Sweet Corn Chicken Soup ( IndoChinese)

This soup is indeed our all time favourite of my family . When we lived in India, I used to boil the corn on the cob, de seed them, and grind them to make cream of corn. De-boning the chicken and shredding was another time consuming chore. But here in USA, this is a very easy soup to make, and quick too, especially if you use canned ingredients. The taste is very authentic and my kids love it. This used to be our favourite soup in Indian Chinese cuisine. It soothes and comforts the soul.
Ingredients:
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole corn
2 tbsp corn flour
32 oz box organic chicken stock
salt to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1 can chicken breast meat
2 eggs

Garnish :
1. chopped thai chilli pepper in vineger
2. Schiraccha sauce
3. Light Soya sauce

Dissolve the corn flour in chicken stock and bring to boil, add 1 can creamed corn and 1 can whole corn kernels and mix and cook to boil. add salt and pepper to season. Wash, drain and shred the canned chicken and add 1/2 of it to the soup, save the rest for rest for garnish (optional) I just add all of it in the soup.
In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs and add it in a thin stream to the soup in its final stages just before serving, and stir lightly.
Ladle the soup into a bowl and drizzle with peppered vinegar, and soya sauce. Customize each bowl with desired topping as needed.

The Daalli Thali

Nothing pleases a "True Konkani" other than a simple Daali Toya Thali meal., with Sheeta( rice), Daaali toya ( Dal) Upkari ( stir fry vegetable) and a randhai ( curry) . Its comfort food for all of us. My kids have always enjoyed this simple thali meal , and can be served as lunch or dinner. This was the first meal I made for Buju after she returned home from her brief hospital stay. Looks yummy , doesn't it?? It was................ In this particular plate you see Daali, rice, bhendi upkari ( stir fry okra)and vaingana sagle( eggplant/Potato coconut curry), plain yogurt to blend . I will seperate the recipe of each dish to simplify the process. This entire meal can be cooked in less than an hour.

Listed below are all the ingredients you will need for this preparation. You can always interchange the vegetables in this meal for a different variety

Ingredients :(main)

1 cup basmati rice

1 cup Toor Dal( yellow split peas)

1/2 lb okra ( 20 )

4-5 chinese eggplants

1 potato

1/2 red onion

1 cup yogurt

1 cup grated coconut

tamarind paste

2 green chillies

1-2 tsp mustard seeds, 1-2 sprig curry leaves, 10 dry red chillies, 1 tsp coriander seeds

hing( asafoetida), 1/4 tsp turmeric , and 2 tbsp salt to taste

1 tsp Ghee and/or oil for seasoning

Its always easy to start with rice.

1. Rice :

Wash the rice and place it in the rice cooker with 2 cups of water, a little salt , and let it cook while you prepare the rest of the meal.

2. Daali Toya :

Wash the dal and add 2-3 cups water and cook in the pressure cooker or open sauce pan until soft and blended. Add salt( to taste),a pinch of hing and green chillies and bring it to a boil. In a small fry pan, heat 1 tsp ghee and add mustard seeds, pinch of hing, 2 broken red chillies and curry leaves, and add this to the boiling dal mixture. This dish is ready to serve........

3.Bhindi Upkari

Chop the Bhindis or OKRA in small round wheels. In an open non stick pan, add 1-2 tsp oil , mustard seeds, and 1-2 broken red chillies. Add the sliced okra when the seeds start sputtering carefully, add salt and stir fry leaving the pan open, on low heat. Do not add water , otherwise the okra will get slimy. You can add a 1 tblsp of chopped red onion if you like for added flavor and stir fry till browned, before adding okra. This dish should be done in less than 10 minutes and can be prepared last.
4. Eggplant sagle.

a) Coconut masol ( curry)

1 cup grated (frozen)

4-5 red roasted chillies

1 tsp roasted corriander seeds

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

Grind all of the above with warm water to a coarse paste.

Slit the eggplants or cut into long segments. The red potatoes can also be cut in the same shape. Slice the red onions into julliene strips.

Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large fry pan, add mustard seeds, curry leaves and onions and salt and stir-fry till transucent. add the vegetables and stir fry for 5 more mins. Now add the masol( coconut curry paste)and cook for 15 minutes. Add water if paste is too dry and cook till the vegetables are fork tender.

Sweet Buns

The konkani name for this breakfast treat is " Bubbus Rotti". It is served in all Kamath's restaurants in Mangalore. In the USA, it would compare to Mexican Sopapillas, minus the sugar dusting and syrup. Its delicious tea time treat or just an anytime snack. My kids would open it up and play with it for hours, making up stories such as Beauty and Beast, and enjoying the snack.
Here is a picture of an opened bun. Make sure that the baking powder is fresh to make them more soft and fluffy.


Ingredients:
2 cups All purpose flour ( Maida)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour ( Atta)
1 Banana ( optional)
1 cup yoghurt ( sour)
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking powder
Oil of choice for frying

Mix in yogurt with sugar, salt and baking powder, and let it react for a few seconds, mash the ripe banana until blended. Add maida and atta and bind together into a bread like dough. Place it in a glass bowl and keep covered in a warm place overnight or atleast 5-6 hours , to rise.
Heat 4-5 cups of vegetable oil in a kadhai ( wok frying pan) or "traditional Kayli " until nice and hot. Test it with a little piece of dough to see if it floats. While the oil is heating up, you can size a small lemon size dough and press it on a floured board and roll out 2-3 inches round poori. The dough may pull back a little, which is OK. Deep fry the poories until they are golden brown , remember to turn it over on the second side, as well.
Place the deep fried poories on a paper towel, and let the excess oil be absorbed , before serving. Enjoy it with hot coffee or tea...................... Yummilicious!!!!!

Udid and Moong Dal Pollo ( DOSA)

This is a very yummy Pollo/ Dosa but guess what? No rice in it..............so for all you low carbers, and high protein dieters, this is a perfect breakfast. It is very light too. I am so excited to feed my little one and her little one, something nutritious, as well as tasty every morning. This preparation was made at my Ajji's house too, but I had completely forgotten about it. This is similar to the "Addai" version of south indian dosas, which calls for a variety of dals and rice. All of these dals can be easily found in any Indian store. The added ginger and green chillies just bumps up the taste.
Ingredients:
1 cup Udid Dal
1 cup Moong Dal
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 or 2 finely chopped or ground serrano peppers
2 tsp salt ( to taste)
Wash the dals thoroughly and then soak them for about 2-3 hours until soft.
Grind it to a smooth paste, using the water that was soaked in, to a cake batter consistency.
Add salt and the grated ginger and chopped chillies. You can add a little yoghurt, if you like it a little sour.Let it ferment overnight, to make it even lighter.
Using a large cast iron griddle , spread a ladle full of batter into a nice round shape,lightly drizzle it with oil around the edges, and cook covered until the edges are browned and seperated from the tava(griddle). Non stick pans make excellent low fat version of this. Flip and cook on the other side, until nice and crisp.
Serve with green chutney , butter or konkani nonche (pickle) or just plain.............................

Tavshya dodhak( Cucumber Dodhak)

I tried to create my own recipe for this traditional dodhak. I feel like I am stepping into my Ajji's shoes, where nothing was ever created from scratch. She always had to mix something and come up with a new and yummy tasting dish. In this case I had leftover cucumber raita, that we had made several nights ago, and it ended up being a little salty. I hate to waste things or throw away stuff, that has not gone "bad". I think this ended up very tasty , nutritious and yummy breakfast treat. You can never go wrong with this preparation.
Ingredients:
1 cup leftover cucumber raita
1/2 cup grated coconut
1/2 chopped green chilly
1/4 cup cilantro
2 cups coarse organic white rice flour
2 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 cup oil
salt to taste
Add all the chopped fresh ingredients( coconut, green chilly, cilantro) to the raita, and mix in the rice flour and all purpose flour to bind it. The batter should be soft and easy to pick up with your hands.
On a flat cast iron griddle, place a large handful( 1/2 cup) of dough and spread it with wetted fingers, to a round shape. Drizzle a little oil around the dodhak and cover with a lid, keeping it on medium to high heat, until the edges turn brown. Flip and cook on the other side with a little more oil if needed, for extra crispy texture.
Serve with green chutney, or sweet butter.

Patholi (Sweet dumplings steamed in turmeric leaves)

Traditionally, patholi is made during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. It is a favorite of Konkanis and it's said that if you don't like patholi, you're not a true Konkani. These take a significant amount of preparation and a lot of labor, so most people that come across a bite of this sweet dessert are truly grateful. The person who makes this gets all the kudos and it carries with it a badge of honor that only a few wear. My mom, growing up in Mumbai did not get these typical Konkani treats as her ajji or mom didn't prepare patholi and it is never readily available in any restaurant or store, even in areas with large Konkani populations (which Mumbai does not have anyway). Patholi, as mentioned before is normally made during Ganesh Chaturthi which was not a tradition passed on by her ancestors. Once she was married, her mother in law, my bapama, did have the Ganesh Chaturthi tradition and that's where mom tasted it for the first time. After 20-something non-patholi US years, my mom was requainted with the taste of patholi at her friend Jyotsna's house during Ganesh Chaturthi. This is where I had tasted it for the first time. From what I remember, Jyotsna Auntie used aluminum foil instead of the whole turmeric leaves. These leaves are not available in large quantities at all, some folks sneak them in from India in dried form. Jyotsna Auntie put a small piece of turmeric leaf in the filling itself to provide flavor which my mom said did it justice. At 58, my mom decided she had the courage to take on the enormous task of completing this recipe. There were turmeric roots available at her chinese grocery store, so she planted them in the ground and to her great surprise, her very own turmeric leaves began sprouting in the Phoenix sun. My mom credits her luck of growing these leaves and the completion of this recipe to her love and devotion to Lord Ganesh.

Below is the step-by-step preparation methods to this wonderful recipe.

Ingredients:

20-25 turmeric leaves, washed and pat dried

For initial filling:

1 - 10.5 oz package frozen coconut

1 cup rice, soaked for 1 hour

1/4 cup poha, soaked for 5 minutes (flattened rice)*

For second (sweet) filling:

1 - 10.5 package frozen coconut

8 oz (1 cup) jaggery*

1 tsp ground cardamom

1. Grind coconut and soaked rice, using a little soaking water in blender until smooth. Add poha and grind until combined.

2. Heat coconut, jaggery and cardamom in a saucepan on medium heat until. Stirring frequently until jaggery is melted into coconut and mixture is dry and coarse.

3 .While mixture cools, lay out turmeric leaves, stem side down on clean counter.

4. Spread about a tablespoon of the initial filling on each leave and spread evenly. You may need to adjust the amount of filling depending on the size of the leaf.

5. Place a small trail of the sweet filling in the middle of the initial filling as seen in the picture on each leaf.

6. Fold the leaves in half.

7. Place the

patholi in a steamer basket inside a large pot. You can pile the patholi on top of one another.

Steam in pot for 7-8 minutes or until mixture is set.

To eat, you peel off the turmeric leaf and eat the inside (similar to a tamale).

Methi Aloo (and Baingan)

"Methi" pronounced "May-thee" are fenugreek greens. Both the seeds, fresh/frozen greens and dried greens are used in indian cuisine. The fresh/frozen greens have a mild, but pleasant, bitterness and goes well with the softness of the aloo (potato). The recipe calls for both sweet and spicy ingredients which give this dish a well rounded flavor. We are very thankful that bags of methi are available at our local indian store as the fresh leaves available in India are mercilessly painful to prepare for cooking. Mom remembers dedicating an entire afternoon to picking good leaves off stems and repeatedly having to clean off the mud and grit. My mom still remembers making this once without cleaning it properly and ending up with a gritty mess which her mother in law (my bapama) never forgot. Mom says the taste of the frozen doesn't compare to the actual fresh leaves from India, but she's willing to comprimise given the considerably lower labor intensity of preparation. In this recipe, mom had some eggplant (baingan) in the fridge that she added which is her Ajji was fond of including in this dish as well.

Ingredients:

1 10-12oz bag frozen methi leaves, thawed (fenugreek)
3 small red potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 chinese eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 small red onion, chopped finely
1 tsp black mustard seeds
4 dried red chilis, broken into pieces
2 tbs jaggery or brown sugar
8 oz water
1-2 tsp salt (or to taste)
2 tbs oil

In a large frying pan or wok, heat oil on high. Add mustard seeds and broken red chilis. Watch out for popping and flying of the hot mustard seeds! Add onion and sautee until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Add potatoes, eggplant and thawed methi, stir to combine. Add salt and jaggery/brown sugar and water. Cover and turn heat to medium, let cook until potatoes are fork tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Serve hot with fresh chapatis, parathas or wheat tortillas.

Variation (Jhunka): Omit potatoes and eggplant. Increase oil to 4 tbs. Follow instructions, once water is absorbed and oil is present, add 1 cup of besan (chickpea flour). Continue stirring (forever) on low heat until besan is fully absorbed.

Kashmiri Gobhi

Mom made this yummy cauliflower dish this evening. Although she learned this dish from a neighbor in Delhi, as most recipes mom adopts as her own, the final result is a much tastier than the original. This is not the weak anemic cauliflower you get in Indian restarants. This is a healthy low-fat, low-carb, and super tasty vegetarian side dish that's also easy to make. The bright yellow color makes it a pretty addition to any plate, especially one with warm parathas and cold raitha.

Ingredients:

One head cauliflower, broken into small pieces

2-3 green chilis (start with 1 if you're not sure of your spice level)

1 inch piece of ginger sliced thinly

1 tbs cumin

1-2 tsp salt (depending on your taste)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

2 tbs oil

1/4 cup cilantro for garnish

Heat oil on medium in a large sautee pan or wok. Add cumin, ginger, green chilis and sautee until fragrant and cumin seeds are toasted. Add cauliflower, salt, turmeric and stir until combined. Turn heat to low and finish cooking until cauliflower is fork tender, about 7-10 minutes. Add garam masala and cilantro to garnish.

Ajji's Pumpkin Dodhak (Uttapam)

Dodhak or uttapam is a savory and spicy pancake made with sooji (cream of wheat). A lot of folks that have it for the first time compare it to the scallion pancakes you can get at authentic Chinese restaurants. A lot of dodhak (uttapam) recipes call for onions or tomatoes to keep the moisture intact. Unfortunately, this usually leaves these soggy areas only where the onions or tomatoes end up. My ajji had a secret trick to keeping these savory pancakes moist all over without sogginess and still keeping the outside crispy -- pumpkin! Any kind of raw pumpkin or hard squash, like acorn, can be used in this recipe and if you're fresh out of pumpkin, substitute cucumber. You will be surprised with the delicious result. After enjoying this breakfast in Phoenix and watching as I prepared, my son-in-law tried it out for my daughter back in Austin. I can truly say she was thrilled to wake up to what she thought she could only get at mom's house. Aaron is now a true konkani and also a budding Indian chef in the making. One of his favorite items as accompaniment to the dish is a simple "chutney" made with 1 cup yogurt, 3 tablespoons sambar powder and a teaspoon (or to taste) of salt. Mix these all together and let sit while you combine and make the dodhak. Seriously simple, seriously yummy.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup grated pumpkin

1-2 green/red fresh chilis (depending on your spice level)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

2 cups sooji

1 cup yogurt/buttermilk

1-2 teaspoons salt (depending on how salty your yogurt is)Vegetable oil

Step 1: Mix all dry ingredients together and then add the yogurt and combine until well incorporated. Batter should be thick, almost a pasty consistency.

Step 2: Fill a small bowl with tap water. Heat cast iron or non-stick skillet with a teaspoon of vegetable oil.

Step 3: Using your hand (clean!), scoop up about a half cupful of batter and place on the hot pan. Press down on the batter with wet fingers to make a flat pancake. If the batter is sticking to your fingers, you need to wet your fingers further and try again. Trickle a little oil around the dodhak and flip once edges are crisp. Cook about 2 minutes on each side.

Step 4: Serve hot with yogurt sambar chutney, butter or hot pickle