Tom Chick – a sweet n sour flirt in the kitchen- chicken with tomatoes n some more tomatoes

Chicken with Fresh Tomatoes, Sweet Soy, Ketchup n Garlic n that’s all and we have got Tom Chick - An absolutely fast, easy n delish eat 

I guess I have a thing for sweet n sour things, some kind of thing you know, it lifts the mood to become alive and it doesn’t have to be summer to feel this! Winter makes no difference; the combination of sweet n sour is like watching the clear sky filled with bright stars after many gloomy days.

You got to have recipes in your brain that is fast, flavorful n amazing for all those times you come home after a long tiring day and you still have to cook or you wanna cook but you don’t want to spend too much time doing it-this chicken recipe is for those days, it is a savior! Its quick but more than that it’s so delish like totally finger licking…make it for your friends and watch the scene, all you need for the recipe are tomatoes, chicken, sweet soy sauce, tomato ketchup (yeah that’s right!), garlic n black peppers n pink rock salt(shoot this salt if you haven’t already got it).

The basic inspiration for this recipe was tomato-the day I was designing this dish I was telling myself the whole thing has to be very tomato-y n absolutely delish, so it comes in 2 forms, the fresh ripe tomatoes and the ketchup, you can use tomato concentrate in this recipe also if you have got some, or passata or homemade tomato sauce that you made for your pasta, all will do.

Another interesting ingredient is the sweet soy which is like a syrup n thick which is off course sweet with s light hint of smokiness in it n it reminds me of molasses, the Indonesian Kecap Manis is just that thing, it’s dark, deep n sweet. So get that in your home and it will add a very cool dimension to your cooking, ask for sweet soy sauce or kecap Manis.  If you have not got sweet soy but a good quality normal salty soy sauce you can still use it, add some sugar to it or palm sugar to it to give it some sweetness.

For this recipe try to use ketchup that is not very sweet, taste it first, if it feels very sweet use it in lesser amount to balance that taste. And you got to have bread in your home, because this dish goes so well with breads, more than it goes with rice, a hot bowl of this tom chick n lightly warm bread or crispy parantha and oh my god, this is enough to create good moods. Tom Chick-yeah that’s what I call this recipe! 

So now I’ll take you to the recipe.

For The Recipe:  You will need

Chicken thigh including drumsticks- 250-300gm, cut into 3 or 4 medium large pieces on bone

Tomatoes red ripe- 4, chopped

Garlic – 6 medium cloves, peeled n kept whole

Red chili flakes- 1 tsp

Black pepper- 10

Sweet soy sauce- 1 – 1 ½ tbsp

Tomato ketchup- 1 -1 ½ tbsp

Salt

Pink rock salt/Himalayan salt- 3 pinch

Vegetable oil- 3 tbsp

Butter- 1 tbsp

1. Place a heavy based frying pan or wok on low heat, add the oil n then the butter, add the whole black peppercorns n the garlic cloves, on a low heat fry them for 1 minute until you see they are just beginning to color, at that point add the chopped tomatoes and increase the heat to high for 30 sec, toss them around then reduce the flame to low n give them 4 min stirring in between, then make shallow slices in the chicken pieces for them to cook quickly and put them in the pan n increase the heat to medium high, sauté them for a good 7/8 minutes on medium heat until they get light brown to brown color all over, so you need to flip them after every 3 minutes, at this point of time we are frying the chicken really well to get caramelized along with the tomatoes, the tomatoes are getting all cooked and getting to almost a paste, we need to sauté chicken for about 8-10 minutes like this on medium heat, when they get well colored on all sides, add salt, pinch of pink rock salt n the sweet soy n tomato ketchup n mix well, then cover the pan with a lid, reduce the flame to minimum n give it 2 minutes, then  add the red chili flakes according to how hot you want it to be, add a splash of water if you see it is browning a bit too much, the water will cool it down n thin out the consistency, cover again and from this point on give it about 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked, stir in between n flip the chicken pieces and add a splash of water a couple of times if things are drying up, when the chicken is cooked check for the seasoning n adjust, add a little more sweet soy n ketchup if you like. Then put the flame off n give it 2 minutes standing time and then boo-hoo you are done!

2. I presented the dish with carrot puree, but it’s just optional, for the puree I boiled the carrot until they are just tender, then I blend them with extra virgin olive oil, a blob of butter, a touch of lime juice n salt n touch of water n that’s all. 

Walla! So the chicken is ready in about 20 minutes and there is no big cutting chopping required and now it is time to taste the tom chick, so go ahead, dip the spoon n lift the out dark red gravy with a piece of soft chicken n taste it…………….yeahhhhhh! I know, I know…so good right! Sour n sweet n yummy, eat it with lightly toasted bread it will be a great delight, its kinda addictive. Bon appétit!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake: The cake The Monsoon romances with…

A Monsoon Romance Story between the Pineapple n the Cake; Pineapple Upside Down Cake n they did exist happily ever after until we ate it

Monsoon is a huge thing in India, the season of rain showers and almost the whole country it getting wet now, the greenery is at its bloom, the crops are finding their voice, the frogs are planning for the future, the peacocks are totally showing off, the drowned human being are looking for a dry shelter because the shower played a bit too much at some places, wild mushrooms are coming to life in several forests n they are the best, pineapples are popping out of the soil, the hilsa fish is finally meeting their destiny: getting steamed with coconut n mustard, the  mature sugar-palm fruits are oozing out deep orange sap out of their rough n tough fibers-life is full of contrast I tell you, fritters are getting crispy in the hot oil in the evenings  n sauces are being churned in blenders.

I love the sight of pineapples all arranged in rows after rows in the local market as the monsoon comes, I totally love their flavor…there is something about pineapples that makes me salivate. As you cut across a pineapple- the sharp knife goes through the soft flesh of the pineapple, the tough exterior gives off as you slice them off one by one, the fresh juice oozes out n the aroma hits you- this whole experience is satisfying n provocative.

This cake is decadent; it looks totally impressive, tastes even better and truly very satisfying. The first time I baked this humble cake I fell in love with it, the cake is soft n moist like a dream, the pineapple slices all dark, full of depth n caramelized with the sugar n the butter and the soft cake sits on  that absolutely delicious pineapple layer .

First the butter n sugar are taken to a dark caramel color n poured in the cake tin, the fresh pineapple pieces sit on that, then the cake batter goes on top of that, as the cake bakes, moisture from the pineapple penetrates through the cake batter upwards making it rise n keeping it moist, the same moisture from the pineapple doesn’t let itself burn in the caramel, the baking powder also helps in giving the cake the lift n lightness.  Finally when the cake is done and you flip it over, the mere sight of it makes you smile and the air in the room gets heavy n hungry with the dissolving aroma.

The first time I made this cake when I was watching the video of Stephanie Jaworski on her site joyofbaking.com, it is a wonderful video n there was a fresh pineapple on my lunch table and I thought I will give it a try, and in that evening I was holding the beautiful cake in my hands n everyone in my home were happy. I really like her recipe, so give her a watch if you want. In my recipe I have not used the cream of tartar and I have also omitted the cherries, also I have used more butter in the cake batter, the amount is not a big number but it certainly makes a slight difference. So I know by now you are getting impatient for the recipe, so let’s bake this damn good cake and trust me it will be a staple cake in your house.

For The Recipe:  You will need

For the Cake Batter:

All purpose flour- 200 gm, sifted

Butter-120 gm (I used 150) at room temp

Sugar-200 gm, powdered

Baking powder- 2 tsp

Salt-a pinch (skip if butter is salted)

Vanilla extract-1 tsp

Egg-2 large, separated

Milk full-fat- 120 ml

Lime juice- a few drops for whisking the egg-whites

For the Pineapple Layer:

Butter- 55 gm/4 tbsp

White sugar/light brown sugar- 160 gm

Fresh/tinned pineapple slices- 25 pieces app., cut into ½ inch pieces

Pre-heat your oven to 180 C/350 F, butter an 8 inch cake tin.

1. Start by making the caramel mixture, place the butter n sugar in a saucepan over medium heat, let the sugar dissolve and let the whole thing get brown to dark brown which will take just few minutes, shake the pan to even out the caramelization, then pour the whole thing carefully into the buttered cake tin. After that take the pineapple pieces n arrange in a circular pattern over the caramel, pack the small gaps with small pieces of pineapple, and keep aside.

2. For the cake batter, first in a clean non-oily wide bowl pour the egg-white and squeeze a few drops of fresh lime/lemon juice over them, then with a clean whisk start whisking them, when they reach the ribbon stage add 2 tsp of powdered sugar as you whisk and take them to firm peak, not stiff peak, just firm.

3. In another bowl cream the butter n sugar until pale n fluffy, then add the vanilla extract, mix well, then add the egg yolks one by one, whisking after each addition until well mixed, then first add 1/3 rd flour n baking powder mixture, mix briskly, then ½ milk n mix, then another 1/3 flour n mix, then rest of the milk n mix, lastly the rest of flour. Finally take ½ of the egg white and mix with big strokes, its okay if at this stage you can still see the egg-whites at places, and then fold the rest of the egg-whites carefully. Finally pour the batter slowly over the pineapple, place it in the oven for about 45-55 minutes until the cake has started to shrink from the sides of the pan, a toothpick inserted into the cake comes clean. Place it over a wire rack n rest it for 10 minutes, then carefully run a knife around the edges and flip it open in one quick move over a cake stand or plate n tap softly on the back n lift it up slowly.

There you are! What do you see as you just lift the pan off! isn’t that just amazing and I know there is a smile all over your face, share this view with everyone at home before you cut the first slice and when you do you will fall in love with this cake again. This cake needs nothing else but you. Bon appétit.