Beginnings of new love

Spring is such a perfect season, especially in B-town. In many other countries spring is simply a term. The people there can only experience two weathers: winter and summer. Being able to experience winter, spring, summer, autumn is such a delight. It is the perfect season to be with the ones you love and just enjoy the beautiful weather together.

I ended up taking a few pictures of the beautiful flowers in my garden this week and also of the beautiful cherry blossoms. Please enjoy!

           

 Some beautiful cherry blossoms on my street

And of course i have to talk about food. I mean come on! I love it how different seasons make you crave certain types of food. For example, in winter something warm and savory, in summer something cool and light and spring something fresh and comforting.

Pbear recently introduced green tea ice cream. I was skeptical initially, but i ended up loving it! I love it when desserts are not too sweet and just give that enough 'something' to satisfy your craving. Also green tea ice cream goes amazingly well with peach jello. Its sooooo good.

Nachos

One of the most memorable food that I tasted after coming to the United States was Nachos.The definition of Nachos in many online sources is basically "Tortilla chips topped with cheese , hot peppers ......." and the list goes on. The base of nachos is definitely tortilla chips and cheese.

Its origins are from neighboring Mexico, but it also has some relation with America in the background. Ill explain how:

Sixty eight years ago from today, Nachos was created by Ignacio 'Nacho' Anaya in 1943. The creation basically began in Mexico with a bunch of hungry American soldiers coming into a restaurant owned by Ignacio's father. Incidentally (or rather ..... thankfully!) papa Ignacio was MIA, so Ignacio decided to put 'something' together to feed their hungry stomachs. Remember before this point Nacho was unknown to the world. This was the beginning of something wonderful. What Ignacio put together was some tostados (deep fried tortilla), over which he put some cheese, then toasted it and added a jalapeno to finish it off. [Source1, Source2]

That was the original recipe. Nachos today has so many variations. Its amazing that with such a humble beginning, nachos have become one of the most well known dishes served today in American restaurants.

Its weird but I was inspired to make nachos was a seasoning packet for tacos at a supermarket. It all started from there. So here is my version of it (and of course I added the cheese and the jalapenos!)

If you notice, i haven't added any measurements for the ingredients. It all depends on one's taste.

SIMPLE NACHOS:

Ingredients:

1. Tortilla Chips (unsalted, or salted if you prefer things salty)
2. Cheddar Cheese (you can use any kind)
3. Ground meat (~2lbs. I used lean beef, but you can use pork, turkey, chicken...anything)
4. Jalapenos (I used the canned ones. They are much milder than the fresh ones)
5. Tomatoes (diced)
6. Onions (diced)
7. Oil

Mehod:

First, I used about 2lbs meat and this seasoning and cooked as directed. The following is a step by step process how how it was made.

Take half of the ground meat and cook it in a little oil.

 When the first half starts browning, add the other half. Stir until the meat looks brown.

 Then add the seasoning as directed

 When all the water reduces, this is what it looks like finally:

Next, turn on the oven to 450F

Time to prepare the nachos! Place the tortilla chips evenly in the dish

 Add the beef that was cooked before

 Throw in the onion, tomato and jalapeno

And some yummy grated cheese next

 Then transfer the dish into the oven until the cheese melts.

It can be paired with salsa and sour cream. It is so yummy that it disappears in a couple of minutes, so be careful to at least grab a bite!

Paneer Tikka

Paneer (commonly known as Cottage Cheese) is the one the most beloved cheese consumed by Indians (this is just a fact made up by me. Although there are no concrete stats on it, any desi can vouch for it  :) ). It is quite firm when cooked and is 'ballsy' enough to stand up the spices and the curry preparations unlike the other commonly used cheese varieties.

......And yes I did mention 'ballsy.' Other cheese varieties simply melt at the slightest hint of heat (no pun intended!).

This preparation is simply made on a griddle or a frying pan. Its best or (better said) 'authentic' flavor comes when cooked on a charcoal grill. But for a quick and lazy weekend the good ol' frying pan is the best option.

Also marination is the key to flavor in this recipe. The minimum time for marination should be at least 30 minutes. For this preparation, I marinated the paneer and vegetables before going to school and after coming back home, did rest of the cooking.

PANEER TIKKA
Ingredients:

1. Paneer/Firm Cottage Cheese (2-3 cups, diced into bite size pieces)
2. Capsicum/Bell Pepper (2 medium, cut bite size)
3. Onion (2 medium, cut bite size)
4. Yoghurt (1-1.5 cup)
5. Kastoori Methi /Fenugreek leaves (1tsp, dry)
6. Coriander powder (1-1.5 tsp)
7. Chilli powder (1 tsp or according to taste)
8. Turmeric powder (1 tbsp) 
9. Oil
10. Pepper, Salt (according to taste)
    

Method:
Cut the vegetables and the paneer into bite size pieces (try to make them the same size too!) and put them together in a bowl.

Now add the yoghurt, masalas (spices: chilli, turmeric, coriander and pepper power) and methi leaves.

Now this is something you HAVE to remember. Do NOT add the salt. The reason is because it will cause the vegetables to loose their water. And after a few hours they will be limp and mehhh....

 Some mixing action..

Cover the bowl..in whatever. Well not whatever, but either an aluminum foil or a saran wrap (i think thats what its called...lol).

I do this before storing it in the refrigerator so that the moisture from the refrigerator dosent mix with the vegetables. Im not sure if really makes a difference, but im anal about it...

Ok then...Moving on...

So after a few hours the vegetables and the paneer absorb the yoghurt mixture along with the spices. Now before cooking add in the salt. You can taste the marinated to see if the salt is to your liking.

This is what it looks like after a few hours:

Next separate the vegetables from the paneer. Both cook at different temperatures and separating them gives more control over how much you want the ingredients to be cooked.

To save time, i cooked the vegetables and the paneer in different pans at the same time. For this lightly coat the pan in oil and when hot, add the ingredients.

And the paneer after a couple of minutes of frying:

Also when you cook the vegetables for the tikka, make sure that they are still crunchy. If they get soft as in mushy soft, then they loose color and look less appetizing.  Smellin' goood

After both are done cooking mix both together. Usually in parties or small gatherings, its nice to arrange them in toothpicks with altering layers of vegetables and paneer.

Additionally to make it into a curry people add a tomato based curry to turn it into Paneer Tikka Masala. I will post more about it later.

Thank you for reading!  Happy Cooking!

Simple Tilapia with Jalapeno

This recipe is inspired by a recipe by Ina Garten (one of my idols) called 'Sole Meuniere.'  I usually like foods with a lot of flavor so i changed it up and my family loved it. Its a simple dish and dosent require a lot of cooking time.

The fish that I used is frozen tilapia. It is very nice and flaky when thawed and cooked, even though it was frozen previously.

I used canned jalapenos. It is lovely when in sandwiches and other dishes. Even the liquid that comes with the jalapenos is mucho flavorful. Its worth trying.

SIMPLE TILAPIA WITH JALAPENOS

Ingredients:

1. Tilapia Fillets (3)
2. All purpose flour (3/4 cup)
3. Lemon (4 tsp per fillet, 3-4 medium lemons)
4. Jalapeno (2-3 as per taste)
5. Oregano (1 tsp)
6. Chili powder (1tsp, optional)
7. Salt, pepper (to taste)
8. Garlic (3 cloves, medium)
9. Oil

Method:
Get the dry ingredients (2,5,6,7) ready and mix them

Pat dry the fish with a paper towel. Then sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides.
Place the fish over the flour mixture and coat on both sides

Next heat oil in a pan (use as little as possible, i think i used about 1-2tsp for each fillet.

Add finely crushed garlic

Make sure that the garlic doesn't brown. Just after 30 seconds add the fish. The gas should be at about medium heat

After 7-10 minutes flip to the other side. You will notice that the garlic is crispy and brown

After 5 minutes, add 2 tsp of lemon and sliced jalapenos (i also added the liquid that came with the jalapenos)

Let it cook for another 5minutes. During this time make sure the jalapenos do not burn. Stir around the jalapenos during this time. If they come close to burning/over-cooking, just gather them and place it on the upper side of the fish

Season with salt and pepper 

Flip again and then add the other 2 tsp lemon. cook for about 3-5mins

 Finally, the fish can be paired with brown rice and/or mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables