Pearls of Pink in Pomegranate Raita

Nigella Lawson did it. And so did Gordon Ramsay. They took the quintessential Indian raita and played with the idea of whipping together plain yogurt and Pomegranate, while keeping the traditional seasonings for this condiment quite in place.

I was at the world’s largest pomegranate display yesterday. Predictably so, I brought home two blood red pomegranates, which other than being high on décor quotient also have adequate culinary use in my home.

You usually see boondi or cucumber raita with biryani, but today I decided to go the “British” way- I fell for fusion food. I made Pomegranate Raita.

Ingredients for Pomegranate Raita are:

Half cup pomegranate arils
1 cup plain yogurt
Half tablespoon roasted and crushed cumin and coriander seeds (Bengalis call it bhaja moshla)
1 finely chopped green chili
Handful of finely chopped fresh coriander (leaves and stem)
Pinch of red chili powder
Black salt

In a bowl, beat together with a fork the yogurt, red chili powder and black salt (use plain salt if you don’t have black salt or kala namak). Pour in a serving bowl and chill.

Just before you are ready to serve, top the yogurt with the pomegranate, chopped green chili, fresh coriander and the crushed cumin and coriander seeds which have been dry roasted.

Serve the Pomegranate Raita with biryani or pulav and enjoy a burst of sweet, tang and savory in your mouth.

I am joining Torview’s Food Palette Red Event with my Pomegranate Raita.

Seared Shrimps and Parsley Couscous Salad

This meal is for one of those days when you can just sit back and relax and do the prep work and the meal right when you are about to eat. It is also good for bachelor nights.

First the Parsley Couscous Salad, which is of course Mediterranean-inspired.

Ingredients for Parsley Couscous Salad are:

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, very finely chopped
1 firm tomato, very finely chopped
1 small red onion, very finely chopped
1 cup cooked couscous ( I use the Israeli variety)
Lemon juice
Fresh cracked black pepper
Salt
EVOO

Mix everything together except the salt and couscous and keep in the fridge. Just before you are about to eat, mix the couscous and salt and serve. Well, I haven’t written a shorter recipe than this. So…

As a last minute thought, I added some pomegranate leftover from the Fresh Fruit and Cream Cake. And the salad looked very Middle Eastern!

That being taken care of I just about had time to get my shrimps seared on my flat tava.

Ingredients for Seared Shrimps are:

400 grams shrimps, shelled, deveined and tail on
4-5 fat cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 teaspoons dry herb of your choice, I used oregano
Lemon juice
Freshly cracked pepper
Olive oil
Salt

Poke the shrimps on wooden skewers and keep them lined up. Remember to throw the bamboo skewers in water for about 20 minutes so that they don’t char or break in the heat.

Heat a tava or a flat skillet. Add little drizzles of oil, and the minced garlic. Sauté for a minute making sure not to brown the garlic. Add the dried herb. Mix.

Place the shrimps-on-skewers over the spices and let them sear on high heat. Turn the skewers midway. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Remove the skewers from heat when you see the shrimps turning pink in color and curling up. It takes about 5-6 minutes to do the shrimps.

Finish the Seared Shrimps with a squirt of lemon juice.

All this under 30 minutes! I could give Rachel Ray a run for her money. Is anybody listening?

Fresh Fruit and Cream Cake

I first had the Fresh Fruit and Cream Cake at my BFF’s kiddie’s birthday party in India. I am not too fond of desserts and cakes, but this one did surprise me in a good way.

I made this cake for a friend’s barbecue party this last weekend, and though I cheated a bit to save on time, I did the layering with fruit and cream pretty much without any previous experience!

I used one box of Duncan Hines French Vanilla cake mix and made two separate cakes. Beat whipping cream with some vanilla essence and sugar and slobbered it in between the two cakes. Sneaking some kiwi slices in too.

For fruits I used fresh slices of kiwi, strawberry, handful of blueberries and pomegranate. So far, so good. I’d like to know from you what other seasonal fresh fruits can be used in a cake like this? I was thinking of Mangoes if you are doing it for a summer treat in India, where you get the best mangoes.

No Bore by the Chore

I was out for groceries today and I spotted these dwarf pomegranates in the neighborhood! Aren’t they just gorgeous?

And these wild Oriental lilies growing by a school…
I also bought my first cook book in many years. And that white planter you see with the money plant, that was left in the garbage dump area of our condo! Someone apparently doesn't like the antique white look of it. I thought it'd be perfect for my money plant.

So this book is called The Barbecue Collection by Andrew Chase and the Canadian Living Test Kitchen.

Its got BBQ recipes for Fish & Seafood, Poultry and Sausages and Patties...I could just spend a lifetime barbecuing my heart away!
I hope to share some recipes from it with you...soon. But not today.

Oh and I also re-potted my ever growing Kalanchoe sprouting those lovely orange flowers...

My chores for the day seem done. Pretty much.

Make It Tonight

I am always looking out for ideas and inspirations for dinner. Most nights I have what is proverbially a chef’s block.

Yesterday’s dinner was about quickly putting a meal together with some inspirations peeping out from the fridge (remember those black olives and the remaining couscous?) and some fresh white mushrooms and pork tenderloin.

After a rain-drenched afternoon, the idea of a hot soup was all too comforting and the soup of the evening ended up in a bowl of Cream of Mushroom Soup, actually my first time in making a mushroom soup. Nothing fancy, just some unsalted butter melted in a pan and the chopped red onion sautéed in it. Adding flour little by little, so as not to form clumps and then tossing in all that freshly chopped mushrooms. A simple seasoning of salt and pepper and some drizzle of heavy cream. Isn't that the most easy thing to do and under 20 minutes – prep to cook time!
Did you know in Chinese culture its okay to slurp your soup? So curl your stiff upper lip and s-l-u-rrrrrrrr-p.

Oil has always been a cause of worry for everyone whether its deep water or dietary. I have had many anxious moments each time I have wiped off oily fingers from biting on to that chicken or fish finger. Well, this variation of “fingers” made with some lean pork tenderloin may just quell your calorie-intake worries.

Cut thin strips of any meat that you choose – fish, chicken or pork work best. Dust them with corn starch and sprinkle some salt and pepper.

Dip them in an egg batter and roll them in bread crumbs. This is where you don’t turn them into unhealthy chunks of meat. We throw them in the oven at 350 °C with TWO teaspoons oil drizzled over them and bake each side till they turn golden brown. It usually takes about 20-25 minutes.

I made a yogurty version of the mustard-honey dip to go with the Pork Fingers.

Mix together plain yogurt, honey and old style wholegrain mustard. Enliven the taste of your Pork Fingers with this sweet-tangy dip!

 
After a soup and a starter, I went ahead and did a room-temperature couscous salad with pomegranate, broiled corn kernels, garden greens and that one leftover sprig of basil.   This is the freshest a Moroccan-inspired Couscous Salad can get. Toss everything together in a large bowl with the already cooked couscous, throw in a handful of very finely chopped red onion, some garden greens, kalamata olives, torn basil leaves and some freshly squeezed lemon juice. Add EVOO, salt and white pepper. Serve.

Some things in life are simple. And it never hurts if its this easy.

So what’s your meal plan for tonight?