Garlic Chili Prawns at Nanking's

Once upon a time, the author loved seafood. She would litter the table with broken shells and claws all clean of meat and rejoice at the extensive sacrifice. Then the days descended when she hated the very sight of them. Even to this day, the smell of fish - raw, cooked or otherwise - makes her nauseous. But, then one day, she awoke to a new awareness. Perhaps its her exposure to all the cooking shows that she watches [Top chef, Hell's Kitchen, Masterchef Australia, My Kitchen Rules-you name it] which have made her more open - minded. So she went ahead and became bold. Prawns was the first on the menu.

Nanking is an institution in Hyderabad. Even on a Monday, there will people lined up in front of its doors waiting for a table to clear. This particular day was no different. The author made a deliberate attempt to arrive early so as to find a table easily. The order was huge. Its Chinese food, you can never order too much and if you do, the takeaway tastes even better next day. And Nanking serves out generous proportions. So among the order placed was a dish of prawns swathed in a nice chilli and garlic sauce. The marinade had given the prawns an almost meatiness. When it came to the table, the fragrance was unbelievable. The author almost jumped onto the plate with her fork and started cutting out chunks to satisfy her new found tastes. The spicyness of the chilli, garlic coupled with the soy and coriander root was deliciously coupled with the blank canvas of the prawns. Almost near perfect. But that is the specialty of the restaurant. Its Chinese food is familiar with none of the Indo-Chinese flavors that masquerade as the original. And, the quality is comforting. So, go ahead and give it a try

Location: Nanking, Park Lane Secunderabad
What to try: Garlic chili prawns, Fried chicken, Egg rolls, and most of the main course[non-veg]
Rating: 4/5

Monday Khichdi

In one other post I talked about cheat's khichdi which can be made by throwing ingredients into the rice cooker and then letting it simmer till done. This post is about something a little more time consuming - in the sense that you need to fry some of the ingredients before letting the pressure cooker do its work. The recipe is a sookha preparation which when done comes somewhere between khichdi and a pulao. It is adapted from this amazing post from The New York Times.
The everyday life leaves little time for flavor. I mean when you are back home after a hard day's work, do you really want spend more than even an hour on cooking, developing depths of flavor, making sure that it is cooked to perfection and all the details are taken care of. On an average night, you are just happy to throw frozen dinners into a microwave and push buttons. Don't get me wrong - frozen dinners have their own merits but taking that little time - oh boy does it work. This recipe can be done on a  Monday so you can utilize your leftover Sunday curries. Also, when you chop onions and chillies, keep some aside for a quick Monday night supper.

Ingredients:
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 dried red chillies
1 medium onions sliced
1 chilly chopped
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp kitchen king powder
salt to taste
1/2 cup massoor dal
1 cup rice
1 tsp ghee
oil for frying
water as required
Method:
Wash and soak the rice and dal while you get the ingredients ready.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Add the red chilly and bay. As it sizzles, add the cumin and mustard seeds. Let it splutter.
Add the onion, chillies. Fry till the onions are slightly golden and the tomatoes are a little squishy. Sprinkle salt, turmeric and kitchen king powder.
Fold in the rice and dal and fry for a minute till everything is mixed it together. Add four and half cups of water and a little bit of ghee.
Put the cover of the pressure cooker. Cook for two whistles. Serve piping hot with whichever curry is at hand.

Two Scoops

There are a few things that the author loves really more than ice-cream especially chocolate ice-cream. But, she has one condition. It should not be too sweet. Spice to the x-rated hot, she can handle, but give her sweet and her scale dips - to embarrassing levels. But, like a true sport she forges on, to indulge her guilty pleasure.

The ice-creams mentioned here are two of my favorite spots in Hyderabad - Scoops and Cream n Fudge. The Temptations Scoops is an old favorite. Ever since she has been to the place - the Belgian Dark Chocolate has been her particular weak spot. And she will make it a point to visit the shop at least once a month so as to have her fill of this delight. Unlike the little shops that have sprung over the last few years with fancy paints claiming to serve the next best gelato or the next best sorbet, this place remains true to the times when you go to find ice-cream and get ice-cream rather than some sugary fusion. Remember the scene in Salaam Namaste when Pretty Zinta makes those long yummy sounds over the dark chocolate. At that time I really found it bordering on incredulous but the first spoonful that very first time and I found it hard to control my moans of delight.

The new kid on the block is Cream & Fudge. This particular store is situated very attractively in the line of Sardar Patel Road. It is in the middle of all the franchises that induce drool just by their very names. But, I think it is holding its own very well. The selections of flavors vary from apple pie to chocolate sensation and come in waffle cones that offer being dipped in either chocolate sauce or chocolate sauce with a generous amount of sprinkles. The author decided to go for the Chocolate Truffle Sensation with - since she wanted to go all out for the first try - waffle cones with sprinkles. This particular ice-cream sundae has a generous amount of chocolate ice-cream with mashed ferrero rochers and chocolate chips. In one word - really cool. I foresee a lot of trips to this place.
So, taking the stroll down the ice-cream lane has proved not so fruitful for the waistline but very well for the taste-buds. And living in a hot climate always desirable. So go forth and enjoy.

Temptations Scoops: 4/5

Cream & Fudge: 3.9/5

p.s. check out the various locations here [for temptations] and here [for cream&fudge]