Potato patties with California vegetables

This is a recipe I make for my son once a week. It incorporates vegetables and is easy to eat for a messy toddler. Additionally, it can be dipped in tomato ketchup which is a vital condiment in the foods that all toddlers consume.

Finely minced onions, cummin seed powder, oregano, parsley, lemon grass get sauteed. In go frozen california veggies followed by whole milk(instead of water). Cooking covered steams the vegetables. Microwave potatoes while you are doing this. Whole potatoes go into the veggies which get ready in 5 minutes. Add salt and fresh pepper to taste. Toddlers help to squish the veggies together with a potato masher. I made patties the size of a golf ball and put them on a pan which had vegetable oil sprayed. Turn the patties..you can add bread crumbs to make it fancier..and voila.

For the adults in the house, the following very original chutneys are made and consumed-
1. Soy ahoy.
2. Garlic ka jhatka

1. Soy ahoy - reduced sodium soy sauce, sriracha, salt and orange marmalade. Mix in vinegar/water to reduce sharpness of soy.

2. Garlic ka jhatka - Raw Garlic, Olive oil, basil, salt, pepper(just a tad bit), chilli powder, paprika get ground in a counter top mortar. To be added in minimal quantities to keep the taste of the combination well tied.

Tapas style party, 2007

Close friends of ours are moving to India. Another couple just had a daughter and we hadn't had a chance to have them over. Our new gift, a book - Asian Tapas - was calling out to be used.
Menu-

• Chai with Vada pav - batata vada, tamarind chutney and garlic chutney, ciabatta bread. This is typical roadside eatery dish.
  
• Surali chya vadya/ Khandvi. Not quite roadside but a snack nevertheless.
  
• Yakitori beef with eggplant. (From the book, Asian Tapas)
  
• Dim sum- 3 kinds
  
• Kashmiri Shrimp kababs (From the book, Asian Tapas)
• For dessert, fruit cake topped with ice-cream. (From Safeway!)
  

Drinks-

• Saki
• White wine
• Juice

Preparations-

1. Yakitori beef with eggplant -
   

Ingredients-

• Kobe beef. We replaced it with US Choice Grade (Sirloin Steak). Cut into 3/4 inch cubes.
• Asian Eggplant cut into 3/4 inch pieces.
• Sesame oil.
• Olive oil:Butter :: 1:1
  

Marinade-

• Light soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Ponzu sauce
• Sugar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Mix all above ingredients in 3:2:1:1 proportion + 1 tsp of pepper.

How to-
Marinate the beef for 4 hours minimum. Pan fry eggplant for 30 seconds on each side in sesame oil. Arrange alternate eggplant and beef pieces on a steel skewer(we used bamboo). Heat olive oil and butter mixture in a skillet over high heat. Place skewers in skillet and let sear for 10 seconds each side for rare and longer for medium rare. Serve while hot.



2. Vada pav(spicy potato poppers in a sandwich)-

Ingredients-

• Baked potatoes
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Salt
• Turmeric powder
• Lemon juice
• Cummin seeds
• Chili Pepper powder.
  

How to-
For aboutFor about 4-5 medium sized baked potatoes, use 1 tsp turmeric, 1/2 tsp cummin seeds, 1 tsp garlic and 1 tsp ginger. 2 tsp of chili powder, 1 tsp of lemon juice. Salt and sugar to taste. Mix crushed baked potatoes and above ingredients together. Divide into 15 parts and make flat round patties out of them. For the shell, mix 5 tbsp of garbanzo flour(besan) with water slowly, turmeric powder and paprika and salt. Coat patties with the 'besan' mix by immersing in the wet flour potion and then frying them on high heat in a deep utensil. Remove and place on tissues to absorb the extract the extra oil.

For the vada-pav(sandwich combination) - use fresh ciabatta bread, slice open, add garlic chutney on 1 side and tamarind chutney on the other. Insert vada in between, close the bread and chomp!

I practically had this for breakfast for all of my undergrad years!

Photos for tamarind chutney and garlic chutney follow. I will put these recipes up if there is any interest.





3. Surali chya vadya - Spicy Khandvi rolls
A recipe touted by both the Maharashtrians and the Gujratis to be theirs originally.






4. Shaomai- Credit for this go to our close friends.

Aleevachi kheer

Aleevachi kheer
Originally uploaded by Taswiir.

Ayurvedic(organic) Kadha for stopping coughing

All ingredients to be added according to the cook's judgement. The function of this kadha is to soothe a throat that has coughed for an extended time period. It gives instant relief and stops the coughing for about an hour or two. However, this concoction is not to be consumed in gallons. It has high heat content, high sugar content.

Magic potion ingredients - 1 inch Ginger grated/sliced, 4-5 black peppers, 1 inch cinnamon stick, Jaggery to taste, 2-3 cloves. Boil all ingredients in 1.5 cup of water until the liquid turns a putrid brown. Make the victim drink while hot. Not scalding hot, but when soothing hot.

Credit for this recipe goes to my aunt who awed me one day when I was made to drink a cup of this ghastly looking hot beverage. My coughing ceased. I was sold.

Vinegar cha loncha!

Raw mangoes, made into 2 inch cubes.
Garlic - whole 'kalya'.
Dried California raisins
Dried dates - small bits of.
Dried red chillies
Ginger - sliced
Black pepper - whole
Sugar - as much as the mangoes.

Cook the mangoes. Drain. Make 1.5 tari syrup of sugar and water, add salt to taste. Add the rest of the ingredients except the dried chillies. Add them after the mixture has cooled.

Credit for this recipe goes to my maternal aunt, who had so far kept this recipe under wraps quite successfully.

Teelachi chatni - Nagpuri style

  

Bhakri barobar khaychi chatNi.

Ingredients -
1. Sesame seeds
2. Gul(jaggery)
3. Tamarind paste
4. Ground peanuts
5. Salt to taste
6. Chilli powder
7. Cummin powder

Procedure -
Add mustard seeds, Asafoetida to hot oil(2-3 spoonfull) and add it hot the pre-made mixture of the above ingredients. The mixture would make about 1.5 cups.

Notes - This chutney is high in its heat content(not taste wise) and is therefore consumed in winters. Eat in moderation to avoid upset stomachs. This is one more of my mother's amazing dishes that bowled my husband over. My husband is not a bhakri eater, but after this chutney, I can see myself making more bhakris than I did in the last 5 years of our married lives. Incidentally, this was also my father's favorite chutney.

Pineapple Salsa

Pictures speak a thousand words. So be it. Laziness has reached its limits.
Aim - To replenish the diminishing quantities of pineapple salsa without leaving house.

  

Step 1 - Steal ingredients' list from the label.
 

Step 2 - Collect ingredients. Garlic pesto replaced garlic cloves which I was out of.
Left to Right(Standing), Pineapple, Fire roasted tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic pest.
Left to Right(Sitting), Dead looking cilantro, green chillies(spg?), 1/2 onion.
 

Step 3 - Chop-em, open cans.
 

Step 4 - Chop in mixie
 

Step 5 - What happened to the rest of the can of crushed pineapple - fruit salad!
 

Lesson- Fire roasted tomatoes get a thumbs up. Adding raw onion if the salsa won't be finished in 1 sitting, is a bad idea. It is bad for the salsa, it is bad for the refrigerator. It is bad for spousal appeasement.