Rumali Roti, Bell Pepper Korma, Kalonji Naan, Kalamata Olives, Artichoke hearts,Walnuts Spread/dip

Happy Easter!

We had almost 80F almost Summer like temperature last weekend, hot, humid and very windy after going thru' a long cold Winter and chilly early Spring weather. We had BBQ on the deck in the evening for dinner on Sunday, had to hold down the Lettuce and napkins on the plate from flying off of the deck though! :D
Although temp went down drastically on Tuesday, still very sunny here. To add to the joy, Tar Heels (UNC Chapel Hill athletes, Trisha's college) won their 5th NCAA championship!! YAY!! Feels great, our little white and Blue Tar Heels flag is still flying in our front yard as you can see and you can listen to the UNC fight songs here. Curious to know why North Carolinians are called "Tar Heels? Read here and here. Go Tar Heels, you made us very proud! :)

Spring Tulips:
Most beautiful of all the Spring flowers are Tulips in my opinion. Who can forget Tulip fields in Amsterdam, Holland every Spring and Fall once you visit when they are in full bloom? We visited there once about 12 yrs ago, still remember the beauty, Heaven on Earth.

Spring Tulip showcase at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC:
In Asheville, a beautiful city nestled in the Blue Ridge mountains of NC, there is a palace like largest home in America and also a luxury hotel called Biltmore Estate, built by George W. Vanderbilt, which showcases colorful flowers in "Festival of Spring" from April 4th to May 17th, 2009. They say;

"The gardens will be bursting with color and fragrance—thousands of tulips, flowering shrubs and trees, and spring bulbs dazzle your senses. Enjoy music in the gardens and in Biltmore House along with bright floral displays, springtime dining specials, and unique shopping opportunities."

Colorful Spring Tulips from my neck of the woods:

One of the weekend projects, prepped up our veggie patch:
For a starter, we topped up 3 huge bags of soil to the veggie patch, fertilized and then planted Husky red Cherry Tomato, Bush Goliath Tomato, Mint and Cayenne Pepper plants in the ground. My 4th Herb pot is ready to go with Pineapple Sage, Sweet Basil, Lemon Thyme. Right now, Herb pots are still in the garage just to be safe until temp goes up and stays up there at 70F. One single morning frost will destroy them all if they are kept outside now, may be we will get them on the deck next month. Last month, lawn was yellow and brittle and after many rainy days and fertilizing, look at that green color of that lawn now! :)

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Let's get cooking!

Rumali Roti, Bell Pepper Korma and Bharwa Baingan:
I made some Rumali rotis this week. "Rumaal" which literally means "Handkerchief" in Hindi, these rotis are made to look like Rumal because of their very thin and wide square or round shape. These are rolled out very thin and as wide as you can and baked quickly on a hot inverted Wok/Kadai to serve with gravy dishes or Kababs. I made Bell pepper Korma and stuffed masala Eggplants to go with Rumali rotis. Enjoy the recipes!

Recipe for Bharwa Baingan masala/stuffed Eggplants I have already posted last year is here.
Usually I don't get small round Eggplants here, so the recipe I posted before is made with chopped Eggplants with the same ingredients. This time, I bought some round Brinjals from the Indian store last week. I slit these round Eggplants halfway still attached to the stem and stuffed with the same ground masala and pressure cooked them on low heat to cook them just until soft but not mushy. This is my favorite masala Baingan to have with rice rottis or Rotis.

My favorite "Royal Doulton" stainless steel and non-stick Wok I used to make Rumali rotis, didin't dare to invert it! :D
Although I have a beautiful huge Wok, I didn't dare to invert it to expose the non-stick interior to direct heat which will destroy the non-stick coating. So, I heated the Wok as usual and cooked the wide thin rotis inside the Wok instead. They came out fine, not as good as you see in these videos but not bad at all. You can see how to make traditional Rumali roti here and here and here.

To make Rumali rotis:
1. Mix 1 1/2 cups of Wheat flour, 1/2 cup of plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tbsp oil, add enough water and knead well to get a firm plaible dough. Cover and rest the dough for 30mins.
2. Divide into equal portions, roll out the dough as thin as and as wide as possible to fit into the Wok you are using.
3. Take a Wok/Kadai, invert on the medium to high heat, let it get hot or heat the wide Tava or Wok until hot. Iron Woks without handles on a gas burner do very well to invert and bake these.
4. Add the thin rotis, let it cook and bubble, quickly flip and cook the other side, fold the sides into a square like handkerchief and serve immediately if you can with veg and non-veg gravies or wrapped around the Kababs.

Bell Pepper Korma:
A south Indian "Kurma" usually has ground coconut, poppy seeds etc., slightly different ground spice masala than a North Indian "Korma" or Mughlai style "Qorma". Korma has aromatic spices mainly spices like Fennel, nut paste, little cream added with vegetables or various meats. Since I had bought green, red and orange Bell Peppers, I made a Korma masala and served with Rumali rotis.

To make Korma:
1. Chop 3 large red, Orange and Green bell Peppers/Capsicums in to large pieces. Idea is not to cook them too many but just until soft and still holding their shapes.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 2 onions chopped and fry it until they are slightly golden. Then add 2" chopped Ginger and 2 large chopped garlic to onion mix and stir fry for a minute. Add these to a blender and let it cool for 2 mins.
3. In the same pan, add 1 tsp Fennel seeds, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 2 tsp Cumin seeds, few seeds of Cardamoms, 14-16 whole Almonds, saute slightly for 1 minute or so, add to the blender. Add 2 tbsp Yogurt and blend all these to a smooth paste. Add enough water if you need it to grind but not too much.
4. Now, heat 2 tbsp oil+butter mix in a non-stick deep pan, add the Bell pepper pieces, little salt and fry just until they get soften a bit, take them out on a plate.
5. Add ground onion masala to the same pan, fry until it smells good making sure you don't scorch the masala. Once the masala leaves the sides of the pan, add 1/4 cup Tomato sauce, 1 tsp sugar, fry again for 2 mins. Add salt, chilli pd, sauteed peppers and 1/2 cup water to the pan, simmer.
6. Lastly, mix 3 tbsp warm heavy cream and 1/4 tsp Saffron strands, add to the Korma gravy along with 1 tsp of good quality Garam Masala, simmer gently on low heat.
Garnish with Cilantro and serve with Raita and Naan or Rumali rotis.

Kalonji/Nigella seeds Naan:
Kalonjis are Nigella seeds (also known as black onion seeds although not related) in English. It has a pungent taste when eaten and is widely used in Bengali "Panch Phoran" (click on the link, Bong mom Sandeepa has a wonderful post on PP with recipes) as one of the five seeds. Kalonjis are usually added on top of Naans before baking in Tandoor. I had plans to cut and toast one of these Naans to serve with Olive spread I made below but they didn't last long enough since we had chicken masala for dinner to go with these! :D

To bake eggless Naan bread with black onion seeds:
This recipe for Naan is adapted from a cookbook by Tahera Rawji. I didn't add the Egg which was mentioned in the recipe but replaced the sesame seeds with Kalonji and followed everything else just as it is in the book. Milk pd gives it a nice texture and makes it rich, don't think it needed an egg but will add next time I make these just to see whether eggy Naan tastes any different.

1. Mix 1 pack of dry Yeast (2 1/4tsp), 1 tsp Sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water, set aside for fermenting for 5 mins.
2. Add 2 1/2 cups of flour, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp Kalonji/Nigella seeds, 5 tbsp dry milk powder to a mixer, mix for a second and add 1/4 cup vegetable to it, 5 tbsp yogurt and yeast mix to it, beat well for 3 mins until you get a firm and pliable dough. (You can add 1 egg to this dough too but it's optional, I didn't add it.)
3. Brush some oil on top of the dough,cover and let it rise in warm place for an hour or so or until double.
4. Divide this into 6-8 equal portions, knead well. Take a ball, roll out or press out with your hand to about 5" circle, pull one end to make a tear shape. Brush the top with melted butter, sprinkle some Kalonjis and press them down gently. Repeat with other balls, place them on a foil 2 at a time, cover with a kitchen towel and let them rise again for about 10mins.
5. Heat your oven to the maximum up to 500F or more with the Pizza stone or cookie sheet in, slide the naans with the foil on hot cookie sheet or Pizza stone. Bake for 7-8 mins or until they are golden on top. Do not over bake.
6. Serve as soon as possible to get the best out of these Naans.

Kalamata Olives, Artichoke Hearts and Walnut Spread/Dip:
I love Olives, will snack on them them just like candies if you give me a bowlful. Of all the Olives, Kalamata Olives are my favorite kind. Since they are relatively expensive to buy, I add some Artichoke Hearts, Walnuts etc to make a spread and enjoy it with Bagel chips, crisp Veg Crackers, any homemade toasted bread or even with sliced and toasted Naan.

To make the Spread:

1. First take about 10-15 Kalamata Olives (bottled is okay too, don't add salt and Vinegar too much since Olives are already soaked in it), slice them roughly and take the seeds out, put these in a bowl.
2. Open a can of Artichoke Hearts, drain well and chop them roughly, discard the rough and stringy parts of Artichoke. Add to the bowl with Olives.
3. Now add 2 tbsp crushed Walnuts, 1/4 tsp Garlic powder or 2 chopped Garlic, 3 tbsp or more Mayonnaise, 2 tsp Sour cream, salt (careful not to add too much if Olives are out of a bottle), plenty of freshly crushed peppercorns, 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese and 1/4 tsp Italian herb seasoning or 1 tbsp fresh Chives. Mix well.
4. Adjust the seasoning, chill in the fridge for 30 mins. Serve chilled or at room temperature with Toasted hard crusted bread, crackers or toasted Naan.

Logos and links of all the events, thanks to all of you for hosting ladies! :)

Bell Pepper Korma, goes to EC's "WYF-Side Dishes" event.
Kalonji Naan bread, goes to Dee's "Think Spice..think-Kalonji". This event is started by Sunita.
Olive-Artichoke Hearts-Walnuts Spread, goes to Priya's "AFAM-Olives", an event started by Maheswari.
Green and Red Bell Peppers Korma, also goes to Neha's "FIC-Red and Green", this event is started by Harini.
Stuffed Masala Baingan with Cashews, goes to Poornima who is guest hosting "Let's Go Nuts-Cashews", an event started by Aquadaze.

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My tried and tasted dishes from other blogs in the last 2 weeks, thanks to all of you for posting these delicious dishes ladies! :)

Porial, from Nags. (Didn't have Eggplants, used Beets instead)
Vankaya Bagara, from Vijaya.
Capsicum and Tomato Pappu, from Priya.
Beet Root-Corn Upma, from Ashwini.

Movies I watched and liked last week:

"Seven Pounds":
I didn't hear much about this movie before when it's released but picked up to watch last week. I loved it. Film is about a well educated guy who gets into a car accident which kills seven people including his fiancée. He gets depressed and decides to donate his seven organs/body parts (seven pounds flesh) to seven people who deserve them so they can live. He tests 7 people to make sure they deserve his eyes, Liver, Kidneys, Bone marrow etc. When he finds 7 people, he kills himself so others can have his body parts. It is a very emotional movie to watch, takes some courage to do something like that in real life and I think this is Will Smith's best movie so far, loved his "The pursuit of happyness" movie as well.

"Marley and Me":
This movie is based on a book of the same name. A young couple adopt a yellow Labrador puppy and he writes a column in his newspaper about it as their 12 yrs of marriage and their dog Marley go through various stages of joys and sorrows of their lives until the end of Marley's life. My both kids cried watching this movie when Marley dies of old age. Dog lovers shouldn't miss this movie!

Book I am currently reading:

"The Girl From Foreign" by Sadia Shepard.
This book is somewhat similar to "Burnt Bread and Chutney" by Carmit Delman I have reviewed before in my older post. It's a biographical story of an American girl Sadia Shepard whose mom is a Pakistani Muslim amd dad is an Christian American from Colorado. Sadia's grandmother who lives her family one day tells her that she was born in Bombay to a Bene Israli Jewish family and her real name was "Rachel Jacobs".
When her grandmother had married to a Pakistani Muslim later, she had converted to Islam and moved to live in Pakistan and had her children there as well. Sadia becomes curious about her grandmother's Jewish roots, gets a schalorship to go to India and do a reserch film on Bene Isrreli community and to learn about her own roots in the process. When she goes to meet people in India on the first day, they refer to her as "that girl from foreign with a muslim name!" :D
Intesting book, keeps you glued to the book and also we can see her confusion because of her multi cultural and multi religious upbringing when visiting Bombay for the first time to film about Bene Israel Jewish community, meet her surviving family and her grandmother's childhood home. It's heartening to see the old photos of her family in Bombay in this book and read about India and Indians thru' Sadia's eyes.

Enjoy the better weather and have a fun week and the weekend too. Spring break is on for all the kids here from Saturday, I will be taking little easy on blogging next week since kids want to go out more if they are at home! :)