Chiles Rellenos on salsa, Arroz con Frijoles Negros, Jicama-Avocado salad and Arroz Con Leche!!

Happy Mother's Day to all the mommies out there, enjoy this Sunday. Sit tight, relax and make others serve you for a change! You all deserve a Nobel Peace prize each for being very very patient and very very loving, even when kids throw their very very fickle mood swings in your face everyday and you still love them to death!!:D

Last weekend, we did lot of yard work, gardening and some veggie planting at almost 80F temp and survived somehow to blog today. Sneak a peek here to see what's up in my backyard! :)

Let me start with a yummy light dessert for all moms today and then a delicious vegetarian Mexican meal!

Arroz Con Leche, with Raspberries:
Arroz Con Leche (Rice with milk in Spanish) is nothing but Rice Pudding which is flavored with nutmeg and Cinnamon and mixed with Raspberries (my addition, frozen will do fine too). I have made it light for moms but traditionally made with heavy cream or whipped cream folded in and even with egg yolks, which gives it a nice creamy texture and taste. You could add any fruit or chocolate sauce or garnish with sweetened coconut on top if you like.


A delicious low-fat Mexican dessert cinnamon-Nutmeg flavored Arroz Con Leche with Raspberries is my contribution to AFAM-Raspberries, hosted by Dee of "Ammalu's Kitchen" blog this month. Thanks Dee, great choice of fruit!!:)

You need: 1/2 cup quick cooking or medium grain rice, 1 cup water, 2 cups 2% milk or fat free Half and half, 3-4 tbsp white sugar or more to your taste, 1/2 tsp sweet Cinnamon powder, few grating of Nutmeg, 1 tsp Vanilla essence, 1/4 cup Chopped Raspberries, save a few for garnishing and curly Cinnamon sticks for garnish.
To make it:
1. Add rice, water in a glass bowl and microwave for 6 mins, uncovered or you can cook on stove top stirring all the time, which takes a long time.
2. Add all the milk and sugar, mix and MW again at 50% for another 6-8 mins or stir slowly on the stove top until rice is cooked soft and creamy with thickish sauce.
3. Take it out, mix well. Adjust the sugar and if it's too thick, you could thin it out with more milk, must heat again gently.
4. Add nutmeg, vanilla essence, Cinnamon pd, fold in. Let it cool covered in the fridge for an hour. 5. Add Raspberries pieces to rice and milk, mix in gently, chill again. Serve in a individual bowl, garnished with few Raspberries and Cinnamon sticks.

Now a yummy vegetarian Mexican meal:

Chiles Rellenos in salsa or spicy Tomato sauce, Arroz Con Frijoles Negro with Avocado-Jicama salad and serve this meal with Arroz Con Leche with Raspberries for dessert:
Chiles Rellenos means stuffed Pobalno chillies, could be stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and re-fried beans in salsa or any meat fillings as well. Arroz Con Frijoles Negro means rice with black beans in Spanish, a Mexican style dish which makes a great accompaniment with any side dish. All served with very Mexican salad which includes fresh sliced Jicama, Avocado, lemon juice on a bed of ice burg lettuce or thinly sliced fresh Cabbage as sometimes they do in Mexico! You also don't have to fry the Poblanos, can serve it stuffed and sauteed! But fried tastes better with gooey cheese inside!:)


A Mexican platter of Chiles Rellenos in salsa, Arroz Con Frijoles Negro with a Avocado and Jicama salad on the side is my offer to "A.W.E.D.-Mexico" event which is launched by DK of "Culinary Bazaar" blog. Thanks for hosting DK, enjoy!:)


Step by step photos, click on it to enlarge:
You need: 4 large Poblano chillies, 4 pieces of 3-4" long rectangle 1" thick Monterey Jack cheese sticks, about 1/4 cup of Re-fried beans to stuff, 1 tbsp of Queso Fresco or Mexican fresh cheese to garnish.
For coating batter: Traditionally, they use beaten egg white to coat but since this is a vegetarian meal, I used 1/2 cup Plain flour, salt, pinch of baking powder with enough water to make thick batter, somewhat like this snack.
Salsa or sauce: Store bought Salsa or home made as the recipe given below.

To make these: 1. Bake or grill Poblanos in the oven with 400F for 20 mins or so until you see the skin starts to get reddish. Take them out on a plate, cover with a bowl to make it sweat for a minute or two.
2. Peel the skin gently, slit one side to make a pocket with a knife or scissors. With a spoon, take out the seeds and the veins without tearing the chillies.Wash gently under the water in the sink, pat them dry.
3. Using a spoon, spread the re-fried beans inside the Poblano, place a cheese stick on top, place some more beans paste, cover it gently and seal it with a toothpick.Repeat with others, chill in the fridge for 1/2 hour to firm the beans paste.
Make sauce: Use fresh Salsa, heat it for 1 minute or blend fresh 3 Tomatoes, 1/2 onion, few cilantro sprigs, salt, 1 garlic, 1/2 tsp Cumin pd. Put it in a bowl, heat in the microwave until you get a sauce.
Coating to fry: Mix flour, salt,enough water and baking pd to make a thick mixture and let it rest for 5 minutes.
To fry: Heat oil to 375F. Dip stuffed Poblanos in batter, fry until crisp, drain on paper towel. When cool, remove the toothpicks.
To serve; place few spoonfuls of salsa or sauce on the plate, put one Chile Relleno on it, sprinkle some Queso Fresco. Serve with Mexican black beans rice and salad on the side.

Mexican rice with Black beans: (my easy way)

1. Cook 1 cup rice and pinch of salt in the microwave as usual until cooked soft and cool. Fluff to make the grains loose and separate.
2. Heat a pan with 1/2 tbsp butter, add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1/4 cup red bell pepper or green bell pepper, 1 Tomato, 1-2 garlic chopped, pinch of salt and saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp dry Oregano, add drained and washed canned Black beans (one can) to the pan and mix well.
4. Add all the rice, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, bit more salt and mix everything well, it will take a darker color because of the black beans. That's it!:)

For salad:
In Mexico, they sometimes use very thinly shredded cabbage instead of Iceberg lettuce. I had lettuce at hand, so I used that. Add thinly sliced fresh Jicama, 1 Avocado pulp, coarsely chopped, 1/2 tsp lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Mix and chill until serving time.
Variations to to serve Poblanos: After you make the sauce in the pan, fried Poblanos are added and simmered in the sauce before serving. I just kept them separate to retain the crunch rather soggy Chiles Rellenos. Your choice!


One more look:

Enjoy and check out another Mexican platter I made last year!! :)

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Book: I am still reading the book "Daughters of Kerala", which you can see on the sidebar right now. I will review this beautiful book next week.
Movie? Saw none this week but eagerly waiting for new Indiana Jones movie release and looking forward to this weekend too!! YAY!

I tried these dishes last week, thanks for posting all these yummies girls. Haunting your blogs continues!! :D

Arachuvitta Katrikai kuzhambu from Nirmala's blog.
Aloo(Baingan)Kurma from Anjali's blog.
Paneer Parathas from Dhivya Vikram's blog.
Toaster Tandoori Roti from Hetal & Anuja's blog.
Vatana Bateta Tameta nu Shaak from Richa's blog.
Red chilly chutney from Sumitha's blog.
Dark Chocolate Panna Cotta from Deeba's blog.
Rava Idli from Latha and Lakshmi's blog.
Radish Kootu from tbc's blog.
Moong dal with cucumber from Pravs's blog.
Gowdru Pulao from Namratha's blog.
Tomato-Carrot Dosa from Laavanya's blog.
Aloo-white peas bhaji for Pooris from Padmaja's blog.
Kerala Potato stew/Eshtu from shn's blog.
Kerikku dosa/Coconut Aapam from Bharathy's blog.
Chole-Bhatura from Pooja's blog.

A word about shn's Potato Eshtu: I was reheating the Eshtu for dinner y'day. My son came home from school, took a deep breath and says "something smells so GOOD! Mother, what culinary delight are you bestowing upon us today?" ;D
(Btw, the word "mother" comes out of his mouth only when I make butter chicken and Tikka masala, not for anything vegetarian until now! Hahaha! They ate this stew with toast. Thanks shn!)

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Lastly, I received few lovely surprises one Sunday morning two week's ago, a YUMMY BLOG AWARD (award pic attached in my side bar) from my blog buddies Dee, Dhivya Vikram and Meera. Thank you both so very much dear Dee, DV and Meera, very cute award for my blog which I proudly accept, appreciate and display!
I also thank Latha N of "The YUM blog" for giving me the "Forever Friends" globe. I am your friend forever Latha, thank you sweetie, hugs to you! Blog more please, twice a week sounds great too! :)

"The YUM blog" award has been crated by Roopa of "My Kitchen treats":
"Yummy blog award is the award given to the blog with most yummy recipes/photos", I thank you as well Roopa! :)
As per the rules, I have to "list four of my favorite desserts that I have prepared or eaten and pass the award to four of my fellow bloggers".
Here are four of my most favorite desserts I have blogged so far......
1. Mango Cobbler,
2. Ricotta Cheese Rasmalai,
3. Texas Sheet Cake,
4. Strawberry yogurt Pie, also called "Mustikkaiiras" in Finland.

I am forwarding this award to four more yummy blogs. If you have received it already, enjoy it again! :) I hope you follow the same award rules as listed at Roopa's blog ie to display the award, list 4 of your favorite desserts and forward the award to 4 more yummy deserving blogs! It's very hard to choose among hundreds of yummy blogs but here are 4 of them.
Yummy blogs:
Maheswari's "Beyond the usual",
Lakshmi G 's "Taste of Mysore",
Ramya 's "Mane Adige",
Pooja 's "My creative ideas".
Enjoy and I will see you all again next week!:))

RAJASTHANI CUISINE

A big HELLO to all my beautiful blogger friends out there! Hope you all had a great Ugadi (Hindu New Year) and a great start for colorful Spring. I know it has been quite a while since I have seen you and I am very happy to be back. I am sure you are all wondering what the heck did I do in all those 5 weeks of my blog break! :D

Quite a lot actually! After celebrating two birthdays and the brief vacation at the beach which we enjoyed thoroughly in warm weather(75F+), came home and started planning my days of "leisure". As you can see in the collage at bottom of the post, went on a cooking Marathon from other blogs' recipes, absolutely enjoyed each and every dish, I read few books, watched movies, spring cleaned the house, updated my blogs, built a red barn (no, I didn't, got it built for us, yet to be painted!:D) and worked in the garden to get it ready for Summer, which made my Spring allergy worse but who cares when there is that very painful allergy shot to take care of me! :D
My family enjoyed the new tastes so much that I have decided to blog and comment just 3 days a week (Mon., Wed., Fri.) from now on and cook for very few events if I can. I will continue to surf all your blogs and cook more dishes from you which I always wanted to do but never had the time before! I am grateful to all of you for posting so many wonderful recipes, my family thanks you too. Don't forget to check out the tail end of this post! :)
As all parents with school age children know by now, kids also have their "End of Grade" exams coming up in May and June, one more reason for me to make myself free a bit and spend a little more time with them for "emotional" support. They wouldn't dare ask me to help with their Algebra and AP Calculus!:D

Now, let's celebrate the gorgeous state of Rajasthan, India:

Rajasthani Thali (platter) is my two cents for "Regional Cuisine of India", a event started by Lakshmi from "veggie cuisine" and Padmaja from "Spicy Andhra" blog is hosting RCI event this month showcasing the princely state of Rajasthan. Thanks for hosting Padmaja!:)


Beautiful Lake Palace Hotel on Lake Pichola, Udaipur ("City of Sunrise"),Rajasthan,India.

Photo from Brittanica.

About Rajasthan:
Rajasthan was formed on 30 March 1949 when those princely states ruled by Rajput kings, it's also known as Rajputana is situated in the North West and is the largest state of India in area, about the size of Germany! Large area of Rajasthan contains inhospitable and beautiful Thar Desert, also known as "the great Indian desert. The state capital Rajasthan is Jaipur.
One of the world's oldest mountain ranges, the Aravalli Range cradles the only hill station of Rajasthan, Mount Abu and its world-famous Dilwara Temples, a sacred pilgrimage for the people Jain faith. Eastern Rajasthan has two national tiger reserves, Ranthambore and Sariska, Bharatpur as well as Keoladeo National Park are famous for bird sanctuaries.
Historical traditions of Rajasthan are that of Rajputs, Nath, Jats, Bhils, Ahirs, Gujjars, Meenas and Marwaris with their diverse and interesting contributions to the development of rich Rajasthani culture which includes their unique culinary expertise, Music, folk Dances and many architecturally beautiful palaces, majestic forts and Havelis. Rajasthan is often called a shopper's paradise and is famous for it's crafts; textiles, semi-precious stones, handicrafts and furnitures has intricate with bright colors.
Land of Princes, as Rajasthan is called, shows off a fine gastronomy cooked up by the 'Khansamas' (the royal cooks) as they are called. Lack of leafy green vegetables in the desert land, a heavy use of lentils, chickpea flour and the use of milk, Yogurt and buttermilk in place of the water in cooking lends a remarkable contributions to Rajasthani cuisine.
Read this article for more interesting facts on regional cuisine! Take a photo tour of Rajasthan here! (Above info from WIKI and links from various Rajasthan tourism sites)

Rajasthani Thali:
Here is a very simple thali, Rajasthani style! Lal Maas(red meat/red chicken in my case, although lal maas is originally made with Mutton/Gosht), spiced Bajra-Aloo-Besan rotis (Millet,Potato,Chickpea flour), Panchmel (five lentils) dal, plain rice with onion, green chilli and lemon slice on the side. Recipes mostly adapted from Nita Mehta's Rajasthan cookbook with my slight changes. Enjoy!:)



Lal Maas:
Lal maas/Lal Maans is a traditional Rajasthani dish, usually made with Mutton/Gosht/Lamb. I have used chicken here in this recipe. Bright red color for this dish mainly comes from Kashmiri chilli pd and paprika, not necessarily spicy to taste because of the use of milder chilli pepper powders.You can adjust the spices as you wish.Tastes better the next day reheated in the microwave.

You need:
About 4 boneless, skinless Chicken breasts or mix of dark and white meat, cut into bite sized pieces,
2 Onions, finely chopped or blended to a rough paste,
2" ginger and 2 Garlic, ground to smooth paste,
1/2 cup Tomato sauce+ 1 tsp Tomato puree,
2 tbsp Coriander powder,
2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder, 1 tsp Paprika for color, Chilli pd for heat if you like it hot,
1 tsp Garam Masala,
Salt, Cilantro.
2 tbsp Butter+1 Tbsp oil.
How to:
1. Heat the butter and oil in a pan. Add onion, saute for 2 minutes until translucent. Put in ginger-garlic paste, saute for 2 minutes. Add in the tomato sauce+puree, stir until it leaves the side of the pan,oil shows on top.
2. Add all the chicken, stir until it's coated with masala and whitish. Put in all the dry masala, 1 cup of water, heat and then simmer for 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked and sauce is fairly thick.
3. Adjust the salt and heat. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with lemon slices, sweet onion slices, Parathas/Rotis or with rice seasoned with ghee, cloves and cumin seeds.

Bajra rotis with Panchmel dal:
Panch=5, mel=mix, one of the most popular dal of Rajasthan, is a delicious and nutritious mix of five different lentils combined with light spices makes a great accompaniment for rice or rotis. It's also very easy and quick dal to make if you use a pressure cooker. Try it.

You need: 1/2 cup Moong dal, 1/4 cup each of Chana dal, Tuar dal and Masoor dal and 2tbsp of Urad dal, 1/2 tsp Turmeric, salt and cilantro.(adding 4tbsp of tomato sauce which is optional but enhances the flavor)
For Tadka/tempering:
2 tbsp ghee/butter+ 2tsp oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 bay leaves, 2 crushed slightly cardamom pods,1" cinnamon bark(Dalchini),2-3 cloves, 2 green or red chillies, 2 tsp grated or ground ginger,1/2 tsp more chilli pd, pinch or two of Mace powder,(1 tsp good quality Garam masala if you want to skip all the khada masala/whole spices).

To make dal:
1. Wash, drain and cook the dals with 3-4 cups of water and Turmeric in the pressure cooker until soft, mash roughly and keep aside.
2. In a pan, heat ghee+oil, add all the whole spices first. When they are plump, add ginger, chillies, stir fry for a minute or so.(Add tomato sauce if you are using now and cook until it's thickish)
3. Take the pan off of the heat, add the powders.Do not burn them,sprinkle little water to prevent that. Pour in the dal mix quickly to the pan, mix and heat through.
4. Add some chopped cilantro, lemon slices and serve with rice or rotis.

Bajra Aloo Besan rotis:
Again, a combination of 3 ingredients along with some spices makes this a great roti to dip into the dal or scoop up the Lal maas dish.
You need:
1 cup Bajra flour, 1/2 cup mashed boiled and potatoes or use potato flakes to make mashed potatoes like I did, 1/4 cup Besan/Chickpea flour, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp Cumin powder, 1/4 tsp chilli pd, 1 tsp grated ginger,1/2 tsp Amchoor/tangy mango pd and enough salt, about a cup or more hot water to mix, only if needed.
To make them:
1. Mix all the above flours with mashed potato and spices first, which has enough moisture to bind. If not, use little hot water just enough to bind it to a firm dough, cover and let it rest for 15mins. Divide into equal Tennis ball sized rounds to roll.
2. Spray a foil with no-spray(this is how I do it here but surely not by Rajasthanis!:D)oil and take a ball,flatten and press the dough with your fingers to make about 4-5" circles and place it on a clean kitchen towel.Repeat with other dough.
3. Heat a Tawa/griddle, cook the rotis on both sides until red spots appear and brush with ghee or butter as soon as you take them out of the tawa.
4. Serve immediately or store in Tortilla warmer to reheat later.

Variations: Skip the Potato and Besan and add 3/4 cup of cornmeal and make rotis.
You can skip all the spices above and make plain rotis and serve with spicy gravies.

That's my simple and delicious thali for Rajasthan, loved it!:)

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Dishes I have tried and loved from other blogs while I was on my month long blog break, thanks again to all of you for posting these. Click on the collage to see the bigger photos of the dishes!:)
Depending on what I had in my pantry and my mood, I randomly went on searching in all the blogs I know, came upon these wonderful dishes and enjoyed cooking them. I will be surfing for more yummies like these, watch out for a silent wanderer in your blogs, I will be listing more! ;D

Broccoli Lemon Chicken from ChrisB's blog.
Eggplant Pithlai from Ssriranjini's blog.
Tomato Gravy from Cham's blog.
Bhagara Baingan from Seema's blog.
Majjige Huli from Red Chillies blog.
Bisi Bele Bhath from Vani's blog.
Cabbage saagu from Suma's blog.
Dosa Podi from Siri's blog.
Chettinad Chutney from Hema's blog.
Garlic Chutney from Meera's blog.
Green Mango dal from Uma's blog.
Dal Makhani from EC's blog.
Poondu kuzhambu from Myth's blog.
Hotel Sambhar from Indo's blog.
Okra in green sauce from Lakshmi G's blog.
Churmuri from Saakshi's blog.
Radish Pachadi from Krishna and Arjuna's blog.
Karahi Murgh (Gosht, originally) from A.R.A.D. blog.
Odiyan Aloo Chop from Saswati's blog.
Mallige Idlis from Seema's blog.
Aloo Methi from Kribha's blog.
Garlic Aloo from Nags' blog.
Alu Posto from Sandeepa's blog.
Vada Pav from Vanamala's blog.
Kerala Chilli Chicken from Rachel's blog.
Egg fried rice from Priyanka's blog.
Omelette with Potato from happy cook's bog.
Raw Tomato chutney/curry from Vijaya's blog.
Chole from Padma's Kitchen blog.
Kollu(Horse gram) chutney from Paati's blog.
Mor Kali from Suganya's blog.
Butter Chicken from Mona's blog.
Kadala Curry from JaiBee's blog.
Kultha Saar from Raaga's blog.
Huruli saaru from Ramya's blog.
Avarekalu Saaru from Suma's blog.
Egg Roast from Seena's blog.
Paneer di Kadhi from Musical's blog.
Chettinad style chicken curry from Sailu's blog.
Spicy popcorn chicken from Sig's blog.
Sajjige Rotti from Sia's blog.
Paneer Butter Masala from Mansi's blog.

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Few books I read and Movies I saw:
I have my usual Spring allergy right now, can't read for a long time at a stretch but managed to read these lovely books and enjoyed them.
Three plays; Naga-Mandala, Hayavadana, Tughlaq by Girish Karnad.
Daughter of Ganges by Asha Miro.
The Ruins by Scott Smith.
Tender at the bone by Ruth Reichl.

Movies I watched:
Juno,
Atonement,
There will be Blood,
Charlie Wilson's war,
The Other Boleyn girl,
No country for old men,
The forbidden kingdom.(kids!! :D)

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A little note to all my dear fellow bloggers/foodies:
I know lot of you including me are getting few nasty comments lately from some unhappy person or persons. Bloggers, please ignore these "anonymous" comments, enjoy blogging and the friendships we have developed thru' blogging. We are lucky to have a wonderful and talented blogger community here. Don't let few nasty comments worry you, scare you to make your blogs private or make you stop from blogging altogether!
None of us foodie bloggers claim to be "perfect" or "Ultimate cooks" or "authority on traditional cooking" but we all just take pleasure in posting/sharing what we have or cook at our homes and express/share our lives and thoughts. Delete these unwanted comments which are juvenile and silly without giving a second thought and do what you do best ie blogging, with a smile and positivity.
A request: Some of you also have this "particular" feeder on your sidebars which exposes our location (where we come from/cities etc) for all to see whenever we visit your blogs, which makes me very concerned! We don't want stalkers in our hometowns or in front of our homes, do we? May be we can get a feed which only we can see privately like site meter etc which allows us to check in privately but do not expose our location publicly. Just a humble suggestion to help us all to guard our privacy for our families' sake, hope you consider it. Hugs to all of you!
See you next week! :)

BENGALI CUISINE/BANGLA RANNA

Crocuses, early Spring flowers in my yard at last! YAAY!!:))




Yes, Sandeepa did announce the RCI-Bengal finally! :D
This post promptly goes to RCI-Bengal and to RCI event's host this month, Sandeepa of "Bong Mom's cookbook". Thank you for hosting Sandeepa!:)
This is my last post here until May, will be on much needed Spring break. Enjoy, will see you all then! :)


About Bengal:
A beautiful Bengali woman doll in her traditional Bengali style saree, you can buy this in any good Indian art store.

According to a scripture called "Pithamala's Nigamatantra", the vast bow shaped land stretching from Dakshineshwer to Bahulapur i.e. Behala (Bengal or Bangla) is the Kalikhetra or realm of Kali, the Goddess. Read more here.
Bengal or "Shonar Bangla"(Golden Bengal), as it is affectionately referred to by Bengalis, who speak Bangla or Bengali, is an Indian state situated in the North-east of India. It's capital city is Kolkata/Calcutta, Bengal is also home for Sundarbans—the world's largest mangrove forest and Bengal tigers. Culturally rich, Bengal is the home of Bengal Renaissance, Baul, a folk music and many revolutionary activities during the Indian independence movement.
The most famous son of Bengal is Rabindranath Tagore, a poet (Gitanjali),a philosopher,visual artist, playwright,novelist,composer and also a winner of Asia's first Nobel laureate in 1913 in Literature. He is also the author of national anthems of Bangladesh and India: "Amar Shonar Bangla" and "Jana Gana Mana". Most acclaimed directors like Satyajit Ray hails from Bengal as well.
Bengali cuisine is well-known for the vast range of rice dishes, desserts and various preparations of freshwater fish. Bengali cuisine is rich and with many spices,flavors with varied influences of many cultures like Islam, British and South east Asian. Great lover of sweets, they occupy an important place in the diet of Bengalis and at their social ceremonies. Isn't Bengal sounds beautifully wonderful? Here is my humble contribution to Shonar Bangla, enjoy!:)

Bangla Ranna/Bengali Thali:
I chose a few dishes for RCI-Bengal from a beautiful cookbook called "Bangla Ranna-The Bengal cookbook" by Minakshie DasGupta, with few of my own changes for my convenience. Bangla Ranna means "Bengali cuisine" in Bengali.


Alu-Potoler Dalna (Potato Parwal gravy), Maacher Sorse Jhol (Fish in Mustard gravy), Ghee Bhat (sweetish Bengali rice Pulao), Porota (Flatbread), Lankar Achar (Green chillies pickle)and Patishapta (sweet flour crepe with sweet aromatic coconut filling and topped with Saffron cream).

Alu-Potoler Dalna:
Potol/Parwal is a kind of vegetable available in India. I had a pack of frozen Parwal which I used in this dalna/gravy. I am sure fresh Parwal tatses lot better than the frozen ones.This dalna is really tasty served with Parathas.

To make Dalna:
1. Heat 1 tbsp ghee, 1 tbsp oil in a deep pan, add 2 bay leaves,1 tsp Cumin seeds, 2 red dry chillies, 1 onion finely chopped until reddish.
2. Add 3 large potatoes, cubed, 2 cups sliced Parwal (a kind of vegetable but you can any other veg too), fry these for 5 mins.
3. Add 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp coriander seeds powder, 1/2 tbsp cumin powder, 1/2 tsp Garam masala, 1/2 tsp chilli powder,salt, 1 tsp sugar. Mix well.
4. Add 2 cups or more water, 1 large Tomato, cover and let it cook until potatoes are cooked soft.Add chopped cilantro and adjust the spices to serve with Porota.

Maacher Sorse Jhol:
Sorse is Mustard seeds in Bengali, Maacher is Fish. A typical Bengali blend of Mustard seeds, turmeric and green chillies, you can add chicken, Eggs, round baby potatoes or any white fish to the gravy. Sour cream is also optional. This Cod fish is the last of my fish basket from my freezer!:D

To make Jhol/gravy:
1. Cut 2 fillets of Cod or any kind of white fish into chunky cubes. Keep aside.
2. Roast 4 tbsp Mustard seeds, 2 red chillies, 2 green chillies and grind with 1/2 turneric, 1/4 tsp salt, to a paste. Keep it aside.
3. Heat 3 tbsp mustard oil in a pan, add fish pieces and fry for a minute. Add masala paste, 2 cups of water.Bring it to boil, turn the heat down.
4. Add 2 tbsp beaten sour cream to the pan, mix and simmer for 10 mins.(Adding sour cream is not in the book but I thought it's good idea since it didn't have any sourness in it, you can skip sour cream if you like)
5. When fish is cooked, Jhol is ready! Tastes great with Pulao.

Porota:
Paratha or Bengali Porota are a kind of flatbread, made of plain flour, rolled out into layers and baked on griddle smeared with ghee, tastes wonderful with any side dish. Making layers for this Porota is little hard to explain without photos. Click on the collage to see the bigger photos. If using just plain flour making you work a little harder to do the layers, you could add 1/2 cup of wheat flour to make it easier to roll. But plain flour parathas are tastier!

To make Porota:
1. Mix 2 cups plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp baking soda,mix well.
2. Add in 2 tbsp plain yogurt, 2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter), 1 cup or enough hot water to the flour, knead to a stiff dough.Brush some oil on top of the dough. Let it rest for 1/2 an hour, covered.
3. Divide into slightly bigger than golf ball sized rounds, roll out each into 4"circles, brush some oil, sprinkle some flour.


4. Roll them like cigars from the wider end and stretch the ends to elongate it.
5. Now curl both ends in opposite direction as shown in the collage in the shape of "S". Place one curl on the other to make a round ball.
6. Press them down, roll out again to 5-6" circles gently, bake on a griddle or tawa brushing some oil on both sides until crisp and golden.
7. Store in an airtight container like Tortilla warmer.Reheat when needed.
Hope you got all that. Although it sounds complicated, once you get it, it's easy to make the layered Porota. Using just plain flour makes them very tasty, just make sure dough is firm like you do for pooris, not soft, which makes it harder to roll..

Ghee Bhat and Lankar Achar:
Bengali pulao is sweetish rice seasoned with ghee (clarified butter), nut and raisins. I made this ghee bhat my way by cooking the rice separately (rather than cooking with everything in one pot) and then adding the ghee seasoning.

Ghee Bhat: 1. Cook 1 1/2 cups of rice with 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp ghee, 1/2 cup of milk and enough water as you cook usually until done and spread on a wide mouthed plate, cover to let it dry a little. Slice 1 onion thinly.
2. Heat a pan, add 3 tbsp ghee, 2 tsp oil. Fry onion slices, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp of sugar until reddish. Take out the onion onto a plate keeping as much ghee as you can in the pan.
3. To the remaining ghee, 2 bay leaves, add 3 cloves, 1" cinnamon, 2 green whole slightly crushed Cardamom pods, 2 tbsp red and golden raisins, few Almonds, few Pistachios. When the raisins are plump, pour this and onions to rice. Mix well. It's ready to serve with any gravy dishes.
Green chillies pickle in the above photo is store bought, it's Priya brand which is my favorite.
Here is the recipe as it is in the book to make green chillies pickle. I haven't tried this pickle, so I am just giving you the recipe. I will post the photo when I do try. I have lessened the proportions to make just 2 cups of chopped green chillies pickle since the book has the recipe for 1kg of green chillies! Add more sugar if you like sweet and hot pickle.
To make it:
1. Add 2 tbsp salt to 2 cups green chillies, cut into 1/4 " rounds, 2 tbsp fresh ginger strips, mix leave it overnight.
2. Grind 2 tbsp ginger, 2 tbsp garlic, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp turmeric, 3 tbsp mustard seeds, 1 cup vinegar,1 tbsp sugar, salt to taste and keep aside.
3. Heat 1/2 cup mustard oil, fry the green chillies for 10 mins, take them out of the oil. Add 1 cup more mustard oil to the pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds and all the vinegar masala paste.
4. Cook this mixture until it changes color, then add fried chillies, fry for 10 more mins. Adjust the seasoning. Cool and store.

Patishapta:
This recipe is not exactly as in the above book although basic idea is came for this dessert from that book, here my version of Patishapta. A pancake made of flour and rice flour, stuffed with nuts and sweetened coconut,garnished with saffron cream! What's not to like, eh?!:D

To make Patishapta:
1. In a bowl, mix 1/2 cup plain flour, 3 tbsps of rice flour,1/8 tsp Baking soda, 2 tbsp powdered sugar,1/2 tsp Cardamom pd, 1/4 cup milk and enough water to make a thinnish dosa/crepe/pancake like batter.Cover and let it rest for 15mins.
2. In a pan, add few Almonds, raisins, 1 cup fresh grated coconut, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/8 cup cream, heat and mix until thickish mass. Add 1 tsp Cardamom powder, mix and let it cool.(I just mixed ready made sweetened coconut and cardamom pd)
3. Heat 1/4 cup of cream, pinch of Saffron, 1 tbsp of powdered sugar until hot and cool the mixture.
4. Heat a non-stick pan, add 1 tsp ghee. Pour in a small ladle of batter,swirl it to make a circle, cook, flip and cook the other until golden on both sides.
5. Add few tbsps of coconut mix in the center, fold over the pancake and place it on the plate. Drizzle the saffron cream on top and serve immediately.

One more look:

Done! LOVED the Bengali thali!! :D

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Book I read:
Two plays written by our own famous son of Karnataka, a Rhode scholar at Oxford U Girish Karnad. He is an acclaimed director, actor, dramatist and a playwriter in Kannada and English, Chairman of Sangeeta nataka academy, a visiting professor in the U of Chicago, also honored by Padma Bhushana and Jnanapitha awards by India.

The dreams of Tipu Sultan, which was first played in YMCA, Chennai and then commissioned by BBC and broadcasted in Britain on the 50th anniversary of Indian independence.
Play is about "Tiger of Mysore" Tipu Sultan, about his last days of fighting with the British army and his tragic end, as one of his ministers remembers Tipu's dreams and records his memories of those last traumatic days. Tipu Sultan's two young sons were said to have taken by the British to Calcutta, which was the capital then and they were left to live in utter poverty in Calcutta slums as the British refused to give them any princely compensation after their father Tipu Sultan died and as a punishment for Tipu's decision to fight against the British instead of accepting defeat,making deals and giving up Mysore to them like other kings and sultans did with their provinces!
I read that Tipu Sultan's blood relatives are still living in Kolkata in poverty, not being helped in anyway to this day, I sincerely hope it isn't so but sad isn't it, if it's true?

Bali-The sacrifice. (Bali means sacrifice in Kannada, but both plays are in English)
This play was commissioned and played in Haymarket Theatre in Leicester, UK. It's a bizzare tragic and comedic story of a supposedly pregnant young queen who has an affair with a Mahout or Elephant keeper(played by Naseeruddin Shah) one night! Play unfurls as the king and the Queen mother's strange understanding of the grave situation and trying to find a solution by thinking of sacrificing an image of Cockerel made of dough to God to right the wrong! It's made of dough because they are Jains ie against any violence to "live" animals. Story ends up in a surprising twist and tragedy, which makes Queen mother a very happy woman , who plots and gets exactly what she wanted out of that situation without saying so much in words!
Clever MIL, huh? ;D
Beautiful read. Wish I had watched both of these plays!

Another book of Girish Karnad which I am going to read on my break is;
Three plays; Naga-Mandala, Hayavadana, Tughlaq , which you can buy here.

That's it for this post at FH. I have got two more posts to go at Aroma next week. After that I will be off blogging from March 20th to end of April or so, to enjoy the Spring break keeping with one my New year's resolution of taking frequent breaks. I will catch up with you all with a post on RCI-Rajasthan when I come back. Take care of yourselves until then!:))

SALLY LUNN, FISH AND CHIPS!

Sally Lunn served with Mango and Pineapple jam is my contribution to "International Women's day" which is celebrated on March 8th, 2008.
Zorra from "kochtopf" has organized an event for us to cook or bake something "Yellow", to celebrate and support the economic, political and social achievements of women. She says color Yellow represents respect and an expression of solidarity with the women in their support for oppressed women worldwide. Isn't that beautiful? I am honored to join hands in my own little way with millions of women around the World in celebrating this great day. Thank you for hosting Zorra!:)

History of Sally Lunn:
Sally Lunn is a very popular egg bread which originated in Bath, England, now has it's own Museum called "Sally Lunn's Museum" in Bath. It's a slightly sweet and very flavorful bread which almost looks like a cake. It makes a great breakfast bread sliced,toasted and served with any jam.
One of many stories about Sally Lunn bread is "that Sally Lunn, real name of Solange Luyon, was a French pastry cook in Bath, England where she made and sold these buns in the streets for over thirty years" Read here for the full history.

Slice of Sally Lunn with Mango and Pineapple jam!
Yellowish color of Sally Lunn comes from the addition of Eggs and lemon extract. Adding Lemon is not a traditional ingredient in Sally Lunn but my own touch, which gives it a great flavor and aroma. Recipe is from "Beard on Bread" by James Beard.


Sally Lunn, fresh out of the oven:


To bake Sally Lunn:

You need: 1 pack of active dry yeast, 1/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup warm water (100 to 115 degrees F), 1/2 cup lukewarm milk, 1 stick or 1/2 cup butter, melted in the milk, 2 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 tsp Lemon extract, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 eggs, 3 1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour.
To bake it:
1. Combine the yeast, sugar and warm water in a mixing bowl, and allow it to foam.
2. To the mixing bowl with yeast, add the milk, butter, and salt, and stir well to combine. Add the eggs and incorporate them well with a wooden spoon or in KitchenAid with flat beater, add lemon juice or extract.
3. Then add the flour in small amounts and mix well.
4. Make a stiff but workable batter, using up to four cups of flour, not more as and if necessary.
5. Cover the bowl and let the batter rise until doubled in amount or for about 1 hour in a warm place. I turn on the oven to warm/170F for 2 mins, turn it off and put the bowl covered in the oven to make it rise in cold weather.
6. Punch down and place into a well buttered 9 or 10 inch tube pan or Bundt cake pan and again let the batter rise to the very top of the pan for about 40mins in a warm place.
7. Bake in a preheated 375 degree F oven 45 to 50 minutes or until the bread is golden on top and sounds hollow when tapped with your knuckles. Turn out on rack to cool or serve toasted warm, with sweet butter or jam of your choice. Store in a gallon size zip-lock bag.

Hope you try this yummy bread which looks cake but NOT!:D

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Beer battered Fish and Russet potato Chips is my "Yellow food" contribution for Barbara from "winos and foodies" blog's event "A taste of yellow" . I am glad to be able to participate in her LIVESTRONG Day 2008 and to support the cancer survivors, raise awareness about cancer. LIVE STRONG Day 2008 will occur on May 13th this year. My last year's entry to this event was Saffron Vanilla Pudding. Thank you for hosting this event this year too Barbara! :)

Keeping with British food theme, here is that popular Fish and Chips! I cannot recreate these as delicious as the real one you get in UK, but one can try!!:D
I fried these Cod fillets with Beer batter, pan fried the chips with Russet potatoes, served with crispy Southern Hush Puppies instead of the mashed Green peas and sprinkled with "London Pub" old English Malt vinegar as they do in England!! We loved this Fish and chips. You can also serve Coleslaw on the side too, as they do in southern US.
The carbon Dioxide in the dark colored beer makes the batter light and also gives an yellowish orange color to the fish. In UK, fish and chips are always deep fried in lard which gives them a distinctive taste. I have never used lard at home at all, Canola oil is good for me!:)

Fish and Chips with southern Hush Puppies! (No, not that footwear!;D)
We don't usually eat Fish often at home. But we always loved and bought Fish and chips atleast once a week while we were living in UK. We missed the Fish and chips the most after we moved here to US, nothing compares to UK Fish and chips. So I bought few Cod fillets and cooked some for us! Here goes my own Fish and chips.

Fish fry:
You need 3-4 Cod fish fillets, about 1/2"thick, wash and pat dry and keep them ready. Frozen Cod is easy to use too since it's already cleaned, filleted and just need to thaw. You can cut them into half, if fillets are too long to fit the deep fryer.
For the batter:
Mix 2 cups self-rising flour, 1 cup dark colored Beer like Ale, to make a batter, enough to coat the Fish fillets somewhat thickly. Add some water if the batter is too thick. Leave the batter to rest at room temperature for 15 mins. (pinch of Pepper pd and 1/2 tsp Garlic pd are optional additions to the batter, not traditional)
(Or Mix 2 cups plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder and 1 cup water or Beer, optional spices, if you don't want to use the self-rising flour.)
To fry:
1. Heat oil to deep fry up to 375F either a electric fryer or wide mouthed pan with 1" or 2" oil.
2. Coat Cod fillets in batter, shake a little and fry in oil both sides until crisp and golden.
3. Drain on paper towel and serve immediately with chips, Malt Vinegar and Hush Puppies or to be authentic, serve with cooked and mashed Green Peas on the side.
For Potato chips:
US style Potato fries are called Potato chips in UK and always served with Fish, sprinkled with Malt vinegar, along with mashed Green peas. Russet potatoes are the best to use to make chips as they are floury potatoes, easy to cook and they get crispier when sauteed than other potatoes like red waxy potatoes which are best to deep fry.
1. Take 2-3 large Russet potatoes, wash and slice into finger like slices about 1/2"thick and 5-6" long. No need to peel the skin unless you want to.
2. In a wide non-stick pan, add 2 tbsp oil, spread the potato fingers or chips and let it cook until golden both sides on medium heat, stirring often to get the even color or you can deep fry them in batches too.
3. Sprinkle salt, pepper and Malt vinegar on top, serve with crispy fried Fish and Hush puppies.
Southern Hush Puppies:
I made some Southern style Hush puppies which is my kids' preference instead of mashed Green Peas to serve with Fish and chips.These are little nuggets like our Indian pakoras made of flour, Cornmeal and spices.
Hush puppies have few stories behind it's strange name and why they are called so in the south. I have already posted this at Aroma, hope you read it. Recipe for the Hush puppies is here.

Enjoy!:)

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Book I read:

"Burnt Bread and Chutney": Growing Up Between Cultures-A Memoir of an Indian Jewish Girl by Carmit Delman.

As the title says, it's a memoir (no recipes) of a American born Indian Jewish girl with a Bene Israel Indian born (Mumbai) Jewish mom and American Jewish father of eastern European descent, both grew up in Israel, got married but moved to USA and after few years, moved back to Israel to live there for good with their 4 kids, couldn't cope and moved back to US again! Isn't that confusing enough for a child?
With her dusky complexion and mixture of all that Khichdi of cultures, she tells her story of struggles and benefits of growing up in US with all those cultural influences on her life.
Yes, there is always that old Indian grandma, a woman called "Nana-Bai", author's distant relative who lived with them at her parents house to nag ya and give you a burnt toast smeared with Indian chutney of course!! :D
She writes, Nana Bai NEVER ate pork in her life because she was of strict Jewish faith but she saw her eating a hot dog few days before Nana Bai dies!!
Author's one and only book, it makes a pretty interesting read. I have never personally met any Indian Jewish family in my life, so this book was revealing to me and laughed a few times too. I enjoyed reading it!:)

I have one more post to go here next week. Spring break for kids starts on 22nd March, so we will be off to the beach for a while. I will let you know how long I will be gone in my next post. Enjoy your weekend, see you all next week with Bengali goodies, although RCI is not announced yet!:)

ALOO-GAJAR REZALA, RAJGARO-ALOO POORIS, SWEET POTATO FOSTER ON CHOCOLATE Crêpe!

Aloo-Gajar Rezala and Rajgaro-Aloo Pooris are my two contributions to Supriya from "Monsoon Spice" blog's event. As a part of celebrating the "International Year of Potato" in 2008, she is hosting a "Ode to Potato" event this month.Thanks for hosting Sia!:)
The potato originated in the area of Peru and Bolivia, now there are thousands of varieties grown all over the World. In recent years, China has become the world's largest potato producer, followed by India.The potato is also popularly associated with Idaho in US. Potatoes are rich in Vitamin C, Potassium and also high in Carbohydrates, not exactly a "diet" food. Regular potatoes turned green are said to be toxic, so we are better off avoiding those! (Info from WIKI)

Potato-Carrot-Mushroom Rezala with Rajgaro-Potato Poori:
Rezala is a "shahi" (royal) dish originated in Bengal in India and in Bangladesh as well. Rezala is usually made with Chicken, Mutton and is always a non-veg dish. Well....who says you "always" have to follow the rules. right? :D

I added Potatoes, chunky sweet Carrots and whole Button Mushrooms to the same Rezala gravy as in the recipe from one of the cookbook I have! It tastes fabulous and smells like royal dish with the addition of Rose or Kewra(Camphor) water indeed. A wonderful Sunday lunch for us served with Rajgaro pooris, cucumber slices,red onion rings and tomato slices with a slice of Lemon on the side which I forgot to add in the photo! :)

Aloo-Gajar Rezala:

To make Rezala, you need:
Vegetables:
2 large Yukon Gold or any firm waxy Potatoes, peeled, cooked and cut into large chunks, 2 sweet Carrots, cut into large rounds, Microwave with little water until halfway cooked, drain, about 10-15 small round Mushrooms, cook a little in the MW, drain the water. Mix these 3 and keep aside.
Season with:
2 tbsp Butter ad 1 tbsp oil,
2 Bay leaves.
Grind these to paste:
1 large onion, finely minced or coarsely ground separately,
2 large Garlic and 1" Ginger, ground to paste together.
Powder these:
1 black Cardamom (badi elachi) or 2 green Cardamoms, use only the seeds,
1 small piece of Mace,
1 tsp roasted Cumin seeds powder,
1 tsp roasted Coriander seeds powder,
3 cloves,
1" Cinnamon, (Dalchini),
pinch of Saffron strands,
1 tsp mild Kashmiri or any bright red chilli powder.
For fragrant sauce:
4 tbsp Yogurt or Sour Cream
1 tsp Paprika for color,
Salt,
1/2 to 1 cup water,
1-2 tsp Sugar.
1/2 tsp Rose water or Kewra (Camphor) water.
2 tbsp Walnuts or Almonds, ground separately to a smooth paste with 2-3 tbsp milk or cream.

How to:
1. Heat butter and oil in a deep wide dish, add bay leaves. Pour in ground or minced onion, 1/2 tsp salt, fry for 3 mins, just until it becomes truculent but not brown.
2. Add ground ginger and garlic paste, stir fry for 2 mins, until raw smell of ginger disappears.
3. Now, add 1 tbsp cold water to cool the sauce, add in sour cream or yogurt 1 tbsp at time, stir until sauce thickens and oil shows on top. Add paprika, chilli pd, mix.
4. Add the veggies, 1/2 cup or more water, let it simmer. Add Powdered masala, Rose or Kewra water, enough salt, sugar, let it simmer gently.
5. when you get delcious aroma and you can see the sauce thicken slightly, turn down the heat.
6. Add Walnut or Almond paste, mix well with sauce. Simmer for 5 mins. Make sure veggies are cooked and then take off the heat. Garnishing with Cilantro is optional.
Tastes best the next day and that beautiful color comes mainly from the Paprika. Balance the sweet, sour and heat by adjusting the spices. Serve with Parathas, Pulao, Baturas or Pooris. I added Rose water. At first, dish does smell like Rose or flowery but after sometime it disappears as you cook and you are left with a very subtle flavor and aroma. That's what makes this dish wonderfully "shahi"! :)

Rajgaro-Aloo Pooris:
When I made Thalipeeth at Aroma with Rajgaro/Rajgiri flour, Smita told me that Rajgaro flour is made of Amaranth grains. Rajgaro flour is easily available in Indian stores or here at Amazon. Vimmi suggested that I could also make Pooris with this flour and mashed aloo as her mom makes them in India. So here is how I made these delicious Rajgaro pooris. I added some plain flour too so it's easy for me roll them out. They tastes wonderful and soft. My thanks to Vimmi and Smita!:)

To make these you need:
1. Mix and knead 1 cup Rajgaro flour, 1 cooked and mashed Potato or 1/2 cup Potato flakes softened with hot water, 1/4 cup plain flour and 1 tsp salt to a firm dough. Cover and rest for 15 mins.
2. Heat oil to deep fry the Pooris. Make small golf ball sized rounds out of the dough, roll out to 4" circles and deep fry until they are puffed and golden both sides. Drain on paper towels.
3. Serve with Aloo-Gajar Rezala. These pooris are very soft and do not absorb much oil and tastes wonderful. Hope you try.
Note: If you don't have Rajgaro flour, skip it and use whole wheat flour to replace.

Here are some more spuddy posts:
Potatoes Galore!
Aloo Batura
Latke
Potato-Sour Cream soup

Dessert anyone? :)


I am sending Sweet Potato Foster dessert served with Chocolate Crepe and Vanilla Ice Cream as my second entry to Dhivya K from "Culinary Bazaar" blog. My first entry I sent to her was Rosti for the "Potato Feast" event. Enjoy this too DK!:)

Sweet potato Foster with Vanilla Ice cream piled up on Chocolate crêpe:
Banana Foster is a typical New Orleans and Caribbean dessert, in which Rum is added and set on fire! (Flambe`) I used Sweet potato instead of Bananas and didn't really Flambe` to save my eyebrows!:D
This dessert is always served hot on cold Vanilla Ice cream but I made a few Chocolate crêpes to serve on, which are thin French pancakes. You can see my well used French crêpe pan in the collage. I bought this in World Market and pan is made in France, specially used to make these crêpes!:)



To make sweet Potato Foster:

You need: 2 tbsp Butter, 1/4 cup Brown sugar, 2 Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cubed to 1" piece, 2 tbsp Rum, 1 tsp sweet Cinnamon pd or Vanilla essence.
Scoops of Vanilla Ice Creme and few Chocolate crêpes to serve on.
How to: 1. Heat butter in a non-stick pan. Add sugar, sweet potatoes and stir until it cooked but mashed.
2. Add Rum, let it cook for a minute and add essence or cinnamon pd, mix and keep aside.
To make crêpes: 1. Whisk 1/2 cup plain flour, 1 egg (optional), 2 tbsp good quality Cocoa pd, 2 tbsp powdered sugar, 2 tsp melted butter, enough milk to make a thinnish batter, 1/2 tsp Vanilla essence well and let it rest for 5 mins.
2. Heat the crêpe pan or any non-stick pan, spray no-stick oil. Pour a ladle full of batter in the middle, pick up pan and swirl to spread the batter to circle quickly, cook and flip.
3. When both sides are cooked, fold into triangles, place them on a plate.
To assemble the dessert:
1. Place a Chocolate crêpe on a serving plate, top with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream and top that with warm or hot sweet Potato Foster.
2. Dust with Cocoa powder and serve immediately! YUM!

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Awards time again!!:)

Recently, I was bestowed with "Excellent blog" and "Nice matters" (you can see the other logos on my side bar) awards by Pravs, Daagh, Kribha, Cham, Bharathy, Pragyan, Sig, Maya, Mona, Dhivya K, Dhivya Vikram,Purnima and Meera. Gattina gave me the "friends for forever" ball last week as well. Hope I didn't forget anybody else who awarded me, remind me if I did. Thank you so much girls, I appreciate it. Being a fellow blogger along with you all is a privilege to me, thanks again!:)


I know most of the bloggers I know have these awards already and it's very very hard for me to choose a few since you all have excellent blogs! I would like to pass the "Excellent Blog" award to sra, Indosungod, Sig, Gattina and shn. Although these girls and their excellent blogs don't need my award to be shining stars on their own, I appreciate your loyal support to me and my blogs as well! Thanks buddies, hugs to you. Be proud and stay proud!:))

Book I read:

"Video" by Meera Nair.
It's her debut book with ten short stories, a beautifully written, very humorous err...hilarious stories. First story is too funny to review it here, you need to read the book. (Okay, a sneak peek: Naseer visits his cousin Khaleel and watches a "forbidden movie accidentally" and Rashida, his wife is very angry at his request and all that entails which involves neighborhood women too eventually! ;P)
Hope you read it, does have pretty good stories.

I didn't have time to watch any movies this week though, been Spring cleaning the house a bit early! My allergy season is almost here too!! AHH! :D

Srivalli's Potato Kurma:
Even my kids loved this yummy vegetarian side dish! They do love potatoes but not the spicy gravy usually, but they enjoyed this Kurma. It tasted even better the next day with Parathas, has a great flavor of fennel seeds. Thanks for the recipe Sri!:))


Have a great weekend folks!:)

WHEAT BREAD MUFFULETTA, LEMONY TEA BISCUITS

Beautiful New Orleans:
Beautiful city of Mardi Gras, French quarter, Cajun and Creole food, river front, Audubon,French market, Horse carriages, Cafe Du Monde's Chicory coffee (you can buy this coffee online here) and Beignets, music and all that Jazz!! We love New Orleans, spent a week vacationing there in 2003. Everything was magical as if we weren't in USA at all! After Katrina, we visited that city again in 2006 and we were heart broken to see the devastation. Although downtown New Orleans is unaffected, certain neighborhoods are completely wiped out and we could see cars piled up and rusting in the car parks. My heart goes out to all the lovely New Orleans residents who suffered a great loss and still suffering! Take a photo tour here.

St. Louis Cathedral/Jackson Square and a typical French style building right opposite the famous Cafe Du Monde, photo taken in 2006:



Muffuletta sandwiches are said to be originated at Central Grocery in New Orleans by a Sicilian immigrant in 1906. They are very popular sandwiches in New Orleans along with Roast Beef "Po' boys"(poor man's sandwiches). Muffuletta is made of round loaf of crusty bread similar to Focaccia, split and filled with layers of sliced cheeses and meat like Salami etc. and stuffed with delcious marinated Olive salad. Muffulettas in New Orleans are so huge, sometimes as high as 3" with fillings dripping with olive salad, that it easily feeds 4 people generously, just need a few beverages to complete the meal!:D
Vegetarians can skip the meat and add sliced Zucchinis, Cucumber,Tomatoes etc. Hope you try this delicious sandwich!:)

Basic Whole Wheat Bread:

The bread recipe is from the book "Ultimate Bread" by Treuille and Ferringno. This is a very basic white bread recipe, easy to bake even for beginners. The original name for this bread is "Pain Ordinaire" which is "Ordinary Bread" in French. You can add wheat flour, Rye or Barley flour along with white flour and mix 1/4 cup buttermilk with 1/4 cup of the water to make it more flavorful. I made this simple and round bread just to make Muffuletta.
You need:
2 tsp Yeast,
1/2 cups water,
1 tsp sugar,
3 1/2 cups Wheat bread flour,(or plain flour)
1 1/2 tsp salt.
To bake the bread:
1. Sprinkle yeast to 1/2 cup of warm (115F) water, and sugar, set aside for 5 mins. Sift flour and salt together in a big bowl or stand up mixer.
2. Mix in yeast mix to flour, mix well or use paddle hook on the KitchenAid.
3. Add as much water as you need and let it all come together into firm, moist dough.Knead until smooth and elastic with the dough hook or by hand.
4. Cover the bowl and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 to 2 hrs.Punch down and let it rest for 10mins.
5. Put the whole dough on a baking sheet, pat gently to a 10" circle and cover again and let it rise for 1/2 an hour.
6. Bake in the preheated oven at 400F for about 35-45mins, depending on your oven. It sounds hollow when tapped. Cool on a rack. Bread tastes wonderful to make any kind of sandwiches. You can also shape this bread dough into French Bread/Baguettes and bake as well, great to make Garlic bread!

New Orleans Muffuletta with Olive salad:



To make Olive salad my style, you need:

Mix 1/4 cup Olive oil, 1/4 cup green olives stuffed with pimento,chopped, 1/4 cup Black olives,pitted and chopped,1 tbsp red Wine Vinegar,1/4 cup roasted red peppers, 1 tbsp Italian seasoning, 1/4 tsp chilli flakes, 1/4 cup chopped bottled Garden vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, Celery, Pearl onion etc soaked in vinegar, drained and chopped roughly, 1 minced Garlic, 1 chopped Shallot, 1 tbsp Capers, salt and pepper to taste all these in a bowl and chill in the fridge as long as you can, preferably overnight or more is great too.
To assemble Muffuletta:
1. Slice the loaf horizontally, add a thick layer of 1/2 of the Olive salad, lay the cheese slices like Mozzarella, Provolone etc and then layer meat slices like Pepperoni, Salami,Ham etc and cheese slice again and end with the rest of the Olive salad on top and cover with top slice of bread.
2. Press the loaf, cover with foil or cling film tightly and chill in fridge for 30mins. Take it out and cut inti quarters to serve with pickled pepperoncini. That's about it, your yummy Muffuletta is ready to dig in without going to New Orleans!

Muffuletta is ready for you!!:)
If you like warm slice of Muffuletta, press the sandwich in Panini press or grill until cheese melts or you can also microwave for a minute until cheese melts.

Try it!

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Ready for some sweet-tart Lemony Biscuits now?

Lemony Tea Biscuits are my contribution to Coffee from "The Spice Cafe". She is hosting Jihva this month which is originally started by Indira of "Mahanandi". She has chosen "Lemon/Lime" as her JIHVA ingredients for February. Thanks for taking time to host Coffee!:)


Lemony Tea Biscuits:
This recipe for flavored southern biscuits is from "Southern Cooking" by James Villas with my slight changes. He says "one of the southern tradition/ritual in the finer homes even to this day is to have "high Tea", sitting in their porches and gardens!" Tea and dainty little Lemon flavored Biscuits make a fine accompaniment for afternoon tea. I have glazed the biscuits with Lemon syrup. Any citrus syrup will do too, enjoy!:))



You need these to make them:

You Need:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour,
4 tsp baking powder,
1 tsp salt,
1 tbsp sugar,
4 tbsp cold butter,cut into small cubes,
1 cup milk.
Filling:
2 tbsp melted butter,
1 tbsp Lemon Zest.(grate only the yellow outer skin,not the white part)
Glaze:
3 tbsp Sugar,
juice of 2 Lemons.

Preheat the oven to 450F.
Spray a large baking sheet with no-stick oil.
Mix 2 tbsp sugar and lemon juice well until dissolved and keep aside.

To make them:
1. In a mixing bowl, mix flour, baking pd, salt, sugar, and cold butter. Mix until it resembles bread crumbs.Add milk, fold gently just enough to mix, do not over mix.
2. Knead 3-4 times on the counter top, pat out to a rectangle about 1/4" thick, brush melted butter evenly on top and sprinkle Lemon zest on top.
3. Roll up like Jelly roll or like cigar lengthwise, cut into 1" rolls.Place them on the baking sheet 1" apart and lightly dab them the tops with sugar and lemon glaze, do not soak it in.
4. Bake for 12-15 mins or until golden on top.Cool on racks and store them in the air tight container.
Note: If you don't want to make the swirls or pinwheel rolls, gently roll out the dough to about 1" thickness and cut out 3" circles, glaze and bake!

Serve at room temperature with jam or jelly for breakfast or with Tea/Coffee in the afternoon!!:)

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Book I read last week:

"The red carpet-Bangalore stories" by Lavanya Sankaran.
Author is raised in Bangalore and living there now with her family (after moving back to India from USA), she writes her very first witty (cosmopolitan people are "one-Thara" people, as Ram her character in the book says!:D) and very articulately written book. It is sprinkled with expletives thru' out the book which I don't like to read or hear in the movies, which is my problem of course! I am old fashioned in that way.
It's a collection of 8 stories, all set in Bangalore (Silicon Valley of India!), writes about new and old generation clashes, about "foreign returned" engineers, ABCDs , perception and presumption of life in USA! IF it's a true portrait of modern day B'lore, specially as in the first story (I really hope it's just fiction!), it shocks me! I have been away from Bengaluru for too many years I guess, again it's all my fault!!! :P
She won a "Poets and writers best of first fiction 2005" award for this book. She is a very BEAUTIFUL girl too, looking at her photo on back of the book!
Movie:
Saw the movie "SAW 4" at last, my favorite most "intelligent" REAL scary bunch of movies (SAW 1,2,3) if you ask me, love them all! :D

Few dishes I tried from other bloggers:

Vimmi's delicious Baingan da Bharta:
Here is a simple but great tasting Baingan da bharta I tried from Punjabi blogger friend Vimmi. I have never cooked Baingan Bharta before since it always involves the usual dhania-jeera pd, garam masala etc. This recipe uses the minimum of spices and tastes excellent with Parathas. Thanks Vimmi, loved it and as you said, it's absolutely delcious!:)
Srivalli's Spicy Peanuts:
Happy cook made these peanuts last week with the recipe from Srivalli's blog. Although this dish is not new to me (my mom always roasts the peanuts in 2 tbsp oil in a pan and seasons), I wanted to try Sri's deep fried version. It came out very well, great to munch on cold Winter evenings, love the fried garlic. Thanks Sri!:)

Enjoy your weekend!:)