Jacket Potatoes

Jacket potatoes are potatoes baked with their skin on. When we say baked, essentially the skin turns crispy retaining the fluffiness on the inside. At places like Ashford they are commonly available as street food, and that's where I had the original version. They use huge, firm potatoes; scrub them clean, bake them in the oven till crisp on the outside, slit them vertically into two halves, scrape the inside slightly and give you a choice of filling - baked beans, corn and cheese, bacon et al.. garnished with salt and pepper.

Even the version that mom made at home was equally delicious and absolutely simple to make.

For this, use evenly shaped potatoes, boil them if you don't have an oven/microwave to bake them. Just ensure that you do not overboil them for then they would crumbe when you try to slit. Alternatively, slit them first and then boil them. That way they would cook quicker and you wouldn't end up overcooking them.

Once you get your baked/boiled potato halves, scrape the inner center with a fork or spoon and create a shallow bed to place your filling. For the filling you can use baked beans (available in a can. You may add sauteed onions to the beans) and garnish with shredded cheese, or use shredded cheese, boiled corn and green chillies mixture.

If you have managed to get a nice and crisp "jacket" of potato skin, you can scrape off more of the inside and mix that as well into your filling.

Use your imagination and create your own filling each time.. break the monotony!

Finally garnish with salt and pepper.

Dee.. as promised this one's especially for you. :)

Haven't made it recently, so sorry no pictures. But google it and you are sure to find some which will make your mouth water.. slurrrrpp!!!

Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad

A very quick, no-nonsense salad... inspired by my visit at the 1000 Oaks in Pune. Special thanks to Rohan for recommending the place umpteen times. And more thanks to Priya for recommending the salad.

“Inspired”, I say because I’m not sure of their recipe. Had been with a few friends, we loved the salad so we ended up discussing what went into its preparation. From the combined knowledge of our taste buds, here’s our best guess…

Ingredients - Roasted corn, diced onions, diced tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes), black/green olives, bread crumbs, basil and olive oil

Place the diced onions, tomatoes and olives in a bowl and allow them to cool in the refrigerator. i.e. if you prefer a slightly cold salad.

Roast the corn in a flat pan. You will notice black spots on either side once it is done. Cut up two bread slices into small squares and fry them. If you are health conscious, just toast them with very minimal butter and get them to be firm and crisp. Ready the corn and bread towards the end, they just look better when served right out of the pan!

You can use mint or coriander instead of basil. That should be good too. Chop it finely and mix with a little bit of olive oil.

To the cold onions, tomatoes and olives, add the corn and bread. Drizzle lightly with the olive oil and basil mix. Add salt and pepper only if and as much as you please and give it a generous toss…

It makes for an excellent light dinner if you are by yourself and a great accompaniment with a sumptuous meal!

Quick Marmalade !!

Well, this is not exactly marmalade, but imagine it to be a thick fruit sauce which can be used to flavor ice creams or used over freshly baked cakes instead of the icing or with cut fruits (fruit salad).

I used black grapes; you could also use orange or sweet lime.. or even experiment with a combination of orange and sweet lime. Put the grapes in a juicer and strain to remove the peel residue. Pour the juice into a pan and bring it to simmer. Add equal quantity of sugar and stir it in. You could use lesser sugar if you like your marmalade to be a bit tangy. The juice will start boiling and get thicker, stir it continuously to avoid charring at the bottom and at the sides of the pan. Wait to turn off the burner until the consistency is thick enough for your liking (I wanted to use it with vanilla ice cream so I kept it to a thick tomato-sauce-like consistency ). You can either use it hot (with ice cream) or cold (with hot cakes and fruits).

If you are using oranges, you could add grated orange peel... but not much as it tends to add a slightly bitter taste.

Would recommend you start with lesser quantity until you are comfortable with the recipe. Also, do not try to preserve, because it's not built into the preparation method.

Corn Pita Pockets

Finally, I decided to share my passion for food with a larger community. This blog is dedicated to everything and anything that relates to food! - be it a failed kitchen experiment to a perfected original recipe to trivia that I may pick along...

So here, to begin with, is my rendition of what I recollect my Mom used to make sometimes - Pita Pockets
And they made a delicious dinner tonight... !

INGREDIENTS

For the bread: Corn flour, wheat flour, ghee (or shortening)
For the filling: Potatoes, onions, green / red / yellow bell peppers. Green chilies, salt, lime juice per taste
For the sauce: Hot red chili sauce,  herb (basil, mint, coriander leaves), cheese (or cornflower to thicken the sauce)
For the garnish: Grated cheese, shredded cabbage (optional)

Alternatives: You can experiment with various fillings - Boiled corn, mushrooms, baked beans, shredded paneer and noodles!

Preparing the bread:

1.       Knead the corn flour, wheat flour (equal quantities), ghee for shortening (can also use milk or butter for fluffiness) with water. Knead until the flour is binding, soft and pliable.

2.       Keep aside for 10-30 minutes.

3.       Divide into baby-potato-sized portions and roll into flat circles about 5-6 inches in diameter. Keep them slightly thick, about 3-5 mm.

4.       Place them onto a flat pan. Use of oil is not required.

5.       Let the flat bread cook on one side and then turn over. Ensure that it swells and forms a cavity within like a phulka.

6.       Cut the pita into half so that you have two semicircular pockets.

Your pita bread is ready!

Preparing the filling:

1.       Boil potatoes and mash them. Add finely chopped onions and green chilies. You can also use red chili powder instead. Add salt and seasoning per your liking and mix well.

2.       For alternate fillings, ensure that your filling is not extremely juicy as it will soak the pita bread and shall not hold the filling.

Preparing the sauce:

1.       Heat a stir fry pan and pour 2 tablespoons of red chili sauce with 4 tablespoons of water. Finely chop the herb leaves. And add them to the mixture in the pan.

2.       Let the sauce reduce and thicken.

3.       At this point, add cheese chunks or cream for thickening. It gives a smooth, creamy texture to the sauce.

4.       Let it cool to room temperature before using.

Filling the pita pockets:

1.       Hold the pita pockets in your palm with their opening facing sideways. Brush the sauce onto its insides. Be generous if your sauce is not too spicy as it adds juiciness to the pita pocket.

2.       Place a mound of your filling into the pocket and garnish with grated cheese or shredded cabbage. Add a sliver of the sauce over the garnish and serve.

Bon appetite !! :)