The Insane Foodie

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The Insane Foodie

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Here you will discover some of the most exotic food & drinks from around the world, tagged insane because of their outlandish presentation, uncommon marriage of ingredients or the unbelievably low price bargain! At times it’s the length of effort one has to go through to find finger-licking food. You see most parts of the world are still not connected in the modern sense. In these places, you’ve g

ot to rely on local advice, use rickety public transport or even stand for hours in never ending queues. But to theinsanefoodie, it’s all part of the experience, the journey is as important as the destination! But the question often is, can you let go of your inhibitions to enjoy what follows? For contributions, check out, http://www.theinsanefoodie.com/contact/contribute/

06/08/2021

Winter ☑️
Lockdown ☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️☑️
bring on the Porters!
The HIX was an interesting find at Twisted Vine Wines, considering they seem to have been around for couple of decades. Enjoyable! Although less punchier than expected!

Bunker was spot on! Malty, dark and rich. Mmm!

05/08/2021

ASH GOURD HALVA 👌🏽👌🏽 how a veg, especially a gourd, transforms into such a decadent dessert dish is beyond belief. A unique South Indian dessert that is indulgent yet refreshing!

16/06/2021

Making a "South Indian Fish Curry" Yo!
😬 Err... that is..
"Ok! Kerala Fish Curry"
That's better..still...
"in a red spice base (ask 😜) with shallots, curry leaves, green mango bits and finished off with coconut milk"

Now we are talking 🤤!

So much for demystifying a complex cuisine one "curry" at a time ✌🏽🤪

08/06/2021

No Fuss Easy Homemade Naans!

Ok so today when I opened the pantry cupboard I realised we had run out of wholemeal flour. Instead I grabbed the plain flour and self raising flour (for extra fluffiness when you don't have yeast or the time).

Our usual recipe is based on Jamie Oliver's, but I even skipped the Yoghurt.

Safe to say I didn't expect much at this point. BUT it turned out to be so soft and pillowy that this might well become my go to recipe when I feel like making some naans at home!

Here is the Naan recipe as follows,

Use 1 cup plain flour + 1.25 cup self raising flour
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 generous pinch of salt
About 1-1.25 cups of water; the way to work out the water is to get a fairly wet and sticky dough; I went for ~ 50% hydration.

Mix all of the ingredients together with a spoon as the dough gets pretty sticky!

Rest the kneaded dough for about 15-20mins.

Pull out fist size balls of the dough and roll out by dusting it with plain flour (just enough to stop sticking to the bench)

I made these like a normal flatbread on a pan and turned over the naan on an open gas flame (for charring) to finish it.

P.S. TBH I was going to give your recipe a go, but here we are 😄...Give this one a try when you're in a rush 😉!!

31/05/2021

Tonight's SPECIAL Goan style chicken - Frango à Cafreal - check out Chef Rego's recipe for inspiration!

Completely different array of flavours to anything I've ever had that was classified under 'Indian', which goes to show the length and breadth of flavours that exist to explore in this vast cuisine. This dish was originally what the Portugese picked up from it's yester year African colonies & made its way eventually to Goa, India. In Goa, this dish underwent further transformation with the substitution (and sometimes addition) of several regional elements such as Toddy vinegar and native spices to make it a Goan classic!

10/04/2021

Today's Winter warmer is a rustic homemade BHAJI, Indian mixed veggies dish - in this version I've used potatoes, carrots, homegrown chillies and tomatoes, peas & broccoli.

To spice this BHAJI I've liberally used my good friend Sandeep's Garam Masala blend which launched recently.

It's a premium and potent blend of 12 Indian spices, minus any coriander powder! For those of you familiar with Garam Masalas, you'll be aware of many variants, this one particularly is Kashmiri influenced and is black cardamom & cumin forward, which I absolutely love. Black cardamom has been a recent discovery in my cooking, I hadn't used it at all; but funnily when I used it the first time I was instantly reminded of that unique flavour in Motichoor Ladoos 🤤, yes a spice that's equally great in sweets and savoury dishes adding a umami level smokiness!

Sandeep has done a terrific job formulating a spice mix which is very versatile and balanced to use in a variety of ways. I've used it to make Biryani, Kormas and even Dals!! Check out and for some kickass recipes and cooking inspiration!

If you'd like to score yourself the limited batch release of Sandeep's blends, they are available on shop!

04/03/2021

KIMCHI..well inspired by more like! Fermented mix of shredded red cabbage, vinegar, coarsely ground Kashmiri and other hot dried chillies, fish sauce et al. 15 day room fermentation and happy with the result!

Serve over rice, poached eggs and some steamed greens!

03/10/2020

Shahi paneer
You don’t realise how easy shahi paneer is unless you make one and it tastes just like the restaurant
Recipe for 3
To boil and grind :
2 medium onions
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup cashew (equivalent to 250 ml cup)
1/4 cup almonds (equivalent to 250 ml cup)
1 tsp poppy seeds

To sauté
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
1/2 inch cinnamon
3 cardamom
2 tsp chilli powder (depending on the spice)
1tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
5 stands saffron
1 tsp coriander and nutmeg powder
200 grams paneer cut in cubes
250 ml whisked yoghurt

To Cook :
Boil the ingredients in to boil recipe for eight min and grind once cooled
In a separate pan add whole garam masala ingredients in medium flame and then add boiled ingredients with chilli powder, garam masala, coriander and nutmeg powder. Simmer in low flame for 20 minutes. Add little water if paste becomes too thick.
Once consistency is thick add paneer and whisked yoghurt with water and let cook for ten minutes.
Once done add saffron, cream and coriander and simmer for 2 minutes then serve

18/09/2020

Tonight's dinner sorted - Kozhi Varuthuarachathu (A North Kerala style chicken dish) using easy cook masala, thanks to my friend Ajith!
Even though we enjoy cooking elaborate meals at home, thanks to the current Melbourne lockdown, work and engaging a toddler stuck at home all day, we'd be lucky if we have any energy left by evening, let alone cook!

So in such scenarios, all we have to do is open the cupboard and tear open a curry sachet from these guys and add it to any protein or veggies of choice, along with some oil and water and voila, a curry is done within 30mins!! Sometimes this is easier & faster than ordering takeaway...

So for the Kozhi Varuthuarachathu, all I had to do was,

•mix 50g of the curry masala with 500g of chicken chops (bone-in thigh fillets) + some cut up red potatoes
•add 1tbsp of coconut oil and 1 cup water and leave it to slow cook (covered) until the gravy thickened!
• finished off with some tempered curry leaves and red chillies for an extra kick of flavours! That's it!!

If you're in Melbourne make sure you check their range of Indian spice blends out. Authentic. Delicious. Super EASY!

01/06/2020

How can you pack a ton of flavour into Veggies without relying on fats!?

BBQ! Yep, who said it's just for meat!?

In a recent catch-up with my friend he explained how he has been rekindling his love for charcoal smoking veggies and meats.

One of the few cuisines that can make vegetables sing in a dish is Indian. But you'll agree that most veggie dishes including Indian ones, heavily relies on the use of a reasonable amount of fat (oils) and or spices/seasoning to make it more tasty. Meat on the other hand, inherently has more umami flavours making it easier to taste good.

Fire or more aptly charcoal BBQ can transform something like eggplant or capsicums in no time to taste heavenly! Give BBQing veggies a try - it surely is a healthier and tastier way to enjoy veg!

📷 Smoked garlic and eggplant used to make the classic Baingan Bhartha, where the eggplant takes the centre stage!

@ Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

18/05/2020

Pushing aside this Monday's Blues 😋 👉🏽 time to eat!

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