Halloween Desi Style or Olan

Of course we have no Halloween. But we've been here for over a decade and a half, so, really, I'm not sure what 'we' have or what 'we' are. So last year, finally, I gave into the Halloween spirit--no I didn't dress up as Jason or the Scream guy, I carved my first pumpkin. It was quite an event since I had no idea how labor-intensive the process is. This is what the grinning guy looked like:

I know, quite pathetic. But besides that, I'm all for cooking pumpkin, desi style. In the eastern states, pumpkins are sauteed with kaala jeera (काला जीरा) and purple onions as a dry curry with dried red chilies. In southern India, pumpkins are dunked in sambhar or vettal kozhumba quite often. In this country, however, pumpkins are used primarily to scare people and in desserts (interesting combination, huh?)
So, in the holiday spirit, I decided to share a pumpkin recipe, that's neither scary, nor pathetic. Olan--It's from Kerala, a southern state (with a 100% literacy rate--which means, everyone is educated. Now why I had to tell you that, I'm not sure, but I'm filled with facts and info that really have nothing to do with food, and I had to share that with you). Anyway, here it is:
Kerala Olan
Ingredients
3 cups chopped pumpkin, (cubes)
1/2 cup black eyed beans, cooked (or soaked overnight)
1 cup coconut milk
1 large green chilie chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp coconut oil
7-8 curry leaves
1 dry red chilie, for tempering
salt to taste
grapeseed oil for tempering
Recipe

• Pressure cook the pumpkin cubes with the green chilie, and a little coconut oil with salt
• Add the beans to the cooked pumpkins, let the water evaporate
• Add half the coconut milk and simmer
• In another pan, heat the rest of the coconut oil with grapeseed oil and add the mustard seeds, red chilie, curry leaves
• Once the mustard seeds start popping add the pumpkin/bean mixture to the oil and cook for 2-4 minutes
• Adjust the liquid in the olan by reducing the water and adding more coconut milk if need be (the dish should be slightly liquid, like a thick (very thick) soup)
• Add a dash of coconut oil before serving
• Serve hot with rice

     The first time I had olan, it was like magic. It's a very simple dish, and yet, tastes fantastic. If you have the energy to chop pumpkins into cubes, you should try to make this dish. It's that good. Really. Till then, happy Halloween, and enjoy!

An Indian French Toast Day

A few weekends back we decided to breakfast at one of La Jolla's very happening breakfast places. I say we 'decided', because weekends fly by and suddenly Monday looms its ugly head at us and usually we've spent 48 hours staring at Top Chef or Law and Order (don't ask) or E! investigative special re-runs. I say 'we', because heck, well, it's easier to spread the blame than just say, well, it was me, and my TV and I like it that way. So, yeah, anyway, going at a decent time for brunch and actually ordering breakfast for me was a big feat indeed.
     Nestled in southern California, The Cottage is known as 'Old La Jolla's Favorite Beachside Bungalow', serving casual SoCal cuisine, and known as one of the best breakfast places in this country. And I can eat breakfast for dinner, that's how much I love breakfast. And yes, I realize I just used 'breakfast' in each sentence a 100 times!
     The restaurant recommended their world famous stuffed French toast--brioche bread marinated with egg batter, stuffed with strawberries and marscapone cheese. "You won't go wrrronngg, ma'zaam!" said the very cute, and very young and most likely French waiter. (I'm not the only one saying it, Sanjay agrees to, though he's most likely forgotten by now). Anyway, the food, I mean, OF COURSE it was great. We knew it would be as soon as we read the description (after waiting an hour to be seated...that's how popular this place is).
     The order came out looking like this--isn't it gorgeous?

A typical French Toast recipe (not The Cottage's) is:
Ingredients
2-3 slices of thick brioche bread
3 eggs, or egg whites, whipped
3-4 tbsp heavy cream
3 tbsp whole milk
3 tsp sugar/honey
butter/oil for cooking


For the filling
5-10 strawberries, sliced
2 tbsp sugar, or honey
3 tbsp marscapone cheese
Recipe

• Mix the cream and milk with the beaten eggs, add the sugar/honey
• Soak the bread, one slice at a time, slowly allowing the batter to be absorbed by the bread
• Heat a cast-iron pan, add 1-2 tbsp butter/oil, cook each side of the bread about 2-3 minutes (do not overcook). The bread should brown a little.
• Be sure the eggs are cooked through (raw eggs aren't exciting, except to bacteria, and you're not bacteria or bacterium)
• Cook for 2-3 minutes in the oven at around 350 deg C
• Mix the strawberries with sugar/honey and cheese
• Add them into the bread, fold over
• Dust powdered sugar over the bread
• Serve with butter, honey or maple syrup

     In India, we're used to savory French toast. I mean, it's just so different that I think we should just call it Indian toast. It's just that different. It's salty, spicy, and served with ketchup, right? That's what I was used to. So, while the French toast was exciting, Indian (French) toast has wonderful memories attached--of lazy Indian breakfasts, or even as appetizers with tea in the evenings. Here's my take on this:
Indian (French) Toast
Ingredients
3-4 white bread (or brown), sliced into triangles
4 eggs, beaten
2 medium chilies, sliced
1/2 medium purple onions, diced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander leaves
salt to taste
3 tbsp grapeseed oil
Side:
3 medium pototoes, grated
1 chili, chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin powder
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish
Recipe:

• Prepare the egg mixture adding onions, spices, chilies and salt
• Dunk the bread triangles in the egg mixture, and let soak for 2 minutes
• Heat the oil in a cast-iron skillet and cook the bread triangles
• Again, be sure to cook them well (half-cooked eggs are just not good. Not good at all.)
• Cook both sides for about 2 minutes each side
• Place them on paper towels to remove excess oil and transfer onto a plate
• In the same skillet, add the grated potatoes, chilies, cumin, salt and cook them for 3-4 minutes
• Potatoes should cook quickly, but again, once crispy on one side, be sure to cook it by stirring them
• Remove from pan, remove excess oil, and transfer them to the bread plate
• Garnish with coriander leaves

   The Indian French toast should look like this (or better)

Make a hot cup of tea to go with this.

Enjoy!

Shrimpfest Saturday!

I'm thinking shrimp today. Don't know why, but I am. I'm allowed to, right?
     In Bengali cuisine, there are multiple mouth-watering recipes for चिंगरी, chingri, or shrimp. "Gauldaa chingri" or prawns or big shrimp has its own flavor and recipes from simple shrimp curry in tumeric, ginger and cumin to steamed shrimp in mustard sauce, or shrimp in coconut milk are dreams that memories are made up of. These are like the gold standard recipes of Bengali cooking, will share them with you in a bit, but today I thought of sharing a North Indian recipe, with my twist to it. Meanwhile, drool at this fish in mustard sauce, will you? Recipe to follow when I feel like making it again, okay?

     By the way, if you live in the US, have you checked out shrimp? Not checked out in that way, you weirdo, but just compared them to those at the fish markets in Kolkata and Delhi? Let me tell you, they just don't compare. Really. Shrimp in the US, while fun to cook, don't really have the flavor you get in India. I have no idea why, and if you do, do let me know. But we still use US shrimp, don't we? We complain, and yet we do it...oy.
     Regardless, being a fish foodie, I've twisted a traditional तंदूरी tandoori recipe using shrimp instead of chicken as an appetizer. A tandoor, or clay oven, is almost impossible to find, though there are multiple companies selling tandoori masala or paste. I like the one from Rajah, I think it is a British company, and the flavor is as close to the Delhi dhaaba (road-side food stalls) tandoori food as it gets. If you don't have that, try any tandoori paste, and let's see the results. I'm just a bit skeptical of the food coloring in them, so, making one's own tandoori paste is also an option. Anyway, use the paste and maybe a cast iron pan or tava for high-heat cooking. It may not be authentic tandoori, but it's close. You can substitute shrimp for chicken or fish too, if you want.
     Here's my recipe for home-made tandoori paste. Remember, it's mine, and it could be completely different from someone else's, so, don't sue me. I don't add food coloring, and it works for me. You can modify it and make it yours, how's that?
Home-made Tandoori paste
Ingredients
4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves, powdered
1/2 tsp cardamom, powdered
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 medium onion
1 cup yogurt
Recipe: Blend the ingredients. Slow cook on medium fire. Use as paste on fish, chicken, or paneer. Store remaining in airtight container in the fridge (4 weeks or so).
  And now, for Tandoori Shrimp (for ~7-10 people)
Ingredients
50 medium shrimp, cooked, de-veined
6 cloves garlic, grated
4 tbsp whole milk yogurt
1 medium serrano pepper, diced
4-5 tbsp tandoori paste
1 medium green bell pepper (capsicum)
1/2 cup white onions
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
salt to taste
lime juice (optional)
Recipe:

• Mix the tandoori paste, with 3 cloves garlic, yogurt, and 1 tbsp oil and serrano with the shrimp in a big bowl. Coat the shrimp liberally, and use more paste if needed. Cover the bowl in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes.
• On a तवा tava, heat the rest of the oil, add the garlic, sliced onions, and bell peppers. Once the peppers slightly brown, add the rest of the garlic. Saute some more.
• Add the shrimp to the hot tava, and cook for about 5-10 minutes.
• Don't overcook the shrimp, unless you like to chew on rubber bands.
• Serve on a platter with naan. Squirt some lime juice if you want on the shrimp right before eating.

Note: Make this appetizer fresh. Limp shrimp doesn't cut it.

 Enjoy!

A Deep Discussion on Daal (Makhani)

I realize I'm a big daal (lentils) addict. I suppose all Indians are. It's great with rice, naan, rotis, rich in proteins, fiber, it's just wonderful. And it's easy to make if you have a pressure cooker. Indians eat over ten (twenty?) types of daals, a mixture of them, individually, boiled, sprouted, steamed, cooked with curry leaves, with coriander leaves, with or without cream, with or without lime (and lemon), +/- ginger, with deep fried onions (or not), with tomatoes, with meat, with vegetables...you get the idea. The obsession is almost similar our obsession with mangoes, but that's a different topic. Back to daal.
  When I was in India, a 100 years ago, Ma cooked and I ate. Those were the roles assigned, and we didn't deviate. Imagine my surprise upon landing in New York, with my trusty suitcases, packets of chaat masala, cumin seeds, and Indian outfits that would remain in their pristine, starched form for years, and I realize, not only do I have to study, stay in school, do the dishes, pay my rent, balance my checkbook, have money in the bank to survive & pay bills but I also have to cook! Cook enough and cook edible. For the first year and a half I survived on butter chicken (there's only so much butter chicken you can eat every week, I realized that on month 3), half-thawed vegetables sautéed with almost raw coriander and cumin powder (I still can't buy those frozen packs, the trauma was well...traumatic), mushed rice from the rice cooker, cereal and milk (my lifesaver). Twenty pounds and a dress size (or two) later, I returned home to a crash course on cooking--especially daal. This time I was back in New York with every Indian grad student's favorite cookware, a Prestige pressure cooker. Since then, I've acquired three more cookers, and I have no idea how I lived without them or without lentils for so long. Urad, Moong, Masoor, Rajma, Choley, Toor..you name it. The world of daals opened up for me--a really heavenly experience, with the church music and halo lights around my pressure cooker...well, not quite that dramatic. But I even acquired a few cookbooks. That's how I started over a decade and a half ago. No, wait, a 100 years ago.
And this was my first daal I made, it's my sister's recipe. She's of course, the best cook in the world, and here's my attempt.
Note: If you don't understand the hindi names of these lentils, go to any Indian store, and they'll help you out. Promise.
Daal Makhani
Ingredients
1 cup उरद urad daal (चिल्का (chilka), unpeeled)
1/2 cup चना chana daal
1/2 cup kidney beans (राजमा rajma daal)
1/2 inch ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic
3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
4 tbsp yogurt
or 2 tbsp yogurt and 2 tbsp heavy cream
2 medium green chilies, chopped
coriander leaves for garnish
salt to taste
2 tbsp clarified butter, घी
Recipe

• Pressure cook the lentils with ginger, garlic, घी (ghee), chilies and tumeric powder
• Remove lid, and slow cook the same till the lentils blend with the spices
• Add cream/yogurt and cook some more before removing from the flame
• In a separate pan, heat ghee, ginger, tomatoes, green chilies, garam masala and salt
• Add the daal to this, and mix
• Add more cream if you want it richer (you've added tons of घी (ghee) and cream already, so stop!)
• Garnish with coriander leaves
• Serve with rice or रोटी rotis

This really should work. If it doesn't, let me know. But if a novice cookbook reader can make it, you can too. And it should look somewhat like this:

 Enjoy!

Festival of Lights Dinner and Post-Dinner Food Coma

Don't know about you guys, but cooking for this Diwali's get-together has put me in quite a state of exhaustion. I would say it's got to do with age, but as my friend Marcie says, we'll always be 29, so I can't blame my tiredness on that, huh!
Hope Diwali was fun for you. For us, it was great, after a long while. Not because we rushed off to the temple and did all temple-y (is that a word?) things but because we ate (what else?) and ate a whole lot. I think that's what I have right now, food coma! Yes, that's my excuse for this late post. How's that?

On Diwali, we did light our little tea lights, and pretended they were diyas. This year, having been quite a crazy one (more on that on a later post), I thought it'll be great if we had our close friends with us to celebrate the 'new year' with. And so we did. But the problem with these people (and you know who you are!), is that they're too demanding--they want recipes of all the food they ate. I mean, really, come on, will you really, really make them? 'Coz if you do, and you're reading this, you have to send me images of the same, no exceptions, got it?

Anyway, this year I printed out a menu for the gang, just to increase their knowledge but did any one of them take their cards home? Oh, no, of course not. And when they're reading this post, they'll say, oh, c'mon, we know you'll post it here. I know them! And they know me. So here's the silly menu:

 And yes, the picture is somewhat fuzzy, but this is what I made--Sev Bhelpuri, Moong Dal Pakoras, Daal Makhani, Butter Chicken, Olan, Rice Kheer (though we were planning to make tapioca kheer but that was a disaster, more on that in the next post).
Anyway, as you can see, I made a lot and we ate it all up. And everyone wanted to know how to make Sev Bhelpuri, so this is for you you, V!

The next few posts will have the rest of the Diwali menu, so don't say I didn't warn you and if you overdose on Indian recipes, just go look at Orangette or The Hungry Chef, would you?


Appetizer: Sev Bhelpuri

'Sev' stands for the chickpea flour-based spaghetti like crunchy appetizer you find in any Indian store. It's sold in small bags, you can substitute that with aalu bhujia, very similar and slightly spicy in this dish. Bhelpuri means small, wheat-flour based deep fried disks, which makes Sev Bhelpuri crunchy and soft (with the tomatoes). But in an effort to avoid an overdose of fried additives, I've substituted bhelpuri with diced potatoes sautéed with a pinch of salt, chili powder, toasted cumin powder and chaat masala. I usually buy chaat masala (MDH varieties are great).

The tamarind and coriander chutneys can be made at home or bought. I made mine by boiling tamarind, adding sugar and chilies (it's got to be a slightly more spicy since you'll add half a teaspoon to each serving), and blending 5-8 Tbsp coriander leaves with rock salt, chilies and a half tsp of ginger. Buying a jar of each is also good if you're not in the mood to make them from scratch. They store well in the fridge for quite a while.

Ingredients
Traditional recipe:
1 cup  tomatoes, diced
1 cup purple onions, diced
2-3 medium chilies (jalapenos, or serranos)
1 cup boiled garbanzo beans (or 1 can)
1 cup Persian cucumbers, diced
5 Tbsp coriander leaves, diced
1 cup sautéed potatoes, diced
4 Tbsp puffed rice
4  Bhelpuri
2 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chaat masala
salt to taste
1 tsp chili powder

Serve with coriander and tamarind chutneys

Alternate recipe
Ingredients:
1 cup tomatoes, diced

1 cup purple onions, diced
2-3 medium chilies (jalapenos, or serranos)
1 cup boiled garbanzo beans (or 1 can)
1 cup Persian cucumbers, diced
5 Tbsp coriander leaves, diced
1 cup sautéed potatoes, diced
2 tsp lime juice
1 Tbsp chaat masala
salt to taste
1 tsp chili powder
Serve with coriander & tamarind chutney


Recipe (Traditional)
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, add salt, lime juice, chilies, chili powder, chaat masala, coriander leaves
Add puffed rice, bhel puri & sev right at the end so they don't get soggy with the cucumbers and tomatoes
Serve with a splash of coriander & tamarind chutneys 
Recipe (Alternate)
Add the potatoes to the serving bowl
Mix garbanzo beans, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes with coriander leaves, lime juice, salt, chili powder and chaat masala
Finally add the sev.

Serve with coriander & tamarind chutneys
Serve with an extra sprinkling of sev



We've actually made a dinner meal out of several bowls of bhelpuri, so that's an option too. If you take out the sev, then it's almost a salad, (or salsa!) which may be an alternate recipe. But then, it won't be sev bhelpuri, or as fun. 

Anyway, have a blast making this, enjoy!

A Lazy Day at the Farmers' Market

This weekend was perfect—lazy, sunny, and I had absolutely no plans. Don’t know about you, but that’s what a perfect weekend is to me. Does say a lot about how much I value sleep, eh? When we moved to San Diego, everyone cautioned us that the sun will soften our brains and we’ll become laidback. I’m glad that happened the minute I landed here! There’s something about southern California sunshine, it’s just pure, fresh and bright. Really. If you’re from here, you know what I mean. If you’re not, visit this place, you’ll know what I mean.

A direct effect of this abundant sunshine (though we do have cloudy days, mind you), is the presence of weekend farmers’ markets. You’d find the most friendly and most hardworking people selling their produce. This weekend, Sanjay and I went to our neighborhood one in Del Mar. Do you see the color on the tomatoes? Come on, you’ve got to love this. Heirlooms abound. Drizzled with balsamic vinegar, mixed with fresh mozzarella, parsley and grated garlic, it’s a great appetizer. 
But back to the Del Mar farmers’ market—color was the name of the game, and it wasn’t just red from the tomatoes. Look at the squashes, and zucchini—I mean, come on, they’re gorgeous. Fall/winter brings the squash varieties back, and you can bet on quite a few dinners of roasted veggies with rotis.

Besides the customary tamales, mango and watermelon stands along with fish, flower and fruit stands, there’s even a cactus plant stand, the owner did scare me though—said, you need to come here every weekend (which I don’t, since I’m lazy), and so I lied and said, yes, yes, ma’am, I do and I will. And since I can’t lie that well, I guess I obligated to go every weekend now. Here's her cactus:

But the fun stand is the oranges one. The lady in the pineapple shirt has been there ever since I can remember. From blood oranges to Valencia’s, she has them all. She doesn’t talk much, but I have a feeling she loves oranges (and maybe pineapples). What do you think? I really should stop making up stories about farmers in pineapple shirts selling oranges….

  

Anyway, hope your weekend was fun too. More recipes to follow, but till then, enjoy the rest of what’s left of this weekend. Really, enjoy!

Moong dal with Ginger (Lentils)

This week, a fellow foodie and scientist who's also a brilliant chef, Sylvia, asked for a lentil recipe from moi, मुझसे (mujhsey), aamakey! Oh, my, was I flattered. But besides being flattered, I had to give her a recipe she could try without running to the Indian grocery store and spend hours in a dazed state of mind for Indian spices can be confusing, especially if you're unused to the desi labels. Anyway, so, here's my recipe, Indian style, followed by a twisted one. Let me know how yours turns out. Would love to see some photos too.
Ingredients
1 cup moong dal (mung bean lentils)
2 tbsp ginger
1/2 cup coriander leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp chili powder (optional)
1 tsp cumin powder
1-2 medium chilies (Thai), sliced
1/2 cup purple onions, chopped
1 tbsp clarified butter/ grapeseed oil 
Half a lemon
Salt to taste

• Boil the moong dal with the chilies and salt. I prefer a pressure cooker since it takes less than 15 minutes, but you could boil it in a pot too. Set aside.
• Saute onions with ginger, coriander leaves, cumin seeds and powder in a flat-bottomed pan in oil or ghee (if you're super skinny and/or don't care if your heart complains). Add chili powder if you're feeling adventurous. When the onions have wilted, and the color changed to translucent/white, add the dal.
• Be careful, the lentils may splatter! Add about 1 cup of water, and let the mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. Add more water if you want the lentils less thick.
• Garnish with a few coriander leaves, and a dash of lime juice. Eat with basmati rice. Enjoy!

Alternate recipe:

• Boil the dal with carrots (2-3 medium), potatoes (1 medium) and chiles.
• Saute the onions with coriander leaves, ginger, cumin seeds and powder.
• Add the dal with the vegetables to it. Boil or let simmer on medium-heat.
• Instead of water, add vegetable broth or chicken broth to make the lentils less dense. Simmer some more.
• Add a splash of lime juice, garnish with coriander leaves.
• Serve hot with basmati rice, or drink it as a soup with bread.
• Enjoy!