Akuri on Chutney Toast

When your sis sends you a reel, she knows I will give it a go. Which I do. Akuri on toast is common enough. But akuri on a chutney slathered sourdough toast is heaven. Top the egg with grated Amul cheese which melts into the nooks and crannies, and you have a sure- fire winner. Thanks Prassy!

AKURI ON CHUTNEY TOAST

Serves 2

5 Eggs

2 tablespoons Butter

1-2 Green Chiles

1/2 cup Cilantro Leaves

1/2 cup Onion Birista or Fried Onions

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Sourdough Bread

Green Chutney

Amul Cheese

Slice green chiles finely. 

Give cilantro leaves a rough chop.

Heat butter in a saucepan. 

Break eggs in a bowl and whisk them well.

Season with salt.

Add eggs to butter. Cook on a low flame. 

Drop chiles, cilantro and fried onions into eggs. Stir gently and cook over a low flame till eggs are set. 

Grill sourdough bread over an open flame. Or toast the bread. 

Cover the slices liberally with chutney.

Pile the warm akuri on to the toast. 

Grate Amul cheese over the eggs and watch it melt. It has to be Amul cheese for an authentic Indian taste and also because of how it melts.

Feast with your eyes and eat with your taste buds!

 

Grilled Beef Rolls (Bo La Lot)

We sampled and relished these small grilled beef parcels in Hoi An, in Vietnam. The restaurant specialized in grilled foods, the hot smoky atmosphere adding to the exotic ambience of the Far East. How do you go about recreating that food memory? I find perilla leaves at H-Mart so I give it a try. 

Perilla or sesame leaves are blanched in hot water, cooled in ice water and then patted dry. Minced onion and garlic are sauteed till light brown, cooled and added to ground beef. Five spice powder, fish sauce, turmeric powder and palm sugar enhance the beef. A tablespoon of beef is rolled tightly in the perilla leaf. Skewered on bamboo sticks, the rolls are grilled stovetop and served warm. All they need is a squirt of Sriracha and you have an exotic beef roll!

GRILLED BEEF ROLLS (BO LO LOT)

Serves 2

1/2 lb Ground Beef

2 tablespoons minced Onion

1 Garlic clove, minced fine

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

3 teaspoons Fish Sauce

1 teaspoon Five Spice Powder

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Palm Sugar OR Jaggery OR Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

A Pinch of Kosher Salt

12-15 Perilla or Sesame Leaves

Bamboo Skewers

Oil Spray

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a pan. When oil sizzles add onion and garlic and saute till light brown. Cool.

Place ground beef in a bowl. 

Add fish sauce, five spice powder, turmeric, palm sugar and cooled onion to beef. Mix well. Add a pinch of salt.

Heat water in a saucepan. 

Keep another bowl of ice cold water nearby. 

Dunk one perilla leaf in hot water for 30 seconds and then drop it in the cold water. Do the same for all the leaves. 

Spread a kitchen towel on the counter. 

Shake off as much water as you can and place the leaves on the towel. Pat them dry. 

Take a leaf and put one tablespoon of ground beef in the lower part of leaf. 

Fold lower part over beef. 

Fold the sides over the beef and make it into a log. Roll as tightly as you can. 

Repeat with the same process with all the leaves. 

Place two logs together. 

Use 2 skewers to hold them together.

Heat a grill pan. 

Spray pan with oil spray.

Place the skewers in the pan. Spray logs with oil spray. 

Grill for 7-10 minutes over medium flame, turning the skewers a couple of times till meat is cooked and rolls have grill marks.

Serve warm.

Butternut Squash and Corn in a Green Sauce

My sister gives me a cookbook filled with delicious vegetarian recipes. I find a butternut squash recipe which intrigues me. The sauce is a verdant green mix of cilantro, chiles, ginger garlic, spices and coconut milk. I give it whirl!

Thin slices of butternut squash are pan fried till golden brown. I add corn kernels as well as a smattering of mustard seeds. As the squash browns, I make a blend of cilantro, green chiles, ginger garlic paste, cumin, cinnamon, lemon juice and coconut milk.  This gets poured over the sauteed vegetables. Topped with crisp fried onions, this excellent side is both crunchy and soft, full of fresh flavor.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND CORN IN A GREEN SAUCE

Loosely adapted from Meera Sodha's Fresh India

Serves 2

1 cup Butternut Squash, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup Corn Kernels, fresh or frozen

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds

1/2 cup Cilantro leaves and stems

2 Green chiles

1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic Paste

2 tablespoons Lemon Juice

1/2 teaspoon Cumin Powder

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder

1/2 cup Coconut Milk 

1/4 cup Water

1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper Powder

1 /2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

3 tablespoons Fried Onions

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a nonstick saucepan. 

Lay the squash in a single layer in the pan. Cook over medium heat till one side has browned. Flip the pieces and brown the other side. 

Make sauce by blending cilantro, chiles, ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, coconut milk and water.

Add one more tablespoon of oil to the pan.

Splutter mustard seeds in oil. 

Add corn to the pan and saute on high for 2-3 minutes. 

Pour green sauce over veggies.

 

Garnish with fried onion and serve as a side.