Tuna Masala

I know I have been MIA for more than a year and funnily enough it is because my cooking load has increased (who would have thought!). So after being promoted to WIFE, I have definitely been a lot more busy and loving it. I did slack on the blog work but probably compensated by at least posting photos if not recipes of food I have cooked through my personal Instagram handle (at least I think).

So I am back for a bit with a recently prepared dish cooked on a hungry Friday afternoon with very few and basic ingredients to satiate rumbling tummies in no time.

Tuna Masala (Serves 2)

You will need:

1 small onion-chopped finely

1 small tomato –chopped finely

1 green chilli- slit or chopped (increase the number of chilies if you prefer your food spicy)

½ inch ginger- chopped finely

4-6 Curry leaves

1 can of Tuna fish (I used the one in oil)

A pinch of cumin seeds

Two pinches of Turmeric powder

1 tsp Red Chilli powder.

2 Tbsp Oil

Salt to taste

The steps are fairly easy.

Heat a pan, add oil. Once the oil is hot add the cumin seeds when they crackle add the onions, frying them till translucent (you know the basic drill).

Add in the chopped ginger, green chilli, curry leaves- fry a bit.

Add the chopped tomato and fry them up till they become soft.

Open up the canned tuna and add that to the pan. Break the tuna down (this takes effort).

Add the masalas i.e. Turmeric, Red Chilli.

Give the Tuna a nice stir and add salt to taste.

Allow this to fry for say about 5 minutes more.

This was devoured with some plain rice and basic dal and remembered fondly even a week later.

Dinner at Panasia Bahrain (Asian Cuisine)

Last week we celebrated my Dad's birthday by going for dinner to Panasia Restaurant and Tea Lounge.

Panasia is a aesthetically decorated Restaurant situated in Um Al Hassam, certainly away from the hustle bustle of the popular restaurant road in Um Al Hassam.  The restaurant offers a good range of Chinese, Thai and Indian delicacies.

Unfortunately I do not have snaps of the main course, but I do have photographs of the Starters that we ordered as well as of the Dessert.

It didn't take them long to bring our starters, but as we waited, they gave us two plates loaded with Spicy Pappadoms and Prawn Crackers with their special sauces (I call them the traffic signal sauces-you ask why?-well because of their colors). 

Here are photographs and descriptions of the Starters we chose,

Chicken Lollypops with Oriental Sauce....sorry about the blurry photo, can't help it when you have good food in front of you ;)

Chicken Siu Mai- minced chicken, water chestnut, mushrooms served with their '3 G dip/sauce'-which I found very YUM and for some odd reason reminded me of Beef Pickle that a Keralite friend had brought from her house to our hostel in Mangalore. That is one pickle I ate daily, religiously.

Once we were done with the starters, we were given some breathing time and more importantly time to get back to those yum PRAWN CRACKERS.

In a few minutes, our Main Course was laid before us on the table, and the waiter served us all. 

Like I mentioned earlier we had the Brocolli Beef (thinly sliced beef stir fried with brocolli in oyster sauce) and the Kung Pao Chicken, again, stir fried diced chicken pieces with scallions and cashew nuts as garnish.

Sorry no photos of our main.

Considering how much we ordered for the five of us and it being dinner time (light food time) and us having a three course meal..I expected us to have no room for dessert or being unable to walk to the car but the food was astonishingly light and we didnt' have to take a doggy-bag as there were no leftovers. NONE AT ALL!

Moving on to our dessert.....here is what he shared like a good family ;) 

PanAsia's Signature Dessert- two scoops of Vanilla ice-cream, deep-fried and the outcome, a warm crispy outer shell that hold cold vanilla flavored ice-cream inside it. PURE MAGIC!

(This is TMI, but I had to mention, while trying to sleep my sister and I YouTube-d the recipe for Fried Ice cream)

Warm Chocolate Brownie topped with a scoop of Vanilla Ice-cream, cashew nuts and Chocolate Fudge sauce on the side (this doubled as Dad's birthday cake)

I do not have the break down of the bill but the total as per my memory came to BD21.300 for 5pax.

Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Lunch at Spice Nice Restaurant, Bahrain

On one of our quiet Friday late afternoon, after a good amount of rest, we (Mr D and I ) decided to head out to Spice Nice located in Adliya behind Gulf Hotel, next to Cafe La Ventana. This lunch was supposed to be a light one just to satiate a craving that I had for Chicken Dumplings.

I had been to Spice Nice twice before, but I always missed documenting it. This time I made it a point to cover this cozy, affordable and lovely place. This restaurant specializes in Chinese, Goan and (other) Indian food. Both the times I've dined here, I've only had their Chinese food, because this is what I've heard they are very good at, the Spring Chicken in particular!

After we placed our order for drinks and food, the waiter brought us a basket (basket that is refilled, whenever found empty) filled with Prawn Crackers (yum), that are hard to stop munching on, once you've begun. It is rather surprising how soon two people can empty a basket of these delicious-deep-fried prawn goodness, even without the sauces. 

Mr D, allowed me to order for him, after we picked our choice of beverage. 

I ordered the Fried Kingfish in Recheado masala. This 'masale-daar' fried fish  was accompanied by a salad comprising of cabbage, carrots, onions. The 'Recheado' masala is of Goan origin and is basically a spicy red paste usually slathered on to the fish or stuffed inside the fish.

Next to arrive was my 'crave', Steamed Chicken Dumplings, 8 beautiful juicy dumplings, and all of them for me :D Notice the artsy way the sauce has been plated...yes that is Mr D's work.

             

No snaps of the beverages we ordered ,thanks to this scorching heat we guzzled down our drinks, but I would like to make a mention of the Lemon and Mint Drink that was an absolute thirst quencher. Presentation would have been better if the drink was strained, but the mint infused drink really soothed my afternoon.

Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Our bill breakdown is as follows:

Kingfish Recheado BD3.5

Steamed Chicken Dumplings BD2.1

Corona Beer BD1

Lemon and Mint Drink BD0.800

Service Charge BD0.400

Total Bill: BD9.600

Dinner at Bonchon, Bahrain [South Korean- American Cuisine]

On the first day of Eid Al Fitr this year we went out for dinner to a new place I had been longing to try out. Tucked away in a very cozy spot at the Seef Mall-Muharraq on the 2^nd floor next to TGIF is ‘Bonchon’- a South Korean based international fried chicken franchise that serves rather interesting food.

Bonchon means 'my hometown'.

Photo Source: (www.twentyfoursevennews.com)

It didn’t take us long to locate the place since we already had most of the clues we needed thanks to facebook-bonchon-bahrain.

We took our seats by one of the huge glass panel windows and we were given the Bonchon menu in two different ways, one on a Samsung Tab and the other on a wooden board with their menu strapped on to it.

I had absolutely no idea about Korean food –all I knew is that I wanted to try this place coz the food looked…. We studied the menu, thankfully there were photos of the dishes they served and we of course took plenty of help from their service staff who were so kind enough to patiently explain to us about some dishes we set out eyes on.

Anyway this is what we ordered….*controlling drool*

For starters we ordered the 'Half and Half' Bonchon Chicken (boneless) (serving size: small i.e. 8 pcs). The Bonchon chicken ones on the left were with spicy sauce and the ones on the right were coated with soy garlic sauce. These pieces of chicken were served with a tiny portion of coleslaw.

The second starter that we opted for was the 'Kimchi Fries'- they are fries that are baked and seasoned with Korean chii seasonings and is basically served with various toppings such as lightly carmelized white onions, kimchi, jalapenos, scallions, beef bacon, and topped with cheese.

Our first main course recommended by the staff there was the 'Bibimbab Beef' (this means 'mixed rice' also available in Veg). This was a bed of jasmine rice flavored with some secret sauces covered with assorted veggies (sauteed carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, spinach, sprout stems) and sliced juicy beef and topped with a sunny side up egg. 

Bonchon staff showed us their special way of stiriing this up before we attacked this dish. 

Bibimbab Beef was served with Kimchi sauce (cabbage stem fermented with spicy and sour seasoning) .

 Our second main course was the 'Japchae'- glass noodles with vegetables and beef. This was slightly  on the sweeter side. (Glass noodles are made from sweet potatoes)

Close up of the glass noodles that I was fascinated with. My first time eating glass noodles :P

The bill for 5 persons breakdown:

1 Boneless Chicken small (half and half) 4.900

1 Kinchi Fries                                           3.500

1 Bibimbab Beef                                       5.900

1 Japchae                                                 4.500

2 7Up regular                                          2.400

2 Pepsi regular                                        2.400

Total:                                                     23.600

Pop over Bonchon Bahrain this weekend if you are in a mood to try something different.
                                                    Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Dinner at Rampé-Bahrain [Sri Lankan Cuisine]

When I first set my blog up I focused only on documenting recipes that I created or tried, and I will continue doing it, until I can. But I figured I should do a restaurant review on an authentic Sri Lankan restaurant that has recently opened in Bahrain. Ever since I read an advertisement on the local newspaper, I've been wanting to go to Rampé...and I finally did go!

Rampé is located in Um Al Hassam, right opposite Hong Kong Restaurant and close to Hyderabad House. Rampe translates to Pandan, as in Pandan leaves (from Pandanus plants) which are key to a number of Sri Lankan, Malay, Thai and Indonesian dishes.

From outside the restaurant looks very humble but once you enter you will find this beautifully lit entrance and stairs leading to the first floor. Once we reached upstairs, the restaurant manager, Mr. Jaya Godage led us to a table. We took our seats and noticed they had a live 2 man band playing the organ and the sax! LOVELY!

To begin with we ordered a round of fresh watermelon juice which was served quickly and chilled to perfection, I think I could have had a pitcher, given the heat outside that evening and how nice the juice tasted.

Fresh Watermelon Juice

Then the manager, informed us that they have a buffet available (Fridays Rampé serves a buffet and on other days they have an  à la carte menu). The buffet consisted of several homely Sri Lankan dishes, that really gave you an idea of their local cuisine. Served in earthen (decorated) pots were red rice, chicken fried rice, vegetable noodles (YUM), deviled chicken, mutton curry (YUM), octopus curry, prawns chilly (YUM), dal, prawn chutney, pol sambal (coconut in its desicated form with dry fish), papaddoms (LOVE), tabouleh (arabic salad), curd (to be eaten with sugar), fish head curry, potato curry (YUM), beetroot curry, banana leaf greens with coconut, mixed fruit salad. 

My first serving Prawn Chilly, Mutton Curry, Veg Noodles, Dhal, Beet Curry, Tabouleh, Devilled Chicken

                                                                    Curd and Sugar

Fruit Salad

We were also treated with two plain hoppers and two egg hoppers on the house, the egg was cooked to YUM and the hoppers were crispy on the edges

Sri Lankan food is loaded with spices and can get super hot..the curd with sugar really helped reduce the heat on my palate. 

Unlike other buffets, this wasn't a rich buffet with lots of creamy or deep fried dishes, easily ranging from 20-40 dishes. Rampe on the other hand serves a homely, authentic and deeply Sri Lankan food and that is what I love about it. 

The bill came to BHD28.100

Bill Breakdown:
Buffet for 4 pax @BHD5.9 =23.600
Watermelon Juice for 4 pax @BHD1.0= 4.000
Water Bottle 1 unit @BHD0.5=0.500

Reasonable or not? For a non Sri Lankan it was an interesting and exciting cuisine to try out. Price wise, may be you can visit and let me know how you found the prices since I haven't visited them on a weekday. When I do visit them on a day other than Friday, I should be able to tell you how I found their pricing. Until then... see you!

                                      Please Note: This not a sponsored blog post. 

Roti Jallas (lacey net breads)

I got to know this recipe a couple of months back while watching one of India’s Master Chef episodes, where the chefs shared a recipe sent in from a viewer from Singapore.

I liked the name of this dish and it probably got stuck in my head and I also liked the way it was prepared on the show.

So I looked up the recipe, and I found two comprehensive recipes for Roti Jallas (www.Rasamalaysia.com and www.singaporelocalfavourites.com ). A little digging around, led me to learn that ‘Roti Jallas’ are famous in Singapore and Malaysia, they go really well with coco-nutty curries and sambals (spicy curry).

They remind me of ‘neer dosas (in Kannada)/ paan-polays (in Konkani)’ served in the Karnataka (India) with a variety of gravies and chutneys. They lacy and look like someone crocheted them.

However Roti Jallas (roti-bread, jallas- net) are more on the yellow side, because of the turmeric used in preparing the batter, and taste lightly like coconut milk, which again is an important ingredient in this delicacy. You of course do not crochet them though; you just use a ‘roti- jalla cup’ to get that crochet effect.

Here is what a roti jalla cup looks like,

Picture Source: WWW.fussfreecooking.com

I tried to follow the recipe as closely as I could but I had to play with the quantities a little.

Ingredients:

(Makes 30 rotis- Preparation time: 10 minutes Frying time: 60 to 90 minutes)

•  3 and half cups of flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 cups water
• 1 and half cup coconut milk
• 2 tsp salt

Cooking tools needed:

• Roti Jalla Cup or a bottle closed tightly and a hole made on its cap or a squeezy ketchup bottle.

Steps:

1. Mix all the ingredients together to form a thick batter. The batter should have no lumps you could both strain and remove lumps or you could use an electric beater and get a thick lump-less batter.

2. If you have a roti jalla cup use that. Or else, take a dry and clean empty bottle, make a hole on its cap (or use an empty ketchup squeezy bottle), enough for the batter to pass through in like thin straw. Pour the first round of batter in the bottle. And closely tightly.

3. Take a tava as used in the Nutty Tava Fried Prawns recipe on this blog or a non stick pan; heat it up on medium flame.

4. In a small bowl, pour some EVOO/ cooking oil and stick a quarter of an onion in a fork and dip the onion in the oil and rub it onto frying pan/ tava. Do this before every roti jalla is to be fried.

5. Pour the batter from the bottle on to the tava/ pan and create three big circles, and continue making many more circles within those. Try and make sure that most of the circles are linked with each other.

6. Let them fry for about 30-40 seconds. Once they are fried, they will start peeling off the pan like the below picture.

7. This is a good indicator that, it is time to fold the roti into quarters and take it off the pan. You do not have to fry the other side.

8. Repeat the steps for the rest of the rotis.

*Serve warm with a nice gravy/curry/sambal

I served these with Coconut Chicken Curry.

Enjoy!

-bpV

Guest Post: Rajma & Potato Curry

Hi everyone,

With my 'summer drink' frenzy, I haven't posted any main course dishes or snacks recipes of late. Don't worry I haven't gotten lazy. I have been doing some cooking and you will soon find them on the blog. But before I get into my routine posting of recipes, I have a special post today....special because (1) it is a recipe my good friend (who also shares my name) has shared and (2) this is the first ever guest post on my blog!

I figured you could have a slight change and here it is, guest post by Ekta P, my college friend, who is a gujarati, lived in Mangalore and now lives down under. When I just started this blog, I tried out her recipe potato and cabbage sabzi and now she's our guest post author.

During our last college days, she invited us over for lunch, and her mum's chapatis were just super soft (i wish I could get her to share her secret with you all). And it is at her house I learnt that pickle can be sweet too. All of us girls ate so much at her house for lunch that afternoon, you won't believe it but we took breaks while eating. You can't help it when such awesome food is right in front of you (talk about losing control).

Hope you like the recipe.

-bpV

               ________________________________________________________________

Rajma & Potato Curry by Ekta. P

Photo courtesy: Ekta P- Sub: Rajma and Potato Curry served with Chapati and cucumber and onion salad- 2013- Copyright.

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 2 tsps Cumin seeds
• 4-6 cloves
• 1 three inch stick of cinnamon or 2 tsps cinnamon powder
• 1 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste
• 2 tsps green chilly paste (increase if you would like it spicy)
• 3 tsps turmeric powder (haldi)
• 3 tsps red chilli powder
• 3 tsps coriander powder (dhania)
• 2 tsps cumin powder (jeera)
• 2 tsps garam masala powder (optional) *For Garam Masala powder preparation check footnote.
• One large tin of Rajma/ Red kidney beans or two small tins (drain the water out) or 400gms rajma/kidney beans (soak the previous night in water if you plan on cooking for dinner tonight)
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
• 2 small potatoes- washed, peeled and diced
• 3 tbsps tomato puree/paste or fresh tomato (2 no.s) cut into pieces
• 2/3 tbsp cooking oil
• Salt to taste

Preparation:

Take a non stick sauce pan pour the required cooking oil.

Once heated, add the mustard seeds wait till it starts spluttering, immediately add cumin seeds wait for a second then add finely chopped onion.

Then add garlic ginger & chilli paste & let it cook till onion turns golden brown.

Then add diced potatoes. Fry for about 4 minutes on low flame. Stir in between.

Then add tomato puree/paste/fresh tomatoes. Mix it well, then add Turmeric (Haldi),Red chilli powder, salt, coriander (dhania) powder, cumin seeds (jeera), garam masala and let it cook for 2-3 minutes.

Next add rajma. (If you are using tinned rajma/red kidney beans, then just add the tinned beans with water OR If you are using soaked red kidney beans/rajma, then first remove most of the water , leaving just a little to make the gravy dry but if you intend on eating this with rice you may want to keep most of the water in order to get a runny gravy).

Allow this to cook at low flame for 20-30 minutes. Keep checking and stirring in between.

Serve with chapati/rice or you can have just a bowl of this on its own.

                                                            Photo courtesy: Ekta Mandavia-  Sub: Rajma and Potato Curry - 2013- Copyright



Hope you enjoy cooking this and serving this dish as much as I do. A plain and simple Rajma and Potato curry that can be served with chapati, rice or on its own.

Thank you,

Ekta P.


*Garam Masala: a mix of powdered hot spices namely (2 ) green cardamoms, (2) cloves, (4) black cardamoms, (2) bay leaves, (12) peppercorns, 2 inch cinnamon stick.Fry these on slow fire for about 30 seconds. Grind this into a fine powder using a grinder/ mortar pestle or even a coffee grinder. Store in a clean and dry container Garam Masala.

Tomato & Herbs Soup

Hi everyone,

This is what I call, a mix breed soup LOL, I mean its not so clear soup and its not so thick too. It is somewhere in between thick and clear.

Ingredients:

 3 medium sized tomatoes chopped up
 1 tsp parsley
 3 tsps oregano (dried)
 1 small onion chopped
 2 cloves of garlic chopped
 2 tsps of corn flour
 2 and a half cups water
 1 tsp cumin seeds
 1 bay leaf
EVOO 2 tbsps
2 tbsps honey
Pepper and salt to taste

Steps: (sorry guys no stepwise pictures for this one)

1. Take a pot and boil water in it. Add the whole tomatoes to it and let them sit for about 3 minutes. After 3 minutes get them out and allow them too cool. When they've cooled down, peel the skin off. (I feel sad during this part because the skin is healthy too). Next chop the tomatoes.

2. Take another vessel and add the EVOO, and let it heat up on medium flame.

3. To the oil, add finely chopped onions, garlic, cumin seeds and bay leaf.

4. Once the onion turn translucent and the raw smell is no more.

5. Add the tomatoes. And mash them in the vessel. Reduce the flame and let it cook in its own juice for about 5 minutes. Keep stirring till the tomatoes reduce and look pasty.

6. Add the oregano, honey, also add 1 and a half cup water.  And mix well.

7.  Use the remaining half cup water to mix in the corn flour and stir well till dissolved and add it to the soup to thicken it. You have to keep stirring till you notice it thickening.

8. Cook until it boils. Season with salt and pepper as per your taste.

9. Garnish with parsley.

* If you want the soup to be thinner you could strain the soup before pouring it into the bowl.
* But if you prefer it with chunks of tomato you could avoid straining the soup before dishing it out.



Slurp awayyyy!!

bpV