tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71449972024-03-07T23:27:35.336+05:30my-halflife: a food photo blogsharp tastes from a warm islandUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger277125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-70531296266278277512011-12-05T11:07:00.001+05:302011-12-05T11:34:33.522+05:30Making Sushi at Home: Yes, at Home!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5392066891/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Karavala Jell/Lumiris, Nori, Sushi Rice Roll - Home made (i) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Karavala Jell/Lumiris, Nori, Sushi Rice Roll - Home made (i)" height="333" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5171/5392066891_e2e3bdef6c.jpg" width="500" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Karavala </span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>Terrine</i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"> Maki Rolls; Home Made</span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Sushi isn’t about
raw fish; it is really about vinegar infused rice, which is then combined with
fish, vegetables and a number of other ingredients. This can be done by placing
the raw fish over a small cake of sushi rice, or wrapping the rice with a sheet
of nori, seaweed beaten into a sheet, with the fish or vegetables or other
goodies in the center. This is called maki sushi, and the California roll,
invented by a Japanese cook in that sunny state, early in the 20<sup>th</sup>
century, when he was faced with a clientele who didn’t like raw fish, is one of
its famous and distinctive variations.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">So what kinds of sushi rolls can you make
at home? Tuna is tempting, but I wouldn’t recommend it, since you just cannot
get the flavorful, fatty belly tuna you need for that burst-in-your-mouth
taste. Of raw fish, inexpensive shark works well, but then that’s not everyone’s
favorite. So my recommendations are crab sticks (a processed, flavored fish
product) you buy off the shelf at Food City, smoked salmon, expensive but
buttery and amazing, like cold, semi cooked fish bacon, and my own little innovation
home made karavala terrine sushi rolls.</span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5319516901/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="California Rolls (crab stick)-1 home made by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="California Rolls (crab stick)-1 home made" height="334" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5088/5319516901_5348588c2e.jpg" width="500" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Crab Stick Maki Rolls; Home Made</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;">But before we get to the good stuff, you’ll need to do
some ground work to get your sushi roll preparation kit together. The only
special things you need are a bamboo sushi rolling mat, and pressed seaweed
(nori) sheets, both available from Brana’s (3<sup>rd</sup> floor, Kollupitiya
Super Market, Dharmapala Mawatha, Colombo 3, 011-242-1675). The mat is Rs.
375/= and 10 sheets of nori are Rs. 800 or so. Japanese sushi vinegar, and
Mirin, a sweetish wine is also available and inexpensive, but not essential;
I’ve managed to produce great tasting sushi with substitutes.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;">Next, you need to cook your rice and flavor
it. There is a special kind of ‘sushi rice,’ but I’ve not found it yet in
Colombo; no doubt its available, but I think any long grained rice will do.
I’ve made all my sushi rolls with regular Basmathi, so that would be fine for a
beginner. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Sushi Rice: Ingredients</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>
</i></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>2 cups (that’s a 250 ml measure) | uncooked rice | 4.5 cups water | 4 tablespoons (60 ml rice vinegar) | 3 tablespoons sugar | 2 tablespoons Mirin | (or any other sweet wine, optional) | 2 teaspoons salt</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Sushi Rice: Method</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>
</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i> Cook the rice the usual way, until it’s
soft. The little extra water will make it a little mushy, which is good. Mix
the other ingredients and add it to the rice. Let it cool, mixing well, with a
fork.</i></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">You are ready to roll your sushi. For the simplest
first attempt, lay out your bamboo mat, place a sheet of plastic wrap on it, or
encase it in a large ziploc bag, then place a sheet of Nori on it and smoothen
a layer of rice over the nori sheet, leaving half an inch free at the far end.
Two pre-made crabsticks will work great for the filling or smoked salmon, with
finger cucumbers sliced length ways. Rolling your sushi is a bit of an art, but
it’s not hard: I managed fine at my second attempt and I’ve got paws! You’ve
got to press in the first edge carefully, make sure it sits well, and roll the
whole thing, and flip it. Check out this clip on youtube (<a href="http://youtu.be/swGJ2dIu9XE">http://youtu.be/swGJ2dIu9XE</a>) first; there are
many uploads there which are very helpful. Now, all this is very regular, and
it’s great – but while I was doing this, I had an idea that took me further, helping
me to adapt sushi rolls to Sri Lankan food habits. It seems to me that a sushi
roll is rice sandwich, or put another way, it is a <i>bath gulliya. </i>A
kneaded mouthful of rice, which for a rice eating Sri Lankan, is as old as
solid food, that first meal a baby eats after s/he is weaned. Karavala, I
thought, is an inexpensive, yet intensely flavored substitute for the
artificially flavored, expensive crabstick; with a little home processing it
works amazingly well with <i>lunu miris</i> (chillie onion sambol) added as an
optional extra. TasteFusion! </span></div>
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</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">To process the Karavala for your sushi
rolls, you need to make it into a terrine. No, again, this is not hard, but does
require a little bit of work – and an overnight wait.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><b><i>Karavala Terrine: Ingredients</i></b><i> | 100 g Karavala (your favorite kind) | 100 g Coconut milk powder | 100 g unsalted butter | 1 table spoon chillie pieces (optional)</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">
<span style="font-size: small;"> <b><i>Karavala Terrine: Method</i></b></span>
</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>
</i></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5392800004/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Nori sheet, spread with rice, jelled karavala and lunu-miris by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Nori sheet, spread with rice, jelled karavala and lunu-miris" height="240" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5055/5392800004_9024237dce_m.jpg" width="240" /></a><i>Pressure cook the Karavala
in three times the water for 30 mins. Drain, reverse the liquid, and de-bone.
The bones will be soft now, and this will be easy. Discard the bones, and add
the coconut milk powder and butter, and grind down to a fine mush with a barmix
blender or table top food processor. Taste, and adjust the ingredients. It
should be quite strong, too strong to simply eat, but not killer salty. Add a
tiny bit of sugar, chillie pieces, and more butter or coconut if it is too
salty, or some of the reserved Karavala essence if it does not have enough
kick. All this depends on taste, so you’ll get what you like with practice. And
you should have now roughly, 250 ml or one cup of puree, after whatever is
stuck to the mixer is factored out.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>
</i></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5392193979/" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="Jelled Karavala - for rolls by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Jelled Karavala - for rolls" height="240" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5095/5392193979_3a9c1f3735_m.jpg" width="160" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Karavala Terrine (Cut Strips)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Add two teaspoons of dissolved gelatin into
this and pour it into a small, square plastic storage box and refrigerate for
four hours, in a cold fridge. Yes, you should be done. </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Cut long strips out with
a small, sharp knife, and lay it on your sushi rice, <i>which you should remake
without salt</i>, with a little line of lunu miris. Roll. Cut, and plate it
with little clumps of <i>lunu miris</i>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5392790948/" title="Karavala Lunu-Miris Rolls (vii) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Karavala Lunu-Miris Rolls (vii)" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5099/5392790948_69e11f2029_b.jpg" width="424" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-31733347082921656542011-12-02T14:46:00.000+05:302011-12-02T14:49:00.341+05:30Review: Sushi About Town<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5400163343/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Maki Rolls, Tuna, Cumber, and Crab Stick, Spinach and pickled radish by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Maki Rolls, Tuna, Cumber, and Crab Stick, Spinach and pickled radish" height="500" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5212/5400163343_770a0eba31.jpg" width="333" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5392068431/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Sushi Ashai Nihonbashi@ODEL by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Sushi Ashai Nihonbashi@ODEL" height="500" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5252/5392068431_9e47826894.jpg" width="333" /></a>
Nihonbashi, which means, I believe, a bridge to Japan, has a reputation for quality Japanese food in Colombo. I tried the compact, well serviced outlet at Odel (Alexandra Place), for a quick lunch. Sushi Ashai, an assortment of rolls, 10 in all, three salmon, three cucumber and three tuna, all quite small, with a larger California roll was on my Rs. 880/= platter.
The experience of Sushi rolls is about texture as much as taste on the tongue; in a basic roll there are three textures – the outer wrap of seaweed which is like melting paper on the tongue, the soft, mushy rice – which is sweet and sour, and then the filling, say fish or cucumber. If it’s raw fish, then it’s the sushi rice, and the hot and salty wasabi-soy sauce dip you make in the little bowl that brings out the flavor of the fish, because raw fish can be so subtle and delicate in flavor you can miss it altogether. I worked hard at this at the Hilton’s Spices Buffet (Rs. 2,250/=, reservations recommended), where I tasted, and then blind tasted with the help of my lunch partners, repeated helpings of the tuna and modha, which were on offer. The modha on offer had a firmer, much firmer texture than the tuna, which was softer on the tongue, but more tart. They both had a fish flesh taste, which is quite different, being far more delicate than the cooked product. Neither was fatty or buttery; high grade tuna, cut from the belly of the fish will be fattier and have a more robust taste. Certainly as advertised, the tuna in the Nihonbashi rolls was richer and fattier in taste, but it is the salmon in both places, that is really worth your while – which I found a taste treat. The salmon in the Nihonbashi rolls was raw. At the Hilton, they served marinated, raw salmon. The fattiness of raw salmon is a cross between butter and bacon on the tongue, and the sweet-sour marinade just made it extra-ordinary. Something like a slice of bacon fat, lightly cooked, with a sweet sour sauce. You don’t really need wasabi or soy with this; the chef recommended a dill mayonnaise sauce which was soothing, but added little else. Also on offer at the Hilton was smoked seer, with a light touch of chille coriander on it. Seer, actually has a little bit of flavorful fattiness, underlined by the smoking; the coriander highlights were welcome, but the salmon was best.
There was also a roll on offer with tuna, cucumber, crab stick, pickled radish and spinach. Again, even though smaller and much more expensive, the rolls at Nihonbashi were better, the tuna was fattier and much richer, and the marinated cucumber was more complex, with a slightly bitter after taste and a more pronounced crunch.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4766155874/" title="IMG_5552 by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_5552" height="1024" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4096/4766155874_a6f932a9a6_b.jpg" width="682" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-50738920008809878722011-11-30T15:08:00.001+05:302011-11-30T15:20:00.879+05:30Review: Sushi Bar at Cinnamon Lakeside<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5470299345/" title="Cheft's Assorted Sushi Platter, Sushi Bar, Cinnamon Lakeside by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Cheft's Assorted Sushi Platter, Sushi Bar, Cinnamon Lakeside" height="500" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5257/5470299345_a1c66b7c8e.jpg" width="499" /> </a><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 14pt;">The Sushi Bar at Cinnamon Lakeside (135,
Chitt. Gardiner Mawatha) is so modestly and unpretentiously announced, you may
miss it all together, if you’ve weren’t really looking for it. That would be a
pity: a competitively priced, extensive selection of beautifully plated sushi –
of above average quality awaits you at the Sushi Bar.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> We opted, as you should, for the
Chef’s assorted Sushi platter, which promised 5 fish offerings for the Nigiri
(Tuna, Modha, Salmon, Cuttlefish, and Prawn) and three for the maki rolls (Tuna,
Salmon & Cumber)– quite a good deal for Rs. 800. This with tea, makes a
great lunch. But we added a separate potion Smoked Salmon Nigiri (Rs. 580), was
well as two made to order pure vegetarian options – the Spring rolls and the
California Rolls (Rs. 400).</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> The star turn was the assorted
platter; the tuna always the variable in different places, had great fatty
flavor, and wasn’t sour. The Modha was good as well, the cuttle fish was buttery,
the prawn, marinated sweet sour, was a lovely change, the Salmon was soft,
fatty and rich. The tuna, it must be said approached Nihonbashi quality, at a
lower price point, and the presentation was really pretty. The smoked salmon
was also marvelous, with the added melt in your mouth cold bacon flavor, that
comes with that delicacy. In general, you really can’t go wrong with Salmon,
which is air freighted from Norway – with Tuna and Modha, quality will
vary—depending on the catch of the day, and the nearness to the belly of the
cut, but Lakeside did well.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> The vegetarian options though
outstandingly plated, didn’t have enough flavor – these maki rolls are really
built around crab sticks, and if you do leave them out – a really intensely
flavored cumber or radish must take its place, I feel. To be fair, these pure vegetarian
options are not on the menu, and were created for us – perhaps they need more
work for vegetarian sushi lovers.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> Our dessert was the green tea ice-cream,
which was creamer than what we expected, and sweeter – some scoops had an
amazing after taste of tea, but that was a little uneven. But the cold Sake
(Rs. 800 for 150 ml) , and the hot green tea (Rs. 220) we had with the meal
were great.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Chaparral Pro","serif"; font-size: 14pt;"> The service was amazing, with Sunil Perera (lounge manager)
and Nadiyah Akram (marketing) making us feel like we were king and queens of
the castle. If you’d like to take a visitor out to lunch, you really can’t go
wrong at the Sushi Bar at the Cinnamon Lakeside.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5470982918/" title="Assorted Sushi, Sushi Bar, Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Assorted Sushi, Sushi Bar, Cinnamon Lakeside, Colombo" height="240" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5252/5470982918_58efdb98f7_m.jpg" width="124" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5470298003/" title="Vegi-Spring Rolls, SB, CLS by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Vegi-Spring Rolls, SB, CLS" height="240" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5177/5470298003_753ed3dc72_m.jpg" width="185" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5470891924/" title="Green Tea Ice Cream, Sushi Bar, CLS, by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Green Tea Ice Cream, Sushi Bar, CLS," height="240" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5020/5470891924_809b4fc9f5_m.jpg" width="160" /></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5470298247/" title="Californina Rolls, SB, CLS by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Californina Rolls, SB, CLS" height="196" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5298/5470298247_697f280912.jpg" width="500" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-62223465550603056592011-04-04T12:23:00.000+05:302011-04-04T12:23:08.468+05:30Strawberry Tarts<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5574810874/" title="Strawberry Tart, again. by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Strawberry Tart, again." height="750" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5295/5574810874_8a32c74ed4.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
The strawberries were really sweet, and succulent, so I took a giant step (for me), and tried what I've admired in cookbooks for years. A tart, with my own pastry. Pate Sucre, which is a sweet dough, isn't all that easy to make. I've tried it twice now, and I think I'm getting it. The basic ingredients are easy to find, and proportions are straightforward, what's harder is getting it malleable, which takes a lot of cooling, and what is called 'resting.'<br />
<br />
1.5 cups wheat flour | 0.5 unsalted butter | 0.25 cup sugar | 1 egg or 1 egg york and little cold water | two pinches of salt make a difference.<br />
<br />
Mix the ingredients, (and I'm not yet clear, if the order matters -- some say add the eggs last, some don't), make it into a ball of dough, and wrap in clingfilm, and let 'rest' in the fridge for an hour or longer. I think this makes it is stringy, and malleable because the gluten in the wheat, get activated. (I have to read up more about this. Then roll it out, under cling wrap, some say -- and lay it in a buttered pan. Now, I have muffin pan, so I used that, the first time, worked better than the second, where the pastry was crumbly. But I figured out a work around, just laying a ball of dough in the little muffin well, and working it into the shape. Yes, that worked!<br />
<br />
I used an egg wash, one yolk, with a little water, brushed on the surface of the pastry, and put it in the oven, (pre heated) at 350 for 20 mins.<br />
<br />
It has of course, a crumbly, buttery shortbread like texture and taste, and is amazing with strawberries, to which i added a reduction. One time, I did add some cream too!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5570620531/" title="Strawberry Tart by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Strawberry Tart" height="750" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5179/5570620531_b368d95ed7.jpg" width="500" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-1626617763715860302011-03-28T22:50:00.000+05:302011-03-28T22:50:04.230+05:30Kurakkan Roti, with Lunu Miris + Butter<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5568668462/" title="IMG_6208 by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="IMG_6208" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5568668462_ba676b0128.jpg" width="499" /></a><br />
This is one of my favorite breakfasts, and this photo is from a few of days ago. I didn't make it though -- the kind person who comes in to help did. Chandra is a great cook; and she has her own way of doing things, but this recipe taken from <a href="http://lankanrecipes.blogspot.com/2008/12/kurakkan-roti.html">Sri Lankan Recipes</a> -- has the general idea: Kurakkan, which is super good for you, is finger millet, in English.<br />
<br />
<div class="post-header"> </div><blockquote> <span style="font-size: 85%;">250g of flour</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">250g of Kurakkan flour (If you want you can add more kurakkan flour and reduce normal flour - Then it Roti will be little hard)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">1/2 a coconut scraped (If you can put a whole coconut it is tastier)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">2 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">water</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">50g margerine/butter</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">1 egg (not a must)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;">1 teaspoon baking powder (not a must)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #cc66cc;"><strong>Optional</strong></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #cc66cc;"><strong></strong>some curry leaves (Karapincha)</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #cc66cc;">1-2 big onions</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #cc66cc;">2 table spoons chilli pieces (grinded) - kaali miris</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #cc66cc;">1 teaspoon pepper</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 85%;"><span style="color: #cc66cc;">3-4 green chillis (amu miris)</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
Put the scraped coconut into a larcge bowl and add flour, Kurakkan flour, salt, baking powder and mix for about a minute.<br />
Then add butter and egg and mix. Then add water little by little and mix well until it makes a whole dough (This takes about 5 minutes)<br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #cc66cc;"><strong>Optional - to taste better</strong></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc66cc;">Chop the big onions and green chillis into small pieces.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc66cc;">Put a pan on heat and put about 2 table spoons of oil and then add the chopped items, pepper, clilli pieces, salt (to taste)and curry leaves on to it and fry for some time until it is brown.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc66cc;"></span><br />
Now pour this mixture into the dough and mix well<br />
<br />
<br />
Make small balls out of the dough from hand and flat it on a plate or a board (make it thin using hand).<br />
Tip - Make the plate and hands wet, so that the dough won't get stick to your hand or plate (No need to put oil)<br />
<br />
Heat a nonstick pan or (Roti thatiya) and and add the roti on to it and burn both sides (for about 2-3 minutes).</blockquote> Coconut makes all the difference! <br />
<blockquote></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-15177130081971319042011-02-20T15:37:00.007+05:302011-12-30T15:59:28.289+05:30Chocolate Coated Meringue, with Ganache & Cream<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5467467361/" title="Chocolate Coated Meringues, with Ganache and Cream-iv by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Chocolate Coated Meringues, with Ganache and Cream-iv" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/5467467361_4cc102976f.jpg" width="499" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
It worked! I'm very excited. I made my own meringues. No, I would not say it is as easy as making chocolate coating -- but it worked. The main point, which I took my one failed attempt to get, is to use twice (2x) the weight of sugar to eggwhites. I crushed the sugar in a mixer starting with regular sugar, weighed my eggs whites after separating and straining them, and then added the sugar slowly, after beating them to peaks. Bake at 120-100 C, for 80-90 mins. Make the chocolate coating <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2011/02/chocolate-coated-meringues-or-kisses.html">as before</a>, dip the meringues in, set aside, add some hot cream into the left over chocolate for the ganache, pour into the ramkin, place the coated meringue in, and then pour a little cream around. 10 mins in the fridge sets it all.</div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5468064316/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Chocolate Coated Meringues, with Ganache and Cream-iii by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Chocolate Coated Meringues, with Ganache and Cream-iii" height="240" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5135/5468064316_e8d0c4698c_m.jpg" width="160" /></a><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5468064626/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Chocolate Coated Meringues, with Ganache and Cream-ii by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Chocolate Coated Meringues, with Ganache and Cream-ii" height="240" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5213/5468064626_cfd50ca66d_m.jpg" width="159" /></a> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Its just chocolate indulgence, but the crumble of the meringue makes it special.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Please do ask if you have questions about making this at home. Or make suggestions. I did try the Kandos cooking chocolate ( as suggested in a comment)-- and I think I didn't get the really fancy one yet -- but the regular Kandos cooking, isn't really better than the Ritzbury, in my opinion.</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-60204017155493399372011-02-18T13:32:00.003+05:302011-02-18T15:42:23.525+05:30Pad Thai<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5455647038/" title="Pad Thai by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Pad Thai" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5136/5455647038_4c9d5dac73.jpg" width="499" /></a><br />
I thought I knew how to do this, and did. And it was good. But having a blog helps me learn -- when I started trying to write out my method, I thought I should look around the web for how its done by others. And now I feel my way wasn't 'right.' Not that I'm against changing things around, I just feel I've been missing what's what about this dish. So here is a promise to work it out, and write out a proper Pad Thai in Sri Lanka recipe and method soon!<br />
<br />
Until then I think Pim's blog, which has a really <a href="http://chezpim.com/cook/pad_thai_for_beginners">detailed account, </a>is the best guide.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-90678686842491375772011-02-16T15:36:00.000+05:302011-02-20T15:38:53.027+05:30Chocolate Coated Meringues or Kisses<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5450599472/" title="Chocolate coated Meringues (kisses) -2 by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Chocolate coated Meringues (kisses) -2" height="333" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/5450599472_ea74522443.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
Yes, I've dipped my paw in chocolate. I am so pleased! Another first for my little food blog -- since I've never made any thing chocolate before. How did that happen? Well, I've read about it, and it seemed complicated, so I left it to the experts. But its not -- well, some thing may be, but just coating some thing with a googy layer of chocolate, and then letting it set -- well, its almost easier than eating the said thing, I tell you.<br />
The kisses in the picture are supermarket ones (Edmunds, many in a bag! all gone now (:) -- the coating is home made. To do it, you get cooking chocolate (available every where -- I used Ritzbury caterer's superfine (Rs.250 for 400g) here, but Kandos has one also) and you melt it. You can melt it in a bowl over hot water, and I you need a pyrex bowl for this -- but you are also do it the microwave, 1 min at a time 2-3 times at half power, and its melted. My. Then just dip the little critter in -- and it sets. So easy. Gives awhole another dimension of texture, soft, bitter, sweet to the soft, airy crunch of the kiss. And when it all mixes up in your mouth, the chocolate coats each granule. Marvelous. <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5450599842/" title="Chocolate coated Meringues (kisses) -1 by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5450599842_dcd6eb5270.jpg" width="500" height="750" alt="Chocolate coated Meringues (kisses) -1" /></a><br />
<br />
My sense is that there will be a lot more chocolate in my halflife now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-81431563991986601012011-02-14T14:41:00.000+05:302011-02-14T14:41:22.498+05:30Chicken Pate<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5443953105/" title="Chicken Pate & Onion Marmalade(1) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Chicken Pate & Onion Marmalade(1)" height="750" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5018/5443953105_c8e33d17db.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
Again, I had never thought this was some thing to even consider making at home, but hey, its really easy. It was good the first time I made it, and I was so almost shocked it was so easy. Chicken pate is basically pureed chicken liver, cooked, with about half as much of butter or/and cream cheese mixed in. Shallots/Onions and garlic are really good also in the mix, as are cloves, cardamons, and my secret ingredient mace, which is covering of the nutmeg seed.<br />
I'd rather, as you dear readers may have noticed, go recipe free at times-- opting for a intuitive, weighted description of the basics of the method. I think that helps a cook innovate on their own, so here goes:<br />
Start by heating some butter, a large pat or 15g (one table sp), with large diced shallot and 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Add 2-3 cloves, cardamon pods, two pinches of shredded mace, 10 black pepper corns and two pinches of salt. When the shallots are translucent, add 250g of chicken liver. No, it doesn't have to be chopped. Just stir it around, for ten mins or so, and you are done. Puree this, with a hand held blender if you have one, and add more butter and/or cream cheese <i>about half of the liver weight</i>, total -- in this example, that would be 125g of butter. In the batch in the pic, I used about 70g of butter, and may be 75g of cream cheese. You can do it with out cream cheese, it just comes out thicker!<br />
I added a teaspoon of gelatin, and poured it into a butter cake tray, and refrigerated it overnight. This helps set it, so that you can turn it out for a nice photo, but I've refrigerated this with out gelatin also -- and got a very spreadable pate. <br />
Spread on a cracker, this has a rich, meaty taste -- and spices really gives its a very warm, rich flavor -- and goes very well, with the tart, chewy, fragrant, onion marmalade, with its lingering sweet kithul after taste. <br />
I kid you not, you can keep eating this, until you've had too much!<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5444552626/" title="Chicken Pate & Onion Marmalade(2) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Chicken Pate & Onion Marmalade(2)" height="750" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/5444552626_94849d6203.jpg" width="500" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-33163796763715260922011-02-05T14:04:00.002+05:302011-02-07T16:45:34.878+05:30Bombay Onion MarmaladeI started making pates recently, and surprisingly it went well. Again, its some thing I thought was beyond me, but its not, its way easy. But we finished all the nice pate I made -- so I'll come back to that with some photographs. Today, I just wanted to blog its lovely complement, Onion marmalade which is as easy.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5418022806/" title="Onion Marmalade by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Onion Marmalade" height="750" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5253/5418022806_226159a73f.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
(My recipes is from Kuntz & Kaminsky's <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/%3Cscript%20style=%27text/javascript%27%20src=%27http://blogergadgets.googlecode.com/files/recentcommentswidgetv1.js%27%3E%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20style=%27text/javascript%27%3Evar%20a_rc=5;var%20m_rc=true;var%20n_rc=true;var%20o_rc=100;%3C/script%3E%3Cscript%20src=%27http://www.my-halflife.com/feeds/comments/default?alt=json-in-script&callback=showrecentcomments%27%3E%3C/script%3E">Elements of Taste</a>)<br />
I use Bombay onions, which are also called big onions, which are a kind of shallot. They are as everyone knows, super tasty, but this marmalade changes their texture to a softness that's rare. So slice two large onions, and boil it down with two cups of red wine, and half a cup of red wine vinegar. Or cider or a subtle Chinese vinegar. I've never tried this with regular coconut vinegar, I suspect this will be too strong and crude for a complex taste in the end. Just boil it down in a heavy bottomed pan. Keep add little bits of Kithul treacle -- (or maple syrup) -- one table spoon at a time, as it boils down. When the liquid is nearly done -- add salt and pepper, fresh ground is best -- if you have a grinder, white pepper will give it a subtler heat than black--and you are ready to serve this on crackers. Pate or cold vegetables are great with this. It is the aroma of the vinigar that hits you first, and the tartness of the vinegar, on the tongue. Its soft, but there may be tiny crunch, and then the sweetness of onion lingers with the kithul. Yes, you'd want another bit.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5417416333/" title="Onion Marmalade & on Karapincha crackers, with Chicken Pate by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Onion Marmalade & on Karapincha crackers, with Chicken Pate" height="750" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5016/5417416333_6e86bca815.jpg" width="500" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-42594121261234914452011-02-04T14:08:00.004+05:302011-02-07T15:00:34.451+05:30Sorbets: Strawberry & Soursop-Passion<div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5414835165/" title="Soursup-Passion & Strawberry Sortbet-iii by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Soursup-Passion & Strawberry Sortbet-iii" height="625" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5299/5414835165_ece0e071fa.jpg" width="500" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I never thought I could made a sorbet at home. It seemed a fancy restaurant item, that washed away flavors between courses, or was served as a light, refreshing end to a long heavy meal. But no, I’ve just started making sorbets at home, and you can make them with no more than a regular fridge, with a freezer </span>:)<span style="font-size: 11pt;">, and a hand held beater – what is some times called a bar mix. Of course, you can upgrade to more sophisticated machines, but no – for some kinds of sorbets at least, you do not have to.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Sorbets don’t have eggs or cream or butter, and as such you can safely say, they are pretty low fat. Which is a nice break if you like them, and have to worry about good fat and bad, I suppose. I’ve just started making sorbets, and in the photo is my third set really – my guide, as is for most desserts is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Cordon-Bleu-Dessert-Techniques-Illustrating/dp/0688169074/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1296805043&sr=1-1-spell">Le Cordon Bleu Dessert Techniques</a>. But I changed things around a bit.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Now, all I’ve tried so far, are fruit puree sorbets, and I think they may be the easiest to do. And they are inexpensive. For the strawberry sorbet, I started with two cups of washed, diced strawberries (Jagro, available from Food City or Keels, any where, I think), 1/3 cup of plain sugar, and little less water. First, boil the sugar and water in a thick bottomed saucepan. Changing the consistency of the sugar, by boiling it, is the first important process that will thicken your sorbet and get the constancy right. Apart from taste, of course, texture is every thing here – the two extremes to avoid, is a popsicle-like ice, and on the other side, a cold syrup. You want a middle ground. So boil the sugar in little less water than its volume. When its boiled for a min or two, not long (boiling sugar syrups is one of the more complicated things in dessert making -- if you keep boiling, many interesting things will happen, but you may go well beyond your sorbet) add the chopped strawberries. Bring to a boil again, and take it off the fire. Puree. Add some lime juice; this should really highlight and intensify the flavor of the fruit you are using. Add more, if the puree is too sweet for you.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Put this in a plastic bowl, or box, just a freezer proof one – regular from anywhere, and set your freezer to max, and pop it in. (To max out your freezer, you may need to set the fridge to min. You may also have a place in your freezer, that is designed for quick freeze. Use that.) In an hour, maybe longer, a crust will form on the top. But it should be still liquid below. Great, take it out and re-puree it, with a hand mixer, if you have one. This is really quite inexpensive, but a huge help. (Otherwise, use the container of your table top blender to begin with.) I always taste it at this point! </span><br />
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Now, the big secret – add some alcohol. Well, 100 ml would be fine, if you started with two cups. I like vodka because it gives a slightly bitter aftertaste, that leavens the sweetness and tartness of the puree, but not much else of a taste. But of course, I think any thing would do. Process wise, the point here is that alcohol does not freeze at 0˚C. Blending in alcohol will prevent your sorbet from becoming a popsicle. Back in the freezer. It should be all set overnight, and you can puree it one more time. Back in freezer, which you can re-set to normal and it's ready to be eaten at dinner time. This should work with any fruit puree. But it's better to start with a fruit that’s quite tart – strawberries, soursop and passion fruit have all worked well for me. I’ve worked with mango, but you need a not so ripe mango, or it will end up too sweet. <a href="http://www.tradewindsfruit.com/soursop.htm">Soursop</a> (<span class="style5">Annona muricata)</span> is so tart, you can even add store bought passion fruit juice (not cordial!), and it will still be really well balanced at the end.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/5415445026/" title="Soursup-Passion & Strawberry Sortbet-i by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Soursup-Passion & Strawberry Sortbet-i" height="500" src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5134/5415445026_fc7beef9fd.jpg" width="334" /></a> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br />
for another sorbet recipe, see:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.foodista.com/recipe/JTGGWRYM/wild-blackberry-sorbet-with-garden-mint-lavender" style="background: url("http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_white.png") no-repeat scroll 0px -10px transparent; display: block; padding: 10px 0pt 0pt; text-decoration: none; width: 260px;" title="Wild Blackberry Sorbet With Garden Mint & Lavender on Foodista"><span style="background-color: white; display: block; overflow: hidden; padding: 0pt 10px; text-indent: 0pt;"><img alt="Wild Blackberry Sorbet With Garden Mint & Lavender on Foodista" src="http://dyn.foodista.com/content/images/1eb7f189f8ec27ebe0b55218374c2f6842a7e0fe_240x180c.jpg" style="border: medium none; height: 180px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt 0pt 5px; width: 240px;" /><span style="-moz-border-radius: 5px 5px 5px 5px; background-color: #bdbdbd; color: white; float: left; font-family: arial,helvetica,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px; text-align: left; width: 155px;">Wild Blackberry Sorbet With Garden Mint & Lavender</span><img src="http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_logo.png" style="border: medium none; float: right; height: 25px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; width: 70px;" /></span><span style="background: url("http://cf.foodista.com/static/images/widget_white.png") no-repeat scroll 0px 0px transparent; clear: both; display: block; height: 10px; padding: 0pt;"></span><img src="http://dyn.foodista.com/content/embed/z1.png?foodista_widget_JTGGWRYM_7ZBG3S8Z" style="display: none;" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-89237653853752235772011-02-01T08:40:00.001+05:302011-02-01T08:46:23.517+05:30Kithul Cashewnut Creams<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4711069447/" title="Kitul Cashew Cream by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Kitul Cashew Cream" height="500" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4027/4711069447_ecb974ec5a.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<m:smallfrac m:val="off"> <m:dispdef> <m:lmargin m:val="0"> <m:rmargin m:val="0"> <m:defjc m:val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440"> <m:intlim m:val="subSup"> <m:narylim m:val="undOvr"> </m:narylim></m:intlim> </m:wrapindent> </m:defjc></m:rmargin></m:lmargin></m:dispdef></m:smallfrac><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">My half life has been quiet for some time, but not going hungry. Much has been cooked, tested and eaten. Yes paws have been tried at new dishes, new directions and techniques. All will be revealed slowly, and some teasers have been trickling through our tight security. </div><div class="MsoNormal">But here is some thing official that is new; simple and yet elegant I hope. </div><div class="MsoNormal">In my mind it is a triangulation of three deserts: a traditional French crème brule, made of refined unflavored sugar, milk and eggs, a wattalappan – that great Sri Lankan favorite of the Id, a coconut cream palm sugar flan, and then pani caju, the palm sugar peanut brittle you ate outside school as a child. If those desserts, all classics in their traditions, were three corners of a triangle, my kithul cashew cream would be at the center. Its basically cream and roasted cashew nuts in equal quantities (volume wise) blended very fine, with enough kithul haruku (palm sugar/jaggery – you can use kithul treacle also) for the right sweetness on your tongue. Don’t make it too sweet. If your religion and politics allow, please do add some old arrack. It makes it much better. But just 20 ml, to the liter. Pour this mixture into a small bowl, ramekins if you have those, and put in your fringe. Just before serving, sprinkle chopped nuts, grated jaggery, and a few drops of arrack and grill for a couple of minutes. For some reason, this tastes divine. My dinner guests have raved over this for days. I don’t know, it’s a simple thing. </div><div class="MsoNormal">May be its all triangles all the way down.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-38809597402683365292010-06-21T13:17:00.001+05:302011-02-05T14:05:32.047+05:30Kithul Rosemary Beef - For Geethaka<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4717251358/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" title="Beef, with kithul-rosemary by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Beef, with kithul-rosemary" height="640" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4020/4717251358_0782112941_b.jpg" width="424" /></a>It was time for beef. It took me awhile to like beef. As a child, i never did -- then i was 12 or 13 and i could not get enough. Puberty, I guess. Of course eating beef is tough (ha ha) in Sri Lanka. Its a taboo for many Buddhists and Hindus. But my mother at the time was in the grip of home science, (she has stopped eating beef now) and my father the physician had no option but to agree. We children were told to never revel the sacrilege to my paternal grandmother, and were then given it for one meal a day. In those days in the seventies, chicken was a luxury, only to be had once a week, if, and that always an if, a 'broiler' could be got. Beef was cheap, but hard to cook. Most often we had it as a curry, but at night, minced beef made up the fillings of rolls, cutlets, and even homemade hamburgers. Then there was Irish stew. That was really good, with bread and butter.<br />
Beef is still hard to cook in Sri Lanka; there a no Sri Lankan steaks to be had of any cut that i know, what ever steaks available are imported. It is still not a preferred meat for many, but one of my close friends, the warm hearted Geetha, shares an interest in Beef. Its more of obsession with him -- I think he'd have beef for every meal if the lovely doctor allowed him to. Ha! He too remembers the meaty days at home, he says his mother had a beef roast for him, nearly every day. Wow. So it was with him in mind that i made this dish, with nearly a kilo of beef, just an ordinary cut is fine, for example 'boneless' from FC or Keels -- but of course, if you have a personal relationship with a butcher, then you are ahead of me. I simmer the beef in a pre-prepared beef stock, made of soup bones, for 2 hours. That's the deal, it comes out really succulent. No, i do not buy ready made cubes. To make Beef stock the easy way, pressure cook a kilo of soup bones in a .75l of water for at least an hour, by lowering the heat so just the steam doesn't escape. The meat that comes off the bones is very eatable, and can be re added to the strained stock, if you clean off the skin and cartilage that hasn't yet dissolved in the stock. And so, simmer the beef in beef stock. You can add red wine to this, it will be even richer. I usually do, this time i didn't. once its simmered, you can boil it down a little, so that any remaining stock is thickened.<br />
You can save this in your fridge for several days. When its time to eat, i saute a potion in a tiny bit of sesame oil, add a capful of kithul treacle (not too much), and, say, two heavy pinches of chopped fresh rosemary (available at Colpetty market, and Keels@LibertyPlaza), and of course salt to taste. Once this is plated, i deglaze the pan real quick, with water or red wine, and toss in some cut, cleaned pokchoy, which will cook in the hot pan, in less that 2 mins. Yes, its that fast, try it, it will be super crunchy, a lovely compliment to the soft, yet still chewy texture of the beef. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caryota_urens">Kithul</a> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary#Culinary_use">Rosemary</a>, in my opinion, is one of the great fusion combination that I've ever tried -- the fragrance and flavor of the mix has real synergy.<br />
The lovely, lovely Geethaka doesn't really cook, and doesn't get into recipes much, i do not think. (Oh but he might now).<br />
But he liked his beef bite.<br />
It was made with much love.<br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4652894453/" title=""This," he said later, "is the life." by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt=""This," he said later, "is the life."" height="333" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4652894453_965e6a9fa3.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
Geethaka Goonawardene contemplates the simple life:<br />
Ruwani, Good Friends, a River Bath and Beef. He didn't mention beer. Strange.<br />
( kumbukan oya, Sri Lanka.)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-17021169160677106012010-06-19T12:53:00.003+05:302011-02-05T14:06:15.100+05:30Passion Fruit Mousse<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4711709128/" title="Passion Fruit Mousse by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 505px; height: 505px;" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4069/4711709128_9b2cc9d850.jpg" alt="Passion Fruit Mousse" /></a><br /><br />This is really one of favorite desserts, in Sri Lanka, and i try it every where i go. I've blogged about it <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2009/03/visit-to-bentota-beach.html">before</a> but i never thought i'd be able to make this at home. Don't know why, but i thought it would be too complicated and beyond me. So the good news is, its not! Thar it is, right there, and it was quite good also. Here is what i did.<br /><br />10 Passions fruits (from Colpetty market) were juiced -- i use a simple manual juicer. Then i stained the pulp, and got about 150 ml juice. I saved the seeds, for garnish. This fresh juice can be sweetened a little, and i added some vodka also, cos i heard its against the law not to drink in this country, i may be wrong about this -- :) -- and poured spiked juice into my small cognac glasses, just letting it sit at the bottom. Then i whipped 500 ml cream, that's a little more than i needed for 5, so it should do for six, if its a medium size serving, as in the photo. I used anchor UHT whipping cream (of course, that's all that really works in SL, no doubt options abound in other places!), mixed in cordial, yes you need loads, and then would take kilos of fruit if you don't use this short cut (but the taste was fine, that's the thing about passion fruit, it such a distinctive tang, its hard to kill it)-- sigh, i hate using any thing premade - to taste, until the color turned a light yellow. I then beat the whole thing again, it was stiff enough so that i did not use any gelatin, just put it in a zip lock bag, slit a corner and squeezed it out, into the glasses. It lasted a day in the fridge too. (Lower your regulator to normal, after giving it a burst on high for two hours or so -- other wise the cream will go brittle.) Garnish with seeds, and pour some hot cordial over the whole thing, when you serve it.<br />I made this for a big dinner, and there were other desserts too -- but this went down well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-7302924357718781632010-06-11T15:19:00.006+05:302010-06-19T01:32:01.582+05:30Roast Chicken, with Braised Potatoes<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuYr2VltcdWyBtjdTUYEbXOlYU6FRwTcDSt1lkERC0-wM7RIvVR0-z_q1_247jQ8tR9ruvdugbMc8ixqbaEDZZeKgIuZ0GpxKnpDM4zH_1nw81KDEKXN6Z441kkxbHzlQ6MrRiA/s1600/IMG_5497.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 752px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCuYr2VltcdWyBtjdTUYEbXOlYU6FRwTcDSt1lkERC0-wM7RIvVR0-z_q1_247jQ8tR9ruvdugbMc8ixqbaEDZZeKgIuZ0GpxKnpDM4zH_1nw81KDEKXN6Z441kkxbHzlQ6MrRiA/s400/IMG_5497.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481456746371459218" border="0" /></a><br /><br />This is more about the potatoes, really.<br />I've blogged about <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2009/09/high-heat-chicken.html">roasting chicken at high heat</a> before, at 500F (260C) -- which keeps the chicken moist, and the skin ultra crisp. This time i did the same, with some improvements. I made a puree of garlic, shallots, salt, white pepper, vinegar and olive oil (yes, 1 whole bulb of garlic, 1 large shallot, and then rest in small quantities :) )..and carefully separated the skin from the chicken, and pressed in the puree, around. This is not hard to do, but you need, short, sharp knife. I'm lucky enough to have a nice one.<br />While that sitting, i made a real quick stock, with the neck, wings, and giblet/liver of the chicken, which was a prima whole. David Blacker's asked about stocks, recently -- and its a complicated subject, from even the little i know, and a proper one takes 24+ hours -- but you can make a quick stock in your pressure cooker in 40 mins or less. Just add the pieces, may be some vegies and let it cook, trying not to let the steam out at all, after the initial boil, since you want to conserve the liquid. For this dish, i used about 350 ml (1.5 cups, say) of water, in the pressure cooker.<br />Then i peeled a whole bunch of small potatoes..yes, i did it my self, since Chandra the cooking lady had left for the day, i got a special prize for it, so there! -sauteed them in butter and olive oil in a medium sized oven proof skillet, and when they were nice a coated, adding the strained chicken stock in. When it was simmering, i placed the marinaded chicken right over the potatoes<br />and transferred it to the oven, pre-warmed to high heat (260C). 15 mins on each side is plenty, some times you can do with less. Once the chicken is done, the juices have dripped into the potatoes, and they are really on their way, to being outa this world. If they are soft, remove from the skillet, and reduce the gravy, if not, let them braise until they are. Right at the end, you can add tarragon, or thyme to the sauce, which has a soft, comforting, real home made flavor. Salt to taste, and pour over the chicken and potatoes.<br /><br />Not bad at all. This was my first try with potatoes this way, and they were soft, with out being mushy, distinct from the sauce, but really complimentary.<br />I made this for <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/726315676/in/set-72157594236491326/">my niece</a>, who then never showed up. She is sorry now, she says :)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoNonncCYhPZyx7GwcgnMz22HIyLDbmIDPR5vnD3OjuuwPgqF-idGktA43_KVUpjOHDywtobN0QF5jLdy_Ix4oCB3XQc6TS_YTWRDtoIa_TxfHnY97ik7NbrPTfDdyNTDm6jm1g/s1600/IMG_5515.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 334px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijoNonncCYhPZyx7GwcgnMz22HIyLDbmIDPR5vnD3OjuuwPgqF-idGktA43_KVUpjOHDywtobN0QF5jLdy_Ix4oCB3XQc6TS_YTWRDtoIa_TxfHnY97ik7NbrPTfDdyNTDm6jm1g/s400/IMG_5515.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481457625982939426" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-39643194241467402542010-06-10T11:38:00.007+05:302011-02-05T13:08:25.423+05:30Grilled Garoupa<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3DVhxbU8vfcPqbkTanyurCiMfkSKx5rx18xkXmawgX5pXfcQAPNqiWozZNLVo6OSQgKlX7vr1bNjrTg4xbnFeY0BuKUWbL6k7iiP1BNd3AMGM_Uj7WSACzeM2BEhbD4S8ZfXJw/s1600/IMG_5485.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS3DVhxbU8vfcPqbkTanyurCiMfkSKx5rx18xkXmawgX5pXfcQAPNqiWozZNLVo6OSQgKlX7vr1bNjrTg4xbnFeY0BuKUWbL6k7iiP1BNd3AMGM_Uj7WSACzeM2BEhbD4S8ZfXJw/s400/IMG_5485.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481023828296638706" border="0" /></a>This is variation on a previous post,<a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2010/06/steamed-garoupa.html"> steamed garoupa</a> and i cooked it at night, thinking I wouldn't be blogging it, but it turned out so well, i really thought i must -- just to remember what i did. The photos were taken this morning, and so the fresh grilled texture of the dish, doesn't really come through -- but here is my method.<br />I got the garoupa at 9.45am at <span style="font-style: italic;">Fresh Fish</span> (FF) and there were lots. It was not expensive, it usually isn't. It was a medium sized fellow, under a kilo, 600 gms fully cleaned (at FF) descaled and washed (at home). I sliced open the belly, and scored the fish, making sharp, deep cuts through out the sides, and then made a marinade. I had thai in mind, but i think a messed around enough, so that it didn't taste that familiar.<br /><br />For the marinate i mixed a couple table spoons of fish sauce, 1 of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of rice vinegar, and enough kithul treacle to balance the sourness. i needed one cube of sugar as well. Just get it delicately balanced, and of course it will be salty. I mixed these in the small attachment to the mixer/blender, and then added a whole blub of garlic, peeled, half an inch of ginger, 1 large shallot (bombay onion), and 3 green chillies. I pureed this, into a fine paste, and put the fish back into the FF sarasara (polybag) it came in, and poured the puree into the bag, mixed it well with the fish, expelled the air, and tied it tight. (Bagging is a technique i learnt from TV shows -- my, its great, the marinade really works harder, since it is pressed so close to the meat, you need less of it, and its inexpensive if you reuse a bag).<br /><br />A few hours later, we were ready to roll, when the critter who lives by the bar top announced she was very hungry. Out of the bag, into the cast iron skillet with a few drops of sesame oil, and layed out the fish to simmer, while the grill heated up. High heat grilling is key to this dish, so i should say, i use the grill element (1950W) of a medium sized oven, and place the pan about 3-4 inches below the grill. Now i use a skillet that can move from stove top to oven. I can't say how valuable this is -- and i really thank the day i got it! After the pan is hot, and fish is simmering, it went under the grill for 6 mins, and again, after turning the fish, for another 3. The bottom is already warm, so it doesn't need as much time on that side. Be careful not to over cook! Once it was done, i removed the fish carefully on a plate, adding fresh diced baby leeks, and sliced green cillies to the sauce in the skillet, let it braise over high heat for a min. Not too long. Finally pouring it over the plated fish.<br /><br />I thought this was better that the steamed version, even. Now in most restaurants I've tried garoupa -- its very common in east Asian places -- the options are usually steamed or deep fried. I used to prefer the steamed, because the sauce was lighter; the deep fried version is some times cloyingly sweet. But in this version i made, somehow, perhaps because of the dry high heat of the magic grill -- the delicate flavor of the fish - it is a white, well textured, soft fish - was enhanced, but not over powered by the marinade/sauce. The accents of sour (rice vinegar)/sweet(kithul)/hot (ginger & green chilli)/salt (fish & soy sauce), were like notes of music playing on my tongue. Honest. I was not even that hungry, so i think i trust my judgment.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCygx_xY_qJN3nhMcB45IxMrBoWhUCTYbmVMmqwLd712BK0szy48QOW6BT9Fa21_f1EkyZiCqxigfnL7BHlMWTYt8WTDnSJ23tykShYBexiOHATAjZuApOjmVEcn4A1z0Nxw3oag/s1600/IMG_5491.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 753px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCygx_xY_qJN3nhMcB45IxMrBoWhUCTYbmVMmqwLd712BK0szy48QOW6BT9Fa21_f1EkyZiCqxigfnL7BHlMWTYt8WTDnSJ23tykShYBexiOHATAjZuApOjmVEcn4A1z0Nxw3oag/s400/IMG_5491.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5481032161469613570" border="0" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-61569072658227448422010-06-09T11:22:00.000+05:302010-06-09T11:22:31.953+05:30Orange Chicken, with Chille Peanut Sauce<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgsByToAOdhvltJwzzWBunZydnydZpohANzt2JlxRPL73Puhf9P-W6pszu1wC74nfVZCqjTkZ3UqrHpj27YPa4Bf6_1XpgZr5Fi0tCAi8QDr7MH37J18PBJHbbS_Fx83Dw6iAIg/s1600/IMG_1651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxgsByToAOdhvltJwzzWBunZydnydZpohANzt2JlxRPL73Puhf9P-W6pszu1wC74nfVZCqjTkZ3UqrHpj27YPa4Bf6_1XpgZr5Fi0tCAi8QDr7MH37J18PBJHbbS_Fx83Dw6iAIg/s640/IMG_1651.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />
Readers of my blog know I like to use stocks as a base to secure the solidity of flavors. My <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2008/09/lentil-soup-with-red-pepper-ginger.html">lentil soups</a> are an example of this, the idea being that lentils are cooked, reduced in a chicken stock, perhaps with a vegetable like red pepper, and then pureed and creamed. And of course, my basic <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2007/07/chicken-soup.html">chicken soup</a>, which i make almost once a week, with stock, fresh or dried noodles and scallions, is another. Some months ago though, i thought i should 'kick this up a notch,' as that TV guy Emiril used to say. But my way.<br />
What about marinating chicken, and then cooking it in the stock, i thought. This works really well, even with boneless chicken breast, a healthy but often flavorless cut. Marinating the sliced breast over night, in a over salted chicken stock, (which is called brine-ing -) does the trick. Even if you wash off the breasts once, lightly, before cooking, it will be super moist and flavorful as you cook it in the rest of the stock, with your favorite greens, because of the osmosis of the salted stock into the chicken.<br />
Now that was good, but then i got ambitious. Yes, i tried to kick it up another little notch. Why not make the brine more complex, i thought, and add a complimentary flavor to the stock. Variations, no doubt abound, but i settled on a orange stock reduction brine (that just sugarless orange juice -- fresh is best, but expensive -- boiled down to a half with chicken stock, with a teaspoon of salt for a cup). I used boned, sliced chicken thighs this time, and let it marinade over night. When it was ready, i got the rest of the stock to a simmer, and added peanut butter, stirring until it was melted, and chillie pieces. Then I browned the marinated chicken, very quicky in a seperate pan, and added it to the stock, letting it simmer for 20 mins. Yes, brineing allows for shortened cooking times, which doesn't dry out the chicken as happens in 'traditional' Sri Lankan chicken dishes. Right at the end, add a sprinkling of fresh, crushed orange. A little cream, or coconut milk power is also a nice addition<br />
I loved the flavor gradients of this dish, from the complimentary orange, to the stay invoking, smooth, nutty, hot on the mouth sauce, and the succulent chicken morsels. The critter who lives near the bar top, who claims to know about food and things said, "its bold!." Ah..well.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvSscYc7OcdxmjEf5HMOETlKrbKxl2ARdcoHL3fuylWQiNAaqC7udh9kc9IJ4Sxbrqv5G5d77xF75h-mleuNhfJu1N4xW6nHnZmzCxgNCN5rsQ8xicSSfhvco8dJ1W0uPUR82Yw/s1600/IMG_1657.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVvSscYc7OcdxmjEf5HMOETlKrbKxl2ARdcoHL3fuylWQiNAaqC7udh9kc9IJ4Sxbrqv5G5d77xF75h-mleuNhfJu1N4xW6nHnZmzCxgNCN5rsQ8xicSSfhvco8dJ1W0uPUR82Yw/s640/IMG_1657.JPG" width="428" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-37204947605639235612010-06-04T13:19:00.001+05:302010-06-04T13:32:54.242+05:30Steamed Garoupa<div style="float: right; margin-left: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4079702118/" title="photo sharing"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2653/4079702118_4d78efe53f_m.jpg" alt="" style="border: solid 2px #000000;" /></a> <br /> <span style="font-size: 0.9em; margin-top: 0px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/4079702118/">Steamed Garoupa</a> <br /> Originally uploaded by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/pradeepics/">pradeep jeganathan</a>. </span></div>this is the simplest of dishes, if you can find fresh Garoupa. I've found it at fresh fish from time to time, but perhaps readers would know of other markets where its available.<br /><br />Have it cleaned in the store, or do so at home, (that is: descaled, gutted, well washed) -- marinade it with a delicate vinegar you like, a little sugar, salt or soy sauce, ground ginger and green chilles (in this version, I used the MD sauce, which is really awesome!).<br /><br />Then i steamed it, less the five mins on each side. I thought it was great, delicate, yet substantial on the mouth, sweet, sour, and hot, with my flavorings.<br /><br />A great lunch!<br clear="all" />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-85487459217475726492009-10-20T21:04:00.003+05:302009-10-21T15:30:32.612+05:30In the Sunday Times<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vCwLKZ2asrUXl1taWjNjqFGttm47Yv1IXS4zOR8EzkePcxx3dKvTZqDeuXPSyYhMmVahukciya3R8q4-nvyf5oqCihnCAelHsMeLqOymMljM-XAM1V-L-JUv_6ff8z4s8GqMYw/s1600-h/Sunday-Times(2).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 326px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9vCwLKZ2asrUXl1taWjNjqFGttm47Yv1IXS4zOR8EzkePcxx3dKvTZqDeuXPSyYhMmVahukciya3R8q4-nvyf5oqCihnCAelHsMeLqOymMljM-XAM1V-L-JUv_6ff8z4s8GqMYw/s400/Sunday-Times(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394710019823567826" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hZHXofPx8zg4MHrDwn2acRE7-uNs1uTw7ulZqHbt6yqMsEjQEtsU4fYZcHJMcfFEo5-CcPcpY6kovLcSTAId7FiDVjVVM1-cF3wyUx5BfScviMaqrO3BZGJnTApEIBLm4MJLbQ/s1600-h/Sunday-Times(1).jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4hZHXofPx8zg4MHrDwn2acRE7-uNs1uTw7ulZqHbt6yqMsEjQEtsU4fYZcHJMcfFEo5-CcPcpY6kovLcSTAId7FiDVjVVM1-cF3wyUx5BfScviMaqrO3BZGJnTApEIBLm4MJLbQ/s400/Sunday-Times(1).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5394708234189401746" border="0" /></a><br />Thanks to the wonderful interest and sensitivity of Smriti Daniel, I had the pleasure of one of the coolest interviews I've ever given; what's more the <a href="http://www.sundaytimes.lk/091018/Plus/plus_22.html">article in the Sunday Times</a> is succinct, deft and makes me look a lot better than I am.<br /><br />Thank you SmrithiUnknownnoreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-1558206463678710692009-10-20T20:49:00.001+05:302009-10-20T21:01:58.164+05:30Pan Seared Linna<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3971548484/" title="Linna for Ashan by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Linna for Ashan" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3424/3971548484_e153f57728.jpg" height="500" width="463" /></a><br />Ashan de Silva is a flickr buddy, I'm looking forward to meeting. He is a great photographer, and also I think, a cook. he also knows a lot about where to get what, and what's what :) He's been exchanging cooking tips with me for awhile, and some time ago, I asked him if there was a Sri Lankan equivalent of salmon. He suggested I try some Linna, ( Russell's Scad, which I had not even heard of, up until then). And yes, I got it at Fresh Fish; it's a smallish fish, a little bony but manageable. I fixed it several times, and with Ashan and my cooking lady Chandra's help figured out how to take away its rather bitter sheen of taste; lots of washing, and several lime rubs. Once that was done, I marinaded it in olive oil, crushed garlic and salt, scouring the fish on its sides in the usual way. The final touch came from Ashan also, and its really a keeper for any kind of fish. Once the fish is seared on both sides, open it out, and pour boiling hot olive oil, laced with pieces of chillie and perhaps a little more salt. This crisps the insides nicely.<br />A new dish, that was really a treat.<br /><br />Thank you, Ashan.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-35763298679787328222009-10-02T17:37:00.001+05:302009-10-02T17:38:38.096+05:30Sausage Rolls<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrnvWkhsbOey_MwItOdo38gQjMMYws-YDEJogAp1QKnJOfkBvg7V5ACPQOuBn6n0t6w5kFMj3rc6MpCCQXx4zxLOavoS2KO92EFzR1qptBCF7ajvMpCqg7pQOcY0QkR5wRaizOg/s1600-h/IMG_1744.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; clear: both; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIrnvWkhsbOey_MwItOdo38gQjMMYws-YDEJogAp1QKnJOfkBvg7V5ACPQOuBn6n0t6w5kFMj3rc6MpCCQXx4zxLOavoS2KO92EFzR1qptBCF7ajvMpCqg7pQOcY0QkR5wRaizOg/s400/IMG_1744.JPG" border="0" /></a> I wasn't going to photograph this, much less blog it. It wasn't all that very well planed; I was craving sausage rolls though -- and I had half packet of store <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">bought dough, and a few food city garlic sauages. It turned out fine, the sausges were ever so juicy. I've <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2009/03/bacon-bandakka-pastries.html">written up the method </a>before, and its simple -- but I think Pusella lingus is much better, really.</span><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: border; -moz-background-origin: padding; -moz-background-inline-policy: continuous;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-9131695011841270082009-09-30T14:13:00.002+05:302009-09-30T14:38:51.309+05:30High Heat Chicken<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3967876953/" title="IMG_1509 by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 747px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2608/3967876953_dc7d36ab49_b.jpg" alt="IMG_1509" /></a><br /><br />Roasted or braised, or some where in between, I think high heat is the answer to focusing on the moist taste of chicken. Curries are all very well, but in Sri Lanka cooks often smother the taste of chicken out -- which is good in it own way, of course.<br />But then, its a different dish, not chicken really, its the mixture of spices and oil that is the essence of the dish.<br /><br />Now if you are craving chickeny chicken; there are but two essential steps, I insist. Marinade the pieces (i love whole legs) in a little vinigar and salt for at least 20 mins (yes, you can add other stuff that you've ground down in blender, also), brown the bottom of the leg(s) in a oven proof skillet (or dutch oven) for 5 mins on a burner, and then roast in the oven, at 500 F for 25 mins. You can add some stock to the skillet, braise or pour a sweet glaze over it at the end. Whichever way --- But the basics are simple and reliable.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3967868893/" title="Roast Leg of Chicken by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 747px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2496/3967868893_fa2539383b_b.jpg" alt="Roast Leg of Chicken" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-59467129618317874172009-06-24T19:36:00.003+05:302011-02-05T14:05:32.048+05:30Mango Panna Cotta, again!<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3656240767/" title="Mango Panna Cotta (ii) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 748px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3656240767_12d84004fd_b.jpg" alt="Mango Panna Cotta (ii)" /></a><br />Yes, again. This time, I did it in the simplest way possible; but plated it differently, from my previous attempts. Simple, because its just cream and mango cordial, mixed (half and half), a heaped teaspoon of dissolved gelatin added, to each cup's worth of mixture. (Fresh fruit reduction gives a more complex flavor, and takes more time). Usually I pour the mix into <a href="http://www.my-halflife.com/2007/07/mango-panna-cotta-liquor.html">shot glasses</a>; this time I wanted to 'turn it out,' so emboldened by extra gelatin, I poured the mix into small coffee cups, and after four hours in the frig., I prized out the gelled cream with a knife, tapped the bottoms of the cups, sliding the gel out.<br />I added a little more cordial, reduced with a little wine, into the bowls, and garnished every thing with sliced fresh mango. Yes, its that easy.<br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3657041754/" title="Fay, eating a Mango Panna Cotta by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 665px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2481/3657041754_b14c8c8127_b.jpg" alt="Fay, eating a Mango Panna Cotta" /></a><br />Fay and Kingston joined us for dessertUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-16735010996634871182009-05-20T22:46:00.001+05:302011-02-05T13:08:25.424+05:30Bak Kut Teh<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3547889687/" title="Bak Kut Teh (Meat Bone Tea) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3547889687_3f32220a1c.jpg" alt="Bak Kut Teh (Meat Bone Tea)" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><i><b></b></i></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><b></b></i></span><blockquote><span style="font-size:100%;"><i><b>Bak kut teh</b></i> (Hokkien: 肉骨茶) is a <a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cuisine" title="Chinese cuisine">Chinese</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soup" title="Soup">soup</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> popularly served in </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China" title="China">China</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><a style="font-family: lucida grande;" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiwan" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> (where there is a predominant Hoklo and Teochew community) and also, cities of neighbouring countries like </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Batam</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> of Indonesia and </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">Hat Yai</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> of Thailand. The name literally translates as "meat bone tea", and, at its simplest, consists of meaty </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">pork ribs</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> in a complex </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">broth</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">star anise</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">cinnamon</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><span class="mw-redirect" style="font-family: lucida grande;">cloves</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><i style="font-family: lucida grande;">dang gui</i><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">fennel seeds</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> and </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">garlic</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">), boiled together with pork bones for hours. However, additional ingredients may include </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">offal</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, varieties of mushroom, </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">choy sum</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">, and pieces of dried </span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;">tofu</span><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> or fried tofu puffs. Additional Chinese herbs may include </span><i style="font-family: lucida grande;">yu zhu</i><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> (rhizome of Solomon's Seal) and </span><i style="font-family: lucida grande;">ju zhi</i><span style="font-family: lucida grande;"> (buckthorn fruit), which give the soup a sweeter, slightly stronger flavor. Light and dark soy sauce are also added to the soup during cooking, with varying amounts depending on the variant. Garnishings include chopped coriander or green onions and a sprinkling of fried shallots.</span><br /><blockquote></blockquote></span></blockquote><blockquote></blockquote>And this would have been all I would have known, if not for the kindness of my neighbors, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/sets/72157616976120826/">Fay</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3452505714/">Kingston.</a> Kingston is from Malaysia and Fay is from Shanghai, and is a great cook. I've been learning first hand about the most subtle and delicate Chinese dishes from her, and they've had some of my stuff as well. Recently after Malathi and I devoured a bowl of Bak Kut Teh, Fay offered to fix a fresh batch during the day, so that could photograph it. Her method was close to the description above; the meat was spareribs, and for the base of the 'tea' she used sort of a large 'tea' bag, which is packed with the dried ingredients, that give the soup, its subtle rich flavor.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3549436524/" title="Bah Kut Teh (packet) by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img style="width: 501px; height: 533px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/3549436524_8f41da37bd_b.jpg" alt="Bah Kut Teh (packet)" /></a><br /><br />You can see what's in there; nothing familiar to me at all. The bag boils in a claypot, with dried tofu, mushrooms, dried red dates, and other stuff, and of course the pork spare ribs. Meatiness of the ribs, is soft in the mouth and tea/soup -- its not sweet, its not sour, its not chilli hot -- its such a complex blend of new flavors, that finds places on your tounge, you didn't know you had!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/3548033011/" title="Dried Tofu and Mushrooms, for Bak Kut Teh by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2437/3548033011_355beafc1c.jpg" alt="Dried Tofu and Mushrooms, for Bak Kut Teh" width="499" height="500" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7144997.post-51254333118240855612009-05-20T16:22:00.000+05:302009-05-20T16:22:36.329+05:30Morning in the Island<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pradeepics/90664587/" title="Morning in a forest by pradeep jeganathan, on Flickr"><img alt="Morning in a forest" height="334" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/37/90664587_e9a79d9941.jpg" width="500" /></a><br />
<br />
my-halflife as been quiet, as I was ill for a little while, and then was too upset by the war to do food posts. i've been posting on <a href="http://www.pjeganathan.org/south-paw">my other blog</a> on that stuff though.<br />
i think we are well over the worst of it now, and i hope we can start again, and get it right, this time.<br />
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new food posts will be coming up soon..:)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4