the angel has been called home

I have to tell my readers about the huge loss in my life .........

The readers of my food blogs do not know about my daughter , but this is the time i cannot hold this to myself....

Mithi , my angel daughter , is no more with us in this world....

She breathed her last on the 31st of Dec....

Her last moments were not as painful as the rest of her life..

She wanted to go silently it seems , she could understand my voice and my touch till the last .... i hope she is happy now.

 I am feeling a huge vacuum in my life , even though i had been praying God to give her freedom from the pain ....my prayers were answered and still my heart aches ... and refuses to believe she is not around.....

I know i will never be able to touch her , to kiss her and to take her in my arms..........but she is in my heart n my soul......she is a part of my flesh n blood now.....she will be there in whatever i do in life...

I thank all of you friends for including Mithi in your prayers....she is the Angel who touched our lives and our hearts.....i believe it was for a purpose.

mocha matar ....forget about keema matar

Kele ka phool or the banana heart is the bright pink colored tip of the banana inflorescence, this delectable vegetable ( flower ) is cooked into many countries , not only in different parts of India ....that too in many many ways and one thing is sure that all of those recipes must be wonderful.......the reason is , after cleaning those tiny flowers with clinical precision and chopping them like you are handling your own fingers , you will surely do something special with them.... they taste really great when treated nicely.

Some people par boil the flowers and discard the water as the flowers are slightly alkaline , i never do that for alkaline food is good for us ..... many useful minerals are also lost during parboiling and straining the flowers...they are so rich in potassium and iron n B-complex Vitamins ( all water soluble )....

To make them less alkaline to the palate , tomatoes or curds or both can be added for curries ( like this one) , addition of a few drops of lemon juice would be good too....One more trick to make them less alkaline to the palate is cooking them with legumes ...with green mung or with green peas it tastes great , other legumes can also be tried as the possibilities are endless...adding grated coconut also helps in neutralizing the taste...

I had cleaned the florets and kept them for making a kabab with it , the plan got changed and i made a
shallow fried pakoda using the inner heart , while the outer flowers were used for this mocha matar ....made almost like keema matar and is a good vegetarian alternative....here is a picture of chopped up flowers of banana...

Cleaning and chopping the tiny florets is a bit time consuming but it is well worth the hard work....there are many write ups on how to clean these florets on the net so i did not bother to take the pictures and come straight to the recipe.....kele ke phool aur matar ki subzi.....

 ingredients...

cleaned and chopped banana florets 1.5 cups
green peas 1 cup
chopped red onions 1/2 cup
ginger 1 inch piece, 5-6 garlic cloves n 5 green chillies made into a paste
chopped tomatoes 1 cup
coriander greens with stem chopped and kept separately , a cup of both
mint leaves chopped 1 tbsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
everyday curry masala 2 tsp
special garam masala 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tbsp
cumin whole 1 tsp
cloves 2


procedure...

Dissolve turmeric powder and both the masala powders in 1/4 cup of water n keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai and throw in the cumin and cloves ...wait till they splutter...i love adding a whole dry red chilly too at this point but did not use this time as Arvind had instructed me to cook less hot this time..

Add the chopped onions and let them get lightly browned , add the masala paste and fry till it sticks to the base of kadai , scrape and fry till aromatic...

Add the green peas and sallt , sprinkle some water , mix well and cook covered for 5 minutes..or till the peas are 3/4 done...

Open the lid and add the banana florets along with the coriander stems in the kadai.....

Mix well and stir fry without covering for a couple of minutes ....till the banana flowers look wilted and soft...

Add the chopped tomatoes , mint leaves and the coriander leaves , mix well and cover to cook till everything is well blended , tomato puree can be used if fresh tomatoes are not available or you don't want those red specks into the curry , taste the curry by dipping your fingertip into it at this point....if it still feels alkaline to the palate , add 1/4 cup of thick curds and cook to blend well........

 

This is a very rich looking curry and you can add ghee on top before serving .......we like it as it is .....the pictures of the cooked curry are not very good as it was steaming hot when i clicked it..........

 

The curry becomes better the next day , all the spices and the mint n heavy dose of coriander greens make it a curry bursting with flavors.....it becomes very rich in fiber owing to the coriander stems ...the mocha is high on fiber itself too.....all the goodness with great taste...

last minute christamas cakes......

After seeing so many cakes and cookies  , truffles and ginger breads all over the blogosphere , i was like ...to be or not to be........i rarely bake a cake or a cookie these days as both of us are trying to manage our weight . ....that is just one reason , the other reasons being plain procrastination...i make other desserts and fried stuff too and cakes are not as high on calories always .

I know every reason for not making cakes will just be a lame excuse...............i did not soak my dry fruits in rum in advance n i had no choice to make a proper fruit cake bursting with goodness of rich dry fruits and mixed peels ....at last i thought of making an orange cake and even kept two large oranges on the kitchen platform to remind me of turning them to a cake........even they could not prompt me to bake a cake.....in the meanwhile i had to tell over telephone the exact measurements and recipes of different cakes to friends who were baking ....several calls followed to tell me the chocolate cake was yummy and that orange cake was an instant hit and that last minute addition of rum worked well...........that was the moment i could not resist.....

I had carrots and i had those oranges , mandarins actually which are called kinnoo in this part of the world......two large kinnoos were actually waiting for the cake to happen as i told you.....overripe and the skin wrinkled and semi dried ....perfect for this cake as this peel is going to give a texture and taste similar to mixed peels .........and hey i had a large tender zucchini and lots of lemons too.........

Forgive me for poor photography but it is to show you the dry leathery peels being chopped as one of the friends could not do it just by telephonic instructions.............hey S , this is for you.......i chopped them once more cross wise to make them even finer ........let's see how it was made ...a frugal cake with a rich taste........

ingredients....
mandarin peel chopped finely 1 heaped tbsp ( or more )
( i used peel of two mandarins )
finely and neatly grated carrots 2 cups
all purpose flour 2 cups
sugar 3/4 cup
vegetable oil 3/4 cup
eggs 3
baking powder 3/4 tbsp
baking soda 1/4 tsp
juice of one mandarin orange ( a little more if the batter is too thick)
the juice from the mandarin i used was less but very concentrated as it was an overripe n dried one

procedure...

Mix the grated carrots and orange juice and keep aside..

In a large dry bowl sieve the flour , baking soda and baking powder  twice to allow proper mixing , keep aside...

In another deep bowl whisk the eggs , oil and sugar together till creamy n fluffy , pop in the chopped orange peel , whisk once again and add the grated carrots with juice , whisk till combined ...

Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture in three batches while folding it nicely to incorporate.......do not whisk vigorously .......it's ready to be baked now...adjust consistency by adding more juice if the batter is not in thick flowing consistency. It will be thick due to grated carrots and not flowing freely but it should be a thick but flowing batter...ribbon consistency will not be achieved here......the picture will make it clear...it is with zuchhini and lemon which i made just after this cake n took the picture for showing the consistency.......

Pour in a greased and dusted pyrex dish and microwave for 7 minutes on high ( 900 W) , check by inserting a needle , put back into the MW preheat while the cake is still inside the oven ...after two minutes open the door and quickly place the cake dish over the high wire rack to be browned nicely by the hot grill........3 minutes is enough.......i kept it for 4 minutes and it browned a little too much......but the brown part was the yummiest..........see the top and the side......

As i said , after baking this cake i made another with zuchhini and lemon using the same recipe ...replacing carrots with zucchini and mandarins with lemons....using two lemons for half of this quantity.......this cake was yummy too and the color is just so beautiful....

The cakes vanished in no time as i sent half of it to a friend too....... and i made another .....a loaf this time .....

This cake ages well and becomes more rich in taste after a couple of days...that is the reason why i made the loaf ...it is sitting in the fridge and a fat slice appears on the table everyday........today was the second day by the way..........for the loaf....

The grated carrots provide a nice fruity texture while the flavors are brought by the rich mandarin peel , i could have added a few nuts to enhance the richness but the orange flavor would have been masked by nuttiness ......moist fruity bits in a fluffy yet dense cake , that is how the carrot and orange cake was.

Zucchini provides softness to the cake and the much loved color to enhance the lemon feel.....lemons are to be used liberally to get a fairly lemony zing ...i used the grated zest of two of my garden fresh large lemons for half the above recipe..........zucchini does nothing to the taste though , but the softness n color it provides to the cake is just so fit for the lemon flavored cake...........

Truly a frugal recipe for great tasting cakes.......

Wishing all my readers for a wonderful year ahead.......

drumstick curry in mustard gravy

 What do you do when you have a glut of drumsticks ??

My regular readers know that i have a giant tree of drumsticks in my front garden , they are bursting with their best flavors right now and the sight of those branches heavy with fruit are forcing me to pluck them , wash them , peel n cut and ..........

Needless to say , i have been using the flowers and the sticks for different types of curries considering it is so healthy....see the health benefits of drumsticks here.....i must add that i see that this fruit ( or vegetable) is a favorite of parrots ....i see large flocks of beautiful parrots come to the tree , perch just above the fruit , bow down and peck their beaks into the fruit to eat the flesh ..... when the fruit will be mature n seeds will develop inside  , the parrots beautifully slide down the drumsticks to pick the seeds from the splitting pods........i can spend hours watching them doing this ..... earlier , i have seen parrots perching on mature sunflowers in my garden to pick the seeds to snack on..........they know instinctively what is good for them.......

I use this vegetable in sambars mostly , this curry is a traditional eastern UP preparation and this season somehow i have made this particular curry many times ....both of us are loving it with hot steaming rice...it is fun to chew the pieces of drumstick which are quite fibrous n hard , the flavorful flesh lies in the middle of the stick which has to be either scraped out or you chew the stick to eat the flesh and then discard the fiber....this mustard gravy make it differently flavorful n it's real fun to chew on these flavors......this time when i made the curry , the sticks are young and soft and the flesh is less chewable :)

I do not peel the drumsticks , as these are so fresh n home grown.... just some of the stringy fiber is pulled off and then it is chopped in 2 inch long pieces.......

ingredients....

a dozen of soft baby drumsticks or 6-7 mature drumsticks
2-3 potatoes peeled and cut in wedges
3 large tomatoes cut lengthwise
my everyday curry powder 2 tsp or 1/2 tsp each of coriander, cumin n pepper powders
turmeric powder 1 tsp
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
coriander greens a handful

to be made into a fine paste
2 tbsp of yellow mustard seeds ( if using black mustard seeds , pass the paste through a sieve to remove the skin)
4-5 green chillies
6 garlic cloves

procedure...

Heat oil in a thick base kadai and pop in the cumin seeds and wait till they splutter..

Throw in the potato wedges , stir fry for a couple of minutes and then add the drumstick pieces too , stir fry lightly till the potatoes are slightly brown n the drumsticks are glossy...

Sprinkle the everyday curry powder , turmeric powder , salt and add the chopped tomatoes to it...

Stir fry the mixture for a couple of minutes and then pour the mustard paste , add water to make a curry of desired consistency , and let it boil covered for about 10 minutes , the tomatoes get mushy , the potatoes soft and the drumsticks yield to pressure.......

Add the coriander greens , add some lemon juice if you like ,cover and put off the flame and let it rest for a couple of minutes before serving ....

 Serve hot over a bed of hot fluffy rice....

This is a curry which my grandmother used to make and till date i remember her fondly whenever i cook this curry.....she passed away 10 years back and she was 100 + of age then .........she could travel alone at that age , a straight walking slim woman , having salt n pepper hair ( not silver)...believe me , she loved to chew ganne ki pori ( peeled sugar cane pieces) and she loved to chew on these drumsticks too...............

Am i talking too much ??

Hey i have a request for all of you , if you have a recipe using drumsticks on you blog or otherwise please link that recipe to the comments section , i want to cook this veggie in as many ways i can.....will you please ??