Garden Update and Guess

Does anyone know what kind of squash these are?

How does my garden grow
Over the years as we have played around growing different vegetables in the garden patch, we have come to realize that a few plants are easy to grow while others are a bit harder.

Flowers of the mystery squash

Preparing the soil
Growing plants in pots has worked better than growing them in the ground. In a pot you have control over the soil whereas in the ground, the soil has to be worked mixed in with compost to loosen up the thick clay soil which seems to be the feature in most areas around here. If you are blessed with good soil just work in some compost. A compost pile is easy to make if you have an area that can be dedicated to it. A hole in the ground near your garden patch is sufficient. Add all the vegetable scraps and any organic vegetable matter from your kitchen and the compost can be used in about 8-10 months.


Zucchinis
Zucchinis in fact have been the easiest to grow. They flower and fruit regularly. 2 plants are enough to provide fruit for the whole season. A spot that gets good sun and soil with good drainage is sufficient for these to grow. I am trying organic zucchinis this time which are not as prolific as the hybrid varieties. These do not lend themselves well to container growing. The branches fall out and tend to break. Ground seems to be the perfect for growing these.

Green beans and peas
Requires cool temperatures for the flowers to set. This requires that peas are started early (late winter) and the growing season ends by the end of June or the first few weeks of July. There should be 10 plants for beans and about 20 plants for peas for a decent harvest.

Tomatoes
Any novice gardener should start with tomatoes. They do not need any special attention and are very rewarding. A sunny spot is all they need. Containers or the ground work equally good.

Indian vegetables - bitter gourd, snake gourd and ridge gourd
Of all the gourd the bitter gourd has been the easiest to grow. To get the seeds to sprout is the hardest job of all. Soak them in water for 24-48 hours before putting them in the dirt and keep it moist in a sunny spot to sprout. Plenty of climbing space is required for them, especially the snake gourd and bitter gourd. We prefer growing them in containers

Brinjal or eggplants
They sprout and grow quickly but are beset by tiny beetles which feed on the leaves leaving them with tiny holes all over. They require heat and a lot of sunshine.
Growing them in containers has worked best for us.

Treatment for the bugs
Blend mint leaves extract the juice, add in dish washing liquid, red chili powder and spray the water over the leaves.

Chili plants
Chili plants like the tomato plants are no fuss and grow pretty much anywhere as long as they have good sunlight.

Fertilizers and nutrition
I use blood meal and occasionally some organic fertilizer. Keep an eye out for local farms which give away horse/cow manure for free. Add them into the soil before planting and spread them around the plants as they start growing. I also save all the water after rinsing out milk bottles, rice or dal and use them for the plants.

Produce from the Garden

Date	Vegetable	Quantity	Recipe
June 29,2010	Green beans	16 Green beans	Korean squash with green beans and Channa dal
July 6,2010	Swiss Chard	4 cups of chopped greens	Chard Sambhar
July 7,2010	Bitter Gourd	6 gourds	Bitter Gourd with black channa
July 7 ,2010	Green beans	40 Green beans	Green beans kootu

Sweet and Savory Sandhavai / Idiyappam - Rice String hoppers

There are a few childhood favorites where a mere mention of it, transports you to happier and carefree times. Sandhavai as we called the more popular idiyappam has that special effect for me. In the coconut rich villages of KonguNaadu this was indeed a very popular dish.

Sandhavai press

My FIL shared a little bit of folk history about this dish as well. Newly married couples invited to people's homes for virundhu (rougly translates to lunch or dinner invitation) were often served this dish as a custom. Beyond that none of us have any idea what the significance of the dish itself is.


Sounds and looks like a lot of work but it is not. If you have the sandhavai press the rest is easy. The batter is made with regular idli rice, steamed in idli moulds, stuffed into the moulds and then pressed to get string hoppers. No fermenting of the batter is required.




The string hoppers are served with sweetened coconut milk for the sweet version or stir fried for the savory version with flavors ranging from tomato,lemon, tamarind to spicy coconut.

Savory

Sweet - Plain with coconut milk

Sweet and Savory Sandhavai / Idiyappam (string hoppers)
Ingredients
1. 4 cups of par boiled rice (idli rice) - soak for 3-4 hours or enough to grind
2. Salt to taste

For the Sweet
2. 2 -4 cups of coconut milk (tinned would work
3. 2 cardamom pods powdered
4. 4-5 tbsp of sugar

For the Savory (4 cups of sandhavai)
5. 1/2 cup chopped onions
6. 4-5 green chilies chopped
7. 4 tomatoes chopped
8. seasonings: cumin, mustard, curry leaves
9. 1 tsp turmeric powder
10. 1 tsp of oil and salt to taste

Method
For the Sandhavai
1. Grind the soaked rice to a very smooth pourable consistency (don't worry about too thin a consistency, everything works )
2. Grease the idli moulds and pour the batter and steam cook for 10-12 minutes
3. While still hot stuff the idlis into the press and press to get the sandhavai.
4. Set some aside for the sweet and roughly break apart the other half for the savory version

Savory Sandhavai
1. Heat oil in a flat bottomed pan and add the seasonings
2. Add the onions and green chilies and saute till they start to turn translucent
3. Add the turmeric powder, salt and tomatoes and saute for a minute or two
4. Cover with a lid and let it cook for 8-10 minutes till the tomatoes are soft
5. Mix in the sandhavai and turn off the heat

Sweet Sandhavai
1.In a sauce pan add the coconut milk, cardamom and sugar and heat the coconut milk through stirring. Take care not to boil the milk or let it curdle

Serve over the plain sandhavai