How to make the perfect rice

1. Remove Excess Starch: Put rice in a deep bowl, run cold tap water over it. Once the bowl is full of water, use your fingers to swish the rice around. The water will start getting murky. Now gently pour this water out. Repeat this process till the water is mostly clear. This will take at least 4-5 washes.

2. Let it stand in water: Now fill it up one last time. Don't wash the rice again. Just leave it in there, covered with water, for about 30 minutes or so. It results in a much fuller, softer grain. After the soaking, you will notice that the rice grains have turned a nice milky white.

3. Cooking the rice: Drain the water out. Put the rice in a heavy-gauge pan that has a flat bottom. If your pan is made out of some thin flimsy metal, your rice will get nicely burnt at the bottom while the grains at the top may not cook properly. You also need one with a tight lid, or else the precious steam will leak and your rice won't cook right. Now put in the water. Normally, a long-grain rice recipe calls for twice the amount of water as rice. Because our rice has already been sitting in some water for a while, and has absorbed a bit of it, we need just 1.5 cups per cup of rice. Moreoever, there is still some leftover water after you drained it, because no one can drain it absolutely dry.

4. Salt: Add 1/2 teaspoon salt to the rice if you like.

5. Boil then simmer: Put the pan on medium high heat. Wait till the water boils and starts bubbling. Now turn the heat down as low as you can, cover with the tight lid, and let it just sit there for about 15-20 minutes. Resist the urge to lift the lid and peek at the rice. Not even a peek.

6. Turn off heat: After the 15-20 minutes is up, turn off the heat. No, you still can't lift the lid. Now you have to let it "stand" for another 10 minutes or so. This will help the rice to "settle" so you don't have dry grains on top and wet grains at the bottom.

7. Eat: After 10 minutes, lift the lid, take a fork and fluff the rice. You will have nice separate grains without having used any oil, butter, or other fat in the cooking process.

This method of cooking rice is known as the "absorption method".

(Via Shiokfood. Picture courtesy ehow.com)

Caramel Truffles

Caramel truffles:

Makes 34 (11 g each):

100 g sugar

20 g butter at room temperature

125 g cream

142,5 g dark chocolate, chopped

85 g milk chocolate, chopped

Cocoa

Caramelize sugar with a bit of water.

Add the butter then the warm cream.

In a bowl, pour the toffee over the chocolate and stir until creamy.

Cover the bowl with wrap film and refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight).

Put the cocoa on a plate.

With greased hands make small balls with the truffle mixture and gently roll each truffle in the cocoa to coat.

(Picture and recipe courtesy - flagrantedelicia.)

New Orleans Bread Pudding

Ingredients

Pudding:

1/4  cup  raisins

2  tablespoons  Bourbon

1 1/4  cups  2% reduced-fat milk

1/2  cup  sugar

1  tablespoon  vanilla extract

1/2  teaspoon  ground cinnamon

1/4  teaspoon  ground nutmeg

Dash of salt

3  large eggs, lightly beaten

4 1/2  cups  (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 8 ounces)

Cooking spray

Sauce:

1/2  cup  sugar

1/4  cup  light-colored corn syrup

1/4  cup  butter

1/4  cup  Bourbon

Preparation

To prepare pudding, combine raisins and 2 tablespoons bourbon in a bowl. Let stand 30 minutes. Drain mixture in a sieve over a bowl, reserving liquid.

Combine reserved liquid, milk, and next 6 ingredients (milk through eggs) in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add bread, tossing gently to coat. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with raisins, pressing gently into bread mixture.

Cover with foil; chill 30 minutes or up to 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place dish in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan; add hot water to pan to a depth of 1 inch.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 20 minutes.

Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

To prepare sauce:

Combine 1/2 cup sugar, corn syrup, and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Bring to a simmer; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat; stir in 1/4 cup bourbon.

Serve each bread pudding piece warm with about 1 tablespoon sauce.

(Picture and Recipe courtesy myrecipe.com)

Aloo Posto (Potatoes, Bengali Style)

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp mustard oil

1kg/2lb potatoes, peeled and diced into 1cm/½in cubes

½ tsp dried turmeric

½ tsp red chilli powder

salt to taste

For the tempering:

1 tsp vegetable oil

2 tsp five spice mix (panchphoran)

1 green chilli finely chopped

1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped

Method:

1. In a wide non-stick pan, heat the oil to a medium-high heat and add the potatoes.

2. Sauté the potatoes until they are nearly cooked. Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt and fry until they are cooked through.

3. In a separate small shallow frying pan heat the oil until it begins to smoke. Mix together the five spice mix ingredients, and add two teaspoons to the hot pan. The seeds will crackle and pop, so be careful when handling the mixture. Add the green chillies and the chopped coriander and stir for a few seconds. Pour this mixture onto the cooked potatoes.

4. Serve immediately.

(Recipe from Indianfoodsco. Image courtesy the recipe hunter)

Kuhelee's yummy Green Chutney

Ingredients for Chutni:

* lots of tender kadi patta

* some dhania

* some pudina

* mirchi - according to how hot you want it to be

* adrak - ditto

* onion

* curd - this can be mixed in later too, because this is what will make the chutni go sour quickly

* salt

* sugar

Note:

* you can put in kakdi as well, to give more bulk to the chutni without contributing too much to the taste

* you may add some sev to add colour, taste and bulk

* you can add coconut - but that will change the taste completely

* you can add lime juice - as well as curd or minus the curd - it lends a different type of khattapan

Method:

* plonk all these things in a mixer and grind fine.

* taste the chutni and fine tune by adding a bit of this, a little of that. remember you cannot take away anything once it is put in but you can nullify the effect

Enjoy :)

Kuhelee Khandelwal

Pure and Simple Vegetarian Cooking

I saw this book at crossword and was charmed by the simple, elegant way the book was laid out - the pictures, the instructions, the way the food was presented. I had to buy it. I've been trying a dish everyday. Will post pics of them soon.

Passion Fruit Parfait

Prep time: about 45 minutes, plus 4 hours of freezing

Ingredients (serves 4):

Passion Fruit Parfait

1 vanilla pod

3 large egg yolks

50 g sugar

2 passion fruit

4 tbsp meringue crumbs (about the size of a hazelnut,

possibly extra for sprinkling on top)

200 g whipping cream

Reduction

400 ml red wine (such as Cabernet Sauvignon)

50-75 g sugar

1 organic orange

1 piece of fresh ginger (about 1 cm/0.5 inch))

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 star anise pod

1-2 tsp cornstarch (if necessary)

plus: 4 ramekins of about 100 ml

For the parfait, slice the vanilla pod lengthwise, scrape out the pulp with a knife, and put into a large metal bowl together with the egg yolks and the sugar. Whisk over a hot bain-marie - this rarely takes more than 4 minutes, even by hand. The mixture will be foamy, then creamy.

Set the bowl into ice-cold water and keep beating until the egg creme has cooled down. Halve the passion fruit, scoop out the pulp and seeds, and stir into the creme with the meringue crumbs. Beat the whipping cream until stiff. First fold in one-third of it into the creme, then gently fold the rest into it so that it remains fluffy. Fill into the ramekins and freeze for

at least 4 hours.

In the meantime, boil the wine and sugar for the reduction in a pan. Wash the orange in hot water and peel 2-3 stripes of the zest with the potatoe peeler and add to the wine. Squeeze out the orange and pour the juice in through a sieve. Peel the ginger, cut into slices, and also add with the cinnamon and anise. Boil everything down to at least half the volume over medium heat in 20-30 minutes. If the reduction is still too liquid, stir the cornstarch with 2-3 tbsp of cold water until smooth before mixing it into the reduction, which should now be simmering. (The reduction gets even thicker when it cools down, so a bit of intuition is required here). Remove from the stove and let it cool down. The consistency is perfect when the reduction drips from the spoon like runny honey.

Dip the ramekins into hot water for a few seconds before serving. Then run a knife along the edge and loosen the parfait before turning it upside down on the plates. Let it thaw for a few minutes - that's the only way it will develop its full creaminess - and sprinkle with the reduction. If you like, you can also sprinkle a few meringue crumbs on it. By the way, the parfait can be easily kept in the freezer compartment for several days. It's a dessert you can make in advance for special occasions.

(Recipe and picture source: delicious days)

Jack's really small kitchen.

Click through the link to see more pics from his kitchen. He chooses his cutlery with care, buys limited things, and uses his chopping board over the sink to serve as a dining table. :)

How to Defrost Frozen Meat

Thawing Frozen Meats (and no, leaving it on the counter isn't one of them!):

The absolute best way to thaw frozen meats is by leaving it in the fridge until it's completely thawed. If you're crunched for time, take the meat out of it's package, put it on a plate, and place it under cool RUNNING water. This carries away any bacteria that is already present or that grows on the surface of the meat and gently thaws the meat in about 20 minutes (for small cuts) or an hour or two (for large cuts).

You can also safely thaw meat in the microwave, though be careful since your microwave can actually start to cook the meat before it's completely thawed.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How Long Can You Leave Cooked Food Unrefrigerated?

Leaving Food at Room Temperature: Four Hours

Four hours is a good rule of thumb for most buffet foods. After four hours, the potential for you to get sick from eating food left at room temperature increases drastically. If you're throwing a party and afraid you might forget, try setting a timer to remind yourself when four hours is up.

Ice cream and other frozen foods are of course another story - try putting those back in a little sooner!

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to blanch asparagus.

Don't try this with really thick spears - use the thinnest, freshest ones you can find.

Put a kettle of water on the stove to boil. Wash the asparagus spears. Trim the dried or hard ends off the bottom of the spears and lay them in a thin layer in a glass baking dish.

When the water comes to a boil, pour over the spears and let them sit for 3-5 minutes. Pull out a spear and test it after a couple minutes - it's easy to check for your preferred texture. When they are crisp-tender pour off the water and salt lightly.

Serve with melted butter or a vegetable dip.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to peel ginger.

Begin by cutting off the amount of ginger you need and then trimming it of any small nubs so that you have a relatively uniform piece to work with.

Then, hold the ginger in one hand and use the tip of your spoon to scrape off the peel. You’ll find it comes off very easily and that you get a smoother, more uniform end result than when you use a knife or vegetable peeler.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

How to hard boil an egg.

• First place the eggs in a small sauce pan and cover with cold water by about 1 inch.

• Bring to a boil over medium high heat.

• Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for exactly 12 minutes.

• Rinse with cold water until the eggs are cool.

The whites will be light and tender, not rubbery, and the yellows will be bright and creamy, not greenish and powdery. Perfect for egg salad, deviled eggs or just a nice little snack.

(Source: thekitchn.com)

Food Habits around the world

Germany: The Melander family of Bargteheide
Food expenditure for one week: 375.39 Euros or $500.07
Favorite foods: fried potatoes with onions, bacon and herring, fried noodles with eggs and cheese, pizza, vanilla pudding

United States: The Revis family of North Carolina
Food expenditure for one week: $341.98
Favorite foods : Spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken

Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City
Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25
Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips

Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily
Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11
Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks

Great Britain : The Bainton family of Cllingbourne Ducis
Food expenditure for one week: 155.54 British Pounds or $253.15
Favorite foods: avocado, mayonnaise sandwich, prawn cocktail,
chocolate fudge cake with cream

Kuwait: The Al Haggan family of Kuwait City
Food expenditure for one week: 63.63 dinar or $221.45
Family recipe: Chicken biryani with basmati rice

Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca
Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09
Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken

China: The Dong family of Beijing
Food expenditure for one week : 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06
Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce

Poland: The Sobczynscy family of Konstancin-Jeziorna
Food expenditure for one week: 582.48 Zlotys or $151.27
Family recipe: Pig's knuckles with carrots, celery and parsnips

United States: The Caven family of California
Food expenditure for one week: $159.18
Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream

Egypt: The Ahmed family of Cairo
Food expenditure for one week: 387.85 Egyptian Pounds or $68.53
Family recipe: Okra and mutton

Mongolia: The Batsuuri family of Ulaanbaatar
Food expenditure for one week: 41,985.85 togrogs or $40.02
Family recipe: Mutton dumplings

Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo
Food expenditure for one week : $31.55
Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage

Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village
Food expenditure for one week : 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03
Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork

Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp
Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23
Favorite foods : soup with fresh sheep meat

(Via Ashima Chander)

How to boil potatoes in 2 minutes

I'm pretty excited about this! I learnt that you can boil potatoes in 2 minutes. No more waiting endlessly (and anxiously) in front of the cooker. Or put off making the vegetable because of the time it takes to cook.

Just peel, cut, cover (not immerse) with water and microwave for 2 minutes. Voila perfect potatoes!

Luxury Cooking

Pot à la Fissler and Harrods:
timeless luxury for £100,000

Fissler, the leader on the German market for premium cookware, is setting new standards of luxury with a unique product: a pot adorned with gold and diamonds from Fissler will be presented to the exclusive clientele of the London department store Harrods from the 10th of September until the 20th of October. This true gem will be exclusively produced to order and will cost £100,000.

Technically, the diamond pot is based on a saucepan of 28 cm in diameter from the successful premium series 'original profi collection®' by Fissler. The handles on the lid and sides as well as the name logo are made from almost one kilogram of solid gold (750/yellow gold) and are studded with more than 200 diamonds (TWSI) of varying sizes.

The breathtaking one-off originals will be crafted lovingly by hand in Idar-Oberstein/Germany. This town in Rhineland Palatinate is well-known as the home of Fissler, the international leaders and experts in cookware, and has, for centuries, enjoyed a global reputation in the design of precious stones and jewellery for the most exclusive clientele all around the world.

The product will be presented in accordance with its unusual characteristics: the diamond pot will be showcased at Harrods on a special presentation pedestal made of rootwood. The diamond pot will come complete with a high-class jewellery box made of rootwood. A document and the appropriate quality certificate guarantee additional exclusive quality for the buyer.

With the diamond pot, Fissler will be presenting what is probably the most precious pot in the world. An application for inclusion in the book of Guinness World Records has already been submitted.

Via Ashima Chander

Beautiful Food

(Via AgyBanks)

Glocalization!

INDIA
In India, there are no Big Macs because the Hindu people don't eat beef.
However, they have the Maharaja Mac, which is a Big Mac made of lamb or
chicken meat. There is also a vegetarian burger, the McAloo Tikki.
(

NORWAY
In fish-loving Norway, they have the McLaks, a sandwich made of grilled
salmon and dill sauce.

GERMANY
It's bottoms up in Germany, where McDonald's serves - Beer!

CANADA
In parts of Canada, have a lobster dinner with the McLobster lobster roll.
Pardon me - "McHomard" (in French).

JAPAN
Japan totally reinvents McDonald's with its Ebi Filet-O (shrimp burgers),
Koroke Burger (mashed potato, cabbage and katsu sauce, all in a sandwich),
Ebi-Chiki (shrimp nuggets) and Green Tea-flavored milkshake!

CHILE
In Chile, you can dress your burgers with - not ketchup - avocado paste!

COSTA RICA
In Costa Rica, unsurprisingly, you can order Gallo Pinto, meaning rice and
beans.

GREECE
It's not Greek without pita, so when in Greece, have a Greek Mac, a burger
made of patties wrapped in pita.

HONG KONG
Rice-loving Hong Kong, has - of course - Rice Burgers, where the burgers
are in between, not burger buns, but two patties of glutinous rice.

ISRAEL
In Israel, McDonald's has 3 kosher restaurants where cheeseburger and dairy
products are not served because Jewish Law forbids serving "the child
[cow/beef] in its mother's milk [dairy]." They have McShawarma, meat in a
pita bread roll.

URUGUAY
In Uruguay, they have the McHuevo, which is like a regular hamburger, but
it is topped with a poached egg.

(Via AgyBanks)

Vodka & Red Bull Christmas Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup of brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 cup of sugar

1 tsp saltLemon Juice

4 large eggs

Nuts

1 bottle of Vodka

1 can of Red Bull

2 cups dried fruit

Method:

1. Sample the vodka to check the quality.

2. Take a large bowl, check the vodka again.

3. To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and mix with a little red bull and drink.

4. Repeat.

5. Turn on the electric mixer, beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

6. Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again.

7. At this point it is best to make sure the vodka is still ok.

8. Flavour with red bull to taste.

9. Try another cup - just in case turn off the mixerer.

10. Break two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

11. Pick fruit off floor

12. Mix on the turner.

13. If the dried fruit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a drewscriver.

14. Shample the vodka to check for tonsisticitity, flavour with a little Bed Rull.

15. Next ssiffft two cups of salt. Or something ... Who giveshz a shi**

16. Throw a pinch of Bed Rull over your shoulder

17. Pick up the can, mop the floor

18. Check the vodka

19. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts.

20. Add one table.

21. Add a shpoon of shugar, or somefink. Whatever you can find.

22. Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over..

23. Don't forget to beat off the turner

24. Finally, throw the bowl through the window, finish the vodka and kick the dog.

25. Fall into bed.

CHERRY MISTMAS

- thanks to diyya ninan (who tried, tested and survived)

watchamacallit

A lazy sunday afternoon brunch drink

Tall Jar- 1 or 2 depending on the no. of guests

Ice- 5 trays

Red wine- not the very expensive variety- you'll soon know why

Oranges- roughly chopped up into big pieces 1/4th. jar

Sprite or 7 up

Fill 1/4th. of the tall jar with the oranges. Put the ice in until you reach the 1/2 mark of the jar.

Pour in the red wine until a little more than half jar. Top with Sprite.

I saw this on Olivers Twist. Didn't catch the name though....

Cheesecake (the easy lazy way)

You need:

A microwave oven

A flat glass pie dish (about 8" dia and 2" deep)

1/3 cup butter

450 gms cream cheese/paneer

2 hundred gm packets of cream crackers

3 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

A nice slosh of dark rum

What to do:

Melt the butter in the pie dish. Do not let it cook, just heat it til it starts to get runny.

Now blend in the cracker crumbs til you have a mouldable dough. You should be able to shape it easily. Pack this evenly along the sides and bottom of the pan, making a shell.

Place the cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl and heat just until it softens. Beat it until its smooth. It helps to use a mixie with a blending blade but you can also use a fork.

Mix in the eggs, sugar, vanilla and rum and blend them in well.

Pour into the cracker shell and place in the centre of the microwave oven.

Cook for 8 mins rotating the dish a half turn manually every 2 mins if your microwave doesn't have a self rotating tray.

The centre will still be soft when you remove the pie. Let it set and refrigerate.

Serve with slices of mango.

:)

P.S. Serves about 8 decent sized slices. If you halve the recipie, do not halve the crackers and butter as the pie shell will still need to be the same depending on the dish.

sunshine in a white ceramic bowl

Pour Bagry's muesli into a cool ceramic bowl

Slice in banana, strawberries (if they're in season)

A slice of fig

5 almonds

1 walnut

Honey (if you like it sweet)

Pour cold milk

Slurp up

There. Now you don't have to eat for the rest of the day :)

moroccan prawns

Ooohhh...this is really simple and yummy too, if you are a seafoodie. You can serve this as an entree or just have it with a couple of beers or a glass of wine.

Ingredients:

Cumin powder- 1 tsp

Jeera powder- 1/2 tsp

Pepper (freshly ground)- 1 tsp

Paprika (or red chilli) powder- 1 tsp

Cloves and Cinnamon powder- 1 tbsp

Oil- to sauté

Medium size prawns - 500g washed and peeled with the tails in place

How to:

Mix all the spice powders together. Heat oil in a shallow pan, on low flame. When hot enough toss 1n the spice powder mixture and sizzle over medium heat. Do not burn to a crisp. Toss in the prawns and stir fry with a wooden spoon. The spices should be just enough to coat the prawns. Stir till prawns turn pink. Serve with a wedge of lime and mint/parsley for garnishing.

How to buy fish at the fish market

1. Poke the body - If it's soft and squidgy, give the fishmonger a dirty look. Good fish always has a firm body.

2. Check the eyes - If it's dull and murky, give it a miss. The fishmonger will know that you are a discerning fish lover and pull out better fish.

3. How pink are the gills - lift the flap, if the gills are dark and veering on black, walk away. The fishmonger will call you back with the freshest catch with fresh pink gills.

(Courtesy: Mrs Gouri Majumdar)

Super Easy Hummus

INGREDIENTS:

500 gms chick peas, soaked overnight and drained.

2 middle sized cloves of garlic, crushed

2 teaspoons jeera powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon olive oil

A little liquid curd (tastes nicer if its slightly sour)

Chilli/ Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Put every thing into the food processor and blend on low speed.

Gradually add the liquid curd, until you get the desired consistency.

Adjust salt if required and add pepper to your taste.

Put on toast or crackers and act swank with your friends!

simble green gram thoren

simble = mal for simple

green gram = we all know

thoren = a poriyal types/ dry stir fry

Stuff:

- a coffee mug full of greengram (soak it overnight)

- a pinch of saffron

- a handful of grated coconut

- a table spoon of coconut oil

- green chilli (3 - 4)

- dry red chilli (2 -3)

- garlic (5 - 6)

- curry patta (12)

- mustard (enough to make a circle in the middle of your palm)

- salt (enough to make a quarter of the circle above)

Do:

Pressure-cook the green gram. Two whistles should do.

While this is pressure-cooking, take a tawa and splutter (the mustard, green chilli, red chilli, garlic and saffron powder) on a low flame.

Add the pressure-cooked green gram to this.

Heap the grated coconut onto it.

Mix well.

Simmer for a minute to dry up any extra water.

Ta- da!

Goes well with:

- Red Rice

- Chappatis and curd

Cheesy Scrambled Eggs

Ingredients

Eggs (as many as you like)

Cheese Spread

Milk

Salt to taste

Garnish (if required)

Basil

Chilli Flakes

Method:

Crack and drop yolk and white into a wide bowl.

Whisk rapidly. Add generous amounts of cheese spread.

Whisk again. Add three to four tablespoons of milk.

Whisk some more. Add salt to taste.

Slap on butter in a shallow pan. Add the egg mixture.

Scramble. Garnish if required.