fatmanyash

• eggs – 5nos
• sugar- 100 gms
• dark chocolate (72% cacao)- 400 gms.
• cream 450 ml
• glavya or similar liquer- 200 ml
• butter melted – 25 gms
• dark cocoa powder- 50 gms

melt the chocolate with about 50 ml of cream and keep warm.

whip the remaining cream to soft peaks and keep chilled.

Combine the eggs and sugar and whip over a double oiler to a sabayon like consistency. should be very thick and creamy and leave a trail when whisking.

Add in the cocoa, powder, and liqueur.Add i 25 gms of melted butter. let it cool down slightly.Fold in the whipped cream.

Set in ramekins and freeze. serve frozen because the consistency is such that in a chiller it will go soft.

Serve with abandon.Enjoy.

This is a fantastic recipe for  foccacia which we use at our hotel. Dont be worried if the ammount of water seems inordinately high. the end product will be great.

• Flour- 1kg
• Dry yeast- 20 gms
• Sugar-25 gms
• Salt- 20 gms
• Dry or fresh herbs to add inside the dough-5 gms
• Salt to sprinkle on the top- as required.
• Olive oil-80 gms
• Warm Water-800 gms

In a mixing bowl, add flour, yeast, sugar and salt, and slowly add in the water.Keep mixing or kneading for 15 minutes to allow for good gluten formation .the doughwill feel almost too wet then , but thats part of the plan.If you have a dough mixer , its best to use that, and let the dough proof in the bowl itself.Oh at this point of time you can add in the herb flavouring(u can change the herbs and even add in chopped olives, sun dried tomatoes,roasted red onions)

after about 30-40 minutes, spread the dough out in a deep baking tray, greased with some of the olive oil.Since its a soft dough, you will not have to roll it out, but can just spread wih your palm.Let it proof again for a good half hour to 45 minutes.

make indentations on the surface of the bread dough, and brush, lavishly with the olive oil.reserve a little to brush after baking.

Bake at 190-200 C for upto 15 minutes.

heres one of the first thai curry recipes i learnt when i trained a long while back in baan thai at the oberoi.
Prakob Samnaruen the Thai master chef, taught me this one,after wards we had inputs from Chef Chandok.and over the course of many thai restaurant visits, planting of kaffir lime trees in Pune, Trinidad, and now in New Zealand, im getting closer.

ok after fluffing around , lets get down to business

• green curry paste- (yes its great to think you can make your own, but mae ploy, nam jai, cock , arroy-d will go outta business then)-15- 25  gms , more if you like it spicier, and stronger. be warned
• oil- 5 ml
• sugar- 5 gms or more depending on how much fire u want burning in your mouth.
• fish sauce, or nam pla as its called in thailand.- can be substitued with salt, for non fish eaters, but then the curry paste does contain shrimp paste too.- to taste, this serves as the salt in the curry
• chicken stock- 100 ml
• thai pea eggplant- a few , cos they are quite bitter, also can add some regular eggplant those are good cubed.
• kaffir lime/citrus hystrix/ bai makroot- a few leaves, dont use the dried ones they are no good, if not fresh then use frozen.
• sweet basil/ocimum basilicum/bai ho ra pha- fresh leaves – a few.
• coconut milk powder to make about 250 ml of coconut milk or a good canned one,
• chicken meat cut into strips/slices- 200 gms
• optional- thai chili - 1 sliced, trust me you wont want more than 1 
• optional vegetables- slices of carrots, mushrooms, etc, if you want 
• optional coriander leaves and stems- to give a brighter green colour and some fresh herb flavour

the process of transforming these to some yum  thai curry.

1. heat oil add curry paste, sir fry a little, then add chicken stock, lime leaves, fish sauce,sugar , coconut milk and simmer.
2. Add the eggplant and the chicken and bring to a boil. One  can add more or less coconut milk/cream depending on how thick you want your curry to be. Its also one reason ,why i prefer to use coconut milk powder. Add vegetables at this stage too, if at all.
3. Taste for seasoning, add more sugar if you feel that its too hot, but the green curry is always the hotter one.
4. Tear the basil leaves and add them in. Add also the coriander paste , for the extra green-ness. Serve with steamed jasmine rice, or sticky rice.

• deep dark chocolate , the darker the “betterer”-50 % cocoa content ++ is sexier-285 gms

• eggs – 3 whole
• castor sugar- 270 gms
• flour 45 gms
• cocoa , bitter, and dark again-85 gms
• butter -185 gms
• nuts – if u like them then u can add some, of any kind chopped

process of making the thing.

1. melt the butter and chocolate together.
2. sift the flour, cocoa,and add the chopped nuts to it.
3. whisk eggs and sugar till thick and fluffy. add in the butter, and choc mix.
4. fold in the flour, and nut thing, and bake at 375 F, 175 Deg C for about 25-30 mins. it should be tested, to see that it doesnt get too dry.
5. end result shld be nice and gooey like a propah brownie. cool down and dont share with any body.

this recipe owes a lot to le petit fleur de liban, M.ibrahim hadla, from the lush green mountains of lebanon.

yes, came out pretty good, even tho, we used a not so great fish.but this recipe is great for cooking even a not so great fish.the following recipe will serve 4 , if served on its own with some salad and rice, or upto 10 if u have a huge spread .

1. Whole fish – 1kg cleaned , and gutted , scaled, and washed with cold water. ideally use a fish like snapper, or grouper. but, any fish shld work. fresh is best, and minimal amt of bones ideal.if u are fussed abt bones, thenuse fillets, but just not the same.
2. fresh lemon-1 nos
3. onions peeled- 250 gms
4. bell peppers -150 gms or abt 1 good sized one.
5. chopped tomatoes – 400 gms can, or fresh abt 750 gms.
6. cumin pdr- abt 10 gms
7. coriander pdr- abt 20 gms
8. olive oil- pomace abt 20 gms, aand extra virgin abt 10 gms
9. fresh garlic – lots of it. atleast 35- 40 gms
10. fresh flat leaf parsley- lots.
11. fresh coriander – lots
12. salt and peppper to taste
13. roasted or fried pine nuts- to garnish, but not essential, just adds to the stuff clogging up ur arteries, and makes the fish even more tasty.

• umm now make the sauce first.
• saute chopped onions, garlic, in pomace, till lightly borwned. then add the bell peppers,cumin, coriander pdr, and tomatoes.
• simmer till thick,and pizza sauce consistency.
• pat fish dry, squeeze lemon, and salt and pepper on it.
• put in deep roasting pan, or ovenabale container ,and pour the sauce over the fish.
• cook at 350 deg F or 160 C, till half done.
• sprinkle with lots of fresh herbs , chopped, and the pine nuts,a nd the extra virgin olive oil
• finish to cook in the oven.
• serve with steamed rice, saffron rice, cuban bread, baguette, whatever u want to soak….up the oily rich sauce
• TAA DDAAA..

1. cous cous- 200 gms
2. stock to cook the cous cous-roughly double, also some stock for this and that.
3. onions peeled and chopped- 100 gms
4. garlic cloves crushed and chopped – 5 gms
5. saffron strands – 3-4 microwave for abt 15 seconds and soak in water
6. chilli flakes-pinch
7. olive oil- 20 ml , some pomace  and some extra virgin. the pomace to cook, and a final few drops of the extra virgin for the flavour.
8. vegetables cut in chunks- zucchini, potato, aubergine, bell peppers.tomatoes, cauliflower. these are just a guide, use whats fresh and in season.- abt 250 gms in total.
9. tomato paste- 2 tbsp
10. thats it really. u can also add some of the preserved lemon to the cous cous. but thats up to individual tastes. the recipe to make preserved lemons shall follow at some stage or the other.
11. fresh herbs- parsley, is good, basil can be fantastic, in Lil bits.maybe some marjoram.

• heat  the pomace olive oil, add garlic, onions, and saute saute add tomato paste and chili flakes and  hold. now 2 ways to go ahead.
• either you roast the vegeables in an oven and add or u blanch in oil, and add, all depends on which direction yr heart decides to take, burst the arteries, or not soo much.oh the tomatoes dont fry pls.
• then add some stock to the sauteed mix and simmer with the vegetables.add the saffron.hold.
• heat some more stock up and add the couscous. and some extra virgin olive oil this time. add just enough to cover up the cous cous, and let it soak in the stock. take off the fire and over and keep. stir through with a fork, and hope that you haven’t over cooked it.
• serve the cous cous with the vegetables on the side the juice of the vegetables should be nice and reddish , and little bit oily  u know just luscious..yeah yeah thats the way forward.

this recipe comes from vikram bindra’s sis, ashu

• fresh tomatoes halved- 1kg or can steal some from hillborough rd #354.
• olive oil- 25 ml
• fresh herbs chopped(in this case basil and thyme)- a few sprigs depending  on how much flavouring yu like
• salt and pepper
• garlic chopped- again depends on personal choice
• cottage cheese- to top the tomatoes.or could use feta..

the tomatoes marinate with the fresh herbs , olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

grill on chargrill till nicely coloured and flavoursome

crumble the cottage cheese add some more fresh herbs and top the tomatoes with it.

Voila.. u have a feast fit for us oldie buggers..

15 egg yolk+150 g sugar

Whisk together till light and creamy

60g cornflour+100g cocoa powder mix together

900g dark chocolate+500g butter melt in microwave on low

15 egg white +150g sugar, beat together to form a meringue with stiff peaks

Before all the above things are accomplished,make sure yu have apre- heated oven to 200 C.

then add the melted butter /choc mixture to the eggyolks, incorporate the cornflour/cocoa mix, and finally fold in the egg white. grease about 40 ramekins ( 60-70gms mix )with butter , and grain sugar. pour in the mixture to about 3/4th of the height, then pop into the oven.Bake for 8-10 minutes, if you want it soft centered,or about 4 minutes more if you want it more dry.(good idea in this case is to cover the top with some foil.

serve hot with some vanilla ice cream..

1. cream cheese-2.2kg
2. sugar 690 gms
3. 6 egg
4. 12 egg yolks
5. 180 gms sour cream/labneh drained yoghurt
6. vanilla essence 30 ml
7. corn flour 80 gms
8. mixed berries 200 gms or melted dark chocolate or whatever the hell yu want (tastes gr8 when spiked w/ baileys)

125 deg C for 80 mins.

methode-

whip the cream cheese till completeley soft and creamy .use philadelphia/elle et vire/anchor/pinar . add the sour cream/ labneh/ drained yoghurt.

add the sugar and corn flour.add the eggs(yolks +whole slowly till incorporated)

add essence

add the berries or whatever else you wanna flavour it w/.

bake at the temp mentioned above.leave overnight in the chiller.atleast !!!

this is important the mixture shld get time to settle, also if the cheese cake seems to getting over browned from the top cover w/ aluminium foil. and also when baking use a water bath..

and name it cheesecake al la fatman .

On the request of a certain kiwi cutie, who calls me snuggle muffin of all the things , am adding recipe for a biscuit crumb base.

• butter- 100 gms
• grain sugar- 100 gms
• biscuit crumbs-200 gms.

mix all well. press down hard in the cake tin, then bake for abt 5 mins.then pour in the cheesecake batter , and bake as before.

drool over the results …and be happily ever after!!!!!!!!!

take oil, add the herb, bottle and use as required.as simple as that, no hocus pocus….