Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Broiled Salmon with Spicy Mushroom Sauce


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Sibling Love, what is it, how would you define it ? What is that sibling mush that you would love to share ? Me, I have no siblings and so no first hand knowledge of the whole thing. I desperately wanted some or at least one of my own when I was growing but my parents didn't comply, and my many requests to at least adopt one, sibling that is, fell on their deaf ears.

My lofty idea of sibling bonding was that if I happen to be a very callous Mom and my two kids were separated in some Mela (fair), I could go about life peacefully trusting their sibling bond would bring them together in middle age and we could then live happily ever after. Also if I was successful enough to pit them against each other, at least one of them would say "Mere pas Ma hain", as if I was nothing but a jar of Complan.

Armed with this glamorous knowledge I took the plunge, my fast approaching middle age and my ever aching limbs (as in back, joints, knee) not taken into consideration. That my very good friend said that she and her sis fought all life and found sibling love only after marriage( to separate male entities) didn't dither me, the deed had been done.

So here I am seeing the love that siblings share in full technicolor home production and it indeed is precious. Big Sis S simply loves Baby A. She reads to her, plays with her and entertains her all the time. Every day she draws a card for Baby Sis A in school. She conjures new games of Peek-a-Boo and makes Baby A laugh and cackle. Baby A in turn saves her best gummy smiles for her Didi. She seems to be enamored by Big Sis S and follows her every move and laughs at every stunt that Didi pulls.

Of course everything is not as rosy as I make it sound. Big Sis S takes out her frustration on being the Big Sis, on us. So there are days when there is a lot of drama and melodrama, there is she crying for no reason at all -->me bearing with clenched teeth and finally losing it and yelling -->she declaring that I am not a good Mom --> me feeling guilt now but continue with sterness-->she quietens --> finally peace and hug ensues but never and not even once does she take it out on her little sister. That strikes me, as I look back on yesterday evening and I am so proud of her, for being so good to her little sister. Maybe I will try to keep my cool next time and have that much more patience, I am no SuperMom but at least I can try being a better one... (and read this when things are bad)

Weekday cooking needs to be quick and easy and as I was broiling salmon, I saw all the mushroom in my freezer and googled for a "mushroom sauce". I loved this but didn't want all that cream so found a lighter version here. I knew I needed to spice it up so here goes my version of Broiled Salmon with a Spicy and Low Fat Mushroom Sauce. This goes on to glam blogger Meeta's Monthly Mingle -- Healthy Family Dinners hosted this time by Michelle of Whats Cooking Blog






Broiled Salmon with Spicy Mushroom Sauce



How I Did It

For Salmon: Rub the salmon pieces with fresh lime, little salt, red chilli powder or black pepper, ginger paste and garlic paste. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes and then brush olive oil and broil it with skin side down for 20 minutes. I have my salmon skinned and my small toaster oven settings are Broil --> Temp at 400 --> for 20 minutes and then about 5 minutes on the other side

For Mushroom Sauce:

Heat Olive Oil in a frying pan

Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, 2 finely chopped green chillies and saute for a couple of seconds

Add 1/4 cup of chopped red onion and saute till the onion is translucent

Add 2 cups of thinly sliced mushroom and saute till they are browned and release liquid

Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth, 1 tsp of curry powder, about 1/4 tsp of chilli powder and let it come to a boil

Stir in 1/2 tbsp of flour, 1/2 tbsp of flax seed powder, 1/2 cup of 2% or fat-free milk and let the sauce thicken to the right consistency. If the sauce seems to be too thick add little more of the Vegetable stock.

Season with salt

Serve immediately with the broiled salmon




Now to last weeks menu. This was the weekly menu for last week

Cabbage-Carrot Stir fry
Vegetable Jalfrezi -- Inspired by this and this. I didn't bake it and I used brocolli instead of cauliflower and added paneer cubes
Dal -- my favorite Masoor dal
Chicken with Methi leaves -- I need to re-create this and then write the recipe
Salmon, salmon and salmon -- on two weekdays






Trivia: Pacific salmon die after their first spawning (the reproducing process); the Atlantic salmon does not, and returns year after year to its breeding place to spawn again

23 comments:

  1. oh yummy!! i have never tried anything with fish except the traditional recipes :)

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  2. I am not fond of milk sauces but this looks good Sandeepa. When you talk of sibling love I know exactly what you are talking about. Been there done that and felt guilty afterwards. You have company.

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  3. :) Oh, little S is all grown up and mature, err..she is Big Sis S now.. :) I and my sis used to fight all the time, but I remember how she used to stand up for me to our parents, taking the blame for all the combined mischief... :)

    I love salmon, and that mushroom sauce is totally going to be recreated in my kitchen.

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  4. " ... found sibling love only after marriage( to separate male entities)..." ROFL!

    My brother and I are a little over 8 years apart, he younger. So far, our relationship has spanned phases of much love, fondness, irritation, but no sibling rivalry as yet. I'm curious to see how we fare in the years ahead. :-)

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  5. That is right sibling love get stronger only after marriage -me and my sis only developped a good realtionship after marriage and brother (forget it :( Hey it is only the beginning Sand there is lot more fun when little A will start to talk!
    Love the spicy sauce and fish!

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  6. Sibling love/ relationship is something I can do multiple thesis on. Born in a family of two daughters, 39 months apart, I was the elder one. By nature, and as claimed by my parents, never ever did I have bout of jealousy. I was honest, affectionate, caring.

    My sister was sweet, brilliant(to the 't'), witty, competitive, and definitely never enjoyed being cared for. I believe it gave her a stifled feeling, a feeling of curbed independence with someone always watching her.

    Together we grew up, in the same environment, with the same parents but as almost diametrically opposite individuals.

    Time flew by. We are still very different. Sometimes, we give shivers to our parents with our difference in POVs, even today at this age. But, at the end of the day, when she too is married and is blessed with a child, somewhere we are bonded too strongly, beyond our differences.

    That is sibling bond. No matter how different they are(which they ought to be knowing they are individuals), that fine common thread from the womb would weave them together. So watch them grow and bloom, and have fun.

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  7. salmon is such a lovely versatile type of fish. you can cook it in several ways. i am loving the sauce here!

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  8. There was never any rival with me and my sisters.
    We three ofcourse used to fidght as hell andmy mom always had to comein between.
    But i guess that is sister you fight and argue for silly things.
    But we were alsways there for eachother . Even now after marriage, we are there for eachother even if we live in different continent.

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  9. I have a younger brother, way bigger than me and always grew up fighting, verbally and physically. My parents never stopped it saying that "he is your little brother" but all that hurt and pain(mainly for me) made us not come very close even today. We are so apart in every way unfortunately which made us even more distant now. I always wished I had a sister! :P

    S will be okay, A will be okay too, so don't worry. Always say "NO" to hitting and use of bad words to hurt feelings,little lighthearted banter is quite okay!

    Salmon and with sauce looks yum, so healthy too! Enjoy the Super Bowl if kids let you! :)

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  10. ur first 3 paragraphs were humorous....i found myself chuckling and from there u beautifully painted the sibling love.......

    a year back , we all called her lil S and now suddenly she is BIG S and big sister :)

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  11. Nags
    I am not fond of non-traditiona either but with salmon it turns out good

    Indo
    I was a bit apprehensive 'bout milk too. I had a cold and so am not even sure how it tasted. D said he liked it ;-)

    Sig
    You were the big one or the little one?

    Sra
    That is damn cute, I am sure you will fare as well as you have did all these years

    Cham
    Fun indeed :D

    BWM
    Tomar galpo pore khub bhalo laglo
    and you have put it so nicely

    Meeta
    Yeah and the hubby loves salmon so I try to come up with different ways of doing it

    HC
    Yeah that is what is important sibling who will be there for you

    Notyet
    Thank You :)

    Asha
    Me not a Super Bowl fan :(

    Shn
    Thank You:)

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  12. i missed you, your stories and your recipes while you were gone...nice to see you making such a concerted effort towards keeping the blog going despite your hectic schedules........i love fish..salmon and tuna are my fav. in this part of the world.......I love the soft flakiness of slamon and that pink is to die for.....now that I done with my ode to salmons, I am gonan try this out soon....have every ingredient in my refirgerator and pantry......so may be this weekend itself!!!!

    and wish your two little girls all the love and happiness in the world......:)

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  13. I am with u here.. I have no siblings and i remember a phase in my life where i literally drove my parents out the house begging them to get some one from somewhere, inspite of growing up in a joint family part of my life. All the more reason plunged into having the 2nd one, & boy some love (or not love sometimes) i am seeing. it is rewarding tho:-) esp. the protectiveness...

    That sauce is awesome. & U used flaxseed!

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  14. wow! this looks splendid! i havent tried salmon at all - i mean cooking at home.
    I hated my sister when i was young. I guess over the years, i learnt to recognize her as a friend and a partner in crime! :)Incidentally, she stays in NJ too.

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  15. Sandeepa...Congratulations on being a mom the 2nd time round. Sorry was not on regular blog hopping....How cute of Lil S taking care of Lil A.....take care....and actually my sis and me fought all the time and we became really close only after i hit 20s..

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  16. Hi Sandeepa di,

    I'm a grad student, new to the US.. and I have to say that I'm completely in love with your blog. I absolutely did not know any cooking back in India but now I'm slowly learning and lovin' it. I've tried many of your recipes and they always turn out yummalicious!! Thanks for posting them all..

    I actually have a question.. remember the bhapa sandesh recipe for your first blog anniversary? I'm planning to try that for a party next weekend. I have about 25 guests and I was a little unsure about how much to alter the quantities.. could you please help me with that?
    Also, the milk powder in the list of ingredients - is that the usual milk powder that we use as creamer back in India or do I need to buy Mava? If Mava isnt available, would the normal milk powder do?

    and congrats congrats congrats on the little one :)

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  17. I am a big sis and I know what you are talking about Sandeepa. :-)
    The recipe sounds good ... especially the sauce.

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  18. Hi Sandeepa, thank you for the template tip! I love the way your blog is laid out.

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  19. it's interesting the whole sibling idea. One of my colleague says she is glad that she was the only one. The salmon looks delish! Did I tell you how happy I am that you are blogging again :)

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  20. Hi Sandeepa - Have been reading your blog quite often. Glad you have started blogging again!

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  21. salmon and mushrooms! who could resist!! :)

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  22. Its Interesting..looks different and inviting.

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