A taste of Yellow Mirchi
This restaurant doesn’t need publicity No, seriously we . , mean it. Going by the packed house they had on a Tuesday night, it’s a wonder why they even bothered to invite us for a review. Anyway they politely , did, and we went. The experience turned out to be a mixed bag. The food was excellent, the ambience good, the crowd average and the live entertainment bad.
The cuisine offers an array of Indian and Chinese dishes, but we settled for Indian and didn’t regret having made that choice. For starters, we tried the Frontier Mix Grill Platter, which comes in portions customised for two or four people.
The Machhi Amritsari, a traditional deep fried sole fish fillet, was par excellence. Among the veg starters, the star was Harey Masale ka Bhuna Paneer, that has a strong yet refreshing flavour of coriander and mint. For main course, we stuck to the conventional and opted for Lazeez Murg Tikka, which was passable, while the Mutton Rogan Josh was right upto the mark.
Vegetarians must try the Makkai Palak (corn cooked in fresh spinach puree and aromatic herbs). Lalla Mussa Dal, a house speciality turned out , to be like any other good dal makhni, which somehow always finds its way onto a typical Punjabi dinner table.
For those with a sweet tooth, the lunch or dinner could come to a perfect conclusion with the creamy chocolate chip mousse which is sinful, to say the least.
Appam – South Indian Desserts
Appam
Ingredients for Appam:
1 cup rava
½ cup maida
¾ cup wheat flour
1½ cup jaggery
¼ cup milk
oil for frying
2 elaichi
edible camphor
Method:
Soak rava in little water and milk for about 30 minutes.
Combine maida, wheat flour and soaked rava together.
Dissolve jaggery in boiling water and mix this with the flour mixture.
Pound elaichi and add this to mixture.
Add edible camphor.
Make small balls and deep fry in oil.
Start your day light
SWAP… Two scrambled eggs (308 calories, 28g fat)
…FOR
Two fried eggs (214 calories, 16g fat)WHY?
Scrambled egg may seem like the more virtuous option, but it’s impossible to make it properly without adding milk and butter.
SWAP… An almond croissant (481 calories, 30.5g fat)
…FOR
Two slices of fruit bread (206 calories, 3g fat)WHY?
The calorie count for the average coffee shop almond croissant isn’t far shy of 500 and it will surely fill you up for only half an hour.SWAP… Two sausages (185 calories, 11g fat)
…FOR
Beans on a slice of toast (267 calo ries, 2g fat)WHY?
Half a large tin of beans with one slice of unbuttered toast actually has more calories than two sausages, but it’s much healthier.
portion, but buy the reduced-salt
version – it’s even healthier.
SWAP… 40g corn flakes and semi-skimmed milk (205 calories, 2g fat)
…FOR
40g porridge oats with semiskimmed milk (221 calories, 6g fat)WHY?
There’s no calorie saving here, but you can’t beat porridge for its slow-release energy, which will stop you digging into the biscuit tin.
SWAP… 150g of tub yoghurt
…FOR
Honey and a chopped banana (370WHY?
calories, 14g fat). Or a low-fat tomato sandwich (120 calories, 3g fat)
Yoghurt is one of the few foods that’s less than healthy. The full-fat version is 10 per cent fat and the calories soon mount.
Tuscan burgers
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 600g beef mince
- 100g pancetta, rind removed, chopped
- 1/3 cup (90g) basil pesto
- 2 small red onions, thickly sliced
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 2 small vine-ripened tomatoes, thickly sliced
- 1/2 cup (150g) whole-egg mayonnaise
- 3-4 bocconcini, sliced
- 4 Italian bread rolls, split
- 50g baby rocket leaves
Method
- Place beef, pancetta and 2 tablespoons pesto in a processor. Season with salt and pepper. Pulse until just combined (do not overprocess). Form mixture into 4 patties and chill while you cook the vegetables.
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Heat a chargrill pan or barbecue over medium heat. Toss onion in a little oil and grill for 1 minute each side or until just cooked. Place in the oven to keep warm.
- Brush tomatoes with a little oil and season, then grill for 1 minute each side. Place in the oven to keep warm.
- Brush both sides of patties with oil. Cook on chargrill for 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through.
- Mix remaining pesto with mayonnaise.
- Top patties with cheese and place in oven for 1 minute or until cheese melts.
- Spread bread-roll bases with some of the mayonnaise mixture. Top with rocket, patties, onion and tomato. Drizzle with remaining mayonnaise mixture and top with remaining bread-roll halves
Chilli beef hotpot
Ingredients (serves 4)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 800g beef chuck steak, cut into 3cm cubes
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika (see note)
- 35g packet Mexican chilli seasoning mix
- 1/2 cup dry red wine
- 700g bottle Italian tomato passata sauce
- 400g can red kidney beans, drained, rinsed
- steamed rice and coriander sprigs, to serve
Method
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook steak, in batches, for 4 minutes or until browned, adding more oil to pan if necessary. Remove beef to a bowl.
- Add paprika and seasoning mix to pan. Cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Return beef and any juices to pan. Stir in wine. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes or until wine is reduced by half.
- Add passata sauce and 1 1/2 cups cold water. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 2 hours or until meat is tender.
- Stir in beans. Cook, uncovered, for a further 5 minutes or until beans are heated through. Spoon hotpot over steamed rice. Top with coriander. Serve.
Notes & tips
- Smoked paprika comes from mild peppers which are wood-smoked before grinding, giving them a full-bodied aroma and taste. Use it to add a robust flavour to stews, casseroles, pasta dishes and pizzas
