Edible Garden

Raw Papaya Thoran / Kaplanga Thoran

2012-02-04T09:49:00.000+08:00

Raw papaya is one of my absolute favourites. Often called omakka (or kappalanga) in Kerala, it's very easily available in most backyards and makes for a very light side dish. Although the simpler mezhukkupuratti is what I would go for first, the thoran comes a close second.

Raw papaya is very easily available in Singapore too, thanks to the Thais and their affinity towards raw papaya salads.

The method used to make kappalanga thoran is very non-fussy and this is how amma makes most of her thorans. You can leave it to cook and focus on other dishes.

Raw Papaya (Kappalanga) Thoran Recipe

Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
1 small raw papaya (kaplanga / omakka)
1/2 cup of grated coconut
2-3 shallots
1 tsp of jeera / jeerakam / cumin seeds
3-4 green chillies
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of (coconut) oil
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
A few curry leaves

How It's Made:

1. Peel the raw papaya, cut into half, deseed and chop into very small pieces. In malayalam, we'd say "kothi ariyuka".

2. Coarsely grind the coconut with the shallots, green chillies, turmeric and half the jeera. Mix this thoroughly with the chopped papaya along with salt. Add the rest of the cumin seeds whole to this mixture. (Alternately, you can also grind all of the jeera along with the coconut).

3. Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the curry leaves and after 5 seconds, add the raw papaya mixture. Stir well to combine the oil and make a small mound of it towards the centre of the pan and pat it down firmly.

4. Keep the flame at the lowest possible and cook the papaya covered. There's no need to add any water. (you can use a wider lid for the whole pan as well, it doesn't necessarily have to be tightly closed like below.

5. Let this cook for about 10-15 mins until the papaya is soft. You can mix it in between if you feel like the bottom is burning but if you keep the flame low, it should be fine. I do mix it once or twice in between, pat it down again firmly, close, and cook further.

That's it. Serve hot with rice and sambar or theeyal.

Aloo Paneer Koftas - A Quick Snack

2012-02-02T12:32:00.000+08:00

It's been a while since I shared a paneer recipe. I always have paneer in my freezer and keep adding it to random dishes to thicken it or make it look more enticing to TH (who loves paneer!).

Since Malai Koftas have been on my mind for a while, I decided to take the plunge one day. It took me a long time compared to how long I usually take to make something. Those are not my favourite kind of recipes. But I had to try malai koftas and I did. Will share the complete recipe when I've sorted the pictures out, but for now, here are the aloo paneer koftas that I dunked in the gravy to turn these into malai koftas.

These make for a very yummy and a (relatively) quick snack for a party or just to treat your family on a weekend evening.

Aloo Paneer Koftas

Makes about 15-18 koftas
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:
1 cup of paneer, crumbled fine
1 potato of peeled and boiled
1 carrot of peeled and boiled (optional)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
A small piece of ginger, grated
1 tsp of red chilli powder
2 of green chillies, sliced into thin discs
A generous pinch of hing
8-10 cashew nuts, broken into small pieces
1 tsp of coriander powder
A generous bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro
1/4 cup of cornflour for dusting (optional)
Oil for deep frying
Salt to taste

How It's Made:

1. Mash the boiled potato and carrot together until there are no lumps.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to this mixture (except corn flour and oil).

3. Mix well with fingertips until it's a homogenous, damp mixture. The moisture from the potato and carrot should be enough to bring it together. Don't add any water.

4. Roll into small lime-sized balls.

5. Dust with corn flour. This is an optional step because I didn't find much difference in texture between these and the ones I didn't dust. Also, if you leave them plain, the oil stays clear and doesn't leave a white layer on the koftas.

6. Heat a pan and add enough oil to submerge the koftas half way. You can deep fry the koftas but it's really not necessary. You can also use a paniyaram pan to do the frying. Gently place the koftas in the hot oil.

7. Turn gently when golden brown on one side. Keep the fire medium low to ensure the inside is cooked too.

Drain on to paper towels and serve hot with ketchup or mint chutney. Tastes fabulous on it's own or you can go on to make malai koftas with them (recipe coming soon!)

What's your most favourite quick snack recipe for evening tea?

Snake Gourd / Podalanga Masala Recipe

2012-01-30T09:30:00.000+08:00

Podalanga (Padavalanga / Snake Gourd) is one vegetable I always pick up from my vegetable-shopping trips to Little India. More than our love for the vegetable, the mere fact that it's not available in the supermarkets near our place makes me reach out for it each time.

The last time I bought it, I forgot another major ingredient that's required to make podalanga kootu. Coconut! I wasn't prepared to give up the texture of the channa dal either. Here's what I ended up. Something of a kootu with snake gourd but without the coconut and no need for any grinding. All hail lazy, quick recipes.

Snake Gourd / Podalanga Masala Recipe

Makes ~ 3 cups
Serves 2
Preparation time: 10mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
2 cups of snake gourd, peeled, cleaned and cut into small squares
1/2 cup of channa dal / kadala paruppu
1 small of onion
1 tsp of jeera / cumin seeds
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1 pinch of hing / asafoetida
1 tbsp of oil
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
2 dry red chillies
A few curry leaves
1 tsp of garam masala (optional)

How I Made It:

1. Add the chopped snake gourd pieces and the washed channa dal to a pan with 4 cups water. Bring to boil, add turmeric, and simmer until the snake gourd is cooked soft and the channa dal is firm yet crushes between your fingers. This will take about 10-15 mins. Ideally, let all the water evaporate while cooking. I don't like draining this water because you lose all the nutrients that way. If you still have excess water after the ingredients are cooked, just keep flame on high and let it evaporate while stirring constantly.

2. Heat oil in another pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for 5-6 seconds. Then add the red chillies and chopped onion. Cook until the onion pieces turn soft and transparents - about 3mins.

3. Now, add the red chilli powder, hing, curry leaves, and the cooked snake gourd / channa dal mix. Add salt, mix well, and cook on low fire until the ingredients come together, nicely roasted. If using, add garam masala and mix well before removing from fire.

Serve hot with rice and some kozhambu of choice.

Supporting the Fund Drive for Vaidehi Ashram of Desitute Girls, Hyderabad

2012-01-26T11:28:00.004+08:00

When Siri reached out to tell me about her fund drive for the destitute girls in Vaidehi Ashram, it brought back memories of the weekends I used to spend in a facility in Hyderabad that took care of orphaned kids with AIDS. I would go there every Saturday for a few months, hold the kids, play with them, paint, teach, and all the rest of the stuff that you would normally do when you volunteer at a place like this.

Then I would come home and mope around the house all weekend, not interested in going out, not willing to talk to happy people and generally being a pain to be around. That's the main reason I stopped going there. In a way, I guess that's selfish, but the more time I spent with those kids, the more depressed I became until one day I realised I am of no use to them or to me if I continued this way.

Photo by Siri

I then switched to to sending them a sum of money every month for their washing detergent (which was one of the most expensive things on their shopping list because they used about 6 washing machines every day, donated by a kind soul). Then I got married, relocated, and that was the end of that.

Shame on me.

I should thank Siri for this opportunity though. I am helping her raise money by contributing to the list of raffle prizes. Mine is probably the most cryptic item in the list mainly because I am not sure exactly what will go into this "Oriental Gift Basket" I am offering, but I am happy to work with you on this if you bid for my item. We could throw in some nice spices, herbal teas, pretty coasters, food photo props, cushion covers, feng shui items, and I will most definitely send you a small poster with your name in Chinese characters. That's a promise. Interested?

Here's how to take part in this raffle:

Step 1. Buy Raffle Tickets

Each raffle ticket is worth $10 (or Rs.500). You can increase your chances of winning the giveaway by buying more than 1 raffle ticket.

For Example, a donation of $20 will fetch you 2 raffle tickets which can be used to choose on any of the raffle prizes. You can use all your raffle tickets on one prize (in turn increasing the chances in the lucky draw) or on different prizes. To see the entire list of available items, check Siri's post. The items also make great gifts so keep an eye on the shipping countries and make a call.

2. How to Buy the Raffle Tickets

Click on the "Chip In" button below and you will be able to pay through PayPal or your credit card.

Once the donation process is completed, please forward your payment confirmation message to info(dot)siri(at)gmail.com and clearly mention the raffle item you would like to opt for. Eg: to choose the item I am contributing, include this info in your email "RU10 - Oriental Gift Hamper."

Within 24 hours, your name and contributed amount will be added to the ‘Fund Drive Supporters List’ at the very end of this post. If you want to stay anonymous, please let Siri know in advance. You can also email her with any questions or confusions in the donation process.

The fund drive ends on Feb 25th, 2012.

I know we keep hearing that our time is more valuable to people rather than money or things, but the way I look at it, when getting even the basics in life is a struggle, any kindness you show them is appreciated. I am sure the time I spent with those kids back in Hyderabad was in no way more valuable than the money I donated later. They accepted both with equal gratitude.

Photo by Siri

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. ~William James

Corn Malai Subzi or A Sandwich Filling Idea

2012-01-24T10:52:00.000+08:00

Here's a recipe I've shamelessly stolen from a friend, Divya, who served it at a dinner she hosted at her new apartment. I have made it about 5-6 times since and always gotten good feedback on it. It's ridiculously simple and lends itself well to variations.

If you life corn, this one's a definite winner. If you don't, well, this one could turn you around like it did my MIL!

Corn Malai Subzi / Corn Sandwich Filling Recipe

Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredients:
2 cups of corn kernels, canned or thawed if frozen
2 of onions, chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2-3 of green chillies, chopped fine
1 tsp of cumin seeds / jeera
2 tbsp of cream cheese (or hung curd)
1/4 cup of red chilli sauce (check notes)
1 small bunch of coriander leaves / cilantro, chopped fine
1/2 to 1 cup of plain curd / yogurt, beaten
1 tbsp of oil
To taste salt

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. Once it has toasted and gives out a nice aroma, add the chopped onions in. Fry until soft, pink, and transparent.

2. Next, add the green chillies and minced garlic. Fry for a minute until the garlic gets roasted a bit.

3. Add the chilli sauce and toss around to combine well.

4. Toss in the corn and cream cheese. Mix well and heat through keeping the heat low. Take care not to boil the mixture.

5. Finally, add the coriander leaves and salt.

6. Mix well and make sure the mixture is uniformly heated. Let this cool completely and mix in the yogurt just before serving.

Done! How easy was that? You can serve this with pulao or roti. I once omitted the yogurt and served this on toast as an appetizer. So so easy and yum.

Just toast some bread and add a tablespoon of this corn mixture on top.

Serve warm and enjoy the compliments!

Notes:

Like I mentioned, there are many variations to the recipe. Here are a few:

- Add more yogurt (and maybe omit the cream cheese) and make it a raita. Goes super well with vegetable biriyani or pulao

- If it's not easy to find cream cheese where you live, substitute with cream

- Add ketchup or tomato sauce or even one pureed tomato instead of the chilli sauce for a different flavour

- The corn I use is not the sweet kind so make sure you check before buying. If it's sweet corn, the taste will change significantly.

Huge thanks to Divya (and her mom) for this awesome keeper of a recipe! :)

Murungakai Tiffin (Moong Dal) Sambar Recipe

2012-01-12T19:53:00.003+08:00

Why is toor dal and not moong dal the main ingredient in a regular sambar recipe? I'd really like to know, especially after making sambar with moong dal recently, for the first time. I absolutely loved it. Although more popular called tiffin sambar because it is served with tiffin, or breakfast items, I served this with plain white rice and some vegetable curry on the side.

Sharing step by step pictures of my sambar-making process feels very intimate and personal to me, for some reason. Probably it's because sambar is made in practically every South Indian household and everyone has their own way of going about it. I make sambar atleast once a week and although I have shared recipes here in the past, it's never been step by step.

Murungakai Tiffin Sambar (Sambar with Moong Dal)
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup moong dal, cooked in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles or until soft and mushy
1 small lime-sized ball of tamarind soaked in 1 cup warm water for 15 mins (or ~1tbsp tamarind paste)
1 drumstick (murungakai) cut into 4" long pieces
1 tomato
A few curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 to 2 tbsp sambar powder, diluted in 1/4 cup water
A pinch of hing / asafoetida / perungaayam
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander leaves for garnish

To temper:
1 tbsp ghee or oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
A generous sprinkling of hing / asafoetida / perungaayam powder

How I Made It:

1. Squeeze the tamarind and extract all juices in the warm water. Discard pulp and fibers. If using bottled paste, dilute in 1 cup water. Place this in a pan and add the cut drumsticks, tomato, turmeric powder and hing. Turn on heat. Add another cup water (so totally there's around 2 cups water in there - what you used for the tamarind and what you added after)

2. Add the cooked moong dal and the sambar powder dissolved in 1/4 cup water. I do this mainly to prevent the sambar powder from clumping up when added directly. I use my MILs homemade sambar powder which is a very fine powder. If using store-bought sambar powder, adding directly should be fine.

3. Mix well and bring to boil. Add salt and curry leaves. Simmer for about 15-20 mins until the drumstick is cooked and the sambar reaches the right consistency. You can add more water if you like it more watery. Generally, my sambar tends to be a bit on the thicker side. Adjust salt and remove from fire.

4. Heat oil or ghee for tadka in a small pan or tadka pan. Add mustard seeds and when they pop, add the cumin. When they sizzle and turn brown, add the hing and remove from fire.

5. Twirl it a couple of times in the pan and dunk into the sambar. It will give out a heavenly smell right about now.

You are done! Mix well after adding the tadka, garnish with coriander leaves, and serve hot with rice or any breakfast items.

This sambar will taste fabulous with egg dosa, idli, or pongal.

Ven Pongal (Khara Pongal) | Pongal Festival Recipes

2012-01-11T14:40:00.001+08:00

Khara Pongal (or ven pongal as it's commonly called) is not something I grew up on. It's not part of Kerala breakfast recipes and on the rare occasions we would eat out for breakfast, I never looked beyond butter roast or paper roast dosa.

Then things changed and I got married to a Tamilian. TH's mom makes a mean pongal and it's a favourite of mine now. She makes it every time we go home and this time I got to have it twice. Pics were taken in amma's kitchen as she cooked so pardon the bad light quality.

Since Pongal festival is right around the corner, I thought this would be the best time to post this favourite recipe of mine!

Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal
Serves 4
Recipe source: Mom-in-law

Ingredients:
1 cup raw rice
1/2 cup moong dal / paasi paruppu / cherupayar
1/2 tsp whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp whole cumin / jeera seeds
A small piece of ginger
Salt to taste

To temper:
1/2 tsp each of cumin (jeera) and black pepper powdered together
A few cashew nuts
A few curry leaves
1/4 tsp of hing / perungaayam / asafoetida
2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp oil

How It's Made:

1. The rice and dal needs to be cooked together until mushy and soft. Amma soaks the moong dal in advance for 30 mins. This is optional but it ensures that the rice/dal mixture cooks well and evenly.

2. Add the soaked dal to washed rice (Add about 2.5 to 3 cups water) and place in a bowl in a pressure cooker. Add a few whole peppercorns and cumin seeds to this along with the ginger, chopped.

3. Cook for 3-4 whistles or 15-20 mins until the mixture is soft and mushy.

4. Heat the oil in a pan (you can use only ghee too) and add some more cumin seeds, curry leaves, cashew nuts, and the hing. Fry until the cashew nuts turn golden brown.

5. Add the cooked rice/dal mixture to this.

6. Add salt and stir well to combine all the ingredients. Once mixed well, add the ghee and stir again making sure everything is mixed thoroughly.

That's it! Such simple ingredients and flavours but makes for a delicious dish!

We had ours with some arachuvitta sambar.

The Pongal Festival is something else I am not very familiar with having never celebrated it as I grew up. I am trying to learn more about it so hopefully posting this Pongal recipe is the first step :)

Looking for Sakkarai Pongal Recipe? Look no further :)

No-Bake Banana Toffee (Banoffee) Pie

2012-01-09T13:47:00.001+08:00

Pie or pudding, whatever you call it, this banana toffee (banoffee) pie is very close in taste to the famous banana pudding they sell by the buckets (not literally) in Magnolia Bakery. Although they use vanilla wafers and pudding in their dessert, this one tasted amazingly similar.

So anyway, let me start by apologising to you for shoving this sinfully indulgent pudding / pie in your face so soon after your new year resolutions took effect. This is our challenge for this month's A Sweet Punch and I must say the real challenge was not finishing it all off in one sitting.

You need 5 ingredients for this pie. There's no need for baking and it all comes together in 5 mins if you have all the ingredients in hand! Dulce de Leche is important so if you live in a place where you can't buy any, please make some. You can do this ahead of time.

No-Bake Banana Toffee (Banoffee) Pie
Makes a 7" pie
Serves 4
Adapted from Swapna's Cuisine

Ingredients:
8 graham crackers / digestive biscuits / marie biscuits
1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup dulce de leche
1 ripe banana
1/2 cup whipping cream
A piece of chocolate (optional)

How I Made It:

1. Pulse the biscuits with the melted butter until they form crumbs. Press this to the bottom of a pie dish firmly. You can make it in a 160C oven for 10 mins but this step is optional.

2. Layer the dulce de leche over the biscuit base evenly. If you are using dulce de leche from out of the fridge, warm it gently in a microwave until loose and then spread. Don't heat it, just warm.

3. Next, cut the banana into discs and layer over this. My banana was a bit over-ripe, so ignore the black portions.

4. Transfer the whipping cream into a bowl and beat until thick. Be patient, it takes about 3-4 mins for the cream to thicken.

5. Layer this over the bananas and spread evenly.

6. Optionally, you can sprinkle some cocoa powder or add some grated chocolate over the cream layer. I used one piece of Valrhona chocolate with 70% cacao. (Sidenote: if you own a microplane, grate chocolate with it and fall in love all over again!)

That's it! Your banoffee pie is ready.

It's a super easy and delicious dessert for large parties because it comes together in a jiffy and you can refrigerate it until it's time to serve dessert. Non-fussy and easy!

Notes:

- If you plan to store this in the refrigerator for a couple of days, make sure your banana is not too ripe. Otherwise, it will continue to ripen and taste weird in the pie when you serve it. You can store this in the refrigerator for up to 3 days if it lasts that long!

- Use the quantities of ingredients as a guide only. You can adjust them according to taste. I have used lesser cream than what the pie usually calls for because to me cream is just tasteless calories! Also, my version has more dulce de leche - because that's delicious calories ;)

PS: Special thanks to Sharmi for the lovely linen pieces she gave me. The one I've used in the pics above are from her. If not for her, you would have been subjected to a picture of the bowl over my cutting board ;)

PPS: I have OCD about the different lighting tones in my pics above but sadly, my kitchen has very little natural light so there's no other way for me to take and post step by step recipes and I'd rather post the steps than omit them because the pics are not nice. Bear with me, won't you?

Dulce de Leche Recipe - The David Lebovitz Way

2012-01-07T17:25:00.001+08:00

I've been obsessing over Dulce de Leche for a while now. I haven't seen it in stores in Singapore anywhere so tried my luck to find it in the US but didn't have any luck there either. Finally decided to give in and make my own.

The reason why I was hesitant for so long is because it's a time-consuming process and the idea of leaving a pressurised can of condensed milk in a pressure cooker, or boiling it in an open pot for 3 hours constantly checking the water level didn't appeal to me at all.

Then I realised David Lebovitz does it differently. This is his method and I had delicious Dulce de Leche ready to be licked off a spoon in less than 1.5 hours.

Dulce de Leche - David Lebovitz's Method

You need:
1 can (400gm) sweetened condensed milk
One shallow glass pie dish or baking dish
A roasting pan or another larger pan where the first baking dish can sit in comfortably
Hot water

How I Made It:

1. Preheat oven to 400F / 200C. Pour condensed milk in the baking tray.

2. Place this baking tray in a larger pan. Since I don't have a roasting pan, I used another Pyrex dish that's larger than the one I was using to bake. Pour hot water into the outside bowl until it reaches halfway up the sides of the pan containing the condensed milk. You can first pour the water and then place the dish in, to avoid splashing any into the condensed milk.

3. Wrap the entire thing snugly in foil and place in the preheated oven. Let this cook for an hour to an hour and 15 mins. Mine took close to 1 hour and 20 mins. Check the water level to see there's enough. I didn't have to add any more during the process. It helps if the outer pan is in glass so you can check the water level without opening the oven door.

4. Here's what you get at the end of it.

The Dulce de Leche will be thick so whisk well with a spoon, cool completely and then store in a glass bottle. If you are going to be using it up soon, store as-is in the same bowl. My baking tray has a lid so it was super convenient. Pyrex for the win!

Yum! I was on a sugar high after 2 licks. It's a very concentrated form of condensed milk so super sweet and super delicious.

Dulce de Leche can be used as a sandwich spread, in puddings, ice-creams, and brownies. One easy recipe using Dulce de Leche coming up next!

Easy Basic Cake Pops Recipe ~ Free Spirit Bloggers

2012-01-06T10:41:00.001+08:00

Cake pops have been done to death and they were not really on my to-make list. However, when Mittu shared this month's Free Spirit Bloggers theme, I had to put on my thinking cap and finally zero in on making cake pops.

Since we are 8 people in the group, she decided to give each of us one colour from the rainbow and white. I drew the lot and got blue. Since blue doesn't occur in (many) natural foods, I had to think outside the box. My first thought was blue frosting or something but then I got lazy as Christmas drew near so ended up with blue-topped cake pops!

To get started, you need candy melts in a colour of your choice, and lollypop sticks. You can be creative and use straws or whatever you want as long as they hold the cake pops up.

Ingredients the cake balls:
Cake
Frosting
Almond meal (optional)

Ingredients for the candy coating:
Candy melt
Vegetable oil

To assemble:
Lined baking tray
Lollypop sticks

Let's get started!

You need a few pieces of cake. I used some leftover chocolate cake.

Use a fork to crumble it well without any large lumps.

Next, bring out your frosting. I used frosting from a can. Don't add too much. You should use just enough to bring the cake mixture together to make a ball and for it to hold it's shape.

I added a bit too much frosting so mixed in some almond meal to compensate. Ended up tasting great.

Make into small balls and lay on a lined baking tray. Refrigerate this for about 2 hours or freeze for 30 mins.

Meanwhile. Take about 1 cup candy melts in a microwave safe bowl and melt in 30 second intervals until it begins to soften. If you don't own a microwave, try placing this in a pan of boiling water and gently stir until it melts.

The mixture was very thick for me so I added 2 tbsp vegetable oil. Don't worry, this doesn't alter the taste at all. However, the mixture was still very thick and not at all like the videos I saw of people using Wilton Candy Melts. But I trudged on anyway.

Once the cake balls have chilled enough, dip one end of the lollypop stick into the candy melt and stick it 3/4 of the way into the cake balls. Do this for every cake ball and return to the refrigerator for another hour for it to set (or freezer for 15 mins).

Once the cake balls have chilled again, coat completely with the candy melt. You are supposed to dip the cake balls in the mixture and tap off excess but my mixture was super thick so I could only slather it on. Probably the candy melts I bought from Phoon Huat were too old or something. Tasted fine though.

Return to the refrigerator or freezer for another hour and let it set completely.

Bite in!

Cake pops make great kids' party food. The quantities will largely depend on the kind of cake and frosting you are using so use your judgement. Just make sure the cake ball dough is not loose at all. It should just about come together when you roll them into balls.

Check out the other Free Spirit Bloggers and their rainbow-coloured posts.

Siri - Green (One and Two)
DK - Yellow
Deepti - Orange
Lata - Red (One, Two, and Three)

Gulab Jamun | Khoya Jamun Recipe

2012-01-04T13:02:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year, everyone!

I wanted to do a recap of 2011 and most popular recipes, etc, but a very hectic and family-filled end-of-year vacation, I decided to give it a miss and jump straight into the first recipe for 2012 - Gulab Jamun!

One of the most common question I get when discussing Indian Sweets is "what's that brown ball thing that's very sweet and dunked in sugary water?". Probably because gulab jamuns are served at practically all Indian buffets, it's not hard to guess which sweet they are talking about!

For all the cooking that I do, I had never tried to make gulab jamuns at home, not even with the readymade boxed mix. Amma has mentioned how her mom, my aatha, makes gulab jamun with fresh, homemade khoya (mawa) and since then, I've wanted to try it the same way.

Khoya / Mawa

I realised that if I waited to make my own khoya, the gulab jamuns will never happen so I used store-bought khoya. It's usually kept frozen so make sure to bring to room temperature before using.

PS: Khoya smells amazing. Go ahead and sniff it while it defrosts.

Gulab Jamun | Khoya Jamun Recipe
Makes 25-30 jamuns

Ingredients:

For the jamuns:
1 cup grated khoya / mawa
1/3 cup plain flour / maida
~ 1/2 cup water
A pinch of salt
Oil or ghee to deep fry

For the sugar syrup:
2.5 cups sugar
1 cup water
3-4 pods of cardamom, crushed
2 drops of rose water (optional, although the name of this sweet has "rose / gulab" in it)
A few strands of saffron (optional)

How I Made It:

1. Mix the grated khoya with the flour and salt. If using store-bought khoya, this mixture will be quite dry. If using fresh, homemade khoya, it will be moist so you need less water for the next step.

2. Add sufficient water (I used around 1/2 cup) and form a stiff dough. It shouldn't be sticky. If it is, add a bit more flour and incorporate without kneading too much.

3. Make into small marble-sized balls. Remember to start small because the jamuns will expand on frying and further on soaking in the sugar syrup. You don't have to make the balls super smooth, just into small circles of even sizes.

4. Heat oil to just short of smoking point and add the dough balls one by one gently. Don't overcrowd the dough balls, fry a few at a time. This also ensures that the oil temperature doesn't drop too much while frying.

5. Fry all the jamuns until golden brown on medium heat, remove with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

6. To make the sugar syrup, mix the water and sugar and set on a medium-low flame. Stir until the sugar has disssolved completely and the mixture comes to a slow boil. Add the crushed cardamom pods, saffron and rose water if using.

7. Let the sugar syrup cool for about 5 mins only and then dunk in the fried jamuns.

8. Partially close the pan and let the jamuns soak in the sugar syrup for atleast 3-4 hours before serving.

Some of the sugar syrup gets absorbed by the jamuns but most of it remains as is so if you have any suggestions on how to use up leftover sugar syrup, please let me know. For now, I can only think of using it up for sweet godumai adai, substituting jaggery with the sugar syrup.

In other updates, I have wrapped up Project 365 for 2011 and won't be continuing the project in 2012. I have received a lot of feedback and emails suggesting that I post a picture whenever I feel like so may do that instead of trying to post every single day. That was mighty challenging, I must say!

I have plans for two other "projects" this year so stay tuned for more info.

Kerala Plum Cake | Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe

2011-12-20T11:09:00.001+08:00

Christmas in Kerala is what memories are made of. I haven't come back in 6 years so this year is extra special. Except for once or twice when I was a kid, amma hasn't made fruit cake at home from scratch because every year we are inundated with cakes from friends celebrating Christmas.

This year's first cake is from Omana Paul, a popular caterer and good friend of ours. Their plum cake is very popular and they make thousands at this time of the year. Amma had the recipe so I wanted to share it in time for Christmas.

This recipe doesn't need you to soak the dry fruits in advance and it's alcohol-free so you can make it instantly before just before you need it.

Kerala Christmas Fruit Cake Recipe
Makes one 6" cake
Recipe adapted from Omana Paul

Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup chopped cashewnuts
1/4 cup black raisins
1/2 cup mixed dry fruits (dates, cherries, orange peels)
1 + .5 cups white sugar
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature
3 eggs
1 clove + 1 cardamom pod + small piece of cinnamon + a pinch nutmeg (pound together to powder)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt

How It's Made:

1. Christmas fruit cake requires you to caramelize sugar. Don't be like me and worry about it, it's really not that hard, you just need to be careful while doing it. In a pan on medium heat, melt 1/2 cup sugar slowly. It will first melt and then turn into a dark brown goop. Keep stirring and let it turn a deep dark caramel colour. Don't let it burn. Turn off heat and add about 1/4 cup water. The sugar will harden. Turn the heat back on and slowly heat the mixture until the sugar crystals dissolve. This will take around 10 mins. Let this cool and set aside.

Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C.

2. Add 3 tbsp flour to the dry fruits and nuts and dredge completely to coat it. This is so that they don't sink to the bottom of the batter while baking. Set aside.

3. Mix the remaining flour and baking powder, spices, and salt until well combined.

4. Beat the butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy - about 10 mins by hand, 3-4 mins with an electric beater. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Next, add 1 egg and beat. Then add a bit of the flour mixture and fold. Likewise, alternate between the eggs and flour mixture until they are used up.

5. Add the cooled caramel and dredged fruits and gently fold in. Pour batter into a greased cake pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake for 50-55 mins until the top turns a dark brown and when a skewer inserted into the cake comes out with dry crumbs. You can start checking from 45 mins but usually in our oven, it takes up to 55 mins. The top will look like it's overdone but don't worry, make sure the inside is also completely cooked.

7. Dust with icing sugar when the cake is completely. cooled (you can also hide any cracks on top with this ;)

Notes:

1. The amount of fruits and types of it is entirely up to you. I'd recommend to use orange peels if you can because it enhances the flavour a lot.

2. We are not huge fans of raisins in Christmas cake, so we adjust the quantity of that. You can do the same.

3. If you plan to ice the cake, reduce sugar by 1/3 cup. This cake is sweet enough on it's own.

4. I haven't made this cake myself, all observations and notes are from amma and her memory. If you try this, please let me know :)

5. Omana Paul has another type of Christmas Cake which they call the rich dark plum cake. That cake is sticky, almost black, very rich, and quite alcoholic. If I can get my hands on that, and the recipe, will post soon!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Bengali Fish Fry | Mach Bhaja Recipe

2011-12-14T13:22:00.001+08:00

It's no secret that Malayalis and Bengalis love fish! There are several varieties of fish recipes from both Kerala and Bengal so it's always best to get cracking from the basics.

The basic Kerala fish fry recipe uses ginger and garlic (we also add shallots and curry leaves at home) in addition to the basics like chilly powder and turmeric.

The basic Bengali fish fry, however, is even simpler. It's essentially a 5-ingredient recipe.

This was made my a friend when we visited their place for dinner. She had marinated the fish in advance but it all came together in less than 10 minutes.

Easy Bengali Fish Fry Recipe
Serves 3-4

Ingredients:
6 (steak) pieces of king fish or hilsa, cleaned
2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
2 tbsp lime juice
Oil

How-to:

1. Mix the cleaned fish pieces with the rest of the ingredients and let marinate for 4 hours.

2. Heat a pan and add about 1/2 cup oil. Shallow fry the fish in medium-low heat until both sides are charred but not completely fried up. Be gentle when turning the fish over.

Notes:

- This fish fry recipe can be used as a base for you to add on to. You can add more masala powders, pepper powder, ginger garlic paste, etc.

- Serve with dal and steamed rice for a simple meal. It won't be too spicy or heavy.

- Serve with freshly sliced onions and lemon. Yum!

Orange Fruit Cake with Toffee Sauce

2011-12-12T16:27:00.001+08:00

Although I do agree that fruit cakes must be baked and had at Christmas time, they are not my favourite kind. So I try to work around that by making fruit cakes but with only one fruit. That counts, right?

This cake recipe started off somewhere else entirely and ended up as an orange cake. SJ and I were discussing a book she recommended (more on that in a later post) and she sent me the recipe for a lemon loaf cake that she said I must try.

Now, as a general rule, which I only sometimes break, I don't like lemon-based desserts. Here's an exception. I love lemon or lime and the flavour but not so much in sweet things. So I decided substituting orange in a lemon cake recipe can't be all bad.

The batter is extremely fragrant and if you decide to spice it up, even better. Use fresh orange zest, none of that dried stuff please!

The cake bakes up nice and spongy and doesn't rise too much so don't panic. I decided to do away with the lemon glaze recipe that comes with the lemon loaf cake and use the toffee sauce that goes so well with the sticky date cake (another great cake for the Christmas season!) that I have now baked countless times.

The cake calls for vegetable oil and usually I am wary of using oil in cakes (I have tried a few with mixed results) but I needn't have worried at all. It worked like a charm.

One-Bowl Orange Fruit Cake with Toffee Sauce
Makes one large 8" cake
Adapted very loosely from Piece of Cake

Ingredients:
1.5 cups regular flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs at room temperature
1 cup sour cream
1/2 C vegetable oil
2 tsp fresh orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

How I Made It:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

2. Add eggs, sour cream, oil, orange zest and vanilla to the flour mixture. Using an electric blender on med-low speed, beat for 1 min, until blended. Scrap sides and bottom, beat on med. speed for 1 min. If beating by hand, do it briskly in one direction for about 3-4 mins until well blended and you can't see traces of flour sticking out.

3. Spread batter in greased cake pan or loaf pan.

4. Bake at 350F / 180C for 50-55min. Let cool in the pan for 10mins.

5. Poke holes all over warm cake with a fork and pour the toffee sauce over it. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Store leftover cake in the refrigerate and bring to room temperature or microwave in low heat for 1 min before serving.

Toffee Sauce Recipe
Makes 1 cup and a bit more

Ingredients:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 t salt
1/2 cup cream (I use whipping cream)
6 tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
1tsp vanilla extract

How to:

In a pan, combine sugar, cream, salt and butter. Bring to a boil whisking continuously. Reduce heat and simmer whisking for 2mins till sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and whisk in the vanilla extract. Let it cool for 5mins or till slightly thickened. Pour over cake while still warm.

This sauce can be refrigerated for up to a week and used on any dessert or ice cream of choice. It's delicious and gets it's consistency back by microwaving on low heat or leaving out for 10 mins at room temperature.

Notes:

- To make this orange cake a christmas cake, add 1 tsp cinnamon powder and 1/2 tsp nutmeg powder to the above recipe. You can also try adding 1/2 tsp fresh garam masala to make it spicier.

- When measuring flour, use the scoop and sweep method - ie - scoop flour loosely into the measuring cup and when full, sweep the excess off the top.

- This is a one-bowl cake and is very easy to put together so there's no need for creaming of butter and sugar or sifting of dry ingredients. Using an electric mixer makes the mixing process more uniform so I would recommend that.

Punjab Grill at Marina Bay Sands - Restaurant Review

2011-12-09T18:00:00.001+08:00

Although our new office is now very close to Marina Bay Sands, I haven't gone that side in the evening. So when Sohail suggested we head there for a team dinner, I agreed. I had heard good things about Punjab Grill, managed by Jiggs Kalra, especially some recent awards they won in India.

The tandoor dishes in Punjab Grill was supposedly top notch. It's a fine dining place, so obviously a bit on the expensive side, so reserve for special occasions. Sohail, Armin, and I were definitely headed there for a special occasion :)

We each ordered Shikanjvi, which is a Punjabi Specialty - flavoured lemonade with salt, sugar, black salt, and a dash of cumin seeds. It was a bit too strong for me and it's a large drink.

For starters we got paneer tikka...

... and chicken tikka.

The paneer was extremely soft and fresh but was mostly bland. I was quite disappointed since this was one of their specialties. However, the chicken tikka more than made up for it. It's easily one of the best chicken tikkas I have had, both in India and in Singapore. It's a signature dish so they add the regular spices in the marinade and their own special touch. Whatever that is, it worked.

While we were waiting for the main course, we got complimentary amuse bouche - aloo tikki. It was nice. Nothing to write home about but nice to munch on as we waited.

Main course was aloo paratha, butter nan, dal makhani, and butter chicken (murgh makhani).

The aloo paratha was too thick and not made of atta, but maida. Doesn't get a thumbs up from me.

Nan was good, but not special.

I am not a huge fan of dal makhani but as far as dal makahnis go, this one was in the top 5%. Creamy, cooked perfectly, and good.

The butter chicken, ah, now the butter chicken is delicious. Must-try!

You would think that we would be quite full at this stage but no, we ordered dessert, especially since I saw the lichi ki tehri in the menu which is my favourite dessert from Sahib Sindh Sultan (btw, management of Sahib Sindh Sultan, you are most welcome to open up a restaurant in Singapore. You have my full blessings!).

Yeah, so lichi ki tehri and rasmalai was ordered.

The rasmalai was a bigger portion than I expected. It was spongy and everything, but the surrounding milk syrup was too watery. I wish they had thickened it up a bit more. The sweetness level was just right though and probably this was for the best because our meal itself had been pretty heavy.

The lichi ki tehri was sweeter but can't really be compared to the awesomeness they serve in Sahib Sindh Sultan. It was still very good, especially if you haven't tasted the "real deal" in SSS.

One other highlight of the meal was the final paan shot that they served, again, complimentary. It is liquid paan in a shot glass and it's delicious! A great way to round off the meal.

Overall, the meal was good, the ambience was great, and the company and conversation - superb. A good dinner out was had and 300 SGD paid for the three of us.

Yep, I told you. Not the cheapest place, but worth it if you order the right things. Don't forget that chicken tikka and butter chicken.

They also have a power lunch menu at Punjab Grill which looks very decent for SGD 40. Hoping to try that out with TH soon.

LOCATION:
Punjan Grill
B1-01A, Galleria Level,
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

Ph: +65 6688 7395

**excuse the noisy quality of pics. All taken in pretty dim light (remember, fancy restaurant!) with my Nexus S while trying to look sophisticated.

Snowball Cookies | Christmas Cookies Recipe

2011-12-07T16:53:00.001+08:00

Anns Bakery in Kottayam will always remind me of their cashew snowball cookies which I used to eat by the packet when I was a kid. They were not cheap (nothing from Anns is cheap) but when we buy them at home, I would gobble them up. Snowball cookies form a delicious part of my childhood memories.

I knew I would bake them one day and I knew it would be when I was feeling particularly homesick, and that's exactly what happened. I was compiling this list of Christmas Recipes from Kerala and felt like I had to have some cookies - and they had to be snowball cookies!

I used pecans, one of my favourites, in the cookies. You can substitute with walnuts (I am not a fan of them) or cashew nuts. Anns uses cashew nuts so for more "authentic snowball cookies", try this recipe with cashew nuts, lightly roasted. And yes, these are eggless too, perfect for Christmas!

Eggless Snowball Cookies
Prep time: 10 mins
Baking time: 30 mins
Makes 24 cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour / maida
3/4 cup chopped pecans (or any nut of your choice)
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
3 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup icing sugar, for coating and dusting (can substitute with powdered sugar too)

How I Made It:

0. Pre-heat oven to 300F or ~ 160C

1. Mix the flour, sugar, chopped nuts, and salt in a mixing bowl.

2. Add the softened butter and vanilla...

... and knead lightly with fingertips until the dough comes together and there are no signs of the flour showing.

3. Pinch off a little dough at a time and make into small lime-sized ball. I got 24 cookies from this amount of dough.

4. Place them 2" apart on a lined baking tray and bake until uniformly browned, about 25-30 mins. If you feel they are a bit uncooked, bake for 2-3 more mins but not more than 35 mins.

5. When still warm, roll in icing sugar until well coated, let them cool, and store in an air-tight container for up to a week.

These are very easy and eggless cookies you can bake for Christmas and give away to people. The pecans give it a lovely flavour although I'd love to try the cashew nut version of snowball cookies they have in Anns.

They are a bit chewy with some crunch from the nuts. It's a good idea to lightly toast them before use but I used these pecans right out of the bag. The cookies themselves are not too sweet so be generous when dusting with the powdered / icing sugar.

Note that I use unbleached flour for my baking so the cookies are a bit darker than they would be if you use regular plain flour.

So, what are you baking this Christmas? :)

Drumstick Leaves Rasam Recipe

2011-12-05T15:50:00.001+08:00

I don't know very many recipes with Drumstick Leaves beyond the usual poriyal and thoran and I had a couple of fistful of drumstick leaves left over after making muringayila thoran.

I stored them in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 days and then decided to just give up trying too hard and throw them into a rasam. It was delicious!

Fresh Drumstick Leaves

Drumstick Leaves Rasam Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1.5 cups of drumstick leaves, picked and cleaned
A lemon-sized tamarind ball soaked in 2 cups water, juice extracted, and pulp discarded
1 tomato, chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic
1/8 tsp of turmeric powder
2 - 3 tbsp of rasam powder
3 tbsp of cookied and mashed toor dal (optional)
Salt to taste
For tempering:
2 tsp ghee or oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp powdered jeera / cumin seeds
A generous pinch of asafoetida / hing

How I Made It:

1. Place the tamarind water, rasam powder, drumstick leaves, tomato, turmeric, peeled garlic cloves slightly crushed, and salt in a pan. Bring to boil and simmer until the leaves are cooked (don't taste raw) and the tomatoes and garlic are soft.

2. Add the cooked dal, if using, and bring to boil again. Remove from fire.

3. Heat a small tadka / tempering pan with the ghee or oil and add the rest of the ingredients for tempering. When the mustard seeds start popping, dunk the entire contents of the pan into the rasam. Mix well,

Enjoy hot with steamed rice. I am sure drumstick leaves sambar will also taste great. Maybe next time!

DMBLGiT Nov 2011 - The Winners

2011-12-03T23:59:00.001+08:00

This has been a short short month for me. I had to go on a couple of short yet intensive work trips and an assortment of social events and a holiday party that has left me drained and dreading my hair iron. I am sorry for the delay in posting the results of the November 2011 DMBLGiT photo contest. The judges did a great job and for the most part we were pretty consistent in our scoring. So much so that a couple of categories actually tied up and I had to do a quick round 2 to make the final decision.

Enough of my yada-yada. Here are the winners!

Overall Winners

First place: Soma of eCurry with her Strawberry Basil Ice-Cream. She is way ahead of everyone else in terms of her scores and also scored high for originality.

Second place: Chang Pick Yin of PickYin's Place with her Chicken with Rice and Mushrooms.

Third place: there's a tie!

Pamela of Unodedos with her Cherry Tomato, Mozzarella, and Zucchini Pie

and Vidya of Kurry Leaves with her Prawns and Drumstick Curry

We also picked one winner from each of the individual categories used for judging - Edibility, Originality, and Aesthetics. The winners in this category are chosen outside of the overall winners above.

Winner of Edibility Category

Jasenka of Sweet Corner with her Pumpkin Cheesecake

Winner of Originality Category

Claude-Olivier of 1001 Recettes with her image titled "Autumn is coming..."

Winner of Aesthetics Category

Karen of Citrus and Candy with her Vietnamese Chicken Salad

If you want to take a peek at all the entries, here's the Picasa Gallery. Huge thanks to the judges once again, and also to Andrew for giving me the opportunity to host DMBLGiT this month. It was fun and totally worth all the spreadsheet and excel-crunching I had to do! If you are interesting in being a host of a future edition of DMBLGiT, find details here on how to go about it.

DMBLGiT December 2011 Edition will be hosted by Arundhuti of My Saffron Kitchen.

My Favourite Measuring Spoons

2011-12-01T17:31:00.001+08:00

When you get started on baking, one of the first things you need to buy is a good set of measuring spoons and cups. I used the basic set of 5 from Ikea before I came across these.

Now, it may not look like much but these are amazing! The biggest advantage is their smart design. Since the spoon heads are elongated, they get easily into even the narrowest spice bottles and baking powder tins. Before I got this, I realised I was tapping my baking powder into the measuring spoon and spilling some in the process, not to mention measuring somewhat inaccurately. These are steel so using and cleaning is a breeze too. They are also quite heavy and sturdy so I am guessing they will last forever.

sorry for the wrong watermark on this pic! oops :D

Go ahead, you know you want them!

I bought them from cooking.com but Amazon seems to have them too.

Note: Not a paid post. Just sharing a kitchen tool I really like!

Zucchini Besan Sabji (No Onion No Garlic)

2011-11-29T11:04:00.001+08:00

Confession: for the longest time, I thought zucchini was another type of cucumber that's only used in raita and salads. I didn't even know the Indian name for zucchini, having never seen this vegetable in Kerala or even Hyderabad.

It seems it's actually a fruit, not a vegetable, and is closely related to ridge gourd (torai or tura in Hindi) and beerakay in telugu.

Anyway, I wanted try an Indian recipe with Zucchini and went with the easiest option - a quick and simple sabji with besan.

This is a no-onion no-garlic recipe.

Zucchini Besan Sabji
Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
2 zucchini, peeled, washed and cut into small cubes
3 tbsp of besan / Bengal gram flour
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/8 tsp of hing / asafoetida
1 tsp of rice flour (optional)
Salt to taste
1-2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of cumin seeds / jeera
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
2 strands of curry leaves

How I Made It:

1. Add the besan, salt, chilli powder, turmeric, rice flour (if using), and hing to the cubed zucchini. Mix well with fingertips until the zucchini pieces are well coated in the mixture. Set aside.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and jeera. When they mustard pops and the jeera sizzles, add the curry leaves and the zucchini mixture.

3. Mix well until the zucchini pieces are coated in oil. Cook on low flame, stirring occasionally, until the pieces are cooked and pulpy. If you don't peel the zucchini, the pieces will hold their shape and will be firmer, so it's up to you how you want it to turn out.

That's it!

Serve hot with steamed rice or chapatis / rotis. How do you cook Zucchinis the Indian way? Share your recipes if any!

6 Must-Try Kerala Christmas Recipes

2011-11-27T13:37:00.000+08:00

Having grown up in a Christian-dominated society, I grew up with a lot of influence from the religion. I studied in a Christian School (no matter what the headmistress says now, it was a Christian School, we sang hymns at Monday assembly and said "Our Father" every morning before classes), almost all of my parents' friends were Catholics, I used to find more peace in Kurisupally, a church that was closer to my home than Thirunakkara Sivan Temple. This is not to say I favour one religion over the other, I ended up turning agnostic. Ironic, I know.

Anyway, this post was not to talk about my religious preferences, but to talk about Swapna Chechy and her blog - Swapna's Cuisine. Swapna Chechy is a childhood friend of my sister's. She is probably familiar to most of you since she has been an avid food blogger for the past couple years. Her cooking distinctly reminds me of my childhood, of sneaking in homemade wine when I was 8, eating bitter, rum-soaked raisins by the fistful at 10, and the sugar rush from all the Christmas cakes, both homemade and otherwise, that would flood into our home starting the first week of December well into the New Year.

Here are 6 Christmas Recipes from Swapna's Cuisine that I highly recommend.

Milk Liquer

Chicken Balls

Vellayappam (or Paalappam if you prefer that)

Meat Ball Curry

Vegetable Stew (Ishtoo)

Kerala Plum Cake (Christmas Fruit Cake)

Not sure if I will have time this year to make any Christmas cookies and cakes but I will be home at the time so I am sure there will be no shortage of Christmas Fruit Cake!

Ammini (Mini) Kozhukattai Recipe

2011-11-25T15:45:00.002+08:00

Ammini (also called Mini or Mani) Kozhukkattai is not something I grew up eating. The sweet vella kozhukattai was often made and a favourite in our house but amma just made plain kozhukkattai with the leftover modak cover dough (without the jaggery filling), which we ate with chutney podi or just as-is.

It's my sis who made this once with the leftover modak covering flour and it was instant love for me. She dismissed it a simple snack that she often makes but it was delicious. I tried it for the first time with the leftover flour after making kozhukattai for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Ammini Kozhukattai Recipe
Makes about 20-25 small balls
Serves 2 as a snack

Ingredients:

For the kozhukattai:1/2 cup rice flour
~ 3/4 cup water (adjust amount while making)
1/2 tsp salt

For tempering:2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp hing powder / perungaayam
1/2 tsp split urad dal / ulutham paruppu
2 dry red chillies, halved
2-3 tbsp grated coconut
A few curry leaves
A pinch of salt

How I Made It:

1. Bring 1/2 cup water to boil with the salt also added in. Once it boils, remove from fire and add the 1/2 cup rice flour in, mixing as you do so. Make sure no lumps are formed and mix well until you get a soft dough that's similar in consistency to chapati dough (it won't be stretchy though). Start with 1/2 cup water and keep adding a few drops as you mix until you get the desired consistency. Depending on the type of rice flour and humidity, etc, you will need different amounts of water. Let this mixture cool down a bit until you can handle it. Don't let it cool completely, or else the rice dough will become dry.

2. Make into small marble-sized balls and place in a steamer without overlapping.

3. Steam for about 10 minutes until the kozhukattai is cooked and glossy. Don't overcook, otherwise it becomes rubbery.

4. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the rest of the ingredients under the "for tempering" list and fry for a minute until the hing lets out a nice aroma and the red chillies glisten.

5. Add the steamed kozhukattai in, stir well, and remove from fire.

Serve hot with a cup of tea. Mini Kozhukattai are a nice tea-time snack and quite healthy and filling too!

Moong Usal Recipe - A Popular Maharashtrian Dish

2011-11-23T18:06:00.001+08:00

It all started when I bought a bag of sprouted moong dal to make this soy chunks sprouted moong biryani for FSB. I had half a bag leftover and turned to my trusted Facebook Page for ideas. I got a lot of suggestions, most revolved around chaat. Since I am lazy, and since of the suggestions coincided with a recipe in one of the books I was reading - Ginger and Ganesh - I decided to go with a Maharashtrian Usal Recipe.

Usal is made with maki or moth bean sprouts. Using moong sprouts for usal is also not uncommon so I decided to go ahead and do just that. I also learnt from the book that Misal is Usal with has been spiced up a bit more and made into a kind of chaat. I hear this is very common street food in Maharashtra. If any of you know more, do leave your insights in this post :)

Usal is a dry side dish that's amazingly flavourful. Serve with rice and some gravy or make this into a gravy dish. I personally prefer the dry version.

Moong Usal Recipe

Adapted from Ginger and Ganesh
Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
2 cups moong bean sprouts
1 onion, chopped
1/2 of a tomato (or 1 small tomato)
1" piece of ginger, minced
2-3 flakes of garlic, minced
1 tsp amchoor (dry mango powder) or 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
1-2 green chillies, chopped
A pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp Kitchen King Masala (or garam masala / goda masala)
1 tsp grated jaggery or brown sugar (or regular sugar)
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste

How I Made It:

1. Heat oil and add the onions and green chillies. Saute until the onions have turned a light brown.

2. Add the minced ginger and garlic and fry until the raw smell disappears - about a minute.

3. Now add the coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, and salt, and jaggery or sugar. Fry for another minute.

4. Add the sprouted moong dal and chopped tomato. Sprinkle some water and cook on low flame covered for 8-10 mins.

5. When the beans have turned crunchy and chewy, add the garam masala, and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve hot with steamed rice and some gravy.

Note: you can pressure cook the sprouted beans until soft and then follow same recipe. I prefer to leave it crunchy.

Sending this to CWS - Moong Beans hosted by Priya.

Potato and Drumsticks in a Thick Khus Khus Gravy

2011-11-21T17:52:00.001+08:00

When I was 8, we used to live in a sprawling L-shaped house with a gorgeous garden. My mom has quite a green thumb and whatever shoot or seeds she planted would grow and bloom into beautiful things. We had a drumstick tree in the backyard and during one season, it showed off it's splendour by giving off baskets and baskets of long, slender drumsticks. Amma, being the generous soul she is, gave off bags of it to friends, relatives and neighbours until they threw up their arms when the word drumsticks was mentioned! So she sold some. I remember because she bought me a box of foreign chocolates from the only foreign goods store in town at that time.

So yes, my connection with drumsticks go beyond the simple girl-and-vegetable relationship that I share with most other vegetables.

Fast forward two decades. One day I got this email from my mom-in-law saying she tried a recipe with potatoes and drumsticks and that it came out very nice.

This is her recipe. It's a bit similar to potato saagu that I made ages back and then completely forgot about but somehow, I liked it better than saagu. Too bad I am all out of khus khus / poppy seeds and can't get them in Singapore.

Potato and Drumsticks in a Thick Khus Khus Gravy

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 large potatoes, cubed
1 drumstick, cut into 3" long pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 large tomato , chopped
5 tbsp khus khus / poppy seeds (soaked in water for 15 mins)
2-3 green chillies
2-3 flakes of garlic
1 tsp red chilli powder (adjust to taste)
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
A pinch of turmeric powder
2 tbsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnishing

How I Made It:

1. Grind the soaked khus khus with jeera, coriander, and garlic into a smooth paste. Add water as necessary, the poppy seeds will thicken the mixture.

2. Heat the oil and add mustard seeds (optional). When they pop (if using) add onions and green chillies and fry until lightly browned. Then add the drumsticks and potato cubes. Add in 2 cups water and mix well.

3. When the mixture comes to a boil, add the ground khus khus paste, chilli powder, turmeric, and some salt. Mix well.

4. Throw in the tomatoes and mix.

The mixture should still be a bit watery for the vegetables to full cook. If it's not, add some more water. Cook covered until the potatoes are soft and the drumsticks are cooked through. Adjust salt.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with steamed rice, roti, nan, or even crusty bread.

This is my entry to Healing Foods - A Vegetarian Thanksgiving hosted by Sridevi this month, an event conceptualised by Siri.

Review: Confections of a Closet Master Baker

2011-11-20T12:40:00.001+08:00

I've been on Goodreads for a couple of months now and absolutely enjoy the site. If you love reading, maybe you should check it out too (no, they are not paying me to say this). I am planning to share my reviews of cookbooks and food-related books here as I post them on my Goodreads profile. Here's the first one.

Confections of a Closet Master Baker by Gesine Bullock-Prado
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I had waited even 10 minutes after finishing this book, I'd have probably given it a four. That doesn't mean a bad thing necessarily, just that the aftertaste of this book is just so... delicious. I had very low expectations when I started the book, I am yet to read a food-related memoir that I thoroughly enjoyed. I haven't read very many either, to be fair.

Midway through the book, I realised "Sandy" and "my sister who is an actress" that the author references now and then is Sandra Bullock! The author worked in Hollywood for a while and then moved to a small town and set up her own bakery. The promos and intros to the book hype this fact a lot. She gave it all up and moved away. But (thankfully) the book doesn't dwell on this fact too much. Yes, she's very clear she found Hollywood fake, tiresome, and boring but that's not the central theme of the book (again, thankfully).

The bits that stood out for me are the afternoon tea stories the author shared with her Omi (grandmom) and her mom who died of colon cancer. It's touching, it's a German tradition that even as a South Indian, I could fully relate to. Each time she mentions her dead mom and her memories associated with her, my heart went out to her.

Of course, all the butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate in the book appealed to the food-lover part of me. She confirms the fact that having one's own pastry shop is no cake walk, literally. I knew it, but it still helps to hear it again so that I won't feel tempted to leave my job (that I enjoy, btw) and follow that path. Some of the recipes seem delicious and I am reluctant to return the book before I have atleast taken some photocopies of those pages.

A must-read if you even remotely enjoy baking.

Want to buy your own? Here are the links: AMAZON | FLIPKART | BOOKDEPOSITORY