Creme Brulee

When you are back to blogging after so long, you better be back with a bang. So, I am back with a dessert that is fancy and yet so simple to make.

I can't remember how long ago (may be 3 or 4 years) it was, that I purchased a Creme Brulee set with ramekins and torch. When I bought it, honestly I didn't know what creme brulee was or how it tasted except for having seen in Food Network how they work that torch and I thought it would be fun to burn food intentionally :). Since then I have tried creme brulee in restaurants and know what it should feel and taste like with the hard sugar crust on top and smooth custard below.

I followed Alton Brown's recipe for making Creme Brulee. I pretty much followed the recipe to the tee, except for using pure vanilla extract instead of the scraped vanilla bean and I used just regular sugar instead of vanilla sugar. The texture of the crust and the custard were exactly as I expected. Yum! Now, I just need to invest in a good quality torch and more ramekins cos 4 teeny ramekins are never gonna be enough :)

Note: As the recipe mentions, do leave the custard outside the refrigerator 30 minutes before torching. I was impatient when I did my next batch the next day and torched right out of the refrigerator and the crust wasn't as good as the day before.

Here are a few pictures from this successful experiment. Karthik helped with torching.

Torched and ready to serve. 

 And Ayya relishing it :) !

Sambar Rice

For a long time I have been searching for the best procedure to make Sambar Sadham or what I like to call as 'Bisi Bela Bath' (just because i think it sounds funny). But my different experiments from different recipes have always failed, as the rice would become lumpy and never be that smooth creamy consistency that I would love to have. I finally found the procedure that worked from Vazhayila.com, although in her blog Sarah calls her procedure as the not-so-authentic version, it tasted totally authentic and heavenly to me. The recipe for Sambar Rice is here: Bisi-Bele-Bath. I followed the rice: water ratio as given in the recipe, leaving rice for 3 - 4 whistles to cook. Similary, the ratio of dhal: water also worked as in the recipe and I left the dhal to cook longer for 6 whistles. Also, after adding all the vegetables, tamarind and cooked dhal and before pressure cooking the dhal for a second time, I made sure that there was seemingly more than enough water as that stage (the key is seemingly more than enough water). This ensured that after the rice was added and let to stand, the desired consistency of the sambar rice was not lost. And I being a stingy person when it comes to adding salt (God! everyone complains about that) also made sure that according to my taste buds there was more than enough salt as well, so that when the rice is added it all balances out well. And oh!... Don't forget to add the peanuts while tempering. I think it is a must and no one should make sambar rice without them ;)

Although the recipe calls this "Quick Dinner", it took about 2 hours for a novice like me, (let's hope that I gradually learn to become more efficient), but it was 2 hours that was totally well spent. I already made this for some guests and they loved it too. Thanks to Vazhayila.com!

Home-made Lamb Burger

Burgers and fast foods not just for Drive-thru. That's what I realized after making my own lamb burger at home. And when you make at home you can be assured it is healthy and made with the freshest of ingredients with Olive Oil instead of the saturated vegetable oil used at Fast Food places. I followed the tips from Woman's Day magazine for making the burger patty. I just substituted the ground beef with ground lamb and a little bit more spice than what the meat called for, to satisfy my taste buds.

One 1/2 kg pack of ground lamb (I got mine from Publix) makes 4 burgers.

Ingredients (for patty):

• Ground lamb - 1/2 kg
• Garlic - 4 (minced)
• Green chillies - 3 to 4 (minced)
  
• Pepper - 1 tsp
• Salt - as required

To make the sandwich I used slightly toasted burger buns with mayonnaise spread, lettuce, tomato, red onion and cheese. But when it comes to burger, it is all about the patty. Method below:

Method:

Mix all the ingredients mentioned for patty together. Divide into 4 equal sized balls. Flatten the balls to a patty. The patty should be slightly wider than the buns (because they shrink in diameter when grilled). Do not make them too thin as the meat will dry out quickly and will loose its moisture. Heat the grill pan and once it is hot, coat it with Olive Oil. Place the patty on the grilling and drizzle with more Olive Oil on top. Leave alone on medium heat for 5 minutes on one side. Turn sides and cook the other side for 5 minutes as well (or till a instant read thermometer, inserted from the side to the center, registers 160 degrees. Yes, I bought one just for making these burgers.). Turn off the heat and let the meat rest for a few minutes before assembling the burger. Tip from years of watching Food Network: Do not press down the patty when it is cooking as it will squeeze out all the juice from the meat and make the patty hard and dry. Just leave it alone!

Spinach Soup

When you start eating healthy, it usually means you are becoming more responsible (which of course, means you are growing old! Ugh!) But when I find tasty ways of eating healthy, I do not regret it one bit. This Spinach Soup is one such totally cool recipe that I doesn't make me feel even one bit that I am eating healthy. Here is the recipe link: Spinach Soup. I followed the recipe as is and I loved the end product. One tip: make sure you completely grind the soup to a really smooth consistency without any left out pieces. If there are solids left behind, to me personally, it spoils the experience :). Also, judge for yourselves, if you want to add some raw spinach as the recipe suggests. It adds a really good color but if you feel that your spinach didn't look very clean or if it has stayed in your refrigerator for a couple of days then just don't risk eating raw spinach.

This soup also taught me one very valuable lesson, for which Karthik and I had to pay a very heavy price of completely cleaning the kitchen and all its exposed components. When using a Indian style mixer to grind something that contains a lot of liquids in it, either make sure you are strong enough to fight the mixer's urge to throw off the lid, or just don't do it. Instead use a blender (mixers do not come with blender and juicer attachments for no apparent reason). I, of course, learnt it the hard way, after my entire kitchen and myself included, got bathed in a mixture of hot chicken stock and milk :(. Amma's tip: When you grind a mixture of liquids and solid pieces like that, make sure you pour in the solids first and once they are ground, you can then add the liquids and mix it up.

Kathrikkai Thakkali Kadaisal

Have you heard about the term "Comfort Food"? This is my idea of comfort food. Idli and dosai are comfort food for any South Indian, but for me this simple Kathrikkai Thakkali Kadaisal for idli or dosa is heavenly comfort. I love the tangy taste and the fact that there is a vegetable in it which you would not even realize. This recipe is from Amma, which she got from her amma who got from her amma ......

Ingredients:

• Oil - 1 tsp
  
• Cumin Seeds - for seasoning
• Curry leaves - for seasoning
• Green chillies - 3 (finely chopped)
• Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
• Medium sized Onion - 1/2 (finely chopped)
• Brinjal - 2 (finely chopped)
• Large tomatoes - 3 (finely chopped)
• Salt - as required
  

Method:
Pour oil in a kadai and season with cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add green chillies and then the onions and fry for 2-3 mins. Then add turmeric powder and mix. When onions are cooked add the brinjal and fry for 2 mins followed by tomatoes. Pour sufficient water and add salt. Cover and cook till the brinjal and tomatoes are completely cooked and mushy. Turn off the stove and mash down with a masher while it is still hot.

The best vessel to make this is with the rustic looking aluminium vessel and stir & mash down with a thayir mathu (the act of 'kadaisal'). Thats how it should be truly made to be true to its name :). But we spoil it completely, and prepare this in a non-stick pan and blend in a blender (definitely, not the same and not even close).

Note: I also found a variation of this without the brinjals @ Daily Musings blog that has a catalog of several Kongu Naadu recipes: Thakkali Kuzhambu

Pori Urundai

Usually i keep pori (puffed rice) at home to quickly make a evening snack. One odd day I had this one odd craving to have something sweet. That's when I thought of how much I missed pori urundai. I immediately started Googling - the first step to find something new or old, and came across this very helpful detailed procedure on how to make it on Rak's Kitchen. Here is the link: Pori Urundai. I followed all the tips mentioned there to get the right consistency of the syrup and everything just worked. I was glad that it came together well, cos' my previous try several years earlier, when I was still in school was a disaster. I ended up serving burnt "pori-bars" to our neighbors who had to eat it as they did not want to disappoint a anxious looking school girl :)

Olive Garden Salad

If a way to a man's heart is through his stomach, what does one do when that only way is blocked because of "Dieting" ??? This Olive Garden Salad recipe was a blessing during those times. Olive Garden's salad was the one that changed my perception about eating salads. There were even days when I craved for this salad (I never imagined that would ever happen to a chick-a-tarian like me). A salad is not just about the dressing that goes in it but also the freshness/crispness of the vegetables (particularly, lettuce) that is used. So, the most important tip for this salad, use only fresh lettuce and within 3 days of its purchase.