Now to the name of the recipe- sandhaza- according to my dad they called it that because it was the chutney from hell, you get the drift? The after effects of eating something that hot? ). Anyways, we only know it by that name and Rajesh has been enjoying this hot chutney with dosa and even spread on a piece of toast.

Shallots – 1.5 cups, chopped

Garlic – 3 pods

Tamarind paste – 1 tsp

Dried red chillies – 5-6 ***

Salt to taste

For seasoning

Oil – 1 T

Mustard seeds – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 5 to 6 (optional)

• Grind shallots, red chillies, tamarind, salt and garlic to a coarse paste, adding as little water as you can.
• Heat oil in a saute pan and fry the ingredients listed under seasoning ( roughly 30 seconds), add the chutney and cook on medium low for roughly 5-8 minutes.

Like I said earlier, you can have this uncooked, the traditional way. In that case, drizzle the seasoning over the chutney and it is ready.Store this chutney in the refrigerator and it will last for a week. My favorite way of having this chutney is to  butter the bread, and spread this spicy goodness and toast it on on iron skillet. Have this with a cuppa Indian tea- BLISS!!!

Adai is a south Indian breakfast/dinner dish served along with chutney, some jaggery and in our home, freshly crushed garlic and a dollop of freshly churned butter.  Do you notice the amount sides for one dish? We were spoiled. It is typically made when the dosa batter is getting over and family members want something else other than regular dosa.  Adai is a highly protein laden dish and does not require much advance planning.

Par boiled rice /Idly rice – 1 cup (uncooked)

Jasmine rice – 1 cup (uncooked)

Tuvar dal – 1 cup

Channa – dal – 1 cup

Urad dal – 1 cup

Dried red chillies – 8 or more to taste

Asafetida – 1/2 tsp

Onion – 1 medium size, roughly chopped

Salt – 1 tsp

Oil – ½ tsp

Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – 6, finely chopped

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

• Soak rice and dals in water for an hour and grind along with onion, red chillies, asafetida and salt with little water to make a thick batter. This batter can be ground in a regular blender.
• Heat oil in a sauté pan and when the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and cumin seeds and when the mustard pops, pour over the batter and mix well.
• Heat an electric griddle or iron skillet, pour a big ladle full in the center and spread with the back of the ladle. You can spread it think or thick to suit your taste.
• Drizzle oil around the edges and some inside. Let is cook on medium low (until it turns brown) and then flip to cook the other side.
• Fold in half and serve with a dollop of butter with as many sides as your family likes.

The red hot chutney you see on the side is a whole another post.

Notes: Eileen asked a question about par boiled rice- please note that it is a variety of rice available at the Indian store. If you don’t want to make a trip to the Indian store, substitute  either with jasmine rice.

Sunday With Marlena Spieler

This is my last post for our series of cooking through the cook book, Jewish Cooking by Marlena Spieler. What a blast! I got to know two of my blogger friends more closely, had the opportunity to meet Marlena a couple of times and even learned to make Matzo ball soup from her aunt. This journey has been a pleasant and yet challenging one. It challenged me to try recipes that I may never have tried and every time, I was skeptical about it, Marlena proved me wrong each & every time. The recipes were fantastic, we have tweaked the recipes a bit, played with and savored almost all of the dishes.  Thank you Mel! for including us in this fun project.

Coming to this sweet recipe for today, I think those of you who know me, are aware that baking is not my forte. I bake, but have a few recipes that I enjoy baking and make them frequently. The name may not seem familiar to you, but if you are like me, use the store bought sugar cookie dough and this recipe is a breeze. I believe every family has their own version of sweet fillings. I used mango jam and it was delicious.

Sugar cookie dough – cut in 2 inch rounds

Mango Jam – 1/4 cup

Flour the rolling surface well and the cookie dough in 2 inch rounds. I flattened mine with a rolling pin, and spooned some mango jam in the center and folded the edges to make a triangle. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 6- 10 minutes, until the edges turn slightly brown.

Eileen finished last of her post today and Mel has just a few more. Also go check Mel’s All clad pan giveaway for a chance to win an All clad pan.

The sweet crispness of watermelon combined with salty feta cheese, a dash of cumin, lemon juice, salt and pepper takes this fruit to a whole new level.I was very skeptical about this salad and was in for a pleasant surprise.

This salad really needs no recipe.

• Cut half a watermelon into wedges.
• In a small bowl, whisk  a teaspoon of vinegar, ½ tsp of extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper, ½ a tsp lemon juice and 1 tsp of cumin powder . Drizzle over watermelon
• Crumble feta cheese over and if you have some roasted pumpkin seeds, sprinkle a few and serve chilled.

Try this salad and you will definitely want more. Make sure you use good quality olive oil for this salad. I am coming almost to the end of cooking my way through Marlena ‘s cookbook, next Sunday will be the last of the two recipes.

Eileen and Mel have something special for you as well

When we are kids, we say I am the daughter of  so & so and when we grow up we hope our parents can say, I am this girl’s parent.  I choked a bit when I introduced my parents in my cooking class and it was the most surreal moment to watch them listen with pride when I gave the class. For the last three years, I have been telling Rajesh that I want my parents to see me give a class just one time. I was the black sheep, the trouble maker at home , so do you now see why I wanted them to witness this

It was great to see that the class was full and there was even a waiting list.  Guess my students were excited that amma & appa will be there in my class and my mom will demonstrate a few things.  When we walked in, one of my dear student turned friend Joy welcomed us and we got prepping. Slowly the whole class was there and the fun began. While I had to decide the menu a couple of months prior, I had mom write the recipes for this class. The menu was Potato curry, Garbanzo beans sundal, Pineapple in yogurt sauce, Cabbage in steamed lentils and paneer burji. The class was a blast, mom communicated with the students in her own way and they understood. Mom demonstrated how to grate coconut with the traditional Indian grater / food slicer (Aruvamanai in tamil) , she made buttermilk with a wood churner for the class and everyone wanted pictures with them. So much love and so much fun. I am writing this more for myself, to come back to this space to read this after many years and relive the moments

We talked briefly about the recipes and then the class started. Boy was I in for a surprise, mom started walking around helping in the class. She told them at what consistency the batter had to be taken off from the food processor and how the pineapple should be chopped and so on. Don’t ask me how she communicated, she did and the students understood. I wish I could have paused and savored those moments. Everyone was so nice to them, each student introduced themselves, told them that they have been to my class before and how they have waited to see the parents who raised me. That was a proud moment for them.

If any of my students are reading this, Thank you from the bottom of my heart for making this class extra special!!

Semolina – 1.5 cups

Ghee – 1 T + ½ tsp

Oil – 1 T

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Urad dal – 1 tsp (optional)

Channa dal/split garbanzo beans – 1 T

Curry leaves – 5 to 6

Dried red chillies – 2 broken into pieces (use the seeds please)

Cashew nuts – 1 T, roughly chopped

Asafetida – 1/8^th tsp

Water – 3 cups

Salt – 1 tsp or to taste

Coconut – 1 T, grated

• Heat 1 T of ghee in a sauté pan and sauté the semolina until it slightly changes color.
• Transfer the semolina to a plate
• Heat oil in the same sauté pan and when the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, curry leaves, chillies, cashew nuts and asafetida.
• When the channa dal starts changing color,  add the water and salt and let it come to a rolling boil
• Slowly stir in the semolina while continuing to stir with the other hand.
• Reduce the heat to medium low. All the water will be absorbed. Cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for roughly 3-4 minutes

We enjoyed this for breakfast yesterday. I like to sprinkle some sugar on the top, while my parents like to eat it with Indian pickles.

CSN stores has over 200 online stores where you can find everything from a sofa to a suitcase, cookware to cribs, and so much more. What do you have to do to enter to win?

Another gift is from us- true to the name of our website, we will mail to you an Indian spice box filled with spices ( US & Canada residents only)

• Click on “follow this blog” on the right ..
• Spread the word on Facebook & Twitter.
• Go check  CSN stores and leave a comment of what you would like as your gift if you win.

One winner will be chosen at random using the random number generator. The giveaway closes on May 18th @ 7 pm PST.  This is for now only for US & Canada residents only.

Thank you all for your love and support!

Update: We used random.org to select a winner and the lucky one is Akay . Please send me an email with your address for the spice box.  Your gift certificate will be emailed to you by CSN

In the past 8 years or so, I have dreaded Mother’s day. I have almost always focused on why I am not a mother and with my mom also not being around close, to do something special is difficult. One of the years, my cute lil niece called to wish me on Mother’s day and I asked her why and she said I was like a mom to her for a year when she lived with us, it touched me lot. There are lot of women who have influenced my life, and I want to wish the few, very special moms in my life who have played a vital role of who I am today.

This year is very special, because my parents are here with us.

The special people in my life:

Mom-in-law:  When I see her and talk to her, all I can think of is her will power and how focused she is. She stood up to her dad and wanted to be a doctor and nothing else and he had to eventually give in. She was and is a pillar of strength.  She thinks everything you set your mind can be achieved and she is one fearless lady. After serving for many years and delivering several thousand babies, she retired in Chennai and at 70 pursued her interest in music. She went for music lessons, sang in concerts with her group and has not stopped living life to the fullest. I truly admire that quality. Happy Mother’s day Mami!

Anandhi, me & Anu

We were all meeting for Diwali and we all shopped individually in different towns and had bought almost identical clothes, what a lovely coincidence.

My sisters: My eldest  sister Anu raised me when I was a new born and my middle sis took over from her during the later part of my life. When the doc decided I was underweight ( I wish they say that now for me..Sigh! That is a different post), Anu, my oldest sister would diligently make omelets for me in a skillet that was designated just for eggs and my parents would not even enter the kitchen and the house had to be aired out. My aunt has told me that Anu even tried to feed me puliyodarai  rice when I was lying on her lap, thinking I was crying for the food she was eating when I was a baby.  When in college, she would custom order the most beautiful cotton sarees for me and some of hers would just disappear from her wardrobe when we went visiting and magically move to mine. She is one strong gal that meets challenges head on, has survived just any curve ball that life throws at her and is also a single mom. She does everything she can and more for her kids and her children have grown to be ‘those  kids’ that every parent wishes for.  Amidst all that is going on, she also built this website for me. If any one of you want to design your website, she is the person !

My middle sister, Anandhi is the quiet one addressing her challenges in a calm way. She was in charge of how I dressed, took me to the tailors to get me some girly clothes that I lacked, coz mom loved to dress me like the son she never had. She would give me haircuts and in later years take me to the salon and patiently tell them how she wanted my hair cut. When I was in college, Anandhi convinced my parents that I needed more exposure to the outside world, promised my dad that she will take good care of me and took her under her wings to start my first job that opened up a whole new world for me.  I almost followed her and her family to every town they moved. There are days I call her and speak for hours just to vent and she listens patiently and offers the best advice.

And the best for the last, my mom.  She has been mostly my friend and confidant and now it is my turn. As a child, she was forced to listen to my every story after school and about my squabbles with my friends. When I was a teenager, she knew about all my crushes and infatuations. I have watched her cook and learned from her patience and devotion to family. I am going to enjoy my time with my parents and will be posting recipes that my mom teaches me. I never had a chance to learn from her being the youngest and I am now going to make the best use of my time with her.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms out there!

While I love to make most dishes from scratch, there are a few that I just rather buy from the grocery store. Tahini sauce is one of them, so why this post? Marlena, add a bit of a kick to the store bought Tahini sauce.

Tahini Sauce – ½ cup

Water – 2 T

Lemon Juice – ½ tsp

Garlic – 1, finely minced

Cumin powder – ¼ tsp

Olive oil – 1 tsp

Red chillies – ¼ tsp or to taste

Chopped parsley – ¼ tsp, optional

• Whisk the tahini sauce with water until smooth and well incorporated.
• In a small bowl, mix lemon juice, garlic and cumin powder. Pour that over the sauce and fold it well.
• Drizzle olive oil over the sauce and garnish with chillies and chopped parsley. ( we used  chopped jalapenos on oil)

Drizzle this over your salad, falafel or just a dipping sauce for pitas chips. Eileen has used tahini sauce in her recipe today and Mel has some tasty looking chicken and deep dried artichokes. YUM!

I found that  sky is the limit when it comes to flavoring couscous. You can make a simple salad to something elaborate like pilaf. Here is what I did, this was basically cleaning up my pantry kinda dish.  Israeli couscous look like tapioca, and should be cooked like we cook pasta.

Israeli Couscous – 1 cup

Olive oil – 1 T

Vegetable stock – 2 cups

Cranberries – 1 T

Roasted Almonds – 2 T, chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

• Heat a sauce pan with olive oil and toast the couscous until it changes color (just a slight change)
• Add the stock, when it comes to a boil, reduce to simmer and close the pan with a lid for roughly 12- 15 minutes.
• Test to see if it cooked, and add more liquid if needed.
• Fold in the almonds and cranberries, add salt & pepper if needed and serve.

The nuttiness of the toasted couscous compliments the nuts and cranberries. For the next round, I wilted some spinach and added that in the end.