Gojju Rice

On most days I look into the fridge and then plan what I would like to cook. Then there are days when I am expecting friends, when I plan what I want to cook. Yes, that is the way I operate. Works well for me.

And then I made an acquaintance who, how shall I put it mildly (?), is HIGHLY opinionated. I got lectured on how to take care of my baby, another friend's 5 year old got pinched on his arm (yes, pinched) and then said, "hurts doesn't it? see... that's how it hurts Mommy's heart when you are mischievous", and we all got lectured on how to plan menus in advance, for everyday cooking or when entertaining.

Plan menus for weeks in advance??? Heck, I don't know which pair of un... socks I will wear tomorrow! I left with my ears buzzing and a headache bordering on a migraine.

The only time I plan what to cook is on Sunday mornings, when the hubby travels to go to work and usually will carry his dinner as he reaches his hotel room rather late. Nothing too elaborate and double the amount, he says, so you can keep half and eat when you want, specially when an active 1 year old is running around!

Rice comes in handy on such occasions, tough I have cut down to eating rice in small quantities and only on weekends

I found this recipe scribbled on a notepad, copied long ago, nearly 1 1/2 year ago from a Maharashtrian cookbook, 'Hamkhass Pakasiddhi' and finally tried it!

2 Cups Rice

1/2 cup Tamarind Pulp( I used 1 tsp Tamarind concentrate)

1/2 Tsp Red Chili Pwd.

1 Tsp Sambar Masala

1 tsp Urid & Chana daal EACH

1/4 cup Peanuts and Cashews pieces

12-14 Curry leaves

1/2 cup Sesame powder ( roast sesame and powder)

Jaggery and Salt to taste

1 tsp Mustard seeds

2 hefty pinches Asafetida

1/2 tsp Turmeric

5-6 Dry Red Chilies (+/- to taste)

2 tbs Oil

Cook rice ( separate grains) and cool.

Heat oil in a kadhai /wok, add mustard seeds, after they pop , add asafetida, turmeric , red chili and curry leaves

Ad tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery and boil

Add red chili powder, sambar powder, sesame powder and let the entire mixture boil

Cool the above mix and add the rice

Heat oil, add urid daal, chana daal peanuts and cashew pieces, add this to the rice, mix well and serve

This rice is served cold and makes it ideal for lunch boxes

* Feel free to add all spices , nuts and cashews , daals in the 'tadka'/ seasoning, saves time! In my humble opinion, this recipe can easily be made with or without exact measures, the 'andaz' ( guess) works just as well, just be careful with the tamarind.

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Payasam and Nupur's Indian Vegetarian 100

Couple of weeks ago I celebrated my son's 11th. month birthday and as is oft repeated, time sure flies! From a soft and 'pliable' helpless new born, he is now an active toddler, walking everywhere in a typical baby gait, flinging food everywhere, pointing to things and making demands, sometimes showering me with sloppy-sloppy kisses! What more can I ask for!!!!

And so to celebrate my little man I made Payasam. He had just a tiny spoonful of it ( we are going VERY slow on introducing sugar and salt in his diet) he enjoyed it and kept pointing and asking for more.

Payasam needs no introduction, it is a sweet preparation that comes together without too much effort and everyone (my guess) makes it! In my home, 'shevaya chi kheer' was made more often and payasam to me was strictly 'madrasi' (No, back then, I did not know how Tamil cuisine was different from that of Andhra Pradesh or Kerala) and I would gladly accept an invitation to a 'madrasi' wedding knowing that the yummy food would surely have payasam on the menu.

This is a simple and easy to make dessert , can be made ahead of time and served chilled or warm.

You need:

Source : Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan

12 cups Milk

1/4 cup Rice ( long grained, I used Basmati)

1/2 cup sugar

6-8 Cardamoms, crushed

1 tsp Saffron

1/2 cup milk (extra)

Wash rice thoroughly. Place the milk and rice in a heavy saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring continuously.

Keep stirring and simmer until the milk reduces to half its original quantity.

Add sugar and crushed cardamoms

Dissolve the saffron in 1/2 cup warm milk and add it to the payasam.

Sir thoroughly.

Serve warm or chilled.

And now we move on to Nupur's Indian Vegetarian 100 list

Your challenge, should you take up this meme is to:

• Copy the entire list, along with these instructions, into your blog post
• Bold the foods that you have tried
• Strike out the foods you would never try
• Tell us your score in the comments :)
• If you wish to, make your own list or add to this one

Nupur's Indian Vegetarian 100

1. Ripe mangoes
2. Curd rice
3. Chaat
4. Phulka
5. Puran poli
6. Boiled peanuts
7. Samosa
8. Stuffed baby eggplants The masala/ stuffing I will eat, NOT the eggplant
9. Aviyal
10. Stuffed paratha
11. Masala chai
12. Tirphal
13. Murukku
14. Curry leaves
15. Banana chips fried in coconut oil
16. Jaggery
17. Vada pav
18. Tender coconut water
19. Paneer
20. Madras filter coffee
21. Boondi laddoo
22. Boondi raita
23. Navratan korma
24. Kokum
25. Masala peanuts
26. A home-cooked Indian vegetarian meal
27. Sugarcane juice
28. Sabudana/sago in any form
29. Horsegram
30. Maggi noodles
31. Podi with rice and ghee
32. Roomali roti
33. Bitter gourd
34. Nylon sev
35. Vegetable biryani
36. Thali at a restaurant
37. Plantain flower
38. Undhiyu
39. Nimbu pani
40. Papad
41. Kotthu parotta (minus egg, I will try!)
42. Panch phoran
43. Drumsticks
44. Indian "French toast"
45. Sarson ka saag
46. Bhakri
47. Pav bhaji
48. Sitaphal
49. Glucose biscuits
50. Sprouts
51. Chole-bhature
52. Amla
53. Tomato "omelet"
54. A wedding feast
55. Grilled corn on the cob with lemon juice, salt and chilli powder
56. Cadbury's fruit and nut chocolate
57. Sai bhaji
58. Solkadi
59. Indian-Chinese meal
60. Jalebi
61. Black forest cake
62. Bharwa bhindi
63. Kashmiri saffron
64. Misal
65. Ripe jackfruit
66. Idli-chutney
67. 'Tadgola'
68. Bhut jolokia
69. Baby mango pickle
70. Meal off a banana leaf
71. Falooda
72. Moong khichdi
73. Bebinca
74. Daal baati
75. Methi greens
76. Basundi
77. Gunpowder
78. Appam-stew
79. Sweet lemon pickle
80. Ridge gourd
81. Bisi bele bhath
82. Coconut burfi
83. Caramel custard
84. Thecha
85. Rasam
86. Baingan bharta
87. Mysore pak
88. Punjabi wadi
89. Chhunda
90. Dal makhani
91. Paper dosa
92. Gongura
93. Hand-churned butter
94. Pakoda
95. Curd chillies
96. Mustard oil
97. Fresh cashews
98. Tomato pickle
99. Rajma-chawal
100. Chaas

My Score 91%

I am not sure about Triphal ( there is something similar in Ayurveda and I may be confusing it with the one mentioned above) and I am pretty sure I have tasted Sai Bhaji, but as of today do not recollect the taste and so I shall leave it for a 'must try'.

So what is your score?

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Weekend fun with a QUICK Jam (?)

The temperatures here are high,2 weeks ago, we hit 93 F and left me drained out and listless, but this week we are back in the low 60's.. hows that for unpredictable behaviour!! 

In between these varying temperatures we decided to make  a small one day picnic to Carlsbad Flower Fields. 

It was a much needed break and to our joy, little S LOVED the flowers!! And what's more he

LOOOOVED the strawberry shortcake  (takes after his Mommy, he does, Bless him!) we had outside the fields and M and I must have set a new record at eating swallowing our shortcake!!

 Thus satiated, we made our next stop, at the adjoining Strawberry fields! 

This was my very first time picking strawberries and needless to say, I enjoyed it!         

At home sorting thru the bounty, we found some soft ones, no doubt due to travel. Now my MIL is handy with small tips and suggested we use the soft ones to make 'jam'. For a moment I was thrilled, but then, I realised and told her, I had no pectin, no know-how.  She merely smiled and said "pectin-shectin... we never knew these in our time, let's take what you, young people , would call a shortcut, and  there aren't THAT many soft strawberries."  True! lets get started then! 

We used 

1 Cup chopped / crushed Strawberries ( wash thoroughly, hull and chop)

1 Cup Sugar

1/2 tsp Lemon juice ( we skipped this)

Wash and sterilise a jar that you plan on storing the jam in. Dry thoroughly and keep aside.

In a non-reactive pan/ kadhai combine the crushed/chopped strawberries, sugar and lemon juice (if using) and cook over med-high heat until soft and the mixture comes together, stirring often and skimming off the froth on top. This requires a lot of patience, it takes a long..long time for  the whole thing to come together. I did not time it, I left the jam simmering on the stove top and in the mean time fed the baby, cleaned up etc. etc.

Store in the sterilised jar and refrigerate. Use a clean, dry spoon every time.

We made a second batch of jam and this time round I used my 'puran yantra' to mush the strawberries. I found an image thru Google search (and saved myself the effort of clicking that additional picture) 

Puran Yantra

The other proportions remaining the same adding just a few drops of lemon juice, which I felt was unnecessary.

The only difference in the batches were, the jam was 'smooth' as compared to the first version after getting pureed in the 'puran-yantra' but all hopes of it being seedless were dashed. The seeds remained intact.

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Marwari Vegetable

My Mother decided I had moped around the house long enough in my vacations and it was high time I did something constructive. Lazing around, reading books and when all was done complaining "kantalla ala mala  ( I am so bored -in Marathi), there's nothing to do around here , my life is a waste", was getting on her nerves. Summer holidays were a trial, too hot to go out, I had stopped going out to play ( in my teens then , I shunned my childhood games of lappa-chappi, aba-duubi, lagori, badminton  with an imaginary net) many of my friends had gone to their native places to enjoy holidays.

So having discussed all these problems with her 'train group', one 'auntie' suggested that  Mom should send me to some classes, to learn something that will be useful 'later'. And she very luckily had the solution she exclaimed! Send her to SNDT, Kings Circle, they have cooking classes there and she will learn to cook different things. "Girls need to know these things, otherwise the Mother gets blamed , you know!"

My Mother hurried off to SNDT and enrolled me in their class. I was aghast! Cooking? Learn cooking ? In the holidays? Didn't she see I had NO time? Uh-oh! Trapped in my own words, I had no option but to go.

I wondered if all other girls there were tortured souls , sent for punishment.. but most of  them looked happy to be there. I felt lost, they all spoke in Gujarati and I only understood some of it, it appeared they knew each other and shared that one goal in life, 'learn to cook saras food'. I learnt what I could and hurried home with a handful of recipe papers stapled together. Done! Shoved the papers aside and went to some other forms of occupying my mind.

All those years my Mother kept my papers safe and the last time she visited me, handed them over! This time I was happy and grateful, it was so thoughtful of her to bring them back !!

Browsing thru the recipes I recalled this Marwari vegetable which I had liked then and  one trip to Albertsons and I had what I needed!

I used :

2 cups Butternut Squash (peeled and cubed) - the original recipe calls for Pumpkin

1 cup cubed Potato

1 Green Chile (+/- to taste)

1 inch piece Ginger , grated

1/4 tsp Fenugreek seeds

2-3 Cloves

1 Bay leaf

1 small piece Cinnamon stick

1tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Asafetida

2 tbsp. Ghee (clarified butter)

3-4 Black Pepper

1/2 tsp Coriander seeds

little less than 1/2 tbs Garam Masala

Lemon Juice

1/4 tsp Red Chile powder

1/2 tsp Turmeric pwd

Salt to taste

Wash, peel and cube the squash and potato.

Slice the green chile and grate or thinly slice the ginger.

Heat the ghee in a wok/ kadhai , add bay leaf, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon, cloves, pepper and coriander seeds.

When the above sizzle, add ginger and green chile

Add the potato and squash and just enough water to cook

Add turmeric, asafetida and red chile powder

Mix thoroughly, cover and cook

When cooked add Garam Masala, cook for a minute or two

Switch off the heat and add lemon juice and mix

Serve hot with fulkas (tastes best with puris)

* Note: This vegetable is supposed to be hot, but I have used only 1 chile as heat comes thru the whole spices( clove, cinnamon , pepper) which I have also used in moderation.  

The red chile powder is optional. 

We prefer small amount of Garam masala in our vegetables ( I have used Rajwadi Garam Masala) and therefore use it sparingly.

The second time I made this I used some of the Gujarati garam Masala dear Trupti sent me, it adds a wonderful flavor to the vegetable!

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Bell Pepper Poriyal

There is something about a meal which is so incomplete without  the usual vegetables! Not to mention the fact that I get peckish real quickly without  my veges.!  a far cry from the  time when I needed nothing but rice and daal/yogurt, I practically lived in carb heaven! 

Last week (when I started this post) the crisper was almost empty save for a lone carrot and some bell peppers. I was in no mood to step out to to the nearby grocery store to  get anything.... 

Dakshin once again came to my rescue!  I had an assortment of bell peppers and  the family did not want the usual varieties  of bell pepper subzi or the usual red bell pepper chutney.

Using yogurt to marinate peppers was a first for me as was trying Curry Powder. The flavors blend in very well and  make this one interesting side dish. The red bell peppers lend a very mild sweetish taste. It also is very simple to make and more importantly, does not take too much time ( that is  if you have some curry powder handy).

One thing to note is NEVER use sour yogurt, quite spoils the  whole thing.

So you need:

1 lb Sweet Peppers ( I used green and red)

2 tbsp. Plain Yogurt

2 tbs Water

Salt to taste

2 tsp. Curry powder (recipe below)

For Tempering:

3 tbs Oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds and Cumin seeds EACH

1/2 tsp Asafetida

a few curry leaves

Chop the peppers into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a bowl, add the 2 tbsp. yogurt and smear over the pepper and set aside for about 10 mins.

Heat  3 t oil in a heavy pan, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafetida and a few curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds sputter, add the chopped pepper, 2 tbs water and salt to taste. 

Cover the saucepan and cook till tender.

Sprinkle the curry powder, stir thoroughly and cook for a few mins.

Serve hot.

Curry Powder /  Podi

1 1/4 cups Coriander seeds

3/4 cup Chana Daal

1/2 cup Urad daal

3 tsp Oil

3/4 cup Red chiles

2 tsp Asafetida

Marble size Tamarind pulp

Salt to taste

 

In a heavy sauce pan Dry roast corander seeds, chana daal and Urad daal fro about 5 mins.

heat 3 t oil in a heavy pan/ skillet, add red chiles and  saute for 2-3 mins

Place all ingredients in an electric blender including asafetida powder, tamarind pulp and salt. Blend to a fine powder.

Store in an airtight container and use as required

*I did not use tamarind pulp, instead used whole tamarind making sure there were no strands or seeds before I ground the whole mix to a fine powder in the coffee mill.

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Pattani Sadham ( Green Peas Rice)

This is one recipe which was  lying in my draft folder for the longest time ever.. almost or even over a year! I first picked a copy of Dakshin from the local library. Made a few recipes and then due to dietary restrictions during pregnancy cut down on a lot of stuff. Amidst all this ,  the draft lay neglected. Later when I went to the library to pick up the threads again, the book was gone..as in pinched! 

The only reason I did not buy the book was because it was so easily available, well, now it was gone (somebody pinched it) and the draft folder kept rearing its head at me. and so it came about that I ordered my copy and the recipe now makes it to the publishing stage!  

Like most of Chandra Padmanabhan's recipes, this one also involves detailed steps and preparing fresh  spice powder/ masala. The procedure looks long, but once the spice powder is ready, it's easy.

And now without any rambling I will post this.. it has taken me 3 full days just to type the recipe, what with little S crawling everywhere, and going up the stairs on all fours and flattening the laptop screen at every given opportunity and then plucking the keys out, it is a wonder that I can even use the laptop anymore!!!

You need:

1 cup Rice (I used Basmati)

1 cup Green Peas  ( I used frozen)

1 small Potato , peeled and chopped

2 small Eggplants finely chopped  ( I did not use any)

1 Bell Pepper finely chopped

1 tsp. Turmeric

Salt to taste

For the Spice powder:

2 tsp Oil

3 tbsp Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp Asafetida

2 tbsp Urad daal

3 tbsp Channa Daal

5 dry Red chiles

marble sized piece of Tamarind

Tempering:

3 tbs Oil

2 tsp brown Mustard seeds

1 tsp Urad and Channa Daal EACH

1 Red chile halved

few Curry Leaves

Cook the rice and set aside.

Make the spice powder: Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Add coriander seeds, asafetida powder,  urad daal and channa daal and red chiles. Saute for 2-3 mins. place in a blender/ food processor. Add tamarind pulp and  blend to a fine powder. I blended the dry spices in my coffee mill and added the pulp later.

TEMPERING:

Heat oil in a heavy saucepan . Add mustard seeds, daals, red chile and curry leaves. 

When the mustard seeds sputter, add the vegetables. Cook over a low heat, adding water if necessary. Add the spice powder, turmeric and salt to taste. Saute for a couple of mins. Add rice, mix well.

Serve hot.

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Some memories and a mixed up Paratha

A decade ago, when I was young and innocent (I hear you tittering..) well, more innocent than I am now and when the world was Bombay / Mumbai and Hindi, the National Language, was (and still is , I believe) , " aneka, janeka, khaneka , pineyka, bOmb (as in shout out loud) nai marneka.." See what I mean here. I met a strange girl. Short and skinny. Haughty to the last drop and with a fringe on her forehead into which her eyebrows would disappear when she disapproved or was surprised, which was often. She was a Delhiite, no doubt about it!

Then one day something happened to melt that reserve..

Yep, that is the reason!! His name is Pittu Kulkarni !! He is 16 years old and SUPER cute! Occasionally Pittu would accompany me to college, he loves a ride in the car and when in the mood would perch on my shoulder and come with me. On these days my Mom came with me to bring him back home and the driver would tag along to drive them back.

As usual, a flock of gawking admirers would collect about him and he would , basking in the admiration, showoff , make noises, call me, yell for my Mom, ask for food, wave and say good-night and good morning, and his favourite, go off into a hysterical cackle!!! One day that girl also joined the throng outside the college and stared... eyes wide with wonder and eyebrows that had long disappeared into that fringe. Slowly she walked up, curious , wondering if the bird was real or a stuffed one, and was it the bird talking or was it the girl mimicking? Pittu on looking at her showed off some more and she smiled. After that we (Lisa is her name) became friends and later BESTEST friends.

She always  raised her eyebrows at my Bambaiyya Hindi.. Perhaps a  "aarey yaar, tereko  maloom hoyenga na woh rasta??  or " chal apan na uus baju se jate hain"  was  murder of the language, if you call it a language!! 

Someone sent me an email a few days ago, reading it I felt all Bambaiyya and remembered all those incidents 

You know you are from Mumbai when.....

Stock market quotes are the only other thing besides cricket which you follow passionately.

You take fashion seriously.

You spend more time travelling than you send at home. 9:47 fast, means something to you.

You think that Delhi copied INDIA GATE from Mumbai's GATEWAY OF INDIA...

You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.

You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.

Amitabh Bachan's house is a landmark

When there's no place to breathe in the trains but there's place to play cards and sing bhajans!

You refer to the city as Mumbai and not Bombay .

You say that Pani Puri is waaaaaaay better than Gol Gappa's even when they're the same thing

Every three months you look at your street and say 'Why're the digging the road again?'

You actually pay for your rickshaws by the meter.

You know what the term 'video coach' stands for in the local trains...

'Gheun Tak' is your life ideology.

You aren't surprised when somebody throws a water balloon at you while you're walking on the streets during March.

You can only smile forgivingly about the size of any other city in the world.

Every time you speak Hindi in front of a Delhitite they have the WTF expression on their face.

When while giving directions you say 'Right MARO aur wahan pe ek bridge GIREGA'

You have hung on to dear life at the local door.

When you think everyone who lives to the south(Mumbai) of you is a snob and to the north of you sucks

When u see movie names like 'shootout at Lokhandwala' & 'Ek chalis ki last local' & don't have to ask what the name means

You consider the local train 'empty' when you find a spot for your two feet to stand on.

When 'chalta hai' is the most commonly used word

Everything to the north of Mumbai is UP-Bihar and everything below is Madras

If someone calls u 'aap'-- u start laughing on their faces...

When you call the BEST bus, BST, even though BEST is painted on every single public transport bus operational in Bombay

It takes longer to get off from your house to the station than from one end of Mumbai to another by train.

Being truly alone makes you nervous. Crorepati, Lakhpati, Hazarpati, Chillarpati all travel in local Trains daily-together!

You have learnt how to stand in a queue u treat Mumbai as a country itself when you actually see random people coming to help you

When u have a problem u want to get into the train already that is already in motion & u have 5 hands taking u in..

You are back to work next day after the city is bombed - Truly the spirit of Mumbai

When you allow complete strangers to spend the night in your house because its raining outside and half the city is submerged...

And now coming to the recipe!!! I was always a fan of Parathas and  fell deeply in love with them after my first visit to Lisa's home in Delhi! One one occasion I rolled out 'nice fulka like paper-thin parathas(??)' which was something I always remember with a chuckle!! 

At times I  take shortcuts as I did with this one and  also used up leftovers !! 

I tried these Wraps and had some tofu and beans and spinach left over. 

I am copy pasting the  recipe for the  Tofu marinade and the  Beans - Spinach vegetable, but for the original recipe, step by step instructions and spectacular pictures to make the wraps please  visit Suganya's blog – 1 cup

Marinade

Coconut milk – 1 cup
Grated ginger – 1 tsp
Grated garlic – 1 tsp
Green chillies – 2, minced
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Garam masala – 2 tsp
Sugar – ½ tsp
Salt

Tofu – 1 lb, cut into 6 pieces ( I used medium- firm)
Juice of a lemon

Sautéed Greens

Any greens like chard, spinach, or kale – 1 cup, chopped (I used Spinach)
Onion – 1 small, diced
Tomato – 1 small, diced
Cooked beans like black, pinto, or black-eyed peas – ½ cup (optional) (I used Pinto)
Red chilli powder – 1 tsp
Salt
Oil

Mix all the ingredients for the marinade and pour over tofu pieces. Let stand for at least 1 hour or overnight. Line a broiler-safe dish with foil. Drain tofu from the marinade and lay them in a single row. Reserve the marinade. Broil until the top of tofu develops brown spots and becomes blistered. Flip and broil the other side until brown spots appear. Let tofu rest for 5 minutes and cut into cubes. Coat the cubes in lemon juice and set aside.

Sauté onions, tomato, and greens until the greens are wilted. Add cooked beans, season with red chilli powder and salt.

While I enjoyed the wraps, I was not too keen on eating them the next day, so all I did was:

Used the mashed marinated Tofu
Mashed the beans and spinach mixture
Added salt, a hefty pinch Turmeric, 1/2 tsp (approx) red chile pwd. ,
1/2 tsp each cumin and coriander powder and a dash of lime juice.
To this mixture I added Wheat Flour and made a soft Dough.
Cover and let the dough rest for 20-30 mins.
Heat a tawah ,roll Parathas. Shallow fry with a bit of ghee /oil.
Serve hot with ketchup or pickle!

*the Wheat flour was  not measured, I used my judgement and  added only as much  as needed to yield a soft pliable dough.

These make a good quick meal, ideal for lunch boxes and are very healthy too!  The Tofu- Beans  combinaton  (I guess) make the parathas soft.

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Herbed Rice with Julienne Potatoes- Aloo Pulao

On a recent visit to the library to return movies and books ( and paying a fine for late returns) I picked up a cook book. The main library has quite a good collection of Indian cook books. That may be because there is a lot of desi population here.
Every time I step into the Indian store it is interesting to see that many non-Indians enjoying our cuisine and some even with little chits of paper, buying ingredients neatly listed.
Back to my list now! This weekend my in-laws will join us.This is their first visit to us and indeed to the USA. Things finally fell in place with their VISA and the ticket and now they are very eager to meet their Grandson! I am eager to meet them and at the same time a bit nervous.. I was a newly wed 3 years ago and stayed with them very briefly. There wasn't enough time to get to know each other and hardly any to note their likes and dislikes in re food.
Aah! here is where the hubby steps in, did you say? Naah! he has been away from home for job and projects for nearly a decade and isn't that well up in the home department. All he can guide me is, " they don't eat onion- garlic..rest, umm... dunno, you ask them"
No onion - Garlic, this opened up a new line of thought. So far I never really gave it so much thought, chopping an onion here, mincing a bit of garlic there.. you know how it is. There are dishes I make without these, but in my already nervous state of mind, I drew a blank. So I feverishly scanned the cookbook section in the library and found this and knew I had found a good thing!
Hare Krsna cuisine is famous as is their philosophy .
The recipes use simple everyday ingredients found in almost all pantries and very few which need a visit to the Indian store.
Since rice is a staple on our dining table, I tried this recipe and the resultant taste was this amazing flavorful rice that can be eaten on its own or paired with a simple raita for an enjoyable lunch or dinner.
I cannot wait to try out some more of these superb recipes!!

Recipe source here

Serves 4

1 cup Basmati Rice
2 medium size Potatoes
1 1/2 tbs, finely shredded or minced fresh Ginger
2 tsp Finely minced Green Chilies (+/- as per taste)
1/4 cup fresh grated or shredded dry coconut, lightly packed
2 tbs chopped Cilantro
3 tbs Plain Yogurt
3 tbs Peanut Oil or ghee
6 cloves /Lavang
1 1/4 inch Cinnamon stick
1 small Bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2cup Fresh or frozen Peas
1 tsp Salt
3/4tsp Turmeric
1 tsp fresh Lemon or Lime juice
2- 2 1/4cups Water
1 tsp raw Sugar
1 tbs Butter or ghee
lemon wedges for garnish

Clean, wash, soak and drain rice.

Wash, peel and cut the potatoes in julienne strips, 1 1/2 inch long and 1/2 inch wide

Combine the ginger, cilantro, green chilies, coconut and yogurt in a bowl. Mix well. Drop in the potato strips . Stir to coat and allow them to marinate and in the meantime prepare the seasoning

Heat oil /ghee in a heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium high heat. Add cloves, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and cumin. Fry until Cumin seeds brown. Add marinated potatoes and stir-fry until light brown

*Add the rice, fresh peas, salt,turmeric, lemon or lime juice, water and sugar. Stir and quickly bring to a full boil. If using frozen and defrosted peas,add them to the rice about 5 mins. before the end of cooking

Reduce the heat to low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Simmer gently without stirring for 20-25 mins. or until the rice is tender and fluffy and all the liquid is absorbed

Remove the lid, turn off the heat and add 1 tbs ghee or butter, cover and let the rice sit for 5 mins.

Serve hot with lemon wedges.

*I usually do not cook rice on the stove top, at this stage I simply poured all the ingredients in my electric rice cooker and set it to cook on its own

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HAPPY NEW YEAR

We just got back from a short and much needed holiday. A perfect way to end the old year and ring in the new one! 

We saw this  bright duck  bobbing on the water and were captivated by  it's vibrant  colors and the peaceful expression. 

That's what I'd want for everyone I know, a calm and peaceful new year!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU!!

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Pearl Coucous with tomatoes

It has taken me forever to come back to blogging!Oh how I have missed this part of my life!
Couscous has long been on my list of 'must try' and the box just stood a silent sentinel on the shelf.. days passed on to weeks and weeks to months but there was no change of status.
Finally today, tired of eating the same old stuff and the urge to blog made me pick up the box and rattled the contents ( much to the amusement of Little S).. and after a game of 'shakey-shakey.. box-box' to which the little tyke roared uproariously, I got down to the prep.
I adapted the recipe from Suvir Saran's American Masala

You need : ( serves 4-6)

2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Dry Red Chile
1/2 Cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp ground Peppercorns
2 med. Red Onions thinly sliced
2 tsp kosher Salt ( I used regular salt)
3 med. Tomatoes chopped
1 large cup Pearl Couscous
4 cups Water
1 tsp unsalted butter

Heat Oil with chile, cinnamon and peppercorn (ground) in a large skillet on med-high heat until the cinnamon starts to unfurl. Add onions and salt and cook, stirring often until onions are soft. Add tomatoes and cook until thick and jammy.

Stir in couscous and cook for a minute. Add 1 cup water, once the water comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium. Cook until couscous sticks to the bottom of the skillet and water is absorbed, stirring occasionally and scraping the bottom of the skillet back and forth.

Add another cup of water and cook until water is absorbed, still stirring and scraping the pan.

Add another cup of water and cook until water is absorbed , stirring occasionally.

Add 1 more cup of water and cook until couscous is very sticky, stirring and scraping for about 10 mins.

Turn heat to lowest setting and Cook for 2 mins.

Cover the skillet and turn off the heat, let it sit for 5 mins. before serving.

I did not see where the unsalted butter was used....

Saran says :

Made in Rissotto style (sometimes called Israeli couscous) has a great toothsome pastalike quality is creamy and outrageously tasty. It is an excellent side dish or can even be served on its own with some Parmigiano -Reggiano cheese, some broiled shrimp or pan- seared scallops. For even more depth of flavor use vegetable broth or chicken or beef broth instead of water.

When I had the first morsel, I was not too sure I agreed with Saran about the 'outrageously tasty' claim. 'It's OK' was my reaction. But perhaps I am being too hasty, another small voice whispered in my ear.. and after the first few tentative bites I found myself liking it very much indeed ( ummm.. still not outrageously tasty, imho..). It takes time to get used to I suppose.. or maybe it is just my taste buds 'murdered by masalas' as M puts it. The simplicity and minimal use of spices always surprises me and I have now come to appreciate it!

The year is almost at an end and 'how time flies' is something I keep contemplating! This time last year... thoughts keep coming into my head.. this time last year I had entered my 2nd. Trimester and today.. today my little baby is already 6 months old! This time last year, I felt the littlest tug in my tummy, today, he TUGS my hair.. tugs my mangalsutra, tugs my shirt...

It has been a GRAND year and despite some downs, I look back on it with great satisfaction, happy and grateful for my treasure, my Boy!!

Hope to see you all soon,hopefully before the year ends!

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Simple Pleasures :Lal Bhoplyachi Rassa Bhaaji

Hope you all had a Rocking Diwali!! So???? Did you all gorge on goodies? Deep fried, soul satisfying, crunchy-munchy stuff?? I know I did ! This year I teamed up with a couple of my friends and we made our lot of goodies together. This made it easier for me, we could keep a watch on the children and have a good time cooking, laughing and gossiping too.


But now, simple food is on my list.. I haven't really cooked a vast deal and somehow a kind of inertia has gripped me, I open my drafts folder, type a sentence and log out. Maybe it is because I am totally tied up with Little S and have little time for myself, specially since the husband works away from home and is here only for the weekend.
A simple Sambar- Rice with a side of this vegetable or something similar is on the menu when M comes home and a quick sandwich and I am done when I am on my own!

The other day I picked up a neatly cut and cored piece of Butternut Squash and came home with the intention of making one of my childhood fvourites.
Of course, back home this is made with pumpkin, but the pumpkins here are not my cuppa, I doubt if I will ever be able to chop them, so , b'nut squash is my choice.
usually made during fasting (upvaas) days, this mild vegetable is a great accompaniment to sabudana khichadi or Vari rice, but I also like it with a phulka or plain daal-rice.

I make this so often that I use andaaz, so the measures are guesstimates.

You need:

~ 2 cups of Butternut squash (peeled, cored & cubed)

1 Thai chile

1/2 tsp Cumin / Jeera seeds

2 tbs. Oil / ghee

1/2 cup powdered peanuts or Peanut butter to save time ( I used creamy peanut butter)

1 tsp Tamarind concentrate or Soak a walnut size ball of tamarind in warm water and extract the pulp.

1 lump Jaggery

Salt to taste

Cilantro to garnish

Water

Heat oil or ghee in a wok, add the cumin seeds. After they sizzle, add the chile.

Add the cubed butternut squash. Mix well, Add about 1/2 cup or less of water , cover and cook till tender ( should not be mushy).

Once the squash is tender, add in some more water ( this depends on the thickness of the gravy you want) , add the tamarind and jaggery, salt and the peanut powder /butter.

Let the whole thing come to a boil. Switch off the heat and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with rice, phulka, vari rice or sabudana khichadi.

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Tomato Chutney and Adai

My hands were itching to try this chutney! Tangy tomatoes with simple spices .. what's not to love? When I land a cookbook, I cannot rest until I have tried all those recipes that catch my fancy. What happens then, is, those recipes feature on the blog in a line!

As a child I knew of only one green chutney was the one my Mom made by grinding together coconut, green chiles, cilantro, ginger, cumin with a dash of lime juice and sugar and salt. This tasty chutney was a base for our sandwiches, to be mixed with dahi-rice, to be enjoyed with poha, upma, wada... and therefore, tomato = koshimbir or gravy or in a sandwich. The imagination did not go far beyond that!
My first taste of a Tomato chutney was about 6 years ago when a South Indian colleague had brought this in his lunch box and his Mom had given a generous helping of both dosas and chutney ( this was for our mid- night or 3:00 am snack after our shift at the call center) knowing fully well how much we appreciated it!

1/4 cup Canola Oil ( I used about 3 tbs)
36 Curry leaves torn
2 tsp Cumin seeds
2 tsp Mustard Seeds
12 Dry Red Chiles
1/2 tsp Turmeric
3 1/2 lbs ( about 6-7) Tomatoes , cored and chopped
1 (4.4 oz) tube Double concentrate Tomato Paste or 1 (9oz) Can Tomato Paste
2 tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper ( I used about 2 tsp)
1 tsp Sambar / Rasam pwd. or 1/2 tsp Curry pwd. ( I used 2 -3 tsp Sambar pwd.)

Heat Oil with curry leaves, mustard , cumin and chiles in a large kadhai /wok over medium-high heat until the cumin has browned.
Add Turmeric and cook until the chiles darken
Add remaining ingredients and cook for 10 mins. stirring occasionally and pressing the tomatoes on the sides of the wok to mash them if they do not break on their own.
Reduce heat to Medium and cook till the chutney is thick and jammy stirring often for another 25-30 mins.
(if you are using hard winter tomatoes cooking time is reduced)
Taste for seasoning , transfer to a plastic container and refrigerate for up to 1 week.

I made changes to the spice proportion, I prefer my chutneys with a slight kick.


I paired this fab chutney with this Golden Delicious Adai for a lip-smacking combo. I love adai, it is so convenient to make! No fermentation! And So very crisp! The perfect solution for winter when the batter takes forever to rise.

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T & T - Baby Corn Manchurian

It's that time of the month!!! Oh, C'mon... You know what I mean! It's time to Try and Taste!!!
Zlamushka has a wonderful blog up for the test! Sia churns out awesome food and warm stories about food and life.

She LOOOOOOOOVES Indo-Chinese food! So do I!

I mean, what's not to love? It's hot, spicy, tangy, everything that the spice loving Indian wants. 'Real' Chinese Food on the other hand, for us ( who want food that tickles the tongue or I can even got to the extent of saying, food so HOT that it burns a hole right thru to your sole!) is a total let down. At least it was for me. Having sworn off that Chinese food, every time I make Indo-Chinese, I have a bite and say, "Hah! THIS is the real stuff, smack! smack!"
Monsoon and Indo-Chinese food have a special place in my heart!
It was POURING! Five soaked-to- the- skin kids were walking happily along the Queen's Necklace enjoying the thrill of the lashing rain and the waves that erupted over the ledge and sprayed us with foam! Only my youngest cousin was in the danger of being blown away, she was after all very young and thin. Her elder brother was of the opinion that it wouldn't be such a bad thing if that happened. We shushed him then but secretly admitting the truth in our criminal minds. The four of us were a gang, she was an extra and not up to our 'standard'. Poor Takli as we nicknamed her! She put up a lot from us, just to be a part of our notorious gang.
After our day out in the rain , the famished five would go home to hot showers, a quick change of clothes and head out to a nearby restaurant to dig into Chinese food.
We would storm into the restaurant and place our order. The waiters would look at us with a sceptical eye.. "these bedraggled kids".. they would think," 3 skinny girls ( OK, one was a medium build- yours truly) and 2 skinny-on-the-verge-of-puberty boys. HUH!"
But once the food arrived and they saw us tuck in, they eyes would have a reverential look and they would hurriedly whisper behind their trays, " look at them go".
Our order was fairly predictable, Hot-n-sour soup, Fried Rice, Manchurian, Hakka Noodles or Schezwan Rice and Noodles ( kick up that spice level to make our wet hair stand on the end)
Repeat the same thing till we were bursting at the seams.

Sia's recipe brought back these wonderful memories and a longing to eat some spicy Indo-Chinese food and after a quick look at the list of ingredients my mind was made up!

To go to Sia's recipe click on the link above (and take a peek at the other awesome Indo-chinese recipes as well) or refer below for ease of use.

Ingredients:

10-12 Baby Corns

3-4 tbsp Flour/maida

1 tbsp Cornflour

1 tsp Dry Red Chilli powder (Adjust acc to taste)

1 inch Ginger, chopped finely

3-4 flakes Garlic, chopped finely

3-4 spring onions, diced

1 small Green Capsicum/Bell pepper,diced

2-3 Green chillies, chopped (Adjust acc to taste)

3 tbsp Tomato Sauce/Ketchup

1 tbsp Soya Sauce

2 tbsp Coriander Leaves,finely chopped

Oil for deep frying

Salt to taste

Method:
In a pan take little oil and fry chopped garlic, chillies and ginger.

To this add Capsicum and saute it for 1-2 minutes.

Add Spring Onions, Coriander leaves,tomato sauce and soya sauce(if you want it to be more spicier add chilli sauce)

Cut Baby Corns length wise and keep aside.

Make a little thick batter with maida, cornflour, chilli powder, salt with water.

Coat the baby corn with the batter and then deep fry at medium flame till they turns golden brown.

Drain them in paper towel to remove excess oil.

Add the fried baby corn with the sauce you have prepared and mix well.

Garnish them with chopped coriander leaves and greens of spring onion and serve hot.

Yummy! Nothing beats Indo-chinese food! NOTHING! Try it to believe it!

THANK YOU! Dear Sia, for this wonderful recipe!

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