Kitchen Experiments: Turkish Sausage on Toast

To quote legendary director Hrishikesh Mukherjee's movie 'Bbawarchi',
"It is so simple to be happy,
But so difficult to be simple..."

This is especially true in the kitchen - ever so often, we surrender to the temptation of "just a pinch of garam masala" or "just a spoonful of soy sauce" to "liven things up" that we end up with a mish mash of tastes and flavours and totally lose sight of the essentials of a dish. Perhaps we are afraid of an insipid, bland dish (dis)gracing our table.

But when done right, a simple dish is a joy forever. I added one such dish to my repertoire over the weekend - Turkish sausage on toast.

A recent holiday in Turkey yielded a packet of soujouk (sucuk in Turkish) - spicy Turkish sausage, similar to chorizo.


All it took was some tomato, onion and Parmesan cheese to rustle up a superhit starter or a quick meal for one!

Turkish Sausage on Toast:

Ingredients:
Turkish Sausage, or any spicy sausage
Spanish onion, sliced lengthwise
Tomato, sliced
Parmesan cheese- grated or powdered (you can use slices/powder/spread of any cheese you like
Sriracha Chilly Sauce ( or any spicy sauce)
Sliced bread

Method:
Add a teeny bit of oil in a frying pan, swirl it around and place on low heat. Add the sausage(s) and cook till done, i.e. the skin looks about to burst.

Slice the sausage into 0.5 cm thick slices, keep aside.

While the sausage is cooking, slice the tomato and onion, and grate the cheese.

Spread the cheese over the bread, and top with onion and tomato.

Dot with chilly sauce

Add the sausage slices on top. You can add another layer of cheese, if you wish. :)

Grill on a hot griddle (with a lid) or in the oven, till the bread is toasted to crunchy perfection.

You can top the open sandwich with another slice of sauce-smeared bread and grill in the sandwich toaster too.

Enjoy piping hot. Tomato ketchup is an optional condiment, but is not really needed.

PS: For a more dainty take on the dish, to present it as a starter, use canape cases or mini tart shells instead of bread. Upping the ante would be using puff pastry - press down small rounds of pastry dough into mini muffin cups, spoon in the filling and bake in a hot oven till pastry becomes golden and puffy. Bliss!

PPS: In retrospect, this dish is not really original, but is more like a vampish cousin of the bland American hotdog. But what the heck, its quick, tasty, and filling. All boxes ticked for a recipe worth repeating! :)

A foodie day out in South Bombay!

It was meant to be a a true-blue touristy day, akin to my day in HK with K. I wanted to be the Fairy Godmother to VS's Cinderella and show her the unseen wonders of South Bombay - the fact that they were unseen being a shame, considering that both VS and I have been born and raised in Bombay.

But I digress.

So, the agenda was to do a proper 'Bombay Darshan' walking tour - with carefully chosen refuelling pit-stops on the way, of course. :) But what the day turned out to be was a foodathon, with some sightseeing thrown in. :D There you go!

Our day began bright (and not so early) at 11:00. And we hit a roadblock (literally) almost rightaway - traffic snarls! It took us more than an hour to cover the 10-odd km we had to travel! VS, who is the most easily carsick person I know, looked kind of green around the gills by the time we emerged at Kala Ghoda. Given this, and the delay in our schedule, we struck off the heaving-and-lurching ferry ride from Gateway of India to Elephanta from our itinerary!First stop - was the Jehangir Art Gallery.

Neither VS nor I get modern/abstract art (if anyone gets the symbolism behind these kinds of art, please please teach me!) so most of the exhibits were lost on us, but there was one painting in one exhibit which had us both yearning for it - a simple oil-on-canvas of an old-style oil lantern perched in a window. It was so realistic, that the brightly lit gallery was transformed into a cold, windswept night on the moors with the solitary lamp in the window beckoning us home, toward warmth and comfort. "Me want!" was the acquisitive buzz in our heads! :)

One cannot visit Jehangir Art Gallery without a quick break at Samovar- the quirky cafe at the gallery which has fed and soothed a lot of avant garde artists before they became famous.

Made famous by the rib-ticklingly warm movie Chhoti Si Baat, Samovar is poky, narrow, and very 60s in its decor and ambience. Bright yellow marigolds in vases, hot pink hand-painted napkin holders, old-world lanterns hanging from the columns...there's no place quite like Samovar!

Even if you aren't hungry, do visit just to sip on the mint tea. Delicious! Of course, VS and I had more than just the tea. :) We made short work of the chicken roll that was oily, tasty and chock-full of tender shreds of chicken in a spicy sauce.


Next up was a leisurely browse through the legendary Rhythm House, the Mecca for music lovers (and film lovers. too) This old store underwent a facelift a decade ago to resemble modern trade formats- shelf upon shelf of cds, dvds, tapes, vintage film posters, and state-of-the-art listening stations to try on some music before buying it. But at heart, its still a haven for true afficionados- a place where the owner and the floor staff are connoisseurs themselves and more than willing to share their knowledge with you, to make recommendations, and to hunt down that elsuive album for you. This is what separates Rhythm House from newer, fancier, roomier and soul-less stores. The feeling that you have come home, where people not just speak your language, but can debate in it too. :)

After shopping our hearts out at RH, we took a short walk through the meandering bylanes of Kala Ghoda to locate the much-acclaimed Kala Ghoda Cafe. We found it in a impossibly narrow alley called Ropewalk Lane (isn't the name charming?!) after passing over it a couple of times - so discreet is its signage! KGC is a tiny eatery with a high ceiling - it looks like a refurbished barn/stable, complete with a high, over-the-door window and whitewashed, rough-textured walls. A complete contrast to the modern starkness of white chairs, white tables and golden-brown wooden banquette along one wall. Clusters of cheery red and white balloons floating from the ceilings add warmth and colour.


VS, who is a careful eater, at once gravitated towards the salads on the menu. Her choice was the Med Salad ("Why? Why? Why? Why, when there's chicken rosti on offer?" clamoured my brain, but I shushed it, feeling virtuous about nibbling on salad). And was it not a great choice! One of the best salads I have tasted, the Med Salad was a harmonious blend of roasted/grilled peppers, zucchini, and non-sweet sweet potato, tossed through with lettuce and dressed with delicious vinaigrette. Nestled on top of the heap of salad was a fat chunk of creamy feta. Oh, the glorious taste of a forkful of salad and a sliver of feta atop the crunch toast served on the side...bliss!


Just when I was feeling amazingly good about being able to enjoy salad for lunch, VS catapulted and ordered the waffle for dessert. Oh, well. :D The waffle was a vision of buttery gold and the little pot of chocolate sauce was just the right degree of bittersweet.


After lunch, we walked across to the Asiatic Library (whose iconic steps feature as ‘High Court/Supreme Court’ in so many Bollywood flicks), and tried in vain to locate the stone marker proclaiming that point as ‘Sea Level’. A rib-tickling photo-op at the Horniman Garden (known as the Bombay Green during the British Raj) later, we were combing the lanes and alleys of Colaba to find (what I believe are mythical) Colaba Woods. How can one heavily wooded park remain hidden in the tiny pocket of land that is Colaba? If anyone one knows their location, please let me know!

The Asiatic Library

Loved these little parapets at the Asiatic Library!

The lovely sculpture/installation at Horniman Garden

The search for the woods-that-weren’t left us feeling low and dispirited. A quick stop at the sublime-but-overpriced Theobroma on Colaba Causeway to share a lemon tart was ample consolation. :D

Droooool.....

Evening was approaching, and with it came the threat of heavy north-bound traffic, so VS and I beat a hasty retreat from SoBo and made a beeline for the shopping haven of Phoenix Mills. Two hours later with aching feet and shopping bag-laden hands, we headed for the last pit stop of the day – Café Moshes at Palladium.

I know, I know, you CANNOT believe we took yet another refuelling break, but we did! This time we shared the Chicken Harissa wrap (divine! As good as the Chicken Harissa sandwich I’d sampled at Café Moshes at Kemps Corner) and a wedge of the gooey choco-orange flourless cake.

Needless to say, the next step was bed. For the next 10 hours! But the day was totally worth getting tired…I cant wait for VS to get here again!

Breakneck Breakfasts: Bread and Butter

So I thought that a new category about speedy breakfast dishes was called for - given that breakfast should be a big meal (especially if you lunch late) and given that most of us have scant time to devote to making breakfast before rushing off on our whirlwind days.

OK, I'll come to the real reason for the post - I have been whipping up breakfast for me and les parents these past few days (and feeling rather proud of it!), and thought some of the ideas just HAD to be shared. There.

So let me begin.

When I was in school (its best to begin in the beginning, right? :P), we had what was called a "short recess" - half an hour to down your snack packed from home (our school had no cafeteria, only a "canteen" which served greasy-but-tasty snacks like wada pao and samosa which no one in their right minds would eat every day - besides our mothers never gave us any "lunch money", opting to give us "lunch" itself) and indulge in games or gossip.

A popular recess-time snack (especially among kinds with working mothers) was bread and butter, sprinkled with sugar.In the 90's this meant standard-issue Wibs white bread, Amul butter and granulated bleached sugar. (I doubt if anyone had heard of wholewheat bread, cured butter and demerara sugar back then) Back then, I was mildly repulsed by the idea of sprinkling sugar on salted butter, but on closer inspection (aka stuffing one half-sandwich down my gullet), I found that the concoction tasted better than it sounded.

Last week, during a work-related trip to South Bombay, I picked up a half-loaf of rye bread from Le Pain Quotidien at Colaba.




At breakfast the next day, the bread called out - virtually demanded - something more than just butter. Bing! went the bell in the my head, and off I went, to give the old bread-butter-sugar combo, a glamorous makeover.

Took some butter (Amul!) out of the fridge and let it often. Mixed half of the butter with crunchy brown demerara sugar and added a generous sprinkling of powdered cinnamom. Whipped till the butter was light and fluffy.


In the other half, mixed normal granulated sugar and a few drops of orange extract (brought from the US on demand by VS) and mixed through, thoroughly.


Slathered one slice of (amazingly robust and sturdy) bread with cinnamon butter, and the other with orange butter, folded the bread over and voila! Bread-butter-sugar sandwiches, reinvented for the modern epicurean.


The taste, needless to say, was sensational. My colleagues at work loved the packed breakfast - even super-fussy non-sweets-eating Agent J. Maybe it reminded everyone subliminally of their own recess-time snacks in school. There's nothing like a haunting memory of the past, dressed up in the colours of the present!

Kitchen Experiments : Light-and-Fragrant Pudina Biryani

I was recently taken over by an urge to cook something high on flavour, but low on oil-and-spice. And vegetarian. (I think healthy eating is worming its way into my heart - and tummy!)

And as though by miracle, this recipe came like a flash to me - no research, no homework, and crystal-clear with all ingredients and steps listed in order on the screen of my mind's eye. So much so, that I dont feel I can take credit for this recipe - it just CAME to me.

The end result is divine - light, delicately-spiced biryani, heady with the fragrance of pudina. Best enjoyed straight from the pot, with the warm, mint-scented curls of steam wafting about you!

Ingredients:

For the rice:
1 wati/katori/cup basmati rice, washed
1 loose handful pudina (mint) leave - fresh
1 half-stick cinnamon, 2 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 1 bayleaf, 1 pod green cardamom, 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
3-4 cups water

For the masala:
2-3 handfuls (tightly packed) fresh pudina (mint) leaves
2-3 handfuls (tightly packed) fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
2 green chillies
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste or 2 cloves peeled garlic
salt
Mixed veggies, washed and chopped - I used cauliflower, carrot, boiled potato, French beans and capsicum
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon garlic paste, or 4-5 cloves peeled garlic
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 teaspoons oil

For the assembly:
a pinch saffron, lightly crushed and mixed with 2-3 teaspoons warm milk
1 teaspoon ghee
A few pudina leaves


Method:

Cook the rice with the whole spices and pudina leaves in a covered pot till just-done. (Test every minute after 12 minutes or so of cooking time).

Drain away the excess water. Cooking the rice in plenty of extra water means the starchiness is washed away, leaving you with soft-yet-with-a-bite grains of rice which stand separate from each other rathe than clumping around each other in a sticky cake-like form.
Keep the cooked rice covered to keep it warm.

Blend the mint, coriander, green chillies, 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste, 1/2 teaspoon cumin and salt (first 6 items in the 'Masala Ingredients' list) with some water to make a smooth paste. Should be zingy.


Lightly boil the veggies (except the potato, which is already boiled) till they are cooked but retain their crunch- 5 minutes, tops.


In a wok/kadhai, heat the 2 teaspoons oil till very hot. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and let them splutter.

Add the finely chopped onion and stir for 30 seconds. Add the 1 teaspoon garlic paste and stir well.


Once the onions are transparent, add the garam masala. Stir for a minute.

Add the chopped tomato, and stir well in a mashing motion - if your onion and tomato is finely chopped enough, at this stage the mix in the wok will start looking like a thick gravy.

Let it cook till the oil starts separating at the sides.

Add the green chutney (that's what the mint paste is, effectively).


Rinse the blender with a teeny amount of water to get out every bit of paste from the nooks and crannies and reserve the minty water to dilute the masala later, if needed. (Waste not, want not!)

Cook till the mix starts heaving and bubbling like molten lava.

Throw in the boiled veggies and mix well. Add the water from the blender if you think the green gravy is too thick to coat the veggies properly.


Adjust the seasoning, and let it cook for a minute.

In a copper-bottomed pot or a brass/copper stockpot, spoon out the vegetable masala to make a thick layer.


Add the boiled rice on top, evenly.
Pour the milk-with-saffron on top.
Add dots of ghee evenly on the top, especially near the sides (where the melted ghee can trickle down easily till the bottom once the pot is hot)
Strew on the mint leaves.


Cover with a tight-fitting lid (any lid will do, but a tight fitting lid is ideal), and cook a low flame till little curls of steam start escaping from the sides of the lid. The kitchen will start being scented by the fresh scent of mint.


Remove from the flame, serve (ensuring that you scoop out till the bottom, to get even portions of rice and veggies) hot.

Enjoy!

Unlike most biryanis which take ages to prep and cook, this one is done from start to finish in a little over an hour. Provided you have fresh mint leaves at hand! :D

Mini Black Crackers - bite-sized puffs of deliciousness!

With the explosion in the import of 'gourmet' foods into India by unorganised importers, (and not a planned ,full-scale India invasion by MNC food companies like Kraft) every visit to the supermarket reveals some surprise nugget in the 'imported foods' section. Which might or might not be there the next time you visit.

One such amazing thing (so awesome that it justifies an entire blog post to itself!) is the Mini Black crackers that Dad picked up a couple of weeks ago. Manufactured by Gloria Bisco (an Indonesian biscuit company), the name is kind of a misnomer. While the biscuits ARE mini (nibble-sized), they are neither black nor are they crackers (or is it me just who thinks crackers are salty?!).



What they are is small, dainty, chocolate-brown puffs with a (supposedly funny) picture traced in yellow on their smooth rounded surface and with little grill/pinch marks on their flat bottoms.


But what is more attractive their their perfectly-finished appearance is their texture as you pop one into your mouth - the most amazing balance between crisp and soft - a softly crunchy morsel of chocolatey goodness! AND there's more to come - a micro-ration of chocolate cream filled in the centre of each biscuit. Smooth and velvety, this daub of chocolate cream is the surprise hit of the entire package.


And all of this - dainty looks, great taste and chocolate cream filling - all packed into one tiny biscuit no more the size of a checkers piece. It is rightly said - big things DO come in small packages!