Seekh kebab stir fry

This dish is my trump card. It is reserved for the days when there's only aaloo-gobhi and daal for dinner, and husband is whining for meatier stuff. I apologize if the post title is a bit misleading. You see, I don't exactly prepare the seekh kebabs; I simply use the frozen variety.  

Ingredients:

1. Venkey's (or any other brand) seekh kebabs

2. Peppers (green, red, yellow) - cubed

3. 1 large onion - chopped lengthwise

4. 2 green chillies - slit lengthwise (preferable deseeded)

5. 1 tsp ginger - finely chopped

6. 1 tsp garlic - finely chopped

8. Fresh coriander - chopped

7. Pudina chutney

8. Spring onions

9. Salt, red chilli powder, crushed pepper powder and chat masala

Method:

1. Heat a little ( I make do with a teaspoon) oil in a non-stick pan.

2. Saute ginger and garlic for a minute or so.

3. Saute onions till they're transparent.

4. Throw in the bell peppers and stir fry till they are slightly tender, but make sure they don't entirely lose their crunch.

5. Add salt, red chilli powder and crushed pepper and give it a mix.

6. In a separate pan, saute the kebabs till they are nice and brown.

7. Once the kebabs are done, you can cut them into bite-sized pieces.

8. Next, mix the stir-fried veggies with the kebabs.

9. Sprinkle a pinch of chat masala.

10. Add a few drops of lemon juice.

11. Garnish with chopped coriander.

12. Serve in a pretty platter (isn't mine cute?) with mint chutney and spring onions.

Extra notes:

1. The best thing about these frozen kebabs is that you don't need to thaw them. Just take them out of the freezer, shake off the ice bits and you are ready to stir fry them.

2. You can add more veggies to it to make the dish more wholesome.

Kitchen Essentials

This may sound vain, but what woman doesn't love her kitchen accessories? Here are a few of my favourite things, which are not only functional, but also add to the style quotient when I am entertaining at home. 

1.  My cousin gifted me this lovely silver butter dish. I took it out once when we had guests over for breakfast, and it was an instant hit! The only sad bit is that silver tends to get a bit tarnished over time. 

2. Check out this golden platter.  I often hear oohs and aahs when I bring in the cake on it.

  

3. Since my husband doesn't drink tea, my mom-in-law gifted me this single cup silver tea-set, thinking it would be perfect for me. It is! 

4. My cute ceramic jars. Air-tight too!

5. A set of sexy red platters. Cousin's gift :)

6. So we had a set of golden cutlery, and I didn't know what to team it with. Then we got this colourful (yellow, pink, green, blue, purple and orange) dinner set with gold rim. Perfect match! 

7. Meet Meenakshi, the star of my kitchen!

Kesar Kulfi

As per a typical Indian tradition, a new bride is supposed to cook something sweet (halwa, kheer, etc.) when she goes to her 'sasural' for the first time after the wedding. I was a culinary novice when we got married (can't believe I am writing a food blog already!), and thankfully, no one asked me to cook anything at that time. However, after we got married, my maid Meenakshi (promise to do a post on her soon) taught me quite a few things about cooking. And the next time we happened to go to Delhi, I insisted on making kulfi. Trust me, the in-laws were bowled over. Here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

1. 1 litre milk (approx 4 cups)

2. 8 medium-sized spoons of sugar

3. 1/2 tsp cardamom powder (freshly ground)

4. 1 tbsp skinned pista

5. 1 tbsp skinned badam

6. Saffron (kesar) - half a teaspoon

Method:

1. Add the kesar to the milk and boil on high flame.

2. After giving it one boil, cook it on low flame for about an hour (patience is the key people...oh and make sure you keep stirring it) till it becomes really thick and reduces to about 60% of its original quantity. Oh ok, make it 70%. Happy?

3. Now, add the cardamom powder, sugar and the nuts.

4. Stir for about 5 minutes so that the sugar dissolves completely.

5. Allow it to cool. Handy tip: cover with a plate while it cools...this way malai won't form on it. Yeah, I hate malai too.

6. When it has cooled down, pour it in an aluminium/steel container (I prefer an earthen bowl... not just for tashan, but 'coz it actually makes it creamier).

6. Seal the container with a cling film/foil.

7. Keep it in the super-freeze zone of your fridge.

8. Now the tough part. The long wait (we are talking overnight, or at least 8 hours). 

Extra notes:

1. I know kesar is expensive, but it really adds that magic to this dish. My sister-in-law recently got me Iranian kesar from a spice souk in Dubai, and it's fantastic. Ask your relatives abroad to get you the best quality kesar available.

2. If it's overly frozen, heat it in the microwave it for 15 secs just before serving.

3. Kulfi goes very well with hot gulab jamuns. Enjoy!

Drunken Butter Pepper Garlic Prawns

It's only apt that I flag off my food blog with my husband's recipe, for he's the one who introduced me to the joy of wining and dining. This 5-minute recipe is so simple that even VK manages to pull it off.

Ingredients:

1. Medium sized prawns - deveined

2. Butter - 1-2 tsp

3. Black pepper - 2-3 tbsp (coarsely ground)

4. Garlic - 2 tbsp (minced)

5. Green/red chillies - (finely sliced)

6. Light soy sauce - 2 tsp

7. Dark soy sauce - 2 tsp

8. Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat a wok/non-stick pan till it is medium hot (make sure it's not too hot or else the butter will burn).

2. Melt the butter and wait till it starts foaming.

3. Add pepper, garlic and chillies and stir fry for about 15 seconds. (it'll smell heavenly- that's what I call chef's delight!)

4. Add the prawns and stir fry them for about a minute (when you see them curl, try not to wonder whether you're cooking them alive).

5. Now add all the sauces and cook on low flame for about 2 minutes, so that the sauces thicken.

6. See if your prawns are thoroughly done. Their flesh should be opaque. If in doubt, undercook rather than overcook them.

7. Now for the 'drunken' part. I try this often, especially when we have VK's friends over, 'coz it goes well with their drinks. All you have to do is add about 2 tablespoons of whatever liquor you fancy (don't forget to turn off the flame before you add the liquor). We have tried the rum, whiskey and port wine flavours, and they all work very well. Skip this step if you don't want to add liquor.

Extra notes:

1. Make sure that you clean and devein the prawns thoroughly.

2. Avoid the frozen variety, they often taste flavourless. This recipe works best with fresh prawns.

3. It's OK if you don't have all the three sauces mentioned above. Just add whatever Chinsese/Thai sauces you have. I have tried this recipe with only fish sauce and black soy sauce, and it has come out well.

Enjoy with beer!