Dahi Aloo (Baby Potatoes in a Tangy Creamy Curd Gravy)....comforting ain't it !!

"Comfort food is absolutely moving upscale."
~ Danny Meyer

The world has seen a lot in the last few months. Failed banks, frozen lending, bankruptcies...a stock market like a weary phoenix, rising from its ashes then plummeting again. In turbulent times like these, don't we all need a little comfort food?!

Comfort food, as it turns out, is a global phenomenon. A case in point-- When I am asked what is the one thing that I would want to eat to make me feel really comfortable and soothe my ruffled seams; without batting an eyelid I say Kadhi-Chawal ( Mildly spiced creamy chickpea-flour based curd gravy tempered with mustard and curry leaves, accompanied by plain steamed rice).

**For a variation of the 'kadhi' see this.

And what makes it comfort food?
It's our soul food and I think these are the kinds of food you hanker for. Something that you've had as a child, as a baby. Something that goes down easily. Something that will always be true.

We all have memories of a very special dish that we ate when we were kids. Every time we eat it we feel safe and warm. We are back home. Actually, we don't even have to eat it - just smelling it triggers happy feelings. It then, not just remains food-- it's the taste, the smells, the memories of home!

Studies suggest that comfort food applies the brakes on a key element of chronic stress.

Stress or no stress, at some point in our lives we all crave comfort food. Each kitchen has its own story to tell and its own set of comfort foods. Be it the country side or the huge mansions, the city or the hamlets....all have their fair share of foods/Sunday meals that bind a family together.

I remember how after a really l-o-n-g time when I was returning home from Florida, I called up mom from the New York airport only to request her to prepare my favourite kadhi-chawal, and nothing else but that. It wasn't that I had any issues with food in U.S. Infact it was only here, that I first did try Thai and Mexican. The best pizzas were at my office cafeteria...forget Dominos' or Pizzahut! Mac n cheese ...aah!

Applebees' and Red Lobster are still my reigning favourites when it comes to fun-food. Ybor street dotted with its varied cusine houses, lured me to try the Middle-east and Lebanese dishes too. Yes, I was in a cultural melting pot but oh! how I missed home food. (By home food I don't mean the stuff that Indian restuarants' in foreign land, dish out claiming to be Indian.)

However something is amiss at times....and you CRAVE it badly! Thats' soul food...a.k.a. comfort food...mom's cooking!

The dish I talk about here is only second to my all time favourite Indian Comfort Foods.

Its Dahi Aloo. Dahi= curd, Aloo= potatoes, in Hindi.

Dahi Aloo (Baby Potatoes in a Tangy Creamy Curd Gravy):

Ingredients-

250 gms baby potatoes,boiled and chopped in halves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 curry leaves
1 whole dried red chilli
1/2 tsp aesofoetida
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp ground coriander seeds/coriander powder
1 cup curd, beaten
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 cup water or less (depending on the consistency of the gravy)
salt to taste

Method-

In a wok, heat oil. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Once they splutter, add the whole red chilli and ginger-garlic paste. Add the boiled potatoes. Mix carefully.

Now add the turmeric powder, coriander powder and aesofoetida. Stir. Take care not to break the already soft potatoes.

Add the beaten curd and mix thorougly. Finally add water and stir. Season.

Cover and simmer for a minute, on medium flame.

Serve hot with steamed rice or parathas/chapatis.

Time-Off ...... & Panchmel Daal-Baati.

What a commentary on civilization, when being alone is being suspect; when one has to apologize for it, make excuses, hide the fact that one practices it - like a secret vice. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

No I ain't apologising nor am I offering any explanation. I know I have been away for some time....but to only replenish the spring within me that will never dry. I have taken time-off to retreat to my soul, my haven for rest. There are days in my otherwise chirpy & active life when solitude becomes a heady wine that intoxicates me with freedom. I am on a high !

Afterall its only in quiet waters that things mirror themselves undistorted.

My alone-time was not without people, yet not 'being' with them.....like the lotus flower that is amidst the muddy water yet is above it all....smiling to the sun...content being with itself.

How many times in our lives have we felt weary (not physically) about the fact that we have to keep appointments/dates, call so and so, greet, console, cheer, congratulate, finish the never ending list of to-dos, hit the gym, stay healthy, eat, cook, spend time with family and friends, go to church, play, seal deals, toil at the workplace,chill at a party.....et al.

And exactly how many times have we stopped ...shut the whole world out and be with thy ownself ?!! Its important....very important....for to be able to do all that we want to in our lives, we must take a break from all of 'it'. Trust me it works wonders. You are recharged...its theraupatic...and nothing beats this therapy. Talk to yourself....spend time with your own self, when we cannot bear to be alone, it means we do not properly value the only companion we will have from birth to death - ourselves.

And those who truly love you will help you with this. The highest task for a bond between two people: that each protects the 'solitude' of the other.

I am not trying to sermonize here, instead I am sharing with you all what I have attained in the past few days. I have been taking such "time offs"...for as long as I can remember...earlier it was more so unconciously and on hindsight I knew I was cut off from the universe when my mom used to ask me "whats wrong? has someone scolded you...or have you been hurt etc etc."; for she was worried her talkative darling was suddenly quiet.However she was instrumental in showing me the way to 'satsang'.

"Sat" means august and "Sang" means company.

These breaks became more evident when I started attending satsangs (translation: the company of learned men and women) every other Saturday. I am not someone who will renounce the world to attend religious gatherings for hours...infact I am not a religious soul. This particular satsang that I attended however was different...it did not stress that I had to pray everyday, or fast, or give offerings to Gods and Goddesses; it just suggested that I take time off to watch my deeds, my actions, my words, feel proud that He has created me, revel in the joys of humanity, respect myself for I am His child, truly love myself above all....for if I did that I would love all....this isn't selfish ...but selfless love.

I cannot put into words something that is so deep that it needs to be felt rather than heard/read.

By all means use sometimes to be alone. Salute thyself; see what thy soul doth wear.

~George Herbert

Keeping with the "simplicity" , I share with you this recipe. Its a typical Rajasthani dish, made from simple ingredients that the desert belt has to offer.
Rajasthani food was not created in a day. It evolved over the centuries of royal governance of the Rajput Maharajas for whom a lavish lifestyle and lots of good food was as important as collecting revenue from their subjects.
There is scarcity of water and fresh green veggies in the state of Rajasthan, so it is preferred to use milk, butter milk and butter in larger quantities to minimize the amount of water while cooking food.
Out of all the Rajasthani dishes, dal bati churma is perhaps the best known.

Panchmel Daal and Baati

Panchmel Daal:

This is a lentil curry comprising of five different pulses. Hence the name "panch" (five) "mel" (meeting) , meaning meeting of five varieties. It is highly nutritious and full of protein. Those of you who are watching your weight can binge on this without guilt...just skip the ghee/ clarified butter.

Ingredients-

1/3 cup split bengal gram/chana dal
1/3 cup toovar/arhar dal
1/3 cup masoor dal
1 tsp urad dal/split black lentils
1 tbsp whole moong/mung dal
3 teaspoons chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder/haldi
1 tsp coriander/dhania powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
3 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds/jeera
2 green chillies, slit
a pinch asafoetida/hing
2 tsp amchur/dry mango powder
2 tsp tamarind/imli pulp
3 tbsp ghee/clarified butter
salt to taste

Method-

Clean and wash the dals and add 4 cups of water. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles or till the dals are cooked.
In a bowl, combine the chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala with 3 tablespoons of water and mix well. Keep aside.
Heat the ghee in a pan and add the cloves, bay leaves, cumin seeds, green chillies and asafoetida. When the cumin seeds crackle, add the prepared masala paste and saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the cooked dals, amchur, tamarind pulp and salt and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the dal before serving and if required, add some water.
Serve piping hot.

Baati:

As the name suggests, baati in Hindi means a bowl, as this part of the dish resembles a bowl. For this you need thick ground wheat flour. If you’re getting freshly ground wheat flour , then you can specifically ask the person to grind it to make laddu bati ka atta.
If thick or mota atta is unavailable, you can go with the regular atta/whole wheat flour, but mix three cups of atta, with 1 cup of suji/semolina to make it thick, as that’s the consistency we need to prepare baati. Traditionally, baati is prepared on earthen ovens, with dried cow dung cakes burned as fuel.
However we will prepare it using the trusted oven/gas stove.

Ingredients-

3 cups – atta/whole wheat flour
1 cup – suji/semolina
1 cup – ghee/clarified butter
lukewarm water
salt

Method-

You need to make soft dough out of the atta and suji mixed with salt, ghee and lukewarm water.
Set aside for half an hour.
Make lemon sized round balls with the dough.
Bake them in an oven on 170 degrees C (approx), till it browns and forms a crisp crust.
Now, if you so desire you can roast it on the gas stove slightly with the aid of tongs, just so that the crust becomes crispier.

Dip in clarified butter/ghee, and serve with panchmel daal and mirchi ka achaar/pickled jalapenos/chillies.


Enjoy!

Malaai ki Subz ....from my Mom.

“ A good cook is one who not only makes great food, but makes food taste great with what is available at hand.”
-- My late Nani ji

(the greatest cook I have known from close quarters, followed closely by mum)

That’s my maternal grand ma for you. I have discussed at length about her in few of my earlier posts, like this one.
She was the first one who instilled in me the desire to enter the kitchen and cook up delicacies in a jiffy with local stuff, food that enticed all the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste and feel.

We talk about plating dishes now, but she had taught her daughter and grand-daughter about presentation a long time ago. You would want to eat all that she dished out.

My mother being her direct descendant has inculcated the same skills and has obviously (like all future generations) has improved upon them. This is one such dish—
Malaai ki Subz.

I don’t know how many of you out there, collect the malaai (cream) of milk; like my mom I have been in the habit of collecting the milk’s cream/malaai.
It serves two purposes…
1) this makes the milk you drink comparatively less in fats.
2) also, you don’t have to but tetra packs of fresh cream , when you have it in your fridge at all times.

Like most of my dishes this one too has a story. It was when I was in standard eleventh (I guess), when in my ever varying tween moods I had given impromptu invitations to two of my buddies for lunch, without even informing my mum( read designated chef).

Anyways I did surprise my mum with my two friends. I didn’t have to tell her that they would be staying for lunch, for in my home it was a given that guests would be fed as if there was a gala party. So while mum had made lunch only for me, she had to check the pantry and the fridge to come up with something quick for all of us hungry souls.

It was then that this subzi was born. It was made with malaai/ milk cream and some aromatic Indian spices. And with a few veggies thrown in, the malaai was well disguised (urrgghh ! how we hated malaai back then), and the dish lip smackingly good.

I made this dish today, for lunch, as I wanted something tasty yet simple with no elaborate preparations. After which I called mom to tell her that she has taught me so much while not actually saying a word. Thanks Maa!!




Malaai ki Subz
Ingredients-
4 tbsp malaai/milk cream
a pinch of cumin
2 tbsp chopped onion
1 medium sized potato, boiled and cubed
2 tbsp chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp carrot, diced
2 tbsp frozen peas
1 tbsp green bell-pepper/capsicum, diced
½ tsp ginger-garlic paste
a pinch of garam masala ( an indian spice mix)
½ tsp chopped green chillies
1 tsp cooking oil
salt to taste

Method-
In a wok, heat oil, and add cumin seeds. Once they splutter add the chopped onions and sweat them a little.
Now add the tomatoes, carrots, capsicum, peas and chillies . Add the ginger-garlic paste and garam masala. Add salt as desired. Cook covered for half a minute, stirring occasionally.
Finally add the boiled potatoes and milk cream. Stir well.
Serve hot with parathas/ chapattis.

I share this with Mahimaa for her 15 minutes cooking event, and with EC for her WYF Quick Meal event.

Sweet Surrender--Nut 'n' Fruit Maalpua

"I prefer to regard a dessert as I would imagine the perfect woman: subtle, a little bittersweet, not blowsy and extrovert. Delicately made up, not highly rouged. Holding back, not exposing everything and, of course, with a flavor that lasts." ~Graham Kerr

Picture this, its 4.15 am here. I wake up just to drink water and end up writing this blog post (which incidentally I had decided would do tomorrow..err...today in the normal waking hours that is). Needless to say I am a blogoholic...but I ain't complaining.


I made this dessert yesterday. It was the result of visiting Jenn's blog sometime back,which had challenged bloggers to create a dish with the following three ingredients- bananas, rice, coconut (or coconut milk). This was for the Royal Foodie Joust, and the ingredients were given by Cynthia (of Tastes Like Home) who also is sponsoring the prize for this Iron Chef competition, her book My Caribbean Cookbook, Tastes Like Home.

How could I keep myself away from this challenge (especially because its my first one) !!








Indian cuisine is known throughout the World as a sweet cuisine because almost half of its dishes are either sweets or desserts. Actually, Indian sweets have made Indian food famous throughout history, and they have been accommodated to European and North American menus.



The 19th century renaissance in Bengal brought about a dramatic change in the lives of Bengalis in Calcutta. It is during this time that Calcuttans witnessed the birth of several sweetmeat shops.


And Calcuttans are notoriously known for their sweet tooth. Yours truly is a live example.

Food has always been a weakness for the Bengalis. Studying their food habits since the yester years you will be appalled to find the time and money they spent on food. They were never hesitant in throwing parties and if, for the sake of it, they had to exhaust all their wealth they never did mind. Not only in marriage ceremonies, any occasion to them was a party time (like almost all Indians) and in these parties lavish expenditure on food reduced many to a pauper.

Bengalis, like their brethrens from all parts of India, have been winners in all the delicacies they have presented to the world. Not just mutton, fish and vegetables but the variety of confections and array of fruit dishes have always overawed the gluttons of the world.

I present to you my version of the famous maalpua (luscious pancakes soaked in syrup).

Nut 'n' Fruit Maalpua

Ingredients-

For pancakes-

4 cups rice flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 cup dessicated coconut

2 ripe bananas, mashed to pulpy form

10-12 black peppercorns-- ( to add a little heat to the otherwise sweet dish)

3 tbsp golden raisins
5 tbsp chopped blanched almonds
1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 cup broken jaggery pieces, finely chopped/broken/ground-- (can substitute this with sugar )
2 cups lukewarm milk

1/2 cup or less tepid warm water-- (the heat helps in dissolving the jaggery pieces)

oil for deep frying

For syrup-

3 cups sugar

3 cups water

1 tsp cardamom powder

Method-
In a big bowl, mix well with a wooden spoon, all the ingredients for the pancakes (except water).

Then slowly add the water(as per requirement) to form a thick batter of pouring consistency.

Note: The batter should not be too viscous, it should be slightly thinner than a cake batter, but not too thin.

Prepare the syrup by boiling together the sugar and water. Add the cardamom powder. Once the syrup is soft ball consistency (that is ek-taar or single thread consistency). Remove from heat.

In a deep bottomed pan, heat oil to smoking point. Reduce the heat to medium flame.

Now, using a ladle pour the batter carefully, one at a time into the hot oil.

Tip: I suggest use half full ladles to make small pancakes as they are easier to manage and don't take long to cook.

Deep fry. Once cooked/browned take out from the oil and dip straight into the syrup.

Repeat the process, till all the batter is used. Let soak in the syrup for a couple of minutes.

For serving- lift the pancakes out from the syrup carefully and place them on a plate. Garnish with flaked almonds. Serve while still warm for optimum taste.

The maalpua will be soft and spongy in the middle while crsip on the edges, with syrup oozing out each time you dig in with your spoon.

The bananas make it moist while the coconut and dried fruits add the nutty flavour. Ofcourse the peppercorns innundate the sweetness while the fennel enhances the aroma alongwith the cardamom.

A truly royal bengal treat! :p

A Request- If you guys liked this recipe, I would request you to vote for this dish, on the FoodieBlog Forum, once the voting starts for this month's January '09 Joust here.