Foodbuzz 24, 24, 24: EAT LIKE A KING; FEAST FOR A MAHARAJA

Clifford Wright?24 Meals, 24 Hours, 24 Blogs.?

The "24, 24, 24" captures the cultural diversity and unique local perspective of the Foodbuzz Featured Publishers: it's real food, experienced by 24 real people, shared real-time. A global "live blogging" effort showcasing a multi-contributor feature article created by Foodbuzz Featured Publishers demonstrating the scope, diversity and quality of the community! I'm proud to be one of the 24. Indian food has gained tremendous popularity over the years, has earned a place for itself across the globe. My post is a celebration of North Indian cuisine, which is a culinary adventure in itself.

Welcome to my table, offering some of the best in North Indian cuisine, steeped in culture, enticing the palate. Feast your eyes on traditional yet innovative fare; colourful & uncomplicated! Let yourself in on kitchen secrets! Join me as I embark on an adventure to recreate, at home, the joy of food eaten out at Indian eateries.

I have attempted to put together a meal of Indian dishes, from appetizers, to drinks, main course non-vegetarian & vegetarian...& wrapping it up with sweet somethings. Have tried to reach the magic 24! The recipes are from scratch, not overtly heavy on spices or fat, & can be played around with to suit different tastes. Mine are usually mildly spicy. When I cook, I make sure I don't sacrifice 'the palate to please the eye'. Welcome to India, my part of the world...

Coolers1. Anaar Sherbet - Pomegranate Cooler.2. Aam Panna - Green Mango Cooler with rock salt & mint.3. Nimbu Paani - Lime-Ginger Cooler with rock salt & mint.

Appetizers4. Potato Canapes - Home-made potato crisps topped with with blended cottage-cheese, cheddar & sage.5. Paneer Tikka - Barbequed cottage cheese cubes in 2 different marinades.6. Chicken Reshmi Kebabs - Moist & tender, bite sized kebabs, served with a tangy green chutney.

7. Assorted Fruit & Cheese Canapes - A fusion of flavours with a blend of cottage-cheese, cheddar & cream, topping 'Apricot Relish', 'Mango Chutney' & pineapple.

On the side

8. On The Side - Fresh Green Coriander-Mint Chutney, Apricot Relish, Pickled Baby Onions.

Main Course9. Gosht-do-piaza - A hearty lamb stew. "Do" is "two" and "piaz" is "onion"; so "dopiaza" is a dish which has twice the amount of onions.10. Paneer-e-dhungaar - A twist on butter paneer. Smoked cottage cheese chunks smothered in a creamy tomato gravy.11. Kadhai Gobhi - Crisp, stir fried cauliflower, with red & yellow bell peppers introduced for variety.12. Lamb Roghan Josh - A passionate red lamb curry in a thick gravy. My simple rendition of Rogan Josh...mild & tasteful. The red colour comes from the use of paprika.13. Chicken Reshmi Seekh Kebabs - Pan fried minced chicken in seekh kebabs flavoured with fresh herbs. Delectable.

14. Murgh Makhani - The original butter chicken from the owners of Moti Mahal, India. India's signature barbequed chicken curry, popular the world over. Popularly referred to as India's export to the West!

15. Dal Makhani - Black lentils simmered in a thick, creamy & almost rich preparation. Another hot favourite off the Indian menu. The bread basket... 16. Naan - The most loved of Indian flatbreads. Light & flavourful; brushed with melted butter & a sprinkling of nigella & sesame seeds.17. Tandoori Roti - Wholewheat flatbreads, unleavened & rustic. Delicious served hot.

18. Khameeri Roti - Another leavened wholewheat flatbread, leavened with yeast, adding variety to the basket.

...& The Rice Bowl 19. Yakhni Pulao - Long-grained basmati rice, 'dum' cooked / slowly simmered in lamb stock, roasted lamb & aromatic spices.

20. Zeera Pulao - Long-grained basmati rice, stir fried in aromatic cumin, garnished with fried cashew nuts.

Sweet endings...21. Mango Jelly Mousse - A fusion of flavours...mango mousse nestled in dark chocolate, topped with cream & pistachios.22. Saffron Kulfi - A frozen Indian dairy-based dessert...luxuriously flavoured with saffron, cardamom & pistachios.23. Kheer - A creamy Indian rice pudding delicately flavoured with saffron & cardamom, served chilled.

Signing off...with an interesting quote

"To eat is human; to digest, divine."
Charles T. Copeland

24. Saunf, Mishri, Elaichi - Finishing off the Indian meal the traditional way...fennel, sugar lumps, cardamom etc.

BON APETIT!!

Thank you for being part of the great Indian gastronomical adventure. Coincidentally, this is also my 300th post! I have really enjoyed having you over. Do check out the rest of us here...?24, 24, 24? on Foodbuzz!

I SPY A PIE...IT'S SAVOURY & IT'S FOR IVY!

All savoury pie roads lead to Ivy's @ Kopiaste this September. There's a savoury pie food event at the Greek gals place & it's been on my mind the whole month.

With the weather getting cooler here, pie times are beckoning. Have a few bookmarked pies on my list, but with September quickly disappearing before my eyes, I'd better send these little rustic savoury galettes Ivy's way. Made mini galettes with left-over home-made pizza dough from here. I flavoured the basic pizza dough with chili flakes, Italian seasoning & garlic powder (loads of it). Got the idea from Pschygrad's Savoury Mini-Galettes & decided to use whatever I had left-over in my fridge. You see, with blogging comes a load of delicious left-overs!!

Made these rustic creatures with a filling of a little pizza sauce from Christine Cushing's yummy jar of hand-made sauce that I won as a prize. It came all the way from Canada & I'm trying to make the most of it!! Topped it off with blanched spinach (squeezed out), an assortment of grated cheddar & cottage-cheese, slices of tomato, sweetcorn, & sauteed mushrooms.Rolled out the pizza dough thin & piled on the filling in the centre, dampened the edges with a little water, folded it over in pleats, left a bit open on top, added a dollop of sour cream & onion cheese spread. Baked at 180 degrees C for about 25-30 minutes till the pastry got nice & crisp & golden...Nice change from the pizza. Top with fresh basil & serve warm or at room temperature. I think these would taste yum with grilled chicken too!

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CHOCOLATE CREME CARAMEL CUSTARD...Twist to the classic!

Was virtually flipping through my posts the other day & realised that desserts had, of late, deserted my blog. It's been a while since I posted a chocolaty dessert, so here we are.

The story goes like this. We were visiting my Mom the other day, & she told the kids that she had made some caramel custard, & had added some chocolate to it, since she knew they were coming. The kids whooped with joy...but her idea of chocolate & their idea of chocolate were poles apart! They still ate the caramel custard, which used to be a regular at our dinner tables when we were young.

I think the caramel custard tradition began at the time my Dad was in the services. For dessert, Air Force Messes always served a creme caramel, or a bread pudding, or fruits with custard. On lucky days fruit with cream made an appearance! Egg-o-phobic me could never eat the caramel custard, & I still recall swallowing the compulsory spoonfuls. It never occurred to us to say no; 'saying no to food' just wasn't allowed! Times have changed & so have expressions...so by the time we reached home that evening, the pleadings for chocolate caramel custard were growing louder & louder.

For the custard:
Milk - 3 cups / 750ml
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 3
Cornflour - 2 tsps
Cocoa - 3-4 tbsps (according to strength of cocoa; the one we get here is pretty mild)
Vanilla extract - 1 tsp
Method:

• Mix the cornflour + cocoa in a small bowl. Add some cold milk & mix into a paste.
• Put the cocoa mixture & all the other ingredients into a big bowl & whisk till well blended.
  Gently pour into the caramel lined tin.
• Here you can either bake it in a water bath at 180 degrees C for 30 minutes/until set. OR, like I made it, make it in a pressure cooker. Put a little water in the cooker, should come up to half the height of the pan, & bring to a boil. Place a low metal plate / trivet in the base of the cooker, & gently place the baking tin on this. Cook under pressure, with the cap on, for 15 minutes, on medium heat. Turn off heat & leave it as it is to cool.
• Once cool, chill for at least 4 hours so it is well set.
• Then take a butter knife, run along the edges, hold a pie dish /serving dish on top, & quickly turn the tin upside down. Do this swiftly & the caramel custard will turn out unbroken into the dish. Swirl cream over the top, with some chocolate flakes & chopped toasted walnuts. Even just walnuts compliment the caramel beautifully.
• Chill until served.
  

I leave you with pictures of these pretty little butterflies. Dozens of these tiny creatures have overtaken our garden. They chase each other dizzily all day long...their sudden appearance signalling the change of season. The nips in the air...& winter is round the corner!

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TOMATO TART...An eventful tart!

I had a Tomato Tart on my mind. Was it Tuesdays with Doris? Was it Mondays with Martha? It wasn't Saturday Snapshots @ Cook Sisters as that's a non-foodie post, it wasn't the Friday snapshot at Dhanggits' as that is a sweet one. Was it the book Tuesdays with Dorie...or is it just old age approaching? Saw a pie I fell in love with the minute I set my eyes on it, but couldn't find it in my bursting bookmarked folder.

It was a tomato tart & a lovely one...one without eggs in the filling & it sang to me. Eventually, armed with memories & the ever dependable Cook's Bible from Le Cordon Bleu I set forth making the tart.

2. It's Tomato - reminds me of the 'O' foods Event for Ovarian Cancer. If you haven't heard about it, then do check out Michelle's blog here at Bleeding Espresso for event rules & many 'O' posts. Rush coz the event ends at the end of the month! You can find the rules on my Potato Canapes with Cheese & Sage post here too.
3. It's a bookmarked recipe, at least for the base, from the Cook's Bible, so it's also headed for Ruth's Bookmarked Event. Phew...so armed with all this, I set off to make my TOMATO TART.The basic shortcrust is from 'The Cook's Bible', & I made 2 pie shortcrust bases out of this portion. I used one immediately & put the other into the freezer for use later. Used the second one yesterday & it worked as good as fresh. The bases were thin crust, like I like them, held beautifully, & had less fat. If you want a richer & more indulgent crust, make a single crust out of this portion. Am sure it will guiltily taste yummier!! Yes, there was an egg in the pastry, but egg-o-phobic me didn't mind it, nor taste it, coz the pie was so delicious.

• Put the plain flour + salt + butter in a processor & work in short bursts to make into a breadcrumb texture. You can also do the same by hand by rubbing the butter in with your fingertips.
• Shake the dough to aerate it. Make a well, add the egg & work the processor till the dough begins to come together. Take out the dough into a bowl, & add a little water, only if required, bring the dough together & shape into a rough ball. DO NOT overwork the dough, or the pastry will be tough.
• Wrap in cling wrap & chill for 30 minutes.
• Divide into 2 if you want a thin crust. Roll out & line your pie dish. To prevent baked pastry from shrinking, take care not to stretch the dough when rolling it out & fitting it into the tin.
• Chill the shell for at least 30 minutes.

For the filling:
Roasted garlic paste - 2 tsps (I love the flavours & use this wherever & whenever possible)
Cottage cheese - 200gms ; grated (use whichever cheese you fancy)
Sweetcorn - 1 cup (I like to make mine fresh)
Roasted bell peppers - 1 red & 1 yellow; sliced fine
Cheddar - 50-100 gms for topping
Tomatoes 6-8 ; sliced thick
Fresh basil leaves - a good handful
Method:

• Brush the base generously with the garlic paste.
• Top with cottage cheese, followed by corn, roasted peppers & season with salt & freshly grated pepper. Generously grate cheese over the top. Line the whole pie with tomatoes slices.
• Bake at 180 degrees C for about 30 minutes; till done.
• Sprinkle with finely chopped fresh basil. Enjoy.
• Note: I made the other crust into a Chicken & Mushroom savory pie...will post that one soon.

This post is double-bookmarked!! I just found the tart recipe while browsing blogs. The evasive tart was traced to Mimi on the Move! Hurrah...what a relief! Do check out her blog when you have the time. It has great recipes, & does throw up interesting bits of wisdom from Mr Mimi as well. In addition, there's a brilliant lot of photographs she clicked in Africa a while ago!

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COFFEE GLAZED CHOCOLATE-CHIP SCONES...A delicious mouthful!

A sweet beginning for October. A new month, a fresh bunch of challenges, a load of activity across blogs...& food, glorious food! Winter is creeping into the Northern hemisphere, while Spring is springing into the Southern. What better time to enjoy some warm scones for tea but now?My first exposure to authentic scones was back in the 80's when a bunch of us girlfriends had gone over to stay in a castle up in North England which was being restored by a Scottish lady. The memories are quite faint now, but I vividly remember a couple of things... the huge gate-posts made of stone with carved lion heads, early morning mist, beds of lavender, the beautiful guest rooms in hues of pastel pinks & lavenders-done up in hand-made lace linen made by Irish nuns, & fresh scones for tea! The pastels in this post are reminiscent of those connections long gone...but the clotted cream is missing!! Found this perfect recipe for scones to enjoy the change in season & nip in the air; it's from a wonderful blog that I love visiting. Baking & Books is authored by Ariela, a talented lady who says she loves coffee, cooking, baking, traveling, running with Oreo, books & music..& more. The recipe was a winner though I had some minor problems with a sticky dough, & ended up not using all the buttermilk. That said, the scones eventually formed beautifully (after the addition of extra flour), were delicious & had a delicate crumb. Gentle flavours of nutmeg combined beautifully with the dark chocolate chips & coffee glazing. I cut the scones with a 2" cutter instead of a 3" one, since I knew the kids would go for seconds! Smart ole me...or mean ole me...whatever!! Ariela served some Iced Cardamom Coffee with these...I didn't have time to get that far, though I do wish I did. Will try that one day!! Pretty portulaca or moss roses...the last of the summer flowers...
Coffee-Glazed Chocolate Chip Scones from Baking & Books
Makes 8 large scones or 16 smaller 2" ones like I made

There's something about a square of paper which takes me back to my days in school. Each time I have nothing to do & find some waste paper, I set to making these little paper baskets...wonder if anyone else remembers making these!

CHOCOLATE COFFEE-ALMOND-MERINGUE LAYER CAKE FOR DH

October generally begins with a frenzy of activity coz DH's birthday is on the 3rd of October. From a week before I begin reading up books & browsing the net for cake recipes & ideas. While I'm doing this, the kids make a last minute ditch effort to make cards & small gifts.DH is an intensely private person & doesn't like to be talked about. But he's the inspiration behind my blog, he's my spell check, my blog critique who sometimes leaves me cringing, & someone I've known for LONG! He makes sure he gets to my blog first thing in the morning, & the last thing at night. For some who know me as 'vindee', he's the 'vin' & I'm the 'dee'!!Have been fascinated with meringues ever since I made them here & served them with apricots earlier this summer, & with peach-mango ice-cream too. Found this cake recipe with a layer of meringue in my very first baking book, 'Chocolate Cooking' by David Schwartz, that my best friend from school presented on my birthday way back in 1984! Can't believe I showed some signs of baking then too. Met up with her just a month ago while she was visiting from the States. She's now a pediatrician settled in Chicago...has 2 kids too. How time flies...we met up after a good 20 years & it was like we were back in school again, giggling over the stupidest of things!!

Now about the cake... the basic cake is a chocolate sponge cut into 2 layers. Within it, a coffee-almond meringue sandwiched between the 2 layers of chocolate sponge, luxuriously resting in some coffee whipped cream. I made the sponge & the meringue a day in advance & refrigerated both. The sides of the cake smothered with some almond whipped cream, bordered with slivered almonds...& then the top covered with dark chocolate ganache with a hint of coffee to tie in all the flavours! Was it good? O BOY...best cake that's happened in a while. It came together very well. The flavours were deep, dark & left us wanting for more even though we were ready to burst after a sumptuous dinner. The boy was smart coz he ate a little less at dinner, & devoured 3 slices of cake...asked for a 4th but his luck ran out as I put my foot down. The daughter had 3 helpings as well! Chocolate Coffee-Almond-Meringue Layer Cake

as adapted from Chocolate Cooking by David Schwatrz, pg15
Chocolate Sponge

Ingredients:
Plain flour - 75gms
Cocoa - 70 gms
Eggs - 6; separated, whites stiffly beaten
Castor Sugar - 180gms
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
• Line a 10" round Spring form baking tin with baking parchment greased & dusted with flour.(You can use a 9" tin; will give you a higher cake)
• Sift the flour & cocoa.
• Whisk the egg yolks & sugar until the mixture falls in thick ribbons.
• Gently fold a third of the flour mixture, then a third of the egg whites. Repeat until all the flour mixture & egg whites have been incorporated.
• Pour into tin & bake for 40-45 minutes / until the cake is springy to touch.
• Cool in tin for 5 minutes, then turn out on rack & cool completely.

Coffee-Almond Meringue
Ingredients:
Almonds - 75 gms; ground in coffee grinder with skins (be careful they don't become pasty)
Cocoa - 1 1/2 tsps
Coffee - 1 tbsp
Castor sugar - 120 gms
Egg whites - 3, stiffly beaten
Method:

• Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C.
• Line a baking sheet with baking parchment, & draw a 10" circle on it. If you don't have a baking sheet big enough, use the circular base of the spring form.
• Combine the almonds, cocoa & 50 gms of the sugar in a bowl.
• Beat the rest of the sugar into the beaten egg whites, a little at a time, & beat until stiff.
• Beat in the coffee. Gently fold in the almond sugar mixture into the beaten egg whites.
• Spoon the meringue into a piping bag fitted with a 1 cm nozzle. Pipe a spiral to cover the 10" circle. You can pipe any remaining meringue onto parchment paper & bake them alongside to use for decoration etc.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven for 1 1/2 hours or until crisp.
• Allow to cool completely & then gently peel the parchment away.

Coffee Cream
Ingredients:
Low fat cream - 300ml
Instant Coffee - 1 tbsp
Castor sugar 2-3 tbsps (as per taste)
Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp
Method:

• Whip the cream with all ingredients until stiff. Add more sugar if required. You can increase the whipped cream to 500 ml & frost the sides either with this or with plain almond flavoured whipped cream.

Almond Cream
Ingredients:
Whipping Cream - 200ml
Almond Essence - 1 tsp
Castor sugar - 2-3 tbsps
Method:

• Whip the cream with all ingredients until stiff.

Dark Chocolate Coffee Ganache
Ingredients:
Low fat cream - 100 ml
Dark Chocolate - 150 gms, broken
Coffee - 1 tsp
Method:

• Simmer all ingredients gently in a pan, stirring constantly. Once the chocolate has melted, strain for any lumps & allow to cool. It will thicken as it cools.

To Assemble:

• Slice the sponge into 2 layers.
• Reserve 2-3 tbsps of coffee cream for decorating the top if you like. Spread half the coffee cream & top with the crisp meringue. Trim the meringue to the size of the cake if need be. Top with remaining coffee cream, followed with the second layer of sponge.
• Frost the sides with almond flavoured whipped cream (or with coffee cream). Edge with slivered almonds. Chill for 15 minutes to set the sides.
• Top the cake with the smooth ganache, allowing some to flow down the sides.
• Garnish with grated white chocolate, smaller meringues, coffee cream rosettes etc.
• Chill until served.
• Note: The sponge & the meringue can be made up to 2 days in advance. I refrigerated both as it's pretty warm here.
  
  

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