Shepherd's Pie

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! Back in 2014, when I called the UK my home, I took a trip to North Wales for the weekend with 3 of my mates; a married couple, Lady Tank Driver and Mr. Informed, and my roommate Ms. Popularity. We rented a car in Birmingham, England early on a Saturday morning with the intention (on day 1) of driving over first to the Llangollen aqueduct (known as the Pontcysyllte aqueduct) and then through the Horseshoe pass on to Conwy, and finally Bangor where we we had booked a bed and breakfast.

We set off from Brum at about 08:30 and after making a couple of pit-stops and some wrong turns, causing the GPS lady to not shut up about how she was 'Recalculating', we reached our first stop a little after 11:00. We pulled into the car-park and started walking from the car to where the aqueduct was. Llangollen being a navigable aqueduct, there was a little port of sorts at one end where a number of boats were moored. For the uninitiated, a navigable aqueduct is a water-filled bridge that enables boats, barges or ships on a waterway to cross over an obstacle, such as a ravine or valley. We walked on the bank along the water from the port looking around, taking pictures until we reached the bridge. The bridge itself was about 11 feet wide and 5 feet deep with a little platform on either side for people to walk on, and as we walked the length of the bridge, we took in some beautiful sights of the surrounding countryside and the valley underneath. While we were on foot, boats sailed slowly past us on the water-bridge, navigated by kindly, cheery faced men who nodded politely at us as they carefully avoided bumping into a bloke who had a kayak in there! After we had walked around and seen all there was to see, we headed back to the car and drove on to the Horseshoe pass (named on account of it's horseshoe shape) where we stopped to stretch our legs and soak in the beauty of the Welsh outdoors. We stepped out of the car and started walking up one of the hills that flanked the road, and because sitting for long periods makes me restless I wanted to climb to the very top. The others weren't interested so I went it alone, walking through the wet grass, around shrubs as I stared down the occasional sheep until the hill plateaued out. Glancing down I saw that I had come up a really long way and since our little break had now become a long one, I figured I'd save some time by jogging down the hill instead of walking back down. Big mistake. Now, anyone who has ever run down a slope knows that the longer the slope, the more speed you pick up as you descend, so pretty soon I was running full speed down the side of a very slick hill, sheep, bushes and rocks flying past in a blur of colour (and the occasional bleat), as I tried not to fall and break my neck. As I neared the bottom, a new problem arose; how in the name of God was I supposed to stop? The hill ended at the edge of the road, and on the other side of the road, was the valley! But as luck would have it, when was but a few yards from the end, I slipped and fell on my bum with my right leg stuck under me and I slid down (surprisingly gracefully) until Mr. Informed was able to grab me as I went past and I came to a halt just before the road. I stood up on my trembling legs, put on a brave facade and laughed about how I intended to do that, and walked jauntily to the car and got behind the wheel trying to get the shaking to stop as the others got in after me. The rest of the day was less eventful as we walked the walls of the once grand Conwy castle, took even more pictures, and finally checked into our B&B in Bangor.

Come dinner time, we walked down the street to a pub called, 'The Bull Inn', and sat there for what felt like hours, just talking and laughing as we nursed our ciders and shovelled away large quantities of food. I had an absolutely wonderful shepherd's pie for my mains and that is what made me want to learn to cook it myself. Good news, I did, and that is what you're about to read.

For my Shepherd's Pie, you will need the following: 

Mince	500 gms. (lamb, beef, chicken, your call)
Onion	1 large
Carrot	1 large
Stock cubes	2 (I generally use chicken)
Worcestershire sauce	splash
Potatoes	4-5 large
Tomato puree	dollop (or 2 tbsp)
Butter	big knob
Milk	splash
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Chop the onion.
2. Chop the carrot.
3. Dissolve the stock cubes in about 500 ml. of water.
4. Peel and halve the potatoes.

Method:

Mince:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a saucepan on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Slide in the onion.
5. Chuck in the carrot.
6. Cook for a couple of minutes until they soften.
7. Pop in the mince. (Crumble it as you drop it in the saucepan, don't drop one big lump!)
8. Mix.
9. Cook for a few minutes until the mince goes (sickly) brown.
10. Spoon in the tomato puree.
11. Splash in the Worcestershire sauce.
12. Mix.
13. Cook for a few minutes so the meat takes in all the flavour.
14. Pour in the stock. (This has salt so you won't need to add any more.)
15. Crank the heat up.
16. Bring to a boil.
17. Drop the heat to low.
18. Slap on a lid.
19. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes.
20. Take the lid off.
21. Simmer for another 20. (Make sure the excess water dries up before you turn the gas off. On the flip side, it shouldn't be too dry either. Nice and juicy.)
22. Turn the gas off.

Potatoes:

1. Grab a pressure cooker.
2. Dump in the potatoes.
3. Fill the cooker with water until the potatoes are submerged.
4. Pinch in some salt.
5. Slap the lid on.
6. 4-5 manly whistles.
7. Wait until the steam leaves the cooker.
8. Drain the water.
9. Drop in the butter.
10. Splash in the milk.
11. Mash.
12. Taste.
13. Adjust the salt.
14. Taste.
15. If no one is looking, 'taste' some more.

Pie:

1. Heat the (fan) oven up to 180 degrees.
2. Grab a nice oven safe glass tray or bowl.
3. Spoon in your cooked mince.
4. Layer on the mashed potatoes. (Don't push the potatoes on too hard or they'll lose their fluffiness.)
5. Ruffle up the top with a fork. (Make criss cross designs or whatever.)
6. Stick the tray/bowl in the oven for about 20 minutes until the potatoes go golden and the mince bubbles on the edges.
7. Turn the oven off.
8. Carefully remove the tray/bowl from the oven.
9. Serve.
10. Stuff face.
11. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: A traditional shepherd's pie has lamb so I'd go with that! Oh and don't use more than 2 stock cubes, I made the mistake of using more once and it turned out horribly salty.

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

Breakfast Aloo

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! You know how sometimes when things aren't going your way, or when you're worried about something, you're anxious all the time, and just can't bring yourself to relax? Who do you turn to? Your mum? Another loved one perhaps? Sure, but what if they're not around? What do you do then? For me, the obvious answer is food. When all else fails, I say make a batch of your favourite comfort food, turn the telly on, put your feet up, and forget about what's bothering you for a little bit.

Not long ago, I travelled to Istanbul on a project for about a year. I had been here in the past for a month but that was a short trip so I'd been booked into a hotel for the entire duration by my company so there was no hassle. Easy peasy. This time was different. This time, I only had the hotel option for a week, which I had forsaken since I had arranged with my colleague, Ms. Technically Gifted Rebel, to stay in her spare room. We hadn't talked about how long I could stay so I wasn't too fussed, until she told me her (very conservative) parents were coming to visit in a week and I'd have to skedaddle! Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but given that my Turkish vocabulary is about 20 words, coupled with the fact that most Turkish people are wary of letting their house out to foreigners, I was, to put it delicately, screwed. I started scouring the internet for places to rent and visiting real estate agents who despite their ridiculously large brokerage, had nothing affordable on offer. With D-day looming alarmingly close, some luck finally came my way. There was a nice apartment not far from my office that was being vacated and would be available by the time I had to be gone. Ms. Technically Gifted Rebel gave them a call, requested that they not show it to anyone before us (since I'd already lost out on a place that way), and she and  I went to have a look see. I liked the apartment, Ms. Technically Gifted Rebel was kind enough to speak to the landlady on my behalf (not unlike the Hand of the King) and boom, I had my own place. 

In all this time of not knowing where I'd stay, and worrying about having to lug my massive suitcases to hotels, or having to kip on the street (okay, I'm being dramatic, that wouldn't have happened), I had no one to turn to. Sure I spoke to my folks back home over the phone but there's only so much they could do to make me feel better from where they were. It didn't help that Ms. Technically Gifted Rebel doesn't cook and didn't have stuff in her kitchen to cook what I needed as a distraction either; so the first thing I cooked once I had my place all set up was dal chawal and breakfast aloo. Comfort food (in this case as retroactive comfort food). Don't be misled by the title though, this dish can be eaten for any meal, I just call it breakfast aloo because when I was little, my mum would sometimes make it for breakfast. I've just tweaked the recipe a little to give it a little more kick.

For my Breakfast Aloo, you will need the following:

Potatoes	4-5 big
Garlic	3-4 cloves
Green chillies	couple of medium sized ones
Cumin (jeera) seeds	2 tsp
Red chilli powder	2-3 tsp
Turmeric (haldi) powder	1 tsp
Dry mango (amchoor) powder	1 tsp
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Wash and cut the potatoes into little cubes. (Leave the skin on.)
2. Smoosh and mince the garlic.
3. Chop the chillies.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan oil.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Toss in the jeera.
6. Wait until it starts to pop.
7. Duck under the overzealous one that jumps out of the pan.
8. Roll in the chillies.
9. Stick in the garlic.
10. Cook until the garlic goes light brown.
11. Sprinkle in the haldi and red chilli powders.
12. Mix until the oil in your pan goes evenly orange in colour.
13. Slide in the cubed potatoes.
14. Mix well until all the pieces are coated with the oil.
15. Add salt to taste.
16. Toss expertly like the guys running the Chinese food stalls on the side of the street. (Spelt 'Chinees' or 'Chines' or something along those lines.)
17. Pop a lid on.
18. Wait 10 minutes or so until the potatoes are cooked all the way through.
19. Take the lid off.
20. Sprinkle on the amchoor powder.
21. Crank the heat up.
22. Cook sans lid until the potatoes get nice and crispy. (Keep doing the Chinese chef toss.)
23. Turn the gas off.
24. Serve with a spicy paratha or as a side with dal chawal.
25. Stuff face.
26. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: If you have any leftover aloo after you're done eating, these make a brilliant stuffing for deep fill sandwiches.

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

Lemon & Herb Baked Fish

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! On my first trip to Istanbul for work, on the weekends, I did what most tourists do. Early (well, earlyish) in the morning, I put on my comfy shoes, threw on my sunglasses, slung my camera around my neck (not a fancy DSLR, don't worry, you won't be invited to like a 'Varun Arora Photography' page on Facebook anytime soon), grabbed my metro card, and phone and left my hotel for a day of exploring. I'd toured a fair amount in the past but always with friends and/or family so the prospect of exploring alone was slightly daunting. But seeing as my only other option was to while away my time in my hotel room, I took the plunge and set off. Being the organized bloke that I am, I had printed off a list of the places that I wanted to see and grouped by their locations so that I wouldn't have to spend all day travelling from one corner of the city to the other.

My first stop was the old city walls. I took the metro to the stop who's name I'd got off the internet, stepped out of the station and fired up Google maps. I popped in my destination and it threw up a 2 kilometer walk that would take about 20 minutes. The walk didn't really bother me, I'm used to covering several kilometers a day when I'm touring, but the route it gave me navigated me along the highway on a little strip of grass and concrete for over a kilometer! Not knowing an alternative route, I traversed the treacherous path being constantly startled by the cars whizzing by within an arms reach from me, buffeting me in their slipstream like a log in a freshet! I arrived at my destination, dusty and hot (but with dry pants, yay!), and set my eyes upon the ruined city wall. I set about climbing the (surprisingly unmanned and unmaintained) crumbling structure via. the narrow, steep stairs hewn into its side and before long, I had made my way to the top.  As I climbed, I remembered what I'd read about the beautiful views the wall offered, and how you could see the city stretching out for miles until it met the water, but what I'd forgotten, was my crippling fear of heights. I didn't forget for very long though because no sooner did I straighten up atop the wall, I had to sit back down to stop the world from spinning. I took a deep breath to regain my composure, slowly opened my eyes, and looked around. To my right the wall curved into a very large ridged ring like it was the top of a tower (it might have been for all I know) and there appeared to be a drop through the hole in the center, to my left, the wall went on for a few feet until a point where it had caved. I knelt unsteadily with my hands on the floor and after I had had my fill of looking in awe, I managed to screw up the courage to move my hands to take a few pictures. Having accomplished my mission I made my way back, and the descent off the wall and the dastardly walk back to the station didn't seem quite that bad. I did however have a raging fit when upon reaching the station, I discovered that there was a straight 400 meter stretch of road next to the station that led to where I'd just been.

Thankfully, as I set off towards my next destination through the busy streets of Istanbul with its little shops and fishmongers and restaurants, my ire soon disappeared, my camera got busy, and all was well again.

Today's recipe is a lovely baked fish, and whether you buy your fish from a fishmonger in Istanbul or the macchiwaali who brings her tokri (basket) to your door, you'll be glad you tried it. And like the other fish dishes we have, it's dead simple.

For my Lemon & Herb Baked Fish, you will need the the following:

Fresh white fish fillets	6-8 (Cod, cobbler, basa, whatever you like)
Butter	2 big dollops
Garlic	4 cloves
Lemon	1
Oregano (dry)	1 tsp
Basil (dry)	1 tsp
Rosemary (dry)	1 tsp
Thyme (dry)	1 tsp
Salt	to taste (sea salt if you can wangle it)
Pepper	to taste (freshly cracked > powdered)
Olive oil

Prep:

1. Crush and chop the garlic.
2. Mix all the herbs. (You can vary the quantities based on which flavours you'd like to pop.)
3. Soften the butter.
4. Pop the chopped garlic into the butter.
5. Mix.

Method:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 C.
2. Grab an oven try.
3. Cover it with foil or grease paper.
4. Drizzle some olive oil on.
5. Lay your fillets down on the tray side by side.
6. Drizzle some olive oil on the fish.
7. Sprinkle on the salt and pepper.
8. Gently massage in the salt and pepper.
9. Using a butter knife or a small spoon, coat each fillet (generously) with your freshlymade garlic butter.
10. Sprinkle on the mixed herbs.
11. Generously squeeze lemon juice over the fish.
12. Stick the tray into the oven.
13. Wait 12-15 minutes or until you can smell the fish.
14. Turn off the oven.
15. Take the tray out.
16. Serve with a side of fresh salad, potatoes, and garlic bread.
17. Stuff face.
18. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: These herbs are best used with white fish. For a fish like salmon, the only herb you need is dill. Salmon and dill, a match made in heaven!

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