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Valentine’s Day recipes for singles

Red roses are nice, but a molten lava cake is even better. Chefs Kelvin Cheung, Vicky Ratnani and Hardik Parekh suggest five great dishes that you should eat all by yourself.

If you look at Kelvin Cheung’s Instagram feed, you’ll be convinced that there’s no other chef in the country having more fun in the kitchen than the Canadian Chinese chef, who is one of the masterminds behind the new Mumbai restaurant. When we asked him for Valentine Day’s recipes for singles, he clearly took the boys’ side with a dessert for all the dateless men and a salad for women. Well, gender equality be damned and all the better for single women who want to stay healthy. Meanwhile, chef Vicky Ratnani’s V-day recipe adds an Indian twist to a Vit C-enriched fruit salad, while Hardik Parekh of Light House, in Mumbai, suggests that singles throw a party to show off their culinary skills. Make pizza from scratch and toss up some spaghetti with meatballs for a hearty Valentine Day’s meal.</p> (Source: Isha Shah)

If you look at Kelvin Cheung’s Instagram feed, you’ll be convinced that there’s no other chef in the country having more fun in the kitchen than the Canadian Chinese chef, who is one of the masterminds behind the new Mumbai restaurant. When we asked him for Valentine Day’s recipes for singles, he clearly took the boys’ side with a dessert for all the dateless men and a salad for women. Well, gender equality be damned and all the better for single women who want to stay healthy. Meanwhile, chef Vicky Ratnani’s V-day recipe adds an Indian twist to a Vit C-enriched fruit salad, while Hardik Parekh of Light House, in Mumbai, suggests that singles throw a party to show off their culinary skills. Make pizza from scratch and toss up some spaghetti with meatballs for a hearty Valentine Day’s meal.

Our Favourite Quinoa Salad

Ingredients
1 cup – Red wine vinegar
1.5 tbsp – Sugar
4 medium – radishes, very thinly sliced
400g – Thin green beans
1 cup – Quinoa, rinsed
1 large – English cucumber—halved lengthwise, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
3.5 tbsp – Extra-virgin olive oil
To taste – Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp – Flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tbsp – Fresh lemon juice
170g – Greek feta cheese, thinly sliced

Method
* In a small saucepan, bring the red wine vinegar to a simmer with the sugar. Remove from heat and add the radish slices. Let it cool, about 1 hour.
* Meanwhile, in a large saucepan of salted boiling water, blanch the green beans for about 3 minutes until they are crisp-tender. Drain and rinse the beans under cold water until cool. Pat the beans dry and cut them into 1 1/2-inch lengths.
* In a medium saucepan, bring 1 3/4 cups of water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer over low heat for about 12 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed. Uncover and let stand until cool, about 10 minutes.
* In a medium bowl, toss the cucumber with 1/2 tablespoon of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
* In a large bowl, toss the quinoa with the parsley, lemon juice and the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Drain the radishes and add them to the quinoa, along with the beans, cucumber and feta.
* Toss well and serve.

 

(Source: Isha Shah)

Molten Lava Cake

Ingredients
400g – Eggs
400g – Butter
330g – Dark chocolate
200g – Sugar
150g – Flour
5g – Salt

Method
* Melt butter and dark chocolate over a double boiler.
* Whip eggs until pale and fluffy and fold in to chocolate mixture in three batches.
* Fold in sifted flour and salt till smooth and slow to rest for 15 minutes.
* Bake at 375 degrees Fahreheit for 8 minutes or until there is a quarter-sized ring in the middle and serve hot with a scoop of your favourite ice cream.

 

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(Source: Meghneel N Jani)

Marinated Strawberries with Gooseberries and Feta Chaat Masala Dressing

Ingredients
4 – Strawberries
4 – Gooseberries
2 small balls – Buffalo mozzarella

For the marinade
1 tbsp – Balsamic vinegar
1/3 tsp – Sea salt
5-6 – Baby spinach leaves
A big pinch – Chaat masala
½ tsp – Cracked black pepper
1/3 tsp – Orange zest
8-10 – Strawberries, sliced
* Toss all the ingredients with the strawberries. Chill and set aside.
For the Feta Chaat Masala Dressing
1 tbsp – Feta cheese
1/3 cup – Milk
To taste – Salt
To taste – Pepper
To taste – Chaat masala
1/3 tsp – Parsley, chopped
1 tbsp – Olive oil

* Blend to a smooth purée that can be drizzled over the strawberries and gooseberries.
* Garnish with fresh mint leaves and microgreens.

 

Representational picture. (Source: Alpha/Flickr)

Spaghetti with Meatballs

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Ingredients
250g – Sphagetti
250g – Ground chicken
100g – Breadcrumbs
1 – Onion ,finely diced
4 – Cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp – Thyme, chopped
1 tbsp – Salt
1 tbsp – Ground black pepper
200ml – Olive oil
4 – eggs

For the Roman tomato sauce
800ml – Tomato plum
1 – onlion, finely diced
2 tbsp – tomato paste
400ml – White wine
To taste – Basil
To taste – Garlic
To taste – Oregano
To taste – Parmesan cheese

Method
* Take minced chicken in a bowl.
* Add chopped onion, garlic, thyme, salt, pepper, egg and breadcrumb together.
* Mix it well to get solid consistency.
* Make 40g meatballs.
* Bake at 180 degrees C for 10 mins in over or cook it on slow heat for 12 minutes.

For the tomato sauce
* Peel and chop a plum tomato.
* Heat oil, add chopped onion, garlic, white wine and saute it till golden brown.
* Add the tomato paste to it and sauté.
* Add the plum tomato and cook for 40 minutes.
* Now add dry oregano.
* Finish with salt, pepper, and chopped basil leaves
* Add spaghetti on a plate. Put meatballs on top of it and pour the sauce.
* Garnish it with cherry tomatoes and Parmesan cheese.

 

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Representational picture. (Source: Mr.TinDC/Flickr)

Indie-style Chicago Crust

Ingredients
1kg – Maida
20g – Yeast
20g – Sugar
15g – Salt
500ml – Water
50ml – Oil
180g – Semolina
100g – Pizza sauce
140g – Mozarella
50g – Parmesan cheese
150g – Bell pepper
150g Zucchini
60g – Onion

Method
* Mix maida, yeast, sugar and salt.
* Put oil in it and add water and semolina.
* Make a dough.
* Take 180g of the dough and roll it out.
* Grease a tin and put the rolled out dough in it.
* Put veggies, cheese, pizza sauce on it.
* Roll a second layer of pizza and put on top of the previous one.
* Put pizza sauce on it, add mozarella on top.
* Bake at 250 degrees C for 25 minutes.


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