I am back from a long break. I am still trying to get back into my blogging routine. Last month end we moved to a new house(very near to our old apartment). We did not realize how hard it was to move with two little kids. The packing, moving and unpacking was just too much on us. Since it is summer break for Ishaan, he is home full time. There were days when we packed and they unpacked everything!. It was exhausting to manage everything alone. God bless V who was trying to manage a very tight work schedule and the move. Probably it is the longest stretch of time where I did not even touch the laptop. I am glad the move is over and we can spend more time with kids again.
My cooking during this time has been very basic. I cooked daily but tried to keep it very simple. Most days we had different versions of dals and some side dish. Eggs were on the menu most of the time as it is very quick to make a dish with them. Pasta dishes and soups were regular lunch items.
Kokum or sol (as we call it at home) is a staple in my pantry. I get my stash from India. Aayi got me a big batch last year. As days pass, kokum loses most of its aroma and color. So I am trying to use it up soon. I prepared this sola dalithoy last week. It was delicious. Fresh kokum would give it much better color and taste. Increase or decrease kokum according to personal taste.
Pictorial: Toor dal with kokum, green chillies, turmeric and water. Cooked toor dal.
Kokum Dal ( Sola Dalithoy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal
- 5-6 pieces of kokum
- 3-4 green chillies
- 1 tea spn mustard seeds
- A pinch turmeric
- 4-5 curry leaves
- Oil/Ghee
- A pinch asafoetida
- 1 tbl spn chopped coriander leaves
- Salt
Instructions
- Cook dal with turmeric, slit green chillies, kokum and water in pressure cooked (about 3-4 whistles) till dal is mushy.
- Add salt and enough water to dal to get it to required consistency.
- Cook till it starts boiling, take off the heat.
- Heat a little oil and add mustard seeds.
- When they start popping, add curry leaves, asafoetida.
- Pour the seasoning over dal.
- Garnish dal with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with rice.
Kokum Dal ( Sola Dalithoy)
Ingredients
- 1 cup toor dal
- 5-6 pieces of kokum
- 3-4 green chillies
- 1 tea spn mustard seeds
- A pinch turmeric
- 4-5 curry leaves
- Oil/Ghee
- A pinch asafoetida
- 1 tbl spn chopped coriander leaves
- Salt
Instructions
- Cook dal with turmeric, slit green chillies, kokum and water in pressure cooked (about 3-4 whistles) till dal is mushy.
- Add salt and enough water to dal to get it to required consistency.
- Cook till it starts boiling, take off the heat.
- Heat a little oil and add mustard seeds.
- When they start popping, add curry leaves, asafoetida.
- Pour the seasoning over dal.
- Garnish dal with coriander leaves.
- Serve hot with rice.
In my last post I promised to be more regular here, then at the last moment we decided to visit India. To say I was homesick would be putting it mildly. We decided to squeeze in the trip before Ishaan’s school started. Some of you asked to post pictures of food/garden back home. So decided to post this.
We mostly stayed in Bangalore this time with few days trip to Belgaum and my hometown Kodkani in between. Kids had a fantastic time with family. Ishaan bonded immediately with my brother’s 3 year old. It was such a delight to see them moving around everywhere hand-in-hand. Before we left from here, my brother asked me what I wanted to do in India. I said spend time with you all and eat a LOT. While my parents made sure to feed me every one of my childhood favorites, my brother took me to all his favorite restaurants in Bangalore (we ate out twice a day sometimes!!).
When we landed, my brother had loaded the freezer with all kinds of fish. Aayi made this yummy spread on the second day.
Above thali had spicy fish fry, crab gravy(kurle ambat) , buttermilk kadi(taka kadi) , pickle, rice.
Although mango season was over, we could find some in the market of Neelam variety. Kids loved them. We enjoyed them in ambe humane one day.
I had all plans of clicking pictures of the food we had in restaurants. But whenever we went out, we all got busy in managing 4 little ones, it was a miracle that we could eat anything. After few times of my 15 month old throwing food all over me, we decided to take the booster seat to all restaurants. That was such a big help. So whenever we went out, I just forgot all about camera and concentrated on enjoying great food.
It is rainy season in India. That meant we could get all the specialities of this season. Our breadfruit tree was full of breadfruits. My all time favorite with these is the phodi , so easy to make and delicious.
Above vegetarian thali had cauliflower pickle , limbe saru , varn , phodi , bhende upkari, rice.
Whenever we visit my parents, they make these lovely baskets out of jackfruit trees and make hittu/khotte . Ishaan had a great time watching my mom make these. The pillowy idlis wrapped in these leaves were to die for.
Although we stayed only couple of days in Kumta, we were lucky to get the naturally grown mushrooms. These are big delicacies during the season. They are sold by hundreds.
My parents frontyard had a lot of turmeric leaves, our neighbors shared some from their garden too. So kadamb was on the menu one day.
My maternal uncle(mama) came visiting us one day and he sent us very fresh jilebis from Sirsi. These are sold only one day a week and they are just out of this world when enjoyed fresh.
For me, rainy season means enjoying lot of pathrode and ankre tambli( will post soon ). No matter how busy she is, aayi makes sure to prepare this combination for me. Pathrode leaves were abundant in our garden. Ankre are different leaves available during the season. The garden was full of elephant yam/Surnu/Suvarnagadde plants. The plants grow wherever the roots are. Only few of these will eventually have big beautiful yams (shown in below picture).
My toddler has a serious sweet tooth. These wheat flour laddus(ganva guli/churmundo) were perfect for him. Any time he had melt downs, he would get a guli and he would sit happily for a while.
