Taro Leaf Fritters /Arbi Pathe Bajjis

Here is yet another wonderful stuffing for bajjis - Taro leaves - We have had them as patra & bakavadi - but since I started growing these, we have made bajjis and wonderful kootu or curry, used them as dolmades wrapping. All of these are fantastic because taro leaves lend themselves beautifully to any kind of preparation

WARNING - Do not try to eat taro leaves raw unless you are prepared to feel its acidic sting burn through your mouth and throat - the calcium oxalate burns down your throat, esophagus all the way to your stomach - COxalate also causes kidney stones - so please DO NOT EAT THEM RAW!!! My poor and rather unsuspecting husband ended up dashing to the fridge to gargle and send cold water chasing behind it to calm his throat which was visible red and inflamed - I guess this is the plant's defense mechanism. But they become docile tasty thingees when cooked - So please be warned about their raw "bite"  ;p

Bajii mavu is the simplest - if you have this recipe down then you can make bajjis with any veggie/leaf/blossom you fancy - 1:1 of besan (sifted) & rice flour; 1tbsp chili powder of choice; a pinch of asafetida; salt; and 1 cup + 1/4 cup or as much to get the consistency shown in the picture below.  Dip and Drop in hot oil - fry until golden brown; strain with paper towels in colander; serve hot.
You can cut the veggies any how you fancy - that too is the fun part. Enjoy these  - I have 2 other interesting bajjis to blog soon - adios

Batter Consistency

My Son who cut them for me posing for my sake :)

Sukhiyan- A sweet delicacy from South India

This was a dish I made for Gokulashtami, the birthday of Lord Krishna. I made this along with appams, sweet aval and thiratipal which I'd blogged earlier.  This was my first and I would admit not the greatest attempt at this dish. It is cinchy as recipes go and my family enjoyed it thoroughly, but you know when you can make a dish better right. I think I know how I can make it better next time. But the recipe is a good one and I now share it with you - I was also inspired to blog this because I was at Kalyani's blog and saw her wonderful event calling for jaggery and sesame dishes. So here goes

Ingredients
1/2 cup urad flour
2tbsp water to make batter with urad flour
1 cup of grated coconut
1/2 cup of sesame seeds powdered
1 cup of jaggery
1/2 tsp powdered cardamom
Oil to fry

Method for pUran/stuffing
Add 1 tsp of water to a sauce pan and add the jaggery to it
When the jaggery gets to a syrupy consistency add the coconut and the powdered sesame and cardamom
Allow all the water to evaporate an the mixture to get a thick, ball-able consistency
Allow it to cool down
In a bowl, mix ready urad flour in water to a Bajji Mavu consistency (thick but flowing)
Heat oil in a small deep pan.
Make balls out of the puran/stuffing
Dip in the urad batter and drop into the hot oil.
Allow the top to cook to a golden brown.
Remove and strain.

Serve as offering to Lord Krishna (if you are making it for him) before popping one into your mouth :)

Sending this to Kalyani's Magic Mingle event

Presto Pesto

Homemade is always good. Homegrown even better - My mantra for this summer for those who have been tuning in. This is another of those beautifully satisfying posts of a most popular Italian Spread. I have tried to keep it authentic in that I added absolutely no "spicy hot stuff" and I want to say it tasted perfect - of course only judging by the gusto with which the kiddos spread away :)

My basil plants are still fledglings and while I got some of my basil from there, I have to thank my friend for allowing me to pick some from her wonderful garden.

The recipe without much further chitchat.

Ingredients
About 4 cups of basil leaves
1/2 cup of pine nuts
4 tbsp grated parmesan
2 tbsp grated Romano
1/4 cup of olive oil +1 tbsp
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 tsp salt

Method
Wash basil thoroughly
Remove basil leaves from the stem
Add all the ingredients to the food processor and blend until you get a coarse texture
Transfer into a serving dish - Add more olive oil and stir in.

Spread on french bread, have it in pasta or any which way you like
This is my green dish for Independence Day :)
And stay tuned for my Garden Fresh Gonkura Chutney.

Some pictures...

It turns dark as soon as you make it - stir to see the green above!

Fresh Fig Chutney/Preserve

Fresh Fig Chutney

I wonder how the expression, I don't give a fig ever came about - were they talking about Figs or was that a short for figure as in number?  If they were referring to Figs, then they have indeed been overly shortsighted to have been so dismissive of this delicious and rather luscious looking and tasting fruit. I have known the delights of this fruit thanks to my friend who has this massive fig tree at her home and has been sharing kindly. Today I picked about two pounds (about 20-24 figs) came back home and decided to make something with it asap. And after sifting through a bunch of recipes, I settled on a Fig Chutney with the half and a tart with the other. Today I blog the chutney which I must say myself was absolutely amazing! Here is my recipe and some lovely pictures of the fruit

Ingredients

12 Figs black mountain medium sized

1 cup of honey

1/2 cup orange juice 

1/2 cup Port Wine

1tbsp unsalted butter

2 cloves (crushed)

3 black whole peppers (crushed)

1 tsp each of

crushed cardamom

all spice

crushed saffron

lemon zest

My Fig Face :p

Method

Wash and cut the stems of the figs before cutting them into quarters

Melt the butter in a heave sauce pan

Heat the honey until it becomes syrupy. 

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the figs)

All the all to thicken into a syrup consistency (about 10 -12 mins of medium heat gas flame)

Now add the figs and swirl syrup around or gently aid with ladle until the syrup covers the figs.

All this to simmer in medium low flame for about 18 -20 minutes depending on how ripe your figs are. 

Remove from flame And cool.

Bottling the preserve

I wonder why I do this since this yielded about 1/2 of the 1/2 liter mason jar or a little less and from what I heard after the kids tasted it, they were planning to make short work of it by tomorrow - glad I got the pictures in now -lol :)

Anyway,

Wash the mason jar and lids with soap thoroughly and rinse

Boil them for about 7 minutes in water

Remove with tongs and pat dry with paper towel and place on a sterile (or clean) surface

Cool the chutney and put in the jar

Seal tight. If the jar is full and you notice air bubbles, open the jar ensure that they are teased out before resealing.

If this is to be put away, boil water again and put sealed jar in and boil for 5 more minutes for the seal to set. 

Label and put away in the pantry - It will be good for a year of these instructions are followed.

Now for some pics :) And stay tuned for my Fig pie/tart

Thiratipal -conventional and unconventional methods

Milk Fudge Bonbons/ Toffees

Traditional Thiratipal

I kickstart to the festival of Gokulashtami, also names, Janmashtami, or Krishna Jayanti, a day to celebrate that bratty yet most adored blue boy, born to Devaki and raised by Yashoda with Thiratipal. Thiratipal is a sweet dish which has been a favorite of many south Indian families and in our home especially. I can still taste the deliciousness of my mom's preparation of this dish. While I have always taken the effort to celebrate all the Indian, Hindu festivals, I had scaled down the celebration for a while because year after year it us just us who enjoy the fruits of my hard labor - nothing wrong with that whatsoever. I have gone through waves of celebration when my older kids were younger and I dressed them up as Krishna. But then 4 years ago, a little girl with the naughty disposition of Krishna entered my life in the form of my baby girl and she regales anyone who wants to hear them with stories of krishna, having memorized the story CDs by heart. I am most always awe-struck at how much she understand and how perfect her intonation is when she tells the story! And she is just a 3 year old! She wakes up each morning and assumes different roles and confers upon me a role to play to - So I wake up each day as Krishna, Ganesha, Muruga or who ever the character du jour may be. And she always is the the lady of the story, be it Parvati, Radha or Yashoda OR Rapunzel, Peaches of Ice Age or Meera the girl monkey of Karadi Tales fame - She cracks all of us up with how genuinely she believes in the characters she plays and the sincerity she expects from us when we do our part. "Get in Character people!" Lol! But that is part of her immense charm and much like Krishna, she has us all wrapped in her little finger and fills our hearts and days with pure joy. So the posts related to this festival is dedicated to Kutty Lord Krishna and my very own Krishnas

When it comes to certain dishes, it is good to keep with the traditional - as least for me - The unconventional method I thought bombed until I was able to do a quick improv and make it a fancy bonbon. But I fell back upon good ole Meenakshi Amma, author of the treasured  "Cook and See" books. She measures things funny, but I tell you, I'd give anything to taste just one meal prepared by this talented lady.  Mom made the best, but as a child you enjoyed the snack and did not really take notes and when you get old enough to be interested in making it Mom's gone and then you rely heavily on your tongue to remember the taste and texture of the dish. 

Method 1 using condensed milk yielded bonbons or milk fudge toffees

Method 2 using whole milk yielded something quite close to what my mom used to make -

I am sharing both recipes with you

Method 1 - 

1 can condensed milk

2 tbsp yogurt

(optional) 1 tbsp of ghee

I did not do the MW method that is so popular now. I did the old school stove top method.

I stirred and stirred and stirred and while the color was getting sort of toffeeish I did not see the milk splitting to form the curdled look that authentic Thiratipal consists of. It was peeling of the sides of the pan and I knew it would harden too much if i let it go any longer - So I put it on a greased plate. It just sat there while the idea to wrap them up like toffees occurred to me. With the help of my ablest assistant, my older daughter, we made balls of the fudge and wrapped them in wax paper. end of story - The taste itself is super yummy, if a little toffee like - Here are some pictures:

Method 2

2 litres of whole milk

1 cup of sugar

2 tbsp yogurt

1tsp ghee

This takes a LONG time folks - I am being honest here - it takes milk a good long time to reduce to malai or cream.  Add the yogurt and stir in the split happens dramatically. Add the sugar and stir in - the color changes from a white to an off white/cream and the frothing/bubbling intensifies. You turn this a minute or two then pour it into a greased pan. Voila - Thiratipal, a la mom and Meenakshi Amma is good to go 

Pictures:

Hope my Krishna enjoy this.

Will be back with Thatai, Suhiyam or Suhiyan, Appam and Sweet Aval recipes for the occasion.