Pingabhi’s Caramelized Pineapples bathed in Malibu Rum

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So, I am a defective piece. I was finally recovering from my sprained ankle- which FYI I sprained COOLING down after exercising. Yes, I do realize the irony- isn’t cooling down done to avoid such injuries? But, I guess my body defies all norms. It really does!

So as I was saying, I was finally recovering from my sprained ankle- when, out of the blue and without doing anything I have this severe lower back pain.

Now, I have a weak lower back- all the years of slouching, bad posture and of course carrying my excessive weight (ok! it’s not that excessive but its quite a lot for me to handle!) has resulted in a weak lower back which results in back pains now and then, but never has the pain been as bad as it is this time. And the most frustrating part is that it started when I was doing absolutely nothing! Its almost like my body was like-

“Hmmm, her ankle is almost fine now, she looks really comfortable.

C’mon lumbar area- do your stuff- start paining- give her pain- give her some real physical pain!”

*the body then goes ahead with a devilish laugh*

and bam! my lower back starts paining.

I tell you my body doesn’t like me.

That’s why, when I have an important outing- my face gets a zit.

Always.

I could cite more examples but I am scared my body would catch up on me catching onto it and do something more severe. (You would think that my body would have had its fun with giving me a painful lower back. But, nah! my body is not that kind!)

And well this pain could not come at a worse time. I am trying to lose weight and have been doing good with my exercise regime. My goal is to fit into my pre-marriage jeans and things were looking pretty good with the dedication I was showing. But, all good things come to an end even though I didn’t expect it to so soon!

I have no clue though how I let myself to become so fat. Actually I do know- it’s all V’s fault. He always made me believe that I looked the same as the first time he saw me- thin and pretty.

Ok.

Here’s a little something about me- something that my dad has identified as the Capricornian trait– my mom has it and since I have her genes and her zodiac sign, it was but obvious that I would get it too. People with the Capricornian trait believe that the blame always lies with someone else. So even though I was the one bingeing and stuffing myself on the freakingly big portions you get at restaurants here, it’s V’s fault that I have become fat, as he led me to believe that none of those calories resulted in saddle bags and big butts (Now, don’t I paint a pretty picture of me? And yes, I know V is a lucky guy to have me:) !)

And since I’m talking about blaming people for my weight problems, there’s another person I would like to blame today. The unfortunate soul who I incriminate for such a heinous crime of introducing this easy a recipe is Pingabhi of My red M&Ms.

These caramelized pineapples are sooooo freaking good. And they are so easy to make. Served with a dollop of whipped cream or with some lemon gelato (yum!) like Pingabhi does, its a great way to end any meal.

Things this good could be so simple to make- who knew! Read More →

GRILLED CORIANDER CHICKEN LEGS

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I have been enjoying Delhi food after a long time! Today, I went to Moet’s (a restaurant in Defence Colony, Delhi) and shared a chicken sizzler and roomali roti-kakori kebab combo with my mom-in-law. Kakori kebabs are these extra delicate lamb kebabs that are generally marinated with raw papaya and wrapped around skewers and grilled. Their name comes from a village by the same name near Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh (a state in northern India). The Nawab (ruler) of Kakori village developed these kebabs to address the complaints of the British (who were ruling India at that time) that the meat was very tough. Well, besides railways and introducing us to the English language, I think this is another thing I am grateful to the British for! Thanks to them and their complaints, we get to eat melt in your mouth delicious kebabs!

On Sunday, I went to this Italian restaurant, Tonino’s that is on Mehrauli-Gurgaon road, and had amazing chicken chops with al dente spaghetti. My mom-in-law ordered a grilled fish which was very nicely cooked and flavored. For dessert we had a chocolate lasagna (I know!)- layered chocolate cake with hot chocolate sauce spread in between each layer and served with vanilla ice cream. Not only was the food good, so was the ambience. The restaurant is like a Tuscany styled villa with a verandah, outdoor seating, and trees all around. At night they put candles everywhere and make it a really romantic place to take your loved one! Alas, I went with my in-laws, which wasn’t bad either but the romantic setting could not be tested!

I remember when I was in Moscow for two years and visited Delhi on a month’s break I had made a list of places/things I wanted to visit/eat. On the list were Khan chacha’s rolls (at Khan market), Nizam’s rolls (at Connought Place), Choor choor naan that you get outside LSR (my under-grad college) and chicken momos either from Sarojini/Dilli Haat, and the oily, greasy chowmein that is popularly known as Indian-chinese! I have already ticked off IIFT dhaba’s paranthas and The Big Chill. The list would be incomplete without mentioning Dal makhani, butter chicken and butter naan.  (Well, butter chicken can also be ticked off since I had it at Saket the other day with my friends) And I also would like to have gol gappas and a better version of aloo-tikki chaat (I had the latter at a wedding but wasn’t too impressed). Yes, I am on a mission!

Anyway, coming back to what I have been cooking. Well, practically nothing! I make tea regularly (if you would consider that cooking! and I know some of us actually do!) but besides the chicken biryani and what I cooked for the party at my parents place- I have not been cooking in India.

So, the other day when my mom-in-law got some chicken legs from Khan market, I thought of making some grilled chicken legs as an accompaniment to a glass of chilled beer. Instead of making plain tandoori chicken I thought of giving the chicken a coriander flavor. Now, I have been experimenting with my in-laws microwave and today gave their grill a try. It took longer than I expected to cook- but once cooked, the chicken was soft and delicious. We were out of lemon, but I’m sure some lemon juice on top would have made an excellent appetizer. And the glass of chilled beer- well it was the icing on the cake!

I had made these yesterday evening and could not take any pictures since the lighting in the house is all yellow and it was not flattering to the dish. I saved two pieces thinking I would make them as an afternoon snack but we were out the whole day. The moment we came back and since there was still some daylight I quickly went to bake/grill the kitchen. But by the time they were ready it was dark outside. Man, the trouble I go through to get a good click. So anyways, I was stuck with another yellow click. A little photoshop helped reduce the yellow but still doesn’t do justice to the dish! Well, when I make it the next time, hopefully I’ll get a good shot!

P.S: This post was written more than a week back, but due to no internet connection for the past few days and the fact that I had been travelling I have not been able to post it till today. Not that anybody cares, or do they???Hmmmm……

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