It’s a Wrap- 2018 highlights

It's the last day of 2018!! Calls for a look at some notable food(ie) highlights from the year.

Topmost food-related news: My baby boy, who is no longer a baby, but will always be my baby boy made pizza for me, from scratch!! And I mean from S C R A T C H- mixing, kneading, flying in air (okay, I don't know what they call it- you know when they toss the pizza dough up in the air and somehow continue to make it bigger in circumference ...), adding toppings on it, and then baking it. He even wrote, "To Mom," on the pizza box. It was delicious!!

Here are the three meals from January 1st 2018. Breakfast was an awesome omelet made by my hubby darling, and he actually did make me many delicious omelets over the span of the entire year- pretty much every Saturday and/Sunday. Yes! There's proof on my Instagram. Lunch was fettuccine alfredo from Pallino Pastaria, and then dinner was homemade yummy upma. I think that totally set a great start to the year.

I succeeded in growing some decent apples, as well as blueberries over summer and fall. I mean, it was a complete "farm to table to mouth to tummy" experience!

My hubby gave me a coffee mug (um, he got it for free at work, but still) that became my favorite coffee mug of 2018. Also made me realize that I am in reality such a geeky nerd. Wait, that is a word, right? But I mean, look at the mug- it's genius!

I ate sweet, ripe jackfruit this year! Was lucky enough to find it at the store, and picked it up. It was delicious. I was able to use the seeds too.

My hubs made a trip to Barcelona. Sadly I couldn't go, but he did send me some yummy pictures, including this squid ink paella that I'm dying to eat. Hopefully I can visit too at some point. He said it wasn't that great, but I think I'll try it first and then decide for myself.

I joined Quora, and was first kicked out because I named myself Guppy. Then I renamed myself Appi. The Quora bot didn't like that either. So then eventually I had to use my official name. I'm quite enjoying writing there. Though, there's a whole bunch of trolls there who sound super grumpy, and keep violating the whole BNBR (be nice be respectful) policy. But then there's a whole bunch of nice people too. All in all, it's been fun so far! I mostly write on food, of course.

My junglee maas, that was inspired by my Quora article on the Bollywood actor, Ranbir Kapoor (lol!):

We all made a lovely road trip to the geological wonder- Crater Lake in July. It was spectacular! Only thing, apparently it has scarred our children, especially our little girl (okay, yeah, she is not little anymore ... but will always be our little girl ...), for life- she hates road trips now. Anything more than a couple hours, she absolutely will not go, she announced the other day, when I happened to suggest that we all go on a nice long road trip next summer.

So there, that's pretty much it. Overall 2018 was pretty darn good. As a person too, I think I have made some progress. In fact, I might have finally attained adulthood. Hey, some of us are late bloomers! Funnily enough, it feels very good, this whole business of being an adult. Statements such as why am I looking for light everywhere, when it is right here, inside me- make complete sense to me now.

Oh, we went to Leavenworth last weekend after some 5-6 years!! It was marvelous. And we ate bratwurst, which was yummy. I ate the currywurst, with all the works. I also ate a nice warm pretzel with actual cheese dip, not the standard yellow colored stuff.

Adios 2018!!

Nutrela- Nutri Kulcha, Soya Nuggets Recipe

I have loved Nutrela since childhood. Especially Nutrela pulav. Whenever the parents went out for a party in the evening, I'd cook nutrela pulav and egg curry for my brother and me, and boy, were those some really awesome, memorable TV Dinners! We'd spread newspaper on the floor, place the hot cooker with pulav, and kadhai with egg curry on the newspaper, get our plates and spoons, sit on the floor, and eat away, with the television on. Mm, really really enjoyable, memorable, and delicious dinners. Thankfully my kids love nutri nuggets too.

The other day, a new friend on Quora introduced me to what sounded like a really delicious dish- Nutri Kulcha, a street food that he simply loves to gorge on when he visits his hometown, Udhampur in Jammu. It's the perfect kind of food, especially on cold winter days- hot, spicy, tangy, flavorful, buttery, and simply delicious. After I read the description, I of course got all excited, and I just had to make it. So I did. And I was extremely pleased with the result. Here's the recipe. Do note that I am not including measures for all ingredients, because well, one- I made this a few weeks ago and I have forgotten the exact measures I used (lol!), and two- I feel like unless you are a complete novice at cooking, one doesn't really need to know exact measures- it's all about experimenting, and creating something that YOU like!

Ingredients: 

1. Nutrela or Soya nuggets
2. Tea bags- 2 or 3
3. Onions- finely chopped
4. Tomatoes- finely chopped
5. Ginger garlic paste- 1-2 tsp
6. Green chilies- according to your heat level preference
7. Garam Masala
8. Red chili powder
9. Amchur (dry mango) powder- a pinch
10. Anardaana (pomegranate) powder- a pinch
11. Chaat masala (for the end)
12. Cumin seeds
13. Good Yellow Butter- such as Kerry Gold
14. Black pepper- a pinch
15. Salt to taste
16. Water to cook nutrela, and some to adjust thickness of final dish
17. Cooking oil
18. Soy sauce- for that final umami

First of all: 

Cook nutrela or soya nuggets in water infused with tea. I simply took a pan with water, placed a tea infuser filled with some loose tea leaves in it, and then cooked the nuggets in this tea infused water. Basically it imparts a lovely deep color and (tea) flavor to the soya nuggets.

Then drain water, squeeze out any remaining water from the cooked nuggets, and chop it all up into tiny pieces.

Next:

1. Take a few teaspoons of oil in a kadhai or a pot/pan, get the heat going, temper a teaspoon of cumin seeds.

2. Add finely chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and ginger garlic paste. Fry it all until you see oil kind of "floating" on top. 

3. Add garam masala, chili powder, and salt to taste, stir it all.

4. Add cooked nutrela into this, mix it all. Add a teaspoon of soy sauce. If it looks a bit too dry, add some water. The nutri should be more on the thicker side, easily spreadable on thick bread. Add the remaining masalas- amchur, anardana, as well as black pepper. Taste, add some more masala and or salt if required. Cover. Simmer for a good 30-45 minutes. Do not rush- for you want all of the flavors to marry really well.

5. Add a good pat of butter in the end. Sprinkle chaat masala on top, garnish with fresh green cilantro, and serve nice and hot alongside some thick bread such as kulcha, or naan.

I spread some in a bun, sprinkled extra chaat masala, and ate it. It was SO GOOOOOOOOD!!!! It was hot, spicy, tangy, peppery, and the nutri nuggets were juicy, and well, what can I say- it was deeeelish!!!

Thanks, my new foodie buddy from Quora, for the inspiration! This nutri truly rocks! The next time around, I shall be sure to serve it with kulcha.

Junglee Maas- Jungle Mutton Curry

Junglee Maas simply means wild meat. It's a delicious preparation that belongs to the Rajput legacy of Game Cuisine. They say that this dish was invented by the Maharaja of Sarwar. Sarwar was the former capital of Kishangarh, a princely state of Rajasthan. Apparently there are Sarwar (or Survar) Muslim Rajputs in Sindh and Punjab provinces of Pakistan.

Story behind Junglee Maas: Back in the day, the Maharajas (kings) loved to go hunting in the wild. Other than being a royal sport and hobby, hunting provided them with practical experience for war. Included in their hunting convoy were their khansamas- the top royal chefs, who tagged along with them, carrying minimal food ingredients and water. After setting up basecamp, and a good night's rest, the kings would head out on their hunting expedition early next morning, while the chefs stayed back, getting the kitchen ready, wondering what surprise game meat would be presented to them in the evening that they'd have to transform into a delicious preparation fit for the kings. The catch of the day could be anything from blackbuck to chinkara, wild cat, etc. The kings liked their meat to retain the gamey taste. They didn't appreciate it if the meat was doused in a ton of spices. Well, with access to limited ingredients, the khansamas couldn't really do much anyways in terms of spice. Come evening, the tired and famished kings returned to basecamp. The hunted animals were taken away to the kitchen area, where the chefs and their helpers cleaned up everything, rubbed the meat with salt, and then slow cooked it in ghee until the meat turned nice and tender. The dish was finished off with crushed dry red chillies, some more ghee, and salt to taste. This method of cooking retained the gamey taste of meat, that the kings ate with great relish. And thats how junglee maas came about.

Over time there have been alterations made to the original simple 4 ingredient recipe. In addition to ghee, red chillies, and salt, you can add cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, garlic, etc. Some recipes suggest using mustard oil, rather than ghee. Any kind of meat can be used- the more exotic, the better.

Here's my version of junglee maas. I use more spices to camouflage the gamey taste of mutton. Hey, what can I say- maybe I am not as junglee as I thought I was! ;)

Yield: enough for 3 adults

Pre-cooking time: 30-45 minutes

Cooking time: 1-1.5 hours

Ingredients: 

Mutton- 1 small tray

Onion, sliced- 1 medium

Bay leaves- 3-4

Red chili powder- 2-4 tbs
*Adjust quantity according to your desired level of heat

Coriander powder- 2-4 tbs

Cinnamon powder- 1/2 tsp

Green Cardamom- 3-4 pods

Cumin- 2 tsp

Garlic paste- 1 tsp

Lemon juice- 1-2 tbs

Oil such as mustard or olive- 1/2-1 tbs for marinating

Cooking oil or ghee- 3-4 tbs

Water- 4-5 tbs and then some for cooking

Salt to taste

Method: 

Marination: 

Marinate the meat with red chili powder, mustard or olive oil, garlic paste, green cardamom, and lemon juice. Mix it all well, show it some love, cover it, and let it be for 30-45 minutes.

While marination is happening, in a bowl, make a little paste of red chili, and coriander powder with water. Add a pinch of cinnamon to this paste.

Cooking: 

1. In a thick bottomed pot or pan of your choice, pour in some cooking oil or ghee or a combination of both. Get the heat going, temper some cumin seeds, and bay leaves. Add thinly sliced onion and fry until brown.

2. Add marinated mutton. Allow one side to brown a bit for 5-7 minutes, flip it around, and brown it again for another 5-7 minutes. 

3. Pour in the red chili coriander and cinnamon paste, and give it all a stir. 

4. Now add some more water, enough to cook the meat in. Add salt to taste. 

5. Bring it to boil, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, checking intermittently to make sure there's enough liquid to allow the meat to cook. 

6. At the end of 1 hour, check to make sure it's all cooked nice and tender and tastes good enough for your palate. Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve with rotis, paranthas, naan, or rice.

I served this yummy mutton curry with a side of junglee saag- simple swiss chard stir fry with salt and pepper.

Btw, Sep 28th is Ranbir Kapoor's birthday, and I wrote about his favorite foods on Quora. He loves junglee maas!! Do give it a read: Ranbir Kapoor the Foodie

Interesting: 

[1] Sarwar

[2] Rajputana Cuisine

Back to the Basics: How to Cook Rice?

Rice and me- we go a long way. I have been eating rice for over forty years now. I have been cooking rice, feeding it to my family and friends, even some random strangers, over the span of twenty something years. I have blindly followed the cooking method that my elders used. My grandma used to scoop out rice from a big aluminum container into a stainless steel tray or a plate. Then she would go the brightest spot in the house, or out in the yard in sunshine, sit on the floor or ground, and begin to pick out things from the rice. Those things were pebbles. Some white, some black, some very tiny ones that only the keenest of eyes could detect, and some in-your-face kinda pebbles. Also living creatures. Sometimes tiny black colored insects, and some other times tiny green or white colored worms. She'd casually pick them all out, and throw them. Yeah, just like that! After that tedious preliminary round, she would transfer the rice into a pot, and pour water into it. Then she'd swish the rice around in the water with the help of her fingers, and once the water turned cloudy, she'd drain off the water, only to pour more water into the rice, and repeat the washing process, until finally the water turned clear. Finally she would place the pot into a pressure cooker, and after three 'whistles' from the cooker, rice was ready to be eaten. As years went by, things started improving, and they started putting fewer pebbles into rice. I saw my mom bypass the preliminary step of pebble picking from the rice. She'd still wash the rice several times before cooking it though. And then, when I became the cook, I pretty much did the same, except with a few modifications- I used an automatic rice cooker, and I washed the rice only a couple to maybe three or four times before plugging the rice cooker in and letting it do it's thing. Now sometimes, in case of brown rice, forbidden rice, etc., I simply followed package instructions and completely omitted the washing step. I mean that's what the instructions said! The instructions didn't mention any rinsing or washing, or anything. The rice turned out pretty tasty, the way it should. No questions asked.

UNTIL ...

Last year or something, while swiping through the news app on my phone, I saw an article about rice. And that rice contains arsenic. Arsenic is a toxic element found naturally in air, water, and soil. It can cause different forms of cancer, and heart disease. And guess what? Food crops love to absorb this wonderful arsenic, and rice in particular, tends to absorb a lot more. The article suggested that we wash rice at least eight to ten times before cooking it. Okay, so I started doing that.

UNTIL ...

Yesterday while trying to answer a question on Quora I went on the FDA website, and found out that I have been doing it all wrong. Not to forget, I am a medical miracle!

Per FDA, when we rinse or wash rice, we are basically stripping it off of all the good stuff- iron, thiamin, niacin, and folate, while retaining the arsenic. So in order to get rid of arsenic by as much as possible, the suggested way of cooking rice is to cook it like pasta: Cook 1 part rice in 6 to 10 parts water, and drain off excess water.  Granted that this will take a little more effort on your part, but this will at least ensure that you aren't consuming more arsenic than you already have (!!) and aren't feeding it to your loved ones. For your not-so-loved-ones it's okay to resort to the rice cooker technique. ;)

So last night, dear friends, I thought I spent more time in front of the stove, cooking rice the pasta way. But in reality, it took only 10-12 minutes for the rice to cook once the water started boiling. Once cooked, I simply used a sieve to separate out cooked rice from the water. And I dumped the water down the drain. The result was some yummy rice, not sticky at all, and much whiter in color than it normally looks.

Non-toxic rice ;) 

And that's how you cook rice.

Do check out the article on FDA:  Arsenic in Rice and Rice Products

Is Shah Rukh Khan a Foodie?

The other day, someone who follows my blog (yeah, there is one sweet gal who actually follows this blog!) asked me- why haven't you posted anything of late on your blog? And I told her- well, it just so happens that although I've been cooking, it's all the same stuff ... and well, let's be frank- I'm kinda losing my mojo here!!

To change things up a little bit, I made an account on Quora and started answering questions about food there. It's actually working out quite alright, and it's very entertaining. In fact, it is hilarious to see some of the most ridiculous questions up there. It's amazing what this human mind can come up with. Ridiculous questions, and equally ridiculous answers. Truly a m a z i n g! So far I have written 20 answers, and the last three have received quite a lot of views (for my standards). I did actually have to do quite a bit of online research to answer those questions. I mean, this whole Quora stuff is serious business! No, really! You gotta spend a lot of time researching, and making sure what you put up there actually makes sense, AND you gotta make sure you include all the citations. I'm telling ya- for serious writers, it is actually a good platform, at least to get your name out there. I believe one can even get paid for asking questions! I'm not sure how that works, but yeah, you can make some money enough to buy you a burger for sure. Good deal, if you ask me!

Question: What are Shah Rukh Khan's favorite foods and dishes? Would you consider him to be a foodie?  

Original Post on Quora: SRK's Favorite Foods

My Answer: 

What could Shah Rukh Khan’s favorite foods and dishes possibly be? Hmm! Interesting question, and since I claim to be a foodie, and I like watching Indian movies, and, err, I quite like SRK, I thought I might as well attempt answering this.

Ref: https://goo.gl/images/pTy3xb

Well, I don’t know SRK personally. Neither do I follow every bit of news about him. But simply based off of films I have seen starring SRK, and a few odd interviews here and there, I have an inkling that he probably likes simple home cooked meals, especially something cooked by his mom. Now for the sake of answering this question, I obviously had to resort to good old Google. And funnily enough, I found an online article on the Indian Express that exclusively discusses SRK’s favorite food! And btw, my assumption was spot on! The article clearly states: “but when it comes to food, Shah Rukh Khan likes it simple. And, (if) it’s home-cooked – even better.” I told you so! ;)

He has fond food memories of meals cooked by his dad and mom. His dad cooked “wonderful raan.” Raan is a Pathani mutton dish that incorporates the toughest cut of lamb, which is cooked into a delicious falling-off-the-bone tender dish in a mélange of spices, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, malt vinegar, etc. He loved his mom’s Hyderabadi mutton biryani and “khatti dal.” It’s a Hyderabadi lentil preparation that is spicy, tangy, and delicious. Apparently he loves chicken, especially tandoori chicken. And he claims he can eat it all year round, every single day! Here’s what delights me- he loves spicy food! Now we’re talking!

When it comes to vegetarian food, SRK’s favorite is “aloo gobi,” i.e. potatoes and cauliflower stir fry, which also happens to be my childhood favorite. My kids love aloo gobi too. In fact, I make this awesome stir fry quite regularly.

SRK likes pasta, and can apparently cook it too. His favorite happens to be one “Tagliatelle Con Aragosta.” This pasta preparation made with tagliatelle- a long cylindrical shaped pasta, incorporates lobster, asparagus, onions, and tomato puree. Looks pretty good to me. The link to a YouTube video where this Chef (too bad his name isn’t mentioned) at Mezzo Mezzo at the JW Mariott Mumbai, in Juhu, demonstrates how to make this pasta dish: SRK's favorite pasta dish

While we are talking about SRK’s favorite foods, I’d like to quickly mention that he is a coffee addict. He can drink up to 30 cups of black coffee a day!! Yikes!

As for whether or not I consider SRK as a fellow foodie- I’m not too sure I’d consider him to be a die-hard foodie, considering the fact that he prefers eating at home, and North Indian dishes in particular. A true foodie, in my humble opinion, is one who is open to all kinds of cuisines, and loves checking out different foods regularly. AND one who doesn’t care about whether or not people are watching them eat! Our man, SRK, has said himself that he is a shy guy, and would much rather eat in privacy. See this video (Start to ~ 0:54): Shy SRK

All in all, from whatever I found online, the gist is that “King” Khan is quite the homey kind of guy who loves his black coffee and enjoys a nice home-cooked meal. If it’s Pathani or a Hyderabadi style meal, he’d enjoy it even more, probably reminiscing fond memories of his childhood, and his beloved parents.

Ref: https://goo.gl/images/q5rP6u

There are a couple fun videos I've included in the original answer. Do check it out: SRK's Favorite Foods

BTW, I call myself Appi on Quora. In case you are up there, do follow me! ;) 

RIP Anthony Bourdain

Woke up this morning to read: Anthony Bourdain, chef and Emmy-award winning TV host, dies at 61. Apparent suicide. The immediate feeling was one of shock. I didn't know him personally, but I felt sad. Out of all the RIP messages going around on the internet, Tom Colicchio's tweet caught my eye: RIP doubtful. Tony's restless spirit will roam the earth in search of justice, truth and a great bowl of noodles. @Bourdain

I attended Bourdain's show, 'Close to the Bone,' back in 2015. A lot of what he spoke on that show was some real deep stuff. There was that, and his unabashed usage of the F word (haha!). I sat in row U seat #3. That was the closest I have ever been to THE Anthony Bourdain. The one picture of him I took turned out to be a fuzzy image too. I wrote the following after attending his show: 

July 31 2015: 

After Alton Brown, it's Anthony Bourdain, the "No Reservations" guy from Travel Channel. I got to see him live on stage at Paramount in Seattle on Monday night. I was smart this time as I bought the tickets well in advance and got pretty decent seats.

The Tickets

To be honest, I went for the show with no expectations- I wanted to be surprised. And indeed I was. The only props on the stage were a podium, a stool, and a beer bottle placed on the stool. At 7:30 sharp the lights dimmed and the audience applauded and cheered as Anthony Bourdain very casually walked on stage, clad in a pair of jeans, a gray-blue shirt with sleeves rolled up to reveal his tattoo sleeves, and this gorgeous pair of shoes. And he started talking.

That's him! 

2 Immediate Impressions that made me wonder if this was a good idea: 

1. His favorite word is the F-word. It seemed to me as if he started and ended every sentence with it and then threw in a few more in between.

2. He dislikes Food Network channel as well as some of the people on that channel. ;)

As he continued though, I got drawn in:

Curious Mind- The one virtue he relies on when he travels is his curious mind. He does not refrain from asking the stupidest of questions, because that's how he learns about the place, its people, their food, their culture, the history. That is true. If you don't ask questions, you don't learn. Period.

Food, an Intimate Gesture- He has traveled to over a 100 countries, and has been offered and eaten all kinds of food. Often times he has had to take heavy doses of antibiotics after eating some of that food. But over the years he has learned that when you are offered food by somebody, it is a very intimate gesture. By offering you their food, they are telling you their story, and opening themselves up to you- and to refuse that food is a very rude thing to do. I think that's profound.

Food Obsession- He talked about how much we have gone overboard with the whole food craze. We are obsessed with taking pictures of food (I am guilty of this myself) and posting on social media. We eat too much, exercise too little, and then complain about obesity, cardiac problems, diabetes, etc. Sure, let's eat good food, but let's also be fit enough to be able to walk a few steps without having to feel like our heart's going to pop out of our bodies! We are overdoing the whole organic thing too. Yes organic food is way better for the body, but how about making it more affordable?

He also mentioned the "farm to table" trend that has been going around lately and how he finds it ridiculous. He is right- "doesn't everything grow on the farm anyways, and then we eat at the table....!"

About the whole gluten intolerance insanity, what he said made sense- if you have celiac disease, you should first go see the doctor! Don't just decide that you are most definitely intolerant to gluten and then go looking for gluten free pizza!

Describing Food- When he eats something, he only uses simple terms such as good and very good. He doesn't get all fancy-shmancy because "there's only so many ways of describing a salad!"

Indian Food is Delicious! While joking about vegetarians, he said that when he traveled to India, he ate only vegetarian food because that's all they eat there. Well, he is wrong, because that's not all we eat in India, but yes, there is a wide variety of vegetarian options available there. He did say that he would be happy to eat that vegetarian food for as long as possible because "it is delicious!" He sure got that right!

Adoring Dad-  He very lovingly talked about his 8 year old daughter, and how she seems to have taken after him in terms of food. He said that becoming a Dad has completely changed him for the better. He also mentioned his jiu-jitsu marital artist wife a few times. So we got a tiny peek into his family life, which is always a nice touch.

And I thought hmm, he is good! This is a good show! 

The above, by the way, is just an excerpt. There was a lot more he said and most of it was pretty deep, I must say.

He did a little Q&A session in the end, answering questions from the audience. One of the questions was which is the "worst country" he has ever visited? With a little laugh he replied, "Probably East Europe." He said he didn't really like Romania, though Romanians are beautiful people. And when asked about the best country, his immediate answer was Iran. He said that in his experience, the Iranians were the friendliest of the lot. Finally when asked which is his favorite place to eat at in Seattle, he said he likes Salumi, and then he added that he'd rather dodge that question. ;)

Alton Brown Show Vs Bourdain Show: 

There was a lot more cheering and applauding that happened on Alton's show, as compared to this one. Perhaps because that was more of a cool cooking kinda show, with more audience interaction.... plus somehow Alton's personality just seems more likable. Well, Bourdain's style is very different- he seems unpretentious and blunt. And not a whole lot of people appreciate unpretentious and blunt. I was very excited at the Alton Brown show and wished that I could go meet him and talk to him, whereas at this show, I was very calm. I laughed here and there, but there was no crazy-fan-screaming-her-lungs-out scene going on.

Let's put it this way- after the Alton Brown show I was simply star-struck, whereas the Anthony Bourdain show got me thinking and my desire to travel the world has become stronger. I absolutely want to travel, meet new people, experience new cultures. And I want to try food that is offered to me by kind strangers in new foreign lands, because I want to know their story.

Close to the Bone 2015

Just in case you are wondering about the beer bottle on stage, that was for Anthony. That's what kept him hydrated!

Food Post #210: The Top Six Must-Have Spices You Need to Cook Indian Food

If you are an avid fan of Indian food, and are interested in learning how to cook Indian food, then here's a list of the top six spices you absolutely must acquire and keep handy before you begin your cooking adventure. A lot of these spices come with added health perks.

Asafetida, also spelled as Asafoetida, better known as Hing (or heeng)

Okay, asafetida stinks!! As soon as you open that container of hing, as a newbie, you are bound to find it stinky. It is beige or yellowish brown in color. It tastes very pungent too, and can be pretty off-putting to a novice. But not to worry, it's not going to kill you! ;)

If you were to ask any Indian elder what is asafetida, they will probably just say- it's hing!! Honestly, I too had no clue what it was, until I looked it up online. There's quite a bit of research done on the medicinal properties of hing. It is a gum resin extracted from the thick horizontal stem and root of the plant named Ferula asafetida. As with everything, it's all up there on the internet. If interested, you can look at images of this plant too. It's pretty cool.  

Benefits: 

1. As with most spices used in Indian cooking, asafetida works like magic for digestive issues

2. Regulates blood pressure

3. Helps ease menstrual issues such as horrendous cramps that a lot of women experience during their period

4. Useful for treating certain conditions of the Central Nervous System

5. Respiratory issues such as asthma, bronchitis

Grandma's Home Remedy for a Stomach Ache: 

Take some hot steamed rice in a bowl. Add a pinch of hing, a little bit of ghee, and a pinch of salt. Mix and mash it all up, and eat.

Mustard Seeds

Mustard seeds are tiny, round, ranging from black to brown color. There's also yellow colored mustard seeds. As far as taste goes, as the name indicates, it is mustardy (think wasabi), and bitter. The seeds come from mustard greens.

Benefits: 

1. Eye health

2. Alleviating pain caused by sore muscles, and stiff joints

3. To ease menstrual pain

4. For headaches, sinus issues, etc

5. Promoting healthy hair and skin

*Mustard oil is used for massage on infants, and children in north India. While in the south, they use sesame oil.

Grandma's Home Remedy for a Cold and Cough:   

Take a teaspoon of mustard seeds. Crush using a pestle and mortar. Add this to some hot steamed rice. Mix with ghee, and salt. Mix, and mash. And eat!

Cumin Seeds

These are tiny, brown colored oblong seeds, that taste almost peppery-nutty. Cumin seeds come from the cumin plant. I think this is my favorite spice. It's also used quite a bit in Mexican and North African cooking.

Health Benefits:

1. Just like hing, cumin helps alleviating gastrointestinal issues

2. Regulating cardiovascular health

3. Respiratory health

4. Regulates blood sugar level

5. Women's health

Grandma's Home Remedy for Nausea:

Roast a couple teaspoons of cumin seeds, until fragrant. Crush using a pestle and mortar. Mix with hot steamed rice, ghee, salt, and black pepper. Mix, mash up, and eat!

Green Cardamom

Green Cardamom is a truly ancient Indian spice, that grows abundantly in the southern coast of Malabar. It is related to ginger root. Good quality cardamom is a lovely green color, almost tender, and very fragrant. As it dries up, the green turns a bit brown, but the tiny seeds inside remain fragrant. The seeds are black in color. I would describe the taste as being blunt to a novice palate, but to a seasoned palate, it is blunt, yet flowery, almost lemony. Some prefer consuming just the seeds, and discard the skin. I think that's such a waste of the lovely spice.

Health Benefits: 

1. You guessed it- gastrointestinal health

2.  Cardiovascular health

3. Oral health- you can just pop a cardamom pod or two into your mouth instead of gum. Yes!

4. Respiratory health

5. Regulating blood sugar level

Every Indian Chai lover will swear by "elaichi waali chai," meaning Cardamom Tea. The recipe is simple. While brewing a cup of tea, add a couple pods of green cardamom, coarsely crushed. The tea will be elevated to a whole new level. Flowery, fragrant, and delicious!

Cinnamon 

Cinnamon is also an ancient spice originally from Ceylon, now Sri Lanka. It is obtained from the inner bark of a tree! Pure unprocessed cinnamon does in fact look like tree bark! This spice is spicy, woody (duh!), and sweet.

Health Benefits: 

1. Controlling blood sugar level

2. Oral health

3. Big time antioxidant

4. Cardiovascular health

5. Arthritis management

Quick fix for sore throat- Add a pinch of cinnamon powder into a cup of warm water, add some honey, and drink. It will soothe your throat.

Turmeric

How can we forget good old turmeric? That beautiful yellow colored spice used in so many Indian dishes. Fresh turmeric can often be mistaken for organic ginger root. Well, they are cousins after all!  The type used commonly in cooking is the dry powder form of turmeric. It tastes slightly bitter. It has a nice aroma to it. A word of caution, passed down by my grandma to my mother to me- do not use too much of turmeric as it can become toxic. Now I don't know what "too much" really means, but I just assume not more than 1-2 tsp in any dish. I am still alive and kicking, so I assume I have been using the right quantity all these years!!

Health Benefits: 

1. Antiseptic properties

2. Respiratory issues

3. Rheumatoid Arthritis

4. Digestive health

5. Extensive research has been done in the past on it's cancer therapy properties, and some positive results were found. Research continues.

Grandma's Home Remedy for that Nasty Cold and Cough: 

In a cup of milk, add a pinch of turmeric, some black pepper powder, and some sugar. Bring the milk to boil. Pour into cup, and sip away.

There are many more spices that are used in Indian cooking. This was just a snapshot, to get you started with. If you noticed, almost all of these spices are beneficial for overall digestive, cardiovascular, menstrual, and respiratory health, as well as diabetes, and arthritis management, and even in cancer therapy. Spices not only impart flavor to foods, but are in fact good for you.

 

Food Post #209: Green Mango Cilantro Coconut Green Chile Chutney

This is one vibrant green chutney, hot and spicy and tangy and deeeeelish! Goes very well with idlis, dosas, rotis, bread, etc. Bonus- you can whip it up in under 20 minutes!

Idli Chutney 

Ingredients: 

Green Mango 1, chopped into size good enough for your blender

Cilantro, fresh 1 bunch

Green Chilies (I prefer Thai) 4-6
*Adjust according to desired level of heat

Coconut, fresh grated 1/2 cup

Salt to taste

Jaggery 1/2 tsp

Oil 1 tbs

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

Cumin 1/2 tsp

Asafetida a pinch

Method: 

This is basically a 2-step process:

1. Blend green mango, cilantro, green chilies, coconut, jaggery, and salt into a chutney in your nifty blender.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil, add a pinch of asafetida, followed by tempering some mustard and cumin seeds. Pour this onto the chutney.

Done! Mix and serve with hot spongy idlis, or crispy dosas, or make a sandwich. YUM!

Note: If you find that the green mango is not tangy enough, just squeeze some lemon juice. The chutney should taste tangy, hot, and spicy, with a very slight hint of sweetness.

Food Post #208: Bread Pudding- Hyderabadi Double ka Meetha

If you know me, you know that I am not too much into sweets. Gimme spice, gimme heat, and if you really want to give me something sweet, then I don't mind one of those Godiva dark chocolate bars. Well, and if you want to give me some ice cream, then make sure it has some chocolate, and some nuts, such as Baskin Robbins' Jamoca Almond Fudge. As far as Indian desserts go, I quite like rice kheer, and halwa. I also don't mind rasmalai, and perhaps hot gulab jamun. Oh, and hot jalebi. Oh, and obbattu. And shrikhand. And oh yeah, I like this Hyderabad specialty called double ka meetha- a delicious bread pudding made with deep fried bread, soaked in saffron milk, sugar syrup (or honey), spiced with cardamom, and topped off with some cream, nuts such as pistachio, and almonds, and some edible silver. Sometimes they also add figs to this pudding, and my oh my! It is rich, sweet, and delicious!!  Ahem, okay- so I just completely contradicted myself. Looks like I am not too much into sweets, but then I do like them, a lot of them, in fact, in small doses once in a while.

To start off the new year on a sweet note, I thought why not make some dessert for once? And so I made my own quick version of the regal, rich, sweet double ka meetha. It isn't as rich and decadent as the original recipe, but it sure is delicious. Bonus- it's way healthier.

Total time from start to finish: 30 minutes

Ingredients: 

White bread- 1 or 2 slices per person

Oil for shallow frying- 1-2 tbs per slice, adjust quantity according to number of slices of bread

Water- 1 cup

Sugar- 1/4 cup

*Adjust quantity of sugar according to preference

Cardamom- 2 pods

Saffron- a few strands

Nuts- a small handful. Cashews, almonds, pistachio all work well

Method:

1. Cut bread into desired shape, such as triangles, rectangles, or squares. Shallow fry until golden brown in color. Set aside on paper towel to blot off any excess oil.

2. Mix 1/4 cup of sugar into a cup of water, and bring to boil, stirring frequently. Add cardamom for flavor. Can also add saffron. Heat until the syrup thickens a little bit. It doesn't have to be as thick as honey. Turn off heat.

3. Take each fried piece of bread, dip into syrup, and place in serving dish. You can top each sweet fried bread piece with some nuts, and place another fried bread piece dipped in syrup on top, like a sandwich. Top with some more nuts. Drizzle syrup on top to finish off. Done!

Best to serve while it's still warm. The bread will still be crisp, and sweet, and yum!

Healthy and Delicious Quick Double Ka Meetha

Happy New Year!