Gatte Ki curry - "padhaaro mahre des re" for a vegetable free vegetarian curry

Attention is the rarest and purest form of generosity - Simone Weil

"गाडी रोको ड्राइवर, चलो नीचे उतरो वीरेन और इस धरती पे माथा टेकर आशीर्वाद लो" (stop the car driver, get out of the car Viren and get the blessings of this land by touching your forehead to the ground) so says the graceful and gorgeous Waheeda Rehman to a young Anil Kapoor in the film Lamhe. There is no saying no to Daayeeja (nanny) and he gets out of the airconditioned car, quickly puts his forehead to the hot, sweltering ground and runs back into the sanctuary of the cool car. Though there are many indian movies made with a backdrop of Rajasthan, for me Lamhe holds a special place in heart as I learnt about the fascinating land through the movie. And bollywood has this power to paint images in your mind that you don't even know you were capable of. If romancing with a place is possible, I do have a romantic relationship with Rajasthan :-) Until recently, Rajasthan was part of this fertile imagination in my head that included a mystical desert land full of warrior princes, beautiful girls in colorful lehengas wearing bangles all the way up the arms, splendid havelis, picturesque locales, cold romantic nights and food beyond comparison. Having visited part of Rajasthan recently, I can say that most of the imagery still continues to live on though there are no princes riding horses or camels any more, atleast it is not a daily sight in the cities :-). The place lived up to my bollywood fed imagination and didn't let me down in any way. But there is a whole lot more to the place than what Bollywood lets you imagine which can only be found when you visit and become part of that rich culture and the colorful canvass.

Our India visits have always been about visiting family and so we end up spending the time in the same radius of cities that we always do :-). But this trip we decided to build in a week of vacation before landing in the midst of family. When you have a busy work life through out the year and 3 schedules that wax and wane at different times during the year, vacations are hard to come by and precious. So getting away for a week as part of the india trip was a proposal that none of us wanted to say no to :-). Visiting Rajasthan was on bucket list for a long time and though we started with an elaborate visit plan that included Jaipur to Jaiselmer and everything in-between, time was not on our side to do justice to such a trip. We had to skip touching the desert border and make peace with Jaipur and Udaipur. No regrets though, both cities offer a wide range of rich heritage, unparalleled hospitality and an experience of the colorful Rajasthani culture. So we basked in the offerings of the lake city and the pink city. Jaiselmer is back on the bucket list for another time :-)

A striking impression for me as a first time visitor to Udaipur was of the friendliness of the people. Everyone from the hotel employees to the rickshaw driver we hired to the folks in the stores seemed genuinely gentle and friendly which just made our day every day spent there. It wasn't just the tourism industry impact but seemed ingrained in them. DD & I smiled at each other every time someone would direct their question or response only to BH and not to us, there was nothing derogatory about it as they were very respectful towards us but the conversation always happened with the man of the family. They would easily make a conversation and always eager to plan our itinerary with helpful tips that only locals would be aware of and we took all the advise that was offered to us. We found the same hospitality in Jaipur as well though it is a bigger and more commercial place and more used to tourists.

The demonetization by Indian government was still fresh when we visited and most people were cash strapped. We didn't realize how bad it was until the bills in the wallet had gone spent soon after we took them from the bank when we landed in Mumbai. The daily ATM withdrawal was 4K and when you are a tourist and need to pay cash for every transaction, you really feel the pinch and quickly too as the money seemed to vanish the moment it came out of the machine. To add to the woes, most ATMs never had cash and we spent quite a bit of our vacation time on the road stopping at every ATM to try our luck. A sunday holiday in the middle of our week there only added to the cash starved tourist plight :-)

What I appreciate most about the human ingenuity is that we have this uncanny ability and strength to dig ourselves out of any mess, imposed on us by others or by ourselves. Our cab driver, knowing that we had limited cash that might eat into what we owed him at the end of the day, would stop at gas stations and let us pay for the diesel in the morning as we set out for the day. Almost all gas stations take your credit cards. This guaranteed that we would have spending money and were also able to pay him when we were done :-). Plastic cards are not as prevalent in India as here and most of the small vendors, artisans and road side hawkers have no ability to accept one. Our cab driver infact loaned us a few hundred bucks as we wanted to catch the light and sound show in the Jaipur palace since they wouldn't take the cards. He literally saved our day :-). Thankfully, banks opened on Monday and we were able to pay him back before leaving. The network of cab drivers is unbelievably strong and a well oiled machine. They send messages to each other on which ATM had cash so the clients could be driven there first thing in the morning and also had the inside track knowledge that the cash limit was higher if you had a non indian bank card. So everything turned out well in the end and we had a dream vacation to remember for a long time to come.

Though I liked everything about Rajasthan, food is on a different pedestal altogether. With its high concentration of people that follow Jainism, the place is a vegetarian foodie's dream come true. More than one person had told me that I would find the food delectable and very different but I still wasn't prepared for the taste until I had my first bite. The variety of ghee laden soft rotis (wheat, bajra, missi) itself is enough to satisfy a foodie but the curries served with it are a different ball game. Rajasthan being the desert, green, fresh vegetables are not easy to come by as in other places and it is no surprise that the enterprising people have found ingredients to make the tastiest of the side dishes without developing an enormous dependency on the vegetables.

Versatile potatoes were found commonly along with okra, however outside of these two vegetables the thali (meal plate) almost entirely made do with dals, lentils, besan to offer a distinctive taste in each of the little servings. Yogurt is the key player not only in the usual kadhi but also in many of the gravy preparations. It was easy to see what was going on in the kitchen since many of the places we went for dinner were outdoors and the kitchen was just in one of the nooks. Dal baati made the center piece in many meals and the one dish that is unique to Rajasthani cuisine is the gatte ki sazi/sabji/curry, a gravy made with gram flour dumplings in a yogurt/tomato sauce. It is tangy, spicy and filling all rolled into a single bowl and makes a great side dish for the fresh, hot off the tawa rotis. The preparation ensures that each ingredient lends its best flavor to the dish. Jain delicacies skip onion and garlic in their preparations and even if you are hard core fan of these two herbs, you will not miss them at all while eating a Jain dish.

I was such a gatte smitten foodie  that I ended up getting it for most of meals during that entire week and the taste was still on the tip of my tongue as I traveled beyond Rajasthan, ate other goodies, wrapped up my India trip, came back home and started eating our regular food :-). This past week was a birthday week at home and we ended up adding gatte ki curry into the celebration menu. BH said it took him back to the Udaipur dinner we had :-) and I take that as a compliment.

There are obviously many ways of making gatte ki curry and I found each bowl I ate in 5 different place across Udaipur and Jaipur had subtle differences, this is just the variations from one professional chef to the other not to speak of the umpteen home made versions. There is a Govind gatte subji in which the gattes are stuffed with paneer and additional spices so the culinary experience goes a notch even higher. When I wanted to make gatte ki curry on my own and in my kitchen, here is what I did. Stood in the middle of the kitchen, put on my thinking cap and tried to remember every taste bud  that had tingled when I ate this curry in Rajasthan, then marched over to the pantry to don the apron on self and got to work with the ingredients to reproduce the same, exact feeling at home. Ok, that was just over dramatization of what happened :-). What I have here is a really lip smacking gatte ki curry with a number of tips to get it right even on your first try. I am thrilled I was able to replicate the taste of Rajasthan in my own kitchen and can revisit any time I feel like.

The list of ingredients and procedure looks longish but don't let that deter you. You will find that the ingredients are mostly common between the gatte and the curry and also the procedure is simple enough once you get the hang of it. No complicated grind, chop etc in this one. Go ahead and give it a try, you will be a fan in no time I guarantee you.
What do you need to make Gatte ki curry?
For the gattas: 
1 cup besan/chickpea flour/gram flour
1.5 Tbsp oil
1.5 Tbsp yogurt
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 Tsp red chili powder
1/4 Tsp asafoetida/hing
1 Tsp crushed coriander seeds
1/4 Tsp crushed ajwain/carom seeds
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/4 Tsp kasoori methi
5 cups water for boiling gattas
2 Tbsp oil for roasting gattas

For the curry: 
2 tomatoes (2 cups when chopped roughly)
3-4 green chilies (adjust to preferred spice tolerance)
1 inch piece ginger
4 cashews soaked for 30 mins (optional and can do without)
1 Tsp cumin
1/4 Tsp asafoetida/hing
1/4 Tsp turmeric powder
1 Tsp red chili powder (adjust to taste) - use a bright colored one for the rich hue
1/2 Tsp coriander powder
1/2 Tsp garam masala powder
1 Tsp besan/chickpea flour/gram flour
2 Tbsp oil
1 cup yogurt
1/2 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)

How do you make Gatte ki curry? 
Making the gattas: 

• Take a wide bowl (so you can move your fingers easily), sieve besan into it to remove any small lumps in the dry flour. 
• Add all the dry ingredients - salt, red chili powder, hing, turmeric powder, crushed coriander, ajwain and kasoori methi. 

• Mix well with your fingers so hing (especially if you are using the wet variety) doesn't stay in one place. 
• Add oil and yogurt into the bowl and mixing with your fingers, bring everything together to form a lump. 

• Add a sprinkle of water if the mixture is very dry (depends on the consistency of your yogurt, I didn't add any water). 
• scrape everything sticking to your fingers, smear a drop of oil on your hand and continue to bring the mixture together into a hard dough and knead it for a couple of minutes. Taste test and adjust salt, chili powder as needed. 

• Keep a sauce pan with 5 cups of water on the stove and bring the water to a rolling boil. 
• Break the dough into 4 equal portions, make a ball and roll it into a log about 1/2inch thickness, smooth the ends. Repeat with all 4 portions.

• Now take the logs one by one and gently immerse in the boiling water, give about 30secs between each log going in to the water to avoid water temperature from falling. 
• Boil the logs for 10-12 mins or until a tooth pick comes out clean. After about 5mins, the logs start to rise to the top of the water. 

• Switch off and strain the water out, reserving it for later use. Let the logs cool down completely before cutting them into bite sized pieces. 
• Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a flat, non stick pan, add the cooled gatte pieces and roast on medium heat until they get a coating of nice golden color on all sides. switch off and keep aside until ready to use. (Do not start eating them as they can be quite addictive :-))

Making the curry or sauce: 

• Make a smooth paste of tomatoes, green chilies, ginger and soaked cashews (if using). 
• Heat oil in a kadai/pan, add cumin seeds and let it splutter. 
• Add coriander powder, turmeric powder, hing and red chili powder to the hot oil and roast for a minute so the flavors are enhanced. 

• Add the ground tomato paste and let it cook on medium heat for 8-10 mins or until the paste looks dry and starts to ooze oil from the sides. 

• At this stage, add whisked yogurt slowly into the pan while stirring constantly. Keep the heat on lowest. 
• Increase heat to medium and let it come to a gentle boil. 

• Add a Tsp of besan in a Tbsp of the reserved water and make a slurry. 
• Add the slurry along with remaining reserved water to the curry and let it boil.  
• At this stage, taste test the curry and adjust any spices to suit your palate. Add more water if you want the curry to be a thinner. 
• Add garam masala powder and salt, mix it in and let cook for a minute. 
• Add the prepared gattas into the curry and switch off. 

• Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with rotis or steamed rice. 

Notes: 

• Besan dough is very sticky unlike the wheat flour dough, ensure you do not make a soft dough. When you make a ball of the dough and place it on the plate, it should not spread but hold the same shape as before. 
• Keep yogurt at room temperature before you start adding it to any hot gravies. This helps to get a smooth texture. 
• Whisking yogurt is also important to get a smooth texture. 
• You can add the dry spices in the gravy later but I found that when these are given an opportunity to roast in hot oil, the flavors are enhanced considerably. Garam masala is added at the end for its complex flavor. 
• These taste best with hot rotis but you can serve it with plain rice or a mildly flavored jeera rice. 

• You can add onion and garlic in this curry. I do not personally like onion in yogurt based gravies and avoid it. Garlic is not a regular in my kitchen and hence it is omitted. 
• If you are adding onion, make a paste or grate it and add it before the tomato paste and let it cook for a few minutes to rid of the raw smell. 
• Gattes are traditionally deep fried after they are boiled to make them richer, crispier and obviously more calorie dense. I chose to shallow fry with a couple Tbsp of oil and I didn't miss the lack of extra oil. 
• The thickness of the gattes is a personal preference, I though like to think of the log size as 1.5 pencils stacked together. The cooking time may vary based on the thickness. 
• Keep the water boiling before adding the logs, this prevents them from breaking. 

Saagu - home made version of vegetable medley from the heart of Mysore region

Anyone that likes Indian food is familiar with the deep fried pooris that are popular all over the sub continent, right? Growing up, I was completely unaware of the fact that the entire universe outside of my little world was making pooris from wheat flour. Because nammamma made them with rave/sooji/semolina always :-). She rolled them small and a little thick so they puffed up completely and were crispy, flaky and delicious when hot. But she always reserved a few to roll into very thin pooris and deep fry them at the end, these would be flat and kurkure like papads and anna loved to eat them dipped in warm milk & powdered sugar :-), yumm, this was a short cut to Karnataka's much loved delicacy called "chiroti"!!  North East India (especially West Bengal) makes pooris with maida or All purpose flour and they are called Luchis. I don't know how many of you have eaten rave poori or even know poori made with rave, but this is how nammamma made them.

It is a little bit more work to make the rave pooris compared to the ones from wheat flour as rave doesn't have the same gluten advantage as wheat flour. It needs a lot more kneading to get it to a smooth dough consistency. In the old world kitchens, one of the gadgets was a long wooden pole called 'Vanake/Onke' and we had one in Mysuru kitchen. This wooden pole is smooth and used to pound the dough for poori, obbattu, etc.. Nammamma would mix the semolina with a little water into a crumbly mixture that would not resemble a dough by any comparison, put it into the stone grinder dip and start to pound it with the vonake, sprinkling water as she went to make a smooth and tight dough.

Depending on the quantity, this would take anywhere between 30-45mins and done in batches. The dough needs to rest before making the pooris. I don't have the gadgets she used in my kitchen, though I could have used the mortar and pestle, I chose to use my upper arm power and knead it with all my might for about 8 mins. So if you want to taste these delicious rave pooris, start with the fine semolina (called chiroti rave) and add water slowly as you work the dough. Remember to give it a rest of atleast an hour before proceeding to roll and deep fry them in oil. These taste delicious and you should try it atleast once.

I don't remember nammamma making pooris frequently, it almost always remained a 'special' day dish meant to treat someone on their birthday or when folks were visiting. The infrequent appearances made it all the more appealing and we would wait eagerly for the 'poori day'. Paired with the vegetable saagu, it was always something we looked forward to and it would always be a lip-smacking foodie experience. My little family loves pooris, though I make them mostly with wheat flour just avoiding the extra work involved. I pair it with chole or potato saagu/palya to go with it sometimes, we all love this saagu combination the most.

But I digress, poori is not the focus of this blog post, it is actually what accompanies the poori aka the decadent, flavorful vegetable saagu. Saagu is served all over in restuarants and darshinis in Karnataka. Set dosa-saagu is a delicious combination though it can be eaten with any dose/dosa. It makes a perfect accompaniment with rotis, phulkas and ofcourse pooris.

But there is a marked difference between the hotel served saagu and this home made version. This is a more saatvik version, there is no onion/tomato sauteed in oil, infact there is no oil at all in this recipe. How cool is that? It might as well be because it is generally savored with the oil overloaded pooris :-). The hotel versions also add saunf (fennel seeds), a spice that nammamma hardly ever used. While I like a well made hotel saagu, I prefer this home made version better. The taste is different but delicious none the less.

Pooris are always made and served right out of the oil and they are relished hot and fresh. Pooris are quick to make especially if you have a person to roll them out and one incharge of the frying. Very soon fluffy, golden, puffed up beauties would be lifted off the hot oil and placed into a serving platter. On poori days, plates would be set and everyone would sit on the floor. Atleast one big platter full of pooris had to be ready so everyone got a couple of pooris in their plate to start off. But when the family is large and full of "poori hungry" people, a time would soon come when the rate of consumption far outbeat the rate of production :-) and that is when the saagu was a life saver. While we waited for the poori to drop into the plate, we would be eating saagu without wasting time and licking the plate (I know, absolutely no table manners!) clean so every time a new poori came to the plate, another serving of saagu had to be done as well :-)

The most common vegetables are green beans, carrots, peas, potato, cauliflower and chayote squash. The criteria is two fold - the vegetables should hold their shape on cooking and should not impart any unnecessary flavor/smells in the dish. That means, those smelly stinky radish, cabbage, kohlrabi are out as are the slimy okra and eggplants :-). The amount of veggies is a personal preference, while some like more veggies and just enough gravy to connect them all, some prefer a few veggies floating in the flavorsome gravy. I like a balance, with both gravy and the bites. Nammamma never added cauliflower because it was not a vegetable she preferred to use :-). I have grown to like it and my family loves all things cauliflower, it goes well with the rest of the vegetable choices in this saagu. It doesn't change the saagu in anyway, so feel free to skip it if you don't have it handy. I didn't have it when I made it this time.

This gravy does not have the usual herbs(curry leaves & cilantro) used in the south indian cooking and there is no seasoning/tadka either. The flavoring agents are cinnamon, cloves and poppy seeds. Go ahead and try this super flavorful, creamy saagu for you next poorisession.

What do you need to make saagu?
2 cups of mixed vegetables (green beans, carrots, chayote squash, potatoes, green peas) - I used about 1/2 cup of each
1 Tsp chopped cilantro (optional for garnish)
1 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
pinch of turmeric (optional, just to bring a little hue to the gravy)

To grind: 
1/2 cup coconut
1 inch piece of ginger
2 -1inch piece of cinnamon
4 cloves
1 Tbsp chopped onion
1 Tbsp gasagase/poppy seeds
1 Tbsp roasted gram/kadle
6 almonds (soaked in hot water and de-skinned) - This is my addition
4-5 green chilies (adjust to taste)

How do you make saagu? 

• Clean and chop vegetables keeping the size and shape similar on all of them. 

• Cook the vegetables in 1.5 cups of water until they are about half done but still crunchy (about 6-8 mins on med heat). 
• Grind all ingredients listed under to grind with 1/4 cup of water to a smooth paste. 

• Add the ground paste to the cooked vegetables along with salt and cook for about 10mins on low heat until well blended and starts to boil. 
• Switch off the stove and add cilantro on top. Cover and let it rest.

Notes: 

• Common saagu problem & correction: A good saagu has a creamy consistency and homogeneous texture. If the water is separating from the vegetables when you boil, the amount of thickening agents(coconut, roasted gram or almonds) is to be adjusted. You can grind another Tsp of roasted gram with a spoon of water and add to the gravy to thicken it. 

• Vegetables need to have an opportunity to boil in the ground masala paste, cook them only half done before adding the paste and then continue cooking on low heat. 
• Almonds do impart a rich taste to saagu, however take care not to over do the nuts as it tends to make the gravy texture very different from the Mysore saagu. Stick to the quantities given above for 4 servings of delicious saagu. 
• There is no seasoning in this dish and it tastes awesome without it. 

Sautekaayi saasve (raw cucumber curry) - cooking a delicious dish without actually "cooking"

She gets up at the crack of dawn, takes a bath and enters the kitchen. The kitchen is her work shop where the artist and the scientist in her compete and collaborate with each other to bring out the best. It is a large family that she has to feed and the demands are varied. A husband who goes off to work in the morning and doesn't return until evening, he doesn't carry a lunch pail with him so the first meal of the day has to be nutritious and sustainable (add fibers, lentils or pulses that digest slowly and release energy over time), an older daughter who always rushes out in the morning (what is it with college kids and getting up late in the morning:-)) without time for a sit down breakfast (make something that is quick and easy to eat, and no there were no cereal bars available at the time), oh she needs a lunch box too as she doesn't get home until late in the evening (something that is not too dry nor too watery to carry easily on the bus). And then there are 3 younger ones in different grade schools that need to be fed nutritious meal as well(in goes vegetables, some ghee to make it rich and healthy). All taken care of? well not really, this dish was made just last week and this vegetable was in 2 meals ago, the same old, same old is not going to cut with this family..

Sounds familiar? I am sure it does ring a bell with most of you reading it. I try to close my eyes and imagine this routine of nammamma for decades. At the beginning of her married life, she was part of the larger, joint family with parents in laws, sister and brother in laws that she took care of and towards the end it was the extended family of sons and daughters in laws and the grand children. The routine kept changing shape like boggarts do depending on the phase of life she was in but the busy schedule itself didn't change much. There were hardly any back up plans or substitutes for her work and much was taken for granted..

I was probably the pickiest of all her children. While the rest of the family was happy eating what was prepared, I would be the one troubling her to make 'something else' but never telling her what I really wanted :-). Her immediate reaction whenever I said I was hungry was to make something and feed me, I get it, I am a mom now and that is a very easy to idenitfy with 'mommy nerve'! After a long day of being in the kitchen, all she probably wanted to do was to sit back, have some 'me' time and read a book. The moment one of us started the hunger siren she would be scrambling to get something infront of us. Even with my nitpicking, there were always a number of favorites that I would never say 'no' to and she knew the trick very well :-). Spicy dishes have been my weakness and if she offered me something from that genre, I would immediately back off my protests and sit down to eat. I think that was the beginning of reverse psychology moms so effectively use on kids :-)

This Sautekaayi saasve is one such dish I never refused. The recipe is unimaginatively simple. There is no cooking involved - chop the vegetable, grind a spice paste with all raw ingredients, mix the two together. You have a tantalizing side dish/salad ready to eat in a matter of minutes. This recipe is from the heart of Malenadu/Malnad (known for its simple, homely and mouth watering dishes with a big emphasis on fresh coconut  and mostly sweetened with jaggery:-)). Malnad cuisine is a great example of food made with easily available ingredients and the vegetables are almost always from the backyard as the region is blessed with abundant rains and fertile soil. The food is saatvik, onions and garlic are rarely used.

Saasve is the Kannada name for mustard. The dish is also called saasve in this case as mustard is the central flavor in it. Coconut and roasted gram add body and taste to the curry while mustard elevates it with a unique flavor. Since there is no cooking involved (if you discount the seasoning ofcourse), this is also called hasi (raw) gojju (curry). I like to eat it as a 'dressed up' salad but it is great to mix with rice or have with rotis.

What do you need to make Sautekaayi saasive? 
1 big cucumber (I used the English cucumber which are tender and hardly have any seeds)
To Grind:
small key lime sized tamarind
1/2 Tsp jaggery
3/4 Tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup water
1 Tbsp roasted chana/kadle
3/4 Tsp mustard
1/2 Tsp cumin
1-2 green chilies (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup grated fresh coconut

Seasoning: 
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 Tsp mustard
1 dry red chili (broken into pieces)
pinch of asafoetida
2-3 curry leaves

How do you make Sautekaayi saasive? 

• Wash, pat dry the cucumber. 
• Peel and chop into tiny pieces (see picture for to get an idea of the optimum size, smaller or bigger is your choice :-))

• Take all the ingredients listed under 'To Grind' and grind to a smooth paste. 
• Mix the ground paste with the chopped cucumber. Add water if needed to bring to your desired consistency. Remember cucumber leaves additional water when mixed with salt, so start with a slightly thick gravy. 

• Heat oil on medium heat, add items under 'seasoning' and let mustard pop. Switch off the stove.
• Add the seasoning to the gravy, mix and let it sit for 10 mins before serving. 

• How easier than this can making a curry get :-))

Notes: 

• If you are using regular cucumbers that are mature, remove the tiny bits from both ends, peel and remove the seeds before chopping it. 
• Soak tamarind in a couple spoons of water to soften it up before grinding. 
• I like to refrigerate this for about an hour before eating since I mostly eat it by itself as a salad. The resting time helps the flavors mingle together. 
• This curry needs to be a balanced on all the tastes - sweet, sour, salt and spice. Feel free to adjust to suit your palate. 

Avarekalu (hyacinth beans or papdi lilva) curry - a versatile side dish in any meal plan

Happy Superbowl Sunday everyone :-), The fact that I am sitting here, writing my blog post clearly indicates I am not loyal to either of the teams playing the big game today and I am not such a sports fan that I watch the game for the sport itself. My love for the game is restricted to watching the local team and I am happy to stay away from the big screen otherwise. So while majority of my fellow Americans are glued infront of their TV screens cheering Broncos or Panthers, I am infront of my small screen writing to my heart's content. If you are watching the game, wishing you all a good game experience no matter which team you support!

Did you ask what I have been doing since the last post (which seems like eons ago), oh lots and many things I enjoy. Reading a bunch of books, my new favorite is Amy Tan, a Chinese American author. Finished two of her books recently, liked them both. If you haven't read any but like a good fiction, check out her Kitchen God's wife and The Hundred Secret senses, both are good, well told stories of times that are fast becoming rare. Something very relatable in her books to my South East Asian origins and acquired American sensitivities. I am also reading a couple of history books (I started enjoying the history books when my daughter started high school and would have probably learnt and enjoyed a lot more tangible history if I had these books to study during my school years instead of roting the dates and events). All in all, my bed side shelf is full and it makes me happy and contented :-). Cooking and blogging is not far away from mind but I am just letting things take their own course of action instead of forcing anything. Needless to say I will be here (and as often as I can).

The other day I was in the library browsing through the books and was standing close to the chekout/help desk in the front of the building when a conversation I heard made me smile nostalgically. It was a harried looking mom with her little girl in tow talking to the library staff at the desk. She was asking if there was any way of finding a school library book her daughter had accidentally returned to the library. I had this sudden urge to turn around and hug the little girl and tell the mom not to worry but the library staff did his job wonderfully well too. He explained that though there was no way of him picking up the book for her from the returns, all was not lost as the library periodically separated the school books or anything else that didn't have the public library seal and returned it to the rightful owners. So she had to just let the school authorities know that there would be a delay of about a week before the book found its way back to the school.

Not that the system is flawless and books won't get lost occasionally but it is pretty robust and works well. I have been that mom years back and it was not once or twice we returned the books to the wrong library as DD's room would always be FULL of books from every possible library :-). Time flies, she hardly has time to read other than her school work now, but I am sure the love for books is a strong love that continues to live deep within and she will always find the company of her books to be the best world.

I am also trying to go back to some activities that engage my hands and brain with my limited artistic abilities. I had this phase during high school and college where I would pick up some project/craft work during school breaks, didn't become proficient in any but have a few things to remind me of my temporary obsessions. I am trying to see if any of those would interest me now and keep me engaged, I will show you my work if anything turns out 'show worthy'. I am a person that gets easily bored if I am not physically and mentally active and boredom makes me a real pain for those around me :-). Oh boy the joys and pains of empty nest..

Ah the other thing that is keeping me busy is to do with movies. With the latest Star Wars movie out in December, BH finally realized that his beloved wifey had absolutely no idea who Jedi masters were and for that matter was totally ignorant of great characters such as Obi Wan Kenobi or Darth Vader. Here is what happened, when we were in Disney Land during the December holidays, I was blissfully walking around the park feeling happy with the Mickey, Minnie and such while he went into one of the stores and came back wearing a green color hat (psst, that is the problem, I had no idea it wasn't just a hat but Yoda's head) and I associate green color with Okra and Ogres and the movie Shrek having watched it multiple times with DD and was oblivious to the fact that I was offending BH when I asked him why he was wearing a ogre hat :-). He tried telling me how many people on the way from the store bowed infront of him calling him the 'great master' while I had this blank expression on my face.

That night when we returned home to the place we were staying, BH made me sit through a video of how Star Wars was made as my introduction to the mesmerizing world of Jedi, 4-LOM, C-3PO, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Jabba, Skywalker, Princess Leia .. and ofcourse the visionary George Lucas :-). He would have loved to show me all the movies right then to rid me of my ignorance but we were tired and had 2 more days of park admission purchased, so had to get to bed. Then we came back home, were busy with DD and a nephew visiting and when everybody went away to schools and we were left alone, he went and got the DVDs and we did a marathon of 3 Star Wars movies over a weekend thus successfully completing my initiation. While he now smiles with the satisfaction that the wife is no longer the ignorant ogre she once was, I am yet to recover from the after effects of Star wars. Honestly, I liked the movies (don't say it aloud because I know there are still 3 more to go and we haven't gone to the new one yet!!), it is a very futuristic story and if you stop to think when they were made initially you will be impressed with how well the movie is made. Without the animations we have today, the movies are well made and lovable and for BH they are the Harry Potter series of his daughter's generation, different story lines but the same intense fan following. I have had my Star Wars fill for a while now and like to stay away for a while. May the Force be with you all!!

Onto food matters today, it is Feb and my favorite beans would have gone out of season long back if we were in India but where I live they make their brief appearance right around this time and I wait for them to show up like the thirsty Chataka (mythical rain birds that drink nothing but the direct rain drops) birds waiting for the rains. I found one good batch while DD was here and ofcourse it went into her favorite kadubus, she doesn't even want to hear about any other recipes with avarekalu. I got some more last weekend and didn't want to make the kadubu so ended up refreshing my memory on this lip smacking side dish where the beans are the stars.

This is not a huli or sambar as there is no dal or lentil except for the beans. The spices used are close to the huli masala yet different. Nammamma always paired them up with eggplants and onions. I am surprised that there is no definite identifier for this dish as it is a cross between huli and gojju, I simply chose to call it 'curry' in honor of everyone that love Indian curries :-). Nammamma made this as a side dish for chapathi or pooris if it was tiffin time or as a dip for the Karnataka special raagi mudde which was a favorite with everyone at home. It tastes delicious mixed with steamed rice too. I love to eat it just like that from a bowl with a spoon :-)

I made this for our weekend brunch today with raagi mudde for me and methi roti for BH as he is not as good with the 'gulp'ing of mudde, still working on it :-). You can also add potatoes or replace eggplants with potatoes in this recipe. I love the eggplant, onion combination and like the texture of thinly sliced onions. Skip it if you are not a fan.

What do you need to make Avarekalu curry?
1.5 cups peeled avarekalu/papdi lilva (use frozen if you don't have the fresh)
1.5 cups cubed eggplant
1/2 (or more if you like) cup thinly chopped onion
1 key lime sized tamarind
1/4 Tsp crushed jaggery/brown sugar
1.5 Tsp salt (divided use)
1/2 Tsp poppy seeds/gasagase
2 Tbsp grated coconut
2-3 Tbsp oil (divided use)
1/2 Tsp turmeric powder
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

To roast and grind: 
1 Tbsp coriander seeds/dhania
1 Tsp chana dal
1/2 Tsp urad dal
1/4 Tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 Tsp cumin
1 inch piece cinnamon
1-2 cloves
3-4 dry red chilies
1 Tbsp chopped onion
Seasoning: 
1 Tsp mustard
1/8 Tsp fenugreek seeds
1/8 Tsp asafoetida

How do you make Avarekalu curry? 

• If you are lucky enough to get fresh avarekalu in the pod, peel the pods and separate the beans. Remove any that do not look healthy. 
• Wash the beans a couple of times in water, add 2 cups of water and 1/4 tsp salt and pressure cook for 3 whistles. 
• The fresh beans take a little time to cook compared to frozen beans, adjust the cooking time so they are well cooked and soft but not mushy. 
• Let the pressure subside naturally. 
• Soak tamarind in 1/2 cup of water for 30 minutes and squeeze out tamarind extract, discard the pith, seeds if any. Keep the extract aside until ready to use. 
• Slice onions into thin long strips (my preference, but you can cut any which way that you like :-)) 
• Cube eggplants into bite sized pieces and keep them in cold water to avoid discoloration. 
• Heat 1 Tsp oil in a pan, add all the ingredients except onion listed under 'To roast and grind' and roast in medium to low heat until they give out a nice aroma and the dals turn golden brown. 
• Add poppy seeds, grated coconut and chopped onion, switch off the stove and let it cool down. 

• Heat a big kadai/pan with 1 Tbsp oil, add thinly sliced onions and let it cook for a minute and half. 
• Add the cubed eggplants, 1/2 tsp salt and turmeric powder. Give a good mix, cover the pan and let the eggplants cook until soft but not mushy, takes 5-6mins.

• Add the cooked beans along with the water to the pan. 
• Add tamarind extract and let them come to a boil on medium heat. 

• Grind all roasted & cooled ingredients along with a spoon of cooked beans into a smooth paste with 1/2 cup of water. Adding cooked beans gives body and thickness to the gravy. 

• Add the masala paste to the vegetables along with jaggery and let the mixture cook together for about 5 minutes. 
• Test taste and adjust salt as needed. Also add water to get the desired consistency. 

• Add chopped cilantro and continue to cook until the mixture comes to a good rolling boil.
• Heat a small pan with remaining oil, add mustard and fenugreek seeds and when they pop add asafoetida. 
• Switch off and add the seasoning to the curry. 

• Cover and let it sit for atleast 30 minutes before serving. 

Notes: 

• Another great combination with the beans is cubed potatoes. I didn't use them today. 
• I like my eggplants soft but holding their shape, it is a personal choice, so adjust the cook time accordingly. 
• Do not roast poppy seeds, coconut or onion along with the rest of the ingredients, the heat of the pan is sufficient to warm them up. 
• If you are using fresh beans and not pressure cooking, be prepared for a long cook time (atleast an hour) in open vessel. 

• It is important to salt the beans while cooking and the eggplants while they are roasted, so remember you are using salt at different points in this recipe and make sure you don't over salt it. 
• Adding jaggery brings out the other tastes in this dish and is a signature Mysorean way of cooking gravies. Skip if you do not want the extra sugar.