Hello there.

Its been a while, hasn’t it? Longer than most of my absences (that might not be strictly accurate, but that is how it seems to me).

A lot has happened since my last post – the creme brulee got eaten (in minutes, of course), new restaurants (some amazing, some average) were discovered on our foraging expeditions, I helped a friend set up a bakery (such fun!!), met some amazing people, made new friends, was introduced to Diego Rivera’s work (thanks Abi!), and then, at the end of it all,  got terribly homesick and headed back to India for (what was initially supposed to be) a short vacation.

One week of pure, unadulterated joy. I don’t think I’d ever felt as peaceful in my home town as I did that week.

Quiet cups of tea on the verandah with my mother (birds chirping, sun shining, flowers blooming), long conversations with my father about a million things, meals cooked, and eaten together at the same table I’d sat down to ever since I can remember (have you ever been attached to a piece of furniture? I love that table), time spent with my very favorite baby cousin (who, it turned out, wasn’t such a baby anymore; it has, after all been almost two years since I was home) and my extended family, time spent with old friends (and new)…

(and somewhere in the grey background, hospital visits for a million tests – all routine of course, not that I gave it another thought)

Only it turned out, I was wrong, and it wasn’t routine. At all.

It’s somewhere between Christmas and new year’s eve, we’re all crammed into a small room; I’m there, of course, my parents and their closest friends (closer than family). They’re both doctors (as well), and its his office that we are at when they tell me I have cancer.

There.

That is all.

Are you wondering what happened after that?

Well, in the minute that followed, I found it a little hard to breathe, then that ever-so-practical voice (which always deserts me when I’m shopping) told me to stop being an ass.

It’s a bit of an anticlimax, no? I’m sorry..

Two surgeries, endless tests, five sessions of chemotherapy, a short fun haircut (which lasted all of 4 weeks) followed by a very giggly session where my husband shaved my head, and approximately a million books later – here I am

I’ve realized what a lucky lucky person I am… Here’s how I see it

-I have a curable disease and the means to have it treated.

-I have a husband and parents that I love more than life itself (and have done nothing to deserve – but then, I did tell you about being lucky)

-A (truly magical) grandmother, without whom I could not have got through this.

-The best friends a person could ever ask for (again, such luck!)

-For years I’ve been trying to get my metabolism to sit up and take notice. Now, thanks to the cancer drugs, I’m in what medical folks call a hyper catabolic state – roughly translates as eat-6-large-meals-and-twice-as-many-snacks-and-still-stay-healthy-state (how great is that???)

-Its going to be mango season and I’ll be in India!!(and I plan one sneaking a few, just don’t tell my doctors)

It’s been almost three months now – 3 months of staying at home (I’m neither allowed out nor meet people), and in any case, since my chemo sessions are less than two weeks apart (instead of the usual 3 weeks to a month, and this rankles-because I keep hearing about all these other people that get back to work hours after chemotherapy, but that just me being a brat) , I can’t really sit up for days.. The way I see it, I finally get to catch up on all that sleep I lost (no more 4 hour nights!!)..

I’m hoping to be back in the U.S.A sometime in May (because that is home as well now).

And guess what? Remember how I was talking about how lucky I feel? To cinch matters, I found out yesterday (after months of exhausting search-thanks Raghu) that we’re moving to a beautiful apartment in one of downtown Manhattan’s most fun neighborhoods with a huge kitchen (no, really, its 20 feet long!!) and a Viking range!!!

Now, if that isn’t something to look forward to, tell me what is!!

EDIT!!!!

To my list of why I’m lucky, I’d like to add this :

- I have the most amazing readers!! Thank you so much, everyone, for the comments, the facebook messages, email messages and everything! And the post has only been up a couple of hours! You make my life that much better. Truly.

When I first started this blog, posting regularly seemed like the easiest thing to do. I was still studying medicine; and cooking and baking were a way of escaping that reality… It’s been many years since then, and while all the hard work paid off – I graduated top of my class and am officially a pastry chef! – cooking and baking have now become work.

And yes, I love what I do, (Or I wouldn’t be waking up at 3 a.m. every morning to get to the bakery)  but I’ve found that I’m so tired at the end of a long day that I seem to have no energy or inspiration to start cooking. Every meal was either at a restaurant or from one.

But just when it looked like ordering out would be part of my life for ever, fate (in the form of my husband) dealt me a swift kick in the pants.

He bought me madeleines from Starbucks!!!!!!!!!

Really. When you love cooking but haven”t cooked at home for months, that’s embarrassing. But when you’re a pastry chef -

Oh, the shame of it all!

Anyway…..

It all ended with my cooking again.. and my fridge is filled with food (not take out boxes) that actually still tastes delicious the next day around… The truth is, the sheer volume of work that I do in the bakery made me forget how quickly you can whip up a three course meal for two every day, dessert included!

And because I am, after all, a pastry chef, lets start with dessert, shall we?

I figured I’d show you guys how to make creme brulee first. It’s one of the easiest desserts to make. And it never fails to impress!!

But enough said – it’s creme brulee!! Who doesn’t love creme brulee????

So here goes!

All you need is : egg yolks, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla!

Oh, and two important things – ramekins and a blow torch/broiler.

Pour the cream in a heavy bottomed pan.

Add the vanilla bean and seeds.

Bring to a boil, then take off the heat, cover and let it sit for 20 minutes, and remove the bean.

Whisk the eggs and sugar until the yolks get pale…

Like this!

Whisk in the cream a little at a time.

Pour into ramekins. Place the ramekins in a roasting pan.

Fill the roasting pan halfway with hot water.

Bake until the sides are set and the centre still trembles.

Chill for two hours, then remove from the fridge, and let it sit for half an hour.

Sprinkle two tablespoons on sugar on the surface. Carefully caramelize the top. Let it set and harden for a couple of minutes.

I have been told that the true test of a good creme brulee is to tap a spoon on the surface. If you can hear a snap, then you know you’ve done it right!!

Of course, all this means spending a good 5 minutes, waiting for it to cool, then doing the snap test, blah blah blah…

This was 2 minutes after. So clearly, its not just good. It’s amazing!

INGREDIENTS:

Recipe:

• heavy cream    – 1/2 quart
• vanilla bean, split and scraped     – 1
• sugar    – 1/2 cup + 2 tbspns per ramekin to caramelize
• egg yolks      – 3
• hot water

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Place cream and vanilla in a pot. bring to a boil, cover, take off heat and wait for about 20 minutes for the vanilla to infuse. Remove the bean. (You can wash and dry the bean and stick it in a jar of sugar, and a few days later you’ll have vanilla sugar. MAGIC!!)

Whisk the yolks and sugar until the yolks lighten in color, add the cream a little at a time.

Pour the mixture into ramekins.

Place ramekins in a roasting pan.

Fill the pan with hot water until the water reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until the sides are set, but the centre still jiggly (yes, that is the technical term. I swear thats what the book says.)

Chill for 2-3 hours (you can chill it for a couple days if needed).

Remove from the refrigerator about half an hour before torching.

Get out the artillery! Sprinkle sugar on each ramekin.

Make sure you use common sense. Don’t place the ramekin on a wooden/plastic surface prior to brulee-ing. I like placing each ramekin on a upturned tall glass.

BE CAREFUL! I really don’t want you guys burning furniture or worse, your fingers or face. Try really hard, please.

Using the torch, caramelize the sugar.

Wait for a couple of minutes for the sugar to cool and set. Serve!!

This is the meal I make at the end of a long day when I’m tired and starving and need a really satisfying dinner..

There are only 6 ingredients, it takes almost no effort and tastes soooo good in the bargain!!

Addictive, trust me!

You will need  – broth or stock of some sort, jasmine rice, ginger, garlic, salt and oil.

I know what you’re thinking… The first picture has a big carton of beef broth – not chicken, in spite of the title.

You see, I ran out of chicken stock (both the home made and the store bought variety) and had to resort to using beef broth, and boy, was it a good substitute or what!

So I’ve come to the conclusion that this works perfectly well with either chicken, beef or vegetable stock…

Heat the oil in a heavy pot (so the rice can cook evenly and not burn)

Grate some ginger into the pot.. I like leaving the skin on – I’ve found that there’s a whole lot of flavor that way!

And then some garlic.

Saute the ginger and garlic for a few minutes on medium flame. Attempt not the burn the whole thing like I did.

You have to be quite an idiot if you managed to burn it, but if you did, welcome to the club my friend!

Wash the jasmine rice and add it to the sauted ginger and garlic, and fry the rice for 2 minutes…

Add the broth/stock and salt.  Cover and cook for about 30 minutes on a medium flame (or until all the stock is gone and the rice is cooked). Fluff the rice with a fork.

Serve with salad (I like a mix of cucumber, radish and sweet peppers) and sambal oelek..

Eat up!!!!!!!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

vegetable oil – 1 tbsp

ginger – 1 inch

garlic – 4 cloves

beef/chicken/vegetable stock – 2 cups

jasmine rice – 1 cup

salt – as needed

Wash jasmine rice once. Heat oil in a heavy pot. Grate ginger and garlic into the pot and saute on medium heat for 5 minutes. Then add the jasmine rice and saute for another 2 minutes.

Add the broth and salt. Cover and cook on medium heat until the rice is cooked.

Serve!!

So after months of promising to post this recipe, here it is!!

Sorry guys, it’s just been so crazy with school, my internship (which I will tell you about soon) and Hugo (the puppy) and all…

So this is one of the first things Raghu ever cooked for me. The second ever actually- and everyone that’s had it seems to love it! It’s definitely the best Tikka Masala I’ve ever had. It has a lot of ingredients, but it’s SO easy to make. And it tastes so complex and PERFECT and fancily (yes, it is a word) complicated that your guests will be blown away. I strongly encourage you to try it!

Also, the fingers in the following photos (and the hands attached to aforementioned fingers) belong to my husband. I don’t have dainty small hands (or feet) but really, they don’t look quite THIS masculine.

Please don’t think I’m not beautiful.

I really am.

Look.

Don’t be jealous. I’m sure you’re beautiful on the inside.

And finally, the chicken has to marinate overnight, so this dish requires planning a day ahead. But you’ll thank me for it! I promise you!

The chicken – Boneless, cut into cubes. Dark or white meat, whichever you prefer.

Grate in ginger, garlic and squeeze in some lime juice… Yes, my photo series is a little messed up, but come one now! Use your imagination! Pretend the ginger photo was the second one.

Cayenne powder, cumin powder and coriander powder…

Some salt, cardamom powder and yoghurt..

Mix it all together…

Marinate overnight . Yes! OVERNIGHT. No, trust me, it’s worth it. I’ve tried 1 hour, 5 hours even 12 hours. 24 works best. Nothing like it.

First, take all the skewers and soak them in water for an hour… As much of a pyro as you might be, now is really not the time to set the oven on fire (not with all that lovely chicken in there stupid!)

Bring out the skewers! Use two skewers per kebab – it makes it so much easier to turn the kebabs..

Cook in a 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Turn  every 5 minutes, and brush lightly with butter during turns 3 and 4.

Resist the urge to eat all the chicken.

TOMATOESIES!! (yes I did)

Chop them, also dice some onions..

Heat a pot, throw in some butter – so it gets lovely and foamy… Then toss in the onions and saute on low heat.

Add chopped green chillies, a tiny bit more cardamom powder (this was artistic license on Raghu’s part, its not part of the recipe at all really.. But given that he sort of made up the recipe and all….) and garam masala.

Cook for 10 minutes, then add the chicken tikka.

Now for the tomato paste and chopped tomatoes… sighhh… almost ready…ALMOST!

Put the lid on and let it cook for about half an hour.

Add cream and cook on low, low heat for a minute.

Adjust salt if necessary.

Garnish with cilantro.

And eat it all up!!!!

NOW!!

RECIPE

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken            –       300g
  
• Garlic, Minced                                 -     2
• Ginger                                              –    1 inch
  
• Salt                                                   -    1/2 tsp
  
• Black Pepper                                    -   1/4 tsp
  
• Cayenne Pepper                               -    1/4 tsp
  
• Ground Coriander                            -   1/8 tsp
  
• Cumin                                              -    1/8 tsp
  
• Cardamom                                       -    1/8 tsp
  
• Lime, Juiced                                    –    1/2
  
• Yogurt                                              -     4 tbsp
  
• Onion, Diced                                    -     1/2
  
• Butter                                                -     1/8 cup
  
• pureed Tomato                                  -     200g
  
• diced Tomatoes                                 -     200g
  
• Fresh Cream                                      -     225 ml
  
• Chopped Coriander
  

Chop the chicken into cubes & combine first 11 ingredients and marinate overnight.

Skewer the chicken and bake it in a preheated oven (180 degrees Celsius) for a total of 20-25 minutes.

Make sure you turn the chicken even once in 5 minutes.

During the last 2 turns, brush lightly with butter.

Saute the onion in the butter until soft.

Throw in the green chillies and garam masala powder.

Then add the chicken tikka and cook about 10 minutes.

Add the tomato puree and diced tomatoes.

Cook for 30 minutes over medium-low heat with the lid on.

Finally add the cream- cook for a minute.

Garnish with cilantro just before serving.

Honestly, the title says it all…

This is my go-to recipe when I don’t have time, or am too tired to cook but want food that reminds me of home!

And it looks pretty! What more can you ask of food?

All you need are potatoes, an onion, some cilantro, cayenne, turmeric powder, oil and salt!!

First, peel and cube the potatoes (about 1 inch cubes should do it).

Put them in a pot of cold water, add some salt and bring it to a boil.

As soon as it starts to boil, drain the potatoes and set them aside.

In the meanwhile, chop up an onion.

Any which way you like..As long as you don’t just throw the whole thing in..

Heat the oil in a skillet and throw the onions in..

I recommend using an oil with a high smoking point (I’ve used peanut oil here) .

5 minutes in and it’s time for the spices!!

Now, a word of warning, both cayenne and turmeric are quite potent, so open those windows and get those vents working people!

First, a teaspoon of turmeric… Saute on low heat for a minute.

And then as much cayenne as you can handle.

Come on, don’t be lame.

On the other hand, don’t be stupid…

I speak from experience.

Lunch yesterday, actually.

One small serving of udon noodles and  half a cup of Sriracha (it looked so pretty and red!)  later, I’m still in pain

So, just remember, you aren’t supergirl… Or superman… Or super-purple-pony…

Wait what???

Add the salt and cook for another 2 minutes or so..

Finally throw in the partially cooked potatoes and stir the whole thing around until the spices are spread out evenly..

Cook on a low flame until the potatoes are completely cooked..

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot!

There!!

I dare you to find an easier recipe!

P.S. : This tastes great with pulao/roti/naan, so let me know how it goes!

RECIPE:

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:

Potatoes                             -         2 medium sized

Onions                                -         1

Turmeric powder             -         1 tsp

Cayenne                             -         1 tsp or more

Salt                                      -        as needed

Peanut oil                          -        3-4 tbsp

Cube the potatoes into 1 inch pieces.

Put them in a pot of cold water and bring it to a boil.

Drain the potatoes.

In the meanwhile, chop the onions.

Saute the onions in a skillet with the peanut oil on medium heat for 5 minutes.

Then add the turmeric, cook for a minute or 2 and add the cayenne.

Cook for another minute before adding the salt.

Add the partially cooked potatoes.

Stir well so the potatoes are coated in the spice mixture.

Cook on low heat, stirring occasionally until the potatoes are cooked through.

Garnish with cilantro and serve hot.

Dear people-that-read-my-blog,

This post is for you.

Thank you so much for posting comments, sending me email messages, even calling in and telling me to get off my butt and blog.

But most of all, thank you Amy.

Your comment finally made me realize that there is at least one person that checks in, and to whom my blog matters.

I’d give you a big hug if you were next to me, and a good dinner

But you aren’t. So instead, this recipe is especially for you.

Also, many thanks to all the students who wrote in asking for easy recipes,  this is as good a place to start as any, but there’s a post for you in a couple of days.  I promise!

This recipe was a result of my trying to clean out the refrigerator. It turned out to be such a spectacular success that everyone I’ve made it for has loved it!!

En avant!

You will need : thyme, carrots, garlic, rice (I’ve used basmati), butter, salt and water.

Peel the carrots and trim the ends.

Start grating the carrots.

This was the point where I stopped concentrating on the task at hand and started thinking about all the nice things you guys have said about the food I make!

Amy’s comment (on the Massaman Curry post) made me get up and run to the kitchen!

It was a total *Eureka!* moment I tell you.

And I would’ve floated through the rest of the day on that cloud too! Except reality cut in. Literally.

See??

That is my little finger.

Bleeding.

I don’t just cook for you guys! I’m in this, sweat, blood and tears!

Real blood!

(Are you feeling bad for me? Or are you just shaking your head and thinking, “You clumsy moron!”

Actually, don’t tell me…

Anyway, having spent 5 years in med school, I knew exactly what I needed!!

Ta-da!!!

I know you want them!!

No really, come on, can you ever be too grown up for cartoons??

Really?

Don’t answer that, I’m still busy figuring out why Fred looks so mad…

Maybe because Daphne’s all the way at the other end?

Anyway, with Scooby and the gang safely wrapped around my pinky, we move on!

The carrots were grated without further mishap.

And the garlic was minced.

Its just about time to measure out the rice and wash it. Thrice.

No, I don’t know why. But it has to be thrice.

You can ask my mother if you still don’t believe me.

Melt some butter in a hot pan and sweat the garlic for a couple of minutes.

Then add the thyme and grated carrots and saute for about 3-5 minutes..

Add some rice and salt.

And finally some water. Cover and cook on a medium-low flame, gently stirring occasionally until the rice is cooked!

I like serving this a  really fresh tomato salad and The World’s Easiest Curry Potatoes (yes, they really are that easy! More on that in the next post though.)

But you can eat it however you like!

Enjoy!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

Thyme                                        –           5-6 sprigs, without the stalk

Carrots                                       -           2-3 medium sized

Garlic                                          -          2 medium cloves

Rice (Basmati)                          -          1 cup

Salt                                              -           1 tsp or as needed

Butter                                         -            3 tbspns

Water                                          -          1 & 1/2 cups or as needed

Peel and grate the carrots.

Mince the garlic.

Wash the rice.

In a dutch oven/covered saucepan, melt butter until it foams.

Add the garlic, lower flame and let it sweat for 2 minutes.

Add the thyme leaves and the grated carrot, and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the washed rice and salt.

Then add the water.

Cover the pan/dutch oven and cook on a low flame, occasionally stirring gently until the rice is completely cooked.

Serve hot garnished with fresh thyme.

AND I’m back….

Can we not talk about my inconsistency, my lack of inspiration, the one hundred and three books I read and the gazillion cartoons I watched since I last blogged?

Please?

Let us instead talk about the four countries I visited, the people I met, the food I ate, and the photos I didn’t take..

I know!

I’m terrible.

But I am paying for my sins.

I don’t fit into my jeans anymore, you see.

But, on the bright side, I realized that I have what are probably the world’s most faithful readers. And I love you all.

Really truly.

I wouldn’t have been able to shake off the lethargy without you guys.

You know who you are.

Thank you.

So one of the countries I spent a couple of weeks in was Spain.

I fell in love. Honestly. If you’ll buy me a house there, I’ll move in a heartbeat.

There are so many perfectly delicious things in Spain, but I when I visited, it was the peak of summer.

Which was perfect. Because thats when gazpacho’s flowing in the streets.

Well, almost.

Here’s the first recipe I tried. I must say that it worked perfectly!

Now I have no idea whether this recipe is authentic, but trust me when I say it tastes delicious.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Here’s what you’ll need : tomatoes (of course!), some crusty bread, cumin, olive oil, red peppers, cucumber, salt, red wine vinegar, garlic, an onion, salt and pepper.

Now you could either blanch and peel the tomatoes or just chop them up. I like leaving the skin on.. I feel the Gazpacho has a heartier texture that way..

Chop the onions…

And the garlic..

The cucumber (again, I prefer leaving the peel on, but its up to you)

The red pepper..

And the bread. Put the whole lot in the blender along with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Don’t forget to add the olive oil and vinegar and some water! I didn’t have any red wine vinegar, so i used the vinegar my Kalamata olives were stored in (its the same thing, only the vinegar’s soaked in the olive-y goodness for ages!), and I think I prefer it to regular red wine vinegar!

And blend away!!!

Until you get this..

I like it best when its not too smooth but without nasty chunky bits in it…

Drizzle some olive oil.

I like adding garnishing it with some thyme.

Tomato and thyme, the colors are pretty and the flavor combination is mindblowing, whats not to love!

Chill for at least 3 hours. (The longer the better really. The flavors really meld together after its been in the refrigerator for a day)

My favorite way to eat this is with some nice crusty bread that’s been crisped up in the oven and slathered with Allioli.

Heaven in a soup bowl.

RECIPE :

Ingredients:

Tomatoes                                        -    5 large

Onion                                               -    1/4 cup

Garlic                                               -    1 clove

Olive oil (extra virgin)                  -    1/4 cup

Cumin powder                               -    1 tsp

Red pepper                                     -    1/3 cup

Cucumber                                       -    1/3 cup

Bread                                               -    1/4 cup

Red wine vinegar                          -     3-4 tbsp

Water                                               -   1 cup water (and then add as necessary)

Salt                                                   – as needed

Black pepper (freshly ground)   – as needed

Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, garlic, red pepper, cucumber and bread.

Combine all the ingredients in the blender and blend till almost smooth.

Serve chilled drizzled with olive oil and garnished with thyme.

Here I am again with an incredibly healthy recipe for the veggie challenged.

(For all you cynics out there – heavy cream is now being considered a vegetable. As is bacon. Ask anyone!)

But jokes aside, as someone who’s still trying to get the hang of cooking on a regular basis (as opposed to cooking fun party food for friends) I find that one of the biggest challenges I face is to cook healthy. I can’t seem to pick anything but mushrooms and potatoes up at the produce section.

So I decided it was high time I started stepping out of my high-calorie-zero-nutrional-value comfort zone and cook healthy.

Hence the spinach.

And it really doesn’t have all that much cream.

Really.

Would I lie?

Maybe.

Alright, lets get started.

I’m in a hurry today, so I’ll be rushing through this post.

Even though I really have nothing to do.

I just feel like hurrying through things.

I’m very uncomplicated like that….

To begin…

First get an onion and thinly slice it until it looks like this….

Get a heavy bottomed pan/pot nice and hot and throw in some butter.

Let it get all foamy…

Then toss in the onions and cook on a medium flame until they’re tender and getting translucent.

In the meanwhile, wash the spinach. Remove all the tough stalks and give the leaves a rough chop.

Once the onions are nice and tender, put all the spinach in the pot.

And close the lid.

After a few minutes, it should have cooked down to this…

This is the right time to add some chicken stock…

And to grate in some nutmeg….

Then bring the whole thing to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook partially covered for about 10 minutes.

We’re almost done. The soup is now ready to be pureed. Once you’re done pureeing it, pour it back to the soup pot.

Get out the cream and an egg yolk and start whisking….

Keep whisking and add in some of the pureed soup – about a tablespoon at a time until you’ve added about half a cup.

Now pour the cream+egg+soup mixture into the pot of pureed soup.

Give the whole thing a good stir.

At this stage, I added a couple of sprigs of rosemary. Because I had some lying around in the refrigerator and because I didn’t want the rosemary drowning out every other flavor.

Heat the soup over a low flame, but don’t let it simmer or you might end up scrambling the egg yolks (In all honesty, this has never happened to me, even though I’ve let the soup get very hot, but I realize that screwing up when you’re almost done can be very annoying. Always better safe than sorry!)

And we’re done!!

Serve hot…

I had this for lunch with some roasted vegetable bruschetta and my husband actually asked for a second helping!

Oh and he hates vegetables and soup, so this recipe qualifies as a keeper, I think!

RECIPE: (serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

onions                                    -         1/4 cup

butter                                     -         1/2 tbsp

spinach (fresh)                    -          1/2 lb

chicken stock                       -          2 & 1/2 cups

nutmeg                                  -          a pinch

salt                                         -          as needed

pepper                                   -         as needed

heavy cream                        -          1/2 cup

egg yolk                                -           1

Thinly slice onions.

Heat butter until in foams in a heavy bottomed pot and saute onions on a low flame until tender and translucent.

Clean spinach. Discard tough stalks, and chop roughly.

Add spinach to the onions, and cook covered for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken stock and nutmeg.

Bring the liquids to a boil and then cook at a simmer for 10 minutes.

Blend/puree the soup until smooth.

In a bowl, whisk together the cream and egg yolk.

Add hot soup, one tablespoon at a time, whisking constantly until 1/2 cup has been incorporated.

Add this mixture back to the blended soup.

Heat the soup over a low flame.

Serve immediately.

P.S.: The rosemary is totally optional.

It’s been over a week since the last post.

I apologize.

I was unwell for a while, you see. But I’m on my way to feeling better!

The thing about convalescence though, is that I end up feeling as hungry as a tiger.

So, I made some Massaman Curry.

Why?

1. Because I am a firm believer that hungry tigers love Thai food. (No, really they do. You really don’t know anything about tigers, do you?)

2. Because my husband has been telling me that it’s been a while since I posted ‘real’ food on the blog  (Hmph. Like he’s perfect. He’s been acting that way ever since he made some killer chicken tikka masala two days ago. I’ve been trying to wheedle the recipe out of him. No luck so far though)

Now, even though I’m South Indian and have spent most of my life eating curry in some form or the other, I have to say that this is definitely on my top five curries of all time!

What I love about this (other than the fantastic flavor combination of coconut milk and peanuts) is that its perfect for cold winter days when you’re snowed in (yes, again. will this never end???).

Also, I’ve found that even if I make double the normal amount, we’re always out of this stuff by midnight.

Why double you might ask. Apparently this curry tastes even better on the second day. But I’m sorry, I really couldn’t tell you if that’s true.

Anyway, I found this recipe on one of my favorite Asian foodblogs – Rasa Malaysia. I’ve altered it a bit, because the original recipe is for a beef curry. This recipe is so good, I don’t think you’ll have to look anywhere else!! Try it and let me know!

Lets get started.

Get some chicken (boneless, skinless), peanut (or vegetable) oil and some Massaman Curry paste.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces and place in a bowl. Drizzle some oil on the chicken.

Now, get the Massaman paste out. You can make this at home. I’ve never tried, but I must say the store bought paste makes really good curry. And it smells heavenly!

Mix the paste well with the chicken and oil until it looks like this.

You know, at this point, it looks so good that if it weren’t raw chicken, I’d have tried sampling some of it.

Let the chicken marinate for a while.

During this time, get all the other ingredients you’ll need for the curry.

Shallots, potatoes, basil (Thai basil, if you’re lucky, the regular kind, if you’re not), coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste and the spices. (you will also need roasted peanuts, but mine were in the oven when this photo was taken)

Now, before I move on, a couple of things:

1. Fish sauce is not evil.

Repeat after me.

Fish sauce is not evil.

Really.

Fish sauce is probably the reason this curry tastes so amazing. Just don’t try sticking your nose in the bottle and inhaling, thats all.

2. Do not buy that rubbish that sells as ‘lite’ or ‘low fat’ coconut milk. If you’re doing this, please do this right.

Or I’ll pour a whole bottle of fish sauce on your head.

Oh, I really will.

Now for the spices.

Star anise.

I can’t begin to tell you how amazing this is. It looks beautiful and smells even better!

Cinnamon and cardamom.

Lets get started with the curry then!

Heat some oil in a heavy bottomed pan/pot/whatever you like.

Get the spices out.

I highly recommend giving the pods of cardamom a good whack with either the flat part of your knife or a mortar and pestle.

You don’t want the pods exploding when they hit the oil. You really don’t. Trust me.

Especially because I know you’ll be leaning into the pot to get a good whiff of those spices.

Hot oil up your nose = no fun.

Once the oil gets nice and hot, pop in the spices.

And let them fry for about half a minute.

In the meanwhile, peel the shallots.

If you end up with really large shallots (like I have), quarter them.

Add the shallots to the spices and stir fry on a medium/high flame until they look like this.

It’s now time to add the chicken thats been marinating and absorbing all those wonderful flavors.

Cook the chicken until it goes from looking like this….

to looking like this.

Then add the coconut milk, fish sauce and water.

Follow it up with the potato (that you’ve peeled and quartered), roasted peanuts and half the basil.

Bring the curry to a boil.

Then lower to a simmer and cook covered for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

After this, I like to take the lid off the pan and cook the curry down until it reaches the right thickness (it usually takes me about 3 minutes), but you don’t have to if you like the curry the way it is.

This is the perfect time to get the jasmine rice cooking.

I love jasmine rice.

Its smells divine… Sigh… Total knee buckling moment whenever I open the jar and inhale.

After 30 minutes of cooking, take the pan off the flame.

Add the tamarind paste, brown sugar and the remaining basil.

Check the seasoning.

I always find I need to add just a little bit of salt, but thats totally up to you.

Serve hot with steaming jasmine rice.

And let me know if you have any left over for the second day!

I bet you won’t though!!

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

chicken breast                                    -      1 pound (boneless, skinless)

massaman curry paste                     -       3 tbspns

cardamom                                           -      8

cinnamon                                            -      2 sticks

star anise                                             -      3

shallots                                                 -     6 small/3 large (peeled, quartered if large)

coconut milk                                       -     2 cans

water                                                     -     1 cup

fish sauce                                              -     1 and 1/2 tbsp

potatoes                                               -     2 medium (peeled, quartered)

tamarind paste                                   -     1/2 tbsp

brown sugar                                       -     1 tbsp

peanuts                                                -     3-4 tbsp (roasted, unsalted)

peanut/vegetable oil                         -      2 tbsp

Thai basil leaves                                -      a handful, chopped.

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.

Add 1 tbsp of the oil and the massaman curry paste to the chicken. Mix well, and set aside to marinate.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan.

Once the oil is hot, fry the cinnamon, cardamom and star anise in it for 30 seconds.

Add the shallots and fry until golden-brown.

Then add the chicken, lower the flame and let it cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add coconut milk, fish sauce, water, potatoes, peanuts and half the basil.

Bring the mixture to a boil.

Cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.

If needed, remove the lid and cook until the curry reaches desired thickness.

Check seasoning.

Remove the pan from the flame.

Stir in the tamarind paste, brown sugar and remaining basil.

Serve hot with jasmine rice.

This is my first salad posting! Doesn’t say much about my eating habits does it?

For the record, I love veggies (no, really. You can ask my mother if you want .

My husband, on the other hand, is a whole different story.

The boy’s favorite vegetable is bacon, so the less said, the better I think.

Anyway, in case you were wondering, there is a point to all this.

My husband loves this salad. Really, actually, truly loves it.

So it must be good right?

Wrong. Its wayyy better than good.

See, I’m not really a big fan of the traditional caprese salad. Slices of tomato and cheese just don’t cut it for me.

Bite size pieces of cheese and cherry and grape tomatoes, now we’re talking a good caprese.

I apologize in advance to all caprese purists.

On to the recipe!

Mozzarella, salt, pepper, basil, olive oil and tomatoes!

Now repeat with me.

Mozzarella.

Salt

Basil and pepper

(I forgot to take a picture of the olive oil, but trust me, if there was ever an occasion to break out the best stuff, this is it!)

Tomatoes…

Tomatoes, tomatoes….

Sigh…

Don’t they look amazing?

The tomatoes I’ve used here are a mixed lot…

I love how the colors pop.

Makes you want to reach out and grab one, doesn’t it?

Ok, now moving on to making the salad. In a salad bowl, throw in the tomatoes (cut into bite sized pieces)

Add the mozzarella.

Again, we’re going for bite sized; so if you can’t find bocconcini, either cut up the freshest mozzarella you wan find, or try to be fancy and use a melon scoop like I did.

Kinda made a mess of it didn’t I?

That was intentional. It gives it the whole process the human element, I think.

Alright, alright!

I can see you aren’t buying it. I screwed up.

It’s not like you’re perfect.

Right?

Ok, so follow that up with the basil.

Then the salt.

(or sea salt if you’re trying to be fancy like I am)

(Hey, I tried! Stop judging me!)

Crack some pepper over that.

Drizzle some olive oil.

We’re almost ready!!

But not quite ready.

This is the part that will make the purists cringe.

I like adding some good balsamic vinegar to the salad just before serving.

I know, I know! But you need to try it with balsamic vinegar.

A caprese salad without balsamic is like, well, like a dog’s tail without a wag.

I’m sorry, that last bit was just bizarre. I realize.

I miss Hugo.

Can you tell?

This is Hugo.

He’s all the way in India.

It’s been 2 months and 14 days since I saw him.

And he’s going to be here sooon!! I can hardly wait!

Anyway, until then, there’s always a good caprese salad!

Although of course, once Hugo gets here, we’ll probably end up having bacon for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

His favorite vegetable is also bacon, you see.

RECIPE:

Ingredients:

tomatoes                  -       1 cup(grape, cherry or any other kind)

mozzarella               -       1 cup (bocconcini if you have it, or the regular kind)

Basil                          -      2 tbsp

olive oil                     -      enough to drizzle

salt and pepper       -       as needed

balsamic vinegar     -       a couple of splashes

Wash the tomatoes (basics, basics!)

If the tomatoes are too big, cut into bite sized pieces.

In a salad bowl, add the tomatoes and mozzarella (also in bite sized pieces).

Tear some basil leaves. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on the salad just before serving.

Note:

Do not let the salad sit in the dressing for any period of time. Serve immediately.