Recipe of the month: Æbleskivers

Æbleskivers are traditional Danish pancakes in a distinctive shape of a sphere. Somewhat similar in texture to American pancakes crossed with a popover, Æbleskivers are solid like a pancake but light and fluffy like a popover. They were traditionally cooked with bits of apple (æble) or applesauce inside, but these ingredients are rarely included in modern Danish forms of the dish. Æbleskivers are not sweet themselves but are traditionally served sprinkled with powdered sugar and dipped in raspberry, strawberry, lingonberry or blackberry jam. They are typically enjoyed during Christmas season in Denmark and other Scandinavian countries. 

In the spirit of full disclosure, the above information I've been rattling off like an annoying know-it-all is what I have gathered from Wikipedia. My tryst with Æbleskivers has only been a very recent one 😝

I first heard of Æbleskivers a few months ago on the television segment "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on Food Network. I wasn't really paying much attention to the tv but when I heard this strange word, I cocked my head and went "Evil....what's that now??" I saw celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez describing these sweet little Danish pancakes (which looked delicious by the way) and I was startled to see that the cast iron indented pan needed to make it looked very similar to a pan I had with me at home.

My pan (a nonstick one) is used to make a South-Indian breakfast item called Guliappa which I've posted previously so, I immediately thought that this was something I should try in the future. I find having pancakes for breakfast quite heavy but these little Danish pancakes are perfect for a little sweet craving at the end of a meal.

I found several variations in the recipe. Some mentioned separating the eggs and beating the egg whites to stiff peaks, some of them used buttermilk in the recipe, some didn't have any filling in them, some had bananas in them, and some had the traditional apple filling. I stripped down my recipe to a bare minimum and thought I would do a banana filling since I had some bananas lying around at home.

This simplified version might not be the traditional way of making them but trust me when I say they are really easy to make and yummy too.

Movie Review: Barfi! (Hindi)

Just yesterday evening I caught the screening of Anurag Basu's 'Barfi!', a movie I would label a full blown entertainer rather than a romcom.

***Plot***

This movie is about Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor), a speech and hearing impaired but sprightly young man and the important relationships he forms during his life. It is a tale of love, friendship, heartache, self-discovery and hope. 

The movie shifts between different timelines in the main protagonist's life with a change in scene from the lush mountainous landscape of Darjeeling to the vibrant, chaotic streets of Kolkata. 

Barfi (Ranbir Kapoor), whose real name is Murphy (he is called Barfi because that is how he sounds his name out) is deaf & dumb and lives in Darjeeling with his doting father. He is happy and carefree and lives a very  simple life charming the locals with his daily antics. 

Enter the lovely, doe-eyed Shruthi Gosh (Ileana D'Cruz), who has come to Darjeeling for a short stint with her parents. Smitten by the new arrival, Barfi makes his move (or rather, moves) and with a simmering chemistry between the two, love begins to bloom. But alas! the Bong beauty doesn't have the courage to take her relationship with Barfi to the next level and ends up breaking his heart to go live a mundane existence in Kolkata as Mrs. Sengupta. 

At this juncture, enter Jhilmil Chatterjee (Priyanka Chopra), a girl on the autism spectrum and Barfi's childhood friend who owing to her developmental disability has been shunned by her wealthy family and has lived most of her life cared by the help. 

There develops this strange yet strangely uncomplicated relationship between a deaf & dumb boy and an autistic girl. Throw in a few mystery elements courtesy the bumbling local inspector (Saurabh Shukla) and the return of the 'ex' and you have the rest of this saccharine saga 😊

Baker's Corner: Homemade Potato Buns

If you have been following my blog, you will probably remember that I posted a recipe for Homemade Pizza Buns not too long ago. I was so high on the success of that baking venture, that I decided to carry it out again - this time with a different filling for the bun, the desire for a little more finesse in technique and not to mention, much better photography.

Among the many fond childhood memories that I have, one of them was of getting back home from school with my mom and stopping by at the local bakery (Iyengar bakery) to pick up some freshly baked goodies to enjoy on the way home. Always being one to favor savory over sweet, I would invariably pick either a potato bun or an egg puff. Oh, how I used to love those potato buns! The buns were soft and warm, and the filling was a simple yet delicious combination of potatoes, onions, green chillies, ginger and herbs. At that point in time, I never imagined that I would try making them at home myself 😄

So, here is my recipe for Potato Buns. The recipe for the bun is almost identical to what I had previously posted for Pizza Buns so I just did a copy-paste and then incorporated some changes for the better. The last time, in my baking frenzy I forgot to sprinkle the buns with sesame seeds - you can see that I didn't forget this time. I think it makes the buns look even more appetizing, don't you agree? If you need to see the step-by-step pictures, I suggest you go over to that post. The recipe for the potato filling is a very basic one. It is quite similar to the potato bhaji that I make for Masala Dosa. I wanted it to be as simple as possible because that is how I remember it from my childhood. 

I hope you try this recipe because it is a good one (if I do say so myself). I took one leftover bun to my workplace for breakfast on a Monday morning, and I swear my colleagues did not believe me when I said I had made them at home. Apparently, they looked 'professional'. I took that as a huge compliment 😊

Restaurant review: Hatched - Singapore

Update: Hatched is permanently closed

Hatched@Holland Village

I've said it before - eggs have to be one of my most favorite ingredients in the food world. I love eggs so much that I can eat them at any time of the day, everyday! 

Hatched is an egg-inspired, all-day breakfast restaurant. The humble egg is subjected to many different forms of cooking here - boiling, poaching, baking, scrambling, frying and more. For someone like me whose favorite meal of the day is breakfast (given a choice, I'd have breakfast for dinner too) and is a major egg fanatic, a restaurant that features this kind of menu and theme is really hard to pass up. It is an (EGG)citing prospect.

Hatched in Singapore has two branches - one in Holland Village and one on Evan's road. Since I've been to both, I've divided my review into two segments based on the individual branch.

Mad about curry! My mum's recipe for Methi Paneer....

Recently, I was asked to submit an entry for a "wet curry" for a monthly food blogger event organized by The Spanish Wok. I realized that I hadn't posted that many curry recipes on my blog so it wouldn't hurt to participate 😊 This is the first time I'm submitting an entry to a blogging event of any kind so it feels nice to be part of something outside of my own blog.

Curry is a generic term used primarily by the Western world to describe a variety of dishes originating from the Indian subcontinent and certain other countries. A common feature of all curries is the incorporation of more or less complex combinations of spices and/or herbs, usually (but not invariably) including fresh or dried hot chillies. Curries may be either "wet" or "dry." Wet curries contain significant amounts of sauce or gravy based on yoghurt, coconut milk, legume purée (dal), or stock. Dry curries are cooked with very little liquid which is allowed to evaporate, leaving the other ingredients coated with the spice mixture. 

Even though mine is a South-Indian household, I've grown up eating a lot of North-Indian style curries. This particular curry contains cottage cheese (paneer) and fenugreek leaves (methi) in a subtly spiced onion-cashew-tomato gravy. This is a recipe with a typical punjabi touch which results in a lip-smacking curry best served with naan/rotis/parathas or basmati rice. The last time I was in India, my mum made this for me and I liked it very much. I got the recipe from her and now it is a regular in my home too 😊

Get your curry on folks.