Cola wings with an indian twist, and Imli chutney without tamarind

Last night, a desire to nibble on some meat, led us to scouting the grocery store meat shelves just before closing time. They had wings on sale. I remembered seeing a recipe for cola wings on the Steamy Kitchen blog at some point, and it seemed like a good idea. Husband confirmed that the recipe only calls for a cup of cola, and that led us to discover the coolest thing - that unlike in the US, you can buy a single, 150 ml can of cola at the supermarket in the Netherlands.

Armed with about a kilo of wings and a small can of cola, we proceeded to look at the details of the recipe. We already had some nice juicy limes from the weekend market, and figured that mild green chillies from the turkish market, and some fair trade rietsuiker or demerara sugar at home could substitute for the jalapenos and brown sugar.

Then we read it again - a CUP AND A HALF, not a teaspoon, not a tablespoon, a CUP and a half of sugar to make the syrupy glaze. This piece of information got us to have serious second thoughts on the recipe - there was no way we were going to use a cup and a half of sugar in addition to the already sugary cola. No offense to the creators and lovers to the recipe- just a matter of personal choice. So we proceeded with two tablespoons of sugar instead and kept the rest of the recipe the same. After simmering the glaze for a bit, we tasted and found it to be slightly on the sourer side - so in went a tablespoon of honey. We quickly realized that the purpose of all that sugar was to create a syrup that could stick on and really glaze the chicken wings - so we decided to add a tiny bit of cornstarch to thicken the very thin liquid glaze to solve that problem. Another dip-of-the-finger-and-lick later we figured that the glaze lacked a certain depth of flavour, that it was a bit on the simpler side for what we felt like eating. So in went a quarter teaspoon of Kashmiri red chilli powder, and about a half teaspoon of garam masala. once the spices had simmered for a couple of minutes in the liquid, just a wee bit of cornstarch thickened it to the required texture, and we poured it over the wings (which already had been marinated with some salt and ginger for as long as it took to make the cola sauce)

About 20 minutes later we put the glazed wings in the oven and  while waiting for the first side to get done, we licked at the remaining glaze - at almost the same moment we looked at each other and said "what does this remind you of?" ..."Imli ki chutney - the kind you put on chaat!" Yes that was it...the sweet and sour cola glaze with the garam masala definitely definitely tasted like the awesome tamarind chutney that is the life of much of the indian street food that goes by the collective name of Chaat. (Its interesting to note that the verb chaat  in hindi means 'to lick' which is something we could not stop doing with this damn glaze!!)

And so, when the wings were done they were tasty enough, but the bigger discovery from the experience is learning to make tamarind chutney without tamarind!! Les face it - in a lot of places in the west tamarind is a specialty ingredient, and not easily accessible if you're not near an 'ethnic foods market' (I hate the term but cannot think of a substitute!!)

So when the craving for chaat strikes - heres to boiling a combination of cola and sugar and lime, and adding the spices that make your taste buds sing. Because chaat chutneys are such a personal thing, I do not prescribe any recipes here. This is just some encouragement to wing it.

I've always been amazed to learn of the common substitutions Indians use for hard-to-get traditional ingredients while living in the west (like granny smith apples for raw mangoes, or using pancake mix to make gulab jamuns) and am really thrilled to have discovered our own supermarket substitute for something. Mind you, this is not the real thing - but then substitutions are about stuff you can use in a pinch, when you cannot have the real thing after all. 

Cocoa Beet cake

From being active on no blogs, to being active on all three is quite a change! 

This is a quick recipe post, just to document the recipe for the Beet Cocoa cake I made last week, that I was talking about here. 

I have tried making chocolate-beet brownies before, and they turned out OK -moist, fudgy and goodtasting, but not super good like this cake did. I figure in retrospect, that it is very important how you cook your beets, when attempting to prep them for chocolate cake/brownies. The first time around, I had  simply microwaved the beets for about 8 minutes, which had softened them up considerably and made them easy to peel and blitz/blend, but made the cake have a slightly earthy beet-y undertone. So even though the nicer-half said that he couldn't taste the beets, I thought that I could get a faint whiff of them, which wasn't terribly pleasant for me. This time around, I pressure cooked the beets for about 15 minutes, let the cooker cool by itself. The peel slid off the beets very easily, and they pureed to an absolute mush, with no discrete bits discernible.


The other change was to use cocoa instead of chocolate. Ever since I tried out these brownies I've become a big fan of baking with cocoa rather than chocolate. I like the punch that cocoa packs, and it works particularly well in this cake. 


 There are a lot of recipes out there for chocolate-beet cake, but not so many for a cocoa-beet version. I checked out this recipe from The Kitchn for inspiration, but ended up not using it. 


I have been having great success with this vintage recipe for one-egg cake, recently, and decided to use that as a starting point instead. I highly recommend the recipe, since with only a quarter cup of butter (and here you could substitute olive or coconut oil to excellent results) and one egg, it produces a nice light, moist sponge. I've been grating in rinds from two lemons to make a lemon sponge. 


For the cocoa beet cake, I doubled the recipe, halved the sugar, omitted the milk, added one and a half cups of beet puree (pressure cooked the beets and ran them in the blender with no water), and substituted one cup of cocoa powder for the flour. Given my current location, the cocoa is obviously Dutch process :D

Cocoa beet cake with strawberries and whipped cream

Back to Blogging

....but not here!

check out: Peepul Tree

see you there :)

A new year of Hope

And no, this has nothing to do with Brand Obama :)

I'm just struck by how much optimism a date can generate....and yes, I have finally chosen to buy into it.

I've been away from these pages for ages (how that rhymes!) and I am optimistic about finding my creative side and having a great deal of fun with it this year.

Here's wishing everyone the joy of being themselves in 2009

Sharing the image of a little birdie cake my mother and I made for a dear friend's mehndi celebration- the cake is eggless date and walnut, and the 'icing' and decorations are shrikhand, kaju katli and indian bakery toast. There is something to be said for a little impromptu fun!

(So much more than) Salad for the Gods : Payar Kosambari

Today is Rama Navami, and traditionally in my family/community this festival
is celebrated with Kosambari and Paanakam.

While it is commonly, loosely described as 'Indian Salad', Kosambari is a unique and beautiful dish - in my opinion, something between a salad and a salsa.

Here is one dish where size matters greatly - the essence of kosambari, to my mind, is in the is in the the fine dice or grating of the constituent ingredients to create a cohesive, flavourful whole.

There are several recipes for kosambari, and my childhood favorite for Rama Navami has been the one with cucumber, raw mango, soaked chana dal and moong dal. Payar or moong sprouts kosambari comes in a very close second :)

So here's what I made today, as an offering to Rama and Seeta, and to nostalgia:

Payar Kosambari / Moong Sprouts Kosambari
(serves 2 for a meal, 4 as a side)

Sprouted Moong Beans -- 1 heaping cup **
Half a cucumber - diced fine
one 'cheek' (about one third) of a raw mango diced fine

To flavour:
Half a large Jalapeno chilli - seeds and pith removed (or any green chilli of your choice, I pick jalapenos for their mild heat)
Salt -- 1 tsp
Sugar -- 3/4 tsp
Juice of half a key lime (regular 'lemon' in India)
Finely minced Cilantro/Coriander Leaves -- 1 tbsp

For Vaghar/Tadka/Tempering:
Oil or Ghee -- 1 tsp
Black mustard seeds -- 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 tsp
a pinch of asafetida (optional)
1 Whole red chilli broken into two pieces and seeds shaken out and discarded


If you own a mortar and pestle, it can be put to good use here. In the mortar and pestle, crush the jalapeno with the salt and sugar until it turns into a juicy paste. If you do not own a mortar and pestle (like me) , finely mince the jalapeno/green chilli, and toss it into the empty bowl/plate in which you intend to mix the Kosambari. Add the salt and sugar and pound it down with a heavy flat bottomed glass or cup until it becomes a juicy mush.

Add in the sprouts, cucumber and mango pieces and the lime juice and mix well to combine.
Add the coconut scrapings cilantro and the Tadka/Vaghar.***

Mix well again. Allow about 5 minutes for the flavours to combine (This usually happens when one is offering it to the Gods/ performing Puja)

Be thankful for the springtime, mangoes and anything else you want to be thankful for, and enjoy with Paanakam*.


Notes:
*There are several recipes for Paanakam. Raw Mango Paanakam was most popular in my parental home. This is the same thing as Panha. If Kayree (raw mango) is hard to find on the North American Continent, try pseudo-panha. I took the even lazier option and made mine by combining the juice of half a key lime (the other half left over from Kosambari-making!) and a cup of unfiltered organic apple juice.

**Sprouting moong beans is very easy. Indira of Mahanandi has a whole series on sprouts on her blog, and mentions her technique in these posts. My technique differs slightly (it is the lazy grad student way!) - in that I soak the beans in water overnight/6-8 hours until they plump up nicely. Then I drain them into a collander, and leave it by the sink (with the original pot/saucepan in which I soaked the beans underneath to catch any dripping)
I run the collander under cool water in the sink every few hours when I walk by the kitchen. If its is too hot/dry outside, I cover the collander loosely with a lid so that the beans do not loose moisture too quickly. I usually have sprouts the length of the bean within 24 hours.

***For Vaghar, heat a teaspoon of oil or ghee in a tiny saucepan/large ladle, add the mustard and cumin, when the mustard starts to pop, add asafetida and chilli. Turn off heat and pour over Kosambari.

Silly me...the notes are as long as the post :-P

The list is out: what to buy organic

Buying everything organic and local is something I aspire to do, but its not always possible given budgetary constraints. I tend to use this list compiled by the Environmental Working Group to help prioritize.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	46
19	Oranges	46
20	Grapes-Domestic	46
21	Cauliflower	39
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Lemon	31
26	Honeydew Melon	31
27	Grapefruit	31
28	Winter Squash	31
29	Tomatoes	30
30	Sweet Potatoes	30
31	Watermelon	25
32	Blueberries	24
33	Papaya	21
34	Eggplant	19
35	Broccoli	18
36	Cabbage	17
37	Bananas	16
38	Kiwi	14
39	Asparagus	11
40	Sweet Peas-Frozen	11
41	Mango	9
42	Pineapples	7
43	Sweet Corn-Frozen	2
44	Avocado	1
45 (best)	Onions	1 (lowest pesticide load)

Quick,100% whole grain, one pot meal and discovering a new tadka!

This is a quick post -- not a lot of time to blog, but just *have to* share this recipe.

The goodness of whole grain is something thats been discussed a lot across several food blogs. Notably, the folks at jugalbandi have several posts and 'whole grains' are 'flavor of the month' at onehotstove.

This dish can obviously be classified as a pulao or khichadi - it could also be called a rice and lentil 'stuffing' of sorts perhaps, so I'm going to leave it nameless for a while. If you're inspired to name it -hey, feel free to do so (and let me know via the comment box) :)

Aromatic Brown rice-lentil-buckwheat pulao? Here goes:




Whats in it:

1/2 cup long grain brown rice (I used thai jasmine)
2/3 cup साबुत मसूर or whole lentils (I used the french green variety)
1/2 cup Toasted Buckwheat or Kasha
3 cups water

Veggies : I used -
Mirepoix - medium sized yellow onion, 1 large carrot diced into big chunks, 2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 a head of broccoli - seperated into inch sized florets and stalks chopped into 1/2 inch thick pieces

The awesome tadka I serendipitously discovered:
1 to 2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 badi elaichi/ black cardamom
2 bayleaves or 1 tejpatta
1 inch piece fresh ginger root grated
3 hot green chillies (or adjust to your desired heat level)
pinch turmeric
2 tsp oil

Spices: 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt to taste, 1 tsp Kitchen king masala (optional)



Since this is a 'quick' dish, it is made in the pressure cooker.
Wash the grains , drain and keep aside. You can soak the brown rice for 5-10 minutes beforehand of you desire.

Start with 2 tsp oil, add the fennel, black cardamom, bay leaves, ginger chillies and turmeric. Once the fennel seems to swell and the tadka starts to smell good (should take about 20 seconds if the oil was hot enough) -- add the onions and celery. Saute for a minute, and add the whole grains. Saute for another minute and add 2 cups water. Add the salt, chilli powder and Kitchen-king masala (you can substitute your favorite spice blend, or omit it altogether) Cover the pressure cooker and cook to two whistles on medium high heat.

Quickly release pressure by pulling up the gauge with a long spoon r spatula. Open the cooker and add the carrots and broccoli and the third cup of water**. Cover again and cook for another whistle. This time, let the pressure release on its own.

Open cooker, smell the goodness, and enjoy with cool yogurt and a hot pickle.

** Whether to add the third cup of water (you may need less or more than a cup) depends on the specific quality of rice and lentils you're using to make this dish. I added the carrots and broccoli later to prevent them from melting into mush. You could just nuke them separately and add them in the end if you want them to retain some bite.

Verdict: very hearty and filling. The tadka was a real revelation to me - I use jeera(cumin) and ajwain(carrom seed) frequently, but saunf -not so much! It's sweet flavour combines very well with the bay leaf. The ginger and black cardamom add the robust notes. It was nice to completely avoid the cloves and cinnamon in this one. The mirepoix adds another subtle layer of flavor as well.

These amounts made for four meals for a hungry grad student. It would probably serve six people as a side in a regular meal.

I did a back-of-the-envelope nutritional calculation: 1160 calories in the whole pot /4 servings = 290 calories per serving, with 12.5 g of dietary fiber and 11.6 g protein per serving. Thats good, right? :)

Naked Juice Versus Odwalla - the new avatar of Pepsi versus Coke

Through Mark Bittman's blog 'Bitten' I came across this link to a chart that talks about which major food processing corporations own which organic brands. Very informative!
'Organic food' is big business, as 'eating right' becomes a priority for more and more people. I'm obviously no authority on the subject - but I try to be an interested consumer.

When my lunch ship came in....

Just some post-lunch fun with photoshop :)
The wiggly blue line on my plate, and the upright stalk of spinach on my sandwich inspired this silliness....

In the picture = crisp toast, topped with lots of hummus (recipe to follow), baby spinach and grape tomatoes - plate was white with a blue line, just filled it in with a lighter blue.

Note: 'When ones ship comes in' on american idioms

Celebrating cooler weather - Lehsooni Tofu Chhole - inspired by Pelicano

If spring has sprung, can summer be far behind? In these parts that means hot hot days and blazing sunshine - and foodwise, cold wraps, sandwiches, salad, lots of lassi and shikanji.

We're experiencing what is probably the last spell of cool weather, and after last week's scorching 80+ weather, a mild freeze warning is almost cause for celebration! The yo-yo-ing temperatures do challenge your immune system though -- which meant that the rich tasting and gravy-licious lunch I was craving, also had to have a healthy dose of protein, and enough ginger and garlic to make me feel like superwoman.

Pelicano's Paneer-Chhole recipe came to mind immediately. His delightful thali, and the rich goodness of his dish served as inspiration for what I eventually cooked.

My dish was thrown together with substitutions based on what I had on hand. I substituted Paneer with the fresh extra-firm Sacramento tofu that I get in bulk bins at the food conspiracy co-op here in Tucson. Tofu substitutions usually do not work for me in Paneer dishes, but this time turned out to be a delightful exception, in part because of the fresh and good quality tofu, and in part because the dish is so thoroughly spicy that the tofu contributes more in terms of texture than in terms of flavour.

Other substitutions - pomegranate molasses instead of amchur, tomato paste instead of puree, fresh cilantro instead of kasoori methi, canned chickpeas instead of dried-reconstituted ones.




Lehsooni Tofu Chhole

Drained a 14 oz can of garbanzo beans into a colander and thoroughly rinsed.
Chopped 1 medium large red onion fine, along with about 6 large cloves of garlic and about a 1/2 in thick piece of ginger
Cubed about 6 ounces of extra firm tofu

Placed a heavy bottom saucepan or pressure cooker on medium heat.
Added 2 T oil/ghee, and once it warmed tossed in 1/2 t cumin seed, 2 bay leaves, 5 cloves, 2 inch piece cinnamon, and a big pinch each -- haldi/ turmeric and hing/asafetida(as pel says in his post, these really help with flatulence)

Added the minced ginger/garlic and after about 30 seconds (enough time to cook but not burn), added in the onion and fried till translucent stirring frequently. Added in the chickpeas and the tofu, tossing to coat. Added about half a 6 oz can of tomato paste. Added 2 cups of water, scraped up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (as the food network folks say - 'deglaze!')
Stirred ingredients to help the paste dissolve to form a sauce. Added salt (1/2 to 1 tsp) and spice powders - 1 t kashmiri red chilli powder, 2 t dhanajiru (or 1 t each cumin and coriander powders), 1 t Rajwadi garam masala, and 1 T pomogranate molasses.

Covered and let simmer for 30 minutes stirring occasionally (alternatively cook for 1 or 2 whistles in pressure cooker)

Added 1/4 cup of dry non-fat milk (powder) to thicken the consistency of the gravy - this added a little sweetness and richness to the gravy without packing in too many calories. Added a generous handful of chopped cilantro as garnish in the end.

Served with warmed gorditas (thick corn torlillas - to simulate makki ki roti)and plain dahi.

Verdict: Gorditas are no substitute for makki ki roti, but the sabzee was absolutely delicious! The tofu kept its shape, and soaked up the gravy beautifully. The little hint of sweetness from the pomegranate molasses and dry-milk worked beautifully with the usual haldi-mirchi-garam masala flavours. And the Garlic? well...lets just say, I feel Leh-swoony :)

I keep getting asked questions about how to integrate soy protein into Indian food. I know there are a lot of great ideas in the food blogging community, but I will be putting together a series of tofu recipes on this blog in the days to come.
Other tofu recipe from this blog: Tofu bhurji with pancakes

Spring has Sprung!

The weather has taken a somewhat sharp turn towards the warm -- its getting up into the 80s (farenheit) here during the day...crisp blue skies, a little cool breeze -- summer isn't far behind....

Here's a picture of the gloriously cheerful wildflowers that have sprung up in the front yard , and Faiz's glorious nazm "Bahaar aayi.." (translation)

Watch The Story of Stuff - a great little summary of our troubles!

Its Christmas! And I'm all for festivity and cheer, and the sharing of joy among family and friends -- but I'm saddened by the thought of endless rolls of wrapping paper, and tissue and cellophane that I know are a week away from the rubbish heap, and all the gifts that are being bought for people who don't need any more, and won't care for them the day after christmas. I hate it that a lot of festivity is now a celebration of 'stuff'....

From day to day, a lot of us grapple with little pieces of the the quest for sustainable and equitous living. Part of that quest is to understand and question the nature of consumption -- about how much 'stuff' we need, and how much we use/misuse/waste. Did you know that the average american creates 4.5 pounds of garbage a day? Or that of all the stuff we buy, only 1% is in use in our households 6 months after we buy it??!!

It just became easier to articulate an argument against 'stuff' - The Story of Stuff is a must watch! A well presented concise summary of our current (very problematic) materials cycle...
It is a great little educational tool - free to download and circulate -- please share it widely!

To watch the whole 20 minute-ish film at a stretch go to http://www.storyofstuff.com/index.html

OR see it in bits --its available in seven chapters on youtube and I've embedded them in this post for your viewing pleasure. Do watch it, its worth the time!

~ Clicking my noodles - Food for the Grads ~~

You've probably heard of lots of delicious things being referred to as 'Food for the Gods' -- but there's only one thing that can be called the 'Food for the Grads' -- the ubiquitous Instant Noodles, also known as Maggi or Ramen

The Click event at Jugalbandi called on food photography enthusiasts to click their favorite noodle, and like the quintessential grad student, I am trying to publish this entry two minutes before the deadline....just like these noodles save me and my kind two minutes before we die of hunger :op



Here are my noodles, exhausted, running away and trying to hide from the piles of work on my desk -- Just like me :)

Check out the following PHD comics by Jorge Cham:

More Bok-Choy in a Satisfying Stir-fry

Bok Choy or Pak Choi first made its appearance on this blog in the "feelgood soup". Its first appearance in my kitchen was no earlier than last week....when I picked up a quart-size bagful of it at the University Farmer's Market.

Yes, the University of Arizona has its own farmer's market- friday mornings on the mall - nothing very fancy, but adequate, with the availability of fresh organic produce, fruit, fresh roasted coffee, locally made preserves and salsas...all at prices that don't make a grad student cringe (atleast not the way one could at the whole foods checkout :) )

Upon googling, I realized that there is more than one kind of Bok-choy, I've seen the white stem variety at the grocery store on occasion, and the kind I bought had tender green stems - and perhaps is the san fan hybrid

Anyhow, said bag of Bok-choy was picked up, and one stalk made its way into said soup two nights ago - the rest of the bag, and some tender asparagus needed to be used up before they lost freshness. I was inspired by this Emeril recipe from the food network website.

Since I did not have ham or chinese sausage on hand, and felt like I needed a little more spice, I altered the recipe to my liking. The result was a delicious, satisfying, and not too heavy dinner.


Asparagus Bok-Choy Stir Fry with Ground Chicken




What I used:

Ground Chicken -- 1/2 pound
Fresh Ginger, finely slivered -- 1 tsp
Fresh Garlic, finely minced -- 2 cloves
Fresh green chilli, indian/thai variety, finely chopped -- 1/2
Spring onion, white and green parts, sliced fine --1
Asparagus, snapped by hand into two inch pieces, tough ends discarded -- 1/2 pound
Bok-Choy, leaves and stalks, finely sliced -- 1 cup
Oil -- 1 tsp

for the sauce:
Chicken stock -- 1/3 cup
honey -- 1 tsp
white wine vinegar -- 2 tbsp
(the recipe called for mirin, and I did not have any)
Trader Joes Soyaki sauce -- 1 tsp
Cornstarch -- 1 tbsp
salt and pepper -- a large pinch each

Method:

In a flat pan, I warmed a teaspoon of oil, tossed in the ginger, garlic, green chilli and spring onion and sauteed until translucent and aromatic. Then, I added the ground chicken and cooked uncovered (on medium low heat) for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it was cooked through. The chicken releases a little fat, and the asparagus and bok choy tossed in with the cooked chicken absorb a little of the chicken flavour. Keep stirring until asparagus and bok choy are cooked through, about 5 minutes. The asparagus gets a bright green sheen and should be tender yet crunchy, while the bok choy stays bright green although it wilts slightly.

Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, and make sure cornstarch and honey are completely dissolved. Pour into the pan. The mixture loses its opacity and starts to thicken in less than a minute. Toss the mixture around (with a pair of tongs if you like) till the vegetables and meat are evenly coated with the sauce.

Take off heat and serve hot with steamed rice.

I really enjoyed this dish. I think it it would be just as delicious with spinach or kale, as well as vegetarianised using soy granules (nutrela) or crushed extra firm tofu instead of ground chicken.

Feelgood Soup

Its 9:30 pm on a weeknight. You're working on a deadline. You realize that your excuse for dinner from 5:30 pm isn't holding you past this hour....you are trying accomplish your work for the day, but all you can think of is comfort food. Something warm and nourishing, with a little bit of protein-- nothing heavy, or time consuming, or anything that requires you to dirty your hands and stop typing, or is likely to get any crumbs on the laptop or the papers around it.....

You don't want to go to the fridge, because it reminds you of all the other things you haven't paid attention to -- the little bit of rice left in the rice cooker bowl, the itty bit of coconut milk stuck to the bottom of the can, half an onion sitting in a ziplock bag trying its hardest to retain its moisture and not stink up the fridge, and that ever-so-cheerful bag of bok-choy from the farmers market that is trying to encourage you with its youthful charm :)

And so you get up, you don't want to cook....really...you don't....so you fill a small saucepan with water and put it on the stove -- maybe a cup of tea, or hot chocolate?
But no...you're hungry...so you drop an egg in it. And you remember that email you had to send, or that bill you had to pay....
You come back, the egg's been boiled. You take it out to cool, and rinse out the saucepan. Shall I eat the boiled egg by itself? With some bread and salsa? Nah...too dry...
You pull out all the sad things you've been avoiding from the fridge. And your best friends --fresh ginger, garlic and green chillies.
You swap laptop for chopping board , for a brief moment, and go at everything like a pro...mincing/dicing it fine.....the sad onion freed from its ziplock existence, the young tender bok choy, the boiled egg, the ginger, garlic and green chilli...
Saucepan back on stove, with half a teaspoon of oil, you toss in the aromatic stuff...ginger,garlic,chilli,onion....once they're translucent- the eggs and bok choy...another moment and the leftover rice, followed by the coconut milk (can rinsed out with hot water). Season with salt, pepper and sugar. Bring to boil. Transfer to your favorite soup-bowl. Get back to the laptop and Feeeeeeeeeeeeel Goooooooood............. :)

Feel Good that:
1) You whipped up something to eat in about 10 minutes overall- no wasting time
2)You didn't waste food by letting it die in the fridge
3) You ate stuff thats good for you rather than sugar or fat laden junk
4) Its warm and comforting...whats not to feel good :)

The ingredients in a spontaneous fridge cleaner recipe like this can be varied so much, but here's what I used:

1 hard boiled egg -- white only, diced fine
1/2 cup cooked white basmati rice
2 stalks bok choy - diced fine
1/8 of a large red onion, minced fine
1 tsp finely minced ginger
2 cloves finely minced garlic
1 small finely minced green chilli (indian or thai kind - substitute with 1/3 of a serrano or 1/2 jalapeno)
2 tbsp thick coconut milk, Arroy-D brand (almost like a cream), dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water
a pinch salt, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp sugar
water or stock to get desired 'soupy' consistency -- I used about half cup

Help! moti choor laddus

Here's hoping everyone had a Happy Diwali with the warm glow of lamps, and the company of loved ones and good food!

I'm stuck on a problem and I'm enlisting the help of the brightest food minds in the world:

I just received about 2 kilos of moti choor laddus from India. I need to know how I can preserve these for a long time, and not let them go to waste. There is no way I or anyone I know can consume these anytime soon. (so the 'give them away' suggestion doesn't count :) ) I would love any pointers on if or how I can freeze these for later, and of there are any great recipes for thawed out moti choor laddus.

Any help is appreciated! Thanks :)

Myanmar /Burma wants you to read this!

You will read wonderful things about India, its food and culture on scores of food blogs today. I'm hoping that you'll take a moment to read this:
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/archives/004750.html

The world is rallying to support the people of Burma who are peacefully protesting their military government and demanding democratic rule. India has been shamefully quiet.

Please take a moment to think about and act on this issue.
For prompt updates and to take action visit: http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/

Vege/Eggi-tarian Bolognaise

Two pasta posts in a row!! I guess it means that I'm becoming more open minded about pasta OR that I haven't had the time to stock up on chapatis and rice, and am digging into the pantry to feed myself :)
I found a box of rigatoni, and wondered what I could have that would satisfy my hunger for a sufficient amount of time and be sufficiently light (not heavy or greasy) to eat and not time consuming to cook. Quick search on the food network site yielded this recipe for vegetarian bolognaise.
One look at the recipe will tell you that it needed far too many ingredients for someone who was looking for a quick dish with whatever was on hand. So with the look and texture of that dish in mind, I set about creating my own:

First, I put a pot of water to boil as I scrounged about for ingredients.

Spotted in the fridge: Dying Basil, Eggs, Mushrooms, Mysterious anaheim-like mild chilli, crookneck squash. The last two ingredients were courtesy of a generous freecycler who shared some organic veggies over the weekend.

So, here's what I used:
Rigatoni -- 1/2 pound (dry)
Olive Oil -- 1 tbsp
Ajwain/Bishop's weed/Carrom seed -- 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder -- 1/2 tsp (substitute 2-3 cloves fresh minced garlic if available)
Basil -- 2 tbsp finely minced (I used leaves and stalk)
Sweet onion (or any onion) -- 1/2 medium very finely diced/minced
Pepper (use any mild variety or bell pepper) -- 1/3 cup finely diced/minced
Crookneck squash (or any summer squash) -- 3/4 cup finely minced
**I peeled these since the skins were very muddy, you could choose to keep the skin on...I used 2 small squashes, 1 medium should have the same yield
White button mushrooms-- 3/4 cup finely diced/minced (I used 5 large mushrooms)
Eggs -- 2 whole or 3 whites
Tomato Paste -- 1 6oz can
Wine -- 1/2 cup (I used cabernet, use whatever you have)
Salt -- 3/4 tsp
Black Pepper -- 1/2 tsp
Powdered Cloves -- 1/4 tsp
Red chilli flakes -- 1 little sachet or 1tsp (I used leftover from take-out pizza)
Parmesan shavings to garnish.


How I made it:

Kept an eye on the pot of water and tossed in the rigatoni when it came to a rolling boil. You can add salt to the water before you add pasta, but I prefer mine unsalted. The package said it should take 10-11 minutes for the pasta to become al-dente.

In the meantime, I finely diced all the vegetables and herbs (into 3 mm or 1/4 inch cubes) If you have a food processor you could just pulse everything a couple of times until they are crushed...I needed the release..so I did the mincing by hand :D

Warmed the olive oil in a copper bottom stainless steel pan, and then tossed in the 'vaghaar' (tempering) of ajwain, garlic powder, half the basil, the peppers and onion. Sauted until translucent, and added the remainging veggies (mushrooms and squash) ...sprinkled a pinch of salt to aid the cooking. Sauted for 2 more minutes until mushrooms started to release their brown juices. Added the wine, covered and simmered for a minute.
Took off lid, turned up heat to maximum and cracked the two eggs into the cooking vegetables..sprinkled salt, pepper and clove powder over the eggs and turned off heat for a minute..scrambled the eggs and turned heat back on. Mixed everything vigorously. Added remaining salt, pepper and basil, and the tomato paste. Mixed well and added water (I cleaned out the paste can and added about a tiny 6 oz canfull)
** You can add more water (about 2 tbsp at a time) to achieve desired thickness and to ensure mixture isn't sticking to the pan. Check taste. Add a teaspoon or so of sugar if the sauce seems too tart. Adjust taste by adding salt/ pepper/more herbs as desired

Turned off the heat and drained pasta saving about 1/3 cup of liquid. I took out half the pasta and mixed in half the sauce with cooking liquid and warmed the mixture through. Served it garnished with red pepper flakes and parmesan cheese.

Verdict: I enjoyed this meal. The addition of protein in the form of eggs made it very satisfying. The texture and thickness of the sauce filled the rigatoni tubes really well, and made this a comfortable 'working lunch' where I didn't have to worry about anything spilling onto my desk or keyboard. The goodness of the veggies came through really well. I will surely make this again!!

Since the meal took all of 20 minutes to put together...it could qualify for the 'express cooking' event at Mallugirl's Blog.


Enjoy!! :)








PS: This blog only has low-resolution photos for the time being.

!Xomatoes and Green Xalepeno Powder

Nupur's OneHotStove is unquestionably one of my favorite food blogs.....
I love her dedication to preserving traditional recipes, as well as her enthusiasm in exploring and adapting elements of other cuisines. There are several times when I've been thinking about trying out a certain ingredient or technique (chard, vietnamese rice paper rolls) and she miraculously reads my mind and posts a recipe to reduce the unknowns and the apprehensions from my effort :)

I'd decided to do atleast one post in the whole series for her A-Z of Indian Vegetables series - and since the letter X is about the unusual...what better place for someone like me to step in with my solitary post!

If you were a child in India in the 80s and the 90s, you probably remember a game called 'Name-Place-Animal-Thing' (I'm serious...that's what it was called!!)
I remember playing endless rounds of this game with cousins and friends over summer vacations. Someone (X) basically repeats the alphabet in their mind over and over again, until someone else(Y, Z, A, B, C...whoever) says 'stop'...and everyone has to think of a name, place, animal and thing starting with the letter that X stopped at, and write them down in four neat columns on a sheet of paper. Then everyone compares what they wrote, and cancels out the common ones...you get points for whatever doesn't get canceled out.
Obviously X was not a favorite letter in this game...since the only words I knew were Xylophone and Xerox !! I remember long arguments about whether Xerox was a 'name' or a 'thing' (a photocopy was referred to as a 'xerox' colloquially) If I had known of vegetables whose names started with X, I'd have won those games as a kid....I didn't even know about Xacuti, until a few years ago, or I'd have used that for 'thing' ... :)

What I did figure out in later life, was that X is actually quite versatile, and takes on different sounds in different languages/cultures. That, my friends, is the loophole of choice for this entry to be eligible...
!X represents the lateral alveolar click in african languages such as Xhosa and Zulu...and so I'm taking the liberty of spelling them !Xomatoes instead of tomatoes....and in spanish they use the 'Ha' sound for both X and J anyway...so I'm taking the liberty of spelling them Xalepenos instead of Jalepenos.....I know, I know I'm cheating, but Nupur said we could...didn't she?

In any case, I'd never cooked with Xalepeno powder (Ok OK!! Jalepeno powder!!) before, having always used our beloved Laal mirchi, so it was all mysterious and X-y (pronounce exxy) to me.






Tomato-Jalepeno Sauce / !Xomato Xalapeno Xauce (I just realised X can take the 's' sound too!)

I hate store bought marinara sauce...I actually am not a fan of pasta with sauce at all...no offense meant to the comfort food of millions. I was inspired to make pasta sauce with a desi kick after checking out Indira's take on it. So here goes...

What I used:
Canned Diced Tomatoes - one 28 oz or two 14 oz cans (use regular or petite diced as desired)
Sweet Onion - 1 medium or large, finely diced
Green bell pepper- 1 medium or large, finely diced

Garlic- about 6 cloves finely minced or 1 to 1.5 tablespoons garlic powder (i didn't have fresh)
Sweet Basil - 1/3 cup fresh or 2 tbs dried
Ajwain (Bishop's weed or Carrom seed) - 1/2 tsp
Green Jalepeno powder - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1tsp
Black Pepper - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Sugar - 1 tsp (optional)
Ginger powder or crushed/minced ginger- 1/2 tsp (optional)
White Wine - 1/2 cup or more (I used chardonnay+pinot grigio)
EVOO - extra virgin olive oil - 2 tbsp

What I did:

In a copper bottom or any other even-heating heavy bottom pan, pour in the olive oil like you would for tadka and add the garlic, ajwain, ginger (if using) and half the basil. As the spices start to release their flavour add the sweet onion, saute for a minute and add the green bell pepper. Saute until they turn translucent but are still crunchy. Add in the tomatoes and salt. Mix well, cover and simmer for 15 mins, stirring intermittently and adding water (1/4 cup at a time) if the mixture seems to be drying out . Uncover, add half the jalepeno powder, black pepper, sugar and half the white wine ( I did not measure the wine...just splashed from the bottle). Simmer for 10 more minutes making sure that the tomatoes break down and everything comes together as a cohesive chunky sauce. Add the remaining wine, jalepeno, basil and more sugar/salt/pepper/water if desired. Simmer uncovered for 2 more minutes and turn off heat.

I served this with about Bow tie pasta (as much as you'd get by cooking 1/2 pound dry pasta). Taking a tip from Trupti, I cook my pasta in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle rather than standing around the saucepan forever. I saved about 1/4 cup pasta cooking water and added the sauce in with it to the al-dente pasta and let it simmer for about 2 minutes. Served garnished with fresh basil and/or fresh jalepeno.

The verdict: I love the flavour of green jalepeno powder!! It is more sweetly subtle, mildly smoky and not the all-out fire of red chilly powder. On first bite, the tongue thinks of it as black pepper, but once it goes down the throat, there is a sweetness, heat and smokiness that is quite unique. And this pasta sauce, I will make again and again!!

I'm sorry I have no pictures since my camera is out of commission.

Everything-but-the-kitchen-sink Quinoa Khichadi

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-Wah) is not a grain I was familiar with in any way shape or form until just a few months ago.
Getting acquainted with someone who has several food allergies (celiac, intolerences to soy, dairy, garlic, almonds) and helping her figure out that almost every kind of south Indian frozen ready-to-eat food (idli, dosa, wada, utthapam, coconut chutney, sambar) was edible for her was rewarding, but being introduced to things like gluten and dairy free baking mixes (which make the *best ever* brownies I have tasted!!...I mean the bestest...) and grains like quinoa (which is completely gluten free) was even more fun. I also realized that Quinoa is a relatively protein rich grain and has a rather 'good-for-you' type of nutritional profile.

My first outing with Quinoa was not that great: I cooked them in a saucepan on the stovetop, according to package instructions (2 cups water for every cup of quinoa, and simmer 13-15 mins) and since I didn't know how it was supposed to taste when done, I had a somewhat underdone batch which i had rather reluctantly with pickle and yogurt since I had no enthusiasm to cook more and waste what I had already prepared.

This time, the story is completely different...I made up the recipe as I went, pressure cooked the Quinoa, and absolutely loved the results!!

The name I've given the dish (everything-but-the-kitchen-sink) sounds rather unappetizing perhaps, but that is precisely how I went about making it. I was headed to the grocery store to restock, and wanted to get rid of the odds and ends I had sitting in the vegetable tray, starting to look sad.(I'm sorry that the picture is fuzzy and unclear. I shot it with a webcam for lack of other options.)

Ingredients:

1 tsp oil
1/2 tsp ajwain/ carrom seeds/ bishop's weed
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced or minced
1 tsp whole coriander seeds lightly crushed
2 whole red chillies (adjust depending on type of chilli and desired heat level)
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt (adjust)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 red chilli powder OR black pepper powder or both
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp dried ground ginger (you could use fresh if desired)

Vegetables - any that you want to use
I used: 1 medium beetroot, 1 large carrot, 1/3 of a head of broccoli, 1/4 green pepper, 6 scallions- white and green parts. You could use peas, corn, cauliflower, onions, potatoes..anything!!

1.5 cups Quinoa
2 cups water
1 cup (about half of a 14 oz can) Coconut milk


Method:

Take the tsp of oil (more if you desire) in the pressure cooker vessel and add the ajwain, garlic, turmeric, whole red chillies, and crushed coriander seed (use mortar and pestle, or crush by running your rolling pin over them).
Once the spices start to release their flavour, add the vegetables. Saute for a minute and add Quinoa. Mix into vegetables and add water and coconut milk. Add salt, chilli powder, ground ginger, and cinnamon. Stir to mix and close pressure cooker with the pressure weight. Cook till the first whistle, and turn off the heat immediately. (If you have an electric stove, consider moving it from the stovetop) Allow to cool and open the pressure cooker. If there is any residual liquid at the bottom of the pot, turn the heat on for another minute or so to allow it to evaporate.

This was really comforting and tasty, with none of the bitterness sometimes associated with Quinoa coming through. The flavour of the cinnamon, ginger, ajwain and coconut milk and the natural flavour of the vegetables came out really well. The vegetables here were not overcooked or mushy, but had started to soften. If you like your vegetables crisp, I recommend microwaving them to your desired texture and adding them to the pressure cooked quinoa. The final dish had a rich red-orange colour that I really liked. I had my doubts about how the dish would look when I was closing the cooker, since the beet and the coconut milk together had made this ugly pepto-bismol pink shade. But it turned out fine :) and I served this with a dollop of plain yogurt/dahi and a salad of red radish, carrot and onion.

For the salad:
2 small or one medium carrot
5 red radishes
1/2 a medium sweet onion (like vidalia)
2-3 tablespoons lime juice
Salt, black pepper and sugar to taste (1 used 1/4 tsp of each)

Slice carrot, radish and onions into thin discs. (Wash once with water if you feel radish and onion are too pungent- drain well if you do so!) Add lime juice, salt, pepper and sugar. Mix well and enjoy.


I would definitely make this again. Quinoa is more filling and has more protein than rice or couscous or cracked wheat which are my other standard options for a quick dinner meal. And making a whole pot means I can have it for dinner, midnight snack and early morning snack :) (I am a night owl- who works into the wee hours....the quinoa is light on digestion, so is good for eating at odd times)

I've been really inactive on this blog, and apologies to those of you who still visit and don't find anything new here. It is going to be this way for a little longer. I do look at several of your blogs daily and enjoy all the wonderful food you bring to them.