Chakri

Crunchy and lightly spiced , it ticks all the boxes of a great tea / coffee time snack!

Recipe courtesy : The Gujarat Cookbook by Kanchan G Kabra

Rice flour - 1&1/2 cup

Maida / all purpose flour - 1/2 cup

Salt

Chilli powder - 1 tsp

Til seed / ellu - 1 tbsp

Ayamodakam / ajawin / carom seeds - 1 tsp

Curd (not very sour) to knead

Oil for deep frying

Mix all the dry ingredients together and use the curd to knead a smooth dough.

Keep aside covered for half an hour.

Make chakris using the chakri machine.

Deep fry in hot oil.

Cool and transfer to a dry air tight container.

Rajma Chawal / Kidney Beans curry

A staple of Punjab. Rajma or red kidney beans are cooked in a spicy tomato gravy and served hot with white rice and ghee.
Chawal means cooked rice.
I am sure there are many versions of this tasty dish, but this recipe was given to be by a lady from Punjab. This is how her family makes it. So this is how I make it!!
Recipe Cortesy : Mrs. Rani Sethi

Ingredients:
Rajma / red kidney beans - 1 cup , washed and soaked overnight
Onion -1 large , chopped fine
Garlic -3 pods , chopped fine
Ginger -2 inch , chopped fine
Green chilli -2 , chopped fine
Tomato -3 , chopped
Salt
Turmeric powder -1 tsp
Chilli powder -1 tbsp
Jeera -1 tsp
Vegetable oil -2 tbsp
Ghee / clarified butter -2 tbsp

Spices :
Black cardamom - 1
Cloves - 3 or 4
Bay leaf - 2
Pepper corn - 10
Star anise - 1
Red chilli - 3
Cinnamon stick - 1

Method:
Heat the ghee and oil together and start by spluttering the jeera.
Then add all the spices together.

After 30 seconds of frying, add the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chilli.

Fry on a low flame till the onion starts getting golden brown.
Make a well in the centre.
Then add the salt, turmeric and chilli powder. Mix well. Or the chilli powder will get a burnt smell.

After 30 seconds add the chopped tomato.

Cook till the tomato skin starts peeling and the tomato gets mashed.
Then add the drained rajma beans.
Do NOT throw away the water used to soak the beans in.
Keep the soaked water aside to be used later.
Mix the rajma with all the masala and fry for 1 minute.

Now add the drained water (the water level must be 1 inch above the beans) and mix well.

Pressure cook for 5 whistles and reduce flame. Continue cooking for 15 more minutes.

Once the pressure releases, open the lid and DO NOT STIR.
You will see that a lot of spices are at the top.
Remove the whole spices.

Boil and cook the curry again on low heat for 5 minutes.

Serve hot with rice and with a dollop of Ghee (clarified butter) on top!

Tomato thokku / tomato pickle

Spicy tomato chutney which stays good for days!

Ingredients:

Tomato - 10 medium

Salt

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Chilli powder - 2 tbsp

Gingelly / til oil - 3 tbsp

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Red chilli - 2, broken

Curry leaf - 1 sprig

Asafoetida powder / kayam - 1 tsp

Optional:

Garlic - 3 pods, grinded

Ginger - 1 tbsp, chopped fine

Green chilly - 2, chopped 

Jaggery - 1 tbsp

Method:

Grind the tomato without adding any water and keep aside.

Heat the oil and splutter the mustard seeds.

Next add the split red chilly, asafoetida powder and curry leaf.

Optional step - Add ginger, garlic and green chilly, if using. Fry till the ginger pieces turn golden brown.

Now add the tomato paste, salt, turmeric powder and chilly powder.

Cook till all the water evaporates.

Taste and add the jaggery (if using). Mix well.

Cool and transfer to a clean container.

Mango Pickle

Summer season = Mango season.
Pickling time!!

This recipe is a blend of 2 recipes given to me by Mrs.Safeena Harris and my grandmother (late) Mrs.Lakshmi Suryanarayanan. So I have added some and deleted some ingredients and married the 2 recipes into a perfect one loved by my family.

Ingredients:
Green unripe mango - 4 large
Salt - 3 tbsp
Green chilli - 10, slit (optional)
Chilli powder - 3 tbsp or more depending on your spice level
Coriander seeds  - 2 tbsp
Pepper corn - 2 tbsp
Methi seeds / uluva / fenugreek - 1 tsp
Asafoetida powder - 1 tbsp
Gingelly or Coconut oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tbsp
Curry leaf - 1 sprig (optional)

(I got 5 cups of cut mango)

Cut the mango into small pieces and add the salt and slit green chilli (if using) to it. Mix well and keep aside for 6 - 12 hours.
Drain the water which oozes from the mango.

Mix the chilli powder, coriander seeds, fenugreek / methi seeds and pepper corns to this and mix well.

Splutter the mustard seeds in the oil. Turn off flame and add the asafoetida powder to it. Also add the curry leaf , if using.

Cool the oil and mix it into the mango pickle.

Place this pickle under the hot sun for 1 -2 days and enjoy.

Chakka Pradhaman / Jack fruit Payasam

Sweet Jack-fruit preserve is mixed with coconut milk and then garnished with nuts and fried coconut.
Yummy yum!

Made using Chakka varatti, this was a sort of 'instant' sweet / payasam of the old days!
The fact that it still takes nearly an hour to prepare, makes it non-instant in today's modern world!!
Watch the vlog made on making this tasty payasam.

Chakka varatti

I always have 'chakka varatti' / jack-fruit jam at home, thanks to my mother and for this year's Vishu (Kerala New Year) , I made Chakka Prathaman.

Ingredients:
Chakka Varatti - 1/2 kg
Coconut milk - 3 cups thin and 1 cup thick **
Jaggery - 1 cup

Garnish:
Ghee - 2 tbsp
Cashew nuts - 2 tbsp
Dry coconut (copra) cut into pieces - 2 tbsp
Elaichi ( I avoided) - 2, powdered

**To make the coconut milk:
Grate 1 large coconut or 2 small ones.
Put this into the blender and grind using 1/2 cup water.
Pour the ground mixture into a sieve and press to remove 1 cup of thick milk. Keep this aside.
Put the squeezed coconut into the mixer again and now another 1 cup of water.
Blend it and strain again to extract milk.
Repeat till you get 3 cups of thin coconut milk.

Method:
Start by melting the jaggery and sieving it to take out all the stones / debri.
Then add the chakka varatti to it.

Now mix this chakka varatti well till the mixture becomes smooth.

Cook this mixture for 5 minutes and then add the second thin coconut milk to it.

 (notice the color difference)

Now you must cook the mixture till it becomes quite thick. 

You cannot cook after adding the first thick coconut extract.

So the trick is to cook down the mixture till it becomes quite thick. Thick enough that if you add 1 cup of liquid, it will become dilute but not too runny.

When the coconut milk and chakka varatti cooks down to your desired consistency, add the first coconut milk and turn off flame.

Garnish with fried coconut and cashew nuts.

How to preserve and use asafoetida slab

Asafoetida is the sap of a tree.
It has a strong aroma and gives a beautiful flavor and smell to many dishes.
It is used as a replacement for onion and garlic in many satwik dishes.

Asafoetida comes both as a powder and as a solid piece.

Even though the powder is easier to use, the smell and flavor of the raw solid asafoetida cannot be replaced.
I have tried to explain how to use the chunks and also how to prevent it from becoming a rock hard solid on exposure to air. The solid mass has to be preserved properly or it breaks into glass like sharp pieces when broken into pieces. 

Just transfer the pieces of asafoetida to a plastic container with lid (Remember : you cannot reuse the plastic vessel after using it to store this pungent spice!) and place a green chilly with it.
If your asafoetida is already hard, no need to fret, keep the green chilly inside and in a day or two, it become pliable.

The moisture from the green chilly will soften the asafoetida, but the green chilly will dry. Simple Osmosis.
Remember to replace the green chilly when it starts to dry.

Tip: use this chilly in your dal or sambar for extra flavor!

How to use?

Some recipes like sambar and rasam do not require you to fry and add the asafoetida powder. Just add a small piece in and it will melt and mix in with the curry. But some recipes ask for powdered asafoetida. Then this is what you must do.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and fry a piece of the asafoetida in it. It will expand.

Press hard on it so that the insides also become crisp.

Keep the flame medium.

Once it becomes golden brown, then take it out and allow to cool.

Powder and use as necessary.

Risotto di Pinoli Limone / Risotto with lemon and pinenuts

Risotto with lemon and pine nuts......Hmmm....
Something like our South Indian Lime rice?
Tasted similar ; but different!

Risotto is a 'labor of love'. But this recipe is easy and gives a quick makeover to left over rice.

I added Zucchini with the rice, as I had it with me. But cucumber can be used in it's place.

I used 'al dente' or 'not fully cooked' rice - left over from my fried rice made the previous night.

* If your rice is well cooked, then omit the stock / water completely and be careful with the stirring.

This is how I made my tangy risotto.

Ingredients:
Cooked rice - 2&1/2 to 3 cups
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Pine nuts - 2 tbsp
Garlic - 1 tbsp, chopped
Onion - 1 small, chopped
* Stock or water - 1 cup
Zucchini / cucumber - 1 small, cut into thin strips
(I used a peeler to make ribbons with the zucchini)
Capsicum - 1/2 large, cut into thin strips
Lime juice - to taste (nearly 1 medium one)

Garnish :
Parmesan shaving
Basil leaves  (optional)

Heat the olive oil and butter together.
Fry the pine nuts till golden. Keep aside.
Into the same oil, add the onion and garlic.Cook on low flame till onion becomes transparent.
Now add the vegetables (zucchini and capsicum) and fry for 30 seconds or till it starts to wilt. They must not brown.
Add the stock / water and bring to a boil.
Add salt and cooked rice.
Once the water gets absorbed add the lime juice and mix well.
Serve hot with Parmesan shavings, pine nuts and basil leaves on top.