recipe of REAL food, some Magging and a pumpkin salad | caramalaised pumpkin salad with garlic-thyme butter and cheddar shavings

Yes there is a recipe of REAL food. And the recipe to real food needs a lot of unlearning, a lot of un-conditioning in modern times. The 'food markets' have conditioned us so much that we started thinking of food differently, we don't recognize an eggplant or pumpkin as food anymore and the 'dead' noodles coming out of a cheap packet is perceived naturally as the yummiest most desirable 'food'.

Caramelized pumpkin packs natural flavours, would it appeal to the palates paralysed by MSG laden 'tastemakers'?

Just think about the number of people who wouldn't feel hungry by the name of pumpkin and a packet of Maggi will make them hungry instantly and will bring back loads of 'happy memories' that they made in hostel rooms and mountain holidays.

Just imagine what Maggi has done to their growing up years not to mention to their system. They don't even realise there are chemical reasons behind this 'feel good addiction', the way a cheap small pack of instant noodles has clouded  and hijacked their sense of taste and satiety.

I have been watching some discussions and jokes about Maggi and MSG on social media lately and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth every time someone proclaims MSG is a natural component of many natural ingredients. See this facebook discussion to know how some people spread more ignorance about the facts. No wonder MSG has become the common salt in almost every home and street food vendors have been using MSG to make even sambar, daal and chhole tastier.

Maggi and their ilk have garnered such a following that people are not even believing reports from Govt. authorities regarding other toxic chemicals found in them, limits permissible or not. And then they claim that everything edible natural food also has some or the other toxic component. But is that equal to junk food being laced with toxins too?

The most frustrating discussions and arguments came from people who were comparing Maggi with pesticide ridden vegetables and even alcohol, nicotine and even spurious medicine. As educated and aware consumer we must know pesticide ridden vegetables and fruits are a different matter on it's own. Nicotine and alcohol are not even distantly related to the issues of junk foods that our bodies haven't even known as food.

All these convenience foods that have been made 'hyper-tasty' with the help of several chemicals including MSG, more chemicals go into them to prolong the shelf life. These food like objects find place on our tables and in our lives through a very strategic marketing that involves clever advertising and placement of the shiny packets on supermarket isles as well as the corner grocer of the colony.

Maggi and it's ilk creeped into our kitchens stealthily, hijacked the sense of taste and satiety so much so most of us started rejecting real food. And many of us even started arguing to defend Maggi.

True that Maggi has not killed anyone that the arguments are saying, but we can't be this shortsighted to ignore the metabolic disorder that is fast becoming an epidemic. Young innocent kids are getting diabetic and obese, adults develop multiple hormonal imbalances even before they reach middle age. I wonder why many of us do not realise that our body is equipped to heal itself if we stop eating trash and start nourishing it with real food.

Many said that they eat Maggi 'only occasionally' for a 'rare treat'. Just imagine Maggi being called a 'treat'. The trash being called a 'treat'. Need I say more to emphasize how Maggi and it's ilk has hijacked the sense of taste and satiety in today's world?

Aren't there real noodles tossed with real ingredients to make a tasty meal?

I wish a trend starts when there are fresh noodle makers just like the bread bakeries around towns, we already have dosa and idli batter makers who sell ready batter for everyone's convenience, the fresh noodles made with real ingredients will be a welcome business venture. One can use their own seasonings, sauces and vegetables to cook their own favourite concoction. That kind of real noodles will be better even if they are made of white flour, at least one would be saved from the load of chemicals.

Just do away with fabricated food friends. Period.

And now a recipe of REAL food, the kind that wouldn't even appeal to the 'tastemaker' addicted palates and minds. But I hope they try it sometime and know how pumpkins can pack more flavours than they imagine. All of you who come to find real recipes here know it already :-)

Caramalised pumpkin pan grilled with thyme-garlic butter, served with cheddar shavings ...

Just imagine firm yellow pieces of pumpkin being slow braised in a pan along with butter and thyme, some large slices of garlic that turn crisp by the time the pumpkin gets nicely caramelized both sides. The flavours seep in so well that no tastemaker can replicate this.

Choose a ripe pumpkin with tough flesh, orange yellow in colour and almost brown skin. Slice the pumpkin, peel off the skin and chop the flesh into bite sized fat slices. Get started to make this delicious salad.

ingredients...
(2 large servings or 6 servings as a party starter )

about 2 dozen bite sized fat slices of pumpkin (400 gm)
thyme leaves 3-4 springs
butter 1 tbsp
sliced garlic as much as you like ( I used 4 fat cloves)
salt to taste
mature cheddar cheese to shave over the cooked salad ( I used a small leftover cube)

procedure...

Grease a flat griddle with butter and arrange the pumpkin cubes and garlic slices over it. Sprinkle with salt lightly, sprinkle half the thyme leaves too and let the pumpkin pieces grill slowly on low heat. I prefer covering the griddle with a domed lid for this.

Turn over the pumpkin slices and sprinkle the other half of thyme leaves. The addition of thyme leaves at different phases of grilling ensures the flavours seep in really well. The garlic slices will start browning slowly alongside.

Cover again and let it grill and caramelize. Poke with a sharp knife to know the pumpkin has softened to your preference. The surface should be nicely caramelised and spotted.

Arrange in a serving plate and shave mature cheddar over the hot pumpkin slices and see the cheese shavings melt.

Dig right into it and see how it surprises you if you haven't loved pumpkin ever.

For party starters this salad can be served with some cocktail sticks or small forks so the guests can pick up he pumpkin cubes easily from a platter. Avoid serving it in a deep bowl, always a wide shallow platter.

Eat real food, forget Maggi and forget all reconstituted foods that come in shiny cheap packets. Eat local and seasonal vegetables and fruits and see how you get more nutrient value for your hard earned buck.

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lessons from Maggi episode and a recipe of REAL food | eggplant open sandwich with feta cheese and home grown rucola

Looks like Maggi has raised a generation of devotees who wouldn't listen to logic when it comes to MSG and it's being healthy, unhealthy or nonreactive in human body. I am amazed to see people who come up with 'facts' about MSG being natural and harmless, and how they have been using it for ages and are still alive. They forget the hormonal imbalances they are facing and the metabolic disorder that runs in the families.

I have some experience in consulting people with metabolic disorders and letting them heal just by switching to real food only, the reason I can say with some surety that the food like objects thrown at us by the food industry are really harmful even though we don't realise to start with. But we start noticing when the odd symptoms of IBS vanish when we switch to real food, the hormonal disturbances that just felt like a bother start getting healed and we notice the better quality of life we experience.

Better energy levels, better fitness and better lifestyle is compromised when junk food creeps stealthily on to the family dining table. Thankfully, if one realizes early and gives the body a chance, the body shows how it can heal with a little discipline practiced.

The recent controversy about Maggi is a great opportunity to investigate into each packaged food you buy, and make informed choices. You may want to see a study that indicates how MSG and trans fats together cause fatty liver disease and continued intake of these keeps damaging cells, causes cell cycle and lipid storage impairment, hepatic inflammation. No prizes for guessing that MSG and trans fats are used together in most processed foods causing chronic dislipidemia. 

Stop being trapped into a cheap packet of Maggi. Start recognizing real food, the taste will surprise you and you would start looking for more good sources of ethically grown vegetables, fruits and grains, better sources of meat, poultry and seafood. Just don't be misled by claims that everything is polluted in this world and we don't have any choice but to dig into a bowl of instant noodle.

Now let's see how do we make the real food simple, almost instant just like the instant noodles and delicious with the real taste, the way nature intended. Yes, there are some people allergic to eggplants (brinjals) too but I have myself seen how some people who were actually allergic to brinjals started eating them happily after their other diet habits were changed through a methodical personalised program, allergies sometime aggravate in the presence of other unnatural foods in the diet, once you remove those factors the allergies go on their own.

Eggplants or Aubergines are commonly called as Baingan in India. This vegetable gets mixed feelings in almost every country I guess. Some people who hate mushy vegetables never get the fortune to taste the subtle flavour that this buttery mush packs. But eggplants can be made into such delicious mush that you would start loving Baba ghaoush, Caponata, Grilled aubergines, Stuffed brinjals, Japanese style grilled eggplants and even Baingan ka chokha which is the simplest mashed vegetable we make almost twice a week. I am guilty of not sharing the baingan ka chokha recipe but I will correct that really soon I promise.

These large round variety of brinjals is considered to be good for chokha and bharta in India and we buy these by the dozen. Okay, half a dozen if not a dozen :-)

Fat round slices of the same round variety of brinjal is shallow fried to make a 'Begun bhaja' which is a Bengali classic and I have adapted the Begun bhaja to make these open sandwiches for a hearty brunch or a breakfast when I want very little bread and loads of vegetables.

Bread is always whole wheat and home baked. Open sandwiches with free form loaves make better sense and a topping like these brinjal rounds make it really irresistible.

If I tell you there is no recipe for these sandwiches and that these are the yummiest sandwiches one can have, you shouldn't be surprised. Just make it once for the sake of ease and simplicity of this recipe and get addicted to the real pleasures of real food.

Just remember to choose light weight fresh brinjals to make this sandwich topping. 

ingredients...

aubergine slices as many as you need, make more as you would consume more than you think
salt as required
mirin or balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar to drizzle ( I use mirin)
feta cheese to smear on the finished sandwiches
pepper or other seasoning if you need ( I did not need here as the peppery rucola was quite a lot)
eggs to serve the way you like
bits of bacon if you like
olive oil or mustard oil to shallow fry (I have used both and love both)

procedure ...

Slice the brinjals thickly, slash them lightly on one side and sprinkle salt generously over them all. Let them rest for at least an hour. Wash under running water and drain in colander.

Smear a skillet with oil, spread the aubergine slices slashed side down, let them brown and then flip them to cook on the other side too. Drizzle oil as required.

Drizzle with mirin or vinegar or lime juice once done and arrange over toasted bread. Smear feta cheese and top with rucola or other salad greens of choice.

If making these for a larger crowd you might want to flash fry these brinjal rounds as shallow frying takes a bit of time and doing many batches can be distressing for the cook.

Brinjals don't absorb oil when flash fried in really hot oil.

If using the oblong variety of brinjals you can only slit the brinjal into two lengthwise and shallow fry as directed.

You can also use the white or green varieties of eggplants (brinjals) for making these sandwich sliders or toppings. These greens ones grew in our garden for a few years till I removed the plants, this year we are starting to get slender purple brinjals.

Minimal effort can bring so much natural flavours from real food. This brinjal sandwich will become a favourite with your family trust me.

We even love a salad made with chunks of brinjal prepared the same way. I will update those pictures of the brinjal salad here soon, we normally have it for a quick dinner and photography doesn't happen in such times.

Tell me what interesting ways you like your brinjal?

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palm fruit or Ice apple, one of the most exotic fruit | recipe of ice apple and mango creamy dessert fit for breakfast

Yes this would be the yummiest gluten free breakfast even if I don't tag it as the 101 gluten free breakfasts. After all it is made of fruits, milk and nuts. No added sugar for me please. Ice apples, ripe mangoes, cashew nuts and milk, these four ingredients can cast a spell in a bowl.

Ice apple or Palm fruits are in season right now and this peak of summer is the short span of time when they appear in markets of some Indian towns. Yes, these are seen only in some Indian towns although the Palm tree (Borassus flballifer) grows almost all over the country. Such a pity. But one of the reasons why it is not avaialble throughout the country could be the absence of the trained people who climb the Palm trees to pluck these and sell them after chopping off the hard shell these Ice apples are enclosed into.

Ice apples are the delicate jelly like endosperm of the Palm fruit (Borassus flabellifer) that is so flavourful one has to eat it to know what I mean. Not sweet like other fruits but mild cooling sweetness that quenches thirst like nothing else. The texture of this jelly like fruit feels almost watery when tender, and starts getting a bit chewy as it matures.

Ice apples are called Taal shash in Bengali, Nungu in Tamil, Thaati munjalu in Kannada Tad gola in Marathi and Tad phal in Hindi. I asked my father and he told that these fruits were once common in the north too but later these were considered fruits for the poor. What a pity. 

I spotted these Palm fruit sellers in Hyderabad 2 weeks ago and could not refrain myself from buying some every time I passed through this road. One has to choose the tender ones because the mature Ice apples are a bit chewy and less sweet. The tender Ice apples have a sweet watery fluid inside it's cavity and the flesh is jelly like.

One Palm fruit encloses three Ice apples (endosperm part of the fruit) inside and each one is enclosed in a thin soft peel. Nature's wonders.

These Palm fruit sellers are quite deft at chopping off the hard shell of the fruit and delicately sliding off the fruit (edible endosperm) into a poly bag. I wish they had leaf bowls to sell these.

But it is a delight to see these Palm fruit sellers do their job. I was wondering if they accidentally cut their own palm while handling such sharp knives on such hard fruits.

And to my shock I spotted this scar later when I was seeing the cell phone pictures I had clicked. This man had actually got a deep cut sometime in his early life may be.

This is how the husk looks like. This would make good manure after it decomposes.

I clicked these pictures while Nirupama, my friend in Hyderabad collected the Palm fruits in a poly bag. She was the one who asked the seller to give us the tender fruits.

We enjoyed the fruits once we reached Bhavana's place. Nirupama told that the creamy white and thin peel of the Ice apples is used to rub on skin to cure summer rashes, the prickly heat.

I asked a few more people if they cooked these Ice apples too or made salads or desserts with these but everyone said they eat them as is. In fact it is very difficult to save these fruits to cook something as everyone just loves eating them as soon as it arrives.

Later, on my way back to airport I asked the cab driver to stop for the 'Thaati munjalu' (telugu name for these) and he kept looking for them. Such a sweet fellow he stopped where a Palm fruit seller was sitting with a huge heap of these. He even asked him to cut only the tender fruits for me. And I got two dozen of these Ice apples packed into my handbag, though I feared these might be seized at the airport.
But thankfully, these are no arms :-)

Back home, both of us enjoyed the chilled Ice apples of Thaati munjalu to our heart's content. I shared a picture of facebook and friends came up with suggestions to have these with chilled milk. Intrigued, I searched the internet and found someone had blended the Ice apples with soaked cashew to make a payasam. I loved the idea as we both love cashew nuts a lot.

And there came our first Nungu payasam.

I made this one with soaked cashew nuts paste blended with reduced milk (evaporated milk) and added chopped tender Ice apples. This was heaven in a bowl when chilled.

Just a dozen soaked cashew nuts blended with a little milk, added to a cup of reduced milk and a cup of chopped Ice apples. I did not add any sugar and the flavours of ice apple in the natural sweetness of cashew and reduced milk was something we will keep craving till the next time we get Ice apples.

And the next day I added some chopped mangoes to the same mix to make Nungu Mango payasam, and had it chilled for breakfast. This is going to be one of the best breakfasts we ever had. We love fruits and we love milk, this combination of milk and fruits is going to be one of the most favourite thing we did.

Clicking pictures was difficult as I kept eating while I clicked and took just 3 pictures to document the recipe.

This Nungu Mango payasam has no such recipe again. A dozen soaked cashew nuts blended with little milk, added to a cup pf reduced evaporated) milk and then mixed with 3/4 cup of chopped Ice apples and 1 cup of chopped ripe mangoes. No added sugar and still so sweet and flavourful. 

No added sugar to kill the natural sweetness of these flavourful fruits.

And remember this dish can be served as a chilled dessert too, you might like to add just a hint of honey to it if you find it bland as per your 'dessert sense'. My dessert sense agrees with the natural sweetness of fruits.

So a larger serving of such a dessert for breakfast is a good idea for me.

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A day with Chef Tanveer Kwatra shopping ingredients, cooking and dining at Le Meridien Gurgaon

I am always eager to meet and talk to people who experiment and cook passionately. Walking in old fashioned markets, finding out new ingredients and using those ingredients in traditional as well as experimental ways is what interests me most. So much so I sometimes carry greens and vegetables from the places I travel. I have shared how I brought the freshest Haak greens from Leh and so many vegetables from our travels to Sikkim and Darjeeling. Recently I brought Mahua flowers from our trip to Bandhavgarh and packed some Palm fruits in my hand bag while on my way back from Hyderabad.

Finding people of my ilk doesn't come by easy but there are times when the universe conspires in amazing ways. I was in Hyderabad for 'whole woman speaker series' where I was invited as a speaker and a very successful millet workshop when this conspiracy was being hatched.

Le Meridien Gurgaon had curated a whole day with Tanveer Kwatra (the Executive Chef, Le Meridien Gurgaon) taking Deeba, Ruchira and myself to an action packed culinary journey and I jumped right into it within 12 hours of landing back in Delhi. I am glad I didn't feel lazy. Early morning I was in the hotel lobby, surrounded with artworks of Paresh Maity, Sateesh Gujral, P R Daroz and the likes.

We were received by the Chef himself, shots of Cardamom coffee and cumin infused mango juice came to greet us as Chef took us to Latest Recipe, the multi cuisine restaurant and cafe. It is a well lit spacious restaurant that changes it's mood through the day as we witnessed later.

Chef Kwatra treated us with a guided tour of the breakfast buffet before settling down for a double espresso shot and some fruits. Fruits are displayed quite interestingly at the restaurant I must add.

It was a day planned with Tanveer where we had breakfast prepared by him, tasted the multicuisine lunch spread, had lunch in the staff canteen then went on to shop with him before he cooked dinner for us again. Totally an action packed day.

The day was made special by the affable and intelligent chef who shared his work experience and how running a kitchen like this is meticulous work that needs detailed planning. I could see how he is watchful of every single detail and multitasks in the kitchen all the time. It was fun to watch him in action.

He cooked a special 'signature breakfast' for all three of us, breakfasts where they infuse local flavours with world cuisine and call it 'unlock the destination'. The signature breakfasts at Le Meridien Delhi is also a must try. I relished my crabmeat stuffed omelet with grilled tomatoes, bacon and hash potatoes. Ruchira had a Brioche burger and Deeba enjoyed her duck khurchan dosa served with mulligatawny soup and chutney.

We had our breakfast sitting in the kitchen while it was being assembled live.

Then Chef Tanveer took us to the dishwash section, the freezer rooms and the stores for fresh produce as well as dry grocery. It was good to see how a hotel kitchen is backed up by such efficient ingredient procurement and storage.

We got to visit the microbiology lab where food samples are tested regularly to avoid food poisoning etc.

We took a tour of the bakery section and saw pastries being assembled and decorated. It is an art and a science for sure. Good looking food comes from precision in executing it the right way.

Bread dough was being punched and whacked. And then it was made into rolls delicately before being pushed into the oven. The golden baked rolls were brushed with melted butter and the aroma was intoxicating. It reminded me that it has been ages I did not bake any breads at home.

Biryani was being made into a huge copper Lagan (a flat base vessel designed to cook biryani) as we saw spices being mixed and ghee and saffron milk being poured into it. It was kachhe gosht ki Hyderabadi biryani. Later the biryani was unveiled and we had a taste of it.

As the lunch buffet was being prepared by now, each of us grabbed a spoon and tasted many of the dishes. I loved the kaali daal makhni to bits. It was a really well made daal I had after a long time. The other impressive preparation was a fish in Beurre blanc sauce that we all loved.

Tanveer asked if we like pumpkin and there we spotted a beautiful looking platted of roasted pumpkin with feta cheese. We could not stop eating this roasted pumpkin salad that was infused with thyme and garlic while being roasted with loads of olive oil.

The Dhungar butter chicken (smoked butter chicken) was yummy. The spread of salads, raitas and desserts at the lunch buffet is quite impressive too. One can easily choose according to personal taste and dietary preferences.

A variety of mediterranian dips and salads, roasted banarasi alu papad cones with chaat stuffing was interesting.

 And then we headed to the staff canteen where we 'tasted' the lunch of the day. There was no scope of having a full meal as there was a lot of tasting going on. Canteen food was wholesome and delicious, it was a delight to see such efficiently managed staff kitchen.

The GM of Le Meridien Gurgaon Mr David Hopcroft joined us for lunch at the canteen where self service is the norm and everyone picks up their own plates and disposes them to the washing area.

We could see happy diners who must have come between work shifts.

And then it was time to head to the market. It was very hot that day, equipped with cold towels, water bottles and sunglasses we headed towards CR park fish market. Some of these fish were to become our diner that day.

And then we went to Kamala sweets where Chef Tanveer bought some mishti doi and we sampled some of their specialties. A lack lusture jol bhora sondesh but really good radhabollobhi kachori and alu subzi. I love Bengali food and this shop is really good in the heart of Delhi.

He also bought some Water apples (jaamphal) and Mango-ginger along with a few more vegetables to cook with. These markets are a pleasure to explore. You don't get seasonal produce from other parts of the country in supermarkets these days as they stock mostly the exotic produce and the everyday staples that have somehow become 'all season produce' in modern times.

These markets in metro cities can't really afford to stock all local stuff but most produce is from within the country and is always seasonal. People who love the foods from back home throng to such markets to find the ingredients of the season.

Tanveer bought some phalsa and then we moved onto a micro greens farm where he picked up some of these beauties.

Back to the hotel we were exhausted and sapped due to the extreme heat. The hotel had planned a foot spa so I went in straight for that. Chef was at work preparing a dinner with what he had bought at the market. We were pampered royally you see.

It is always exciting to see what we cook with freshly bought ingredients, Chef Tanveer came up with a few surprises. He had made a Caprese with fresh Burrata, basil and phalsa berries. This salad was so good we polished off the plate within a matter of minutes.

Another salad was made with the water apples (jaamphal or jamrul), purple cabbage, mango-ginger and edemame etc and was a multitude of flavours and textures.

The Sea bass was grilled and served with baby beet greens on a bed of mango-ginger salsa along with a side of caramelized sweet potato slices. Very creative and flavourful.

Baby prawns were deep fried and served with kasundi sauce with bits of dried apricot and fried garlic. This was amazing with a really interesting take on kasundi.

And there was this Mishti doi Eclairs topped with white chocolate and popped amaranth. The mishti doi from Kamala sweets was for this special teat. A little too sweet but addictive stuff. Beware.

We had all our meals at Latest Recipe that day. Multitude of flavours but since we had small tasting portions it was not overwhelming. The best part of the day was that the flavours remained with me, I can recreate some of these at home or can go back again to Latest Recipe to savour the Roasted Pumpkin Salad or the Fish in Buerre blanc.

Good food stays with you forever. Thanks to Tanveer Kwatra for being such a sweet host and Le Meridien Hotel for pampering us for a day.

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recipe of millet pongal live from the millet workshop | millets are for everyone, use them everyday

Millets are tasty grains. Trust me when I say this. The only reason why you might have had a lukewarm experience with millets is that our cooking procedures have tuned in so much with rice and wheat that we have forgotten how to cook millets well.

And no, there is nothing elaborate about cooking millets, it is actually simpler. We often make the recipes so complicated and overburden the ingredients with seasonings that the dish gets killed. Millets need simpler treatment, simpler seasoning and fewer accompaniments in my experience.

I am sharing the recipe of a very simple millet pongal made with Foxtail millet (kangni) and Mung daal (skinned yellow mung). Pongal is a savoury porridge that is a popular breakfast dish in the south but rarely made with millets. Pongal is also a popular temple prasad and I have had the best pongals of my life as prasad (offerings made to God and then distributed to everyone).

I made this pongal for the participants of the workshop I conducted at Our Sacred Space in Hyderabad, with a theme 'Millets for everyone, for everyday'. The objective was to introduce the participants about how and why millets are better than wheat and rice for our own health as well as for the health of the planet and agriculture practices. The bunch of participants was a joy to interact with.

I wanted something tangible for the participants at the end of the workshop so they could get a taste of what we talk about. I had made some multi grain panjeeri, some ragi crackers, Jau ki ghaat and jowar banana pankeas and a millet pongal was planned as live cooking. While I was confident about everything else, I felt really nervous about the pongal as this was one dish that I have not grown up eating and cooking it for people from Andhra was like a vegetarian talking about fish to a Bengali. Yes I was nervous for the pongal.

This is a phone picture of the cooked pongal to which I added tadka in a huge pot. The pongal was made for 40-50 people.

It was a pleasant surprise to know that everyone loved this pongal and took second and third helpings. The second thing everyone one loved was Jau ki ghaat because it was the right season for such a drink, although panjeeri, pancakes and crackers were all favourites. Panjeeri made an instant fan following there with people asking for more, saving some for themselves too.

Pongal made me happy for obvious reasons.

The feedback I got for this millet pongal was that they couldn't believe it could taste better than rice pongal. I was exhausted by the end of the workshop that lasted 4 hours but I did taste the pongal so I can recreate the same in my own kitchen later. But honestly speaking, when pongal is made in larger quantities the taste is better for some reason. You might be familiar with the belief that prasad pongal always tastes better.

Recipe of millet pongal (the way I cooked for the millet workshop) 

ingredients 
(40-50 servings with other side dishes)

Foxtail millet (Kangni) 1 kilo
split Mung daal 1 kilo
water 7 Liters
chopped green chillies 1 cup
chopped curry patta 1/2 cup
salt 1/4 cup, add more after checking the salt balance once the pongal is cooked
ghee 250 gm
asafoetida powder 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds 2 tbsp
whole red chillies broken 10-12
whole pepper corns 1 tbsp
cashew nuts 250 gm chopped

procedure 

Rinse the mung daal, drain and tip in to the cooking vessel. I used a large (12 Liter capacity) pot for cooking this pongal. Add the water and the salt and place it on stove. Let the mixture come to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Rinse the millet, drain water and tip in to the cooking pot. Let it come to a boil again and simmer for 30 minutes. You might need a little more water if the consistency is too thick. Add the chopped green chillies and 1/3rd of the ghee, mix well and let it simmer for a few more minutes.

Now heat the ghee in a pan, add the asafoetida, cumin seeds, red chillies, pepper corns, curry patta and cashew nuts in that order and let them all get sizzling. Let the cashews get a bit brownish, the curry patta will also be fried nicely by this time. Add this whole mixture to the cooked pongal, mix well and keep the pongal covered. Serve while the pongal is still hot. This huge pot of pongal was hot for a couple of hours.

Here is a picture collage of iphone pictures my friend Bhavana clicked. There were a few organic farmers at the workshop and some people who wanted to know more about millets and their uses.

This workshop was organised and held at Our Sacred Space, brainchild of Nayantara Nandakumar who works tirelessly behind this beautiful space and its working. She has transformed her huge garden into a retreat, a mindfully done oasis of peace. Outdoors surrounded with beautiful plants, walls finished with mud and red oxide flooring gives this space a feel of an old village chaupal. Finding such a peaceful oasis in the heart of a crowded city Secuderabad feels like a bliss.

Our sacred space holds farmer's markets to support local produce, flee markets for local craftsmen and workshops for children and adults on many different themes. The Sunday Farmer's market that I witness was so good I am dreaming if we could have something like that in Delhi.

Later, back home I cooked the same pongal in pressure cooker. Since I was going to pressure cook the pongal in one step I decided to break the mung daal in smaller bits by running it into the mixie for a few seconds. The foxtail and mung mix was added to water (4 times the millet-lentil mix) and was pressure cooked with salt. Then a tempering was added and it made a really good lunch that day. I had chilled buttermilk with this meal.

It has been just too hot in Delhi these days and we have lost our appetite for heavier foods. Watermelon, buttermilk, chilled mango slices, chilled milk etc is what I am having mostly but I do eat a few spicy meals in between too. This pongal made me so happy with it's spice quotient and still felt very light on the system.

If you are using Pearl millet (bajra) or Barnyard millet (sama) for pongal you might like to cook them along with the mung daal as those take a bit longer time to cook. Just adjusting the cooking time and consistency you should be able to cook a delicious pongal with just any kind of millets you choose.

I was so glad to see so many varieties of millets available in Hyderabad, specially Our Sacred Space Sunday market was treasure trove for organic food seekers. The variety of millet rawa (millet semolina), millet vermicelli, broken millets etc is so good you would want to find out more ways to cook with them.

I buy my millets from Navdanya store, Down to Earth website and I Say Organic whenever possible. I also collect millets and lentils from my travels to interiors of the country. This foxtail millet from I Say Organic is from Uttarakhand.

Do let me know whenever you have a query about millets. I will be glad to share whatever I know.

Millets are ancient grains that need to be brought back to mainstream, not only for our own health but to break the pattern of monoculture of wheat and rice that is cause much harm to the agriculture and food chain both.

Did you know millets are hardy crops that can grow well in arid regions and don't need much chemical fertilizers or pesticides because they are naturally disease resistant. Also because millets have not been aggressively bred for huge yield etc. most millets are native varieties. Millets can be grown organically well and most millets you get in the market are grown by organic means.

Bring back millets on your dining table, every day.

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panjeeri is a desi granola mix ; a recipe of mixed millet panjeeri and a millet workshop in Hyderabad

Panjeeri brings back memories of my grandmother who used to make panjeeri with almost every grain. She used to make panjeeri even with rice flour as one of the ingredients and would sometimes bind the mix into laddu for the ease of handling and serving. Panjeeri is a roasted mix of flours, chopped nuts, powdered fox nuts and raisins, the ingredients are roasted separately and slowly along with ghee and are mixed with raw sugar or jaggery powder to make a delicious mix that is considered great for breakfast or for day time snacking.

My grandmother used to have panjeeri with warm milk too, just like one has cereal. Many old people like to add panjeeri to milk as they find it easy to gulp down that way. Panjeeri mixed with mashed banana and some milk makes good baby food too, but for that purpose panjeeri is made without ghee and nuts. How versatile a recipe can be.

The panjeeri mix includes dry ginger, turmeric, edible gum etc if it is made for winters and is made without these for summer days. But panjeeri is not an everyday summer food traditionally, it was made when one had to stock some ready to eat options at home or for traveling.

I remember panjeeri used to be our travel food each summer vacation. My mother still makes it almost all through the year using different ingredients suited for seasons, she makes a sugar free (not with sugar substitutes) version with few raisins and chopped dates for my dad too who is a diabetic. Like all diabetics my dad loves sweets and feels deprived if he doesn't get such things.

This time I made this panjeeri with mixed millets flour. There is some pearl millet, some sorghum, some amaranth flour, some corn meal, some barley flour, some oats flour, little wheat flour, some bran and some whole chickpea flour (with skin) in this mix. One can always mix the flours according to taste and preference and make the panjeeri using any of these flours alone, but mixing the flours works great for a complex flavour.

The panjeeri was actually made in large amount this time. I am doing a workshop on health benefits of millets and their everyday uses and wanted the participants get a taste of what they learn that day. I am so looking forward to the workshop.

The recipe is simple, but takes some time to prepare the ingredients and slow roast them separately. I did it myself in three days as I was busy with work too. Once the panjeeri is ready you feel like tasting it every half an hour. No I couldn't do that this time as I was suffering from a bout of food poisoning and was on a strict diet of yogurt and khichdi, my breakfast was plain yogurt mixed with isabgul husk. Life is not always fair but I will make up for it :-)

ingredients
(makes about 80-100 servings)

mixed millet flour 1 kilo (I used a mix of sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), barley (jau), corn (makii), oats (jaee), amatranth (ramdana or rajgira), whole wheat, whole black chickpea (kala chana) and little bran. All flours are added in equal amount.
fox nuts (makhana)100 gm (powdered)
flax seeds meal 200 gm
chopped almonds 500 gm (use mixed nuts if desired)
raisins 150 gm
jaggery powder or raw sugar 700 gm (or to taste) I used organic shakkar which is powdered jaggery
ghee 600 gm

*skip using wheat if you are allergic to it. I get this flour mix for my rotis and used the same for making panjeeri, skipping wheat makes no difference in taste. Gluten free version of panjeeri is as good.

** skip sugar or jaggery for diabetics. Ad some stewia powder or just some chopped dates too and serve in small portions to diabetics.

procedure

Heat 50 gm ghee in a pan ( I used a thick base kadhai) and roast the fox nut powder lightly. Keep aside.

Heat a little more ghee and fry the chopped almonds lightly on low flame, add the raisins in the last couple of minutes, fry together and take out from the kadhai. Keep aside.

Heat the remaining ghee and tip in the mixed millet flour and the flax seeds meal. Roast the flour mix at very low flame for an hour or so or till it becomes a bit brown and gets aromatic too. Take off the stove, add the raw sugar or jaggery powder, the roasted fox nut nut powder and almonds and raisins too and mix well.

Let the mixture cool down completely and then store it in air tight jars for about a month. I fill the pajeeri in many small jars so one of them in on the dining table too. This time the lot has already been packed to take it to Hyderabad :-)

A 25-30 gm serving of this multigrain panjeeri is very filling with a glass of milk. Some people even eat 50 gm or more but it is one of the healthier low glycemic foods that keep you full for hours. The next meal is automatically portion controlled if you have had this panjeeri in a large serving.

I always call it desi granola mix as it has everything a granola has and is made with local ingredients. And it can also be modified to suit seasons.

I make a methi panjeeri a lot for myself and the recipe is still to be shared, will share that too very soon. Another version of panjeeri with herbs and nuts is made for new mothers too which is a ritual in most Indian homes.

Are you based in Hyderabad? Come for this workshop if so and enjoy some millet panjeeri with me. There will be some more food to sample and I am sure you all would enjoy being there, we will definitely learn some interesting things that day.

Looking forward to talk about millets, their health benefits and how millets are crucial for the health of our planet as well. Come join me there.

I will be sharing the updates and may be videos of the workshop too with all of you here. Stay tuned.

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101 gluten free breakfasts | sorghum banana pancakes with pomegranate rhododendron jelly

Someone asked me why I work around millets so much. What is the goal I am working towards when I promote millets, traditional recipes that are getting lost and age old nutrition wisdom. I was thinking of the age old wisdom that is being taken over by consumerism and 'tactful' nutrition information fine printed on shiny food packets.

I asked him what did he have for breakfast and he told me about a crisp toast with French butter and some fruit preserve. I told that I made a gluten free sorghum flour and banana pancake and had it with pomegranate rhododendron jelly. Jowar kele ka cheela, as we would call it and he wanted to know more about the pancake and how millets can make such tasty foods. The interest was ignited immediately.

I had never expected this kind of question as all of you my readers and friends have been
reassuring in different ways, and my own quest giving me enough reasons to continue what I love doing. I never follow a goal but do what I like at the moment, taking life as it comes, plans never worked and surprises were always good.

But yes, I do have a reason for reviving old times wisdom and alternative grains, Indian native foods and cooking techniques and most importantly the love for cooking family meals at home. I don't have to explain those reasons for you my friend, because you have subscribed to my blog and have been reading what I think about these.

I would explain my concern about the millets for a reason today. I am an environmentalist by instinct, I feel frustrated to see how the soil health is depleting by monoculture of wheat and rice in different agricultural areas while millets are being neglected. For ages millets were considered food of the poor.

How many of us know that millets take very few resources to grow? These are mostly rain fed crops and do not deplete water resources, do not need pesticides and insecticides much and can be grown organically well.

And there are health benefits that you know already. I know because you are reading healthfood desivideshi and have clicked to read this piece of information. I know you too hate quinoa and use alternative flours for everyday cooking like I do.

ingredients..
(2 servings of filling breakfast)

jowar flour (sorghum flour) 3/4 cup
over ripe banana mashed well 1 or mashed pulp about 1/2 cup
cinnamon powder 1/4 tsp or to taste (optional)
milk 1/3 cup or a bit more
chopped mixed nuts 2 tbsp
flax seeds meal 2 tsp
ghee to shallow fry the pancakes 1-2 tsp per serving ( I used total about a tbsp)
any fruit preserve or honey to serve

procedure 

Make a batter using the flour, the mashed banana, flax meal, chopped nuts and milk. Add just enough milk to make a thick batter.

Heat a griddle and smear ghee over it. Pour small ladlefuls of batter over the griddle and let it cook for a couple of minutes on one side, over medium flame. Turn over and cook the other side too to get a golden crust.

Serve hot or warm with any fruit preserve or honey you like. This time we had the pomegranate and rhododendron jelly with it. I like the pancake plain with some hot milk, the husband always likes some jam or honey with his pancakes.

The pancake keeps me full till evening if I have it with milk. I normally munch on some salted roasted nuts or peanuts in between because I don't feel good after eating something sweet but that is me.

I must tell you that I have seen some people eating such pancakes with laal mirch ka acahar too and that actually tastes really good. A combination of sweet and spicy is actually good.

Tell me if you want to learn more about millets. For health reasons and for environment too, I will make sure there is some millets everyday on your table. Or that is being over ambitious?

I will be in Hyderabad next week, and will conduct a workshop with a millets theme, millets for everyone and everyday, at Our Sacred Space. If you are in Hyderabad and want to learn how to cook with millets everyday, you are welcome. Please sign up with this workshop and have fun with millets.

We are planning to serve this sorghum banana pancake too at the workshop. Would you like to join us there?

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