Indori

 

 

“Indori” ,this sweet is a reminiscence of my time at my dear grand parents place,though never much of a sweet eater I used to always love the whiff of this dish running around in my grandparents place when ever I would chance visit them on Fridays,Saturdays or auspicious days. My grandparents were devout people ,so most of the auspicious days they would have special poojas and some sort of dessert offering to the lord,amongst them were burfi,phenori,churmi laddoo,besan laddo,lai panchkadai,regular panchkadai  and other things,amongst it was “INDORI”.

I used to believe that Indori is a sweet dish belonging to the GSB ,but I found that my belief was partly true. Indori was particular to the GSB from the north Malabar and people who originated in that area.So  I began to wonder why that was so,per chance one day my friend brought in a similar tasting dish called the “ARIUNDA” ,a ball made of pretty much the same ingredient and belonging to the kitchen of the Malayali folks of the same region but made in a little different manner. Whats even more coincidental is that the name “INDORI” seems like a play on the word ARIUNDA,which brought me to the conclusion that perhaps it was the influence of the MALABAR on the GSB which probably brought it to their kitchens ,and the GSB ladies being smart gave it a different name 😀 .

Another factoid behind this was shared by my mom recently,it seems this sweet dish was considered a “poor mans dish” something they could make out of things readily available at home and dint require any of the luxury ingredients which normally goes into making most desserts around the world.

An interesting myth (also shared by my mother),this dish requires rice to be fried which was considered in auspicious there fore they would not make this dish on auspicious days or fridays,saturdays or mondays which are considered the more important days of the week,what a contradiction !!!!

 

Here is the recipe :

1. 1 Cup red/boiled rice.
2. 1 cup Jaggery
3. 1/2 cup fresh grated coconut
4. 1/2 tsp CArdamom
5. 1 few drops of ghee
6. a small bowl a size golf ball.

 

MEthod:

1.In a thick bottomed pan fry rice on medium heat by constantly stirring them,the rice will started changing color ie would become opaque from its translucent shade and puff up a little,do this till most of the rice has turned without burning it.

2.Make a fine powder of this fried rice.

3.In another pan,add the jaggery and about one cup water and cook it medium flame,constantly stirring it.when it starts bubbling check on the consistency by taking a bit of the syrup in between 2 fingers and bringing them together to see if the syrup makes strings,when the syrup does this take it off flame and add cardamom and coconut gratings.

4.when it has cooled down a little add the rice powder.

5.while still warm take the bowl and grease it with little ghee.

6.Put the mixture in the bowl ,and press it to its shape.

7.Now band the bowl on a plate upside down so as to release the indori on the plate,which would have taken the shape of the bowl.

8.Do this till as many times as u have the mixture left.

 

Undi with ready made rice flour

When you need to make undi but do not have the time to soak and grind etc,this method seems to work as good .

All you need is about 1.5 cups if Idli rava,Soak it in water for a couple of mts. Drain it, and add corasely ground 1 cup coconut gratings with about  1 cup water and salt to taste.

Then follow step 2 onwards of the regular Undi method mentioned : https://iamcookingtoday.wordpress.com/2011/01/19/undi-and-piyava-gojju-konkani-breakfast-dish/

 

 

 

Rasa odo

 

A New year delicacy amongst the GSB,is actually a savoury item which is accompanied by a sweet dish called the Madgane.

“Madgane” is a sweet dish made out of Chana Dal ie Bengal Gram Pulse,cooked in a Sweet Jaggery Mixture to which coconut milk is also added to make it into a sweet dessert with a few more other spices to make it more interesting. Madgane as such can be had as is,but Rasa odo is specifically had with Madgane and none other ,during the New year Festivities as a GSB household. New Year for GSB how ever do not fall on Jan 1st of the Julian Calendar,but the first day of the Chaitra Masa(chaitra month) of the Luni Solar Hindu Calendar and falls mostly in and around End of March to 2 week of April every year.

Rasa Odo on the other hand ,is a fried item mostly made of Rice ,which can be eaten as it is,but works best with Madgane.

 

Method:

1. Soak 1cup  Rice for 1hr,
2. Wash and grind it with 2 tbsp Coconut gratings with as much less water as possible into a fine paste.
3. On your kitchen counter spread out a large muslin cloth
4. Pour the ground batter on the muslin cloth,the muslin cloth will start pulling out the excess water if you let it on for some time,but make sure u dont let the dough dry out in which case move it into a bowl.
5. PS:If you find our batter is too runny,take this out into a bowl and mix some all purpose flour till you find it has come to a pizza dough consistency.
6. Take small round ball of the dough and place a few at a distance of about 4 inches from each other,Also place a small bowl of water to dip your fingers on the side.
7. Heat a pan full of frying oil of your choice.
8. Meanwhile ,dip the the tip of your ring ,middle and index finger,into water and spread out the little balls into flat round about the size of lime.
9. leave it on the  cloth if the oil is not hot enough,but not too long as it dries out.
10. When the oil is hot enough,wet your fingers a little and transfer the flattens balls into oil making sure the flattened puris actually,slip from your finger into the oil and not the fingers touching the oil.
11. See that after being in oil for a 20 secs the puris puff up,if they don’t little touch the center with your slotted ladle so it gets some hot oil on top.(most often this step will be required as the puris would puff on their own and flip over.)
12. Fry either sides and remove it from oil onto a paper towel.
13. PS:Make sure you do not make too make flatten ed balls and leave them out on the cloth to dry,the flattening and frying is a simultaneous process

 

 

Narayan katar

1. 

 

Ingredient:

1. 1.25 glass ghee
2. 1.25 glass Sugar
3. 3 glass maida
4. color powder
5. Cardamom powder
6. 3/4 tsp baking powder

Method:

1. Mix items one to six and ,make dough-This dough may be a little crumbly but that is alright.
2. Keep for 6-7 hours,preferably over night.
3. Before  making portion either press nicely to get a softer dough or press individual portions to make it soft before baking.
4. for making individual portion ,take a ping pong ball sized dough,press between ur fingers to make it soft,then make a ball and flatten it a little by pressing it between ur palms.
5. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees,
6. Place the unbaked dough on baking sheet and bake for about 15mts or less based on the size of the ball.
7. If the top of individual pieces starts cracking then it is a sign enuf to show that the pieces have baked enough.
8.  

 

 

Besan almond Khadi

 

 

 

Something my “mamama” ie my maternal grandmother makes atleast once a month even to date.I love these simple yet tasty sweet one can make .

 

Chana pita khadi

1. 1 Cup Besan/Gram flour.
2. 1 cup Ghee/clarified butter
3. 1 glass milk
4. 1 3/4 glass sugar
5. 1/4 cup almond crumbs
6. Thin baking tray/plate with edge.
7. Butter sheet/wax paper.

Method:

1. In a thick bottomed saute pan mildly heat ghee.
2. To this add Besan ,mix and fry for up to 2 mts.(At this stage it will be  liquid-ish  and a slight brown tinge to the original flour color).
3. Take this off the heat/burner .place down and add the sugar and mix well.
4. On low to medium low heat place the wok again,mix well for 10 secs,add the milk and almonds whilst stirring.
5. Now on low medium heat keep sitrring the mixture,at first it will be very liquidish and will be frothing/bubbling.
6. After about 10mts the number of bubbles will reduce and there will be few larger bubbles.
7. Keep sitrring  on low heat,so that you do not burn the bottom of ur pan.
8. After about 10mts from the above pt,the bubbles would have reduced to 10% from the original and the mixture will be of the consistency of chewey caramel chocolate.(at this pt you can test it by place a small drop on a plate.it will start solidifying ,still a little chewy but harder).
9. At this pt take it out of the stove,in a thin baking pan lined with butter paper.Pour the mix immediately and spread it.
10. PS: spread may be a little tricky as it needs to be done immediately as it gets cooler it gets harder.the key to this is to use a bowl smeared with some ghee on this flat side and use it to flatten /evenly spread the mixture.
11. Let it cool for 2 mts,when its hot u need to place the incision,since it tends to get brittle and crumples when cooler and cutting becomes messier.
12. I used the pizza cutter to make vertical and horizontal incision so I can get even pieces.
13. Let it cool completely before peeling it off the butter sheet.

 

 

Make Paneer/Cottage Cheese at home

When a whole lot of milk gets spoilt,there are many ways to re use it.Most people make curd and sweet,and the rest make paneer/cottage cheese.

One can also make Paneer from fresh milk and then add acid/lemon juice to curdle it,either way after the milk has begun curdling the process remains the same.

1. 1ltr Whole milk
2. Cheese Cloth
3. heavy weight(of any kind)

Method:

1. Warm  the milk in a thick bottomed pan,on low-medium heat to separate the whey from the liquid contents.
2. if using fresh milk this can be achieved by boiling the milk  and then adding juice of a whole lemon or acid or vinegar-effectively curdling the milk.
3. When the water and the whey is completely separated,ie you can see a mass of white floating in Colorless liquid-Let is cool down without disturbing.
4. Place a cheese cloth in a strainer  and pour the cooled down mixture into the cheese cloth
5. Once the water has drained off,tie the cheese cloth tightly ,giving the mixture the shape you need (i made mine round and flat)around the mixture and place it under a weight for 2-3 hours.(I used my rice container to place on top of the cheese cloth)
6. Remove the cheese cloth and take out your paneer,cut into ur desired shape for use in dishes/

 

Butter Chicken Tandoori version

Over the years I have tasted many different type of butter chicken and am not sure which one is the most authentic one,each on tastes nearly the same but some how different.Every time I eat butter chicken ,I am trying to evaluate its taste against the butter chicken we used to get at CHOICE in   late 1980 ,at their Sea side restaurant at Kannur.

CHOICE seaside was my favorite restaurant at Kannur ,run by  a family friend. Every month my parents used to take us to this restaurant order our standard Sweet corn soup,followed by American Chopsuey/Chicken Fried Rice ,then Battura and Butter chicken.The restaurant  was built on a cliff that over looked the sea which  closed dining section  as well as a open one and was the crowning glory of this restaurant, for it was the only seaside establishment in Kannur district those days.

Most of those times this large seaside establishment’s  restaurant section would be almost empty ,owing to its Room service ,so we would get to really enjoy the ambiance and the lovely sea breeze in the open restaurant with the  best and lovely food prepared with care,under the supervision of the Owner Ibrahim uncle.Sometimes,like the during the monsoons when eating at the restaurant was not a “good” idea,we would bring in parcel.Unlike today,they dint have carry away boxes ,so they would pack the dishes either in plantain leaves or in Plastic covers,to avoid that my dad used to tell them to prepare the dish and carry a container to get back the dish,the best thing about CHOICE and its parcel service  was the cook  would take care to make so much gravy so as to fill the container,no matter what our order size was and we loved him for it,as we were very fond of the gravy.

Its been decades since the restaurant closed down due to internal issue and we were very sad when they did.Though they did open a sister concern in the middle of the town with the same name and the management,it never was the same as the Sea side resort.Over the years even the name sake has lost its charm and glory owing to many other restaurants that have opened and offered services/menu to cater to the changing taste of the population,but CHOICE still remains to be the choice to people who have lingering taste from all the wonderful food they used to serve in the awesome seaside restaurant.

As mentioned earlier,its my dream to achieve the exact same BUTTER CHICKEN that was served at the restaurant ,there fore I keep experimenting with many different types ,hoping some day it will click.

This is one such experiment,based on a recipe of a butter chicken I had ,had at a friends place in Rockford,where in she told me she used Baked Tandoori chicken,2 different ones  I saw on the internet one belonging to Sanjeev kapoor and the other and more inspiring one : http://www.hildastouchofspice.com/2013/01/butter-chicken-without-tandoor.html

.Here it goes:

Ingredients:

For Marination:

1. 10-12 Pieces of Chicken Cut into pieces.
2. 1 tsp Ginger paste
3. 1 tsp garlic paste
4. 2 tbsp yogurt
5. Salt to taste
6. 1 tbsp Shaan Tandoori powder

For Gravy:

1. 4 tomato
2. 20 ie handful Cashew
3. 1tsp ginger garlic paste(ie 1/2 tsp ginger + 1/2 tsp garlic paste)
4. 3-4 cloves,3-4 cardamom
5. 1/2 tsp chilly powder/paprika powder
6. 1/4 tsp garam masala powder
7. 1/2 tsp tandoori masala
8. 1/4 tsp honey
9. 1tbsp heavy cream
10. salt to taste
11. butter
12. pinch of kasuri methi

Method:

1. Marinate washed and dry chicken,and marinate it with all the items in the marinade .
2. Refrigerate it for atleast 8 hours,best kept over night.
3. When its time to make the dish,heat the over at 400F .
4. Dribble some oil on the chicken and bake it for 35 mts,every 10 mts turn the pieces around and make sure the place the pieces in the marinade that would have dripped onto to the baking sheet.
5. when its 25mts,place small pieces of butter over the Chicken pieces and continue.
6. If there is left over marinate in the baking tray(that is not burnt) save it to  add to the gravy.
7. Soak Cashew in luke warm water,and make a paste of the same.
8. Blanch and puree tomato.
9. In a pan,heat some butter.Fry the cloves,cardamom and ginger garlic paste.
10. To this add Cashew paste and fry on medium heat,while move it around to avoid sticking to pan,till the paste is like light brown.
11. To this add tomato puree ,mix it and saute it till it becomes thick.
12. Add Garam masala powder,paprika powder,Marinade left over from the baking tray and tandoori masala,mix it together.
13. Add Chicken pieces and mix well.
14. Add honey,adjust salt and add a cup of water ,and bring to a simmering heat.
15. Crush kasuri methi in between your palms and sprinkle over the dish.
16. Mix well,and some butter(optional)cook on low heat for 20mts add water and mix well to avoid burning at the bottom.
17. At the end add heavy cream,mix well and bring to boil.
18. Let is settle for 20-30mts before serving,it gives it a nice thick gravy.
19. Serve with hot Basmati rice or roti.

 

Neeli thalele/Crispy fried mussels

 

“Soronto“-Means carving in konkani and that is what I feel when I see mussels.From where I come,seafood is in abundance and people eat it for almost all meals of the day,also having had the influence of 2 types of cooking in our day to day food,there was no dearth for a new taste every day.

Mussels,is a sweet shell fish and I have grown up eating all sorts of dishes made out of it,inclusive of Mussels biryani,dry,fry,curry,stuffed,pickle .Now ,mussels is one of the tricky seafoods as it can spoil very quickly and can have adverse effect on stomach if not eaten properly.I would love to write a whole article on my blog one of these days on the best way to clean ,cook and eat mussels ,as I have heard from my dear Dad.

Crispy fried mussels ,I have shown in the photo above,is of mussels that  have NOT been precooked,and have been removed raw by prying open the mussels and scooping out the mussel flesh from its shell.This is an art in itself and comes with practice,but since this does not involve cooking with shell,the food is clean and not loose the essence of the seafood either.

1. 10 mussels
2. 1/2 tsp chilly powder-hot
3. 1/2 tsp paprila powder
4. 1/4 tsp astefotida
5. salt to taste
6. Rice powder for frying
7. oil

Method:

1. Marinate mussels in hot chillypowder,paprika power,salt and astefotida.
2. Keep for 30mts,any fleshy  mussel once removed from its shell starts loosing its flesh in the form of water,thus making the marinate watery.Hence make sure there is almost close to no water before adding the ingredients.
3. Remove marinated mussels one by one and spread on a bed a rice powder.
4. gently move ur fingers on the mussels so as to spread it to ts original shape(like 2 ears hinged in the center).
5. turn the mussels on its other side and coat rice powder evenly on both sides.Do this to each mussel.
6. In a wok full of hot oil,deep fry the mussels for nearly 3-4mts depending on the size of the mussel
7. Drain and serve hot.

 

Phanna pathrado/Seasoned Colcassia leaves

 

 

Cola cassia or arbi leaves are very common in the region I belong to,mostly found in moist lands and frequently during rainy season.The Leaves are normally roughly the size of a palm in tender state to as big as an elephants ear when fully grown.The fully grown ones are normally not edible as they would be prone to itching even after cooking,therefore the medium grown ones are most sort after for cooking.

Amongst  us GSB ,there are many items we cook out of the leaves and the root of this particular plant,from a quick stir fry called Ghante Thalasani to an elaborate preparation ie pathrode. Due to the water content of this leave,it cooks almost in mts and is very soft ,almost buttery.

Some of the varieties in this are itchy even in their tender form,and there is no way to tell one from the other.So as a thumb rule,the cooking procedure for this includes a good measure of sour ingredient either in the form of tamarind or bimbul(no idea wat it is in english …so to say its a sour fruit) and also a good measure of chillies.

There are a couple of ways to make PATHRADO,but the basic idea is to roll the leaves with spice mixture and cook with/without seasoning.

The below mentioned measurement s for one single Roll of the same ,which will probably suffice 1-2 person.

Indredients:

1. 10-15 large to small Colacassia leaves
2. 1/2 cup rice
3. 1/2 cup toor dal
4. 1 tbsp tamarind
5. 1 tbsp jaggery
6. 1 tsp salt
7. 4-5 Red chillies
8. 1 cup grated cococnut

Method:

1. Wash and clean the leaves.From the back portion of the leaf remove the protruding part of the main veins so as to not cut the leaf.
2. Wash and soak,rice and toor dal for atleast 1 hr,
3. Rinse the Rice and dal and grind together with tamarind,jaggery,redchilly,salt and coconut grating into a smooth paste.The paste needs to be a a tad salty to taste,as we are not putting any salt on the leaf.(save the water used to clean the grinder after removing the paste)
4. On a clean working surface .place  the larges leaf dark green side down with the tappered end of the leaf away from you.
5. Now with a hand full of the ground paste,smear it all over the lighter side of the leaf(which is facing you) ,evenly .
6. Now place another leaf(or more if small size) with dark side facing the paste of the previous leaf and smear paste over it.
7. Keep doing this till you are either out of paste or leaf(this is one roll).If left over paste  s available mix it with water saved from the grinder and keep ready for cooking purpose.
8. Use about 8-12 leaves for one roll.
9. Now start rolling the ends closer to you using both hands into a tight roll,towards the tappered edges which is away from you.
10. Now cut this roll into 3-4 equal pieces.
11. In a pressure pan,heat some oil and splutter mustard,then fry fenugreek and urad dal.
12. To this add about 1.5 cups of ground paste left over + water mix(mentioned above)
13. Place the cut roll in this,and cook on medium heat for upto one whistle.
14. Simmer and cook for 1 whistle.
15. Swtich off,serve hot!

 

Bibbe upkari/Tender Cashew fry

An all time but seasonal breakfast among the GSb folks are the Tender Cashew(Bibbo) Upkari and Poori.Seasonal because,in the few months of March-June every year we find fresh tender Cashews in market which is the main ingredient of this combination.Since Cashews as such and in particular the tender Cashew are expensive seasonal item,this breakfast is very special among st us.

The Tender Cashew upkari is also made with gerkin added,and served during lunch.

When Tender Cashews are not available ,ie during off season months,the Dried Skin on Cashews are available in select stores,namely the Mangalore Stores ,which can also be used to make the same.

Ingredients:

1. 300 gms Dried Tender Cashews
2. 2 Green chillies
3. 2-3tbsp Fresh grated Coconut
4. 1 tsp mustard
5. 1 spring of Curry leaves
6. Salt to taste
7. 1 tsp sugar
8. Water.
9. 1/2 potato cut into cubes

Method:

1. Boil 5-6 cups of water,take off the burner and soak the cashew in the hot water for about an hour.
2. Remove the skin of the cashews and split each one in half.
3. In a small pressure cooker ,heat 1 tsp of oil.
4. Splutter Mustard and add curry leaves and green chillies in the oil and fry.
5. Add the Cashews,3/4 tsp salt and sugar ,nearly 3/4 cup water and the potatoes.
6. Cook  under cover,over high for 2 whistles.
7. Switch off the stove.
8. After 10mts remove the pressure cooker lid,add coconut gratings and check the taste for salt.
9. Add salt if necessary and check the moisture content.
10. If there is little or no water,add some or if more water-cook it on medium flame till its is sticky but not watery,
11. Take of the stove.
12. Serve with puris.