Sambhar....non traditional way !

 Sambhar....different recipe.

This is a simple way of making a Sambhar, I was making dal but as I started and found ingredients in fridge the recipe took a different turn. Try it, you will love it.
Ingredients
Masoor Dal - 1 cup/ vaati
Drumstick - 2 nos (peel,cut in 1inch pc)
Onions - 1med size (sliced not chopped)
White onion 1 (petals) optional.
Tomato 2 nos (puree)
Ginger garlic paste -1tspn
Diced carrot / beans if available.
Turmeric - 1/4 tspn
Red Chilly powder - 1tspn
Sambhar powder (MDH or everest) - 1 tblspn
Peppercorns - 4pc
Dalchini small pc
Methi seeds - 1/4tspn
Jeera - 1/4tspn
Whole red chilly 1 pc
Curry leaves - 8pc
Oil for frying
Ghee for tadka (tempering)
Water
Salt as per taste.
Method:
Soak, wash masoor Dal, add turmeric/ peppercorn/dalchini and cook in cooker (4 whistles).
Mash and keep aside.
Heat oil, add sliced onions & saute till light brown, add ginger garlic paste and stir for a minute. Add chilly powder and mix properly. Add veg & white onions and saute for 2 minutes. Add tomato puree and cook well till thick. Add mashed masoor Dal, water as per desired consistency and mix well, simmer for 2 minutes. Add Sambhar masala, salt and bring to boil.
Heat ghee (1 tblspn) add jeera, curry leaves, methi seeds & whole red chilly. Let it crackle, then temper the Sambhar and cover it for few seconds.
Your Sambhar is ready to serve. 
Eat with ghee rice or plain steamed rice (no basmati please)

Happy cooking & eating !

Food Cravings in Rains

 Food Cravings in Rains

It's raining, it's pouring and as usual Mumbai is marooned, we are doomed to face water n power outages. It's normal.

There is one more normal that happens to us in monsoons, in cloudy weather......craving for food & that too chatpata !

The brain sends quick signals of pakodas, batatwada, hot harbhara chana chaat (streetside), bhutta and garam chai. For the 'anytime kuch bhi chalega" types it is pizza, chicken nuggets, french fries, hot meduwada, hot brownie.

Here are Two quick fix snacks -

Masala potato sticks: boil n mash potatoes, add ajwain (oregano), finely chopped chillies, salt. Mix and for binding add little cornflour. Make a dough, roll it thick (fries thickness), cut into strips and deep fry. Eat with tomato mayo or mustard mayo or just tomato ketchup.

(Eggitarian) Fun Eggs - hard boil eggs, cut into half, remove yolk. Mash the yolk, add finely chopped onion, chilly or chilly flakes, oregano, salt. Mix well with a spoonful of mayo. Dip the cut egg halves in beaten egg, roll in breadcrumbs and deep fry. Fiil the halves with yolk mixture, grate cheese on top. Then just EAT !

More easier: beat egg, add chopped onion- chilli, grated cheese, take breadslice dip it in mixture and shallow fry. Ready to eat in 15min.

Of course Easiest is Bun Maska and tea.

Vada Pav....pride of Mumbai

 I am a Mumbai brand of street food since 1966, celebrating it's 55th year....I Am

"VADA PAV”   

It was a time when south Indian restaurants were under stress from locals. Not eating idli dosa required an option and there the germ of my existence took birth. Shri Balasaheb Thackeray appealed to Maharashtrians to become entrepreneurs the way South Indians had by setting up Udupi restaurants. Dadar the hub of "marathi manus" was my birth place. Ashok Vaidya first introduced Vada pav at Dadar....the first mashed potato ball mixed with chilli, garlic, spices and coriander was made, dipped in besan (gram flour batter with added soda-bi-carb for puffy look) and lightly slid in hot oil for deep frying. 

The golden yellow colour that I took to was the gift of Ashok.

That day till today I have been satisfying the hunger not only of crores of Mumbaikar's but I flew n spread all over India and in foreign countries like UK, Middle East and became a part of Indian snack menu.

Today I am among top five popular street foods and if, while on the streets someone feels hungry at odd times many times it's 'Me' who they remember...." "चलो वडा पाव खाते हैं".

For the poor or labourer or salesperson or  person short on cash I, The Vada Pav is what they look forward to calm their hungry tummies.

The moment I dive in the kadhai or frier, my aroma pulls the young n old, rich n poor like pier piper and they can't resist to take a bite. They line up, scramble, wait patiently for their turn but don't give up till they cradle me in the paper plates with hot spicy red coconut dry chutney.....and यम्म्म आहाहा sounds are made while I am slowly, lovingly and sometimes hurriedly gorged upon accompanied by hot Tea (Chai) 

Stalls, restaurants have become popular only selling me..... मामा काणे at Dadar, रमाकांत at Khopoli, Diwadkar at Karjat station, दत्त snacks at panvel (all these since 1970), shri Krishna Batatavada  near Chabbildas, Batatawada Samrat in Santacruz. I was always available at all railway stations            throughout Maharashtra, at every nook n corner of Mumbai. My popularity continues Ashok Vadapav near kirti college, Anand Vada Pav outside Mithibai College in Mumbai and all over Maharashtra with"जोशी वडेवाले", Foodmall on Mumbai Pune Expressway, Jumbo King ...it's an unending list.

Be it a light morning bite or a evening snack with office colleagues or a "वडापाव चाय" party   I am affordable for all pockets. 

You will be amazed that the star Hotels cash on my "Mumbai Vada Pav" name in thier menu by charging anything between Rs.300 to Rs.450, the foreign tourist happily enjoying Me! With the change in cuisine trends I am being sold as deconstructed Vada Pav and I was amazed at the innovation...spiced mashed potato , garlic chutney in starch pouch, cooked besan mix all to be mixed and spread on pav and eat. It did taste 90% like Vada Pav.

Some broad recipe outlines of my different variations (besan coating same)

1.Original - potato, ginger garlic, green chilli, corriander, turmeric.

2. Highway - same as above with addition of dhania jeera powder and curry leaves.

3. Green masala - corriander, green chilli, garlic, mustard seeds, curry leaves. 
4. Home style - potato, ginger garlic, green chilli, corriander, turmeric, mustard seeds.

Shapes can be round ball or flat patty. Deep fried.

I, VADA PAV thanks millions of fans across the globe for being with me. Jai Maharashtra !  

EGGS....the most versatile of foods.

 

EGGS....the most versatile of foods.

Egg are of many different species, including birds, reptiles, amphibians, a few mammals and fish, and many of these have been eaten by humans for thousands of years. The most commonly consumed eggs are chicken eggs. Other poultry eggs including those of duck, quail & emu also are eaten. Fish eggs are called roe and caviar and are expensive delicacies.

Chicken eggs are widely used in many types of dishes, both sweet and savoury, including many baked goods. Some of the most common preparation methods include scrambled, fried, poached, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, omelettes and pickled. They also may be eaten raw for its raw protein & some cocktails do use egg yolk or whites.

A very Breakfast material, eggs also are consumed for hi tea & it was once a part of Classical 12course Menu. Eggs as ingredients are used in bakery, confectionary products as well as desserts, starters. Egg yellows mashed, whipped whites, mixed with other ingredients, boiled n chopped in salads....eggs have umpteen uses in culinary art.

In this article I choose to write few Maharashtrian Egg Dishes (Maharashtra is a state in India) that are eaten not only by non-vegetarians but a class termed as Eggitarian (basically vegetarians eating egg). Egg was never a breakfast item in Maharashtra as mostly the staple consisted of vegetarian dishes /snacks.

A certain steamed egg preparation was eaten much before addition of omelette (popularly known as Pola). The steamed egg preparation named “Andyache Vaffole” 
gets its name from being steamed (whipped eggs poured over julienne onions, chopped chillies, coriander and sprinkled with turmeric, salt and steamed in a flat vessel). It is a quick simple dish that can be eaten with jowar bhakri or chapati.

The egg dishes eaten in meals range from Egg curry to Egg masala to Stuffed Eggs to Eggs on bed on vegetables to Egg Rice.

Egg curries (Kalvan in Marathi) are varied as per regions like malvani, kolhapuri (with coconut base), khandeshi Savji(very spicy) are made mostly with boiled eggs but some households make the curry with egg directly to the simmering curry that makes the curry thick too and the egg yolk in this curry is awesome to eat.

Egg Masala are thick gravy (sauces) with boiled eggs added. The dry Masala (spiced mix) with roasted coconut, onion, poppy seeds mixture is stuffed in the eggs and generous addition of thick gravy while cooking.  

These egg dishes again take the regional flavour of coconut (malvani /kolhapuri), peanuts (kolhapuri, vidharbha, puneri) as one of the main ingredients.

The common household makes egg pakoda (with spiced gramflour batter)

egg pola (type of omelette with chillies, onion, coriander), egg bhurji (spiced scrambled egg)  and also use the beaten egg to coat chunks of meat or poultry (fried mutton/chicken), liver (fried chicken or mutton liver), Maratha chicken chops (marinated with spices, egg, rice flour). 

One of my favourites is  “Kandya varche Ande”....heat oil, add cinnamon, cloves. Add julienne cut onions and sauté till well cooked, add turmeric, chilli powder & either of maratha/malvani/khandeshi masala. Stir well, Break egg on bed of this mixture & steam for 5 minutes.

Recipes are so varied for these egg dishes that it will not be possible to add them here. You can browse the net for “maharashtrian egg dishes”.   

Rajasthan - street & highway food

 

Rajasthan is known for its food and the Marwari clan has popularized it further. Most of Rajasthan was desert & barren in the earlier days post freedom. But a decade later the then prime minister after a visit to Israel advised the state to sow Acacia (commonly known as Babool, Ker (Capparis in English), sangri (botanical name Prosopis Cineraria) tree seeds so that the sand storm effect is reduced and there will be productivity form these trees once they grow. It worked and today you can see the barren lands-desert areas strewn with these trees adding some green to the landscape plus food for the locals.

Ker Sangri is the most popular vegetable dish in Rajasthan and it is made in variety of ways in households, street dhabas and restaurants. Ker are berries and sangria are bean like pods both dried and then used.

Talking of food while travelling from Jodhpur to Jaisalmer via Bikaner one cannot find many dhabas on the highway but the few available do serve the local staple of kersangri ki sabzi, daal baati churma, chaas the least.

The typical breakfast consists of Bajra roti with Lahsun Chutni (pearl millets & garlic).
This garlic chutni is made with crushed garlic, mustard oil, pink salt and little jaggery. Hot roti with this fiery chutney wakes you up to the core. The Pyaaz kachori (Fried pastry filled with spicy Onion herbs filling) 

is a snack originated from Jodhpur, is eaten any time of the day but having for breakfast while sipping Nagori Chai  is heavenly. The pyaaz kachori comes in two sizes – a single 70gm piece of 4inch dia and a regular halwai kachori 100gm of 7inches. The breakfast is filling and one can travel for 3 hours nonstop.

   Shri Mishrilal Lassi in Jodhpur clock tower market is a must visit. We had kulhad makhaniya lassi, chilled – moderately sweet-thick and fresh in taste just for Rs.30.

Tea stops are a must on the highway. Nagor is a village where Nagori breed of cattle is found (buffalo /cow stables) & hence milk business boomed from there. As a bi-product you will find shops selling lassi (5-6 types), rabdi, barfi, chaas & of course tea. The name Nagori Dairy is found in many places in India, owned by the Rajasthani clan. The Nagori Tea (different flavours – masala, elaichi, haldi, sunth) is famous all over India.  Tastes great when sipped from a kulhad (mud cup). One can find shops serving Nagori Puri Halwa or Nagori sabzi puri halwa combo  The crispy puris are made from maida/sooji (semolina) & ghee and the halwa af course from the coarse sooji. Awesome to say the least, it is a feast.

For meals as mentioned earlier,  KerSangri ki sabzi  with roti is enough to satiate one’s hunger. 

The more hungry can go in for Daal Baati Churma 
 Baati (little dough balls made from flour, ghee, milk and then roasted in pit fire.), a war time preferred food in Mewar of olden days has now become popular all over and is eaten in a typical way – crush the baati & pour pure ghee on it, add spiced Panchmel Daal (5 lentils) and mix to eat with hand. Delicious! In addition to this Churma (an accidental invention by cook when he poured sugarcane juice on roasted baati) made by crushing baati sweetened with jiggery. Daal Baat Churma is the signature dish of Rajasthan.

The other local flavours are available in the form of Gatte ki Saag (chickpea flour dumplings). This originated early as there were no veggies available so this was the staple food fo Rajasthan then. Now it is served from household to 5 star hotels. It is best eaten with roti or plain steamed rice. The spices vary in different eateries along the highways junctions or small towns.

For the meat lovers, I recommend the Laal Maas 
& Nagori Mutton Laal maas is mutton cooked in chilly & herbs paste, spicy. Nagori Mutton has the unique flavour of Nagori Kasuri Methi. Both the dishes can’t be had enough, they are nastyly tasty.

The street eateries serve mirchi bada (jodhpuri mirch)   Green Large chillies stuffed with salty spices, coated with gram flour batter & deep fried. Big time pakoda to have at hi-tea time. Add to this the Kingsize Samosa   (typically they add chutni to the potato stuffing) with a totally different in taste than the Punjabi Samosa, these are spicy, tangy, sweet tickling the taste buds and leave you asking for more. Don’t forget to have Nagori Chai.

This culinary experience on the streets makes you think that why go to exotic restaurants to eat when so much is on display On The Way, ready to be gorged upon.!

UNEXPECTED TIMES 2020-21......CORONA part3

 

Part 3

On the citizen’s home front, the Pandemic taught the world many things that we knew but did not follow or value or bothered in our daily grind to earn –learn. Initially 1^st lockdown was fun for many as it was thought it is temporary. People enjoyed togetherness, playing household games, watching movies at home, cooking (poor housewives had no respite as demand for snacks- nibbles increased)......it was a Khao Piao Aish Karo phase. Romance bloomed with the couples, families bonded, parents found time for their children (a great factor in today’s life).

New normal of washing hands for 20seconds, using sanitizer after hand wash, spraying sanitizer on ant material received from outside, wearing face mask while going out, in some cases hand gloves were also worn while going out. Societies sanitized the premises one to thrice a day depending on severity as per media news.

Then came the 2^nd lockdown for 31days and reality started sinking in. Fun factor reduced and worry was just beginning to show its face. No work left many people bored, frustrated. Husbands started helping wives in their household work (Big Change in many families), kids still enjoying their holidays while mother toiled. As there were no markets open, home delivery of groceries, vegetables, dairy products was the in-thing. The new normal was of allowing the material to rest near the door for 4 hours after spraying with disinfectant. It was a huge exercise as one had to wash vegetables, fruits in disinfectant solution, dry them and then put in fridge.....a job spread over 3 hours. This job plus the daily household chores were keeping people busy at home.

Students were now put on online education mode. This was new to all (teachers, students & mainly parents). The exams were online. The daily classes were online and it was one sound constant during this lockdown /unlock period that was spot on at 930am and went on till 3pm. I learned many things that I ignored during my school days, with the conversation –teaching of teachers falling on my ears. It was fun initially but then after few months I got bored of studies as usual. The worst part was all mothers had to compulsorily sit thru the classes to keep track of what teacher instructs and then take the homework after that. Some fathers did take part. I am sure parents will be more educated (refreshed education) after this Pandemic ends

As the lockdown kept extending the frustration increased. There were frequent tiffs among the family members, irritation between couples (one is not used to see the same face 24/7) due to each other’s habits that came to fore front during these 68 days (1632 hours of continuous togetherness...ufff), kids glued to mobile phones and no one bothered to shut out as there was nothing else to do (nowadays digitalization has kept away books, card or board games), talking to each other is thing of the past with family members chatting on whtsapp within the house....ridiculous culture.

 

I remember Gurus say " self motivation is best motivation".....fck it sucks ! See how Covid destroys the saying. They say:

Try socializing: Covid cuts it off.

Go for a walk: covid restrictions cut off your oxygen.

Do hobbies: i have done them to death in lock down.

Cuddle: tried doing it by remaining 6ft away.

Smile often: behind mask ? No one notices. Your cheeks ache.

Be positive: this word is dreaded in covid period.

Talk with people: all on mobile so no conversation.

Do what you like: nothing can be done in social distancing…

Listen to music: finished listening from 40's to 70's. After that no music its mostly noise.

Ab batao kuch hai self motivation ke liye ?

 

The Covid19 patients were increasing daily and control was not happening. Vaccines were nowhere in sight. With the economy halted, government opened up certain sectors from 1^st June’20 Unlock 1. These unlocks kept on happening phase wise till today 11^th Unlock on April2021. Many industries limped back but Hospitality & Travel trade were totally ignored by the government and the tourism industry that was in the first 5 earners for the country lost its bearings and the people related to this trade were jobless, penniless, working as vegetable vendor or delivery boys, executives looking to alternate work with not much of success. Professionals & Vendors connected with this industry were helpless. Almost 60% units closed down, travel agents just shut shop as no business. Imagine plight of people with EMI and other financial burdens /liabilities, families to feed and no solution in sight. The industry that fed the country had no one to feed them!

The “Unlock11” or “Break The Chain” as it is named was done to arrest the growth in number of patients/ In this pandemic the public in general has been very irresponsible when it was required at later stages of the Pandemic. People gathered, crowded in markets, wore mask on their chins, some did not wear mask, social gatherings like Kumbh Mela, Prayer meets, Election meetings are happening, SO how does one expect the COVID19 to go away ?

As of April2021 the total Affected people number stands at 1.59cr with recovered number at 1.34cr. Still active cases 22.9lakhs. Long way to go.

To end this article my advise  “Mask Up”

For fun sake & to end on lighter note, Because of mask I have:

1.Stopped eating raw onions

2.Started drinking 30 ml less as after drink vapour is good enough for the road.

3. No worry of yawwwning in a meeting

4. No issues about growing or removing mustache.

5. Freedom to twitch my lips while listening to some nonsense advise.

6. Freedom to smile at someone's stupidity without offending.

7. Started talking loudly sometimes to the point of sounding rude

8. At the same time lost the fun of whispering sweet nothings to someone.

9. Lost facial identity….it has its pros & cons though !

Mask up guys !!

 

UNEXPECTED TIMES 2020-21...CORONA part2

 

Part 2

This was the most difficult period experienced by many as there was uncertainty of job, business and health issues. The lockdown shut all work and the migrant workers had nowhere to go as no job, no salary and no shops open for food. Trains & public transport was halted and hence there was no choice but to leave their city of work. India saw the largest migration of workers and families within the country. Harrowing experience for many, long walks to their village back home. Large numbers of NGO were helping the needy but that was not enough. Government trying to bring sense of discipline but it didn’t work. Chaos prevailed.

I wrote a poem on the Corona

ना बिवी ना बच्चा, ना बाप बडा ना मैया

The whole thing is that

भैया सब से बडा कोरोनो भैया.

ईस कोरोना की ताकत तो देखो

पुरी दुनिया को नचाया

देखते देखते virus को फैलाया !

The whole thing is that

भैया सब से बडा कोरोनो भैया.

घरवाले बोलते कितना काम करोगे

कभी तो बोलो के हम घरपर रहेंगे.

पर कोरोना को देखो कैसे झटसे घरपे बिठाया.

The whole thing is that

भैया सब से बडा कोरोनो भैया.

सब नेता सोचे अलग पर मोदी सोचे सबसे अलग

सबकी सोचको लगाया लगाम

कोरोनने बनाया गुलाम.

The whole thing is that

भैया सब से बडा कोरोनो भैया.

दुनिया कि अब है फटी, population थोडी घटी.

वातावरण खुश हुवा क्युंकी pollution घटी.

कोरोनाने बजाई सबकी घंटी.

The whole thing is that

भैया सब से बडा कोरोनो भैया.

Lockdown lockdown हो गया

अब पैसा भी down होगा.

कोरोना को हराना होगा तो घर बैठना होगा

वरना फिरसे बोलना होगा…. The whole thing is that भैया सब से बडा कोरोनो भैया !!

 

The India’s workforce initially did Work From Home (WFH) but as the lockdowns extended many industries, corporate, hospitality units were forced to shut shop thereby laying off  employees. Bad times for employed & self employed, shopkeepers, travel trade, hotels-resort-restaurants, construction trade, industries.....in short all except IT industry (WFH), Large corporate /Banks (WFH wherever possible continued while some were laid off), medical & pharma industry, Food & Dairies, Hospitals, clinics. The picture was grim with people’s bank balance dwindling and some already bankrupt. The speed of disaster...68 days!  

The government had geared up and medical facilities (Covid centers) were being erected, permission to start new testing labs were given and were being opened at frantic speed, doctors and other medical staff worked 24/7, police were on toes all the time without rest and these were the segments that were working to Save India, selflessly. Salutations to them !!

I will not go into details of government efforts at all levels but yes some states were doing good while some struggled. Lack of facilities due to large number of patients was the problem. By the end of 31^st May’20 the patients were 1.82lakhs plus form 500 on 24^th March2020.