Culinary tales in Covid times

When in doubt, pull them out. The recipe books I mean. When in pain, go down culinary lane. You are sure to hit a sweet spot and discover that the Sun still rises from the East and the gentle rain still brings succour.

In my world, nothing succeeds like soufflé (not that I have been making many of those), or cuisines from all corners of the world. As someone married to a global foodie (and half way there myself), I learnt early that the one sure-shot way to the spouse’s heart was through his alimentary canal. And I can safely say that the Covid-19 pandemic has given me the opportunity of a lifetime to hone my skills in my hot and steamy Indian kitchen.

Yes, the unrelenting march of Covid-induced coma, (I prefer to call it lockdowns), has virtually pushed me to rendezvous with delightful food formulae that look mouth-wateringly alluring in the glossy pages of cheffy tomes. The slumberous Covid days have compelled me to engage actively with my hand-mixie, the long-forgotten griddle, my sophisticated but hibernating air fryer and the old faithful and now fruitful oven.

Bakes, stir-frys, curries (of the Indian and Thai kind), Chinese chut-put, tandoori fare and many things delectable have all emerged in happy profusion from the precincts of my cucina. That’s kitchen in Italian for you, yet another favourite food type of the lord and master. And who am I to argue?

Basically, you name it, I’ve cooked it. Yes, admittedly, I have been weak on the desserts, but calorie consciousness has to take precedence somewhere, no?

Yours faithfully meanwhile, has magically, and quite tirelessly conjured up food of a staggering variety, in the process consuming a mind-boggling array of sauces with unpronounceable names. Dollops and ladles of butter, ghee and oils. Masses of dry and fresh herbs (some courtesy my own mini-kitchen garden). Spices/masalas that tickle the palate and nasal orifices, that are both known and unknown by human-kind. And meats and veggies (both fresh and wilted) delivered faithfully by Amazon and the many abounding ‘Baskets’.

The reality is that my culinary gain has been their gain too. The pandemic has truly blessed the dot.coms, especially of the grubby sort.

Honestly, I have literally and figuratively cooked up a storm and have at least five to 10 additional kilos on the self and that of the bitter half to show for it. I know it sounds excessive, but it’s been for a good cause. After all who has not needed a mood lifter in these Covid times? I am glad I have lived to tell a Covid tale! I am sharing two simple and easy recipes, which I have refined to a fine art during 2020-21, with a spate of lockdowns ensuring that I stayed home.

Eggs Kejriwal

(This is adelicious egg concoction that was born in Mumbai’s famous Wellingdon Sports Club, where a Marwari gentleman with Kejriwal as his surname decided to give his eggs a twist. Today, of course, it has come to be associated with a certain famous Chief Minister, who we are not certain has heard of the recipe! Basically, it’s just one of the countless ways of sprucing up the versatile egg, and Eggs Kejriwal makes for a perfect breakfast, lunch, dinner or mid-day snack. I can in fact can have it at almost any time of the day, or night.)

Ingredients

• A Pao bun or a thickly cut bread slice of your favourite bread (one for each person at your table)
• 1 tsp of mustard for each slice or bun half
• Grated cheese
• Two finely chopped tomatoes
• A green chilly finely sliced
• A bunch of cilantro leaves, washed and chopped
• A finely chopped red onion
• Left over French fries if available (this is totally optional)

Method

Step 1

Butter the bread or pao bun on both sides and lightly brown in a frying pain. Smear one side of the bread with mustard and place the bread mustard side up in a pan

Step 2

Mix together the cheese, chilly, tomatoes, cilantro and onions and put a portion of the mixture on each slice of bread or pao. Place the bread/pao in a grill/oven or a non-stick frying pan (covering the pan) and keep for a few minutes until the cheese melts and mixture starts bubbling and becomes gooey. If you are adding potato fries, chop them up and add to the mixture itself.

Step 3

Fry eggs in a frying pan until the white edges get crispy and the yolk remains soft.  Slide the eggs over the bread/pao buns and enjoy the oozy deliciousness.

The second recipe is Blue Berry muffins. I use dried berries when the fresh ones are not available. The fresh ones however, can be found at any of the specialized gourmet food stores that now dot virtually every city anywhere.

Blue Berry Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (195 gms) all-purpose flour
• 3/4^th cup (150 gms) granulated sugar, plus 1 Tbs for muffin tops
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 2 tsps. baking powder
• 1/3^rd cup (80 ml), neutral-flavoured oil; canola, vegetable and grape seed (I have used even coconut often and got excellent results)
• 1 large egg
• 1/3-1/2 cup (80 ml-120 ml) milk, dairy and non-dairy both work
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 6-8 ounces (about 1 cup) of fresh or frozen blueberries

Method

Step 1

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. For big topped muffins, line eight standard-sized muffin cups with paper liners. For standard-sized muffins line 10 muffin cups. Fill the remaining cups with 1-2 Tsps. of water to help the muffins bake evenly.

Step 2 (for the batter)

• Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.
• Start with oil, adding the milk, egg and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
• Add milk mixture to the bowl with dry ingredients and use a fork to combine. Do not overmix (The muffin batter will be quite thick). Fold in the blueberries.
• Place in the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the tops are golden brown and a skewer pierced into a muffin comes out clean.
• Dust some granulated sugar on top of the muffins