Hippie Chic

Hippie Chic

This cheery drink is for my lovely gal pal – R. She flew in from Netherlands for the girls and has been a strong pillar of support for most of us through college. Bold, Outspoken and yet Classy – describes both her and her wardrobe. Hence, this drink ….

 
Orange Juice – 1 Measure

Maraschino Cherry Juice – 0.5 Measures

Vodka – 1.5 Measures

Lemon Juice – 0.25 Measures

Lemon Soda – 2 Measures

Shake together, strain and decorate with lemon wedges and cherries!

Coffee Addict

Friends from around the world were here in NY in April! Our yearly ritual for 2013 was at the Big Apple ! S volunteered to spend the weekend with the boys, and the girls came over to my home. Reliving hostel times... chatting through the night, shopping and enjoying some quality girl time. And ofcourse - there was martini night, accompanied by Kati Rolls & Mani Sir movies.

I love to host, and I love bar-tending. I took it up a notch, and created personalized cocktails for each one of my friends this time. Here's the first amongst those - tailored for me :)

Coffee Addict

This one was for me. I am like a dead battery without my morning coffee! For a long night of partying – coffee is even more essential ! :)

UV Coconut Vodka - 1.5 Measures

Sugar Free Sweetener - 0.5 Measures

Freshly Brewed Coffee – 2 Measures

Shake with ice and strain into a glass. Line the martini glass with Chocolate Sauce & Serve cold!

Achari Baingan

We went a whole week without cooking! Yes, that's right. No standing in the kitchen for 4 hours on a Sunday. Instead, we spent time with some of our good friends and got back home well past midnight. I had work M-F, and usually that means I go to bed worrying about what to have for dinner or lunch the following day. Not this time. We kept it simple with frozen parathas and curd for dinner, and something equally ready to eat for lunch.


Anyhow, 5 days is about how long I can last on frozen food and maggi. So, Saturday lunch deserved some effort in the kitchen :-) Here's Achari Baingan!





What You Need:

Small Brinjals or diced eggplant - 1 cup
Diced Tomatoes - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Chilli Powder - 1.5 tsp
Curry Powder - 1 tsp
Fennel, Cumin, Fenugreek, Mustard - 1 tsp total
Asafoetida - 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic - 1 tsp
Oil - 3 tsp
Chopped Cilantro - 2 tsp

• Heat the oil in a non stick pan, and saute the eggplant with a little salt and let it sweat until tender
• Transfer to a bowl, and keep aside
• In the same pan - heat some oil, and toss in mustard, fennel, Cumin, Fenugreek seeds and let splutter
• Add in tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Cover with a lid and let the tomatoes cook until soft.
• Add all the spice powders and ginger garlic paste and stir until well blended
• Lastly, add the cooked eggplant, cook for a few mins and garnish with cilantro!

Enjoy with rotis / lachcha parathas!

Turnip Kurma

Fell in love with Turnip since the first time I made it a few weeks ago. It's purple skin and white interior thats hard to cut, but crisp n juicy to bite into makes for some melodrama in your mouth!
I made a Kurma with it as a side for Rice and Rotis. S and I loved how the combination tasted, so I decided to put it down here.

Here's the recipe (and a picture, ofcourse!)

Serves 3
Turnip - 3 diced
Tomatoes - 2, diced fine
Onion (Medium) - Chopped roughly
Grated Coconut / Coconut powder - 1/2 cup
Cumin + Black Pepper Corns + Fennel - ground to a fine powder
Kashmiri Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tbsp
Green Chillies Slit lengthwise - 2
Garlic Pods 2 - chopped
Cilantro - to garnish
Oil 3 tbsp
Water - 1 cup

• Heat oil in a pan, and add in the garlic and green chillies
• Once the aroma rises, add the onions and saute till golden brown. Now add in the tomatoes and let them sweat for a bit until it forms a coarse paste
• Add in the chopped turnip and cover with a lid for a minute or 2 to let it sweat. 
• Add the salt, chilli powder, turmeric and spice and mix well. Close with a lid and cook until tender.
• Now add a cup of water and let the gravy thicken. 
• Once it's thickened, simmer the flame and add the coconut powder and stir. 
• Garnish with Cilantro and serve with roti or rice.

Orange Nut Bread

'Cuties' as they are called are my favorite fruits. Tiny, easy to peel, seedless sweet oranges that come in crates of 24 and called 'Cuties' would be the #1 selling fruits if only they were marketed right! Somehow, they are not available in our local supermarket at all times. So when I do find them, I buy them in an instant.

After patiently emptying almost half the cart of cuties myself, I decided to try something new with the rest. You guessed right, I tried to make Orange Bread. It came out pretty well, and I made 2 packets of bread and took them to my colleagues M and J :)

Orange Nut Bread

Bowl 1
2 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Cup Sugar
3 tbsp grated Orange Zest
1 tbsp Baking Powder
1/4 Cup chopped Nuts
1/2 tbsp Salt

Bowl 2

2 Eggs
1 Cup Orange Juice, freshly squeezed and strained
1 tbsp Vanilla Essence
2 Oz Butter, Melted

• Preheat the oven to 175F
• Beat bowl 2 together. Add in Bowl 1 mixture and blend until well mixed.
• Pour into a prepared bread pan and bake until cake rises and sides become golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Roughly 50 mins.

Spinach Cucumber Soup

Eating significantly smaller portions than what I am used to gives me a nagging headache. I usually last 4 meals before I give up and remind myself I should start eating normally n just exercise regularly.

Who am I kidding, Right? We all know how that one ends... And it's not even New Years yet.

Anyway, green has a calming effect on me. And it also makes for a pretty colorful bowl of soup.

So, Monday night I served Spinach Cucumber Soup !


Makes 2 large bowls -

Spinach, 1 bunch roughly chopped
Cucumber, 1 long, peeled and sliced
Veg Stock, 1 cup
Butter, 1 tbsp
Peppercorns, Fennel, Jeeraham - 1 tbsp each finely ground
Ginger Garlic Paste - 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 2-3 tbsp
Salt - 1.5 tbsp

Add chopped spinach and cucumber in a heavy bottomed pan with enough stock & water to cook the vegetables. Once cooked, cool and purée in a blender. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a pan and add the spice powder and ginger garlic paste and sauté for a few mins. Add the purée to the spices and stir in the salt and lemon juice. Serve hot or cold with some bread on the side.

Chayote Corn Soup (Pretty Spicy)

Soup week resurfaces every time our bathroom scale hits a never seen before high. Yes, it happened again this Sunday!

We started our Saturday with a cup of green tea with lemon n honey. (Don't laugh! There is no harm in believing that all those years of bad eating & lack of exercise can be nullified with a glass of tea!)

And, to intensify the regime - we slept through most of Sunday as someone once told us that lack of sleep makes you bloat.

Lastly, while doing our weekly groceries - we stayed clear of the chips, cheese and cake aisles.

Good so far? :)

We still ended up with a fairly fat bill buying just fruits & vegetables. A lot of first time buys this time - including Chayote (Chow Chow), Butternut Squash & Asparagus.

Sunday menu was Chayote Corn Soup. Don't judge me for thinking that the Chayote would be perfect to play the part of a grumpy mean vegetable villain in a children's cartoon. Doesn't it look like it would eat you up, if you don't bite into it first? :P





Chayote Corn Soup (Pretty Spicy !)
Makes 2 large bowls

Onion (Medium Sized, Chopped)
Garlic Pods - 3, Minced
Green Chillies - 2, Slit Lengthwise
Chayote - 1, Diced
Sweet Corn - 1 cup, defrosted
Olive Oil - 3 tbsp
Cilantro - To garnish
Fennel, Pepper Corns, Jeeraham - 1 tbsp each, ground to a fine powder
Veg Stock - 1 cup
Water - as required
Salt - 1-2 tbsp
Yogurt - 1/2 cup

Heat oil in a pot, add garlic n chillies n wait till aroma rises. Add onions n sauté till browned. Add Chayote & Salt and let them sweat for a bit. Add stock to just submerge all the veggies in your pot. Once the veggies are cooked - allow to cool slightly. Transfer to a processor and purée. Transfer back to the pot n add water as required to control how thick or thin you need your soup to be. Add sweet corn, spice mix and yogurt and give it a stir until all ingredients have blended.

Transfer to soup bowls, garnish with cilantro and have with dinner rolls / garlic knots or sour dough bread!