fatmanyash

now for mr richard doolan, who was whinign about not enough, new posts on food and cooking, heres somethign which i made the day before  .

chick peas dry- soak overnight with a pinch of baking soda- 200 gms

fresh prsley- few sprigs

fresh peeled garlic cloves – 4 nos.

lemon juce- from 1 lemon

salt – to taste

white onion peeled- 1 no

sesame seeds- about 2 tsp/10 gms

now drain the chickpeas, and grind to a semi smooth paste, without any water, but with the onion, parsley, and the garlic. trust me, thats enough liquid to get it all smooth. add in the lemon juice, the sesame seeds and season with salt.

form into about 20 gm patties and deep fry till browned and cooekd through.

serve with tahina sauce (tahina thinned down with some natural yoghurt ).

good as a snack or in a bun as vege filling.

for the uninitiated this is the south indian version of a crepe which is bloody delicious.its made from a fermented batter comprising rice and split and de husked black lentils, which have an off white centre which is called urad dal in Hindi.it was a long standing thing, for me to have made some for my freind Gerad Mouille who was owner /operator of La bastille, one of my favourite french restaurants in Trinidad, so this one is for M.Mouille.Good with some nice Riseling /

now the method.

• 1 part by volume of urad dal
• 3 to 4 parts by volume of cheapest rice. since you are going to be grinding it to a paste, you dont need specifically some extra speacial one.
• 1-2 gms of fenugreek seeds-called methi in Hindi.
• 15-20 gms of split peas/chana dal
• Salt and sugar to taste

Soak every thing together , execpt the seasoning ingredients for about half an hour. gridnd to a coarse paste, add salt and sugar and leave overnight to ferment and rise naturally.

How to cook them is another thing altogether and needs much practise. the idea is to spread the batter thin over a cast iron/ cast aluminium griddle plate  called a tawa  and cook it on one side only really. there are many important factors, the batter should be the right consistency , the griddle plate the right temperature.and should start to separate from the griddle really before you sprinkle a few drops of oil or butter or ghee and can  be eaten with coconut chutney or tomato chutney or sambar , which are a few different lessons altogether.

For practical lessons pls contact me !!

• eggs -2 nos
• sugar- 220 gms
• flour- 110 gms
• dark cocoa pdr-120 gms
• baking pdr-10 gms
• vanilla essence – little
• milk- 160 ml
• butter -150 gms
• chocolate chips – optional, and depends on you really!!!- but abt 100 gms is good.

process

1. sieve together the flour, cocoa, and baking pdr.
2. cream butter and  sugar till light , fluffy and creamy.add  eggs till they are incorporated.
3. add the milk, and stir in the flour.
4. put in greased  cupcake moulds, and bake at 190 C, 375 F, for 15-18 mins till they are done.
5. eat slightly warm with a  nice vanilla ice cream.

tough to say i have used victorinox, henckels, global, nogent, sabatier diamant, even fiskars in the early days.

best one i found for all purpose , cutting and stuff was the small victorinox paring knife.

for bigger tasks prefered using either the sabatier or the henckels.

love to use the chinese cleaver as well, very good for all kinds of things.

good to have is a knife storage roll, or suitcase, for travelling around.

and invaluable is to have a taylor thermometer. the dial type, very robust and can be easily calibrated .

when went to La , to meet Ashwini,future wife to be,now is loving and extremely caring sweet wifey on the walk of fame, which isnt all that great as its made out to be

after a long time am on the site and wondering what to write..about..maybe will just wish my good friends shalmili and shyam on the birth of their children…great going guys….yay yay yay

After finishing my stint here am moving to ile maurice/mauritius, to join the one and only le st geran.

good move eh!!

just bought myself a squeaky new toy.which will grind, scrape,cut carve and do all kinda things..except maybe cook.

there are a few words to say beforew you embark on this dangerous voyage set in middle hell…………..

phee -pho-fu-fum are some of these words.

keep them handy, u never know when you will chance upon a transmogrified demo-gorgon.

the words above shld keep you safe , in case they dont, then ask next of kin to apply for accident insurance, atleast theyll get abt 20 times of what u were ever worth.(conditions apply-please see small text on www.yoom.com. for further details.S&H charges may apply.This site is rated TV-MA)

may the geoforcebewithyou…hobbittsses