Tamarind Rice (Classic Iyengar style)

This is a classic Iyengar style Tamarind Rice recipe that I followed from Dakshin (book). It is quite  elaborate in its preparation. However, you can always store the tamarind spicy chutney in the refrigerator for long time and preparation of rice is easy once the chutney is done.

I love tamarind rice and my mom used to use a simple recipe that included boiling tamarind juice with lots and lots of green chillies, some fenugreek and salt. I have not really seen her do any elaborate spice mix /paste as this recipe asks for. It was I believe the Andhra style (as I grew up in Hyderabad - Andhra Pradesh). We used to call the tamarind chutney "Pulikyachal" and it was so yummy, we used to eat it with hot rice and pappadam (Kerala style).

A small anecdote about my mom's recipe is that it was so popular in the community that during "Annadanam" activities as part of Sathya Sai Samithi, she would make this in bulk (big cooker worth of rice) and distribute it amongst the needy. I used to take part in this activity during Summer holidays. I also remember collecting ice from various houses and sitting in the milk booth, distributing "ice cold water" to commuters and the thirsty on a hot summer day (another activity of Sathya Sai Samithi). The satisfaction of quenching the thirst of a thirsty is immeasurable. I am happy I was part of this activity, and applaud all who do that even now.

After marrying into a Iyengar family, I found very quickly that tamarind rice is one of the most important /signature dishes cooked during festivals. The menu during a feast MUST have the following entrees - Tamarind rice (with appalam - tamilian style), thaire vadai (vada in spicy yogurt),  Pooshinikai More Kozhambu (Ash gourd yogurt soup), Sathuamudhu (Rasam - Pepper soup), Karamudhu (vegetable fry), and Dadhyodhanam (spicy yogurt rice).  My mom-in-law used to labor in the kitchen to create all these delicious entrees and I used to help her as a true assistant. I also had once asked her the recipe while I was in the US, but did not really do justice to the dish, as my husband gave his typical "ok" indicating that it was far from what his mom makes. 

The recipe from Dakshin reminded me of my mom-in-law's recipe. So, I thought why not try it, lets see what my husband says this time.  You will not believe it, but for the very first time in my life, my husband called me at work yesterday and told me that this Tamarind rice reminded him of his mom's and was truly Iyengar style!! In all the years I am married to him, he has never called me to commend on my cooking and that too, he gave me an "A" as you know his comments have always been "ok" which is a "B".

So, I proudly present to you - The Tamarind Rice (Iyengar style)
Courtesy: Dakshin (Chandra Padmanabhan)

Tamarind Chutney
Ingredients

An orange sized tamarind pulp
3 cups hot water
salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp powdered jaggery

Dry Masala for chutney
2 tbsp oil
1/2 cup coriander seeds
8 red chillies
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tbsp bengal gram dal (yellow split pea)
1 tbsp black gram dal
few curry leaves

Garnish 
1/2 cup white sesame seeds
1/3 cup flaked coconut

Tempering
2 tbsp sesame oil
10 red chillies (can use green chillies)
2 tsps brown mustard seeds
1 tbsp bengal gram dal
few curry leaves

Direction to making tamarind chutney
Soak the tamarind in hot water for 15 min until soft, squeeze out juice and set aside.
For Masala, heat oil in pan, add all the spices and curry leaves and saute for 2-3 min until brown. Place mix in blender and blend into a fine powder.
For Garnish, dry roast the sesame seeds and coconut and dry grind in blender into fine powder
Heat oil in heavy saucepan, add the green chillies (or red), mustard seeds, bengal gram dal and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds sputter, add the tamarind juice, salt, ground turmeric and jaggery and let it cook in low heat until the paste thickens. Add all the dry masala and 2 tbsp of garnish powder. Keep the rest of garnish for rice. Let it cook and thicken in low heat until oil comes out. You can store the tamarind paste in refrigerator for a month.


Tamarind Rice preparation
Ingredients
1 cup long grained rice
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
salt to taste
2/3 cup roasted peanuts
3-4 tbsp tamarind chutney
2 tbsp garnish powder

Tempering
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tbsp bengal gram dal
1 tbsp black gram dal
1 tsp asafoetida
few curry leaves

Directions for making tamarind rice

Cook the rice separately and spread to cool. Add ground turmeric and salt and mix thoroughly. Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in heavy frying pan, add the mustard seeds, and all the dals, asafoetida powder and few curry leaves. When the mustard seeds sputter, add peanuts (roasted), saute for 2-3 min. Add this to rice and mix. Now add 3-4 tbsp tamarind chutney and mix thoroughly. Taste and add more if needed. Sprinkle the garnish powder over the rice and stir thoroughly.

You can store the tamarind paste for months in the refrigerator. The tempering and garnish can be prepared fresh along with rice. Enjoy with appalam or papadam..

Sukha Methi (Fenugreek side dish)

If you are reading my blogs, you would remember the recipe Sukha Besan (Chick pea flour dish). This is very similar in that it is made dry (not gravy) and goes well with hot chapathis or rotis.

Fenugreek (leaf or seed) is a functional food in that it helps with many ailments such as reducing blood sugar levels (diabetics), producing mother's milk to name a few. I started to love this vegetable since my times as a diabetic during pregnancy, and I in fact started liking the bitter note it imparts.

The Methi Rice dish (previous blog) was all I knew on how to use the vegetable, however, since I came to Pune I have learned many ways of using the vegetable and creating non-bitter variations of the vegetable. This dish also has the lentils that adds protein and is preferred by parents for school lunch boxes. There are certain ways of cooking and preparing the dish that makes it non-bitter that helps with its universal acceptance amongst kids and adults. 

Sukha Methi
Courtesy: Lakshmi (my maidservant)

1 bunch Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves), finely chopped
(you could substitute Methi with Dill leaves)
1 cups Moong dal (green gram), partially cooked in water
Garlic - 2-3 cloves
Green Chilli - 4-5
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 0.5 tsp
Oil - 6 tbsp refine oil
salt to taste

Directions
Boil the lentils in a separate pot of boiling water and decant in a strainer. In a blender, take the green chilli and grind it with salt into a fine paste. The more chilli you use, the better for reducing the bitterness of Methi. The dish will not be very hot due to the chillies as the bitterness neutralizes the heat from the chillies.

In a pan, take oil, add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds sputter, add asafoetida, curry leaves, garlic and chilli paste and let it cook for 2-3 min. The chilli paste should be completely immersed in oil. I was afraid that by heating the chilli paste, the entire household is going to be coughing and sneezing, but nothing happened. The secret lies in complete immersion of the chilli paste in oil - that doesn't let the fumes out.

Add the cut leaves and lentils (half cooked) and mix it well with the chilli garlic paste and oil. Let the leaves and lentils get cooked together for 10 mins or until the vegetable and lentils are fully cooked.  The juice of the leaves will be enough to cook the lentils well. Don't add any extra water. Remember, it is sukha (dry) dish.The leaves will change color from light green to dark green and will curl up when cooked well.

Tips: You should add salt in ample amount that you usually do for other dishes. This helps to remove the bitterness and reduce the heat from the chillies.The combination of chilli, garlic and salt cooked in oil is the key that brings the flavor and taste to the dish. The lentils should not be too much cooked, otherwise, it will turn pasty and make the dish into one big lump.

Enjoy with hot chapathis!

Baked Vegetable and Olive Frittata (Baked egg dish)

 This dish sounds very exotic...but quite simple with egg, cheese and vegetables (olives).

It is not vegan as it is loaded with egg (including yolks), cheese and milk.  It was my first baking experience with egg and we tried it the South Indian style mixing it in Rice.. it was delicious..


Baked Vegetable and Olive Frittata
Courtesy: The Little Big vegetarian book - Page 713

2 red bell peppers (could use green bell peppers)
1 kg tomatoes
4 small onions
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (can use refined oil)
1 small bunch of aromatic herbs (oregano, basil, thyme) finely chopped
(can use a Italian spice mix)
salt to taste
4 eggs (can use egg beaters /imitation egg)
125 ml milk
215g freshly grated Gruyere cheese (used Mozarella/processed cheese)
100 g black olives (pitted) - used Canned olives

Directions
Preheat oven to 200C/400C. Saute the onion, bell peppers and tomatoes (chopped coarse) in a frying pan with salt and oil until vegetables soften. You could put bell peppers and tomatoes in microwave for 3 mins to peel the skin off. I however don't peel the skin off as the skin holds the most nutrients..

In another bowl beat the eggs, add the milk and cheese and mix well. Add the fried vegetables into the mix and pour into a baking dish. Garnish on top with olives (cut into halves) and bake for 25-30 min or until set and golden on top. Serve warm or cold

I served it warm with Rice. The cheese I used (Pizza cheese/processed cheese) kept the dish moist in the middle although the top was golden brown and crisp.

The fun part is that the kids ate it well. Usually they don't like any type of egg other than boiled egg with salt/pepper. So, this was a pleasant surprise. Sindhu was all excited thinking it was a pizza as it came out of the oven in baked fashion.. Kavya especially loved the olives on top..

Ulundu Sadam (Urad dal Rice)

Urad dal (Black gram) is used in a variety of dishes in South Indian cooking. It is used in making Idli (rice steam cakes), making all kinds of chutneys, thuvizhals (spicy paste that is eaten with rice). South Indian cooking is also famous for its flavored rice varieties.. Ulundu sadam is a unique flavored rice not very common such as tamarind, lemon or coconut rice and it is my family's favorite.

I discovered this recipe while I was in the US from an excellent South Indian recipe book, called Dakshin (Chandra Padmanabhan). Every time there was leftover rice, this was a quick spicy, flavorful snack everyone would relish.  It became my signature dish that my mom-in-law asked me to make for relatives or herself as she was very fond of the same.

Ulundu Sadam
Courtesy: Dakshin (Chandra Padmanabhan)

1 cup rice (cooked)
3 tbsp ghee or Sesame oil or refined oil
2 tbsp cashew nuts (can substitute with peanuts)
2 green chillies (this brings good flavor more than heat)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp black gram seeds
1 tsp bengal gram (chana dal)
1 red chilli
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
a few curry leaves (the more, the flavorful)

salt to taste

Dry Masala
2 tbsp urad dal (blackgram)
1.5 tsp black pepper corns (this is a must - bring flavor)
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp coconut powder


Directions
Grind the dry masala after dry frying the ingredients and keep it aside. In a pan, add 1 tbsp ghee and fry the nuts (cashew or peanuts) along with green chilli and keep it aside. In the same pan, heat the rest of the ghee or oil, and when hot, add the mustard, blackgram, bengal gram seeds along with red chilli, asafoetida and curry leaves. When mustard seeds start to sputter and the dal seeds are brown, add the powder (dry masala), peanuts/chilli mix, and rice and mix them together.

Sesame oil adds more flavor than ghee and goes well with the sesame in the dry masala. The black peppercorns add the heat to the dish apart from the green chilli.

Serve hot with papadam..

Masoor Khichidi (Mixed lentil rice)

Khichidi is a very common name for anything that is a mixture of things. I was told I speak a khichidi language as I mix Tamil, Hindi, and English (Tamhinglish) when I speak at home..

Pune is famous for its Dal Khichidi which is actually made with Green gram (moong) and Rice with spices. Any authentic Maharashtrian eatery would carry this in its menu. My colleague Jayant, at work makes excellent Dal khichidi that gets consumed in one sitting. He usually is requested to make a lot of it, so no one goes without a share..

Today's recipe is a variation of the classic Dal Khichidi, in that it is made with Aakkha Masoor (whole lentil) and has Nutrela chunks (processed soy chunks) that adds protein into the diet.


Masoor Khichidi
Courtesy: Lakshmi (my maid servant)

Rice - 3 cups
Whole Masoor (can use any whole lentil) - 1 cup
 Curry leaves - 10
Garlic - 3-4 cloves
Onion - 2 small finely chopped
Nutrela chuncks (soyawadi) - 1 cup
Tomatoes - 2-3
Green chilli - 2-3
Coriander leaves (cilantro) - 1 small bunch
4-6 tbsp - oil (refined)
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp

Soak the Masoor for 2-3 hours and then cook it with some salt in the pressure pan. Cook rice separately in the same pressure pan. Take oil and saute the Nutrela chunks until they are brown, keep them aside. In same oil, add Mustard seeds, and after they pop, add asafoetida, turmeric powder, curry leaves and green chilli. Now add the onion, garlic, tomatoes and cook for 5 mins. Add the cooked Masoor dal with very little water and let it all mix well- keep it on heat for 2-3 min. In the end, add the Nutrela chunks and Rice and mix them all together into a Khichidi. Garnish on top with fresh cilantro and serve hot with papad (fritter).

I have always boiled the Nutrela chunks and added it into a dish after squeezing the water out. It provides the typical chewy texture to the chunk (as a meat substitute). In this method, when we fry the Nutrela chunks first, it brings a unique crispiness and as it absorbs the flavor/juice from the dish, it is more tastier and the crispiness is loved by kids. 

Menthiya Chadam (Methi/Fenugreek Rice)- Iyengar style

Fenugreek seeds or greens is well known for its nutraceutical properties for ages. Eating soaked seeds of Fenugreek is known to help with breast milk expression, and reduction of diabetes. For similar healthy reasons, Fenugreek seeds and leaves are a common ingredient in Indian cooking. We tend to in fact love the bitter taste that Fenugreek brings to the dish. 

As a young cook, I was always given special instruction NOT to forget to add Fenugreek when making Sambhar powder, as it is the magic ingredient that brings the flavor. For readers who don't know what Sambhar is, it is a lentil soup that is the main entree in any South Indian meal. Dishes I was used to eating with fenugreek leaves were quite bitter and I used to not really relish any.

However, when I tasted the dish made by my mom-in-law, I started loving it. It is quite simple and so I make it quite often at home. This dish is dedicated to my mom-in-law, Padma Boovaraghavan who has taught me quite a bit about Iyengar cooking..thank you amma.

Menthiya Chadam
Courtesy: Padma Boovaraghavan (mom-in-law)

1 bunch Fenugreek (methi) - finely chopped
Salt to taste
4 tbsp Sesame oil (Sesame brings flavor to dish)
4 Tbsp of Karamudu powder (Spicy curry powder that is signature ingredient for this dish)
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp chana dal (split chick pea)
1 tsp urad dal (split black gram)
1/2 tsp asafoetida
5-6 curry leaves
3 cups of cooked rice (any long/short grain rice)

Karamudu powder
4 tbsp chana dal (split yellow pea/split chick pea)
4 tbsp urad dal (split black gram)
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp coconut powder (grated)
red chilli dry - 4 (as per taste)
Dry fry all the components above and grind them into a semi fine powder (slightly coarse).

Directions: Heat the oil, add chana dal, urad dal, and mustard seeds and wait until they pop. Add Asafoetida in the end along with curry leaves, add the cut fenugreek leaves (no stalks) and cook the leaves until dry by stirring occasionally.

Once they are cooked well, they will be dark green and will curl like tea leaves in the oil base. Add salt and the Karamudu powder (curry powder) and mix well. Add rice and mix well with the Methi mix and serve hot with papadam (fritters).

It is an excellent dish for breakfast and snack.. Enjoy..

Sukha Besan (Dry curry of chick pea flour)

It is one of the quickest side dish one can make that goes well with Chapathi or bread..Lakshmi (my maid servant) taught me the recipe that I will share with you today.. it could be done without onions as well (another Pune recipe)

Sukha Besan
2 onions finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2-3 green chillies (depends on how hot you want)
salt to taste
Cilantro (Coriander) leaves (bunch)
cumin seeds -  1 tsp
Besan (Chick pea flour) - 2 cups
6 tbsp refined oil

Grind the garlic, chillies, cilantro, cumin and salt together in a blender.
Saute the onion until golden brown in oil, add the ground chilli/garlic to the onion and let it cook for 5 min. Add 2 cups of water and let the whole mix come to a boil.

Once it comes to boil, add the besan (chick pea flour) into the pan and keep mixing vigorously so there are no clumps formed. The more oil you add to the recipe, the drier and less sticky the dish will be. Put a lid on and let it cook in low heat for 5 min, with intermittent stirring.

Ready to serve with hot Chapathi (Indian flat bread)..

Chapathis are flat bread made with whole wheat and are easy to make. You knead the wheat into dough with water, little oil and salt, set aside for few hours. Take a small ball of dough (1/2 of tennis ball), flatten the dough into thin bread and cook it like pancakes with butter/oil on sides. You can see the below link for demo on who to make it step by step.

http://indianfood.about.com/od/breadrecipes/ig/How-to-Make-Chapatis/

Aakkha Masoor Rice

Growing up as a south Indian eating Rice and Sambhar (spicy lentil soup), to learn to cook a dish with lentil and rice was not all that exciting. However when I saw this recipe, it intrigued me for there was no strong spices as I am used to, and yet seemed delicious.

It required the use of whole lentils similar to ones used in the Meditteranean lentil soup of Progresso brand or found in any middle eastern restaurant. I got Aakkha Masoor dal (whole Masoor lentil), another lentil usually found in grocery stores here in Pune.  Soaked the lentils and cooked them in the pressure cooker along with rice in two separate containers.  The tomato sauce that gives it the unique signature taste is simple to make as below. 

Tomato Sauce: 1 finely chopped onion, 2-3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped, 2 tbsp vinegar, green chilli (1-2), 4-5 large tomatoes chopped, 2/3 cup water, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Saute the onion, garlic and chilli, add the tomatoes and cook for 10 min until water is absorbed. Add water and vinegar, chilli flakes and let it cook for another 10 min until the tomato sauce is slightly thick.

Layer the Lentil, Rice on the serving bowl or plate (as below) and add the tomato sauce on top. Serve hot.The presentation is the key and creates a feeling of dining in a 5-star restaurant..

When you slice into the layers of lentil and rice and eat it with the spicy tomato sauce (the vinegar brings the tangy taste to it), it brings the flavors together into a wholesome meal.

Very simple and quick to make.. the best part is the presentation ! 

Creamy Pasta - Vegan style

There is a huge section on Pasta in "The Little Big Vegetarian Book" that I follow and there was this one recipe that struck me very unique. It was very heart healthy and vegan in all respects (non dairy). Coming from the specialized Non Dairy creamer industry, I was surprised that I could make this dish with another cream substitute commonly found in any retail super market.

I created my own recipe based on this base recipe to improve on the taste and flavor and voila, created a perfect substitute for creamy white sauce..that too completely Vegan with no milk solids, best for people who follow strict no milk diet. Everyone at work thought it was made with real dairy cream. It was a feather in my cap coming from folks who specialize in developing Non Dairy Creamers. 

Well guess what, Tofu is the magic ingredient.  I have always used it as Paneer or Cheese substitute in Indian and Chinese cooking, but never as a cream in Italian cooking. I recommend this dish to all you folks who love Pasta, especially creamy Pasta... it gives you the premium taste of cream in a more healthier manner.. No Cholesterol!

Creamy Tofu Pasta - Vegan Style
Author: Vidya Sridhar
Reference: Penne with Tofu
The little Big Vegetarian Book - Page 344

150 g of Tofu (1 packet)
1 tbsp Basil flakes
1tsp Italian spices
1 tbsp Red pepper flakes
Black pepper and salt to taste
1/3 cup blanched almonds
6 tbsp olive oil (any oil is fine)
5 cloves of garlic (2 for sauce and 3 for saute)
1 onion finely chopped 
500 g of Pasta (any kind)
1 Bell pepper chopped
2 big tomatoes, chopped

Boil the Pasta with 1 tsp oil and salt and set it aside in strainer. Boil the Tofu for 4 min and blend it with blanched almonds (with skin), basil, oil, garlic until it makes a smooth paste.
In a large pan, saute garlic, onion until golden brown, add tomatoes, bell pepper, spices and salt and let it cook for 5 min. Add the tofu/almond paste into this, mix well and let it cook for another 5 min in low heat with constant mixing.
Once the raw smell of tofu/soy is removed, shut the heat, toss the cooked pasta and serve hot!

The Tofu paste when raw has the raw flavor of soy that not many relish, but what I found is that it looses this flavor once it cooks well with the spicy vegetables. The almond paste adds the body of real cream giving it the premium taste.

Vegans and all Creamy Pasta lovers.. Bon Apetite...

Mushroom Toasts- Tasty quick snack

Here is a quick snack that could be used as a breakfast item and also as appetizers in parties.

Mushroom toasts: The Little Big Vegetarian Book - Page 17
600 g fresh mushrooms
1.5 tsp butter
4 tbsp extra virgin oil (you can substitute with refined oil)
1/2 red onion (can add 1 onion)
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp thyme and parsley (you can use Italian spice mix)
salt and black pepper to taste
1/2 cup vegetable stock (can use Maggi cube derived stock)
bread slices (brown /whole wheat is healthy)

Clean the mushrooms and chop them fine. Saute finely chopped onions and garlic with spices for 5 min. Add the mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook for another 5 min stirring constantly. Add the vegetable stock and cook for another 8-10 min. Cooking the mushrooms until tender brings the flavor of the mushroom. Add salt sparingly as Mushrooms tend to taste saltier than other dishes.. Spread on toast and enjoy..

You can Indian-ize this dish by adding Indian spices instead of Italian. Garlic of course is recommended as it goes well with Mushrooms and bring out the flavor.

Spicy Eggplant Stew

Need something quick to make as a side dish? Well, here is a recipe that has the Italian flavor (of course we need to add garlic) and is good addition to a meal.

Spicy Eggplant Stew - The Little Big Vegetarian Book - Page 454
1 kg Eggplant cut into big chunks
500 g tomatoes - coarsely chopped
5 tbsp extra virgin oil
4 cloves garlic - finely chopped
1 tbsp sweet paprika (can substitute with red hot chilli powder)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground black pepper,
1 lemon (juice) and salt to taste


Steam the eggplants over large pot of boiling water for 20 min, until tender. Alternatively, you could cook the eggplants with the tomatoes so you retain the nutrient that is lost in water.

Cook the tomatoes with the oil, garlic, paprika, cumin and pepper in saucepan over medium heat for 20 min. Season with salt (add the egg plants with tomatoes - alternative), Cook for 15-20 min until all vegetables are tender. Drizzle with lemon juice and oil and serve hot with Rice.

Bharlele Karle - Stuffed Karela (Bitter gourd)

Stuffed Karela (Bitter gourd)) has always been my favorite as it was rarity at home. It is strange but true that the rarer a thing is, the more we want to own it. A simple example many of you women would agree is that we crave for stones or metal such as diamond, platinum and gold, because they are precious (rare). Would we care if it was available in plenty on the streets like a common rock?


Back to the Karela, I was taught to cut it into very fine pieces and make it into a Kar-amudu (Hot delicacy) with spicy powder. Since my times as as diabetic (gestational) and have diabetics in the family, I have grown to love this vegetable as we have found ways to eat it.  Frying it usually renders it less bitter, however that is not all that healthy!. So, I had found ways of using it baked as well. I used to stuff it with all kinds of nut powders, gram flour (Guju style) with spices and loved all stuffed recipes.


This recipe is actually a new one I have never tried and want to dedicate it to my friend, Akshaya Dubbewar from Pune who is my colleague at Rich Graviss. We used to have dedicated time off from work during lunch time where all of us would sit together, socialize, share each other's lunches and eat onto clean plates and spoons that would be washed later by hourly labor. This was a wonderful change to the US lunches I was used to where I would eat out of my box staring at the computer. This was great time to know each other, share anecdotes and build relationships. I always cherished my lunch time moments.

Being bred in US culture, I always used to bring left overs in my tiffin box all mixed together. For example, it would be a Sambhar+Rice+Vegetable - all mixed together. All my other colleagues used to bring separate containers where they would separate out the entrees and eat it restaurant style by serving onto the plates.

Let me talk a little about Akshaya who was the best in the crowd for she would bring a full course meal everyday including a salad (she never misses her salad), rice, chapathi (bread), dal (soup) and curry. And all of this was freshly made that morning!!! She would make this meal actually for her husband and pack his lunch. On Saturdays when her husband doesn't go to work, she sometimes brings her favorite potato dish - why only on Saturdays? because her husband doesn't like it, so she could bring it only on a day when he doesn't take lunch! This is not all, she manages to make breakfast for her in-laws and feed her little boy with what he would like for breakfast (may it be dosa, or any snack), get his snack box for school and then come to work!!

Compared to her, I felt I had a really easy life! My husband is tamed in US to eat left overs, adjusts with whatever I feed him (lately he is actually looking forward to my elaborate recipes - am actually spoiling him). In the US I used to make a dish that lasted for 2 days and would make Rice fresh everyday. Here in India, I atleast make a meal everyday! so, that is progress, isn't it?

Akshaya once brought me stuffed karela, the best I have ever tried and so wanted to publish it in my blog. I tried to follow her instructions the best I can. I am waiting to hear from her on what she thought about it, today at work. I loved it! I dedicate this recipe to Akshaya Dubbewar, for all the hard work she puts in everyday to feed her family (one of the many chores) and come to work with a smile!! This dish I discovered requires a lots of preparation and tons of patience.. so Kudos to Akshaya and to all your moms who multitask everyday .... you are all the best!!

Husbands if you are reading this blog, I urge you to take time to chip in the kitchen to help your better half... atleast help her out in her chores, or try to be in her shoes for a difference and you will realize what a daunting task, a cook has - everyday! 

Stuffed Karela
Ingredients:  4-6 tbsp of refined oil, 5 medium size Karela cut into 4 pieces; 2 cups peanuts; 5-6 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp cumin; 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 a lime/lemon, 1 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp turmeric and 1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing), red chilli powder and salt for taste, chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) for the stuffing.

Cut the Karela into medium size drums and remove the seeds from within. Fry these in oil until brown. Remove from oil and set aside.

In another pan, dry roast the peanuts and remove the skin (this is the difficult part - needs a lot of patience). Alternatively, you could buy Planters peanuts available in stores (salted and peeled). Blowing the peeled skin was the most fun, my kids would have loved it (they are at their Grandparents), but is the most painful to clean afterwards :)

Add the peeled and roasted peanuts, garlic, 1/2 tsp cumin, masala powder, red chilling powder, salt, turmeric, hing and grind it into a nice powder. Add the cilantro into this ground mix and squeeze in the lemon. Stuff the Karela drums with the powder and set aside.

Take some oil from the Karela fry, add mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp of cumin and when these pop, add the stuffed Karela and saute in low heat until all sides are brown.






Serve hot with rice. I also made Sambhar with the beans I had cooked for Chile (has some extra reserved for the Sambhar) that I will share the recipe later.  The dish was excellent!