When I was young, all the cousins in the family would drive to the falooda shop (yes they're so popular in India, they have shops just for faloodas) and had these for evening snack. They are filling. The baby cousin was, of course, the most demanding; only sharing with cousins that would allow him to eat or drink as he pleased. I vividly remember our last outing to the falooda shop with the cousins before we packed our bags and came to America. He was 6 years old and wanted his own glass of falooda. Mind you, they generally come in a tall beer glass and for a 6 year old, this is more than enough. He demanded his own and indeed got his own. He also had some tricks up his sleeve that were about to unravel. Everyone ordered theirs, and in the first round he ate the ice cream and the vermicelli noodles. The milk and basil seeds were passed off to the rest of us to finish; like he was too good for it. When the rest of us were busy talking, he walked up to the counter and ordered another glass for himself. As for the 3rd round, we learned our lesson and before he ordered thirds we tried to get him to finish the first two. He made faces, got angry and threw a fit for having to finish the milk and basil seeds and declined the offer. He got his way and surely enough he ordered a third glass. Good for us, because some of us rose to the opportunity to have 2nds and 3rds. Our outings were opportunities that would bring us all together to enjoy a good conversation and a tall glass of falooda. 
Not only does Falooda remind me of cooling down in hot weather but it also reminds me of home and my cousins. While having it on our last trip to India, it brought back wonderful memories. It would have been lovely to go to the falooda shop with the cousins but unfortunately everyone is dispersed. maybe next time…
Monday, March 26, 2007
cold drink for a hot day
I wish I could drink one of these on a beautiful hot day like today. Falooda is an Indian drink made with milk, basil seeds, rose syrup, vermicelli noodles and ice cream. Because of the hot weather 8 months out of the year in the region, people found alternative ways like this to stay cool. One of the foods the husband and I were both very pleased to have while in India. It was delicious.
chicken satay with noodles
When I started browsing cookbooks and blogs for recipes I had one thing in mind, I must use my chicken thighs and left over pasta. I got the idea from more bread and cheese, please blog. Thanks Charise! I love it when I come across simple recipes that are scrumptious. It was sort of like a chicken satay but with noodles. It's one of those dishes that I'll use in future for last minute go to meals.
And because we love pasta, I can never have too many pasta recipes. Thanks to Ruth for starting and hosting Presto Pasta Nights, as I am always looking for variety of pasta recipes.
I've expressed my opinion on measured cooking, I don't do it! Therefore this recipe is an approximation. Because I like my satay to have a strong peanutty flavor I add extra peanut butter and that may not be the case for you; so start with little and add more if necessary.
For the marinade:
1/4 c. Peanut butter
3 tablespoons Soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons Fish sauce
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon Chili Oil
1 tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
Pinch of Salt (I omitted salt for mine because of the soy sauce and vinegar. You could too, if you’re watching your salt intake)
2 garlic cloves
Water, as a thinning agent
4 chicken thighs or breasts
Cooked long pasta, Rice works too
Use a large bowl to mix the first 9 (peanut butter through salt) ingredients. Drizzle 1/2 of the marinade over the pasta. Then add minced garlic to the marinade and combine it with the chicken. Let it sit for 15 minutes. As I say with marinades, the longer it sits the better the flavor.
On medium heat, add oil to the pan and cook the chicken on one side for 4-5 minutes, turn and let it cook for additional 4 minutes. For a crispier crust, cook the chicken on medium-high. Cover, lower heat to medium and allow the chicken to cook through for 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid, let the watery juices cook off about 5 minutes and add the pasta in the last few minutes of the cooking.
Serve warm. With a slice of lemon and chopped peanuts. Because we didn't have peanuts for the grand finale, we did without. And it worked fine. A quick and delicious recipe.
On a side note, blogspot is going through emotional issues and won't allow comments for this post. If you want, you can write them here.
And because we love pasta, I can never have too many pasta recipes. Thanks to Ruth for starting and hosting Presto Pasta Nights, as I am always looking for variety of pasta recipes.
I've expressed my opinion on measured cooking, I don't do it! Therefore this recipe is an approximation. Because I like my satay to have a strong peanutty flavor I add extra peanut butter and that may not be the case for you; so start with little and add more if necessary.
For the marinade:
1/4 c. Peanut butter
3 tablespoons Soy sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons Fish sauce
2 teaspoons Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon Chili Oil
1 tablespoon Rice wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
Pinch of Salt (I omitted salt for mine because of the soy sauce and vinegar. You could too, if you’re watching your salt intake)
2 garlic cloves
Water, as a thinning agent
4 chicken thighs or breasts
Cooked long pasta, Rice works too
Use a large bowl to mix the first 9 (peanut butter through salt) ingredients. Drizzle 1/2 of the marinade over the pasta. Then add minced garlic to the marinade and combine it with the chicken. Let it sit for 15 minutes. As I say with marinades, the longer it sits the better the flavor.
On medium heat, add oil to the pan and cook the chicken on one side for 4-5 minutes, turn and let it cook for additional 4 minutes. For a crispier crust, cook the chicken on medium-high. Cover, lower heat to medium and allow the chicken to cook through for 20-25 minutes. Remove the lid, let the watery juices cook off about 5 minutes and add the pasta in the last few minutes of the cooking.
Serve warm. With a slice of lemon and chopped peanuts. Because we didn't have peanuts for the grand finale, we did without. And it worked fine. A quick and delicious recipe.
On a side note, blogspot is going through emotional issues and won't allow comments for this post. If you want, you can write them here.
Friday, March 23, 2007
patra and patudi (khandvi)
I apologize to anyone that's been waiting for these... They're long overdue, I know. As I went through 300+ pictures, I realized that 85% of our pictures are with family. Therefore I'll post what I think people want to see; food, streets, people and India, in general.
Gujarat is well know for some of these foods: Oondhiyu, patra, dhoklas, patudi, dal dhokli, muthiya and a variety of sweets. Since the hubby and I aren't big on sweets, we didn't try too many. Prior to leaving for India, I expressed to my mother in law my interest to learn simple homemade Gujarati dishes from her.
"Patra are leaves of the Taro plant." Thanks Wikipedia. The dish itself is steamed leaf rolls.
The filling is made using dal, ginger, green chili paste, salt, and black peppercorns.
Soak Dal for 6+ hours. Drain 90% of the water and blend with ginger and green chili to make a foamy mixture. Then using mortar and pestle, the dal mixture is ground into a fine paste. One must spin the pestle rapidly, moving the dal around in the the mortar to attain the smooth consistency. (It's great for upper body/shoulder and arm work out).
Before spreading onto the leaves, add the whole black peppercorns.
The leaf is rolled, ensuring the leaf is covered with filling entirely. For smaller leaves, add addtional leaves covered with the filling to make a thicker roll.
Then the rolls are steamed for 20 minutes (more or less) depending on their size. Knife must come out clean when pierced in the thickest part of the roll.
Let cool, cut and serve. Top it with oil and lemon juice for great flavor and zing.
Patudi, also known as khandvi, is fairly simple though when heated, one has to work fast. It's made from gram flour (besan), chili powder, turmeric, and buttermilk. (ginger and green chili can be added) Mix all in a pan and heat on medium heat. Stir continuously to avoid lumping. It must form a smooth paste.
Spread onto clean surface; counter top, aluminum foil or back of a big plate.
Score with a sharpe knife, to make 3 inch wide rolls. Roll gently.
This is how it should look when they're rolled.
For tempering, heat gee or oil in small sauce pan on medium heat. Then add mustard seeds. When seeds start popping, add cilantro and remove from heat. Drizzle over patudi.
Both of these dishes are generally eaten as an appetizer or a side dish. Patudi's texture is very different from any food I've ever had, but it's really good.
Gujarat is well know for some of these foods: Oondhiyu, patra, dhoklas, patudi, dal dhokli, muthiya and a variety of sweets. Since the hubby and I aren't big on sweets, we didn't try too many. Prior to leaving for India, I expressed to my mother in law my interest to learn simple homemade Gujarati dishes from her.
"Patra are leaves of the Taro plant." Thanks Wikipedia. The dish itself is steamed leaf rolls.
The filling is made using dal, ginger, green chili paste, salt, and black peppercorns.
Soak Dal for 6+ hours. Drain 90% of the water and blend with ginger and green chili to make a foamy mixture. Then using mortar and pestle, the dal mixture is ground into a fine paste. One must spin the pestle rapidly, moving the dal around in the the mortar to attain the smooth consistency. (It's great for upper body/shoulder and arm work out).
Before spreading onto the leaves, add the whole black peppercorns.
The leaf is rolled, ensuring the leaf is covered with filling entirely. For smaller leaves, add addtional leaves covered with the filling to make a thicker roll. 
Then the rolls are steamed for 20 minutes (more or less) depending on their size. Knife must come out clean when pierced in the thickest part of the roll.
Let cool, cut and serve. Top it with oil and lemon juice for great flavor and zing.
Patudi, also known as khandvi, is fairly simple though when heated, one has to work fast. It's made from gram flour (besan), chili powder, turmeric, and buttermilk. (ginger and green chili can be added) Mix all in a pan and heat on medium heat. Stir continuously to avoid lumping. It must form a smooth paste.
Spread onto clean surface; counter top, aluminum foil or back of a big plate.
Score with a sharpe knife, to make 3 inch wide rolls. Roll gently.
This is how it should look when they're rolled.
For tempering, heat gee or oil in small sauce pan on medium heat. Then add mustard seeds. When seeds start popping, add cilantro and remove from heat. Drizzle over patudi. 
Both of these dishes are generally eaten as an appetizer or a side dish. Patudi's texture is very different from any food I've ever had, but it's really good.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Happy Happy Happy Birth....
The husband's midnight birthday celebration, sort of. We had some friends over and his ultimate dish is Murghi (Chicken) curry. Their was some drinking, okay a lot of drinking and some cooking. The recipe is so top secret, I still don't know the ingredients. However I do know he marinates the chicken in yogurt, garam masala, ground cumin & coriander, chili powder, lemon juice and salt for an hour or two; the longer the better. During the winter months, the chicken is broiled in the oven at 450F degrees and in the summer it's grilled. That in itself is so tasty, I usually just munch on those. Then onion and garlic are sauted with bay leaf and cinnamon stick in a large pan with vegetable oil on medium high heat. After adding tomotoes, garam masala, chili powder and other great spices; he lets it simmer for a good hour- hour and half
As soon as I have the recipe down to the tee, I'll share it with everyone.
We usually eat this with rice but naan is a great accompaniment.
This post is for my wonderful husband, that's a great cook if he wants to be. Happy Birthday Love
As soon as I have the recipe down to the tee, I'll share it with everyone.
We usually eat this with rice but naan is a great accompaniment.
This post is for my wonderful husband, that's a great cook if he wants to be. Happy Birthday Love
Monday morning blues
Springing forward is fun and all but I really wasn't expecting it to be dark and gazy at 6:45am. After getting ready for work, preparing my lunch and heating up the car, I noticed it was still very dark outside. When I looked at my car clock, it read 6:51am. Because I am generally out of it in the morning anyway, I thought I woke up too early for work.
As I started to make my way up the stairs to tell the hubby about the accident, it dawned on me that Springing forward to save energy was a cause of all this. I walked back down, restarted the car, ensured my cell phone was in the purse and started to pull away when I realized, I forgot my lunch on the stairs. Damnit, why do these things happen to me on a Monday morning? Parked the car, got my lunch and headed out. Safe and Sound. As I pulled away from my street, I told myself if I forgot anything else, it doesn't matter. On the way to work, I noticed the beautiful sun rising through the never ending forest behind me. That's when I realize, that maybe waking up an hour early isn't great, but witnessing the work of nature on my way to work makes it all worth it.
Though dragging myself out of bed every morning and overcoming morning blues won't be easy, I hope watching the sun rise while driving to work will be inspiration enough.
As I started to make my way up the stairs to tell the hubby about the accident, it dawned on me that Springing forward to save energy was a cause of all this. I walked back down, restarted the car, ensured my cell phone was in the purse and started to pull away when I realized, I forgot my lunch on the stairs. Damnit, why do these things happen to me on a Monday morning? Parked the car, got my lunch and headed out. Safe and Sound. As I pulled away from my street, I told myself if I forgot anything else, it doesn't matter. On the way to work, I noticed the beautiful sun rising through the never ending forest behind me. That's when I realize, that maybe waking up an hour early isn't great, but witnessing the work of nature on my way to work makes it all worth it.
Though dragging myself out of bed every morning and overcoming morning blues won't be easy, I hope watching the sun rise while driving to work will be inspiration enough.
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