Physalis Salad

I’m not a salad person and will usually avoid salads as much as I can. On the rare occasion, I’ve been persuaded to eat a salad, and even rarer still have I enjoyed or even liked a salad. So while I enjoy experimenting making new stuff in my kitchen, I’ve literally never tried to make a salad before. But #Physalis... I’ve eaten it for years, made it into preserves for a couple of years; and my Human, he likes salads. So today I made a Salad at home and I enjoyed making it and I even liked eating it - it was refreshingly delicious! I’m as surprised as anyone else who knows me well is going to be!

Here's the recipe: 

100 g of Physalis cut into eighths
1 medium sized Cucumber diced
Kernels from 1 Cob of Corn steamed and salted lightly
3/4 Cup of Mint leaves

Salad Dressing: 

Juice of 1 small Lemon
Lemon Rind, to taste
1 tablespoon of Honey
1 tablespoon of Olive oil
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Mix the ingredients for the salad dressing in a bowl. Toss all the ingredients with the salad dressing till it is well combined. Eat!

Physalis Jam - a twist

Physalis or CapeGooseberry Jam was what was cooking in my kitchen a few days back. While this is not my first attempt at making jam, this is my first attempt at making jam from this fruit, mostly because I either was too lazy or had too little time to experiment with and make jam from it; the fruit also being very seasonal. The idea to make jam from it came from looking the fruit up on google; with it came many variations in recipes. I first discovered it in a local market a few years ago and picked it up out of curiosity. At that point in time I did not know what to do with it. I asked a friend and she wove me a nostalgic story about how she and her siblings would pick these fruit that would grow wild in their home town and just eat them. I ate quite a few of these fruit too. I like their sweet and tart taste.

I used 300 g of Physalis; 200 g of Demerara Sugar, and the juice of 1 1/2 limes to make the jam. I prepared the fruit by easing them with salt and water and cutting them into quarters.

Mix the sugar and lime juice in a cup of water and bring this mixture to boil in a thick bottomed pan on high heat. Once the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is bubbling, add the chopped physalis to the pan. Wait till the mixture comes to a boil again and then lower the heat so that the mixture in the pan is simmering.

I tested it to see if it was done after about 30 minutes.

How to test if a jam is done? 

• Place a few drops of the jam on a cold spoon and put the spoon in the fridge for a couple of minutes. 
• Take the spoon out and push at the jam with a finger; if it wrinkles, it is done. 

If not, continue to simmer till it is done; checking at 5 minute intervals. My jam was done in about 45 minutes.

Chocolate Chunk Cookies

After years of talking about learning to bake, I was gifted my sister-in-law's oven when she got a new one for her new kitchen in their new home. So bake I started, and after some serious Pinterest and YouTube research, this is my Chocolate Chunk Cookie recipe.

Ingredients 

• 1 Cup of Unsalted Butter
• 1 Cup of Brown Sugar
• 1/2 Cup of Powdered White Sugar
• 2 Eggs 
• 2 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extract
• 3 Cups of All Purpose Flour
• 1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda 
• 1/2 a Teaspoon of Salt
• 1 1/2 Cups of Chocolate Chunks

Mixing 

1. Microwave the cup of unsalted butter for 30 seconds - 1 minute. Pour it into a mixing bowl. 
2. Add the cups of brown and powdered white sugar to the mixing bowl. Stir till it is evenly incorporated into the butter. 
3. Add one egg to the mixing bowl and mix till the mixture in the bowl is of even consistency. Repeat with the second egg. 
4. Add the teaspoons of vanilla extract to the mixture in the bowl and stir in. 
5. Place the sieve above another mixing bowl. Sieve in the cups of all purpose flour, the teaspoons of baking soda and salt. 
6. Now add the dry ingredients in the second mixing bowl to the mixture in the first mixing bowl a little by little. Stir in till the flour mixture is completely and evenly incorporated making a stiff dough. 
7. Add the Chocolate Chunks to the dough and mix till evenly incorporated. 

Baking 

Preheat the oven at 175 C for 10 minutes. 

To make cookies that are approximately about 65 grams each, spoon 2 tablespoons of cookie dough per cookie onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 175 C for 11 minutes.

Remove the cookies and let it cool for about 2-3 minutes before you transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

Storing

Store the cookies in an air-tight jar for up to 10 days with a slice of bread to keep the cookies moist and fresh.

Date and Mango Chutney

Ingredients

1 teaspoon of cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon of minced ginger
3 green chillies
1/2 cup of raw green mango, minced
a lemon sized ball of seedless dates
10 mint leaves
salt, to taste
water (optional)

Instructions

Heat the oil in a kadai and add the cumin seeds to it. Once the cumin seeds start to sputter, add the ginger, green chillies, raw mango, and dates to the kadai. Cover and cook for 3-5 minutes on medium heat.

Let the mixture cool for 10-15 minutes, then grind it with the mint leaves. Add salt to taste, and water for the desired consistency.

Mushroom Fry

Ingredients 

1 tablespoon of cooking oil

1/4 teaspoon of mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon of fresh chopped ginger

200 g of sliced mushroom

1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon of red chilli powder

1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground black peppercorns

1 small onion, sliced and fried till brown

1/2 teaspoon of masala powder

salt, to taste

2 tablespoons of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

Instructions

Heat the oil in a kadai on medium heat and add the mustard seeds to it. Once the mustard seeds start sputtering, add the ginger and stir for 30 seconds. Then add the mushroom and cook covered for 2-3 minutes till the oil starts to separate. 

Add the turmeric powder, chilli powder, and freshly ground pepper. stir on high heat for 30 seconds. 

Add the browned onions, masala powder, and salt to taste. Cover and cook for about 1-2 minutes, then serve garnished with fresh, chopped coriander leaves.