Tambit Ladoo ( Nag Panchami Special)
This is a sweet made as an offering to the Snake God whom we worship in the month of Shravan.
Ingredients
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup fried gram split
!/2 cup grated dry coconut
1/2 cup roasted and peeled peanuts
1 and 1/2 cup grated jaggery (jaggery should be the one which is not used in chikkis or else the ladoos will turn out hard and difficult to bite into)
1 small spoon cardamom powder(optional)
2 tablespoons of clarified butter (ghee)
In a kadhai dry roast the fried gram, sesame seeds, dry coconut and grind it lightly in the mixi, see that it does not become a sticky mix and keep aside.
Now in the same kadhai take the ghee put the once it melts put the jaggery, heat it just to a point where it melts, add the ground mixture, peanut powder, cardamom powder, mix well and add enough mixture to see that it is moist and stop adding if u feel it is drying up. U need to start making the ladoos when the mixture is still quite hot or else it will dry and will become difficult to make ladoos. Shape them as shown in the picture. Enjoy:)
Tip- While making the ladoos if the mix starts drying, just sprinkle very few drops of milk this will make your job easier.

I love Christopher Columbus

This   is taken when I went to Coorg, the place to be in if you are looking for spices and coffee. From all the plants, what caught my attention was this shiny little green beauty with which I did not miss clicking a pic.

These chillies are used regularly in my kitchen.

This plant is in my tiny kitchen balcony, swaying happily. Knowing how passionate I am about chillies, the seeds were brought by my daughter straight from Brazil!!! From the time I have discovered that Brazil is the motherland of the Chilli, whenever I look at the chillies on this plant, I sway and am as happy as a lark as if a daisy has bloomed in my garden:)

This one is not a dish but a spicy article which I felt like writing, dedicating it to the most vibrant  ingredient in my kitchen. The article will slowly open the secret to my title!!

Chillies are a very very essential ingredient of  Indian kitchens, as I started learning more and more about food, I discovered that it also has a place in
Thai, Mexican, Korean and Portugal cuisines.

I love chillies is my tagline you can safely say, I say it as often as I can. Then they may be fresh green chillies, yellow chillies, dry red chillies, Thai chillies, Mexican chillies, bird eye chillies, Guntur chillies, Byadgi chillies, fried chillies, stuffed dry chillies, curries made of chillies, saalan made of chillies, jalapenos, or the simple humble maharashtrian  chutney called thecha which always has a special place in my fridge and my heart. Phew!! I just felt like a waiter in a restaurant rattling off the names of dishes from the menu, hehe...

For people who do think that the chilli originates in India this will be a piece of information that, the green chilli actually travelled via the Spice Route when it swiped places in America with black pepper . Dr. Nandita Iyer says in her article published in Mint, that the birth place of chillies can safely be called South America. The domestication started in  Brazil, Bolivia and Mexico. Farming was done between 5000 BC and 3500 BC. How it travelled in exchange for black pepper from South and Central America to Portugal and Spain via what is called Columbia to India and other South Asian countries, is a fascinating journey. This was the phenomenon of transfer of plants, animals and cultures between American and Afro-Eurasian hemispheres in the 15th and the 16th centuries after Christopher Columbus' 1492 voyage. From Spain and Portugal, chillies reached India and South Asian countries via the same Spice Route that took black pepper from India to America. I say, let America keep the black pepper, no problem, we have the spicier counterpart! Portuguese brought them during their first trip around Cape of Good Hope in 1498. Columbus thus set sail to find Silk Route and Spice Route from the East and chillies found a permanent home here. So, the title "I love Christopher Columbus!"

Now for some scientific knowledge of the chillies. The chemical compound found in them that causes the heat and the burning sensation is Capsiacin.This finds a place in ointments used for pain relief too. Spiciness is measured in SHU that is Scoville Heat Units. Bell peppers have a 0 level of SHU in them,
hence are not full of heat.

Chillies add a vibrant colour to the dish and taste to otherwise bland vegetables, rice, meat and grain dishes. Most importantly, they give a balance to the
sweet, sour and salty taste of the dishes.

Harissa Sauce from North America, Mexican Adobo Sauce features Chiptole and Ancho chillies, They give a smoky aroma to the dish. Gohujang from Korea, Sriracha from Thailand, Piri Piri from Portugal are all sauces made from chillies.

Closer to home, Maharashtrian Thecha, The Molga Podis from South, Rajasthani stuffed chilli pickle, Stuffed chillies dried and fried, are had too with poha and curd rice, Mirch bhajiyas, Hyderabadi mirch ka saalan, Bharwan mirch are all names of a few dishes savored in India featuring
CHILLI as the hero of the dish.

I would like to thank Dr. Nandita from whose informative article I have stated some of the facts in my write-up.

As festival season approaches and specially the month of Shravan enters a Hindu household, most of the days you find people observing fasts and following rituals. Here is a recipe for people who fast and would like a bite for breakfast or an evening snack on such days.

Patties for fasts

Ingredients

200 gms of crumbled cottage cheese, you can choose low fat

1/2 cup finely chopped red and yellow bell peppers each

Small bunch of finely chopped coriander

1/2 cup boiled and mashed purple yam

1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/4 cup samo rice flour

1/4 cup sago pearl flour

1/4 cup amaranth flour

Salt to taste

Chilli powder to taste

1 tspoon cumin powder

Mix all ingredients well, do not add extra water as far as possible since the cottage cheese has enough moisture. Now make patties in the desired shape and pan fry, just with a little clarified butter smeared on them. Let them turn into light golden brown on both sides and you can savour these with the chutney or as they are with your tea, coffee or you can join me!

Mushroom Risotto
This is something that I ate at a restaurant and tried creating my own version of the same.

Ingredients

1 cup brown rice soaked for an hour in vegetable stock. I used asparagus stock since I had asparagus and the aroma was awesome.

2 spoons of plain cheese spread
1/2 cup grated cheese, I used kraft cheese.
1 bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped
Salt to taste
2 spoons of garlic cloves finely chopped
2 onions finely chopped
1/2 tspoon chilli flakes
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tspoon mixed herbs
100 gms of fresh mushrooms chopped into medium sized pieces

Method

I actually pressure cooked the rice to three whistles in two cups of stock and kept it ready for the process.

In a wok add butter, add chopped garlic, sautee, add chopped onion, sautee to light brown colour. Add the chopped mushrooms, sautee for a while. Now add the rice add 1 cup stock, salt, mixed herbs, chilli flakes. cheese spread, chopped parsley and keep covered for about ten minutes, stir in between to check if water has evaporated, add more water, keep covered again, now open and add the grated cheese, cook for another ten minutes. the consistency of this risotto needs to be a little soft and runny. Keep it that way by the end of the process seeing to it that the rice is well cooked.

Serve topped with grated cheese and a fresh sprig of parsley.

Open brown bread sandwich with avacado, garlic chives, asparagus, rocket leaves.

This one is another of my experi - mental breakfast dishes.

Ingredients

Brown bread
A bunch of asparagus
200 gms of Fresh mushrooms
A bunch of garlic chives
A bunch of rocket leaves
! avacado scooped and mashed roughly
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Mustard sauce

Keep some rocket leaves raw for topping.
Roast some asparagus to eat as a side.

In a kadhai take some olive oil, put chopped chives, chopped mushrooms,
chopped rocket leaves and chopped asparagus.. Stir fry till the mixture is rid of all water, add salt and pepper.Keep it ready to put on the bread.

Now take a pan, sprinkle some olive oil, let the bread become slightly golden on one side, toss it and put the ready mixture on the bread slice, put some roughly mashed avacado, top with rocket leaves sprinkle a bit of olive oil and once it is slightly crisp savour your breakfast, with roasted asparagus as a side.

buckwheat Crepe

Buckwheat Crepe with roasted mushrooms, baby potatoes, broccoli and cheese.

This is my own version of what I ate in a restaurant which serves French food.

Ingredients
2 cups buckwheat flour
1/2 cup semolina
Water and salt to mix the batter
A pinch of edible soda
1 large bowl of broccoli florets
1 large bowl of fresh mushrooms chopped into fours
8 baby potatoes par boiled
1/2 cup grated cheese

For the dressing of the roasted vegetables

1 cup olive oil, 8 garlic pods crushed, 3 spoons of mixed herbs, 1 tspn of chilli flakes, 1/2 a tspn of pepper powder, salt and half a lime squeezed, mix all the ingredients and smear it with a brush on the vegetables. Keep these to roast in an oven which is preheated on 180. Keep each batch for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Make a batter for crepes with buckwheat flour, semolina, water, salt a pinch of soda and keep aside for about two to three hours.

On a pan spray some oil spread the crepe batter let it cook a bit spray oil and turn. once semi done turn and spread all the roasted vegetables on it , grate cheese and serve after the cheese looks slightly done.

Mirchi Bhaji with a twist.

This was a new experimental dish that I tried. I enjoy eating Dalvada and
Mirchi Bhaji, so this is a two in one experience, I loved it hope you too like it. Inspired by a cookery show on a regional channel.

Ingredients

10 fresh green chillies, less spicy long ones, slit in between.
For filling into these you need to make a mixture of 1 small spoon asefotida, 3 tbspns of oil, salt to taste, 1/2 lime squeezed. Fill each chilli with this mixture and leave aside.

For the batter

1 cup bengal gram and green gram split, soaked for four to five hours. Grind this in a mixer with very little water, to a coarse paste with 8 black peppercorns and keep ready.
1big onion finely chopped, small bunch of coriander leaves , 8 curry leaves, 8 spinach leaves all finely chopped, salt to taste.

Mix all these in the batter you have ready.

Now in a kadhai take oil to fry the bhajis. Dip each chilli in the batter try coating it as much as possible with the ready batter and fry to a golden brown colour. Can be enjoyed with evening tea, now since rains are approaching.