Matar Paneer

Hello boys and girls,

Welcome to cooking with Varun! If I say 'paneer.. paneer.. paneer.. paneer', quickly under my breath, is it 'mutter' paneer? Now now, stop shaking your head in disbelief. I know that was bad.. what's worse is, it wasn't even close to being my worst joke!

I'm sure most vegetarians, have at some point in time, been told that food on the vegetarian end of the menu at an Indian restaurant pretty much just swaps over the chicken (or other meat) for paneer, which is true to a degree given that tikka masalas and butter masalas and chilli whatever all have the same taste foundation. Today's dish is an exception to the rule (unless someone out there is serving matar chicken) and despite anything non-vegetarians say about vegetarian food being less cool, is as good as any dish to order.

Now I'm not really a matar person.. I'm a fussy eater that only eats some veggies if they are cooked a certain way. For instance, I don't eat gobi (cauliflower). Despise it. But grate that sucker down, throw in some masalas, stuff it in atta, roll it out and make me a paratha and I'll have 6 before you realize there isn't any left to feed anyone else. Matar is the same. Peas on the side? No sir. Peas in my rice? Nein! But matar in my paneer or with my aloo? Oh yeah!

So if you're the same, and are looking for a way to use the matar in your freezer, stick with me and together we will find way to incorporate all those ill fated veggies into dishes we actually eat! For now, matar paneer.

For my Matar Paneer, you will need the following:

Paneer	300 gms
Peas	2-3 cups
Onion	1 large
Tomatoes	2 (and a shot of puree)
Jeera	2 tsp
Green chillies	2
Ginger garlic paste	1-2 tsp
Red chilli powder	2 tsp
Coriander powder	2-3 tsp
Jeera powder	1 tsp
Garam masala Coriander leaves	1/2 tsp handful
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Open the packet of paneer.
2. Cut the paneer into cubes.
3. Soak the cubes in hot water to soften.
4. Grind the onion.
5. Puree the tomatoes.
6. Chop the chillies.
7. Chop the coriander leaves.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a kadhai on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Toss in the jeera.
6. Roll in the chillies.
7. Pop in the onions. (I don't need to remind you to avoid the spatter, do I?)
8. Drop in the ginger garlic paste.
9. Mix well.
10. Cook until the onions are nice and brown.
11. Sprinkle in the chilli, coriander, jeera and garam masala powders.
12. Mix.
13. Pour in the pureed tomatoes.
14. Mix.
15. Cook until the the oil separates from the tomatoes.
16. Drain the paneer and drop the pieces into the kadhai.
17. Mix.
18. Drop in the peas.
19. Watch as some of them bounce off the side and roll away.
20. Retrieve the rollers.
21. Pop them in with their pod mates.
22. Mix.
23. Add in a cup of water.
24. Add salt to taste.
25. Mix.
26. Crank the heat up to bring to a boil and then drop to a simmer.
27. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
28. Turn the gas off.
29. Sprinkle on some garam masala and chopped coriander leaves, pop the lid on and let it sit for a few minutes.
30. Serve with hot rotis.
31. Stuff face.
32. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: If it tastes too tomato-ey after you add the puree, a pinch of sugar will balance it out.

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

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.

Upma

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! After a battery of main courses, it is now time for a breakfast dish. The good news is, it takes only a fraction of the effort you'd normally put into a main course dish and the better news is, it's delicious!

Back in 2011, I was living in Antrim, Northern Ireland with a couple of my mates (and the odd refugee). One was beer chugging, eat-everything Goan carnivore who liked nothing better than to flop down in front of the telly and watch a movie marathon. The other was a big-talking, vegetarian UPite who loved sleeping in, despised all forms of exercise and wandered around in his tighty-whiteys. Then there was me, the keep-your-feet-off-my-clean-floor, football obsessed Punjabi who believed in 'a place for everything, and everything in it's place'. Despite our radically different personalities, we co-existed quite brilliantly and it was these lads that actually got me into cooking.

Some time in late 2011, on a Sunday morning, when I had a handle on most simple dishes, I decided to try my hand out at poha under the not-so-watchful guidance of hungover roommate #1. If you've made poha before, you know that when you run the poha through water, you only dampen it, but in my enthusiasm, I made it sopping wet which made it terribly clumpy. I consulted with my bleary eyed roommate who gave me a double thumbs up (to make me stop talking, I suspect) and I forged on. After it was cooked, I roused roommate #2 with a promise of a surprise breakfast and it wasn't long before we were seated around the kitchen table, sunlight streaming through the window, stuffing our faces. After several minutes of just the sound of spoons on plates (and a few mmmms), roommate #2 said (in his fatherly tone), 'Beta, upma to bahut badhiya bana hai!'. After snorting out a chunk of poha through his nose, roommate #1, explained that it was poha, not upma, to which, roommate #2's only response was, 'Oh bh*%^&$d'.

 

I can assure you, however, that this recipe, is the real upma recipe, and is no way poha in disguise.

For upma, you will need the following:

Sooji (semolina)                      1 cup

Onion                                      1 small to medium

Green chillies                           3-4

Mustard seeds                          small handful

Kadhi patta (curry leaves)         small handful

Red chilli powder                     1 tsp (optional)

Salt                                         to taste

Water                                      3 cups

Coriander leaves                      small handful

Lemon

Oil

 

Prep:

1. Chop the onion.
2. Chop the chillies.
3. Chop the coriander leaves.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Add in the sooji.
4. Spread it around and keep moving it until it is a toasty light brown.
5. Set aside.
6. Bung another pan on. (Or the same one after you've taken your toasted sooji out of it.)
7. Splash in some oil.
8. Count to 20.
9. Bounce in the mustard seeds.
10. Roll in the chillies.
11. Toss in the kadhi patta.
12. Duck to avoid a flying mustard seed.
13. Drop in the onion.
14. Cook until the onion goes translucent.
15. Sprinkle in the salt (and red chilli powder.)
16. Add in the water.
17. Mix.
18. Slowly add in the toasted sooji. (Stir as you add it to avoid lumps.)
19. Slap on the lid.
20. Wait about 5 minutes
21. Take the lid off.
22. Cook until the upma reaches the desired consistency.
23. Turn the gas off.
24. Serve with a sprinkle of coriander and a sqeeze of lemon juice.
25. Stuff face.
26. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

  

Tip: You can add veggies if you like. Boiled peas and carrots are the usual suspects that go in before you add the salt and water.

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

Lemon Sriracha Baked Fish

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! My readers (that's you lot) will know that not very long ago I made a little trip to Spain where I (predictably) stuffed my face with all the food the country had to offer. On our first day in Madrid, after walking what felt like several hundred miles from the tube station to our hotel, my friends and I were quite understandably, as the British put it, a little peckish. So we checked into our room to dump our bags, washed up, and set off in search for sustenance before a hard day's touring. As luck would have it, there was a hole-in-the-wall Chinese restaurant a couple of minutes away from our hotel and after a quick conference, we made a beeline towards it with (which if depicted by Hanna-Barbera) little spinning images of spring rolls, noodles and chilli chicken in our eyes. We placed our order and as we waited for our food to arrive, we happened to spy a bottle of what looked like a chilli sauce sitting on the adjacent table. Being the chilli lovers that most Indians are, we asked for it and took a little to taste. After a series of ooohs and ahs, we discovered that the sauce in question was a chilli and garlic sauce called sriracha. Now, I had heard about this little gem and read about it but I hadn't ever tasted it and I was not disappointed. So upon my return to the UK, a quick online search revealed where I might be able to get some and after coaxing my friend to drive me to the store one lunch time, I was soon the proud owner of my very own bottle of sriracha sauce!

After several days of 'srirachaing' everything, I stumbled across a picture of a baked dish that I thought would be perfect and after adding my own little twists, Lemon Sriracha Baked Fish was born! The great thing about this dish is that it takes next to no time to make. Prep is about 10 minutes and baking time is another 10-12. I used atlantic cod, but you could use whichever fish you want; salmon or cobbler or bass.

Also, as a side note, a few days ago, when I cooked this dish, my roommate was concerned about a black spot on the nose of one of our landlady's cats and I told her to wipe it knowing full well that it was his natural colour. After a few minutes and several hilarious failed attempts on her part to wipe the offending spot, I broke the news to her and watched with glee as her face went from brown to crimson with embarrassment (or rage, one can never be sure with girls) in the space of 3 seconds.

But never mind.. my bruises will heal.. On to the recipe!

For Lemon Sriracha Baked Fish, you will need the following:

Fish	4-5 big fillets (cod or salmon)
Butter	big knob
Lemon juice	from half a lemon
Honey	1-2 tbsp
Sriracha sauce	2-3 tbsp
Pepper	sprinkle
Salt	to taste
Parsley	to garnish

Prep:

1. Chop the parsley.

Method:

Lemon sriracha butter:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Drop in the butter.
4. Watch it melt into a golden pool.
5. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
6. Pick out the pips that drop in with the juice.
7. Add in the honey.
8. Squirt in the sriracha sauce.
9. Mix well.
10. Twist in some freshly ground pepper.
11. Sprinkle in some salt to taste.

Fish:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Grab an oven tray.
3. Cover it with greaseproof paper.
4. Slap the fish on the paper.
5. Uniformly pour over the lemon sriracha butter.
6. Slide the tray into the oven.
7. Wait 10-12 minutes.

To serve:

1. Get the fish out of the oven and onto a plate.
2. Sprinkle on some chopped parsley.
3. Serve with a nice salad. (Or skinny fries. Or both.)

Tip: Taste as you cook. If your butter is too lemony, you can offset the tang by adding in some more honey.

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