Doddapatre (Cuban Oregano)Tambuli - Cooling the body and the soul and some exciting chukbhuk news :-)

Last week has been such a rushed one what with amma complaining about a back pain that pretty much tied to her room and bed for a couple of days. She is the backbone of the family and when she is down, typically life seems down too :-(, Woman power in our household in not at all exaggerated. On that note, Happy Women's day everyone!

Then BH started coughing and sneezing and like always didn't go to the doctor until it brought him down royally during the midweek, makes me wonder if my 'nagging' abilities are kind of becoming diluted over time :-). Finally, when he couldn't sleep for 2 straight nights and also kept the rest of the house up & awake, realization dawned on and he came back from the doctor with a handful of antibiotics. He is on the mend, slow and sure recovery. I am hoping to not catch any bugs for a while but then they don't really listen to me, do they?

On a positive note, my Maddur vade post got published in Indian railways Railbandhu magazine. You write something that is close to your heart not even thinking about the audience it may reach and then someone from the other side of the world finds it and reaches out to you. It is exhilarating. I wasn't even aware that Indian railways had a magazine and when they contacted me in Jan stating they liked the post (not just the recipe but the write up about train journeys) and wanted to publish, I was more than happy to nod my head. The entire post is not on the magazine for lack of real estate, however it is an abridged version of my original post. If you are in India and travel in railways, look up the magazine if you have time. I received a pdf version of the monthly and here is a picture of the same. Happiee me..

I have a very simple, homely, almost rustic recipe today that won't be on the menu in any restaurants. You will have to knock on the doors of people who continue home cooking in Mysore region and ask them for a bowl of this delicious tambuli. Yep, that is the only way to get your hands on this ever green, soul happy dish. I have a couple of recipes for tambuli on the blog, here & here but what I have today is the queen (it could have been king I suppose but since I am writing the post on International Women's day :-)) of tambulis made with doddapatre (dodda~big, patre~leaf) or cuban oregano.

This is my favorite tambuli variety, nammamma always had this bush growing in the yard as far as I can remember and it used to be on the menu regularly and more frequently in summers. She would serve it as the first course on a hot afternoon and the taste & fragrance of the leaves just freshens you up. I have had it in pots for over 8 years now. The herb like the regular oregano is easy to grow and grows wild if allowed but pots seem to restrain the free growth. Some of my Tamil speaking friends have borrowed it to be used as medicine, I believe the leaves are crushed and the juice is applied on the forehead to get relief from common cold and congestion. It may not be easily available in your garden stores around the world but you can order it online. Growing it in the pot is easy, don't expose it to extreme temperatures and harvest the leaves regularly. DD loves it so much that she won't eat anything else on the days I make it for lunch.

My inlaws live on the outskirts of Bengaluru in a self contained educational campus filled with students but devoid of any of Bengaluru city's pollution (atleast thus far). The air is clean, mornings are filled with the music of birds & stray dogs, unadulterated cool breeze freely fills the surroundings. While staying so far away from the city has these advantages, it also becomes essential to be self sufficient. The surrounding villages have stepped up along with the college itself reserving land for farming. You get the fresh vegetables but also get the instant maggi noodles and the likes to satisfy the student population :-). I guess everyone thrives. The people who live on campus (other than students) are typically the teaching staff and management and the housing has developed in to a colony.

On our last India visit, DD & I were generally walking around on our last day in Bengaluru around the campus and came across a small park not far from the house. There is an elderly lady who lives right across and is a mega gardening enthusiast. She has plants all around her house and also have adopted this park to grow plants of all varieties, you will find vegetables, fruits, flowers which just makes the area so colorful and chirpy. She invited us to come see her park and we went with her. As I was admiring the pomegranates, guavas, chikkoos hanging from the branches, DD saw something that made her jaw drop and she quietly sat down. Curious, I went near her to see what she had found and burst out laughing.

There was the doddapatre plant creeping so generously all over the ground that she had never experienced the abundance in our restricted pot growing. The lady thought we didn't know what it was and started to explain the medicinal values, looking at DD's face I knew what I had to do and asked the lady if I could pick some leaves. As soon as she said yes, we went to her house to get a small bag and picked the leaves to our heart's content, here was the catch, we were heading back that night. So the leaves got all washed up as soon as we reached home, roasted in ghee and ground with coconut and yogurt. The freshness of the leaves still in our throats, we finished our 'head out' meal and made our way to the airport. BTW, this makes an excellent dip for maddur vade if you want to try them together :-)

I recently read an article about why Indian food is so tasty where the research says that Indian cooking seems to blend flavors that are vastly contradictory unlike others where things that complement each other are used in a recipe. I don't know all the science behind it but one statement caught my eye which read that typical Indian recipes are complicated medley of ingredients and usually have upwards of 6 ingredients. Here is my very humble, simple yet exotic in taste and medicinal value - Doddapatre tambuli for all of you to try with a small set of ingredients.

What do you need to make doddapatre tambuli? 
30-35 medium sized dodda patre (cuban oregano)
1 Tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 Tsp black pepper corn
1/2 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup grated/shredded coconut (fresh or frozen)
1 cup yogurt (home made and a day old preferred, or use plain yougurt from the store)

How do you make tambuli? 

• Wash the leaves under running water a couple of times and pick any stems that might have made their way. 
• Heat ghee in a thick pan on medium heat
• Add pepper & cumin seeds, let them sizzle (1-1.5 minutes)

• Roughly chop the cleaned leaves and add it to the pan. 
• Add salt and mix well. 

• Roast for 3-4 minutes until leaves turn into a mush and leave water.
• Switch off and let cool completely. 

• Grind the roasted mixture along with coconut into a smooth blend, use the water that is in the pan. 
• Add yogurt and run the mixer a couple of times to get a homogeneous mixture. 

• Serve it with piping hot rice and enjoy the unforgettable experience. 

Notes: 

• Slightly tangy yogurt brings out the best taste, if your yogurt is too plain, add a small piece of tamarind and grind. I have done this and DD was none the wiser so it is a great tip :-)
• Use ghee in this recipe instead of oil if you can, it really brings the taste. 

Spinach bajji - A dip and not a snack

There are so many words or terms that have totally different meaning in different languages. Growing up, we called all yogurt based dishes generally as bajji - a short form for moasaru bajji (mosaru = yogurt) to differentiate them from other chutneys. So this genre included varieties such as tomato bajji, cucumber bajji, carrot bajji, onion bajji or sometimes even a 'bolu' (or bald referring to its lack of any vegetables) bajji. Although the term 'raita' was used, it was considered suitable for more formal usage :-). Then I started seeing conflict and confusion when I said 'bajji' to some of my friends and later to BH. I realized 'bajji' meant the deep fried snacks for most of them (which was pakoda or bondas for me). Have I confused you or thrown in enough different vocabulary at you by now? Believe me when I say that it was not my intention and I was actually trying to clear up the air a little bit :-)

So back to 'bajji', 'mosaru bajji' or 'raita', this is generally thinner than regular chutney or pachadis and work very well as a dip or come in handy to mix with rice. Some of them are preferred as the perfect companion for a pulav or fried rice.  Most times, these dishes involve grinding coconut with a few spices and mixing it with the chopped raw vegetables along with yogurt. As there is minimal cooking involved(a break from the hot stove), and since it has yogurt in it, they are also prepared frequently during Summer. Infact, nammamma always made us eat the first morsel of rice with a bajji during Summer. She has a whole suite  of bajjis, pachadis, gojjus and tambulis in her repertoire and they used fare very frequently in our meals.

Although this is almost always made with yogurt, nammamma sometimes replaced yogurt with tamarind for tanginess. It tastes as well and keeps a little longer than the one made with yogurt, so go ahead and replace yogurt with a small piece of tamarind and grind it along with the rest of the ingredients. But I strongly recommend against using tamarind juice or tamarind concentrate as it spoils the taste. For the below mentioned quantity, a small 1X1 inch piece of tamarind cooked along with spinach & green chilies will work.

I know I am far away from Summer right now but the Palak bajji is something we enjoy anytime of the year. Simple to prepare, delicious to eat, it has all the goodness of the greens accentuated with a little bit of green chilies. I got some baby spinach last week and made this. This goes very well with akki rotti or dosas or Raagi mudde too.

What do you need to make Spinach bajji? 
3 packed cups spinach leaves
1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
3-4 green chilies (adjust to taste)
1 Tsp salt
1/2 cup plain yogurt (preferably home made and a day old)
Seasoning:
1 Tsp oil
1/8 Tsp asafoetida powder
1/2 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp urad dal
1-2 pieces dry red chilies (optional)

How do you make Spinach bajji? 

• Heat a wide pan on medium heat, add spinach leaves and broken green chilies and saute for 30 seconds. 
• Cover & cook for 2-3 minutes until Spinach leaves are soft and cooked well. Switch off. 

• When completely cool, grind the cooked spinach, green chilies, salt & grated coconut to a smooth paste (Do not add water).
• Add yogurt and run the blender once to incorporate it well. Take it out to a bowl. 
• Heat oil in a small pan, add asafoetida, mustard, urad dal and red chilies (if using), let mustard pop and urad dal turn pink. Pour the sizzling seasoning on top of the spinach bajji. 
• Serve with rice or rotis. 

Notes:

• I like this a little bit spicy so add extra green chilies but make sure you balance with yogurt to get a good hint of tartness. 
• If you get big bunches of spinach, wash and pick only the leaves for this recipe.
• The consistency of the bajji is really a matter of personal preference, I make this bajji slightly thick so it coats the rice well when mixed with it, you can thin it down a little bit more with yogurt if you want to dip a bread or roti in it. 

Bittergourd Raita - Addition to my BG recipes

We went on a slightly extended (Monday off) weekend trip to California to visit near & dear ones. DD had a great time with her cousins and was not in any mood to come back home as did we :-) but come we did and are back at work since yesterday. That explains my infrequent visits and comments on your spaces lately, hope to catch up on all the yummy posts out there quickly this week.

Today is another Blog hop Wednesday post and I am really enjoying my trysts with hitherto unknown blogs because of this event. Radhika paired me with Roshni of Roshni's kitchen this time and I have been going back and forth on what I would make from her blog as I found so many interesting recipes :-). Roshni, you have a wonderful space and I will definitely be trying out other recipes in the near future.

For today though I chose Roshni's bitter gourd raita since it had 2 of my favorite ingredients - bitter gourd and coconut :-). I make a similar raita with okra but never thought of making it with bitter gourd. Thanks for the recipe Roshni, this is a keeper definitely. We all enjoyed the crispy bitter gourd in cool yogurt.

Here is Roshni's bitter gourd raita with slight modifications. I made the frying of bitter gourd oil free and hands free by baking it instead of pan frying.

What do you need to make bitter gourd raita? 
2 medium sized bitter gourds
1 Tblsp grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
1 Tsp cumin seeds
2 green chilis
3/4 cup yogurt
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
For Seasoning:
1 Tblsp oil
1 small shallot or red onion - about 1.5 Tblsp thinly chopped
1 Tsp mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
1/8 Tsp asafoetida

How do you make bitter gourd raita?

• Wash and lightly scrape the ridge of bitter gourd, remove the ends and cut into thin disks.
• If the bitter gourd is big and has seeds inside, you can scoop out the seeds from the disks easily with a slight push using fingers. If the gourd is tender, skip this step. 
• Spread the cut bitter gourd in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for an hour (or until it crisps up) at 350F removing it once at 30 minutes to flip them over. 
• Grind coconut, green chilies, salt and cumin into a a coarse paste with a Tblsp of water and then add the yogurt and blend into a smooth paste. 
• Heat a Tblsp of oil, add asafoetida, mustard and curry leaves. Let the mustard splutter, add the chopped onions and fry  till it softens. 

• Mix the baked crispy bitter gourd rings, ground paste and fried seasoning in a bowl, let it sit for 10 minutes and enjoy with rice or roti. 

Notes: 

• If you are not a fan of the bitterness of the gourd, mix the cut pieces in a Tsp oil, pinch of turmeric and 1/2 Tsp salt, keep aside for 30 minutes. Wash and use. This reduces the bitterness a lot. 
• Peeling the outer ridges reduces the bitterness of the dish. 

This yummy bitter gourd raita goes to Radhika's Blog Hope Wednesday

Ginger tambuli - cool yogurt based side dish for the summer

Kannadiga homes such as the one I grew up in have lot of tambuli and bajji varieties. Bajji is usually referred to mosaru bajji with yogurt and not the fried onion bajji/bhajia, btw those are called pakodas. Tambuli is considered to have the cooling effect on your body and is a usual fare at home meals during the hot months.

We in the Pacific NW have been having beautiful weather for the last couple of weeks with glorious sun shines, warm temperatures and beautiful Rhododendron and Azaleas blooms covering the entire plant. The landscape here is so different from others we have lived in and makes a pretty sight all through the year. I love it all including the gray skies and rain showers, it reminds me of my visits to Chikmagalur, a small town nestled in the western ghats in Karnataka known for its coffee plantations. Chikmagalur is also part of the region known as Malnadu famous for its tasty food and unique recipes. My doddamma and family lived there and that is where I have tasted the best roasted jackfruit papad and horse gram papad. More about it in another post.

Tambulis are quintessential Malnadu recipes and Nammamma says eating hot rice with tambuli and ghee as the first morsel of food on a hot day is good for health. I can eat ginger tambuli for an entire meal as I love the ginger taste. Tambuli is usually thinner in consistency compared to chutneys but can be used as a dip or chutney by making it a little thicker.

Here is a very easy tambuli recipe with fresh ginger as the star ingredient.

What do you need to make ginger tambuli? 
1 cup peeled, chopped to bite size ginger
2 Tblsp coconut - fresh or frozen
1 cup fresh yogurt
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 Tsp black pepper corns
3-5 fresh cilantro stalks
1 Tsp cooking oil
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

For seasoning: 
1 Tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 Tsp mustard seeds
1 Tsp cumin

How do you make ginger tambuli?

• Wash, clean the ginger roots, peel them and chop them into small pieces.
• Heat oil in a pan, add cumin and pepper corns, let them sizzle for a minute.
• Add the chopped ginger pieces and stirring frequently, fry until ginger turns light pink and the raw smell disappears, takes about 8-10 minutes on medium heat.
• Let it cool to room temperature. 
• Bring the fried ingredients, coconut, cilantro and salt to your grinder/blender and blend it to a smooth paste using the yogurt. 
• Adjust consistency to your taste by adding smoothly whisked yogurt.
• Prepare seasoning - heat ghee on medium heat, add mustard and cumin seeds, let the seeds crackle. Pour the seasoning on top of the tambuli. 
• Mix it in with rice or enjoy as a side dish/dip to your rotis.

Tips: 

• Choose fresh and tender ginger roots for best taste, do not use old/mature ginger as it tends to be stringy. 
• Cut ginger into thin pieces to help cook faster and evenly. 
• Fry ginger on low-medium heat as it has to get cooked thoroughly.

Tomato Pachadi - Yogurt based side dish

This weekend, weather was beautiful and we started our small summer garden. BH was very motivated by the Sun shining in the sky and started the yard work. We have a few small plants that are starting and some seeds that need to sprout. Taught Flora her boundaries so she won't jump over the seedlings. She was happy to be out too and the whole time was jumping, licking our faces and trying to smell every single tool and seed packet we had, she is one curious dog.

Two summers before, we had a bounty of vegetables including tomatoes which I had to freeze in bags after distributing to friends. I didn't buy any until the next February or so. Then last summer, we planted a toned down summer garden as we were getting ready to relocate and asked friends to tend to the plants and pick the vegetables until end of Summer after we left. It is already another year and we are looking forward to growing our backyard veggies once again in the new place. Due to the unfamiliar weather pattern and soil, we decided to take it slowly.

While I am waiting for my own harvest of vegetables, I brought home a whole bunch of fresh looking, non waxy tomatoes the other day. I love tomatoes for their versatility, there is so much you can do with a good tomato. Chose to do a very simple pachadi - a yogurt based side dish that is both slightly sweet and spicy. It goes very well with rice or rotis or idli/dose. It is a very good addition to meals for the Summer months. Though it is called pachadi, it doesn't require any grinding/blending of ingredients, this one comes from Amma's kitchen.

What do you need for Tomato pachadi?
3 firm, ripe tomatoes
1 Tblsp chopped onions
1 cup fresh yogurt
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp coriander powder
1 Tsp cooking oil
1 Tsp mustard seeds
1 Tsp cumin seeds
1 red chili broken into 2
2-3 twigs of fresh cilantro chopped fine
1/2 Tsp crushed jaggery or brown sugar

How do you make Tomato pachadi? 

• Chop tomatoes into bite size pieces
• Heat oil in a pan, add mustard and cumin seeds, let them crackle.
• Add the red chili pieces followed by chopped onion.
• When onion turns slightly pink and soft, add tomatoes, salt, jaggery/brown sugar, cover and cook for 5 minutes

• When tomatoes turn soft and mushy, add the coriander powder, fry for a minute and switch off.

• Let it cool completely before adding smoothly whisked yogurt and chopped cilantro.

• Tomato pachadi is ready to be served with your meal. 

Variation: 

• You can add 1/2 Tsp red chili powder for spice.
• Skip jaggery/brown sugar if you do not like it. 

Tips: 

• Use fresh yogurt that has not turned sour.