Project: Roti

In many Indian homes the most basic staple of food is roti (flat bread). It is eaten with curry as well as variety of different foods such as pickle, chutney, raita or simply with honey or jam . To most older generation of Indian women, knowing how to make roti is a right of passage in learning to cook Indian food. It looks simple enough but it is an art form requiring practice (lots of it) and patience.

Over the years I have seen my mom make roti countless times, on occasions I have even helped cook it on the tawa/griddle. Yesterday, I made my own roti, merely four, but it took me awhile, and all those years of "watching" my mother making it did not help. Roti is suppose to be round and light, but my dough did not mix and it was a bit hard, making difficult making a round shape, which also I need a lot of practice in.

This is going to be my on going project. Over the course of next couple of weeks I am going to try and make roti everyday, hopefully in few days I will have a good hang of it, and I will post the recipe then.

Okra with Potatoes

Okra (bhinda) are one of my favorite vegetables. My Mom often makes them with potatoes as a side dish for the main course. I only like them as a semi dried dish, but not as a curry. I have yet to taste okra curry that I like. This recipe is courtesy of my mother, and this is her "go to" okra and potatoes recipe which she serves with the main dish of kichdi and khadhi.

Prep time: <15 minutes
Cook time: < 15 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

1 lbs Okra
3 potatoes
1 large tomato 
1/2 tsp onion seeds
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp ginger & garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp tomato puree
1 tsp coriander-cumin powder
4 tbsp oil 
Oil (enough to fry okra & fries)
salt to taste

Method:

Wash the okras, and dry them on a towel (tip: never wash okra once they are cut-- otherwise they will become slimy). Then cut off the tip and slit them lengthwise. Wash and peel the potatoes, and cut them into long thin slices  (similar to french fries). Soak the potatoes in cool salted water and set it aside. Heat oil on high, and add the okras. Once they are semi crispy, remove and set it aside (cook time for the okras is less than five minutes.  You don't want to over cook the okras). In the same oil, add the potatoes and fry them to a crisp. Once done, remove and set it aside.

Chop the tomato roughly and run it through the food processor until liquidized.

In a pot add oil (4 tbsp), once the oil is hot add cumin, and onion seeds. Once they start spluttering reduce the heat to medium and add ginger-garlic paste, turmeric, tomato puree, coriander-cumin powder, and tomato sauce. Let the the mixture saute for few minutes until it thickens.  Then add okras, potatoes, and add salt to taste. Mix the ingredients well, and let it cook for a couple of minutes. 

Sev Ladoos

In a long list of variety of ladoos, sev ladoo, are by far my favorite. I still remember when I first tasted it, it was little ball of heaven. Unfortunately, I used to only have them once a year, but after making them myself, I will most definitely try and make them as often as I can. 

Ladoos are a type of Indian sweet, most often made during festivals, weddings, and any celebratory event. I always thought it was a difficult process to make these, but  they are quite simple to make, but it require time.  I know I must sound like a broken record because most of the things I have attempted to cook has been pretty straight forward and simple. But I must say that these turned out really well, in fact so well that I airmailed them to my sister and she ate 7 of them in one sitting!

Prep time: 60 minutes
Makes: 46 ladoos

Ingredients:

300g roasted Vermicelli
2 1/4 cup Khoya (Mawo)
60g fine sugar
1 cup almond
1 cup pistachio
2 tbsp Ghee
Saffron (a pinch)
2 tbsp Milk
Cardamom powder to taste

Method:

Grind almond and pistachio separately into a powder. Khoya comes packaged as a block of cheese, the best method is to grate it. 

In a large bowl, combine almond, pistachio, khoya, sugar, and a pinch of cardamom powder. 

In a small bowl add a pinch of saffron and then add milk. Microwave it for few seconds (`30 sec)- enough for it to dilute with the milk. Add this to the mix above.

Crush the vermicelli into small pieces. In a pan heat ghee on high and then add vermicelli. Since the vermicelli is roasted it only needs to be cooked for few minutes. Stir continuously until it is warm. Then add vermicelli to the large bowl containing rest of the ingredients, and mix it well, combining all the ingredients. 

Then roll the mixture into small round-shape balls. That is it! 

Let me know how it turns out.