Tomato Thokku - Tomato Pickle

 The 1980s - and in my dorm in University. We all look forward to the girls coming back after holidays, because each of them would be carrying jars and packets of goodies from their homes to last for a couple of months in the dreary hostel. The food in the hostel was bland and tasteless and it was these packages that helped us ford meal times.  One such item brought from Andhra Pradesh was my friend Shobha's tomato pickle or tomato thokku. Nothing would even warrant a second look until the whole jar was devoured by us for breakfast lunch and dinner. This pickle can be had with rice, dosa, idli or even roti - that is how versatile it was. Sweet, salty, tangy, spicy, hot and with an underlying umami, this pickle really had it all. May be it was the Andhra organic tomatoes or may be it was the Andhra spicy chillies - but visions of this jar still makes my mouth water.  I have long since lost touch with my room mate Shobha, but in my heart I still think of her and her loving mother who made this for our enjoyment - bless them!

Pictured: A jar of cherry tomato thokku near my almost dead tomato plant - getting ready to say goodbye for winter!

Cheese Suffed Pears Dessert

 A quick, easy and healthy dessert, if you have it on its own; or a little indulgent with icecream - or if you would like to have it with yogurt, you can have it for breakfast too. I had it on its own and I was just testing the recipe out to see if I would make it again. I would definitely make it again - it looks spectacular, and it tastes nice. When you present it, it looks like you have gone through a lot of trouble making it. This is also a recipe where you can play with the pears, cheeses and nuts to make the final outcome sweet or savoury so you can serve it as a dessert or an entree. The sweetness of the pear, along with a touch of saltiness from the feta, the honey and nuts all add to the textures and flavours of this dish.

Zucchini Chicken Stir Fry

 I had picked a fresh zucchini from the garden and wanted to put it to use immediately. I used only about 300 grams of the zucchini - I still had about 400 grams left over that I barbequed for dinner the next day.  The taste of something that you have grown - picked fresh off the plant and cooked to perfection is something you cannot really describe.  It is an emotion - a feeling of immense satisfaction and joy.

This dish pairs well with a chinese fried rice and is very quick to put together, including the prep time. 

San Sebastian Cheesecake or Basque Cheesecake

 When Pelin, my friend said to me that the tastiest cheesecake she had ever tasted was the San Sebastian cheesecake, I was certainly intrigued. I had never heard of it, leave alone taste it. I looked up videos and recipes and spent a lot of time researching until I finally decided I was making it. So my recipe queen internet friend Nagi - came to the rescue with her recipe and clear instructions.  I couldn't take step by step pictures because I needed both hands for the work - but I stuck to her instructions and her recipe to the exact word.

I have just taken a picture as it came out of the oven and it looks exactly like how Nagi said it should!So I am certainly hoping the taste will be exactly what I am imagining it to be as well - caramelly on the outside, souffle like on the inside - not too sweet but still divine.

I am taking this cake to another friend's house today - and I haven't seen her in ages.  I hope Michelle and family will like the cake as much as how much I enjoyed making it! The verdict is out and the cake was absolutely divine! Creamy and light, with a touch of sweetness and the contrasting caramel layer at the top.

I will definitely make this again because it is delicious,  easy to do and you do not have to spend time on the decoration.

Meen Pollichathu- Fish cooked in banana leaf

 My husband's Malayalam accent is terrible. He doesn't know most words and what he does know, he cannot pronounce right. But, if it is to do with food, then he will keep saying it - till I make it for him.  And that is the story of the meen pollichathu; he had it for the first time in Kerala and was so smitten that he wanted to have it again. In Kerala they predominantly make this dish with the Karimeen or pearl spot or green chromide fish which is found in the backwaters.  In Melbourne, I used the Spanish Mackeral - which is my go to for a lot of these types of traditional dishes.  The Karimeen is a fish that tastes divine for all Malayalis and the Spanish Mackeral can never match that; but still, the dish tasted immensely satisfying.  The one thing you need for this dish is a nice banana leaf with no tears. The fish is cooked "en papillote" style - and the banana leaf is the key to getting the flavours right.  Last year I planted some banana trees in my backyard and I was lucky to get fresh leaves for the dish.

Seafood Risotto

Comfort food, but also loaded with calories! I went all ahead with this one for my children with the butter and cream, but if I made this for myself, it would probably be just with olive oil and chunks of fish.  We are having a dry February, so there was no wine to drink with this beautiful risotto; but I did have left over wine from before that I used for cooking the rice. This could be a quick mid week dinner too as it is easy to prepare and quick to cook.  All up, it took me just about an hour including prep. I adapted the Recipe Tin Eats recipe to suit my taste.  I served it with a simple salad of shredded beetroot, cucumber, salad leaves and a feta cheese dressing.

Biscoff Cheesecake

Christmas 2024 was the first one for my daughter and son in law after their wedding.  So it was a special one, and she wanted me to make a Biscoff Cheesecake for the ocassion. I looked at a bunch of recipes and pictures on the internet and this recipe by Nagi was the one I got attracted to.  It was supposedly easy, it looked absolutely marvellous and it was something I could make the previous day and put in the fridge.

So, even though I didn't know much about Biscoff biscuits and cheese cakes, I decided to make this. The last week before Christmas is always hectic in our home with last minute grocery shopping and getting ingredients sorted for the main items.

I had my list ready - and when I walked into the biscuit aisle and spotted Biscoff biscuits, I immediately picked them up with an extra pack for the "just in case" errors and didn't think much of it.

When I started on the cake that night, I realised immediately that I had made a mistake. Nagi says in her blog DO NOT use sandwich cookies that have cream in them, as the cake may not set - and this is exactly what I had. It was too late to go back to the shops and I kept my fingers and toes crossed for two days until the actual unmoulding on Christmas day.

Nan Khattai - Indian Shortbread

 A trip to Supreme Bakery in Kollam, my hometown, was always a much looked forward to treat. Amma got us delicious treats from there right through to the time her grand children came along. In my youth I remember amma cooking and baking a lot. But after appa's death, she didn't make so many treats at home - as it was just her at home a lot of the time. But when we came home for holidays, she got us all our favourites from the bakery.  This practice continued till the grand children came along.

One of the best things you can buy at Supreme is their nan khattai. Crumbly white biscuits shaped like a tiny bun with a few crushed nuts on top and smelling of cardamom with every bite. Delicious! Amma used to bake them at home in her round electric oven - slightly bigger than an air fryer but much smaller than what is commonly seen as a "regular" size oven in Australia.

So apparently, the nan khattais were brought to India by the Dutch in the 16th century - and then updated to suit Indian tastes.  It is essentially a shortbread made of plain flour, semolina and chickpea flour - some ghee and flavoured with cardamom. This recipe makes about 30 nan khattais.

Buddha Bowl

 Sunday night - and we are already primed to be in the "back to work tomorrow" mode.  All I wanted was something to eat and sit down to watch my current favorite show on TV.  As I was forgaing in my fridge, I was thinking of the Buddha Bowl I picked up for lunch at work last week.  Some brown rice, and a series of colourful vegetables, some bits of roast chicken - and some beautiful tahini dressing. I was lucky I had all the ingredients in my fridge and pantry.

So, Buddha Bowl it was and it was just perfect and satisfying! Pretty as a picture - who wouldn't want to eat this?

Frouta Ke Yaourti - Greek Fruit Salad

 Onions, tomatoes and green chillies - such a varied team, right?  Each of these vegetables have their own individual flavours and strengths. Too much of one or the other and your dish can turn really bad. But in the right measure, they make the perfect base for so many curries. It depends on the chef and his skills to know when to add more and what to add less of. Similarly, working in a team, we have so many different skills and strengths. If the manager doesn't recognise your skill set, then you end up feeling frustrated and the project will probably fail.  But in the right measure and with the right team members, you can turn out a dream project and get the recognition that is due.  

But we are not here to talk about work - though it is good to have an analogy and today's fruit salad is just a mix of different fruits - all with their own special qualities, coming together to create a dream dessert with the help of yoghurt. 

The original recipe used lemon rind but I happened to have oranges, so I used the rind of an orange - it reminded me of the lovely orange tree lined streets of Athens.

This dessert is healthy and tasty - healthy as there is no sugar and it is mostly fruit and if, like me, you are avoiding the temptations of the holiday season, then, it is perfect as a summer dessert.