After watching the last full show with my mom, we both left the cinema having the same sentiments. It was moving and heart-rending. My impression of India went beyond the overcrowded trains, the way I’ve always viewed it on the Amazing Race. Growing up in a third-world country, the film made me realise how India is far from different to the Philippines’ pitiful state. Actually, throughout most of the scenes in the movie, my mom would nudge and whisper to me “Parang sa ‘Pinas din” (Translation: “Similar to the Philippines”).

Hence, in celebration of the movie’s award-winning success, I treated myself today to some Indian fair: Butter Chicken with rice and Naan bread. Yum!

How about you? Did you like it too? The movie and/or the butter chicken?

Post from: Blisstree

Feedback Fridays: Like it or not?

In light of the big game coming up, here are some party snack ideas for the Asian food lover:

TOKWA’T BABOY  

TERIYAKI CHICKEN WINGS

SQUID IN SWEET HOT CURRY SAUCE 

SAMOSAS 

From my own experience growing up, I can just imagine my dad and his friends enjoying these appetizing pulutan with ice cold beer!

Now, if these are not your thing, why not try these other tasty munchies:

TOSTITOS WITH SOUTHWESTERN CAVIAR 

PRETZELS WITH BEER DIP

TORTILLA CHIPS WITH HOT BEAN DIP

EASY MEATBALLS 

TOMATO PIZZA BREAD

BARBECUE WINGS 

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Home-cooked Superbowl munchies

Welcome to Chicken Tuesdays! Hope you like this Indian recipe I recently tried:

Ingredients:

750g chicken thigh fillets
1/4 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsps lemon juice
3 tsps ground coriander
3 tsps ground cumin
3 tsps garam masala
1/3 cup yoghurt
1 tsp salt

Procedure:

1. Cut the chicken into 3 cm cubes. Soak 12 wooden skewers in water.
2. Place the onion, garlic, ginger, lemon juice and spices in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add the yoghurt and salt and process briefly to combine.
3. Thread the chicken pieces onto the skewers. Place the skewers in a large baking dish; coat the chicken with the spice mixture, and marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight, covered, in the refrigerator.
4. Cook the chicken on a hot barbecue grill or in a large, well-greased frying pan over high heat for about 5 minutes each side, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Happy cooking!

Post from: Blisstree

Chicken Tikka recipe

Some like it hot.. and spicy! If you’re one of them, then this dish is for you:

Ingredients:

6 boned chicken thighs, skin on*
2/3 cup plain yoghurt
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsps garam masala
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp chilli powder
tiny pinch saffron powder

Yoghurt dressing:
1 cup plain yoghurt
1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp chopped mint
1 tsp chilli powder

Procedure:

Trim away any excess fat from chicken. Combine yoghurt with garlic, garam masala, cardamom and chilli. Stir in saffron; add chicken, mix well. Marinate chicken at least 1 hour (or refrigerate, covered, overnight).

*As pictured above, I used chicken nibbles instead as these were the only ones available in my fridge.

Place chicken on rack over baking dish. Bake in very hot oven 10 minutes or until tender; it is not necessary to turn the meat during cooking. Cut into bite-sized pieces if desired before serving with Yoghurt Dressing.

Yoghurt Dressing: Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Happy cooking! ..and make sure that before you devour your yummy creation, have your drink ready. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Or, for an authentic Indian feel, why don’t you make yourself a Mango Lassi!

Post from: Blisstree

Tandoori-Style Chicken recipe

This is the finished product resulting from my box of Hyderabadi Biryani  mix.  It was way too good.  Unfortunately my photo looks terrible.  I think I missed out on all of the chicken and my family must have kept that quiet.

Chicken that was marinated in a curry paste and then cooked with a bunch of spices for a half hour.  Then all this was mixed in with cooked rice (I used Japanese rice) and then simmered for a few minutes.

If anyone can find this brand of mix I would recommend them.  This is the third I have tried (all purchased in India) and they have all been exceptional.  The brand is Kitchens of India and they are made in Kolkata but I am not sure if they are available elsewhere.

Post from: Blisstree

Hyderabadi Biryani

Post from: Blisstree

Indian Lemon Curd

I have this packet of Indian Hyderabadi Biryani curry mix in my kitchen but I have a problem.  It requires chicken (which is easy) and Lemon curd (which is hard).  My question is, what is lemon curd and is there something that I can substitute for it.  I was all fired up with lemon juice but then I thought that someone out there might know better?  Any help? 

Post from: Blisstree

Lemon Curd

You cannot be Filipino and not love sinigang. For that reason alone, rasam would be tops on a Filipino’s list of favorite Indian foods. Rasam is what I make in the cold season, when I don’t have fish or meat in the freezer and yet I’m longing for something hot and sour, to sip and savor. My favorite rasam comes from Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran. I have varied the ingredients from time to time based on what I had, or other rasam recipes I’ve found on the ‘net. And now I have a confession to make — sometimes when I’m lazy I use Filipino sinigang broth powder in the base. Or I start out making traditional rasam, but use the sinigang mix to adjust the sourness of the broth. (Just thinking about this makes my mouth water again.) But here’s Saran’s recipe (rewritten to suit me:)), and links to other rasam you can try.

1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Make the spice mixture: Grind all to a fine powder using a mortar and pestle or a small coffee grinder reserved for the purpose. (Although, I think I’ve mentioned before, it’s so much fun to make coffee and find that there’s leftover spice in the grinder that flavors it — cardamom works really well!)

1 cup yellow split peas
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
6 cups water
1 1/2 teaspoons tamarind concentrate (I sometimes double this, or use a chunk chopped off a tamarind block)
1/2 cup warm water
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes, divided use
2 large garlic cloves
1 organic lemon, cut in half and juiced; reserve the lemon halves
1/4 teaspoon asafetida powder
4 hot green chiles, slit in the middle but not all the way through
2 teaspoons salt or to taste

Make the broth: Combine split peas, turmeric, and water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and skim. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until peas are tender, half an hour or so. While the peas are cooking, dissolve the tamarind concentrate in the water. Puree 1 1/2 cups of the tomatoes, plus the garlic, in a food processor or blender. When the peas are done, strain them and reserve the peas for another use. Measure the broth and add water if necessary to make 4 cups. Return to saucepan and add lemon halves. Bring to a boil and skim. Add tamarind water, the tomato-garlic puree, the ground spice mixture, the asafetida, the chiles, and the salt. Simmer 10 minutes, then add the remaining tomatoes and cook 3 more minutes.

2 teaspoons canola oil
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
3 whole dried red chiles
4 fresh curry leaves, torn

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Make the tempering oil: In a small saucepan, heat the oil and mustard seeds until the seeds crackle, 1-2 minutes. Add chiles and cook, stirring, until starting to brown. Add curry leaves and stir.

Stir tempering oil into soup along with lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Serve hot.

Chandrika’s Black-Eyed Beans Rasam
Saffron has a recipe here and a really cute story about her first encounter with a “melting pot” called eeya chombu. For a discussion of eeya chombu / eeyum shombu, click here or . (Heh, just ignore the little arguments, there’s is good information there.)
Indira’s Tomato Rasam and Taro Root Rasam.
Shathabhishekam Rasam from Hemant Trivedi
a very nice rasam for when you’ve got an abundance of mint to harvest, from Priya at Sugar and Spices
Ginger Rasam from Viji at Yum Blog
Priyanka’s Mango Rasam calling for raw mango seed, which I haven’t tried before!

One of the things I love about food bloggers is how they detail instructions that you normally wouldn’t see in a cookbook, or make suggestions that you may not have thought of. One person says that rasam should never be allowed to boil. Indira says that very little oil should be used for the tempering oil. Keep those in mind when you experiment on your rasam.

Post from: Blisstree

Lemon Rasam

This is really more a soup for winter, but being Asian we love hot soups any time of year. The original recipe calls for masoor dhal, but since all I had on hand was a large bag of organic green lentils, I used those. No one complained. I also doubled most of the ingredients, since I needed a dish for 6 people. The original recipe serves 4.

3 tablespoons ghee or butter
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
1 long dried red chilies, chopped (the recipe called for 2, but since I used my dried homegrown cayennes from a year ago, and knew exactly how hot they were I used just one)
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
2 tablespoons minced garlic
20 dried curry leaves
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 cup lentils
5 cups hot water
2 cups finely chopped green beans
4 cups finely chopped green cabbage
2 cups very small cauliflower florets
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
2 tablespoons tamarind juice

Heat ghee or butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, chopped dried chili, fenugreek seeds, garlic, curry leaves, and turmeric. Cook for 1 minute, swirling pan gently. Add lentils and stir for 1 minute. Add hot water, increase heat and bring to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Puree in a blender (or use a hand-held one) until smooth and return to saucepan (strained if you like). Add green beans and cook 3-4 minutes. Add cabbage and cook 3-4 more minutes, then the cauliflower for 2-3 minutes. Season to taste with the salt and tamarind juice.

Post from: Blisstree

Lentil and Vegetable Soup

3 cups cubed sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground fenugreek
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup besan

Heat oil in non-stick or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot but not smoking, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek and garlic. Stir-fry until garlic is golden. Add chili powder, turmeric, sweet potatoes and salt to taste. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, then cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove lid, cook 4-5 minutes more, stirring, until sweet potatoes are tender and are lightly browned. Sprinkle besan over all and cook 1-2 minutes more, stirring. Serve hot.

Adapted from 30 Minute Vegetarian Indian Cookbook

Post from: Blisstree

Spicy Sweet Potatoes