Rabbit in mustard sauce (Lapin à la moutarde)

I cooked it long back, on New Year’s Eve. I had never really tried French cuisine. It was the first time I was going to cook rabbit. What better way to welcome the New Year than with exploring into a new side of the culinary world. (Even though, I can hardly pronounce the name of the dish correctly). Lapin à la moutarde (Rabbit in mustard sauce) is a classic French country dish. To the delicate flavor of the rabbit meat, the spicy grainy mustard adds a layer of rustic goodness. The dish is prepared by either baking or slowly braising it in a white wine sauce. I used the later technique. The wild mushrooms add to the country flavors, and the crème fraiche gives a rich creamy smoothness. I served it with fingerling potatoes roasted with and flavored with thyme.

 

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

1 rabbit (cut into serving pieces)

Rub:

Sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1tbsp Dijon mustard

2 shallots

2 garlic cloves

100g wild mushroom

4-5 sage leaves

1 spring of thyme

5-6 black peppercorns

1 spring of tarragon

2 bay leaves

2tbsp white wine vinegar

200ml dry white wine

150ml water

2tbsp Dijon mustard

4tbsp old fashioned mustard

4tbsp crème fraiche

Salt

Butter

METHOD:

1. Rub the rabbit pieces with salt, black pepper and Dijon mustard. Keep aside for 15 minutes.
2. Finely chop the shallots, garlic. Chop the mushrooms in halves (or as necessary). Coarsely chop the herbs.
3. Heat butter in a casserole. Add the rabbit pieces in a single layer and fry on low-medium heat until colored (6-7 minutes for each side). Do not stir, except when turning the pieces once in between. Let the juices ooze out and start caramelizing.
4. In the meantime, heat butter in a fry pan. Add onion, garlic, mushrooms, peppercorns, and herbs. On low heat, fry for a couple of minutes. Add seasoning. Fry until onions turn pale golden.
5. When the rabbit pieces are fried, add the vinegar to the rabbit. Reduce to a syrup consistency.
6. Boil the water. Also, boil the wine for 30 seconds.
7. Add the fried onion, mushrooms, and herbs to the rabbit. Add the boiled water and wine. Bring to boil.
8. Cover and simmer on medium heat for 30 minutes, stirring a couple of times in between.
9. Combine the crème fraiche, Djion mustard, and old fashioned mustard. Add to the rabbit. Mix well such that the sauce is homogenous.
10. When the rabbit is cooked, gently take them out and keep them in a warm place.
11. Turn the heat up and cook until the sauce is reduced to half.
12. Return the rabbit into the casserole. Stir and coat well with the sauce. Serve with seasonal vegetables or fingerling potatoes.

Malaysian mango chicken

We (actually me, who always wants new/good food for every occasion) wanted to have something good (again celebrations!). However, my evening was a bit pre-occupied and I did not want to order food from the restaurant. Hence, I requested Blaž to cook, or at least start cooking the dinner, and I would help him after coming back home. We chose ‘Malaysian mango chicken’, a simple and yummy dish celebrating Asian flavors. I wrote the recipe and all other associated instructions in details for him, and convinced Blaž, who was a bit hesitant, that he would manage it. The next day when I came home, he had just finished chopping the veggies. ‘I did not know it would take so much time’. The chicken was marinating and the ingredients for the sauce were in a bowl nicely mixed. Although home, I told Blaž to carry on with the cooking. With Blaž asking a few questions in between and me giving it a couple of stirs, he cooked it perfectly. We loved the awesome blend of sweet, sour, salt and the stickiness from the mango and its juices. As we devoured it with fragrant rice, Blaž added one more item in his ‘what I can cook’ list!

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

400g chicken pieces (skinless and boneless)
1 small red onion
1 medium red bell pepper
1 medium green bell pepper
1 medium ripe green mango

Oil

Marinade:

1sp  sugar
1/2sp salt
1/2sp black pepper
3sp cornstarch

1sp chili powder

Sauce:

5tbsp fresh tomato puree
2tbsp oyster sauce
2sp honey
4-5tbsp mango juice
2sp balsamic vinegar

1sp sugar

METHOD:

1. Dice the onion. Cut the red and green pepper into big chunks. Peel and pit the mango, cut it into strips.
2. Mix the chicken with the marinade ingredients and marinate for around 20 minutes. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok. Add the onion and peppers. Stir-fry the onions until they are translucent and the peppers are a bit soft. Let the vegetables char a bit. Remove from the wok and keep aside.
4. Heat a bit more oil in the same wok. Add the marinated chicken pieces along with the marinade. Add the mango strips. Cook on medium-high heat, with frequent stirring, until the chicken slightly browns and the mango becomes soft and sticky. The oil will start coming out.
5. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes on low-medium heat to let the oil and juices out.
6. Add the sauce and stir well to coat the chicken with the sauce. Cook on medium heat until the chicken is well cooked.
7. Add the stir-fried peppers and onion. Give a good toss to mix everything well. Check the seasoning and serve with steaming rice.

Hing tamatar murgh (Chicken with asafetida and tomato)

A couple of Sundays, I cooked this chicken for my weekly lunch box. However, for Sunday lunch, it was only a very mild and light preparation of different pumpkins and root vegetables. Blaž got to taste the chicken, and later at the lunch commented, ‘All the good food goes and I just have to eat vegetables’! :) He requested that I cook it again soon, and I obliged to the request and cooked it last Sunday. I had created this recipe on a whim. The usual onion, garlic, tomatoes, aromatics were first on list of ingredients. However, while taking the tomatoes out I remembered about the homemade tomato sauce and decided to use that instead. The sweet-sour taste and the interesting blend of flavors in the tomato sauce was the backbone of this dish and carried it to another level. Complimenting and harmonizing the flavors together was a background hint of asafetida. We both have loved this chicken so much that now I must make my homemade tomato sauce again to be able to prepare this new favorite chicken again!

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 3)

400g chicken

1 onion

4-5 garlic cloves

4tbsp homemade tomato sauce

1sp coriander powder

1/2sp cumin powder

1/2sp turmeric powder

1 tad asafetida powder (a few asafetida granules)

Salt, sugar, oil

Dry spices:

2 dry red chilies

2-4 cloves

2 black cardamom

1 stick cinnamon

5-6 black pepper

METHOD:

1.      Gently roast the dry spices. Grind the spices and the asafetida granules into a fine powder.

2.      Finely chop the onion and grate the garlic.

3.      Heat oil in a wok. Add the onion and fry until soft and golden.

4.      Add the garlic and fry until it leaves aroma.

5.      Add the chicken pieces. Add the cumin, coriander and turmeric powder. Stir well and cook on moderate heat for around 10 minutes.

6.      Add the ground dry spices and tomato sauce. Add salt and a pinch of sugar. Mix well.

7.      Cook until the chicken is done and leaves oil on sides.

8.      Serve with long grain rice.

Sindhi chicken

I had read some chicken recipe a while ago in the supplementary pages of a famous Bengali daily. What had caught my attention were the use of shahi jeera (Bunium persicum or also called black cumin) and generous use of green cardamom. The idea of blending the rustic earthy flavors of shahi jeera with the intense aroma and flavors seemed like very interesting idea to me and I had noted in my mind to try those flavors sometime. And the other day I had the chance to experiment with it. I decided to use the shahi jeera both in the marinade and for tempering the oil. To highlight the aroma and intense flavors of green cardamom, the other usual aromatic spices that constitute the garam-masala was omitted. I only added a bit of black cardamom to give this hint of smoky flavor. The whole flavor profile worked wonderfully well. And made Blaž say that I should write down the recipe and not forget like the one I did a few years ago when I was not having a proper record of all the recipes and ideas.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

600g chicken

1sp garlic paste

1tbsp ginger paste

6-8 green chilies

1 cup yogurt

2 big onions

2 tomatoes

2tbsp tomato puree

1sp shahi jeera (Bunium persicum or also called black cumin)

Oil, salt, sugar

Dry spices:

1 black cardamom

4-5 green cardamom

2-3 dry red chili

For tempering:

1sp shahi jeera (Bunium persicum or also called black cumin)

1 black cardamom

4-5 green cardamom

2 bay leaves

METHOD:
 

1.      Roast the dry spices and crush them roughly.

2.      Marinate the chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, finely chopped green chilies, shahi jeera, and roasted ground dry spices.

3.      Finely chop the onions. Dice the tomatoes into cubes.

4.      Coarsely grind the cardamoms for tempering the oil. Heat oil in a wok. Temper the oil with shahi jeera, ground cardamom and bay leaves.

5.      Add the onion and fry until golden.

6.      Add the chopped tomato and tomato puree. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and mushy and leaves oil on sides.

7.      Add the chicken with the marinade. Fry on moderate heat until it starts getting golden color.

8.      Add a sprinkle of water. Season well. On low-moderate heat cook until the chicken is done and the spices start leaving the oil on sides.

9.      Serve with steaming rice or hot Indian flatbreads.

Fish piccata

Piccata, sautéed protein in a lemon butter sauce is a classic and simple Italian preparation. It is amazing how a few simple ingredients can come together making such a delicious treat in no time at all. I decided to make a fish piccata with the beautiful Nile perch I bought from the market. The golden fried fish in the creamy buttery lemon sauce was amazing. And I loved the piquant of the capers and the heat of the peppercorns in the bites. A delicious yet light and simple meal it was.

 You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

400g Nile perch fillet

2tbsp capers

1sp green peppercorns

1 lemon juice

1cup fish stock

3tbsp butter

Olive oil, salt, pepper

METHOD:

1.      Season the fish fillets with salt and pepper.

2.      Heat olive oil and 1tbsp of butter in a pan.

3.      Fry the fish fillets until golden brown on both side (2-3 minutes per side) and set aside.

4.      In the same pan, add the fish stock, lemon juice, capers, and peppercorns. Simmer until the liquids reduce to half. Stir in the butter.

5.      Pour the sauce over the fish.

Salmon with fennel and olive

Salmon is one of my favorite fishes. This time I wished to pair it up with some clean and distinct flavors. The meaty bitterness of green olives, the piquant flavor from capers, the heat of green peppercorns, and the delicate sweetness of fennel – all complimented well the soft succulent oily salmon. Baking the dish helped retaining the flavors of each of the components. A drizzle of olive oil completed it.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

(Serves 2)

2 salmon fillet (~200g each)

1 small fennel bulb

10 green olives

10 capers

10 green peppercorns

Oregano

Salt, olive oil

METHOD:

1.      Finely chop the fennel bulb. Cut the olives into quarters.

2.      Rub the fish fillets with olive oil, salt and oregano.

3.      In a baking tray, put the fish fillets skin side down. Add the chopped fennel, olives, capers and oregano.

4.      Bake at 200°C for 20 minutes.

5.      Serve with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Coffee rubbed fish

I wished to try the combination of coffee and fish. The flavors were partly influenced by Mexican cuisine and hence the choice of spices. The caramelized coffee gave a touch of bitterness to the fishes, which was well complemented by the other spices. Coupled with the ‘Eggplant avocado salsa’, it was a good dish. 

 
 You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

2 fillet of Nile Perch

4tbsp of ground coffee

1sp cumin powder

1/2sp mustard powder

2sp red chili flakes

1sp Mexican oregano

1sp all spice

1/2sp turmeric powder

Salt, oil

METHOD:

1.      Clean and dry the fish fillets.

2.      Mix all the dry spices and ground coffee together. Rub generously on the fish.

3.      Pan-fry the fish fillets on medium heat, a couple of minutes for each side.

Turkey - vegetable 'cake'

I wished to cook something that will be easy to carry in my lunch box. Something with meat and vegetables together to have the balance of both protein and carbohydrates. I had some minced turkey in the fridge. From the fresh market, I had bought some random vegetables without much of a plan in mind. Everything is so fresh and tempting that I feel like buying everything and usually end up buying more than planned. Anyway, back on thinking what to cook for my lunch box. Should I make turkey koftas with vegetables? In the end, I just decided to put everything together in a baking try and put it in the oven. I wished to keep it very simple, and hence only added the basic cumin, coriander. The provolone piccante cheese was diced instead of grated. I very much enjoyed the bite into those spicy cheesy bits that dotted the baked cake. And the red chili powder gave the perfect heat. It was a play of textures. Each vegetable had its own texture and it was a surprise of textures and flavors with each bite. I named it ‘cake’ simply because it looks like one. It tasted very good with clean flavors. And satisfied my hunger perfectly during the busy day at work.

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

2 large carrots

2 turnip cabbage

200g broccoli

250g spinach

500g minced turkey

100 provolone piccante cheese

3tbsp sour cream

3 dry red chilies

1tbsp cumin powder

1tbsp coriander powder

1sp ground black pepper

Salt, olive oil

METHOD:

1.      Dice the carrots and turnip cabbages. Break the broccoli into florets. Wash all the vegetables and spinach.

2.      Roast the dry red chilies and crush them. Dice the cheese into small cubes.

3.      Heat the oil in a wok. Add the vegetables and spinach. Add the cumin, coriander powder and season. Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are half-cooked and the moisture left by the vegetables dry. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit.

4.      In a large bowl, add the ground turkey and the vegetables. Add sour cream, cheese, seasoning, crushed chilies, and black pepper. With a gentle hand, mix everything uniformly.

5.      Grease a 20 cm round springform pan. Add the turkey-vegetables and press into a uniform layer.

6.      Bake at 200°C for 30 minutes until it gets a golden brown color on top.

 

Begun diye macher jhol (Mild fish curry with eggplants)

I was about to buy a very little amount of fish for one serving. Then, I saw the Nile perch and couldn’t resist to buy at least half a kilo! That tells you I am a Bengali and just love eating fish. I had just returned from my trip to India and was missing the home cooked fish curry and the simple flavors. I knew perch goes very well in the simplest Bengali fish curry ‘macher jhol’. Macher jhol is a simple fish curry with very little spices in an almost watery gravy. I added eggplant (begun) to it. The mild flavors of nigella seeds and coriander, the warm earthy cumin, and the little hint of chili, all these came together to make the fish curry so comforting. With steaming rice, it just takes me to Kolkata..

You can print the recipe for your kitchen here: PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4)

500g Nile perch (or any other sweet water fish)

1 big eggplant

1/2sp nigella seeds

1sp cumin powder

1sp coriander powder

1sp turmeric powder

3-4 fresh green chilies

Mustard oil

Salt

METHOD:

1.      Rub the perch pieces with 1/2sp turmeric and salt. Keep aside.

2.      Cut the eggplant into long finger like pieces.

3.      Heat mustard oil in a wok and lightly fry the fish pieces for 3-4mins. Remove the fish pieces and keep aside to drain the oil.

4.      In the same oil put in the nigella seeds after rubbing them in the palm to get the aroma out.

5.      When the nigella seeds start to crackle and give out aroma, add the eggplants. Fry the eggplants on medium heat for a couple of minutes.

6.      Add the green chilies, cumin, coriander, and turmeric powder. Let the spices cook for a couple of minutes.

7.      Add 2 and 1/2 cups of water. On medium heat, bring the curry to boil.

8.      When the eggplant pieces are almost done, add the fried fishes. Bring the curry to boil. Serve with steaming long-grain rice.