Green Pea Soup, Allu Tikkis and Egg on Toast

The Bouncing Cookbook Presents... 3 more recipes!
(pst - The Army Element should read Raiding for Bouncing!)

An army marches on its stomach, said Napoleon.
An Air Force survives on its bouncing, says moi.

Nine times out of ten when my husband lands in any Air Force Base in the country hoping for a hot meal in the mess, chances are he won’t get one! If, however, that Station houses a course mate, the odds get reversed immediately. For the poor wife who has been feeding course mates since they were bachelors bouncing on her brand new kitchen, it’s not a new story.

In fact it’s my story as much as hers! The line of progressive bachelors who have fed from my kitchen and gone on to become husbands and fathers is beyond the scope of this post. However, if it were not for them, I would probably never have had the confidence and the courage to write this series. So I must mention them all in general and thank them for all their compliments.

The one thing that Fauji Biwis must face, no matter where they are posted, is the challenge of managing the “Ration”. So I have made an effort to base most of the recipes on ingredients that come in the ration.  Watch out for new posts in the Party Food  and Games blog. And leave comments about what you want me to write. For now I leave you with Green Pea Soup, Allu Tikkis and Egg on Toast.

Green Pea Soup

Ingredients

Peas, 250g

Butter, 1 tbsp

Maida, 1 tbsp
 
Mustard Powder, ¼ tsp
 
Salt and Pepper to taste

Water

Method

1.Boil peas in 1 cup water till soft, then cool and grind to a paste.
2.Melt Butter in pan, add Maida and roast till colour changes.
3.Add Peas Paste and Water then bring to a boil.
4.Add Mustard powder, salt and pepper to taste. Serve with soup sticks.

Allu Tikkis

Ingredients	Optional
Potatoes, 4 med sized, Boiled and Mashed	Cheese, ¼ cup, grated
Butter, 1 tbspn	Peas, 1tbsp, Boiled and Mashed
Cornflour, 2 tbsp	Carrot, 1, Boiled and Mashed
Salt and Pepper to taste
Garam Masala, 1 tbsp
Oil for frying

Method

1. Add Butter, Cornflour, Garam Masala, salt and pepper to the mashed Potatoes. (If using cheese, peas or carrots, add that as well.)

2. Make small marble shapes and flatten to get the Tikki.

3. Shallow fry in hot oil.

4. Serve with a dip or chutney.

Egg on Toast

Ingredients	Optional
Eggs, 3	Onions, 1, finely chopped
Bread Slices, 6	Tomato Sauce, to garnish
Butter, 4 tbsp	Coriander Leaves, to garnish
Milk, ¼ cup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

1.Heat 1 tbsp butter in pan, add Eggs, Salt, Pepper and Milk and quickly scramble. (Add Onion also, if using)

2.Discard the ends on the bread slices and cut each into 4 pieces.

3.Shallow fry the bread squares in butter till they turn golden brown.

4.Top toasted squares with spoonful of egg and dot with Tomato sauce or Coriander leaves.

5.Serve Hot.

Birthday Party in 48 hours!

As my son turned seven he initially decided that he did not want a birthday party and would make do with a trip to the National Rail Museum as a special treat. So we decided to visit the museum on the weekend as his birthday was on a weekday. He enjoyed his second trip there and we all had fun in the toy train ride. It had been a lovely relaxed day, but that was about to change.

That evening he went down to play in the colony and came back super upset. Since it was 1st April no one would believe that it was his birthday and so he invited his friends for a party to make them believe it really was his birthday. Now the panic began. Thankfully we had already ordered a two kg birthday cake in the shape of Johnny Test. (that's the cake in the pic)

For those of you who are not addicted to cartoons this is a boy who has two twin elder sisters and a talking dog. The sisters are usually conducting some experiment or the other and Johnny tends to get caught up in them leading to some new adventure all the time.

So the cake was already ordered and would not be an issue. Next I began working out the guest list. We decided to keep it to just the kids in the colony whom he played with. That brought the total up to five boys and their siblings. So I had a party for ten to play.

 I began with the handmade invitations which I made in the morning on the 2nd while I got Rehaan ready for school. Once I dropped him off at the bus stand and watched him board I went out distributing the invitations to the mothers in the colony.

Invitations done I began to look into the eats for the party. A friend's mother gave me the grand idea to fry smiley faces, and serve cheese pizza and garlic bread. Far better than the samosas, burgers and spring rolls that I was thinking of having catered.

Next I took my trusted two wheeler and headed off to sector 7 where I had seen a couple of  gift shops. I had party favours to pick up and with the ages of the siblings going from 2 to 14 years it was quite a task in itself. The boys of Rehaan's age all got the exact same stuff. I came back and sorted out all the return gifts and labeled them appropriately.

The next day I sat and planned the games that we would have and got gifts for them. We had the ring toss, musical chairs and London bridge. Easy enough games to conduct and popular enough with the boys to be fun. Of course I had to warn Rehaan that even if he won, he would not get the prize.

I went and picked up some pepsi, appy fizz and fruit juice boxes. Also got a packet of balloons and the Happy Birthday banner. Picked up paper plates, glasses and the garlic bread from the bakery. The cake was collected half an hour before the party began. And then the kids came rolling in. I must say that they were very well behaved and I had only one major spill, which thankfully was water and not some carbonated drink.

By 6 the party was done, with three games played, the cake cut and the food eaten. I handed out the return gift packets and told them all to meet downstairs in ten minutes for regular play time. They all trooped out, Rehaan opened his gifts and then ran off to join them. I spent the next half an hour cleaning up and by the time HD returned the house did not look messy at all....PHEW!

Chocolate Fudge Recipe

Ingredients

2 ½ cups Sugar

100g Butter

½ cup milk

4 tbsp Cocoa Powder

½ tsp Vanilla Essence

Mixed Chopped Nuts (optional)

Method

1.    In a heavy bottomed pan mix sugar, butter, milk and cocoa powder on a low flame.

2.    Stir continuously till boiling and thickens.

3.    Add nuts and vanilla essence.

4.    Take off flame and beat till all bubbles are popped.

5.    Turn out on a buttered dish and cool.

6.    Cut into desired shape (Diamonds are good) before it hardens completely.

Can be served at anytime as a sweet nibble.  You will notice that the first three ingredients arrive in the ration and may be used easily.

Have fun cooking up a storm.

When Bachelors Strike - Cheese balls, Pizza Slices and Quick Fix No Veges Soup

Its always fun trying to russle up something when you get raided or bounced. Here are three hold the fort measures till you can get dinner going.

Cheese Balls

Ingredients


Cheese, 1 cup, grated
Maida, ½ cup
Cornflour, ½ cup
Salt and Pepper to taste
Oil for frying

Optional

Onions, 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Carrot, 1 tbsp, finely grated

Method


1.Make a batter out of equal portions of Maida and Cornflour with water.
2.Add the grated cheese to the batter. Season with salt and pepper. (If using onions or carrot add now and mix well.)
3.In hot oil deep fry spoonful at a time to get ball shape.
4.Serve Hot.


Quick Fix No Veges Soup

Ingredients



Butter, 1 tbsp
Maida, 1 tbsp
Chilly Sauce, 1 ½ tbsp
Tomato Sauce, 3 tbsp
Water, 3 glasses
Salt to taste

OptionalFresh Coriander, 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Crotons, 3-4 per cup
Cheese, 1 tbsp, grated

Method


1. Melt Butter in pan, add Maida and roast till colour changes.
2. Add Chilly Sauce and Tomato Sauce along with Water and boil twice.
3. Add salt and garnish with any of the optional choices and serve hot.

Pizza Slices

Ingredients


Bread Slices, 6
Cheese, Grated 1cup
Butter, 50 gms
Onions, 3 med sized, Sliced finely
Capsicum, 1, Cut into squares
Tomatoes, 4 med sized, Chopped small
Salt, Pepper and Oregano to taste

Optional
Corn, 1 tbsn, boiled
Olives, 4, Chopped into half
Sausages, 2, Sliced Diagonally
Salami, 6
 
Method


1.Cook Onions in 1 Tbsp Butter till translucent. Add Capsicum and Tomatoes.
2.Cook till vegetables are half done and add ½ cup grated Cheese, Pepper and Oregano. (Also add corn from Optional Ingredients if using at this stage.)
3.Take off gas stove and let cheese melt. Stir well and check for salt.
4.Toast Bread Slices in butter and add the topping. (Arrange the Olives, Sausages and Salami on the slice.)
5.Top with grated cheese and pop into oven/microwave till cheese melts.
6.Serve hot with tomato sauce.

Basic Chicken Soup

There's little else that says winter as soup! And I love my basic chicken soup. Here's the recipe in case you are interested.
Ingredients


Chicken, 1 small, cut into pieces
Butter, 1 tbsp
Bay leaf, 1
Cardamom, 2 pieces
Cinnamon, 1 small stick
Cloves, 3-4 pieces
Salt and Pepper to taste
Water, 1 litre

Optional


Oregano to garnish
Onions, 1 tbsp, finely chopped

Method


1. In a pressure cooker heat the butter and add Bay leaf, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Cloves and let it crackle.
2. Add the onions if using and also the salt and pepper. Once onions brown slightly add chicken and brown slightly.
3. Add water and give cooker 2 whistles. Cool and open cooker.
4. Strain the stock and keep aside. Shred a few of the chicken pieces and add to stock.
5. Serve hot sprinkled with oregano.

Note - You can use the rest of the boiled and shredded chicken to make sandwicthes with mayonnaise.

The Entertainment Video for the Masquerade Ladies Club

Masquerade Ladies Club Song - I was born a hundred thousand years ago.
Get the lyrics of the song here

You can not see the video very clearly, but this was the performance we did at the end of the meet when the husbands came in.
See the video here