Musical's kitchen

Just for the party: Shimla Mirch and Paneer :).

2009-09-16T01:50:00.000-07:00

Yeah, there is an actual new post here :). Gone are the days (months?) of being greeted by the same old batata-vada, in case you happened to visit this blog in the past year ;). I'll be honest, it's not been an easy post to write-there is more than year's worth of laziness to shrug off :).

But, the occasion demands it. A Mad Tea Party has been organized and our gracious hostess has been kind enough to allow late comers to be a part of the fun fiesta. After having two crazy parties which involved lots of frying, she has chosen the theme of instant gastronomic gratification, desi ishtyle. Make something quick, easy, delicious. Something that does not exotify Indian cooking, but rather highlights the vast variety that Indian food boasts of, with the myriad regional twists and flavors.

I debated a lot on what to prepare for this event. It had to be simple, amenable to adaptations and quick to make. I chose a simple combination of bell peppers and Indian cottage cheese, the two ingredients i had available at hand. The dish is very quick and easy, and you can play any number of combinations on it. The main reason, though, is that this was one of the first few dishes I ever prepared :). Besides, there is a lot of nostalgia factor involved. This is also the dish that a dear teacher of mine fondly mentioned in several conversation.

Trivia: Since this recipe involves paneer, it has some Punjabi flair. This is a slightly unusual combination for a Punjabi meal though. Bell peppers in Punjab are a summer vegetable, while paneer dishes are usually either reserved for special occasions or winter/autumn/spring season. So this is not something you would typically find in rural Punjabi homes for an everyday meal, though it does make an popular choice for special occasions. However, where I currently live, bell peppers are available all year round and the weather is usually mild, making this an appropriate everyday dish for my kitchen.

As for versatility, the bell peppers and onions combination is one of my favorites. I have tried this dish replacing paneer with tofu, eggplants, zucchini and crook-neck squash, and replacing cumin with mustard seeds/nigella/panch-phoron and the results have always been delightful! Sometimes I've just used ground Sichuan-peppers/Teppal and enjoyed it immensely. I recommend each of these variations.

Here is how we prepare this dish:

Key ingredients:

1 onion,sliced thin
2 bell peppers, diced
20-25 bite size (1") cubes of fresh paneer
Seasonings: 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp. turmeric, salt to taste
1-2 tsp. oil

Optional ingredients: Kashmiri red chilli powder (for color), 1/4 tsp. amchoor or one tomato (cubed) for a tangy twist, crushed garlic/garlic salt or garam masala for a different flavor.

Preparation: Let's begin with the stereotypical "heat oil in a pan". While the oil is heating, we cut the onion into two halves and chop each half into thin slices. Next, we splutter the cumin in hot oil, saute' the onions for 2-4 minutes. During this time, we chop the bell peppers and prepare paneer cubes. Add the paneer cubes and pan fry them next on medium to high heat. They should turn golden. Next, we add the bell peppers and stir-fry some more (4-5 minutes). We then add salt and turmeric, reduce the heat, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes (or till the bell pepper pieces are tender). This is the basic version of the recipe and can be jazzed up with additional seasonings mentioned in "optional ingredients". Total time involved in preparing this dish was close to 25 minutes or so. This is a great everyday and party dish. I enjoyed this dish along with a simple matar kadhi and plain rice, for dinner with my friend Ms. AK and sent some over to buddy MD via pictures. My friends loved it, and that's what counts :). I hope you will love it too.

Here's to fun-times! Thank you, Anita!

Batata vadas, at long last :-D.

2008-08-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

Yay!! I finally made it. I mean, the batata-vadas and the blog-post :). I am out of my hibernation, atleast right this moment ;). Sorry for having left with that spider/star-anise staring at you :-D.

By now, you all know that i love playing hide and seek :-D. But every, now and then, you do come up with stuff, that's simply too tempting to resist, stuff that totally wakes you up. Our dear host of the Mad Tea Party, Anita, is the master-mind behind one such idea. Her love for potatoes, deep-fried goodness and mad tea parties is well known. Aloo+deep-frying+madness translated into poori-bhaji last year, and it's batata-vada this time around. So, Anita, Happy Blog Anniversary to you, and thank you for these rocking mad tea parties. Thank you for putting up with my lazy ways and for the enjoyable evening tea :).

Here's to madness and deep-fried goodness: batata-vadas.

Batata-vadas:

My recipe takes shape from the different versions I have enjoyed. Here's how I made it:

Batter:

Chickpea flour (1 cup)
Rice flour (1 tbsp.)
1/4 tsp. cumin powder
1/4 tsp. coriander powder
Salt (to taste)
Red chilli powder (to taste)
A pinch of baking soda or baking powder (optional)

Mix these ingredients and make it into a thick batter with water.

Potato mix:

Two big potatoes (boiled, peeled and mashed)
Ginger-garlic paste (1 tsp., I used 1 tsp. grated ginger and 1/4 tsp. garlic powder )
1 serrano pepper (chopped fine)
Cilantro, finely chopped
Salt (to taste)
Juice of half a lime/lemon
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
A pinch of hing
A pinch of turmeric
1 tsp. oil

Add ginger-garlic paste, chopped chilli peppers, cilantro leaves, salt and lime juice to the mashed potatoes and mix well. Spultter mustard seeds in hot oil, add hing, curry leaves and turmeric to it and add to the potato mix.

Frying and savoring:

Heat oil in a kadahi. Meanwhile, make round balls from the potato mix, dip it into the batter and fry them to golden, crispy perfection. Enjoy with a chutney of your choice. I love them with hot coconut chutney, thecha, or simply with salted small green chillies soaked in lime juice. But these ones, i had them with Sriracha sauce and a slice of toasted sourdough bread.

A perfect accompaniment to my evening tea. Best enjoyed when you share them with family and friends. When you can't, just think of all the good people around and have some on their behalf too :). Friends, this one is for you all. Anita, hope you enjoyed these. Sorry for the late entry-i promise i'll make up for it by singing and dancing to my heart's content :).

Eggplants and tomatoes: a starry combination :)

2008-03-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

This has to be the post that has enjoyed the cozy comfort of draft-box for the longest ;). Originally meant to be posted more than a month ago, it was lovingly forgotten there as i switched from a "cough", through an "achooooo" (and finally), to my everyday life :-D. But here it is, finally!

Tomatoes and eggplants are a very regular combination in my kitchen and i enjoy them together in many different ways. The title of this post says that this combination is really starry, so that should give you a hint of what is to show up next ;). Yup, a very simple recipe, where the main spice is the pretty, starry, Star Anise. Don't get me wrong, the intent of the following picture is not to scare anyone ;). Just that this piece of star anise was breaking all stereotypes for the said spice and looked more like a spider :-D.

This sweet and tangy combination is very quick to make and super delicious.

Here is how we make it:

We need:

2 long eggplants (Chinese ot Japanese variety), cut into 2" long pieces
2-3 big and juicy tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 piece star anise (one whole and the other ground into powder).
1/2 tsp. sugar (or as per taste)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. turmeric
Red chilli powder (to taste)
7-8 basil leaves
1 tbsp. oil

In a pan, heat the oil and splutter the cumin. Add the eggplant pieces and stir-fry them on high-heat. Set the eggplant pieces aside. Now add the chopped tomatoes and cook till tender. Add the sugar, turmeric, red chilli powder and star anise powder. Add 2-3 tbsp. water, if needed. Add salt, and the stir fried eggplant pieces. Reduce the flame and cover to cook another 10-15 minutes or so, till the eggplant pieces have absorbed the flavors. Add the basil leaves. Garnish with the whole star anise and enjoy hot with rice or chapatis :).

And you are so right, the inspiration for this dish is from Chinese sweet and sour eggplants. Oh, and before i forget, do try out Star Anise in your chai, its the best!

Going green: Chard and mushrooms :)

2008-02-23T21:15:00.000-08:00

Having gotten back to blogging very recently, i have been full of enthusiasm :). So after posting the recipes celebrating kokum, the plan was to post another recipe the very next day. That would have made it a hat-trick :-D. A post a day, i would have been onto a blogging spree! But how could i, Ms. Musical (the lazy one), get around doing that :-D. So, here i am, after having put the pictures in draft a cpl. of days ago, finally typing the recipe ;).

This is a quick one, but immensly delish! A hearty combination of the beautiful chard and the delectable mushrooms,
something that can be prepared in a matter of minutes and is a great accompaniment to any meal :).

I've used rainbow chard and baby-bella mushrooms here, but other varieties also work fine. Here's how we go about it.

Chard and mushroom sabzi:

We need:

1 bunch (7-8 leaves) Swiss chard (regular, red, rainbow-they all are good. I love red and rainbow varieties though, because they look so pretty)-chopped coarse.
1 and half cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 onion, sliced fine
1/2 tsp. cumin
Salt to taste
red chilli powder to taste
1/2 tsp. turmeric
A pinch of garam masala (equal proportions of cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds: roasted, cooled and ground into a fine powder. This recipe is one of my favorite masala recipes and works really well with green leafy vegetables. Its a very typical Kerala style spice recipe and i was first introduced to this one by my very dear friend, Ms. Moon).
1 tsp. oil

We start by the obligatory (ahem!) step of heating the oil in a pan and spluttering the cumin seeds (which can be replaced by mustard seeds for another delicious variation). Next, sliced onions are added and saute'ed. We then add the chopped mushrooms and stir fry them till tender (takes about 4-5 minutes). Next, we add the chopped greens and stir in the salt, red chilli powder and turmeric. We let the veggies cook on low heat till done.
Finally, we sprinkle a pinch or two of the garam masala powder and enjoy this dish with chapatis and dahi or sambar- rice or (you guessed it right) as a sandwich stuffing :).

Other variations:

Add a lil' bit of grated coconut to this dish (use some chopped green chillies in this case, instead of red chilli powder). Try eggplants (the Chinese and Japanese varities) instead of mushrooms, or even green peas or corn. Each results in a delicious quick fix side-dish. Enjoy :).

Kokum: celebrating the surprise and a wonder ingredient :).

2008-02-20T23:12:00.000-08:00

Time to flaunt the lovely surprise in my mailbox :). The lovely surprise that i got from Nupur is the tangy, beautiful and fragrant kokum. Kokum (botanical name: Garcinia indica) is also known as amsul/amsool and mangosteen (English). It is widely celebrated in Marathi, Konkani, Mangalorean and Coorgi cuisines, to name a few and adds a mellow tanginess and a beautiful pick blush to the dishes :). The kokum seed oil/butter is considered to be very good for the skin and has found immense use in the cosmetic and food industry. Several health food stores here in the US now flash products using kokum butter :). Read more about its myriad uses here.

Sra brings an interesting question to fore: The Wiki link claims that Kokum=Mangosteen. However, as it turns out, Mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana. Close cousins, but not the same. Her question is: Can we make kokum from Mangosteen? It should be theoretically possible-i guess they have similar fruits, and its a matter of drying the peel. I am very positive on this, because apparently kudampuli (a prized ingredient in Kerala cuisine) is also from genus Garcinia (Garcinia gummigutta, Garcinia combogia) ! No wonder they look quite similar :). So, if anyone knows here how to prepare kokum from the fruit, please do share the information :). Sra kindly shared the following links, do check them out:

The two yummy dishes i associate kokum most with, are amti and sol kadhi :). The former is daal (mostly toor daal) cooked with kokum extract (prepared by soaking kokum in water), gul (jaggery)/sugar and phodni (tempering: includes asfoetida, mustard seeds, curry leaves and turmeric) and the latter is a delicious blend of coconut milk, kokum extract, gul, green chillies and cilantro :).

And surely i am going to use this lovely surprise to make amti and sol kadhi. But i wanted to enjoy this present by trying it with something different :). So i went ahead and though of the following:

Chayote squash curry

Quick aloo-matar

I chose these dishes randomly, the former because of what i fancied in the grocery store and the latter to fit my plans to make a quick fix dinner :). Hope you'll enjoy these!

Chayote squash curry:

There is something about the kokum-coconut combination.....it reminds me of Goa, each time i think of it, each time i relish it! I took the chayote squash, paired this lovely vegetable with coconut milk and dressed up the combo with kokum. The result was a delicious curry, which totally made me nostalgic about my Goa trip and the food i enjoyed there. Here is how i made it:

We need:

Two chayote squashes (cubed into bite sized pieces)
1/2 can coconut milk
Kokum extract (4-5 pieces kokum soaked for 20-30 minutes in 1/2 cup water)
1/2" piece of ginger, grated (optional)
1 clove garlic, grated (optional)
A pinch of turmeric
7-8 curry leaves
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder to taste
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. oil

Boil the cubed squash pieces in water (enough to completely cover the pieces) along with turmeric and salt, till tender. Add coconut milk, grated ginger, garlic, kokum extract, red chilli powder and sugar. Bring to boil. Prepare the tempering by heating the oil, spluttering the mustard seeds and adding the curry leaves. Add the tempering to the curry and simmer to desired thickness. Enjoy hot with rice and pickles :).

If you are short on time, you can also cook the kokum pieces directly with the vegetables, after addition of coconut milk. I leave the kokum pieces in, they add a certain flavor to the dish. It is really fun to chew on a fruity piece of kokum as you relish the curry :-D. If you want the curry to have a subtle flavor, you may omit ginger and garlic. I have to add; this kokum was so good, that despite using ginger and garlic, i could feel the distinct aroma from these purple-pink fruits. Do include sugar in the preparation to balance the tangy flavor, it adds a lot to taste.

Quick aloo-matar:

This is quick indeed and involves use of microwave :-D. Yes, when i rush, i resort to microwaving the aloo/potatoes :). To top it all, this version of aloo-matar is a no-oil recipe!

We need:

1 potato (wash, microwave for 4-5 minutes and peel)
2 cups shelled green peas/matar
1" ginger piece (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. turmeric
Red chilli powder (to taste)
Extract from 4-5 pieces of kokum
Salt to taste
2 cloves
1/2 tsp. rosemary leaves (fresh or dried, your choice)

We start by microwaving the potato. The potato is peeled, cubed and kept ready to go. We heat the pan and roast the cumin, add 2 cups of water, ginger and garlic and bring the water to boil. We now add the microwaved and cubed potatoes and cook these while mashing it a lil' bit. Now its time to add the shelled green peas, salt, red chilli powder and kokum extract (or kokum pieces, if you are like me). We stir the dish gently once or twice, add 1/2 cup more water, cloves and simmer the aloo-matar on low/medium flame till the gravy is thick. Time to garnish the aloo-matar with rosemary leaves and we are all set to enjoy :).

Kokum here gives a subtle tanginess and pretty color to aloo-matar and lifts the dish to a whole new level. Rosemary and garlic (simmered, not roasted here) together create a warm and sweet-spicy aroma along with cloves, and build on the subtle warm notes from kokum. I enjoyed this variation of aloo-matar a lot!

Hope you'll enjoy these dishes too :). Here's to friendship, here's to the beautiful ingredient!

More ways to enjoy kokum:

Bakar Bhaji (Anita)
Bhendi Sukhem, prawns kokum garlic, lobster pepper kokum (Upper Crust India)
Daanyachi Amti (Tee)
Drumstick vegetable (Alpa)
Footi Kadhi/Kokum kadhi without coconut milk (Red Chillies)
Gujarati Daal (Vegetarian Delight-1, Amisha-2), Thanks Richa, for the pointer (now bring you recipe too) :-D.
Kalya vatanyachi amti (Anjali)
Kokum aloo (ARAD)
Kokum Fish/Sola Bangade (Shilpa)
Kokum Shrimp/Sola sungat (Shilpa)
Kokum Sharbat (Mehak)
Moong daal aamti (Indira)

Do let me know if any one of you have any related recipe ideas or links to share, i'll update the post accordingly :).

Thanks Nupur, the flavors from your kitchen have brought with them a message of friendship and sharing! I am truly enriched!

Here's to fun and friendship :)

2008-02-19T22:48:00.000-08:00

Hi, friends! I finally am back from my hibernation :). Now, haven't you heard similar stuff on this blog before :-D. This probably could have ended up as one more of those posts :). But what makes this one different is a very special word called "Friendship". Its the power of friendship that's finally brought me back.....

I'll narrate you a lil' story. Sometime ago, i prepared a simple soup for dinner-a simple fair, yet something that tasted great! It was then, that i felt this sudden urge to share.....share that bowl of goodness, that thrill of enjoying good food! It was then, that i felt that i would love to get back here again.....

Several days later, i received a heart-warming note in my mailbox, from a person whose enthusiasm and passion for food is infectious. She, who weaves foodie dreams at her "One Hot Stove", wanted me to send a foodie surprise. The note had "hello friend" written all over it. The spirit behind the Arusuvai Friendship Chain is to share foodie surprises and extend a hand of friendship through blogosphere. This exchange of lil' surprises first started in India, and is the brain child of Latha ji and her daughter Lakshmi from from The Yum Blog. Dear Latha from Masala Magic has now brought this wonderful concept here.

And the surprises now travel from one kitchen to another, carrying along smiles, thoughts, flavors and fun :). Nupur, thanks for thinking of me, dear friend.....

Also, thanks Sunita and Sia, for the tempting events that totally got the better of me. I'll be sending my entries soon :).

Last weekend, i received a package, full of lovely surprises :). I now take you through those beautiful surprises, one picture at a time :).

The surprise:

This had to be the freshest, tangiest and most fragrant and vibrant kokum i have seen in recent time, paralleled only by what i relished at my friend Golden Girl's house, a home grown treat, which her Aayi had brought all the way from India :). It was so tempting that soon as i opened the package, i popped a cpl. of pieces in my mouth :-D. And i knew that the meals in the coming few days would be livened up by this beautiful surprise :). Watch out for the recipes tomorrow :).

The sweets:

Trust Nupur for her innovative creations. The tangy kokum was accompanied by what has to be one of the best chikkis ever! The caramel treat loaded with almonds was topped by chocolate and more nuts :). YUMMY!

The suvenir:

This chappal has to be special :-D. Guys, this is no ordinary slipper i am talking about. Its a lovely suvenir from Kolhapur, the place where our buddy Nupur comes from. Yes, the famous Kolhapuri chappal :). The miniature is just as gorgeous as the real deal!

The thoughts:

And all this, along with a beautiful note on a pretty card, made from hand-made paper :). Thanks again, Nupur......for all the affection, for all the goodness you packaged in that envelope and for all the yummy foods that you've shared through your hot stove. Above all, for thinking of me as a friend. Here's to the power of friendship :).

From my kitchen to yours:

The Arusuvai Friendship Chain would like the fun to travel along. So, time for me to mail lil' surprises to few friends. It really means a lot me, dear friends:

Sig, Richa and Pel, thanks for all the affection and for being the great friends that you are. Hope you enjoy the lil' surprises. This is so exciting and am really looking forward to the yummy creations from your kitchens. Let the fun times roll :).

And now a special recipe. Remember that soup i mentioned about in the beginning. That is the friendship soup, my friend and embodies the warmth of friendship :). This one is to friendship :).

Coconut milk-beans soup:
This soup combines the milky sweetness and aroma of coconut, with the hearty and comforting
texture of beans. Topped with the lively and fragrant ginger, flavorful garlic and spicy sambal, this one is perfect for relaxing after a long day :).

We need:

2 cups cooked (boiled) beans, i used canned Pinto beans (1 can)
1/2 can coconut milk (preferably light/low-fat variety, i used Chao-Koh brand)
1 bunch spring onions, chopped
2" piece of ginger (julienned)
1 clove garlic (grated)
1 tsp. (or to taste) sambal oelek
Salt to taste
Ground pepper (to taste)
2 cups water
1 tsp. oil

Heat oil and saute' the spring onions. Add the cooked beans and stir. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, sambal oelek and water. Bring to boil, and add the salt and coconut milk. Cook till the soup thickens to desired consistency. Add a lil' ground pepper and serve hot :). Enjoy!

Variations: The variations on this are endless. I've made the soup so many times, and it turns out yummy each time. Try it with corn or peas instead of beans, try it with bell peppers and tomatoes, try changing the spices to dried herbs instead of ginger and garlic. I've even used sour yogurt instead of coconut milk once and ended up with an entirely different, but equally yummy soup.

Have a wonderful day. I will see you all tomorrow with the recipes with this lovely surprise :).

Sweet-potato stew (Thai-style) :)

2007-11-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

Hi! all :). i am back after my hiatus ;). I apologize for not posting, late replies to the comments and lazy blog-hopping. Not that i didn't have any time, i probably did, atleast on some days.....but may be, i was tired.....and not in the right mood to post. If i would have posted something in a rush, it wouldn't have come out well :-D. And when i did feel like posting, i got sick. Hmm, so today i am back, hoping that i can post something :). I am sure you understand :).

What i want to share today is a lovely stew made out of sweet-potatoes, prepared in Thai style. Yup, Thai style (and not Thai, because i have only had it in a restaurant and have approximated it from an online recipe, so am not sure if its authentic Thai or not, but it definitely does use a lot of popular ingredients from Thai cuisine). The sweet potato cubes are simmered in coconut milk with green peas (which are either used as such or as a replacement for Thai pea-eggplants when they are not available. The restaurant dish used green peas), ginger, red chillies paste and basil. The result is a yummy, creamy stew :).

As i mentioned, i first had this dish at a restaurant and really loved it. So, i looked up the recipe online, and modiefied it to include similar ingredients and get a similar taste. The original recipes can be found here. I've mostly relied on the second recipe, and included basil and peas.

Yup, and ginger plays a key role in this recipe. You now know where this recipe is heading to :). Yup, for the thoughtful get-together celebrating ginger, at Sunita's place :). Now, if you really look around this blog, you'd notice my love for ginger :-D.

Majority of the recipes here rely heavily on ginger, especially the daal/beans recipes :). If you are all for ginger, you'll enjoy those too :). So, most of my regular, everyday food does celebrate ginger-that's why i thought to write about something different, using ginger. Since its a Thai recipe, galangal would do well here. But from the taste, i guess the restaurant used ginger.

So, here is how i made it:

Thai style sweet-potato stew:

We need:

1 big sweet potato, peeled and cubed in to 1/2" cubes (i used garnet sweet-potato)-gives about 30-35 cubes.
3/4 can of light coconut milk ( i use Chao-Koh or thai Kitchen brands)
1 cup green peas
1/2 onion (chopped-optional)
1 heaped tbsp. grated ginger
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
1 heaped tsp. red chilli paste (you can use sambal oelek)
1 tsp. lemon grass (pounded into paste)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. oil
5-6 basil leaves

First, prepare the sweet potato. Its difficult to cube, so you can soften it a bit by microwaving it for 1-2 minutes. Make 1/2" cubes out of it, and to reduce the preparation time, drizzle the cubes with some water and microwave an additional 4-5 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a deep pan and saute' the onions. Now add the crushed garlic and grated ginger and saute' for another minute. Add the lemongrass paste and red-chilli paste next and mix well. Add 1 cup of water and cubed sweet potatoes (original recipe calls for vegetable broth, water is good enough) and bring to boil. Next, add the coconut milk, salt and 1-2 basil leaves and simmer on low till the stew thickenes a bit. Garnish with remaining basil leaves and serve hot with plain boiled rice of your choice. Enjoy :).

As i said, i am taking this to our ginger themed potluck hosted by the lovely Sunita. Thanks, Sunita, for celebrating my ever favorite spice :). And did i tell you, that ginger is really good to relieve minor coughs and colds and body-aches :). Not to mention that it smells "oh, soooooooo fresh" :). Hope you all enjoy this and will pardon me for being a not-so-regular blogger :-D.

Love,
musical.

Salad, sabzi, or both and a weekend brunch idea :)

2007-10-28T16:35:00.000-07:00

I am sure you are all familiar with the days, when you get back home tired and really hungry: the times when you don't have much energy to do some elaborate cooking, but would still love to have some yummy food! On one such day last week, i felt really lazy to cook much, yet craved something spicy and filling. In this bus, i had been dreaming about making some baked vegetables in some cilantro based marinade. When i got home, i checked out the vegetables in the fridge and wondered what all to use. Finally, i decided to go for some bell peppers, some mushrooms, a lil' paneer and some spring onions and marinate them in a cilantro based marinade. The cilantro chutney/marinade was made by simply blending together cilantro, green chillies, ginger, garlic salt, salt and lime juice. I mixed the marinade with the veggies in the baking dish and the whole thing looked really appetizing. I then wondered, if i should go for a salad, a sabzi or both :-D. I decided to take some in a bowl as a salad, which was yummy! and put the rest in the oven. As i feasted myself upon the lip-smacking chutney-vegetables combo, i simultaneously had been making some baked vegetables, which turned out to be equally delicious, if not more :-D. I am sure you all have your own variations on this theme, here's my version:

Baked vegetables in cilantro marinade:

We need:

1 big bell pepper (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
2 Roma tomatoes (sliced)
20 or so bite sized pieces of paneer
1/2 cup sliced crimini or baby bella mushrooms
1 bunch spring onions (chopped)

For marinade:

1 small bunch/3/4 th cup equivalent chopped cilantro
1 serrano pepper or 2 green chillies (adjust chillies to your taste)
1 inch piece of ginger
1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
1 tsp. garlic salt
Salt to taste

Grind together the ingredients for the marinade. Mix these with the chopped vegetables. In case you are making the salad, leave the spring onions and chill the salad in the fridge. Mix the chopped spring onions before serving.

The salad :)

For making baked vegetables, mix the marinade with all the chopped vegetables and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F meanwhile. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, mixing once in between (or till the bell peppers are tender-rest of the stuff doesn't take long to cook). The end result should have slightly crisped paneer and well done bell peppers, with some thick gravy. If you want grilled vegetables, add less marinade, and bake a lil' longer. Enjoy the baked vegetables with crispy toast :).

The sabzi :)

As i was having the salad, i wondered about all those laments that one gets to hear from time to time, as to how Indian food doesn't have much to do with salads! Indian cuisine boast of such an enormous variety of salads, from the lovely koshimbirs, to kosumbari, to the sundals, raitas and pachidis and the regular kheera-tamatar with lime, salt an pepper and many many more. Just that we don't label them as "salad" :-D.

Oh, and here's a quick weekend brunch idea. i am sure again that many of you make this in your own way as well. i am talking about the sandwich made with (aloo ki) sabzi :-D. i use left over aloo sabzi (dry) or any dry sabzi, stuff it in the sourdough or rye bread, along with a lil' skim mozzarella or five cheese blend and toast it on tava/griddle. i'll be honest with you, i use a lil' ghee (just a cpl. of drops) to toast :-D. It gives such a heavenly aroma!

Here's a quick aloo ki sabzi-a zero oil version:

We need:

1-2 potatoes (boiled/microwaved and mashed)
1/2 tsp jeera/cumin
1 ripe tomato
1 bunch spring onions (optional)
1 tsp. grated ginger
1 clove garlic (chopped fine, optional)
1 chopped green chilli
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. lime juice or 1 tsp. sour curds
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Wash the potatoes and keep them in the microwave for cooking. It takes about 4 minutes per potato, and 7 minutes for two potatoes in my micrwave. Alternatively you can boil the potatoes. Meanwhile, heat a pan and dry roast the cumin seeds till they release the aroma. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the grated ginger and onions and garlic, if using. Stir and cook for a cpl. of minutes. (By now the potatoes should be done. Quickly peel them and mash them roughly). Add the microwaved/boiled and mashed potatoes to the pan and mix. Add the salt and souring agent of your choice (lime juice or curds) and mix well. If the mixture is getting too dry or sticking to the pan, drizzle some water. Cook for another 5 minutes with occasional stirring. Add the green chillies and cilantro.

Enjoy as a sabzi/side dish or as a sandwich/parantha stuffing :). Don't go by the picture, it tastes really good :).

Food, festivals and memories :)

2007-10-20T16:21:00.000-07:00

For people like me, festivals, food and memories form a heady combo :). Food and festivals go hand in hand and create everlasting memories. The celebrations one enjoys together with the family, the meals on cherishes with the loved ones, they all hold a special place in our book of memories :). Navaratri time is one such festival in India, when people celebrate togetherness, weave memories and have lots of fun. Food ofcourse plays a central part here too, like any other Indian festival. The word Navaratri blends the word Nava, meaning nine and new (the two meanings of the word "nava" blend well together here) and, ratri meaning night. The nine new nights, the beginning of a new season.....There are two navaratris, one celebrated during the month of Ashvin (Assu in Punjabi), leading to Mahanavami and Vijayadashmi and another one during the month of Chaitra (Chetar in Punjabi), leading to Ram Navami. The Ashvin Navaratri is one of the most popular Indian festival, celebrated across different Indian subcultures.

In Punjabi, Navaratri time is referred to as Narate/Navratre. Both Assu and Chetar Narate are celebrated with equal fervour. People f(e)ast through the Narate and celebrate Sri Durga Ashtami and Maha Navami with lots of festive foods. Throughout the Narate, people worship the various forms of Mother Goddess. To me, this festival reflects the celebration of womanhood.

During fasting, ideally one is supposed to eat light, stick to mostly fruit diet or "phalahaar", no whole grains, no salt etc. However, that usually makes way for the alternative sources of yumminess :-D. People enjoy goodies made out of swaang (literal meaning, pretend) da chawal (samo), singhare da atta (water chestnut flour)-relished as rotis, choora and halva, kuttu de atte di roti (rotis made out of kuttu flour) etc. Salt is replaced by kala loon/kala namak/sendha namak (black salt). The sabzis, daals and kadhis are made sans and onion, garlic and even tomatoes! People enjoy the laddoos/pinnis made out of jaggery and red amaranth seeds (boor, seel, rajgira). Read some notes about samo and rajgira here.

I'll confess, i used to fast when i was a lil' kid :). The fun of doing things together with my friends was what drove me to sustain on bananas and other fruit for the whole day, with an occassional treat in the form of khatte wale aloo :).

Its a simple dish, made out of potatoes, dry spices and tamarind. Really yummy and tangy, and has a lovely deep brown color! I recently made it as an ode to good old times :). Here's how we make it:

Khatte wale aloo:

We need:

3 potatoes (peeled and cut into big cubes. I use Russet/Idaho varities)
A pinch of hing/asfoetida
1/2 tsp. cumin (jeera)
1/4 tsp. kalonji (nigella seeds)
1/2 tsp. coriander powders (dhania powders)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
Red chilli powder (to taste)
1 tbsp. thick tamarind pulp
Salt to taste (people who fast traditionally use black salt)
1/2 tsp. oil (preferably mustard) or ghee

In a deep vessel, heat the oil/ghee and temper the hing, followed by cumin and nigella seeds Now add the coriander powder and turmeric and mix. Add one and half cup water to this and bring to boil. Now add cubed potatoes, salt and chilli powder, cover and cook the potatoes on low heat till done. Stir in the tamarind pulp and cook for another 4- 5 minutes. Serve hot with thin phulkas. Enjoy :).

On the Durga Ashtami day, or Jyot, as it is known in Punjabi, people invite lil' girls home for a feast. This is called Kanjak Pooja. Kanjak literally means lil' girl. The lil' girls are literally worshipped and enjoy a great feast and are given really pretty presents including beautiful bangles, red chunnis/duppattas/scarves with golden/tilla boder, toys and some pocket money. As lil' girls, my friends and i used to get together and the night before Durga Ashtami, we would apply mehndi and have lots of fun together. The traditional Jyot fiesta includes sooji halwa or kadah (made with either jaggery or sugar, along with cardamom, sometimes saffron and garnished with roasted almonds, raisins or thinly sliced dried coconut ), bhangoor (pronounced like angoor, with the Punjabi BH sound, which is actually a combination of P, B and H sounds rolled into one), which is dry savory dish made from black gram or kale chane, which are soaked, boiled and then cooked in oil and dry spice powders like a lil' hing, dhania and jeera powders, amchoor and chilli powder etc, pooris or phulkas , and dahi-bhalle (vadas in yogurt). The dahi bhalle are kept simple for the festival. No sweet and green chutneys here. Just simply flavored with salt, ground black pepper, roasted jeera and red chilli powder. The bhalle usually are fried in mustard oil and are usually spiced with whole or ground black peppers, very lil' hing, salt and red chilli powder. And yet the taste eclectic! There is certain way of enjoying the kadah, bhagoor and poori, and it is the best way to enjoy it!! You keep a poori in a plate, flatten the poori, top it with kadah/halwa and top it all with some bhangoor, roll it and enjoy!

The Narate culminate in the Dussehra, which is the day to enjoy Ram Leelas and in Punjab, it also marks the first day of welcoming and enjoying the new sugar-cane crops :).

Here's to the cultural pot-pourri that India is, a beautiful land with so many diverse festivals and customs. Lets enjoy each festival by sharing smiles and celebrating our diversity, which also marks our unity.

Love,
musical.

This is my contribution for the JFI-Dussehra, being hosted by dear Vee of Past, Present and Me. JFI celebrates the different ingredients of our food and culture, and is a get together envisaged by dear Indira.

A really different, really healthy aloo-gobhi :).

2007-10-17T23:46:00.001-07:00

Yes, indeed-its different! One, its really simple to put together (the only things you chop are aloo and gobhi) and two, its a zero oil recipe! And it packed with flavor! I have previously posted Mom's aloo-gobhi recipe, which ofcourse is an all time favorite. Today's recipe, retains the key spices from that recipe: ginger and green chillies and combines them the tangy taste of sour curds. I made it this weekend, and i had to share it with you :). Oh, talking about sharing: here's a cute piece of news.....my diary turned one y'day :-D. Blogging has been fun. So, here's to blogging and fun :).

Dahi wali aloo-gobhi

This dish is a simple one, but really yummy! We marinate the aloo and gobhi in a mix of sour curds, grated ginger, garlic salt, green chillies, cumin and coriander powders and salt, cook the aloo-gobhi first on low heat and then on high heat, and there it is: zero oil, flavorful aloo-gobhi.

We need:

One Cauliflower (cleaned and cut into big florets, check the recipe mentioned above)
2 Russet/Idaho Potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1 cup sour curds (i used store-bought fat free yogurt, to make it almost completely fat free)
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. garlic-chilli salt ( i used Cholula brand, you can use any other brand garlic salt or 1 clove crushed garlic, which should work just as well)
1 tsp. each cumin and coriander (jeera and dhania) powders
1-2 green chillies (chopped)
Salt to taste
Fresh cilantro for garnishing

In a bowl, mix all ingredients except aloo, gobhi and salt, to make the marinade. Coat the aloo and gobhi pieces with this marinade and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Now you can choose one of the two ways to cook this dish:

Either tranfer these pieces and any remaining marinade into a pan. In this case, cook on low till the cauliflower florets are tender (takes about 25-30 minutes).

or

Place the aloo-gobhi in a baking dish and cover with aluminium foil. IIf using the baking method, bake the aloo-gobhi at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes and transfer the contents to a pan.

From here on, the method is the same:

Now add salt to the aloo gobhi and cook on high heat to dry all the liquid. This takes about another 10 minutes. The end result should be a well done, non- soggy, non-mushy aloo gobhi. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy with chapati or paranthas. Trust me, you won't miss the oil!

Notes: 1.Baking with yougurt/curds retains some liquid even after 30 minutes, hence cooking in the pan is essential. It not only dries up the liquid, but also makes the aloo-gobhi firm yet well cooked.
2. The marinade is really yummy! Add some boiled and mashed potatoes or some fried eggplant slices to it and enjoy a yummy raita!

FAHC: Share a smile :)

2007-10-15T00:40:00.000-07:00

Words synonymous with food/khana are integral part of our vocabulary, they indicate sustenance, comfort, connection, affection and whole lot more to all of us. A lot of fond memories are woven around food and eating. However, food also indicates survival, the most basic necessity of life.....It always gives one immense satisfaction to feed someone, to share some food.....because your share the spirit of life, the spirit of survival.

By extending your hand to help feed children, you can share smiles, and this instinct to live.....

By contributing whatever lil' you can, you can help a great cause. Nothing is too lil' or too small to share. Every bit counts-do your bit today. Share a smile.....

Fellow blogger V.K. Narayanan (VKN), from My Dhaba has taken up a wonderful initiative, called Feed A Hungry Child (FAHC).

feedahungrychild.org is a not-for-profit charitable organization formed in a collaborative effort of the like-minded people from all around the world. It aims to replace the empty plates of the underprivileged children and replace them with ones of food. While FAHC addresses the holistic needs of each children it supports, it believes illiteracy, malnutrition, and other concerns can only be addressed when hunger is appeased.
Immediate Mission:
Join the fight against global poverty.
Help feed hungry children one by one.
Larger Vision: feeahungrychild.org aims to improve the lives of a good many underprivileged children in their efforts to support themselves, their families, and their communities by giving them the chance for better food, better education, better healthcare, and other welfare.

Lets join him in his effort and extend whatever help we can. VKN and Indira (Mahanandi) have together invited everyone to come, join and share.

Along with Indira, Sh. Suvir Saran (well-known chef), Anjali Damerla (Supreme Spice), Bee and Jai (Jugalbandi), Manisha (Indian Food Rocks), Shilpa (Aayi's Recipes), Padmaja (Spicy Andhra), Mythili (Vindu), Siri (Siri's Corner) and Richa (As Dear As Salt), have come up with some great raffle prizes for the participants too! The prizes include Ammini Ramachandran's great book (Indira), Suvir ji's lovely books (Suvir ji), a beautifully packaged set of spice extracts (Anjali), a fantastic book on digital photography (Bee and Jai), beautiful ready-to-wear saris for lil' girls (Manisha), a fair-trade gift hamper from the UK (Padmaja), a beautiful painting, which is Shilpa's own breathtaking creation, a gorgeous, customized platter, hand-painted by Mythili Rachel Ray's "30 minute meals" by Siri, and lovely gourmet dark chocolatefrom Richa! The list is growing fast. Find out on how to enroll for the raffle at Mahanandi/Jugalbandi.

Fellow bloggers, if your read this, please support the FAHC cause on your blog. Readers, friends, lurkers, please share whatever you can through the Chip-in button in the side-bar, or contribute in other possible ways. Sharing always feels good :).

A chutney, strange lemons and a meme :)

2007-10-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

A cpl. of days back, dear Mansi lovingly said, "Your next post better have some peach in it" :). So, here i am, with some peaches. I have a question for you, dear reader-how many people do you know who purposely pick sour/tangy/un-ripe peaches :-D. If you are reading this, you sure know atleast one: moi! I love peaches, actually i LOVE peaches. When i have peaches in my kitchen, i just have them as such-i don't even wait to cut them ;). I prefer yellow peaches and ectarines to white ones, because of their sweet n' tangy taste. To be honest, i don't have enough self-control to cook with fruits. The best dessert for me is to peel/cut a fruit and enjoy it. At the most i pair it up with some home-made frozen yoghurt/ice-cream. Mansi, then, had me real worried. I had to make something out of a fruit. That demanded a lot of self-control. Hence, i decided in favor of semi-ripe peaches/nectarines, hoping that i won't finish this dish even before i began making it, by gobbling up the fruit :-D.

The next worry was, what to make with tangy nectarines.....i looked up Google, and saw the words "Peach" and "Chutney". I felt grateful, immediately headed for the kitchen, prepared my version of the chutney (which included finishing up half of the fruit as i was dicing it!), got back, read the recipe from Google, decided to add a lovely ingredient (roasted walnuts) from it to jazz up my version a bit. The end result was great, a khatti-meethi (sweet and sour) chutney!

Here's the original recipe (It uses tomatoes, raisins, Vanilla syrup, and a lot of ground walnut-more sweet relish like chutney. Kids would really enjoy it). And the following is my version:

Nectarine chutney:

We need:

2 yellow nectarines, diced (i started with three, but ate one!)
1/4 onion (chopped)
1 tbsp. grated ginger
1-2 green chillies (chopped)
1/2 tsp. each cumin and coriander powder
Salt to taste
1 tsp. lime juice (optional, to be used if you use really sweet peaches)
2 tbsp. coarsely ground walnuts
1 tsp. oil

In a pan, heat the oil and saute' onions and ginger. Add the cumin and coriander powders and the chopped green chillies. Stir and add 1/2 cup water. Now add the diced peaches and salt. Stir, cover and cook the peaches on low till they are tender.
Cool down the peaches (at this stage, it makes a nice side-dish too). Grind into a smooth paste. Add coarsely ground walnuts to the chutney, mix and enjoy :).

When i had a spoonful, the taste reminded of the traditional sweet aloobukhara/plum chutney.....which gets a lot of its flavor from the ground walnuts too. So plz. don't miss out on this ingedient. I thank the chef Mr. Frankenthaler for this ingredient. I finished this in one sitting :-D.

This goes to Mansi for AFAM:Peach/Nectarine. AFAM is a great, fruity get-together envisaged by Maheshwari from Beyond the Usual.

Now over to some interesting stuff from the supermarket:

I was at the Whole Foods Market in Westwood to pick up some vegetables when i sighted the following.....

Needless to say, it was spellbinding.....i looked around, with my cell phone ready to take a picture, trying to find someone to get permission for the same. One of the staff saw me, gave me a broad smile and said,"it is worth a picture, really" :). Now, i won't keep you guessing about it.....look right below to find the answer!

Buddha's hands.....thats the name for this grogeous beauty.....its actually a citron and apparently originated in northeastern India. I had never seen this one before, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.....

I also saw these cute looking fruits, the tamarillos. They really look like eggplants....(i actually did buy some golden eggplants y'day, will post pictures next time i write about eggplants). I think i'll buy them once to see how they taste. From what i read, seems like they would be great. Any ideas on this, anyone.

And now its time for a me-me :). Dear buddy Sra from "When my soup came alive" tagged me for the "life in fours" me-me.....so here's me, talking about me :-D.

Four places i've lived:

India (Amritsar, New Delhi, Bangalore), my beloved country
Boston
New York City
Los Angeles

Four jobs i (dream i) had:

Owner of the best cafe' and pastry shop in your neighbourhood (or your neighbourhood chai-wallah)
Cook ;) at your favorite bistro (or your favorite dhaba)
A loving and beloved teacher
Owner of a cute lil' book store

Four favorite places i've holidayed:

Home (thats blissful, i tell you: people cooking for you, caring for you) :-D
US, for the lovely cities on both East and West coasts
Goa and Kerala, for their breathtaking beauty
New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad for the shopping sprees ;)

Four favorite foods (only four, not fair!):

Mom's Rajma chawal, namkeen churi and paranthas (how Punju!)
Kara baath, shavige and rave idli
Haak/dum olu/ kalan/ moong-masoor daal/ kadhi with plain rice
Chaat-pakodi: gol-gappas, tikkis, samosas, paav-bhaaji, khatte laddu, bhel-poori etc.

Four places i would rather be (as per my current mood):

Sitting outside in sun with a good book
Santa Monica-Third Street Promenade
My buddy Golden Girl's home, for a chai and upma that we would cook together
At a neighbourhood Indian restaurant, for lunch with MD

Four bloggers i would like to tag:

Richa@As Dear As Salt
Pel@Elaichi etcetera
Shweta @ Fresh Flavors
Tee@Bhaatukli

Please take it up at your leisure :). Enjoy :).

Thoughtful paneer :)

2007-10-11T23:21:00.000-07:00

Isn't that a thoughtful and lovely name for a dish :). How else could i have named a dish, that was born out of deep thinking ;). This month, dear Sunita wants us to think about saffron/kesar/zafraan/kong/keshar/kumkuma, a really pretty, fragrant and alluring spice. So, i had no choice, but to put on my thinking cap and dish out something that would celebrate this spice :). Saffron usually graces a lot of Indian sweets and rice dishes such as pulaavs and biryanis. Now, i usually make sweets only when i have friends visiting and i had already prepared some plain rice for dinner. So, i was more and more inclined to prepare a savory side dish featuring saffron, to go with my rice :). A look into my fridge had some paneer waving at me.....and we all know how well saffron goes with dairy :). Hence the thoughtful paneer :).

This thoughtful dish brings together paneer, sour curds and a blend of spices, with saffron playing all the three major spicy roles: as an aromatic spice, a pretty garnish and a gorgeous coloring agent :). This dish also brings together the different flavors: saffron and shah-jeera for the warm, fragrant and bitter-sweet note, sour curds for the tangy taste, black pepper for the hot factor and a combination of cinnamon and star anise for mellow sweetness. The spices used along with saffron here complement its flavor, rather than overpowering it. I didn't have Indian saffron with me (which i consider to be the best), so i used whats available locally (which is quite good too). The end result was a really flavorful, fragrant and delectable side-dish :).

So here is how i thought out this dish:

Thoughtful paneer:

We need:

25-30 bite size paneer cubes ( i am not sure about the weight of the paneer block i had, hence this measure)
1 cup sour curds
2 tbsp. milk
A pinch of asfoetida/hing
1/4 tsp. black cumin/shah-jeera
1 star-anise/badiyun-khatai
1 small cinnamon stick/dalchini
1/2 tsp. black pepper/kali mirch powder
Salt to taste
A few strands of saffron
1 tbsp. oil

In a deep, flat pan, heat the oil and pan-fry/toast the paneer cubes to light brown. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Next, splutter hing and shah-jeera in the hot oil, followed by star-anise and cinnamon. Roast the spices till a mild aroma is released. It takes about a minute-take care not to burn the spices. Now add one cup water to the pan and bring it to boil. Add the toasted paneer cubes and cook for 5 minutes on high. Meanwhile, mix the black pepper powder and salt with curds and whisk it well. Reduce the flame and slowly add this mixture to the paneer while stirring (to avoid curdling). Simmer on low heat for another 10 mins. The gravy should thicken at this point. Switch of the flame. Dissolve 4-5 strands of saffron in 2tbsp. warm milk and mix well with the paneer. Top the dish with few more strands of saffron and cover and let rest for few minutes before serving. Goes very well with plain rice and a spicy side dish/pickles of your choice :). Tastes even better the next day.

Do not use too much saffron. Its a garam taseer (heat producing) spice. A few strands are more than enough to get the desired color and aroma. Kala jeera should also be used in suggested amounts, excess leads the dish to taste slightly bitter. I like that taste actually, and hence the excess in the picture :). But if you like it mellow, then stick to 1/4 tsp. kala-jeera.

Good show Richa and Pel, this indeed drew influence from Kashmiri cuisine :)

Here a few saffron flavored favorites from blogosphere: do check them out.

Zafraani zamodod and kheer (Anita)
Kesaria (Richa)
Kesari bhath (Ashakka)
Zafraani Pulav (Manasi)

Enjoy :).

Plantain-Palak sabzi :)

2007-10-01T23:34:00.001-07:00

Huff-puff! I am finally here :-D. I had promised dear Mandira that i would be posting my entry for JFI-Banana over the weekend.....which just flew by ;). So, here i am, i my usual late-lateef avatar, posting a last minute entry for JFI, one of my favorite events. JFI celebrates one special ingredient each month and was envisaged by dear Indira from Mahanandi.

I love bananas as a fruit, they are just yummy! They help energize a tired mind, as they boost the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. My favorite way of having bananas is as a chaat, with cut bananas, guavas, with some cayenne pepper, salt and lime juice thrown in to jazz it up :). Or as spicy banana raita. Or as such! I particularly love the lil' Yellaki bananas that we used to get in Bangalore. And as a vegetable, the plantain and raw bananas make my day as a part of Kalan, Undhiyu, Mocha ghanto and many more dishes :). Even the banana stem is edible and delicious. Read more here about bananas and plantains :).

My first experience of eating banana as a vegetable was really unique (kinda'). I was in fifth standard then, a lil' girl who would only think of school, playing and her cats, besides ofcourse food :-D. One of those days, the normal daily routine in our village came to halt, there was a curfew in the village.....for fifteen days, with just half an hour allowance time a day to buy essentials! No fresh vegetables and fruits would be in sight. Fortunately, we had a Kalpvriksha (as its been rightly referred to in ancient texts) planted in our haveli.....the banana tree came to our rescue, supplying us with the much needed freshness.....For those few days, we cooked and ate raw banana, enjoyed the ripe fruit and felt fortunate and blessed.....

I am pretty sure that the particular banana preparation that Mom made was more or less like arbi sabzi with gravy, somewhat like this. And indeed raw bananas and plantains work well like that, with or without eggplants. They also make yummy khatte kele ki sabzi, like here. Or a quick and delicious sabzi with Punjabi wadis. But all said and done, had it not been for the necessity driven consumption of raw bananas as a sabzi, i would not have discovered this goodness in life that early, certainly not in a Punju culinary way!
For JFI though, i wanted to make something different.....so i combined greens with raw plantain and gently spiced them. The result was delicious!

So here goes:

Plantain-palak sabzi:

We need:

2 green plantains (cut into discs/circles)
1 (9 oz.) bag baby spinach (chopped)
1 heaped tsp. grated ginger
1/4 tsp. Shah-jeera (black cumin)
A pinch of strong hing/asfoetida
A pinch of turmeric (optional)
Red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
1-2 green chillies
A pinch of garam masala
2 tbsp. oil

First, lets peel the plaintains and cut them into 1/2 cm. thick circles. In a pan, heat oil and splutter the shah-jeera. Add hing and let it release the aroma. Add the grated ginger and saute' for a minute or so. Add the plantain slices and stir fry till they change color into slightly pale/brown. This would help avoid the raw and slimy feel. Add the chopped spinach, salt and chilli powder. Stir and cover to cook on low heat till the plantain slices are tender. Add lime juice, 1-2 broken green chillies and a pinch of garam masala. Let rest for 5 minutes. Serve hot with chapatis or rice. Enjoy :).

Sending this with lots of love to dear Mandira. My apologies to you, sweetie, for the delay. Hope you'll enjoy it :).

Kara baath and Mangalore bajjis :)

2007-09-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

Every week, on a certain day, the hostel mess used to serve something sumptuous for breakfast: the Kara baath (or upittu), and i would always ensure that i had breakfast in the mess on that day. On the days that the mess didn't serve kara-baath, i would get my fill from the coffee-board. It used to be particularly exciting when the mess would serve kara baath or shavige or chow-chow (in the mess it meant a mix of shavige and rave upppitu; not to be confused with THE chow-chow baath, which is an equally delish platter of kesari and kara baath served together, or chow-chow, the chayote squash) for evening tiffin! Those would be the days, when i could have kara baath for both breakfast and thindi (tiffin)! I still feast on kara baath every single weekend :-D.

There are bajjis, and then there are Mangalore bajjis! Piping hot, best enjoyed with hot coffee, this yummy snack can totally uplift your mood :-D. What with all the green chillies and ginger! Mangalore bajji is the name Bangaloreans use to refer the much beloved Goli Baje :). When it comes to fried food, they are definitely a must have!

Together, Kara baath and Mangalore bajjis represents two different wheat preparations: one with rava, the coarse one, and the other one with maida, the really fine wheat flour. There's something about Bangalore style Kara baath! Those who have ever enjoyed it in small, but great corner eateries like my ever favorite Veena Stores would easily vouch for that! Kara baath, whether with or without that dash of turmeric, comes with certain must adds! Like chillies (dried or green; how else is it gonna' be kara), an occassional ginger, and often with the heavenly aroma of curry leaves or sometimes even coriander leaves, besides vegetables like carrots, beans, tomatoes and bell pepper etc. The things make it different from the usual upma. There's a pleasant tangy taste to it, courtesy tomatoes and lemon juice. All this makes this wonderful snack what it is! And if you use roasted rave (or Bansi rave, like its popularly known as), it just is pure bliss! Goli baje too is made out of wheat (maida), with a lil' besan and sometimes, a lil' rice flour too, with ginger and green chillies and ofcourse, buttermilk. So here goes:

Kara baath:

Kara baath with turmeric

We need:

1 cup rava/sooji
1 small onion (chopped)
1 cup mixed vegetables (chopped: i used bell peppers, beans, carrots and tomatoes)
8-9 curry leaves
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1/2 tsp. each urad and chana daals
A pinch of turmeric (optional)
Salt to taste
1-2 green chillies (chopped)
1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
1 tsp. oil

In a pan, roast the rava to very light brown (to a point when it starts emitting a warm aroma) and set aside. If using Bansi roasted rave, omit this step. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the mustard seeds and add the daals. Toast them till light brown and add the onions. Saute' the onions and add the chopped vegetables. Cook for 5 minutes. Add turmeric (if using) and salt, and stir. Add 3 cups water and bring to boil. Now slowly start adding the rava, while stirring (to avoid lumps). Add some lime juice, chopped green chillies and may be some chopped cilantro. Enjoy hot with your favorite chutney.

Sometimes, when i am in a hurry, i mix the roasted rava with vegetables and then add boiling water slowly (its quicker because you keep some water for boiling on another burner as you cook the vegetables). The end result is the same in both cases. Occassionally i add some chopped ginger to the seasoning. It gives a distinct flavor.

Goli baje/Mangalore bajji:

We need:

1 cup maida
1 tbsp. besan
1/2 sour curds
1" piece ginger (grated)
2 green chillies (chopped)
4-5 curry leaves (chopped)
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. baking soda
Oil for deep frying

Mix the maida and besan with curds, with a drizzle of water and beat into a smooth batter. Add the ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, salt and sugar. Allow the batter to rest for 30'. Heat oil and deep fry small portions of the batter. The end result should be crispy from outside, soft and fluffy from inside bajjis. Enjoy with your favorite chutney :).

If you are in a mood to do some deep frying, then try this! Its a must try for anyone who craves more hot and spicy stuff. Shilpa has a great recipe at her corner for yummy Goli Baje. Do check it out.

Sending two of my favorite foods to my dear Ashakka, who's hosting a Karnataka Oota get-together for us this month :). This concept of regional flavors is a proud brainchild of dear Lakshmi.

Enjoy this marvellous feast :).

Hot and spicy stuff!

2007-09-22T15:01:00.000-07:00

Despite it officially being the fall season now, i have shamelessly decided that i'll be posting some summertime vegetable recipes in the coming few days! But before i do that, i want to placate the audience by sharing something season appropriate ;). As if i haven't bragged enough about it to everyone around me, i'll say it again: It rained here last night, after a long time! And i enjoyed it quite a bit :). So i thought, may be i should share some hot and spicy stuff! Stuff that goes well with the mood of the season: like hot pakodas and bajjis and some spicy pasta!

How could i not be frying some pakodas! Few days back, my dear friend Ms. Wisdom, who's currently visiting home in Hyderabad, chirped that it was raining there. Before i could say it, she had already typed it clear "and that makes it perfect weather for chai and pakodas, why don't you post some" :-D. Such a loving suggestion, no reason not to fry some! Thus the pakodas! But where does this pasta thing come from? Answer lies in another evening, when moi was looking for some hot comfort food, preferrably spicy :-D. So here they are: the pakodas n' bajjis platter and the hot n' spicy pasta!

Pakodas and bajjis:

Hmm, even though in Punjabi the term "pakoda" refers to both these goodies, they are actually different! While pakodas imply fried stuff made from besan mixed with chopped veggies, bajjis indicate vegetable pieces dipped in besan batter and fried. Pakodas are crispier, crunchier and bajjis on the softer side. But to a Punju, they are all pakodas, they get specified by prefixes like khasta te karare (crispy/crumbly and spicy hot) vs. naram/polle (soft). Whatever the name may be, this dish is a favorite all over India, in its myriad varities. I am sharing one the multiple kinds of pakodas we enjoy !

Clockwise: Palak, mirchi and gobhi pakodas and bajjis

There is this signature Punju style batter which is spiced with anardana (pomegranate seeds), ajwain (carum), dhania (coriander), jeera (cumin) and yes, hing, a must for palak pakodas! The bajjis don't use hing, nor do onion pakodas. Onion pakodas are made out of either sliced onions alone, or along with chopped potatoes. There exist onion bajjis too! A cpl. of really famous shops in Hall Bazaar, Amritsar, make whole onion bajjis out of small red onions. Potato and eggplant bajjis are made from sliced potatoes and eggplants. Sometimes poeple make bajjis from whole baby potatoes too. Then there are methi pakodas and the paneer pakodas (err, techincally bajjis!). Paneer pakodas deserve a separate post, because there are many ways to make them! So i'll post them along with onion pakodas sometime soon. Often these pakoda shops in Punjab sell an aloo-bonda kind of stuff too, with a potato filling dressed up with red chillies, ginger and garlic. Punjabis traditionally use mustard oil, but that tradition is fast fading! I stick to it though! It gives a certain flavor to the pakodas. Today's platter here has two kinds of bajjis: Gobhi and Anaheim pepper and the palak/spinach pakodas. So here goes:

For basic batter, we need:

1 cup besan (gram flour)
Salt to taste
Red chilli powder (to taste)
1/2 tsp each ajwain (carum), jeera (cumin) and dhania (coriander) seeds,
1 tsp. anardana (pomegranate seeds)
a pinch of baking soda (optional)
a pinch of strong hing (must for palak pakodas)
Oil for deep frying

Heat mustard oil in a kadahi/deep pan to smoking point. Cool it down for 2-3 minutes and keep it for heating again (medium heat). This would be the right temperature for deep frying. As the oil heats, prepare the batter.Add the salt, chilli powder to the besan and sift the besan through a sieve or remove all the lumps with hand. Add the spices and anardana. Slowly mix water and prepare a thick paste like batter, by beating it vigorously with a spoon after you add a lil' warm water. Mix well, add more water and repeat. The paste should not be too thick, nor should it be runny. The end result should be a fluffy batter (well aerated). You might like to you use baking soda to aid this process. However, its not necessary, if you really beat the mixture well. For making bajjis, chop the vegetables into big chunks (I cut the Anaheim pepper into 3-4 pieces each), dip each piece into the batter, coat it throughly and deep fry. For making pakodas, add the finely chopped vegetables like palak or methi, or sliced onions to the batter and mix well with your hand. Take lil' portions and deep fry. The pakodas should come out light brown and crisp, the bajjis should be a bit softer. Enjoy the pakodas with your favorite chutney or sauce.

Spicy hot pasta:

I used whole wheat spaghetti for this and dressed it up with a home-made pasta sauce made from tomatoes and rosemary, and added some vegetables like spring onions, corn, beans, peas and carrots to make a one-pot comfort meal! The final (blasphemous) touch was some chopped green chillies ;). So here it is:

We need:

1 packet whole wheat spaghetti
1 big, ripe tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1/2 sprig rosemary/1 tsp. dried rosemary
1 cup chopped mixed vegetables
1 bunch spring onions (chopped)
1-2 green chillies (chopped)
Salt to taste
2 tsp. olive oil

Prepare the pasta: In a big pot, boil water with 1 tsp. salt . Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and add a drizzle of olive oil. Cook the pasta al dente (easy enough to chew, yet firm). Use a colander to drain the water. Its now ready to go.

Prepare the sauce: As the water boils and the pasta cooks, we prepare the sauce. In a pan, heat 1 tsp. olive oil and saute' the crushed garlic, add the chopped tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes till tender, add a lil' water and make a nice paste. Add half of the rosemary leaves. The sauce is ready. In another pan, heat remaining oil and saute' spring onions, add the chopped vegetable and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add salt to taste, the remaining rosemary leaves and green chillies if you want. Mix with the sauce. By this time, the pasta is ready too. Add the sauce with vegetables to the pasta and enjoy a spicy hot meal :).

Here is to the spirit of friendship, my friends!
P.S: The Mangalore bajjis and Kara baath are showing up soon :).

Beans, greens and the magic of mustard :).

2007-09-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Yes! that sounds quite poetic, isn't it :). Time to share something yummy made out of beans, greens and mustard. Ahem! Sorry, if that is a lil' misleading, but the beans here refer to the dried beans :-D. And which dried beans at that? The ones that poets have described as "beans wearing kohl", the ever pretty, easy to cook and experiment with: white lobia :-D. I must repeat that by itself lobia to me would taste a bit bland, though it has a unique subtle taste.....it needs something else.....some spicing up, to bring out the real taste. Addition of bell peppers or ginger and garlic do wonders to these humble beans. It even works wonders in khichdi. And now, i pair them up with greens, the lovely beet greens, which add another dimension to this dish. The final touch is the magic of mustard.....

I am ever thankful for the e-potlucks and their lovely themes. But for them, i would usually not be as adventurous :). Sunita hosts one such cute get together, where we are supposed to think, about spices :). I enjoy that kind of thinking, the spicy thinking ;). This month, she wants us to think about mustard. As for an idea on mustard, i kept wondering.....and then finally decided to go to the good old mustard and garlic seasoning that i used for saru besara, with some modifications. So here's to the power of spices :).

Lobia-saag with mustard:

Today, lets bring together the pretty and subtle lobia and the gorgeous, delectable beet greens and spice them up with mustard, garlic and ginger. This topped with green chillies makes a yummy meal :).

Pretty looking beet greens :)

We need:

1 cup lobia
2 cups greens (chopped, i used beet greens)
2 heaped tsp. mustard seeds (gorund coarse)
2-3 cloves garlic and a 2" piece of ginger (both chopped or crushed)
1 big ripe tomato (chopped)
1-2 green chillies (slit)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. amchoor or 1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
1 tsp. oil

Pressure cook the lobia and beet greens for 4-5 whistles with 1 and 1/2 cup water (soaking is not necessary). Grind the mustard seeds into a coarse powder and prepare the chopped ginger and garlic. In a pan, heat oil and add 1 tsp. equivalent of ground mustard powder. Once the ground mustard leaves an aroma, add the ginger and garlic and saute'. Add the tomatoes and turmeric, and cook for 5 minutes. This should result in a thick paste. Mix the remaining mustard powder with this masala and add to the cooked lobia with greens. Add salt and amchoor/lime juice and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes (till the gravy thickens). Top it with slit green chillies, cover and let rest for 5 more minutes before serving.

Enjoy with chapatis, paranthas or rice :). Equally yummy with a nice dinner roll or Ciabatta bread :).

The greens add body and their unique flavor to the beans. While whole mustard seeds in a tempering primarily provide aroma and warmth, the ground mustard used here gives a spicy and pungent flavor to any dish. This magic of mustard, paired with ginger and garlic, uplifts the mellow beans and greens combo to a totally different level :).

Majjige huli and beans palya: a simple, homestyle meal :).

2007-09-16T00:38:00.000-07:00

It happens to me a lot! You know how, sometimes we meet other people of Indian origin and the question comes up, "Which city are you from?" :). I usually answer after a lil' pause, for i can not single out just one city! I feel i belong equally to Amritsar, New Delhi and Bangalore (and all the other cities here i have lived in) :-D. But many a time, i just end up saying "Bangalore", because thats the city where i had my first taste of independent (well, almost) living :-D. I simply love the city!

When Ashakka announced RCI-Karnataka, i was really thrilled! For, here was my chance to write about some of my ever favorite comfort foods :). That brought back fond memories of my time in Bangalore.....Back in New Delhi, i had a few Kannadiga friends in the college and like it usually happens, we sampled each others lunch boxes quite often ;). I got even closer to the delicious Karnataka cuisine when i moved to Bangalore for my graduate school. It was here that i learnt about the myriad sub-regional varieties of Karnataka cuisine. The A-mess in IISc provided decent food most of the times and included a lot of preparations from our theme cuisine. I learnt more from my friends and colleagues, about the preparations, the Kannada names for spices and vegetables etc etc. :). Most of my "recipe learning" was from tasting good food and asking "so how do we make this" :-D. This usually left me with a decent idea, though not the exact proportions. I stored all this information in my mind and once i moved to the US and began cooking myself, i tried out many of these recipe ideas.....surprisingly, they turned out decent enough :-D. A senior colleague in my lab in Bangalore, Mrs. R, would often treat us, the graduate students, with yummy home cooked meals. Courtesy her, we sampled great food, and i had many of my "how to" queries answered. Her face would have this really nice glow as she watched us eat.....and ofcourse the lil' tid-bits from many friends.....

So in a way, this lovely cuisine is my own.....the yummy goodness that nurtured me through those years :). Ooh, the thoughts of good food.....the fiesta is on!

For RCI, i decided that first and foremost, i should share one of my most favorite comfort meals with you.....its my everyday kind of food.....a combination of majjige huli, beans palya and rice.....So, here is to yummy food :-D.

Majjige huli:

Majjige huli takes its name from majjige (buttermilk) and is one of the best ways to enjoy the flavor of a single vegetable! With the warm aroma and smooth texture from coconut and the tangy taste from buttermilk, this one is surely a comfort food! Traditionally, the vegetables chosen are: Ash-gourd (kumbalakayi), chayote squash (seemebadnekayi), bottle gourd (sorekayi), bell-pepper (dodda-mensinakayi; the big pepper) and long eggplants (badnekayi).....but hey, nothing should stop you from trying this out with other vegetables. I especially recommend the squashes and gourds! This is surely one the best ways to enjoy them! For RCI, i have prepared majjige huli with dodda-mensinakayi and another one with the pretty looking patty pan squashes.

So pick your vegetable of choice and lets start :-D.

We need:

1 big bell-pepper or 4-5 pieces patty pan squash (chopped into bite-size pieces)
3/4 cup grated coconut (fresh/frozen)
1 tbsp. soaked bengal gram/chana daal
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1-2 small green chillies
Turmeric (just a pinch)
1 cup sour buttermilk (or sour curds, diluted to 1 cup)
Salt to taste
A pinch or two of sugar (~ 1/4 tsp., almost mandatory)
For seasoning: 1 tsp. oil, 1/2 tsp. mustard seeds, a lil' asfoetida, 5-6 curry leaves and 1-2 dried red chillies (broken)

Lets first cook the chopped vegetables by boiling in water, till tender. While this goes on, we grind the coconut, daal, cumin seeds, green chillies and turmeric into a smooth paste (add a lil' water if needed). Once the vegetable pieces are done, we add the coconut paste, salt and simmer for another 5-10 minutes for the flavors to blend in. Now, remove it from the flame and slowly add the buttermilk/curds (which should be at room temperature, to prevent curdling). Prepare the seasoning by heating the oil and spluttering the mustard seeds, followed by adding the asfoetida, curry leaves and red chillies. Add the seasoning to the prepared huli, stir in and let rest for 5-10 minutes. Enjoy this delicious goodness with rice :). Or just drink it up (like i do) :-D.

After i prepared this for RCI, i just wanted to cross check if i had gotten my stuff right (given that i had no written down recipe). So, i set about searching on Google. There were a lot of recipes, most of them with a long list of ingredients that i wasn't sure i had ever tasted in the homemade authentic majjige huli. I finally found a recipe, that i bet is authentic and is really simple and it eased my worries as my recipe was quite like this recipe, and that recipe is from our very own Supriya :-D. Thank you, sweetie for letting me know that i was on the right path all along.....it means a lot to me.....I usually have this with regular Sona Masuri rice, but i listened to Sia and tried it with Basmati! It was just delicious!
Over to beans palya :-D.

Beans palya:

This is another must eat! A simple dish with a vegetable and coconut, a total delight! I love this preparation the most with french beans, cluster beans, carrots, beets and cabbage! Squashes are good to, i especially enjoy this preparation with zucchini. Kohlrabi also makes yummy palya. Here's the recipe with cluster beans:

We need:

2 cups chopped vegetable (i used cluster beans)
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. urad daal (uddina bele)
1-2 broken dried red chillies
5-6 curry leaves
Salt to taste
A pinch of both turmeric and sugar
2-3 tbsp. grated coconut
1 tsp. oil

Heat oil and splutter the mustard seeds, add the urad daal and allow it to lightly brown, followed by turmeric, curry leaves and red chillies. Stir for a cpl. of minutes and add the chopped vegetables. Drizzle with lil' water, add the salt and cook on low heat after covering the pan till the vegetable is done. Top it with grated coconut and sugar. Stir and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Enjoy the palya with rice and huli or as a fabulous sandwich stuffing!

This recipe at Payaswini's cookbook adds kadlabele too, but i didn't. Also i normally use more coconut than the recipe in the link. This site seems to have a decent recipe collection and sounds authentic (from the recipes i checked out).

This is my contribution for RCI-Karnataka, an being hosted by our dearAshakka :). RCI is an event celebrating the yummy regional Indian cuisines,coneptualized by dear Lakshmi at Veggie Cuisine. Thanks Ashakka, for hosting this, despite your Lasik plans.....and for the Benne Biscattu post :-D.

Enjoying eggplants and mushrooms :)

2007-09-07T23:44:00.000-07:00

Eggplants are really good, so are mushrooms. What's even better is the two of them together! Few days back (actually many days ago, when we were enjoying poori-bhaaji. Yes! that long back!), i had mentioned about an eggplant-mushroom recipe :). And then i just waited and waited to post it.....and came up with another eggplant-mushroom recipe, and still kept on waiting.....and finally, i am posting these :). and did i tell you that like many of the recipes here, these recipes originated while i was enjoying my bus ride ;).

Today, we'll enjoy the eggplant mushroom combo two ways: a yogurt based gravy dish and a coconut based dry sabzi! So yes, eggplants rule, as do mushrooms and together they are just divine!

Eggplant-mushrooms in yogurt gravy:

We need:

4-5 small eggplants or 2 Chinese or Japanese eggplants (cut into 2" pieces)
1 cup baby bella or crimini mushrooms (diced, i used dried crimini mushrooms, soaked. Fresh mushrooms work equally well).
1/2 tsp. each jeera/cumin and dhania/coriander
1 big, ripe tomato (chopped)
1 heaped tsp. chopped ginger
Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
1/2 cup beaten curds (preferably sour)
1 and 1/2 tbsp. oil
A pinch of garam masala
Cilantro (for garnishing)

In a pan, heat oil and splutter the cumin and coriander seeds. Add half of the chopped ginger and saute'. Now add the eggplant pieces and stir fry. This should take about 6-7 minutes. Add the diced mushrooms and stir fry another 5 minutes. Add rest of the chopped ginger and tomatoes, salt, turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir , cover and cook on low flame with 1/4 cup water to allow the vegetables to abosrb the flavors of the spices. Now add the curds slowly and mix. Cook another 5 minutes for the gravy to thicken. Add a pinch of garam masala. Garnish with cilantro and enjoy!

The brown color of this dish is from dried mushrooms and tomatoes. I enjoyed this dish with pooris and also with rice.

Eggplant-mushrooms stir fry:

We need:

4-5 small eggplants orr 2 Chinese or Japanese eggplants (cut into 2" pieces)
1 cup baby bella or crimini mushrooms (diced)
2 bunches (8-10 pieces) spring onions (chopped)
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tbsp. Sriracha chilli sauce (or any hot sauce, my favorite substitute is green chilli chutney)
Turmeric (a pinch)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
1 and 1/2 tbsp. oil

In a pan, heat 1/2 tbsp. oil and saute' the spring onions, followed by grated coconut. Now add the eggplant slices and stir fry till crisp. Add the mushrooms and stir fry another 8-10 minutes. Add the turmeric, salt, chilli sauce and lime/lemon juice. Cook for another 5 minutes. Enjoy the heavenly aroma of coconuts and chillies. Serve hot with chapatis, paranthas or as a side dish with rice. My favorite way of enjoying this: as a sandwich stuffing!

I decided to make this dish, because i still had some eggplants and mushrooms in my fridge and wanted to enjoy these vegetables in a different way. I am glad i thought of this! The taste and aroma of this dish was amazing, so was the texture: soft mushrooms and eggplant pieces and crunchy grated coconut and spring onions! Oh and if you don't enjoy eggplants as much, chances are that you will, after this :)). And yes, it works well with just mushrooms or eggplants too :).Don't go by the pictures, this one is really yummy!

Lobia-black beans khichdi :)

2007-09-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hi, everyone! Today i'll share another simple yet delicious khichdi with you. Khichdi is the ultimate comfort food to me, and thats what i crave for now.....This one is a twist on the most regular khichdi in my kitchen, which is moong and masoor daals cooked with white rice, usually Basmati, along with vegetables like matar/peas and a whole bunch of frozen vegetables, along with cumin, black pepper, cloves, ginger, turmeric and yes, ghee! Instead of using moong-masoor daal mix and white rice, i have used a mix of white lobia and black beans along with brown rice. The result is really yummy! So, here is how i make it:

We need:

1/2 cup soaked beans (i used black beans and lobia)
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup green peas
1/2 cup chopped fresh/frozen vegetables (your choice, i used cauliflower, broccoli and carrots)
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. of black peppers (whole) and cloves each
1 tsp. ginger (julienned)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
Salt to taste
1 tsp. ghee

Wash rice and mix with soaked beans in a pressure cooker. Add the vegetables and 2 cups water, followed by the spices and salt. Mix and add the ghee. Pressure cook for 4-5 whistles. Let the pressure cooker cool off. Enjoy the khichdi with dahi/curds and pickles of your choice.

You might like to try this preparation with moong-masoor daal mix as well. Its even simpler to prepare, the cooking time is only two pressure cooker whistles.

This khichri is my contribution for JFI-Rice, hosted by dear Sharmi at Neivedyam. JFI is an event that celebrates one special ingredient each month and is the proud brainchild of dear Indira from Mahanandi.

Saru besara, dahi baigana and mixed vegetables: Culinary trip to Orissa and the warm aroma of cumin :)

2007-08-25T10:19:00.000-07:00

The title tells you all, doesn't it ;). Has it ever happened to you that you plan days in advance before a certain event that you really want to enjoy, and then suddenly you get all busy and have almost no time to prepare the much planned khana, let alone blog about it :-D. Why o why, does it happen just before the events :-D. What do you do then? Ah! you day dream, cook those delicacies in your dreams, think of them during the bus rise, during lunch time, write imaginary posts in your mind ;). You also try to sneak some time out, get disappointed, etc etc. when that doesn't happen. and you look for simple, quick and yet delicious recipes to come to your rescue! This certainly was my story this week :)). I had been thinking and imagining about RCI:Orissa since the day it was announced.....and now its the 25th, and i am yet to post anything :). Same for my love for Cumin :). But i decided that i won't give up ;). So last night, i went all out: it took a lil' effort, but it was totally worth it :).

So here are the lovely, easy breezy dishes for RCI:Orissa (being hosted this month by dear friend Swapna of Swad. RCI is an event celebrating the myriad lovely regional cuisines of India, conceptualized by the creative Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine), and for Think Spice:Think Cumin, the spicy event at Sunita's World, a brain child of Dar(l)ing Bakerina Sunita :).

As i looked for dishes for RCI, i wanted something that was quick and easy and yet something that would convey the flavors of Oriya Cuisine. So i zeroed on to Saru besara, a yummy taro and mustard based dish and Dahi Baigana, a culinary meeting of eggplant and curds: the result was fantastic! I loved the Dahi Baigana even more, because it boasted of cumin and hence i could take it to two e-potlucks :). Talking of cumin, how about a really easy mixed vegetable preparation, that primarily derives it flavor from cumin? So friends, here goes: my recent tryst with Oriya cooking and enjoying cumin:

Saru besara:

It is a simple dish made out of taro/arbi (saru in Oriya) in a mustard base (the besara). I adapted the recipe from Oriya Kitchen. Here's my version of Saru besara:

We need:

6-7 taro roots, peeled and cut into 1" long pieces
Mustard paste (2 heaped tsp. mustard+ 2 cloves of garlic: ground into a coarse paste)
2 tomatoes (cubed)
Chopped green chillies (to taste)
1/4 tsp. Panch phutana (cumin, mustard, fennel, nigella, fenugreek seeds spice mix)
1/4 tsp. Turmeric
Salt to taste
Oil (1/2 tbsp. for cooking, 1 tsp for tempering)

Peel the taro roots and cut them into 1" long pieces. Microwave these for 4-5 minutes and set aside. In a pan, heat 1/2 tbsp. oil and add the mustard-garlic paste. Saute' for 1-2 minutes and add the taro pieces. Stir fry for about 5-7 minutes till the pieces are slightly toasted/golden brown. Now add the tomatoes, turmeric and salt. Add 1 cup of water and stir. Bring to boil and cook on low heat till the gravy thickens. In a small pan, heat oil and splutter the paanch phutana. Add the cut gbreen chillies and saute' for 1/2 a minute. Add this to the besara and cook another 1-2 minutes. Serve hot with chapati or rice :).

Dahi Baigana:

This is one of the favorite combinations in Indian cuisine, this pairing of eggplants and curds :). Sample e.g. Dahiwala baingan bharta, Baingan Boorani, Buzwangun, Kathrikai pachadi etc. This is the delicious Oriya version of this national favorite. I adapted the recipe from Oriya Nari.

We need:

2 Japanese or Graffiti or Chinese eggplants or 4 small eggplants(cut into 2" long pieces)
1 and 1/2 cup curds (beaten)
1/2 tsp each Cumin and mustard (jeera and sorisha)
6-8 curry leaves
4 green chillies (cut into 1" pieces)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. oil

Beat the curds with some salt and set aside. Heat oil in a pan and splutter the cumin and mustard and add the curry leaves. Stri in the curry leaves. Saute' the cut eggplant pieces with a lil' salt till the eggplants are fried well and the raw look and smell goes away. Add the cooked eggplants to curds, garnish with lil' bit of chopped green chillies and enjoy with rice :).

I have deviated a bit from original recipe here, because i felt stir frying the eggplant with salt and spice instead of deep frying them and later mixing with spices will enhance the taste of eggplants.

The end result for both these recipes was a yummy virtual trip to an Oriya household. During my M.Sc. i had a chance to work in a lab for my summer training where i met many Oriya colleagues. I still remember the taste and aroma of the delicious tiffins i had the pleasure of enjoying :). These closely matched the taste in my memories :).

Now for the simple mixed vegetable jeere wali ;)

This is a quick and easy preparataion and is a regular in my kitchen.

We need:

Carrots, Cauliflower and Broccoli mixed (i used frozen California style vegetable mix-1 packet) about 1 and 1/2 cup equivalent.
1/3 cup green peas
1 tsp. cumin
1/2 onion chopped
1 small tomato chopped
Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. oil

In hot oil, splutter the cumin and saute' the onions. Stir in the mixed vegetables and green peas and cook for 4-5 minutes on medium heat. Add the turmeric, red chilli powder, salt and tomatoes. Stir well, cover and cook on low heat till done. Enjoy with parantha or as a sandwich stuffing. Also works well as a side dish with rice and daal :).

Saru besara and dahi baigana are my contributions for RCI-Orissa at Swapna's corner. I am also sending dahi baigana along with mixed vegetables jeere wali, to Sunita's Think Spice-Think Cumin get together.

The mad, mad tea party with poori-bhaji ;)

2007-08-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone :). Am back again! Its been a couple of weeks since i posted anything :)). Ah! there are those days when you just feel tired.....That's when friends come into picture :). With their liveliness, they nudge you out of this tiredness, this slumber-sometimes with an invitation to A MAD TEA PARTY :)). Really, it was an invitation that i could not say no to! There she was, with enticing pictures, wielding the baton, err.....the belan, nudging everyone to get up and enjoy some poori-bhaji :). Ooh, in the last week, i have fried my pooris in two different styles and enjoyed them with three(no less!) delicious bhajis :). A clear case of going overboard? Nah! I made two different doughs-which gave me 8 or so pooris, two of which were snack time savory treats ;). Oh, and before i forget, poori bhaji (or poodi sabzi in my Majha Punjabi accent) to me is a symbol of travel time food-how can i forget the countless pooris i gobbled on Railway Stations and Bus stops on numerous occassions, or the home made poori-aloo and karelas packed for the trip :). So, here is my journey with the pooris and bhaji. Here's to the spirit of the really mad tea party, with countless varieties of poori and sabzis/sagus i have been enjoying this past week!

1. Poori with besan and ajwain with station style aloo bhaji

These pooris have whole wheat flour (3/4 cup), 2 tbsp. besan, 1/2 tsp. ajwain, a lil' bit of salt (to taste) and 1/4 tsp. sugar kneaded into a stiff dough, rolled into small discs and deep fried! Bliss :). The bhaji recipe is even simpler, almost like Anita's classic Railway Station bhaji. For this, we just microwave two potatoes for about 7 minutes, this is equivalent to boiling. Next, we splutter jeera/cumin (1 tsp.) in 1 tsp. oil, add a cpl. of pinches of strong hing/asfoetida and turmeric-then add the peeled, mashed potatoes, followed by 1 glass of water. Add salt to taste, dhania/coriander powder, bring to boil, add chopped green chillies (as much as you want) and a lil' chopped cilantro. I love the aroma of hing here, so i don't use too much cilantro. Hing is really the key spice here-for the authentic Railway Station style bhaji.

2. Same pooris (with red chilli powder added to the dough this time) with some khatte kaddu

Disclaimer: no poori pictures here, i was too hungry to take pictures ;). Really, i LOVE khatte kaddu: so here's the recipe.

We need: Halwa kaddu/pumpkin cut into big chunks (2 cups-i used banana squash for this recipe)-the chunks are put in a microwave bowl and microwaved for 10 minutes after adding 1/4 cup of water. Meanwhile, we heat oil (1 tsp.) in a wok, splutter jeera and kalonji/nigella (1/2 tsp. each), add a pinch of hing, stir in 1 tbsp. chopped ginger and saute', then add turmeric and stir. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boil-now we add the microwaved pumpkin and mix-this should be mushy now :). Add salt, red chilli powder (optional) and bring to boil. Stir in the juice of one lemon and add some chopped green chillies.

Enjoy the khatte kaddu with poori, chapati or paranthas :). Oh, and this is almost traditional style khatte kaddu, UP style :). Almost, because nigella is not common in this dish, and the real deal is chunkier. I like mine mushy :)).

3. Achaari Pooris with baingan-mushroom sabzi

The pooris here had masala from a mango pickle-you can pick any pickle and it would be equally yummy. So we roll a poori, spread the masala, bundle it up and roll again. The baingan mushroom sabzi was not made to go with pooris, but when i got back home tired, two pooris and this sabzi were there in the fridge, ready to be devoured ;). And surprisingly, they went very well together. The recipe for the sabzi will show up soon ;). and yes, achaari poori goes well with achaar too :)).

4. Cumin-rosemary tikhi pooris for tea-time

The dough here had the same proportions of whole wheat flour and besan, 1 tbsp. dried rosemary leaves, 1/2 tbsp. jeera and red chilli powder to taste-kneaded into a stiff dough, rolled into small discs and deep fried. While the poori recipes above can have an addition of milk instead of water for kneading the dough, this one needs to be crisp, so this dough uses water. Cumin and rosemary go really well together and this makes a really yummy tea time snack. These pooris are my entry for dear Sunita's spicy event Think Spice: Think Cumin.

Here's another favorite of mine: Vesan wali poori (plain poori, dipped on one side in a besan batter). There are tons of other favorite varieties of aloo-bhaji that i regularly make: my all time favorites Bangalore style potato sagu and hostel mess style sagu (with garlic and tamarind) are a cpl. of them. Boiled potatoes are ready and i will surely post the two recipes sometime soon :).

And now, time to thank the generous buddies who consider this blog worthy of the awards (blush).....our generous hostess Anita recently presented me with the "Thoughtful blogger" and "The power of schmooze" awards-this was soon followed by the "Rocking girl blogger" awards from dear buddies Sharmi and Sia :). All i can say is a huge THANK YOU, dear friends-for supporting this blog in your own special ways.....And since i love a huge number of blogs, who have inspired me with their creations and their thoughts-i pass on the best award to them all that i can: HUGS and LOVE :).

And this event, this rocking mad tea party, the poori-bhaji fiesta is being organized to celebrate the 6oth Anniversary of India's independence. I'll leave you with a couple of thoughts.....To all fellow Indian citizens: we are really lucky to be born in a free country, enjoying the independence, one of the best present our elders gave us. But lets not forget that there's a lot more to do.....also, lets for a moment, think of the first few days of our country's independence, the birth of twins.....which was marked by not hugs and handshakes, but blatant disregard for life and peace.....To everyone: The food bloggers have a unique power, to cut across cultural and regional boundaries and extend a friendly hand.....the desi food blogging community, for example, promotes regional harmony, this is what i call positive regionalism-the food blogs are vital in educating one and all about the multiple facets of Indian cuisine, with all its regional charm! You, my friend, have the power, to promote peace and love-a present this world needs desperately-and you do it so well-and that, dear friend, is the reason YOU ALL ROCK!!

Hugs, love and peace,
musical.

Z for zucchini-paneer sabzi :)

2007-08-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! As usual, i am making an eleventh hour appearnace for the A-Z event :). Z to me signifies a lot more than just the culmination of this wonderful potluck that has been going on at Nupur's place as a weekly tradition.....it signifies hopes and expectations of many more "Zaaykedaar (flavorful)" get togethers in the days to come :). So here's to one of my favorite events :).

Today, i just pair up the crunchy zucchinis with soft paneer to make one of my favorite dishes.

Its simple and its quick! The dish takes inspiration from the traditional pairing of bottle gourd (Al) and paneer (Chaman) in Kashmiri cuisine (paging Anita!). But the preparation style, in this case, is very different.

So here it is:

Zucchini-paneer sabzi:

We need:

4 zucchinis (chopped into semi-lunar shape)
1 cup fresh paneer
1/4 tsp. jeera (cumin)
2 bunches spring onion (chopped)
1 small Roma tomato (optional, i added it for color)
1/2 tsp. amchoor/ squeeze of 1/2 lemon (if you like it tangy)
Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. oil

Chop the zucchinis in semi-lunar shape (for variation, try 2" long pieces) and set aside. In a pan, heat oil and splutter the cumin. Fry the chopped spring onions and add the paneer and stir till the paneer is toasted a bit (if you are using fried/grilled paneer cubes, then proceed to the next step). Add the zucchinis and stir fry them on high heat till a lil' crisp. Now stir in the tomatoes, add the turmeric, red chilli powder, amchoor and salt.

Stir, reduce the flame and cover to cook till done when the raw vegetable smell goes). Serve hot with chapatis and dahi, or as a side dish with rice and daal. It tastes quite good as a sandwich stuffing too.

Variations: Instead of jeera, use any other seeds like coriander or kalonji/nigella or fresh methi leaves as a flavoring agent.

More fun with zucchinis here and here.

Mirchi etc ;)

2007-08-01T08:32:00.000-07:00

Precisely! because when mirchis make an appearance, everything else becomes etc! (sorry Pel, that was really tough to resist) :-D. Its all about mirchis this months, folks :)). As i wondered if i would be able to participate in this month's JFI, i simultaneously made plans of having a quick dinner.....i was home quite late, again! And then, news flash, how about using mirchis as a key ingredient to spice up a quick meal!! I got home and.....what did i do? Jazzed up a simple parantha with gorgeous looking Anaheim chillies and even got the energy to dish up a delicious daal with chillies for my lunch tomorrow :)). I can see the wink-wink, folks, Musical makes paranthas and kadhis with everything :-D.

So these two quick recipes go to the very creative Nandita (of Saffron Trail fame) who is hosting this month's JFI:chillies, a lovely blog event created by dear Indira (Mahanandi).

On to the food.....

Mirchi-pudina-cheese parantha:

We need:

1 cup whole wheat flour
A pinch of salt
3 big Anaheim chillies (chopped fine)
1 tbsp. dried Pudina leaves (crushed)
Water to make a dough
Fresh mozzarella cheese for filling
Ghee for frying

Make a dough with whole wheat, salt, chillies and pudina leaves. Roll the paranthas and fill them out as shown here. Fry on the griddle with lil' bit ghee. Serve hot with plain dahi for a nice filling breakfast, lunch or dinner.

As for variations: Try dried Rosemary or Oregano :). Try some of your other favorite cheese variety. And trust me, this parantha wouldn't taste the same without MIRCHI :-D. If you want to make a kulcha with these ingredients, simply make the dough with curds instead and let it rest for 2 hrs. or so. Knead again and proceed to make the kulchas-which are paranthas from raised dough.

Masoor daal with mirchi:

This is my friend MD's all time favorite daal and is based on her Bengali recipe :).

We need:

1 cup masoor daal
1/2 tsp. panch-phoron
1 inch piece of ginger, chopped (my addition)
1 small tomato (chopped, optional)
6-7 green Thai chillies (slit) or 2 big Anaheim chillies(chopped into 1" pieces)
1 tsp. oil
A pinch of turmeric (not more)
Salt to taste

Pressure cook the masoor daal for 2-3 whistles. For the tadka, spultter the panch-phoron (mustard seeds, nigella seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds). Add the ginger and chillies, saute' and add the tomatoes, followed by the turmeric. Cook 2-3 minutes and add to the daal. Stir the tadka in, add salt and bring the daal to boil.

Enjoy with some plain boiled rice :).

Y for Yam with black-beans :)

2007-07-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

Yes, Y is for Yam, a name that's been claimed by both Amorphophallus (Suran) and Dioscorea (Sweet potatoes), depending on the place on the globe :). Since where i live, Dioscorea is easily available and is called Yam, i am using this in my recipe (was that a disclaimer?). Now, i do have my thoughts on what we calls Yams here in the US. These are also referred to as sweet potatoes, but to my palette, they are not nearly as sweet and starchy as the desi shakarkand (sweet potatoes)-and i am thrilled about it, because that makes them a perfect replacement for the Amorphophallus (the stuff we call Yam in India)! Today, i am pairing the yams with black-beans, and folks, let it be known, i am thrilled with the outcome :)).

The plus is that if get lazy while making this dish, you'll end up with something good half-way through still (ahem, that was kind of a note to self), he he ;). Feel free to try this with raw plantain, cassava or any starchy vegetables/tubers etc., and yes, that includes potatoes :)). Black beans may be replaced by lobias, fava beans, rajma/kidney beans or chana/garbanzos. And this dish is for the A-Z e-potluck at Nupur's place :).

So, here's the how-to:

We need:

1 cup cubed yams
1 cup black beans
5-6 mild green chillies-crushed/equivalent amount of bell peppers-chopped (optional, i used them and love them)
1 onion (finely sliced)
A 2" (atleast) piece of ginger (julienned)
1 big, ripe tomato (chopped)
1/4 tsp. each shah-jeera (black-cumin) and dhaniya (coriander seeds)
Turmeric (very little, as a spice) and red chilli powder (if you are not using green chillies or settle for bell-peppers)
Salt to taste
Amchoor/lime juice to taste (if you like it a lil' tangy)
1 tsp. oil/melted ghee
A pinch of garam masala
Kasuri methi or Chopped Cilantro (for garnish and aroma)

First, lets peel and cube the yams-this may be a lil' difficult. So, we can put the yams in boiling water for a few minutes or microwave the tubers for 2 minutes. After cubing them, we microwave the cubes for 3-4 minutes. While we are doing this, we also have soaked the black beans in warm water (though its not necessary, just pressure cook them an extra cpl. of whistles if you choose not to soak them). These beans are pressure cooked atleast 5 whistles, if soaked before. And the action begins now! We heat the ghee/oil, splutter the jeera and dhania and saute' the onions. This is followed by adding ginger, and after 2-3 minutes adding the chopped tomatoes-all this while we are stirring this stuff :). We now add the crushed green chillies or chopped bell peppers and cook for 2-3 more minutes and then add turmeric and (if using) the red chilli powder and souring agent like amchoor or lime juice. The next step is to add the microwaved yams, stir them in and cook 5 more minutes.

What next? From here, either we choose to cook the black beans and yams together or cook yams for 5 more minutes, add salt to taste, add some cilantro and have it with parantha or chapati or even roll yourself a nice burrito with this sabzi and cooked black beans plus some cheese-or may be a quesadilla :). I did the former (although many a time, i settle for the latter). To do that, we just add the cooked yams to the pressure cooked black beans and simmer on low heat till the gravy thickens. Lets garnish this with cilantro and enjoy! The chunky, cubed, bordering on sweet yams in the luscious dark black beans gravy is just bliss! I had this combo for dinner with chapati and the my lunch next day was a burrito from boiled beans and cooked yams! Or do it like they do here in one Pita place close to where i work: Black beans (and lets add the yams too) and melted cheese with some salad in the pita-to make what they call as a bean wowshi!

There's more yams for you here :). Enjoy the yummy yams, your way!

Mothaan di khichdi, Sukke aloo and Paneer di kadhi

2007-07-25T23:30:00.000-07:00

Three dishes, so different from each other :). And all three are pretty simply, yet delicious! The first one, a very simple khichdi. Now, this khichdi is the simplest ode to this whole genre of dishes-dal+chawal=khichdi! As simple as this sounds :). Moth/matki and rice cooked together to creamy perfection with just some salt and ghee! Its a lovely meal, and is my favorite since childhood. My Bibiji used to make it a lot.....daal and rice slowly blending together on angeethi (movable earthen stove) and the final taste and aroma would come from moth, ghee and the smoke! Yes, food cooked on slow fire on an earthern stove has that distinct touch.....and sometimes, simple food can be the most delicious :). Anyway, years later, when i was in the hostel, i once wrote a letter to my Mom telling her how much i craved this khichdi. and in her really cute response she wrote, "You've to learn to cook, to eat something delicious". If it were chat, you would see some wink symbols after this ;). So yes, i love this one. I don't have an angeethi or a chullah (fixed earther stove), so i can't get that real smokey flavor, but hey, its still delish :)).

The next one, the sukki aloo sabzi is another quick eat and is a Multani style recipe. Sliced potatoes cooked with dry spices. Yummy and tangy :). The last one, is one of those really old fashioned dishes, sounds quite odd, but is real easy to make and easier to fall in love with. The only pre-requisites: sour curds and freshest possible paneer :). I have had it a few times, long ago.....The memories of this dish were rekindled again during a casual conversation with an acquaintance, who fondly mentioned how his Mom makes the best paneer kadhi :).

So lets start:

Mothaan di khichdi:

We need:

1/2 cup moth/matki (soaked 1 hr. in warm water)
1/2 cup rice (non-basmati, i used brown rice)
salt to taste
a pinch of red chilli powder and garam masala
1-2 tsp. ghee

Pressure cook the moth daal in 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups water(4-5 whistles) till its really soft. Add the washed rice and add some more water. Add salt and chilli powders to taste, a tsp. ghee and stir. Pressure cook for another 2-3 whistles. The result should be a liquidy, creamy khichdi.

Bubbling with joy ;)

Blend in the remaining ghee and enjoy with mango pickles, dahi and papad. Occasionally also with raw onions (broken with your fist, pendu/rural style). The khichdi looks gorgeous with its reddish color and tastes great!

Sukke aloo:

We need:

2-3 potatoes (sliced into rounds)
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1/4 tsp. coriander seed powder
1/4 tsp. ajwain (ground coarse)
a pinch of strong heeng/asfoetida
1 tsp. sunddh/saunth/dry ginger powder
1 tsp. amchoor (traditionally its anardana/pomegranate seeds, i was out of it so i used amchoor)
Salt and red chilli powder to taste
Turmeric
1 tsp. oil
Crushed, dried poodna/pudina/mint leaves or mint leaves powder (to taste)

This is a low-fat adaptation :). The original calls for deep frying potatoes. I usually either bake the slices or stir-fry and then cook with a lil' drizzle of water. So, heat some oil and splutter the cumin seeds, add the rest of the spice powders except amchoor. Add the potato slices and stir on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Add amchoor, drizzle enough water, so that the slices do not stick to the pan. Lower the heat and cover to cook till the slices are tender. Don't forget to stir a bit in between. Finally, add the pudina powder or crushed dry leaves and serve hot as a side dish :).

One of the interesting recipes i found on the internet is a coriander take on this classic and involves baking. Its called Multani Aloo (the author says that this dish gets the name from Multani masala, but for some reason doesn't have the masalas like ajwain, heeng and sunddh, which are very popular in Multani food). Paging Rachna :).

Paneer di kadhi:

We need:

10-15 cubes of fresh paneer
1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk or beaten curd (sour preferred)
3 tbsp. besan
1/4 tsp. each Shah-jeera (black cumin), methi dana (fenugreek seeds) and kalonji (nigella seeds)
a pinch of strong hing
Turmeric and red chilli-powder (to taste)
Kasuri methi
2 tsp. oil

Prepare the besan-curds mix by first beating the curd smooth and then slowly blending in the besan. Heat 1 tsp. oil and add methi dana and heeng. Add the cubed paneer and stir till the cubes are lightly toasted. If you are using fried paneer then just throw the cubes in and proceed to the next step. Add the turmeric and chilli powder and mix. Reduce the heat to very low and stir in the besan-curds mix slowly. Stir again and add some water and mix thoroughly. Bring this to a boil and cook on low heat till the kadhi thickens. Now with the remaining oil (or melted ghee, if you will) prepare another quick tadka of shah-jeera and kalonji and pour it over the kadhi. Stir in some kasuri methi and garnish with hari-mirch. Enjoy this kadhi hot with rice or pulaav (and if you are like me, even with a sourdough panini sandwich).

Indira posted a recipe with paneer and dahi some time back, and i find it to be a kinder, gentler version of a kadhi. That dish requires addition of beaten dahi in the end and has no besan. Do try that as well, because it is a lovely one :).

So folks, enjoy these yummy dishes :).

And, these dishes are my contribution to RCI: Punjab, an event hosted this month by Richa (As dear as salt) and originally envisaged by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine, to celebrate the regional cuisines of India.

Arbi-bataun di sabzi-taro root and eggplants :)

2007-07-19T01:35:00.000-07:00

This is just as simple as it sounds, friends. Arbi is taro and bataun is baingan, eggplants, aubergines, brinjals etc etc.....Now, isn't that combo interesting :). I know, i know.....y'all are thinking, hey, wasn't it meant to be aloo-baingan ;). The ever favorite of Punjus, the great spud, needs to take rest sometimes ;). Meanwhile, arbi/arvi or taro-root steps in and how! Aloo-bataun/aloo-baingan or "potatoes and eggplants", with or without wadis, is a classic Punju combo. Equally yummy, but a far less talked about variation is the use of taro with eggplants. Well, that statement is not completely true: it is a rather popular summer time combo in rural Punjab, but not much talked about elsewhere. So here's our chance to talk about it and enjoy it :). And its a very versatile combo too: enjoy it as a simple, mild, tari-wali (gravied) sabzi or a spicy, kicked-up sukki (dry) sabzi. It is usually made with Chinese eggplants (the long eggplants), but you can use any variety available and it would still taste good. So here are the two recipes: for all taro and eggplant lovers to enjoy.....and also as my contribution to RCI:Punjab :). My agenda is clear here :). That is, to blog about Punjabi recipes, that used to be common once upon a time and are fading away, or are not well known outside Punjabi community, or recipes that are only made in specific parts of Punjab, the regional specialities.....last post exemplified a recipe now sorta' extinct, and another one thats typically Punju, but not particularly famous outside Punjab. Why i am doing it? Just my attempt to preserve a bit of my own culinary heritage.....and share it with my friends.

Arbi-bataun sabzi (tari-wali):

We need:

1 big eggplant (round) or 4-5 Chinese eggplants or 6-7 small round eggplants
7-8 taro roots
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
1/4 tsp. each cumin and coriander seeds
Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
1 heaped tsp. Amchoor (mango powder)
1-2 green chillies (chopped, optional)
Salt to taste
2 tsp. melted Ghee/Oil
Chopped cilantro
A pinch of garam masala (from the red-lobia post)

Wash the eggplants and cut them into 2-inch long pieces (traditional way). Wash and scrape the taro-roots and cut them into 1-2 inch long pieces.

In 1 tsp. hot oil, splutter the cumin and coriander seeds and saute' the onions. Add the cut taro pieces and cook with the onions on high heat for 4-5 minutes to eliminate the stickiness. Alternatively you may bake/toast the taro lightly or microwave the chopped taro for 4-5 minutes. In a separate pan, add the remaining oil and then stir-fry the eggplant pieces for 4-5 minutes. Add these to the taro and stir. Add the copped tomatoes, stir and cook for a cpl. of minutes. Now add the turmeric and chilli powder, followed by salt. Stir again and add 1 and half cup of water. Bring to boil and then cook on low flame till the gravy thickens. Add the chopped green chillies, cilantro and garam masala.

Ready to be served with chapati/phulka, parantha or rice :).

Arbi-bataun sabzi (sukki):

We need:

1 big eggplant (round) or 4-5 Chinese eggplants or 6-7 small round eggplants
7-8 taro roots
1 onion (sliced thin)
2 inch piece of ginger and 4-5 garlic cloves (made into paste)
1/4 tsp. each cumin and coriander seeds
Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
1 heaped tsp. Amchoor (mango powder)
Salt to taste
2 tbsp. Oil

Chop the vegetables as in the recipe above. Microwave the taro pieces for 5 minutes. In a pan, heat 1/2 tsp. oil and splutter the seeds. saute the sliced onion on low heat till tender and brown. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir again. Add the taro pieces and stir. Now add the remaining oil, followed by the eggplant pieces. Stir and cook on high for 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, amchoor and salt. Stir and cook on low heat after covering the pan till done. To enjoy, inhale the spicy, yummy aroma, make some rotis or parathas and enjoy with this sabzi and some curds :).

Notes: The gravy sabzi is meant to be mild, if you have another dry sabzi to accompany. in that case you may omit the green chiliies. The dry sabzi is preferably enjoyed as a lip-smacking spicy dish with some chilled dahi/curds (with some salt and black pepper).Talking about dahi, many Punjus enjoy a small katori/vatki/cup of curds with sugar after lunch :)). i am not one of them.....i love my dahi with salt!! For variations, if you are using Chinese eggplants, cut them into rounds. Arbi can also be cut into rounds. Cutting the vegetables differently changes the taste and look of the dish! Makes a lot of difference! Also, you may like to try this recipe with arbi alone (just reduce the amount of onions, or omit them altogether and use hing and dry masala instead). I have tried to minimize the oil requirement here :). Patience is the key here, the eggplants do get cooked in due time, you don't need too much oil :). I mention this, because some households use deep-frying for the dry recipe. On an aside, I prefer using Olive Oil for my cooking. Try it :).

Oh! and the pictures for the dry sabzi have been taken with my camera phone! My camera is not working anymore.....he he, first the internet, now the camera! These pictures are doing no justice to how this dish actually looked!! Hmm, now that i am talking, lemme also tell you that the first recipe was meant to be posted for JFI eggplants as well.....but as i mentioned, internet wasn't helping :). So here it is finally :)).

Hope you'll enjoy this eggplant-taro affair :).

W for Wadi-toriyaan di subzi and Wagocha :))

2007-07-12T00:07:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! Please allow me a few minutes to explain that title :). Am sure you all know about the first two words "W for" : they refer to dear Nupur's A-Z of Indian vegetables (an event that i am so excited to join again, after the hiatus). As for wadis, they are spice cakes made out of daal (urad or urad+moong) and petha (ash-gourd), with lots and lots of spice-sun dried to perfection and used as condiments in Punjabi cooking. Now, toriyaan is the plural for tori or turai (ridge-gourd). They are also referred to as ghiya toriyaan (to distinguish them from bhindiyaan toriyaan)! So wadi-toriyaan di sabzi would mean, a vegetable preparation made out of ridge-gourd and wadis. I confess to having used zucchinis in place of ridge-gourd here :).

Ah! now its the last word "Wagocha" that i have to do some real explaining for :)). The Punjus in the crowd sure must be thinking that Musical has gone crazy!! Who has heard of such a dish!! Wagocha is a Punjabi word, implying a hurried job, quick and dirty sorts :)). Like one would say, "eh ki wagocha poora kita e" (what a rushed up mess you've made). And, this, on a food-blog!! So, dahlings! there does (or used to) exist such a dish.....long long ago.....forgotten in the years that have gone by since.....quite contrary to its literal meaning, a wagocha implies a gravied dish made out of wadis and rice!! A dish thats quick and versatile, and can be had both as a spicy sabzi with rotis or if thickened a bit, as a lip-smacking rice dish. How do i know about this?? Well, i consider myself fortunate to have spent my formative years in the rural Punjab (or the Pind).....and even more fortunate, that courtesy my dear Bibiji (Grandma), i was able to relish this spicilicious dish :). Bibiji and i, we both loved spicy khana.....and she would treat me to this dish often. It probably got this name, because its quick, versatile and doesn't need much preparation.....this is a very Pendu (rural) name. Its one of those Punju dishes that are hardly made these days.....

So this Wagocha along with wadi-toriyaan di sabzi, a signature everyday summertime Punjabi dish, have been prepared for much love and affection for Nupur's great e-potluck and also as my humble first contribution for RCI-Punjab, hosted by my dear friend Richa. RCI is a fantastic event highlighting regional Indian cuisine, conceived by the very creative Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine.

These two dishes will also appeal to another friend who recently craved wadis :).

Wadi-toriyaan di sabzi:

A very versatile sabzi. Can be prepared dry or with gravy. The former needs no potatoes and goes really well with simple daals like the trademark Punjabi moongi-masoor daal (Marathi speaking friends, this is not mungi (ant), its Moooongi (Punju word for Moong)) :-D. The latter can do well to have some potatoes and tastes good with any dry sabzi of your choice.

We need:

6-7 tender turais/ridgegourds or 4 zucchinis
1 onion, thinly sliced (for dry sabzi) or chopped fine (for sabzi with gravy/tari or rase wali sabzi)
1 roma tomato, chopped
1 big potato (cubed, only needed for gravied sabzi)
2-3 Punjabi wadis, crumbled (adjust amount depending on how much spicy you like it)
A generous pinch of hing/asfoetida
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp. amchoor for dry sabzi (or lime juice to taste for gravy sabzi)
1 tsp. oil

Wash, clean and cut the toriyaan or zucchinis into small pieces. Heat oil and add the hing. Fry the sliced/chopped onions. Now add the tomatoes and stir them in, followed by crushed wadis. Add the turmeric powder, stir and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add the chopped toriyaan, salt and stir. If making the dry sabzi, add amchoor, cover and cook on low heat till the toriyaan are tender-ready to serve.

For making the gravied sabzi, add the potatoes, cook for 5 minutes and water to completely cover the vegetables. Simmer on low heat till done. Add the lime/lemon juice. Garnish with cilantro (only for gravied sabzi)-ready to serve :). Enjoy with rotis or rice.

Wagocha:

This dish calls for a non-basmati rice. Yes friends, Punjus do eat rice other than basmati :). We usually make it with Parmal/Parimal rice back home. Sona Masuri and Samba rice also are quite good, for that matter any rice that's not as aromatic as basmati.

We need:

1/2 cup rice (i used Samba rice)
2-3 Punjabi wadis (crumbled)
1/2 onion (chopped)
1 big tomato (chopped)
1-2 potatoes, cubed (optional, used if you want to have it as a khichri)
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
Red chilli powder (to make it spicier, optional)
Salt to taste
Cilantro (chopped)
1 tsp.melted ghee (or any oil)

In a pressure cooker, heat ghee/oil and saute' the onions, followed by tomatoes. Now add 1/2 of the crumbled wadis and stir. Cook for 2-3 minuted and add potatoes, if using. Add turmeric powder, chilli powder and salt. Stir again and add water (2-3 cups). Add rice after washing it throroughly and stir. Bring to boil and pressure cook for 2 whistles. Release the pressure and add more water to make gravy, if you want to have this dish as a sabzi. Add the remaining wadis, bring to boil and simmer on low heat for 4-5 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot with chapatis.

In case you plan to have this as a spicy khichdi, reduce the amount of salt and wadis (don't add the second half), use potatoes for sure and enjoy with dahi and achaar. Let the simple pictures not fool you. Try it once, you will enjoy it!

Lal lobia-aloo and a me-me :)

2007-07-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

The ever charming and chirpy Sig, host of the fun blog "Live to Eat" tagged me for this meme :). My first time on this food blog, and i am supposed to share seven random facts about me. Sure Sig, i would love to have few mins. of fame ;). And then i was looking for a recipe to go with this meme. Having read Sig's recent experience with lobia,

Hey Musical, guess what, my dear husband went shopping and got me some black colored beans and huge kidney beans instead of black eyed beans from the Indian store. So I had to send him to the regular store again, and he bought white lobia instead of red... I made Olan and Erissery with the white beans, it looked very pretty and was yummy!!!

Sig speak in the comments section ;)

I felt i should share a simple, traditional recipe made with lal-lobia (red lobia),

as lal-lobia is what she craved for then :). So, here are the goodies: a meme and the lal lobia-aloo recipe :). Have fun!

Seven random facts about me.....

1. Me and cooking: lucky by chance ;). i hardly did any cooking before i came to the US. At home, there was always the best of khana lovingly prepared by Mom. In the graduate school, there was the mess (which was decent, i must say.....not at all a mess!). When i started cooking, surprisingly things turned out fine.....it was like, Mom's blessings.....oh, and btw, for some reason, i don't own a single cook-book, i have no idea why!! now call me lazy or crazy-your choice ;).

2. I love cats =^.^= i love dogs and other animals too :).

3. Fruits make my all time favorite dessert, followed by ice-creams (Kulfis rule, so do gelatos!). Frozen yogurt and home made smoothies are another favorite. But once in a while i enjoy other sweets too. The only requirement is that it should not be too sweet! My favorite foods: Upma and Rajma Chawal (and countless more).....and i am pickle FANatic :).

4. I have this habit of reading while eating!! anything is good: books, magazines, even catalogs!! and i usually pursue 2-3 books at a time.....just like one follows 2-3 TV programs ;).

5. I love flowers, in their natural habitat.

6. I am not too much into sports and games!! I watch cricket only when India plays and baseball only when Red Sox plays :)). Tennis is enjoyable too, only when my favorite players are playing (Like Sunday's Wimbledon Men's Finals).The only sportsy activity i do is excercise: mainly yoga and aerobics. I have played carrom and chess only once.....and am totally clueless about card games!

7.I believe that the taste of good food multiplies, when you share it with others.....your loved ones, friends.....and thats why i enjoy food blogging.

Who am i going to tag: anyone who considers themselves a friend and is willing to take it up :)

After having bored you thoroughly, lemme make y'all something good: the lal lobia aloo :)

Here goes:

We need:

1 cup red lobia
1/2 onion (finely chopped)
1 heaped tsp. ginger-garlic paste (more ginger, less garlic)
1 small tomato (preferrably Roma, chopped)
2 potatoes (peeled and cubed into big pieces)
Some chopped sweet peppers (bell pepper or Holland pepper)
1/2 tsp. black cumin (shah-jeera)
1 tsp. amchoor/lime juice
Turmeric and chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. oil/melted ghee
Chopped cilantro (for garnishing, be generous here!)
Masala ( roast 4 cloves/lavang/laung, 1/4 cinnamon/dalchini stick and 1/4 tsp. mace/javitri-grind together and use 1/4 tsp.)

First thing is to soak the lobia in warm water for 1-2 hrs. Meanwhile, chop the vegetable and get ready ;). Add the cubed potatoes to the lobia and pressure cook for three whistles. Thats the reason the cubes should be really big, else the potatoes would get mushed up!

Red lobia takes a lil' longer to cook compared to the white lobia. While this stuff cools down, prepare the tadka. In hot oil, splutter shah-jeera and then saute' the onions. Now add the ginger-garlic paste (preferable make fresh with ginger to garlic in 3:1 proportion). Saute' and add the chopped peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes, followed by the addition of tomatoes. Add turmeric (not more than 1/2 tsp.), chilli powder and the souring agent (amchoor or lime juice) and cook for 5 minutes. Add this to the cooked beans and potatoes. Add salt and stir. Bring it to a boil and then cook on low heat till the gravy thickens. Take care not to mush the potatoes. Once done, stir in the garam masala and chopped cilantro. Enjoy with rice or chapati :). Or if you are like me, with a crisp toast!!

Notes: Shah jeera is a good addition to the whole beans like lobia, Rajma, urad and masoor-it balances out the vayi/vayu element from these beans. I rarely use garlic in my cooking, but in this dish (besides paav bhaji, some chhole preparations and another few select dishes) i enjoy it a lot! I would prefer ghee to oil, as ghee adds its on aroma. Cilantro is a must.

Variations: Use white lobia for this dish. The two lobias taste quite different, so it does make a nice variation. Also you might like to try this with lal lobia :). During winters, Kasuri Methi can replace Cilantro to give a totally different flavor.

A basket full of fruits and memories.....

2007-07-05T12:21:00.000-07:00

Ah! at long last, am back! oh yes, i am, for real ;). and once more, my thanks to all the loving friends who enquired.....its strange how things go sometimes......one after another, something or the other comes up to keep you busy :) we'll get to those set of stories later though :). Its time to talk food now, folks.

Fruits forms an essential part of my daily meals and are totally my type of dessert. So, dear friends, its not a surprise that i am choosing to cover fruits first, in whats going to be a short series on my trip to India, which happened end of May to mid June. That part of the globe, which i relate to as "Home", is blessed with countless varieties of fruits. And while i could have expressed my annoyance at the time of year i was travelling to India, it being peak summer, with mercuries soaring past 45 degrees C, i instead chose to feel blessed :). Why? obviously in sweet anticipation of the flavorful abundance that was to come my way.....ah! those luscious lychees, the divine mangoes, chunky chikoos and tangy n' sweet berries.....

Dussehri Mango tree :with fruits and manjari/boor (floration)

I landed in New Delhi late in the night.....and after reaching home, i settled for a comforting, soothing dinner of chilled "Safeda" mangoes and enjoyed them along with some nimbu-pani (desi style limeade).....The next day brough along not only ripe, delicious, fragrant mangoes, but lychees too.....and chikoos.....it was more than three years that i had tasted any of these.....with each bite, i cherished them, loved them , more than ever before.....tears welled up my eyes for some reason.....the time and distance had completely vanished.....i was in a different set of familiar tastes and smells.....nostalgia rules.....

The first stop, after i was through all my academic duties in New Delhi, was my Chacha ji's place in Punjab, located in a lovely pind (village) between Chandigarh and Jalandhar. They have a lovely garden that boasts of "Dussehri" mangoes,

chikoos, limes and aloochas! Homegrown fruit is totally a different thing, ever more delicious! Now, before you wonder what aloochas are, here's what they are: Botanically named Prunus aloocha, they are smaller, tangier cousins of plums or as they are known in Hindi, aloobukharas. They do sweeten up a bit, when ripe, and are best enjoyed with some salt (loon or namak, as we call it in Punjabi) sprinkled on them :). They are also good for making chutney and sweet relish with jaggery or gur. I enjoyed homegrown chikoos (or sapotas; chikoo is a grainy, sweet tropical fruit, with a brown core)

Chikoo tree with near ripe fruits.....umm! yummy!

and amb (Mango) di chuntney, achaar, gudumba (mango jam made with jaggery, either plain or spiced up). And the karelas (bitter gourd), bataun (eggplants), bhindi (okra), mirchaan (chillies) and mooli (radishes) from their kitchen garden (we'll chit-chat on that later). Not to mention that the limes were mostly being used for making gallons of nimbu-pani/limeade every day!

Nimbu/Key limes: the provider of that elixir called skanjvi!

Here's how you make nimbu-paani/shikanji (Hindi) or Skanjvi (Punjabi): Juice from one lime/lemon, sugar and salt to taste. Mix. Add chilled water and enjoy! My taste buds call for more salt that sugar, though traditionally there should be a fair amount of sweetness to this. There is a reason for that: in hot summers, you tend to lose a lot of salt. For a change add a lil' bit of kala-namak instead of regular salt or try some ground black pepper! Best thing would be to listen to Anita and start using some lime rind extract as well, i tried and it works like magic!

Now, whats that! oh, you've seen this "paheli" before: a Guava in the making.

When it comes to mangoes, i am all about variety :). No fanaticism will do here ;). While i was able to enjoy only the early varieties (like safeda, sindoori, totapari/totapuri, neelam etc.) for the most time, i was also fortunate to sample some middle season varieties like dussehri and langda which had just started showing up on the fruit vendors' carts. Safeda is a rather popular variety and is known as Banganapalli in Southern India. One of the sweeter varieties, its so called because of its rather pristine color (which though is pale, more than white. safed means white in urdu). Sindoori gets its name from its rich, red hues which resemble sindoor or vermillion. Its a more fibrous variety and quite sweet. Neelam is the most fibrous mango and the first one to show up in Northern India during summers. Totapuri is lovely too, bordering on sweet and tangy. Raw totapuri makes excellent material for chutneys :) and in Bangalore, we used to enjoyed it with salt and chilli powder :)). Oh! and before the brickbats come my way, i did have my share of hapoos or Alfonso :) which is ever enjoyable!

Talk about us, please.....more guavas!

There are many more varieties which i love, but didn't get to taste, e.g. Malgoa, Raspuri and Parry (the former two were my favorites besides Banganapalli, when i lived in Banaglore and the latter one is a favorite from Maharashtra), Chausa (very acidic, ripes from the core first, comes from UP), Malda and Fazli (both from West Bengal n' Bihar and both yummy! Fazli is this really huge mango, and absoluteky delicious).

So, which one is a favorite? My answer: anything thats fresh :). Because even the best mangoes would lose flavor when kept in cold storage or ripened before time. The best taste of any mango comes when its not put through any of this. To me, Hapoos and Safeda are both equally dear, as are Malgoa and Malda! If by saying so, i am commiting a blasphemy, so be it ;).

Chikoos and lychees are further proof of how much the freshness factor matters! Locally grown lychee tastes much better than the one that comes from a place far off. I am a fan of Dehradun lychees, while in Delhi. But when i Punjab, i would prefer to by something thats locally grown, like say from Pathankot. All i am saying is, all fruits taste good, provided they are not tortured with prolonged travel and cold storing :).

Oh, the guavas tell me, that i should mention them too :). Ofcourse, why not! I love guavas (or Amrood, as they are called in both Hindi and Punjabi). They are another yummy, grainy fruit, perfect for anytime, either by itself or with some namak, masala and lime juice thrown in, as a chaat!
And then there are these berries: Phalsa and Jamun (or Jamnu, as its known in Punjabi). Anita once very cutely said, "Mere paas phalsa hai"! How true! One of the most delicious, but undervalued berreies!! Its a tiny berry with a grainy core. Phalsa berries grow on a lil' bush. Green when raw and rich maroon hues (rich in antioxidants) when ripe. Raw phalsa would make good chutney and salsa :). Ripe phalsa, oh well, just sprinkle kala namak and enjoy!

Sweet and tangy phalsa: the desi wonder-berry

oh, and its also made into a fabulous phalsa sharbat too :). After i reached home (which is in a village near Amritsar, my next stop), i enjoyed it everyday :). Phalsa has plenty of medicinal uses too. Jamun gets its name from the purple hues its so rich in. It tastes mildly sweet, dries the mouth a bit because of its astringent action and is extremely good for health. Jamun fruit and seeds are considered very good for Diabetes. Jamuns are also enjoyed either plain or with kala-namak. We have two jamun trees at home, but the berries were just beginning to take shape.....he, he, and while writing this i remember the sing-song tone of the rehdi-wallahs (cart wallahs) who sell phalsa and jamuns! "Thanda-mitha phaalsaa' and "kale-kale jaamnu" :).

Talking about our home, Dad has always preferred to keep our garden "au naturale", so much so, that we would and still do refer to it as Jungle ;). No jokes here :). We have planty of Sheesham (Indian Redwood, called Tahli in Punjabi), Ber/Beri (Indian jujube), Bargad (Banyan, called Bohad in Punjabi), Peepal (Pippal in Punjabi), Keekar/Babool (Acacia, Kikkar in Punjabi) and Neem (Nimm in Punjabi) trees. Also very dense is the canopy of Dhrek (Persian lilac, Melia azadirachta) trees!

Dhrek tree with ghatonis

Dhrek is a cousin of neem, with a much more tender trunk. Also the Dhrek leaves are depper green compared to Neem.

Our Neem Tree

Its flowers look quite like Neem flowers, except that they are purple. And unlike the subtle, crisp scent of Neem flowers, Dhrek flowers are blessed with a very dense, sweet and intoxicating scent! I wonder why no one ever made perfume out of it! Dhrek along with Sampige flower scent are the most intriguing and enticing, yet undervalued scents.....Dhrek trees flower end of March and Neem just a lil' later. So, very obviously, i missed out on the dharek flower scent! Dhrek fruit called Ghatoni in Punjabi, unlike Neem fruit (Nimoli/Nimboli) is green and very hard and not edible wven when ripe. Ofcourse birds love to chew on ghatonis :). I love my share of Nimolis though, but they were just beginning to show up as tiny bulges.

Papaya tree

In the middle of all these trees are some papaya (Papeeta: Hindi and Punjabi) trees, which means that i had my regular share of kachhe papeete da parantha (raw papaya parantha) and ripe papaya for dessert :). Also, there are few trees of lasoodi, or the gummy berry! As kids, we used to enjoy these "bland, bordering on sweet " berries for the sheer fun of plucking them and then sticking them onto a friend.
Loasoodi da rukkh (tree)

There's even an ode of a phrase referring to lasoodi. When someone is bothering you perpetually or just sticking around longer than one is needed to, you say, "ki lasoodi di tarhan chimbad gya/gayi ain!" (you are sticking around like a gummy berry!). The bigged cousin of these berries is the lasooda (Cordia mixa), its quite like gonda berries, and is preserved and enjoyed as spicy pickles. Ah! though i am missing some old friends in this jungle: the phalsa bush, the almond (badam) trees, the peach (aadoo) trees and the mango tree.....As a kid, i used to enjoy picking raw almonds, which sometimes would be used for making badam-paneer sabzi! and before the fruition, the almond and peach trees would make a lovely scenery, what with the blossoms all over the place.....

So, these, my friends, were stories about the fruits of the land.....a land we call India or Bharat.....will be back with stories on the vegetable and street foods from that part of the globe, next. Meanwhile, you enjoy the fruits that your corner of the globe offers and thank Mother Nature for blessing us with these wonderful things to enjoy!

I am back :))

2007-06-13T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yes, i am back ;). First of all, my sincere apologies for disappearing without leaving a note.....Thanks to y'all for your warm enquiries and endearing notes and emails.....it was really very touching.....i just got back y'day from a short trip to India, my home.....for being with my family and also some professinal stuff. I visited home after three years! and when i reached there, it was like i had never been away.....

The days (actually cpl. of weeks) before the trip were really busy with lots of work to be finished. I was doing late nighters and juggling too many things. A very dear friend of mine, MD was also visiting me. Were it not for her and Golden Girl's presence and support, i would probably have wilted from stress! I know didn't fulfil this very basic courtesy of leaving a note, but am sure you will understand how it must have been if i couldn't do it.....All that stress and tension vanished once i reached home.....the warm (or scorching hot!) summer, the fruits, the shopping and most importantly the love showered on me by my loved ones were really a bliss :).

I am back with some fun stories and thoughts to share.....Once more, my apologies and sincere thanks to you, the readers of this blog, for being there, for your care and concern. Looking forward to blogging, bloghopping and chit-chat :).

Cheers,
musical.

P for Pattagobhi-aloo and Peas-daal :).

2007-05-11T23:35:00.000-07:00

When Phullgobhi is here, can pattagobhi be far behind ;). Pattagobhi (leafy gobhi, literal), as we refer to cabbage in Punjabi, is another favorite! And a big time comfort food. Mom used to make this often and i would ahve it not just with chapati or parantha, but even with Maggi noodles ;). And then there's daal, always yummy, as soup or as an accompaniment to your chawal or chapati. Add your favorite condiments, daals accept them all with open arms :). So easy to customize :)). And yes, they do symbolize comfort. It is all about comfort foods :).

Today, i'll share a simple Pattagobhi-aloo recipe, made using Purple potatoes (Nupur, thanks for reminding me about them!) and an equally humble, yet delicious daal with peas, adorned with rosemary and cloves :). The pattagobhi recipe is similar to how Mom used to make it, except that tomato and green chilli lover in me added those to the sabzi. Purple potatoes are similar to the regular potatoes in taste and look gorgeous, thus providing a lovely fest of colors. So here's Pattagobhi aloo and Peas daal, for Nupur's A-Z get together, featuring the letter P :).

Pattagobhi-aloo:

We need:

1 small cabbage (chopped)
2 purple potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds (sarson)
Ginger (chopped, to taste-i use about 1 tbsp.)
1 small tomato (chopped, optional)
Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
1 tsp. melted ghee or oil
2-3 green chillies (chopped, optional)
Garam masala (a pinch)
1 tsp. lime/lemon juice (optional)

Wash the cabbage, remove the base and a cpl. of outer leaves. Cut the cabbage into halves and chop. Wash and peel the potatoes and cube them. You can use regular potatoes also :). In a pan, heat oil or ghee (i prefer ghee, because ghee and ginger give a wonderful aroma) and add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start popping, add the chopped ginger and saute' for 2-3 minutes. Now add the tomatoes (if using) and stir beriefly. Add the turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir again and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the cabbage and potatoes and stir. Cook on high heat for 4-5 minutes. The cabbage will reduce in volume and get a lil' tender. Now add salt and cover to cook on low heat with occasional stirring. If you want to use green chillies, chop or slit them and add halfway through, while the potatoes still are firm. When its done, the potatoes in the sabzi should hold shape and yet be soft. Sprinkle with a pinch of garam masala and its ready to go :).

Cabbage has a lot of water, which is good as it helps cook the potatoes :). To avoid mushy sabzi (especially if you are using tomatoes),check often and cook on high for the last 4-5 minutes to dry the water. Don't use too much garam masala, a pinch is enough. The major flavor here comes from mustard seeds and ginger. Green chillies enhance the flavor :).

Peas -daal:

We need:

1 cup Toor/Tuvar/Arhar daal
1/4 cup green peas
1/4 onion (optional)
Ginger (chopped, to taste)
1 Roma tomato (chopped)
1/4 tsp. mustard seeds
Hing (a pinch)
Turmerci and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
4-5 cloves
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp. oil

Wash and pressure cook the daal (3-4 whistles). Let the pressure cooker cool down. Stir the cooked daal, it should be completely cooked and smooth. Add some water if its too thick. For the tadka, heat the oil and pop the mustard seeds. Now add the onion (if using) and saute'. Follow this with chopped ginger and saute'. Now add hing and mix. Add tomatoes, turmeric and chilli powder. Stir and add the green peas. Mix and cook for 4-5 minutes. Add this tadka to the daal and mix. You may now add the dried rosemary leaves and cloves and then allow the daal to simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Enjoy the delicious daal with rice and dahi/curd or chapati and sabzi.

I once had moong daal that had matar at a party hosted by Mrs. A. I liked the idea and thought may be toor daal would go with matar quite well too. Toor daal has its own aroma and i felt that rosemary and cloves/laung would enhance the flavor. and ofcourse a subtle hint of hing does wonders to arhar/toor daal. But if you are using moong daal or masoor daal ( or a Punju style moong-masoor combo), use jeera instead of mustard seeds. You may also like to use corn instead of peas. Enjoy pattagobhi aloo te Peas daal :).

Aloo-Gobhi :)

2007-05-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

Aka, an all time comfort food, atleast for me :). This dish reflects comfort in multiple ways for me: Mom made the most delicious aloo-gobhi ever, and as a kid even though i wouldn't have this sabzi as such, i would eagerly have it after she mashed it up for me or stuffed it in paranthas.....and then this dish has potatoes, enhancing the comfort factor. I just love it :).

There are multiple ways of making aloo-gobhi, even when you are talking about just Punju cuisine. There is the Amritsari gobhi, where the gobhi is deep fried (and if you use potatoes, you deep fry them too), another type where you marinate gobhi in curds and masala and then deep fry it or cook it etc etc. Then there are uber-stylish and healthy baked varieties of the same. And a delightful simple gobhi fry from my Boston kitchen, courtesy my dear friend Ms. Moon. But today, i am sharing a simple, home-style aloo-gobhi, my take on how Mom used to make it. The only additions to her recipe are tomatoes and green chillies (for color and mirchi ka swaad/flavor or green chillies).

We need:

One Cauliflower (cleaned and cut into big florets)
2 Russet/Idaho Potatoes (peeled and cubed)
1/4 Onion (chopped fine)
Ginger (julienned or chopped) to taste
1 big tomato (chopped)
1/2 tsp. jeera
1-2 tsp. melted ghee
1/2 tsp. Turmeric and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
Garam masala (a pinch)
Green chillies 9chopped or slit, to your taste)
Cilantro (chopped)

Lets first cut the cauliflower/phoolgobhi/phullgobhi (Punjabi) into big florets and the potatoes into big cubes. While cutting the cauliflower, remove the base/stalk. Punjus use them for making dandhal/danthal (stalk) stir fry. Will post that recipe sometime. In a pan, lets heat the ghee (feel free to use any other cooking oil, but ghee adds to the flavor and aroma), add the jeera and let it splutter. Now add the onions and saute, followed by half of the chopped ginger (i use about 1/2 tbsp at this step, i love ginger, and that is the key spice in this dish) and saute. Add the chopped tomatoes (Mom hardly used tomatoes and it would still be good, really good! i just use it for color and tangy taste). Stir and add turmeric and red chilli powder (as per your taste). Cook for 4-5 minutes. Now add the cut vegetables (cauliflower and potatoes) and stir to coat the vegetables with this mixture. Sprinkle 1-2 tbsp. water and mix. Reduce the flame, cover the pan and cook on low with occassional stirring. Half way through (when the vegetables look a bit cooked and tender) add the rest of ginger and green chillies.

Once done, the dish should should look firm and yet not crunchy (you should be able to mash a floret easily). Add a pinch of garam masala (not more, just enough to complement the ginger) and cilantro/coriander leaves.

Serve hot with chapatis and dahi or paranthas. For those who enjoy tangier stuff, some amchoor or lemon juice is completely a welcome addition :).

Notes: The second addition of ginger is completely optional. You shouldn't add too much water, else it would result in a mushy preparation. The key is to stir gently, so the florets would remain intact. Cook on low heat for best results. Did i say that this sabzi also makes the best stuffing for paranthas ever! It does :). For me gobhi parantha actually means parantha with left over aloo-gobhi! and it goes well in sandwiches. I also mash it up, add some chopped raw onions and squirt some lemon/lime juice and enjoy it with toasted bread or paav!! Enjoy :).

O for Opo squash lachha :)

2007-05-05T23:56:00.000-07:00

And that my dear, is another way of serving you the good ole' Ghiya :)). As i wondered on which dish to make starting with O, after my favorite, Olan got featured here and here ( and i am not complaining, i got my fill drooling at the yummy pictures) and after my trip to the grocery store to find good, fresh okra disaapointed me, the fancy sounding label for doodhi/lauki/ghiya came to my rescue. Opo squash is a lovely vegetable, as i have discovered recently.....it got me something to present for A-Z event at Nupur's hot stove :)). Jokes apart, while as a child i turned away from gourds and squashes, over the years i have grown to like them, love them. Sig's thoughts do echo my own :).

Opo squash makes a great addition to daals and raitas, and also can be the vegetable of choice when you are craving something yummy and quick. How, lets see :). Lets make the Opo squash and onion lachhas (lachha-grated stuff). This recipe is my take on the traditional Punjabi ghiya bhartha, prepared with grated and steamed ghiya, cooked with spices of your choice, with or without onions and tomatoes. I chose to prepare it with pearl onions and tomatoes. You can also prepared with grated onions.

We need:

1 Opo squash (grated)
9-10 pearl onion (peeled)
1 Roma tomato (chopped)
1/4 tsp. Ajwain (Carum seeds)
Turmeric and red chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
3-4 green chillies (slit)
1 tsp. melted ghee
1 tbsp. Lime/lemon juice

Lets first grate the squash after washing it. We needn't peel the squash, the peel gets cooked quite well. If you do peel the squash, you may save it to make a yummy chutney. Microwave the grated squash on high for 5 minutes in a covered container. In a pan, lets heat ghee and add the carum seeds/ajwain. Now saute' the pearl onions (or 1 regular red onion, grated, not chopped). Add the tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes till tomatoes are tender. Add the cooked squash lachhas, stir and add turmeric and red chilli powder. Add the salt and stir. Cook on high with frequent stirring till the water dries (squashes have lots of water). Add the slit green chillies and lime/lemon juice. Serve hot with dahi and chapatis, paranthas, daal-chawal or as a sandwich with your favorite bread. Its a simple and delicious quick fix recipe. You make the tadka as the squash goes through microwaving. The ajwain, ghee, mirchi and lemon give it simple, fragrant and subtly spicy feel. Don't use mirchi if you prefer it simpler. Usually this is served as a tangy and spicy side dish with either dahi or a simple daal.

You can also prepare just onion lachhas following the same recipe. That makes a super yummy sandwich stuffer. In my gradute school (IISc Bangalore) they used to have an onion toast in the tea-board (a canteen so named as a humorous take on another neighbouring canteen with affiliations to The Coffee Board and called just that, the coffee board!), which was quite delicious :).

Red chard-aloo sabzi, stuffed parantha, palak kadhi and palak-matar-gajar sabzi: JFI greens and WBB

2007-04-29T11:31:00.000-07:00

Its spring time, folks. Green is the color everywhere :). Even when its not spring, green color and greens grace our kitchen prominently and very rightly so. Packed with minerals and fiber, they symbolize flavor and health packed in one. So, it no surprise that this month's featured ingredient at JFI is GREENS :). JFI this month is being hosted by Indira (Mahanandi, the founder of JFI) and joins hands with Nandita's Weekend breakfast blogging WBB. I am excited, for i love greens and myself very keenly use greens in breakfast.

I had been wondering for many days as to which greens should i choose for my entry! its really a tough choice, i love them all. Equally confusing was which recipe should i use the greens for! Greens are so versatile that you could dish out a whole meal with greens: soups and starters, main course.....ah! the choices seemed endless. I decided therefore to just head for the grocery store and pick out the first bunch of fresh greens that came my way :) That easy :)). and that green was the pretty, gorgeous looking red chard :). That made it even easier! I use red-chard in Indian cooking in every way possible. And then i also thought to cook something with whatever greens were there in my fridge :). Palak or Spinach was the first thing that i found. Today, i'll share these very simple recipes. So lets enjoy the green cooking: Red chard-aloo sabzi and parantha, followed by palak-kadhi and palak-matar-gajar sabzi.

For the red chard-aloo sabzi, we need:

1 bunch red chard (rainbow and regular chard also do equally well)
2 small potatoes
1 small onion (chopped finely)
1/2 tsp. jeera/cumin
Turmeric (a pinch) and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
Garam masala (to taste)
1 tsp. oil

Wash and chop the red chard. Keep the stalks, one can use them to make baked munchies. Wash, peel and chop the potatoes. In hot oil, splutter the jeera and then saute the chopped onions. At this step you can add one small roma tomato (chopped) if you wish to. Now add the chopped greens and potatoes and stir. The huge mass of chopped greens is gonna' become very small when you cook them :). Add a pinch of turmeric and red chilli powder and stir again. Add salt, stir on high heat for about 4-5 minutes. You don't need to add any water, the greens have plenty of water. Cover the pan and cook on low heat till done. Garnish with garam masala and serve hot with phulkas, paranthas or rice n' daal combo. The sabzi looks very pretty with the red and green hues gracing the platter......even the potatoes assumes a pretty red tone.

Did i mention that this is one of the favorite sabzis of my dear friend Golden Girl :). I served this sabzi with chapatis and Masoor daal, cooked in Bengali style (recipe coming up, and that is a favorite of another very dear friend, MD).

But hold on, this is also supposed to be about breakfast, weekend breakfast! so, we aren't done yet :)). And what do we make for breakfast-my favorite, paranthas :)). Paranthas with what, you ask. How about using some of Mom's wisdom and using this delicious sabzi as a filling for paranthas :). Moms love to make stuffed paranthas out of sabzis left over from dinner, and they also know that this surely is one way in which their lil' ones would have their vegetables and greens.

For stuffed paranthas:

Make the dough with whole wheat, salt to taste, ajwain (Carum) and water. Rest the dough for 15-20 minutes. Use the sabzi we prepared (or for that matter any dry sabzi) to make stuffed paranthas, using the two layered style :). Make the sandwich of rolled-out pooris like shown below, dust with flour and roll into a nice parantha. Cook on hot griddle/tawa: i usually fry with a lil' oil or ghee. But the low fat option of just cooking it as a chapati is always there. Enjoy the paranthas with masala chai, achaar, dahi, raita or just by themselves :).

And i see folks, you are all thinking that i am repeating myself.....kadhi again!! for JFI!! how could i not blog about this-it tastes so amazingly good.....palak, amaranth, chard, cilantro.....koi bhi patta chalega ji (any leaves are good)! So, here goes:

Palak kadhi:

Chopped greens (i used a 9 ounce pack of baby spinach)
1/2 onion (chopped long)
Ginger (chopped, to taste)
1 small tomato (chopped, roma tomatoes are good for this)
1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk or beaten curd (preferably sour)
2 and 1/2 tbsp. besan (gram flour)
/2 tsp. each of jeera and dhaniya (cumin and coriander) seeds
1/4 tsp. each of methi-dana (Fenugreek seeds) and kalonji (Nigella seeds)
Salt to taste
1 tbsp. oil
Turmeric and chilli powder
1/4 tsp. Garam masala

So, lets heat the oil, spultter the seeds: first the cumin-coriander combo fllowed by kalonji and methi-dana. Saute the onions till golden brown and the saute the ginger. Add the chopped spinach and tomatoes and stir till the greens are cooked a bit and reduce in volume. (Meanwhile, we also prepare the besan-curd mix. Beat the mix well to prevent any clumps). Add the turmeric, chilli powder and salt to the cooked green, stir again and cook for 5 minutes more. Now reduce the flame and slowly add the besan-curd mix. Continue stirring to prevent any curdling. Add more water (1/2 cup or so) and bring the kadhi to a boil. Cook on low heat, the kadhi should become a lil' thicker. Garnish with garam masala and serve hot with rice or your choice.

We are still not done, we have to make the palak-matar-gajar (spinach-peas-carrots) sabzi.
We need:

Chopped spinach (16 ounce pack of spinach)
1 onion (chopped)
1 big tomato (chopped)
1 carrot (chopped)
1 cup peas
1/2 tsp jeera (cumin)
Turmeric and red chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
1 tsp. melted ghee
1/4 tsp. garam masala

So, to make this quick sabzi, heat ghee, splutter jeera and saute onions. Add tomatoes and stir to cook them till soft. Add the turmeric and red chilli powder. Stir and add the chopped greens. Stir again and add the chopped carrots and peas. Add salt and stir again. Cover and cook till done. Add 1/4 tsp. garam masala and serve hot with phulkas, paranthas or daal-chawal. Makes a great filling for wraps, sandwiches and what else, paranthas :)).

So, be good and have your greens :)

Pretty, healthy and delicious: A Raita :)

2007-04-26T11:01:00.000-07:00

Raita, simple combination of seasoned yogurt/curd and other ingredients of your choice.....who doesn't love it. Salty or sweet n' spicy or both-raitas come in all shapes and sizes and present a very good way of having our vegetables (and fruits and even fried stuff )! There are some raitas which we all know about: the boondi raita, aloo-raita, onion-tomato-cucumber raita etc. And then there are those which are the pride of regional Indian cuisines e.g. Bhoplyachi bharith (pumpkin and curd based), Mujj chetin (mooli and curd), Baathu/Bathua raita (Bathua greens and curd) and so on.....feel free to share more varieties :). Raitas can look as serene or as jazzy as we want them to. Last week we enjoyed a simple raita, the ghiya raita. This week, we'll have fun with this dazzling, gorgeous looking raita :).

So what is this raita made of :). BEETS! yes, grated beets, sour curd and you are in for bliss! Beets are a wonderful vegetable-colorful and delightful. You can have them as salads, make crisps or chips out of them, make delish curries (by Seema) and so on.....You can even enjoy the beet greens. I love the beet greens and Ashakka does so too :). I was ecstatic to see her beet-green daal y'day. I also make beet green bhurji, either alone or with other vegetables like beans or eggplants. So, what are we waiting for- lets make this raita!

We need:

One beet (washed and peeled)
1 cup curd or yogurt (preferably sour)
1/4 tsp. each cumin and coriander powders (Jeera and Dhania, roasted and ground)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper (kali mirchi powder)
Salt to taste
Green chillies (chopped-add to taste)

Grate the beet in a bowl. At this step either use it as such or microwave after covering for 2-3 minutes and cool down before us. If you microwave, it gives you a sublime sweet taste in the raita. For those who prefer salty raitas, don't microwave. Beat the curd or yogurt and add to the grated beets. Add a cpl. of tbsp. water if the mixture is too thick. Add the salt and the spices, followed by the green chillies. Serve with your favorite food. I sometimes also have this (and other raitas) as a full meal! Enjoy :).

Notes: Chillies do add a lot here as well :). So if you don't like the heat from the chillies, you can slit a chilli pepper into two, remove the seeds and add to the raita. Bee and Reena tell us that a very healthy and delicious cousin graces the Kerala cuisine: the beetroot pachadi. Coconut, chillies and cumin ground together and mixed with seasonings added to beet and curds makes this yummy pachadi. Its always heart warming to know more about our regional delicacies.

M for Mooli-wadi sabzi :)

2007-04-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

Once again, its time to join for Nupur's A-Z potluck and this week she features the letter M. and i decided to make M for mooli-wadi di sabzi! Mooli or radish is a fantastic vegetable, spicy and pungent in taste, its available in different sizes and colors. This vegetable is rich in sulphur, which also is the reason behind the typical mooli smell. Mooli is very versatile too, featuring in parathas, floating happily in sambhar, relishes and raitas! and i use and love mooli in each of these forms. While we many of us are familiar with mooli parathas and to an extent mooli sambhar, a lot of people are shocked when they hear the words mooli-raita (a traditional Kashmiri dish muj chetin). Mooli and dahi, nahin-nahin, is what some utter-but one spoon full in their mouth and they go wow! its heavenly indeed, so folks, do try it! Anita tells you how :). We Punjabis love our moolis too, and our use of mooli is not limited to parathas. We make simple but delicious sabzis with this lovely vegetable.

One of the most popular mooli sabzis in Punjab is grated mooli sauted and cooked with masala wadis. and the other one is the mooli bhurji, made out of chopped mooli and mooli leaves :). None of these preparations use any onion, garlic and tomato. We'll prepare the mooli-wadi sabzi today. Usually this dish is made with coarse grated mooli, but many a time i grate my moolis fine. Try both, they both taste different! and i also add the chopped mooli leaves, which usually are used only in mooli bhurji. it gives a nice colorful touch to the sabzi. You can also use red mooli (small red bunch radishes) for this preparation too-looks very pretty and equally tasty!

So, lets start :).

We need:

Two moolis with leaves
2-3 Punjabi masala wadis
1/4 tsp. jeera
1/2 tsp. turmeric and red chilli powder to taste
Salt to taste
1-2 tsp. oil

Remove the leaves from the moolis. Wash and chop the leaves and keep aside. Scrape the moolis and grate them (fine or coarse-your choice). Squeeze the water out of the grated moolis (save this water and use it soon for making dough for phulkas, or daal etc.). In a pan, heat oil and splutter the jeera. Add turmeric and red chilli powder, followed by the graped moolis. Mix well and add the chopped leaves. Add salt and stir well. Now crush the wadis into small pieces. Cover the pan and cook on low heat with occassional stirring, till done. The wadis should become softer (softer than they are, but still gritty) and we are ready to go!

Serve hot with chapati or parantha. Simple goodness!

Note: Good Punjabi wadis have a lil' hing and when cooked they get a slightly tangy flavor. i have occasionally found good wadis here, but nothing to beat the Amritsari wadis! The wadis have a whole bunch of other spices, so no need to add garam masala. You may try other spice wadis as well. Addition of a lil' amchoor is welcome, if you love tangy taste. and those who run away from the mooli smell, keep the exhaust on-and cooking also helps turn the raw mooli smell into a spicy aroma. Also, as i stressed before, the mooli water should be used quickly.

Ek Khichri, Ek Raita :)

2007-04-20T11:33:00.000-07:00

If i were to ask you, what would you like to have for a comfort food, i am sure the votes would mostly go to different combos of lentils and rice-either cooked together as khichri or cooked separately and served together like daal-chawal :). Be it the good old daal chawal or the different style of khichris cooked plain or with veggies, bland or with spices (the most common khichri that i make), bisi-bele baath, Ven Pongal.....the list goes on. Khichri, my dear, is an all time comfort food.....the comfort reminding me of the Mom's hug and the way she used to feed me when i was lil'. and all those lovely childhood tales that go with such yummy food.....Khichri converts even the most unsuspecting folks into sneaking an extra helping into their platters :).

Our folk lore is full of stories to strengthen this claim. Sample this one, for instance.....in this story, the humble sparrow (the bird thats often portrayed as completely sharif and honest) tries to gobble up her partner crow's share too! So, once upon a time a chidiya (sparrow) and kauwa (crow) set about to make khichri-chidiya brought the daal and kauwa brought the rice. Together the dished out the most amazing khichri ever. Now, the chidiya was really drooling and impatient.....and a bit greedy, secretly thinking of gobbling some of the kauwa's share too. and her impatience leads her to open the steaming hot khichri vessel.....scalding her tail!! She goes chin, chin mera poonjha sadiya (chin, chin my tail's burnt) and the kauwa goes "kyon paraya khichhar khadha" (why did you gobble someone else's khichhar).....you get the picture!

Today, i'll share a favorite khichri of mine. Mom used to make it all the time-and i suspect that it is inspired by Gujarati Cuisine given its pulaav like consistency (because Punju khichris are usually more liquidy, and my Mom lived in Gujarat for a long time-so, put the two together and it gives me the possible origins). So, today we'll make the chana daal khichri and lauki ka raita to go with it :). Dumela reminds me about a close cousin, a Multani daal-pulaav called Phunakni. Phunakni is usually made with chana daal or split peas (matar daal) and sometimes even with chana! jeera, tej patta and moti-elaichi are used for spicing (the way i've eaten it). Unlike the khichri above though, the rice grains are still separate and not mushy. So in a way we Punjus have a cousin of this khichri :). Thanks Dumela.....it reminded me of some nice old times.....

For Khichri, we need:

3/4 cup rice ( i used basmati, but other Sona masoori goes well too)
1/2 cup chana daal (washed and preferably soaked for 1 hr.)
1/2 tsp. Jeera
4-5 laungs (lavangs, cloves)
1 tsp. melted ghee
Salt to taste
2 and 1/4 cups water

Wash the rice and add the soaked chana daal to it and set aside. In melted ghee, splutter the jeera. Add the daal chawal mix, cover with water, add the salt and cloves. Pressure cook for two whistles. Let the cooker cool down and its ready :). That simple. It should turn out like pulaav .

But wait, khichri needs her companions! In Punjabi we say, "Khichri de ne chaar yaar, ghyo, dahi, papad te achaar", describing khichri's four companions: Ghyo (ghee), dahi, papad and pickle. So, here goes. Lets make some ghiye da raita (lauki/doodhi, bottle gourd raita). This is one of my favorite ways to relish ghiya, and the humble raita is lifted to great heights with the use of black pepper and green chillies.

For ghiye da raita, we need:

One small bottle gourd
salt
1/2 tsp. cumin powder, coriander powder and ground black pepper
1-2 chopped green chillies
Chopped cilantro
1 and 1/2 cup beaten yogurt.

Grate the bottle gourd (you can include the peel too). Next step is to steam the grated ghiya. You can steam it in the pressure cooker or turn to your microwave. So, place the grated ghiya in a microwavable vessel, sprinkle some water (1 tbsp. or so), cover and microwave on high for 4-5 minutes. Cool it down. Mix the beaten yogurt in. Stir in the spice powders, salt and chopped green chillies. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or your choice. If you don't like very spicy food, don't chop the chillies. Just slit them into two, remove seeds and mix with the raita to let the flavor (but not heat) of the chillies blend in.

I served the khichri with raita, mirchi achaar and papad. Enjoy :).

Next:

M for Mooli-wadi sabzi
Pretty, healthy and delicious: A Raita
Aloo-gobhi
Arbi-bataun (baingan) di sabzi
Upma Fan Club

L for Lobia-Shimla :)

2007-04-14T00:06:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, time to head for Nupur's A-Z meetup. I am packing some L for Lobia-Shimla and lots of love :). Lobia or Raungi or Roongi or Roong or Chawli (or Black-eyed beans) as its known, is one of my recent favorites. The regular white colored lobia is also called chitta (Punjabi-White) lobia and the pink/red lobia is called lal lobia. and recent favorite?? you ask-yes! there was a time when i ate them but didn't enjoy 'em as much. He he, quite a childhood thing :)). It changed slowly.....Usually i would demand Rajma-Chawal for any special occassion, like the last day of exams :). On one such occassion, i.e. after the exams were over, Mom decided to make raungi instead.....and boy! did i make a face.....Rajmas can not be replaced with anything else :)). But somehow, that day, when i had the first byte, i fell in love with this marvellous bean :). Our hostess, Nupur beautifully describes these beans when she says that to her "they look like beans wearing kohl" :).

Over the time, i realized that most people who don't enjoy lobia as much, feel that it needs something more.....it needs to have a fuller flavor. In simpler words, it needs to be spiced up a bit :)). I usually make lobia as a daal, sometimes with potatoes (yes, we Punjabis add aloo to everything: so you have stuff like Rajma aloo, aloo chhole etc). Another favorite of mine is to make lobia with eggplants. But today, we'll try out lobia with bell peppers i.e. Shimla mirch :). Shimla adds that special something to this lovely legume :).

So lets say Love to Lobia and get ready :)

We need:

Black eyed beans (1 cup)
1 bell pepper (cut long)
1/4 tsp. shah jeera
1 onion (chopped long)
1 tbsp. chopped ginger
2-3 big, ripe tomatoes (cubed)
Turmeric (about a pinch) and red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt to taste
2 tsp. amchur
1 tsp. melted ghee
Kasoori methi or chopped cilantro for garnishing

Soak the lobia for half an hour or so in warm water. Pressure cook it with just a lil' bit of water (4-5 whistles) and allow to cool (consistency should be like the picture above). Meanwhile, lets prepare the tadka/masala. In hot ghee, spluttershah-jeera and then saute' onions till golden brown. Add chopped ginger and saute'. You may add a lil' garlic paste also. Add the chopped bell peppers/capsicum and stir. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Now add the tomatoes, stir and cook on low till a thick masala is made. Add just a pinch of turmeric (adding less turmeric allows for the red hues of tomatoes to take over) and red chilli powder. Now add the amchur and stir. Add just a lil' bit of water to make a thick gravy and add the cooked beans to this. Cover and cook on low heat for the beans to absorb all the flavors and spices. Add chopped cilantro or dried methi leaves (take your pick-i used methi leaves). Serve hot with bread or rice of your choice.

I served this with bhatura :). I adapted this style of serving from a Dhaba in Amritsar, where they used to serve the chhole on top of the kulche and bhature.....

Notes: Add more water to get a suitable consistency of the gravy for it to go with rice :).

Enjoy the lovable lobia enhanced by the delectable shimla mirch :)

Guchhi te Paneer di sabzi :)

2007-04-12T10:56:00.000-07:00

Fashion-holics, i am not talking about Gucci here :)). This "Guchhi" is something totally different-something for the mushroom fan in you. Yup, Guchhis or Dhingris are dried mushrooms./morels. Drying vegetables imparts a different flavor to them. Punjabis are also into drying vegetables and produce.....like i said in one of my earlier posts, it was a common practice till recently, to dry turnips, radishes, cauliflower, carrots, spinach and fenugreek (the veggies dried strung as garlands). Mushrooms/morels on the other hand aren't dried at home, but bought from the Pansari/Kiryana/Kirana (masale wallah and grocer) instead. They are usually quite expensive back home and used only on special occassions.

However, i haven't seen them often in Indian stores here. You do see dried mushrooms occassionally in regular grocery stores, but they are no good, because one pack hardly has anything. I resorted to making my own :). And you don't need much sun for this. Just get baby bella or crimini musrooms from the store, slice them, put them in a bowl and keep them in the fridge for more than a week without covering the bowl. Make sure that the fridge is set for the lowest temperatures. The mushrooms would dehydrate in a week or so.....after this, just shade dry them for a day or two and we are good to go. Don't have dried mushrooms, no worries, this tastes just as good with fresh mushrooms :).

This recipe, co-starring paneer and cashew/almond paste and ginger as the chief magic-maker, is one great ode to the Guchhi :)

We need:

Guchhis (dried morels/mushrooms)
Cubed Paneer (fresh/frozen)
1/4 tsp. each Shah-jeera (black cumin) and dhania (coriander)
2 tsp. Ginger paste
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 big, ripe tomatoes (cubed)
10-15 cashwes/blanched almonds as paste
1/4 tsp. or less turmeric
Red chilli powder (to taste)
1 tsp. melted ghee
1 stick dalchini (cinnamon) and two badi elaichi (black cardamoms), cracked open
1/4 tsp. Kasuri methi

Lets soak the guchhis in warm water and set aside. Also deep fry/toast/saute'/bake the paneer cubes till lightly brown and set aside. In hot ghee, splutter the shah-jeera and dhania, saute the chopped onion and then saute' the ginger paste/grated ginger. You may add garlic too, but not more than one clove (crushed). Next, lets add the cubed tomatoes, turmeric and red chilli powder and cook till we get a smooth gravy. Now lets stir the cashew/almond paste in. Cashew paste would impart a certain mellow flavor to the whole dish and balances the ginger. Once in a while, i replace this with 2 tbsp. of beaten yogurt to get some tangy taste. Add some water and the soaked guchhis. If using fresh mushrooms, saute' after onions and ginger and cook for 5-10 mins. Bring to boil and add the paneer cubes. Now add the cinnamon and cardamoms. Cover the pot and cook on low heat till the gravy thickens.

Garnish with kasoori methi and serve hot with bread or rice of your choice.

Notes: If you plan to store and re-heat this dish again, remove the cinnamon and cardamom-as boiling these spice again and again would change the flavor of the dish.

This dish gets the spice factor from ginger (the major aromatic ingredient) and the body from tomatoes and cashew paste. Enjoy the flavors and have fun :)

Khatte jimikand te vesan wali poori :)

2007-04-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, its K for Khatte Jimikand :). Jimikand is the single Punjabi word for a certain type of tubers. Possibly originating from a merger of Zameen (Earth) and Kand (tuber), jimikand/jamikand refers usually to Amorphophallus (Suran), the more common yam available in Punjab, and occassionaly to the Pink Yam (Ratalu-Gujarati) or Dioscorea. The former variety is also jokingly referred to as "Haathi Futta", meaning Elephants Foot, because of the huge frame :). Both varieties are equally delightful to eat, the pink/purple being sweeter.

Nupur's post on Ratala-kees and the comments therein bring out some interesting points about the nomenclature of this group of vegetables. Apparently Ratala is the Marathi name for sweet potato and whats Ratalu (Pink yam) in Gujarati, is Suran in Marathi. Please share any trivia on this nomenclature.

For this post, i started out looking for the regular yam (which sometimes makes appearances in the Indian stores). However, not having found the elephant foot, i decided to settle for the pink yam. And boy, did it work! with a brilliant color to boot :). So, lets make the K for Khatte Jimikand today: its equally delicious with whatever kind of jimikand we can use, and even other tubers e.g shakarkand (sweet potato), potato and any other tuber :).

We need:

Two medium sized pink yams or one big haathi futta
1/4 onion (chopped): optional
1 big, ripe tomato (cubed)
1/4 tsp. each Shah jeera (Black Cumin) and Kalonji (Nigella seeds)
1-2 Green chillies (optional)
Turmeric
Red chilli powder (to taste)
Salt (to taste)
Lime/lemon juice
1/2-1 tsp. oil for saute'ing
Fat-free cooking spray for baking

First of all, lets wash, peel and cut the jimikand into big cubes. If its difficult to cut, microwave 1/2 minute and then cube the yam. Traditional Punjabi yam recipe call for the cubes to be deep fried-we would reach for our oven instead and bake these cubes (high heat/15 minutes, with frequent turning). While the yam cubes are baking, lets make the gravy base. In hot oil, splutter the shah jeera, followed by kalonji. Fry chopped onions (if you are using onions-tastes equally good with or without onions). Now add the cubed tomatoes and cook to make a thick sauce. Add turmeric and chilli powder (to taste). Add the baked jimikand cubes and salt to taste-mix and add water. Cook on low heat after covering the pot till the gravy thickenes and smoothens out. We are almost there. Before serving, squeeze some lime/lemon juice to get the desired level of tang. Add chopped green chillies, cover and let sit for 5 minutes or so. Serve hot with phulkas (chapatis), paranthas, plain rice or khichri of your choice. Extremely simple, gorgeous to look at, especially if one uses the pink yam and absolutely no frills.

The green chillies add a distinct aroma and color (green on orange, isn't that delightful). Chop them coarse or slit into halves, if you don't like the heat :). That way you get the "khushbu" and can escape biting on chillies.

The regular yam is also prepared in this way, sometimes with potato and sometimes with matar. But the pink yam tastes best all by itself, hogging the limelight, in all its colorful glory.

I served this delicious sabzi with Vesan waaliyaan pooriyaan (besan pooris). I rarely make pooris, infact it was more than two years since i had made pooris!! So, why these pooris, you may ask. Hey, i like pooris.....but they are heavy, so i usually avoid them for dinner, and i am hardly home for lunch on weekends :)). But this time i got nostalgic.....for these were the special pooris Mom used to make sometimes.....even Bibiji (my Grandma) made them occasionally. Thinking of all that, i felt i craved those pooris.....so, lets roll :)

Vesan waaliyaan pooriyaan:

We need:

For the dough:

Preferably a half and half all purpose and whole wheat mix (i used 1/4 all purpose, 3/4 whole wheat)
Ajwain (1 tsp)/cup of flour
Salt to taste
1/4 tsp. sugar (keeps the pooris crisp)
1/2 tsp oil (Oil/ghee added to the dough is called mon, moyan or mohan)/optional (i didn't use it-you may use it if you like your pooris eternally puffed up ;))
Jeera and Dhania (Cumin and Coriander) seeds 1/4 tsp. each-dry roasted and ground
1/2 tsp. Kasuri methi (dried methi leaves)
Enough water to make a stiff dough

Make a stiff/poori type dough with all these ingredient and let rest for 30 minutes or so.

For the batter:

Besan (gram flour), salt (just enough for a lil' savory touch), a pinch of red chilli powder and enough water to make a thick batter (like we make for pakoras).

To make the pooris, roll out small pooris-dip one side in the besan mix and fry, starting with the batter dipped side facing oil. Fry both sides, drain the oil and serve hot with your choice of sabzi/bhaji. One of the four pooris in the first picture (the top one) is a regular poori :).

These pooris are heavy because of the besan and also they don't puff as much as regular pooris, but are really fluffy to eat. Enjoy :).

And if you are not into fried foods, no worries, the Khatte Jimikand is delish with plain whole wheat phulkas, as i said.

I also make jimikand koftas and kababs (both baked)-more on that later :).

My lil' contribution for Nupur's great event celebrating the A-Z of Indian Vegetables, featuring the "K" vegetables this week. Nupur, i hope i made it in time.....and thanks a ton for this delightful event :).

Paronthe te acchar :)

2007-04-04T23:21:00.000-07:00

And that, my dear, sums up a hearty Punjabi style breakfast.....Paranthas, or paronthe, as they are called in Punjabi, make one of the most widely enjoyed and versatile Indian breads. Plain or stuffed, they are packed with loads of flavor. As i mentioned earlier, paronthe are traditionally served only during breakfast.....they being a "heavy meal" :). Accompanied by dahi, achaar or chutney, they (besides my ever favorite upma) make weekend breakfast a real treat. We've all had paranthas of different shapes, sizes and with different fillings.....so whats new here.

Well, the style of making paranthas. I am taking about the TWO LAYERED PARANTHAS. I noticed that outside Punjab, very few people make paranthas in this certain way. So, lets get rolling (Coffee, i am at it) ;). And if its parantha, can the achaar be far behind-so two of my favorite pickles accompany these three delish paranthas.

Paratha/Parontha party: Lets put together two classic and one creative parathas today. My pick: the crisp mooli (radish) paranthas, the yummy aloo (potato) paranthas and the green and hearty spring onion (bhookaan-Punjabi) and peas (matar) paranthas.

The Dough:

Whole wheat is must :).

For mooli paranthas, i prepare the dough with the water squeezed from grated moolis along with lil' salt and extra water if needed.
For aloo paranthas, the dough has salt to taste and lil' ajwain (optional).
For spring-onion matar paranthas, ajwain is must in the dough, besides salt.

So, knead.....and keep kneading till the dough is soft and smooth. Let sit for 10-15 minutes, while we make the stuffings/fillings :).

Stuffings and preparation:

Mooli paronthe:

Grate the radish after scraping the peel. Squeeze out the water as much as possible and us this for making the dough. To the grated radishes, add: salt to taste, red chilli powder (optional) and garam masala. Taste for salt.

So, for making the paranthas, either we can roll out one single poori, put some stuffing, fold it up and roll it out, OR, make two small pooris, put stuffing on one, cover with another poori, press to seal the edges and roll :). and the latter, my dear, is the two-layered Punjabi parontha :). Roll out in a style of your choice (i recommend that you try the latter), fry the parontha on a hot griddle and serve hot with dahi or achaar.

Yummy variations: Try red radish for a change. Also if you have left over mooli sabzi (grated mooli, squeezed dry and stir fried with turmeric, salt and chilli powder), that makes a great stuffing too :).

Aloo paronthe:

The method of rolling remains the same, with two pooris. For filling(s), do the following:

Wash a big potato. DO NOT reach out for your pressure cooker. TURN towards your MICROWAVE and just microwave for 5 mins./potato. Cool, peel and mash the potatoes. Add 1/4 tsp. each of jeera, dhaniya and kali mirchi powder (last one is optional), add 1/2 tsp. pomegranate seeds, salt to taste, a pinch of garam masala, chopped cilantro, chopped green/red chillies (to taste/optional) and 1/2 tsp. lime/lemon juice. You can make it as spicy or as sublime as you wish. Dhaniya and anardana are must, as is cilantro :). THIS is the filling i used.

Sometimes, people also make a simpler filling with mashed potatoes, salt, pepper and chopped onions.....an entirely different and equally delicious flavor.

Roll out the paronthe, fry and serve with your pick of raita or achaar.

Spring Onion-Matar Paronthe:

3-4 spring onions-chopped and 1/2 cup fresh/frozen peas. Heat oil (1/4 tsp.) and splutter jeera, add spring onions and peas, turmeric, salt and a pinch of garam masala. Stir fry till the matar is bright green and the raw smell is gone. Cool and use this filling to make delicious paranthas.

The advantage of this style is that it allows for a lot more amount of filling. Also, its more filling, so you eat only one parantha, consume just as much wheat as for two of the regular small paranthas and half the amount of ghee/oil/margarine :). However, please be careful to seal the edges well, and also ensure that the edges are rolled out well (so they get fried well). Press with the spoon on the edges to ensure even cooking.

For lower calory variations, roll them much thinner, cook the paranthas on low heat as a chapati (for this, ensure that the dough is soft) and once done, enjoy with raita.

ACHAAR:

Achaars.....the pride of Indian kitchens. Every region of India boats of a huge variety of delicious pickles. Punjabi thali has a special place for achaar. I bring to you the flavors of two of my favorite achaars.

Shalgham-gajar da achaar: This one is a real simple and quick pickle to prepare, and equally delicious :). We need:

Cubed/semi-lunar sliced turnips
Baby carrots (halved)
Mustard seeds (2-3 tsp.)
Turmeric
Salt to taste
Masala: 1/2 tsp. each of fenugreek seeds (methra), fennel seeds (saunf) and black pepper (kali mirchi), dry roasted and ground.
Red or white vinegar (2 tbsp.)
Mustard oil
Sugar (1 tsp.)

To the vinegar, add turmeric, salt and sugar. Splutter mustard seeds in 2 tbsp. mustard oil, and add to the vinegar mix after cooling it a bit. Add this mix to the vegetables and mix throughly. Top it with the powdered masal which has been stirred with 1 tbsp. hot mustard oil. Mix throughly and store in a dry jar. Let it rest for 2-3 days with its share of sun-bathing :). Its good to go after that :)). Real quick and real delicious.I had made this pickle last week, a Planter peanut bottle full-its almost over now :)). You can judge that by the amount of achaar you've seen on these platters ;).

Nimbu-mirch te adrak da achaar: Another favorite, equally simple-just that it needs lot more patience :). To make this pickle, wash 12-15 key limes and soak them in hot water for 20-30 minutes. Remove the limes, wipe dry and cut into halves. Add to this julienned ginger and chopped serrano peppers or hari mirchi (halved). Top this with 3-4 tbsp. lime/lemon juice, salt to taste, red chilli powder, 1/2 tsp. sugar (aids pickling) and turmeric. Mix and let sit.

Meanwhile, in hot mustard oil, splutter mustard seeds and add the masala powder as mentioned above. Cool a bit and mix with the pickle throughly. Pack in a dry container and let it sun-bathe for a month or more.....delicious pickle takes time sometimes ;). A month or two later, be ready to enjoy this goodness :).

What's next:

Khatte Jimikand te Vesan wali poori.
Guchhi-Paneer di sabzi.
Ek khicri, ek raita.

Tamatar soya-wadi di kadhi : JFI tomato

2007-03-31T23:50:00.000-07:00

Food blogsopshere is always abuzz with interesting events that serve as a platform to share not just recipes but ideas and conecpts related to food. One such great event is "Jivha for Ingredients", which features one ingredient every month. Conceptualized and brought to the blogosphere by Indira (of the wonderful Mahanandi blog), the event is being hosted this month by RP of My Workshop (another great blog) and features TOMATOES.

Today I'll share a simple, yet very delicious recipe featuring tomatoes. Its a fusion of the classic kadhi with some relatively newer ingredients of Indian cooking. We've all heard about and relished the kadhi classics like "Pakore wali kadhi", "Majjige huli", "Mor Kozhambu" and many many more delicious variations of dahi/curd based gravies from across the different subcultures in India. Punjabis traditionally make two basic varieties of kadhis, the stylish and hearty pakore wali kadhi, which is also the more popular one; and the very sublime kadhi with vegetables.....the latter graced by the presence of a whole variety of veggies and greens. The simplest of these is tamatar wali kadhi :). This curd based delight with tangy tomatoes now takes an interesting turn by including the soya-wadi, popularly known as nutrella/nutri nuggets. These are dried chunks of soy and are quite popular in some cuisines from Northern India. Where did i get this idea from! Well, quite some time ago, while travelling, my Dad sampled soya wadi di kadhi at a Railway Station dhaba! So all thanks to the bhaiya ji at the dhaba :). Anyways, with or without soya wadis, tamatar di kadhi is quick to make and a delish relish :). Here's my recipe for Tamatar soya-wadi di kadhi.

We need:

1 and 1/2 cup buttermilk or beaten curd (sour preferred)
2 and 1/2 tbsp. besan
1/4 onion (chopped chunky)
2 big, ripe TOMATOES (chopped chunky)
10-15 soya chunks (soaked in warm water to soften)
Ginger (chopped, to taste)
1/2 bell pepper (chopped)
1/2 tsp. each of jeera and dhaniya (cumin and coriander) seeds
1/4 tsp. each of methi-dana (Fenugreek seeds) and kalonji (Nigella seeds)
1 tbsp. oil
Turmeric and chilli powder
1/4 tsp. Garam masala
Kasuri Methi (dried methi leaves) and Cilantro (both for garnishing)

Heat oil and splutter jeera, dhaniya, methi-dana and kalonji (in that order). Add onions and saute, followed by ginger and bell-peppers. (While its being saute'd-we must also keep ready the besan-curd mix. For that, beat the curd smooth and slowly add besan, preventing any clumps. We can use buttermilk instead). Now add 1/2 of the chopped tomatoes, stir and cook. Add turmeric and chilli powder (add only 1/4 tsp.turmeric-the color gets darker as we cook). Stir to make the base and add rest of the tomatoes. Reduce the flame and slowly add the curd-besan mix while stirring to prevent curdling. Squeeze out excess water from soaked soya-wadis and add to the kadhi. Add more water and bring to boil. Cook on low heat to allow the kadhi to thicken a bit. Add the kasuri methi and garam masala, cover the pot and let sit for 5 mins. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.

I served this with matar pulaav. This kadhi looks a lil' orange because of the tomatoes and quite a riot of colors, what with the bell peppers etc added. Methi and cilantro add a distinct aroma.....and no, they don't clash: rather they complement each other very nicely. It works well even if the curd is not that sour because tomatoes provide tangy taste. Also, instead of adding soya-wadis to the kadhi, you might like to add them to the pulaav (Mom often used to make soya-wadi matar pulaav).

Next: Paronthe te achhar :)

Methi-Zucchini ki sabzi :)

2007-03-31T23:04:00.000-07:00

Here's one more from the squash and greens fan :). Two of my favorite vegetables put together-simple magic! Both green.....one very aromatic and leafy and the other one a great squash (without seeds, may i add). Methi (Fenugreek) is a very valued spice in Indian cuisine. Green leaves are used as vegetables and dried ones as garnish. Even the seeds (methra/methidana) occupies a coveted place in the spice-box. There are two varieties of methi available in Punjab-methi and methra. The latter has bigger leaves and more aromatic. Methi is considered to be "garam" in essence. Its predominantly a winter time product in India. Zucchini on the other hand is the best equivalent to ridge-gourd (which incidently is a summer vegetable). Grilled zucchini is good, so is aloo-methi. However, today lets try something that gets the best of both worlds :).

So, lets get, set and go.....

We need:

2 bunches fresh methi (chopped fine)/frozen (1 packet)
2 medium sized zucchinis (cubed)
2mild long red peppers (chopped)/you may like red sweet-pepper instead
Jeera (1 tsp.)
1/4 onion (finely chopped)
1 big tomato (chopped)
1 tbsp. oil
Turmeric (1/2 tsp.)
Salt and chilli powder to taste

Heat oil and splutter jeera-saute onions and add tomatoes (the usual). Cook and then add turmeric and chilli powder. Now add zucchini cubes and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Add methi and stir. Add salt and cook on low heat after covering the pan. Half way through add chopped red pepper of your choice (I used Holland pepper) and cook till done. Ready to go. No garam masala etc. is needed, because methi is highly aromatic and anything else will only take away from the fragrance. The red pepper along with tomatoes adds color to the vibrant green sabzi. Serve hot with chapati, paratha or daal-chawal.

This recipe also works well with spinach and other squashes like doodhi. In that case you might like to add some garam masala. Fresh methi leaves have slight bitter (kasaila, not kadwa) taste-if you don't like slightly bitter flavor then you may like to go light on methi. Frozen methi isn't bitter. I enjoy the slightly bitter flavor with parathas a lot :).

Next: Tomatar-soya wadi di kadhi : For JFI tomato.

Musical and her kitchen :).

2007-03-31T17:36:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my "about" page :). I am musical, your host at Musical's Kitchen.....bringing you the foodie thoughts from my lil' kitchen in Los Angeles :). I am foodie, who dreams and thinks about food even while taking a long walk, or a bus ride: a "chatori" in the truest sense of the word :-D. My entry into the food blogging world happened early this year.....after getting inspired by the wonderful foodie corners i had been visiting. I was inspired not only by the wonderful recipes, photographas and words on these blogs, but also by the warm and friendly community feeling the desi food blogs radiate. To me it signified the spirit of sharing, what with the different e-potlucks and the friendly chit-chats in the comments section and also a strong will to do good things in life.....Slowly and steadily, i got more and more inclined to be a part of this community.....and thus began my tryst with food blogging :).

Before coming to the US, i had hardly done much cooking. But like my parents, i too had an inclination to not just enjoy good food, but also learn what makes good food :-D. After coming here, i had a chance to experiment with cooking.....and surprisingly i did a decent job :). Am sure its Mom's blessings and love :). And when i found out the foodie blogosphere, here was my chance to share whatever lil' i knew. I must mention that i have learnt a lot from my friends too.....about different cuisines, food habits and a lot more.

Ooh, that sounded really very serious :-D. Now for some funny food facts about me:

For all my claims to be a genuine foodie, i don't own a single cook-book and am not into food shows at all! I solely rely on friends and food blogs for foodie learning.
My love for Upma is rather well known to my friends ;).
I have been accused of doing the "mooli ke peeche kya hai" dance ;).
I rarely bake. When i do, its mostly savories (including baked vegetables) or plain breads.....rarely a cake or brownies :).
I usually tweak a lil' bit here and there, when cooking from a recipe: partly explains my last point ;).
I love my masala chai :-D and coffee too :).
I sometimes make (and enjoy) blasphemous pastas with green chutney, or an overdose of green peas and corn and the likes :-D.
I make khichris, kadhis and paranthas out of almost any edible vegetarian thing :-D.
I end up talking about food with most of my friends in a casual conversation ;). Well, my friends are no different :-D.

Dear blog buddies, this blog took shape with the generous dose of inspriration you provided..... Oh! and dear reader, i thank you for being here and encouraging me :).

Ghiya kaddu vali chholyaan di daal and a lil' surprise :)

2007-03-28T00:23:00.000-07:00

Its all about getting to enjoy the wonderful gifts the nature has to offer :). Besides turnips, all sorts of squashes and gourds made to my "no-no" list, when i was a child. Bottle gourd/doodhi/lauki/ghiya kaddu in all its green splendour was real fun to look at and play dumbells with, but i always kept it at an arms length when it came to edifying the same! Even the super-cute sounding names "Kaddu" and "Ghiya" didn't come to my rescue.....But real goodness is like magnet, it pulls you and hugs you :). So started my love-affair with the squashes.....and now i am a fan :).

Today, i'll make a very delectable and subtly flavored daal for all of us. This is a traditional Punjabi combination of Chana daal and ghiya kaddu. We Punjabis love Chana daal, though elsewhere, friends joke, it makes horse feed ;). Its called Chholiyaan di daal-daal made out of kaale chhole/Bengal gram. Punjabis also have a proclivity for gourds, especially the ghiya kaddu. This simple dish brings together the two widely loved flavors.

So, lets get going :).

We need:

One cup Chana Daal (Chholiyaan di daal-Punjabi)
One medium sized ghiya kaddu
1/4 onion-finely chopped
1 tomato-chopped
1/4 tsp. Dhaniya seeds/coriander seeds
1/2 tsp. Jeera/Cumin seeds
1 tsp. oil/ghee
salt and red chilli powder to taste
A pinch of garam masala (not more)

Wash the chana daal thoroughly, soak in warm water and set aside. Wash the ghiya, scrape off the peel and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. SAVE THE GHIYA PEEL SCRAPES :). Add the ghiya pieces to the daal and pressure cook (5-6 whistles) with lil' salt. The daal and ghiya should be thoroughly cooked resulting in a creamy texture with the ghiya pieces not sticking out too prominently. Take a deep breath and enjoy the warm and sweet aroma of ghiya and daal blend :). While the pressure cooker cools down-lets prepare a tadka. Splutter jeera and dhaniya in hot oil/ghee, saute onions, add tomatoes and cook. Add turmeric and chilli powder to taste (preferably very lil'). Add this tadka to the daal. Let the daal-ghiya mix cook slowly for the flavors to blend in. Add just a pinch of garam masala to enhance the flavor of daal. Thats it-a simple classic is ready :). No cilantro, no green chillies. Serve hot with rice or chapati.

Ghiya provides a subtle sweet flavor to the already mellow chana daal, while dhaniya and jeera enhance the aroma of daal-ghiya combo. The final product should have the aroma of jeera-dhaniya top note, ghiya as the middle note and daal as the base (you'll actually relish each layer when you take a spoon-full). You can see that i'm smitten. Hey, i have reason to be! Try this and you'll know what i mean. No frills, this is an all time favorite. I preferably make it with ghee in tadka. You can also top it with ghee for extra aroma. (Thanks Anita, for the lil' nudge). Served here with hot chapatis and home made nimboo-mirchi-adrak achaar (in oil-Manisha has two great posts on achaar without oil).

And now the lil' surprise :)

Whatever happened to those chhilkas/peels we saved ;). This is the other wonderful part of preparing a ghiya kaddu dish. Lets see: do you love chutneys! YES-i hear you all :)). Here's the lil' surprise of ghiya-moongphali chutney :). Golden Girl once treated to me to a Marathi recipe of ghia/doodhi cooked with ground moongphali and lots of cilantro (will post the recipe sometime)-which got me to make this chutney-sort of an instant version :)).

Ghiya kaddu peels/scrapes-1 cup
Roasted peanuts-a fistful
One green chilli
Chopped Cilantro/Coriander
Salt to taste
A spoonful lime/lemon juice

Grind these together for a really delish, subtle chutney/sandwich spread. It goes great with Middle-eastern style food too :).

Richa tells you here about another delicious recipe from Ghiya, the ghia ke kofte :)

More Squash-a-thon :Methi-Zucchini sabzi :)

Having fun with turnips :)

2007-03-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Thats right-i have always had fun with turnips :). Though my concept what makes "fun" in this case has changed over the years. As a child, i would have it raw, but never cooked! but mostly the fun part came from playing catch n' throw with turnips :)), and later, by helping out with drying the turnip slices for making dried vegetable garlands (meant for storage: read Anita's post for more fun info). And the most fun part was saying the Punjabi name for this vegetable "Gonglu" :). Its also known as Shalgham (Punjabi and Hindi), but Gonglu sounds fun, doesn't it! Say it again, yeah-GONGLU :).

Over the years, i learnt to appreciate different vegetables (and life's come a full circle-its my friends children now, who make face while eating different vegetables).

Turnips haven't been given their due in popular cuisine (i mean restaurant cuisine)-just imagine how popular turnips would have been if there were some dishes like makhni shalgham or shalgham butter masala :)). But home style Indian cuisine(s) do value turnips-sample Kashmiri cuisine (pings Anita) and Punjabi food e.g. Today, i'll share two traditional Punjabi recipes using turnips. They are both very simple to make, sans any frills.

Bur before we start, we must ensure that we use only fresh turnips. As they age, turnips accumulate very hard fiber. If you are having difficulty chopping them, then you would rather use them for making baked crunchies (Jugalbandi). I often face disappointments while searching for the freshest turnips!

Recipe 1: Gonglu-Aloo di sabzi (Turnips and potatoes)
We need:

Two-three fresh turnips
One-two potatoes
1/4 red onion-chopped
1 tomato-chopped (optional)
Jeera
Salt, turmeric and red chillies
Oil (1 tbsp.)
A pinch of sugar
Lime/lemon juice
A tsp. ghee

Heat oil in a pot-splutter jeera, saute' onions and add tomatoes and cook. Now add turmeric and red chillies. Add chopped shalgham and potatoes. Mix and add suffiecient water to cover. Bring to boil on high heat. Now cover the pot and cook on low heat till the turnips are tender. Add a pinch of sugar, lime/lemon juice and we are good to go! NO GARAM MASALA!

Serve with hot chapatis and pickle, after topping the sabzi with just a lil' bit of ghee (the 1 tsp. is for the whole pateela/pot) :). It also goes rather well with rice or pulaav/ I had this with pulaav (jeera, spring onions, peas and carrots) and home-made green chillies pickle. Tomatoes are optional, infact traditionally not included, but like the color, so i add them.

Recipe 2: Ghotvein ('n' nasal) gonglu: Mashed and gravied turnips

Almost the same ingredients, but no tomatoes and potatoes at all. Omit onions too, if you want-it would still taste divine. Just slow cook them and keep mashing as you stir inbetween cooking. Instead of one pinch of sugar, add more sugar, chopped red/green chillies (i had the ones that turned red), lemon juice and serve after drizzling with ghee.

THIS IS THE GONGLU RECIPE :).

The first recipe is to entice and convert turnip non-eaters (potatoes invite even the fussiest of kids-am talking based on how i became a shalgham fan) and the second one is YUM anyway!

PS: Almost all my cooking uses one tbsp (sometimes even 1tsp.) oil without compromising the taste-so a ghee drizzle (1/4 tsp. or less; only for aroma) isn't too bad.

I'll be back with: Ghiya kaddu vali chholyaan di daal (Ghia-chane ki daal).

Cheese parantha with quick sabzi :)

2007-03-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

Paranthas have always been my favorite bread :). Mom used to make the best paranthas and my recipes would try to bring you the same flavor. Parantha is a pan/griddle fried bread, traditionally only meant for breakfast/brunch-but we all know its tempting enough to break these rules ;).

Today i'll make a creative parantha :). Its fun you know, when you end up trying something just like that and it turns out good. Well, thats what this parantha is-total fun! A delish twist to the regular parantha :). So, ready: lets go.

We need:

Whole wheat flour, water, a pinch of salt, ajwain and grated cheese of your favorite variety (i used five cheese Italian blend).

Sift the flour, add salt, ajwain, knead into a smooth dough with water. The essence of any good Indian bread is a good dough, so knead, knead, knead :). The dough should be flexible. Set aside for a few minutes. Heat the tava/griddle and roll a nice chapati as shown in the picture. Heap some grated cheese and fold into a square (or a triangle if you like). Dust with some flour and roll this square. Fry it with lil' oil/ghee on the tava-the cheese melts and makes this ordinary bread into something extraordinary :).

A good parantha should be crispy outside and soft inside.

The regular Punju parantha is prepared in very much the same manner, with or without ajwain and instead of cheese, you just brush the inner lining with ghee. Sometimes, for a change, try kneading the dough with milk (makes soft paranthas) or sour dahi/buttermilk (that would be a home made cousin of kulcha for you).

Oh! but what do we have this paranthas with! Traditionally some achaar/pickle and dahi/yogurt are served with paranthas-and sometimes sabzis too.

So, lets look for a quick sabzi recipe. Now, this one is simple: Splutter jeera in hot oil and then fry chopped onions and tomatoes (the tadka)-as you do this, microwave (WHAT!)-yes, microwave one-two potatoes (4 mins/potato) :)). Cool these, peel and make into cubes. Now, add some turmeric to the tadka, cook and add water to make some gravy-to this add peas/matar, diced carrots and cubed potatoes. Add salt and cook on simmer after covering the pan. It takes just 10 minutes-stir in-between, add chopped cilantro/dhaniya and just a pinch of garam masala.

Hai na mazedar-hope you enjoyed it.

Chai/Coffee and some snacks :)

2007-03-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

You know how its in our culture-we welcome our guests with some chai/coffee and snacks :). So, this post is to share some chit-chat over chai.

So, Ji Aayain Noon (Respect to the visitors-literal, a popular Punjabi greeting).

I have prepared two of my favorite evening tea/brunch time eats: Vesan da pooda (besan ka cheela) and Rave idlis.
Poodas/Cheela are savory pancakes made out of besan/gram flour and are popular across different Indian cuisines. Sometimes this dish is also referred to as tomato omelette/vegetarian omlette :). Punjabi poodas use Anardana and dhaniya seeds-two ingredients that go hand in hand with other savory besan treats like pakodas.

Ingredient we need:

Besan
Jeera n' dhaniya seeds/ Cumin and coriander seeds
Anardana/dried pomegranate seeds
Finely chopped onions and tomatoes
Chopped cilantro/coriander
Chopped green chillies (optional)
Salt to taste
A pinch of garam masala (optional)
Water to make the batter and a spoonful of sour yogurt for some tangy taste.

Sift besan to fluff the flour a bit and add the dried seeds, salt and garam masala. Mix again and add yogurt and enough water to make a utappam like batter, avoiding lumps (slightly thick, no too much-should flow easily still). Add the chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro and chillies, mix and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Now, lets heat the tava/griddle (medium heat), sprinkle some oil and spread it-then add a ladle full of batter and spread it. Once the top side looks a bit cooked and set, drizzle a lil' oil and turn the pooda. Let this side cook too and we are ready to go. Indira has a fun post on besan dosa too :). You would also enjoy Trupti's bisquick poodas.

To serve: How about some kicked up ketchup (Jai n' Bee), or Dhaniya-pudina/Cilantro-mint (Punjabi:Dhaniya-poodna) chutney. For chutney:grind together the dhaniya and pudina leaves with a green chilli, salt , a pinch of sugar and some lemon/lime juice. Some people also add onions. This should all be good for tea-time. But what if you are hungry and made this for brunch time! Remember, this is a take on omlette :))-so we'll have it as a sandwich. Toast two whole-wheat/low-carb/flax bread slices (take your pick) crisp-layer one slice with half-pooda, chutney and a slice of tomato) and make a sandwich.

Tasty variations on Pooda:

How about mixing some rave-idli flour (roasted rave with the condiments; see below) with besan to make poodas :). IT WORKS, and how! to give the most amazingly fluffy poodas.
What if we made bite-size poodas :). In Punjab, we make these often-to be used in making chilladiyaan da raita (Chilladi-lil' cheela/pooda). Its amazing.

Rave idli: A cpl. of days back, i had a catch in the neck and was looking for some quick eat-happened to be reading Anita's Mad Tea Party and on the side bar spotted the words "Instant Gratification" :). Yes, thats what it is-Rave idli. A popular and quick eat. I had gotten my idea for dinner-it had been almost a cpl. of months since i had this fluffy goodness! She details a nice recipe here-so why am i writing about this-because i did something interesting by chance.

Having no home made sour yogurt (a result of my recent laziness), i reached for the store bought butter milk (home made lassi/majji would do as well) and made a batter with that instead. Just added some fried cashews, cilantro and green chillies to the batter. and this gave me the most amazing rave-idlis ever. Try this variation. Kinda' tangier and fluffier :). And it works well even without baking soda! That was the best part-because i made two batches one with and the other one without soda: and no difference! Ofcourse, the batter without soda rested a bit longer (20 minutes). And if you are in a mood for decorating the idlis a bit, then place a few peas/matar and grated carrots in the idli stand, before you add the batter (didn't do it this time). This is how rave-idlis were served in Bangalore, including my graduate school (Indian Institute of Science) mess and cafeterias, with a variety of yummy kurmas as a full meal(in an upcoming post).

For thindi/snack, lets make another quick chutney: In hot oil, splutter mustad seeds and urad daal (a pinch each), and saute chopped onions (1/2 onion), grated ginger (1 tsp.) and one chopped tomato. Saute for 5 minutes and cool. Now grind this with a fistful of grated fresh/frozen coconut, a green chilli, salt and some lime juice. Chatpati chutney :).

Chai n' Coffee: As we prepare these snacks-lemme share my bit on chai n' coffee. I am a convert :). You won't believe, but i never had much tea/coffee till my second year M.Sc., the barrier was crossed in the beginning of my graduate school-and now i love chai n' coffee :).

My chai usually has: Chhoti Elaichi (Green Cardamom), Dalchini (Cinnamon), Badiyun Khatai/Dagad-Phool (Star Anise) and ginger (i freeze the ginger root-so when you grate it, you get a fine powder). This is a great combination, or so say my friends. For coffee: i am so in love with what Golden Girl's Aayi makes: light coffee with ginger-and the lil' tip to freeze the ginger root is her idea :).

So, hope you had a fun time reading and enjoyed this chai time get together.

Whats next:

Cheese paratha with quick sabzi
Having fun with turnips :).

Welcome :)

2007-03-23T00:54:00.000-07:00

Hello, and welcome to my blog :).

Yeah!! i finally did it.....with all the inspiration from all the wonderful food blogs i've been visiting in the recent past (Thanks to you all, dear food bloggers).....each one of them with their distinctive styles and yummy recipes :). Ah! that was tempting.....how long could i hold myself from chirping something on what makes my ever favorite topic :).

Some of you found the blog out (Right, Asha), as i was working on it ;) and some of you knew that this would happen (MD, Trupti) :))

So here i am, bringing to you my thoughts and ideas on food, cooking and other fun that goes with it :). As i invite you all over for a fun-filled get together, i hope to present a flavor of traditional and creative cooking.....with an emphasis on some regional Indian cuisines.....and fun stories to spice it all up :). This, in keeping up with the tradition of Indian food blogosphere to bring forth authentic regional Indian cuisines. So while you'll enjoy some creative and present day takes on certain recipes, you'll also be presented with some traditional food art :). In short, stories from my kitchen, as they happen :).

Hope you'll all enjoy this party.....

Looking forward to your suggestions and more fun with food :).

Cheers,
musical.