Crème Brûlée Symphonie

Well, I made another of my experiments. I made my own variety of pudding, and I have decided to call it “Crème Brûlée Symphonie”. But this time, I actually remember the recipe! So here goes…

 

Crème Brûlée Symphonie: the Recipe

 

Okay, first, even before you get anything started, you will need to identify the utensils you are going to use in cooking this. You will need one utensil (and I am going with a bowl here, because puddings are really bowl things!) in which you will cook the pudding (the cooking bowl), and another bigger bowl, in which you are going to place the cooking bowl while cooking. Both the bowls have to be oven AND flame proof, so I used steel bowls. You will also need three other suitably sized mixing bowls, ideally of 500ml capacity each, to give you plenty of room to whisk.

 

Ingredients:

1. Eggs (whole) – 3
2. Fresh cream – 500ml
3. Plain granulated white sugar – 6 tsp (I don’t like my pudding intensely or overwhelmingly sweet – but if you like your desserts to be really sweet, you should increase this to 8 tsp)
4. Vanilla essence – few drops
5. Instant coffee powder – 2 to 3 tsp, as per desired strength of flavor

 

Method:

1. Break the eggs into the first mixing bowl. Add the sugar and whisk well for 3 minutes. Set aside.
2. Pour half (250ml) of the fresh cream in the second mixing bowl. Add the instant coffee powder and whisk well until the coffee dissolves in the cream.
3. Pour the other half of the cream in the third mixing bowl. Add the vanilla essence and whisk.
4. At this stage, it would be good to start pre-heating the oven to 200C. It would also be good to pour about 2 inches of water in the bigger steel bowl and put it on the gas to boil.
5. Give the egg and sugar mixture a quick whisk, and pour half of it into the coffee cream mixture. Whisk well until incorporated.
6. Pour the other half of the egg and sugar mixture into the vanilla cream mixture, and whisk well until incorporated.
7. Pour the vanilla cream mixture into the cooking bowl. Then, pour the coffee cream mixture on top of it in zigzag, circular or uneven motions, and make sure to not whisk or mix the two at all. This will create a pattern resembling a marble cake.
8. Take the bowl with the boiling water off the gas, and put the cooking bowl in the hot water. Take care to ensure that none of the hot water gets into the cooking bowl. If need be, you can throw out some of the water.
9. Place the entire thing in the preheated oven, and bake for 45 minutes, or for as long as the pudding needs to set. If the top seems to be getting burned or too browned but the pudding is not set yet, you can use the classic technique of covering the cooking bowl with a foil tent to prevent burning.
10. Take the pudding out of the oven, pour the water out and allow the pudding to cool to room temperature. Then, pop it into the refrigerator for an hour or so.

 

Voila! Your Crème Brûlée Symphonie is ready… I did not feel the need for a caramel topping, but if you want, you can add that too on top! Bon appétit!

Chicken Rashness - A Chicken Recipe with a Rashness!

Have you ever had one of those moments, when a most rashly invented, on-the-spur recipe actually turns out great, and then you don’t remember the recipe? Well, I had one of those just now. So why am I writing about it? Well, I had this great idea (born under the influence of half a bottle of wine, no doubt!) that if I try to write it out, I might actually recall the recipe. I don’t know the scientific basis for such an assumption, but what the heck… it’s my blog – I can write what I want, even though it is utter rubbish!

 

So here goes… the dish I hereby name Chicken Rashness is prepared thus (should serve two, but I was quite hungry!):

 

Ingredients:

1. Two cloves of Garlic, finely chopped.
2. One large leek, finely sliced.
3. One medium sized tomato, roughly chopped.
4. Salt, Pepper, whatever herbs you can lay your hands on – I used thyme, sage & rosemary – to taste.
5. Half a can of baked beans (200g approx.).
6. Anchovy paste – 1 tsp.
7. Oil / Butter – 1 or 2 tsps, depending on how healthy you like to eat. By the way, I used anchovy fillets preserved in sunflower oil for the paste, and used the preservation oil for cooking – gave it extra flavor, I’d like to believe!
8. About 100ml Water (you can use broth, if you are fancy!)
9. One boneless chicken breast, cut in half if you want – I did.
10. Mustard Sauce – 1tbsp.
11. Honey – 1 tsp.

 

Preparation:

1. In a saucepan, pour the oil / butter. When it heats up, add the garlic. Cook for a few seconds.
2. Add the sliced leeks. Cook for a while, till slightly softened, then add the tomatoes.
3. Add the salt, pepper and herbs at this stage – it releases the juices of the vegetables better. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add the anchovy paste, baked beans and water. Bring to boil.
5. As it starts boiling, put the chicken in. As the water / broth reduces, the chicken will cook. It hardly took me 5 minutes – but then again, I did not really check the watch, so if you are indeed attempting this recipe, do check for doneness! If needed, I guess you can add more water / broth, but not so much that it becomes runny or your chicken gets overcooked…
6. When the chicken is nearly done, add the honey and mustard sauce, and keep stirring and cooking till the chicken is done and the gravy has become thick.
7. Remove from heat and serve with a side of bread, polenta, rice or Yorkshire Pudding, for all I care!

 

There. I believe my idea actually worked! I think I remembered the recipe in full – or did I?! Eh well… If any of you adventurous folks do try this recipe out, do let me know if you were as enthralled by the outcome as I was. If not, I’ll know I’ve missed something… or the wine had mellowed my taste buds. Either way, we’ll know!

Omelets Crêpe (serves one)

After a long time, I made something new - i.e., made it up myself. I was pretty happy with the result, so here goes! Happy cooking!

Ingredients:

1. Butter (preferably unsalted) – 3 spoons
2. Mushrooms – 2 medium sized buttons, thinly sliced
3. Onions – ½ medium sized, finely chopped
4. Capsicum – ¼ large size, chopped
5. Cheese Spread – two spoons. Slices / Cubes can be used too.
6. Mayonnaise – two spoons
7. Chicken / Lamb Salami – 2 slices
8. Eggs – 2
9. Milk – 2 spoons
10. Salt, Ground Pepper and Oregano (ground / flakes) – to taste

Method:

1. Place a non-stick frying pan on a medium flame, and add ¼ spoon of butter into it.
2. When the butter heats up, place the salami slices on the pan and fry for one minute. Then flip the slices over and fry for another minute.
3. Remove the salami slices from heat, chop them up and keep the frying pan aside.
4. Now place a cooking pan on a medium flame, add two spoons of butter and heat.
5. When the butter heats up and begins to foam, add chopped mushrooms, onions & capsicum, in that order, and sauté till cooked. Take care to maintain at least a minute’s gap between adding the three ingredients.
6. Add the cheese, mayonnaise & chopped salami slices, sprinkle some ground pepper and oregano and mix well.
7. Remove the mixture from heat and keep aside.
8. Now add the eggs, milk, salt and ground pepper in a bowl, and whisk them together.
9. Place the non-stick frying pan again on a medium flame, and add ¾ spoon of butter into it.
10. Once the butter heats up and foams, add the egg mixture to the pan, and lower the flame. Make sure the egg mixture spreads evenly over the surface of the pan. You can either use a flat ladle to do that, or if you are experienced enough, simply tilt the frying pan so that the whole surface is covered.
11. When the mixture settles down, and the moistness of the top surface evaporates, add the pre-cooked filling in the middle of the omelette. If the cheese has hardened by now, heat the mixture in an oven for a short while before adding it, so that the cheese has a thick consistency.
12. Carefully fold the four sides of the omelette inwards, so as to cover the filling completely within the folds.
13. Remove the omelette from the frying pan, taking care not to break it.
14. Serve immediately, with tomato sauce if you like, else the cheese will harden.

Posto Chicken Spiced Up!

9th December, 2008

Inspired by a few people, I have decided to diversify the ambit of my blog a bit more. So, here comes the new feature – my cookbook, “Tadka Laga Ke”!

Let me tell you that the first recipe being posted here is not an original one. This one has existed from time immemorial in the kitchens of the average Bengali. However, it features here because I’ve majorly improved upon the original recipe, and therefore I feel it is worth a mention here!

So here you go, wish you all the best in trying out this recipe of a spicier version of Posto Chicken!

Ingredients:
500 gms Chicken (washed and cut into pieces), 5 medium sized onions (peeled and sliced finely), 100 gms sour curd, 100 gms poppy seeds (commonly known as khus khus/ posto) ground into a paste, 1 dried red chilli, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 1tsp each of chilli, Everest chicken masala & Everest garam masala powders, 1tbsp ginger paste, ½ tbsp garlic paste, all garam masala (whole) & oil/ghee, salt and sugar to taste, dhania leaves (optional).

Preparation:
Pour the oil/ghee in a kadhai / frying panand heat on medium flame. Once hot, add the whole garam masala and the dried red chilli, and after 30 seconds, add the onions. When the onions are fried enough, add the ginger & garlic paste, and after 1 minute, add salt and sugar. After 2-3 minutes, add the other spices (i.e. turmeric, chilli, chicken masala & garam masala powders) and sauté. After about 5 minutes, add the sour curd and sauté again. Once the curd is blended properly in the mixture, add the chicken pieces. Cover the frying pan/ kadhai and cook on medium flame till the chicken becomes tender. If the chicken does not emit enough water, then sprinkle additional water till the chicken is tender. Now add the posto / khus khus / poppy seeds paste with a cup or two of water, and bring the whole thing to a boil. Keep cooking till the gravy becomes thick and nearly dry, and the posto/ khus khus/ poppy seeds paste coats the chicken pieces. If you want, you can sprinkle some dhania leaves over the preparation. Serve hot with parantha or rice.

You can find the original Posto Chicken recipe here.

Bon appétit!