Devilled Meatballs

QUES: At an Anglo-Indian food promotion I tasted what were called Devilled Meatballs. Would you be able to source out the recipe so that I might attempt to make it at home?
� Devraj Urakari, Mangalore.
ANS: Devilled Meatballs is a standard Anglo-Indian dish and one that that Indian food-crazy gora sahibs of the Raj were particularly fascinated about. There's no generic recipe for it, but you can attempt this one sourced out from a book on Anglo-Indian food.

Ingredients:
625 gm minced beef
40 gm fresh breadcrumbs
1 small onion,finely chopped
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps oil
250 gm carrots, cut into thin sticks
1 large cooking apple, peeled, cored and diced
salt and pepper
chopped parsley, to garnish
Sauce:
1 tbsp flour
1-1/2 tsps dry mustard
1-1/2 tsps Dijon mustard
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp sweet chutney
300 ml beef stock

Procedure:
Mix the minced beef thoroughly with the breadcrumbs, onion, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning. Divide the mixture into 16 portions and then shape into balls. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the meatballs gently until browned. Remove from the pan and pour off all but 1 tbsp of the oil.

To make the sauce, stir the flour and dry mustard into the residue in the pan, followed by the Dijon mustard, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, chutney and stock. Bring to the boil and add plenty of salt and pepper to taste. Arrange the carrots and apples in a casserole dish and then place the meatballs on top. Pour the sauce over and cover the casserole. Cook in a preheated oven 180 degree C, Gas Mark 4, for about 45 minutes. Uncover the casserole, skim off any fat from the surface and stir lightly. Serve the meatballs hot with spaghetti or noodles, garnished with chopped parsley.

Moothia Nu Shak

QUES: My family loves a Gujarati meal from time to time but is tired of the dishes I serve them, which are mainly Dhoklas and Khandvis. I would like to try and make Moothia at home. Could you give me a typically Gujarati recipe for it?
� Anil Prabhu, Nashik
ANS: Moothia is a broad beans and spiced fenugreek dumpling preparation, which is a little time consuming in its preparation, but worth the effort. It tastes truly delicious.

Ingredients:
500 gms broad beans
1 1/2 tsp omum (ajwain)
4 tbsps oil
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cummin-coriander powder
A pinch of soda bicarbonate
Salt to taste
For the dumplings
1-1/2 cups Bengal gram flour
1 cup finely chopped fenugreek leaves
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp cummin-coriander powder
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsps oil
A pinch of soda bicarbonate
Salt to taste

Procedure:
The broad beans : Thread and divide into halves and further tear each half into two. Wash and set aside. The dumplings: Make a well in the centre of the flour, add all the dumpling ingredients and mix well. Add enough water to make a soft dough. Knead well and set aside.

Put washed broad beans in a vessel with 1 1/2 cups water, salt, omum, and soda bicarbonate and the oil. Cover and cook on a medium flame for 8 minutes. Now add the turmeric, red chilli powder, cummin-coriander powder and stir. Adjust the seasoning to taste. Knead the dumpling dough well and wet the hands with water. Take a small portion of the dough between the fingers and shape into small oblong dumplings. Place one at a time into the vegetable dish. Reduce the flame slightly and cover with a thali containing a little water. After about 7 minutes, carefully stir and avoid crushing the dumplings. Check that the vegetable and dumplings have cooked. If not done, replace the thali and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Once the oil separates and all the water evaporates, the vegetable dish is ready to serve. Serve hot with rotlis.

Potato and Spinach Croquettes

QUES: Most appetisers I know take a lot of time to prepare and require elaborate decoration. Could you give me a recipe which is simple and uses ingredients that are easily available?
� Cynthia Khan, Bombay.
ANS: This appetiser with the humble, indispensable potato should be perfect. You can enhance the recipe with the flavours of spinach and Parmesan cheese if you want.

Ingredients:
500 gm potatoes
pinch of ground nutmeg
20 gm unsalted butter
1 egg yolk
Oil for deep or shallow-frying
40 gm Parmesan, freshly grated
50 gm cooked spinach, finely chopped
60 gm plain flour, seasoned with salt and pepper 3 eggs, beaten
1 tbsp peanut (groundnut) oil
150 gm dry breadcrumbs

Procedure:
Cut the potatoes into similar-sized pieces for even cooking, by halving or quartering, depending on their size. Put in a saucepan, cover with cold water and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, lower the heat and cook for at least 20 minutes, or until quite tender.

Drain the potatoes and dry them by shaking them in the pan over low heat for 2 minutes. Press them through a sieve or finely mash them until smooth. Season with salt, nutmeg and pepper, to taste. Add the butter and egg yolk. Spread out on a tray to cool. Preheat oil in a deep-fryer or large pan, to moderate 180 degree C. The oil will be hot enough when a cube of bread browns in 15 seconds.

Mix the Parmesan with the very well-drained spinach in a bowl. Add the potato, salt and pepper to this mixture and stir to combine. On a floured surface, and using floured hands, roll the mixture beneath a flat hand to form cylinders about 6 x 2 cm. Even up and flatten the ends.

Place the seasoned flour on a tray. Combine the eggs and oil in a bowl and put the breadcrumbs on a large piece of greaseproof paper. Roll the croquettes carefully through the flour and pat off the excess. Dip them in the egg to coat thoroughly, drain off the excess and roll in the breadcrumbs, lifting the edges of the paper to make it easier.

Sometimes it is necessary to coat the croquettes twice in the egg and crumbs. Do this if your mixture is a little too soft to hold its shape well. Fry in batches until evenly browned and lift out, shaking off any excess oil. Drain on crumpled paper towels.

Calamari with Tomato Sauce

QUES: I have been eating squid at local seafood restaurants and calamari at the Continental. Are they one and the same thing? Is there any dish I could prepare at home using squid/calamari as the main ingredient?
� Ramona Talwar, Ludhiana
ANS: Squid and calamari are indeed one and the same seafood, and here is a simple enough preparation using tomato sauce that you may attempt at home if you can buy squid from your local fish market.

Ingredients:
12 small calamari (squid), 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
4 rolled anchovies, thinly sliced
2 hard-boiled eggs, thinly sliced
2 tbsps Parmesan cheese
1 cup soft white breadcrumbs, 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
salt and pepper
1-1/2 cups herbed tomato sauce
rolled anchovies and flat-leaf parsley, to garnish
For herbed tomato sauce Heat 3 tbsps olive oil and saute a finely chopped onion for 5 minutes. Add 2 crushed cloves garlic and a finely chopped red capsicum and saute for further 2 minutes. Add 1 kg tomatoes (finely chopped), 3 bay leaves, 2-1/2 tsps sugar, 2 tsps finely chopped basil leaves, 2 tsps finely chopped oregano and 1/2 cup dry white wine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour, or until sauce thickens.

Procedure:
Remove heads and tentacles from hood. Remove skin from hood and flaps by pulling firmly. Flaps can be removed if desired. Using a sharp knife score the flesh into a diamond pattern, taking care not to cut all the way through. Slice tentacles thinly. Add garlic, anchovies and eggs. Add cheese, breadcrumbs, parsley and seasonings. Place filing into prepared hoods and secure with toothpicks.

Put herbed tomato sauce into pan and add calamari hoods. Cover with lid and simmer 20 to 30 minutes, turning after 15 minutes. When serving, pour enough sauce onto serving plates to lightly cover surface. Place two cooked hoods in centre and garnish each with a rolled anchovy and finely chopped parsley.