Brothers usually dote on their sisters. When they aren’t squabbling with their sibling, that is! But they admit that their doll-like sis can also take on the role of mother, friend, well-wisher, partner in crime and advisor — whatever the occasion demands. Here’s how a few culinarily-inclined brothers cook up a storm of sibling love in the kitchen to give back to their sisters…
Sibling snackery
French language expert Yashpal Kasotiya says, “While my eldest sister taught me cooking, I now cook for the younger ones whenever I go home. My twin was far better in turning on the gas stove and removing the lid of pressure cooker and I used to hide behind her in apprehension. The poha I make is my twin’s favourite and she loves how I make it.”
Buttering her up
Harihara says, founder and partner at That Extra Step says, “With the difficult schedules, I end up cooking dinners more often for my sisters. With the nicknames Kitty and Shu, it is extremely funny when we constantly confuse new people about who’s the eldest and youngest. And relatives have actually get confused with my sisters for each other as they look similar and I almost always add fuel to the fire and confuse them even more! I flatten my sisters with my simple Paneer Butter Masaala.”
A toast to her!
Marketing agent Arun Kumar says, “While I learnt Bombay Toast from my mum, I make it slightly differently. My mum always wonders why it tastes different when she herself taught me! But my secret ingredient is cinnamon powder, which gives a great flavour. My sisters always pat my shoulders for this,” he laughs.
French Toast
Ingredients: Bread slices, milk, eggs, ghee, cinnamon powder, (not even a drop of vanilla essence, please!) and sugar.
Method: Chop off the edges of the bread slices if you don’t like them, but, I promise, that part tastes good. Mix boiled milk, sugar, eggs, cinnamon powder and a little ghee in a bowl and beat until the sugar melts. Heat a pan and add a spoon of ghee. Dip a slice of bread in the eggy mixture and let it sit for half a minute, then place the slice on the heated pan. Wait till it turns a light brown and flip. My sisters like it too sweet and so I pour few more drops of the mixture while the slice is on the pan. Let it fry on both sides and then serve hot. This is just mouth-watering, I say! Another dishes I make for my sisters is Soya sauce chicken, for which I soak washed chicken pieces in soya sauce, garlic, salt and red chilli overnight and fry the next day.
Paneer Butter Masala
Ingredients: Onions, tomatoes, oil, butter, ginger-garlic paste, clove, cinnamon, cardamom, star anise, red chilli powder, turmeric and salt to taste.
Method: Sauté equal proportions of onions and tomatoes in oil. Let this cool, then heat another pan, add butter, sauté it with ginger-garlic paste and spices. Once the sautéed onions and tomatoes cool down, grind them in a mixer with cashew nuts to a very smooth consistency. Add this gravy to the spice and butter mixture. Add fried paneer cubes and bring the mixture to a boiling point. Keep adding equal proportions of salt and garam masala to the mix and when a desirable taste is obtained, top with fresh cream and coriander. This is tasty and flavoursome with chapati or basmati rice.
Yashpal Kasotiya:
For the Dhal Bhati my mom taught me, my sister always suggests adding some amount of semolina and clarified butter to the mixed flour makes it softer and the perfect consistency for the Bhatis to burn. Mixing the flour with water alone tastes little bland. Adding the required amount of salt, ghee and sooji, then mix well and sieve with hand leaving no lumps in the mix.
Poha
Ingredients: Oil, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red gram, ground nuts, green chillies, tomatoes, soaked poha (beaten rice), coriander, curry leaves, turmeric, salt, red chilli powder and lime juice.
Method: The first step that my first pillar taught me is to heat the pan which eventually heats the oil in the same proportion and gives a great aroma and taste when spices are put in. Now heat oil, temper cumin and mustard seeds, add green chillies and salt to cook, which evaporates and releases some amount of water which helps the spices to get cooked. Add red gram, turmeric and red chilli powder and mix well. Let the colour of all the ingredients change to slight brown and then add the soaked poha. Mix well and let it sit for five minutes, add tomatoes, mix and let it sit for seven-10 minutes. Add coriander and a few drops of lime juice. My sister loves having it with bhujia and curds.
