Eves Times

COOKERY TIPS FOR Salt ‘n’ Pepper Corner

Eve’s Times readers have exciting news! Watch out forcompetitions on cookery tips and recipes. Dig out exotic recipes and innovative tips and win prizes! Send your recipes/tips with your colour pix to Eve’s Times, #18/1, Second Cross St, Dr.Radhakrishnan Nagar, Tiruvanmiyur, Chennai 600 041 or by e-mail to editorevestimes@gmail.com.

Egg yolks often get a bluish colour on the outside while boiling eggs. How can we prevent this?

The blue colour appears due to hydrogen peroxide that is released while boiling the eggs. Cooker boil the eggs for not more than 7 minutes. Pour fresh water for boiling. The eggs must not be taken out directly from fridge and boiled; they must be at room temperature. Boil water and only then put the eggs in the water. This will avoid the blue colour.

Crystal, Chennai

My husband is very fond of Vathal Kuzhambu. Despite trying hard, I am unable to make vathal kuzhambu of thick consistency. My husband doesn’t like it if I mix rice powder to thicken it. How else can I make a kuzhambu with the right consistency?

Bhooma, Valasarawakkam

If your family doesn’t like your adding rice powder, you can try using Thoor Dal. Roast Thoor dal, powder and add it to the vathal kuzhambu mixture. Some women mix urad dal and gram dal when they make sambar powder. If you use this sambar powder , the vathal kuzhambu will turn out thick and tasty.

Currying F(l)avour

Fusion of Flavours

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STANDARD RECIPE CARD

CHICKEN LIVER PATE WITH MELBA TOAST, ORANGE & FIG MARMALADE

INGREDIENTS	QUANTITY	UNIT
Chicken liver	120	Gm
Melba toast	3	Nos
Orange & Fig marmalade	30	Gm
Orange slices ( oven dried )	3	Nos
Tossed salad	75	gm

PROCEDURE:

1. Place tossed salad on the plate.

2. Rest oven dried orange slices on the salad.

3. Clean chicken liver . Cook chopped onion in oil. Add Chicken liver and continue to cook. Season with salt and pepper Place in a blender and make a fine paste to get chicken mousse.

4. Pipe the chicken liver mousse on the orange.

5. Place three melba toast on the side and spoon fig & orange marmalade over it.

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COOKERY TIPS FOR Salt ‘n’ Pepper Corner

When I try to make payasam using molasses, most of the times, the milk which I pour into the payasam curdles. What should we do to prevent curdling of milk which is added to payasam?

Rohini Ashok, Gandhinagar, Adyar

Whatever type of payasam we make, if we follow a simple rule, the milk will not curdle. When we make payasam, do not add milk when the payasam is being cooked on a high flame and bring it to boil. Ensure that the flame is low and just before removing the payasam from fire, add milk, stir and remove from fire. Do not bring the payasam mixture to a boil after adding the milk. This will prevent the milk from blending well with the payasam .

Sometimes, when I plan to make dishes with chana or peas (dried), I forget to soak them the previous day. This spoils my plan for a meal, especially during parties or get-togethers. Is there anyway we can still cook chana /peas so that they are soft and tasty?

R.Swarnalatha, No:73, Workers Estate, 2nd Main Road, Neelangarai, Chennai – 600041.

If you forget to soak beans like peas, chana etc, you can still make them soft the next day. Place the chana in a tawa or pan and dry roast them. Soak in hot water for sometime. This will soften them considerably. Then place the soaked gram in a cooker and instead of putting off the fire after three whistles, cook for some more time, till you get two or three whistles etc. Or keep the fire in sim and cook for a longer time.

Currying F(l)avour

Fusion of Flavours

STANDARD RECIPE CARD

STEAK AND KIDNEY/LIVER PIE, WITH BRANDY JUS AND POTATO ROESTI

INGREDIENTS

beef fillet steak - 180 gm

(roesti) potato - 100 gm

chicken liver/kidney - 75 gm

brandy - 30 ml

demi glace - 80 ml

STEPS TO PERFORM

1. Marinate the steak with salt/pepper, grill on all sides and finish cooking in the oven to the required stage of cooking.

2. Cut the cleaned giblets, saute with chopped onion, garlic and thyme, finish cooking with brandy.

3. Grate potatoes, season with salt & pepper and cook on a flat griddle using a round mould. Cook on both sides until crisp.

4. In the centre of the plate place the roesti potato, cooked steak on top, spoon the giblets over the steak.

5. Place the puff pastry tuille on the giblets.

6. Spoon the red wine sauce and pepper sauce on the plate around the steak as in the picture.