Haute Cuisine

Never have I had a meal without chillies or onions. I simply adore spicy food. Even if a preparation is bland, I never let it stay that way....

Never have I had a meal without chillies or onions. I simply adore spicy food. Even if a preparation is bland, I never let it stay that way. I make sure I chomp enough chillies with it to make it my kind of palatable.

And even though the mercury is soaring now, and meat is best avoided, I still can’t deny my love for it. Though I decided to go vegetarian last week, I think I will end up being a fishitarian, because I love seafood. That’s why, when I cook Chilly Crab, I can never get enough of it.
As for the Chilly Meat, it’s a hit with all. Shankar Mahadevan freaks on this dish. We always make it a point to prepare this meat when he’s coming over.

What I love about these recipes is that they are simple, and don’t require too many masalas. Hence they are light and easy on the stomach. I believe in fast cooking, which is tasty as hell. These are the sure shot ways to achieve that target. Whenever I decide to stir up a meal, these are two recipes I never fail to try. Under my wife Lorraine’s watchful eye, of course.

CALCUTTA CHILLI MEAT

Ingredients
500 gms beef or chicken
1 tbsp garlic
1 tbsp ginger
Few dry red chillies
1 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

METHOD
Cut the meat in small pieces. Grind the garlic and ginger. Dry roast the red chillies on a tava, then grind in a mixer and keep aside.
Put some cooking oil in the cooker. Add the ginger and garlic paste and fry — till the aroma makes you dizzy. This is when you add the meat and some water. Cook on a slow flame, till it is tender. Add salt to taste. Keep stirring and cook till the water dries up. Then add the ground red chillies, and fry for just a couple of minutes. Voila! It’s ready. Serve it hot with some steamed white rice and, like me, you won’t be able to stop eating.

CALCUTTA SOYA CHILLI CRAB

Ingredients
500 grams crab (smaller ones are tastier)
1 tsp soya sauce
5-6 green chillies
1 tbsp butter

METHOD
Boil the crabs till their colour changes to succulent red. Put some butter in a pan. Add the soya sauce and green chillies. Then stir fry for about two minutes. Don’t forget to keep stirring while you fry. It’s already done. Nothing could be simpler and tastier!

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Tip for gorging: Get down and dirty with bare fingers and callipers.