Its one of those days where I have a huge list of things to make.
Paneer Hariyali
Paneer biryani
potato in coconut masala (Hirva batata)
plantain gravy (Kele Ambat)
mixed vegetables in cashew sauce
beetroot yogurt gravy beetroot tambli
Flan de Narnja - Julia Child
In the little time that I too my eyes off Gourmet, the whole food world sat up and started taking a look at why food blog? After having decided the menu, with pleas from attending friends to not exhaust myself in the food making, I decided to not make Hirva batata as it turned out to be the same as plantain gravy with coconut which I was not happy with while making itself as it wasnt taking the texture I imagined it would be. This is one of the big reasons why I food blog. To find out if the final product is the same as the recipe makes it sound or look as its going to be. By then I had made Paneer Hariyali and Mixed vegetables in cashew sauce. Both turned out nice, so I wasnt in any imminent trouble of starving my friends. While making Paneer Haryali, I realised that you make it with spinach and not methi. Thats another reason - to find what ingredients go into what recipes. Another good thing that comes out of this knowledge is what to make of the left overs. I have some whipping cream left in the fridge, thats going to go as icing on to a velvet cake. While making the mixed vegetables, two things I noticed - I became better at frying vegetables and after tasting the creamy curry, I had a question as to how is it possible to test if the taste is right, especially for a person with only spicy hot and sweet as the points on the scale.
Looking for dessert recipes, I had two books at my disposal - Cooking Light and the Best of Bon Appetit. I cant shake the prejudice of looking at pictures while deciding on the dessert to make. I dont like cheesecake. My friend doesnt like Pavlova. I had already made a fudgy dessert. That narrowed the available recipes in Cooking Light to nil. From the Julia childs book I picked 'Flan de Naranja'. I had failed at making caramel last time. This time I followed Child's instruction of 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tbsps water brought to a boil on high heat and then medium heat without stirring. Right in front of me the caramel formed. This is another reason - to try out cooking techniques that I havent done before. I had flan at a colleagues house and had liked the set consistency of it, that I didnt achieve in mine as I had missed out on the 'refrigerating' part of the instructions. In a hurry, I had just gone through the ingredients, which teaches me a lesson to go through the whole recipe and avoid lack-of-time situations. Should recipes come with a note right under the ingredients if they need special treatment than the actual cooking time?
I almost forgot the beets raita. I couldnt find 'beet roots' at Frys. Luckily my roomate had brought a beets salad which was very convenient to use. I was very taken with the color factor of this raita. Another reason - to make and eat 'exuberant' food. This word lingered from the book Beyond blue. This is a way for me to marry literature with food.
I have a cake time coming up with three or more reasons in March. Easter (for having missed making a promised Christmas cake), a birthday, a farewell, a friendly visit. In this whole reason finding brouhaha, I just missed out on recounting the Friday dessert galore.
It was different from my expectations. Not a sit-down meal but the circle top stand-around table had a tower of desserts. The best was guiness brownie with piped chocolate on it around berries and a strip of basil. It being great not only did I have a second but urged others to try it. Later I didnt have to be coaxed to take another for the road. I had pannacotta which tasted like Shrikhand, not my favorite strain in taste. I was at my first silent auction. That wasnt the first Guiness brownie that I have had, I know this from my other blog. But sadly for the hell of me, I cannot remember when or where I had it, as I didnt blog all the details.
Finally, its to make up for the way our brain holds or discard memories. Fonder than food?
Paneer Hariyali
Paneer biryani
potato in coconut masala (Hirva batata)
plantain gravy (Kele Ambat)
mixed vegetables in cashew sauce
beetroot yogurt gravy beetroot tambli
Flan de Narnja - Julia Child
In the little time that I too my eyes off Gourmet, the whole food world sat up and started taking a look at why food blog? After having decided the menu, with pleas from attending friends to not exhaust myself in the food making, I decided to not make Hirva batata as it turned out to be the same as plantain gravy with coconut which I was not happy with while making itself as it wasnt taking the texture I imagined it would be. This is one of the big reasons why I food blog. To find out if the final product is the same as the recipe makes it sound or look as its going to be. By then I had made Paneer Hariyali and Mixed vegetables in cashew sauce. Both turned out nice, so I wasnt in any imminent trouble of starving my friends. While making Paneer Haryali, I realised that you make it with spinach and not methi. Thats another reason - to find what ingredients go into what recipes. Another good thing that comes out of this knowledge is what to make of the left overs. I have some whipping cream left in the fridge, thats going to go as icing on to a velvet cake. While making the mixed vegetables, two things I noticed - I became better at frying vegetables and after tasting the creamy curry, I had a question as to how is it possible to test if the taste is right, especially for a person with only spicy hot and sweet as the points on the scale.
Looking for dessert recipes, I had two books at my disposal - Cooking Light and the Best of Bon Appetit. I cant shake the prejudice of looking at pictures while deciding on the dessert to make. I dont like cheesecake. My friend doesnt like Pavlova. I had already made a fudgy dessert. That narrowed the available recipes in Cooking Light to nil. From the Julia childs book I picked 'Flan de Naranja'. I had failed at making caramel last time. This time I followed Child's instruction of 1/2 cup sugar with 2 tbsps water brought to a boil on high heat and then medium heat without stirring. Right in front of me the caramel formed. This is another reason - to try out cooking techniques that I havent done before. I had flan at a colleagues house and had liked the set consistency of it, that I didnt achieve in mine as I had missed out on the 'refrigerating' part of the instructions. In a hurry, I had just gone through the ingredients, which teaches me a lesson to go through the whole recipe and avoid lack-of-time situations. Should recipes come with a note right under the ingredients if they need special treatment than the actual cooking time?
I almost forgot the beets raita. I couldnt find 'beet roots' at Frys. Luckily my roomate had brought a beets salad which was very convenient to use. I was very taken with the color factor of this raita. Another reason - to make and eat 'exuberant' food. This word lingered from the book Beyond blue. This is a way for me to marry literature with food.
I have a cake time coming up with three or more reasons in March. Easter (for having missed making a promised Christmas cake), a birthday, a farewell, a friendly visit. In this whole reason finding brouhaha, I just missed out on recounting the Friday dessert galore.
It was different from my expectations. Not a sit-down meal but the circle top stand-around table had a tower of desserts. The best was guiness brownie with piped chocolate on it around berries and a strip of basil. It being great not only did I have a second but urged others to try it. Later I didnt have to be coaxed to take another for the road. I had pannacotta which tasted like Shrikhand, not my favorite strain in taste. I was at my first silent auction. That wasnt the first Guiness brownie that I have had, I know this from my other blog. But sadly for the hell of me, I cannot remember when or where I had it, as I didnt blog all the details.
Finally, its to make up for the way our brain holds or discard memories. Fonder than food?
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