The unlikely but eventually harmonious marriage of Orange and Garlic

Like the priest who keeps a straight face despite the nagging premonition that the couple standing before him will not last, I managed to marry orange and garlic in a bold, new dish. Yes, I ran through the motions with complete seriousness and finally pronounced them co-ingredients. What can I say? It paid off. They’re still together.

I have an online food challenge to thank for this strangely experimental dish. Every week, the challenge urged you to throw completely disparate ingredients together while cooking. Spicy with sweet. Crunchy with soft. Tea with mushrooms. It called for wracking your head and pushing boundaries. It made cooking bold and unusual. Most of all, it was education by discovery. As for the end results, sometimes the fusion yielded an instant classic and sometimes it threw up a cropper. But, like me, if all you need is an excuse to cook, you’ll understand that the joy is as much in the jamming as it is in how it ultimately turns out.   

Before I reveal the recipe, a little about this dish. A tajine or tagine is a dish from North Africa. It is named after the special earthenware pot in which it is best cooked. Now I don’t own an authentic Moroccan tagine and chances are neither do you, unless you’re the erstwhile wife of a Moroccan prince. So be pleased to know that a saucepan gives results that are just as good. Now what I’ve done is combined a couple original recipes and made some tweaks. While I’ve chosen lamb, I reckon this should work very well with pork or beef too.

So happy experimenting. And should the garlic and the orange start to bicker on your palate, remember that thing your mother said about having to kiss a dozen frogs before you meet your knight.

Ingredients

• 1 kg boneless leg of lamb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups sliced onion
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• spice mix (you can roast a little and pound some of the below spices together to get the mixture. I find that very convenient)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon crushed red chillies
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick, ground
• 2 cups water or chicken stock
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 cups orange sections (about 3 oranges)
• 1/2 cup chopped pitted dates or raisins or prunes
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

Preparation

• Heat oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add half the lamb; cook for 5 minutes or until lamb is browned. Remove from pan. Repeat procedure with remaining lamb
• In the same pan and in the remaining oil, add onion and sauté for 7 minutes or until tender. Add ginger, garlic and spice mix, stirring to combine. Sauté for 2 minutes
• Return lamb to pan; stir in water/stock and salt. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 90 mins or so, or until tender, stirring occasionally
• Uncover and simmer for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add orange sections and dates/raisins/prunes, stirring gently to combine, and cook for 5 minutes. Sprinkle fresh coriander and serve with some couscous.  

A shadow valley and some fresh, beautiful cheese

Vallombrosa, T C Palya, Bangalore

The last place where you’d expect to indulge in fine cheese is within the austere environs of a monastery. But hold that thought. Nestled in a quiet bylane in T C Palya is a charming monastery where Benedictine monks indeed churn out world-class cheese in their cheese-making unit called Vallombrosa. Begun as an attempt to sustain the monastery in 2005, it's one of Bangalore’s best kept secrets. And if you’re a cheese lover, its heaven on earth.

My first visit to Vallombrosa was not without struggle. After negotiating several turns, I finally spotted the board. As soon as I entered the gate, the place struck me as wonderfully tranquil. There is a small mission church on the right. Alongside it stands a monastery constructed in brick and stone and with white-washed interior walls. Once you have placed your order with Father Michael or Father Jinse, you can sit down and wait on stone benches out in the open from where you can view the cheese making unit. As you wait for your requirements to get packed, you naturally start hunting out the big bovines, probably ones with massive curling horns. But you won’t find any. That’s because the milk is sourced from places like Hosur and Hoskote every day to make about 50 kgs of cheese.

Vallombrosa produces fresh buffalo mozzarella, bocconcini (Italian cheese balls), ricotta (whey cheese), mascarpone, goat’s cheese and parmesan. Best eaten a few hours after it’s made, Mozzarella is soft, milky and light. Ricotta is a byproduct of Mozzarella. Bocconcini are small mozzarella cheeses the size of an egg. Mascarpone is made from cream, coagulated with citric acid, acetic acid or even lemon juice. Goat’s cheese or chèvre (French for goat) has a mildly pungent flavor and is a delightfully versatile ingredient in the kitchen. Parmigiano-Reggiano, also known in English as Parmesan, is a hard, granular cheese commonly grated over pasta dishes, stirred into soups and risottos or even eaten on its own.

Inspired by Vallombrosa, I’ve been rediscovering cheese and a dozen cheese recipes. Below is a very simple Ricotta recipe for you to try out.

And if you’re curious about the name, Vallombrosa means ‘Shadow Valley’ and is a place in Italy that houses the Benedictine sect. But there are no dark shadows at Vallombrosa. There is just the pleasant color and heartwarming flavor of fine cheese. 

Where: TC Palya, KR Puram

Ph: 98454 49064

Stuffed Zucchini Rolls – a Gordon Ramsay recipe, slightly adapted

Ingredients

• 2 zucchinis, ends trimmed
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil , plus extra to drizzle
• 3-4 tbsp balsamic vinegar , to drizzle
• 125 gms ricotta
• juice of one lemon
• handful of fresh basil leaves , chopped
• walnuts , toasted
• salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Slice the zucchinis lengthways, using a swivel vegetable peeler so that you get long, thin, wide strips, about 15 strips. Drizzle some of the olive oil and balsamic over two large plates and lay the strips flat, trying not to overlap

• Sprinkle with more oil and balsamic, cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 20 mins. Can be prepared up to 6 hrs ahead

• Mix the ricotta with lemon juice and seasoning to taste, then mix in the basil and walnuts. Place 1 tsp of the ricotta mixture onto one end of a zucchini strip and roll up. Repeat until you have used up all the filling. Arrange rolls upright on a plate and grind over some black pepper. Drizzle with a little more oil and balsamic vinegar to serve

Makes for a fantastic fresh and light snack!

Summerdays

Summer Days or Lithe Days is a group of three or four days of feasting and celebration that fall between the months of Lithe and Mede (June and July) of the Hobbit calendar. It’s the time of the ‘Free Fair’ in the Shire with hundreds of Hobbits hobnobbing to celebrate summer and to buy and sell goods. The word ‘lithe’ means ‘mild or balmy’ in terms of weather. So I guess the celebrations were accompanied by temperate midsummer days.

But we’re not so blessed with a temperate summer in our world. Everybody agrees the heat is simply oppressive this year. But with a little inspiration and some new ideas, my kitchen is doing a fine job of not capitulating to the heat. Instead, we’re busy capturing, even preserving, the energy and the excitement of summer through a host of jams, preserves, tarts and sauces… all hinging on the abundance of exotic fruit this season.

From luscious litchis, grapes and mangoes to oranges, watermelons, pineapples, berries and plums... they’re all in bloom and they can all be put to good use. Whether you have a favorite fruit or you're just looking to make jams and preserves, go ahead and try some of these recipes without further ado. Summer will not last all year. But your preserves most certainly will. And what better way to capture a season than to freeze its color and taste in a jar and to dip into it at leisure afterwards?  

Strawberry Jam

Makes 2 x 200ml jars

Ingredients:

• 600 gms ripe strawberries
• 300 gms sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

 Method:

•  Wash the strawberries and discard any rotten ones. Put into a wide, thick-bottomed pan, and mix with the sugar and the lemon juice until well coated. With your hands, mash it all up into a rough pulp. Boil the jam for about 20-25 minutes , stirring regularly. Keep skimming off froth from the top.
• In the last 5 minutes of boiling, check the setting point every minute or so. To do this, place a cold saucer in the freezer early on, take it out when checking the setting point, put a little jam on it, and put it back in to cool for a minute. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, then it's done. Strawberry jam is unlikely to set very solid though, so don't expect the same results as you would with a marmalade.
• Take off the heat, cool and pour into sterilised jars. Seal and store.

 *Note
To sterilise the preserving jars wash them in hot soapy water and put the glass jars in a large pan with boiling water for 15 minutes or until the jars are required. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.



Orange Marmalade

Makes 3 x 200ml jars

Ingredients:

• 2 kgs oranges
• 800 gms sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Peel of 1 orange, julienned (optional; skip if you don't like the slight bitterness in marmalade)

 Method:

• Peel oranges, cut the flesh into small pieces and  remove seeds
• Add sugar, vanilla extract and lemon juice. Set aside for an hour
• Cook along with orange peel for 45 mins on medium heat, stirring from time to time
• Blend lightly with a hand blender
• Take off the heat, pour into sterilised jars, seal and flip the jars so that all the fruit bits don’t settle in the bottom. Let cool. Store.

*Note

To sterilise the preserving jars, wash them in hot soapy water and put the glass jars in a large pan with boiling water for 15 minutes or until the jars are required. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.

Grape Jam

 
Makes 1 x 200ml jar

Ingredients:

• 600 gms grapes 
• 1/2 cup sugar(grapes were sweet, so I used less sugar)
• Juice of 1 lemon

 Method:

•  Wash the grapes and discard any rotten ones. Put into a wide, thick-bottomed pan, and mix with the sugar and the lemon juice until well coated.  Boil the jam for about 20-25 minutes , stirring regularly and mashing into a rough pulp as they cook. Keep skimming off froth from the top.
• In the last 5 minutes of boiling, check the setting point every minute or so. To do this, place a cold saucer in the freezer early on, take it out when checking the setting point, put a little jam on it, and put it back in to cool for a minute. If it wrinkles when you push it with your finger, then it's done. 
• Take off the heat, cool and pour into sterilised jars. Seal and store.

*Note
To sterilise the preserving jars, wash them in hot soapy water and put the glass jars in a large pan with boiling water for 15 minutes or until the jars are required. Fill hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel.

Fruit Tart

Recipe for sweet shortcrust pastry

Ingredients: 

• 100g plain flour
• 30g icing sugar
• pinch of salt
• 50g butter, cubed
• 1-2 tbsp cold water

Method:

Although the measures are different and the recipe is without sugar, you can follow this link to learn how to make short crust pastry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siW_wm9TnA.

• Sift the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter.
• Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. Try to work quickly so that it does not become greasy.
• Stir in just enough cold water to bind the dough.
• Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour before using.

Recipe for filling and tart

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh fruit, cut (I used figs, grapes and apples)
• 1/4 cup sugar
• zest and juice of half a lemon
• generous pinch of salt
• sweet shortcrust pastry (recipe above)
• 1 egg

 Method:

•  Stir fruits, sugar, lemon, zest, salt together and let sit
• Cut your dough into 6 even sections, and roll each one out, on a floured surface, into a square shape of even thickness
• Place a good sized dollop of filling in the center of your rolled out dough
• Fold and press the edges of your dough to seal in the filling
• Egg Wash - Gently beat the egg in a bowl and coat the dough with a pastry brush dipped in the beaten egg
• Bake tarts at 200 degrees C for 20-30 minutes

      

No Leftovers

It’s no secret that Bengali food is cooked with elaborate precision. But did you know that we also rescue a variety of leftovers from the margins of the chopping board and give them a second life? Spinach ends. Vegetable peel. Flowers. Everything is accorded a place on the dining table. And I know no greater defender of these second-class citizens (sometimes third-class citizens) of the animal and plant kingdom than my own mother.

Here, then, are some interesting dishes she manages to cook almost entirely out of a hodgepodge of culinary leftovers.

Leaves, stems and flowers: Taro leaves, pumpkin leaves, radish leaves, ash gourd leaves, bottle gourd leaves, tender shoots of the marigold plant… under my mother’s enterprising and diligent hands, they all morph into new and surprising recipes on the dinner table. Taro leaves are those heart-shaped, bright green leaves that look like elephant’s ears. Apparently, they are most commonly associated with Hawaii where famous meals are named after the taro leaf. 

Leaves aside, even the flowers of vegetables like pumpkin, drumsticks and bakphul make for delightful fritters. But what truly takes the cake, in my opinion, is what I like to call the Taming of the Banana Tree. Like a Masai tribesman who makes the most comprehensive use of every single part of a poached elephant, my mother manages to leverage the entire banana tree. Under her watchful eye, the alert assembly line of her kitchen swallows the banana tree and blissfully issues a wonderful miscellany of items that are edible or simply useful or both. And if you think I’m exaggerating, here’s all that actually gets used: Stem. Pith. Flowers. Leaves. Fruit (not just the ripe ones). See what I mean?

Vegetable odds, ends, and peels: A dice of vegetables along with odds and ends and even peels (of potatoes, squash, gourd, pumpkin, cauliflower or even potol) can all come together to create something interesting. They can be used to make a very characteristic Bengali chhenchki, labra, chorchori, ghonto or bata. Of course the peels make for splendid dishes all by themselves. 

Fish: In our household (as in many Bengali households), almost every part of the fish is eaten except for fins and innards. The head is particularly preferred. Other spare bits of fish are usually used to flavor curries and lentils. A few years ago, when I was recounting this to a friend, her only question was, What do you make with the silvery shiny scales? Well, rest assured it has most certainly crossed my mother’s mind and she will find some use for it sooner or later.  

So what is amusing, even astonishing, to outsiders about Bengali culinary habits can be just another day in the kitchen for us. And I have a feeling this enthusiastic and single-mindedly utilitarian attitude towards culinary scraps is very much in line with the Indian way of doing things. It’s a marvelous combination of thrift and innovation. A sort of culinary jugaad. So there. But more importantly, if there’s ever a nationwide depression and food is rationed out, I know my mother will pull us through. We will all last for about three days on a single fish. Maybe a whole week on a single banana tree. Now you understand my obsessive relationship with food. It runs in the family. 

Piece of Cake

Banana Cupcakes with Creamy Spiced Frosting

To tell you the truth, I fell in love with the cupcake pan first, and the cupcakes afterward.

Lately, I’ve been buying all kinds of kitchen equipment. It’s an overwhelming urge. In fact, the more inconsequential the tool, the better. Kitchen funnels, wire whisks of different sizes, pan scrapers and all kinds of slotted spoons. Now cupcake pans aren’t inconsequential of course. But the point is until I saw the pan, I had no urge to bake cupcakes.

So on a bright Sunday morning, I adapted a Martha Stewart recipe. Including the frosting, it’s a fifteen minute job. The rest is really done by the oven. My friends love them and I now have another recipe in my little arsenal that I can go back to again and again. And probably even try a little something new with it each time.

If you’re into baking, give it a shot. And share with friends. They’ll love you for it. After a little practice on your part of course (my first few attempts were well, not exactly a piece of cake).

I also discovered this interesting tip: the amount of batter you put in the cup determines the shape of the cupcake. In cups that are half full, the batter rises to the edge (or slightly below the edge) and you get what I like to call a Tom Cruise. A small, straight-top cupcake. Cups that are two-thirds full tend to bake into George Clooney. That’s the traditional cupcake shape. And if you fill the cup three-quarters full, the cupcake will rise above the edge of the liner and expand outward. That’s Hugh Jackman.  

So think about which shapes and sizes work best for you. And fill the cups accordingly.

Banana Cupcakes with Creamy Spiced Frosting

Prep Time - 15 minutes        Total Time - 40 minutes including frosting                  Yield - Makes 12

Recipe for Banana cupcake

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups plain flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 50g unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 5 small, very ripe bananas)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• Spiced frosting (recipe below)

Directions:

•  Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• Make a well in center of flour mixture. In the well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups.
•  Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack. Spread tops with spiced frosting (recipe below). Sprinkle some chocolate chips or chopped walnuts on top if desired.

Recipe for spiced frosting

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cup icing sugar
• 40g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon milk

Directions:

• In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat all ingredients together until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes

Cuts like a knife, looks like a dream

If you decide to buy a Global knife – and by the end of this post I hope you’re inspired to – you won’t be buying just a knife. You’ll be buying a work of art. And it will change everything it touches in your kitchen.

Ever since I got it, my Global Chef’s knife has been the only chopping tool I’ve used. It’s lightweight and comes with a short, non-slip handle. So it slips in and out of your hand with all the easy poise of a wine glass. Then of course there is the wonderfully thin but sharp blade that can cut into almost anything effortlessly. Vegetables. Meat. Even fish. A knife’s key feature is its edge and the Global edge is truly its signature.   

So that’s what a good knife is supposed to do, you say. What’s all the fuss about? Well, in addition to being such a brilliant kitchen companion, the Global Knife is – and there is no other way to put it - a poem written in steel. One look at it and you will know what I’m talking about. All Global knives are fashioned from a single piece of stainless steel. From the point of the blade and all the way to the butt of the handle. And marking that handle is a lovely profusion of dimples, designed to prevent slippage. With an almost Zen-like beauty inhabiting its sleek, elegant design, the Global Knife is the most quietly beautiful piece of cutlery in the world. And it knows it.  

I was introduced to this little marvel while reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly. In a chapter titled, “How to Cook Like the Pros” he implores readers to replace all their kitchen knives with a single Global Chef's knife. From the moment I read that I was hooked. Not only did I nag a friend who was vacationing overseas to buy it for me but I quickly followed that purchase with a smaller Global Cook’s knife AND a Global sharpening tool. Of course I didn’t really need a second Global knife. But once you use it, you will tend to agree that the only thing better than a Global knife is two Global knives.

So the workday has wound to an end. I saunter into my kitchen to prepare dinner. A mental map of the next hour is already forming in my head. My eyes scan the kitchen, and then rest on my Global knife. A knife that’s crafted with the same vigor and precision once applied to swords produced for the Samurai. I pick it up and my fingers graze the dimples on its handle. They only accentuate the incredible smoothness of its one piece steel design. It is the color of satin pillow cases. It is the color of alabaster.  

I am ready to begin.

*************

 “Don't touch my dick, don't touch my knife.” 
― Anthony Bourdain, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

I Upset The Apple Cart

Tarte Tatin, upside down apple tart 

No, it's not Tintin's Belgian name. And nor is it esoteric French abuse. But it boasts a curious history nonetheless. And its parents are fatigue and serendipity. 

Curious? Well, read on.

Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart. The fruit (usually apples) are caramelized in butter and sugar before the tart is baked. It was created by accident in France many years ago. One day, restaurateur Stephanie Tartin was making a traditional apple pie. Exhausted, she forgot about the apples cooking in butter and sugar. Smelling the burning, she tried to rescue the dish by putting the pastry base on top of the pan of apples. She then put the whole pan in the oven to finish cooking it. After turning out the upside down tart, she was pleasantly surprised at how much her guests loved it!

Now if only my life in the kitchen was full of fortunate accidents like that one.

Anyway, I first learned to make this upside down tart while watching an episode of Masterchef Australia. I loved the look of the dessert. I could tell what it would taste like. And I just had to try my hand at it. Since then, I have made it a couple of times. I have also managed to create a savory version. For me, the big task was to make a good pastry. I wasn't too nervous about the caramel.

My recipe for Tarte Tatin has a little Indian touch. It’s got tamarind in it. I was curious about how tangy tamarind and a quintessential French dessert would get along. Curiously, they get along quite famously (in my humble opinion of course).  

It’s not difficult to make (honest) and it tastes wonderful when served warm with ice cream.

So here goes.

Recipe for sweet shortcrust pastry

Traditionally this is made with puff pastry but I haven’t tried that yet. This one is a much simpler pastry to make and it works well. I do hope to make a successful tart with puff pastry soon.

Ingredients:

• 200g plain flour
• 60g icing sugar
• pinch of salt
• 100g butter, cubed
• 2-3 tbsp cold water

Method:

Although the measures are different and the recipe is without sugar, you can follow this link to learn how to make short crust pastry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1siW_wm9TnA. Easy and foolproof. And don’t assume I’m a Gordon Ramsay fan. Quite the contrary, in fact but that’s a different post!

• Sift the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and add the cubes of butter.
• Use your fingertips to rub the butter into the flour until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of butter remaining. Try to work quickly so that it does not become greasy.
• Stir in just enough cold water to bind the dough.
• Wrap the dough in clingfilm and refrigerate for at least an hour before using. 

Recipe for the caramel

Ingredients:

• 4 Fuji apples, peeled and cut into wedges 1.5 cm thick
• 1 tbsp tamarind extract (optional)
• 150g castor sugar
• 100 gms butter, cubed
• A few sprigs of rosemary
• ¼ cup water
• ¼ cup thick cream
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:

• On an 11 inch round, oven proof, non-stick pan, add half the butter and turn on the heat to medium. Once melted, sprinkle the sugar and allow it to turn golden in color, stirring continuously. You will need to add the water to help dissolve the sugar and also prevent it from burning.
• When the sugar has caramelized, add the tamarind extract, rosemary, vanilla essence and cream.
• After a couple of minutes, arrange the apple wedges like in the picture above to cover the base of the pan completely. Cook for 5-7 mins and then add the remaining butter all over. Turn the heat off.
• Roll out the pastry to a round that’s a little bigger than the base of the pan, lay it on top of the apples and tuck it in to cover all the caramel.
• Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees C and transfer the pan to the oven.
• Remove after 45 mins when the pastry is golden and cooked.
• Give it 3-4 minutes to rest and then flip the pan over onto a plate turning the tart upside down.
• Adjust the apples if need be, and serve warm with vanilla ice cream.