Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant is SK's favorite vegetable. I've exhausted my repertoire of 'baingan-barta', stuffed-brinjal & brinjal bhujiyas. There's just so much you can do with an eggplant - unless you venture into the world of Italian!

I followed to the T the recipe from - http://elise.com/recipes/archives/000220eggplant_parmesan.php

Eggplant Parmesan Recipe
Ingredients
2 lbs (about 2 large) eggplants
1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
Olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 lbs of fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds
1 cup grated high quality Parmesan cheese
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves

Method
1 Cut eggplants lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices. Arrange one layer in the bottom of a large colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Repeat with remaining eggplant, salting, until all eggplant is in the colander. Weigh down the slices with a couple of plates and let drain for 2 hours. The purpose of this step is to have the eggplant release some of its moisture before cooking.

2 While the eggplant is draining, prepare tomato sauce. Combine tomatoes, garlic and 1/3 cup olive oil in a food processor. Season with salt and pepper to tasted and set aside.

3 When eggplant has drained, press down on it to remove excess water, wipe off the excess salt, and lay the slices out on paper towels to remove all the moisture. In a wide, shallow bowl, combine flour and breadcrumbs. Mix well. Pour beaten eggs into another wide shallow bowl. Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat, and pour in a a half inch of olive oil. When oil is shimmering, dredge the eggplant slices first in the flour mixture, then in the beaten egg. Working in batches, slide coated eggplant into hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides, turning once. Drain on paper towels.

4 Preheat the oven to 350°F. In the bottom of a 10x15 inch glass baking dish, spread 1 cup of tomato sauce. Top with one third of the eggplant slices. Top eggplant with half of the mozzarella slices. Sprinkle with one third of the Parmesan and half of the basil leaves.

5 Make a second layer of eggplant slices, topped by 1 cup of sauce, remaining mozzarella, half the remaining Parmesan, and all of the remaining basil. Add remaining eggplant, and top with the remaining tomato sauce and Parmesan.

6 Bake until cheese has melted and the top is slightly brown, about 30 minutes. Allow to rest at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

SK loved it, need I say more.

Tuna Patties

Ingrediets:

1. 1 (12 1/2 oz.) can flaked tuna


2. 1 c. dry bread crumbs


3. 1 egg, slightly beaten


4. 1 c. mayonnaise


5. 1/2 c. chopped celery


6. 1/2 c. chopped onion


7. 1/2 c. shredded carrots


8. Corn oil
   

Method: Mix together ingredients (except oil) and shape into patties. Heat oil over medium heat, add patties; turn over once.

Chutney

Today I made something I've never made before. Chutney! Simple, fresh, Indian chutney. I'm not sure what prompted this because I usually buy chutney from the Indian store. Perhaps the need to be frugal or maybe I just found myself with time on my hands, which is rather unusual for me on a Sunday. So well, I made chutney. Here's the recipe I pulled off the net.

I think sorting the cilantro took longer than anything else but worth the effort 'cause I now have a bottle of home-made chutney in the fridge.

Recipe: 1 bunch fresh mint
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 inch piece of ginger root
salt to taste
1 green chili
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons amchoor (mango powder from Indian grocery, or substitute more lime or lemon juice)
1/2 cup onion
1/4-1/2 cup water for blending

Preparation: 1. Clean the mint leaves and cilantro leaves.
2. Add all ingredients except the water together in a blender or
3. Blend/process and add water as you blend.

Refrigerate and enjoy during the week.

Tapas Night

Last weekend marked the much awaited Tapas Night, perhaps the last pool party of this year. We had a smorgasbord of some very delectable food. The idea was for each of us to choose a country and prepare a tapas unique to it. I think it’s safe to say that yet again, we outdid ourselves!

The Menu:

1) Caribbean - Fried Plantain & Black Bean Salad
2) Mexican - Seven Layered Dip and chips
3) Medditerranean - Stuffed portobello mushrooms
4) Lebanese - Frankie Wraps
5) Italian - Tiramisu
6) Indian - Kebabs
7) French - Mini Quiches
8) Chinese - Cauliflower Manchurian
9) Native American - Cornbread and Fondue

The drink menu was even more scintillating, maybe I'll leave that for another post.

Breakfast for a King

Breakfasts, for me, have long since become a thing of the past. While I do, on occasion, question the sanctity of this decision, for the most part; time or the lack of it simply prevents me from indulging in breakfast. Labor-Day, for this reason, and so many more, was such a beautiful, welcome and refreshing change.

Of all the meals we prepared, I think our breakfast was my favorite. There’s something to getting up to a dewy morning and nursing a cup of coffee on the front deck that makes breakfast-time even more inviting. Of course, the fact that we prepared it together, amidst a lot of laughs and bustle, laid out the wooden bench with matching napkins and silverware and sat down together to eat made it so much more enjoyable.

Poha with thokku, pancakes with bananas and syrup and OJ; all while surrounded by the North GA wilderness and the Brasstown Bald mountains. Heaven!

Birthday Cake

Twenty something and counting. A year older, Am I any wiser?

Veggie Delight

We had a 'Girl's Night In' a couple of weeks ago. D & S asked each of us to bring a 'surprise ingredient' for the Veggie Lover's Pizza. So as you can see for the picture above, the pizza was a rich medley of flavors; pesto sauce, capers, black olives, caramlized onions, sun dried tomatoes and feta cheese.

And who says Pizza goes with beer only? We paired it with Sangria, a great combination.

Pizza in Pisa

All smiles, G jn. at a little bistro beside the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

Fruit Find

On our drive back to Atlanta, we stopped by a wayside fruit shack that was selling locally grown produce. There was something so extraordinarily pleasing about buying freshly plucked strawberries and an oversized egg-plant from somewhere in the middle of rural Georgia. Simple pleasures indeed.

Ice-cream, The Mangalore Way

G jn. was in Mangalore recently and was treated to a very special hometown specialty – Dilkush Ice-cream. From what she says, it was a humongous portion of ice-cream served on a platter with a generous garnish of vermicelli and nuts. It was apprently out of this world; wasn’t just dil-khush but pait-khush as well. Another popular Mangalore treat, I learnt, is the Gadbad ice-cream. As the name suggests, it’s a mixture of different flavors, meant to confuse but satisfy!

I think I’m really gonna havta visit Mangalore sometime soon, if not to reconnect with my roots, then at least for the ice-cream.

Above, is the one and only Dilkhush; not just a mouthful, but an eyeful as well.

Food Stock

For want of something interesting to write, I decided to delve into my pantry for inspiration. As is with anyone's pantry, I found a weird assortment of food, from very different parts of the world, some just begging to be cooked and some way past the expiration date; some healthy and some definitely not. Here are some of the many pictures of my food stock.

'Fuse' is a Vitamin enriched water. Fuse Slenderize has just 10 calories, perhaps one of the reasons I really like it! The picture right above is some of the food I got back from my trip to India. The jackfruit papad and 'rice sevai' or semai are pure Mangalorean, Mum perhaps even bought it from the Mangalore store on Hill road. The semai goes really well with chicken or mutton curry, a substitute for rice. The 'Miracle Blend' is a seasoning I use most on fish. It isn't all that miraculous but when you're in a hurry, it will definitely serve your purpose. Finally, the picture below is what G junior bought me from Italy. A kind of penne pasta with natural vegetable dye and a corn pesto sauce to go with it. If I wasn't on my agonizing low carb diet, I would've cooked it a long time ago. Well, one of these days ......

Risotto

If ever there was a pretty picture, it was this. That's G junior and friends enjoying plates of fine risotto in Venice. Risotto is the Italian answer to pulao. While it may not be as popular as the conventional pasta and pizza, I believe it's just as delicious. It's traditionally made with short-grained rounded rice.

I just had to look up the Internet and see if Rachel Ray had any easy recipes and found one that seems simple enough:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup arborio rice
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt

Method:
1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium heat; add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. 2. Add the rice and cook, stirring continuously for a few minutes, until the grains are glistening. Increase the heat to high and add the broth and 1 cup of boiling water. Bring the rice to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the rice is al dente, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the risotto from the heat, stir in the lemon zest and Parmesan and season with salt.

This is definatelty on my "Must Try" list.

A Taste of India

Happy New Year to Everyone.

My first post for the year; I've just about returned from my best trip back home so far. I still have India on my mind and in my stomach! In the last three weeks, I've gorged on everything from dahi-kachori on Linking Road to schezwan dosa at my favorite Amrut Sagar. I ate frankie from the street and fondue at a swanky Pali Hill restaurant. I discovered 'Amul-Kool', a refreshing energy drink and rediscovered the sweetness of the humble Naryal paani.

My next few posts will bring back 'The Taste of India' and all my favorite mouth-watering moments from my trip back home. My only wish, that I could eat it all, all over again!

Ali Baba

This is actually an Indo-Pak grocery store. It's on Alpharetta Hwy, right opposite the Honda dealership. They primarily sell Halal meat. It's not one of those stores where they throw in bones and fat to increase weight. You can buy some honest to goodness 'mutton' from this store. But it's what they sell on Friday's that's worth writing home about.


Friday's is Biryani Day at Ali Baba. It's the perfect place to get a take-out from if you really want to eat something mouth-watering but aren't in a mood to dress up and go to town. It's $6 for a box of chicken biryani and $7 for mutton. Apart from biryani, they also sell Chicken 65, patties and kebabs. They also cater for parties and events. It's Pakistani food, it has to be good!

Simple Pasta

I’ve never been a big pasta enthusiast but ever since G junior’s move to Italy, she’s been raving about the types of pastas and pizzas she’s been eating. That probably explains my sudden interest in pasta. This one here is the simplest of recipes but very flavorful.

Ingredients:
¾ lb penne pasta
2 Tbs olive oil (or EVOO as Rachel Ray would say it!)
7-8 garlic flakes
Oregano
Cup full of mushroom (portabella – they’re meatier)
Cup full of green peppers
3 Tbs sun dried tomatoes *
3 Tbs black olives *
Pepper – as per preference

* The black olives are usually canned and the sun dried tomatoes come pickled in bottles.

Method:
Boil the pasta and keep aside. Peel and finely mince the garlic flakes. The mushroom and peppers can be cut in thin vertical strips. In a pan sauté the chopped garlic in the EVOO. Add the green peppers and the mushroom along with pepper, salt and oregano flakes. After they cook a little, add the sundried tomatoes and the black olives. Cook together for another 5 minutes. The sun dried tomatoes have their own oil so you needn’t add too much of olive oil right in the beginning.

You can also boil some chicken, shred it and add it to this mixture. Cook together for another 5 minutes and then mix in the boiled pasta. You’re done.

In the picture, doing what she does best, is my Pasta Queen.