Egg wrapped Chicken Wine Rice

Egg wrapped Chicken Wine Rice 

One of the pleasures of my life is to follow step by step elaborate recipes and the other joy is to create quick fix meals when I am swimming in a lot of work. To be fair Minced meat rice is something which I have been eating since I was a child. You see I was not fond of the usual fare cooked at home and would refuse most of the food and so my grandmother would lovingly prepare this Chicken minced meat rice which I would happily eat since it was so delicious. Of course she would add peas and the Indian spice mix 'garam masala' and later when I grew up I realized this is one of the easiest recipes I can make when in a hurry. Of course I use herbs and throw in my ideas but basically its a very easy recipe.

The wine rice 

Now new ideas always attract me and so when Sayantani Mahapatra , a fellow blogger from Kolkata Food Bloggers which I am a proud member of posted this picture of Omurice I knew I had to make it even though I have to admit I didn't quite find the time to read her recipe, but this idea of a thin omelette with rice filling got me excited. I wanted to know what Omurice is and as per the information over  the internet its basically a Korean westernized dish with Japanese influence and usually has ketchup on top. Now I am not a fan of ketchup so I just made up my own recipe but it looks pretty enough and well the taste is probably going to be interesting for you if you like wine, chicken, herbs and eggs.

What you need for 2 servings to 4 servings (depending on your appetite and food intake)

4 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil

Chicken wine rice

1 cup basmati rice or any long grained rice
1 tsp butter
6 tbsp fruity white wine . I used Chenin Blanc
1 heaped tsp oregano
4 large cloves of garlic
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
15 whole black peppercorn
2 whole dried red chili
Salt as per taste
3 tbsp olive oil
150gm to 200gm minced chicken

Start by washing the rice and using butter to mix with the rice . This step ensures that your rice stays fluffy and separate. Now soak the garlic, whole red chilies, oregano , 1 tbsp oil and black peppercorn in the vinegar. After 15 minutes soak it in 2 cups of water. Soak for another 30 minutes to 1 hour and then bring the rice with the water to a boil and immediately simmer covered for 10 minutes. If your pan is toop small then the foam might try to escape in that case leave a little gap till all the water gets absorbed and then cover. You know its done when it appears all fluffy. let it rest for 10 minutes and transfer to a colander else it will stick together. Now blend the vinegar with the garlic and other ingredients soaked in it to create a beautiful emulsion .

Now heat the rest of the oil and fry the minced chicken on high heat for 1 minute , keep stirring else they will form a big lump and add the spice emulsion you have created and keep stirring and then add 3 tbsp white wine and keep cooking on medium flame stirring continuously till it dries up and the oil comes out a bit.

The Omelette 

Now take a deep bottomed vessel and put one layer of rice, 1 tsp of wine and some cooked minced chicken and keep layering and leave it alone for 15 minutes. Use a splash of wine from the top.

For the eggs whisk them well and use a large skillet to make a thin omelette. Make two omelettes one after the other .Wait till you are able to handle it with your hands and then place it on a big board and place some rice on the omelette and wrap it carefully.You have to have patience else it breaks. Cut it in half and serve it. You might find some extra rice after you have wrapped the eggs. Serve the rice on the side.

Milk Bread

Milk Bread 

My father has always maintained that no other bread tastes as good as the humble milk bread. While I do not accept his thoughts on bread because I love whole wheat bread and some other breads as well on a hot summer's day I make a batch of milk loaves for my father who loves fresh soft milk bread with copious amount of butter spread on it and sugar sprinkled on it. And it becomes a heavenly  treat with fresh cream on top

The truth is that, once you start making bread it is only through your experience that you come to know of certain important aspects which no recipe talks about.

 

For instance the first time I had baked a bread I had thoroughly searched the internet for recipes and most of them scared me until I stumbled upon Dan Lepard's artisan bread. It was well explained and my bread had come out perfect, yet after my experience with a couple of other breads it was only practice which made me realize that while the success of a bread baked at home depends largely on the right recipe so does some other factors. So, most people face a problem of the bread not rising but did you know that is bread is proofed beyond requirement it will rise and then start expanding but you need not worry because there is a solution. You simply punch it down knead and let it rise :)

Milk bread is one of the easiest breads one can bake and the ingredients are very easily available and stocked by most homes and so it usually saves you the trouble of going out to gather ingredients.

Here is what you need for the recipe :-

For the recipe I followed Dan Lepard's recipe to the tee but cut the recipe down to suit my requirements

312 gm all purpose flour + a little extra for kneading
1 tsp instant yeast
50ml cold water
188 ml warm milk
38 gm salted butter
13g castor sugar or honey (I had used honey)
Extra butter for greasing and kneading
1 tsp salt
Though not mentioned in Lepard's recipe I used extra milk to brush the tops before baking

Start by bringing the milk to a boil and letting it cool down to a lukewarm stage when you add the cold water and the yeast. Remember that the liquid must not be of a high temperature else it shall kill the yeast.

Next mix the flour, castor sugar or honey, salt and then melt butter and pour in in the dough. Use your clean hands to knead. Remember it will be sticky but you must not add extra flour else your bread will come out hard. keep kneading the sticky dough for 10 minutes and then let it rest for 10 minutes covered with a wet cloth. After 10 minutes grease your hands with butter and knead it till it forms a super soft dough and let it rise for the next 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Before the final rise 

Here is the tricky part. Dan Lepard works in a cold country and I stay in a tropical one , so my bread was done in 50 minutes and then I punched it down and added flour to knead it and shape it. I  divided it in three balls and shaped them like sausages by rolling them and placed them side by side. I covered it with the cloth and let it rise for the next 20 minutes.

Ready to be baked 

Now preheat the oven to 180 C and bake for 40 minutes to 50 minutes in a well greased tray or a loaf pan. Do not forget to brush the dough with milk before baking it for a beautiful brown yet soft crust else your crust will blacken.

It is important to let the bread cool completely before slicing it up. It takes a bit of practice to get it out of the tray. Simply use a blunt knife to gently but firmly bring it out after 10 minutes and cool on a wire rack.

P.S. When baking the bread always use a tray of boiled water beneath the rack on which the bread is beign baked. This keeps the bread moist while it is baking.

Enjoy the soft slices buttered well . Indulgence is a luxurious necessity. In the end my father might have shown his mock anger and said, 'The daughter is doing nothing but baking . Why don't you open a  bakery?' but his chewing on the buttered slice of milk bread said otherwise . Now I can happily go off to sleep and wake up to a delicious breakfast :)

Two cheese salad

Two cheese salad 

Summers and cool salads go hand in hand. One of my favourite ways of cooking in the unbearable tropical summer heat is to simply chop some salad and chill it and then make a dressing and that's that. You see while I love spending as much time as I can in the kitchen during the summers it becomes almost unbearable so here is a simple salad and if you have it by itself its quite healthy even with the cheese in it and if you are having it as a side might I suggest sharing it a bit :) This time I wanted a creamy salad and the cranberries which I added in the end on a whim provided that much delightful tangy delight. So here goes my recipe for a creamy cheesy salad 

Serves 1 

2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce 

1 large cucumber 

handful of dried cranberries 

28gm edam cheese cubed in tiny bite sized cubes 

For the dressing :-

3 tbsp feta 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1 tsp oregano 

Salt and pepper as per taste 

Simple cube the cucumbers and mix your salad and chill. Whisk the dressing together to get a smooth creamy dressing and pour over your salad and enjoy. Do not ever add your dressing when chilling because it leads to a lot of water coming out making the salad soggy. 

Le Thuet at Taj Bengal's The HUb

When Food is Sublime 

An afternoon of sublime dishes. Now I have personally heard of music being referred to as sublime but food which is sublime is a rare treat indeed.

With Taj Bengal hosting Le Thuet,  a special gastronomical indulgence at their restaurant The Hub, I was fortunate enough to have been invited as part of Kolkata Food Bloggers to attend a very special lunch.

The culinary magician and his lovely better half

Chef Marc Thuet and his lovely wife and business partner Biana Zorich had flown in all the way from Canada to share sublime dishes with Kolkata. What one feels after meeting this lovely couple is  that they are warm and friendly and keep you engaged in a delightful conversation and then slowly you learn that Chef Thuet has catered to some of the biggest celebrities in the world from Bill Clinton to Tom Cruise but he believes  'every customer of mine is a celebrity' and he indeed treats every customer of his like a celebrity and if you have the good fortune of tasting what comes out of his kitchen you would feel like a star indeed.

With his roots in Alsace in France and having gained experience in the kitchen from a tender age of 12 this friendly gentleman does have magical culinary  tricks up his sleeves to make every dish taste exquisite.

On a hot summer's day he had arrived in Kolkata with a menu which he had prepared in Canada  and was so surprised and fascinated with the range of ingredients available in Kolkata that he changed his menu upon arrival and believes he could have saved a lot of time had he known about Calcutta's availability of ingredients.

Cold Cucumber Soup

In keeping with the sultry weather we begun our lunch with a cold cucumber soup which was the perfect choice for a tropical summer day. The beautiful flavours of olive oil and sun dried tomatoes infused with the freshness of cucumbers and cooling effect of yogurt made it a delightful start for guests and the goat cheese is the surprise element which makes you squeal in delight if you are a cheese lover as I am.

The Quebec duck magret

Now if you are allergic to seafood like I am you would really miss out on the opportunity to have the lovely Cured Cuebec Duck Magret  served with sweet water prawns and black cumin caramel and mango but with Biana as the lovely hostess it was  made sure that I  get to taste what I am  not allergic to. She insisted  that I be served the Cured Quebec duck magret by itself and I have to say that the taste was delicious all the way and why wouldn't it be when it is made from ducks with plump breasts which is cured for for 7 days in a secret rub especially mixed  by our lovely chef.

The Lamb 

Now let me talk about the dishes which made me feel Chef Thuet serves sublime food. From the main course the Gremolata crusted lamb rack served with basil and goat cheese mashed potato with a baby carrot , mushroom and asparagus was what caught my attention and a forkful of the perfectly medium done lamb chop made me realize that the Chef does have a magical affair with his kitchen. The sauce which took my breathe away was a reduction which was made with the bones and vegetables alone and cooked thrice. I have to recommend this dish to anyone who loves lamb chops.


If we are in the company of the Chef and his better half  who supply bread to the Ritz Carlton then of course you are in for a treat when it comes to bread. The baguette was one of the finest bread I have had which my taste buds fell in love with. Cotton soft inside with a nice crust I was intrigued by it and on asking Biana I found out that the culture used to make the bread had been carried back from Canada and that was the reason for the perfect sourdough bread. Chef Thuet shared a tiny bit of historical fact about these baguettes , how in the old days in Paris people had to work without machines and these would be allowed to rise 6 times and after each rise of the dough it would  be punched down and then allowed to rise again and ultimately it resulted in this magnificent classic bread.

I was served a dish made with asparagus and Parmesan cheese which was a very elegant dish and this was because I was allergic to sea food and I have to say I was amazed again.

Ending things on a sweet note

A chef who breaks away from tradition yet keeping the full flavours of tradition intermixed with the creative side of a brilliant magician of the kitchen presented two delightful desserts out of which one is again sublime. The saffron tartlet with golden peach and Alphonso  had the perfect buttery base which does not overpower your palate yet leaves it satisfied and it has the one variant of mango which is Chef Thuet's favourite, the alphonso mango,  but the Chocolate Caramel Mousse Verrine with sea salt crumble is magic for the palate again. The smoothness, richness with the unique hint of salty delicacy will surely linger in your mouth for a long time and the taste will linger in your mind. I was in for a surprise when I was told that the chocolate used was the one which Taj Bengal's Hub normally uses. You can alwways blindly trust Taj Bengal indeed.


Hurry because the food festival Le Thuet will be open for lunch and dinner till the 18th of April at Taj Bengal's The Hub  and if you are a culinary enthusiast you cannot miss this amazing opportunity