Good-bye 2005...with a favorite dish!

The past few days, a knee injury has kept me out of commission, but I am healing slowly in time to say good-bye to 2005 with one of my favorite dishes. 2005 has been an eventful year, and 2006 promises to be even more so. To bid farewell to 2005, I chose Idli-Sambar. A meal that is nutritious, wholesome and affordable. Idli-Sambar is a traditional Southern Indian breakfast recipe, but now finds its way into homes all across India, and indeed Indian restaurants all over the world. The recipe for the idli is from my mom and we make no claims to authenticity, but it is a tried and tested recipe that always turns out!
The idlis themselves are steamed dumplings made from a fermented rice-lentil batter. They are served with sambar, a tasty spicy dal that I add lots of fresh veggies to. There are other reasons why this dish is a favorite for me: the idlis can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen. They reheat *beautifully* in the microwave and taste as good as new! The sambar can also be made ahead of time, making this an ideal brunch dish.
In fact, I had planned a New Years brunch for some of our friends today...with an international brunch menu including idli-sambar (India), huevos rancheros (Mexico), spinch-mushroom quiche (France?) and brownies (America). But the knee injury left me in so much pain, unable to stand for long, that I had to cancel the brunch :( Maybe next time...
For making idlis, you do need some special equipment in the form of idli molds, pictured here beautifully by Shammi. Of course, in a pinch, any greased vessel will do.

Idli-Sambar


(The pretty red serving dish was a thoughtful holiday gift from my lovely friend L!)

For the Idlis
Ingredients
1 cup urad dal
2 cups idli rava (coarsely ground rice)
salt to taste
Non-stick spray (such as "Pam") for greasing molds
Method:
1. Soak urad dal overnight in warm water. Grind it to a fine paste.
2. Soak idli rava for 30 minutes in warm water.
3. Mix the soaked idli rava and ground urad dal in a bowl, cover and leave overnight to ferment.
4. Once the batter is doubled in volume, use it right away or place it in the refrigerator until needed.
5. To make idlis, spray the molds with non-stick spray (or brush with oil). Add salt to the idli batter, mix lightly and scoop into the molds (half-full).
6. Steam for 10-15 minutes till a knife inserted into the idli comes clean.

Sambar
Ingredients
1 cup toor dal (split yellow peas), cooked
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 fresh curry leaves
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 small onion, minced
2 cups mixed diced veggies of your choice (I used eggplant, peas, carrot, cauliflower)
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp sambar powder (available in stores)
2 tbsp cilantro, minced
Method:
1. Make a "tadka" by heating oil and adding cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves and asafoetida.
2. Add onion, turmeric, salt, chilli powder and saute for a minute.
3. Add veggies and saute for a minute.
4. Add enough water to cover the veggies, tamarind paste, sambar powder and let the veggies simmer till just tender (5-7 minutes).
5. Add cooked dal, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Garnish with cilantro.

Here's to a wonderful new year 2006. My wish: a wholesome meal in every home on this planet and enough food and love for all!

O is for ONION BHAJJI

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have a population higher than Maharashtra). Language: Marathi. Traditional Marathi food is earthy and humble, diverse and very tasty. It also remains relatively unknown to non-marathis. Its time to change that. I invite you to join me on an alphabetical culinary tour of my state. We will go through the letters A to Z and make a dish with each letter to show-case Marathi cuisine.

O is for Onion Bhajjis.

We come now to the letter 'O" and unfortunately I can't really think of too many Marathi foods here. One possibility is "Olya naralachi karanji"; sweet turnovers made with a filling of fresh coconut (the literal meaning of "olya" is "wet") but that is a pretty complicated recipe that will have to wait for another occasion. Instead, I made a dish that is a favorite of people all over India, onion fritters/pakodas, called "bhajjis" in Marathi. Here is a dish that is found on the menu of every Indian restaurant, whether North Indian or South Indian. It is found on every street corner in India, often eaten stuffed between slices of bread (a way to convert a cheap snack into a filling meal). It is a favorite of all home cooks, a way of serving up a hot tasty snack using ingredients that are found in every pantry. Chai and pakodas is a match made in culinary heaven, and the perfect snack for Indian monsoons and North American winters alike.
The recipe is a mere guideline; go easy or heavy on the spices as you like. I love that the sliced onion forms these funky-looking odd shaped pakodas when fried. This is a very easy crowd-pleasing snack for beginner cooks to make. Making smaller pakodas will ensure that the inside gets cooked well. People who do not like the sharp pungent taste of onions might find that the onions cooked as bhajjis have a pleasant sweetish taste that they enjoy. A variation on these is to add some finely sliced spinach leaves to the batter...they add a wonderful flavor.

Onion Bhajji (Pakodas)

(serves 3-4)

Ingredients:
2 medium onions
1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
1/4 cup minced cilantro
3-4 minced green chillies
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
Oil for deep-frying
Method:
1. Peel the onions, halve them and slice them thinly (using a mandoline if you own one, or a sharp knife).
2. Mix salt into the onions and leave them for 10 minutes. This softens the onions and brings out their juices.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients (except oil) into the onions, add a little water to make a thick batter.
4. Heat the oil and add teaspoons of batter into the oil, fry till bhajjis are golden. Drain on paper towels.
Serve hot with tamarind chutney or mint chutney or even ketchup!
We'll meet again soon with "P" which is a letter with many many interesting possibilities, so stay tuned!

N is for NAARAL WADI

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have a population higher than Maharashtra). Language: Marathi. Traditional Marathi food is earthy and humble, diverse and very tasty. It also remains relatively unknown to non-marathis. Its time to change that. I invite you to join me on an alphabetical culinary tour of my state. We will go through the letters A to Z and make a dish with each letter to show-case Marathi cuisine.

N is for Naaral Wadi.

N does not stand for many Marathi foods. But that is totally compensated for by the one food that it DOES stand for : the naaral or coconut. The importance of the coconut tree to human life and culture in the coastal areas of India cannot be overstated. Every single part of the coconut tree is used, for food, clothing and to earn a livelihood: The tall trunk of the tree is used for carving out boats, the husk of the coconut is used as fuel, coconut oil is used as cooking oil and to make products such as soap, the tough coconut shell can be carved into many useful and decorative items. Here is a coconut shell cleverly crafted into a beautiful ladle, it was a gift from my darling friend M.

The coconut also has a very important role in religious rituals; a coconut is cracked open at every important occasion as an offering to the gods (an act reminiscent of the animal sacrifices of ages past).
But coming back to food, the coconut dominates the cuisine of many regions of India and is certainly well-represented in Marathi food. Tender green coconuts are sold at road-side stalls for their delicious coconut water, the most refreshing beverage in the tropical heat. At this stage the flesh of the coconut is very tender, almost transluscent, and delicious. More mature coconuts are used for cooking: the coconut is cracked open to reveal coconut water (which is quickly drained into a glass and consumed as a beverage) and a thick layer of sparkling white coconut "meat". It is the meat which is ground together to extract the coconut milk. People who have backyards often have their own coconut trees; here in the US, coconut is easily available in three main forms: as tinned coconut milk, as dry shredded coconut (available sweetened and plain) and "fresh" frozen grated coconut.
The most common uses of coconut are as a curry base, as we did when making egg rassa, and in several desserts such as narali bhaat (sweet coconut rice) and naaral wadi (coconut fudge), and the latter is what I decided to make today. The recipe is adapted from this recipe. The traditional way to make the sweet is to pour the hot fudge into a greased plate, let it cool and cut it into bite-size squares. Instead I patted it into muffin cups for a variation. I used condensed milk as I had some in the fridge, but you can totally omit it and add more sugar instead.

Naaral Wadi (Coconut Fudge)

(makes 15 small cups)

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen grated coconut, thawed in the microwave
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp condensed milk (optional)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cardamom powder
8-10 sliced almonds
Method:
1. Combine coconut, milk, condensed milk, sugar and ghee in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low heat, stirring often till the mixture gets thick and almost dry.
2. Stir in the cardamom and most of the sliced almonds, leaving a few for decoration. Turn off heat.
3. Spoon the mixture into mini muffin cups, decorating with a couple of almond slices. Let it cool. Serve at roon temperature.
This is a delicious sweet and so easy to put together! We shall meet again with a look at the letter "O".

Simple Dinners: Potato "Song"

Friday nights, I often plan my dinners around finishing stuff from the fridge, getting ready for Saturday (market-day). Last night, a quick peek in the fridge revealed 3 boiled potatoes (left over from a few days ago), some left-over crushed tomatoes, half an onion. Plus some ready-made rotis (Indian flat-breads). One easy recipe jumped to my mind: Potato "song", a Konkani (a coastal region of India) potato curry with a wonderful sweet-spicy-tangy medley of tastes. I have no idea why the curry is called "song"; it is a recipe my Konkani grandmom had taught Anji (our cook) to make, so it would be on the menu often.
This curry uses the simple trio of red chillies-cumin-coriander for its spice base, jaggery (unrefined/brown sugar) for the hint of sweetness, both tamarind and tomato for the tang and cilantro for the fresh note. The result is delicious. I am experimenting with a different way of writing this recipe, breaking it down, so to speak, so maybe it will be easier for readers unfamiliar with Indian cooking to see how a curry comes together. It might make a long list of ingredients seem less daunting. Let me know if it helps or not.
Almost all curries have these 5 components: a main ingredient, a tempering, spices, curry base and garnishes. The different permutations and combinations of ingredients and spices is what makes each curry unique.

Potato Song


YOU NEED
Main ingredient:
3-4 boiled potatoes, peeled and diced
Tadka (tempering)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, minced
5-6 fresh curry leaves (optional)
Spices:
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
Curry base:
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup crushed tomatoes
1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
1/2 tbsp jaggery (brown sugar)
Garnish:
2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
METHOD:
1. Mix all the ingredients for the curry base and set aside.
2. Start with the tempering. Heat the oil in a saucepan, and then add all the tempering ingredients. Stir them around so that they flavor the oil, keeping the heat medium.
3. Add all the spices and saute for a few seconds so they toast and release their flavors.
4. Add the potato cubes and saute for a minute.
5. Add curry base, stir around, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. Taste and adjust the balace of salt-spice-sweetness-sourness if necessary.
7. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
This curry tastes better if you let the flavors blend for 15-20 minutes after cooking. Enjoy with flatbreads/rotis or steamed rice, with a dollop of pickle and some yogurt.
There: a simple dinner and some good use of left-over bits of food!

Tea with Cathy!

Guess who came to visit me on Sunday? Cathy from my My Little Kitchen was in NYC briefly and took the time and effort to navigate the subways and come uptown to share a cup of tea with me. It was my first time meeting a blogger face-to-face and that made it so exciting!
We chatted non-stop about food and our holiday plans and can I just say that she is the warmest and nicest person ever? Cathy is the person who inspired me to start blogging...I was reading her blog for a while and timidly participated in an event (IMBB:Beans) that she hosted by mailing her my entry. Her kind encouraging words finally helped me take the plunge and start "One Hot Stove" and for that, I will always thank her.
Cathy came bearing gifts (which was TOTALLY unnecessary of course):

The box of home-made candy was a fantastic treat: chocolate-covered nut brittle. With supreme self-restraint, I managed to eat the candy over three days instead of gobbling it up in an hour (It tasted like a better grown-up version of "Cadbury's nutties" that I loved as a kid). According to Cathy, it is very easy to make so now I have to wheedle the recipe out of her :)
The other awesome gift is "Maida Heatter's Book of Great Cookies" which is such an appropriate gift coming from Cathy, because she is working her way through the whole book trying each and every recipe and getting it rated by a panel of cookie-connoisseurs. This is the perfect season for me to try some recipes from this book! Thanks Cathy, for being so thoughtful and coming all the way to meet me!

A Menu For Hope II: Chai Hamper

Food bloggers come together every holiday season to share their good fortune with people who need a helping hand: This year we are going to have a fun fund-raising event to raise money for UNICEF for their relief efforts in Kashmir, to help the millions of people affected by the massive earthquake in October. This event is a foodie raffle being organized by the wonderful Pim of Chez Pim. Many many food bloggers have come forward to make a pledge for the raffle. How does it work?
Step 1: Go to this web site this site to find a listing of dozens of amazing foodie prizes. Choose your favorite(s).
Step 2: Go to this site to donate. For every 5$ you donate, you can enter to win one prize. Be sure to specify your chosen prize as you donate.
If you win the raffle, your prize will be shipped to you. If you lose...hey, you never lose, because all your donated money will go to this worthy cause!

What I am pledging:
A Chai Hamper, filled with
1. All the ingredients to make Masala chai (and the recipe)
2. Two sweet snacks (one of them will be home-made Kesar-Pista Nankhatai , the other will be a surprise)
3. Two savoury snacks (one of them will be home-made Chivda , the other will be a surprise)

The lucky winner will get to sample a true Indian-style tea party in the comfort of their own home! If you want to win this prize, go on over and donate 5$ and specify "Nupur/Chai Hamper". If not, there are tons of other prizes you might like. Thanks in advance for your generosity!

DONATE NOW!

Happy Birthday V: An Indo-Chinese Feast

To celebrate V's birthday, some friends came over to join us for lunch. The menu: Indian-Chinese ! In decades past, Chinese cooking has become a major food trend in India, and as with all transplanted cuisines, there has been the evolution of a unique Indo-chinese fusion cuisine. Chinese food carts dot every city in India, and many Indian restaurants will obligingly include some Indo-chinese dishes on the menu. In the past several months, this trend has crossed over to NYC and if anyone would like to try it in a restaurant, I would suggest "Chinese Mirch" (28th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan).
V loves Indian-Chinese and when you are the birthday boy, what you want is what you get, so this is the menu I made (I was a bit rushed with all the prep, so some of the photos are quite awful but they still give an idea of what the food looked like). All recipes are for 6-8 servings.
To start with, some Sweet corn soup, just perfect for this cold weather. It could not be simpler to make but is very hearty and comforting.

Ingredients:
3 boxes frozen cut corn
2 green onions (green parts only), chopped
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
1 vegetable buillon cube (I use "Knorr" brand)
fresh ground pepper
For chilli relish
1/2 cup white vinegar
6 green chillies
Method:
Make the relish by mixing chopped green chillies and vinegar. Set aside. Cook the corn in 6 cups water till tender (I used a pressure cooker). Using a blender/ immersion blender, puree the corn, leaving some kernels intact. Add the soy sauce, green onions, sugar, vinegar, buillon cube and freshly ground pepper. Serve hot topped with a spoonful of chilli relish.

The first appetizer:
Korean pancakes

This one is not Indian-chinese at all, but it uses all the ingredients of a spring roll and so fit in very well with the menu. I participated in blogging-by-mail 3 and Sima generously sent me a huge package of Korean Pancake Mix. I mixed 2 cups of pancake mix with 1 grated zucchini, 1 chopped green pepper and 2 chopped green onions, and added water to make a thick batter. Then I made mini-pancakes in a non-stick pan. For a dipping sauce, I mixed equal parts of red chilli paste (store-bought) and soy sauce. The result is a delicious appetizer just bursting with veggies!

The second appetizer:
Gobi Manchurian This is everyone's absolute favorite and I was so thrilled that it turned out tasting just like the real deal. I made it in the appetizer style, not very saucy, and the sauce given in the recipe just serves to coat the florets and make them really tasty.

Ingredients:
For florets
1 large head cauliflower, cut into neat florets
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornflour
salt to taste
oil for frying
For sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced fine
1 inch piece of ginger, minced fine
5-6 green onions (green+white parts), minced
5 green chillies, minced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup minced cilantro
Method:
1. Toss the florets with soy sauce and ginger-garlic paste and set aside for 1-2 hours
2. Mix the all-purpose flour and cornflour with enough water to make a thick batter. Add salt to taste.
3. Dip the marinated florets in the batter and deep fry till golden brown. Drain on paper towels.
4. To make the sauce, heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet. Fry the ginger, garlic, green onions, green chillies for under a minute. Take off heat, then stir in the soy sauce and ketchup.
5. Toss together the fried florets, sauce and minced cilantro. Serve immediately.

The entree ...
Mushroom-Egg fried rice This is a simple stir-fry of rice with veggies, with strips of omelet adding to the nutrition and the heartiness of the dish.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
1 green pepper, sliced fine
4 green onions, chopped
1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 cups mushrooms, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 veg buillon cube (I use "Knorr" brand)
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
Method:
1. Wash the rice in 3-4 changes of cold water. Add 2 1/2 cups water to the rice and cook till just tender. It is important that the rice is not overcooked and mushy.
2. Heat 2 tbsp oil and quickly stir-fry the green onions, green pepper, carrots and mushrooms. Add the rice, soy sauce, pepper, buillon cube and mix well till everything is heated through.
3. Beat the eggs with some salt and pepper. Make omelets with the eggs. Cut the omelets into strips and serve atop the rice.

Now for the sweet ending to the meal:
Dessert: Dulce de leche flan There are no authentic desserts in this fusion cuisine, so I went with a dessert that V loves. I normally make a very plain and easy version of caramel custard but this time I wanted to try something new, so I chose a recipe for Dulce de leche flan made by Angela of "A spoonful of sugar" for a sugar high friday many months ago (how I love these foodie events! I can always refer back to the round-ups for some great recipes.) I followed the recipe exactly, boiling an intact can of condensed milk for 3 hours to get the dulce de leche. This is what happens to condensed milk after that treatment:

Nice and caramelized! The flan was very easy to put together and the results were astounding! I don't have a picture of the flan (people gobbled it up before I had a chance!) but you can see it on Angela's blog. We all loved it...this recipe is a keeper!
That was a great party, and here's to V having a wonderful year ahead!

M is for MOOGAMBAT

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have a population higher than Maharashtra). Language: Marathi. Traditional Marathi food is earthy and humble, diverse and very tasty. It also remains relatively unknown to non-marathis. Its time to change that. I invite you to join me on an alphabetical culinary tour of my state. We will go through the letters A to Z and make a dish with each letter to show-case Marathi cuisine.

M is for Moogambat.

Following closely on the heels of "L", we come to the letter "M". It starts with a trio of spices, mohri (mustard), the similar-sounding miri ( black peppercorns) and the all-important ingredient of Indian food, mirchi (chilli peppers). These are generally added in small quantities to spice up foods, but mirchi is considered an ingredient in its own right...fresh chillies are ground up with salt to give a amazingly spicy paste called mirchi cha thecha (smashed chillies). The most famous M word is, without a doubt, masala which means the dry spice mixtures and spice pastes that form an integral part of Indian cooking, but is a word also used to describe spicy gossip and all matters of a tabloid nature!
M is the word for maida (pronounced ma-ee-da) or all-purpose flour, which has many uses in the kitchen but still is not as widely used as its healthier whole-wheat cousin, luckily for us. M stands for some popular vegetables including maka or corn, mattar or peas, and methi or fenugreek, a mildly bitter and very nutritious green leafy vegetable. The most popular M lentil is moong, often used in its sprouted avatar.
One delightfully sweet M is a dumpling called modak. These sweets resemble onions in shape, round at one end and tapering at the other; and are made by stuffing a coconut mixture into dough which is then either steamed or fried. Modaks are a special treat made at the festival honoring Ganesha, the elephant-god.
I know the "M" that everyone is waiting for is misal, a delightful snack made with a base of lentil curry, then sprinkled with all kinds of fried garnishes and chutneys and eaten with bread. This street food is my favorite too, but its not what I made today (wait! hear me out!). The reason is that the base of misal is a curry called "usal" and I am saving it for the letter "U", when I will make usal and misal together. So misal is coming around in just a few weeks!
The dish I decided to make for "M" is actually influenced by the cuisine of the konkan coast. It is a curry made with sprouted whole moong. The name moogambat is a combination word of moong+ ambat (sour) indicating that it is a tangy curry. A reader has kindly corrected me by saying that, "in konkani ambat means amti", so this dish actually translates to moong amti. My apologies for this error. My paternal grandmother was konkani and hence the influence of this style of cooking.

Moogambat


Ingredients:
3 cups sprouted moong beans (Primer for sprouting beans), cooked till tender
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1 tbsp jaggery (brown sugar)
For the paste
1 tbsp oil
1/2 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/2 cup onion, coarsely chopped
4 dried red chillies
1 tbsp coriander seeds
Method
1. Make the paste by heating the oil in a skillet and toasting all the ingredients for the paste together. Then grind into a fine paste and set aside.
2. In a pan, heat the oil. Make a "tadka" with cumin, mustard, asafoetida. Add the cooked moong beans and the rest of the ingredients and some water if necessary and simmer the curry for 5-10 minutes. Taste for salt and the sweet-sour balance of flavors. Garnish with cilantro.
This curry could not be simpler to make. It is very tasty with some plain boiled rice. Let's meet next week with "N"!

L is for LASUN CHUTNEY

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have a population higher than Maharashtra). Language: Marathi. Traditional Marathi food is earthy and humble, diverse and very tasty. It also remains relatively unknown to non-marathis. Its time to change that. I invite you to join me on an alphabetical culinary tour of my state. We will go through the letters A to Z and make a dish with each letter to show-case Marathi cuisine.

L is for Lasun Chutney.

We continue our journey with the letter "L". It is certainly the letter for spicy, fiery foods, representing lasun (garlic) and lavang (cloves). Cloves are not merely a spice, but an important part of the first-aid kit: toothaches can be relieved by chewing on cloves (the clove oil has a rapid numbing effect). Another fiery "L" food is laal rassa or red curry (the same concept as the egg rassa I made earlier. The most exciting "L" is definitely lonche or pickles, and these come in an infinite variety. In the days before refrigeration, pickles were an all-important way to store vegetables for the leaner months; the high salt content of pickles keep them from spoiling. Unlike "pickles" in the US, which generally refer to veggies packed in salt and vinegar, Indian pickles are choc-a-bloc with spices. They come in all flavors: sweet, spicy, sour and every combination thereof. If ever you are in an Indian home and someone mentions home-made pickles, I suggest you lay on the charm and get a bottle for yourself, for every family will have their unique recipe. What about "L" foods in the produce section: I can think of two, limbu or lemons (an important candidate for making pickles!) and laal bhopla or pumpkin, a hardy vegetable that is found in even the most arid regions of the state. Deccanheffalump recently wrote a beautiful post about this veggie along with a tasty, easy step-by-step recipe. After these spicy food, we need a sweet food to end with, and that would be ladoo, those sweet dessert balls that also come in infinite variety. Some popular kinds are besan ladoo, made with chickpea flour and rava ladoo, made with toasted cream-of-wheat.
For our "L" dish today, I had to go with the flow and make something spicy, and so I am making a signature rustic Marathi condiment, lasun chutney or garlic chutney. For many rural folk in Maharashtra, when food budgets are tight, the humble chutney is much more than just a condiment. When only thick dry flatbreads (bhakri) are available for sustenance, the lasun chutney and a side of raw onions makes the meal palatable. For helping millions of people through lean times, the lasun chutney gets pride of place in the Marathi A-Z.

Lasun Chutney


(makes about 1 cup)
Ingredients
1/3 cup dry shredded coconut (unsweetened)
1/3 cup peanuts
10 cloves garlic
5 dried red chillies
1 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp dry tamarind
salt to taste
Method: Dry roast each ingredient (except tamarind and salt) seperately on low heat till toasted. Grind all ingredients together to form the chutney. Store in a dry container.
This chutney can be served as a condiment with almost any Indian meal. I love it simply as a topping with bread and butter! See you next week for a look at the "M" of Marathi food.

Weekend Dog Blogging: Dale, the Fitness Freak

Move over, Yogi bear, Yoga Dog is here. Dale is maintaining his sleek figure by trying some yoga poses. Here he is practising his Ardha Matsyendrasana (Half Lord of the Fishes Pose).

Check out all the pooches hanging out with Sweetnicks!

An exciting day for One Hot Stove

Today, I am shocked to tell you, my picture won (!!) first place (it was a tie with the amazing Stephen of "Stephen Cooks") for "Originality" in the "Does my blog look good in this" (DMBLGIT), a competition for best food-blog photography every month. I *totally* don't belong in this gallery of talented photographers but am very grateful for this pat on the back. Thank you, judges, and thank you, Moira for hosting this event so beautifully. You made this girl's day!
Here is the winning picture: