Minty Nice Rice!

I love-to-hate harried mornings spent scurrying about the kitchen to get stuff done, but some of my best accidental discoveries happen then! Hmmm…..

My sweet mom packed some pudina (mint) chutney last week, and there was plenty left. I shoved it into the refrigerator, pretty certain that it will end up on my maid s plate the next day. The next morning was a rush of course, and I was unsure what to pack for lunch. Idlis for breakfast, but cold idlis for lunch….Not very nice.

Eureka, the idea just thwacked me on my head. I steamed some long-grained rice and kept it aside. I heated oil, waited until the mustard and jeera sputtered, threw in curry leaves and red chillies that hissed merrily in the hot oil. Then it was the turn of some finely chopped baby onions that cooked in the oil till it was nice and brown. Then went in the mint chutney (which had mint, coconut, salt and green chilles all roasted and blended) which mixed happily into the oil. As a final, to-please-myself touch, I broke lovely, large almonds and pista into bits and sent them packing into the oil. All cooked and ready – the mixture looked a lovely green.

I tossed in some salt and the steamed rice and deftly mixed it up till the chutney-oil mix coated the rice well. Tossed it some more so the grains of rice didn’t stick to one another before removing it from the heat....It turned out well, I must say, with the almond and pista adding different textures to the rice. I’m assuming that a papad and some raita would definitely pack in more punch.

The Oreo Cookie Cheesecake at Spiga

I love the all-new Spiga. Thumbs up to their stark white-black interiors, their gloriously intact menu and the absolutely, gloriously intact prices! Ok, I write this piece to strictly discuss what I ate—and what I ate from their vegetarian part of the menu. The Parmigiano was nice, with eggplant batter-fried and arranged on a bed of mashed potatoes, surrounded by penne and drizzled with white sauce and olive oil. Nice—would recommend it.

But I am so very, very pleased with the Oreo cookie cheesecake. I was pretty sure that it was going to be a frozen cookie crumb base with layers of cream cheese or chocolate or whatever, but this one is extremely different. The almost crumbly and powdery cookie base has a nice, not-too-thick chocolate sauce layer on top of it, with a layer of whipped cream coming right on top. A spoonful of chocolate is drizzled over it for a stunning looking dessert.

You can spoon away easily and gorge on it. It is a wonderful feeling. I don’t know about its calorie count, but I actually walked out feeling light….

…..It’s a week, and I am still as pleased.