French Toast

Eggs - 3
Whole Milk - 3/4 cup
French Bread (like brioche or challah )- 4 slices, cut into 8 pieces
Pure Vanilla Extract - 2 tsp
Cinnamon Powder - a pinch
Turbinado / Raw Sugar - 1 tbsp

Butter for frying the toast
Pure Maple Syrup to serve with the french toast

Mix all the ingredients together and beat well.

Dip each slice of bread in the egg mixture and leave for a minute.

Heat butter over medium heat in a cast iron skillet. Remove each bread slice from the mixture and place in the skillet.

Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side till they become brown and crispy. Remove and serve immediately with pure maple syrup.

Fresh Sardine Fry

Whole Small Sardines
Turmeric
Red Chili Powder
Rock Salt
Brown Rice Powder
Mustard Oil

Wash the sardines well. Remove the gills and slit the stomach and clean.

Marinate with salt, turmeric and red chili powder.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Roll the fish in rice powder  and pan fry till cooked and crisp on the outside.

Barramundi Fish Fry

Barramundi Fillet - 1/2 lb

Shallot - 1

Ginger - 1 inch

Garlic - 4 cloves

Green chili - 1

Red Chili powder - 1/4 tsp

Salt

Lemon Juice - 1/2 lemon

Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup

Cornflour - 1 tbsp

Egg - 1

Oil for shallow frying

Make a paste of shallot, ginger, garlic, green chili, red chili, salt, lemon juice. Marinate the fillet in this paste for at least an hour.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Take each fillet, drain marinade, sprinkle cornflour, dip in egg wash, roll in bread crumbs and shallow fry on both sides till golden brown.

Serve with wilted kale and tomato ketchup

3 Pepper Baked Salmon

Salmon Fillet - 2
Salt
Black Pepper
Chili Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
Turmeric
Garlic Paste
lemon Juice

Olive oil for cooking
Sweet Onion / Asparagus (optional)

Marinate the fillet in the refrigerator with the above ingredients for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375F.

Take a cast iron pan. Add a little olive oil. Add the marinated fish and cook for 1 minute on both sides.

Add a few roundels of sweet onion on top of the fish. A few asparagus pieces can also be added in the skillet to make a complete meal. Then place the skillet in the oven and cook for 10 minutes.

Switch to broil and broil for another 5 minutes.

Trout in Mustard Sauce

Trout - 2 small ones (around 1 lb)
Mustard Powder - 3 tsp, make a paste with half cup water
Green Chillies - 3
Nigella Seeds - a pinch
Turmeric
Salt
Mustard Oil - 1 tbsp + 1 tbsp

Marinate the trout pieces in salt and turmeric for 15 minutes.

Heat mustard oil in a kadai and fry the trout pieces. Remove and keep aside.

Add some more oil to the pan. Temper with nigella seeds and green chili. Then add the mustard paste and cook for a minute. Add a cup of water. Bring the mustard sauce to a boil, add the fish pieces and cook for 5 minutes.

Light Chicken Curry

 

Chicken Drumsticks - 5
Greek Yogurt - 3/4 cup
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chili Pepper - a pinch
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Yellow Onion - 1 big, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece, sliced
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Bay leaf - 2
Whole Black Peppercorns - 1/2 tsp
Mixed Vegetables - a handful of green beans, 1 carrot, 2 red potato, 2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt

Marinate the chicken pieces in yogurt, turmeric and red chili powder for atleast an hour.

Heat oil, add the bay leaf, black peppercorns, chopped onion, ginger and garlic.

Cook for 5 minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables and toss well.

Reduce heat and add the marinated chicken pieces with all the liquid. Mix well. Add a cup of water and salt.

Cook in the pressure cooker for 5 minutes after full pressure is reached.

Remove from heat, cool down a little and serve with steamed brown rice.

Baked Fish in Mustard Sauce

Fresh firm white fish such as snapper - 2 fillets
Salt
Pepper

For sauce
Creme Fresh
Dijon Mustard - 1 tbsp
Whole Grain Mustard - 1/2 tbsp
Shallots - 1 tbsp, minced
Capers - 1 tsp
salt
Mix everything for sauce. Lay the fish skin side down on parchment paper lined baking sheet. Spoon the sauce on top.

Heat oven to 425F. Bake for 10 - 15 minutes

Light Chicken Stew

Organic Chicken Drumsticks - 6, marinate with a little salt, ground black pepper and lemon juice
Onion - 1, cut into big chunks
Green Papaya - 1/2, cut into big chunks
Carrots - 2,
Red Potato - 1, cut into big chunks
Green Beans - 10, each cut into half
Tomato - 1, big
Garlic Cloves - 3, each clove cut into 2
Ginger - 1 inch, cut into chunks
Whole Black Peppercorns - 1 tsp
Bayleaf - 2
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Fresh ground Black Pepper

Heat oil and add the peppercorns and bayleaves. Add onion, ginger and garlic. Saute for a few minutes.

Add the chicken pieces and saute till light brown.

Add the rest of the vegetables. Saute for a minute more.

Add 2 cups of water. Add salt and fresh ground black pepper and cook in the pressure cooker for 8 minutes after the pressure is reached. Remove and serve hot.

Fried Mackerel

Mackerel - 2 to 3 steaks
Vinegar
Ginger
Garlic
Turmeric
Onion grated
Red Chili powder
Lemon Juice
Tamarind extract
Salt
Brown Rice Powder
Semolina

Add a tbsp of vinegar to the fish and thaw in the fridge overnight.

Make a paste of grated ginger, grated garlic, grated onion, turmeric, red chili powder, lemon juice, tamarind extract, salt. Discard the vinegar, wash the fish and apply the paste well all over the fish pieces and marinate for at least an hour in the fridge.

Heat oil in a cast iron skillet. Roll the pieces first in brown rice powder and then in semolina and pan fry on both sides till are cooked and crisp on the outside.

Steamed Shrimp in Coconut Mustard Sauce

Fresh Shrimp - around 10 big ones
Mustard Oil / Coconut Oil - 1 to 2 tbsp
Yogurt - 2 tbsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Mustard Powder - 1 tsp
Coconut Flour / Fresh grated Coconut / Coconut Milk - 2 tbsp
Green Chili - 1, finely chopped
Salt

Mix all the above together(except shrimps) and make a thick paste. Marinate the shrimp in this paste for around an hour in the refrigerator.

Place the shrimps in a steel container, cover tightly with a foil and steam in a steamer / ricecooker for around 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Onion Chutney

Onion - 1, medium, chopped
Red Chillies - 3 long
Tamarind - pebble sized.
Brown Sugar - to taste
Salt to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp

Tempering
Mustard seeds + Urad dal - 3/4 tsp
Curry leaves few

Method to prepare:
Heat a pan with little oil and fry the urad dal, chopped onion, red chillies. Once its nicely browned, remove and let it cool.
Grind to a smooth paste along with salt, tamarind and sugar. Temper it with mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves with the remaining oil.

Mooli ka Paratha

White Radish Big Sized - 1/2, grated
Whole Wheat Flour - 2 cups
Green Chilies - 2, finely chopped
Cilantro - a handful, chopped
Salt
Ajwain - 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp
Aamchur Powder - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated Ginger - 1/2 tsp
Boiled Potato - 1 small, peeled and grated (optional)
Plain Yogurt - as required to make the dough
ghee - 1 tsp

Olive Oil / Ghee to cook the parathas

Mix a little salt with the grated radish and keep aside for atleast half an hour. Then squeeze and remove the liquid from the radish.

Mix all the above together with the squeezed radish without adding extra water. Knead and make a soft dough using a little yogurt if required instead of water.

Divide into 7 portions and roll out and cook on a hot griddle with a little ghee/olive oil on each side. Serve hot with chili pickle/ raita / onion chutney.

Masala Dosa with Brown Rice

Brown Rice - 1 cup

Urad Dal - 3/4 th cup

Methi Seeds - 10

Brown Rice Powder - 2 tbsp

Salt

Red Onion - cut in half from middle

Soak brown rice, urad dal and methi seeds overnight.

Wash, drain and grind the mix finely adding a little water as required. Add rice powder and salt and cover and leave it to ferment for 12 hours.

Mix a little water to make the consistency like pancake. Heat a cast iron tawa, rub the tawa with the cut end of the onion. Put a ladle full of mixture and fry the dosa with a little oil. Serve with sambar and dosa bhaji.

For Dosa Bhaji:

1 onion - finely chopped
3 small red potatoes - soft boiled and chopped
1/2 tea spn mustard seeds
2 tea spn urad dal - soaked for an hour
2 tsp roasted chana dal / dalia
4-5 chopped green chilies
6-7 curry leaves
A pinch turmeric and hing
1/2 tea spn finely chopped ginger
Oil
Salt

Heat oil and add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal.

When dal is slightly browned, add curry leaves, ginger, green chilies and onion. Fry till they turn translucent.

Pour 1/2 cup water, salt and turmeric. Cook for sometime. Now add the potatoes and mix well. Cook for a few minutes more.

Patishapta

For the crepes:
3 tbsp: Semolina / Suji
3 tbsp: Flour
1 tbsp : Rice flour
Whole Milk - 11/2 cups
sugar - 1 tsp
ghee or butter.

For the filling:
grated coconut - 3 cups
whole milk - 4 cups
sugar
cardamom powder

For the cream:
Whole Milk - 6 cups
Sugar

Makes 8 medium sized patishapta

Method:

First soak the semolina in the milk and keep aside for atleast three hours.

In the meantime make the stuffing. For that, put the grated coconut and milk in a heavy bottomed pan and cook till the water evaporates and the mix comes together. Then add the sugar and cook till the mixture leaves the side of the pan. Flavor it with the cardamom powder and mix well. Let it cool.

In another pan boil the whole milk till the quantity reduces to two third. Add sugar and reduce it some more. You can bypass this step by using only sweetened condensed milk.

Put the other ingredients in the semolina mixture and mix till everything mixes properly. The consistency of the batter is very important it should be thin but not runny. It should easily flow and coat the pan once it’s poured in the pan. If you find the batter much thick mix some more milk or water and get the required consistency.


For preparing the crepes heat a little bit of ghee in a non-stick pan and pour a ladleful of crepe mixture. Spread it quickly to cover the pan. Put a lid and keep it covered for a minute. Check if the crepes are set. Put some more ghee by the sides and cook till the lower portion is golden brown. Turn over and cook for some more time. Now spread the filling over the length of the crepe and fold from both sides. Take it out and spread some condensed milk over it.

Moghlai Parotha

For the potato curry:

Potatoes: 2 medium; Peel and cut in big chunks
Tomato: 1 medium
Methi leaves: handful; Chopped or dried kasturi methi - 1 tsp soaked in a little water
Spices:
Onion: 1
Garlic: 2-3 fat cloves
Dry red chillies: 3 pieces; I like it hot
Coriander seeds: 1 tsp
Oil: 2 tsp
Salt
Turmeric

Blend all the spices in a blender.

Heat the oil in a wok and fry this spice mix till oil separates at the side.
Add the chopped tomato and salt. Fry for a couple of minutes.
Tip in the potatoes and methi leaves. Give it a good stir and let it cook for some more minutes.
Add 11/2 cups of water, check the seasoning and cover and cook till potatoes are done.

For the Paratha dough:

Whole wheat flour: 1 cup
Flour: 1 cup
Vegetable oil : 21/2 tsp
salt

for stuffing:
onion: 1 big; Chopped
garlic: 2-3 cloves; chopped
Ginger: 11/2 “ pc; smashed
Eggs: 3
Milk: 2 tbsp
Green chillies: 1; chopped
Coriander leaves: handful; chopped
Dry roasted peanuts: 1/3 cup
oil for frying: approx 2 tsp for each paratha
Salt

Mix the dough ingredients together. With water knead to get a soft but dry dough. Make 3 balls and lightly coat them with oil. Keep covered.


Heat a tsp of oil and fry the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, green chillies with salt. Once its pink add the choppes coriander leaves and switch of the heat.
Once cool add the eggs and milk and beat to mix. crush the peanuts to small pieces and keep aside.
Roll the flour ball as thin as possible.

Put 1/3 of the egg mix in the center and spread with a spatula. Sprinkle some crushed peanuts on top and then very carefully bring the sides in to form an envelop. Once done it would be rectangle in shape.
Heat oil in a pan and carefully put the stuffed paratha on it. Fry on low till golden brown on both sides.