Theeyati Pulusu and a rant....

" Oh! It's so darn easy for you" she said, " one kid and nothing more to fuss about"! 

I was stung by this remark when I heard this from my friend a couple of weeks ago. There was a bit of truth in her remark, I admitted to myself, but I don't think I quite accept the so darn easy.. 

Here is how she sees herself, a mother of 2 (which I know is very challenging), lives in India, in a joint family (which I know is very, very challenging), the family is rolling in money and have servants of all kinds to do all they need, however, from her constant complaints- are hopeless and lazy and don't do anything and she has to do  so much..

She complains they are always gossiping, or lazy or want to go back to their village and she has to spend all her time 'counselling' them. Really? Do people actually counsel maids? as far as I understood things, if you don't like 'em, sack 'em! 'Counselling' them is such a waste of time and energy! I could sack 'em, save the time, energy and effort to direct it to doing chores and getting over with it.... 

The rest of her time, she says, is spent in getting her daughter to study ( and the child, apparently refuses to) and threaten her or spank her...  and left over time in taking care of the younger child and many a times in trying to resolve issues with her co-sister ( they are always at logger heads) and taking criticism from her in laws..... 

On the other hand, my life is so darn easy, one kid, no servants to deal with, no joint family. Hmmm... What would I have done in her situation? Would I have been any different? Would I do what I am doing today? get up and get going? 

I have less on my plate than she does, but I have my challenges too. For example, I have to handle everything on my own ( which is not a bad thing and surely something a 30+ woman can do), mostly without the husband ( he travels for work),plan, cook, clean, no elderly guidance, move every year or so ( and y'all know what that means, boxes and boxes to pack- without any help!)  handle illnesses  and so much more.

So why is is so darn easy  for me? Just because I live in a different country? Just because I do not live in  a joint family? 

 For a moment, my temper flared, I wanted to retort, "oh yeah! wait till you have a sink full of dishes to do, a child to drive to and bring from school, cook meals and clean the house, do the laundry when you have a skull- splitting migraine and a temperature and you feel woolly brained and blurry eyed.... and yeah, You are new  to the city, no friends to run to, no servants ( obviously) and no spouse by your side"

Instead, I kept quiet, I listened to her venting on and on about her problems, it was no use, I felt, telling her about my situation, she would not understand, maybe I could not understand hers as well, I am not in her shoes...  but I have lived in India most of my life and honestly, I did not think it was such a hardship, easier, if anything... sure everyone has issues with the help, but is that the focus of  the day? The school bus / rickshaw kaka comes to pick up kids and take them to school. If the domestic help bunks a day or 2, cook minimally and  order from outside. If you are so unwell, the Doctor comes home!  If you are still in a position to walk, the Doctors Clinic is very close, as far as I remember, many Doctors had their clinics in the building where one lives, just go down stairs /elevator or walk to the next building ( and given the space crunch in a place like Mumbai, the next building is  about 20 steps  away). 

Someone is there to make sure your child has good food to eat, what more do you want?  I remember, a few months ago, I was down with a temperature and my poor little boy sat by me, all the time, ran a tiny hand over my fevered brow and said, "it's okay, mommy"... I wept into my pillow, tired, miserable and angry , angry that I could not do much for my baby, and grateful that he in turn was my support. 

Oh well, all this has nothing to do with my recipe today, but just something I wanted to rant about and ask... do you all get into situations like these? What do you feel? How do you react? What do you think?

And now, let's move on to the recipe. This one is 'authentic' as a friend who tasted a bit of the tiny leftovers in a vati and  said, "jaldi recipe post kar iski" (post the recipe quickly) and so, P, this goes out to you. hope you try this and like it, just as much as you liked it at my place! 

This recipe, like any, from Pedatha's cook book is awesome! The taste, as my friend, said is totally authentic and will have you licking your fingers and fill you with comfort. Try it, you will love it.

Source::Cooking with Pedatha


You need: 
100 gms Red Pumpkin
100 gms  Bottle Gourd (dudhi/ Lauki)
100 gms Sweet Potato
100 gms Brinjal  ( I did not use any)
100 gms Raw Mango
2 nos. Drumsticks
3 Tbsp Tamarind Pulp (reduce amount if you are using Tamicon or some strong concentrate)
2 Tbs Sambar Podi
11/2 Tbsp Jaggery
3-4 Green Chilies,slit
8-10 Curry Leaves
Cilantro , to garnish
2 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste


The POWDER:
1 Tbsp Split Black gram, husked
1 Tbsp Bengal Gram
1 tsp Sesame seeds


The TEMPERING:
1tsp Mustard seeds
1tsp Fenugreek seeds
3/4 tsp Asafetida powder


Cut the vegetables into large chunks, retaining skin on all except the bottle gourd and sweet potato


For the powder, dry roast the ingredients till deep brown and then grind to a fine powder


Mix the above powder, tamarind pulp, sambar podi and jaggeryin 1- 11/2 cup water to make a thing smooth gravy


In a wok, heat oil for tempering, Add mustard seeds, once they pop, add the fenugreek seeds. Lower the heat with the browning of the fenugreek, add asafetida powder
Add chopped vegetables and , adding enough water to cover the vegetables to simmer


When the vegetables are done, add the prepared gravy, green chilies and salt and cook for 4-5 mins.


Finally, garnish with curry leaves and cilantro just as you switch off the heat.


Serve with hot steaming white rice.

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Simple fare- Dudhi bhoplyachi bhaji

These days M keeps ranting about me being a 'Spicitarian' and not a 'Vegetarian'.. that I need 'garam masala' in everything... Wrong!!! I don't need garam masala in everything.. and that was what I was about to prove!

I always associated doodhi with doodhi halwa, since I am partial to sweets and otherwise a 'not so tasty' vegetable. But the simple way in which my mother prepared it with no spices tasted very nice. To my surprise, all my friends in school also liked this version (I was one of those kids who did NOT like 'roti-subzi' in my lunch box, but sometimes condescended!). My fondest memories of eating roti-subzi are at home, sitting cross legged at the dining table and my Mom serving hot fulkas with home made ghee smeared on it with a generous helping of vegetables! YUM!! How I long for those days!! The luxury of being served food, not to worry about doing the dishes after a hearty meal!!!

M was pleasantly surprised when I served him this simple yet tasty vegetable with fulkas and loved it! ( he has a psychological allergy to fulkas/ rotis) .. I was thrilled to hear him rave about the soft and tasty fulkas (some credit goes to the fact that I now make fulkas on a proper gas and not a coil stove! Oh how they puff up!! ) and the tasty vegetable and even asked me what 'masala 'I used in it!! and ending up with....' you see, I never 'really' liked doodhi, but the way 'you' make it.... loved it!!

You need:

1 med. size Lauki/ Doodhi/ Bottle Gourd

2-3 tbsp Channa Daal (soaked in water for atleast 2 hours)

2-3 green chillies
3-4 Curry leaves

2 tbsp Oil

1/8 tsp. Asafetida

1/2 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

3/4 tsp Turmeric

Salt (to taste)

Sugar (to taste) ( I quite like the slightly sweet taste )

Cilantro to garnish

Peel the gourd and cut it into small cubes. The peel can be used to make a chutney, but I did not do so.

Heat oil , add mustard seeds, when they crackle add the cumin seeds, asafetida, chillies+curry leaves and Turmeric.

Add the pre soaked channa daal and about half a cup of water and let the daal cook (almost done)

Add the doodhi cubes, mix well. Add a little water if needed , cover and cook till the doodhi is fully cooked. Add salt and sugar, mix well and cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Serve garnished with chopped cilantro and soft hot fulkas/ roti.

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Layered Lentil Rice with Curry

I found this wonderful cook book in the public library 'Indian, delicious authentic dishes'. The authors are Shehzad Hussain & Rafi Fernandez. This book has a large variety of dishes (Indian & Pakistani) with good illustrations.
After going thru (read, drooling over) all the vegetarian recipes, I finally picked one to make for dinner. I had all the ingredients on hand and time as well .... you see I drooled over the recipes all afternoon, so by early evening, I was all set to make this dish!
Firstly, making this dish does take up a bit of time, but the end result is the hubby rubbing his tummy and declaring it as"FANTASTICALLY YUMMY !"

Second... it cleared up a misconception I had. Now all these years I was under the impression that Bohri cuisine is 'only' non-veg. I had heard some of my friends wax eloquent on this particular cuisine, but being a vegetarian, it was all lost on me.Thirdly, I am firmly convinced, boy, these people can really cook!

I am reproducing the recipe as I got it, infact, quoting from the book ......
"Bohri Muslims in India have their own special style of cooking and have adapted many of the traditional dishes from other Indian communities.This rice and lentil dish is served with a gourd curry (Dudhi/ Lauki), which is prominently flavoured with Fenugreek and soured with dried mangosteen (kokum), lemon juice however, will provide the same effect."

2/3 cup Channa Daal (Bengal gram)
2 1/2 cups Water
1/2 tsp Turmeric
50 gm. Deep fried onion crushed
3 tbsp. green masala paste (few fresh mint leaves & cilantro leaves chooped & salt to taste)
I left the mint out entirely, I somehow dislike it (mint is toothpaste!! )
1 3/4 cups Basmati rice cooked
2 tbsp. ghee
A little water

FOR THE CURRY
4 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp. Fenugreek (methi dana) seeds
1/2 oz Dried Fenugreek leaves
2 cloves Garlic crushed
1tsp. ground cilantro
1tsp chili pwd. (less for those who prefer it mild)
1lb. Bottle gourd or zucchini, peeled, pith and seed removed, cut in bite size pieces
3/4 cup Tomato juice
6 dried mangosteen or juice of 2 lemons
4 tsp. Besan dissolved in 4-5 tsp water
Salt to taste

Cook rice and keep aside. Boil the bengal gram daal with water until the grains are tender, but not mushy. Drain and reserve the water for the curry. Toss the cooked daal with deep fried onions, green masala paste, chopped mint(opt.), cilantro leaves and salt.
Grease a heavy pan and place a layer of rice at the bottom. Add the daal mixture. Layer with the remaining rice. Place small cubes of butter/ ghee on top, sprinkle with a little water and gently heat until steam gathers in the pan.

To make the Curry:
Heat oil in a pan. Fry the Fenugreek seeds and leaves and garlic , until garlic turns golden brown.
Mix the ground cumin, cilantro and chilli powder with a little water. Add to the pan and simmer until all the water evaporates.
Add all the remaining ingredients and cook until the gourd is soft and transparent. Serve hot with the rice.

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