A crunchy toast

Down foodpath

I’ve been in the hotel industry for 13 years now. It’s been a wonderful journey as I’ve travelled around various kitchens in Tamil Nadu, learning the tricks of cooking.

My mother was the one who taught me how to cook. I would love spending time with her in the kitchen and learn how different ingredients came together and made a delicious dish. She would prepare a lot of South Indian dishes, but my heart lies in Continental cuisines.

I learnt a lot from my senior chef Thirupathi Balaji. He was someone who taught me everything I needed to know about the industry, small tips while making a particular dish and many other useful things.

My daughter is four-years- old and she’s already becoming a pro in the kitchen. Though my wife is the head of the kitchen at home, there are days when I take over as well. My daughter makes sure she’s there to assist. During my day off, I love being at home with my family and enjoying whatever my wife cooks for me.

I love having Mediterranean dishes though. ‘Chicken tappa’ is one of my favourite dishes. The cuisine is simple yet complex. It also has flavours that I’m somewhat used to growing up.

After joining ‘g77Cafe’, I’ve helped curate a menu that offers some great starters. It also has all types of food that a family would like to have. The recipe that I’m sharing today is called ‘C3’, one of my daughter’s favourite dishes. It’s a very easy vegetarian dish that anyone can make at home. 

On a weekend where you just want to relax and nibble on a delicious snack with a drink in your hand, this starter is just what you need. There’s also a dip that you can make to complete the dish. It’s extremely simple to make as well.

The ingredients used to make this are usually used in every home and hence easily available, so one doesn’t have to plan much before preparing it.” 

Chef Saravana Kumar
Sous chef at ‘g77Cafe’
(As told to Anila Kurian)

C3 balls
Recipe
Ingredients
 *Grated cheddar — 3 tbsp
 *Grated cottage cheese — 3 tbsp
 *Corn kernels — 1 cup
 *Butter — 2 tbsp
 *Refined flour — 2 tbsp
 *Milk — 2 tbsp
 *Green chillies, finely chopped — 1 tbsp
 *Black pepper powder — ½ tsp
 *Salt to taste
 *Oil for deep frying
 *Crushed and chopped garlic for mayonnaise

Method
 *Pre-boil the corn kernels and set aside.
 *In a bowl, mix grated cottage cheese and cheddar cheese with the pre-boiled corn kernels roasted in butter.
 *Add refined flour, milk, black pepper powder, green chillies and salt to taste.
 *Mix the ingredients together to form a dough.
 *Using your wet palms, divide the dough into bite- sized balls.
 *Deep fry till golden brown in hot oil and keep on a kitchen towel to remove any excess oil.
 *For the Aioli dip, add crushed and chopped garlic to the mayonnaise
and serve with hot ‘C3 balls’.

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