A Reminder, a Videoclip, and a Tomato Rasam

Just wanted to remind all those who have forgotten to email me the entries.

Time Lapse Video of a tomato:

This simple tomato rasam is an adaptation of Inji’s tomato rasam recipe. I tried the original recipe, and I thought I tasted raw garlic! I tried it again by increasing the cooking time. But I tasted raw garlic again! Then I remembered how I dislike when ground onion or garlic is added to saucy curries without sautéing them in oil first. So I had to work on this recipe a bit.


Blend the following in mixer:

Red ripe tomatoes – 5
Whole peppercorns – 2 tsp
Coriander seeds – 2 tsp
Cumin – ½ tsp
Chilli powder – ½ tsp
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Tamarind juice (Soak a small piece of tamarind in warm water and extract the juice)

Since I thought the original rasam was too pulpy, I strained the tomato juice after grinding. But the strainer didn’t catch that many stuffs, just some tomato seeds and skin.

Heat up 1 tsp oil, splutter mustard seeds. Add 6 cloved of garlic(crushed), and cook it until the raw smell of garlic disappears. Now add 1 tsp of rasam powder(I used homemade). Add the tomato juice and bring it to a boil. Add salt. Simmer it for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve with rice or grilled cheese toast(alternative to the tomato soup).

That is my entry for Jihva for Tomatoes.

Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts: Recipes and Remembrances of a Vegetarian Legacy

I left Kerala years ago, and I have been missing it ever since. Now, Kerala is with me right here in the United States in the form of an astounding book that details the culture and the traditional cuisine of Kerala. Dear readers, I am proud to introduce Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts: Recipes and Remembrances of a Vegetarian Legacy by Ms.Ammini Ramachandran, grand daughter of the Maharaja of Kochi.

My search for a perfect Kerala cookbook focused on authentic vegetarian cooking is coming to an end when iUniverse publishes Ammini’s very first cookbook Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts. Since non-vegetarian food dominated in the house I was grown up, and in the house I was married to, I always had the yearning to learn Kerala's traditional vegetarian cuisine. Ammini is a financial analyst turned freelance food writer, and a member of International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP), Association for the Study of Food and Society and Culinary Historians of New York. She holds a diploma in article writing, as well as an MBA from Southern Methodist Univerisity in Dallas, Texas. I first saw Ammini in some cooking forums during 2003, and quickly became a fan of her experience and expertise in Kerala cuisine and culture.

For all of us malayalees, Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts is a must have treasure. I am sure anyone connected to Kerala in some way will find this book comforting. Reading through Ammini’s lines brought me back many memories of my childhood. Brimmed with joy and tears of nostalgia, I revisited my bygone days in Kerala all over again. I can say that you would not be any different. You will be thrilled to see the recipes related to temple festivals, thiruvathira, vishu, coming-of-age ceremony, celebrations of the birth and the death etc.

And for non-malayalees, Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts is a neatly organized tour to the culture and cuisine of God’s own country. You will enjoy the ride with Ammini as she guides you through Kerala’s history and heritage, society structure, seasonal festivals, and on top of all, irresistible varieties of precious, exotic recipes handed down from one generation to the next. She has an entire chapter focused on rice, while another one is an alluring world of curries. A carefully categorized segment with details of almost all the ingredients, utensils, and traditional cooking methods used in Kerala stands out as a mini encyclopedia on the local culinary dialect.

With her cooking experience in the U.S. for more than 30 years, Ammini has wise suggestions and logical alternatives to cook any traditional Kerala meal in any kitchen. With tales from her private life and anecdotes attached to each chapter, Ammini takes us to a wonderful world of aroma and flavors. These personal stories, narrated with a lot of passion, make this book very distinguishable from the other cookbooks I have seen so far. All in all, Grains, Greens, and Grated Coconuts provides a well-balanced coverage on the essence of Kerala cuisine.

I can go boundless talking about this book. But I will leave the rest as a surprise to you.

A few quotes from the book:

Culinary traditions and cherished family recipes are prized processions in every society. The best Indian dishes are never found in restaurants. Maybe this is because we are not by tradition (or preference) avid restaurant goers. It is in private homes that you find the most varied dishes, treasured family recipes, and traditional formalities about serving food.

My mother always insisted “Never skimp on the quality or quantity of ingredients,” and I believe it is the first lesson in good cooking.

It is a misconception that the vegetarian food of southern India is a slim repertoire of dishes “plain boiled rice, sambar, coconut chutney, and the ever-popular masala dosa. On the contrary, our cuisine encompasses a full array of styles and flavors ranging from pungent to sweet, delicately balancing simplicity and subtlety.

Thank you Ammini Chechi, for this invaluable gift.

More details and excerpts from the book are available at Ammini’s website peppertrail.com.

The book can be purchased from iUniverse or from Amazon.

Spicy Shrimp

This is one lovely preparation of shrimps. I have been keeping this recipe in my drafts for quite a long time now, waiting for a good picture. This is my fifth attempt, and my conclusion is, no, it's not that I am not a good photographer. The truth is "shrimps are not photogenic!". ;)

Cook the following with very little water:

Shrimps, peeled, de-veined and cleaned – 1 lb. (You may leave the tails intact if you prefer. I sometimes do. It is difficult to eat but it adds to the taste.)

Ginger, crushed – 1 tbsp

Garlic, crushed – 4 cloves

Curry leaves – 2 sprigs

Salt – to taste

Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp

Chilli powder – ½ tsp

Heat up oil (about 3 tbsp) in a frying pan, and sauté the following.

Onion, thinly sliced – 2 medium sized

Green chillies, slit – 3 or more as per your tolerance

When the onions turn translucent and golden brown, add the following:

Tomato, chopped – 1

Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Cook until the tomatoes are soft. Add cooked shrimps, and continue cooking until the oil separates from the gravy. Add more curry leaves if needed.

Serve hot with rice.

Microplane!

When the recipe calls for 1 tsp of garlic/ginger paste and you have fresh garlic/ginger on hand, how do you make the paste? Here is an easy tool I have been using for the past few years.

Microplane zester!

Peel garlic/ginger, and grate through the zester. You will get fine paste of garlic/ginger. This is dishwasher safe. So after using, just throw it in the dishwasher so you don't have to worry about cleaning the sharp blades.

Other uses: To zest lemon/orange, to make fresh nutmeg powder, to grate cheese finely etc.

Balloons?

Cute! Aren't they?

Brinjal Curry/Brinjals in Peanut-Sesame Sauce

Eggplant haters, pardon me, while I quickly jot down one more eggplant recipe. I will have to write down this recipe anyway. Sometimes I come to my own blog to refer recipes. :D For example, the egg curry I have posted a long time ago. I didn't cook it for a long time, and I forgot the measurements and ingredients. When I was on an egg fiesta again, it would never taste like my old egg curry which was my husband's favorite too. It was a relief to find out the recipe on my own blog! Also, I remember coming back to my blog looking for my favorite mutton liver fry recipe. Another reason why I should blog!! hehehe

This one is made using small, purple, Indian brinjals. You will need about 6-8 of them.

Dry roast the folloing ingredients, powder, and keep aside.

Peanuts - 1 1/2 tbsp
White sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Fenugreek seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp

Remove the skin from the peanuts after roasting. I used a coffee grinder to make the powder.

Soak gooseberry sized tamarind in 1/2 a cup of water, filter the juice, and keep aside.

Heat up 3-4 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Remove the stalks and quarter the brinjals and shallow fry it on medium-high heat, about 2-3 minutes each side. Remove the brinjals from the oil using a slotted spoon. Now, to the same oil, add the following in order:

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a few
Shallots/ Pearl onions - about 10, chopped

When the onions are translucent, add:

Garlic - 3 cloves, minced
Green chillies - 2-3, slit lengthwise

When the raw smell of garlic disappears, add:

Coriander powder - 3/4 tsp
Chilli powder - 1/2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp

Oh yeah, don't forget the peanut-sesame-methi-cumin powder you made before! Add that too.

Cook for a couple of minutes, then add one chopped tomato, and continue cooking. When the tomatoes are soft, add tamarind pulp and bring it to a boil. Add salt to taste. Add the fried brinjal pieces and cook until the gravy is thick and the oil floats around the gravy, about 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot.

Grilled Eggplants

Daylight savings begin early this year. So why can't the grilling, a hallmark of Summer?

It is still cold and windy out there at times, but I had this urge to grill something. Eggplant is what I got in my hand after a refrigerator raid. Since it was windy outside, and the grill needed a big cleaning, I decided to use my grill pan.

Grilling eggplants is so simple. Talking about simple, as some of you have already figured out, 99% of my posts are about simple recipes. I love simple cooking and don't like to stay longer in the kitchen. I was afraid of the moment someone asks "why are you blogging all these simple recipes, can't you go get a life?". But not anymore. :) Inji has a better explanation here about blogging simple recipes which would probably save the rest of my blogging life. :)

Coming back to the eggplant, slice it, sprinkle salt and keep aside for at least 15 minutes. You may slice them to round pieces or long ones as in my picture. After 15 minutes, drain the water if any, and wipe dry the pieces using a clean kitchen towel, or paper towels.

For one eggplant, make a paste of the following:

Garlic cloves - 3
Juice of one lemon
Kashmiri chilli powder or black pepper power - 1/2 tsp(more or less depending on your needs)
Salt - to taste
Italian herbs or cumin - to taste(optional)

Rub the paste all over the eggplant pieces and let it sit for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator.

Heat up the grill pan. Turn off the smoke alarm!!

Brush olive oil generously on both sides of the marinated eggplant pieces.

When the pan is hot enough, add the eggplants to the pan and cook undisturbed for 5 minutes. Then flip and cook the other side until done, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and sprinkle grated Parmesan if needed.

Serve it as a side dish or a sandwich filling.

Don't forget to spring forward (or is it a winter forward?) this Sunday!

Admit it!

As you all are aware, the scenario goes like this: Yahoo! India stole food from a blogger's virtual kitchen and served it on Yahoo’s table. When the victim found out about this and questioned it, Yahoo shamelessly removed the food from their table without even apologizing. More here.

Doesn't sound good, right?

I have seen similar kinds of copy-paste plagiarism by several others, including some of my blog's contents in a blog titled andhramirchy, and many, many more.

Since I have decided to join the protest coordinated by Inji Pennu or Ginger and Mango and a few others, I thought I would take this opportunity to share my two cents concerning a couple of things that hit my mind while reading my fellow bloggers’ posts regarding this issue.

One of them was “Why do you blog”. Why do I blog? You may call it a hobby, or a vent. This is one beautiful way to express ourselves and connect with others of similar tastes. Seeing a new post on a fellow blogger’s blog is just like getting an email from a dear friend. When I started blogging, little did I know that it would turn into a hobby. I enjoy reading others’ blogs and love sharing mine. I just can’t stop myself. Why should I???

Another one was “The recipes are not anyone’s own. why would you want to copyright it?”. True. We don’t claim it as our own. We spend time taking photographs. Husband might get mad, and kids might think mom is crazy photographing food! We take all that trouble, and spend more time scrutinizing the pictures. We spend even more time uploading it to blogger and drafting the recipes. Since measurements are not that particular in Indian cuisine, it is really hard to give away a recipe. So we measure the ingredients and take notes whilst we cook. Finally we share it in our virtual kitchens. And I think we have all the rights to claim the fruits of our hard work as our own. Please understand it’s not the recipe we are claiming as ours, but our time and hard work I just mentioned above. Unfortunately we can’t keep the doors of our blogs closed because that would stop a lot of loyal readers out there from seeing it. But that doesn’t mean you can creep in just like that and do a copy-paste business. It hurts to see the contents of our blogs republished in other places without our knowledge. It really hurts!

Well, I was talking from a food blogger's perspective!

With all due respect to yahoo, I am joining in this protest against copyright infringement. Some of us are already victims of plagiarism, and the rest don't even know what to expect in the future.

Our blogs are so dear to us, and we need protection against any unauthorized use of our blogged materials. We want to make sure what happened to Suryagayathri wouldn't happen to one of us in the future. If Yahoo! apologizes to the victim, we would call it a victory. Otherwise also it is a victory if it could create a better awareness among all of us about the protection of creative works and copyright infringement.

Dear Yahoo, the stolen food appeared on your table, and so many of us have seen it before you removed it.

Admit it!

Jihva for Tomatoes

Coconut was in my mind when I promised Indira that I would try to take charge of JFI if someone decided to withdraw from the hosting responsibilities. But Ashwini did a wonderful job with coconut, and I was thrilled to see my dream coming true on her blog(without any efforts from me!). Before I get a chance to think about another ingredient, Indira informed me that the prospective host of April is withdrawing due to some inconvenience. So, here I go with my next favorite choice. Come on friends, let's celebrate Tomatoes!

I love the versatility of tomatoes. It has a substantial place in all cuisines. You can cook them, bake them, grill them, pickle them, stuff them, or even eat them raw! With its color, flavor and texture, the addition of tomatoes brightens up any dish. It is easy to grow them too, and hence popular among home gardens.

"Botanically a fruit, the tomato is nutritionally categorized as a vegetable. Since "vegetable" is not a botanical term, there is no contradiction in a plant part being a fruit botanically while still being considered a vegetable.", says Wiki.

Tomatoes are loaded with lycopene, an antioxidant which may help to lower the risk of some types of cancer. Lycopene has many other health benefits as well.

To participate in Jihva for Tomatoes,

1. Prepare a recipe that has tomatoes as one of the main ingredients. You are free to use any type of tomatoes, green tomatoes, tomatillos, cherry tomatoes, dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, or even tomato paste.
2. Post the recipe on your blog on April 1st.
3. Send me via email (rpsworkshop(at)gmail(dot)com) - the link to your post and a photo of the entry, preferably 75 × 75pixel size. Please include the title of your post and your blog name in the email.
   
4. Nostalgic tales, paintings, and drawings, anything related to tomatoes is welcome from interested general (non-food) bloggers.

I will do a round-up of all your entries by the end of April first week.

Don’t have a blog? You can participate too. Please send me the photo of your dish along with the recipe. I’ll publish it right here on my blog with all the credits to you, and also include it in the round-up.

Ready?

So my dear friends, with an open heart and an empty stomach, I say unto you in the words of.... ummm......Mark Dacascos’ uncle! :)

Allez Cuisine!

No, I don't watch too much Iron Chef. :)

Jihva for Ingredients is an online monthly food blog event started by Indira of Mahanandi. Read more about Jihva in Indira’s own words.