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!

Buddha Bowl

 Sunday night - and we are already primed to be in the "back to work tomorrow" mode.  All I wanted was something to eat and sit down to watch my current favorite show on TV.  As I was forgaing in my fridge, I was thinking of the Buddha Bowl I picked up for lunch at work last week.  Some brown rice, and a series of colourful vegetables, some bits of roast chicken - and some beautiful tahini dressing. I was lucky I had all the ingredients in my fridge and pantry.

So, Buddha Bowl it was and it was just perfect and satisfying! Pretty as a picture - who wouldn't want to eat this?

Baked Bitter Melon Crisps

 I am addicted to salty food.  Its easy for me to say no to chocolate, but give me an olive soaked in brine or a mango pickle and I cannot resist. I am now trying to cut out the sodium in my diet and consciously trying to avaid salt for health reasons. I happened to see this recipe on a reel in instagram and decided to make my own - salt and oil free. 

I made it today and though the salt is missing, the crunch factor is big and for that this will be a regular in my cuisine from now on.  Simply because it adds the interest to my bland meals of late., I guess.

Though I say it is salt free, I must admit there is a tiny bit of salt in there and also a tiny bit of oil.  But it is better than the amount of salt I normally add and definitely better than deep frying.

Idichakka Thoran - Green Jackfruit Stir Fry

 A few weeks ago, the family and I visited a "New Age" cafe where they were spruiking "pulled jackfruit" burgers as the new vegan go to food - that tasted even better than meat. The Keralite in me came out - and I decided I was going to order that, against my husband's wise advice. The pulled jackfruit was extremely disappointing leaving me craving for the real thing. I find it really annoying that people, including me, fall for such marketing ploys and then end up hating a perfectly great dish.

Of course, I could never hate the jackfruit - it is one of my favorite fruits.  And I know exactly what it could taste like if done properly.  

On that note, as I walked past my green grocer a couple of days back, I spotted green / unripe jackfruits. I immediately picked up a piece and brought it home. Finally my craving could be satiated.

On that note, let us move on to the Idichakka Thoran. Sure, it looks like pulled pork.  But this dish has been around for decades before pulled pork became fashionable. Most people in Kerala have a jackfruit tree in their back yard - and we did too. And this dish has been a staple of many households for decades.

Soy Garlic Tofu

I got addicted to this dish at a cafe in my place of work.  For the last few times, whenever we went there I would choose the tofu with garlic and soy along with fried rice. My friend Fiona is a great cook and when I asked her if she could give me the recipe for this particular dish, she pointed me to the site https://thefoodietakesflight.com/ and this recipe. I had all the ingredients in my pantry so I decided to try it out.

Making this dish at home is so much better - you can control the oil and salt that goes into it. And if you have the ingredients ready, the actual cooking takes less than 30 mintes.  You need pre cooked and chilled rice to make the fried rice - but the rest of the cooking takes a very short time.

My family loved the tofu - and I think this is one of those recipes that I will keep making over and over again. The sauce is so fresh and garlicky - it is delicious with the right blend of sweet, sour and hot.  Along with the fried rice, it was a satisfying meal 

Kesari or Semolina Halwa

 Both my husband and daughter love this simple Indian dessert that can be served at weddings or at home.  When it is served at weddings or functions, it is made with ghee and saffron (kesar) - and hence the name Kesari. It is usually made with an orange food colouring but I try to refrain from using food colouring unless it is natural.  So though my kesari looks quite brown, but you can definitely taste the saffron.  It is entirely up to you if you wish to use food colouring and I will include it in the recipe as an option. The beauty about this dessert is that you can make it vegan very easily too.

Ajvar - roasted capsicum and eggplant dip

 I got introduced to Ajvar a while ago by a Macedonian colleague. Her husband grew bell peppers at home and he would preserve them after harvesting them. The smoky peppers, the vibrant colour, the smooth and tangy after taste - these were all the things that made sure I got addicted to it. For several years I just bought a jar of Ajvar - it was so convenient.  But today I decided to try to make it - and as expected, it tastes so much better when it is home made!

The cherry on top was a Macedonian friend of my son's - I heard him saying to my son "Is your mum making Ajvar? I can smell it!" I must have done something right!

Onam 2023

 Another Onam marked off in my calendar! This one was special because we had a non traditional "Thums Up" drink with our meal. Kind of like Indian Cocacola - that the kids found in the Indian store in Melbourne.  

The day started off with setting up some floral arrangements inside the home - the all important Atha Poovu or flower carpet:

Normally this is actually done on the floor of the home - but I do not find the time to devote for elaborate floral decorations on the floor - not to mention the cleaning up after!

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!

Stir fried ivy gourd - Kovakkai Mezhukku Purattiyathu

 Today's vegetable, the humble ivy gourd, is one of my favourites. With ivy like leaves, small white star shaped flowers and a tiny cucumber like gourd, this plant used to grow wild in my mother's back yard.  Some of the fruit would ripen on the vines turning a beautiful shade of red, self seeding and carrying on the process seemingly on an endless cycle.  this vegetable was available freely and throughout the year and it was a favourite of mine as well as my dad's. 

Of course it wouldn't survive the cold winters of Melbourne and I never expected to see it here. Once in a way I used to but the frozen vegetable that was imported from India but the taste was just disappointing. 

Each time I visited India, I used to eat it by the kilo - stocking up until my next visit.

I was pleasantly surprised to see it at my local green grocers the other day - a treat, all the way from sunny Queensland! I was so excited I grabbed a lot - and for the next 3 weeks ate it to my hearts content.  Now that I know that it has gained popularity in Melbourne, I am sure I will see it more often.

It is a vegetable that is known by different names in different parts of India. I know it as kovakkai, but in the North of India they call it Tindora.  This time, in Delhi I found out that the Delhiites call it Kundru. A kovakkai - by any other name - still tastes divine - and by the way, the botanic name of this vegetable is Coccinia Grandis.

To make this dish, you need green (unripe) ivy gourd, about half a kilo.

I have got a picture of the plant - thank you Mary Matthews for 

Aloo Tikki - Spicy Indian Potato Cake

 Every holiday in India we try to go on a journey by train.  This time too, it was no different. The journey was special because we have never travelled on the Shaan-E-Punjab (The Pride of Punjab). All the way from Amritsar to Delhi on the Indian Railways. It was a 5 hour journey on the seater car of the train. The scenery was quite different to what I was used to down in South India where it is greener and with lots of bodies of water.

The food was also different - and just to be safe we ordered just vegetarian food. So it was vegetable biriyani and Aloo Tikki. I was not very impressed with the food in the train - (only because we had enjoyed three days of amazing local food in Amritsar) - and I didn't give it much thought until we arrived in Delhi.

In Delhi, we stayed at my friend's house and her maid was the one who really got us hooked into Aloo Tikkis. These delightful crisp skinned potato cakes with bits of peas and cauliflower, dipped in a sweet, tangy and sour tamarind sauce and a bit of mint chutney were just too good to stop at one.

The best part was you could make them and use them like burger patties and watch a game of footy while pretending to be in Delhi. So this is what I did today - to relive my holidays!

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. 

Onion Uthappam

 I make this dish only when I have left over dosa batter. Not because I don't enjoy it - it is just that the batter needs to be a bit more fermented and a bit more sour than normal dosa batter and usually we run out of dosa batter and I do not have enough to make uthappam. 

Dosa is made from sour/ fermented batter consisting of a rice and lentil mix. If left in the fridge for over a week, I then make it into uthappam - which is distinctively more sour than normal dosa.

I like the simple onion uthappam, but you can add grated carrots or other vegetables that catch your fancy to make this delicious dish.

This dish is a small and spongy savoury pancake - you can see the texture in the picture below - which is eaten for breakfast or dinner along with chutney and/or sambar. Today I have made this for breakfast with some coconut chutney for a fulfilling weekend breakfast.

Tamarind Rice

 My children love their sour lollies.  Little hard jellies in the shape of worms covered in sugar crystals. So sour it would make my brain go numb. To be honest, I am not a fan of it at all. Now, the sour fix we used to get when we were kids was from the fruit called tamarind. All natural, bean shaped, with seeds inside, green when unripe and dark reddish brown when ripe. Sweet, sour, tangy, making my mouth water even as I write about it - that is the unique quality of the tamarind.  Every South Indian home has a stash of tamarind in the pantry. My grandmother used to place fresh picked tamarind into large jars of concentrated palm toddy syrup.  Eventually, the natural crystals of brown sugar would form and cling on to the fibres of the tamarind. One of those, with a bit of syrup on the side - by God, it was a heavenly treat that nothing else can beat!

I have not had them in decades.  In fact, I do not even know if anyone makes it in their homes any more. Whether or not they make it, the tamarind is as important as the chilli in the South Indian cuisine.

One of my childhood favourites and now my children's favourite is the tamarind rice.  This rice can be made a couple of days ahead and stored in the fridge.  It doesn't go off easily.  The reason is the tamarind acts as a preservative. When we went for picnics, tamarind rice packed into little parcels inside banana leaves were a must have item.

Stir Fried Pumpkin Leaves

 What do you do when you have a backyard that has been taken over by unexpected pumpkin vines? You research them! :-) And then you find out that every bit of the vine is edible. And soon it is going to be freezing cold and all your pumpkin vines are going to die a natural death.  But before that, you tray and fit as many recipes as you can with as many parts of the vine as possible.

So starting at the top with the most tender leaves, tendrils, buds and baby fruit, I made two types of stir fry. Pumpkin leaves are a store house of vitamins and minerals and also have a high level of protein in them.  They are high in fibre and keep you fuller for longer - you guessed it - and therefore very good if you are trying to lose weight!

They can be eaten raw or cooked and today I have stir fried the leaves and garnished them in two different ways.

Curried Pumpkin Soup

 I have a huge harvest of pumpkins!!!! So here is one of our favourite pumpkin soups right in time for the cold autumn nights. 

Rasa Vadai - Lentil Fritters in Tomato Soup

 The person who introduced me to this dish is my beautiful grandmother Ella. She must have been a great foodie in her days.  All I know is that she was a fabulous cook!  Every time she made rasam, she would make these lentil fritters and they would be dunked into the rasam and served with rice.

Rasam is a thin vegetarian soup that is more like a broth, tangy and hot and perfect for having as an appetizing drink or with some rice as a meal.  You might be familiar with mulligatawny soup which translates to pepper water or, in other words, rasam. The British gave it that fancy name and it is now popular all over the world.

Anyway, back to my grandmother Ella. She would fry up these crisp lentil fritters and leave them in the rasam to soak and it made a healthy and delicious meal.  It is much later that I came to know that this dish is a speciality of the little town where my parents are from.  Therefore, I have to include it in my list of recipes!  

Hommus - Chick Pea Dip

 Whether you are having a tough day at work or you just want a quick and easy dip for your flat bread - or may be you are fasting during Lent and want to whip up something vegan.  You cannot go past this creamy easy to make and absolutely delicious Hommus dip.

Originally from the Middle East, Hommus or Hummus is extremely popular throughout the world and it can be served with crackers, fresh or toasted breads or with vegetables as a dip.  It is vegan and gluten free and as such, favoured by a lot of my friends as well.

It is a great dip to carry to work to share with colleagues or one that you can have by your side while reading a book or just relaxing.