Slipping through my fingers all the time…Traditions & nostalgic recipes.

 Slipping through my fingers all the time…

Hearing this Classic ballad from ABBA never fails to put me into a wistful mood, get transported to happier  carefree times. As I watch my son getting ready to shed his first tooth and getting excited about a visit from the  tooth fairy, a part of me realizes how I have to helplessly watch time race on and think back to a generation ago about my own experience of that evening when I first discovered that I was about to lose my first tooth. Amma consoling me about how this was a part of growing up and me, with a gargantuan lump in my throat, trying hard not to cry. It wasn’t all about that loose tooth. Even at that age, it was a feeling of loss of that cocooned part of life, of an innocent childhood, slipping away to be replaced by life’s ever increasing burden of heartaches & stress, with patches of thankless existence, endured solely for the sake of your own  children, who also provide you with some of the best moments of life as well.

For almost all children from my generation with  South Indian roots, a precious tradition that is recalled with fondness is the tradition of ‘Kayille kayille’ (translated as ‘in the palm’). This was a food session that required a quorum of at least 4 kids and one adult who doled out the food. It worked best with an assorted bunch of cousins gathered together for the summer holidays at the ‘native place’ as grandparents homes were referred to. Winding down at the end of the day, often in an open verandah to beat the summer heat (or the inevitable ‘power cut’) with unimaginable quantities of chilled yogurt rice.

Yes, the quintessential ‘thayir saadam’ was the star of this show along with the priceless stories & folktales from grandma that made the food magically disappear. The menu never varied. A HUGE pot of rice mixed to an almost porridge consistency with yogurt or buttermilk and seasoned simply with sea salt. The supporting role was played by a spinach and tamarind gravy recreated from left over sambhar & mashed spinach. These two dishes, served separately at lunchtime would invariably be mixed together and slow cooked down to a thick paste in a soapstone dish, the ‘kalchatti’. The older kids however, were lucky enough to be allowed to pair the rice with the spicy sauce from pickled baby mangoes, the vadu mangai ‘sauce’.

All the kids would be seated in a semi circle with ‘Paati’ (grandma) seated in the center with the food. With the backdrop of classic folktales & stories, cool dollops of rice would be dropped into the cupped palm of the right hand. As the outstretched hands got filled from one end to the other, We’d make a ‘well in the center of the rice using our right thumbs. As soon as the line up had received the rice, the sauce would be carefully dropped into the wells and the whole morsel would be scarfed up. A tiny plate or scrap of plantain leaf would collect the ‘drippings, which would in due course, be eaten up in regular intervals. The astonishing part of this tradition is the volume of food that would be consumed. You realized how much you’d eaten only while trying to get up and felt like a lethargic python that had just gobbled up an antelope!

To me, pickled baby mangoes represent my culinary ‘Rosebud’ (with due apologies to Orson Welles’ ‘Citizen Kane‘), the single work of edible art that instantly transports me to a happy childhood, free from life’s maddening strife. The process of making this delectable pickle is a labor of love, but well worth the effort, for all the happy memories it rakes up.

Vadu Mangai  – Pickled baby mangoes in a mustard & chili pepper sauce.

(Recipe adapted from Grains, Greens & Grated coconuts, by Ammini Ramachandran)

You need:
~100  baby mangoes
1 cup  Kosher salt
2 cups arbol chiles, toasted & powdered
1 cup black mustard seeds crushed
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon Turmeric powder

Wash & dry the baby mangoes.  Place in a large ceramic bowl ( the white Corningware French baking dishes with the plastic lids work great).  Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of oil & shake well so that the oil coats the mangoes. Add the salt and turmeric powder & shake so that the salt sticks to the oiled skin) Cover tightly. Shake the container a couple of time each day for about a week.The baby mangoes release their moisture and this combines with the salt to create its own flavored brine

One week later

At the end of about 2 weeks, there will be sufficient brine to incorporate into a spicy sauce that the mango will be preserved in.

Drain off the brine into a blender jar. Combine the toasted arbol chile powder and the mustard powders  and blend into an emulsion.

Pour this sauce back onto the mangoes. taking care coat the semi pickled mangoes entirely.

Transfer the mangoes and the sauce into a dry sterilized glass jar. Pour the sesame oil to form a layer over the surface.

For the Yogurt rice:

2 cups well cooked & cooled Jasmine rice
cold yogurt or buttermilk as needed
a Sprinkle of kosher salt

Mix the ingredients in a large mixing bowl using your hands. Mash it to a consistency that kind of resembles cooked oatmeal. Serve in a bowl  drizzled with  the mustard chile sauce from the pickled mangoes.

Bon appetit!

Sugar n’ spice & everything nice..

The Shiva Temple in the village of Kalakkad

Note to self: repeat Note to self:   When traveling within Rural India, Its waaay better to drive than take the train!!

This is what happens when you base yourself in the US of A & miss out on whats been happening back in the home country. They have great national highways that get you from point A to point B in great time with decent enough gas station rest rooms en route. Still accustomed to the old ways of traveling by train, we went on to book tickets on the Nellai express (yeah yeah AC 1 the highest class possible on the train, still). Kids loved it, didn’t mind the griminess too much and the berths made for a great monkey bar substitute to climb up and down. but its hard for grown ups to get reused to something one has merrily gotten unused to!

So here we were on a hot & dry late August morning , at Tirunelveli Junction picked up by a pre-arranged car (an air conditioned Toyota SUV)  & driver, extremely friendly & knowledgeable about the region. Incidentally the name ‘Tirunelveli’ is transalated from the native Tamil (or Tamizh to those preferring the pure phonetic pronunciation) as ‘sacred paddy field fence’ (HAD to be a food reference right??). The original settlements probably date back to 1500 BCE, judging from the references to the town in sacred texts and bronze age excavations of burial sites in the area.

 Not many realize that South India has a treasure trove of architectural beauty in its many temples most of which date back to the 8th Century BCE.. These monuments were largely spared the terrible destruction wrecked upon North Indian monuments by the plundering Moslem invaders that ravaged the northern half of the subcontinent during the 12th century & onward. In the span of 2 days, it was a treat to retreat back in time walking through three beautiful temples. The ‘Nellaiappar’ Temple in Tirunelveli town, the Krishnapuram temple nearby, and the Shiva Temple in the village of  Kalakkad,  known for its tiger reserve and is one of the habitats for the endangered lion tailed macaque.  Photography is not permitted with in the temple premises, so just took in the beauty & imprinted it onto the neural memory card. The sculptures in these temples is a must see for those interested in ancient architecture. Intricate stone pillars that resonate musical notes when struck.. Just pressing your ear to the granite & get transported to a state of enthrallment  that just can’t be had in a science museum…

The trip was a treasure trove in terms of the local food. In addition to rice,one of the main produce in this town is toddy palm & related sweetening products, (YES,  this is the same tree that produces palm wine & hooch! and NO, I did not imbibe any.) and a whole bunch of spices at the resort town of Courtallam.

 

Toddy palm root: Yep. this is edible and actually quite tasty. the texture of Jicama & flavor of fresh sugar cane, minus the sweetness. The vendor slices it thin & serves it with a sprinkle of Sugar & lime.

Toddy Palm fruit: Jello growing on a tree!

and this candy with the palm frond wrapper woven around. Its called ‘Chill Karupatti’, ( literally translated as karupatti  bits) The palm nectar is boiled down to a thick syrup & combined with fresh ginger extract and then set in these pyramid shaped molds. You have to carefully unweave the strips to get to the good stuff!

Palm sugar is used as a remedy for cough, just suck on a piece of this to calm down an irritated throat & ask the Ricola & Halls to take a hike. It really works & its 100% natural!

Inji morabba (cubes)  & chill karupatti (pyramid)

 For those with a tolerance for spicier stuff, there is the ‘Inji morabba’ or ginger candy, made simply with Ginger extract (with teensy pieces of ginger fiber inside!) & sugar. Spicy as anything, it makes for a great substitute as a sugar cube in a cup of coffee!

Speaking of spice, say hello to this fruit..

 Any guesses? here’s a hint:

Add caption

 
Yep, Nutmeg: The raw fruit is the size of a large plum, texture & tartness of raw mango with that unique nutmeg aroma permeating the entire flesh. It was simply a delight to see large quantities of this spice casually being laid out to dry in the sun. The taste of fresh mace is unforgettable.

The fruit can be cut up and made into a relish with mustard & chilli powder.

 To make this spicy relish you need

 2 raw nutmeg fruits (seed & mace removed)
OR
1 cup diced raw green mango
1/2 a whole nutmeg powdered

other ingredients:
1 tsp Red Cayenne pepper powder,
Salt to taste (~ 1 -1.5 tsp)
1 tablespoon fresh crushed mustard seeds.
2 tablespoons Sesame oil.
 Combine the diced nutmeg (or mango & nutmeg powder), the Cayenne, Salt & crushed mustard seeds & toss to combine. Heat the sesame oil till smoking hot and pour over the seasoned fruit. Mix well and allow to rest for 2-3 hours so that the flavors may combine. Serve with South Indian Yogurt rice.

Spicy (check) …. & here is a sweet Panfusine recipe to complete this post.

Rice crepes stuffed with spiced poached pears (stuffed aapams) 

For the poached pears, you need.

• 3 anjou or concord pears
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 star anise pods
• 4 cardamom pods (intact seeds only)
• 1/2 cup water

 Method:

1. Peel the pears & remove the stringy central core & the seeds. Quarter & then slice into 1/4 inch thick pieces.
2. In a saucepan, combine the brown sugar, water, star anise & cardamom seeds & heat to dissolve the sugar. When the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture has reached a boil, Add the pears, lower the heat to a simmer & gently cook the pears till soft but not mushy. set aside to cool. 

Aapam crepes

• 1 cup basmati rice
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• stick of cold butter to grease the pan
• 2 cups water 

Method: 

• Wash & soak the Basmati rice in adequate quantity of warm water for about 3 hrs till its softened.
• Transfer the soaked basmati with as little water as possible to a blender jar & grind completely into a very smooth (& extremely thick) paste (it’ll have the consistency of wet concrete). Add a cup of water to dilute the paste & give it a whirl in the blender to dislodge the thick rice paste. Transfer the batter into a container. lightly scraping out the sides of the jar.
• Add the second cup of water to the blender jar & completely wash out the remaining rice sticking to the sides, lid & blades of the jar. Transfer this liquid to a separate container & SAVE.
• Transfer this washed out rice liquid to a saucepan and bring to a boil. The liquid will take on a syrupy appearance, due to the starch swelling up (similar to what happens when you cook oats). Remove from the stove & strain this liquid into the batter. Stir to eliminate lumps. The consistency should be like that of crepe batter. (should have a yield of about 3 cups (~ 24 oz) of batter.
• Add the confectioners sugar (adjust to your personal level of sweetness), baking powder & the lemon zest and stir in.

• Heat a 6 inch nonstick skillet over the gas.
• Rub the melted butter over the surface of the skillet to season it. Wipe uniformly over the hot surface using a paper towel.
• Using a (1 oz) coffee scoop spoon, pour 2 scoops of the batter ( stir the batter well before using each time, the rice tends to sink to the bottom) into the skillet. Using the wrist, swirl the batter around the base & the sides of the skillet to coat evenly. 

 

• Cover & cook over a medium heat for about 1-2 minutes till the edges begin to brown & leave the surface of the skillet & the batter in the center of the pan has set into a ‘pillow’. Gently dislodge the crepe from the sides of the skillet & slide it onto a serving plate.

• Spoon the poached pears onto the center of the crepe, Drizzle with extra poaching liquid if desired. Fold over & serve warm.

 Repeat with the remaining batter, makes 12 servings.

Bon appetit!

 

Kumquat pickle – Kerala style

On a visit to the Oriental grocery around chinese new year, I happened to pick up a rather large container ( the only size available) of Kumquats. These miniature oranges are so cute to look at & sniff, but can be quite challenging when trying to decide what or how to cook with them.
For one thing, this egg shaped citrus is quite reversed in its flavor profile. The peel is sweet & redolent of citrussy orange flavor, but once you peel it, you can barely make out 4 tiny segments bloated with inedible seeds. To top it all, the teeny bit of pulp is extremely lip puckering sour.
And so, these fruits sat on my kitchen counter for about 3 weeks. I kept weeding out the occasional rotten bad eggs from the rest, until i decided to use some of the peel for last weeks recipe. (yes folks, the pannacotta was garnished with candied kumquat peel, not orange)

Cut to my umpteenth sweep of Mrs. Ammini Ramachandrans book ‘Grains, Greens & grated coconuts’ ( I just have to  read the recipes to take me into a gustational high!). This time, I stopped at the recipe for ‘Naranga curry’ (p. 178). If Meyer lemons were an acceptable substitute, why not kumquats?
Naranga curry is one of those quick Indian pickles that are whipped up for festive occasions when one does not have the luxury of having time to pickle the citrus fruit. A quick saute in oil softens the fruit and facilitates the absorption of the spice flavors. These do not keep well & have to be used up quickly. ( which is not an issue since they’re so delicious!).
Since i really did not want a sweet pickle, I had to peel the rind of, which was labor intensive, but I just juliennned to & added to to a large take out container  filled with confectioners sugar. I’ll keep you posted on what results!
Except for the kumquats, the ingredients used are the same as Ms. Ramachandran’s list, but in different proportions.

For this pickle you need:

1 cup of peeled kumquats, (seeds & all)
1/4 cup sesame oil
1/4 tsp asafetida powder
1 tbsp Red chilli powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Fenugreek seeds, toasted brown & powdered.

Heat the oil in a pan & Saute the peeled kumquats till soft.
Using a fork & paring knife, make a slit in the fruits individually & scrape off the seeds from the softened fruit. Discard the seeds.

Avoid using your hands as much as possible & try not to squish the fruit to a pulp. Season with salt & turmeric powder, toss well & set  aside .
In the same oil used for sauteeing the kumquat,  add mustard seeds & allow to sputter. Add the red chilli, fenugreek and asafetida  powders. Add the kumquat, stir to combine well & remove from heat. Allow to cool before transferring into a dry glass container. Ideally the pickle should ‘rest’ for a day before serving.

(but this tiny batch of mine never saw the light of the next hour, leave alone the next day!)

(Entering this post in the sweet heat chili challenge hosted by Michele & Lyndsey
http://foodfootballandababy.blogspot.com/2012/01/sweet-heat-chilli-challenge-4-lets-rock.html)

Root Salad

In India, along with the pongal season arrives a slew of rhizomes in the market that are associated with this festival. Fresh Ginger & turmeric are found everywhere, whole plants with the rhizomes still caked in fresh muddy earth. The aroma is incomparable.
At home, invariably after the festivities were over there would be plenty of the fresh turmeric & ginger left over after some had been replanted in pots (Its quite another story that we needed to eventually buy more next year!)  for the next season, my dad would dice these finely, add finely minced green chilli, salt & a dash of lime to make this yummy relish/salad.. (it was a bit too spicy to load up by the ladleful, but mild & piquant enough to scarf down generously for an ‘achar’ (pickle/relish), so in later years I took to calling this a salsa). My mother in her characteristic southie tradition would add a tadka of mustard & a pinch of asafetida. This was one of my late fathers signature dishes & I can’t take the credit for it.

 you need:
 1/4 cup  Fresh Turmeric root grated or diced fine
1/4 cup Mango ginger ( available in Indian grocery stores) grated or diced finely
1/2 cup tender ginger root grated or diced finely.
Juice of 1 lime
1/4  – 1/2 a jalapeno, seeds removed minced fine
Salt to taste.

For the tadka:
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Pinch of asafetida (optional)

Combine the grated turmeric,  mango ginger & ginger in a bowl with the minced jalapeno. add the salt & lime juice & toss lightly. In a skillet, heat the oil, add the mustard seeds once the seeds sputter, remove from fire add the asafetida, stir well & drizzle over the salsa. Serve with any rice dish of your choice.

Appa: thanks for a wonderful recipe.. this one’s for you!