If we are to believe haute cuisine chefs, a formal Western meal requires much fine-tuning and finesse to strike the right chord.
Leek & potato soup
Ingredients
Method
Heat oil or butter in a pressure cooker. Add chopped potatoes, leeks, onion, oregano, chilli flakes, pepper and salt and sauté on high heat for five minutes. Add four to five cups water and the soup cubes. Cover with lid and pressure cook for five whistles. Let the steam subside. Open and cool in a basin under the fan. Grind in a blender till smooth. Do it in two batches. Before serving, heat again and check for salt and seasonings. Add more water if desired. Garnish with chopped parsley.
Mediterranean fritters
(Be bold and experimental. Use roughly shredded cabbage, capsicum, pak choy or baby corn instead of spring onions)
Ingredients
Method
Mix all the ingredients, except the oil and the fruit salt, using very little water to bind them together. (You may not need any water at all.) Add a little more maida if necessary. Just before frying, stir in fruit salt and mix well.
Heat oil with a few flakes of tamarind (this is to prevent the oil from going rancid). Fry small spoonfuls, a few at a time. When batter begins to look firm, turn over and fry on all sides till a light ivory colour. Drain on paper towels and serve hot with two dips.
Dip 1: Mix loosely hung curds, cracked pepper, a large pinch salt, a large pinch chilli flakes, any remaining spring onion greens and chopped coriander leaves.
Dip 2: Toast and coarsely pound three tbsp white sesame seeds. Roast three red capsicums on an open fire till blackened. Remove skin, pith and seeds and chop. Grind to a coarse paste with pounded sesame, a little salt, a little chilli powder and a little pepper powder.
Mushroom risotto
(A professional chef might commit suicide on reading this recipe. But believe me, I’ve fooled the best of them with my version!)
Ingredients
Watalappan
(The original is a very eggy dessert from Sri Lanka of Dutch/Malay roots)
Ingredients
Method
Dissolve the grated jaggery in very little hot water and keep aside. Fry the cashewnuts in very little butter, drain and powder coarsely. In the remaining butter, fry the grated coconut till golden and keep aside.
Mix the custard powder in very little milk till dissolved and keep aside. See the instructions in the packet for pouring custard. Take half the amount of water indicated and dissolve the coconut powder in it. Heat it in a strong-bottomed vessel to simmering on a medium to slow fire and mix in dissolved custard powder, stirring frequently. When it begins to thicken remove from heat and immediately stir in the jaggery water, salt and half the nutmeg and cardamom powders, grated fried coconut and fried cashews.
Pour into a decorative glass dish and scatter remaining, cashew, coconut, cardamom and nutmeg on top. When it cools a little, cover with clingfilm and chill in the fridge for a couple of hours.