were Rs 35 each and the samosa sandwich Rs 40.

Our next food stop was the Hiralal Chaat Corner. This place really blew our mind away with its Watermelon Kuliya Chaat. The fruit is cut in cylindrical shapes and the flesh is scooped out to create a pocket which is then filled with boiled channa, pomegranate, chaat masala, rock salt, lemon juice, and other spices. It reminded me of a tangy golgappa minus the crunch of the puri. The contrast of the sweet watermelon and the tangy spices was unbelievably good. You can read more about this place here.

Watermelon Kuliya

We also tried the potato kuliya and the cucumber kuliya, but they were no match to the watermelon. They have several varieties of kuliya – tomato, banana, apple, and weet potato. We also had the fried potatoes and the alu tikki which were ordinary.

Potato Kuliya

Cucumber Kuliya

Our next stop was Ashok Chaat Corner which was bang opposite the Metro Station. By this time we were quite full. We only sampled a piece of dahi puri chaat. This was again regular stuff and nothing out of the ordinary.

Our last stop was Kuremal Mahavir Prasad Kulfi Wale. The first kulfi we sampled was the Mango Kulfi. This was no ordinary kulfi. The stone had been removed carefully and luscious kulfi was filled into the cavity of the mango and frozen. I was amazed at how deftly the stone had been removed by hand. You can read more about this place here.

Mango stuffed with kulfi

Sliced up

We also sampled other flavours such as falsa, jamun, sitaphal, chiku, and paan. The texture of the fruit flavoured kulfis were like that of a sorbet.

Jamun

Falsa

Paan Kulfi

Mahesh and I loved the paan kulfi and the mango one. We intend on coming back for the kulfi and the watermelon kuliya and of course Karim’s!

Baklava Muffins

I’ve baked lots of things in the last few weeks but have simply not posted it on the blog. Recently, I sampled varieties of baklavas at Kunafa in Delhi. I never knew there were or could be so many types of baklavas. The owner, a genial man, offered us samples of baklava as well as kunafa – a crisp pastry stuffed with cheese and coconut. We finally picked up a 300 gm box of assorted baklavas that was priced at Rs 1000. It was absolutely sinful!

I had noticed a recipe for Baklava Muffins in Nigella’s Domestic Goddess. After having eaten baklavas, I was very keen on trying this.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients for the filling:

• 100g chopped walnuts
• 75g demerara sugar (I substituted it with light brown sugar as I had run out of demerara)
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 45g butter, melted

for the muffins:

• 210g plain flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 large egg
• 45g unsalted butter, melted
• 250ml buttermilk (or 175g yogurt and 75g semi-skimmed milk)

12 bun muffin tray lined with 12 paper cases

for the topping:

• 125ml runny honey

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°Celsius/gas mark 6.

2. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a small bowl, and then get on with the muffins. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarb and sugar.

3. In a wide-mouthed measuring jug, whisk the egg, melted butter and buttermilk (or yogurt-milk mix). Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the liquid and mix lightly and gently, remembering to keep it bumpy rather than going all-out for smooth: anything more than the gentlest handling makes for heavy muffins.

4. Fill the muffin papers one-third full, add a scant tablespoon of filling, then cover with more muffin mixture until two-thirds full. Sprinkle any remaining filling on top of the muffins.

5. Bake for 15 minutes, by which time they should be golden-brown and ready.

6. Put the muffins, still in their papers, onto a rack and drizzle with honey. You may find it easier to warm the honey a little before pouring.

While this was supposed to yield 12 muffins, I managed to stretch it to 18 What I did not do, however, is pour the honey on top of the muffins out of fear that it would make the muffins overly sweet. This was a mistake. The honey would have made them moist and given it a nice baklavaish flavour.