Spices and aroma

Foodbuzz 24x24: Pongal party (South Indian thanksgiving celebration)

2012-01-29T21:52:00.000-08:00

One cold morning in January I woke up remembering a dream that pepped up my mood for the day. A dream which has my cousins in it. A dream where I was celebrating a festival with my large family. As I got back to brush my teeth, I saw my phone blink. I knew there were few emails. I opened them and began to read one after the other. There was one mail which caught my attention. It was the notice for the foodbuzz 24x24 proposal for the month of January. I was hesitant first but later decided to submit something relevant for this month. I wrote a proposal about pongal, the very first festival for the new year and yay! I got selected for this month's foodbuzz 24x24 event.

South Indians celebrate pongal (a three day harvest festival) on 14th January of every year. India is an agriculture based country where harvest plays an important role.Once a year, the farmers express their gratitude to the nature (sun and rain) and cattle for the bountiful farming season. Indian version of “Thanksgiving” is the famous festival called “Pongal“. The festival is celebrated for four days.

Day 1: Bhogi pongal

On the day of bhogi, The house is decorated with elaborate kolams, doors smeared in circular shape with sandalwood or turmeric paste and a dot of red kumkum is placed at the centre of the circle and garlands of mango leaves adorn the entrance of every home. Everyone at home applies sesame oil from head to feet and would take a bath early in the morning. It is believed that when one does this ritual, their mind and soul gets purified. This is followed by huge born fires where unwanted trash like old bamboo mats, clothes are burned down in the fire. Presently there is a ban by the government as it leads to immense air pollution. When I asked my grandmother the reason behind this tradition, she gave me a reply which sounded convincing to me.

"In olden times since the weather got cold in January (referred to as Markazhi in Tamil), people would burn down wood and twigs and would sit around the bonfire to warm themselves. That's how the tradition to burn down old stuffed for bhogi started. Bhogi to me is the time to replace old with the new". She explained. "But..." she continued, "these days people burn tires and other useless stuffs which will create smoke and pollution".

Day 2: Surya Pongal (Pongal to worship Sun)

Pongal means to boil over and traditionally the milk is boiled in a new earthenware pot which is tied with fresh turmeric and ginger and let to boil over. This ritual symbolizes the beginning of a new year's prosperity. We celebrate the festival at my grandparent's village every year, we would decorate the courtyard with kolam, flowers, sugarcane and an open fire is set with wooden barks and stones. Sweet pongal called sankara pongal is made with rice, lentil, jaggery and milk and cooked in the open fire with the blessings of the Sun God. As per the tradition, the eldest daughter-in-law or the mother-in-law herself would cook the mixture and would let it boil and spill over. After being tempered with cashewnuts and raisins, they are offered to Sun God along with other dishes like vadais (lentil fritters) and payasam (vermicilli puddings).

Day 3: Mattu pongal - Pongal for cattles

Since cattles form an integral part of any harvest, our ancestors felt that pongal celebration would be incomplete without offering a thanks to them. On this day the bullocks are decorated with garlands, flowers and bells. Their horns are painted and colorful ribbons are tied at its end. I have even seen even balloons being tied around their neck and horns. In my grandparent's village, every cattle owner would parade through the street and walk infront of the animal with pride with their eyes. In certain parts of Tamil Nadu, there would be bull fights called jallikattu. The one who tames the bull would get a title and also a huge sum of prize money.

Day 4: Kannum pongal (Kanum means seeing someone)
On this day, women at home pray for the well being of their brothers and sisters would visit their brothers and their family to offer sweets and savory.

Accordingly to the Hindu calender, Pongal marks the beginning of an auspicious year. It's the time of the year for a new beginning,a time to build traditions, a time to bond with the family and re-create the memories of the past. I remember celebrating it with my cousins at our grandparent's native town. Now everyone has got busy with their life and have moved to different parts of the world, but on this day each one of us make an effort to share the fun and stories with friends and kids. This dinner party will speak for itself the tradition and the hospitality with which we have been raised. I decided to host a pongal party at my residence yesterday. Friends who I know celebrate this festival were invited to enjoy my traditional menu.

Menu (South Indian Cuisine)

Starters
Masala vadai (savoury lentil fritters)
Sakkara pongal (sweetened rice cooked with jaggery and cardamon)

Main Course
Sambhar with mixed vegetables
Rasam (spicy tomato soup)
Pumpkin sweet curry
Raw Plantain fry

Spicy pineapple curry
Indian pickle
Buttermilk seasoned with spices

Dessert
Semiya payasam (vermicilli pudding)

My son enjoying masala vadai

We had a wonderful time talking about the festival, how we miss home and the night ended enjoying the wonderful vegetarian meal. Since I shopped for most of the ingredients from the local farmer's market, I felt that I expressed my thanks for their hardship by buying from them regularly and this thanksgiving celebration has definitely influenced my other friends to go out and enjoy shopping and interacting with the local farmers from the Bay area.

I am sharing one recipe from my elaborate meal. I'll be posting the recipes for all the other dishes in the days to come.

SPICY PUMPKIN CURRY
Recipe source: My mother
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large ripe pineapple - clean, remove skin and cut into chunks
2 cups water
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup coconut (dessicated or fresh) - shredded
2 green chillies
1 inch ginger - minced
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
10-12 curry leaves
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste

Directions
1. Bring two cups of water to a boil. Add turmeric powder, salt and sugar. Stir to combine. Mix in the pineapples and cook covered for 20 minutes, until done.
2. Grind the coconut, ginger and green chillies to a coarse paste without water. Add this paste to the cooked pineapple. Mix well to combine.
3. In a separate pan, heat oil and once they ripple add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Then add the curry leaves and cumin seeds. Pour this over the pineapple and stir well. Let it cook in low flame for another 2 minutes. Remove and switch off the flame.

I want to thank Foodbuzz for giving me the opportunity to share this meal with my friends and now with you all.

Do only iron chefs need iron?

2012-01-26T23:37:00.000-08:00

I love the show "Iron chef" in food network and no doubt it is one of best culinary show that seems to bring out the best in a chef and the challenges are so competitive, touch and creative. Well, I am not here to talk about iron chef but I am here to talk about the importance of iron in human body. Not only iron chef needs iron but ordinary man like you and me need it too.

A human body is like any other machine, it functions day in and day out, pumps blood, flushes the toxins out and circulates the blood around. The production of good amount of blood depends on the amount of iron present in the body. A self check to see if there is enough blood in the body is to press your nail (remove the polish) for a second and watch the change in color. If it changes from white to pink quickly then it means that you are doing good but if it is otherwise, then its time to pump up your iron intake. Because of bleeding and malabsorption the iron level in the body can be altered so that's the time to increase your intake.

Did you know that iron plays a key role
(a).in transporting oxygen to cells (yeah remember our 5th standard biology class!!!),
(b).maintaining a healthy immune system (that's why grandmothers make you drink fresh eggs with milk during menstrual cycle)
and
(c). promoting healthy brain activity (our cute Popeye eats spinach and thinks fast too).

Iron deficiency can lead to fatigue and weakens the immune system. It's presence is so key in infants/toddlers that at 12 month doctor visit they get a blood test done to check the hemoglobin levels. Also I had two blood test for it during pregnancy. The pre-natal vitamins for pregnant women has daily requirement of iron in it as its deficiency can cause low birth weight or pre-term babies. Menstruating women and pregnant women and even growing kids must watch their iron intake. Since vegan diets contain non-heme, a daily requirement for iron would be higher for vegetarians than non-vegetarians.

For non-vegetarians like me, one easy option is chicken or lamb liver. I used to eat them as a teenager once a month and it was because of my grandmother I got into the habit of eating livers. Many don't like its rubbery texture but over the years I developed a liking for it. 1 cup of cooked chicken liver has 280 calories and has 66.7% of daily iron requirement. Is it not an easy option for us?

Here is my recipe for a flavorful curry with chicken liver. I cooked them in an onion-ginger-garlic sauce and tempered with exotic spices and earthly curry leaves. I used close to 1 tablespoon oil and this makes it less oily but the curry is loaded with tons of flavors.

KOZHI ERAL VARUVAL (Chicken livery curry)

Source: My grandmother

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 pound chicken liver - clean and cut into small chunks

1 tablespoon olive oil

20 curry leaves - torn

2 large onions - chopped

1 tablespoon ginger - minced

1 tablespoon garlic - minced

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon chilli powder (according to your spice level)

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1/2 tablespoon garam masala

1/4 cup water

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Clean the liver and cut into pieces and set aside.

2.Heat oil in a pan and add curry leaves and let it crisp. Then add the onions and little salt and let it brown, about 15 minutes covered. Then add ginger and garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.

3. Now add liver pieces and add turmeric, chili and coriander powder, stir for 2 minutes for the raw smell t disappear. Sprinkle water and close the lid. Cook covered for 15 minutes. Once done, add garam masala and salt to taste.

4. Serve hot with rice or bread of your choice.

My tips

1. Chicken liver can be eaten at all phases of South beach diet. It is a known fact that liver contains high cholesterol. So people with high cholesterol consult doctor before eating it.

2. For young, it is suggested by old Indian medicine and elders at home to eat it around the time of menstrual cycle. Also good for pregnancy women. But for the safer side, always consult your doctor when in doubt.

3. Same recipe can be reproduced for lamb/mutton liver.

4. Be careful not to overcook the liver otherwise they will turn rubbery.

Chocolate mousse with avocado - Valentine's day special

2012-01-25T09:09:00.000-08:00

Couple of weeks before, S's old pal and his family wanted to come and see our little one. Last time, they saw him my son was just few weeks old. We quickly decided to throw a simple dinner in their honor. A dinner in our cosy table with stress free conversations and fun. His wife also gave birth to a baby girl six months before my son was born. She is 20 months now and our champ is 14 months. That makes it a play date too.

S and myself love to entertain people. We like to have family and friends over our place in most weekends. I love to cook and S loves to talk. A meal with our friends is deadly loud, delicious and drunk. It's not any fancy menu on the table, just a casual dinner on our brown-black Ikea table that seats six in total. I cover them with a long sheet of my favorite table cloth and set the table with plates, glasses,silverware and a wine bottle on the side. And sometimes we eat with the hands too. Then there 's the menu I would think about. I plan couple of days ahead to do the grocery shopping. I have a chalk board in the kitchen where I write down the menu and things to purchase. I chose it as per the liking of the guest, some of our friends like Indian food with less spice and few love really spicy food. For this couple where the husband is Srilankan American and wife is Swedish Chinese, I decided to go subtle with flavor and spices too. Since they are health freaks, I tweaked the recipe that were healthy and to an extent South beach diet - phase 2 friendly too. The menu was : cumin scented lentil soup, Saffron rice, roasted cauliflower and broccoli, potato curry with fenugreek leaves and for dessert it was a chocolate mousse with avocado. There are always bottles of sugar free organic carrot juice and bowls of home baked kale chips. I place the food right in the center leaving little space between each platter , serving family style where we move the platter from one guest to another.

Once while browsing for a cartoon channel in my TV, I came across healing food show by Renee Loux in KQED . She was sharing the recipe for chocolate mousse with one magical ingredient - avocado and suggested to use a mixture of natural sweetening agents like agave nectar, maple syrup, organic sugar instead of using a single one. For the dinner, that night when I made this for dessert, everyone scooped out big spoonfuls of the creamy mousse with the strawberry I served it with. A delicious and simple dessert indeed.This mousse is egg-free, vegetarian, gluten free, low calorie and what not!

I tasted avocado for the first time in India. It was during one of our vacation to Coorg. They called it butter fruit and when I tasted it raw, I didn't develop a liking for it and after that I didn't get a chance to eat it. Years later when I went to UK, I ate a sandwich with avocado from Tesco but again I didn't have the time to buy and explore with it. Then when I moved to US and had a chance to taste Mexican food, I began to use avocado in my cooking. I was told by my doctor friends that avocado has monounsaturated fat which is a good fat for the body and they have high fiber content and also is rich in potassium, vitamin B, E and K. Importantly avocado acts as an anti-inflammatory, means it helps to reduce inflammations in the body.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH AVOCADOS

Source: Renee Loux

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 large avocado - ripe

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tablespoon agave nectar

2 tablespoon natural honey

2 tablespoon organic sugar (for added sweetness - optional)

2 tablespoon organic all natural maple syrup ( use if needed - adjust sweetness to your taste)

1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract (no sugar ones)

Ripe strawberries for garnish

Directions

1. Whisk all the ingredients in a food processor to a smooth creamy texture. Check for sweetness before you serve. Scoop out the mousse in a parfait, wine or martini glass. I used a shot glass to serve and I served chilled.

2. Garnish with juicy strawberries.

Tips:

1. This dessert is low calorie but that doesn't mean you could eat one bowl after another. Remember stick with one serving size.

2. Since it has multiple natural sweeteners, you can use little of each and come back for more if needed.

3. Not ideal for gestational diabetic women.

Salmon quinoa patties and my story on gestational diabetes

2012-01-23T11:32:00.000-08:00

I still remember that day. Bright sunny day in August. It was half past ten in the morning.

The telephone rang and the call was from my OB/GYN's office. I guessed the reason behind the call even before I picked up phone. I stayed motionless in my couch. The phone continued to ring and moments later the call went to voicemail and I heard what I didn't want to hear.

"Hey V! This is the medical assistant from doctor's office. We got your sugar test result today and I am sorry you failed the test. You have gestational diabetes". That was the last thing I wanted to hear during my pregnancy. I was 24 weeks then and my husband was away on a four weeks business trip to Israel. I was shocked. depressed. scared. Tears rolled down my cheek and the silence in the room were broken by my loud cry. I felt lonely. I called up my good friend from middle school and shared the news with her. She was reassuring and kind. But I wasn't convinced. Since I was warned by the doctor from the the beginning of my pregnancy about this, I had been extra cautious and was praying to God each day to escape from this gestational diabetes struggle. I don't know for some reason I really couldn't take up the fact that I failed the blood test.

Couple of days later, I went to the doctor's office for the monthly check up and they enrolled me on a program with a medical team (a dietician and a nurse) to counsel me about right eating. I was with them until my delivery date. Gosh! That was the most depressing phase of my pregnancy. I couldn't eat what I craved for. I was left to drink oatmeal (just 1/2 cup dry) with no milk as the first thing in the morning followed by tons of veggies and calculated portions of fruits or 8oz milk for mid morning snack, 1/2 cup cooked rice with tons of vegetable stir fries or soups or eggs or meat for lunch followed by some nuts for snack and similar menu for dinner and the day ends with 8oz milk for dessert. The morning fasting sugar level were always spiked up, so I was on little insulin too. Slowly days went by, I regained my usual self and came in touch with the reality. I became more composed and sensible over the days. I read a lot online and slowly I began to explore with whole grains like quinoa, buckwheat, millet.

Quinoa (pronounced as keen-wah) was the first grain I laid my hands on and it is believed to be a holy grain. It looks like minute grains, smaller than rice and it has a hard exterior which is coated with saponins. They are bitter when cooked and needs to be removed before you cook. It is good to wash them thoroughly in running water. Once cooked, the seeds become soft, chewy and a cute spiral tail pops out. Quinoa is low in cholesterol and sodium and is also a good source of magnesium, phosphorous and manganese. It has good carbs too, since it's a whole grain, they will break down into sugar much slower in your body and that way your blood sugar will not spike drastically. That's the kind of foods one must be eating during gestational diabetes. "You need carbohydrates for your baby. Carbs help in their brain development" my dietician would keep insisting to me on every meeting. So please don't skip your carb and remember to eat the right carb.

I went to a safeway store closeby and hunted for a quinoa packet in every aisle but couldn't locate one. I reached out to a sales assistant for help. I asked " Does safeway carry quinoa?" . He stared back at my pregnant tummy and wondered what this lady was saying. Most of the sales guy in that store didn't even know that there existed a grain like that. I wasn't ready for a no that day and I asked the manager to help me with the search. He just took couple of minutes to locate it and he said that they place quinoa in international food section. "What ever" was my reaction. I bought one red inca quinoa and reached back home to read more about its cooking options. The first thing I did was to taste it raw, it tasted muddy and gritty. I decided to cook it like how I would cook my rice.Tired to explore other options, I told to myself "Pressure cook it". For dinner, I ate it with lentil curry (recipe here). It tasted different but definitely not exciting enough to satisfy the taste-craving, flavor-craving tongue of a pregnant women. I cried in the bed that night and went to sleep crying. And my husband was still in Israel.

Next day, I found few salad recipes with quinoa online. I ate that for a day and even that wasn't what I was looking for and since I had terrible cravings for Indian foods, I recreated some of the recipes using quinoa and lentils or legumes with tons of vegetables or chicken. They turned out pretty delicious and I was hooked on exploring different dishes with it and my journey with whole grains continues even after my son was born. Even he eats quinoa once a while, he seems to love this patty which I made with salmon and quinoa. For the patties I toasted quinoa and I pulsed them in the processor to a coarse powder, that gave it a crunchy coating on the outside and the addition of cilantro, onions, ginger and garlic boasted the flavors further.

During the fancy food show at SFO, I met the most friendly mother-son duo team in one of the booth. They were promoting their chutney products and if you are looking for spicy delicious zesty chutney, this is the place to look for - Virginia Chutney. I had a lovely time talking with them about England, different flavors in chutneys, the history behind its origin and how Britisher's tweaked it after tasting it in India. I had a quick conversation with them as there were tons of people waiting behind me to taste their creation and talk about it too. I brought home two chutneys in hand - spicy mango and hot peach chutney. While making this patties, I wanted to serve it with a sweet and spicy chutney, something cooked with mango and chili flakes would be perfect. I thought to myself. I pulled out Virginia chutney bottle from my kitchen cupboard, cracked open the lid and spoon a little and licked a bit, it was sweet, juicy, had a spicy kick from the red chilli flakes and an earthly flavor from ginger. Yum, I loved it and licked even the last drop of the chutney. I served the patties with a dollop of this juicy chutney and it was a super-dooper hit with my friends.

SALMON QUINOA PATTIES

Source: Self

Yields - 10 small size patties

Ingredients

1 cup olive oil for shallow frying

1 - 5oz salmon tin

1 cup raw organic quinoa

1 medium size onions - chopped

1 inch ginger - minced

3 large garlic cloves - minced

1/4 cup cilantro - chopped

1 teaspoon red chili flakes

1 teaspoon red chili powder (use more or less as per your spice level)

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

Salt to taste

Juice of half a lemon

1 large egg - beaten

Directions

1. Dry roast the quinoa in a clean pan. Saute for 3-5minutes until they get roasty. Remove, cool and grind to a coarse powder. Set aside.

2. Open the tin and transfer the salmon to a strainer and wash in running water to get rid of excess salt and squeeze the excess water and crumble them into smaller bits and add them to the fresh bowl.

3. Then mix in the onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, chili flakes, chili and coriander powder and garam masala. Mix well to combine with hand. Then add the salt and lemon juice. Stir.

4. Add the egg and stir. Finally add the quinoa, starting with 2 tablespoon at a time. Keeping mixing it until you feel that the mixture rolls into a neat ball. I used about 8 tablespoon to get that consistency.

5. Divide the mixture to 10 balls and let it chill for 30minutes.

6. Heat a saucepan on medium flame for 5 minutes. Once they are hot, drizzle few drops of olive oil and spread them on the surface with a kitchen tissue.

7. In the meanwhile, remove the balls from the fridge. With wet hands flatten them into a small patty and slide them into your saucepan. Spoon out a tablespoon of oil along its edges and let it cook for 6-7 minutes on each side. Add oil if you feel its drying out. I tried to use minimum amount of oil.

8. Serve hot with Virginia mango chutney by its side.

My tips:

1. Salmon quinoa patties can be served to kids too. My son loves it with mango chutney/mint chutney. You can also replace quinoa with meat or shrimp or even with mashed sweet potato or potatoes or any veggies.

2. If you are a vegetarian, omit the eggs and instead add little (about 1 tablespoon) all purpose flour and this would help to hold the mixture together and you can easily work with them.

3. Ideal for dieters as per serving (2 small patties) will have less than 300 calories and even if you had deep fried them, don't worry extra few minutes in the gym will sort the problem.

4. Women with gestational diabetes, look for more recipes here. Do send me an email if you want to know more about my eating schedules. I am not an expert but I will be more than glad to share my experience. You need to consult your OB/GYN or dietician before changing your diet.

Torn tortillas, eggs and veggies - One fancy meal

2012-01-19T16:07:00.000-08:00

Weather in California is cold and windy for the last two days. There's drizzles every now and then. It's cold and my hands turn pale, dry and chilly within minutes. And the last thing I want to do is to shop at my grocery store. Thinking about what to fix with the things at home is sometime challenging but at the same time interesting and exciting for me.

I opened my fridge and scanned for the things that were there - two stale carrots that I picked a week ago, one shiny red bell pepper - last one left from Costco, a box of ripe cherry tomatoes that I bought to fix a salad, few sprigs of curled cilantro, half a lemon and few dried curry leaves. There in the corner I found a huge egg carton which had just two eggs left. I turned around to check for onions on my kitchen counter. Gladly I found five large onions. "Wow, that's not bad, I can make couple of things with these veggies" I reassured myself. "May be vermicilli or semolina upma or egg curry with lots of sauce or simple dal with roti" My brain kept answering me as I ran around the kitchen like a mad lab rat. Before I went ahead to close the door, I found a packet of tortilla nestled in the lowest rack. "Oh ya, a vendor at the Fancy food show gave me a packet of his whole wheat tortillas" I recollected.

With all these ingredients, there is one super yummy food that could be fixed. Tamil Nadu style Kothu parotta it is. The thoughts about spicy kothukari made me crave for it even more. A food when tasted would take me to my cherished childhood days, the days where life was less complicated and worry-free and those were the days I would run back from school to watch my mom cook this. I would peep through the window to get the smell of what she is fixing. I know it would taste perfect without ever having to munch a piece of that sauce slathered parotta. The smell of its steam would tell me that its been perfectly spiced and salted. Such is this food filled with lovely aroma and comforts of my mother's kitchen.

The dish by itself in simple, traditional and has tons of intricate flavors in it. She would make it with rotis or chapatis or even with deep dried pooris. Her recipe will evolve with the ingredients she gets on her hand. Today I am going to make it with Maria and Ricardo's whole wheat tortillas and each one has 45 calories. I am going to use three for one serving and tons of veggies and one egg. That makes it a wholesome meal and it would be less than 350 calories when made with half a tablespoon of olive oil in each serving.

I read it from Maria and Ricardo's tortilla packet on how to calculate the net effective carbs in your food. To get the net carb amount, you must deduct the grams of dietary fiber from the total carbohydrate grams. In this case, there is 10g of total carbohydrate in 1 tortilla and 7g dietary fiber so the net carb : 10g-7g = 3g

When served with minty raita and steamy cardamon tea, there is heaven on earth and there is nothing more comforting than this for the cold weather. I chopped, stirred and cooked. The food was ready and the bowl was full with torn tortillas and tons of veggies. The aroma of curry-leaves-perfumed-oil lingered around my head. I smelled it once. Then again. And for the final time I breath in all the goodness before I took the first bite. Warm tortilla was layered with eggs and exotic spices. The small chunks were further kissed by the juicy sauce of sweet carrots, bellpeppers and tomatoes. I served it to S when he arrived from work. He loved and couldn't even find the replacement of chapatis with tortillas in the dish.Maria and Ricardo's tortilla were soft and fresh. We loved its addition to our traditional South Indian dish. Total yum!!! My husband and I we re-named this dish as "Kothu-tortillas"

TAMIL NADU STYLE KOTHU PAROTTA WITH TORTILLAS
Serves 2

Source: My mother's recipe (with my alterations)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

10-12 curry leaves

1 small onion - chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon chilli powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

2 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

1 medium size tomato - chopped

1 bell pepper - chopped

1 carrot - chopped

1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas

2 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon garam masala

Salt to taste

6 tortillas (Maria and Ricardo's fiber rich whole wheat tortillas) - cut into squares about 1 cm in size or something similar in size

2 eggs

Cilantro and juice of 1 lemon for garnish

Directions

1. Heat a large saucepan. Once the oil ripples, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Throw in the curry leaves and let it crisp, about 60 seconds. Cook at medium flame. Don't burn the condiments.

2. Then add the onions and let it brown, about 6-8 minutes. Sprinkle the turmeric, chilli and coriander powder and saute for 2-3 minutes. If its too dry, add a tablespoon of water. This prevents the spices from burning. Add soy sauce and saute for 60 seconds.

3. Now add the tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy, about 3-5 minutes. Finally add the carrots, peas and bell peppers and stir to combine. Add little more water and cook covered for 15-20 minutes. Keep an eye and stir every 5 minutes. Check for doness by tasting one piece.

4. Sprinkle garam masala and mix well to combine. The vegetable mix must not be too runny or watery. We want it to be dry with little sauce in it.

5. Add the tortilla and cook for 2 minutes until they are coated well with spices and veggies. Then break the eggs and stir to scramble. Cook without turning the dish into a pulp or mushy. Carefully fold the tortilla over the eggs and let it cook.

6. Garnish with cilantro and squeeze lemon juice on top.

MINT RAITA

Source: Self

Ingredients1 cup non-fat yogurt

1 serrano pepper (without seeds) - chopped

20 mint leaves - chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine them all together and whisk to a smooth raita. Check for salt before serving.

Serve the kothu-tortilla with mint raita.

My tips:

1. Serve the dish right away. It doesn't taste great after a while. When left for longer time, the tortillas might get soggy.

2. You could make the dish with roti, parathas, naans, pooris, chapati.

3. I tried doing it with toasted whole wheat bread (cubed). It tasted different but not bad. The bread chunks must be mixed with vegetable sauce right before serving. The bread tend to get soggy very easily. So my personal preference will not be bread in the future.

4. Kothu-tortilla is a healthier version of the traditional kothu-parotta dish. Hence my version is ideal for women with gestational diabetes or anyone with diabetes or cholestrol and for those in weight loss regimes. Also ideal for people in Phase 2 and 3 of South beach diet.

Dhaal - Lentils cooked with red chard

2012-01-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

The long weekend was super busy for me as on Saturday we were visiting friends for lunch and dinner, the next day I was strolling through the streets of San Francisco and also through the isles of Fancy Food Show, totally lost tasting new foods and the last day we were at the Happy Hollow zoo with little S. Since we were done with our bit of eating outside, I cooked our all time favorite comfort food - "dhaal with greens" for dinner last night . I have been experimenting lentil curry with greens like mustard leaves, swiss chard, beet leaves, raddish leaves, to name a few.

Last night after a long day at the zoo, we came home around 6 and I fixed this for dinner. They are hearty, nutritious and has close to 1 tablespoon oil. I made it with red chard this time and we loved it for its simplicity in its cooking process and all you need is a pressure cooker, so the cooking is fast and quick. By the time the lentils were cooking, I knead the whole wheat flour into a smooth dough. I let them rest for 15 minutes and rolled them and cooked soft rotis for dinner. Little S loves this too. I fed him with little white rice and yogurt and that was an easy dinner for the three of us.

I store different types of pulses in my pantry. Yellow split peas,yellow pigeon peas (available both as plain or oily) - I use the plain one, red lentils, roasted chick peas, green split peas, kidney/garbanzp/pinto beans. For this preparation, I used the yellow lentils, commonly known as toor dhal in Hindi. Dhaal is described as a dish prepared with dried lentils, peas or beans. They are referred to as pulses in common. It's a thick stew, predominantly cooked in South Asian households. It can be served with rice or stir fried vegetables or roti. It is a great protein source for vegetarians.

RED CHARD DHAAL

Source: Self

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

8-10 curry leaves - chopped (optional) - use it if you have it

1 medium red onion - chopped

3 garlic cloves - minced

1 bunch red chard - chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon chilli powder - I used spicy Kashmiri chili powder (Add more or less as per your spice level)

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 cup yellow pigeon peas/ toor dhal

1 packet Savoury choice vegetable broth concentrate - about 15ml

3 cups water

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Salt to taste

Directions

If using a pressure cooker:

1. Heat oil in a clean dry cooker base on medium flame. Once hot enough, add the curry leaves and saute for 30 seconds, let the flavour be infused into the oil. Then add the onions and little salt and cook for 5minutes until they turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute for couple of minutes.

2. Then add the chard and let it wilt, about 3 -5 minutes. Mix to combine. Sprinkle the turmeric, chilli and coriander powder and saute for 2 minutes, until the raw smell disappears.

3. Add the lentils, vegetable broth concentrate and water and stir to combine well. Cover with the lid, fix the whistle on the top and cook for 6-8 whistles. Once done, switch off the flame and let the pressure settle down. Remove the whistle and open the pan. Mix the contents well and add salt to taste and juice of a lemon. Check for taste, add little more lemon juice if needed.

If using a large cooking vessel

1. Follow the same steps but instead of using a pressure cooker, the lentil curry gets cooked on medium flame for 45 minutes or more until done. Cook them covered.

Serve hot with white/basmati/brown rice, quinoa or roti/chapati/naan. The lentil curry can also be served as a soup.

Notes:

1. Ideal for dieters has the curry has low calories (probably less than 300 for a cup)\

2. It has enough greens which along with the lentils makes it fiber rich.

3. Also suitable for those in South beach diet.

Chicken curry with rasam podi and why I love the elliptical?

2012-01-13T09:28:00.000-08:00

Once we had settled with the jetlag and my son has started with a routine, I started to hit the gym. The first day I went, the gym was packed tight. It was January 2nd of 2012, so you will know the reason why. Everyone like me were on their new year resolution to shed some pounds this year. Well, I am on this weightloss resolution for every new year, that's different story. Tucked in the little corner of my huge gym was this elliptical machine. After vigorous scanning for an empty machine, I found this one. I raced to get hold of it before its gone for another 15 or more minutes, God knows how some people even do it for an hour. That's how I started using the elliptical, believe me every day for the last 12 days.

The same evening I googled to see whether elliptical really helps with weightloss, as some trainers feel that one needs to alternate between cardio, floor exercise and fat burn. I was doing Tony Horton's power 90 every morning before my trip to India. Even now I do it on and off. Having registered for an online certificate program, then with a naughty toddler around, I hardly find time to get things done. So the best gift I rewarded myself was a gym membership. When I am away from home, I feel I stick with the plan and stay focused.

Elliptical

Lets see how good is the elliptical machine. Does it really help to get rid of those flabs? Does it really work?

When I asked this to one of the trainer at my gym, he said "An elliptical machine is a wonder machine for those who are new to exercising, as it helps in overall weight loss. When you move on the elliptical, its action is low-impact and provides for a full range of motion from your toes through your hips." He added that weight loss is a process, definitely a longer process, one that requires daily dedication. It is easy to become discouraged and run back to wrong foods. Any form of exercise is going to boost metabolism if you stick with it. Burning about 500 calories a day is a good thing to start with and maintain daily intake to 1500-2000 calories (depending on your body weight)".

In my case, my daily requirement is 2300 calories, I need to eat 500 calories less and burn 500 calories everyday to lose 1-2 pounds every week. Burning 3500 calories will help you lose 1 pound. That's the math. Also remember to fuel your body with quality calories.

Start 15 minutes on cardio (heart rate 155) or fat burn (heart rate 135) on the first day. Also in my case (most cases), I didn't lose any pounds but over the last 12 days I lost inches (not in huge number but in an encouraging number). When I asked about this, my trainer replies that in the initial few weeks, the calf muscles strength, fat will burn and muscles will build, so the weight will fluctuate and only over a period of minimum 2 months only you will see visible results. So guys don't hop on to your weighing scale every now and then, infact I have kept them in the garage and plan not to see it for the next few weeks. Yes, I do feel more energetic and now I do a solid 45 minutes cardio on the elliptical and I burn close to 500 calories. Yay!!!

Don't ever eat anything labeled "diet" or "sugar free". Those products are highly processed and contains artificial sweeteners like Splenda and high fructose corn syrup. The best thing to do is to save few calories every day and splurge them on a pizza or icecream once in 2 weeks or a month. I eat mostly whole grains like quinoa, finger millet, brown rice, whole wheat, sometimes white/basmati rice, pasta too and I cook from scratch. Drink a lot of water, flush those toxins out of your system. You'll be amazed to see the difference.

Having spoken about cooking from scratch, I am sharing one such recipe made with chicken and rasam podi. This curry is peppery hot, ideal for winter days and adding little water and cooked rice can turn the curry into a wholesome soup. I have used a coarse spice mix of pepper corns, cummin and coriander seeds. They add an extra kick to the curry. The tender chicken is cooked in an aromatic sauce made with earthy curry leaves, chunky tomatoes and sweet onions. The addition of good quantity of ginger and garlic makes the dish taste so authentic.

CHICKEN CURRY WITH RASAM PODI

Source: Achi (Grandmom)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

10-12 curry leaves - chopped

1 large onions - chopped

2 large tomatoes - chopped

1 tablespoon ginger - paste

1 tablespoon garlic -paste

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Kashmiri chilly powder (spicy) - add more or less as per your spice level

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 pound chicken with bones - cubed

1/2 cup water

Salt to taste

In a mortar pestle

2 tablespoon peppercorns

2 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1/4 cilantro for garnish

Directions

1. Dry roast the peppercorns, coriander seeds and cumin seeds in a hot saucepan for 2-3 minutes, until the aroma of the spices come out. Set aside and let it cool. Pound them to a coarse powder in mortar and pestle.

2. Heat oil in a large cooking pan. Once hot enough, add the onions and little salt. Let it moisten and cook for 8 minutes on medium flame until they turn brown. Cook covered.

3. Add the ginger and garlic paste and cook till the raw smell disappears, about 2 minutes on medium flame. See to that they don't stick to the pan. Keep stirring and mix it well with the onions. Finally add the tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy, about 5 minutes.Cook covered.

4. Sprinkle the turmeric,chilli and coriander saute and mix to combine. Saute for 2 minutes. Throw in the chicken and cook covered for 25-30minutes on medium flame. They will leave out water and make the gravy thick. Sprinkle the coarse powder (peppercorns-cumin-coriander seeds). Stir well and cook for another 2 minutes. Add more water if needed.

5. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with rice.

Tips:

1. Ideal for those in South beach or any diet.

2. Can be served with roti/naan/chapati too

3. You could replace chicken with shrimp too.

4. You could also your homemade or store bought rasam podi.

Mushroom chettinad for the winter nights

2012-01-10T11:56:00.000-08:00

Finally we have come to Pacific time zone and that's how we started the new year. Only for the past ten days we have got back to our routines and sleeping schedules. Little S is growing naughtier day by day and he wants to be taken out all the time of the day and that makes our visit to the local library almost 2-3 hours every other day. He now walks very well and tries to run when I catch him swallow some minute stuffs on the floor. He finds sputtered lentils, torn curry leaf, missed out onion peels on the floor and grabs them and straight it goes inside his mouth. God only knows how is it visible for him and not for me?

We started with the weekly toddler session in library and my son seems to love it. He is very social and smiles and waves at every stranger he spots on the way. When the instructor dances, he runs straight towards her and stands right infront of her, holds his hands on the waist and shakes his bum left-right-left-right and then turns around to see whether I approve of his dance. I smile back as an answer.

Apart from my daily fun times with little S, weather is California is running between mid 30s to 60s. It's cold for few days. then colder during some nights and coldest for another few days. It's just fluctuating and there has been no rain. It generally rains cats and dogs around this season but this year its pretty dry. For cold winter nights, I prefer having spicy food for dinner. I love the kick of peppers/jalapeno/ red chillies and it definitely clears your sinuses. Mushroom has low calorie, about 20 calories for 3oz and its packet read "100% vitamin D for strong bones", there you go - one more reason to eat them. Mushrooms are included in phase 1 of South beach diet. With just 1 tablespoon of oil and tons of mushroom (2x 8oz packet) , I ended up making a huge pot of delicious gravy that I stored and used for two days.

Every time I do my grocery shopping, I will have hundred of ideas on how to use them and finally when the day comes to make with that produce, I stumble. I will google with questions like "What different gravy to make with mushroom?", "What new curry with mushrooms?", "Different South Indian spicy mushroom curry?", "How to use finish my box of mushrooms?" and after few minutes in google, I ended up finding this recipe. For dinner last night, I made a spicy chettinad curry with mushroom and served it with store bought parathas. Since I was away for the first 4 weeks, my husband had bought frozen parathas for himself and since its oily and made with all purpose flour, I wanted to get rid of them quickly, hence ended up serving it. Don't ever use them, instead make your own or buy whole wheat parathas. I prefer to eat this juicy gravy with whole wheat chapatis/rotis.

I love curry leaves. Its addition to any dish takes to the next level. Some people added it along with tomatoes but I prefer to add it as the first thing that goes in to the hot oil. The smell of fried curry leaves reminds me of my achi, its her smell and that makes me feel her presence in my kitchen. The meaty mushroom, the spicy peppercorns and sweet onions complemented so well with each other. The gravy was super yummy and the blend of cummin seeds, garlic and peppercorns made it truly exotic. It looked like Madurai in my plate and even my little one tasted a bit and seems to come back for more.

MUSHROOM CHETTINAD
Source: Sanjay Thumma (with little modifications I made)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

10-12 curry leaves - torn (optional)

1 large onion - chopped

1 tablespoon ginger - paste

1 tablespoon garlic - paste

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chilly powder (spicy) - less or more as per your taste

1 tablespoon coriander powder

2 medium tomatoes - chopped

2 x 8oz packet mushroom - chopped

1/2 tablespoon garam masala

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon butter (optional)

In the mortar and pestle:

3 garlic - whole

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon pepper corns

For garnish:

1/4 cup cilantro

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large cooking pan. Once the oil sizzles, add curry leaves and let it bath in the hot oil for 30-45 seconds. Then add the onions and little salt (about 2 pinches), stir and cover over medium low flame. Let the onions sweat and brown, approximately 8-10 minutes. After 5 minutes, just check and stir.

2. Sprinkle turmeric, chilli and coriander powder and saute till the raw smell disappears, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they turn mushy, approximately 3-4 minutes. Throw in the mushrooms and stir to combine and cook covered for 15-20 minutes. Add garam masala and mix well.

3. Pound the whole garlic, cummin seeds and pepper corns to a paste in a mortar pestle. Add butter to a saucepan and melt it. Once they bubble add the above paste and saute for 2 minutes.

4. Pour the buttery spice mix to the mushroom gravy and stir to combine. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Tips:

1. Don't add any water to the gravy as the mushroom will leave out its moisture.

2. Since I wanted to avoid the butter, I dry roasted the garlic-cummin-peppercorn paste.

3. Ideal for dieters (South beach or everything else)

Pondicherry through my eyes - 1

2012-01-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Pinto beans masala - A healthy start for 2012

2012-01-03T17:14:00.000-08:00

How many of you watch Dr.Oz's show? I am his huge fan, I am all ears to him. I love his smile and he talks about science like we gossip about movies: so simple and easy to understand and follow. I wish I could be his audience in one of his show, that way I hope to meet him in NY sometime. Many of his tips about eating right (apart from the medical reasons behind) was something I am used to follow watching my amma's and achi's cooking. Most of the South Indian vegetarian meal ( ofcourse except the deep fried and dessert items), everything else is rich in proteins, good carbs, vitamins and minerals. I have been raised by a mother who is a staunch vegetarian. So the most part of my school year, I am used to eating vegetarian food and in some weekend, my aunt who lived across the street would cook meat/seafood for us and during vacation at my grandparents, I get to eat both veg and non-veg food. I could say I am used to best of both worlds.

I love beans. When coupled with any veggies or rice, it turns into a wholesome meal that is high in protein and absolutely fat free. Legumes are so versatile that you can fix a stew, curry or even a rice dish (briyani or pulao) with it. Amma makes different curry/kootu/ sundals with them.

Pinto beans is known to contain cholesterol lowering fiber and including them in your diet can help to lowering the blood sugar level. Generally when a food is consumed they get broken down to small molecules in your body. It is important to consume food with low glycemic index so that to avoid rapid sugar spike in your body. Pinto beans is one such bean which will prevent the sugar level from rising too fast after consuming a meal. This curry was one of the staple menu I ate when I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.They are also an excellent source of molybdenum, a very good source of folate, vitamin B1, minerals like phosphorus, iron, magnesium, manganese, and potassium. Today I used pinto beans to make a curry that is creamy, full of flavor and uber tasty. This curry can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator for 2-3 days.I started my new year with pinto beans masala for lunch.

PINTO BEANS MASALA

Source: Amma

Ingredients

1 cup raw pinto beans (soaked and pressure cooked)

1 large onion - chopped

1 large tomatoe - chopped

1 tablespoon ginger - minced

1 tablespoon garlic - minced

1 tablespoon curry powder - store bought

1 teaspoon garam masala

Juice of 1/2 lemon

2 cups water

1/4 cup cilantro - chopped

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions

1. Take a medium sized pressure cooker. Heat oil until they smoke a bit. Throw in the onions and little salt and let it brown, approximately 15 minutes on a medium flame.

2. Add the minced ginger and garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Sprinkle curry powder and cook till the raw smell disappears. Mix in the tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy, approximately 5 minutes. Finally add the pinto beans and stir to mix well. Pour some water and pressure cook for 4 whistles or cook covered for 45 minutes on medium-low flame.

3. Once the steam has settled down, remove the whistle and open the cooker. Pour the lemon juice over and garnish with garam masala and cilantro. Stir to combine and serve hot with rice/ roti.

Tips

1. Since pinto beans have low glycemic index, I make them while following South beach diet phase 1 and 2 (ofcourse in phase 3 too).

2. I had mine with cold cucumbers and finished off the lunch with a cup of fat-free yogurt and roasted nuts drizzled with agave nectar. A wholesome meal for sure.

For the roasted nuts and yogurt dessert:

Ingredients

1/4 cup almonds - roughly chopped

1/4 cup walnuts - roughly chopped

1/4 cup flax seeds

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt to taste

1 cup yogurt

1 tablespoon agave nectar ( + more) as per your taste

Directions

Mix the nuts with oil. Pre-heat the oven to 350F. Spread the nuts over a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes. Remove mix the nuts well and toss them back to the oven and let it roast for another 10 minutes. Keep an eye not to burn. Sprinkle salt. Cool and store in air tight container.

Place a scoop of 1 cup yogurt in a dessert bowl. Throw in some nuts (2 tablespoon) and drizzle the agave nectar on top. Serve cold.

2011 - A year of motherhood

2011-12-31T17:06:00.000-08:00

"My mother wanted me to be her wings, to fly as she never quite had the courage to do. I love her for that. I love the fact that she wanted to give birth to her own wings"

- Erica Jong

2011 has been a wonderful year for me. Sitting on the couch gazing at the movie in the TV screen, I began to write about the things that happened in the last 12 months; the memories of the milestone my little baby reached was the first thing that crossed my mind. This was the year when my little dumpling began to roll over, crawl, stand, walk and now he practically runs around the house. This year has made me realize how the life changes drastically with a little being's arrival. No late nights with TV or books, no roaming around the streets of San Francisco in the cold, no social life, absolutely no me time. Wait!!! Does the list sound like a complaint? God no!!! There are no regrets, it has been an absolute pleasure to wake up with him, play with him, run around with him and spend all the time I have with him. The experience is truly emotional and I feel I have been transported to a new planet.

2011 has kept me so busy, I truly didn't find time to visit and comment other blogs, infact I have lost contact with so many lovely blogger friends over the months. I feel so terrible about that and I am hoping to get back to action and visit all the amazing blogs, stay in touch with the talented bloggers and make new friends in the coming year. I want to welcome the new year with an Irish toast "In the New Year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want" and homemade chocolates, just like the ones you get in Ooty/Kodaikanal.

HOME MADE CHOCOLATE RECIPE
Source: Rani akka

Ingredients
Milk powder - 3 cups
Sugar - 2 1/2 cups
Coco-powder - 3/4 cup (I used Hershey)
Water - 3/4 cup
Butter (in room temp) - 150 grams

Directions
1. Sieve the milk powder and coco powder together for 3 times.
2. Grease 9x13 inch pan and keep it aside.
3. Boil the sugar in water and bring it to a 3 string consistency (takes about 15 minutes). Now add the butter and let the butter melt. Switch the gas off and quickly pour it over the sieved powder and quickly mix it and transfer to the greased plate.

Tips:
1. The last step has to be really fast otherwise the coco-mixer will harden then it will not flow neatly to the pan. Allow it the cool for a while and cut in to pieces.
2. I cooled mine for 24 hours. Since the sugar syrup began to lightly crystallise, the chocolate had a fudge like consistency. I let it cool for 24-36 hours and cut them into small chunks.
3. If it turns fudgy, don't panic. Roll them into a ball and serve. Chocolate in any form is divine.

Have a wonderful 2012 as sweet as chocolate. May you all be blessed with immense happiness and great memories.

Hugs

Meen Kozhambhu for Sunshine and smile

2011-12-23T22:27:00.000-08:00

We had been on a vacation to India to celebrate the first birthday of my little dumpling. Yes, time just went by so fast and today he is 13 months old. Things had been crazy busy at my end. It's been a week since we arrived and we are still jet lagged, living on Dennys and Subway and my house is super messy with huge suitcases and mountains of clothes piled in every corner. That summons my absence from blogging for the last 6+ weeks.

Today I am writing a short post and linking you to a very beautiful blog - Kankana's Sunshine and Smile. She is one of my very few blogger friend whom I have met in person and we as a group with two other bloggers cherish our together times greatly. I am hoping to meet them all over a coffee soon.

Before you hop over to her blog, Spices and Aroma wishes her readers a merry Christmas and a very happy New year. May you all be blessed with immense happiness and good health. Love you all!

Click to see my guest post.

The Azulia, GRT Grand, Chennai - A review

2011-12-01T09:39:00.000-08:00

Sipping a hot cup of steamy elachi chai, I sat curled up on the bed of my home. A moment later an email popped up in my phone. I read an invitation for a food review in one of the Mediterranean restaurant in town. I read the contents twice over. Being married to a man who loves Middle Eastern food more than me, I am used to falafel, pita bread, hummus day in and day out. Having tasted them around the globe, I was looking forward to check the authenticity in Chennai. The restaurant Azulia in GRT Grand, T Nagar was unknown to me. So who would want to miss this experience? I replied back with a yes with curiosity and excitement in mind.

The tall doors of Azulia with a waiter clad in black, welcomed me with a warm smile. I entered with an open mind and an empty stomach. The well-layed open kitchen caught my attention first. I love restaurants with a kitchen where I could see the firing dancing, sauces flying and spices jumping over the hot wok and also the anxious face of the chef as he waits for his masterpiece to be cooked and plated to perfection. I hastened my footsteps to the table they pointed for me. A majestic wooden table covered with simple yet classy motifs on the table cloth resembled a wall paper to me, the shining silverwares, sophisticated pepper mill and a water bottle holder with a collage of broken glass pieces looked uber gorgeous. From the ethnic lanterns to waiters dressed in Moroccan outfits to the window panes to the overall décor screamed Mediterranean to me.

Since I showed up a little early, I had a wonderful opportunity to chat with Chef Ethem Aydemir, a handsome man whose accent reminded me of my Israeli friends. He was warm, friendly and so knowledgable with what he was loves. “I have been cooking from age 14” he narrated his story with pride in his eyes. He comes from a family of great cooks where cooking, eating and sharing the food is part of their life and he has been cooking on a professional level for the last 25+ years. “Azu means blue in Spanish and Portuguese”, he added when I asked him about the name Azulia. “The name signifies the bright blue Mediterranean Sea” he added. He cracked jokes about his failed experiments growing herbs in Chennai and that he stopped his attempts with gardening. He sighed and said “Everything is imported here, including me”. He was too witty and was a fun to be with. Before he left for the kitchen, he gave choices of the food to taste and I can assure that you can blindly follow his suggestions. He made me feel at home with his constant trips from kitchen to the seating area, making sure that every dish is served with utmost care and love and hospitality, giving me the experience of dining in his home.

There was another equally knowledgable gentleman Ricardo, restaurant manager who gave me details about the origin of the restaurant, the produce and meat sources. “The silverware were custom ordered from England” he said as he handed over a colorful book. I thought it was a cookbook, but he corrected that it’s a book which carried stories of food and brief history about ten countries that are predominant with Mediterranean cuisine – Turkey, Israel, Arab, Greece, Lebanon, Egypt, part of Italy, Spain, France and Malta . “The chef also caters to special foods like gluten free, vegan, nut-free, name it and he will custom make it for you” he boasted as I was flipping through the pages. I loved the book and if you are a curious seeker for world cuisines, this book is sure to take you on a journey around the countries of Mediterranean sea.

Now coming to what I love: Food. As we got seated, a young waiter arrived with a shot glass filled with water.

He said “Turkish magic mam”.

I went “What? Come again”. I thought it to be a floating candle.

“It’s a magic mam”, he smiled back. He then dropped a pill that looked like Mentos into it. Once it touched the water, the pill magically blossomed into a wet napkin. I slowly opened the tightly wrapped napkin and wiped my fingers and was all ready to indulge guilt free.

With the new found friends to chat with, a tummy that was growling aloud and looking forward the fun that was going to unfold, I started off the day with a glass of Four season's Merlot. I swirled the glass just like the way my husband taught me, inhaled a lungful of its aroma and sipped a little of the gorgeous medium red wine. It journeyed around my mouth and as I gulped it down, I could feel the warmth of the wine. It was crisp, rich and fruity flavored. I was happy that I made the right choice.

Soon the cold and hot Mezze platter was filled over the huge table. Under the cold ones were the tzakziki ( a cheese based dish) , hummus (a chickpea based dip),dolamdes (grape leaves stuffed with raisins and pinenuts), moussakka marakkech (aubergine and chick peas based tangy tomatoey dish) and mutabal (an eggplant based sloppy dip). My most favorite one was moussakka and the least one was mutabal. I love hummus and my refrigerator is always stocked with different types of homemade hummus. I could eat it all by itself and this hummus was definitely a winner but for my taste bud I would go with a pinch more of salt. I had tasted dolamdes for the first time in Dubai and I hated it then. I couldn’t eat a piece more after the first bite. But over the years, I have developed a liking for it. Just like wine, I feel dolamdes is an acquired taste. Here, they were perfect, moist and extremely well done.

Coming to what most of us love to munch at any time of the day – deep fried wonders. The hot mezze offered were falafel, fatayer, bourak bel jibneh, jawaneh, gamberoni Aglio e Olio, bourakakia and kebbe laktine. I fell in love with bourakakia, it was a cigar shaped, gooey cheesy delight. I munched one, then went for the next one right away and also the deep fried chicken wings, they were juicy and tender. The chicken was cooked in lemon, garlic and coriander. Even the sautéed prawns caught my attention. They were lip smacking good. The dish was called Gamberoni Aglio e Olio. Don’t forget to remember this name. I know its tad long. Never mind, ask the waiter for the king prawn starter and they are sure to help you. For a change, I found a restaurant where the waiters knew what they were serving. The boys posed a smiling face and a hospitable look and they refilled the empty glasses right away. Even the way they poured a glass of water, with a straight tilt and no spill was commendable.

And then there was Italy on the table. Yes, the pizza! The manakish pizza was a thin crust one with well-balanced toppings - tomato, cheese, fresh mint and olives. The smell of the cheesy pizza was wafting in the air and as I took my first bite, I could the hear the crunch in every chew. It had a green base which I initially thought to be a basil pesto but later realized the flavor of zaatar ( a mix of Middle eastern spices). My husband got me this spice from Israel. I have even used it to marinate chicken and seafood for one summer BBQ, I recollected.

Before the main course, a cup of passion fruit sorbet arrived at the table.

“It’s a palate cleanser, madam” the waiter reassured when I was lost on why a dessert has arrived a little early. It was refreshing, perfectly sweetened and smooth to perfection. I stopped myself with few licks and waited for the main course to arrive.

The Tuscan sun popped over my head and made me crave for some Italian pasta. With no second thoughts, I ordered Cannelloni al a Bolognaise when I spotted it on the menu. It’s cannelloni (a tube shaped pasta) filled with lamb meat and topped with creamy cheese sauce. It was one of the best plated dish I have seen so far. I hardly took notice of what others ate as by then I was almost full, scanning and saving my stomach for the dessert and I got sweaty and tired, guess the air conditioner was little under the weather that day. I had to keep insisting the manager and waiter to get the temperature right. That part of constantly wiping my forehead with the napkin was definitely not expected with the reputation of GRT.

Baklava, hot chocolate soufflé and orange cheesecake were the desserts on the list. Having tasted a light, flaky baklava from couple of Middle eastern shops near my home, I found this much sweeter, syrupy and rich. Yes, I did like this one for sure. But the cheesecake and chocolate soufflé was a huge disappointment. The molten chocolate was too watery for my liking, I would prefer a much thicker chocolate syrup anyday and for the cheesecake, it was too “orangy” for me.

Overall, I loved the food and it is definitely one of my choice to bring my husband for dinner. There are umpteen parking space available and it is better to make reservation before you show up at the doorstep. The ambiance and settings are family friendly and it is sure to take your family and friends on culinary journey.

Food – 9/10 (except for the dessert)

Presentation - 10/10

Ambiance- 5 /5

Service- No rating as it was a review meet!

Price – Rs.2-3000 for a 2-3 course meal for a couple

Address:GRT Grand, 106 Sir Thyagaraya Road, T.Nagar , Chennai

28150500

Disclaimer: I have been invited for a review at GRT grand. I did not receive any monetary compensation for the review. An invitation was sent to try out. My thoughts and opinions in this review are unbiased and your opinions may differ.

Chapati with methi murgh

2011-10-18T19:46:00.000-07:00

On the first weekend of every month, amma would take me for a trip to Subiksha supermarket to buy provisions. I used to hate that ritual. Thoughts about spending that evening shopping and collecting huge bags of lentils, spices soaps, horlicks and other necessaries for the house petrifies me every month. If I get lucky, it would also be a day for a color book or a painting box or a fancy ruler/pencil/eraser at the Murugan stationary store on the way. She wouldn't buy anything for herself, she feels shopping just for the heck of it is a waste of time and money. She would always ask me about how people find time for window shopping. She is a simple women with practical dreams.

Subiksha supermarket was located at the left side, diagonally opposite to a wine shop. The roads were always busy as the famous Station road of West Mambalam was right behind it and further away was the more so famous Ranganathan street with a railway station separating both the streets. Most part of this lane sells vegetables and fruits - plump pumpkins, round oranges, juicy apples, crisp cucumbers, beautiful red tomatoes, piles of okra that would click when amma snaps its tail. That's how she tests for freshness till date. If not in a good mood, the vendor would snap back,"Just touch the vegetables madam, don't break them open".

Its a narrow alley always packed with thousands and thousands of people. Cows would block the traffic, two-third of the road on both sides occupied by the pavement shops, crows scavenging on the dirts, non-stop honking sound, scooter and bicycles on a bumper-to-bumper distance and pedestrians would walk in the middle between the vehicles that inche their way in that tiny street. I hate it. Amma wouldn't stop at Subiksha alone, she will say we should walk till the end of Station road to buy fresh greens and vegetables. Even though I would fuss and make faces, amma wouldn't budge. After a point I would surrender as my attitude and grumbling would annoy her mood, already irritated with the dirt and noise in the surrounding.

Shopkeepers would sit on a small stool, elevated high from the platform, screaming out their prices and promising to offer a better deal if bought in bulk."Come madam! Fresh, fresh" called the vendors pointing at their produce. Amma found Station road greens the best and freshest of the lot. When I complain to walk till there, she would say that the one our regular Keeraikari (Lady who sells greens and herbs) brings are wilted and few days old.

At one end of the lane was the sugarcane juice stall, amma would order two and say "No ice, no water, just the plain juice". After sipping the delicious juice till the last drop, we would walk back to the provision store to pick up our stuffs. Before that, we would stop at the Music shop to check whether any new Carnatic songs cassettes arrived. We would head back home tired and hungry. Chapati and dhal for dinner today, she will announce as appa and I would help her unpack the groceries.

Finally amma learned to make good chapatis, I thought to myself that day. She has come a long way in the art of chapati making. South Indian families atleast the Tamilians I know weren't familiar with the process of chapati making. Even the ones we get in Saravana Bhavan are different. Achi, amma, perimma, who ever it is,their chapatis would be sticky, oily, bulky and I have always wondered how my North Indian friend's mom would make soft, fluffy,easily tearable, chewable ones. Well, over the years my mom had learned it well and she is a pro now.

Here I am sharing my post about making good chapatis and also methi murgh (chicken cooked with fenugreek leaves) to go with it.

Chapati

Makes 8
Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour (atta)
1 teaspoon salt

1-2 cups water ( use per requirement)

Directions

1. Whisk the flour and salt in a large deep bowl. Sprinkle handful of water over the flour. Mix with the hand. Keep adding water little by little until you reach a soft dough.

2. Keep massaging them with two hands to smooth out the dough. More the kneading, the gluten will break down well. Roll them into a ball and set aside covered with a moist kitchen towel or damp cloth for 30 minutes.

3. Roll out the dough into a long cylinder about 8cm length. Slice them into 1cm cubes and roll each into a ball.

4. Set a pastry brush, oil, flour on the work station. Sprinkle flour on the surface and place one ball. Flatten them to a circle and sprinkle flour on top. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into a circle of 2 cm radium.

5. Spread oil over its surface with a brush and fold them into a triangle.

6. Sprinkle flour again on the dough and on the surface to avoid tearing.

7. Roll out the triangle to form a large triangle and set aside until you are done with the remaining dough.

8. Heat a flat tava ( saucepan) for 5 minutes on medium flame. Keep your hand on the surface, if you cann't keep the hand for more than 2 seconds, then you are ready to get started.

9. Place the chapati carefully without tearing them apart. Cook for 2 seconds and flip them over. Cook for 4- 5 minutes and then turn them over for the other side to cook for 2-3 minutes. Brush little ghee or oil on its surface as they are done.

10. Set aside and serve with your side dish for the day.

Tips

1. Cover with a damp cloth to avoid cracking on the dough.

2. Use the flour and never store it for days together.

3. Don't add too much oil during its making.

4. Once cooked, covered the hot chapati with a damp cloth until ready to serve.

Methi murgh - Chicken cooked with fenugreek leaves

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

2 pounds chicken - cubed

2 cups fenugreek leaves (fresh) - chopped

1 large red onions - chopped

1 large tomato - chopped

1 tablespoon garlic - minced

1 tablespoon ginger - minced

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder ( highly spicy)

2 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

Salt to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large cooking pan. Once the oil ripples, add the ginger-garlic paste and saute for 30 seconds.

2. Then add the onions and a teaspoon salt and let it cook covered for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the turmeric, red chili and coriander powder. Saute for a minute till the raw smell disappears. Then mix in the tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the chicken and mix well to combine. Cook covered for 10 minutes. After that add the fenugreek leaves and cook covered on medium-low flame for further 25-30 minutes.

4. Don't add any water and let it cook in its own water. Sprinkle garam masala and check for salt.

Log cabin - Restaurant review

2011-10-15T14:37:00.000-07:00

Crisp September morning,with the gentle breeze caressing the cheek, sun shining bright across the horizon, with summer hat and sunglasses and a vast beach waiting for you, this place is the perfect spot to treat your hungry stomach before setting out for some water fun. Find out why?

2nd September 2011: S, my little cub and myself were on the long weekend trip to Reno, Nevada. It takes about 4-5 hours from San Francisco to reach Reno by road. On the way we kept planning about the eateries to check out, trails to hike and places to see for this year. We visit Reno every year as S's best friend SM lives there. Since there is a beautiful home and lovely company awaiting us, we are always looking forward our road trip to Nevada. We decided to explore more of Truckee and Lake Tahoe this year. My husband told about the Ribs cook off this year. I continued my list with Emerald bay hike, Log cabin, Donnor lake and my little one added "Da da daa!!! Tha tha tha!!!" language to the conversation. After nodding and agreeing to his views about the topic, we decided to stop at Auburn oldtown for some coffee and photo shoot. Pictures here. After that as expected there was bumper-to-bumper traffic in I-80E and to entertain ourselves, we spoke about what we I like. FOOD!!!

I first heard about Log Cabin Cafe from a friend I know, I explained to S. It is seems its one lovely place with super delicious food. She kept insisting that I should visit that place when I visit King's beach. Even my helpful blogger friends gave me tips on the list of places to check out during my visit to Reno this year and Log cabin was there in everyone's list. He was still not convinced and yelp reviews helped me to do that. After reading great reviews about food, we got really tempted to try it as the first thing when I arrive King's beach. Thank God! He was sold for sure. It would sound like a sales meeting for others when they listen to our conversation. That's what happens when two highly opinionated people marry, one has to try hard to convince the other with the idea.

We entered King's beach around 11 am on Saturday and the place is tiny enough to get missed. We drove past it but my husband located by chance and we made a "U" turn and arrived at the small parking lot. Somehow we managed to find a spot after 15 minutes waiting time. There is a private lot for parking and I am sure you will find one on the road too. When we arrived there was no wait time but the place was almost full and there was only two empty tables left. We were seated in the extreme corner right next to the kitchen. So you can imagine how hot and smoky it would have been. Note to self: Next time get seated elsewhere.

There was an American couple with four kids on the table to my left, a old couple near the window, a group of girl friends on the table to the right of the counter and few families on the remaining tables. I waited for the waitress to arrive, finally she showed up tired and exhausted. Blame the long weekend again, I told myself. She wasn't in great mood. I could say that from her tone.

Having said that, the food is worth the money. The menu is a definite hit and the food tasted out of the world. We started with Arizona toast dipped in corn flakes and oats, it was crunchy, sweet and irresistible. There were 6 slices in total. We were four of us and I liked it so much that I ate 3 triangles straight. The other 3 boys were generous enough to accept by definition of equal sharing.

I ordered house smoked salmon eggs benedict with croissant because I love smoked salmon with eggs and the waitress highly recommended it. You can also get it served with toasts. No doubt it tasted yummy but was little bit salty for my liking. The presentation looked clumsy, by the by who cares, it's a simple breakfast joint and not any signature restaurant. What matters here is the taste and they get 5 on 5 for that. Crunchy croissants with gooey eggs infused with hollandaise sauce and perfectly cooked potatoes were a combination made in heaven.

Next on the list was scrambled eggs with cheese and sundried tomatoes served with toast and potatoes. My husband ordered it. It's a simple dish made with ingredients you can guess by looking at the plate. That's what I like about small town restaurants, the taste is just like homemade. His empty plate suggested that his tummy was full and his bright smile suggested that he was impressed. Our other two friends stuck with smoked salmon and chicken sandwich. They loved it. Do I have to say "loved it" statement about the food over and over again????

Log cabin has maximum 7-8 tables and when we walked back to the car park, I found a beautiful patio behind the restaurant. It would be wonderful to enjoy scrumptious meal on a warm sunny day outside. The interior is warm and rustic with country style fittings. There is a cosy seating area upstairs where you can watch television while you wait for a table. There was a tiny restroom, not maintained really well but was decent enough to use. What was annoying was that I couldn't find a diaper changing shelf, as my little one needed a change. I had to run back to the car to get that done.

The total bill came upto $60.00 including tips for four which I wouldn't call an affordable one for everyday breakfast but definitely worth the money in a tourist spot.

It is open from 7 am till noon, so don't miss this spot which right at King's beach. They take reservations, so book your table ahead and indulge guilt-free in their awesome meals. From my experience, I would give Log Cabin 4 stars.

8692 N Lake Blvd
Kings Beach, CA 96143
(530) 546-7109
www.logcabinbreakfast.com

Suvir's Salmon "en papillote" with tomato chutney

2011-10-04T02:19:00.000-07:00

Festival time!!! Navarathri is here and the beautiful nine days of October is here. It used to be quarterly vacation time during school years, I recollect as I am typing this post. Memories of visiting neighbor's and relative's "golu" (dolls and figurines display), numerous tiny packets of vethalai (beetal leaves), pakku (nuts) and sundals piled together in a larger shopping bag, carnatic songs reverberating through the nook and corner of my residential complex and memorable gifts from generous guests comes by my mind when I think of those golden days.

After dusk the freshly prepared sundals are offered to God, with my hands dutifully rocking the brass prayer bell for the arathi and lips mechanically reciting the slokas, my eyes would reach to the closest clock to check for the time that's left to meet my girl friends. Once the evening prayers are offered by lighting diyas and quickly tasting the prasad, its time to get dressed up for the evening. Clad in crisp pattu-pavadai (skirt-blouse), eyes lined with dark coal, ears dangling with jimkis, jasmine garland perched on top of the neat braid that would suave from left to right to the rhythm of the footsteps and the bells in the anklet dancing to the wind,young girls will step out complementing each other's look and whispering the action plan for the evening, about the list of houses to visit. Much elder girls will be draped in pretty Kanchivaram silk sarees, looking drop dead gorgeous, making every on looker to awe at their beautiful daughter, mothers will quietly announce the "she is ready for marriage" tag to everyone with the hope to be flooded with proposals, neighbors offering up their sons, nephews, relatives and relative's relatives.

Some house would have seven steps elaborate golu, while many will have five steps. It is important to keep the steps in odd numbers. Followed by logical arrangement of idols, with Lord Shiva, Ganesh, Vishnu, Murugan, Ranganathar placed at the top, followed by Ashtalakshmis (Eight Lakshmis) and then by Dasavatharam (10 avatars), by Andal Kalyanam set, and the final row with statues of Chettiyar-Chettichis. Along the side of the steps, there would be cricket team, park and zoo. We would discuss about whose golu looked the best and there would be one aunty in L1 block whose golu will have the science exhibition concepts like display of drip irrigation or model with turbines moving with the flow water, the electricity generated will make a tiny light bulb placed along the paddy fields glow. We were always excited and curious to go and check out what new thing she will have for that year.

This year most of my friends have kept golu in the US. The weekend had been exciting, I visited few of my friend's place for golu get-together, that's what we call it now, Golu party , a much needed time to catch up with girl friends and their family over dinner. We dressed up in traditional attires and my little one wore a red kurta pyjama which my MIL sent and he looked uber cute. It was an evening of long chats, scrumptious food and loud laughter. My friends had done an amazing in setting up beautiful golus, as good as the ones seen back home. With the soothing devotional songs in the backdrop, golu steps glittering like a Christmas tree with lights and the music echoing through my ears, I felt divinity around me and I came back peaceful and happy.

A long tiring day. Quick shower for myself, diaper and dress change for little S who was still sleeping and we tucked ourselves comfortably inside the duvet. As I stare at the florescent stars studded ceiling in little S's bedroom, I am tempted and inspired by my girl friends to get started with golu next year. Then I hear him moan in this sleep, that reminds me of a boisterous boy at home and nightmares of he pulling out the base-cloth freaks me every now and then. Next year I am going to try, I assure to myself. I was fast asleep within few minutes.

The post for today is totally irrelevant to the festival. I made this dish on 25th September before Navarathri began. It is Suvir's Salmon "en papillote" with tomato chutney. I met Chef Suvir Saran on facebook. I have heard great reviews about his restaurants and came to know about his books. I immediately ordered a copy of American Masala and this dish is from his book.I loved the rich and intense color of the book, they look so Indian and so ethnic. The pictures speaks a million words, the photos makes me crave for a plate of his food. I was tempted to re-create the magic he created in his book. I cooked his salmon dish with my tomato chutney. Since I had bought loads of frozen salmon for my South beach diet, I felt this is an excellent dish for Indians who are following South beach diet. It is a convincingly likable taste for us and a good way to get your omega-three. I tried couple of other dishes like Goan shrimp curry and cardamon-roasted cauliflower. They were fantastic. This book is a keeper for sure. Do get your copy soon. Spices and aroma takes this opportunity to wish my dear friend Chef.Suvir the best of everything in life. God bless him!Thanks a lot for bringing out this wonderful book and keep more coming.

Tomato chutney (my amma's recipe)

Makes 1 jar (8oz)

Ingredients

8 ripe tomatoes - cubed

1 tablespoon garlic - minced

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1/2 tablespoon urad dhal

20 curry leaves

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 tablespoon red chili powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 tablepoon olive oil

Salt to taste

Directions

Dry fry 1 teaspoon mustard, fenugreek, coriander and cumin seeds for 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn. Switch off, cool and grind them to a coarse powder.

Heat oil in a large sauce pan. Once the oil ripples, add mustard seeds, above made spice powder and curry leaves. Saute for 30-60 seconds. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Then mix in the tomatoes and mix well. Sprinkle turmeric, chili and coriander powder. Cook for 2minutes, until raw smell disappears. Cook covered for 25-30 minutes. Add salt to taste and set aside.

Make them in batches and store in air-tight container. They stay fresh for 5-6 days in refrigerator.

For the salmon ( Suvir's recipe):

Serves 6

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups tomato chutney

6 salmon fillets ( remove bones)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground peppercorns

Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving

Lemon or lime wedge , for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450'F. Cut six pieces of aluminium foil. Place tomato chutney at the centre of the foil and place a fillet on top skin-side down. Season with salt and pepper and top with another 3 tablespoon of chutney.

Bring both the long sides of the foil up over the salmon and fold the edges over twice to seal. Fold up the short ends of the foil, completely sealing the salmon within the package.

Place them on a baking sheet and cook for 10-15 minutes. Mine took 15 minutes to cook. Remove the foil after 10 minutes to let the steam settle. Check for doneness with a fork by flaking the center, if it is so rarem refold and cook for further 2 minutes. The heat within the package will continue to cook the fillet.

While serving, unfold the packets, slide the fish and sauce out, sprinkle cilantro and serve with lemon wedges.

I served mine with grilled veggies and hare chutney.

Kara kozhi kari and the winner is...

2011-10-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

My laptop had been troubling me for the last few days. That explains my absence in visiting and commenting your blogs and chatting with dear friends in facebook. I will back soon to visit your space and comment on those lovely recipes, photos and writeups. Thanks for being understanding. This no-lappy time makes me realize that there is so much time in hand. I have been reading a lot of novels, visiting library, cooking eloquent dinners and reading about food photography. My routine generally revolves around my son and I get to do "my" work when he naps and plays by himself. Now that both the Ss are taking their afternoon nap, I sneaked inside our bedroom to get S's laptop to announce the cookbook giveaway winners and to share the little changes I incorporated to the photo capturing techniques. So here I am using Mr.S's laptop. Even though he really wants to share the laptop with me, adamant-cheeky side of him screams back saying" That's my think pad. You cann't use it. Its new. its expensive. its blah blah...". With those words reverberating my ear and just to see smoke erupts through his ears, here I am typing my new post from his laptop.

Still the delicious aroma of my mother-in-law's dry chicken dry wafts through the kitchen air and my tummy rumbles out loud. Peppery rasam and steamy rice lay untouched over switched off burner. A few moments later, I treated myself with a plate of rice, chicken and rasam and little yogurt by the side to cool off my burning tongues and runny nose. Mixing the warm rice with rasam and biting to juicy chicken I began to eat.

Kara kozhi kari which translates to spicy chicken dry fry is my dish today. The chicken was marinated with the basic spice powders for 36 hours and cooked in hot oil tempered with usual South Indian spices. The spices are sure to release your sinuses. That's what we both need now being tired with cold and cough.

Ingredients

1 pound chicken, skinless with or without bones - cubed

2 tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder ( add as per your spice level)

2 tablespoon coriander powder

2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 tablespoon salt (as per your taste)

1 tablespoon mustard seeds

1/2 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

10-12 curry leaves (more if you want)

5 dry red chilli

2 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoon water

Directions
Marinate the chicken with turmeric, chili and coriander powder. Mix and add salt to combine. Cover and refrigerate overnight or 12-36 hours.

Heat oil in a large sauce pan with a lid. Once they oil ripples and develops a blue hue, add mustard seeds. Let it pop well. Then add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves and dry red chilli. Saute for 30 seconds. Then add the marinated chicken and add water. Cook covered for 30 minutes, until oil leaves along the sides. Stir well and serve hot with rasam/yogurt and rice.

The winner of the Sukham Ayu cookbook is ~~Srilekha.~~ Congrats to the winner and I am sure she is going to have a great time cooking with it. Please email me your address to receive your copy of the book.

Update: Since Srilekha has not reached out to me even after constant email, I am announcing the new winner today and it is Amanda. Thanks once again Prathibha Jain and Jigyasa Giri for generously sharing your book.

Ragi sevai - Finger millet noodles

2011-09-29T20:13:00.000-07:00

Wiping my face with the edge of my hand towel, I found the ragi mavu (millet flour) nestled comfortably in one corner of my pantry. I have a list of ingredients to finish before my trip. Ragi became the first one that caught my eyes. What can I make with it? Quinoa idly with ragi or ragi kanji or dosai or puttu or sevai? After a few quandary about whether S will like it and also self-doubting my ability to make soft thin noodles just like my mom, I convinced myself to give it a shot. Ragi sevai it is - was our dinner yesterday.

Boiled water was drizzled over the fresh flour sprinkled with salt. Too hot to handle, I used a spatula to mix until it reached a manageable temperature. The crumbled flour was kneaded into smooth dough, covered with a damp cloth to rest for a while. I pulled out the sevai press which my mom gave it to me two years back, used couple of times by her when she was here for my delivery. I brushed its inside with oil to make clean, long noodles. I passed my hands to the onion rack to pull one large red onion that I bought from the Farmer's market last Sunday. Don't forget to chop ginger, I self-reminded myself. When I opened the tortilla box where I store the green chillies and ginger, shockingly the ginger has curled slowly losing its moisture. Never mind, I went ahead using it. Chopped green chillies, onions, ginger were ready to be cooked together with moist ragi noodles.

Silently offering my prayers to Thillai Kali, our family goddess, I began to pull out little dough and pressed it against the press and long feathery soft noodles came uninterrupted from its bottom. Placed them in a idly plate and once steam cooked for 12 minutes, bright brown strands were ready to be tempered with some spices. Once cooled, they were broken into single strands and cooked for couple of minutes in the onion- curry leaves mixture. All mixed and set at the dinner table.

As I spooned a little and raised it to my mouth, I felt the taste of my mom's sevai. Warm, earthly and lip smacking perfect. Amma would have to admit that I have done it really well. I glanced through the corner of my eyes at S, he didn't exclaim that it was such a wonderful dish. But his empty bowl suggested that this dish will be sold at my home if made once a while. But I love its taste. Just like wine, love for ragi dishes is an acquired taste.

It is perfect for those in South beach phase 2 and also for women with gestational diabetes.

Ingredients

For the noodles:

2 cups finger millet

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups hot water

For the tempering:

1 large onion - chopped

2 green chillies - slit

1 teaspoon ginger - minced

10-12 curry leaves

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon urad dhal

1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions

Mix ragi flour with salt and sprinkle water little-by-little to form a soft dough. Pull out a little and place it inside the press and cover. Use the press as per manufacturer's instruction. Run the press around a greased idly plates forming large circles. Steam cook them for 12-15 minutes. Once steam has settled, open and transfer to a fresh bowl. Once cooled, remove them into single strands and crumble it into smaller pieces. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, heat oil. Once oil ripples over its surface, add the mustard seeds and let it pop. Throw in the urad dhal and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds. Then mix in the onions and ginger and cook for 8 minutes until the onions soften. Add the cooked noodles to this mixture, combine well and set with any chutney of your choice.

Note to self: Time to buy a new idiyappam/sevai press as the present one has mild rust on the outer side. Also learn the tips to keep it clean and rust-free when not being used for a long time.

Foodbuzz 24x24 - One pot South Indian meal and a peek into my kitchen

2011-09-25T15:37:00.000-07:00

Every month Foodbuzz hosts an online event called 24x24 which showcases 24 meals in 24 hours.When I got the email for monthly contest I immediately knew the kind of dinner party I wanted to throw: a comfort food that my mom would make from the basic ingredients available in the kitchen. Hearing the news that my submission got accepted I instantly called up my new-found friends for "One pot South Indian meals dinner party". This month I am one of the featured publishers chosen to document a meal whipped from the kitchen staples, and yesterday's dinner was special for sure. I went with the theme - budget friendly pantry meals and created a menu, keeping in mind my husband's favorite one liner "Going ethnic means going global" - so here I am making a simple meal that reflects my South Indian origin.

My pantry is stocked with basic Indian spices like turmeric, chili and cilantro powder, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, whole spices like cloves, cardamon, cinnamon and dry red chillies, herbs (some dried and some fresh), ghee - clarified butter, oils from sesame, sunflower and olive, tamarind fruit, three varieties of rice, lentils like yellow split peas, frozen coconut, frozen and fresh and cans of few beans. With these staples, I can make more than 25 dishes and these were the pantry essentials I had during my student life too. Everyday cooking requires meager use of the spice mix, which makes them be used over a long period of time. Indian cooking is simple, affordable and healthy. Even with minimum spices, wholesome meals can be cooked. Like Italian cuisine, nothing goes waste in Indian cooking, any left overs will be turned into a new dish.

Now take a peek into my domain - the kitchen I love the most and my pantry - the one I totally depend on for everyday cooking. I mustered all the courage in the world to show the utterly cluttered pantry of mine. Feel free to voice your views on what you feel about that and also tell me what are the things you stock in your pantry?

Indians love their pressure cooker and I have four in total, each in different sizes - Small, Medium, Large and Extra-large, just like in clothing stores :-) I steam the vegetables and cook my dhaal (lentils), meat, rice, payasams (dessert), you name it and that would have been cooked in my cooker. You can find no house without one. It makes cooking fast and saves ton loads of gas. We have been part of reducing carbon footprint for over 50 years now. That's something to be proud of. Anyways coming back to my foodbuzz event, for today's dinner - all the dishes were cooked in the pressure cooker.

A one pot meal...

One that can be cooked in no time in a pressure cooker...

That is delicious and quick to fix...

Perfect lunch box food...

A definite party hit...

One that fits the bill perfectly is my menu for today.

What's on the menu?
1. Bisi-bele-bath - Rice-lentil based dish
2. Cucumber raita - Cold yogurt seasoned with cumin
3. Cabbage poriyal - Cabbage stir fried with mustard seeds and coconut oil
4. Pathirpeni - Indian dessert

I invited three of my blogger friends, Prerna of Indian Simmer, Rose of Magpies recipes and Kankana of Sunshine and Smile to join me for dinner. We had such a lovely time talking about food, blogging and everything under the sky. All of our Curious Georges had fun playing together, hugging, pulling toys and laughing together. Since all the three were such talented blogger and ardent foodies, I was so nervous about they liking my food. Two of them were from Northern part of India and Rose is from Kerala, so I took this opportunity to introduce them to the foods I have grown up eating.

Since my little one needs to be carried and pampered almost 24X7, I managed to whip just the entree, side dish and dessert and decided to go for a store bought salsa and chips for the appetizer. I know that is no South Indian dish, please show me some love and forgive that part of the meal :-)

After munching few chips, we started right away with Bisi-bele-bath. A South Indian rice based meal made with equal portions of rice, lentils and vegetables cooked in an exotic spice blend. Bisi-bele-bhaath translates to hot-lentil-rice in Kannada, A South Indian language. My mom's second sister, S periamma is known for this dish and I call this her signature recipe. For any family lunch or potluck parties, she would prepare this and the moment she opens her hot pack box, the wonderful flavor of nutty sesame oil will waft through the air and tickle our taste buds in a way that would attract all my cousins to the dining table like bees buzzing around a flower. To get that brilliant taste, she shared her trade secret. Finish the rice with few drizzle of sesame oil at the end, she announced when I asked her for the recipe. Yes perimma I followed your recipe and that tip and everyone loved the outcome. Thank you lovely lady!

I served bisibelebath with cool raita and potato chips and cabbage stir fry. I quickly chopped all the veggies, made the spice mix, soaked some tamarind in water, washed the rice and lentil. Saute, pour and stir - pressure cooker was set to cook for 10 whistles. Once done, the rice-lentil medley was garnished with fresh cilantro. I left them hot in the pressure cooker until the guests arrived.

For the side, I steamed the cabbage for 1 whistle and tempered the fuming oil with mustard seeds, curry leaves, onions and green chillies. Saute and mixed in the cooked cabbage and for little color, I added turmeric powder and finally drizzled some coconut oil for an added earthiness. Stirred to combine and ready to enjoy. We paired the food with Cabernet Sauvignon, Robert Mondavi wine.

Finally for dessert, I made pathirpeni. That dish was totally new to them and I was so glad that I included it. It is a noodle-shaped dry dish which is soaked in aromatic milk infused with saffron, cardamons and nuts. I pressure cooked the whole milk with cardamons for 8 whistles and once they steam has settled, I mixed in saffron strands, coarse rice powder, nuts and sugar to taste. I bought cute ceramic glasses similar to shot glasses. I placed the noodles at the bottom and pour the warm milk over it and garnished with some chopped nuts.

I’ll post the recipes of bisibelebath and cabbage poriyal in the coming weeks. Since the Pathirpeni was such a favorite, I have posted that recipe couple of days back. Many thanks to Foodbuzz for organizing this event every month. Also special thanks to my most supportive husband who took care of my little cub while I cleaned and prepped my kitchen, and four gorgeous ladies including Rose's mom and Little dumpling - P, Cutie angel - A for making it a lovely evening. Delicious food, good wine and awesome girlfriends!!!

Pathirpeni - Indian dessert

2011-09-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

Pathirpeni is originally from Karnataka and I just adore it. Most of the time (naah!! may be all the time) people seem to confuse this with Paal poli (deep fried flat bread soaked in sweet condensed milk). Most of my friends have not heard about this dish.

I have a very sweet memory attached to this particular dish. I made it for the first time in UK and that day happened to be my birthday - 2007. My mom couriered new dresses and a packet of raw pathirpeni packet along with a small packet of crushed almonds, pistachios, cashewnuts, saffron and cardamons to be used for it; a small chit was also attached to its cover, which summarized the recipe. I still remember that day - cold gloomy day with drizzling now and then, my friend announced that a parcel arrived, I rushed down in excitement to see what amma had sent me. I opened to see my birthday gifts and little note tucked inside a greeting card slid down my hand. I saw my amma's hand writing after such a long time, I vaguely remember the last time I saw it. I still have them, have saved it in my dairy.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

1 Packet Pathirpeni (you can get it in any supermarkets – Spencer’s daily, Nilgiris but I doubt its availability abroad) - Picture above.

1/2 cup nuts (Almonds, Pistachios and Cashews) - chopped (Save some for garnish)

1 teaspoon Cardamon powder

1000ml whole milk

Sugar to taste

10-12 strands Saffron+ 1/4 cup warm milk

Directions

Warm 1/4 cup milk and place the saffron strands. Set aside.

Bring the milk to boil and once they boil, lower the flame and cook for 30 minutes until they reduce to half. Allow the milk to thicken a bit. Now add the crushed cardamoms or cardamon powder and nuts. Now slowly add the sugar and mix thoroughly. Simmer it for next 5 minutes. Keep a cup of remaining milk aside.

Now take a serving bowl,preferably small one. Place the Patherpeni and pour the thick milk on top. Let the peni soak in the liquid well. Garnish with the nuts and serve immediately.

Note:Don’t cook the milk till they go really thick, not too thick or not too thin.

Wordless Wednesday - Sunset in Emerald Bay

2011-09-20T21:53:00.000-07:00

Kesar kulfi - Frozen Indian dessert

2011-09-18T00:59:00.000-07:00

"Junoon!Junoon! Junoon!" - The most famous Indian TV soap I grew up watching ends with these words at 10.00 PM. In every home, this memorable song of 1990's would echo between the walls and the entire housing complex where I lived would remain silent when the show airs. With no cable TV or fancy play stations to play with, everyone from 6 to 60 years of age will be glued to watch simple yet quality shows in doordarshan (Indian national TV channel). And at exactly 10.01 pm, there in the distant corner of the colony entrance, I will hear "ding..ding..ding" sound of an aluminum bell. I would climb up the sofa to the window pane and stand between the iron beam of the window grill to tuck my face between it and watch the glorious entry of that tricycle guy with a huge circular tank covered with a red cloth. A rustic chimney light by his side would attract the flies that would happily jump between the luminous light, cleaning water and the red cloth.

It is a strict no from my parents to eat those kulfis and that's the case in most homes. Everyone finds its dirty and unhygienic. But sometimes during summer time, my mom would buy it for me. My dad is one super picky and super hygenic person who will stare at a water tumbler zillion times before taking a sip and his eyes would scan for microscopic dirt.So appa is ruled out from the list. With a ten rupee note in hand, I would walk with my dad to buy 5 kulfis, one for each of us (my cousin,amma, perimma, perippa and myself).

I would run to that young guy clad in colored lungi and red shirt and say "5 kulfis, anna!" displaying my tiny five fingers and after a pause, I will complete "Special". Special means he will add some more nuts while serving. He will break open a small cylindrical container made in plastic,with a pairing knife dipped in his water, he would tap around its surface and loosen its edges by running along the corner and tactfully force a wooden stick at its center and pull out the voluptuous kulfi. Finally drizzled with some crunchy toasted pistachios and cashews that will stick to it like a paper to its glue, you are sure to enter heaven alive. While enduring its taste, my amma would add "don't know he made it with which water, look at the water he dips his knife, its milky and blurry and I am sure you are going to fall sick". Even after those strong warnings, yes it was indeed a scary statement for a 7 year old, I would lick and enjoy it every bit. My heart would feel light and the air around me would fluff up into an imaginary cloud that will fly me up in the sky. As I finish clicking the last drop of the kulfi, my first question will be when can we have it again and my cousin would jump in to ask the same. Both the moms would say next summer.

But the craving got uncontrollable, I would beg and cry to buy them often. That's when my mom started making it at home. Even those kulfis were rationed and it was made sporadic. Whenever she made it, I made sure to stick around her. As she simmered and cooked the milk to a thick liquid and added condensed milk and nuts, I would watch her with curious eyes, absorbing her directions step-by-step. My mom while pouring into the molds would say that the freezer should not be opened for 8 hours. I would nod in excitement that I will not open it for sure. But after my mom naps in the afternoon, I would tip-toe to the Godrej fridge, painted in red to check the molds. I will keep opening it every now and then to see whether they were done. Little annoyed with the doors being banged often, my mom would shout from the bedroom that this constant opening is going to delay the freezing process. I closed them after a final check and sat in the corner of the rectangular dining table next to a window gazing at the tall grasses in the backyard until my mom woke up, around 4.00PM. Can we have it now? was my first question when I saw my amma enter the dining room tying her loose hair into a bun, koondai. I don't think so, may be after dinner. Disappointed. I would set out for my evening play time in our park with a hope to come back for some yummilicious kulfis. All set - creamy, nutty and hard, they were delicious till the last drop.

Now its 10.00PM here, there is no Junoon to watch, there is no "Beware" statements from amma, there is no ding-ding-ding sound in the distance but there is my amma' plump-plump-kesar kulfi in the freezer ready for me to indulge. While I engulf myself in that sinfully irresistible dessert, let me tease you all with some pictures.

Makes 6 molds

Ingredients

2 cups heavy cream

1 can condensed milk
1 can evaporated milk

1/4 cup warm milk
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads

1/2 cup chopped pistachios

1/2 cup choppedalmonds

1 teaspoon cardamon powder

Directions

1. Warm the milk in a microwave for 30 seconds, add saffron strands and keep aside.

2. Bring the evaporated milk to a soft boil. Then add the cream. Bring that to a soft boil, add the warm milk with the saffron and condensed milk. Whisk while cooking for about 10-15 minutes.

3. Add the cardamon powder, pistachios and almonds. Remove from flame and cool it to room temperature.

4. Pour them into plastic molds. Freeze for upto 8 hours or overnight.

5. To serve, remove from the freezer and keep it out for 5 minutes. Try to pull out with a stick. Most of the time, like me if you end up with just the stick, don't panic. Use a pairing knife, tap the surface and work your way along the edges to loosen it. Then insert the stick at its center and pull it. This time you will not miss it for sure. Enjoy! :-)

Junoon title song for you all - Nostalgia!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Truckee

2011-09-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

Semi homemade: Egg scramble with smoked salmon

2011-09-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yet another semi homemade recipe from me to you. Egg scramble with smoked salmon is one easy to fix energizing breakfast. I have read and heard from a lot of health shows that having eggs for breakfast is the best way to start your weight loss journey.

For those of you who buy eggs in bulk, this is the test I recommend to check its freshness.This is what my friend taught me. Place the egg at the bottom of a glass and fill it with water until the rim and what what happens. I did this test today for fun and as I ran the experiment I was explaining the process to my son. Well, he was too cranky today and this was the only way to keep him engaged. It's practically not possible to carry the baby all day long. So, I buckled him in his high chair and gave a plastic spoon to play with and kept talking to him as if I was doing a presentation.

He smiled back and nodded his head as I finished my talk. Alright, coming to the point, what you will find is:

1. For fresh eggs: The egg will lie at the bottom on its side

2. For old yet edible one: Egg will partially sink

3. Throw them away, time for a new one if the egg floats

Remember the smoked salmon I bought from Costco the other day, I make lettuce wraps, sandwiches or omelets with it. The smoked salmon has loads of salt in it, about 20-23% of your daily requirement. So don't add any salt during the cooking. I prefer the ones smoked without any sugar (brown sugar). Look for the ones with zero sugar if you are in South beach diet. This is an ideal breakfast recipe for phase 1 dieters and for those in phase 2 and 3, you can enjoy it with a toast and any zero sugar juice. Egg scramble is an ideal breakfast food to fix for working mothers. You are just stuffing your little ones with good food and I am sure this is also a great dish to fix for anyone.

Serves 1

Ingredients

2 eggs - beaten (you can egg whites too)

1/4 cup onions - diced

1 garlic clove - minced

1/4 cup salmon - chopped

1 red chili - chopped

Pepper

1 teaspoon extra-virgin oil

Directions

1. Heat a saucepan with oil. Once hot enough, add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds.

2. Add the onions and cook till they become translucent. Then mix in the salmon and red chili. Stir to combine.

3. Break open the eggs into the saucepan and stir to cook, about 3-5 minutes on medium flame or until done.

4. Sprinkle pepper to taste and combine.

5. Serve with a toast.

Since I prefer just the eggs for breakfast, I avoided the bread and to wash the spicy scramble down I drank Bolthouse farm organic carrot juice (It's really good, no added sugar - that's what I am looking for). Also I love to eat just smoked salmon with pepper too!

Semi homemade : Spaghetti in creamy tomato sauce

2011-09-11T15:49:00.000-07:00

I am always wishing that how great it will be when fixing a meal is easy and time saving. There were days, I will stare at the blank wall to get an idea of what to prepare for dinner as to avoid seeing a frowned face of S later. The no-elaborate-cooking-moods like today are sporadic in our home. Now after a beautiful vacation in Reno, I am still taking time to recuperate the time and energy to get back into the groove. That's when semi homemade foods comes as a savior.

Just few hours after we arrived from Reno, we headed straight to shop groceries/food for the week. And my most favorite place is Costco. I picked most of the things that are ready to eat or that needs some baking or microwaving. Some fresh breads, smoked salmon, ready to eat salads, creamy tomato soups, crackers and dips. The first few days after a vacation are a plateau phase where laundry, cleaning and tidying up tops the priority list and quality cooking time takes a back seat.

Organic creamy tomato soup is super delicious. Even better than the one I buy in Safeway. And two cans for around $7 is an awesome deal. I have tried to reproduce the soup and it came out pretty well. Will share that recipe in another post as I don't have a picture for it.

I served one can as soup and the other one I used it as a base for my pasta. Here is the easy breezy recipe for mouth watering pasta. You can add any veggies or meat or shrimp to create your own version.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cups creamy tomato basil soup - from Costco or any store of your choice

3/4 packet - whole wheat spaghetti

1/4 cup peas

Salt and pepper

Water to cook paste

Parmigiano cheese for garnish

Directions

Bring water to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti as per manufacturer's instruction. Drain and set aside.

In a large saucepan, bring the soup to a boil. Add the peas or shrimp or meat and let it cook till they are done. Toss in the cooked pasta and mix well. Serve with cheese shavings. Enjoy!