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ÊAWED is a great concept and kicking it off with Mexican food is even better…Kudos to DK for coming up with the idea. Mexico is only ONE latitude apart from India in the world map , and no wonder a lot of the ingredients we use in Indian food are also part of the Mexican cuisine. For example, tamarind or tamarindo, coconut (did you know that there is coconut candy similar to the coconut burfi?), cumin, cilantro or coriander leaves……. My contribution to AWED is a Chile Relleno with a Chipotle Black Bean sauce that G and I made a few months ago. We make this for our friends and they absolutely love it….Enjoy!

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“Ellu” in tamil means sesame seeds. I wish I could give you a specific meaning for “kari” without resorting to the commonly misused term “curry” which is often used to describe the gravy or sauce of a dish. The problem I have with the over-generalization of curry as a sauce is that in Indian cooking the sauce is integral to the preparation of the dish and is not prepared or cooked separate from what the “star” ingredient is. Yes, there are some dishes such as Kofta and Kadhi that you can “assemble” before you serve. For the most part, the meat or the vegetable is cooked in the gravy from the beginning of the preparation. Enough of my tirade….

So, ellukari is a palakkad iyer specialty that was a staple in our home growing up, when Chenai (or Senai Kazhangu or Yam) was in season. The other, more prevalent preparations of chenai in the south is to fry it or “roast” in oil (this is a typical tamilnadu preparation) or Chenai upperi or mazhukuparatti (these are Kerala style preparations). This recipe of ellukari is my mom’s- I love the recipe for its simplicity and yet the complexity of the flavors it has..not to mention that a little bit is enough to get those taste buds going!!

My mom is a very creative cook- she finds uses for ingredients in Indian cooking that one wouldn’t think of- for example, tomatillos. It was my mom who started using tomatillos as a substitute for tamarind in sambar and rasam. I remember when growing up, we used to taste a different cuisine almost everyday- one day it would be a maharashtrian thalipeeth, the next day a punjabi kadhi and then a traditional south india meal. I think I’m inspired to tinker with recipes because of my mom, and get the passion for discovering a myriad of tastes from her…..Ellukari is my contribution to Pedatha’s JFI event- JIHVA for Love.

What you Need

1. 1 Pkt Frozen YamÊ
2. 4 Dried Red Chillies
3. 1/2 tsp cooking oil
4. 2 T Urad dal
5. 1 cm piece of Asafoetida (or 1/2 tsp of asafoetida powder)
6. 4 Curry leaves
7. 2 tsp of black sesame seeds
8. 1/4 cup of coconut (optional)Ê
9. 1 Tbsp of Tamarind concentrate
10. Jaggery (optional)
11. 1/2 tsp of Turmeric powder
12. Salt to taste
13. 1/2 cup of water
14. For Tempering- 1 tsp of cooking oil (sesame oil will give additional flavor),1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of Methi (fenugreek) seeds

How its done

• Defrost the yam and cut the pieces into smaller pieces (tastes better in small pieces)
• Heat the oil in a heavy bottom saucepan and add the mustard. When the mustard starts spluttering, add the methi seeds.
• Now, add the defrosted yam and roast for a few seconds.Ê
• Then add the tamarind, water, salt and turmeric and let boil till the raw smell of tamarind is gone- 3-5 minutes.
• In the meanwhile,in a small pan, roast in 1/2 tsp of oil ingredients 2 through 7 till the urad dal is light brown in color and a nutty aroma is emitted from the pan. If using coconut, add it at this stage, mix and turn off the heat. Grind this masala into a smooth paste.
• When the yam is half cooked in the tamarind water, add the masala paste and cook for 5 minutes till completely cooked. If using jaggery, add it after the yam is cooked and heat through for a minute before turning off the heat.

During my recent trip to India, I discovered this restaurantÊ (a family friend took us for lunch) in Chennai called “Cholayil Sanjeevanam”. The food in Sanjeevanam is cooked by the Ayurvedic principles. The meal we had was the Rajakeeyam Lunch which is a satvic meal “eaten in an organized manner as the nutrients of fruits and vegetables should be absorbed by the system prior to the grains.” (Source: Cholayil Sanjeevanam placard placed on every table detailing the order in which the meal is served and should be eaten). After you are seated and fresh banana leaves (that serve as plates on which we eat) are placed in front of you, in true south Indian style, the waiter brings you a plate with slices of ripe banana with grated coconut. I do not like banana and never even touch it…but to maintain the integrity of the experience, I gulped mine down and hoped the next rounds would be different. Next came 5 little glasses (shot glasses) of juices to be consumed in the following specific order:

1. Date Juice- which is rich in minerals
2. Nuts Milk- which is rich in fatty acids
3. Vegetable Clear soup- which acts as an appetizer
4. Harita Buttermilk- which is buttermilk with cilantro (ground coriander leaves). This is a coolant.
5. Bran Rice Water- which is rich in Vitamin - B complex

Next, we’re served sweet red aval, and a row of uncooked vegetables ( a yogurt-coconut plantain stem salad and a mixed vegetable salad with beets & carrots in a tangy lemon dressing). Then came a row of semi- cooked vegetables (runner beans mezhukuvaratti was one of them), followed by a row of fully cooked vegetable dishes. By this time, we were beginning to fill up..thats when the rice was served- Red Rice (rich in Vitamin B-Complex, fiber,thiamin, riboflavin and niacin)…the cooked grains are thick and pink in color and have a wonderful nutty flavor to them. The rice is served with dal, sambar, morkozhambu, rasam and mor (buttermilk). Desert is penultimate- it was jaggery coconut milk payasam (what we call pradhaman in kerala). The meal is finished with a handful of honey, which helps digestion.

I LOVED the food and the experience- we ate a lot but the food didn’t leave you feeling stuffed.The food was kerala style and a lot of dishes were familiar to me, as my Mom makes them at home. The cool revelation to me was the fact that they need to be eaten in a certain order to derive the full benefit.

The meal has 26 items, making a perfect blend of nutrients- for example, the Red Rice (I’ve already detailed its wealth of minerals); the plantain stem (or banana pith) salad acts as a diuretic and is helpful in preventing and treating kidney stone. The meal is rich in antioxidants as well. There are 4 Cholayil Sanjeevanam’s in Chennai and 3 in Kerala…if you’re anywhere near one of these and like healthy food. When I got back, I made a meal inspired by my Sanjeevanam experience (not with 26 items tho..that would be beyond my quick-cooking style)…will post it soon- keep watching!

Before leaving for my three week vacation to India, I had to finish this fat free ricotta cheese I’d bought with the intentions of making cheesecake. I knew I didn’t have enough time to finish the cheesecake and so decided to use the Ricotta for a dinner entree. I found this 0 Trans Fat pie crust in Safeway and thought of making a savory pie for dinner.

What You Need

For the Pie

1. 1 Pie Crust
2. 1 Small Tub Fat Free Ricotta cheese
3. 1 Cup Eggbeaters
4. 1/2 a packet Frozen Spinach, thawed and excess water drained
5. 1/2 a packet Frozen Artichok, thawed
6. Chili flakes to taste
7. 1-2 tsp Lime juice
8. Salt & pepper to taste

For the sauce:

- 3 ChoppedTomatoes - 1 Fire roasted red bell pepper, chopped - 1/4 Can chipotle pepper in adobo sauce - salt to taste

How its done

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Mix the pie ingredients 2 through 8.
3. Prepare the pie crust as per instructions on the package and the put the mixture from step 1 and bake for about 20- 30 minutes till you see it browning on top.
4. While its baking, make the sauce. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the chopped tomatoes to it. Once the tomatoes are semi-cooked, add the fire roasted bell pepper and the chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. Simmer for 5-10 minutes till the flavors meld. Turn off heat and blend with a hand blender.

I was nostalgic about my hostel food the other day……you’re laughing!! Its true, the LSR Hostel food was really good….its more than a decade since I left it but I still remember the Rajma Chawal with Kaddu ki sabzi on thursdays, Aloo parathas for lunch on sunday and vegetable and meat biryani with dal for dinnerÊon sunday! I had half a cabbage, some carrot and four tomatillos in my fridge this last sunday and thought…I need to use these up…I feel like eating vegetable biryani with dal, just like we did on sundays in the hostel…..here’s where the north meets south idea came to me. “Congress curry”, I learned when I married G, is the poriyal made with cabbage (the white of the Congress flag), carrot (the orange aka saffron of the Congress flag)and peas (the green of the Congress flag). And I’ve recently discovered Pulao masala..this shouldn’t be a difficult meal to make, I thought…and it wasn’t

What You Need

For the Pulao

• 1.5 Cups of Basmati rice
• 2 Medium Onions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 a Cabbage, thinly chopped
• 1 cup of shredded carrots
• 1 cup of frozen Edamame
• 2.5 Tsps of Garam Masala
• 1.5 Tsps of Pulao Masala
• 1.5 Tsps of cooking oil
• some lime juice
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2.74 cups of water

For the Dal

• 4 small tomatillos
• 1 cup yellow moong dal, cooked
• 1 Tsp of cooking oil
• 1 Tsp of cumin seeds
• 1/2 an inch piece of ginger, finely minced
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 3 Tbsps of chopped cilantro

O Stranger, you seem familiar to me….The afternoon with fellow bloggers reminds me of this old Kishore Kumar melody. When I decided to go for theÊCA Bloggers meet, I saw it as an opportunity to meet new people. Having recently moved to the Bay Area, this was a great way for me to build my network. I’ve never done such a thing- go to meet complete strangers. In sharing what went through my head as the event approached,ÊI will echoÊThe-Cooker,ÊSreeluÊandÊmadras2madurai- will it be awkward meeting these strangers? I am new to the blogging world and I looked at all the blogs, saw the comments and the banter, and thought to myself- Oh my god, they’ve got such a rapport…will I be the only stranger in the room? And, I have to make someone else’s recipe- will that come out the way the author intended it to? The pressure was intense…I don’t think I’ve ever felt the pressure cooking as I did the days leading up to event. I decided to makeÊBeetroot PulaoÊfrom Chef Mythreyee- I thought it was a unique use of Beetroot! A week before the event, I reviewed the recipe, checked my pantry to see if I have the ingredients- made a trip to the desi store to get MTR Pulao Masala (I didn’t know there was such a product out there!). And, unlike me- I stuck to the recipe as the Chef detailed it. The only difference was in the equipment- I used my electric rice cooker, oh and I added some lime juice when I added to rice and vegetable mixture to the rice cooker (a family friend had given me that trick to ensure that rice doesn’t stick together). The result was this gorgeous rice delight, and it tasted…..soooooo gooood….even if it means I’m tooting my own horn (although the credit goes to the Chef- Thanks, Mythreyee!)ÊÊÊÊ So, I arm myself with the pulao rice, directions to The-cooker’s abode and I’m the first one there…….we got chatting and the doorbell rings and the others start coming in….and from there the chatter never stopped- here we were, meeting for the first time, sharing our experiences, talking about our favorite grocery store (good’ol Trader Joes!), our recipes, our experiences leading up to the meet, what we can do next, how do we continue the conversations- anyone looking on wouldn’t thought we’ve known each other for our entire lives! ÊTwo hours into chatting and munching on yummy eats that The-cooker and Sreelu had made, we Êrealized that we had stuff to do- Eat more! ÊWhat a fun day….thanks all for a wonderful event..can’t wait till the next one. Ok..enough of my rambling..time to let you hear from others that were there:ÊRevathi,Êthe torch is yours…Ê

For the longest time, I was attached to my masala dabbas…..you know, the typical Indian kind- a steel container that has 6-9 steel katoras with a “cover” to keep the masalas from mixing and a lid.ÊI used to have two- one for north indian masalas (dhaniya powder, zeera, haldi, lal mirchi powder,salt, garam masala) and another for the south indian tadka essentials (mustard seeds, asafoetida, red chillis, chana dal, urad dal, methi seeds).ÊÊÊÊÊÊ No “test tube” masala rack or those wooden racks with little bottles appealed to me…till I found (or I should say, G found for me)- the magnetic spice rack. Not the kind that takes up counter space….these are little dabbas that are neatly tucked away on the inside of my cabinet door. I love my little masala dabbas…..they’re easy- just twist and tap; twist back and stick to the door (magnet on the back of the dabbas takes any work out of that too!).ÊÊÊÊÊAnd, now there’s anothe device in the market-Êthe Spice Gun……I can only say one thing about this- I’d like to see the tool junkies cook with this thing!! You have to give it to the inventor, tho- its cool that someone of thought of using the nail gun principle to spices! Now, instead of opening dabbas, I can be trigger happy!

ÊÊ Ê ÊÊÊÊ ÊEver so often, we like to have a toasted or grilled sandwich for dinner. Its a break from the routine of rice or chapati. For me, the challenge is always to find ways of getting more protein in our predominantly vegetarian diet. So, what would add some protein and not just be veggies and cheese? Well, I could make something with black beans, edamame, chickpeas, lentils….but they need to be in a form conducive to be situated between two slices of bread and not fall apart…hmmmm…I’d bought a can of Trader Joe’s Fat Free Refried Beans with Jalapenos, maybe I could use that to come up with some kind of a patty….

What You NeedÊ

• Ê1/2 a Can of Trader Joe’s Fat Free Refried Beans with Jalapeno peppers(or any other kind of refried beans you prefer)
• 1 Cup of Edamame
• 1/2 Cup of grated or finely diced carrots
• 3 Tbsps of chopped cilantro
• 1/2 Tsp of Cumin powder
• 1/2 Tsp of Cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup of bread crumbs plus a cup for coating
• 2 Lite Cheddar cheese sticks
• 4 slices of bread (a Whole Wheat or sprouted grain bread-no white bread, please)
• Cooking oil spray

For Topping

• 1 Onion, cut in half moons
• 1 Green bell pepper, also cut in half moons
• 1 1/2 Tsps of Olive Oil (or any olive oil based dipping oil you have at hand)
• salt and pepper to taste

How its doneÊ

1. ÊPreheat oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit
2. Chop the cheese sticks into small cubes (about 3-a-piece)
3. Take a 1 gallon ziplock bag and put the chopped onion and bell pepper to it. Add the olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. Seal the bag and squish the bag around so all the vegetables are coated in the oil and salt. Set aside till the oven is hot.Ê
4. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the onion-pepper mix so its in one layer and pop it in the oven for about 15 minutes, till the onions and pepper are well grilled and browning.
5. While thats roasting, lets make the rest of the sandwich. Take a mixing bowl and mix the first 6 ingredients till it all holds together in a ball.
6. Divide the mixture into two and shape into patties. Stuff the patties with the cheese cubes and ensure that they are well covered with the bean mix.
7. Coat the patties with some breadcrumbs.
8. Heat a non-stick fry pan and spray some cooking spray on it (I use Misto which allows me to use my cooking oil)
9. Put one patty on the hot pan and let it set. DO NOT MOVE THE PATTY-this will ensure a crisp crust is formed. after about 5 minutes flip to the other side and again, DO NOT MOVE IT.
10. Repeat with the other patty.
11. Spray the pan again with olive oil (or butter, if you prefer) and grill the slices of bread.Ê
12. Now, we’re ready to assemble- place one grilled slice on a place, place the patty on it and then top it with the oven roasted onion-pepper and close it with another grilled slice. Hold together with a toothpick.

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The first time I heard about Jihva For Ingredients, I thought it was a great idea for cooks like me to get ideas for how many ways an ingredient can be converted to delicious foods. And, what a way to learn about different cultures and try to indigenize it to yours, or vice versa! Kudos to Indira of Mahanandi for the ingenious idea, and thanks to Radhi for hosting the event! My first ever contribution to the Jihva For Ingredients is Caramalized Onion and Spicy Cheese Pizzette. Pizzettes are little pizzas. The first time I made these little mouthfuls of joy was when I had some frozen pizza dough on hand and a few onions I wanted to use up. Its a great appetizer and quite simple to make.

What You Need

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• 12 Oz. of Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (I made my own; you can also use any frozen or fresh pizza dough from your local store)

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• 2 Onions (Red or Yellow onions have more flavor)

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• Salt to taste

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• 1/2 Tsp Crushed Red pepper flakes (optional)

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• 1 Tbsp of Olive Oil

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• 8 Oz. of Fresh Spicy Jack Curd or Cheese (fresh spicy mozzarella would work well as well- I use Mike’s Firehouse Jack Curd available at my local farmer’s market)

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• 1 Bottle (12 Oz.) Izze Blackberry

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• 2 Tbsps of Harissa ( You can use any spicy chutney or spread you might have on hand)

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How Its Done

1. Peel and dice the onions. Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan and add the onions. Stir periodically till onion turns transparent.

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2. Add salt and continue to cook the onions (stirring periodically to make sure they don’t burn) till they begin to brown (the sugar in the onion is caramelized).

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3. Add the Izze to the onion and let cook down till there is no liquid left. The sugars in the Izze will be concentrated in the onions, enhancing the sweetness in the onions. Turn off the heat and let cool.

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4. While the onions are cooling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees fahrenheit and start working on the Pizzettes.

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5. Roll our your pizza dough (if using frozen, follow package instructions to thaw) as thin as you can, making sure the dough doesn’t stick to the surface or is too thin to hold the toppings.

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6. Use a glass or a cooke cutter and cut round discs out of the rolled dough (you should get about 17-18). Lay them out on a cookie sheet (dusted with corn meal) or a pizza crisper (pizza trays with little holes at the bottom that make the crust crisp).

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7. Place an m&m sized dot of the harissa or spicy spread on each pizzette and spread (just like you would spread butter on your toast).

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8. Next, top the pizzettes with the caramelized onions and pop them in the oven for about 6-7 minutes till the pizzettes start to brown.

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9. If you’re using a firm cheese (pepper jack), you can top the pizzettes with the cheese and optional red pepper flakes before step 8 and bake till you see the cheese bubble and melt. If you’re using a soft cheese (such as fresh mozzarella) or cheese curds (like I did), proceed with step 8 and take the pizzettes out when they start to brown and top them with the cheese and red pepper flakes . Return to the oven and bake till the cheese is melted and bubbly. (these will also taste great with goat cheese, which you can add after the pizzettes are baked)

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10. Take it out and let cool for 5 minutes before you serve.

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