Welcome …

Hey!!! Techiecook is ALIVE! Wohoooooo!!!

So what’s in this blog?

• Recipes
• Code
• Tech talks
• And very random walks through my thought patterns

we will post in this blog – stuff about Food and Technology and whatever comes to our mind!

Alright! Say, did you know that “Kokum” is not the same as “Mace” ? Well I did not …

I used mace a few times when cooking dishes like “Chicken Shahi Korma” (with and without nuts!) … and the flavour in there was just amazing. I promise to put up the recipe soon!

The first recipe

Hey guess what Sundays are famous for? Omlettes!  As one advert put it – “Eggs love a good omlette” – true. It is also the first dish we are going to talk about because it involves a few basic in cooking.

• Cooking duration
• Ingredients and their impact to the flavour
• Heat (how high your burner is at)
• And preparation (Chopping/cutting or the lack of it)

So an Omlette can be made in a variety of ways by varying how much you cook your eggs, on how many sides and with how many other things.

Simple Receipe:

Two eggs, some milk (optional), some butter (optional) and some salt and pepper are all that is needed … however if you really want to go a notch up you need to think bigger!

Level 1 – The Garlic Oil:

The very first twist to the simple Omlette is Garlic – yes you Draculas! G-A-R-L-I-C, the white pod thingy (and no I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT SOME DARN PASTE IN A BOTTLE!!!! – Sorry had to scream to make sure you got the point about using quality ) …. anyways here is what you need to do with the GarlicReduce the heat and with a spoon mix the eggs a little so that some of the cooked lumps are incorporated into the uncooked mixture … keep doing this until the beaten mix is half way cooked (i.e. 50% lumpy and 50% fluidy) …then sprinkle some pepper on top.

Remove some garlic cloves from the pod . Smash the garlic with a knife and remove the outer skin. Heat some butter in a pan and throw the garlic in. Keep flame at High. Beat some eggs, add salt.

Watch the garlic and smell – when they turn brown and the aroma of garlic + butter fills the air (yeah that is how I cook) … throw the eggs in the pan.Cover or cook in open and in about 5 mins when you think the omlette is ready flip onto a plate and devour with some toast and butter! Simple yet yummy. Oh yeah and don’t forget the ketchup : )

Level 2 – Milk, Ginger and Chili:

Now cut a small piece of ginger (about 1-2 sq inch),  chop it up fine and then do the same with a couple of green chillis. Add this to the eggs with a little bit of milk when beating the eggs … and then cook the same way as we cooked above. Ginger and chillis add that extra bite to the Omlette and the milk just makes it fluffier.

Level 3 – Vegetables:

Okay its time to get a little extravagant with the dish … if you chop up some Onions (finely) and Green peppers (again chop fine) and umm some Mushrooms … or even a little bit of spinach … you can take these and fry them once on the pan before cooking your garlic and eggs as described above.

I usually start with the butter in the pan, wait till the butter makes “Shwoosh” sound and before it turns brown/black I add the Garlic and cook that … then I add the Onions (use Red Onions if possible) and cook until they are soft and slightly brown. Then I add the Green Peppers and Mushrooms under very high heat … working quickly and tossing my veggies until they are slightly cooked. Finally I add the eggs, beaten with milk and some ginger and chillis. Cook the eggs in low heat, stirring the bottom and sides to fold the cooked portion in until most of it is cooked and then I let it settle. Top off with sliced tomatoes (thin or chunky) and cheese on top (Feta is the best).

Finally  I cover up the whole thing, if possible with an aluminum foil and let it cook slowly for 5-10mins until I can smell the aroma.

I will never add these:

So you experiment and the goal is not just to come up with the next best thing but also to keep good notes of what not to put into an omlette … somethings are just not right for it

– Curry Leaves (I tried it once and the leaves broke the nicely sealed Omlette plus it tasted too much like curry  – my Omlette should smell like eggs and veggies)

– Big chunky vegetables from the frozen section of your fridge Ex: Cauliflower florets and Brocolli florets – if you don’t cook them well enough they will make your eggs had to fit into a sandwich plus they retain the freezer smell (yuck!),

– Chicken (Why?!)

– Soggy tomatoes – dry roast or remove seeds before adding tomatoes to my Omlette please –  but then when you cook its yours so do as you please!

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– “Kaali Daal and Chicken” – yes you heard me! It is a bit of an inside joke between my friend and me, and a big lesson learned at the same time.

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[ to add more here over time]