Mysore Masala Bonda with Dal Powder-Tomato Sambhar, Egg Theeyal Kootu, Spicy Masala Eggs

Hello everyone! It's that time of the week again and so soon too! I always think "once a week with multiple dishes" post is easy for me but every week I am huffing and puffing to catch up like a last person running in a Marathon! Haha!
Memorial weekend was so busy and fun too that I didn't have anything written for my post today. I just had these photos posted and haven't typed a word until yesterday afternoon! Anyway glad I caught up at last and here are some of the dishes I had cooked. Yes!! I deep fried again after those Baturas, enjoyed these Bondas after more than a year. That's some will power for a compulsive craver of savory snacks like me, let me tell ya ! ;D

Mysore Masala Bondas:
Most of you Indian foodies know about these Bondas of course. Some get confused between Mangalore Bondas/Bajjis (Goli Baje) which are made of Plain flour with these Mysore Bondas which are made with thick Urad dal batter. Mysore Bondas are the same as doughnut shaped Urad dal Vadas or Medhu vadas, only made of or rather batter dropped to oil in round balls without making the shapes, definitely much easier than making shaped ones if you ask me!
You can make these plain without adding any onion masala to the batter to make Mosaru Vade or Dahi Vadas soaked in spiced Yogurt or add masala to have them with spicy coconut chutney or dunked in spicy Sambhar.

Perfect timing to send some of these to two events which are just announced with Onions and Peppercorns too! I am sending Mysore Masala Bondas, Dal Sambhar and Egg Theeyal Kootu to Priya's and Siri's "Healing Foods-Onions" event and also to Padma who is hosting "Cooking with seeds-Peppercorns" which is started by Priya. Thanks to both of you! :)

To Make Mysore Bondas:

1. Soak 1 cup Urad dal in water for 4 hrs. Wash and drain water. Grind dal as thick as possible in a grinder to a smooth batter until fluffy (should float if a small amount dropped in water) with adding as less water as possible. Since we are dropping the batter in balls, it's okay if you have to make the batter little thinner than the Doughnut shaped Vadas but still keep the batter as thick as possible to make rounds.
Heat oil to 375F to deep fry. Get a big strainer, line it up with paper towels to place fried Bondas to keep them crisp draining as much oil as possible.
2. Take out the thick batter in a bowl, add the following masala to it, mix well.
Masala to add: 1/4 cup finely chopped Onions, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 1 tsp grated Ginger, finely chopped 2 green chillies, 1 tsp crushed Peppercorns, chopped Cilantro, chopped Curry leaves, 2 tbsp Grated or slivers of fresh or dry Coconut, pinch of Hing,adding enough salt to taste and 1/4 tsp baking soda last, just before frying.

3. Drop round balls to hot oil, keep moving the Bondas in oil so they cook evenly until golden and crisp. Drain on paper towel and serve with chutney or dunk them in thin spicy Sambhar.

Dal Powder and Tomato Sambhar:
As some of you know, I have a gazillion cookbooks of all kinds in my collection and bought more Kannada cookbooks from Bangalore last year when I was there. I found this unique Sambhar recipe made of powdered Dals in one of the books, decided to try and LOVED it. Simple, spicy, thinner gravy than the usual Sambhar and delicious to serve with these Bondas or even with Dill Vadas or Chana Dal Masala Vadas.

To make, fry/Roast dals and spices first:
Dal Powder:
Heat 1 tsp in a pan on a medium heat. Add 1 tbsp each of Tuar dal, Channa dal and Moong dal together or separately and fry/roast these until they are reddish, raw smell of dals disappear and completely cooked from inside out. Do not burn the dals. Take your time with this frying/roasting process, otherwise Sambhar will smell like raw dals. Cool completely and powder finely. Mix well with 1/4 cup water to avoid lumps and keep aside.
Spice powder:
Heat a pan without oil, add 1 1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Peppercorns and 2 or more dry red chillies, cool and powder separately, keep aside.
To make Sambhar:
1. Heat 2 tsp oil and 1 tsp Ghee. Add 1 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds, pinch of Hing and 1 dry red chillies.
2. Add 1/2 cup finely chopped onions, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, pinch of salt, saute until soft. Add 1/4 cup Tomato sauce, boil and then turn the heat down to simmer until thick.
3. Add 3-4 cups water, 1 tsp sugar or Jaggery to reduce the acidity of Tomato, powdered spices, salt and simmer for 10mins.
4. Add dal powder mixed with water to the Sambhar, mix well, simmer for 2 mins. If Sambhar is too thick, add more water. But once you add dals, don't boil too much.
5. Garnish with 2 tbsp finely chopped Cilantro and serve. Tastes even better the next day.

Egg Theeyal Kootu:
As I have said before, first dish I make whenever we come home from vacation is some spicy Pearl Onion Theeyal! I get very desperate to have some of this after eating bland food for a week or so! :D
Well..this time I made the smooth onion Theeyal gravy/Kootu style and added few hard boiled Eggs, kids loved it. This recipe may not have authentic Theeyal ingredients but tastes great, I must have written down from a magazine some years ago, don't really remember. You have to serve this some plain white rice, some ghee and a yogurt cucumber raita on the side for a perfect meal!

To make:
Hard boil 6 Eggs, shell them and slit the Eggs half way but don't split them in half, keep them whole. Set aside.
Ground masala: Fry each of these separately in few tsps of oil, cool them and make a smooth paste of these:
1 cup of Shallots, 2-3 Garlic, 1" Ginger, 2 tbsp Coriander seeds, 2 cloves and 1" Cinnamon, 2-3 red chillies, 1/4 cup fresh coconut and 1/2 to 1 tsp Peppercorns.
To make Theeyal:
1. Heat 2 tsp ghee and 1 tsp oil. Add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, few curry leaves.
2. Turn down the heat, add ground coconut masala paste, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, 1/4 tsp thick Tamarind pulp, 1 cup or more water depending on the thickness you want, simmer gently for 10mins. Add chopped Cilantro.
3. Add Eggs. Tastes so much better the next day.

Spicy (Chana Masala) Eggs:
Want some yummy spicy Eggs to snack on, or to top a cool salad or for quick Sandwich stuffers for lunch? Here they are! I just hard boiled about 6-7 Eggs, shelled and cooled them, sliced each into half, and sauteed them with my own Chana masala powder I made last week, you can add any masala you have.

To make these:
1. Heat a wide mouthed non-stick pan, add 1 tbsp butter to coat the pan. Place halved Eggs in single layer, sprinkle salt, homemade Chana Masala or any masala powder you like, and fresh Pepper powder or red chilli powder.
2. Gently roast the Eggs on medium heat. Don't let the masala burn. When they are golden, flip them and sprinkle more masala and more Butter if you like until they are well roasted and coated with masala.
3. Serve on a salad or make Sandwiches or serve these just as snacks/appetizers. YUM!!

Movies:
We went to "Prince of Persia" on Memorial day Monday, loved it. This movie is based on a Video game, so I wasn't that thrilled to go but Jake Gyllenhaal is one of fave actor. He definitely didn't disappoint me, movie very well made and he is so charming just like a (a street urchin really!) Prince Dastan should be and a perfect looking Princess called Tamina to boot! Movie is very entertaining, non-stop action, visually beautiful. As bonus, got to see a super Obese (from Hindu Kush region, now Afghanistan) Maharaja riding an Elephant, munching on Walnuts and few giggling Indian Princesses too! :D

On DVD, kids and I watched "Alice in Wonderland", new one with Johnny Depp. Weirdly funny movie but again, it was supposed to be that way, different than normal, so it was enjoyable and entertaining, waited to see this movie on DVD though.
Another very talented actor, we love Johnny Depp's movies like "Sweeney Todd" and "Pirates of The Caribbean" movies, but not so much his kiddie movies like this one and as "Willie Wonka....". I bet younger kids will enjoy these kid movies in theaters better, of course Johnny Depp is always great in any movie, loved him as Sweeney Todd!

That's all for now, enjoy the short week and the weekend! :)

Chana masala with homemade Chana masala powder, Yogurt-Semolina Batura, Aloo-Matar Chana Masala Bhaji

Hey, hope you are all doing well. Nothing much to write this week except that it's raining Cats and Dogs here for the past 2 days which we needed desperately after months of relentless heat. Lawn is green and temperature has gone down too, it's all good here. Finally enjoying Spring as it should be with relatively less Pollen in the air!
I even deep fried for the first time in almost 6 months! I successfully avoided deep frying the whole Winter, most part of Spring and decided it's about time I deep fried something. Usually I tend to deep fry more in Winter than any other season, specially Vadas and Pakodas, didn't do it last Winter! :D

Well..here is another round of Chana masala and Butura at my kitchen again! Probably blogging this combo for the 5th time in my blog with some variations every time! This time I adapted the Chana masala recipe with homemade Chana masala powder with some changes of my own to suit our taste from a book called "Vegetarian Nirvana" by Santosh Jain. It's a great book with very simple traditional recipes. I enjoyed the taste of this Chana masala with freshly ground masala which makes it really delicious. Also making the Batura dough from this book is little different from what I usually do, comes out very well, give it a try. We loved the combo. Since my kids like Potato dishes, I added the same Chana masala powder to make Aloo-Matar Bhaji as well.

Chana masala with homemade Chana masala powder:
I used canned Organic Chickpeas but you can soak and cook the dry Chickpeas in a pressure cooker. Gravy for this Chana masala is little thinner than the usual Chana masala I make but you can add 1 tsp Cornstarch to make it thicker or you can mash some of the chickpeas to give a thicker texture. Another thing I do when gravy is thinner is to add 1 tbsp of unflavored dry Potato flakes from the box we get to make mashed Potatoes, as it cooks gravy gets thicker. Another tip is once you make the dish on the stove top, transfer it to the Microwavable dish, heat it at 100% for 5-6mins until the the gravy is thicker.

You need:
2 Cans of (8oz each) Organic Chickpeas/Garbanzo/White Chana, drained and rinsed. If you use dry Chickpeas, soak overnight, drain the water and cook with enough fresh water until soft. Set aside.
2 Bay leaves.
1 onion, grated or ground,
Grate or grind 2" fresh ginger to paste.
2 Green Chilles, slit into two.
1 tsp sweet Paprika for color.
1/2 cup Tomato sauce.(My addition for the reddish color, book says to use Tamarind paste)
1-2 tbsp homemade Chana masala powder.
Chopped Cilantro for garnish.
To make Chana Masala:
1. Heat 1tbsp butter and 2 tsp oil. Add Bay leaves, green chillies, saute. Add in grated or ground onion, stir fry for 2-3 mins until soft but not brown.
2. Then add ground Ginger, stir for 2 minutes, add tomato sauce and Paprika. Cook until raw smell of Tomato goes away and thickens to leave the sides of the pan.
3. Add cooked Chana with 1 cup of water, 1 tbsp or more homemade Chana masala powder, salt, simmer until oil shows up on top or you can do this faster in the Microwave.
4. When sauce thickens fairly, garnish with Cilantro. Tastes better if you keep this for a day or so in the fridge.

Homemade Chana Masala Powder:
I made freshly ground Chana masala for the first time to make Chana masala, usually I use MDH Chana Masala which is not bad at all but nothing beats the aroma and fresh flavor of homemade spices. I loved it, made double the amount and stored in a jar in the fridge for next time. I add Paprika for bright red color.

Chana Masala Powder:
Roast all these well without oil, cool, add Paprika, Ginger powder and then powder everything in a coffee grinder.
(Use only as much as powder you need, store the rest in airtight glass jar in the fridge. Double or triple the amount if you want)

3 tbsp Coriander seeds,
1 tbsp + 1 tsp Cumin seeds,
1 tsp Peppercorns,
2-3 dry Red chillies,
10 Cloves,
2" Cinnamon stick,(Dalchini)
1/2 tsp Cardamom seeds,
a small piece of Mace.
Mix the above powder with 2 tsp store bought dry Ginger powder and store in a airtight jar.

Chana masala with spicy gravy:
Another look. Most Indian side dishes with gravy always taste better the next day. I make the side dishes with gravy day before and keep it in the fridge. Beans get a chance to soak in spicy gravy and helps it to get really tasty the next day.

Yogurt-Semolina Batura:
This is a slightly different recipe than the usual Batura I have made before. You add fine Semolina to hot water and soak it for an hour and then add to plain flour and Yeast mixture to knead. If you don't like Yeast, just skip it, but texture is better with Yeast. This is the first time I added Yeast to Batura dough, liked it. Yeast gives it nice texture when fried but can skip it I guess. Don't fry the Baturas until it's reddish, keep the whitish color, take them out before they start to brown.

You need:
1/2 cup fine Semolina+1/4 cup water+1/4 tsp salt.
1 tsp Yeast+1/4 tsp sugar+ 2 tbsp warm water.
1 1/2 cup Plain flour,
1/4 cup Yogurt,
1 tsp salt.
Water as needed to make the dough.

To make Baturas:
(make the batura dough not more than 3 hrs before you need to make Baturas)
1. Mix fine Semolina, warm water and salt, keep aside for 1 hour. After an hour, soak Yeast in warm water and sugar, let it froth.
2. Mix Plain flour, salt, then add in Yogurt and add Semolina mixture, mix well. Add Yeast mixture, mix and knead everything very well adding extra water only if necessary to make a semi-soft but not sticky dough or very firm dough.
3. Divide into slightly bigger than a golf ball size portions, brush some oil on them, cover and set aside for 2 hours.
4. Heat oil to 380F. Roll out the Batura bit thicker than Pooris about 1/8" thickness and deep fry until cooked. Don't let it brown on top, keep the Baturas light colored. Drain on a paper towel and serve hot with Chana masala or Aloo-Matar Bhaji and onion relish.

Onion relish:
Slice 1-2 onion thinly, soak them in icy water for 1/2 an hour. Drain and squeeze the water out. Add 1/8 tsp of salt, Juice of Lemon juice, paprika for color, mix well and serve on the side with Chana and Batura.

Spicy Potato-Greenpeas Bhaji:
As I said earlier my kids love Potatoes, so I experimented with freshly made Chana masala powder in Potatoes and frozen Greenpeas. Frozen Peas tends to get mashed up when cooked. I think I will use dry, soaked and cooked Peas next time. Tasted great with Baturas, hope you try.

To make Aloo-Matar Bhaji:
Microwave or cook 3-4 medium sized Red Potatoes until almost cooked, peel and cube. Set Aside. Take 1 cup of frozen Greenpeas, keep it ready.

1. Heat 2 tsp Butter/ghee and 2 tsp Oil in a pan. Add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds.
2. When they splutter, add 1/2 cup cubed onion, saute until soft. Then add 1 tbsp grated or ground Ginger, saute for a minute. Turn down the heat. Add 1 tbsp water, 1/4tsp Turmeric, 1/4 tsp Cayenne powder. Stir.
3. Add 1 tsp Cumin seeds powder, 2 tsp Coriander seeds powder, 2 tsp or more Chana masala powder to taste, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 cup of water.
4. Add Potato cubes, Greenpeas, 1 tbsp Sour Cream or 1/4 tsp Tamarind paste, mix well and simmer.
5. Adjust the salt, masala powder etc and add 3 tbsp finely chopped Cilantro. Serve.

Movies:
I didn't watch any new movies. Since daughter is home, she has been borrowing lot of old Western Gun slinging movies from the library. We watched "3:10 to Yuma"(good one to watch once, Russel Crowe is great in this movie), "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", "for a few Dollars more" and "Blazing Saddles" and few more movies of John Wayne and Van Cleef. Daughter has gone crazy over Spaghetti Western movies this Summer holidays! :D
I love "Blazing saddles" , a classic movie (1974) by Mel Brooks, it's so hilarious! It never gets too old to watch it again and again. The main character and the situation there reminds me of President Obama!! A new African American Sheriff arrives in a small western town which shocks the heck out of white population who were expecting a White Sheriff as usual! Can you even imagine the chaos? Watch how the new sheriff handles it all efficiently with humor to endear himself to the town people and I promise, you will die laughing!!
Of course, Clint Eastwood is as handsome as ever in all his old movies and new, loved his "Gran Torino" too. He reminds me of our own Dev Anand of Bollywood, young forever! :)

Book:
"Hallelujah! The Welcome Table: A Lifetime of Memories with Recipes" by Maya Angelou. Interesting book to read with heart warming stories with great southern recipes. I haven't tried the recipes yet but I am familiar with very southern dishes like "Smothered Chicken", "Chicken and dumplings" etc.
I specially LOVE her angelic voice reading her own books on CD books and her books like "The complete collection of Poems", "I know why the caged bird sings".

That's about it for this week, enjoy! :)

Matar with Amritsari Aloo Kulcha Chaat, Soft Poha Idlis with restaurant style Sambhar

Happy Mother's day to all moms, enjoy your day on Sunday!

Just a quick note to all of you if you are wondering why you didn't see me in your blogs or see any new post in my blog for the last few months.
I had trouble opening my "edit posts" since 5th of March, had lost most of my 4 years worth of comments (which are back now) and had trouble commenting in other blogs as well right after I got own domain! (http://www.foodieshope.org) It was a blogger problem which affected many of us, so I took a break while they fixed it at their own pace.
Anyway, unusually HOT Summary dry weather here in NC with highest pollen count ever this year in the air has made my Spring allergy worse and my allergy woes continue until June like every year, so I may not be blog surfing much, may be limit 1-1/2 hour a day. Not much fun staring at the PC, blogging with itchy, watery eyes, sniffling and sneezing all the time, is it?
I did listen to CD books novels a lot during the break and enjoyed the school Spring break with kids, so no regrets. Now I am back with an old post which was ready to go last march but could edit only last week. Some of the events I was going to send these dishes are most probably over now but I loved both of these dishes.

Matar with Amritsari Aloo Kulcha Chaat:
You all know how much I love Chaats but I have never heard this Chaat combo of Matar-Kulcha before, shame on me! As soon as I saw this Chaat at Raaga of "The singing Chef"'s post on "Matar Kulcha", I ran to the kitchen to soak the dried white/Yellow Greenpeas and next day it was on the table along with some hot Potato stuffed Amritsari Kulchas. Raaga says this chaat combo is "the famous street food of Delhi: Matar Kulcha." Thanks Raaga, it was the most aromatic, flavorful and easiest Matar chaat I have ever tasted!

Matar/Greenpeas:

I used dried White Greenpeas to make this Matar Chaat. It has amazing taste and so simple to make. We loved it. You can serve this with toasted slices of Bread or stuffed inside the Burger buns as well, makes perfect weekend Brunch too.

To make Matar:

1. Soak 1 cup dried white/yellow Greenpeas overnight, drain all the water and pressure cook them with 1 tsp salt, and with 1 cup water for very short time ie turn off the heat after 1 whistle. You must not over cook Greenpeas, just until they are cooked, still hold the shape and not get mushy.
2. As soon as you get the lid open, mix all the ingredients shown below to the hot cooked Greenpeas, mix well to serve!

Get these ready to mix with Peas:
Chop 1 small onion finely, 2 green chillies minced, enough salt to taste, 1 tsp Punjabi Garam Masala, 1 tsp Chaat masala, 1/2" grated Ginger, 1/8 tsp Black salt, 1 small chopped Tomato and 2 tbsp chopped Cilantro.
I didn't have the fresh Tomato to add, so I heated up 1/4 cup Tomato sauce with 1 tsp sugar in the microwave for 2 mins or until the raw smell goes, cooled it and added to the cooked Peas. Hence the reddish color of the dish, not needed if you have fresh Tomato.
To Serve:
Sprinkle with chopped sweet Videlia onion, chopped Cilantro on top, a slice of lemon and Kulcha on the side.

Grilled Amritsari Aloo Kulcha:
Authentic Amritsari aloo Kulche are supposed to have two layers of dough stuffed with Potato mixture and then cooked or baked. I didn't make 2 kinds of dough as shown here in this wonderful Kulcha video which I am sure makes them thick and flaky. I just took the easy way making them with just one kind of dough. They taste great served hot off the tava.
I used foil to place the rolled out Kulchas and grilled two Kulchas at a time to save time. You can also heat your oven to maximum temp and bake these as well or you can cook them on the stove top with some oil and then brush spicy herbed butter on top. They taste best right out of the oven. Once you mix and knead the dough, do not let it rest more than 1 to 2 hours. They get flaky if you grill them after an hour of resting but Kulchas get flat and bit harder if you let the dough rests longer than 2 hours.

For Amritsari Aloo Kulcha, you need:
Sift or mix 2 cups plain flour, Maida or Bread flour, 1 tsp Baking powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Salt, 1 tsp Sugar first and then add 2-3 tbsp Oil, 3 tbsp Yogurt, enough warm Milk or water to make a soft but not sticky dough. Divide to 6-8 portions, cover and let it rest for an hour before rolling and grilling/baking the Kulchas.

To brush on top of Kulcha:
4 tbsp melted Butter or oil or mixed, 3 tbsp chopped Cilantro, 1 tsp Garlic chopped or Garlic powder, 1/4 tsp Salt and 1/4 tsp chilli powder or Chilli flakes. Keep aside in a bowl.

Make stuffed Aloo Kulchas:
Take each dough, roll 4" circle, place a ball of aloo masala (recipe below), cover with dough and roll out again gently to about 5-6" circle, keep it thicker than Parathas. Place each Kulcha (I grilled 2 at a time) on a foil and brush with spicy herbed butter or oil mixture on top.

To grill or Bake Kulchas:
Start the grill 5-7 mins before grilling so the oven heats up to the maximum. Keep a cookie sheet or Pizza stone under the grill to heat it up.
Tip: Keep the grille rack about 10" below the grill heating elements, not too close to the top. Kulchas are thick, they need some time to cook and puff up. Keeping the Kulchas right under the heating elements burn the top before they cook properly inside.

Now; slide the foil with Kulchas on the hot cookie/baking sheet under the grill for 5 to 6 mins and watch carefully so they don't get burnt. Flip the Kulchas if needed to grill the other side too, but not necessary if the cookie sheet or Pizza stone is hot before you put the Kulchas or cook on the Tava on the stove top, much easier.

To Bake: These were baked at highest oven temperature which is 550F in my oven for 6-7 mins on a baking sheet, can use Pizza stone too.
Serve Kulchas hot with Matar and Lemon slices.

Aloo masala exposed inside the crispy, flaky, hot Kulcha!!

Aloo/Potato Masala:
2-3 large red Potatoes, boiled. peeled and mashed to smooth mass without lumps.

To make Aloo masala:
Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, a small Onion, chopped, 1-2 minced Green chilly, cook until soft. Add 1/4 tsp Red chilli powder, 1/4 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp each Cumin and Coriander seeds pd, 1 tsp Amchoor/Mango powder or tangy Chaat masala, 2 tbsp minced Fresh coriander leaves, salt, mashed Potatoes, mix well and cool the masala. Divide the masala to 6-8 portions and stuff inside each Kulcha.

One more crispy Aloo Kulcha look:

Over and out!! :))

############################

Everybody's favorite soft Poha Idlis-"Hotel' Sambhar combo!
I always on the look out for new recipes of tasty Sambhars or Rasams and how to make softest Idlis. Well...most Indians know how to make Idlis but for me it was always a tricky thing to steam perfectly soft Idlis, depends on the proportions of the ingredients and perfect fermenting. Since I had lot of time last few week, thanks to blogspot people and my blogging troubles, I was going thru' my old cookbooks. I found this recipe for softest Idlis in an old yellowing Prestige Pressure cooker cookbook which came with my first pressure cooker I had bought in 1986 few days after my wedding! Since then this book has traveled to 2 countries, has been an NRI over 22yrs along with me! Hahaha! Lot of memories attached to this old book as it has my mother's handwriting in it to guide me thru' cooking when I was a novice cook just starting my "real" life as a young bride! :))

Softest Poha Idlis with restaurant style "Hotel" Sambhar:
I immediately wanted to try the Poha Idli recipe but soaked only one cup of rice just to try out the recipe first. They came out wonderfully soft and very tasty, these proportions worked for me at last. Since we add Poha/Avalakki/Flattened rice, (I used thick kind of Poha) they are little sticky when taking out of the Idli mould but if you use non-stick Idli stand or spray some no-stick oil before you add the batter, they will be fine.

Soft Poha Idlis:

1. Soak 1 cup any long grain rice or Ponni rice or Idli rice, 1/4 cup thick textured Poha/Avalakki overnight with just enough to cover the rice and thick Poha. Wash twice and soak 1/4 cup Urad dal, 1 tsp Methi seeds/Fenugreek seeds separately overnight as well.
If you use thin Poha/flaatened rice, you can just soak it in the morning for 5 mins in hot water and drain all the water to grind with rice.
2. Next day, drain the most of water from Urad dal/Methi seeds, grind to a smooth thick paste adding just enough water. Take it out in a big bowl.
3. Add drained rice and poha to the same mixie bowl, add just enough water to grind these coarsely like Rava/Semolina and take it out into the Urad dal paste and mix both well. Batter should be thick, pourable consistency, not thin. Sprinkle 2 tsp sea salt on top.
4. Cover and let it ferment in a warm place for atleast 12-18hrs or until it looks fluffy. Don't let ferment too much.
5. Spray some no-stick oil on the Idli mould and pour batter 3/4 full and steam for 13-15mins. Let them cool a bit and take them out of the moulds.

"Hotel" Sambhar with Pearl Onions:
This recipe for "hotel" Sambhar comes from the same author of "Daskshin Bhog" which I had mentioned in my last post. Restaurants are called "hotels" and hotels are called "lodgings" in India, so this Sambhar which tastes just like the one served in restaurants is called "Hotel" Sambhar in this cookbook. It does taste like that, loved it, hope you try it too.

1. Cook 1/2 cup Tuar dal in a pressure cooker with 1 1/2 cups of water, 2 slit green chillies, 1/4 tsp Turmeric. Keep aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil, saute 2 cups Pearl Onions until reddish and then add 2 chopped Tomatoes or 1/4 cup canned Tomato sauce. saute for a while until soft. Add 1 cup of Tamarind juice or 1/2 tsp Tamarind paste mixed with 1 cup of water, salt and boil until Pearl onions are cooked.
3. Add ground masala powder, simmer. Add cooked Tuar dal, cilantro, 2 tsp ghee to it, adjust the salt and chilli pd and the thickness of the Sambhar as well. Simmer again, take the pot off the heat. Season the Sambhar.
Season: Heat 2 tsp oil, add 1tsp Mustard seeds, 1-2 red chillies and few curry leaves, 1/4 tsp Hing and add to the Sambhar.
Roast these and powder:
2 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, 2 tsp Poppy seeds, 1 tsp Peppercorns, 2 tsp Channa dal, 2-3 dry red chillies.

**********************************

Movies I watched in March and April:

"The Hurt Locker" which I have reviewed in my old post has won the Oscar for the best movie of the year, with a first woman director Kathryn Bigelow in Oscar history as well! She took that Oscar from James Cameron's (her ex-husband) "Avatar" which everybody thought will win the Oscar, great achievement for her indeed!
Both of these movies were Oscar nominated for this year. Mo'nique who plays Precious's mom in the movie won the "best actress" Oscar award.

"Precious" and "Up in the air", loved both of them.
Both movies are based on the books "Push" by Sapphire and "Up in the air" by Walter Kirn. Books are more interesting to read than watching the movies, but both are great movies. Please click on the links for the reviews of the movies and books.

Also watched "the Blind Side", "Julie and Julia" on DVD, loved both.

Also watched DVDs of Michael Moore's "Sicko" and "Capitalism: A love story". Amazing and shocking political documentaries, specially "sicko" about health care in this country compared to other countries. A must watch if you are interested to know what went on in the past and what's happening behind the doors these days which affects our lives directly today!!

That's all for this week, enjoy the weather while I stay indoors safely! :D
Hopefully I can post without any glitch from now on, fingers crossed.

Shahjeera-Ajwain Square Parathas with Punjabi Egg Masala, Eggplant Galore: Rasavangi, Sampangi Pithlai and Kothsu with Okra-Yogurt Pachadi/salad

Hello friends, did you see the "Bollywood Ice Dancing" and in Winter Olympics on Monday by a US team, Meryl Davis and Charlie White who won silver? It was soooo cool and colorful! Jai Ho!! :)

Email scam alert to all of you:
I received an email last week saying that (with a fellow blogger's full name and her husband's name as well) they were robbed at gunpoint in UK while on vacation and they need money urgently to get back home. They asked me to help them sending about $1200 ASAP and they promised to return the money, I should trust them etc. Of course, I deleted it promptly. Then I contacted one of my blogger friends who advised me to change my password immediately and she told me that there is a big scam going on like this in India too! They hack an email address and sending the message to everybody this person knows using her name and her husband's name which is more shocking and confusing when you recognize this blogger's name. Some even collected the money to send it to help their friends in need only to realize that they have been scammed. I just wanted you to know this and be aware. Don't start sending money because somebody takes my name and send an email to you. Knowledge is power as they say! :)

Okay, back to business now:

Punjabi Egg Masala with buttered Shajeera, Ajwain and turmeric flavored square Parathas are at your service. A Punjabi fare today! :)
What more can I say? This is the easiest and yummiest Egg masala I have ever made to serve with Shahjeera and Ajwain flavored Parathas. What makes it special? I used "Punjabi Garam Masala" I made at home last month in this Egg masala. It really makes a difference, has lot flavor than just any regular old store bought Garam masala, you can make your own Punjabi Garam masala from here. I made the sauce in the Microwave (faster and less messy), but you can use stove top to make the masala too as I type in here. Vegetarians can use any mixed vegs or Veg Koftas to add to this masala instead of Eggs.

Hardboil 6 eggs, about 2 eggs per person for 15mins in lots of water on high heat. Drain all the water, fill the pot up again with cold water. This helps the shell to separate inside and makes it easy to peel the shell. If you put the boiled eggs with shell in the fridge overnight, peeling is even easier. Slice the Eggs halfway and keep them aside.

Punjabi Egg Masala:
1. Heat 1 tbsp Butter and 2 tsp oil, add 1 medium onion, finely chopped or ground, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, stir until onion paste is slightly reddish and soft.
2. Add 1 tbsp Ginger-garlic paste, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, 1 tsp Paprika or Kashmiri (for color and heat) chilli pd, stir for 1 minute.

3. Now add 1 cup Tomato sauce, 1tbsp Coriander seeds powder and 2 tsp Cumin seeds powder, let it simmer for 15-20mins until sauce is thicker or oil shows up on top.
4. Add few tbsps of water to cool it down and add 1 cup 2% milk or lower fat half and half, adjust the salt, sugar (to balance the tangy Tomatoes) and chilli pd to your taste. Mix well and simmer.
5. When the sauce is smooth and thickish, remove from the heat and add 2 tsp crushed Kasoori Methi and 1 1/2 to 2 tsp of Punjabi Garam Masala, 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves, mix well.
6. Add eggs to the sauce and let it sit for few hours or overnight in the fridge for best flavor.

All done! Slurp!! :)

My Shahjeera-Ajwain square Parathas with Punjabi Egg Masala goes to Srilekha's "EFM-Parathas and Gravies" event and also to Pari's "The combo event".

Shahjeera, Ajwain and Turmeric square Parathas: (Click to enlarge the pics)
As you know I keep on learning to make different kinds of folds to make Parathas, I just love the looks of them when they are done! Here, I added Shahjeera, Ajwain and turmeric to the dough and made the Parathas square. It's so much fun to eat them too! :)

To make square Parathas:
Mix 2 cups of Atta, 1 tsp Shajeera (Black Cumin seeds), 1 tsp Ajwain seeds and 1/2 tsp Turmeric, 2 tbsp of oil, mix well. Add about 1 cup of hot water slowly and knead the dough to a smooth and soft but not sticky dough. Divide into 8 or more portions, make balls, cover and let it rest for 1 hour or so.

1. Roll out a dough ball to a circle, brush with oil, sprinkle some flour. Fold as shown in the pics brushing oil and sprinkling flour to a square shaped folded dough ball.
2. Roll out gently again keeping the square shape, don't have to get a perfect square.
3. Cook on griddle both sides, take out on a plate, brush with little ghee or butter on top. Stack up the other Parathas on top. Serve ASAP with any gravy.

#########################

Eggplant Galore II?!

Brinjal Rasavangi, Sampangi Pithlai and Kathirikkai Kothsu:
Yes! One of those "Galore" posts (Soup Galore, Idli Galore, Pumpkin pics, Brunch, Winter Munchies, XMAS treats, another, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Party snacks, Soupy week, JackFruit, Eggplants, Gourds, Plantains again. PHEW! :D), with loads of dishes but with delicious different tastes I have posted before! I have cooked all three of these dishes from a very authentic south Indian cookbook called "Dakshin Bhog" by Santhi Balaraman I have. It has really simple but traditional recipes. I had bought plenty of Eggplants last week, so I tried these 3 dishes from the book, LOVED the taste.

Rasavangi:
Here is another spicier Rasavangi I have posted before. Here is the simple but tasty version.
1. Cook 1/2 cup Tura dal with 1 1/2 cup water, keep aside. Soak small ball of Tamarind in 1 cup water and squeeze all the water, discard the solids. Cut slices of 3-4 Brinjals, wash in water.
2. Cook Tamarind water, Brinjals, 1/4 tsp Turmeric pd, salt, and cook until Brinjals are tender. Add cooked and mashed Tuar dal, chopped Cilantro, mix and simmer for 2 mins.
3. Heat 1tbsp oil+ghee, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 sliced Green chillies, 2 dry red chillies, few curry leaves, and add this to Rasavangi.

Sampangi Pithlai:
This dish supposed to be from Karnataka, probably a Iyengar or Iyer dish as Sampangi sounds Kannada and Pithlai is a Tamil word. This dal has little more spices than the other dals, taste great with rice.
1. Pressure cook 1/2 cup Tuar dal, 2 Drumsticks, 1 cup Green beans or Broad beans, 1/4tsp Turmeric with 2 cups of water.
2. Boil 1 cup Tamarind water, add 1 cubed Potato, 2 Eggplants and 1 Chow Chow,chopped, cook until soft. Add powdered masala, cook for 2 mins.
3. Add in dal mixture, salt, Chopped Cilantro, simmer and season with 1 tbsp oil+ghee, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, pinch of Hing, 1 red chilly.
Spice Powder: Roast these lightly and powder without oil.
2 tbsp coconut, 3 red chillies, 2 tsp Urad dal, 1 tsp rice grains, 6 Peppercorns, 1 tbsp Coriander seeds, 2 tsp Chana dal.

Kathrikkai Kothsu:
Another tasty south Indian dal with Eggplants and Moong dal! Add water as needed to thin the dal or add less to thicker dal, up to your liking.
1. Cook 1/2 cup Moong dal with 1/4tsp turmeric and 1 cup water. Keep aside.
2. Heat 1tbsp oil+Ghee, add 1/2tsp Mustard seeds, 2 sliced green chillies, few curry leaves, pinch of Hing. Add 2 small onions, sliced lengthwise, saute until golden color.
3. Add 3 small round Brinjals, cut into slices, 1 cup Tamarind juice/water, salt and cook until soft.
4. Add powdered masala, cooked Moong dal, adjust the salt and heat, a small piece of Jaggary, chopped Cilantro, simmer for few minutes and serve.
Toast these lightly and powder without oil:
2 tbsp Coriander seeds, 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds, 1 tbsp Chana dal, 3 or more dry red chillies.
Serve with these plain rice, papad and a Okra-Yogurt salad.

My Eggplant Galore with Rasavangi, Pithlai and Kothsu goes to Anita's "Vegetable Marathon-Eggplants" event.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Spiced up Okra-Yogurt Salad/Raita/Pachadi:
I love this salad or Bendekai Pachadi as we call it. You can eat this by itself at lunchtime, Summer days are the best to have this cooling salad or serve this as a side dish with nutritious dal. Great with Parathas too since it's spicy, has a vegetable and tangy Yogurt. It has all the goodness of Okra, Ginger, Garlic and Yogurt. Enjoy.

Whenever you use Okras, make sure you fry or saute them in oil first before you make a any Okra dish, nothing horrible like eating slimy Okras. Take 4 cups cut Okras for this dish. Whole Okras are washed first, dried and cut into 1" pieces. Add about 3 tbsp of oil in a non-stick wok, add Okra and saute until Okra pieces loses it's sliminess and looks reddish and separate from each other. If you have many, saute them in batches. Cool and set aside.

To make salad:
1. Heat 1 tsp oil, add 1/2 tsp Mustard seeds, 2 tsp Urad dal, few curry leaves, 2 green chillies sliced, 1 red chilly, broken. Saute until Urad dal is reddish.
2. Add 2-3 tbsp chopped Cilantro, take it off of the heat. Add to a serving bowl, cool. Add 1/2 to 1 cup thick Yogurt, 1 tsp roasted Cumin seeds powder and sauteed Okra to the bowl with enough salt and mix.
3. Take 2 tbsp water, add 2 cloves of Garlic and 1/2" Ginger in a pestle-Mortar and pound until they are mashed and squeeze the juice out into the Salad, discard the Ginger-Garlic solids.
4. Mix the salad well and serve at room temperature.

My very south Indian traditional Okra and Yogurt spiced up Salad/Pachadi goes to Divya's "Show me your salad" event.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

Movies I watched:

"Paa":

Well....I watched Paa last weekend (alone this time). I have mixed feelings about this movie. It reminded me of "The curious case of Benjamin Button" although story line is totally different. I thought AB Junior looked very handsome and mature in the movie. Vidya Balan looks beautiful and great actress as usual. I thought movie is bit of a drag, same thing stretched to a 2 hours unnecessarily. I still don't know where the name "Auro" comes from or what it means! I hated the "Potty" jokes, "bastard" "round round round" dialogues and calling his grandma "Bum" because she has a big behind and all this is from a 13yrs old! I can understand a 4-5yr old making potty jokes and also I hope kids in India don't start calling their ajjis and Paatis "bum" after watching this movie! :D
But I did enjoy the movie, did feel the sadness when the boy dies in the end. It's hard for me imagine that scenario as a mother of a (almost 15yr old) son myself. Movie is well made and I can say I liked it except few scenes, worth the time.

Everybody's Fine:
Heartwarming movie. An old and lonely widower, played by Robert De Niro, tries to get all his 4 adult children together at his home for Thanksgiving but none of them have the time or inclination to visit him. So he decides to surprise his kids by visiting them instead but each one make excuses that they are busy and can't spend much time with him, guides him on to the next child. They tell him that when they were kids he was too strict, pushy, expected too much out of them and that's why they preferred to talk to their mom than him. He says he didn't realize it but he just wanted the best for them.
When he gets robbed in the city on the way to his daughter's home and loses his heart medicine, he calls his empty home just to listen to his dead wife's voice on the answering machine which gives him some comfort and made me so sad. He has a heart attack on the way back to his own home, then his kids gather around him in the hospital, they talk but also tell him that one of his sons has died. He goes home and what happens after that is for you to watch! All IZ well in the end I should say, everybody's fine! :)

Book:
I am still reading or listening to David Sedaris's "Me talk pretty one day" , a collection of short stories which are autobiographical mostly,which are absolutely hilarious. I bought a collection of audio cd books of all David Sedaris's books and recordings of his live shows from Carnegie Hall. I am enjoying listening those cds now which is narrated by David Sedaris himself by his high pitched voice which makes you smile, some stories are "laugh out loud" funny and few uses lot of crude language too but supposedly a normal everyday southern vocabulary for his (NC born) youngest brother! :D
These are some samples of stories from "Me talk pretty one day".
Here are some funny but bit R rated quotes by him from all of his books.

Have a great weekend, hopefully we will see the Spring sooner than later! :)

Hurulikalu (Horsegram) Kurma, Laccha Parathas, Pickle Masala Dal, Adai with Peanut chutney and ghee

After that unusual relentless snow fall for 12 hrs here last weekend, I wanted to make something spicy to eat like South Indian style Kurma, dal and Parathas! Blame the bitter cold weather these days, it's making me crazy to cook with more spices than usual but I have successfully avoided the deep fried snacks like Pakoras so far the past few months, don't know how long it will last. Very hard to resist fried snacks on cold and cloudy days, believe me, since I LOVE to munch on crunchy snacks! :D

Note to event hosts: If any dish I post here suits your event, let me know. I will gladly send it to you as I don't have the current info of all the events going on. Unfortunately, I can't post any of the event logos as I am reaching my limit of photos I can post at blogger, I will have to pay for more space once I go over that limit, probably very soon. As you can see I post too many photos of my own in every post already!

Hurulikalu/Horsegram Kurma:
Here is some information about Horsegram. This is my favorite legume, also called Kollu, Kulthi, Muthira, Kulith, Uluvalu and also Hurulikalu in Kannada, rich in iron and fiber. It's not available in any regular grocery store but usually packs are available in Indian stores. For this Kurma, you can use any kind of beans, canned or dry and soaked like Blackeyed beans, Crowder beans, whole Moong, dry green peas etc. with the same masala paste. You can increase the nutritious value by sprouting the beans as well.
For sprouting, you soak the dry beans overnight, drain the water, tie it up in a cheese cloth, put it in a pan and cover it overnight. Beans will sprout in 12 to 24hrs and then cook the beans with water.
Sending Horsegram Kurma to Susan and Rachel's "MLLA #20" event. Thank you to both of you for organizing and hosting.

For Kurma:
Take 1 cup dry Hurulikalu/Horsegram, soak in water overnight, drain the water and cook with 1 1/2 cups of water in a pressure cooker along with 1 tsp ghee, 1/2 tsp Turmeric and 1/4 tsp salt. Do not overcook the beans until it's a mush.

Saute all these separately until light color and grind to a smooth paste adding 1/2 tsp thick Tamarind paste:
3 tbsp dry or fresh Coconut,
1" ginger, chopped,
1 tbsp Poppy seeds,
1 tsp Fennel seeds,
1/2-1 tsp Methi seeds,
1 small onion, chopped,
1 1/2 tbsp Coriander seeds,
2 tsp cumin seeds,
2-3 dry red chillies,
2-3 cloves,
1" Cinnamon stick.

To make Kurma:
1. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add ground masala to the pan, stir for a minute. Add cooked Horsegram with it's water and simmer for 10-15mins.
2. Adjust the salt and spices, cook until sauce thickens a bit. Garnish with 2 tbsp chopped Cilantro and serve with a slice of Lemon.

Another look of Hurulikalu Kurma:
Here are more side dishes recipes I have posted before. I know it's hard to find dishes in both of my blogs because I post multiple recipes in one post, so I will make it a bit easier to find them for you in every post from now on! :)
If you have a big pack of dry Kulith, you can soak the Beans overnight, sprout if you want, cook with little salt, divide into desired portions just enough for your family and freeze the cooked beans in zip-lock bags to use next time. All you have to do is take out the frozen bag, keep it in the fridge overnight and use it with any masala next day. Easy!

Sending this Kurma to Indira's and Siri's "JFI-Fennel" event, my thanks to both you.
Also sending Kurma to Priya's and Denufood's event "Cooking with seeds-Fenugreek", thanks girls.

Laccha Parathas:
Laccha or layered Parathas are soft and layered because of how we fold and roll the Paratha dough, there are so many ways you can fold them as well. Once cooked, push the sides of the Paratha to release the layers and serve them right after cooking for the best taste. Or cool them before you store them in an airtight box until needed. You can reheat again on the griddle or in the microwave.

How to fold and make layers for Laccha Parathas:
Mix 2 cups Whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt and tbsp oil with enough hot water, knead well to firm dough, brush oil on top, cover and rest it for 20mins. Divide into equal size portions, roll out to circle, brush some oil and sprinkle some flour on the surface. Following the photos below, make pleats, stretch and wind around itself and roll out again gently. Cook both sides until golden and brush with some butter if you like on one side.
Here is a list of different Rotis, Parathas, Bhaturas and Naan recipes list I have posted in my blogs so far.

Pickle/Achar Masala Dal:
After I made Parathas stuffed with Flax seed chutney powder, I was curious as to what other kind of powder I can add to make more dishes. I had planned to make the usual dal , didn't have the time to make masala powder. Then I saw SWAD brand Pickle masala in the fridge, looked bright red and smelled good. So I added 1-2tsp to the cooked dal. It tasted so good, I thought of taking a photo of dal to post here. If you don't have pickle masala, you can also add 1 tbsp of Lemon pickle or Mango pickle from the jar (I like Raji brand lemon pickle best) too. I have plans to make Parathas layered with Pickle masala too, would be wonderful. Typical Pickle masala powder is usually has chilli powder, Mustard seeds, Fenugreek seeds, turmeric, salt.
Here and here are more dals, Kadhis, Pickles etc from my previous posts.

To make Pickle masala dal:

1. Cook 1/2 cup Chana dal and 1/2 cup Tuar dal with 2 cups of water, 1/2 tsp Turmeric and 1 tsp oil or ghee in a pressure cooker until soft.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil, add 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 1 tsp Cumin seeds, few curry leaves, 1-2 dry red chilles, 1 tsp grated ginger, pinch of hing, saute for a minute. Add 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, saute until soft.
3. Add cooked dal, enough salt, 1-2 tsp pickle masala pd (adding more makes it bitter because of the Fenugreek seeds) or 1 tbsp lemon pickle from the jar (chopped if lemon pieces are too big), simmer for 5 mins. Adjust the spices and garnish with Coriander leaves.
Note: If adding pickle masala powder, add a bit of tamarind paste to dal to simmer. Tamarind is not necessary if you are adding chopped lemon pickle with Lemon or mango pieces, these provide the necessary tanginess to the dal.
Sending this quick dish to Rahin for her "Semi homemade" event. Thanks Rahin.

Multi dal Adai, Peanut Chutney with ghee, a wholesome breakfast:
One of the best dosas I have ever made and tasted is Adai which is full of protein with mixed dal and brown rice with little hint of spices. Even better thing I like most about these Adais is that there is no need to ferment it like traditional dosa batter and can make them quickly if you have about 2 hrs for soaking the dals and rice. My kids like them too which is great, they don't like dosas and idlis usually! Makes a very nutritious, filling breakfast with healthier Peanut chutney topped with little ghee for kids and gives them a great start for the day in school too. Best served right off the griddle/Tava crisp and hot. Enjoy. More variety of Dosas are here.

To make mixed Dal Adai:

1. Soak 1/4 cup each of Brown rice, Tuar dal, Channa dal, Urad dal and Moong dal for 2 hrs, drain and add to a mixer.
2. Add 1 cup buttermilk, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp paprika for color, 1/4 tsp Turmeric, enough salt, grind all these into a smooth paste. No need to ferment.
3. Add more water to thin it if needed to make into a pourable batter. Heat a non-stick griddle and make dosas until golden. Serve hot with Peanut chutney and ghee.

Peanut chutney recipe is here.
Homemade ghee recipe is here.
I am sending this Adai, Peanut chutney and ghee to Srivalli's "Kids delight-Wholesome Breakfast" event. Thanks for hosting Sri! :)

*************************************************************************************************************
Movies:
"Enter the Dragon", a 1973 Bruce Lee last movie!! Yes, I watched that movie at last! I always heard this cult like following of martial art king Bruce Lee, never had the chance to watch it until last week. He supposed to have died 6 days before this movie released. It came on cable TV and I recorded it quickly to DVR. It's really good, HD quality makes it better to watch with clear picture and sound quality. It's a classic, loved it. WIKIPEDIA says "In 2004, Enter the Dragon was deemed "culturally significant" and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

New York, I love you:
A surprisingly good movie, funny, sad, romantic, sexy. I have never even heard of this movie before, apparently didn't run well in theaters and didn't make much money. I just rented it on a whim as nothing else good was available to watch on a cold and rainy day but I loved it. So happy to see Natalie Portman (who shaved her head completely to play a Jewish bride in this movie!) and Irfan Khan (plays a Gujarati shopkeeper) paired up together for few mins (story by Mira Nair), odd but so sweet. It's about 11 short stories of people who live in New York city and their daily lives, like reading a book with short stories. Definitely worth renting ($1+tax/night @ Redbox) to watch.

I bought a complete set of that hilarious British comedy series called "Fawlty Towers" with John Cleese and Prunella Scales. I used to watch every episode when we used to live in England. When we had cold snowy weekend here, we watched about 5 episodes with a cocktail in hand. These episodes are "laugh out loud" and enjoyed them. They never get old no matter how many times you watch the same old episodes.

Books:
I am still reading David Sedaris's "Naked", which I mentioned in my last post, didn't get much time to read last week. My son was home, so more work for me in the kitchen! ;D

Dante's "Divine Comedy":
When I was in Barnes and Noble book store on Sunday I found a big and beautiful edition of Dante's "Divine comedy; Hell..Purgatory...Paradise", translated by Henry W.Longfellow. My son read it last month in Kindle edition and loved this book, so I bought it for him for keepsake. Book is not in prose but in Canto. It's a bit intimidating to look at this book and even dare to start reading but I must try! When a 14year old can read and love the stories in Canto, I better shape up and read it myself!
On her show Oprah once said "I am scurrred! (scared!)" when she challenged her audience and herself to read a long book like Leo Tolstoy's "war and Peace" which she hadn't read before because of the volume of that book. I can say I am "scurred" too to read a book like Divine Comedy in Canto!! But what the heck....if sra can write her recipes poetically then I can read it poetically at least, right?! :D

Snow in NC! We had about 8" of snow fall overnight last weekend and freezing rain to top it all yesterday. It is absolutely beautiful to look outside, like Winter wonderland but can be very dangerous for drivers on the road. They have even canceled the schools since Friday afternoon!!

Have a peaceful, safe rest of the week and Superbowl weekend! GO SAINTS!!:)

Puducherry Indo-French Butternut Squash and Potato Bisque, State Fair Funnel Cake, Ajji's Halli Mane Huruli Kattu and Hurulikalu Usli

This week at FH, we are going to visit Pondicherry/Puducherry in Tamil Nadu to have a Indo-French vegetarian Butternut and Potato Bisque, then we will taste the most popular American State Fair dessert "Funnel Cake" and then we visit my paternal grandmother's halli mane for some authentic Karnataka farm food, Huruli Kattu and Usli. Are you ready? ;D

About Puducherry:

Formerly known as Pondicherry/Pondichéry (in French), Puducherry (means new Village) which is located in Tamil Nadu, was renamed in 2006, is a "Union Territory of India" . It is a former French colony, consisting of four non-contiguous districts, two in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra and one in Kerala and it's named after the largest district, Puducherry. Because of it's beautiful coastal/beach location, a very popular resort area, it is also known as The French Riviera of the East.

The 4 official languages of Puducherry are Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and French, with English as the connecting language of 4 districts. As a result, cuisine of Puducherry is influenced by French, Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam cooking. Indo-French is a one of the popular cuisines. Here is the photo of beautiful house in Puducherry and these infos are from here and WIKIPEDIA.

Indo-French Butternut Squash and Potato Bisque:
I made the vegetarian Bisque with Indian touch using Butternut Squash and Potato with lots of fresh herbs form my pots. It smelled so good and was very tasty. Usually, Bisque is made of Heavy cream which I am sure tastes creamy and delicious. But I used some Buttermilk for tanginess and fat free Half and half to make the sauce in this recipe to cut down the calories.

To make veg Bisque:
1. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 1 tsp Canola oil in a deep pan. Add the "French Trinity" or "Mirepoix" as it is called; 1 medium, onion, 1 Celery and 1 Carrot, all chopped, along with 2-3 minced garlic, saute until just soft.
2. Add 2 cups peeled and cubed Butternut Squash and one large Potato (red or Russet will do), peeled and cubed, stir for 3 mins.
3. Add 3 cups of vegetable stock or just water, 2 tbsp of fresh mixed Herbs, pinch of salt, 1 tsp Cumin seeds pd and 1/4 tsp dry red chilli flakes (Indian touch!). Cover and let it cook.
4. Add Herbs of your choice or Herbes de Provence, simmer on low heat. Add 1/4 cup Buttermilk, 1/2 cup Half and Half or heavy cream, mix well and simmer gently, never let it boil.
5. Once cooked, use a hand blender stick to smoothen the sauce to creamy or pour the sauce into a blender carefully and blend until smooth. Pour back into the pan, simmer for 2 mins.
(If you are adding small cleaned Shrimps (1 cup), add them now and simmer the Bisque for 5-7mins, until the Shrimps turn pink.)
6. Serve with fresh Chives, parsley sprinkled on it and with a few seasoned Croutons.
Enjoy! :)

Herbes de Provence:
2 tsp fresh Thyme, 2 tsp fresh Marjoram, 2 tsp fresh Summer savory, 1 tsp fresh Rosemary, 1 tsp fresh Tarragon.
(I used 2 tbsp fresh mixed Herbs from my herb pots, like Pineapple Sage, Thyme, Tarragon, Balm Lemon, Rosemary, Chives and Parsley. Bisque smelled and tasted wonderful!)

State Fair and Carnival Funnel Cake sprinkled with sugar pd and served with fruity low sugar Strawberry jam on the side:
Gigantic American style Indian Jalebi anyone? Hahaha. Funnel cakes are exactly that, without dunked in Safforny sugar syrup but sprinkled generously with Confectioner's sugar/powdered Sugar. Every State Fair and Carnival in USA has these Funnel cakes, freshly fried and loaded with sugar, huge enough for 4-6 people to eat. Even (Dolly Parton's) Dollywood Theme park in Tennessee has these cakes sold there, my kids love to eat these loaded with sugar pd!
They say that Funnel cake batter is made of "pâte à choux" pastry batter but I made this the easy way, adding egg is optional. It's crispy on the edges and soft in the middle. For pouring the batter, you can use Plastic Mustard or Ketchup bottle with a 1/4" small hole in the lid or pour the batter thru' a small funnel, basically anything with narrow spout atleast 1/4" to 1/2" opening. Batter should be thick but pourable like Jalebi batter. Watch the video I have linked below.

Here is how you make it: (makes 2 or 3 Funnel cakes)
1. Whisk 1 Egg (optional, makes it fluffy if you add Egg), 1/2 to 3/4 cup milk, 2 tbsp Sugar, pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp Baking powder and then add 1 1/4 cup plain flour, mix well until you don't see the lumps and batter is thick but pourable consistency.
2. Heat oil to 365F in a deep bottomed Kadai or small deep fryer to get a perfectly round cakes. Pour the batter into a Ketchup or Mustard jar, squeeze the batter into the oil quickly, first in 3-4 circles and then crisscross over the circles to make a big lacy circle.
3. Let it get golden on one side, flip gently and cook the other side. Drain, cool it and serve generously sprinkled with powdered sugar.
You can pile up the fresh fruit or whipped cream or drizzle with chocolate Ganache on top of the Funnel cake to serve. Enjoy.

Watch this video to see how to make these Funnel cakes. Here is a site where you can buy all those gadgets like plastic Funnel and ring you may need to make these yummy Funnel cakes, these are not necessary things as I made without them but good to have options! :)
********************************************************************************************************************************************************

Shama wanted us to talk about our traditional village food and say something about the village. Well...I was born and raised in the cities around Karnataka, only visited my grandparents' once a year during Summer holidays, mostly visited my maternal grandparents near Belur almost every year, but I am most influenced by my parental grandparents who own and live in a coconut, sugarcane (made golden colored Jaggery in the farm too), Mango grove and Paddy farm few miles away from Mysore. My father moved away from his birthplace as a teenager for schooling, graduated from Law college, practiced Law and became a Judge eventually. So we always lived in the cities, visited the farm once a year.

Although I don't want to reveal the name (with what else but a very Lingayat name of course! :D) of the farm here for their privacy, our visits to them were not more than 2 days in a year. My thatha was a "Gowda", a Panchayat chief of 8 villages (a 5 men elected for a small scale village court), a loud mouth with a big heart, also was a much feared man in his community too! Somebody has to take care of the stuff before it hits the fan (or the city court), right? Can't blame him! ;P

I loved that simple, rustic, uncomplicated, non-pretentious and peaceful life of my paternal grandparents' place, learned a lot about unselfish, unconditional, pure love (to them, love is also to make you drink freshly "squeezed/milked" warm frothy cow's milk loaded with homemade Jaggery! That's whole another story about "feeding" the loved ones in the villages! OYYY!:D) from my Thatha, ajji, aunts and Uncles. As a result, most of my traditional Karnataka cooking is influenced by my Mysore ajji, from whom my mother learnt basic cooking as a very new young teenage daughter in law!

I have copied most of the recipes of my ajji from my mother's old notebook and now I am writing down one of them, which is authentic and very rustic recipe made from the reduced stock of Horse gram or Hurulikalu water reduced to paste with spices and eaten with homemade Ghee and rice.

What can I say about the village/farm itself? Well..my paternal family own most of the village since all of my grandfather's brothers, sisters, their kids and grand kids lived there for years! They all own their own piece of property with their homes built inside their farms and they literally live few yards from each other. So once we visit the village, it's like visiting the half of the family in one place and we are constantly fed by each one of those families, mostly coconut filled sweets and more coconutty savory dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner with loads of fresh of the tree coconut water to sip!
I still remember the sweet aroma of Sugarcane juice bubbling in the gigantic Cauldron until it turns into dark thick molasses first and then turn into golden (my thatha had his "secret" recipe! :D) square Jaggery cooling in the wooden moulds.Whole village would be filled with sweet smell of Bella/Jaggery!
I remember my mother being petrified every time we kids ran off to the farm which has a huge uncovered irrigation well, a pump house and deep water tank always filled with water. She always was afraid of us drowning in one of these since we loved to get in the tank and sit there neck deep in the water for hrs in the hot afternoons. Great memories! :D

Halli mane Oota; Anna, Tuppa, Huruli Kattu, Hurulikalu Usli, Happala. Slurp!!
Phew! That's some family revelation! Okay.. Here is my Hallimane oota aka"village food", a wonderful thick and spicy sauce which is delicious and can be kept bottled up in the fridge for few weeks. You need dry Hurulikalu/Horsegram/Kulith/Kollu and a pressure cooker to make this. Don't know whether we can use any other beans, may be Avarekalu/Field beans/Lilva but this Huruli Kattu always made with Hurulikalu by my ajji. Kattu literally means "reduced sauce" in Kannada, a loooong process, cooking and boiling down the beans stock for days in my Ajji's kitchen but why bother with all that when we have Microwave? ;D


Anna/Rice, Tuppa/Ghee with thick and spicy Huruli Kattu/sauce:

Cook the beans first to get the stock:
1. Take 2-3 cups of dry Horse gram beans, make sure you clean to carefully pick the stones off of the dry beans. Most of the time if you bought the pack from Indian store, you do find tiny stones which look exactly like the beans but will cost you a tooth or a root canal if you don't take them out.
Spread a handful of beans at a time on a wide plate, look for stones, tedious job but necessary!
2. Soak overnight in lots of water in a big pot. Next day, wash the beans and drain all the water.
3. Add about 10 cups or more water to the soaked beans, 2 tsp salt and pressure cook the beans on a medium heat for about 15mins. Beans must be soft cooked but not mushy. These beans are tough to cook, so you need longer time on medium heat.
3. Once the pressure is out, open the lid and pour in to a colander to drain all beans stock into another bowl, let the beans sit until all the water is drained. Keep the dry beans separately to make Usli (seasoned beans) later. If you have too much Beans for your family, you can freeze some in individual zip lock bags for later use or make Huruli chutney, Rasam, Saaru, side dishes etc with the beans. Idea here to get the as much stock as you can out of the beans, use the cooked and drained beans for seasoned side dish. We will use the stock to reduce with spices until you get a thick sauce.

Huruli Kattu/thick sauce made of Horse Gram stock and spices:
Serve hot cooked rice with a dollop of home made ghee on top and a tbsp of Huruli kattu on the side or on top, a crunchy papad and Hurulikalu Usli on the side. To eat, mix rice with ghee and Kattu to a thick sauce coated bite sized rice morsel and chomp away!:D

Dry roast and powder these first to use as much as you need in the sauce:

Roast 4 tsp cumin seeds, 6 tsp Corinader seeds, 1 tsp Mustard seeds, 3 tbsp rice grains, 3 tbsp Tuar dal, 2 tsp Pepper corns, 2-3 dry red chillies, 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds, bunch curry leaves, 1/2 onion, 3 garlic and 6tbsp dry coconut until golden. Cool the spices and grind to a powder and use it as needed. Don't need to add the whole amount to the Kattu but just enough to your taste.

To make thick and spicy Huruli Kattu:
Add salt and masala pd only after the sauce is reduced to 1/3rd, adding before might make it too salty when concentrated to thick sauce.

1. Instead of cooking for hours on end on the stove top (you can do that too if you like), take all the reserved stock water from the cooked gram in a big deep enough dish, add 1 tsp oil to prevent spilling over and put it in the Microwaveand cook on high 100% for 20 mins, uncovered.
2. Keep repeating the cooking time in the MW until the stock is reduced to 1/3rd. Add salt, 1 tsp or to your taste thick Tamarind paste from the jar and 2 tbsp ground masala powder, mix well.
3. Once you add the masala pd, be careful not to burn the sauce in the MW, cook 2 mins at a time and less until you get a thick pouring consistancy like you see in the photo. Add 1 tbsp Ghee, mix well. (You see some Horse gram Beans in my sauce above which is okay, adds to the texture but should use only the stock/water from the cooked beans to make the traditional Huruli Kattu)
4. Adjust the salt, chilli and masala taste by adding more powder if you like. Heat one more minute after adding powder, cool completely and store in the glass jar. (sometimes, my mother used to add 2 tomatoes too when reducing this sauce, but always optional)

To make Hurulikalu Usli/seasoned Horsegram/Kulith:

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non-stick pan, add 1 tsp mustard seeds, few curry leaves, 3 slit green chillies, fry until they sizzle and pop.
2. Add 1-2 onions, chopped fine and fry until they golden brown on the edges, add 1/4 tsp salt, mix.
3. Add 4 tbsp chopped Cilantro, mix. Add 2-3 cups of cooked Beans now, stir fry well for 1 minute until heated thru'.
4. Take off the heat, let it cool. Adjust the salt. Cover and keep it aside to serve with Kattu , ghee and rice or you can serve this Usli with any other Sambhar and rice on the side.
5. This Usli is also a favorite to serve with Ragi Mudde and Uppusaaru (I will post that recipe some other time)

Logos and event list, my thanks to all of you ladies, enjoy! :)

Butternut Squash and Potato Bisque, goes to Lavi's "RCI-Pondicherry", an event started by Lakshmi.
Funnel Cake, goes to Srivalli's "Mithai Mela" event.
Huruli Kattu and Usli, goes to Shama's "Village special dishes" event.
I am sending Huruli Kattu recipe to Deesha for her to try if she wishes as a part of her "South Indies" , a fun concept to try south Indian dishes and post.

**********************************************************************************************************
Movies I watched:
"Maine Gandhi ko nahin Maara!"
I watched this movie thinking that it's about the Gandhi's assassination but movie is about a retired man who is suffering from Dementia and haunted by a childhood memory/abuse and keeps saying that he didn't mean to kill Gandhi when he shot at him with a toy gun. He was dragged into court on suspicion of participation in the killing although he was little boy at that time. Well acted by Anupam Kher as usaul and Urmila Matondkar is great too for a change!

"Mistress of Spices"
Voodoo spice queen, Aishwarya! :D
Story is little weird as the book is but I like that spunky, beautiful Ash girl, so I watched and liked it. Just glad that at least one actress from Bollywood has the guts to deal with different subjects however foreign it feels and do well at that instead of wear short shorts and run around the trees singing in Hinglish!

"The Wrestler"
Mickey Rourke's come back film after many years, who plays middle aged down on luck pro wrestler. He was Oscar nominated for best actor. Movie gets you very emotional to see his struggle with his career and with his daughter and great movie to watch (very very bloody, violent and gory tho'). Rourke is excellent in it, movie is specially great for people who love Wrestling, but personally I just couldn't get past how he looks in this movie. It's very weird to see him, felt like I am watching a wax robot walking around because of his botched cosmetic surgery on his face. I think guys surely will enjoy this movie than us girls, but good movie to watch at least once! I love Marisa Tomei in any film! :)

I watched many many Horror movies but nothing worth mentioning except may be SAW V, so I am not listing any here! :D

Book I am currently reading:

"Dreams from my father" by Barack Obama.

Just started reading this book. Very interesting and articulately written by our Prez when he was still a law student. I read in a magazine that he wears a Hanuman charm on his bracelet he wears, it always puzzled me. Not anymore!! As he says in the book, a 6' Hanuman statue was the first thing his stepfather (Lolo, who was a Indonesian) showed him when he first moved from US to Indonesia with his mother after she married her second husband and he was told that Hanuman is a great warrior Monkey God and has the strength of hundred men, nobody defeats him! :D
Obama seems to have a great time in Indonesia playing with kids there as he grew up, talks about having eaten dog meat, Snake meat etc and having lot of exotic pets like an Ape to play with too and later moving to Hawaii to be with his grand parents when his mom divorced her second husband too. We can read about him meeting his father's family in Kenya, college in New York (when he hears that his dad in Kenya died in an car accident) and then career move to Chicago and meeting the Mrs etc., rest is history!!
Barack Obama talks about his Kenyan Father as a charming guy and a scholar student who attracted everybody's attention when he talked but Obama never really knew him as a young child. He seems to have a very confused and emotionally insecure childhood, not knowing where he belonged. I heard him once call himself a "Mutt" on CNN, comparing himself to the Animal shelter dogs when they were talking about adopting a dog for his kids!
Well..I am still reading the rest, intriguing book to read which lets you take a peek of his past and present life, his life experiences, why he is so charming and readily accepting of all the other cultures and religions. A global President, thanks God for that! Isn't that cool? Let's see how well he manages and where he takes us from here! :)

Thanks to all the bloggers who awarded me last week. Hugs to all of you, I have added your names on the side bar. Thanks again, mush appreciated by me.

Okay, enjoy the Earth day today and let me sign off quickly before all Y'all good people hit me for writing the longest post! Have a wonderful fun week and weekend. Our weekend will be hot, almost 89F as they tell us! :)