Khari Puri

Khari Puri or Farsi puri is a snack from my childhood that features topmost in my favourites. I have Rajput kaki to thank it for. She was an amazing cook and even though we lived in the business district of Mumbai between late 70s to late 80s she cooked some food on the sigdi. That added a beautiful fragrance to her food. Thalis laden with wonderful dhoklas, khari puri, shrikhand puri, raswala bateta etc appeared on festivals from her kitchen. I knew exactly what her menu would be for each festival. It was mostly during Diwali times that we kids helped to make snacks. Together with Preety we were give the task of slashing the puris with a knife. We weren't too good with rolling out puris. That would be done by Induben and Ji aaji. Slashing the puris was fun and a task we enjoyed. Today I was feeling low. So to snap out of it I decided I need to do something therapeutic. Khari Puri project at 9 am is a good thing. I also started recording videos for Talkative Anjali but I made the mistake of pouring in the water all together. Then I had to fix it by added more flour. The consistency of the dough is key to the success. So here is the recipe after a successful project.

Ingredients

2 cups maida 

1/4 cup Rava prefer fine

4 tablespoons ghee

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 tablespoons whole peppercorn

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

In a big bowl measure out the maida and rava. Fine rava works better as it will soak up water nicely. Add cumin, salt and ghee. Massage the ghee into the flour to get a crumbly texture. Use both hands to get the ghee into the flour. 

Next take a cup of water. Using little at a time keep kneading the dough. It has to be a flaky tight dough which is required to make the puris crisp and give it shelf life. Cover the bowl with a lid and let it rest for 20 mins. 

Go back and check the dough. The rava would have bloomed with water and the dough should feel supple. Knead it to homogenise the rava and maida. Divide this smooth dough into three parts. Make cylinders of 12 inch length. Cut small pieces of dough roundels. Roll out each roundel into a Puri. The Puri should be nicely thin so when you fry it will turn crisp and stay crisp on storage. You should not need any flour or oil to roll out the puris. That is the sign of perfectly kneaded dough. After rolling out the puris lift it up from the polpat or the counter on which you are rolling it so that it does not stick to the rolling surface. Then place the whole peppercorns on the puri, spacing out properly. Smash the peppercorns with a pestle into the Puri. Now lift the Puri and move it to a weaner or a plate so that you can make a few puris before you start frying. I fried 4 puris in a batch. So that the oil is not crowded. I used s medium-sized cast iron kadhai for frying. You decide how many puris you can accommodate in your kadhai based on this.

Heat oil in the kadhai keep gas on medium. Put 4 puris at a time and reduce heat to sim. Make sure the heat is even and enough for frying. Allow the puris to fry on one side till a beautiful golden and then turn over. The timing for frying is the time required for you to roll out the puris and smash the pepper into it. Do not roll out all puris together else they dry out before frying. After both the sides are golden drain using a slotted spoon and remove into a colander lined with absorbent napkin. I have stopped using paper napkins as an environmental responsibility. I use cloth napkins and wash and reuse them. 

In such a way fry all the puris and use up the dough. It took me 2hrs for this Khari Puri project from start to finish. However all the effort was rewarding in the end when I tasted the Khari Puri. It was so good just like Kaki's. Plus after all the sweet stuf I made and we ate this was just the thing we needed. 

Some of you have requested this recipe so posting it in a rush. I will create the video when I make the next batch. Until then make and fry fearlessly. Enjoy!

Dudhi na Muthia

How have you been folks? Hope you are enjoying the good side of this lockdown and resting up. I am enjoying it every bit a much needed break first time in my adult life where I need not worry about anything.

It is such an unprecedented time. I was planning to log regularly during the last month but I did not want to be clocking hours. This opportunity is not going to come often. I will make a separate post on how we dealt with the past month and also show you a collage of our meals. However this post is about how we grabbed our least favourite vegetable and tried to create new recipes out of it.

If you haven't been following me on YouTube go check it out. It's still very raw because I am shooting with one hand while I am cooking. Right now even editing videos is not easy for me as I laptop battery needs replacement, it completely dead. The other laptop has driver issues and does not connect to WiFi. No choice but to wait until I can step out to fix it.

Inspite of it thanks to the phone here I am posting on the blog, social media and YouTube. Hope you try out some recipes while staying at home. Stay safe, stay strong!

Ingredients

500gms Dudhi or bottle gourd
2 cups atta
2 tablespoons besan
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1 tablespoon green chili paste
1 tablespoon ginger paste
Salt and sugar to taste.
Juice of 1/2 lime
Handful of chopped cilantro

1/4 cup Oil

For tadka
1 tablespoons of black til or whole sesame.
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
Handful of curry leaves if you have.

Peel and grate the Dudhi or bottle gourd. To the grated Dudhi add all the ingredients except oil. Knead well. Add 2 teaspoons oil and knead into the dough. Coat the dough lightly with oil.

Let the dough rest for 10 mins. After the dough becomes smooth pinch of small parts of dough with oiled hands shape into rolls. Place them on an oiled steel sieve or jaali lid. Meanwhile in the pressure cooker or steamer heat water to get steam build up. Once you have enough steam and have finished rolling the dough. Put the sieve inside the steaming set up. If using a pressure cooker put one pan and put the sieve over it. Steam for 20 mins. Cool completely. Once cooled slice into bit sized muthia.

Now prepare for tadka. Heat remaining oil in a kadhai, use more if you like. Splutter mustard seeds and sesame seeds. I like using whole sesame seeds which are black as they are more nutritious than polished white. Add curry leaves if you have. Add the spiced muthia into the kadhai. Stir fry till they get golden crisp edges. Serve warm. They taste delicious as is. If you insist on a dip then make mint cilantro chutney to go along.

I did not use all the muthia for one time as we are a family of two right now. I divided the muthia into three parts.

1. Served as dinner with potato airfries and tomato soup.
2. I made Muthia and Methi pulav.
3. Rasila Muthia a wonderful curry with muthia, potatoes and coconut masala.

Both 2 and 3 are on Talkative Anjali. Go watch.

Bhutte Ka Kees Ya Phir Pees

Hello friends, readers and the world!

Blogging is lagging behind now while I am busy with lots in life. Will tell you about those things as we go further but first I must tell you how this lovely find brought me back to the blog.

Well few days ago we were at the Matunga market and I spotted this corn basket. I was anyways going to buy it since it is end of monsoon and the corn may disappear soon, least expending this pearly white Indian corn!

Like most other things our Indian markets are flush with American yellow corn and its become a rarity to find our indigenous variety, oh the great joy! They aren't that expensive though I bought 4 heads for Rs.50. My husband who has the least interest in ingredients wondered aloud what I would do with so many. Immediately then and there the division of bounty was done. One for him, boiled corn pearls and the rest for me for Kees, pithla and any other new thing I wanted to try. 

On reaching home I discovered that there was only one tender cob, the others had a slight bite. So the tender one was boiled and given to the husband.

Then one I grated and added to a pithla. Another one I chose to make kees but it would become gritty if I grated it I presumed. So instead I did a pees or ground it. Hence the title Bhutte ka kees ya phir pees!

Those who know Bhutte ka kees or grated corn, is a delicacy popular in Indore. This Indian corn works perfectly for this kees as it is not as sweet as the American corn. So my husband was complaining about it being a little less sweet when boiled.

I know you are already drooling at the platter of Bhutte kas kees so here is the recipe. I must thank my friend Soumitra who requested it else this blog would have found me procrastinating.

Ingredients

1 corn, kernels separated
1 big pinch turmeric
1 big pinch red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
a squeeze of lime
1 green chili chopped fine
1 tablespoon oil
a big pinch cumin seeds
a big pinch mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
handful of fresh grated coconut
handful of cilantro chopped fine

Optional
a handful of fine sev

First grind together corn, chili powder, turmeric powder, sugar, salt along with lime juice to a coarse slurry.

Then in a hot pan add oil. Crackle the mustard, cumin and green chili. Add the asafoetida and stir quickly so that it does not form a lump and quickly add the above ground corn slurry. Keep stirring till the slurry starts leaving the sides of the pan. take it off the gas and keep stirring to cook it in the residual heat. This is as tricky as making Parsi Akuri, you have to ensure that its cooked but not to let it clump up. A good kees or as in my case pees is creamy or just about set.

This recipe is for a single person but you can just double or triple it up according to the no. of people you need to serve. One corn is quite satisfying for one person or for a lady, a guy may want more.

Remove the pees oh the kees into a nice bowl and sprinkle fresh grated coconut and chopped cilantro over it. Add the sev if you like some crunch. I added once and ate it without it once. Go dig in while its still warm. Its delicious and you will want to make it soon in quick succession.

This corn platter actually visually depicts the difference in American and Indian corn. At the tip are the pearly white Indian corn kernels placed inside and the yellow American corn is the porcelain platter design.

A Protein Rich Golden Toast

When a new student of Hotel Management asks you for an innovative recipe, you just jump at it. So here you go Gautami a step by step recipe just for you.

Ingredients

1 cup soaked and ground chana Dal or moong dal

1 medium onion diced fine.

2-3 green chilies chopped fine

1/4 cup corn kernels

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

salt to taste

4 slices of bread or two brun paos like I used.

1/2 tablespoons oil

First mix in a medium bowl the soaked and ground chana Dal or moong dal with finely diced onions, fine chopped green chilies, chopped cilantro, corn kernels and salt.

Apply it on the slices or cut side of the brun.

Put them on a seasoned non stick pan facedown and shallow fry with little oil till golden.

Turn over and toast up the other side of the bread like this.










Remove on a plate and serve with ketchup.

  Then don't wait, just take a bite into a warm wonderfully savoury  Protein Rich Golden Toast ! 

These are so filling that after 2 each of those we skipped lunch !

Mirchi Poppers

May was so much fun, a wedding, Maharshtrian Mejwani event, a hotel review, an engagement and finally it ended with Chinmaya Naada Bindu. It was a blissful experience at Chinmaya Naada Bindu. This year the performances of Begum Parween Sultana, Shivkumar Sharma, Malini Rajurkar, Abhishek Raghuram, Jayanthi Kumaresh and Vidha and Abhimanyu Lal's kathak touched us, we left Kolwan promising to go back again next year.

After such a high, June is passing away in a dull. Is it just me or the heat, can't say. I made these Mirchi popper just to bring in some excitement to a simple meal.

The stuffing is simple yet flavourful not all the way like a stuffed vegetable dish in a regular meal. These mirchi poppers are quite the snacky type and can be enjoyed on their own too may be as starters?

Ingredients

8-10 green mild big chilies

1 cup grated fresh coconut

1/2 cup fine chopped cilantro

2 medium onions chopped fine

salt and sugar to taste

Oil to brush on

In a bowl add together the fresh grated coconut, cilantro, salt and sugar and crush with hand the chopped onion in and mix. Keep aside.

Meanwhile wash and clean the chilies, slit them and remove the seeds to reduce the heat. Sometimes the seeds near the calyx can be really hot.

Stuff the split chilies with the mix and line them in a baking dish. Brush oil on the chilies and bake them for 30 mins at 250 deg celcius or till they are golden tinged. 

The chilies are still crunchy and juicy with the coconut and onion mix at 30 mins baking. The way we like it here. If you like totally wilted ones then bake further for 15 mins.

Serve as a side with rice and curry or as a starter on a crusty bread.

Banana Cashew Bread, Honey Peanut Butter and Pear Sandwich

Ha ha! Such a long name for the sandwich. It does sound like a call out for Emperor Akbar! Jokes apart this is a sandwich we loved and so here to share.

Some time ago I made a Cashew version of my Banana bread, its a large loaf for a family of two. So after enjoying warm slices of a fresh baked banana bread on it's own, I wrapped the loaf and stored it in the fridge for later.

Then after few days on a chill evening we wanted to indulge in a high tea. So I made fresh Honey Peanut butter and sliced some pears to sandwich between the lovely bread. What came together was a gourmet sandwich and thought you guys might like it.

So here is the recipe and a half that it is, yeah its simple assembly but a brilliant combo. 

Method

Slice the banana bread thick. 

Toast it on both sides. 

Spread a generous amount of Honey peanut butter on one slice.

Wash and slice pears. Remove core and stem.

Layer the pear slices on the peanut buttered slice.

Cover with the second toasted slice of banana bread.

Enjoy along with a mug of warm milk or your choice of a steaming hot drink!

This picture was clicked for 365project. 

Yes I jumped onto the wagon. So many things keeping me busy and how I am loving this life! Go check out my project. Do leave comments I'd like to hear what you have to say.

Daar Paanache Bhajji

My Paternal Grandma was a petite and beautiful woman. As much as she was known to be a beauty she was known to be kanjoos or stingy by her kids. Even today Dad and Uncles narrate how she shallow fried fish in the tiniest bit of oil and while doing that she would make the entire household cough up. So her kids loved to call this style of cooking 'Tal-bhuz' which translates to half frying and half roasting and they did coin that word!

The same children reminiscence over Shravani Somvar of their childhood when Grandma would have head bath and go to our Family God's house pray and then go to the bazaar to choose the best bunch of 'Daar bhaaji'. 

The afternoon would be spent cleaning it carefully, most of it would be chopped fine to make a stir fry with either green or red chilies and some leaves would be kept away. All the children starving by then would get excited. They knew their mother was generous on Shravani Somvars. Grandpa and her children nodded in approval and winked at each other for they knew what she would make.

Such simple pleasures but deep frying was not so common at home in those days atleast not in our home. When I look back I realise how conscious my Grandma was about what she fed to her kids and when.

So on Shravan Somvars when the sun is going down, Piri (flat seating platforms) which are also called Paat in Marathi, Piri is plural for Pira in Koli; would be laid out in two rows with some space for movement between the two rows. She would then place one by one a Dinda leaf in front of each Pira. After serving all the food perfectly in order the way it should be on the leaf with the chutney on top, veggies on the right, rice in the middle and chapati or Ghari on the left. She would then call out to the husband and children to wash their hands and seat themselves. They would obey immediately and then she would rush to the kitchen as they chanted the prayers to rustle up the star of the menu, to fry up the Paanache bhajji! 

The Daar bhaaji or Lal MaaTh leaf bhajji turned out crisp and were served to the groaning stomachs in the Pangat (a way of seating in a line at lunch or dinner just like sitting at a dinning table,  it's a formal affair).

Grandma always kept the bhajji batter ready, the leaves washed and cleaned and drained well to serve hot crisp bhajji and then she would announce. 'Suru kara!' her kids always took that as a command 'Attack'. 

My Shravan series cannot be complete without a post on this Paanache bhajji. It's a simple recipe but you have to be a skilled cook to know how to turn them out best. The batter coating has to be gossamer yet the leaf should be fried to crackling crunchiness. The veins of the leaf forming a pattern on the batter. This recipe and skill is handed down by my Grandma to all her DILs and from them to us grandchildren. I made them after years and as I did a few I was wondering why they did not look like my Grandma's, of course then I thinned the batter a bit and the third bhajji onwards I had a perfectly crackling leaf bhajji. 

As far as I can remember this is the only recipe by my Gradma that is treasured in the family more for the lovely memories than anything else. Also Shravan as it is the monsoons was the only time she would get time to cook elaborately for her family as it meant four months of break for the fishing season. The kitchen was completely her domain then when all domestic help was on leave. My Grandma, Yesubai, was a Nakhwin, co-owner of a fishing business and had to run a household of family plus 25 to 30 employees plus more on the fish drying fields. She personally made Chavalachi roti for the staff and family every morning with the help of one of our Khapnarin (see how evolved that word is, not servant but someone who does hard work!) She never had the luxury to make goodies except for the basic meals. Plus even the staff was better skilled for fishing related activities so all the goodies were made by the village goldsmith's wife. Yes Kolis were a tribe and yet so evolved, our women were working and heading businesses since generations. A Koli woman was expected to know only the basic cooking to run a home and the rest was always delegated.

So finally here is the recipe of the Daar Paanache Bhajji

Ingredients 
10 Daar bhaaji leaves
1/2 cup besan/ chickpea flour
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon rice flour
1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder
1/4 teaspoon carom seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
Enough water to thin the batter.
Oil to fry

First wash clean and drain the leaves. Dab them with a towel to remove all moisture.

Now make batter with besan, red chili powder, turmeric, salt, rice flour and carom seeds. Make it to a consistency that coats the leaf evenly yet is thin enough to let the leaf see thru. It should be gossamer is what I mean. Thick coats leave the leaf soggy inside. The only way to get a crunchy crisp  leaf is to coat it perfectly which lets it fry well thru and thru.

Deep fry in smoking hot oil till crunchy crisp.

Take a bite when it's fresh and hot. Serve instantly as a start to a meal or with your evening Chaha. Enjoy the rare indulgence of the deep fried, that's what my Grandma would have surely said but for her children this bhajji is about Shravani Somvar and never demand it any other time.

Tricolored Chili Paneer

In a vegetarian family serving starters always means making fried stuff or sandwiches, most times. Chili Paneer is a favorite and how much that my nieces and nephews choose it over chocolate cake. The last time we had a function is our home I was serving this tricolored Chili paneer to my uncle MJ, the kids saw it. It was not yet their dinner time and they were playing video games, on spotting it they immediately dumped their play and instead demanded that I serve them the chili paneer. I offered chocolate cake but they chose this lovely colorful chili paneer!

So here is the recipe

Ingredients

1 block of paneer about 400gms
2 tablespoons corn flour
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
2 tablespoon chopped garlic
2-3 onions chopped into squares
3-4 spring onions chopped fine
1/2 cup baby corn sliced
slit green chilies (as much as you can handle)
2 tablespoon oil
salt to taste
sugar to taste

Keep a pot of boiling hot water ready to dunk paneer after frying to make it super soft.

To begin lets fry the paneer first. Make a thin batter of corn flour water and salt. It should coat the paneer chunks thinly. Cube the paneer to finger sized pieces. Dip each piece in the batter and fry in hot oil. Remove once golden and dunk in the hot water. Once all the paneer pieces are fried and dunked in hot water to soften. Drain them on a sieve. Separate out each piece if they are sticking together.

Heat oil in a wok. First fry the garlic then add the chopped onions and fry till translucent. Chop all the three colored bell peppers into long fingers. Add them to the saute. Cook for 5 mins. Add the white parts of the spring onions and cook for another 5 mins. Follow in with the slit green chilies and baby corn slices. Add the soya sauce, lastly add the paneer and stir well and fast on high heat just to caramelize a bit. Salt it and add sugar as per taste.

Remove from heat and serve immediately with sprinkles of the spring onion greens.

Grilled Herbed Baby Potatoes

Potato is such a versatile tuber and this is just one way of cooking it to our liking. India is the second largest producer of potatoes at 36 million metric tonnes. No wonder we have too much potatoes in our recipes, whether it is the batata vada, samosa, pattice or everyday bhaajis which get support and mass from the addition of potatoes to it and as if we have not had enough of potato everyday there is even a potato biryani and potato halwa that people make. This is no recipe but just a trick and do it as you like it.

Some time ago I was at Inorbit and picked up a bag of tiny potatoes. I brought them home and boiled them, while they were still warm I popped one in the mouth. It was not starchy but delicately smooth. I decided that evening we had to be snacking on Grilled Herbed Baby Potatoes.

So in a bowl tossed the de-skinned baby potatoes with generous amounts of olive oil, some pasta spice from a bottle, generous amounts of chili powder. Put it under the grill for 30-45 mins till nicely crisp.

I am putting it up here mainly because I adore these clicks and in a hoard of recipes that I use I forget simple tricks that are satisfying on dreary days.

I have been enjoying the various celebrations in the family and spending lots of time with the kids yet it's not too late to wish you all I guess.

Happy new year to each one of you!

Cheese Potato Balls

This birthday falls in the monsoon and what is a Mumbai monsoon without some fried goodies. In the morning before I left for work I had pressure cooked potatoes and left the cooker as is, knowing that it will stay good till I open the lid.

Once I was back from work the first thing I worked on in the Cheese potato balls. They got rolled and put into the fridge for setting, while I was busy with other things.

These Cheese Potato balls are a crowd pleasure and are gone just as they are out of the wok. It is fun to watch the animated eating, some delicately breaking into two, dipping in the sauces and taking a nip. Another greedily popping it in the mouth not realizing how hot it is and then gasping for air to cool the burnt mouth as he fans it with his hand. Another taking a small bite and looking into it curiously searching for an answer why such simple treats are loved by so many and trying to decode the ingredients. I loved feeding them and you will love making these for yours too. So here you go...

Ingredients

6 Potatoes
50 gms Cheddar cheese shredded
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt as per taste
2 teaspoon Pav bhaaji masala
1 medium onion chopped fine

For the cover
1/4 cup all purpose flour
salt as per taste
1 cups bread crumbs

Oil for frying.

In a large bowl mash together all the ingredients. Roll them into small balls and place on a tray. Keep the tray in the fridge to set for at least 30 mins.

Prepare the batter of all purpose flour and water. It should be slightly thinner than bhajji batter.

Spread out bread crumbs in a plate.

Remove the balls from the fridge just before frying. Dip them in the batter and then roll them in the bread crumbs. 

Heat oil, keep the flame on high. This will fry the balls quickly and to crispness without absorbing too much oil. Drain them on absorbent paper.

Serve piping hot with sauce of your choice. I served with mustard sauce and ketchup, turns out its best with ketchup.

What are you waiting for? Get boiling the potatoes and grating the cheese...

Tricolored Peppers N Paneer Pizza

This was a quick dinner one cold night in Blr in the winter season. I had tricolored bell peppers and a "pizza must be made" urge. No cheese except fresh paneer was in the fridge. Yet when you crave for some pizza who can stop you.

I use Jamie Oliver's recipe to make pizza dough. Those were made ready first and then topped with red chili sauce and then tomato ketchup. 

In a big bowl crumble very fresh paneer, mix in the rough chopped onions, cubed tomatoes, diced red, yellow and green bell peppers that were deseeded.

 

Finally on top the pizza bases with the mixed vegetables and paneer. I used the microwave+grill mode to bake the pizzas. It took 20 mins.

It was such a colorful meal, if there were kids around I am sure they would have been thrilled. They tasted like Paneer tikka and veggie skewer on pizza base. Yummy.

Featherlight Okra

Remember the Mango boy, the witty Aamir Khan, my friend and colleague, he took us, few friends to dine at the Sarovar Portico in Mahape. There were few things on that buffet menu that were striking yet the crisp fried Bhindi was a class apart. It got a thumbs up from all of us sitting around the best table in the restaurant, the round one ofcourse. 

The Bhindi made our chatter as crisp as ever, it was after 7 long years I was meeting my buddies. The men all ears for who was upto what and especially the hot babe on the floor. We were part of a huge team and for many it was their first job. I was one of the older people in that team, I'd hated their brashness then. Most times I was low key at work but after moving on to a larger part of the org, I missed all the fun and the people until I caught up with them couple of years ago on Facebook. At the diner, We shamelessly bitched about every one from work and went down memory lane of ragging people, our kiddish fights and name calling; intruding chat logs, ok that one I did not do, it was the guys!

;

The original deep fried Okra that we loved

 Photo credit : Nitin Sharma

We did not realise how quickly it was midnight, the gentleman that Aamir is, he dropped all of us home reminding us that the next day was a Monday.

Now when I look at my team mates, its a good feeling to know they are doing well in life. Many chose partners from the team itself, they have morphed into such loving caring family people. I got to know they had organized a prayer for Mahesh Shetty, an ever smiling face we lost in the Mangalore plane crash in May 2010. People who value friendships, people who have the ability to give to another when the world restrains from sharing.

Aamir has to explore a career in stand up comedy besides he is our go to foodie guide. Nitin & Dipti  amaze me with their ability to bind people together which is a rare quality today. Shrijit, is managing his Rock star bro's career so well. Hoping to see you whenever possible, Aamir, Nitin & Dipti, Shrijit, Amol & Sujata. Aakash for speaking to us long distance. It was a lovely evening I spent with you guys. Thank you Aamir!

Back in my kitchen, I had to recreate a healthier version of that Bhindi. The secret to a featherlight Okra is to slice it thin on the Mandolin and grilling it to perfection in the microwave.

Follow the steps and I promise you the best crisp Bhindi you have tasted ever, I swear it.

Ingredients

1/4 kg Okra

2 teaspoons oil

Salt

Red chili powder

Wash and pat dry the okra. Cut off the tops and tails. Hold the thick side and slice wafer thin on the mandolin into a largish bowl. Add the oil onto the okra. Mix lightly with your figers to coat the okra with oil. In a single layer spread the sliced okra on the turn table glass itself. Set the oven on microwave + grill mode at 600 power mark. In burst of 3 mins grill the okra for a total of 12 mins. Then remove the turn table onto the counter. Make sure you are placing it on the pot holder, else the hot glass might crack if the counter is cold or it touches water spilt on it. Now sprinkle some red chili powder and salt as per your liking. I needed 2 large pinches of salt and 4 pinches of red chili powder. Mix with a tong and place back the turntable into the oven and grill for another 3 mins.

Remove into a serving bowl and let it cool a bit before you eat. Serve with dal-rice or chapati and tomato onion koshimbir gives it best company. This makes an awesome starter to go with drinks if you prefer it that way.

Bhoplyache Dhapate

Most of the pumpkin was made into a huge pot of Bakar bhaaji when friends and cousins visited. I  had kept a wedge of pumpkin for raita but then on one Sunday morning hungry stomachs demanded a scrumptious breakfast. There was pumpkin and wheat flour and I thought a thalipith would sound music to the hungry ears. Then my Dad said but with just wheat flour you can't call it Thalipith, the purist that he is! He said make Dhapate.

Now Dhapate are nothing but thick rotis made with veggies grated into it, mostly gourds like pumpkins, cucumbers and others. They are not Thalipith because they are made only with wheat flour instead of the toasted and coarse ground multi grain-multi lentil flour. Some people do mix flours of untoasted grains for some body.

They get their name from the method of spreading them out. On a counter dusted with flour, the mix of veggies and flour is patted down into a thick roti. This sound and action of patting into shape is called Dhap-dhap and so these Marathi breads are called Dhapate - made with the Dhap dhap sound. For a neat non messy Dhapate do like I did below.

Dhapate are always served with dry chutney powders like lasun chutney or peanut chutney and at times pickles are yummy accompaniments too.

Pumpkin or Bhopla makes these Dhapate delicious. They can be made plain too for a quick one with just the masalas and no veggies at all. But take my word, the veggies make all the difference.

Ingredients

1 cup pumpkin

1.5 cups Wheat flour

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1 teaspoon goda masala

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 green chili chopped.

salt to taste

Oil to shallow fry

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Knead the dough. Never mind if it is sticky. Pinch off a small ball from the dough. Take a plastic sheet and spread it on it with your fingers. Now pick up the plastic sheet and turn it over into the non-stick fry pan, peel of the plastic sheet while you do that. From the sides add very little oil and roast.

This is a pancake style recipe which should be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Serve piping hot with your favorite chutney or pickle with or without curd on the side.

A steaming cup of tea to wash down is superb.

Paratha Tomato Omelette Roll

Growing up in Fort with a Masjid in the lane meant watching those months of Ramzan convert our lane into a street food court. There have been many recipes I would have learnt if I had paid attention for my home had strategic view of the happenings below in the lane.

There was one which is very easy to recollect due to its simplicity. Though I loved watching it then I hated the smells. Egg does smell awful. Well did you guess I was talking about Baida roti. It is the simplest yet sinful snack. It is a maida paratha on which eggs are broken, onions are thrown on to it along with green chilies and cilantro. This is fried in oil on the Tava. The sizzling making many a men hungry after their prayers. It was a sight to watch them dig their teeth into a supersized roll.

Flash forward, last Sunday as has been the scene in the last few weeks here, I wanted to make something that was a hearty meal without too much prep or leftovers later. This is a perfect recipe for the criteria. One of these rolls stuffs you to the brim. I took the short cut of pulling out a frozen Kerala paratha for this. The rest was almost fast food style cooking.

Ingredient

1 Kerala paratha

1 cup of Tomato Omelet Batter

On a Tava pour oil, you are frying it so be generous. Pour the tomato omelette batter and put the paratha over it. Fry on both sides till golden and crisp. Remove and wrap it into a roll in either cling film or foil. Hand it out hot to your loved ones and see their faces light up.

I loved stuffing my mouth as I bit into it. The paratha was super crunchy yet flaky and the omelet snug on the paratha with juicy tomatoes. It was a truly heartwarming meal. I had a glass of orange Tang to wash it down. Such a simple lunch became so special.

Those of you who eat egg go ahead and try it with your fave omelet recipe. This veg version is equally delish I tell you.

Manchurian of the Bangalore Kind

The aftermath of festivals is that you crave for spicy strong smelling food after the overdose of sweets. Actually we did not make many sweets just the 21 modaks for naivedhya on Ganesh Chaturthi but we were eating them for lunch and dinner for 3 days after it and that too after sharing 5 modaks with our neighbors. I expected some friends to visit but no one came so there we were having a modak a meal for 3 days. I hope my scale does not show sign of weight gain. I have been controlled about any kind of gorging on food inspite of it my calorie intake shot up by almost 300-400 cals/day.

Yes but I finally caved in to this craving. We visited the Dodda Ganesha in Basavangudi, he was so heavily decked up in flowers that if it was not for his belly we would not have known which diety it is ;):P While we walked by BMS college and reached Kamat, Bugle Rock where we got our dose of filter kaapi we had inhaled enough of machurian being fried. I had a pack of baby corn in the fridge that suited well for this temptation. 

I was first introduced to Manchurian when I came to Blr for my SAP training at the Sapient College by our friend Govindan Uncle. He took us for lunch to a little restaurant in Unity Building compound and I was amazed at its taste and at how cheap food was in Blr back then in 2001. Once my bro Hrushi was travelling from Chennai to Mumbai and on my recommendation he broke his journey at Blr to just the taste Manchurian, Gobi Manchurian I remember.

Well later I found out that depending on the batter fried vegetable nuggets the manchurian got its name of Gobi, Mushroom and this Baby corn. Each has a distinct taste and yet the sauce is the overwhelming flavor of ginger garlic and soya sauce. Bangalorians are crazy about their manchurian and I think this Gobi manchurian is their creation. It is to Bangalorian what vada pav is to Mumbaikars. There are carts at the end of every street selling fiery red colored manchurian. The color dangerous from artificial sources yet the smells enticing.

For such a treat it is a fairly easy recipe to follow though a little lengthy. Do try it when the weather is cold or you simpbly need to perk up your mood.

Ingredients

For the nuggets

1.5 cups diced baby corn/ gobi/ mushroom 

(any one vegetable or for a mixed version all three)

1/4 cup maida/ all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ginger garlic crushed 

1 tablespoon chili soya sauce 

(or soya sauce + 1/2 teaspoon chili powder)

salt to taste

Oil to deep fry

In a bowl measure out the maida. Add the chili soya sauce and the crushed ginger garlic. Adjust the salt as soya sauce will already have some salt. Add water about 250 ml and make a batter. The batter should just coat the  vegetable nuggets. 

Heat oil in a wok to smoking point and then reduce it to medium. Drop the nuggets coated in the batter into the hot oil and fry till crisp and golden. Remove the fried nuggets onto a mesh and let them drain. Fry all the remaining nuggets. Save the extra batter for the sauce.

For the sauce

1 cup of shredded cabbage + carrot

a handful of sliced Capsicum (I did not have it so skipped it)

1/2 spring onions (I did not have it so skipped it)

1 teaspoon ginger garlic crushed

2 tablespoon batter

1 tablespoon dark soya sauce

3-4 tablespoons tomato ketchup

2 teaspoon oil

2 slit green chilies

salt to taste

Remove the excess oil from the wok used for frying the nuggets. Use it for making the sauce. Measure out 2 teaspoons oil. Stir fry the slit green chilies, follow in with ginger garlic crush. Keep the heat high. Add the shredded vegetables and sliced capsicum. Stir fry for 2-3 mins. As the cabbage gets crisp and the carrot just turns a shade darker add the spring onions. Now add the batter from above step that we had saved, about 2 tablespoons, top up with a glass of water and stir, let the sauce thicken. While it bubbles add the dark soya sauce and ketchup and mix thoroughly with a whisking action. Adjust the salt. I do not add sugar as the ketchup has a sweetness that balances the flavors in this recipe. 

While this boils for 2 mins quickly separate out the fried nuggets if they are stuck together before you add to the sauce. This recipe is of a dry manchurian and separating the nuggets allows it to be picked up by a toothpick easily when served.

Once it gets a glaze put of the heat. Mix in the fried nuggets. Plate it and prick toothpicks into the manchurian. Serve it hot. It tastes best when fresh and hot. Enjoy the very Indian with a dash of Chinese fusion food!

Roasted Potato Rolls

Today was the lightest birthday celebration in my entire life. Birthdays in the family always meant calorie rich food. I made lot of stuff today but have never been so conscious about what to cook for a Birthday. I am a foodie at heart and a some one who loves to cook for people. I enjoy my food and so I share. However having gone thru the health alerts in the last couple of months I am aware about even the smallest morsel of food that I consume. I need to know how many calories it will give me. I am not blind to what I eat now. 

In the morning I made idli and chutney for breakfast. The tea was without sugar but with a sugar replacement. For the team I roasted kothimbir vadi with a wee bit of oil and took it to office. My lunch made up of carrot cucumber salad, Maa di dal, stuffed chilies, phulka and a shared cup of cold coffee with sugar, on a normal day I would have had a full glass without thinking twice. I was tempting my friend for a brownie but she resisted, may be I have scared everyone enough around me that they have become wise eaters :P :)

I ate the most in the evening, dinner was Tomato rice, Roasted Potato rolls and fruit salad with Lichee ice cream. The sum was a good 2000 cals almost 600 cals more than prescribed! Ok. I'll make up for it. 100 cals less for next 6 days.

These rolls I am sharing here would have been generously shallow fried Aloo tikis but I prefered to roast and I loved them. I think if I bake them they will be more delectable. It was a small batch so did not use the oven instead roasted them in a greased non stick pan. You may like to try.

Ingredients

3-4 boiled potatoes
1/4 teaspoon amchur powder
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
salt to taste
handful of chopped cilantro

3 slices of bread

Mash everything together in a bowl. Roll them up. Grease the non stick pan. Lay them in it so they don't touch each other. Cook for 7-8 mins till they firm up. Then keep rolling them in the pan by flipping the pan. Cook till nice golden and crisp on the outside.

Serve hot with ketchup or chutney. Aloo in its basic form is really harmless and this is a nice lean recipe. Make it and enjoy your party.

Macroni N Cheese

Uncle Dheer spent one Saturday with us. He is fond of simple fresh food. Both Uncle Dheer and my Dad are very meager eaters. One cannot make an elaborate meal for these two so the menu was Thatte idli, chutney and sambhar for lunch. Dinner was going to be Gazpacho with Cream crackers and Fresh pasta.

Macaroni and Cheese is what I made, simple fresh and hearty. Uncle Dheer enjoyed it.

Ingredients

2 cups macaroni

Bring water to boil. Add the Macaroni into it and cook till al dente. Drain the cooked pasta on a mesh. Sprinkle some olive oil to avoid sticking. 2 cups raw macaroni gives 4 cups of cooked pasta.

For the sauce

4  large tomatoes

5-6 pods of garlic

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 onions

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

salt and sugar to taste

Cheese for garnish

Chop onions lengthwise. Fry in oil. Cook the onions on slow meanwhile in a mixer grind together tomatoes, oregano and garlic along with salt and sugar as per taste. Pour the puree onto the onions. Cook till color changes to dark red of the tomatoes. Add the red chili powder for a bit of spice. Then finally add the pasta and cook till it absorbs some flavors and comes together as a dish. Plate out servings for 4 and grate your favorite cheese over it, as much as you like.

Enjoy!

Food for the soul: Ugadi / Padva Special

Presenting Sumana Khan (swallow the "n", I say and no bollywood connections here, she says).  I got to know her at work and became her fan on reading Scent of a Man on our organization's intranet. Since then Sumana has been fun to interact with she is someone very opinionated in her writings yet have also seen her as a quite observant person at the dinner table celebrating an annual event we both worked together on. I also remember the day when I had organized a Tarot reading event at work and Sumana wanted my advice on when she would be able to make the first sale of her innovation! I had to tell her it was just a game!! Since then lot has happened so here's presenting this multi-faceted creative author who has published her first mystery novel Kaivalya.

Alur Dum

As a Southie, marrying into a Bong family required a complete mental make-over. I was at first overwhelmed, shocked, surprised, gobsmacked at a Bong’s unconditional devotion to food – but then, slowly I started to understand and appreciate the sacred place ‘food’ holds in a Bengali’s life.

I think the biggest difficulty I brought in as a new bou was my vegetarianism. My new family was perplexed – what to feed me? No fish. No chicken. Not even dim (egg). What’s left to eat?

On my first visit to Kolkata after the wedding hoopla, we stayed in The Husband’s grandmom’s home. Deedun is 70 + years, the most open-minded, open-hearted woman I’ve come across. With her smattering of English, and my (then) smattering of Bengali, and my MIL’s smattering of Hindi, we formed a special bond; women across three generations in synchronous cacophony, trying to overcome the language barrier. My veggie situation, it was established, was not a catastrophe after all. I could be fed many things. Many, many things. I could have luchi with alu torkari, bhaath (rice), daal and seddhu alu (boiled potato). And then, my MIL said triumphantly – Doi bhaath (curd rice). My heart leapt with joy. That’s all I wanted after the two-day train journey. To just have some curd rice with pickle and curl up somewhere. But I was afraid of conforming to the ‘south-indian cliché’; many books and many movies have impressed upon me that several roti/daal eaters look down upon curd rice eaters.

Then, Deedun came to me and asked if I wanted the luchis fried in ghee or oil. My eyes bulged. Oil! Oil! Oil! She patted me affectionately and went back to the kitchen. Finally, the plates were set. Hot, piping luchis were piled up on my plate. Alu torkari looked and smelt delicious. I ate swiftly. Then, the rice was brought. By the time I found the right word and gesture to say stop, Deedun had piled up a mini Mt. Everest on my plate. In a spoon which was really a small ladle, she scooped some fresh butter and slapped it on the rice. And then the thick daal was poured on this. Mishti achaar (sweet pickle) was dropped on the mountain peak. Boiled alu was mashed, mixed with finely chopped onion and chilly and, yes, butter. A ball of this was a ‘side’ to the rice and daal.

For a stomach that was used to decades of light rasam (with some tomatoes floating around), a spoon of dry playa, and curd rice; this was nothing but a nuclear assault. I sat there, like a cow chewing the cud. The taste was simply impeccable; but I figured I’ll take five hours to finish the lunch. Thankfully, The Husband returned from some errand, and understood the catastrophe. He took away more than half of the Mt.Everest. Finally, I was done, after forty-five minutes. But MIL had not forgotten the doi baath. I refused politely. She thought I was shy. She convinced me that I must not feel shy to eat. I was now a Bengali, and I have to take pride in eating. We finally reached a compromise. I will just have the doi without the rice. The doi was brought out. I fell off my chair. It was quite a large matka. I was told this was specially bought for me. I said I will have a few spoons. The dreaded ladle came out and now, I stared at a glacier on my plate. Besides, it was not the good old thick curd that I was used to. This was mishti doi. Sweet yoghurt. I took another 45 minutes to finish it.

It’s been almost eight years, and now we laugh about that first meal – served with the right intention of welcoming a new bride. But the quantity, it seemed, was for several brides! Since then, I’ve always been fascinated with the Bengali approach to food. It’s not just ‘prepare, cook, eat’. There is a ritualistic devotion that goes behind every meal and snack that is served in a Bengali home. My MIL’s generation - what can I say, except that they are walking, talking wikis of Bengali cuisine. In every visit to Kolkata, I’ve tasted something new and exotic, and immensely complicated to prepare. Yet, MIL laughs it off – she can do it blind-folded with her right hand tied behind her back.

I’ll share with you the simplest, easiest dish - and it’s my absolute favourite. It is the Bengali ‘Alur Dum’ with my own modifications.

Preparation time – 15 min

Cooking time – 15 min.

What you need:

• 8-10 baby potatoes.
• 2-3 large, ripe tomatoes
• A cup of shelled green peas
• 1 inch ginger
• 2-3 green chillies
• 1 pod of garlic (optional)
• 2-3 tsps of mustard oil for seasoning
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin (for seasoning)
• A dollop of cream (optional)
• 2-3 tsps of grated paneer (optional)

For the panch phoran masala –

1 tsp each -

• Fennel
• Cummin
• Mustard
• Nigela (onion seeds)
• Fenugreek

Note: The key to panch phoran preparation is that all ingredients have to be used in equal measure. I usually take a 3-4 tsp measure of each, and store the ground masala in an airtight container. It tastes great with any gravy, adding a rush of flavours.

Method of preparation:

Panch Phoran preparation:

First, let’s get the masala done. Take the panch phoran ingredients and dry roast them for a couple of minutes, till a lovely aroma wafts out. Allow to cool, then dry grind this into a powder. Some prefer a coarse powder, some prefer it fine. I powder it to a fine consistency because it blends well into the gravy.

Gravy preparation:

Puree the tomatoes along with the green chillies, ginger and garlic. The resulting liquid should be thick and smooth.

Wash, peel and boil the baby potatoes in slightly salted water. Keep aside.

In a kadai, heat mustard oil till it is smoking hot. Turn off the stove, and wait for the oil to cool a bit. Now, heat it again. This takes out the pungency of the oil.

Add cumin seeds. Wait till they sputter.

Add the tomato gravy. If you need to, you can add a bit of water depending on the thickness you prefer. Close the kadai for 2-3 minutes, allowing the gravy to simmer. The oil separates from the gravy, and you are now ready for the next step!

Add 2 tsp of the panch phoran. Add a pinch of turmeric, a pinch of chilli powder (if you need additional spice) and salt to taste. A dash of sugar brings an interesting balance.

Now, add the green peas, and allow the peas to cook in the gravy. You can also use boiled peas to save time.

Prick the boiled potatoes with a fork, and add them to the gravy. Gently stir them around, allowing them to soak in the flavours of the gravy. Add the scoop of cream, and take it off the stove.

Your Alur Dum is done. You can transfer this into a serving bowl, and then garnish it with the grated paneer. Serve it hot with rotis/chapathis/luchis!

TIP: If you need a thicker body for the gravy, you can try this – after you season the oil with cumin, add 2 tsps of besan. Stir it, allowing it to cook in the oil. In about 3-4 minutes, the besan turns golden brown, and the oil leaves the sides. The besan now gives out a rich aroma. Add the tomato puree on this and proceed as described above.

_______________________________________________________________________

We celebrated Padva/ Ugadi today with friends. There was Alok, Varsha and Chulbul Aditya and Anand and little Gauri, Gurunath Uncle and a visitor from Nagpur, Mr. Sant. The food was well planned out and quite a mix not a typical Maharashtrian Thali but an enjoyable one said everyone. Cdr. wish you were there.

Started out with drinks of Pepsi/ Sprite. Then handed out plates served with Sumana's Alur Dum, Lucchi, Tamarind rice, Vangi stir fry and Amul's Kesari Shrikhand. There was varan bhat too but not a single person asked for it not even the kids.

This evening was fun. I played "Farmer's in the den" after years; with Aditya and Gauri on the terrace.

I tripled the quantities and skipped the cream. Sumana everyone one that is 8 adults and 2 kids loved your recipe! Thanks buddy for sharing this recipe and writting this post for me!!

Ugadi ShubhashayagaLu!! Gudi Padvyachya Shubhecha!