Nimbe Uppinakayi lemon pickles

I ran out of homemade pickles a few weeks  back. Sunny boy being so particular about pickles, I had to make a fresh batch. While shopping at Target stores, I found this Anchor Hocking Half Gallon cookie jar. I fell in love with it. It is so much like our own "Uppinakayi Jaadi" the pale while and yellow-brown ceramic jars, some long ,some stout each one for a different pickle in my Ammaji's (maternal grandmom) kitchen. I am sure she is proud of me for all the  homemade pickles!
I have just one jar unlike Ammaji, but that is sufficient for my family. Ammaji makes Uppinakayi for the entire clan, therefore she needs multiple jars. After years of making Uppinakayi in assorted jars and bottles, I have come to the conclusion that jars with tight fitting lids end up making sticking and slightly off smelling pickles. But jars with loose fitting lids like a cookie jar makes good uppiakayi. Once done, however, they do stay good  in regular glass jars in the refrigerator. It is just initial 3-4 weeks that are critical in  the life cycle of the Uppinakayi.

So here is my newest batch of Lemon Pickles...I had filled it to the brim and look how much it has shrunk!

Recipe can be found here. This time around it is just a 8-9 organic lemons and skipped the bitter gourd the other ingredients are roughly the same. Cannot wait to try them..On the pickle factory list for summer are Mangoes, chillies and bitter gourd and Nallikayi, then I am  set for the year.

Huli Pudi

When do cooks back home feel they have come of age and are no longer amateurs in the kitchen? My answer would be when you make pickles and pudis. I few weeks back I ran out of my stash of Huli Pudi that my MIL brought last summer. I had been conserving it for quite some time but I had to see the bottom of the bottle one fine day. So I rolled up my sleeves and got to do what was needed. I had the recipe from my grandmother who makes the best in the world Huli Pudi. So I set out to make Huli Pudi for the first time.
It was a long labour intensive process. Imagine with food processors we feel it is time and labour intensive, if only I was born in the previous century I did be pounding the wicked spices as it blew into my lungs! huff huff. I know that is how my grandmother started making it. Some where later in her life that those flour mills started to pop up and she got the wicked spices ground at those noisy mills.
This time my pudi turned out sort of good, not as half as good as my grandmother, not as good as my mother or MIL would make but still I prefer this over the silly stuff sold in Indian stores labeled 'Sambar Powder'.

Here we go,

Chillies  1/2 kg
Dhania 1/2 kg
Jeera 360 grams
Pepper 60 grams
Turmeric 60 grams
Hing 60 grams
Channa Dal 120 grams
Uddina Bele 120 grams
Fenugreek seeds 120 grams
Mustard seeds 120 grams
Curry leaves 2 giant bunches (washed and dried)
Cinnamon 50 grams
Marati Moggu 3-4
Jaggery 60 grams
Salt a generous fist full

Method:

• Measure out all the spices carefully and keep it handy. A choice of chillis can be used. I prefer 3/4 Byadagi  and 1/4 Guntur or the spicy varieties because Sunny boy still prefers milder food. My grandmother and mother do  1:1 for Byadagi:Guntur.
• Open windows if any all over the house. Turn on the exhaust at full speed.
• Set a heavy kadai on medium flame. One the kadai is hot, start toasting the Dhania. When the Dhania is toasted and is fragrant, remove into a big wide platter and allow it to cool.
• Mean time, start toasting the other spices one at a time starting with the spice after Dhania up until curry leaves.
• Once the curry leaves are done start toasting the chillies. This one is the wickedest of all. It will make us cough and gasp for breath. Toast them till they change color.
• Remove the chillies to the same platter. Allow it to cool.
• Once cold throw in the Jaggary and salt. Grind the spice mixture in a coffee grinder till fine but still has some texture left.
• Combine the ground spices in the large platter and allow it to cool slightly. Mix the spice blend using a dry spatula. 
• Once the spices are cool, fill it in bottles and use as required.

Thanks Chitz and Nagashree  for thinking of me

1. If you were allowed to change something about yourselves, what would that be? :I would definitely be more organized and be detail oriented. 
2. Your favorite time pass other than cooking :Reading
3. According to you which is most important in a blog - presentation, recipe or pictures? : Well I did say the story
4. Your ultimate dream: Win a lottery perhaps?
5. Three qualities you would love to see in others: Patience, kindness and reason
6. One prank that you played on someone: write anonymous love letter to a friend and giggle when she did show it to us.
7. Your favorite vacation spot: erstwhile Kovalam beach
8. Cooking according to you is: stress buster
9. Who influences you the most? Like you would always listen to what this person says: my mom
10. Your favorite dessert: Rasgolla
11. One habit that you cannot change for life: over-eating when I like something.

Here are a set of questions Nagashree sent me.

1. What was your reaction when you received the Liebster award? :Wow 
2. What do you most look forward to with your blogging? Comments
3. What is your all time favorite ingredient or spice in cooking? Ghee
4. Do you always give credit to a recipe source or blogger when you use one? yes
5. What are your hobbies outside of food blogging? reading and eating
6. What appeals to you most in other food blogs (writing style, blog layout and visual appeal, pictures, recipes and anything else)? story and the pictures
7. How has blogging changed your life? Make new friends with the same feathers
8. How do you feel about plagiarism in food blogs? uh! despicable , come on gals it is supposed to be a creative outlet.
9. Who is the one person that influenced you most in starting your blog? LG
10. Who is your all time favorite cook/chef and why? Jacques Pepin, his philosophy is waste not want not. Love it.
11. What is cooking currently in your kitchen?Mixed vegetables from left over vegetables.

Mango Tokku Mavinakayi tokku

We as a culture hate wasting.  Though a land of abundance, India has always emphasized a frugal lifestyle. We almost never waste anything. Food being equal to the Goddess Annapoorneshwari is never wasted at all. That is how I grew up. My mother never cooks food in huge quantities, she never wastes anything. I was like her while growing up. But of late the culture of my adopted homeland is getting the better of me. Still I make an effort to not through away food especially  the Produce. I might throw away a musty croissant with great impunity while try an salvage most of a rotting apple. I have stopped buying a lot of produce and stuffing it in my fridge. While the same is not true for prepared foods. There are times when I pick a huge pack of croissants from Costco or some cupcakes from our super market. Many a times such things end up in the garbage.
There are such ingenious ways of making the most of what we have, Typically during the summers when we start the pickle 'factory', we fetch good tart mangoes in huge quantities. Most of the fleshy parts of the mango goes into the Mango pickles- uppinakayi, the ones stuck to the seed in the core is grated and converted to either Tokku or use up in Chitranna . The seed itself goes into a curry. The entire fruit is used up with minimal wastage. Same with a messy fruit like Jackfruit. We use up the seeds, the fleshy parts and more.
This last batch of Mango pickles, made specially for my Fil, who happened to love my Mango pickles, I dished up some Tokku as well.

We will need,

Raw mango grated 2 cups
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
Peanut oil 1/4 cup
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Hing a generous dash
Dried red chillies 3-4 (Byadagi variety preferred)
Curry leaves a handful
Chilli powder 1-2 tsp (adjust according to taste)
Turmeric 1/4 tsp 
Jaggery 1 tbsp (crushed, lightly packed)
Salt to taste

Method:

• On a hot skillet, toast the fenugreek seeds till fragrant, remove from heat and cool. Once cool enough to handle, pound it into a powder. Reserve.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pot. Throw in the mustard, hing, dried red chillies and curry leaves.
• Once they stop spluttering,throw in the grated mangoes. Saute the mangoes till they are no longer raw.
• Throw in the remaining ingredients and simmer till the oil separates, the spices fragrant  and the mango tender about 15-20 minutes.
• Remove from heat and allow it to cool. Once it is back to room temperature, the mixture can be filled in glass containers and it stays good for at least a couple months in the refrigerator. 

Mango Pickles / Uppinakayi

Recently I figured out that I am very bad at managing time. Never in my life until now did I feel that there are fewer hours in a day than I actually need. Now a days, drafts lie in my inbox for weeks before seeing the light of the day, books pile on my work table still to be read and digested. My 'to-be-done' tray is filled to the brim and I need look into all those assorted papers before marking them as 'done' and of course the usual routine, vacuuming, cleaning and Sunny boy-sitting etc phew. I do not seem to have enough time at all. I am jealous of all the people who get might things done in like a matter of minutes!

Back to some more pickles. This time it is the universal favorite 'mango', the king of fruits. We manage to eat this fruit in a variety of ways- sweet, savory and tart dishes, which makes our palate jump up  in joy. I happen to adore this variety and this is how exactly my grandmother will make. In fact it is so good that some times I just pop a piece of pickled mango as a snack, and keep rolling it over my tongue. Heaven. I would not feel like eating anything else. Hey! that gives me an idea..heard of cookie diet, brownie diet, paleo,primal and what not..How about mango pickles diet? Pop a small piece of pickled mango and keep rolling it over your tongue and bingo! you get thinner? No thank you, I still need my rice, saaru, yogurt after everything :) By the way raw mangoes always reminds me of old Kannada movie cliche.. When a character is pregnant, she is shown craving for raw mangoes or she is shown eating then like she is just out of Somalia. Ha, prude movie makers and puritanical audience, now a days probably audience will not even get the point of such connotation.

We will need,

Green raw and firm Mangoes 3 cups chopped
Koshar Salt 1 cup
Byadagi chillies 20 (more if preferred spicy)
Mustard seeds 1.5 +0.5 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds 1.5 tsp
Hing
Peanut oil 1/4 cup

Method:

• Choose firm and fresh mangoes without any blemishes for pickling. Clean and wash the mangoes with plenty of water and wipe it dry using a kitchen towel. Air dry for a few hours.
• Chop the cleaned mangoes. Reserve the seeds and the flesh clinging to the seed for another use.(I usually make Mango Tokku with it;It can also be thrown in Mossoppu ).
• In a clean jar canister, place about two tablespoon of salt at the bottom. Start layering the chopped mangoes followed by tablespoons salt. Using up all the mangoes.
• Cover and set it aside in a cool place for a couple of days till the mango is shrunk and wilted all over.
• Stir the mixture using a wooden spoon and cure it for a couple more days.
• Toast the chillies and 1.5 tsp of mustard and fenugreek seeds on a medium hot skillet and allow it to cool. Once cool, grind the spices into a slightly coarse powder. 
• Open the canister of mangoes, toss in the spices and stir well using a wooden spoon. 
• Prepare the Oggarane. Heat the oil, throw in the remaining mustard and hing. Allow it to cool very well. Pour it on top of the pickled mangoes and stir again using a wooden spoon. If making a large batch, take out small batches of pickles and prepare small quantities of Oggarane. Oil in large batches of pickles will make the pickles smell rancid after a while.
• Cure the pickles for a few more days, stirring it using a wooden spoon every two three days.
• Serve it with any Indian meal or if you are like me, toss some cooked pasta, butter, a generous helping of mango pickles and some cilantro. Slurp! That is Sunny Boy's favorite way to eat pasta too..

Mixed Pickles

Is modern life complicated for no apparent reason? I think so. There can be a dozen variety of salt! Something as basic and simple as salt found  in the supermarket next door comes in as many as 6 varieties.  Sea salt, coarse sea salt, kosher salt, table salt, iodized salt, gourmet salt..gosh!I am flabbergasted.Years ago I was researching on the sales of vanilla ice cream and I found at least a dozen varieties as well..vegan, vegetarian,french vanilla, vanilla, extra creamy vanilla, home-made vanilla,all natural, organic, raw etc. For a minute I started thinking that my years of learning economics where every theory starts with the assumption of homogeneous goods, was just a big joke. What! homogeneous products? you must be kidding me! I cannot find as much as a simple pack of salt or pick up a box of vanilla ice cream without much thinking. After these many years of shopping I am on the way to shopping-nirvana, I believe I can read the labels, understand the ingredient list and decipher the bombardment of so called 'information' on the box. 

The next question that comes to mind is the length of the ingredient list, some goes on for ever. One vanilla  ice cream had a list of ten ingredients where as I make excellent vanilla ice cream at home using as little as 4 ingredients. Indeed we have complicated our lives beyond need, beyond our imagination. It is funny too. When ever I ask Honey to pick up something from the supermarket and send him with as detailed a list as possible, he still gets lost, calling up time and again for more information, for there are so many options to choose from. Indeed I have stopped shopping at a regular supermarket and started buying more and more at our local price club. They offer only one or two options. If I want vanilla ice cream, there probably will be just one brand, one variety. Salt yes, may be two brands, two variety, still much better than to navigate the aisle filled with twenty brands and a dozen variety. 

Actually this problem of variety has such a great consequence with respect to my current post. Pickles are something we all love and make with a great deal of gusto. I always make mine using my grandmother's recipe. I have followed the same recipe but used different variety of salts to end up with perfectly distinct results. There is no way we can have a perfect pickles recipe without having mentioned the variety and brand of salt used. This is where my grouse start from :( If there were fewer variety of salts that were more consistent in taste, pickling would have been much easier.But then that is not to be and General mills, Kraft, Unilever and P&G each wants us to see at least one variety of salt that they sell in our pantry taking the number to at least four in each kitchen . (not that they all sell salt, just for the sake of argument!) Sadly a chunky proportion of the four will end up in the dustbin after months of sitting idly in the pantry. But who cares, as long as they get us to buy their stuff, the General mills, Kraft, Unilever and P&Gs are happy. In fact they did be happier if we brought their stuff and threw it straight to the dustbin but returned to buy more of it. Come on, how fast can the 'Fast Moving Consumer Goods'  move? We cannot be buying more than one tube of toothpaste, or one pound of plain old salt each month. So here comes variety. The more the variety, the more we want to buy and the more we add to their bottom line-top lines. Grr...I hate it, more so when my pickles do not turn out the way it is intended...

Thankfully this turned out alright and here we are, we will need,

Lemons 2.5 lbs 

Bitter gourd 1 lb

Green Chillies 1/2 lb

Salt 1.5 cups  (Morton Koshar salt)

Dried red chillies 20-25

Mustard seeds 1 tsp +1/2 tsp

Fenugreek seeds 2 tsp

Peanut oil 1/4 cup

Hing a generous dash. 

Method:

• Wash, preferably using warm water the jar to be used in pickling. Air dry it overnight. 
• Wash the vegetables and wipe it dry using a fresh and clean kitchen towel. Allow it to air dry for a few hours.
• On a clean and dry cutting board, chop each lemon into 6 or 8s, the bitter gourd into 1/4" thick rounds. The  green chillies can be left whole or can be slit lengthwise into two.
• Take the jar, make sure it is thoroughly dry. Place a bed of about 2 tsp of salt at the bottom. Place a layer of chopped lemons followed by another tsp or so of salt,followed by the bitter gourd and then salt.
• Repeat  the layering, throwing in the chillies in between. After using up all the vegetables, finish with more salt on top. Cover the jar and set it aside in a cool dry place.
• After 2-3 days the vegetables would have shrunk. Open the jar and stir the whole mixture using a wooden spoon. Cover and set it aside for another 3-4 days. 
• 3-4 days later, toast the dried chillies, 1 tsp of mustard and fenugreek seeks on a hot skillet one after the other and allow it to cool down completely. Grind it in a coffee grinder till the spices are coarse and fragrant. Set it aside.
• Prepare the Oggarane, heat the oil, throw the remaining mustard seeds and the hing. Once the spices stop sizzling, remove from heat and allow it to cool down completely.
• Once the oil is cold, open the jar of pickles and throw in the ground spices and the pour in the cold seasoned oil. Stir using a wooden spoon. Set it aside for 3-4 days.
• Every 3-4 days stir the pickles using a wooden spoon, till the vegetables are cured  and has attained the desired texture. I prefer mine to still have a bite, so I cure it for 2-3 weeks. If you like your pickles to fall apart, I would say may be 2-3 months is a good time.
• The pickles can also be refrigerated at  this stage and once refrigerated, the pickles need not be stirred. But it is absolutely essential that we use a dry spoon every time we dish out the pickles.

Enjoy as a part of any Indian meal.
P.S: Sunny boy loves his pickles even with his pasta. "Khara! Amma Khara" he would say between gulps of water and goes back to eating his pickles.

Huli Pudi / Sambar powder

Sometime I come across categorical statements declaring the 'curry powder' to  be the innovation of creative British babus posted in India. I feel very sorry for such authors. They have absolutely no clue as to  how diverse India is and  how diverse the cuisine is. I am pretty sure that a north-Indian cook can very well assume it to be the fact. May be no 'Indian' ever made curry powder. But a south-Indian would rather jump into a well than accept the statement. We always had a variety of spice blends to make our life easy in the kitchen. It might have been that the recipe for such blends were not seriously published until after some Brit did. The turmeric based concotion that the standard curry powder is, on the other hand might just be a corrupt version of our own spice blends, that was mild enough to be on the bland British table.

My own grandmother had at least 3 spice blends - one the Huli Pudi, Tili Saaru Pudi and Palya pudi.I also have Rasam Pudi in my pantry. These apart from the assorted Chutney pudis!

My grandmother is an expert  when it comes to spice blends. This last season, the batch she made turned out to be a spice-gold! Everyone is  hoarding them. Mine own supplies reaching the  bottom of the jar very soon, I reached out to several  people in the family,  to check if they have some  to spare. Well, everyone is polite but firm in turning me down.May be I will have to make my  own this later this season. I have made it  before, and will make it once more. Hope next batch my grandmother  turns out will be just as delicious and hopefully I should be getting my quota too.

Long long ago, many summers and springs ago, my grandmother spent a week with me at my place. I made sure that I get most of my recipes from her. She was younger then and she had the energy to show me her signature recipes. This one is also from that session. Most often than not all her measurements were in terms of 'paavu-ser' or even eye-balled. I kind of took to standardize it.

We will need,

Dried red chillies (any combination of Byadagi (for colour and flavour) and Guntur (for heat) chillies) ½ kg

Dhania  ½ kg

Jeera 1.5 pav

Black pepper corns 1 chatak (about 12 grams)

Cinnamon 50 gms

Marti Moggu 2-3

Turmeric  1 chatak  (about 12 grams)

Hing 1 chatak (about 12 grams)

Channa dal ½ pav (30 grams)

Urad Dal ½ pav  (about 30 grams)

Fenugreek Seeds upto ½ pav (about 30 grams)

Mustard seeds upto ½ pav (about 30 grams)

Jaggery  1/2 Cup (crushed)

Curry leaves dried roasted 2 big bunches

Coarse sea salt a handful 

Method:

• Toast all the ingredients except Jaggery and sea salt, one by one till fragrant and toasted. Remove and cool completely. 
• In a clean dry grinder combine all the toasted spices, salt and Jaggery and pulse till smooth. Else it can be done at one of the flour mills. The flour mill version tends to be smoother because we do not have control over the texture. If the spices are milled at home, I did prefer the blend to be slightly coarse. 
• Store in an air tight jar. The blend stays good for years! It can also be packed in multiple layers of plastic bags, tightly sealed and store in the crisper tray of refrigerator. I personally prefer to make smaller and more frequent batches of Huli Pudi.

Thanks onlyfishrecipes for thinking of me. Very sweet of you indeed. I need to share a random story about myself.I hate the cream that forms on top of the milk. I have tried eating it several times,but make me sick. Guess it is the texture. But I love cooking with it!

Passing it on to Nagashree, Sushma , Tina, Radha and Priya

Arrabiatta ? nah...It's Jeera-abiatta!

I have always been fascinated by Italian, French and Spanish cuisine. The dream combination would be Spanish tapas, Italian main course followed by a French dessert. Slurp! That sounds delicious and is sending my brain into a tizzy. Before I loose myself, Italian food is good if eaten at the right place and right time. For me, that meant one of these chain restaurants here or the specialty restaurants back home that would charge an arm and a leg for a simple dish of pasta. Of late I have stopped relishing the standard pasta fare served at these restaurants. They are loaded with grease and cheese and hardly any thing to address the need of my palate so long used to complicated spices and their flavors. May be it is aging too. As I grow older I realize I cannot be eating the way I used to anymore. Now a days, If I need my stomach to be peaceful, I need to avoid all those grease laden food these chain restaurant serve. So I started making my own sauces to enjoy an Italian inspired-Kannada dinner!! I find Marinara very boring. Alfredo, love it but yes, it can be way too rich. So say Hi to Jeera-abiatta sauce.

Serves 6-8

Extra-Virgin olive oil 1/4 C
Cardamon 1
Bay leaf 2
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Garlic clove 2
Green chillies 2 (Add more if you like it hot)
Italian herb blend   a generous pinch
Tomatoes 14 oz  can  2
Sugar as desired
Salt to taste

Method:

• Heat the oil in a thick bottom sauce pan. Throw in the cardamon, bay leaves and Jeera.
• Once the spices start to sizzle, Throw in the garlic and slit green chillies. Saute till garlic is fragrant about 10 seconds.
• Throw in the herb blend. Once the herbs are fragrant , throw in the tomatoes along with their juice. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes till the sauce kind of thickens a bit.
• Once the sauce is slightly cool, transfer the sauce to a blender and pulse till the tomatoes are slightly chunky but sauce-like.
• Adjust salt and sugar and remove from heat. Toss with desired cooked pasta and serve.

Ghee / Tuppa

We love the dairy products we are currently getting from udder milk creamery coop . The milk is tasty and creamy. I make butter out of the cream I skim from the milk. Sunny boy gobbles up some butter, we slather it on toasts, rottis and what ever. The remaining gets converted into Ghee- 'Tuppa'. I love ghee. We end up consuming about 3/4 to a kilo of Ghee just the three of us,if I do not make any sweets! I use it in most of my curries. Sunny boy licks it off a spoon and demands 'tuppa' with everything including Mosaranna- curd rice. 

Most of my family members love ghee. My grandmother and mother made their own ghee so do I. The ones they made used to be thick and grainy. I never got similar texture or flavor when using the super market butter. But butter from pastured unprocessed milk scalded at home makes the best of ghee. Got to make it to fall in love with it.

Ghee being a saturated fat is solid at room temperature. A gentle heat will cause it to melt away. So a dollop of ghee on warm rottis/idlis/dosa will be perfect.

We will need,

Butter 1 lb

Turmeric  a pinch

Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp

or

Garlic 1 small clove

Method:

• Place the butter in a large mouthed heavy pot. Gently heat it.
• Once the butter is completely melted, throw in the turmeric.
• For a sweeter flavored ghee, add the fenugreek. (If ghee is to be used in the preparation of deserts and sweets) Else throw in the garlic. (This version is perfect for use in curries, Rasams and Saaru)
• Cook till the butter is frothy on a medium heat.
• Once the frothing subsides, reduce heat and look for the sediments at  the bottom of the pot to turn golden brown. The butter itself should be clear and a golden colored liquid by now. Turn off the heat.
• Filter the ghee using a fine mesh strainer. Reserve the sediments for another use. (I throw mine in curries and saaru, it is heavenly)
• Store the ghee in a glass /steel jar. It stays good for at least a couple of months. (May be long, it never does in my place).

Cultured Butter the home made way

Butter is yummy, after all it is 'utterly butterly delicious'. This very morning when I was preparing breakfast, Sunny boy stole up to the refrigerator and opened it, (yes now it is the newest headache) grabbed some butter right off the dish and stated nibbling it. He was like this cute mouse gnawing it's cheese. I gave him a 'look', he gives me his sweetest smile and says 'Amma benne tumba yummy Amma' (Amma, Butter is very Yummy). I know he loves butter and ghee. The other day I forgot to put away the bottle of Ghee, and this little mouse found the bottle with a spoon conveniently on  the dining table. He scooped spoonful of ghee and finished quite some before it came to my notice!! Honey calls him little Krishna, the naughty little lovable  god who stole butter in Vrindavan.So be it, my little Krishna.

My grandmother and my mother always had homemade butter on hand. It was probably  not enough given the size of their families, they also purchased good quality butter from dairy farmers. In fact my home town was famous for its dairy products in the past century and finds a mention in most gazetteers published during the time. The love for good dairy has passed on to the younger generations in the family too. We all love our milk,yogurt, butter, buttermilk, cheese ,name it, we love it.

Ever since I found this fresh raw milk source, life has been good. The milk actually forms a thick cream on top when heated. I skim the cream and churn butter out of it.  I make ghee out of the butter and some times we eat our butter with toast, Dosa, Rotti and Sunny boy will eat just the butter, nothing with it :) It is pretty easy to make and worth the extra effort by all means.

 

This is how we do it.

Milk 1 liter (everyday of the week)
Yogurt 1 tbsp (only on  the 7th day)

• Heat milk till cream begins to form on top. Remove from heat and cool it down to room temperature. 
•  Set it in the refrigerator for at least4-5  hours, so that the cream solidifies and it is easy to transfer. 
• Skim the cream and store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator. Do this everyday for a maximum of 7 days. That is everyday, heat the milk, skim the cream and collect the cream and store it in the glass jar. If using more than one liter a day, you can start making the butter early.  However, do not wait for more than 7 days because then the cream will develop an off-taste and butter will taste rancid.
• On the 7th day, pull the jar of cream collected out of the refrigerator. Add the tablespoon of yogurt thinned down in two tbsp water into the cream and let it ferment for about 6 -15 hours. 
• After the cultured creamed has been sitting for some time, transfer it into a blender with 1.5 to 2cups of water and pulse for 5 seconds at a time, totally under a minute to separate the butter and the buttermilk. Do not run the blender continuously, just pulse.The butter will separate in under a minute.Letting the blender run continuously will result  in a butter smoothie which is sort of irreparable. Keep a close eye, the texture changes in an instant and the smooth cream appears curdled, sort of crumbly. That is when the butter is ready.
• Once the butter has separated, collect it using either a strainer or your fingers. 
• The buttermilk- the liquidy part of the mixture tastes great with just a dash of hing, salt, ginger and curry leaves. It can also be used to make Mosaru shaaleor Majjige Huli. We mostly end up drinking ours. There is hardly anything left after one round of me and Honey checking out the buttermilk. 
• Store the butter in the refrigerator or convert it into ghee.

Bananti Pudi, Postpartum chutney powder

A new mothers dietary requirements are very different. Not only do new mothers require extra calories but breast feeding mothers are constrained by a variety of foods that needs to be avoided because of the weak digestive system of the new born.
Traditionally new mothers are served this particular spice blend to improve the digestion of both newborns and the mother. The new mother starts her meal by mixing about 1/2 -1 tsp of this powder with a tablespoon of freshly cooked hot rice and about 1 tsp of ghee. This morsel is followed by the rest of the meal.
This works magic on colicky babies, it worked very well with me and my son :). I will post a few more posts on remedies for a colicky babies, after all I can not write with a great deal of experience.

To prepare this blend we will need,

Jeera 1 tbsp
Pepper 1 tbsp
Fennel Seeds /Saunf 1/2 tbsp
Ajwain/ Omkalu 1/2 tbsp

Method:

1. Toast all the spices one by one till fragrant
2. Using a mortar pestle or coffee grinder or mixer crush the spices into a fine powder.
3. Store it in an air tight jar.

Use a measure of your choice instead of the tbsp, it works just as fine. Sending it out to the home remedies event hosted by Ruchika started by Sadhana & Muskhan

Garam Masala

A very important spice blend in our pantry is Garam Masala. Aromatic, floral and powerful, this particular blend adds a zing to most North-Indian, Punjabi dishes. I have been making my own Garam Masala for quite some time. One reason why my recipes call for such small quantities of Garam Masala. However, the quantity will need to be increased if using the store brought version. I am unhappy with the store brought version because they are mostly a combination of cumin and coriander and much less other floral spices that actually make dishes fragrant. It is indeed very simple to make and a little goes a long way. In fact the quantity mentioned below lasts me for more than 4-5 months :)
This is also a versatile blend. I know we have our favorite spices, not-so-favored spices and cannot-stand-spices. Honey for instance hates cloves, I for instance cannot take too much of cardamom. This blend therefore can be altered according to ones taste. I am after a couple of tries, we will end up with out perfect version of Garam Masala. I did after a couple of attempts and this is my favorite version from my test kitchen!!

Also Garam Masala especially the home made kinds should be used almost at the very end of the cooking process;overcooked spices sort of smell acrid and I hate it. Most store brought varieties withstand rigorous cooking because they are more of a coriander-cumin mixture than a combination of delicate floral spices.



This makes about a few tablespoon fulls. But it does last a long time. I store it in a tiny glass jar with a tight fitting lid. In fact the lib is so tight that when I open it there is a whiff of all wonderful spices seducing my nose !!!

Cardamom pods 1 tbsp
Cloves 2 tbsp
Cinnamon 2 tbsp
Cumin 1 tsp
Pepper corns 1/2 tbsp
Star Anaise 1
Maratha Moggu 1

Method:

• Heat a small pan. Toast the cardamom pods till fragrant. Set aside to cool
• Toast all the other spices one by one till fragrant. Set aside to cool.
  
• Shell the cardamom and separate the seeds. Discard the shells.
• Combine all the spices in a coffee blender and blend till the mixture resembles the texture of fine sooji. I prefer mine to be on the coarse, Somehow when the spices are ground very fine, they somehow tend to loose their aroma.

Store it in a small jar with a tight fitting lid.
Enjoy

Chutney Pudi/ Chutney Powder

My mother-in-law is an expert Chutney Pudi maker. She makes a variety of them and all of them are equally yummy. Steaming hot rice, some Chutney Pudi and a spoonful of ghee together makes such a good combo. I love it and it is something I crave for when I get tired of the normal rice-curry routine. This time in India I noted down the recipe for her Curry leaf Chutney pudi and here it comes.



we will need,

Curry leaves 2 cups (washed and wiped dry)
Dry coconut/copra/ona kobbari/ dessicated coconut 3 cups (grated and loosely packed)
Dry red chillies 10 -12
garlic 1/4 c loosely packed
Tamarind the size of a lemon
Pepper corns 2 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Hing a generous dash
Oil 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a thick bottomed pan.
2. Throw in the mustard seeds, once they splutter add the hing.
   
3. Throw in the curry leaves, stir.
   
4. Add the chillies and keep stirring
5. Add the remaining ingredients, keep stirring till the dry coconut is warm and fragrant.
   
6. Remove from heat and spread it on a cookie sheet. Cool it down to room temperature.
7. Pulse the spice mixture in a coffee grinder till coarse.
   
8. Serve it as a accompaniment with meals.

Khanavali Part 1

According to our newest resolution of eating healthy, we are roughly equating traditional Indian foods to 'healthy' therefore the best option. This week end we decided to have something elaborate. Though today I was hard put for time, shopping for my India trip taking the most part of the day. (Yes!! yippee i am going home in the next couple of weeks!!) Even after a tedious day, we decided to eat something good and something that satisfies our palate. In fact I had been thinking of making the Khanavali style meal ever since I saw the spread on monsoon spice . The recipe on the blog reminded me of our erstwhile neighbor Mangala Aunty. Like the southern Kannadiga's Huli pudi/ Sambar Powder, the Northern Kannadigas have this spice blend called 'Khara masale'. Amongst other spices, the blend also contains onions and garlic. It is rather surprising that a spice blend that has fresh vegetable stays good for months! It does. The key again is in roasting the vegetables. It has been a while that I got in touch with Mangala aunty. Therefore I have no access to her 'Khara Masale' recipe. However, the recipe for Kolhapuri Masala on monsoon spice is a very good approximation. I used the recipe as a base for my 'Khara Masale' tweaking it just right for my palate. I wanted to note down the recipe before I forget the measurement because, I almost got it right!!

For the Khara Masale Powder, based on Sia's Kolhapuri Masala :

You will need,

Dry red Chillies 8 (I used the Thai variety, alternately ground chillies can also be used)
Dhania 2 tbsp
Jeera 1 tsp
Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
Cloves 4
Cinnamon 1/4"
Pepper corn 1 tsp
Sesame Seeds 1 tbsp
Copra 1 tbsp
Onion 1/2 medium
Salt 1 tsp (to taste)
Garlic 3 cloves
Curry leaves 10

Method:
Toast all the spices individually on low flame till fragrant. Set aside to cool.
Toast slivered onions and garlic till almost dehydrated and crisp but not charred. Once all the spices are cool enough to handle, grind in into a coarse powder using a coffee grinder. Store in an airtight box. I am still not convinced this blend will stay good for long. For this reason, I am using up all of the blend with in this week!
Once again, if not sure about the pungency of the dry red chillies using, you can omit the chillies, grind the rest of the spices and at the end can mix in chilly powder starting with two teaspoons and increasing as you go until the desired level of pungency is reached.

Using this base Khara masale , I prepared Badanekai ennegai ( I know there is already at least one version on Kannadacuisine!! But there are innumarable varieties, that we Kannadigas keep comming up with! Check out for more by dear LG.


This is what we had to night! Jowar/ Jolada Rotti, Badanekai ennegai, Madike Kaal Palya, yogurt, Shenga chutney /Peanut chutney pudi along with a salad of onions and limes. It was heavenly. Honey's immediate reaction was surprise! "OMG! this tastes so much like Khanavali!!" Yes it better did for all my efforts and of course not to forget Sia, Thanks Sia!

A word about Khanavali. Khanavali is the north Karnataka equivalent of Darshini. They are mostly family owned-operated with the most accomplished member looking after the kitchen (usually the martiarch) They serve jolada/ sajje/navane/rotti/ chapati along with ennegai/kal palya/ junka/ assorted chutney pudis, salad, fresh butter and fiery red chutney that needs a fire extinguisher indeed..They are also very inexpensive. They are mostly vegetarian but I have heard of those serving Marathi-style non vegetarian food as well. In short they are foodies' paradise. So the next time you happen to visit north Karnataka, try Khanavali. Of course the rule of thumb is go to those that are rather crowded, you know it is good that way. Kamat Yatrinivas is but an under-performing but more expensive cousin of these Khanavali..

Tili Saaru/Toor Dal Curry

Bele Saaru literally means dal curry. It is thinner than the normal dal, but thicker than Rasam. I love this curry and it is my ultimate comfort food. This is one dish that comforts my palate and is gentle on my tummy on long hard days. I am sure every household in Karnataka has their own recipe for this particular dish. In my family my maternal grandmother 'ammaji' as we call her wins any competition for this dish hands down. She tells me the taste of this curry is in the toasting spices for the spice blend. I never quite managed to get as close to her, or for that matter my mom either who is at a distant second. But definitely my Bele Saaru is pretty good!! The recipe I am uploading is however my grandmother's; the best ever I have ever had in my life!



For the Tili Saaru Pudi / spice blend

Chillies 500 gms (I use 50% bright colored chillies +50% of the hot variety)
Dhania 500 gms
Pepper 12 grams
Fenugreek 12 grams
Urad Dal 12 grams
Jeera 90 gram
Hing 12 grams
Turmeric 12 grams
Jaggery 50 grams
Mustard 30 grams
Curry leaves dried one big bunch
One fistful of sea salt

Method:

• Toast each of the spices (excluding the salt) on medium flame till fragrant. Set it aside separately.
  
• Toast the Chillies at the very end otherwise it can get smoky and the kitchen will get stuffy (I went through the stuffy kitchen experience!) Set it aside and cool.
  
• Grind in into a slightly coarse powder using a Coffee Grinder. Mine works perfectly fine for this recipe and i am very happy with my Coffee Grinder. It has become my favorite kitchen gadget.
• Store the spice blend in an airtight container. It stay good for months. Mine in fact lasts for anywhere around 4-6 months. This spice blend makes an ideal gift as well.
  

To make the Tili Saaru

Tili Saaru pudi 2 tbsp
Toor Dal 1/2 cup
Tomato 1
Turmeric a pinch
Ghee 2 tbsp
Hing 1 pinch
Mustard 1/2 tsp
Dry red chillies 3
Curry leaves 8-9
Salt
Tamarind paste 1 tsp
Jaggery a small piece
Fresh Coriander a small bunch

Method:

Combine the dal, tomato, turmeric and 1/2 tbsp ghee and water in a pressure cooker and cook till done. Set it aside to cool.
• Combine the spice blend, tamarind and jaggery with 2 cups of water in a thick bottomed pan and bring it to a boil. Simmer and cook till fragrant. About 15 minutes.
  
• Add the dal mixture to the simmering spice blend mixture. Mix well. Simmer.
  
• Heat ghee in a pan. Drop the mustard seeds, Hing, whole chillies and curry leaves. Turn off the heat.
  
• Carefully pour the Ghee tempering on to the simmering dal. Adjust salt and finish with coriander.
  

This dish goes out to WYF Kitchen gadget Event hosted by easy crafts My Gadget is of course my pet Coffee Grinder!



My dear friend Lg suggests adding a spoonful of coconut milk to the Bele Saaru to make it richer and of course tastier!