Recipes Collection: butter

Showing posts with label butter. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Bay Scallops with Garlic Parsley Butter Sauce – I’ll Have the Nostalgia on Toast

They say smell is the sense most closely linked to memory recall, and that was certainly the case while making these garlicky, buttery bay scallops on toast. As waves of the wonderful aromas wafted up from the pan, they brought back a flood of vivid memories of my first real kitchen job.

Barely a teenager, I was hired as a dishwasher at an Italian steakhouse, called The Depot (pictured below is the train station that predated the restaurant). While it was fun being inside a bustling kitchen, washing dishes was anything but. By comparison, what I saw the line cooks doing looked like the greatest job ever, and this certainly played a role in my future career plans.

Anyway, there was a scallop dish on the menu, which consisted of 6 large scallops being placed in a small metal broiler plate, seasoned with salt and pepper, and then doused with wine, lemon, garlic, and butter. This was placed under the flame until the scallops were browned, and the sauce was bubbling below. It was finished with fresh parsley, and served with toasted Italian bread for dipping into the amazing juices.

The smell of that sizzling plate as it went by my station was almost too much to take, and once in a while, thanks to some kind of ordering mishap, I’d actually get to eat one. It was pure bliss, and a flavor combination I still love to this day.

By the way, unlike the large day-boat scallops you’re seen me cook before, these are way too small to worry about searing brown. In a restaurant kitchen, if we’re just cooking a couple ounces, we could get a decent sear and still finish the sauce without overcooking. But doing this many at home, all we really need to concentrate on, is not over cooking them. Besides, bay scallops are so naturally sweet, tender, and delicious, the sear is not as important as with the larger ones.

As I mention in the video, this makes a beautiful appetizer, but will also make a killer pasta sauce with some cream added in to stretch it. I hope you can find some small, wild scallops soon (frozen are great, as long as “Scallops” is the only ingredient listed on the bag), and give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4-6 appetizer size portions:

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 pound bay scallops

4-5 cloves minced garlic

1/2 cup white wine (NOT cooking wine)

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

4 tbsp cold butter, cubed

cayenne, salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

buttered and toasted Italian bread slices

*Note for pasta sauce, add a 1 1/2 cups of heavy cream with the wine, and proceed as shown. Should make enough sauce for about 4 portions of pasta)

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Butter Chicken

INGREDIENTS:

Chicken with bone or boneless chicken(cut to small) 1kg

Ginger-Garlic paste 2Tbspns

Coriander powder 1Tspn

Garam masala powder 1 and 1/2 Tspns

Fresh lemon 1

Mustard seeds (1tspn)

Curd 400 grms

Red chilli powder 2Tspns

Tomato paste 1box

OIl 3Tbspns

Orange red colour a pinch

Unsalted butter 75Grms

Salt to taste

Green Chillies 4pcs

Black Pepper 1Tspns

Step 1

ROASTED AND GRINDED TO PASTE

Poppy seeds(khus khus) 1Tbspn

Cashewnuts 10

Almonds 8

Dry coconut 1/4th tea cup

Chironji 1Tbspn

METHOD:

Step 1

Cut the chicken into cubes wash and drain well.

Apply salt,fresh lemon juice and 2tbspns of ginger-garlic paste.

Marinate for 30mins.

Next add 1tspn garam masala powder,curd,dhania powder and orange red colour.

Marinade this for atlesat 1hr.

After marination roast the chicken pieces in the oven ,if ur not using the oven simply deep fry the chicken pieces to light crispy.(Drop the pieces without the masala,and save the remaining masala)

Keep them aside.

Step2

Heat oil in a vessel and add 1tbspn of ginger-garlic paste and fry to brown in colour.

Add mustard powder,green chilli paste,black pepper powder,red chilli powder,1/2tspn garam masala powder and the masala that u roasted and grinded to paste.

Now add the remaining masala i.e., the batter that was left after frying chicken.

Add tomato paste and fry well.

Now add the fried chicken pieces and cook till tender.

Finally add butter and cook till oil starts floating.

Garnish with almonds,cashewnuts and silver paper.

Serve hot.

Suggested combination:

All type of Rotis,bagara khana,rice,Etc.,

Monday, March 31, 2014

African Sweet Potato Soup with Peanut Butter Black Eyed Peas Beans

Recipe for African Sweet Potato Soup with Peanut Butter

A scrumptious peanut soup recipe - gluten and dairy-free.

Happy New Year, Gentle Reader. It's a new dawn. It's a new day. And it's time for a black-eyed pea recipe. One of my favorites, with African flavors. Serving black-eyed peas and beans at the start of a freshly birthed year is serious good mojo in some circles. At least that's what they tell me. Why eating a plate of legumes on New Year's Day brings luck I've no idea, but someone somewhere decided these humble little nuggets of vegan protein were a good and fortunate culinary choice. So why not?

Rather than rummage through cookbooks searching for Southern Hoppin' John recipes or Italian white bean escarole stews I turned instead to the sun drenched flavors of West and North Africa and reprised a stew that is spicy and hearty and peanutty. If you cannot use peanut butter try sunflower seed butter. It is no less fabulous.

Read more + get the recipe >>

Friday, March 21, 2014

PANEER BUTTER MASALA

PANEER BUTTER MASALA

INGREDIENTS

Paneer (cottage cheese) cut into cubes - 1 packet (200 grams)
Tomatoes chopped - 5-6
Ginger (grated) - 1/2 inch
Green chilli (chopped) - 1
Sugar - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Coriander (Dhania) powder - 1 teaspoon
Kasoori methi - 1 teaspoon
Salt to taste - 1 teaspoon approx
Asafoetida (hing) - a pinch
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1/4 teaspoon
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cashew nuts - 2-3
Cream - 2-3 tablespoons
Oil - 2 tablespoons
Garam masala powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Water - 2cups

METHOD

Heat oil in a pan.
Add asafoetida (hing) & cumin seeds (jeera).
As they crackle, add grated ginger.
As ginger turns light brown, add the chopped tomatoes & green chilli.
Add coriander (dhania) powder, turmeric powder, salt & red chilli powder to the tomatoes.
Mix them well.
Cook the tomatoes for 7-10 minutes.
After 7-10 minutes, turn off the flame & allow the mixture to cool down.
Grind this mixture in a mixer grinder.
Next, put this mixture back in the pan & turn on the flame.
Add kasoori methi & sugar to the mixture.
Cook it well till the mixture starts leaving oil.

Next, take the cashew nuts & make a paste.
Add a little water to the paste & then add it to the tomatoes.

Mix them well & then add 1/2 a cup water to the tomatoes.
Bring them to a boil & then add the rest of water.

Boil it well to make a slightly thick gravy.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of cream to this gravy on a lower flame.
You can use either dairy fresh cream or Amul packaged cream for this purpose.
Boil them for a little while till it is absorbed well by the gravy. This will take 1-2 boils.

Now, add paneer cubes to the gravy.
Allow them to boil (1-2 boils)

Once cooked well, turn off the flame.
Add garam masala & mix.
Paneer butter masala is ready to serve.

Thursday, January 30, 2014

Peanut Butter Banana Cake

My gluten-free peanut butter banana cake was inspired by a sandwich.

It has been an awful week. Our hearts ache for the profound and inconceivable loss suffered by Japan. To conjure sweet nothings about cake or cookies, or celebrating the first day of spring rings a tinny, grating note. So I am excavating a recipe from the archives instead, sharing it now for those of you new to the blog, or those of you who may have missed it the first time around. It's a simple, sugar-free recipe based upon a childhood favorite- the peanut butter and banana sandwich.

Read more + get the recipe >>