Stubborn Food for a Stubborn Lady - Khichri

Think of a word for those who don’t leave their house. Most of us or I should say almost all of us will go for “Lazy”. But, under different conditions, when a person says “I am not leaving this God Damn House” then that person is known as a “Holdout”. Government or private firms try to woo such people by offering them millions of dollars for their land. That piece of land might not be large enough but crucial enough for that project. Many go for those million dollars but a few become “Holdouts”. One such story is of Deepti Sen living in West Bengal, India. Deepti stayed on rent at our place as she had her project for 6 months (in the year 2011). She became a good friend of mine and has an interesting story associated to her. The girl and her parents were offered huge money for their house in Bengal. Builders wanted that piece of land for a commercial project. However, she was least interested in money and said “No”. This was her 108 year old ancestors farmhouse. She has seen a lot of in this house. This house must be more living for her than other things. In the end, what we cling on to are the memories. They may be good ones or bad ones but once you are over them, they are memories, beyond good and bad. 

 

Deepti had been to many places, but that farmhouse was always something she looked forward to. The most living thing among the living ones. She said that she won’t leave that house until her death. She was stubborn enough and didn’t leave that house and so is this food for today’s menu - Khichri. That’s a good recipe I learnt from her. Khichri has been in South Asian meals, especially India for centuries and will be there forever. With Eid-ul-Fitar coming ahead also check my recipe Mutton Biryani. For today, let’s try vegetable Khichri, loved by Asians especially Indians. Khichri is served with papad. Papad is a thin and crisp disc shaped Indian and Pakistani food. It is based on seasoned dough which is made up of black gram flour (urad daal flour). It is fried or prepared with heat. Many kinda flours are used for the same eg. lentils, rice, tapioca, chickpeas, potato etc. We get prepared papad in markets of India and Pakistan. All we needa do is fry or heat the discs and serve immediately. It’s chiefly popular in India. Nevertheless other countries enjoy it too. If you ask me why South Asian recipe? It’s because my research for Dragon Boat Race festival showed me a lot of new recipes.

Ingredients:-

4 Cloves,

1 Bay Leaf,

2/3 cup Rice,

4 Curry Leaves,

3¼ cups Water,

Salt as required,

1 chopped Onion,

1 small Cinnamon Stick,

1/3 cup Split Yellow Gram,

1/4 teaspoon Cumin Seeds,

2 tablespoons Clarified Butter,

1 cup chopped Mix Vegetables,

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric Powder,

Black Peppercorns as required,

1/2 teaspoon Red Chilli Powder.

Preparation Method:-

1. Wash and soak rice plus split yellow gram (Chana daal) in water for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, drain and keep aside. Dice mix vegetables (carrots, beans, potatoes). Also use peas.
2. Heat clarified butter in a deep pan over medium flame. Add 3¼ cups water to boil. When clarified butter is hot enough, add cinnamon, black peppercorn, curry leaves, cumin seeds, cloves and bay leaves. Stir for 40 seconds.
3. Add chopped onion, saute until it turns golden brown. Add mixed vegetables. Saute for 3 minutes, reducing the heat. Now add soaked rice, daal, turmeric powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well and saute for another 3 minutes.
4. Add water and cover it with a lid. Simmer for 20 minutes over low flame. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. Keep the pan after turning of the flame for 5 minutes to cool a bit. Serve hot.
5. You can also prepare the recipe in cooker, using 2 whistles such that it is completely cooked. Cool the cooker for 5 minutes after the second whistle.
6. Garnish with tomato as shown. Serve hot with Papad and Pickle!

Enjoy the treat!

Dragon’s Zongzi - Food for Health

Name a festival celebrated by many but with different stories of its evolution? There are a lot of them and this goes on to prove that though we have different stories, we reach the same end or a beginning, may be. However, in China you call it “Duanwu Festival” AKA The Dragon Boat Festival. Chinese have this ancient thing with Dragons - I guess we all do. According to Chinese mythology, Dragons are evolution ancestor of humans and control Water, Rainfall, Hurricanes and Floods. They are the symbol of power, strength and good luck. If we look closely, we realise that every important thing which can affect our lives is either controlled or represented by Dragons- they do matter a lot. Stories behind Dragon Boat Race fest are quite amusing. One story says, “Qu Yuan”, a poet and minister committed suicide by drowning in river due to a disagreement with the King. 

 

His followers searched for him with their boats - hence the Dragon Boat race- and threw rice dumplings - the food of this blog- so that fishes won’t eat Yuan and go for rice instead. Other one says a girl named “Cao E” jumped in river to save her drowning father but both of them drowned instead. So this day is to remember her sacrifice. I see Duanwu as a festival to celebrate and respect sacrifice. On this day people go for the Dragon Boat race(obviously!), wear perfumed medicine bags, MAKE AN EGG STAND at Noon and eat ZONGZI with realgar wine. Even you should try to make an egg stand at noon and get good luck for the next year! All in all people pray for a healthy and happy life. Chinese food is my all time favorite. Since this festival is in June, let’s try Zongzi for a healthier, safer and a ‘Food Full’ year.

Ingredients:-

4 Strings,

4 Mushrooms,

100 gms Abalone,

4 salted Egg Yolks,

4 Japanese Conpoy,

600 gms Green Beans,

600 gms Glutinous Rice,

4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce,

280 gms chopped Pork Belly,

1/2 Tablespoon Five-spice Powder,

4 dried round large size Lotus Leaves.

Preparation Method:-

1. Soak rice and green beans for 5 hours. Then drain. Now soak mushrooms and Japanese conpoy for 2 hours. Drain well.

2. Marinate the pork belly with five-spice powder plus soy sauce for 2 hours. Lay down the lotus leaf on table with stem side facing down. Place rice in the centre of the leaf.

3. Add the marinated pork, Japanese conpoy, mushroom, abalone, salted egg yolk and green beans on top of rice. Add glutinous rice until the filling is covered.

4. Carefully wrap four sides of lotus leaf over the filling in a cone shape. Tie tightly with help of a string. Place zongzi in boiling water. Cover and cook for 3 hours. Serve hot!

Enjoy the fest!

Novak Djokovic and his Gluten Free Journey

These are hard times for all the health conscious people, including me. I say hard times because almost everything can be harmful for health, so what should we go for or not go for? I won’t answer for ‘what should we go for’ as I’ll end up a mentioning a lot of recipes, ironically making the whole meal “NOT” so very healthy. As far as ‘what should we NOT go for’ is concerned, a diet containing Gluten should be avoided. I haven’t implemented this yet but was simply thinking why not including gluten free diet twice or thrice in a week (whenever I can), so that even if I or you have to turn on to a complete gluten free diet, it can be done hassle free. This world number one tennis player, Novak Djokovic, suffered a lot before going for a gluten free diet. Gluten, which is found in wheat, barley and rye was affecting his metabolism. Eventually he was diagnosed as gluten intolerant and shifted to gluten free diet.

Consider someone whose parents own a pizza restaurant but son is sensitive to gluten. Sad! But his hard work and results after going gluten free are evident enough to make me think twice. I was going through a book, Serve Serve to Win, wherein Djokovic says - “What amazed me the most was how simple these changes were to make, and how dramatic the results were. All I did was eliminate gluten - the protein found in wheat - for a few days, and my body instantly felt better. I was lighter, quicker, clearer in mind and spirit. After two weeks, I knew that my life had changed. I sprang out of bed, ready to tear into the day ahead. And I realized that I had to share what I’d learned with others.” I can’t recall when was the last time I sprang out of bed, but let me try this healthy gluten-free recipe. Anyone, anytime may require turning to a gluten-free diet. Let’s practice now onwards.

Gluten-free Curry Noodles Soup

Ingredients:-

1 fresh Red Chilli,

200 ml Coconut Milk,

3.5 cm sliced Ginger,

1 teaspoon Turmeric,

1 litre Chicken Stock,

150 grams Rice Noodles,

1 teaspoon Brown Sugar,

2 tablespoons Lime juice,

1 teaspoon Tamarind paste,

2 tablespoons Thai Fish Sauce,

250 grams stir fry mix Vegetables,

150 grams cooked diced Chicken.

For Garnishing:-

2 Curry Leaves,

1 chopped Red Chilli,

1 piece chopped lemongrass.

Preparation Method:-

1. Take a pan and heat the chicken stock.

2. Boil the noodles in another pan. Drain water and set aside.

3. Add the remaining ingredients, except the vegetables, to the pan and bring to a boil.

4. When the chicken is hot, add the vegetables. When they are tender, add the drained noodles.

5. Divide the noodles between bowls. Pour the soup over them.

6. Serve sprinkled with curry leaves, red chili and lemongrass.

 The Gluten-free diet can be so yummilicious!

Jazz and Jambalaya - Guide to Ecstasy

It’s been two years since I have been to New Orleans Jazz fest. My love for jazz goes long back when I was in college and used to roam around with my huge discman, playing - ‘Hold me close and hold me fast, The magic spell you cast, This is la vie en rose’ - by Louis Armstrong. I have even mentioned Jazz a few times in this blog too with my cocktail recipes, the Mulled Wine etc. New Orleans has this history of people coming and going. Let it be French, Spanish or African. But thanks to this process of people passing by this city, New Orleans gave birth to a lot of new things. African workers found comfort in music after a hard days work. They used to sit in groups, sing and play instruments and create music - they were creating Jazz. This city has been celebrating this festival since 1970s. But there is a reason why a lot of people pass by this city - its port. Now if you are in a city with one of the largest ports in America, you can expect this ‘port’ on your plate.

People pass by but leave their cuisines behind. New Orleans has a mashup of various cuisines and Jambalaya proves this right. Jambalaya is a popular rice dish, especially at family get together or events like this. Even huge quantity of it is simple to make. The best part is that you can play around from seafood, sausages to red or white meat, or mixture of all. There is a small story behind the recipe. Many years ago, a traveler arrived at New Orleans, in an inn, long after the dinner time. He asked the cook to throw in the available ingredients and this gave birth to the famous Jambalaya recipe, which is a staple of New Orleans. Jazz fest begins on April 24, 2014 and this combination of Jazz and Jambalaya might be too overwhelming for you.

Ingredients:-

1 Bay Leaf,

1 chopped Onion,

2 cups cooked Rice,

1/2 teaspoon Thyme,

1 cup Chicken Broth,

2 teaspoons Oregano,

1 teaspoon Hot Sauce,

1 stalk chopped Celery,

1 pound diced Chicken,

1/2 pound diced Sausage,

28 ounce canned Tomatoes,

1 chopped Red Bell Pepper,

2 teaspoons Cajun Seasoning,

1 pound cooked thawed Shrimps.

Preparation Method:-

1. Take a slow cooker. Combine in it, chicken, sausage, chicken broth, tomatoes, onion, pepper and celery.
2. Now add in bay leaves, thyme, oregano, Cajun seasoning and hot sauce of your choice. I prefer red hot sauce.
3. Cover it up. Cook on high for 3 hours. Stir in thawed shrimps. Cover and cook until the shrimps are heated thoroughly. This will take around 5 minutes.
4. Spoon the mixture over cooked rice. Serve hot!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Enjoy the Jazz Music!