LETZ COOK/CRAFT/MAKE

I used to love eating ripe jackfruit from the tree in my grandmothers house every summer back home. Here all we get is the over sweet ripe jackfruit soaked in sugar syrup. After a couple of washes it tastes ok but not close to the real one. For the JFI-Jackfruit event posted by Jugalbandi , I wanted to try something with raw jackfruit and that’s when I remembered the kebabs my friend makes with them. After a phone call, I started on this expedition. It came out well and tasted very close to meat kebabs, so it is a good vegetarian appetizer substitute. The kebabs can be shaped and refrigerated a day ahead and grilled/shallow fried when needed. Ingredients: Green raw jackfruit – 1 20 oz can Potato – 1 Onion (chopped finely) – 1 Green chillies (chopped finely) – 2 Cilantro or Parsley(chopped finely) – ½ cup Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tsp Chilly powder – 1 tsp Turmeric – a pinch Garam masala powder – 1 tsp Besan – 1 tbsp (optional) Salt – as needed Oil – 3 tbsp Method: Pressure cook the jack

Mango is my all time favorite fruit. It sucks to not get good Indian mangoes here. I usually satisfy myself with the Mexican ones that are available, which are OK in comparison. So for the AFAM Mango event hosted by Deepa of Recipes N More , I decided to try a new dish with mangoes. I got my inspiration from here . Ingredients: Cream - 2 cups Mango pulp - 1 cup Sugar - 1/c cup (can be changed according to taste) Gelatin powder - 3 tsp Water - 3 tbsp Method: Mix gelatin to water and microwave for about 2min. Stir well till you get a clear liquid and let is rest. Heat cream on the stove top for about 5min. Add the mango pulp and heat for about 2min. Remove from heat and add the gelatin liquid. Mix well and pour into individual cups and refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hrs. When ready to serve dip the cup in a bowl of warm water and invert over a serving plate. Decorate with more pulp and freshly cut mangoes.

I usually use spinach for making traditional Indian dishes like spinach-dal, palak paneer, spinach sabzi and spinach kootu or for a simple salad. This time wanted to try something different with the spinach I grew in my backyard. After a long search on the net I found something that I like here . Decided to play a bit with the ingredients (read to manage with ingredients I had at hand) and the final dip turned out to be light, creamy and delicious. This will be my first entry to the Green Blog Project - Summer 2007 event . Ingredients: Garlic (roughly chopped) - 1 Spinach (roughly chopped)- 5 oz Pearl Onion (roughly chopped) - 1 Spring onions (roughly chopped) - 3 Coriander (roughly chopped) - 1 tbsp Lemon juice - 1 tbsp sour cream - 4 oz Pepper powder (Freshly Ground) - 1/2 tsp Coarse salt - as needed Olive oil - 1 tbsp Method: Heat oil in a pan and add chopped garlic, pearl onion and spring onions. Fry for 5 min and then add chopped spinach and coriander. Fry for 3 min till the leave

Work has been very hectic lately and I am still yet to post my Easter dinner recipes. Decided to start with tandoori chicken. Ingredients: Chicken Drumsticks - 8 (skin removed) Tandoori masala or paste - 2 tbsp Chilli powder - 2 tsp Salt - as needed Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp Garam masala - 1 tsp Lime or Vinegar - 2 tsp Butter - 2 tbsp Cooking spray Method: Clean and make slits in the chicken drumsticks. Marinate the chicken with all the above ingredients except butter and cooking spray and leave it overnight. Place aluminium foil on the baking tray and spray a thin coating of cooking spray. Preheat oven to 375F and cook for about 45min till it turns golden brown on top. If you like it crispier place it in the top rack and broil for about 5min. This needs to be served hot as it dries out pretty fast.