Lime Pickle

As it always happens, I had an extra stash of tart, green limes. So I thought, why not try pickling them? My mother-in-law obliged me with her recipe. It is indeed simple and a nice treat when all you want to eat (and all there is to eat) is curd rice. But, we South-Indians never complain. Curd rice and pickle is our classic staple food.

Ingredients:

1. 5 limes (or 4 lemons)
2. 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of salt
3. ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
4. 1.5 teaspoons of black mustard seeds
5. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
6. ¼ teaspoon or a small piece of hing
7. 1 teaspoon of fenugreek seeds
8. 4 teaspoons of chilli powder (or according to preference)

Preparation:

1. Cut the limes into small bite-sized pieces.
2. Transfer them into a clean, air tight container and add two tablespoons of salt. Shake and stir well to coat the limes. Marinate the limes for about 8-10 days. Some say it's best to leave the jar out/near the sun, but in dark dreary places where the sun plays hide and seek, we don't have much option but to keep the jar in a relatively warm, sunny place. Periodically (twice a day) shake the bottle to evenly distribute the juice and salt.
3. When the limes are marinated well, the briny juices will collect at the bottom of the jar and the limes will be soft.
4. Dry roast the fenugreek seeds until they turn reddish brown. Don’t let them burn/brown.
5. Slightly fry the hing in a teaspoon of sesame oil.
6. Grind the roasted fenugreek seeds and fried hing and keep aside.
7. Heat ¼ cup of sesame oil. Splutter mustard seeds. Add turmeric and chilli powder. Reduce the heat to low and mix the spices in the oil for a second or two.
8. Add the marinated limes (juice and all) and coat them in the spices.
9. Add the ground fenugreek + hing powder and stir well.
10. Saute the limes for about 5-7 minutes. Then remove from heat. Let cool.
11. When cooled completely, transfer to a clean, dry, air-tight container. In order to increase shelf-life, ladle 1 tablespoon of sesame oil on top of the pickled limes. Refrigerate.

The shelf-life of this pickle would be at least 1 month. I also believe that this pickle would be much much better with regular lemons. Limes are a little too tart for my liking. But the spice, the subtle bitterness, the finger-licking limey saltiness, and the tongue-clicking tartness are awesome complements to curd rice. 

Spiced Maple Butter Cookies

This year's Christmas cookies come from this lovely recipe. It has lots of butter (a sure sign that things can't go wrong), sugar, flour, egg, maple syrup, nutmeg, and cardamom powder. I went heavy handed and added a generous teaspoon of nutmeg and cardamom powder each. Prepare the dough, chill it, roll it, cut out shapes, bake for 9-10 minutes at 350 F. Allow cookies to cool and decorate them with a very light icing. This cookie is best on its own; for that is when the maple and nutmeg flavors (not to mention the buttery aroma) are best tasted and enjoyed. So, don't crowd the cookies with icing, like I did with some.

The icing that I used consisted of whipping the below ingredients to a smooth consistency:

3/4 cup confectioners sugar

2 teaspoons of milk

1.5 teaspoons of maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

some food coloring

Merry Christmas!

Ginger Cake

This year, I thought of converting gingerbread cookies into ginger(bread) cake. It needs pretty much the same ingredients and tastes just as yummy. The only difference is you don't have to bite and devour little "men" anymore. You will instead chew on warm, soft cake. This cake was inspired from a recipe (rather a picture) I saw in - The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book.

Ingredients:

1. 1 stick butter (at room temperature)
2. 1/2 cup brown sugar
3. 1/2 cup molasses
4. 2 eggs (at room temperature)
5. 2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
6. 1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon buttermilk
7. 1.5 cups all purpose flour 
8. 1 teaspoon baking soda
9. 2 teaspoons ground ginger
10. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
11. 1 teaspoon salt
12. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
13. 1/4 teaspoon allspice
14. 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
15. 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
16. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
17. Finely cut crystallized (candied) ginger - 2 tablespoons
18. 1/4 cup maple syrup
19. 1 cup whipped cream

Preparation:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and cardamom.
2. Beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. 
3. Stir in the molasses. 
4. Then beat the eggs until smooth. Then add the vanilla extract. 
5. Slowly stir the dry ingredients in small batches until evenly combined (do not over stir/mix).
6. Stir the buttermilk and grated ginger into the batter. 
7. Pour the batter into a 8-9 inch spring form pan that is greased with butter and lined with parchment paper. 
8. Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes until done.

To glaze/garnish the cake, mix 1 cup of whipped cream in 1/4 cup of maple syrup to get a smooth glaze. Pour/ladle it on top of the cooled ginger cake, and top it with the minced crystallized ginger. Although the cake itself was not as ginger-y or spicy as I wanted, the crystallized ginger bits added a wonderful crunch and a fresh ginger taste.

Gingerbread cookies

My earliest memory of reading a book (or even looking at pictures of a book) is that of a gingerbread man cookie that comes to life and runs away to escape his mean pursuers. I have the image of that particular illustration of a gingerbread man imprinted - he had cute buttons down his front, two bead-like eyes, and an expressive mouth. I had always wanted to bake gingerbread men cookies, and I used Christmas as an excuse to bake a batch of them last year. 

Regarding the recipe, I searched and scoured the internet inside-out and went over every possible highly rated recipe to understand what makes a classic gingerbread cookie (without all the extra frills). I noted down a few recipes, mixed and matched and adjusted a few measurements "intuitively" and came up with this version. I unfortunately don't remember the sources of the original recipes to credit them here, but thanks to them for helping me figure out a version. 

Ingredients: (makes 30 gingerbread men cookies, depending on the size of the cutter)

1. 1 stick butter (at room temperature)
2. 1/2 cup sugar (brown sugar would be better)
3. 1/2 cup molasses
4. 2.5 cups all-purpose flour
5. 1 teaspoon baking soda
6. 1 teaspoon salt
7. 1 teaspoon ground ginger (ginger powder)
8. 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (for extra zing!)
9. 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
10. 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
11. 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
12. 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
13. 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
14. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
15. 1/4 cup buttermilk

Preparation:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl - the flour, baking soda, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pepper, and cardamom. 
2. Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed (if using an electric mixer) until fluffy. 
3. Add molasses and vanilla extract, and stir (do not beat). Next, add the buttermilk and grated ginger, and stir until combined.
4. Add the flour mixture in parts, and gently stir till the dough comes together. Do not over mix. This dough will be extremely sticky, so divide the dough into 2-3 parts and gently wrap it up tightly in saran wrap/plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. 
5. When the dough is chilled, roll it out to 1/4-1/8 inch thickness on a generously floured board. Using a cookie cutter, cut out the cookies and bake for 9-12 minutes on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 375 F. 10-11 minutes was the ideal interval for me. 
6. Allow the cookies to cool completely before icing. I used store-bought icing tubes to make little eyes, mouth, buttons etc. 

I had other cookie cutters to make Christmas trees and stockings along with the adorable gingerbread men. I love these cookies for their crunchiness and spicy flavors.

Eggplant Gratin

I consider gratins to be French casseroles. It involves stir frying, frying, or sauteing vegetables (the vegetarian ones), and baking them with a specially prepared sauce and cheese underneath a crumbly, crispy topping of bread crumbs. I have tried three different gratins before - potato and cauliflower gratin, zucchini gratin, and recently, eggplant gratin, borrowed from Ina Garten's recipe.

The formula:

1. Cut the eggplant into thin slices and pan fry them on either sides. Drain eggplants on paper napkins.
2. Prepare a ricotta-based custard by mixing some ricotta with an egg, half-and-half, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. 
3. Layer a baking dish in the following order - a layer of fried eggplants, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, some marinara/tomato sauce, another layer of eggplants, salt, pepper, ricotta custard, and some more parmesan cheese. If you have more eggplant slices (like I did, you can do a couple of additional layers ending with the ricotta custard).
4. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 F. 

This turned out to be the best gratin of the three that I've tried. It need not be as rich, though. You could cut down the cheese (I used cheddar, because that was all I had), use a smaller quantity of low-fat ricotta, and pan-fry the eggplant slices with just a hint of olive oil.

The gratin was slightly crunchy, creamy, and a warm sumptuous meal.

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer. Butter. Masala. Each noun makes one salivate. Put them all together, and it’s easily one of the most popular Indian dishes you can come across. I have not met anybody who’d pass on this dish, especially in a good Indian restaurant. I have tried a couple of my own versions of this classic dish, but not surprisingly, my recipes have never come close to the awesome taste of the gravy whipped up in a good restaurant. Then one evening, a friend made this dish at her place and it blew my “socks” off. Anand couldn’t stop licking his plate and lavishing rare compliments ;). I asked her for the recipe and she sent me this link:
www.cookingandme.com/2009/10/paneer-butter-masala-restaurant-style.html

I tried out the recipe and I have to say - it magnificently, incredibly, lives up to its claim - even if I prepare it! It tastes just like the awesome dish you indulge in at your favorite restaurant. And the author/cook has to be applauded for directing us novices through every single step. I also learned a few precious lessons/tips with regards to preparing North-Indian gravies:

1. Add minced garlic after the onions are sauteed/caramelized. I used to add garlic, wait for it to slightly brown and then add onions. This makes the garlic turn brown/burn faster and hence they lose much of their flavor. Add them after the onions, and they make such a discernible difference!
2. Use tomato ketchup/maggie ketchup to get a tangy, sweet, spicy, flavorful tomato gravy as the base for the cream.
3. Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves add that special, unique flavor that I had never been able to figure out in restaurant dishes.
4. If it’s a cream based gravy, add cream/milk/half and half at two different points, giving the cream time to cook and seep through all the spices. I used to add the cream at the very end, hence depriving it from simmering longer.
5. Don’t go overboard with masala powders/spices in your obsession to get all that complex flavors. The right quantities of just a few spices will bring out the best, without overwhelming and confusing the palate.

The only changes I made to the recipe - I used 2% milk and low-fat half-and-half instead of gleefully emptying a carton of rich whipping cream. But the dish tasted sooo good, nonetheless. Since Anand loves golden raisins and cashews, I added lots of them (especially the raisins). I also tried this recipe with tofu instead of paneer, and you couldn't really sense much of a difference. And, I added cumin seeds at the beginning.

Pesarattu

Pesarattu is another kind of adai. While Adai has its roots in Tamil Nadu, Pesarattu has its origins from the state of Andra Pradesh. It is a crepe/pancake made from whole, non-husked, green gram dhal. It is quite rich in protein, and is an easy, healthy dish. I seem to be using this statement in every other recipe ;). My father’s family loves Pesarattu and my aunts are quite good at preparing the authentic Telugu version. I can’t match their prowess obviously, but this is my humble recipe.

Ingredients

1. 2 cups of whole green gram dhal
2. A handful of raw rice (about a tablespoon worth)
3. 4 dry red chillies
4. 1 teaspoon of crushed cumin seeds
5. ½ teaspoon of hing
6. 1-2 teaspoons of salt
7. 1 inch piece of ginger
8. A few spoons of sesame oil to cook/fry the pesarattu

Preparation

1. Soak the green-gram dhal and rice in water for 8-10 hours
2. Drain the water after the soaking period and grind to a reasonably smooth batter with the red chillies, cumin seeds, ginger, salt, and hing. Add about 1 cup of water (or a little more) to grind the batter. The batter should be of medium consistency - not too thick, not too runny. It should be of the consistency of regular pancake batter (or maybe slightly thicker).
3. Heat a cast iron skillet (on medium heat). Pour a ladle of the batter and spread it into a circle. Make a small slit at the center of the pesarattu, so that it cooks evenly. How thick or thin you would like your pesarattu is up to you, but making very thin crepes out of this batter tends to make the pesarattu dry.
4. Spoon a bit of sesame oil around the edges of the pesarattu. Let the first side crisp and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip and let the other side cook for a minute or two. Gently pressing on the pesarattu helps in evenly cooking the second side.

Serve pesarattu with sambar, chutney, rasam, thokku, or pickle.

Vegetable Tempura

Tempura is the Japanese version of bajji. It’s much crispier and light, but also soaks quite a bit of oil. The only major difference is that tempura batter is primarily made from all-purpose flour (maida). Popular vegetables that go into making tempura are - beans, asparagus, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc. And, of course, due to the eggplant overload, I made eggplant tempuras.

I tried two kinds of tempuras - one with panko bread crumbs (Japanese bread crumbs) coating the vegetables dipped in batter, and the other without the breading. I wanted to see if the tempuras come out crispier with the extra panko breading.

Ingredients

1. Thinly sliced eggplants (about ¾ of an eggplant). If using other vegetables, slice the vegetables into thin, long pieces. Green beans and asparagus need not be sliced (except for the ends and the stalk).
2. 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida)
3. ¼ cup rice flour (for extra crispiness)
4. ¼ - ½ teaspoon of salt (tempuras are usually eaten with soy sauce. Since soy sauce (even the low-sodium ones) are a bit briny and salty, go easy on the salt)
5. 1 teaspoon chilli powder
6. ½ teaspoon baking soda
7. 1 cup sparkling water (soda)
8. 1 cup of Panko bread crumbs
9. Soy sauce for dipping
10. 3-4 cups of vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

1. I drained the water from the eggplant by pressing the slices between paper towels.
2. Make the batter by first mixing all the dry ingredients - all purpose flour, rice flour, salt, chilli powder, and baking soda. Add a cup of soda and whisk/mix very gently till all the dry ingredients are mixed. Leave the lumps in the batter, because if you overmix or vigorously stir the batter, you will deflate the air bubbles from the soda, and the tempura wouldn’t be light, airy, and crispy.
3. Heat oil in a frying pot on medium heat. Test the oil by dropping a bit of batter and check if it sizzles.
4. Spread the panko bread crumbs on a plate.
5. Dip the vegetable slice in the batter, then coat it in the bread crumbs and drop it in the oil. Fry a few pieces (2-3) depending on the size of the pot. Do not overcrowd the pot. You can alternatively fry the the vegetables without coating them with bread crumbs. Fry until golden brown (it fries quickly) and drain tempura/s on paper towels.

The left two are coated with Panko and the right are without the Panko

Serve with soy sauce, ranch, sour cream, or ketchup. Tempuras are so light and crispy, but unfortunately this version of my recipe didn’t match the crispiness of the restaurant-made ones. Perhaps the eggplants are to be blamed. Also, the panko breading didn’t seem to make much of a difference - again, maybe due to the particular choice of vegetable. I should try this recipe with green beans to understand what ingredient/s need to be tailored. 

 

Bajji

Bajjis are deep fried vegetables dipped in a spicy bengal-gram dhal batter. They are extremely easy to prepare and are delicious, crispy treats to have with a cup of tea. And if it happens to rain or snow outside, bajjis taste even better. 

The eggplants from the garden

 

Ingredients

1. Thinly sliced vegetables such as potatoes, onions, cauliflower florets, eggplant/brinjal, huge green chilies, plantain etc. I used thinly sliced eggplant (about ¾ of 1 eggplant)
2. 1cup of bengal gram dhal flour (besan)
3. 1/4-1/2 cup of rice flour (to make the bajjis crispy)
4. 1 teaspoon of salt
5. 1 teaspoon of chilli powder
6. 1 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
7. ¼ teaspoon Hing
8. 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
9. ¾-1 cup of water
10. 3-4 cups of vegetable oil

Preparation

1. A mandolin works really well to thinly slice the vegetables. Since I used eggplant and it has quite a bit of water, I pressed the eggplant slices on paper towels to drain and squeeze as much water as possible without destroying the integrity of the slice.
2. In a bowl, combine the besan, rice flour (both flours) along with the other spices - chilli powder, salt, crushed cumin seeds, hing, and turmeric powder. Slowly add water and mix to form the batter. And about ¾ - 1 cup of water (in ¼ increments) until the batter comes together without any lumps. The right consistency of batter should fall in ribbons. If the batter is too thick the bajjis will be tough and chewy, and if the batter is too runny, the batter will not coat the vegetable properly, therefore the bajjis will not fry properly and will soak quite a bit of oil.
3. Heat oil in a deep bottomed frying pan/pot. Check if the oil is hot by dropping a bit of batter. If the batter starts sizzling and frying, the oil is hot. Keep the stove at medium heat once the oil gets hot.
4. Dip the vegetable slices in the batter making sure the vegetable is evenly coated, and drop into the hot oil. You can fry around 3-4 depending on the size of the frying pot.
5. Turn the bajjis as they are frying to ensure both sides evenly fry to a golden brown. When golden brown, remove the bajjis and drain on paper towel.

Serve bajjis with ketchup or pickle.

Eggplant Thuvayal / Brinjal Thogayal

Thuvayal is a version of Chutney. They are both ground pastes/gravies of a certain vegetable or fruit that gets fried/roasted in chillies, tamarind, and a few other spices. They can be eaten with rice, can be had as a side-dish, and even be used as a spread on bread/sandwiches. Coconut thuvayal is the most popular kind, but since we were on an eggplant streak, here is the eggplant version of it. 

Ingredients:

1. 2  small-sized eggplants or 1 medium/large eggplant
2. 2 dry red chillies (depends on your preference)
3. 2-3 inch piece of tamarind (depends on the size of the eggplant)
4. 2 tablespoons of split urad dhal
5. 1 teaspoon of bengal-gram dhal (optional)
6. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder (optional)
7. 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
8. ¼-½ teaspoon of hing
9. 1 tablespoon of oil
10. 1-2 teaspoons of salt

 
Preparation:

1. Make a few shallow long slits along the length of the eggplant (so that they don't explode). Coat the eggplant/s with a couple of teaspoons of oil and broil them for 25-30 minutes (turning them at halfway). You could also roast the eggplants on the open flame of your stove, until the skin is charred.
2. When the eggplants are cooled, peel the skin and cut the flesh into chunks.
3. Heat oil in a pan. When the oil is hot splutter mustard seeds, add the dry chillies, turmeric, hing, bengal gram dhal, and split urad dhal until the pulses begin to brown slightly.
4. Switch off the heat and add the tamarind (tear the tamarind into little pieces). Let the tamarind fry a bit in the remaining heat.
5. Add the eggplant pieces to a blender/mixer and pulse/grind till it becomes smooth. Since eggplants have quite a bit of water in them, it’s not necessary to add water at this stage.
6. Now, add the roasted spices and salt along with the pureed eggplant and grind to a smooth paste.It's not necessary to add water, but if you must, sprinkle just a few spoons worth. Thuvayal shouldn't be runny and should of the consistency of hummus. 
   

That’s it. Thuvayal is ready. Taste and check for seasonings - you can add more chillies, tamarind or salt according to your preference. Some people roast the cut eggplant along with the spices and then grind everything together. I imagine this will taste quite good too, but this method also yields a tasty bowl of thuvayal since the broiled eggplants get cooked/roasted really well.

Vegetable Kurma

Kurma is a rich and flavorful side-dish that accompanies roti/bread very nicely. It can also be had with cooked rice or idlis. It is flavorful and easy to prepare. There are so many many variations of kurma and vegetable-gravy dishes, and this is just one of them.

Ingredients:

1. Vegetables of your choice. The usual combination is - carrots, beans, potatoes, cauliflower, peas, bell pepper, corn (baby corn/shelled corn) etc. - about 3-4 cups when they are finely diced/sliced
2. 1 large onion/2 small onions - sliced or finely diced
3. 2-3 green chillies
4. a small piece of ginger
5. 3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
6. 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder.
7. ½  teaspoon of chilli powder
8. 1 teaspoon coriander powder
9. 2 teaspoons of garam masala (optional)
10. 1 bay leaf,
11. 2-3 whole cloves
12. 1 cinnamon stick
13. 4 green cardamoms (with the seeds)
14. 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds (soaked in lukewarm water for 30 minutes)
15. 3 tablespoons of grated coconut
16. 5 cashews
17. Yogurt - 1 cup
18. 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup (Maggie Ketchup will be ideal; this is my addition, so it’s optional to add)
19. 1 tablespoon of olive oil/ vegetable oil
20. Cilantro/coriander leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

1. Heat oil in a pan along with bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom, so the flavors seep into the oil. When the spices sizzle, add ginger and fry for a few seconds.
2. Add the diced onions and fry on medium heat. Saute the onions till it begins to slightly brown. Add the minced garlic and continue stirring/frying for about 30 seconds.
3. To this, add tumeric powder, chilli powder, coriander powder, and garam masala and stir well. Let the spices coat the onions well.
4. Instead of adding tomatoes, I add 2 tablespoons of Maggie Ketchup (or regular Ketchup). I find that this imparts a rich, yet subtle flavor of spices. Stir the ketchup with the spices and onions on medium heat, till the ketchup begins to bubble around the edges.
5. Now, add the cut vegetables and saute/stir well. It’s better if the vegetables are finely diced, because it aids in cooking. Add salt, a cup or two of water, cover the pan with a lid and let the vegetables simmer and cook on medium heat.
6. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add a cup of yogurt and stir well. Continue cooking.
7. Meanwhile, prepare a fresh ground paste by grinding the coconut grating, soaked poppy seeds (without the water), green chillies and cashews. Add a little bit of water to grind this paste. This gravy is supposed to thicken the kurma. So, don’t make it too runny.
8. When the vegetables are cooked, add the prepared paste. Mix well, and let the kurma simmer for 10-15 minutes on low heat. The kurma will thicken, and the flavors of the paste will infuse well.
9. Taste the kurma for seasonings. If you like the spice/salt levels, switch off the heat, else adjust the flavors to your taste. Serve kurma with a small heap of fresh cilantro/coriander leaves.

Silly of me to force it into a tiny dish - the gravy component isn't all that visible