Tiffin box

How to: Put the fruit in a big bowl.

Put the custard powder in a small bowl with a little cold milk (1/4 cup) and mix it into a smooth paste. Add the sugar to the rest of the milk and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium. Take it off the heat and stir in the custard powder paste. Mix well, making sure there are no lumps. Return to the heat and cook for 2-5 minutes, until it thickens a bit.

Let it cool a little (you could also prepare the fruit in this time) and pour over the fruit. Stir well, but gently. Eat chilled.

* Make sure it’s GF. Brown and Polson doesn’t seem to be…?

Fruit suggestions: I used bananas, peeled oranges, strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries, and grapes. Apples and pears also go well in this. I found the raspberries gave the custard a very tart taste, so I probably won’t do that again.

This is what I ate for dinner today: simple, quick, and, as it turns out, very tasty. I ate it over rotini, but I suppose any pasta would be okay.

You need: 1 bunch cilantro (unless it’s a really big bunch, then 1/2); 1 jalapeño (or any other spicy green chili pepper); 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1/4 cup slivered almonds; salt to taste; 1 tsp olive oil

How to: Wash and drain the cilantro. Chop off the stems and chop finely in a food processor with the jalapeño. Grind the almonds coarsely with a mortar and pestle. Add them, with everything else, to the cilantro and mix well.

Mix into your cooked pasta and eat I topped it off with a few cubes of pepper jack.

Thank you! This is a very small blog and I’m very happy that it has so many hits. I know some of you are regulars, and I thank you for coming back again and again.

I’m happy! I’m glad you like my blog

light-soup.jpg

I made this yesterday. No fat. No dairy. No onions. No garlic. No spices. And still so good. I call it a summer soup because it seems to be to be the kind of soup you can drink on a hot summer evening in Delhi. It’s very light, and very easy to make.

Preparation time: 20 minutes at the most

Cooking time: 20 minutes (no need to watch!)

Get a big stock pot or kadahi or something. Dice and throw into it the following:

1. 2-3 small leeks (only the white part) - wash ‘em well!

2. 2 medium-sized yellow squashes (use lauki as a substitute in India)

3. 2 sticks celery, or as much as you can stand.

4. 1 jalapeño - cut off the top and tail (it won’t be too strong)

5. Keep 1 bunch of chopped cilantro ready, but don’t add it yet.

6. Two cans of vegetable broth, or enough to make it soupy!

7. 1 stalk lemongrass, score it well to release the flavor.

Add salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a low heat and simmer for twenty minutes.

Add the cilantro, stir well, turn off the heat, and eat!

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: About 20-30 mins

You need: 1 cup dal (toor/arhar, moong, or masoor); 1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi/manjapodi)); 1/2 tsp red chili powder (lal mirch); 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera); 1/4 cup onion; 1/4 cup tomato (vegetables are optional); 1 tbsp ghee or oil

How to: Wash the dal well and drain. Add at least two cups of water. Add turmeric and salt to taste and stir well. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium/simmer. Cook the dal until soft. If it starts getting too thick while cooking, stir and add a little water. Turn it off when it’s done.

For the tempering: Heat the ghee or oil. When it is hot, add the jeera and let it sputter. Turn the heat to medium if needed. Add the onions and cook well. You can add the red chili powder at the same time. Add the tomatoes. Stir and cook about 3-4 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the dal and stir well.

Eat over rice.

I like almond butter, but it’s really expensive in the stores. So I tried making some at home. It turned out very well, actually, except I think next time I will add a little salt and a little sugar. Or something to sweeten it and salt it a bit.

You need a food processor for this, and two cups of almonds. I used the metal blade I normally use for chopping vegetables, etc. I also used the slivered almonds you can buy in bulk anywhere, but you can use whole almonds as well. I did not roast them.

Put the almonds in the food processor and turn it not (not pulse). Leave it on until the nuts are all ground up and the butter forms a ball in the middle of the bowl. It’s great fun to watch, so don’t abandon your post. You might have to stop it and scrape the sides a couple of times. Once it forms a ball, you’ll see the oil (a greasy look) on the side of the bowl.

It’s done. It should keep, I anticipate, about a week in a tightly sealed jar in the fridge. Maybe less. I don’t know. But definitely not more.

Thank you, KitchenAid!

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I put into my body, and I’m glad I’m not a meat-eater. I see in the news that sick cows, severely maltreated, get slaughtered for food. The maltreatment is bad enough, but really, eating beef from sick animals? Doesn’t that gross you out? A reliable informant tells me that this is standard practice in many dairy farms as well - send the old or sick cows to slaughter. “Old” may be misleading. Apparently cows are only good for dairy farming for about three years, after which they are no use anymore. And they aren’t exactly put to pasture after.

Cows aren’t always treated that well in the dairies, either. So I’ve been questing for “certified humane” dairy products here in IC.  Either Iowa is not on the radar, or there are no CHRH products here. The best I’ve been able to do is Horizon yogurt, which state that they have “respectful” farming practices. However, they also say that, while they treat sick cows (not with antibiotics), once it is cured they “permanently remove” it from the milking herd. I’d like to know where it goes, after.

I know Radiance Dairy in Fairfield is supposed to be a good place to be a cow, and the milk and yogurt from there are really, really good. But we don’t have a car (aren’t we environmentally-friendly), the bus doesn’t go there, and Fairfield isn’t quite next door.

So if you know of any place where I can get CHRH dairy in Iowa City, do write in and let me know!

The disclaimer is that I haven’t tried this yet, but my aunt says it works, and I trust her Here’s a combination of bhindi advice from my aunt and my mum.

You know how bhindi (okra/lady finger, and hereafter simply bhindi)…anyway, how bhindi is all sticky and gooey and generally unappetizing? One way to counter that is to deep-fry it, but really. I try not to deep-fry, even though it makes everything taste incredible.

If you buy the frozen chopped bhindi, here’s an interesting way to dry it out. Preheat your oven to 250 F. Thaw the bhindi and wipe it with a paper towel. Or four. Spray a pan with some Pam or suchlike (cooking oil spray), put the bhindi in it, spread it around evenly, spray it again, and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Then cook as you please.

Okay I discovered there are fancy and fancier ways to do this, but here’s how I do it:

Half-fill a champagne flute with champagne, then top it up with orange juice.

I prefer dry champagne, but whatever takes your fancy. I never learnt to be a wine snob - don’t drink enough of it.

Here’s a fun non-snooty link: http://www.wineintro.com/champagne/basics.html

I’m baaaaack. A very happy new year to everyone. I know some of you have been checking back every now and then, and I apologize for the lack of fresh posts - I haven’t been cooking. Sloth has overcome me, and I’ve also been busy with getting my syllabi together.

I should be back in the zone pretty soon, though, and hopefully come up with some fun new recipes. School starts on the 22nd, and the stress usually drives me to cook, if I haven’t blogged anything before then.

I hope you all had a great start to the new year. Come back soon!