Egg Salad on Ciabatta

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We had a fun and an enjoyable thanksgiving weekend. A couple of days away from the  routine was just what we needed. So I took the time to lay back and do some my kind of R&R (rest and relaxation). And that included hanging out in some gorgeous weather, spending time with family and cooking some delicious meals.And BTW delicious does not have to be time-consuming.  Like this quick egg salad recipe on this blog.

On another note :- How do you boil your eggs. I keep the eggs and the water in a pan and get them to a boil. Then cover and let them rest for at least 10min. Add water to cool them and then peel. Perfectly cooked eggs every time.

The rest of the recipe calls for some basic pantry ingredients. 

Here it goes :-

Egg Salad on Ciabatta

(Inspired from this recipe on One Hot Stove)

Ingredients

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 tomato chopped

1 tsp ginger-garlic paste

2 tsp oil

pinch of turmeric

1 tsp chilli powder

salt to taste

1 tsp of your favorite garam masala

4 Boiled eggs

• In a bowl combine add the onion,tomatoes,ginger-garlic paste and oil. Cover with a plastic wrap and microwave for 1 min or till the onion is translucent.
• To this add the spices - tumeric,salt,chilli powder and garam masala.
• Meanwhile chop the eggs. I used 2 full eggs plus 2 egg whites. Add them to the above mixture.
• Finally add 2 tbsp mayonaise, 1 tsp mustard and mix. Taste and adjust seasoning. Garnish with cilantro to serve.

I toasted some Ciabatta and filled them with the salad. Totally delicious !!! Be sure to use the best of the bread you can find. We love the ciabatta from Panera Bread Bakery. Nothing can beat this $1.99 bread.  You can use any french bread you like. 

If the eggs are ready the total meal will be ready in less than 15min. Faster and way tastier than any take-out.

Malai Kofta

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While this part of the world feasts on the turkey and the mashed potatoes we indulged ourselves in a very much indian Malai Kofta. It was one of those times where I attempted to replicate the restaurant like flavors at home. 

An internet search for the perfect recipe resulted in almost a hundred different variations of this classic dish. I took ideas from many of these and came up with my own.

The contents for the kofta are common in most recipes - paneer and potatoes. You can add some basic seasonings if you like. The tomato based curry is enriched with ground cashews and almonds.

Here's the recipe in detail :

For the koftas :

1/2 C paneer grated ( I used homemade)

1 medium potato ( cooked and grated )

pinch of salt ( dont add too much )

1 tsp green chillies finely chopped

1 large carrot grated (optional)

1/4 C green beans finely chopped

2 tbsp corn flour or all purpose flour

oil to deep fry

For the curry :-

7-8 tbsp tomato pure

2 tbsp cashews (soaked overnight)

2 tbsp almonds (soaked overnight)

1/2 onion chopped

1 inch ginger

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp fennel powder

1 tsp cardamom powder

1 tsp sugar or honey

 salt to taste

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

 oil for tempering

• Make a paste of cashews and almonds and keep aside
• Grind the onion with ginger and garlic and keep aside.
• In a pan heat the oil and add the onion paste and saute till fragrant.
• Then add the chilli powder and turmeric.
• Add the tomato puree and stir on high heat till oil emerges at surface.
• Add the cashew and almond paste.Add enough water to make gravy.
• Once the gravy comes to a boil add the salt,fennel powder,honey,garam masala and the cardamom powder.
• Taste and adjust more spices if you like.
• If you want to thicken the gravy further add some whole milk or cream. 
• Cook for a minute and the garnish with cilantro to serve. Add koftas just before serving.

I was actually quite pleased with this outcome. The gravy is creamy and slightly sweet. Serve it with rotis or a simple jeera rice to get the restaurant like experience at home. A perfect holiday indulgence to say the least.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend !

Surti Val

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Me in a grocery store is like a kid in a toy shop. The one who wants to touch, feel,smell and taste (if possible) all the intresting ingredients I find out there. But my better half does not share this curious behavior, at least in the grocery store. He's more of the go-getter kind. Head straight to the point of interest without looking either ways. On one such visit he happened to pick up this packet of surti val. I had listed the unpeeled ones but what I got were these....

They reminded me of the time when my mom would soak them and spend a good 1-2 hours peeling the skins. A tedious and time-consuming task so to speak. 

 After spending enough time languishing on the kitchen counter they finally got their due respect. I used up some of these in tangy,spicy curry. The recipe is inspired from this one on Aayi's recipes . 

Here's how i made it : 

Surti Val Curry

(Inspured by this recipe on Aayis Recipes)

Soak 1.5 C of surti val in water overnight

Pressure cook them (around 2 whistles) with some salt so that they are soft but still hold their shape.

(Take care not to overcook else you will end up with vaal paste !!)

For the spice paste:

3 cloves

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 cloves of garlic

3 dry red chillies

2 tsp cooked beans from above

1/2 onion finely chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp or more chilli powder

small lump of jaggery

 2-3 tsp tamarind paste

salt to taste

1 tsp mustard seeds

pinch of turmeric and hing

oil as required

• Grind together the above into a smooth paste. Set aside.
• In a pan heat 4-5 tbsp f oil. Drop the mustard seeds,curry leaves, hing and the onion. Fry for about a min.
• Then add the spice paste, tamarind and the vaal. Mix everything adding water to get a gravy consitency. 
• Season with salt. Add a lump of jaggery. Let the whole thing come to a rolling boil. 
• Taste and adjust seasonong as required.
• Garnish with cilantro.Serve with chappatis or plain rice. 

A delicious curry indeed !! And no we did not notice any after-taste because of the peel.....

Have a great week  ahead !!!

Masaledar Ubley andey ( Egg Curry )

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Though this place was quiet for sometime, my life had actually got all the more busier. The see-saw of my life kind of lost its equilibrium giving me more than I was prepared for. Diwali celebrations, extra hours at work, toddler's health all disrupted our routine for a few days. It wasn't that I was not cooking. In fact I was cooking more than usual. But somehow I was unable to grab my camera and take some shots. Nevertheless a part of me wanted to come back here and post a few lines.

Eggs - These find a place usually at our sunday lunch. Omlets,scramble,curry the combinations are endless. Easy to prepare, nutritious and Vijay loves them. Do I need any more reasons ?  I like to try a new recipe for eggs each time. This time I tried this one from Indian Simmer. Prerna gets it from Madhur Jaffrey's cook book. The recipe is very simple and can be assembled in 10-15 mins.

Here its goes :-

Masaledar Ubley Andey

(Inspired from this recipe at Indian Simmer)

4 hard boiled eggs

2 tsp coriander powder

2 tsp cumin powder(I did not have any so i skipped it)

2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

salt to taste

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp garam masala ( the best you can find)

cilantro to garnish

1 tsp ginger grated

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp sugar

1/2 an onion finely chopped

1 C tomato puree or 1/2 can of tomatoes or 2 regular tomatoes chopped ( I made puree of 2.5 tomatoes)

oil as required

• Make a paste of lemon juice, coriander powder,cumin powder,chilli powder,turmeric,salt and garam masala. Add some water if required , but not too much.
• Heat 2-3 tbsp of oil in kadai or wok. Add the cumin. 
• Once the seeds sizzle add the onion and ginger and fry for sometime.
• Add the spice paste.Let the oil separate and the mixture become lumpy.
• Then add the tomato puree and sugar. Saute again. Taste and adjust seasoning.
• To serve cut the eggs length wise and spoon the curry over it. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

The curry is sweet, spicy and tangy - all at the same time. We had ours with some homemade parathas.But these would go well with some bread also. Would be great in the lunch box too.

Have a great week ahead !

Halloween Pics

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No recipe today. Just some pictures of Halloween last weekend. We visited a Halloween celebration in the neighbourhood.

The weather gods offered clear blue skies and bright sunny day.

 

And here is our toddler..

Enjoying the train ride...