Friends
make a day trip to Pune and come back with stories of rain. They talk about
pregnant clouds that burst apart releasing the cool droplets of water on their
face. They have a happy dance, drenched to the core. Such joy shows through
their crinkled eyes as they relate the romance of the rain-drenched tales.
Me,
in Mumbai, look sadly up at sky, showing my clenched fist. There is not a speck
of cloud. The strong sunrays reflect on the bright white wall opposite me,
reflecting its glare on me, almost blinding me.
“Please
pour, please pour, send some clouds into my town” I plead, I curse, “just for
a day if you please, because today is the theme of my recipe on rain, I need
some inspirations to churn out a dish.”
But
there is no respite.
But
still, I walk into my kitchen, to cook up a special meal, with dry rain on my
mind, I will pretend it rained tonight. Sweet and sour kheema cake is on my
mind. I am going to be creative, global, marry the Thai with Indian cuisine.
Thanks
to my ‘Kitchen Ninjas’ a group of food bloggers on online Watsapp, we decide to
cook and share unique recipes –to do something extraordinary, we will be in our
kitchen each month, playing around with ingredients to mix and match, to create
a dish, to challenge ourselves. The challenge for this month is ‘A date with
Mumbai Rains’, so even if there is no rain, (no proper influence with mother
nature perhaps) we will still go as planned.
My
fellow food bloggers in this crime:
Poppadom Crusted Asian Style Baked Tofu by Samina Patel from The Cupcake Confession
The crispy
Masala Carp by Antara Ray from Zouqh
Spicy Mango
Salad by Mohit Chotrani from The Hungry
Bawarchi
Chicken
Roulade with a Pomegranate Sauce by Shanti Padukone from Riot of flavors
Amrutha
Langs from Amrutha's
Cookbook
Jahan Bloch
from The Toxic Baker
Do
visit their blog to steal their recipes and stir a similar pot in your own
kitchen to enjoy with your own group of family and friends.
So,
here is mine.
Sweet and Sour Kheema
Cakes
Ingredients
1
bunch of basil leaves
1
medium size potatoes
1tsp
black pepper
3-florets
of broccoli
1
egg
1tbsp
mustard oil
1
finely chopped onions
1tsp
garlic crushed
1tsp
ginger crushed
2
green chilies
1
chicken cube
1tbsp
Thai curry paste
250gms
chicken kheema
1
finely sliced tomatoes
Salt
to taste.
Method
Stir
fry basil leaves and keep it aside
Boil
and mash potatoes, add salt and black pepper and keep it aside
Steam
the broccoli
Separate
the egg yolks from white. Whisk the egg whites till fluffy and stiff and keep
it aside.
In
a pan, add 1tbsp of mustard oil. Add finely chopped onions. Add garlic, chilies
and ginger. Add chicken cube, add Thai curry paste. Add chicken kheema. Stir
fry till cooked. Add tomato sauce and fried basil leaves.
In
an oven proof plate, place the greased aluminum 2-inch ring. Inside the ring,
put a layer of mashed potatoes, next layer it with cooked kheema, cover it with
fluffy egg whites. Keep it for baking for 10 minutes till set.
Serve
with tomatoes-and-broccoli salad and a drink of your choice.
