Shallow Fried Calamari Rings with a Twist

Squids or calamari is a widely popular seafood with a very rich flavour. These are cooked in a number of ways but the most popular variant, perhaps, is fried calamari rings. I found the recipe first in the BBC food blog. That recipe, in itself is quick and wonderful to taste. It has a simple yet rich sea flavour and is a wonderful hit among almost everyone. And if you are anything like my Dad, you are adverse to strong sea flavours. However if you are totally like my Dad and somewhat like my partner, you'll want a spicy twist on everything that comes within inches of your mouth (and/or nose).

Enter, my partner and his culinary experiments. He has an enviable spice cabinet, and an even more enviable sense of flavours and combination. I have given up counting how many times I have been sceptical about his experiments in the kitchen and then forgot about my health (diet) mission while tucking into it. But I think I am starting to trust his gut feelings. Also, we skipped the beaten eggs so that the rings do not get over-burdened. That's where I'll stop the trash-talking and take you to the calamari rings recipe with a spicy twist.

Reshmi Kabab

The name says it all. Reshmi kabab (kebab) is the ultimate delight in the kebab category due to its incredible melt-in-the-mouth softness (and hence the name reshmi). I came across the idea of making this through this website but I must admit it was a failure. I knew it would be disappointing because the recipe was something that reminded me strongly of Tandoori chicken, but the almonds kept me going because I really didn't want to believe that an about.com recipe would fail, but it did. It was far from the silken soft texture that this dish is all about. So I was looking up at other websites for a solution. I looked here and here and here and I knew one thing was common. It was the cream used instead of the yoghurt. I was not sure if the heavy cream would work so well. But then this wonderful thing happened. Also I played a little with the spices to get it accurate. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Non-vegetarian Momo with Chicken, Pork or Beef Filling

This is a Tibetan recipe as you most probably know and is taking the city by storm for a past few years; a fad so popular that it has replaced the age old favourites of noodles and rolls the city was so proud of! A health conscious yet fast food addict generation has switched to the wonderful, wonderful world of – momos!

I personally have been having momos before this momo addiction broke out, at a time when I would know the very few momo joints by heart and could tell from one shop to another just by taste. In fact, without sounding too conceited, I somewhat reckoned myself a Kolkata-momo connoisseur. Not for long though, as innumerable other joints cropped up and road-side vendors took it up, making it a household name. Everyone has their own secret recipe and eventually, ways to Indianising the dish, making it more fast food oriented, inevitably crept in.

Aubergine in Yoghurt Gravy

Again, an unusual find, by my partner during his stay in Orissa, India, traditionally called Dohi Baigono improvised with a Bengali twist by us during our stay in the UK. Dohi (doi) is yoghurt and Baigono is Oriya for aubergine or eggplant or as it is popular in India: brinjal (begun in Bengali). We noted the strange behaviour of yoghurt in heat and abstained from the curdling texture (please note, however, that the Salmon in Mustard Gravy calls for cooking the yoghurt in heat but it does not curdle at all which I suspect to be the effect of either the mustard or the vinegar, I am still investigating that one) and always added the yoghurt the last. Also, after following this recipe, if you find the gravy is too thick (especially if you're using Indian yoghurt which is so much thicker than the ones we got at Sainsbury's and other supermarkets in the UK), dilute it with cold drinking water. That's all to note, really. Hope you'll enjoy it.