Fridge adventures: A perfect meal from simple ingredients

The idea was this: Firstpost staff invite a friend over to cook a one/two/three course meal for and he/she would raid the pantry and kitchen — he/she had to have no idea what would be in it — to come up with something impressive. And palatable. 

Since Neha Amesur, my friend, was a trainee at the Olive Kitchen, she offered a three-course line up. All I was willing to do to make life simpler for her — I don’t cook a lot in my kitchen, at least, even though I like to keep my kitchen full to feel at home — was ask what basic stuff she’d need there. Absolute, most basic.

Two days after the invite — was it nerves, I won’t know — she texted me to get some Thai curry powder and canned peaches. So out went a gentle reminder that it was meant to be basic, and furthermore, a surprise!

“Salt, pepper, flour, rice, coriander, onion, garlic,” she sounded confident with those. I got some veggies too — some for continental, some for oriental.

On the designated day, we met up at Shivaji Park and walked home.

Neha was pretty pleased with the pantry; this was going to be my housewarming dinner from her. She really wanted to use those green olives, even if in a martini. But then, she couldn’t decide where to put them.

Glass noodles… Thank goodness. To go with the Chinese sauces. Main course —check.

Chicken, lemons. Starter — check.

Virgin jar of nutella, dessert material — check.

Starter:

It took her 10 minutes to plan the big meal. And 15 to cook the entrée — lemon-coriander chicken. To describe it, would take longer than cooking it. Lesson #1: Out of clutter, simplicity! — Anon.

Main course:

The main course went a little out of control, just a little. There was chicken, cheddar cheese, herbs. With noodles. Italian with Chinese. So chicken breast, neatly sliced was, stuffed with a ball of cheese cooked with onion and herbs. Grilled at 200 degree C till cooked golden, but not too dry. A poke now and then will tell you. That on a bed of glass noodles. It turned out quite camera unfriendly: translucent, white noodles under white meat. We needed some colour. And some zing.

White sauce was out — since we were trying to break the visual monotony. So we took the one thing in the pantry that could help us with the colour — dark soya, even though to pair that with cheddar instinctively felt odd. Anyhow, we were making a dark soya and vinegar dressing with a pinch each of salt and sugar. With stir-fried veggies on the side. The two actually went quite well. Lesson #2: Food instincts are conditioning, really. Undo!

Dessert:

Done with uncertainty, dessert was going to be simple, comfort food. So mini pancakes slapped on with Nutella it was. Lesson#3: Things you can do with Nutella, other than eat it straight from the jar. Light!

Would you like to arrange something similar and have us come over and make a video of it? Mail us at firstpostmumbai@network18.com_. You don’t need to be a pro or even a trainee or cook up stuffed turkey – it isn’t called adventures for nothing._ 

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Recipes: 

Starter:  Pepper lemon chicken

Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken pieces — 250 gms • Freshly ground black pepper — I tbsp • Lemon juice — 1tbsp •  Coriander leaves — 1 fistful chopped •  Salt as per taste •  1 tbsp of butter + 1tsp olive oil • Cornflour- 3/4th of a tbsp dissolved in a small cup of water • Green chillies — medium sized finely chopped

Note: Apply salt to the chicken pieces before cooking.

Method:

In a pan heat butter and oil. To that, add the chicken pieces and fry the same for a minute until it starts cooking in its own juice/liquid. Then add finely chopped green chillies, sauté for a few seconds. Sprinkle freshly ground black pepper, mix it. Then add lemon juice and adjust salt if needed.

To thicken the flavoured watery gravy, add water dissolved cornflour to the mixture and keep the heat on until it thickens. Finally, garnish the mixture with freshly chopped coriander leaves and serve hot!

Main course: Fusion chicken

(Chicken breast stuffed with an Italian-inspired cheese and herbs mixture laid on a bed of Thai noodles and assorted vegetables — flavoured with a tangy and sweet Asian dressing)

Ingredients:

•  Chicken breast – 1 piece •  Grated cheese (of your choice – preferably cheese which melts easily): Cheddar, Smoked Scarmoza, etc — 3 tbsp • Fresh Thyme/Oregano or mixture of all both — 1 tbsp • 1 small onion — finely chopped • Garlic — 2 cloves finely chopped •  Salt & pepper to taste • Chilli flakes — optional • Olive oil or butter to sauté

Method:

First make a slit in the chicken breast and create a pocket for the stuffing. Rub the surface with a little salt and oil.

The stuffing – In a pan take oil or butter, sauté the garlic lightly; then add the chopped onions and cook them until they are translucent (not to be burnt, browned or (caramelised). Then add your herbs and cheese. Cook the mixture just long enough to melt the cheese and remove from the flame. Adjust salt & pepper if required.

Stuff the chicken with this mixture. And seal the open end of the chicken with a toothpick. Pan fry the chicken or put it on a hot grill for the grill marks and the golden tinge. Put this chicken in a pre-heated oven at a temperature of 200C for 5 minutes.

For the accompaniments:

• Carrots – 1tbsp julienne • French Beans – 1 tsp – julienne • Any other vegetable of your choice • Pad Thai Noodles — 100 gms • Garlic — 3 small cloves finely chopped • Soya sauce — 1tbsp • Chilli sauce – 1tsp • Sugar – 1 tsp • Vinegar — 2 tsp • Spring onions – 1 sprig chopped

Method:

To make the noodles, put them in nearly boiled water and cover them with a lid. Put off the flame for 10 minutes. Drain the water when you find the noodles slightly chewy, not completely cooked. Drizzle the noodles with a little oil to keep them from sticking to each other.

In a pan, heat butter and sauté the julienned vegetables just until the rawness is gone. The crunchiness adds to the texture.

For the Asian dressing:

In a pan or any wok or mixing bowl, take all the liquid ingredients i.e. finely chopped garlic soya sauce, vinegar, chilly sauce, sugar and oil. The mixture can be whisked into an emulsion in a mixing bowl or can be slightly cooked on heat. Add to it, chopped spring onions to give it a little crunch and freshness.

For the plating:

Lay the noodles on the plate — this could be done using a ring mould or one could put noodles in a small bowl and turn it upside down for a ‘restaurant-style’ presentation. Put your stuffed chicken breast on top of the noodles. Plate the vegetables on the side or all around plate. The Asian dressing can be served separately or can be drizzled during service.

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Dessert : Nutella Pancakes

Ingredients:

• Flour – 100 gms • Milk- enough to make the pancake batter of a flowing consistency • Egg – 1, lightly beaten • Baking powder- 1/8 of a tsp • Sugar- as per taste • Vanilla Essence- 2 drops • Nutella jar – as much as you fancy

Method:

Break the egg in a bowl and add sugar to it. Beat the egg lightly until the sugar is dissolved. In another bowl, sieve the flour and baking powder to remove lumps. Add the wet ingredients to the dry one and mix them, make sure there are no lumps in the mixture. Add milk to the mixture until the batter is of flowing consistency. Add the vanilla essence to it.

Use a hot plate on slow to medium flame to make the pancakes. Grease the hotplate with a little butter, and pour a small ladle full of batter to make the crepe. Keep it on a low flame and cover with a lid for 30seconds before flipping. After flipping, cover it again. Grease it with butter after removing it from the hot plate.. make more pancakes in this manner.

Lay all the pancakes on a plate and put heaps of nutella on each one of them to go with. Garnish the same with roasted, sugar-coated nuts such as pistachios and almonds or hazelnuts.

If you find the Nutella too thick or dry, it could be thinned or whisked with a little cream or milk for a flowing consistency.

Would you like to arrange something similar and have us come over and make a video of it? Mail us at firstpostmumbai@network18.com_. You don’t need to be a pro or even a trainee or cook up stuffed turkey – it isn’t called adventures for nothing._