G.I. Joe: Retaliation

When you go to see a sequel of a movie, you generally have an expectation of the movie being bigger and better than the previous one. In this case, i don't remember seeing the 1st one, so the 2nd one was a fresh movie to me with all new characters.

G I Joe has a predictable story line... bad guys and good guys... bad guys create a problem, good guys solve it... but thats how G I Joe plots are... no surprise at that.

The story starts with pakistan going into unrest and the president of the united states making a call to retrieve nuclear warheads from a centre in pakistan and sends the G I Joes in. The president is the bad guy posing as the president. Hence, the mission is a plot for the bad guys to get all the warheads in the same place and steal them from the Joes and kill all of them. Miraculously 3 of the Joes survive in an amazing fashion by going underwater in a well and avoiding detection, make their way back to US soil and find the bad guys.
First, the president and an evil plot by the Joes to use the feminine beauty to do the work.
2nd, getting storm shadow on their side to give insider info and let him get revenue against zartan
3rd, the new Joe team to take down the bad guys
4th, win against the bad guys.

A few things that stood out in the movie:
1. The mountain fight sequence between Snake eye, Jinx in capturing Storm shadow
2. The last fight sequence where the Joes save the world from evil... just the last part of roadblock and firefly
3. The disguise technology Zartan used to make himself look like the president. nice.... i wish i had that.. :D
4. The massive amounts of ammunition that Bruce Willis has in his house in some amazing places.

In fact i went back to watch the 2 fight scenes again in 3D... ;)

What i didnt like
1. the predictability of the movie..  the good people will win at the end...
2. the thrill of seeing all the Joes working together, not just 4 and ninjas.
3. I wish they didn't destroy london, i like the city.

Most important, looked like the budget for this movie was limited to kill all the Joes in the 1st 10 minutes of the movie... poor Duke, the apparent hero of the last one, becomes non existent in this one... :D

Last said, its a movie that you can watch once and forget about... nothing lasting...

Chole Masala - Punjabi iStyle

the punjabi "iStyle" has nothing to do with apple, its a desi attitude filled statement. :)
chole is something that i always wanted to make... my roomie Ankush was my inspiration.. he makes out of the world chole and we always end up eating sooooo much... plus theres always the childhood memories of my favourite aunty's chole!! :D WOWWWW....

honestly speaking this one wasnt even close to what aunty or ankush make but in a way in the neighbourhood (even though a little far off). lots of improvements needed but i know what!! :D

Ingredients:
Kabuli chana (chickpeas) - 500gms
Onions - 4 - 6
Tomatoes - 4 - 6
Ginger - 2" piece
Garlic - 4 -6 cloves
Green chillies - 2
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 tbps
Tea leaves in a muslin cloth
Oil


Optional:
Potatoes

Masala:
Salt to taste
Chole masala - 2 Tbps
garam masala - little for kicks
Red chilly powder - 1 tbps
turmeric powder - 1 teaspoon or less

Preparations:

1. Boil the chana daal in a cooker with enough water and a teabag for flavour. Let the cooker whistle 3 - 4 times so that the chana is amazingly soft. keep it aside. 
2. Throw aside the tea bag
3. Separate the boiled chana and the water. keep the water, it will be used in the gravy. 
4. Put some oil in a pan and heat it
5. Put jeera into it and roast
6. Put onions into it and roast till pink (new colour introduced into Food for Dummies)
7. Put the tomatoes in and fry till they cook 
8. Add the masalas - chole masala, garam masala, red chilly powder, turmeric powder and cook it till the raw smell of masalas dont come in. 
9. Add the boiled chana daal and mix well. 
10. Add salt to taste. about 2 teaspoons. 
11. Add the water from the cooker for the chana and the masala to cook. 
12. Add a boiled potato if you like, its my favourite. the amazing taste of chole masala in the potato... WOW!! :D 
13. Cook the whole bit for 5mins or till the liquid comes to a boil
14. Simmer for a few mins till the liquid is thick and flavourful. 
15. Eat hot with chopped onions, metha imli chutney if u like and bread!! :D 

Tips:

1. Theres nothing called excessive chole masala... the more the better taste. and by saying that i dont mean put the whole packet but dont be afraid to be generous. 
2. Be generous abt the onions and the tomatoes portions, cause thats the only base in which the taste is and the whole dish rides on it. i made that mistake of proportion and wasnt able to make all the chana that i boiled. 
3. Indian break, white bread, rice or nothing goes perfectly with chole... 

PIzza - home made with bread!!

 Sometimes its very important to eat something new. something thats not the run of the mill, standard following the receipe.. just take whats there at home and put them together and hope in hell that the tastes blend together and you can relish and enjoy the fruits of your labour! :D

Enough philosophy, now to food!! :D

Ingredients:
Bread
Tomato sauce/pasta sauce/pizza sauce
Veggies of your choice.
i choose: 

Yellow and orange pepper
Onion
Potatoes

Salt to taste
Cheese if you are a fan. (not me as you can see)

Preparation:
Switch the oven at 180 degree celsius.
Prepare the bread
A layer of the sauce
a layer each of the veggies - order and amount all upto your taste.
salt on top to give it some great taste
put into the oven for 10 mins, till the bread is crisp and golden brown

gobble it away!! :)

Tips:
1. try using green peppers, according to me they taste anytime better. the other colour peppers give a little sweet taste
2. if u add cheese, mozzarella is best. pizza in true style. amounts can be varied as much as u like it. :)
3. Pre-heat the oven for 10 mins, the bread cooks faster!! 

Dal masala - Chakna

the desi (indian) version of a snack with a drink. :) the dal masala all made from ready made stuff.. packets opened and made... :D

little spicy, little tangy and amazing with a good drink!!


Ingredients:
Haldiram packet of spicy daal
Onions
Coriander leaves
Lemon to squeeze


Preparation:

1. Open the packet of haldiram spicy daal packet and empty it into a bowl.
2. Chop some onions and coriander leaves, fine 
3. Mix them into the bowl
4. Squeeze a lemon into the mixture and mix well 
5. The best dish in town is ready... 

all u need are some good friends, a good drink and a great conversation. :D

Bread Poha - my anytime food

Bread Poha is my all time anytime food... its easy to make and fills ur tummy and doesn't need any big fact ingredient list to make it.

people who know me, will say that i always have the mood  to eat something. my favourite line is "mujhe kuch khana hai" (translated - i want to eat something). this something generally doesn't have a name or a food item associated with it. but over the years the time to decide what that something should be has shortened.
Why i am writing this is to give the context of why bread poha is so important to me. if you haven't figured it out, bread poha ends up being my something a lot of times.

Ingredients:
bread
onion
jeera/cumin seeds

Masala:
Haldi
Mirchi

Optional:
Tomatoes
Garam Masala
Dhaniya powder

Preparations:

1. Take some oil and heat it in a pan
2. Add jeera and roast it
3. Add haldi, mirchi, garam masala and dhaniya powder, haldi more, others less
4. Add onions and roast them till golden brown
5. Break the bread - rough or cut squares on bread
6. Mix it with the onions 
7. Add salt, not too much cause bread already has its own taste
8. Mix properly... cook till the bread is crisp
9. Its ready to be served

Tips:

1. Tomatoes add a tingy taste to the bread poha. i dont like it so i dont add it
2. Experiment with the flavours, can add chillies.

Pav Bhaji - the staple mumbai food...

Pav Bhaji

Pav bhaji reminds me of comfort food... every nook and corner of bombay streets had a pav bhaji guy but u would go to that one place where u have been having pav bhaji for ages together...

my favourite place - canon, opp VT station; acheja - ghatkopar and mulund; the road side thela at chembur station, sadguru at chembur station... yummy!! nostalgic talking abt bombay streetfood and my favourite spots... :D




last nights dinner was cause our friend Himanshu was back in dubai and more so important, he was getting food from home... like they say in hindi "Ma ke haat ka khana" .... :D yummy...

anyways,  so with the baingan ka bharta still on the cards, the street food came to my mind... and trust me once street food comes to your mind, its pretty difficult to get it out... :) so the gruesome task of making the pav bhaji started.

Ingredients:

1. Potatoes,boiled and mashed - 4 medium
2. Tomatoes,chopped - 4 medium
3. Onions,chopped - 2 medium
4. Green capsicum,chopped deseeded - 1 medium
5. Cauliflower,grated - 1/4 small
6. Green peas,shelled - 1/4 cup
7. Ginger,chopped - 1 inch piece
8. Garlic - 8-10 cloves
9. Oil - 3 tablespoons
10. Green chillies,chopped - 3-4
11. Pav bhaji masala - 1 1/2 tablespoons
12. Salt - to taste
13. Butter - 3 tablespoons
14. Pav - 8 or bread will do... 
15. Fresh coriander leaves,chopped - 1/4 cup
16. Lemons,cut into wedge - 2

Preparation:

1. it helps to get all the veggies cut,boiled, smashes, grinded etc in place so that u can focus on making the dish... for amateurs likes me, makes a lot of sense not to parallel process with cutting and cooking, i have burnt a lot of things like that... :D 
2. what needs to be done before hand is:
1. potatoes boiled and smashed
2. onions chopped fine, i grind it. saves u from tearing up 
3. garlic peeled, ginger, green chilles - grinder
4. peas soaked, softened and grinded
5. cauliflower - grated. 
6. capsicum - chopped fine
3. start as always with the oil in the pan, heated for roasting onions... 
4. add the onions and roast them till they are light brown
5. add the garlic, ginger and chillies into the onions and cook for a minute so that the ginger and garlic are roasted and dont smell like raw stuff.. :D (ull get used to it once u cook 2 indian dishes.. the smell becomes familiar) 
6. add the tomatoes and cook it till they are soft and can be crushed with the back of your spoon. the recipe said take 3/4th the tomatoes, i put all of them, then cut a little more to add at the end... :D 
7. add the peas, cauliflower, capsicum, potatoes and mix well. 
8. add water so that theres enough to boil and theres a small layer of water on the top of the veggies mix
9. lower the gas/heat and let it simmer. 
10. add the pav bhaji masala and salt and stir.
11. let it cook and reduce till the water is evaporated and the pav bhaji looks like a nice gravy!! :) 
12. butter, onion and dhaniya on the pav bhaji are optional, i leave it to the individual taste of the person eating..
13. roast the bread in butter and enjoy... :D 

Half eaten pav bhaji plate

Tips:

1. The potatoes and tomatoes can be of equal quantities. 
2. Onions half of that
3. The rest of the veggies are just to add the flavour and variety, their quantity can be 1/4 of the potatoes or even less. these proportions worked well for me. 
4. Everest Pav Bhaji masala is the saviour of the day. i likes it.
5. its the pav bhaji masala that gives the pav bhaji masala.
6. grind the peas, ginger, garlic and green chillies.... makes life so much more easy and less chopping... :D i love my grinder... 
7. the street vendors make it so easy.... 5 mins or less u have a plate of AMAZING pav bhaji and steaming buttery pav ready. trust me, its not easy to make. i have a new found respect for them. :D and will cherish every bite of my pav bhaji when i eat it next in bombay. 
8. pav bhaji makes a grt sandwich mix the next day. thats lunch for me today!! :) 

Original recipe: http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/bombay-pavbhaji.aspx

Quick Fix Sandwich!!

abhi and i were sitting and watching Masterchef Australia and the challenge was an "Innovation Test" to make the best sandwich which included bread making and mast sandwich making..

inspired by last nights cooking influence, my morning breakfast was a sandwich... luckily, i had shopped a few days back extensively for food material so i had ingredients that i could work with.

Ingredients:

practically whatever i got in the fridge, for this one:

yellow peppers
tomatoes
onion

Seasonings:
crushed basil
salt

Preparation:

The filling
1. Heat a pan with a good splash of olive oil.
2. Roast the onions till they are transparent
3. Add the peppers, roast them till they are semi soft
4. Add the tomatoes, roast them
5. Add basil and salt to taste and mix it into the veggies

The sandwich
1. Take the sandwich bread, butter it up
2. Stuff the sandwich bread with the mix
3. Grill the sandwich in the same pan that the mix was made in, to get the flavours into the bread

eat up and enjoy!! :D

Tips:
1. Zucchini also tastes good in sandwiches, plus the usual lettuce, olives, pickles etc
2. buy the right bread for a sandwich... it is very important...
3. even if the stuffing comes out of the bread, its ok... eat it up!! side dish for your sandwich!! :D

Alu Gobi - yummy, punjabi style

the evening started off with the usual conversation... what to make for dinner... the options... baingan, alu, chicken...

baingan was rulled out cause switi doesnt like it... a blessing cause i got to make something i never made before.. :D

so the vote was alu gobi (cauliflower and potato) in true indian or rather punjabi style... :)
(the choice also cause the cauliflower in the fridge was getting spoilt... ;) )

so here begins the work for the dish!!

Ingredients:
1 cauliflower
3-5 potatoes (in proportion to the cauliflower)
garlic
ginger
green chillies

Masalas:
turmeric powder
coriander powder
red chilly powder
salt
jeera
optional:
kasuri methi
kitchen king masala

Preparations:
1. heat oil in a pan and add jeera (cumin seeds) to it. roast for 1 minute till the cumin seeds change colour
2. add the chopped onions and roast them till they become transparent
3. add the chopped garlic, ginger and green chillies.
4. additional if you have, to add amazing taste, take kasuri methi (dry methi leaves, crushed)
5. roast all of them till the garlic is cooked.
6. add all the masalas abt 1/2 teaspoon to give the optimum mix of the flavour
7. cook the masalas into the onions and roast it for 2 mins.
8. add the chopped potatoes, cook them a bit in the masala thats in the pan
9. add the chopped cauliflower and mix well so that the cauliflower is mixed and coated well with the masala.
10. cover and cook well for 5 - 10 mins to cook the cauliflower and potato properly...
11. sprinkle with fresh daniya leaves and serve

eat this with roti or bread or any roll available in the market. :D yummy tasting!!!

Tips:
1. dubai potatoes and cauliflower are hard to cook on the pan, boil them in the microwave, makes it easy and faster to cook
2. grind the onions, green chillies, garlic, ginger in the grinder, makes it easier to cook and gets more flavours. :D
3. if the alu gobi seems dry or is getting fried, add olive oil on the top.. that helps to keep the gobi soft and nice.
4. the photo is from my next day attempt at the same recipe. theres no alu in this photo. the onions are a little more burnt, honestly. :D

original recipe: http://www.monsoonspice.com/2012/10/punjabi-aloo-gobi-recipe-how-to-make.html?m=1

Alu Puri - all time favourite

Today like all weekends started out with a hungry tummy and a houseful of people thinking what to eat....
the all time favourite Alu Puri (potato curry and fried indian bread) came to mind and mouth starts watering... :D

its a pretty simple recipe and mom and my roomie, switi would make it very conveniently... well !! here u r talking about 2 of the best cooks i have come across in my life... for me... cooking anything is a good challenge...

so step 1: google the receipe... :D (would never know what to do if google didnt exist)

post initial disappointment of not getting the well known "sanjeev kapoor" recipe, i looked at the 1st recipe link i got on google and went ahead... (the inclination to that link was also because of the fact that it said Punjabi Alu Puri... which was what i wanted to make)

so heres what to do!! :)

Ingredients:
4 -5 potatoes
2 onions
2-3 tomatoes
green chillies
garlic
ginger
cumin seeds
masalas/curry powders - red chilli powder, garam masala, haldi (teaspoon each would do)
salt to taste

Preparation:

for the gravy
1. boil the potatoes to medium cooked to help make the dish faster
2. slice the onions, green chillies, garlic and ginger fine, the tomatoes into chunky pieces.
3. put a pan on the gas
4. add oil, a few tablespoons, enough to roast the onions and other ingredients
5. once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, a teaspoon
6. ones the cumin seeds are roasted, add the onions and roast them till they are transparent
7. add the ginger, garlic and chillies and roast till they seem roasted (sorry dont have any other identification to how long to roast it
8. add the tomatoes and cook till they are soft.. crush the chunks of the tomatoes to make them little liquify.
9. season with the curry powders - red chillies, garam masala (1 teaspoon each) and a bit of turmaric powder (haldi)
10. cook for a min to let the curry powders roast in the tomato and onion mix. add the potatoes and half a glass of water.
11. cover the pan and cook for a bit, keep stirring periodically
12. smash a few potatoes into the mixture so that the gravy is a bit thicker and has a taste in it of the potato
13. open it and cook the potatoes while simmering the liquid.
14. add salt to taste and sprinkle freshly chopped coriander leaves for taste and smell. :D

for the puri (fried indian bread)
1. heat oil in a deep frying pan
2. take wheat flour, knead the flour with some water and oil into a stiff dough to roll up.
3. make small balls of the dough and roll it into a flat, thin rounds.
4. fry them into the hot oil, till they puff up and are golden in colour brown

Serve hot with the curry... enjoy!! :D

Tips:
1. grinding the tomatoes will also help, gives you that liquidy consistency.
2. the curry can be extremely watery also... dont worry
3. if the spices become more, like mine did... easy way to mellow it is to add a bit of yogurt.
4. fried indian bread is the literal traslation of "puri"... :D


the original recipe is: http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/aloo-poori-punjabi-aloo-poori/

Yogurt Dip with veggies and chips - Lesson 3

Lesson 3: Yogurt Dip with veggies and chips

Ingredients:

Dip - Reshma ka dip 

Veggies - carrot, kakadi , beet and chips 

Dip: 

• 500gms hung curd
• 12 cloves of garlic
• Coriander - Daniya generous lot 
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make:

• Hang curd in a muslin cloth for 30 mins
• Fine chop the garlic and Daniya 
• Add to the dahi and keep in the fridge 
• Before u serve, add salt and pepper

a few basic things to remember:

• your friends are the best people to tell you easy ways of making yummy dishes. 
• hanging the curd makes it thick and non watery... more like a dip and not a raita. 
• garlic amounts can be changed depending on how garlicy you want the dip. :D 
• experimentation with other herbs and spices can change the look and taste of this dish. 
• salted chips (the standard packets) will go very well with this. 

Dessert Lesson 1 - Choco Cake with Choco Sauce

Dessert Lesson 1: Choco cake + choco sauce and cherries

Ingredients:
The choco cake this time was bought from the store near my house. its the sauce that made a difference and attracted me to the recipe in the 1st place. :) 

For the chocolate sauce

• 1 tablespoon butter
• Good-quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), broken into small pieces
• Hershey's choco syrup
• 1 splash brandy, rum, Amaretto or Baileys

How to make:

• Melt the butter in a pan
• remove off flame, put the dark choco into it and melt it. i used lindt dark choco (the white wrapper packet) 
• once the lindt is melted, for extra taste add hershey's choco syrup 
• last but not the least, a teaspoon of kahlua and the sauce is ready. 
• cut the choco cake pieces and spread a generous amount of the sauce on it. 
• add a tang with berrys (any) on the top, gets great appreciation! :D 

People come back for 2nds!! thanks friends!! :)  

A few basic things to remember:

• if the sauce becomes thick, heat it and add water to make it thin and flow. 
• just melt the butter else it will taste burnt
• use your judgement on your favourite chocolate to make the sauce. 

Original receipe: thanks Jamie Oliver - 
http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/chocolate-recipes/chocolate-love-cake-with-cherries-and-booze

Doodi ka kofta - lesson 2

Lesson 2: Doodi ka kofta!! (Bottle Gourd meatballs (just the balls :D )

my mom's best cooked dish.. took this up just by watching mom.. who says eves dropping and staring is wrong... :D 

Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd (Doodi)
gram flour (besan)
tomatoes 
onions
ginger
green chillies
salt
garam masala (garam masala - indian spice)
coriander powder
oil to fry

the usual is MANDATORY
khali pet (empty stomach)
some roomies  to experiment on... :D 

How to make:
Step 1: get all the ingredients in place so that they are handy when u making the dish. 

there are 2 steps to this recipe - 
1) making the Bottle Gourd meatballs. 
2) the gravy where the meatballs will float.. 

Step 2: making the bottle gourd meatballs 
1. the bottle gourd or doodi needs to be grated. choose a piece that's long and straight and firm. this will give the perfect taste to the dish. 
2. peal the skin of the doodi
3. use a grate to fine grate the whole doodi
4. add salt to the mixture which will make the stored water from the bottle gourd to release. 
5. squeeze and remove all the water. make it as dry as it can be by tightly squeezing the grated mixture.
6. to the dry mix add the gram flour enough to cover the grated doodi. this is only for binding. 
5. pour sufficient amount of oil (vegetable or olive) in to a pan to deep fry. 
6. roll the mixture into small sized balls and deep fry in hot oil. 
7. let the balls get nice and golden brown. 
8. remove the fried balls onto a tissue paper to help soak the excess oil. the balls are ready. 

these are ready, keep them aside to cool!! :D 

Step 3: gravy
this is the most common and simplest gravy to make... (i dont know how to make it) 
1. grind garlic, ginger to a good paste
2. grind tomatoes and onions to a good paste
3. take a little oil in a pan and roast the pasted garlic and ginger. 
4. add the tomatoes and onion paste to it and roast it. 
5. add water to make it a thick gravy. 
6. add the spices and salt to taste. 

step 4: add the fried meatballs to the gravy and get it to a boil so that the gravy soaks into the meatballs. 

ready to eat!! :) 

a few basic things to remember:
1. havent tried baking this dish to make it healthy. if someone tries it, pls let me know if it worked!! :D 
2. make sure the oil is nice and hot, else the balls will break when you drop it to fry in the pan. 
3. pls donot use your fingers to test the temp of the oil. word of caution, that burns really bad. my moms tactic is to test it with a smallest amount of the mix. it should rise immediately and sizzle. thats the right temperature. :) 
4. these fried bottle gourd meatballs can be served just like that also with ketchup or green chutney. :D interesting and amazing snack. 
5. this dish is a test of judgement when it comes to spices and cooking process. as this is moms recipe and no google reference, the measures are judgement. happy cooking!! :)