Som Tum Salad /Green papaya salad

Shireennnnn Sequeira (Ruchik Randhap ) this one is for you...coz I really think you will be the only one who will see this post ..😂😂 posting after 4 years ..can you believe it ...

This is a just a test post ...you may never know ...my next post maybe in the year 2020 😅 I have even forgotten how this blogging thing works ...

My love for Thai cuisine started in Bahrain because of my very talented Nalini aunty ... Who could whip up an amazing spread of Tom Yum Soup Thai chicken green curry and Jasmine rice within 30 minutes... This is when I realised that Thai food is one of my most favourite cuisine and everytime I try to recreate the same flavors in my kitchen ...this was also when I realised my love towards fish sauce ....omg just love fish sauce ...have I told ...I loooooveeee fish sauce ....yes I do .... I may run out of sugar ...but never fish sauce .

My favorite Thai restaurant in Bangalore is Benjarong in Ulsoor  road ....but Misu in St Mark's road serves the best Som Tum salad and is extra spicy 🤤

I was able to recreate one of the best Som Tum salad in my kitchen ( even better than Misu ) thanks to Pailin from Hot Thai Kitchen ...I have omitted dried shrimp in the recipe


Recipe source: hot-thai-kitchen

. 2cups green papaya julienned
.4 Thai Red Chillies
. 3 cloves of garlic
.2 tbsp jaggery
.3 long beans cut into pieces
.2 tbsp fresh lime juice
.3tsp tamarind juice
.2 tbsp fish sauce
.4 tbsp roasted peanuts
.few cherry tomatoes or one whole tomato chopped

Method
. Pound garlic and thai red chillies in the mortar and pestle.
. Add jaggery to the about mixture and mash till the jaggery dissolves
. Add long beans and crush a little now add roasted peanuts .
. Mix in lime juice, tamarind juice and fish sauce and mix well .
. Now add green papaya and tomatoes and mix..sprinkle roasted peanuts on top
( For crispier papaya soak in ice cold water and drain and absorb excess liquid using kitchen towel)

Happy 2nd Birthday Alana - Project Lavonne

Wish you very happy birthday Alana......Miss you a lot.....We miss your 'No".......We miss your "Akkaaaaa"....We miss your "paaaaaaa"......above all we miss "Mimi"

I had made a fondant cake for my niece Alana for her first birthday....and that was a very terrifying experience....I remember mentioning in that post...never to work with fondant ever again....Well....like most of the things I say....I was wrong again, but I have to say that this was an amazing experience compared to last time...and for that I have to thank my teacher Joonie Tan from Lavonne Baking Academy.......she made me fall in love with Novelty cakes.

Joonie Tan teaches novelty cakes and cupcakes at Lavonne....and she is drop dead awesome....her talent is unbelievable...you have to see it to believe it (visit 180 Degree Celsius )..... She is an awesome teacher with loads of patience (she will answer every silly question we throw at her) and a perfectionist and I just cannot wait to attend all her classes ....I know I have a lot more to improve ...but I will be very happy if I am at least half as good as Joonie...

Veg Noodles

My mom makes the best egg/veg noodles....yes she does...I have never had better noodles even at any of the best Chinese restaurants in Bangalore (not exaggerating)

  Moms noodles were pretty popular in college.........I remember taking it to college one day,and my friend Vidhya just could not wait to open it at lunch time.......we opened the lunch box eagerly,we just had two bites and to our horror the whole box toppled and fell on the floor..........I can still remember Vidhya's expression ,it was like the biggest disaster ever.........Both of us were just staring at the noodles on the floor,we were mourning for it...........For a minute I thought Vidhya might just pick it from the floor........Thank god she did not :)

Ingredients 

Print this recipe

• 2 packets egg or plain noodles
• 2 medium carrots (finely sliced)
• 1/4 kg beans (finely chopped)
• 1 capsicum (finely sliced)
• pepper and salt to taste
• 3 tbsp soya sauce or more
• 1/4 cup spring onion (chopped)
• 3 tsp vinegar
• 1/4 cup bean sprouts (optional)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 4 eggs (optional)

Method

1. Heat water in a big vessel,when water comesto boil,add salt and 1 tsp oil.Drop the noodles into the boiling water and cook till almost done or should I say Al dente like the Italians say.(the quality of the noodle matters a lot,I have used a local brand noodles,its works out perfect for me)
2. Pour the water and noodles into a large strainer and drain all the water.Place the noodles under running water to cool it down and stop the cooking process.Place this aside.
3. In a vessel place carrot ,beans and capsicum and less than 1/4 cup water and salt.Cook the vegetable until almost done.(This is not how its done in restaurants,in Chinese restaurants the flame is 20 times more powerful than the house flame,vegetable get cooked fast there,but I prefer my veggies well done,if you have noticed in restaurants ,the veggies in the noodles are usually under cooked,you can skip this step if you want to ,cook the veggies on high flame)
4. Place a wok on high flame,add 1/2 tbsp oil,when hot fry the cooked veggies for a minute,sprinkle little pepper and salt ,remove from wok and keep aside.
5. Add oil to wok and fry the noodles in 3 batches adding soya sauce,pepper,salt and vinegar.
6. Place all the noodles on one side of the wok,add oil and break eggs ,add little salt and pepper and scramble the eggs.Mix in the vegetable ,beans sprouts and noodles.Stir for 2 minutes.
7. Sprinkle spring onion.
8. Serve with chilli chicken or Prawn in garlic sauce

Herbed Garlic Knots - Project Lavonne

Last but not least....Herbed Garlic knots.....

In the end...what tired me was the kneading....Chef Vinesh is particular about kneading till perfection...(this was when I backed out from the bread making course :).

All together an awesome course and worth every penny.....you get your own workstation and a course completion certificate and I got to make a lot of good friends who share the same passion.....the only complain few of us had was.....there were no chairs.....we had to stand throughout...to which Chef Vinesh rightfully said...... "A chef never sits"......Amen to that :)

Baked Vanilla Yogurt with Strawberry Coulis - Project Lavonne

Very simple dessert.....blend of  yogurt, milkmaid and cream and vanilla baked in a water bath and served with strawberry coulis.

It tasted like dense vanilla shrikhand......out of 5 dishes that I learnt at Lavonne, I have to say this was my least favorite......but my family enjoyed it.........maybe I prefer lighter desserts like Vanilla Panna cotta.

Recipe for Strawberry coulis

• 1 cup Strawberries, chopped
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Cook the strawberries with sugar and lemon juice, bring to a boil. Serve as it is when cooled or puree in a blender, strain , cool and serve.Can be stored in a sealed container up to a week in refrigerator.   

French Baguettes

Hmmmmm..............I have nothing to say.

Ingredients

Print this recipe

• 450 grams minus 4 tablespoon All purpose flour (maida)
• 4 tbsp Gluten Powder(optional)
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp Salt
• 7 grams Yeast
• 325 ml lukewarm Water (little more if required)

Method

1. I have used bread flour for this recipe, you can use all purpose flour just by skipping the gluten.To make bread flour - from 450 grams of all purpose flour remove 4 tbsp of flour and replace it with 4 tbsp of gluten.
2. Sift flour,gluten and salt into a bowl (if you think your yeast is very reliable you can go ahead and mix the yeast in the flour and make a dough using the water.....otherwise follow the next step) 
3. In a bowl combine lukewarm water sugar and yeast and mix. Keep in a warm area for few minutes. Once you see the bubbly froth in the yeast water mixture pour into the sifted flour and stir with your hands until it leaves the side of the bowl.(add little water if required)
4. Transfer the dough onto a clean surface and knead for 10 minutes or till smooth and elastic.Once kneaded place the dough in an oiled bowl cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm area for 1 hour or till the dough doubles in size.
5. Meanwhile prepare the baking tray, I wanted the exact baguette shape for which I used the cardboard roll of the kitchen towel roll as a partition (you can use anything you want...maybe a long glass jar...just brainstorm)...see picture below.

I covered the roll with butter paper (u can skip that step). Oil the bottom and sides of the pan and place a butter paper or parchment paper on the baking tray including the cardboard roll(the butter paper should cover the whole tray and more coz when you place the rolled dough an each side the butter paper will sink in on both sides and will take shape.

Preheating the oven:- Keep a small vessel of water inside the oven and preheat at the highest temperature (mine is 210 degree C) for 30 minutes.

6. Getting back to the dough ,punch down the dough and remove all the air.Divide into two equal balls, keep one aside. Place the dough on a lightly floured flat surface and roll out into a rectangle (remember the longer side on the rectangle should fit into you baking tray...so make it little smaller than your baking tray).

7.Once you have rolled out your rectangle, place the longer side towards you and roll (like a swiss roll....make sure the end of the roll comes underneath).Once you have rolled the dough you have a long log. Now for the smooth round end...on both corners pull the top layer of the roll and cover the endings with it,that is how you get a smooth round  end.

8. Roll the dough on little flour to get a rustic bakery look (you can skip this), and place the dough on one side of  the prepared baking tray. Repeat the same with the remaining dough and place on the tray. Cover the tray with a damp cloth and place in a warm area for 30 to 40 minutes or till it doubles in size.

9. Once the rolls have doubled its time to make the slits on the dough. Dip a sharp serrated knife into water and and keep the knife in a  slanting position on the dough and make four slits as fast as you can (don't stop in between, move your hands quickly while making the slits)

10. Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or till the top turns golden brown.Last few minutes of baking time remove the rolls from the tray and bake again on the wire rack for 5 more minutes to crisp up the bottom of the rolls.

11. Remove and cool on a wire rack.