CARROT HALWA - IT'S WORTH A TRY

When my colleague brought carrot halwa to office last week, I had asked her on how to go about preparing it. It appeared to be much easier than what I thought it would be. There are very few things that makes an Indian working wife happier than when you get a cup of coffee ready for her when she gets back from work. And last Saturday I delighted her not just with a cup of coffee but also with carrot halwa.

It is pretty easy and for all those who are keen to experiment with some food making, here's a simple one to try and make a start. You could begin with a small quantity of five carrots. Shred it using a standard manual shredder.Pour five teaspoons of ghee into a pan. Grab ten to fifteen pieces of cashews and raisins and drop them into the pan. Saute them until they become light brown. Take them out and keep it aside. Now add the shredded carrot into the pan and fry it well, till the taste and smell of the raw vegetable disappears. Add milk to an extent such that it just covers the carrot. Add two tablespoons of sugar. The inherent sweetness of the carrot will add on. Keep the flame initially high when there is more liquid to evaporate and then bring it low.One thing what I noticed here is that the milk was taking real time to blend with the carrot and evaporate. It could probably be because carrot by itself has some inherent fluid.

Continue to mix the contents well especially when semi-solidification starts so that it does not get burnt at the bottom. Once the contents become semi-solid, drop in the fried cashews and raisins and mix well. The contents can then be taken off the stove. Serve it while it’s still a little hot. The original colour of the carrot will still remain.

I would be lying if I said that I was cool right through the exercise. Whenever I have been away from my family for long term work assignments, I have had to take up cooking. I believe I was able to do a good job, so much so that I was able to call individuals and families to my house at these locations and give them dinner. I have told this to my people at home several times and they always kept nudging me to do something so that they could see it with their own eyes :)) So it was but natural that I wanted this piece to come out well in the very first shot. Many times these little pressures in my life turn out to be funny.

My wife loved it and complimented me while also telling me that I can try out the regular side dishes for lunch and dinner too :-) My daughter too enjoyed it. Give it a try.

PUDHINA PARATHA

I found this paratha to be really good for my palate and definitely a great change for me, after being with chappatis for many years :)) I am sure you will like it too. So please give it a try. It goes well with chicken curry, chicken fry or peas masala.

Given below are the steps which I took to go about....rather we took as I was into a supporting role while my wife made her first attempt :))
Next weekend I will be taking an independent jump into this.

Prepare dough from three cups of whole wheat flour.

Heat a small amout of oil (2 teaspoons) in a pan in low flame. Drop a small pinch of black gram into it and allow it to turn pale brown. Slice five small onions, three pods of garlic and one dry red chilly slit or green chilly into pieces and drop them into the pan. Sauté well, until the onion turns pale brown. Drop a small bunch of curry leaves and one small half teaspoon scoop of tamarind. Sauté well again.

Wash and separate a bunch of pudhina (mint) leaves from the main stem and drop it into the pan. Sauté well till the leaves go dull and shrink and gel with the other contents. Add a pinch of salt and sauté again. Taste for salt and continue adding pinches till the right salt level is achieved. This is the best method to avoid excess salt getting in. Switch off the flame and shift the contents into the little jar of a mixer. Beat the contents at good speed for about 5 minutes to get a nice puree.

Empty the contents into the bowl containing the prepared dough and mix well so that the pudhina paste goes in and blends well with the whole wheat dough.

The rest of the procedure is the same. Go ahead and prepare the parathas and enjoy the great taste.

NUTTY EGG BHURJI

Egg Bhurji is one thing that my daughter loves having once a while. It’s that way with any food. Too much is bad. I do this for her on Saturday morning immediately after I sleep like a log till 9 am. Saturday is the only day I get to sleep so. My wife also makes egg burji for her, but my daughter prefers mine as I am liberal in frying it up more and getting a fried tan on it. That makes it crispier. That is what many children prefer. Nutty egg bhurji is a variation of the normal egg bhurji. Here’s how I went about.

Place the pan on a medium flame on the stove. When the pan is dried of all water, pour very little oil…well that’s my approach as am very conscious on using excess oil. You could be a little more liberal with oil if you are fine with well fried food. Do not use mustard. Instead break 5 cashew nut halves into small pieces and put them in. Leave them in the low flame and keep sautéing, by shaking and tossing the contents with a wooden spoon, so as to evenly spread and avoid burning. Once the cashew pieces turn a little brown, drop in about 10 dried grapes and keep sautéing for 3 minutes. Grab a bunch of corn flakes and put them in. If you can find the Kellogs cornflakes with the mix of nuts in them, that will be the best. Do not use any other corn flakes mixtures. Sauté the contents for 3 minutes and remove the contents into a separate plate.

Place the pan again on a medium flame on the stove. Pour oil as per your preference, but limit to a maximum of 2 and half teaspoons. Drop in a pinch of mustard seeds and wait for them to burst and settle. Break two hen eggs and pour them in. Do not allow the egg to settle and start mixing and shredding immediately. A fried tan layer may get created on the bottom of the pan. Please do not hesitate to scrape the fried tan that has stuck to the bottom of the pan. Getting the plan clear of the egg tan is a good approach as that approach fries the egg pretty well. Spray half a teaspoon of pepper and sprinkle salt in small amounts so that we could progressively taste and see if the right amount of salt has set in. Continue sautéing until most of the egg shreds have the brownish coat.

Drop in the fried cashew nut, grape and corn flake mix into the pan and sauté well again. Empty the contents into a bowl. The Nutty Egg Bhurji is ready for you. Relish it with roti or toasted bread and a cup of hot coffee. If it is raining outside, don’t hesitate to sit close to a window at home and have this watching the pitter patter. You will love it.

SHREDDED MUSHROOM CURRY

This Sunday I got the opportunity to get back to cooking after a long time and I tried out mushroom curry. It was lip smacking and believe me you are going to like it too. This was the first time I was trying out making a mushroom curry with this approach and I think it came out well by sheer accident. I believe you also should try it out especially when you have the time to relax and enjoy a cooking experiment.

One funny thing that happened in the middle of the cooking was that the mixer's opening gave way and a part of the puree found its way to the bottom of the kitchen's shelf and some on to my head. Otherwise it was real fun. I normally get into a wild singing mode while am cooking and that good mood reflects in the results too.

Here is the recipe. Give it a shot.

Slice 2 big onions and 3 tomatoes into medium pieces.
Slice a small piece of ginger and 3 pods of garlic
Seperate peas from about 10 green peas pods
Keep 1/4 kg of oyster mushroom shredded. It is this shredding of the button mushrooms that brings a big difference to the curry. Putting the mushrooms inside as buttons gives a totally different taste.

Pour 4 teaspoons of oil into a shallow open pan and keep it on a medium flame. 
Add a small quantity of mustard and once the bursting starts, add the onions and saute, till the onions get a shade brown.
Add ginger and saute and then garlic and continue the sauteing.
Add the tomato pieces and saute. Add some water so that the tomato gets a little cooked.
Take the pan off the flame and transfer the contents into the mixer's jar. Whip the contents for about 2 to 3 minutes and keep the puree ready.
Pour 4 teaspoons of oil into a shallow open pan and keep it on a medium flame.
Add a small quantity of mustard and once the bursting starts, add the puree carefully using a large spoon.
Add the mushroom and peas into this mix and pour sufficient quantity of water so as to spread around the mushroom.
Add one teaspoon of chilli powder, one and half teaspoons of coriander powder, a pinch of turmeric and 3/4 teaspoon of gharam masala.
Add salt in small pinches and keep checking the taste slowly to spot the minute differences in taste till you get the final right one.
Leave the contents to boil for about 15 minutes so that the curry gets a little thick and then switch of the flame.
The mushroom curry is now ready for you.
A few chappatis and rice can form a hit combo with this curry. Go for it!!!