I am an analyst by day, star gazer by night, food blogger, fitness , travel and saree enthusiast in between. I am a die hard foodie and started documenting my learning based on feedback from friends and family. Hope you enjoy my blog and leave comments and feedback.
My daughter always enjoys Sno-Cones from the time she had it in the Ozarks ….Her favourite place of course had to be My Grandpa`s Farm on the Katy Trail,which I have already spoken about at lengths in my previous post. Today was a particularly hot day and she wanted to have it – So I decided to make my home-grown version of it….Here it goes…
INGREDIENTS:
6 numbers of ice cubes.
3 spoons of Roohafza
A dash of rose water.
PREPARATION:
Pop the 6 ice cubes in to your mixer and quickly pulse it to get coarsely ground ice.
Drop it in to a glass and pack it in tightly.
Add 2-3 spoons of Roohafza Syrup and allow it to smoothly flow in.
Add a dash of edible rose water and enjoy watching your child delve in to cool rose flavoured Sno-Cone.
Play around with other flavours like lemon, strawberry, raspberry,Cotton Candy etc.
There was this trip that we went in Spring last year to the Ozarks….It was my first spring trip ever in the midwest and I was in no way prepared to see such colours and spring flowers….There were hues of purples, reds, pinks, yellows, whites and what nots in the lovely highway 54W from St.Louis to Osage Beach. It was a lovely warm weekend of May 2008 and the drive was all that I had not expected it to be….It was scenic, peaceful and had bursts of colours everywhere.
Spring blooms by the Lake of the Ozarks.
The Lakes offer a variety of water recreation like boating, diving, fishing and watersports like jet skiing etc. The number of tourists who come here every year has been steadily increasing and so are the vacation rental homes and quaint little cabins that have sprung up everywhere in this area. On this trip,I had packed a filling lunch of Puliyodharai, fried Vadams and delicious curd rice seasoned with chillies, mustard and ginger. We directly drove to the lake and found a lovely gazebo overlooking the scenic lake of ozarks….My husband and daughter spent some time gazing at the lovely lake and the specks of boats where people had driven here to enjoy some time on the calms lakes. We had our lunch gazing at the pristine calming waters of the Lake….Watching any water body has this calming effect on me – makes me realise that nature is so much more packed with power and nothing man made can match to its greatness any day.
The Gazebo overlooking the Lake.
After a filling lunch, we gazed at many more wildflowers and saw this tree filled with leaves of red and dark amber. It was not fall, all the way to spring, but this particular tree struck out as it`s every leaf was a deep shade of crimson red. From the lakeside we accidentally drove to an overlook that provided a spectacular view of The Bagnell Dam and the lazy horseshoe bend of the Osage River. It was a spectacular sight to see the Dam which had impounded the Osage River, as there was an enormous amount of water, with a view to harnessing it for hydro electric power to create the Lake of Ozarks. In fact, the write up on the Dam even mentioned that the Dam changed the course of the mighty Osage River itself over the years,…
The Bagnell Dam and the Osage River as seen from the Ovelook.
After witnessing this mighty Dam, I definitely wanted to drive through the Dam, to get the feeling of the wind on my face…it was a lovely moment as we zipped past the dam, feeling the wind on my face, and hearing the constant gushing of the Osage waters. The Bagnell Dam Park also had many bits of information for us to read up on….about what happened more than 70 years ago!!!
Spring flowers in the Park .
I don’t think we had a plan to visit the Chelsea Premium Outlets originally, but some of my friends had made me feel that a trip to the Osage Beach was not complete without going to the Outlets, that I quickly succumbed to temptation and found myself parking in the lot there….”just a few stores, ” I told myself and to my husband…and he was already smiling…I guess he knew me…The Children`s Place here is pretty massive and seemed to be awash with deals – I remember grabbing strawberry shaped belts,sparkly slippers, and clothes and skirts for my daughter for 99c !!! I even found a summery black chiffon dress with lovely yellow sunflowers on them for a dollar! It was stupendous!!!
The Mall had a lot of interesting stores -Bass, Liz Claiborne, Hush Puppies, Rue 21, Crocs, Coach, lancome, Oneida, Bose, BCNG, and one that I particularly loved was the The Osage River Pop Corn Company who supply the highest quality of gourmet popcorn available. I loved the Jalapeno, Caramel Pecan and Butterscotch and I remember packing a little tin for back home.My daughter found it particularly amazing to see a vendor holding little cones of crushed ice, on which he would squirt a patch of syrup – her first Sno-Cone, of the many that she would have all summer….She had a taste of Blueberry Sno-Cone and laughed with glee at her blue coloured teeth and lips…
Dinner was a particularly unhurried affair as my husband had already planned for someplace special – not because of it being a high footed, expensive restaurant but more for the gourmet food and the spectacular view…There was unhurried driving through curving, picturesque roads, flanked by green golf courses on either side and that evening particularly, the sun shone, mellowed in a lovely shade of pinkish amber.
Winding roads to Ruthie d`s ...with the view of a beautiful sunset...
This place called Ruthie D`s had a beautiful view of the Ozark Mountains as the backdrop overlooking it, on their lounge. There are some moments in our life, which are best left to capture with our eyes and drink in….silently. It would not do any good to try and capture those moments on a camera – it would never even begin to explain the granduer of the picture in the mind`s eye….the view of the mountain from the restaurant , was one such . I can simply close my eyes, and feel the beauty of those minutes, as we sat there, enjoying our food and the view. The food was exceptionally delicious, the service impeccable, the view extra ordinary, and the meal itself, very gratifying and fulfilling.
The drive back home to St.Louis, was very quick and sweet with the memories of the day in our hearts and the joy in our souls knew no bounds…
Morkuzhambu, better known to the others as “Kadi”, is a typical kerala gravy thats very fabulously easy to make as well as bursting with flavours. It can be made with any vegetable in it, typically with ash gourd or plantain, and definitely seasoned with “manathangalikka vethal” or “sundakkai vethal” but I vary the vegetables with mango, spinach etc. I don’t for the life of me understand whats with me and mangoes….I love to add it to any dish for a kick of flavour and fun.
In those days, when I was in school, Madaurai amma would make Morkuzhambu and that day typically the best side would be Ulundhu Appalam or better still Ambika Appalam Depot`s Marachini Appalam. We would take the appalam and crush it in the rice completely and mix it in to find little specks of appalam soaked in the gravy……Still YUM!!! These days on account of health, I have saved Appalam days to probably 5-6 times a year like Avani Avittam, Vishu and the likes. This is still Madurai amma`s method of making it and it never fails to remind me of her healthy wholesome cooking when I was a student….Without further delay,here goes the recipe…
INGREDIENTS:
Half a Mango cut in to big pieces say in to 8 -10 pieces.
3 spoons of bengal gram soaked in water for 20 minutes.
1/3 cup of dessicated /fresh coconut.
4 -6 green chillies.
Salt
Curry Leaves.
Manathangalikka Vethal.(Optional)
A pinch of Hing.
2/3 cup of thick buttermilk or slightly diluted curd.
PREPERATION:
In a copper bottomed vessel, place the mango pieces and add a little water and boil with some salt and turmeric. Switch off for a few seconds.
Grind the coconut, green chillies and soaked bengal gram to a smooth paste.
Add this groound paste to the cooked mango. Add salt, hing, curry leaves, buttermilk and switch on the stove on medium low.
Be very careful as the buttermilk might curdle.
At the first boil, switch off the stove. In a kadai, add 2 spoons on coconut oil and when hot add mustard, manathangalikkai vethal and curry leaves and pour it on the morkozhambu.
Serve with rice and appalam. It`s also an excellent side for Coconut Sevai.
HINT:
Manathangalikka Vethal is a completely optional seasoning. If not available, you can also use “Mor Molaga” or “Thayir Molaga” or even any spicy vethal.
Roasting the Rice Flour is again an important and integral portion of the process of making Nombu Adai. The rice flour has to be roasted on a medium flame for about 7-8 minutes until it reaches a consistency where you can pick it up and draw a line with it . It would have changed from a fresh white to a dull brown colour.
Roasted Rice FLour.
INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup of rice flour.
3/4 X 2 cups of jaggery.
1 1/4 cups of water.
A handful of cooked red beans.
A pinch of elaichi powder.
1/4 cup of sliced coconut.
A drop pf ghee.
PREPARATION:
In a kadai, add the water and the jaggery and allow to boil.
Add a drop of ghee, red beans, sliced coconut, elaichi powder and stir in well.
Lower the flame, and slowly add the roasted rice powder little by little.
Use a whisk and bring the mixture together in to a smooth dough.
Use the same procedure as in the Kara Adai and flatten the balls of dough and place them on greased idli plates.
Steam the vella adai for 8 minutes on high and for another 7 mins on sim without weight.
Offer this neivedhyam HOT with uncooked butter.
HINTS:
If you find that the jaggery has given out far more water than what you have imagined and the vella adai maavu consistency is too watery, simply pour in to the idli plates, steam and enjoy hot vella adai.,
This is a dish that get twice cooked. Once when you mix and cook it in the water over the stove and the secind time when it steams in the cooker.
The MOST important step int he whole process is the roasting of the flour until its almost a dull red.
Karadaiyan Nombu is the tamil ritual where married women pray for the well being of their husbands and little girls pray to get good husbands in future. This ritual is observed at the time the tamil month of Masi ends and the month of Panguni begins. It`s believed that Savithri who was a very devout wife, saved Satyavan her husband, from Lord Yama the God of Death. In order to show her gratitude to the Lord, she quickly made “naivedhyam” out of ingredients easily available then and there and offered it to God, along with uncooked butter.I am guessing “Karadai” refers to Kara – adai which means a savoury pancake. There is also the sweetened preparation called Vella Adai. Another ritual , is to offer the adais, a fruit, butter etc to Lord, pray for one`s husband`s well being and tie the Nombu Charadu which is a yellow thread, around the neck. Following the tradition of Karadaiyan Nombu is believed to attain Dheerga Sowmangalyam ( Long Married Life).
Every year when we were small, I remember madurai amma would dutifully tie her madisar so beautifully and get ready for the vratam. Mami and me and D would help in the kitchen in rolling out the dough, flattening them on little square cut banana leaves and placing them in the idli plates. Mami would then steam them out in the cooker and place them in little casseroles. There would be no need to grease the plates as they adais would be directly placed on the idli plates flattened on to the leaves. All one has to do is pull out the leaf and place the piping hot adais on the casseroles. I would love to see the little adais with the banana leaf pattern on one side. I am guessing there is also a flavour angle here, but I can never be too sure. After making the adais, Madurai amma would have laid out little square kolams for us to place the small banana leaf in front of the altar. We would all sit on follow her cue from there. She would place, a banana, the nombu charadu, the kara adai and the vella adai on the leaf and serve a blob of butter and offer it to God. She would also place a similar leaf for the Goddess herself. After tying the charadu to the picture of the Goddess, she would tie it on her neck and then tie each of our charadu on our necks too. Then we would salute the Goddess and then partake our prasadam.
Today, as I was following Madurai amma`s traditions, teaching them to my little daughter, I am reminded of how much devotion she would put in to every festival, every ritual. Her every proportions for dishes that she had taught me over the years, still hold good. I am very lucky to be her grand daughter and to have lived with her and learnt so many things from her. The preparation for kaara adai is also her proportions which are perfect if followed correctly.
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup rice flour.
Red beans – Karamani
2 cups of water.
A handful of cooked red beans (Karamani)
1/3 cup of thinly sliced coconut pieces.
1 Tsp Finely chopped Ginger.
1 spoon of salt.
2 Green chillies chopped in to fine pieces.
Curry Leaves.
Mustard to season.
PREPARATION:
Dry roast the rice flour for about 7-8 minutes till it becomes a very light shade of yellow, and keep aside.
In a kadai, add 2-3 spoons of coconut oil and when hot, add mustard. When the mustard splutters, add chopped coconut, chopped green chillies, curry leaves, cooked red beans and a pinch of hing.
Allow to saute for a few minutes and then immediately add 2 cups of water and the salt.
Allow for this to boil, like you would do for upma.
Now slowly bring the stove to SIM and add the roasted rice flour little by little.
Use a whisk to bring it all together. You will see that it becomes a nice cooked ball of rice upma.
Grease your hands and also a small ziploc cover on one side. Make a ball from the rice upma and flatten it n the ziploc cover till it becomes the size of a cookie. Make a little hole in the centre and place it on a greased idli plate.
Adai flattened on a greased ziploc cover.
Comtinue and finish the dough , place the idli plates in the cooker and steam on high for 8 mins and then simmer and cook without weight for another 7 minutes or so.
Adais ready to get steamed in the idli plates.
Remove from idli plates, and serve HOT with uncooked butter.
The most important part of the Nombu Adai is roasting the rice flour until it turns to a consistency where you can almost etch a”kolam” line with it. Not roasting it properly alters the water absorbed by the Nombu Adai. PLease take care with this.
Mango Kuzhambu (Manga Kootan) is one of those typical kerala gravies that I love to make. This is one dish that’s simple, bursting with flavours and can be made in a jiffy. All you need is a nice tangy raw mango and a few minutes and ou have this amazing kuzhambu ready. Without any further delay, let me share with you the recipe.
INGREDIENTS:
1 half of a raw mango chopped n to big pieces.
1 spoon of Methi seeds (Venthayam)
4-5 red chillies.
1/3 cup of coconut.
A pinch of jaggery.
1-2 ladles of thicd curd.
Seasoning:
Mustard & Curry Leaves.
PREPARATION:
Drop the cut mango pieces in the copper bottom vessel, and pour water adequate to cover the mangoes, add a pinch of turmeric and allow to cook for 7-8 mins. Switch off the stove.
Now roast the methi seeds and red chillies in oil and grind with the coconut to a smooth paste.
Add this paste to the cooked mango, add salt, and a little water(around 1/2 cup) to get it in to a kuzhambu consistency.
Switch on the stove till it boils and turn off the heat. Add 1-2 ladles of curd and mix it in well.
Season in coconut oil with mustard and curry leaves.
Sending this amazingly delicious Mango Kuzhambu to Srivalli`s Mango Mela….
Rice sticks are as I already mentioned one of the things that I always have handy in my kitchen pantry. Whenever things run late, or there is no time to make an elaborate dinner, my first option would be rice sticks.I have already made Quick Mango Lemon Sevai in my previous posts. I some times use the 777 Dhideer Sevai or the Special Bihon rice sticks from the chinese section from a global market or a chinese store. They all use the same ingredients rice, cornstarch and water. All you need to do it so put a pot of water to boil with some salt and a few drops of coconut oil ( I love the flavour and aroma). Pop a whole bag and cook it only for 2 minutes and set to drain on a collander. Since the rice sticks are extremely thin, make sure not to overcook them. The oil in the water, prevents them from sticking to each other.
Once the rice sticks are done, the seasonings in to flavouring them should be done as soon as possible. I had made lemon sevai and tamarind sevai for dinner yesI:terday. These are the quick recipes for the same.
LEMON SEVAI:
INGREDIENTS:
1 pack of rice sticks.
1 Lemon
3-4 chopped green chillies.
Curry Leaves.
Bengal Gram
Salt to taste
Turmeric.
Hing.
PREPARATION:
In a kadai, add 2 spoons of oil and when hot, add bengal gram, chopped green chillies, hing, curry leaves and turmeric. Make sure that the turmeric does not burn.
Switch off the flame and add the cooked rice sticks/sevai to the kadai. Mix well taking care that the sticks dont break when they are getting stirred. Add adequate salt.
Squeeze the juice from the lemon according to taste.
Serve Hot with mango pickle.
TAMARIND SEVAI:
Traditionally this was the recipe used to make tamarind sevai, but many times, I simply use store bought Pulikachal Mix or home made Puliyodharai.
INGREDIENTS:
Rice sticks cooked.
A small gooseberry shaped tamarind ball soaked in 3 spoons of water and warmed.
3-4 red chillies.
Curry Leaves.
Hing.
PREPARATION:
In the mixer, grind soaked tamarind, red chillies, salt and hing to a fine paste.
In a kadai, add a spoon of oil and when hot, add mustard, curry leaves and this ground paste.
Saute the paste in the oil until its well cooked. As the tamarind is used raw this helps in cooking the ground paste.
When well done, switch off the stove and add cooked rice sticks and stir well.
Alternatively, if you have store bought pulikachal mix simply mix it in to the cooked sevai and add some seasoning with mustard and curry leaves for added flavour and moisture.
This morning when I opened my site, I was pleasantly suprised to see that Chitra of Ratatouille -Any one can cook had nominated me, among others for passing on these cute awards. They are a lovely way of encouraging recent new bloggers like me….Thanks a ton Chitra…you made my day…
Sounds wierd huh? I did too when my mami told me that she had learnt this from a friend. But I really loved it when I had it as it had a very offbeat taste completely different from the regular garam masala flavours of the biriyani, pulav and the like. It`s a rice entree that one can make on no-onion days with a side of tomato-cucumber raita and still feel like you have had a wholesome meal. All it needs is a cup of cut beans to work its way to a winning dish. You could throw in peas, mushrooms,long bean or carrots but I primarily make it with beans.
Keep the cooked rice spread out on a plate to cool. Sprinkle sufficient salt on the rice and keep ready.
In a pan, pour 2 spoons of oil and roast the elaichi, cinnamon,cloves,red chillies,dhania,urad dhal and bengal gram until the lentils turn to a dull brown . Cool and pulse in the mixer to get a coarse powder.
Microwave on HIGH for about 4 mins the chopped beans without adding any water. This would cut the cooking time on the stove to half.
Take a wide mouthed kadai and 2-3 spoons of oil, add the seasonings and the beans.
Sprinkle a pinch of turmeric, and sufficient salt for the beans and cook for about 8-10 minutes.
Add the ground masala and mix it in for a couple minutes and then add the rice.
Mix it all in and garnish with squeezed lemon and dessicated coconut.
Serve HOT with cucumber raita.
NOTES:
You could cook the rice with 3 spoons of coconut milk added to the water, for enhanced flavour and richness.
If the rice tends to be a little dry overall, add a spoon of ghee at the very end.
Capsicum is a vegetable that comes in an exciting range of colours – red, green, yellow and orange, each of them unique in their form and taste. The bell peppers are rich in vitmains and protien and is a natural anti-oxidant and helps wards off infections. Bell Peppers are amognst the most versatile vegetable as they render a unique taste to any dish they are added to, or are involved in elevating the taste of the dish in which is it the main ingredient. They are a part of my weekly grocery shopping list and get cooked at least twice every week. Imagine the possibilities – Capsicum fried rice, capsicum pulav, stuffed capsicum , capsicum kootu, capsicum sambar, grilled capsicum in gumbos and burro bowls, in salads and panninis, in pastas and curries..
This is a traditional south indian method of cooking this vegetable, that goes well with sambar or rasam.
INGREDIENTS:
3 Green Bell Peppers
1 Medium Onion Chopped.
4 spoons of besan or gramflour.
Salt
Oil as required.
Seasoning:
Mustard, Broken Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves.
PREPARATION:
In a kadai, add 2 spoons of oil and when hot, add broken urad dhal, mustard and curry leaves.
When the mustard splutters and the urad dhal is a little browned, add the chopped onions. Allow the onions to brown gradually, as the flavour of the subzi is in this step.
Now add the chopped capsicum, the required salt and mix well. Allow to cook well, for about 15 minutes as capsicum cooks very fast.
Finally, add the 3-4 spoons of besan and mix it in. The besan embraces the aromas and flavours of the cooked vegetables and dissolves in to the subzi.
Serve with a pinch of lemon juice and chopped cilantro.
Anubhavati -Tastes from my kitchen 