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

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:

• Mangosteen
• Talking about kokum
• Kokam
  

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!

Sweet-potato stew (Thai-style) :)

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.

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

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 :).

Paronthe te acchar :)

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.