Corn Malaidar

Cooking is something you should never do when you are in a hurry. That should be Rule #1 in any cookbook. But that's the rule that often gets broken - at least as far as I am concerned. I had wanted to try this recipe since a long time because I was kind of getting sick of the steamed corn + salt + red chilli powder + chaat masala routine. However, the steamed corn was sitting in the fridge since the past 2-3 days and in imminent(??) danger of getting all sticky and spoiled.

That's why I was in a hurry and so forgot that the corn + milk mixture was supposed to be coarse-grained. I used the mixer for just a second longer and the mixture got turned into a fine paste. 'There goes my recipe' I said in exasperation. Of course, I had to go through the rest of the steps. I tasted it with more than a bit of trepidation. And Voila! It tasted really good. :-)

I must note that since I didn't have any soya milk at hand, I used plain milk. And since I don't much like mint (except for the divine mint chutney served at places like Punjab Grill or Copper Chimney!) I used coriander leaves to finish the dish.

Next time, I will make sure the corn paste is coarse-grained!

Costa Coffee

If it were possible to die of sugar overdose, I would have died that day. And gone straight to heaven - because I was so happy and contented! The reason for such happiness was Costa Coffee and two of the deserts on their menu. I am not a big fan of coffee - unless, of course, it is the South Indian filter one. I especially hate the coffee being served at these cafes because no matter how many sugar packets you empty into the cup, the coffee still tastes bitter. I suspect that's because coffee is supposed to be bitter and hence is more of an acquired taste.

So I steered clear of the beverages and limited myself to the eatables on the menu. The spicy ones were totally out of the question - like coffee I don't like any of the sandwiches that are being served at these cafes. Eying the array of deserts, I caught sight of the Carrot Cake with its 3-4 layers that looked yummy. I would be lying if I said that the thought of the loads of calories didn't cross my mind. It did and I totally brushed it aside. If you got to have sweet, you got to have sweet. To hell with the calories. So I ordered a slice of it.

Carrot Cake

And then noticed Butterscotch Oat Crumble Muffin which looked cute as a button as it sat there nestled in a thin brown paper as if saying 'Eat Me'. How could I resist?

Butterscotch Oat Crumble Muffin

To tell you the truth, it was totally worth it - down to the last spoonful of it. Sadly, I had to share both deserts with the rest of the party - they found the coffee a bit too bitter to swallow.

Saunf, anyone??

Anyone having a meal at any Indian restaurant is familiar with the concept of 'Saunf'. It serves the dual purpose of mouth freshener and digestive aid. Or so I am told. But I almost always make it a point not to touch it. That's because I have seen people dip their fingers into the bowl to extract it - despite the fact that a spoon is kept for precisely the same purpose. Some people even to tip part of the scooped stuff back into the bowl if they feel that they have taken more than what they want to eat. Yuck!

So I was pleasantly surprised a couple of days back when I noticed this nifty little Saunf dispenser at one of my favorite eateries. You can just tilt it to pour out the contents and it will be quite a task to tip the stuff back into the bottle without fully opening the container.

I guess this is as good as it gets - unless of course you want to lock the container down!