Next week promises to be even more busy with me spending pretty much most of my time at the conference. So this weekend, all I wanted to do was relax, read book, watch some TV and enjoy some light but delicious meals. What better than khichdi and kadhi for a light meal on Saturday night. It had been a while since I had khichdi and spicy yet soothing kadhi. I say soothing, because something about kadhi comforts me..makes me feel relaxed. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and continued with our reading session.

I hope you all had a great weekend and continue to have a wonderful week. I’ll see you all in a few days

Ta

Recipe: Kadhi
(Serves 2)

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt
3/4 cup water
3 green chillies (chopped)
small piece of ginger (finely chopped)
1 tsp gram flour (besan)
1-1/2 tsp jaggery
salt per taste

For tempering

1 tsp ghee
1 tsp oil
3 cloves
small piece of cinnamon
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin
pinch of asafoetida
3 curry leaves

Method

In a bowl, whisk together yogurt, water, and besan in a smooth mix. Add chopped green chilli and ginger, salt and jaggery. Pour the yogurt mixture in a pan and cook for 5 mins on a low-medium heat. Be careful not to cook on high heat as the yogurt may curdle. In a tempering pan, heat the ghee and oil. Once hot, add cloves and cinnamon stick. Add the mustard seeds. After the mustard seeds crackle, add cumin, asafoetida and curry leaves. Add the tempering mixture to the yogurt mix and cook it for another 10 mins. Serve it hot with khichadi or roti!

But I digress. I did want to talk about Ms. Palin. Has GOP lost its mind? Do they really believe that Hillary Clinton followers will vote for McCain just because of Palin’s gender? None of Hillary’s beliefs will matter just as long as you put a skirt clad figure in front of the public? Especially a female who does not know what a VP does everyday! Huh! that is very interesting. Don’t you think? If you get a chance do see this video from the late night shows. They are hilarious. I am sure you have to take everything with a grain of salt, but this is one huge rock, that you just cannot ignore!

Anyways, I digress again. After all the eating out and heavy foods, we were just craving something light and hot and fresh. We made the tomato soup that both of us love. As far as tomato soups go, I rarely like the creamier/thicker version. I assume that’s because the soup mom made and the one I have been having for the past 15 years has been of thinner consistency and I could (I think I can but have never tried it!) have bowls and bowls of it. The soup for sure does have a gujju twist to it but I love it and I made J (staunch vegetable hater, especially tomatoes) fall in love with it too. A grilled cheese sandwich and a bowl of hot tomato soup = bliss!:-D

Ta

Recipe: Tomato Soup
(Serves 4)

Ingredients

4 tomatoes
1 cup water
1 green chilli (chopped)
1 small ginger (chopped)
1 tsp jaggery
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt per taste
cilantro for garnish

For tempering
1/2 tsp ghee
1/2 tsp oil
2 cloves
1 small stick of cinnamon
1/8 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin
3 curry leaves

Method

Score the base of the tomatoes and boil them for approx. 20 mins. or for as long as they are cooked and the skin peel off. Let the tomatoes cool and then puree them using a blender or mixer. Sieve the tomato puree to remove any uncooked parts or skin. Add water to the sieved mix and cook it on medium heat. Add all the ingredients of the soup to it. For tempering, in a small pan, heat ghee and oil together. Once hot, add cloves and cinnamon. Then add the mustard seeds. Once they start crackling, add asafoetida, and other ingredients for tempering. Add the tempering mix to the soup. Be careful as the it will spatter all over. Let the soup cook for another 5-7 mins. Serve it hot with grilled cheese sandwich.

Anyway, I was craving it last week after thinking about it for weeks. One call to mom on skype and I had the recipe. It is so simple and yet beyond delicious. You can either make it with milk or water. Also any dry fruits would work in this dish. especially toasted almonds. I hope y’all enjoy it as much as I do

Recipe: Sev Biranj (Sweet Vermicelli/Sevai)
(Serves 2)

Ingredients

1 cup Sev (I used wheat vermicelli)
3/4 cup boiling milk/water (+/-)
1/4 cup sugar (or per your taste)
3 cardamom pods (seeds crushed)
1 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

Method

Heat ghee in a pan and once hot add vermicelli to it. Roast the vermicelli till it becomes brownish. You’ll know when its roasted from the aroma. While it is roasting, boil milk (or water) in a saucepan. Once the vermicelli is roasted add the boiled milk (or water) to it. Be careful, there will be some splatters. Reduce the heat to low-medium and let vermicelli cook. When the milk (or water) is completely evaporated, add sugar to it while continuously mixing it. Once sugar melts, add crushed cardamom or any other dry fruits you would prefer. Serve it immediately.