Tik Tik Kadin Emegi

We had just arrived in Cappadocia after a couple of harried "tourist guided" days in Istanbul. I hadn't yet figured how to pronounce the name of the town our travel agent had chosen for us in Cappadocia-  Urgup. 

I had played no part in selecting this town and I couldn't be more grateful for it. Had she asked me, I would have said Goreme, because I had such wonderful memories of time spent there with mom and Atta a decade ago. But as I found out later in this trip, Goreme has changed totally. From a laid back quiet quaint town of my memories, it was now a "cheap" tourist town.  Not inexpensive cheap, the other kind. Urgup was different. 

We had arrived mid morning at our lavish cave hotel and decided to walk to the town to have lunch. After walking for about 10 minutes through the winding narrow empty streets, we reached the main road. There were no restaurants to be found. The one place we thought was a cafe turned out to be a wine shop. There was hardly anyone on the road that we could ask. Aloka and I were puzzled and totally famished. 

It was then that I saw a sign on a stairway with an image of a woman holding a bowl. Could it mean food? What were the words- Tik Tik Kadin Emegi? Hungry and curious, we climbed up. 

It was a good decision. We had the best meal of the entire trip in a small tastefully decorated room with just three tables. Looking at the very limited menu, we ordered Tik Tik, which turned out to be a delicious ravioli dish served on a bed of curd. We also had the most delicate melt-in-the-mouth-no-nonsense baklava, so different from the sugary heavy baklava we had in Istanbul! Despite the language barrier, we made some conversation with the woman serving us and figured out that this was a woman's cooperative of some sort and the food we ate was made by the local women.

Of course, we were back at the restaurant the next day. A different woman served us this time. She started by lightly pinching Aloka's cheeks, who blushed red. After our delicious meal of tik tik and baklava, I peeked inside the room at the back where I could hear some talking. A most delightful scene awaited us. Four middle-aged woman sat on the floor, working feverishly with their hands and chatting. One of them looked up and nodded at us. That was all the encouragement we needed to enter the room. 

By very clear hand gestures, Aloka was invited by one of the women to sit next to her. Her cheeks got patted/pinched some more. They all seemed to like her instantly. Soon, the woman was teaching her to make ravioli. She was a bit apprehensive initially but soon got the knack of it.  I joined in and we worked in the kitchen for over an hour, making tik tik, the delicious ravioli we just had. 

Sitting on the floor in their kitchen, with no common language between us, I learned the names of all the women, and they ours. We also figured out how many kids we each had. When I had trouble reciting their names back, one of them managed to convey that it was okay because while they had to learn only two names, I had to remember four. There was so much laughter and shared joy among total strangers. I felt totally at home. 

Before leaving from that beautiful place, we bought a few packets of tik tik that we had contributed to making. We had them for dinner a few times after we returned home, each time transporting us to the lovely afternoon spent in the quiet quaint part of Ugrup, Cappadocia. 

It was only later that I googled the meaning of "Kadin Emegi"- Women's labor! So happy that  now it includes our labor too! 

The Best Feedback!

Last month, I finally set up a food stall in the local mela. I had been dreaming of doing this for a long time, but never had the energy or the time to carry the idea through. But this post is not about me or the reaction of my customers. It is about Aloka and her customers!

Aloka is a budding chef, trying out new recipes and experimenting with ingredients in her free time, which is a lot since she started home schooling last year. As expected, not all experiments have been successful, but we have still enjoyed her creations.

Sometime last year, I chanced upon some cute looking almond chocolates in the fridge. They were yummy. I was amazed to find out that Aloka had made them, all by herself, without even my knowledge! She had used her knowledge of making chocolate ganache and devised her own technique of adding almonds to them. For molds, she had used the IKEA silicone ice cube trays we had purchased many years ago when we used to live in Singapore.

So, when we set up the food stall in the mela, I asked her to sell her chocolates too. She was strangely reluctant, but I was equally strangely pushy. So, while I prepared chicken schnitzels and buttered potatoes on the day of the fair, she made some 50 flower- and fish-shaped chocolate treats. She was shy about going around selling her wares, but agreed to try to sell them to any customer that came to our stall. The chocolates were priced at Rs 5 apiece, which would fetch her a small profit. She slung a bag with some change in it (all Rs 10 notes) and held her box of chocolates in her hands.

The fair was a madhouse and I had no time to look up to see how Aloka was doing. She first came to me some 20-minutes into the sale with a worried expression on her face. "This boy wants a chocolate", she whispered, "but he says he has only Rs 2." I turned around to see a young balloon-seller, perhaps 12, dressed in a vest and shorts, looking expectantly at me. I told Aloka to sell him one chocolate for the money he had.

A half hour later, Aloka was again by my side, asking for change for Rs 100. "The boy wants two chocolates, but I don't have enough change", she said. Once again, I turned around to see the same boy, the balloon-seller, this time holding a 100-rupee note. He was back, ready to pay the right price for the treat, which meant that he had sold quite a few balloons by then. I dug into my purse and handed Aloka Rs 90 to pay him. He left happily with his purchase.

By now, we were selling out fast. So was Aloka. She had two chocolates left by the time I was sold out. I smiled at her, and hoped to grab at least one of her chocolates, when lo and behold, the same balloon-seller was by our side again, this time with a younger friend. He held out his 10-rupee note to Aloka, and bought her last two chocolates. The two kids grinned and sucked on their fish-shaped treats while walking away.

That evening, various people had bought Aloka's chocolates. Some were people who knew me and perhaps felt compelled to buy from Aloka. Others were strangers, but were sort of captive audience because they were sitting down to eat food at our table. Hard to say no to a child selling chocolates in such circumstances too.

But here was a boy, who wasn't at the fair to spend his parent's money, but to earn his own. This boy chose to spend his hard-earned money to buy Aloka's chocolates. Not once, but three times!

What a compliment!

Could there be better feedback? I don't think so.

Easy Tasty Chicken Sandwich Filling

This recipe happened out of sheer necessity, not of sandwiches, but of not wanting to waste chicken roast I used to cook on most Sundays in Singapore. My Sunday roast was quite popular with my kids. Between the two of them, the legs and wings would be finished in no time. What was left was the less tender breast piece.

The first time I thought of converting the remaining chicken into a sandwich filling, I mashed every bit of the chicken and the left-over roasted potatoes and peas using a big spoon and added mayo till I had the consistency I remembered seeing in sandwich shops.

Since I moved to India, I never get good whole chicken, so roast chicken as a meal is no longer an option. So now I do the following:

• Roast chicken breast separately in salt, pepper and olive oil (wrapped in foil, 200 degrees for 40 minutes)
• Shred the meat to pieces or chop using a knife.
• Add a couple of spoons of mayo (more or less depending on the quantity of chicken). I sometimes add some butter too if the chicken is too dry and I don't want the strong mayo taste to stand out.
• Add finely chopped onions (half of a medium) and a bit of capsicum.
• Add 3-4 drops of lemon juice (more or less depending on the quantity of chicken). The idea is not to make the mixture sour, but just to give it a bit of a kick. 
• Add coriander or parsley (if I have any).
• Mash together till it is creamy enough to be spread on bread directly. 

Spread over good bread, it makes for a great sandwich filling. Since its premixed and non-messy, it is great for picnics.

Apple Crumble

Last week, one of mommy’s friends from Tanda Medical College gave her produce from her orchard in Kinnaur as a gift. Among other things, the bag contained about 3 kg of golden apples. The apples had slightly leathery skin, something you never see in store bought apples. I actually liked their look because that’s how nature intends its bounty to age. No artificial coating to retain the soft smooth skins here!

Working with unfamiliar ingredients, I wanted to make something simple and low risk. So, I looked up recipes for Apple Crumble. Nowadays, I do not follow just one recipe. I read up a few and pick and choose ideas that appeal to me. 

I liked the idea of oats for the crumble topping in one of the recipes, but since I didn't have oats, I used whole grain cereal I had at home. Bad idea #1. I didn't like the idea of pre-cooking apples before sticking them into the oven, so I skipped that step. Bad idea #2. I chose to add walnuts to the crumble topping instead of mixing them with the apples. Bad idea #3. I went out to sit in the sun after sticking the bowl in the oven. Bad idea #4 and the worst of them all. The result of all these was a very bad Apple Crumble. It was burned from top and uncooked inside. It was chewy. It had no taste of walnuts. It was God awful!

Here is the recipe for attempt number 2 that came out so good that it will certainly be on my café menu. Here it goes.

For Apples

1. Peel, core and chop apples into small pieces. I used about 8 small apples in my successful attempt.

2. Place in a wok with ½ cup sugar (I had only white sugar but all recipes mention brown sugar), 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon and nutmeg (mom had toasted them on a tawa and then run them through a dry mixer), and a handful of chopped walnuts or almonds.

3. Cook for 10-15 minutes on low heat. The apples should just about soften, not turn mushy. 

4. Taste to check for sweetness. Add more sugar if the apples lack own sweetness.

5. Butter a baking dish and place the pre-cooked apples inside.

For Crumbles

1. Place 1 cup of white flour in a bowl.

2. Add 1/2 cup of sugar.

3. Add about 100 gms of cold butter cut into pieces. My butter was regular salted one, so I didn’t add any salt later.

4. Rub the butter into the mixture till all the flour is coated. The result of the mixing should make the mixture look like bread crumbs- that’s what the recipes state- but mine didn’t. The clumps looked bigger and coarser.

5. Because one of the recipes mentioned it and because I had it, I added about a tablespoon of golden syrup into the mixture. This is the syrup I had bought as ice-cream topping for Aloka in Singapore. Adding it helped by giving the crumple a sticky toffee like texture in places. I think this ingredient is not essential. If I didn’t have it, I would consider adding some honey, but wonder if its flavour would overpower cinnamon’s.

6. Once done, spread the crumble mix on top of the apples evenly.

Bake at 180 degrees C for 30-40 minutes, until the crumble looks golden brown, the apple mixture is bubbling and the kitchen is filled with the fantastic aroma of cinnamon and biscuits.

Having burned the first attempt, I watched this one like a hawk. Mine was done in 35 minutes. I let it rest in the oven for another 10 minutes. Cut and serve with ice-cream. I didn’t have any, so it was served by itself. Serves 4.

Delicious!  

Saturday Lasagna

One of our weekend staples. I cook lasagna at least once a month. It is one of the dishes that requires little skill, but LOTS of effort, especially since I make the sauce from scratch.

The first few times I made lasagna, I messed up a lot. Many times, I overcooked the dish in the oven- believe me dried out lasagna is heartbreaking after all the effort you have put in it. Even quantity was an issue- sometimes I would have too little sauce, sometimes too much. Over the last year, I have nearly perfected it by eliminating one problem after another. Now I get it right almost every time.

Tomato, onions, leek, capsicum, carrots, and minced meat sauce- I cooked this one for over 40 minutes to get the right texture and taste-should be almost velvety and the veges should be soft

Bechamel sauce: butter, flour, milk, salt, cheese

Lasagna sheets

Started with meat sauce at the base

Top with lasagna sheets 

Generous helping of bechamel sauce for this layer to avoid drying out

Top with lasagna sheet and lots of meat sauce on top of it

After a couple of more alternate red and white layers, finally, the top layer with bechamel sauce and cheese

This is my new trick- I cook with the foil on top to prevent the top sheet from drying out. I cook for 20 minutes at 180  degrees, then take the foil off and cook at 200 degrees for 10 minutes or until the color looks right. 

The most delicious looking lasagna

Well cooked and not dried out

Perfect Baked Potatoes

This is so simple to make and so tasty. No special ingredients needed either. Point to note: you may have eaten baked potatoes at restaurants where they came wrapped in tin foil. That's more like steamed potatoes, not baked. Baked potatoes are baked directly in an oven.

• Select even sized potatoes. Recipes talk of russet potatoes, but honestly I buy what I get and for this one, I used whatever I had at home. 
• Wash and clean the potatoes very thoroughly. You will be eating the skin, so it had better be super clean. 
• Make 3-4 gashes in each potato. I went quite deep. Don't forget to do this, else the potatoes will burst. 
• Coat them with olive oil and salt. 
• Preheat oven at the highest (mine goes up to 240 degrees C)
• Place the potatoes on the rack placed in the middle of the oven. Note: No tin foil please. 
• Place a tray (or something) below the rack to catch the juices that might drip from the potatoes. 
• Set the timer to 50 minutes and go do something else.
• Around 20 minutes into the roasting, the potaoes will still look the same. Turn them over to cook them evenly. 
• At around 40 minutes, the skin will look a little wrinkly. Perhaps a deeper color too. 
• Use your tongs to feel the potatoes. If the feel soft, they may be done. I took a knife and put it through the potatoes to check them. Mine were done at 50 minutes.

Place the potatoes on a plate. Cut them in half. Add some butter or cream (or both), and salt and pepper. Enjoy!

My little girl loved them so much she won't let anyone else eat them.

Recipe from: http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/PotatoBaking.htm

Mother and Son

Atreya is off to a jungle mission for nine days in Brunei. In this mission, a group of seven soldiers are left to themselves to find their way to civilization. They have limited rations and are expected to hunt for food if they run out of the rations.

Stressed and worried about him, I am eating for the two of us. Somebody stop me! 

Look Who's Talking?

The other day, I asked Mallika if she remembered when I started cooking seriously. She took a minute and then claimed that I took over the kitchen only since we moved to this house, which was two and a half years ago. At first I couldn't believe it because it seems I have been cooking forever, but then it seemed plausible- I don't recall spending any time in the Bukit Timah and Newton kitchens. I do remember cooking pasta and croquettes in the Braddell house, but rarely.

Two and a half years is not a long time to master cooking, but if you cook almost everyday like I do, it's not bad. It is my belief that you haven't really mastered a dish unless you have cooked it at least ten times, and ruined it at least twice. Yes, it's important to ruin the dish, because it's only then that you know what makes it really work. I learned that my simple looking roast chicken is tasteless if I do not put enough ginger paste, that croquettes will fall apart if I mash the potatoes when they are still hot, that my absolutely amazing meat sauce will be a total waste if the lasagna overcooks and dries out at high temperature. These are lessons learned the hard way. Of course, it helps if you have people like Atreya eating your food- he forgives every mistake and enjoys everything I cook.

Lately, I have noticed another thing. Instead of my planning meals meticulously as I used to and looking for specific ingredient for them, I tend to have a blank slate at the start. At the grocery store, or when I just open the fridge, vegetables and condiments as if start talking to me. No kidding. I pick vegetables and cheese and meat and spices because they call out to me. Not only that, they also seem to suggest how I should cut and cook them. Sounds crazy even as I write about it but it happens and is changing the way I cook. For example, after years of chopping capsicum, mushroom and asparagus really fine for my pasta sauce, you will now find chunky pieces in my pasta dishes. My roast chicken now has roasted pumpkin and onions as accompaniments instead of the usual roast potatoes. And my tagine dishes are totally experimental. These unplanned experiments don't always work, but cooking like this has a different type of pleasure.

I am pleasantly surprised by this new development for another reason. It shows that the journey is not over- more twists and turns can be expected along the way. I can't wait! 

Saturday Treats: Two of my Favorite Dishes

This first dish is my new breakfast of choice- cherry tomato bruschetta. It takes the absolute minimum effort, makes for a joyous colorful sight, and is so tasty that I can't think of anyone in this world who wouldn't like it. Except of course people who can't stand tomatoes (I personally know one such person).

The secret is cherry tomatoes. They are naturally sweet and become soft and gooy-ey once baked in the oven for 15-2 minutes on medium heat. This in turn helps them soak into and stay on toast when served.

Ingredients: Cherry tomatoes, button mushrooms, fresh mozzarella cheese (if not available, then any cheese spread for the toast would do), finely chopped chives, salt and pepper, and nicely toasted thick slices of bread.

This second dish, Mediterranean sausages with lemony potatoes, is a lunch favorite that I cooked with a twist today- I used my new favorite tagine! Once again, this dish is simple to cook and is a sure win with any meat eater. No technique needed.

The secret here is good quality sausages. It won't work if you use cheap factory sausages. Not being snobbish here- just factual. The taste of your dish is determined by the taste of your sausages, so get the best ones you can. I buy lamb and herb sausages and braise them in a pan with little water with some olive oil added. The water that cooks them evaporates and the remaining oil browns them.

Ingredients: 2 Onions, 5 medium potatoes, 5-6 good sausages, 2 bay leaves, a little lemon juice and salt & pepper. The pictures below are in sequence going from left to right so you can see how it was cooked. The only step missing is when I added lemon juice to the potatoes on pic 4.

Served with good bread and some salad. Today, I served with ciabatta loaf and finally chopped tomato-onion salad.

Tagine Love

I am in love with my tagine. I have cooked three times using it and while the dishes haven't turned out as great as I would have liked, I feel a strong urge to return to it. The pressure cooker and the once favorite wok get nothing but disdain from me.

The secret of tagine cooking is in allowing it to bubble away for hours, something I don't have the luxury of (one or the other kid is too hungry to wait).

Here are some pictures. 

Mutton tagine with potatoes and pumpkin! Cooked for over 4 hours on slow heat (veggies added only for the last hour). Served with country loaf. 

Chicken tagine with coriander! Cooked for an hour. Served with steamed rice. 

Minced mutton tagine. Cooked for an hour and a half. Served with mint raita and coriander paranthas. 

Low-Carb High-Fun

Here are a few of my favorite things to eat when I am avoiding carb cravings. 

 Baked Veggies in White Sauce

Baked Chicken and Asparagus, Red Peppers, Onions and Pumpkin 

Lamb Shashlik with Baked Veggies

 Sausages, Egg, Asparagus, Mushrooms with Sour Cream

Another Version of the Same Dish (with Boiled Egg this time)

Egg, Mushroom, Onions and Asparagus- Another Breakfast

Baked Chicken with Pumpkin, Carrot, Tomatoes, Zuchini and Onions

 

 Baked Chicken Wings: For Evening Snack Time

 Zuchini, Asparagus, Onion with Lamb Sausage

 Chicken in White Sauce (I took little sauce, which is Aloka's fav)

 Salad with Cherry Tomatoes, Beet Root, Feta Cheese and Sunflower Seeds in a lemon and olive oil dressing (Inspired by a similar salad at Ridah's)

Spicy Moroccan Meatballs in Tomato Salsa and Salad

Morocco Ahoy!

Plan is set for Morocco in July for Swati's 50th. Super excited!

In keeping with the theme, I made Moroccan spicy meatballs on a bed of buttered cous-cous, served with beef shashlik kababs for lunch today. It was super super tasty, pardon the self praise. Wiped off between Atta and me (too spicy for Aloka's palate).

This is the third or fourth time I have made it, but the first time it turned out so good, the way its supposed to be. And without cross-checking the recipe even once!

Weekend Cooking

Here are pictures of some of the meals I have cooked in the last few weekends. Added new pictures of stuffed Japanese jalapenos, roast chicken and shepherd's pie.

 Jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese, bacon and mushrooms

 My first attempt at Shepherd's pie 

Cheese croquettes

Cous Cous Salad

Pasta in creamy sauce (with onion, capsicum, carrots and bacon)

Mediterranean sausages with lemony potatoes

Roast chicken with roast potatoes, carrots, corn, peas, onions and pumpkin

Served! 

Another roast chicken (thighs) and vegetables.

Chicken and spinach lasagna

Summer berries parfait (camera played tricks and don't have a single clear picture)

Finally, the wonderful people I cook for! They appreciate every little effort and forgive the biggest of mistakes!

Mojo

Thinking of cooking something yummy for my kids tomorrow. Does it mean I am getting my mojo back?

Saturday Lunch

Is there a bigger joy than cooking great tasting food for people you love?

I learned about potato croquettes watching a show called David Rocco's Dolce Vita. Atta and I fell in love with this dish the first time I made it about 3 years ago. I made croquettes today for lunch for mummy, Atta and of course Aloka, who is the newest good food connoisseur in our house.

Boil potatoes. Cool down before mashing. Must be a dry mash.

Parmesan and mozzarella are the key ingredients.

Add Parmesan and salt/pepper to potato mix. Taste to make sure enough salt.

Aloka loves to eat this mixture uncooked. I just add some olive oil for her. 

 Fresh parsley is the best. I have also sometimes used parsley flakes from a bottle.
Chop and mix into the potato mix.

 Mozzarella for filling, egg and bread crumbs before frying.Fresh mozzarella (packed in water) is the best. My mom keeps reminding me not to get too dependent on these fancy ingredients. So I think paneer should also do!

Take a bit of the potato mix and flatten it on your palm.Add mozzarella or paneer inside. Too much will break the skin. Too little will be lost. So figure out the right amount by hit and trial! Close it up making sure it doesn't break.

Dip in beaten egg.

Roll in bread crumbs. 

And fry in extra virgin olive oil. Oil must be very hot before starting to fry.  

Looking yummy! Made about 12 of them. 

Atta and mom enjoying.

Aloka refused to leave her TV, so she ate alone.

 This is what the inside looks like. The mozzarella inside melts a bit and becomes stringy.

Check out the original recipe here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUlwEWzi2J