Sunday, September 24, 2006

Inside Man and Chaiyya Chaiyya

Maybe Old news but thought it was interesting...

Just as the movie Inside Man started playing I heard Chaiya Chaiya song, yes the popular DilSe song, and was beginning to wonder if I had inadvertently taken the wrong movie. You see Blockbuster has a whole Indian movie section these days. Nope it was indeed "Inside Man" I watch all Denzil Washington's movies, this one not one of his best but a good watch on DVD. The movie also has Clive Owen (what a good actor!), Jodie Foster and Christopher Plummer, William Dafoe. Great acting alround, in the end analysis actually not too bad a movie.

The whole song played during the opening credits. Usually we do not watch the credits at the end which lasts for about 5-6 minutes but this time we did to see if A.R Rehman's name would flash. It did indeed along with another playing of the song during the credits in the end.

Way to go A.R Rahman! This is the only time I have seen an entire Indian movie song played in a Hollywood movie in full that too 2 times ....

Friday, September 22, 2006

Horse Gram and Snake gourd

This is a take off of Vaishali's Padval Dalimbya (Snake gourd with Hyacinth beans) . I did not have Hyacinth beans but had some fresh Snake gourds and looking for an alternative to hyacinth beans hit upon Horse gram (ton of protein indeed). It was really delicious.

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Ingredients
1. 3/4 cup horsegram
2. 1/2 red onion chopped
3. Snake gourd sliced thin
4. 1 1/2 tsp chilly or sambhar powder
5. Season: mustard, urad dal, cumin and curry leaves

Method
1. Heat oil in a pan, add the seasonings.
2. Add the onions and fry till translucent.
3. Add the snake gourd pieces and cook till soft.
4. Add salt and cooked horsegram and sambhar powder.
5. Mix well and cook for a few more minutes

Simply tasty.

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It is time to say goodbye to summer and welcome Fall which is never an easy thing, love summer so.

Saturday, September 2, 2006

Egg Kurma

Egg Kurma is a big favorite in our house. When I am at a loss for a dish to prepare I always fall back on Egg Kurma. Hurricane Ernesto was downgraded to a tropical storm but it still meant a day and half of rain. Now we need the rain, there has been no rain for the past month and a half that the grass,plants and trees are all turning brown. The slow steady drizzle is what they need. The weather has turned much cooler too. This called for some hot and spicy Egg Kurma.
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Ingredients
1. 5 boiled eggs
2. 1/2 Red Onion roughly chopped
3. 5 pods of garlic
4. 1 1/2 inch piece ginger
5. 2 tomatoes
6. 1 1/2 tsp Egg Masala powder
7. Corriander leaves roughly chopped.
8. 1 1/2 Tbsp grated coconut
9. Seasonings cloves, fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks

Egg Masala Powder
1. 1/2 tsp corriander seeds
2. 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
3. 1/4 tsp pepper
4. 2 Red chillies

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Method
1. Grind the coconut with a few corriander leaves to a paste.
2. Mince the garlic and ginger
3. In a wide mouth pan, heat oil and add the seasonings.
4. Add the onion and fry till they turn brown
5. Add the minced ginger and garlic and saute them for a few minutes.
6. Add the egg masala powder and mix well.
7. Add 1 tomato cut into small pieces and saute till they turn soft.
8.Add the chopped corriander leaves and saute.
9. Puree the other tomato and add and cook for a few minutes.
10. Add salt and the coconut paste. Cook for a few more minutes
11. Remove the shell and cut the egg into two pieces and add to the curry.
12. Spoon the gravy over the egg pieces and turn off the heat in a minute.

Serve with rice or Chappathis.

Cauliflower Cheese Melt

When Vineela announced this month's JFI ingredient as Milk, I remember thinking I should be able to make the deadline, there is plenty of time. But when the deadline came I realized I had not come up with a recipe. This recipe kind of presented itself on the right day. I had few heads of cauliflower and it was raining and cloudy outside, perfect for a movie and some snack. The recipe my friend H mentioned when we were talking about cauliflowers came to mind. It is really fast and quick, a perfect snack.

Cauliflower Cheese Melt
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Ingredients
1. 1 Cauliflower cut into bit size florets.
2. Pepper Jack Cheese grated (or any cheese that you prefer)
3. Sambhar Powder or Chilly powder

Method
1. Bring a pot of water to boil,add salt and cauliflower florets and cook for 3 minutes.
2. Spread a baking sheet with oil spray and spread the florets.
3. Sprinkle the Sambhar powder and then Spread the cheese on the florets, so that all the florets have atleast a little bit of cheese.
4. Bake in a 350F oven for about 10 minutes, till the cheese melts and is gooey.

Serve hot. Real easy but tastes delicious.

This will be my entry for Vineela's JFI Milk Event.