Chicken, Okra & Sausage Gumbo

December 11, 2013 By sujatha 1 Comment

We’re counting ourselves lucky to be spending the winter here in California where temperatures are quite mild. Having said that, the last few days have seen a drop with really chilly mornings and evenings. When the weather gets nippy, there’s nothing better than a warming bowl of stew and that’s exactly why I made a large pot of gumbo last evening.

We had our first taste of gumbo on our trip through the southern states last year, in New Orleans to be specific. Since then, it’s been on my list of must try recipes. It took living in the US to find all the right ingredients to make this dish and am happy I tried it out. After last evening, gumbo is now officially on our must-have-often list of recipes.

Made using the holy trinity of southern cooking – pepper, onion and celery along with a roux from flour and oil, this dish is perfect for this time of the year.

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Kung Pao Chicken – An Easy Weekday Dinner

November 12, 2013 By sujatha 2 Comments

We are slowly settling into our new surroundings and liking it so far. Most of our belongings are still on a container ship somewhere out there making its slow way to this part of the world. So while I wait to be reunited with my kitchenware, I have begun stacking up on ingredients to help with home cooked meals.

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Beef Rendang

September 25, 2013 By sujatha 1 Comment

The best memories are made almost always by accident – stumbling upon a quiet beach while on holiday, running into interesting people who have intriguing stories to share and finding surprisingly delicious food in places where you go in with no expectations. That last one has happened to us many a time. One such instance was when we were out in Dublin on a Saturday, found ourselves starving and decided to try out a rather nondescript restaurant called ‘Penang’ located on central O’Connell Street. It was the name and the menu that attracted us. While the interiors won’t blow you away and it is definitely not the place you’d go to for a romantic dinner, the food is simple yet scrumptious and good value for money.

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Rabbit in Mustard Sauce – Lapin à la Moutarde

August 31, 2013 By sujatha Leave a Comment

Rabbit or lapin seems to be as commonplace as beef, chicken or lamb in French cuisine. It is commonly available in any local supermarket right beside chicken, duck and other poultry.

Last week, we happened to have a lovely dinner at the local ‘bar tabac’ (the local joint where workers in the area hang out and have their lunch daily or a beer at the end of the day) where Monique, the lady who runs it, cooked up quite a meal. We’ve come to love these rustic meals where you’re fed until you have to be rolled out of your seat – the usual meal consists of at least 4 courses if not more, all for a princely sum of around 11-15 EUR including a carafe of wine. So, when at Monique’s place, we tasted the main course of rabbit, it reminded me of how i’d tried out a rabbit in mustard sauce recipe once before. We’d really enjoyed it and when I spotted some great looking rabbit meat on our last supermarket trip, I knew I had to make it once more and share it here.

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Chicken & Yoghurt Curry

August 28, 2013 By sujatha 2 Comments

If you’re looking for a mild curry to satisfy your curry cravings then you should try this one. I made this simple dish to accompany the fiery beef stew the other day so that everybody at the table had something to their taste. It went down a treat and so, I thought I’d share it here.