Mahanandi

Beets ~ Gold and Ruby

The flavor and the color of beets are unique. Their sweetness is more like saccharine than sugarcane. One thing is for sure, they do brighten up any meal with that bold, ruby-red color. But the new variety, the golden beets that I see at farmers markets in recent years is little bit different. They taste more like carrots than beets and they do not stain or bleed like red beets. I personally feel that golden beets taste much better than red beets. But, they are still in designer, fancy stage and I look forward to the days when they become more affordable.

After the yesterday’s curry, I had three each, red and golden beets left from Sunday’s farmers market purchase. I have added few carrot pieces to the bunch and made a hearty sambar with toor dal. The sweet beets and carrots, creamy rich toor dal and spicy sambar masala, together with rice and papads ~ it was a good supper today.

Red Beets, Gold Beets and Carrots ~ for Sambar

Recipe:

Pressure-cook the dal:
Take one cup toor dal and two cups water in a pressure-cooker. Cook the dal to very soft and mash to smooth with an immersion blender or wood masher.

Prepare the vegetables:
Carrots, red and golden beets, 3 each – peel, cut to thin, two-inch length pieces
tomato and onion – one each, finely sliced

Do the Popu and Simmer:
In a heavy pot, heat a teaspoon of oil until a curry leaf tossed in it sizzles. Keep the heat to medium. Add a sprig of curry leaves and toast to pale gold color. Then, add a pinch each cumin and mustard seeds. When seeds start to pop, add the onions. Saute to soft. Next goes tomatoes, carrots and beets. Saute for about ten minutes.

Then, stir in half teaspoon each – turmeric, salt, red chilli powder and a tablespoon each –sambar masala powder and tamarind pulp. Also the cooked and mashed toor dal along with three cups of water. Mix everything thoroughly and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, partially cover the pot and simmer until the vegetables are soft. Stir frequently and well, as the toor dal tend to sink to the bottom and stick. Garnish with few sprigs of finely chopped coriander leaves if you wish and serve warm. Tastes great mixed with rice.

Beetroot Sambar ~ Under the Golden Sun Rays

Shopping at farmers markets is a great experience. Here, the atmosphere and the hungama usually resembles a pelli-chupula party than a humble raitu bazar. The bridegroom is the fresh produce and the merchants are the proud papas and mamas.

“We did nothing but best for our produce. Actual soil, real Sun and no chemical sprays. It’s all ORGANIC.” They boast.

“How much? 10? What? Are these for real?”, a skeptical smile.

“Do you want nutrient-rich experience and a blessed, healthy life or not?” The looks say it all.

“How can a poor man stand such times and live?” No such soulful cry from the surrounding performing artists.

Natural yet painfully artificial, it’s different kind of atmosphere here. But the lure of open air shopping is irresistible, so I go. In between the greediness, there are always few good stalls with decent prices. At one such stall, I purchased the gold and red beets last weekend. I have added the kobbari kaaram and prepared a curry for meal today. With kobbari kaaram at hand, it’s real easy to create a multitude of habit forming dishes. And, the sweet beets love the spicy kobbari kaaram touch.

Gold and Red ~ Beaming Beets

Recipe:

Gold and red beetroots :
Peel, cut to thin rings and then dice to small pieces, like shown in the image, one cup each
Chana dal – 2 tbs, presoaked in water for 30 minutes beforehand
(added for it’s sugar-control properties and nutty crunchiness)
Kobbari Kaaram – 4 tablespoons
Turmeric and salt to taste or ½ teaspoon each
For popu or tadka: 1 tablespoon ghee, a curry leaves sprig and
¼ tsp each -cumin and mustard seeds

In a wide skillet, heat the ghee until a curry leaf tossed in it sizzles. Keep the heat to medium. Add the curry leaves and toast to pale gold color. Then, toss in the cumin and the mustard seeds. When seeds start to pop, add the chana dal and beets. Stir-fry for couple of minutes and then sprinkle about two tablespoons of water. Cover the skillet and steam-saute the pieces to tender, mixing in-between on medium-low heat. When the beets reach the softness you desire, then sprinkle the kobbari kaaram, turmeric and salt. Mix and cook couple of minutes. That’s it. A colorful sidedish would be ready to serve with rice, chapati or pasta.

Rice mixed with Gold and Red beets Curry, Mudda Pappu with Ghee and Pickled Cucumbers ~ Meal Today

Vankaya~Urlagadda Vepudu:

Brinjals and Red Potatoes ~ Babies Dressed up in Kobbari Kaaram

Last weekend, I purchased these baby brinjals and tiny red potatoes at an Asian grocery shop. Tender and cute, they are about one to one and half inches in size, like small night bulbs. I pressure-cooked the potatoes but for brinjals, following my mother’s philosophy of “less we do, the more the brinjal’s delicate flavor comes through”, I just made two small slits in plus shape and steam-sautéed them. Within ten minutes, the lavender colored brinjals turned to beige and fork-tender. Once the brinjals were done, I just added the potatoes and the kobbari kaaram podi. That’s it, a nice side dish was ready for our meal today.

Small Night-bulb Sized Baby Brinjals and Baby Red Potatoes

Recipe:

Peanut oil – 1 tablespoon
Curry leaves 6, cumin and mustard seeds – Pinch each
Onion, thinly sliced lengthwise – half cup
Baby brinjals (1-2 inches long) – 10, cut in plus shape
Baby red potatoes – 10, pressure-cook or boil to fork-tender
Kobbari kaaram podi – 4 tablespoons
Turmeric and salt – ½ teaspoon each or to taste

In a wide skillet, heat peanut oil. Add and toast curry leaves, cumin and mustard seeds. Add onion and fry to soft.

Add the brinjals. Sprinkle about two tablespoons of water. Cover the skillet and steam-saute the brinjals to tender, stirring in-between. The young brinjals turn to fork-tender quickly, in about 10-15 minutes.

Add baby potatoes. Sprinkle kobbari kaaram podi, turmeric and salt. Gently mix and cook another 5-10 minutes on low heat. Serve hot. It’s a good side dish to have with rice and sambar or pappu chaaru.

Brinjal-Potato Saute with Kobbari Kaaram and Tomato Pappucharu mixed with Rice ~ Brunch today

Coconut sweetness
Curry leaves aroma
Chillies divine spiciness
Chana dal and Urad dal nutty crunchiness

That is kobbari kaaram. The traditional, famous spice powder from Andhra Pradesh, India. The secret to success of this spicy powder lies in slow-roasting of ingredients to seductive gold color. As you can see, there is a lot going on in this deceptively simple spicy powder.

Some recipes make us feel defeated while also stirring in the feelings of joy. Kobbari Kaaram is one such recipe for me. It has too much amma (mother) association and attached memories to it. While standing in front of the stove, waiting for the ingredients to reach that perfect gold color, the deep longing for gentle landscape of my childhood days was too much to feel. But once I finished the preparation and started to dip the warm gheelious rice-ravva upma rounds in kobbari kaaram, I rolled back to my routine content self and began to make happy cooking plans.

Oven-Dried Coconut, Toasted Curry Leaves, Roasted Dried Chillies, Chana dal and Urad dal

Break a fresh coconut. Remove the coconut from shell. Thinly slice and spread the pieces on a baking pan and bake/ovendry to pale brown color at 200 F. Or simply sun-dry the coconut pieces to golden brown, like we used to do at Nandyala.
Place an iron skillet on stove-top, on medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, reduce the heat to low and one after another, add and roast chana dal, next urad dal and finally red chillies to pale brown color. Mix frequently and take care not to black the ingredients. Remove each one to a plate. In the end, coat the skillet with a teaspoon of peanut oil. When the oil is hot, add and toast curry leaves to gold color. Remove to a plate.

Kitchen Notes:
I prefer either Ballari coconut or fresh coconut for this recipe because of their superior taste.
(From Telugu to English : Kobbari=coconut, Kaaram=Chilli)

This vegetarian version of Russian Borscht is a delight to make during summer time, when fresh beets, carrots and potatoes are in abundance at local farmers markets. I also add the cabbage and fresh dill to the pile, following the traditional borscht recipe. The attractive fire-red color is from beets but thanks for the success of this dish must go to the Indian spice-blend and the modest amount of powdered cashews that I usually add. They help to create a rich, flavorful sauce that binds all the ingredients in an endearing way.

Although I have enjoyed the beet borscht as a light soup at restaurants, I usually make it as the main meal of the day at home, by adding big bulky style pasta. Daring liberties are taken with good intentions, so I would like to think the darling people of eastern Europe would approve of my beet borscht.

Red Onion, Lime, Carrots, Beets, Cabbage, Fresh Dill and Red Potatoes ~ From Ritu Bazar for Borscht

Recipe:
(for two adults with a healthy appetite, for two meals)

Beets, carrots and red potatoes – peeled and cubed, 2 cups each
Cabbage – coarsely cut to pieces, about two cups
Red onion – finely sliced, about a cup
4 cloves of garlic – finely sliced
Seasoning:
Quarter cup – roasted cashews, powdered to fine
Quarter cup – fresh dill, finely chopped
Quarter cup – lime juice
1 tablespoon – cumin:clove:cinnamon:coriander powder
½ teaspoon – chilli powder, salt and turmeric (or to taste)
1 tablespoon – ghee or butter
Pasta:
1 cup ( I chose the Trottole pasta for this recipe.)

In a sturdy big pot, heat the ghee or butter. Add and saute garlic and onions to soft. Add potatoes, beets and carrots. Saute for about ten minutes, stirring in-between. Next in line would be the delicate cabbage. When cabbage starts to wilt, add the seasoning – cashew powder, fresh dill, spice blend, lime juice, chilli powder, salt and turmeric. Mix and cook for couple of minutes.

Add in about 6 cups of water. Cover the pot with lid and simmer the ingredients on medium heat for about 15 to 20 minutes. By this time the potatoes, beets will be turning to tender. Have a taste and adjust the salt and pepper to your liking.

Add in the pasta. Cook until the pasta is al dente. Turn off the heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Ladle the pasta-beet borscht into serving bowls and enjoy!

Beet Borscht with Pasta and Kiwi Fruit ~ Our Meal Today

Alasandalu

I had an another recipe in mind with black-eyed bean sprouts for today’s meal. But I accidentally over-cooked the beans to mush. Thus born the bean dip for rotis.

The beautiful pale red color of the dip is from chipotle chillies. I really love how the spicy chipotle perk up a recipe with smoky flavor. I have also added fragrant cumin and lively lime juice to the pureed beans. The dip may be a last minute solution to the mushed bean problem, but the result was attractive and had a great taste, similar to refried beans that they serve in Mexican restaurants.

Overcooked Black-Eyed Bean Sprouts and Black-Eyed Bean Dip

Recipe:

Precooked black-eyed bean sprouts or beans – 1 cup
Dried chipotle chillies – 2 (presoaked in warm water for about 30min)
cumin – half teaspoon
salt – half teaspoon or to taste
Lime juice -2 tablespoons or to taste

Take the chipotle chillies and cumin in a Sumeet style mixer or food processor. Pulse few minutes until the chillies are very smooth. Add the black-eyed bean sprouts, salt and lime juice. Process to fine puree. Remove to a cup and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to let the flavor develop. Serve with roti/tortillas or corn/taro root chips.

Bell Peppers with Besan:

Bell Pepper and Besan (Gram Flour or Sanaga Pindi)

This one is easy to prepare and puts the bell peppers in season to good use.

Slice the peppers, (green, red or yellow) length-wise into thin strips. Do pan-saute and season with spices and besan. The subtle sweet flavor of besan (gram flour) complements the bell peppers greatly. Lovely to look at, even lovelier to consume, bell peppers with besan also known as Bell Pepper Zunka in Marathi, is an ideal dish for bell pepper fans.

Recipe:

3 bell peppers – green, yellow and red, cut to thin strips of 1-inch length
3 tablespoons – besan (gram flour)
¼ teaspoon each – chilli powder, salt and turmeric (or to taste)
Popu or tadka ingredients:
1 teaspoon oil
Pinch each – cumin, mustard seeds, and a sprig of curry leaves

In a wide skillet, heat the oil until a curry leaf tossed in it sizzles. Keep the heat to medium. Add the curry leaves and toast to pale brown. Toss in cumin and mustard seeds. When seeds start to splutter, add the bell peppers. Stir-fry few minutes, until bell peppers become crisp and fork-tender. Sprinkle the besan, chilli powder, salt and turmeric. Mix. Sauté, stirring often. Do not cover the skillet at this stage. When the pale yellow besan starts to get pale brown, time to turn off the heat. Serve the bell pepper Zunka hot. Makes a tasty meal when eaten with chapati or rice and dal combination.

Chapati with Bell Pepper Zunka, and Cantaloupe ~ Brunch Today

Bell Pepper Recipes:
Marathi Mirchi Bhaaji ~ from Kay
Stuffed Bell Peppers
Green Bell Pepper Saute with Dalia Powder (Pappula Podi)
Red, Yellow and Green Bell Pepper Curry
Bell Pepper Masala

My enthusiasm for food blogging events has been going south in recent months. I am not able to muster up much energy like before. Even my beloved event JFI, featuring an ingredient that I worship (chillies) couldn’t pepper me enough. The motivation is there, but I don’t know what’s going on with me, it’s not manifesting into actual results. Well, I guess this is another food blogging phase that I have to go through.

After observing my mental struggle, my kind husband Vijay offered some help. “Tell me what to do, I will make it and will take the pictures. But in writing and publishing the results, you are on your own buddy”, he said. How can I resist such affectionate offer? So here it is, the chipotle chilli chutney for JFI: Chillies. My recipe through Vijay’s magic hands.

Chipotle Chillies, Cherry Tomatoes and Garlic ~ Ingredients for Chipotle Chilli Chutney

Recipe:

Chipotle chillies – 6
Cherry tomatoes – 1 pound
Garlic cloves – 6
Sea salt and cane sugar – Half teaspoon each
Peanut oil – 1 tablespoon

Soak the Chipotles:
Take chipotle chillies in a cup. Pour and cover with hot water, about half cup. Soak until pliable about 30 minutes.

Grill the Tomatoes and Garlic:
In a wide cast-iron skillet, heat the peanut oil to smoking point. Add and brown the garlic first, then add the cherry tomatoes. Cook until the tomatoes are lightly browned. Turn off the heat and cool completely.

Blend:
Transfer the chipotles and the water they soaked in to a Sumeet style mixer. Pulse for few minutes. Add the roasted garlic, tomatoes, salt and sugar. Blend to smooth. Remove to a clean, glass jar.

Chipotles bring not only spiciness but also a unique smoky flavor and the chutney tastes terrific with chapatis, French fries etc.

Chapatis with Tomato Dal and Chipotle Chilli Chutney ~ Our Meal Today and
My Contribution to JFI:Chilli, Hosted by Lovely Nandita of Saffron Trail

Kitchen notes:
Chipotle chillies are mature jalapenos that have been dried and smoked, can be purchased at Mexican grocery shops. Unlike the Indian variety dried red chillies, Mexican originated chipotles have a hard bark like skin. Prior soaking in water is needed for easy, smooth blending.

When we lived in Houston, one of the recipes we picked up from that region was gumbo. Okra, vegetables, beans, rice and seafood/meat, together cooked in wheat flour broth (called roux). That is gumbo in a nutshell. Vijay is a big fan of seafood gumbo and often prepares shrimp gumbo at home. Being the non-meat eater that I am, I had to develop a vegetarian version for myself. The following recipe is the result of my trials.

I’ve made few changes to the traditional recipe to suit my taste. I replaced roux with lots of okra and coconut-spice seasoning. And for today’s meal, fresh chickpea sprouts and brown basmati have joined the excellent cast of gumbo characters.

Swampland approach, but a new appeal with Southern India seasoning, my vegetarian gumbo is a delightful one-pot dish. The side effects I have noticed so far, it’d inflict a dramatic mood change. Kindlier attitude towards fellow beings, even towards themselves, which at times could be of even greater importance, may happen.

Red Onion, Orange Capsicum, Tomato, Sprouted Chickpeas, Brown Basmati and Okra

Recipe:

1 tablespoon ghee
2 cloves of garlic – finely chopped
1 red onion, 2 capsicums and 4 tomatoes – finely chopped
20 okra – cut to half-inch rings
1 cup sprouted chickpeas (or beans of your choice)
½ cup brown basmati rice
Turmeric and salt – half teaspoon each or to taste

Southern India Seasoning :
Two tablespoons of grated fresh coconut, 6 dried red chillies, 6 cloves, quarter teaspoon cumin, fistful of fresh cilantro leaves, and a pinch of salt – blend to smooth, adding half cup of water in a mixer.

In a heavy pot, melt the ghee over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and cook until translucent. Add the capsicum, tomatoes, okra, chickpea sprouts and brown basmati rice. Mix and cook, occasionally stirring for about ten minutes. Add about three cups of water and also stir in the turmeric and salt. Cover the pot with a lid and cook for about another 15 minutes.

When the rice starts to get tender, stir in the coconut-spice seasoning. Mix gently and simmer another ten minutes or so. When the rice is cooked to tender, turn off the heat. Cover and let the gumbo sit for sometime. The whole thing will thicken further on cooling.

Vegetarian gumbo goes well with papadams. They are great to scoop up the gumbo.

Vegetarian Gumbo with Okra, Chickpea Sprouts and Brown Basmati, Served with Papadams ~ Our Meal

Kitchen notes:
Grated fresh coconut, Brown basmati rice and papadams of different shapes can be purchased at Indian grocery shops. (Before serving, papadams should be fried in oil until crisp.)

Sreemathi Kamalabai Ogale, my authority on Maharashtrian vegetarian cuisine has written in Ruchira that usal can be prepared with fresh or rehydrated dried peas and also with sprouted ones. So, I reserved a cup of sprouted peas to try the usal recipe today. I couldn’t resist adding little bit of green – the fresh spinach from the local ritu bazaar. Two pretty and ordinary foods together became an extraordinary combination, all thanks to miracle like Marathi usal recipe. What a way to enjoy the sprouted peas!

Recipe:

1 teaspoon peanut oil
¼ tsp each – mustard seeds and asafetida
1 cup – yellow and green sprouted peas
1 bunch – fresh spinach, finely chopped
¼ tsp turmeric
2 tablespoons fresh coconut gratings, 4 green chillies and ¼tsp cumin
(blend to smooth paste)
Salt to taste or ¼ tsp

Heat peanut oil in a wide skillet.
Add and toast mustard seeds and asafetida.
When seeds start to pop, add the sprouted peas and reduce the heat to low.
Sprinkle handful of water, cover and steam-cook the peas to tender.
Add the chopped spinach.
Sprinkle turmeric, coconut-chilli-cumin ground paste.
Mix and cook until the spinach collapses. Season with salt and serve hot.

Sprouted Peas and Spinach Usal ~ A Fine Sidedish for Rice and Chapati

Green and Yellow Pea Sprouts ~ for This Week’s Indian Kitchen

Yellow peas split are marketed as yellow split peas. And, yellow split peas are neither toor dal nor chana dal.

During peak tomato season, when tomatoes are at their best and prices are low, my mother, Rajeswaramma would prepare this tomato pulusu. With ripe tomatoes, fresh coconut, and toasted coriander seed seasoning, tomato pulusu is nothing but taste buds tingling tomato love.

While picking tomatoes for tomato pickle, I found this precious looking tiny tomato (shown in the photo). I guess it belongs to one of those heirloom varieties. It looked so pretty and different. I did not put it in the pulusu. I photographed it and ate it like that, adding little sugar. Tasted good!

Tomato, Fresh Coconut, Coriander Seeds

Recipe:

Cut and cook:
Rinse 8 ripe tomatoes and cut them to large pieces.
In a saucepan, heat a teaspoon of ghee. Add and toast the popu or tadka ingredients (cumin, mustard seeds – a pinch each). When seeds start to splutter, add the tomato pieces. Stir in chilli powder, salt and turmeric to taste or quarter teaspoon each. Mix and cover with a lid and cook on medium high for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring in-between.

Blend and Add:
While the tomatoes are cooking, in a spice grinder, take 3 tablespoons of fresh grated coconut, add a tablespoon of toasted coriander seeds. Also 2 cloves and half inch piece of cinnamon stick. Grind to fine consistency.

Add this paste to the cooking tomatoes. Stir the mixture together and gently press the softened tomatoes with the back of the spoon to mush them. Add about half cup of water. Mix and taste it for spices and adjust the salt and chilli levels to your liking. Cover the pot with a lid and simmer on medium-low for another 10 to 15 minutes. When the pulusu starts to become thick, then turn off the heat.

Serve the tomato pulusu piping hot with chapati, puri or rice with little bit ghee drizzled on.

Tomato Pulusu with Chapati ~ Taste buds Tingling Tomato Love

Tomato Pacchadi (Tomato Pickle)

A new grocery shop has opened in the neighborhood recently and they had a grand opening sale on some items. Good looking tomatoes, still on the vine were advertised for 49 cents a pound. The deal was irresistible and I bought 20 pounds thinking of making tomato pickle.

There are mainly two ways of tomato pickle preparation that I am familiar with. The sun-dried method and the stove-top simmering method. Both produce excellent tasting pickles of different personalities. The first one needs super bright sunshine. It’s hot here in Seattle since last week, but it is no way near Nandyala hot. So, I decided on stove-top simmering method. Mainly, it’s fail-proof and produces tomato pickle of high quality that’s ready to eat as soon as it’s done simmering.

Like in any pickle preparation, the ingredients quality matters a lot for tomato pickle also. Tomatoes that actually taste like tomatoes with thin skin and little bit under-ripe are the best. Traditionally, tomato seeds and skin are included in pickle for that special texture and extra something they bring to the end experience. Sesame oil, tamarind, fenugreek, red chilli powder, iodine-free salt, asafetida, garlic, and fresh curry leaves – total eight ingredients are needed, which can be purchased at Indian grocery shops for low prices.

Surrounded by all natural ingredients, simmered tomatoes in tomato pickle sure make a bold, declamatory statement on taste buds. Sweet, sour, salty and spicy, the rich taste of tomato pickle is an addictive one. We particularly like it with upma, pongal, and yogurt rice. Also as a spread on chapatis and on toasted bread.

Tomatoes for Pickle

Recipe:

Tomatoes: 25 tomatoes rinsed and wiped dry with a clean towel. Coarsely chopped – about 15 cups.
Tamarind: 3 index finger-length tamarind pods soaked in half cup hot water and juice extracted. Or about ¼ cup thick tamarind pulp (added to enhance the tomato’s sweet-sourness quality).
Sesame oil (non-toasted variety from India, not the Chinese type) – ¼ cup
Red chilli powder – ¼ cup
Iodine-free salt – ½ cup
Fenugreek powder – 1 tablespoon

For Popu or Tadka:
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 sprigs curry leaves, about 15 fresh curry leaves
10 garlic cloves – thinly sliced lengthwise, (like sliced almonds)
¼ teaspoon asafetida (inguva)

Sliced to Chunks

In a big, non-reactive pan, add and heat sesame oil (¼ cup). Add the tomatoes to hot oil. Also the red chilli powder, salt and tamarind pulp. Mix and cover the pot. Cook on high heat, stirring in-between for about 30 minutes. Tomatoes will be mushed down and you will be seeing lot of tomato juice trying to lift the pot lid and splash the counter-tops.

At this stage, add the fenugreek powder. Reduce the heat to medium, partially cover the pot and simmer until the tomatoes become thick but spreadable like jam. It takes easily an hour. Fine-tune the balance and adjust salt and chilli levels to your liking. The next step will be adding the toasted popu or tadka ingredients.

In a skillet, heat the sesame oil (2 tbs) until a garlic piece tossed in it sizzles. Lower the heat to medium. Add the garlic first and then the curry leaves. Toast to pale gold color. Turn off the heat. Stir in asafetida. Mix and immediately add the toasted skillet contents to the tomato pickle.

Stir so that everything gets well combined. Simmer, uncovered for about ten minutes, gently mixing. Turn off the heat and let the pickle cool. (Do not cover the pot.)

Fill the completely cooled tomato pickle in a clean glass jar with a tight lid. It stays fresh for a month, and stores very well even without refrigeration.

Enjoy!

After one hour of simmering

Tomato Pickle ready to be placed in a jar

Rosematta and Yuba Vegetable Congee with Tomato Pacchadi

Recipe Source: Amma, Nandyala
If you are planning to make it with regular salt, reduce the quantity by couple of teaspoons, also adjust the salt level to your taste.

Sun~Kissed Tomatoes of Summer

Sliced to Chunks

Simmering with Spices

Reduced and Ready to Bottle

Tomato Pacchadi (Tomato Pickle)

Thanks all for your interest in tomato pickle. Here is the Recipe:
The Art of Making Tomato Pacchadi

If you think you have benefited in some way, by using any of Mahanandi’s recipes and you want to show your appreciation by donating some money, here is Mahanandi’s Cause.
“Provide the Seeds to Sow”. Spread the word and donate.

Cheeseless and Cheerful ~ India Inspired Ratatouille

When it comes to international cuisine, French cuisine ranks among our favorites. Then again, we are devotees of Tibetan, Thai, Mexican and Italian … well you get the picture. But back to French food, if we may. So delighted are we of the new Pixar animated movie, we decided to recreate one of our favorite French recipes at home. Cheeseless and cheerful ~ The Ratatouille.

Dictionary defines Ratatouille as “A vegetable stew, usually made with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, and onions, seasoned with herbs and garlic”. Ratatouille, Pulusu, Kurma or Subzi …different names in different languages but the underlying wisdom is the same. Isn’t it? When vibrant and fresh looking vegetables are available, the recipe served will make happy people happier and comforts those who aren’t. Really, we don’t have to do much in order to make a miraculous meal.

The India inspiration is addition of poppy seeds. When added to bobbling vegetables in the pot, the powdered poppy seeds will bring sweet aroma and subtly enriches the ratatouille in a typical Indian way.

Farm Fresh Vegetables from Pike Place Market for Ratatouille ~ Round Zucchinis, Red and Green Capsicum, Shallots, Purple Garlic, Baby Carrots, Fresh Peas, Tomatoes & Green Brinjals (Total Cost $8).