BEER BATTERED FRIED OLIVES with CUMIN YOGURT SAUCE

Ilove olives. Pitted or not,they appeal to me. It reminds me a lot of Uppumanga that we would make at home in Kannur. When Mezzetta sent me a big box of goodies last week,I was so thrilled that I wanted to try something new with it,than the usual tapanade or dip. I decided to fry it using a simple light batter and pair it with a delicious dipping sauce. The batter has a secret ingredient in it,which you would have already guessed from the name of this post,a beer.

If you don't want to add beer, you can substitute it with club soda. The beer/soda will give make the batter super light and gives the end product a very nice crispness. You can use this batter to fry other things like shrimp,fish etc. Don't you just love anything deep fried with a crisp coating? This is just like that!

Mezzetta is family owned since 1935. They source the finest fresh produce from the sun-drenched soils of California, Italy,Spain, France, and Greece and prepare them according to their Italian family recipes  at their state-of-the-art production facility in Napa Valley.

You will have to select olives that were already pitted for this recipe. It's makes everything a lot easier.The original recipe called for dipping the olives into the batter and frying it. I added a twist to it. After I pulled them out of the oil, I let them drain for a few seconds and then dipped them once again into the batter and fried them till golden. That step gave my olives a lovely coating and made it extra special. I would suggest that you use regular olives. If you are using olives in oil, make sure you wipe it out completely as the oil would prevent the batter from clinging to it.

BEER BATTERED FRIED OLIVES with CUMIN YOGURT SAUCE

Ingredients:
For the olives:
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
12 oz beer of your choice
2 cups of pitted olives
Oil

Cumin Yogurt Sauce:
1/2 cup greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
a squirt of lemon juice
salt and pepper

Method:
Olives: Heat oil in a sauce pan for deep frying. In a medium bowl, mix all the ingredients together and fry the olives one by one until golden. Do a double fry if you'd like that. I did it and it was wonderful!
Sauce: Mix all the ingredients together and serve alongside the fried olives.

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HONEY CHILI POTATOES

I am back with another recipe using honey! This time it's paired along with a favourite ingredient of mine, Potatoes! I can eat anything made with potatoes,any time of the day! It's such a versatile ingredient and is an instant favourite with most people. I tasted this dish 11 years ago at Mainland China,Bangalore. One of my closest friends,Vasu, is a vegetarian and she had ordered this as her appetizer. The entire plate vanished in no time and it was just the two of us!

A few months later, I spotted this recipe in a book Mamma gave me.I noted it down in my navy blue diary. You should see the condition of that diary now. It's falling apart but at the same time, it's filled with delicious recipes too! So, I have kept it safe. Have you ever come across people who steal other's hand written cookbooks? I have and it's not a good experience at all! The number of years and effort you put into writing that book is just too precious! So,wherever I am now, all my books are kept safe! If someone wants a recipe and asks for it, I will be more than happy to share it with them.It's better to be safe than sorry!

The original recipe calls for blanching sliced potatoes and then frying it. Instead,you can use frozen fries and skip a step. I am giving you the recipe from the book but feel free to substitute it. It will yield the same result. There's some joy in skipping steps in a recipe,isn't it? Especially if they give the same results!
This is a delicious appetizer and tastes best when eaten immediately. Fried potatoes retain some crunch when served alone but, when they are tossed in a slightly sticky sauce, they get soft faster.So,if you are planning to take this appetizer with you,to someplace, it will taste just the same but they will be a bit soft.

There are a few things that you need to be careful about while making this recipe. We are adding the sauces directly to the oil,which means,it can get burnt very very easily . Once burnt, no amount of modifying can rescue it. It will taste bad.So, reduce the heat to low before you add the sauces. It's applicable for all recipes containing sauces &  powders. This recipe calls for chili paste and since I didn't have it on hand, I substituted it with red chili powder / cayenne. Feel free to increase or decrease the amount to suit to your tastes. Try to have the fried potatoes ready on hand before you make the sauce, so that way you can toss it immediately. The sauce will thicken a bit as it sits and might not coat the potatoes as much as it would,when hot.

HONEY CHILI POTATOES
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
250 grams potato (or frozen fries)
50 grams cornstarch
Salt & pepper
Oil for deep frying
2 tablespoon oil
3 dried red chilies
2 tablespoon tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon green onions
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Method:
IF you are using store bought frozen fries,fry as mentioned behind the packet and toss them in the sauce.
IF you are making the fries at home,wash,peel & cut the potatoes into fingers. Blanch them in boiling water for 2 minutes and let it drain completely. Once cool, toss it with cornflour,salt and pepper.Shake off the excess flour & deep fry in hot oil (350F) until golden brown in colour.

For the sauce: Heat oil in a large saute pan and add the ginger garlic paste. After 30 seconds, add the dry red chilies and mix well. Decrease the heat and add the remaining ingredients and stir it well.Add the fried potatoes and toss well to coat. Serve right away garnished with green onions, cilantro and white sesame seeds.

Ian loved it! Just like his Appa & Amma,he loves potatoes in any form. He took his share and sat on our rocking chair to eat them peacefully. Every now and then he would ask us to get him water because it is a bit hot for him.These days he calls Jobin,'Jobi'. So it was very funny to see him call out to 'Jobi',for water!  I hope you try this sometime,it really is a quick one to pull together and tastes fabulous!Next time, I will use the readymade fries. We usually don't stock fries in our freezer. So, it's going to need some planning next time on!