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.

Banana Nut & Chocolate Chip Muffins

There were days when I used to step in a book store (like Borders or B&N) and buy any cookery book that had good pictures and cost less than $10. "Cookies" was one such bargain book that landed in my shopping basket. This is the first recipe that I tried from it when I had some left over bananas that were getting really ripe. The muffins were just perfect, nothing fancy and not too sweet, but just as I would want a muffin to be. I intended to make only Banana Nut muffin, but the recipe called for chocolate chips, so I added just a little bit and not as much as the recipe dictated. I wish I hadn't done that. The hidden chocolate chips in the muffin were a real thrill when bitten into, and I just kept longing for more of those random chocolatey bites.

A note to myself: Recipe from "Cookies" on Pg 336. Add as much chocolate chips as the recipe calls for :)

Cabbage Koottu for Pooris

This is the one and only dish so far that I like of cabbage. And I don't just like, but I love cabbage when cooked this way. Amma got this recipe from a friend and it is her next go to side dish for Puris after the usual potato masala. It is best for puri but works for chappathi as well.

Ingredients:

1/2 - large cabbage

1/2 cup - channa dhal

a litte oil

2 - cloves

1/2 tsp - mustard seeds

1/2 - medium sized onion (finely chopped)

1/2 tsp - turmeric powder

1 tsp - sambhar powder (or aachi kulambu milagai thool)

salt as required

To grind:

1/2 inch - ginger

2 or 3 cloves - garlic

2 tbs - coconut

Method:

Pressure cook the chopped cabbage and channa dhal with enough water (may be 3-4 whistles). Don't be fooled by the quantity of cabbage you get after cutting and increase the portion of channa dhal. I did this mistake and ended up making enough for a month. Remember, Cabbage shrinks - a lot!

Heat a little oil in a pan, add mustard seeds and when they splatter, add the cloves. Saute onions in the oil till the onions become translucent. (At this stage can add some chopped tomatoes if you prefer a little tartness). Add the turmeric powder, sambhar powder and salt. Mix well and then add the pressure cooked cabbage and dhal. Add a little water if required and let it boil for all the flavors to blend together. When the gravy boils add the coconut and ginger/garlic mixture and turn off the stove after a couple of minutes.

Try this next time when you are bored making potato masala to go with puris.

Spinach and Potato Curry

I found this recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks - Best Ever Indian Cookbook. When it comes to spinach I was either eating it raw in salads or as a mashed kuzhambu (with or without dhal). I was really in search of some other alternate form of making spinach, when I came across this recipe and liked it. Pretty simple and I don't think I can share the recipe online considering that it is taken from a book and all those copyright issues. So, just for my own reminder this is on Pg 318 of the book :). Something to remember: since we are adding the potatoes without boiling, we either need to be patient till it gets cooked well or microwave it for 2-3 mins before adding so that it gets cooked well. One thing that I didn't like though, was the recipe asks to blanch spinach in boiling water and then completely drain the water from spinach by squeezing it. Since I want to retain those nutrients I am thinking of making spinach rasam next time using this water. Not sure how that experiment will turn out. God save me! :)

Meatball Curry

First things first - here is the recipe for this awesome curry Meatball Curry.

I got the recipe from Vazhayila.com which is growing to become one of my favorite sites for getting recipes and also to get inspired about food photography. But I never end up taking such nice pictures, cos as soon as I finish cooking I want to dig in.

I made the meat balls with ground lamb. If you are a lamb lover you will love this dish. If you are not a lamb lover, you will still love this dish :). I made this curry for Idiyappam and Chappathi and it worked for both. When you make it for Chappathi, add a little bit more oil and less water / coconut milk so that it comes out like a gravy. While making it for idiyappam, lesser oil and more water and coconut milk to make it thinner (like stew consistency). The meatballs made me realize how much flavor could be imparted by a simple thing as adding just a couple of chopped garlic and green chillies; and slow cooking in coconut milk makes the meat balls perfect.

If you are a non-vegetarian, this is a must try. If you are a vegetarian, its high time you change cos you are missing this awesome dish.

Methi Dhal

Recipe by Bhanu Sistla

Ingredients:
Toor Dhal - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - 1 small bunch
Methi leaves - 1 bunch
Tomato - 1
Salt - as required
Oil - as health conscience dictates :)
Mustard seeds - as required
Jeera - as required
Hing - a pinch
Curry leaves - few
Red chillies - as required
Green chillies - as required
Ginger (crushed)- 1 tsp
Garlic (crushed) - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chilli powder - as required :)
Coraiander powder - little :)
Cumin powder - little :)
Aachi kulambu milagai thool - little :)
Sugar - little

* little :) means use as u please

Note:
(Recipes passed on through word of mouth never have exact tsp, tbl, cup wise measurements for ingredients)

Method:

Pressure cook the dhal, coriander leaves, methi leaves along with chopped tomatoes and salt with enough water. Might want to cook for about 6 - 8 whistles so that the dhal is completely cooked. Do not try to add more dhal thinking you have bigger bunch of methi. It will shrink to an inconspicuous quantity when cooked and you will end up searching for methi leaves in your dhal.
In a separate kadai, add some oil and splatter mustard seeds and then add jeera. Add a pinch of hing followed by curry leaves, red and green chillies. Follow it up with crushed ginger and garlic and then all the spice powders. Before you burn it up, pour this into the cooked methi dhal. Add little sugar in the end to the dhal to enhance flavor (as said in most recipes and what I follow blindly).

What's so special about this Methi Dhal? Well, it totally transformed two things (dhal and greens) that I don't like, into a dish that I absolutely love. I have come to like methi so much and appreciate its flavor. Thanks to my friend Bhanu for giving me the recipe. I have finally put this in writing, so that I wouldn't disturb her again for the n-th time asking for this recipe.

Red Velvet Cake

I had a red velvet cake in CPK sometime back and loved it. Not being a sweet person myself, I accept that is was the color and the rich look of the cake that made me fall for it. I tried it out last week for Karthik's birthday and it came out well. I used Martha Stewart's recipe for this. Not sure if this is how the original red velvet cake is supposed to be made but this one worked for me. The picture above shows only the frosting, so here is a picture of a slice of the cake.

The cake was red and soft, like it was supposed to be. Remember while making this bloody red cake (applies to any cake actually) that your kitchen could get painted red if you are not careful while using the electric mixer. Always turn off the mixer and wait till the blades have stopped rotating before lifting it off the cake batter, or else you will end up with a highly artistic looking kitchen! Also, have two cake pans, when making a two layered cake as this. Since, I had only one pan I had to pour what I thought was half the batter for the first layer and the remaining went in for my second layer. I ended up having two cakes of different heights. I absolutely need to buy another cake pan if I ever intend to bake more. One good thing was I made the cake the previous day and refrigerated it after wrapping it in plastic wrap, so the cake was completely cool to accept the frosting the next day.

The frosting is the Seven Minute Frosting by Martha Stewart. The frosting was so delicious but that was after I figured out how to make it. I burnt the sugar syrup during the first try. It solidified instantly when I poured it into the egg whites mixture during my second try. So, I decided to guess for myself what I need to do with the sugar syrup. Where the recipe said "Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until sugar has dissolved" - I changed to "low" heat to prevent burning again. Since, I had no candy thermometer I removed it from heat within a few minutes after it started boiling. After I figured out the consistency of the sugar syrup everything else went well. And finally, after 2 hours I finished making the 7-minute frosting! But it was worth it, when it turned out the way it did.

Something to remember for next time: After applying frosting on the first layer allow it to set/solidify a little bit before placing the second layer of cake on top of it. Otherwise, the frosting gets squeezed out to the sides leaving almost no frosting between the layers.

Deep Dark Chocolate Cake

I wanted my first blog to be special, and nothing cries out 'Special' more than a dessert. Thanks to Madhu for pointing me out to this recipe. I got this from her post @ Deep-Dark-Chocolate-Cake-with-Shiny-Ganache. I have baked this cake twice now and it turned out great both the times. It is the moistest cake that I have ever had. Main pointer here: 'Follow the recipe as is, do not omit even a single letter it says.' Though this cake tastes so good by itself, pairing it with raspberries makes it heavenly. I guess fresh strawberries/ raspberries both would work well, though I messed up the look of my cake by adding frozen raspberries instead.
Points to remember:
a. This recipe is perfect. Beat when it says Beat; Blend when it says Blend; Mix when it says Mix; Fold when it says Fold.
b. Pour the Glaze and don't try to apply it with a spatula. Check out the video on how to apply frosting by Martha Stewart here.
c. Pair with fresh raspberries. (Could try making a cranberry syrup next time.Bound to taste good.)
d. Use your husband for mixing ;) I made the cake once with his help in mixing and once with a stand mixer. The cake was much softer when he did it!