Summer is almost over, and soon it will be time to put my ice cream maker away! But because I love surprises, (and tomatoes), here's a recipe for a savoury tomato sorbet. I served it as an amuse bouche for a brunch I hosted recently for some friends. I didn't tell them what it was, and it totally looks like strawberry sorbet and because it is so cold, you really can't smell the garlic or cilantro. Heh heh, surprised they were.
 
It's light, refreshing, easy to make and packs a punch of flavour. And it's bright pink. And you're going to love it.
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Les ingredients:
 
Tomatoes: 3, roughly chopped
Cilantro: 6-8 stalks
Garlic: 2-3 cloves
Jalapeno: 1
Vodka: 4 Tbsp
Red food colouring: 2-3 drops (optional)
Salt: To taste
 
Let's Begin. Chop the tomatoes, chop the garlic, chop the jalapeno. Chop chop chop.
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Dump into a food processor or mixer/blender. Blend until it is fairly homogenous. Taste, and add salt and food colouring at this point. Run the food processor again until nicely blended. Add vodka to the mixture. Blend one last time for a few seconds.
 
Why vodka, you ask? Let me preempt your question. It's not because I consume vodka at brunch. Sorbets have very little fat content, so the addition of a little bit of alcohol helps lower the freezing temperature. In other words, the sorbet won't feel like a piece of rock.
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Run the mixture in the ice cream maker and freeze for a couple of hours. Take the mixture out, and run once more before you serve.
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I served it on a bed of Greek yogurt. The thick, creamy yogurt is a nice contrast to the flavour and texture of the sorbet. Although I meant it as an amuse bouche, everyone asked for second helpings! I consider that a success.
 
Almost three years ago, I moved to New York City. I left my warm tropical surroundings and stepped into the grey cold. I think I am as much in awe of the city now as I was when I was new to it. But much as I liked the city, I missed my family and friends. Luckily for me, I moved in shortly with two of the most fun, lovely people I know in this world.

For two short years, we joked, we laughed and we sang. In short, my life was several notches nicer because they were in it. Then one of us moved back to India. It was much sadness.

But this post is not about them. It is about something even better :)

My room mate who moved to India recently visited us, and it was like old times again. Among other things, she remembered this white penne dish I used to cook back then, and asked me if I could recreate it for one of our communal dinners. Hmm. I had no idea what the recipe was. But I created something anyway. It was penne. It was white. It was delicious.

And this is how it goes:

Preparation Time: 30-40 minutes
Serves: 6

Pasta

Penne: 1 lb.
Salt: 4 Tsp

Cream Sauce

Cherry Tomatoes: 10-12
Garlic: 3 Cloves
Butter: 1/2 stick or 4 Tbsp
Milk/Light Cream: 1.5 Cups
Basil: 10-15 leaves
Paprika: 1 Tsp
Italian Seasoning: 2 Tsp
Salt: To taste
Mozzarella: A few slivers
Lemon Juice: To taste

To start with, take a large pan, and fill it with enough water to submerge the penne. Add salt and stir the water to dissolve as you turn up the heat to medium. Now add pasta and cook 11-13 minutes until al dente. Here's the trick to cooking delicious pasta. Ready?

Always add salt to the water when boiling the pasta. The water should be saltier than you like it. This way, when the pasta cooks, it absorbs some of the salt and the finished dish flavours are enhanced so much. Try it.
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Let's move on to the sauce while the pasta is cooking.

Melt butter on pan, then add the slivered cloves of garlic. When it smells like heaven, go ahead and add the cream/milk. When the milk begins to bubble a bit, add the cherry tomatoes and the chopped basil and other herbs/seasoning. Add a little bit of salt. Because the penne is salted already, you really won't much.
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When the pasta is cooked to your liking, drain the water. Pour the prepared herby creamy delicious sauce to it, and stir on low heat for just a couple minutes. Squeeze a wee bit of lemon into it, garnish with basil and mozzarella, serve with warm garlic bread.
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Mmm. Follow it up with some ice wine with friends. There aren't many better days in life.
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So for some reason, most kids growing up in India don't like eggplant at all. Eggplant, aubergine, baingan. Who knows why?

I for one, absolutely loved it as a child and even now. My ma makes this south indian curried eggplant gravy that makes me salivate every time I think about it. But that's a dish for another day, when I get the recipe from her.

Today, it's going to be eggplant in a spicy gravy. With tomatoes. I love tomatoes. I like to put tomatoes in everything. It's my secret ingredient. Except, er, not so secret.

So, here we go!

Spicy eggplant tomato gravy

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves 2-3

Big Eggplant: 1/2
Tomatoes: 1 Big or 2 Small
Ginger: 1 inch stem
Garlic: 2-3 cloves
Curry Powder: 3 Tsp
Cumin Seeds: 1 Tsp
Mustard Seeds: 1Tsp
Oil: 3 Tbsp
Salt: To taste
Coriander Leaves and Lemon Juice to garnish.

Chop up half a big eggplant into half inch cubes. Finely chop up some ginger and garlic.
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Pour the oil (vegetable of canola) into a heated pan. Sprinkle that cumin in there, and the mustard seeds too. Now stand back, and wait for the mustard seeds to pop.
 
(pop! pop!)

Okay, now throw the ginger and garlic in it too. In fact, you can even add a small chopped red onion to the dish. Just toss this around for a couple of minutes, and add the curry powder and turmeric.

Doesn't this smell wonderful!
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Now's the time. Add the eggplant and toss it around to nicely coat it with the spices. Add salt to taste. I usually keep sprinkling the dish with a little salt every now and then, I hardly ever keep track. I probably should, given I'm writing a recipe blog and all.

Add half a glass of water, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Use those 5 minutes to chop up that tomatoes. Did I tell you I love tomatoes?

I might have.
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Cover with a lid and cook for 20-25 minutes on medium heat. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with some coriander. Serve, and enjoy with some rice and lentils (and those recipes will follow!)
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