Spicy Roasted Cashews

Another new year is upon us. Last year had been tumultuous in many ways, personally for me and the world over. I can't watch the news without getting angry, depressed, frustrated or a combination of all three. I guess it takes all of our combined efforts to pitch in to do our part to make the world a better place. Laziness, lack of time (convenient excuse) all have combined in keeping me from doing my bit. Maybe the coming year I get off my butt and actually do something.

People who have so little seem to be the happiest and those of us who have a lot seem to be weighed down with all the stress of thinking about what we don't have. So I will think positively of what I have rather than being burdened with what I don't have. I am not big into making New Year resolutions because invariably I end up breaking them in the first few weeks. But I am making one which I hope is going to be easier to keep. So the resolution I take for the new year is to be happy no matter what.

Happy New Year
Happy New Year
Happy New Year

I should actually be taking a resolution to not eat so much sugar. This is an ongoing resolution every year so it is not so special. But there are some snacks which can prevent or control some of the sugar intake. This is one such snack. These can be made with raw cashews or unsalted roasted cashews. Spicing the cashews myself, I can control the amount of salt and the spices that go into it. Also this way it is much more fun :)

Spicy Roasted Cashews
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients

1. 3 cups of raw cashews or unsalted roasted cashews
2. 2 tsp of ghee or any oil
3. 1/2 tbsp. of chili powder
4. 2 tsp of salt
5. 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Method

1. If you are using raw cashews roast in a toaster oven at 375F for about 12-15 minutes. First roast for 6 minutes, check and then roast again in 2 minute intervals to avoid burn. Set aside.
2. In a wide mouthed sauté pan heat the ghee/oil and when it turns hot (not smoking) add the powders and salt and mix it for 30 seconds.
3. Bring the heat to low and add in the cashews, mix it well so all the nuts are coated. Turn off the heat.
4. Cool and store in an airtight container.

No guilt tasty snack is ready.

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Gongura Chicken - Sorrel Chicken - Sour and Spicy Chicken

We visited Jamaica for a short trip. As we were driving from the airport to where we were staying the bus driver pointed to this big red bucket which was an advertisement for KFC. The bus driver immediately said, Jamaican chicken is far better than US chicken - not pumped with hormones. Another bus driver said KFC is short form of 'keep from cooking' and while in Jamaica jerk chicken is what we should eat and it was the best. Just my kind of people who want to eat real food. It is also sad how the rest of world views American food as pumped with additivies and hormones.

There is also a campaign in Jamaica which asks 'What is in our food?' the billboards of which are everywhere. To be aware of what is in the food we eat and where the food is sourced from is probably good resolve to take for the new year - yah mon :) Of all the many things that Americans do well, cooking food and eating real food is not what they do best.

Hope all of you had a good Christmas celebration and are enjoying the holidays. The best part of the holidays is time spent with family and friends cooking and eating simple but homey foods.



I did not grow up eating Gongura/Sorrel and have always assumed that Gongura needs to be made into a paste for it to be a eaten. While blending is required for a few of the recipes, there are some where the taste comes from cooking the leaves and leaving them as they are. This Gongura chicken recipe being one of them. This is lot easier with no blending and such. The ingredients are simple and the cooking process easy.

I normally do not precook the chicken before adding them to the sauce but here the chicken is cooked before it is added to the masala. If you are worried that all the flavor will be lost don't be, we would add just the right amount of water for the chicken to be cooked so not to throw away any of the excess liquid.

Here is the recipe in pictures,

Cook the chicken with some turmeric and tiny bit of water. While that is cooking, sauté the onions, ginger and garlic, the powders and the tomatoes till they are mushy.
Add in the chicken and cook till the masala is well coated. Add in the gongura leaves.
Cook till the gongura leaves are nice and mushy and till the desired consistency is reached.

It is really a simple recipe and for the time spent your taste buds will be overwhelmed and happy.

Gongura Chicken
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 1/2 lbs of chicken (I usually uses thighs and legs cut into smaller pieces)
2. 1/2 cups of finely chopped red onions
3. 2 ripe tomatoes chopped
4. 3-4 garlic cloves chopped
5. 1 inch piece of ginger grated
6. 6-8 green chilies slit
7. 3-4 cups of loosely packed gongura leaves
8. a handful of coriander leaves roughly chopped
9. salt to taste
10. 4 tsp of turmeric powder
11. 1/2 tsp garam masala powder - powdered cinnamon, cloves, star anise and fennel seeds
12. 2 tsp each of chili powder, coriander powder and 1/2 tsp cumin powder<


13. seasonings : curry leaves and cumin seeds


14. 1 tbsp. oil

Method

1. Wash the gongura and spread it on a kitchen towel to remove any excess moisture. Do this while the masala is getting cooked.
2. Wash and clean the chicken and cut them into bite sized pieces, meat with bones tend to be tastier. Cook till the chicken is mostly cooked with 2 tsp of turmeric powder and just a tbsp. of water for about 8 minutes. While this is happening,
3. In a wide mouthed pan, add oil let it get hot, add in the seasoning cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add the garam masala powder and very quickly,
4. add in the onions and green chilies and let the onion sauté till they are nice and brown.
5. Add in the ginger and garlic and sauté for a minute more, be careful because the grated ginger tends to burn. Add in the coriander leaves
6. Add the coriander, cumin and chili powder and sauté for about 30 seconds and then add in the tomatoes, salt and sauté till the tomatoes are nice and mushy, about 4-5 minutes.
7. Add in the chicken with whatever moisture is in the cooked chicken. Cook for about 2-3 minutes.
8. Add in gongura leaves and continue to mix it in. The leaves should wilt and get sort of mushy. Continue to sauté till the required consistency is reached. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
9. Note: If you want a drier consistency sauté for a while longer till you get the desired texture.

This tastes absolutely delicious with some steamed rice. Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Pumpkin with Black Chickpeas - Pumpkin Kootu

The Medical opinion in the US is that pain can be cured by eating a lot of medications. But is dulling the pain the motive or curing the underlying condition? Eating good good is perhaps the only real option we have on our hands. Eating good requires some planning, some control and some work but it is possible and your body will be happier for it. I do not believe hast and fast rules regarding eating without flexibility. But if you try eating good 75% of the time in a day is by far better than trying to do it 100% and failing. This article - 'Our Dangerous Fear of Pain', gives some idea about the overuse of pain killers.

If you have not guessed by now, pumpkins is my favorite vegetable now. I had saved a few from the summer and they are delicious any way they are cooked. So when I come across a recipe with pumpkins I give it a try pretty soon.

This recipe on maayeka - Kale Chane Aur Kaddu Ki Sabzi had 2 of my favorite ingredients pumpkin and black chickpeas. I modified the recipe a little bit to suit our tastes.



One of my favorite combinations of vegetables.

Peel, clean and cut the pumpkin into cubes, cook the chickpeas and set aside.
In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil and add the seasonings, followed by the onions, saute till the onions are translucent. Then add the pumpkin pieces.
Blend the paste ingredients to a fairly smooth paste.
Add in the tamarind extract and cooked chickpeas. Let the pumpkin get half cooked.
Add in the coconut paste and cook till the moisture has been absorbed.

The simplest of the curries is probably the best in terms of taste. The freshest ingredients make anything taste great.

Pumpkin with Black Chickpeas - Pumpkin Kootu
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 4 cups of cubed pumpkin
2. 1 1/2 cups of dried black chickpeas
3. 1/4 cup of onions
4. 3 garlic cloves diced
5. 1/2 cup of tamarind extract
6. seasonings: curry leaves, 1/4 tsp of mustard seeds and cumin seeds
7. salt to taste
8. 2 tsp of oil
For the paste
9. 1/4 cup of grate fresh or frozen coconut
10. 4 green chilies
11. 1/2 inch piece of ginger
12. handful of coriander leaves
13. cumin seeds a pinch
14. few coriander seeds
15. few peppercorn

Method

1. Cook the black chick peas. I used an Instant Pot and cooked for 8 minutes.
2. Cut, peel and remove the seeds from the pumpkin and cut into cubes.
3. In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil add the seasonings and when the mustard seeds pops add the onions and garlic and saute the onions till translucent.
4. Add in the pumpkin pieces and let it cook.
5. In the meantime make a paste of the ingredients under 'For the Paste' to a fairly smooth paste.
6. When the pumkpin is half cooked, add in the cooked chick peas and the tamarind extract. Let it come to a boil.
7. Add in the paste, salt and 1/4 cup of water and let it finish cooking. Let the sauce thicken and turn off the heat.

The curry can be eaten with rice or some soft chapathis.



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Vangi Bath - Brinjal Rice with green brinjals

I started growing the small long green egg plants to get some diversity in the egg plant varieties as I usually grow only the purple ones. These long green eggplants are no less, they are nice and creamy when cooked and works great in a vangi bath. It cooks quickly and maintains its shape. All Bangloreans I know, friends and family are in agreement that these eggplants are the ones that are good in vangi bath.

A friend from Bangalore gave me some home made vangi bath powder so there was no excuse to postpone making it the authentic way. I have a version here where I sauteed the brinjals in the spice, add water and cook it in them. But the method in this recipe is far more tastier.

Here is the recipe in pictures,

Wash and set the rice to cook by adding salt and a bit of oil.
In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil and add seasonings followed by the onion and chilies.
Once the onions are sauteed add the cut brinjals and saute till they are almost cooked.
Add in the tomatoes and cook till they are mushy. Add the vangi bath powder and mix it in.
Let the masala be well coated on to the brinjals. Fluff up the cooked rice.
Now add the rice into the masala and mix gently so al the rice is coated nicely.

Vangi Bath
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cup of Surti Kolam Rice or Basmati Rice
2. 3 cups of sliced eggplant about 1 - 1 1/2 inch piece
3. 1/2 cup of chopped red onions
4. 4-5 slit fresh green or red chilies
5. 5 small ripe tomatoes chopped
6. 1 tbsp vangi bath powder
7. seasonings: curry leaves, mustard seeds and 2 tsp split urad dal
8. salt to taste
9. 1 tbsp oil

Method

1. Cook the rice with salt and about 1/2 tbsp of the oil and set aside to cool. I used an Instant Pot and cooked for 10 minutes. Fluff and set aside.
2. In a wide mouthed pan, heat oil and add split urad dal and roast till slightly brown, then add mustard and wait for it to pop.
3. Add in the onions and chilies and saute till the onions are translucent.
4. Add in the sliced brinjal and saute till the brinjals get soft and are almost cooked.
5. Add in the tomatoes and cook till they are mushy and coated on the brinjal.
6. Add the vangi bath powder and mix well and salt, since the rice also has salt be watchful. Add a bit more oil if needed and turn off the heat.
7. Now add in the cooked rice and mix it in gently. Use cutting motion which prevents the rice from getting mushy. The rice should be well coated with the masala.

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Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate chips and Nuts

Even a news junky like myself cannot stand the news these days. The sound of Trump's nauseating voice just make me depressed and wondering... If there are any Trump fans out there don't worry I am an equal opportunity hater as far as politicians are concerned. Obama did not make me any less depressed! So there.

But one thing that got me very curious was this repeated use of the word 'deep state' by Trump himself, his cronies and everyone from the right wing talk world and I start to wonder to myself if it is not Trump and his myriad of corrupt cronies who could this word actually be referring to? Helpfully enough there was an article in the Washington Post by the person who popularized the word 'deep state' and about what this word actually means. It is not what Trump would like us to believe, that is there is a shadowy cabal of bureaucrats plotting his downfall. Instead this word means 'corporate power' and 'moneyed influencers'. There that actually makes sense. So in this confusion between truth and fiction Trump thrives.
The original essay - Anatomy of the Deep State.

Pumpkin had been a vegetable that I had always liked, the mildly sweet creamy vegetable was not on the menu often but when it made its appearance it was special. The pumpkins available in the grocery stores here in the US were not as sweet and texture was not creamy as I would have liked. So for the longest time butternut squash filled the void till I started growing pumpkins for myself. I am slowly realizing the versatility of pumpkins. Pumpkins - the icon of Fall is going to be my favorite vegetable for the next couple of months.

Thanksgiving is just a couple of days away and given a choice I will make the complete menu with just pumpkin :) I am not a big fan of pumpkin pies, so for this reason I had to find something else to replace the pumpkin pie on the Thanksgiving table. I could make this pumpkin halwa and with an Instant Pot an extremely easy dish to make if you have a sweet tooth. But my absolute favorite is the recipe that follows for Pumpkin Bread, the pumpkin makes this bread absolutely moist and delicious.

I steamed pumpkin cubes and mashed them. You could roast the pumpkin too if you wanted. Use unsweetened canned pumpkin puree if you do not have pumpkin. Get your family excited this Thanksgiving by making this pumpkin bread. I guarantee that no one would be disappointed. I followed the banana bread recipe by replacing the mashed bananas with mashed pumpkin.

I also have an Olive Oil Squash Bread if you want a slightly different version with nutmeg and ginger powder.

The Banana Bread recipe is here. Here is the recipe in pictures of the Pumpkin Bread. So if any of you out there wondering about replacing pumpkin pie with something else that is much to your liking you got to try this recipe.

Whish the eggs till frothy, add the butter and sugar and whisk till well mixed.
In a mixing bowl, take all the dry ingredients add the mashed pumpkin, mix it in and add the whisked egg-butter-sugar to the flour.
Add the milk so the batter comes together and pour into greased baking pans.
Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated 350F oven.
Cool on a wire rack for at least half hour before slicing.

Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips and Nuts
Preparation Time:20 minutes
Baking Time:45 minutes
Ingredients

1. 2 cups of unbleached white whole wheat flour
2. 1 3/4 cups of Pumpkin Puree*
3. 2 tsp baking soda
4. 1/2 tsp baking piwder
5. 2 eggs
6. 1/4 cups of coarsely chopped roasted unsalted almonds
7. 1 cup of raw sugar
8. 6 tbsp of unsalted butter (bring to room temperature) + 1/4 tsp of salt, skip salt if using salted butter
9. 1 cup whole milk (use just enough to moisten the batter)
10. 1/2 - 3/4 cup of chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. *Cut pumpkin, remove seeds and pith, peel and cut into 2-3 inch cubes and in a steamer steam for about 8 minutes, let cool and mash with a back of a spatula. Set aside.
3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and baking soda in a mixing bowl.
4. Using a egg beater or hand whisk, whisk the egg till it is nice and fluffy.
5. Add butter, sugar and run the beater a bit longer so they mix well.
6. Get a 9 x 5 inch rectangular loaf pan ready by greasing the pan with butter and dust with flour if needed (I did not).
7. Add the mashed pumpkin into the flour and gently mix it in.
8. Now add the whisked ingredients in batches to the flour and with a spatula mix. Add as much milk to moisten the batter. Use only as much as needed. I needed the full cup of milk. Do not over mix.
9. Add the chocolate chips and almonds and gently mix so they spread evenly.
10. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top.
11. Bake for 45 minutes till a skewer or tooth pick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Delicious warm or cold.

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