Gobi Shalgam Gajar Achaar and School Days

I remember my school days with a lot of fondness. I am sure it is exactly like that for most if you out there. The fun times, the innocence, the principals office. Everyone has their most favourite memory of school. The times you got into trouble. The times when you were commended. Appreciated for work well done or punished for a lack of application. And the friends. Chatting away during class times. We always had something to chat about. Always. The assembly. The excitement of getting to read the news or thought for the day. Even writing something on the notice board was something we looked forward to. Hating the times when teachers punished us by making us sit with the boys. 

I studied in a small town so there was not much life beyond school. All friends outside of school hours were only school friends. Everyone knew everyone else. We were neighbours, friends and schoolmates. 

But I think there was a very close bond we girls from the same class shared. Much closer than with the others in the school. And I think this has continued over the years. I find that we can pick up exactly where we left off even though there may have been thirty years in between.

But one of my most favourite memories of school days was sharing of food. different tastes from different homes all brought and shared during the lunch hour. We were exposed to many foods from all parts of the country. But of all those memories the one that stands out is the packing of a little pickle in a piece of torn out notebook sheet. Furtively opening it in class and each one putting their finger in to get a taste. It used to be so exciting. Someone would bring a Punjabi mango pickle, while someone else would bring a sweet pickle. Gleefully tasting each one. I really don't know what draws girls to pickle but at least in our school it was something we all looked forward to.

Anyway to come to the recipe of gobi shalgam achar, it is from the north of India. It is essentially a winter pickle and has very lovely sweet, tangy spicy taste. Goes very well with rotis and parathas but tastes simply wonderful all on its own too. I got this recipe from here. And I am reproducing it exactly like in her blog.

INGREDIENTS;

1 kg each of Turnips, Carrots, and Cauliflower
400 ml White Vinegar
1 kg Jaggery
200 grams Garlic
200 grams Ginger
500 ml Mustard Oil
200 grams Salt
50 grams Red Chilli Powder
10 grams Cardamom
5 grams Cinnamon
5  grams Cloves

METHOD:

Trim cauliflower into florets. 

Cut carrots into thick 2″ long batons. 

Trim and slice turnips into thick quarters. 

Bring 3 litres of water to boil. Blanch the prepared vegetables in boiling water for 2 minutes. 

Drain, spread on absorbent cloth and dry in shade for a day.

Boil vinegar and jaggery together into a syrup.  

Pound ginger and garlic coarsely and fry in oil over medium heat. Take off heat. 

Pound the whole spices coarsely. 

Into the oil mix in all the spices and the vinegar syrup. 

Add salt and the prepared vegetables. 

Mix well and transfer to clean dry stoneware or glass jars.

Leave in the sun for a couple of days for all the flavours to get absorbed.

ENJOY!!!!!!

The vegetables cut and drying:

The vinegar and jaggery boiling:

Adding in the vegetables:

Pappu Pulusu - Andhra Food Series

This is the ultimate comfort food as far as I am concerned. Hot steaming rice, a dollop of ghee, pour this dal on top and you have got yourself a perfect meal. Its all very well to want to eat out and try out different foods, but after a while home food is the best.

My mother used to make this the best but I like to think mine is not that far behind in either taste or appearance. Even if I have to say so myself, it is pretty darn delicious!!!!

Try it out and let me know...

INGREDIENTS:


1 cup Toor Dal
1 Large Onion, Sliced
1 Tomato, diced
2 tablespoons Tamarind Extract
2 Green Chillis, sliced

4 Cloves of Garlic, chopped into big pieces.
1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
2 Red Chillis
6-8 Curry Leaves
1 teaspoon Coriander Leaves , finely chopped
1 teaspoon Oil
Salt to taste


METHOD:

Soak the Dal for about half an hour.

Pressure cook along with the sliced onions, diced tomatoes, sliced green chillis till cooked.

Mash till onions, tomatoes, dal and chillis are well blended.

Heat oil.

Add the mustard seeds, red chillis, curry leaves and garlic and fry until garlic is well browned.

Pour the cooked dal mixture over this and let it simmer for a few minutes.

Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

Brinjal Peanut Curry

My cook at home comes out with very unusual foods. Sometimes, she makes things for herself, and puts a bit on the table for us to taste. And more often than not, they end up being very tasty and a staple on the dining table.
This is one such dish. I think it is fairly typical of the Nellore region.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 kg Brinjals/Aubergines
2 Onions
2 Tomatoes
2 pods Garlic
50 grams of Roasted Peanut, powdered
1 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
Few curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon Mustard Seeds
1 tablespoon Oil
Salt to taste



METHOD:

Chop the onions, tomatoes and garlic finely.

Dice the brinjal into bits and keep in a vessel of water to prevent discoloration.

Heat oil on a medium flame.

Add the mustard seeds.

Once they start crackling, add the garlic and curry leaves.

When garlic has browned nicely, add the onions.

Fry till  it starts getting brown, add the tomatoes and fry till mushy.

Now add the salt and red chilli powder.

Add the brinjal and fry for a few minutes. Add a quarter cup of water and cover.

Check periodically till the the brinjal is cooked well.

Now add the peanut powder, and give one last boil and switch off.

Serve hot with rice or chapatis.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Sabudana Vada And Rainy Days

Its has been raining on and off here and though we are well into August and September is already peeping round the corner, there seems to be no respite from the heat. The only times it cools down a bit is when it rains. Now rains in my town bring with them not only a much needed drop in temperature but a host of problems as well like traffic snarls, water logging, .... But then I think we welcome the change of weather so much, we are ready to forgive our city anything at that point.

The monsoon set in a couple of months ago for the rest of the country. But in my part of the country we get the retreating monsoon. So it comes a lot later in the year. But the heat sometimes gets too much for even nature to bear and promptly we have some fabulous evening showers.

Now to describe the monsoons in India.... The fabulous musty, earthy fragrance which comes from the dry parched earth, when the first few drops of rains fall just has to be smelt to be believed. The whole garden looks like an emerald green paradise with all the dry dust from the summer getting washed away. The cool cool breeze rushing in , chasing away the heat of the summer months and bringing a freshness to everything. It is the season that everyone really looks forward to.

To come to the point now, dear readers, you need to answer one question of mine. What is the connection between a rainy afternoon and fried food? Samosas, bajjis, pakodas, vadas... The first thing you think of when you see the dark clouds start gathering, is how quickly you can bring the kadai out, the saucepan for a cup of steaming masala chai and a comfortable chair to sit in and enjoy the rains. True? or false? Fried food, tea and monsoons are inseparable and almost a tradition in India. Here I have to say, a very enjoyable and a much cherished tradition.

Now on to the recipe....

Serves 6 ( Makes about 30 medium vadas)

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 cups Sago pearls ( Sabudana)

1 1/2 cups Potato, boiled and mashed

1/2 cup Roasted Peanuts, crushed roughly

2 Green Chillies, minced finely

2-3 tablespoons Coriander leaves , minced

1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

METHOD:

Soak the sabudana in water for about 10 minutes. Drain the water and cover with a damp cloth for about 2 hours.

Mix it well with the boiled and mashed potatoes and the roughly crushed peanuts.

Add salt, lemon juice, minced green chillies and the coriander leaves.

Heat oil till smoking hot. Reduce the flame to medium.

For the sabudana mixture in small balls, flatten slightly and deep fry in the oil.

Serve hot.

ENJOY!!!!!!

Parsi Falooda - Perfect Summer Drink

There is a very sweet story about the arrival of Parsis who, because of being persecuted in their own land, came to seek refuge in India. When they arrived into Gujarat, the king sent them a glass of milk filled to the brim signifying that the land was full and could not support any more people. The Parsis then added a pinch of sugar to the milk sending an astute message to the king that they would not take up too much space and will in turn add sweetness to the kingdom.

It is a standing joke at home that my husband is partial to Parsi food. Now now, I am not going to tell you why... It is how it is.. So this is a post only for him.

Summers in India are scorchingly hot. It is a far from pleasant experience to be outside during the day. In fact on a typical summer day, India can feel like an oven on overdrive, but humans with their superior skills have learnt to adapt to it and to cope with it .

So how do you keep the heat at bay?Indians know a million ways to keep cool and the list is endless. Cool cotton clothes.. drinks that cool the system down like nimbu pani, coconut water, kokum sherbet, aam panna... foods that are spicy hot paradoxically cool the body by making one sweat.

The Parsi falooda which originates in Iran is found in various forms all over the Middle East, Iran, Turkey, Pakistan and India. It is cross between a drink and a dessert.

The recipe presented here is the Parsi version of falooda. Try it. It is perfect for the Indian summer.

INGREDIENTS:

4 tablespoons Subja Seeds (Takmaria, basil)

1 cup Water

1/2 cup Cornflour

250 ml Water

Lots of ice cubes

4 tablespoons Rose Syrup

2 cups Milk

4 tablespoons Condensed Milk

4 scoops Vanilla Icecream

Pic below: Dry Subja Seeds (sorry the picture is a little out of focus)

METHOD:

To make the Subja seeds:

Soak the subja seeds in 1 cup water for 2-4 hours till it acquires a gelatinous coating ( see picture below)

To make the falooda:

Mix the cornflour into the 250 ml water and place on medium heat.

Keep stirring. As you stir it will start thickening.

Cook till it becomes translucent and comes together like a ball.

Keep a bowl of cold water filled with lots of ice cubes ready . You will also need a sev press which will help form very fine noodle shaped falooda. Put the cornflour mixture into the sev press before it turns cold. Then press out the falooda into the ice cube/water bowl. Leave the falooda in the water in the refrigerator for upto 4 days. If you take out the falooda from the water , it will stick together and lose its shape.

To make the milk:

Mix the milk with the condensed milk and chill in the freezer for an hour or so.

Alternately, you can thicken the milk over a low flame for a few hours till it thickens and add sugar. This is actually the original method, but I use my shortcut method. The taste does not suffer because of this.

Now for the assembly:

Take 4 tall glasses.

Pour the rose syrup at the bottom.

Top with a couple of tablespoons of falooda.

Gently pour the milk mixture on top without disturbing the layers.

Add a tablespoon of soaked subja seeds.

Top up with a scoop of vanilla ice cream .

You can optionally garnish with a few sliced nuts.

Stick in a straw and a spoon and serve very cold.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!

Eggs With Green Masala

This is going to be a real quick post as I am studying very hard for my sons exams and don't have much time for a long write up. Well I am all stressed out over here, but he for sure is a real cool cucumber about it. The much dreaded Boards are here, but does he seem to worry about it? Oh no... never. Why worry when there are so many exciting other things to plan, friends' birthday parties...jam sessions to practise for... so many friends to talk to on the phone... and then the ultimate distraction, Facebook.... Well I try to do the best I can.. like I say - I can take this horse to the water. Now whether he wants to drink is his problem...

This particular recipe was brought to our house by our cook lady. She learnt it in the previous house she worked in. One day she made it just on a whim on a Sunday afternoon for lunch and since then it has become a staple.

It tastes really good and it is something very different from the usual. The colours are also very attractive and the contrast of the green and the white of the eggs looks good.

Though, ours is a vegetarian household, I am open to eggs being cooked at home as I consider it a good source of proteins for the kids.

Now for the recipe

INGREDIENTS:

6 Eggs hardboiled and sliced in half lengthwise.

2-3 tablespoons Oil

Masala Paste:

1/2 cup coriander leaves

2 green chillies

2 tablespoons roasted Bengal gram (roasted chana dal)

5-6 black peppercorns

2 Cloves of Garlic

salt to taste

METHOD:

Grind the masala paste ingredients till finely ground in the blender. The paste will be a little thickish.

Apply the paste onto the cut side of the egg.

Put a frying pan on a medium flame and add a little oil to it.

Fry the egg, cut side down (masala paste side) till it is slightly brown.

Fry the other side till it gets a bit brown.

Serve hot.

ENJOY!!!!!!!

Shahi Baby Corn And My Dead Silent Picture

They say a picture speaks a thousand words. We have all heard this a million times over. We have also heard that every picture speaks a story. These are very clichéd sayings but hold very true nonetheless. In this day of instant gratification, people want to have a lot of visual stimulation along with the written word. They need to be pulled towards your blog through a lot of good pictures and pretty fonts. And definitely first impressions make all the difference. In my case of food blogging, the picture also serves a dual purpose of showing my readers what the final product should look like.

But by that criteria, when I see the picture accompanying this post, I know for a fact that my picture is dead silent. It is mute and unable to convey what it should.

Along with my picture, I am also struck speechless. It is such a bad and uninspiring picture.

I tried photoshopping it. I tried improving its looks. Increasing the exposure, sharpening it, contrasting it, cropping it.... But NO. It stayed stubbornly silent.

Leave alone conveying a story, this badly behaved picture refused to say even a word.

I pride myself on my picture taking ability (though to be very honest, I know next to nothing about the technical aspects of it). I love it when I get rave compliments for my pictures which accompany the blog posts. It keeps me motivated and always planning on the next picture.

I have only one thing to say here now. Yes it is another cliche. This post is replete with cliches. Don't judge a book by its cover...

What I am trying to say here is that please do not judge the dish by the picture. Maybe it just does not photograph well. But it tastes really good. Really really good. This Shahi Baby Corn is YUMMY to say the least. Go ahead and make it and tell me if you agree with me or not.

This recipe is taken from Nita Mehta's book, Mughlai Vegetarian Khana.

INGREDIENTS:

200 grams Baby corn

2 cups Milk

2 tablespoons Cashew nuts, ground to a paste with 1/4 cup water

1 teaspoon Coriander (dhania) Powder

1/2 teaspoon Dry Mango Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder

1 teaspoon Garam Masala Powder

2-3 small Cardamom Pods (seeds crushed)

100 grams Paneer grated

1 tablespoon Coriander leaves chopped

Masala Paste:

3 medium Onions

3 Tomatoes

1 inch piece Ginger

1 Green Chilli

Tempering:

1 tablespoon Oil

1/2 teaspoon Jeera (cumin) seeds

1 teaspoon Ginger, finely chopped

5-6 Almonds, sliced

1/4 Red Chilli Powder

Method:

Slice the baby corn lengthwise.

Cook baby corn in the milk along with a pinch of the turmeric powder till it starts boiling. Then simmer for about 2 minutes till baby corn is soft.

Blend all the ingredients for the masala paste in the mixie to a fine paste.

Heat oil. Add the jeera and then after it crackles, add the masala paste.

Cook till the oil separates and it is almost dry.

Add the red chilli, turmeric, coriander, dry mango and garam masala powders. Add the salt too.

Fry for a minute and then add the cashew nut paste. Stir to mix well.

Add the leftover milk from boiling the baby corn and stir for 2-3 minutes.

Add the cooked baby corn and simmer oin a low flame for 3 minutes or so.

Add 2 cups of water to get a thin gravy and simmer till the gravy starts getting thicker.

Add the cardamom seeds, grated paneer and coriander leaves.

To serve, put the hot vegetables in the dish. For the tempering, heat oil, fry the jeera and the ginger. Add almonds and red chilli powder. Pour over the vegetable.

Serve hot along with chapati, nan, pulao, rice etc.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!

Majiga Pulusu and Mom's Cooking- Andhra Food Series

My mom was quite a good cook and my dad always had this story ( he was secretly very proud of her for this talent) that she would taste something either in someone else's home or at a restaurant and will be able to very accurately identify the ingredients that went into it. She was very rarely wrong or if so, off by maximum of an ingredient. She could replicate dishes at home quite easily and also innovate on them.
I always had an interest in cooking but it did not come to the fore till I got married. Then slowly, I started learning a few things from her and others. But the problem was that I only learnt those things that I personally loved as a kid. I totally forgot that tastes change over time and maybe what I loved then may not be quite what I love now.
Unfortunately, Mom is not in a position to really cook now and thanks to her accident, along with many other things, now has totally forgotten how to cook. From being a cook who could rustle up a meal for ten without any problem, she now struggles to remember simple recipes.
Now thinking back, I am glad that I learned the few recipes that I did from her. It is more special now to me.
My sincere advice to all you readers out there is that one needs to learn things that are important and unimportant quickly and never put it off for later. One never knows how things happen and it is sad that there are so many things that I would still have loved to learn from her, if only to make sure she gets to eat exactly what she likes.

Anyway enough of the morose talk...

She is very very fond of Majiga Pulusu aka More kozhambu, kadhi etc in defferent parts of the country. Majiga means butter milk and pulusu loosely translates into gravy(?). It is a combination of buttermilk, spices and vegetables thickened with the use of besan or chana dal ( Bengal Gram).
My dad's constant joke went that her pulusus always had more veggies than the gravy and therefore was wrongly referred to as pulusu. Well that is a healthy way of eating and I totally endorse it. More veggies, the better it is..

Now for the recipe...


Ingredients:


1 tablespoon raw rice
1 Tablespoon Bengal gram
2 teaspoons grated coconut
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon Dhania (coriander seeds)
1 green chillie

1/2 litre sour curds

500 grams of potato, carrot and bottle gourd
2 Green chillies
2 sprigs coriander leaves
1/2 teapsoon Turmeric powder
Salt to taste

1 teaspoon Oil
1/2 teaspoon mustrad seeds
1/2 teaspoon jeera
2 red chillies

Method:

Soak the rice, Bengal gram, coconut, green chillie coriander seeds and jeera in a little water for an hour. Then grind to a coarse paste.

Dice the vegetables into large pieces.

Pour enough water over it just so that it covers the vegetables.

Boil the vegetables along with the green chillies, coriander leaves, turmeric powder and salt.

Mix the curds and the ground paste and cook on a slow/medium flame till heated through and it begins to thicken. Do not let it boil.

Add the boiled vegetables.

Take off the flame.

Heat Oil and fry the popu ( mustard, jeera and red chillies).

Pour over the majiga pulusu.

Serve along with rice.

Enjoy !!!!!

Palak Paneer and Secret of Popeye's Strength

Popeye had it right when he said " I'm strong to the finish when i eats me spinach, i Popeye the sailor man! toot toot (pipe)". Whenever he is bludgeoned by Bluto, the evil villain, this can of spinach magically appears in his hand and once popped into his mouth can and all, it gives him strength of immense proportions. He can now single handedly eliminate all villains and get the babe of his dreams...

I think this story has long been used by mom worldwide to get their kids to eat spinach. I wonder what it is about kids, that if their mom says something it can never be right, but if some silly cartoon character says the same thing, then the matter is taken to be gospel truth. I mean, is it fair to all us moms out here that a cartoon character has to be used each single time to get kids to eat healthy? But one thing in the kids favor at least as far as spinach is concerned, I can safely say I understand. I hated spinach with a passion as you can see from this story here. But once I developed a taste for it, there was no stopping me.

There is a restaurant in Madras that serves up some of the most delicious Palak Paneer. Along with a hot "kadak" tandoori roti,.... oooh la la....

I have tried many different recipes for palak paneer but the perfect recipe has always eluded me till I saw Nita Mehta's book " Paneer all the way" which showed me the exact recipe. The taste was the exactly what I remembered from the restaurant.

This is the recipe as mentioned in her book.


Ingredients:

150 grams paneer
1/2 kilo spinach ( Delhi Palak)
1 teaspoon jeera seeds
2 large onions
1 inch piece ginger
4-6 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes chopped finely
2 green chillies
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons ghee
2 pods cardamom
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder

Method:

Clean the spinach well and cook the leaves along with 1/2 cup water over a low flame. When done, grind coarsely in the mixie.

Grind the onions, ginger and garlic in the mixie separately.

Heat two tablespoons ghee, and add jeera. When they turn start sizzling, add the onion paste. Fry till the oil separates and the onions turn golden brown.

Add the chopped tomatoes and chopped green chillies.

Fry again till tomatoes turn mushy and oil separates.

Add the ground spinach paste. Add a few tablespoons of water in case it is too thick.

Cook for 5-7 minutes longer and then add salt.

Add cardamom and paneer. Mix well take off the fame.

At the time of service, heat 1 tablespoon ghee and add 1 teaspoon of red chilly powder and take of the flame. Pour over the heated palak paneer.

Serve hot along with rotis, chapatis , rice etc...

Enjoy.

Happy Deepavali and Badam Burfi

Happy Deepavali to all my readers. Its that time of the year again. I simply love Deepavali. It is really a festival that brings so much excitement into our lives. The new clothes the crackers, the sweet making, the yummy food that we eat. The list goes on and on. Deepavali is a time to bend all rules and simply enjoy.


My sister in law and I decided to make something really ultra simple this year. So Badam Burfi it is. Minimal ingredients, very simple to make but in my opinion, the lesser the number of ingredients, the taste of each ingredient really stands out. In this case there are only two main ingredients. Almonds and sugar. You can put in other add ons but that is entirely optional and suited to each ones taste. But it does not lack for anything even if you use just these two main ones.Now I had a lot of help cutting the burfi from my little niece ( I hope that explains the little uneven edges :) ). She very ably assisted me every stage even in the stirring and when she could not help, she hopped onto to a stool and gave me company in the long and hard process of waiting for the ball like stage.



Ingredients:

Almonds - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Little milk to grind the almonds maybe 2 -3 tablespoons

Method:

Soak the almonds in boiling hot water for a few minutes. Peel the skin.
Then soak in hot water for about 6 to 8 hours.
Grind to a smooth paste using the milk.
Place a piece of foil on the counter top and grease it with a little ghee or butter.



Pour the almond paste into a non stick pan along with the sugar and start cooking on a low flame.
Keep stirring and make sure the flame is on low. At this point you can add some cardamom powder if you like the taste.




After about 40 minutes to an hour it will start to gather together and become a ball.
When it does FINALLY (!!!!!%$#@%$$%^) become a ball and your hand is ready to fall off, Then take it off the stove.
Spread on the foil and flatten. Leave for a few minutes to cool and cut into shapes.

Helping Hands and Andhra Food Series : Dosakai Pachadi

We have been going through a harrowing time lately as we had a personal problem and as a result of which, we had to spend a large amount of time in Rajamundry ( a small town in Andhra Pradesh). Now, tho Rajamundry is supposed to be officially home to my dad's side of the family, we have never stayed there for any length of time. My only recollection of the place was short day visits to see family. This time round, however, we had to be there for nearly 3 weeks. It was a visit fraught with tension and worry. But you know the saying, an angel is always around when you need one. There was this family who extended such a helping hand, opened up their house and hearts to us. They were so hospitable and they made it appear that nothing was trouble for them. They were there when we needed them the most. To top it all, we had not met them earlier and this was the first time we were meeting all of them. Even so, we never ever felt like they were strangers. They made us immediately feel like one of the family. I just do not have the right words to thank them and don't think I ever will. Words cannot really express the deep sense of gratitude that I have inside me. It was wonderful to see how people can just step up to lend a helping hand and this has made me more determined than ever that I will always extend a hand when I can in for people in their time of need. Most people do not vocalise what they really want for fear of looking like they are trying to bum off you or that they are encroaching on your personal space. When someone extends a hand like this without even a question asked, it makes such a difference. All I can say is a big "Thank You" from the bottom of my heart.

Now that the serious stuff has been said, the icing on the cake was the food in their house. The taste of the food in their home was quite something else. They had their own cows, so the taste of the milk, ghee and the curd.. oh, the curd was something else altogether. Fully loaded with a layer of thick cream on top.. yummy. And the vegetables, the dals, the pachadis that R made tasted really divine. With all the worries I had, one would have thought I would lose weight but oh no, not me. I was happily tucking in at each meal and never did I once worry about mundane things like weight.
In the memory of all those lovely meals that we ate at her home, I am going to be doing a series of posts on typical Andhra food. She has promised to give me a few recipes and I am definitely going to hold her to her promise and will post them here in turn.

One of the most popular food courses in Telugu food has to be Pachadi ( this is comparable to the thovaigals that the Tamilians eat). Every meal has one pachadi at least which is mixed with hot rice and ghee and relished. I have already posted Usirikai Pachadi earlier but this time round I found nice dosakais in the vegetable shop and promptly decided to make Dosakai Pachadi which is an Andhra favourite. It is a little tangy and has a nice bittery/pungent taste from the mustard seed paste.

Now for the ingredients...

I medium size Dosakai diced into small bits

2 Red chillies

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 pinch Hing ( asafoetida)

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 small lemon sized ball of tamarind soaked in a 2 tablespoons of water

a lemon sized bit of jaggery

1 green chilli

1 tablespoon of chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 teaspoon oil

Method:

Heat oil. Add mustard seeds and the red chillies.

Grind to a coarse paste along with the turmeric, hing, salt, jaggery, tamarind, green chilli and coriander leaves.

Add the dosakai and just pulse once or twice.

Serve with hot rice and ghee...

Joys of Grocery Shopping and Layered Biryani

Let me take a poll out here. How many of you enjoy, really enjoy your grocery shopping? Please do let me know because I would like to know if I am in the minority out here.


If there is one thing I really enjoy, I think it has to be grocery shopping. I get such immense pleasure in picking out the perfect fruit and vegetables. I drool at the sight of the piles and piles of fresh, glistening with goodness, produce. Can you imagine, I have the patience to pick out Ladies Finger ( should that be fingers? as I pick so many of them) one by one and I need little over 2 kilos each time to feed my large family who have a real weakness for the veggie. Anyway, I think foodie that I am, I can take any amount of time and it is never a pain for me to go veggie shopping. I pick each one up lovingly, take in its delectable aroma, happily contemplating what it will end up as.... It is just so satisfying.


Anyway now on to the Layered Biryani...



I have been in a culinary rut the last couple of months and have been sticking to "same ole same ole" ( my kids words, not mine). We are in that " Mom, dont we know any other type of vegetables to make for dinner?" refrain.

Anyway, thought why not make layered biryani. Always sounds so good and this was particularly easy to make (the final product looked like I had slaved over the stove though, which was a wonderful thing)


Ingredients:

3 large onions, sliced finely and deep fried till golden brown.

2 teacups of mixed vegetables diced into big pieces ( you can use cauliflower, carrots, beans, potatoes, peas etc).
4 green chillis
1/4 cup chopped coriander
1/4 cup chopped mint leaves
2 teaspoons ginger/garlic paste
30 grams of Biryani masala powder
1 teacup curd

3 cups basmati rice
salt to taste
2 cloves, cardamom each
1 inch piece cinnamon
1 teaspoon jeera ( Cumin seeds)
2 bay leaves

3 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons Ghee

few strands saffron soaked in 3 tablespoons of hot water

Method:

Heat oil. Add chopped vegetables, 2/3 of the fried onions, chopped coriander leaves, chopped mint leaves, curd, biryani masala and salt to taste. Can add 1/4 cup water if required.

Cook well till the oil comes out on the sides and the vegetables are 80 % done but still have a crunch in them.

Simultaneously, heat the ghee in another pan. Add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, jeera and the bay leaves. Add the basmati rice, fry for a couple of minutes and then add 5 cups of hot water and salt to taste.

Cook till 80 % done. Drain extra water if there is.

Layer the vegetable mixture in the serving dish. Top with the rice. Sprinkle the saffron water over the rice to add a little colour. Sprinkle the remaining fried onions on top along with 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander.

Cover and bake in the oven for about 15 minute. This will result in the grains of rice getting cooked completely yet remaining separate.

Serve hot with raita of choice.

Poondu Kozhambu

When I first moved to Chennai, there were a lot of new cuisines we tried out. My husband and I love eating out and we would do a lot of it then ( particularly as he was a carnivore then). We once went out on a busy Saturday night with friends without a reservation. Not a table to be had anywhere. After trying about 4 or 5 places, someone suggested that we try a Chettinad restaurant. Not having ever tried that particular cuisine, and having heard that it is predominantly non-vegetarian I was a little nervous going in. But no choice by then, so we bravely marched in for my first taste of Chettinad food.



Well, I have to be honest here and own up that I was very boring and ordered just appams. Someone else ordered a bunch of things one of which was Poondu Kozhumbu. When it came to the table and was served to me, I cannot even begin to describe the aromas wafting out of it. It just looked so delicious and with browned garlic peeking out of this spicy tangy gravy. Then with the first mouthful, this bunch of incredible tastes just burst on my tongue and tickled my tastebuds. It was " HOT ". "Spicy HOT". But still left me craving for more. Amazing is the only word I can use to describe the memory of eating that. I am very partial to garlic but that was only icing on the cake.


Everytime I wanted to eat this, I would send someone out for it to buy it at the restaurant. Then I saw this months Think Spice hosted by Sunita was focusing on garlic. Immediately said " why not try out Poondu Kozhumbu?" I like the dish and want to eat it often, so why not learn it. Right?


Googled the title and got bunch of recipes. But I knew what I wanted out of it. So chopped and changed and combined and deleted and came up with this recipe. It turned out great ( even if I have to say so myself).

Now for the recipe...


1 cup Garlic cloves peeled
2 medium sized onions diced finely
2 tomatos diced finely
10 curry leaves
Lemon sized ball of tamarind soaked in 1 cup hot water


1/2 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
1/4 teaspoon hing powder ( asafoetida)
1/2 teaspoon jaggery
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon urad dal
3-4 tablespoons Oil to fry



Paste ingredients:


2 tablespoons Coriander seeds ( dhania)
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds ( jeera)
1 teaspoon poppy seeds ( Khuskhus)
1/2 teaspoon peppercorn
4 red chillies
2 inch piece ginger
1 teaspoon oil.

Heat 1 teapoon of oil. Lightly fry the garlic till light brown. Keep aside

Extract the tamarind juice from the soaked tamarind discarding the seeds and the skin of the tamarind.

Heat another teaspoon of oil in the same kadai and lightly fry the paste ingredients. Then grind to a smooth paste using about 2 tablespoons of water.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves and urad dal. Fry till they crackle.
Then add the chopped onions and fry well till translucent.
Add tomatos and cook the whole thing till very mushy.
Ad chilli powder, haldi, hing and mix well for a few minutes.
Add the paste and cook really well.
Now add the tamarind juice along with half cup of water and cook till the oil separates.

Add the fried garlic and serve hot as an accompaniment to a meal.






This is my entry for Think Spice Think Garlic hosted by Sunita of Sunitas World

Gujarati Meal: Part 1 - Sambhaaryu Shaak

One of my other resolutions for my blog for 2008 which I forgot to mention in the look back on 2007 was that I was going to make plenty from the other blogs and more importtantly, POST about it.

Lat week I decided to make it a Gujarati day. That is one cuisine that we all enjoy at home. But just try saying "Let's eat out today, I feel like eating Gujju food today" and see the look of horror on the husbands face. He thinks that we want to eat out all the time. But as I have said time and again, the kids want to eat out a lot of the time. So I decided that a compromise was in order. On the spur of the moment said "ok, today is gujju lunch day at home".

I had earmarked many recipes to try out. Quickly fished them all out. This was one of the easiest meals to prepare. Did not take much time and was relatively simple in terms of ingredients and ease of preparation.

This is one recipe I saw on Coffee's blog here and had promised to try out. It looked very interesting.

Sambhaaryu Shaak tasted as good as it looked on her blog. The only mistake I made was I let it cook for a bit longer than it should have and the end product did not look quite like it should have. It got too brown instead of the beautiful red and very dry instead of the nice gravy that was on her picture. Next time, I will make sure that I watch it all the time and get it to the right shade of yumminess.

But this is a definite make again recipe. It was simply fabulous. Next time I will also try it out with baby eggplant and onions and potatoes all together. I am sure it will be delish.

Here I have to only point out one thing. The only painful thing is the stuffing. So this is recommended only for a smaller quantity and not for a large dinner party unless you have help.

Thanks Coffee for a great, easy to make recipe.

UPDATE: I am cutting and pasting her recipe as she has posted it.

3-4 potatoes peeled ( or baby eggplant or onions)

1 big tomato finely chopped

2-3 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

For the Sambharo:

3-4 cloves of garlic

1 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

3/4 tsp garam masala

4-5 tsp dhanya-jeera/ coriander-cumin powder (about 50% of your sambharo should be made up of this)

1-2 tsp besanJuice of one lemon2-3 tsp sugar (Gujju food is generally on the sweeter side!! If you don’t prefer it then you can omit the sugar and lemon completely.)

A handful of chopped coriander.

To make the Sambharo:

Peel and pound the garlic in a mortar-pestle. You can even grate it in the absence of M/P or use garlic paste, but somehow I have always felt that pounding does make a difference to it.Now add all the other spices to it and mix well. In the end I would pound it again with the pestle for 1-2 min so that the spices blend in perfectly!

To prepare:

Slit the potatoes on both slides, with slits being perpendicular to each other. I would not recommend making a criss cross on the same side as the veggies will often split open while cooking and you wont be able to enjoy it as a whole with spices stuffed in it. Gently open the slits and stuff them with the spices, you can take help of the spoon handle to help you push it till the end. You should have about a cup of sambharo remaining after you stuff all the veggies. You can cook this in a kadai or in pressure cooker, the latter being the faster version. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil, pop the mustard seeds and brown the jeera. Add in the tomatoes and let them soften for about 2 min. Keep about 2 tsp of sambharo and add the rest of it in the tomatoes. Mix it well and let it sizzle for a while mixing in between so that it doesn’t stick to the bottom. Once it starts releasing a bit of oil, add in the stuffed potatoes, a glass of water and cook for about 3 whistles (will depend on the size of veggies). Once the pressure is released add in the remaining 2 tsp sambharo and give it a good boil. Serve with chapatti or rice.

Matar Paneer

Being holiday season and kids being on a break, I find that the children's friends drop in at home on the spur of the moment. I like them to stay over for lunch, but usually there is never anything exciting that they would like to eat, as the regular home fare is simple and consists mainly of healthy green vegetables. So I decided to immediately stock up the freezer with kid friendly foods that can be heated at a moments notice and served with chapatis or puris. Things that the kids will relish. So I toodled off to do some grocery shopping and picked up paneer, peas (which are now flooding the market) and got ready to make some Matar Paneer.

I have been looking for a nice matar paneer recipe for the longest time. I have tried many many different recipes out but somehow something was always wrong with it. The taste would just not be right. Something was lacking in each of them even in the Nita Mehta recipe.

The other day I happened to chance on this recipe from Cookery Corner. It looked good and easy to make too. So tried it out immediately.

Thanks, Laavanya for helping me find my perfect Paneer Matar recipe. This is a keeper for me, for sure. Easy and perfect tasting.

Now for the recipe with no changes at all except the quantities as I was making it for a larger number of people.....

Ingredients:

600 gm Paneer

2 cups Peas, parboiled
2 teaspoons Chilli Powder

2 teaspoons Coriander powder

1 teaspoon Garam Masala
1 teaspoon Cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 tablespoon Kasuri Methi - about 1/2 tsp, crushed between your fingers
Salt, to taste
4 tablespoon Yoghurt
4 tablespoons Oil
2 teaspoon Jeera (Cumin seeds)

Grind to a paste after cooking:

4 large Onions, chopped
6 Tomatoes, chopped
8 cloves Garlic

2 inch piece Ginger
50 grams Coriander leaves

Method:

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and saute the onion, garlic and ginger till the onions brown a bit. Then add the tomatoes and cilantro and cook with a pinch of salt till it softens. Grind this to a paste in the mixie once it has cooled down a bit.

Pan fry the paneer cubes on either side till light brown. I sprinkle some salt after spraying the pan with oil before adding the paneer.
Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add jeera seeds, then add the ground paste along with all the masala powders and let this cook well with frequent stirring.
After about 5 minutes, add a cup of water to this paste and let it come to a boil.

Add the paneer pieces and peas and allow to simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes.
Now add the crushed Kasuri methi and stir in the yoghurt.

Heat for a few minutes and serve with chapatis, puris or naans.

Banana Halwa

For a long time before I started this blog, I used to spend a lot of time reading all these blogs which are now so familiar. Drool over the pictures, sternly make up my mind that I will make this that and the other.

One of the recipes which caught my eye a long time ago was Banana Halwa which I saw in Indira's blog here. Knowing how much I love banana in any form, I was determined to try it for a longest while, but as usual just sat on it. I think this where all these food blogging events come in really handy. One gets down to things just because there is a date by which it has to be submitted.

Finally, today went and picked up the Nendram Pazham and got down to it.

This was an easy enough recipe - very simple and straight forward. I had to tweak it a bit because I did not have a couple of the ingredients. But I have to say the end product did not suffer because of this fact. It was delicious, not too rich and just what I need after my lunch. I have an extremely sweet tooth and this fitted the job to a T.

This is my entry to JFI : Bananas hosted by Mandira of Ahaar

Now for the recipe which I used:

Ingredients:

2 nendram pazham

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup water

2 teaspoons all purpose flour mixed in 1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons ghee

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

( I missed the lemon juice and cashewnuts as I did not have them handy. Lemon juice may have added that tang and clarified the sugar syrup, I am not sure. Cashews are only a garnish anyway. Also, I used far less ghee than what the original recipe called for as I wanted to watch the calories)

Method:

Peel , deseed the Banana fruit. Cut into small chunks.

Pressure cook for about 3 whistles and then when cool, mash in the mixie.

Heat the sugar along with the water. Cook till it reaches a one string consistency.

Mix in the mashed banana till well blended.

After is is a homogenous mass, add the flour / water mixture. Cook again till it looks well cooked. Slowly add the ghee little by little.

Finally add the cardamom powder and cashewnut if using.

Serve. And enjoy the compliments

Batata Poha and Wives Are Priceless

I read this online today and was most amused by it. I thought I should share it with all of you.

A man came home from work and found his three children
outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty
food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.
The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door
to the house and there was no sign of the dog. Proceeding
into the foyer, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had
been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against
one wall. In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a
cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys
and various items of clothing.
In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was
spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog
food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the
table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back
door.
He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and
more piles of clothes, looking for is wife. He was worried
she might be ill, or that something serious had happened.
He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way
out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet
towels, scummy soap and more toys strewn over the floor.
Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been
smeared over the mirror and walls.
As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled
up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked
up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.
He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened
here today?"
She again smiled and answered, "You know every day
when you come home from work and you ask me what in
the world did I do today?"
"Yes," was his incredulous reply.
She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Wives are Priceless, aren't they?

:) Funny isn't it?

Source: Humor World

Now for the Batata Poha:

Ingredients

250 grams thick poha ( flattened rice. Use the thicker version of poha as it does not disinegrate so easily on adding water))

2 potatoes diced really really small

2 onions chopped finely

2 green chillis chopped finely

2 tablespoons coriander leaves chopped

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon oil

juice of 1 small lime

2 tablespoons grated coconut ( optional)

Method:

Wash the poha under running water in a colander. Leave to soak for about 1/2 an hour.

Heat oil in a kadai. When medium hot, add the mustard seeds till they crackle.

Add the onions and chopped green chillis and saute till translucent. Add the turmeric powder and immediately add the potatoes. Keep frying till potatoes are cooked. If required sprinkle a little water every now and then to hasten the cooking process and to reduce the sticking.

Add salt at this point. Then add the soaked poha. Mix around for a few minutes and add the lime juice.

Garnish with coriander leaves and grated coconut and serve hot.

Kosambari and Random Acts of Kindness

Once long ago I watched a talk show which spoke about random acts of kindness. It really touched a chord within me. We go through life sometimes in such a hurry that we miss a lot of things along the way. We miss a lot of opportunities to help others. Little realising that we need people as much as they need us. One act of kindness performed will come back manyfold even if it is in the form of just smiles. No one need know that we are doing it. It can be our little secret. It is one thing that benefits both the giver and the receiver.

Helping someone disabled cross the street... feeding someone who just needs the next meal... just a smile at people in the lift..volunteer at the school...have a conversation with the elderly at an old age home..just say something nice to everyone you meet today...call a long lost friend.. tell your parents how much they mean to you...there are ways and means. Everything we do need not be linked to money. Each of us has within ourselves the time, patience or talents to give others.

I guess teaching this one value to the kids will help them a lot in the long run. It makes the world a better place to live.

I read on one of these blogs about the blogger helping out in a community kitchen and making things from whatever is available. I am sorry I forgot which one. What a commendable job.. That is exactly what I am talking about. Volunteering your time and effort. Thats all it takes.

Now for the food part... Kosumbri is a salad made typically in Karnataka. It is a salad made up predominantly of lentils along with some raw vegetables and a tadka of mustard seeds.. Garnished with coconut and coriander leaves, it makes a wonderful accompaniment to a meal.

Ingredients

one carrot peeled and grated

one cucumber peeled, seeds removed and grated

3 tablespoons split moong dal soaked for 2 hours

1 green chili chopped finely

1/2 a lime juiced

2 tablespoon grated coconut

1 teaspoon coriander leaves chopped finely

salt to taste

Method

Mix the grated carrot, cucumber, soaked moong dal, grated coconut and green chili.

Add the lime juice and salt when ready to serve ( otherwise the salt will make the cucumber water pour out and will dilute the taste)

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with a meal.

Moghlai Egg Curry

India is a vast country and its cuisine is as diverse as it can get. The same dal is cooked in a hundred different ways as are the rice and rotis. Each degree change in the latitude and longitude results in a slight tweaking of the same recipe until it assumes a completely new avatar in its new home. I guess that's the way the foods habits change from place to place.
I have tried to introduce my children to as many cuisines as possible. As the world gets to be a smaller place in our own time, foods habits also tend to change. In my opinion, they should be able to manage where ever they are. Also, more importantly, enjoy what they eat.
Though a South Indian, I am not overly fond of its cuisine. I guess sambar and pulusus were always on the menu at home and naans and paneer was more rare. Also, I just simply enjoy the taste of all foods north of the Vindhyas. Something about the flavors and the 'ruchi' of its foods and cuisine. Give me gujarati/ punjabi food anyday. I am sure I can eat it 24/7.



Though we are predominantly vegetarian, the only 'non veg' dish in our house is eggs. Though as one of my fellow bloggers said, it does not grow on plants and there fore is clearly non vegetarian, I just feel it adds an extra dose of proteins to our diet.


This recipe was initially sourced off the internet, but then adapted and changed till it got its present form. It goes very well with both rotis and dosas which is a staple at home. It is not steeped in oil as its title may suggest (moghlai being synonymous with oily).

Ingredients

Masala 1:

2 onion

4 cloves garlic

1" piece ginger

3 green chillis


Masala 2
1 tablespoon khus khus (poppy) seeds
1 tablespoon cashewnuts
1 tablespoon water



1 teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds)

2 onions sliced
4 tomatoes


1 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon haldi or turmeric powder
1 teaspoon jeera (cumin) powder
1 teaspoon dhania powder
salt to taste


6 eggs hard boiled
1 tablespoon coriander leaves


Method:

Grind masala 1 with a little water to a fine paste.

Separately, grind Masala 2 till very fine. ( It is better to dry grind the poppy seeds till fine and then add the cashewnuts and the water)



Heat oil till medium hot.
Add jeera and fry till it sizzles golden brown. Add sliced onions and fry for a few minutes till translucent. Add masala paste 1 and fry till oil separates and it turns golden brown.
Add dry powders that is jeera, salt, chilli and dhania and turmeric powders. Fry for about a minute and add chopped tomatoes.
Fry again till the oil separates and it turns mushy.
Add masala paste 2 at this point stir for a bit and then put in 2 cups of hot water.
Keep stirring till gravy forms and it thickens.
Make cuts on the eggs without cutting through.
Put the eggs into the hot gravy when ready to serve and garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve hot with naans, chapatis or crisp dosas.

Baby Butter Naans and Confessions of an Addict

I am addicted. And I confess, I need help.

Those secret assignments with the computer.... Posting and deleting till I get it just right. Logging on furtively every hour or so just to check if there are any new comments.... Wandering around all the time thinking of what to cook next... What new thing to make and impress all my "new" friends...

I am sure a lot of you bloggers out there know exactly what I am talking about.

This started as a hobby combining many things that I liked ...Food... Internet.. Writing. Now it has become an all consuming passion. I have this fanatic desire to blog all the time. I am busy thinking up new ideas, new foods... and photography???!!! Trying to outdo myself.. I go to a store and look at the crockery cutlery and napkins.. trying to buy just those which are sold as single pieces. Imagining my next photograph against the new background...

I am not sure whether blogging has been a boon or a bane. Is there a 12 step program for blogger de-addiction somewhere? Please let me know.

The pros that have come out of it are a) kids are happy that we have come out of the culinary rut we were in and they get different things to try out, b) My photography skills have improved exceptionally and c) I simply ENJOY it.


Cons? None at all as far as I can see now :).


Now for the butter naans.


These little babies are the cutest thing you can see, tiny morsels of yumminess. Goes perfectly well with anything. Very versatile breads. Imagine scooping up a bit of paneer butter masala gravy or some dum aloo, koftas... I can go on and on but now for the recipe.


Ingredients:

5 cups maida ( all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons instant yeast ( see note below on yeasts)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 tablespoons curd (yoghurt)
warm water as needed ( warm not hot - should feel warm when you dip your finger into the water, not hot)


Mix the flour, salt, sugar , and instant yeast well. Add the yoghurt and enough warm water to make a dough which is firm. When the dough holds together, keep kneading for about 15 to 20 mins till it is pliable. Leave aside to rise for about 2 hours.
When needed, make a small ball ( maybe golf ball size)
Roll out into a 3 or 4 inch round. Pull one end till it gets a longer shape one one side.


Put on a hot tava till it gets brown spots on the bottom. Put the other side directly on a naked flame till it gets the same brown spots.
If you like, you can place it under the grill or in an oven till it gets done.

Apply a little butter on top and serve hot with gravy of choice.

Note on Yeast:

There are various yeasts you can use. I used the instant yeast which is mixed with the dry ingredients.
You can also use yeast which is called active yeast here in India. For this you must mix a little warm water with the sugar. Sprinkle the yeast on top along with a teaspoon of flour. Leave aside for 10 minutes till it turns frothy (if it does not turn frothy then the yeast needs to be changed.) Then mix this yeast mixture into the remaining flour, add salt and make a dough.
I am not sure on how much fresh yeast to use, but the same method can be followed as for active yeast.