happy friday thoughts!

• What joy when you start your day with the perfect tea! I suck at making my own tea. Everyday, something is amiss or in excess. So I made my own perfect tea today, with the right amount of adrak (ginger), sugar, milk and tea powder! yay! You have no idea how important it is to get your tea perfect, early in the morning.

• Another friend has given birth to a healthy baby girl and I am filled with more joy! Of course, I have to wait for next 6-7 months to be actually able to play with her. Because, I am terrified at the thought of handling infants. I am pretty sure I will hold them incorrectly and do something awful. sigh.

• I learnt and made an amazing new, fun chutney yesterday! A kashmiri friend posted it on facebook (not sure if its a kashmiri recipe though!) Take anar dana (pomegranate seeds), add lime juice, chaat masala, brown sugar, fresh ginger (all based on your instincts and according to taste, its a chutney after all!) and grind them together, till a coarse paste is formed. Add salt to taste. Serve it chilled with a dash of spring onions and cilantro (my addition to the chutney). Tastes yum, looks healthy and appetizing! My version without a mixer here - http://instagram.com/p/OrOAylLv_C/
• Even though this is a happy thoughts post, I will share my latest pet peeve. People/girls/boys who create a physical mess on the kitchen counter and don't give a damn about cleaning it up later! If I leave aside the one or two times, that one may actually be feeling lazy/under the weather to do the cleaning immediately, I don't understand why one would leave things in a state of mess! Again, I know why I am like this! Since bachpan (childhood) I have been taught/trained (later expected to) finish work at hand, including the side jobs. And I have seen aai making sure everything was tidy and in its place in the kitchen, after all the chores were done. (these are remote factors in making sure I completed my studies/courses. Despite the urge to leave things halfway/undone during grad school. Its a compulsive need now!).

• Also everyday my belief in the fact that people who don't know you (or don't want to spend the effort in knowing you) get intimidated easily/talk behind your back easily. I do not mind it. A bit. The only thing I am happy about is, if you do not want to know me and rather be intimidated by me, you should also realize that its beneficial for me, cos I no more have to deal with close minded people (:P) (tanvi has done a super post here on a related note!)

• And how talented is Ranbir Kapoor! <3 <3 

~nightflier

cooking with constraints

So today around 12 PM baba declared that there would be no routine menu for lunch, but instead we will eat chicken Biryani. Of course I was to make, considering aai is not well and I have become the official non-veg cook of the house given the fact that aai is a vegetarian. 


So we had 2 big constraints today. 
1. Time. It needed to be done in 2 hours, given the tempers/annoyance at home which rise with the level of empty stomach-ness.
2. No mixer/blender. The one we had which was a family relic from 1984* broke down last Sunday. And now its not worth the repair/maintenance cost. So until I make a decision to buy one, the house will be without any mixer.


As I was racking my brain as to what my POA should be, that I remembered this recipe, a friend had shared long time back! I distinctly remembered it being a Keralite preparation sans any coconut or coconut milk (an ingredient which was not in my kitchen).

Thalassery style dum biryani!

So I took that recipe and only changed 2 things. I did not marinate the chicken. Instead put some cuts in the pieces after cleaning them, so that the spices could infuse better. Also did not have mint leaves, so added curry leaves to give a nice aroma.


Here is the instagrammed pic! 
Tasted yum!!! I guess I am ready to try more south Indian preparations.


~nightflier


* I first brought it with me from home, when I started living with friends. When I moved to the US it got transferred to bro's house. Now that we are living together, it was good to have a machine we grew up with in the house! :D

out of the comfort zone

Living with brother, the one thing in my life which changed a lot was 'time I spent cooking'. Well in India, getting maids for cooking is handy and reliable too!


So the previous 4 years habit of, when I was living on my own, working, studying and still finding out time to cook and eat healthy food changed gradually. Initially I would insist on making subji or some minor side dish, just out of a compulsion. It did take a really long time and lectures from brother, over 'how I eat really bland (read non spicy) food compared to him'. And then my cooking got reduced to weekends (specially for curries), further ahead only when the maid was on leave.


And its not that I did not like 'not cooking'. In a way I got more free time to do other things, read books, bring work at home (:P), watch tv etc etc.  But I did grab every opportunity to cook that came to me.

cooked italian style and later eaten with
loads of grated cheese!

So this past week and the coming week, the maid's on leave. I have been cooking evening meals since last Saturday. I have made bhindi, methi, palak, dosa, kadhi, khichdi, roti etc etc since then. And I am feeling comfortable in this new schedule. Packed end to end and stretching my daily limits. Looking forward to sweating it out in the kitchen. And I am sure once my mojo is totally back, I will try more fun stuff, the way I had gotten used to, as a student and working girl.  


The only dilemma is saying bye bye to the maid. I mean imagine I telling her, 'you cannot continue work with us because I really like the job you do. Of course having you around is a comfort, because that way I can bring work home, do random things. But miss out on some thing I really enjoy.' I am not sure how she would react to this. Not only this, but firing someone for no mistake of theirs is the second tough job I see here. 


Both tasks out of my comfort zone. And hence strangely attracted to them.


Of course we can get a new maid/ask old maid to come back, if all this extending zones takes a toll. But worth trying, right ?


~nightflier

Pickled aaloo

Stumbling upon recipes while reading chic-lit is most serendipitous! 
The Indian summer in its full glory does sap you out of a desire to eat a proper meal. And even adding zingy salads, to the menu has not been helping me.


While reading her book I came across a very desi (Indian) aaloo (potato) dish. I got all excited to bring it to form. From words to my kitchen. 


Ta-dah!


Lets just move to the recipe:
* Boil potatoes, depending on number of people. I boiled 5 small ones for 2. Try to keep them a little uncooked so as avoid mashing later on.
* Once boiled and cooled, cut the potatoes in big square chunky pieces.
* Heat a dollop of butter (the goodness!) in a pan and add the potatoes to it.
* Sprinkle salt and a generous amount of chaat masala. Improvisation on my part - I added pani puri masala and aamchoor (dry mango/kairi powder) as did not have any chaat masala.
* Gently toss the mixture and let the potatoes turn brown.
* Improvisation number 2 - Add finely cut green pepper (mirchi) and cilantro (coriander leaves).
* Now the awesome secret of the recipe. Add any achaar (pickle) masala to this and mix well and let it simmer for a while. I added mango pickle masala. Any other should work too.


Serve hot! Rather eat from the pan the way I did :D

butter is the key!

Mom special - II

After almost 2 years I called up aai early in the morning and asked her for her recipe of Dhirda (marathi dosa). (Mom Special I)
[clarification : I call up my folks everyday. Early morning calls are rare.]


And I am going to share the recipe here!
A little background. I was as usual alone over the weekend and did not want to indulge in elaborate cooking, as I was bored, so I decided to make Maharashtrian (marathi) style dosa (pancake :D). Called up aai to confirm the how-tos and voila!


Pre-Preparation: Soak Moong daal (the one with covering and not the sprout but the lentil) along with some Chana (gram) daal, some rice. Ratio should be 1 bowl moong daal : 1 tea spoon chana daal : 1 tea spoon rice.


Ingredients:
Wheat flour (and/or maida)
Cilantro/coriander leaves
Chilli pepper - according to taste
Curry leaves (kadi-patta)
Cumin seeds (jeera)
Garlic cloves -2/3
Salt
Veg Oil/Olive oil/Ghee


Preparation:

1,2 and 3 in pics!

1. Soak the various daals together for 2 hours or more.
2. Make a fine paste of the soaked daals with the cilantro, pepper, cumin seeds, garlic cloves and curry leaves, in a mixer/grinder.
3. Add the wheat flour (1 table spoon) and/or maida (1 tea spoon) and salt. Mix well. 
4. On a heated pan pour very little oil (5-6 drops) or ghee, and spread the dosa (pancake).
5. Serve with any chutney, tomato sauce! Very filling and healthy!

the dosa like pores mean its well done!

One can add Spinach or eggs to make it even more fun! I did not cos I did not have both :D
This used to be aai's and my favorite after school snack, because for her it meant less prep time and for me dosa at any time!
Kicked to have made it on my own today. Such a homely feeling :D


-nightflier

the cooking lessons

Few days back I was staying with a pregnant friend as she was advised bed rest and needed some help in daily chores in the absence of her husband.


I cooked a lot in those 3 days. Making breakfasts, lunches, dinners, tea/coffee/milk shakes and the likes. In between all the cooking friend continued giving her two cents in the form of instructions or telling sometimes 'this is how I do it' not at all sounding smug but more out of a compulsive need to make sure her kitchen was in good hands and being taken care of. Well, like an obedient guest cook I obliged and ended up impressing her more than I had ever hoped for. Because instinctively/unintentionally I was following aai. The way she is resourceful, fast, has back up plans and takes care of everyone's taste. 


And then I read Upasna's article and smiled. I always used to be a fussy, process following, fancy cook around aai in her kitchen (I used to watch a lot of cookery shows and even had one myself where the only audience was aai or sometimes brother). And she would say in the long run not always will you be able to keep up with your fancy ways. Being productive and efficient mattered more. Sounds like corporate lingo no ?


~nightflier


P.S. Upasna is a college senior and we are used to addressing seniors with a suffix 'didi'. So somehow addressing her by first name sounds super weird :D
(I am process/instruction following in other walks of life too :D)
Oh and like her I also ask aai to pray for me or wish something for me. She also believes that its hard for me but I do get things the way I imagine/want them. Its a strong belief that she has in me that I ask her to root for me, may be :D

of aaji, mamas and mamis

Since childhood we have had this tradition of meeting both sides of the family at least once an year. With baba's side all being pretty elderly and now family sizes growing with cousins getting married, and everyone dispersing and settling down, the meets are now normally confined to big family functions like weddings. Otherwise normally it used to be summers. With aai's side everyone being relatively younger and 2 of my mama's residing in the same house, the meets happen often. But with us (me and brother) growing up and moving away for education and jobs, for us the meets happen around Diwali. So this post is basically about the mother's side and the meets. The father's side and their stories for sometime later.
[Sometimes I have this compulsive need to be fair. I am pretty sure no one would have cared if the stories from father's side come or not! :D]


Ok one more fact, both sides of family are INTO food. They love cooking and indulging in the same.


So when my mama (mom's brother) saw me after more than an year, he was awed that how I am surviving by eating air - literal translation for hawa khana (remember I am infamously skinny). There are really few people with whom I don't really mind the banter on weight issues and who don't take things personally. So we immediately made plans to feed me. It started with the doodhwala, who brought us the most delicious homemade malaai wala dahi (curds). Apparently this guy has his own cow-farm and gets such delicacies on a regular basis. No wonder people go ga-ga about small towns and the fringe benefits.
I also ate with my mama in the same thali (plate) after ages! Normally I do have a habit of sharing my plate with baba at home, sometimes aai, little cousins who normally throw tantrums but eat well when sharing with an elder taai (sister), Rinku during hostel days and also when I recently visited her. It felt so wonderful to not start at the tv and eat but have a conversation with mami (mama's wife) pampering over us by serving piping hot chapatis and aaji (mom's mother) fussing over how I should eat this and then that. To tell the truth I couldn't take so much attention on a daily basis but it felt blissful during these 2 days!! :-)


We decided to make crab curry in the evening, but owing to my novice in cooking crabs, it was decided that we buy the crabs and get the curry done from someone. Now isn't this the most amazing way of cooking! :D
It was my second time eating crabs. Boy! it was such a hard work. We all were having dinner for like 1.5 hours! It seemed never ending. But crabs are the tastiest non-veg food ever! Worth all the efforts.

I feel kind of foolish not to have take a pic of
the original one.
*courtesy - google

But the highlight of the trip was the barbequed chicken curry that we made today! Shaukeen that my mamas are, they have a chullah (a movable one unlike in the pic) in the first story backyard. In their old house they had a permanent one and I can tell you stories about how we cousins used to fight over who should fire it and who should sit by it or help aajoba roast eggplants/papad. The connoisseurs of Indian food can appreciate the importance of the chullah and the taste food cooked on it gets.And even if you haven't eaten anything cooked on it I can guarantee you that its very different and super tasty! So our grand preparations started with getting the masala (blend of spices) right! We decided to go all rustic and be minimalistic with stuff and depend on the chullah's magical cooking for the taste! So we used all basic spices like daalchini, black pepper, badi ilaaychi, cloves first roasted with onions, dhaniya and dried coconut and then ground in a coarse paste. Firing the chullah and getting the right flame was the toughest task. Took us 15 minutes to make sure the flame was getting evenly spread and was not too smoky. Aai also helped us in coating a layer of wet soil over the cooking pan to make sure it does not burn. We roasted the masala in sufficient oil for almost 30-45 minutes, with a sprinkle of water from time to time (to make sure the masala did not burn or stick to the pan). Then the chicken was added and we let it cook for another 30-35 minutes, with occasional mixing and stirring. Then copious amount of water was added to get the not too thick gravy. Getting that consistency right is proof that how close one gets to the minimal and rustic theme. End results were super delicious! All worth the hard work. (again have no pics to share :-/)


And thus my hog-till-you-get-tired weekend came to an end. I have realized eating great food is *happiness*. And if you have the most jolly, fun, sarcastic company then the ride just gets better!


~nightflier

the lazy evening food!

Nope its not maggi. Bummer ?


It is the typical Maharahtrian pithla! When you trudge home every evening with that 5 kg back pack of yours and feel like eating something hot, tasty, filling, pithla comes in handy! Takes hardly 15-20 mins of time and is extremely delicious (if made the right way i.e.).


And since cooking has to be intuitive, I will give a little improvised and healthier recipe. Hope you like it.


Ingredients : 
gram flour (besan) - 3-4 table spoons (for 2 people)
pepper (green chilli) - 1-2 (depending on your spicy-ness quotient) - finely chopped
garlic cloves - 4-5 (the more the better) - finely chopped
curry leaves - 5-6 (this is a must!)
turmeric powder
cumin seeds
mustard seeds
oil (the more the better)
hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
salt 
spinach, cilantro - according to liking


Preparation :
Mix the gram flour, a pinch of turmeric powder and a little salt into a paste. This should not be very thick but liquidy. In a kadai (frying pan) heat oil to an optimum temperature (when the cumin seeds begin to pop i.e.). Add mustard seeds, hing, curry leaves and stir. Add garlic and once its a little brownish add green chilli. Once the chillies are a bit crispy, add a pinch of turmeric and then add the gram flour liquid (/paste) to the pan. Mix thoroughly. Make sure all the gram flour bubbles have been popped (I find it extremely fun to pop them :D)
Let this cook on low heat for 5-10 mins. Add salt and then add the spinach and cilantro. Din't I say it would be healthy ? The spinach just made it so!
Eat piping hot with rice. Any kind of papad add 5 more stars to your already yummy meal.


The attached picture is mutinous. But the end result is supremely delicious, palatable and filling! 

Hope you enjoy.


~nightflier

Mother's recipe!

Oh no no, this isnt a cooking post.

My parents had promised me a graduation gift and I just received a box full of home-made goodies.

Chiwda, laadoo, badam burfi (yeah Mother specializes in it!), paapdi, and few chutneys :D

The greatest thing is, Aai made everything at home! (Well the usual sob stories of how I dont get to eat anything she cooks). I just put down the phone to tell her that I received everything in excellent condition and how it feels like स्वर्ग सुख when I put anything in my mouth! 

Mother's day has just gone by. And I don't really believe in all these (though I wish her by default), but today I feel awed. At her tenacity, the hard work she puts into everything so that her kids get the very best, her resilience, tolerance, patience (specially raising a brat like me!), her faith, her un-possessiveness, and not feeling the necessity to poke us at every turn of lives so that we grow up to be us and not someone else!

I think its absolutely great! And when I grow up I want to be like you Aai!

Love,

~nightflier :)

facebook food-ism

I now officially have a thing against people who upload yummy food pics on Facebook. Its a horrible crime guys! Not because I cant have it, but because YOU have had it and now you are making fun of poor hungry people like me, who are munching on a milky-way and drinking 10th round of self made coffee cos, they are too tied up to cook! (and sometimes the dish/preparation in question is so complicated that, it cannot be cooked for a single person)


Despicable!


May be facebook should have a policy for uploading such revolting pics online. Looking at the pics, I feel like I am window shopping for candies. Now who does that ?


~nightflier


P.S. Bad database day today! And looking at the pics I realized, I havent cooked properly for days now! someone had to get the fury built up within, hence the rant :P

Mom special!

On a casual Jewel Osco visit, I found super fresh cilantro (kothimbir/sambar/coriander) judis neatly stacked. As any female would do, I quickly made my way to the aisle and smartly bought 2 of them. At the checkout I realized my secret (there you go!) resolution to not waste any food items, and my spirits sank (guess to my knees). 

A quick call to India, and aai told me to make Sambar wadis! (oh well, she was woken out of her deep slumber and she still managed to give me a detailed recipe as well :))

I made my own changes to the recipe (out of constraints) and voila!

Here's my recipe for low cal Sambar wadis!

1. All one needs is cilantro, washed, very well dried and finely chopped, some green peppers finely chopped, few raisins, few sesame (til) seeds, grated dried coconut, rai (mustard seeds), haldi, mirchi powder, salt.

2. To make the dough one needs some gram flour (besan) and maida as a binding agent (I did not have it, so I used wheat flour). I took both the flours 50-50. I put some hot oil (called as mohan) in the flour mixture and made the dough and set it aside.

3. The filling which was the cilantro/kothimbir sabji was made the usual way. Tadka of rai, green peppers, haldi, mirchi. And then the coconut, raisins and sesame seeds. And finally the cilantro and salt. Took me hardly 5 minutes. One can also add grated carrots and green peas. Makes it even more healthier.

4. Now I made small rotis of the dough and started filling them with the subji and shaped them like spring rolls (thats the traditional way). In the midst of all this, I forgot that I was almost out of cooking oil. Sheesh..

So I devised a work around (which my roomie had suggested earlier :P). I microwaved each wadi separately for a minute! And the results were awesome!

Here's a pic stating the same!

Do try them, if you happen to buy an extra bundle of cilantro like me. Otherwise also ;)

~nightflier

milk-y way

I get up early in the morning and find to my dismay that my 2% reduced milk is over. Well no problemos, I can borrow it from my roomies'. 

Surprisingly, their cans are empty too. Now that's co-incidence or whatever. Since I have a busy day planned ahead, I decide to skip drinking milk for one day and buy it first thing in the evening.

So in this way I spend my early morning one hour thinking about no milk. I am suddenly restless, anxious, my brain has become super slow and its responses like that of an 8085. It is funny, because the more I think about not thinking, the more I think about it. Are you getting me? The urge to have a mug full of hot chocolate is so insatiable, that I get up and run to the store in my ugliest clothes. OK I do comb my hair.

So here I am. Another year ago if you asked for my 5 cents on drinking milk everyday, I would have given you the famous distasteful look, making you think 'omg, was it so offensive ?'

The same person, today, can not spend a morning without a mug of it. Astonishingly, milk has been one of those things I have been averted to since childhood. Again, I was not one of those over dramatic kids who would puke at the sight of it or pour it in the nearest potted plant or spill it deliberately or even barter it with siblings. But I was definitely one of those fussy kids who did not like the malaai (we call it saay in Marathi), the smell of it, or the prospect of having plain milk without any bournvita. Now we all know the nutritional values of milk, that it contains calcium which is essential for bones and blah blah blah. But its difficult to convince a stubborn ass who is hell bent on believing that the passage of milk from her mouth to her stomach makes it  go through a lot of chemical processes (I could have been really gross there, but I value you as my reader. Anything for few comments :P) reducing the nutritional value to zilch. I even avoided eating milky sweets for the same reasoning.

And since my mother was (she still is) a firm believer in human rights (I owe it to you mommy), she never ever encouraged/scolded/forced me to change my habits or thinking.

Now I am one of those persons, whose day can not start without a mug of milk. Someone who needs a cup of coffee to take care of those long tired evenings. Someone whose reaction to an empty milk can has changed from that of pleasure to horrified disbelief. Have I really become so health conscious or is it just the laziness to eat something else and have a mug of hot chocolate which is easy to make instead ? I think its both. 

So here I am, a 24 year old, addicted to milk. (I know my mother is going to be sooo proud.) 

Sheesh.. I feel so wasted. 

But its fun to walk the milk-y way. I am doing things I thought I would never do or like doing :) 

~nightflier :)

The Minimalist

So Mark Bittman it is!!

Thank you NYTimes, I am hooked to a cookery show after eons.

In his own words, cooking is a way you can be creative on a daily basis. How many things do you innovate on such basis? Plus you get to know what's going inside your tummy. Totally agree! There is a raw touch to the way he handles his dishes, prepares them. And he is global. Tuscan, French, Mayan, you ask for it and it's on your platter. Add some drama to the presentation and I think its perfect! I mean which dude in leather jacket and glares, enters the kitchen to transform some herbs in  a delicious seasoning?

About Mark, his cooking style is Minimalist. Quite a contrary word to use with food. But that's how it is. Minimum cooking time, least number of ingredients, very less complications and voila!!

I have found some amazing salsa, salad and chicken recipes there. 

If I was given one chance to abandon everything and just indulge, then it would definitely be cooking. Such is the pleasure. 

I am in a hurry so cannot give you the link. NYTimes will be a help there.

If you are going to have 3 meals a day, then why not make it interesting ?

On this note, have a great day ahead !!

~nightflier :)

Baking needs

 Its been a while since I posted something. Grad school I tell you!! 

Plus writing to me is more like an impulsive, spontaneous act than a profound, drafted ritual. I have so many individual threads exciting my nerve cells, everyday, but by the time I get time to open blogger those threads either fizz out or I procrastinate. Lately with those legen... (wait for it !!) daryyyy memory issues, I have also started jotting down ideas whenever one pops out. Its just that I forget where I have taken notes :|

Anyways, these are trivial issues. I finally have something to share with everyone. 

Birthdays to me are special affairs. Specially if it's a close friends'. I like to give stuff personal touch, like make something hand crafted, write something, plan an outing/party and make it a memorable day (for me at least :D). So when a friends' birthday was around the corner we (me and my roomie) decided to bake him a cake. 

Lately, learning to make cakes and baking have been on top of my cooking basics class. So it was quite a risk I was involving the birthday boy's cake into. Nevertheless, we decided on a healthy and beautiful fruit cake. 

Baking is a precarious business. The batter needs to be mixed well for that fluffy texture, the oven needs to be turned off at the exact moment to avoid a burnt cake, the cake has to pass that knife test. But its fun. Since it was our first time, and we had smaller pans, we divided the batter into three parts to make it a 3 layer cake and elevate the effect! The baking time was 38 minutes, and every minute was a patience test for us. I opened the oven twice and my roomie thrice to make sure about the cake's well being. The individual cake came out really well. Fluffy and well cooked. We cleared the first hurdle.

Next was frosting and decoration. I announced to my roomie that she was to be the art director (considering my sloppyness), who would decide the shape of the fruits and how to cut them. The bottom layer was topped with a thick layer of frosting and pineapples around the circumference.

It looked something like this.

Then went another layer of cake with loads of frosting.

I don't have any picture of that.

Then came the top most layer, loaded with frosting, kiwi slices, pineapple and strawberries.

The overall effect was like this. It looked farm fresh :D

The finished version looked even better. But I don't have any more pictures :(

We also cooked some brownies as an added snack. Do bash me next time if I tell you that I don't have a sweet tooth! 

Some learnings I would like to share:

1. Always cut the brownies immediately after they are done. Later it just becomes a powdered mass :(

2. Use a free hand while applying frosting. Cakes are meant to be fattening and sweet. No point saving that bit.

3. After the birthday boy/girl's cake cutting ceremony has been done, take the mantle in your own hands. Specially if you have made the cake. Some random girl cut our cake and totally ruined it. We had placed the pineapples and kiwis so strategically for that perfect touch. But shyaaa...

Anyways, the birthday boy was super happy by our gesture. These small things don't really matter then :)

And btw we have already gotten our next assignment. Wondering how much I should charge for that personal touch. 

I think its priceless and hence do it for free :)

~nightflier

Globally yours!

Wonder what are the benefits of living in a global environment (I mean actually surrounded by all kinds of foreigners..duh!!)?? For me it is the exposure to various cuisines. Specially if you know what you are eating, in short if you are a foodie!
One look at me and the thought of 'me being a foodie' won't even cross your mind. But then there are those fringe benefits of growing up in a household where, typical Indian cuisine is a way of life and you have a foodie, innovative, adventurous (with food of course!) brother as the partner in crime!

Anyways, my stay away from home (past 6 years, plus this new global phase) has given me an opportunity to get to know and learn many interesting Indian recipes, many household tricks to make yummier food out of simple stuff, and different tastes. I have shared food interests with the weirdest of people. Well, those people are bound to have a totally different opinion about my food habits like, ye bahot nakhre karti hai, bahot kam khati hai, etc. etc. But the fact remains I love trying out new stuff and spreading my meagre knowledge as well.

So, finally coming to the point (yeah, some bragging about my food culture was necessary as a starter!), as part of the global culture here, I am trying out Indian recipes on my Bangladeshi roomie. The recent one was Susheela.

A brief how to..
Ingredients:

puffed rice (murmura) - half out of a standard pack, soaked in water (make sure you soak it only for a minute)
onion - 1/2 finely cut
green chillies - finely cut, 1-2
jeera (cumin) seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
cilantro (coriander) - finely cut
haldi (turmeric) powder - a pinch
lal mirchi (red chilly) powder - 1/2 teaspoon
salt - to taste
sugar - a pinch
lemon (nimbu) juice - 1 teaspoon

How to:
Saute the onions,green chillies and jeera in a pan. After done, add haldi, chilli powder. Then add puffed rice. Mix all this well. Then add the sugar,salt,nimbu juice and garnish with cilantro. Voila...There you go. Its an amazing snack. Filling and yummy. The lemon and green chillies combo makes it just too irresistible!!

My friends from Latur (a district in Marathwada, Maharashtra) introduced me to this snack. And they would be happy to know, that today I made it global. At least prepared it in foreign land!! Well, as for the new things I tried out, then I have gone a bit ahead in the non-veg section. I tried crab and turkey the other day. Chicken still remains my favorite though!!

And if you are thinking whether my roomie who tried out the snack is still alive or not, then she is working on that damned assignment (whose deadline is tonight..OMG!!) Her remark - 'You guys are so creative with simple food stuffs!!' You bet she wants to try out more typical Indian dishes now.