Musings

Has it really been 6 years since I last posted?

6 years sure feels like aeons but they did pass by in a blink, now that I actually think about it.

What's undeniable is how much has changed in the last whole decade since I first began to blog.

I went from being a spunky, spirited soul with a lot of fire in my soul to a more mellow version of spunky , spirited and fiery. Life had finally found a way to tame my joie de vivre. Resistance, I realized, after much deliberation was futile. OH. SO. FUTILE.

I could dream and hope all I wanted whereas my reality would always be diametrically different from all those lofty thoughts.

I do sound dramatic and a tad ungrateful. It's not been all gloom and doom. Although the gloom and doom variety of happenings have marred a lot of the good that has come to be.

One of the really good things that happened to me was discovering Korean dramas and learning Korean as a language. K-dramas and Korean movies are a whole other level of creative, gorgeous and glam altogether! They make me look forward to life. Any good show does that . But K-dramas are extra special. I have been immensely moved by the talent that industry possesses in good measure.What do I love most about this genre you ask: I love how they simplify complex thoughts and abstract concepts.

As a person I am forever creating ideal universes and dreaming up these ideal humans who have special powers and abilities. Aliens in the human world with all the magical powers to crush the most odious plans that fellow humans conspire to foist on you. A fantasy world so to speak. A spirit universe where the possibilities of positive outcomes and happy endings are endless. Korean Jagganims (writers) are my kindred spirits. They think very similarly and create these larger than life tales that hold a mirror to a lot of my most feverish hopes and dreams. 'While you were sleeping' is a K-drama that brought to life one of my favorite tropes of being able to change the present by having an ability to see what the future holds.

As any discerning person reading this can gather. I am a mild control freak. I do like to have a say in how my life unfolds. Very few people know that it is a god given gift that only a chosen few are able to exercise.

Do you know people who always win no matter what? I am talking of those blessed few who when faced with a choice or are at the crossroads will have great things happen to them no matter how bleak the options.They always come out smelling of roses. They're the people who lived really well even during the Great Depression. The true Gods who walk among us.

What makes them a God?They're superior being that have the power to grant humans their most desperate wishes or so K-dramas have taught me.

Just like humans not all dramas are created equal. Some dramas make you feel like your intellect is physically being shrunk with every passing minute that you waste on it.

So it is a mixed bag but most ITN and JTBC dramas do have my undying love and attention. It all began for me with 'This is my Love'. The actor Joo Jin-Mo redefined everything I ever wanted in a leading man.The plot however was predictable and the ending almost cruel to our hero. But Korea is a traditional society and the concept of marriage is held sacrosanct even if its between our gormless villain Kim Tae Hoon and Miss.Korea Kim Sa-Rang. What struck me most about this show was the first 3 episodes. The pacing completely sucked me into Park Hyun-soo and Eun Dong's small little world. The actors who played the pair as young kids, teens and adults simply nailed it. The casting was pitch perfect. What's not to like about such bang on casting and acting. But the more I watched the more predictable the tale got and it all just began to feel very unfair. Why does a man who did nothing but wait for his soul-mate have to be punished so cruelly. Why was the price of getting Eun Dong back so needlessly steep?

It wasnt ideal enough. But I was glad in how it all ended. It felt nice to watch our heroine find her voice and stand on her own two feet and be able to change the narrative. I felt like she was finally taking the reins into her own hands and taking charge ! The feminist in me was happy for her.

2019's stand out shows for me was 'Something in the Rain' and ' Oh my Ghost!'.

I had so many questions when I recently watched 'Cheese in the Trap' in that I couldn't for the life of me understand why I was being inflicted with so much stupidity. I watched it solely because the hero Park Hae Jin was easy on the eyes. And also because it was an ITN show. Ugh. Bad Call. The ending really made me curse myself for wasting 18 plus hours of my life.

2020 seems like a promising year. Here's hoping I get to view and enjoy a lot more of the good stuff!

Memories of Greece: Parsley infused Melitzanosalata

Our summer vacay in Greece will go down as one of my most memorable visits to Europe. I've always loved the delicate, picture post-card-photoshopped-manicured beauty of Europe but Greece, Spain, Turkey and Russia truly stand out in all their bright, wild, vibrant grandeur.

Greece was full of culinary surprises. From the most delectable greek yoghurt, olives and EVOO soaked salads to the most foul tasting fouskes the food scene was lined with variety and loaded with surprise.

My personal favorite was the parsley infused Melitzanosalata- an eggplant dip that tastes like heaven exploded in your mouth. The genesis of this recipe - the chef at a local eatery in Athens let me in on his family recipe.

Things you need: 1 large eggplant, 1/2 onion or 1 shallot, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 large lemon, chopped, fresh parsley, EVOO, salt, red chilli flakes and freshly ground pepper.

Prep Time:While it takes 40 minutes to roast the eggplant in the oven to get it all soft, tender and pruney - the total prep time post the roast is a simple 5 minutes!:D

My Prep Kitchen Recipe:

Take the large eggplant and a sharp fork. Poke holes all over the eggplant unless you want the purple mass to explode inside the oven;). Pour some extra virgin olive oil in your palm and coat the eggplants skin with the oil. Place the eggplant inside the oven and bake at 400 degree Fahrenheit for 40 minutes.

Once the eggplant is nicely cooked and all smokey. Cut the eggplant to let the steam out. Peel the wrinkly skin away and scoop out the fleshy parts.

Bring out your food processor/ blender: Toss the de-skinned eggplant in , 1/2 onion or diced shallot, 3 cloves of garlic, chilli flakes & chopped fresh parsley. Squeeze the juice of an entire lime on to this mix and pour some EVOO in. Now blend until the mixture is smooth. Add salt, pepper and olive oil to the mix when you plate the dip. The eggplant dip is ready.

Serve with fresh green olives/baked pita bread/garlic bread/ roasted red peppers/ pita chips or all of them.

I got carried away with the parsley and hence the green color!:)

P.S: You can always saute the onion and garlic in olive oil and add sea salt, pepper, red chilli flakes and dry herbs and add this mix to the cooked eggplant.

Modify the recipe to suit your taste buds! Trust me, you will love this creamy and healthy dip!:)

Desi Saag Channa with grated paneer

I've lived a long while in India and in all my time there I have never come across Saag Channa. It's always been Saag(mustard leaves/spinach) with either Paneer(cottage cheese) or Aaloo(potatoes) or Ghost(lamb) or some other awesome variation. But never channa (garbanzo beans). Which is why when I noticed it at a restaurant in SD I was intrigued.

A little chat with the friendly chef revealed just how simple it was to create this slurpalicious dish!

It takes about 30 minutes to make including prep time(chopping and grating).

Chop:

Take 1 bouquet of spinach leaves and 1 bunch of mustard leaves. Wash them both thoroughly. Drain the water and chop roughly. Set aside.

Next chop 1 medium sized onion and 1 tomato in big chunks. This is all the chopping you have to do.

Grate and cook:

Take about 200 grams of paneer and grate it. In a pan pour a teeny-tiny amount of oil over a medium flame. Add the grated paneer to the oil and add some salt and a pinch of red chilli powder. Paneer cooks really fast so set it aside after about a minute on the pan.

In parallel drop the pre-soaked garbanzo beans into the pressure cooker.Add some salt and turmeric into the water used to cook the beans. Pressure cook for about 25 minutes until the beans are nice and melt-in-your-mouth soft.

And now on to the actual cooking process:

To a large-deep- hard-bottomed pan ( placed over a high flame) add some vegetable oil or 1 tspn of ghee. Drop some mustard seeds and jeera into the hot oil/ghee. Once they begin to crackle, add the chopped onion and tomato chunks.Drop some salt, red chilli powder(1/2 tspn) & turmeric powder (1/4 tspn). Once the base of onion and tomatoes are nice and tender. Add the greens. Add additional salt if required.

Once the greens are cooked. Add the entire mixture to the food processor and blend. I usually blend for exactly 25 seconds. I don't like the consistency to be too fine or like that of palak paneer's. 

Next pour the mixture back into the large pan.Toss the grated paneer & cooked channa and mix well. Add some salt and pepper to taste. 

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with either steaming rice or Rotis/Naan(Breads).

Stir Fried Snow-Pea Leaves in a garlic sauce

I cannot profess my love for greens enough!

They are AWESOME! Be it spinach, bok choy, snow-pea leaves, chinese broc or watercress I enjoy them all without reservation.

But I must confess, I do resent the time it takes to wash and hose the greens down. Even the third wash throws up surprising amounts of sand and dirt(Boo!!!)! Anyway, if you can get past the stage of thoroughly washing the greens of your choice, here's how you quickly you can make a plate of steaming-hot stir fried greens in a garlic sauce:

Take a bunch of snow-pea leaves or watercress and chop them randomly post cleaning them thoroughly. 

Now place the wok on the flame and pour some vegetable oil into the wok. Once the oil is hot, add some sliced garlic. Make sure the garlic slices are nice and thin(use 3 large pods or its equivalent). Wait until they turn golden and toss in some salt and red chilli flakes.

Next toss the greens into the pot.Add additional salt and white pepper as desired. Cook the greens for about 3 minutes while stirring them constantly until most of the liquid has evaporated and the snow-pea leaves have wilted and are tender. Do not cover the wok while cooking the leaves at any stage...and you're done.

An appetizing bowl of stir-fried greens awaits. Dig in!:)

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Kichidi-Comfort food at it's finest & heartiest

Nothing comes close to satisfying my soul and appetite on a cold wintery day like steaming hot Kichidi. Luckily it's quite a simple dish to make. I usually have it with a simple, crunchy salad.

It's very healthy, hearty and simple.

So here's how I made it:

Bung in 3 small cups of rice and moong dal into a vessel. Throw in some peanuts as well. Add enough water(about 10 small cups) and cook the mix in a cooker.

• Take a hard-bottomed pan & pour some oil into it.
• To the warm oil, add jeera and grated ginger.
• Once the ginger starts to brown add chopped onion (1/2 onion) , peas and sliced garlic(optional). You could also add chopped cauliflower, potatoes and carrots if you like vegetables in your kichidi.
• Now throw in the spices: Salt, turmeric , red chilli powder, garam masala (all in amounts you can handle)
• Once the vegetables are cooked. Add the cooked moong dal and rice mixture.
• Mix well and add additional salt and pepper as desired.
• Garnish with either Micro greens or cilantro.

Traditionally the dish is made entirely in a pressure cooker. But I like to mix things up and do my own thing. Do whatever works for you, as well!:)

Happy cooking!!!

Spicy Sambar-Powder Fried Rice: Truly Finger-licking good!:)

When my uber-hip Aunt mentioned that she simply loved this 'Spicy Sambar powder fried rice', I knew she was onto something.Always trust a fellow foodie.It is oh-so-easy to make and simply delish! Here's how she makes it:

You need a nice deep prep- bowl. Take some butter or Ghee(in amounts that your body can handle) and throw in the following finely chopped veggies: Onions, capsicum(red, yellow, green), tomatoes. Throw in some finely minced garlic, grated coconut, chopped parsley, curry leaves & crushed peanuts as well for good measure. Now add the Sambar powder (add the powder based on the quantity of rice prepared)to this mixture. The sambar powder is what brings spice to this dish. 

Place this mixture on a hot skillet and stir fry.You'll soon notice the heady aromas of sambar powder and butter filling your entire kitchen. It's the most appetizing scent that wafts about ever! I like my vegetables crunchy so I usually, stir fry for about 3 minutes. When the vegetables look like they're done add the cooked basmati rice and mix. 

Garnish with some chopped cilantro and serve while steaming hot.

Spicy Sambar Fried Rice

Garlicky, Crispy Hasselback Potatoes

My love for potatoes met its melodramatic twist of fate curve ball when I discovered I was allergic to them. The allergy still doesn't compute in my head but I do try and stay away. But I still revere the tasty, sinfully yummy creation that is a well-made dish of potatoes, with all my heart. 

I recently watched a Food Network segment on how to make Hasselback Potatoes and boy was I smitten by the accordion-like shape of this baked spud. I gather it's named after the Stockholm based Restaurant Hasselbacken that created them. Anyhoo, it had to be re-created in my kitchen, my style.

All you need are: 3 potatoes (the longer and flatter the better), 3-4 pods of garlic, some olive oil (or butter-if you're in a mood to indulge), paprika, red chilli flakes, italian spice mix, salt and pepper. Oh and a very sharp knife.

Prep Kitchen: 
Empty the oven and preheat at 400 degrees F for 10 minutes.

While the oven hisses away, place the potatoes on the chopping board and start making thin equidistant slices( breadth-wise and parallel)on the surface of the potatoes. Make sure not to slice through fully.When the potato looks like a paper accordion art project you know you're done. Some people remove the skin but I like keeping them on.

Now for the fun part. Slice the garlic pods thinly. Thin enough to be able to shine a light thru them. Stuff these garlic slices thru the cracks visible. Brush the potatoes on all sides with some olive oil and shower the potatoes with generous amounts of spice- cayenne, paprika, italian herbs, salt, freshly ground black pepper, the works.

Now place these potatoes in an oven-safe bowl and heat in the oven at 410 degrees F for 40 minutes. They look absolutely golden, luscious and crisp when they come out. You could add some grated Parmesan or Gruyere cheese to this and bake for another 15 minutes to savor the goodness of melted cheese.

Garnish with some fresh parsley for that lovely finish!:) I'd say it's an evening well-spent.

The before and after photos:

The Prep Version

The Après version