(Lima) Beans and Delhi Cha(a)t

Remembering Grandma – I

It’s been more than fifteen years since I lost her, yet I still miss her cooking. Titti, as my brother and I used to call my maternal grandmother was a remarkable person. A writer with powerful wordsmith skills, she held equal dexterity in other departments—sewing, knitting, and of course cooking. She was also an active social worker. I miss her wisdom, her sunshine presence, her selfless love. And like I said in the beginning, I miss her cooking.

Titti was an innovator. Not only did she excel in preparing traditional recipes to perfection, she also often created splendid wonders out of seemingly ordinary and at times unusual ingredients.

And so it was with her experiment--successful, and oft-repeated--with Amaltas flowers. Whenever I see these resplendent yellow clusters, also known as golden showers, blowing through the hot Delhi summer breeze, I think of Titti. And I think of the delicious fritters she produced from these flowers.

So recently, when the prolific and talented Shilpa tagged me for the ten things I miss the most about my mother’s cooking, I thought of starting these posts about my grandma. You see, since my mother is right here with me, I don’t have to miss her cooking at all! But we both miss Titti’s full-of-love edible creations. Just last week, Ma thought of remembering my grandma by getting a bunch of Amaltas and frying some fritters off them.

Even though I enjoyed helping Titti make these delightful pakoras or fritters, I didn’t know Amaltas is the proud owner of several medicinal properties.

The ancient Indian system of medicine attributes medicinal properties to almost all parts of amaltas tree, but it is the pulp of its fruit which is considered as an excellent laxative. The amaltas’ pulp has a peculiar flavour and is sweet in taste and cold in effect. It also has digestive, anti-inflammatory, anti-pyretic and blood purifying properties. A strong purgative, the root of amaltas is used in various skin diseases, while its leaves form an important part of many ointments and poultices. The bark of the tree, which is known as sumari, has astringent properties. From this link.

Let me share with you all the simple recipe of Titti’s Amaltas fritters then. Since it fits the theme so well, this is also my entry for Kalyn’s Weekend Herb Blogging.

Titti’s Amaltas Fritters

Ingredients:

A bunch of freshly-plucked Amaltas blooms
Gram flour (besan): 2/3 cup
Green chili (chopped): 3-4
Nigella seeds (kalonji): 1/2 teaspoon
Salt, to taste
Water: 1 cup

Method:

1.Make a batter using the above ingredients. Make sure it has a thickish consistency, so you can make small fritters.
2. Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the fritters in batches.
3. Serve hot with chutney or ketchup or just like that.

Nothing special about the fritters, really. Yes, they do taste yummy, but then most fritters do, don’t they? It’s all about the memory for me. I miss Titti, but then she smiles back with the waves of the cascading Amaltas bunches.


~ Sury

posted by Sury at 11:55 PM | 27 comment(s)

Happy Birthday!!!!

posted by cesarcarlos at 12:31 AM | 23 comment(s)

Pass the dip!

      

      

posted by cesarcarlos at 8:11 AM | 8 comment(s)

Bhapa Doi - Bengali Dessert

So we completed a year. With this blog, I mean. What a fun-filled ride it has been! What better way to celebrate this blog's anniversary than to bring something traditional? And how would it be if that something is also sweet? Good you say? Well, I agree.

Back in the nascent days of this blog (not that it's in any way grown up now), my talented writer friend Lisa once remarked, "Your blog needs more dessert items." Ouch! 'Seems like neither of the two bloggers who write this foodie journal have a well-cultured sweet tooth. But that shouldn't keep us from sharing the goodies with sugar lovers out there. Here's a good way to rectify this lack in this blog year then. With a traditional Bengali dessert.

Bhapa is steamed in Bengali and doi is yogurt. So there you have it--steamed yogurt. This is amongst the simplest of sweet dishes to whip up and easily amongst the yummiest. Don't let the simplicity underestimate its worth for you. In about ten days from now, this very Bengali sweet dish will be on the menu for the official celebrations of Britain's Queen Elizabeth's 80th birthday.

Shall we get to the whipping up process then?

Bhapa Doi (Steamed Yogurt)

Ingredients:

Natural yogurt: 100 grams
Condensed milk: 100 grams
Cardamom (crushed): 2-3

Method:

1. Take around 400 grams of natural yogurt and drain the water off it by hanging it in a fine cloth for at least 6-7 hours. You will get about 1/4 the original amount of yogurt.

2. Put the dehydrated yogurt in a large bowl. Add the condensed milk to it and whip. It should turn into a smooth paste. Take care to see there are no lumps.

3. Add the crushed cardamom and mix once more.

4. Place the curd mix inside a container with a lid.

5. Steam it for 15-20 minutes. I used the pressure cooker without the pressure vent device. I filled the cooker with some water, placed the container inside it, letting the water cover half of it.

6. Take curd mix off heat. Let it cool naturally.

7. Serve in room temperature or cold. You can cut it into pieces like I did or just scoop it up with a spoon and enjoy.

The texture of bhapa doi is cheesecake-like soft. The taste has a hint of yogurt and a creamy richness. Add to that the sweetness and the aroma of cardamom. It's a delight, which, if you bite into once, will pull you again and again.



All yours :)
Sury

P.S. In case I can't post another entry within this week, this is my contribution to Anthony's Curry Mela.

posted by Sury at 7:31 PM | 16 comment(s)

Blowing the Candle

To everything - turn, turn, turn
There is a season - turn, turn, turn
And a time for every purpose under heaven

Today is the day for this blog to turn a year old. Just like every other purpose under heaven, it’s time, too. Time for us to reminisce some, celebrate some, and wonder ever more. Just what I find myself doing as I grin at the almost absurd, yet exhilarating outcomes of writing this blog.

- Craig Clairborne

In this past year I bought a new chopping board, a knife, a mortar-pestle set—my playthings for the new sport I discovered. I learned cooking pasta for the first time at home (thank you, Cesar). I learned cooking meats, I learned different ways of chopping onions, I learned making vinaigrettes, I craved to buy an oven (still saving money for that), I surprised family members (“You can really cook, eh?”) and myself, I ran riot in the kitchen. I cooked.

The blog also opened a window of learning for me. I found out the fascinating regional variations of Indian food, I celebrated festivals of different Indian states with food bloggers across the world, I got a glimpse into cultures not known to me, herbs I have never smelled or tasted (thanks, Kalyn!), and edible delights that still remain shrouded in enticing mystery for me. I got the opportunity to join a wonderful food forum comprising members from all the inhabited continents (many thanks, Farid and Ji Young), which in turn has become my encyclopedia for exploring culinary cultures.

Sury

For, you see, we just happen to come from two countries with huge culinary traditions. On one side—India in the East, with its different regions and flavors; on the other side—Peru in the “New World,” a place which became literally a food laboratory with the coming of the Spaniards, resulting in the breeding of unique ingredients.

Cesar

posted by cesarcarlos at 9:36 AM | 18 comment(s)