Mulberry Tart

When I was really young I used to go to an institute near my house to play. They had an old mulberry tree there, and I used to love to eat the plump, juicy berries straight off the tree. Unfortunately I haven’t been to the institute in years.

I was walking past Himalaya Mall, Ahmedabad; a few days ago. That’s when I saw a man pushing a cart with a large heap of ruby red mulberries on it. I literally had to run to catch up with him and bought a big bag of the juicy berries. That’s when disaster struck, the first berry made my hair stand on end! They were incredibly sour; close to inedible!

I came home rather disappointed; when inspiration struck. As I was making a care package with various kinds of tarts for Varun; I decided to try out this mulberry tart. Delicious!

Ingredients –

·              150g Mulberries

·              75g Sugar

·              2 Eggs

·              200ml Cream

·              1 9-inch Pre-baked Tart Shell

Pour the sugar over the mulberries and place on a low flame. Roughly mash the mulberries with a fork so that they release their juice and combine with the sugar. Let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes. Whisk the two eggs in a bowl and add the cream. Gently stir the cooled mulberry mixture in and pour into the tart shell. Bake the tart in an oven pre-heated to 170C till the sides are set and the center is still a little wobbly. Let the tart cool slightly and serve.

Masterchef Chicken

I auditioned for a show called Masterchef India in 2012. This is the recipe that got me through! Masterchef gave me a lot of confidence, even though I did not get through the interview round. It gave me the push that I desperately needed! Thank you Aaditya Vaze for all the motivation and belief you had in me!

When I think of comfort food, grease is incredibly important! These cheesy delights will certainly hit the spot!

Ingredients –

·         500g minced Chicken

·         300g Cheese

·         50g Butter

·         25g Celery, finely chopped

·         25g Spring Onion, finely chopped

·         1 Chilly, finely chopped

·         5 cloves minced Garlic

·         2 tbsp Flour

·         1 Egg, lightly beaten

·         Oil for shallow frying

·         Salt and pepper to taste

Grate the cheese and thoroughly mix with the butter, celery, spring onion, chilly and garlic. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate till the mixture is rather firm.

Add the flour and egg to the chicken and mix.

Evenly divide the cheese and chicken into 10 segments. Roll a segment of cheese into a cylinder and cover it evenly with a segment of chicken. Repeat the same till you have 10 chicken covered cheese cylinders.

Roll each cylinder in a mixture of flour, salt and red chili powder. Shallow fry; till they are golden brown, serve hot.

Pancakes

I was first introduced to these pancakes a year ago, I haven’t looked back since! Gone were the thin crepes and in came spongy, buttery goodness! The credit for this recipe goes to Varun’s mother – Vaneeta.

Ingredients –

·         1 cup Flour

·         1 tbsp Sugar

·         2 tsp Baking Powder

·         ¼ tsp Salt

·         1 beaten Egg

·         1 cup Milk

·         2 tbsp Oil

·         Butter and honey to drizzle on top

Stir all the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another; simply combine the two to get a thick batter. Heat up your non-stick frying pan and pour a generous ladle-full of the batter. You will know it is time to flip when the entire surface is covered in little bubbles. You may want to add a little bit of oil at this point. Cook for about 1 minute or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note – you can use a number of toppings in place of the butter and honey, whipped cream with fresh fruit, chocolate sauce and toffee sauce are some options!

Tandoori Chicken

My love for Tandoori Chicken blossomed in Pune where I studied for a year and a half. Being on a student’s budget; finding delicious yet inexpensive food was always on the agenda. During the year long search, I came across a little local eatery called Ratna. The Tandoori chicken there is everything you could dream of and more! It is so moist and tender that the meat literally melts like butter in your mouth.

Now that I have moved back to Ahmedabad; I dream about Ratna and their Tandoori Chicken. Eventually, the craving went to such heights that I just had to make it by myself. That’s when I realized; it isn’t so difficult after all!

Ingredients –

·         1kg Chicken

·         1 cup Yogurt

·         2 tsp Red Chilli Powder

·         1 tsp Coriander Powder

·         ½ tsp Cumin Powder

·         2 tsp Salt

·         5 Cloves

·         1 inch stick Cinnamon

·         1 tbsp minced Garlic

·         1 tbsp minced Ginger

·         2 tbsp Lemon Juice

Grind all the spices to make a fine powder and add to the yogurt. Stir in the lemon juice, ginger and garlic. Make deep cuts in the chicken and rub the marinade into it. For the flavor to develop you must refrigerate the meat for at least 12 hours (over-night).

Place the marinated chicken on a grill and cook in an over preheated to 250C for 25-30 minutes or until the meat is tender and cooked. Serve hot.

Note – the addition of a fresh salad counters the spiciness of the meat. Finely sliced onions, tomatoes, cabbage and green chilies with a generous squeeze of lemon and seasoning go perfectly with this dish.

For an outdoor party, you can also barbeque this chicken and serve it on skewers.

Banana Bread

Banana bread is made with a thick, sweet and sticky batter full of mashed bananas, and this is all that! The scent of this bread baking is heavenly. In addition, it can be considered to be healthy because butter has been replaced with oil. You can add chopped chocolate or nuts to the batter as well; but this is the moist, unadulterated version. Recipe credit goes to Varun’s mother – Vaneeta.

Ingredients –

·         2 cups Flour

·         1 cup Sugar

·         ½ cup Oil

·         1 tbsp ground Cinnamon

·         ¼ tsp Salt

·         2 tsp Baking Powder

·         2 Eggs

·         2 cups mashed Bananas

Mix all the wet ingredients in one bowl and the dry in another. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and combine until they are just about incorporated. Mixing too much will make the banana bread tough and dry.

Preheat the oven to 170C; pour the batter into a greased loaf tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Note – you can also divide the batter into 12 cupcake cases and bake for 10-15 minutes to get moist banana cupcakes.