Khandvi

Again I owe thanks to Bhavini, my guru when it comes to Gujarati speaking and cooking :)

Ingredients:

1 cup besan (gram flour)
3 cups thin buttermilk (preferably sour)
1 green chill (crushed)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste

For the tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp sesame seeds
1/4 tsp chilli powder
Ghee

For Garnishing:
Chopped corriander leaves
Grated Coconut.

Method:
1) Lightly heat the buttermilk.
2) Mix the besan and buttermilk whilst ensuring that no lumps are formed.
3) Add the turmeric powderm crushed green chilly and salt and mix well.
4) Place this mix on the stove and bring it to a boil while stirring continuously.
5) The mixture will begin to thicken, keep stirring to ensure that no lumps are formed.
6) When the mixture reaches a thick shrikhand like consistency remove from the heat.
7) Now in a large plate spread a large spoonful of the mixture like a dosa and let it dry.
8) Once it dries, roll the dosa and cut in to one inch cubes.
9) Heat the ghee and add mustard, once the mustard splutters add the cumin seeds, sesame seeds and the chilly powder.
10) Spoon the tadka over individual pieces of the khandvi.
11) Garnish with chopped corriander leaves and grated coconut.

Gujarati Kadhi!

Thank you Bhavini for this super recipe!!!

Ingredients:

1/4 ltr curd

2 tbsp besan (gram flour)

2 green chillies (slit)
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp chopped corriander leaves.
For Tadka:
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 fenugreek seeds
3 cloves
1 inch piece cinnamon
1/2 tsp asafoetida
curry leaves
1tbsp ghee


Method:
1) Mix water in the curd and make a thin buttermilk.
2) Heat the butter milk on the gas for 2 mins, remove and keep aside.
3) Mix the besan with water and make a thin runny paste.
4) Mix the heated butter milk and besan paste, add the salt and slit green chillies to this mixture.
5) Prepare the tadka, heat ghee and add the mustard seeds, once they splutter add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, cloves, cinnamon, curry leaves and asafoetida.
6) Add the tadka to the buttermilk mixture.
7) Now heat the buttermilk mixture for about 20 mins, alternating between high heat and low heat to ensure that the mix does not boil over.
8) Add the sugar and chopped corriander leaves and simmer for one mins.
9) Serve hot with rice.

B.B.W.

Gully Cricket with its own quirky rules is very popular all over the Indian subcontinent and my area is no different. I remember playing it with rules like, One Tappi OUT, Full Toss OUT, Sheesha Toda OUT etc. and it has just been brought to my notice that a new rule has been added... B.B.W...

My mum isn't a big fan of the game as it is an enemy of her daily soaps which she has to forego on match days. So when she came to me inquiring whether a new rule called B.B.W. has been introduced, I was intrigued.

The facts of the matter are as such....

We live on the first floor and there is a playground in front of our building, more often than not, the voices of players of various games floats in to our flat. Listening to these sometimes sublime sometimes asinine conversations makes for a very interesting way to kill time which I for one have a surfeit of. This evening my mum was at a loose end as the Cable TV had conked off and hence was standing in the balcony watching kids at play, when she heard a commotion and the following conversation...

Bowler: Howzzat, B.B.W!!!

Batsman: What is B.B.W.? I'm not out!!!

Bowler: Your bum blocked the stumps.... so you are out B.B.W....Bum Before Wicket!!!

If this is not innovative I don't know what is...

Dal Khicidi

Ultimate Comfort Food!!!

Normally made with Moong Dal, but I used Tur Dal and it tasted just fine!!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Tur Dal
1/2 cup Rice
1 large tomato (chopped)
1 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2 Red Chillies (dry)
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Asafoetida
Hot Water
Salt to Taste

Method:

1) Wash the Rice and Dal, rinse a couple of times till the water used to rinse runs clear. Keep aside.
2) Heat Ghee in a pan (I used a pressure pan).
3) Add the Mustard seeds, let it splutter and then add the Cumin seeds.
4) Add the dry red chillies and fry for a while.
5) Add the washed rice, dal, turmeric and asafoetida and toss for a couple of minutes.
6) Add the chopped tomato.
7) Add hot water to cover the rice and dal twice over.
8) Cover with the lid and cook till the rice and dal are soft.
9) Open and use a hand whisk to mash the softened rice and dal.
10) Add more water if the mash feel too dry.
11) Simmer for a few minutes.
12) Serve hot with curd or raita.

Jeera Rice...

Easy Peasy Recipe for great tasting rice that stays seperate when cooked!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati Rice (preferably long grained not the tukda variety)
2 cups hot water
Whole Spices
- 5 Cardamon pods (slightly opened)
- 5 cloves
- 1 tbsp Jeera
- 2 tbsp Ghee

Method:

1) Wash the rice a couple of times to get rid of the starch ( you know you have succeeded when the water in which you rinsed the rice is clear), keep aside.
2) Heat a large pan and add ghee.
3) Once the ghee is hot add the jeera and then after 30 seconds add the other whole spices.
4) Fry till the aroma of the spices wafts through the air.
5) Add the washed rice and keep frying till all the moisture evaporates (the rice will start clinging to one another).
6) At this point add the hot water and salt to taste, the proportion is 1:2, which means for 1 cup rice add 2 cups of water.
7) Cover and cook.
8) Uncover occasionally and see how the rice is doing.
9) Tip: you may want to shift the position of the pan on the stove, to ensure every area is getting cooked evenly.
10) Remove from heat and serve with raita or curd.

Save Puri anyone...

This indeed shows that the world is fast running out of things to 'save', my friend spied this gem on her recent trip to Leh :). Knowing that I have a soft spot for all things quirky, the camera was immediately put into action.

Next she has promised me a picture of 'Assprakash' (for my international audience I'll have you know the literal translation of this word into English will mean 'Butt Light')...watch out this space for more updates, I promise you it is a scream... is it a bird, a plane... no its... Oh well, you just have to wait and watch, like the rest of us :-p

Thank you P for this fantastic pic :)

P.S.: A little background for my international audience, Sev Puri is a popular street food, where in tasty morsels of mashed potato, onion, tomato, spicy sauces are loaded on a crisp fried flat cake which is about one inch in diameter, this is then further topped with Sev, which is a thin fried vermicelli kind of preparation made of gram flour that is spiked with spices. Though when you say 'Save' Puri it gets a whole new meaning :)

Duck Walk...

To see children go about doing things in all seriousness is very endearing. On my recent trip to the Museum of science, Boston, I had the chance to see it at its best!

As it happened I was sat on the bench, old age is catching up with me real fast and even a couple of hours of walking is enough to make me want to sit down at each bench and chair I spy. Accordingly I had parked myself on the bench near the exit and was engrossed in watching the world go by, soon enough a family with two small boys came along, I had seen then pass on their way in and noticed the younger boy fidgeting as he walked, shuffling this way and that, I smiled and watched with the thought "boys".

A few minutes later they passed me again, both boys doing the same walk, it intrigued me, they took a couple of steps, stopped and stood on one foot with the other placed on top of it. Closer examination revealed they were actually standing on sticker of a duck foot that was pasted on the floor, the older of the two managed to follow the foot prints nicely, the younger one was an absolute joy to watch, with determination written all over his face, he balanced himself on one foot, carefully placed the other foot on top of the other, held the position for a while ensuring he didn't topple over and then moved on to the next footprint!

To be honest it was quite inspiring, if only we emulated children more the world would be a far better place to be!!!

If only we could...

Be more honest,
Be less scared,

Be more curious,

Be less aware,

Be more hopeful,

Try a little more,

If only we could let ourselves go...

Don't give up at every setback... children don't... have you ever seen them at play ??...

Check out kids on the beach, they will invariably pick a spot close to the waves to build sand castles and when the waves wash away the castle the look on their faces isn't one of dismay, it is a look of eagerness to build something better, they just keep trying and trying!!!

Look forward to the new day, it is a fantastic world out there... and its waiting for you...and for me.