My First Blog...

Here I go with my first blog at Love In A Pot.  Why Love in a pot?  Well, I love cooking and cooking with love, for people you love is the most important ingredient of any recipe.  And I know you all agree with me on this one.   So fill all that love in a pot that gets together your loved ones, share some laughter and music and life is all good!

Its been a bright sunny Sunday and like all other Sundays it is special as the entire family is at home for lunch.   As I sip my tea in the balcony,  thinking of nothing, my attention is drawn towards this eagle gliding away in the clear sky.  The pigeons around have started to flutter in groups from the west to east and back and forth.  But this eagle is calm and sways at a higher altitude, keeping an eye on her prey perhaps and planning her move.   I am engrossed in this entire drama and trying to draw some lessons – Stay Calm Stay Focussed.  So let me get back and focus on the menu I have planned for the Sunday lunch.   It is ginger lemon chicken and some garlic prawns with a yoghurt dil remoulade.  I am done with my breakfast and its time to don the apron.  I get the prawns ready for their spa treatment.  They are now soaked up in soy sauce sauce and vinegar. Half an hour later I am ready with my 'mise en place'.  So let me just put down the ingredients :





Ginger Lemon Chicken

500 gms chicken breasts, cut in bite size pieces

1 onion, quartered

1” piece of ginger, thinly sliced

1 tsp of grated ginger

3/4 cup lime or lemon juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp zest of lime

1 cup chicken stock

2 tsp cornflour

Salt & pepper to taste

3 tbsps oil

Fresh parsley, chopped

2 green chillies (optional)

In a pan mix together the lime juice, grated ginger, lemon zest, sugar and stock. Let it simmer.  Meanwhile heat a skillet with 4 tbsp oil and lightly  fry the chicken pieces  little at a time till the pink flesh turn white.  Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and keep aside.  In the same skillet drop the sliced ginger and onions and toss them till they turn a glossy pink.  Pick them up in a slotted spoon and drop them in the lemon gravy that is simmering along with the pieces of chicken.  Let the meat absorb the juices for 2 minutes.  Then prepare a paste of cornflour by taking 2 tbsps of the cooking liquid and adding the cornflour.  Mix it to a smooth paste and add to the gravy. Cook for a minute till the gravy thickens.  Sprinkle fresh parsley before serving. Serve with steamed rice.

This is a sweet tangy sauce, but I like mine a little hot so I add in a few chopped green chillies along with the chicken.  Go ahead and make yours more sweeter or tangier the way it appeals to your taste buds





Garlic Prawns

6 large prawns, shelled & deveined (leave the tails on – the fisherwoman took off the tails from my prawns sigh!!)

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp Chinese rice wine vinegar

4 flakes garlic, chopped

3 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a non stick pan.  When hot, sprinkle the chopped garlic and fry lightly till they turn a light golden colour.  Lay the prawns in the pan and fry them for a few minutes on both sides.  Do not overcook or brown else they will loose their juices.  Lay them in a plate garnished with celery  and dusted with pepper.  Serve with Yoghurt Dil Remoulade

Yoghurt Dil Remoulade

1 cup yoghurt

1 thsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tbsp onion, chopped fine

1tbsp fresh dill, chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Whisk  together all the ingredients.  Empty  it in a serving bowl and let it rest so the flavours are released in the curd.  This sauce goes well with most grilled sea food preparations.