Mahanandi

Pumpkin Halwa with Butternut Squash and Almonds ~ For JFI:Deepavali Treats

When talented food writer, photographer and blogger Vee of Past, Present and Me announced special edition of Jihva to celebrate Diwali festival, I was really elated and thought it was an appropriate idea. “Jihva for Ingredients” (JFI), is an online food blogging event, created to celebrate the natural ingredients and what they can do for our Jihva.

The ingredients that we use in our cooking may not be constant but love, family and tradition, the natural, real ingredients that we share to celebrate the Deepavali festival are going to be constant and would always be there to sustain us through our life journey. Also if there is one festival that truly unites India, it is Deepavali~the festival of lights. All ages and religions joyously participate – Lighting the divas, sharing sweets, presents or enjoying firework displays. The festival has something for everyone. Even the grinch among us would shine and smile during this time.

Deepavali is also about giving and receiving a second chance in life and I am glad to share with you my second chance with pumpkin.:) To tell you the truth, I am not a big fan of pumpkin, I never was. My dislike of this vegetable started in my childhood, continued through upto now. But after seeing several of my fellow food bloggers’ fabulous creations with this vegetable, I too wanted to join the fun. But would the pumpkin accept me, I was skeptical. So I took the help of almonds, milk kova and of course our true friend that would instantly bring joy to any occasion, ‘the sugar’. With the help of all these ingredients I have prepared pumpkin halwa with butternut squash. Boy, oh boy, what a delight that was. I was astounded by how generous the pumpkin was with its gentle sweetness and its ready mixing with other ingredients. It may look all bulky and intimidating, but the vegetable has a sweet taste of a kind giant.

Many thanks to my fellow food bloggers (dear InjiPennu , where are you?), to my new friend pumpkin for inspring me to take this second chance and also to lovely Vee for hosting this special edition of Jihva. If it’s not for you guys, I would have never tried pumpkin again, I think. And this pumpkin halwa sweet truly is a special Diwali treat for us, and is going to be a tradition from now on in my family.

Butternut Squash ~ Cut in Half and Grated

Recipe:

Butternut Squash, almonds, milk and sugar
Ghee, rose water and cardamom

Prep work:

1. Almonds – Soak half-cup almonds in warm water for about 2 hours. Remove the skins and make a smooth powder in a food processor.

2. Butternut squash (2 pounder) – Peel the skin and cut into half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and finely grate using a mandoline. Comes about 3 cups of tightly packed grated squash.

3. Meanwhile prepare milk-sugar syrup: take 5 cups of whole milk and 2 cups of sugar in a big, thick-bottomed vessel. Cook the mixture until is gets thick and is reduced to about one fourths of the original quantity. Takes about 30 to 45 minutes.

4. Take 8 cardamoms, remove the skins and in a mortar pound the seeds into fine powder with a pestle.

Showtime:

1. In a big sturdy, wide bottomed vessel, heat about 2 tablespoons of ghee on medium heat.

2. Add the grated pumpkin to the melted ghee. And with a big slotted spoon, gently mix and cook the pumpkin. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring in between, until the raw smell of pumpkin disappears and color changes from yellow to orange-yellow.

3. Add the almond powder and condensed milk-sugar kova. Add cardamom powder and two teaspoons of rose water. Gently mix and constantly stirring, cook the whole mixture until it comes together into a solid firm mass. Takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Remove the halwa to a pan. Level it even and let cool. Keep it in the freezer for about one hour to firm it up even more. Remove and cut into squares or use a cookie cutter to cut round shape discs.

5. Serve chilled.

I think this halwa can stay fresh upto one week, when refrigerated.

Pumpkin Halwa ~ Our Diwali Treat ~ For 101 Indian Sweets
and My Entry to VKN’s “Festival Foods” Event

Recipe source: My own creation
I have prepared this halwa on less sweet side. My preference. Increase the sugar quantity if you like more sugary sweet taste.

Mattikayalu or Gawar Beans

Gawar or Mattikayalu, the beautiful pale green colored beans, they may not be as popular as regular green beans, but they have a serious following among Indians. Nutty, delicate, mellow ruchi (flavor) of gawar beans has an addictive quality and when seasoned with Indian ingredients, they literally shine and become quite irresistible. No wonder this old-world vegetable continues to be popular and available in Indian grocery shops even here in US. Guar gum, an extract of gawar is also a popular additive in frozen dairy products like icecreams, custards etc, it seems. Labels of these commercial products often list guar gum as an ingredient. Using secret ingredients like these may be the reason why we could never recreate the store-bought icecream taste at home and why we love to shop for these products, I think.

These gawar beans with their somewhat thick skin are best when steamed or blanched, which allows to retain their characteristic crunchiness and maximum ruchi by preserving vitamins, minerals that would be lost with plain boiling. String the ends, cut the beans and steam cook them. Saute them with masala powder of your choice for few minutes. A delicious curry for white rice/chapati would be ready.

Steam-Cooked Gawar Beans, Dalia, Dried Red Chilli and Cumin ~ Ingredients for Gawar Bean Curry

Recipe:

Gawar beans, ends stringed and cut into one inch pieces – 3cups
Medium sized onion -1, cut into small pieces
For Masala Powder:
¼ cup of pappulu (dalia or roasted chana dal)
6 to 8 dried red chillies
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of each – cumin, dry coconut powder
¼ teaspoon of salt or to taste –
Grind them all to smooth powder without adding water
For popu or tadka:
1 tsp of peanut oil
1 tsp of each – cumin, mustard seeds, minced garlic and few curry leaves

Take cut gawar beans into a steamer basket and steam over a pot of boiling water, covered, until they reach the softness you desire or for about 5 minutes. Or drop them in hot boiling water, keep them covered for about 2 to 3 minutes and quickly drain them in a colander. Do not overcook, they become flabby and tasteless.

In a wide skillet, heat peanut oil. Add and saute popu or tadka ingredients, onions and steam-cooked gawar beans, in that order for few minutes. Sprinkle in the masala powder and also quarter teaspoon of each – turmeric and salt. Mix and cook them covered for about 10 minutes, on medium-low heat, occasionally stirring in-between.

Tastes great with rice and with chapati.

Gawar Bean Curry with Red Onions and Spicy Dalia Powder

My sincere request to all of you sending me emails and comments and also all the new visitors to “Mahanandi”, please note:

I don’t do:
Recipe requests, catering or plan your buffet/birthday party meals, teach cooking lessons. I love taking pictures of food and blogging about them. That’s about it for now.

I don’t do:
Link exchange.

Also note:
I try to cook with consciousness paying attention to the ingredients and the cooking process instead of acting like a zombie, when I am preparing my meals. Mainly because stovetop cooking is not an exact science, and I hate being a slave to measuring cups and spoons. Please note that the recipe and the measurements here on “Mahanandi” should be used as guidelines only.

Regarding comments on Mahanandi:
I treat Mahanandi as my home. and If you do not have the common courtesy to behave, then I won’t hesitate to remove your presence.

I have been receiving lot of spam comments and emails of this nature hence this post, which is long overdue, I think. I hope for your understanding. Thanks!

Okra in Yogurt Sauce (Dahi Bhindi)

This north Indian style curry is not a regular preparation at my home but a guest.

Though curry is quite easy to prepare and tastes soothingly smooth, I rarely make it mainly because this is not the dish that I grew up on. Okra-coconut curry and okra sambhar are what I am used to. Once in a while, like a visit from a cultural-exchange student, I do enjoy treating okra and myself in this special way.

Okra, Curry Leaves, Home-made Indian Yogurt

Recipe:

Prep the okra:
Pick 15 to 20 fresh, young looking okra (Bendakaya): Wash and wipe them dry with a clean kitchen cloth. Cut off both ends. Slice the middle portion into half-inch circular rings. (Follow the tips outlined here for clean, gum-free okra curry.)

Prep the yogurt:
1 cup of plain yogurt (I used traditional Indian home-made yogurt for this recipe). Take it in a cup and churn it for smooth consistency without any lumps.

Cook in a skillet:
Heat a teaspoon of peanut oil.
Add and toast 4 to 6 curry leaves, pinch of each – cumin and mustard seeds in that order.
When seeds start to dance around, add the okra rings.
On medium heat, cook the okra for the about 5 to 10 minutes covered until they soften little bit. Stir once or twice, more like shake the skillet and toss the okra. Leave the okra alone for spectacular crunchy results.

Final touch:
Add the silky~smooth yogurt.
Stir in turmeric, salt and red chilli powder to taste or ½ teaspoon each.
Sprinkle ½ teaspoon of each – Indian(garam) masala powder and dry coconut powder
Mix and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes on low heat.
Serve hot with rice or with roti. My personal preference is having it just plain in a cup with some more yogurt added.

Okra in Yogurt Sauce and Beetroot-Tomato Pulao

Weekend Reading:

Dal~Roti Minus The Dal?

It’s Delicious No Matter What You Call It!

Are You Being Served?

Seattle Events:

UTSAV
Oct 12~15 : Seattle Center (Center House food court auditorium)

Rice Noodles and Extra Firm Tofu

I indulged in junk food during our road trip, but Vijay was strict about his diet. His junk food was fruits, mainly lot of oranges and mandarins. My mood was going up and down along with the road curves we were taking, but Vijay was his usual chirpy, pleasant self the whole trip. I guess all that Vitamin C (known to cause sunny disposition in people) does effect one’s mood and also taking them was his way of dealing with unpredictable moods of his companion.:)

One of the healthy meals during our travel time was at Madison. We went to Noodles and Company (Asian fast food joint) next to our hotel for dinner. We didn’t have this chain in our part of Ohio and PA, and it’s a refreshing fast food experience we had in a while. Most of their menu was filled with decent real food like items and I went with ‘Indonesian fiery peanut saute’. As written in restaurant menu, this dish was prepared by sauteing rice noodles with fiery peanut sauce, broccoli, carrot and Napa cabbage and garnished with bean sprouts, crushed peanuts and lime wedges. You could also order tofu or chicken strips with it. Of course I went with tofu. I liked the whole combination so much, and had decided to recreate this dish at home once I reached Seattle.

If you have all the ingredients at hand, preparation is quick and easy, and it can be a filling meal.

Ingredients for Noodle Preparation

Recipe:
(for two hungry people)

Prepare Fiery Peanut sauce:

Half cup of roasted peanuts
8 dried red chillies – Indian variety
½ tsp of each – salt and jaggery(/sugar) or to taste
Take them all in blender. Add a cup of water and blend to smooth paste. This is our ‘fiery’ sauce.

Vegetables and Tofu:

Broccoli: wash and cut or separate small florets (10 to 12)
Carrot: cut to thin, vertical strips of 2 inches length (15 to 20)
Spring onions (1 bunch) – finely chop
Tofu: Extra firm variety, cut to 1-inch cubes (10 to 12 cubes)
Bean sprouts: wash and half them (about a cup)
To garnish: prepare cilantro and lime wedges
You also need soy sauce and salt to taste.

Preparation:

In a big skillet, add a tablespoon of peanut oil. Add and fry tofu cubes to pale gold color. Remove to a plate and keep them aside.

To the same skillet, add the vegetables and stir-fry them to the tenderness you desire. Then add the fiery-fragrant peanut sauce, a pinch of salt and one teaspoon of soy sauce. And also tofu cubes and bean sprouts. Mix. Cook for about 5 minutes, covered. If the sauce is too tight, add little bit of water and adjust the seasoning (salt and jaggery) also.

Meanwhile cook rice noodles (purchased at Trader Joe’s grocery shop), 2 bundles, one for each person, according to packet instructions. Take care not to overcook. They would stick to each other and become a soggy mess if overcooked. Drain and immediately add the rice noodles to skillet.

Toss the rice noddles with vegetables and peanut sauce. Sprinkle some more bean sprouts, cilantro and squeeze some limejuice. Serve hot.

Rice Noodles and Tofu in Fiery Peanut Sauce ~ Our Simple Meal Today

This sauce is really ‘fiery’. For medium fiery sauce – reduce the number of chillies to 6, for mild sauce to 4 or even less.

Kaju (cashew) Sweet from G.Pulla Reddy Sweet Shop ~ For JFI: Diwali Treats Event

You have friends visiting Hyderabad soon.

They want to bring something for you from Hyderabad.

What would you like to suggest?

Ask them to bring kaju sweet from the famous G.Pulla Reddy Sweets Shop for you.

That’s what we did. Our Maharashtrian friends from Houston made a visit to Hyderabad recently and this is what they brought us. Precious than gold and pure Andhra delight – this is a taste we crave during festival times, particularly during Dasera-Deepavali festival season.

Jumbo cashews gently fried in pure ghee and then cooked and coated with thin lace like golden jaggery syrup. No preservatives, no coloring agents, none of that artificial crap, so prevalent here, is added. Pure ingredients, simple age-old cooking techniques are used. The result is simply heaven like taste and aroma.

Trust me on this people: request, demand, harass or bribe, do whatever you have to do and make your friends bring this kaju sweet from Pulla Reddy Sweet Shop for you during their next Hyderabad visit. Little bit pricey but it is going to be the best sweets purchase you will ever make.

Disclaimer: We do not have any relations with Pulla Reddy Sweet Shop and they didn’t send us any free sweets to write this.:)

Gongura Chutney

We may be almost broke because of self-paid move and college expenses, but we sure are enjoying food like Andhra maharajas. It’s tough to feel depressed when we are able to buy a bunch of gongura leaves for a dollar and could prepare gongura chutney to our heart’s content. Good food does make a difference in one’s mood, doesn’t it?

If you are wondering what’s all this hungama about gongura, well, gongura is Andhra’s tradition. You know you are treated well and can be assured that your Andhra friend really likes you, when you see a gongura preparation on the menu. Gongura dal, chutney, dalcha and meat preparations are to name a few, that can be prepared with these wonderful leafy vegetable.

Gongura leaves are famous for their rich iron content and they taste sour like diluted tamarind pulp. When cooked and made into chutney with caramelized (browned) onions, hot chillies and salt, they turn to marvelous side dish with little effort. This super side dish is a great luxury for me mainly because of lack of gongura leaves availability in US. They usually appear for short period of time during summer months at Indian grocery shops and will get sold out quickly. The demand motivated by severe nostalgia is high. I am very proud to be able to blog about this chutney here on “Mahanandi”, finally from Seattle.

Gongura Leaves (to id: red stems and green leaves like marijuana leaves:)), Onion and Green Chillies

Recipe:

I bunch of gongura – Leaves plucked and washed
1 big onion – cut into big chunks
8 green chillies
¼ tsp of salt
2 teaspoons of peanut oil

In an iron skillet, heat peanut oil. Add and saut? the onion chunks and green chillies to light brown color on medium-high heat. Remove to a plate.

In the same skillet, add gongura leaves and stir-fry them on medium-high for few minutes until they come together and lose their bright green color. Remove to a plate and let cool.

Take them all in a mortar, add salt and with a pestle grind them to a coarse consistency.

Serve with rice, dal and a curry with little bit of ghee sprinkled on, for a traditional Andhra meal.

Gongura Chutney, Bitter Gourd Chips, Tomato Dal and Rice

Recipe source: Amma
Gongura ( or sour greens) is available in Indian grocery shops here in US.
Ga ga over Gongura (article)

Produce from Pike Place Market: Pear, Budamkaya, Poluru Vankaya(Asian Pear, Lemon Cuke & Brinjal)

For the last 3 weekends, we were going to pike place market (one of the tourist attractions of Seattle, famous for 3 F’s: fish, fresh produce and flowers. This place is like our ‘ritu bazar’ but in a grand scale.) just to browse and also for a walk. It’s about 15 to 20 minute walk from my home. Going there is easy, it’s all downhill but the return walk, oh boy, it’s steep almost 90 degree uphill, sweat inducing, power workout type of walk. Why walk, why not take car, you may ask. Of course we could, but there is a parking fee and we really should do some exercise. Particularly me who gained some weight during moving time. I have been checking out the stalls in pike place market and what I have noticed is it can be a tourist trap. But if you know where to find, you could get some good deals also. I was looking for such stalls and found two, so far. They sell some Indian vegetables like Asian pears, budamkaya (lemon cucumber or lemon cuke) and Poluru Vankaya (Thai Brinjal), along with some other farm-fresh produce. Last weekend I bought these vegetables and prepared a meal – a dal with budamkaya and a curry with brinjals and dessert is the plain fruit.

You know what we call pretty, plump babies affectionately in Telugu – “Budamkaya”. See the middle one in the photo above – this adorable, yellow colored, shot put shaped vegetable is called ‘Budamkaya‘ in Telugu and here sold as lemon cucumber or lemon cukes. Tastes mildly sweet with just a tiny hint of tanginess, like cucumber with lemon juice sprinkled on. Great on its own, lightly peel the cuke, cut into cubes, sprinkle some salt and pepper for a delightful healthy snack. We also prepare raita with yogurt, pickle (beautifully blogged by Sailaja of Sailu’s Kitchen) and dal with it. This vegetable with toor dal and in combination of rice makes an easy lunch and one of my favorite meals.

Budamkaya, peeled and cut into cubes, Onion and Green Chillies

Recipe:

4 fistfuls (¾ cup) of Toor dal:
Budamkaya: peeled and cut into cubes about 2 cups
1 medium onion and 8 to 10 green chillies – all cut into small pieces
Small marble sized tamarind
½ tsp of each – turmeric and salt or to taste
For popu or tadka:
1 tsp of peanut oil
½ tsp of each – mustard seeds, cumin, urad dal, minced garlic and
Few curry leaves, dried red chilli pieces

Take toor dal, budamkaya(lemon cuke), onion, green chillies, tamarind and turmeric in a pressure cooker.

Add one glass of water. Mix the ingredients and close the lid. Pressure cook until 3 whistles. Turn off the heat and wait 10 to 15 minutes for the pressure to get released. Open the lid, add salt and with a wood masher or whisk, mash the dal to smooth consistency.

In a vessel, take 1 teaspoon of peanut oil. Heat and do the popu or tadka. Add and toast garlic, curry leaves, red chilli pieces, urad dal, cumin and mustard seeds- in that order. When the seeds start to splutter, immediately add the mashed dal to the tadka. Mix and cover with a lid.

Tastes great with rice or with chapati.

Vankaya Kura, Budamkaya Pappu and Annamu (Brinjal Curry, Lemon Cucumber Dal and Rice)

Seattle Downtown View From Our Home

Another Apartment Building Across From Us

Bharat Groceries in Bellevue (Purchased Rosematta Rice From Here), Near Fred Meyers Shop

Apna Bazar in Bellevue ~ Clean and Neat, Lot of Stuff (Near Fred Meyers Shop)

Flowers and Veggies, From Pike Place Market ~ 15 Minute Walk From My Home

Kittaya in Our New Home

Weekend This and That:
More about our cross-country road trip: From Vijay
My new shop at Amazon: Mahanandi Selections

The reason for our move is Vijay has joined a full time master’s program at a university in Seattle. He accepted the admission, resigned his job at Boardman and found part time work. And the journey started again.

We sold most of our furniture and all the big appliances. We rented a ReloCube from U-Pack and packed all our remaining belongings to fit in the container. We paid a holding deposit for an apartment in Seattle near the university. We made lists of activities, booked hotels in advance, and took all the precautions to prepare for our journey. We choreographed the whole thing like these guys in the song, and then started cross-country travel in our car with our Kittaya.

“I think whatever I shall meet on the road I shall like,
and whoever beholds me shall like me.
I think whoever I see must be happy.”

That was our motto for our cross-country road trip. Except for a couple of minor missteps, our journey went just like we planned without any major hiccups or problems. We traveled 2652 miles from Boardman, Ohio to Seattle, Washington in 5 days. On average about 450 to 550 miles each day, from 7AM to 5PM with 2 or 3 breaks in-between. Our route was I-80 from Boardman to Chicago, and then I-90 straight to Seattle. We made overnight stops at Madison (Wisconsin), Sioux Falls (South Dakota), Sheridan (Montana) and Missoula (Wyoming) and on the fifth day at Bellevue (Washington), a Seattle suburb. After crossing Wisconsin, there were few cars on the road, no speed limit or proper rest areas (most of the drive) and the weather was clear without any rain. We got a glimpse of Badlands in South Dakota but we didn?t enter the park. We made stops at Corn Palace, a corny tourist place in South Dakota and then at Mount Rushmore. We also made plans to visit Yellowstone national park but we were too tired by day 4, didn’t have much enthusiasm left to visit that place, so we skipped it. They were all near to I-90.

Kittaya, the darling that he is also behaved well. This was the first time that he ever traveled such a long distance with us and we were unsure how he would behave. Before our journey we went to the vet for helpful suggestions (he prescribed sleeping pills) and also visited several kitty forums to know about kitty behavior during travel time. Just like they suggested, he was calm and cool during driving time, napping or watching the road and at night time at hotels, being the new place and all, he acted anxious, making rounds, sniffing the furniture etc. The sleeping medication the vet prescribed helped him to calm down. We were reluctant at first to medicate him but he and we couldn?t sleep and so we had to give him a pill. We thought it’s best for him and also for us to get a good night sleep rather than feel anxious and half-awake at night times. He did not take food or water; neither did he use his litter box when he was in the car, during travel times. But at hotels, he accepted his favorite treats, only few. As a result he lost some weight. Once we reached Seattle and moved into our apartment, he quickly recovered, gained all his weight back.

We wanted to get settled in Seattle as soon as possible. So, we paid a holding deposit for an apartment instead of paying for the hotel stay. If we had not liked the apartment, we would have lost the deposit. But we took the risk just for that ‘home sweet home’ feeling. Being the hi-tech city and all, the rents are quite high in Seattle, particularly in the neighborhood where we were looking for. Even at 1000 dollars a month, all we could get was a small studio of 500 square foot with a small balcony. Once we reached Seattle, we checked the place, found it decent enough and moved in immediately. That’s our “moving” story.

Although I was very much tempted to regale you all about how “Fabulous/Frustrating” our moving experience with up-to-the-minute updates and photo diaries, I had to restrain myself. Mainly because, we made our move and travel itself a first and foremost priority so that we could concentrate on our journey and reach the destination safe and sound without any hitches and glitches. Not only that, we had to update family and relatives about our whereabouts. They were very concerned about our cross-country journey. With the Internet and newspapers, they do read about the things going on here, the widespread no-reason shootings and violence etc., so we had to assure them every minute of our journey that we were safe. With all this, I didn’t had much energy left for other things. This was the main reason for me to stop all my blogging correspondence. I apologize for not replying to you all, the kind and concerned people who sent me emails during this time. I sincerely hope you would understand my situation and I thank you all wholeheartedly that took time to send your best wishes and good karma towards us. I greatly appreciate and cherish it! Thank you!

Here are some photos from our journey for you interested folks. Most of these are road signs, places name boards, empty roads and views of I-80 and I-90 from our car, the regular touristy snaps.

More about our cross-country trip: From Vijay

The websites we went to for helpful tips and suggestions:
Seattle Visitors Bureau: For maps, city guides and Apartment guide
Seattle Indian.com: for temples, Indian grocery etc.
Fodor’s travel forum: Cross-country road trip tips, tips for traveling with a cat, information about Seattle neighborhoods etc
James Cross-Country trip on I-80 and I-90
Apartmentreview.com, Rent.com and SeattleCraiglist: for apartment search
And of course AAA: for detailed roadmaps, directions and hotels etc.
* Quote is from Walt Whitman – Song of the Open Road

Lancaster, PA, 04 : Photo by Vijay Singari

I have to go now; take care. See you again in October (7th) from Seattle.

On August 15th, 1947, our nation came in to our own hands. Finally we were free of uninvited people, at least physically. Since then August 15th became a day for feasts, festivities and for patriotic parades.

This year, I wanted to share the exhilarating feeling of joy and happiness through a fabulous food parade. Our food culture shows not only how diverse we are, but also shows how much patience, perseverance and perfection we have. With 40 or more food blogs (a budding new community in already well established blog medium), I thought we could all come together to celebrate this special day in a colorful way. Thanks for responding to my call with equal if not more enthusiasm and sending me these beautiful recipes from “The Land of Billion Recipes ~ Mother India”.

I’ve styled the food parade in a classic theme, with recipe photos for your viewing pleasure and complementing classical Indian music (you tube videos) for your listening pleasure. Enjoy!

From Andhra Pradesh ~ The Rice Bowl of India

Endu Royalu Dosakaya Koora (Dried Shrimp and Dosakaya Curry)
From Kosta Region, From City of Victory ~ Vijayawada by Chandrika of Akshayapatra

Besan Chikki with Sorghum Roti
From Telengana Region by Pavani of Cook’s Hideout

Senaga-Pesara Payasam (Chana Dal~Moong Dal Dessert)
From Wanaparthy by Vidyanath Tirumala of Yadbhavishya

Hyderabadi Dum Biryani & Khubani Ka Meetha (With Apricots)
From Capital City Hyderabad by Radhika of Radhi’s Kitchen

Golden colored Majjiga Mirapa (Dahi Mirchi) with Rice and Dal
Traditional Andhra Meal From Me

From The Land of Nandis ~ From My Home in Nandyala
Peanut Pacchi Pulusu ~ A Refreshing No-Boil Peanut Rasam

From Gorgeous Goa

Eggless Banana Rava Cake ~ From Shilpa of Aayi’s Recipes

From Gujarat ~ The Birthplace of Gandhiji

Khichado with Wheat Berries and Toor dal
Makara Sankranti Special and A Good Breakfast Porridge ~ By Priya of Foodtravails

From Jammu and Kashmir ~ A Heaven on Earth

Modur Polav (Sweet Rice Pulao) with Saffron and Sugar ~ Part of Wazwaan
An Authentic Kashmir Recipe from a Kashmiri ~ From Anita of Mad Tea Party

Heaven on a plate ~ Kashmiri Pulao – From Archana Thomas of Spicyana
“May freedom continue to inspire the country, peace & happiness return to the valley!”

From Karnataka ~ The Land of Hampi

Badam Puri ~ Representing the Struggle for Independence
From Shankari of Stream of Consciousness

From Kerala ~ God’s Own County

Ela Ada ~ Rice Flour & Coconut Steam-Cooked Sweet
By Priya Baskaran of Priya’s Kitchen

Kaya Appam (Banana Fritters) ~ By Monisha of Coconut Chutney
Sweet fritters that are crisp to bite into and tender inside, bursting with the flavor of Bananas and Cardamom and sweetened with Jaggery.

Nenthra Pazham Haluva (Banana Halwa)
From Calicut/Kozhikode (land of Banana chips and Halwas) by Kerala Girl (KG)

Palappam (Lace, Milk Appam) From Gini of Salt and Pepper

Pal Payasam and Bonji (Rice Paysam and Lemon Juice)
Celebrating a Great Man’s Legacy, “My India and My Country” ~ From InjiPennu of Ginger and Mango

From Konkan ~ The Jewel of Western India

Gajbaje (Randayi or Mixed vegetable curry)
One of the Most Popular Dishes Among Konkanis ~ From Shilpa of Aayi’s Recipes:

From Maharashtra ~ The Land of Shivaji

Varan Phala ~ From Madhuli of My Food Court

From Vibrant Punjab

Paneer Tikka ~ From Krithika of Manpasand

From Tamilnadu ~ The Land of Temples

Appala Kozhambu (Papad Curry) ~ Celebrating the Charming City, Chennai
From Chandrika of Akshayapatra

Somass ~ A Famous Sweet from Tamilnadu ~ From Sudha Vinodh of Samayal

From West Bengal ~ The Land of Exotic Charms

Rasmalai ~ From Mandira of Ahaar

Saluting the Flag with Tiranga Entries

Congress Curry ~ Three Cheers to Independent, Progressive, Democratic India
From Menu Today

Tiranga Rice ~ A Pan-Indian Recipe Inspired by the Tri-Coloured Indian Flag
From Lulu of Lulu Loves London

Psychedelic:) Tiranga Raita ~ From RP of My Work Shop

Tiranga Spiral Parathas ~ From Roopa of Crazy About Food, From Bangalore

Tiranga Puri ~ From Sudha of Food Newbie
Beetroot, Spinach and Wheat Flour ~ Representing the Tiranga of Indian Flag

Mysore Masala Dosa in Tiranga
By Madhu Raj of Ruchi, From City of Palaces, Mysore City

Tiranga Doodh Peda ~ From Vineela of Vineela’s Kitchen
Carrot, Coconut and Pistachios for Beautiful Flag Colors of India

Independence Day Fireworks

Sweet Candy For Your Ride/Cubicle Home

Sweet, Tangy and Fragrant Candy from India ~ For Your Ride Home From The Parade

Thank you all for coming and congratulations to all the participants for the gorgeous recipe floats. Hope you had a wonderful time at the food parade.

Swatantra Din Subhakamana!

For Independence Day Food Parade, following recipe is contributed by the regular comment poster at “Mahanandi”, always entertaining ‘Kerala Girl (KG)’:

Oil Painting of Bananas

I have chosen a dish from my hometown – Calicut/Kozhikode (land of Banana chips and Halwas) from Kerala for IDFP. Kerala – the God’s own country is also land of Kera (coconut). To a malayalee, banana or the plantains probably come next to coconut but still it’s importance is written all over the malayalee’s life. Banana is one plant whose every part is useful in one or the other form. In addition to the banana fruit we also eat it’s flowers and the softer inner trunk. The leaves of the banana plant are the less sophisticated version of today’s disposable plates. Traditional Kerala cuisine is incomplete without the pleasant taste of bananas.

Another reason why I have chosen banana as ingredient for this event is I hail from Calicut – the land famous for Calicut Halwa and one of the best halwa’s I have tasted there is banana halwa (a hard jelly like sweet). Calicut is very famous for its sweets and one the famous places in Calicut is Sweet Meat Street (SM Street). It is the busiest street in Calicut and derives its name from the times when the street was lined with sweetmeat stalls. So I thought of celebrating our independence with my favorite sweet – Banana Halwa (Nenthra Pazham Haluva). The recipe source is one of the old recipe books by the great cookbook author Mrs.K.M.Mathew. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Ripe Bananas – 1 and 1/2 Bananas
Sugar – 2 and 1/2 cups
Water – 1/2 cup
Lemon juice – 1/4 cup
Ghee – 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
Cashews roasted or plain – handful for decoration
All purpose flour – 3 tsp

Method:

Pressure-cook the bananas until soft. Remove the outer skin and deseed (remove the black layer inside). Mash the bananas to a paste in a food processor or blender.

Make syrup of sugar by dissolving in 1/2 cup of water. It should be of string consistency. When this consistency is reached add the lemon juice and again allow it to reach the same thick consistency. To this add the mashed bananas.

To thicken the halwa, at this stage add flour dissolved in 1/4 cup water. Keep on stirring the mix to attain a thick mass. Add ghee little by little. When this becomes a thick mass add the cardamom powder. Mix well and pour into a pan greased with ghee. Decorate with cashews.
When cool cut and enjoy. This can be stored in refrigerator for a week minimum.

A Toast to our independence with this sweet dish!

Banana Halwa for IDFP

~ Guest Post by Kerala Girl (KG)