My interest for food and the story that it tells about the people from where it originates pushed me to look for recipes, chefs and cultures on the web. Shows like Masterchef inspire you to make food that looks tastes and smells beautiful but many of the recipes are involved and require much more time and resources than what a regular amateur home cook has. For some reason I believe in the less is more or keep it simple philosophy. Few ingredients and loads of flavor can do the trick most of the time and chefs who master this philosophy tend to keep me interested in their shows than the ones who indulge in awesome techniques. I admire the latter but I simply do not have the time or resources to practice such skills. In this quest I came across two chefs who inspire me to keep things simple yet incredibly delicious - Jamie Oliver and Kunal Kapur.
The first one is a 'Saffron Peanut Butter Kulfi' where I have used Chef Kunal's recipe and just added that additional saffron to play on the famous Kesar Pista Kulfi. You can find it on NDTV Food
The second one is all about fusion. I call it 'Pesto Meatball Spaghetti'. For the Hindustani Pesto, add coriander leaves, a few mint leaves, roasted pine seeds, garlic, red chilli flakes, salt and water to a blender. Start the blending and slowly pour in some nice olive oil and Voila! For the meatballs use a good amount of chicken mince. To the mince add ginger-garlic-green chilli paste, salt, coriander powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice, a bit of corn flour and enough bread crumbs to bind the whole mixture together. Make bite sized round balls and grill them till they are well done. Keep them aside to rest. Cook your spaghetti Al Dente. In a large pan heat your pesto till it cooks slightly. Traditionally the Italian pesto is normally used as a salad dressing or a dip. You can add a little water to adjust the sauce consistency. Pop in your spaghetti and let the sauce coat it well. Add your meatballs and sprinkle enough 'Chhena' or in my case shredded store bought Paneer and serve hot.
