For the Love of Rice - FMR

Soaked rice mixed with curds, pearl onions and curd chillies

The ruthlessly hot summer days of Agni nakshatram (The 14 day period in May which is the hottest days of summer) is the time the kids are at home for summer vacation - Like animals fred from the cages, we used to be roaming outside the house, Sun ??? Heat ???? What is that ??? I used to "visit" my home every now and then, as I would be extreeemely busy playing out in the hot sun.

To keep the bodies cool during these hot months, my father used to make Palaya saadam. Literally translated, the word means "old rice", I think the word is no justice for the taste. I dont know what its called in other languages. If so do share it would love to hear about it.

It is so very simple, actually no recipe to this dish, but yet very healthy for its cooling properties. Cooked rice, (usually its left overs, but my amma used to make extra for this) would be soaked in plain water over-night preferably in a clay vessel, then mixed nicely next day morning mix with a dash of buttermilk or curd and salt. Eat(rather drink) it with mor molaga/sundakai vathal/siru vangayam.... The salty and hot crispiness of the "mor molaga" with the cool porridge-like creamy rice - There are no words to decribe the taste of this. The clay vessel imparts a cooling property on this dish. Siruvangayam ( pearl onions ), buttermilk also have the same effect on the body.

Mor molaga is chillies dried in curd, Siru vangayam is pearl onions, Sundakai vathal - I need help!!!. Anyone has pictures or any information about sundakai ?? Its little green colour fruits size of mini marbles that are also dried in curds. I googled and no english equivalent came up, I dont have stock at home too :(

To remember all those fun times and to tackle the heat here in California ( Yes it is hot but I am loving it !!!) , I made this dish this weekend.

A couple of updates: Archana did the research for me and found out about Sundakai. It has good info and details and the medicinal value of sundakai which is essentially a berry. Thanks Archana !!

Vineela has already blogged about this berry. She also has a foto of the sundakai in curd. This is what she has written about the berry :

"Sundakkai"s botanical name is "Solanum torvum" and "Turkey Berry" in English,"Bhankatiya, katai in "Hindi","Usthikaya" in Telugu and "Sundakkai" in Tamil.

Thank you Vineela for the recipe & the info !!

This dish is called pazhankanji / kulutha choru ( Thanks LG & Indianadoc ) and called Paaniwala chawal in hindi.

The dish for my ultimate love of rice - Another entry for FMR

Easy Biriyani

Waking up late on Saturday, no mood to do elaborate cooking, this is the recipe I always fall back to. The flavour for this biriyani comes from the mint added. I just place a bunch of mint over the rice mixture and later after cooking is complete, remove the bunch. Without the need to munch over wilted pudina leaves. I always make this recipe for pot-lucks. If you have never done biriyani this recipe is a good one to start.

This dish can be done both in the pressure cooker or in the rice cooker- My friend Shyam has been asking me the recipe to do this dish. So here it is for him :

Ingredients
- a cup of sona masoori rice
- 2 cups of stock/water
- cup of mixed veggies
- a fistful of soya chunks (optional)
- ginger garlic paste (optional)
- a bunch of mint
- half medium size onion chopped
- 2 green chillies chopped ( more if you would like it hot )
- 2 tsp garam masala ( more if you need it spicy )
- salt
- oil 2 tsps

1. Heat oil in a pan ( or pressure cooker ).
2. Add onion, green chillies, ginger garlic in the same order and saute for a couple of minutes.
3. Add the mixed veggies and soya chunks and saute for another minute
4. Add washed and drained rice, saute for another minute
5. Add the measured quantity of water/stock ( 1:2 rice:water for sonamasoori )
6. Add salt.
7. For Pressure Cooker : Place the mint bunch in one corner, close and place the vent.
For Rice cooker : Transfer the contents from pan to rice cooker and place the mint bunch gently. Cook as usual.

After the rice is cooked and ready to open, discard the mint bunch and stir to mix properly.

Tips:

- To cook in pressure cooker - Keep in between medium-high and wait for two whistles and switch off the stove. Leave it alone for 20 minutes or until the no more pressure inside.
- If you mix the salt and taste the biriyani-water-mixture it should be the right salt content for that solution.

My entry to "FMR - For the love of rice-by Paz" and "next weekend's curry mela by Anthony".

Tag World Confessions - Meme

Another meme - I was tagged by Sudhav of En-Samayal. Here goes the list :

5 Items in my Freezer :

1. Frozen veggies
2. Frozen fruits - Sappota, Pineapple, Berries
3. Fat-free sorbet, fat-free choco bar for Ravi
4. Frozen parathas and pastry puff - No I dont use them anymore. But "thooki poda manasilla" ( Dont have the mind to trash em )
5. A true confession - Heavy cream !! No no not for cooking - But for the face to apply with turmeric - never had the time to open it or apply - he he he !

5 Items in my closet :

1. My clothes
2. My clothes
3. My clothes
4. My clothes
5. Very very little of ravi's clothes ( he he heeeee )

5 Items in my car :

1. Cetaphil lotion
2. Nickels and dimes
3. Comb
4. Vehicle registration
5. CDs - Telugu songs, tamil songs, a couple of hindi CDs, MS CDs

5 Items in my purse :

1. License
2. Credit Cards
3. Bills & Receipts
4. Grocery cards
5. Insurance cards

Let me tag - Santhi, Tanuja and Vaishali.

10 things I miss of Mom's cooking

Garam Masala of Spice is right started this meme and tagged me. What a wonderful way to remember dearmost amma !!!

Here is my best 10 this that I miss about her cooking (having to live so far away)

10. Mutton Biriyani - The way to the dining table is thro my mouth !!

9. All the other Non veg - Nethili kozhambu, Fish fry, prawn curry, dried fish fry, fish curry, mutton kurma

8. Filter Coffee

7. Puttu, Idiyappam

6. Appam, thengai paal ( coconut milk )

5. Urundai kozhambu ( Chickpeas balls in kuruma )

4. Karakozhambu & urulakizhangu puttu ( red hot currysauce and potato curry )

3. Beetroot halwa

2. Right from scratch Gulab jamoon

1. Hot hot food served always fresh !!

So now, let me tag the following fellow-bloggers:

Vineela
Pusiva
Santhi
Meenakshi
Vaishali
Indira
Kitchenmate

Lets remember Amma one more time today !!!

Nature at its best - Oahu, Hawaii

This blog post is for everyone who asked about details about the trip and for their queries about Hawaii. Shankari put the words exactly in my mouth - Its the ideal India we are used to - Remember those summer holidays when we cousins used to crowd up at our grandma's home ?? Perched beneath the lushest trees, crowding under the bushes, trying to cook in miniature clay vessels (choppu), busy making chillipowder from bricks for sambar - Thats what I got a glimpse of in Hawaii.

Plants and trees that we know of from our childhood we can see it there - mango tree, drumstick, badam tree, veli mullu tree (the tree with big thorns with yellow flowers) and ofcourse coconut. These trees are found all over, especially in the quiet parts of the north shore. We visited Oahu - capital is Honululu. I actually wanted to visit Mauii but could not get tickets. We got tickets on our miles had a pay a little more but you could get a decent rate between 500 to 600 dollars when booked in advance, ie from Sanfrancisco.

Accomodation:

There are too many hungama hotels in Waikiki - A relatively quiet one we stayed is the Aqua Palms, Ala moana Blvd - Right opposite to the Hawaii Hilton Village. Very decent rooms, excellent service, very neat rooms. The service was really great.

Must do :

Most big hotels have an Orbitz representative at the front desk. Tours depending on your personality is available. Examples of tours are

1. Rain forest treking ( worth every penny for filling our lungs with the fresh mossy air ) - Only with a guide
2. Helicopter rides can get to the parts of the rain forest that are not accessible by foot
3. Adventures activities like scuba diving, snorkeling, jetskiing, etc. For the very ( to the power of infinity ) brave - lock urself in a cage and dwelve into the waters for a brush with the Sharks
4. Dinner cruise - We did not do this. Did not feel it was worth it.
5. Trip to Mauii - A one or two day trip to Mauii from Oahu siteseeing and back. We did not do it. For the first time we did not want to rush and see everything
6. Submarine tours - Not for me. So dont know much details about it.

We did the rain forest treking and helicopter ride - It was very memorable. Some are best done by ourselves with a rental car.

1. Pearl Harbour - Must visit, do it at the last day because its a couple of minutes from the airport
2. North shore - North shore and west shore are not much disturbed by the invasion of tourists. Beaches in North shore are very rough and most of the beaches have rocks covered with moss so its very dangerous. Tide is also very high.
3. Drive along the north shore you can find local shops selling tropical fruits and if your lucky like us, find some tender coconuts.
4. Dole Plantation - Its a cute place, Dont miss the toy train ride and feel like a kid. Be patient they are going to introduce Sugarcane, Banana, Mango trees to you. Also find lots of hibiscus. Pineapple ice cone and a farmers market that sells papaya, mango and tender coconut are a must-trys
5. Waikiki Beach safest beaches with some land fill, virtually no waves- very good for a non-swimmer
6. Water world Its best for kids, but eh ? so what if you are over 25 ? We did enjoyed it. Entry ticket is 45 dollars per person. With that you can do all the water rides you want to. Kids fee are little subsidized.

Good to knows :

• Read reviews of hotels before checking in.
• You have to pay a price for views of mountain and beach from your room.
• All fast foods found here are at the island

Dont Miss :

• Ducking into the waters in Waikiki. The waters are very safe here. Various activities like water cycling ( dont know if thats the right name ), boating, skating lessons are found here. This stretch of beach is very very busy thanks to the beach front hotels, but at the same time also very safe with number of sea patrols. Waters are not deep because of the land fill. Waves are not huge. After the stint at the beach buy a couple of cheap mats and relax under a garden of lush coconut trees with the sun shining. Heaven ! I am in Heaven !
• Tropical delights - Tender coconut water, mangoes, guavas in the North shore - I was surprised to find people toooo civilized in Waikiki that they did not know that you can drink the tender coconut water..What a pity !!!
• Grilling fish - if you are non-veggie. The fish that we tried was whole aku ( baby tuna ) - Our room had some plates, cutlery and a mini-refrigerator. If you go to china town you the get the catch of fish the same day. For that you have to go there pretty early round 6 AM. 6AM me ?? On a vacation day ?? Forget it. I got the whole fish that was brought in one day earlier in a foodland. Cleaned it with fork and knife and massaged it nicely with salt and pepper (lots of it !!). Refrigerated it and had a ball of time grilling. Its THE BEST MEMORY from Hawaii for both of us !!
• Kona coffee - Best place to try it is the Wailana Coffee house on AlaMoana opposite the Hawaii Hilton
• Coastal and rain forest drive - There are three highways H1, H2 and H3. Cover as much as possible to have incredible view of the beaches and rain forest. Some areas are not accessible. Enquire before driving. We had a GPS in the car.

Dining :

• -- Its better not to dine in a restaurant for dinners unless you know what you are getting into. Very expensive. 40 to 50 dollars for an entree meal and a drink for two.
• -- Dont hope for an indian restaurant.
• -- Wailana is a favourite coffee house serves best coffee. Open 24 hours a day
• -- All american fast food are found, Jack in the box, McDonalds etc

Budget :

For a couple would be around $ 2500 to $3000 for 5 days stay including the airfare and rental car.

All said, both Ravi and I are busy now applying fading cream to remove the tan, dont realize how much the sun can tan you in such a short span !! I am atleast 3 shades darker, darkest in the face !!!

I have posted some fotos to flickr. You can see them here

Foodie Pics from Recent Trip to Hawaii

Roadside shop selling tropical fruits

Island Treats - Tender Coconut-Ilaneer, Mango, Guava

Feast ! Feast ! Tender-Coconut (Ilaneer), mango, guava

Dole Farm - Pineapple

Tindora ( Kovakai, Dondakaya in wild )

Fresh Fish from the Island - Grilled

Grilling !! Grilling !!

Sprouting on its own - Coconut

Jihvā For Strawberries - JFI 2 - Strawberry Pachadi - Relish

I have stayed out of blogging for a while now. I had a wonderful vacation and now I am switching between jobs and adjusting to the new routine - So I really have to stay out of the wonderful food blogging until I find time and get into the groove. I will surely be blog hopping every now and then. And Sailu count me in for the next Jihva for Dals - Until then take care all you lovely fellow bloggers and do take good care - With love and wishes to all of you.

So here is for this months' Jihva - I wanted to try out a very indian recipe with strawberries, which are not much used in India. I came up with the "Strawberry pachadi", which is exactly done like the "mango pachadi" I have blogged earlier. Pachadi could mean anything from pickle to raita - the closest would be relish.


Strawberry Pachadi on Microwaved Pappads
Ingredients
7 small frozen strawberries
2 tablespoon of jaggery ( or sugar )
2 dried red chillies
for tempering one tsp oil, quarter tsp mustard, 1 tsp cumin, 4 curry leaves.

1. Boil the strawberries with little water and a pinch of turmeric.
2. Heat oil and temper it with mustard, cumin and curry leaves.
3. Dissolve jaggery in water and strain to remove impurities
4. Add the boiled and mashed strawberries and the jaggery to the oil. Add salt to taste
5. Reduce to the consistency of ketchup and enjoy as a condiment