Flavour of Thai

A dish of stir-fried rice noodles with (pad-thai) sauce and vegetables. The subtle blend of sauces, which when added to the noodles and vegetables creates a texture and taste that makes Pad Thai a lip-smacking experience.

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Thai cusine is one among my favorites. My liking for Thai food started when I visited Bangkok. My dad loves to take us on vacations and it was on one such vacation we were in Bangkok for a week. My brother being a foodie, we indulged in a lot of Thai food during our trip. One of my favorite was the ‘Tom Yum’ soup. Just love how they serve soup all through the meal. Certainly, the Thai Omelet needs a mention here. It was delicious! In US, there are plenty of Thai restaurants and I love the Thai fried rice and Pad Thai!

I tried different Pad Thai recipes available on the web, after a lot of adaption, modification and experiments I was successful in making my version of Pad Thai at home!

Pad thai is a dish of stir-fried rice noodles with (pad-thai) sauce and vegetables. I like my sauce to lead with gentle sweet flavor, followed by a mild tanginess, and then a soft caress from the chilli at the end. In all, you can really taste the subtle blend of sauces, which when added to the noodles and vegetables creates a texture and taste that makes Pad Thai a lip-smacking experience.

For Noodles			For Sauce
Rice Noodles	- 1/2 of 12oz pack or 150 gms		Soy Sauce	- 2tbsps
Egg	- 2 medium scrambled		Rice Vinegar	- 2 tbsps
Onions	- 1/2 onion chopped   lengthwise		Chili Sauce or Sriracha Sauce	- 2 tbsps
Carrots	- 1/2 cup shredded		Tamarind Pulp	- 2 tbsps
Cabbage	- 1/2 cup shredded		Brown Sugar	- 3 tbsps
Moong bean Sprouts	- 1/2 cup		Oil	- 2 tbsps
Salt	- to taste
Tofu	- 1 cup cubbed
Flour	- 3 tbsps
Egg	- 1 medium (beaten)

Actual Pad Thai sauce includes Fish Sauce as one of its ingredient. I personally don’t like the smell and taste of fish sauce so I omit it. If you are using fish sauce, use 1 – 2 tbsps and use half the tamarind pulp.

The secret to a tasty Pad Thai is the balance of the sweetness, sourness and spiciness in the sauce. So, be careful with the quantity of the ingredients as the taste and concentration of the ingredients vary from brand to brand.

Combine ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Taste the sauce to check if the balance is alright.Set aside.

Pat tofu dry with a tissue or a cloth. Roll tofu in flour and dip them in beaten egg. Heat oil in a pan; fry the tofu in hot oil until crisp and brown. Set aside.

Cook the rice noodles as per the directions on the packet or on the box of the noodles. When it is done, drain the water and set aside

Usually, you cook rice noodles by placing it in hot water.

Heat oil on high in a heavy bottom pan.

Optionally you can substitute oil with Peanut oil for the peanuty taste.

When the oil is really hot add all the vegetables and stir-fry for 4-5 minutes or until soft but still crisp.

Flavors in the sauce blend very well with the noodles when this dish is prepared on high flame.

Add prepared tofu, scrambled eggs and fry for a few minutes.

Shrimp or chicken adds an extra meaty flavor and complements very well with the Pad Thai sauce.

Now add the rice noodles and some salt and stir it to mix them all together.

Add the prepared Pad Thai sauce little by little to make sure you are not adding too much of sauce.

Give the noodles a nice stir. Taste it and adjust the ingredients if required.

Remove from heat and serve hot.

A variant of Dosa!

Dosa is one of the staple South Indian breakfast and snack. A variant of traditionally dosa, prepared with besan flour/gram flour and finely chopped vegetables.

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Dosa is one of the staple South Indian breakfast or snack. Typically, Dosa is made of rice and lentils but there are lot of variants of Dosa that are prepared. One variant my mom makes is Besan Dosa.

Besan Dosa is prepared with besan flour/gram flour and finely chopped vegetables. Unlike other snacks made with besan flour like Pakora’s and Bajji’s which are deep fried, Besan Dosa requires very little or no oil for cooking. So, it is relatively a better choice.

Besan Flour	- 2 cups
Onion	- 1 medium finely chopped
Green Chilies	- 3-4 chopped
Curry Leaves	- 4-5 leaves
Turmeric	- 1/2 Tsp
Chilli Powder	- 1/2 Tsp (Optional)
Salt	- to taste

Take besan flour in a bowl. Add salt, turmeric powder and chilli powder. Add chopped onions, green chilles, curry leaves and mix.

Now, gradually add water to make a batter of medium-thick consistency.

Heat a skillet or a pan. When it is hot pour a ladle full of batter on to the pan and spread it in a circular motion, nice and thin. Pour a few drops of oil on the top and to the sides of the dosa.

After a few minutes, small bubbles will appear on the surface of the dosa and the bottom of the dosa will begin to turn brown. At this time, flip the dosa on to the other side and cook until it starts to brown.

Remove it from the pan on to a plate and serve hot with your choice of chutney.

This is my entry to MLLA # 30 started by Susan.

Curried Omelet

Serving egg omelet as a side? Why not cut it into pieces and drop it into the curry. The omelet pieces soak up the curry and become soft and juicy. Every piece of omelet blended with curry is a taste that will make you come back for more.

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This is a dish from my childhood. My mom often made this when she made curry for dinner. Instead of serving egg omelet as a side, she would cut it into pieces and drop it into the curry. She would let it soak in the curry for a bit and then serve it hot at the dinner table. The curried egg omelet is so delicious that I could not get enough of it every time I had this dish.

The curry is prepared with spicy onion-tomato-coconut base. Sautéed onion-tomato cooked along with coconut and spices, exude a unique flavor that is hearty and comforting. The whiff of cloves, and cinnamon are beautifully married to give the unassuming curry the flavor and aroma. The omelet pieces soak up the curry and become soft and juicy. Every piece of omelet blended with curry is a taste that will make you come back for more.

Onions	- 2 medium chopped
Tomatoes	- 2 chopped
Coconut	- 5 tbsps grated
Chili Powder	- 1 tsp
Garam masala	- 2-3 tbsps
Turmeric Powder	- 1 tsp
Corriander Powder	- 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic	- 1 tbsp paste
Green Chilies	- 4 chopped
Cinnamon	- one-inch stick
Cloves	- 4 cloves
Bay leaf	- 1-2 leaves
Oil	- 6 tbsps or as much as you want!
Cilantro	- for garnish
Eggs	- 2

Grind the coconut in a blender and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and add cinnamon, cloves and bay leaf. Sauté for a few seconds till it flavors the oil.

Add ginger garlic paste, green chilies and fry for a few seconds.

Add chopped onion to the pan and cook until soft and translucent.

Add chopped tomatoes to the onions and cook until tomatoes are soft and puréed.

Add turmeric powder, chili powder, corriander powder, garam masala, salt and continue cooking for sometime.

You can use any Masala of your choice; Garam Masala, Curry Powder. I use a combination of Garam Masala and Kitchen King Masala.

When the curry is almost done, add the coconut and cook for a few minutes.

Taste the curry and adjust the spices and salt, as you like. Add some water if the curry is too thick.

You want to keep the curry a little watery and not too thick because the omelet pieces will absorb the curry making it thick.

Remove from flame and keep aside.

Prepare egg omelet, as you would normally make. Roll the omelet, cut into medium size pieces, and drop it into the hot curry. Garnish with a bunch of cilantro.

By the time, you clean up and set the dinner table, the omelet pieces would be soaked up and ready!

Serve hot with rice or rotis.

This is my entry to the event 'Dish Name Starts with C' hosted by Akila of Akila's Kitchen

Soup for Fall !!

Easy to prepare and delicious to taste, tomato soup is a preferred choice for all taste buds. Trust me; a bowl of soup can be your best friend this season.

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With the onset of cold weather, my heart (and tummy) is craving for something warm and soothing. I cannot think of a more perfect meal than a comforting, big bowl of hot soup. Soup is the best thing! They make the perfect meal for the cool days of fall. Soup warms the body and the spirit.

This cream of tomato soup is a rich, smooth, creamy, mildly seasoned soup. It is a thick soup of vine-ripened tomatoes and generous dose of cream. A smooth blend of cream combined with tomatoes, vegetable stock, herbs and finely chopped onion create a creamy tomato soup. This simple classic is warm, soothing and luscious!

A soup can be a great addition to the fall and winter dining table. Easy to prepare and delicious to taste, tomato soup is a preferred choice for all taste buds. Trust me; a bowl of soup can be your best friend this season!

This recipe makes approximately 4 servings. You can tweak the quantities of the ingredients as per your taste.

Diced Tomato	- 2 cups
Onions	- 1 chopped
Cream	- 2 cups
Vegetable broth	- 2 cups
Butter	- 6 tbsp
Flour	- 4tbsps
Parsley	- 3 sprigs
Bay leaf	- 1 leaf
Garlic	- 4 cloves minced
Pepper	- to taste
Salt	- to taste

Melt butter in a pot. Add garlic, onions and sauté till translucent.Add flour and stir for few minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaf, parsley and cook on medium heat for about 30 minutes.

You can use any flavorful culinary herb of your choice instead of parsley. And as a substitute to vegetable broth, you can use chicken broth to give extra flavor

Remove from heat and cool. Discard the parsley, bay leaf from the soup and purée the soup in a blender.

Pour the purée into the pot and place it back on heat. Add cream and cook until the soup thickens.

Sprinkle some parsley and freshly cracked pepper, and serve with French Baguette.