ruchi chūchuhttp://andamu.org/ruchi/favicon.icotag:andamu.org,2008:/ruchi//92007-12-17T19:09:54Za pinch of this, a smidgen of thatMovable Type Publishing Platform 4.01Sweet Scones with Recipetag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10292007-12-17T19:09:23Z2007-12-17T19:09:54ZWe were in the mood for some fruity scones, and I recalled a recipe I came across a while ago entitled Company Scones. I had made it before and we had loved the results, so off I went to ask...We were in the mood for some fruity scones, and I recalled a recipe I came across a while ago entitled Company Scones. I had made it before and we had loved the results, so off I went to ask Google to help me find the recipe. And there it was, on the first page of results, at cooks.com.
The method is fairly simple and traditional: cutting in butter into flour, mixing in the liquid, forming the dough, cutting the shapes and baking. It calls for orange zest and almonds; I left out the latter (I'm ambivalent to nuts in my baked goods) and substituted lemon zest for orange, because I didn't have any oranges on hand.
The real difference though appears in my preparation. An old trick my mother taught me, is to roll or press out the dough into roughly the desired thickness, sprinkling the surface with flour, then folding the dough in half. Now the two layers are separated by the dusting of flour, and after it had been rolled again to the desired thickness, the scones have been cut and backed, they separate easily into two halves along the line that had been sprinkled with flour; no need for a knife.
We serve it warm from the oven with butter.
Variation:Orange zest and dried cranberries make for a wonderful festive season flavor. Poppy seed and a little lemon essence along with the lemon zest results in a fresh taste.]]>
Frustrationstag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10272007-12-13T15:35:11Z2007-12-13T16:00:40ZThere had been a power outage in the night, so the heat went off and the alarms did not. Not that I am complaining, since there are many people in this region who had lost power for several days as...
There had been a power outage in the night, so the heat went off and the alarms did not. Not that I am complaining, since there are many people in this region who had lost power for several days as a result of storms but still, we do feel those little inconveniences.
Of a more serious nature is the spotty performance of the server on which this blog is hosted. We are a little perplexed, and have been trying to troubleshoot the issue which is basically that roughly once a day the computer either shuts down entirely or hangs.
We are trying to figure out conclusively whether there is a problem with the computer hardware, the operating system, or the software running on the system, but we have been baffled. Our short term plan is to switch the system to a different (older, slower) computer and make sure that that will stay up - thereby pointing to hardware issues on the actual server. Then the next step would be to decide whether to attempt to fix the server or whether to get a new one.
Tough decisions.
Hello Strangertag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10262007-12-10T20:33:01Z2007-12-10T20:31:50ZTo make up for my absence, I am jumping right back in with a scrumptious recipe. "But what happened to you?" you might still be inclined to ask. Well, there is always work of course, but this time I got...To make up for my absence, I am jumping right back in with a scrumptious recipe.
"But what happened to you?" you might still be inclined to ask.
Well, there is always work of course, but this time I got a sudden big load on my shoulders with a significant deadline attached, so that ate up some time and energy. Then there is family and home life in general; we have each of us (except my husband) taken turns to be laid low with this nasty cold that is going around. Then of course there is my role as conference organizer for a volunteer organization (what was I thinking?!), with its continuous demands. But by far the most significant thing that kept me from posting has been stacks of homework and preparation for the final exams for the coursework for my masters.
That is now behind me, and so I can breathe again. In the meantime, a couple of my friends have just had babies, with several more soon to come between January and April, so I have taken up knitting again. I've just completed one little cardigan (I promise I'll put up pictures) and am about a third of the way through another little sweater; right now I am all excited about wools and patterns - i.e. when I am not totally shocked by the cost of yarn!
But to get to the recipe: this is a really easy and protein-rich version of a masala vada-type snack. Note, I said "type" - this is not the real thing, but it is delicious and easy.
The basics: grind soaked chana dhal along with onion, green chillies and spices. Make a flavorful tempering and mix this with the batter along with chopped onion, chillies and cilantro. Fry, drain and serve.
See, how much easier can it get?
I take a tablespoonful of the batter and smooth the top, then slide it into the oil. This means the batter can be a little thinner than for traditional masala vada, and you don't have to stand and shape each one by hand.
Note:After you have fried the first vada, taste it before you fry any more, and check for salt and spice. At this time you can add salt and chilli powder or other spices to the batter if required.
A neat trick is to put the additional salt and/or spices in a little bowl/katori and take a little oil and mix them up. Then stir it into the batter; this way the spices will evenly disperse throughout without clumping.
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Surprise Rainbowtag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10242007-11-20T17:58:16Z2007-11-20T17:58:00ZWe have been seeing typical Pacific Northwest winter weather here for the past week or so; mostly overcast skies with rain, drizzle, showers and spitting most of the time. Lucky for me, I love the rain, although the gloomy skies...
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Staples: Using the Easy Buttontag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10232007-11-17T20:07:42Z2007-11-17T20:07:48ZOurs is a Telugu household; in short, that means that you cannot speak of a "proper" meal if there is not some rice and some kandi pappu (toor dhal) on the table. There's more to it than that, of course,...Ours is a Telugu household; in short, that means that you cannot speak of a "proper" meal if there is not some rice and some kandi pappu (toor dhal) on the table. There's more to it than that, of course, but those two are a staple requirement.
This version is a very common one, a firm favorite with us, and fortunately extremely easy to make. The short version of the recipe is: Put the dhal and the vegetables in the pressure cooker. Make a tempering. Combine and eat.
There, that wasn't so difficult, was it? As always though there is some art in the composition of the tempering, the detail of the method. That is the piece that is so hard to capture when you are trying to write down the recipe that an experienced cook is demonstrating for you.
I think the biggest tip I can give here is to assemble the bits and pieces for the tempering first, before you even start heating the ghee. I measure out the seeds and the dhals together in a small bowl, and in another I put the broken red chilli and the stripped curry leaves. Then, when I turn on the heat for the ghee, I measure the methi and stand with it in a spoon, waiting for the ghee to reach the right temperature.
Once I start making the tempering, it is only a life-threatening situation that would interrupt me, and then only after I had placed the whole vessel in the sink; I would rather start over than burn the house down!
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Running to Catch Uptag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10222007-11-16T20:23:18Z2007-11-16T20:22:23ZI reckon that I am about two weeks behind in most things in this stage. Well, I am basically up to date at work, and as they are paying my salary, that is as it should be. But in everything...I reckon that I am about two weeks behind in most things in this stage. Well, I am basically up to date at work, and as they are paying my salary, that is as it should be. But in everything else ... oh boy!
The picture should demonstrate just how far I am lagging. On Halloween Nini and Angel Face were invited to a friend's house so the pipsqueak and their kids could go Trick-or-Treating together, and the grown-ups could socialize. When they reached there, the friend had just taken a batch of cupcakes from the oven, and they were invited to help decorate them.
These are Nini's invention: candy corn for the nose and two Reese's Pieces for the eyes topped with a little piped decoration for the pupils. I just thought that might make you smile, and keep my seat warm until I pull together some recipes and pictures.
I hope all of you are enjoying a better work/life balance for the moment.]]>
Quick Little Storytag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10202007-11-12T19:47:23Z2007-11-13T00:10:08ZWith all the talk about Angel Face recently, I thought I would just share a quick little story with you. When kids are little, they hear things and if they don't immediately make sense, they try to make it fit...
Rachael Ray!
::
You might ask why I suddenly thought of that story? Well, today I was sitting in one of those meetings full of corporate-speak, when somebody spoke of something to happen in the "April-May time frame."
Everybody wondered why I suddenly had such a big smile!]]>
(Lady's) Finger-Lickin' Goodtag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10192007-11-11T17:14:19Z2007-11-11T17:14:42ZMy husband has strong opinions about okra (lady's fingers): it should never have the slightest hint of sliminess. I can understand that, and I agree, but he is ever so slightly fanatic about it. He is very - shall we...My husband has strong opinions about okra (lady's fingers): it should never have the slightest hint of sliminess. I can understand that, and I agree, but he is ever so slightly fanatic about it. He is very - shall we say "careful" - about eating any dishes with this in it. His favorite way (read "just about the only way he likes it") is sliced thinly and dry fried.
So, when about ten years ago I decided to try this recipe from Premila Lal's "Indian Cooking" he was really hesitant, but he wanted to be supportive of my early cooking experiments. Then, about halfway through this recipe it looks as if it is never going to work, and you start wondering whether you should order pizza delivery instead.
But then, all of a sudden, everything just comes together, and you realize that you have an exceptional dish here. Here's the basic concept: you make a rich gravy from ground onions and yogurt, to which you add fried whole young lady's fingers. If you follow the steps carefully in the right sequence, you will end with a delectable meal that will have everyone asking you for the recipe!
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Angel Face - by popular requesttag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10172007-11-09T15:27:57Z2007-11-09T15:26:42ZFirst, a happy deepavali to you and your families from all of us. Instead of posting a traditional light, I thought I would give you light of a different kind: the light from the face of a child. Sandeepa stumbled...First, a happy deepavali to you and your families from all of us. Instead of posting a traditional light, I thought I would give you light of a different kind: the light from the face of a child.
Sandeepa stumbled across a page with very old pictures of Angel Face, which has started the requests to see her. I suppose she features frequently in my posts, and we love her very dearly, so the curiosity is understandable.
She just turned seven about a month ago, and she is growing so fast we can hardly keep up with clothes for her. Angel Face is my niece, Nini's daughter, but as we are an extended family living in one house, she is like the daughter I don't have. Sometimes she slips up and calls me amma instead of doddamma and, even though I laugh, it makes my heart feel warm inside.
She loves reading (which she must have gotten from me) and clothes (which she got entirely from her mother); all her dolls seem to have two names: Emily Elizabeth and Lila Laxmi and Natalie Jean; her favorite stuffed animals are unicorns (Paisley and Wysteria).
She loves homemade foods: macaroni and cheese, and broccoli cheese soup and rice; boy, does she ever like rice. If we give her a whole plate full of just plain rice, she would finish it and ask for more.
When we eat out, she astounds the servers by begging for broccoli or spinach; if we are having a Thai curry for instance, she would keep asking us to pick out all the broccoli from the curry for her. The servers are so used to children making a fuss because they do not want the broccoli that they actually call others over to come and see this unusual event.
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The Great Chickpea Searchtag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10142007-11-07T15:44:24Z2007-11-07T23:31:32ZFood bloggers are wonderful people; everyone always seem so willing to help. I was looking for more Gujurati chana-bateta recipes after posting a modified concoction I made a while ago. And people very helpfully suggested that I look at the...Food bloggers are wonderful people; everyone always seem so willing to help. I was looking for more Gujurati chana-bateta recipes after posting a modified concoction I made a while ago. And people very helpfully suggested that I look at the recipe posted by Trupti from The Spice Who Loved Me.
Now, for those of you with young children at home, this will be a familiar scene. Sitting down at dinner table, Angel Face usually will not eat much of the "proper" food, but instead will load up on the rice, or the bread or pasta or potatoes... you get the idea. To counteract this, we had instituted the "one-bite/one-bite" policy, which says she can have a bite of carbs only after she's had a mouthful of "real food." Sound familiar?
Well, it turns out she loves senagalu and what's more, she lo-o-o-oves them Gujurati style. Well, when you find something that the kid will eat without complaint that happens actually to be good for her with lots of protein (always a concern for us vegies), and that the adults also happen to like, you go for it!
So I tried Trupti's recipe, and it was another winner; I will keep it with the previous recipe, and we will probably alternate them, making one this time, and the other one the next time. As for Angel Face? Like last time, she took a spoon to the katori with the chana-bateta nu shaak in it and finished it off that way before even touching the bhatura. For her second helping, I filled it only halfway, thinking she won't finish it, but she did and asked for more even after that. Now what better endorsement than that do you want for a recipe?
Note:I've made only a few small changes to Trupti's recipe: left out the besan because we like it liquidy and when some of the potato is broken up a little bit it thickens the gravy quite well, and didn't put the jaggery.]]>
Four Times the Funtag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10132007-11-05T15:42:02Z2007-11-05T16:34:23ZI have been having great fun reading responses to the Fantastic Four Meme that has been going around. Being relatively new to the food blog world, I found this a great opportunity to learn a little more of my fellow...I have been having great fun reading responses to the Fantastic Four Meme that has been going around. Being relatively new to the food blog world, I found this a great opportunity to learn a little more of my fellow bloggers than those cryptic little "About" pages tell me.
But now the shoe is on the other foot: I was put on the spot by Rajitha from Hunger Pangs, and now I will see how it feels to bare a little bit of myself to you.
My Fantastic Four Meme
4 Places I Have Lived(in no particular order)
Rustenburg, South Africa
Fargo, North Dakota
IIT Madras Campus
Portland, Oregon area
4 Jobs I Had
Nanny (while a student)
Cricket Scorer on television
Curriculum Developer and Lecturer for Computer Training Concern
R&D Engineer
4 Favorite Places I Have Holidayed(This is our joint list.
My list of places before marriage would be a little different)
London
Delhi
Cape Town
New York
4 Favorite Foods(I'm cheating royally here; then again, it's my meme...)
Desserts: Basundi, Potharekulu, Chocolate Mousse, Mysore Pak (from Saravana Bhavan), hot Jalebi
Drinks: Fresh lime soda, Madras coffee, Ginger lemon chai
4 Favorite Places I Would Rather Be
In an armchair next to a fireplace reading a book and watching a storm on the ocean
Graduating, instead of still working towards the Masters
In Nalli's with a blank check in my bag
Always with the one I love
4 Bloggers I like to tag(I tried to check that these are bloggers who have not yet participated. Do let me know if you have already done the meme, or if you would prefer not to, and I will tag someone else.)
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A Bhatura Crisistag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10122007-11-02T18:40:42Z2007-11-02T18:40:36ZSuppose you have an Oreo cookie and a chocolate brownie. The Oreo is nice enough, right? Stuffing in the middle, chocolatey biscuit on the outside. But then you have the rich lush gooey, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet-behind-your-ears total yumminess of a good...Suppose you have an Oreo cookie and a chocolate brownie. The Oreo is nice enough, right? Stuffing in the middle, chocolatey biscuit on the outside. But then you have the rich lush gooey, melt-in-your-mouth, sweet-behind-your-ears total yumminess of a good brownie. Can you picture that? (More importantly, can you taste that?)
Now, you might prefer Oreos, or you might be a brownie addict; whichever it is, you will agree that you cannot (and should not) call an Oreo cookie a brownie.
Good. Having got that straight, here's my problem with bhatura. The bhatura recipes that I have result in delicious-tasting stuff, but it is not bhatura. For me, bhatura are thicker and more "doughy" or "spongy" than puri (and in most cases much larger, but that is an externally controllable factor).
The recipe I use however results in a very crisp and brittle end-result. It is not doughy at all, and it bends only a little, so it is not easy to eat chole with it. It tastes very nice, but it is not the delicious full-bodied hotel bhatura that I crave.
I think part of the problem is that I have never actually cooked with a North Indian in the kitchen. I've cooked with lots of Telugu women obviously, some Tamilians and a few Kannadigas, but no-one from the north. I've never first-hand seen the dough, touched it to feel its texture and elasticity so that I can strive to reproduce it.
And then I am using the recipe of a southerner to boot! Most of us know and love the series of small books by Mrs. S. Mallika Badrinath. Most of her recipes are great basic jump-off points for all sorts of South Indian food. I personally use this particular book, "Tiffin Varieties" for many of its other recipes. But its bhatura recipe just does not yield bhatura.
So I am appealing to all of you out there in the blogosphere: please take pity on this poor confused woman, and tell me how to make those delicious spongy bhaturas! I will even do a mini "Bhatura Roundup" if you post them on your blogs; if you've posted a great recipe in the past, post the link to that to me.
This is not an event, it is sheer desperation, but I do want to acknowledge anyone who takes the time to help me out.
Below is the recipe from "Tiffin Varieties" that I am currently using. Try it - it is really very tasty - it should just be called something else!
Bhatura - III
2 heaped cups maida
3 pinches cooking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1.5 tsp oil
- blended together
1/2 cup thick curds
1/4 cup milk
- mixed
Knead liquid into dough. If necessary add more milk.
Keep closed for 2-3 hours]]>
Weekend Brunchtag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10112007-11-01T20:14:38Z2007-11-01T22:06:58ZThis past weekend we took the opportunity to get up late one morning, cuddling a bit longer under the warm covers before facing the chilly day. Rather more in the mood for comfort than experimentation, we returned to familiar recipes...This past weekend we took the opportunity to get up late one morning, cuddling a bit longer under the warm covers before facing the chilly day.
Rather more in the mood for comfort than experimentation, we returned to familiar recipes to make a brunch that fitted the mood perfectly.
The first item we selected was the Sweetcorn and Rice Fritters I entered last month for WBB; it is a firm family favorite, and the reason why we always make sure when we do grocery shopping that we have a supply of cream style corn.
Then, since we wanted this to be a substantial brunch as opposed to a light snack, we wanted to add a kura to it. Trying to come up with something that has both protein and vegetables in it, our thoughts very easily turned to the Chickpea and Potato Curry since everyone loved it. This time, for a little variation, we used some great northern beans instead of the chickpeas. It worked well, although I think I still prefer the chickpea version.
And so, we all had happy tummies with warm and delicious food inside, and we all lived happily ever after (at least for the rest of the weekend).
The End.
:-)]]>
Help! I can't find it anywhere...tag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10092007-10-31T19:57:33Z2007-10-31T18:58:21ZI don't know where this recipe came from! Maa chellelu Nini found it online about six weeks ago, but she copied and pasted it, and now it doesn't have any URL information - or other distinguishing characteristics - anywhere. It...I don't know where this recipe came from! Maa chellelu Nini found it online about six weeks ago, but she copied and pasted it, and now it doesn't have any URL information - or other distinguishing characteristics - anywhere. It could have come from a blog, or from an Indian recipe site like bawarchi.com, or a generic recipe site like cooks.com. I have no idea.
If you recognize this recipe - either as your own or from somewhere else - please let me know. First and foremost I would like to give due credit, but secondly: this recipe is fantastic! I would like to know where it came from so we can cook more of their recipes.
The biggest change we made to this recipe was to use butternut squash instead of pumpkin because that's what we had on hand. It turned out deliciously; the combination of the natural sweetness of the butternut combined with the distinctive tastes of the coconut and the curry leaves created a lot of happy people around the table; not to mention the richness added by the cashews.
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Falling ... in love againtag:andamu.org,2007:/ruchi//9.10082007-10-29T14:55:53Z2007-10-29T13:56:37ZThe seasons were observed more on the calendar than in nature where I grew up; in summer it was green with some rain, in winter all the grass went yellow and it was chilly. Most of the trees were evergreen,...]]>
We were in the mood for some fruity scones, and I recalled a recipe I came across a while ago entitled Company Scones. I had made it before and we had loved the results, so off I went to ask Google to help me find the recipe. And there it was, on the first page of results, at cooks.com.
The method is fairly simple and traditional: cutting in butter into flour, mixing in the liquid, forming the dough, cutting the shapes and baking. It calls for orange zest and almonds; I left out the latter (I'm ambivalent to nuts in my baked goods) and substituted lemon zest for orange, because I didn't have any oranges on hand.
The real difference though appears in my preparation. An old trick my mother taught me, is to roll or press out the dough into roughly the desired thickness, sprinkling the surface with flour, then folding the dough in half. Now the two layers are separated by the dusting of flour, and after it had been rolled again to the desired thickness, the scones have been cut and backed, they separate easily into two halves along the line that had been sprinkled with flour; no need for a knife.
We serve it warm from the oven with butter.
Variation: Orange zest and dried cranberries make for a wonderful festive season flavor. Poppy seed and a little lemon essence along with the lemon zest results in a fresh taste.
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