A Magic Dish to Melt All Anger Away!

  

     NOT fighting is not an achievement but resolving a fight, forgiving and forgetting and sticking on together; no matter what...Indeed is. It makes a bond very strong. How did I get such great enlightenment? Here is how,

    My hubby and myself had to have a fight  every now and then as if we were addicted to it…both of us had to have our say and were too rigid to compromise. The next outcome was, that, I did not feel like cooking lunch or dinner that day …as my mood was screwed up....totally! We had to go out for meals. Avoiding each other’s glances as much as possible, wearing our most grumpy look, as if it was a miracle that we were am even sitting next to each other, with complete silence, punctuated only by remaining arguments that had been forgotten, we went to this restaurant one day. It had two signature dishes, biryani and a dessert, CARROT DATE HALVA... The first time my hubby ordered it….I did not like the way it looked. Up until then, I always saw carrot halwa as a rich orange dessert. This was brown. Then, reluctantly, I took one bite…..

    That day ,we tasted this dish, we fell in love with it and ordered it every time we had a fight and went out for food. Somehow after having this dessert…I could not remain angry with my hubby anymore…..Our mood would automatically turn sooo good…and that’s when all the enlightening thoughts usually strike me. Things would go on smoothly….at least……..until……… the next fight! And slowly having fights was fun and I was not scared of arguments anymore…the rewards many; emotional catharsis; better understanding and delicious food!

   Finally as our marriage seasoned, and both of us became best of the buddies, this dish became the same dish, we now ordered, when both of us were happy and felt like celebrating. I searched for this dish on the net a lot...I did not find it. While leaving Chennai, I went to the restaurant, and requested for the recipe. As is the rule they gave me the ingredients only. Then I went to Jayasree aunty and she explained the procedure to me. I will now share it with you, step by step with pictures. Since, this blog is all about comfort food, the steps are simple and the recipe is easy and will surely bring a smile on the face!

    So the next time you have a fight….don’t feel down...It’s time to eat this heartwarming dish. Make it for yourself and pamper yourself. After eating, when you feel better, and when you feel really generous…invite others! The idea is, be happy………………….and you can easily spread happiness!

So here it is:

Ingredients:

Carrots                                                                          350 gms

Dates                                                                              325 gms

Sugar (jaggery tastes good too)                                150 gms/200 gms jaggery

Khoya (optional)                                                           150 gms

Ghee                                                                             250 ml

Elaichi powder                                                             1/4  tsp

Vanilla ice cream                                                         1 cup

Method:

·         Peel the carrots and grate them.

·         Put the dates in the blender and grind coarsely.

·         Pressure cook the carrots and dates together in a cooker without adding water.

·         After a whistle or two, take it down.

·         Let the contents cool and dry and mash them together.

·         Now take a Kadhai, add ghee.

·         Next add the boiled carrots and dates.

·         Once it is cooked and ghee separates, add Khoya. This step can be skipped if you don’t like milk smell in the Halwa. (No Picture added)

·         Then add sugar/ Jaggery (Jaggery makes it tastier)

·         In the end add cardamom powder.

·         Cook well. Till it moves in one mass and becomes browner. and moves in one mass.

·         Serve hot with cold vanilla ice cream. This combination is contrasting in temperature, but complimentary in texture, flavor and taste.

·         Savor every spoonful slowly as it melts in your mouth!

Concluding note:

·         Making this dish takes 15 to 20 minutes after the peeling and grinding.

·         Less sugar should be added if you are eating the halva with ice-cream or are using sweetened Khoya.

·         If Khoya is not available, milk powder can be used in similar quantity.

·         This dish is made of carbohydrate, fat and proteins. It is a variation of the famous Carrot Halwa popular in Punjabi and North Pakistani culture.

·         The number of calories per serving of 1 cup or 100 ml or 4 oz of this Halwa is up to 500 calories approximately.



Missing plane and kofta curry!

   Like I promised previously, here is a recipe which is perhaps covered in many recipe books, the ‘Recipe’, I mean…..but I want to share the ‘techniques’ in detail, that will convert a half an affair to fifteen minutes work. Before that let me also add an anecdote that I remember when I come across this dish…

    Newly married and on honeymoon, we were waiting at Kolkata airport to catch the connecting flight. I saw a book shop filled to brim with books, and I could not resist my temptation anymore. What’s more, when I stepped in, I saw racks and racks of recipe books. Any chef…you name and his/her book was there. I was in seventh heaven! Plus, the newly married Bridomania of ‘I will cook the best food in the world for my dear hubby’ was still running pretty high. After poring over each book, after getting confused over which books to buy, after having to convince a shell shocked brand new hubby (as he was still trying to grapple with my logic of buying a book when you get everything over net, free of cost) and getting him to cough out the huge price, I settled for two books, the high end ones..

     Meanwhile I heard someone calling my name...and was pleasantly surprised. A second later, I understood it was an announcement…and yet a second later, we understood, it was the last announcement calling us to board the plane…and then…….. All hell broke loose! I think, you can imagine how it is, to run awkwardly in makeup and high heels and fly  past people like your life is on that plane,  with handbags dangling  all around  and two big books in hand.....I did not notice all this, as I was too happy to have become the proud possessor of those books. No one could stop me from being the best cook and wife now! Did we miss the plane? Oh no! I just had to avoid my husband’s angry looks throughout the journey...and trust me as embarrassed as I was; I did my best to act like nothing had happened and enraging him even more!

   Now you know why this dish “BOTTLE GOURD DUMPLINGS IN TOMATO GRAVY” or simply Lauki kofta as one of those two cook book mentions, reminds me of this incident….every time I open that book I can see myself panting into the plane with bags and books in each hand and the killer look in my hubby’s eyes! Anyway to make good use of the book, I once prepared this dish reading the book and following instructions to the T. It took me half an hour. If I just highlight the procedure; it asks you to make koftas first and then gravy. And for koftas, it says,

·         Mix grated bottlegourd with asafoetida,gram flour, salt and coriander leaves. Divide mixture  in 20 balls.(this takes anywhere from 5 to 15 min)

·         Heat 1” deep oil in a shallow pan, deep fry until golden brown. 10 balls at a time. Keep aside.(this takes another 10 to 15 min. for two rounds of frying)

·         For gravy, heat 1 1/2 tbsp oil in a pan for 30 sec, ass asafoetida, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and ginger mix. Add liquidized tomato and fry until oil separates. Add beaten yoghurt and cook for a minute.(this takes anywhere from 5 to 7 min)

·         Add the fried balls, 3 cups water and salt to taste. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 min. (takes about 10 min maximum)

·         Add Garam Masala and coriander leaves; mix well serve hot.

There you go; the tasty Lauki  kofta is ready with very few instructions and no lengthy details! Nobody warned a beginner like me that it would take somewhere about 30 to 45 minutes! And this would be just one item amongst others to be prepared in the menu list for the day!

Here is what I learnt later on, from Jayasree aunty for lauki kofta and it took 15 minutes…

Ingredients (in order of requirement):

Oil         4-5 tbsp                                                     Green chilies   ½ to 1(depending on hotness)

Lauki     300 gm                                                       Onion   2 medium sized                                

       Besan   4 tbsp                                                           Turmeric     ½ ts                  

       Salt       1 tsp                                                                 Cumin powder ½ tsp                                     

       Ajwain   1 tsp                                                         Dhaniya powder   1 tsp

       Tomato 2-3 medium sized                                     Chilli powder ½ tsp                      

       Cashew 4 to 5                                                            Garam masala ½ tsp

Garlic 1 tsp (optional)                                             Milk/cream   2 tbsp (optional)

       Ginger 1tsp                                                                  Kasuri methi 1 to 2 tsp

Coriander leaves 1 tbsp                                                                                                                                                

                                 

                Method:                                                                             

                                                               

v  In a kadhai, keep oil for heating, and while it heats,

v  In a blender,   lauki, squeeze the water and mix it with gram flour, salt, ajwain(takes 3 to 5 min), make balls

v  Fry the balls and keep aside.(10 min)

v  Now, while frying, on the next gas keep a vessel of water and Blanche tomatoes, garlic, ginger, green chilli, cashew, black pepper (optional). This can also be done by keeping in microwave for 5 min.

v  Remove oil from kadhai, leave a tbsp behind and sauté sliced onion allow cooling for 2 min.

v  Add this sauté d onion to a small mixie/blender and make a paste

v  Remove it and next puree the blanched tomato and other ingriedients in same blender jar.(grinding onion and tomato together may sometimes leave the raw flavor of onion behind)

v   Heat the remaining oil from frying in the same kadhai (1tsp)

v  Add jeera, onion paste.

v  Once it browns, add the tomato puree after 1 min.

v  Add all the spice powders ,

v   Once oil separates from the tomato add milk/cream after 2 min

v  salt, red chilli  powder and pinch of sugar(optional)

v  Then add water, about half glass so that the balls are immersed in the gravy and boil for 2 min.

v  Garnish with kasuri methi and coriander leaves and serves hot with rotis.

First day First show!

Hello Dear readers! Today, I too, am joining the bandwagon of food bloggers and feel so happy and excited about it…What do I want to blog about? Well...as I began my culinary journey 4 years back, I met some generous people who shared their experience and secrets with me. The first major event that happened along the way was meeting Louisa aunty. Aunty did not just teach me simple recipes, as I was a working woman, but she also instilled a genuine interest in food and cooking in me. Our discussions usually were over the dinner table and almost always about the food! She gifted me a blue diary one day, so that I could note down everything about dishes in it. Now the diary is filled with many recipes associated with interesting anecdotes and interesting people who shared them. Then I met the second significant person on the way…my colleague and one of the best friends Jayashri ma’am. I used to usually share my lunch box in office with her. Somehow the food she cooked always seemed finger smacking good. She made the short lunch time a sumptuous party affair that we looked forward to everyday for the delicious food and the variety! She taught me some amazing techniques and secrets of the local cuisine. She taught me the most important lesson of the kitchen, that is not to waste anything and ways to make use of left over’s. Her involvement and ever patient attitude made me fall in love with cooking and experimentation. The third important person who came along the way was my Hubby. His love for not just food but only good food, sharp memory of the taste and ingredients of a dish as well as the patience and willingness to help me get a recipe just right…his thorough enjoyment of eating and swift change to good mood when palate was satisfied; made my journey ever more interesting and challenging. Until then food was just meant to fill the stomach in my view. I was very fussy about what I ate and hence what I cooked. His involvement and constant support in every idea I conceive and everything I do, helped me reach here. Lastly I met another person who changed my perception of good cooking to a great degree. She was my neighbor, another Jayasree aunty. Amazingly smart ways of reducing the time for cooking some of the luxurious dishes and yet making them taste yummy, is a very strong forte of Jayasree aunty. She joked in the beginning that she was ‘shortcut aunty’…but I was awed and inspired at the same time when she served such wonderful dishes for any number of guests in a jiffy! She shared her secrets wholeheartedly and even wished that she could pass it on to our generation…the “genZ(oom)”! She inspired and helped me to start this blog, although I had done twice by myself before in vain…because then, I was not sure what I wanted to blog about. After meeting such wonderful people, now I have reached a point in this journey, where I want to share my experiences, some tasty recipes and all that I learnt, the tips, the techniques, and lessons with you…the reader, who is just like me…loves cooking, but does not like spending too much time in the kitchen! Who wants variety, wants to entertain guests, wants to play the perfect host to the hilt, wants to find ways to hearts through cooking…but doesn’t want to make it a tedious, serious and lengthy affair. I also want to talk about preparing food that will surely win many hearts with very less efforts. The bottom line is this…How to reduce wasting efforts and time being a working woman…and yet how to get the same authentic taste and look at a minimum of expense. I want to talk about ways to make cooking comfortable; and the food…Comfort food…and Jayasree aunty plays a huge role here.. Come join me… Today for beginnings,I will tell you about the simplest way to reduce time of cooking. That is, by using, the gadgets we have to the maximum extent, like the mixer or blender and pressure cooker. Many of us are under the wrong impression that cooking in the cooker mashes the food due to over boiling or it loses taste. We also assume that chopping of veggies is better than using the blender for purpose of taste. Hence the pressure cooker is reserved to make rice and dhal and blender for chutneys, powders and batters. If used in the right way the pressure cooker and the mixer give the desired results. 1. Whenever you want to make a sabji with veggies like cauliflower, beans, peas, etc. first boil them in the pressure cooker. if you dont want them overboiled then switch off just before the first whistle or after the first whistle. Save the water as vegetable broth for dal, soup or the gravy of sabji.And then add the veggies to the masala, the curry is cooked sooner. 2. When there is no time to chop the veggies like onion, ginger, garlic, chilli,tomatoes in the everyday cooking, just put them in the blender and coarsely grind them for one to three sec. This way there is no excess watery puree. in my next blog, i will share a recipe i cooked using these time saver clues. See you soon, Renu