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Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Food. Show all posts

IRRESISTIBLE BREAD! OH MY OH MY....




Oh...how I love my bread. Its the one thing that keeps me alive. I'm not a great cook. While I can get the basics right - like making tea, coffee, maggi, rice, even dal and roti/paratha - I fail miserably at making 'sabji', 'bhaji' and 'curry' of any sorts. I always screw up when I start adding the spices. Frustrated, I have to then end up throwing my entire creativity into the bin. And then, comes to my rescue - my bread. And, I've experimented with it too - tried different fillings and somehow, the bread has not failed me - and, I'm alive. Its keeping me alive! \ :D /

My go-to quick experiments with my bread has been - the usual toast and butter, then, add in a cheese slice or omlette between the toast or add both with some mayonaise ( there are plenty variety of those in the market ); adding peanut butter, jam or honey between the toast works too ( don't forget to add butter to the toast while its hot ); sometimes, add in mashed boiled potato with spinkle of chat masala, tomato, onion, beet, capsicum and cucumber slice with a layer of dhaniya/pudiya chutney ( its available in market too ) - and voila, it becomes a sandwich! Or, instead of plain boiled potato spice it with some chilli, garlic and corainder mix called 'thecha' ( its available in market too, yippee ) and it becomes a masala toast - add in the veggies; and, if you don't add veggies but instead fry it in some besan batter it becomes a bread pakoda; make a coleslaw of curd and mayo with carrot, cabbage and cucumber add in salt and pepper - it becomes another type of sandwich; stir-fry some methi leaves and potato with salt and pepper and stuff it in the bread, or make a tomato burji type chutney and stuff it in your bread. Add cheese, spinach and corn ( cook it a bit with salt and pepper ) another sandwich recipe ready! Mash bread and boiled potatoes with salt/pepper and make another type of bread pakoda by shallow frying it. Add malai or milk and sugar to your bread - it becomes a sweet dish; toast the bread with butter before adding the milk and sugar it becomes a 'shahi tukda'. Mash bread into balls, fry and then soak in sugar syrup - it becomes bread gulab jamun. Well...I can go on and on and on...the bread dabeli, the bread pizza or the good ol' french toast... aahhh...and, I'm happy my experiments with bread has never failed. But, I've re-discovered another trick with bread - which, I've always known, but, just somehow had forgotten due to my various experiments. So, recently, I decided to go back to the roots with my bread. And its very simple as I re-discovered; and, ideal for lazy-me ;-)



Take two slices of fresh bread ( or however many you want, lol ), and, butter it generously. Donot toast it, keep it raw as it is. Keep it aside as you make your tea. Its the original 'regular' tea with sugar and milk - I detest black tea and this post is not for diabetics or calorie conscious people. I believe its okay to eat once in a while anyways. So, if you wish add in spices like ginger or some ready tea-masalas ( its available in market ) and some elaichi. When the tea is piping hot, take the buttered bread and dip the edge and eat immediately. Yeah...its hot, but, there's where the magic lies. You get the salty taste of butter melting in your mouth and its heaven. Trust me. Its the most simple and short-cut route to bliss. The bread vanishes in your mouth and you simply can't get enough of it!


FOOD TALES WITH TINY OWL


Tiny Owl
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"I'm invincible. I want to conquer the world.
I want to live a life independent. Be answerable to none.
I'm an adult. You can't keep me chained anymore.
This is my life; no one but I, rule it on my own.
My path I choose. My decision I make.
My destiny I carve. Freedom is my birthright;
my salvation.
If I don't get it,
Rebel, I definitely will!
Snatch it, I definitely will!"
These were my over-dramatic words to my somewhat conservative parents, when I made a declaration to live my life independently and on my own terms. When just out of college they had busy begun groom-hunting for me, this declaration of mine done solely to preserve my freedom shocked the hell out of them. Although traditional, my family was progressive; and while education and career for the girl was still okay ( perhaps in contrast to many other cultures ), leaving home however and moving away to another city completely on my own was totally indigestible to them. So, naturally, being very protective about their youngest daughter, they resisted all my war-calls for independence. But, stubborn as I was, in the end I did have them saying - Ja Ji Le Apni Zindagi...

Tiny Owl

Woohoo... what a triumphant moment it was for me. So relieved I was, that, unlike other girls in my locality, I'd not be destined to do a chulha-choki my whole life or be a baby-making machine as was mostly expected of girls, my age. I won't be a door-mate to anyone. I'll be my own master. I was granted what I wanted the most. To live free..... Oh..how I cherished that.

Tiny Owl
Main Nikla, O Gaddi Leke
O Raste Par, O Sadak Mein
Yamma Yamma yamma yamma,
Kitna khubsurat sama,
Yuhi chala chal raahi
yuhi chala chal raahi.....


Humming positive songs on starting life anew... I made my way to the city of dreams..Bombay; which I lovingly called 'Bambaai Nagri'. I took on a new job, got my own place; everything was exactly as I dreamt of. Well until...

Tiny Owl
The true food-fix story of my life... ( Sketch is mine )

It always made me nervous. It was an important part of the house. But I dreaded going in. It was my Enemy Number.1 and my nightmare was only just beginning. It gave me the creeps, I'd have a cold sweat at the very thought of having to go in there, every morning. It was The Kitchen ~ my sole enemy, my hell. Well..living independent and all was fine, but how does one deal with it when one doesn't even know a crap about cooking. I had never thought of this handicap of mine when I set out to taste freedom. Oh Yes...I got to 'taste' freedom alright....but the other taste ~ i.e for food, was deeply wanting. As such, all my myself, I was in a constant food-fix situation. The things I cooked ( with my very limited or zero cooking skills ) turned out horrible and I'd have to run to the nearest restaurant to feed me in order to survive another day. Forget having any guest over ever. The excuses and lies I made, just to avoid any colleagues drop in at my place still makes me go all red-faced. I'd be paranoid - when I can't cook myself anything decent, what on earth am I going to feed them. This was the time when internet or even mobile phones hadn't caught on big time, like it has now. I had the oldest version of mobile those days that had only call options, that too at a whopping price. Home Delivery was unheard off. I was too embarrassed to even think of calling my parents for help, cos' I feared they'd give a smug 'we told you so'!

Tiny Owl

Freedom was not as hunky-dory as I imagined it to be anymore. Because, reality had struck and how! While the normal week-days still went by pretty okay, with me getting food mainly from outside, those sudden holidays however like bandhs/
strikes etc or even the national holidays would make my life go upside down. Everything would be closed then and I'd have to go literally hungry, the whole day. Thankfully, Maggi wasn't banned then and it and the bread were my only saviours. Yes, Maggi indeed saved my life then ~ O' Maggi ko ban karne walon...

Tiny Owl
My ultimate Food-Fix ~ the infamous Maggi

With internet very soon creeping into our lives, suddenly the snail-paced world was moving at a galloping-speed. I was shopping online - left, right & centre from the tonnes of emerging e-commerce sites that popped up by their hordes, all over internet. While I was still to find 'food' in any of these online shops ( that mostly sold gadgets, apparels etc ), my food-fix woes were somewhat replaced by the emergence of home-deliveries too in the neighbourhood and I thanked the mighty heavens for such mercies ~ also those the genius minds who thought of such services. I however knew only a handful of the nearby restaurants so something was still missing. What...you'd think. Well, why was no one selling food online yet? When I could buy everything else online, this became my next big worry ~ my biggest desire. Atleast, someone start it puhleeeze, I'd pray. And as though my prayers were slowly getting answered, this wish too of mine was getting fulfilled. More and more restaurants had tied up with amazing Apps like Tiny Owl, thus, making lives of kitchen-phobic people like mine, so much smoother. Indeed, freedom had finally arrived. Freedom from the worrisome Food-Fixes!! Now, it was freedom instead of searching ( from the many options available in the App ) and getting exactly the food I wanted, delivered, right at my doorsteps, without a hitch. Life was finally the freedom-song I could sing aloud, bindaas.

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Tiny Owl

And...Voila ~ this is me now :-)

Tiny OwlFrom springing up surprises in a tap,
to making food-search easy, in effortless swipe;
Ordering, processing as smooth as a cake,
While, delivery too is prompt, almost instant;
TinyOwl is one such useful App,
Keeping the hunger of my soul, forever in check.
How I wish, I had TinyOwl back then,
when my Kitchen had become my battle-field
:|


Now, do I need to worry anymore, when I have TinyOwl to rescue me from my food-fix moments ;-)

❤❀❤
Tiny Owl
( Images Credit - DDLJ 1/4, youtube 2, studiofynn/ounchmytoe.com 5 & Sketches 3/7 are ©Mine. All Rights Reserved )
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MY UNIQUE ITALIAN DEL MONTE PASTA WITH A DESI TWIST!


ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE
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Itali De Taali ~ HI5

ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE
Italy brings in me strange emotion,
A place never seen, but heard of so often...
Travel brochures never complete
Without the impressive architectures
Of Leaning tower, Roman Cathedrals
Or simply Pompeii's ashen ruins...
While its southern mediterranean waters beckon,
Its lofty hills in full bloom mesmerizes pristine...
The gondolas as they float in canals of Venice,
Whiffing up romance in the air is the drive at Amalfi...
The delicious flavours of pastas and pizzas,
Makes one crave for yet more bites,
Its thrilling gangster movies,
Forever to the thrill invites...
Realm of the Renaissance at Florence, and crusades
Witness to gory history, as the Colosseum stands...
A country small,
But so much packed within,
Indeed Italy stirs up passion,
A place never seen, but heard of so often...
This was a poem I had written years ago, with a dream of visiting this pretty country some day. And with Del Monte knocking at my dreams I couldn't resist anymore ♡ ❤
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

The Award ~ Italy
The Challenge ~ Make Pasta!
I say bring it on...ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

Pasta is a very versatile dish. And its true that no two pastas can ever taste the same. One can simply shuffle & play with the various ingredients and toppings to make unique pastas everyday. I tried two variants myself and both tasted supa-yummy. Recipes of both Variants are below. My secret is ~ Just play around with the ingredients, and you'll get some mouthwatering pastas for sure ;-) With Del Monte sending their pastas to try out for ourselves, I couldn't wait to get started.
VARIANT 1 : ~ Crunchy Peanutty, Schezwany and Mushroom Cheese Pasta.

Well, to cook a perfect pasta is like preparing for a war albeit an 'edible' one. Like in a war, while cooking too one needs lots of tools ( knifes/peelers/smashers/
utensils etc )
, weaponry ( different spices/condiments/cheese/oil etc ) and foot soldiers ( the colourful veggies that gets martyred in our quest to conquer, for taste ). So, I went about arranging just that....have a look!

ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE
And this was just the tip of an Iceberg...

Step 1 ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

First of all, I made a special ( 2 small ) potato+ ( handful ) peas+ ( cubes as well as parmesan ) cheese+ ( according to taste ) schezwan-sauce mixed paste for this one. First boil both peas and potato till they become soft. Mash them together adding schezwan chutney/sauce, butter, melted cheese (lots ), and Ching's chilli chicken masala. Yes, my pasta had bit of a Indo-Chinese twist too. ( To skip the chinese twist simply skip the schezwan sauce and add tomato pasta sauce instead ). When the potato-peas paste becomes smooth and buttery, squeeze bit of lemon in it, mix again and keep aside. This paste was so tasty, felt like eating it instantly.

Step 2 ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

In a large flame resistant bowl, I filled water and put it to boil. Added bit of salt and olive oil, before adding the pastas in it to boil. I didn't use the whole packet, just one-third of it for single serving. [ The Del Monte packets are resealable, so you can store the unused portion back in the packet ] Adding oil ensures the pastas do not stick to each other besides adding little flavour to it as well. Though there was a recommended time given in the packet about the time needed to boil, I took out the pasta just 2-3 minutes before given time. Doing that ensures the pasta doesn't become all sticky, gluey or over cooked ( as they need to be cooked again later for a while with the veggies ). As I strained the pasta, I kept little of the remaining water aside to mix with the veggies I was about to cook. It helps in the food getting melded together. Waiting patiently, the pasta looked all coy & ready.

Step 3 ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

For veggies, I used 1 green capsicum, 1 red Tomato, and lots of mushrooms (1 pkt ) along with sliced onions ( 1 ), ginger ( half inch ) and garlic ( 2 cloves ). ( Quantities used was as per single serving ). I chopped them neatly in a plate with the Pastas getting done nearby. The pretty colours tempted; getting better by the minute :-)

Step 4 ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

My Pasta dish was going to have a very unique taste, so, I got on to the veggies without any more delay as well. I poured a generous amount of the Extra Virgin Olive oil in a wok, after which I added bit of whole Jeera ( Cumin ) to crackle. Sliced onion, ginger and garlic went next before some roasted and crushed peanuts ( 35gms ). Peanuts would give a totally different taste to the whole dish with its unique flavoursome crunchiness. After sauteing the mix for a while I added the chopped tomato, capsicum and mushrooms. Salt ( as per taste ) and pepper gave them company next. I also added some parsley, rosemary, basil and thyme to add more flavour. When the veggies were getting little softer I added in the strained pasta-water ( that I had retained earlier ). Putting the lid on, I lowered the flame a bit. Just as the moisture in the veggies were evaporating a bit, I added in the boiled pastas and mixed thoroughly for a while, over the flame. I switched it off, and my pasta was ready. Oh wait...not yet! Cos' fun was just beginning now...

Step 5 ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

There was a 'union' to be done with the pasta and the special potato-peas sauce I had made earlier. A holy nuptial of sorts. So, taking a new bowl, I first layered a bit of the potato-peas paste at the bottom, then added some pasta over it along with grated cheese. I repeated the same again; the layers that is one top of the other, till the bowl filled to its brim. Ah...it looked delicious and was now so ready. Finally, some more cheeze and garnishing with oregano & chilli flakes, my crunchy peanutty, schezwany, mushroom cheese pasta was ready to be devoured!

Buon Appetito ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE
The Yummylistic Finale...

ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE
Up Close and very Personal; just before it went inside my tummy ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTEITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTEITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTEITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE
VARIANT 2 : ~ Vinegrate Carroty, Corny, Peas & Mushroomy Pasta

For the 2nd recipe, I changed the veggies and ingredients a bit. I skipped the potato paste as well. For crunchiness I added in the baby corns ( that I fried ) instead of peanuts; and for uniqueness, I added in chopped pieces of pickled carrots ( vinegrated ). The rest of the process remained more or less the same as the 1st variant. And the result was Slurrp slurp...gimme more, gimme more!

ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

There goes the veggies, and the carrots tangy;
next, boil the pasta in lil' bit oil & water
add the masala along with heaps of cheese,
and viola, the masterpiece is ready,
even before you can blink!
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

The Holy nuptial - mixing the boiled pasta with the cooked veggies in matrimony!

ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE

and then...
Mamma Mia Mamma Mia...mujhe raat din ab sirf,
Del Monte ki yummy aur filling Pasta hi mangta!
Molte Grazie Del Monte...Ti Amo, Ti Amo ~
ITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTEITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTEITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTEITALIAN ESCAPADE WITH DEL MONTE


  • My personal thoughts on this whole experience with Del Monte is ~ I've always been a big-time foodie, but one that only loves to eat and not necessarily cook. So, this whole experience brought out a different side of me - one whom I truly loved discovering. I've never played around with so many ingredients before in my whole life, like I did while preparing the pasta and its been real fun. Pasta is a fun dish, that lets one go ballistic with ideas and innovations infinite. So, go for Pasta, go Del Monte ♡ ❤ ♡
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    ( Images - graphicriver.net ( stamp pic ) & © Mine. All Rights Reserved )
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    FAR EAST HOSPITALITY - TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE


    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
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    GROAN... GROAN...
    The sound came slowly, echoing around the huge Castle...making everyone's hair stand on their neck!

    GRRRROWL... GRRRROWLLL...
    The noise grew louder, sending shivers down everyone's spines and vibrating every inch of the indomitable Castle!

    GRRRRRRRRRR.... GRRRRRRRRRRRRR.....
    Everyone knew, there was no escaping the wrath now...its back once again! They all ran helter-skelter...in one direction - towards the kitchen!

    ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸

    The Princess was hungry! The Princess was hungry! Hushed whispers floated around the Castle's long corridors. It was that time of the year again, when the Princess's hunger rose to unproportional heights. A hunger so extreme, that everyone was assigned to only one job i.e please her Highness's taste-buds, tummy and satisfy her massive appetite for food, food and more food! Nobody loved food as much as the Princess did. Everyone knew very well the consequences too, if they failed in this most important job, in the whole Kingdom. And satisfying the Princess was the hardest task in their entire lifetime. No stone was left unturned for this sole purpose of their existence...

    Special cooks, chefs, maharaj-bawarchis you-name-it-all, were flown in from all corners of the kingdom and even the neighbouring ones, in order to satisfy the Princess's enormous gastronomical demands. They couldn't effort to fail in impressing her as hell hath no fury than a hungry Princess's hunger scorned.

    The cook's knees shivered at the very thought of some previous failures. BOOM! BAM BAM! BANG! CRASH! SMASH! SPLASH! TONG! SPLUTTER! WHOOSH! SLAP SLAP SLAP! All these myriad sound-effects, as though played in an amplified loud-speaker echoed the grounds. Crashing and Smashing of utensils everywhere, as the angry Princess would throw the food away ~ throwing a tantrum so huge, that would shake the Castle at its very foundation. Their 'cheeks' still ached-red from the 'slaps' that accompanied, for having the audacity to prepare food that didn't impress the Princess at all. The cooks nervously whispered amongst themselves, if this time they'd meet the same fate as well. They all agreed, they must do something real fast. A solution was sought at the earliest. 'Singapore...Singapore...' they nodding their heads together.

    GROAN... GROAN...
    The warning sound came again, and they knew they couldn't afford to loose a single moment and rushed to the King in panic!


    What S-I-N-G-A-P-O-R-E? The King thundered. Inside, he was quite nervous too; the cooks mustn't fail at any cost else the Princess will turn his Kingdom upside-down once again, like last time, in her unsatiable hunger for food.

    Because ( they all chorused together ), only Singapore has this.... the Pratas...

    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
    has this....kingsize breakfasts...

    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
    has this....the bustling food-courts...

    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
    has this....the Wine & Dine by the river...

    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
    has this....go-green savouries...

    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
    and has this....yummilicious neighbourhoods...

    TAKEAWAY LEVEL : SINGAPORE
    Finally, after being introduced to Takeaway Level : Singapore, all the Princess ever did was a Happy BURP! BURP! BURP! and everyone else sighed a huge relief....
    Takeaway Level Singapore; courtesy Far East Hospitality, saved their lives!

    ¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸.•*¨*•♫♪¸¸
    Sang the Princess everyday.....
    ( any guesses who the princess was? ;-)

    ❤❀❤

    ( Images - IB/memegenerator.net/Takeaway/discover.stayfareast.com & ©Mine - Rights Reserved )
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    MY SIGNATURE RECIPE COOKED WITH FORTUNE RICE BRAN HEALTH OIL



    Presenting Peas Potatoes Fried Pulao Rice with goodness of Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil

    I donot necessarily love cooking, but I do love to eat. And since I love to eat, I have to cook. Tricky situation eh?
    Now,this is one of my favourite regular quickies which I am sharing here. It is damn easy. It keeps your tummy full and now with Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil, it is many times healthier too.


    Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil has come as a blessing to all health conscious people.

    So, without much delay lets get started :-)

    Ingredients needed for the Peas Potatoes Fried Pulao Rice are :

    1. Rice ( 1 cup )
    2. Peas ( half cup )
    3. Potato 1-2
    4. Tomato 1
    5. Chopped Onion 1
    6. Ginger Garlic paste ( 1 Tab spoon )
    7. Raisins & Cashews
    8. Mustard Seed.
    9. Bay leaves, cardomom, cinnamon, cloves
    10. Corainder leaves & Powder
    11. Curry leaves ( 2-3 )
    12. 1 Green Chilli ( more if you want it hotter )
    13. 1 Egg ( skip using egg if you are vegetarian )
    14. Maggi Magic Taste maker ( masala cubes )
    15. Turmeric powder
    16. Garam Masala
    17. Lemon
    18. Salt
    19. Last but not the least 'the hero' of this cookery show the "Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil"!

    Step 1. First boil the rice and to flavour it put 1 bay leaf, 1-2 whole cardomom, 1 small cinnamon stick, 1-2 cloves, and 1 tea spoon Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil. ( Oil will make the rice not sticky )
    Once boiled, strain the water and keep it aside.


    Fry in Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil

    Step 2. Put 2-3 table spoon ( generous amount ) Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil in a hollow pan. When the oil starts to heat a bit, put little mustard seeds and let them crackle, add the chopped onions, curry leaves, green chilli, and fry. Add the raisins and cashews. ( You can also add whole cardomom/cinnamon/bay leaf if you want some extra flavour ). When the onions are a bit golden add the ginger garlic paste, then add the peas and potato. Add a pinch of turmeric, half tea spoon of garam masala, half tea spoon of corainder powder, a dash of maggi taste maker ( cubes ) and salt to taste. Add the tomato.
    Add little water and cover it till the potato/peas cook. Once the water recedes, crack the egg and pour it over the veg mixture. You'll see the egg start to scramble. Cook it for a while so that the smell of the raw egg vanishes.

    Now, quickly add the boiled rice and mix it with the veg mixture. Sprinkle some chopped corainder leaves with a dash of lemon. And voila your tasty 'peas potato fried pulao' cooked in healthy Fortune Rice Bran Oil is ready.


    Serves 2 people.
    ( You can also experiment this dish with other vegetables e.g The Palak variation below. Simply use same cooking procedure along with Fortune Rice Bran Health Oil and replace the peas with spinach and it tastes simply yummy! Eat with sweet n sour Olive pickle :-)




    Fortune Rice Bran Health oil


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