Mango Sheera

Today is my Ammama's birthday. Although she is very old, frail and ailing octogenarian, she is very active with her wit, humor and one-liners. When fit and in good health, she fed almost anyone who dropped by our door step. Ammama's favorite fruit is Mango especially the ripe ones which is as sweet as sugar. Her most relished ones being Mundappa and Kalapaadi. Ammama's favorite dish is a konkani one called as Ambe Upkari. Its a dish with ripe mangoes simmered in a spicy tangy sauce cooked on low flame. She loved waiting for the first bout of showers which would mean our vegetable vendor Koraapol would come with the most juiciest mangoes harvested from the nearby villages. Even if it was a small produce she would make sure all of them were sent to her sons and daughters. She has the highest regard for those who cook and share with their loved ones. That being said she has trained both her sons and daughters to cook a decent meal with the aim of making them self-sufficient.

Mom made Sheera for us on festive occasions. All of us like sheera made with fruits so she made Pineapple sheera, Mango sheera and Banana (Nendra Baale) sheera. All of them taste good with the subtle flavour of fruits found in the Semolina underbelly. Sheera being a Marathi/ Goan dish is a common one reserved for warm summer evenings with friends and a hearty jabber session thrown in.

Ammama's love for mangoes makes me nostalgic. I thought of making Mango Sheera keeping her in my thoughts. I only wish USPS could do a express air delivery of my sheera for Ammama. That being a wishful thinking here's wishing my dear Ammama a very Happy Birthday. Its been a privilege to be her grand daughter!

~ Mango Sheera ~

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Roasted Upma Sooji/ Semolina - 1 cup
Mango pulp - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 and 1/2 cup
Warm whole milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder - 1/3 tsp
Cashew nuts (chopped) - 2 tbsp
Golden yellow raisin - 2 tbsp
Ghee/ Unsalted butter (melted) - 1/4 cup

Method:
Heat ghee in an non-reactive non-stick deep bottomed pan. Once hot, add the cashew nuts and raisins and saute till they are plump and crisp. Transfer to another dish and add the roasted upma sooji. Stir well till you get a nutty aroma and the mixture becomes crumbly. Add milk and mango pulp now. You will feel the mixture is too pasty, but don't worry. Keep stirring to avoid the mixture sticking to the bottom of vessel. Add the fried dry fruits now and stir well. Once mixture is not raw and cooked, add sugar and keep stirring. The mass will be very pasty, adjust sweet taste as desired. Turn off once completely cooked. Garnish with ground cardamom. Smear ghee on a cookie tray. Spread the mixture while hot and level and cut into squares. Remove and transfer to an air tight container once cooled off.

Note - Replace with different fruits to make variety of Sheera. Add sugar only after mixture gets cooked in milk and pulp. There is a particular variety of semolina available as Roasted Upma Sooji. This one gave me the desired results v/s other brands with no good results.

Traditional Measuring Cup (Tandla Maane)

My Mom is very attached to her kitchen contraptions, containers, utensils and various knick-knacks as she believes there is a story behind each of them. Not to forget the tiny details on how she went about procuring each of the item. I on the other hand ransack our kitchen in India on every given opportunity to locate the traditional ones which in my opinion will dwindle soon from the horizon in some years.

One such measuring cup which I spotted was a traditional one which is known in GSB Konkani as Tandlaa Maane (maane used to measure rice). As much as Mom has the newer standard measuring cups adorning the kitchen shelves, she goes back to her oldie copper battered and wearied down Maane as it was gifted my old and ailing grand mom to my mom many many years back. Mom gifted me one during my last trip to India as I lamented for not having a similar one in my kitchen. Fearing the oxidation of copper cups, I settled for a steel one. Incidentally, my grandmom's home still has the traditional measuring cups which are Padee and Maane. One Maane equals 1 and 1/2 cup of standard cup measurement. I am surprised as the measurement is precise.

Bombay Toast Sandwich

I love fixing a sandwich on quick cook days and find Bombay Toast Sandwich a perfect one. Having spent substantial amount of time in Bombay (I prefer to call it Bombay instead of Mumbai), the city has grown on me in leaps and bounds. I have fond memories of clutching my aunt's palm and clinging to her out of fear of getting smashed in the face in a jam-packed train; our umpteen visits to Chowpatty, Juhu Beach, Marine Drive and Nariman Point which were a great childhood memory and sheer bliss. Nariman Point near Victoria Terminus (VT) being a busy business centre, has tiny stalls where vendors sell their quick eats, all and this outside gigantic tall buildings employing numerous top notch executives who squirmed out during quick lunch breaks like honey bees to grab a quick bite from these tiny portable stall vendors. For a small sum of 7 rupees, we could pack a quick toast sandwich slathered with Amul butter, overstuffed with cucumber, tomato, onion and boiled potatoes drizzled with chaat masala, green chutney and tomato ketchup all grilled to perfection. After numerous trials my aunty successfully replicated the recipe and shared it with me. Now, the sandwich bhayyas are spread everywhere in busy areas around Bombay. Needless to say, the days when I miss Bombay, this sandwich takes me back to the nostalgic trips we took on sultry summer evenings.

We have an artisan bakery near my place and the baker bakes the freshest of breads of different kinds. We get French Baguette, Kaiser Rolls, Portuguese Rolls and Ciabatta as well. Of all, my favorite is Portuguese Rolls which reminds me of the Laadi Paav we get in India. Instead of using regular plain white bread, I used the humble Portuguese Roll to fix an overstuffed Toast Sandwich. I've made this sandwich several times and it instantly transports me to the Bombay I knew.

~ Bombay Toast Sandwich ~
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:
Sandwich Bread - 1
Amul Butter
Chaat Masala - 1 teaspoon
Cheese (Mozzarella) - 2 tbsp

Vegetables -
Boiled Potato - 4 slices
Capsicum (sliced) - 4 slices
Cucumber discs - 4-8
Tomato discs (optional) - 2
Onion discs - 2

Green Sandwich Chutney -
Coriander leaves - 1 cup
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup
Green Chillies - 2
Salt
*** Grind all of the above to a paste with little water ***

Method:
Add the ingredients of the chutney and grind to a smooth paste and set aside. Boil the Potatoes, slice them into discs and set aside. Get all the vegetables chopped into discs. Take a face open side of sandwich and slather liberally with butter on both the sides. Slather green chutney now on both the sides. On the base side of the bread, place cucumber discs, tomato discs, onion discs and capsicum discs. Place potato discs now and sprinkle chaat masala liberally. Add salt if desired. Cover with the other bread slice, add chunks of butter and cheese if desired. Grill on a hot griddle or Panini maker. Slice as desired and serve hot.

Note - You can use three slices of bread and make a club sandwich.

Vegetable Pizza

We both love Vegetable Pizza. Recently, for a get together with friends, one of my dear friend made Pizza from scratch topped with Artichokes, Olives and Mushrooms. I felt it was the yummiest one I had eaten; it had a very gourmet flavour. She shared the recipe with me and vouched for the Jamie Oliver touch to the Pizza dough. I tried this at home; the flavour was very cheesy, gourmet and my choice of cheese meshed beautifully with the vegetables. Both of us love trying and tasting various cheese, especially European ones and this recipe just served the purpose right.

Jamie Oliver opines that the dough be prepared 24 hours in advance for better results, it can be stored in a cling wrap in the fridge and used the next day. I was tempted and gave a resting time of couple of hours. I was amazed at how little amount of planning yields the perfect Pizza.

~ Vegetable Pizza ~
Preparation time: 6 hours
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Size: 8" Pizza

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough -
All Purpose Flour - 4 cups
Extra Virgin Olive oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tsp
Luke warm water - 1 and 1/2 cups
High active yeast - 1 sachet ~ approx. 1/2 oz.

Pizza toppings -
Black pitted Olives - 1/2 cup
Mushroom (sliced baby Portobello) - 1/2 cup
Green Bell Pepper - 1/2 cup
Green Olives (optional) - 1/2 cup

Pizza Sauce -
Crushed Tomato (medium) - 2
Parsley - 1 teaspoon
Mixed herbs (Rosemary, Thyme) - 1/2 teaspoon
Oregano - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt
*** Grind to a smooth paste in blender and discard the juice, retain the pulp mix ***
*** One can also use Marinara sauce - store bought ***

For garnish - Red chilli flakes, Oregano, Garlic powder
Cheese - shredded Mozzarella (80%) and shredded Monterrey Jack (20%)

Method:

Pizza Dough - Mix the wet ingredients of olive oil, water and yeast. Water should be lukewarm and not hot. Allow the yeast to form a bubbly froth for 10 minutes. Add the dry ingredients now which is flour, salt and sugar. Stir gently with a fork and knead to a smooth pliable dough to form a ball. Coat with a teaspoon of olive oil finally and cover with a wet cloth and leave in a warm oven for an hour with the light on. After an hour the dough will double up in volume. Punch it to let out the air and knead again. The dough will be elastic now. Dust the work surface with flour, roll out a Pizza of desired shape and transfer to a cookie tray lined with foil. Dust the foil with olive oil and flour. Proceed with the toppings.

Pizza Toppings - Roll out a 8" pizza out of the dough. Gently press the entire edge with 1" gap to provide elevation for the pizza toppings not to spill out. Prick the fork evenly into the pizza dough. This prevents the pizza from puffing up in the oven. Pre-heat the oven at 425 F. Add the sauce now leaving 1" border. Sprinkle liberally with Oregano. Add the toppings of Bell Peppers, Mushrooms and Black olives. Sprinkle olive oil liberally. Seal the vegetables with cheese of choice. Add the cheese with low melting point first and finally seal with cheese of high melting point. Bake in the oven at 425 F for 40 - 45 minutes.

Plating - Garnish with oregano, garlic powder and red chilli flakes. Enjoy with soda or beverage of choice.

Note - Use cheese which can withstand high melting point in the oven. I prefer Mozzarella or Parmesan blended with flavoured cheese like Monterrey Jack or Fontina which also melts perfectly (all shredded). Whole milk cheese has high moisture and melts well for a nice tasting Pizza. Use Olive oil in dough as well on topping as it gives the necessary gourmet flavour to the Pizza. Bread flour works better instead of All Purpose flour and gives the desired crispness to the base. I used All Purpose flour for the Pizza dough.

Spicy Cucumber Wedges (Masala Kakdi/ Masala Toushey)

With the sun shining in the horizon and piping hot summer days, I reach out to the cool foods to stay hydrated. Lucky me, I got a big loot of Kerby Cucumber from the Indian grocery. I yearn for the ones we get in India which are light green skinned. This one known as Kirby Cucumber comes very close in terms of taste, flavour and freshness. In Marathi, they are known as Kakdi and in my home its known as Masala Kakdi. In Konkani, Cucumbers are known as Toushey. The ones we get in US are palm sized, tiny and ideal for small bites. I also recall these sold on Bangalore street by cart vendors during summer season for a paltry sum of 2 rupees a Cucumber, slathered liberally with masala and lime juice.

During hot summer days, Mom chopped these beauties into wedges and serve as a salad item. Its a very simple one but I wanted to document the recipe for sheer nostalgia! The tender Cucumbers are juicy, full of water and less seeded. Spruce up with spice powders of your choice.

~ Masala Kakdi ~
Processing time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
Kirby Cucumber - 4
Red Chilli powder - as per taste
Black Pepper powder - as per taste
Salt

Method:
Wash and peel the skin of Cucumber, you could also retain them if needed. Chop them into halved wedges. Sprinkle salt, black pepper powder and red chilli powder. Great as mid day snack and salad.

Paneer Kalia ~ Bengali style

I love Bengali food, thanks to my dear friend Deltu who got me into the habit of eating true Bong food. This was many years back. Through her I got to learn the importance of Paach Phoron, a blend of five spices which add the authentic taste to any Bong dish; numerous ways to make Koccha Kela, serve the raw banana plantain vegetable as a side dish with chopped vegetables cooked in mustard oil or pan fry them with little Haldi, I also learnt how to make Begun Bhaaja which is tiny thin slices of Aubergine marinated liberally with Haldi and Salt and then pan-fried in mustard oil. This along with host of other dishes like Aam Tok, Maccher Jhol, Jhaal Muri, Aloo Posto, Fish r' Chop, Kolkata Kathi Rolls, I could go on. Though I must confess, Aloo Posto is my favorite and the dish can roll me into a peaceful slumber for good 2-3 hours in the noon.

Recently, I tasted Paneer Kalia at a Bong friend's place. This is my version of Paneer Kalia as per the faint memory of the dish I sampled. The taste of this dish is very faint and non-spicy with subtle flavours of Yogurt making it ideal for kids and tiny tots. I am not a big fan of Yogurt however the flavour of yogurt disguised in a curry took me by surprise. Traditionally, Kalia dishes are thick and semi-dry in texture and do not have a runny curry like texture opines my Bong friend, I added little broth to my curry since I was pairing it with Roti and ginger-garlic paste to spruce up the flavour.

~ Paneer Kalia ~
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients:
Paneer (cubes) - 2 cups
Green Peas (fresh or frozen) - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin-Coriander powder - 1 tablespoon
Tomato paste - 3 tablespoon
Ginger-Garlic paste - 1 tablespoon
Salt
Ghee/Oil

Method:
In a deep bottomed pan, heat few spoons of oil/ghee, coat the bottom of the vessel evenly with ghee/oil, add ginger-garlic paste and tomato paste. Saute for a while till it forms a clump and oozes out oil. Add the spice powders now and switch to a low flame. Add Yogurt as well, don't worry if it begins breaking down. Add the Paneer pieces and Green Peas and adjust water and salt as desired. Cook on low flame for about 2-6 minutes or till completely cooked. Serve hot with Rotis.

Spicy Egg Fry

Spicy Egg Fry is my grandmom's sisters recipe. I remember eating this as a child when we were invited to her place for a lunch invitation. Assuming that we all are egg eaters (my parents are pure vegetarians) she lovingly made this for us. At that time, I had just begun eating eggs upon my doctor's advise. The egg used to be cooked under strict supervision with separate assigned utensils which otherwise never saw dawn of the day for months together. Even to date, the utensil used to cook is kept in separate corner where only the person who cooks the egg would be asked to do the honors (which is a very rare unheard case). So, when I'd asked Mom to make this dish, I got a sound full hearing and the rest was history.

Today, I realise how she must have felt especially knowing her penchant to feed me the best foods in the world! Yeah, she is one of the rare kinds who likes to cook for me. Even when she hated the whole process of buying, cooking and serving eggs - she did it just for me. Gladly, many years later Mom remembered this recipe and narrated to me the nuts and bolts and I recreated the flavour in my solo apt kitchen.

~ Spicy Egg Fry ~
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes Servings: 3-4

Ingredients:
Eggs (hard-boiled) - 4
Coriander leaves (finely chopped) - 1/2 cup
Red Chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Turmeric powder - 1/3 teaspoon
Coriander powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Cumin powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Salt
Ghee/Oil

Method:

Hard boil eggs with little salt and run cold water over them once cooked. Peel off the shell and halve them, poke tiny slits with a knife on the eggs and set aside. In a frying pan, heat up ghee/oil, ensure the bottom gets evenly coated with fat medium of choice. Turn the flame to low, add all the spice powders and coriander leaves, give a good stir. Place the flat side of egg facing the pan one by one. Sear them one of one for 3-4 minutes. Flip them over and repeat. The eggs will get a thin crispy crust by now. Adjust salt if required. Once done, serve hot as a snack or a side dish.