Ribbiano De Pasta :)

Garnishing with Cucumber

BM # 20   Day 1

For the second group of BM # 20 , I have picked the theme Garnishing, Kitchen set up  and storage, Styling your pantry. Since I have already done, where I have my kitchen set up and tips for storage, I decided to do Garnishing 's.

Enjoyment of a meal is affected by how it looks.If food has an eye appeal then enjoyment of the meal tends to increase, that is why garnishing properly is essential when serving food.The garnishes will complement the main dish in color, texture and flavor. I would divide garnishes in three major categories....

Decorative

Flavoring

Texture

When we talk of decorative garnishes it is those garnishes which add a creative dimension to the dish.Neon orange carrots,shocking red tomatoes,melons with those beautiful stripes and  vibrant red pulp.... lets not forget oranges and lemons ..they have a texture which I totally admire , and when we have such beautiful material it should not take long to produce a decoration which shall have a appeal.Most of these garnishes are simple all you need  is just a bit of imagination and color combination to highlight the dish.One needs to be careful while picking the vegetables or fruits, in regard to color, size ,shape and texture.Also always pick fresh and firm fruits and vegetables.Decorative garnishes could vary from simple to highly elaborated carved ones. For this BM I shall be doing the simple decorative garnishes with different vegetables.

The right tools play an important role in the  finished product. Most of these are in our kitchens and we really don't need to buy them , but for some garnishing techniques ,however you will need specific tools.

For today I have picked up cucumber and will try to show a few garnishes with it.

Minty Cheese Cucumber Bites

Cucumber circles

Peel the cucumber.

Cut off heads and tails.

Using a fork in a straight motion, pull it down.

Repeat on the same incisions two three times so you get those grooves.

Repeat all around the cucumber.

Cut in circles.

These can be further garnished with different toppings...

Cherry tomato

Olives

Cream cheese

To give it that contrast use mint, parsley or coriander sprigs.

Cucumber Flowers

Hold the cucumber and using peel stripper pull strips of peel from cucumber. 

Repeat all around the cucumber evenly to get stripes .

Cut into slices.

You shall get beautiful flowers.

These can be cut into thicker slices, scooped out and filled with some kind of cheese.

Cucumber fan
Cut about 2 cms thick slice and halve it.
Place one half , cut side down and make comb like incisions,along one edge.
Pull the thin slices apart to make a fan shape.
The similar fan  can be made lengthwise too you could cut the cucumber in a slant and repeat the comb procedure.

Cucumber coronet

Cut a cucumber crosswise into 3'"long pieces.

Make a zig zag cut around and into the center of the cucumber.
Twist the halves to separate them.

You can further embellish with carrots and mint sprigs.

Cucumber boats

Halve an peeled cucumber lengthwise.

Scoop out the flesh with a spoon.

Cut the cucumbers into 2-3" long pieces.

The first boat has been filled with capsicum salad and cottage cheese with  tiny capsicum hearts.

for the second boat 

I have scooped a unpeeled cucumber at regular intervals.filled cheese, garnished with olives and filled ketchup.

Dill sprigs and zig zag carrots add color to the boat.

Some of the tools which I use while garnishing.

List of the tools.....

1. kitchen knife

2. zig zag/ fluted knife

3. pointed Knife

4. carving knife.

5. apple corer

6. peel stripper

7. melon baller

8. zester

9. mini cookie cutters

Photo Frame

While shopping in a mall I spotted these wooden photo frames, since they were on a discount I picked them up.The minute I bought these I knew I would transform them with some buttons and lace.

 I had these simple transparent shirt buttons lying since years, so thought of using those with some pearls. In fact The lace that I used was also from my junk box!!..The round motifs are from a lace too ..just glued them and adorned with  a bigger pearl.The bow is from a tissue ribbon, which has different shades and texture.

You could use any colored buttons, and instead of using a tissue ribbon you could use a simple cotton ribbon too..Just pull out your scraps and use them!!

Now isn't it simple and quick.... to embellish a  photo frame!!

Pumpkin Chilly Soup

While cooking with pumpkin for the first time I bought a big chunk, put it in my frig, so I would try few more recipes with it.Thanks to Magic Mingle for making me innovative.For today it is a simple soup, but flavorsome.

1cup.............. pumpkin , chopped into pieces

1......................onion, chopped roughly

2-3 pods....... garlic

1small piece ginger, unpeeled

2.......................whole red chilly

Salt to taste

Boil all the ingredients.

Cool.

Blend and strain.

Place back to boil, add 1tsp butter.

Garnish and serve hot.

Garnish

Cheese, grated

Chilly flakes

Oregano

Pepper

The soup turned out delicious, I was amazed to discover that something that delicious could be made with something like pumpkin!

Spicy Pumpkin Hummus

 I have never cooked with Pumpkin,what does one do to those mind blocks, I always thought pumpkin to be a sweet veggie and that is one thing I don’t like.As a result never cooked anything.With Kalyani announcing Magic Mingle ingredients..I was kind of lost did not  know what to do.No choice left for me , so kept racking my brains and finally have come up with this dip.So let’s check the recipe…

1cup......... boiled pumpkin

¼ cup....... boild chick peas

¼ cup .......olive oil

4dry ..........red chillies

1tsp ..........cumin seed

4pods...... garlic

1tbsp....... curd

Juice of half lemon

salt to taste

Blend all the ingredients to a smooth paste.

Serve with your favorite chips or pitta bread.

 To be frank I was very hesitant to taste the dip, but trust me I was amazed, it tasted really wonderful. A big Thank You to Kalyani for introducing Pumpkin in my food..and now friends, I shall come up with another recipe with this combo so watch out!!

Pickled Baby Onions

 BM # 20   Day 3

 For the third day of this marathon I wanted to cook something with a different variety of onions, but somehow my love for baby onions and this particular pickle, made me post this. A meal without onions is kind of incomplete, specially a north Indian meal.This is a pickle  which is oil free and can be enjoyed with any meal.The tangy water too has a terrific taste and we  pour this over the rice, specially the methi rice , but it tastes equally delicious with plain white steamed rice.

250gms.... baby onions (you could use the big ones, cut them into quarter)

4tsp........... mustard, pwd

2tsp........... red chilly pwd

½ tsp......... turmeric pwd

Salt to taste

Peel the onions, give them a boil in water.

Cool.

Place these in a jar.

Add spices, including  salt.

Mix well.

Add water to cover the onions.

Close the lid and shake the jar.

This shall take about 3-4 days to get ready, depending on the weather conditions.

Make share you shake the jar at  least 2-3 times in a day.

Creamed Onions

BM # 20   Day 2

For today , the 2nd day of BM I have chosen to cook with baby onions. The creamed onions are a little unique, as they are immersed in hot water ....without peeling. This procedure lends them a stronger aromatic yet very pleasing flavor.

6-8............ baby onions

1cup ........white sauce

2 slices.... bread

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Place water to boil.

Put the unpeeled baby onions in this water.

Let boil for 2 mins.

Drain into a colander.

Pour water to stop  further cooking.

Peel the onions.

Slit the onions into a criss cross, keeping the onion whole and intact.

Boil in salted water, till tender.

Place the boiled onions in a buttered baking dish.

Pour white sauce.

Sprinkle toasted ,buttered bread crumbs.

Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Garnish.

Toasted bread crumbs

Remove crust from bread.

Put them in a mixer and give a quick churn.

Toast them lightly with 1tsp butter in a non stick pan.

Garnish

Chilly flakes

Herbs of your choice

The creamed onions were my first trial and personally I enjoyed them , so did the family but they tasted a bit sweet.To make this dish more delicious I will add some herbs to stuff these onions to cut down the sweetness.

Serve the creamed onions with some toasted garlic bread.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#20

Mehun wara Chawaran (Tinda Rice) au Bhe' Patata Gesh mei (Lotus Stem Curry)

BM # 20   Day 1

For the first week of BM # 20 I have chosen to cook  with onions. Strange people hate to cut onions  where as I enjoy chopping them .All I need is a sharp knife.

When you cut onions peel away the dry outer layer, but avoid cutting into the root.This is the place where there is concentration of eye watering sulfuric compounds.So no more crying !!

All onions vary slightly in flavor , texture and color, but can be substituted for one another.There are three major variety's of onions. Red onions, white onions and the yellow onions. For us in India we use the red onion the most. These have a deep purple outer skin and  red flesh which gets washed off in cooking. These taste best in salads, grilled food and garnishing.

White onions have pure white skin,mild sweet taste and is mainly used in Mexican cuisine. Of course it can be sautéed to get that brown color.

Yellow onions are considered as all purpose onions and have a balanced astringency.

I should not forget the immature onions....the spring onions, baby onions and the shallots.The spring onions have a pleasing mild flavor, best used for salads, stir frys and garnishing.The shallots look more like garlic , have a bold sweet flavor and are best used in sautéed vegetables and curries. The baby onions are famous for pickling.

Then we have the powdered, dehydrated forms of onions too which are best for seasoning in cooking.

For today I have chosen to cook a typical Sindhi combo. Meha is the Sindhi term of Tinda or Apple gourd.These are added to to famous Sindhi Bhuga Chawara or Brown Rice .We use lot of onion in Sindhi cuisine.For some of the dishes we need more than 1/2 kg onions. Bhee is lotus stem , while  gesh is onion based dish.So here is a dish prepared with onions and lotus stem.

Mehan wara Chawara 

(Tinda / Apple Gourd Rice)

1 cup ............rice

1tsp.............. fried onions

2-3................ tindas, peeled and cut into two halves, with a slit in the center

¼ tsp............ cumin seeds

1.................... bigcardamon

1.................... bay leaf

 ¼ tsp........... red chilly pwd

Salt to taste

heat oil .

Add cumin seed,bay leaf and cardamom.

Add tindas and sauté'.

Add fried onions and rice.

Add spices and water.

Transfer to a rice cooker.

The same rice can be made without fried onions.one just needs to sauté the onions to a pink after the whole masalas are put.

Bhe' Patata Gesh mei

(Lotus Stem and Potato Curry in Onion Gravy)

4tbsp............ fried onions / 1cup onions sauté d to a golden pink

1½ cups....... tomato purée

1tsp............... ginger garlic paste

1..................... potato , cut into four pieces

5-6 .................pieces boiled lotus stem

¼ tsp............ red chilly pwd

½ tsp............ coriander pwd

¼ tsp............. turmeric pwd

¼ tsp............. garam masala

Salt to taste

Heat oil.

Add ginger garlic paste.

Add fried / sautéd onion.

Add the lotus stem , potatoes and spices.

Add tomato purée.

Sauté till the moisture evaporates.

Add water and pressure cook for 2-3 whistles.

Open when the pressure is released.

Preparing Lotus Stem...