Happy New Year 2010

A new year, a new decade dawns and makes yesterday a history, a memory
Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning; but a going on cycle
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow
Let it be felt; I’ve made of it a happy year.

A very happy new year to all my friends and readers.

Vegetable Puffs

Around 4 O'clock trays of freshly baked puff's and samosas used to arrive at a popular bakery in Chennai. It was hard to resist the temptation. They flew off the shelf like hot cakes. Well, they had yummy pastries too, difficult choice!

I never realized it is such a simple procedure to make them and all we needed is an oven to bake them. So, you can imagine my state when I was baking my first batch of puff's. Now, it has become a common thing as my son enjoys them more than his mom.

I use Pepperidge Farm pastry sheets. They are available in the freezer section of regular grocery stores.

Pastry sheets
5 Potatoes
2 Onions
1 tsp Chili Ginger paste
Few Curry Leaves
Lemon Juice

Boil potatoes with salt and turmeric, peel and mash them well.

Take 4 tsp of oil in a skillet and make tadka (poppu) with ½ tsp mustard seeds, ½ tsp jerra and then add chopped onions, chili ginger paste and curry leaves. When onion turns translucent, add the mashed potatoes and mix well.

Check for salt and seasonings remove from flame. Add lemon juice and chopped coriander and mix well.

Keep the pastry sheets outside for sometime. Cut them in desired size, bite size or medium serving size. Place 2 spoon fulls of the curry on one half of the pastry sheet and fold it. Repeat the process for all. Wet your fingers and bring the edges together.
Spray PAM or grease a baking tray, place the stuffed pastry sheets and bake in a preheated (350 degrees) over for 20- 25 minutes or till the layers are crispy on the outside.

Serve warm with ketchup. Perfect as a starter or as a snack. Easier to prepare for a large group. Prepare the curry in advance and bake the puffs just in time for a starter. Do not re-heat puffs in micro oven, use a toaster oven for better quality.

The curry in puffs should be a dry variety with potato as a base. It can be tweaked to suit personal taste, by adding garam masala, certain vegetables like peas, peppers etc.

Majjiga mirapakayelu - Dried chilies

Sun dried green chilies that are soaked in sour curd are called majjiga mirapakayelu. These are the regular type without any stuffing. The whole procedure takes about 6 days, 3 days to soak and 3 good sunny days for drying. Prepare in bulk to last a whole year. A speciality side item, usually served with dal and rice as an accompaniment.

5 lbs Long Green chilies
1 Gallon Yogurt - curd
2 tsp Vammu

Make fresh curd and leave it outside for a day to make it sour. Add salt, turmeric and vammu and beat it well. Do not add water.

Wash and wipe green chilies and sun dry them till they are dry. Using a knife or a pin make small holes/slit on the green chilies at 2 places if they are very long.

Gently place the green chilies in a container with a lid. Add the beaten curd on top of the chilies and gently press on so all of them are immersed well in the curd. Set aside for 3- 4 days in cool dry place and gently turn the chilies once a day so that all of them are covered evenly.

On the 4th day, separate the chilies and the curd. Transfer the curd from the container into an aluminum tray and place the chilies on a polythene cover and sun dry them. At night place the chilies back in the curd in the aluminum tray. Repeat this process till the curd dries or for 2 days. Then discard the remand curd and sun dry the chilies till they are light and completely dried which will take about 2 - 3 good sunny days.

Use a napkin and wipe the curd that dried on the outside of the chili, by doing this the oil will remain clear after frying them. Discard any seeds that are loose. Store in an airtight container. They have good shelf life.

Heat couple of tsp of oil in a kadai and fry the chilies or medium/low heat till they are nicely done, be careful not to burn them. Drain on a paper napkin to absorb the excess oil. They are a good side dish with dal and rice.

Vegetable Dum Biryani

Slow oven or Dum has become one of the most refined forms of cooking in India. Slow oven means cooking on very low flame, mostly in sealed containers, allowing the ingredients to cook, as much as possible, in their own juices.
Whole fresh spices and herbs are used for flavoring. Saffron is used as a condiment to give color and special taste to the dish.
Dum biryani is prepared by marinating the vegetables pieces in plain yogurt, turmeric, cumin- coriander powder, chili powder and cooked only by the dum, or the baking process, which is done along with cooked rice. In the end, Dum food is about aroma, when the seal is broken the fragrance floats in the air.

4 cups Basmati rice
2 Potatoes
2 Carrots
1 Beetroot
2 cups Cauliflower flowerets
Handful whole Beans
2 cups Peppers (any color)
3 Onions
2 cups Mint
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
3 Green chilies
2 cups Curd
4 tsp Biryani masala
4 Bay leaves
2” Butter stick
4 Bread slices
Cashew nuts
Coriander
Pinch saffron

Chop vegetables in good big size. Boil beetroot in water for sometime in micro oven. This is to remove color from beetroot. Drain water and add to vegetables.

Cook basmati rice (1:2 water) in a rice cooker. Add couple whole elachi, cinnamon stick, cloves, salt and 2 tsp oil to the rice while cooking.

Marinate the vegetables pieces in plain yogurt, turmeric, cumin- coriander powder, chili powder for 15 minutes.

Take 4 tsp of oil in a skillet add shahi jeera, and whole masala items (star anise, mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, elachi) fry for a few minutes then add chopped onions, chilies, bay leaf and fry till the onions are translucent then add ginger-garlic paste, chopped mint and all the marinated vegetables along with the curd. Cook on medium flame till they are just about cooked. Add 4 tsp of biryani masala powder and salt and mix well and cook with the lid on for a few minutes more.

Transfer from the skillet to a baking casserole dish. Spread layers of vegetables and cooked rice alternatively and repeat till everything has been layered. Add a pinch of saffron to 2 tsp of water and sprinkle/spread on the rice. Add some butter or oil and cover with aluminum foil and cook in a preheated oven (350 degrees) for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven mix thoroughly and garnish with fried cashews, fried onions, fried bread and chopped coriander. Or saute 2 onions in 2 tsp of oil and spread on the rice before baking.

Raita or kurma is a good side dish with Vegetable Biryani. A one pot meal that is filling and healthy.
The difference between biryani and pulov is that while pulov may be made by cooking the items together, biryani is used to denote a dish where the rice is cooked separately from the other ingredients. Dum enhances slow cooking.

Longwood Gardens, PA

Magnificent gardens, spectacular horticultural display, refreshing fountains covered acres of pure and serene garden. High energy fireworks, rhythmic fountains and soothing music illuminated the night sky. A pleasure to the eyes and heart.

Baigan Bharta

A smoked eggplant is mashed and sauteed with mustard seeds, onion, tomatoes, various spices and oil and garnished with fresh coriander leaves. Fire roasting the vegetable yields a rich, smoky flavor.

3 firm medium Italian Eggplants or large Eggplants
3 large Onions
2 Green Peppers
2 cups Cherry Tomatoes
1 small can Tomato sauce
2 Jalapenos
2 tsp Ginger-garlic paste
1 tsp Garam masala
1/2 tsp Cumin-coriander powder
1 tsp Amchur
Coriander

Smear oil or spray PAM on the eggplant, spread an aluminium foil on a baking tray and BROIL in the oven at 350 degrees on HIGH for 45 minutes. Don't forget to make incisions on the eggplant with knife on all side to prevent the vegetable from exploding on high heat. This is easier when working on more than one eggplant.

Or roast the eggplants over a flame, a gas burner or directly on an electric element, turning frequently, until they are thoroughly charred and soft throughout. You will get that smoky undertone you can't get from baking the eggplants. Immerse in cold water for a few minutes, remove and discard the skin and mash the soft flesh to a smooth paste.

Take 4 tsp of oil in a large non stick vessel. Add mustard seeds and jeera then add chopped onions, ginger garlic paste, chopped jalapenos. Cook till the onions are translucent and then add cut peppers (green peas can also be added) continue cooking, stirring frequently, add turmeric, garam masala, cumin-coriander powder, amchur, salt, tomato sauce and cook for a few minutes. Now add the smoked egg plant and mix well, slit tomatoes or cut in half and add to the gravy. Gently mix, the heat in the pot will cook the tomatoes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add butter or oil according to taste.

Turn the flame to medium/low and cook till the oil separates and meld its flavors.

Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or roti or as a spread on bread.

Bellam Avakaye

A special pickle very personal to coastal Andhra. It is called bellam avakaye due to the presence of bellam(jaggery) in it, don't brush it off yet, the way it is prepared and amount of spices in it makes it a longing, mouth watering pickle. Kids love this as it is not too hot/karam and it has an addicting taste to it. A little lengthy process than our regular avakaye, but it has an excellent taste of it own! I promise you, you will not be able to buy it in any store. So, get started....

3 raw Mango – Hard and very sour
2 cups Mustard powder – ava pindi
1 cup Red Chili Powder
¾ cup Salt
1½ cup Oil - preferably Sesame\Till oil
2 tsp Fenugreek seeds
3 - 4 cups Jaggery

Traditionally "Collector kaye/mangoes" are used for this pickle, but since we can hardly find any variety, I personally did it with the regular mangoes that are really raw and green.

In a skillet fry the fenugreek seeds on low flame till they are nicely roasted. Keep aside.

Mustard powder can be made by dry grinding raw mustard seeds in a mill or a blender to a soft powder. 1 cup of mustard make more than a cup of mustard powder so, measure the powder before using.

Wash and dry mango. Cut mango length wise (making 4 halves) leaving the hard seed shell intact, remove the soft seed. Remove the fine film in the lining of the shell of the mango by scrapping with a knife and clean with a dry paper towel.

In a glass jar (do not use plastic with pickles) add mustard powder, chili powder, turmeric, salt and fenugreek seeds. Mix all the ingredients together. Then add oil and mix well. Now add the mango pieces and mix thoroughly. Set aside for 4 - 5 days mixing once a day. Use dry ladle to mix.

On the 4 th or 5th day remove the mango slices from the avakaye base and sun dry them separately. Mango slices on a cover and the avakaye base in the container for 4 - 5 days till the mango pieces completely dry. Cut the mango slices into smaller pieces and keep aside.

Depending upon the personal choice of sweetness, roughly about the amount of avakaye base , chop jaggery into small pieces. Transfer into a kadai and add 1/4 cup of water and bring to boil on medium heat stirring continuously. When it starts to boil and cook, test it to confirm if it has reached the correct consistency. Place a drop of the boiling liquid in a bowl of cold water, if you are able to bring it together like a ball, it has reached the stage. Remove and let the fumes settle down. Let it not cool too much, when it is still warm and in semi solid form transfer into the avakaye base and mix well. Add the cut mango pieces and mix well. Let it come to room temperature and transfer into an air tight container.

Bellam avakaye has a good shelf life. Keep away from moisture for long lasting pickle. This is a good side dish with white rice or curd rice.