After the arrival of the little one, cooking has taken a back seat. I am sure I can make some time to cook, but I rather gaze at him and wait for him to chuckle in his sleep or just stare into my eyes.  I have probably cooked three to four times in the last one month. We had good friends give us some food to last for a week or two and prior to that my parents were hereJ

I kept going back to look at Manisha Kadipatta chicken. I love the flavor of curry leaves in chicken and her recipe was my inspiration, but wanted to make something quick and easy. If your chicken breasts are frozen, it actually helps to slice the chicken thinly. Or to make it easier, buy some shredded chicken. And note, this is a curry not with curry powder, but using curry leaves as the star of the dish.

Oil – 1 T

Onion – 1, large, thinly sliced

Curry leaves – 1 cup, packed and chopped finely

Garlic – 8 pods, sliced thin

Cayenne – 1 tsp

Freshly crushed Pepper -1/2 tsp

Chicken – 1 lb, sliced thinly

Salt to taste

• Heat oil in a sauté pan and add the onions and curry leaves. Allow it cook nice and slow on medium low until the onions are caramelized
• Sprinkle a little bit of salt over the onions if you want to cook them fast.
• Stir in the garlic, cayenne and freshly crushed   pepper and cook for roughly 2-3 minutes.
• Add chicken and stir well, so that the spices get well incorporated with the chicken.
• Season with salt and cook until the chicken is done.
• Serve with roti.

This is a family recipe with a fun name attached to it. The chutney is served typically with dosas and idlis and mind you it is made so hot that you want to shout out expletives after your first morsel, but it is so addicting that you continue to enjoy it even after you know it is that spicy. It is traditionally made with raw shallots, red chillies, tamarind and salt- as simple as that. The raw onions gives it one degree of hot, add to it some red chillies which takes it to a whole new level. I think amma makes it almost once or twice a week back home.  Amma makes it two ways, one is the way I just described and the other is after grinding to saute in oil, so that it stays longer and tones down the heat a wee bit.

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!!!

We are just beginning to enjoy the weather here with our parents. We have made small trips close by and have been cooking a lot as well. I am trying to learn as much as I can from amma. Growing up, I preferred the regular dosas to this, but once I came to the US, I began to crave for foods most familiar to me.

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.

Back home, we are used to cooking three fresh meals a day. Breakfast would be idli,  dosa, upma etc, lunch will be rice, dal and a vegetable and for dinner roti, or  dosa. After we moved here, we have gotten used to having cereals, oatmeal, bread or smoothie on the  go. From the time, my parents are here, we have been cooking three meals a day. Mom & dad are used to that and we don’t want to change it. So yesterday morning, it was upma. Upma is made with semolina and almost has the texture of polenta when cooked.  Since we were getting late for work, mom taught me how to make this upma without chopping veggies and slicing onions.

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.

Rava dosa is all time favorite in our house, but I would not make it for the fear of pouring the batter right. But I have now come up with a technique that makes it easier to make it whenever I want.  Rajesh took a video when we made the dosa at home. Remember to only look at how I made the dosa and not how terrible I look, the excuse- I just got back from work! so tied my hair up and started cooking- all for you

Semolina– 1 1/4 cup, dry roasted in a pan

Rice flour – 1 cup

All purpose flour – 1 1/2 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 T

Ground black pepper – ½ tsp

Curry leaves – 10 tender leaves, chopped

Green chillies – 1, finely minced

Ginger – ½ tsp, minced

Water – 4 cups approx

Oil for cooking – 4 T

• In a large bowl, add all the dry ingredients and mix it well.
• Add curry leaves, green chillies and ginger.
• Start adding water little at a time and mix well such that there are no lumps, about 3 cups
• Allow the batter to rest for  at least 30 to 45 minutes
• Some of the water will get absorbed at this time, so add more to make a thin batter.
• Heat griddle or non stick pan
• Pour the batter on to a measuring cup , such that you can easily pour from it on to the griddle
• Pour with one hand and with the spatula starting thinning the batter
• Drizzle oil over the dosa and let it cook on side until golden brown
• Flip the dosa and let it cook on other side.
• Serve with mango chutney or any chutney of your choice

Variations:   Sprinkle finely chopped onions or roughly chopped cashew nuts when you make the dosa.

Notes: I started off with one cup semolina and 1.5 cups flour, but thought the dosas were a little too soft, so added roughly quarter cup semolina. In class, we used brown rice flour and it worked well too.

When one says tamarind rice, we think of plantain leaves lightly toasted over fire and tamarind rice wrapped in it, long distance travels, picnics and quick school lunches. Mom almost always had her stash of tamarind sauce or Puzhikachal as we call it in the refrigerator for those days when she wanted to whip up something quick. So all she had to do was cook some rice and mix it in with the sauce and to give it life, a tempering of mustard leaves, urad dal, peanuts and curry leaves can get us kids straight to the kitchen to see what magic was being created in the kitchen.

I have been craving tamarind rice for almost a month now. When my sis and I were having one of our daily conversations, I asked her for the recipe.

Sis: Soak tamarind (size of a big orange )in warm water.

Shankari:  Can you please give me the recipe using tamarind pulp, it gets very confusing

Sis:  ( A big sigh over the telephone) tsk tsk  don’t tell anyone you give cooking classes, ok?. Come on Shankari, how difficult is it to make tamarind pulp.

Shankari: But how do I know if I added too much water or less for making the pulp. I have an idea, why don’t you make a large batch and mail it?

Sis: I am emailing you the recipe, you make it. It does not matter if you add too much water, it will just take longer to thicken..ok?

Can you tell, she is the older one? This is one recipe that I have shied away from, a huge mental block that I can’t make it as well as my mom or sis.  So when she emailed me the recipe, I would read the recipe, almost go to the kitchen to make it and then find an excuse to back off. This happened a few times before my craving took over and you know the rest.

Anyhow here is the recipe for a few of you who requested it on facebook after Rajesh posted the picture. The taste was exactly like my mom makes it. The happiness I had knew no bounds. Thanks Sis for an awesome recipe.

Tamarind – 1 cup packed ( look for tamarind without seeds)

Salt – 2 tsp or more to taste

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Urad Dal – ½ cup

Channa Dal – ½ cup

Coriander Seeds – ½ Cup

Fenugreek Seeds – 1 tsp

Tuar/Toor Dal – 2 T

Whole Black Pepper – 2 to 3 T

Dried Red Chillies –  25 ( approx)

Curry Leaves – 1 cup (packed)

Sesame seeds – 1 T

Sesame oil – 2 cups

Unsalted Peanuts – 1 cup

Mustard Seeds – 1 T

Urad Dal – 1 T

Channa Dal – 2 T

Asafetida/hing – ¼ tsp

• Soak tamarind in hot water, about 2 -3 cups
• Dry roast in a pan  urad dal, Channa Dal, Coriander seeds, fenugreek, Toor dal , black pepper, 3/4^th of the dried red chillies and ¼ cup of the curry leaves ( I prefer to roast each one separately)
• Roast until they change color and powder finely in a food processor.
• Roast sesame seeds and powder it separately.
• It is time to extract the tamarind pulp. Crush the pulp with your hands and squeeze all the juice you can.
• Strain the juice through a thin sieve. You only want the thick tamarind juice that we strain along with the water we soaked it in. Add salt and turmeric powder and set it aside
• Now heat the oil in a dutch oven, and when the oil is hot, add mustard seeds, urad dal, channa dal, remaining red chillies, remaining curry leaves , asafetida and peanuts and sauté until the peanuts are roasted in medium low heat.
• Add the tamarind juice and simmer on medium low, until it starts reducing and it almost as thick as ketchup.
• Now add the roasted powders and make sure it does not burn.
• The sauce will thicken even more. Add the sesame powder and switch off the stove.
• If the sauce has absorbed all the oil and it is almost dry, add some more oil. If you are adding oil, heat the oil until it is warm and add it. The sauce should be soaked in oil if you want to store it for a longer time.
• Adjust for seasonings and when cool store in an air tight container and refrigerate
• When you want to make tamarind rice, cook rice and allow it to cool ( each grain of rice should be separate)
• In a pan, heat about a teaspoon of oil and season with mustard seeds and urad dal, add some of the tamarind sauce. You can also add cashewnuts and curry leaves
• Add it to the rice and mix well.

Pointers:

• Make sure you use a dry spoon when stirring
• The amount of chillies varies to he kind of chillies you use and also how hot you want it
• We use gingelly (sesame) oil available at Indian stores
• Please do not use Olive oil for this sauce

There are days when we like to eat rice and yogurt. Eat it alongside this tamarind sauce and no pickle will come close to this kickass combo.

Do send us  an email or leave a comment if you have any questions. We hope you enjoy this as much as we do.

A box full organic spinach, half of which was used and the other half seemed like it was crying to be used. We both love spinach and  all the health benefits that comes with it – A carotenoid found in spinach fights prostrate cancer, ovarian cancer and excellent  for our bones. We try to have as much greens and vegetables as possible. Tonight the menu was to use left over cauliflower, one carrot, a little bit of peas and a lot of spinach.

Was a superhot hit at Shankari’s cooking class.

Shrimp – 1 lb de-veined and tail off

Garlic – 1 whole

Turmeric powder – 1 tsp

Chilly powder – 1 tsp

Ginger & Garlic paste – 1 tbsp

Red onion – 2

Oil – 2 tbsp

Curry leaves – 12 to 15

Salt – to taste

• Clean the shrimp, de-vein and take the tail off.
• Take the skin off the garlic and keep it aside.
• Slice the onions thin
• In a warm pan, heat the oil. When the oil is smoking hot, add the garlic and cook till tender.
• Add the onions and cook till they are caramelized and they almost look like it is sauce.
• Add the ginger garlic paste along with the onions
• After the onions have caramelized, add the salt, curry leaves, turmeric powder and chilly powder.
• Cook for 5 minutes.
• Toss the shrimp in the curry and let it cook for 10-15 minutes.