Gujarati Kadhi

This is such a cooling dish for the summer. And for me its also a favourite comfort food especially when paired with khichdi. I used to have bowlfuls of this at my friends' house(I went to school in Sion, Mumbai and had a lot of Gujarati Jain classmates). I liked this dish the best even on our visits to Thakkar's - a small Gujarati thali joint in Girgaum, my dad (the original foodie)used to take us to. The spices and slight sweetness go well together and it's quite addictive.

I learnt from my friend H that the tempering needs to be added to the kadhi after the gram flour yoghurt mixture has been cooked and that's what I do- seems to really keep the flavours of the spices at the surface. The ginger and green chillier though, I add while cooking the kadhi itself so that the flavor is not too raw.

 

Gujarati Kadhi

Yoghurt - 2 cups whipped in 4 cups water
Gram flour (besan) - 2.5 tbsp
Green chillier-2
Grated ginger- about 1" piece

Coriander leaves- chopped 2 tbsp

Tempering

Ghee - 2 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Cinnamon stick-1
Cloves-4
Cumin seeds-1 tsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds-1tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch

1. Whip the thinned yoghurt with the gram flour till no lumps are left behind and add the green chillies and ginger. Season with salt.
2. Bring to a simmer and then a slow boil on a low flame. Continue simmering for about 20-30 minutes till the raw smell goes and its well cooked but remains runny. Add more water and salt if needed.
3. Heat the ghee (or oil) for tempering in a small pan and add the mustard seeds and wait till they pop. Add the rest of the ingredients and saute till they change colour, add to the simmering kadhi and turn off the flame.
4. Garnish with coriander.

Arch reminds me that I forgot to mention the fact that the original recipe always has a tsp of jaggery or sugar to add a lovely hint of sweetness. I keep it really low so that it doesnt become too sweet.

Rava Idli

I don't lose my cool that often (so she says!) but when I do get upset my mind can churn over it for hours. The best way to calm me down is to plonk me in a bookshop. Of course, there will be a dent in my wallet when I come out, but atleast (her South Indian sensibilities say), it won't be because of adding more clothes to my wardrobe ;).

So, some weeks back when I was fuming because of the spouse's tendency to procrastinate, I walked into a bookshop and started browsing through the shelves. And as usual ended up at the cookery section. Found two youngsters who had parked themselves right in front of the measly three shelves of cookery books and were leafing (and I use this term very loosely) through some coffee table books - one on Interior Design and one on French Cuisine. Reminded me of the episode in Friends where Ross discovers that the section in the library which has the book he has authored, is frequented by young lovers wanting to make out, because no one ever goes there. My mood had only improved very slightly by then and I was annoyed that I had to reach over them to look at the books; they weren't fazed though, kept talking about this and that, the while turning the pages quite aimlessly.
After a few more attempts at browsing, I took a deep breath and decided not to let my own surly mood interrupt these two - didn't we all catch so many stolen moments in the most incongruous of places? I smiled as I thought of my own rendevous with hubby and how we used to wait for them - so what if today that might mean I would have to wait till he actually got around to making it on time ;).
Just as I straightened up to leave however, one title on the bottom shelf caught my eye. Chandra Padmanabhan's Dakshin - a book I had seen praised on many blogs. I picked it up immediately and after going through it for a few pages, decided to buy it. I left the store feeling much happier. She seems to have covered most of my favourite dishes and the recipes are just the home made versions we are used to. Simple instructions, basic ingredients and no complex, tweaked recipes. I agree though that its more Tamilian recipes as compared to South Indian recipes - there's not much representation from the other states here. But what she does do is describe classic Tamil recipes very well.

Last Saturday, while wondering what to do for breakfast, I got the book out and leafed through her tiffin recipes. And found the recipe for rava idli - now I have only ever had the MTR mix version and since it is so good, I never bothered trying to make it from scratch. For the past couple of months however, it hasn't been available in the markets, so I decided to try the recipe.

The end product exceeded all my expectations - I guess I didn't think it would turn out as good as a product which had been perfected after extensive lab tests. But I can't believe I could forget about the magic of fresh ingredients! The idlis were soft and oh-so- flavourful! Though the recipe didn't call for it, I let the semolina soak with the yoghurt and other ingredients for about an hour, so maybe that helped too. Rava idlis are also my 5 year old's favourite tiffin item and I often send it in her snack box to schoo, so its great the recipe worked.

Had the idlis with a hotel style "sideish" - a lovely tangy, spicy, curry made with tomatoes coconut - recipe to follow. Nirvana on a weekend.

Rava Idli (Chandra Padmanabhan - Dakshin)

Made 12-15 idlis

2 tbsp ghee
1 cup semolina (rava/sooji)

1/2 cup sour yoghurt (beaten a bit)
2 green chillies chopped
1 cup coriander leaves chopped
salt to taste

2 tbsp chopped cashew nuts

Tempering:
3 tsp ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
curry leaves

1. Heat 2 tbsp ghee and roast the semolina till golden. Cool
2. Mix the semolina with green chillies, yoghurt,salt and coriander leaves. Add about 1/2 cup water to make a thick batter of pouring consistency.
3. Heat 1 tsp ghee, fry the cashews and keep aside.
4. Heat the remaining 2 tsp ghee and add tempering ingredients. After the mustard seeds splutter, add the tempering and the cashew nuts to the batter.
5. Pour into an idli mould and steam in a pressure cooker (without the weight on) or in a large vessel, for 15 minutes.
6. Remove the mould from the cooker, cool and remove idlis. Serve hot with tomato curry (thakali kozhambu) or sambar or chutney.

Middle Eastern Cucumber Yoghurt Dip

I simply love planning menus when we have people over - to me, half the fun of cooking is in the planning. This time I planned a Middle Eastern theme centred around a Moroccan Meatloaf (I had seen on Simply Recipes) accompanied by a Carrot, Black Olives and Orange Salad, Rice Pilaf and this Chickpeas & Apricot Tagine. I also made Cumin Flavoured Chicken Patties with Muhammara Sauce as an appetizer - the only thing I was left looking for was, something to go with toasted pita bread triangles.

Which is when I came across Labneh, Tzatziki and Jajik- the first is a hung curd dip which is served with olive oil while the second and third are Greek and Lebanese versions of a kind of raita made with yoghurt and cucumber. I decided to go with a version which had very little cucumber (I wanted it to remain thick through the evening) and included garlic, mint and coriander gently mixed into hung curd. It was perfect for the evening and the creamy goodness of it balanced the slightly grainy muhammara sauce which is made of roasted red peppers and walnuts.
This picture below is going to this month's edition of Click where the theme is Wood. Click is the monthly food photography event hosted by Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi.
Its sheer coincidence that they have also posted Jajik in their entry for Click!

Middle Eastern Cucumber Yoghurt Dip

750ml yoghurt
1 big clove garlic, minced
4 tbsp cucumber, chopped fine (seeds removed and pieces left to drain for about 5 minutes)
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp chopped mint
1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. Hang the curd in a clean, thin cloth for about 2 -3 hours with a bowl beneath to collect the whey. Since it's turned warm here, I preferred hanging it inside the fridge by rigging up a sort of pulley contraption.
2. Turn the hung curd into a bowl and gently mix in the cucumber, garlic,salt,mint and lemon juice.
3. Keep in the fridge for a couple of hours till the flavours all meld together. Serve with toasted triangles of pita bread or carrot sticks.

Coriander Pesto Yogurt Bread

I finally managed to buy a lot of baking stuff I needed and I'm quite happy that for keeping to my New Year's Day resolution of increasing my baking proficiency! One of my buys was a loaf tin (I know, some baker I am, didn't even have a loaf tin for so long!) I a

I had to use it right away of course; suddenly I couldn't find all those loaf recipes which would haunt me when I didn't have a loaf tin- there were all kinds of free form breads but hardly any loaves. One can use the same recipe of course, but I didn't want to take a chance...

Finally, I gave up and decided to just tweak the recipes I have already tried out. A bit of coriander walnut pesto remaining from this dish went into the bread and also yoghurt I had seen so many recipes using buttermilk (different from our "mor" or "chaach").

I was quite worried when the liquid proportion seemed too much and the dough was much stickier than anything I had handled before. After almost 4 cups of flour totally, I finally stopped and just put it aside to rise. Good thing I had a loaf tin, since a free form bread would have been a small nightmare!

The dough rose beautifully both the times; I left it for almost 2 hours and 15 minutes the first time and the second time for about 50 minutes.

Hubby though, was a bit worried that he wouldn't get a "tall bread" and insisted we should have bought a taller tin - I was already a bit stressed about the dough being so sticky so I told him the comments section was closed at this time!!.

The bread was fine though, I needn't have worried; this is how I have always wanted my bread to be - those lovely holes and soft insides.
This is a nice bread - good crust and crumb and just the right texture - not too dry and crumbly and not too dense. The pesto wasn't enough to make a mark on the bread (though the bread did look greenish) but I could taste the faint hints of coriander. Next time I won't rely on leftovers and make the pesto for this dish itself!

We had the bread for breakfast - as many versions as the people at home - plain with cheese spread for my daughter, sandwich with green chutney, potato and tomato slices for the husband and toasted with home made butter and strawberry and mint conserve for me.

I don't think there's anything to compare with the aroma of freshly baked bread and the pleasure of cutting your own thick slices - I am definitely going to be baking more bread!

Coriander Pesto Yogurt Bread

Ingredients:
Active dried yeast - 2.5 tsp
Warm water - 1 cup ( I would cut this down to half a cup and then add more water to the dough later if needed.)
Sugar - 1tsp

Wheat Flour (atta) - 1 cup
Refined flour (AP/maida) - 2.5 -3 cups
Yogurt - 1/4 cup
Coriander Walnut Pesto - 1/4 cup (can increase it to 1/2 a cup)
Salt - 2 tsp
Veg oil - 3 tsp

Method:

1. Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm water and set aside for 10-15 minutes till the mixture is foamy.

2. Take the wheat flour, salt, yoghurt, yeast mixture, pesto, oil and 2 cups of the refined flour in a bowl and mix till well combined. Add refined flour a tablespoon at a time till the dough comes together.

3. Knead the dough till smooth and springy (5 minutes), transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set aside for about 1.5 hours till it doubles in volume.

4. Transfer the dought to a lightly floured bowl or surface and lightly flatten. Put into a lightly greased and floured loaf tin or shape into a free form loaf; cover with a damp kitchen towel and set aside for another 45 minutes to an hour for the second rise.

5. Pre heat the oven to 190C and bake the loaf for 30-35 minutes.

Mixed Vegetable Kadhi

This is a spin on the classic Kadhi Pakoda. I am not a fan of fried stuff floating in liquid - whether it is dahi wadas or vadai curry, but I do love yoghurt based dishes. So, it was a matter of time before I appropriated this dish and made it my own.

I love the flavours the vegetables bring to the plain yoghurt and the best part of it is of course the tempering ingredients. They lend an unmistakable touch to the dish and I think there must be some culinary link based on either Ayurvedic or similar principles between the yoghurt based dishes made in different parts of India.

Otherwise, how does one explain the dhania and methi seeds ground into the Mor Kozhambu of the South appearing in the tempering of the Punjabi Kadhi and Gujarati kadhi (only the methi there though), the mustard and hing in the tempering of these dishes and of course the thickening of the yoghurt with gram flour (besan) in kadhi and the chana dal(bengal gram dal) ground into mor kozhambu.

Maybe thats where the saying "Ab dudh ka dudh or paani ka paani ho jayega" originated - they were referring to yoghurt all along! :0)

But coming back to topic - there is a reason yoghurt based dishes are found in almost all regional cuisines of India. Curd or yoghurt is traditionally known to have cooling properties - a much prized quality during the heat of an Indian summer.

But besides this there is a nutritionally sound reason for including curd in our day-to-day diet. The lactose (natural sugar) found in milk when allowed to ferment into curd, changes to lactic acid - a factor which enhances the absorption of calcium by the body.

Tempering (tadka/baghar/thalimpu/poppu) is an intrinsic part of Indian cooking and imparts a distinctive flavour to any dish. Do you know its other benefits?

• The hing (asafoetida/perungayam) used to temper dals makes it easier to digest protein heavy pulses and avoid flatulence.
  
• Certain vitamins are only soluble in fat and require a medium for release - e.g vitamin A found in carrots and the carotene in curry leaves(karuvupellai/karipatta).
• Essential fatty acids required by the body are found in the vegetable oils used for tempering as also in mustard and urad dal.

So, the next time someone at home complains about the tadka smell remind them of the good it does (the tadka, not the smell!).

Mixed Vegetable Kadhi

Kadhi went well with peas pulao and stuffed eggplant

Ingredients:

One cup chopped mixed vegetables - I use any three to four of these vegetables- carrot, beans, capsicum, yam, peas, potato

2 cups yoghurt - whisked smooth
2 cups water
One tablespoon gram flour (besan)

salt to taste
turmeric

Tempering:
Oil - 2 tsp
Coriander seeds (dhania) - 1 tsp
Fennel seeds (saunf) - 1 tsp
Fenugreek (methi) - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds (rai) - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 2
Asafoetida(hing) - a pinch

Method:

1. Mix the water with the curd and whisk till smooth. Take a little of the mixture and mix in the gram flour so that there are no lumps. Combine this with the rest of the diluted yoghurt along with salt and tumeric.
2. Take a large pan and add the yoghurt mixture and heat on a low flame.
3. Meanwhile take a smaller wok and heat the oil for tempering. Add the mustard seeds and when they pop, add the fennel seeds, methi seeds, dhania seeds, red chillies and hing. Saute 1 minute
4. Add the chopped vegetables to the tempering and saute for 2 minutes, then cook on a low flame for another 5 minutes till almost cooked.
5. Transfer the tempered vegetables to the simmering yoghurt mixture and continue cooking on a low flame for another 10 minutes till it thickens and the besan is completely cooked.
6. Serve with chapatis or rice.

Upside down Strawberry Yoghurt Cake

I bought some strawberries hoping that my daughter would like to try a new fruit (I dont remember ever buying strawberries in Chennai when she was younger, considering they cost the earth and then some) - she took a small bite and then very firmly told me "No berry amma!" shaking her pint sized head from side to side for added emphasis.

So that was that, as any mother of a 2.5 year old will tell you - and I was left holding a box of strawberries.
Both hubby and I are not strawberry lovers and we no longer live near a certain friend of ours who just loves strawberries in any form - even in her drinks!!! :)

Coincidentally,a few days later while searching for something else, I came across this recipe on Happy Burp which Vaishali made sound so simple, I just had to try it!

So I did, though instead of using strawberry yoghurt, I used plain yoghurt and added the fresh strawberries I had .
I reserved some to put on the base of the ring mould as a sort of an upside down cake and it made it look very pretty when it was done.
It seemed to remind me of those jam tart biscuits we used to get when we were young (pre Jurassic era!) - does anyone remember them? I haven't seen them at all since.

The proportions I used were exactly the same as the original recipe except that I didn't use a yoghurt pot but instead used one of my steel katoris (cups) which holds about 150ml of curd.

So 3 cups of flour (2 cups wheat flour and 1 cup refined flour) :2 cups of sugar:1 cup of yoghurt: 1/2 cup veg oil: 1 egg - as in the original recipe.

To this I added - 1 cup of chopped fresh strawberries and 1.5 tsp of baking powder and 4-5 tbsp of milk, since the batter seemed a bit too thick.

I reserved about 2 tbsp of the chopped strawberries and laid them out on the base of the greased cake tin and poured the batter over it.

Baked in a pre heated oven set at 180C/350F for about 35 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in the oven and then remove to a wire rack and let it cool completely.



The cake was moist and really soft. Since I had divided the cake batter into two portions, the second time around I left it in the oven for another 10 minutes after it was turned off, so that it was a bit more browned.

There was a faint aftertaste though and I'm not sure where that came from - accomplished bakers any ideas?.....but I would definitely make this again...

Thanks Vaishali - this recipe is a keeper!

This recipe is going to Bindiya's event "Few of my Favourite things" which she hosts on her blog In Love with Food and the month's theme is cakes and muffins