Qubani Ka Meetha - Dried Apricot Dessert

 The first season of Masterchef was something that I would drop all tasks to watch without fail.  Over the years, I just got tired of watching it; the thrill was no longer there.  Until - I saw Sarah Todd, and her posts on instagram. I started to follow her, mainly because she was in India and posting so many Indian dishes that I had never heard of. Qubani ka Meetha is one of those - and I know she made it look 5 star in the show, but I wanted to taste the original because I have never heard of it - leave alone taste it!  

Since the show I researched it and found out that apricots or qubani were introduced to India during the Mughal era and was enjoyed by the Royals as it was an expensive fruit. It slowly found its was to the South of India, where it became a signature dish of Hyderabadi cuisine. These days it is served in Hyderabadi weddings - and the best part is it is easy to cook. All you need is dried apricots and sugar.

Tomato Thokku - Tomato Pickle

 The 1980s - and in my dorm in University. We all look forward to the girls coming back after holidays, because each of them would be carrying jars and packets of goodies from their homes to last for a couple of months in the dreary hostel. The food in the hostel was bland and tasteless and it was these packages that helped us ford meal times.  One such item brought from Andhra Pradesh was my friend Shobha's tomato pickle or tomato thokku. Nothing would even warrant a second look until the whole jar was devoured by us for breakfast lunch and dinner. This pickle can be had with rice, dosa, idli or even roti - that is how versatile it was. Sweet, salty, tangy, spicy, hot and with an underlying umami, this pickle really had it all. May be it was the Andhra organic tomatoes or may be it was the Andhra spicy chillies - but visions of this jar still makes my mouth water.  I have long since lost touch with my room mate Shobha, but in my heart I still think of her and her loving mother who made this for our enjoyment - bless them!

Pictured: A jar of cherry tomato thokku near my almost dead tomato plant - getting ready to say goodbye for winter!

Black Sesame Seed Chutney - Ellu Chutney

 Today's recipe is a flavour bomb - I have never had it before and I happened to see it paired with urid dal rice - and it happens to be a speciality of Tirunelveli, apparently.

I say apparently because I have never had this rice or this chutney in Nagercoil - which is my town, further South from Tirunelveli by about 80 kms.  Anyway, the bottom line is I am glad I discovered this chutney because it is just awesome!

And not just that - it is full of antioxidants, iron, manganese, calcium and was popularly served to girls who reached puberty and lactating mothers. I also read that black sesame seeds have a compund in them that can inhibit the onset of Alzhiemers (courtesy: Nut Market, James Street, Brisbane and the site refers to medical journals)

The thing is, in India black sesame seeds have been used for centuries. The oil from black sesame seeds is even called "Nalla ennai" - good oil; and most households cooked with this oil. We did this simple because we followed traditions, but it is good to understand how good this "good oil" is, really.

This chutney combines the goodness of sesame seeds with jaggery, chilli, coconut, curry leaves, tamarind and garlic to create a sweet and sour protein ball that really does burst in your mouth. You can get the beautiful umami of the ground up toasted sesame seeds giving a tingling, happy sensation all over!

Chettinad Garlic Chutney - Poondu Puli Kulambu

 Garlic season is here and the market is brimming with beautiful, fresh, fragrant garlic.  This chutney is bursting with flavours out of this world - and needs a simple rice or roti to go with it. Today I have paired it with yogurt rice as it is a hot day here in Melbourne.  Finally we have Summer at our doorstep after all the rain.

This chutney is called Poondu Puli Kulambu - which means garlic tamarind gravy.  This was introduced to me by my friend Manikumari who I went to University with. She stayed at home and attended school while I was in the hostel and eating boring hostel food.  So whenever she invited me over for a meal, I would never say no. There was an amazing cook in her house who would whip up delicacies to feed us starving students from University!

This gravy celebrates the cuisine of Chettinad - or Chettinadu and it is very unique and full of flavour.  Though most of us are familiar with the Chicken Chettinad, there are several other dishes which are rarely available in restaurants but are equally if not more flavoursome.  In this dish, we bring out the nutty, buttery flavours of garlic and marry it with the tangy tamarind and other staple spices.

Vallarai Keerai Sambol - Indian Pennywort Salad

 38 years ago, I met my buddy Yaso in college and we became fast friends.  We shared our dreams, hopes, frustrations, saris, food, notes and jewellery. When such a close friend travels 10,000 miles just to pay you a visit, you know it is going to be very special. We shared giggles, tears, so much love - and caught up with all the unsaid stories and for old times sake climbed trees and took a  selfie. What a surprise it was to the two of us to note that we pretty much sat on the branch the same way as we had - all those years ago.  Of course we still had and wore our best smiles - and our hearts felt young and all our worries dissolved away in our giggles. 

This dish was prepared by Yaso who picked the leaves from my garden and created the perfect salad for our dinner. The salad is fresh, tangy and complements a good rice and curry. 

Vallarai Keerai Chutney - Indian Pennywort Chutney

 The Indian Pennywort also known as Vallarai Keerai (Centella Asiatica) is a prized herb used as a spinach / for chutney / in soups and also in sambal.  It is used in Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine where it is called Gotu Kola.

This is an easy chutney with a handful of these beauties, because I have a mini forest of them growing in my back yard. 

They can also be added to your smoothies and salads and they are supposed to have a lot of health benefits.

A friend of mine gave me a couple of plants a year ago.  They have now grown and spread looking healthy and sparkling emerald.

Idli Powder 2 - Dry Lentil Chutney or Gunpowder

 When you are the first grand daughter, you get to enjoy a lot of special privileges and treats.  My dad's sisters and brothers often taught me or showed me things that were completely new to me.  Like toothpowder made of charcoal - these were the days when charcoal toothpastes were not available in the grocery store and nobody even thought of it.  I would even go one step further and say it was perhaps even looked down upon!  But look who is laughing now?  My paternal uncles and aunties who have perfect teeth! Ha ha!!

Coming to the topic of idli powder or dry lentil chutney, this was another thing introduced to me as a 4 or 5 year old by my uncle Arul. He got a plate, piled on some chutney powder and he said to me - make a mountain and then make a hole in the middle.  This is where you pour the oil.  Now use your fingers and mix it well.  Dip your idlis in the chutney and eat it.  I never questioned it.  And to this day, that is how I make it! Why let go of a good thing when it works perfectly well, isn't it?

I had previously posted a similar recipe and the main difference between the two is that I used white sesame seeds in this recipe and black in the previous one.  You can see that the colour shows in the final product.

Black or white, the taste is just great!  And the only labour is the roasting of the lentils and chillies.

And home made idli podi is just great because the fragrance is something that will not come in the ones you buy in packets. 

Puthenpura Lime Pickle - Almost Instant Lime Pickle

 Puthenpura is the family name of the group of neighbours in my youth.  All of them, brothers and sisters, children and grandchildren, built their houses in the acreage and we were pretty much the outsiders who bought into the block of land. Our family were the only Christians  in our locality.  We were flanked by a Muslim family on the right and all the rest of them were devout Hindus.

In the big block of land that was known as Puthenpura the brothers and sisters had made pathways and small lanes to go to each others houses. There was a small piece of open area in the front of the group of pathways.  This is where the women of the houses congregated without fail everyday after the daily chores were done. 

This was the "Communication Centre" of our neighbourhood. We became part of the Puthenpura family soon after we moved in and we shared our joys and sorrows - and our recipes. We used to go over for Onam meals and Hindu festivals and in turn, we would send them home made cakes and cookies at Christmas.  Beautiful tradition that I miss here!  This recipe was shared by one of the ladies before I migrated to Australia to help me make all the items in a sadya.  I miss them all so much.

Puli Inji - 3 - Ginger Tamarind Chutney

 We celebrated Onam 2021 in lockdown in Melbourne. Most of the recipes are already published ones.  But this time I made a different version of the ginger tamarind chutney. This recipe is dedicated to my friend and passionate cook Paru.  The last time she saw my recipe for the ginger tamarind chutney, she was far from impressed, telling me that I was taking a shot cut and not doing it the right way. I like that she wanted me to stick to one way - because I am like that too.  I like to keep traditional recipes traditional.  However, the way I was taught by the women who made it all their lives was to leave the ginger pieces without blitzing them.  Now that I have made it this way, I think this will make an interesting condiment for all sorts of meats and sandwich fillings.  It also helps that it is smoother and therefore easier to spread. Thank you Paru for our friendship that has withstood time, distance and opinions! Love you for being honest and for being you.

The taste is the same - it is more the texture that makes the difference this time. I added the dry red chilli just for artistic purposes. 

Sauerkraut

Did you know that Sauerkraut means "Sour Cabbage?" - I bet you did!

And, did you know that the Chinese invented it, NOT the Germans? - I bet you did not know that!

The Chinese have been growing cabbage since 4000 BC and they invented this about 2000 years ago.  Sauerkraut is what kept the slaves going in the harsh winters when they were building the Great Wall of China. The Chinese people preserved the cabbage in rice wine and this health food kept them healthy in the worst conditions.  

Indeed, if you google sauerkraut, you will find a host of health benefits that humans have known about and used over the centuries.  It is rich in probiotics and vitamin C as well as potassium, iron and magnesium.

It is very easy to make and it has a long shelf life. So, without much ado, let us move on to the recipe.

My husband brought home a head of fresh red cabbage which is what started me on this journey. I normally buy just enough to make a side dish http://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/09/cabbage-mezhukkupuratti-cabbage-stir-fry.html

But this time, I decided to try this out and I must say the results were awesome.

Mango Thokku - Cooked Mango Instant Pickle

 There are pickles - and then there is thokku.  Pickles are cut vegetables steeped in brine for a few weeks and then seasoned and left to mature before consumption. Traditional pickling can take a month to 6 weeks depending on how long you wish to leave the vegetables in brine for and then how long you wait to consume it.  They also have a very long shelf life.

Thokku, on the other hand, is an instant pickle. Immediate gratification of the sweet and sour and oily goodness but the shelf life is very low.  So you need to keep it stored in the fridge and use it quicker.

I had to explain this because there is no word for "Thokku" in English.  

During my University hostel days, all the room mates used to bring their own special pickles and thokkus from home.  We would then share it amongst us during meal times - it was a very friendly and communal activity. One of these girls Shobha brought the most amazing pickles and thokku - that were just out of this world.  Sadly, I have lost touch with Shobha, but I hope she somehow sees this some day and gets back in touch. 

Dried Kooni Chammanthi - Dry baby shrimp chutney

 My patti (grandmother) Ella used to make a mean baby shrimp curry.  With drumstick bean leaves and baby shrimps, it was a burst of flavours on the palate.  I saw these dried baby shrimp in our local Asian Supermarket and picked up a pack to make some dry chutney and to reminisce my childhood days in patti's house with my cousins.  What a blast we used to have - all 9 of us.  I will never know how she ever managed the lot of us.  All I know is that my summer holidays seemed to finish too quick each time.

Vimala's Makrut Lime Relish / Curry

 When I moved into my house, one of the house warming gifts I got was a kaffir lime tree from my friend Michelle. Every year, this tree produces a lot of fruit which cannot be used due to the thick skin that is very bitter and very little juice.  The fruit also has about twenty seeds inside which can be quite a deterrent when you try to cook with it.  To cut a long story short, I have never used the fruit before.

This morning I woke up dreaming of my aunty Vimala's yummy citron curry.  The citron (Citrus Medica) is a fruit that is the forefather of many of our modern citrus fruit and it grows only in the tropics.  That dashed my hopes of ever having a plant in my  garden.

With this thought in my head, as I went out to smell the fresh citrus flowers, I noticed this kaffir lime that had fallen off the tree.  It was a Newton moment for me - and I said - "what if I tried substituting this instead?" ......well, the rest is history.  The idea is a huge success and this is going to be a regular feature in Kitchen Anugraha.

My aunty Vimala makes the best Citron curry (Narthangai curry) and this is inspired by her recipe.  Thank you, athai!  This dish is uniquely Nagercoilian - the place where generations of my family live.

There is even a saying dedicated to this relish - "Naaranga illenki Paayiram Kollanji" - it means - "if it were not for the citron relish, the dessert would have killed me (with its cloying sweetness)."

Update:  Just found out that the name for this beautiful lime is actually Makrut!  Thank you SBS Food.

Curry Leaf Powder - Dry chutney

 Going to University, staying in a dorm with a bunch of students you have never seen before, eventually becoming friends with them - it is a rite of passage, especially when I was a young adult.  I stayed in a dorm with 7 other girls and we had bunk beds. Each of us came from different beliefs, sub cultures, religions and attributes.  Yet the best days of my life are invariably my "hostel days". 

After every semester break, when we came back to the hostel, each one of us would carry home made pickles, jams, cakes, spice mixes, chutney powders, home made ghee, sweets and snacks. Once we came back, we would arrange them all in the shelves and share each other's "goodies".  One of my friends, who is a pure vegetarian would bring amazing chutney powders and pickles.  Chutney powders are mixed with ghee or sesame oil and then you eat it with idlis or rice. 

The food in the hostel was pretty ordinary and it was our preserved pickles, jams and chutney powders that kept us going until the next semester break. This one is for the girls in Dorm room #2.

The other day my neighbour passed on a whole pile of fresh curry leaves and I didn't want to waste any of it. So I found this recipe from Padhu's Kitchen and this used a lot of the leaves. This spice mix can be eaten mixed with ghee or used to make curries and as a flavour enhancer for meat dishes. 

Yellow Lime pickle - 3

 One of the issues with the recipes written in my little diary from 27 years ago - is that they are all transcripts from verbal recitations of how to cook a certain dish.  They often do not have exact measurements and I have to try and remember the taste, smell and vibe of the dish and then try to recreate.  It is not an easy job.  However, once I finish documenting all that I have, I hope it will make it easier for my children.

This lime pickle is one of amma's recipes and we love it and I hope you will love it too. It is a perfect accompaniment with any rice dish - particularly biriyani and yogurt rice. It is hot, tangy and sour and really gets those digestive juices flowing.

I am making this in readiness for our Onam Sadya - over the weekend.

Traditional Inji Puli 2- Ginger Tamarind Relish

Onam is the harvest festival of Kerala and is celebrated by all the people regardless of religion, caste or social standing. 

Every year, for as long as I lived in Kollam, my neighbours would serve up the most amazing dishes for Onam.  They would prepare a proper "sadya" (feast) and invite us over for lunch.  This post is dedicated to my Puthenpura family and especially to Aunty Anantham, Usha chechi, Rema chechi and Shobha chechi.  This is a special recipe from Aunty Anantham - before I left for Australia I took my diary over to her house and wrote down the recipe so I could make it by myself.

I met Aunty Anantham earlier this year and though she is very old now, she still remembers me.  Happy Onam to all of you and may your year be blessed!

I had previously published a recipe for the same dish - that recipe is the cheat's version - this is how the recipe is made traditionally.

Toasted Coconut Chutney - Varuthu Aracha Thenga Chammandhi

It was raining heavily in Melbourne today and I was homesick for the monsoons and smell of Kerala.  Nothing better than going to Chef Pillai from my hometown of Kollam for inspiration!

I love his work and the simplicity with which he presents his/our food.

Coconut oil is always frozen in Melbourne - so I rarely use it except for occasions or special cravings.

To make this dish vegetarian, just omit the sprats.

Pallavi's Scones

My daughter is the baker in the house.  She bakes things like scones, apple pie, cookies, brownies, cakes and so on.  I am personally not a fan of baking since it is an exacting science but she loves it.  Of course the whole family enjoys her treats when they come freshly baked out of the oven.  The two things I cannot resist are her scones and her apple pie.

You can find the apple pie recipe here: https://kitchenanugraha.blogspot.com/2020/05/apple-pie.html

Today we look at how she makes her fail proof scones. 

Puli Inji 1- Ginger Tamarind Chutney

One of the key elements of the Onam Sadya (harvest festival lunch) is the puli inji. Sweet, sour, hot and tangy, it plays on the tongue long after you have finished your meal. It is supposed to have digestive benefits because of the ginger.  It is generally made into a smooth chutney form, today I have left it a bit lumpy so I can taste the ginger bits in the sauce.

Banana Stew

I can hear you say "stewed bananas?" - oh, I am not sure about that!!!!!  Stewed Kerala bananas are a "thing" - people.  Except I do not get Kerala bananas here.  So the next best thing is 3/4 ripe Cavendish - and they are not too bad.  Definitely not as good as the original, but enough to satisfy the homesickness and craving for home food that goes hand in hand.