Simple Yellow Cake

I always dreamt of Baking and felt that it was enormous task in itself. Much to surprise, I am wrong. Baking reqires precision, timing and good quality ingredients. I realised that unlike the daily kitchen cooking adventures where you can afford to play the ocassional guess work with your ingredients, baking takes the term "precision" and "timing" to a whole new level.

IF you have all of these in place, no one can mess your cake. I tried my hand at Baking for the first time and the results were much pleasing. The motivation for me was my 8 year old nephew bakes cookies and pies. I can do it too was my response. The quality of your blending, the cake batter, how well it beaten and how much it should be beaten also bears lot of weight.

All it needs is 3 eggs, 1/3 vegetable oil and 1 1/3 water. I found it easy when I read the instructions and thought should give it a honest try. My brother, P is in town, he promptly offered to give a helping hand. Knowing that someone would be there should it be disaster, I thought today I AM GOING TO BAKE A CAKE!!

Verdict: The cake was super delicious, soft and tasty. You are welcome to come and take a delicious bite!!

Recipe Source: Shoprite Yellow Cake Mix Recipe

Serves: 25 servings ~ 1 pound and a 1/4 more

Ingredients:

Eggs - 3

Vegetable oil - 1/3 Cup

Water - 1 and 1/3 Cup

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously grease pans and dust with flour. My baking tray is 13" x 9"

Blend in a large mixing bowl at low speed and until moistened. Add the ingredients in cake mix and beat the mixture in a clockwise direction with 450 strokes. Pour batter into pans.

Bake at 350 until done. Cake is done if toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not test for doneness by touching your finger. I baked the cake for 35 minutes and had set a timer for it just in case by grey matter fails to remind me.

Cool the cake for around 30 minutes on a cooling rack. Remove from pan and cool upside down. P and I were totally impressed with our creation. I marvelled at the way the cake had fluffed up! The cake cutting formally happened and we gorged on the pieces and have saved some for Summer Party today! I love Summer and I am no longer shy of baking!! :)

Red Chilli Chutney (Byadgi Mirsaangi Taambdi Chutney)

I always complained to Mom over breakfast on choice of chutney as a kid - White chutney or Red Chutney (White chutney is made of Ginger-Coconut and Red chutney is made of Red chillie-Coconut). Battles were waged over the choice of Chutney and today I smile as any food home made is divine and no arguments over that.

I love Taambdi chutney with any Dosa and love the flavor of chillies which spike up the flavor.

~ Byadgi Mirsaang Tambdi Chutney ~

Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

Grated coconut - 1 cup

Red Chillies (roasted in oil - Byadgi + Harekala) - 5-6

Oil - 1/2 teaspoon

Asafoetida - 1/10 teaspoon
Tamarind pulp - 1/2 tsp

Water
Salt

For tempering:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Oil - 1/2 teaspoon

Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Method:

Roast red chillies in oil. Allow to cool. Grind it with grated coconut and add water, salt, asafoetida as desired. The chutney should not be too runny nor have too much of liquid.

Heat oil in a small pan, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Pour this tempering mixture and mix the chutney well. Stir well and serve with Dosa.

Note - Avoid the seasoning if you wish to cut the calories.

Urad Rice Dosa (Urad Rice Polo)

Mom always says - "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a knight, dinner like a pauper". I know what she means and now that I cook on a daily basis I can actually understand the importance of this. Mom knows around 20 to 30 varities of Dosa and she is one passionate lady when it comes to Cooking. Kitchen is her favorite place (no wonder, our Kitchen and Hall is of the same size). She loves to stuff the kitchen with knick-knacks and keep it clean at ALL times. Even if she is dead tired for the day, she spared 15 minutes just to clean the stove top, the sink, the chopping board. She tells me that a lady of the house should never leave the kitchen unclean.

Our breakfasts during childhood days and teenager days were always Idli & Dosa. I simply love the different Dosa's Mom dishes out. She is a pro in the Dosa arena. Whether its with Chutney Pitti, Byadgi Chili Chutney or with dollops of butter. She made sure we always had a healthy filling breakfast.

Its simply yummy and the variety along with the nutrition value makes one wonder how intelligent our ancestors were. One cup Dosa paved the way to many-many dosa's much to my amusement. I got around 20 dosa's. Best part is batter can be made any time and stored in the fridge and taken out whenever the desire to bite down some lentil crispies like these.

This is my first attempt to make Urad dal dosa. I must say - I am impressed with myself. It turned out pretty nice and I liked the taste as well. I wish I could get my Mom and Amma to sample these beauties.

Recipe source: Mom

Serves: 15-20 Dosas.

Ingredients:

Urad Dal - 1 Cup

Rice - 3 Cups

Salt - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon

Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 teaspoon

Method:

Soak Urad Dal along with Rice in water after washing for 6-8 hours. Grind to a smooth paste and add salt and leave for fermenting. Stir well once before you put it aside for fermenting.

Pour a ladle of this pearl white goodness and dish out crisp white Dosas. Serve hot with Chutney.

Garlic Bread ala Ash

There are days when you transport yourself to the Kiddy World. I happened to speak with my niece, the naught brat so much so that I quickly make a Garlic Bread for her which I am sure she would love. I added all her favorite elements as add ons for the Garlic Bread - Chunky Salsa sauce, Coriander leaves and Shredded Mozarella cheese which she loves to devour and gobble up. I named this dish Garlic Bread ala Ash.


Little bit of creativity and soul satisfaction = smiles and cheerz!! Now my niece does not like Coriander leaves, for that matter any humble sight of anything remotely green, so I thought of adding green in a different fashion. Hope she likes the idea of this creative style of consuming Garlic Bread.

Serves: 1 individual

Ingredients:
Garlic Bread - 2 slices
Chunky Salsa sauce - 2 tablespoon
Coriander leaves - 3-4 sprigs (chopped)
Mozarella Cheese (shredded) - 2 tablespoon

Method:
Take each slice of Garlic Bread from freezer. I used Texas Toast brand as I find their breads tasty and easy to bake and serve. Thaw for some time. Warm up on a frying pan or heat up in in microwave for 2-4 minutes with 1 T each of Mozarella cheese.

For garnishing, add a line of Chunky Salsa sauce and top it with Coriander leaves. I created a tiny coconut tree on my breads. Its important to get little creative with kids to make sure they tuck in their yummy fare without any fuss and tantrums. :)

Lime Pickle (Limbiya Nonchey)

If there is one food item which I devour again and again and not get tired, its PICKLE. I have tried numerous amounts of Pickles here in US, but none came close to Mom's pickle. Best I decided I would try and make one of my own. Quickly called my hotline - MOM. She gave me all the essential tips and I followed them to the final detail.

My final flavour of the pickle was yummy. I could not believe this morsel of spicy tangy delicacy in my mouth.

Simply out-of-the-world feeling. It took me a week's time to have the lime salted, treated with powders and finally packed to perfection to marinate for month's together. This is the way my mom makes pickle, I am sure there are other traditional methods as well. I love the taste of this lime especially once its marinated and ready to eat. I cannot wait for my turn.

Storage suggestions: Cover the Pickle Jar with a cellophane square tightly adjusted to the lid and then clasp the jar tight. I have stored my jar in a cool, dry place in the kitchen. Once marinated and you begin to use it, you could store in the fridge for better shelf life. You will notice after a month, the pickle will have liquor slowly oozing out and that's a sign that your pickle is ready for consumption.


Recipe Source: Mom
Serves: 40 pieces of lime = 40 servings.

Ingredients:
Lime - 10
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 Tbsp
Red Chillies - 25
Mustard seeds - 2 T
Turmeric powder - 1/2 t
Asfoetida powder - 1/4 t
Salt - 6-9 Tbsp ~ I found the salt less, added some later ~ My judgement: 10 tablespoon of salt, the appropriate the salt the long lasting your Pickle.

Method:
I bought 10 lime from local grocery store here for around $2.00. I washed them with water thoroughly and wiped them dry with a dry towel. Once you are ready, roast the lime on a mildly hot skillet for few minutes. This ensures there is no moisture and also improves the absorption capacity of the lime pieces. Take the lime off the stove, cut them into quarters and add 6-9 table spoon of salt. Give a good stir and keep aside in a mixing bowl covered for a week. Everyday at the end of the day give it a gentle stir to ensure the juices mix evenly.

At the end of the week, get the masalas ready. Dry roast each of the items - Red Chillies, Mustard, Fenugreek seeds. Be careful not to over roast them as this would render a bitter taste and ruin the taste of the pickle. Mix the powder with the pre-cut lime in salt and stir well.

Store in a moisture free jar for a month. Resume use after a month. You will enjoy the flavour of pickled lime, just the way I did.

Potato in Coconut Curry ~ Mangalore style (Batatey Humman)

I have come across lot of individuals who love potatoes. It is such a delight to eat this vegetable. It blends well with different dishes and give a unique flavour each time. Batatey Human was a dish my mom learnt in Goa. Its creamy in texture, thick as a base, mild in spices and goes well with rice. Humman forms the base and serves as the staple for many a Konkan curries.

One could also add Fish instead of Potatoes, and this leads to Fish Humman or Nustechey Humman (Nuste is fish in Goan Konkani).

Recipe source: Mom
Serves: 3-4 individuals

Ingredients:
Coconut (grated) - 1 cup
Red Chillies - 5-6
Asafoetida - 2-3 pinch
Turmeric powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Water - for curry consistency
Potatoes (cubed and diced) - 3 cups
Coconut oil - 2 teaspoon

Method:
Heat oil in a saucepan and roast chillies mildly. Allow to cool and grind it along with grated coconut, asafoetida, turmeric powder, salt and water. Do not add too much water, just add enough water to suffice for the consistency.

Chop potatoes into small sliced cubes and immerse in a skillet and cook till soft. Add the ground batter. Bring to boil. Once cooked, turn off flame and add raw coconut oil or any vegetable oil if not available. Since I was running out of coconut oil I used vegetable oil. Serve hot with rice.

Ripe Banana Dessert (Kelyachey Rasaayan)

Today is Shraavan month. Shraavan is the holy month of Hindu calendar. Every konkani married lady makes Choodi Pooja today. Choodi is a cluster of Kusa leaves and bright colored flowers. These clusters are offered to God along with Prasad, since I was running out of time, I offered sugar as prasad. Attached is picture of my first Choodi pooja. Once the Choodi clusters are ready, married ladies perform the Choodi Pooja of Tulsi sapling. Offerings are made to Sun god, Rice and Water are offered, thereafter the ladies worship the house god, offer your first Choodi to your husband. Then offer rest to other ladies in the house. The lady would herself wear one of these.

I have fond memories of Mom waking us up early in the morning during Shraavan month; we frisking off to the gardens around, gathering cute pink, blue, violet blossoms.

Happy Shraavan to one and all!!

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Today I made Kelyachey Rasaayan - A sweet, herby Goan dessert which I have grown up eating. It's a favorite dessert of most of the Goans I know. I have fond memories of this dessert. We had an old Ajji staying near our house. Every year during Diwali she used to invite all the kids from the colony for Diwali Brunch/ Lunch. This is one of her signature dishes. I grew fond of this slimy, sugary, buttery syrup in my mouth. Its been years now, but the vivid memories I have captured eating the Diwali Brunch/Lunch has left a deep mark on my mind. Sometimes, there are some people who are instrumental in helping you discover and explore different tastes, Ajji is one such person whom I would always want to remember for her various savoury dishes - Kelyachey Rasaayan (Ripe Banana Dessert), Tinda Pickle (Tendleychey Lonchey), Potato Bhel (Batatachey Bhel), White Peas Garam Masala Curry - Goan style (Vatanyachey Tonak). Ajji also used to give us lot of gyaan on the importance of having fruits - Watermelon and Jackfruit being her favorite.

This was one dish she used to make year after year. Later, as years passed Mom learnt this dish from her. This is a very easy and tasty sweet dish and can be done in 15 minutes flat. Yes, take my word for it.

Serves: 3 individuals
Recipe source: Mom

Ingredients:
Ripe Banana (sliced) - 2
Sugar - 1/4 C
Cardomom seeds (pounded) - 3-4
Ghee - 2 T
Water - 1/2 C

Method:
Heat water in a sauce pan and add sliced banana to it. After slow cooking, banana colour would change to yellow. Add sugar and ghee and stir on low flame. Once done, garnish with cardomom powder and serve hot.

Kantola Fries (frozen) in Red Chillies Batter (Phaagla Phodi)

Fried food have universal fans. I have not come across any person who does not like any item which is deep fried. Yes, I am not joking. I like Mom's Aaalavan Phaagla Phodi. I also like these fried in Bitter Gourd as well.

After coming to US, I have been missing these for a long time so the other day I just decided to try it out for good or bad! Noted the details from Mom and started it right from the word go! I also found a packet of pre-cut Kantola in the freezer which I had bought a week ago. I found the in the frozen section of a grocery store here. The Kantola here are comparatively tinier and smaller in size. Kantola is known as Phaagil in Konkani.

It turned out quite nice and the taste still lingers in my mouth. I also mixed some Bell Pepper alongwith Kantola pieces. They tasted crunchy and mildly spicy.

Recipe source: Mom

Serves: 2-3 individuals

Ingredients:

Kantola (Phaagil) - 8-10 (chopped into pieces) ~ store bought from frozen section ~ thaw and then use

Salt - as per taste

Oil - for frying

For batter:

Rice (pre-soaked) -1 Cup

Red Chillies - 6-10

Asafoetida - 1/10 teaspoon

Method:

Pre-soak washed rice in water for 5-6 hours. Grind it to a batter after draining water along with red chillies and asafoetida, salt and very less water.

Apply salt to chopped Kantola pieces and set aside for 1/2 hour. Heat oil in a deep dish pan. Once oil heats up (should not be smoking hot as fries would burn) dip the pieces in batter and deep fry. Serve hot along with rice and curry.

Sprouted Moong Curry in Coconut Paste (Muga Ghashi with Sooran)

Mooga Ghashi or Mugaa Ghashi is a personal favorite. Mooga or Mugaa Ghashi is prepared with different approaches in Udupi, Mangalore, Karkala and the various other South Canara regions. Mom used to always add Sooran (konkani term for Yam) as a complement to this dish.

There is another variation to this dish called as Mugaachi Gaathi. This is a popular Goan side dish made with the same procedure except the use of green chillies. I love both the versions and feel this recipe packs quite a punch in terms of nutrition and taste.

Processing time: 2 days (for sprouting)

Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-4 individuals

Ingredients:
Green Gram sprouts (Sprouted Mung Beans) - 2 cups

Yam or Sooran (diced) - 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut - 1 cup
Tamarind - 1 teaspoon pulp
Red Chillies (Byadgi preferable) - 3-4
Water

Mustard seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
Oil - for frying
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Salt - as per taste
Coriander seeds (optional) - 1 teaspoon

Method:
Soak Mung Beans atleast 3 days in adavance to get the desired level of sprouts. Pressure cook Sooran and Mung for couple of whistles and set aside. Don't overcook the beans as they turn pasty and unedible. Roast red chillies and grind it to a paste alongwith grated coconut, tamarind, red chillies, coriander seeds with some water. Add this paste to the boiled Moong and Sooran and cook on a low flame. Once done, temper it with a seasoning of mustard seeds, curry leaves and oil tempered separately. Cover with a lid and mix while serving. Serve hot with boiled white or red rice.

Konkani Daal (Daali Thoi)

I was going through the blog postings and realised that one of the most important and essential dish of Konkani cookery which is Daali Thoi is missing from my blog. How could you not write about this dish, I quipped ? Daali Thoi is a dish we all grow up eating. It is known as the Kul Dev dish of konkani cuisines. Some like it and some hate it. I began cooking this dish while I was in high school and felt this was as easy as making Maggi. Lol! How, you ask me. Well its just 3 simple steps for this dish:

1. BOIL Daal with water
2. COOK Daal with Green Chillies, Asafoetida and minced Ginger
3. TEMPER with Curry leaves, Mustard seeds and serve hot.

Well, this is the formula I have been following and have grown up with. Daali Thoi with Ghee and Lime juice is our hot family favorite and continues to be. Its common to have Daali Thoi at home and the aroma wafting through your hallway is simply divine!!! Mom used to add the phanna (konkani term for tadka) for Daali Thoi only once the guests arrived home saying that this makes the daal more flavourful, fresh in aroma and rich. I follow the same method even to this date and find it actually true and easy.

Some like their Daali Thoi Daat (konkani term for thick). Some like their Daali Thoi Pattal (konkani term for thin). Whatever pleases your soul. My personal favorite is neutral - neither too thick nor too thin. The original recipe of Daali Thoi is without Turmeric powder. Hence, the color is light yellow and pale. Udupi style Daali Thoi is more on thinner side, whereas Katpaadi style Daali Thoi is more on thicker side and has loads of ginger in it. Both use the same procedure but the difference here is that the water is less or more.

Recipe Source: Mom
Serves: 3-4 individuals

Ingredients:
Toor Dal - 2 C
Ginger (minced) - 1 t
Asafoetida - 1/8 t
Mustard seeds - 1/2 t
Oil - for frying
Green Chillies (sliced) - 2-3
Water - for adding consistency
Curry leaves - 6-8 leaves
Salt - as per taste
Ghee (optional) - 3-4 t
Lime juice (optional) - 2 t

Method:
Boil Daal in pressure cooker, much better if you can wash the Daal and allow to soak in water for 15 minutes. That way the boiling time is reduced.

Once boiled, mash the daal with a ladel and add enough water for making a good consistency. Add asafoetida, green chillies, ginger and salt. On a separate pan, heat oil and once heated up, add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add this temper mixture to the Daal and cover the lid of the Daal. Serve hot while serving with Rice, ghee and lime juice.

BBQ: Grilled Mushrooms and Chicken Drumsticks

July 4th was great fun this time around!! Its a summery tradition to grill food in your backyard and invite friends and family over.

I happened to read some interesting tit-bits on food-on-skewer printed on a health magazine of a local healthcare magazine published here:

Delightful Summer Dinner on a Stick by Seleta Maler

"The French think of them as "brochettes". In Japan, they love "yakitori". The English call them "skewers". The Turks relish "kebabs". Indonesians enjoy "satay". Portuguese are fond of "espetadas". And around Buffalo, New York, residents savour "spiedo".

Whatever you call them, they are scrumptious and come on a stick (wooden or metal). They can be made with pork, beef, lamb, veal, poultry or fish. May be you know them as "shish kebabs". Whatever you want to call them, they are great for quick and easy healthy meals."

We had a great time with cousins joining us for a BBQ party. P's cousin brought in yummy Chicken Hariyali Kebabs and Corn on the cob.

P and I were responsible for the following:

1) Grilled Mushroom: I bought 2 packets of Baby Portolbello mushrooms and marinated it the previous night with Chilli powder, Shan Tikka Masala, Lime juice, Salt, Pepper powder, Coriander powder and just a spoon of yoghurt. Next day morning grilled this in wooden skewers alongwith Red Bell Pepper chunks and Onions. Its a good idea to soak the skewers in water for half an hour. This prevents the skewers from catching fire.

2) Chicken Drumstick: P used skinless, drumstick chicken with bone. He marinated in Shan BBQ Masala, Yoghurt the previous night. Next day we promptly took it to the the pit, added some Charcoal Liquid fuel on coal briskets and they were all set to blaze the meat and vegetable pieces! It was a a beautiful experience to understand how meat and vegetables cook alongside.

3) Tostitos with Tomato Tostito Chunky Salsa sauce and some Beer, Cool drinks to go alongwith!!

Summer is here for all of us!!

My First Bake: Garlic Bread

My first Bake: Yes, It look three alarms to ring in my apt + 6 minutes to get a slice of yummy Texas Toast Garlic Bread baked. I added some cheese slice for the extra zing; P & I were super excited because this was my first baking experience!! Small pleasures in life but don't they add smiles??

Carrot Halwa (Gaajar Ka Halwa)

Of late I have been stocking up lot of vegetables and we have been eating out quite a bit. I opened the fridge today and stuck my head widely in to figure out which ones I need to wipe out from my fridge. I saw these yummie crunchy packet of Carrots. Just remembered that I also happened to buy some Almonds, Raisins and Cashewnuts over the weekend. Plus I had surplus butter to finish. Thought of making a quick Gaajar Ka Halwa to aptly use the surplus Carrot sticks.

I did a quick research on the net and found one amazing description on Youtube-Manjulas Kitchen for this recipe. Thanks Manjula! I really liked your approach to this dessert. I have done some changes to the recipe and found the end result simply DECADENT!!

Recipe Source: Manjulas Kitchen

Yield: 6 servings of Halwa

Ingredients:

Carrot (shredded) - 6 cups

Butter (unsalted) or Ghee - 2 tablespoon

Milk - 2 cups

Sugar - 1 cup or 1 and 1/2 cup if more sweetness is preferred

Raisins (optional) - 5-8

Almonds (chopped) - 6-10

Cashewnut (chopped) - 6-10

Method:

Heat butter/ghee in a saucepan. Add shredded carrots and saute well till it turns soft and is well cooked. Once cooked, add milk and turn the stove to a low flame and allow to cook. This will take around 1/2 hour easily. You will notice that the milk evaporates and turns into solids. Keep a watchful eye to give a stir once in a while.

Open the saucepan lid once milk gets evaporated, add sugar and stir well till it gets caramelized. Add the dry fruits and stir well and cook till the dessert becomes a dry mass and smells of heavenly goodness. Serve hot, warm or chilled.

TIP: I have used less sugar, one can use more if desired. Some also dry roast dry fruits in ghee before mixing with the cooked carrot; I simply avoided to reduce the calorific value.

Black Eyes Peas curry with Yellow Chinese Cucumber Curry (Dhavve Adsaaney aani Magge Koddel)

Koddel is a konkani dish which is made of coconut, red chillies, tamarind paste cooked with vegetables, pulses and seasoned with garlic or mustard seeds. This is a ONE DISH type of food which serves as accompaniement as well as a side dish. The pulses and vegetables ooze out wonderful aroma.

I bought Yellow Chinese Cucumber from local India stores. This vegetable is cute, chubby and has beautiful yellow, green strips on them. Its difficult to judge a good cucumber from bad one except with the taste. Good ones do not taste sour and bad ones do.

There are some vegetables which I used to detest eating as a child. After having grown up, those same vegetables seem to be my favorites. Sounds kind of strange. Yellow Chinese Cucumber is one such vegetable also called as Magge in Konkani. It is also known as Dosakai in Kannada. I realised after cooking that the one I bought was little bitter. So called Mom and she said both the varieties would be found in a grocery. Some are bitter and some are good.

We make a Konkani based curry out of this vegetable called as Koddel. Koddel is a popular konkani dish based on coconut gravy and is seasoned with garlic and coconut oil. The whole kitche seems to waft with the redolent aroma of garlic once this dish is ready. Koddel and other varities of curries are categorized as Maasla Randayi. This originated from the word Maasolu which means gravy based on grated coconut and Bedgi chillies.

Mom had an interesting tale to tell me regarding Koddel. During olden days, when people did not have sufficient access to groceries they used to make Maasala randayi. Since everyone used to dwell in villages and during rainy season folks could not travel far to get vegetables from Saanta (konkani word for local vegetable market). Ladies in the house used to make ample use of lentils and legumes to make curries for lunches and dinners. Cucumbers used to grow in abundance in gardens and they used to add as a good supplement to curries which is also called as Bharshey (konkani word for accompaniement vegetable to be added in a curry).

Recipe Source: Mom
Serves: 4 individuals

Ingredients:
Black Eyed Peas - 1 C
Grated coconut - 1 c
Red Chillies - 4-6
Asafoetida - 1/10 t
Oil - for frying
Water - 8-10 C
Tamarind - 1" lump (optional)
Garlic flakes (crushed) - 6-8
Yellow Cucumber (chopped) - 1

Method:
Soak the peas overnight and boil in the pressure cooker next day. Transfer to a sauce pan alongwith sufficient water and set aside. Heat oil in a pan, and gently fry coconut alongwith red chillies. Allow to cool and gring this alongwith asafoetida and tamarind. Add this paste to the sauce pan of boiled peas. Add chopped cucumber alongwith the paste.

Bring to boil and give a garnish of crushed garlic sauted till charred in oil. Serve hot with rice.

Sending this entry to RCI: Mangalore and Udupi cuisines - July 2009. Good job Sia for hosting an event which enables us to showcase our regional cuisines.

Misal Chaat: Bombay Style

What do you do when you have a packet of Tostitos staring at you in face? Well, you simply innovate!! After coming to US, I have learnt the importance of mixing and blending different ingredients from different parts of the world to create a simple "POTPOURRI DISH". P gave me a feedback the other day: "You tend to go by the book. Get creative!".

Guess the words stuck to me like a bee sting and I was donning many a hats to decipher the right blend of creative elements for creating something new. Yes! I found my creative enlightment. I decided to make Misal: Bombay Style with Tostillos as the Puri base. I had pretty much everything else stacked in the fridge so thought preparing this would not be a hassle: Vatana (White), Tostitos, Coriander leaves, Onions, Papadi, Chaat Masala, Lime, Spices, Ginger-garlic. I was set to surprise myself. Do not know. But no harm in giving a shot.

Misal was a introduced to me a in a different package, thanks to Maa who is extremely dextrous and surprises me all the time! Unlike the Misal-Pav combination which is what the Mumbaikaars proudly devour, she simply used to make this soupy curry ooozing with spicy flavour and oodles of sizzling vegetables cooked to perfection. I know that Misal Paav is eaten in a different fashion and many would opine that this is not authentic. In Mumbai, Misal-Paav is served as street food. Boiled Vataana is treated with Goda Masala and seasoning, served with chopped onions, coriander and Paav. This is the way Misal Chaat is made at home and I have grown eating this flavour, hence close to my heart.

Recipe Source: Mom
Serves: 4-5 individuals

Ingredients:

Misal curry -
Vatana (White) - 2 Cups (soaked overnight)
Water - For curry consistency
Ginger - 2"piece
Garlic - 6-8 flakes
Cloves - 4-6 sticks
Onions (chopped) - 1 Cup
Cinnamon - 1 stick
Pepper corns (black) - 5-6 seeds
White Til/ Sesame seeds (optional) - 1 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 2 teaspoons
Coriander seeds - 4 teaspoons
Turmeric powder - 1/10 teaspoons

For garnishing -

Tostitos - 3/4th pack (regular flavour)
Onions - 1 Cup (chopped finely)
Coriander leaves - 1/2 cup or 6-8 sprigs chopped
Lemon/ Lime juice - 6 teaspoon
Chaat Masala - 1 teaspoon
Paapadi/ Gaaathia/ Muthia/ Sev: Basically Farsaan mix you get in store - 5 cups
Tamarind-Date Chutney - 6 tablespoons: Soak 6 Dates and 1" lump of tamarind and grind to paste with water, salt and cumin powder.

Method:
Misal curry -
Soak Vataana overnight. Boil next day in pressure cooker. Mash lightly for flavours to blend in. Set aside. Roast all the spices in the curry lightly and grind them alongwith chopped onions. Add this gravy mix to the peas and bring to boil. Add turmeric and set aside.

While serving, take a deep dish bowl and serve the Tostitos first, press them gently and pour a ladle of Misal curry. Garnish further with Tamarind-Date chutney. Spread over ample helpings of Paapadi, Onions, Coriander leaves, Chaat Masala and Lime juice. Serve hot as an evening snack.

Flan @ Mexican Flavours

Right from childhood I have been a foodie and associate many of the beautiful places I have travelled to with F.O.O.D. Yes! That is right, Food is what makes me smile, rejoice long lost moments, enjoy life and takes me to cloud nine without any doubt.

Fairly recently, I sampled this dessert termed as Flan. The dish is one of the signature dishes of Mexico. Its very similar to Pudding and has a creamy taste. Flan is eaten with great elan and pride by fellow Mexicans. Be it Fried Beans, Mushrooms Wraps, Seared Cactus simply washed down with abundant helpings of Blue Agave Tequila. It is one place where nature is in its best form and the time spent is certainly something one can relinquish for years to come!!

Amen to the good life, love and companionship!!!