Koorkha Upperi: Chinese Potatoes

Our dinner in the Kaidiyon-waala plate!

The vehement term, given by one of our friend's to this very useful Corning sectional dinner plate. Kaidi, a hindi term for prisoner, apparently lends itself well to the plate and at time's its contents served by his better half!

It  evoked the  prison's where food was served in white enamelware plates: the images beamed by Bollywood, especially those iconic movies in the early 70s.

Long grained rice [ Sona Masoori], Vellarikka Moru Curry, Koorkha Upperi, Kondatta Mulagu-Fried Curd Chillies

This neatly divided compartments, shamelessly lend themselves to the vagaries of insipration and imagination, effort, shortage and makes less look more!!!

The earlier version of Koorkha Upperi posted here was made with a paste of shallots, garlic  and red chillies. This is the simpler version without  the garnish of grated/shredded coconut and  the tempering of mustard seeds.

Ingredients

Chinese Potatoes,  skin cleaned  and quartered- 2 Cups
Onion- 1/2, chopped fine [ optional ]

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

Coconut Oil-3 tbps

Curry Leaves-1 stem

Dried Red Chillies 2
Salt.
Method
Parboil the Chinese potatoes with salt,
Drain and keep aside.
Heat coconut oil in a skillet and add the curry leaves and dried red chillies.
[If using onions, saute the onions until soft.]
Add the chinese potatoes, red chilli powder and turmeric powder ,
Saute for a few minutes,
Turn the flame to medium low
Cook until done.

Dahi Baingan: Eggplant in Yogurt

Dahi Baingan: Eggplant in Yogurt

Ingredients

3 slim long purple eggplants [ the first one's from this summer from our garden:-)]

2 long green chilli peppers

2 hot green chillies [ optional]

2 dried red chillies

1 tsp Cummin seeds

1/2 tsp Saunf/ Aniseeds

2 cups of thick yogurt, beaten well

1/2 tsp of finely grated fresh ginger

Optional: use 1/4 tsp dried ginger powder instead of fresh ginger

Vegetable Oil, for pan frying the eggplants

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp red chilli powder [optional]

1/4 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder [ for colour and flavour, can substitute paprika powder]

Method

Slice the eggplants into roundels about 1/4 inch thick

Heat oil in a pan,

Pan fry the eggplants until golden brown on each side.

Season with turmeric powder, chilli powders and saute for a couple of minutes, adding oil as needed.

Drain and keep aside.

Meanwhile beat 2 Cups of yogurt.

Add salt and ginger paste and mix well.

Add the eggplants to the beaten curd mix,

[ Layer it on the top of the beaten curd]

Do not stir in the eggplants,

Heat 1 tbsp of oil and temper the cummin seeds and aniseeds,

Add the green chillies and saute for a couple of minutes.

Pour the tempered spices over the eggplants and serve.

Garnish with 1 tbsp of finely chopped coriander leaves.

This recipe has been adapted from Mankani, Bulbul, The Bollywood Cookbook [Kyle books, 2007].

A surprisingly good collection of recipes favoured by Bollywood film stars. It has a very interesting foreword by Shyam Benegal who describes a feast held for Shabana Azmi: a traditional goat cooked on dum in a clay oven, stuffed with chicken, eggs and layers of Hyderabadi Biryani.

The book mirrors the Bollywood ethos in many ways: the colours, the prints and the layout the book itself. The paper and photographs are of a better quality but still retain that particular stroke of gaudy Bollywood colour and filmy kitsch: The impossibly clean, carefully made-up faces, the clothes going just past elegance into 'theatre', the bleached and the blow-dried with a garishness that looks strangely appropriate to the subjects and to those of us who have grown up seeing Indian movies. And even in a recipe book, many a Bollywood ego manages to comes through.

It is always entertaining to see who selected what!  There are some which are simple but others where one can pick out the actors with their choice of roles: character, not mainstream and as some would say, 'arty' and not flashy and immediately understand their choice of food.

Nandita Das is a favourite  for many reasons and her contribution has the same quality she personifies in her roles. Dahi Baigan was perfect for this weather! Nandita's version is more colourful with fresh red chillies and a tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves: more Bengali and East Indian influences. I have used a tempering of cummin and aniseed, a dash of ginger in the yogurt and a garnish of chopped coriander.

Have the Cake Challenge: Berries Pavlova

Have the Cake Challenge this month was Pavlova. There are an abundance of good recipes online.

I have taken the recipe from the Joy of Baking.

This was a first,  and Pavlova with fresh berries: raspberries, blackberries and blueberries has become a favourite.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Our Lunch: Fresh red cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market, first Yellow Pear Tomatoes  and basil from our garden, garlic,  Black Pepper from home, grated Parmesan cheese  and olive oil with salt.

An Olive Oil-basil-parmesan-garlic dip, and a  fresh baked foccacia from the local bakery.

A break in between our light buttermilk based curries and rice, yogurt salads was good. With  the ferrying around for summer classes and the heat, it has been leftovers, fruits, drinks, fruits, leftovers and a batch of vegetable cutlets acommpanying everything from rice to breads and tacos! Have been meaning to make this for sometime ; just waited for the yellow pear's to ripen.

There are several recipes for Roasted Cherry or Grape Tomatoes. The basic one: drizzles the cherry tomatoes in olive oil, with a seasoning of salt and cracked black pepper. Bake it in an oven  on 375F for 20-30 minutes. I have also used garlic  cloves  in this recipe.

Indian Long Beans and Buttermilk: Buttermilk Curry with fried vegetables and tempering

This soothing summer dish utilizes the bounty of summer,   a judicious use of the souring buttermilk, works well with what is in the pantry plus requires only minimum work. This was usually a light dinner dish, after a hot summer day or a heavy lunch; usually made for 'family', revealing its simple homely roots. However it also works as an elegant soup served alongside  continental dishes.

Method

1 Cup of thick Curd/Yogurt

1 Cup Buttermilk

1/2 Red Onion or any other onion,  finely chopped

2 small hot Thai  green chillies, 

1/2 Cup crispy fried  Indian long beans/Chinese Long Beans cut into 1 inch tubes / fried Indian Long Bean fritters/ Payaru kondattam

pinch of Sugar

Salt
Vegetable oil for deep frying the beans

For tempering

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp urad dal

1-2 red chillies

1 stem curry leaves
Coconut Oil

Method

I have used Payaru kondattam here; these are Indian Long Beans boiled with salt and dried in the sun. These store well and are deep fried as accompaniments to the meal, like the Pappad/pappadums.

Whisk the yogurt/curd and buttermilk into a smooth consistency,

Add salt, and  a pinch of sugar and whisk again,

Slice the Indian Long Beans into 1 inch sections and deep fry until the edges start turning golden brown.

Heat the oil and temper the mustard seeds, urad dal seeds, red chillies, and curry leaves,

Add the onions and green chilies and saute on medium heat until soft and the edges start turning brown.
Add the ingredients, alongwith the fried long beans/ payaru kondattam to the yogurt and mix well.
Note: the fried long beans would start absorbing the liquid; so this is not a 'make-ahead' dish; do not keep for longer than 10-15 minutes before serving.

Re-inventing Leftovers: Idli Upma

Leftover Idli's cut into chunks.

Mustard seeds, Urad dal seeds, dried red chillies and curry leaves tempered in coconut oil.

Finely chopped onions sauted in coconut oil and the Idli chunks stir fried with salt and a pinch of turmeric powder.

Simple Celebrations...

Simple Salad

Iceberg Lettuce, Beets, finger hot thai green chillies and seedless black grapes [ to mimic olives] with a simple dressing: olive oil, rice wine vinegar and garlic.

The last two weeks of summer heat kept cooking to light summer dishes but we also had friends over. So it was light dishes with a quick early morning cooking session for friends, dining out and a simple birthday lunch.

A glimpse...

Choaq Wangun

Followed the  original  recipe but substituted Veri Masala for all the spices adding only turmeric, chilli powder and Kashmiri Chilli powder.

Also made this dish with tiny white eggplants which appeared at  one of the local Indian Groceries. Apparently it grows in Africa [they were not sure whether it was in Kenya or South Africa] during this season for about 2 months.  There was a profusion of fairly hard seeds inside. It held well to deep frying: with a deep crosswise slit, flowering up  and keeping its shape  in the curry.

Internet search was not very effective in eliciting more information. Friends took the leftover curry before any photo opportunity of the dish. Any information would be most welcome.

With leftovers from entertaining,  dining out as a dinner treat and summer fruits ripening, lunch was simple today.

A simple birthday lunch offering to the Lamp [ Banana leaves from the freezer, cracked  hence layered]: Rice, Cooked Dal, Fresh Mango Pickle, Ghee/Clarified Butter, Salt, Curd, Sugar

Chakka Kuru Upperi: Jackfruit Seeds

 Ripe Jackfruit pods

The flavours of this spiky giant permeate our childhood memories, especially the summer holidays. Not always a pleasant one since an over-ripe Jackfruit is merciless. Jackfruit was plentiful in the estates surrounding  the old homes and was also the pride in suburban compunds, providing shade and grace  and prized fruits. Eaten in excess, Jackfruit seeds and unripe pods have a strong tendency to cause stomach pains, flatulence and diarrhea.

For people who grew up in the remnants of feudal Kerala, this fruit often offered sustenance, was often poached from estates, the ripe pecked-into-fruit, carefully salvaged and even the spiky rind scraped off to make a dish for a hungry family. Easily obtained from one's yard, it also sustained the pride of erstwhile landlords and crumbling estates.

The  Chakka Kuru, Jackfruit seed  was not considered an exalted dish and was often the 'vegetable dish' served to labourers alongwith Kanji/ Rice Gruel during the busy harvest season.  Made in combination with the bitter gourd it was served  'inside' the home.  However, the fruit preserve, Chakka Varatti, Jackfruit preserve which takes time, effort, expensive spices and clarified butter was a carefully preserved delicacy and highly prized for use in different sweetmeats. Stored in Chinese Porcelain jars, [also used for pickling] this was a seasonal effort that yeilded an exquisite product, used thruought the year.

A fresh jackfruit sold for $2.50 a pound and half of the fruit yeilded about 25 pods.  Disbelief and snorts of outrage from assorted Aunts and Uncles who still live in Kerala, surrounded by plenty!

Fresh, firm and wonders, just  ripe..... . The fruit was ripe  so we  could not cook it. The jackfruit seeds were cooked with a simple spice paste of shallots/ small red onions and dried red chillies, turmeric and salt. I have substituted powders  in lieu of the paste.

Ingredients

A little more than 2 Cups of Jackfruit seeds, the thin, plastic-ky outer coat removed, red coating scrubbed as much as possible.

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 a small onion, chopped fine/5-6 small red onions chopped fine

Salt

2 tbsps coconut oil

Method

Boil the jackfruit seeds with just enough water and salt.

Drain and keep aside

Heat the coconut oil in a pan

Saute the onions for 3-4 minutes

Add the jackfruit seeds, the turmeric powder and chilli powder

Saute for 3-5 minutes,

Add 1/4 cup of water and cook  on medium heat until done.

For a more 'roasted' taste, add more coconut oil and pan the jackfruit seeds with the spices and onion,  sprinkling water if it tends to stick.