Shrimp Patia

This past Wednesday was Navroze, which is the first day of a new year for us Zoroastrians. We have a lot of traditions for Navroze and of course, some of them revolve around food. Growing up at home, we always had to eat Patia or Fried Fish on Navroze, with a plain (mora) dal and white rice. Fish is considered to be a symbol of good luck and protection from evil. Now, I’m not sure if we eat prawn/ shrimp on that day for the same reason, or if the stuff is just too tasty to pass up; either way, we always eat one or the other. This recipe can be made with prawns/ shrimp or fish.

200 gms raw shrimp, shell removed

3-4 whole peppercorns

2-3 whole cloves

1 2” stick of cinnamon

1 tsp (heaped) cumin seeds

2 medium onions, finely chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2-3 dry red chilies, broken into pieces

Salt to taste

½ tsp chili powder

A pinch of turmeric powder

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp white vinegar

2-3 tbsp oil

In a pot, heat the oil on a medium-low flame. When hot, add the onions. Fry until golden brown. Next add the garlic, and fry for a minute or so. Now put in the turmeric and chili powders, and salt, stir and immediately add the peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, red chilies, and cumin seeds. Cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally. When the raw smells of the spices have gone, add the shrimp. Stir it in well, and cook till they are almost done. Mix in the vinegar and sugar, and simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until the shrimp is completely cooked. Serve hot with mora dal and rice. 

Notes:

*I use frozen shrimp, thawed before removing the shell, however, if you do get fresh shrimp or prawns I suggest you buy those. 

Eggs Kejriwal with Ham

Eggs Kejriwal is a dish that is rumored to have been created at the Willingdon Club in Mumbai, India. No one is very sure who Mr. Kejriwal actually was. Some say he was the head chef, and some say he was a patron who frequented the Club, and asked for his eggs to be cooked this way. My dad says that this particular recipe is a lot fancier than the original Eggs Kejriwal. According to him, the right way to do it is - toast, fried egg, lots of chopped chilies, topped with cheese, melted in the oven and served. No fancy-pants ham, or tomatoes or anything else. My husband says they used to make it at home, and it always had ham. So, I decided to mix the two together and add a little something of my own.

Eggs Kejriwal with Ham

4 slices bread, toasted

4-8 slices honey roasted ham or smoked ham

2 green chilies, finely chopped

1 tomato, finely chopped, seeds removed

4-5 green onions, finely chopped

1-2 cups white sauce

½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped

4 Eggs, fried

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Chop all the ingredients and keep aside. This dish can only be assembled right before you eat, or the toast becomes very soggy.

Toast the bread till light brown but crisp. In the mean time, fry the eggs. To assemble, place a toast on an oven proof plate. Top with 1-2 slices of ham, then add a generous amount of tomatoes, green onions, and chilies, salt and pepper. Place the egg on top and cover it with white sauce. Put the dish in the oven at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, and broil till the top is well heated. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve hot.

Notes:

*I use white sauce because my husband is lactose intolerant. I would prefer to use a cheese sauce instead, and suggest that you try it with cheese.

*If you are not using cheese and only using white sauce, you could heat the white sauce on a slow flame, and skip the broiling step I have mentioned above.

*Here is a very easy White Sauce recipe.

Basic White Sauce

Most chefs will tell you that white sauce is one of the basics you have to know to be a good chef. Personally, I find this to be one of the most difficult sauces to make, mainly because I always misjudge the consistency that it will become once it cools, and I, almost always, end up adding a little milk, and reheating, and re-whisking right before I use it. But yesterday, I found that these proportions make a great tasting sauce, and I did manage to get it to the perfect consistency, for my Eggs Kejriwal, without adding more milk! Looks like I’m ready for culinary school or maybe even a spot in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen?

2 tbsp butter

1 tbsp flour

1 cup milk

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

In a sauce pan, on low heat melt the butter, add the flour, salt, and pepper, stirring constantly. Try to remove as many lumps as possible. Then slowly add the milk, a little at a time, so that you can keep whisking the sauce and keep it smooth. Keep stirring after all the milk is added. As soon as it starts to bubble on the sides or starts to thicken, remove from the stove. Continue stirring it for a few minutes to help it cool without forming a thick coating on top. 

Notes:

*I use Lactose-Free, Fat-Free milk for my sauce, but I imagine it would be much creamier and thicker with full-fat milk. 

Peppers in Sage

We do brunch, in this household, very often on the weekends; sometimes on both Saturday and Sunday. And every little while I try to throw in a vegetable or two so that we aren't only eating eggs, sausages, and toast. And this recipe works great as a side dish. It's nothing fancy, but it's good. 

1 Red Pepper, cut into thick slices, then halved

3-4 Green onions, cut into 2” pieces

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

½ tsp ground sage

Little oil

In a wok or deep frying pan, heat the oil on a high flame. Put in the peppers and allow them to brown on one side. Add in the green onions, salt, pepper, and sage, and toss together so the peppers brown on the other side. Remove from heat when browned and serve immediately with fried eggs and toast. The peppers should be soft and brown on the outside and slightly crisp on the inside. 

Bok Choy and Mushroom Bake

Nothing gets me going, in the kitchen, like a new cooking magazine issue. They always have so many new ideas, and so many ideas that I can use as a basis to my ideas. This recipe is exactly one of those. Rachael Ray's 'Everyday with Rachael Ray' just came in the mail, and had a few recipes with bok choy in them. I've never cooked bok choy and so when I saw it on sale at the grocery store, I decided to buy one. However, I didn't stick to her recipe as it calls for a whole lot of cream and cheese, both of which are a no-no in my lactose-intolerant home. So, I did my own thing, and it turned out pretty darned good! 

The consistency of this bake should be more like a thick cream sauce, so that you can serve it over a pasta. Cream of Mushroom soup tends to become a little thinner when you heat it up, hence the addition of the egg and flour.  

Bok Choy and Mushroom Bake

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 bok choy, chopped, leaves and stalks separated

½ pnd mushrooms, cut into quarters

1 can (26oz) cream of mushroom soup

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Chili powder to taste

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

½ tbsp flour

1 egg

2-3 tbsp bread crumbs

Little oil

Heat a little oil in a wok; add the onions, garlic, and bok choy stalks, season with salt, pepper, and chili powder. Cook till bok choy starts to soften, about 15 minutes. Next add in the mushrooms and bok choy leaves, continue to cook till mushrooms are done. Switch of the stove and sprinkle with flour and mix it well.

While its cooking, in a large bowl whisk the egg and mushroom soup together, until well blended. Once the bok choy and mushroom mix has cooled a little, stir in the mushroom soup. Pour it into an oven proof dish. Sprinkle the top generously with bread crumbs and place in a preheated oven, at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, for about 40 minutes. Serve hot over Pasta in Herb Butter. 

Pasta in Herb Butter

Pasta in Herb Butter

7oz whole wheat Rotini (curly pasta)

1 ½ tsp butter

1 tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp onion powder

½ tsp chili flakes (optional)

Pepper to taste

Cook pasta until al dente. Remove into a colander to drain. In the same pasta pot, melt the butter and add the seasonings.  Allow it to sizzle for about a minute, so that the herbs start to cook, and their flavor is well infused in the butter. Switch off the stove, add the pasta back into the pot and toss until well mixed. Serve with Bok Choy and Mushroom Bake. 

Baked Fish and Spinach

Coming up with new diet recipes is extremely difficult, especially when the diet you are on is so restrictive. I cheated a little by adding eggs and milk to this recipe, but I could not eat the same spinach and fish for another day. 

I didn't have much hope for this recipe. I had expected by husband to come home and say 'this isn't one of your better meals', which is something I don't mind hearing, especially for a diet recipe, hence the lack of a photograph for this dish. But he loved it, and as it turned out, so did I! So, the next time I make it (and it will be soon) I'll add the photograph to the post. 

I was really itching to sprinkle the top of this bake dish with a bread crumb and Parmesan mixture but I had already cheated plenty on my diet and bread and cheese are a bigger no-no than eggs and milk. Lastly, all my ingredients were low-fat or fat-free, except the oil of course!  

1 onion, finely chopped

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

18oz (frozen) chopped spinach

¾ - 1 cup chicken stock

Salt to taste

1 tsp Chili powder (to taste)

2 fillets tilapia, cut into 2” pieces

2 eggs, lightly beaten

½ cup milk (fat free)

½ tsp (slightly heaped) flour

Little olive oil

Oil spray

In a bowl, marinate the fish in ½ tsp chili powder and salt. Set aside. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the milk.

In a pot, heat about half a tablespoon of olive oil; when hot, add in the onions. Fry till they start to soften and become transparent. Add in the garlic and cook for about a minute, but do not brown. Next add the remaining ½ teaspoon of chili powder and salt. Stir and allow to cook for a minute. Add a little chicken stock if it sticks. Now add the spinach, mix it in well and then add the chicken stock. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, with a lid on. Then remove the lid and cook for an additional 3 to 4 minutes, untill all the chicken stock evaporates. Switch off the stove and sprinkle the flour on top and mix well. Allow the spinach to cool.

While the spinach is cooling, lightly spray a frying pan with an oil spray, and put it on the stove at medium heat. Once it’s hot, put in the fish and fry it lightly for about 1 minute; just to give it a little color. Then turn the fish and fry the other side. It does not matter if the fish is not fully cooked, as it will cook in the oven. Once all the pieces are fried, allow it to cool. You can prepare up to here in advance. Mix in the egg mixture with the spinach, making sure that it coats the spinach evenly.  

Assembly: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. In a deep oven proof dish, put in half the spinach and flatten it a little. Next assemble all the fish on the spinach, and cover it with the remaining spinach. Bake till it is set. Serve hot!

Dr. Seuss' Birthday Recipes

Hi!

I only wanted to put this link up. Today is Dr. Seuss' birthday and I saw this article on my Google reader and thought it was worth sharing. Let me know which one you try and which ones I should try!

Cheers!! :)

Spicy Cabbage Soup

For the last week, I've been on a diet. All this eating and my reluctance to go to the gym has caused me to slowly put on all the weight I'd lost last year. With summer and family coming (to visit), I know the eating is going to be pretty darn heavy, so I've decided dieting now would be sensible, or I won't be able to fit into my clothes come July.

The diet I follow is called The 4 Day Diet. It's a book I found while browsing through Barnes and Nobles one day. I tried it, it worked, so I now use it as my go-to diet book. The main thing I like about this diet is that, once you get done with the initial four days, the rest become easy. You're allowed some fish or chicken, and you still feel full at the end of the day. The other reason I really like this diet is because it tells you how much to exercise, which forces me to go to the gym. At the back of the book are some healthy recipes that you are encouraged to use and the Cabbage Soup is one of them. Of course, I have tweaked this recipe to make it a little more suitable to my palate. Here it is.

1 tbs oil
2 medium onions, diced
1 medium green cabbage, cored and shredded
1 1/4 quarts chicken broth
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
11/2 tbs vinegar (to taste)
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 green chilies, slit or 1 tsp chili flakes (optional)

In a stock pot, heat the oil and fry the onions till they start to brown. Then add the garlic and fry till almost brown too. Next add in the cabbage and stir till it starts to soften. Now add the potatoes, carrots, chilies, herbs, salt, pepper, vinegar, and broth. Cover and allow it to simmer for 50 minutes or so. Check to see if the potatoes are cooked. If so, then serve hot.

Notes:

* If you are a vegetarian, then substitute the chicken stock for vegetable stock.

*The original recipe adds a ham hock, but then asks you to chill the soup, remove the fat and then eat it. To make the recipe a quick one, I eliminate the ham hock, and use 99% fat free stock. It does reduce the flavor a bit, but its a sacrifice I'm willing to make to speed up the process.

*I substituted celery for the carrots since I forgot to buy some when I went shopping. It was very nice.