banaras ka khana

Amla, Amlaki or Indian Gooseberry come in the season when winter is just about to start and we keep getting amla throughout the winter season. My grandmother used to call Amla as sacred fruit and as a blessing for winters. If one eats one amla everyday one wouldn't get sick ever she used to say and it is so true. Amla is a great immunity booster thanks to very high levels of Vitamin C in it. Read about more health benefits of Amla along with my grandmother's recipe of amle ki chutney.

It was because my Dadi (grandmother) that we got to know that there is a tradition of worshiping amla tree on the day of Amlaki Ekadashi as Lord Vishnu is considered to reside in it. I find it a beautiful philosophy to equate a tree to a God and worship it.

Most medicinal plants are worshiped in some form or the other in India, the traditions are prehistoric and might have tribal origins, but I find these traditions and rituals really beautiful. Just like ritualistic worship of Gods has preserved temples as the only surviving historical monuments, I believe the useful plants have also survived due to some or the other sacred ritual linked with them.

So there used to be a pooja and picnic under the amla tree in Banaras and the practice still survives as I am told by friends there. I remember there is a dedicated orchard of amla trees in Sampoornanand Sanskrit University where a community picnic happens every Amalaki Ekadashi. I have been to it once and it was really good. This day of Amlaki Ekadashi is also known as Aonra tar (below the amla tree) in Banaras and Eastern UP. Aonra is the name of amla in local dialect. ISCON devotees also worship amla this way.

Imagine how well our grandmothers were connected to nature and treated food as sacred. I remember about 10 kilos or more amle ka murabba being made in our home every year and it was a preferred way of eating amla during summer months as it is considered cooling. A great way to enjoy amla in the off season. Till a couple of years back I used to cook my grandmother's recipe of Chyawanprash too. May be I'll do that again with home grown ginger and long pepper, other herbs will be store bought of course.

Make this simple amle ka achar till then. This amle ka achar is a quick pickle that stays for a month in refrigerator, there is lesser salt than the regular pickles where more amount of salt preserves the pickles. Lesser amount of salt in this pickle helps eat more of it in one meal and have more benefits of amla in one dose.

ingredients

20 large amlas
20 large (Bhavnagri or Anaheim or Jalapeno chillies)

to make a paste with 3 tbsp water ...
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1.5 tbsp Kashmiri red chilly powder (this is very mild hot)
1 tsp fenugreek powder
1 tsp fennel powder
pinch of hing (asafotida)
1 tbsp salt

to temper the pickle...
2 tbsp mustard oil
1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)

procedure

Boil (pressure cook) the amlas with a cup of water till their segments get separated like this.

Chop the chillies in bite sized pieces or whatever size you like.

Make a slurry of the ingredients listed for a paste, adding a little more water if required.

Heat the mustard oil and add the nigella seeds and wait till they get aromatic, taking care not to burn them. Bring the gas flame to minimum.

Pour the spice paste slowly and stir. Let it cook till the oil separates.

Add the chillies and the separated segments of amla (discard the seeds), take the pan off the stove and mix well to coat.

Fill in a sterilised jar. This pickle is ready to eat in a couple of hours and can be refrigerated for a month or so.

One can always make amla pickle just like aam ka achar but do not boil the amla for that. Just chop it with a sharp knife, discard the seeds and follow the aam ka achar recipe. That amla pickle will last the whole year without refrigeration.

Any of these pickles will the right choice for your family if you eat Indian food mostly. The same procedure can be followed to make green chilly pickle as well if you like hari mirch ka achar. This amla aur hari mirch ka achar is really good with roti, paratha or daal chawal meals. Let me know if you find this recipe useful and easy to follow.

Cheers.

Chutneys are a great way to bring some tangy flavours in a meal, a condiment much needed when the meal is otherwise plain. Some people take pride in serving several types of chutneys in one meal but it is possible for me only when I have made a few chutneys over the week and have cleverly stocked them all in the fridge. I can't make fresh chutneys for all meals although I try and have our raw salad like batons of cucumber, carrots, radishes, tomato slices or onion slices on the side to make up for the vegetable intake in every meal. This is how everyday meals are served in the traditional way too, some subzi, some sauteed greens (saag), some daal, roti and rice, few chutneys (both sweet and savoury type) and some raw slices of salad vegetables. The combination will be the same even if there are non veg dishes on the menu but nuclear families don't bother to cook the whole hog. Chutneys come handy when the meals are simpler, they don't make you miss a spread on the dining table. Pickles also do the same.

I had never known about this sooran ki chutney, neither had I known about raw sooran being edible. Sooran or zamikand is one of those vegetables with so high Oxalic acid content that it itches the skin wherever it comes in contact with it. Even after cooking it itches the throat and the whole palate if the Oxalic acid crystals are not neutralized by some acidic addition like lime juice, tamarind etc. to the curry. Eating it raw would be scary I thought when I first saw my sister in law making this chutney with sooran. But then we kept taking small helpings of sooran ki chutney over the next few days it was so tasty. But more than being tasty, this chutney has a lot of medicinal value, good for digestive tract, great for inflamed (rheumatic) joints as well as for blood purifying.

The other ingredients used in this sooran ki chutney help in the overall benefits of this corm vegetable. Chilies, ginger, garlic and tamarind are all known as anti inflammatory and this chutney would be good for everyday meals. Tamarind also works for neutralizing the Oxalic acid in sooran and you don't feel any itching in the chutney. Even if the chutney is freshly made, this was a surprise even for me.

ingredients

a cup of cubed sooran (cleaned and washed nicely)
2 tbsp thick tamarind paste or pulp made using about 30 gm tamarind or more if you wish
1 tbsp lime juice
4-5 whole dry red chillies
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger root
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 tsp yellow mustard powder
salt to taste
drizzle of mustard oil (cold pressed)

procedure

Pulse everything together in a food processor to make a fine paste.

Empty into a clean glass or ceramic jar.

Drizzle a tbsp mustard oil and serve as required.

This chutney keeps well in the fridge for 2 weeks. I like to have a tbsp of this chutney with my meals 3-4 times a week.

The chutney doesn't change much with time regarding taste but the colour becomes a little dull after 2 weeks or so. If you use a little more mustard powder in this recipe you can use it like mustard sauce for your sandwiches and dressings.

You can also use fresh green tender tamarind if you get those. I have tried this sooran ki chutney with green and brown tamarind both and it tastes great both ways.

Adding some fresh coconut to this sooran ki chutney makes it a chutney suitable for idli and dosa as well. I was actually surprised to see how well sooran blends for a chutney. Please feel free to do your own experiments but take care to add enough sour agent like tamarind or lime or both.

ry it once and see if you would like to make it frequently during sooran season. I remember my grandmother used to make a very nice sooran ka achar with grated sooran, lot of ginger and chillies, All of us used to love that pickle. Now that I am posting sooran recipes on the blog, I must ask my mom about the recipe of sooran ka achar that used to last the whole year.

Tell me if you have heard about sooran ka chokha. The recipe will be shared soon as I am now buying sooran whenever I spot a nice and fresh corm in the market.

I have been traveling a lot and that has caused a serious lack of recipe updates on Banaras ka Khana. I regret not posting all the recipes I keep cooking in my kitchen and many more recipes that I intend to post on the blog with an intention to revive them from the crevices of the past. Not just the cuisine of Banaras and eastern UP, I keep indulging myself with desi traditions from all over India and always wonder how similar ingredients and similar techniques make so many different flavours belonging to different states. I will tell you how I found Bhatt ka dubka from Uttarakhand to be similar to our matar ka nimona.

Bhatt is black soybeans that grow locally all over Uttarakhand and probably in Himachal as well. Bhatt ka dubka and bhatt ki chudkani is everyday food for all locals and it really is so rustic and tasty you would find yourself craving for it once you taste these.

I was in Dhanachuli and Sattal (Nainital district, Uttarakhand) last week, the first 5 days were spent with the chefs at Te Aroha, training them to bake some continental dishes but I keep talking to them about their own cuisine on the side. There is so much to learn from every individual we meet. Later we went to Sattal for a birding trip for the weekend and roamed around the hills eating some local food (mostly alu ka gutka with pahadi raita) and shooting (with a camera) whatever birds we found.

This is where I spotted a cart owner who had written 'Kumaoni dubka, bhatt ki chudkani and Jholi bhaat available here'. I promptly went to him and asked if these were available, you see I can go to any extent to taste any new kind of food belonging to the land I am visiting, I can taste something even if I have had my meal. This cart owner told me he cooks these only when there are local tourists and during summer vacations when there is more possibility to sell. But seeing my eagerness he offered to cook one of these the next day and we decided on a bhatt ka dubka.

He kept his promise and cooked such a tasty dubka that I ate the dubka curry slowly to absorb the taste and asked the recipe from him. He happily shared the recipe and I decided to cook bhatta ka dubka on my return, I had some bhatt already in my kitchen bought from Navdanya or trade fair probably. And what a treat it was. He had served it with a side of pink radish batons, green chillies and few onion rings. All for INR 70.

Here is the result of what I cooked. I am so glad I could recreate the dish, more because the taste was fresh in my mind, the recipe simple. I felt dubka is quite similar to our nimona where a lentil is made into a coarse paste and then cooked with spices and seasoning to make a curry. Similar to nimona, dubka can also be made using different types of lentils like gehat ki daal (horse gram), kala chana (black chickpeas) or even green mung or black beans (urad). But this black soybeans or bhatt is something that lends a unique taste to this dubka.

Everyone I asked, told me that bhatt ka dubka or chudkani both should always be cooked in lohe ki kadhai (iron or cast iron utensil) and that it should be cooked for every long.

ingredients
(4-5 servings)

bhatt (black soybeans) soaked overnight 1 cup (soak 1/2 cup dry lentils)
red onions roughly chopped 1/2 cup
garlic cloves 6-8
fresh ginger chopped 1 tbsp
dry red chillies 3-4
whole coriander seeds 1 tbsp
whole cumin seeds 1 tsp
whole peppercorns 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1 tsp
chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup (optional, I did not use here)
coriander greens for garnish
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tbsp

procedure

I observed the locals in Uttarakhand make their recipes really simple with only a few steps. They would preferably stone grind all the onion, garlic etc as well as the spices and then bhuno them all together in mustard oil. Even the bhatt (the lentil) will be stone ground on silbatta (mortar and pestle). The preferred cooking utensil for this bhatt ka dubka is lohe ki kadhai (iron pan) and I followed this detail. But I ground the spices in my electric blender.

First make a really coarse paste of the soaked daal, using very little water and keep aside.

Grind the onion, garlic, ginger, chillies and all other spices together in blender till smooth, adding little water as required.

Make a paste of tomatoes if using and keep aside.

Now heat oil in a cast iron kadhai and tip in the spice paste. Bhuno the paste till it starts leaving oil or gets aromatic. Small quantity of oil being used doesn't result in separation of oil while bhunoing but the masala mixtures starts looking glazed. Add tomatoes if using and salt as well, bhuno a little more.

Now add a cup of water to this mix, add 4 cups of water to the bhatt paste and pour to the cooking mixture. Let it come to boil once and keep stirring till then. Now lower the flame to minimum and simmer the bhatt ka dubka for an hour or more. I cooked it for an hour and half and the taste was really rich, the curry dark brown due tot he iron kadhai used and flavours really deep and warm.

The real companion to the bhatt ka dubka is plain boiled rice (preferably short grain) and some batons of radish, cucumbers and few onion rings. Nothing else is required and you would find yourself eating loads of those radish (mooli) and cumber batons. Some green chillies can also be served along especially if they are not too hot to bite into. What is a countryside meal without some pyaz-hari mirsc-mooli on the side.

For my meal it has to be more bhatt ka dubka, less rice and loads of mooli and kheera on the side. Totally a satiating meal that is light on the stomach and very nourishing too. Very rustic and warm in flavours and spirit.

Are you trying this bhatta ka dubka? Some people make masoor or toor daal ka dubka with a few deep fried pakode in it, just like kadhi is cooked but I wont bother with any other dubka once I have tasted bhatt ka dubka now.

This chane ki daal with paneer cubes is one of those favourite recipes that make my life easier, meals tastier and keep my eating resolutions in place. All at once trust me. This chane ki daal is made a little thick like chana masala or chhole and suits a lunch box meal really well. Also, this chane ki daal can be served with a variety of Indian breads and rice preparations, can also be had like a one pot meal. Try that if you trust me.

Another chane ki daal masale wali is a UP specialty but this one with paneer is my own take on this healthy lentil.

There are some daal recipes in my repertoire that make my cooking really quick and convenient. These daal recipes are tasty as well as really quick to cook, wholesome flavours that can make a quick meal in itself, can be taken into lunch boxes and can be cooked in a hurry when you have unannounced guests. I depend on these recipes a lot and keep playing with the flavorings a bit according to seasons and available herbs and required spice level. These daal recipes basically do not need a tadka or just a quick 'heeng jeere ka tadka' instead of bhunoeing a whole lot of onion, garlic and ginger paste, masala powders and all that jazz.

Apart from this chane ki daal paneer wali, there is a Bengali recipe of coconut laced chane ki daal, a few versions of sabut mung ki daal and another sabut masoor ki daal that I make quite often. It is a shame the recipe is still not on the blog but let me tell you that these recipes are mostly cooked in such a hurry that there is no time to click pictures and share them with you all. Hoping to make those daals again this winter and click pictures too. Yes I like these daals as a one pot meal in winter season. Especially for dinner.

So this chane ki daal paneer wali is a one step recipe. You just mix the ingredients and pressure cook. The time taken to cook this recipe is just about the time that chane ki daal takes to be pressure cooked and that is about 20 minutes total (for 2-4 servings). Not much chopping, no preparation for tadka and absolutely healthy.

ingredients
(2 large servings)

to be pressure cooked together...
chane ki daal (rinsed and strained) 1/2 cup
chopped tomatoes 1/2 cup
tejpatta or bay leaves 2
whole black pepper corns 10-12
black cardamom 1
green cardamom 3
cinnamon stick 1 inch piece
cloves 3
red chilly powder 1/2 tsp
1.5 cup water
salt to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp

to be added after the pressure cooking..
chopped coriander greens 1/4 cup
cubed paneer 1/3 cup or about 60 gm
ghee 1 tsp

procedure

Bring everything together in the first list and pressure cook for 10 minutes after the first whistle. This is the time taken for the lentils to get cooked but not too mushy. The time depends on the quantity you are cooking and the size of the pressure cooker as well, so adjust that according to your requirement.

Add the ingredients from the second list to the cooked daal and simmer for 2 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving or serve as required. This daal doesn't reheat too well but you can dilute the daal a little if you have to serve leftovers and it becomes better. It is always better to fish out the whole spices before serving.

This chane ki daal paneer wali is a great way to ensure a protein rich meal but please don't assume that it doesn't contain any carbs. All lentils have enough carbohydrates for us to keep us going. We like this daal with millet rotis, whole wheat parathas and sometimes with plain boiled rice. You can serve this daal with an elaborate meal along with pooris too as I have seen people enjoying this daal with poori a lot. Isn't this chane ki daal a really versatile recipe?

Try adding some chhole masala to it and see how great it tastes with that too. You can add fresh methi (fenugreek) greens to the daal if that is in season or some dill greens if you like the flavours. This chane ki daal tastes good even without any of these herbs but somehow I never make it without a generous handful of aromatic herbs.

Do let me know what would you like it with?

I don't eat much desserts but rasgulla and rasmalai is one of my favourites among Indian sweets. And like other desserts of my choice I like them really mildly sweet. That is the reason I prefer making them at home because no known source of rasgulla or any other mithai for that matter, makes them mildly sweet. Homemade rasgulla can be made as much sweet as you want and mine are always floating in a very watery syrup. But this Orange rasgulla is something more than just being mildly sweet and to be without any added sugar in the recipe. The only sugar this orange rasgulla has comes from the oranges and the orange juice used instead of sugar syrup in this recipe.

I know a particular rasgulla shop around the lanes of assi ghat in Banaras who used to make 'orange flavoured rasgullas' fresh everyday. The quality of the rasgulla was very good owing to the freshness and of course the skill level of the halwai, but those rasgullas were too sweet for me and they had orange essence and orange colour in it. I tasted them only twice and decided I would make better real orange rasgullas at home. This was about 15 years ago and what I did at that time was to just make the regular homemade rasgulla, squeezed all syrup from each one of them and soaked them in fresh orange juice. The idea was good but it could be improved and I did improve when I experimented later, and the orange rasgulla made it's way to our table a few times after that. Always when we had someone visiting or for a formal get together. Otherwise we rarely eat any mithais.

One of these get togethers we did last year and cooked Awadhi food including shami kababs, awadhi biryani, safaid korma and a few more things for main course, I made these orange rasgullas for dessert. Luckily I clicked a few pictures too but then got busy with something and forgot to share it here on the blog.

And then I had a food trail of Delhi with Chef Johnny Iuzzini some time ago and he tasted rasgulla and addressed it as 'the sponge whose syrup is squeezed out'. That was a familiar but funny description of a rasgulla to hear as I know many people who squeeze out even the last drop of syrup form the rasgulla and eat the dry sponge. Oh even I do that but soak them again in plain whole milk with some cream and then eat it. Yes I am picky like that :-)

This incident reminded me of the best rasgulla I like and I decided to share it with you all. Although you may make the rasgulla the normal way and then squeeze and dip them in orange juice, but cooking them in plain water and some orange zest results in better flavours of orange seeped into the rasgullas. See how to do it.

ingredients
(for 30 medium sized rasgullas)

2 liter milk ( I used 3% milk from Amul) the best is to use raw cows milk for the best rasgullas
2 Liter orange juice ( I used cartons of Real)
3-4 fresh oranges to garnish
zest of orange or thin strips cut from the peel 1 tsp or as desired

procedure..

First of all heat up raw (or pasteurized) milk to just below boiling temperature (around 92C) and curdle the milk by adding diluted white vinegar or lime juice adding half tsp at a time. Wait till the milk splits into the curdled chhenna and whey and then strain the whey through a strainer. Collect the chhenna and rinse it well under running water. Squeeze and knead the chhenna well to make a very smooth mass that doesn't crack when rolled into small balls. If the chhenna at this stage is not smooth, do not proceed to make rasgulla, use the chhenna to make paneer bhurji or paneer paratha instead. The trick to make suitable smooth chhenna for rasgulla lies in splitting the milk slowly at a temperature just before boiling.

Detailed procedure of splitting milk for making chhenna suitable for making rasgulla is described in my homemade rasgulla post. Please refer to that if in doubt.

Now take enough water in a wide pan or pressure cooker to accommodate 6-8 rasgullas and bring the water to boil. Take care that the rasgullas expand about 4-5 times of their starting volume so keep room for that too. Add the orange zest and the chhenna balls, cover the lid and cook till the pressure builds up, one whistle.

See I had overcrowded the rasgullas and they have lost thier round shape, but not to worry if this happens. The rasgullas will be fine albeit the shape.

Let it cool by itself and open the lid, take out the expanded rasgullas out, squeeze them one by one and dip in fresh orange juice (or from a carton) kept in a wide bowl.

Note that there was no sugar in the cooking medium and the sponge for these rasgullas were cooked in plain water infused with orange zest. This causes a few cracks on the surface of the rasgulla but it doesn't affect the taste and texture. A fairly saturated sugar syrup doesn't let these cracks appear while cooking but we don't mind a few cracks on rasgullas.

Slice some fresh oranges and dip them along with the orange rasgullas and chill before serving. If you want more concentrated flavours of orange you can reduce the orange juice by cooking it for some time but I don't feel any such compulsion to make the orange juice sweeter or thicker.

This fruity citrus laced rasgulla is something I can have a lot. Arvind can have them for a meal and he loves some shrikhand over them sometimes. I love the was the orange slices look and feel with the rasgullas and eating them both together is the real treat.

I one had rasgullas paired with mishti doi in a Bengali wedding and love that version too. Try some of these variations with rasgulla and let me know which one you like better. I know if you have lived around Odisha or Bengal you must have experienced these delights already. Orange rasgulla is for you to try in any case.

PS : A very dear friend Suranga Date wrote a poetry when she saw these pictures on my fb page. Depicting the pain that the milk went through to make the chhenna and then the rasgulla that meets orange juice to make a delicious smile :-) I feel blessed to share this with you all.

Traumatic sour times,

and parental separations

steeped in

a meeting

of those that remained

curdled but unbowed.

A gentle hand

recouping them,

and putting them together again,

and a smoothening of life

with a cleansing

in orange steam,

as they,

tensionless,

feel relaxed once again.

The signs of struggle

remain visible,

on the face of it,

but the mind

rejoices

at the welcome

by the juicy youn

g oranges

inviting them

into the juice.

Some time later,

quietly enjoying

the seeping in

of a new life,

the orange rasagullas smile.

It is always a privilege to be talking to someone who has raised foodie kids. That means you are talking to someone who has been foodie as a kid and has imbibed a lot of flavours since childhood, has adapted old cooking techniques with new ingredients and also has infused flavours of the past into the present day food. Albeit with a little complaint about the quality of meat and fish and everything else that we get in today's world, they whip up magic in their food day after day. Keeping a bit of history alive through food and flavours.

We met Mrs. Nazish Jalali the day before and was completely floored by the way she told stories of her childhood spent in the royal state of Rampur where she got to taste and replicate food cooked in the erstwhile royal kitchens. Brought those recipes to her marital home and learnt Old Delhi food here in the tutelage of her mother-in-law. She loves sharing these stories with whoever is interested in them.

Her son Osama Jalali, is a well known food critique and is compiling recipes of Rampur into a book these days, trying to revive the dying art of cooking slowly with love and real spices, treating the spices the way they are intended for the season. He talks elaborately about the meat cuts to be used in a particular kabab or curry and what would be the test of a wrong cut being used in kachhe gosht ka kabab etc and his mother chips in the with the little story about how he was enamored by a live tandoor in a family wedding and has been photographed peeping inside the tandoor, all at a ripe age of four. Yes, barely walking and smitten by food and it's making, that is Osama for you.

This 'Shahjahanabad ki sair' is a food festival on the lines of a pop up event where Osama and Nazish, the mother-son duo have curated the menu and have been cooking everyday along with the hotel staff to bring the accurate flavours of home cooked food from Old Delhi. Delhi in older times was known as Shahjahanabad and we did take a walk through the lanes hearing stories of a 24 hr clinic of Osama's father and how all the khansamas of old Delhi were his patients and often the gratitude used to come in the form of Korma or Nihari.

The first question I asked the Jalalis was about the difference between the street food of old Delhi served famously at Karim's and Al Jawahar and the home cooked food in the same lanes of the city. Pat came the reply clearing all my doubts. The street food was meant for the worker class that slogged hard during the day and needed a robust rich meal to nourish themselves. The worker class had little time and resources to cook for themselves and had almost no finesse to appreciate delicate flavours and light cooking. They relished the hot spicy and robust curries slow cooked by these khandani khansamas and found good nourishment too. That doesn't mean that the old Delhi street food is any less in it's popularity, we have been going there to relish the robust richness quite often ourselves.

On the other hand home cooked food has always been lighter and a delicate blend of spices differentiates it from the food we find on the streets. Many of these meat curries are cooked with vegetables and those Bhidi Gosht, Arbi Gosht, Lauki Gosht, Shalgam Gosht etc we wouldn't find anywhere in the old Delhi shops.

The vegetables cooked in old Delhi homes would never be served on the street shops. This Parval ki subzi was so good I ate it like a salad. Tomato infused masala with mild spices and the parval cooked just right.

We got to taste this Alu Gosht that was so good it felt like potatoes were born to fall for this slow cooked meat curry. We had very small portions to taste because we had to taste a lot of food, else I would have loved this curry on it's own as a full meal.

But before that we had a taste of the Kabab platter that had chicken and mutton seekh along with a Kachhe Gosht ka Kabab that was a class apart. Made using 'raan ka gosht' (meat from the thighs) this kabab was all meat infused with cardamoms and light garam masala. The seekhs also had prominent notes of Badi elaichi but very balanced spicing.

Then came the Nihari that was enriched with the bone marrow from goat shank and we could taste the richness imparted by the marrow. Nazish starts cooking Nihari first thing in the morning and slow cooks this meat for 6-7 hours so that you get the gelatinous gravy and melt in the mouth meat.

We loved the Mutton Korma and the Hari mirch ka Keema which is richly infused with the chilly flavours of the thick skinned fat chillies from Rajasthan but you wouldn't find any chilly heat in it. It was quite different from the Lasun Mirch wala keema that I cook.

Biryani was well done with meat cooked to perfection and the grains of rice infused with the flavours of meat and spices, just as it should be. The Biryani in old Delhi is served with a red chilly chutney that I liked a lot, even after being partial to Awadhi Biryanis cooked with basmati rice.

Desserts were Zarda and Sewaiyyan. Both done well though I don't eat desserts much.

We all had a paan and enjoyed it to the last bit. This was one shahi dawat that felt like being served in a cozy private dining room in heirloom 'tin plated' copper ware, even water being poured out of antique jugs. See how I am chewing pan even in the picture we got clicked to call it a day.

More than the momentary pleasure of the sensory faculties, this dawat was an education that will be with us forever. Thanks to Osama and Nazish Jalali for hosting us and treating us with the stories to remember.

Shiv Sagar from Bombay is here in Delhi and that too just a 15 minutes drive from home. When we decided to go there for a dinner early this week Arvind was not too keen saying it is a vegetarian place but I was sure that he would like the food there. Being born and brought up in Banaras he is the one who would walk an extra mile for a good kachori or golgappa I know.

The first thing we tried at Shiv Sagar was a Sev Puri that he loved. The juice tasters that come in test tubes was a great idea, fresh juices of mosambi (Sweet Lime), Orange, Pineapple and Watermelon can be ordered from the 'live juice bar' and they also have a few juice based mocktails called Ganga Jamuna and Maramari. One can decide after tasting and according to the mood of the day.

Our mood for good food was set already.

We had great expectations when the Vada Pao came to our table with all it's accompaniments of red lasun chutney and fried green chilly etc but the real test is in the pao (the bun) and the potato bonda inside. I found the Vada pao good on both counts but I have had better Vada Pao on the streets of Bombay so may be some friends from Bombay wouldn't find it good enough.

I loved the Pao Bhaji a lot more, the Pao not too soaked in butter and the Bhaji buttery in texture but not floating in butter, the spicing perfect for me. I found the quality of he Bombay Pao perfect and asked Varun Puri whose team has brought Shiv Sagar to Delhi, he informed that the Pao is in fact brought in from Bombay twice a day for the sake of authenticity. I find this kind of commitment towards delivering authenticity really commendable.

I talked to the Executive Chef Harish Joshi as well and was charmed by his smile that spreads across his face when he talks. Such a happy Chef can never go wrong in bringing great food for the guests.

The Bhel mixture was also good, something that Arvind likes for his evening snack many a times but this one had a Bombay feel to it.

The Bombay Sandwiches were made perfectly too. Sprinkled generously with the thin sev that stay crunchy even inside the sandwich and perfectly grilled bread. Mind that this is coming from someone who is not too find of sandwiches. I took a few bites as we wanted to taste more of the stuff on the menu, the sandwich kept calling me back that I had to ignore with all my will. Good stuff.

I was surprised to see a Delhi special Bedmi Alu on the menu, it looked like a crisp ball with 3 small bowls of brown subzi but I was not prepared for the taste it brought. This is a must try at Shiv Sagar because they have created a very very good Methi ki chutney to go along with the alu subzi that transforms this Bedmi poori from an average to extraordinary. Pour some methi chutney over the alu subzi and dunk a bite of Bedmi into it, this bite would make you feel so good about methi being on your plate. Very crisp bedmi poori is a very good scooping tool for the goodness in those bowls.

While the Pao Bhaji, Vada Pao and Bhel took us to the streets of Bombay, this Bedmi alu brought us back right into the streets of old Delhi.

They have a spread of Indo-Chinese street food as well. The Chilly Idli and Triple Sichuan fried rice we tasted were quite addictive. I better not talk about foodie addictions, I mean this Sichuan fried rice has a base of Manchurian balls, a layer of fried crisp noodles and then fried rice over that creating a medley if taste and textures that is hard to resist.

There was one more thing that felt like old Delhi and that was this Paan kulfi. With a whole paan inside, I finished this kulfi all by myself though I am known for disliking desserts. This kulfi feels like a paan and yet gives all the pleasures of a kulfi.

I found it better than the famed Kuremal kulfi to be honest. Talking about it, I am craving for this Paan Kulfi on a December midnight. Imagine.

I would be going back to Shiv Sagar for the Bedmi, for the Kulfi, for the Pao Bhaji and for the Chilly idli too may be. Arvind has his choices too, he loved the Triple Sichuan fried rice, the Bhel and pretty much everything we tasted that day. I know he would be frequenting Shiv Sagar quite often now. My gut feeling was right, he wouldn't ever be disappointed with good street food and will forge his love for nonveg for a while whenever it happens.

I don't know if a true blue Kashmiri would approve of this stew but for me this Gogji Mutton curry speaks of winters. This simple stew is so good for a winter dinner, so warming that you would feel blessed if you get good turnips in your part of the world just for this mutton stew if not the vegetarian version called Gogji Nadir. I have adapted this gogji nadir according to my taste but I am sure the soul of the stew is not compromised with.

I have been cooking this gogji mutton for a couple of years and have learnt a trick to make the thin soupy gravy look almost milky in appearance and pack a punch of flavours that feels impossible with just three ingredients. Yes, apart from the mutton, there are only three ingredients that make the flavours so comforting. Mustard oil, green chillies of the thick skin variety (bajji chillies of Bangalore or Rajasthani pakoda chillies) and turnips. These three ingredients create magic in this stew trust me.

It so happens that I always cook this stew for dinners and once it is ready we both can't wait too much to be able to click decent pictures to be shared on the blog. But this time I sneaked a couple of pictures while cooking and one picture of the plate that I served for myself. The pictures are still bad but I wanted you all to create this simple Kashmiri stew this winter if you have not tasted it already.

Note how this recipe helps make an almost milky soupy gravy in this stew. The instructions typed in bold letters are the pointers. But don't worry even if the gravy looks watery, as the taste will not be affected much even in that case.

ingredients...
(2-3 servings, depending on what is served with it)

mutton on bone (curry cut) 200-250 gm
fresh turnips 250 gm
fat variety green chillies (Anahiem or any mild hot chillies) 3-5
mustard oil 1 tbsp
salt to taste
water 1.5 L

procedure...

Add the mutton and a little salt to the water in a deep stock pot (or handi) and cook on medium flame for an hour or till the mutton is almost done. Or pressure cook the mutton with a litle salt with 1 L of water.

Remove the stalks, clean and chop the turnips in irregular shaped thick slices. Try and not peel the turnips as some of the flavour will be lost if you do so. Chop the chillies in 1 inch long pieces and keep aside.

When the mutton is almost done, heat mustrad oil in a deep pan till smoking point. Now add the chopped chillies and turnips all at once and toss and stir fry till a few blisters appear on the chillies and the turnips look glazed and blemished.

This is the time the cooked mutton along with the hot stock will be poured right into the hot cooking turnips. By adding the hot mutton stock into the already sizzling turnips and chillies will make the stock look milky within seconds. Now check and adjust seasoning and simmer till the turnips are fully don, soft and disintegrate when pressed.

Serve hot with plain boiled rice. Some plain home made yogurt or raita works with it but we don't care about it when we need a hot stew in our hands, preferably served in bowls.

Less rice and more of this stew is my idea of a great home cooked meal on winter nights. Meals that we cook while watching TV and the home smells of a good stew being slow cooked in the kitchen. This stew is so aromatic that the neighbors can often get to know what is cooking, that too with such humble ingredients and not a single spice used. Simplicity brings the best from some foods. Gogji mutton is one of best example of such foods.

Hope you would try this recipe if it is not a family favourite already. There are more recipes of turnips cooked with mutton in the Mughlai way and that has it's own charm, suited for a different kind of meal but gogji mutton will always be my all time favourite light mutton stews.

Bisibele bhath recipe used to feel very complicated whenever I saw it on other blogs or when friends explained it to me. Roasting a lot of spices separately, powdering them and then cooking a few more things separately to mix them all together to make a khichdi that tastes divine, that was my impression of Bisi bele bhath or BBB as it is called by BBB admirers. Yes Bisibele bhath has admirers, you realise when you talk about it to someone who has grown up eating this. I used to feel really out of place even though I love everything that looks like khichdi, be it our bhuni khichdi, mung ki khichdi or risotto, the firangi khichdi. Even Haleem that we love so much.

Bisi bele bhath is no less than Haleem mind you. The dark beauty it is, packed with flavours that makes the meal deeply satisfying and worth admiring too. And this was a short cut recipe that my friend Nirupama typed for me in a hurry one night so I could make a decent Bisi bele bhath with the fresh Pigeon pea lentils she had packed for me during my Hyderabad visit 2 weeks ago.

Yes we were in Hyderabad for a week and experienced harvesting, cooking and eating a farm to table meal along with other things one does in a city seeped with history and old world charm. I met a few dear friends, made a few new friends and brought back some really good stuff home. I bought pickles and kalamkari fabric and my friend Nirupama packed some more foodie gits for me, one of the gifts was this bag of fresh pigeon peas that they call Kandulu in Telugu, Thuvaram in Tamil and Arhar phalli or Tuvar phalli in Hindi. I was amazed to see heaps of this lentil being sold on roadsides towards airport along with seasonal fruits, mainly papaya, oranges and pomegranate.

We never get to see this arhar ki phalli in north Indian markets, fresh green peas are very common during this season and hara chana (fresh green garbanzo) also starts coming but just imagine if we get fresh pods of all the lentils we grow. I think I will use one or the other fresh beans everyday in my cooking.

Fresh Pigeon peas are also called Toor lilva and is used extensively in Marathi and Gujrati cuisines. Some day I will cook all of those things for sure. A proper Undhiyo has been on my list for ever although I have cooked lame versions of Undhiyo a few times.

We had enjoyed this fresh Pigeon peas at Aiyor Bai farm by just boiling them in salted water and snacking on them warm. But this was the first time I was eating these lentils fresh and I wanted to experiment more.

Nirupama recommended the Bisi bele bhath, typed a recipe for me and I mustered the courage to make it for the first time. The divine tasting BBB did not disappoint me even though it was a simplified recipe that Nirupama told me so I could manage to make a decent one.

ingredients
(2 meal portions with some yogurt and papad on the side)

white short grain rice (or broken basmati) 1/4 cup
fresh pigeon peas 1 cup
dry grated or desiccated coconut 2 tbsp
whole coriander seeds 1 tbsp
2-3 Bedgi chillies broken
cinnamon stick 1 inch broken
sambhar powder (ready made from a packet) 1 tbsp
cashew nuts 2-3 tbsp
diced onions 1/2 cup
curry patta 2-3 tbsp
mustard seeds 1 tsp
hing 1 pinch
ghee 1 tbsp

chopped vegetables in bite sized pieces 2-3 cups (I used carrots, cauliflowers and brinjal)

tamarind extract to taste ( I boiled 1 tbsp worth of tamarind with a cup of water, mashed when cool, filtered and added the watery extract to BBB)

procedure

Boil the fresh pigeon peas along with a cup of water and salt to taste in pressure cooker. About 5-8 minutes under pressure (after the first whistle blows). Cool down, open the cooker, add the chopped vegetables and simmer till the vegetables are soft. Add some water if required.

Cook the rice with a cup of water till done. The rice will be watery even after cooking but this is intended.

In the meanwhile, dry roast the broken chillies, cinnamon, whole coriander seeds and the coconut together till they all become a little dark and aromatic. Add the desiccated coconut later if using, grated coconut can be roasted along with everything else. Add sambhar powder in the end and switch off the gas so the powder gets roasted in residual heat. Let them all cool down. Then make a coarse powder and keep aside.

In the same pan, pour ghee and tip in mustard and hing. Let them crackle before adding cashew nuts and fry them till pinkish brown. Add the onions and curry patta and fry till translucent.

Mix the powdered mix with the fried mix and stir well.

Add this mixture to the cooked lentils and rice together, add the tamarind extract, adjust seasoning and simmer for 5 minutes till everything comes together.

The resultant dish will be very aromatic by now. Fry or roast some papad and lay the table. You can't wait for long once the Bisi bele bhath is ready.

I had fried alu ka papad which is a Banaras specialty and a vadi made with puffed rice called Aralu sandige that Nirupama had packed for me. Such meals are enjoyed with extended family most.

I always feel we love such flavours best when there are more people around. People you have grown up with, have made memories together and have eyed the the last yummiest morsels of food from the table together.

Bisi bele bhath will be licked clean by the end of the meal no matter how much you serve. Even this short cut recipe thanks to Nirupama is a keeper and I will be cooking this version a lot. But I will be making the elaborate version of Bisi bele bhath very soon.

Feeling encouraged by the first success of my Bisi bele Bhath.

Sagpaita is a name given to all lentils cooked with winter greens. Spinach, Chenopodium (bathua), Fenugreek greens (methi), Chane ka saag (chickpea greens) or a mix of spinach and dill leaves, fenugreek greens and dill leaves etc is cooked with any lentil to make a saucy daal rich with flavours of garlic, hing and cumin used for the tadka .

Sagpaita is basically a winter food that is considered warming and hydrating for the body at the same time. The lentils used mostly for sagpaita are arhar ki daal (split pigeon peas), chane ki daal (split chickpeas) or urad daal (split black beans) but a mix of lentils is also used. Mung ki daal (split mung beans) is also cooked to make sagpaita but it is mostly with baby spinach or baby fenugreek greens.

All these sagpaita recipes are slightly different from each other despite being a mix of lentils and greens basically but the taste of each sagpaita tells you how and why each one is cooked differently.

We do cook lentils with purslane greens in summers too but somehow sagpaita is a name given to the ones cooked with winter greens only. No wonder, the daal can include a lot of spices and loads of ghee is topped over the bowls of sagpaita. It has to be a winter delicacy as the recipe is tuned to be eaten in winters. All parts of Uttar Pradesh get very chilly during the 2 months of winter and there are various foods made with fresh produce to stay warm.

This chane ki daal ka sagpaita with bathue ka saag is made differently in each family. Some would add a little urad dal to it and some would add some fresh green peas or 'harey chane' but the tempering will always have some hing-jeera-lasun and laal mirch along with mild spices like dhaniya, jeera, kali mirch powder and may be a couple of tejpatta. There is good protein in the daal along with a lot of greens, so the hing and garlic etc is added to allow proper digestion of the sagpaita.

I sometimes add es of paneer to my sagpaita to make it a one pot meal. Otherwise it is best enjoyed with plain boiled rice, some bhujia type dry subzi, raita and papad kind of Indian meals.

ingredients
(2-3 large servings)

For pressure cooking
chane ki daal (split chickpeas 100 gm (scant half cup)
finely chopped bathua (chenopodium greens) 300 gm (2 cups packed)
minced ginger 1 tbsp
salt to taste
turmeric powder 1 tsp
water 1.5 cup

For tempering
ghee 1 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
hing (asafotida) a pinch
chopped garlic 1-2 tsp according to taste
red chilly powder 1/2 tsp or more to taste
everyday curry powder 1 tsp (optional)

lime juice to serve.
Paneer cubes as per requirement.

procedure

Pressure cook the daal and bathua greens along with the ingredients listed. Wait till the pressure builds up and the whistle blows, then cook on low flame for 10 minutes.

Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and then adding the ingredients one after the other in the order listed. Make sure the garlic gets pink in colour and turns aromatic before you add the chilly powder and then remove the pan from the stove and pour the ingredients into the cooked daal. Mix well and churn the daal mixture if you like the sagpaita a bit saucy.

Serve hot with some lime juice or hot melted ghee or butter on top. This can be served with all the usual Indian accompaniments for a meal as I mentioned.

When I add paneer cubes I usually let the sagpaita simmer for a few minutes to soften the paneer before serving. Sagpaita or bathue wali chane ki daal has a distinct aroma of hing, cumin seeds and garlic that we call 'hing-jeera-lehsun ka tadka' and a mild kick imparted by red chillies. The base is earthy with bathua and chana dal that makes this sagpaita a very uniquely flavoured daal.

You can cook this daal with arhar (toor or pigeon peas) ki daal as well. The recipe wont changeeven if you use a mix of chane and arhar ki daal. But mung and urad daals need a different treatment. We will talk about that when I share the recipe of sagpaita with those lentils.

Enjoy bathua chane ki daal ka saigpaita till then.

Chukandar gosht or mutton stewed with beet roots and leaves is one dish that looks really good on the table. Meats stewed slowly with vegetables is a Muslim way of cooking meats as much as I understand and that might be because it might have been the only way to eat vegetables in a primarily meat eating culture. I had never seen such meat stews being cooked in my family with added vegetables although spinach and fenugreek leaves were occasional additions to the meat curries cooked at home, sometimes a potato would be added for someone who doesn't like too much meat. Gobhi keema musallam and keema matar was common but any mushy vegetables were not at all considered for meat. I was a vegetarian back then.

Later when I learned about shalgam gosht, arbi gosht and bhindi gosht etc being cooked regularly at some of my friends places, I figured that would be a better way to eat meats. Then I started adding one odd vegetable to the Indian style meat stews but was not confident with adding a strong tasting vegetable to the meats. Then I started cooking rajma with beetroots some 6-7 years ago and everyone used to love it although I am guilty of not sharing the recipe of that rajma too.

Bringing beetroots to the meat stews was the next step and we loved this new avatar of Indian meat stew with beetroots and leaves. So much so whenever I find beets along with the greens attached, I think of a mutton stew. I sometimes cook this stew with just the leaves and sometimes add cubed beet roots as well. I must admit the version with just the leaves is appreciated more by majority of people I have come across.

This recipe is not quick but is fairly simple to cook. Cook this chukandar gosht when you have more work to do in the kitchen and this stew keeps cooking on the sly. I had learnt this recipe long back reading some Pakistani blog written in a very casual way but it was so good after tweaking the spices to my taste that I kept repeating it and forgot where I picked up.

ingredients
(2 servings or 3 small)
mutton on bone (from shoulders or raan) 300 gm
beetroots with leaves 2 pieces (about 300 gm total)
tejpatta 3-4
ginger garlic paste 2 tbsp
dry whole red chillies 3-4 or more (keep it slightly hot to balance the sweetness of beetroots)
everyday garam masala 1 tbsp
yogurt 1/4 cup
special garam masala 1 tsp
mustard oil 2 tbsp or less if you can manage
sliced onions 2 (about 150 gm)
salt to taste
finely chopped green chillies and fresh ginger root to garnish

procedure

Rinse, clean and chop the beet leaves roughly. Peel, rinse and dice the beetroots. Keep aside. (You can choose not to add the beet root chunks if you think they will be too sweet for the stew. You would need to tone down the spices in that case).

Put the mutton, beet leaves and tejpatta in a large stockpot along with a liter of water and cook on low flame for an hour or more, till the meat is cooked perfectly. Add salt after skimming any greyish matter that floats on the surface initially. You can pressure cook this mix in one step if you find it convenient.

Once cooked, fish out all the mutton pieces, remove the tejpatta and liquidise the stock along with the cooked beet leaves. Keep aside.

Heat mustard oil in a pan (preferably cast iron kadhai) and fry the sliced onions till browned well. Drain and make a paste along with the everyday curry powder and yogurt. Keep aside.

In the remaining oil add the broken dry red chillies and let them sizzle for a while to release flavours into the oil. Now tip in the ginger garlic paste and fry till pinkish. Add the onion, yogurt paste and fry in low flame till it gets glazed well or releases oil (if using more oil).

Add the cooked mutton pieces and bhuno till everything gets mixed well and the mutton pieces get a nice browning. Add the special garam masala, the beet root chunks and bhuno for 5-10 minutes. Add the pureed mix, some water if required and simmer till the beet root chunks are cooked well. This step can also be done in pressure cooker, being cautious of overcooking.

Serve hot with chopped green chillies and ginger. It tastes great with khameeri roti or kulcha and some sirke wala pyaz or sliced mooli.

Sometimes I cook mutton with spinach almost the same way, specially when the spinach is large and mature. This kind of masala suits well for added fibrous pureed leaves in the gravy. Basically a bit higher chilly and ginger heat to be toned down by the sweeter beets and yogurt. This curry has a unique taste that can convert beetroot haters. Some might not convert but most of them will for sure.

try this chukandar gosht and tell me if you like. Cook it with paneer or kala chana if you want a vegetarian version, you won't be disappointed.

Awadhi food is close to my heart as I have spent a major chunk of my growing up years in Banaras and even the vegetarian food there has the Mughlai Awadhi influence. Probably it was the geographical region that influenced the Awadhi Mughlai and made it richer with milk products, ghee and nuts making the spicing milder and more aromatic together. The origin of all Mughlai cuisine offshoots spread across the country is Persia as Dr. Izzat Hussain says, adding that the essence of Mughlai cuisine was preserved best in Awadh region. I think it was also because of the climatic and geographical attributes of this region where milk, khoya and ghee were used abundantly since time immemorial.

I met Dr. Izzat Hussain at Trident, Gurgaon last week where he is training and showcasing his own rendition of Awadhi Mughlai cuisine that he has developed over the years with his knowledge of Unani medicine combined with the love for food. We went there for dinner and Dr. Hussain greeted us with his trademark cheeky smile, then we settled down with some pineapple juice with ginger and talked about spices and herbs, condiments, cooking oils, ghee and everything that has a possible connection with food. He believes in using only as much spice and herbs in a recipe as is required for good health and digestion and that was the essence of everyday cooking in older days too.

My choice of pineapple and ginger juice mix was an effort to be prepared for a heavy meal.

Recently The Oberoi Group conducted an Indian culinary conclave by the name of Rivaayat and invited noted food historians, food critics and culinary experts to educate and train 32 senior most Chefs working with the group flown in from all over India. This is a great effort to preserve a culinary legacy and make a richer repertoire keeping the authenticity intact. Dr. Izzat Hussain's contribution to the Rivaayat is quite a wide range of kababs, kormas, rotis and biryanis and a few fine techniques that Chef Sandeep (from Saffron) finds useful. Many of these recipes will be included in the menu of Saffron, an eclectic Indian restaurant at Trident Gurgaon glowing with vibrant red and golden hues, massive Doric pillars and live instrumental Hindustani music.

As we sampled Galouti kabab and Kakori kabab, both cooked excellently. I asked Dr, Hussain about the origin of kakori kababs and he mentioned the place called Kakori closer to Lucknow. A cook named Golu miyan used to make kababs and to prevent the kababs from falling off the seekh, he tried a coating of egg whites that binds the soft and delicate kabab so well that it sticks to the seekh till cooked. The uncoated version is tied with thread and is called dora kabab.

Dr. Hussain has created a few vegetarian kababs too and they were good. I liked the paneer seekh, the mixed vegetable kabab enclosed in rice dough and bhuna aloo. I found the chutneys interesting as he introduced thoum and olive and coriander greens chutney. Thoum (or Toum) was made less pungent by adding cream and olive coriander was made almost like pesto.

I had never seen olives being used in Awadhi cuisine but Dr. Hussain revealed that the Nawabs of Awadh always had access to the finest olives, zereshk berries, dates and spices imported from Iran and Persia and their use was common in royal kitchens. Something we never find in the street foods we eat at Tundey's or Dastrakhwan in Lucknow.

The platter that came for mains was huge with both vegetarian and non vegetarian options for tasting. I loved the Saffron special daal (a specialty of Saffron), which is a light masoor ki daal garnished with cream and saffron. The best non vegetarian curry I liked was malai boti kabab (curried) which was delicately flavoured and cooked really soft. I liked the shahi nihari as well.

Nihari is eaten with gilafi kulcha in Lucknow and it was made well. The Baqarkhani roti was also made really well but I cannot eat breads so just took one bite from each. But I ate a good portion of Izzat ki roti which is a specialty of Dr. Hussain and it is really good multi grain roti.

The only grudge I have with this meal is the use of refined soybean oil for cooking. It is sacrilege for all traditional Indian cooking and health wise too. Ghee and mustard oil and other traditionally used cold pressed oils make so much difference in the final taste and healing properties of food as well.

A vegetarian kaju biryani was light and delicate, although just like a pulao. The gosht biryani had familiar aromatic flavours while the murgh tursh pulao was a bit tart but interesting. I would have liked the biryanis if served as a meal and not as a part of this huge spread. I was definitely full by then.

The desserts had the typical awadh signature. Tar halwa is a semolina halwa that is drowned in ghee, cooked with only milk and nuts this halwa is quite rich but somehow not my favourite. I liked the chhena kheer which was done really well and the shahi tukda that had raisins and nuts in the dense bread that is baked specially for this shahi tukda.

Mallika Gowda ( Manage communications) joined us for the dinner as well and introduced us to the whole concept of Rivaayat and how Oberoi group is taking it forward with their properties all over India so the signature recipes remain the same all over.

Chef Sandeep's rich fudge like chocolate cookies were the parting gift that came with an instruction to be microwaved for a few seconds before eating. I agree, rich chocolate is best enjoyed slightly warm.

I am sharing the recipe of Izzat ki roti that Dr. Hussain shared with me so graciously. It is a multi grain roti cooked with a few seasonal herbs and light spices and served with curries and kormas.

ingredients...

a mix of oats, ragi, gram, corn and whole wheat flours 500 gm
season fresh herbs like dhaniya-pudina 25 gm chopped fine
green chilli to taste
minced ginger and garlic 10 gm each
kalonji, ajwain and saunf 3 gm each
salt to taste
oil (ghee for me) 1 tbsp
warm water to knead the dough

procedure...

Mix the flours, the herbs, the spices and the ghee and salt. Mix well by rubbing together and knead a firm dough using warm water. Let it rest for half an hour and then make flat breads as you like.

Smear ghee or butter as per liking and serve as required.

Yes, I went for another Rivaayat dinner hosted by Threesixty at The Oberoi, New Delhi. As I mentioned in my last Rivaayat experience at Trident Gurgaon, this initiative by The Oberoi group is a way to bring the traditional cuisines to the forte and build up a repertoire of authentic Indian recipe for their properties all across India.

At Threesixty, we met Chef Arun Mathur who has worked with some khandani cooks and brought age old recipes from them for the patrons of The Oberoi. And I must say the chefs at Threesixty have done full justice to the traditional cuisines going by the things we tasted there.

Ruchira, Himanshu and I went for a dinner there last week and could not resist the crusty breads on the table. The brown rolls were so so good. As we were nibbling on the crusty rolls with butter, Deepica Sarma (Manager communications) introduced us with Chef Arun and he told us how he learnt the talli murghi from a cook in the by-lanes of old Delhi. And we could whiff the old Delhi spices when talli murghi came of the table along with a fiery peeli mirch ki chutney and hari chutney.

The Amritsari machhli was done really well, flavours of ajwain and slight tartness by amchoor well preserved. Many chefs drown the flavours in loads of besan coating and kill the fish but this one kept the promise, more so because the fish was very fresh.

Chawnk ki tikki is a baniya specialty from purani dilli and some parts of UP and it was done well too. Deep fried but light, with a stuffing of chownki hui hari matar, almost like matar ki ghugni. Some people make this tikki with a stuffing of chawnki mung ki daal. We tasted a few pickles on the table and loved the mushroom garlic pickle the most. Chicken and prawn pickles were good too but mushroom-garlic took the cake.

Among the mains my most favourite was the saag murgh kofte. Silky smooth chicken balls poached in water and then cooked lightly with wilted spinach was very delicately spiced and cooked just right. Maah chhole ki daal felt exactly like home cooked, light and honest. No nonsense of too much tomatoes or too much butter or cream in it and yet so flavourful.

I loved the rarah meat too as it was not over spicy like the dhabas and no oil floating on top. But the robustness of the spice was evident as it is supposed to be. Well balanced.

Nihari gosht was different from what we had tasted from Shahjahanabad ki Sair but was still very good. Light and aromatic with hints of saffron to be enjoyed with khameeri roti or baqarkhani roti. I took a bite from each type of roti and loved them all. Baqarkhani was not sweet and aromatic with saffron which I liked a lot. Garlic naan was also done really well but I can't eat too much breads with my meals.

Dahi wala kukkad was a bit too tart for my liking but not bad. I know many who would like it. I had found the saag murgh kofte and needed nothing else in fact. I would try and recreate it in my own kitchen really soon.

Desserts were served and everyone liked the gulathi which is a grainier version of phirni. This gulathi is a UP specialty chef Arun informed and is cooked along with some coconut and saffron, it was rich and heavy but tasted good. Although I don't enjoy such desserts much, 2 spoonfuls and I am done.
Gajar ka halwa was also good but we have had better gajar ka halwa so it did not make an impact.

I would definitely remember the saag murgh kofte, maah chhole ki daal and rarha meat from Threesixty and the fact that all food was light despite being traditional Indian curries. This is what I like when old recipes are treated with respect and recreated in a way that it can be enjoyed for normal meals.

We had some green tea before we departed. It was such a comforting meal for a chilly winter day.

It feels good when a traditional meal is served this well, is done justice towards and is enjoyed by everyone on the table. A meal that doesn't feel too heavy if you actually don't overeat.

Rivaayat is a great initiative by The Oberoi in fact. I am watching how it unfolds in other cities as a friend told Hyderabad is next where Rivaayat is unfolding.

Daal ke pakode is a winter snack made with tea or coffee in the evenings or for weekend breakfasts in many homes. Weekend breakfast mostly becomes a brunch for us but we normally don't cook elaborated meals on weekends and make something that we enjoy eating in leisure but simpler to cook. So mostly it is something like a platter of hot pakode or crisp cooked methi or alu ke paranthe in this season or a huge bowl of salad in summers. Newspapers and such comforting meals make our weekend mornings very relaxed, usually very late mornings in fact, stretching out well till afternoon.

I had soaked urad ki daal (split and skinned black beans) last week to make some kanji vada to be soaked in the kanji that was fermenting on my kitchen counter and a relaxed Saturday brunch of sowa wale daal ke pakode. But on Friday evening one of Arvind's friends called and came to visit us on a short notice for tea. I decided to quickly fry some daal ke pakode and harey lasun ki chutney with chai and as it turned out, this snack became our dinner that day. Not that I am complaining, I did fry some plain vadas and soaked them in the kanji to make the much craved for kanji vadas.

Sowa bhaji is a fragrant leafy green that is usually mixed with spinach or methi (fenugreek greens) to make saag or stir fries. We love it in our daals, raw chutneys and even in lehsun sagga. It was after a long time I made pakodas with these dill greens. All of us loved this impromptu meal of pakodas.

ingredients
(enough pakodas for a gathering where no one minds portions)

urad daal 1.5 cup soaked overnight or minimum 3 hours
chopped dill greens 2 cups packed
minced green chillies 2 tsp or to taste
minced or grated fresh ginger root 1 tbsp or a bit more
coarse pepper powder 1 tsp
anardana powder 1-2 tsp (optional)
salt to taste
mustard oil for deep frying

procedure

Discard the soaking water and grind the soaked daal to a smooth paste. Whip some more while still in the mixie jar to make the batter light. Do not add water while making this paste else the batter will get runny and the pakodas would absorb too much oil while frying.

Mix this batter with all the other ingredients except the oil and start frying right away. Keeping it for long makes the batter runny and it absorbs more oil while frying.

Heat the oil in a deep kadhai and fry small portions of the batter to make pakodas. You can use a rounded dessert spoon or soup spoon to scoop the batter and drop it in hot oil to make pakodas, depending on what size of pakodas you want.

Take care to fry them at medium flame so they cook thoroughly, these pakodas do not soak much oil as urad daal is quite sticky and the surface of the pakodas get sealed quickly in the hot oil.

Serve hot with any green chutney but this green garlic chutney works really well with this dill flavoured daal ke pakode.

To make this green garlic chutney mix a cup of chopped green garlic (leaves and some of the bulbs) with a cup of chopped green coriander leaves along with 3-4 green chillies, 1 tsp chopped ginger, salt to taste and lime juice to taste. The chutney is so good you would want to make it everyday with all your meals. We eat too much green garlic in this season.

These urad daal ke pakode are irresistible. I suggest you to make it a meal always as such snacks feel guilty if one is heading for a meal after this. Or serve it as starters for an elaborate meal for guests and see how fast they fly.

Baingan or brinjal is one of the favourite vegetables I can eat in any form. Not only because I love baingan myself but also because baingan responds so well to different treatments given to it. Grill it to make eggplant salads or crustless aubergine pizza, fry it to make beguni or sarson wala baingan fry, mash it to make bharta or raita, puree it to make baba ganoush or just curry it with just anything you like. I love the Japanese style grilled aubergine as well. Alu baingan palak is one traditional subzi on eastern UP that is cooked in winters in almost every home but this baingan subzi with sowa and methi is not that common in eastern UP. It is more of a western UP combination. Those who like it get this subzi made several times during the season and sowa methi combination is used to bring the best from the winter brinjals and green peas. And this is one of the lightest curries one can cook.

I cook this curry quite often for dinner and have it like my soup dinners but some time in last month I cooked this one in day time and clicked a few pictures. And when I posted this urad daal sowa ke pakode, it reminded Nupur about the sowa baingan ki subzi and she enquired about it in the comments. Sowa baingana and sowa-methi baingan is cooked similarly and people keep using different ratios of both these leafy greens in this subzi, sometimes even skipping one of these.

It was a pleasant coincidence that I had already clicked pictures of this recipe and I promptly promised her about it. Although I got quite late in sharing it, but better late than never.So here is the baingan sowa-methi ki subzi for you Nupur.

ingredients..
(2-3 servings)

one large round brinjal (or any fleshy variety) about 300 gm
cleaned washed and chopped methi (fenugreek) greens 200 gm
cleaned washed and chopped sowa bhaji (dill greens) 150-200 gm
finely minced green chillies, ginger and garlic 2 tsp each
chopped tomatoes 100 gm or one large tomato (optional)
green peas 100 gm (optional)
mustard oil 1 tbsp
fenugreek seeds 1/4 tsp
mustard seeds 1/4 tsp
fennel seeds 1/4 tsp
hing (asafoetida) a pinch

preparation...

Heat the oil in a pan or pressure cooker pan. I often use pressure cooker for such mushy subzis (especially for brinjal) because it cooks faster and doesn't dehydrate the subzi too much.

Tip in the hing, fennel, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds in the oil and wait till the splutter and get aromatic. Add the minced ginger, garlic and green chillies next and cook till sizzling but not browned.

Add the peas, brinjal and the chopped greens. Mix well to coat everything. Add salt and chopped tomatoes if using and top up with 3-4 tbsp of water. Cover with the lid and pressure cook till the whistle blows. Take off from the flame and let the pressure cooker cool down on its own. Mix well and serve hot.

If cooking in a pan, just let the subzi cook on low flame covered, stirring once a while for about 20 minutes. It will be mushy and muddled up after cooking and that is how it is supposed to look.

The duo of methi and sowa taste really good in this curry. Most people add a few potato cubes to it too and some of them even skip adding the brinjal and make it just with potatoes. But the crux of the matter is that this subzi doesn't have any other spices than the tempering essentials. The aroma of this curry is dominant with a mix of methi-sowa, brinjal being the base to absorb all the goodness. Some people like this curry all mushed up in a texture similar to bharta. Make it the way you like it, most likely you must be familiar with this subzi if you have lived in UP somewhere.

We enjoyed this baingan sowa methi with some whole wheat mini kulchas and buttermilk on a weekend afternoon, watching TV and talked of our simple meals of childhood.

When we live away from home and miss the seasonal foods, these are some of the flavours that are missed the most. The freshness of winter produce is best captured in this kind of subzis back home. I have heard my friends saying the baingan and saag of Banaras tastes so different from what we get elsewhere. That is called the taste of home and this subzi represents that for me.

I am sure it brings back memories from home if you have come here just to read about baingan sowa-methi ki subzi. Go shop for some baingan and sowa methi and cook this subzi. Soulful food doesn't cost a bomb.

Paya shorba is nothing but a stew cooked with lamb trotters or goat trotters. This is the best bone broth that is simmered with some spices to make a gravy or shorba that tastes rich and is very healthy too. It is well known that bone broth is a healing supplement to diet and new mothers and recovering patients are advised to have it every week or so. This paya shorba is an Indian version of the same bone broth and is cooked differently in different parts of the country. In the early days of my cooking I had tried this stewed trotters but somehow the smell discouraged me and I could not eat the stuff. I liked it if someone else cooked or when we ate at purani dilli markets.

Recently we saw paya shorba being sold very cheap near Charminar area of Hyderabad. People would buy a huge pack of paya shorba and a few yeasted flat breads and take it home. Curiosity got the better of me and I bought the same along with some biryani and brought back to our guest house. These single portions were so huge we could not finish even the half of those. But the taste was so good we still remember the aroma and the deep rich comforting experience. We were talking about how one can buy this stuff and make a green curry make a cheap affordable yet nourishing meal. I am talking about Shadab Biryani shop close to Charminar in Hyderabad.

I wanted to recreate the same taste but did not want to grind a lot of spices so I searched for a simpler recipe and found one on a Pakistani blog. I usually remember even the new blogs but somehow later all these blogs started looking similar when I searched for the same recipe at the time of cooking. Thankfully the basics were already in my head and the shorba that came out was exactly the way I had wanted it to be.

The most important step in making the paya shorba is cooking it really for long hours or under pressure so the gelatin extracts well from the bones and comes into the broth. Cleaning the paya (the trotters) is another tricky business if they come with the hairy skin attached. It needs to be burned carefully and rinsed well but I prefer getting cleaned trotters from the butcher. Another hassle is that the place where I order my meat and chicken from, doesn't stock trotters so we just get them whenever we have time to go and pick up trotters from a traditional butcher and then to cook them for hours. A rare treat but we are trying to do it as frequently as possible.

ingredients..
(3-4 servings when served with side dishes)

to be boiled (pressure cooked) together
goat trotters 4
onion quartered 1 (about 80 gm)
garlic cloves 12
ginger sliced 1/2 inch piece
whole black cardamom 2
cinnamon 1 inch piece
cloves 3-4
tejpatta 2-3
water 1.5 Liters

To be made into a bhuna masala
tomatoes 2 (about 200 gm) or thick yogurt 1 cup
onion sliced 1 (about 80 gm)
coriander seeds 1 tbsp
cumin seeds 2 tsp
black pepper corns 1 tsp
green cardamom 2
dry red chillies 3-4
turmeric powder 1 tsp
ginger 1/2 inch knob
nutmeg to be grated over the masala paste later 1 pinch
2 tbsp mustard oil
salt to taste

for garnish
ginger minced finely 1 tbsp
green chillies minced 1 tbsp
chopped coriander greens 3-4 tbsp

procedure...

Rinse the trotters well and pressure cook for about 2 hrs along with the ingredients listed. Two hours pressure cooking seems too much but helps in extracting the gelatin from the bones really well, the bones become soft and crumbly. If cooking in a pan you need to replenish water repeatedly and cook for about 5-6 hours. Let the pressure cooker cool down before proceeding.

Fish out the trotters and keep aside. Strain the broth and discard the whole spices.

To prepare the bhuna masala, heat the oil in a deep pan or kadhai, tip in the sliced onions and fry them on medium flame till browned well. Drain and keep aside.

Now make a paste of coriander seeds, cumin and black peppercorns, cardamom, turmeric, ginger and dry red chillies together with 2 tbsp water. Empty the wet masala paste into the remaining oil and fry on medium flame till aromatic and glazed.

In the same blender add chopped tomatoes or yogurt if using and make a paste. This will be added into the glazed bhuna masala. Cook and little more till everything becomes aromatic again. Tomatoes will result in a vibrant colour while yogurt gravy will be lighter in colour.

Now blend the fried onions in the same blender and add to the bhuna masala, mix well and now pour the trotters and the broth, grate nutmeg over it and simmer for about half an hour. Add water if required. This is one dish that doesn't cook in a hurry. Some fat will float up when it is cooked.

Serve hot with a garnish of minced green chillies, ginger and chopped dhaniya patta.

Khameeri roti is the best accompaniment the paya shorba can get. The test of a good paya shorba is in the consistency of the gravy when it cools down. It becomes a jelly once at room temperature and in winters it starts jelling even on your plate and the fingers start feeling sticky due to the gelatin rich gravy.

We normally eat this over 2-3 days once cooked on the weekend. In winters this is the one of the best comforting foods to have. Very nourishing, great for convalescence and for lactating mothers. Like liver curries I have been experimenting with paya shorba a lot these days. With advancing age we understand the utility of some of these foods better and start overcoming the inhibitions we had regarding some of the boring foods or some of these time consuming foods too.

Paya shorba is well worth the time it takes. Do not forget some good yeasted flat bread with it, or a home baked khameeri roti if you can.

We were in Banaras for a week to meet friends, family and have a good time generally. But the most encouraging part of this visit was the thought of malaiyyo that we were hoping to taste after so many years. About 15-16 years to be precise as we could not visit Banaras in winter season for these many years somehow. This visit in the last leg of winter looked promising for reasons than we had planned. Maliyyo was the topmost reason believe me.

Malaiyyo is a 'saffron flavoured milk cloud' that is made by churning whole milk early in the morning during winter months by the shopkeepers in the old part of the city who are actually gwalas (keepers of cows) and produce and sell milk products including yogurt, khoya, butter and ghee depending on seasons. When saffron flavoured milk is churned slowly (manually) it results in the fats separating into a froth that is collected in a large kadhai (a utensil they use for many purposes through the year). Later this frothy cream is sprinkled with finely sliced nuts and saffron to garnish.

My research guide Dr. Goyle had introduced me to malaiyyo 2 decades ago as she used to live in Neelkanth area (in pakka mahal) and there were many malaiyyo vendors around her home. In those days small khomcha walas used to ply in the maze of those narrow lanes and would stop and ladle out a kulhad of malaiyyo for you on demand. You could get hold of them only in foggy winter months as the fog and low temperature would allow the malaiyyo to stay frothy the whole day but as the winter months would lead to spring you would find malaiyyo only in the small shops around Neelkanth and Chaukhamba lanes, the famous maze of gullies in Banaras that stay cooler than the city outside the gullies. These shops are literally holes in the wall with the edge of a huge Iron kadhai jutting out of it to indicate there is a malaiyyo shop. Not much crowded, only a couple of patrons getting the stuff packed for a nearby home or having it right there. This shop below is the one opposite to Gopal ji Mandir in Chaukhamba gully.

There is a world of difference between the city that breaths in the gullies of Banaras and the part of the city that chokes outside the gullies. Within a quarter of a century since I have been watching this city I see Banaras choking and suffocating on many levels. But pleasantly, I found the gullies almost untouched by the recent invaders. Apart from the gullies you don't see many banarasi people around, hoards of people have come and settled in the city from Eastern parts of the country and you don't get to hear that famous banarasi accent that often in the city. Not that I am complaining, but I feel Banaras is choking under the huge population it is supporting right now. Ranting over.

Over to malaiyyo now, after all these years we were suspicious of whether we will get to taste it this time or not, as mid February temperature was already soaring to worry us. But we asked around and got to know that it will be available till Holi. One day early in the morning we started from home, it takes almost 40 minutes from Lanka to Chaukhamba and we reached there around 8.30 AM, changing auto and manual rickshaws twice. We do feel like tourists in the city now that we find ourselves unable to drive in the mad traffic, not even a two wheeler. But luckily the rickshaws are very efficient.

Reach Godoliya from any part of the city, hire a rickshaw for Chaukhamba, tell the rickshaw owner to drop you at the gopalji mandir wali gully and he will drop you just there. Then start walking inside the gully you would find the first Malaiyyo wala in front of the Bhartendu Bhavan. You would want to ask for Gopal ji mandir several times to be sure of the directions as the gully meanders a bit, do not turn into any gully left or right.

Ravi, the owner of this 'corner shop' has already offered the 'bhog' to Krishna as you can see in this picture and is serving the first kulhad of Malaiyyo to us.

This stuff was good but not the best. Still way better than the Daulat ki chaat we get in purani dilli. We asked for the malaiyyo wala doodh and he walked inside the gully on the right to bring a bucket full of malaiyyo wala doodh within a couple of minutes. This proves the malaiyyo is made using whole milk and not using transfat based icing/whipped cream. But to be honest, this malaiyyo had a little 'dalda' or trans fat added as I could feel the fat sticking to my upper palate. A trans fat containing malaiyyo will look a bit more fluffy and stiff the whole day while the real 100% milk fat malaiyyo would be like soft peaks falling and collapsing easily.

This malaiyyo was good compared to the malaiyyo available in Bansphatak road where it is made fully of transfats and stays well the whole day even in summers. A trap for tourists waiting. I have never tasted this one though. Will share the pictures of the Bansphatak shop too.

Ravi's shop in front of Bhartendu Bhavan is decent malaiyyo although you may find the gully quite unclean around the shop, which is just a wooden chowki (platform) where his wares are displayed.

The malaiyyo is fairly stiff and frothy.

The next Malaiyyo wala sits just about 10 steps ahead of this guy and had not started his business yet. You see the bhog offered to Krishna here too and the earthen kulhads waiting for customers.

The city in the gullies doesn't start business too early in the day, people are busy doing the ganga snan and puja early morning and business starts after 7-8 AM for food stuff and from 10-11 AM for others. We were the first customers of Malaiyyo wherever we went to sample the taste.

Walk a bit more to cross a small vegetable market on both sides of the gully and you reach the Gopalji Mandir on your left. On the right side is this Malaiyyo shop by Markandey Sardar. See the huge kadhai and the serving utensils propped up in this hole in the wall.

This malaiyyo is not as stiff (means 100% pure milk fat) and the amount of nuts is generous. This particular shop was patronised by the royal families of Banaras in the past ans is still known for great quality and purity. And surprisingly the malaiyyo was a bit cheaper than the one at Bhartendu Bhavan. The interiors of the gully is not bitten by the touristy charm yet.

See the malaiyyo froth that is collapsing in this half eaten kulhad, indicating pure milk fat. This one doesn't stick to the upper palate when you eat. If you have a sensitive palate that is.

The cost of malaiyyo wala doodh is included in the malaiyyo cost here.

And he fills up your cup patiently. No hurry to finish. You can even have another kulhad without worrying about cholesterol and calories. Milk fat never causes cholesterol deposits FYI. And Malaiyyo is a far far better choice than ice creams and gelatos. You have to taste it to believe it.

This confection might be a bit too sweet by your standards, was so for me but that doesn't mask the flavours of this wonderful thing on earth. See the content faces and the gully that leads to more infinite maze of gullies.

I wish I could get this dessert more frequently although I have no trace of a sweet tooth in me. This is one of those desserts that result from the best possible combination of flavours and texture, and a dedication to create the best, the skill evolved through generations..

Malaiyyo is known as Makkhan malai in Lucknow and Nimish in Kanpur and Lakhimpur etc. Every region has their own minor variations in flavours but it is essentially a winter specialty and if you see it being served or sold in warmer seasons you be assured it is made of trans fats. The Delhi version is called Daulat ki chaat which is white in colour and quite pale in comparison to the taste of Banarasi malaiyyo.

This shop at Bansphatak sells malaiyyo all through the year, neatly scooped in kulhads for easy dispense to tourists. No locals eat malaiyyo here ever.

Real malaiyyo once scooped out in kulhads will collapse really soon but here it stays for the whole day. Beware. This is fake malaiyyo.

Real pure malaiyyo looks like this. Found definitely at Markandey Sardar, opposite Gopal ji mandir in Chaukhamba gully.

I hope you will definitely throng to Chaukhmba the next time you are in Banaras. Don't forget to carry an empty bottle to get some malaiyyo wala doodh for home. Malaiyyo can be carried within the gullies only unfortunately, it wouldn't survive even 15 minutes in the heat and dust of the city outside the gullies.

For some reason Kathal (jackfruit) ki subzi is a Holi tradition in many vegetarian families in Eastern UP. The hardcore non vegetarians cook a spicy mutton dish to set off the gujhia nd malpua sweetness that the festival brings in. Kathal is vegetarians meat and if cooked the same way it actually tastes really good and serves the purpose of being paired with many many sweet dishes on the festive menu.

Although jackfruit fruits all year round in the southern peninsula, the Gangetic plains have a distinct season for jackfruit which starts around the spring time after the harsh winter. This could be a reason why jackfruit is associated with Holi tradition in many vegetarian family in this region. Those who love this meaty vegetable keep cooking till the season lasts and even pickle it. My mom used to make a pickle of jackfruit slices with raw mangoes and I remember we used to like the kathal ka achar (jackfruit pickle) more than kathal ki subzi. Now I don't care for the pickle and gave away a huge jar to my maid.

Coming to kathal ki subzi, this is not one of my favourite subzi to be honest, I like it occasionally for a change. But one or two odd requests about kathal ki subzi have been coming to me and considering kathal is available throughout the year here in Delhi I feel guilty of not cooking it even if it is occasional. It so happened that one day while my weekly vegetable shopping I came across this subziwala who was cutting very fresh medium sized jackfruit and I bought it just because it looked fresh.

New potatoes in the season also make this kathal ki subzi special because the floury sweetish summer potatoes just spoil this spicy curry. Skip adding potatoes if you don't have new potatoes.

Note that most people deep fry the kathal and use a lot of oil to fry the masala paste too when making this subzi traditionally, I avoided kathal ki subzi for the same reason for several year as I had seen my mom cooking it with loads of oil floating in it. Later I figured how to cook kathal with minimal oil and still retain it's flavours. This recipe is my adaptation of the flavours of UP style kathal ki subzi using minimal oil.

This is a pressure cooker recipe to ensure even cooking of jackfruit and letting it absorb the spices without deep frying it.

ingredients...
(4 servings )

peeled and cubed jackfruit 300 gm
boiled peeled, cooled down completely and halved new baby potatoes 200 gm
salt to taste
mustard oil 2 tbsp
hing a pinch or strong hing solution 2 drops
nutmeg and mace powders 1 pinch each

to make a coarse paste..
chopped onion 2 tbsp
dry red chillies 3-4

to make a smooth paste ..
garlic cloves 4-5
ginger slivers 1 tbsp
whole coriander seeds 1 tbsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
peppercorns 1 tsp
black cardamom 2
green cardamom 2
cloves 5
cinnamon stick 1/2 inch
tejpatta 3
turmeric powder 1 tsp

procedure..

Heat the oil in a pressure cooker pan and tip in the hing, wait till the hing floats up or the oil gets aromatic with hing. Now tip in the coarse paste along with salt and brown it on medium flame.

Tip in the smooth paste and bhuno it all for about 6-8 minutes on medium heat or till it gets aromatic and looks glazed.

Add the cubed boiled potatoes and jack fruit cubes into the masala mix and toss to coat. Stir fry while tossing it till edges of jackfruit and potatoes start getting golden brown. It takes some time as the amount of cooking oil is less but in a pressure cooker pan it doesn't stick to the bottom thankfully.

Add the nutmeg and mace powders in the last and mix well. Then add 1/2 a cup of water, close the lid and let the pressure build up till the first whistle. Lower the heat and cook for 5 more minutes. If the jack fruit is very fresh and tender it might cook sooner, hard jack fruit mat take some more time.

Let the pressure cooker cool down before you open the lid. Serve hot with or without a garnish of coriander greens. In older times kathal ki subzi was made mostly during summer months, the peak season of jack fruit, and coriander greens were a winter produce so it is not a normal garnish for kathal ki subzi. Even tomatoes are not used in all summer subzi recipes traditionally for the same reason.

The kathal absorbs the spices well owing to it's fibrous porous nature and the texture is quite meaty. So if you add spices similar to meat curries it gives a feel of meat to vegetarians apparently. I have never found it comparable to meat personally but all vegetarians consider it to be the vegetarian's meat. I never question that :-)

Poori is a favored pairing with kathal ki subzi during the spring season and specially holi but in summers it is always served with a cooling cucumber raita, sliced and vinegar soaked onions and plain thin chapatis.

This is not going to be a recipe post but a major food related nostalgia. I was in Banaras last month and I went to the few places we used to throng during our college days and later during research days too. Bihari ki chai, samose and alu chop were universal gourmet food for us and we had the digestive fire to eat it all. Now after almost a quarter of a century gone by the chai and samosa is still the same, he has introduced a few more items to his menu and a few more hands on work. We saw alu stuffed kachoris and masala stuffed tomato fritters simply called 'tamatar' at his shop this time.

It did not help that we were with some of our M.Sc. classmates. We had a reunion of class and enjoyed each oter's company, went to our department, met our teachers etc but Bihari ki dukan brought back the hidden child in all of us.

All of us wanted to spend more time at Bihari's shop just watching at the things flying off the shelves, even though the shelves were just a makeshift tin to stock the fresh samosas for a few minutes. Till they landed in leaf donas and were lapped up hungrily by youngsters.

I just couldn't resist taking out my camera and clicking a few pictures of the men at work. Looks like this tea stall has been doing great business continuously and has been feeding students ever since. Their repertoire has enriched but the taste and the freshness is still the same. You just cannot pick a single favourite out of these simple snacks or mini meals the students enjoy every single day. All of us friends remembered how we used to pester each other for these simple treats :-)

An old man was stuffing masala in emptied tomato halves. This tamatar bonda used to be such a favourite on rainy days I remember.

See how spicy and yummy this filling looks. It has loads of green coriander, roasted peanuts and green peas along with potatoes and spices.

This 'tamatar' is a limited edition snack as it is labour intensive and probably getting similar sized tomatoes would be additional effort too. They fry it in 2-3 batches around lunch time and it is available for just about an hour or so. We were lucky to see them being made and then returned at the right time to have a bite too. I find these kind of street foods healthier than any packaged foods and very satiating and filling too. And when these are deep fried at such high temperature there is no issue of hygiene as well.

The frying oil can be a concern if you are eating them everyday and if the shop is frying the snacks in acrid burnt oil. I saw the oil looked transparent and fresh when I took pictures. A good thing to discover.

See this huge pot of 'matar chhole' being tempered with a spice mix. This is served with a round potato stuffed kachori they make.

See the kachoris being shaped.

How do they find such popular combinations and keep selling them for years, to generations and make such classics. Street food needs some more recognition I feel. It evolves along the changing palate of patrons but the core flavours remain the same.

We did not taste any other snacks this time but had 2 rounds of the famous chai. Bihari ki chai as we used to call it.

The chai has a smoky flavour to it, very milky and just rightly sweet for the temperament one gets when visiting such places.

I missed not having those samose. But then we visited another classmate the next day who is a Professor in Agriculture department and he made us eat those samose :-) there are few things that make a way to reach you at the right time.

One samosa found its way to me too :-)

Unwind the distress of urban life, unlearn the acquired circadian rhythm and undo the toxic damage done by the city life is what you intend when you head to such a place. I feel we do so much damage to our circadian rhythm in our working city life that it needs a repair in between. Heading towards the hills just to stay put for a few days is such a relief we experienced while spending time in Goshaini. Yes, we had planned we will not do any treks and hikes and just laze around for 5 days. Although we ended up doing a few impromptu hikes around the valley.

Goshaini is a small village located in Teerthan valley (Post Banjaar, State Himachal Pradesh) and falls in the Ecozone of The Great Himalayan National Park. Can you imagine we did not even go the the National Park while we were stationed there. But we had a plan to rest and that we did, planned the National Park visit for a few months later.

Last May a blogger friend Dhiren had gone to Goshaini and had come to my home driving back from there. And the way he praised this home stay at Raju's cottage both of us felt like going there at once. We tried to find a booking during our holidays but Raju's cottage is so popular it is always full, so we booked for the extended Holi weekend almost 8 months in advance. It was totally worth the wait and the commute. Note that we had to wait this long because both of us could not get free dates in the coming months due to work and other travel plans, and in the summer when we had time the homestay was busy mostly with families with school going kids. You can get bookings for your choice of dates if you are lucky. You will fell like going there right away once you know what it is. Read on.

And this is how you cross the gurgling Teerthan river to reach Raju's cottage. The fun begins. And mind you, not the city life kind of fun, this is for real, with real elements of nature thrown in for good measure.

Raju's cottage is a green roofed, wooden cottage that looks like this from the main road just a kilometer short of Goshaini bazar.

Our abode for five days, a peaceful home stay located at the base of apple orchards of Raju Bharti's family. That terraced landscape in the background of the cottage looks barren as it was just after the snow season and all the apple, pear, cherry, apricot and many other fruit trees were all barren.

We would sleep, read books, eat great food cooked by Lata ji (Raju Bharti's wife) and just laze around in the sun. But almost everyday we would go for long walks that would turn out to be at least 3-4 hours hike in the forests or neighboring villages. Just loitering around aimlessly and return for a late lunch.

Look at the people we met and talked along the way every day.

Huge pumpkins and hill cucumbers perched on slate tiled roofs, kids peeping from windows, coming to greet us and offering candies was common. Where do you find such simplicity and honest smiles in the cities?

Raju's cottage looked like this when we went up to the forest on one side.

And like this when we climbed steep hills and some concrete steps to reach Bandal village. The view below is when you climb about 30 minutes from Goshaini towards Bandal.

We found several birds and photographed loads of them. Will share more pictures of birds really soon. These are Russet Sparrows (a couple) enjoying their lunch.

Some of the Apricot and Plum trees had just started blooming. I even found Himalayan raspberries blooming, the one with Arvind's thumb is raspberry blossom. Himalayan raspberry is called Hisalu in Uttarakhand, might have a different name in Himachal.

It was first week of March, still freezing cold after a bout of snow in the valley and everyday we would see fresh snow on the neighboring peaks. It was raining a lot quite uncharacteristic to the month of March but was sunny enough to see the spring knocking at the door. Many stretches along the Teerthan valley had Plum orchards that looked painted white by the fresh blossom. Although there was a real danger of the pollens washing away and destroying the plum harvest this year.

We walked and hiked, finding new openings into the valley, witnessing new peaks, some shining with snow and some crowned with conifers, a lone house perched on a cliff, few kids playing cricket on any plain stretch of land available. We wold stop, breath in the crisp fresh air, ruffle the hill dogs and move on.

We were always late for the designated lunch time but would get a hot and fresh lunch served in the common dining room. I must mention that Raju's cottage has a common dining room, a vibrant place decked up with books, wooden artifacts and painted pebbles kept on the windowsills. The most interesting thing that I found were the huge crystal rocks placed everywhere. There were a few crystal rocks even in our rooms.

All the artwork is made by the guests staying there or is sent by them as a gesture of gratitude.

Food is served fresh, the curries and daal placed in hot plates, rice served in hot case casseroles and hot rotis being brought to each guest as you eat. Indian home style food and some local regional food with vegetarian and non vegetarian choices is what you would expect in such places but the warmth that you find here is something to cherish.

Absolutely home style meals served just like food is served in joint families, I loved this part quite a lot, more so because food is always a special experience for me. Raju's cottage and Lata ji's cooking didn't disappoint me even taste wise.

See what all we had. Traditional Himachali sidu, the steamed (leavened) whole wheat bread stuffed with poppy seed paste, served with a dollop of home made ghee.

The ghee had such an intoxicating flavour of nostalgia, reminded me of the ghee my grandmother would bring from our village. Slightly smoky and so flavourful, the sidu is steamed over leaves of galgal lemons (large pahadi lemons).

Ghee is made by the milk they get from the cowshed they maintain. All the milk, yogurt and paneer they use come from their own cows. How cool is that.

I spotted morels growing in Raju's orchard, it was the first time I had seen them growing wild like this.

Seeing my interest in morels, Lata ji cooked guchhi pulao (morel pilaf) one day. Her chciken and mutton curries are to die for.

Look at this gucchi pulao (morel pilaf). And that is a lot of morels considering it is so costly.

Here is sepu wadi (urad daal dumplings in spinach gravy) which is a popular recipe served in Himachal Dhams (wedding parties). A uniquely aromatic curry that I learnt cooking and recreated in my own kitchen after returning. Sepu wadi recipe will be shared shortly.

Getting breathless climbing mountains, returning hungry and being treated with such warming food is bliss. We did not want to come back.

Did I mention that each room at Raju's cottage has a small bookshelf too. At least our room had one and three extra rooms around the bedroom to laze around. Two of those rooms were river facing, the bathroom was also river facing and very very cold due to that. But thank God they rarely have power cuts so hot water was not a problem. They have installed solar heaters for the main kitchen and guest bathrooms too. There are solar lanterns for the guests if they have to go around in the night.

Raju Bharti is an interesting person, his father was a local MLA as he told and seems to have done remarkable work in the area. Raju himself has filed cases against corporates who wanted to build dams up the river and had arranged government sanction too. He was able to stop the making of dams on the Teerthan river and considers the river as her Goddess. He is a member of various committees overlooking the management of The Great Himalayan National Park and takes active interest in conservation of the mountain ecology. In fact if I write about all that we talked with him it will be a full fledged article here.

Raju's family has a few dogs and cats who are very friendly to the guests and the dogs are even trained to accompany them if they go to hikes alone. The dogs are named Goju, Bhalu, Bulbul and Yeti. They walk along and keep looking back to assure you are following them, else they will come back and sit with you while you gaze at the mountains and birds and the scalloped sky all around this valley.

The mountain goats will be curious about you but oblivious to the beauty surrounding them. You feel like you are the odd one in this beautiful place and then you wish to come back and fit in better.

I appreciate what Raju's family is doing at his fruit orchard too, growing everything organically and rearing cows for milk for the family as well as for the guests. Raju's cottage is run completely by his family members and they take pride in it. His two sons, Karan and Varun manage the everyday operations and his wife Lata ji cooks all the food with the help of lady who comes from the village to help in the kitchen chores. His nephew Vicky serves food to all guests and keeps asking for tea and coffee in between. All done with a smile.

Karan and Varun will coordinate with you once they confirm booking. You can get an overnight bus from Delhi, a few buses start from Himachal Bhavan (Mandi House) and others from ISBT, deboard the bus just before the Aut tunnel and Raju will arrange a cab pick up from there. You need to tell the bus driver in advance about your destination so he will let you know when it is time. You can contact Raju and his sons at his facebook page here to book and coordinate for cab pick up.

They feel like an extended family to me now. Isn't that a great achievement? No, not for them, I am talking about myself.

amle ka achar : Indian gooseberry pickle recipe and significance of Amlaki Ekadashi

sooran (zamikand) ki chutney | a raw chutney with Elephant foot yam

bhatt ka dubka | a curry made with local black soybeans from Uttarakhand

chane ki daal paneer wali | split chickpeas cooked with tomatoes and paneer

orange rasgulla recipe | traditional rasgulla soaked in fresh orange juice, served with orange slices

Shahjahanabad ki sair ; a food festival of old Delhi's cuisine at Ssense, The Surya Hotel

Shiv Sagar comes to Delhi : our experience of the street food served in a chic ambiance

gogji mutton | a simple stew with turnips and mutton cooked the Kashmiri way

bisibele bhath : the southern khichdi we loved even in the simplest way

everyday daal : chane ki daal bathue wali | sagpaita cooked with split chickpeas and chenopodium greens

chukandar gosht | mutton stew with beet roots and leaves

Rivaayat, a royal Awadhi food experience at Saffron, Trident, Gurgaon

Rivaayat is revival of tradition : tasting some traditional flavours from Awadh, Delhi, Hyderabad and Amritsar at The Oberoi, New Delhi

urad daal aur sowa ke pakode | lentil fritters with dill leaves

everyday subzi : baingan sowa-methi ki subzi

paya shorba recipe, the slow cooked goat trotters with Indian spices

malaiyyo trail in Banaras | where to get the best malaiyyo in Banaras

kathal ki sookhi masaledar subzi made with minimal oil

Bihari ke chai-samose aur bharva tamatar bonda : memories from our BHU days

travel and food stories : Raju's cottage in Goshaini, Himachal Pradesh, a quite serene place to unwind and enjoy great home cooked food too