Fun Fridays & Sangria

It's Friday and the weekend awaits... perfect time to share my Sangria recipe :) I love red wine sangria. It's one of my favourite drinks especially when the weather is hot and sultry. I've tasted sangria in a lot of bars and restaurants in Delhi and Gurgaon, and I think I can honestly say that mine is pretty damn good. I know, I know, I'm blowing my own trumpet... again! But it really is, and it's not just my husband that says so :)

The problem with a lot of Sangria's I've tasted is that they end up tasting a lot like cough syrup... I think it's because of the addition of cranberry juice, which is a pretty gross, at least the ones we get in the market here. Now sangria that tastes like cough medicine is fine if you have a cough, otherwise it's not pleasant. For me, sangria will  always be the perfect Summer drink and it should be citrusy, spicy and not too sweet. I love serving it at parties and it's great because you can get away with using cheap wines. In fact, the cheaper the better! I've read that any wine that's dry and full bodied will do and it's been suggested to me that Shiraz is a good choice from Indian wines. I usually use Sula's Madera or Mosaic Red since they are are pretty reasonably priced between Rupees 350-400 a bottle and I don't see any reason in spending more on a wine that's going in a sangria. I heard you can also use port, but only if it's dry, not the sweet kind you get in Goa or you will end up with a disgustingly sweet drink.

A Sangria is basically made up of 4 parts- the wine, the hard liquor which can vary from brandy to vodka, the juices or mixers and fruit. I like using seasonal fruits, so in summer in India, pomegranate, apples and pears are good options, but in the cooler months, peaches and strawberries also work really well. What ever fruit you use though, orange, in my opinion, is a must and because of this, when it comes to the hard booze I like adding Cointreau and brandy instead of vodka. 

My Recipe for Sangria

A bottle of red wine
60 ml Cointreau 
60 ml brandy (the cheap stuff will do)
1 - 1 1/2 cup orange juice (1st add a cup and then add more if you feel it's necessary) 
1/2 cup Limca (fizzy Lemonade)
1 orange sliced
1/2 a red apple (chopped relatively small)
1/2 a pear (chopped relatively small)
seeds from 1/2 a pomegranate 
1 cinnamon stick

First place the orange slices and pomegranate seeds in a pitcher and muddle or squash them up a bit. Then mix all the remaining ingredients in and chill for at least 3 hours, because that's how much time you need for the love to happen between the fruit and wine :) (The fruit gives off their flavor and also get a chance to absorb the flavor of the wine) Just before serving add a few ice cubes and enjoy! But be careful, it goes down really easily, and quickly but it's still wine and you may have a killer headache in the morning if you enjoy it a little too much :)

Some Weekend Fun with Mango Margaritas!

Looks good no?

I thought we'd get the weekend started a bit early, since it's almost Friday, almost the end of the week  and I know we are all dying for it to get here a bit sooner. The weekend is usually when the hubby and I go out, visit a pub or try out a new restaurant. But every once in a while, we decide to stay in and chill. That's usually when I get into cocktail making mode... not that I need an excuse for a good cocktail. Hmm... I think I should stop saying that or else you may start thinking I have a bit of a problem with the good stuff :) 

Anyway, last weekend I tried out these Mango & Chilli Margaritas and they turned out awesome! I was inspired by a recipe I found on Pastry Affair, a blog that's full of some fabulous recipes. It doesn't take too long to make. The trick is to get everything ready in advance. Then at the last moment you can throw everything in the blender, blitz and serve!

These were frozen margaritas... melted by the time I clicked the pictures because it's hot as hell here:) But who's complaining when you have a few glasses of these...lol. We sat around, watched some TV and toasted to a bunch of stupid things... effects of the margaritas I guess... got us in a very happy mood. 

If you aren't a fan of forzen margaritas, just add ice after blending. You can make them any way you like and you can make them as strong or as weak as you like- just stick to the 2:1 proportion. I'm going to whip of some next time I have friends over. Don't think it's possible to not like them! I'm also going to try making aam panna margaritas. Curious to see how they turn out.

Before I get down to the recipe, a few things that are important are, to make sure to prep and chill your serving glasses at least two hours before you plan to serve the margaritas, and to chill the container in which you plan to blend the margaritas.Finally, make sure that the mango is chilled. I would suggest you freeze the mango chunks for a better frozen margarita.

Recipe (about 3-4 serves)

To rim the glasses...

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp castor sugar

1/4 lime/lemon wedge

Mix the dry ingredients together in a plate. Use the lemon wedge to moisten the rim of the glass and then dip the rim into the dry salt/sugar mix. Tap the glass to remove any excess salt and place the glasses in the freezer.

For the actual margaritas you will need...  

2, 60 ml measures tequila

1, 60 ml triple sec

4-5 lemons, juiced (we get small lemons of about 1” diameter)

Chunks of 1/2 medium sized mango

1/2 small green chilli with or without seeds

4-5 teaspoons sugar (less if your not blending with ice)

1/2 tsp salt

4-5 Ice cubes (optional)

Now if you have a blender, then throw all the ingredients in and blend. If you happen to be using a Sumit mixer, then I would suggest you blend the mango, chilli, ice, sugar, salt and lemon juice together till it forms a slushy consistency. Then add the remaining liquids and stir. I say this from my previous experiences of trying to blend a lot of liquid in a Sumit and having to mop up the entire kitchen, walls included :( Not a pleasant experience I promise you! 

To serve, pour into the chilled glasses and decorate with a lime/lemon slice and enjoy!

[All images by Shalini Pereira]

Please do not use without prior written permission

Rosemary & Orange infused Southern Comfort Whiskey cocktail

Firstly, please forgive the long boring name, I have't figured out a catchy name for this one, so any suggestions would be welcome! 

OK, getting down to business... so I know its a little early in the week to be doing posts on cocktails, but... wait, who I am kidding, it's never too early in the week for cocktails! Besides this one is really good, and hopefully something you guys can try out over the weekend. 

I made a batch of this on Saturday night. We had originally planned to go out for drinks and dinner, but the hubby had to work- a call that kept getting postponed all day, and then finally happened just as it was time to go out! I was pretty annoyed, and after throwing a bit of a tantrum, I thought why not have some boozy fun at home:) 

On a trip to the Philippines, DH picked up a bottle of Southern Comfort, and I've been thinking about trying out some cocktails with it. Saturday night, at home, a little miffed at not being able to go out... perfect for a little cocktail experiment and the two other musketeers could be my guinea pigs! (Evil laugh)

I have to say, I was expecting a bit of a disaster,especially considering the mood I was in, but it worked out quite well and trust we when I say this cocktail really improved my mood... a few sips and I was feeling downright mellow:) 

This is a nice drink that went down really well... a drink that would be especially nice on a warm spring day. Ideal for a BBQ, if you want something that has a little more kick than beer. And let me warn you that this has quite a kick! Since it was an experiment (and I didn't want to waste a good single malt on an experiment) I used Vat 69, but next time I plan to replace it with a nice non-smokey single malt.

Here's the recipe

1. Chill 3 lowball glasses

2.Add a few slivers of orange rind in a cocktail shaker with a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper and a dash of cinnamon powder

3. Use a muddler  to lightly crush the rind to release its oils

4. Add a lot of ice to the shaker

5. Add a stalk of rosemary, 1 measure of Southern Comfort, 3 Measures of Whiskey, 1/2 Measure of orange juice

6. Stir for 30 seconds and leave to stand for 2 minutes

7. Add 1-2 cubes of ice in each chilled glass, along with a few chunks of orange 

8. Pour the chilled mixture through a strainer into each glass and garnish with a twist of orange rind.

Enjoy! And write in with your ideas for a name for this one!

Serves 3

1 measure = 60ml

[All images- Shalini Pereira]

Fun Fridays- A Pitcher of Tamarind Iced Tea

The last few months have involved a lot of travelling, friends staying over, festivals and weddings, and it seems like things are finally getting back to normal.  So when Friday came around I thought to myself... ah! Friday... the promise of a nice chilled out weekend and blissful lazing around.  

So this Friday I thought we'd have a nice family night at home, enjoy some drinks, some nice food and basically catch up. For drinks I made my version of Iced Tamarind tea, a drink I once had at a restaurant in Haus Khaz Village, Delhi. I know, I know, you may say its Friday! Why not the 'good stuff'? ... add a little 'something special', but I have been trying to be 'good' of late, sort of detoxing (hope I'm not sounding too much like an alcoholic)  so I'm off the 'good stuff' for a while.

This ice cold tamarind tea is incredibly refreshing. I served it at the Onam dinner we had last Sunday and it went down like a treat! Its like a lemon iced tea with a kick of sour from the tamarind that is quite interesting and a nice palate cleanser if you're having a really rich meal. 

Along with the tamarind tea I made some homemade pita bread, hummus and some salad. Fresh, healthy and yummy.

Here's the recipe for the Tamarind Iced Tea

4 mugs water

1 level tsp green tea leaves

1 level tsp tea

2 tbsp Jaggery (palm sugar will also do)

1 tbsp tamarind

4 tbsp sugar (add more or less as per your taste)

1/2 tsp salt

a few lemon slices

Heat the water in a pan until bubbles just start to form... don't let it boil. As soon as this happens, remove from heat. Add the tea to this and cover. Leave to steep for about 5 minutes. Strain and remove tea leaves. Add the jaggery, sugar and the tamarind and leave till the mixture cools down to room temperature. With your hand squeeze the tamarind to remove all the pulp from the seeds. This may take a while. Finally strain the mixture being sure to squeeze out every last drop of the tamarind pulp through the strainer. Add the salt and freeze until it is a pulpy, icy mixture. Break up the icy mixture and pour into a pitcher. Add the lemon slices and some more ice cubes and enjoy!

p.s- I'll be putting up the pita bread and hummus recipe soon.

Family Pizza Night

One of my favorite things to do is baking bread. I think I have inherited my love of bread making from my mother. For some reason I find the entire process very comforting. And there is nothing quite like the smell of freshly baked bread. It brings back memories of childhood trips to Goa, where we would wake up to the smell of baking bread that would waft into the house from the neighboring baker's oven. We would feast on slices of these loaves, still warm from the oven, and slathered with generous amounts of butter and thick wedges of cheese. What bliss!

This weekend was a long weekend and the three of us decided to chill at home. The hubby took over the kitchen on Saturday and made breakfast and lunch which was a welcome break for me. UJ had finally recovered from a bad cold. So I decided to treat the two of them to some homemade pizza on Saturday night. 

I decided to stay classic with the toppings- just a simple tomato sauce, with goats cheese, onions and basil.

Making this pizza dough is the easiest thing in the world and I have to say that these pizzas turn out really well. Don't be intimidated by the lengthy instructions. Its is not at all complicated.

Here's what you need for the dough...

1/3 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp instant dried yeast

1 1/4 cup water

2 tbsp olive oil

4 1/2 cups plain flour (maida)

1 tsp salt

For the sauce...

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 can peeled tomatoes

4 cloves garlic

dried oregano

chilli flakes

tsp sugar

salt to taste

I always make my sauce a day in advance because the taste is always better this way. To make the sauce, add chilli flakes and finely chopped garlic to olive oil warming in a pan. Quickly add in the chopped onions and cook till the onions are translucent. Then add in the can of tomatoes. If the tomatoes are full, try and mash them up a bit. Next, add in the oregano, salt and sugar and about a cup of water. Cover and simmer on low heat till the sauce starts to dry up and thicken. Once done, allow to cool.

For the dough, dissolve the sugar in warm water. Add the yeast to this and stir. Set aside for about 10 to 15 minutes until the yeast mixture is all frothy.

Like this

Sift the flour into a large bowl. Add in the salt and mix well. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture, followed by the oil. Mix with hands and slowly add water until the dough starts to come together. (Don't add in all the water at once)

Turn out onto a clean counter that has been lightly floured, and knead well until the dough feels elastic. This should take roughly about 15 minutes. If the mixture feels sticky add a little flour  to it. 

Once this is done, form the dough into a ball and place in a bowl that has been lightly oiled. Cover the dough with a wet cloth and leave in a warm place for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.

Like this

Once again turn out onto a floured counter and knock out the air from the dough. Divide into balls, about 3"-4" in diameter. Roll out either into a circle or an oval, about 2-3mm thick and place on a lightly floured tray. Drizzle some olive oil over the base. Spread on some sauce and add toppings of your choice. Place in oven and bake till base appears slightly browned.

Remove from oven, drizzle some more olive oil on and add a few fresh basil leaves and enjoy!

Here are the results...

We made a round one and a few oval ones. I found the oval shape easier to manage in the OTG compared to the round one.

If any dough remains, wrap it in cling film and use it the next day.

[Images- Shalini Pereira]

Friday Evening- Fun at Home

Friday is finally here! Last week was particularly hectic for me. In fact the weekend didn't even register. Had to work through most of it to make up for the time lost when I was in bed with a bad back. So I am really looking forward to this weekend and some down time. 

In fact I was just thinking how much I love Fridays, as I'm sure most of you who are lucky enough to have a 5-day week do. You're sort of filled with this anticipation, of looking forward to the weekend and all it brings- a chance to catch up with friends, go out for a night out on the town, lazy Sunday mornings, vegetating in front to the TV, and however else you unwind and recharge those batteries. 

Unfortunately most Fridays the hubby ends up working late, but, on those days when he is able to get off work early, we try to do something special and fun. Usually its visiting our favorite pub, Downtown, in Sector 29, Gurgaon. 

A few weeks back Hubby got off work early, but was in no mood to go out. So I decided to have a a cocktail evening at home. I had come across this cocktail recipe on Bakers Royale.  The cocktail just looked so pretty- ideal for a warm summer evening, and I was dying to try it out. The hubby and UJ (hubby's sis who also stays with us) & I (I wouldn't miss out on this for anything) were the perfect guinea pigs! 

I mean take a look at the prettiness....

[Images courtesy Bakers Royale]

Who could resist this?

So the three of us, the hubby, UJ and I took turns making this fabulous cocktail, Pomegranate & Basil Gin Smash, which sadly doesn't have a fabulous name to match. In fact, maybe someone could suggest one? 

Anyway here's what you need...

A bunch of purple basil (I used regular green basil, just added a little more since its slightly less peppery that the purple one)

A fist full of pomegranate seeds

120 ml Gin 

60 ml sugar syrup (make this by melting 1/4 cup of sugar with 1/4 

cup of water. The syrup should be cool))

30 ml lemon juice

Smash the pomegranate seeds and basil in a cocktail shaker using a muddler (use the handle of a wooden spoon if you don't have a muddler). Next add in a handful of ice cubes, the Gin, sugar syrup and lemon juice. Close the shaker and shake well until the shaker is really really cold. Serve over ice. You can garnish with extra pomegrante seeds, lemon slices and basil, if you want to be a bit fancy.

These quantities make about 3 generous servings, so you would have to do them in batches. 

Here's how ours turned out...

[Images- Shalini Pereira]

Not as pretty as the original, but the taste was amazing!

We really enjoyed the whole process. Don't know if it was the Jazz music or this smashing drink but it was a great evening at home, and a great way to catch up on the weeks events. I should warn you thought- these are really really boozy. The three of us went through three rounds each, and we were very 'happy' by the time we were done!

Happy Friday Everyone! Have a great weekend!