Know Your Praedicats

Know Your Praedicats

Have you ever wondered who is working furiously behind the scenes to bring you all of the latent liability risk insights that you have come to rely upon? In this issue of “Long Tails,” we pull back the curtain and unveil the inner workings of our team in Los Angeles. 

If you’re an Oortfolio user, Neha Srivastava makes your life easier every day, in ways you may not even realize. 

Meet  Neha Srivastava – Technical Manager, Engineering team

Q: What do you like to do when you are not helping Praedicat?

A:  I love to cook and bake. I also enjoy swimming.

 

Q:  What do you cook?

A:  My friends say that I make the best butter chicken.*

 

Q:  What is your favorite animal?

A:  Gorilla, really all the monkeys and apes.

 

Q:  What was your dream job as a child?

A:  I used to anchor the news as a kid, so I dreamt of being an MTV anchor and I wanted to do that. But when I was around 15, I started getting really interested in computer science and shifted gears.

 

Neha’s Famous Butter Chicken Recipe

Whole spices for butter masala:

1 star anise

1 mace flower

4 green cardamoms

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

 

Ground spices for butter masala:

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon fennel seed powder

1 table spoon homemade garam masala powder or store bought. (Reduce to ½ tblsp if do not prefer very spicy)

 

Other ingredients for butter masala:

1/4th cup raw cashews

1 medium onion ( I use white onion, but any non-sweet kind should be ok), chopped roughly

2 inches piece of fresh ginger, chopped

6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

1 large red bell pepper, chopped roughly

2 table spoons ghee or oil

 

Ingredients for tomato base:

8 ripe medium tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 black cardamom

1 cinnamon stick (about an inch long)

1 bay leaf

1 star anise

1 teaspoon salt

 

All other Add-ins

2 -3 whole chickens (cooked Indian tandoori way, the night before) you can substitute for rotisserie chicken.. chopped into generous pieces. should yield around 2.5 to 3 lbs of boneless meat overall)

1 large green bell pepper, julienned

1 cup heavy cream( can substitute with milk, by doubling the raw cashew )

2 table spoons butter (optional)

1/2 teaspoon ginger, grated

Salt

Brown Sugar

Fresh Cilantro (Optional)

Slit fresh green chilies , the hot kind (Optional)

 

Step by Step process:

 

Tomato Base

1. Cover and cook the tomatoes in a little water along with salt and the  whole spices listed under “Ingredients for tomato base”, till the tomatoes are very soft.
2. Discard the whole spices and puree finely.
3. Strain the puree

 

Base Butter Masala

1. In a saucepan, add 2 tblsp of ghee/oil, followed by whole spices, chopped ginger , garlic, onions , red peppers.
2. Sauté for about 10 mins till onions are cooked well and ghee begins to separate.
3. Add raw cashews.
4. Add all ground spices and sauté on low heat for another 3-5 mins.
5. Remove from pan, cool and transfer the whole thing to a blender. Blend to a fine puree.
6. Strain the puree.
7. In the same pan, transfer the prepared tomato base, add 2 tblsp of butter, if using and bring to a simmer.
8. Add the pureed base butter masala, mix well and simmer for another 30-40 mins (stir in between) till you see specks of oil on top. As you simmer, you will notice the gravy turning a deep, gorgeous red color.
9. Add heavy cream
10. Add 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar.
11. Adjust salt and brown sugar, per taste and simmer for another 15 mins.
12. Add chicken pieces, julienned green bell pepper along with 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger.
13. Add the slit hot green chilies if using
14. Give it a stir and simmer for another 15 mins.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.