Classic French Onion Soup Recipe

French soupe à l'oignon

French Onion Soup

So I was watching the wonderful movie Julie and Julia when I had a sudden craving to try one of Julia Child's French recipes. Then I remembered that amazing French Onion soup I had on my last visit to Paris and how I wish I could re-create that magic. So I looked up Julia's recipes and found this classic French Onion Soup recipe which I simplified and it turned out absolutely decadent! Noting spells comfort food better than this French Onion Soup recipe! Must try it to believe it! Read on!

Slice up 3 white onions. Heat a tablespoon each of oil and butter together in a heavy bottomed pan. Add some garlic paste or finely chopped garlic, a bay leaf and 2 sprigs of fresh thyme.. Let the onions cook till they're tender with the lid on for about 15 minutes on low heat. Next up, caramelize the onions on medium high heat by adding a teaspoon of sugar. Once onions are browned and caramelized, add half a cup of red wine. Once the wine starts bubbling, add a tablespoon of flour and stir. Continue cooking till the mixture thickens. Add chicken or beef or vegetable stock and bring the soup to boil. Finally add salt and pepper to taste.

Brush some butter/ oil on the surface of a couple of one inch thick bread slices. You can use a baguette if you wish to. Toast the slices in an oven to make them turn light brown and crunchy. 

Pour your soup into two oven proof bowls and fill only two thirds of each bowl with soup. Then, place your slices on each bowl of soup by dunking them half way so that the slices of bread start soaking the soup but aren't entirely covered in soup. Grate some Gruyere cheese or Mozarella and Cheddar cheese over your soup bowls to completely cover the soup and bread slices with cheese. If the bowl is not overflowing with cheese, it's not onion soup! 

While still bubbling in the oven!

Add very little grated raw onion on the cheese. Drizzle some melted butter or oil over the cheese and sprinkle very little paprika seasoning/ chilli powder over the cheese. Pop the bowls into the oven till that cheese bubbles away to glory and turns wonderfully brown and beautifully aromatic! This should take not more than 10 minutes on 175 degrees Celsius. 

If it's not overflowing, its not French Onion Soup!

So go ahead, give this a try and you will thank me for the rest of your lives! I just had a bbig bowl of this soup and I still can't stop drooling at the sight of these pictures. So I'm gonna go now and clean up my kitchen! You go try this and let me know how you liked it in the comments section below!

Much love,
SaloFalo
xoxo

Baked Butterfly Shrimp with Herb & Cheese Stuffing

Baked Butterfly Shrimp 

with Herb & Cheese Stuffing

Hello Lovelies, today I'm sharing with you something that I came up with after a wonderful restaurant experience that I combined with the ideas in my head! Guess what's better than Shrimp stuffed with cheese? Shrimp marinated in a lime, garlic & butter vinaigrette and topped with your favourite cheeses! So, let me tell you how to make this simple and truly decadent comfort food! 

Firstly, 'behead', wash and de-vein your shrimp by making and incision along the back of the shrimp right up to the tail. Make sure not to cut right through so as to keep the shrimp with its skin intact as 1 piece. De-vein the shrimp and wash it under cold running water and then pat dry each shrimp.

Make a lime and garlic vinaigrette by mixing the juice of half a lime, 2 tablespoons of melted butter, 2 tablespoons of garlic paste, salt & pepper to taste, some chopped tarragon & cilantro. I used this quantity of vinaigrette and stuffing for 12 medium-sized shrimps. Stuff each shrimp with the vinaigrette filling and top with grated mozzarella and cheddar cheeses. Bake in a pre-heated oven on 180 C for 20 minutes or until cheese bubbles and browns up. 

Serve with a spicy salsa dip/ tabasco sauce. Feel free to experiment with your choice of herbs. Some do it with spring onions / green onions and some may choose to use fresh Italian herbs. Do whatever floats your boat and let me know what worked best for you!! This recipe is a must try for all cheese lovers!

Watch this space for more such yummilicious recipes and comment below to tell me what you'd like for me to cover for you next!

Lots of love,

SaloFalo

xx

Punjabi Chhole Bhature Recipe

Chhole Bhature Recipe

Chickpeas/ Garbanzo beans gravy served with Indian bread

My earliest memory of the best ever Chhole Bhature I've had is of the one at Elco in Hill Road, Bandra (W). I didn't think I would be able to make Chhole Bhature so divine and flavorful until I tasted what I made today. And hence, I felt I had to share my recipe with you. It is a mixture of my mom'straditional Chhole recipe blended with Sanjeev Kapoor's Bhature recipe and my own modifications to make it quick and tasty. So, let's get started!

For the chhole you'll need - 

Chhole (Garbanzo beans/ Chickpeas soaked overnight) - 1& 1/2 cups

Tea leaves - 1 tbsp 

Large onions - 2

Ginger paste - 1 & 1/2 tbsp

Medium sized tomatoes - 2 

Chhole masala powder (I used Everest) - 3 tbsp

Kashmiri chilli powder - 2 tbsp

Amchur powder (Dried mango powder) - 2 tsp

Salt to taste

Chat masala to taste

Procedure - 

Boil the chhole with 4 cups on water, a tsp of salt and 1/3rd cup black tea in a pressure cooker. Cook for upto 6 whistles and then take it off the heat. Heat oil in a pan and add ginger paste. Then add finely chopped (or ground) onions and cook till the water content dries up. Add finely chopped (or pureed) tomatoes and cook until it all combines into a paste. Add chhole masala powder, Kashmiri red chilli powder and amchur powder and cook till the aromas fill your kitchen and the mixture loses all its rawness. Add the boiled chhole along with the water it was boiled in.

Last, but not the least, adjust salt and add chat masala to taste. Garnish with chopped coriander.

For the bhature you'll need - 

Refined flour (maida) - 2 & 1/2 cups

Yogurt/ curd - 1/2 cup

Baking powder - 1/2 tsp

Soda Bicarbonate - a pinch

Sugar - 2 tsp

Salt - 1 tsp

Oil - for deep frying

Procedure -

Mix all the dry ingredients and pass through a sieve. Add the yogurt, baking powder and soda bicarbonate. Add sugar and salt and a little water to knead into a dough. Divide the dough into 12 equal roundels and roll into oval shaped rotis. Heat sufficient oil in a kadai and deep fry each roti till they puff up and then place them on absorbent paper so that the excess oil is soaked out. Serve immediately with chhole.

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did! Let me know in the comments section below, what you would like for me to cover next!

Bon Apetit!

x

Cheryl's Malvani Chicken Curry

Mom's Malvani Chicken Curry

The most aromatic chicken curry in Malvani cuisine also known as Murgh Malvani

The title says it all... so let's cut to the chase?

In a tablespoon of oil fry some whole spices (3/4th tsp cumin seeds, 3/4th tsp caraway seeds, 6-8 cloves, 6 green cardamoms, 4 black cardamoms, 7-8 black peppercorns, 1 tsp poppy seeds) along with 2 sliced onions and 4 tablespoons of desiccated or freshly grated coconut. Keep tossing till you get a good aroma. Then take it off the stove and wait till it cools down. Next up, grind it to a fine paste and keep aside.

Now, fry one finely chopped onion in some oil and add a finely chopped tomato (optional). Continue frying, till it is soft. Now, add the washed chicken marinated with salt, a tablespoon and a half of ginger and garlic paste, 3/4th teaspoon haldi powder & 1 teaspoon red chilli powder along with a teaspoon garam masala and some finely chopped green chillis. Add very little water and allow the chicken to cook in its own juices. When the chicken is almost done, add the ground coconut-onion paste made earlier and stir well. Add this paste slowly and cook till the chicken is done.

So this is my mum's recipe for a fantabulous Malvani Chicken curry. The Malvani cuisine originates in the Konkan redion (coastal areas) of Maharashtra and derives its name from Malvan: a town in Sindhudurg, which is on the west coast of Maharashtra.

Living far away from home often makes me miss the wonderful food my mom cooks and this recipe of hers came in handy just in time to satisfy my craving for traditional maharashtrian food! Needless to say, this was my first trial and it turned out so flavourful and aromatic, that I had to share the recipe with you! When I asked mom what tip she would like to share with you guys, she simple said, 'We serve it with rice, but feel free to experiment! All the best!' So on that note, I'm going to let you do the cooking and let me know how it turned out for you. An easy peasy Malvani Chicken curry!

Follow me for more such wonderful recipes :)

CIAO

SaloFalo
xoxo

Coffee Cake with Dates and Walnuts

Date, Walnut & Coffee Cake

Classic, Timeless, Yummy Goodness!

Today i'm bringing to you, my recipe of the perfect gourmet cake for any special occasion. I have made this for one of my last few gatherings with my lovely friends in Bristol who I call my Bristol family. The gathering is tomorrow and I made the cake a day in advance just so that I don't do it in a hurry tomorrow.. Anyway, here's a picture of all them crazy people at one of our parties...!

Coming back to my recipe... This is the most luxurious, aromatic and comforting cake ever with the sweetness of dates, crunch of walnuts and the aroma of freshly brewed coffee! Mouth watering already? Read on!

Ingredients

For the Cake

1. 300 g all purpose flour
2. 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3. 300 g unsalted or slightly salter butter, softened
4. 200 g granulated sugar
5. 4 eggs
6. 4 tablespoons of strong black coffee
7. 30 ml milk
8. 100 g dates dee-seeded and made into a paste
9. Vanilla essence

For the filling and buttercream topping

1. 200 g unsalted or slightly salted butter, softened
2. 350 g icing sugar sifted
3. 3 teaspoons of strong black coffee
4. a handful of chopped walnuts for the filling
5. 10 walnuts for decorating
6. some of the date paste mixed in water to drizzle on the sponge for moistness.
7. Vanilla essence

Procedure

Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius. Sift the flour and baking powder and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy in texture, using an electric whisk or a manual whisk. Add the eggs, one by one, adding a tablespoon of flour with each egg and beating it all thoroughly. Now stir in the vanilla essence, date paste and the coffee and fold in the remaining flour gently with a spoon. Add as much milk is needed to make the mixture come to a dropping consistency.

Grease your baking tin and add half the mixture spreading it evenly with your finger/ back of a spatula. Bake in the oven for 25 to 30 minutes till the top turns lightly brown and a knife comes out clean when pierced into the cake. Remove the cake and let it cool for 10-15 minutes before you turn it out on a cooling wire rack. 

Repeat the process for the second half of the batter. This way, you will have 2 cakes which will be the two layers in the middle of which we shall add our filling.

For the buttercream, beat the butter adding a little icing sugar every now and then. Add the coffee and the vanilla essence and keep beating until the mixture is fluffy and creamy. 

Drizzle the date water in both the cakes so that they are lightly moist. Now spread the buttercream onto one of the cooled cakes, add crushed walnuts on the buttercream layer and sandwich together with the second cake. Now you have a two layered cake. Spread the remaining buttercream on the top and sides of the cake and decorate it as per your choice with a piping bag and whole walnuts. You can also lightly dust the cake with a little cocoa powder or instant drinking chocolate powder if you're a fan of chocolate. This is optional.. And there you go! Your masterpiece is ready!

Things I learned with this experience: If you're making the cake a day before it is to be consumed, don't do what I did. Make the sponge and refrigerate it. Don't put the icing and refrigerate it as the sponge will dry up and lose its softness. Take the sponge out on the day of consumption and after it comes to room temperature, drizzle sugar water or Coca Cola to moisten it before you decorate it with icing. This way, your cake will remain soft and moist and will not have the dryness that comes with refrigeration.


This is just the right cake to make your guests feel extra special and set them praising your hospitality for weeks. Let me say no more.. Go, try this recipe and you'll know what I mean ;) Dont forget to comment on this post and let me know how you liked my recipe and also which recipe you'd like me to cover for you next. Till then, keep baking, cause it's a great thing to do!

Thanks for reading, amigos!

Love,
SaloFalo

Chicken and Veggies in Creamy Mint Sauce

Here's my first ever recipe on YouTube and it's my wonderfully delicious recipe for Chicken and Veggies in Creamy Mint Sauce. Hope you like my recipe. For more such easy and tasty recipes, follow me on my blog, Goodness Gracious Food.

Enjoy!

Thanks to Rohit, who helped me shoot this recipe!

Much love,

SaloFalo x

Vegetable Tandoori Tikka Kebabs

Vegetarian's Paradise

Paneer Tikka Kebabs

Here's my recipe for Tandoori Tikka Kebabs which not only vegetarians enjoy, but also makes non-vegetarians forget their chicken tikka for a while. This can be made from a variety of ingredients like paneer, cauliflower, mushrooms, bell peppers, etc besides several others. These kebabs make for great starters with drinks!

Ingredients

200 gms paneer

Red, green and yellow bell peppers

Onions

Mushrooms (optional)

Ingredients for the marinade

1/2 cup hung yogurt

4-5 cloves of garlic

1" piece ginger

2-3 green chillis

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 tb.sp kasuri methi

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

juice of 1 lime(about 1 tb.sp.)

orange-red food color(optional)

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

Procedure

Blend all the ingredients in a mixer on high speed to get a smooth paste. Marinate the paneer, bell peppers, onions and mushrooms in this mixture and then skewer them. Cook them in an oven or in a non stick pan or a grill. 

If you're using a non-stick pan, put 2 tbsps of ghee/butter before you cook. Cover and cook for 3-4 mins, remove on a plate, sprinkle with chaat masala, chopped coriander and serve. Bon Apetit!!!

Hope you like my recipe and try it out for yourself to believe that this is one of the best recipes on any party menu! Tell me what you think of it in the comments section below and do follow me on Goodness Gracious Me for many more tantalising recipes! Until next time.. CIAO!

SaloFalo!

Lee's 3 Cup Chicken - Taiwanese Recipe

3 Cup Chicken 

Taiwanese Recipe

Today, I am delighted to share with you, my friend Lee Fang Hao's signature Taiwanese recipe for 3 Cup Chicken. The first time Lee cooked this for me and my friends, he completely impressed us with his cooking skills to the extent that the next time he invited us over, we asked him to prepare it again. Only this time, I took note of how he made it, so that I can try it myself. Read till the end to find a picture of Lee! Single girls, contact me if you find him cute ;) Perhaps I'll be able to arrange a date :p

Coming back to the recipe, it calls for equal parts soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil to create a deep red sauce for coating chopped pieces of boneless chicken. These are the "three cups" as the dish's name suggests. Although it says 'cups', it needs no more than a 'bottle-cover' measure of each of the three main ingredients. However, this Taiwanese delicacy is not just about the "three cups". It gets its wonderfully distinct flavours from chunks of garlic & ginger and the wonderful spiciness from its chillies. So, what are you waiting for? Get together your ingredients and let's begin!

Ingredients

Boneless chicken pieces

100 ml sesame oil

100 ml soy sauce

100 ml rice wine

a handful of basil leaves

2 inches of ginger sliced finely

8-10 garlic cloves

Spring onions and mushrooms, chopped (optional)

3 huge red chillies, sliced

1 tbsp brown sugar

Procedure

Heat sesame oil in a pan and add the ginger and garlic. Fry till golden brown. Add the chillies and  keep frying. 

 Add brown sugar and stir.

 Add boneless chicken and stir.

 Add soy sauce and stir till the chicken is well-coated.

 Add rice wine in equal amount to the soy sauce.

 Add sesame oil in equal amount to the rice wine and soy sauce. Toss it all in the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes or until the sauces are absorbed by the chicken and it is cooked through. Make sure the sauces don't completely run dry. You want your chicken to be juicy.

Last but not the least, add the basil leaves and stir well till it turns limp and absorbs the juices.

...and it's ready! Serve it with steamed rice!

That's Lee and that's his usual facial expression... for almost everything ;) 

Hope you like this recipe! Comment below and let me know how it turns out for you! If you love pork, try it with pork or even prawns! Whatever you do, it turns out best with chicken! This is me Salo signing off for now, until next time! Ciao!

Vanilla Chicken - My Signature Recipe

Juicy & Succulent

 Vanilla Chicken Recipe

So finally, here's my brand new blog on food and on being a foodie. If you believed that vanilla should only be used in desserts, I'm about to prove you wrong. Since my signature recipe for Vanilla Chicken is something that my friends and family have been giving me raving reviews for, this had to be the first recipe on my blog! This is a recipe invented by me as a result of my boredom from cooking the same quick meals while being on a student budget. I was expecting my dearest friends over, who are very good at cooking and deserved to be served nothing but exceptionally exotic flavours on their plate. I made this for them and they absolutely loved it. In their opinion, this was the best dish I ever cooked for them. So I dedicate this recipe to none other than, the charming couple and my dearest friends in Bristol, Alex & Alexis.

This blog post is also dedicated to Rasika Tembulkar, Harsha Shetty, Mary Dias, Cheryl Akshikar (my mom) and all my lovely friends who requested this perfectly juicy and flavourful recipe. So without any further delay, here it goes! (Read till the end for an extra recipe to go with the chicken!)

Ingredients

(serves 2-3)

• 500 gms chicken (Preferably drumsticks/thighs with skin)
• 3 medium red onions, finely chopped
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 3 tbsps tomato ketchup/ puree
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, halved lengthwise
• 1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
• 3-4 tbsps chilli powder/paprika
• 2 tbsps vanilla essence
• 1 1/2 tbsps soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar (optional)
• a generous splash of tequila or rum (optional)
• dried mixed italian herbs or fresh herbs, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup spring onion greens, finely chopped
• olive oil

Method

To prepare your chicken, take your chicken out of the fridge 30 minutes before it is cooked. Wash and prick with a fork or make gashes with a knife. Marinate with salt, pepper, chilli powder and tomato ketchup/ puree for about half an hour to one hour. If you're in India and it's summer time, you may want to keep it in the refrigerator to marinate.

Drizzle some olive oil in a sauce pan or a deep frying pan and fry the garlic and ginger until they begin to turn brown. Add the onions and fry until the mixture becomes dry and turns golden brown. Drizzle a little more oil and gently add the chicken pieces to the saucepan. As you hear the sizzle, drizzle the vanilla essence, soy sauce, rice wine vinegar (optional) and tequila  rum (optional) over the chicken and cover with a lid for about 5 minutes. Then stir the chicken and add water in the saucepan till 3/4th of the chicken is submerged under water. Cover again and cook for 15 more minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Check by piercing the chicken with a knife or fork. Once cooked, add the herbs and toss the chicken in its own sauces. 

Serve hot, with a slice of lemon and garnish with spring onion greens. 

As promised, here's an extra tip! Fry your already cooked rice with the vanilla flavoured sauce of the chicken until it's all coated or absorbed by the rice. Alternatively, fry par boiled potato wedges in the sauce until it is absorbed or well coated and voila! You've just made a lovely meal by combining vanilla and chicken!

Do try this wonderful recipe and let me know how it turns out, in the comments section below. Feel free to substitute ingredients with those of your choice and share your ideas with me. Also, share this recipe with your loved ones and it will surely steal their hearts! Kindly let me know what recipe you would like me to cover for you, soon. Looking forward to your valuable feedback.

Much love and good wishes!

SaloFalo!

xoxo