Bengali Mustard Fish

This is my new favorite fast-to-cook recipe. Cooking time 7 mins in the microwave...can't beat that!

From here with some minor substitutions

2-3 Steaks of Salmon, cleaned
2 tbsp mustard oil
3 tablespoons yogurt
2.5 tablespoons grated coconut
1/2 – 3/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
few green chili, slit for garnish

For the mustard Paste:
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
3-4 hot green chillies
Salt to taste

To make Mustard Paste:
Soak the paste ingredients together in about 1/2 cup water for 30 minutes. Grind this mix into a thick paste in a blender/ mixer. The finer the paste, the better.

Now, add this mustard paste to the coconut, turmeric, chilli powder, mustard oil and yoghurt and mix well. the paste will be thickish, don't add water to thin out.

In a microwave safe glass bowl, coat the dish with mustard oil, and then arrange the pieces of salmon in the bowl. Now, pour the mixture above to cover and immerse the salmon completely. Add a few slit green chillies on top. Cover the bowl with cling wrap, and cook for 3 mins on high in the microwave. The cling wrap will create steam which will slowly steam the fish. After 3 mins, remove and gently stir the fish sauce, without disturbing the fish. Re-cover and put for another 3 mins and repeat till done. It took about 10 mins to cook the fish through.

Enjoy with rice!

Caramelized Broccoli!

This is broccoli roasted at a high temperature for a while. Essentially what happens is that over time broccoli get caramalized and with added salt and pepper taste like a sinful snack, which its totally not :) Try it - you'll see what I mean.

Whole head of broccoli broken into bite sized florets
1 minced garlic
Generous serving of olive oil
Kosher salt and ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg.
2. If you soak to wash your broccoli - make sure you dry it well.
3. Spread the broccoli on a baking sheet, douse it with olive oil, mix in the garlic, salt and pepper.
4. Roast for 20 - 25 mins or until broccoli is bright green and crunchy.
5. I usually thrown in green/red pepper strips as well - they cook to the same effect.

Chicken with wild mushrooms

I often come back to this recipe especially since morels always seem to within reach here in Seattle :) and it makes a impressive dinner party dish.

Serves 4

2 legs, skin on
2 thighs, skin on
Salt and ground pepper
4 tbsps butter
1.5 cups of morel mushrooms (I have used dried porcini and morel mix as well, just soak in warm water for 30mins)
1/2 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup heavy cream

• Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
• Use a non-stick skillet that is large enough to contain all 4 pieces in a single layer. Melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down and cook until the skin turns light brown (about 5-7 mins on each side). Transfer the chicken out of the skillet and discard the butter-fat mix.

• Add the chicken back into the pan along with the sherry, mushrooms and salt to taste. Cover and simmer gently for about 20 mins. Don't overcook the chicken and check a couple of times to make sure that the liquid hasn't evaporated. Add water as needed.
• Transfer the chicken into a platter and cover with a foil tent.
• Add cream to the mushrooms-sherry mix and simmer for 5 mins.

• Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve with crusty bread.

Butternut Squash and Basil Lasagna

My friend, Aparna, made this delicious lasagna for a dinner party last month. I was absolutely bowled over by the flavors and unique ingredients!

From Giada de Laurentiis' recipe with some modifications. I made the basil sauce by following the steps from Deb's smitten kitchen recipe.

For the Squash puree:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb butternut squash, I bought the cut and cubed one from Trader Joe's
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water

For the Basil Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
3tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
Red chilli flakes, to taste

12 no-boil lasagna noodles
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions:
In a heavy skillet, pour a turn of olive oil and add the butternut squash to it. Add salt, pepper to taste, and coat all the squash. Add the 1/4 cup of water, and cover and simmer on low for 20 minutes till tender. Mash coarsely with a masher or put it into a food processor to puree.

For the basil white sauce, in a pan melt 2 tbsp of the butter and add the flour. Stir constantly till the raw smell of the flour disappears, about 2 mins. Make sure to stir so that flour does not brown. Now add the hot milk and stir (best with a whisk) till the mixture begins to boil. Boil till the mixture thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Season with salt, nutmeg and red pepper flakes. Transfer half of this sauce to a blender and add 3/4 cup of basil leaves, and blend until smooth. Transfer this basil mix to the remainder of the white sauce to mix evenly.

Preheat oven to 375F. In a baking dish, grease sides generously and start layering your lasagna. Start with a layer of the basil sauce, a layer of the no-boil lasagna noodles, and then a layer of the squash mixture. Sprinkle a little cheese onto the squash layer (I did not put any cheese except on the top to brown). Layer this way until you end with a last layer of squash. Reserve 1/4 cup basil sauce to drizzle over the top along with some Parmesan cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake at 375F for 40 minutes.

Serve with a salad!

Spreading Christmas Cheer - Chocolate Cake!

I always bake for Christmas and since I was travelling this year, I picked an easy & never-fail Smitten Kitchen recipe - Everyday Chocolate Cake that I could recreate with minimal ingredients in my friend's kitchen.

I used Scharffen Berger Chocolate and it turned out fantastic. The only thing I added was the Chocolate frosting on top that was melted chocolate - Half & Half - Dark rum + Grand Marnier. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the cake with the frosting, but I can confirm it was a hit! How can you go wrong with chocolate and alcohol! ;)

I wish all of you Happy Holidays and a very happy New Year!  Cheers!

Lauki (Bottle guard) sabzi

This is my friend's Sudha's recipe - she is an amazing cook who reintroduces me to traditional Indian vegetables and cooking each time I visit her. This recipe is so simple and tasty - I went from not cooking with bottle guard at all to making this atleast once a month! :)

Serves 2 (with leftovers for lunch!)

1 bottle guard (Lauki) - peeled, de-seeded and chopped into 1 inch cubes
Green chillies - 4 or 5 slit
Milk - 1/2 cup
Ground peanuts (pwd)- 2 tablespoons
Cilantro - chopped for garnish
Water - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
EVOO - 1 swirl of the pan

Combine the following powders in a cup -
Chilli pwd - 1 tablespoon
Turmeric pwd (haldi) - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander pwd (dhania) - 1 teaspoon
Cumin pwd (jeera) - 1 teaspoon
Garam masala - 1 teaspoon
Hing - a pinch
Salt - to taste

In a pan, heat the oil and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard splutters, add the cumin seeds & slot green chillies. As the cumin browns, add the powders you have already combined in a cup while also stirring the mixture. Don't let the powders burn, but let them cook for a min or so while constantly stirring. After a min, add milk, water, ground peanuts(pwd), water and the chopped bottle guard. Cook covered for about 20 minutes - when cooked the bottle guard pieces should be still al-dente and not too mushy!

Garnish with chopped cilantro, and serve hot with rice/roti !

Mushroom Pepper Fry

Growing up in India, cooking with mushrooms was very uncommon. Fortunately for us, we were a part of this mushroom cooperative and would have fresh grown mushrooms of different varieties delivered to our doorstep every other week. Their earthy flavor combined with mom's ability to make them lip smacking made them my favorite! Here's one of her recipes - Mushroom Pepper Fry. Mushrooms & Black pepper go really well together! :)

Serves 2

1 pound oyster/button/baby bella mushrooms - cleaned and chopped. Mushrooms are extremely porous and soak up water like a sponge. Because they are mostly water, never soak fresh mushrooms. Brush off any dirt or wipe them with a damp paper towel.

Onion - 1 chopped finely
Curry leaves - 1 stalk (5-6 leaves)
Ginger & Garlic paste - 1 teaspoon or use fresh minced ginger & garlic
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Coriander pwd/dhania - 2 teaspoons
Turmeric pwd/Haldi - 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh ground black pepper - 2 tablespoon (adjust to taste if you don't like your dish too peppery)
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon, or 1 swirl of the pan using a pourer

Heat oil in a wok, and add cumin seeds. When cumin browns, add chopped onions and curry leaves and fry until the onions are translucent/light brown(5-8 minutes). Now add ginger & garlic paste, coriander pwd and turmeric pwd and cook until the mixture doesn't smell raw anymore (about 2 minutes). Then add the mushrooms and cook uncovered for 10 minutes until they shrink and soften. Then take the wok off the stove and add salt, pepper and lemon juice.

DO NOT add any of these during the cooking process because -
- Adding salt to mushrooms causes them to let out water. This will cause your dish to become too watery
- Adding pepper during the cooking process takes away from the bite/flavor
- Lemon juice turns bitter when cooked

Serve with hot rice/roti! Enjoy!!