LOVE AT FIRST BITE

I never really liked Kachoris till I bit into one of these Jhodpur's famous pyaz ki kachoris along with those culinary bombs called mirchi vadas washed down with a HUGE (believe me when I say huge) glass of sweet lassi. They were hot, spicy and out of the world. Later on someone directed me to a shop in Dehradun's Ballipur chowk where they made these pyaz ki kachoris (almost close to the pyaz kachoris of Jhodpur) every sunday and thus began my weekly trysts with pyaz ki kachoris. After moving out from Dehradun I have yet to find a shop which sells these kachoris so I tried and tested and failed several times and have now come up with something close to those Jhodpur kachoris.

 

WE NEED 

For the Kachori dough

1. Maida/refined flour 2 cups
2. 1/2 tsp salt
3. 4 tbs ghee/oil
4. 1/2 cup water

For the Kachori filling

1. 3 large onions (chopped)
2. 5 green chillies (chopped) You can reduce or increase the number of chillies acording to the degree of spiciness you prefer.
3. 1 tsp Kalonji/Kalo jeera/nigella seeds
4. 1 tsp sauf/fennel seeds
5. 2 bay leaves/ tej patta
6. 2 tbs dhania powder
7. 1 tbs garam masala
8. 1 pinch Hing/asafoetida
9. Salt to taste
10. 2 tbs besan powder/ gramflour
11. 1 tbs oil

Oil for frying kachoris

LETS GET GOING

1. Mix the maida, salt and ghee till the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
2. Add water and make a dough.
3. Cover and keep. 
4. In a pan heat 1 tbs oil, add the bay leaves, hing, kalonji and sauf.
5. When the sauf becomes brown add the chopped oinions and fry till the onions turn pink.
6. Add the chopped green chillies, besan, dhania powder, garam masala and salt. mix well and cook for 5 minutes on a low flame. 
7. Divide the dough into balls (depending on what size you want your kachoris. I make mine into tweleve lemon sized balls). 
8. Stuff the dough with the onion filling and shape into kachoris.
9. Deep fry on a low flame till golden brown.
10. Serve hot with sweet tamarind chutney, pudina chutney or tomato ketchup.

 

 

murukkus for my mama..

My Saila Mama (third maternal uncle) has recently developed severe gluten allergy which means he is off wheat totally. The other day we were all enjoying hot nimkis with tea when Mama remarked with a woebegone face that tea and nimkis used to be his favourite snack. So I thought of making murukkus for him which would also be savoury and crisp (similar to nimkis) but most importantly not having any wheat. I hunted for an old wooden murukku press (inherited from my grandmother) which had not been used since her death  and got into the business of murukku making. I could not handle the three star nozzels of the murukku press so they turned out to be rather large ones...but the taste was very good for a first time murruku maker.
Needless to say I have a very happy Mama now cruching away his murrukus to glory. :) 

WE NEED

1. Par boiled rice 1 cup
2. Urad dal 1/2 cup
3. Salt to taste
4. 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds)
5. 1 tsp roughly ground pepper corns
6. 1 tsp white seasame (til) seeds
7. Hing (asafoetida) 1 pinch
8. 3 tbs unsalted butter
9. Oil for frying

LETS GET GOING

1. Soak the rice overnight. Drain properly and grind with the help of little water (about 1/4th cup) to a smooth paste.(the paste should not be too watery.
2. Dry roast the urad dal and grind to a powder.
3. Mix in the jeera, salt, hing and seasame seeds with the urad dal powder.
4. Mix this powder into the ground rice paste add the butter and knead into a dough (similar to that for making rotis). 
5. Heat oil in a kadai.
6. Put small amounts of the dough into the murukku press and prees out murukkus into the hot oil. Fry till golden and drain.
7. Store in an airtight container. 

 

JACK"MUTTON" CURRY

 

 Whenever hubby craves for good mutton curry I tell my gardener to get some jackfruit and rustle up this jack "mutton" curry. :). Well I cook it the way mutton is cooked hence the name jack "mutton"curry and if I can satisfy the non -veg taste buds with pure vegetarian food then why not do it..

WE NEED

• Unripe Jackfruit 
• 2 bay leaves
• To be ground to a paste

1. 2 large onions
2. 4 cloves garlic
3. 1" piece of ginger
4. 6 dry red chillies

• to be ground to a dry powder

1. 1 star anise
2. 1 " stick of cinnamom
3. 2 cardamoms
4. a pinch of grated nutmeg
5. 2 cloves

• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste
• 30 ml oil (I prefer mustard oil for this dish)

LETS GET GOING

1.  Peel and cut the jackfruit into small pieces (oil your hands well before peeling to avoid the latex from sticking to your hands)
2.  Marinate the jackfruit pieces with salt and turmeric and keep aside for half an hour. 
3. In a pressure cooker heat oil and fry the jackfruit pieces till brown and tender. Drain and keep aside. 
4. In the same oil add the bay leaves and the wet masala paste and cook till the masala separates from the oil.
5. Add the jackfruit pieces, salt and a pinch of sugar and mix well. 
6. Add two cups water and pressure cook for 5 whistles. 
7. Add the powdered masala and cover for 5 minutes.
8. Serve with rice or rotis. 

EASY BREAKFASTS

One of the easiest breakfast fixes which unlike cereal or bread also manages to look like a decent wholesome breakfast is roasted chiura/poha/beaten rice with chana ko jhol (Bengal gram curry) or matar ghugni (dried pea curry). Husband has aquired a taste for the ghugni and the chana ko jhol is akin to the kerela kadala curry so this combo works well for me. This post includes three recipes :- roasted chiura, yes I am including it as a recipe :), chana ko jhol and matar ghugni. 

ROASTED CHIURA

In a pan dry roast the chuira on low heat till crisp and brownish. 

CHANA KO JHOL

WE NEED

1. 200 grams Bengal gram/Horse gram/Kala chana (soak overnight)
2. 2 onions
3. 2 tomatoes
4. 1 tsp turmeric powder
5. Salt to taste 
6. 1 tbs oil
7. To be ground to a paste

• 1" ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

LETS GET GOING

1. Pressure cook the chana till three whistles and keep aside without draining the water.
2. Slice the onions and tomatoes finely.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions till translucent, add the ground masala paste, turmeric powder and tomatoes till the masala is cooked. 
4. Add the boiled chana with the water in which it was boiled to the masala mixture. Pressure cook till three more whistles and remove from flame.
5. Serve with the roasted beaten rice/chiura.

 

MATAR GHUGNI

 WE NEED

1. Dried peas/matar 200 grams (soaked overnight)
2. 4 onions
3. 2 tomatoes
4. 1 tsp turmeric powder
5. Salt to taste 
6. 1 tbs oil
   
7. To be ground to a paste

• 1" ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 5 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds

LETS GET GOING

1. Pressure cook the matar till three whistles and keep aside without draining the water.
   
2. Slice the onions and tomatoes finely.
3. Heat oil in a pressure cooker and fry the onions till translucent, add the ground masala paste, turmeric powder and tomatoes till the masala is cooked. 
4. Add the boiled matar with the water in which it was boiled to the masala mixture. Pressure cook till three more whistles and remove from flame.
5. Serve with the roasted beaten rice/chiura.

   I also cut up onions, coriander leaves, green chillies and lemons to furthur spice up the breakfast.

for more on ghugni

KARELA AND ALOO BHARTA

 

If your family likes bhartas and you have invested in a sturdy pressure cooker with compartments and you are a rice eating family ....Bhartas are a godsend for the working woman.On most days lunch consists either of curd rice, papads and a subzi or dal rice and bharta.

Bharta is essentially boiled/roasted vegetable (mostly potatoes and brinjals) mashed and mixed with onions and chillies and flavoured with a little mustard oil. I have extended the meaning of bhartas to few more things like bittergourds, pumpkins, sponge gourds and masoor dal. The bharta featured in this post is great for summers as it requires very less oil and the karela cools down your body. 

WE NEED

1. 2 large potatoes
2. 1 medium sized karela/bitter gourd
3. 1 ripe tomato
4. 1onion
5. 2 green chillies
6. 4 urad dal vadis (I prefer the ones u get in Bengal/Orissa)
7. salt to taste
8. 1 tsp mustard oil

LETS GET GOING

1. Wash the potatoes and bittergourd and boil them.
2. Peel the boiled potatoes and deseed the boiled bittergourd. Mash the boiled vegetables to a smooth consistency.
3. Finely slice the onions, chop the green chillies and roughly mash up the tomato.
4. Mix the boiled vegetable with the onion, tomatoes, chillies, 1/2 tsp mustard oil and salt. 
5. Crush the urad dal vadis and fry them lighly in the remaining oil.
6. Mix the fried vadi pieces in the bharta.
7. Serve with rice.

SAMBAR POWDER-1

I love sambar. And a recent craze of mine has been to collect recipes for home made sambar masalas. The sambar masalas I discovered vary from  house to house in South India. (Much like aloo-dum varies from house to house in Darjeeling :).    Moreover sambar isnt a single dish and there are so many varieties of sambar depending upon the vegetables added.

Since there are so many recipes for the sambar powders or sambar podis I am simply calling them sambar podi 1,2 etc.

WE NEED

1. 1/4 cup urad dal
2. 1/4 cup channa dal
3. 1 cup dry red chillies
4. 1 cup coriander seeds (Dhania)
5. 1/4 cup fenugreek (methi) seeds

LETS GET GOING

1. Dry roast all the ingredients
2. Grind to a powder
3. Store in an airtight container.

GIVE ME RED

These red jewels are among my favourites (BTW I have hundreds of favourites). They are a great source of vitamin C calcium, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin, phosphorus and potassium, besides having loads of fiber and being low in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. Packed to the brim with anthocyanins (pigments which gives it the blood red colour) it has also got great cancer fighting and antiaging properties. 

I crunch it up for breakfast, whip up juices, sprinkle some into my salads and brighten up my curd rice. And yes let me not forget the in between meal  snacks.

MUSHROOM 65

 Pecos is this no nonsense "we serve only beer" pub in Bangalore. Having scant interest in the pitchers of beer I was bowled over by the mushroom 65 they serve here. Its enough to make me overlook hubby happily guzzling a pitcher of beer. 

 WE NEED 

1. 250 grams fresh mushrooms (I used oyster mushrooms) 
2. 10 fresh curry leaves
3. Tamarind juice
4. Salt to taste
5. 4 tbs oil
6. 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
7. Masala Paste (to be ground)

• 1"ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 6 dry red chillies
• 1 tbs black pepper corns
• 1 tbs fennel seeds (sauf)

LETS GET GOING

1. Wash and chop the mushrooms finely
2. Mix the tamarind juice, masala paste  and curry leaves
3. Marinate the mushrooms in the masala/tamarind juice mix for 1 hour
4. Heat oil in a pan and sputter the mustard seeds and add the marinated mushrooms
5. Add salt and cook covered for 10 minutes on slow heat
6. Remove cover and cook on high heat for 5 minutes.
7. Serve hot with rice. 

FIERY WAYS TO MY MAN'S STOMACH

What would happen if you ate red hot fiery fish curry ???

Fishy fires in the stomach and well I need not elaborate more.  This is a version of  a typical kerala fish curry (the one without coconut) cooked in a clay pot also known as chatti. This ensures ample satisfaction (read happy grunts) for hubby when he simply craves for "punch wala food" (read unhealthy and spicy).

INGREDIENTS

250 grams Fish preferably sea fish ( I am literally at sea if you ask me the varieties, a pure vegetarian, fish is essentially divided into sea fish and river fish for me)

2 bulbs Garlic ground to a paste

1" piece Ginger ground to a paste

2 teaspoons red chilly powder

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 pinch asafoetida

1/2 teaspoon of jeera/cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds

5 peppercorns

5-6 pieces of garcinia/kokum (one can also use a small ball of tamarind) soaked in about 100ml water

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons oil

2 cups water

METHOD

1. Clean the fish and keep it aside (I get mine cleaned and cut from the fishmonger itself)

2.  Heat oil in a pan (not the chatti) and add the asafoetida

3. Sputter the mustard and jeera seeds and curry leaves

4. Add the garlic paste and ginger paste and fry for five minutes over a low flame till the mixture browns

5. Add the peppercorns, turmeric, salt and chilly powder and stir.

6. Add the garcinia to the water in which it was soaked and mix well.

7. Add the water and bring to a boil.

8. Carefully arrange the fish in the chatti and add the cooked red gravy and cover the pot.

9. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes.

10. Serve with rice.

SWEET NOTHINGS

Its been quite sometime since I blogged on Bhanchaghar..Actually I havent been doing much of cooking and am sticking to boiled food and salads due to my evergrowing weight. This is one of my few luxuries...very basic but nice

We need

4 ripe bananas

Rasins (soaked for five minutes in water) 1 tbs in fact as much as you like

Fresh cream 1 tbs

Honey flavoured cornflakes 2 tbs

Lets get going

1. Peel the bananas and slit them lenght wise into two or three

2. Place them in a serving dish

3. Spoon in the fresh cream. (I also put a few tbs of milk as well)

4. Sprinkle with raisins and cornflakes.

Simple but simply yummy

GREEN APPLE CHUTNEY

I generally don't eat apples. Not that I don't like them but the only thing that's nutritious in an apple is its skin (The red carotenoids are anti carcinogenic) but I bet its skin contains more pesticide residues than carotenoids. Anyway last week I somehow got tempted by some really fresh looking green apples (this time round the temptation was not in Eden but in the vegetable market). I paid an astronomical price them but they turned out to be too tart. I couldn't bear to throw them nor does my Spartan kitchen allow processing them to jam or baking them so I came up with an apple chutney much in the lines of the ubiquitous tomato chaatney of Bengal.

INGREDIENTS

4 Green apples (Even plain apples will do) grated

1 cup Sugar/Jaggery (grated)

1 dry red chilly

2 bay leaves

2" stick of cinnamon (Dalchini)

2 large cardamons (grind seeds to a coarse powder)

1/2 tsp sauf/Fennel

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp chilly flakes

1/2 cup water

1 tsp salt

1 tsp oil

LETS DO IT

1. Heat oil in a kadai

2. Add the bay leaves, cinnamon and dry chilli.

3. Sputter the mustard and fennel seeds.

4. Add the grated apple and salt. Cook on low flame for 10 minutes

5. Add the sugar/jaggery and chilly flakes. Continue cooking on a low flame stirring constantly till the chutney acquires a thick consistency.

6. Add the cardamon powder and mix well.

The chutney once cooled can be stored in a clean dry bottle.

Gobi carfreal

I attended a party recently where the table was loaded with food or rather overloaded with some three to four varieties each of fish, chicken, prawn besides several other types of sea food. However I got little to eat besides rice, watery oversalted dal and salad. People just dont think vegetarian in Goa, I think only cows and goats are vegetarian here. Its another story that I had already anticipated the menu and eaten before leaving for the party. Everyone around were praising relishing and taking good second and thrid helpings of the chiken carfreal which got me interested. It looked and smelt good. Later I got lot of information about carfreal from Googleji . It had travelled to Goa via the Portuguese colonies in Africa and today any self respecting kitchen in Goa serves carfreal especially on special occasions. The carfreal is unique due to its minty flavour and long hours of marination. Here I have tried to recreate carfreal in its vegetarian avatar.
WE NEED

1 medium sized Cauliflower broken/cut into large sized florets

1 large sized bunch of mint leaves (about 50 grams in weight)

1" piece of ginger

5-6 large cloves of garlic

1 tsp garam masala powder

5-6 dry red chillies

1 tsp black peppercorns

juice of 1 lemon

3 tbs rum

Salt to taste

6 tbs of oil

LETS DO IT

1. Grind together the ginger, garlic, red chillies, mint leaves, peppercorns to a paste.

2. Mix in the garam masala powder, lime juice, salt and rum to the paste

3. Rub in the paste to the cauliflower, cover the vessel and let it marinate for a good 8 hours.

4. Heat oil in a kadai and add the marinated mixture.

5. Cover and cook on a low flame for 10-15 minutes.

6. Garnish with either steamed cauliflower/palak leaves and slit green chillies .

7. Serve with steamed rice or bread.

P.S. I made it later on with mushrooms which too turned out really good.

MOMO MIA

Recently I got a forwarded mail highlighting the idiosyncrasies of Darjeeling..among them was "Its only in Darjeeling that the best thing on the menu in every restaurant will be momo and thukpa". How very true:)

Momos have made their humble but steady journey which had maybe begun from Tibet or China and have made acquaintance with Chinese food lovers in most Indian cities. But wait a minute unlike the panch rupaiya pela (Rs 5/plate) momos in Darjeeling these cost up to 10 rupees per piece that too in a wayside stall [I nearly passed out on hearing this:)].

http://pattypans.blogspot.com/2008/03/this-one-is-for-vir-sanghvi.html

Searching for the perfect greens

Its been really hot for the past few weeks and I have walked to at least some seven eight odd bhaji shops around in search of some greens. Bunches of coriander that sabziwalnis in Haat Bazaar back home would throw in gratis with your weekly purchase are costing fifteen bucks!!! I am not having coriander and there is no sign of mint. Methi saag is a thing of the past and finally I got some palak. It cost me twenty rupees for a bunch that look like a really pathetic bangali babu who had thoroughly beaten up by a gang of dhood shood peene wala Haryanvi Jats. I bought it home and retrieved precisely twelve intact leaves from two bunches. Oh how I miss the Haat Bazaar back home....the haggling, the bargaining, the crowds and yes the squelchy feeling below your feet in monsoons.

THE STICK SOUP

There was this moringa/drumstick/sajana tree in one of my aunt’s house just on the edge of her terraced ginger fields. The feathery crown with long stick like pods waving in the breeze captured my childish imagination and I immediately named it the stick tree. My ayah told me that the flowers of this tree were eaten and were so delicious. “Even better than chicken” these words really impressed me as after living in our vegetarian household my ayah was always ravenous for meat. Plus moringa flowers never found their way to our kitchen and everything out of reach was automatically deemed to be very delicious.I longed for quite some time to eat the better than chicken moringa flowers. Anyway it was after almost 20 years I actually got to eat it in faraway Delhi. A colleague shared it out of her lunch box and disappointed me. Not that the preparation was bad but I guess my expectations based on childhood imagination was too much for reality.
Later on I discovered a whole lot of dishes using moringa. They serve a tangy tomato and moringa curry in Andhra Bhawan in Delhi which has climbed into my favorites’ list comfortably. Moringa leaves fried in ghee with a little salt are absolutely heavenly. I even ate moringa rice which however couldn’t impress my taste buds much. In my staid house moringa was used in the occasional sambhar and more frequently a jhol (soup) however we all enjoyed this simple preparation and the thoroughly chewed piles of moringa bore testimony to our satisfaction. This dish though stupefying simple to prepare is just the thing when you want to eat something light.
INGREDIENTS
5 drumstick/moringa/sajana fruits cut into 2” bits
1 potato peeled and cut lengthwise into quarters
1 onion sliced
1 tomato finely chopped
1” ginger ground into a paste
½ tsp of mustard seeds
½ tsp of turmeric powder
¾ tsp salt
4 cups water
1 tsp oil
LET’S DO IT
Heat the oil and sputter the mustard seeds
Add the onions and ginger paste and fry till onions turn translucent
Add the potatoes, drumsticks and salt and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the turmeric powder and tomatoes and cook on the low flame for 5 minutes
Add the water, turn up the heat and bring to a boil.

PICKLED DRUMSTICKS

This isn't a standard pickle recipe, I just ended up buying a lot of drumsticks (moringa/sajan phali/sajana) than I could eat from a particularly bedraggled old lady with no teeth and wearing an old dirty torn frock. My neighbours were away and the bai was on leave so all I could think of doing with the drumsticks was pickle them as I couldn't distribute them. Its not a standard pickle recipe as I have warned you earlier, I have put everything and anything I could lay my hands on, thankfully the pickle turned out ok.

INGREDIENTS

1o drumsticks washed and cut to 2" bits

4 tbs Turmeric

4 tbs salt

4 tbs coriander seeds (dry roasted and coarsely ground)

2 tbs fenugreek seeds (dry roasted and coarsely ground)

1 tbs mustard seeds (dry roasted and coarsely ground)

5 tbs red chilly powder (I used a mixture of chilly powder and chilly flakes 3:1)

1 cup oil

juice of 4 lemons

1 tsp mustard seeds (whole and unroasted)

LETS DO IT
 

Mix all the spice powders and salt with the cut drumsticks

Heat the oil and sputter the mustard seeds and add to the drumsticks.

Mix well and add the lemon juice.

Fill in a glass jar and keep in the sun for about a fortnight.

CORN FLOWERS

Much before multiplexes and flavored popcorn costing more than a decent meal in any normal eatery invaded our lives, corn flowers were a staple item on our evening tiffin (belka ko khaja)menu. Before you get me wrong corn flowers are not flowers of the corn plant. Makkai ko phool or Maize flowers were what we called the corn that was popped in a wire contraption over a blazing fire in my grandmother’s place. True enough they looked like snow white flowers as my grandmother popped them and piled them up on a round bamboo tray (Nanglo). All the maize was from our fields, some were consumed fresh (boiled, fried, as rotis, roasted), some ground to a flour and some to grits and rest stored. The stored maize would hang in rows in the loft above the hearth smoked to a lovely golden colour. We were invariably given the job of shelling the corn which gave ample opportunities for corn shelling competitions.
On ordinary days we dipped them in doodh-pani which was milk, water and lots of sugar - a unique recipe concocted by my grandmother to get us children drink the milk. I should not forget to mention that while we happily gulped the doodh-pani , we wouldn’t touch the doodh. Id rather say we were a milkman’s delight since adulterated milk was what we favored. But there were days when a lot of fresh buttermilk would be churned and a radish and cheese dip (Mula ra Churpi ko achar) would be made. If there is a contest for the best way of eating popcorn then this will win hands down. Its been ages since I sat in a circle eating home popped corn flowers with fresh buttermilk and churpi and moola ko achar, catching up on family gossip. Oh! I would give anything in the world for such a moment. But I guess for the time being I have to be satisfied with the inanely expensive boxes of insipid thermocole bits served in the name of popcorn served at the food counters of multiplexes.

DEONARAYAN, DHARMENDRA AND DALMOTH

I am going to talk about the good old days once again when one rupee was a luxury. I mean you could get so much from the wayside shops on the way to school. 50 paisa worth aloo thukpa was enough for two, churan was just five annas a piece (the round ones), suntala mithai, kalo mithai, peppermint drops were all five annas a piece and not to forget the huge khochi (newspaper cones) of piro channa, mattar and dalmoth. I specially remember dalmoth as you really dont get dalmoth anywhere else specially in newspaper cones. It used to be spicy, tangy and really smelly as it used to be salted with rock salt - birey noon or padhey noon(fart salt) as some called it and it did smell like someone around had a bad digestive system.The best ones were those that made you sick later - which were full of chilly powder and rather red. After eating the dalmoth licking the hands carefully, finger by finger was another ritual in itself.

Deonarayan bhaiyya, the grocer near our house sold the dalmoth. His stock was kept in a big tin and he carefully measured out 50 paise/one rupee worth portions in newspaper cones while we would coerce him to add some more. And the most fascinating thing were the faces of film stars stuck on his tins probably from some old magazines - Smita Patil, Mithun, Raj babbar, Sree Devi, Jaya Prada, Jeetendra etc. Films being restricted in my house the photographs were an added attraction, in fact I came to know many of the film stars from my visits to this shop with a lot of help from Deonarayan bhaiyya himself. The last time I visited home I saw that his shop has transformed into something different. Gone were the bright blue wooden walls and the shutters hammered out of old tins and painted a deep green, in its place was a concrete structure painted a staid colour with a glass and steel STD booth added near it. I didn't have to go in to find out if the tins were still having posters of film stars were still around. Deonarayan bhaiyya's shop had changed and I guess after a few years it will inch its way to become one of those unfriendly self service shopping places where you walk around with a trolley and be serviced by a bored attendant at the cash counter.

Here is my recipe for dalmoth, it isn't as good as the original but then you don't fall sick with this.

INGREDIENTS

250 grams split chana dal

100 grams peanuts

2 cups oil

2 tsp powdered rock salt

1/2 tsp pepper powder

1/2 tsp roasted cumin(jeera) powder

1/2 tsp chilly powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

LETS DO IT

Soak the chana dal in water for 2 hours.

Drain the water and spread the dal to dry in shade for a day.

Heat oil in a kadai and fry the peanuts and keep aside.

Fry the soaked and dried dal in the oil on a low flame till it turns crisp and golden.

In the last batch of dal you fry add the turmeric powder just before removing from flame.

Mix all the powders, peanuts and salt in the fried dal and mix well.

Let the mixture cool before packing it in an airtight container.

CARAMELISED SWEET POTATOES

On my way back from work there is a place where a bunch of village women sit with small piles of vegetables from their garden. the vegetables are home-grown, fresh and organic. I make it a point to buy them every alternate day. Last week I bought sweet potatoes worth Rs 10 which was quite a big pile. I was boiling and eating them rather uninterstingly until my neighbour gave me this recipe. Its fattening but truly divine.

INGREDIENTS

Sweet potatoes about 5

1 tbs clarified butter(Khareyko ghiu/ghee)

1 tbs sugar

LETS DO IT

Finely slice the sweet potatoes into roundels

Heat the ghee in a pan and fry the sweet potatoes

When the sweet potatoes are half cooked add the sugar

let the sugar caramelise and stir so that all the sweet potatoes are coated evenly with the caramelised sugar.

This tastes great by it self and is a unique topping idea for ice cream.

DUSTY PLATFORMS, TICKETLESS TRAVEL AND GHUGNI TO DIE FOR

There is this railway station in South Bengal called Naihatti where we used to board the train for Kolkatta (then Calcutta). I never saw the ticket counter of this station, for buying a ticket would amount to social boycott in the ladies hostel. It was one of the traditions in the university that the girls always travelled ticket less. So during the few months spent in the university I experienced ticket less train journeys whenever we went to Kolkatta. Looking back I think it was a survival strategy since going to Kolkatta took 3 hours and we got just 10 hours leave from the hostel to go to Kolkatta and back and see a movie, shop and eat. 6 hours went in the journey, 3 hours for a movie and just 1 hour for shopping and eating.....the time was too less. Boys never had to bother about not getting back to the hostel in time so didn't think the long ticket queues were a waste of time. Anyway all I remember about Naihatti is dashing to the platform from the bus stand and gobbling a plate of ghugni before boarding the train. I had eaten ghugni all my life since it was one of the things my mother invariably prepared on all occasions but nothing had prepared me for this stuff. It was hot, spicy, tangy and dusty and priced amazingly (just Rs 2/plate!!).

Ghugni is a eastern cousin of choley. Its a thick yellow curry made with dried peas/matar or chickpeas/Kabuli chana and is very versatile can be eaten with rice, bread , moori(puffed rice), chanachur you name it or simply by itself also.

Coming to Naihatti's special tangy, spicy and dusty ghugni- the ghugniwala would add a liberal dose of chanchur, raw onions, coriander leaves, chopped green chillies and top it all with a slurpy tamarind sweet chutney and a sliver of fresh coconut and and and a train would go whooosh!!! coating the entire mixture with a fine layer of dust. I bet the dust did the magic since I tried making the stuff at home many times but it never tastes as good.