Mangai Sambar (Raw Mango Seeds in Sambar)

This is another dish from MIL's repertoire - it's a little different from the mango sambar recipes one sees where raw mango or ripe mango pieces are cooked in the sambar. Rather what she does is to reserve the seeds (with a little bit of the flesh still on) from the mango used in this raw mango chutney (mangai pachadi) - and then use it in a sambar, to give it a great tangy flavour. And then the best part of the dish is to suck on the mango seeds which by then have taken on the flavour of the sambar as well.

So, during her stay with us, I always ask her to make the mango chutney first and then this sambar. This time, the sambar was being made with radish and small onions, so the addition of the mango seeds made a piquant combination. Went very well with the idlis we were having for breakfast that day. I guess you could use ripe mangoes as well - it would impart a slightly sweet taste to the sambar.

Mangai Sambar (Raw Mango Seeds in Sambar)

Ingredients:

Tuvar Dal (Arhar,tuvaram paruppu,split pigeon pea lentil) - 3/4 cup or 150gm - cooked with 4 cups water and 1/4 tsp of turmeric, in the pressure cooker till well cooked and mushy, about 3 whistles and 5 minutes on a low flame.

Tamarind extract - about 1 cup from a lime sized ball soaked in warm water for half an hour

Radish - 1 medium, cut into thin discs and cooked separately, till just tender
Small onions - 10 soaked in water for 10 minutes and peeled. (or 1 onion sliced)
Mango seeds - 2


Sambar powder - 2 heaped tsps
Chilli powder - 1 tsp (optional - the sambar powder I am currently using isn't too spicy since it has more dal in it than store bought ones)
Coriander (dhania)powder - 1/2 tsp

Tomato - 1 medium chopped into 4-6 pieces
Coriander leaves - 1/4 cup chopped
salt to taste
Talimpu or tempering:
Mustard seeds (rai/kadugu) - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida powder (hing)- pinch
Curry leaves - 2 tbsp washed
Oil - 1 tbsp

Method:
1. Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add the mustard and wait till it splutters, then add the urad dal, the hing and when the urad turns brown, add the curry leaves.
2. Add the onions and saute till soft - 2-3 minutes, then add the tamarind extract diluted with 1 cup of water, bring to boil and let simmer covered for about 15 minutes.The raw smell of tamarind should have disappeared.
3. Add the tomatoes, cooked radish, sambar powder, mango seeds, chilli powder, coriander powder and salt and let simmer for another 8-10 minutes.
4. In the meanwhile, whisk the cooked tur dal till smooth; add to the simmering sambar and bring to boil. Simmer for another 5-10 minutes till the flavours come together, add the chopped coriander and remove from flame.

Eggless Banana Walnut Muffins

MIL is staying with us this month - I had to really persuade her to come this time, since she was quite reluctant to make the trip from Coimbatore. Age related hearing loss has made her a little reluctant to socialize. But she did come finally and its been nice to have her here with us. My daughter especially seems to bloom a litte bit more every time one of her grandparents is around.

We took her out for lunch last weekend (Punjab Grill - very good food and great service - pleasantly surprised) and while walking around the mall, she spotted some cupcakes at a cafe. She asked about them but they had egg in them, so I decided to make some eggless muffins at home. Banana muffins seemed the easiest and she likes nuts, so decided to modify this recipe of mine for white chocolate walnut muffins, to make some banana walnut muffins.

It barely took me about an hour from start to finish. I packed a couple in my daughter's tiffin the next day and she couldn't stop beaming with delight at the chocolate chips. This is a light muffin but nice and flavourful.The sugar can be brought down a notch since it was a little sweet for me.

Eggless Banana Walnut  Muffins

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar (I would bring this down by a couple of tablespoons)
1 banana (medium)
3 tbsp milk
3/4 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup maida
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
salt - a pinch
1/2 cup walnuts (toasted on a skillet or in an oven, peeled and broken into half) You could use chocolate chips, I did that for half of them because my daughter wanted some.

1. Blend the banana with the milk and vanilla essence with the hand blender into a puree.
2. In a bowl, cream the butter and brown sugar with a hand blender till light and fluffy. Add the banana puree and then blend again.
3. Sift the flour with the salt and the baking powder into thebowl of batter and fold in gently till just combined. Do not overmix
4. Fold in the walnuts (or the chocolate chips) reserving a few to decorate on top. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (350F).
5. Grease a muffin pan or line them with cupcake liners. Drop spoonfuls of batter into the muffin pan and bake for 15-20 minutes (took 20 minutes for me). A toothpick should come clean when poked into the muffins.
6. Let stand till cool and then unmould from the muffin pan.

My Perfect Omelette

Disclaimer - this is my perfect omelette - not THE perfect omelette - so feel free to write in with Your perfect omelette. Even if it was made by someone else - like that uncle who lives in Belgium. Or that dishy chef at the Taj breakfast buffet. Just saying.

Dad makes the best Spanish Omelette  or frittata- but over the years, I have perfected the kind of omelette we like - 2 or 3 eggs max, non greasy, fluffy, soft and perfectly salted. I hate it when omelettes are undersalted - as they often are in hotels (something pointed out by Vir Sanghvi as well).

I add a little milk to the eggs - it makes the omelette softer. The eggs are well beaten and then seasoned with salt and pepper. The green chillies should be cut just so- not finely minced so that the chilli seeds spices up every inch of the omelette -but in rounds so that they can be picked out by the people who don't want to bit into them (me) and eaten by the extra spice lovers (hubby). I don't fry the chillies, instead sprinkling them over the omelette, except for one quarter of it which is for K since she can't pick the chillies out and may bite into one. She enjoys this omelette, so it makes sense to make the same one for her rather than a separate one.

The onions are fried till soft and not brown, so that we can enjoy their sweetness. I add a pinch of salt while frying the onions and this balances the salt. The cheese is optional and depends on my mood - but just a cube of grated cheese is enough for 3 eggs - any more than that, it will turn into a cheese omelette - which is not a bad thing, just not what we are looking for. Fresh mint or coriander leaves to finish.

And it should be eaten fresh off the skillet - that way I'm a bit like the Soup Nazi from Seinfeld. No wandering around/checking mail/reading newspaper and then coming over to eat my omelette after its been cooling on the table for five minutes. You preferably have to be at the table, with buttered toasts ready (for me), a good 3-5 minutes before the omelette arrives. Yes, hubby has been trained well in the art of eating our perfect omelette ;).

This omelette takes only about 10 minutes to make from start to finish - and worth every minute if you like a well made omelette. Have your coffee perking at the same time, and you will have a lovely cuppa Joe ready, at the end of it all as well!

Our Perfect Omelette

Ingredients:
 Eggs - 3
Milk - 1 tbsp
Onion - 1 chopped fine
Green chillies - 2 chopped in thin rounds
1 cheese cube about 20 gms(grated) - optional
salt - about 1/4 of a tsp - a pinch with the onions and rest
pepper
Butter - 1 tbsp
Mint - 3 tbsp chopped

1. Melt the butter on a non stick skiller on low heat and then saute the chopped onions on a medium flame till just soft. Add a pinch of salt to the onions while sauteeing
2. Meanwhile, beat the milk with the eggs, salt and pepper till its frothy
3. Spread the softened onions over the skiller and then pour the beaten egg evenly. Sprinkle the chopped chillies and cook on a medium low heat for about 3 minutes or till the omelette is set at the bottom.

 

4. Gently bring the edges of the omelette inwards and tilt the skillet outwards so that the uncooked egg settles at the bottom. Sprinkle the mint and the omelette over the omelette and cook on a low flame for a minute.

5. Fold the omelette over and cook for half a minute, then turn over and cook for half more a minute. Serve warm - we had the omelette with a herbed bun.

Idlis with Chicken Curry

The "Pure Vegetarian" tag for all South Indians is a misnomer - just like all South Indians are not Madrasis. (Yes, Mr Haldiram - please stop calling your product "Madrasi Mixture"?) Husband's maternal side for instance is quite the meat eating family (except for his mother who is a pure vegetarian and hence he - like me- was vegetarian growing up). In many families, meals are not complete with "atleast" an egg - thus leading to the queer combination of (for me) rice, sambar, rasam, porial and omelette!!
Sunday meals then, are usually the ones which have a variety of meat, chicken and fish dishes in . I didn't understand for a long time, why everyone from my in-laws side who used to call us up on a Sunday would enquire about the lunch menu - were they worried about my husband's diet?. I realised later, that it was a blanket question - a way of keeping in touch - if you know what's cooking, you can judge whether everything is fine....or something like that. Well, anyway, there never was meat at Sunday lunch for a very long time in our home (even now its probably just once or twice a month), so not sure what they thought about that.

Growing up, idlis in our vegetarian home, always went with sambar and chutney.  I was quite taken aback therefore when I moved to Chennai and learnt that chicken curry was an option too. I'm still quite happy with our largely vegetarian breakfasts but some Sundays, if I'm organised enough to have ground the batter for the idlis AND have chicken in my fridge at the same time, we have a nice, big breakfast of soft,steaming idlis with chicken curry.

The chicken curry however, can't be any generic curry - it has to be mild enough so that I'm not put off by too many spices in the morning. But it also has to be delicious and not just taste of the chicken in it. Enter a coconut based curry - more specifically, the restaurant style sidedish (try this for a vegetarian option which is equally delicious)I posted before. I had adapted it from Sailu's Kitchen in the first place and now its been modified some more. Its still delicious though and is the perfect accompaniment to idlis or even dosais.

 

  

Idli (feeds 4 for two days)

Parboiled Rice - 2 cup

Urad Dal (whole, skinned) - 1 cup

I usually make dosais on the second day from the same batter, so add a pinch of methi seeds to the rice while soaking 

Soak the rice and dal separately overnight or for 4-5 hours

Grind the rice, leaving it a little bit coarse. 

The urad dal needs to be ground till really smooth and fluffly. So grind slowly and adding water only as needed.

If grinding in a blender, grind in batches and give breaks so that it doesn't overheat.

Blend the rice batter and the urad dal batter together incorporating air into it while doing so. I usually use my hands to do this. Add salt to the batter to taste. 

Keep in a vessel double the volume of the batter, because it will double as it ferments. Leave overnight to ferment.

The next day, grease an idli stand and fill each mould 3/4ths of the way up with the idli batter (for idlis, I don't mix the batter and just skim from the top of the risen batter). 

Steam in a pressure cooker without the whistle or in an idli maker or any other big vessel which can accomodate the idli stand - 5 minutes on high and 5 minutes on a low flame. Rest for 5 minutes and then unmould.

Chicken Curry (with coconut and tomatoes)

 Ingredients
2 onions, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, in 4 pieces
Chicken - 300 gm, boneless, cut into 1" pieces. I like to marinate the chicken for about an hour in turmeric powder(1/4tsp), salt and ginger garlic paste (1 tsp) - a tbsp of yoghurt is great too

Dry roast and grind:
poppy seeds (khus khus) - 1 tsp (soaked in warm water for 15 minutes)
2-3 cashewnuts (soaked in warm water for 15 minutes)
1/4 cup grated coconut

Grind to a paste :
1 " ginger piece
3 green chillies
4 garlic cloves

1 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/4 tsp cumin powder (jeera)
pinch of garam masala powder

1tbsp oil
curry leaves
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
2 cardamom pods (elaichi)

Method:
1 Heat oil in a pan and add cloves, cinnamon,curry leaves and cardamom. When they change colour (about 2 minutes) add onions and fry till transparent.
2.Add the ginger, garlic and green chilli paste, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add red chilli powder, turmeric,coriander and cumin powders and mix well.
3. Add the marinated chicken and stir fry on high for 5 minutes.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry for 3 minutes. Put in the coconut-cashew paste and fry for 5 minutes on a low flame, stirring from time to time.
5. Add salt, 2 cups of water and bring to boil; lower flame and simmer for 20-25 minutes till the chicken is cooked and the curry turns creamy. Remove from flame and serve with idlis.

Kadgi Sukke (Green Jackfruit Stir Fry)

Sukke is a Konkani preparation of vegetables - a stir fry with spices which have a coconut and tamarind base. One of my favourites of Konkani cuisine - something I got acquainted with at my best friend's house when I was in college. I practically lived there when I was doing my post graduation - it was like coming home when I went over there on the weekends. And definitely the food was such a relief from the terrible hostel food and then our own cooking when I was living in a flat with 4 other girls.

I simply love jackfruit - have you eaten it drizzled with honey? its like ambrosia. But I have never cooked unripe jackfruit before - so when I saw it all nicely cut and cleaned in packets at my local vegetable vendor, I decided to give it a go. The original idea was to try the kathal biryani I had seen in Pratibha Karan's Biryani book, but then I remembered this dish and suddenly started hankering for that combination of sweet, sour and spicy with the meat-like consistency of jackfruit. This is Sandhya Aunty's recipe for sukke - I love her cooking :)

This was Saturday lunch for us - dal, roti/rice, kadgi sukke, milagu rasam and papad. The milagu rasam (a thin soup which is liberally spiced with black pepper-recipe in another post) was perfect for the weather and for hubby who was coming down with a cold. Happiness on a plate.

Kadgi Sukke (Green Jackfruit Stir Fry)

Tender, green jackfruit, chopped in 1" piecessalt, turmeric powder
jaggery - 2 tbsp

5 red chillies
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
2 tsp tamarind paste
3/.4 cup coconut grated

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Currry leaves - handful
Coconut oil - 2 tsp

1. Clean and cut the jackfruit pieces in to 1' pieces and keep aside. Cook the pieces till done, in just enough water and turmeric powder - about 8 minutes.
2. Roast the red chillies, coriander seeds, fenugreek seeds in half a tsp of oil, then grind to a paste along with the tamarind and the fresh coconut.
3. Heat the coconut oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds to it-when it pops, add the curry leaves.
4. Add the masala paste and the cooked jackfruit and simmer together till well blended and almost dry. Add the jaggery and mix well.

Spaghetti with Shrimp, Arugula and Sun Dried tomatoes

 

Recently a dear friend sent me some fresh, home grown arugula (rocket leaves)-she grows it in her garden. Arugula is something I have come to know only in the past 5 years, its not something we saw or ate growing up. It's available in most metros now, though expensive and sometimes not very fresh. I have ordered on occasion from Altitude which supplies organic produce and natural products and its been very fresh. Older leaves tend to have a sharp, almost mustardy flavour while the tender ones are nutty. I had some fresh shrimp at home so I initially planned to grill the prawns and serve it with the arugula - almost like a grilled summer salad.

But then as I got down to make it and was wondering what else to serve with it for dinner, I decided to make it with spaghetti. And then from there the dish just took its own course - sun dried tomatoes seemed a nice combination with the shrimp and spaghetti. I finally decided to braise the dish with vodka and finish it off with some cream. It all came together quite beautifully, though I didn't have a clue at the beginning on where I was heading.

The fresh shrimp was melt-in-the-mouth soft and went very will the combination of arugula and sun dried tomatoes. The only thing to be careful is not to overcook the shrimp, else it will become tough. There is not much added seasoning - the shrimp, sun dried tomatoes and arugula - all lend their distinctive flavour to this dish.

 Spaghetti with Shrimp, Arugula and Sun Dried tomatoes

Spaghetti - 250gms (dried)
Shrimp / Prawns - 300gm - cleaned and washed thoroughly; if using frozen, then thaw well.Marinate in lemon juice and pinch of salt for 15 minutes.
Arugula (Rocket Leaves) - a big handful, washed and torn
Sundried tomatoes - 8-10 soaked in 1/2 cup warm water (or as is if they are in oil)


1 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic - chopped finely
2 tomatoes pureed
100ml vodka (you could use white wine instead of vodka, or omit it altogether and add some lime juice at the end instead)
2-3 tbsp cream (I used the cream skimmed everday from the milk we get)
salt to taste
freshly crushed pepper - 1 tsp

Tabasco sauce - 1 tsp

1. Heat a pan full of water with a tsp of olive oil and a tsp of salt and bring it boil. It should be big enough for the spaghetti to cook in. Cook the spaghetti till just done (al dente) and then drain and rinse in cold water. Toss with a little olive oil and keep aside. (If you are cooking ahead, then this can be done later, in time to serve)

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a big pan and saute the chopped garlic in it for a couple of minutes. Fry the shrimp for 3-4 minutes, remove and keep warm. In the same pan, add the pureed tomatoes, soaked sun dried tomatoes with its water, vodka and salt and bring to boil, simmer for 5 minutes till there is not much liquid. Stop here if you are cooking ahead.

3. Add the prawns back; tip the cooked pasta, freshly crushed pepper and arugula and toss together on a medium flame till well combined (2-3 minutes). Add the cream and tabasco sauce, season and turn off the flame after a minute. Serve warm.

Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Fudge - the perfect Valentine's Day treat

My own stash of indulgence - chocolate fudge seems so much more decadent than just chocolate. The creamy combination of butter, chocolate and nuts is exquisite! The original recipe from Nigella Express has pistachios in it; I used macadamia nuts since I had them left over from my trip to Australia - but feel free to use the nuts you like. Plus I added dried currants. Not much can go wrong when you combine chocolate, fruit and nuts.

I reduced the condensed milk in the recipe and used dark chocolate instead of semi sweet - still perfectly soft, fudgy and delicious. AND super quick.So, go ahead - make this your Valentine's Day gift....for yourself! :)

 

Chocolate and Macadamia Nut Fudge 

(Adapted from Chocolate Pistachio Fudge from Nigella Express)

300gm dark chocolate,broken up or chopped (I use Morde dark Chocolate which is great for cooking and now available in most large grocery stores)

1/2 can condensed milk (sweetened)

pinch of salt

1/2 cup macadamia nuts - lightly toasted and broken into pieces
1/3 cup black currants or big, dark raisins

1 tbsp butter

1. Put the chopped chocolate, condensed milk, butter and salt in a vessel which can fit into another pan half filled with water. Put the pan of water on low heat and stir till the chocolate melts and mixes with the condensed milk and butter. Alternatively, you can put the ingredients in a microwaveable bowl and zap it at 40 second intervals till the chocolate melts.

2. Add the broken nuts and raisins/currants into the chocolate mixture and mix well.

3. Take a 8" square pan and line it with aluminum foil. Pour the mixture into it and even out the top with the blunt end of a knife or the back of a spoon.

4. Cool and then refrigerate until the fudge is set. Cut into squares as you would for barfi (an Indian milk sweet).

5. Its cool here now, so I left it outside in a jar, but when its warm, its probably best to store this in the fridge (Nigella recommends keeping it in the freezer and having it without thawing).

This goes to the Forever Nigella Event - #2 - Seduced by Chocolate being hosted by Sarah of Maison CupCake