Spicy Veggie Toast!

Thanks to fellow FB Food Blogger Anjali Suresh for this recipe...healthy, delicious and very quick to make! plus all those colours make this even more wonderful...

Do give this a try folks...

Here you go with the Recipe...

Ingredients:

Bread Slices (We used Whole Grain Bread)

Green Capsicum - Chopped - 4 tbsp

Tomato -1 small one & seeds removed - Chopped

Carrot - Chopped & Bolied - 1/4 cup

Sweet Corn Boiled - 4 tbsp

Green Peas Boiled - 1/4 cup

Onion -1 big - Chopped

Green Chillies - Chopped - 1

Ginger - 1 small piece - Chopped

Salt to Taste

Chat Masala - 1 tbsp

Oil/Ghee for shallow frying

Method:

1. Take a big bowl and mash all the boiled vegetables

2. Then add all the remaining vegetables & ingredients and mix well

3. Take a spoon and spread the vegetable mix on the bread.

4. Take a non-stick pan add brush it with Oil/Ghee and fry the bread pieces on both  sides till golden brown

5. The Spicy Veggie Toast is ready

6. Serve with Green Chutney and Tomato Sauce

Enjoy a healthy breakfast!

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!

Naariyal Chikki ||| Janmashtami Special!

First things first, BIG thanks to Ketan Pandit of Chef at Large fame who posted the Naariyal Pak Recipe on the CaL FB Page which I read and got really excited to try! Got some much needed inputs from him and waited to get back home & try my hands!

Ketan's Recipe: http://chatorediaries.com/recipe-naariyal-pak/

Big Event for me as this one was going to be the first time I was making any sweet without any help of a Readymade Mix! and I have a sweet tooth anyway so all the more reason to get excited!

Plus today is Janamashtami - Shri Krishna's Happy Bidday! so Mithaai to banti hai Boss!

But things didn't turn out the way I expected or planned! nonetheless the result was very delicious! saving grace as they say!

The Plan was to make Naariyal Pak but the end result was Naariyal Chikki! read on to find more......

Ingredients:

1 cup grated coconut (If you can use freshy grated that is the best option)
1/2 cup Splenda Powder
½ cup cream (If you can use freshy whipped that is the best option)
2 tsp green elaichi powder
1 tsp jaiphal(nutmeg) powder
Saffron as per your taste (Mixed with Warm Milk)
2 tbsp Desi Ghee (We used Amul)

Process:

1. In a non-stick pan, pour the ghee, let it heat up and then put the coconut, sugar and cream.
2. Keep Stirring continuously and see the colours of the mix change magically!
3. The Flame must be on low throughout the process.
4. Put the green cardamom powder, the nutmeg powder & the Saffron-Milk Mix.
5. Keep stirring vigorously so that the mix doesn't stick
6. Once the Mix starts getting a bit hard & thick close the flame and remove the Pan
7. Smear a steel plate with some ghee
8. Spread the Mix evenly
9. Cut as per your design choice
10. Let the Mix cool down for 5-10 minutes
11. Refrigerate the Mix for 15-20 minutes
12. Wait for the Naariyal Pak!

But when we pulled out the plate and tried to eat we realized we actually made Chikki instead of the intended Pak!

This could be due to multiple reasons: Using Splenda instead of Sugar or the quantity of the Splenda used (could have been less or more)

But both of us loved what we made! Chikki ki yaadein taazaa ho gayin!

Next time would ensure to get more guidance from experienced cooks and ensure we get our Naariyal Pak!

And yeah wishing you all a very Happy Janmashtami...

Apt Time for my Favourite Krishna Bhajan sung by Acharya Mridul Krishna Ji Maharaj :
Radhey Radhey Japo Chale Aayenge Bihari

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!

Baked Potatoes ||| Desi & Videshi Style!

Bandita loved the variety of Baked Potatoes we had during our Cyprus Trip so I tried to try my hands too! there were a lot of recipes available online; I was spoilt for choice and yet wanted to try something different than what we had in Cyprus...

After a lot of deliberations chose 2 types of Baked Potatoes...Desi and Videshi to have an equal mix of flavours! 

Here you go with the recipes...

Pre-Heat the Oven at 200 Degrees Celsius...

                                                                      Desi Style! 

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sized Potato

8 tbsp Whipped Yoghurt

2 tbsp Spice Mix (I used Mehran Kadhai Chicken Mix)

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Process:

1. Peel the potato and make small pieces

2. Mix the Yoghurt, Lemon and the Spice mix in a bowl; Marinate the potatoes for 30 minutes

3. Put the Mix into a baking dish and bake for 50 minutes. Time may vary depending on size of potato and oven.

                                                                     Videshi Style! 

Ingredients:

1 Medium Sized Potato

2 tsp Olive Oil

1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder

Salt to Taste

Process:

1. Using a sharp kitchen knife, carefully start making a series of vertical cuts width-wise through the potato, making sure not to cut all the way through - cuts should only be 3/4 of the way through the potato. 

2. Place the sliced potato on an baking sheet slices up, then drizzle top with olive oil, salt and pepper; fill the insides with the pepper to get maximum taste

3. Bake for 50 minutes. Time may vary depending on size of potato and oven.

We baked both the potatoes side by side in one baking dish as there were only 2 potatoes...

The results were pretty decent for the first try and I was pleasantly surprised myself with the flavours! when the baking process was on the aroma filled up our home & I was expecting some good things! 

Do give this a try if you want...am sure you won't be disappointed!

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!

Corn-Cheese Sandwich

Next exploration begins! Delicious, healthy and quick to make breakfast options!

From now on would be trying one such option every weekend for sure....makes the mornings interesting in a different way!

Started this tryst with Corn-Cheese Sandwich! inspired by Dipti Sharad from FB's community "Ghar ka Khana" and her recipe: http://indianrecipes4you.com/appetizers/corn-sandwich/

Here you go...this makes 4 sandwiches and we used Whole Grain Bread....

Ingredients

100 grams frozen corn kernels, boiled and blanched
1/2 medium size Onion - chopped
40 grams Capsicum - chopped
1 tbsp black pepper, freshly crushed
½ tbsp red chili flakes
2 tbspgrated mozarella or cheddar cheese
3 tsp butter
1 garlic clove - minced
1 tbsp basil seasoning
Salt to taste


Method:

Boil the corn kernels in a pan
Heat the butter in the frying pan.
Add the garlic and Saute for 15-20 seconds.Add Onion and saute for 2 mins. Add Capsicum and saute for 2 mins
Add the corn kernels and stir.
Stir for 1-2 minutes on low flame.
Season with salt, pepper and red chili flakes.
Add the mozarella or cheddar cheese, when the corn filling mixture has become warm.
Stuff this corn-Onion-capsicum filling in the bread and toast them .
Serve hot with any sauce of your liking (I had this with Peri Peri Garlic Sauce - Medium)

And the next time we would definitely use Cream Cheese to add a different sort of consistency...

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!

Khumb Hara Dhaniya ||| Prashad Masters Style!

Diversification is the key and in all spheres of life & business! so even I decided to take a plunge into the good-big world of Vegetarian Gourmet Cooking! Took the help of  Prashad: Cooking With Indian Masters, often considered to be the BEST book on Indian Recipes; bought this book in November 2012 & I feel very guilty to accept that this is the first recipe I have cooked from this book! though Bandita has made the awesome Sofiyani Biryani through this which was oh-so-awesome! but then as some wise old man once said, better late than never & I use the same logic for this long wait!

Started with this Mushroom recipe named Khumb Hara Dhaniya which sounded a little too cumbersome but I was ready to give it a try! and as always I adhered 100% to the recipe except some minor changes...it took me almost an hour to make this but the result was DELICIOUS! worth all those 60 minutes I spent in the Kitchen...as always Bandita was my perfect Partner-in-Rhyme and helped me all the way through! this was definitely OUR effort! 

The flavour of this dish was very different to what we have had previously, all thanks to the Boiled Onion Paste which added magic to the curry! and the aroma & taste of the Fresh Coriander and Ginger is delightful too! This one is a definite must-try for all Mushroom lovers! 

And yes, for everybody like me who want to try Indian Cuisine dishes and is looking for the perfect book to begin with you can buy this one online, and I bet this is worth every rupee you would spend: http://www.infibeam.com/Books/info/j-indersingh-kalra/prashad-cooking-with-indian-masters/9788170230069.html

Without further adieu, presenting the recipe details: 

Ingredients:

1. 700 grams Fresh Medium Sized Mushrooms

2. 50 Oil or Ghee (I used Sunflower Oil)

3. Whole Garam Masala

    6 Green Cardamoms

    1 Black Cardamom

    6 Cloves

    1 2-inches long Cinnamon Stick

    1 Bay Leaf

4. 200 grams Boiled Onion Paste

    Peel, wash and roughly cut 4 medium Onions. Put in a Handi, add 1 Bay Leaf, 3 Black Cardamoms and      100 ml water, bring to a boil, simmer until onions are transparent and the liquid has evaporated. Transfer to    a blender and make a fine puree (Don’t remove the Bay Leaf and Cardamoms as these would add a             brilliant colour and taste to the paste)

5. 5 teaspoons Ginger Paste

6. 5 teaspoons Garlic Paste

7. 3 teaspoons Finely Chopped Ginger

8. 2 teaspoons julienned Ginger

9. 4 Finely Chopped Green Chillies

10. 2 teaspoons Red Chilly Powder

11. 2 teaspoons Coriander Powder

12. 350 grams Whipped Fresh Yoghurt

13. 60 grams finely chopped fresh Green Coriander

14. 2 tablespoons Cashew Paste

15. Salt to taste

Preparation:

1. Trim, wash, blanch, drain the Mushrooms (add 1 teaspoon salt in the water while boiling); and then cut them in halves
2. Heat the Oil in a Handi, add whole garam masala and sauté over medium heat until it starts to crackle
3. Add the boiled Onion Paste, bhunno for 5-7 minutes, add the Ginger & Garlic pastes, bhunno for another 3-5 minutes
4. Add the chopped ginger & green chillies, red chilly & coriander powder and stir for 1-2 minutes
5. Remove the Handi from the Gas, add the whipped yoghurt and salt; return to heat after mixing, add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and then simmer until the fat leaves the curry
6. Now add 45 grams chopped green coriander, simmer for a minute, add the mushrooms and then simmer for 10-15 minutes
7. Add the Cashewnut Paste and bring to a boil
8. Adjust the seasoning and the consistency of the curry as per your preference
9. Remove the Dish and garnish with the remaining coriander and ginger juliennes
10. Serve with Chapatis and boiled rice
11. Say Thanks to Jiggs Kalra! And if you want you can thank me too! 

Don't get bogged down by the lengthiness of the preparation; I promise this isn't that difficult as it may sound! And the final result would definitely make the efforts worthwhile....

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!

World Cinema Moviethon - July 2013

The tryst with World Movies started way back in 2008 with the launch of the new channel by UTV named UTV World Movies (http://www.utvworldmovies.com) and continued with watching awesome world movies at Epicentre, Gurgaon (http://www.epicentre.co.in) with my comrade Diptinder Singh Chhabra, we watched several movies together....Iranian, American, French, German and what not! the tryst continued in Kuwait too when I moved here and thanks to God my wife is also a big fan of watching movies across genres & languages...

Couple of weeks back we decided to watch different language movies in a weekend; our target was 8 and we hit that! Brilliant I say....real awesome ones at that!

8 Movies...8 different countries...Iran, France, USA, Lebanon, Mongolia, Palestine, Israel and South Korea!

We missed 2 prolific languages though - German and Spanish! but then we have been watching a lot of movies of these 2 languages lately especially of the master...Pedro Almodovar!

And following are the list of the 8 movies and my short reviews...do watch them if you get some time if you haven't watched any of them and I am sure you would also appreciate them....here you go!

Love Crime - France

This one is a French psychological suspense thriller starring the gorgeous Ludivine Sagnier and Kristin Scott Thomas! The story revolves around two women who work in a global Ad agency and how their ambitions cross paths! this isn't much about Love but the Crime part is absolutely brilliant! the way the excitement builds up is way too awesome...I was always on the edge! the dark underbellies of the corporate world are very adequately shown and never goes overboard Madhur Bhandarkar style ;) I enjoyed this and this one is a must-watch for all thriller-genre fans...my rating 4.5/5...

Mud - USA

Ever since this movie was announced I was stoked about it! The cast line-up of Matthew McConaughey, Tye Sheridan, Sam Shepard, and Reese Witherspoon was too much to resist! and this one delivered to the T! This one is real nice & hard to classify it as a coming of age, thriller, male bonding or a romantic genre! watch it and decide for yourselves! This is an adventure about two boys, Ellis and his friend Neckbone, who find a man named Mud hiding out on an island in the Mississippi. Watch the movie to find about the rest; I won't disclose! the story builds up brilliantly and the climax adds to the overall magic...this is a definite must-watch too! my rating 4/5...

Fireworks Wednesday - Iran

This one is a 2006 Iranian film directed by the master director Asghar Farhadi and I am a big fan of his Cinema! This is a portrait of three marriages set against the backdrop of the Persian New Year! of how various lives get intertwined with each other and almost get messed up! for everybody who has watched A Separation & About Elly this definitely should get the nod! this is a superb study about how relationships and families function in Iran...my rating 4/5...

Caramel  - Lebanon

This is a Lebanese film directed by the gorgeous Nadine Labaki who also plays the female lead! The story focuses on the lives of five Lebanese women dealing with issues such as forbidden love, binding traditions, repressed sexuality, the struggle to accept the natural process of age, and duty vs. desire. Labaki's film is unique for not showcasing a war-ravaged Beirut but rather a warm and inviting locale where people deal with universal issues...some might call it a chick-flick but it isn't; it is a story about the lives of these 5 women and their daily challenges! it is funny, interesting and as the title suggests sweet as well! I enjoyed this a lot! My rating 4.5/5...

Mongol - Mongolia

This one is a Biopic & is based on the early life of Temüjin, who later came to be known as the legendary Genghis Khan...the film starts even before he was born and ends when he was just about to start his big conquests! it is a lesson in history and was a damn interesting one for me as I have grown up reading stories about Genghis!  The only funny part is that a Japanese actor Tadanobu Sato plays the title role! The battle scenes have been very well shot and the cinematography is exquisite too! And this transforms the image of Genghis who has been termed by History as one of the most brutal rulers! It is a definite must-watch for all Biopic and History genre fans...my rating 5/5...

Paradise Now - Palestine

This is a Palestine film about 2 Suicide Bombers preparing for a suicide attack in Israel! and this won the Best Foreign Film Golden Globe award! Like all Arab movies this one is also about real lives of normal people and what they face each day in the struggle for Money, Freedom and legitimacy! The tension builds throughout the movie and reaches a crescendo in the end...I was glued throughout witnessing the complexities of the lives of the 2 suicide bombers! The acting of the 2 leads Kais Naschef and Ali Suliman is superb throughout...This one is a definite must-watch too...My rating 4.5/5...

The Bubble - Israel

This is an Israeli Romantic Drama Film about two men who fall in love, one Israeli and one Palestinian. The title of the film refers to Tel Aviv, a relatively peaceful city in a tumultuous region and the setting of the film. It is a fascinating tale of 3 friends and their new Palestine friend and how politics affect their lives! I loved the acting of the 4 leads, the comic moments and the anxiety of the movie...the ending is both devastating and poignant...My rating 4/5...

I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK - South Korea

One of the strangest love stories I have ever watched! and read the plot: A girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls! if one has penchant for weird, arbit movies then it would be enjoyed else it would be a disaster! I liked the quirky treatment of the movie, the weird cinematography and the setting of the movie! it definitely isn't very hilarious but is an honest attempt for sure! My rating 3/5...

The love with Movies continues and hopefully my blog posts too!

Till the time we meet again…

Cheers to life…

Till then ride safe and have safe sex…

Hasta la Victoria Siempre…

Jai BoP!