[Food tales] My love for experimenting with food & Mirchi peanut gobi ...

I have been told that I made dosa when I was 3 years old, with my gramma beside me.. Looks like I was into cooking from then on. But I do remember making my own lunch when I got into high school - noodles, bread upma etc.. Since then, I have had heaps of fun experimenting with food.

Am not a stickler for recipes, nor too fond of traditional food. So, whenever am in the kitchen you can be assured there is something new brewing. But let me tell you, the end result has been yumm, vouched by those around me and friends as well who got to taste the same. And no casualties.. lolz..

Its fun. I enjoy cooking, its not therapeutic or any such but for me its fun...  The one thing I do enjoy lots is being on my own in the kitchen.  I dont like sharing the space with others, unless they are someone I am really comfortable with. Usually when there is someone else there, I would just not do anything. I would hover about,  chit chat, ask questions about what they were making or some such. And then when they are done and out, I would start my cooking. :-)

What it all boils down to is that I would rather be by myself, mixing matching ingredients, pairing different things together, whipping up something that sounded good in the head to see if they translate good on the plate/palate as well. Not to brag, but I have had very few [can count them on one hand] kitchen disasters. Not bad, right ?

Oh, and did I mention my love for trying out recipes from cookery shows? Oh yes! That is something I share with my gramma [mom's mom].. She and I have recreated so many dishes, it dazzles me to think about them. Some have turned out delicious, while others left us wondering "what was the chef thinking?" The most recent attempt was based on a dish we had during a take away..

Bombay Brasserie is a restaurant that gramma loves [ we have ordered from there before] and so that evening we ordered dinner from them. I ordered Rumali roti, cheese stuffed parantha, and two sides- one was paneer tikka masala while the other was peanut mirchi gobi.... She loved the cheese stuffed parantha and the gobi dish the most. Kept saying how both were so different and the flavours, textures were blowing her mind away.

The wheels in her head began churning post the dinner, and in 2 days time we were in the kitchen trying to recreate the dish [ based on what we remembered]... The end result- was quite close to what we ate , and then a day later, it was made again [ this time with a little more tweaks and chilli], it turned out yummm...

The Recipe

Step 1
1 cauliflower- split into florets
Parboil with tiny bit of salt for 10mins max

Step 2
Take a bowl, put cauliflower in it
Sprinkle cornflour - 1 tbsp
Salt to taste
Pepper [based on your preference]
Red chilli flakes -1 tsp
Toss well so that all florets are coated.
In a pan, add oil - deep fry the florets and keep aside

Step3
Peanut chilli mix -
Boil peanuts (until they are 3/4 done)
Mince the peanuts into chunks
Grind green chillies (3 chillies for a tbspn of peanuts)  and coriander (just a small amount- 2-3 sprigs)

Step 4
In a pan, add oil and sautee the ground mix for a few mins
Add fried cauliflower
Sautee and serve hot .. ta daaa..

What is the most fun you have had in the kitchen? Do share....