Month: January 2015

Sambar / Rasam / Kuzhambu Varieties.

Ginger Rasam – No Need of Rasam Powder !!!

Shoba1 Comment

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There are really only two ways people look at Ginger – They either love it or they hate it! In my opinion Ginger is pretty under rated. We use it in appetisers, main courses, salads, dressings, desserts, cookies and even bread! It supposedly helps with digestion, is an effective cure for coughs and colds, boosts immunity and helps combat cancer. In the long list of medicinal properties I love the fact that its been around for thousands of years. In fact I love it in my tea for the zing that it provides. I have been contemplating making my own ginger cough drops, but that`s a project for another day. Ginger Rasam needs no prep work and no Rasam Powder. It`s one of those things you can prep,cook and finish in under 30 minutes or less. Use it as a rasam or simply drink it as soup. Its hearty, warming and extremely good for you.

One word of caution – I see many varieties of ginger in the markets. The smaller thinner varieties are in my opinion more potent so slightly reduce the quantity thats recommended. I use the slightly fatter bigger variety thats available in the Indian stores in the US.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Ripe Tomato.

2 Cups Diluted Tamarind Water.

1/4 Cup Cooked Toor Dhal.

1 Inch Ginger Crushed roughly.

1 Tsp Crushed Pepper.

1/4 Tsp Turmeric.

1 Tbsp Jaggery or 2 Tsp Sugar.

Salt to taste.

Cilantro to garnish.

Temper:

2 Tsp Ghee.

1 Tsp Mustard Seeds.

1 Tsp Jeera.

1 Green Chilli sliced long.

1 Tbsp Grated Ginger.

Handful of curry leaves.

Pinch of Hing.

PREPARATION:

  • Chop the tomatoes fine. Grate the ginger as needed. Crush the 1 inch piece in your mortar.
  • Dilute the 1/4 Cup cooked toor dhal with enough water and bring it to about 1 cup.
  • In a heavy bottomed vessel heat the ghee and slowly add the ingredients for tempering – Mustard Seeds, Cumin seeds, slit chilli, grated ginger, hing and the curry leaves .
  • When they splutter add the chopped tomatoes and allow to saute until soft.
  • In a few minutes add the diluted 2 cups of tamarind water and then the turmeric powder, salt, crushed ginger, and the crushed black pepper.
  • This broth has to boil and slightly reduce until all the raw smell is gone.
  • When done, add the  1 cup of diluted cooked toor dhal water and mix.
  • When it setttles down add about 1 tbsp jaggery or 1 1/2 tsp of sugar as needed.
  • Boil the rasam on medium flame so it slowly starts frothing and just begins to boil.
  • Switch off the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro.
  • Keep the vessel tightly closed until its time to serve.
  • Delicious Ginger Rasam can be mixed with rice or simply drink it like soup!!

HINTS:

  1. Some peoople do not prefer to taste the grated ginger pieces. In such cases just mash up the ginger in to rough chunks.
  2. It`s a great option as a hot warming soup.
  3. Moderate the amount of jaggery/ sugar so as to give the rasam a hint of sweetness over the sharpness of the ginger and the pepper.

 

 

Sweets

Madatha Khaaja

Shoba4 Comments

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Madatha Khaja is  a very new delicacy to me, comparitively as I grew up in Madras all my life. My encounters with any sweets began and ended at home. Madurai amma always made Boondhi laddoo every Deepavali along with Badam Halwa and sometimes rarely Carrot Halwa.  Sometimes a guest who comes home would get us Badushah or Jangiri or  Krishna Sweets Mysurpa and we would all relish it. When Sri Krishna sweets opened up their first branch in Chennai , at T.Nagar near my home, I was super excited. I remember we went there and they offered Badam Milk to all their customers  for at least a week! It was a totally new concept – to allow sampling! You could point to any sweet you wanted, and they would oblige with a small sample. Imagine my joy! I tasted each and every one of them and of course fell in love with each of their unique tastes. I specially remember being totally amazed with their Mysurpa and its instant rich creamy melt in the mouth taste. Their Badam Halwa is also unique in its flavor and color, tainted with the rich aroma of saffron and slathered with generous portions of clarified butter!

Moving to the US after marriage, allowed me to try out unique dishes from other cultures from my own diverse country. I had friends from Andhra Pradhesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Kerala etc and along with that came insights in to their own tastes and delicacies. My good friend L once made Khaja during Deepavali and I fell for its flavour and its flaky layers soaked in sugar syrup! I had to get more of them I knew. Around the same time I saw that many sweet stores in Chennai also started stocking Khaja. It was amazing! But I knew that I wanted to make my own some day! This version was taught to me by a good friend and I was literally sold. It was flaky, sweet, bite sized and looked very cute! Try it and I am sure  you`ll love it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Maida/ APF

1 Tsp Rice Flour.

1 Tsp Besan.

2 Tsp Ghee/ Oil/ Vanaspati.

A pinch of salt.

6 Tsp Ghee.

Sugar Syrup:

1 Cup Sugar.

1 Tsp Cardamom Powder.

A few drops rose essence.

1/2 Cup Water.

PREPARATION:

  • A wide bowl works best for making this dough – Add all purpose flour, the 6 tsp ghee, a pinch of salt and using enough water, mix into a smooth dough. This dough must rest and stay moist, so cover with a moist kitchen towel/ napkin. Set aside.
  • Prepare the sugar syrup to single string consistency – Add the 1 cup sugar and half the water (1/2 Cup) to a vessel and keep stirring on medium flame. In about 8-10 minutes, you should see that the sugar solution turns slightly syrupy and when you try to drip the solution from the ladle, it forms a string. This is the right consistency. Its imperative that you reach the right consistency for the solution to get syrupy enough to coat the khaja and render it sweet and crystallise over the sweet. This is exactly the same that you would do for the Badushah or Shakkarpara.
  • Flavour the syrup with rose essence and cardamom powder as needed.
  • Combine 1 Tsp Rice Flour, 1 Tsp Besan and 2 Tsp Ghee to form a paste.

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  • Divide the rested dough in to three equal parts and roll them all out in to thin rotis.
  • Use the rice flour besan paste to coat the maida roti on the bottom. Spread it evenly with your finger or a silicon brush.
  • Place the second roti over the first and press uniformly to remove any air bubbles trapped.
  • Coat the second roti also with the rice flour ghee paste.
  • Place the third roti over the second and firmly press to allow uniform surface.
  • Roll the 3 latered roti tightly to form a long log.

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  • Slice about 1 inch pieces from the log and using the rolling pin, press each roll length wise or breadth wise as needed.
  • Fry on medium low heat until the khajas turn golden brown.
  • Dunk the fried khajas in the sugar solution for a couple minutes and set on a clean sheet of parchment paper/ wire rack to cool.

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  • When the khajas cool up, the sugar coating on the top dries up to give it a beautiful sheen!
  • Enjoy Madatha Khajas for Sankranti.

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