Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad

Creamy Potato Dried Fig Salad 

For me the best feeling in the world is breaking bread with friends and family over laughter at the dinner table. I would happily spend the entire day in the kitchen preparing dishes and if my guests like what they are served that does make me happy but at the same time it gives me equal pleasure to prepare a dish for myself alone.

As a freelancer who works from home I am not required to step out of my home unless for that trip to the market or a quick visit to the bank or courier service . Then there are times when I want to go out and enjoy a cup of coffee with a friend.

Anyway the point is I would put in the same amount of effort when I am cooking for myself as I would when I cook for 8 guests.

So on a mundane Wednesday afternoon with Lana Del Rey's songs to keep me company I made this salad for myself which includes some of my favourite ingredients. I somehow like a sharp tart taste more than anything else . Hence I used hung curd for this salad and its not just to make the salad healthy. Another favourite ingredient is the humble potato. The softness of the boiled potato alongside the crunch of iceberg lettuce and the sweet taste of dried figs with the creamy dressing made this mundane Wednesday a little less mundane. I do not like overcrowding my dishes with too many flavours hence I used one herb alone.

My father did take a  small serving and he liked it mostly for the yogurt which is quite cooling for this sultry weather.

Here is some absolute random thought from my end :-

"Just because I appear to be a blank page

Do not take the liberty to think that you may scribble all over it 

For I have written all over it with my invisible ink " 

Makes 2 servings :-

Cup used holds 210ml liquid

1.5 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
2 large boiled potatoes
6 to 8 dried figs

For the dressing :-

200gm curd which you make into hung curd by tying it in a cloth and letting the excess liquid drip away for 2 hours
1 tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
Salt as per taste
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil


Boil the potatoes but take care not to over boil the potatoes because if its over boiled it breaks easily and you would be unable to chop them up to a shape of your choice. Cube the potatoes. Chop the figs.

Shred the lettuce and chill the lettuce , figs and potato cubes.

Just before serving make your dressing by whisking the hung curd, EVOO, salt and finely chopped parsley and pour over your salad and enjoy a healthy meal.

Poulet aux 40 Gousses d'Ail

Poulet aux 40 Gousses d'Ail 

(Roast Chicken with 40 cloves of Garlic)

 One of the big challenges I face when arranging for a special meal is narrowing down the options for the menu and even if you do decide on the menu the ocean of recipes in this galaxy of the internet is sure to confuse you. So the four banditas were meeting again and I was arranging a dinner party and for me deciding on the menu within a day is quite challenging so after much thinking, clicking, typing I decided Roast Chicken it was going to be but then which one ?

Lets talk a bit about obsession. I believe that we all have certain obsessions which we happily indulge in. My first obsession is of course white crockery and white linen and the second is making everything from scratch in my kitchen (as much as possible) and trying to search for by-gone recipes of a particular region of the world. Sure many a  times you need to alter or chuck out a few ingredients due to geography , unavailability etc but the pleasure of hunting it down is something which I find extremely satisfying. With Google translator things are much more easy. A certain image of a roast chicken caught my attention and it turned out this was the roast chicken with 40 cloves of garlic. Now I love my garlic and the simplicity of the roast attracted me instantaneously. Now that is the truth about French food. Everything feels its gourmet and difficult when in reality  it is simple elegant and delicious. Originally from the Lomagne region this one is a winner in my kitchen. Of course there were plenty of recipes differing a little bit from each other and I chose one which suited the ingredients available for me.

Now when you begin do remember that no matter what you use and what you don't the ingredients must , must , must be fresh.

Serves 6

1.7 kilogram Whole chicken (with the skin on of course)
40 large unpeeled cloves of garlic
2 stalks of rosemary
1 stalk of parsley
A handful of Thyme with the stalk
Salt and pepper
60 gm to 80 gm unsalted butter
1 medium sized lemon
4 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken stock . Here is a recipe for Chicken stock

Now roasting a chicken is the easiest thing in the world but for moist crispy chicken here are a few tips which perhaps you might really find useful. Tips for roasting

So once you have cleaned , dried , seasoned and massaged  let it rest for 1 hour or 2 hours, then prick the lemon with a fork all over and place in the microwave for 40 seconds at high heat (this ensures the chicken gets the full flavour) and put it in the chicken's cavity with the rest of the herbs  tie the legs and then preheat your oven to 180C and grease your baking pan well Place the chicken on the tray and splash half the wine  and then scatter the cloves of garlic all around and pour the chicken stock roast for 1 hour 50 minutes if using the convection oven or 1 hour 30 minutes for regular ovens. Do not forget to bast (in this case you can use the wine in one of your basting) and for the rest of the basting use the liquid from the roasting pan  and cover it in the last 15 minutes. You know its well roasted when you pierce the legs and the juices run clear.

Let it rest wrapped in the kitchen towel once done for 10 minutes and in the meantime peel the garlic and make a smooth paste with a bit of liquid from the pan. This is a topping for bread. Use the liquid as a fantastic gravy. My guests kept licking their lips and fingers. When serving the chicken take out the herbs and lemon from inside the chicken.

Chickpea Red Cabbage Salad

So eating healthy is a topic which is a dominant one in most people's minds. You can be eating it, recommending it, denouncing it but most adults are usually thinking about it at least once every 3 days. With the holidays and festivals it becomes mighty difficult to hold on to your healthy eating habit and everything goes into disarray and a little help is always very very helpful.

I have been on and off the eating healthy food from December, first there were the holidays and then the visit to my Mamma-in-law and then back to some healthy eating and then again there were a few celebrations with the other half and so it has been one see-saw ride and I am finally back home with a hopefully calm head and ready for some mild healthy diet. Now I personally do not like the word diet since it automatically conjures images of underfed stick-thin  sick people but the phrase 'following a healthy diet plan' is a huge hit with me because I am not above desires and so while I love my fresh salads and fruits and soups I might just reach out for that slice of pie once in a week but here is the problem. I speak from my personal experience and well what usually happens is once you go off track it becomes mighty difficult to come back to your senses. So the piece of pie leads to a piece of sachertorte and that leads to something else and then there is the period of panic when one realizes one has piled on a few kilos here and there and so when Claudia from My Continental Kitchen began an event of low calorie food I was relieved , you see  when there is a support group or reminder to eat healthy you are naturally  but conscious and for me once I start with a bit of participation it automatically becomes a habit and so I am grateful that the lovely lady has created the virtual event where everyone is welcome to share their ow calorie dishes (soups, salads and other low calorie dishes) and so come Monday and I was fully recovered from the welcome back to Calcutta Biriyani, Chocolate lava cake , pasta and decided on some filling yet healthy Chickpea salad.

Now before I go to the simple recipe here is a few tips from my experience which always helps me loose some kilos. Once you know you are on a healthy track you first need to stock up your pantry with. So fresh vegetables, fruits, legums , lean meat , fish but what one also must do is to think about the taste buds and so stock up on herbs, spices and any flavouring agent which helps a great deal. Imagine you have a few greens and carrots and lemon and you feel bored and are about to cook some deliciously unhealthy cheese toast but if you have a bit of parsley you can have an excellent salad in no time which reminds me that you need not give up on any ingredient when eating healthy. Controlling portions is the key factor for a successful healthy diet. So even if you do eat a single buttercookie and balance it with soups and salads for the main courses you are good to go but of course you must train yourself to stick to a single cookie or a tiny portion.

So coming back to my Chickpea red cabbage salad this one is easy and extremely healthy and delightfully delicious. I chose Chickpeas because a cup of boiled chickpea is nto only filling but has a mere 269 calories.

Serves 2

1/2 a cup of dried chickpea which should yield 2 cups of boiled chickpea
3 cups finely shredded red cabbage
1/4th cup finely chopped parsley
1 medium sized onion
20 almonds lightly toasted and halved but with the skin on since it contains some much needed nutrients
Salt and freshly ground pepper as per taste
2 heaped tsp feta

Dressing :
1 tbsp :2 tbsp -> lemon juice: extra virgin olive oil

Simply soak the chickpeas overnight and boil them in the morning. Let the chickpeas cool down and in the meantime shred the cabbage ,slice the onion and  chop the parsley and toast your almonds at preheated oven at 140 C for 5 minutes to 7 minutes of each side. Alternatively one might toast the almonds on a skillet on the gas-stove on medium flame but in that case one must keep a constant eye on them so that they do not burn one bit. Whisk the oil and lemon juice together to form a smooth silky emulsion. i use a fork which is good enough for the amount .

Mix everything together except the dressing  and add some crumbled feta on top. You have a delightfully healthy meal waiting for you.  Along side some grilled lean meat or fish this is perfectly healthy and wonderfully tasty.

Healthy as per need Cauliflower Delight with sausage

So here is the funny thing about healthy food items. Many an item can be as healthy or as rich but say not so healthy as you make it. Today's choice the lovely cauliflowers. While I sigh while paying Rs20 per small cauliflower head , which should be well not more than Rs7 this is a Winter's delight that I just cannot avoid.

So there can be so many recipes with this lovely vegetable will make cauliflower lovers such as myself squeak with delight. So bake it with a cheesy cheese sauce and you have a delightfully creamy, rich , well not very healthy dinner. Try a roasted cauliflower dip and it is delightful.

Healthy can also change as per course , time, country , size etc . So here is what I did, used two small heads , so say 1 medium head, got a bit of inspiration from Martha Stewart and dinner was served in less than 20 minutes.

So since I was serving it as a main course I added 70gm of beautiful fresh sausage, fresh from Kalman's,their  famous Hungarian sausages with lots of black pepper and garlic and served it with some grilled red bell pepper.

To keep things healthy I brought water to a boil with a pinch of salt and added the cauliflower florets and boiled for 4 minutes. Sauteed the chopped Hungarian sausages and added 5 small garlic cloves and 1 small onion. Drained the cauliflower and added that and then used a mix of flavours and once coated well dinner was served. Durign this time popped in a few strips of red bell pepper in the grill and grilled till soft and flavoured.

Had I served this as a side, I would have omitted  the sausages and followed Martha by marinating for 10 hours and serving it with a juicy tender grilled chicken breast.

So all you need is:

2 small cauliflower heads
70g of spicy sausages
1 small onion
5 to 6 garlic cloves sliced very finely
Salt as per taste
Half a tsp of chili flakes
1 tablespoonful of freshly chopped parsley
1.2 tablespoonful of red wine vinegar. You can always change the amount as per your killing for sharp taste
1 heaped tsp homemade mustard sauce , (it is very thick)

1 red bell pepper striped

So start by gathering things. Chop the cauliflower in florets (make a little cut at the end and this helps cook it faster) and cook in boiling water (with a pinch of salt) for 4 minutes. Whisk red wine vinegar , mustard and chili flakes and keep aside. Drain and keep aside. Chop the parsley and sausages, finely chop garlic and onions and most of the parsley .  Brush the pan with oil and saute the sausages. After a minute add the garlic and onion. Once they are well cooked but not browned add the cauliflowers. Coat with the whisked dressing and let it get well coated. Add salt if necessary. Serve with parsley as garnish.

While your cauliflower is cooking pop in the bell peppers for grilling with olive oil , salt and chili flakes. Once grilled as per liking serve with the cauliflower. Healthy dinner, healthy you.