Abundance

Onion-Tomato Chutney

2012-01-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

Here's the recipe for the chutney in the Oats dosa picture below - from my friend Venkat.

Ingrediants

Tomatoes
Onions
Tamarind Paste
Red Chilly powder
Turmeric
Salt

Method

Grind all the stuff in mixie.
Heat a little oil, add mustard and urad dal seeds.
Add the mixture and stir for 2 mins until the raw smell is reduced.

You can also add some ground nuts and channa dal to the mixture while grinding. I think this will taste great with some curry leaves and garlic in the mixture too!

Oats Dosa/Pancake!

2012-01-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

Oats dosas by my friend Venkat, his attempt came out better than mine!

Call it dosa or pancake, a great way to get that blah-oats in and reduce your cholesterol levels, without lowering your happiness levels! And you also eat a green leafy vegetable in the bargain, and you won't even notice it!

I did not use any of the dry powders, it still came out well. Note that the batter has to be watery - you pour it in the centre of a hot non-stick pan, take it off the stove and twirl it until the batter spreads around. Can't twirl only your arm? Neither can I! Just twirl your whole body, it works - just make sure there are no family members with a sense of humour in the kitchen with you! If you've learnt Tai Chi, it helps, you almost get the feeling you're practising martial arts with a pan, not acting cuckoo in the kitchen.

After you have made one dosa, the pan will be very hot. Take it off the stove and wave it sideways a few times to bring it down to bearable heat, before pouring the next ladle of batter. May be wise to keep burnable objects, like people, out of the kitchen :)

Got it from here: http://food.sulekha.com/oat-pancake-id25353-39361-recipe.htm

Ingrediants

Oats Powder- 1/2 cup (Just powder the oats well in a mixie! - actually my friend Venkat made it without powdering, came out great he says)
Onion- 1/2 chopped finely
Tomato - 1/2 chopped finely
Finely Chopped Green chilli- 1/2
Kasoori methi- 1/2 tsp (dried methi leaves - great for diabetics, you get it in any grocery shop. Don't have it at home now? Be brave, go ahead and make the dosa without it, still tastes good!)
Coriander leaves- 1/2 tbsp chopped
Red chiili powder- 1/4 tsp (I didn't use any of these powders)
Turmeric powder- a pinch
Garam masala- 1 to 2 pinch
Salt
Water- 3/4 cup

Method

Take a bowl mix all the ingredients,add water to make it as a batter of pouring consistency.
Heat a non-stick pan, spread the batter to make it as a pancake,add oil/ghee if you want - not needed.Cook on both sides.
Serve hot with tomato chutney or mint chutney - or chutney powder and curd, or pickle....

Recipe for Venkat's onion-tomato chutney, the one in the photo, here.

Groundnut Chutney Powder (North Karnataka Style)

2012-01-25T21:15:00.000-08:00

To think that I did not post this before! An easy way to get healthy groundnuts, garlic and curry leaves in, and goes well with chapathis and rice and as sandwich filling. See picture in the Palak Chapathis post below.

Ingrediants

Groundnuts - roasted, skin removed
Peeled garlic, as much as you can take :)
Red chilly powder - choose a chilly that has a great colour, like the Kashimir chillies. They use the byedagi chillies in North Karnataka - such a brilliant red!
Curry leaves - washed and dried. One big twig-worth of leaves or less.
Salt

Procedure

Grind it all together in the mixie! Adjust salt, garlic, chilly, curry leaf according to your taste - highlight the flavor you want!

Palak/Methi Chapathis

2012-01-25T21:08:00.000-08:00

A great way to get that green stuff in! And it doesn't taste as bad as it looks, it's quite nice!

Ingredients

A bunch of palak leaves - soak in salt water for a a while and clean well.
Atta (wheat flour), 2 cups
Jeera powder (Cummin), 2-3 teaspoons, to taste
Salt
Crushed garlic and green chilly (if you want)

Procedure

Grind palak in mixie well.
Add it to atta, then add jeera powder and salt, and some crushed garlic and green chilly. Add additional water if needed (add water in mixie and pour that water in here - conserve, conserve!) and mix into a soft dough.
Roll out chapathis!

My friend Rekha does it this way: "Take methi leaves fresh, take equal quantity of palak leaves, few strands of corriander leaves, wash and grind them into a fine paste in the mixer. Add this to the wheat flour with jeera , salt and green chillies. Make chapatis and have with plain curds. My son loves these chapatis."

You can have this with your regular vegetables/dal - or just chutney/chuney powder and curd. It does not have a very strong taste, so it is an easy chapathi substitute.

Orange Peel/Bittergourd Gojju

2012-01-13T19:55:00.000-08:00

From my friend Roopa, her mother's recipe. I chased her for this for years, and finally made it with the bittergourd! Was nice, a good way of getting that bittergourd in. And it was pretty easy to make too.

Ingredients

Orange Peels (washed & cut hapazardly either by hand or knife)
Oil (small ladle)
2 green chillies
Mustard seeds
Hing
Tamarind Juice 2 small cups
Rasam Powder 4 to 5 Tbspns
Jaggery (almost 1 block)
Salt to taste

Procedure

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, green chillies & hing.
Once the mustard seeds split, add the orange peel and fry well on low flame (almost for half an hour).
Once the orange peel changes colour to saffron, add tamarind juice, salt, rasam powder and jiggery and mix thoroughly and let the whole preparation boil extremely well (all on low flame).
When the gojju is done, it will start separating itself from the pan – that’s your hint that it’s done.
Switch off the gas and let it cool. It can be stored in the refrigerator for close to 2 weeks.

Similar method for Bittergourd (haagalkai) gojju.

Tips for Soft Idlis

2012-01-13T19:51:00.001-08:00

I have not tried this out, but sounds sensible! -

http://www.cilantroonline.com/2012/01/homemade-idli-battertips-for-soft-idlis.html

Katmandige

2012-01-13T19:47:00.000-08:00

From Dimple, some Mangalorean recipes - dosas, prawns, gullittu...

http://katmandige.blogspot.com/

Raw Garlic Chutney

2012-01-13T19:44:00.000-08:00

From my friend Rekha, who is from North Karnataka:

"This is my mother-in-law's recipe for healthy bones, especially for women:

Ingredients

Garlic - 6 raw
Onions - 6 small (shallots, sambar onions)
Curry leaves - a bunch, fresh
Tamrind pulp
Red chilly powder - for this I roast dry red chillies at home and powder them in a mixer
Jaggery
Mustard seeds 2 tea spoons
Jeera - 2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds - 3 teaspoons

Procedure

You need to fry all the ingredients except the garlic. (Onions, curry leaves, seeds)
Grind all the fried ingredients.
Now grind the raw garlic seperately and mix it with the ground paste.
Add tamarind, jaggery, salt and red chilly powder as per your taste.
Fill it in a bottle and keep it in the fridge.
You can eat this with chapatis, dosas and hot rice with little ghee.

This gives a lot of strength to the bones and helps reduce cholestrol
I have eaten this chutney though I hate raw garlic and believe me it has reduced my back ache to a large extent."

Recipes for Diabetics?

2011-10-30T00:31:00.001-07:00

If you have any recipes that are good for keeping diabetes in control, do let me know. My husband is diabetic. Thanks!

To Reduce Cholesterol

2011-10-29T23:30:00.000-07:00

This is something my sister-in-law has tried successfully on my brother who had high cholesterol. My father, who's a cardiologist, and who was monitoring my brother's cholesterol levels, was surprised to see the reduction in cholesterol levels in a month!

Ingredients

Fresh Garlic: A tablespoonful, peeled (My sister-in-law roasts this for a few seconds with skin on, on a tava, to take away the pungency a bit)
Fresh Curry Leaves: A tablespoonful (soak in water with salt and turmeric powder for 15 mins if you want to make sure it's really clean)
Shallots (Sambar Onion): 5-6 peeled

Procedure

Grind all three, make a chutney. Have once a day, mixed with any kind of food. Rice and dal is a good camouflage :) You can be innovative and grind this with other ingredients that may take away the pungency - like tamarind.

Tip from my friend Anil: Curry leaves chutney and curry leaves in butter milk (with complete removal of butter version) is a medicine to reduce cholesterol.

How to include garlic, curry leaves and/or shallots in your diet

Chutneys are obviously the best way to get these in fresh. I use these in various cooked dishes too, see labels.

Curry Leaf Chutney

I use this in my chutney - see post below - though it has coconut, not sure people with high cholesterol are allowed that.

Groundnut Chutney

Grind roasted groundnuts with some garlic and curry leaves and red chilly to make chutney powder.

Curry Leaf Chutney

2011-10-29T23:18:00.000-07:00

This is the chutney which contains all 3 cholesterol-reducing fresh ingredients: garlic, curry leaves, shallots (sambar onions). My staple chutney with dosas.

Ingredients

Coconut: Half
Curry leaves: A handful. Soak in salt and turmeric powder and water for a while if you want to really clean it.
Garlic: A handful, peeled
Shallots: A handful, peeled
Tamarind: a small lemon-sized piece, soaked in water at least 15 mins before.
Green chilly: 2, or more if you like it spicy. Always check with one chilly first - some big chillies are hot :)
Salt

Procedure

Grind all of it in a grinder :)
Season with mustard seeds and asafoetida in a little bit of oil.

Adai with Drumstick Leaves

2011-10-29T21:46:00.000-07:00

Drumstick leaves are high nutrition. Here's an easy unobtrusive way of getting them in, especially good to feed people who refuse to eat them - they may not even notice :) :)

Just add them to the Adai - see my recipe here.

Or try this lady's recipe: http://www.cilantroonline.com/2009/03/murungai-keerai-adai-moringa-leaves.html

Adai

2011-10-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

This is my version of the Adai, a very simple dosa variation (yellow dosa :)), and high-protein. Not fermented.

Ingredients

Tuvar dal: 1 glass
Dry red chilli: 1
Ginger: A small piece
Salt
Green leafy vegetables, finely chopped, optional. Dill (sabbajgi) is best. Drumstick leaves are also good.

You can make adai with just Tuvar dal. But to increase the nutrition/vary taste, experiment with other dals that need soaking overnight.

For example:
Shelled broken Moong dal (yellow one): Half glass (this one goes best)
Urad dal: Quarter glass
Soya Beans: a few grains. Remember, always soak soya beans separately, and wash separately before grinding with anything.
Any other dal you have, just a few spoons. Tuvar dal should dominate.
You can use a little rice too, makes it crispier.

Preparation

Soak dal/dals/rice overnite.
Grind the next morning in a grinder, with chilly and ginger.
Add salt as required.
Make dosas as you normally make, spread thin. This comes out quite crisp.

You can also chop some green leafy vegetables very fine and add to the mix, or spread on the dosa when it is on the pan and cooking.

Indonesian Green Beans Curry

2011-09-03T00:55:00.000-07:00

I have not tried this recipe as yet, but posting it without delay because I think it will make someone or other happy :) I am told it is very simple and very tasty. The recipe is Indonesian, and it was translated from Dutch to English for me by a Dutch friend of a friend - I have met her just once. Thanks so much, Rixt!

Ingredients:

1/2 kg green beans,
2 onions
1 garlic clove
1 small can (70 grams) of tomato puree
1 can (400ml) coconut milk and
3 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
2 table spoons peanut butter

Preparation:

Wash and cut the ends of the beans and cut in half. Cut onions in small chunks, as well as the garlic.
Fry onions in some oil untill transparent and tender. Add garlic.
Add tomato puree and soy sauce. Cook for 1 minute.
Stir in coconut milk. Add the beans together with 2 tbspoons of peanut butter.
Stir and cook slowly for 10 minutes or until beans are soft but still chunky.

The dish is not spicy at all, so I recommend to add some green chilly to the onion and the garlic, or serve with chilli flakes.

It's not part of the recipe, but I will roast some shaved almonds and shredded coconut and sprinkle that over the dish as a garnish, just before serving.

This goes very well with rice.

Crispy Soft Paddu

2011-07-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

If your dosa batter is on its second day, make delicious crispy-soft Paddu (Gundpangla) with it - this is one of those things that you can't stop eating!

You can also make it on the first day, it is just that it is more fermented the second day and so fluffier :) You can also make it with the dosa batter you buy in shops, I guess, if you want Paddu real fast.

You need to get a pan like in the picture - I found this in a shop where they sell non-stick cooking-ware, like Prestige pans. The traditional one is made of stone, and you probably still get it in smaller towns in Karnataka.

Ingredients

Dosa batter
Chopped onions
Chopped green chillies
Chopped coriander leaves
Salt

Procedure

Mix everything and pour in the hot paddu pan, you can add a little oil or ghee to roast them better.
Turn over when one side is done.
Serve hot with chutney.

Kerala Fish Curry, Oil-free

2011-07-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

(Click photo to enlarge)

So I should've taken the photo before most of the fish got polished off, but well, I forgot, greed :)

You can use this exact same recipe for prawn curry too.

This is a routine, ordinary fish recipe from Kerala, with only fresh ingredients, no ground masalas, and absolutely no oil. The only real effort is the making of the coconut milk - but the reaction to the curry is usually so good, in the end you feel it was all worth it :) I guess you can also buy coconut milk these days, but I am a fresh-ingredient-puritan!

I use an earthen-ware pot to cook this. You can use any thick vessel too, but see if you can buy a pot - am sure it adds something to the taste.

Ingredients

Fish (any one, though the most popular are seer, pomfret, karimeen(pearl spot), sardine, mackerel. I used karimeen this time, 4 of them.)
Ginger, one big piece, lightly crushed
Green chilly - 1
Red chilly powder - 1 teaspoon
Turmeric - half a teaspoon
Curry leaves - 2 whole sprigs, you can leave the sprig as it is, without pulling out the leaves.
Shallots (sambar onion) - a handful, sliced in half
Kodampuli - 3 pieces, soaked in water beforehand (http://www.kodampuli.com). This is what adds that typical addictive sourness/tanginess. You should get it in any Mallu grocery shop, or ask any Mallu friend to get it for you from Mallu Land. You can keep it for years, in a bottle, won't go bad - it's dried and preserved. If you can't get this, use tamarind, lots of it. Or green mango slices!
Coconut milk (For 4 fish, I used half a coconut, you can add a whole coconut if you want a thicker gravy - scrape it, grind in the mixie, add warm water and extract as much milk as you can. Grind twice, strain the milk so no coconut scrapings remain in the milk.)
Rock salt, a teaspoon (if not, ordinary salt)

Preparation

Just put all the stuff together in the pot, with the coconut milk, add the fish, add water to immerse it all, and cook, with lid half-open. That's it! Taste in between, add more chilly/ginger if you want it spicier. Coconut milk reduces the chilly flavour.

Fish cooks real fast, so keep an eye. Some big fish may break when you try to turn them around, like it happened to one fish in the photo :) - but hey, it still tastes delicious, you will search out the pieces and eat every last bit! It is best to not turn them around.

Some people do add a drop of coconut oil in the end, to give that extra flavour.

Grow your own Coriander!

2011-07-01T22:43:00.001-07:00

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Method

All you have to do to grow Coriander leaves is sow some coriander seeds (the regular stuff you buy in packets from your grocery shop, which you use in cooking) in a pot, not too deep in the soil. And they sprout and form coriander plants! Kind of obvious, right? - but it never occurred to me :)

As you can see, practically all seeds grow into plants, so maybe you can sow less than we did :)

Since we use these leaves raw most of the time, growing them at home ensures that they are free from pesticides and other contamination.

This was another big learning from my maid, Mary. I owe my kitchen garden to her.

Grow your own Mint!

2011-07-01T22:40:00.000-07:00

Trying to grow some basic kitchen-garden stuff!

Method

All you need to do is take those stalks that remain after you've pulled out the mint leaves, and stick them in a pot! They will take root and grow.

This is entirely thanks to my maid, Mary. She planted these.

More Oats Recipes

2011-07-01T22:38:00.000-07:00

Have not yet tried these out -

Oats Banana Sheera

http://www.tarladalal.com/Oats-Banana-Sheera-(-Eat-Well-Stay-Well-Recipes-)-33459r

Oats Upma

http://www.vegetarianrecipes.net/oats-upma/

Oats Rava Wheat Dosa

2011-07-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

This came out real nice. The only thing you need to be careful about is the spreading - the batter has to be watery, like in rava dosa (which I never get right) - so you must pour a ladle-full of watery batter (on a tava that is hot, but not steaming hot) and just shake the non-stick pan bending it in all directions a little to get that round shape - so the batter will spread evenly. Don't try to spread with the ladle, it will break. As you can see, I am not overly bothered about the shape when it comes to such dosas, I love geography :)

Ingredients:

This measurement gave me 6 dosas.

Oats - 1cup
Ravai - 1\4cup
Wheat - 3/4cup
Onion - 1
Green chillies - 2
Cumin seeds - 2tsp
Pepper - 1tsp ( I just added some pepper powder to the batter)
Oil

Procedure:

Dry roast oats and rava separately.
Heat 1tbsp of oil and throw finely chopped onions and green chillies, saute it for 2mins, keep it aside.
With rest of they oil, add peeper and cumin seeds , allow it to split and remove from the flame.
In a bowl add all the ingredients.. oats, rava, wheat, salt, onions,green chilies, pepper and cumin seeds.
With enough water mix it thoroughly to form a uniform watery dosa batter.
Heat sauce pan and pour one bowl of dosa batter, pour 1\2 tsp of oil (suggested - Olive Oil)cook one side and turn it on the other side and cook it for 20 sec.
Delicious healthy oats dosa ready to be served .

From here: http://spicysouthernfood.blogspot.com/2008/05/quick-oats-dosa.html

This can be had with any of these chutneys: http://noodlesandmangopickle.blogspot.com/search/label/Chutneys

Oats Roti

2011-07-01T22:28:00.000-07:00

So I have been trying to find tasty ways of eating oats, which is a rich source of soluble fibre 'Beta-glucan', a potent cholesterol-lowering agent. (http://eatmoreoats.com/health.html).

I don't like oats with milk+fruits, I do eat it, but not with enjoyment :)

So have been trying out recipes I found on the Net. Sharing some of them.

Oats Roti
You can also substitute this for chapathis and have it with curries/sabji, it's quite thin.

1 cup whole wheat flour (gehun ka atta)
1/2 cup quick cooking rolled oats (what you get in packets, the regular one)
1/2 tsp finely chopped green chillies
1/4 cup chopped onions
2 tbsp chopped coriander (dhania leaves)
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp oil

Method

Combine all the ingredients and knead into stiff dough using a little water.
Cover and keep aside for 20 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Shape into round balls and roll each ball into 125 mm. (5") diameter rounds using little flour.
Cook on a tava (griddle) on both sides till brown spots appear.
Serve hot with fresh low fat curds.

From here: http://www.tarladalal.com/Oats-Roti-5286r

Mushroom Capsicum

2011-06-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

• 450 gm Fresh Mushroom
• 1 Capsicum (medium sized)
• 2 tsp Red Chill Powder
• 2 tsp Dry Coriander Powder
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 medium Tomato
• 1 Green Chilli (cut into small pieces)
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin-Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste

Steps

Wash mushroom and cut into two pieces.
Trim onions, capsicum, tomato in square pieces.
Pour oil in a pan and add cumin and mustard seeds to it.
Mix green chillies and onions.Saute till golden brown.
Add capsicum and then add tomato, cook till soft.
Then add mushroom, turmeric, red chill powder, coriander powder, salt.
Mix it well, cook until the mushroom became tender and then turn off the flame.

Tip: Add some garam masala in the end if you like it spicier.

http://www.indobase.com/recipes/category/capsicum-50.php

Banana Pancakes!

2011-06-22T18:23:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I got from the Net. I just added the additional banana slices to make it tastier - it worked! Very simple and high-energy breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour (I use atta)
1 tablespoon white sugar (good if you can powder it in mixie)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (You could do away with this. Or just use 1 spoon of healthy olive oil)
2 ripe bananas, nicely mashed
2 more bananas, make very thin round slices

DIRECTIONS

Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.
Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; try to reduce lumps as much as possible.
Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Spread it like dosa, though not too thin.
Now put those thin round slices of banana all over.
Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides. Yes, turn over to cook the side with the banana slices too - they should turn a little caramelized, that's the yummy part!
Serve hot - spread honey on it to make it even tastier! Maybe kids may like jam with it too.

Mango chutney

2010-05-28T22:21:00.000-07:00

From Reshma again - Thanks!

Mango Chutney (manga chammanthi in Malayalam)

1 raw or a little ripe mango, cut into small pieces for grinding in the mixie
3 small pieces of ginger
2 green chillies or 3 red chillies
6 curry leaves
5 shallots (sambhar onion or small onion)
4 spoons of coconut
Salt to taste

Grind everything together.

A great side dish for ganji, rice, chappathi, idli, dosa and whatever you want to eat with...

Quick breakfast or evening snack

2010-05-28T22:18:00.000-07:00

From Reshma - Thanks!

Avalakki mixture (Aval nanachathu in malayalam, the former is my Kannada translation)

1 plate of Avalakki (beaten rice)
4-6 spoons of scraped jaggery
4-6 spoons of scraped coconut
Mixture of milk and water - Enough to soften the avalakki, do not make it a paste

Mix everything.
Ready to relish..

Great dish from leftover chapathis!

2010-05-28T21:53:00.000-07:00

From Bhuvana - Thank you!

This is an excellent filling meal, if you also break an egg into it towards the end and stir well - it becomes like kothu parotta, the beloved dish of hostel days :)

The quantity below is enough for 2 people - am counting 2 chapathis per person. I made them fresh when I tried this out.

Ingredients

4 Chapathis (either fresh or extra from the previous meal)
1 big onion
2 tomatoes (you can use hot tomato sauce instead of fresh tomato)
3 green chilies
1 Tea-spoon pepper powder
Curry leaves
Coriander leaves
Oil and mustard for seasoning
Salt to taste

Preparation

1. Cut the onions, green chilies, tomatoes separately and keep it aside.
2. Cut chapathi into small pieces and keep aside.
3. Take a non-stick or any kadai (pan), add oil and mustard for seasoning
4. Add green chilies, curry leaves, onions and sauté. Fry until the onions turn brown.
5. Add tomatoes & salt to taste and cook well.
6. Add chapathi pieces and pepper.
7. Keep it in low flame for 2 minutes and mix well. Add corainder leaves at the end.

[Note: Use less chili or pepper powder, if you don’t want it spicy.]

Brinjal Gothsu - a traditional Tamil side-dish

2010-05-26T19:06:00.000-07:00

From my friend Usha - Thank you!

Brinjal Gothsu - a traditional Tamil side-dish (alas nobody makes it anymore except at some weddings)

Ingredients:

Brinjal( Big variety) - 2
Tamarind - half the size of a lemon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp.
Dry red chillies - 2
Green chillies- 2
Curry leaves - few
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp.
Salt - as per taste
Hing
Rice flour - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Oil - 2 tablespoons

Method:

Brush the brinjals with oil, poke them in a few places with a fork and roast them on direct, medium flame. Turn on all sides by holding the stems till the outer skin turns black. When cool peel the skin and gently rub under running water to remove the small black parts. Mash it slightly and keep aside.
Soak tamarind in water and extract pulp.
Slit green chillies and red chillies.
In a kadai, heat oil and add mustard seeds, green chillies and red chillies, hing, turmeric powder and curry leaves. Now add the tamarind extract and salt and allow it to boil till its raw smell is diffused and slightly thick. Now add the mashed brinjals and allow to cook.

Excellent combination with Ven pongal , idli, arisi upma and curd rice.

Appam!

2010-05-02T08:21:00.000-07:00

The classic Kerala food because of which the world forgives us so many of our faults :)

This is my mother's recipe (there are mild variations from house to house) she makes excellent appams - and I have added my own modifications to it.

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rice

1 cup cooked rice (or 1 cup paper avalakki (beaten rice) moistened with water - this is my experiment - and turned out successful - made the appams crispier)

1 cup coconut grating (this is half a coconut)

Yeast - a few grains

Coconut water (optional) My mother stores coconut water in a bottle each time she breaks a coconut, and stores it in the fridge.

Bombay rava (white rava) (optional) - 2 tbsp. My aunt's tip, to make the appam crisper.

Procedure: The Soaking and Grinding

Soak the uncooked rice in water and leave it for 8 hours. I usually do this in the night so that I grind in the morning. Sona Masoori works fine.

Then grind the soaked rice, cooked rice/avalakki, and coconut gratings in a grinder. If you have coconut water, add it while grinding.

I found that in my big table top grinder the coconut does not grind well. So after I made sure the uncooked rice was well-ground, I transferred this mixture to the middle jar of my mixie - it blended perfectly in a few mins. If your mixie is really good, then you can do the whole grinding in the mixie itself.

While this is grinding, boil a few spoons of water in a small vessel, and add 2 tbsps of rava to this and stir - it will cook very soon and will become a thick mixture. Leave it to cool.

When cool, add it to the rice-coconut in the mixie and grind - it needs to blend well.

Also heat a little bit of water - and when it is lukewarm, add a few grains of yeast into it - around 5-7 grains will do.

When the mixture is well ground to a smooth paste, transfer it in a big open-mouthed vessel, leaving enough space for the batter to rise.

Now add the yeast to it, a spoon of sugar and salt and mix real well.

Cover the vessel with a thin cloth (old tee shirts are ideal) and leave it to ferment in a warm place, for 8 hours. I usually keep the vessel on the top of my fridge stabilizer, just like I do with dosa batter - remains warm throughout)

Ater 8 hours, the batter should've risen a bit - if it's cold, it will take longer.

When the batter is ready and smells fermented (that slight toddy smell!), stir well and make sure it's pouring consistency, more watery than dosa batter. Add salt to taste.

Procedure: The Making of the Appam

Now heat the non-stick appam pan, the deep one as in the picture (ask for Appam Pan at the shop). Pour a deep-spoon-full of batter into the center when it is hot and the steam has started to come.

Take the pan off the fire immediately and twirl the batter around until it spreads in a circle, evenly - see picture. I didn't want that thick soft center - if you want that, add more batter so that some of it will flow down to the center. If the pan is too hot, this mix won't spread, if it's not hot enough, all the batter will flow to the center without cooking.

Cover and cook.

If your pan's non-stick is not working too well, cure the pan in the beginning by adding a little oil, heating the pan and draining off the oil.

Take the appam out when the edges start to brown.

See also Vegetable Stew - that's what goes best with this!

Vegetable Stew

2010-05-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

This goes best with appams, but tastes great with just bread too. And it's one of those put-everything-together-and-boil recipes - and absolutely no oil! If you have tinned coconut milk, then even a child can make this so easily :)

Ingredients

Potatoes - 3 - small chunks

Carrots - 2 - small chunks (will take longer to cook, the bigger they are)

Chillies - 3 or 4 (the coconut milk tones down the chilly a lot - some people add whole pepper in this dish if they want it spicier)

Ginger - one big piece, you can just crush and add

Curry leaves - a stalk

Coconut milk - from one coconut (scrape coconut, add to mixie jar with water and extract milk. The first time, the milk will be thicker, keep it aside. Then add more water and repeat - the second milk is what you use to cook the vegetables)

Procedure

Very simple! Add the following in a deep vessel - potatoes, carrots, chillies, ginger, curry leaves - and add enough second coconut milk to submerge them all.

Cook! Add salt after a while when the veggies are half cooked.

In the end, when vegetables are cooked, add a bit of the first milk - this is just to thicken the gravy.

You can also use the leftover first milk to pour over the appam - delicious!

Tasty ways to eat Green Leafy Vegetables!

2010-04-23T09:58:00.000-07:00

We get green leafy vegetables so abundantly in Bangalore - and so fresh, and so cheap (compared to so many other vegetables) - that I am so grateful every time I see a push-cart full of greens coming my way on the road - which is every day :)

And I wonder why so many people don't eat enough of it, or have vitamin/mineral deficiencies when these leaves are so abundantly available.

So have tried to add as many recipes as possible with green leafy vegetables in here - just click on the label Green Leafy Vegetables, and you will see them all. They are all tasty and easy too, believe me!

Please do send any good recipes you have with leaves, will add here and acknowledge you.

Methi-Aloo Paratha - an Easy Healthy Breakfast!

2010-04-23T09:36:00.000-07:00

This one is such a feel-good breakfast on those days when you need a lot of energy/when you have so much work you don't want to be bothered by hunger/late lunch.

And this paratha will not break easily when you roll it out, because there's no onion in it. Even non-experts can make this one!

Ingredients (for 6 parathas)

Potatoes boiled in cooker - 3 (The potato basically holds the leaves together and makes paratha soft)
Methi leaves finely chopped - 2 bunches (Fenugreek leaves) (Keep the leaves in salt water for a while and wash, so that they are clean. Dry them in a towel after you wash them - if there's water in the leaves, the mix could get watery, and you may not be able to re-use it the next day. )
Coriander leaves chopped (optional)
Green chilly, crushed - 1
Garlic - a few cloves, crushed
Coriander powder
Jeera powder (Cummin powder)
Salt

Flour for making chapathis - keep dough ready, like you do for chapathis.

Procedure

Mash potatoes.
Add the chopped methi leaves, chopped coriander leaves, crushed garlic and chilly, coriander and jeera powder (add a teaspoon, mix and add more if you want), and salt, and mix well.

Now roll out thin chapathis, add this mixture in the centre, flatten it out, draw edges to cover it, remove the lumpy part in the centre, and roll it out as thin parathas gently.

Cook them on a tava with a little ghee. It's okay to have some ghee for breakfast, you'll burn it all away! And since this paratha does not break easily, you don't have to add much ghee.

Serve with curd and pickle. Well, I have a friend who eats this with jam and loves it!

Leafy Dals!

2010-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

Mixing with dals is a great way to eat green leafy vegetables - and a very quick and tasty way to make a balanced dish. Goes great with chapathis and rice.

Ingredients

Tuvar dal/Moong Dal/Any other dal of your choice. Tuvar is the best for this, I find. (Dal = Pulse)
Sabbajgi (Dill - the thin needle-like leaves - very high in iron, and fragrant)
And/or Methi (Fenugreek leaves)
And/or Palak (Spinach)
And/or Drumstick leaves (highly nutritious) and any other leaf you get in the carts of the leaf-vendors.
Tomato
Garlic
Green Chilly
Onion (optional)
Jeera/Ajwain (Cummin seeds/Om seeds)
Hing (Asafoetida)
Turmeric
Salt

Procedure

You can do this 2 different ways - and the tastes are slightly different.

Method 1

Cook dal in cooker, with the chopped leaf of your choice. With Tuvar dal, sabbajgi, methi, and palak go very well, either all together or individually. Add a pinch of turmeric while cooking.

When dal is cooked, add some oil in a deep pan and add the seasoning.

You could try jeera, then a chopped green chilly, then the hing, then a chopped tomato and fry a bit. If you have the time, chop and onion and fry after the jeera.

Crushed garlic can be added before the chilly if you like the taste, or you can add it right at the end, after the dal is ready.

Now add the cooked dal+leaves to this, add salt and boil just a little. Leafy dal is ready!

Method 2

Cook dal alone in the cooker, with turmeric.
Add the chopped leaves in the seasoning, after the tomato, and stir-fry for a little bit until the raw look has gone.
Now add the cooked dal to this and boil a little.
Here the taste of the leaves will be stronger. I quite like it this way too. The green will remain dark green this way, so the curry looks nicer.

Methi Chicken

2010-04-23T09:02:00.001-07:00

Recipe from my friend Poorna - she's tried it out, says it's great:

- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRDBbwI0_sA

Methi = Fenugreek leaves

Pack a healthy lunch the Mix & Match Kichdi Way!

2010-04-23T08:18:00.000-07:00

I take kichdi for lunch every day - and there's so many varieties of it, I haven't yet run out of combinations! If you can get your kids to eat this, you don't have to worry about them not getting enough nutrition anymore :)

Ingredients

The basic concept is this:

Half glass rice
Half glass broken wheat (you get this in packets in grocery shops)
One dal/Soya Chunks/Frozen peas/Frozen corn (Soya is very good if you are feeling tired - it gives instant energy)
One Vegetable
And/or one Green Leafy Vegetable

So it's as healthy as it can get, and it's all cooked in one go in a cooker! And you can mix and match with all the vegetables/dals you like - just see if you can sneak in some green leaves also, to complete the nutrition.

I usually have this with pickle or some chutney, so the kichdi by itself is bland - though you can always try out various kinds of seasoning to change that.

Procedure

The measurements in here should give you enough kichdi for 2 people, for a meal. So I just cook once in 2 days for my lunch box, I just vary the pickle/chutney to change the taste.

Heat a pressure cooker (the small one in which you cook directly) and add a little oil and add a seasoning of your choice. Jeera is a good option. Also Panch Phoren, described earlier in this blog.

Add a split green chilly and/or some crushed garlic, which is optional. Or add a chopped tomato and fry a bit. If you have the time, fry a chopped onion and then the green chilly and then the tomato. I normally do only the chilly and tomato.

Now add whatever chopped vegetables/green leafy vegetables you want. You can add sabbajgi (dill - those spiky needle-like leaves very high in iron), drumstick leaves/methi leaves/spinach. Just stir-fry for a few seconds.

Vegetables - carrot/potato/cauliflower are the most obvious, you could try others too.

Then add the washed rice - half a glass, or even a little less than that.
Dal - half glass. You can use Tuvar dal/Moong Dal/Soaked Green gram/any other soaked dal you like.
Or/and some frozen peas/corn, or soya chunks which you have already soaked in boiling water with salt, and drained and washed.
Half glass broken wheat

Add 3.5 glasses of water to this - this measurement leaves it just the correct consistency without making it dry or watery.

Add salt to the water and taste - add half a teaspoon and then adjust. It is very important to add the salt - this makes sure the kichdi does not get watery.

Put lid on cooker, and cook for 2 whistles.

Eat this with pickles/chutney/leftover sabji from previous night's dinner :)
Non-vegetarians can add some leftovers from their chicken/meat/prawn/fish dishes in the end, after the kichdi is cooked.

You can also crush some garlic and mix in the end - you get the full medicinal benefits of garlic if it is taken raw, so this will be almost raw, but slightly cooked because of the heat.

To make this more like a biriyani, you can use some ginger-garlic paste along with the seasoning, and add some cloves/cinnamon etc. Or of course, some ghee at the end.

Basically, the whole point is that you can mix and match, just make sure you have the basic concept in place :)

How to prevent Capsicum Bite :)

2010-04-23T08:13:00.000-07:00

I don't know about you, but I don't like that strong taste that capsicum has, it kind-of-bites - :) - discovered a way to get rid of that, through a friend's pasta recipe.

Just hold the entire capsicum over a flame, on your gas stove for a while until it starts to blacken a bit and wrinkle and splutter. You can stick it on a fork or something. If you have a grill, then just grill it.

Now keep it aside until it cools. And then cut it and use it any way you want - it will not bite any longer!

Spinach Cutlet

2010-04-23T07:57:00.000-07:00

Not yet tried out, but sounds like a great way to get that spinach in :)

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2010/04/21/spinach-cutlet/

Paanch Phoron: A new flavor!

2010-04-03T08:10:00.000-07:00

Tired of the same old onion-tomato, ginger-garlic combination? Try out this Bengali mix of spices - so easy to make, and gives a totally different flavor!

From master-chef Antara -

http://salivaah.blogspot.com/2007_04_01_archive.html

I added some tamarind to it towards the end - like how her mother did, in the pumpkin dish she prepared for us when we visited her. Delicious!

Spinach and Mushroom soup

2010-04-03T08:07:00.000-07:00

My friend Poorna's recipe - delicious! And so easy, and so nutritious. We had it both hot and cold - good either way.

http://gourmetgubbie.blogspot.com/2009/03/cream-of-spinach-soup.html

Chicken Cutlet

2010-04-03T07:57:00.001-07:00

My mother's recipe - improvise as you deem fit :)

Ingredients

Minced chicken 500 gms (you can also buy pieces and cook and grind them in the mixie. I bought 500 gms and I got 12 cutlets out of it - reduce as required)

3 Potatoes medium sized, this acts as the binder

Chopped onions

Chopped green chilly

Chopped ginger

Chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

2 eggs

Bread crumbs (I powdered rusk in the mixie, that's nice too)

Salt

Procedure

Boil potatoes and keep ready.

Fry the chopped onion, chillies and ginger until a lil brown.

Add the minced chicken and salt and stir and cook. This cooks real fast. The chicken may curl up and form lumps, keep breaking them.

Alternatively, cook chicken in salt separately and then pass in through grinder so that it becomes fiber-y. I am guessing this consistency may be nicer.

And then add that mix to the fried-onion-chilly-ginger mix. This mix should be dry in the end, no water.

Now let it cool enough for you to roll the mix with your hands.

Mash the potatoes and add to chicken. Also add the chopped coriander now and mix everything well.
Check taste.

Break 2 eggs and carefully separate the white and yellow. Use a sieve or just break in half and keep pouring out the white.

Mix one of the yellows into the chicken mix. Two will make it watery - so keep the second aside and make an omelette or something :)

Keep the white aside in a flat vessel.

Now make round patties with the chicken-potato mix so that they hold well together.

Keep the bread crumbs and the egg white ready in two separate open vessels.

Dip each cutlet into the egg white and then immediately into the bread/rusk crumbs so that it is coated well and dry.

Now heat oil in a wide pan and shallow-fry each cutlet.

Serve hot with tomato ketchup, if you like it that way! Or make a burger.

Pesarattu/Green Gram Dosa

2010-04-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

Easiest ever dosa! No fermentation required, so you can make this even if you haven't planned it 2 days ago.

Ingrediants

Green gram: 1 glass (serves 2 people, increase as required)
Ginger pieces (optional)
Dry Red chilly (optional)
Salt

Procedure

Soak green gram in water overnight.
Grind in the morning. Well, that's about it :) :)
If you want, add some ginger and red chilly to the mix, while it is grinding.

This grinds real fast. Becomes soft and fluffy. Hardly needs any water. Just take out the batter, add very little salt, and make dosas on a hot non-stick pan.

The batter will be fluffy, don't add water. It won't spread as easy as regular dosa, but just spread it thin, it will come out real crisp! Turn it over and cook the other side too, if you find any uncooked parts.

Now serve this with any chutney you want!

Easy Cabbage

2010-03-21T07:04:00.001-07:00

Cabbage, the difficult vegetable, made easy :)

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2006/02/21/cabbage-sidedishcabbage-upkari/

Palak Tambli

2010-03-21T07:03:00.001-07:00

A curd preparation, easy and light good for summer -

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2009/02/24/palak-tambli/

Cool Summer Drink - Thandai

2010-03-21T07:01:00.000-07:00

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2009/06/30/cool-summer-drinkthandai/

Green & Red coconut chutneys

2010-03-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

I usually make a green chutney and/or a red chutney to go with the dosa.

Green Chutney

Half a coconut grated
Curry leaves
Green chillies
Some ginger
Soaked tamarind
Salt

Red Chutney

Half a coconut grated
Dry red chillies
1 onion (or preferably some sambar onions)
Some garlic cloves
Soaked tamarind
Salt

Grind well and add seasoning with jeera or mustard.

My Dosa Recipe

2010-03-21T06:40:00.000-07:00

I am told that I make great dosas, so here is the secret :)

Ingredients

Half a cup rice, I use sona masoori, the rice I normally cook for lunch - it comes out better than dosa rice (I use a big glass for measurement, so will last 2-3 days)
Half a cup boiled rice
Half a cup red rice (this is nutritious stuff)
Half a cup urad dal
A big spoon of methi seeds
Some Paper Avalakki (Poha) or Cooked rice (Poha is to make the dosa crisper, rice makes it softer)
Soya seeds (a teaspoonful) - make sure you soak this separately, in a different vessel. Before adding it to the grinder with the rest, wash in fresh water. Soya is optional, but it is highly nutritious. If you add too much, the dosa becomes very heavy.
Alfalfa seeds, half a teaspoon (optional)- this is high in proteins, calcium, and various vitamins.

Procedure

Soak all the 3 rices, the urad dal, and the seeds overnight.
The next day morning, grind in a good grinder, which makes it real smooth.
While grinding, add a few handfuls of poha or cooked rice depending on whether you want it crisp of soft.
Now keep the dosa batter for fermenting in a wide-mouthed vessel, leaving some space at the top for the batter to rise - this will take a whole day (8 hours) in winter, and half a day in summer.
Cover this vessel with a thin cloth - not with a lid, it needs to breathe.
I always keep this batter vessel on top of the fridge stabilizer - so it is at a constant warm temperature and so ferments well :)
Once the batter has risen, keep in fridge if you are not making dosas immediately.
When making the dosa, add salt and extra water as required. Spread these real thin and add ghee for better taste.
Serve hot with chutney and/or sambar.

If you still have batter left the next day, you can make crispy soft Paddu with it - it's a hit always!

Green Mango & Carrot Salad

2010-03-21T06:35:00.000-07:00

By my friend Venkat!

Ingredients

Carrots
Green Mangoes (preferably Thothapuri, the non-sour one)
Green chillies
Onion
Tomatoes
Salt
Lemon

Procedure

Grate or cut the carrots and mangoes into very fine pieces.
Chop onions, chillies and tomatoes into fine pieces.
Add salt and mix everything together.
Squeeze some lemon juice on to this. It's ready!

He says it's even tastier if you keep it for a few hours.

Aayi's Recipes

2010-03-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

Found a lot of good recipes in here - many Konkan ones, but also a lot of experimental easy ones. Some of them very good for summer. She has photos of every step, in many of the recipes.

And she has recipes which have vegetables I didn't know what to do with :)

http://www.aayisrecipes.com

Poha!

2010-03-20T20:37:00.000-07:00

Easy poha (avalakki/beaten rice) recipes from my colleague Vidya!

Simple poha (mildly sweet)
2 cups thin (nylon) poha
½ cup grated coconut (if the coconut is not freshly grated, you will need a few spoons of water to soften it)
Green chillies, chopped
Salt to taste
4-6 spoons sugar
Coriander seeds (optional)

Mix the coconut gratings, sugar, and salt well. Add a few spoons of water if the coconut is not freshly grated. This mixture should be soft to mix and touch. The sugar will not dissolve, but will feel well mixed. If you’re adding coriander seeds, pound it in now. Add chopped green chilly and mix it in. Add poha little by little, all the time, mixing it in with your hands. Make sure all the flakes become soft, but not soggy.
Eat as is, or with sev, mixture, or bhujia.

(May serve 2)

Spicy poha (hot and sweet)

2 cups thin (nylon) poha
½ cup grated coconut (if the coconut is not freshly grated, you will need a few spoons of water to soften it)
Salt to taste
1 to 2 teaspoons red chilly power
¼ to ½ cup jaggery, grated
Mustard and cumin for seasoning

Mix the jaggery in with the coconut. Again, if the coconut is not freshly grated, add a few spoons of water. Add the red chilly powder and salt, and mix well. Add the poha as described above, ensuring that each flake is soft. Heat a little oil in a seasoning pan, and add mustard and cumin to it. When it splutters, take it off the flame and season the poha mixture. Mix well.
Eat as is, or with sev, mixture, or bhujia.

(May serve 2)

Kanda poha (you’ll get this recipe on the net I guess. Some people make it with only onion, and some with potato and onion. But it’s quick and easy for a lazy morning when you don’t feel like making anything too complex J )

Poha Usal
2 to 3 cups thick or medium poha
½ cup grated coconut
Salt to taste
2 spoons sugar
1 to 2 green chillies, chopped
Urad dal, mustard, cumin, and curry leaves for seasoning
Coriander leaves, chopped (optional)

Heat a little oil in a kadai, and add urad dal. Before the dal turns golden brown, add mustard. When it starts to splutter, add cumin, chopped chillies, and finally curry leaves. Quickly wash poha and add to the seasoning (Some people soak poha in water: this makes the poha sticky. If you want it flaky, wash poha just before adding to the seasoning. If you wash it and keep it aside, it’s almost the same as keeping it soaked. Not a good idea at all!). Add coconut gratings, a little salt and sugar, and mix it all up. Close with lid and let it cook for a min. Add chopped coriander leaves and again let it cook for 2 mins for medium poha. Leave it for a min or two longer if you are using thick poha.
Serve hot as is, or with sev / mixture / bhujia.

(May serve 2)

Bhakris!

2010-03-20T20:31:00.000-07:00

Recipes from my colleague Vidya! These are very good as breakfast - and takes very little time to prepare!

Rava Bhakri

http://www.aayisrecipes.com/2008/12/22/wheat-sooji-rotti-ganva-rave-bhakri/ (Rohini sent this link - very good site)

Cucumber bhakri

1 cup rava (A: Bombay rava, the white one - I guess we can use Bansi rava too, I've not tried)
1 big grated cucumber (you need not remove the seeds from the pith); don’t throw away the water from the gratings
A fistful of grated coconut (freshly grated is better than frozen or desiccated; fresh gratings make the bhakri soft)
Ginger: small piece, chopped fine
Green chillies, chopped
Salt to taste

Mix the ingredients together. Use the cucumber water to mix it. If required, add a little extra water. Make sure the consistency is a little thicker than idli batter. Don’t make it too thick: the bhakri will become stiff.

Keep aside for 5 mins so the rava becomes a little soft. Heat a greased tava. Spread this mixture on it evenly with your fingers. You can use a spoon if you are not used to it, and find the tava hot. Apply a little oil or ghee to the base of the spoon to avoid sticking. Pour a little oil along the bhakri’s circumference so it cooks well. Cover with lid and cook on medium flame for a soft bhakri. If you like it crisp, turn the flame low. When golden brown on the cooked side, turn it over. Apply a little ghee or oil before turning it over though. Don’t close with lid after turning it over if you want it to stay crisp.
Remove from tava and serve hot.

(May serve 2 people)

Snake gourd seed bhakri

1 cup rava
Pulp and seeds from snake gourd centre
A fistful of grated coconut (freshly grated is better than frozen or desiccated; fresh gratings make the bhakri soft)
Green chillies, chopped
Salt to taste
(No ginger in this one)

Grind the snake gourd pulp and seeds with the coconut gratings in a blender. Alternatively, pound the pulp and seeds to make sure the seeds are not too hard. Mix all ingredients as described earlier to the same consistency. The rest of the method of preparation is the same as above.

Onion bhakri

½ cup rava
½ cup rice atta
1 onion, chopped fine
A fistful of grated coconut (freshly grated is better than frozen or desiccated; fresh gratings make the bhakri soft)
Green chillies, chopped
Salt to taste
(No ginger in this one)

Same method as described earlier.

Bread bhakri/dosa

(If you have half a loaf of bread that’s not fresh enough for a sandwich and yet not stale enough to throw away)

6 slices of bread
1 onion, chopped fine
1 tomato, chopped fine (optional)
Green chillies, chopped
Salt to taste

Crush and soak the bread slices in just enough water to make it soft but not too gooey. All the water should be absorbed by the bread in about 5 minutes time. Mix all the other ingredients with the soaked bread. The consistency should be the same as described so far. It may end up becoming a little thinner since bread absorbs a lot of water. You can either drain it out or let it be. If you let it be, it takes a little longer to cook, and is a little difficult to turn over on the tava.
The rest of the method of preparation is the same.

Tomato Chutney with Coriander

2010-03-20T20:15:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Onion – 3
Tomato – 2
Red chilies – 3
Garlic – 3 pieces
Coriander leaves – two strings
Hing (Perungayam) – a pinch
Mustard and urad dhal – 1 tspn
Curry leaves – a string
Oil and Salt – As required

Recipe:

Heat Oil in a pan. Add Red chilies, Onion and Garlic, fry till it turns into golden brown.
Then add Tomatoes and fry till it becomes soft.
Once it cools off, grind all the fried items with Coriander leaves, Hing, Salt in blender.
Heat 2 or 3 tspns of Oil. Add Mustard and Urad dhal. Once it splutters add Curry leaves and the ground mix, fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Healthy Atta Burfi

2010-03-20T20:13:00.000-07:00

Recipe by my colleague Vidya -

Here’s the recipe for that quick burfi we discussed over lunch. It’s called Sukhdi. It’s popular in Gujarat and some parts of Maharashtra. I found the recipe in a Konkani recipe book, although it was the first time I was tasting it myself! It’s also called Golpapdi. Apparently, it is also given to babies when they are teething!!

Preparation time: 10 mins
Makes about 25-30 burfis

Atta – 1 cup
Jaggery (grated or sliced thin and really fine) – ¾ to 1 cup
Ghee – ½ to ¾ cup
Cardamom – a few pods, powdered
Pista, Cashew nuts – optional

Keep a greased thali (tray) and spoon ready before you begin.

Roast the atta in ghee until it turns slightly golden. The aroma is the best way to know it’s roasted well. Take it off the flame. Add the grated jaggery immediately and mix briskly. The jaggery melts and should blend well into the atta-ghee mix. Add the powdered cardamom and mix well. If you are adding nuts, now is the time. Immediately transfer this to the thali, spreading it evenly using a greased spoon. When it is still warm, cut into squares/diamonds.

Remove the pieces from the thali when it cools.

Some people add milk and more ghee to the mix when it is still being roasted. Not sure how that is done. This is ‘supposed’ to be the original and most basic recipe. This is usually made in winter, because atta generates heat in the body, so it helps keep warm. A healthy dessert, better than eating high-fat, high-sugar sweets.

Sabudana Kichdi

2010-03-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Recipe from my colleague Rohini, comments are mine. This is a very nice breakfast item, but can be had anytime.

Ingredients

Sabudana (sago)- 2 cups (those small white balls, made from tapioca)
Roasted peanut Powder (Danyacha kut) - 1 cup (this is a chutney powder we anyways make and keep, to go with chapathi, rice etc - roasted groundnuts, chilly powder, raw garlic, salt. I also add curry leaves to this.)
Potato - 1 medium
Green Chillies - 4-5
Grated Ginger - 1 tea spoon
Pure ghee - 2 tablespoon
Cumin seeds (jeera) - 1 tea spoons
Sugar - 1 tea spoon
Lemon - 1
Salt for taste
Grated coconut & Coriander for Garnishing.

Procedure

Wash Sabudana 2 to 3 times.

Soak the sabudana in water . Water level should be just above the sabudana level. Soak sabudana for 3-4 hours. (I've managed with one hour actually - just make sure all the water has been absorbed)

I generally prefer "Varalakshmi Sabudana" , for this 3-4 hours is sufficient but you can keep for few more hours if the sabudana does not become soft in 4 hours.

Wash peel and cut potato in cubes. Heat ghee in kadai, Put jeera in it. Now add chopped green chillies and potatoes, mix it and cover it with lid till potatoes cooked properly.

Mean while mix sabudana, groundnut powder, sugar and salt in one bowl. Now add this mixture into kadai. Mix it well. Put a lid for steam. Please don't stir it in between, otherwise khichadi will become dry. When sabudana gets soft, add lemon juice and switch off the flame. Serve hot with the garnishing of coconut and coriander.

Serve Khichadi with curd.

www.khaugiri.com

Moong Dal, Uttar Pradesh style

2010-01-10T04:28:00.000-08:00

This is very simple and healthy, nothing is fried. A tasty accompaniment to chapathi and rice. Moong dal swells up during cooking, so if you are just cooking for 2 people, reduce quantity, 200 gms comes up to a lot. Reduce water accordingly.

Ingredients

200 gms Yellow Moong Dal (This is the green moong dal shelled)
2 Large Tomatoes, chopped
2, Green Chillies, chopped
2.5 cms (1 inch) square piece of fresh ginger, chopped
3 plump garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt
1 tablespoon coriander leaves, chopped
about 8 curry leaves
1 tablespoon butter/ghee/oil

Procedure

Wash the dal well. Soak for 15 mins.

Bring 1 litre water to the boil in a cooking pot. A small cooker in which you can directly cook stuff is good for this.

Add the dal with the tomatoes, chillies, ginger, two thirds of the garlic, and the turmeric powder.

Return to the boil, then add salt to taste.

Cook for around 30 mins. (If you are in a hurry, cover cooker and cook for 1 whistle. But this dal cooks real fast, not really required. Cover and cook, so it will be faster. Keep an eye on it, it will boil up in the beginning, so leave lid open a bit in the beginning)

Remove from the heat and whisk gently with the egg beater, until the grains are completely mashed. (I did not do this, because I wanted the dal to be thick, not watery.)

Add the coriander and curry leaves and cook for 5 mins.

Heat the butter/ghee/oil in a ladle, add the remaining garlic and fry until golden. Pour into the dal, which is now ready to serve. The consistency should be like a creamy soup.

From: '50 Great Curries of India', Camellia Punjabi, Rupa Books (2006)

Potatoes with fenugreek leaves and dill, from Punjab and Sindh

2010-01-10T04:16:00.000-08:00

This is aloo methi with dill. Lots of green leaves, very healthy. If you want to shorten cooking process, boil potatoes in cooker first and then add. There is very little chilli in this, so it doesn't kill the taste of the other ingredients. Goes very well with chapathis, also with rice.

You can make this dry subji, the moong dal recipe I posted above this, and make chapthis and/or rice, probably some curds too - and you have a complete meal.

Ingredients

250 gms, potatoes, preferably new (you can use those baby potatoes too for this)
3/4 cup fenugreek leaves (methi leaves)
salt
3 tablespoons oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 green chilli, chopped
1/8 teaspoon turmeric powder
4 stalks of fresh dill, chopped (sabbajgi, those thin needle-like leaves)
1 tablespoon chopped coriander

Procedure

If not using new potatoes, peel and cut into bite-sized pieces. New potatoes can be left whole with the skins on.

Soak the fenugreek leaves in a bowl of water with a pinch of salt for 30 mins. This will remove the slightly bitter taste. Then drain and chop.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the garlic and chilli. After a few seconds add the fenugreek leaves and fry for a minute.

Add the potatoes, turmeric powder and salt to taste and stir-fry for 2 minutes, then add the dill and coriander leaves.

Cover, reduce the heat to very low and leave to cook for 15 mins or until the potatoes are done. If necessary sprinkle just a little water.

From: '50 Great Curries of India', Camellia Punjabi, Rupa Books (2006)

Easy Mutton dish with Mint & Coriander

2009-12-26T00:14:00.000-08:00

Saw this in a Malayalam magazine, a Malabari recipe, haven't yet tried out, but sounds delicious - and easy.
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Ingredients
Mutton - 500 gms
Onion - 200 gms
Green Chilly - 10
Coriander leaves - 50 gms
Mint leaves - a bunch
Pepper - 10 gms
Garlic - 10 gms, ground
Ginger - 10gms, ground
Shajeera powder - 2 teaspoons
Coriander powder - 2 tablespoons
Lemon - 1
Steps
Grind - coriander and mint leaves, chilly, pepper, onion.
Add - ground ginger and garlic, shajeera powder.
Mix 2 tablespoons of the mixture with the mutton pieces, add salt, keep for 15 mins.
Then fry the mutton in a little oil, stir well for 10 - 15 mins.
Then add remaining ground mixture and stir for 10 mins.
Now cook mutton well - am guessing this has to be in a cooker, with at least 2 whistles? Wasn't mentioned specifically in the recipe.
Add lemon in the end, when it's ready to serve.

Quick Chicken Stir-fry!

2009-09-16T00:11:00.000-07:00

From my friend Prabha, of the varied talents :)

Ingredients

200gms boneless chicken cut into thin juliennes or bite sized pieces. They cook fast.

Marinade - garlic (3-4 cloves) crushed, salt to taste, Green chilly (1 -2) crushed, lime juice (half), one egg beaten, 2-3 tsp of cornflour or maida.

Method

Marinate the chicken pieces with all of the above ingredients and ensure it is marinated for at least 30 to 60 mins.

Heat oil in a Wok or Kadai. 2 tbsp
When oil is hot, drop in pieces of the chicken in small batches and quickly toss them in the oil. You will see the chicken turning white and will be done in a matter of 2 mins. Remove them and drain excess oil.

Repeat with the other chicken pieces.

Note: you are not exactly deep frying them just stir frying them in a little bit of more oil :). This will ensure that the chicken is soft in the inside and crisp on the outside.

Variation in the marinade (lemon juice, egg and flour will always remain) - add soya sauce, or Barbeque sauce. or go the indian chicken 65 way add all these masalas (ginger -garlic paste, tandoori chicken masala powder, corriander, cumin, red chilly, and turmeric powder, pepper).

You can just eat it as a snack, as a side dish or wrap it in chappathis with left over vegetables and sliced onions and pudina chutney for yummy home-made katti rolls.

Pasta with Raw Fresh Tomato Sauce

2009-09-06T20:01:00.000-07:00

Salsa di Pomodoro Cruda – Raw Fresh Tomato Sauce – serves 4

Ripe Tomatoes – 4 large chopped into small cubes with juices and skin
Garlic – 4 or 5 medium cloves chopped extra fine
Basil – two large handfuls of basil leaves, no stems, chopped VERY fine
Olive Oil – 8 tablespoons of Extra Virgin, preferably a nice dark green oil
Sea Salt – 1 tablespoon or to taste
Black Pepper – 1 to 2 tablespoon extra coarsely ground
Pecorino Romano Cheese – 8 heaping tablespoons, grated
Spaghetti or Macaroni – 1 lb.

Mix all of these (except for the pasta, naturally – just checking to see if you’re paying attention) into a large high sided bowl and allow them to marinate while you cook your pasta.
Stir the mixture well so that the tomatoes begin to macerate and watch to see if it thickens. If it doesn’t, add a bit more olive oil at a time until it does. A shallow dish will not do for this.
Cook your pasta until it is extra firm in well salted water. The second it is done, drain it well, and throw it into the raw tomato mixture and stir or toss like you would a salad, making sure every bit of pasta is covered with the mixture.

From here - http://thepastachannel.com/mediterranean-diet/

Fish Fry Masala

2009-09-06T06:40:00.000-07:00

This masala paste is simple, and results in great fish fry! Tried and tested.

Garlic
Curry leaves
Red chilly powder
Coriander powder, a little
Turmeric
Salt
Lemon juice

Grind all these to make the paste. I used to use tamarind earlier, but lime gives a better taste. Proportions? Garlic and Curry leaves the max, and the others a lesser quantity.
Apply on fish and keep for a few hours for the best results.

Greek Salad

2009-08-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

Forgot where I found this.

Ingredients
. Cos Lettuce/Iceberg Lettuce. 300 gms. Tear into small pieces
. Tomatoes: 200 gms. Cut into eight wedges
. Cucumber: 1- deseeded, cut into small cubes
. Small red onions: 2
. Black Olives: 40 gms - Pitted and halved
. Feta Cheese - 80 gms- CrumbledCan also use soya chunks instead

For the dressing
. Extra Virgin Olive oil - 60 ml
. Dijon Mustard - 15 gms
. Fresh lemon juice - 25 ml
. Seasoning - as required

Method
. Mix lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, red onions and black olives
. To make the dressing, whisk together the mustard, olive oil, lemon juice and then season it with salt and pepper.
. Pour the dressing over the salad
. Toss gently until ingredients are coated with dressing, serve soon.

Goan Red Masala - for Shrimp and Fish and Chicken

2009-08-29T22:06:00.000-07:00

From Christabel/Sundari:

This masala can be made in bulk and stored away. It's a typical Goan red masala. Apply it as a marinade to fish or shrimp as needed and fry. Can also be used with chicken but then you need to add some garam masala as well.

Red chilli powder - 8 tsp if using Catch brand or 10 tsp if using Kashmiri
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Pepper powder - 3/4 tsp
Haldi - 1 tsp
Salt 1 tsp
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Mix the above with malt vinegar (as much as is required to make a thick paste that can be rubbed over the fish or shrimp). Marinate the seafood for minimum 30 mins and fry.

Fish Cutlets

2009-08-29T22:03:00.000-07:00

From Christabel/Sundari:

Makes about 12 cutlets.

Fish - 400 grams. Boil this in 1/2 tsp salt + 3 tsp vinegar + 1/4 cup water for about 7 mins (till it cooks and becomes whitish). Mash this and keep aside.

Heat oil and fry the following till soft (don't cook too much)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion + 1 heaped tsp of finely chopped green chilli + 1 heaped tsp of finely chopped ginger + 2 heaped tsp of finely chopped garlic. Add in mashed fish and some freshly chopped coriander. Beat an egg and add to this along with one slice of bread broken up. Mix all this together. Make into balls. Roll each ball in breadcrmbs and flatten. Fry in oil.

Variations:
1. You can use half quantity boiled potato and only half the amount of fish to make it more balanced and get your dose of veggies and carbs
2. You can also experiment with brinjal instead of potato. Its innovative but not always appealing to all palates!!

Potato palya + Lime rice/Tomato rice

2009-08-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

A combo meal from Christabel/Sundari :)

Karipatta=Curry Leaf
Haldi=Turmeric powder

Potato Palya
Heat oil and throw in some mustard seeds + karipatta + 1 clove garlic chopped. When they (mustard seeds) begin to crackle throw in fine chopped onions and green chillies and fry till well-cooked. Add very little tomato and cook well till onions start browning and tomato is well cooked. Add the chopped potato a dash of haldi + salt and a little bit of water (to provide steam for potatoes to cook in but not so much as to make a curry!!). Cover and let it cook for 15 mins to 30 mins depending on how much potato you got in there. Add green coriander at the end and mix well.

Lime Rice
Heat oil. Add mustard seeds and when they crackle add karipatta + onions + green chillies + jeera seeds. Fry till onions are brown. Add a dash of haldi + juice of half a lime + green coriander leaves + salt. Fry for a few seconds. Now add cooked white rice and mix well. Can add more lime if needed and some roasted peanuts (optional).

Tomato Rice
Fry onion and green chillies. Add tomatoes + chilli powder + haldi + karipatta (Curry leaf). Cook these well. Then add raw rice and enough water and cook. Can add a dash of butter for added flavour.

Aloo Capsicum (Potato and Bell Peppers)

2009-08-29T21:52:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
• 4 Capsicums
• 2 Potatoes
• 1 Large chopped onion
• 1 Large chopped tomato
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1 tsp Coriander powder
• 2 tbsp Oil
• Salt to taste
• Coriander leaves

How to make Aloo Capsicum
• Wash capsicum and potatoes and cut into pieces.
• Heat the oil and fry chopped onion till it turns brown.
• Add capsicum and potato and fry it for few minutes.
• Add chopped tomato, turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder and salt.
• Mix it well and cook it till it turns tender.
• Garnish it with fresh coriander leaves. (And maybe lime?)
• Serve hot with rotis.

http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/aloo-capsicum.php

Mushroom and Capsicum Subji

2009-08-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
• 450 gm Fresh Mushroom
• 1 Capsicum (medium sized)
• 2 tsp Red Chill Powder
• 2 tsp Dry Coriander Powder
• 1 medium Onion
• 1 medium Tomato
• 1 Green Chilli (cut into small pieces)
• 1 tsp Oil
• 1 tsp Cumin-Mustard Seeds
• 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
• Salt to taste

Preparation
• Wash mushroom and cut into two pieces.
• Trim onions, capsicum, tomato in square pieces.
• Pour oil in a pan and add cumin and mustard seeds to it.
• Mix green chillies and onions.Saute till golden brown.
• Add capsicum and then add tomato, cook till soft.
• Then add mushroom, turmeric, red chill powder, coriander powder, salt.
• Mix it well, cook until the mushroom became tender and then turn off the flame.

http://www.indobase.com/recipes/category/capsicum-50.php

Aloo Gobi (Potaoes with Cauliflower)

2009-08-29T21:42:00.000-07:00

This came out really well.

Ingredients
• 1 Cauliflower
• 4 Potatoes
• 1 Tomato
• 1 tsp Turmeric powder
• ½ tsp Red chilli
• 1 tsp Coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Oil

How to make Aloo Gobhi
• Wash cauliflower and potatoes and cut into pieces.
• Heat the oil and add potatoes and cauliflower and leave it on medium flame for 5 minutes.
• Add chopped tomato, turmeric powder, coriander, red chili and salt.
• Cook it for 5 minutes.
• I added some chopped coriander in the end, and a dash of lime.
• Serve it with rotis.

From: http://www.indobase.com/recipes

Prawn Chilly Fry

2009-08-28T21:28:00.000-07:00

From Christabel/Sundari:

Take 250 gm prawns.
Heat oil and fry 2 medium and finely chopped onions till brown.
Add 1/2 tsp red chilli powder + 1/2 tsp haldi + 1 tsp roasted coriander powder.
Stir for 5 seconds. Add 3 green chillies (chopped) + 1 small piece of chopped ginger + 1/2 tsp pepper corns that have been pounded coarsely. Stir well.
Add prawns and cook on medium heat till cooked and dry.
Adjust seasoning as per preferences.

Chicken Cafreyal

2009-08-28T21:26:00.000-07:00

From Christabel/Sundari:

Marinate 800 gm chicken in 2 tbsp lime juice and salt for 20 mins (remember to make slits in chicken).

Grind to a paste : 8 green chillies = 1 cup coriander leaves + 50 gm ginger + 25 gm garlic + 1 tsp pepper corns + 1 stick of cinamon + 4 cloves + 3tbsp malt vinegar. MArinate the chicken in this paste for minimum 2 hrs and then bake or fry.

Easy Bhendi!

2009-08-26T19:58:00.000-07:00

This wins the award for Easy Recipe!!

From my friend Christabel - will post more of her recipes here, and she says to acknowledge her mother-in-law's cook, who's the source for most of them - so here's to you, Sundari! Thank you!

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Buy bhendi (ladies finger/okra)
Cut off the ends.
Make a slit along the length of each bhindi and stuff it with "MDH Bharwan Tava Fry" masala. Shallow fry till cooked. It tastes awesome with chapati and dal.

Banana Pancakes!

2009-08-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe I got from the Net. I just added the additional banana slices to make it tastier - it worked :) Very simple and high-energy breakfast.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup all-purpose flour (I use atta)
1 tablespoon white sugar (good if you can powder it in mixie)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (You could do away with this. Or just use 1 spoon of healthy olive oil)
2 ripe bananas, nicely mashed
2 more bananas, make very thin round slices

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine flour, white sugar, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together egg, milk, vegetable oil and bananas.

# Stir flour mixture into banana mixture; try to reduce lumps as much as possible.
# Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Spread it like dosa, though not too thin.
# Now put those thin round slices of banana all over.
# Cook until pancakes are golden brown on both sides. Yes, turn over to cook the side with the banana slices too.
# Serve hot - spread honey on it to make it even tastier! Maybe kids may like jam with it too.

Tender Coconut Dessert/Fresh Orange Kheer

2009-08-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

My friend Aditi's recipe, she's a super-innovative cook. A perfect summer dessert! There's also a variation, - fresh orange kheer - adding it at the end.

Ingredients

Milk - half litre
Condensed milk - half a tin
Coconut milk - you can buy that small packet of Hommade coconut milk (I think it is around 200 ml)
The white stuff inside the tender coconut (ask the tender coconut man for the really tender ones, so that this is almost translucent) Leechis or any other soft sweet translucent fruit will also do - thatti nungu?

Preparation

Take half a litre of boiled milk.
Add half a tin of condensed milk to it, keep on fire, and keep stirring until the condensed milk is well-blended with milk. Does not have to boil.
Take it off the fire and allow it to cool completely.

Then add a small packet of coconut milk. Or make the coconut milk fresh if you can :)
Add thinly chopped pieces of the white stuff you get inside tender coconut - ganji or whatever you call it. Or the lichee or the water chestnut or whatever other fruit you choose.
Check taste - if you want it sweeter, add more condensed milk.

Now chill it nice and proper in the fridge/freezer! The chilling is what adds a lot of the flavor.
Serve chilled.

Variation: Fresh Orange Kheer

"the same milk and condensed milk recipe can be adapted to make fresh orange kheer.... yummm!
leave out the coconut milk, though....
allow the mixture to cool down, then chill.....
once really cold, plonk in peeled orange segments without the pith and pips....
i like this one even better than the tender coconut variant...:-)"

Super Simple Prawn Recipe!

2009-08-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

The quickest prawn recipe I've seen - and very tasty too. Learnt from my mother.
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Boil prawns with a little turmeric and sufficient salt. Do not add any water - the prawn will release lots of water. Prawn cooks pretty fast.

Slice some sambar onions (shallots) in thin rounds, and fry. The thinner you slice, the faster it fries and the nicer it tastes. And the more you onions you have, the nicer it tastes.

Add some chilly powder and fry a few seconds.

Then add the prawn - it may still have some water, so stir until dry or semi-dry as you want, some people also fry the cooked prawn first and then add to the onions.

That's it! Tastes really good. If you want it spicier, add some chilly powder when you are boiling the prawn itself.

Goes with chapathis and rice. And possibly with bread too.

Gujarathi Khadi

2009-08-26T10:13:00.000-07:00

Super simple and tasty. Got it from a site, lost the link. Goes well with kichdi.

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Ingrediants
1 tablespoons gram flour/besan/channa dal flour
1 cup yogurt
¼ teaspoon hing/asofoetida
1 tablespoon jaggery or sugar
¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 green chilli sliced
5 leaves of curry leaves
2 cloves
1 tablespoon ghee
Salt to taste

Method
Whisk yogurt, besan, hing, jiggery, salt and 3 cups water, bring it to boil and simmer the heat to low for about 5 minutes.
In the mean while in a smaller frying pan/sauce pan, heat ghee with heat in medium, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. Allow it to crackle, then add chopped ginger, sliced green chilli, cloves and curry leaves. Sauté in ghee for a few minutes
Add the above seasoning to the boiled yogurt mixture and simmer for a few more minutes. The consistency of the kadhi should be of pouring consistency.

Serve it with hot rice, phulka’s and a subzi. On a lazy day just kadhi and vegetable pulav will taste just as great.

Tasty Tip
You can add Pakoda’s to the kadhi to make it extra delicious.

Nut Triangles [German Cake]

2009-08-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

This is the recipe of a very delicious crunchy jammy cake, taught to me by a German friend. The instructions are detailed and will possibly sound silly to you, because it was for someone who's never cooked or baked before and is perfectly capable of getting himself electrocuted and/or burn down his entire neighborhood trying to bake cake. But it's actually quite simple.
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Nut Triangles [German Cake]

Choose a square baking tray for this, if you have. Apply thin layer of butter in baking tray and sprinkle some maida and spread lightly. This is to prevent cake from sticking onto tray. To be done for all cakes.

100 gms Sugar
300 gms Wheat Flour (Maida)
130 gms Butter
1 Tea spoon Baking Powder
2 Eggs
1 Tea Spoon of Vanilla Essence

Mix everything in a bowl. Start with eggs and sugar - beat nicely and melt sugar. Then vanilla essence. Then butter. You can melt butter and add if it is too hard. Then maida and baking powder. Beat well until all blends. Spread on a baking tray (preferably square).

Tip: Baking powder should spread well so that it doesn't stay in just some parts of cake. To do this most clever people add it to the maida, and then pass the maida through a sieve directly into the bowl. You can just sprinkle it evenly too and mix well.

Spread around 7 tea spoons of Apricot jam (if not available you can also use any other jam) on top of it.

200 gms Melted Butter
150 gms Sugar
200 gms Hazelnuts in small pieces (or Walnuts) [put in mixie, do a quick turn - or just crush them to small pieces - don't make it completely powdery, this layer should be crunchy]
200 gms Almonds in small pieces [same here]

Mix all this and spread it on top of the jam layer.

Pre-heat oven for 10 mins at around 150 degrees. You must never put cake in cold oven and then bake. Pre-heat, switch off just before keeping cake, so you don't get yourself electrocuted. Keep cake tray inside on the rack, and then switch on again.

Bake it for 30 minutes at 180 degrees. Nice smell will start coming! To see if it is baked poke a fork into it - if cake still sticks to it, then bake for more time - say another 10 mins. Usually it takes more than 30 mins. But keep a watch - it should not become too dry. After you take it out leave it open to cool - then it will harden some more.

You can cut this cake into squares and then triangles.
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Guten Appetit!

Sweet & Hot Green Mango Chutney, North Karnataka Style

2009-08-26T10:06:00.000-07:00

Very simple and addictive, needs very little preparation time, no cooking involved.
You can eat this with just about anything - rice, chapathi, pooris, dosas, bread, uppittu, as a dip..

Ingredients
Green Mangoes (Thothapuri preferably, it's not too sour) 2 mangoes should give you sufficient quantity
Jaggery (Bella)
Red Chilly Powder (Byadagi chilly gives the best color, if not add Kashmiri Lal)
Salt
Scraped Dry Coconut (Kobri) – Optional. Add if the mango is very sour. Usually not required for Thothapuri.

For seasoning
Mustard
Hing (asafoetida powder)

Preparation
Scrape or cut green mango into small pieces (same taste but different consistency – my mother-in-law used to scrape it)
Add to mixie jar.
Add red chilly powder. Add a little, you can always add later if you want it hotter. Jaggery should be the stronger taste in here, so go easy on the chilly.
Now scrape/powder jaggery and add to this. This again, add a little, you can always add more later if you want it sweeter. Everything in this recipe is by and large repairable, since there’s no cooking involved J
Add the kobri, if you are using it.
Add salt.
Grind it all, and check taste. Keep adding whatever you want for adjustment, until it is both sweet and hot. It should be sweet enough to be eaten on its own – that’s the test - the chilly should not be too prominent.
Transfer to a bowl.
Heat oil, add mustard seeds, when they splutter, add some hing powder. Keep it until the hing smell comes out, then add to chutney and mix well.

That's it!
Keep this chutney in the fridge, not sure how many days it will last outside.

Abundance

2009-08-26T09:51:00.000-07:00

“…..For life ought to be rich and abundant and full of love.

A piece of bread and butter should have a thick, carefully-spread layer of yellow butter, smoothed on top and trimmed at the sides so that none overlaps; that is the correct and heartening yellow bed on which your cheese ought to be laid. And that cheese must be thick-you must never use a cheese-plane, only a knife. White cheese should be an inch thick and preferably just slightly over the edge of the bread, like a solid, flat roof.

That achieved, you must regard your handiwork with reverence and consider whether or not to top it with a sprig of parsley, a drop pf tomato purée, a little chutney or a radish. Perhaps you will decide to let the cheese grace the bread alone, in solitary majesty-as you always must when it is Gruyère-but the idea of adding an extra, decorative love token must have been considered.

A piece of bread and butter must overflow with joy and enthusiasm, with generosity and love. People who save on food, who scrape their butter and plane their cheese, show thereby that they have killed their own sense of life and its exuberance. They are the usurers, clerks and debt-collectors; they have thin hair and meager souls, hollow eyes and chests, barren loins; you will not find hope among those who scrape their butter and you will search in vain for romance and adventure among people who have a cheese-plane in their kitchen.

Every time he encountered this painful niggardliness in people, Ash was filled with two conflicting emotions: one was compassion for their poverty and profound understanding for the mentality of those who for years have had to fight to make the housekeeping money go round. But the other emotion was one of violent fury, a red-hot anger at seeing the wonder of life so fraudulently profaned.

And he knew that were he ever to fall so low that he had only one crown left for himself, his wife and twelve starving children, he would not buy a large piece of cheap cheese and eke it out with the aid of a cheese-plane. He would buy a chunk of the best cheese to be got, cut it into cubes the size of a match-box and hand them round with a generous, liberal hand. After that they would die. But they would die remembering that the last thing they ate was a thick piece of good cheese: good and thick.

He was fully and firmly convinced of the enormous importance of food and love for human happiness. He was twenty years old and did not know how right he was, and it was strange to think what would have happened if he had been appointed head of the official health service.

Much would have been different in Norway if he had. And much would have been different in his own life."

'Lasso Round the Moon' by Agnar Mykle