We had Chef Venky offering to make us a lunch treat at work again last week. When he suggested the ubiquitous Anda Bhurji I can’t say I was very thrilled – I’m not a huge egg fan anyway, but everyone seemed to be quite pleased so Anda Bhurji it was. And then it was served up with hot buttered pav, and I must point out absolutely sizzling in oil, and very spicy because that’s they way most of us in this office like our food, but mmmmmmmmmm! it was awesome. And of course sinful. But then naturally.
Look out for the step-by-step photos.
This is incidentally a great last minute dish to rustle up when you run out of food in the fridge (give or take some oil, butter and chilies). Venky took about 25 minutes from chopping to serving, cooking for 10 of us.
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ANDA BHURJI ( MASALA SCRAMBLED EGGS ) Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
6 eggs
4 onions chopped fine
2 tomatoes chopped fine
2 green chillies sliced into 4-5 pieces
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1/2 cup oil (that was Venky’s amount. If I did it it would be 1/3 of that at most!)
1 tablespoon butter (!)
Salt to taste

PREPARATION
Fry the onions in all the oil till golden brown.

Add the chilies, fry some more.

Add the tomatoes and cook till tender.

Meanwhile beat up the eggs thoroughly. Add when the rest is fried through, along with the turmeric and chili powder, and salt to taste. Stir constantly.

Add the garam masala and coriander leaves.

When the egg sets to the consistency you like, – shouldn’t be more than 3-4 minutes, add the butter and coriander leaves just before you take off the stove, stir and take off the heat.

Serve steaming with hot. We had it with pav that was also roasted on a skillet with dabs of butter!

The house has been looking so beautiful all decorated for Christmas; the small tree, the fairy lights and the wreath. It was my 3 year olds idea, but yes, we just had to have a Christmas party, and we had the extended family over.
Here’s the menu, we had a rather un-Christmas meal – Potato Mayo salad, Chicken Farchas, White rice and Spicy Prawn Curry with Kachumber and easy Chocolate Banana Crepes for dessert.
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Chocolate Banana Crepes Serves 6
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INGREDIENTS
5 bananas at least 6 inches long
2 tablespoons drinking chocolate powder
1 tablespoon coffee
3 tablespoons cinnamon powder
Hershey’s Chocolate Sauce

For the crepes
4 eggs
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons sugar
1 banana

PREPARATION
- Beat together all the ingredients for the crepes except the bananas. Mash one banana smoothly and mix in only just before making the crepes.

- Slice the 5 bananas down the center and then chop into 1/2 inch pieces. (more…)

I don’t think there’s any doubt about how much I love crepes and pancakes. But I usually eat them sweet and on their own.
Last Saturday, I looked into the fridge and didn’t see any very interesting stuff, I decided to jazz up our lunch. The lucky vegetable of the day turned out to be the lone cauliflower. Here how it went. For a change I thought to take step by step photographs. Enjoy!
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Savoury Cauliflower Crepes Serves 4
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For the crepes this recipes is perfect but leave out the sugar.

For the mixture
1 Caulifower – broken into small florets to fill 2 cups.
1 small onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic
1 small tomato, chopped small
1/2 tsp chilli powder

For the sauce
1 cup milk
1 tsp butter
2 table spoons all purpose flour (maida)
1 cup grated cheese
1/2 tsp pepper
salt to taste

Also mix together in a cup
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon chilli sauce if you want to add some bite!

PREPARATION
Set the cauliflower to boil in adequate water and a teaspoon of salt.

In 2 teaspoons of oil start sauteing the chopped onions. As they brown, add the garlic after crushing.
Now add the tomato, salt and chilli power and half a cup of water. Let it cook well on low heat.

Meanwhile start making the crepes. Don’t forget to leave out the sugar. Keep them thin, no bigger than about 6 inches in diameter. Set them aside on paper the drain the grease. (more…)

My parents visited Kerala, – God’s own country, as they claim. Mom picked up some packets of “Ann’s” mixes – for fried fish, and an assortment or curries. I just tried the one for fried fish. All that had to be done was add a very little water, coat the fish slices – I used pomfret, keep for an hour or so, and then fry. My usual quick marinade for fried or grilled fish is a mix of salt, chilli powder and turmeric powder, in a tablespoon of brown vinegar. That’s always worked well enough. Occassionally, I add a tablespoon of chickpea flour (channa atta). Unbelievable how this packet of masala transformed the fish! A lovely red, slightly spicy crust formed over the fish. Delicious, it definitely has my thimbs up. Cant wait to try the other mixes!

And another breakfast, and another picture of what I had with the left-over Tofu. Tofu on crackers ( Britannia Cream Crackers, by the way – if you haven’t tried them, do) with tomatoes, cucumbers, salt and pepper and topped with black Kalamata olives and a tiny dollop of Weikfield’s Sweet Chilli Sauce.
While I was confirming online the paneer vs tofu fat content I came across this site. I’m going to take Yasmeen’s info as correct because I couldn’t really find any other clear comparisons, and it’s shocking to me. She calls herself a ‘health nut’, but really, looking at these figures, even though I agree Tofu’s lower on the protein and calcium, you don’t need to be a health nut to make a better choice. At least that what it looks like to me ! Wheeeew! I feel half a kilo lighter already.

Actually there’s still a lot of Tofu left, you’re going to be hearing more.