ALu chi Wadi

One thing that came as a 'bundle' in our home was the dhokla-aLuwadi combination. Whenever my Mother went to Dadar Kabutar Khana area, she would stop over at Saurashtra snack shop and bring home goodies. 

Sometimes kachoris (ping pong ball sized and deep fried, stuffed with a spicy-sweet moong daal filling that left you wanting one more), sometimes jilebi - sticky, orange spirals with a slight tang that were devoured even before she could transfer them to a bowl, but mostly she brought back dhokla and aLuwadi combo.  The spongy square pieces of savory-pillowy  goodness and the slightly spicy 'rolls' of colocassia /taro leaves rolled into a cylinder with a spiced besan paste inside was a treat. 

These were rarely made at home, to my mind, these were complicated things, best left to experts. 

But now, so far away from home, I cannot rely on the Indian store weekend supply of dhokla (sold at a ridiculous price ) or frozen packets or even packaged goodies to re-live those memories. 

Once in a while, we get taro leaves in the store and I try to get them (they are limited in quantity and get sold quickly or they have insect eggs on the back of the leaf and need to be trashed).

One such day I was lucky to get a fresh supply of the leaves and clean ones at that, yay! 

The only hitch was, these leaves were small and I did not get many, just 7-8. 

The longing to eat aLuwadi is a strong one and not easily put away.

But instead of making the roulade, I made 'wadi', squares. 

I found this recipe in Annapurna that I followed.

You need:
7 - 8 Taro / Colocassia/ ALu leaves
Lime sized Tamarind ball or 1 tsp Tamarind Concentrate (I used concentrate)
2 tsp Jaggery crumbled or substitute with dark brown sugar
1 tsp Red chillies powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
6 tbsp Rice Flour
1 Cup Gram Flour / Besan
1/4 cup shredded coconut
Hefty Pinch Asafetida
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
3 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste ( about 1 tsp)

If using tamarind soak it in warm water for about 10-15 mins and extract the pulp and discard solids. If using concentrate, move on to the next step directly.

Wipe the Taro leaves with a moist tissue or napkin. Cut the stem and any tough veins.
Shred the leaves finely.

Mix all the ingredients given above in to a thick-ish batter.
IF you are using tamarind pulp you may not need extra water.
IF you use tamarind concentrate, you need to slowly add water to make the batter.

Grease a container or a 'thali' that can be used in a steamer or pressure cooker and pour the batter into it.
Cover and steam the mixture for about 25-30 mins in the cooker (without the whistle).
Once done, cool and then cut into squares.
Shallow or deep fry as preferred and serve.

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Rewarding Sweetness!

EGG LESS OATMEAL COOKIES

A couple of weeks ago, M and I arrived at a decision, after a lot of dilly-dallying and needless to say, argument. We (read: persuaded by yours truly), decided to enroll our 5 year old for Religion and Language classes at the Hindu Temple.

And so begins our Sunday duty of taking the child to the Temple. I am not a very religious person but childhood conditioning has it's hold on me and I do know my shlokas and aartis. I want my son to know some too. But there is another motive to all this too. Reciting Sanskrit shlokas, I believe help in clarity of speech, specially when speaking the Mother tongue (and hence the language classes too) my son understands every word of Marathi I speak but refuses to reply  in the same language. He shrugs his  small shoulders in a comical way and declares it is too difficult. Humph! Okay! learn it in a class then!

What with school and homework on a daily basis along with other activities, he is one busy kid! There is so much happening around him, he is leaning to read and write ( spelling tests every week!), do math and science and social studies... whew! 

Caught up in all these activities, I sometimes forget how much he is learning and soaking up facts.

Just last week, we were driving back home after classes and I, with all the intention of striking the iron while still hot, blah, blah... started talking about what the 'Auntie' had covered in class, about God being everywhere. He looked thoughtful for a couple of seconds and then replied," like germs are everywhere?"

The husband and I burst out laughing. That's sweetness for you! That's innocence for you! 

Well, sweetness does not go unrewarded. And what better than to reward it with something sweet! I made a batch of egg less Oatmeal cookies that are oh-so-delicious! 

With the start of a new school year, I also made a few new friends. At the school bus stop. Waiting for the school bus ( which is always late, sigh!) has only one positive outcome, we get to know each other just a bit more.

On one such day, my friend, Samata, came armed with these fantastic Oatmeal cookies and oh my God! I wanted the recipe and she, the sweet girl, shared it.

 

These cookies are egg less, they have flax meal and they have oats. These are good! They also helped me to get over my fear of egg less baking. 

The cookies are crunchy and sweet (of course) and a slight tang from the cranberries make them a wonderful treat.  And to top it all, they are easy to make.

You need:

1.5 sticks Butter 

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp Flaxseed powder/ Flaxmeal, blended with 1/4 cup of water 

1 tsp Vanilla 

3/4 cup Flour

1/2 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Cinnamon 

3 cups Oats 

1 cup Cranberries
Preheat the oven at 350 F.

Cream butter and sugar together. 

Blend flax seed with water until foamy.

Add this  and vanilla  to butter.

Sift flour salt baking powder and cinnamon. 

Add dry and wet ingredients. Mix well.

Now add oats and cranberries

Line a tray / cookie sheet with parchment paper

Drop 1 tbsp of the dough, 2 inch apart. Flatten by hand.

Baked for 12-15 mins edges are brown n center is little wet.

Cool on wire rack and store in an airtight container

Enjoy ! 

Have a great weekend folks! 

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Corn Snack ( with peanuts and sesame)- Vaghareli makai

I declare  Migraine Season open. The temps are mounting and stepping out feels like I am stepping into a furnace. Thank god for 24 hr stores, shopping after sundown will be a bit more bearable.

But on the sunny side.... there are mounds of luscious fruit, just waiting to be devoured, sitting comfortably with the air-conditioning humming in the background and books to read are compensation enough. 

What are your favorite summer time activities?

Summer also means a season to picnic (after sundown or on the days rain is predicted, for me). And picnic means food (like I need a reason! ) 

My friends and I planned a small picnic for the Fourth of July. There are plenty of parks and lakes around where I live and though it was crowded we found  a nice spot and opened our chairs and laid out a groundsheet and piled the food and water and juice there and enjoyed our evening.

The kids had fun splashing in the lake and playing Frisbee (and not quite catching it) and as the time for fireworks drew closer, we  sat down for our favorite activity, eating.

As with a picnic, we had a lot of snack-y food, sandwiches , Vada-paav, paneer pulav and I took along this corn snack. 

It is a breeze to make and great for picnic food. 

The recipe is adapted from Prashad by Kaushy Patel.  This book is a treasure. I am so glad and really, really lucky to have won it! 

A vegetarian cookbook featuring Gujarati cuisine as well as many popular North Indian curries. A wonderful selection of recipes in every section ( appetizer, mains, desserts etc) and with simple to follow instructions.  

Many recipes are vegan (or can be made vegan) and are also labelled, nut-free, wheat free or onion and garlic free etc. 

The book however has measurements in grams and those who are not used to the metric system may have to puzzle it out! 

2-3 Tbsp Oil (the author recommends Sunflower, but I used Canola)

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

1/4 tsp Asafetida

2 tins Corn Kernels ( I used one small packet of frozen corn- rinsed under tap water and microwaved for 1 minute- this is optional)

1/3 cup raw, unsalted Peanuts (coarsely chop)

1/2 tsp Salt

2 handfuls Fresh, finely chopped Cilantro

2 tsp. Sesame seeds

Sev

1 lemon quartered

Grind to a paste:

3 Green chilies ( less if you want mild taste or for children)

2 cloves Garlic

2 cm Ginger piece

Pinch Salt

Make the spice paste.

Heat oil in a wok / kadhai over medium high and add mustard seeds. After the seeds pop, add asafetida and corn. Combine well, raise the heat to high and stir fry for a minute.

Add turmeric and the masala paste and mix well to combine and cook for  30-40 seconds, add the peanuts, cilantro, salt and sesame seeds.  Reduce heat to medium and cook the mixture for  3-4 minutes, uncovered.

Remove from heat, check seasoning, add salt if needed. If not, cover and let it rest for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle.

Serve with a sprinkling of sev and keep a lemon wedge on the side.

NOTES:

I used roasted unsalted peanuts as I seldom have unroasted peanuts at home.

I skipped sev when I made this the first time and we liked it even without!

M wants me to try it without garlic the next time I make some. It will make a nice variation.

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