Short cut to Rasmalai

This year started out like any normal year. But ended like none that I have known before. It might not have been the end of the world, but indeed the end of the world as I knew it before. I am so very sick and tired of all the crime that is happening around us, right from cowardly swines violating women like never before, little girls violated in play schools, little kids slaughtered by manics, the list goes on. God! the news paper is full of horror stories. The world might have survived the Mayan calender. It should given that the 'Kali Yuga' has just started. But the ferocity of this time is something absolutely stunning. Humans beings are behaving in ways totally unexpected? Such a disgrace. Some times I sit back and think as a parent what world would I bequeath my Sunny boy? Something inside me snapped and I feel very nervous and sleepless.

A news-addict, I need my daily dose of newspaper every day. But past few weeks, newspapers have gotten me just worried and sleepless. I have decided to stop reading news papers for now. I am looking for something sweet to cheer myself up too. I usually make from-the-scratch Rasmalai . But the gloomy mood made me a little lazy. Just re-posting the short version of the recipe.

We will need,

Ragolla 1 can
Sweetened condensed milk 1 cup
Evaporated  milk 2 cups
Milk 1 cup
Saffron a generous pinch
Cardamon 1 seeds crushed
Almonds 1/4 cup (grated)

Method:

• Drain then  Ragollas and set them aside.
• Warm the milk and set the saffron in the milk. Sit it for at least 10 minutes.
• Heat the condensed milk and evaporated milk along with the saffron mixture. 
• Once the mixture heats up and is combined about 7-8 minutes, throw in the remaining ingredients.
• Remove from heat and chill it in the refrigerator.

Shahi Choley

Our season of eating continues and after days and days of entertaining I had practically exhausted all my options to make something different. So fell back on good old Choley. Because this particular evening, I was making very few dishes and had to step up the Choley a bit, to make it good enough for the center piece. This one did stand out!
 

We will need,

Kabuli Channa  (cooked)  3.5 cups
Onion medium (fine chopped)
Garlic cloves 3 (grated)
Ginger 1" (grated)
Peanut oil 4 tbsp
Jeera 1/4 tsp
Cardamon 3-4
Bay leaf 2
Cinnamon 1"
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Chilli powder 2 tsp (adjust according to taste)
Dhania powder 2 tsp
Cumin powder 2 tsp
Yogurt 3 tbsp
Tomatoes 2 (pureed)
Coconut milk 4-5 tbsp
Green chillies 2 slit
Coriander a handful shredded
Garam masala a pinch
Salt

Method:

• Heat oil in a wok. Throw in the Jeera, bay leaf, cardamon and  cinnamon.
• Throw in the onions and saute till brown. Once the onion is brown, throw in the garlic and ginger. Saute till fragrant about 30 sounds.
• Add the turmeric, chilli powder, dhania powder and cumin powder.
• Stir in the yogurt cook till the oil separates. Pour the tomato puree and cook till the masala is fragrant.
• Add the channa, coconut mik about 3-4 cups of water. Bring it to a boil. Simmer till the curry comes together.
• Adjust salt and finish with green chillies, coriander and garam masala. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Broccoli Soup

We humans might pride ourselves with all our achievements. Yes, we sent one of us on to Moon, may be Mars very soon; we have eradicated small pox, we have defeated tuberculosis & malaria, we have created excellent channels of communication, we can talk to people on the other side of the world seamlessly. But, we are also the most cruel of all the species on this earth. I have never heard of animals killing fellow animals 'just like that', I have not heard of animals indulging in opportunistic sexual violence. God! How can we behave this way? how can we be so anti-social while calling ourselves the most social of all species? There is of course the court of law, but what about our conscience? Do we have nerves at all in our moral spine? This week has been  brutal, first the gunning down of innocent children and then the brutal assault on a young girl in Delhi. Not that either of the two incidents were the first or that they are going to be the last. Gun violence is so common here in the States that it is a part of routine life, it does not shake people or make them stand up and run , unless of course you see the gun being pointed at you.
Similarly sexual violence is very common in India, more so in Delhi. The location of the latest attack, the charter buses, everything is so familiar to me having been in JNU for half a decade. I would never go out of my campus after dark. Delhi never made me feel safe. Never. After all these years and after living in the States for the better part of the decade, I now know the difference. The probability of becoming a victim in Delhi is far higher than any of the other cities in the developed world. India cannot ensure the safety of half its citizens and wants to think of herself as an emerging giant?  what rubbish.

All these episodes and the fact that my own Sunny boy thinks that 'Amma can fix everything for me'  chilled my bones. I needed something to warm up my bones as well as my heart. This Broccoli soup tried to do that. It was hard but an effort in the right direction for I confess I am a die hard foodie.

We will need,

Broccoli (florets and steam and all) 1 lb
Butter 1 tbsp
Potatoes 1 diced
Garlic 1 clove
Onion 1 small diced
Bay leaf 1
Cloves 2
Nutmeg a dash
Milk 2 cups
Black pepper and salt to taste

Method:

• Trim and wash the broccoli. Discard the tough ends and the fibrous skin on the stem. Dice and set it aside.
• Heat the butter in a soup pot. Once the butter starts to brown on the edges, throw in the garlic. Saute for a few seconds. 
• Once the garlic is golden in colour, throw in the onions and saute till they are brown at the edges. 
• Throw in the potatoes. Saute till they are golden brown in colour. 
• Throw in the broccoli and saute till the broccoli bits brown a bit and reduce heat.
• Throw in about a cup and water and cook the vegetables are very tender. 
• Once the vegetables are fork tender, puree the mixture in a blender and return it the the soup pot. 
• Stir in the milk, adjust salt and pepper and simmer till nice and thick. Serve it with a choice of bread and some cheese.

P.S: I almost never use stock or broth in my soups. They sort taste way too weird for me.  However, I use fresh garlic, spices like bay leaf, cloves and nutmeg which more than compensates for the stock. Also I find that cornstarch as a thickener sort of turns down the soup a notch. So I prefer to use Potatoes in my soups. Not only they thicken the soup but gives it a lot more body which I love. I also hate stock cubes. They are nothing but beautifully packaged garbage.

Panner Pepper Masala

Watched the movie Talaash. It was disappointing to see supernatural in a movie backed by an actor like Amir Khan -  thinking Khan. I would never have watched it had I the tiniest of clue of the movie having a supernatural theme. Come on Amir, it is so disappointing. Wonder what he to say on this one.

I had a gallon of milk left over from the previous  week. I turned it into Panner. Just that the home made Panner is not as sturdy as the ones off the store shelf. But the crumbled Panner was just as good in this dish. It is a take on the Panner Burji.

We will need,

Panner  1.5 cups (crumbled or chopped coarsely)
Ghee 1 tbsp
Mustard 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds 1/2 tsp
Onion 1 medium chopped
Tomato 1 medium chopped
Chilli powder 1/2 tsp (more if preferred)
Dhania powder 1 tsp
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Capscium / Bell peppers 2 medium
Milk 1/4 cup
Garam Masala  1/4 tsp
Salt to taste
Lime juice to taste
Coriander fresh a handful

Method:

• Heat ghee in a Kadai. Throw in the mustard, Jeera  and the fennel seeds. Once they crackle,  throw in the onions, saute till the onions are soft.
• Throw in the chilli  powder, dhania powder and turmeric. Saute till the spices are fragrant.Throw in the tomatoes and cook till the tomatoes are soft and mushy.
• Throw in the bell peppers and saute for a few minutes. Throw in the Panner. Mix everything gently.
• Pour in the milk, add garam masala and simmer till the favors combine.  
• Adjust salt, lime juice and coriander. Serve with Rotis.

Zucchini Tovve

I find it very uncomfortable when absolute values are imposed on us, either by the politically powerful or the socially powerful. It is up to individuals to make a decision for themselves, whether they marry a person of the same sex or opposite sex, why should the government be bothered? In a sense it is so Orwellian, that today the state decides who should marry whom and where tomorrow it will be something more drastic. Just read that the ruling party in the UK is mulling to legalize same sex marriages in churches. Thankfully, on the other side of the Atlantic, same sex marriages are becoming more acceptable. Maine and Washington voted to legalize same sex marriage. Back home in India, the queer parade was a big hit. They are such a fringe group back home. It is so unfortunate. Personal liberties mean nothing at all in this context. I have heard people say that being 'gay' is just a fad, people will realize that and sometime they will get back to being straight!! I have not heard anything more ridiculous than this. Well, why do not we think of it this way,  some people like red, some black, some yellow and some blue. We all have a right to choose a color of our choice. Similarly, people should have the right to choose their love. Should such a simple expression of personal liberty be fought for? Does such prejudice have a room in this century?
 We call ourselves a 'morally upright' society. Ha! What a joke. We are a society which tolerated the commodification of women in the name of religion, we are a society which tolerated extra-marital affairs as long as it the man who is committing it. We are the society which are killing young people in love because they are marrying against the socially acceptable castelines. Now we call two people in love, loyal to each other but they are of the same sex, 'immoral?'. Two hoots to such double standards.

Here is some Zucchini Tovve. On rainy, cool days, I do not feel all the sunny at all. I am still at heart a Tropical-sun-loving person. On one such day, dished this one out because it takes but minutes to cook this.
 

We will need,

Toor dal  1/4 cup

Turmeric a pinch
Ghee 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing a dash
Dried red chillies 3-4 broken
Curry leaves a handful
Garlic cloves 2 (optional, somehow I like a little garlic in this dish)
Zucchini 2-3 medium diced
Salt to taste
Lime juice to taste
Fresh coriander a handful.

Method:

• Wash the dal in several changes of water, till the water runs clear. Place the dal, along with the turmeric and a drop of ghee along with about 2 cups of water in a pressure cooker and cook till the dal is fall apart tender. That is about 2 whistles in my pressure cooker. 
• To prepare the zucchinis, heat the remaining ghee in a wok. 
• Throw in the mustard seeds and the Jeera. Once they stop spluttering, throw in the Hing, chillies and cury leaves. Once they crackle, throw in the garlic. Saute the garlic till golden brown.
• Throw in the zucchini. Toss well and sprinkle a dash of salt. Saute till the zucchini is tender but firm. Remove from heat and set it aside.
• Once the pressure cooker is cool enough to handle, open the cooker and pour the dal into the zucchini. 
• Adjust salt and bring the mixture to a gentle boil. Remove from heat and adjust lime juice. Finish with fresh coriander if desired. Serve hot with steamed rice.

Kumbalakayi Bajji / Mash Pumpkin

"Look outside the weather is cool

Bears hibernate and birds migrate

Lets sing a song for autumn is here...."

I heard Sunny boy mumbling this cute song he was taught in his school. Ah! I wish we were like bears. Hog all summer long and hibernate during the cooler months. The worst of weather is supposed to be a few weeks away, but the unseasonable chill has already cooled my bones. I am not even thinking of all the holiday displays and the decorations and the holiday songs that are being played everywhere! All I can think of is warm soups and nibbles all day long. I wish it were a typical fall with balmy days and cooler nights. If it were a typical fall, we would have enjoyed our share of Halloween and Pumpkins. Alas, Sandy thought we did not deserve it this year and ruined both our Pumpkins and Halloween.  Lucky me,  I had a stash pumpkins and squash from late summer. I still have a few left. Picked them up when they were a dollar a piece. So we are still eating the Pumpkins we picked with our own bare hands. This time I got the tiny sugar Pumpkins. They did not impress me much. They are too tiny and barely any flesh. For the quantity we consume, we will need at least 3 sugar Pumpkins. I did rather get a huge chuck of the larger variety from our local Indian stores all cut up and ready to go. The sugar Pumpkins were probably sweeter than the larger ones though.
After our share of Pumpkin Huli, Palya, soup and even thanksgiving Stuffing, I really wanted to make something different. This Bajji was the answer. It is very simple and cooks in a jiffy. It is mouthwatering delicious, especially if you are like me- a big Pumpkin eater :)

We will need,
Pumpkin/ Kumbalakayi /Butternut Squash  1lb (cleaned and cut into chunks)
Peanut oil /Coconut oil  1 tbsp
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
Hing a dash
Curry leaves a handful
Fennel seeds 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies 4-5 (slit lengthwise -adjust according to taste)
Jaggery  1 tsp (crushed)
Salt to taste
Yogurt 2-3 tbsp (preferably tart)

Method:

• Steam Pumpkins till soft. This can be done using a steamer like the Idli steamer or using a steamer inset of a Pressure cooker. Allow it to cool down and coarsely mash the cooked Pumpkins.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pot. Throw in the the Mustard seeds, Jeera, Fenugreek, fennel seeds. Once they crackle, add the hing and curry leaves.
• Throw in the slit green chillies. Saute till blisters appear on the chillies.
• Throw in the mashed Pumpkin. Mix well,  throw in the Jaggery and adjust salt. Allow any excess water to evaporate. 
• Once the mixture is thick, remove from heat. 
• Stir in the yogurt and fresh coriander. Check salt once more and serve immediately. Goes well with Chapati. I can eat it all by itself too...

Vegetarian Chilli

'Chilli' is a hearty bowl of stew that can be made with everything but the kitchen sink. It has a variety of beans, vegetables and a medley of warm spices. Usually it also calls of some meat but very much possible to eliminate meat altogether and no one will even know! In fact this stew is so versatile it can be served with a bread of choice or rice or all by itself. This afternoon, the weather gods blessed us with more snowfall. When ever they forget the time of year and decide to bless us with snow storm(imagine it is still the middle of November), a bowl of warm Chilli soothed my soul. Coming back after clearing the snow perched on our car with numb fingers ad toes, a second serving of the Chilli brought back my pinkie toe to life!

We will need,

Kidney beans 1/4 cup
Kabuli Channa/ Garbanzo 1/4 cup
Organic cold pressed Coconut oil 2 tbsp (yeah! I found it in Costco and love it)
Garlic 3 cloves
Onion 1 medium (chopped)
Zucchini 1 small diced (organic too)
Carrots 1 small  diced (organic)
Bay leaf 1
Shitaki Mushrooms 1 pack (stalks discarded)
Button Mushrooms 1 Pack
Tomatoes 4 medium chopped
Sun dried tomatoes 2 tbsp (chopped)
Green chillies slit
Jeera powder 1 tsp
Red Chilli powder 1/2 tsp
Turmeric 1/4 tsp
Salt and Sugar to taste

Method:

• If using the dried beans, soak overnight and pressure cook till soft. It can also be quick soaked. Bring the beans in plenty of water to a roaring boil and turn out the heat, sit for an hour and then pressure cook till tender. I usually cook a giant batches of beans and freeze them in multiple bags.
• Heat oil in a thick bottomed pot. Throw in the garlic and cook till the garlic is golden brown. 
• Throw in the onion and saute till pale in colour. Throw in the bay leaf and green chillies, saute.
• Throw in the zucchini, carrot and saute till they look tender. Throw in all the dry spices. Saute them till the spices are fragrant about 5-6  minutes.
• Throw in the tomatoes and all their juices. Pick up bits at the bottom i.e de-glazing the toasted spices. 
• Add about a cup water if the mixture is dry.
• Once the mixture comes to a boil throw in the mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and the beans. Adjust salt and simmer till the flavours combine about 30-45 minutes. 
• Add a generous pinch of sugar and lime juice if preferred. 
• Serve warm with Avocados, cheese and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

Ian  usually very creative with this one dish because it is forgiving. I add vegetables like bell peppers, spinach, kale, chard etc. In simple terms, what ever I happened to have in my refrigerator that day. Sending this as my entry to the Green Foodie event. It is heart warming that organic food movement is  taking deeper roots and people are appreciating organic way of eating. Well, it was not long  back that my own family would tell me organic is just waste of money. If I could, I did eat only what I could grow. But that is a long shot. Hopefully someday we will not miss mother nature at our dining tables.

Chiffon Cake

It is the season of baking here! Started it with Honey's birthday.Birthday cake poses a complex problem. There are so many parameters to be considered- should look good and cute, should taste good, should be tender and should be good made-ahead. I love butter cakes. They taste awesome when fresh and warm, they are sturdy and stand up well for hardy frosting-fondant etc. But they are not very good made ahead. They sort of become dry and caked up if kept in the refrigerator for a while. On the other hand, Chiffon cakes are not all that yummy or buttery but are good  made ahead and popped in the refrigerator. They remain tender for days, they to hold up to frosting and light, very light, something that does not make you cringe at the end of a heavy meal. The disadvantage of a chiffon cake is that it can be a little 'eggy' if not flavored well.
I have always loved Chiffon cakes because they are like a blank canvas, paint your mood and it will hold up. This time it was all fruits. Me and Sunny boy put together the cake. Well Sunny boy sure is not old enough to beat eggs, but he does runs around me in the kitchen as I go about the cake. He did pick a few strawberries  for me. In fact Strawberries were his idea.  He had grown very fond of them (for now, that is!).
After a long days wait, it was indeed hard to keep Sunny boy from knocking the cake down or to take a picture. I wish I had a better shot. But for now this is all I have.

We will need,
All Purpose flour 1 cup minus 1 tbsp
Corn Starch 1 tbsp
Baking powder 1/2 tbsp
Sugar 6 tbsp
Salt a pinch
Refined sunflower oil 1/4 cup
Extra large eggs 4
Orange zest 1 tsp + juice 3 tbsp
Vanilla 1 tsp

Method:

• Pre-heat oven to 350F. Line a piece of parchment onto an 8" baking tin. Do not grease the tin.
• Sift the flour, cornstarch and baking powder multiple times and set it aside. Stir in the sugar and salt gently.
• Separate the eggs and beat egg whites till stiff. 
• Mix the egg yolks, oil, orange juice, zest and vanilla. Beat till combined.
• Stir in the wet ingredients into dry ingredients gently.
• Fold the egg whites into flour mixture very gently. 
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake till a toothpick inserted in the center comes clean.
• Frost the cake as desired. My favorite is the fresh whipped cream and cream cheese frosting. 
• Decorate it with assorted fresh fruits, chocolate, nuts as desired.  

Seven cups ...may be just six cups

Seven cups is indeed a strange name for a sweet.But then what is in the name? A rose by any other  name is just as sweet. Well seven cups indeed will be utterly sweet  so we usually trim it down to six cups. This was lso a part of our Diwali platter and we all loved it so much.

We will need,

Chickpea flour 1 cup
Sugar  2 cups
Milk 1 cup
Coconut grated 1 cup
Ghee 1 cup
Cardamon 1 (seeds crushed, skin discarded)
Saffron soaked in a tsp milk

Method:

• Grease a cookie sheet and set it aside.
• Heat the chickpea flour in a non stick pan and toast it till fragrant. Remove from heat and allow it to cool completely.
• Once cool, gently add the milk into the flour  a little by little and stir well, making sure that there are no lumps. Stir in all of the milk and make a paste.
• Now stir in the sugar, coconut and the ghee. Place the mixture on a gentle heat. Cook it till the mixture leaves the side of the pan.Throw in the cardamon and the saffron.
• Once the mixture starts to harden on the edges, pour it onto the greased sheet, spread it around and score it.
• Once the mixture has set up, cut it and store it in an air tight box.

Godi Laadu / Whole wheat laddoo

My Diwali platter this year was a combination of  various grains. This one is made of whole wheat flour. It is surprisingly simple to make yet utterly delicious.

We will need

Whole wheat flour /chapati flour 1 cup
Ghee  about 1 cup  (more or less)
Sugar 1-1.5 cups (use the finest variety)
Cardamon 1 (shelled and the seeds crushed)

Method:

• Heat a non-stick pan  with about 3 tbsp of ghee. Dump the flour and  toast it till fragrant about 15-20 minutes. The colour of the flour deepens a bit and the flour sort of plumps up too. More than  anything it becomes sweet and fragrant sort of like toasting nuts.
• Remove from heat and allow it to cool slightly. Stir in the sugar,cardamon and let it cool enough to handle.
• Now melt the remaining ghee. Make a well in the center of the flour-sugar mixture and pour in the ghee a little at a time.
• Work the ghee into the flour. Pour more ghee  if  the flour absorbs all of it.
• Gather some  of the mixture in your palms and form it into balls Laddoos. If it crumbles, the mixture needs more  ghee. Arrange the finished Laddoos in a single layer on a big platter. 
• Allow  the Laddoos to air dry for a few hours and pack it in an air-tight container.

Happy Deepavali

Wishing you all a very happy, prosperous and safe Deepawali. Here is a list of  Sweets apt for the occasion.
Here is sending my virtual love to  all of you and your family.

This time around, started a new tradition of gifting home made goodies. Everything is  home made. The tray is just a regular Chinet dinner plate which I hand decorated with motifs of Rangoli, Swastika and earthen lamps.  Finally the plate is filled with sweets  like Ragi Burfi, Kajjaya, Seven cups and Godi Laddu. The recipes will be coming up later. The plate is then wrapped with festive cellophane finished with ribbons and a handmade six legged bow. Just that the photograph  did not turn up all that well. I wish I had a better photograph.

Once  again have a happy, prosperous and safe Deepavali.

Ragi Burfi

It is Deepawali time, time to share, feast and enjoy the victory of good over and evil and to acknowledge the large heart Bali Chakravarthy who will be visiting us his beloved citizens on Balipadyami. To the feasting part. I have finished preparing my Deepawali spread. This time doing something ambitious. Prepared all the goodies at home! So now they are all nicely packed and ready to go. But had planned to do this post a few days back but could not. Here we go.
My plan was to have sweets made of different grains. Kajjaya is made of rice, Wheat Laddo out of whole wheat flour, 7 cups out of chickpea flour. Decided to try something with Ragi. The Ragi halbai is very tasty but rather time consuming so was figuring out what to do. All of a sudden came an idea to combine the goodness of Ragi Halbai and Burfi, and I should confess I did not go wrong. This was the most appreciated sweet of all. Also I adds a beautiful rustic touch to the Deepawali gift platter.

We will need,

Ragi flour over 2 measures
Khoa 1measure
Sugar 3 measures
Ghee 1 measure
Whole milk 2 measures
Cardamon 2
Saffron a generous pinch
Cashew pieces to garnish

Method:

• Grease a cookie sheet or a jelly roll tin with a little ghee and set it aside.
• Sieve the ragi flour using a fine mesh strainer. Discard any rough bits and coarse grains. We need only the fine part of the flour. Use two measures of this fine flour.
• Heat a non stick pan, place two tbsp of ghee in the pan and throw in the Ragi flour. Toast the Ragi flour till fragrant. It takes a while to get there. It took me almost 20 minutes on low heat. Remove from heat and set it aside.
• Grate the khoa using the finer side of the grater. It will be easier to use either chilled or frozen Khoa.
• Combine the Khoa, toasted Ragi flour and sugar. Make a hole in the middle and pour small quantity of whole milk mixing it into the flour mixture. Make sure that there are no lumps. Stir in all of the milk to get a slurry. 
• Place the mixture on medium heat. Pour in the ghee and cook the mixture till it leaves the side of the pan and the mixture starts to solidify on the edges. Stir in the powdered cardamon and saffron. 
• Pour the mixture onto the prepared sheet. Spread it into about 1/4" thickness. Score the sheet into Burfi of desired size, mine area about 1" *2 "
• Place bits of cashews on each of the Burfi. Cut them as scored once they are slightly cool but set. 

P.S: Use any container of choice to measure the ingredients. Just make sure to use the same container to measure out all the ingredients. Also vegetarian silver vark can be used to decorate the Burfi.

Habanero Chutney

I love-hate Habanero, love it that it starts off fruity, very fragrant and slightly sweet but ends up with frantic call to the fire department. On our last trip to the farm where we pick our vegetables on good summer days, I found some pretty looking Habaneros, some red, some sort of yellow, they were indeed so adorable. I had to pick them. Never thought of what to do them. Once home, I started thinking of making a pickle with the fiery fellows. But my heart fainted when I ended up using just a couple in a curry in place of green chillies I had just run out. Boy! That was something. So instead of making a pickles with more chilli powder and spices, decided to do a chutney instead. So here comes the Habanero chutney, call the fire department.

Well I also did something very stupid.I decided to discard the seeds and ribs of the Habaneros. Despite knowing how nasty this fellow can get, I did it with my bare hands. Needless to say, my palms were burning for a long time. Tried every possible thing in the kitchen and bathroom closets, but the fiery fellow persisted. Some one told me to rub my hands with some alcohol. It seemed to have worked. So beware, never use bare hands to work on these little fire bombs.

Honey dumped a ladleful of this chutney thinking it was Pumpkin Palya! He did think it was not all that wise of him to do that.

We will need,

Habaneros 4-6 chopped (seeds discared)
Pineapple chopped 1 cup
Kopra 1/4 cup
Peanut oil `/4 cup
Mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Hing a dash
Curry leaves a handful
Jaggery 2 tbsp crushed (a little more or less depending on preference)
Salt to taste

Method:

• Chop the Habaneors and discard the seeds and the veins. Reserve
• Toast the Kopra and pound it into a fine powder.
• Heat oil in a thick bottom pan. Throw in the mustard, jeera and hing. Once the spluttering stops, throw in the curry leaves. Toss in the chopped chillies, saute for a few minutes.
• Toss in the pineapple along with their juices. Saute for a few minutes and then throw in the Kopra.
• Give it a stir. Add salt and jaggery. Add a little water if the mixture is dry. Cook till the pineapples are tender and the dish comes together.
• Serve as a part of any meal. Goes well with rice, rasam and Mosaranna (curd rice)