Sunday, July 30, 2017

Barbecue party !

Last weekend, our friends Mr.Raghu and Mrs. Uma Raghu invited us for a barbecue party at their house.  We were all excited to see each other again on that beautiful evening. I was wondering how they were going to arrange this event along with both of their busy schedules and kids. So I felt like bringing some dessert to help a little bit. I made some carrot halwa and ice cream, while Shaila had brought Baklava.  But before that , Uma had prepared everything with lots of care and love. I love the way she has planned and prepared a vast number of starter dishes like Indian lemonade, chaat salad, chips spread, a flavorful veg pulav , an yummy raitha (recipe below) , kadalai curry and that amazing jigarthanda with native touch .....not only the cooking part, I admire the way she talked and played with Sunish's  kids and hers in between :) . Her husband Raghu did the barbecue. Raghu prepared a juicy tandoori chicken on barbecue and I would say that is the best I have ever had. Hot dogs and garlic bread on grill were also great and Uma's avocado spread was also delicious. To my surprise, they prepared Malaysian parotta over the grill and it was more flakier than tawa version.
Shaila and myself along with Sunish and my hubby enjoyed spending the evening with that beautiful couple.
On the way home, we both felt happy for that fun filled evening that rejoiced both our palates as well as our minds.

The Menu:
Chat salad
Nimbu paani (lemonade)
chips and dip
bite size pizza
garlic bread with homemade guacamole
hot dogs
grilled tandoori chicken
Vegetable pulav
Tempered Raitha (recipe below)
Grilled parotta
Channa curry
sprouted bean salad
Jigarthanda (recipe below)
Tandoori chicken on grill

Barbecued tandoori chicken

Bite size pizza, nimbu paani, avocado topped garlic bread

Also that yummy chaat salad !

Grilled parotta ...wow !



Jill Jill Jigarthanda !


Recipe for tempered raitha: (my guessing) 
Indian curd - 1 cup
Shredded carrot - 1
onion - 1
brinjal - 1
oil - 1 tsp
mustard seed - 1/2 tsp
salt , curry leaf, cilantro - as per need
chili powder -  a pinch

Heat oil in a wok. Let mustard crackle, then add sliced onion, hing, curry leaf, cilantro and saute well. Add finely sliced brinjal and carrot. Cook covered with required salt and tbsp of water. Add pinch of chili powder. Switch off and let cool. Add curd , salt and mix well.
Yummy raitha is ready !

Recipe for a quick Jigarthand :
Rose syrup - homemade
(Sugar syrup mixed with rose essence and pink food color or traditionally prepared using rose petals)
Vanilla ice cream
Badam pisin (a tiny piece for each cup)
(soak it in water overnight for next day's use)

In a glass tumbler, put a tbsp of soaked badam pisin, add little rose syrup. Top it with a scoop of ice cream and then top it with some more rose syrup.
Jigarthanda is ready !

Thank you Uma and Raghu, for this nice dinner party ! We had an amazing evening.

Tuesday, July 11, 2017

Seppan kilangu roast

Before the fancy entry of noodles and parotta into the small towns of Tamilnadu,  whatever food that is cooked for lunch would be served for dinner too.  Most of the days would be veg days in Tamilans house and rice with sambar or some other curry is the primary food. Though green veggies like okra or green beans and spinach would be the side dish during lunch, mothers would hide some root vegetables like potato , senai kilangu (elephant yam) and Seppan kizhangu (arbi) in the pantry for their fussy loved ones. These kind of veggies can be stored even in Indian weather (at room temperature) for a week to month. So these would come handy, if the vegetable curry made for the lunch was not sufficient for dinner. This seppan kilangu roast is one of our most favorites and so I too make it at least once month.

This is one of the popular ways to cook arbi in South Indian cuisine. Try this and let me know, how your family loves this !

Seppan kilangu / cheppan kilangu (Tamil) means colocasia or taro root(English), Arbi (Hindi).


1/2 lb Seppan kilangu before cooking (@ $1.39 /lb 2017)


Boiled arbi is cubed.

After the tempering, add the masala powders and cook for few seconds.

Arbi added to fried masala

Mix well

Hot and spicy arbi roast is ready !

Ingredients:
Seppan kilangu 4 or 5 - 250 gms
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
fennel (sombu) - 1 tsp
curry leaf - few
salt - to taste
Masala powders:
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 3 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
garam masala powder - 1/2 tsp (optional)

Method:
Rinse the arbi thoroughly to remove all dirt.
Put it in a vessel and add water enough to cover. Boil for at least 10 minutes. The arbi should be parboiled (not soft). Put in cold water and it would be easy to remove the skin.
Chop into small cubes. Keep aside.
Put all the masalas mentioned in a bowl and keep ready.
Heat oil in a wok and add fennel. After the fennel gets mild red, add curry leaf. Then add the masala powders and fry in low heat for few seconds.  Add the cubed arbi. Stir well. If needed sprinkle a handful of water and cook covered for 2 minutes.
Switch off.
Arbi roast is ready !

Serving suggestion:
Serve as side dish with dal rice or sambar rice or curd rice.

Chow chow Paruppu koottu and peel thogayal

Chow chow / Bangalore Kathirikai / Chayote  A dal curry paruppu koottu with chow chow and a spicy chutney using it's peel (chow chow tho...