Ranjini Rao's Blog, page 5
April 2, 2016
Masaledar Millets - Vangi Bath
Rice and wheat make up our world. Or at least, they make their appearance at almost every meal we eat. To change this up bit, we decided to try putting millets on the table a few times a week. Steamed millets are a great wholegrain starch option, and the family is pretty happy eating these with rajma or dal in lieu of rice. Millet upma with vegetables cooks quick enough to be on the breakfast menu even on harried weekdays, and for dessert there is the wholesome and creamy Millet Kheer. Vangi Bath is a classic Kannadiga fried rice, loaded...
Masaledar Millets – Vangi Bath
Rice and wheat make up our world. Or at least, they make their appearance at almost every meal we eat. To change this up bit, we decided to try putting millets on the table a few times a week. Steamed millets are a great wholegrain starch option, and the family is pretty happy eating these with rajma or dal in lieu of rice. Millet upma with vegetables cooks quick enough to be on the breakfast menu even on harried weekdays, and for dessert there is the wholesome and creamy Millet Kheer.
Vangi Bath is a classic Kannadiga fried rice, loaded with eggplants and other vegetables, and spiced up with a unique masala powder redolent of coriander, cinnamon and cloves. Eggplants are a must here, and if you’ve struggled with getting your kids to eat this oft hated veggie, then you may want to try this recipe. We fry up the veggies in a pan while the millets cook in a pressure cooker, and the masala powder is usually something we have on hand, from the store or shared by a generous relative. Served with a thick raita and some crisps, Millet Vangi Bath makes for a delicious dinner or lunchbox filler.
Millet Vangi Bath
(Serves 4)
1/2 cup barnyard millet
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 teaspoons urad dal
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1-2 sprigs curry leaves
1 medium onion, finely sliced
6 baby eggplants, sliced into thin wedges
1/2 red capsicum, thinly sliced
1 carrot, cut into sticks and steamed *
10-12 French beans, cut into 1.5″ lengths and steamed *
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
2 tablespoons vangi bath powder
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts
Heat a pressure cooker and add the millets. Roast well for a couple of minutes, stirring continuously. Once roasted, cool and then transfer to a sieve and wash the millets.
Put the roasted millets and 1 cup of water in the same cooker. Pressure cook for 2 minutes once the first whistle blows and then set aside for the pressure to release on its own.
Meanwhile in a large pan or kadhai heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, asafoetida and urad dal and let the seeds sputter. Then add the curry leaves, onions, eggplant and capsicum. Cook on medium heat, stirring often until the eggplants are well roasted and soft.
Add the carrot and beans and fry for a minute.
Now add the salt, chilli powder and vangi bath powder. Stir well.
After a minute add the millets and gently stir so that everything gets mixed.
Serve topped with the roasted peanuts.
*You can also steam the carrots and French beans along with the millets in the pressure cooker to save time though they do tend to get a little overcooked this way.
We love a fresh vegetable raita with the vangi bath and this one is made with grated carrot, chopped cucumber and tomato. The seasoning is light – rock salt and fresh cracked black pepper.
March 29, 2016
Summer Starter: Grated Mango Pickle
We've been to strawberry, pumpkin and apple patches quite a few times while we were in the US, an outing that everyone in the family enjoyed. What's not to love about those convenient pick-your-own farms? A hard-working farmer does all the work and the most arduous thing we have to do is to explain to the kids, a few million times, the difference between raw and ripe produce. Hauling the loot home, and then dealing with the bounty until every last bit is enjoyed and gone, is such a satisfying extension of these jaunts. Back home in India there are...
Summer Starter: Grated Mango Pickle
We’ve been to strawberry, pumpkin and apple patches quite a few times while we were in the US, an outing that everyone in the family enjoyed. What’s not to love about those convenient pick-your-own farms? A hard-working farmer does all the work and the most arduous thing we have to do is to explain to the kids, a few million times, the difference between raw and ripe produce. Hauling the loot home, and then dealing with the bounty until every last bit is enjoyed and gone, is such a satisfying extension of these jaunts.
Back home in India there are opportunities for picking vegetables and fruit from backyards, terrace gardens and sometimes clandestinely, during stops on road trips. But when the mango season rolls around every summer, we get out there and pluck piles of the fruit, ripe or raw, to sink our teeth into or cook all those piquant dishes that can only be made with mangoes.
This Tamil-style pickle is usually something that we make with the season’s first harvest primarily because it is so quick and delicious! No complicated spice mixes, no tedious sunning and hardly any waiting. This is fuss-free, and instant gratification at its easiest. Raw mangoes are grated and then cooked down with salt and basic spices. The fragrant tang of the raw fruit gets tempered by a fair amount of salt, and the dark earthiness of fenugreek powder. Try it with the first mangoes of the season, and you’ll find yourself eating it with everything, from curd rice to khakhras.
Grated Mango Pickle – Mango Thokku
(Makes 1 heaped cup)
3 small-medium raw mangoes
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1/3 cup sesame or peanut oil
3 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon powdered asafoetida
2 tablespoons red chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
3-4 tablespoons salt
Grate the raw mangoes. We don’t bother peeling them but you can do so if you are not working with organic produce.
Roast the fenugreek seeds briefly in a pan and then cool and powder them. Set aside.
Heat the oil in the same pan.
Add the mustard seeds and wait until they stop sputtering.
Add the asafoetida, chili powder and turmeric. Stir.
Immediately add the grated raw mango.
Stir in the salt and fenugreek seeds powder.
Cook, stirring occasionally until the oil starts to separate.
Switch off the heat, let the pickle cool.
Store in a glass bottle in the refrigerator. The pickle stays well for 2-3 weeks.
Look up our chutney-style Tomato Thokku for similar flavours, with a tomato-ey tang.
March 22, 2016
Green, Mean Peas 'n Potato Patties
Between the torment of summer's early onset and the intangible promise of rain, there lies, rather unperturbed, a desire to eat bite-sized portions of little somethings, rather than full-fledged meals. Evenings bring out a craving for chaat and related snacks, and if the rain Gods decide to oblige, there's a consensus, hands down, on pakoras and chai. For as long as we can remember, our Moms and Grandmoms seldom refused a request for deep-fried munchies, come rain or shine. There were scores of varieties to choose from, ranging from onion pakoras to masala vadas, aloo bondas to chili bajjis. While...
Green, Mean Peas ‘n Potato Patties
Between the torment of summer’s early onset and the intangible promise of rain, there lies, rather unperturbed, a desire to eat bite-sized portions of little somethings, rather than full-fledged meals. Evenings bring out a craving for chaat and related snacks, and if the rain Gods decide to oblige, there’s a consensus, hands down, on pakoras and chai.
For as long as we can remember, our Moms and Grandmoms seldom refused a request for deep-fried munchies, come rain or shine. There were scores of varieties to choose from, ranging from onion pakoras to masala vadas, aloo bondas to chili bajjis. While all that’s delicious and dandy once in a while, we are on a constant quest to make healthier choices for snack time for our families. We’ve done the shallow-fried bread rolls and steamed lentil dumplings quickly crisped on a tava for effect. We’ve also tried roasted vegetable chaat and masala chickpeas. And yet another eternal favorite is and shall remain – patties.
If you have boiled potatoes on hand, these are a cinch to make and you can beef them up with other vegetables, too. We’ve used green peas in this recipe, but the world is the limit, really. You could use boiled carrots, finely chopped greens, steamed broccoli, or whatever pops your corn.
Peas ‘n Potato Patties
(Makes 8-10 Patties)
1/2 cup peas, boiled
3 medium potatoes, boiled and mashed
A handful of mint leaves
2 green chilies
1 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon jeera powder
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon oil
Breadcrumbs to roll the patties in
Oil for shallow frying
Allow the peas and potatoes to cool down a little.
Meanwhile, grind the mint leaves and green chilies to a paste (don’t use water) – or if you prefer texture, mince them finely.
Mix everything except the breadcrumbs together.
Heat a skillet or shallow fry pan.
Make round balls with the peas-potato mix, and flatten them with a pat of your hand. Dip them in the breadcrumbs on both sides, pressing down gently.
Once the skillet/ fry pan is nice and hot, slide in the patties, maybe 4 at a time, and fry with a little bit of oil at a time, until the outer crust turns crisp brown on each side.
Serve hot with ketchup.
March 16, 2016
Dehlvi Cuisine Showcase
Old Delhi is renowned for its culinary heritage, and though I've eaten my way through many meals that have their origins there, a weekend wholly dedicated to Dehlvi cuisine sounded wonderful and quite irresistible. This entire experience was hosted by JW Marriot New Delhi Aerocity, a beautiful property located very close to the New Delhi airport. The team at JWM had done a terrific job of organising and curating this weekend affair, with food trails to the Jama Masjid bylanes and Chandni Chowk interspersed with themed events at the hotel. As one would expect, the bustling JW Marriot New Delhi...
Dehlvi Cuisine Showcase
Old Delhi is renowned for its culinary heritage, and though I’ve eaten my way through many meals that have their origins there, a weekend wholly dedicated to Dehlvi cuisine sounded wonderful and quite irresistible. This entire experience was hosted by JW Marriot New Delhi Aerocity, a beautiful property located very close to the New Delhi airport.
The team at JWM had done a terrific job of organising and curating this weekend affair, with food trails to the Jama Masjid bylanes and Chandni Chowk interspersed with themed events at the hotel.
As one would expect, the bustling JW Marriot New Delhi Aerocity hotel has lovely guest rooms perfect for a comfortable stay, and the service is fabulous. A special word for the modern and exquisite flower arrangements that brightened up many spaces. There’s lots of seating near the lobby and the outdoor cabanas are perfect nooks for relaxing over a drink in the evenings. I also peeked in to a hall that was being decorated for a wedding and the floral decor was quite stunning!
The buffet at the K3 restaurant was what we tried on Day 1. Here the spread is hosted by three separate kitchens serving Indian, Cantonese and Tuscan cuisine. Though I usually avoid multi-cuisine spreads, this was more like eating at three separate restaurants, since the food at each was really well done and true to the theme.
The Indian section in K3 mostly serves dishes from Delhi, including seasonal specialties. We enjoyed a tikki made with winter turnips, as well as a tava fry with vegetables including bitter-gourd. Another highlight of the meal was the decadent Chicken korma made with pistachios, and the meaty Mutton Rara which had succulent chunks of mutton in a rich burgundy-coloured masala with minced meat.
A breakfast hosted at the Delhi Baking Company had all kinds of tempting baked delights on offer along with some healthier options like granola parfaits. This is a lovely place to relax over a coffee and pastry, or even a scoop of gelato.
The team at JWM also put together a wonderful dinner for us one evening, with a very interesting theme. This was a jugalbandi between two of their chefs, Asif who is an expert in Delhi cuisine and Arif specialising in Lucknowi delights. So we had some delicious kababs served up from both contestants, the highlight of which was the truly superb Kakori Kabab with perfect flavours and incredible smoothness in the meat.
And so it went on..there was a korma round with hot, flaky Tandoori parathas to dunk into the thick gravies, and then a biriyani round. The deep, dark mutton korma was delicious, as was the lighter chicken dish with the gravy flavoured with plenty of fresh coriander. The biriyani would probably go well with one of the kormas, since this style of biriyani is not made with much of masala, it is just the meat and the spiced rice with some caramelised onions.
The showstopper dessert was a joint effort by both chefs, with a beautifully constructed Shahi Tukda, sweet rice cooked with saffron – Zarda, and a smooth, creamy saffron mousse that I could have easily eaten a whole pot of!
We went back to K3 for a Dilli-style breakfast spread the next day and found that this busy restaurant serves up a huge spread in the morning too, with a special themed Sunday brunch to follow.
Our Dehlvi themed breakfast began in true theatrical style with the appearance of four gorgeous, gleaming copper tiffin boxes. These were ceremoniously unpacked to reveal their contents – Kachoris, Chole (though aloo ka saag would have been more appropriate), Raita and Kheer. Tiered tiffins are something that most of us have grown up with and these brought some precious memories right back, along with a delicious sense of anticipation that the very act of opening a tiffin box incites.
The second course was Chole Bhature, Delhi’s own signature breakfast, and this was followed by some very delicious and crusty stuffed parathas. A bite of kheer for a sweet note, and a mug of ginger chai, and we were set for the day!
The entire trip featuring Dehlvi cuisine was a truly lovely and enjoyable, made perfect by the care and attention that the JW Marriot Aerocity team had lavished on creating and executing each part of it. If you’re looking to experience luxury and comfort at a premier hotel in Delhi, we do strongly recommend this amazing property and their very friendly and competent staff.
March 14, 2016
Dehlvi Cuisine: A Jama Masjid Jamboree
The beautiful Jama Masjid in Purani Dilli is a sacred monument that is like a beacon of devotion and spirituality for Muslims in India. Built in the time of Shah Jahaan, it stands serene, like a grand old lady, weathered gracefully through turbulent times but with its life force unscathed and still charismatic. We were ten food bloggers and writers, invited by the JW Marriot Aerocity Hotel in New Delhi on a three-day showcase of Dehlvi Cuisine, which is basically the cuisine of Old Delhi. The vibrant cuisine of our national capital we were told, has evolved through the centuries,...
Dehlvi Cuisine: Chandni Chowk
Stuffed Bread Pakoras, Kachoris, Biscuits and Rusks, Kancha Soda[/caption] I've been to Delhi umpteen times, sometimes passing through to catch a train for Calcutta or Amritsar, visiting aunts and cousins on other occasions, attending weddings and workshops, and there have been some some serious shopping trips too. But one area that I've really not explored in all these years, including a year of living in Delhi, is Purani Dilli. The three-day Dehlvi Cuisine food trail hosted by JW Marriot Aerocity, New Delhi was the perfect opportunity to correct this most unacceptable oversight :) The first post in this series here...
