Don't dessert me please...

Oops!! What's wrong with me. I think of the sweet course in a meal even when I'm not writing about food. That's the true and serious foodie in me. This plea is actually meant for my readers. Read it again with one less "s" in the dessert. Hey but I know you won't not so soon...

Forgive me. I've been enjoying life full throttle and have been away from this blog a while. But hope you are following me on Swachchanda.

Many things have happened. I just move ahead and carry on my business with a happy heart and want to share that with you.

The Boss brings on a surprise!

I've been wanting a change in my portfolio. Have been asking for something that I love to do both at work and in personal life. Just wanted to extend my passion for social media at work too. But Boss thinks differently. He comes up with a super plan, "I think you should take up all the CXO offices as a single portfolio and be a consultant to them, I need a mature person to handle that portfolio." I don't actually think it to be a super idea at that moment. Dumb me!! Until everyone jumps on me and says "Take it" It is just the thing for you!!! Those echoes of friends and well wishers are still echoing in my ears. Yours truly gives in. Now the the steam engine is ready to whistle....COOOOOK....Chugh...chugh...pheww....

Fashion statement out of place.

On a sunny day I had some personal work and post lunch with a dear one was supposed to be going in to work just to host a team meeting. That too out of turn, I was filling in for a colleague. His new born was unwell. I stepped out of the car and walked straight into the office building, fumbling at my neckline to switch my eye gear from Glares to Specs. When I realized I had left my specs in the car. The car was sent off to drop a dear one to her home and it would return in an hours time. I walked straight into the conference room , the room was almost full. Me wearing my glares with great panache. Most people wondering if I had an eye infection or worse! Except my boss who thought I was making a style statement!! But he still asked if they had power! Pun intended it weren't!! Well I sat there and conducted half the meeting over 2 hrs before I got back my specs AND I survived to write this here!

Drowning in work

Something I love to do. New things challenge me. New people excite me. Will be working for a completely different profile of people and that too from diverse teams in the type of work they do. Will I be able to help them share what they learn at work? I'll come back and tell you about it a year down the line.

I need your positive vibes, send me luck!

What a pose Chimi!

 

Bread Rolls

A mean person said it looks like Chimi's excreta!

But an immediate bite into one and the entire plateful disappeared in a jiffy. That's how much fried snacks are loved. Most times I've seen these bread rolls get made when dinner is of just soup or a sole khichdi. At times these use to be served to the odd guest who dropped by. There are no proportions as what you use to make them are all adorable ingredients and pantry staples. It turns out well anyways.

Do it my way if you want to follow a recipe.

Ingredients

4 boiled potatoes
4 slices of sandwich bread
1/4 cup green peas
1 onion chopped fine
1 teaspoon chat masala
1 green chili chopped fine
1 handful chopped cilantro
salt to taste

In a big bowl put all the ingredients and salt. Mash potatoes and bread to unite them. Knead into a ball. Pinch of  small balls and make oblong shapes. Shape all of them. Makes abot 8 rolls. Deep fry in medium hot oil till crisp and golden. Serve with green chutney or tomato sauce.

This is yet another favorite of the potato lovers.

Kakdichi Koshimbir

In the days of yore when a full meal was a daily affair. The balanced Marathi Taat always had a spoonful of salad, ofcourse I'm talking abut the Koshimbir. This version in made with cucumber which we call Kakdi in Marathi.

As far as I remember to make a delicate Koshimbir one always peeled the skins. We would use the white / light green skinned cucumber for our daily dose of Koshimbir. If we did get the dark green skinned one which we called gavathi or country cucumber, we kept the skin on.

There is a science for preparing the cucumber for use in cooking. Before even peeling we'd wash it cut the two ends and chip of the ends and taste. If it was not bitter then it was meant for consumption. Then we took the cut off ends and rubbed the cucumber ends to get rid of any excess latex. We did not want it forming little lumps in the dish or to find coating our tongue. Our family had a way of finding out if we didn't do this little task. At the first morsel itself, they'd asked "Who cut/ grated the cucumber?"

Most times the assignment of cutting or grating cucumber was given to a kid or a husband who was plonked in front of the TV. Koshimbir got made just before serving the meal so it was a lady's way of telling the husband she had enough with the cooking and now he better help instead of just watching TV. This was especially true in the evenings.

The other ingredient is the danya cha koot which is stocked in a jar. It is the groundnut powder made after roasting and deskinning. This danya cha koot is use to make the Koshimbir khamang or as a thickner for curries.

So here is one more variety of Koshimbir from the pantry staples.

Ingredients

1 cucumber

1 cup curd 

1 tablespoon groundnut powder

salt to taste

sugar to taste

Wash peel or keep the peel of cucumber as you wish. Grate or chop fine as per your style. Put it in a large bowl.  Mix in curd, groundnut powder, salt and sugar.

Serve as accompaniment with any type of paratha or enjoy a bowlful as it is. To go all traditional make it with all your full meals on weekends and festivals.

Posting this for all the bachelor boys who love koshimbir but never ever tried making it. Make it your self and eat as much as you want. Moms no more say "Koshimbir thodi khavi, tondi lavana aahe te". See the change the humble Marathi salad has evolved from being an item for changing the taste to an item of importance in a meal and can be eaten a lot.

Koki, A Sindhi Roti

When Dad returns home from any kind of travel I make sure he gets a welcome so warm, foodwise  especially. Then for the next 2 days he keeps telling me to go slow on on food. My Dad loves good food, though a light eater he certainly is a gourmet of Indian food. So simple Koki with Koshimbir.

Koki is a roti made interesting with the addition of onions, coriander and green chilies. Having gone to  a Sindhi college for a couple of years in the lanes of Churchgate and also lived is Colaba which have a noticeable Sindhi populations. Then in Chembur Koki was offered to us by Sindhi friends from the Camp. That is the most stretched imagination of finding a connection to make this dish. I think Mumbai's medley populace makes one so rich in heritage of a mixed kind if not that then atleast a remote influence for the better.

Koki with Koshimbir. Is Sindhi meets Marathi combo, as it is a simpleton cousin of our thalipith. Traditionally Koki is eaten with papad however I turned it to a beat the heat lunch on saturday. We had beautiful weather for just one day in Blr and then the last two days were sweltering hot. You cannot enjoy food unless its cool and lite so Koki with Koshimbir was my choice.

Read here about the place of Koki in Sindhi culture in the educative post.

Ingredients

2 cups wheat flour
1 cup fine chopped onions
2 green chilies
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
cumin seeds
2 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon ghee
salt to taste

Knead all the ingredients together into a tight ball with water. Tight because you want crisp rotis and less water as onions will release water when kneading. Rest it for 10 mins.

Roll out chapatis about 1/4 inch thick and shallow fry with ghee. Make them crisp or make them semi crisp. We like it either ways. I served with Kakdi Koshimbir, alot of it.

We loved crumbling the Koki in the generous amounts of Koshimbir for this lite lunch.

Kicking off the Mango season with Sindhura!!

 

At our home the Mango season has started with the Sindhura. The deep red and green skin with  succulent pulpy insides. For a person from Hapoos region red and green means raw but that must not be applied to all the mangoes. Sindhura grows majorly in South India. They hit the market quite early.

This mango is so inviting and fresh that it has in our culture influenced brides to wear the red and green bangles to indicate that they are on the threshold of a new life and kicking with energy.

Soiled and stained clothes though picture perfect are not welcome. We plan to invest in cloth napkins that will be tucked at the neck and washed for reuse as  this is just the beginning of the bright sensational season. Bring on the king of fruits~~

Gifts From Home

Dad is back from Mumbai and and here are the little gifts from home. 

Three types of Store bought poLis (L to R): Tel poLi, Gul poLi and Puran poLi. 

Bakarwadi made by my SIL, Sapna. They were tasty but soft. Next time I want to taste the deep fried ones. Shallow fry does not work well for bakarwadis.

Artificial flowers for me.You don't see the Tobleron here coz its devoured 

and

I got a new set of earware too :), I can't show that here!

Chimi got a high visibility jacket and a lead with a collar from Hrushi. You see her here busy chewing the bone on the lead. She was tryin to pull off the jacket. It will take getting used to. Thank you Mama say's Chimi for being thoughtful!

It will be family vacation time soon. Plans set for exploring Mandya! 

Keep watching for the vacation updates on Swachchanda...