A Savoury Cherry Berry Chase

Over a month ago, I posed a question about an ingredient in this post. One of you got it right. Those berries were karondas, as they are known in Hindi, or vakkaya (Telugu). I will not add the names of it in other languages, especially English - there seems to be enough confusion as it is, but they go by the name of some plum or the other.

I'm calling it a berry.

I haven't seen them in ages so when I saw them at the store, I picked up a packet and used them indiscriminately - i.e.- all of them without regard for the proportions vis-a-vis rice and other ingredients. I watched this video and didn't refer to it again because I believed that the only thing that differentiated it from lime rice, which is a breeze to make, was the berry, so I went ahead and did whatever I wanted.

Deseeding the berries is a boring job but we did it - they are terribly sour.

I was left with about a cup of berry after the process. I sauteed it in some oil with some mustard seed, three green and three red chillies, and a little bit of channa dal/Bengal gram.

To this, I added about 1 cup of cooked and cooled rice and mixed it well so that the sourness of the berry adhered to it.

I could have used a little less berry but I was making this for the first time and I didn't want any leftovers as I had no more ideas for them except dal and I didn't want to make dal. But I have eaten the dal my grandmother made with this berry and it was really nice. I don't know when I can make this next because I hadn't seen these berries for years till now and don't know when I will see them next again. Probably during the Vinayaka Chaturthi festival some year, because they are often used to decorate Vinayaka's puja. At least that's when they made their appearance here this year.

Apparently, this berry helps treat anaemia, and traditionally has been used to treat anorexia and insanity. There's more information here.

More interestingly, did you know this is what passed for cherries in most Indian bakeries of a certain time? In fact, it was these that the average Indian knew as cherries before the real tinned cherries became widely available - and those are expensive. These 'karonda cherries' still make an appearance in cakes from smaller bakeries and are used to top Indian sweets too!

I'm sending this off to Terry at Crumpets & co. who's hosting WHB this week, created by Kalyn and now run by Haalo.

My Legume Love Affair - 52 is hosted here this month. Do send in those entries! Weekend Herb Blogging Rice Vegetarian Karonda/vakkaya

My Legume Love Affair - 52

My Legume Love Affair, created by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook, will be hosted here this month.

The deadline for entries is November 11 and I will post the round-up shortly afterwards.

Please mail your entries to srablogATgmailDOTcom.

 Legumes, and legumes as defined for this event: "As much as legumes are most commonly known as fresh or dried beans, peas, lentils and pulses, they are also the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds. Add to the list alfalfa, fenugreek, peanuts, carob, tamarind and other members of the Fabaceae or Leguminosae family, as well as derivatives such as tofu, and you'll have a hard time focusing on just one.

All courses and cuisines are welcome, as long as legumes are the dominant ingredient. (Please note: In France, vegetables of all sorts are known as légumes, and are not included in this event.)"

It's important that legumes are the dominant ingredient. A sprinkling or a soupcon of them won't qualify, except in exceptional circumstances and Susan and I reserve the right to judge those. Here's the logo for this month if you want to use it.

Now for the rules:

In your email sending me the entry, please say MLLA - 52 in the subject line.

Mention your 1) name, 2) blog name, 3) recipe name, 4) the URL of your post, 5) a picture of your dish resized to 300 x 500 (either orientation, but resizing is a must), and 6) your location (necessary, if you win the prize - and let me know if you want that information to be private and not published in the round-up).

 Link your posts to this announcement and to Susan's post here. This is mandatory, please take care to link it to the right posts and not to our blogs themselves.

 Multiple recipes are permitted (although only one submission will be counted towards the random drawing/s). Recipes submitted to other events are also permitted, but other events might have different rules. Recipes from archives can be accepted ONLY if updated and reposted as current. Recipes from those who do not blog are accepted and make eligible the participants to win a prize.

 Link your posts to this announcement and to Susan's host line-up post here. This is mandatory, please take care to link it to the right posts and not our blogs themselves.

 THE PRIZES

 1) Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen by Heidi Swanson. This prize is offered by Susan without influence at her expense, and she will also absorb worldwide shipping charges. F.T.C. Notice: Susan does not receive any compensation from Amazon.

 2) Hurst Bean Box - A case of six bags of the winner's choice of Hurst Bean products, suitable for every diet, sponsored by Hurst Bean. (Due to shipping restrictions, this prize can only be awarded if the winner is a U.S. resident.) F.T.C. Notice: In May 2010, Susan, at her request, received two Hurst Bean complimentary products which are not available for purchase in her local markets. Susan does not generally accept free products from Hurst Bean nor is she financially compensated by them.

 3) Drawing Structure - If the winner is a U.S. resident, she/he will be the recipient of both Prizes 1 and 2 above. In the event that an international winner is drawn, a second drawing will be conducted from the U.S. pool of entrants to ensure that the Hurst Prize is awarded every month. In these instances, the international winner will receive the book, and the U.S. winner will receive the Hurst Prize. Families and friends of the hosts are not eligible to win prizes.

 My Legume Love Affair

Keeping It Short 'n 6y

It's my sixth blog birthday, and I'm fairly tongue-tied.

Even a mug of top-of-range lemon green tea is not helping.

I wanted to do another big anniversary post but I find I've said most of it and don't know what to say except "Thank you, readers!" and "It's been so much fun!"

I know I have to relieve you of the suspense from my previous post, but I pray your indulgence until next week, because today is my birthday and I don't want to mix it up with recipes or rehashed ramblings.

Anniversary Blogging

Guess What? The Truth About Me And My Blog!

Blogging often gives me a complex. Reading others' blogs, that is. Every time I read most blogs, apart from the superior quality of the photos and blog design, I am often envious of the gracious homes, gardens and lives they evoke.

 "I served it with ...," they say. Now to me that conjures up visions of picture-perfect hostesses and homes delicately proffering the right delicacies with the right accompaniment, not a crumb or hair out of place.

Not that I haven't used the line myself. I have, but it really makes me feel like a fraud - and a frump - because convenience dictates the way I have most of my meals: Breakfast is had post-morning wash but before bath (clad in nightgown); lunch is had immediately after a bath, half-dressed, powder caking on face, hair drying under fan (or sweat beading freshly washed visage if the electricity is gone); and dinner is slumped in front of TV/in couch/at dining table amidst the junk accumulated during the day, in nightgown.

And, of course, I serve It to myself with whatever is available, not something I have created by design. I end up eating curries by themselves, without rice, and sometimes pair them with idlis or whatever else even though they don't make a great combination, just because I have to finish them.

  Sometimes a newspaper acts as my table mat, and there are several pictures on this blog to prove that, I'm sure. Including the one above.

When I moved into my own place, I had visions of maintaining it like those homes in slick and glossy magazines on housekeeping and interiors. That dream died soon enough. Now I just aim for clean and tidy, not beauty, something I manage by the skin of my teeth. Naturally, these dreams went with others where I made and ate perfectly designed and balanced meals, with the right crockery, cutlery and napery. Well, we eat off plastic, microwaveable plates, bringing out the crockery only now and then, and the silverware that we have is in my wardrobe, still securely wrapped in its pink tissue paper. I haven't bought new napkins in years. The oldest ones become kitchen rags and the better ones are washed everyday, journeying towards kitchen-ragdom.

My beautiful home is ultimately a repository of the unused, the unwanted and the unsung, as is my refrigerator, and I find myself confronted with a profusion of things I'd rather get rid of. Much like Five Super Foods to Always Have in Your Pantry or Five Tips for that Super Flat Tummy, I have set myself the task of Five Things I Will Junk Today.

 I am happy to report that I have done this to my wardrobe and am at a stage where I need to go shopping for more clothes. Now needless and unsolicited confessions done with, can you guess what's in the photo above? Not the rice and the chillies, but the other brownish-pinkish things?

Blogging Musings Humour

Need Some Distraction? Snack On This!

Any time between 4 and 6 p. m. in my office is just before we start getting into the thick of things. Suddenly, there is a crackling sound, that of a pack of snacks being ripped open impatiently. It may be plastic, but it's the sound of music, a very welcome interruption from the monotony. Sometimes the music could be metallic - it could be the clink of a spoon against a steel container.

If you haven't called out to your colleagues asking them to join you, never fear, they will come soon enough. "Ah, I hear plastic," says A (name changed and fake initial given to protect identity). She takes very little, snipping off just a piece of the fried treat, and retreats to her desk, thanking the donor profusely.

B (name changed, etc etc) will not only come over, she will take a little more, appreciate the snack, its taste,  its energy-/happiness-giving qualities, the donor's generosity and thoughtfulness for bring a bit of golden-fried goodness into a dull day, hover a bit relishing the taste and reluctantly depart to her own cubicle.

Then there's C (name changed, okay, all names changed) who will rise out of her seat in the next bay with a joyful smile, bite into it, analyse it, appreciate it, discuss the recipe with the donor, thank them once again and sit down, the smile lingering on.

   

D will worry about her weight, will be persuaded to have some, will have just a bit and then within 10 minutes, will be back at the donor's cubicle foraging for another.

Then there are those who walk by, driven there by happy happenstance, eat their fill, shower their blessings on the donor and move on. Of course, there are those who decline the snack too, but it never fails to bring in an extra bit of happiness into the atmosphere.

Depending on the person, the happiness is just a little dulled when the snack on offer is 'healthy' - like sundal, or fruit or oil-free food. Sweets and cakes are extra-happy-making, as are banana chips brought back by someone who has just returned from a holiday in Kerala. Sometimes prasadam from various religious places makes the rounds; sometimes it's chocolates brought from a jaunt abroad. (That's prasadam too, in my book.)

Sometimes, there's a repeat performance a few hours later, and then it's time to wind up and leave. Which of the above types are you? Are you a donor, a taker or both? What's your favourite office/tea time snack?

Musings Humour Snacks

'Haleem' Again - Meatless, Wheatless

With Id around the corner, Haleem is very much the flavour of the season. The vegetarian haleem post on my blog is one of the most popular ones, and perhaps one of the three or four posts which people have commented on after trying out the recipe. It even got copied, which is a rather sad way of establishing its popularity. This time, though, the haleem comes with a lot of changes. (It's gluten-free, and it could be vegan if you used oil instead of ghee.) So much so, I wonder if it can be even called haleem. The main ingredient in this is bajra/pearl millet. (I thought I had some broken wheat left over from a previous khichdi experiment, but I didn't.)

I had used the bajra so long back I'd even forgotten whether it was jowar (also a millet) or bajra. I hadn't eaten it before that but had decided to try it out because I saw some recipe for a khichdi with it. That turned out to be a not so pleasant experience and the cereal stayed in my pantry, unused. When I found out there was no wheat, I was a little disappointed but decided to use this for the haleem. The next step was to identify what it was.

Typing 'jowar' and 'bajra' and trying to label it as one or the other based on the colour didn't work. My cereal was green, but on the Internet, there was green jowar and green bajra, as well as dull white. Then my memory helped me and I remembered the khichdi recipe had called it bajra khichdi and I had bought a packet labelled 'bajra'. So bajra it is!

Incidentally, when we were kids and travelling, we used to see jowar/bajra stalks strewn on the road. I imagine the intention was to get it threshed as vehicles went over it. I even found a picture, see? Guess it still happens!

I set about making the 'haleem' - yes, it's haleem in spirit alright, so that's what I will call it. Now that we've got that out of the way, let me tell you about what I put in it. The original recipe called for peas, cauliflower, brinjals/eggplant and capsicum/green bell pepper but all I had was yellow pumpkin, broccoli and potato.

Now we all know broccoli isn't the best substitute for cauliflower though there's a resemblance, but I plunged it into some hot water anyway. Then I realised there was quite a big chance of the haleem getting into hot water if I went ahead with my eyes wide open, so I used only the stalks.

I halved the amount of vegetables and pressure cooked it as Farah and Neff, who commented on the previous vegetarian haleem post told me. I did face some reverses: the mixture started burning despite all the water I put in it, and when I rescued it and transferred it to another pressure cooker with more water, it stuck to that too, but it was all edible and didn't smell charred. So though it's going to be painful to evaporate all that water later, I suggest you use a spacious pressure cooker and lots of water, maybe two cups more than I did.

So here's how I made it

Bajra - 3/4 cup
2 tbsp red gram/toor daal/kandi pappu
1 tbsp green gram/moong dal/pesara pappu
1 tbsp split Bengal gram/channa daal/senaga pappu
A handful each of peeled, cubed yellow pumpkin, potato, and broccoli stalks
2 medium onions, sliced
1 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander/dhania powder
1 tsp cumin/jeera powder
Salt
5 cups of water (I used 3)
4 tbsps of ghee or oil
For garnish: Some sliced onion, fried crisp
Coriander leaves/hara dhania/kothimeera, chopped

Soak bajra/pearl millet and dals separately overnight. Wash well. Drain and keep aside for 20 minutes.

Grind the millet coarsely.

In a big pressure cooker, heat half the melted ghee or oil. Fry onions until brown. Reserve about two spoons for the garnish.

Stir in garlic, ginger paste, fry for a few minutes. Add coriander powder, turmeric, chilli, salt, coriander and cumin powders and add the millet and dal mixture. Stir well. Pour in the water.

Let it cook without the weight till the millet and lentils are tender. Don't leave the kitchen, because the moment you do, it will burn and your haleem might be ruined.

Once it's tender, add the vegetables, some more water if you think it's necessary and pressure cook again, with the weight. (Just go by your instincts here - my instincts went away and I had to firefight, literally.) This will take just about 3-4 minutes. Again, don't leave the kitchen, and watch the haleem like a hawk.

When the pressure drops, open the vessel, add the garam masala and the remaining ghee or oil.

Keep stirring often. Let the extra water evaporate. Watch out for some heavy-duty spluttering.

Let the ghee float to the top and the colour turn golden. Once you’ve put it into a serving bowl, garnish with the fried onions and chopped coriander. Serve hot with pieces of lime.

 I'm sending this off to Susan who's hosting the 50th edition of her event, My Legume Love Affair, on her blog this month.

If you want another 'Id delicacy' that's as unorthodox as this haleem and no less delicious, in my book, here's some Khubani ka Meetha! Eat both together at your own risk - you won't be able to lift yourself off your chair!

My Legume Love Affair Lentils Millets/Bajra Potatoes

Eating In At Hong Kong

About a month ago, I went to Hong Kong for a day and a half on a business visit. I knew I wouldn't have any time to go around the city due to the lack of time, but we did manage to get away for a couple of hours the day we landed. The only thing we managed to see was the skyline.

We had lunch at our hotel, this was a seafood salad with pommelo. Don't miss the bit of pommelo resting against the lettuce - recognise the shape?

A colleague chose duck.

These were the desserts. Don't miss the familiar character on the platter!

And this was the Indian option.

We made it to dinner by the skin of our teeth and I forgot about photographing it, which was a pity, because it was quite ethnic South- and North-East Asian.

But I managed to capture a bit of the breakfast.

I've already forgotten what the pale yellow stuff to the left is, but in front of it is a fish ball. Behind it is a tea egg (which I didn't find any different from an ordinary boiled egg). In the black bowl is pork and sticky rice. The triangular yellow item in the centre is a water chestnut 'cake' and behind the sausages is a turnip cake, which had bits of pork in it.

In stark contrast to the skyscrapers that abound in the rest of the city, here's its green lung - Lantau Island, as seen from a train station.

And this is downtown Hong Kong

Here are links to other posts from the Far East, a region I've been lucky to visit, however short those visits may have been!

Singapore

Japan

Taipei

Thailand

Thailand 2

  Travel Hong Kong Far East

Please Don't Call Them Corns

I beg you, please don't call them corns. It is called corn, whether it's one seed, hundreds or the whole unit. They are kernels. Corn kernels. But to keep it simple, and correct, you can just call it corn. Now corns, on the other hand, or foot, to be more precise, are ugly things that affect feet. You can see several such pictures here (and inevitably there is some corn there as well).

But speaking of non-ugly things, here is a pretty corn salad that I made recently. I seem to remember coming across a recipe for it in a Maharashtrian cookbook but when I checked that book today, I couldn't find it there, so I guess I must have read it somewhere else. I remember the recipe mentioned grating the corn and adding some onion and green chilli to it.

I made it quite differently, though.

I steamed two corn cobs, let them cool and then scored them roughly across the kernels after which I sliced the kernels off.

Then I added a handful each of grated coconut and chopped coriander and finished it off with a sprinkling of salt and lime juice.

Another variation is to steam the corn with some salt and not add any more later - this makes for a much sweeter version. I'm on a minimal-spice kick nowadays and this really doesn't have any spice, but it is succulent and filling.

Bon appetit!

Salad Vegetarian Corn

Some Firsts ... And The Food Comes Last

Earlier this month, I did something I've never done before. I went away on vacation. Solo.

                                                                 Nice line, no?

There were other firsts attached to this event - it was the first holiday I've taken where I did very little. Usually, I look forward to days filled with activity - sightseeing, sampling new food, having a little time for myself to explore the place. I would have explored the place, hadn't it been so hilly.

Another first was that it was meant to be an indolent vacation. I intended to be indolent. I didn't even particularly care to go sightseeing, not that there seemed to be much to see there. Actually, I wouldn't know, I didn't investigate. In places like those, there is usually a sunset (or sunrise) point, a legendary seat occupied by lovers or some ancient British official's wife a few hundred years ago, a lake, some boating, a temple or two.

                                                                  A room with a view

There was a lake where I went (Mulshi, near Pune). Along with the mountains, it presented a grand panorama from my room as well as the reception area of the resort at which I stayed.

The other attractions were

the clouds that swirled around the mountain tops and darkened the horizon every evening,

the showers that cooled the place down

the hibiscus that flowered in abundance,

the birds that drank their fill of nectar from them everyday (notice the upside down bird above),

and a lovely quiet punctuated by bird calls and the occasional sound of a drilling machine or a hammer far away. I had a book with me to read but it never got read in all the five days that I was there, I was too busy getting my fill of nature.

Back home, I attempted recreating a salad I had eaten there but I felt it was too plain to be blogworthy. My friend, for whom I had made it as part of a larger meal, said it was great and eminently blog-worthy, and that she wanted the recipe.

At that resort, they had combined sprouts, dates, sweet lime and fresh coriander for the salad. I didn't have dates or sweet lime, so I used some reconstituted cranberries to add the tang. It turned out very different from what I ate there. I don't know how they made it there.

There's nothing to it really, not even dressing.

The green gram/moong dal sprouts, carrots and cranberry are steamed.
The cashew nuts are toasted in about a spoon of cow's ghee.
I added just a little crystal salt to the hot ghee after I removed the cashew nuts from it, and put it in the salad.
I added a lot of chopped coriander to it and mixed it all gently.

Now what's a lunch with a friend without something rich and wicked and sweet? Hence this 5-minute bread pudding?

This is how it looks soon after it's done

And this is how it looks unmoulded. Surely the layer of custard on top is not how it's intended to turn out, it has something to do with the mug I used and the haste with which the dessert is made. I later repeated it with a wider bowl and it turned out fine, as a heterogeneous whole, custard and bread melding together, integrating much better than before.

Bon appetit!

The salad goes off to My Legume Love Affair, hosted this week by Valerie at A Canadian Foodie.


Lentils My Legume Love Affair Salad travel Mulshi

Black & White Wednesday - Week 34 - The Round-Up

Here's this week's collection of pictures sent for Black & White Wednesday, Susan's creation. I hosted it this week. Thanks for participating! Next week, Week 35, is being hosted by Sihi of A Wandering Ladle.

Here's Kanchan of Kitchen Gossip, kicking off a Happy Mango Season!

 Cinzia of Cindy Star Blog

Little Doves Cookies 

 

Festive Table  

Happy Toasting Bubbles

Simona of Briciole

Red Russian Kale After A Spring Shower

Fragoliva of Fragoliva

Feeding Butterflies With Fruit

Lata Raja of Flavours and Tastes

Serving You Chaat

David Pimborough 

Place Setting

Cafe

Lynne of Cafe Lynnylu

Eggs - Study in Black & White

La Belle Aurore of La Belle Aurore

Lunch Time on a Field Trip to Nagai Botanical Garden, Osaka 

Srimathi of Few Minute Wonders

Paneer Soda

Hema of Adugemane

Corn

Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook

                                                                             Plantains

Blueberry Blossoms

Dried Morels

 Rosa of Yummy Yums

Vineyard

Quick Butterhorns

Bong Mom of Bong Mom's Cookbook

Waiting By The Sea for Clam Chowder

Lubna Karim of  A Click A Day

Coffee or Tea?

Brii of Briggishome

Reserved Table

Shri of Tiffin Carrier Antiques

Birthday Cake

Nandita of Paaka Shaale

Garlic 

Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen

Saying it With Some Signs

And mine 

Mangoes All The Way

Black & White Wednesday Event