Restaurant Rasam / Dublin Dun Laoghaire

Recently it was my hubby's Birthday and we wanted to chose a good place to eat out for dinner.

We chose Restaurant Rasam in Dun Laoghire.

Entrance Rasam

The surrounding of the Restaurant is a quite village near the beach. If the weather is good, I recommend to take a stroll from Dun Laoghire to Glasthule and have a glass of appetizer in one of the pubs in Glasthule.

Entrance area

Location: Dun Laoghire- Glasthule near Dublin

How to get there: Very easy to access by car, bus or train. For Public transport I recommend by train 20min from Dublin, station Glasthule from there 3 minutes walk.

Cuisine: Indian (all regions)

Poppadams

Price Range: High

Service: Very good

Ambiance: authentic, comfy, stylish

Taste: Fingerlickin' good

Starter (Snapper)

Hmm the Thali (Lentils, Spinach, Chicken, Lamb, Shrimp)

They give Poppadoms with fresh chutneys for free. The chutneys are really fresh, I felt like I was eating a mango.For starters we had Chicken Tika and Snapper which was very delicious. We decided to share a Tali for the main course (more than enough for 2ppl - extra naan to be ordered).

Verdict Food, service, ambiance was amazing. It really feels that the chef uses only fresh herbs and spices and does not go with any ready made masala mix. Price still too high for wine/drinks and extras such as a naan. It could have been a bit more spicy but we simply forgot to ask. I am sure they would amend the spices for you. If you like Indian food, you'll defenately love Rasam.

Rating 4 out of 5


We'll be back!

 
 

Aubergine Fry / Kattrika Poriyal

Now coming to my favourite cuisine - The south Indian (Tamil Nadu) food is typically flavoured with curry leaves which I love. Please see here my aubergine/brinjal fry, it is very easy to prepare! As usual, I am giving a low carbohydrates option.

Ingredients:

400g Small Aubergines/eggplants (can be bought at Asian shop)

1 string fresh Curry leaves

1/2 Teaspoon Mustard Seeds

1/4 Teaspoon Asafoetida

1 Tablespoon Black Gram Dal / Urad Dal (can be bought at Asian shop)
1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric / Kurkuma
1 Teaspoon Dried Red Chili 

2 Tablespoons Oil (use Olive Oil for healthier option)

Urad Dal

Crushed Red Chili

Asefoiteda

 

Preparation:

Wash the Aubergines/Brinjals and cut each into 4 pieces.

 

Take a bowl fill with salt water. Put all the Aubergines/Brinjals inside (color and freshness remains)

Heat a non-stick pan and put oil. 

Put the mustard seeds, once they start spluttering, put the Curry Leaves, Asafoetida, Black Garam Dal, Kurkuma and Red Chili.

Once the Dal becomes golden, put in the Aubergines/Brinjals. 

 

Fry and stir for approximately 8-10 minutes until light brown and done (make sure it is not too soft)

Put Salt accordingly

Serving Suggestions

A typical indian meal: Rotis, Aubergine Fry and Mutton Curry



Low carb version: low fat cottage cheese, green lettuce salad and the Aubergine Fry



Typical for my husband and me.  He would love a typical Indian meal with Rotis, Curry and Veg. I would take salad and supplement instead of bread or rice.

I will work on the quality of the photographs ;-)

ENJOY!

Don't trust the B---- in Apartement 23 / US Sitcom Series

Well, it is a refreshing new series which I started to watch recently, the mid-season final aired few weeks ago in the US and the series are available online.

Originally aired as Apartment 23 it is a 2012 Sitcom Series about the small town girl June (Dreama Walker) whose fiancé cheated on her and is now living together with the the girl Chloe who seduced her fiancé (Krysten Ritter as the B).

Imagine our lovely Zoey Deschannel in New Girl turned into a egocentric - Party - It Girl yet good at heart. Change the scenery from LA to NY, include James van der Beek (Dawson from Dawsons Creek!!) you get somewhat the picture of this new series.

Usually, Chloe gets the naïve June into trouble. She won’t see any fault in the beginning but towards the end, Chloe and June surprisingly complement each other and share a extraordinary friendship in NY.

The series is funny, especially James Van der Beek as a struggling actor trying to get attention with new skinny jeans, dancing with the stars show or quotes from Dawsons Creek.

I think this is a good time pass and worth a watch on a lazy Monday evening.

Rating: 3-4

James, Chloe and June

Source

5 - AWESOME!

4 - Great time pass

3 - One time watch

2 - Muahh, not really worth it

1 - Seriously? Waste of time!

Wikipedia

Double Ka Meetha / Hyderabadi Sweet

Attention - Calorie Bomb! Double Ka Meetha shoots your sugar level to the moon. Nevertheless, it is so tasty, unforgettable and brings you the sweet taste of Hyderabad. My husbands birthday is coming up so I took the chance to make one of his favorite sweet.

Ingredients:

6 Toast Bread Slices, cut into triangular shape, cut the boarders

1.5 dl of Milk

a pinch of Safron

1/2 Teaspoon Rosewater Essence (can be bought at Indian shop) 

6 Tablespoons of Sugar

100g of Mawa crumbled (Khowa - can be bought at Indian shop or made by yourself - recipe to follow)

2 Teaspoons Cardamom powder

1 Teaspoon Onion Seeds / Khironji

8 cashew nuts, chopped

 Ghee (clarified butter)

Ghee / clarified butter

Cardamom and Khironji/Onion Seeds

Preparation:

Cut the boarders of the bread and cut diagonally so that you get 2 pieces of each slice

Heat Ghee in a frying pan and fry the bread on both sides until brown and crisp. Once fried, let them cool down. Keep the slices in a tray.

Frying the bread - it should become more brown then above

Heat the milk with 5 Tablespoons of Sugar, Rose Water Essence and the Saffron in a pan. Stir until milk becomes boils. Take it off the flame and let it cool down a bit. Then pour the milk over the bread slices and let them soak in the milk.

Milk with Saffron, Rose Essence and Sugar

Take again the pan (the one you used for the milk) and heat the cream with 1 Tablespoon of Sugar. Just when it starts boiling, take it off the flame and keep aside. Let it cool for some time.

Now put the bread slices on a nice plate.

Use again the frying pan and heat some Ghee, put the crumbled Mawa, Onion Seeds, Cardamom powder and 1 Tablespoon of sugar. Spread this mixture over the bread.

Mawa, Cardamom, Sugar and Onion Seeds

Take the cream (which should be cooled down a bit by now) and  pour over the bread. Spread the chopped cashew nuts. Put the whole desert in the fridge. 

 

To be put in fridge to settle and thicken at least 2-3 hours

The cream should thicken after some time and it is ready to eat!

Enjoy

Mutton Korma / Hyderabadi Style

My hubby loves Hyderabadi cuisine, full of flavors and spices! Usually on Sundays, I prepare Hyderabadi food, it takes some patience to prepare, but the outcome is delicious.

Ingredients:

300g mutton pieces (preferably goat incl. some bones)

1/2 Teaspoon Kurkuma/Turmeric

 4 big potatoes, cut into big chunks

2 Tablespoons Red Curry Paste (see picture - sure you can use your own Curry Paste if you wish)

 1 1/2 Tablespoons Ginger/Garlic paste (preferably fresh paste)

3 green cardamoms

1/2 Teaspoon Black Cumin Seeds (Shahi Jeera)

Paste
3 Onions (sliced)
1 small cup Yogurt (Greek style if possible)
1 Teaspoon of Coriander powder

Masala powder

1 piece of Cinnamon (3 inch / 10cm piece)

1 Teaspoon black pepper corns
2 Teaspoons Poppy Seeds

3 Tablespoons Oil

Salt



Red Curry Paste



Preparation:

Cut the onions, fry them and keep aside to cool down



Clean the potatoes, cut into big chunks and put aside

Clean the mutton, put it in a pan with 4 cups of water, pinch of salt and turmeric. Cook until 3/4th done and keep aside (incl. stock)

 

Roast the cinnamon, black pepper and poppy seeds until fragrant, after they cool down a bit, grind them into the masala powder

Mix the Yogurt, fried onions and coriander powder. Put them into a grinder and make a paste

 

Heat the oil, put the  green cardamoms and black cumin for few seconds.

Now put the mutton (without stock) along with the ginger/garlic paste and fry for 1-2 minutes



Now mix the masala powder, Red Curry Paste, Chilli and fry until little dry.

 

Mutton mix, fry until little dry

Add now ca. 5dl (2 cups) of the stock and the coconut milk, once it is boiling, add the potatoes.

Mutton Stock

First, let it cook on high flame for 5 minutes, then reduce to medium flame for another 10 minutes until done. Put more water or stock in case you want the korma more liquid. Add salt to taste.

Hyderabadi Mutton Korma

Rice, Mutton Korma with Potatoes and Mutton fry