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Recipe: Perfect Possibilities – Pasta Salad

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The concept of pasta salads is pretty new to me. I had not imagined them as a possibility until I came across one while randomly scrolling online one day. I was intrigued, as I am always on the lookout for healthy recipes. The minimal pasta quotient used appealed to me, as it offered a way to get a tasty carb fix without making carbs the focus of the meal. In fact, portion sizes are what differentiate a pasta salad from a pasta with sides. A pasta salad will have a larger quantity of vegetables. Also, while pastas are ideally freshly prepared and served hot, a pasta salad works well at room temperature and even after a few hours or up to a day in the fridge.

So, inspired by the pasta salad as a concept, I set about putting together my own version. This one has mostly Mediterranean flavours, and brings together a delicious and nutritious combination of vegetables, nuts and carbs. It is a meal-in-a-bowl by itself, as the pasta makes it more filling than a standard salad might.

I used vegetables that were on hand in my kitchen, and chose ones that came together well. You could say the Mediterranean theme came after the vegetable selection, not beforehand. Apply this logic when you prepare your pasta salad too. You can mix and match and play around. By the way, the actual volume of pasta should probably be less than what you see in these photographs. Let’s just say it was a shoot day treat over here!

I decided to highlight the tomatoes while putting this dish together, which is why there are two kinds used: cherry tomatoes and sun-dried ones. Cherry tomatoes have lately become more popular in my local markets, and I was surprised to see them available in colourful varieties too. I have gone with the simple red ones, which pack a punch.

To me, the difference between a plain tomato and a tasty one is in the roasting. Whether you use regular-sized ones or the cherry kind, they simply burst with flavours upon roasting. Raw tomatoes just don’t impart the same deliciousness, at least not to me. This is true for a multitude of vegetables, of course, so keep that in mind whenever preparing this type of salad. So, these cherry tomatoes have been blistered in oil so that their taste is much enhanced. Meanwhile, the sun-dried tomatoes add a certain tanginess to the overall bowl.

The basil pesto in this dish was homemade, and I have shared the recipe for this earlier so that you can use the same. It’s easy to make, and I really feel that there is a big difference versus store-bought ones in terms of taste, freshness and quality. There’s nothing like knowing exactly what you’ve put into an ingredient, a dish or a meal. This is especially true for the health-conscious and for those who want to cut down on compromises in food quality for themselves and their loved ones. If you’re not a pesto fan, you could use a different sauce that is more to your liking. Or you could even skip the pasta sauce and just go with seasoning, or take the aglio olio route.

I have used a bow-shaped pasta, which is quite pretty, but you can use almost any other kind. Spaghetti will not work in a salad, but you can take your pick otherwise. I find that a nice grating of Parmesan cheese brings it all together beautifully. I love its nutty flavour, which is quite unlike, say, cheddar. For me, it’s Parmesan or no cheese at all in a salad like this. Your preferences may differ, of course! Adapt accordingly. That’s something I say over and over when it comes to most recipes (with the exception of baking, which is more scientific).

Pasta Salad

(Serves 2)

2 cups uncooked pasta

¼ cup olive oil

Salt to taste

A pinch of pepper

8-10 walnuts

A few basil leaves

2-3 cups cherry tomatoes

2-3 cloves garlic

A handful of sundried tomatoes

1½ tablespoons pesto

 

In a tray, add the cherry tomatoes and garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle salt. Bake or grill in the oven until the tomatoes blister.

Cook the pasta according to instructions. Set aside.

In a bowl, add the pasta, pesto, sundried tomatoes and walnuts. Finally, add the blistered tomatoes.

Stir gently and top with slivers of Parmesan cheese and basil leaves.

Serve at room temperature or chill in the fridge to have later. You could even make a bigger bowl of this pasta salad to eat over a couple of days. In fact, the first time I prepared it at home, it was such a hit that I was requested to repeat it the following day. That may well happen in your home, too – in which case, you could save yourself some time and just make a larger quantity!

During hot days, I sometimes find that my body needs to eat lighter. So while one meal will invariably be my traditional thaali, the other will usually be something different, like this pasta salad. It works perfectly for me, and I hope it will for you too!

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Recipe: Sweet Like Childhood Memories – Chikoo-Date Shake

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Chikoos – also known as sapotas or sapodillas – are common in India and other Asian countries, but not elsewhere, as far as I know. To me, this makes them a rather exotic fruit in other parts of the world. For instance, my aunt in the USA settles for frozen chikoos, which honestly are nowhere close to fresh ones in taste. Many other fruits are also in this category of best eaten fresh, but rarely found in that perfect state. While chikoos are widely available in India when they are in season, the season itself is short. I’ve made the most of it with this lovely chikoo-date shake.

When I say it’s lovely, I do acknowledge that chikoos are the kind of fruit that people either adore or don’t like in the least. In terms of Indian fruits, custard apples or sitaphals are another one that are equally divisive. I’m sure you know a few more like these.

As far as my home is concerned, my mother-in-law and I simply love it, and we love it in different forms, so we are big fans of this shake. My own enjoyment is to the extent that if there are three ripened chikoos in a bowl, I will eat all three and consider them a meal. Our chikoos come from a huge tree in our backyard, and the season is certainly not going to waste in our home.

I have consumed chikoos whenever I have been able to throughout my life, and there are two particular sets of memories that they evoke. One dates from when I was a newlywed visiting my husband’s family home in Ahmedabad. There was a lady there who used to take orders for homemade chikoo ice cream. It was so delicious that I ordered a scoop every single day during those early visits.

The other set of memories goes further back, to my childhood during which Chennai was a place in which just about every neighbourhood had both fruiting and flowering trees. This is not the case any longer, but back then, fresh, organic and free-of-cost fruits were literally in our backyards. I believe I have mentioned in previous posts that climbing trees was one of the regular activities that my siblings, friends and I enjoyed. Chikoo trees were too tall for this, so what we would do was to use a long, hooked stick to pluck the fruits. We would all gather together and stand beneath it and catch the fruits as they fell. If they hit the ground, they would splatter, so we would scramble to make sure they landed right into our hands. There was always an abundance of fruit, at the right time of year, so we didn’t care if we missed catching them – but the split fruit definitely attracted flies! I suppose you could say we built up our immunity this way. Summertime was always full of experiences like this.

I’ve found that this shake is tastiest when the chikoos are just a bit overripe. When you touch the fruit, if it has softened just a little, you know that it’s ripe and ready to peel and eat. If it is a bit too soft, it is overripe, and better for a shake. You can also eliminate the dates altogether, unless you prefer the shakes extra sweet. I use dates not only for their sweetness quotient, which I have a fondness for as I’ve admitted numerous times on this blog, but also because they also have nutritional benefits of their own, such as boosting iron in the body and a high fibre content.

Chikoo-Date Shake

(Serves 2)

2 small ripe or slightly overripe chikoos

2-3 walnuts

2 dates (soft)

½ cup milk

1½ cups cold water

In a blender, add the walnuts and the dates and grind coarsely. Blanched almonds also work well in lieu of the walnuts.

To this mixture, add the milk and water. You may want to use milk only, undiluted. You can also add a protein powder. Blend well once again.

Pour into glasses and serve. I think this shake tastes great when topped with ice and cinnamon powder. You may want to garnish as you prefer.

If you’re a fan of shakes in general, even if you aren’t a fan of chikoos, you may want to check out other recipes that will quench your thirst while giving you a healthy boost!

 

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Recipe: Rich With Protein – Tofu Broccoli Rice

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As I’ve gotten older, the importance of increasing my protein intake has become a big part of how I plan my meals. In fact, making this a habit from when one is young can have more benefits, but as they say, better late than never. If you, like me, are on a similar health journey, and especially if you consume a vegetarian diet, this tofu broccoli rice will make an excellent addition to your repertoire.

Bringing an adequate amount of protein into our meals is not that simple, which is why I will not make any major claims about what this dish may do for you. Speaking about protein is trendy on social media right now, but the truth is that no one can give you the actual numbers and amounts other than a good nutritionist, whom you work with directly. I have been guided by one who has helped me determine my individualized protein needs based on a variety of factors and who has made sure that I have upped my consumption. I have since become much more aware in general about how to ensure I get enough.

The shift is quite a difficult shift for us, as Indians, because it has been ingrained in us for centuries that rice or roti must be the main course of every meal. Carbs form the centre of every traditional plate. I would actually suggest that we make a departure from what is traditional here and instead take inspiration from youngsters. I can see how the next generation is much more conscious about their eating habits and are choosing to change the composition of their daily thalis. It is not as straightforward as just throwing in an ingredient. Rather, it’s about tweaking all the components of the meal, and the specific portions. So, while this dish contains rice, it highlights the tofu, which gives us protein, and the broccoli, which gives us fibre. When I prepare it, I include 30% tofu, 30% broccoli and 40% rice, rather than 60% rice as I would have in the past. These small adjustments are a great way to start incorporating larger amounts of protein into our regular cooking.

I would also have used paneer rather than tofu earlier, and I include myself when I say that getting Indians to shift from paneer to tofu is another challenge in itself! Paneer is always regarded as the ultimate dish at a vegetarian table. The Indian reverence for milk plays a part, but so does the fact that the higher fat content in paneer does make it tastier. Still, tofu is a fantastic replacement, and the trick is to cook it separately, adding specific flavours to it, as I’ll describe in the method below.

In addition to tofu, soyabean chunks and tempeh are also great protein-boosting vegetarian options. Nowadays, I can vouch for excellent organically produced soya on the market, and also that there is quite a variety of brands available.

This tofu broccoli rice is bursting with goodness already, but you can also turn it into a Buddha bowl by adding a few more ingredients. You can also check out the archives for some more ideas on how to put together a well-rounded meal-in-a-bowl.

Tofu Broccoli Rice

(Serves 2)

1 cup broccoli

1 cup tofu

½ cup cooked rice

1 teaspoon soya sauce

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1 tablespoon sesame oil

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon chilli paste

A handful of mint leaves

½ cup chopped carrot

Add oil to a pan. Once it has heated, add the sesame seeds. Now, add the tofu and allow the pieces to turn golden on both sides. Add the soya sauce. Stir and set aside.

Using the same pan, add the broccoli and the carrots and allow these to cook for a few minutes, like a stir fry. Add the tofu to the pan again, as well as the cooked rice. Add salt to taste. Remember that soya sauce is already salty, so be careful to adjust the quantity you use accordingly.

Mix well and serve hot. I have added mint leaves and chopped carrots as a garnishing, and to bring more colour to the dish.

As always, I encourage you to use my recipe as a base on which to design your own. I often reiterate about using up what’s already in your fridge or your pantry, so feel free to replace broccoli with another vegetable or even several other vegetables. As for the rice, here’s a tip: fried rice always tastes best when it has been cooked the previous day, chilled, then stir-fried.

Of course, you may want to replace rice altogether with quinoa or another grain. Personally, I have gone with small grain white rice as I find it quite flavourful and believe it works well with tofu. In my mind, the two ingredients are associated with South East Asia and certain travels and experiences there. Bringing them together feels intuitive to me. Food is often like that, is it not? Even when fulfilling our nutritional requirements, we can also fulfil our nostalgic meanderings, and of course, our cravings too.

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Recipe: A Natural Remedy – Neem Flower Rasam

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I always prefer to treat myself naturally if I can help it, and completely avoid pharmaceutical medication as far as possible, even painkillers and such. It isn’t that I won’t take them if necessary; it’s just that if I can there is a natural medication or a home remedy, I would much rather go down that route first. Not long ago, I had a stomach bug that went on for quite some time, so when the home remedies didn’t suffice, I visited a naturopath. She was a lovely lady who had come down from the US, and upon seeing my bloodwork, she diagnosed me with some kind of minor bacterial infection. She said that the best way to treat it would be through neem tablets. I came home and sat in my garden to think about this, and about what I wanted to do, which was when I realised that I was sitting right under a neem tree. I thought, “How silly of me to buy tablets, when the tree itself is right here!” I decided to consume different parts of it, including the leaves obviously, to treat my ailment. The direct, natural, literally homegrown approach appealed to me. During this phase, I came upon innumerable neem flower recipes, and began experimenting with concocting my own versions. One I particularly enjoyed was this neem flower rasam.

A rasam is a soup-like staple prepared in South India with a range of spices. It may be consumed with rice, or it may be consumed as a drink. It is often prepared when a person is ill with a cold, which means that when I was exploring the naturopath’s advice, rasam’s known medicinal qualities made it especially interesting to me. It has all kinds of good ingredients that help infections dissipate. To those known qualities, I added the healing touch of neem flowers, which are especially beneficial for gut health. They are antiseptic in nature and aid with cleansing the digestive organs.

The neem flower is often overlooked – it is a small, whitish-yellow, and only occasionally in bloom. While neem trees themselves are common in Chennai, since the flowers aren’t eye-catching, we don’t always notice when they are in season. As for me, during the time when I was preparing this recipe more often, I was only concerned with the collecting, drying and cooking of the neem flowers – and forgot to pick up my camera. This is why I do not have images of the fresh flowers. I do encourage you to take a closer look at the neem trees around you, if they are there where you are too, especially in very early summer. I know I will be appreciating them much more from now on.

What I did was to spread an old sari out under the neem tree and leave it there overnight. In the morning, a large quantity of fallen neem flowers were in the cloth. As they are difficult to pluck directly, this is the best method to harvest them. Then, I lay them to dry in the sun, which makes them last longer. Alongside those, I dried raw mango for amchur powder, and some turmeric too. When the flowers were well-dried, I stored them and began sprinkling them into different dishes. They made their way into salads, of course. I found that the flowers do not have much of a flavour, and are less bitter than the leaves. This makes them ideal for versatile usage. A little pinch here and there – into a soup, or onto rice, isn’t going to dramatically alter the taste of your food, but it will give you an additional boost of healthiness on your plate.

This neem flower rasam is a dish in which they are the featured ingredient – providing an unusual twist to a very common preparation. The other thing is that I did not use off-the-shelf rasam powder, but ground all the required spices at home. The recipe below provides this from-scratch method. I am sure you too will realise that it does not take much effort at all to do this. There’s nothing like a truly homemade recipe, and this is all the more important when it comes to home remedies.

Neem Flower Rasam

(Serves 2)

½ teaspoon pepper

½ teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon asafoetida

A handful of curry leaves

1 teaspoon neem flowers

Salt to taste

2 dry red chillies

1 tomato

1 lemon size ball tamarind (for the juice)

4-5 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon oil

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ litre water

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves

In a mortar and pestle set, add the cumin, black pepper and garlic and crush coarsely. Set aside.

Soak the tamarind in half a cup of water and remove the juice. Crush with the tomato to form a paste. Set aside.

Heat a kadai. Add the oil and then the mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add asafoetida, neem flowers, red chili and curry leaves. Sauté for a few minutes. Then add the mixture that was crushed earlier.

Next, add the crushed tomato and tamarind paste and allow to cook for few minutes. Add the remaining water and allow to reach boiling point. Add salt to taste. Finally, add chopped coriander leaves. Cover and remove from the stove.

Serve this neem flower rasam hot, preferably with rice and any other sides of your choice.

I have shared various other South Indian recipes on this blog – both traditional ones as well as inspired ones, including this ripe mango rasam. I hope you’ll enjoy exploring them too.

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Recipe: The Toast Of The Season – Healthy Veggie Toast With Mango

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I went through a phase of being obsessed with open toasts, made using homemade sourdough bread. I shared some recipes during that time, including cherry tomato yoghurt toast and pesto Parmesan toastie. With mangoes being in season right now (and like many if not most Indians, my love for mangoes is well-established!), I thought: why not mango toast? I decided to make mine healthy and loaded with nourishing ingredients, with the fruit adding a touch of sweetness and fun. So here’s a recipe for a healthy veggie toast with mango, one that brings the best thing about the summer into your breakfast!

During my open toast era, I also tried to make reels for Instagram. I was quick to realize where my forte lies: in photography, and not in videomaking. To be more accurate: my interest lies there as well, not just my forte. I began to focus – pun intended – then on what I enjoy most, and incidentally do better, and decided to keeping trying to do even better. I wrote about this recently too, and I continue to muse about the role of photography in my life. It is an artform that has given me so much, and I continue to learn and to grow within it. To aspiring artists of any kind, including the culinary forms, I want to say that the key to longevity is in figuring out and forging your strengths. For instance, I had various short-lived attempts at using the ever-popular Photoshop, but found that Lightroom suited me much better as a photo editing software. I would love to master Photoshop, for it has some excellent features and tools, but I use what I am most comfortable with for the majority of the time, and it yields good results.

Coming back to this healthy veggie toast with mango, the ingredients used were also selected based on what feels right. I am going through a pumpkin seed phase right now, so of course there is a generous sprinkling of those. There’s some yoghurt, so that there’s a protein boost right in the morning (I have used Greek yoghurt). Then, an assortment of leaves and staples found in my fridge. You can replace any of these with something more to your liking, or depending on what you have on hand. As for the mango itself: Alphonso is probably the best cultivar for this dish, but I have a particular South Indian favourite called Banganapalli which is also very sweet, and that’s what I’ve gone with.

This year, climate-related changes did impact the quality of some of the fruits on the market. Here in Chennai, I was a bit saddened by the effect of recent rains on my own mango trees, which were at peak flourishing. During the very hot days, however, I had been quick to make all my sun-dried spices – including amchur or raw mango powder, which is used as a souring agent in place of lime in many Indian dishes.

Speaking of seasons and phases, and as I mentioned earlier too, our menu at home also goes through these. Sometimes, as a family we develop a fancy for one item and simply must have it every single day for months. For a little while at one point, we started every morning with poha. At the moment, every morning begins with mango for us – specifically, this healthy veggie toast with mango. It’s a nutritious and delicious all-rounder, which makes it perfect for breakfast. How lucky that the fruiting season and our own foodie phase have coincided!

Healthy Veggie Toast With Mango

(Serves 1)

1 large slice sourdough

1 tablespoon yoghurt

A handful of cherry tomatoes

Lettuce leaves of your choice

Spring onions

Leeks (sliced)

1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds

2-3 basil leaves

3-6 slices ripe mango

Olive oil (for drizzling)

Salt and pepper to taste

Toast the sourdough slice and set aside.

Prepare all the veggies. Use what you like, in the amount that you wish to use. This is why I have been vague about the quantities in the ingredients list, and just given you the gist of what goes into mine.

Now, top the toast with the yoghurt, followed by the prepared veggies. Layer the mango slices at the end, then drizzle with olive oil. You may also want to add a sprinkling of salt and black pepper.

Your healthy veggie toast with mango is now ready. Savour the mix of flavours and textures, from the sweetness of the fruit to the crunchiness of the seeds and everything else in the mix!

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Recipe: Still Sweet, And So Delicious – Sugarless Date Payasam

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I have often been attracted to making sugarless desserts for two reasons. First and foremost, for myself, as I have an incredibly sweet tooth that I can’t seem to control, and I hope to satisfy it without making as steep a health compromise. I try to convince myself that when a dessert is sugarless or sugar-free I can also eat it guiltlessly, or guilt-free! I know this isn’t true, of course. Natural sweeteners and the sweetness that is intrinsic in certain ingredients like fruits do contain sugar, and anything sweet will spike your glucose levels even if you don’t add processed sugars to it. Still, I know that so many of you struggle with the same concern, which is why a treat like this sugarless date payasam can still make a difference in our dessert indulgences.

The other reason why I learned how to make more sugarless desserts was that my father-in-law used to put me up to the challenge of inventing ones for him. He was diabetic, and he would always say, “Just add Splenda or aspartame!” I would always refuse to, knowing that these have other side-effects. I would instead reach out for natural sweeteners like coconut sugar or dates, as their glycemic index is lower than that of refined white sugar. While my father-in-law is no longer around, the dishes I learned or came up with for him remain in my repertoire, and so does the habit of cutting down sugar content as far as I can.

Awareness of the dangers of too much sugar consumption is of extreme importance in India, which has one of the largest percentage of diabetics in the world. I often have diabetic visitors, which doesn’t surprise me at all given the prevalence of the disease in our country, and I ensure that I serve sugarfree desserts when they come over. There are also sugarless options on the re:store product menu. Whether or not my guests or family members are diabetic, I do keep an eye on balancing out our sweet consumption in multiple ways. Making dishes like these is one such way, and a necessary concession since giving desserts up completely is quite a big ask!

This particular sugarless date payasam is one that I learned from my dear friend Girija. I hadn’t heard of it before she served it to me, and I was wary of trying out the recipe, but I am very glad that I did. It is utterly delicious. For those who haven’t heard of it, a payasam is essentially a South Indian milk pudding, and I am thrilled to have a version of it that doesn’t require, let alone rely on, sugar or even jaggery. All it needs is the sheer sweetness of dates.

Sugarless Date Payasam

(Serves 6)

2 cups deseeded and chopped dates

1 cup cashew nuts

Water (for soaking)

2 cups milk

3-5 strands saffron

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

 

Soak the dates and cashews separately in fresh drinking water for an hour.

Then, grind the cashews with the water that was used for soaking. Once the paste is smooth, add the dates. Grind once more until the paste is smooth again. Add the cardamom powder and saffron strands. Place the mixture in a pot and refrigerate until cool.

Once it has cooled, add the milk and stir well until it all comes together nicely. Adjust the milk quantity to your preference. I like it to be a little thick. Return to the refrigerator and let it cool again.

Serve very chilled. This is a perfect dessert for these hot summer months. As you can see, this delicious sugarless date payasam requires only grinding and mixing, which also makes it an easy dessert that even beginner cooks can prepare.

I have used cashews as I enjoy the rich flavour the nuts provide, but you can substitute them for another kind if you prefer. I also feel that the cashews sort of tone down the sweetness of the dates, which can be intense.

Ultimately, the payasam is both rich and sweet, which means that it is best in smaller portions.

Here is a suggested tweak to this recipe: add a handful of cooked rice to the milk, and then add then to the ground cashewnut-date paste and mix. This will give the dessert more substance, and more of a mouthful in each serving. The sweetness quotient will also further reduce. This preparation may technically turn it into a kheer rather than a payasam, but I have little doubt that anyone will complain! It will turn out delicious both ways, and while my father-in-law is not here to enjoy this dish in either variation, the rest of my family certainly does. As for me, my sweet tooth is sated, with a spoonful or two less of… guilt!

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Recipe: Dosa-Like And Delicious – Bottle Gourd Doddaka

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I would describe a doddaka as being a kind of cross between a dosa and a roti, and some version of it exists in numerous cultures in India, including in Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra and even Gujarat (my mother-in-law used to make that version). As with both dosas and rotis, numerous variations in preparation exist. I experienced a lovely bottle gourd doddaka a few months ago, and even though I’ve been travelling a lot this year and haven’t spent as much time cooking, I keep thinking about it. So I decided the other day to try out the recipe myself. It came out well, and as always, I wanted to share the deliciousness with you too.

I encountered this bottle gourd doddaka while we were zipping around in the lead-up to my son’s wedding a couple of months ago. We had not wanted to invite people digitally, and felt that the effort of the time-honoured Indian custom – of personally visiting people and inviting them – was well worth it. On one such visit, we went to meet a Kannadiga friend of ours. Our friend’s elderly mother was present at their home. It turned out that she is a reader of this blog, and we spent time chit-chatting about food and photography.

It had been a long and exhausting day, and we had arrived at their home at almost 7.30pm, which is beyond my dinner time, and at some point during the visit we were offered a meal. Our friend’s mother made us some hot, crispy bottle gourd doddaka – and from then on, the conversation stopped being about my cooking and became about hers. It tasted marvellous, and I thought it was quite interesting from a culinary perspective too. I enjoyed it thoroughly. When I think of that evening, I remember feeling like I was at home. That was truly a comfort food experience in every way.

Whenever I go somewhere and try out a new dish, I am curious – to the point of being painful, according to my children – about how to prepare it. I will immediately want to find out what the cook did, why they did it, and how they did it. Usually, I will then try to add my own twist as well. This is not always necessary. With this traditional Kannada doddaka for example, I thought the original recipe – as shared by our friend’s mother – was just perfect, and I didn’t feel the need to change it at all.

Isn’t it beautiful how you sometimes meet a person in passing and then strike up a conversation with them that just stays with you in some way? To me, the fact that I have a recipe from that evening, and will probably always think of that family and their home when I make it, really means a lot.

Bottle Gourd Doddaka

(Yield: 8 pieces)

1 cup rawa

½ cup coconut grated

¾ cup thick curd

1 cup water

½ cup grated bottle gourd (substitute: cucumber)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon green chilli + ginger paste

¼ cup chopped coriander leaves

Oil for cooking

 

In a bowl, add all the ingredients and mix well. Set aside. Adjust the water quantity as required – keep the batter thick yet of a pouring consistency.

Heat a griddle and add a few drops of oil. Now, pour a ladle full of the batter onto this. You will see that it spreads by itself. Allow the doddaka to cook on a low or medium flame, making sure it does not get burnt. Flip and allow to cook on both sides until well done. Continue to prepare more doddakas with the remaining batter.

Serve with a chutney of your choice. I have a range of these that you can explore, and I hope you’ll find a few in the archives that you like and can mix and match with various dishes. As this bottle gourd doddaka has quite a bit of flavour already, it can also be eaten plain if you prefer.

As you would have noticed in the ingredients, I have suggested cucumber as a substitute for bottle gourd. Both are water-based vegetables that grow through the year in South India, where we have no seasons other than summer, summer and more summers – and some monsoons. Thus, they are ideal for staying hydrated. Bottle gourd in particular doesn’t have much flavour by itself, and takes on the flavour of whatever you add to it (which makes it perfect for sneaking into soups for fussy kids). Nutrition and hydration together are an excellent combo, and when you add taste to it – as you do with a doddaka – it’s unbeatable.

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Recipe: The Benchmark – My Best Chocolate Cake

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My children are all grown up and all of them live away from me, so every time they come to visit, I always try to think of what they will enjoy eating during their stay. One of my sons loves chocolate cake, so this particular treat is the welcome home dish that I currently have in the oven, ahead of his next arrival. It looks so beautiful that I couldn’t resist picking up the camera – and subsequently came the idea of sharing the recipe with you too.

Before I began to bake, many years ago now, we would often order from a friend of ours who used to bake from her home in Chennai too. Hers was one of the most fantastic chocolate cakes we had ever tasted, and it remains the benchmark for us all. It served as my inspiration too, when I became a baker myself.

Creating this recipe of my own was the result of many trials, exploring recipes from across cookbooks and the Internet, tweaking them based on my taste and my experience. Eventually, I formed a chocolate cake recipe that hit the spot, and became a personal benchmark. While my almond cakes are the most popular among customers (hyperlink), it’s this chocolate cake that is my own family’s favourite.

When I think about the experiments that lead toward this recipe, and indeed many others, I feel grateful for my blogger and Instagram friends and the accounts I have followed over the years who inspired me – both in terms of food and in terms of photography.

But there are many things that I have been contemplating lately about the world of food blogging and how it is changing. Now that re:store’s own online presence is over seven years old, I am able to observe and comment on the vast shifts that have taken place in this time and I wonder about what is still to come. For instance – many of the people whose work I used to look forward to no longer post, or sometimes have even disappeared altogether. Even though new bloggers have come up, some equally fantastic, there was a sense of community in the past that is less experienced today. It all feels different now, both as a creator and as someone who enjoys the content. I wonder if you feel similarly, or if you have other thoughts?

Then, there is the dominance of reels. Food photography as a genre is dwindling, and to be honest I don’t see the kind of aesthetic that I used to love exploring online and which challenged me to keep growing as a photographer too. While I respect reels as their own format, they are not for me. Even as photography loses popularity, I pick up my camera time and again because it is an artform that I am passionate about, and because in certain ways I would define myself as being old school – especially in the sense that I believe that if the going is good, keep going.

The going is good, so to speak, when it comes to photography. I am just as enthused and as inspired as ever as a photographer, and some of you may know that my explorations in this medium go beyond shooting for this blog. I also work with still life and nature themes, and I’ve been fortunate to have received gallery support for the same, and I sometimes accept commercial commissions too.

I still approach every kind of shoot with my old and faithful Nikon and the lenses I’ve used all these years, and remain perfectly happy with the outcomes. I don’t intend to go in for an upgrade because I know I don’t need to. Although I love finding new appliances for the kitchen, somehow with photography the tried and tested just works for me. I like to think that my not constantly seeking out new technology helps reduce my personal impact on landfills. None of us is perfect and none of us is going to avoid creating waste, but being mindful about our consumer choices is something that is in our hands.

And when it comes to something that is literally in my hands – my camera – I really don’t want to let go of the instrument that has brought me so much creativity and joy. I will also say that I sometimes feel disturbed when people say, “Oh your photographs are so nice – you must have a good camera”. I do, but there is so much more to this artform than just the device. Even as trends move away from it, I continue to learn and to grow within it.

So yes: the world, and not just the world of food blogging, is always changing – but we can have some constants, too. A decadent chocolate cake will almost without fail please anyone, for instance. In that sense, this is a timeless dish, and I hope you’ll enjoy my version of it.

Chocolate Cake

(Serves 5-6)

2 cups sugar
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon instant coffee
½ cup oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 170°. Prepare two 8’ cake tins by greasing, lining and dusting the pans.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt – thus combining the dry ingredients. Add sugar.

Separately, add hot water to the coffee powder. Keep aside.

Using a hand blender, mix the eggs, vanilla extract, oil and buttermilk. You can make buttermilk at home by adding a tablespoon of white vinegar to a cup of room temperature milk, and allowing it to sit for 15 minutes before usage.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix well.

Add the hot coffee to this mixture now. The batter will be a little runny. Avoid over beating.

Pour this batter into the two tins equally and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. After the cakes sit for 15 minutes, turn them onto a tray and allow to cool completely. Decorate with chocolate icing.

If you’re new to all this and would like a little primer or refresher to the basics of baking, check out this citrus bundt recipe with lots of tips.

As I said earlier, this recipe is really the best one I know for the classic chocolate cake. I wonder how it will compare with ones you have made or tasted. I do hope you’ll enjoy it just as much as we do!

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Recipe: Bengali Bites – Begun Bhajan

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I think of begun bhajan, a crisp eggplant side dish, as being pan-Indian even though I know that it originated in Bengal. That’s because I have often encountered some version of it in South Indian meals as well. My own preparation uses long eggplants, typical of this region, rather than the big round ones that are used in authentic Bengali cooking. I love slicing and spicing the vegetable up to give a kick to a boring summer meal, when the heat makes us all feel more drained and something delicious and energising is always craved.

As a student of Macrobiotics several years ago, I learned early on that eggplant is a nightshade, and therefore only to be consumed in small quantities. The ubiquitous tomato is one too, by the way. My training remains in my mind in numerous ways, because of which I still find myself using eggplants only occasionally. Perhaps that’s why I find begun bhajan all the more exciting, since moderation is recommended. I’ve tried my hand at an eggplant parmesan before as well, and will share the recipe for that sometime too.

I also have a strong preference for consuming greens, so eggplants don’t feature that often in my market shopping anyway. That said, the vegetable is quite nutritious, as it is rich in antioxidants and low on carbohydrates.

In fact, I think that begun bhajan is a healthy alternative to dhoklas, which are commonly eaten in Gujarati households like mine as a tasty accompaniment. Of course, mangoes do the same job in this weather, but believe me when I say that begun bhajan is also a great pep-me-up. Or better yet, why believe me, when you can make some yourself?

My own journey with begun bhajan began in Kolkata, at the home of a friend who always has me over for a typically Bengali meal whenever I visit the city. After the first time I tried this dish, I began making a special request for it ahead of our meetings. She keeps saying that there is such a variety of other dishes she could prepare, but this is the one that I just keep asking for. My begun bhajan is not a patch on hers, but still I make it – more so because it always evokes memories of being with her in her lovely home, full of the art she collects, and with my friend herself always so well turned out in crisp sarees. Food is a complete experience. It’s never just what you’re eating, but also who you’re with, the space you’re in, the way it’s served. I hope this begun bhajan brings you much enjoyment too.

Begun Bhajan

(Serves: 4)

1 large eggplant

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon toasted cumin powder

1 tablespoon rice flour

½ teaspoon sugar

1-2 tablespoons mustard oil

 

Rinse and slice the eggplant. If making circular slices, each slice should be about 1 inch thick. I have used long eggplants, so I’ve sliced them lengthwise, as you can see in the images.

Mix all the spices, along with the rice flour, sugar and sugar. Sprinkle this mixture onto a plate. Place the eggplant slices over the mixture. Rub the mixture in well on both sides of each slice, using your fingers to spread the spices evenly.

Allow the spices to marinate for at least half an hour. The reason why I have added a bit of sugar to this is because it caramelises and gives the dish a nice colour. I also feel that it prevents the eggplant from becoming soft and soggy.

Once the slices have marinated, heat the oil in a shallow pan. Place the slices such that there is enough space to flip them over.

Allow to cook until they are golden and crisp on one side. Turn them over and allow to cook again.

Once they are golden on both sides, remove onto a paper and drain any excess oil.

Serve hot as an accompaniment to your usual Indian meal. This begun bhajan goes beautifully with dal and rice. By the way, if you are a pescatarian, you can use the same preparation method above for fish. You can also try the spice marination out with a variety of vegetables, including parboiled potatoes and cauliflower.

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Recipe: Right For The Season – Mixed Vegetable Raita

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In the past, I have shared the recipes for Indian-style homemade yoghurt as well as for a typically Gujarati banana-mustard-cucumber raita and a slightly elevated cucumber raita. A raita is a cooling curd-based accompaniment that is usually served with biryani or any rice-centred meals, but I find it goes well even with upma and other dishes. Raita can be made in numerous ways, and as I keep reiterating on my blog when it comes to just about any popular food item, each household, each community and each region will have unique takes. I have tasted okra raita, which is quite delicious, as well as beetroot raita, which has a lovely colour. Today, because Spring is in the air and my mood too is bright, I have decided to make a colourful mixed vegetable raita.

When I say “Spring”, in my part of the world that means that we can feel the heat beginning to set in, and are in the phase immediately before the heat truly takes over. Here in Chennai, I am able to see lovely flowers everywhere right now: from mango flowers in the trees (the fruits will soon be in season, and you can expect several more mangolicious recipes from me soon) to hibiscus blooming in my garden.

Right now, it is a joy to go to the fresh fruit and vegetable market, as a variety of produce comes into season. When I travel, this happens to be my favourite pastime no matter which city I am in. I love to explore markets, taking photographs, admiring the colours, textures and arrangements. It feels like that here in my own city too right now – where strawberries, other kinds of berries and oranges are in abundance at the local market and inspire my creativity.

So this raita captures the vibrance that is around us during this time of year. I have used carrots, cucumbers, shallots and tomatoes along with mint and coriander leaves, so the raita has a mix of lively shades.

I have mentioned in the past that the desire to consume yoghurt at every single meal is the only thing that keeps me from going completely vegan. At the moment, I am trying to reduce my intake at least. Which means that if I’m only going to have some for one meal of the day, instead of all of them, why not make that dollop or two a little more exciting? That’s where this raita really comes to my rescue, fulfilling my craving while adding novelty to my basic but essential curd.

Mixed Vegetable Raita

(Yield: 1 bowl)

2 cups curd

2 tablespoons grated carrot

½ cup diced cucumber

¼ cup chopped purple shallots

¼ cup diced tomato

2 tablespoons coriander leaves

1 tablespoon mint leaves

Salt to taste

½ teaspoon ground cumin powder

¼ teaspoon chilli powder

 

Add the curd to a bowl along with the spices. Beat well.

Add the diced and chopped vegetables. Mix well. Adjust the flavours by adding more if required.

Pour into a serving bowl and garnish with some more of the spices as well as the green leaves. Serve as an accompaniment to a wide range of dishes.

This mixed vegetable raita is so simple and so summer-friendly that I am sure you will be preparing it often over the next couple months. It will be refreshing on your plate, especially if you like me are in a part of the world that’s getting hotter by the day!

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