Magically Delicious Pepper Chicken

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! It's no secret that I love cooking, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I love cooking for people. In fact, it makes me quite upset when I invite people over and the food is anything short of perfect or isn't enough (involuntary shudder).

Some time ago, I raided the fridge for ingredients to cook something for dinner. Unfortunately, my fridge was not unlike Old Mother Hubbard's cupboard at the time so I had to call upon a professional for expert advice on how to best utilise my limited resources. After speaking to my mom (I did say professional!), I decided to cook some pepper chicken (emphasis on the 'some'). So I cut up the 3 chicken thighs I dug out from the fridge, marinated them, cooked them and sat down to eat as my roommate brought me hot roti after hot roti leading me to eat far more than I had originally intended leaving the poor girl sans chicken for her last roti. As I watched her finish her roti with mango pickle I sank lower and lower in my seat in shame but despite the guilt, I couldn't help but think about how good that chicken had turned out!

Today's recipe is that magically delicious pepper chicken. The seed of unbridled greed. The destroyer of friendships. The key to taking over the world! (Okay, maybe not that last one..)

For Magically Delicious Pepper Chicken, you will need the following:

Chicken                           500 gms (boneless if you can wangle it)
Onion                              1 large
Yoghurt                            2 dollops
Ginger garlic paste           2 tsp (or make it fresh)
Garam masala                  3/4 tsp
Pepper                             3-4 tsp (freshly cracked!)
Salt                                  to taste
Kadhi patta (curry leaves)  handful
Oil

Prep:

1. Wash and cut the chicken into cubes.
2. Grab a clean bowl.
3. Plop in the chicken.
4. Dollop in the yoghurt. (You only want enough to coat the chicken and a tiny surplus.)
5. Put in the ginger garlic paste.
6. Sprinkle in the garam masala.
7. Add in the pepper.
8. Add in the salt.
9. Mix well.
10. Stick it in the fridge for an hour.
11. Chop the onion.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Float in the kadhi patta.
6. Drop in the onion.
7. Fry the onion until light brown.
8. Retrieve the chicken bowl.
9. With a fork, spear the chicken pieces and add them to the pan.
10. Sear the chicken. (Wait till it goes from pink to slightly darker than white).
11. Add in the yoghurty dregs from the chicken bowl.
12. Splash in some water.
13. Pop the lid on.
14. Drop the heat to low.
15. Cook for about 20-30 minutes. (Periodically stir to make sure the chciken doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. You can add a splash of water if it dries out too soon)
16. Add salt to taste. (Remember, you've already added salt in the marinade so be careful.)
17. Add some more pepper if you want. (I always do.)
18. Pop the lid back on until the chicken is cooked all the way through.
19. Turn the gas off.
20. Serve with hot rotis.
21. Stuff face.
22. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: This isn't a gravy dish. You can put in some extra yoghurt for a little more masala but too much will ruin it.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!

Mexican Prawn Cocktails

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking (or in this case, putting stuff together) with Varun! My earliest memory of a prawn cocktail is from back in college when my friends and I had gone to a restaurant where someone had the bright idea of ordering it. We didn't really know what it was or how it would taste but we figured it had the words 'prawn' and 'cocktail' in the name, so how bad could it be? Needless to say, we weren't disappointed and it has since become one of my favourite appetizers.

My most recent memory of prawn cocktails is from Barcelona. One night, as we were wandering around the city after dinner, we ran into a Indian bloke and his friends who after a few minutes of random chatting suggested we try out this nice Mexican restaurant called 'Rosa Raval', and gave us a card with the address. The next night, since we couldn't agree on where to go, we decided to give the Mexican place a shot and set off, map in hand into the heart of the old city. A half hour of walking through winding lanes in the semi darkness as the number of people thinned around us and a few very unsettling 'Hostel' references later, we found ourselves standing outside the restaurant. A less than impressive looking nondescript hole-in-the-wall with loudish music and dim lighting. With no other place in sight, we decided to go in and try our luck. My general feeling about the place took an upturn after a pretty waitress handed us some menus and took us to a table. It was further improved when we ordered margaritas and even more so when we were served our chilled prawn cocktail with tortilla chips (followed by the world's best smoked pork burritos!). As we swapped drinks and fought over the last prawn, all our initial apprehensions melted away and we settled comfortably to enjoy the sultry Spanish evening.

This recipe is my take on a Mexican prawn cocktail and it goes thus..

For Mexican Prawn Cocktails, you will need the following:

Prawns	300 gms
Jalapenos	2 (6-8 pieces if you've got the sliced bottled kind)
Celery	2 sticks
Cucumber	1/4
Red onion	1 medium
Tomato juice	3 cups
Tomato ketchup	2-3 tbsp
Tabasco	few good shakes
Lemon juice	from half a lemon
Avocado	1
Pepper	to taste
Salt	to taste
Cilantro/Coriander	few sprigs

Prep:

1. Cook the prawns by dunking them in boiling water for a few minutes until they become pink. (Don't overcook them! If they roll up into a ball or are hard to the touch, they're overcooked.)
2. Chop the onion.
3. Chunk the cucumber.
4. Mince the jalapenos.
5. Cut the celery.
6. Chunk the avocado.
7. Chop the cilantro/coriander.
8. Open the carton of tomato juice. (Or juice your tomatoes.)

Method:

1. Grab a big bowl.
2. Toss in the onion.
3. Bang in the cucumber.
4. Shake in the jalapenos.
5. Bounce in the celery.
6. Plop in the prawns.
7. Pour in the juice.
8. Stir in the ketchup.
9. Shake in the tabasco.
10. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste.
12. Chuck in the avocado.
13. Sprinkle on the cilantro/coriander.
14. Mix well.
15. Stick the bowl in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill.
16. Serve in a cocktail (or similar) glass. (You can stick a prawn on the rim to make it look pretty!)
17. Stuff face.
18. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: To tell if an avocado is ripe, break the sticky bit off. If the colour inside is yellow, it's ripe.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy.