Indulge at Restore | Restore by Nandi
Tag

India

Browsing
Recipes

Recipe: Cherished and Relished – Coconut Stew

By

What is it about the food we taste while we are growing up that somehow, no matter how far we go, becomes the basis of our most important culinary memories? So it is for me and a very special coconut stew (or to be authentic, “ishtew”), which would be served at my friend Girija’s house. We met in the 8th grade and were neighbours, and her mother prepared wonderful Keralan fare. Her ishtew was the first I’d ever had, and fortunately for me, Girija learnt how to prepare it exactly the same way. I’m so delighted to share this love-filled, coconut milk-based deliciousness with you today, as part of the ongoing coconut series.

“Ishtew” is possibly the Malayalam-ised word for “stew”, which I suppose is what the British must have called this dish when they first encountered it. Or perhaps it’s the other way around, and it’s the English word that is derived from the Indian one? Made with vegetables or meat and warmly spiced, it is usually served alongside aapam, a kind of rice-and-coconut-milk pancake that is also known as hoppers. You can also have this coconut stew with rice, idly or dosa.

The only recipe I have for this dish is the one that Girija shared with me, and to me it’s absolutely the best one. As with any food item, there will be variations from kitchen to kitchen and community to community, and I know of many who prepare it in different ways. The core of this dish, as with most very popular and commonly consumed traditional ones, is that it is quite simple to prepare and uses ingredients that are easily available. Coconut, of course, is the star.

Girija and I were such tight friends as teenagers that it was a given that if I was not at my home, I could be found in hers, and vice versa. Decades later, we remain close, and now, whenever I visit her in Singapore, there is always a large bowl of coconut stew being prepared for me. The photo below is from a few years ago, from one of the times when she prepared it for me and I happened to have my camera on hand. Somehow, over the decades, it’s her stew – not even her mum’s – that is most vivid in my mind. We create new memories and reminisce about old ones whenever we enjoy a meal together, and I hope that this dish becomes a part of yours too.

 

Coconut Stew

(Serves 2-4 people)

50 grams onion

125 grams potato

20 grams ginger

A few curry leaves

2 teaspoons coconut oil

½ cup water

Salt to taste

One coconut

 

Cut the onion and potato into thick juliennes. Set aside.

This recipe requires two cups of fresh coconut milk – a first press cup, and a second press cup. Prepare the first press by grating the coconut flesh and grinding it in a blender with a ¼ cup of water. Strain this and set aside. The first press milk will be thick.

Now, repeat the process using the same grated coconut flesh – this will be the second press milk, and it will be thinner in comparison to the first press. Set aside.

Take the second press milk and boil the julienned potato and onion in it until they are soft. Ensure that you add the onions after the potatoes, as they cook faster. Add the ginger too. You can press down on the potatoes a little using a masher.

Once this is done, add the thick first press coconut milk to the pan. Add the curry leaves and coconut oil as well. Stir well. Your coconut stew is now ready to serve, and a plate of aapams, idlies or dosas will go perfectly with it.

This stew evokes for me one of my most cherished friendships, and so many childhood memories. Although Girija and I are in different countries at present, perhaps one of the many reasons she and her stew have been on my mind is because the lockdown this year has meant that meeting at home has become how most of us socialise now. Here in Chennai, my friends and I often discussed wanting to meet but felt it wasn’t safe to go out to restaurants like we had in the past. Instead, what we now do is something that we had quite rarely done in the past: meeting in each others’ homes over home-cooked meals. It’s so nice to get together this way, knowing that everyone is comfortable and care has been taken.

The lovely thing about old friendships is that even if we don’t see each other often, the bond is absolute. I truly feel relaxed and comfortable when I am with dear friends like Girija. It’s easy to put my feet up with her, and that is the kind of ease that can only come with knowing how much love is given and shared between oneself and another. That love speaks in the food that she cooks for me. We have an understanding that she cooks for me, and I cook for her. The “trade” for this Malayali coconut stew is always a Gujarati dal. Perhaps I will share that recipe some day soon too…

In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out the previous posts in this coconut series: coconut podi and coconut oil. Stay tuned for a lovely Diwali dessert next weekend, to round the series off!

View Post
By
Blog

Method: Worth Its Weight In Gold – Coconut Oil

By

The coconut series continues with something a little different this time: coconut oil! Yes, the oil that most of us are used to purchasing can indeed be made not just at home, but even in a city like Chennai, as long as you have coconut trees around. With about a dozen coconut trees at home, and a reliable coconut harvester who was willing to visit, I collected a big batch of coconuts and embarked on my next adventure.

I’m going through a phase where I feel like I want to learn everything there is to know about food and cooking. Nowadays, when I hear about someone making a special jam or baking a new kind of cake, I experience FOMO (“fear of missing out”). Maybe this comes from having been very naughty as a child, and never focusing on my studies then – at least, that’s what I jokingly say to my kids each time they’re surprised to hear that I’ve taken up a new course or have signed up for some workshop. But I believe in challenging myself and growing. I want to be more self-reliant, and discover new things. Even though it’s impossible to truly learn, let alone master, every single possible recipe or method out there, I feel an urge to try. So when my friend Sujata told me that she had successfully made her own coconut oil, I immediately went, “OMG, I want to do this too!” My motivation was perfectly-timed, as the trees were ripe for harvest just then.

Coconut oil is only one of the many ways that the different parts of the bountiful coconut tree can be used. As I create this series for the blog, I’ve been reflecting on the versatility of the tree in its entirety, even though I’m personally only using its fruits. For instance, I recall how when I was growing up, there was a lady who would come home sometimes, take a knife, sit outside with some coconut tree fronds and use a knife to craft a broom (“thodapam” in Tamil) whenever a new one was needed. I’d watched this process many times over the years. Wherever the tree grows, the shells are used as utensils and even as a charcoal replacement, the husks to fashion ropes out of, the leaves in weaving and thatching, the flowers in herbal medicine, and so on. The edible flesh and water aren’t the only good things to come from this amazing tree.

What follows is more of a method than a recipe as such, and what is produced as a result will be a beautiful and versatile ingredient that you can use in everything from food to beauty essentials. Coconut oil is a staple in South India, used for everything from improving hair health to daily frying needs. It’s also something that has attracted the attention of beauty and health enthusiasts internationally. The latest trend I’ve read about is to have a spoonful of pure coconut oil in the mornings, as this is said to be good for the brain. What I will do in this post is walk you through my own process of preparing coconut oil, and my learnings from the same.

In order to prepare your own coconut oil, you’ll need: coconuts, access to a cold pressery, and space to sun-dry. There are many places in Chennai that do cold-pressing, and it should be possible for you to find a unit near you wherever you are.

The first step is to harvest the coconuts, of course. Then, they are peeled and chopped into smaller pieces (they will need to be small enough to feed to the cold pressing unit). The flesh is left to sun-dry for between four and seven days, depending on the coconut. You will know that it’s done when you press it with your thumb and it releases a little bit of oil.

Next, the dried pieces are sent to the cold pressery. I wanted to supervise the process to ensure that there was no dilution of any sort. The unit where I had my coconut oil made used a lovely old machine made of wood and canvas. I put in about 20 kilos of coconuts and got back about about half as much in raw oil.

The process doesn’t end there, however. This huge container of oil I came home with then had to be dried again, so that residual moisture from the coconut flesh gets evaporated. What you have to do at this stage is to pour it out into flat pans, and allow these to dry in the sun for anywhere between three and five days. You will know that it is done when all the dust particles settle at the bottom, and the raw smell goes away. This being my first time making my own oil, I was not sure whether the final product was less fragrant than the store-bought versions because I hadn’t let the coconut pieces dry long enough, or simply because they were free of artificial additives. Either way, once the oil completed the drying stage, it was ready to use. I couldn’t help but marvel at the result.

And there you have it: coconut oil that you can be sure is free of contamination, preservatives or any other issue that may come with commercially-produced brands. I can’t tell you what a delight it is to have your very own cold-pressed coconut oil. That’s something that you must experience for yourself, and if you can, please do.

Embarking on this little adventure was very rewarding for me, but the thing about my FOMO and subsequent hunger to do more is that sometimes experiments don’t turn out as expected. Whenever this happens, I always tell myself that it’s okay, and that I can focus on what I know I do well and can take pride in. For instance, expanding my repertoire of cakes is something that I am really keen to do, and I’m constantly exploring new recipes and whipping up trial batches. You may have seen the new additions I made to the menu recently, and it’s been really wonderful to prepare your orders for this festive season too.

I would even go as far as to say that I like to show off a little with each successful experiment, but when I share how I did it, I pass on that sense of achievement to you. It’s so exciting to have something that is all handmade, and made to order just for you. I’ve been sharing the oil from my coconut trees with very dear friends in glass jars, so in addition to being used at home both in cooking and in grooming, they’ve also become perfect for gifting this year.

I’d love to know if you try out preparing your own coconut oil based on my own experiment here. I’d also love to know how you use it. I am sure that you will find, as I have, that making your own batch of coconut oil is worth its weight in gold.

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: Navaratri Happiness – Handvo

By

Handvo is a savoury cake made with lentils, from the Gujarati repertoire. Growing up, I would see it being made by my mother in the traditional way: in the backyard, she would prepare it in a heavy-bottomed brass pot placed on charcoal. She would pour the batter – containing lentils, rice and vegetables – into the vessel, then cover it with a heavy iron lid and let it cook. This was how it was made in most Gujarati homes back then. The funny thing is that although I enjoyed watching the elaborate process outside the kitchen, I found the dish itself quite boring. My mother had given herself a culinary education, learning baking and international cooking styles at a time when such classes were considered unusual, and as a child, I much preferred the foreign dishes she was learning to whip up. Over time, my appreciation for traditional cuisine blossomed, and this is why I am sharing the recipe for this handvo today, during the auspicious period of Navaratri.

I recall that my mother would make a large pot of handvo only about once a month or so. She would bake it in the evening and we would have it fresh for dinner, with the leftovers becoming our breakfast. The baked handvo comes out looking like a cake in height and shape, with a beautiful crust on top, which as kids we prized and fought over (for a dish I had thought dull, that was my favourite part!). So our mother had to divide it equally amongst us all. During Navaratri, however, handvo became our nightly staple. There’s no real link to the festival itself, except that this was my mother’s go-to during that very busy time of year. Even though the process seemed complicated to a watching child, it is actually a simple one-pot meal. It’s also lovely to have during the monsoon season, which usually coincides with the festival.

For us, Navaratri meant having a quick dinner and then heading out for the garba, a wonderful celebration that my siblings and I looked forward to with great anticipation. In those days, those nine nights of dancing, feasting and prayer were one of the major highlights of the calendar for us Gujaratis in Chennai. No more than 50 to 70 families would get together over the nine nights, and some of these families we’d only get to meet annually, so it was a very special occasion for the whole community. I remember how the fathers would be responsible for blocking the hall and all the event logistics, while the mothers would make the prasad  for the Goddess. Each evening would begin with a prayer, followed by the distribution of prasad, and then… the moment most of us would be waiting for: the dancing would begin. First, the women would begin dancing in a circle. Then, the children would come in, and finally everyone else would join. There would be competitions too, and I would always win a prize.

Garbas and dandiya these days don’t bear much resemblance to how they used to be while I was growing up. Now, they are just another party. The ones in my memory were very graceful and traditional, with a sense of propriety. The whole family used to be involved in those days, and the occasion was about keeping our culture alive. Even the little love affairs and marriages that used to come out of these events all happened under the watch of the parents, and with their blessings. Everything was about a sense of family and community back then, and I cherish those memories. Something about the handvo, which always preceded those evenings of fun, invokes them for me.

There are many varieties of handvo, which use different kinds of grains and dals based on what is in season; warmer grains like bajra are used in winters, while lighter rice and millets are used in summers. Rice leftover from lunch is also used, as are seasonal vegetables, the most common of which is the bottle gourd.

Over the years, the brass pot in the backyard kind of disappeared, and nowadays we see handvos being made in casseroles and glass containers that can be stuck in the oven. This year, I’m making my handvo the same way too, especially as I know that this is how most of you will try out this recipe. In fact, I felt tempted to modernise the method a step further and try out a batch in my waffle pan, as well! (If you’re one of those cooks who uses such tricks-of-the-eye to convince your fussy eaters at home to eat simply and well, this may be something to try out too!)

There are a few other keynotes that make my re:store style handvo distinct from the traditional kind. Firstly, I’ve eliminated the usage of rice, so as to ensure that the dish is carb-free. Most importantly, rather than bake a single large cake-like handvo and cut it into pieces, I’ve experimented with preparing individual portions, similar to dosas or crepes. I find that making the handvo in this method makes the cooking process easier and faster. The fermenting and soaking still require a day’s advance planning (unless you use readymade dal powders), but the actually frying up happens much faster than baking.

Handvo

(Yield: For 3-4 people)

1 cup toor dal

¼ cup urad dal

¼ cup moong dal

½ cup channa dal

¼ cup dahi + 2 teaspoons lemon juice

¾ cup grated bottle gourd (+ optional methi leaves)

¼ cup coriander leaves

2 teaspoons oil

¼ teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon green chili paste

½ teaspoon ginger paste

1 teaspoon sugar

Salt to taste

 

Tempering:

2 teaspoons oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon sesame seeds

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

½ teaspoon carom seeds

A few curry leaves

 

Clean the dals and soak them in sufficient water for 5-6 hours.

After this, remove the water and blend the dals coarsely. Add the dahi and lemon juice. Allow to rest for 3-5 hours.

Once the soaking and fermentation processes are completed, add the vegetable of your choice and the remaining spices to the batter. While I’ve made the batter from scratch, you may wish to use readymade dal powders instead.

Heat the oil in a flat pan. Add all the different seeds. Wait till they splutter and then add some curry leaves. Immediately, add 2 cups of the batter. Spread it a little, as you would a thick dosa or uthappam, then lower the flame. Cover the pan with a lid. Allow to cook for about 5-7 minutes. Now open the lid, and be careful as it would have trapped a lot of steam. Flip the handvo. Repeat the same process on this side.

After the handvo cooks and turns golden on both sides, remove it from the pan and make the next one. Cut into pieces and serve with green chutney or sweet mango pickle.

Over a few trials, this was the easiest method of preparing handvo that I discovered. You may of course choose to bake it instead. In that case, put all the batter in a bake-proof bowl. In a small pan, sauté the oil and seeds. Once they splutter, use a spoon to gently drizzle the tempering evenly on top of the batter. Bake at 160°C for half an hour, then slice and serve with the condiments.

The days of brass pots in the backyard and wholesome garba gatherings may have gone by, but the great thing about food is that it lets you keep making new memories. I wish you and your loved ones an auspicious Navaratri. I’d love to know if my easy, uthappam-inspired handvo finds a place in your festivities!

View Post
By
Blog

New On The Menu, This Festive Season

By

This year is one during which the festive season is probably going to be a little different than it usually is. This means that every special occasion is all the more precious, and I know you’ll be choosing the treats and goodies you’ll share with your family with extra care. With this in mind, I’ve been working hard in the kitchen, conducting trials and perfecting new products to add to the re:store menu.

I’m delighted to share that in addition to all your favourites, re:store now has: luscious Persian love cake, addictive almond brittle, charming red velvet cake, and finally, the outstanding sugar-free hazelnut date protein balls (an upgrade on a bestseller you may be familiar with).

I hope you’ll drop me a line with your orders soon. re:store is based in Chennai, but muesli deliveries have been made all over the country and beyond. Please take a look at the complete list of products on the re:store menu and get in touch. I look forward to helping you make your celebrations sweeter!

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: Simply Fulfilling – South Indian Buddha Bowl

By

There are one-pot meals and meal-in-a-bowls to be found in cuisines all over the world, even though distinguishing them as a category is a relatively new idea. They’ve gained popularity among diners everywhere thanks to the Buddha bowl trend, which are comprised of a medley of attractively arranged (and usually nutritious) food items in a single bowl. I’ve had quite a few versions of these on my travels, and they’ve always motivated me to make them a regular part of my lifestyle. Now that we’ve all been at home for months, I’ve been bringing as many of these inspirations into my day-to-day cooking as possible. The Buddha bowl is among my favourites for its aesthetic appeal, health quotient and convenience. I’ve been making variants focused on different cuisines, and will share a few of them in the coming weeks. Let’s begin today with my South Indian-style Buddha bowl.

The Buddha bowl concept itself is a great one, and is based on putting together a compact and even portable meal which packs in lots of flavours and textures. You may be wondering what makes a Buddha bowl different from the thaalis we enjoy in India, in which a wide variety of dishes are served in their own separate containers, arranged around the central eating space of the plate. The answer is in the portion sizes. With thaalis, there’s a lot more space, and you tend to fill up that space and thus consume what you’ve filled it with too. A Buddha bowl is just one vessel, usually a bowl as per the name, but a plate will do as well. Thaalis are indulgent, whereas Buddha bowls take a minimalistic approach. The latter are closely tied to fitness for this reason. These days, with the necessity of watching what I eat in a smarter way as I grow older, I reach for them very often in the interest of health. I can attest that eating a Buddha bowl keeps you light on your feet. Whenever I have one for lunch, I feel active for the rest of the day. There is a bounce in my step and I feel revitalised, and find myself doing my photoshoots with more energy.

You can make carb-free variants if you like, but for me it’s simply about cutting down on the quantity of them while still getting the boost they give to my energy. Offsetting the carbs with a delicious load of greens is also key. This South Indian Buddha bowl contains the perfect combination of crispy eggplant, flavourful rice and nourishing, lightly-spiced greens. Every single dish-within-the-dish tastes wonderful, and they come together beautifully with their richness of textures and flavours.

I am a fan of healthy grains options, so I’ve used brown rice in this recipe. You can substitute this with white rice, if you prefer. As for the greens, here in South India we enjoy an incredible variety of spinach, including vendaya keerai, moringa, mollaraikeerai, sirikeerai and more. I have some kind or another every single day, and just happened to use mullakeerai in this recipe. It’s just very lightly seasoned with garlic, salt and dry red chilli and is very flavourful when eaten almost plain this way. We also get a variety of eggplants, from thin and long green ones to fat and purple ones, and while I don’t know all their names, you can use any that are available too. One of the beautiful things about this recipe is that it requires just the staples.

I always say that you eat with your eyes first, and the aesthetics of serving are very important to me not only as a photographer but equally as a culinary enthusiast. When you serve these diverse portions in a beautiful and well-proportioned bowl, the vessel looks full and the moment you see it, you get a sense of “Wow, I’m going to have a big meal.” You truly do feel satiated at the end of it, because your eyes have convinced your brain before your belly begins its work! Making a Buddha bowl as colourfully as possible also has health advantages, as you may remember from my post on eating the rainbow.

Speaking of what the eyes take in, initially, I had planned a photoshoot using South Indian brass crockery and props. I ultimately decided to go with an international look instead, to celebrate the global popularity of the Buddha bowl. As I discovered, there’s also another trick of the eye in this. You see, my daughter doesn’t always enjoy South Indian cuisine, but if I present it this way, she tucks in enthusiastically. It’s all about presentation, and how good you can make a dish look so that it will please the person who is going to eat it even before they’ve had a bite. Personally, I would also love eating this very same meal off of a banana leaf (yela saapad), as is tradition. That would change the experience of having it totally as well. But for now, I need the shot of energy that a Buddha bowl puts into my day, and I’ll carry on having it this way for a while!

South Indian Buddha Bowl

(Yield: 1 bowl)

 

Coconut rice

200 grams (approximately 2 cups) cooked brown or white rice

30 grams (2 tablespoons) grated coconut

4 curry leaves

1 tablespoon coconut oil

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

¼ teaspoon mustard seeds

1 green chilli

Salt to taste

 

Greens

2 cups chopped and cleaned greens

1 teaspoon oil

2-3 garlic cloves

1 dry red chilli (optional, can be replaced with green chilli)

Salt to taste

 

Eggplant

10-12 slices of small eggplants

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon coriander powder

¼ teaspoon cumin powder

1 tablespoon chickpea flour

2-3 tablespoons oil

 

Prepare each of the components separately. I’ll begin by sharing the method for the coconut rice. In a pan, add the coconut oil. Once it’s heated, add the cumin and mustard seeds. When the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and green chilli. Next, add the freshly grated coconut. Sauté them all together for a few minutes and finally add the rice and salt. Stir until combined.

The following is the method for the pan-fried eggplant. On a plate, place the eggplant slices and sprinkle all the masala (including the chickpea flour) onto them, and gently massage them in by using your fingers. Allow the coated slices to sit for ½ an hour or more. If letting the tray sit for longer, then refrigerate it so that the eggplant doesn’t begin to give out water.

When you are ready to fry the eggplant, add the oil in a pan. Allow it to heat up, then gently place the round eggplant slices onto the hot oil. Allow them to turn golden on both sides on a medium flame, then cool.

Finally, here is the method to prepare the greens. Heat a kadai and add the oil to it. Once it’s hot, add the garlic and stir fry until the cloves change colour slightly. Now, add the chilli and then finally add the greens. Keep the flame at a medium level and sauté for a few minutes or until the greens turn a little tender. Do not overcook, as they release water and will change colour. Add the salt and stir well.

My daughter felt that this bowl was a little dry, and if you think so too, you can either add some yoghurt to it as a fourth component or make the spinach in a more gravy-like style if you prefer.

With all the components of the dish prepared, it now comes down to the assembly. Pick out a beautiful bowl and arrange the coconut rice, sautéed greens and pan-fried eggplant on it. Let your eyes feast first. Enjoy!

You may have noticed that my blog is also a kind of Buddha bowl, a mix-and-match that I put together from across categories. This is deliberate, because I want people from across age groups and from all over the world to enjoy my recipes. I always try to balance the traditional and the modern, and bring in all my varied experiences and learning – be they through travel, my training such as in Macrobiotics, my memories, or my experiments. I strive to keep up with the times, and I also strive to keep challenging myself. Thank you for coming along with me on my journey! There are a few more Buddha bowls in the next couple of stops. Any guesses where they might be inspired from?

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: Making The Most Of Mangoes 3 – Mango Osaman

By

Osaman is a kind of thin broth made in Gujarati kitchens. It’s rather similar to rasam, although certain ingredients like tamarind are eliminated whereas other ingredients like jaggery are used. As I’ve said numerous times in other posts, every community and region in India will have its own variations on certain staples: rices, curries, dals and so on. With it being mango season here – in the country as well as on this blog! – this ripe mango rasam I shared a couple of years back was on my mind. That was when an idea struck: why not make the traditional osaman I had grown up with, but with a luscious, fruity twist?

Osaman is essentially made using the water that dal is boiled in, and served alongside the same dal in a meal. Inspired partly by mango rasam and partly by the Gujarati curry known as fajeto (which is similar to Tamil cuisine’s morkuzhambu), I blended some ripe mango into an osaman as a culinary experiment. The result was something delightful, and I’m excited to share it with you today. This mango osaman is my own recipe, bringing together various comforting influences into a single dish.

Despite being popular in Gujarati homes in the summer, the yoghurt-based fajeto is a heavier dish, and is not among my family’s favourites. They’ve been getting their dairy intake from this lovely lassi anyway, so this osaman was the perfect substitute, allowing me to bring mangoes into our lunch preparations in a new way as well. It’s been much appreciated, and I’m sure it will become a part of our regular meals over many mango seasons to come.

Ripe Mango Osaman

(Yield: Approximately 5 cups)

 

3½ cups water

1 cup ripe mango pulp

½ cup boiled toor dal

Juice of 1 lemon

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon coriander powder

½ teaspoon red chilli powder

2 teaspoons jaggery

2 teaspoons ghee

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon grated ginger

2 dry red chilies

A handful of finely cut coriander leaves

In a pot, add the dal, mango pulp and water. Mix well, using a hand blender.

Add the salt, cumin powder, coriander powder, jaggery, turmeric powder and grated ginger to the pot. Allow to boil for about five minutes so that the flavours come together nicely.

In a small pot, prepare the tadka (seasoning). Add ghee. Once it’s hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and dry red chillies. As soon as they begin spluttering, add the red chilli powder and immediately pour it over the hot osaman.

Squeeze some lemon juice over it, and garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Just like rasam, this ripe mango osaman works beautifully both as a warm beverage and as an accompaniment to rice. I hope you’ll enjoy this Gujarati-Tamil fusion dish of mine. I’m simply thrilled to have one more recipe to make the most of my mango madness with!

 

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: Making The Most Of Mangoes 2 – Mango Lassi

By

Lassi is an extremely popular and very effective Indian beverage, a coolant that’s popular in the summer months. Being yoghurt-based, it not only reduces the heat in the body but is also rich in probiotics. Naturally, the classic mango lassi had to find a place in my ongoing mango series here on the blog!

This wonderful, lip-smackingly good mango lassi doubles as a dessert. The natural sweetness of the fruit is enhanced by the use of honey (or a sweetener of your choice). I like a flavourful lassi, so a little cardamom and a sliver of ginger go into mine as well.

Some wonder whether mangoes, which are known to be a “heaty” fruit, can really be eaten so much during the summer, despite this being the season when they are most delicious. I’d like to share a very interesting Ayurvedic technique that I came across. It seems that by simply soaking the fruit in water for at least half an hour before consumption, the heat is depleted from it. Mixing it with yoghurt as one does with this lassi also neutralises the heat.

Yoghurt in India is usually homemade, and dairy is consumed regularly. Chaas, also known as buttermilk, was a daily drink for us when we were growing up, as our mother insisted that we always had it after lunch. Lassi is a more indulgent dairy drink that has the same beneficial effects. It can be had salty or sweet, and flavoured in many ways. As a child, I enjoyed a watery lassi best. An excellent savoury variant uses ginger, green chilli, mint, coriander and salt. As for the best sweet variant, well, the recipe is below!

 

Mango Lassi

(Yield: 2 servings)

½ cup peeled & cut Alphonso mango

½ cup plain yoghurt

¼ cup plain milk

1 cup water

A pinch of salt

1 heaped teaspoon sugar or honey

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

½ teaspoon grated ginger

A few mint leaves

Blend all the ingredients together, except the mint leaves. Adjust the water quantity based on your requirement. If you prefer a thick lassi, use less. Or use more to thin it according to your preference.

Top with ice and serve with the mint leaves as a garnish. Sliced nuts or saffron also work well as garnishing options.

Mango season will continue on this blog, and hopefully in the world too, and I have a variety of innovative dishes I’m excited about sharing with you soon. So do stay tuned for more fruity deliciousness to come!

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: Making The Most Of Mangoes (Part 1) – Mango Salad

By

I was very fortunate to receive a batch of delicious Alphonso mangoes from Nashik, procured by a friend. Nashik is most famous for this variant, one of hundreds grown throughout the country, as it enjoys the ideal clime for its cultivation. I believe they are also grown in Andhra Pradesh and other places, but the Maharashtra Alphonso is the one with the beautiful orange flesh. The colour caught my eye as I cut the fruit open, and inspired me to do a mango series here. To kick things off, here is this filling and vibrant mango salad. This lovely dish is a way to bring a bright spark of healthiness into your diet, without compromising even the slightest bit on taste and flavour.

You may be wondering why I’m talking about good health again after posting three decadent cake recipes back to back. This is why: I believe we are at a point during this COVID-19 crisis when we are ready to empower ourselves to return to normalcy. There was a time and a place for mood-uplifting solutions, but now is the moment when we must accept that the pandemic is here to stay for a while. This means that we need to be more responsible in all aspects of life, pay closer attention to our health, and bring our diets back into balance as well.

The cake recipes were expressions of joy at a time when we all felt confused, terrified and hopeless, and this mango series retains the delectability factor but with a more nutritious angle. I’ve always been very health-conscious, as long time readers will most likely know. I’m not getting any younger, and cutting down on carbs, increasing protein intake and prioritising general well-being and mindful caution are important to me. Honestly, I feel excited about this. I believe we will be able to rise to this challenge. I think this is probably the reason why the human race is at the top of the pyramid of Earth’s many species. No matter what happens, we slowly achieve a sense of normalcy and practicality. We believe in and foster hope.

Of course, it being mango season makes this turn towards pragmatism all the sweeter. Mangoes are lower in calories relative to other fruits, and are a source of Vitamins A and C and beautifying beta-carotene (which is good for the skin). They’re so tasty that it’s hard to believe they could be beneficial, but like all fruits, they are.

This mango salad that I’ve been making lately is such a super hit at home that my family has begun asking for it daily. Considering that the season is limited, usually lasting till the end of June but subject to climactic changes, I’m happy to indulge everyone.

This is a recipe that I came up with, and it layers the sweet fruit with some Asian flavours, courtesy of soy sauce, lemongrass and a sprinkling of peanuts. I add mung bean sprouts for protein, and you may also wish to sauté long strips of tofu or chicken and mix them in if you prefer. Both work well with the Asian flavours, and boost the protein quotient. I sometimes add a grain like quinoa or wild rice to make it an even more textured and filling meal. Other vegetables I’ve used also add a nice crunch, contrasting the soft fleshiness of the mangoes.

It looks and tastes absolutely fantastic – I enjoyed this whole bowl for lunch right after my photoshoot!

I’ve been loving thinking up different ways to make mangoes an ingredient in different dishes, some of which you’ll see on this blog soon. I’ve also been trying to make mango pickle with raw mangoes, growing on one of my trees at home. Gujarati pickles need to be sun-dried in the initial stages, so I am making the most of this hot weather. You could say I’ve been making the most of mangoes, as well as making the most of the summer sun.

 

 

Mango Salad

(Yield: 1 bowl)

1 cup freshly cut ripe, firm mango

½ cup bell peppers

½ cup sliced onions

½ cup sprouted mung beans

1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves

1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves

½ teaspoon finely cut lemongrass

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon finely cut jalapeños

½ chopped red chilli

2 tablespoons roasted peanuts

 

Dressing:

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon soy sauce

A drizzle of honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 pinch pepper

Mix the salad ingredients together. It’s always best if they’ve been chilled.

Stir the dressing ingredients together well, separately.

Now, pour the mixed dressing over the salad ingredients. Stir gently to assemble the dish, making sure that the dressing coats all of the salad. Voila! The simplicity of preparing this dish is an extra plus in these sweltering months, cutting down on your time in the kitchen.

Refrigerate for a short while, so that you’ll get a fresh and chilled salad at serving time.

Then, all that’s left to do is to enjoy it! You’ll find that the sweetness of the soft ripe mangoes is enhanced by the tanginess of the dressing, and marvellously contrasted by the crunchiness of the nuts and vegetables. What you have is an interestingly textured, and exceedingly tasty salad that can be a starter, a full meal, or a snack – depending entirely on your mood.

I’m in the mood for mangoes any day of this season – are you? Let me take this opportunity to wish all who are celebrating the occasion a very happy Eid. I’d love to hear if my mango salad becomes a part of your celebrations!

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: The Rustic Loaf –Eggless- Whole-Wheat Saffron & Cardamom Cake

By

For as long as I’ve been cooking, I have woken up every morning wondering what new dish I might try in my kitchen. This hasn’t changed at all during this lockdown. I’m still starting each day by planning what I can prepare. Of course, as all of you are no doubt experiencing too, there’s an extra step of having to be especially creative so as to maximise available ingredients since grocery shopping is more infrequent now. Still, I believe that we must always eat well, as much as we can. Desserts are still on my mind – sometimes the thought I start my day with is: a sourdough-based dish, or a cake? The other day, I picked baking a cake – a whole-wheat saffron and cardamom cake to be precise – and I’m glad to share the recipe with you today.

Teatimes at home now have a whole new vibe. I usually have my tea alone, but with everyone at home all day at the moment, they have become a special bonding experience. This is why a cake made all the more sense to me, as an accompaniment to our cuppas and conversations. With the re:store kitchen on hiatus along with so many other food and beverage enterprises in the city, I also missed baking on a daily basis. Going through my blog, I realised that in these three and a half years, I have shared no more than four cake recipes with you. Given that they are my signature product, I felt that there’s no time like the present to give you another one.

Like most of re:store’s baked goods, this whole-wheat cake is mildly sweet, with no icing. The cardamom and saffron add a faint but wonderful whiff of Indian-ness to it. An added benefit is that it’s eggless – perfect for vegetarians, and in case you’re running out of eggs at the moment. It’s a very easy cake to prepare, as well. Baking cakes always involves a simple formula, as I reminded my niece when she attempted one of the recipes I shared earlier. If you follow the basic principles carefully, they reliably turn out perfect. This one, I can assure you, is not only easy to make but also very tasty.

Earlier, I enjoyed making this cake using mini loaf tins. For a change, this time I baked the cake in a regular-sized loaf tin, selecting it from the pans which I have collected over time. This tin shape makes the cake especially cute, and it comes out in the perfect size to slice up. The portions are ideal for a family of five at teatime. Ours is 5+1 at the moment, including my dog Max – who always reminds us that we better eat up our share quickly, before he gobbles it up!

If cardamom and saffron aren’t available in your kitchen right now, this recipe will work equally well with lavender or even some mild lemon zest. The choice is yours. Feel free to experiment with flavours (and be sure to let me know in the comments later what you decided to do). Happy baking!

Whole-Wheat Saffron/Cardamom Cake

(Serves 5)

180 grams whole-wheat flour

185 grams white powdered sugar

2 tablespoons brown sugar

½ teaspoon cardamom powder

5-10 strands saffron

65 grams soft butter

1 teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

240ml whole milk

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Prepare a loaf tin by greasing the tin and lining it with parchment paper.

Remove a ¼  cup of milk from the 240ml, keeping the rest aside. Soak the saffron strands in this for half an hour or until colour rises.

In another bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix them together well. Then, add the wet ingredients one by one and mix again.

Pour the batter into the loaf tin and place it in the oven. Allow to bake for 30 – 40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Toward the end of the baking process, you may notice that the cake acquires a darker colour on top. This is due to the brown sugar. If you prefer, you may cover the cake loosely with parchment paper while it bakes, to avoid excess browning.

Let it cool slightly, then remove the still-warm loaf and slice it up for serving. The lovely thing about this cake is that it needs no icing or any kind of topping, and responds well to a variety of flavourings. It has a nice rustic look, and tastes perfectly moist and delicious all on its own. The perfect accompaniment is a cup of tea – along with a pleasant conversation…

I hope you’ll enjoy this recipe, and that it adds a hint of sweetness and sparkle to this challenging time!

View Post
By
Recipes

Recipe: Surprisingly Simple – Vegetable Biryani

By

My children are at home through this lockdown, and I’ve been striving to make their favourite dishes for them while being mindful about how to make every ingredient go the extra mile. As we’ve discussed many times before on this blog, Indians have a knack for being resourceful in the kitchen, whether that’s through reusing leftovers creatively or coming up with innovative ways to cook with less. I believe that we should not neglect our nutrition or our taste buds, even now, and I’ve been thinking of how to share recipes with you that can be made with what you already have on hand in the fridge, but which don’t compromise on deliciousness. This vegetable biryani is a perfect example – flavourful, comforting, and made from just the staples.

The great part about this dish is that you can throw in any vegetable you like, which is especially useful at a time like this. It’s a very easy recipe for young adults who are just stepping out and learning to cook on their own, as well as for beginners in the kitchen. If you have a pressure cooker and follow the recipe to a T, you’ll soon be able to enjoy homemade biryanis on the regular.

Biryani is a savoury rice dish from the Mughal empire of India, and variations are made throughout the country. It is often prepared with long-grained basmati rice. In South India, we tend not to grow this variant, so different locations are famous for using their own rice types and methods. Popular regional biryanis include Dindigul, Hyderabad, Ambur and more. Meat is a common ingredient, but I’ll share a vegetarian recipe for the benefit of a wider number of readers.

That said, even the vegetables in this recipe are optional, although of course I don’t recommend that you leave them out for nutrition’s sake. But if you are short of groceries right now, be assured that the rice will be just as flavourful even without them. The subtle tastes and fragrances of the many spices used amply make up for them.

When my children were still little, and like many children disliked eating vegetables, they were absolutely delighted by a discovery made on a holiday. My brother had taken us to Dubai, to a restaurant that made a wonderful selection of biryanis. My kids were kicked to see that the restaurant offered a vegetarian version with no vegetables! I guess you could call it the kids’ option. That’s where they got the idea of having this flavourful rice with no vegetables at all, and got me to start making it for them that way too.

Like many of you, if not all of you, there have been some disruptions for us due to the current situation. We had been renovating our house, and had temporarily shifted to a smaller flat, where we now find ourselves until this crisis passes. Living in apartments, you can get the smells of cooking from different homes wafting into yours. This piques my curiosity delightfully. Sometimes I wonder: I think she’s making biryani, and that smells like this masala or that spice; perhaps I can incorporate it next time… Biryanis vary not just regionally, but also  between communities, and from family to family. No one can really replicate another’s, yet they are all fragrant – and tasty! I am certain yours will be too.

I have many other memories of biryani as a dish that encouraged bonding, and these go back to my childhood. At the time, the beach was the only place of outing for us in Chennai. We went there whether it was for a special occasion, like Sharad Purnima, or just as a treat. Most of us have lovely recollections of time spent there. On summer evenings, my extended family would head there with a big pot of biryani. We’d enjoy dinner on the beach along with the light, cooling sea breeze. People would also bring accompaniments, including a sweet, raita, drinks, crispies like appalams and so on, so it became a potluck. We would tuck into a feast as we enjoyed one another’s company as well as the beauty of nature. I so look forward to doing that again one day, when it becomes possible to. A simple picnic with loved ones, in the beautiful outdoors, with a basket or two of delicious food…

 

Vegetable Biryani

(Yield: Serves 4)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons ghee

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon saunf

2 bay leaves

1 long cinnamon stick

2-3 cloves

2 cardamom pods

1 star anise

200 grams rice (approximately 1¼ cups)

200 grams cut vegetables (beans, carrots, small potatoes, peas)

100 grams finely cut onions

1 tablespoon tomato purée

1 green chilli

A few mint leaves

1 tablespoon finely cut coriander leaves

1 tablespoon yoghurt

2 cups water

 

Masala:

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon cumin powder

 

Raita:

1½ cups yoghurt

½ cup onions

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder

First, prepare the raita, so it’s ready when you serve the biryani. Add the yoghurt in a bowl, then add the salt and the cumin powder. Mix well. Now, add the onions and stir. Store in the refrigerator.

Pick, rinse and soak the rice in water for about ½ an hour. I have used rice from our farm as we prefer that at home. However, if you prefer basmati, then use that by all means. It’s possible that the water content may change, so adjust accordingly.

In a pressure cooker, add the ghee. Once it becomes hot, add the cumin seeds and saunf, followed quickly by the spices (cardamom, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, cloves, star anise). You can substitute the ghee for oil, especially if you are vegan.

Sauté for less than a minute or until the flavours come together in the ghee.

Next, add the finely cut onions and sauté until transparent. Once it turns golden, add the tomatoes and the green chilli. I have used a homemade tomato purée, the recipe for which was shared recently. But feel free to use fresh tomatoes, diced.

Now, add the masala and stir well. Once that is mixed thoroughly, add all the vegetables along with the mint and coriander leaves. You may use any vegetables that are available to you. Fortunately, my usual method for this biryani requires simple ones that I still have on hand easily – beans, carrots, small potatoes and peas.

Next, add the yoghurt. Blend everything well. Discard the soaking water and add the rice.

Now, add 2 more cups of water to the rice mixture. Cover the pressure pan and allow 1 whistle. Then, lower the flame and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Turn off the flame and allow to cool in the cooker until it is ready to open.

Once open, mix gently and serve with the onion raita. I garnish the biryani with a sprinkling of golden burnt onion slices.

And there you have it – a recipe from the royal kitchens, adapted for our lives today. I hope this simple vegetable biryani will bring you some joy in this surreal time. I’ll keep sharing more recipes in the next few weeks which I hope will also do the same.

If “biryani” has been considered a fancy dish in your mind till date, I encourage you to drop the notion. Let’s return once more to the fact that there are numerous kinds of biryanis – with meat, without meat, with vegetables, without vegetables, with some kinds of rice or with some other kinds of spices. This is why I want to say with confidence – give it a try! I am sure it will be great, and I would love to hear about your own variant in the comments.

View Post
By
Load More