Mom's Cooking

I have been unable to blog the past few days, and missed wishing my dear blogger friends a very Happy Independence Day as well as Happy Raksha Bandhan. Hope everyone had lots of fun and food, and celebrated the occasions at home with friends and family.

I have never celebrated Rakhi, and I am glad to have learnt so much about the festival and how it is celebrated through the first FF event: Rakhi – Thread of Love. I prepared Chole Mur Mure Sev Chat (as I would like to call it) when my brother visited on Thursday, and this is how it looked up-close:

To prepare the Chole Mur Mure Sev Chat in the picture, you will need:

White chickpeas/ garbanzo bean - cooked soft - 2 cups
Mur Mure / puffed rice - 1 cup
Sev- 1 cup
Onions - chopped - 1 cup
Tomatoes - chopped - 1 cup
Coriander leaves - chopped - 1/2 cup
Water - 1/4 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Red Chilly powder - 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Tomato Chilly Sauce - 1tbsp (optional)
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt -to taste

Method:

• Heat oil in a pan, add 1/4 cup of chopped onions, saute until light brown, add the boiled chickpeas and the powders along with salt to taste and mix well
• Add water, and keep on low heat until gravy becomes very thick
• Take a serving plate and serve the chickpeas masala on it and spread to form a base
• Add the Mur Mure and Sev on top (preferably with hand)
• Top it with chopped onions, tomatoes, and coriander leaves
• Lastly, sprinkle pepper (and salt, if you wish) on the entire dish

Notes:

• If you have Chat Masala, you can use that in the dish. I did not have it at home, and normally do not use it.
• If you have leftover chole, or white chana masala nothing like it.
• Squeeze a wedge of lemon on top, or mix lemon juice with chopped onions and tomatoes before adding. It tastes even better, but I did not add it as we were having it for tea (with milk).

Another click, top view:

Serve with hot Elaichi/ Cardamom Tea

You may also be interested in: Bread Aloo Sev Chat

Now, let me get to the sweet dish. This is traditionally called Kalathappam, but my version is a variation, and I'd rather not call it by that name, for fear of ridicule from the 'purists,' and more importantly, it has never turned out as good or tasted as good as my mother's! I will call this Gud Appam, for more reasons that I will explain later. First, a look at the dish:

You will need:

Rice - washed and soaked for atleast 4 hours - 1 cup
Cooked Rice - 1/4 cup
Jaggery - 1/2 cup (adjust for sweetness)
Coconut - grated- 1/4 cup (optional, a variation)
Ghee - 2 tsp
Cardamom pods - pounded - 3
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:

• Grind the soaked rice, cooked rice, grated coconut into a batter of dosa batter consistency
• Melt the jaggery in as little water as possible, bring to boil, and strain into the rice batter while it is still hot
• Add the baking soda to the batter and mix well, and leave for 15-20 minutes
• Heat a pressure cooker on low flame, and grease the bottom and sides with ghee
• While the pan is hot, pour the batter and cover the lid without the whistle
• Leave to cook on low flame for 10-15 minutes, and check if batter has risen and cooked evenly (insert knife, it should come clean)
• Let it cool, and with a greased flat ladle take the appam and lay on a clean dry muslin cloth/cake paper?/ aluminium foil

Notes:

• You can try adding roasted nuts or roasted coconut pieces in the batter. The badam/almond you see on top is one that I added for the picture.
• Normally, caramelized onions are used in the recipe
• The batter is similar to Appam batter (without yeast and fermentation process), and jaggery is also added, which is why I like to call this Gud Appam

The picture below is a version I had made earlier, with the caramelized onions, which did not turn out as good, and was not cooked evenly:-(

Serve with hot tea

Both these dishes, without further ado, go to the first Festive Food Event: Rakhi- Thread of Love.

Now, I really don't know if I can call this a chat item, but I have no option. Anyway, this snack, which I prepared as an evening snack on Sunday is courtsey the potatoes that were leftover after boiling them for the Aloo Methi.

There was wheat bread too, and I just improvised again, when R asked for a snack in the evening. It was raining outside, and I too felt like having something a little spicier, than what we normally have.

Things you need:

Wheat bread - cut into small pieces - 4-5 slices

Potatoes - boiled, peeled, and sliced - 3

Onions - finely chopped - 2

Green chilly - 1

Ginger paste - 2 tsp

Red chilly powder - 1 tsp

Pepper - 1/4 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Coriander powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp

Sev or bhujia - 1/2 cup

Coriander leaves - chopped - 1/4 cup

Lemon - 1/2

Salt - to taste

Oil - 2 tbsp

Method:

• Heat oil in pan, and sautee the onions with the green chilly and ginger paste
• Add the potatoes and all the powders and mix
• Mix the bread with salt into the pan and keep stir frying on low flame
• Add pepper, and squeeze the lemon slice evenly over the mixture
• Garnish with the sev/ bhujia, and the coriander leaves

If you have imli chutney or paani, you can add that too to the dish

Serve hot with tomato sauce