World Bazaar

One of the local events of the season, the 'World Bazaar', took place at the Dewa Shonai Kokusai Mura (Dewa Shonai International Forum) on Sunday. We got talked into setting up a food stall. After a lot of deliberation, I decided to stick to the simple and uncomplicated. After all, making 100-150 boxes of anything authentically Indian isn't that easy. So I decided on making Aloo-tikki and 'khatti-meethi' chutney.

Making the sweet chutney in such large quantities isn't a joke. With a miniscule kitchen like what I have here, and lack of large cooking pots, it was a bit of a challenge making 3.5 liters of chutney.

And of course I didn't have vessels big enough to boil and mash 5 kilos of potatoes. So I spent the better part of Sunday morning cooking potatoes in the microwave in 1kg batches, mashing them in the most decent sized vessel in hand, spicing it right and transferring that my pressure cooker, the only vessel that could hold 5 kilos of mashed potatoes!

So after lugging the pressure cooker to the festival venue, it was 3 hours of non stop cooking on a small frying pan to make 150 tikkis... by noon I finally finished making all my tikkis. And by 12:30 it was all sold out. One of our friends asked whether I could go get some more potatoes and make another 100 or 150.. After all we did have more than enough chutney to spare. I thought about it for a bit and decided to call it quits for the day. If anyone was enthusiastic enough, they could go get some little bottles and we could sell the leftover chutneys.

W-san, a sushi-chef and restauranter loved the chutney... I have promised to let him know when I make the next batch, so he can see the process for himself! After aloo-parathas and palak paneer, maybe its time I I introduced W-san to the finer nuances of chaat!

Here's how one goes about making 3.5 ltrs of chutney. For smaller quantities, just use all ingredients in equal proportion and season to taste.

Khatti-meethi Chutney
(makes way too much)

1/2 kg Tamarind
1/2 kg Jaggery
1/2 kg dates (seedless)
1 cup salt (or to taste)
1/2 cup jeera powder
1/4 cup red chilli powder
3 tbsp chaat masala

Soak and dissolve tamarind in 2.5 ltrs of water. Drain and keep aside. Discard seeds and any other impurities.
Soak dates. Discard waxy skin if any, puree in blender.
Take a saucepan or any other deep pan with a 4 ltr capacity.
Bring tamarind, jaggery and dates puree to a boil, stirring constantly to remove any lumps.
Reduce heat and simmer for about 25-30 minutes until the tamarind loses its raw smell.
Add seasonings and adjust to taste.
If you wish to store it for later use, let it cool completely to room temperature before bottling it.
This chutney has a shelf life of upto ten days if kept refrigerated.


Bare-basics Aloo Tikki
makes 15 medium sized pieces

1/2 kg potatoes
1 green chilli (finely chopped)
1 tsp jeera powder
salt to taste
1 onion finely chopped
Oil for frying

Parboil potatoes till they are cooked, but firm. If using a microwave, 10 minutes on high should be fine.
Peel and mash potatoes with chilli, jeera and salt.
Add onions and mix well.
Divide into 15 equal portions (or as many as desired).
Grease palms lightly. Roll into balls and flatten into 1 cm thick patties. Flatten edges with fingertips.
Generously grease a skillet and heat.
Fry tikkis on hot skillet with a little oil till browned. Turn over and brown other side.
Serve hot with ketchup or chutney.

Yummy Biriyani dinner

Hooray! Pictures at last.

We'd invited our dear friend AS for dinner last night. And I thought I'make a nice spicy biriyani a-la-Nayeem. Nayeem makes the best biriyani in the whole world. Anything else takes a pales to an insignificant second place. Of course, my effort wasn't too bad, but it was nowhere near Nayeem's level of utter perfection! We miss you lots, Nayeem. Actually, we miss biriyani more than we miss you :) ... er.... foot in mouth happened there.

Arun of course, would never be content with just a salad or a raitha to go with his biriyani. So I made a nice dish of baby-potatoes in gravy. And of course raitha. And I know it all tasted good coz we had no leftovers. And my little one actually ate ALL her potatoes!

I love N's biriyani recipe for it's sheer simplicity. No overly elaborate cooking procedures! And because the biriyani and raitha had plenty of onions, I decided to leave out onions in the gravy for the potatoes.

This must be one of the more elaborate meals I have cooked since we came to Tsuruoka. It doesn't compare with some of the 6-7 course dinners for 25 that I have made in Singapore. A tiny kitchen does dampen culinary enthusiasm!

Baby potatoes in gravy
serves 4


20 baby potatoes
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1 tsp jeera powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 pinch hing
1 tbsp + 3 tspb oil
salt to taste
1 cup water

Wash and scrub potatoes. Parboil in salted water. Peel when done.
Heat 3 tbsp oil. Add jeera seeds and hing and let it splutter.
Add the potatoes and fry till very lightly browned. Keep aside.
Mix the masala powders with about 3 tbsp water.
Heat 1 tbsp oil. Add the masala mix, and fry till oil begins to float on top.
Add tomato paste and fry for about 2 minutes.
Add potatoes.
Add water to bring gravy to desired consistency.
Add salt to taste.
Cover and cook on a low flame for about 15 minutes.
Garnish with chopped coriander leaves before serving.


Biriyani,
serves 4


2 cups basmati rice
1 big onion (sliced)
1.5 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 cups cut mixed vegetables (beans, peas, carrots, cauliflower)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder (or to taste)
1 stick cinnamon
5 cloves
1 bay leaf
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste
Oil for frying


Wash and soak basmati in 4 cups water.
Heat oil. Add Jeera and let it splutter.
Add sliced onions and fry till onions start to brown.
Add ginger garlic paste, and continue frying till the raw smell of garlic is gone.
Add the cut vegetables. Add salt to taste.
Add chilli powder and turmeric and saute for 3 minutes. Add a little water to ensure that vegetables cook fully.
Add tomato paste, and continue to cook till oil starts to float on top.
Heat oil. Lightly fry cinnamon, cloves and bay leaves in turn till fragrant.
Add whole spices to the rice.
Cook till almost done.
(I used a microwave rice cooker. 12 minutes on high power should do)
Drain rice in a colander. Rinse with cold water to stop it cooking further.
Layer rice and vegetables in a dish, starting and ending with vegetables.
Cover with cheesecloth. Close dish with a steel or any metal plate large enough to cover it completely.
Place a pot of boiling water on top of the plate.
This is a very simple method of 'dum' cooking.
The rice finishes cooking with the juices from the vegetable mixture, making the biriyani quite juicy.
Leave aside for about 30-45 minutes.
When ready to serve, take a serving spoon and mix the rice and vegetables well.

Raitha
serves 4
1 big onion (finely chopped)
1 big tomato (finely chopped)
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 cups beaten curds/plain yogurt
salt to taste
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp chaat masala

Toss chopped vegetables together with salt to taste.
Gently stir in beaten curds/yogurt.
Add jeera powder and chaat masala.
Serve chilled.

Kid's favourite Vegetable Sweet Corn Soup

It was one of those days. All my two year old wanted was chocolate milk. No rice. No dal. No vegetables. No fruit.

As a last ditch try I threw in all vegetables I had at home into one bit pot, and voila, a soup she actually liked. She had 4 helpings. Wow... so this recipe is a keeper.

Almost 4 cups of chopped vegetables, all of it sauteed, some of it pureed, no artificial additives unless you wish to add soup-cubes to boost the flavour. How much healthier can it get!

Do note that there are no thickening agents like cornflour. The puree acts as a thickener.

Add some pasta, and serve with generous slices of garlic bread to make it a one-dish meal. Any pasta is fine, as long as it's in the tiny to small size range.

Vegetable Sweet Corn Soup
makes about 2 liters of soup

1 onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 carrot
1 medium potato
1 capsicum (deseeded and finely chopped)
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup broccoli
3 large tomatoes
1 cup corn kernels
1 liter cups water
3 tbsp butter

Salt to taste
Fresh milled black pepper to taste
Optional - soup stock or soup cubes

Wash and peel potato and carrot. Chop into very small pieces.
Chop cauliflower and broccoli florets into fine pieces. (I use the stems too)
Melt butter in a large saucepan.
Saute onion and minced garlic till the onions start to turn transparent.
Add all other chopped vegetables except the tomatoes and corn kernels. Add a little salt, stir well and close the saucepan. Cook until the vegetables are done, but retain some crispness.
Keep aside one cup of vegetables. Cool and puree in a blender.
Chop tomatoes. Cover with 2 cups water and boil for 5-7 minutes.
Defrost corn kernels if using frozen. Boil in 2 cups water for 3 minutes or till slightly soft.
Add corn and tomatoes to the vegetables. Stir in remaining water. Stir in the blended vegetable puree.
Add more water if required to adjust to desired consistency.
Adjust salt. Add soup cubes if required.
Let soup simmer for about 10 minutes.
Serve hot with fresh milled pepper if required.

One way to make this a heavier meal in itself is to add cooked pasta. To this particular recipe, I usually take 1/2 cup alphabet pasta, or any other tiny pasta, cook it al dente, and add it to the soup when adding the tomatoes. Then simmer for 10 mins and serve hot.

Aloo-dhania

Yesterday I sat in front of a pile of baby-potatoes thinking of what I could do with them. I was totally bored with the usual jeera-aloo, dum-aloo, aloo-mutter etc... And a quick check of the refrigerator revealed a generous amount of coriander leaves that needed to be used in a hurry. So here's what I came up with.

I used my little pressure cooker for the entire process. Less messy, and just one utensil to wash!

And imagine, Arun said it smelled like something from a 5-star hotel restaurant... high praise indeed!

Aloo-Dhania

20 baby potatoes (par-boiled in salted water and peeled)
1 large onion
1 small tomato
3 closes garlic
1 tsp dhania powder
1 tsp jeera powder
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt to taste
1 tsp jeera seeds
1 pinch hing
Oil for frying
1-2 cups water
1 tbsp coriander leaves (finely chopped)

Heat oil. Add jeera seeds and hing. Stir-fry the potatoes with a little salt till lightly browned. Keep aside.
Grind onion, garlic and the dhania and jeera powders to a fine paste.
Heat oil. Fry the masala till it loses its raw smell.
Grind tomato and coriander leaves to a fine paste. Add this to the onion masala.
When oil begins to separate, add the potatoes. Add salt to taste.
Add water to adjust gravy to desired consistency. Add garam masala.
Cover and cook for about 15 minutes. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with Chappatis or pulav.

A fairly decent copy....

Today I decided that I didn't want to eat desi food. I thought for ages about what to make, and for some odd reason, decided on the Pho Laksa I love at Indinine (Singapore).

Laksa is a famous Peranakan (Chinese-Malay) noodle soup from Malaysia and Singapore. Cooked noodles in a spicy curry-like gravy. The gravy could be sour or could have a coconut milk base. My favourite is the one made with coconut milk.

I trawled the net for laksa recipes, but soon realised that I didn't have access to a decent number of the ingredients they asked for. So I sat down, put on my thinking cap, looked at what I had, thought about what I'd eaten, trying to remember every nuance of that delicious dish, and I came up a fairly decent tasting version of my own.

Purists might argue that this is not the real Laksa. Keep in mind that I live in a corner of the woods where most groceries that I used to take for granted in Singy are not easily found. It still tastes real good. In fact, Arun really enjoyed it. And getting Arun to try something new is always an adventure in itself.

So, here we go!

My stripped-down-to-the-bare-basics Laksa
Serves 4

The curry-gravy base
6 -8 dry red chillis (or to taste)
1 cup boiling water
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
2 inch piece of fresh ginger (galangal if you can get your hands on some)
4 stalks lemongrass
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp pepper
salt to taste
Oil for frying (I prefer gingelly/til oil)
1 cup water

Basil leaves (optional)
1 cup Coconut milk

Vegetables
1 bunch spring onions
1 small carrot
1 each of red and green pepper (capsicum)
1 small onion
8 French beans

1 packet rice or egg noodles (the flat mid-length ones are my favourite)

Cut vegetables in juliennes.
Heat oil in a wok, stirfry vegetables on a high flame and keep aside.
Soak the red chillis in boiling water for 15 minutes (or till they are soft). Drain chillis and reserve water.
Grind chillis, onion, ginger, garlic and the tender portion of the lemongrass, coriander and pepper to a smooth paste.
Heat oil. Add the curry paste and fry till it loses its raw smell (about 5 minutes).
Add water. If you'd like your curry really hot, add the reserved water from the chillis.
Add salt to taste and bring to a boil.
Add the stirfried vegetables and simmer for 2 minutes. Add Coconut milk and take the wok off the flame.
To serve, divide the cooked noodles into four serving bowls, and top with the curry soup. Garnish with basil if required.
Serve hot.

Somehow I never manage to get pics of the stuff I dish up... I really should. Makes for a boring food-blog otherwise!

Did I remember to mention...

... that I cooked for a sushi-chef over the weekend and that he really adored aloo parathas and palak paneer?

Back again

Greetings from the boondocks of Japan....

Well, it is the back of beyond, but I'm starting to get used to it.

And of course, being a vegetarian, I'm missing Singapore something crazy. I miss Marche, Original Sin, Indinine, I even miss Komalas and (horrors) I miss Annalakshmi too.....

I desperately miss having access to large varieties (and quantities) of fresh vegetables. I miss the friendly neighbourhood grocery stores where I could get my hands on most spices I needed.

The vegetable sections of supermarkets here are, frankly, a joke! The quantities are incomprehensible to a desi vegetarian. I mean, who on earth buys french beans and Okra in bundles of 8 or 12?? Yesterday I felt like making a nice okra curry, but there were a total of 12 okra in the supermarket shelves... 12?? I can't wait to tell the assorted grandmothers back in India about this and watch them shake their heads in utter shock! Arun's gran was appalled that I get only 3 of the 11 aviyal vegetables here and no coconut or green chilis...

Ah well, so here's to an all new way of cooking!

What lust is all about

Cheryl's blog has this awesome object of lust! Only change i'd make, granite countertops. Highly polished black granite!

Wow again... (pant..pant)

... and I got it right!! At last!

Since Diwali, I've been trying to get my recipe for 'rasmalai' just right. I trawled the net for recipes and finally found one that satisfied the purist in me. But the most honest review that I got for that 5 hour marathon in the kitchen was: "what the @#$% are these golf balls doing in my dessert?"
Golf balls? Unfortunately yes. The paneer base kinda got a little too hard. Okok.. it was hard as a lump of coal. But the milky base was perfect.

This time I left out stuff that I thought mucked it up the last time. And I got it right.... after absolutely months of experimentation, I got it right... well, almost right. The paneer base wasn't sweet enough... but hey! That's healthier, isn't it? I made a really big batch of the stuff, and there wasn't any left by the time I thought to get a photograph.

So here goes my recipe for rasmalai! This is rasmalai for purists.

Ingredients
2.5 ltrs full cream milk (I use Amul gold)
1 cup + 1/2 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/4 tsp citric acid
1 pinch saffron
1 pinch cardamom powder
2 tbsp chopped pistachio nuts (unsalted)
2 tbsp slivered almonds

oh yes, the most important thing: lots of patience.

Take 1.5 lts full cream milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce heat so that it simmers. Let milk reduce to about half its original volume (this is the tricky part. On a very low steady flame, takes 2 hours!) Add 1 cup sugar or to taste.

This is the basic rabri.

Boil 1 ltr milk and take it off the stove. Quickly stir in citric acid crystals. Wait for milk to split. Pour into a large sieve lined with a muslin cloth. When the whey drains out, quickly rinse the cheese with tap water, and press out excess water using fingertips.

Bring 2 cups water to boil. Add 1/2 cup sugar, stirring till sugar dissolves completely. Bring to simmer.

Knead the cheese with fingertips till soft. Divide into 10 equal parts, and shape them into smooth balls. Drop into simmering sugar syrup and let them simmer for about 5-7 minutes.
To test: take one ball out of syrup and press between fingertips. If it springs back to its original shape, its done right!

Using a slotted spoon, drain balls, and add to rabri. Simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer to serving dish and let it cool. Sprinkle saffron, cardamom powder and chopped nuts. Tastes best when chilled. Tastes great at room temperature too!

Goodness Gracious me!

I just checked and it's been close to three months since I last blogged here. Well, I'll just have to rectify that situation now, won't I?

A simple quick no-fail-cake

... and it's eggless too!

200 gms Self-raising flour (sifted)
90 gms butter (at room temperature)
1 can condensed milk
150 ml carbonated drink (7-up)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C. Grease and dust a 8"square cake tin
Beat together butter and condensed milk. Stir in vanilla essence.
Alternately spoon in flour and soda water, starting and ending with flour.
Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes or till done.

What I like best about this recipe are the easy variations.

For a nice Orange cake, I've used Fanta or Mirinda orange, and orange essence instead of soda water and vanilla essence.

For an interesting chocolate version, I added 2 tablespoons of Dutch process cocoa sifted with flour. And Pepsi . Adds a nice touch.

Simple dips 1

I finally discovered how simple and delicious some of these middle-eastern dips are. And leftover dips are great as a spread for sandwiches too!

I tried a lebneh with a few simple twists and it turned out rather well.

So here goes.

250 grams fresh yogurt
2 cloves garlic - crushed
1 tbsp tahini
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt to taste

Drain yogurt in a paper-towel or cloth-lined sieve set over a bowl. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight, or at least 4 hours.

Mix the drained curd with the remained ingredients, and serve with pita bread wedges and assorted crudites!

As for tahini, it's quite easy to make at home.

Grind 2 tbsp sesame seeds, with 1/2 tsp sesame oil, and 4-5 tbsp of tepid water to a really smooth paste. Add salt to taste. This gives close to 1/4 cup of tahini.

A simple, delicious and filling snack!

Pasta with citrus accents!

With all the pasta we seem to be eating recently, I just have to post this particular recipe!

4 large tomatoes (riper the better)
2 onions (cut in thin wedges)
4-5 cloves garlic
8 Asparagus (cut in 1" pieces)
4-6 baby carrots (cut in juliennes)
1 cup peppers (red, green and yellow) cut in 1" strips
Extra virgin olive oil
1 orange juiced (reserve zest)
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Penne or Fusili cooked al dente

Cut tomaoes into wedges. arrange tomatoes and onions on baking tray so they dont overlap. brush lightly with oil and grill in an oven (at 230 C)for about 30 minutes. Onions tend to char sooner. So watch out for that.

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add garlic and the other vegetables and saute till the carrots are cooked, but still crunchy.

When the onions start to char, take the tray out of the oven. Gently stir the tomaotes and onions together. Add to the vegetables in the skillet. Season with salt and pepper as required. Pour the orange juice into the baking tray, and use the liquid to rinse scrape off any bits stuck there. Add the juice to the sauce in the skillet, along with the orange zest. Let sauce simmer for a minute.

Toss in the pasta. Serve hot.

Add parmesan shavings if desired!

Bon Appetit!

Chocolate cake to die for!

... and I'm really dying for a bite of it! Only problem being that I'm trying not to gain an ounce over and above all these un-necessary pounds....

So if anyone reading this is interested, try this out, and enjoy... sharing this is my good deed for the day

Grease and dust a 9" round cake tin (or an 8" square tin)

180 gms self raising flour
1/2 tsp soda-bi-carb
1 pinch salt

Sieve these together.

75ml strong coffee decoction or
2 heaped teaspoons instant coffee granules dissolved in 70 ml hot (not boiling water)
2 tbsp (heaped) cocoa powder (preferable dutch process)
1/2 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Mix together to form a smooth lump-free mixture. Bring to room temperature.

150gms butter
200 gms sugar
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C.
Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add one egg at a time and beat well.
Add sifted flour and coffee-cocoa blend, starting and ending with flour. Make sure batter has no lumps.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 50 minutes or till done.

Tastes great while warm with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream and a dollop of hot fudge sauce.

slurrppppp........

Why didn't I think of this before.....

... because I didn't really think of a 'foodie' blog. Maybe it's high time I started blogging about my dark side: food... and baking too while I'm at it