A perennial favorite: SOUTH INDIAN CURD RICE

It is going to be over a hundred degrees today and the only thing I want for dinner is curd rice. The TV anchor said Monday was the last day of summer. For me it is summer till the heat is over.
Sandy Nag's post about curd rice reminded me I haven't posted my recipe which has been 'on hold' all summer. Better late than later...
Curd rice (Thair saadam) is very popular in Tamil Nadu, where both my parents grew up. Both were originally from Andhra where its know as perugu annam. Whatever the name, it is said when a South Indian is eating and reaches for the curd rice it is their Jana Gana Mana...meaning end of the meal; the same way the Indian National Anthem was played at the end of a movie, when I was growing up.
Curd Rice was the first dish I was asked to bring to a potluck in the US. Too nervous, as a newlywed who had to wade through the snow in a grand saree, wearing knee length leather boots, holding the saree above my knees (that's how high the snow drifts were that first winter in Michigan), I gladly agreed to HD's suggestion that he make the curd rice and we not mention the source to anyone! Everyone loved it and I passed my first cooking challenge in the eyes of the South Indian community married ladies! (Re. the boots they were removed in the foyer and one then slipped on dress shoes or fancy slippers for the party.)
Over the years I thought I had perfected my curd rice till a year ago I was asked to make it for a special birthday and came up with the final version with ideas from my mother's recipe, HD, and 7 cooking blogs; each giving me one idea and enabling me to come up with the perfect version of this beloved, traditional dish....

1 cup plain rice. (not Basmathi)
1/2 gallon more or less cold milk. (I used non-fat)
1/2-1 Tbsp thick curd at room temperature PLUS
2 Tbsp curd PLUS
1 cup thick, cold curd.
1-2 tsps sugar.
Salt
1 Tbsp fresh, grated ginger.
2 tsps ghee.
Seasoning: Rai, urad, karipata, red chillies, hing.

Wash and cook the rice with extra water so it is soft. Some people add salt while cooking; others add it later.
When rice is cooked, add ghee and mash rice with back of spoon to get half mashed consistency. (Don't omit the ghee step...you will be surprised how good the end result is.)
Add cold milk and mix first with a spoon, then with your hand, to ensure there are no lumps...it will be lukewarm...be generous with the milk as it shouldn't be too thick.
In the center, make a small depression and place a tablespoon of curd at room temperature in it.
Cover and keep dish in a warm place if you live in a cold place...mine is kept on the counter top.
In a separate pan, in one tsp of oil and season rai, fry urad golden brown, add karipata, red chillies and hing to taste. Remove and reserve 1/3 of the seasoning. Add grated ginger to the rest and fry for a minute...cool, add two Tbsps curd mixed with 1/3 cup water to this with sugar, stir to combine and refrigerate. This HAS to be done ahead for flavors to develop and permeate the curd properly. I use extra ginger as we love the flavor and it helps with 'pitha/bile' in the heat...use less till you find your own satisfaction level with the taste.
Eight hours later your curd rice should be ready for the next stage (6 on a very hot day). You have literally made the curd in your curd rice dish!
My mother always said our Brahmin neighbors made curd rice this way overnight and took it to work the next day as it was the most inexpensive way to do it.
I refrigerate for 6-8 hrs at this point as curd rice needs time to develop the perfect tinge of slight sourness and has to be cold. Some people prefer it at room temperature.
If you can't wait for this, buy one of the sour yogurts like Mountain High or Dannon and add that at this point.
Just before eating, add the last cup of thick cold curd, your rice should be ready. I do this just to move the taste from grand to perfect. It should be thick dropping consistency.
Decorate with the 1/3 seasoning, set aside earlier.
Enjoy with lime pickle and paapad/appalam.

TIPS: for a shortcut version I just season the curd and keep it in a container and add it to my rice. 
I would only use the 'perfect' version for an occasion.

September's Tomato Chutney.

Did you know September is fruit and vegetable month in the USA? I saw this mentioned in an article yesterday, so before September is over:

Please name your favorite 1. fruit and 2. veggie recipe.

I can get away with tomato chutney as its a veggie that's a fruit!
How do you tell if its a veggie or a fruit: the Internet says 'if it has seeds, its a fruit." Well, all my veggies has seeds or are the seed of the plant except for spinach/greens/mushrooms but that's discussion or another day.

One of HD's great loves in the world of food is tomatoes, so when my neighbor came over with tomatoes from her garden (2 large ones and a bowl of cherry tomatoes...yes its still warm enough for the tomato plants to keep producing), I made the chutney that was a favorite on my mother's table at breakfast time. I didn't tell HD about the cherry tomatoes being incorporated in the dish as he's a food 'purist' and for some recipes wants exactly what was used in the past/original recipe with none of my 'let's try something new' methods....but I digress.
He loved it and I just smiled all evening. 
Thanks to Donna Pinto mentioning her mother's recipe...I remembered I had yet to post this.

Tomato Chutney

4 Tomatoes, cubed.
1 onion chopped.
1/2 Tbsp grated ginger.
Rai, jeera, hing, karipata.
Haldi, chilli powder or chopped green chillies, salt.
Chopped coriander.

Heat 1 Tbsp oil, season rai, jeera, hing and karipata.
Fry onion till light golden brown, add tomatoes, ginger, haldi, chill powder/chopped green chilies and salt.
Let it cook till semi thick. (The more guests that showed up without warning for breakfast in India, the more watery this chutney became.)
Top of with chopped coriander or incorporate the coriander while cooking tomatoes.

We had it for breakfast with parathas in India, but it goes with any type of roti/dosa. I thicken the leftover and have it as a sandwich filling with cheese or cream cheese the next day for lunch...satisfies my Indian taste buds.

Quick, simple, very tasty.

VARIETY IS THE SPICE OF LIFE.

At the doctor's today picked up a magazine and started reading about FOOD RESEARCH, one of my favorite topics. Here's one of the tips from the article,'50 Things Food Manufacturers Won't Tell You.'
IT emphasizes what Indian culture used to stress in the past, and I hope will continue to do in the present: Variety is the spice of life but it is also a MUST for health.
Kantha Shelke, PhD, a food scientist who specializes in ingredients at Corvus Blue, a Chicago based research firm, writes:
"The concept of 'the dose makes the poison' is very important in the realm of food, especially when it comes to natural flavors and artificial colors. All food ingredients and nutrients-even those we need to survive-have a threshold for safety. When caramel color was approved, nobody anticipated how much of it would be used in the food and beverage industry. It's in a lot of foods you don't expect: certain soups, pilaf, and hamburgers for example. So if everything you eat is from a box, a can or a bag, then you may get too much and have reason for concern. But if you eat a variety of foods, you don't have to worry."

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Geeta Kakade

October 9 at 10:15am · Edited

Mango Fool

"Try this Fool."
"What! How dare you? Who are you calling a Fool. YOU *&^#* fool."
"No, no, no, no! Not that kind of fool Ms. Short Fuse...this kind...."

"Foole is first mentioned as a dessert in 1598 (together with trifle),[1] although the origins of gooseberry fool may date back to the 15th century.[2] The earliest recipe for fruit fool dates to the mid 17th century." Wikipedia.

This desert was brought to India by the British and has an original version that combines heavy whipped cream, custard, sugar, flavorings. Strawberries, raspberries and the original gooseberries are the fruits named but try any fruit you think will do well in the recipe.
My version lives up to my reputation of one always on the lookout for 'simple' and 'quick' recipes. The original version is available on the Internet.
A fool can be made with any really ripe fruit you want...at a pinch you can use canned fruit like peaches too.
I found some Kent mango slices in my freezer and decided to use them. Kent is the best variety of mango we get in Southern CA and so when the short season is at its peak, I freeze some of the fruit.
I cut up a couple of slices to tiny cubes and set that aside.
I whisked the slices of fruit in the food processor till pulpy, not smooth.
Then I folded in whipped cream from a tub (you can use fat free, sugar free or the original version.) I added a spoon of vanilla, 1/2 a tsp of fresh ginger juice and half a tsp of cardamom powder (all optional). Instead of folding in by hand, you can continue doing this in the FP at it's lowest setting. When done add the mango cubes set aside.
This recipe does not have proportions as you have to fold in enough whipped cream till you see a setting consistency then spoon into dessert cups/servers and chill thoroughly. The advantage is you can add more or less fruit.
To the small tub of whipped cream I added roughly the same amount of fruit.
Top off with a dollop of whipped cream and a sprinkle of cardamom or a piece of the fruit you've used. Chill thoroughly...it thickens/sets more.
This dessert literally melts in the mouth, takes little effort and is light and healthy. 
And so I say..."Enjoy this Fool and your weekend".

Diabetes and Foodies

Being a Foodie is one thing...overeating at every given opportunity quite another.
Not only is obesity becoming an epidemic...Diabetes is.
If not controlled, Diabetes is a grim reaper.
Does having this disease mean you can't enjoy food any more...not at all.

Join me on FB...'Diabetes:  Journal of Life', to gain insight, help others and share your experiences.

Chole/garbanzo beans samosas.

Chole Puffs/ Samosas.

Constantly on the lookout for new recipes that help maintain good sugar levels, I tried this filling as an experiment for a party 9 years ago and it's become a family hit.  A shortcut that helps me many a time are these covers I've discovered.  As you get older you are not particular about samosa having to be in triangles...push the limits of creativity and make them any shape that is convenient.

For 20 large samosas.

Cover

I use Empanada covers from the Mexican Grocery store. (10 puri like circles will yield 10 large samosas). They are available in the frozen section and if you can't find them, ask for them.
You can also make the cover dough following any basic samosa cover recipe.

Filling:  Either follow your favorite recipe for chole or the one below.

2 cans garbonza beans (chole)
or 32 ozs soaked, cooked chole.
2 medium onions.
2 medium tomatoes, chopped.
1/2 bunch haridhania/cilantro, chopped fine.
6 cloves garlic.
1" ginger.
2 level tsps channa masala
1/2 level tsp white or black pepper powder.
Chilli powder and salt to taste.
1/2 level tsp haldi.
1/2 level tsp amchoor.
2 small bay leaf/tej patha
3 cloves
1 stick cinnamon (1")
2-4 Tbsps oil (I use olive oil).
1 Tbsp butter (optional)
1 spoon chaat masala.

Oil for deep frying.

Chop one onion in cubes and the other fine.
Open cans and drain chole.  Rinse well.
Heat oil.  Fry bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon till they change color.
Remove from oil.
Add cubed onion only and fry till transparent.
Add tomatoes and fry till soft.  Remove.
Grind onions and tomatoes with cloves, cinnamon, ginger and garlic.
In remaining oil fry finely chopped onion golden brown.  Remove.
Put masala into oil with channa masala powder, pepper and chilli powder.
Add butter at this stage.
Add chole, haldi, salt.
(I use a flat spoon/satta to mix so chole doesn't get mashed)
If needed and tomatoes are not juicy enough, add a couple of tablespoons water so everything blends well.
Keep flame on medium for 5 mins, cover pan.
Remove from stove, add hari dhania, fried onion, chat masala and mix.
End result has to be dry like a potato filling.

Cool, taste, think...make additions if required.
The chole has to be excellent.
I make this a day before and refrigerate as I feel flavors blend better overnight.  It can be done in one stretch too.

Defrost empanada covers and then taking one at a time on a lightly floured surface fill with one Tbsp chole, moisten edges with a little smeared water and seal.  I use a fork to press down edges.
Heat oil in a kadai/wok

and fry till both sides are golden brown.
Drain on a paper towel lined plate.

Serve hot with pudhina chutney or as a samosa chaat with beaten yogurt, chilli powder, kala namak, chaat masala, chopped raw onion, chopped haridhania, sweet date chutney and hot green chutney.

It's a party favorite and worth the work!

NO FRY DAHI VADES

I'm always trying out some of the recipes posted in my cooking group.
Ruchi Airen's no fry dahi vade, made weeks ago, caught my attention: http://www.foodfellas4you.com/dahi-ki-pakori-in-the-appe-pan/
While experimenting with her recipe, I researched and tried out two other 'no-fry' dahi vades from authors not on our blog.  One was Nishamadhulika's steamed dahi vades (in an idli steamer) and the other was Tarla Dalal's 'no-fry' dahi vades where they are made on a skillet.
Please note the different toppings were so I wouldn't forget which was which when eating/writing the recipes up.
I was extremely pleased with all three results and thank Ruchi for bringing one of my favorite dishes, with a healthier 'no fry' method to my attention.
In the click, Ruchi's dahi vade is on top, NM's on bottom left and TD's on bottom right.
On the whole, I feel the traditional dahi vade does not retain/absorb too much oil if fried at the correct temperature and then dropped into warm water but this healthier option is available to us all now.
I hope dahi vades will feature in your menus soon....