thecookscottage

Wonton a Wonton ?

Chicken Wonton

Even though I am Indian and comfort food means dal chawal  I find wontons rank a close second, and sometimes, I am guilty to admit, they take precedence over the traditional and nostalgic fare of my birth.

Being no fan of fast food, i.e the oily stodge you get in many places, filled with dubious ingredients, I have to make these at home.

You will be surprised what a painless and quick job this is, especially if you freeze in extra wonton wrappers.

How to make the wrappers:

Makes 24

Ingredients

1 egg

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups maida/ flour, sifted

1/3 to 1/2 cup water

Method

Beat the egg and salt together with the salt. Add half the water.
In a bowl put all the flour. Make a hole  in the centre and add the egg and water mixture. Add more water, if required, to make a ball of dough. The dough should not be sticky .

Knead the dough, like you would chapathi dough, for a few minutes till elastic.
Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Make 24 equal parts of the ball of dough.  Roll out each ball till very, very thin.You can make as many as you like and freeze them till you need to use them. 

 Filling

125 gms chicken mince

2 green onions chopped fine

2 tbsp grated carrot (optional)

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp soya sauce

1/2 tsp Pepper

Mix all the ingredients above and put one heaped teaspoon in the centre of each wonton wrapper.Seal with the help of a brush of water on the edges.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil. Gently lower each wonton into the boiling water. They drop to the bottom of the pan initially.When they float to the top the wontons are done, about 2-3 minutes.

Sprinkle with peanut oil to coat and to prevent the wontons sticking together

 Topping

2 teaspoon peanut oil

1  tbsp sesame seeds / til

1 tsp ginger grated

6 green onions chopped fine

1 tbsp soya sauce

Heat the oil and fry the sesame seeds for a minute. Add the ginger and the chopped green onions. Saute for a minute. Add the sauces and oil , stir well and use for garnish on top of the wontons.

 These turn out so well and it is so, so simple.Just writing about it makes me want to make up another batch of wontons.

Green Bean Casserole- A New Way with an Old and Worn out dish

I can't figure out why nobody likes green beans.

Coming from a country where green beans were full of string and inedible just ten years ago,I am so thankful for them today ,in their new version, available everywhere, and known as "Frash Bean" i.e. french beans they are wonderfuly juicy and flavourful.

They are great as an accompaniment to any meat or poultry dish, not just on Thanksgiving but all through the year.

Here is one of my favourite ways of cooking them.

Ingredients

500 gms green beans, topped and tailed.

2 tbsp extra virgin oilve oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

250 gms/ 1 cup tomatoes chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

1/2 tsp sugar

Salt And black pepper to taste

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp chopped parsley

Method:

Heat the oil and suate the onions till soft about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a another couple of minutes.Now add the rest of the ingredients except the beans and parsley and cook covered, on low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the beans and the parsley, cover again and cook for about 20 minutes till the beans are tender.

Serve hot or cold garnished with a  teaspoon of walnut oil.

This is easy and YUM.

 

 

 

 

BBC GOOD FOOD magazine -India edition

Hot on the heels of the BBC Good Food Asia edition comes the India edition. Billed as the UK’s best selling Food magazine it is a welcome addition to the present range of food magazines in India.

As a long standing fan of the original, with its beautiful unfussy photographs and an easy to follow  format for recipes I am especially pleased . Several years ago my only access to the magazine was through the good auspices of the British Council .

That august institution has sadly lost its way from the path of popularising British culture through distributing books on art, architecture, fiction, gardening  and science among the information hungry Indian populace. Now it seems to cater only to students of engineering, medicine and information technology, that too  at a hefty price,  and its only intent- to sell an overpriced British higher education  to all comers,  with little responsibility to its buyers in India. But that is another story.

Suffice it to say I am no longer a member of the British Council but slowly began following BBC’s Good Food online. Some of my best recipes have come from there.

The Indian edition is published by Bennett Coleman  and Co.( who own Times of India)  They have bought BBC Worldwide . Whether this will reflect in the quality of the eventual publication has to be seen. Many Indian food magazines are very aspirational, reflecting lifestyles of the rich and famous and a handful of “Famous Foodies” and not much in the way of good solid recipes......publishing, in fact , quite questionable ones.

The original GOOD FOOD Magazine always has several tried and tested recipes, and is a dependable guide. The Indian edition promises a section for Vegetarians, the inevitable Eat Out section and more articles relevant to an Indian readership. The Times of India says that seventy percent of the content will be generated here with the rest syndicated from the UK. Does that mean the original magazine? Lets hope so.

Lets also hope it doesn’t become just another vehicle for advertising without any regard for content, which is what most magazines seem to be today.