Category: Recipe

Four Seasons Viognier and Khaman Dhokla

Posted on by Nirav Thakker

Few days back I was given a bottle of Four Seasons Viognier wine (a type of white wine) and asked to review it. I am a totally non wine drinker and pairing Wine with food comes a bit unnatural to me. I have always known Wine to be paired with non vegetarian and non Indian food. Since none of the hotels would allow me to take my wine in and also because I would never have non vegetarian food, trying and reviewing this wine was a nightmare. However, after a lot of maska polish to my wife and mom (wife was easy, mom was hell) I managed to get to sit at the dinner table with a little wine.

I had specifically asked that a mildly spiced food be prepared. The women folk at home were already pissed off with my pestering since morning so they decided to get back at me. I was served Khaman Dhoklas. Now if one were to try and guess what my expression would have been then, let me give you some clues. It was that of a contorted owl, a wide gaped donkey and snooty rat combined! How on earth can one pair wine with Gujarati food. But I was wrong. The wine went excellently with the Khaman Dhoklas. So here I have for you the recipe of Khaman Dhoklas! Now since my mom is already asleep, I can do nothing but borrow Sanjeev Kapoor’s recipe. His original recipe can be found here.

Ingredients

Gram flour (besan),sieved 2 cups
Yogurt,beaten  1 cup
Salt  to taste
Turmeric powder  1/2 teaspoon
Green chilli-ginger paste  1 teaspoon
Oil  2 tablespoons
Lemon juice  1 tablespoon
Soda bicarbonate  1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds  1 teaspoon
Fresh coriander leaves,chopped  2 tablespoons
Coconut,scraped  1/2 cup

Method

  1. Take gram flour in a bowl.
  2. Add yogurt and approximately one cup of warm water and mix. Avoid lumps.
  3. Add salt and mix again.
  4. Leave it aside to ferment for three to four hours.
  5. When gram flour mixture has fermented, add turmeric powder and green chilli-ginger paste. Mix
  6. Heat the steamer. Grease a thali.
  7. In a small bowl take lemon juice, soda bicarbonate, one teaspoon of oil and mix. Add it to the batter and whisk briskly.
  8. Pour batter into the greased thali and place it in the steamer.
  9. Cover with the lid and steam for ten minutes.
  10. When a little cool, cut into squares and keep in a serving bowl/plate.
  11. Heat remaining oil in a small pan.
  12. Add mustard seeds. When the seeds begin to crackle, remove and pour over the dhoklas.
  13. Serve, garnished with chopped coriander leaves and scraped coconut.

Series Break, Once More

Posted on by Nirav Thakker
In no mood today once again to write the story. I have had a severe acidity attack which has resulted in a bad and terrible head ache. Dad always told us when we were kids that he never knew what headaches were until he was 30! He hadn’t tasted tea until he went to college! I now know why he never had a headache until 30! He was 30 when I was born! He turned a senior citizen this year and I 30! With two kids, now even I can boast, I never knew what headaches were until I turned 28!
My older daughter Jisha was born a few days after I turned 28 on the 28th day in the 3rd Month of the year. She turns 2 in less than 3 days now. I would be having a few friends and lots of kids from the street over for it. However, later that evening, I am planning on a nice large peg of Black Dog and some spicy Paneer Chilly. It’s not that scotch can only be paired with non-veg food. I am a pure vegetarian. We don’t even have eggs at home.
This time I would not be alone. My in-laws are going to be here. So that would mean my brother and I don’t drink alone. I would have my Dad, Dad-in-Law and my brother along! The more the merrier! Any ways, not much to write but I am leaving you with a recipe of Paneer Chilly that I intend to cook myself and serve it with style!
This is a recipe by the master chef Sanjeev Kapoor! You can find it here as well.
Ingredients

Cottage cheese (paneer) 300 grams
Oil 2 tablespoons + to deep fry
Corn flour/ corn starch 3 tablespoons
Garlic,crushed 3-4 cloves
Onion ,halved and thickly sliced 1 medium
Green capsicums,cut into thick strips 2 medium
Green chillies,sliced 6 to 8
Vegetable stock 1 cup
Salt to taste
Soy sauce 2 tablespoons
MSG 1/4 teaspoon

Method

  1. Cut the cottage cheese into medium sized diamonds.
  2. Heat sufficient oil in a wok, roll the cheese diamonds in one tablespoon of corn flour and deep fry on medium heat until the edges start to turn brown. Drain on absorbent paper.
  3. Mix the remaining corn flour in half a cup of water.
  4. Heat two-tablespoon oil in a wok, add the garlic and stir-fry for half a minute.
  5. Add the onion, capsicums and green chillies and continue to stir-fry for a couple of minutes.
  6. Add the fried cheese and stir in the vegetable stock. Add the salt, soy sauce and MSG and mix well.
  7. Add the corn flour mixture and cook on high heat stirring and tossing until the sauce thickens to coat the cheese and the vegetables.
  8. Serve hot immediately.