Slow down is the new mantra!!!

Hiya J

Our mothers would remember the day we first went to school and they felt that drop of tear swelling up into a small lil river down their cheeks…… I had my taste of this experience a bit early; didn’t wait till my son starts school. I am one of those working moms who had to send her kid when he was barely 1.5 years to day care so she could continue working and manage her personal life together…. Well, those of us in that category will know what ‘together’ here really means…. It is definitely living on the edge, with the balance completely skewed to one side today and unexpectedly takes a steep move to the other side the next day. All I ask myself before going to bed each night is ‘was it worth all that running around’? And most days I ensure the answer is yes. Oh come on, let’s admit that it is a coerced yes on certain days so we avoid that inner voice taking over our emotions.  A lot of us are really lucky to have partners who are able to partake a lot of responsibilities because of which these runs remain as runs and not high jumps.

With all that running around, to keep your sanity levels under control is why I believe we all need friends.  I am blessed with this bunch of great friends – working or not, we talk daily….. one of those times that I am really thankful for advancement in communication technology. So what is this post all about really? It’s about a beautiful day we got to meet face to face after quite some time. I still can’t say it was a reunion in its full sense as one of us from the chatter group of 6 couldn’t make it. Reunion-1 was inclusive of our kids, so you can imagine how loud the chatter group would have been ;) . In between the kids’ naps and TV time, we managed some time for ourselves, engaged in a groupie session which was real fun - chewed the fat, reminiscing our college days.

Of course you can’t chew the fat without munching on some snacks. With the ready to eat versions, we needed something home made to relish with that cup of tea. Going by one of the snaps I shared of the bajjis I made some time back, we decided to go for it then. I am including its simple recipe here, though I hope I don’t miss any ingredient as this time I didn’t make it alone. All of us added one additional ingredient of their choice – and too many cooks didn’t spoil the broth this time. Infact it was very delicious J. So, onto the recipe.

Recipe

Ingredients

Gram Flour (besan) – 2 cups
Chilli powder – ½ tea spoon
Green Chilli – 1 no. (finely chopped) – we did not add this in the batch we made for the kids.
Chopped Onion – 1 large no.
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Coriander leaves – few sprigs
Asafoetida – a pinch
Turmeric – a pinch
Garam Masala – a pinch (optional)
Fennel seeds – ¼ tea spoon (optional)
Carom seeds (ajwain) – ¼ tea spoon (optional)
Salt to taste
Oil – ¼ litre
Water to mix

Preparation

Heat oil in a wok/kadai.

Mix all of the ingredients mentioned above and add water to make it to a thick batter like consistency.
Tip1: Ensure not to make the mix watery as it will absorb extra oil; don’t make it too thick either.
Tip2: Some ingredients are marked optional as they give a strong flavor to the bajjis. So use it according to your palate.

When the oil is hot, using a spoon put small portions of the mix onto the wok and deep fry.

When the bajjis turn golden brown, flip them over to the other side.

Fry till the color is golden brown on that side. 

Serve hot with pudina chutney or ketchup J

Pudina chutney can be made by grinding together pudina (mint leaves), ½ cup grated coconut, a small piece of tamarind, 1 or 2 green chilli, a little water and salt to taste. Tip: If you use smoked tamarind, it makes the chutney extra delicious. Add mustard, urad dal, curry leaves, red chilli tempering.

Over tea and hot bajjis that kept vanishing as soon as a batch was made, we had a wonderful get-together.

In between our chats, one thing that stood out was how busy all our lives had become. Main concern still remains as to how to feed the kids with nutritious dishes that appeal to them. So here I am including another simple recipe which all of us can quickly cook for our kids.

Sundal/chundal  is a popular South Indian dish made with chick pea (chana). You can use white/black chana. Traditionally, a lot of households use the same recipe with black eyed pea , green pea, ground nut as well. Well, it is all about a nutritious snack J

Recipe

Ingredients

Soaked channa (white chick pea) – 1 cup.
Mustard seeds – ½ teaspoon.
Red Chilli – 2 nos.

Urad dal – ½ teaspoon.
Grated coconut – ¼ cup.
Asafoetida – a pinch
Curry leaves – 1 sprig.
Water – 3 cups
Oil – 2 teaspoons.
Salt to taste.

Preparation

Soak channa overnight so it is easy to pressure cook the next day.
Pressure cook channa with about 3 cups of water and salt. About 3 whistles should be fine. Drain the remaining water and keep aside.
Heat oil in a wok.
Add mustard seeds.
When the seeds start to splutter, add urad dal and curry leaves.
Saute till urad dal turns slightly brown.
Add red chillies and asafoetida and sauté well.
Add chana and some salt.
Once the tempering ingredients have mixed well with chana on a medium flame, add the grated coconut.

Serve hot.

So a great day thus ended with a resolution to meet again, if possible just us. We all believe in that friends’ time and the importance of that time in our lives. Before we realized the weekend was over, and there was Monday waiting for all of us. But people, stop every now and then - take a moment to appreciate the people and things around you, enjoy your food, be thankful for what you have - you will appreciate life much better.

Girls, this post is for you…… Love you all J

Garnishing Note: Slow down seems to be the new mantra….. if only we could start to incorporate it!!! 

Amma, I loved today's snack :-)

If you are thinking what made me post something again so fast (going by my trend), the credit actually goes to the movie, Julie and Julia. You will be amazed by the way Meryl Streep has handled the character of Julia Child. Amy Adams has played the character of Julie Powell and has done an excellent job. For those who love cooking and blogging about cooking, I recommend it as a must watch movie.

Not sure what inspired me in the movie – maybe it’s the passion of Julia to master French cuisine and get her book of recipes published or may be the passion of Julie in trying those 524 recipes in a year and blogging about her experiences – maybe it’s the entire movie.  The passion that both these women portray irrespective of the challenges that comes their way is a great inspiration for someone like me who loves to procrastinate at the slightest distraction in my routine. So I decided to definitely post something this week without letting anything drag my feet.

As a working mother, my constant worry is what to pack in my son’s snack box that will be appealing to him and make him want to eat it without any hassles and something that I can prepare in a jiffy. Like most kids, it’s so difficult to know my son’s preference. They would crave for steamed lace hoppers today but loathe it the next day. Very importantly, it needs to be a right balance between their tastes and their health so their nutrition in-take isn’t affected. With all these thoughts in mind, when I entered the kitchen that day, I noticed the rice batter. That’s when it struck me – kuzhi paniyaram. That’s going to be in one of his snack boxes for the day.

Kuzhi paniyaram is a South Indian dish - originally from Tamil Nadu, it is made from rice batter and is a savory recipe. It is made in a special pan with dent/holes moulded into it (shown in pics below). I used to love this snack as a kid. It is usually served with the spicy chutney powder made from dry fried pulses and lentils and curry leaves. You can also prepare tangy coriander leaf chutney with it, goes really well with kuzhi paniyaram.

Recipe

Ingredients

• Rice batter – about 1/2 litre (the same batter that you use for idli/dosa).
• Onion – 2 large nos. finely chopped.
• Curry leaves – 2 sprigs finely chopped.
• Coriander leaves – few sprigs finely chopped.
• Carrot – 1 no. finely grated (keeping in mind the daily nutrition aspect).
• Green Chilli – 2 nos. finely chopped. (I didn’t add green chilli in the batch I prepared for my son).
• Salt to taste.
• Oil – 2 tea spoons maximum (a single drop in each mould in the pan for every batch).

Tip: If time permits, you can also temper some mustard, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and urad dal and mix it in the batter.

Preparation

1. Mix all the above ingredients except oil onto the batter.

Tip: If you intend to keep some batter for later use, it is best not to add onions and coriander leaves to the entire batter at first. It brings in a pungent smell to the batter. So use the batter in portions and keep adding other ingredients as needed.

2. Heat the pan. (These days you get non stick kuzhi paniyara kal/pan which is easier to handle plus requires very little oil).

3. Smear a drop of oil on each of the moulds in the pan.

4. Once the oil heats up, using a table spoon, pour a spoonful of the batter onto these moulds.

5. Cover with a lid and let the paniyarams cook in medium heat.

6. Flip the paniyarams with a spoon after about 3 min. The texture you should be looking for is as shown in the picture.

7. Cover the pan again and let it cook for about 2 min.

8. Using a skewer, poke the paniyaram to see if it is cooked through. The skewer will be batter free if the paniyaram is cooked properly.

Serve with tangy chutney or spicy chutney powder.

Garnishing Note: Knowing your kids will love this tasty snack will give you a peaceful day at work J

A vacation to enjoy the rain :-)

Hey you guys…….

I am back J Like most of you, I have also been through a very hectic schedule at work and at home. At home, we have a canine family member now – her name is Mickey – a cute little puppy who loves to run around everywhere. We took her to our hometown this time when we took our vacation. Needless to say, she just loved all that extra space to run around, in the yard.

So the vacation was really to enjoy the monsoon season in Kerala. In my school days, every year, come June 1^st, the monsoon shower never failed to show up. But this year, though we were there till June 6^th, except for a day where it rained about 2-3 hours, the dark clouds and the rain Gods didn’t bless us with their presence L

Thankfully we enjoyed that single rain we got. But the depressing weather afterwards pulled us down the mood elevator.  And as you can imagine, we decided to cheer us up with food. Hot bajjis, pazham pori, cutlet, various fish available locally, traditional cuisines took up most of our time - we ate, ate and ate. A gastronomical treat from the good old days – food does have a way of transporting you to your past. That reminded me of a quote – ‘’good old days; when beer foamed and water didn’t ’’ ;)

I know my mom must have mentally sent a thank you note up when we all finally left ;)

One of those days, with the traditional cuisine – Aappam, I made mutton stew. Aappam is a soft lacy hopper made from a batter of rice, cooked rice, grated coconut, yeast, salt and sugar. Once the batter is fermented, it is made in an aappachatti which is a deep bottom wok. So when you pour the batter, you get a thick fluffy center and a thin layer on the sides. Since my intention here is to post the mutton stew recipe, without further ado, let me get onto that.

The stew served with aappam is a curry made with coconut milk and not the western style stew. You can prepare a vegetable or a mutton stew. Both go well with aappam.  

Recipe

Ingredients

Mutton – 1 kg (I was serving 8 adults and a 3 year old).

Carrot – 2 Nos (cut into small blocks).

Potato – 1 No (cut into medium sized blocks).

Onion (big) – 2 Nos (slice).

Green Chillies – 3 Nos.

Ginger – piece of 1 inch size.

Peppercorns – about 10 to 12.

Pepper powder – 1 teaspoon

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs.

Coconut milk – thick 1 cup, thin 2 cups.

Green cardamom – 2 nos.

Clove – 2 nos.

Cinnamon – 1 small piece.

Coconut oil -1 teaspoon.

Salt to taste

Preparation

• Cook mutton, potato, pepper powder and salt in a pressure cooker for about 3 whistles. Set this aside.
• In a pan, add oil. When the oil is hot, add the spices – green cardamom, clove, cinnamon, crushed peppercorns.
• Once they start giving the aroma, add ginger, green chillies, sliced onions. Saute till the onions become translucent.
• Add the carrot now (you can also include other veggies like beans, peas).
• Pour the thin coconut milk extract and let the veggies and spices cook in it. Ensure the stove is only in a medium heat.
• Tip: Cover the pan but do not forget to stir occasionally.
• Once the veggies are almost cooked, add the cooked mutton and potato and let the entire mix simmer for another 5 min. 
• Tip: If you get really tender mutton, you can add it and potato along with other veggies and cook in the pan itself (no need to use the pressure cooker then). I use pressure cooker to reduce the cooking time.
• You will notice that the thin coconut milk has reduced a lot. Add the thick coconut milk at this stage.
• Keep stirring it and when it is about to boil, switch off the stove.
• Add curry leaves and the coconut oil.

Cover the pan and let it rest for 5 min. Serve hot with aappam or cooked rice.

Garnishing note: A vacation to enjoy the rain - only there was no rain - ended up being a vacation to relish the good old cuisines J

It’s Bobotie time!!!!!!!

A couple of years back, we (my husband, brother and I) had been on a trip to Johannesburg, South Africa, to visit my uncle and family. Our first trip to a place outside India, we had decided beforehand that it should be a journey to try out new cuisines – yes, you guessed it right – all of us are foodies. And we did get that chance and tasted scrumptious crocodile, delectable ostrich and yummy local dishes like bunny chow and snacks like biltong (dried, cured meat – comes with and without spice). Crocodile kebab tasted a lot like fish with its texture almost like cooked chicken. Ostrich, I recollect, it to be a little chewy, a lot like beef. Bunny chow is hollowed bread filled with spicy curry. Biltong, usually eaten as a snack, can also be used in curries and stews. We had beef biltong. What a wonderful culinary journey, that was!! :-)

One of the things we did not get a chance to taste is their national dish – Bobotie. I am told it is pronounced as Ba-boor-tea. It is a spicy minced meat base topped with a mix of milk and eggs. So when recently I saw this TV show where the chef made Bobotie, I had it in mind to give it a try at home.

Last Saturday, when I had only very little time to prepare lunch as we had been out most of morning, I decided this is Bobotie time. From the show, I remembered it to be a very easy dish. Having read the recipes by a couple of chefs, I felt each one adds their own twist to it. So I went with my recipe for it, keeping the main ingredients unaltered.

Recipe

Ingredients

Oil – 2 teaspoons
Shallots – 6 to 8 nos.
Onion – 1 (big)
Coriander seeds – 2-3 tablespoons
Turmeric – ½ teaspoon
Garlic – 1 full pod (about 6 to 8 pieces)
Ginger – 1 small piece
Green Chilli – 1 no.
Pepper – 2 tablespoons
Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
Meat masala - 1 teaspoon
Minced Meat (I used chicken – can be supplemented with beef/mutton) – ½ kg
Brown bread – 4 slices
Milk –  ¼ litre
Egg – 2 nos.
Coriander leaves – a few
Sultanas (dried grapes) – 6 to 8 nos.
Salt to taste

Tip: a) If you like some more sweetness to your dish, you can add dried apricots, apple and even sugar.
        b) You can alter the green chilli, pepper quantities according to your spice tolerance.

Preparation

• Paste – Ground coriander seeds, turmeric (great if you get fresh turmeric – a small piece would do), garlic, ginger, green chilli in a mortar and pestle. 
• Marinade – mix salt and pepper to the minced meat.
• Soaked bread – To four slices of bread, add milk. 
• Topping – To the milk left out from soaking the bread, beat two eggs.

Heat oil in a pan.
Add shallots, onion, sultanas, the masala paste, coriander powder, (in the show, they added madras curry paste. You can add locally available meat masala instead).
Once sauted well, add the minced meat and mix well.
Add the soaked bread (after squeezing out any additional milk) at this point and mix well.
Add coriander leaves.
Transfer this entire mixture onto the baking pan.

Level it out slightly. 

Pour the beaten egg + milk mixture on the top of this.
On a pre-heated oven, bake Bobotie for 20 min at 170c. The texture you should look for is a golden brown crisp topping and a succulent meat mixture inside.

Tip: Based on the meat you use, you will need to adjust the cooking time. As I used minced chicken, by the time the soaked bread is mixed with it, yes, the chicken got almost cooked reducing the rest of my cooking time to 20 min.

Garnishing note – A gastronomic treat, you must try this mouth-watering Bobotie J

What do I say about this full chicken?

It has been some time since I have posted something. A friend said I have writer’s block. I don’t know if I fall into the writer category.  So I can’t say for sure that’s why I didn’t have any posts. Sometimes I feel, in the hectic schedule it’s just not possible to find time to sit down and identify what to scribble about. Though the thought has always been there in my mind, I haven’t been able to translate it into meaningful words. It’s important to mould the thought well so I feel happy about what I have finally posted. Well, all excuses pushed aside, here I am……

Now when I sit in front of my laptop with the thought and some photos of the dishes we cooked some time back, the only person I could think of was my brother. With a raging food poisoning forcing him to part with his appetite, I felt I should definitely do something to keep his spirits high so he can recollect how delectable all those beautiful dishes he loved were and hopefully  find his long lost twin – appetite J

Once when we did a full chicken roast, I remember him being very vocal about how lip smacking it was.  Ergo that is going to be the luminary in this post. With support from my husband in setting the microwave to the right mode, we set out to prepare this dish.

Recipe

Ingredients:

Low sodium soy sauce 3 tablespoon

Tomato sauce 3 tablespoon

Black pepper sauce 3 tablespoon

Red wine vinegar 2 tablespoon

Honey 1 teaspoon

Rosemary a few leaves

Salt to taste

Preparation

Marinade the full chicken with all of the above.

Best to leave it overnight in the fridge.

Preheat the oven at 180c.

On the rotisserie grill, cook the full chicken for 90 min.

Serve hot with rice/roti.

Garnishing note: This effortless chicken dish gives you a luscious palate, dear brother, a great recollection of what you once enjoyed J

The ever reliable kheer!!!

A beautiful year has just passed by. It has been a great year – lot of ups and downs – each giving us a chance to mature, get a grip on our emotions – all of it being a catalyst for making us better individuals.

Another beautiful year is here with lots of hopes, expectations, cheer. And here I am with the ever reliable kheer – welcome 2015 J

You must be wondering why I am speaking about kheer all of a sudden. Well, for one thing, kheer does stand for all those sweet occasions and festivities, and secondly, it’s quick to prepare. But that’s not the actual reason I am talking about kheer really.

After our vacations, my in-laws came over to stay with us. And today happens to be my mother-in-law’s birthday. A great cook herself, she tries out a lot of recipes she finds in the cookery shows. Running out of options for a quick sweet dish having almost missed her birthday until today morning, I thought of a rice kheer. The best thing is that all the ingredients one would need for a rice kheer will be available at home.

Called paal paayasam/kheer/ rice pudding, this is a very popular dish all over India. It is offered in many temples as prasaadam. Its heavenly taste is supposed to satiate the palate of not just mortals :-)

Recipe

Ingredients

Rice (raw rice – cooks faster if it is broken rice. For the health conscious, you can also go for the red rice) – 1 cup
Milk – 1 litre
Cardamom – 3 to 4 nos.
Sugar – 5 tea spoons
Milkmaid – ½ a cup
Ghee – 3 tea spoons
Water – 3 cups
Cashewnut – 10 to 12 nos.
Dry grapes (Sultanas) – 7 to 8 nos.

Preparation – entire preparation takes about 30 to 40 min based on the cooking mode.

• Mix the washed rice and milk in a thick bottomed pan or a pressure cooker and cook till the rice is very soft.
• Tip: If you prefer using less milk, you can also boil water and cook the rice separately and add milk once the rice is cooked; letting it cook with milk for another ten min. 
• Add cardamom at this stage. (Those who like a strong flavor of cardamom can go for its crushed/powdered version). 
• Stir well and ensure the milk doesn’t split. Ensure the heat is in low flame.
• Add milkmaid and sugar. 
• Tip: Always add sugar/sugar based contents once the rice is cooked properly.
• While the rice soaks in all the milk and sweet contents, heat a separate kadai, pour 2 teaspoons of ghee, and fry the cashewnuts. When they start to turn golden brown, add the sultanas. Once fried, take them off from the stove and add it to the kheer. 
• Add the remaining ghee to the kheer and switch off the stove. 

Serve hot. Lot of people like it chilled. So keep it in the refrigerator once the kheer has cooled off.

Garnishing note: A redolent dessert with no complexities to it, kheer is an ever reliable sweet dish for any occasion – needless to say, it will win the heart of your loved ones. Happy birthday, Amma :-)