Shrimp Stir Fry

Every time I make shrimp I remember 'Bubba' from Forrest Gump. His love towards shrimp and how he spoke about them all the time. I remember that Bubba suggests the shrimping business and Forrest pursues the idea after Bubba's death.
The Bubba Gump Shrimp Company started as an idea between Bubba and Forrest during their war duty in Vietnam. There Bubba proposes the idea of starting a shrimping business and Forrest agress and promises to be his partner after the service is over. But Bubba dies in the war and Forrest is left alone to go into that business. Forrest then goes to plays in the All America Ping Pong team and after his tour, he earns $25,000 enough to buy a boat. He buys a boat and names it 'Jenny'. This is how he starts the shrimping business and Lt. Dan Taylor joins him as his mate on the boat.
It is a pretty nice movie and Tom Hanks has acted really well and so has 'Bubba.' I think pretty soon, I will be called 'Bubba.'

Ingredients: 
Uncooked Shrimp, deveined - 1 LB
Soy Sauce - 2 tbspn
Tomato Ketchup - 4 tbspn
Water- 5tbspn
Red Chilli Flakes - 1 tspn
Ginger Paste - 1/2 tspn
Garlic, Minced - 2 + 4 cloves
Honey - 2 tspn
Cornstarch - 2 tspn
Green Onions - 1/4 + 1/4 cup
Bell Peppers - 1 cup
Brocolli - 1 cup
Mushroom - 1/4 cup
Oil

Procedure: 

1. Mix all the sauces, water, honey, red chilli flakes, 2 garlic cloves, cornstarch and ginger paste and keep it aside.
2. Now heat a skillet on med-high heat and put a tbspn oil on it. Then add garlic and all the vegetables and green onions to it and cook it for 2 mins. Then add the sauce to it and cook for 3-4 mins or till the sauce begins to boil.
3. Now add the shrimp and cook till the shrimp is cooked.

Variations: 
You can make it vegetarian by substituting shrimp with Tofu or Paneer/Cottage Cheese.

Conclusion:
The 'Always-Available-At-Home' ingredients makes it unbelievably awesome stir fry.

Mix vegetable Soup

Now a days I am eating more number of times in smaller portion only because I read in an article (and my mother always followed that rule) that eating in smaller portions is better that eating a lot at once. So I make one pot of soup for the whole week and refrigerate. I take a cup of soup everyday to work and reduce the portion of lunch. Also, reducing the quantity of carbs (Like roti, rice, bread) and increasing the portion of vegetables, poultry or seafood is advisable.
So here is an easy recipe for a mix vegetable soup in which you can add or substract the ingredients as per your taste. Always remember, playing a little bit with the ingredients is good for experimenting and knowing what you like more. So go ahead and experiment with this soup.


Ingredients: 
Vegetable Broth/Water - 3 cups
Spinach, chopped - 1/2 bunch
Squash, cubed - 2
Carrots, cubed - 2
Bell Peppers, cubed - 1
Green Chillies, slit - 2
Garlic, minced - 2 cloves
Black Beans - 1Can
Cooked Pasta - 1 cup (Optional)
Cooked Rice - 1/2 cup (Optional)
Oregano - 1 tspn
Ground Pepper - 1 tspn, or as per taste


Procedure: 

1. Add the broth in a pot and add spinach to it. Cook it for 10mins or so, then add everything other than pasta, rice and beans.
2. Let it cook with lid closed for 35-40 mins. Then add rice, pasta and beans and cook for another 5mins and the soup is ready.

Variations: 
This soup has been my favorite and I add whatever vegetables I have. I also add some cooked lentils, if I have them handy.


Conclusion:
The soup has been a Saviour as I serve this to my hubby whenever he comes home after work and then he doesn't demand for dinner immediately.

Fish Masala Curry (Hot n' Sour)

We get fish from the Chinese market nearby which is super crowded if you go after 10am. The line for cleaning and cutting the fish increases with time. Once I went early morning, and I got out within 15mins but if I go after 930am or so, I have to surely wait for an hour or more.
I always get Pompano to make fish curry. But I have seen humongous sized fish in the market the name of which I have never heard.
Today I wanted to try some different curry for the fish and I did some research online and saw this recipe which looked really yummy. I thought that version would be very spicy for my taste buds and hence I modified it as per my taste and it turned out really good.

Ingredients:
Fish (pompano) - 2LBs

Onion, Finely chopped - 1+1

Tomato, Finely chopped - 1

Green chillies, slit - 3

Garlic- 3 cloves

Ginger - 2 inch 

Red chilli powder - 3 tspn

Coriander powder - 2 tspn

Black pepper - 1 tspn

Garam masala - 1 tspn

Ajwain - a pinch

Methi seeds - a pinch

Yogurt - 2Tbspn

Tamarind pulp - 1 tspn

Lime Juice - 1 tspn

Salt

Oil
Cilantro to garnish

Procedure: 

1. Sautee one portion onions, green chillies, ginger and garlic together till the onions are golden brown.
2. When it is done, keep that aside and roast red chilli powder, coriander powder, garam masala, pepper, methi seeds and ajwain together for 4-5 mins on med-low heat.
3. Grind the above two things together. Then saute remaining onions till they are golden brown.
4. Then add the ground masala and fry for a few minutes. 
5. Now add tomatoes, tamarind, salt and 1/2 cup of water.
6. Now add the fish pieces and cook for 7-10 mins turning the fish pieces over once.
7. Garnish it with cilantro and serve with hot dill rice or roti.

Variations: 
I couldn't think of any variation but you can reduce the sourness by using whole cream instead of yogurt.


Conclusion:
I made this without anything in mind. I was not sure how this would turn but it turned out pretty yummy. It had a distinct hot n' sour taste.

India Won the World Cup

After 28 years, India won the World Cup and became the World Champions. It was a super exciting World Cup but it was very difficult to watch all the matches as they were aired after 1am PST. Some were during weekdays and it was almost impossible to stay up all night and work during the day without dozing off.

When India reached the finals, I had to show some patriotism in the form of food. So I decided to make Bleed Blue Cupcakes. They were blue in color with blue frosting.

It was super warm outside and I didn't want the frosting to melt, so I took all the frosting to the friends place (Who volunteered to host all the macthes played by India. He was one of the few people who had the Willow TV package as he works at DirecTV. Thanks to Chinmay) and frosted the cupcakes there as everyone watched me frost.

The cupcakes were a big hit. I made 22 cupcakes and all got over within 12 hours.

After the frosting the cupcakes, we started to paint everyones face. Face painting was so much fun and everyone was very excited to get the Indian flag colors on their face and do their part of patriotism.

It was so much fun to watch the matches with some Cricket fans and some sleeping beauties (including me).

And all the efforts were paid off when India won the world cup. It was a nail biting Finals against Sri Lanka who played really well too. And every time India won, we celebrated by going out for brunch and sleeping the whole day.

Creamy Cauliflower Soup

I am a soup lover and make soup at home very often. I became a soup lover because I love to eat or drink hot things during winter and in US of A, it is always cold, even in California. So I make a big pot of soup once a week and have it with lunch or dinner.
Today I only had cauliflower and wanted to make some soup out of it. So I called a friend of mine and she gave me her recipe.

Ingredients: 
Cauliflower - 1LB
Sliced Onion - 1/2 cup
Potato, peeled and cubed - 1
Ginger Paste - 1tspn
Garlic - 3 cloves
Black Peppercorns - 8-10
Green Chillies - 2
Milk - 1 1/2 cups
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tspn (Optional)
Water or chicken or vegetable stock - 3cups
Salt to taste

Procedure: 

1. Cut and clean the cauliflower. Pressure cook all the above ingredients with 3 cups of water or chicken or vegetable stock. (I used water as I didn't have the broth handy)
2. Take 2 whistles and when cooker is cooled, blend the cauliflower mixture into a smooth paste.
3. Now add some milk and blend again.

Variations: 
My friend said that she gives a 'tadka' of oil and jeera to add some flavor to it. I didn't want to add oil to the soup so I skipped that step.

Conclusion:

When I told my husband that I am making cauliflower soup, he made faces but when I made him taste it, he loved it. Even I was surprised with its distinct taste.... very creamy without adding butter or cream. One cannot make out that it is cauliflower soup. Thanks to Louloua (Pronounced as Lulua) who suggested this soup and gave me the recipe.

Rice Pudding/Rice Kheer/Narali Bhaat

Happy Gudi Padva/Ugadi to one and all. I know I am a little late for that but that is when I made the Rice kheer. My mother makes a variety of rice kheer and I love all of them.

'Rakshabandhan' or Rakhi Pornima and Narali Pornima are celebrated with Narali bhaat at my place. I used to wait for Rakhi Pornima just to hog on the narali bhaat, and the gift ofcourse.
On the occasion of Gudi Padva, which was a Monday, I wanted to cook a full meal with some sweet and I had all the ingrdients handy for Narali Bhaat :). The menu for Gudi Padva was Paneer Bhurji, Daal Fry, Lachcha Paratha, Rice and Narali Bhaat.

Ingredients:
Rice - 1/2 cup
Condensed Milk - 1 small can
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Cardamom/Elaichi Powder - 1/2 tspn
Cashews, chopped - 7-8
Shredded Coconut - 1/2 cup

Procedure:

1. Overcook the rice with more water to make it mushy.
2. Add coconut milk, condensed milk and cashews to the rice and cook it for 10 minutes on med-high heat till it is thick in consistency.
3. Now grind coconut, and some rice and cashews together and add it to the kheer.
4. Now add the milk and some sugar if need be and cook for another 5-8mins.
5. Add Elaichi and Kesar (Optional) and serve chilled.

Variations: 
You can add almonds instead of cashews and it will still taste great. Also, if you do not have condensed milk, no worries add sugar as per your taste and cook the mixture for some more time.

Conclusion:

Yummilicious kheer or Narali Bhaat. We ate it for 3 days and still I am craving for some as I am writing this.

Pecan & Macademia-crusted Salmon with Dill Sauce

My love towards seafood is increasing day-by-day. I was bored with the same old coconut curry recipe with Pomfret, so I decided to try something with Salmon.
When we were on our delayed honeymoon (as we went after 4months of marriage) to Hawaii, we visited this 'Highly-Recommended' restaurant called Mama's Fish House. It is very famous for its ambiance and awesome seafood. The menu changes everyday. The day we went for lunch, they were serving Macademia crusted Salmon stuffed with crab and shrimp. Yes, I know you all must be drooling as you read this. Trust me, it was worth every penny we spent. That was the best Seafood I have ever tried. I still drool as I dream about it, so I had to atleast try the easy part of it, nut-crusted Salmon without the stuffing.

Ingredients: 
Marinade:
Salmon Fillet - 1LB
Lime Juice - 2Tbspn
Salt

Outer Coating:
Pecans - 1/2 cup
Macademia nuts - 1/2 cup
Bread Crumbs - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tspn (I used Cajun Seasoning instead)
Egg White - 1
Olive Oil
Salt

Sauce:
Fresh Dill, Finely chopped - 2 tbspn
Yogurt - 1 cup
Sour Cream/Mayonnaise - 2tbspn
Ground Black Pepper - 1/2 tspn
Lime Juice - 2tbspn
Salt

Procedure: 

1. Marinate the Salmon with the marinade and keep it aside.
2. Now blend together pecan, macademia nuts, bread crumbs, red chilli powder and salt and make a coarse powder.
3. Whisk the egg whites till it is a little frothy and then dip the salmon in it and then coat it with the coarse nuts powder. Try pressing the powder on the salmon. 
4. Heat a skillet on medium heat and put some oil on it.
5. Now put the salmon on the skillet and cook it till the crust is golden brown but make sure the fish is cooked from inside too (Fish is cooked when it flakes when a fork is inserted in it). Cook approximately for 7minutes on each sides.
6. Sauce: Mix all ingredients for the sauce.
7. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve it with rice.\

Variations:
Any type of nuts can be used for this recipe. Also, this dill sauce can be used with a variety of fish dishes.


Conclusion:

We remembered our meal at Mama's Fish House as we were enjoying the Pecan and Macademia Nut-Crusted Salmon... Yummm!