Mahanandi

Jigyasa and Pratibha’s Pedatha …………… My Avva (Grandmother)

In my unremarkable childhood, the only remarkable thing was the summer holidays I used to spend at my grandmother’s home at Nandikotkur every year. My grandmother, a mother of four daughters and four sons is a ritubidda (farmer’s daughter), and a saint like person. She was my guru and a friend growing up, and I learned devotion from her.

Like Jigyasa and Pratibha’s Pedatha, my grandmother is also from a “do one thing at a time” generation. This philosophy was more evident in the kitchen than anywhere else. Cooking was an unconsciously clever and creative act, and done in a unhurried manner to everyone’s satisfaction. One of my favorite recipes from my grandmother is brinjal with black-eyed peas. Seasoned with ginger and green chillies, and served with sorghum roti, this simple preparation with heavenly aroma was a daily breakfast for us. Science has shown that our sense of smell is the first one to be associated with memory. I have to agree, and I still associate ginger flavored brinjal smell to my grandmother’s kitchen. The same recipe has also been featured in the award winning Pedatha’s cookbook.

I prepared this dish with reverence to my beloved avva and in memory of Pedatha.

“From food all creatures are produced. And all creatures that dwell on earth, by food they live and into food they finally pass. Food is the chief among being. Verily he obtains all good who worships the Divine as food.”
-from Upanishads

Place a wide skillet on stovetop. Add and heat peanut oil. Add and toast tadka ingredients (garlic, cumin, mustard seeds and curry leaves) to golden. Add the brinjal pieces to skillet. Cover the skillet. The round variety brinjals cook to tender within minutes. After about five minutes of cooking time, remove the lid. Add the black-eyed peas and green chilli-ginger paste. Also turmeric and salt. Mix. Sauté on medium heat for another five to ten minutes. Serve hot with sorghum roti or chapati, for a filling meal.

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Busy days. See you again on Sunday.
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Avocado, Besan and Turmeric

Face fresheners are fun thing I used to do with my sisters, when summer was as long as a lifetime and a month could pass without me ever knowing what days of the week it was. It has been ages since I applied one and I miss the laughter and lazy talk of facemask days.

Traditional teenage face-freshener consists of besan, turmeric, yogurt and honey. They are mixed together and applied to the face. Besan is a soothing skin-scrub and turmeric is known for it’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Yogurt and honey, the calming moisturizers make the mask more palatable.:) Buttery avocados are good in place of yogurt, and facemask puts the avocados to great use, particularly when avocados are two for one dollar.

Avocado Face Freshener:
(for two faces, for one rinse)

Avocado pulp - about 3 to 4 tablespoons
Besan (gram flour) - about a tablespoon
Turmeric - about half teaspoon

Take avocado pulp in a small cup. With a sturdy spoon mash to smooth. Add besan and turmeric. Combine thoroughly without any lumps. Apply on your face generously. Stay green for about 15 to 30 minutes and then rinse for a happy glow. Relaxing thing to do on a lazy weekend or after a costly trip to Indian grocery.:)

Avocado Face Mask with Turmeric ~ for Sowmya

Matta Rice (Red Rice from Kerala&Konkani Regions of India)

Is it for real?

The hype, is this due to low production, or an election year, market-induced scam? What do you think?

Right now, I have only about three pounds of Kerala matta rice at home. No basmati and not even Sona Masuri. Planning to buy one bag each this weekend.

Black-eyed peas, Mustard Greens with Matta Rice:

There are only few American dishes that I enjoy. One of them is Hopping’ John (black-eyed peas, greens and rice). This is an African-American dish that has made it to the “Hara’s Tara”. I like the combination, but the underlying flavor melancholy is inescapable. How to add a cheerful tone to blue notes. Well, how about a mrudangam beat. These thoughts led to a new recipe, which is an amalgam of both ingredients and method.

Black-eyed peas, mustard greens and Kerala matta rice cooked together with onions and tomatoes. And the dish is flavored with fresh coconut, peppercorn and nutmeg. Though it started out like musical elements spontaneously assembled during a play, the south-Indian improvisational context imparted an orchestra effect to good old African American tradition. Mine was a solo performance, and when the single audience showed up with a serving bowl saying “encore please”, some hopping smiles sure happened.

Lobia and Sarson with Matta Rice:
(for two adults for two meals)

1-cup black-eyed peas - soaked in water overnight, and cooked to tender
1-cup matta rice (or brown rice) - soaked in 3 cups of water for 3 hours
1 bunch mustard greens - leaves and tender stems, finely chopped
1 onion, and two ripe tomatoes - finely chopped
2 garlic cloves - finely chopped

For seasoning:
2 tablespoons fresh grated coconut,
1 teaspoon black peppercorn (this dish needs some heat)
½ teaspoon each - cumin and grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon each - turmeric and salt
½ inch piece of ginger
2 tablespoons of crushed jaggery
Take them all in a Mixer. Pulse few times, first. Then add half cup of water. Blend to smooth paste.

Heat a tablespoon of peanut oil in a big pot. Add and sauté garlic and onion to pale-red. Add tomatoes and sauté to soft. Add the mustard greens and cook until leaves start to collapse. Add the rice and the water it soaked in. Cover the pot and on medium heat, cook the rice until it’s al-dente or just tender. Now add the precooked black-eyed peas. And also the spice paste. Stir-in another cup of water if the dish looks too dry. Mix. Have a taste and adjust salt to your liking. Cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve hot with papadums on the side. Makes a great tasting one-pot meal.

India Inspired Hopping John ~ Meal Today

I enjoy avocados. It hadn’t been always that way. My avocado experience began with facemask, then expanded to salsa, chapatis, avocado annam. And the latest is this aachar avocado, a new recipe I have come up with. A variation on a classic guacamole, in aachar avocado, the creamy avocados are spiced up with aachar masala powder. Light and clean, but with enough punch, it’s a good twist on the old classic. Also, we can avoid dealing with raw jalapeno pepper. Aachar avocado makes a good side dish to chapatis or rotis.

Aachar Avocado:
(for two, for one meal)

2 avocados, ripe but firm
8 cherry tomatoes
1 small shallot (erra ulligadda)
2 key limes
2 sprigs fresh cilantro
1-teaspoon aachar masala powder
½ teaspoon salt or to taste

Halve the avocados and remove the pits. Scoop out the flesh into a mortar. Mash the avocado to a consistency of your liking. Chop shallot, tomatoes and cilantro finely, and add them to mortar. Sprinkle the aachar masala powder and salt. With a pestle, coarsely mash the ingredients. Squeeze limejuice and mix. Serve right away with hot chapati or roti. Makes a quick and filling breakfast or light lunch.

Aachar Avocado, Getting Ready For Brunch Today

Aachar Masala Powder (R/C Pooja):
Dried red chillies, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds and garlic. Skillet roast in few drops of oil. Add salt and powder them together to fine.

Meal on a Sleepy Day

Samosa, Mandira’s almond-walnut chikki, Apple-mint yogurt kosambari, Ragi malt.

Your turn. Share your bhojanam burps.

Green Mango (Maamidikaya) through My Camera Lens

I love and enjoy food art greatly. Food described through pen and lens is nice. But, food related sketches, embroidery, knitting and jewelry - there is a special charm to these types of food depictions. How wonderful it would be if we celebrate Mother Earth’s bounty through food art. That thought led to this event idea. Here are the details. Let’s see if I can put together coherently.:)

Food Art: Mango Manthram

I would like to start the Food Art series with my favorite fruit, mango. The color and shape of the mango are an artist’s dream. Mango tree, mango leaves, mango fruit in various stages of development, and the scrumptious dishes we can prepare with mango - the magic of mangoes is a timeless tradition that is steeped in art, history and romance.

Bring your own touch, and interpret your mango memories and experiences through Food Art. The field is wide open.

Illustrations, cartoons, sketches, paintings of all types, cross-stitch, stitching, embroidery, knitting, kolam (muggulu), henna designs, jewelry (beads) - all are welcome on mango theme.

To participate:

Create a mango art piece using any of the media above.
Publish it on your website on the last Saturday of May (31st).
Mail me a picture of your creation in 150 x 200 pixel size. Include your name, blog name and a link to your post. Forward the details to mailfoodart@gmail.com
I will also participate with my own creation, and publish all the Mango Manthram collection in a neat art gallery on Mahanandi, on the first Saturday of June.

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.