DesiDabba - Boss, Thoda Sa Roomani Ho Jaye

Sausages have always been a mystery to me - I have never ceased to wonder how a pig can becomea perfectly shaped tube . I used to think that sausages were part of a pig like pork (guess it has to do much with my being a veggi and hence the ignorance !). This mystery was finally solved when (as usual )I sat down to watch BBC Food channel.

The programme on at that time ,once again (see reference to Crocodile steaks ) was Off the Menu . The chef mixed together minced pork, cream , beaten eggs , salt, pepper and chopped parsely -the result being a thick stuffing. What came next was the key to the mystery !. He took out what looked like a thin string from a bowl of water and voila ! The string turned out to be  a micro shaped tube which he opened out by attaching it to the pipe and filling it with water. He then emptied the water so that the tube was fully blown out. He then attached it to the snout of a a machine . His assistant then fed the pork stuffing into the machine so that the it came out of the snout and went straight into the tube. After filling the tube (now it definitely resembled a sausage ) , he twisted it at different points and sliced the big tube into small sausages . The sausages were then shallow fried and served with mashed potatoes and caramelized sauce !

Continue reading ‘Sausages - Mystery Unravelled’

“Watch & Learn” programmes have become rather popular with viewers today , what with even food habits having gone global ! This has created a rush among all the channels to include a cookery show as part of their programmes. BBC has even come out a channel solely devoted to the art of cooking , known as BBC Food .

While most Indian channels show a variety of veg as well as non-veg dishes prepared by master chefs like Sanjeev Kapoor, Tarla Dalal , Mallika Badrinath , to name a few , BBC Food channel has shows devoted to mostly non veg cuisine with a sprinkling of veg cuisine-( not that anything is wrong with that of course ). Being interested in anything that concerns food ( even though personally I am a die-hard vegetarian ! ) , when time permits (yes,  surprising as it may seem to some folks, even we housewives are hard pressed for time ! ) I watch programmes based on cuisine delights- veg or non-veg - Indian cookery shows , to learn new veg recipes & BBC Food channel out of sheer curiosity (its unbelievable -what all creations are dished out in the name of food ! ) . My offspring thinks I am weird ! She is simply at a loss to understand how a pucca shakahari ( veggie- to those unfamiliar with this term ! ) like me can sit in front of the TV and watch with rapt attention and fascination all those unfamiliar non-veg dishes being prepared , without feeling queasy most of the time !

Continue reading ‘Tears for the Crocodile !’

The other day I was watching a cookery show in one of the regional channels- the presenter was the director of a catering college and a well known chef too. Armed with my pad and pen I eagerly looked forward to adding yet another recipe to my collection. At the very start when he announced he was going to prepare suraa ( a type of fish ) kuzhambu (or sambar), my enthusiasm took a beating. Being a veggie, the very name put me off ! To kill a lazy afternoon I anyway decided to watch ( curiosity got the better of me, I guess !).

The host - a man of generous proportions (khathey peethey type – like Obelix of Asterix fame !)- set about the task of preparing the dish while giving a running commentary.

Continue reading ‘Haath Ka Kamaal‘

Good news all you Lifestyle fans!! Now you’ll no longer have to stay glued to Discovery Travel & Living (though I must say, it’s one HECK of a great channel!) but now, you’ll have another channel for all your lifestyle needs!

The King of Good Times, Mr. Vijay Mallya now puts his thumb into the Television pie along with NDTV’s Prannoy Roy and viola! It’s ‘NDTV Good Times’!

Continue reading ‘New Lifestyle Channel : NDTV Good Times‘