Monday Night Meals: Salmon Steaks in Chraimeh Sauce

Salmon Steaks in Chraimeh Sauce

Typically served as a starter, the hero of craimeh is the sauce so use any large firm fish steak.  Typically served with bread for dipping, or over rice or couscous, I served mine with a root vegetable slaw and labneh.  Both recipes are in my latest cook book obsession - Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

Ingredients:

110ml sunflower oil

3T plain flour

4 salmon steaks

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2t sweet paprika

3T caraway seeds, dry-roasted and freshly ground

11/2t ground cumin

1/3t cayenne

1/3t ground cinnamon

1 green chill, roughly chopped

150 ml water

3T tomato purée

2t caster sugar

1 lemon cut into 4 wedges plus 2T lemon juice

2T coriander

Salt and black pepper

Method

Take a frying pan with a lid that will comfortably fit all four fish fillets.  In a bowl or plastic bag, season flour with salt and pepper.  Toss fish until coated and shake off excess.  Heat 2T oil in pan and lightly sear fish on both sides until golden. Remove from pan, set aside and wipe pan clean.

Blitz spices, chili, garlic, 2T oil in a food processor to form a thick paste.  Add a bit more oil if you need to bring it together.

Heat remaining oil in frying pan, stir and fry the spice paste for 30 seconds (so it doesn't burn) and then add water and tomato paste (it will probably spit!) to stop the paste cooking.  Bring the paste to a simmer; add sugar lemon juice, 3/4t of salt and black pepper.  Season to taste.

Add fish to sauce, bring to a gentle simmer, cover pan and cook for 7-11 minutes, or until fish is just done.  Remove from heat and allow to cool until warm or room temperature. Serve with lemon wedges and coriander over rice or couscous.

Looking for more Jerusalem recipes?  I have another one here for aubergine stuffed with lamb mince.  Delicious! 

Have you tried any of the recipes from Jerusalem?  Do you have any favourite Middle Eastern staples to recommend?

Review: Urban Bites ("The Best Lebanese in Singapore")

Endorsements of "the best <insert cuisine here> in Singapore" are a dime a dozen, so I could have written off Urban Bites with a sceptical shrug, but I didn't and my taste buds are much better off because of it.

Firstly, the recommendation came from an Lebanese ex-Singapore resident.  A recommendation from someone who should know what they're talking about is always a good first step.  Secondly, the recommendation was prefaced with "it's not fancy but...".  This is always a green flag for me.  Too many restaurants try to distract from their good-but-not-great cooking with fancy surroundings.  Strip that away, and what do you have?  Great food will most probably taste fabulous whether it's eaten out out of a brown paper bag or off a bone china over-sized white plate.

We tried to get to Urban Bites without checking the opening hours (it's closed Sunday's) and biked on, disappointed.  I would not make the same mistake twice - our second attempt was confirmed in advance.

Walking through the doors I was struck by two things - the first being a solid cloud of garlic (yum!), and then the thought "oh no, I hope we can get a table" as almost every seat was full.  Luckily we spied a table near the counter and squeezed five chairs around it.

Mixed grill kebab

Deciding to go for full immersion, we toasted a few times with arak which is similar to pastis.  I love how the clear spirit becomes cloudy once you add water.  Having arrived slightly earlier than everyone else, I'd spent about ten minutes salivating over the menu and promptly decided I wanted to try almost everything.  A good way to start was always going to be the mezze platter with a selection of hommos, motabal baba ghanuj, and labne to scoop up with torn chucks of fresh warm pita bread.  Some tabbouleh, fattoush and plump falafel and tahini sauce.  I couldn't resist adding some grilled haloumi as well.  Delicious.  All of it.  And so nice to have moist falafel rather than the overly dried out version.

One bottle of (surprisingly decent) Lebanese wine down, our attention turned to mains.  Don't miss the kebab teen (minced lamb kebab with sweet fig) and the saffron-marinated fish kebab.  Both are served with Lebanese rice and mixed vegetables.

They also serve traditional swarma, pizza and pasta and a selection of salads, but we were far too full to attempt anything more.  That was until a small selection of bite-sized baklawa treats came out!  After a few deep breaths I found some more space in my little toe and satisfied that sweet treat craving with a cup of strong mint tea.

The shelves behind the cash register are groaning with ingredients for those who want to try to recreate their menu at home.  I was thrilled to see they have za'atar which I've found almost impossible to find anywhere else in Singapore.  Hopefully they have sumac as well.

So would I go back?  Absolutely, I can't wait!  You should too!  Just don't plan on a late dinner as they close by about 10/10.30pm.

Urban Bites
123 Telok Ayer Street, Singapore
P: +65 6327 9460

Back to Jerusalem: Stuffed Eggplant with Lamb Mince

Three and a half years ago I wandered the well-worn streets of old Jerusalem.  Just four days there was enough to leave a permanent indent in my heart.  Jerusalem (the city) has an incredible energy bubbling away under the surface of a concentration of deeply significant sites (if not the most significant) for four main religions.  The history, the people, the smells, the food...!  As the meeting point of Europe, Asia and Africa, a wide and varied influence is ingrained in the most simple and sophisticated cuisine.

When my friends Jess (check out her awesome blog here) and Jono gave me Ottolenghi and Tamimi's new cook book Jerusalem I couldn't wait to dive into the pages and (hopefully) resurrect some of those memories.  Aside from the mouthwatering recipes, one of the things I love about the book is the introduction - eight pages explaining the importance and passion invoked by food in the region and how history has shaped what you are about to prepare.  The gorgeous street life photography captures the hustle and bustle, and the gritty character of every day life.

Stuffed Aubergine with Lamb and Pine Nuts

Ingredients
4 medium aubergines halved lengthwise
6T olive oil
1 1/2t ground cumin
1 1/2T sweet paprika
1T ground cinnamon
2 medium onions, finely chopped
500g minced lamb
50g pine nuts
20g flat leafed parsley, chopped
2t tomato puree
2t caster sugar
150ml water
1 1/2T lemon juice
1t tamarind paste
4 cinnamon sticks
salt and black pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C.

Place the aubergine halves, skin-side down, in a roasting tin large enough to accommodate them snugly.  Brush the flesh with 4T olive oil and season with 1t of salt and plenty of black pepper.  Roast for about 20 min, until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

While the aubergines are cooking, you can start making the stuffing by heating up the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan.  Mix together the cumin, paprika and ground cinnamon and add half of this spice mix to the pan, along with the onion.  Cook on a medium-high heat for about 8 minutes, stirring often, before adding the lamb, pine nuts, parsley, tomato purée, 1t sugar, 1t salt and some black pepper.  Continue to cook and stir for another 8 min, until the meat is cooked.

Place the remaining spice mix in a bowl and add the water, lemon juice, tamarind, remaining sugar, cinnamon sticks and 1/2 t salt; mix well.

Reduce the oven temperature to 195°C.  Pour the spice mix into the bottom of the aubergine roasting tin.  Spoon the lamb mixture on top of each  aubergine.  Cover the tin tightly with foil, return to the oven and roast for 1h 30min, by which point the aubergines should be completely soft and the sauce thick  twice though the cooking, remove the foil and baste the aubergines with the sauce, adding some water if the sauce dries out.  Serve warm, not hot, or at room temperature with some bread or simple rice.

My Notes:  Lamb mince wasn't available so I substituted for beef mince and it still tasted delicious.  I forgot to cover the pan with foil during the cooking and mine dried out pretty quickly (as you can probably see by the photos).  My aubergines also cooked very quickly, so you might not need the full 1h 30min for roasting.  Instead of rice, I served mine with an adaptation of the artichoke and herb salad, using artichokes from a jar, green apple roughly cubed, finely sliced fennel and lots of fresh herbs.  Delicious!

You can get your own taste of Jerusalem on The Book Depository (here) with free international shipping.

Quick Rogan Josh and Spicy Carrot Salad

I find myself searching for more and more Monday-night-meal options lately as work has been heating up.  At home this often means leafing through Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, where I found rogan josh curry and spiced carrot salad.

I definitely seem to be a little Indian influenced recently with Saag Paneer and Chicken Tikka (here) or Channa Chat (here), but when it's home made it's easier to make healthier versions of what I would get eating out.


Quick Rogan Josh Curry with Spicy Carrot Salad

I made my own rogan josh paste using another of Jamie's recipes - he has a fabulous page with a multitude of different curry paste recipes for an easy reference (here).  I followed the recipe as written and ended up with almost exactly the right amount of paste.

I was also 'shopping in my pantry' so used frozen spinach and a tin of cannelini beans instead of chickpeas.


Curry
2 onions, sliced
1 medium pumpkin, cut into 1cm chunks
1 small cauliflower, separated into florets
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
a bunch of fresh coriander, chopped including stalks - keep a few leaves for garnish
1/2 283g jar of Patak's rogan josh paste
1x400g tin of chickpeas, rinsed
100g prewashed baby spinach
1x500g tub natural yoghurt

Cook onions in a pan with a few good lugs of olive oil, add cauliflower and pumpkin, chilli, garlic and coriander with a few good splashes of boiled water.  Add curry paste, chickpeas and half a tin of water.  Season and cook, stirring occasionally.  Closer to serving time check the consistency of the curry - add more water if needed.  Season if necessary, add spinach and stir through.  To serve, dollop some of the yoghurt onto the curry, sprinkle with coriander leaves and take to table.

Spicy Carrot Salad
a handful of flaked almonds
5 or 6 small carrots
1 fresh red chilli
a bunch of fresh coriander
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled
1 lemon

Toast almonds in a small pan over a medium heat, tossing until golden.  Set aside in a small bowl.  Grate carrot, chilli, most of the coriander leaves and ginger.  Tip into serving bowl.  Drizzle with olive oil, add a pinch of salt.  Grate lemon zest and squeeze lemon juice over the top.  Sprinkle over the almonds and remaining coriander leaves and take to the table.

To Serve
basmati rice (cook with a few cloves for added flavour)
naan bread or chapattis or poppadoms

Review: Little Diner

The sign outside Little Dinner says Food Drink Hang - exactly the three things we were looking for on a mid-week public holiday.

I was inclined to like this place on the interior alone - Lower-East-Side-inspired, small cool space, textured concrete walls and a back wall dominated by a wine cellar - and I hadn't even seen the menu.  The punches kept rolling as we sat down and were promptly bought iced water served in funky jars with handles (I want some!), Toby's Estate coffee and menus.  Attentive service made up for a somewhat haphazard food arrival, and they were happy to accommodate Laura's inability to order anything off the menu just as it is, which we find a constant challenge in cafes around Singapore.

The food is very affordable, especially compared to the new Dean and Deluca (review here) in Orchard Central.  I paid $15.50 for my salmon eggs benedict.  I'll definitely go back to sample the dinner menu, and it's great to see an affordable selection of wine by the bottle (especially when they're from New Zealand!).  They also have weekend brunch specials where for $20 you can enjoy free flow cider from 12 - 2pm.

Eggs benedict (hold the hollandaise)

There was a constant flow of people in and out, so it might pay to book as this place becomes more popular, which I'm confident it will.

Little Diner
www.littlediner.sg
Menu here
789 Bukit Timah Road
Ph:  +65 6466 4088

They're open Monday evenings for drinks only, and Tuesday until Sunday for brunch, lunch and dinner.

Review: Dean & Deluca

Dean and Deluca must have been one of the most anticipated cafe openings in Singapore.  The New York cafe was destined to be a Singaporean favourite - it's a big international brand and it serves all day brunch.  Having not yet made it to NYC (I know, I know...) I didn't have a strong basis of comparison, but my taste buds were pleased, although my wallet was slightly shocked.

First up, everything looks amazing.  There is a fantastic bread and sweet treat selection, much of which is supplied by Baker & Cook (review here) and the cabinet food is much more affordable than the brunch menu and has a wide variety which you can mix and match, including old favourites like mac and cheese.

I think the brunch menu is the star of the show and the Ladies Who Brunch sampled it vigorously.  The French toast received two thumbs up, the New Yorker (scrambled eggs and salmon on a bagel) was delicious but the clear winner was the jamon iberico poached eggs - perfect!

Expect to pick up your own coffee from the barista bar, but brunch will be brought to you.  Oddly, almost everything is served in takeaway coffee cups - even the water.  The gourmet store has a vast array of goodies - good luck not picking anything up on your way out.

I think the only downside (apart from the price) of our experience was one rude waiter who tried to usher us off our table.  After nine ladies had brunched, coffee'd and smoothie'd, you'd think we'd earned the right to enjoy a bit of chat - we ordered a second coffee and lingered as long as we could out of principal.

Oh, and one last tip - go early or expect to wait.

Dean and Deluca
Level 4, Orchard Central
181 Orchard Road
Singapore

+65 6509 7708

Review: Kith - Just Redeemed

It's fair to say my first experience with Kith on Roberston Quay was a disaster (here) which put me right off the place for almost a year (I don't forgive a bad brunch easily).  When I saw they'd opened a new place in Park Mall on Penang Road I thought the time had come to give them a second chance and they just made it back... just.

The menu covers brunch, lunch and dinner, with an extensive drinks menu.  I had more trouble deciding what to drink that what to eat.  I decided on a ice blended latte which they obligingly left out the ice cream and swapped the milk for soy (my August dairy-free challenge).  Feeling virtuous, I ordered a grilled vegetable salad and Caro ordered a grilled chicken sandwich - both of which disappointed from the moment they were set on our table.  My salad fit the description to a tee - grilled eggplant, zucchini, tomato and green apple with balsamic dressing.  Two long strips of eggplant, three zucchini rounds, two halves of a grilled tomato with a quarter of a fresh tomato, two thin green apple slices, all very lightly drizzled with balsamic.  Each was spread around the plate to maximise coverage with absolutely no artistry.  What a disappointment!  I wouldn't put in this little effort if I was making this for myself at home, let alone pay $14 for it.

Caro's chicken sandwich was worse.  Four huge bits of bread covered the plate, two of which were clearly for decoration purposes only and were completely plain.  Riddle me this - what is with the excessive serving of bread in Singapore cafes?  The 'sandwich' was a thin layer of gherkin topped by grilled chicken cubes, completely unadorned.  No mayo or relish to stick it all together - completely dry.

This is where the redemption occurred.

When Caro politely enquired as to whether the chicken sandwich usually came like this the staff very quickly picked up she wasn't happy and offered to replace it with another item from the menu, which she did.  When her eggs arrived (very quickly) I was asked whether I was happy with my salad, to which I replied that I was a little disappointed with how plain they were.  After apologies all round, she returned with an offer of a drink, coffee or smoothie for each of us on the house, and an explanation that the chef was brand new chef.  We both decided to get a ginger, lime and mint cooler which was delicious.

So, would I go back?  I think I'll give them one more chance - the food coming out around us looked much better than our order, and the coffee needs a trial run.  It is just around the road from my house, and a peek at the wine list showed surprising value.  

Third time lucky perhaps?

Review: Lagnaa Barefoot Dining

Wandering around Little India on a Sunday evening is a fascinating activity in Singapore.  The small streets are packed shoulder to shoulder with people and make for excellent people watching.  A few weekends ago Caro and I wandered passed Lagnaa which was packed with people so we decided to come back and check it out.

At first impressions, this place has a sense of humour.  There is a small blackboard at the entrance saying “slave labour needed”, the walls are covered with messages and there is a spice-o-meter at the entrance.  We weren’t really after a feast (wow, what restraint!) so we shared a green-curry chicken tika and a prawn marsala – both delicious.  The service was great – not over the top like Singapore service so often is, and there was no problem with making our mango lassi’s with “less sweet” so we didn’t feel like we were having dessert before our dinner.

The unique thing about this place is that once you have dined there you are invited to place your name and phone number on the blackboard and once a month a group text message goes out for a free 10-dish tasting for the first five people to correctly answer the question (you can bring a friend).  What a great idea!  I’m usually loathe to hand over my details because of the excessive mobile advertising which spams you in Singapore, but I was totally willing to in this situation – it’s all about the incentive.

I must remember to check out whether this place is recommended in Lonely Planet because it was pretty full of tourists (not always a plus in my book).  Pricing-wise it was middle of the road at $25 each for two mains a mango lassi and water each.  I’m not convinced it was better than the Banana Leaf (review here) but if you’re looking to try somewhere new in Little India it’s worth a shot.

Lagnaa

No. 6, Upper Dickson Road (the Serengoon Road end)

Singapore 207466

+65 6296 1215

You're Never Too Old for a Birthday Cake

You're never too old for a decorated birthday cake!

Like so many New Zealand children, I have vivid memories of leafing through the Women's Weekly birthday cake book as my birthday approached to select my masterpiece for the year (or rather my Mum's masterpiece).  I'm pretty sure with three girls Mum made it right the way through the book several times.

With Sander's birthday on the weekend I decided to have a go at creating my own 'masterpiece', and as he is obsessed with golf (he was playing when I was deciding what to bake), the '29th Tee' seemed appropriate.

The banana cake itself was delicious - very moist from the bananas and yoghurt, with a surprise chocolate chip and walnut layer in the middle.  I think my putter-making skills need a bit of work though!

Sander's 29th Tee birthday cake

Click here for the recipe at Epicurious but here is my version with a few substitutions:

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 C all-purpose white flour
• 1/2 C whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 113g unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons, melted and cooled
• 2/3 C light brown sugar
• 1/3 C dark brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
• 2/3 cup natural unsweetened yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2/3 C cocoa nibs
• 1 cup walnuts , toasted , cooled, and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C with rack in middle. Butter a round cake pan.
2. Stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.
3. Beat together softened butter  and 3/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, then beat in eggs 1 at a time until blended. Beat in bananas, yogurt, and vanilla (mixture will look curdled).
4. By hand (or with mixer on low speed), add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
5. Toss together chocolate, nuts, cinnamon, melted butter, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small bowl. Spread half of banana batter in cake pan and sprinkle with half of chocolate mixture. Spread remaining batter evenly over filling and sprinkle remaining chocolate mixture on top.
6. Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean (start checking at 30 minutes), 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes, then turn out onto rack and cool completely, right side up.

To make the green coconut:

1. Pour dessicated coconut into a ziplock bag or plastic Tupperware container
2. Add a few drops of green food colouring and shake to distribute
3. Continue adding food colouring a few drops at a time until the coconut is green enough

To make the icing:

1. Melt about 50g of butter in a small bowl
2. Add some lemon zest (about 1/4t - more if you like) and given the lemon a squeeze
3. Slowly add sifted icing sugar, mixing, until the icing is firm
4. Add more lemon juice/zest/icing sugar to taste
5. Spread icing on cooled cake with a hot knife and sprinkle coconut on top

Enjoy!

To Market, To Market

Whenever I travel I love to visit food markets.  They're so wonderfully alive, bustling, busy and chock-a-block with people going about their every day lives.  It's also a great way to discover unique local foods.  Here in Singapore I try to visit our local food market for my fruit and vege shopping - it's so much cheaper than the supermarkets.

Here are some of my favourite food market shots.

Ubud, Bali

Hong Kong

Mysore, India

Monday Night Meals: Channa Chat

Continuing with my Indian-influenced meals, this one is a winner.  It's quick, light, tasty and a feast for both the eyes and stomach.

The recipe is from Vegetarian, by Alice Hart (here) - a well-used gift from a few girlfriends for my birthday last year.

Channa Chat

I used a large red chilli instead of green, olive oil instead of groundnut, and hot chilli powder (love the kick).  I also had cherry tomatoes in the fridge already, so used those.  You'll see from the photos that I also added some sugar snap peas, broccoli and corn, also already in the fridge - really, you can add whatever vibrant combination of veges you like.


A word of warning - wear an apron if you're deseeding the pomegranate wearing light coloured clothes - the juice will stain and splashes are common.  The best way to deseed a pomegranate (I find) is to slice it into quarters and then use your fingers to pull pack the skin gently.  The most of the seeds will begin to fall out with a gentle nudge.  Allow the seeds to drop into a bowl/sieve and after emptying the shell, shake the loose seeds and remove any bits of the bitter white pith you see.

For the Chickpeas:

• 1 small onion, finely sliced
• 2cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 T groundnut oil
• 300g cooked chickpeas, or 1x400g tin, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 t mild chilli powder
• 1 t garam masala

For the Rest:

• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced
• 2 vine tomatoes, diced
• a squeeze of lemon
• 1 small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped, plus extra leaves to serve
• 4 heaped T natural yoghurt
• seeds from 1 pomegranate
• 2 large cooked poppadoms, roughly crushed

Saute the onion, ginger and chilli in oil for 5 minutes until onion is soft.  Add the chickpeas and cook for a further 5 minutes until golden.  Ad the chilli powder and garam masala and cook for another 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat, season well and set aside to cool.

Mix the cucumber, tomatoes, lemon juice and chopped coriander in a mixing bowl.  Divide between 4 plates and top with the chickpea mixture, yoghurt, pomegranate seeds and the crushed poppadoms.

Sprinkle with coriander leaves an serve before the poppadoms soften.

Do you have any Indian (or Indian-influenced) go-to recipes?

Saag Paneer and Tandoori Chicken with Garlic Naan

Palak paneer (spinach curry) is one of my favourites (along with chana marsala - chickpea curry) so when I come across the recipe here at 101 Cookbooks, I had to give it a try.  It's perfect for a Sunday night with a DVD, and it's dead easy.  This was also my first attempt at home made tandoori paste - also very easy.

Saag Paneer

The 101 Cookbooks recipe suggests baby spinach to avoid chopping out all the stems.  I actually used frozen spinach (stems and all) and blended with a stick blender towards the end.  I’ll try it again with fresh spinach and see if there’s a difference.

The recipe also suggests halloumi as a good paneer substitute (which I did) but living just over the road from Little India so I’ll get the real deal when I pick up the spinach.

I didn’t have buttermilk, so I just added some water instead, and ended up increasing the spice level, especially the chilli.

Ingredients

680g fresh (baby) spinach, well washed and dried

2 tablespoons ghee, clarified butter, or unsalted butter

230 – 340g paneer cheese, cut into 1cm cubes

2 medium onions, finely chopped

scant 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

3 medium garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

1 tablespoon spice mixture* (see below)

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup buttermilk

Splash of cream or dollop of plain yogurt (optional)

Fresh lemon to finish, and toasted sesame seeds to sprinkle

Chop the spinach well, and set aside in a large bowl.

Cook the paneer in one tablespoon of the butter over medium heat in a large skillet.  Cook the cubes in a single layer, turning regularly to brown evenly.  If using halloumi, keep an eye out because it will brown much more quickly than paneer.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

Heat the other tablespoon of butter in a large pot. Add the onions and salt, and saute until the onions soften up, five minutes or so. Add the garlic, ginger, spice mixture, and turmeric. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and nicely combined - a minute or two.

Turn the heat up to medium-high and add the spinach to the pan all at once, if possible. Cook, stirring all the while, until the spinach is collapsed and wilted, a couple of minutes. If you need to add the spinach in batches (adding more spinach as it collapses), that is fine too, just do it as quickly as possible.

Stir in the buttermilk and cream and heat gently while stirring. Taste and add more salt if necessary and more red pepper flakes if you like. Add a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice, stir in the paneer, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Serves 4-6.

*Spice Mixture: Use a mortar and pestle or spice grinder to grind the following spices as finely as possible: 2 tablespoons cumin seed, 1 tablespoons coriander seed, 2 teaspoons mustard seed, 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1/8 teaspoon cardamom seeds, 3 whole cloves.  Store in an airtight container and use as needed.

Tandoori Chicken

Paste

Recipe from Taste.com.au (here)

Ingredients

·         1/2 tsp sweet paprika

·         1/4 cup lemon juice

·         5cm cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped

·         2 garlic cloves, skinned

·         1 tbsp salt

·         1 teaspoon chilli paste

·         1 tbsp garam masala

·         3 tsp ground cumin

·         2 tbsp oil

·         3 tsp chilli powder

·         1 tbsp natural yoghurt

Add everything together and mix well.

Coat chicken in paste (thighs, breast, drumsticks), cover and set aside for several hours.  Cook the chicken over a coal grill for a more authentic flavour.  I fried mine in a pan.

Serves 4

Garlic Naan

Soften several tablespoons of butter and mix in some well chopped parsley and minced garlic.  Dot naan with butter mixture and heat in an oven until piping hot.

Nothing left but crumbs!

What are your favourite Sunday night recipes?

April 30-Day Challenge: 28th Daily Limerick - Sunday Morning Pancakes

Sunday mornings should start with pancakes.

A few minutes is all that it takes.

At the pantry I muse

As I struggle to choose

Between chunky oat or lemony crepes.

Healthy banana bread pancakes

All Sunday mornings should be pancake mornings.  Quite possibly the easiest breakfast to whip up, and there's no one to see if I forgo cutlery and lick my fingers afterwards!

This morning I decided to go for chunky banana bread pancakes (here), but these crepes (here) are also a firm favourite, with much better finger-licking potential.

Crepe cooking in action

What's your favourite pancake recipe?

Review: Esquina

For me, Esquina has all the ingredients for a fabulous evening - small venue, no reservations, tapas, open kitchen, great vibe, and of course, fabulous food.  Turn up, get lucky, get eating.  And lucky I was!  - lucky enough to be taken there for our eight year anniversary!

I first read about Esquina a month or two before I actually made it through the door.  It's surprising that I made it at all, given the detractors: some terrible on line reviews about the food and comments such as "you'll never get a table", "don't bother for dinner unless you want to wait two hours", "make sure you go before 7pm or after 8.30pm".

I ignored all the food comments (I prefer to make my own mind up on that score, thank you), but did heed the advice on arrival time.  Despite battling my way through every red traffic light along Victoria/New Bridge (a battle, even on my bike), we made it there just before 7pm, and I'm glad we did.  Not only did we have the best seats in the house right in front of the plating area, but by 7.15pm there wasn't a spare stool in sight.

Proof that at least one person reads my blog
- previous hints about flowers were noted - 

The atmosphere at Esquina is very cool.  Almost everyone sits bar-side, along the length of the open kitchen.  And when I say open, I mean open.  None of this glass-fronted business you find elsewhere - Esquina allows you to truly be in the kitchen.  You can hear the chef directing (and occasionally berating) his troops, you can smell the precisely weighed basil being ripped up for the sorbet, you can see your own dishes created right in front of you, and  you might even chat to Andrew Walsh (executive chef), if you're really lucky and the kitchen is temporarily quiet.

View to the left, view to the right

Best seats in the house - slap bang in the middle of the bar (above) and right in front of the plating station (below)

Plating begins with squid ink aioli

So what did we have?  We started with an aperitif (beer for Sander, bubbles for me) with marinated olives - surprisingly sweet, but not overly so.  The grilled asparagus with slow cooked egg special was delicious - rich, with a touch of smoke from the bacon and lentil dressing.  The seafood mixed grill special was fantastic, and I'm going to have to experiment with creating my own romesco sauce aioli (dangerously good).  I don't usually pick the pork belly, but how can you turn down a description that reads "confit pork belly, chorizo, white beans, paprika skin"?  

My only slight disappointment was that our ham croquetas came half way through the rest of our meal when we would have preferred them at the beginning with the olives.  Honestly, this was probably our fault for being over eager and ordering too much in one go, instead of dish by dish.

Despite being superbly full, as we finished our wine watching dish after dish of delicious desserts coming out, our will power was beginning to waver.  We were finally pushed over the 'sweet treat' edge when two tiny cones of berry (?) sorbet were passed to us, and with our best intentions in tatters, we ordered the pistachio cake to share - absolutely no regrets.

Asparagus special

The end asparagus result

Seafood mixed grill for two - squid, prawns, scallop, snapper and stingray

So, the verdict?   Dinner for two - yes! For three - if you can get the corner?  For more - probably not, if you want to have a conversation.  Oh, and skip afternoon tea - you're going to need all the tummy capacity you can manage.  Enjoy!


Details:

16 Jiak Chuan Road
Singapore 089267
info@esquina.com.sg
Tel: +65 222 1616

Mondays to Fridays:
12 Noon to 3 pm, 6pm to 11pm

Saturdays:
6pm to 11pm

Closed on Sundays

Savour - Save Your 'Savour Dollars' for Something Better

The Savour Singapore 2012 festival was a mixed affair for me.  I loved the wine and whisky tastings, but I was constantly nagged by the vague feeling I was being ripped off.

Let's start with the positives.  There was a plethora of master classes to attend - choosing 30 minute slots of wine tasting, chocolate making, artisan bread, whisky tasting... it was so tough that I was forced to make a spreadsheet (yes, I'm that much of a dork) timetabling the classes to help me choose between them.  These master classes by and large free as well, which was excellent.

We were running rather late by the time we arrived (negating the need for half my timetable), but I hustled off to the wine tasting which turned out to be New Zealand sauvignon blanc - excellent!  Contrary to most New Zealanders, I'm more of a chardonnay fan, but slowly over the last two years I've found myself drinking more and more of New Zealand's most famous grape.  A perfect opportunity to learn more!

I joined up with the rest of our group in the wine tasting area briefly before whisking (ahem, excuse the pun) myself away to the whisky tasting (hmmm... I'm noticing a theme here).  Again, excellent.  Did you know that whisky drinkers are actually encouraged to add a drop or two of water to their whisky to release the volatiles and unleash the full aroma?  I had always thought 'proper' whisky drinkers disdained water. 

Single malt and single cask whisky

The other excellent drop from Savour was Somersby Cider (sigh, yes, definitely a theme).  Cider is definitely a Singapore-friendly drink, best served with lots of ice but are often overly sweet.  Somersby Cider was certainly on the lower end of the sweetness scale, with a good amount of 'tart', avoiding tasting like lolly water.

So now for my gripes.

Billed as an affordable event ("At Savour customers get to eat high quality food at affordable prices"), I found this to be blatantly untrue. Paying $60 for my ticket, I was given $30 Savour dollars on entry. This was enough to buy one drink and a small mouthful of food. This wagu beef pastry was delicious, but at $18 a pop, dinner becomes very expensive.

$18 for this?!

I was baffled by the wine tasting area - you couldn't purchase a glass of wine, let alone a bottle, for consumption. This meant that people were constantly popping back and forth between the seating areas and the stalls for a 'tasting' - not very good for carrying on a conversation. Yes, there were other areas in the festival where you could buy a bottle of wine, but no glasses or corkscrews meant that immediate consumption was distinctly discouraged.

So would I go again?  Probably not.  I had a good time, but it certainly didn't live up to the standard set by other food festivals I have been to.  Friends who went to the day time session seemed to enjoy it though.

Did you go?  Did you enjoy it?

Other Scenes from Savour

Ah, the Verve Cliquot tent.  If only I could be a permanent resident.

Not a sign you see every day...

I hope she didn't pay $18 for her egg

Apparently delicious, but the queue was about 20 minutes long!