Detoxing this spring with neem begun (margosa with eggplant)

If you had told me that one day I will be posting neem begun recipe, I wouldn't have believed you.

I wasn't a big fan of this recipe. I still vividly remember the big neem tree in front of our house growing up. Every spring, my mom would ask someone to cut some tender leaves of neem (margosa, Azadirachta indica) and saute them with eggplants.

We would try to get out of eating them. My mother would insist that we try some. "It is antibacterial and antifungal." Or "You wouldn't get chicken pox if you eat it," she said as she tried to coax us to take a few bites. We would and make faces as the bitter juices escaped and mixed with the rice and soft eggplants and then would quickly gulp it down. 

Fast forward to last week when I found some leaves in the Indian store. I picked some up and brought it home. And double checked with my parents, because I was so surprised to find them here for the first time! The leaves were not so tender, but fresh enough. "What perfect timing," I thought, "just in time for spring cleaning!"

So this spring, we are doing an internal cleaning as well with some bitter neem or margosa leaves.

For the little ones, I boiled some leaves in water for a bath.

And for us, I recreated my childhood recipe of neem begun.

Ingredients:
small bunch of neem/margosa leaves - the fresher the beter
1 small eggplant
1/4 tspoon turmeric
salt to taste
3-4 tbspoon oil

Method:
Chop the eggplant in small cubes, rub some salt and turmeric and set it aside.Tear the leaves and keep it aside.

Heat a pan with half the oil and saute the leaves with some turmeric and salt on low medium heat. Take it out. Add some more oil and saute the eggplants till they start to turn soft.

Once the eggplant is almost done, add in the neem leaves and cover it.

It is typically the first course and tastes best when mixed in with some rice. It is also said to increase appetite too along with all the other medicinal properties.

What are you doing this spring?

Lobia salad (Black-eyed peas salad)

Why is it that I have never blogged a black eyed peas recipe before, I scratch my head thinking and yet I can come up with no answer.

It's not that I don't make it. I make it often, almost every week sometimes. And somehow I have never photographed it or written down the recipe. Has it ever happened to you dear friends that you have a go-to recipe and you have never shared it before?

Today, along with this familiar recipe I want to share the book I am reading. Wave by Sonali Deraniyagala. It's the most gut-wrenching book I have read. Wave's starting point is her experience of the tsunami where she loses her husband, her two sons and her parents and recounts her life thereafter.

I have been reading it slowly in bits and snatches when I have time after putting my boys to sleep or early in the morning. And I am glad that I am reading it slowly because I don't think I would finish it otherwise. Her grief is raw, tangible almost and as NYTimes puts it "opens beneath you like a sinkhole."

It's dark, angry and there are no clean endings here. But in between this dark anger and suicidal fury there is also love and happy memories of her life before.

Why such stories matter? This is what Teju Cole says in the New Yorker review: "In witnessing something far-fetched, something brought out before us from the distant perimeter of human experience, we are in some way fortified for our own inevitable, if lesser, struggles."

Here is the recipe of the Lobia/black eyed peas salad.

 Ingredients:
1 cup lobia
2/3 cucumber - chopped
1 avacado - chopped
1 small onion - sliced
2 tbspoon lemon juice 
1/4 tspoon fresh black pepper
1/2 tspoon  toasted cumin seed powder
1/4 tspoon chilli powder
salt to taste

Method:
Soak the lobia overnight in water and then boil it. Take half of it for the salad and reserve the rest for a curry for another day. 

Put the lobia in a bowl and then add the rest of the ingredients - cucumber, avacado and onions. Add the lemon juice, black pepper, cumin powder, red chilli powder and salt. Mix it nicely. I just use my hands for the mixing. 

Serve as a side or a starter. It's a good with wine too!

Sending this to MLLA 58 being hosted by Chez Cayenne. It was started by Susan and has now been taken over by Lisa. 

Baked masala mushroom frittata

Aswin makes a mean frittata. He found the recipe about a year ago and has been tweaking it since then. He has experimented with veggies, spices and even how long the frittata should cook. We've had it over weekends, taken it for brunches with friends and finally it has been given the green light to be posted.

Now let me tell you how luxurious this frittata feels when you've had a chance to sleep for an extra 45 minutes without any kid demanding your attention. No constant "Mommy, wake up" calls from the older one or the little one wanting to be nursed.

And then there is hot tea waiting with some Parle G. Yes, that's my favorite to dunk in tea anytime of the day! The house is smelling divine too. I ask and find there is a masala mushroom frittata in the oven. I take another sip of tea. Yes, this is what Sunday feels like!

What did you do for your weekend?

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

6 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped mushroom
1 small onion chopped
1 green chilli chopped
1/4 tspoon chilli powder
pinch of turmeric
1/4 tspoon cumin powder
1/4 tspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 tbspoon oil
handful of grated cheese
salt to taste

Method:
Heat the oven to 350 deg C. Butter a round 9inch pan.

Heat a pan with the oil and saute the onion for a couple of minutes. Then add the mushroom and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the spices, salt and the green chilli and let it cook for a minute long. Set it aside to cool.

Break the eggs and whisk it. Now add in the milk, and salt and whisk till its fully combined.

Transfer the mushroom and onion mix to the pan, and pour the egg mixture on top. Now add the cheese on top and it's ready to be baked.

Put it in the oven and let it cook for 20-25 minutes depending on your oven. The frittata should be set.

Serve warm.

Khejur gurer payesh for Holi

It's Holi today and I am dry, going about my daily routine. But in my mind, I am thinking about Holi I celebrated a couple of years ago at home. I was home for Holi after many years, and it was Lil A's first trip to India so it was extra special.

The evening before Holi, I was sure that we would do dry colors, just a little bit here and there and we will be done. The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, applied oil and changed into holi clothes and then we were all ready.

Then the first group of aunties came.  I had forgotten about aunties' holi-playing techniques. I went out with gulaal or abeer and that turned out to be very bad strategy. In minutes I was soaked with all kinds of color. And then all the resolutions were out of the window. We played a wet, wet holi with family, cousins, friends and neighbors. By the end, we had run out of colors and were making do with plain water.

After we cleaned up we ate hot Khichuri my mom made for purnima (full moon) and my father made khejur gur/nalen gur/patali gurer payesh.

My parents are here and this time they got some patali gur from Kolkata so for Holi we may not have played colors but we do have Khejur gurer payesh.

Khejur gur or jaggery is made with sap of the date palms during the winter months. A good comparison would be maple syrup. The payesh turns out caramely, smoky, mildly sweet and incredibly rich and delicious. Here is a wiki entry which talks about it.

You may want to test your gur before adding it in milk. Add a small bit in hot milk, if the milk separates, it may not be the best one for payesh.

I use a combination of whole milk and 2% milk for my payesh and it turns out as creamy as regular payesh.

Ingredients:
1 ltr  2% milk
1/2 ltr whole milk
1/3 cup gobindo bhog rice (this rice is has aroma all it's own and is small unlike basmati)
1 cup patali gur (chopped in small pieces)
handful chopped almonds (optional)

Method:
In a thick bottom saucepan, boil the milk on low-medium heat, stirring continuously. Once it's boiled add the rice and let it cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes. Stir and cook for another 5-7 minutes stirring so it doesn't get burned.

After the rice is almost done, add the gur little by little. Now cook it on low heat till the milk reduces and the rice is done.

 

Take is off the heat and sprinkle the almonds. Serve either warm or cold.

Happy Holi everyone.

Tarkari diye Moong Dal (in pressure cooker)

A few days back a friend posted on her Facebook that work life balance is a myth. With two little kids and a full-time job, a sentence like this gets my attention. I agree it's hard to find even a day when I have it in balance. For me, the weight shifts every week, make it everyday, depending on what I have going. Depending on what time of day you ask me, I may be trying hard to get one or the other in order.

What I do find, however, are moments when things are working in harmony and it is those moments that make it wonderful.

What do you think? Is it a myth? Or you have work and home in harmony with a good balance?

When you add to this question a healthy, balanced meal, things get even more complex. And that's where a dal like this comes in handy.

The recipe is my sister-in-law's who started making this when my niece was little. Now I have started making it as well. What makes it even better is it gets cooked in a pressure cooker.

I recently saw Bong Mom Cookbook and Indian Food Rocks showcasing their pressure cookers and I wanted to join in even though I am late for the event. So I wrote to Jaya of Desi Soccer Mom and she graciously accepted my request.

 I don't know what I would do without my pressure cookers. I use it several times during the week to boil dal, make sabji, make a quick chole, rajma, other lentils and sometimes even murgir jhol. When Lil A was small I made his lunch in a little pressure cooker. In a few months it will be Tiny M's turn to eat delicious stuff made fresh in a pressure cooker just for him.

I own three cookers, a small Hawkins, medium Prestige one and a big Futura pressure cooker.

I mostly make the dal with carrots and peas, but you can add any vegetable of your choice.

Ingredients:
1 cup Moong dal (washed)
1 big carrot or 2 medium chopped small
1/4 cup peas
1/2 tspoon ghee
2 pinch of asafoetida (hing)
2/3 tspoon cumin seeds
1 green chilli (adjust to taste)
1/2 tspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tspoon cumin seed powder
salt to taste
1 tspoon oil

Method:
Heat oil and ghee in a pressure cooker. Then temper it with asafoetida, cumin seeds and chilli.

Then add the washed moong dal and the vegetables and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the turmeric powder, cumin seed powder, and salt and let it mix together for another 1-2 minutes.

Add double the amount (and a little more) of water, so for 1 cup I add about 2 1/2 cups of water.  Close the lid and move the heat to medium high. Let it cook for 3 whistle and turn it off.

The dal is now ready to eat. Serve with rice and a salad.

Biryani stuffed squash for Valentine's Day

While everyone else is posting sweet stuff for Valentine's Day, I have something savory and aromatic for you. Go ahead! Woo your sweetheart with this delicious vegetable biryani stuffed squash. The recipe may take a little bit of prep time, but the result is so worth it. We first made this for our Thanksgiving dinner last year. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed it quite a bit.

The presentation is beautiful, and the mild sweetness of the squash mixed with the heady aroma of the vegetable biryani makes for a perfect entree for any special occasion. Or turns any ordinary weekday into a special and relaxing evening.

The original recipe is from chef Priyanka, we used her idea of the squash, but ended up following  our friend's recipe for biryani. By the time we were done, the house was smelling delicious.

Ingredients:

3 whole acorn squash
1 tbspoon garam masala
1/2  cumin seed powder

1 1/2 onion - chopped
2-3 carrots - chopped small
1 green pepper - chopped small
1/2 cup peas
2-3 green cardamom
2 sticks of cinnamon
1 black cardamom
2-3 bay leaves 2 cups rice - soaked
4 cups water (water is double the rice)
pinch of saffron
3 tbspoon biryani paste (recipe below)
Salt to taste
4 tbspoon oil
freshly grated parmesan cheese and scallion slices, For Serving


Biryani paste:
1 1/2" ginger
6-8 cloves garlic
1 green chilli (increase it for increased heat)
good bunch of mint
good bunch of cilantro
2-3 tspoon lemon juice
2-3 tspoon biryani masala (I used Shan's)
1/2 tspoon salt
1/2 tspoon fresh black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 degF. Cut the acorns into halves and place them on a tray. Spray them with oil, garam masala, cumin seed powder and salt. Let it cook for 9-10 minutes, and then turn the oven on broil and let it cook for another 4-5 minutes. Take it out and set it aside to cool. 

Soak the rice and then make the Biryani paste by grinding all the ingredients together. You can add a few splashes of water to make it into a fine paste.

Add oil to a deep pan and then temper it with bay leaves, green and black cardamom, and cinnamon. Add the chopped onion and saute for a few minutes. Then add the rest of the vegetables - carrots, green pepper and peas. Saute it for another 2-3 minutes. 

Once the onions are translucent, drain and add the rice and mix it nicely. Let it cook together for 2-3 minutes. Now add half of the biryani paste and water and cook it on low medium heat for 10-11 minutes. 

In the meantime, take out the squash and make small cubes by scoring the squash. Don't cut through the skin, you need it for serving! Take out the cubes into a small bowl and set it aside. 

To the rice now add the rest of the biryani paste, saffron and mix it and let it cook for another 5-6 minutes. After the rice is done, add the squash cubes and gently fold it in. Use a fork to lightly mix the rice with the squash. 

Now fill each squash shell with the biryani, add some grated parmesan and scallion pieces and put it in the oven on broil for 1-2 minutes. 

Serve warm with raita. We served ours with raita, and a side of green beans.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sweet potato cutlets

Evenings in our house is busy. Both the kids are demanding our attention, we are prepping for dinner and also catching up on our day. And if I get a chance, sipping on some tea as well. So most of the evening dinners are quick and easy to prep and easy to put together during the week. Lil A also eats what we are eating, so that means we are eating different kinds of pasta at least a couple of times a week.

If I can throw in some lentils or vegetables in that mix, all the better. These sweet potato cutlets came out of that experimentation. Lil A likes his "alu bhaja" so I thought it will translate well to "orange alu bhaja" too. Not so. So I decided to take route #2 - cutlets.

These sweet potato cutlets are the easiest thing and are sized just right for little kids. I let the sweet potato bake in the oven with the spices. Mix it all together and shallow fry them. The adults loved it, and Lil A tentatively finished one. I can live with that!

How do you use sweet potato for your little ones? Here's another recipe I made with sweet potato for Lil A - sweet potato biscuits.

Ingredients:
2 sweet potato - peeled and cubed
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 tspoon cumin seed powder
1/4 tspoon fresh black pepper
salt to taste
4-5 tbspoon oil

Method:
Preheat the oven to 375deg. Peel and cube the sweet potatoes. Add about 2 tbspoon oil, salt, cumin seed powder, black pepper and salt and bake it for 40-45 min till the sweet potatoes are cooked.

Mash it together. Now take little at a time and make round balls.

Flatten each ball in your palm to make a cutlet. Toss it nicely in the rice flour.

Heat a pan with some oil. Shallow fry the cutlet till it's brown.

Serve it as a side to almost anything. We had ours with vegetable pulao and raita.

Vanilla cupcakes

Lil A turned 3 this month! Not so little anymore. Before I realized, he is a little boy with opinions, tastes, moods and pranks. He likes interacting with Tiny M and squishing him. It's us who keep saying "gentle, gentle". Tiny M, on the other hand, is excited to see his big brother. He shows it by waving his hands, kicking his legs and now smiling.

Coming back to the birthday cake, the first two year's cakes were my choice - banana and chocolate and strawberry cake.  This year too I was thinking of a fruity cake. Not so. The instructions were quite clear from my 3-year old. "I don't want a birthday cake. I want vanilla cupcake." Not only that, he even mentioned the color of his frosting - "green" with sprinkles on them.

So off I went to figure out vanilla cupcakes with green frosting. Instead of buttercream, I decided to do whipped cream that worked out quite well. Some of it was licked from the bowl itself. :)

For the cupcake, I took the basic recipe from William Sonoma and tweaked it by adding some whole wheat flour and brown sugar in the mix. The cupcakes came out quite well. The two batches I made - one for his school and the other for the home party - were gone in no time. I can now say "I am a vanilla cupcake expert!"

Ingredients:
(adapted from: Williams Sonoma)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tspoon baking powder
1/4 tspoon salt
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
6 tbspoon (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, at room temperature
11/2 tspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)

For frosting:
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tspoon 
12-15 drops green food color
handful rainbow sprinkles

Method:

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Prepare the 12 muffin pan and line them with oiled paper cups.

Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set it aside.
In a large bowl, using a mixer, beat together the sugar and butter for 2 to 3 minutes. The mix will change color and begome light and fluffy. To this add the egg and egg white (one at a time) and mix some more.

Now add the vanilla and beat some more.

Then add the flour in 3 parts, each one accompanied with little milk, and mix it till it's smooth.

Divide the batter in the muffin cups. I used a ice-cream scoop to help keep it even. Fill each cup about 1/2 to 3/4.

Bake for 19-20 minutes till the toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for an hour before frosting.

Frosting:
Beat  the whipped cream with color, sugar and vanilla till soft peaks form. Pipe it over the cupcakes and add rainbow sprinkles. Viola, cupcakes are ready!

Serve immediately.