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A new year of Hope

And no, this has nothing to do with Brand Obama :)

I'm just struck by how much optimism a date can generate....and yes, I have finally chosen to buy into it.

I've been away from these pages for ages (how that rhymes!) and I am optimistic about finding my creative side and having a great deal of fun with it this year.

Here's wishing everyone the joy of being themselves in 2009

Sharing the image of a little birdie cake my mother and I made for a dear friend's mehndi celebration- the cake is eggless date and walnut, and the 'icing' and decorations are shrikhand, kaju katli and indian bakery toast. There is something to be said for a little impromptu fun!

(So much more than) Salad for the Gods : Payar Kosambari

Today is Rama Navami, and traditionally in my family/community this festival
is celebrated with Kosambari and Paanakam.

While it is commonly, loosely described as 'Indian Salad', Kosambari is a unique and beautiful dish - in my opinion, something between a salad and a salsa.

Here is one dish where size matters greatly - the essence of kosambari, to my mind, is in the is in the the fine dice or grating of the constituent ingredients to create a cohesive, flavourful whole.

There are several recipes for kosambari, and my childhood favorite for Rama Navami has been the one with cucumber, raw mango, soaked chana dal and moong dal. Payar or moong sprouts kosambari comes in a very close second :)

So here's what I made today, as an offering to Rama and Seeta, and to nostalgia:

Payar Kosambari / Moong Sprouts Kosambari
(serves 2 for a meal, 4 as a side)

Sprouted Moong Beans -- 1 heaping cup **
Half a cucumber - diced fine
one 'cheek' (about one third) of a raw mango diced fine

To flavour:
Half a large Jalapeno chilli - seeds and pith removed (or any green chilli of your choice, I pick jalapenos for their mild heat)
Salt -- 1 tsp
Sugar -- 3/4 tsp
Juice of half a key lime (regular 'lemon' in India)
Finely minced Cilantro/Coriander Leaves -- 1 tbsp

For Vaghar/Tadka/Tempering:
Oil or Ghee -- 1 tsp
Black mustard seeds -- 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds -- 1/2 tsp
a pinch of asafetida (optional)
1 Whole red chilli broken into two pieces and seeds shaken out and discarded


If you own a mortar and pestle, it can be put to good use here. In the mortar and pestle, crush the jalapeno with the salt and sugar until it turns into a juicy paste. If you do not own a mortar and pestle (like me) , finely mince the jalapeno/green chilli, and toss it into the empty bowl/plate in which you intend to mix the Kosambari. Add the salt and sugar and pound it down with a heavy flat bottomed glass or cup until it becomes a juicy mush.

Add in the sprouts, cucumber and mango pieces and the lime juice and mix well to combine.
Add the coconut scrapings cilantro and the Tadka/Vaghar.***

Mix well again. Allow about 5 minutes for the flavours to combine (This usually happens when one is offering it to the Gods/ performing Puja)

Be thankful for the springtime, mangoes and anything else you want to be thankful for, and enjoy with Paanakam*.


Notes:
*There are several recipes for Paanakam. Raw Mango Paanakam was most popular in my parental home. This is the same thing as Panha. If Kayree (raw mango) is hard to find on the North American Continent, try pseudo-panha. I took the even lazier option and made mine by combining the juice of half a key lime (the other half left over from Kosambari-making!) and a cup of unfiltered organic apple juice.

**Sprouting moong beans is very easy. Indira of Mahanandi has a whole series on sprouts on her blog, and mentions her technique in these posts. My technique differs slightly (it is the lazy grad student way!) - in that I soak the beans in water overnight/6-8 hours until they plump up nicely. Then I drain them into a collander, and leave it by the sink (with the original pot/saucepan in which I soaked the beans underneath to catch any dripping)
I run the collander under cool water in the sink every few hours when I walk by the kitchen. If its is too hot/dry outside, I cover the collander loosely with a lid so that the beans do not loose moisture too quickly. I usually have sprouts the length of the bean within 24 hours.

***For Vaghar, heat a teaspoon of oil or ghee in a tiny saucepan/large ladle, add the mustard and cumin, when the mustard starts to pop, add asafetida and chilli. Turn off heat and pour over Kosambari.

Silly me...the notes are as long as the post :-P

The list is out: what to buy organic

Buying everything organic and local is something I aspire to do, but its not always possible given budgetary constraints. I tend to use this list compiled by the Environmental Working Group to help prioritize.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	46
19	Oranges	46
20	Grapes-Domestic	46
21	Cauliflower	39
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Lemon	31
26	Honeydew Melon	31
27	Grapefruit	31
28	Winter Squash	31
29	Tomatoes	30
30	Sweet Potatoes	30
31	Watermelon	25
32	Blueberries	24
33	Papaya	21
34	Eggplant	19
35	Broccoli	18
36	Cabbage	17
37	Bananas	16
38	Kiwi	14
39	Asparagus	11
40	Sweet Peas-Frozen	11
41	Mango	9
42	Pineapples	7
43	Sweet Corn-Frozen	2
44	Avocado	1
45 (best)	Onions	1 (lowest pesticide load)

Quick,100% whole grain, one pot meal and discovering a new tadka!

This is a quick post -- not a lot of time to blog, but just *have to* share this recipe.

The goodness of whole grain is something thats been discussed a lot across several food blogs. Notably, the folks at jugalbandi have several posts and 'whole grains' are 'flavor of the month' at onehotstove.

This dish can obviously be classified as a pulao or khichadi - it could also be called a rice and lentil 'stuffing' of sorts perhaps, so I'm going to leave it nameless for a while. If you're inspired to name it -hey, feel free to do so (and let me know via the comment box) :)

Aromatic Brown rice-lentil-buckwheat pulao? Here goes:




Whats in it:

1/2 cup long grain brown rice (I used thai jasmine)
2/3 cup साबुत मसूर or whole lentils (I used the french green variety)
1/2 cup Toasted Buckwheat or Kasha
3 cups water

Veggies : I used -
Mirepoix - medium sized yellow onion, 1 large carrot diced into big chunks, 2 stalks celery, sliced
1/2 a head of broccoli - seperated into inch sized florets and stalks chopped into 1/2 inch thick pieces

The awesome tadka I serendipitously discovered:
1 to 2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 badi elaichi/ black cardamom
2 bayleaves or 1 tejpatta
1 inch piece fresh ginger root grated
3 hot green chillies (or adjust to your desired heat level)
pinch turmeric
2 tsp oil

Spices: 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder, salt to taste, 1 tsp Kitchen king masala (optional)



Since this is a 'quick' dish, it is made in the pressure cooker.
Wash the grains , drain and keep aside. You can soak the brown rice for 5-10 minutes beforehand of you desire.

Start with 2 tsp oil, add the fennel, black cardamom, bay leaves, ginger chillies and turmeric. Once the fennel seems to swell and the tadka starts to smell good (should take about 20 seconds if the oil was hot enough) -- add the onions and celery. Saute for a minute, and add the whole grains. Saute for another minute and add 2 cups water. Add the salt, chilli powder and Kitchen-king masala (you can substitute your favorite spice blend, or omit it altogether) Cover the pressure cooker and cook to two whistles on medium high heat.

Quickly release pressure by pulling up the gauge with a long spoon r spatula. Open the cooker and add the carrots and broccoli and the third cup of water**. Cover again and cook for another whistle. This time, let the pressure release on its own.

Open cooker, smell the goodness, and enjoy with cool yogurt and a hot pickle.

** Whether to add the third cup of water (you may need less or more than a cup) depends on the specific quality of rice and lentils you're using to make this dish. I added the carrots and broccoli later to prevent them from melting into mush. You could just nuke them separately and add them in the end if you want them to retain some bite.

Verdict: very hearty and filling. The tadka was a real revelation to me - I use jeera(cumin) and ajwain(carrom seed) frequently, but saunf -not so much! It's sweet flavour combines very well with the bay leaf. The ginger and black cardamom add the robust notes. It was nice to completely avoid the cloves and cinnamon in this one. The mirepoix adds another subtle layer of flavor as well.

These amounts made for four meals for a hungry grad student. It would probably serve six people as a side in a regular meal.

I did a back-of-the-envelope nutritional calculation: 1160 calories in the whole pot /4 servings = 290 calories per serving, with 12.5 g of dietary fiber and 11.6 g protein per serving. Thats good, right? :)

Naked Juice Versus Odwalla - the new avatar of Pepsi versus Coke

Through Mark Bittman's blog 'Bitten' I came across this link to a chart that talks about which major food processing corporations own which organic brands. Very informative!
'Organic food' is big business, as 'eating right' becomes a priority for more and more people. I'm obviously no authority on the subject - but I try to be an interested consumer.

When my lunch ship came in....

Just some post-lunch fun with photoshop :)
The wiggly blue line on my plate, and the upright stalk of spinach on my sandwich inspired this silliness....

In the picture = crisp toast, topped with lots of hummus (recipe to follow), baby spinach and grape tomatoes - plate was white with a blue line, just filled it in with a lighter blue.

Note: 'When ones ship comes in' on american idioms