A lot of what we end up cooking on a day to day basis as home cooks results from what the pantry holds for us as compared to what we really want to be cooking. In my mind, I had planned for exotic,international,five star standard dishes to magically appear on our dining table on the New Year's Night. In reality,work and partying the previous night meant lack of adequate sleep and a late start to the New Year's day. Lunch was a simple homely affair of rice,dal and a chicken curry. However I was hoping to make up for it at night, inviting over some friends for dinner and planning out and cooking up a long and festive dinner menu.
The good thing (or bad) with me is that I wear too many hats for one sane person. I have too many interests, and I want to actively pursue all of them. One of those passions is quizzing, and has been since I was a toddler, boosted by my inborn Sagittarian trait of curiosity.I am a fairly active quizzer, and the city of Calcutta is well known for it's tradition of organising school, college and open quizzes on almost every other weekend, where a group of curious souls gather in fairly large numbers and spend away evening after evening in the pursuit of knowledge. It is an elitist group to belong to, where intelligence,knowledge and IQ sets you apart from the rest and the best minds of the city are to be found here, and over the years, I have become a small but regular part of this circle that I feel very privileged to be a part of. I have made some great friends here thanks to this perennial hobby of mine and quizzing is such an integral part of my life that I plan to continue it for as long as possible. Thanks to social networking sites, quizzing is reaching greater heights and finding interested takers even in small towns of India nowadays. Now, the point of saying all this is that when friends and fellow quizzers T and S who both live outside Calcutta (T works in Bangalore and S studies in USA) and were in town for the New Year's, decided to jointly organise an open quiz on New Year's evening - I just had to go, even if it meant drastically cutting down the festive new year dinner menu to just One main course and Roti and not inviting any guests over at all.
The quiz was fun - it was on Films,Entertainment,Sports and Technology, and me and my teammates R and V had a gala time trying to figure out answers to varied questions on topics like why contemporary white rapper girl Ke$sha uses a dollar sign in her name instead of the mundane S to exactly which Hindi film connects Pele the footballer with a hindi film called Jurmana starring Amitabh Bachchan to how the very first electric chair executionist had commented that using an axe would have been an easier method to how a lot of people worldover feel that the Harry Potter character Dobby, bears an uncanny resemblance to famous chap Vladimir Putin. We eventually came 7th amongst about 25 odd teams, which was not so bad after all, and meeting and spending the New Year's evening with the best brains in my city was a wonderful way to start off 2012. In any case we all will die with so many brain cells left unused, might as well use them to play a fun evening of quizzing!
The best part of the evening was that SG, friend and another quizzing enthusiast and one of the few active women on the circuit apart from me, gifted me two fabulous books as a belated birthday gift that was back in December.I've already started reading through Tarquin Hall's The Case of the Missing Servant at the moment, it features India's Most Private Investigator Vish Puri - whom the Financial Times dubs the Indian Poirot and India Today calls a mixture of Holmes, Rumpole and Jeeves. I'm thoroughly enjoying curling up in my bed at night with this wonderfully written,charming detective story set in today's very real, modern northern India. The other book SG gifted me is Aron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place - which everyone knows by now as the source of inspiration for Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. It will be an emotionally taxing, gritty read that I'm just saving for some other time, I'm still very much in the holiday mood to face harsh realities and grim scenarios like described in this book.But I love the gift nevertheless, any book remotely connected with Cinema grabs my attention fast, and when I'm prepared for it, I will certainly take to it and take to it with utmost sincerity.
But this is primarily a food blog, and coming back home close to ten at night after the quiz and socialising evening,I had to make something quick and yet something not the daily run of the mill. A quick look at the pantry and a quicker glance through my bookmarks decided for me the M.O. for the night - it was going to be Soya Chilly.
Soya Chilly
(adapted from Indrani's recipe here, from the Recipe Junction)
(serves 2-3)
The Prep:-
Soya Chunks - the Nutrela/Mealmaker variety - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large, cubed
Capsicum - 1 medium, cubed
Cucumber -1 medium,sliced
Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup - 3 tbsp
Red Chilly Sauce - 1 tbsp
Dark Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
White Vinegar - 1 tsp
Spring Onions - 1 cup, finely chopped
White Oil - 2 tbsp
Instant Soup Powder* - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
(* The actual recipe calls for cornflour, which I had run out of. Instant soup powder was a clever addition, it helped the dish achieve exactly the same consistency that cornflour would have. I used Knorr Hot and sour Veg Soup Powder)
The Cooking -
Cook the soya chunks in salted water for 3-4 minutes.Take off the flame and keep them soaking in the hot water for 10-15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a Kadhai/Wok/Sauce Pan. Add onions,cucumber and capsicum and fry till onions turn transparent.
Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the soya chunks(store the soaking water) and peas.Add salt Stir fry on high heat for about 5 minutes.
Add all the sauces,reduce flame to medium,mix well, add the previously kept aside water and some more, amounting to about two cups.
Mix the soup powder (or cornflour) in some water and add to the pan. Take care to stir well so that no lumps are formed.
Add the vinegar, check for seasoning, add more salt or water if required, lower the flame and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle the spring onions all over, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Serve hot with Rice or Roti or Veg Fried Rice for a special meal.
The Consequence -
This turned out to be such a delightful and delicious meal paired with some hot Rotis that I'm in a way really glad that I made this instead of the fancy menu I had in mind earlier.It was universally acclaimed (okay,just by mom and dad but both of them are fussy eaters and my dad always calls a spade, a spade) and enjoyed by all of us. Dad actually went for third helpings even though he's not much fond of anything vegetarian and Maa who's perennially on a diet licked her fingers and plate clean and then wanted some more.As for me, I think this is a fabulous recipe and a sure shot keeper in the Mukherjee household. It was made from start to finish within thirty odd minutes, that's all it took! It is going to be made many more times in our kitchen,maybe served with a Chinese style Rice the next time. Thank You Indrani for this recipe and I'm surely going to try out more such gems from your blog. Till I return the next time, a very happy 2012 to all of You!
The good thing (or bad) with me is that I wear too many hats for one sane person. I have too many interests, and I want to actively pursue all of them. One of those passions is quizzing, and has been since I was a toddler, boosted by my inborn Sagittarian trait of curiosity.I am a fairly active quizzer, and the city of Calcutta is well known for it's tradition of organising school, college and open quizzes on almost every other weekend, where a group of curious souls gather in fairly large numbers and spend away evening after evening in the pursuit of knowledge. It is an elitist group to belong to, where intelligence,knowledge and IQ sets you apart from the rest and the best minds of the city are to be found here, and over the years, I have become a small but regular part of this circle that I feel very privileged to be a part of. I have made some great friends here thanks to this perennial hobby of mine and quizzing is such an integral part of my life that I plan to continue it for as long as possible. Thanks to social networking sites, quizzing is reaching greater heights and finding interested takers even in small towns of India nowadays. Now, the point of saying all this is that when friends and fellow quizzers T and S who both live outside Calcutta (T works in Bangalore and S studies in USA) and were in town for the New Year's, decided to jointly organise an open quiz on New Year's evening - I just had to go, even if it meant drastically cutting down the festive new year dinner menu to just One main course and Roti and not inviting any guests over at all.
The quiz was fun - it was on Films,Entertainment,Sports and Technology, and me and my teammates R and V had a gala time trying to figure out answers to varied questions on topics like why contemporary white rapper girl Ke$sha uses a dollar sign in her name instead of the mundane S to exactly which Hindi film connects Pele the footballer with a hindi film called Jurmana starring Amitabh Bachchan to how the very first electric chair executionist had commented that using an axe would have been an easier method to how a lot of people worldover feel that the Harry Potter character Dobby, bears an uncanny resemblance to famous chap Vladimir Putin. We eventually came 7th amongst about 25 odd teams, which was not so bad after all, and meeting and spending the New Year's evening with the best brains in my city was a wonderful way to start off 2012. In any case we all will die with so many brain cells left unused, might as well use them to play a fun evening of quizzing!
The best part of the evening was that SG, friend and another quizzing enthusiast and one of the few active women on the circuit apart from me, gifted me two fabulous books as a belated birthday gift that was back in December.I've already started reading through Tarquin Hall's The Case of the Missing Servant at the moment, it features India's Most Private Investigator Vish Puri - whom the Financial Times dubs the Indian Poirot and India Today calls a mixture of Holmes, Rumpole and Jeeves. I'm thoroughly enjoying curling up in my bed at night with this wonderfully written,charming detective story set in today's very real, modern northern India. The other book SG gifted me is Aron Ralston's Between a Rock and a Hard Place - which everyone knows by now as the source of inspiration for Danny Boyle's 127 Hours. It will be an emotionally taxing, gritty read that I'm just saving for some other time, I'm still very much in the holiday mood to face harsh realities and grim scenarios like described in this book.But I love the gift nevertheless, any book remotely connected with Cinema grabs my attention fast, and when I'm prepared for it, I will certainly take to it and take to it with utmost sincerity.
But this is primarily a food blog, and coming back home close to ten at night after the quiz and socialising evening,I had to make something quick and yet something not the daily run of the mill. A quick look at the pantry and a quicker glance through my bookmarks decided for me the M.O. for the night - it was going to be Soya Chilly.
Soya Chilly
(adapted from Indrani's recipe here, from the Recipe Junction)
(serves 2-3)
The Prep:-
Soya Chunks - the Nutrela/Mealmaker variety - 1 cup
Onion - 1 large, cubed
Capsicum - 1 medium, cubed
Cucumber -1 medium,sliced
Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 2 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup - 3 tbsp
Red Chilly Sauce - 1 tbsp
Dark Soy Sauce - 1 tbsp
White Vinegar - 1 tsp
Spring Onions - 1 cup, finely chopped
White Oil - 2 tbsp
Instant Soup Powder* - 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
(* The actual recipe calls for cornflour, which I had run out of. Instant soup powder was a clever addition, it helped the dish achieve exactly the same consistency that cornflour would have. I used Knorr Hot and sour Veg Soup Powder)
The Cooking -
Cook the soya chunks in salted water for 3-4 minutes.Take off the flame and keep them soaking in the hot water for 10-15 minutes.
Heat the oil in a Kadhai/Wok/Sauce Pan. Add onions,cucumber and capsicum and fry till onions turn transparent.
Add ginger-garlic paste and fry for a couple of minutes.
Add the soya chunks(store the soaking water) and peas.Add salt Stir fry on high heat for about 5 minutes.
Add all the sauces,reduce flame to medium,mix well, add the previously kept aside water and some more, amounting to about two cups.
Mix the soup powder (or cornflour) in some water and add to the pan. Take care to stir well so that no lumps are formed.
Add the vinegar, check for seasoning, add more salt or water if required, lower the flame and cook for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle the spring onions all over, cover and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Serve hot with Rice or Roti or Veg Fried Rice for a special meal.
The Consequence -
This turned out to be such a delightful and delicious meal paired with some hot Rotis that I'm in a way really glad that I made this instead of the fancy menu I had in mind earlier.It was universally acclaimed (okay,just by mom and dad but both of them are fussy eaters and my dad always calls a spade, a spade) and enjoyed by all of us. Dad actually went for third helpings even though he's not much fond of anything vegetarian and Maa who's perennially on a diet licked her fingers and plate clean and then wanted some more.As for me, I think this is a fabulous recipe and a sure shot keeper in the Mukherjee household. It was made from start to finish within thirty odd minutes, that's all it took! It is going to be made many more times in our kitchen,maybe served with a Chinese style Rice the next time. Thank You Indrani for this recipe and I'm surely going to try out more such gems from your blog. Till I return the next time, a very happy 2012 to all of You!
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