Navarin of Lamb

Navarin of Lamb

It might sound cliched but I had realized long time back that one of the most important relationships for an adult or for that matter child is friendship.

So basically work or no work I knew I needed a Christmas Party and what better way to celebrate it than to have a Potluck Lunch where  kitchen enthusiasts whip up amazing dishes and share it .

Off late I have become obsessed with Larousse Gastronomique's recipes if not for anything else then for the sheer variety of recipes it offers , mostly French but then there is so much to learn and flipping through the pages I realized many dishes can be cooked universally because the ingredients are quite universal.

I chose Navarin of Lamb because a stew seems comforting and delicious on a pleasant winter's day and what better to make a stew than add white wine.


Serves 6 to 8

1.5 kilogram of lamb meat (Preferably a mix of meat from the  legs and neck)
2 plump large tomatoes peeled seeded and crushed
2 large cloves of garlic
250gm of baby carrots
100gm to 150gm of baby peas
200gm of turnips (if they are baby turnips you can leave them whole but mine were large and I chopped them up )
Bouquet Garni which I made with Parsley, Thyme, Bay leaf and Rosemary
Salt as per taste
Pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp freshly crushed black pepper
7 to 8 baby onions
200ml of white wine
Water for cooking
4 tbsp butter

Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large flat bottom casserole and brown the lamb well and keep aside. Take out 1/3rd of the fat which is left behind and then add the lamb back to the flat bottomed casserole and add the minced garlic and the wine and mix well , then add enough water to submerge the meat with the bouquet garni , crushed pepper , nutmeg and salt and bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes and then transfer the meat with all its contents in a pressure cooker and put it on low flame till the first whistle. switch off the gas immediately after the first whistle and let the steam go out on its own.

In a separate wok melt the remaining butter and brown the vegetables and now put back the meat with all its content and the vegetables and bring to a boil and simmer . Add a bit of water if required. Serve hot with crusty bread.

Cooking tips

1. The flat bottomed pan ensures that the heat gets distributed evenly and all the meat is cooked evenly
2. I use the slow pressure cook method to reduce time on the gas stove and this process ensures that the meat is soft and super tender. If you do not use the pressure cooker you need to simmer the meat for a good 1 hour to 1.5 hours till the meat is super soft but firm and juicy.  

Butter Brandy Chicken

Butter Brandy Chicken 

At times you need a little nudge from friends to get back your spirit. In my case the spirit to cook. I am a bit too tired with too much work to handle and after a very successful Bake Sale I somehow lost interest in cooking. Of course all this is for just over a week . Anyway when Pritha from  Guilt Free decided to start a Christmas event  I decided to join her to keep my cooking mojo intact.


So we have entered Day 2 of Kickstarting Christmas and its a day of butter brandy. To be fair Christmas might be the time for merriment but its also the time for too many deadlines. So I am late but then as they say 'better late than sorry'

What's Christmas without a bit of brandy and while we usually associate brandy butter with a rich Christmas pudding a brandy butter sauce for your chicken on a bed of potatoes makes a lip smacking dish.

Its one of the most easy recipes, requires few ingredients and gives amazing flavours. I guess butter does make everything better.

Don't forget to check out Pritha's Rum Spiked Hot Chocolate

Serves 2

350gm of chicken from breast and thigh cut into medium pieces
3 large potatoes
4 to 5 tbsp softened butter
A good splash of brandy roughly 4 tbsp
Salt as per taste
A bit of freshly rushed black pepper
1 tsp final chopped chive
Flour for dredging
Half a handful of grated gruyere cheese


Dredge the chicken in flour . Melt 2 tbsp butter and add the chicken and saute on high heat for 2 minutes shaping the pan . Cut the potato in circular shapes and make a bed of potatoes after buttering a baking. Add the chicken on top. Add some salt and crushed pepper.  Melt the remaining butter and add the brandy and make a smooth sauce and then add this on top of the chicken and finally topit with the gruyere cheese and bake in a preheated oven at 200 C for 30 minutes and enjoy a buttery boozy chicken.

Tips

Chicken breast is a very delicate item which dries out easily hence the dredging in flour helps it stay moist.

Coffee Walnut Cake with a Coffee Caramel Glaze

Coffee Walnut Cake with a Coffee Caramel Glaze 

As part of the Kolkata Food Bloggers not only do I get to meet other people who share my passion for the kitchen but I get to make great friends. I met Pritha who blogs from Guilt-Free  a few months ago but we almost connected instantly and would keep chatting over the messenger and our mutual obsession with creating new dishes would lead to these fun trips to the market. Having never had a partner to go out with and share the same passion I cannot express how much joy I feel when I get to flock with a bird of my own feather.

When I had gone to visit my husband for a few months it goes without saying I missed my friend and so the moment I came back we had a lovely potluck lunch .

Anyway coming back to our event Know Your Blogger 2 I had actually picked a certain recipe of Pritha's quite some time back which I wanted to make but then came work and it just kept piling with a deadline which had robbed me of my sleep.

I was quite at a loss when I suddenly remembered the very first time I was fascinated with another recipe of her's.

I wasted no time in recreating what had initially impressed me and it goes without saying the end result was superb.m Lets just say that this is a dream cake for all coffee lovers. All I did was change the amount of sugar a little bit, leave out the oil and make the glaze a bit differently.

So her is Pritha's Coffee Walnut Cake

Serves 5 to 6

125gm butter
150gm castor sugar
128gm all purpose flour sifted with 1 tsp baking powder
2 medium sized eggs
50gm of walnuts crushed to make walnut flour
1 heaped tbsp ground coffee soaked in 6 tbsp hot  boiled milk and strained twice

For the glaze

Half a cup of castor sugar
50gm butter
Half a cup of  freshly brewed extra strong coffee

Start by creaming the butter and sugar till its pale and fluffy. Now add the eggs one by one and whisk well to create a smooth fluffy batter. Add the strained coffee flavoured milk and beat well. Preheat the oven to 180C. Now fold in the ground walnuts and then fold in the sifted flour + baking powder bit by bit . When you mix the flour you must never whisk it else it looses that airy fluffiness.

Pour the batter in a 6 inch to 7 inch baking pan and bake for 30 minutes to 45 minutes. Here I must expressly mention that the temperature of ovens vary greatly. My friend Pritha and I both use Convection oven and while she required 25 minutes to 30 minutes of baking time , I checked at 30 minutes and the batter was wet in the center and I required 44 minutes in total.

Now let the cake cool completely and in the meantime make the glaze by first caramelizing the sugar on medium heat and then adding the butter and then the coffee and once it bubbles let it cool down. Once the cake has cooled down completely pour the glaze on top and enjoy this delightful treat with what else but a cup of coffee.

Please note that you must wait till the cake cools down completely to glaze it else it will become soggy.

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Minced Fish Curry

Minced Fish Curry 

And so we are in our 4th week of the lovely event from our group Kolkata Food Bloggers called 'Know your Blogger 2' This week our star blogger is Indrani who blogs from Recipe Junction. My interaction with Indrani has been completely virtual but from her huge collection of recipes it is quite apparent that our lady in question is a passionate cook.

She is one of the most active people I have come across. After all not many people manage 3 kids , a household and a beautiful food blog.

Now I have been away from home for quite sometime and so upon my return to Calcutta the first thing I wanted to have was the river fish we get here in Bengal.

Indrani's Fish keema  seemed the perfect dish since it is one dish which goes well with rice, Flat-bread or yeast  breads. Keema is the hindi and Bengali word for minced. It usually applies to red meat or chicken and so this came across as quite unique.

I made it on an evening when I was dead tired after my usual visit to New market for fresh fruits, amazing pork from kalman's and a meet with a dear friend and the thing about this recipe is that its quick and easy which anyone can make no matter how tired they are.

I did change the spice quotient as per my taste buds but the end result was relished by our family.

So here goes the recipe :-

4 medium pieces of Rohu Fish
1 medium tomato
1 medium potato
1 medium onion
1 tbsp smooth ginger garlic paste
Salt as per taste
1 tsp Kashmiri red Chili powder
1 clove
1 green cardamom
1 inch cinnamon
1 green chili
2 tsp mustard oil
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
Pinch of turmeric

Boil the fish in water with a tiny bit of salt and once done take the fish out and smash it with a fork and let it cool down. In the meantime make a smooth paste of ginger and garlic and then make a smooth paste of the tomato and finely chop the onion and cube the potato in small sized cubes. Reserve the water in which you have boiled the fish.

Once the mashed fish cools down carefully take out every thin bone. It takes a bit of patience but is well worth the effort for the end result.

Now heat the oil and add the onions and fry till translucent and add the ginger garlic paste and cook till you get rid of the raw smell and add the tomato paste and cook on medium heat stirring continuously till the colour changes to a deep red and add the spices after crushing them along with the bay leaf , red chili powder salt and turmeric and finally add the potatoes and mix well and add the water in which you have boiled the fish and cook covered till the potatoes are cooked add the mashed fish and green chili and mix well and cook uncovered till you a semi dry mixture, add the finely chopped coriander leaves  and serve with Chapati or rice or even bread.

Tip

Be careful while adding salt when cooking the fish because the water in which you have boiled the fish will already contain some amount of salt.

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