Monday, April 25, 2011

Cold cinnamon chai latte

Drinking hot tea in the hot summer evenings was getting to be a bit too hot for me. Hence the idea of drinking iced tea. Besides adding a delicious flavor to tea, cinnamon has several health benefits too. Thus cinnamon tea became the beverage of choice and me being me, I came up with the quickest and laziest method of making the drink. Only thing is, you need to start an hour before you actually want to drink the tea (or else follow the shortcut listed in notes).
Cinnamon chai latte
Cold cinnamon chai latte

Ingredients (makes 1 cup):
1 cup water
1 tea-bag (black tea like Taj Mahal or Lipton)
Sugar to taste
1/4 - 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder (start with a quarter tsp and increase per taste)
Milk to taste

Method:
1. Place tea bag in a microwave safe mug and pour water.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes and steep tea for another 4 minutes.
3. Toss out the tea-bag, add in the sugar and stir to dissolve.
4. Place mug in the freezer section of refrigerator for an hour (or till it gets cold enough for you - but don't wait till it turns to ice)!
5. Add in milk, stir.
6. Add in cinnamon powder and stir.
7. If you have one of those hand-held espresso frothers, go ahead and whir it through your drink for about 10 seconds or till the froth forms. Else, simply stir vigorously with a spoon till a froth forms.

Refreshing iced cinnamon tea is ready.

Notes:
1. You could always go ahead and brew tea leaves in boiling water in a saucepan instead of step 1. Like I said, I am lazy.
2. If you are out of time, use only half a cup of water for brewing the tea and then add ice-cubes/very cold water for the rest (I prefer the original way though).
3. You also whiz the tea in a blender for a few seconds after step 6 if you don't have a frother. Again, I am lazy :-).
4. About 3-4 drops of pure vanilla essence can also be added to the tea if you like. Do not use artificial vanilla essence - it will leave a weird bitter aftertaste.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Bagara Baingan (Seasoned Brinjal)

With the advent of summer, cooking, especially in the afternoon is torture. Hence I have taken to either cooking earlier in the mornings or at nights. Today was an exception -I cooked in the late afternoon since I wanted to have a "proper" dinner with phulkas, a side dish and a salad.

Of course, five minutes after lighting the gas-stove and looking like I had just come out from standing under a waterfall, I started having second thoughts. However, I cooled myself with frequent stops under the dining room fan as my bagara baingan cooked.

The recipe is heavily adapted from here.


Bagara Baingan
Brinjals floating in bagara sauce
 Ingredients (makes enough for 3):
6 small brinjals
1 medium onion
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp peanuts (skin on is ok)
1.5 tsp red chilli powder
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 cumin powder
1 gooseberry sized tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil
Water

Method (optimized to minimize both time and vessels required):
1. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water.
2. In a wide pan, dry roast peanuts and sesame seeds separately and keep aside.
3. In the same pan, add oil to coat and place on medium heat. Make plus shaped cuts on the brinjals (keeping the stem side intact so that the brinjals are still whole). Add them to the pan, toss around so the brinjals are lightly coated with oil. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook on low heat.
4. In the meantime, grind the peanuts and sesame seeds into a smooth paste with a little water.
5. Chop onions into small sized pieces. Extract the tamarind juice.
6. Check on the brinjals. They should be mostly done (meaning, when pressed the back of a spoon, the spoon should sink in fairly easily. If not, add a tablespoon of water and continue to cover and cook till done. When done, take brinjals out and keep aside.
7. In the same pan, increase heat to medium and add some more oil if insufficient (note, if you had used water in the previous step, wait for it to completely evaporate before you add in any more oil). Toss in the ginger garlic paste and stir-fry for a few seconds.
8. Toss in the onions and salt and cook till onions turn golden brown.
9. Add in the peanut-sesame paste and fry till raw smell disappears.
10. Toss in the masala powders and stir fry for a few seconds.
11. Add in the extracted tamarind juice and 1 cup of water. Mix well.
12. Add in the brinjals gently (so they don't break).
13. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
14. Adjust for salt and garnish with coriander leaves.
15. Let rest for atleast 10 minutes and serve hot with rotis or rice.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Quick masala egg scramble

When you don't have the time or the patience to cook, here is a simple recipe for a side-dish which goes well with rotis.

Ingredients (enough for a generous portion for 1):
1 egg
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 green chilli, slit vertically and then chopped into 2
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp aamchur (or chat masala)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:
1. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat
2. Drop in the green chilli and toast till white spots appear on it.
3. Add in the onions and salt and fry till golden brown.
4. Toss in the tomatoes and cook till mostly mushy.
5. Add all the masala powders and stir for a minute.
6. Break in the egg and mix till egg is scrambled and mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Cook till eggs are done (about 1-2 minutes).
8. Adjust for salt, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Surprisingly delicious!

Raw Banana Stir fry

 This recipe is adapted from cookdtv. Ingredients 1 raw banana or 2 small bananas 2 tbsp sesame oil 1/2 tsp mustard 6 cloves crushed garlic ...