Six years and counting

It was in March 2006 that I gingerly typed out the first few words of this food blog. I had no clue what this would turn into. I wasn't even aware that what I was doing would be called 'foodblogging' - though it does seem to be the obvious term for it now.

I got connected with the other early food bloggers from India and abroad. Some of my favourite blogs in my first year of blogging were Mahanandi, Sailu's Food, One Hot Stove, Fat Free Vegan and What's For Lunch Honey. Over the last few years, food blogging became quite a phenomenon, with every home cook documenting his / her recipes (and why not?) - so much so, that at last count, our Bangalore Food Bloggers Group on Facebook has 75 members. 75 foodbloggers in Bangalore city alone (!!), and may be many more who aren't a part of the group.

I've managed to meet quite a few food bloggers in the last six years and some of them are my dearest friends today, friendship tempered by the love of food. I've gone on long blogging breaks, the audience has possibly changed but there's something that's always brought me back. It's quite impossible to abandon a baby like that.

Saffron Trail was recently nominated in the category of Best Healthy Cooking Blog in the Homies 2012 and it was an honour to be nominated with my blogger batch mates like Susan from Fat Free Vegan. Also, words of appreciation from people who try my recipes, a pat on the back from local publications, chefs and fellow foodies respecting you for the persistence in doing something you are passionate about-all of the above keeps me going in making this blog a better place for food lovers to visit.

I think I'm finally finding my blogging groove back so do keep checking back for more from my kitchen (and garden).

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Hip-notized by Shakira - Live in Mumbai on 25 March, 2007

Scene in my balcony on Sunday morning
I am sitting with DH and our friend, L sipping on some lovely masala chaas made by DH and my friend N calls. "Hey - I have an extra pass for the Shakira's performance this evening! Are you coming?" And I was thinking - "Am I dreaming"??

I didn't do anything stupid like refusing her and there we were at the MMRDA grounds at 5.30 pm waiting for the gates to open while being awed by the serpentine queues. I have attended quite some concerts in Bombay and this was the biggest crowd I had seen.

We were in the ground by 6 PM and people were cramming in, slowly and steadily. Women (young and younger) and kids were a majority of the crowd. By 7.30 PM people were getting restless, with the long wait and the crowds. After a bit of booing and shouting to pass the time, we finally got a glimpse of her sillhoute behind the drapes. I wasn't much of a Shakira fan until I saw her live. She has this magnetic effect that grabs your attention. How else can we explain the fact that this woman single-handedly kept 20000 odd people glued to her for over 90 minutes?

I was familiar with just 3 of her songs, which happened to the crowd favourites too - Underneath my clothes, Whenever-wherever and (but ofcourse) Hips don't lie. Most of the other songs were in Spanish, as a part of promotion of her latest album Oral Fixation. The crowds (especially the women) went Ooooh and Aaaaaah when her second costume, a red flowing gown spread around like a huge tent and the frills were long enough to fly high in the sky. Her other costumes were gorgeous too, each designed to suit the kind of performance. She sang a couple of soulful numbers, including Illegal, for which she just sat on a stool in the center of the stage. No hip shaking, no fancy costumes there, just her powerful, gutsy voice that reverberated in the open air.

(Photo courtesy Times of India)

My other favourite part of her performance was the belly dance done to an Arabic tune, mainly the drums and her hips moving with precision to each drumbeat. Her Arabic costume just added that extra bit of sensuality to this super sensous number.

The highlight of the evening was ofcourse the grand finale - Hips don't lie which went on for a good seven minutes. In the end, a troup of Indian dancers joined her with some Indianised steps, which gave that special Indian tadka to the whole performance. The show ended with a million bits of coloured paper being shot into the air, lending the atmosphere a magical effect.

I only wish she was made to perform on a higher stage because we were on our toes for almost an hour trying to get a glimpse of her, even though we were in one of the front-most rows. I'm sure the back rows couldn't even see her flaming curls, not to mention those hips. Overall show was stunning and magical, the crowds enjoyed every bit of what they saw and heard. I heard women leave the grounds saying - "How did she get those abs?", "Where can we learn this kinda dance in Mumbai?" to each other! And ofcourse also overheard were comparisons in 'performance' between Shakira and the Indian cricket team!

Check this coverage by CNN-IBN on what people had to say about her performance.

Tags: Shakira, Mumbai, India tour Shakira, Saffron Trail, Recipe, Food, Indian food blog, Healthy eating, Healthy living, Mumbai, India

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Welcome home!

A few weeks ago when I saw Ilva (Lucilian delights) asking bloggers to share their kitchen pics, I was sure it would be fun to peek into friends' kitchens. A little bit of voyeurism can't hurt! While I did peek into the ones who dared / cared to show, being neck-deep in work, I didn't have the time to post these pics.

See, I'm such a nice-mannered girl! Especially after taking those new year resolutions. And Jan is too early to break them. So, being the nice girl that I am, I'm showing you glimpses of my kitchen. Haven't bothered to tidy counters or any such thing, because sticking to truth at all times, is another of my resolutions! Ha ha ha, so is not letting go of a single chance to laugh out loud.


Since, this is a leased apartment, I make do with whatever shelves / cabinets my kind landlady has made for us. I did manage to nail in a couple of IKEA racks to hold the tea, sugar and smaller spice bottles. Using the space to the MAX, I have stacked the spice bottles on top of the hanging rod! That's the resourceful Indian in me :)

Our kitchen is a long rectangle with two counters, one on each of the lengths, a sink in the corner of one of them. At one end it opens into the balcony (read as loads of sunlight through the day) and at the other end into the dining space. No windows here, but I generally keep the balcony door open, while I cook, so that I can let in the fresh air and tantalise the crows and pigeons with my delicious food aromas.

This parallel counter is mostly taken up by the microwave and the oven, which if placed on a rack above would have given me loads of counter space. But then again, I don't like to make too many demands on my landlady! The tub is loaded with freshly washed utensils. The counters are yet to be cleaned.

I love cleaning up the kitchen thoroughly before sleeping at night so that when I get in the next morning to make my cuppa, I am to a fresh start. It is also fun to lay out stuff for the next morning breakfast, ingredients etc. so that one doesn't need to plan / scratch their head thinking of what to do next.

That's my kitchen for you. I've spotted another event that reads - Behind the apron. This is about revealing yourself (nothing naughty) - the person behind the blog. Come on, show yourself off, folks.

Dear readers and friends, sorry for being erratic with posts. It's time I got back into the groove.

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Current favourites

This song has been haunting me ever since I heard it. It is about a dad lamenting the abortion of his child, and the lyrics are ever so touching. Do check it out, this video has the lyrics too.

Flipsyde -~Happy Birthday~-

I've discovered some positively addicting blogs this week. Thanks to Anna's grand Festive food fair.

One of them is TriniGourmet.com is a culture-rich blog managed by Sarina. In her own words, her blog stands for Mouthwatering Trinidadian “Fusion” Recipes and International Cuisine. In my words, its a treasure of Carribean food and culture.

Her blog makes me want to break into Africa, one of my favourite tracks by Totos while I drool at the Trinidad Black Cake and the Sorrel drink.

The Happiness Project has been a favourite ever since I discovered it a few months ago. Gretchen's Wednesday tips are so do-able and encouraging. Check out her blog which is a project that she's taken up along with the book that she's writing by the same name.

Check out my this week's post for the Daily Tiffin - Makeover your food habits.

I so want to bake a fruitcake for Christmas, or rather - before Christmas, since we're planning to head out someplace for the hols. Most recipes I've seen on the net have ingredients that I don't seem to find here. Anyone with a fruitcake recipe with simple ingredients? I'd be very grateful if you shared it with me.

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Back after a break and some cooking from blogs

Diwali is just round the corner and I've been busy spring (It's ALWAYS summer in Bombay) cleaning. There's tons to be done. I have come to believe in the fact that one work leads to many. For eg. if I start cleaning my wardrobe, I find a dozen things in it that have no business to be in there and then I have to hunt for a place for each. I have also vowed not to buy one single thing - artefacts, clothes, kitchen gadgets - unless I pass it through my 10 point checklist to decide if it is absolutely necessary(which I will formulate and share with you in case you want to see it). Yeah, not even if that earthern bowl is going to look good on the blog. Not as long as I move into a bigger house with a bigger kitchen and an EVEN BIGGER store-room :)

Meanwhile, I have been doing the basic cooking, trying some new stuff and have made two Diwali recipes so far - Spicy Khajas from bawarchi.com and 2 types of Nankhatais learnt from various bloggers. I shall tell you about them in my next entry.

I must say thanks to my blog-o-buddies who were wondering about my absence from the blogging scene. Feels good to be remembered and missed a bit :)

Let me fill you up on what I've been upto the past two weeks ...

See this card. See something familiar? Well, if you read Meeta's blog, you'd know that she'd been to Peloponnese recently. I was so happy to see a card from my dear blog pal. I just saw the front of the card and I knew it was her. Obviously this was the first time I'd heard about this place on her blog and to get a bit of her holiday in my mailbox was a great surprise. Well, that's Meeta for you. She sure knows how to make friends happy.

Last Sunday, I also received a call from Vaishali (Happy Burp) who's reached Pune, safe and sound. I've been so terribly busy whole of last week for the same reasons I stayed away from the blog that I am yet to call her again and ask if she's settled down. But I'll do that as soon as I'm done with this post.

Here, let me share with you some of the stuff that I've cooked from fellow bloggers' recipes....

Anita from Mad Tea Party does all things so exotic that it'll drive you 'mad' - if you don't make them, that is. She made these steamed bottle gourd koftas that can be frozen and dunked into a gravy when required. I tried them and quite liked them. No pics of those though.



But I did take pics of her Lemon Marmalade that I made last night when mom was around. I've never been after citrus fruit seeds the way I was yesterday. I told my mom a dozen times not to miss a single seed as she was peeling the sweet limes for our dinner time fruit. Nah - Pip collecting is not my newfound hobby nor am I a little crazy. The marmalade required to boil citrus pips for quite a while to make up for the absence of pectin. The liquid in which the pips had boiled for over 30 minutes hadn't turned significantly thick (especially as compared to Anita's description) - so I added a pinch of gelatin dissolved in water. Now the marmalade bottles can safely sit upside down without the fear of any leakage...haha. This was my first 'jamming' experience and I quite liked it.

The marm' is quite bitter as of now. I don't know if that's how it is supposed to be. I'd like to hope that the bitterness will go away in a few weeks, as like it does in a lime pickle.

And that one is Nic's Lime loaf. Baking Sheet has become my only needed baking resource in the last few months. I subtituted the half the plain flour with wheat flour and some wheat bran. The loaf was kinda rough and dense, but we quite like it that way. DH absolutely loved the lemony aroma and taste.

Wait, it's not over yet. Two weeks ago, our friends were over from Bangalore. Their dear boy was off egg for a while and hence Saffron Hut's Eggless Banana Muffins were the perfect treat. They all loved it and I packed the rest of it for them to take back home.

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Just reminding you about Weekend Breakfast Blogging - the theme for this month is Twist in the Plate. Did you jazz up an ordinary breakfast for Diwali? Did you try your favourite blogger's recipe with your own twist? Did you turn a sweet one into a savoury one? Come on, tell me about it. You have time till 29th of this month to send me your entries. WBB turns monthly and theme-based this month onwards. Read more about it here.

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I'm off for the weekend & things you can look forward to

Am off to a beach for the weekend...Here are some pics of the place- (Courtesy: Google images). I'm sure the people from in and around Maharashtra will be able to take a guess! Wanna try?

Shall be back on Monday with some BEAUTIFUL pics of the seaside.

Meanwhile shall leave you with some recipes I've been collecting. It's a Chettinad recipe collection.

No, I'm not from Chettinad. But just one brush with that food left me longing for more. Sadly, there are no Chettinad joints in Bombay. So, the only way I can satisfy my yearning is to make it at home, with the aid of some authentic recipes from arusuvai.com. You can do that too if you could read Tamil.

I've been translating some of the vegetarian recipes and uploading on this blog- Chettinad Recipes. No frills there, just a translation of the recipe in Tamil into English. Yes ladies, I can read and write Tamil too :) Please feel free to peep in and try your own variations of those recipes. The chilli content in most of them is on the higher side, which you may need to tone down.

I tried making the Paruppu Tomato Pacchidi (a kind of tomato dal) today and the results were very good. You'll find the recipe on the other blog, but then I've a little modification, which I shall duly post.

Dinner was the Chettinad style Tur Dal with tomatoes and Dahi Bhindi from Tarla Dalal's Cooking with1 tsp oil. The bhindi turned out yummy without much of slaving. Shall post that too when I'm back.

Meanwhile, a big credit is due.

Saakshi, this one's for you!

This is to Saakshi of Healthy Home Cooking who's recipe for Bisi Bele Huli Anna was so accurate and authentic that everyone including my mom, dad and aunt were licking their fingers. I personally felt it was the best rice recipe I've ever made. All thanks to Saakshi for sharing this wonderful recipe. I had to make a few modifications like pressure cooking the rice and lentils and using lesser quantity of coriander seeds, but that was about it. Guys, if you have the remotest liking for South Indian food, this one is a must try.

I shall be posting the round up of WBB # 5 once I'm back, with the announcement of the theme and rules for WBB # 6. So, stay tuned !

Tags:

Chettinad recipes, Bisi Bele Huli Anna

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(Me )me time

It's that time of the year when there are plenty of memes floating around in the blogosphere. I've seen Karthi (Kitchenmate) tag me for the Me meme, atleast two people have tagged me for the 5 foods before you die Meme started in the Traveller's Lunchbox.

Since its always easier to talk about oneself (or may be not), I shall tackle the first one first.

Sunset on the way back from Brighton beach

I am thinking about: some of the things I read yesterday on this blog called the Happiness Project. Little things that make a lot of difference. Simple things like how cleaning up your kitchen and de-cluttering your home before you sleep at night, makes your morning better and brighter.

I said: when I see a meme like this, with two words to start me off, my mind goes blank. There could be a hundred things I want to say, my fingers are rested on the keyboard and I don't know what to write.

Cute li'l chicks in Mahabaleshwar market

I want to: be able to express my feelings crystal clear in writing. I'd like to gift it to S someday. I want to write a book someday on the little things in life. I want to start my little home-style restaurant in Bangalore, a place where people will love to just hang around, a place that reminds people of home.

I wish: I wouldn't mess up my cleaned up closets so soon. I wish they'd remain organised forever. I wish I'll be a more accomodating, less bickering wife. I wish I'll be a patient mom. (when I become one that is). I wish to be my kid's best friend.

I regret: not joining my husband (S) on the sky-dive, a 180 ft jump and dangle in the sky in one of the amusement parks. It would sure have been an experience of a lifetime. It could be done singly, in pairs or as a set of three people. S did it with Manu and I was too scared to join them. I knew it was safe, but the fear was too much to handle...

I hear: the silence of my soul when I chant OM. I've been hearing that silence for the last few mornings I've woken up early. It sounds so good that I don't want to come out of it...

Staring down at the valley in Mahabaleshwar

I am: a down-to-earth simpleton at heart with very few materialistic desires.

I dance: in my mind when I hear a catchy song. Somehow I'm not too co ordinated when it comes to dancing with my body :) I've been wanting to learn salsa for quite some time, if not for anything else, to break the mindset that I CANT dance.

Monsoons as seen from my balcony

I sing: pretty well. I've learnt both Carnatic and Hindustani Classical music. I like standing in my balcony, watching the Sun set into the Arabian Sea and sing one of my favourite bandish. I want to resume singing lessons soon, probably writing this down will push me to the music school this evening...

I cry: at the drop of a hat. Sometimes, I don't even know if it was something worth crying about. Most of the times I cry because I've said something that I dind't mean to say at all. If I don't cry for too many days at a stretch, I wonder if everything is alright with me ;)

I am not: a person who wishes ill for anyone ever.

I write: from my soul. Writing to me is a form of meditation. When I read something that I've written months ago, I wonder if its me who has written this.

I confuse: like hell between left and right. It's been a problem since childhood and I haven't outgrown that yet.

I need: to harness my talents in a better way. I need to work towards my long term goals and not build castles in the air. I need to put things to paper and put in a sincere effort.

I (try to) value: everything that I've got ! When I feel low about something, I try and think of the stuff God has gifted me with. A caring family, a wonderfully supporting husband, a lovely home and so much more. I value the time we spend together, sometimes without even speaking a word. Each of us doing their thing and yet basking in the warmth of each other's companionship. Like that saying I once heard- "“The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.”

I love: nature, trees, farms, fields. I'm waiting for the day I can move out of Bombay, throw seeds in the soil, watch them grow. I love baking. Makes me feel like a real woman, churning out magic from a bunch of boring ingredients. I love to just stand and stare and beautiful scenery. I love to know that I'm loved by some people for just who I am. I love the fact that despite all my flaws, S loves me so...

I think: about how our lives will be 10 years from now. Will I be the same when I'm 40? Will we talk at all, or just be furiously sending of emails and text messages? Will we be able to smell food, places and animals on TV?

I hope: I mature for the better as I turn older. I hope to be more patient, perseverant, more understanding, less bickering. I hope my kids don't think I'm too painful a person to deal with. I hope I end up liking the dogs that S plans to buy when we move out of here. I hope i have a beautiful garden around our home. I hope my kitchen always stays warm and cozy with a beautiful aroma about it.

I tag:

Anita of Mad Tea Party, Raji of En Iniya Ninaivugal and Chandrika of Akshayapatra

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Back and some good tidings!

Am back from my little vacation in Coorg and my cousin's wedding in Mysore ! Coorg was fantastic. The highlights of the visit were hobnobbing with elephants ranging from 2 years to 50 years at the Dubare Elephant Training Camp and walking around the coffee plantations. Plenty of coffee, pepper and cardamom there-enough to keep the foodie in me happy ! (Pictures below)

The wedding was superb, all of us cousins and our aunts and relatives getting together after a long time. And don't get me started on the food- I won't be able to stop. But I can't stop myself from telling you that the guests will remember the wedding feasts for a long long time.

I was welcomed back into Bombay by two very happy tidings, surprisingly BOTH from Switzerland. One, I finally received the BPW postcard from Pam of Posie's Place, a lovely card that she photographed and made herself. (Picture below)

Secondly- my Mumbai marketplace entry was declared winner for Food Destination-2 (My local green market) hosted by Makiko of Just Hungry. This is my first brush with winning a blog contest and I'm still on cloud 9.

Playing with the not-so-small baby elephant at Dubare

Extreme-Close up

Sunrays filtering down through the leaves of the Liberia Coffee tree (the only coffee plant that grows to over 10 feet)

Pam's card for me

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Off on a short break

Friends,
Am off to Coorg and Mysore for a week...Will be back soon with loads of pictures and inspirations...

Cya soon!

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Food Destinations # 2- Scenes from a Mumbai Marketplace

Just noticed that the theme for this month's Food destinations is 'My local greenmarket' and it would be a shame if I weren't able to share my favourite market scenes with fellow foodies. I shall be updating this post with more marketplace pics to make it more worthy for the wonderful event hosted by Maki of Just hungry.

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Market: Vile Parle East Vegetable Market, Mumbai, India

Located on the station road with 70 odd stalls, vendors sell all kinds of vegetables, fruits, herbs. Only fresh produce is sold here.

Open all year round

Timing: 10 am to 10 pm

Prices of vegetables vary from day to day and a little bit of bargaining is always acceptable as well as fun.

The vendors mostly hail from Northern parts of India, they have made Mumbai their home.

Vegetables are grown in the out-skirts of the city and are brought in by trucks. There is no refrigeration and any other such modern amenities available in this marketplace.

Milder light green chillies, fresh ginger and dark green fiery chillies

Tomatoes-15 Rs/ Kg

Fruit stall-mostly tropical fruits like Bananas, Papaya, Chikoos, Pomegranates, Custard Apple and some others

Radish and green onions

Awaiting business

I had been avoiding my weekly trip to the vegetable market since a month because the rains in Bombay turn the entire market place into a slushy mess. We do have 3 supermarkets around our place, and they carry every kind of vegetable-even those that aren't considered local here, for eg. Zucchini, Celery, Peppers in all colours, red cabbage, Baby tomatoes etc. However I desist from buying the 'exotic' stuff-mainly because they are generally stale (Poor turnover?) However, herbs like basil and parsely are quite popular.

Green Markets here are in the open-mostly outside of railway stations, so that people getting off the trains can pick up the stuff they want on their way home. Or atleast, that's my guess. Most of the vegetable vendors are called 'bhaiyyas'. In local parlance, they are called 'bhaaji market'-bhaaji meaning veggies.

There are some vendors that sell just one vegetable-for eg. Tomatoes. (See tomato man above) Some that sell one type of stuff, for eg. Greens like different kinds of spinach, spring onions, coriander, dill etc, and some that sell a little of everything.

The market that I go to is considerably large, extending onto two whole streets and on both sides of each street and everyone shouting the price of his wares-especially if it is CHEAP. (at this point, I strongly regret not having taken a pic of the marketplace in my so many visits-will post one soon enough ). Vendors sit behind HUGE mounds of green peas, beans, tomatoes. Huge as in a kid could be standing inside and not seen!

A friend of mine who has once come visiting from Bangalore was quite amazed to see the variety and quantity of stuff. It was then I realised the advantage I had in being able to procure such fresh stuff plus having a variety of stuff to choose from.

Trucks bringing in sacks of vegetables from the wholesale markets obstruct the street. Then there are small boys-'mobile vendors' as I call them, selling stuff like lemons or drumsticks. Especially so when they are available cheap like 10 lemons for 5 Rupees, or 5 drumsticks for 10 Rupees and they have this nasty habit of calling every female-"Aunty" despite her age. They have another nasty habit of sticking these things under your nose and forcing you to buy their wares or they will block your way with the long drumsticks, until you push them away or buy them.

It's total chaos there. I realised on my last visit that I'd prefer this 'Bazaar' therapy anyday to a retail therapy. Probably stems from the market visits I used to make as a child holding my granny's hand. The smells, the sounds, the whole atmosphere is probably very deep rooted in anyone who grew up in India.

What I got home

Vegetables-

French Beans, Carrots, Ridge Gourd, Giant Cucumber, Radish, Tomatoes, Snake Gourd

Herbs-

Coriander, Baby Fenugreek

Fruits-

Lemons (the lemons here are much smaller and skin is thinner), Papaya, Pomegranate

Sunday lunch with ingredients fresh from the market

• Carrot-Peanut Salad
• Radish sambhar (Radish and lentils)
• Rice
• Snake Gourd Curry
  

Tags:

Mumbai market, Marketplace, Food destinations 2

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Coleus aromaticus, Coleus fritterous and Coleus chapaticus

Seeing the title, you'll wonder if this is a post for Inji Pennu's Green Blog Project or is it a thesis paper on confusing little plants? Read on to find out...

I was all set to write a quick post for GBP but it wasn't to happen so. A little internet research revealed that my plant was not at all the plant I thought it was.

I started growing this plant some 6 months ago from a small sapling that was planted at home by a local plant-vendor. I was under the impression it is the Ajwain plant. You must have heard of Ajwain or Omum, which is the fragrant seed that's used in Indian cooking. Ajwain is called Bishop's weed and when i saw the pictures of this plant online, it hardly looked like the one at home.

With some more research using Marathi and Tamil names, I hit upon the actual name for this plant which is Coleus Aromaticus. It is called Karpooravalli in Tamil and Pan-Ova in Marathi. The leaves look fleshy and scaly. It grows rapidly and with ease. In started growing so much out of the pot like a mini-jungle that I had to trim it off to decent proportions a month ago. And now, it's growing into a pretty bush.

When I chopped off the excess stems and threw them away, little did I realize that I was throwing precious stuff down the drain. Apart from using crushed leaves in a Raita or Dal, i hadn't put them to any major use. A few weeks ago both my Maharashtrian friends , Ujwala and Shaila, told me that I could make fritters with these fleshy leaves and they taste out of the world.

That sounded like so much fun. As it is I was feeling terrible about not being able to grow peas, avaraikkai and tomatoes like some of my favourite bloggers, and this was a small consolation- to be able to make something from my own garden.

Some info that I've unearthed about the usefulness of this plant (ref: http://www.frlht.org.in- Encyclopedia of Indian Medicinal Plants)

NAME: All-Purpose herb, Five Seasons Herb, Mother of Herbs (Plectranthus aromaticus syn. Coleus aromaticus).


DESCRIPTION: This succulent herb has the typical four-cornered stem of the Lamiaceae family. The leaves are very thick and succulent, grey-green and hairy. The plant grows to around 50cm tall. The leaves are highly aromatic with a strong flavour of mixed herbs.

ORIGIN: Seychelles, India & South East Asia

CULTIVATION: The herb grows easily in a well-drained, semi-shaded position. It is frost tender and grows well in sub-tropical and tropical locations, but will do well in cooler climates if grown in a pot and brought indoors, or moved to a warm sheltered position in winter. Water only sparingly.

USES: The leaves are strongly flavoured and make an excellent addition to stuffings for meat and poultry. Finely chopped, they can also be used to flavour meat dishes, especially beef, lamb and game. The leaves have also had many traditional medicinal uses, especially for the treatment of coughs, sore throats and nasal congestion, but also for a range of other problems such as infections, rheumatism and flatulence. The herb is also used as a substitute for oregano in the food trade and food labelled "oregano-flavoured" may well contain this herb.

Coleus Fritterous (How exotic is that? )

Ingredients:

Freshly plucked leaves (as many fritters as you want to make)

Batter for 10-12 fritters

3 Tbsp besan (gram flour)
1 Tbsp rice flour
1/2 Tsp red chilli powder
Pinch of turmeric
Tiny pinch baking soda
Pinch of salt

Few Tbsp water to make a thick batter.
Oil for frying

Method:

Wash and pat dry leaves.
Mix all other ingredients to make batter.
Heat the oil and put the leaves covered with batter one by one into the oil. Fry on medium heat till both sides are golden brown.
Serve hot.

Taste:

These REALLY tasted out of the earth. The leaves have an oregano-ish taste, spicy and aromatic and you cant miss that taste even after deep frying. You don't need any accompaniments to this bajji- Just a cup of tea and your favourite book will do!


More:

This plant is really easy to grow and since it doesn't require heavy watering, you can also beautify your indoors with it too.

And that's something I did for fun with a little round of chapati aata that was left after making a batch of chapatis- let's call it Coleus chapaticus?


Tags: GBP, Coleus aromaticus, Karpooravalli, Panova, Fritters, Snack, Monsoon food

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Gokulashtami Bhakshanam-Stuff even God looks forward to...

Krishna Pooja in my own little way

Gokulashtami is the birthday of Lord Krishna and it is celebrated by Hindus all over India in their own way. In our homes, it is intimately related to food as a variety of fried sweet and savoury snacks are prepared and offered to the naughty Lord Krishna who was known for His love for butter.

Since childhood this was one festival that I used to eagerly await as it used to be windfall of goodies. I used to crib about the fact that my grandmom used to make all the good stuff on one day and then for a few months to come, there wouldn't be any of this stuff to eat.

But that's how the Gods like it and that's how it's done at home.

Both my mom and Geeta chithi live in adjacent buildings which is an hour's drive from my place. They've been preparing to make the bhakshanam for over a week by picking, soaking, drying and grinding rice to make fresh rice flour. Most of the savouries use rice flour as the base. My mom, aunt and grandmom generally sit in one of their kitchens together, in the afternoon. The gas stove is placed on the floor they prepare the snacks over latest family gossip and a hot cup of tea.
The stuff prepared is then divided into 5 portions for each one of us to do the Naivediyam in our respective homes.




The line up for Naivediyam is as follows:

Sweet aval with coconut and jaggery
Vadai
Appam
Thattai

Murukku
Uppu cheedai
Vella cheedai
Tenkuzhal


Sweets this time: Badam cake and Besan-milk cake

The sweet cheedais are known to explode like mini-missiles in oil if the proportion of ingredients is even slightly changed. I couldn't make it to mom's place on the day they were preparing the savouries-or else I would have had a field time photographing the various procedures. But I did manage to capture amma and chithi in the kitchen yesterday, making suda suda vadai for our favourite Lord. And that is precious footage for me :)

Geeta chithi in the front and Amma behind :)

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Hic...hic...Happy Birthday, dears- Chocolate Rum Apricot Cake

Today is my dear friend Punita's birthday and tomorrow is dear hubby's birthday. We have a small get-together with friends at home. Though I ordered out most of the stuff, dessert is something I wouldn't give up for someone else to do.

I've baked this Chocolate rum cake for both S and Punita. One cake for two dear people. Actually it's the first time, I've ever made a proper cake with icing etc. It looks pretty delicious, it's to be seen how it tastes. Before it gets all smashed and eaten, here's a pic for you!



Its two layers of chocolate sponge cake with whipped cream inbetween and on the top. The cream is topped by chopped dried apricots soaked in rum. BTW the cake is soaked in rum too :)

So much rum around that when hubby came in home, he said- "I smell rum in the air, are you upto something ?"

Recipe will be posted later. Right now I'm just waiting for my guests who are all delayed by the severe security arrangements due to the terrorist threats in the city. Hope everything passes off peacefully tomorrow...

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Chocolate-Rum-Apricot cake
Makes 12 generous slices
Not for consumption by children

Required:
Two chocolate sponges-baked and cooled (400 g each)
300 ml fresh cream-whipped with 4 tbsp of icing sugar
1/4 cup of sliced dried apricots soaked in dark rum for 2-3 hours
30 ml Bacardi Reserva to soak the sponges
Few tbsp of orange juice
One Hershey's dark chocolate Kisses
Icing bag /Ziploc bag
Icing sugar for dusting

Method:
Mix the Bacardi rum and orange juice and soak both the layers with the rum-juice mixture. Let it rest for 15 minutes until the liquids are fully absorbed.

DUst some icing sugar on a plate and place the bottom layer of the sponge. Spread whipped cream on this layer and place the other layer on top of this. Spread cream on the top of this layer evenly.

Arrange the rum-soaked apricot slices on the cream.

Put the remaining cream into a ziploc bag, give a small nick in the botom corner and use it to make concentric circles on the cake over the apricots. Make the hole slightly bigger and make a flower in the center. Keep four slices of apricot as each of the petals and place a Hershey's Kiss in the center.

Dust the cake with some icing sugar and chocolate shavings (optional). Chill for 1-2 hours before serving.

Verdict-
All my friends LOVED this liquor drenched dessert. The best compliment came from my husband who said that it was the best dessert he had had till date. I just hope it wasn't all the Famous Grouse and the rum from the cake talking :)

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Happy Independence Day

Happy Independence Day

On 15th August, 2006, India celebrates her 59th year of Independence.

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How to nurse a half-broken tooth?

One of my molars has been in a perilous condition for a few weeks now.But my dentist phobia combined with general procrasination led to a half-broken dangling molar. I never expected that the tooth that survived the heavy grinding of 'murukku' and 'kadalai urundai' could succumb to a weakling like 'kurmura'.

Since this happened at 3 pm, I had to wait for a local dentist to open shop which would be around evening. As luck would have it, she doesn't practise evenings, without prior appointments. The appointment is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Friends, I need all the luck I can because a dental appointment almost feels like a walk to the gallows. (Biting my nails furiously). Fortunately there's no insurance hassle in the middle, I can just choose to go to anyone I fancy. Why this must feature on a food-blog one might wonder! But aren't teeth intimately related to food?

I've been on liquid diet so far, and any liquids just wont do. They have to be something that can keep me from missing food. (If my mom happens to read this she might mutter under her breath-"Had she kept some religious fasts-she would have been prepared for this! But when has the girl ever listened?"

Two simple recipes to sail through a half-broken tooth (Literally)

Wheat Flour Porridge

Dot a pan with ghee. Put 2 Tbsp of wheat flour in the pan and saute till nice and brown. It will smell so good that you'll think, "How come I didn't know wheat flour could smell so good?". Meanwhile dissolve a Tbsp of jaggery in some water. You can microwave the jaggery with some water for 30 seconds.
Mix one cup of skimmed milk into the jaggery solution. Add this to the golden wheat flour on a low flame and with constant stirring. Sprinkle some cardamom powder to this after the wheat flour is throroughly dissolved and free of lumps.
Add some more cold milk if it's too thick for your liking.

Tasted yum-I almost felt happy to be eating/drinking this.

When can you eat this?

Don't worry, you don't have to break a tooth to eat this wonderful porridge. You can have it for breakfast if you've run out of cereal. Read what I've written about 'Cereal' killers.
Actually this gives me the idea of keeping some roasted wheat flour in stock to make this porridge in a jiffy whenever i feel like it!

Apple honey shake-This was my dinner. But you can have it as a breakfast shake or a post-dinner soothing drink.

Chop a peeled and cored apple into small pieces. Put it in a blender. Add a cup of skimmed milk, a tbsp of honey and a pinch of cinnamon powder. Blend at high speed for 2 minutes, until the apple is completely mashed.
Pour ino a tall glass and drink immediately.
I guess adding protein powder to this one will make it more filling.


No pictures this time. The stuff above wasn't so picture-worthy. It's just slurp worthy.

Wish me luck for my dental appointment. (Luckily you see the typed word. Had you seen the written word, you'd see how I was shivering ;)

Tags-Liquid food, easy breakfast

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BPW- My postcard (Sorry I'm late)

I'll be sending this to....

Would you believe it if I told you how difficult it is to find picture post-cards in Bombay? Half the shop-keepers didn't understand what it meant, and the others looked at me as if I had gone mad !
One guy asked me if i wanted a 'Picture of a postcard' and the other said, you are the first person who has asked me for this since I've opened my shop. I had almost given up hope when my dad went looking around for this one, he finally got me two cards that depict Bombay's important landmarks.
The other hurdle I faced was due to my own forgetfulness. I was at my mom's place whole of last week ( celebrating Varalakshmi nombu and devouring kozhakattais and vadais ), i had forgotten to carry the cord that connects the cam to the laptop. Hence couldn't post a pic of my card...Boo..hooo

Meeta told me I could post it when i reached my own place. And here's it..I'm sending to A...friend hahaha

It's a picture of Flora Fountain. Completed in 1864, the Flora Fountain was erected by the Agri-Horticultural society of Western India out of a donation by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh. Built in imported Portland stone, but now defaced with white oil paint, it was originally meant to be named after Sir Bartle Frere, then governor of Bombay. However, the name was changed before the fountain was unveiled. It stood in the center of the town as it then was. Now this area is the heart of the business district of the town.

Flora Fountain-Then

Flora Fountain-Now

This is what Mumbainet has to say about this structure-

"This is the very heart of Mumbai, circumscribed by stately colonial buildings that stand like proud old sentinels of a bygone era. Flora is the Roman Goddess of Flowers, her pretty alabaster face continually assaulted by grime and pollution. Next to her are a pair of torch bearing stone patriots that rise from the Martyrs Memorial nearby. Flora Fountain is now called Hutatma Chowk or Martyr's Square to honour those who died in the tumultuous birth of Maharashtra State. All around the square sit Mumbai's infamous vendors selling just about everything under the blazing tropical sun -- from cheap nylon saris and ballpoint pens to herbal remedies and sexshop gewgaws. Tooting horns and traffic complete the chaotic picture, but through it all Flora manages to retain her serene composure."

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Scenes from a Mumbai Marketplace

19/08/06 Update:

Just noticed that the theme for this month's Food destinations is 'My local greenmarket' and it would be a shame if I weren't able to share my favourite market scenes with fellow foodies. I shall be updating this post with more marketplace pics to make it more worthy for the wonderful event hosted by Maki of Just hungry.

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Market: Vile Parle East Vegetable Market, Mumbai, India

Located on the station road with 70 odd stalls, vendors sell all kinds of vegetables, fruits, herbs. Only fresh produce is sold here.

Open all year round

Timing: 10 am to 10 pm

Prices of vegetables vary from day to day and a little bit of bargaining is always acceptable as well as fun.

The vendors mostly hail from Northern parts of India, they have made Mumbai their home.

Vegetables are grown in the out-skirts of the city and are brought in by trucks. There is no refrigeration and any other such modern amenities available in this marketplace.

Milder light green chillies, fresh ginger and dark green fiery chillies

Tomatoes-15 Rs/ Kg

Fruit stall-mostly tropical fruits like Bananas, Papaya, Chikoos, Pomegranates, Custard Apple and some others

Radish and green onions

Awaiting business

I had been avoiding my weekly trip to the vegetable market since a month because the rains in Bombay turn the entire market place into a slushy mess. We do have 3 supermarkets around our place, and they carry every kind of vegetable-even those that aren't considered local here, for eg. Zucchini, Celery, Peppers in all colours, red cabbage, Baby tomatoes etc. However I desist from buying the 'exotic' stuff-mainly because they are generally stale (Poor turnover?) However, herbs like basil and parsely are quite popular.

Green Markets here are in the open-mostly outside of railway stations, so that people getting off the trains can pick up the stuff they want on their way home. Or atleast, that's my guess. Most of the vegetable vendors are called 'bhaiyyas'. In local parlance, they are called 'bhaaji market'-bhaaji meaning veggies.

There are some vendors that sell just one vegetable-for eg. Tomatoes. (See tomato man above) Some that sell one type of stuff, for eg. Greens like different kinds of spinach, spring onions, coriander, dill etc, and some that sell a little of everything.

The market that I go to is considerably large, extending onto two whole streets and on both sides of each street and everyone shouting the price of his wares-especially if it is CHEAP. (at this point, I strongly regret not having taken a pic of the marketplace in my so many visits-will post one soon enough ). Vendors sit behind HUGE mounds of green peas, beans, tomatoes. Huge as in a kid could be standing inside and not seen!

A friend of mine who has once come visiting from Bangalore was quite amazed to see the variety and quantity of stuff. It was then I realised the advantage I had in being able to procure such fresh stuff plus having a variety of stuff to choose from.

Trucks bringing in sacks of vegetables from the wholesale markets obstruct the street. Then there are small boys-'mobile vendors' as I call them, selling stuff like lemons or drumsticks. Especially so when they are available cheap like 10 lemons for 5 Rupees, or 5 drumsticks for 10 Rupees and they have this nasty habit of calling every female-"Aunty" despite her age. They have another nasty habit of sticking these things under your nose and forcing you to buy their wares or they will block your way with the long drumsticks, until you push them away or buy them.

It's total chaos there. I realised on my last visit that I'd prefer this 'Bazaar' therapy anyday to a retail therapy. Probably stems from the market visits I used to make as a child holding my granny's hand. The smells, the sounds, the whole atmosphere is probably very deep rooted in anyone who grew up in India.

What I got home

Vegetables-

French Beans, Carrots, Ridge Gourd, Giant Cucumber, Radish, Tomatoes, Snake Gourd

Herbs-

Coriander, Baby Fenugreek

Fruits-

Lemons (the lemons here are much smaller and skin is thinner), Papaya, Pomegranate

Sunday lunch with ingredients fresh from the market

• Carrot-Peanut Salad
• Radish sambhar (Radish and lentils)
• Rice
• Snake Gourd Curry
  

Tags:

Mumbai market, Marketplace, Food destinations 2

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