Monday, December 12, 2005
Bye-bye for two weeks
I'm off to India tomorrow - I'll be able to read everybody's blogs from there, but I doubt I'll have the time to post. So until my return, here's wishing everybody happy cooking, happy eating and a very merry Christmas!
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Carrot rice
Making items just to finish the contents of the fridge is somewhat difficult, especially when my mind is focused on other things like getting clothes sorted for the trip home, making sure I have lists of what to take (and more importantly, what to bring back with me!) and so on.
Anyway, with just over a kilo of carrots to finish in the next couple of days, carrot rice inevitably found itself on the menu. It's very simple if you have the masala powder made beforehand, and the good thing is you can make extra powder that will come in handy another time. All you need to make carrot rice (apart from the carrots, haha) are a couple of onions and a tomato - items that usually are at hand in most kitchens.
Carrot rice looks pretty and can be chilli-hot and carrot-sweet at the same time - the amount of heat, of course, depending on your tolerance for chillies.
Recipe for: Carrot rice
Ingredients:
Carrots, grated - 3 cups
Basmati rice, cooked - 2 cups
Two onions, chopped fine
One tomato, chopped fine
1 tsp mustard seeds
5 curry leaves
2 tbsp carrot rice masala powder
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp roasted peanuts - for garnish (optional)
3 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a wok, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Cover and let the seeds pop, then add the onions and cook till they begin to turn soft.
2. Add the chopped tomato and stir, cooking till it turns soft and mushy.
3. Now put in the grated carrot and salt to taste, stirring till the ingredients are well-mixed.
4. Sprinkle two tbsp of the carrot rice masala powder and mix it into the grated carrot mixture. Let this cook for 4-5 minutes, till the carrots change colour slightly.
5. Finally add the rice and carefully mix it into the carrot masala. Let it heat through, then sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and garnish with the peanuts if using. Serve hot with any raita and salted potato crisps, pappadams or vadams.
Anyway, with just over a kilo of carrots to finish in the next couple of days, carrot rice inevitably found itself on the menu. It's very simple if you have the masala powder made beforehand, and the good thing is you can make extra powder that will come in handy another time. All you need to make carrot rice (apart from the carrots, haha) are a couple of onions and a tomato - items that usually are at hand in most kitchens.
Carrot rice looks pretty and can be chilli-hot and carrot-sweet at the same time - the amount of heat, of course, depending on your tolerance for chillies.
Recipe for: Carrot rice
Ingredients:
Carrots, grated - 3 cups
Basmati rice, cooked - 2 cups
Two onions, chopped fine
One tomato, chopped fine
1 tsp mustard seeds
5 curry leaves
2 tbsp carrot rice masala powder
1 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
2 tbsp roasted peanuts - for garnish (optional)
3 tsp oil
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a wok, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Cover and let the seeds pop, then add the onions and cook till they begin to turn soft.
2. Add the chopped tomato and stir, cooking till it turns soft and mushy.
3. Now put in the grated carrot and salt to taste, stirring till the ingredients are well-mixed.
4. Sprinkle two tbsp of the carrot rice masala powder and mix it into the grated carrot mixture. Let this cook for 4-5 minutes, till the carrots change colour slightly.
5. Finally add the rice and carefully mix it into the carrot masala. Let it heat through, then sprinkle the chopped coriander leaves and garnish with the peanuts if using. Serve hot with any raita and salted potato crisps, pappadams or vadams.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Masala powder for carrot rice
This masala powder is very aromatic and keeps for a few months if stored in an airtight jar. The measures I'm giving here makes enough powder to use twice, but the amounts can easily be increased proportionally to make more.
Clockwise from the top: Urad dal, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, chana dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds. Centre (from left): Cloves, cardamom pod, black peppercorns
Recipe for: Masala powder for carrot rice
Ingredients:
2 tsp urad dal
2 tsp chana dal
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 inch stick cinnamon
2 cloves
1 cardamom pod
2 dried red chillies
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp oil
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add all the items. Fry on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the dals turn golden and aromatic.
2. Let cool completely, then grind to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight jar for upto 6 months.
Clockwise from the top: Urad dal, cinnamon stick, fennel seeds, chana dal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds. Centre (from left): Cloves, cardamom pod, black peppercorns
Recipe for: Masala powder for carrot rice
Ingredients:
2 tsp urad dal
2 tsp chana dal
2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 inch stick cinnamon
2 cloves
1 cardamom pod
2 dried red chillies
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp oil
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add all the items. Fry on medium heat, stirring frequently, until the dals turn golden and aromatic.
2. Let cool completely, then grind to a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. Store in an airtight jar for upto 6 months.
Vattha kuzhambu (tamarind-based gravy for rice)
I believe there is vattha kuzhambu powder available for purchase in some places... and I know that some people have a recipe for it. I'm not one of them. I make vattha kuzhambu like my mother does - with good old sambar powder. One thing to note - the sambar powder I use is the original stuff that I get from India, ground to a fine powder in a proper mill. I havent tried making vattha kuzhambu using MTR or GITS or any of those other ready-made varieties of sambar powder.
Anyway, in my opinion, you gotta add two kinds of dried berries to make an authentic vattha kuzhambu - marathakkalikai and chundakkai.
Clockwise from bottom right: Marathakkali, chundakkai, dried red chillies, roasted peanuts
Again, these are most likely acquired tastes. Chundakkai, especially, are really bitter if you bite into them... but I do like the overall aroma and the flavour they impart to the kuzhambu. Marathakali are much more my favourite - fried and mixed with ghee and rice, they're really rather yummy. Better yet, they're also supposed to be good for you. For cleansing the blood, or something like that. Okay, I really need to find out more about them. Watch this space.
Because vattha kuzhambu is not made with any significant amount of dal, South Indians get their protein by pairing it with paruppu thogayal - somewhat like hummous, but made with tuvar dal and bengal gram dal, rather than cooked chickpeas. It's usually bland. I havent had it or made it in years, to tell the truth, because I personally prefer to make beans or cabbage paruppu usili as an accompaniment. Keerai (spinach) is another good side-dish for this kuzhambu.
Recipe for: Vattha kuzhambu
Ingredients:
1 tsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 4 cups warm water
2 tsp sambar powder
1 tsp tuvar dal
1-2 tsp dried marathakkali berries
4-5 dried chundakkai
10-12 fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies, broken in half
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tsp oil
4-5 curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
2 tbsp roasted de-skinned peanuts
1 tbsp rice flour or cornflour (for thickening the gravy if required)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the dried berries for 30 seconds or so.
2. Add the asafoetida, dry red chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and tuvar dal to the oil and stir. Fry till the mustard seeds pop and the tuvar dal turns golden brown. The berries should be dark brown now, but be careful that they dont burn.
3. Add the sambar powder, ground black pepper and red chilli powder (if using) and stir. Then pour in the tamarind water.
4. If you are using the peanuts, drop those in as well and let the tamarind water boil for 15-20 minutes or until it has reduced by a third.
5. Mix the cornflour/rice flour with some water to make a pourable paste, and stir it into the kuzhambu. Add salt to taste.
6. Boil it for another 5 minutes, until it is the consistency you like.
7. Serve hot with steamed rice, keerai and paruppu usili or - for an extra special touch - pan-fried potatoes Indian style.
Anyway, in my opinion, you gotta add two kinds of dried berries to make an authentic vattha kuzhambu - marathakkalikai and chundakkai.
Clockwise from bottom right: Marathakkali, chundakkai, dried red chillies, roasted peanuts
Again, these are most likely acquired tastes. Chundakkai, especially, are really bitter if you bite into them... but I do like the overall aroma and the flavour they impart to the kuzhambu. Marathakali are much more my favourite - fried and mixed with ghee and rice, they're really rather yummy. Better yet, they're also supposed to be good for you. For cleansing the blood, or something like that. Okay, I really need to find out more about them. Watch this space.
Because vattha kuzhambu is not made with any significant amount of dal, South Indians get their protein by pairing it with paruppu thogayal - somewhat like hummous, but made with tuvar dal and bengal gram dal, rather than cooked chickpeas. It's usually bland. I havent had it or made it in years, to tell the truth, because I personally prefer to make beans or cabbage paruppu usili as an accompaniment. Keerai (spinach) is another good side-dish for this kuzhambu.
Recipe for: Vattha kuzhambu
Ingredients:
1 tsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 4 cups warm water
2 tsp sambar powder
1 tsp tuvar dal
1-2 tsp dried marathakkali berries
4-5 dried chundakkai
10-12 fenugreek seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies, broken in half
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tsp oil
4-5 curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
2 tbsp roasted de-skinned peanuts
1 tbsp rice flour or cornflour (for thickening the gravy if required)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the dried berries for 30 seconds or so.
2. Add the asafoetida, dry red chillies, curry leaves, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and tuvar dal to the oil and stir. Fry till the mustard seeds pop and the tuvar dal turns golden brown. The berries should be dark brown now, but be careful that they dont burn.
3. Add the sambar powder, ground black pepper and red chilli powder (if using) and stir. Then pour in the tamarind water.
4. If you are using the peanuts, drop those in as well and let the tamarind water boil for 15-20 minutes or until it has reduced by a third.
5. Mix the cornflour/rice flour with some water to make a pourable paste, and stir it into the kuzhambu. Add salt to taste.
6. Boil it for another 5 minutes, until it is the consistency you like.
7. Serve hot with steamed rice, keerai and paruppu usili or - for an extra special touch - pan-fried potatoes Indian style.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Keerai (spinach) with karuvadam - South Indian style
Well, when I say "South Indian style", I really mean "my mother's style", but it's not far off the truth as descriptions go - I mean, my mother IS South Indian, and it IS her style. Heh.
I'll also say this - spinach cooked this way is probably an acquired taste unless you REALLY love the taste. I quite like spinach, plus I've acquired the taste, so I face no problems whatsoever!
Ideally, the two ingredients that would make this completely authentic are: 1. mor molagai - green chillies that have been soaked in salt and buttermilk (dont know the recipe myself - and not likely to make it either, because of a lack of strong sunshine in these here parts...) and sundried. These are fried in oil and sometimes used to season certain dishes, but more usually eaten as an accompaniment with yogurt and rice, rather like appalam/poppadum.
2. Karuvadam - these are usually made with pumpkin and spiced up with red chillies. I dont know what else goes into the recipe, but again, they are dried in the sun and stored away. They make their appearance occasionally, fried and added to certain dishes - like keerai. I'm not sure if karuvadam have any equivalent in western cuisine, so I dont have a comparable to explain with. They're very intense in flavour, so a little goes a long way.
Of the two items, I had the karuvadam - a small stash which I used up boldly in the certain knowledge that I will be replenishing my stock very soon on my India trip!
Keerai made this way is a classic accompaniment for vattha kuzhambu and rice. I had an added extra - simple pan-fried potatoes.
Oh by the way... keerai can be made without the karuvadam, too. They arent essential, just a tasty extra.
Recipe for: Keerai with karuvadam
Ingredients:
3 cups spinach, chopped, washed and drained
Karuvadam - about 4-5 pieces
2-3 dry red chillies - or 4-5 mor molagai pieces, if you be so lucky as to have them!
2 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Pinch of asafoetida
3-4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil to fry the karuvadam and mor molagai
1 tsp coconut oil (Indian brands like Parachute, etc) - optional
Method:
1. Cook the keerai with 3-4 tbsp water in a closed pan till wilted. Let it cool. You can now mash it for a robust texture or run it in the blender a couple of times till it's pureed. I prefer an in-between texture - not too rough but not completely smooth, either.
2. Put the keerai back in the pan along with salt to taste, and let it simmer on low along with 1/3 cup water.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan and fry the karuvadam and mor molagai (if using). Remove from oil and set aside for the moment.
4. Spoon out most of the remaining oil, leaving about a tsp in the pan. Add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, urad dal and the dry red chillies. Cover the pan and let the seeds splutter and the urad dal turns light brown.
5. Pour this seasoning directly on the keerai and mix well. Add the karuvadam and turn the heat off. Pour the tsp of coconut oil over the keerai and mix again. Serve hot as a side dish with vattha kuzhambu and rice.
I'll also say this - spinach cooked this way is probably an acquired taste unless you REALLY love the taste. I quite like spinach, plus I've acquired the taste, so I face no problems whatsoever!
Ideally, the two ingredients that would make this completely authentic are: 1. mor molagai - green chillies that have been soaked in salt and buttermilk (dont know the recipe myself - and not likely to make it either, because of a lack of strong sunshine in these here parts...) and sundried. These are fried in oil and sometimes used to season certain dishes, but more usually eaten as an accompaniment with yogurt and rice, rather like appalam/poppadum.
2. Karuvadam - these are usually made with pumpkin and spiced up with red chillies. I dont know what else goes into the recipe, but again, they are dried in the sun and stored away. They make their appearance occasionally, fried and added to certain dishes - like keerai. I'm not sure if karuvadam have any equivalent in western cuisine, so I dont have a comparable to explain with. They're very intense in flavour, so a little goes a long way.
Of the two items, I had the karuvadam - a small stash which I used up boldly in the certain knowledge that I will be replenishing my stock very soon on my India trip!
Keerai made this way is a classic accompaniment for vattha kuzhambu and rice. I had an added extra - simple pan-fried potatoes.
Oh by the way... keerai can be made without the karuvadam, too. They arent essential, just a tasty extra.
Recipe for: Keerai with karuvadam
Ingredients:
3 cups spinach, chopped, washed and drained
Karuvadam - about 4-5 pieces
2-3 dry red chillies - or 4-5 mor molagai pieces, if you be so lucky as to have them!
2 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
Pinch of asafoetida
3-4 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil to fry the karuvadam and mor molagai
1 tsp coconut oil (Indian brands like Parachute, etc) - optional
Method:
1. Cook the keerai with 3-4 tbsp water in a closed pan till wilted. Let it cool. You can now mash it for a robust texture or run it in the blender a couple of times till it's pureed. I prefer an in-between texture - not too rough but not completely smooth, either.
2. Put the keerai back in the pan along with salt to taste, and let it simmer on low along with 1/3 cup water.
3. Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan and fry the karuvadam and mor molagai (if using). Remove from oil and set aside for the moment.
4. Spoon out most of the remaining oil, leaving about a tsp in the pan. Add the asafoetida, mustard seeds, urad dal and the dry red chillies. Cover the pan and let the seeds splutter and the urad dal turns light brown.
5. Pour this seasoning directly on the keerai and mix well. Add the karuvadam and turn the heat off. Pour the tsp of coconut oil over the keerai and mix again. Serve hot as a side dish with vattha kuzhambu and rice.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Paneer palak (spinach) subji
Looks like the next few posts are going to be mainly "empty the fridge" types, as I'm off to India next Tuesday, for a fortnight.
Today, as the first of the use-'em-up recipes, I made an impromptu side-dish using one of the two bunches of spinach that were wilting quietly in the fridge. Two red onions, two tomatoes, half a cup of cubed paneer and a few spices and condiments later, there it was - a healthy side-dish to go with the methi (fenugreek greens) chapatis that we had for dinner.
Recipe for: Paneer palak subji
Ingredients:
Fresh spinach - washed, drained and chopped - 4 cups
1/2 cup paneer, cubed
2 onions, sliced thinly
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, slivered
1/2 tsp ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 fresh green chillies (as per taste), sliced thin
OR
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
3 tsp oil
Method:
1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and stir-fry the paneer till the cubes turn reddish-golden. Remove from the heat and reserve.
2. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil. Add the ginger root, the garlic, cumin seeds, chilli powder/green chillies and fry for about 30 seconds, till the cumin seeds turn brown and aromatic.
3. Now add the salt, garam masala, ground pepper and the sliced onions. Fry till the onions start becoming soft.
4. Add the chopped tomato and fry for a minute.
5. Finally add the spinach and sprinkle two tbsp water and cover the pan. Lower the heat and let the spinach wilt for 4 minutes or so.
6. Stir the contents so the spinach and onions are well mixed, then add the fried paneer. Add 1/3 cup water, stir and simmer the subji on medium heat for another 3 minutes or so, until the spinach is cooked.
7. Serve hot with a dollop of cream or Greek yogurt, as an accompaniment for rotis/parathas.
Today, as the first of the use-'em-up recipes, I made an impromptu side-dish using one of the two bunches of spinach that were wilting quietly in the fridge. Two red onions, two tomatoes, half a cup of cubed paneer and a few spices and condiments later, there it was - a healthy side-dish to go with the methi (fenugreek greens) chapatis that we had for dinner.
Recipe for: Paneer palak subji
Ingredients:
Fresh spinach - washed, drained and chopped - 4 cups
1/2 cup paneer, cubed
2 onions, sliced thinly
1 tomato, chopped
2 cloves garlic, slivered
1/2 tsp ginger root, grated
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 fresh green chillies (as per taste), sliced thin
OR
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
3 tsp oil
Method:
1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and stir-fry the paneer till the cubes turn reddish-golden. Remove from the heat and reserve.
2. In the same pan, heat the remaining oil. Add the ginger root, the garlic, cumin seeds, chilli powder/green chillies and fry for about 30 seconds, till the cumin seeds turn brown and aromatic.
3. Now add the salt, garam masala, ground pepper and the sliced onions. Fry till the onions start becoming soft.
4. Add the chopped tomato and fry for a minute.
5. Finally add the spinach and sprinkle two tbsp water and cover the pan. Lower the heat and let the spinach wilt for 4 minutes or so.
6. Stir the contents so the spinach and onions are well mixed, then add the fried paneer. Add 1/3 cup water, stir and simmer the subji on medium heat for another 3 minutes or so, until the spinach is cooked.
7. Serve hot with a dollop of cream or Greek yogurt, as an accompaniment for rotis/parathas.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Onion "bhaji" - UK-style
Onion bhajis - onion pakoda to you and me - is probably the UK's most favourite starter before any British-Indian meal, as much as chicken tikka masala is its most favourite "Indian" dish. Serve this up to any normal British person who likes Indian food, and you will be instantly elevated to the status of "fantastic cook". I say this as a person who has earned the title from her friends and from her husband's friends and really anybody who's had onion bhajis at my place :)
After eating the much-touted bhaji from an "Indian" takeaway restaurant here for the first time, it wasnt exactly rocket science to figure out what went in it - basically gram flour, some crushed coriander seeds, some chilli powder and salt added to sliced onions and deep-fried. Served with the ubiquitous "mint raita dipping sauce" - which was a spoonful of ready-made mint sauce mixed with a cupful of yogurt. That was it. And honestly speaking, that IS it even when I make bhajis at home. Nothing more, nothing less. Make no mistake, though... the things are tasty and extremely more-ish!
When I duplicated the recipe at home for Pete's friends one evening, though, I was completely taken aback by how much they raved about it. I tried telling them that it wasnt difficult to make, far from it... but they just wouldnt have it. Faced with so much insistent praise, I decided to accept the inevitable and gracefully let myself be crowned the Queen of Bhajis. Okay, so it's a dubious title, but mine own!
Just dont forget to address me as Your Royal Bhajiness.
Recipe for: Onion bhaji - UK-style
Ingredients:
3-4 medium sized onions, sliced thinly
About 1-1/2 cups gram flour/chickpea flour
1 tsp red chilli powder (more or less acc to taste)
1 htsp crushed or powdered coriander seeds
Salt to taste
3/4 cup water, more or less, as required
Oil to deep fry
Method:
1. Put the sliced onions in a big bowl and add the chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix with a big flat spoon till evenly distributed.
2. Add the chickpea flour a little at a time, stirring again to coat the onions.
3. Now sprinkle water all over this, adding just enough to make the flour moist and stick to the onions - and it WILL be sticky.
4. Heat the oil - it's ready when a bit of bread sizzles immediately. Drop in the bhajis by the table spoon or by hand in bite-sized lumps. Fry on medium-high until golden brown and crisp on the outside. The inside should be soft but not raw.
5. Serve hot with instant mint raita as a dip. These are also nice with tomato ketchup or other condiments.
Recipe for instant mint raita:
1 tsp ready-prepared mint sauce or mint jelly
1 cup yogurt, beaten lightly
1/4 tsp salt
Mix the ingredients well and serve with the bhajis.
After eating the much-touted bhaji from an "Indian" takeaway restaurant here for the first time, it wasnt exactly rocket science to figure out what went in it - basically gram flour, some crushed coriander seeds, some chilli powder and salt added to sliced onions and deep-fried. Served with the ubiquitous "mint raita dipping sauce" - which was a spoonful of ready-made mint sauce mixed with a cupful of yogurt. That was it. And honestly speaking, that IS it even when I make bhajis at home. Nothing more, nothing less. Make no mistake, though... the things are tasty and extremely more-ish!
When I duplicated the recipe at home for Pete's friends one evening, though, I was completely taken aback by how much they raved about it. I tried telling them that it wasnt difficult to make, far from it... but they just wouldnt have it. Faced with so much insistent praise, I decided to accept the inevitable and gracefully let myself be crowned the Queen of Bhajis. Okay, so it's a dubious title, but mine own!
Just dont forget to address me as Your Royal Bhajiness.
Recipe for: Onion bhaji - UK-style
Ingredients:
3-4 medium sized onions, sliced thinly
About 1-1/2 cups gram flour/chickpea flour
1 tsp red chilli powder (more or less acc to taste)
1 htsp crushed or powdered coriander seeds
Salt to taste
3/4 cup water, more or less, as required
Oil to deep fry
Method:
1. Put the sliced onions in a big bowl and add the chilli powder, coriander powder and salt. Mix with a big flat spoon till evenly distributed.
2. Add the chickpea flour a little at a time, stirring again to coat the onions.
3. Now sprinkle water all over this, adding just enough to make the flour moist and stick to the onions - and it WILL be sticky.
4. Heat the oil - it's ready when a bit of bread sizzles immediately. Drop in the bhajis by the table spoon or by hand in bite-sized lumps. Fry on medium-high until golden brown and crisp on the outside. The inside should be soft but not raw.
5. Serve hot with instant mint raita as a dip. These are also nice with tomato ketchup or other condiments.
Recipe for instant mint raita:
1 tsp ready-prepared mint sauce or mint jelly
1 cup yogurt, beaten lightly
1/4 tsp salt
Mix the ingredients well and serve with the bhajis.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Microwave vegetable pulao
Funnily enough, there isnt much I can say about this recipe (do I hear a collective sigh of relief?) :) It's simple, filling, aromatic, low-fat and has plenty of vegetables - not much else to ask of a dinner dish, is there? This pulao is one step down from a khichdi, the missing ingredient being tuvar dal. I didnt add it because I wasnt sure if the tuvar dal would cook completely in the microwave.
I'm a bit wary of cooking dals in the microwave because the one time I tried it with tuvar dal, it made an unholy mess when it bubbled over in the oven - and it STILL was only half-cooked. While lots of things are nice al dente instead of mushy, tuvar dal is not on that list.
We had this nearly-khichdi vegetable pulao with a simple tomato raita, but it would be just as nice with coconut chutney or some spicy pickle alongside.
Recipe for: Microwave vegetable pulao
Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (any combination of green beans, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, peas, etc)
1 onion, sliced thin
1 bay leaf
1 medium-hot red chilli, sliced into very thin rings
3-4 green chillies, slit (optional or adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp slivered garlic (2-3 pods)
1 tsp ginger root, grated
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste
1 tbsp coriander leaves, to garnish
Handful of roasted/fried cashewnuts, for garnish (optional)
Method:
1. Heat the 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the bay leaf, garlic, grated ginger, slit chillies, sliced red chilli and cumin seeds. Fry for 30 seconds or so, stirring continuously.
2. Add the garam masala and onions and stir-fry till they start turning soft, then add the vegetables and stir again.
3. Drain the rice and add that to the pan as well and fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add 2-1/4 cups water and salt to taste. Pour it all into a microwaveable bowl and cook it for 15 minutes or so on high without a cover. (Start with 10 minutes and see if the vegetables and rice are cooked - the cooking time depends on the wattage of the oven.)
5. Cover the bowl and let the pulao rest for 5 minutes. Just before serving, fluff the rice up gently with a fork and sprinkle the chopped coriander over. Also top with the fried cashewnuts, if using.
Serve hot with chilled tomato-yogurt raita.
Quick tomato raita:
1 ripe tomato, chopped fine
1 cup cold yogurt (Greek-style, for preference)
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of garam masala (or molagapodi if you have it)
Mix together and serve as an accompaniment for the pulao.
I'm a bit wary of cooking dals in the microwave because the one time I tried it with tuvar dal, it made an unholy mess when it bubbled over in the oven - and it STILL was only half-cooked. While lots of things are nice al dente instead of mushy, tuvar dal is not on that list.
We had this nearly-khichdi vegetable pulao with a simple tomato raita, but it would be just as nice with coconut chutney or some spicy pickle alongside.
Recipe for: Microwave vegetable pulao
Ingredients:
1 cup basmati rice, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
2 cups mixed chopped vegetables (any combination of green beans, carrots, spinach, cauliflower, peas, etc)
1 onion, sliced thin
1 bay leaf
1 medium-hot red chilli, sliced into very thin rings
3-4 green chillies, slit (optional or adjust to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp slivered garlic (2-3 pods)
1 tsp ginger root, grated
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste
1 tbsp coriander leaves, to garnish
Handful of roasted/fried cashewnuts, for garnish (optional)
Method:
1. Heat the 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the bay leaf, garlic, grated ginger, slit chillies, sliced red chilli and cumin seeds. Fry for 30 seconds or so, stirring continuously.
2. Add the garam masala and onions and stir-fry till they start turning soft, then add the vegetables and stir again.
3. Drain the rice and add that to the pan as well and fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Add 2-1/4 cups water and salt to taste. Pour it all into a microwaveable bowl and cook it for 15 minutes or so on high without a cover. (Start with 10 minutes and see if the vegetables and rice are cooked - the cooking time depends on the wattage of the oven.)
5. Cover the bowl and let the pulao rest for 5 minutes. Just before serving, fluff the rice up gently with a fork and sprinkle the chopped coriander over. Also top with the fried cashewnuts, if using.
Serve hot with chilled tomato-yogurt raita.
Quick tomato raita:
1 ripe tomato, chopped fine
1 cup cold yogurt (Greek-style, for preference)
1/4 tsp salt
pinch of garam masala (or molagapodi if you have it)
Mix together and serve as an accompaniment for the pulao.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Pulikachal (spicy sauce/chutney for making tamarind rice)
I know, it's a clunky title. But I couldnt come up with a better description in English for pulikachal, which would translate from the Tamil literally into "tamarind (puli) boil-up (kachal)" - descriptive enough but not particularly useful informative.
I dont make pulikachal very often because there's always the impression at the back of my mind that it takes too long to make, and now that I'm working full-time, there doesnt seem to be enough free time to do all the things I want, let alone spend lots of time on just cooking. But the impression is not quite right, because once the masala has been made for it, pulikachal kind of cooks itself. It doesnt need looking after every single minute.
The best pulikachal I've ever had was when I was an apprentice sub-editor at the Indian Express, my very first job. My boss (and mentor) there was a wonderful old gentleman called C P Seshadri, fondly and universally known as "Master". He was a very knowledgeable person, a living bit of history - a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and all the other stalwarts of the Indian freedom movement... and what is more, he was personally acquainted with them.
Anyhow, long story short, Master was very affectionate and kindly, more grandfatherly to me than my own grandpa! When he discovered that I didnt bother to bring lunch from home but sometimes ate junk food at the little stalls outside the office gates, he insisted on me sharing the hot lunch that was delivered to him from his home, waving aside my embarrassed protestations. (But the food... oh the food! - embarrassment quickly took a back seat!)
His wife (Mrs Master to me) was a very dignified, stern looking lady - but in reality very kind. Not to mention, a SUPERB cook. Everything she made was wonderful, but her tamarind rice was out-of-this-world good. Iyengars are traditionally considered to make the best pulikachal and I have to say that Mrs Master was living proof of that. I wish I'd been interested enough in cooking then to ask her for the recipe.
That said, though, I've evolved a pretty good recipe for pulikachal, based - but of course - on my mother's. My version has coconut in it (and yes, I do realise that for someone who doesnt like coconut in a lot of things, I seem to be using the stuff rather a lot!).
Anyway, while trawling through the Net a couple of years back, I came across a comment in some food-chat board that said the writer added toasted grated coconut to the masala for pulikachal. After a lot of thought - and a great deal of hesitation - I decided to follow that tip. And what a surprise to find that the coconut adds texture but doesnt register on the palate... and you cant smell it either. JUST the ticket.
No more babbling for now - here's my recipe!
Recipe for: Pulikachal (spicy sauce/chutney for making tamarind rice)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp tamarind paste (Tamicon) dissolved in 6 cups warm water
or
1 lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked and pulped to make 6 cups of tamarind water
For the masala:
1 tsp oil
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp chana dal
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp peanuts
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
8 dried red chillies
10-15 curry leaves
1/4 packed cup grated coconut
For the tempering:
3 tsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies, broken in half
1 tsp urad dal
2 tsp chana dal
4 tsp roasted peanuts
2 tsp sesame seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Method:
1. Roast all the masala ingredients (except the coconut) in one tsp of oil till the seeds pop and the dals become a lovely golden brown. Set aside to cool.
2. Roast the grated coconut separately, turning it over frequently, till it turns golden brown. Let it cool as well.
3. In a coffee grinder or spice grinder, grind the roasted masala ingredients and the coconut to as smooth a paste as possible. This might be easier done a little at a time, because the resulting paste is very thick. Dissolve the paste in a cupful of water and set aside.
4. In a wide but deep vessel, heat 3 tsp oil. Add a pinch of asafoetida (optional), then all the tempering ingredients and cover till the seeds finish popping.
5. Pour in the 6 cups of tamarind water and stir. Let the water come to a rolling boil, then stir in the ground masala paste, mixing till well incorporated.
6. Leave the heat on high and cook the mixture till it reduces to a third and starts thickening. Add salt to taste now. (The reduction could easily take 20 minutes or more, depending on the depth and width of the pan. Basically, the deeper the pan, the longer the time).
7. When the pulikachal is thick (the consistency of honey, more or less), turn the heat off. It will become thicker still as it cools.
Pulikachal can be used to make tamarind rice - about a tbsp mixed with a cupful of cooked rice, but you can add more or less depending on taste. This recipe makes quite spicy pulikachal.
I dont make pulikachal very often because there's always the impression at the back of my mind that it takes too long to make, and now that I'm working full-time, there doesnt seem to be enough free time to do all the things I want, let alone spend lots of time on just cooking. But the impression is not quite right, because once the masala has been made for it, pulikachal kind of cooks itself. It doesnt need looking after every single minute.
The best pulikachal I've ever had was when I was an apprentice sub-editor at the Indian Express, my very first job. My boss (and mentor) there was a wonderful old gentleman called C P Seshadri, fondly and universally known as "Master". He was a very knowledgeable person, a living bit of history - a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru and all the other stalwarts of the Indian freedom movement... and what is more, he was personally acquainted with them.
Anyhow, long story short, Master was very affectionate and kindly, more grandfatherly to me than my own grandpa! When he discovered that I didnt bother to bring lunch from home but sometimes ate junk food at the little stalls outside the office gates, he insisted on me sharing the hot lunch that was delivered to him from his home, waving aside my embarrassed protestations. (But the food... oh the food! - embarrassment quickly took a back seat!)
His wife (Mrs Master to me) was a very dignified, stern looking lady - but in reality very kind. Not to mention, a SUPERB cook. Everything she made was wonderful, but her tamarind rice was out-of-this-world good. Iyengars are traditionally considered to make the best pulikachal and I have to say that Mrs Master was living proof of that. I wish I'd been interested enough in cooking then to ask her for the recipe.
That said, though, I've evolved a pretty good recipe for pulikachal, based - but of course - on my mother's. My version has coconut in it (and yes, I do realise that for someone who doesnt like coconut in a lot of things, I seem to be using the stuff rather a lot!).
Anyway, while trawling through the Net a couple of years back, I came across a comment in some food-chat board that said the writer added toasted grated coconut to the masala for pulikachal. After a lot of thought - and a great deal of hesitation - I decided to follow that tip. And what a surprise to find that the coconut adds texture but doesnt register on the palate... and you cant smell it either. JUST the ticket.
No more babbling for now - here's my recipe!
Recipe for: Pulikachal (spicy sauce/chutney for making tamarind rice)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp tamarind paste (Tamicon) dissolved in 6 cups warm water
or
1 lemon-sized ball of tamarind, soaked and pulped to make 6 cups of tamarind water
For the masala:
1 tsp oil
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp chana dal
1/2 tbsp mustard seeds
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp urad dal
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp peanuts
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
8 dried red chillies
10-15 curry leaves
1/4 packed cup grated coconut
For the tempering:
3 tsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chillies, broken in half
1 tsp urad dal
2 tsp chana dal
4 tsp roasted peanuts
2 tsp sesame seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Method:
1. Roast all the masala ingredients (except the coconut) in one tsp of oil till the seeds pop and the dals become a lovely golden brown. Set aside to cool.
2. Roast the grated coconut separately, turning it over frequently, till it turns golden brown. Let it cool as well.
3. In a coffee grinder or spice grinder, grind the roasted masala ingredients and the coconut to as smooth a paste as possible. This might be easier done a little at a time, because the resulting paste is very thick. Dissolve the paste in a cupful of water and set aside.
4. In a wide but deep vessel, heat 3 tsp oil. Add a pinch of asafoetida (optional), then all the tempering ingredients and cover till the seeds finish popping.
5. Pour in the 6 cups of tamarind water and stir. Let the water come to a rolling boil, then stir in the ground masala paste, mixing till well incorporated.
6. Leave the heat on high and cook the mixture till it reduces to a third and starts thickening. Add salt to taste now. (The reduction could easily take 20 minutes or more, depending on the depth and width of the pan. Basically, the deeper the pan, the longer the time).
7. When the pulikachal is thick (the consistency of honey, more or less), turn the heat off. It will become thicker still as it cools.
Pulikachal can be used to make tamarind rice - about a tbsp mixed with a cupful of cooked rice, but you can add more or less depending on taste. This recipe makes quite spicy pulikachal.
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Chayote squash (Bangalore kathirikkai) kootu
Say pumpkin, and immediately the garish orange one comes to mind - the one that's hollowed out to make Jack o' Lanterns for Halloween. I guess it's eaten a lot in the US during Thanksgiving - made into pies and cookies and cakes and casseroles and goodness knows what else. But orange pumpkins arent my favourite - the white ones are. That is, translucent white on the inside, and green on the outside.
White pumpkin seems to be a vegetable eaten mostly by Tamilians... it's one of my favourites when made into kootu (using ground coconut to flavour the gravy and bring the cooked vegetable "together") following my mother's recipe.
I'm not sure if it's particularly popular elsewhere (except when making aviyal, I suppose) in India, because the last time I visited my mother when she was living in Hyderabad, we didnt find white pumpkin in the vegetable shops for love or money. And the one time that I spotted a pumpkin, the shopkeeper refused to sell us a portion of it - it was all or nothing. Since a whole pumpkin is a waste of a purchase for just two people - even for two people who love it! - we had to leave with nothing.
But a reasonable substitute for white pumpkins - which I have never seen in the UK - is the chayote squash... or Bangalore kathirikkai, as I knew it in Madras. It's a slightly strange looking vegetable, puckered up on one side, but it tastes great when made into kootu.
Chayote squash, or Bangalore kathirikkai
What it looks like cut lengthwise
It's nice as a side dish with vatha kuzhambu/sambar and rice, fantastic as an accompaniment for rotis and pretty darn good over plain rice as a main meal. That's what I had yesterday for my dinner - chayote squash kootu with rice and microwaved appalams. Homey, filling and healthy!
Recipe for: Chayote squash (Bangalore kathirikkai) kootu
Ingredients:
2 cups chayote squash, chopped evenly into small cubes
1/4 cup gram dal (chana dal/kadalai paruppu)
Two pinches of turmeric powder
Water
For the coconut paste:
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
4-5 green chillies (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp rice flour
For the tempering/tadka:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp cumin seeds
a few curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
2 tsp oil
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish (optional)
Method:
1. Put the chopped squash and the chana dal in a saucepan and pour in just enough water to cover the vegetables fully.
2. Add the turmeric and stir, then cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Turn down the heat to a slow simmer till the chana dal is cooked but still retains its shape, about 15-20 minutes. (Test by squashing a kernel of dal between your fingers - if it mashes easily, it's done.) Keep an eye on the water level so that it doesnt fall below the level of the vegetable. The squash should be cooked by then as well.
3. Meanwhile, grind the coconut paste ingredients into a smooth paste using some warm water (about 3-4 tbsp).
4. Add the paste to the cooked vegetable along with salt to taste, and mix well. Let the kootu simmer for 3-4 minutes.
5. In a small pan with a lid, heat 2 tsp oil and add the tempering ingredients, then close the pan. Wait till the mustard seeds have popped and the cumin seeds and urad dal have changed colour, then pour directly onto the kootu. Mix well and take the kootu off the heat.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice or chapatis/rotis.
White pumpkin seems to be a vegetable eaten mostly by Tamilians... it's one of my favourites when made into kootu (using ground coconut to flavour the gravy and bring the cooked vegetable "together") following my mother's recipe.
I'm not sure if it's particularly popular elsewhere (except when making aviyal, I suppose) in India, because the last time I visited my mother when she was living in Hyderabad, we didnt find white pumpkin in the vegetable shops for love or money. And the one time that I spotted a pumpkin, the shopkeeper refused to sell us a portion of it - it was all or nothing. Since a whole pumpkin is a waste of a purchase for just two people - even for two people who love it! - we had to leave with nothing.
But a reasonable substitute for white pumpkins - which I have never seen in the UK - is the chayote squash... or Bangalore kathirikkai, as I knew it in Madras. It's a slightly strange looking vegetable, puckered up on one side, but it tastes great when made into kootu.
Chayote squash, or Bangalore kathirikkai
What it looks like cut lengthwise
It's nice as a side dish with vatha kuzhambu/sambar and rice, fantastic as an accompaniment for rotis and pretty darn good over plain rice as a main meal. That's what I had yesterday for my dinner - chayote squash kootu with rice and microwaved appalams. Homey, filling and healthy!
Recipe for: Chayote squash (Bangalore kathirikkai) kootu
Ingredients:
2 cups chayote squash, chopped evenly into small cubes
1/4 cup gram dal (chana dal/kadalai paruppu)
Two pinches of turmeric powder
Water
For the coconut paste:
2 tbsp fresh grated coconut
4-5 green chillies (or to taste)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp rice flour
For the tempering/tadka:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp cumin seeds
a few curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
2 tsp oil
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish (optional)
Method:
1. Put the chopped squash and the chana dal in a saucepan and pour in just enough water to cover the vegetables fully.
2. Add the turmeric and stir, then cover the pan and bring the water to a boil. Turn down the heat to a slow simmer till the chana dal is cooked but still retains its shape, about 15-20 minutes. (Test by squashing a kernel of dal between your fingers - if it mashes easily, it's done.) Keep an eye on the water level so that it doesnt fall below the level of the vegetable. The squash should be cooked by then as well.
3. Meanwhile, grind the coconut paste ingredients into a smooth paste using some warm water (about 3-4 tbsp).
4. Add the paste to the cooked vegetable along with salt to taste, and mix well. Let the kootu simmer for 3-4 minutes.
5. In a small pan with a lid, heat 2 tsp oil and add the tempering ingredients, then close the pan. Wait till the mustard seeds have popped and the cumin seeds and urad dal have changed colour, then pour directly onto the kootu. Mix well and take the kootu off the heat.
6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with rice or chapatis/rotis.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Coconut-coriander chutney and idli
I was planning to make this post about coconut-coriander chutney as an accompaniment for idli - and then decided to post a quick recipe for idli batter as well, encouraged by a specific request for it. (Hey, it's nice to be asked - it's usually me that does the asking of my ever-patient mom!)
Making idli batter is a simple affair nowadays, because I know where to get the ground rice (or idli rava) for it. The traditional way is to make it by soaking a certain kind of rice (puzhungal arisi) in water, but I dont have a proper wet grinder that would make it easy to grind the rice. I use my trusty Sumeet mixie instead, and idli rava is a lot kinder to its motor! (I live in perpetual dread of my mixie breaking down - that would be a catastrophe beyond description!)
Anyway - my recipe for idli batter is 4 cups of idli rava or ground rice (I use the Natco brand)to one cup of de-husked urad dal. (If you use the dal with husk, you get idlis with black spotty bits. Not very nice to look at but just as edible as white idlis. Ask me. I speak from experience.)
I've also tried using basmati rice in place of the puzhungal arisi, but although it works for making dosas, idlis turn out sticky and too doughy for my liking. I dont think using rice flour for the batter would be successful either - the result would be the same as with basmati rice. Ground rice or idli rava is best, as it is somewhat coarser in texture and gives idlis their slightly grainy look.
When a South Indian thinks idlis, it's always accompanied by sambar, molagapodi and coconut chutney. These three are a must. Tomato chutney and onion chutney are optional but welcome extras and, outside of a hotel, a total indulgence if made at home at the same time as the other accompaniments!
Since I bought a coconut yesterday, I had to use up about half a cup of frozen grated coconut that I was storing. That, along with the remnants of a bunch of coriander, made for a pretty, green chutney that was just right with my idlis. I "seasoned" the chutney with fried mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves, so that makes it South Indian style. If I'd added ginger root to the coconut while grinding, and lemon juice after (instead of the seasoning), it would have been a North Indian style chutney. Small and subtle changes in preparation, but BIG change in taste. Hurray for variations!
Recipes for: Coconut-coriander chutney and idli
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
4-5 green chillies (or to taste)
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
For seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves, torn in half
pinch of asafoetida
Method:
1. Grind the coconut, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt in a spice or coffee grinder to as smooth a paste as possible.
2. Turn the blended coconut into a bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a small pan with a lid. When the oil is hot, put in the mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. Stir and cover.
4. Once the mustard seeds have popped and the urad dal is a reddish gold in colour, pour it on top of the chutney at once. Mix well and serve with hot idlis or dosas.
Idli:
Ingredients:
4 cups idli rava
1 cup urad dal (de-husked)
Salt to taste
Water as required
Method:
1. Grind the urad dal to a smooth paste, using as little water as possible (use cold water). The urad dal should make a thick batter that drips very slowly off a ladle.
2. Make a fairly thick batter of the idli rava and two cups of water. This can be less thick than the urad dal batter, but should not be runny.
3. Mix the two batters together thoroughly in a big bowl, adding salt to taste. The bowl should be only half full, or maximum 2/3 full, to allow for the batter to ferment and rise.
4. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 8 hours or overnight. If you live in a cold place, this might take as long as 18 hours. I usually heat my oven to 100C first. Then I turn it off, leaving the light on for warmth, and place the bowl of batter in the oven, leaving it to rise.
5. Once the batter is risen, stir it well. If you have an idli stand or mould, grease the cups and pour a ladleful of batter into them. If you dont have a mold, use a flat shallow vessel with a rim and pour the batter into it (the batter should be about 3/4" high in the vessel).
6. Steam it for 12-15 minutes (if using a pressure cooker, DONT use the weight). Let cool for about 5 minutes, then unmold carefully, using a thin-edged spoon to remove the idlis. Serve hot.
Making idli batter is a simple affair nowadays, because I know where to get the ground rice (or idli rava) for it. The traditional way is to make it by soaking a certain kind of rice (puzhungal arisi) in water, but I dont have a proper wet grinder that would make it easy to grind the rice. I use my trusty Sumeet mixie instead, and idli rava is a lot kinder to its motor! (I live in perpetual dread of my mixie breaking down - that would be a catastrophe beyond description!)
Anyway - my recipe for idli batter is 4 cups of idli rava or ground rice (I use the Natco brand)to one cup of de-husked urad dal. (If you use the dal with husk, you get idlis with black spotty bits. Not very nice to look at but just as edible as white idlis. Ask me. I speak from experience.)
I've also tried using basmati rice in place of the puzhungal arisi, but although it works for making dosas, idlis turn out sticky and too doughy for my liking. I dont think using rice flour for the batter would be successful either - the result would be the same as with basmati rice. Ground rice or idli rava is best, as it is somewhat coarser in texture and gives idlis their slightly grainy look.
When a South Indian thinks idlis, it's always accompanied by sambar, molagapodi and coconut chutney. These three are a must. Tomato chutney and onion chutney are optional but welcome extras and, outside of a hotel, a total indulgence if made at home at the same time as the other accompaniments!
Since I bought a coconut yesterday, I had to use up about half a cup of frozen grated coconut that I was storing. That, along with the remnants of a bunch of coriander, made for a pretty, green chutney that was just right with my idlis. I "seasoned" the chutney with fried mustard seeds, urad dal and curry leaves, so that makes it South Indian style. If I'd added ginger root to the coconut while grinding, and lemon juice after (instead of the seasoning), it would have been a North Indian style chutney. Small and subtle changes in preparation, but BIG change in taste. Hurray for variations!
Recipes for: Coconut-coriander chutney and idli
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
4-5 green chillies (or to taste)
2 tbsp fresh coriander leaves, coarsely chopped
Salt to taste
For seasoning:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves, torn in half
pinch of asafoetida
Method:
1. Grind the coconut, green chillies, coriander leaves and salt in a spice or coffee grinder to as smooth a paste as possible.
2. Turn the blended coconut into a bowl.
3. Heat the oil in a small pan with a lid. When the oil is hot, put in the mustard seeds, urad dal, curry leaves and asafoetida. Stir and cover.
4. Once the mustard seeds have popped and the urad dal is a reddish gold in colour, pour it on top of the chutney at once. Mix well and serve with hot idlis or dosas.
Idli:
Ingredients:
4 cups idli rava
1 cup urad dal (de-husked)
Salt to taste
Water as required
Method:
1. Grind the urad dal to a smooth paste, using as little water as possible (use cold water). The urad dal should make a thick batter that drips very slowly off a ladle.
2. Make a fairly thick batter of the idli rava and two cups of water. This can be less thick than the urad dal batter, but should not be runny.
3. Mix the two batters together thoroughly in a big bowl, adding salt to taste. The bowl should be only half full, or maximum 2/3 full, to allow for the batter to ferment and rise.
4. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 8 hours or overnight. If you live in a cold place, this might take as long as 18 hours. I usually heat my oven to 100C first. Then I turn it off, leaving the light on for warmth, and place the bowl of batter in the oven, leaving it to rise.
5. Once the batter is risen, stir it well. If you have an idli stand or mould, grease the cups and pour a ladleful of batter into them. If you dont have a mold, use a flat shallow vessel with a rim and pour the batter into it (the batter should be about 3/4" high in the vessel).
6. Steam it for 12-15 minutes (if using a pressure cooker, DONT use the weight). Let cool for about 5 minutes, then unmold carefully, using a thin-edged spoon to remove the idlis. Serve hot.
Monday, November 21, 2005
Indian kitchen - idli mould
Here's my first (deliberate) post on typically Indian kitchen utensils, as started by Indira (of Mahanandi fame). I call it deliberate because I did a post a while back, on the ribbon pakoda "press" - an unofficial entry for the "Indian Kitchen" series!
Anyway, this post is about a utensil I'm pretty sure every single South Indian kitchen would have - the idli mould. Grease the depressions in the idli thattu (plate), pour in the idli batter, stack up the plates on the "stem",
and steam the whole thing for 12-15 minutes in a pressure cooker (not using the weight, of course) - and taDAH! steaming hot idlis ready for your morning pleasure.
I remember my mother's idli mould (probably my grandmother's, actually) - the depressions had hundreds of tiny holes. If the idli plates were not washed thoroughly, the holes would retain some of the cooked idli batter. We were living in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania, and I would have been maybe 6 or 7 years old.
Our maid then wasnt the most meticulous when it came to washing up, so there was always some dried cooked idli plugging the teensy holes in the idli plates. It used to be my particular pleasure to poke the dry bits out of the tiny holes with a pin. I used to get terribly disappointed if I knew that my mother was doing the washing-up... because I knew there wouldnt be a single hole to unplug, as it were! :)
Anyway, this post is about a utensil I'm pretty sure every single South Indian kitchen would have - the idli mould. Grease the depressions in the idli thattu (plate), pour in the idli batter, stack up the plates on the "stem",
and steam the whole thing for 12-15 minutes in a pressure cooker (not using the weight, of course) - and taDAH! steaming hot idlis ready for your morning pleasure.
I remember my mother's idli mould (probably my grandmother's, actually) - the depressions had hundreds of tiny holes. If the idli plates were not washed thoroughly, the holes would retain some of the cooked idli batter. We were living in Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania, and I would have been maybe 6 or 7 years old.
Our maid then wasnt the most meticulous when it came to washing up, so there was always some dried cooked idli plugging the teensy holes in the idli plates. It used to be my particular pleasure to poke the dry bits out of the tiny holes with a pin. I used to get terribly disappointed if I knew that my mother was doing the washing-up... because I knew there wouldnt be a single hole to unplug, as it were! :)
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Banana-carrot cake bars
Arent they CUTE? :)
With such adorable mini-loaf pans, is it any surprise that I wanted to make banana bread very very extremely much? They were a gift from my brother-in-law's girlfriend and I fell in love with the little things right away. There was also a recipe for bana-carrot cake from Cooking Light that I badly wanted to try. What else could I do but bring the two together and make banana-carrot mini loaves. Or rather, 6 mini loaves and one square cake that I cut into bars. Voila! - banana-carrot cake bars!
I will confess right away, I didn't expect this cake to turn out so heavy... but considering it uses no eggs and only 1/2 cup oil for the batter, I guess I should not have been quite so surprised. However, I was more than pleased with the flavour, and I loved the texture, dense and chewy, made even more so by the chopped nuts I used. The loaves were more like flapjacks, really. Yum-MEE! We just couldnt stop eating them, believe me.
I guess this would have been a really low-calorie recipe but for the nuts... but I wouldnt have left them out for the world. Sorry, Cooking Light magazine!
Recipe for: Banana-carrot cake bars (adapted from Cooking Light magazine)
Ingredients:
Three large bananas, mashed smooth
2 generous cups grated carrot
2-1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup white, 1-1/4 cup wholewheat)
1/2 cup oil
up to 1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda and 1/4 cup brown sugar)
1/2 tsp crushed/powdered cardamom seeds
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 cup mixed chopped nuts (I used pecans, pistachios and almonds)
1/2 cup golden sultanas
1/4 tsp salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), and grease an 8" square cake pan (or about a dozen mini pans, if you have them).
2. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the flour and cut in lightly, the mix until the batter is moistened. Add a few tbsp milk if the batter is very thick.
3. Pour the batter in the greased pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake tests done.
4. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Cut into bars when cool. Store in an airtight tin.
With such adorable mini-loaf pans, is it any surprise that I wanted to make banana bread very very extremely much? They were a gift from my brother-in-law's girlfriend and I fell in love with the little things right away. There was also a recipe for bana-carrot cake from Cooking Light that I badly wanted to try. What else could I do but bring the two together and make banana-carrot mini loaves. Or rather, 6 mini loaves and one square cake that I cut into bars. Voila! - banana-carrot cake bars!
I will confess right away, I didn't expect this cake to turn out so heavy... but considering it uses no eggs and only 1/2 cup oil for the batter, I guess I should not have been quite so surprised. However, I was more than pleased with the flavour, and I loved the texture, dense and chewy, made even more so by the chopped nuts I used. The loaves were more like flapjacks, really. Yum-MEE! We just couldnt stop eating them, believe me.
I guess this would have been a really low-calorie recipe but for the nuts... but I wouldnt have left them out for the world. Sorry, Cooking Light magazine!
Recipe for: Banana-carrot cake bars (adapted from Cooking Light magazine)
Ingredients:
Three large bananas, mashed smooth
2 generous cups grated carrot
2-1/4 cups flour (I used 1 cup white, 1-1/4 cup wholewheat)
1/2 cup oil
up to 1 cup brown sugar (I used 1/2 cup Splenda and 1/4 cup brown sugar)
1/2 tsp crushed/powdered cardamom seeds
1 tbsp baking soda
1/2 cup mixed chopped nuts (I used pecans, pistachios and almonds)
1/2 cup golden sultanas
1/4 tsp salt
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F), and grease an 8" square cake pan (or about a dozen mini pans, if you have them).
2. Sift the flour, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the flour and cut in lightly, the mix until the batter is moistened. Add a few tbsp milk if the batter is very thick.
3. Pour the batter in the greased pan and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the cake tests done.
4. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto a wire rack. Cut into bars when cool. Store in an airtight tin.
Monday, November 14, 2005
Garlic-sesame molagapodi for dosa/idli
I guess there are as many recipes for molagapodi as there are people who make it... and I'm happy to try out all of them (the recipes, obviously!).
For a change, I have no objection (hallelujah!?) to coconut as one of the ingredients of molagapodi - in fact, my mother has a recipe for thengai (coconut) molagapodi that's particularly yummy. Probably handed down by my paternal grandmother, who was apparently a wonderful cook. It's just a pity that I have hardly any memories of her, much less her cooking.
Anyhoo, I like using lots of sesame seeds in my recipe, and sometimes - like this time - I throw in a dozen pods of garlic while roasting the dals. I like the garlic flavour to be right there at the forefront, fighting with the sesame seeds, but if you want a shyer, less obvious garlicky taste, use fewer pods.
Gingelly oil is favourite to mix with this molagapodi, but I'm sure ghee would work as well.
Recipe for: Garlic-sesame molagapodi for dosa/idli
Ingredients:
1 cup urad dal
1 cup gram dal (bengal gram/kadalai paruppu)
10 dry red chillies (or to taste)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
10 garlic pods, peeled and sliced
1/4 tsp asafoetida (optional)
5-6 curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Dry-roast the urad dal and gram dal in a pan over medium heat until they turn golden. Set aside to cool.
2. In the same pan, roast the sesame seeds next, till they give out a nice smell. They will pop if the heat is too high, so keep it on medium-low. Set aside to cool.
3. Finally, heat a 1/2 tsp of oil in the pan and fry the sliced garlic pods, the curry leaves and the red chillies till the chillies begin to turn a darker colour and then turn off the heat.
4. Once all the ingredients get to room temperature, grind them to a powder that is the texture of sand, add salt to taste and mix well.
5. To serve as an accompaniment for idlis or dosas, put a tsp or so of the molagapodi on a plate and mix with a tsp or two of gingelly oil or melted ghee, as per taste.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Thaval adai
Adai is the heavier protein-rich cousin of the more common dosa. I dont think adai is anywhere near as well known as dosa is in North India, because it's so much more common in the south. Keralites eat it with aviyal, a coconut-and-vegetable medley cooked with buttermilk or sour curds - an acquired taste which I confess I havent mastered yet, whether it's the making or the eating. My mother makes aviyal with a tamarind base, which I prefer - but that's not what this post is about!
To get back to adai - it's basically made with by grinding together a combination of rice and different dals - thuvar, channa & urad - and I'm sure the proportions of the dals and rice vary from household to household. The good thing is that the batter doesnt need to ferment before it can be used - although, again, some people prefer to let it ferment for a few hours before making the adai. Some people add grated or chopped coconut to the batter (my opinion on that, as always, is "Bleaaurrrgh"), and others vary it by adding chopped onions.
I remember my grandma making adai on a cast-iron flat pan - she would make the very first dosa or adai a baby-sized one, to check whether the heat was right to cook the batter and to make sure it didnt stick to the pan. That first baby one used to be my particular delight. When she made the bigger ones, she would poke four or five little holes in the batter after spreading a ladleful in the pan, into which she would pour a little oil or ghee. This was to make it cook quicker and more evenly and of course to make it crisp. I dont need to do that since my trusty non-stick tava works just fine without any extra oil added.
In my family, adai was traditionally simply served with softened pieces of jaggery. I didnt use to like that much then, but I quite like it now.
Recipe for: Thaval adai
Ingredients:
2 cups rice
3/4 cup chana dal
3/4 cup thuvar dal
1/2 cup urad dal
10 dried red chillies (fewer if you like it less hot)
Salt to taste
For the tempering:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
10 curry leaves
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed (optional - I didnt use it)
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tbsp ghee or oil
Method:
1. Soak the rice and dhals together for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Grind them with the red chillies and salt, using water as required to make a coarse thick batter.
3. Heat the ghee or oil in a small pan and fry the cumin seeds, peppercorns and curry leaves, adding the asafoetida after 30 seconds.
4. Pour into the batter and mix well.
5. To make the adai, pour a ladleful of the batter onto a heated non-stick tava or flat pan.
6. Spread it out into a circle using the back of the ladle, using a concentric motion. It can be as thick or thin as you like, but thicker adais take longer to cook.
7. You can pour a half tsp of oil around the edge of the adai while it is cooking, but this is not required if you're using a non-stick pan.
8. Cook till the adai is golden on one side, then flip it over and cook till that side acquires golden spots as well.
9. Serve hot with softened lumps of jaggery (traditional) or with coconut chutney and thick yogurt or curds. If you like, you can even have it with idly podi, like I did.
To get back to adai - it's basically made with by grinding together a combination of rice and different dals - thuvar, channa & urad - and I'm sure the proportions of the dals and rice vary from household to household. The good thing is that the batter doesnt need to ferment before it can be used - although, again, some people prefer to let it ferment for a few hours before making the adai. Some people add grated or chopped coconut to the batter (my opinion on that, as always, is "Bleaaurrrgh"), and others vary it by adding chopped onions.
I remember my grandma making adai on a cast-iron flat pan - she would make the very first dosa or adai a baby-sized one, to check whether the heat was right to cook the batter and to make sure it didnt stick to the pan. That first baby one used to be my particular delight. When she made the bigger ones, she would poke four or five little holes in the batter after spreading a ladleful in the pan, into which she would pour a little oil or ghee. This was to make it cook quicker and more evenly and of course to make it crisp. I dont need to do that since my trusty non-stick tava works just fine without any extra oil added.
In my family, adai was traditionally simply served with softened pieces of jaggery. I didnt use to like that much then, but I quite like it now.
Recipe for: Thaval adai
Ingredients:
2 cups rice
3/4 cup chana dal
3/4 cup thuvar dal
1/2 cup urad dal
10 dried red chillies (fewer if you like it less hot)
Salt to taste
For the tempering:
1 tbsp cumin seeds
10 curry leaves
1/2 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed (optional - I didnt use it)
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tbsp ghee or oil
Method:
1. Soak the rice and dhals together for 8 hours or overnight.
2. Grind them with the red chillies and salt, using water as required to make a coarse thick batter.
3. Heat the ghee or oil in a small pan and fry the cumin seeds, peppercorns and curry leaves, adding the asafoetida after 30 seconds.
4. Pour into the batter and mix well.
5. To make the adai, pour a ladleful of the batter onto a heated non-stick tava or flat pan.
6. Spread it out into a circle using the back of the ladle, using a concentric motion. It can be as thick or thin as you like, but thicker adais take longer to cook.
7. You can pour a half tsp of oil around the edge of the adai while it is cooking, but this is not required if you're using a non-stick pan.
8. Cook till the adai is golden on one side, then flip it over and cook till that side acquires golden spots as well.
9. Serve hot with softened lumps of jaggery (traditional) or with coconut chutney and thick yogurt or curds. If you like, you can even have it with idly podi, like I did.
Kara sambar with shallots and garlic
I was planning to make kara kuzhambu (a spicy-hot gravy for rice) but ended up with kara sambar using cooked thuvar dal. I must have cooked the thuvar dal with the intention of making something using it, forgot about it and decided to make kara kuzhambu instead. Then when the kuzhambu was almost ready, I (re)discovered the cooked thuvar dal. Since I didnt want to freeze it to use another day, I decided to dump it in the kara kuzhambu - and thus kara sambar came about. It made for great sambar with a somewhat different taste than when I make sambar the regular way.
I had the kara sambar with dosa and molagapodi made Indira's way, and enjoyed every last bit of it! I will probably end up making this kara sambar more often... out of choice, not by accident.
Recipe for: Kara sambar
Ingredients:
For the sambar:
1 cup cooked and mashed tuvar dal
1 cup shallots, chopped into thirds (If you dont have shallots, onions are ok to use)
1/2 cup garlic, chopped into chunks
2 cups tomatoes, chopped fine
1 tsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 4 cups water
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tst each of urad dal, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds
3-4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
4-5 curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
For the dry masala powder:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp urad dal
5-6 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
Dry-roast these without oil and grind to a fine powder. Reserve.
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard, cumin, urad dal and fenugreek seeds and the curry leaves, if using.
2. Cover the pan and let the seeds pop (about 30 seconds).
3. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and fry for a few minutes till they turn soft.
4. Then put in the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
5. Mix in the chilli powder and turmeric, then add the tamarind water and stir.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it bubble briskly for about 7 minutes, then add the dry masala powder and mix.
7. Let this simmer for five minutes before stirring in the cooked thuvar dal and salt to taste.
8. Boil for 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat. The mixture should be quite thick, but still pourable. If not, thicken it with a little cornflour and boil for another minute or so. Garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Serve over rice or as an accompaniment with dosa or idli.
I had the kara sambar with dosa and molagapodi made Indira's way, and enjoyed every last bit of it! I will probably end up making this kara sambar more often... out of choice, not by accident.
Recipe for: Kara sambar
Ingredients:
For the sambar:
1 cup cooked and mashed tuvar dal
1 cup shallots, chopped into thirds (If you dont have shallots, onions are ok to use)
1/2 cup garlic, chopped into chunks
2 cups tomatoes, chopped fine
1 tsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 4 cups water
1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tst each of urad dal, fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds
3-4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp fresh chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
4-5 curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
For the dry masala powder:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp channa dal
1 tsp urad dal
5-6 dry red chillies
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
Dry-roast these without oil and grind to a fine powder. Reserve.
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard, cumin, urad dal and fenugreek seeds and the curry leaves, if using.
2. Cover the pan and let the seeds pop (about 30 seconds).
3. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and fry for a few minutes till they turn soft.
4. Then put in the chopped tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
5. Mix in the chilli powder and turmeric, then add the tamarind water and stir.
6. Bring the mixture to a boil and let it bubble briskly for about 7 minutes, then add the dry masala powder and mix.
7. Let this simmer for five minutes before stirring in the cooked thuvar dal and salt to taste.
8. Boil for 3-4 minutes, turn off the heat. The mixture should be quite thick, but still pourable. If not, thicken it with a little cornflour and boil for another minute or so. Garnish with coriander leaves.
9. Serve over rice or as an accompaniment with dosa or idli.
Friday, November 11, 2005
Sesame-seed and jaggery poli (sweet stuffed chapatis, in other words)
I used to think that poli was a South Indian recipe, until I found out that Maharashtrians make it for Makar Sankranti (harvest festival) - which necessitated a change in my world view somewhat, because people from the four Southern Indian States consider Maharashtra and Mumbai-ites to be North Indians... whereas people from the North India consider Maharashtrians to be more South Indian than north.
It doesnt help that Marathi as a language and its script are so much closer to Hindi and its script and not in the least like Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada or Telugu. All very confusing.
But to get back to the delights of poli... I might have mentioned this before, but I like coconut in very, very few sweet dishes. Poli isnt one of them dishes. So when I came across a recipe for poli that seemed different from the norm because of the stuffing ingredients - it contained sesame seeds but very little gram/chickpea flour and not any chana dal at all (cooked chana dal stuffing is what I've had thus far) - I was pleased. I love the taste of sesame in savoury and sweet dishes, so that was another plus.
I have to say that the poli made this way didnt stay soft for long. The traditional ones I've had, with mashed cooked gram dal & jaggery filling, are meltingly soft and delicious, especially with a dollop of ghee on top. The sesame-seed poli I made were delicious too, but - have I said this before? - not soft. Still, that didnt stop me scarfing them down, so I guess it's worth putting up the recipe.
If anybody wants to know how to make them soft... they'll have to look elsewhere for the answer. And if anybody does find the answer, would they be kind enough to pass on the info to me too, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?
Recipe for: Sesame seed and jaggery poli (slightly adapted from Cuisine Cuisine)
Ingredients:
For the stuffing:
1 cup jaggery, powdered
1 htbsp gram/chickpea flour
1 tsp cooking oil
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds, powdered
For the poli:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
1 tbsp warmed oil
1/4 tsp salt
Warm water as required for making the dough
Plain flour for dusting
Ghee for shallow-frying
Method:
1. Make a soft but not sticky dough with the poli ingredients. Let it rest covered for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a little pan and roast the gram flour, stirring constantly, until the raw smell is gone (about a minute). Be careful not to burn the flour. Set aside to cool.
3. Roast the poppy seeds and sesame seeds on dry heat over medium flame till they start to turn golden. Grind these in a spice of coffee mill, together with the cardamom powder, into a fine powder. Mix with the roasted gram flour and reserve.
4. Put the powdered jaggery in a bowl, sprinkle a tsp of water, and melt in the microwave for a 45 seconds. Take it out and give it a stir. If it needs to melt a bit more - ie, if there are any dry bits - put it back in the microwave for 20 seconds. Dont overcook it by microwaving it for too long.
5. Quickly mix the sesame-poppy seed powder with the jaggery, making sure it's thoroughly mixed. Set aside to cool.
To make the poli:
6. Knead the dough well, then make small balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball).
7. Roll out two balls into palm-sized circles.
8. Sprinkle some of the filling all over one dough circle (break up any lumps with your fingers), then cover it with the other circle.
9. Dust the top with flour and gently roll out the dough circle into a slightly larger circle, so that the filling is sandwiched.
10. Then roll it out some more into a thin round.
11. Heat a tava or frying pan (keep it on medium heat) and transfer the poli to it. Cook for a few seconds on one side, turn it over and smear that side with ghee. Flip it over once again and smear the other side with ghee as well. Shallow fry until the poli begins to get golden brown spots on both sides. Serve warm.
Note: The jaggery will melt in the heat and might ooze out - in that case keep an eye on it so that it doesnt burn. A little extra direct heat gives a caramelly flavour that is very nice, but burnt jaggery is quite awful to smell and taste.
It doesnt help that Marathi as a language and its script are so much closer to Hindi and its script and not in the least like Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada or Telugu. All very confusing.
But to get back to the delights of poli... I might have mentioned this before, but I like coconut in very, very few sweet dishes. Poli isnt one of them dishes. So when I came across a recipe for poli that seemed different from the norm because of the stuffing ingredients - it contained sesame seeds but very little gram/chickpea flour and not any chana dal at all (cooked chana dal stuffing is what I've had thus far) - I was pleased. I love the taste of sesame in savoury and sweet dishes, so that was another plus.
I have to say that the poli made this way didnt stay soft for long. The traditional ones I've had, with mashed cooked gram dal & jaggery filling, are meltingly soft and delicious, especially with a dollop of ghee on top. The sesame-seed poli I made were delicious too, but - have I said this before? - not soft. Still, that didnt stop me scarfing them down, so I guess it's worth putting up the recipe.
If anybody wants to know how to make them soft... they'll have to look elsewhere for the answer. And if anybody does find the answer, would they be kind enough to pass on the info to me too, pleeeeeeeeeeeeease?
Recipe for: Sesame seed and jaggery poli (slightly adapted from Cuisine Cuisine)
Ingredients:
For the stuffing:
1 cup jaggery, powdered
1 htbsp gram/chickpea flour
1 tsp cooking oil
1 tbsp poppy seeds
2 tbsp white sesame seeds
1/4 tsp cardamom seeds, powdered
For the poli:
2 cups plain flour
1 cup wholewheat flour
1 tbsp warmed oil
1/4 tsp salt
Warm water as required for making the dough
Plain flour for dusting
Ghee for shallow-frying
Method:
1. Make a soft but not sticky dough with the poli ingredients. Let it rest covered for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil in a little pan and roast the gram flour, stirring constantly, until the raw smell is gone (about a minute). Be careful not to burn the flour. Set aside to cool.
3. Roast the poppy seeds and sesame seeds on dry heat over medium flame till they start to turn golden. Grind these in a spice of coffee mill, together with the cardamom powder, into a fine powder. Mix with the roasted gram flour and reserve.
4. Put the powdered jaggery in a bowl, sprinkle a tsp of water, and melt in the microwave for a 45 seconds. Take it out and give it a stir. If it needs to melt a bit more - ie, if there are any dry bits - put it back in the microwave for 20 seconds. Dont overcook it by microwaving it for too long.
5. Quickly mix the sesame-poppy seed powder with the jaggery, making sure it's thoroughly mixed. Set aside to cool.
To make the poli:
6. Knead the dough well, then make small balls (slightly smaller than a golf ball).
7. Roll out two balls into palm-sized circles.
8. Sprinkle some of the filling all over one dough circle (break up any lumps with your fingers), then cover it with the other circle.
9. Dust the top with flour and gently roll out the dough circle into a slightly larger circle, so that the filling is sandwiched.
10. Then roll it out some more into a thin round.
11. Heat a tava or frying pan (keep it on medium heat) and transfer the poli to it. Cook for a few seconds on one side, turn it over and smear that side with ghee. Flip it over once again and smear the other side with ghee as well. Shallow fry until the poli begins to get golden brown spots on both sides. Serve warm.
Note: The jaggery will melt in the heat and might ooze out - in that case keep an eye on it so that it doesnt burn. A little extra direct heat gives a caramelly flavour that is very nice, but burnt jaggery is quite awful to smell and taste.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Oven-roasted brussels sprouts
Okay, they're not everybody's favourite vegetable... in fact, Pete has the same reaction to them that I have to aubergines (it goes something like "bleaurrrgh") but I've always liked these miniature cabbagey balls. I used to make sambar with them in India, and I've had 'em boiled here, sprinkled with salt and pepper and tossed in a little butter. Nice, for sprouts fans.
But then I came across a recipe for oven-roasted sprouts in one of my favourite blogs Words to Eat By and decided to give that a go.
Of course, I couldnt just leave it at adding just salt and pepper - I like more zing. So I made up a spicy mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, some red chilli powder and coriander seed powder and a little mustard and whisked it all together. Tossed my halved sprouts in the mix and set it in the oven at 180C for about 30 minutes.
Well, it should have been 30 minutes, but as often happens, I got caught up in something else and nearly burnt the layers off my sprouts. Luckily they were only slightly burnt and I liked the extra outer crispiness anyway. The insides were soft - a lovely contrast. I dont really know how soft the inner portion of the sprouts should be when they are perfectly done - perhaps they shouldnt be as soft as mine got. I'll keep a closer eye on my sprouts next time. Excuse me while I go and pig out on my spicy roasted brussels sprouts... it's dinner time!
Recipe for: Oven-roasted brussels sprouts
Ingredients:
1/2 kg brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half if too large
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground black peppercorns
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, finely powdered
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
2. Whisk the oil and the various powders until well amalgamated.
3. Toss the sprouts in the seasoned oil.
4. Place on greaseproof paper on a shallow baking tray, in a single layer.
5. Roast the brussels sprouts for 30 minutes or so, or till the outer layer is brown and crisp.
6. Serve hot. Yum!
But then I came across a recipe for oven-roasted sprouts in one of my favourite blogs Words to Eat By and decided to give that a go.
Of course, I couldnt just leave it at adding just salt and pepper - I like more zing. So I made up a spicy mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, some red chilli powder and coriander seed powder and a little mustard and whisked it all together. Tossed my halved sprouts in the mix and set it in the oven at 180C for about 30 minutes.
Well, it should have been 30 minutes, but as often happens, I got caught up in something else and nearly burnt the layers off my sprouts. Luckily they were only slightly burnt and I liked the extra outer crispiness anyway. The insides were soft - a lovely contrast. I dont really know how soft the inner portion of the sprouts should be when they are perfectly done - perhaps they shouldnt be as soft as mine got. I'll keep a closer eye on my sprouts next time. Excuse me while I go and pig out on my spicy roasted brussels sprouts... it's dinner time!
Recipe for: Oven-roasted brussels sprouts
Ingredients:
1/2 kg brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half if too large
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground black peppercorns
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, finely powdered
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).
2. Whisk the oil and the various powders until well amalgamated.
3. Toss the sprouts in the seasoned oil.
4. Place on greaseproof paper on a shallow baking tray, in a single layer.
5. Roast the brussels sprouts for 30 minutes or so, or till the outer layer is brown and crisp.
6. Serve hot. Yum!
Sunday, November 06, 2005
Yogurt cake with almonds and sultanas
A simple cake, very easy to make, with a delicate flavour, reasonably low-fat (I dont know how to calculate nutrition values, though) because I used Splenda instead of sugar and very low-fat Greek yogurt - what more is there to say? Oh yeah, that it's rather nice with a cup of coffee, as testified by Pete.
Recipe for: Yogurt cake with almonds and sultanas
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup low-fat yogurt
1 cup white sugar (I used Splenda)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste, for an even more authentic flavour)
1/4 cup almonds, chopped and lightly toasted
1/4 cup golden sultanas
1 tsp rum extract (or essence)
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (350 F). Line the bottom of a round or square 9" cake pan with silicone paper, and grease the sides.
2. In a big bowl, combine the yogurt, eggs, Splenda/sugar and flour.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and fold lightly till it's all well-mixed.
4. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or so, or till a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
Recipe for: Yogurt cake with almonds and sultanas
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 cup low-fat yogurt
1 cup white sugar (I used Splenda)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract (or paste, for an even more authentic flavour)
1/4 cup almonds, chopped and lightly toasted
1/4 cup golden sultanas
1 tsp rum extract (or essence)
Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (350 F). Line the bottom of a round or square 9" cake pan with silicone paper, and grease the sides.
2. In a big bowl, combine the yogurt, eggs, Splenda/sugar and flour.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients and fold lightly till it's all well-mixed.
4. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or so, or till a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5. Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and let cool completely before cutting.
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