lettersfrommytable-blog

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Chicken and Pineapple

Two servings

Chicken fry:

Chicken – one medium sized breast

Pineapple – 5 slices preserved in juice, diced

Green peppers-  3 very small, Cut into long, thin strips

Ginger - 2 inch piece,cut into thin slices

Green chilllies – 2

Turmeric- 1 pinch

Chilli powder- 2 pinches

Salt-  2 pinches

Stir fried veggies:

Sugar snap peas- 10 or 15 cut into thin strips

Brocollini- 6 to7 stalks cut into bite sized pieces

Carrot-5 to 6 sticks, cut into thin strips.

Roasted Peanuts- a handful

Pineapple sauce:

Juice remaining from the can

Hot chilli sauce- 1tbsp

Soy sauce – 2 tsp

Additional sugar and chilli sauce if more of the sauce is required.

Method:

Heat Sesame oil in a wok; add sliced ginger and a couple of sliced green chilies.

Add the chicken and let to brown slightly

Add the turmeric and chili powders

 When chicken is almost cooked, add the peppers and sauté. (Remember to keep the chicken tender DO NOT overcook it)

Add salt as required.

Remove from fire and set aside.

Veggie stir fry:

Pour sesame oil in a wok on high heat

Drop all the veggies in.

And add a dash of soy sauce.

Season them lightly with salt.

Stir well and add the peanuts.

Remove when veggies are tender-crisp.

Sauce:

Add pineapple juice to a pan on medium heat.

Add hot chilli sauce as required.

Add a dash of soy to give some depth to the sauce.

If more sauce is required then simply add some hot water, sugar and more hot chilli sauce to taste.

Assemble the plate by placing a mound of rice in the middle surrounded by the chicken and pineapple. Place the Veggies to a side and lightly spoon the sauce over everything. Garnish with some coriander.

#chicken #ananas #pineapple #stirfry #rice

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Chicken breast stuffed with Feta cheese

Preheat oven to 175 degrees.

Mix feta, thinly sliced red onions, chopped sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, freshly ground pepper (a dash) and a bit of lime. (note: sprinkle the lime on the onions and leave for a few minutes to make the onions sweet) (mix everything after preparing the chicken breast)

Flatten the chicken breast with a mallet. (Place the breast on the board cover it with cling wrap and flatten evenly) (remove the small piece of flesh from the back of the breast before flattening)

Stuff the feta mixture into the breast, roll it up, drizzle with olive oil, add a SMALL amount of salt on top,  and bake in the oven at 170 degrees for 25 minutes 

serve with carrots and blanched n sauteed beans.  

#chicken breast #feta #stuffed #healthy chicken #healthy

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Mayo moderation

So this morning I did a spot of research. I had a half finished jar of full fat mayo, an empty jar of half fat mayo (aioli) and a newly bought jar of olive mayo (which i assumed to be more healthy because it is from a healthier fat).

BUT get this! The Olive oil mayo has MUCHo a more saturated and transfats than the full fat mayo. The difference in calories per tablespoon is not very much either, full fat mayo = 95kcal and the olive oil mayo = 93kcal. And the half fat Mayo is just LOADED with sugar and sodium (I think to make up for the loss of taste from fat). Also the transfats are much higher in the half fat mayo.

So all in all I think it is best to buy regular mayo and enjoy the original taste but in moderation!

#mayonnaise #calories #healthy #choice #full fat #reduced fat

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Gourmet BLT for breakfast with cherry tomatoes and fancy salad( radicchio, yellow carrot and lettuce).... NICE!

#BLT #Cherry tomatoes #Radicchio #breakfast #solo

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manojprajwal:

Come together Brisbane (Taken with Instagram at Hungry Jack’s)

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Sev puri

Dad bought me a serving of Sev puri from Adyar Anandha Bhavan my most favorite place to have it from. I wonder what genius invented the dish! Such a beautiful medley of textures and tastes.

Sweet tangy tamarind sauce, hot pungent mint chutney, paprika powder, black salt (which has an indescribable taste); all these condiments are poured over a crispy layer of papdi (little papad like crisps), over which soft cooked potatoes soak up all the sauces. Topped with melt in your mouth crispy sev (hence the name) it forms the most beautiful dish of food. 

Ah food! beautiful food! I have decided my reception will definitely have a chaat counter, not for my guests but for MYSELF to enjoy after standing and smiling for 4 hours!!! muhahahahahaha....

A plate of Sevpuri I had at pondy bazaar with Anu and Gaayu another awesome day in Chennai! 

#sev puri #chaat #AAB #adyar anandha bhavan

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I swear man!! this lady is a magician!

[lettersfrommytable-blog]

Seedless watermelon

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A simple yet delish recipe. Linguine is by far my most favorite pasta. Can't wait to try this one!!! 

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I love lamb stews and this is something I want to make one day.

[lettersfrommytable-blog]

We are living in a world today where lemonade is made from artificial flavors and furniture polish is made from real lemons.

Alfred E. Newman

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Hunger is the best sauce in the world.

Cervantes

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The bagel, an unsweetened doughnut with rigor mortis.

 ~Beatrice & Ira Freeman

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Craving lusciousness

My family were all out and busy this evening. So I had the house to myself . I had told myself that it was the perfect time to be writing up my CV. But as usual I was attacked by a monster called "proscrastinato". But this time around it wasn't YouTube videos or fiction novels, I headed straight to the kitchen. I had been craving something sweet all day long. I also wanted something luscious (read oily and unhealthy) and easy to make. The Nenthram pazham (a kind of palntain) that dad had bought a couple of days ago inspired me to make this ever so popular snack from Kerala (A South-Indian state).

I prefer the bananas to be slightly on the firmer side and these bananas were in the perfect state of ripeness.  sweet yet firm. Anyway I decided to make a slightly different version of Pazhampori.Authentically the dish is made with sugar but today I decided to make it with jaggery.  I don't know where the inspiration came from, but it did and I don't regret my decision at all. All the Mallus who are scandalized at this recipe my apologies. To me these were just as yummy :). The Jaggery gave these fritters a sort of an earthy twinge. Its tough to describe the flavor that it imparts. it was slightly gingery and fudge-y if you can imagine it. Rice flour is also normally used to make them crisp, I didn't use it today because I didn't have any. This resulted in the fritters being soft and spongy, which I really liked. If you want an authentic recipe then you can find it here. I describe my recipe for this scandalized version of Pazham pori here :).

Pazhampori/Aethekkappam

Ingredients :

Nenthram pazham - one (cut into round slices)

Jaggery - 100 gms

Plain flour (maida)- 150 gms

Oil-  to deep fry

Salt- A pinch

Cardamom- 2 pods (freshly powdered)

Baking soda - a pinch (for fluffy fritters)

Method:

1. Crush the Jaggery to make it easier to dissolve. Take about 50 ml of Water (man its so tough to give exact measurements!) and dissolve the Jaggery in it.

2. Use this Water to make a thick batter out of the flour. Add the Salt and powdered Cardamom and Baking soda to the batter.

3. Dip Banana slices in the batter and fry on medium high flame until fluffy and brown.

4. The outer layer must be slightly crisp and inside the banana must be soft and wonderfully cooked into a sweet pulpy disc. The batter in between would be light, airy and sweet. PERFECTION!

P.S: Because I had cooked them when I was alone and it was late by the time the rest of the family returned. I had just these for dinner!!  ssshhhhh.....;)

P.P.S:All you non believers, here is evidence that the above said recipe is as good as I make it to be. Dad who usually doesn't like sweets ate three of these and absolutely loved them. 

#banana fritters #aethekkappam #pazhampori #pazham pori

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An afternoon spent well..... :)

I Wonder why food ALWAYS plays an important part of any occassion that I have immensely enjoyed. :) 

#afternoon #coffee #reading #book #cafe

[lettersfrommytable-blog]

Of memories....

When I went to the kitchen this morning there was some fresh paneer that mum had made. I saw it and was reminded of this post about the Bengali milk sweet (sondesh) that I read last night. I just couldn’t resist. So I just stole mum’s paneer and made a batch of these luscious sweets.

Talking about these sweets I remember an incident from way back when I was in school. A friend of mine, Harsha, once told me about her Bengali friend at whose place they would make the most delicious milk sweets ever. Since then I have been trying the Bengali sweets in sooo many of Chennai’s sweet shops (of course I could have gone to Kolkatta , but that was definitely not on the agenda) trying to taste something as delectable but in vain. Finally last night I was inspired to find an authentic recipe and try it out myself! This post is a result.

My mum has a serious sweet tooth. She smelled the Sondesh mixture I was making and got super excited. But I wanted pictures for the blog so I took my own sweet time with clicking befitting photos. It was soo funny to watch mum give me impatient glances, hoping I would finish with the pictures already and that she could eat ‘em sweets. OK getting onto the recipe. It is atrociously simple and disproportionately tasty!

Sondesh

Ingredients:

Paneer- 100g Sugar- 6 heaped teaspoons

Cardamom- 3 pods

Saffron strands- a few

Ghee- 1 tbsp

Almonds (blanched) – for garnish (sliced finely)

Method:

1. The original post recommended that the paneer (cottage cheese) be made by using yoghurt to split the milk instead of anything acidic (because it will leave a sour taste, which we don’t want in our sweet). I am not sure how mum made it. But the sweet came out tasting divine.

2. Hang the Paneer in a muslin cloth for about 20 minutes to remove all whey.

3. Add the sugar and knead the paneer. You should be able to make smooth balls (with no cracks) with the paneer

4. Add some ghee to a pan and pour the paneer-sugar mixture in.

5. Powder the cardamom and blanch the almonds and slice into slivers.

6. You can now add the cardamom to the mixture in the pan.

7. Also add the saffron (I just added the strands whole, but you could mix the saffron strands with a little milk and add to the mixture for more uniform color).

8. Let the mixture cook until it turns color ever so slightly and does not stick to the sides of the pan. The mixture gets a sort of “wet sand” consistency. This is a good time to remove from heat and cool.

9. When the mixture is bearably hot, shape it as desired. And add some almond slivers for an added touch.

10. All that is left now is to gobble up those spheres of pure delicious!!!

#sondesh #sandesh #milk sweet #bengali sweet #memories

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Inspired cooking

I love Kylie Kwong . I have watched her cook since I was a child and I am fan of her passionate cooking style. She uses bold flavors and combines them very masterfully. This is a recipe from her TV show “Cooking with heart”. She quickly cooks fresh scallops and complements their rich sweetness with strong olive oil and some sharp Balsamic vinegar. A fantastic recipe which is great  for entertaining.

                               Roasted Scallops

Fresh scallops – a dozen (in the half shell)

Mint leaves- a few (finely shredded)

Salt

Ground Pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar - to drizzle

Method:

Drizzle the scallops with a generous tablespoon of olive oil

Roast in a hot (230-250°C) oven for about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven

Pour a bit more olive oil on the shell fish

Season with pepper and salt

Finally lightly drizzle vinegar, top with mint and serve.

 The half shells look absolutely gorgeous on the table!

 photo credit

#kylie kwong #roast #scallops