Sumthinz Cooking

Supaah Yum Treat: Sabudana Wadas

2012-01-21T17:07:00.001+05:30

Those of you who know me well, also know how kitchen-deprived I have been feeling lately. I am spending less than half the time I want to spend in my favourite part of the house. It makes me very sad.

But that's life.

Then there is Sabudana. As a child, I often wondered which tree bears the Sabudana fruit. maybe it's a crop. But we never studied it although we ate it so voraciously. I learnt where Sabudana comes from only a few years back.

Sabudana is made from Tapioca. Or sago. In India, its commercially produced as pearls of different sizes. Often, it is used to make the famous Sabudana khichdi, primarily eaten in Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat but has spread to most parts of the country as a popular breakfast menu option. It is eaten in kheers with vermicelli and/or rice cooked in milk, sweetened and seasoned with spices like green cardamom and dry fruits like sunflower seeds, raisins and cashews, almonds.

It is also used as a thickener. Sort of similar to how cornflour is used in soups for thickening.

Then there is the Sabudana Wada. It's served in different ways in different families but most commonly, its a big round patty that is deep fried and served with slightly sweetened, whipped yogurt.

The Sabudana Wada is a hearty snack, fills you up and best eaten at breakfast or early in the evening. NEVER have this for dinner. It takes a while to digest and the last thing you want to do after eating this is lying down.

Make this. It makes people very happy. Half my regrets about not cooking enough melt away when I make this.

PS: Some people prefer their Sabudana Wadas served with tomato ketchup. Suit yourself. And some people also like their Sabudana Wada cooked till a light brown. I do not. I prefer them deep golden brown so I know it is cooked though and the outside is crunchy and crisp but the inside is all hot and melt-in-the-mouth.

Name: Sabudana Wadas

Prep Time: 10 minutes to boil potatoes, 6 hours of soaking time for Sabudana, 10 minutes to assemble, 5 minutes to cook

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Recipe Source: Standard recipe, passed down generations

Serves: 2-3 people, makes 10 wadas

You need:

3 big potatoes, boiled

6-7 tbsp Sabudana, soaked overnight

2 tbsp roasted jeera / cumin seeds

3-4 tbsp, roasted peanuts, skin removed, roughly ground (chunks are mandatory)

2 green chillies, chopped fine

Lots of coriander leaves, chopped fine

Salt

Oil for deep frying

(Note: If your Sabudana is half a cup, the water should reach up to 2 cms above the level of the Sabudana - so basically, no drowning the pearls in too much water but too little will not work either. When ready, test a pearl by biting into it - if you can comfortably bite into it, no hardnes,s it is ready)

Here's what you do:

- Mash the boiled potatoes till no lumps remain. No need to mash the hell out of them, like you would for creamy mashed potatoes. Just make sure all lumps are gone.

- Add the Sabudana, salt to taste, green chillies, coriander leaves, jeera seeds.

- Add the roughly ground roasted peanuts. Make sure the skin is gone. One way to do this is to cool the peanuts down and then give them a nice run between your palms - the skin just comes off. blow on them to make the skin fly away. Please do this in the sink, you don't want peanut skin all over your house.

- Make sure the peanuts remain chunky after they are ground. We do not want a fine powder. Which is why I avoid the grinder and just use my mortar pestle and crack open all peanuts.

- Mix everything thoroughly with your hand.

- Now make flat (but not too flat, neither too thick in the middle) patties. Keep them aside for 5 minutes while you get the oil hot.

- When the oil reaches smoking point, lower the flame, carefully lower 1-2 wadas into the hot oil with a perforated ladle. DO NOT try to lower the wadas into the hot oil with your bare hands. Sabudana crackles pretty violently in hot oil and tends to spill oil out. Save your hands - no food is important enough to justify lifelong injury.

- When golden deep brown on both sides, remove on to a tissue to soak the extra oil.

- Serve immediately with whipped, sweetened yogurt. Or tomato ketchup if you like that better.

Winter Warmer: One Pot Vegetable Khichdi

2011-12-29T15:17:00.000+05:30

I am itching to declare this as my invention but I am so sure somebody has already made it, if not spoken about it. It's like chancing upon Palak Paneer and feeling that you came up with it.

Ridiculous.

But this khichdi makes me very happy. It is a 'vegetabled' version of what I used to make when I had to cook just for myself and refused to invest beyond 10 minutes of prep. And its comfort food of the most comforting kinds, especially on cold wintery evenings.

Name: Vegetable Khichdi

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Recipe Source: Cooked Up (pun intended)

Serves: 2 people

You need:

1 big cup rice, soaked

A fistful of yellow moong dal, skinless, soaked with the rice (Soak time, 10 minutes)

1 capsicum, deseeded, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 carrot, peeled, chopped

A fistful of green peas

1-2 green chillies chopped

1 inch stick cinnamon

2 green cardamoms, cracked open

3-4 cloves

3-4 black peppercorns

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp cumin/jeera seeds

1/2 tsp ajwain/carom seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder (optional)

Water

Ghee

Salt

Here's how you make it:

- Heat some ghee in a small pressure cooker. Add turmeric. Add jeera, ajwain, bay leaf, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom. Stir. P doesn't much like whole masalas in his mouth so I normally give everything a quick pounding in my mortar and pestle before tossing it all into the hot ghee+turmeric.

- Add the green chillies, onions, carrots, peas, capsicum. Stir well.

- Empty the rice and dal soaked into the cooker, give it all a nice stirring. Add your optional garam masala at this point. Or just skip to adding salt to taste, water and then pressure cook for 3 whistles. NOTE: When you are making regular rice in a pressure cooker, 2 whistles suffice. But dal needs cooking so its 3 for khichdi. If you have managed to soak your dal for an hour beforehand, 2 whistles should be more than enough.

- Serve hot with ghee, with raita, just curd, papads or pickle on the side.

Coconut Thogayal (Coconut Lentil Thick Chutney)

2011-12-22T13:00:00.003+05:30

In between maha-cribs about work on social networking sites, reviewing crappy appliances and in general spending more time travelling that sleeping, I one day realised that winter is upon us.

Already.

Mumbai does not let you feel it so easily. The you start noticing that the curd will not set. And it starts getting 5 times tougher to wake up in the morning. And you are not exactly feeling cold but you are not sure you want the fan on high speed.

Then there are those gajar halwa friendly carrots in the market, yams, and fresh green garlic leaves and spinach and other winter yumminess. Always a perfect time to dig into something very homey, very quick, very filling and loaded with awesome nutrients.

And very tasty.

Coconut Thogayal. I take this thing for granted a lot but every once in a while, P saunters into the kitchen and cribs about not getting a lot of this. Here's how you can have it in your kitchen.

Name: Coconut Thogayal

Prep Time & Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes

Recipe Source: Pretty archaic as usual. Who knows who made the first apple pie?

Serves: 2-3

You need:

1 whole coconut

A fistful of urad dal (black gram skinless)

5-6 whole red chillies

1 tsp asafoetida

2 tbsp tamarind paste, thick

1 tsp oil

Salt to taste

Water

Coriander for garnishing, optional

Here's how you make it:

- Wash a fistful of urad dal lightly to get rid of the white powdery substance that usually coats it. Give it a quick dry roast to let the wetness evaporate. Keep aside. Now in the same kadhai, heat some oil. Add the urad dal and let it roast until you the dal is golden brown.

- Add red chillies, asafoetida. Mix well. By this time, the dal will be a nice shade of golden brown. Less golden, more brown. DO NOT brown too much. That will taste disgusting.

- Cool this mixture a bit and then put it into a mixer. Add a few coconut pieces to it just to add some body while you grind.

- Here's what you have.

- Now add the remaining coconut.

- Add some tamarind paste and salt. A dash of water too. Grind well.

- Here's what you have. Achieving this consistency will take a bit of time. You might want to add more water. You might feel like adding more salt. AND some of you fiery little demons might be feeling a bit purty. Add red chillio powder in that case. Grind until the mixture is thick, sort of smooth and no chunky bits of coconut or lentil remain.

- Serve. Garnish with coriander if you like it that way. P has coriander days and 'why is there coriander in this' days so well...Make this. NOW. It's good for you and it pretty much makes sense of winters. And life. And other similarly disconnected things.

Serving instructions? Eaten with steaming hot rice :)

Useless Tool No. 2: Electric Roti Maker

2011-11-28T13:43:00.001+05:30

Do you remember those Telebrands hours on TV, when they would bombard you with detailed, repetitive pitches of products that you can buy 'only on TV'? Some of those things were miracle cures, promising you some herb from the Amazon forest that will make you shed kilos or grow a back full of luscious hair.

Balderdash.

The roti maker first made an appearance there, long before it hit online shopping stores and local home appliance shops.

It looked god-sent, especially for newly-wed women who were expected to make rotis. Round rotis.

The roti maker, with one squeeze, turn the blob of dough into a smooth, round roti. Tadaah and before you know it, its puffed up, puri-like and ready to be devoured.

I admired it every time I saw it until I actually ate one of the rotis it had made.

Product name: Electric Roti Maker
Price: Rs 1350 (starting price)
Buying portal: Online / TV / Local Home Appliance Store
Brand: Several
Mode of use: Needs electricity, not battery operated.

How it works:

You plug it into a socket, turn on the darned thing. Let the hot plate heat up. Keep a ball of dough a little off centre (towards the top), press down for 30 seconds. Open and voila! You have roti. Flip it over, let it cook for a few seconds. Flip it back over. Ideally, it should puff up, completely cooked, ready to be eaten.

Pros:

- Round rotis. Soft rotis. Instant rotis. You can make and eat while you are at the dining table.

Cons:

- Half-cooked rotis. The dough won't cook through and will remain sort of sticky in parts inside the roti. And therefore end up tasting doughy. I ate three of these not too long ago and I mostly ended up dunking the whole roti inside the dal so I could make my taste-buds ignore the sticky-doughy texture inside the roti. Mom says that eating slightly raw rotis can give you a stomach ache if you don't have a very robust digestive system.

- If you are planning to make it on your dining table, cook and serve immediately, that assumes you are going to sit on your dining table with a plate of atta balls. If you fancy that, then this is not a con.

- Sort of expensive just for making round rotis no? Who cares what shape they are if they are cooked and make a hearty meal?!

Verdict:

Don't buy unless the shape of rotis is a life and death issue in your home. If it is, then somebody in the house sure needs therapy.

Alternatives:

Do what I did. Start making a couple of rotis every weekend. Start with just 3-4. In a couple of months, you will have mastered the shape. And the technique, the texture and so much more, therefore opening up a world of Indian-bread making possibilities.

A friend used to try and cut out round shapes with a tin lid. It helped her for a while but the rotis just won't puff up as nicely because the edges aren't thin enough. But it still worked like a charm until she used the traditional method.

Mom says:

"For a long time, I felt it takes ages to make rotis. So one day, I timed it. I took 20 minutes to make 6 rotis, inclusing kneading, rolling, roasting. How bad is that?"

Mom prefers making rotis to rice, btw.

Useless Tool No.1: Microwave Egg Boiler

2011-11-23T14:04:00.001+05:30

I have told you in the past how the use of microwave ovens are disputed, even banned in certain developed nations. If you follow that bit of advice, you won't even go near this product.

But if you do use a microwave oven, you are likely to, some day, end up finding the sound of 'boil eggs in 5 minutes' pretty tempting. Like I did, long ago.

I was wrong.

Product name: Microwave Egg Boiler / Cooker
Price: Rs 300
Buying portal: Online
Brand: Non-branded
Mode of use: Use in microwave oven for boiling eggs.

How it works (or doesn't):

There is a small bowl where you put water. Then the egg cavity is placed on top. You place the eggs in the cavities. Mine holds four at a time. You then plonk it into the oven on high heat for 3-4 minutes. The instructions manual claimed that the eggs will take about 3-4 minutes, sometimes 5, to give you a boiled egg. Mine remained uncooked at 5 minutes and at 8 minutes too. Beyond that period of time, it is not safe to use the fibre-cast bowl for fear of melting it.

Pros:

None

Cons:

- The eggs do not boil and come out as either hard boiled or soft boiled eggs. Instead, the shell may crack, leaking the yolk out. Or the shell may stay put bud despite sticking to the instructions, when you crack it open, the whites are coagulated or stuck to the shell in a 'never to be parted' way. It mostly renders the eggs useless, unless you scramble them on a pan and serve.

- Complete waste of cash.

- Cannot do anything else with it, but I decided to use the little bowl like part (where you put water to steam the eggs into a force-boiled state) to make Maggi in the microwave function of the oven. 300 bucks is a bit fat for a Maggi bowl no?

Verdict:

DO NOT BUY.

Alternatives:

How to boil eggs

I hear electric egg boilers are far more efficient. If you try those, let me know.

Excuses & A New Series

2011-11-11T13:48:00.001+05:30

I have been away for so long now, I was actually a bit shocked to see my own blog when I finally opened it today. It looked like it had zoomed into my now from several lifetimes ago.

So much has changed since I last wrote in this space.

Now that officially looks like a post intro that won't give away any recipe or cooking gyaan, eh? Never mind. I can rant here. It's the only place I can write a rant. The rest of it goes to my mom and P, the two people who eat most of what I cook.

I decided to come out of hibernation and my cooking haven two months ago. And do other things that also interest me. It eats into my cooking time. It eats even more into my baking time. But then I see, the little time I have left, I run into the kitchen. It's turned into some sort of abandoned haven. Some sort of past glory tucked into four walls.

Possibly, the biggest good that has happened is I am no longer buying kitchen tools and accessories. I decided to stick to what I have and make full use of things that are already in the kitchen. it's been a personal kitchen funda for a long time now - if you have it, use it. If you do not, pack it away, give it away or donate it.

I don't do thaat to clothes - which explains why I keep running out of wardrobe space. I still have clothes that won't fit me.

Thank god nothing in the kitchen outgrows you. Not often at least.

Which brings me to a few ideas. I am going to start another series (ongoing) that will talk about kitchen tools that are more or less useless, why they are more or less useless and the limited circumstances in which they may be useful. That sort of careful consideration will help people decide what to invest and not invest in.

Our Fancy-Shmancy Curd Rice

2011-09-26T10:39:00.000+05:30

Sometimes, the simplest of things are taken for granted, aren't they?

Which is why I realised the virtues of curd rice very very late.

Now don't get me wrong - I do not like curd rice. As a Bengali kid, I was fed curd mixed with hot rice and some sugar when I had a bad tummy. So I grew up associating the plate of soggy white food with being sick. Then I met P who ate curd with the same regularity as he applied to brushing his teeth every morning; it was a daily ritual. Religiously followed. And to the chagrin of my in-laws, I religiously refused to partake of the thing not just in the house and at their various homes, but also publicly in weddings, saying I would definitely throw-up. Or at least get a bad tummy to justify eating the thing to my body and mind.

But I am talking about the regular curd rice. At the end of a meal, a portion of rice is mixed with curd and then eaten with some pickle or sometimes with some of the sambar or rasam or kuzhambu that was part of the main meal.

What I fell in love with is what we call the 'fancy curd rice'. Yum. It's easy to make. And it gets ready in less than a jiffy. Anything that is cooked in less than a jiffy should be officially molded into idols and worshipped.

I make the fancy curd rice often. More than twice a month. It makes me very happy, it never makes you sick, it fills you up, it is Satwik and tasty and you need very little to make it AND it can be eaten cold or at room temperature. How much more awesome could life get I ask.

Name: Fancy Curd Rice

Prep Time: 5 minutes and 10 minutes to boil your rice (I always boil and drain)

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Recipe Source: None of us sadly recorded the name of the sage who first made the fancy curd rice. May he receive Buddhahood.

Serves: 2

You need:

180 gms of rice boiled, drained, rinsed in cool water and kept aside

200 gms of fresh curd

Salt

Tadka:

1 tbsp split skinless chickpea / chana dal

1 tbsp skinless black lentil / urad dal

1 tsp cumin / jeera seeds

1 tsp mustard / rai seeds

1/4 tsp fenugreek / methi seeds

1 tsp asafoetida / hing

3-4 red chillies, torn

1 green chilli chopped

8-9 curry leaves (I always chop my curry leaves - I want them eaten, not removed and left aside like unclaimed property)

1" ginger, grated very fine

Til Oil or Ghee

A huge heap of coriander leaves (btw, do you call it cilantro? It makes me laugh, that word. It's called cultural conditioning. It's similar to how I feel when people say confectioner's sugar.)

- I don't see why I should write a process but then if I do not, I might wake up at 3am and come back to complete this. It's called OCD. So make sure your rice is a bit on the overcooked side. A bit. DO NOT mash it up and turn it into baby fodder.

- Leave the rice a little wet after you have rinsed it with water. It will allow the curd to mix in easily.

- Beat the curd lightly, add salt to it and a bit of water to thin it out.

- Heat the oil/ghee and when its pretty hot, add the chana dal. Stir lightly. When it is starting to turn golden brown, add the urad dal. When they are are both nearing a shade of brown, add the cumin, mustard, methi seeds, red chillies and green chilli. Stir.

- Add the hing, curry leaves and ginger. Mix well. Keep aside.

- Now mix the curd with the rice. Adjust salt. Add the tadka in. Mix evenly. Garnish with a heap of chopped coriander leaves and stir it all in. Serve jsut like that or with a dash of mango or green chilli pickle.

PS: I know some people like to serve this with green seedless grapes cut in half and pomegranate seeds sprinkled all over the rice but I seriously don't like fruit in any kind of salty food so I skip those out. If you find the idea tempting, go right ahead and add.

Pasta a la Madness

2011-09-19T09:04:00.000+05:30

I decided to try a pasta dish I have never eaten before. Meaning, never stumbled upon anywhere yet. YET. And pile it up with my favouritest ingredients. The idea came from a friend who said I should try and 'make my own pasta' at a particular pasta place here in Mumbai. And that got me thinking...instead of waiting to 'order' my kind of pasta, why not make it?

Hmm.

Therefore happened Pasta a la Madness.

It's got garlic, its got onions and its got basil and parsley and its got tomatoes and black olives and after we ate this thing, we quietly wept in joy. Trust me.

Here's how you reduce yourself to a similar state of ecstatic helplessness.

Name: Pasta a la Madness

Prep Time: 10 minutes to cook pasta al dente
Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Recipe Source: Me

Serves: 2 if you are really hungry

You need:

200 gms pasta of your choice (I used penne, cooked al dente)

2 big tomatoes, blanched, deseeded, cubed into teensy pieces

1 big onion, chopped fine

5-6 garlic cloves, chopped

2-3 tbsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tbsp red chilli flakes

3-4 tbsp tomato ketchup

1/2 cup black olives

200 ml fresh cream

1 cup fresh basil leaves, chiffonade (cut into thin strips)

1 tbsp dried parsley

1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped

25-30 gms cheese (parmesan or cheddar)

Butter

Olive Oil

Salt to taste

- Heat some olive oil and butter in a wok. Once it sizzles, add the garlic, onions, red chilli flakes, pepper. Fry.

- Add tomato ketchup. Once it sizzles, add the tomatoes. Add a dash of salt. Once the tomato releases its juices, add the basil, parsley and let everything cook for 2-3

minutes.

- Add some black olives. Also spoon in some of the preserved liquid in which the black olives are soaking. Let everything sizzle and then add fresh cream. On low heat, let the cream simmer and thin out.

- Add the coriander leaves and mix. Now spoon in the ready pasta with some of the reserve salted water in which you boiled the pasta - this is to thin out the sauce a bit. Grate cheese on the pasta, toss, serve hot. Adjust salt before you do.

Staying Healthy Series: Part 5 - Oil Pulling

2011-09-13T18:10:00.001+05:30

Image By: Suat Eman / freedigitalphotos.net

(Image Credit: http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=151)

No I do not have any excuse for coming back so late. But maybe a significant amount of time in my life went navigating through Mumbai traffic to finally make it to my laptop and then ‘pen’ this.

Ironic.

Pen. On a typepad. Ugh.

Oil pulling or oil swishing. A few of my friends have been educated about what this is when they called me one morning and then called P too, only to realise none of us is responding. A few minutes back, they get our call-backs, explaining that we were doing ‘oil pulling’. Clueless, the poor people then continue to ask us what that is.

Bingo! That’s our cue. We launch into a long tirade about what oil pulling is and finally exhausted, some of them actually take it up while other vow to never call us again.

Sigh. Such sacrifices must be made for the general well being of humanity. No? Let’s get on with the details then. A lot of what I write is from scientific Ayurvedic evidence and the experience of a few friends. P and I have been oil pulling for five months now.

The Process

Oil pulling basically constitutes waking up every morning and running pell-mell towards the kitchen to pour a tablespoon of oil into our mouths before we put anything else inside. No washing mouth. No drinking water. No brushing teeth. Wake up and put oil. That is the logic. Maybe, you should not even yawn. Well no. You can yawn.

And this tablespoon of oil will stay in your mouth for twenty minutes only. No more, no less. That is the average amount of time it takes to work. You will work the oil around in our mouth, swishing it, turning it, letting it move about in every corner and crevice. Twenty minutes.

At the end of twenty minutes, you will throw away the oil from your mouth, gargle with a mouthwash and then brush your teeth and then proceed to drink some magnetised copper-stored water and amla juice. Of course, you need not have adopted the water and amla. In which case, you will just drink a nice big glass of water once you have thrown the oil out and cleaned out your mouth and teeth.

The Details

- You can only use pure sesame oil or sunflower oil, in that order of preference. I use Idhayam Sesame Oil - incidentally, they advertise the benefits of oil pulling in the South! I didn’t know this. They even sell pouches of 1 tbsp oil specifically for travelling oil-pulling practitioners. Me? I just carry mine in a bottle. By now, my mouth knows how much is equal to a tablespoon :)

- Twenty minutes roughly, no less, no more. If you keep it for more, you will have to repeat the process all over again.

- It has to be done on an empty stomach and as the first thing you do every morning as soon as you wake up. If you have eaten, don’t do it.

- It has to be done everyday. Do it for two days and quit, it’s going to be useless. Do it for two years and quit, you will fall sick. Yup, I am not kidding. Your body will get so used to this process that withdrawing it will have some pretty significant health drawbacks. Now you know why we carry oil around when we travel. This has to become as much aprt of your life as brushing teeth is.

- You are free to do what you want while you are pulling oil. For instance, I cook, I dance, I watch TV, I poke people awake, I also wash clothes and sometimes, I also write recipes. I am awesome! Be like me :P

DO NOT

- DO NOT swallow the oil. If you do, you will sprout wings which will fly where they want to, and you will have no control on where you go next. Jokes apart, if you do swallow by mistake, chill, it won’t kill you, it’s oil, it will go out the natural way.

- DO NOT keep it for longer that twenty minutes. I am repeating this which means it’s pretty important.

- DO NOT stop once you start. If you think you will stop, then don’t start. You must be a bit Salman Khan-ish here - ek baar commitment kar di to apne aap ki bhi nahi sunna :)

- DO NOT use any other oil but sesame of sunflower.

Things You Will Notice

- If your body has toxic content (due to lifestyle or sickness or both), you will notice the oil gets thicker while it stays in your mouth.

- As it gets thinner, it indicates toxicity in your body going down.

- As time goes by, you will notice that the oil gets thinner faster. This indicates decreased levels of toxicity that the oil is drawing from your body.

- Initial days of oil pulling leave you with severe jaw aches and stiff facial muscles. These are a passing phase. Depending on how stiff you are, this may last to a week to a month at the most. For me, these symptoms lasted for 3-4 days before I got pretty comfy with oil pulling. If you put too much effort into it, it will be a pain. As you get used to the feeling, you ease down and stop being so overtly conscious of the oil in your mouth.

More Things You Will Notice

Now we shall talk about why go through this entire ordeal. Here’s what I and P noticed:

- Robust digestion system.
- Relaxed facial muscles. Noticed the extreme tightening of facial muscles when you are angry or upset? It will loosen those up.
- Extremely smooth excretion functions.
- Reduced pain during and before monthly menstruation (especially in conjunction with magnetised water stored in copper vessels).
- Effectively removes mucus and phlegm from the system. Which means it will help you recover from general cold and cough faster and in most cases, act as a preventive.
- Perfect oral healthcare - if you have bad breath, that’s going away. If you have plaque/tooth aches or gum problems, those are going away too.

What The Books Say

- Anti-carcinogenic - prolonged use is supposed to cure cancer, leukamia and other aggravated forms of cell growth.
- Helps prevent stones in the kidney and uterus, fibroid, hormonal imbalances, prostate cancers, arthritis, diabetes, eczema, gastroenteritis, heart disease, migraine, bronchitis and meningitis.
- It is also supposed to prolong human life to 150 years. Yay to seeing the Hayley’s comet twice in a lifetime.

What If...?!

- If you do not do it, you will die before 100.
- If you stop doing it after doing it for a while, you are going to fall sick because your body will come to depend on this method for detoxification in a hugely dependent way.
- If you do not do it, no Haley’s comet for you and no other similar significant events, nor will you be a record of passing history. Tch tch.

Questions, concerns? Direct them my way like you always have :) More resources to read more? There are many but let’s give you one that you are going to trust a bit more easily: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_pulling

Staying Healthy Series: Part 4 - Magnetising Water

2011-08-23T09:47:00.000+05:30

digitalart / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Straight to the point on this one too :)

I was wondering why water you scoop up and drink from a clean flowing fresh water stream taste so much more different from the water that flows from my tap. Mumbai water is suppsoed to be the sweetest and best in the whole of this country. Supplied from the Lake Vaitarna. But when you go to the lake and taste it, it sure doesn't taste like how it tastes when it flows into my kitchen.

I am sure a lot must be said about the treatment and sanitation centers and also the pipes in which this water comes to my home. They definitely have a massive effect on what goes into and out of the water.

But what was it losing?
Magnetism apparently. Let's do a quick FAQ on this so we can get the obvious out of the way.

- Can water be magnetised?

Not like a metal can be magnetised, but water has its own reactions to contact with powerful magnets. Magnets can increase the number of crytallisation centers in water. So water that has been magnetised, undergoes changes in density, boiling temperature, electrical conductivity, surface tension and viscosity. Magnetised water is used for its improved properties in auto and oil industries extensively.

- Is natural water magnetised?

Yes, because naturally, water that is in touch with the earth's magnetic poles, remains magnetised. When sanitised, treated and then transported in metal pipes, magnetised water loses its 'magnetism', so to say.

- Why does it help to consume magnetised water?

A good question to ask somebody who consumes fresh river or lake water. But since we know almost nobody who has that privilege, lets stick to what has been found from research and what we have been noticing personally.

Research and collective experience suggest:
- Relief from chronic urinary tract infections, especially when water is magnetised in copper vessels.
- Prevents bladder and kidney infections, including kidney stones.
- Helps prevent osteoarthritis, osteoporosis.
- General pain relief.
- Longevity.
- Anti-carcinogenic (preventive for general cancers).
- Limits corrosion of bone and tooth enamel and prevents plaque formation in teeth cavity.
- Helps recovery from fevers, coughs and colds, fatigue.
- Aids digestion.
- Prevents malfunction of the thyroid gland.

We felt (and so did some friends who have taken to magnetised water stored in copper vessels):
- Pain relief.
- Faster recovery from general seasonal illnesses.
- Preventive-curative in cases of urinary tract infections.
- In case you have noisy, cracking bones, that's going to come down. Drastically. We are too young to talk of osteoarthritis and other bone related disorders but if your bones stop creaking, good no?
- Increases appetite. Just make sure you are not satisfying this increase with junk.

- How to magnetise water?

There are several ways, some of which don't work. One way is to drink water from its source. Which is impractical. The way we adopted is to use copper jugs that have powerful magnets stored at the base of the vessel. So while your water absorbs copper, it also spends some time getting magnetised.

- How long does water take to get magnetised?

That really depends on the power of the magnets you are using. Of course, you cannot use very high power magnets because that can affect blood flow but if you are using the jugs we are using, then a minimum of 12 hours does the trick. Here's a bit of a read beyond what I have to say: http://www.ehow.com/how_2161632_magnetize-water.html

- Can water be over-magnetised?

No.

- Any side-effects?

No.

- Does water lose its magnetism when it gets out of the range of the magnet?

I don't know very clearly about this one. Some agree that the loss is immediate while some say it retains its properties for several days. Because I had no time to wait around for the right bit of info to emerge, what I did was to have it directly from the jug OR drink it as soon as I pour it out into a glass. Do not let it rest in the glass. Four months of this and we seem to be doing fine.

- Where do I buy these copper jugs?

Magnetised copper jugs and available online. I ordered mine from this website:
http://www.acupressures.com/

No, they are not paying me for mentioning them here. I have been using this jug: http://www.acupressures.com/productdetail.asp?productid=146

The body is stainless steel outside, the copper coating is inside, the magnets (both poles) are at the base and not visible to the eye. The price is listed in dollars but if you fill out their form and order one in India, they will send you the converted value in Indian National Rupees. They ship within 4-5 days. They accept bank transfers, which is how I ordered my jugs. One jug is enough for one person. We use two jugs, a liter a day for P and the same for me.

- How do I clean these jugs?

With a light liquid detergent and water. When oxidation patches form on the copper inside, use a sliver of lemon to gently scrub out the patches, rinse and use as normal.

- Can I pour hot water into the jugs?

Ideally, no. Nor can you put anything like milk or anything with a strong acidic nature into the jugs.

Any more questions? You know what to do. Only, if I don't know the answer, I will say so :)

Staying Healthy Series: Part 3 - Copper Jugs For Water

2011-08-10T11:28:00.002+05:30

Photo Credit: smokedsalmon / freedigitalphotos.net

Warning: The post may be a bit long, because we are dealing with two things simultaneously today. Known effects of drinking water stored in copper vessels and effects i have observed in me and P after two months of consistent copper water consumption.

I will not give you any personal recaps on how and why I decided to start using copper jugs to store water and magnetising water before drinking it (which is going to follow this particular post) because that part of the story is not vital AND it will add to the length of this already long article. I am listing out known benefits from trusted sources. Then we will discuss effects I noticed in two months of consuming water stored in copper jugs.

Copper is lost from natural food sources (such as garlic, whole grain, soy, barley, nuts etc.) when stored for long periods in tin cans or if stored together with food high in acidic content. Which is why it becomes important to get your dose of copper from sources such as water stored in copper vessels.

Benefits of consuming water stored in copper jugs:

Many of you may have grandparents who still believe in using copper vessels and glasses to store their water in. And they are right in doing so. For the following reasons:

- Ayurveda says most rishis (sages) used copper vessels to store their water because it arrested the process of aging. A far more wholistic way to arrest aggravated aging than applying copious amounts of chemicals to your skin, I suppose. Storing water in copper vessels eliminates free radicals and acts as an anti-oxidant. Secondly, copper, when dissolved in water in minimal amounts, makes the water ionic (electrolyte) and this renders the water unsuitable for breeding bacteria and viruses. The pH balance, in other words, changes.

- Copper helps your body better utilise iron supplements. Which makes sure that your spinach and beetroot and bitter gourd id being absorbed into the blood stream. There should be some good coming out of eating not-very-pleasant-tasting veggies, no? This means its a good practice for anaemics.

- Copper helps in the production of melanin so skin pigmentation can be a thing of the past. Which means it also arrests greying of hair. It also maintains bone and connective tissue. You heal faster, you mend more easily. Like being buffered. Which means you are naturally buffered against bone depletion, osteoporosis, arthritis and other muscle and bone degenerative disorders.

- Copper controls bad cholestrol and allows the increase of beneficial cholestrol.

- Copper ensures the correct functioning of the thyroid gland and therefore, you can more or less assured you will not have thyroid related problems. If you already have thyroid issues, now is a good time to buy high quality, food grade copper.

How we do it?

- We have two copper jugs (and I will discuss where you can buy them from, assuming you live in India, in the next post so please hold on until then and DO NOT rush out and buy anything you see in a shop. Hold on.) in which we store our water. We normally use a cloth filter to collect the water, then boil it, cool it and store it in copper jugs and consume it as required. All the water you drink need not be stored in copper though. You can distribute your water consumption, half of copper water, half of regular boiled water.

- We drink one big glass of it at least on an empty stomach, just after we have had our amla juice, that is.

What have we noticed?

- Better digestion.
- Stronger immunity.
- Faster recovery from seasonal illnesses if any.
- Brighter skin and shinier hair. People with acne and other skin issues, this is great news!
- Stronger nails.
- Increase in stamina.
- Regular bowel movements.

We have also noticed:

- The water tastes fresh, like we just scooped it up from a fresh water well, or better, a natural spring.
- It quenches thirst far better than water kept in the fridge does. We have completely given up storing water in the fridge, although I must admit I keep some for my pastry dough kneading requirements and for boiling eggs :)

Keep in mind:

- You can use copper by drinking your water in copper tumblers/glasses, or by storing water overnight in copper jugs and consuming it the next morning. Some people also boil water in copper vessels at a controlled temperature but i will not comment on that bit because I have not found verified sources that recommend this practice of boiling water in copper vessels.

- Pregnant women, please note. Copper is anti-microbial, sort of like a natural anti-biotic. Check with your doctor before starting on this process. In all likelihood, you will be told to not consume copper water if you are expecting a baby.

Questions, concerns, doubts? Ask away using the various means you guys use to reach me generally :)

Staying Healthy Series: Part 2 - Amla Juice

2011-08-04T09:30:00.000+05:30

Image By: Renjith Krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

We will get straight to the point here. Amla or gooseberry (and you can read more about it here) has several amazing healing and nutritional values attributed to it across various cultures. I am sure the internet is replete with information on that so I will leave that part of the research to you guys.

We will jump straight to the day when I got a random email talking about different fruits and what medicinal benefits they have. I read about amla and I forgot about it. In a couple more days though, I landed up in a mall like I do pretty often. There was a store there that sells (even now) a wide range of organic and health products, including those handmade shampoos and soaps that are supposed to smell super awesome and do wondrous things to your skin et al.

And my eyes found two bottles. Neem juice and amla juice. 100% natural, no preservatives or colouring added, no nothing, just pure extract of amla and neem in two different bottles. having had ample experience with neem in the past, I was keen on using it instead of amla, with which I haven't played much beyond the occasional amla murabba.

But then, P, who was standing next to me, saw me inch towards the neem bottle and let out a yelp of shock, disgust and deep pain. "Ew neem!" he said. It was then that it occurred to me that he was assuming that I was planning to share my extract with him. Not wanting to deprive him of an additional 'together' activity and not wanting to inflict neem on him, I meekly picked up amla.

He then quoted a Tamizh verse that says 'the words of elders and amla may be bitter initially but sweet in retrospect'. I got my cue. If there is a Tam verse on the thing, he will more or less accept it without too many complaints.

Some of the benefits mentioned on the bottle were:

- Helps hair and skin glow and rejuvenate.

- Arrests hair fall.

- Aids digestion and maintains ph balance in your intestines.

- Fights common cold and other related illnesses.

- Increases vitality, fertility, virility.

- By far the most rich source of Vitamin C.

I was sold. The amla was bought, and as instructed, it was consumed every morning on an empty stomach. Diluted with a little water. And had like a shot. P went so far as to insist it was served to him in a shot glass. I obliged.

The results?

- It is not longer easy for us to catch a cold. if you do the obvious and soak yourself in polluted rain or drive with your head stuck out on the Lonavala highway or some such similar thing, I am sure you will end up with a cold nevertheless. But most seasonal colds and coughs and fevers will skip you out.

- When you do manage to catch a cold nevertheless, you will notice that the recovery period comes down by 50%. My colds last about 7-8 days in the following stages: runny nose, blocked nose, sore throat, cough, wheezing, fever and then it gradually subsides. No medicine works on me as far as a common cold or viral is concerned so I stick to home remedies of gargling and inhaling hot vapour three times a day and drinking hot milk with honey and turmeric. However, post amla juice consumption, I noticed that I do not catch a cold and in the unlikely situation that I do, it takes me 3-4 days to recover as against 7-8. I can safely say that consuming a shot of amla juice everyday morning on an empty stomach is a pretty strong preventive measure against common cold and cough.

- Your voice becomes...umm...a bit more refined. That must matter to a singer. I can vouch for the fact that my bathroom is a lot happier since I started amla. It doesn't cringe when I sing now.

- Our digestive systems have gotten much stronger than they were although in this context, I must mention that its not amla alone. We also follow magnetic water therapy stored on copper jugs and we practice oil pulling. A lot of credit also goes to these two practices. We will follow up with those next.

Questions?

- Email or ping or sms or directly ask us if you have any questions. BTW, the brand of amla juice hardly matters. Use what you find. I am sure amla fruit must also work but I will not comment much on it because my experience is limited to consuming amla extract.

Staying Healthy Series: Part 1

2011-08-01T10:54:00.000+05:30

Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

New series :) I thought it is vital that we share this here, amidst all the recipes and eating healthy series and kitchen disasters etc. because everybody I know is falling sick. Because it's raining. Because there's a lot more pollution around because its wet and cold. And because, well, nobody tells us much about prevention and the world of medicines is alllll about cures.

So how do you stay healthy. Most of the times at least? Keep off those seasonal common colds and coughs and fevers away? Which means, generally, stay in good health. I am not sure we can yet talk about being totally and entirely healthy all the time because well, a lot does depend on your lifestyle. But still, there are bits that you CAN do.

For instance:

- I do not smoke and consume any other intoxicants. Does cheese count?

- I do not drink. At all.

- I follow a vegetarian diet.

- I exercise and do yoga and cycle.

Now if there's stuff in that list that you do not do, or at least have an equivalent to, then the tips we are about to discuss may not be as effective as they are for me and my family. Or perhaps, if you do more than that, well then, join the 'stay fit and healthy' club :)

Now for the tips in specific. In this series, we shall do three more articles:

- Using amla / gooseberry juice to counter common cold, coughs, sore throats etc.

- Drinking water that has been magnetised and stored in copper jugs, how to go about the whole process AND the effects and what Ayurveda has to say about the effects.

- Oil pulling as a detoxifying practice for the body in general.

A lot of what we will discuss is from personal experience and from the experience of a few friends who have also adopted these practices.

So gear up and expect three more posts that will go into finer details. Stay healthy!

Healthy Breakfast: Kanda Poha aka Onion Poha

2011-07-21T10:43:00.003+05:30

A good friend of mine, Yash Godbole, one fine weekend morning, made some Poha. You know, Kanda Poha? Onion Poha, fine, if you must.

It reminded me that I hadn't made Poha in almost a month. And there was a pack of unopened organic poha lying on my counter. So a day after seeing Yash's pic on FB, I decided it was time to make some Poha.

Poha is very special to a Maharashtrian. To the point that they may even say such things as 'they are currently in the middle of the Kanda Poha phase' which not-so-obviously means that they are on a checking-out-girls-officially-with-the-family stage so they can hopefully end up getting married soon. Why? Because when you go to see a girl or even a boy in Maharashtra in the hope of ending up hitched, you are invariably served a plate full of yummy Kanda Poha by the host family. So in case you like that Maharashtrian boy and he is on the Kanda Poha phase, act fast. You are two breaths away from losing the boy.

But for this great burden of responsibility that Kanda Poha carries, its a fairly simple, nutritious and yummy breakfast dish. Or snack time nibble too.

Name: Kanda Poha AKA Onion Poha

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Recipe Source: Passed down generations of poha makers

Serves: 2

You need:

2 fistfuls of poha and some more if you are going to be a piglet and eat more

1 potato chopped into minuscule bits

1 onion finely chopped

1-2 green chillies chopped fine

5-6 cloves of garlic thin sliced

5-6 curry leaves chiffonade

10-15 peanuts (optional)

1 tsp turmeric powder

Spices for tadka:

1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1/2 tsp methi / fenugreek seeds

1 tsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp asafoetida / hing

Oil

Salt

Ghee

Lots of coriander leaves

Lemon juice (optional)

- Chop up your veggies. When I say the potato has to be minuscule, this is what I mean. We will be frying them to cooked perfection soon.

- These are your spices for the tempering.

- Give your poha a wash in a strainer. Drain of all the water after a first wash. Your wash should only soak through the poha and not turn it soggy. Keep aside so it sheds all excess water.

- Heat oil and once its hot, add the turmeric. This will ensure that whatever you put in next, doesn't jump out at you.

- Toss in the potatoes and some salt. Allow it to fry up nice and crisp. If you are adding peanuts, this is when you add them. Give them 2 more minutes to fry up nicely.

- Now add the spices for tempering. Mix.

- Add onions, garlic, curry leaves, green chillies. Mix.

- Once everything is nicely cooked, add some more salt. Mix. This is what you have.

- Now add in the poha. Mix gently.

- Here's what you have.

- Blot some ghee onto the poha at this point. Mix. Check salt. Cover and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

- Open. At this point, you can garnish it with lots of coriander. Mix it in. If you are adding lemon juice, use one whole small lemon and mix well. Serve immediately.

Veg Hakka Noodles

2011-07-18T09:43:00.001+05:30

I made veg Hakka Noodles. And for something that comes under the purview of instant food, a lot of people seem to screw it up. Soggy noodles. noodles stuck to the bottom of the pan, a scalding heap of carbon. mashed noodles that are mostly a mish-mash of all purpose flour that has been, err...soaked in water beyond recommended time.

Unfortunately, we are back to the golden pasta rule in case of noodles too. Only, with noodles you have to be more careful, because noodles seem to get to the al dente phase a tad too fast. Five minutes tops, and perhaps 3 in summers.

So let's make noodles. And let's add another meal option to our limited vegetarian lives. And there is please, no need to jump down my throat and say 'how can you say that, vegetarian is good and humane and blah blah'. Because I am talking about a menu where your options are 'veg biryani and mushroom biryani and paneer biryani and soya biryani' and a non vegetarian's options that reads 'veg biryani and mushroom biryani and paneer biryani and soya biryani and egg biryani and chicken biryani and mutton biryani' and so on and so forth.

Name: Veg Hakka Noodles

Prep Time: 10 minutes for the veggies etc. and 5 minutes for boiling noodles to an al dente state.

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Recipe Source: Me

Serves: 2

You need:

1 packet veg hakka noodles

2-3 packs Maggi Veg Magic Cubes

2 tsp red chilli flakes

1 big capsicum, thinly sliced

1 big onion, thinly sliced

1 carrot, diced into bits

1 huge tomato, blanched, chopped

1/2 fistful of frozen green peas

1/2 fistful of frozen sweet corn

2 tbsp green chilli sauce

2 tbsp tomato ketchup

1-2 tbsp dark soya sauce

Olive Oil

Salt

- First, we shall make the sauce. With the veggies and all. Heat some olive oil in a wok and when it hot enough, throw in the onion, carrots, capsicum. Toss about for a minute on high heat.

- Now toss in the peas and corn. Most people also like to add shredded cabbage and spring onion greens at this point. Be my guest. My fridge did not harvest those veggies on the day I was making this sadly. Toss on high heat again for 2 minutes.

- Lower heat. Now crush up 2-3 packs of Maggi Magic Cubes, Veg. Into a powder like this. And add the red chilli flakes. While I am at it, let me tell you how we are not going to add any salt to this sauce. Why? The cubes of Maggi have salt. Check One. And your noodles will be boiled in salted water. And all the sauces have salt too. BTW, all those little piglets that have forgotten what Maggi Magic Cubes are, go HERE.

- Now add this powder to the wok. Mix.

- Nobody seems to add tomatoes to their noodles. But I am dangerous so I add them. Like this. Toss.

- Now add tomato ketchup. Mix.

- Now add Green chilli sauce. Mix.

- Now add the soya sauce. Mix. Put the heat back on high, toss about till it all sizzles and come together. Turn off heat.

- Here are the noodles I use. Ching's Secret did not pay me to advertise but I am telling you in good faith, any local brand of Noodles that is on a 'ek pe ek free' model, please avoid it like the plague. Because they invariably turn into sticky gooey messy lumps and this comes from a frequent noodle-boiler/cooker/eater so this has nothing to do with 'not knowing the al dente rule'.

- Boil some water and add salt to it. Now throw in a spoon of olive oil. When the water is boiling (read jumping and writhing in great leaps of agony), add the noodles straight in. Stir occasionally with a pair of tongs. In five minutes, it should be ready.

- Now act really fast. Drain the water, toss the noodles into a vessel and drizzle a healthy amount of olive oil in. Now gently toss it about. Let this stand for 1/2 minute. Then toss it into your sauce.

- Now with your spaghetti tongs, carefully toss the noodles about in the sauce. No need to overdo. You can also just add a lid to the wok and physically shake up the whole thing, that works too. However, knowing you, if your dish lands on the ceiling, you should not blame me, so lets be civilised and use the tongs and do it the painful, slow way. Serve. Right off. Sadly for things like noodles, delay in serving is the best way to ruin the experience. And because you are asking, so I shall tell you why i don't have more serving photos of the prepared noodles. It's because P ate them up before I could say 'photos'.

Red Coconut Garlic Chutney

2011-07-12T11:13:00.000+05:30

This whole new look for Blogger and Gmail and everything else is making me oddly clear in my head. Do you know how bad that is for my sense of humour? I won't say one more funny thing if I continue staring at this screen.

But then again, maybe we can give humour and drama a rest for a change? You should let me do that today. Because I am oddly clear in the head AND I am restless because it is not July 15 already, and that means I am home in front of my laptop, not at the movies trying my darndest not to blink because if I blink, I will miss precious nanoseconds of Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part 2.

There.

Now lets make some Chutney and wait frantically for July 15.

Name: Red Coconut Garlic Chutney

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Recipe Source: Me

Serves: 4

You need:

1 whole coconut, grated

4-5 big cloves of garlic

3-4 tbsp pottu kadalai / roasted gram dal

4-5 red chillies

Juiice of 1 small lemon

A dash of water

Rock salt

A pinch red chilli powder

- Put all ingredients except the pinch of red chilli powder into a blender and blend until you have a smooth paste.

- Pour into a gravy dish.

- Sprinkle that pinch of red chilli powder and serve. With dosas. Idli. Whatever else.

Subzi: Bhindi Masala

2011-07-11T11:01:00.000+05:30

As a kid, I hated okra. Slimy. Messy. And generally boring. But going away from home made me realise how perfectly delicious almost every vegetable is. That sort of realisation hits home only when you are cooking your own food, with less than basic cooking skills.

Then you start loving everything that was cooked at home. Psst...that was sort of how I fell in love with poha and upma and other otherwise hated foods.

This one is a good side dish. It's q quick fix, as is to be expected on this blog on most days, and its tasty, which is the whole point to even sweating it out making it, and its obviously healthy coz...errrm...ummm...its green (?). Eat your greens. And that settles the nutrition debate.

Name: Bhindi Masala

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Recipe Source: Mom

Serves: 2

You need:

250 gms of okra / bhindi,washed, patted dry, chopped into 1 inch long pieces

1 big onion, chopped

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 tsp cumin / jeera seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek / methi seeds

1 tsp fennel / saunf seeds

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp dry mango / amchur powder

Salt

Oil

- Heat oil in a kadhai. Usual reminder: bhindi uses more oil so if you use a certain quantity, add some more. If you do not, the okra will stick, burn, shrivel up and you might as well chew charcoal as your side dish.

- Now add the fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and let them splutter. Add the ginger-garlic paste, onion, red chilli powder and mix well. Let it fry for a bit till the oil separates.

- Now add the bhindi. Toss well. Add salt. Add coriander powder. Mix well. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Low heat.

- Now add the dry mango powder. Mix again. Toss and cover and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

- Serve hot. With all the time you saved from choosing to make a quick recipe, use it to...ermm...learn a musical instrument. or to say 'buzz off' in Mongolian. Peace out.

Subzi: Goan Potatoes

2011-07-08T10:41:00.000+05:30

I normally experiment on days when I have time to experiment. That way, in the remote chance of a failure (ahem ahem), I have time to whip up something familiar and comforting and hearty.

I have also felt that wanting to experiment ONLY when I have time is not always a smart thing. It may be a handicap too. When you have too much time, you don't do anything adventurous. So one fine morning, I had very limited time to cook up the man's lunch when suddenly, an overwhelming sense of being bored of the familiar came over me and I dropped all known roads and marched forth into the unknown.

Now that I have gotten my dash of drama out of the way, I can tell you what an amazing recipe this turned out to be. This is also a Master Chef recipe. It is by Tarla Dalal but I made a few variations of my own to quicken the process.

PLEASE make it. I loved eating this most with Parathas but feel free and eat it the way you want to.

Name: Goan Potatoes

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 20-25 minutes

Recipe Source:Tarla Dalal with my variations

Serves: 2

You need:

3 large potatoes, skinned and cubed

1 big tomato, blanched and deseeded, chopped

For the paste:

2 tsp poppy seed paste

2 sticks cinnamon

2 cloves

2 peppercorns

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp red chilli powder

1 big onion

3/4 cup fresh grated coconut OR 1/2 cup dessicated coconut

5 cloves of garlic

Coriander leaves

Salt

Oil

For the paste:

- Heat some oil in a kadhai, add the poppy seeds, cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, coriander seeds, red chilli powder, coconut and fry. Keep aside.

- On a roaster, place the onion (after removing the papery skin) and turn on the heat. When the outer layer of skin has turned black, take it off. Let it cool for 2 minutes and then peel off this black layer. Chop into big pieces, keep aside.

- Now take the fried whole spices, the onion in a blender along with the garlic, a dash of water if you need it and then blend it all into a smooth paste.

For the Goan potatoes:

- Heat some oil in a kadhai, add the potatoes and fry about. Add a cup of water and some salt and let the potatoes boil until just done. By then, the water will have reduced to a bare mininum.

- Add the paste, mix well. Add tomatoes. Adjust salt. Add a dash of water if you need it but it can be skipped. Cover and let it cook for a few minutes.

- Serve hot garnished with coriander leaves.

Kitchen Disasters: Slicing

2011-07-06T10:56:00.000+05:30

I am sorry I am giving you a dose of gore on a Wednesday. But from my last time's experience, I knew I should not put any photos. Besides, this is about a series of slicing accidents so you cannot expect me to take pics each time, do you? I would qualify for therapy if I did that.

I have skewered my hands / fingers in multiple ways in my kitchen. It's my battle ground. The first aid supplies therefore stays very close at hand. Here's recounting some of the more odd things I have done:

- I was trying to spear a capsicum. Unfortunately, I skewered it all the way through and also managed to skewer my palm. Which had an oozing hole for the next three weeks before deciding to heal.

- I gave myself a wood cut. Do not ask me how. I think my cabinet edges are too sharp and I have given myself this sort of cut five times by now and in the same place each time. On my index finger.

- I have sliced my fingers on aluminium foil while packing up food.

- I have sliced my palm on the edge of a blunt stainless steel tiffin box.

- I have cut open my fingers while trying to pry open the lid of a blender when it got stuck.

- I have sliced my fingers when I was chopping some veggie and spotted an insect and forgot what I was doing, yelled with every bit of energy my lungs could muster and sliced my finger...errm...accidentally.

Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to know that food and recipes is more than creativity and time and effort.

Tum mujhe khoon do, main tumhe recipe doongi :P Hee hee. Happy cooking warriors!

How To Make The Bengali Panch Phoron

2011-07-01T09:58:00.000+05:30

Panch Phoron (Five - Temperings) or the Bengali Five-SPice is a quintessential Bong thing that every Bong swears by. It imparts a distinct flavour to our food and when eatne in combination with a dish cooked in mustard oil - heaven! Nevertheless, eating mustard oil is typical to Punjabis and Bengalis and most often, an acquired taste. Not everybody can stand the intense flavour that mustard imparts, but me? I can eat it in any form - the oil of mustard, the crushed and peppered yellow mustard, in a paste form (the basis of so many spicy curries) and as a tadka / tempering too.

But I am diverting - we are talking about the five-spice or Panch Phoron here - we will discuss the authentic way to make it followed by alternatives because there may be an ingredient or two that you will NOT stumble upon too easily - in which case you will need replacements.

For authentic Panch Phoron, you need: (this should see you through 3-4 dishes!)

1 tbsp poppy seeds / khus-khus
2 tsp nigella seeds / kalonji
2 tsp fennel seeds / saunf
2 tsp wild celery seeds / ajmod dana / radhuni
1 tsp fenugreek seeds / methi dana

Mix, store in airtight container.

Now, Radhuni is difficult to find in places outside of West Bengal and Orissa. It belongs to the family of Ajwain or Carom seeds. The taste is not as intense as the Ajwain though - which means that most often, it will not be used as a replacement.

Sad story.

So how do you make a Panch Phoron without Radhuni? Here are two variations that are commoner. I DO NOT use them because nothing really gives you the taste that authentic Panch Phoron does so I settle for asking every person coming out of West Bengal that I can reach out to, to bring me a packet of Radhuni.

Anyway, the alternatives:

Alternative 1:

Use an equal combination of:

Jeera seeds / cumin seeds
Rai dana / sarson / mustard seeds
Saunf / fennel seeds
Kalonji / kala Jeera / nigella seeds
Methi dana / fenugreek seeds

Alternative 2: (this has more than five spices but induces a similar taste)

1 tsp fennel / saunf seeds

1/2 tsp mustard / sarson/ rai seeds

1/2 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1 tsp kalonji / nigella seeds

1/4 tsp methi seeds / fenugreek

1/2 tsp asafoetida / hing

1 tsp khus-khus seeds

That is it - we will be using this spice combinations in some subzis and all and although it seems like an effort for a Non-Bong to actually make this and keep it at home, once you do, you will realise what an amazing burst of taste and flavour it brings to your cooking - absolutely indispensable.

Make it - store it and use it :)

Soup For The Soul: Potato Pasta Pesto Soup

2011-06-29T09:42:00.000+05:30

You read right. I am not kidding you. This is the easiest and most exotic soup you can be attributed to making. Well no, not as exotic as a cold soup can get but well, when did I ever say this is a cold soup? This is a hot soup and it must be eaten with breadsticks or herbed garlic bread on the side. And then you most go forth into the world and spread its wisdom to all non-believers.

I am a believer. Pasta is heavenly. Add pesto and it assumes godlike proportions. And potato? Well. What can I say. My DNA is made up of potato.

Please make this. May the joint power of potato and pasta and pesto grant you immortality.

Name: Potato Pasta Pesto Soup

Prep Time: 10

Cooking Time: 15

Recipe Source: I have no idea, this is a classic pasta soup and it may be Italian but who knows? I made it off my head, trying to get close to the taste of the soup I had once had in some highly secret location. It worked!

Serves: 2

You need:

Soup Ingredients:

1 potato, skinned, cubed into small cubes

1 big onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped (you won't see any in mine because I did not have it but its good to add)

1/2 cup frozen sweet corn

6-7 French beans, chopped

1/2 cup pasta (I used shell mac, but you can play and use bow-tie or penne or orecchiette - although a word of caution: use pasta that can hold the soup - not straight and untextured pasta like linguine or spaghetti or angel hair - use textures)

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Olive Oil

Salt

For the pesto:

3/4 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

2-3 walnuts

2-3 big cloves of garlic

2-3 black pepper corns

A dash of salt

2 tsp olive oil

For the garnish:

A few sprigs of fresh curly or flat parsley. It's all the same, seriously.

2 tbsp grated parmesan or natural cheddar cheese

- First off, heat your saucepan, drizzle some olive oil in, throw in the potatoes, beans, carrots, sweet corn, onion and toss about nicely. After a minute of this, when the onions have turned translucent, add the salt and pepper. Mix well.

- Now add the milk. Stir in everything well, adjust salt. Now cover and cook for five minutes. My saucepan descended from the heavens and has a cavity going all around so i can pour water into the cavity and cover and cook - this ensures faster cooking and nothing will ever stick up inside. Of course, with a soup, nothing CAN stick but well...I feel good knowing that I have a funky saucepan :)

- While your soup base is boiling merrily away, grind the pesto into a smooth paste - add some water if you must but strictly a dash, no more. Keep aside.

- Now in the soup, add the pasta. Cover. Let it boil another 6-7 minutes.

- Uncover, add some more water if you must but stick to just a little. The pasta should be close to al dente by now. Now act fast, throw in the pesto, stir it in gently keeping the heat on low. Cover. Allow the soup to simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes.

- Turn off heat. Allow the soup standing time of 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, grate the cheese. Toss in the cheese and fresh parsley (chopped if you must) and then serve immediately. You can adjust salt again at this point but remember, the cheese has salt and you have already added some salt before. Go by your saltiness preferences. Peace out!

Subzi: Rajasthani Papad Ki Subzi

2011-06-27T09:59:00.000+05:30

I am on a Rajasthan roll. Ever since I got back from the place, I have been haunted by sands. Although there was hardly any in the places I went to in the state. Well. Talk of stereotypes.

Have you ever faced a situation where you wake up, rub your eyes, stare blankly into space and the crushing realisation hits you that there are no vegetables in your fridge? And you decide to nip out for a minute to the market to get some vegetables to save dinner and realise...its raining cats and dogs?

I have had days like those. It's one of those sad truths of life and I know you need all the moral support so here I am with a life saving exotic recipe. Make it, love it, share it. You will be thanking your stars and planets and other unrecognised bits of astral objects that you have this recipe.

Name: Rajasthani Papad Ki Subzi

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 5-10 minutes

Recipe Source: The Lost Scrolls Of Life-Altering Culinary Secrets

Serves: 2

You need:

4 big sized masala papads, fried and unevenly crushed (not into powder, into pieces)

3/4 - 1 cup yogurt, whisked

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 inch piece of ginger, skinned, chopped very fine

1 green chilli chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Ghee

Coriander leaves

- Heat the ghee in a kadhai. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric powder. Mix well and let the seeds crackle.

- Add ginger garlic paste, ginger chopped, green chillies. Mix this well too.

- Now add the yogurt and allow it to boil. The ghee will separate.

- Now add the papads and toss them in well. You will mostly not require any salt because the papad already has enough salt content.

- Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice and dal.

Subzi: Rajasthan Ke Aloo

2011-06-24T10:16:00.000+05:30

So I thought we would do something really yummy, fairly simple and a bit exotic. Starting sentences with 'so' is something I carried over from my Googler days and it hasn't gone off yet. When I first heard it being said that way, I was screaming in my head 'NO!!!' because you do not start a sentence with that word, coz its not right (unless you are saying So True) AND it makes you sound like you have a massive attitude.

I am ranting again. Why can't it rain? I hate how this subzi is looking in the red tupperware dabba but I am sorry about that. That was P's tiffin and I was in a hurry, each of my fingers was doing a different thing (one was making an omelette, one was washing utensils, one was drinking amla juice, one was shooing a pigeon on the window sill...you get the picture) and I found this tiffin and colour combinations was the last thing on my mind.

Bear with me. I ranted again! What sort of readers are you? Why can you not have some control on how I hand these recipes out!?!

Anyway, crappy colour combinations apart, this is a bloody good thing to make. Possibly, the best part about this pretty typical Aloo dish from the sandy dunes of Rajasthan is that its got no onion and no garlic.

Sounds nice? Let's get on to it then.

Name: Rajasthan Ke Aloo

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Recipe Source: A spin on a traditional recipe

Serves: 2

You need:

3 potatoes, boiled and cubed

1 cup curds, whisked smooth

1 tbsp besan

Spices: (mix these all together and keep aside)

1 tsp cumin / jeera seeds

1 tsp fennel / saunf seeds

1 tsp nigella / kalonji seeds

1/2 tsp mustard / rai seeds

1 bay leaf

2 cloves

2 sticks of cinnamon

1/2 tsp asafoetida

1/2 tsp cumin / jeera powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp red chilli powder

Lots of coriander leaves, chopped

Salt

Ghee (If you use oil, your life will run into a series of unfortunate events)

- Whisk the besan into the curd and make sure no lumps remain.

- Heat ghee in the kadhai. Add the spices and let them splutter.

- Now add the besan and curds and mix it all in well. Add salt. Now let the besan and curd cook for 4-5 minutes on medium heat - we want the rawness of the besan to get out.

- Now add the boiled and cubed potatoes. Mix them all well. Now cover and cook for another 4-5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with rotis. And praise the heavens this recipe came your way.

Masala Egg Pulao

2011-06-22T09:39:00.000+05:30

I made Egg Pulao. Just off my head. Created it, threw in what spices my fingers could reach and I decided I would not complicate it.

And this happened. It is quick. It is obviously tasty. It doesn't take much time to fix. And you keep looking for second, third, fourth helpings, so I recommend you take small portions so you can justify the number of times you reach out for it.

That's the dumbest advice I have ever dished out.

Ignore it. But make this stuff. Seriously. Truly. Its going to make you so happy, anything you wish for will come true.

Name: Masala Egg Pulao

Prep Time: 20 minutes (combined time for making paste, boiling and frying eggs)

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Recipe Source: Yours Truly

Serves: 2

You need:
2 eggs, boiled, coated with some turmeric and salt, then shallow fried in oil
2 tomatoes, blanched, deseeded, pureed
1 cup of rice (Basmati if you have it), boiled but a little under-coooked
A fistful of green peas
2 bay leaves

Grind into a smooth paste:
1 onion
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 green chilli
2 tsp khus-khus seeds / poppy seeds
1 tsp turmeric
2 cloves
2 green cardamoms
1" cinnamon stick
1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
2 tbsp whipped sour curd

Coriander leaves, chopped

Ghee

Salt

- Take some ghee in a kadhai - heat it. Add the ground paste and bay leaves into it. Fry till the ghee separates.

- Add the peas, tomato puree and salt. Cook till everything is well blended and the ghee spearates from the whole masala. Remember to add a little extra salt because you will be adding the rice too later.

- Turn off the heat. Add the drained rice, mix in the masala gently till its all well-combined. Add the fried, boiled eggs. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot. With Raita, of course.

Subzi / Dal: Kadala Curry or Bengal Gram Curry

2011-06-20T11:01:00.000+05:30

This is NOT your traditional Kadala Curry. This is what you have when you look at a whole coconut, feel exhausted and have no intentions of spending the next fifteen minutes breaking and grating the darned thing. That's how you invent a different sort of Kadala Curry. We love Bengal Gram and this is one amazing way to eat it.

Make it. Eat it with steaming hot rice. Or with Parathas, or Kerala Parottas. Or just like that, with a dash of Nylon Sev. Its going to make your hat fly up on your head. And make yellow canaries circle around you twittering Mozart. Full style.

Name: Kadala Curry or Bengal Gram Curry

Prep Time: One whole night of soaking the Bengal Gram, pressure cooking it for 5-6 whistles which takes about 20 minutes, while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Recipe Source: Me

Serves: 2

You need:

1 small cup of Bengal gram, soaked overnight, pressure cooked for 5-6 whistles with salt, preserve the water

2 big tomatoes, skinned, deseeded, chopped

1 onion, chopped fine

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1-2 green chilli, chopped

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 bay leaf

Spices: grind all these into a coarse powder

1 tbsp dhania / coriander seeds

1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1 star anise

1 blade javitri / mace

2 cloves

2 green cardamom

1 inch cinnamon stick

Coriander leaves

Salt

Oil

- Heat the oil in a kadhai - when its hot, add all the ground masalas, turmeric powder and fry about nicely.

- Now add the ginger garlic paste, bay leaf. Fry about these too for a minute.

- Now add the green chilli, onion and let everything fry nicely for 3-4 minutes.

- Now toss in the tomatoes and salt. Mix. Add a teensy dash of water. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

- Add the Bengal gram. Mix everything nicely. Cover and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

- Now add the preserved water in which the Bengal gram was cooked in the cooker. Mix well. Add some more water if you need it gravy-like, but if you are eating it with rotis, you do not need any more water. Adjust the salt. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.

- Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot.

Subzi: Chatpate Aloo Mutter

2011-06-16T09:17:00.000+05:30

Another quick fix recipe - eaten with both rice and rotis. This takes about five minutes to fix if you are using boiled potatoes and about 10-12 minutes if you are using uncooked potatoes. Either way, it is tasty, takes very less effort and its another recipe that I whip up when I want something quick to go with dal, rasam, sambar etc. What's more, it has no garlic, no onion and is still very yummy!

I have such a bad feeling I am turning all of you into lazy lumps of clay - but it was summer and that was justified - I mean, who wants to sweat it out in the kitchen! But now its raining...and we need to pick our reasons for quick cooking with more care - such as power cuts for a lot of you (not me :P, heehee), the fact that rains make you sleepy, that clothes do not dry as fast as they should so obviously you need more time to fix that glitch...that you are probably cooking a batch of pakoras for folks...that the thunder is too loud and its scaring you silly...there. Now I feel very justified.

Now that we have that safely out of the way, let's just make this goodness okay?

Name: Chatpate Aloo Mutter

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 10-12 minutes

Recipe Source: Me

Serves: 2

You need:

2 large potatoes, skinned, cubed

1 big tomato, blanched, deseeded, chopped

1/2 cup of frozen green peas

1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tbsp dhania / coriander powder

1 heaping tsp chhole masala powder (I use Everest - it already has red chilli so I am not using it in this recipe - in case the one you use hasn't got it, add red chilli powder. 1 tsp should be enough)

Salt

Oil

- Heat oil in the kadhai. Add the cumin seeds, turmeric powder, (red chilli if your chhole masala powder has no red chilli powder in it already) and throw in the potatoes. Toss about until the masalas coat the potatoes.

- Now throw in the coriander powder. mix well again. Add the tomatoes, peas and salt. Mix well again. Add a dash of water. Cover and cook for 5-6 minutes or until the potatoes get cooked.

- Serve hot! peace out :)

Subzi: Spicy Cabbage OR Bandakofir Ghonto

2011-06-08T10:15:00.002+05:30

In my house, we actually call this a Cabbage Dalna. Dalna is a word for this particular combination of spices. But originally, the native Bongs (unlike me, I am what they call 'an immigrant Bong' - Probashi - those disloyal Bongs who have left Kolkata / WB and settled elsewhere, the friggin' infidels! I am kidding! Where is your sense of humour?!) call this a Ghonto.

Considering I am more Mumbaiyya than Bong, that word 'Ghonto' reminds me of ghanta, or bell, used as slang for 'my foot'. Like 'Ghanta we will win the world cup' means 'We will win the world cup?!? My foot!' or in more acceptable English, 'There is no chance that we will win the world cup' - how boring.

I don't really mean it - I know we got it, we did, this time, finally. No ghantas there.

Until then we shall call this dish a Spicy Cabbage dish and eat it with rotis and dal and rice. And we shall praise the Lord for creating a miracle in a wrapped up vegetable.

OH and btw, this is a no-onion-no-garlic recipe!

Name: Spicy Cabbage / Bandakofir Ghonto / Cabbage Dalna

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 2o minutes

Recipe Source: No clue, it's traditional Bong - could be Raja Ram Mohun Roy OR Wyomesh Chandra Banerjee OR Satyajit Ray even (I am kidding!! Laugh ok!)

Serves: 3

You need:

1 small cabbage, shredded and washed

1 big potato, skinned, cubed

2 tomatoes, deseeded, blanched, chopped

1 fistful of green peas

1 tsp jeera / cumin seeds

1 inch ginger, skinned, chopped very fine or crushed

1 bay leaf

1 pinch asafoetida

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp jeera / cumin powder

1 tbsp coriander powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

- Heat oil in a kadhai. Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, jeera seeds, hing, bay leaf, asafoetida, ginger. Mix well.

- Add potatoes, fry about nicely for 2-3 minutes. Now add the shredded cabbage - sprinkle salt to wilt the cabbage. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. No water please, the cabbage has enough of its own.

- Now add the tomatoes, jeera powder, coriander powder. Mix well again - NOW add a small dash of water. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes.

- Check back to see if potatoes and cabbage are done - allow another 5 minutes of covered cooking if required. Adjust salt.

- Take it off the heat - now sprinkle garam masala, mix it in gently, cover - trap the steam. Helps release flavours :)

- Serve hot with ghee rotis, parathas or rice and dal on the side.

PS: Originally, this dish also has a dash of either jaggery or sugar - lends a very mild sweetness to the dish but most non-Bongs do not quite understand that taste and look a bit taken aback - so, it's okay :) Skip out the sweet if you must. If you still want to try it, you should add it after the tomatoes are a bit cooked and stir it in gently. The measurement is 1 tsp of sugar OR 1 marble sized ball of jaggery.

PPS: No posts until next Wednesday by the way. Miss me :)