Pumpkin something

I made something out of pumpkin today. I planned on trying out a Bihari recipe from BBC Good Food India's June issue, but it turned out that I didn't have most of the ingredients. Yeah even something as basic as ginger. Grocery shopping is my pet peeve and I will be more than happy when my mother comes and takes that over for a couple of weeks. I don't mind cooking two meals for her in exchange. The problem is a) the poor to pathetic quality of most vegetables in this region ( I think people here just don't eat well, or are not bothered) b)if two things you need are available at any given place then the third isnt. Ginger of course is available everywhere , so I'm just making excuses, when basically I forgot :). Sitting down and making a list never works because I promptly forget stuff while making the list, or I leave the list at home. I used to use a note taking app on my phone, which was good, since the phone is kind of surgically attached to one's palm, one can just jot down items as and when they occur to one.

So I decided to modify the pumpkin recipe to a great extent. Pumpkin is hellish to cut so I usually ask the vegetable seller to slice it longitudinally for me. I put these long slices into the microwave for ten minutes, with a little bit of oil (optional). They come out all nice and soft and that is when I slice them into little pieces. I used a tadka of kalonji (nigella seeds) and red chillies. I also used a lot of boris, (those bengali lentil globules/spheres?) which make any dish taste nice. People usually deep fry them, but being lazy I just dry roast them in the Kadai before frying the tadka in the same kadai. Once the pumpkins came out nice and soft I just sliced them and put them into the kadai with the tadka and the bori and added salt, rock salt and amchur and stirred it together and let it be there for some time. Didn't taste too bad, texture was interesting. Would have been better if I'd had the energy to peel the pumpkin, but they eat them with skins on in S. India it seems so I guess it doesn't poison me and peel is supposed to be good for you, roughage and what not.

My Pune trip from the culinary angle

I went to Pune two weeks ago for a very close friend's engagement. A co-explorer of cities, of seedy eateries, a fellow movie addict and a partner in crime, a loyal supporter. True to form, I had a nostalgic food fest (Marathi snacks are just so the ticket) and carried back a lot of khau. Two years of integration/assimilation into the Marathi community in JNU meant of course Bakarwadi, Masala Kachodi, Bharang(my friend Akshay used to get the best ever) , Chivde , Shrewsbury biscuits, Kayani's Cake, lovely vinegary-fiery green chillie pickle, shop-bought bright red Warhadi Thecha (I think it was Kelkar's), my friend M's mom's home made green chilly thecha with peanut chunks in it(I used to think she was a magician), Lasun Chutney, my favourite Shengdano Ki Chutney( I love peanuts). I ABSOLUTELY fell in love with Amba Lonche - I think Marathis have got the secret of how to make the most PERRRFECT mango pickle ever. Just the right levels of sour-salty-ness. It's not much publicised but I think it  is WAY better than the ubiquitous Punjoo or Tam / general Southie pickles you get on the market.

In fact their green chillie pickle is pretty damn good as well. I like the taste of whatever little daily Marathi home style cooking I have tasted as well- it's very simple but very different- the dominant tastes are peanuts, mild amounts of coconut and this secret masala called Goda Masala.

Leaving Delhi obviously felt terrible, the people and the camaraderie and the historicity and the lovely long foggy winters. Contributing in no small measure to this was the general Thecha- Lonche deprivation and the nostalgia for Bakarwadi - Chivda.There are certain foods which, as much as or more than the taste, also carry some very emotional associations. Usually one's native cuisine does this to one, for me a lot of  Marathi food and the sound of the language brings back memories of long nights maroing adda in and out of Lohith and Chandrabhaga, Mahanadi,complaining about boredom, mess food, lovely night walks,the thrill bike rides(my first ever encounter with bikes), learning a new language, going to watch a play in Marathi, which M tried to whisper interpret, and then admitted she didn't understand much either because it was a dialect instead of hoch Marathi, singing Dada Kondke songs. I kind of relived this this July for a bit with U and was happy that he listened with so much patience:) as well as accompany me to Chandni Chowk.

So to get to the food. Started off with lunch at Maithilee's house,really yummy cauliflower Sabji cooked by the lady who looks after her nephew. Was eating cauliflowers after ages given the general standard of cauliflowers here which try their best to convert you into an insectivore.As mentioned, the marathis use this secret Garam masala called Goda Masala, which make the simplest of recipes taste DIVINE. Together with this there was Methi Theplas and some Dal Rice(simple Dal, which I think they call Varan Bhath). In the evening M (whom I call Dory) started off on the usual food pilgrimage. Luckily didn't have to go too far as there is a competent Chitde's, a nice Konkani store and a super Halwai within walking distance from her place. We picked up Aloo Shev, Aloo Papad (which we finished in Pune), Shrewsbury Biscuits, a kilo of Bakarwadi, a kilo of Masale Kachodi, a bottle of Mapro's strawberry crush, Goda Masala(forget the brand), and a packet of Kepra's mango pickle. Also some Shengdana Chutney (peanut chutney) and Lasun Ki chutney(again forget the brand). We finished this expedition with some really nice Pura/ Puria? Chi Vadi and this thing called Matar Karonji (which was like a samosa patty but with a pea's stuffing) at Chacha Halwai's. The latter was so good I finished off the last one in the shop.
At dinner that night, M's mother yet again reminded me that she is  magician. Bharli Vangi -brinjals stuffed with peanuts and Usal, a sprouts dish.  The awesome thing about Marathi Ghar Ka Khana is that it is so simple yet so tasty. And of course it's the nicest thing ever when somebody so lovingly cooks for you.There was some very nice Upma the next morning for breakfast which we ate on the drive from Bombay to Pune(and such a lovely drive it is, rolling green hills and mist), Maharashtra does seem to have a lot of things which make it seem like an interesting place to explore/settle in. Beaches, sea, lush green hills, ruined forts, history, food. Nice people speaking a comprehensible language. What I don't like are the rains. I am a sissy who doesn't like getting messy. We stopped at Lonavla which is pretty, if only the rain hadn't killed it.
I won't talk about the engagement food much here, because that was nice, but standard north Indian party food type food... but move on after that. ...In Bombay, my friend P joined us together with a junior of ours, another Madhura. We went to Madhura's house afterwards, and then I wanted to go to P's house and say hello to her parents, whom I haven't met for ages. P lives in Borivali and I liked the ride ,from Thane to Borivali, it seemed like more of the Mumbai Pune highway landscape. And while people have raised eyebrows at my going to Bombay and not wandering around town, I'm glad I went, because her mom was so happy to see me and gave me a BIG hug, and who the hell wants to wander around dirt and mud while getting drenched. Had a nice chat, planned a future trip, next month, and then got fed royally by P's mother. Aloo Matar, which had a nice coconutty-peanutty feel, and paneer(aloo matar was a real winner)- and apart from the warmth it just feels so good to have tasty home cooked food without having to cook it yourself. Auntie also ground me fresh peanut chutney to carry back home and I was OVER the MOON. I left a box of chocolate fudge from Lonavla with them.

When I visit them I will carry some Ooty chocolates and Mysore Pak. I came back with super heavy bag full of food, and a smile and much love :)

and I had a fitting Samadhi for the remaining Khau last Sunday. Invited a bunch of people (about 6) over for evening snacks and put out the spread below. I had greedily polished off the Aloo Shev, and there weren't enough Shrewsbury biscuits to go around, and I ain't sharing homemade peanut chutney, till I get my grinder, but the rest was all there.
On the table there is Strawberry Crush,Chitde Chya Bakarwadi and Masala Kachodi,some Lakshmi Narayan Chivde which I got here from Total Mall,to supplement the theme, chikki and chocolate fudge from Lonavla, Varng (puffed rice mixture) and some Bong chanachur (Mukhorochak) which my mom had sent me with my meds and which luckily arrived that very afternoon. The Pongal-Sambar was my friend Pramila's tiffin, and I kind of regret not tasting it now. My friend Rekha who pampers us like crazy supplied the samosa and the jalebi from Bhikharam's, and the two bottles of wine which she had received as a birthday present. I had planned to make some Anda Bhurji or Sabudana Khichdi but didn't feel up to it, which was a good thing as there was lots of this stuff left over which was ultimately sent home with D( whom we call the son of Rajanikanth :P). I think everybody had a nice time cos they stayed till 10:30. Teas seem to be a good idea and maybe we will do more such.

Come to think of it, a cooking blogger who is also a pork lover shouldn't name herself after the most famous pig in literature.

Oh well.

A return to blogging and brinjals

I decided to return to this blog after nearly a year. I abandoned it because a) I kind of stopped trying out new stuff b) the blog template got really messed up c) I realised a lot of my cooking methods were completely unscientific and I didn't have the energy to re-write posts

A year down the line, I am more tech savvy, :P and with the encouragement of a good friend U decided to clean up this space. I am ALSO a quicker cook, and realised I didn't have to try exotic to get innovative. Just simple endless variations on the daily sabzis can lead to endlessly different tastes ( specially since I eyeball all my ingredients). I have ALSO resolved to try re-writing older posts. So here goes.

Of late I have ended up making a lot of dry sabzis (somewhat like stir fries) which require very little time to be spent in the kitchen.Just roast the seeds, add the vegetables, stir add masalas, stir, cover, go have bath, come back to find it almost/completely cooked. Set rice to boil in the meantime.  Standard lunches comprise this one veggie dish, rice and chicken if I have happened to have cooked any over the weekend. While shamelessly parochial about hardcore Bengali cuisine being the best for daily consumption(though while living at home I would turn up my nose regularly at said cuisine) I have decided that most of it is way too laborious and finicky for the average lazy woman who likes cooking as the means to an end. So I looked at a wide variety of recipes and found a lot of North Indian stuff which sounded surprisingly easy ( I think everyday, home-style North Indian food is super-yummy as well)... and now my cooking is a mish mash of everything and I just throw together whatever I feel like eating at that particular point of time. I am NOT very fond of Veggie Curries except for standard stuff like Dahi Bhindi or Shorshe Begun or Kopir Dalna, so I keep them dry. That way ..if I don't feel like making rice I can turn them into sandwiches or better still get hot rotis from the office ( Rs 10 for 4 rotis) and eat them with some pickle on the side.

My MOST  recent effort in this line was a rather pleasantly surprising brinjal dish

Now.. brinjal is without doubt my favourite vegetable, though cauliflower nearly ties with it. Due to it being an almost impossible task to find gobhi sans insects here (this is a part of India where I really think nobody even LOOKS at what is on their plate or dumps everything into some form of lentils) I have resigned myself to Gobhi-Deprivation for most of the year till I can shift to more congenial territory( I was MOST impressed by the vegetable stalls in Pune eg- LOVELY white cauliflower and ripe red ready to burst tomatoes, vivid purple brinjals- I should have taken a photo.:( )
So brinjals it is (and why do I keep getting a mis-spelling indicator?)
For this recent dish:

I chopped two mediumish brinjals into teeny pieces. Of late I am getting better at chopping things up teeny which I hated before. A decent assortment of knives goes a long way. Chopped into long strips with a big meat knife then into smaller ones with the thin onion slicing one.  Then I heated oil and let cumin seeds splutter. I tossed in the brinjal and coated it nicely with oil and the cumin, keeping heat high all the while. Covered it and sliced onions again into small pieces( it kind of grows on you, I guess :P. Also a useful skill to advertise when one is no longer a bachelorette-can be used as a deterrent ).Stirred in the onions, stirred a while till I got bored, turned heat to medium, put in an OVERDOSE of cumin powder( I am a moody cook) having got some cumin pangs that day, some amount of coriander powder, some salt, mixed in the spices, covered it and went and had a bath and stuff. Came back to find it almost cooked. Put in some amchur and let it finish. I charred it a bit- having picked up this trick on another cooking blog, which I will try to trace. Eaten with rice, and the next day with bread. Brinjal when properly cooked should be nice and soft and this WAS.

No hassle Bhindi

The best thing about Bhindi is that it is easy to CUT. Lay several of these side by side, hold them down with one hand and go chop chop chop with a knife.
They look a bit like lizards though...

This is the easiest recipe I can think of
Bhindi
Jeera(cumin) seeds & a bay leaf
Coriander powder
Amchur(mango powder)
Salt turmeric
Green chillies or chilli powder (optional)
Besan (optional)

keep the cut bhindis in the fridge for a couple of days. Somehow older vegetables are easier to cook, don't know why.

Heat oil and drop the cumin seeds into it. Once the seeds crackle, add the bhindi. Stir it well so that the cumin seeds get mixed with the bhindi pieces. Drop some coriander powder, salt and turmeric into this immediately, stir well again so that the bhindi is well coated with spices. Now put the lid on and simmer for ten minutes (or more depending on the quantity you are cooking)
After these ten minutes, come back to the stove, take the lid off, if the bhindi is 3/4 cooked add the aamchur stir and cover it up again..water can be added if necessary. After max 10 more mins of this process, the bhindi should be totally cooked. At this stage, add a miniscule amount of besan, stir it, let it be absorbed and take it off the stove. This dish however seems to taste better if it is kept for some time after cooking.
Don't have pics-due to reasons in last post. Anyway cooked bhindi is nothing great to look at-as mentioned, they look like lizards. Well cooked bhindi should be an unpleasant dark green in colour. To taste, it should be soft and squishy-this is not a deep fried dish.

Roast Chicken in Red Wine

I am short of pics at present, due to my smartphone conking out and me misplacing my camera charger.
In any case, I don't think I COULD upload pictures on this blog without my little Android. The integration is beautiful and seamless- Pictures taken on the phone are auto-uploaded to Picasa Web.. and Blogger allows you to directly add snaps from your Picasa Web Albums. Google is just SO the best.
Anyway, the smartphone should eb up and running again in another 48 hours. It's already been repaired, but I have very un-smartly left the charging equipment in the store. As my friend said, the phone needs to compensate for the user:P


To get to the roast chicken:
I had attended a gourmet cookery workshop recently where they had given me a bottle of red wine. I really don't like red wine very much, even though I have plenty of friends who do, so I decided to try out some nice recipe. I searched for Coq Au Vin.. but the authentic Coq Au Vin requires a load of ingredients which I don't have the patience to go buy- in any case this modified recipe turned out quite well, I think. The recipe below would benefit from caramelised onions.. I forgot to make and add those.




Marinade some chicken in red wine(tiny amount), garlic paste, lemon juice, salt and pepper, and leave it for at least overnight or even longer ( even more than 24 hrs is ok, it doesn't go bad)
The marinade should not be too watery.. that means a very minimal amount of wine.

Heat oil and once it starts bubbling put the marinaded chicken into it. It will start sizzling and let out fat and liquid....and let out an awesome smell that will make you want to stick your head into the pan.
You can add a small stick of cinnamon to the roasting chicken; this apprently makes it brown nicely. I think it also adds to the taste of the gravy

Cover it up and let the chicken dry roast, check on it every five minutes and when one side is nicely browned and looks about to char, take a LONG handled ladle( I find a ladle better than a spatula for this) and turn the pieces around and let the other side brown.

Once both sides have that nice browned look- should be smelling really nice by now-take them out of the vessel and keep them aside. At this point the chicken is ONLY HALF or 3/4s cooked.
Ideally put the chicken in some water-this water will absorb some of the fat and can be used to cook the dish later.

I now added some black peppercorns (Those round crinkly black pepper globules- I think they are called peppercorns) and a bay leaf and lots of chopped garlic( finely chopped) and roasted these in the oil-fat residue in the pan. once they kind of crush and start giving out  smells I added mushrooms and spring onions and fried these.

I did a really lazy thing with the mushrooms- I had ordered a pork dish the previous day which had mushrooms in it-I just fished these mushrooms out and added them after a thorough rinsing :P. As the original pork dish had been very mild, it was as good as using raw mushroom

and once these have browned, mix some red wine, soya sauce and cornflour in a bowl and return the chicken to the cooking vessel, add the red wine soya sauce mix-if you have soaked the half cooked chicken in water, then add this  water, else just take some water from the tap, and let the chicken simmer in this liquid.

Once the water boils off, the chicken should be completely cooked - we can add vinegar at this stage.

Salt can be adjusted to this dish any time according to taste. The runniness of the gravy depends on the amount of cornflour added..by mistake I boiled off the whole gravy.. but I think a slightly viscous sauce like gravy would taste awesome!

this dish is neither lengthy nor time consuming in terms of cooking time, but requires one to be present in the kitchen through the process, alert and dexterous..Ingredients have to be added at the right moments, and if the chicken is turned over too late it will char...so I intend to make it when I have the energy.

Lemon garlic butter

Chop some garlic into small pieces Slice a minute sliver of one lemon. Take a good generous dollop of butter and melt it in a pan and put it on a low flame. Add the chopped garlic as SOON as the butter starts bubbling. let it roast for 5 seconds..then take hold of the vessel, and hold it a few inches ABOVE the flames for some time- to make sure the butter does not burn. Let the pan get some heat, till the garlic is completely roasted, ie it should be golden brown and crunchy. Now squeeze the lemon juice from the lemon sliver into this, stir it well and serve. Salt and pepper can be added if desired.

This is a very nice twist on the usual butter. Tastes great on soft bread, and I think would go well with fried fish too. I think it can also be thickened to a sauce using cornflour, though haven't tried it myself. Once could also try marinading prawns in this and grilling them. 
Whole process should not take more than 5 mins, otherwise the butter will burn. the proportion of the three ingredients can be adjusted according to taste.