Food Bloggers against Hunger – Thriving 3 ways on 4.00$ a day

‘Anna daata Sukhi Bhava’ (May the person who supplies food, live well & prosper) – This is a blessing in sanskrit that is uttered at the end of every meal. It thanks not only the creator, but also the individuals who helped create a satisfying meal that enables others to thrive, the farmer who nurtured the crops, the grocer who made it accessible and the chef who cooked the ingredients into an unforgettable meal.

Hunger extends beyond culture, class race and species. Food is one of the four ‘F’s that every creature on earth is neurologically programmed by evolution & nature to seek in order to survive (the others being Fight, Flight and the ‘F’ word that describes the path to reproduction). 

For those of us fortunate enough to go grocery shopping at the drop of a hat , especially those of us who live in the US of A (‘oh, no, I’m running short of Plugra butter or Olive oil of a XYZ terroir’). We’ve almost forgotten that evolution programmed humans to expect food shortages,  where the term ‘seasonal’ is used in an artisan sense, and fat, colorful  plump produce is nothing but a grocery store hop away. It makes it all the more shameful that we as Americans, are unaware of a dirty secret, that almost 1 in 2 of our children will at some time in their life teeter on the brink of hunger. Shame regarding this (after all, every parent takes pride in ensuring that their children are well fed & clothed) drives this issue further underground. Just take a look at this trailer of the documentary ‘A place at the table’ from Participant media and it will give you an idea of how bad the situation is.

Growing up in India in the 1970’s and 80’s, I remember stories that my mother used to tell me about my grandmothers sense of generosity to anyone who worked as a household help. She would give away bushels of grain and vegetables that were grown on the family land without giving it a second thought. Her reasoning was that ‘this person leaves behind her children just so that they can earn a living working for our family’. At no point of time should those children ever feel or get an inkling of regret that they went hungry because their mother/father was off helping out someone else for that negative energy would ultimately settle upon my grandmothers family. It was downright sacrilegious to waste food, doing so was akin to insulting Annapoorna, The guardian deity of one of the worlds oldest cities, Benaras who is revered the goddess of food (Annam- Food, poorna- one who grants). 

Fast forward to this day and age when Children are ordered to throw out food into the garbage at school simply because they did not have the means to pay. To me this is feels criminal on two fronts. Depriving a hungry kid is bad enough, but that the food would be tossed into the trash is even worse.

It was a simpler time when fancy ingredients were out of reach for most of us middle class kids, but healthy food was taken for granted even if was the quintessential Dal Chawal or Dal Roti (lentils  with either rice or Roti), served with a side of sauteed vegetables and a toasted lentil wafer known as paapad. Even today, this most elemental of Indian dishes is on the top of my comfort food list. And believe it or not, the nutritive value and flavor is matched only by its budget friendliness. The portions I made for my recipe were enough for 4 generous servings, all within a 4.00$ budget that food stamps allow for.

I opted to pick Lentils (known as ‘masoor’ in Hindi) as my protein source simply to showcase the variety available. From the common dehusked orange variety, all the way to the exquisite looking caviar like (and pricey!) black Beluga lentils.

Its unfair and cruel to preach to a hungry individual about nuances of cooking, when all they seek is eat a healthy balanced meal without resorting to borderline fake processed prepacked garbage that is so commonly found on supermarket shelves. Rather a simple guiding hand towards good wholesome food, and it paves the way for healthier and happier individuals who are better equipped to overcome other hurdles that they face in life.

The basic recipe for a Lentil dal has infinite possibilities for incorporating various flavors. At the basic level, onions sauteed to the point of caramelization add a meaty flavor with minimal help from other spices. Add a sprinkle of practically any spice blend and it transforms into a vehicle of flavor, transporting one to the culinary trends of different varied lands. I’ll include a list of spice blends that I have used while making multiple variations of the same basic dal at the end of the recipe along with other healthy dishes that can be made with commonly found ingredients.

Dal Chawal (Rice and lentils) Serves 3-4

You need (for the rice):

1 cup rice (any short grained, or Jasmine)
3 cups water
1 pinch of salt
1/2 tablespoon oil or butter

Wash and rinse the rice. Heat the oil in a 3 qt pan and add the rice. On medium heat, saute the rice until it turns opaque.

Add the water, stir to ensure that no grains are stuck to the bottom of the pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and turn down the heat to low. Cover with a lid and allow the rice to cook until all the liquid is absorbed (~ 15 min). Use a fork to fluff the grains.

Plain Dal:

1 cup Split red Masoor lentils
3-4 cups water
2 tablespoons oil 
1 teaspoon cumin  seeds
2 large onions, grated
1-2 cloves garlic minced finely
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pinch turmeric powder 
Saltto taste
 1/2 teaspoon of your choice of spice blend (curry powder, garam masala…)
Chopped cilantro or dill weed for garnish
2 tablespoons lime or lemon juice

Rinse and drain the Lentils. Add the water along with the turmeric and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and cook until soft but not completely mushed up (~ 15 mins)
In a deep skillet, heat the oil and add the cumin when the oil gets hot and begins to shimmer. Add the garlic and grated onion. On a medium heat, saute the until the onion just begins to caramelize. Add the tomato paste along with the turmeric, salt and spice blend. adding a sprinkle of water to deglaze if the tomato sticks to the bottom of the pan, stir until the tomato paste loses its raw aroma. Add the cooked lentils and stir to combine. Taste and adjust for seasoning. remove from the heat, stir in the lemon juice and garnish with cilantro or dill. Serve warm over rice.

 
 Or simply by itself as a hearty stew,

Or puree the dal (prior to adding the lime juice and cilantro) and strain to obtain a delicious soup. Add a dash of sour cream or yogurt prior to serving.

 I have made variations galore on the dal, some of the spice blends I’ve tried are Moroccan Harrissa, Ethiopean Berbere, Ras el Hanout as well as the occasional dab of Thai red curry paste. The possibilities are endless, but the dish is as comforting as ever.
The Orange lentils retail for about 1.69 / lb even for the high end organic variety and its about 2 cups (which would serve 6). Jasmine or any other short grain non fancy rice such as jasmine retails for 12.00 for a 20 lb bag (about 40 cups of uncooked rice at ~ 60 c / lb). Thats potentially 6 meals right there, not counting the other staples that need only be used in tiny quantities.

Some other dishes that can be made within a budget:

Pongal: A kedgeree of rice and lentils spiced with powdered cumin and pepper, the leftovers can be transformed into a delicious snack with the addition of some bread crumbs.
Vegan Potato Latkes:
Rajma: The North Indian version of the hearty Chili made with Kidney beans
Potato Patty sticks: Boiled spuds and stale bread give rise to this kid friendly snack
Black eyed peas Curry, this is yet another protein rich hearty curry that my family loves sopping up with a bread roll or rice.

To Nicole Gulotta & her team at Givingtable.org, Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be part of this fabulous mission. Deep in my heart I do believe that there will be people who will have benefited from this noble cause and in their happiness will be embedded that little blessing ‘Anna daata sukhi Bhava’. and this genuine offering of goodwill will help in making the world a better place for everyone.

Cous Cous a la ‘Pohe’

‘ As easy as it is to pack on the pounds, it is as difficult to shed it. ‘

While its easy to use the above line as an excuse, there is no mistaking the fact that putting on weight is not an overnight process. It took me over 2 years and a liberal dose of happy go lucky noshing (on my own creations) to pack on 25 lbs (& thanks to Weight Watchers, it had taken me just 3 months to lose the same amount which I managed to keep off even through a pregnancy & childbirth. ). Through all the dissections of what is good and what is bad, emerges one indubitable fact: Carbohydrates are highly addictive and the take home message is to try and shed the cravings. (which is easier said than done!)
Personally, It turns out that rice is my bogeyman. Its been quite easy to restrict myself to 2 phulka roties (Plain chapati made w/o any ghee brushed on) whenever I make them for a meal, but with rice, any fledgling thought of trying to measure out portions is automatically suppressed by ‘god knows what’ gluttony center in my brain! As hard as it is to resist the aroma of fresh rice, I’m training myself to avoid it all together, except as a ‘treat’ once in two weeks. Results: 3 lbs down in 2 weeks without  any other restrictions!  

Aloo Poha (flattened rice with sauteed potatoes) is an irresistible beloved breakfast dish in western India. 

Thanks to a series of photographs posted by Chef Suvir Saran on Facebook yesterday, the temptation to indulge in rice (in its alternate, yet equally addictive form — Poha or flattened rice). Maybe it was a stroke of luck that all I had on hand was about 2 tablespoons of scrappy poha crumbs in a big empty bag and right next to it was a pack of tricolored cous cous that I had picked up at Kalustyans over the weekend.

I found myself savoring a perfectly delicious healthy lunch while satisfying the craving for the  traditional flavors of Aloo poha. 

This is definitely one proverbial cake I could have AND eat!

Cous Cous a la ‘Pohe’ (makes ~ 3 generous servings, ~ 5 Weight watchers plus points)

You need:
1 cup uncooked cous cous
1 cup finely diced red onion (or Shallots)
1 cup peeled and diced potato
1 cup diced sweet peppers 

1.5 tablespoon sesame or olive oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 pinch asafetida

1 birds eye chili, sliced
1 teaspoon minced ginger root
1 sprig curry leaf, torn
Kosher Salt to taste
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted
Chopped Cilantro for garnish
juice of 1/2 a lime.

Add about 1/2 inch of water in a wide pan (an Indian pressure cooker pan works great) and place a steamer basket. Place the cous cous on a fine sieve and thoroughly drench with cold water. Place the sieve over the steamer basket. Cover and allow the cous cous to cook via the steam, occasionally fluffing the grains with a fork (~ 10-15 minutes). Keep covered until needed. you should have about 1 1/2 cups of cooked grains.

Heat the oil in a skillet until it shimmers. Add the mustard and cumin. Once the mustard pops and the cumin seeds split, lower the heat and add the birds eye chile, ginger, asafetida and curry leaves. give it a quick stir and then quickly add the onions. as the onions turn translucent, add the potatoes and the sweet pepper. Sprinkle some water if necessary to the mix, Lower the heat, cover the pan and allow the potatoes and the peppers to cook thorough.  Add the salt, combine thoroughly and adjust for seasonings.

Add the fluffed up couscous and the toasted slicedalmonds and fold gently into the vegetable mix until it is well combined with the other ingredients. Transfer to a serving dish, drizzle with the lime / lemon juice and garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm.

Bon appetit!

Cake Hacking – Spiced apple buckle cake..

I seem to be running out of excuses about avoiding eggs. Yes, I have a teensy fear of  eggs. I enjoy them as much as anybody else, in custards, cakes, cookies & ice cream, but the mere mention of trying to buy a box, and my brain goes into an overdrive to come up with bizzarre excuses to get away from that part of the grocery store. I've analyzed & hyper analyzed it & am perfectly aware that I sound like one of those afflicted  patients described in V.S Ramachandran's book 'Phantoms in the brain', perfectly capable of acknowledging that my quirk is 'eggcentric' to say the least, but balk at the thought of doing something to overcome it.

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Quick healthy fix for a crazy week – Wintermelon & mung bean stew

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 It takes a really steely resolve to keep with a strict regimen when you’re down with a combined case of the flu and a cold. The best that one can do under these circumstances is try to stay hydrated and fill up on soups and light stews. When half a ton of stress is added (by way of the little ones falling sick, its time to put any regimen up on a shelf, it can begin to grate on you and the last thing you need is to start resenting a resolution). Tales of my Carb-loading kitchen capers will be posted on the 24th of the month.. stay tuned! In the mean time, here is a sneak peek!

When it comes to favorites in the vegetable kingdom, I’d rank the white fleshed winter melon up there at the top. there is something about its crisp yet yielding texture with the explosion of pure liquid when you bite into a well cooked cube.

Winter melon is traditionally cooked with a coconut cumin and red chile paste which provide the bulk of its calories. a healthy and hearty alternative is to use cooked split mung dal instead. I found that the hearty flavors of the mung and vegetal lightness of the winter melon shone beautifully when the stew was spiced minimally. The best part, a chunk of the calories comes from the tablespoon of oil used for the tempering, which is pretty semi optional.

Mung beans and Winter melon stew: (serves 3 generously as a meal by itself)

You need: 
4 cups winter melon cubed ( 40 cals, 2 WW plus points)
 1/2 cup split mung beans (300 cals , 7 WW plus points)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 pinch asafetida (optional)
1 green birds eye or serrano chile split longitudinally
1 sprig curry leaves
2- 3 cups water
Salt to taste

For the tempering:
1 tablespoon oil (120 cals, 4 WW plus points)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon split Urad dal
1 small arbol chile

Rinse, clean and drain the mung dal. Add the water, turmeric, split green chile and turmeric.  Bring to a boil,  lower the heat and allow the mung dal to cook until its soft yet retains its shape. Add the cubed winter melon along with the curry leaves , optional asafetida and salt. Allow to cook on a low heat until the winter melon turns translucent.

Heat the oil and add the ingredients for tempering. Once the mustard pops, the Urad and arbol chile turn a reddish brown ( I burnt it a bit in the photograph above) , add the tempering to the stew. Serve hot with a cup of fresh steaming plain rice. Given that Weight watchers does not assign points to vegetables, this dish tops out at a measly 4 points without the rice.

and yes, I confess, I also went ahead and created a fabulous fattening spiced Persimmon & blood orange mousse, which I promise to share in future posts! Bon Appetit!

 

Feasting my way to weight loss – A New Years resolution

I made a promise that I would reward myself with a complete break from posting after my daily marathon of A Dish a Day in 2012 and believed that  it was wonderful not having to constantly think about a new dish to post on January 1st 2013. Or so I thought. As much as I relished the welcome break of not touching my camera for seven days, The withdrawal symptoms drove me batty. It was hard stopping myself from going nuts at the grocery store and restraining my arms from picking each & everything that was remotely interesting. I made a compromise with myself that this year, I would resolutely focus on dishes that were healthy, delicious and came with the nutritive values attached.

I’ve been hooked on to fresh green garbanzos for a while now and never miss an opportunity to pick up some whenever I spot them. The texture is poles apart compared to the dried version (even the green dried ones). These are closer to edamame (fresh green soy beans)  in terms of their silky creamy mouth feel with the slightest of peach fuzz texture. & no trace of that starchy mealy texture that cooked dried garbanzos have. And the best part, Its pretty  low in calories , just about 250 calories per cup that fills you up completely.

I came across a recipe for Balilah in Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbook, Jerusalem. What made me fall in love with this was that it was a Middle Eastern version of a comfort snack food that my dad introduced me to from ONE particular street vendor in Mumbai in 1998. He insisted that I try the snack just for observing the sheer attention to detail that that food vendor lavished on each cone of the ‘chane ki chaat’ (chick pea chaat). (This was a ‘defining’ moment for me, an unforgettable lesson to cast aside food snobbery and appreciate street food for what it is.) The resulting dish was a bejeweled mix of green chickpeas and ruby red pomegranate arils, interspersed with the tiniest bits of sweet onion and pinpricks of heat from finely, almost-minced green chiles. As I made this for today’s lunch, the memories came flooding back and the resulting version of my appetizer was a blend of similar street foods from two great culinary traditions. (With some improvisation thrown in!).

 I opted to used mashed up preserved lemons but regular lemon juice with some lemon zest works just as well.

Balilah with fresh green garbanzo & pomegranate:
(4 servings as a salad or 2 as a complete meal)

2 cups fresh green garbanzos 
1 cup pomegranate arils (~ 1/2 a pomegranate fruit)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or red onions
1/2 cup finely chopped parsley 
1/4  preserved lemon, (or juice of 1/2 a lemon and 1 teaspoon lemon zest)
cracked pepper to taste
1 teaspoon finely powdered cumin seeds
Salt to taste

Steam the green garbanzos for about 10 minutes. rinse completely in cold water to stop cooking and drain. Combine with the pomegranate arils and the shallots.  Deseed the preserved lemon and mince the pulp and peel finely Add t the  garbanzos along with the cumin powder, peppercorn and the parsley. Taste and adjust for seasoning, the preserved lemon is quite salty so you may wnat to be careful with adding any extra salt . If using the lemon juice, add salt to taste along with the citrus.

Nutritional Info 

2 cups green garbanzo : 480 Cal (12 WW points)
1 cup pomegranate : 60 Cal (2 WW points)
1/4 cup shallots : 30 Cals (1 WW points)
Total calories / serving:  ~ 150 Cal ( ~ 4 WW points per generous serving)
The other ingredients, being primarily flavorants of the non calorific kinds, I’ve omitted the  nutritional values, 

If you’re interested in picking up a copy of Yotam Ottolenghi’s book Jerusalem, here is the link from Amazon.

Memories of School and Canteen food (the St. Anthony’s Sandwich Chutney)!

September 5th.. every year..
The day is celebrated as Teacher's Day in India where I grew up and went to school. The day, we girls  (My Alma Mater, St. Anthony's Girls High School in Chembur, a suburb of Mumbai,  was an all girls convent run by the sisters of St. Joseph's Convent) would trip over ourselves to give our class teachers bouquets of flowers that we'd all bought from the lone florist 'Bhaiyya' who had a little set up of planks set up over the storm drain outside the compound walls of Saroj Hotel in Chembur Market. I vaguely remember he had 2 selections, a 5 rs. and a 10 Rs. A watchful eye ensured that the two rose buds in the bouquet were fresh and the there was a respectable amount of asters and chrysanthemums. And the cheaper goldenrods were kept to an optimum low!

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Wedding Traditions and an Ice cream recipe

If you’re a South Indian ‘Tambram’ (Tamil Brahmin) who went through the traditional ‘whole nine yards’ , wedding ceremony to literally ‘tie the knot’, you would probably remember the ‘oonjal’ ceremony. Its a beautiful social part of the whole 3 day event (yes, the ceremonies span 3 days!). where the bride & groom are seated on a double swing (decorated to the hilt with fragrant garlands)  & are revered as Lord Vishnu & Lakshmi. They get their feet washed (albeit, just ceremonially, with a fingertip’s worth of milk) and are fed a mix of milk  with bananas (‘Paalum Pazham’) by the spoonful, by all the older married female relatives. and this is where the interesting innovative hacks begin to fall into place.

Thats my left palm with a wad of tissue!

It does not matter how much one prepares for the ‘paalum pazham’ session. The box of tissues wedged in between the couple will invariably be knocked over by the 1/2 a dozen well meaning children that are strategically placed hitching a ride on the swing, (with beaming non verbal hints from the trove of elder ‘maamies’ (older married women, collectively referred to as maamies or aunts). The said box of tissues will  then be kicked out of reach in the jostling. To cut a long story short, unless you want to clean your sticky palms on your soon-to-be other half’s ‘angavastram’ (a silk shawl that partially covers the upper half of the body), inviting a buzz of giggles mixed with disapproval from the maami crowd, or even worse, use the pallu of your gorgeous & expensive Kanjeevaram, you’re stuck with sticky palms.

Hacks for overcoming this sticky  situation include
a.  Having a thoughtful cousin stand next to you with a hand towel, which gets sticky & practically unusable after the third round.
b. Using tiny silver cups to receive the paal pazham blessing, which means that you’ll have to literally drop it down your hatch (sipping is a big NO NO for ceremonial purposes).
 & c. resign yourself to the situation..

Which brings me to this weeks recipe, inspired by Food52’s genius recipe and an article from The Kitchn. I believe the idea and the concept originated from none other than Nathan Myhrvold, the guy who cooks with all that fnacy space age equipment, but for once you do not need anything more advanced than a regular food processor.
I opted to add cardamom, saffron & crystallized ginger to the bananas simply to give an interesting contrast in taste, a delicious add-on to the single note banana flavor.

Now if only the maamies would spoon dollops of this decadent frozen paal pazham to future bridal couples.. AAH that would be a true Panfusine moment!

Paal Pazham Ice cream: 
(recipe inspired by and adapted from The Kitchn & Food52)

You need: (makes 4-5 servings)

4 – 6 well ripened ‘spotty’ bananas
2 oz. heavy cream (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed cardamom
12-15 strands saffron
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Peel and cut the banana into 1/2 inch slices. Toss gently with the lime juice (to retain color) . Layer on  a tray (or simply toss into a mixing bowl) and place in freezer for about one hour. (these can be frozen indefinitely, just thaw them for 10 -15 minutes when you’re ready to make the ice cream.

 Add the bananas into the  food processor along with the crystallized ginger, cardamom and the saffron. Start running the machine.

 The mix will initially look crumbly like ‘dipping dots’. At this point add the optional heavy  cream (the cream simply fulfills the requirement of the dish being a ‘paal pazham’ version), with the machine running. within 30 seconds you should see the mix congeal into a creamy mass  as you see below.

Scooping up a bit, you’ll be able to feel how silky smooth and creamy it really is!

 Scoop up the ice cream straight from the food processor into bowls and serve immediately.

Freeze the left overs and simply drop it into the food  processor again  to reconstitute the ice cream all over again!

Celebrate these last days of glorious summer.. Bon Appetit!

Taste from Waste – Cauliflower stem relish!

In the interest of full disclosure, I missed watching Food Networks special show ‘The Big Waste’ and am scrambling to catch it in bits and pieces via YouTube.. Its shameful the amount of food that is discarded in what can only be described as cavalier. I remember getting quite shocked when watching Rachael Ray’s show 30 minute meals & seeing her rrriiiip out 2 layers of onion before dicing.  and Iron Chef America… don’t even get me started!

Blame it on my Indian sense of thrift, but I’d always seen the papery layer peeled out carefully to retain the fleshy parts and just the bare minimum of the root end gouged out. Ditto with a multitude of other produce put to completely full use, peels, seeds, shoots, even the occasional coconut ‘going south’,  you name it, there is quite possibly a wonderful dish centered around it.

Given the shocking statistics regarding food waste, I was quite curious to find out how my local grocey store Wegmans dealt with produce . I went about asking the gentleman at the ready cut produce counter what they did with the stems from cauliflowers and was quite delighted to find that they used the stems to make soup (or most probably, stock for the soup). Oh well, that just meant that I had to buy a whole head each of broccoli & cauliflower to get to this weeks recipe.

The  cauliflower stem relish was a staple at home in Mumbai, cut into ‘oh so tiny perfect cubes’ by my foodie fanatic dad. I believe the original idea was from my uber thrifty grandmother. (She could drive everyone up the wall with her brand of ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’.) The attention to detail showered on the knife work takes the final product up to a higher level. Yes, you could make easy work by simply shredding the center stem, but then, the textural aspect leaves a lot to be desired.

Quick Cauliflower stem relish

You need:

1 central core from a medium sized head of cauliflower
1 central core from a smallish head of broccoli
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne chili powder
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder
1/8 teaspoon asafetida powder
1 tablespoon  coarse  black mustard powder
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup sesame oil

Remove the ‘branches’ of the cores and peel the tough fibrous outer layer. Dice the crisp central ‘marrow’ into a uniform small dice to yield about 1 cup (8oz).
Add the salt and all the other ingredients except the lime juice and oil. Toss till the seasonings are dispersed evenly

Heat the sesame oil in a cast iron pan till it just starts smoking. Pour the hot oil right over the seasoned cauliflower/broccoli stem. The oil should be hot enough for the whole thing to sizzle loudly!

Stir in the oil to cover the produce and also cool slightly. Stir in the lime juice. Allow to rest in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving as a condiment alongside rice, dal, or any traditional Indian curry.

Here’s to creating great food from scrap! Bon appetit!

For more tips on minimizing food waste, take a look at this link