Wraps n Rolls!!!

No..its not Rock-N-Roll of Tenessee!! I am very clear about it, it is Wraps n Rolls. I feel & I think, every cuisine have their own "Wraps & Rolls", which delights the hungry stomach & pleases the eye too. Being born in Kolkata, I was always fascinated by what you call "Kathi Rolls". Options were pretty limited initially, for example Egg Rolls, Chicken Rolls, Mutton Rolls & for vegetarians, Veg. Roll. It is nothing but a wrap, made of paratha[an Indian flatbread, shallow fried in a griddle], topped with various stuffs, like fried eggs for Egg roll & the like, and topped with some condiments like sliced onion, cucumber, assorted sauces, a squeeze of lime & a pinch of salt. Rolled, wrapped with a paper & voila...
I have always preferred one with potato stuffing apart from the eggs or egg-chicken.
Also Rumali Wrap, which I learnt in Grand Hyatt. It is almost same, but a Rumali Roti[Handkerchief-->Rumaal] is used instead of oily paratha. It is meant for *fat-conscious*.

Coming out of India, perhaps I can talk about Spring rolls. Its another snack,of which I am fascinated. I love duck spring rolls, chicken spring rolls so much, that I hate vegetable spring rolls. Given the choice of fried version & the fresh version, I will opt for the former[Since it is fried, it gives some taste!!!].
Mexicans got their own wraps too...all going around Tortilla[Not the Spanish omelette with potatoes!!]
Here, in Dubai...well, I can tell you only about Shawarma. I prefer the chicken version--it is a kind of a doner kebab. If you want to know more, the internet media is opened to you....

Happy *Roll*ing :)

Now

Sunday Offs..n what's cooking???-2

As I promised in the previous posts that I will put the recipes. I am putting them right away, lest it is too late for me to memorise & write them...
So the menu is:

Risotto con Zucca

Risotto with Pumpkin

-

Char-grilled ribeye steak with pepper sauce

Jacket potatoes, steamed broccoli & glazed carrots

***

Pumpkin Risotto
Ingredients:
Italian Arborio Rice, Superfine- 50 gm
Hot vegetable stock- 200 ml
Chopped onion-10 gm

Chopped garlic-3 gm
Butter-25 gm
Grated Parmesan- 15 gm
Thyme- 1 pinch
Cooked pumpkin flesh-50 gm
Seasoning- As required
Method:
1. Heat all but 15 gm of butter & saute onion-garlic, until translucent. Add in the rice, till it starts to crackle.
2. Add hot vegetable stock, to cover the rice & cook till the rice absorbs the stock. Add the stock again & continue cooking until the rice is almost al-dente. Add in the cooked pumpkin flesh and thyme & continue cooking till rice is al-dente.Season.
3. Swirl the butter in & mix in the grated parmesan off the heat. Adjust seasoning & serve hot.

Chargrilled Ribeye steak
For the steak
Ribeye steak- 200 gm
Extra-virgin olive oil- 5 ml
Salt-2 pinch
Thyme-2 pinch
For the sauce
Brown sauce- 50 ml
Crushed black pepper- 10 gm
Tomato Ketchup- 1 tsp
Seasoning- As required
Butter- 10 gm
For the glazed baby carrots
Baby Carrots- 6 no
Butter- 10 gm
Sugar- 1 tsp
Seasoning- As required
For the steamed broccoli
Broccoli florets- 20 gm
Seaoning- As required
For the Jacket Potato
Potato, small round- 1 no

Aluminium Foil- to wrap the potato completely
Butter- 10 gm
Seasoning- As required
Sour cream- 2 tsp
Parsley- for garnish
Method:
For the steak
Rub the ingredients on the steak & keep aside till ready to cook
For the sauce
Heat the brown sauce, add in the crushed peppercorns, ketchup & season.
For the glazed baby carrots
Heat butter in a pan, add in the baby carrots & rest of the ingredients. Add enough water to cover & cook covered till done.
For the steamed broccoli
Bring a pot of water to boil & season the water. Add the broccoli florets. Once done, strain, refresh in cold water & strain again. Reserve.
For the Jacket potato
Heat oven at 175 Deg C.Wrap the potato completely & cook in the oven till done, for about an hour. Keep hot.

Final preparation
Once ready to cook, heat a pan or cook the steak in a hot grill, as per desired doneness. In the meantime heat the sauce & check the consistency. Once desired consistency is achieved, finish with a blob of butter. The carrots will be a little saucy & heat the broccoli in boiling water & keep hot. Once jacket potatoes are done, make a slit like of "X" on the top & squeeze from four bottom sides of the potato, so that it puffs up through the slit. Put in the butter, seasoning & sour cream. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Once ready for service, put the steak on the plate with the sauce drizzled on top. Put the jacket potato on side & the vegetables around. Serve immediately.

Bon Apetit!!

Sunday Offs..n what's cooking???

I think its been almost a year that I got a weekly off on a Sunday. In India, getting off on Sunday is like bliss. I remember, when I was in Chola, I worked with such a scheme, that I get an off on Sunday. Come on, its a holiday...& I want to enjoy the holiday!!
When I was a child, school used to remain closed on Saturday & Sundays. So the activities on those days were homework & in the evening going out with brother & parents to entertainment park[Kolkatans know Nicco Park very well] else, sometimes going out for long drive[the city was really less congested those days & also less pollution]. However, in due course when I started growing up, it was more like going out with friends. Still, compared to many of my friends, I go out very less, unless it is imperative for me to get some fresh air & enjoy life.
Eating out, boozing, movies, shopping or ordering some pizza in the food court of malls & then non-stop chatting with friends [Bengalis call it "Adda"!!]. Since I developed interest in cooking[I remember, I was in high school then]Sundays were meant for cooking. Perhaps my cooking disaster was Murg do-pyaza[It means chicken cooked with onions, added twice]. I substituted n re-substituted many ingredients & the ultimate product was difficult to swallow down!! Ultimately, I had to eat all :((
Ever since then, cooking on Sundays have been special[though my mother swear am a total kitchen nuisance]. If I am not cooking anything for lunch then I must cook something for dinner. Before I joined culinary school, my repertoire was limited to Indian cuisine[I so much hated Chinese cuisine as in India it is so cliched & I loved their Prawns in Hot Garlic Sauce & Mixed Hakka noodles but without soy sauce!!]. After joining hotel management, my Sundays were only devoted on hanging around with friends and cooking was totally devoted to Continental Cuisine.
Umm..today is a Sunday[& its a good day!!!]and I am off. What to cook???This is my question while I was having my *traditional* breakfast. Well, I got some beef yesterday, australian rib-eye. Apart from that, some broccoli, some baby carrots. I also have potato, aluminium foil. Apart from these some pumpkin I have, also risotto rice etc. How about cooking risotto with roasted pumpkin followed by grilled rib-eye[I prefer to eat between medium to well-done] with jacket potato, glazed carrots & steamed broccoli & pepper sauce[I still have some brown sauce, which I made in the beginning of this year] & for dessert???Well, I think I still have some of my gelato, with coconut milk & galangal with a hint of kaffir lime-leaves--homemade. I think I should finish it off first before going on to my next experiment of Chocolate & mint gelato.
Recipes...coming soon.

Iron Man 2:A Review

[As I expressed in my previous post, that I am not a movie critic. So any comments in this post, should be enjoyed for entertainment purpose & any risk arising is the sole discretion of the reader!!!!]
I wanted to see a movie for long, as I have not seen a good movie for long. A good...a real good movie, which I can watch or love to watch over & over again. I think, the last English movie I saw in a theater was "Percy Jackson" on Feb. 28 & last Hindi Movie in a theater was "Ghajini", in December, 2008[Thats too long!!!]. So I made a plan today with a mate, to watch "Iron Man:2" in the evening after work. Why Iron Man:2??Well..firstly, I got a good review & secondly, I love action movies[My favorite action movie is still "True Lies"].
The movie starts with a scene in Russia, an old man dying with his son Ivan around & before dying he tells his son some *secrets*, whilst in the television, and we can see Mr. Tony Stark introducing himself as "Iron Man". Ivan consoles his father to believe in those bullshit!!!
What follows next is power-packed action, with sci-fi to win or lose. Mr. Tony Stark has been motivated by his father--to fulfill his father's dream for a better Universe & make a peaceful world[He was claimed to have been successful too!!], whilst the US Govt. wanted Tony to handover all the armour & technologies.Ivan, an antagonist of the story sees all these in the TV & tries to replicate the technology, by which Iron Man was working & in other words, he wanted to challenge Iron Man, claiming that the technology was stolen by Tony's father, Howard Stark from Ivan's father. In reality, Ivan's father, seems to be a partner of Howard, however was deported to Russia & died of poverty. He was using a lot of technology & so was Ivan, & supplying ammunitions to Pakistan!!
In between, Ivan came up with his own way of using technology to have an open challenge with Tony, in the Grand Prix at Monaco. Tony could save himself, barely. Thanks to his briefcase armor, as whip like weapons of Ivan was too hard to be digested by Tony & made him to think how to improvise himself!
In the meantime, Ivan was picked up by Mr. Hammer, a weapons dealer. Apparently, a friend of Tony, but was playing a game against Tony. Reason, simply put it's jealousy!!However, Hammer was comic relief.
Do you want me to tell you the story???Or you wanna really check it out??I think the latter is a better option.
Anyways, Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark was really amazing, the way he throws his dialogues, his expressions etc. Scarlett was visual relief too. Never saw her in such an avatar in any of her movies. Difficult to put my likeness about this movie in words. It's really a wonderful movie to watch & would love to see it over & over again. :)

Cheeni Kum:A Review

[Caveat:I am not a movie-critic, nor I have the intention to be a one. I always share my thoughts with you, which has always shakened me or I am just amused by such things. My opinions must not be taken personally. Reading this article is the sole risk of the reader' discretion]

I remember year 2006-2007 was  bad year for me, since I lost a year in college & then I joined HSBC Group Service Center as a Customer Sales Executive. For one year, I lost my interest in Kitchen[Yes, it is a fact] & never used to turn my culinary books & brush my basics. They were almost ready to be for display in the museum. In the beginning of 2007, my company told me,"Gaurav, you will have to go to Manila to give training in HSBC Groups Service Center, Manila, due to a process remigration". I was in Cloud 9...I was delighted to go & give training[I love to travel & give training, deliver lectures..etc!!]. But, in between I saw this movie & regained my lost interest in Kitchen. Further, my mother told me to focus on studies & finally I dropped the plan of visiting Manila.

***

"Cheeni Kum", literally means, "Less Sugar". It is a story of a chef who owns a high end Indian restaurant in the heart of London. His kitchen is ever busy & he is a true master of Kitchen, who believes in professionalism & always rates his restaurant serving "Finest, Authentic Indian food in London". However, he is very rigid in his rules, specially when he advises the junior chef to add lemon juice after 30 seconds, off the heat or the role of adding,asafeotida, followed by Onion etc. However, a problem crops up, when he was flaunting about his restaurant--a food has been returned by a guest "Hyderabadi Zaffrani Pulao"[An Indian rice-meat preparation with mutton & saffron rice, not a Biryani], since it has sugar in it. When he turns upto the guest, who is from India, regarding why the food has been returned, & couldn't get a single word out of her mouth[Yes, a lady guest], he becomes a little egoistic, specially when he says, "We are ready to learn!!". The guest came with her sister, who stays in London & finally tells the chef as "Psycho", whilst the chef mutters, "Bloody Indian tourists!!!" on his way back to Kitchen.
The following day--the waiter who brought the Hyderabadi Zaffrani Pulao as being returned by the guest, brings in another plate of the same pulao inside. He goes ahead & tastes the Pulao & gives the entire procedure of this Pulao & finally says, "There is not a grain of sugar..Our Hyderabadi Zaffrani Pulao is the finest.." when the waiter interrupts, "This has been sent by the guest".He was stunned & walks into the restaurant...while the lady walks away..
The lovestory of the "Too young 64 yr old" Chef starts with "Too old 34 yr old" Woman...& carries on with a lot of drama.Oneday, they decided to go out on a date, whilst the Chef buys a Versace designer glass, on his way to the date to impress her date. The lady catches the reason[all women are so cynical about men's intentions!!!], whilst he kept on lying that he just bought it like that!!
The Chef is a pure vegetarian & when asked since he is vegetarian & had to taste the Pulao[which has meat] she made,his reply, "God forgives a sin in life!!" & many funny stuff.After the first half[You get an interval in the movie theatres of India!!] the movie became boring & lengthy & fortunately, it came to an end.
Few funny moments, like the girl's father is 6 years younger to the groom, however, the groom's would be father-in law thought the Chef is already married & well-setlled in London with children & grandchildren, when the Chef was about to talk to her father regarding their marriage. Interestingly, the girl's father was a follower of Mahatma Gandhi so to impress him, he cooked pure vegetarian food for him[Mahatma Gandhi=Non-violence=Vegetarian food!!!] but he was ashamed when the girl's father said,"If I haven't eaten chicken for dinner, what have I eaten then??"
Finally they tie the nuptial knot in the end, inspite of the father's protests, since his son-in law would be older than him!!
Amitabh Bacchan, performed the role of the "Chef", as Buddhadev  & Tabu has "Neena", the lover of the old man. Amitabh as usual did a great performance, with his intended puns in between & the way he throws them.On the other hand, "Neena", remains subtle throughout the movie..she delivers her dialogues, being cocky & funny too..Music was nice, rendered by Ilaiyaraja, specially Cheeni Kum etc.
This is a movie, that I would love to see over & over again..perhaps this movie, will never be old to me, like few other movies I have listed as my favorites.
Cheers!!!

Icecream, gelato, frozen desserts & some words...

I dont remember when I had ice-cream for the first time[I wish I had written the date or my age when I had it for the first time], but I love ice-creams. Here again, I am choosy too about ice-cream too. I wud rather have simple vanilla ice-cream, but I would rather not have chocolate ice-cream!!!In Calcutta, specially in summer having ice-cream is a luxury & in occassions it is the must for the meal to be rounded off with something sweet. However, when I was 11-12 years old, I went to a party & I had butterscotch ice-cream[before this I didn't know what it was, as I was happy with vanilla ice-cream but equally hated strawberry ice-cream!!!] for the first time. It was like a Wow!! I kept on having it over & over again..n finally I fell in love with butterscotch ice-cream[A question..why people fall in love??why dont they rise in love???]. However, in between I was told not to have ice-creams since I was getting throat infection[in other words, used to catch cold]. So, I had to wait till the ice-cream melts & comes to room temperature, only then I could have it. Such a torture!!!
Back when I entered my teens [& now I am in my tweens!!], there were not much branded ice-creams. I could recollect "Kwality", "Vadilal's" & few more, which I can't recollect!!!However, when the market expanded, globalisation also affected the Indian Economy, we could see "Kwality" becoming "Kwality Walls", Baskin Robbins & few more....then having an ice-cream was like a simple thing..a necessity but not a luxury anymore. Sometimes, when I used to feel hungry & my body temperature is high, specially in summer, buying some chocobar or Cornettos[Oh..I love it so much!!!] & having it on the way back home or to my destination..
Sometimes, eating out with friends..the simple ice-cream used to be the dessert course or every Sundays to Indian Hobby Center in park street & selecting the scoops...[miss those days!!!]
***
Once I joined the hospitality industry, my thoughts on ice-cream changed completely. I am always open to new foods now or new type of ice-cream. Any average Indian will acknowledge that he doesn't know what a gelato is, but he may say what "Mamma Mia" is all about[A popular chain, specialising on Gelato!!]. We were taught about gelato in our final year pastry classes[though I missed the practical classes!!!] but I never had it in Kolkata..not even anywhere else, but had it for the first time, made by me[Let me keep it a secret & keep on scrolling down, till you find the secret!!]. In my training days, my dinner used to end with an ice-cream often[1 scoop is good, 2 scoops are better!!!], whilst when I joined as a professional, I used to sneak into the italian kitchen & try the ice-creams by Movenpick!!Of course above the world experience, specially one with coffee & the other one with caramel. Again, when I was in Chennai, my late night dinner used to finish off with 3 scoops of butterscotch ice-creams. Also I had jackfruit ice-cream for the first time. It was marvellous!! But my mom told me not to have that ice-cream, since it will increase the purine level in my blood. Well..what to do!!!! :((
Coming to Dubai...I had the Pistachio ice-cream for the first time [Yes, really!!!] with a friend. It was delicious!!! Few days before I made gelato & had it too.It has got some odd combination of flavours & you will start frowning upon, if I tell you...
It has hints of galangal, a little of kaffir lime leaves & the wholesome coconut milk. What I wanted to do is that give the Italian Gelato a Thai touch!! The advantage of a gelato is that it is smoother than ice-cream & secondly it is less sweeter & less fat!!Yes, it was really good. It can team up well with some chocolate based desserts, specially chocolate souffle with a hint of orange or chocolate pot-de creme or banana based hot desserts...
I always wanted to buy an ice-cream maker, but I think if I buy it, my mother will dump it away[so many equipments are now lying around in Kolkata], but it is always a pleasure to have custom-made ice-cream!! Making my own ice-cream & having it too..with all sorts of odd & strange combinations & suprise people around!!! If I open a cafe or restaurant, perhaps my unique selling point will be ala minute ice-creams!!!Customers can choose their flavourings, nuts etc in their ice-cream & Voila....
But I will have to buy an ice-cream maker soon[I am looking for retailers ..let me know if you know any!!] & enjoy my own Gelato..may be with pineapple & rosemary!!!! :)

Eggs...Eggs...n Eggs again!!!

My friend Rishav was telling me a day before, "Boss..update your blog". I said, "I will". True, I haven't written for a while..as I was busy & when I was getting time, I was rather concentrating on taking care of myself, cleaning my room[now it looks less messy than before!!!], ironing my clothes[they were lying around..], my wrists[they are giving me hardtime] ....even I haven't cooked *good* for myself for long. Apart from all these "non-sense", I have been pretty busy too..which deterred me from writing & keeping my blog updated.
Rishav also had a request, which was pending for a while--it was a post on Eggs. Like Rishav, there are many people who are Eggetarians. Eggs of course, is a wonderful source of nutrition & nutritionists & dietecians advise that "Egg is a complete food". Undoubtedly--Protein in the form of amino acids, fats, Vitamins etc are there in an Egg.[Life starts from an egg too!!]
Apart from cooking the eggs for breakfast, there are numerous preparations from one country to another. Foe example, in Kolkata or anywhere, if you dont have anything...boil some eggs hard. Shell them & deep fry the eggs & lightly simmer in a gravy & you get "Egg Curry". Aandaa Bhurji is the Indian Scrambled Eggs whilst the Mumbai Version is "Aloo Akuri", which means an addition of Potatoes & served with Paratha.
Quite contrary by the original meaning, "Poached Eggs" in the repertoire of Bengal's kitchen, means "Fried Eggs". My mom always used to serve these "poached eggs" to me, in the form of fried eggs--till I found out the meaning of "Poached Eggs"!!!
Boiled eggs are very versatile...truly. You can have them as it is, or chop them coarsely or neatly & mix them with mayonnaise & some assorted aromatics, onion, celery, leek for example or even shaved fennel bulb, some mustard & then mix all together. Wow..an egg-salad  for lunch...toss in some greens to make it full of proteins, iron etc. Also use it as a spread for your sandwich. A better sandwich than what you have for your "omelette sandwich". In culinary classes we were taught "Oeuf Farci" in our first year. It is nothing but stuffed eggs, with assorted stuffings of course!! Devilled Eggs, what you call in English. Boil the eggs hard, peel & cut into half. Scoop out the yolk & keep it aside. Mash the yolks & mix with mayonnaise, chopped bell-peppers, chopped parsley, basil, olives or even cooked meat & pipe them in the hollow egg-whites. Garnish & Voila...you got a nice appetiser!!
When I think of Fried eggs, I can only imagine them in between two slices of bread & getting treated like a Sandwich, unless you are interested in Huevos Rancheros. You know what it is???Well..if you, ignore this part & move to the following para & those who don't, keep on reading it. Huevos, yes thats what you call "eggs" in Spanish[Quite akin to its Italian equivalent "Uova"] cooked in ranch style-which implies it has to be in some rustic style. Ideally, served with corn tortilla[of course, this is so Mexican!!] & tomato-chilli sauce. You must have this with lots of gusto!!!However, this egg-preparation is from Mexico, not from Spain!!
Moving onto scrambled eggs or "Brouille"[this how you pronounce in French] or "Ruhreier"[this is German!!] I always love it well-done, no matter I consider myself as a Continental chef or Italian chef[After all, I am Indian though I joke with my colleague at work claiming that "I am Italian"!!]. The Aanda Bhurji[Aanda for eggs!!!]in its own Indian style is perfect for anytime meal, served with some paratha. All you need some onions, some tomatoes, some garlic, some chillies according to the hotness desired, a pinch of cumin & loads of chopped coriander....!!!! Also some indian masalas, as usual...cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder & turmeric powder. And eggs of course!!!! Heat some oil in a pan, temper with cumin seeds, chopped garlic n chopped chilli. Add in the chopped onions, tomatoes & cook till the oil leaves the masala.Add in the powdered masalas & keep on cooking them until the oil leaves the masalas. Pour in whisked eggs[as much as you can eat!!!]& keep on stirring them, until they get kind of *overcooked*. Adjust salt & add in freshly chopped coriander. Eat it right away with paratha!!

Omelettes...well..many..many. What fascinates me is the omelette -salad of Italy. Make a flat omelette, preferably not-too thick one & cut them into thin strips & dress with some fresh tomato sauce...n then start shouting... Bella...Bella..

I think...enough of eggs today...I am yet to write on Thai Recipes....till then.. A plus tard