Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Monday, Jan 28, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Monday, Jan 28, 2002 |
|
|
|
|
|
Life
-
Food & Cuisine Soups & snacks, just for you
Uma Bhatia's recent book on cookery offers you an assortment of recipes from different States of India, continental and Chinese dishes too. Her USP is presenting time-tested recipes that she has perfected or created in her own kitchen for almost half-a-decade. The wife of an Indian Forest Service Officer, she would often have guests on her table. Though her book is targeted at the young working, harried housewife, today's men, who are almost as adept at cooking and need the tips as badly, would do well to also try them out. She emphasises that all the ingredients used are available in the Indian kitchen and the measurements are simplified so that the person need not invest in kitchen scales to get the ingredients together. She says that cooking is all about tempting and pleasing the appetite. The food should be attractive and presented in the most colourful manner. Here, she presents a variety of soups and snacks that are easy to make and not so heavy on the stomach either.
Pea Shell Soup
Preparation time: 20 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes Serves: 6 people Ingredients
Chicken stock — 2 cups
Sugar — 1 tablespoon
Milk — 1 cup
Chopped mint
Salt
Method
1. Cook pea shells in chicken stock; sieve 2. Add salt, sugar, milk and mint and serve.
Mushroom and Spinach Soup
Preparation time: 45 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Serves: 6 people
Ingredients
Onion chopped — 1
Spinach — 1 cup
Butter — 3 tablespoon
Pepper corn — 10
Cream — 2 cups
Milk — 2 cups
Salt — to taste
Crushed garlic — 2 flakes
Nutmeg — grated
Method
1. Chop mushrooms coarsely, keeping 2 tablespoon for garnishing 2. Chop onions and liquidise along with mushrooms, herbs and salt. Add to melted butter along with a little milk. 3. Chop spinach with a stainless steel knife, blanch in boiling water along with a pinch each of salt and sugar for 1-2 minutes. Puree the spinach. 4. Add cream and rest of the milk to the mushroom mixture. Add crushed garlic and spinach and heat. 5. Heat a little extra butter, add the rest of the mushrooms and saute. 6. Pour hot soup into the bowls and garnish with the sauted mushrooms.
Spinach Soup
Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Serves: 6 people Ingredients Spinach — 1 cup Onions — 2 chopped Garlic-ginger paste — 1 tablespoon Butter — 1 tablespoon Milk and cream — ½ cup each Flour — 1 tablespoon Water — 4 cups
Method
1. Boil spinach in 4 cups water with onions, garlic-ginger paste and salt. 2. Sieve 3. Stir flour into melted butter 4. Cook and add soup and milk Simmer 5. Add a dash of cream before serving.
Mushroom Pakoras
Preparation time: 1 hour Cooking time: 30 minutes Serves: 6 people Ingredients Mushrooms — 4 cups Besan — ½ cup Baking powder — 1 teaspoon Oil — for frying Green chillies, salt, garam masala, red chilli powder.
Method
1. Mix besan with baking powder all the other masalas and water; beat to coating consistency. 2. Keep aside for an hour 3. Heat oil, dip mushrooms in the besan batter and fry till golden brown. Serve with mint chutney.
Corn Rolls
Preparation Time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour Serves: 6 people Ingredients
The casing
Potatoes — 9 large, boiled and mashed Bread — 3 slices, soaked in water and squeezed Chopped deseeded green chillies — ½ teaspoon Lemon juice — 1 teaspoon Salt and pepper
The stuffing
Corn grains freshly boiled and coarsely ground — 4 tablespoon Sugar — 1 tablespoon Chopped deseeded green chillies — ½ tablespoon Grated coconut — 2 tablespoon Green coriander chopped — 1 tablespoon Garam masala — 1 teaspoon Green chillies chopped — 1 teaspoon Salt — to taste Bread crumbs or suji (samolina) for coating
Method
1. Prepare the casing by mixing potatoes with bread and other ingredients. 2. Prepare the stuffing by mixing corn with other ingredients. 3. Spread a small portion of the casing in the palm of your hand. Place a tbsp of stuffing in it. 4. Form into a small roll. 5. Make a thin batter with flour and water 6. Dip the rolls in it one by one, roll in suji or bread crumbs and deep fry to a golden colour. 7. Serve with green chutney.
Paneer Tikka
Preparation Time: 1 ½ hours Cooking time: 30 minutes Serves: 6 people Ingredients Paneer — ½ kg Curd — 1 ½ cups, hung in muslin cloth Ginger-garlic paste — 2 tablespoon Lemon juice — 1 tablespoon Garam masala — 2 teaspoon Salt — to taste Red chilli powder — ½ teaspoon Red colouring — few drops Chopped coriander — 1 tablespoon Chat masala — 2 tablespoon
Method
1. Cut paneer into 1-½ inch pieces. 2. Beat the hung curd well and add all the masalas to it. 3. Marinate paneer pieces in the curd mixture for at least an hour. 4. Heat a gas tandoor, an electric tandoor or an oven. Put 3-4 pieces of paneer on each skewer and roast till golden brown. 5. Sprinkle chat masala on paneer tikkas before serving. 6. Serve with green chutney and onion rings.
Chicken tikkas
Preparation time: 1½ hours Cooking time: 45 minutes Serves: 6 people Ingredients Boneless chicken pieces — ½ kg Hung curd — 1½ cups Ginger-garlic paste — 2 tablespoon Lemon juice — 2 teaspoon Garam masala — 2 teaspoon Red chilli powder — 1 teaspoon Coriander chopped Chat masala Salt — to taste Oil — 1 tablespoon
Method
1. Cut chicken into 2-inch pieces 2. Beat the hung curd till smooth and add all the other ingredients to it. 3. Marinate the chicken pieces in the curd mixture for at least an hour. 4. Heat a gas tandoor, an electric tandoor or an oven. Put 3-4 pieces of chicken tikkas on each skewer and roast till chicken is tender and golden brown on all sides. 5. Sprinkle with lemon juice, chat masala, and chopped coriander. 6. Serve with green chutney and onion rings. Excerpted from `Cookery For The Young Housewife' by Uma Bhatia, CBS Publishers and Distributors.
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail
|
Stories in this Section |
|
The Hindu Group: Home | About Us | Copyright | Archives | Contacts | Subscription Group Sites: The Hindu | Business Line | The Sportstar | Frontline | Home |
Copyright © 2002, The
Hindu Business Line. Republication or redissemination of the contents of
this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of
The Hindu Business Line
|