Durga Puja

This year, I shall actually try to do a festival series on the blog. This series is really for my little daughter. She went to the Durga Puja in Stamford, CT this weekend and now wants the entire lowdown!

The next two months are really festive season all across Indian - with a multitude of festivals, Durga Puja, Navratri, Eid, Diwali. I wish I knew all about each one of these in detail, but I think I know enough to cover most of them. Actually one of the benefits of growing up in a secular country like India, there really is no dirth of festivals.

Simply speaking the story of Durga is the eternal commemoration of the victory of good over evil.

The demon Mahishashura was rewarded by Shiva with a boon that he would not be killed by any man. He took advantage of this and continued to terrorize people. The gods fed up of this, created the goddess Durga, who epitomizes the power of the woman. She is a 10-armed mother goddess who rides a lion. She is show with her 4-children who come to earth with their mother and also in turn merit their own festivals. Durga is shown as slaying Mahishasura thus symbolizing the triumph of good over evil.

While this is technically a ten-day festival commencing with Mahalaya, most of the religious festivities take place during the last five days of the festivals. There are different religious offers, most notably prayers including pushanjali (floral
There are food offerings most popularly the myriad number of sweets.

However possibly what I miss is the incredible transformation that takes place in the city of Kolkatta during these days - the city gets caught up in a week long carnival where Mardi Gras meets Christmas with a very Indian flavor. There are makeshift pavelions created in every nook and corned with different variations of Durga, there are food stalls, balloon stands and the city forgets to sleep!

To bring back just a little memory of this period, I made Sondesh probably the closest to Indian Cheesecake make with fresh paneer. Here is how I made it

Sondesh - Indian Cheesecake

Prep/Cook Time 2 hours (1.5 hours for the cheese to drain)

Make 12 lime sized sondesh balls

Ingredients

1/2 gallon 2% milk

4 cardamoms

1 cup yogurt

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon rose-water

To garnish

Crasins

Powdered pistachios

Method of Preparation

1. Bring the milk slowly to a boil and gently stir in the yogurt. In less than a minute the milk separates into paneer and whey.

2. Turn the heat off, drain the solids into a cheesecloth, tie and hand the cheesecloth for about 1.5 hours to let the water drain out.

3. Remove from the cheese cloth and place into your food-processor with the sugar and process for about 2 minutes. The cheese actually begins to gather into a ball at this point.

4. Place in a heavy bottomed (preferably non-stick) pan and cook on low heat for about 6-7 minutes. The mixture begin separating form the pan at this point. Let this cool.

5. Shape into balls, top with a craisin and dust with pistachios and serve.

All about stuff!

About a good 4-5 years back, I do not want to obsess about the exact date coz, I am not sure I could find it! My dear brother and I were thinking that we worked awfully hard but kinda did not play...

So he took to running and I tooking to doing more with something I loved a lot - cooking, working with food, etc. Over the past few years we have bumbled along - he has become thinner and musculer and I have gotten fatter and created several recipes that I have shared in life, with family and students. So we both have hobbies! I actually wish I could do more...

All in all, I am feeling grateful and am happy that I have a sibbling!

Fox Island - Portchester

This tuesday was my Anshul's birthday. I wanted to do something different by way of locale and time, etc, etc. I actually used the journal news restaurant finder and then scoped out the review to settle on F.I.S.H restaurant.

I had told our sitter to get in from the back door, we were doing this rather late - after the kids went to sleep. I did manage to surprise him, he had changed and certainly was not expecting to be taken away to Portchester. Honestly, the only place that we have visited in that visited in that vicinity is Sonora. It is interesting, how regional we tend to be in our preferences. A late weeknight evening, the restaurant was quiet but retained a nice festive vibe. We sat outside, we were lucky to have a warm and pleasant evening.

In fact, one can just sit on the deck of this beautiful place and finish a bottle of wine. We perused through their fairly extensive menu and settled for two appetizers and the paella. Ok, their appetizers are hugh!!!

We tried the spicy calamari, which was crisp and nicely tossed with bits of red cherry pepper and arugula. In fact, the delicate peppery bite of the greens really, really completed this lovely dish. I had a hard time trying to take picture - never tried doing this with such little light. I guess this is reflected in the pictures. There was just a little too much coating on the calamari. The mussels are probably something that will bring us back again to the place. They were steamed in a luscious tomato-pinot grizio sauce and every delicate nuance of the sauce was distinct.

The service was attentive and discrete, nice for the relaxed setting where you do not really wnat someone hovering over you. Lastly, down to the paella, this was most but I would have like sharper seasonings. It seemed to be just a little to mild - a little more chorizo would have completed the balance of flavors. Anyhow, this ended up being my lunch the next day. We would have tried the creme brulee but were too stuffed. It is a lovely festive place and the generous serving sizes actually make this more affordable than people might think at first blush.

They actually had some interesting pizzas on the menu, which will be nice to try the next time round.

Messing with the tested and tried!!!

Rich and creamy palak paneer - pureed spinach, with cream and chunks of Indian paneer cheese is one of the few Indian dishes that my children love. Granted, I use chillies quite sparingly but my kids love this dish. Actually, so do students!

However, with all the spinach in the garden, over the summer, I wanted to simplify this dish a little more without loosing it's appeal for the kids. I added almonds and just a hint of cream (which actually can be dispensed) with. With some quick co-ordination, I had this dish done in 20 minutes.

Actually that really is where the standard lies, I think people are now getting a little jaded with the 30 minute rule. Nah! here I jest!!!

While a lot of the food I cook, is rather quick and simple I also am not really a believer of cutting corners for the sake of reaching a "quick cook" target. One cooks as needed, and until food is done. Anyhow, this still does not change the fact that my palak paneer was pretty much done in less than 30 minutes.

Tangy Palak Paneer - Spinach with almonds and paneer cheese

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup hot water

20 almonds

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teapoon coriander powder

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger

4 cups of chopped fresh spinach

3 tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon red chili powder (optional)

3/4 cup of diced paneer (can be substituted with tofu)

2 tablespoon fresh heavy cream (optional)

1 lime - cut into small wedges

Cilantro to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Place the almonds in the water and set aside for about 10 minutes. This step can be skipped if you use pre-blanched almonds.

2. Heat the oil and add in the cumin and coriander powders and cook for a few seconds. Add in the ginger and onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until the onion is tranluscent.

3. Add in the spinach and tomatoes and mix well. Turn the heat to low and cover the pot and let the spinach wilt. This process takes about 5 minutes.

4. In the meantime, peel the almonds.

5. Turn off the heat, you should have the spinach wilted, with some water released from both the spinach and the tomatoes. Stir in the salt and red chili powder and let the mixture cool just a little.

6. Place the spinach and the almonds into the blender and blend for 2-3 minutes until the spinach is very smooth.

7. Place this mixture back into the pot and stir in the paneer or tofu and cook through. Stir in the cream ( if using) and mix well.

8. Squeeze in half the lime and stir and garnish with cilantro.

9. Serve with rice or bread and enjoy!

Slow Cooking in the oven!

What caught my attention the other day was this post, about boris. A bori is essentially a sun-dried lentil nugget that I have never really tried making at home. It is just something that I have never seen done and with the indifferent sun we have in the northeast, it has hardly been something I have ventured to do. However the recipe of doing this in the oven seemed very tempting. I did make the boris and I shall post pictures of what I did with them, the interesting thing here was that I oven roasted a whole bunch of tomatoes. I did not have much hopes of anything serious materializing from this exercise so I kept is simple and did not really take any pictures. I had a fussy husband reminding me of the carbon footfrint from my activities. I was going to make my usual fish in the oven fare,so I had a pound of wild salmon steaks that I through in the refrigerator marinating in a zip-lock bag with a paste of 1 small red onion, 2 green chillies, some fresh ginger, mint and garlic. I was heading to Queens to check out something, so I stuck in the boris and the sliced tomatoes drizzled (very lightly) with olive oil and grated ginger and some salt. I had them sitting along with the boris in the oven at 200 degrees and had this timed for 3 hours and went off for my event. Well, I was back about 4 hours later. I found some lightly browned bories and shrivelled tomatoes. I sliced and ate one half and I was in love. This is how the rest of the meal was created.

Masala Salmon with oven roasted tomatoes

Cook time: 4 hours (mostly unattented)

Ingredients

8 small tomatoes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon very finely grated fresh ginger

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1 lbs salmon steaks

1 small onion

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 cup mint leaves

2 green chillies

2 cloves garlic

Extra salt and pepper for the fish

2 tablespoons ghee

Cilantro, lime juice and black pepper to garnish

Method of preparation

1. Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a greased casserole, drizzle with the oil, ginger, salt and chili powder.

2. Place in a oven set to 200 degrees and cook for about 3 hours.

3. Mix the onion, ginger, mint, chillies and garlic into a paste and add in salt and pepper and marinate the salmon for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator with this mixture.

4. Remove the cooked tomatoes and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Place the salmon in a single layer in a greased casserole. Dot each piece with half the ghee.

5. In the meantime, coaresly slice the tomatoes.

6. Cook for about 10 minutes. Turn and dot with the remaining ghee and cook for another 5 minutes. Spead with the tomatoes and add as much black pepper as you wish.

7. Turn off the heat and place the casserole back into the oven and leave in for at least 10 minutes. This allows the juices to flow and meld.

8. Remove from the oven and add in some lime juice and cilantro. I did not have mashed potatoes, but this dish would be perfect with mashed potatoes.

I just don't understand!!!

I try to keep my political feelings away from the blog, but sometimes I have to comment. I must be oversimplifying things but what could be wrong with a leader wanting to talk to school children about working hard and pulling up their socks!

It sometimes can be challenging to inculcate a sense of responsibilty into children. The general premise seems to be to "wait till they are older". I have to confess I strongly feel that simple lessons inculcated in childhood can make all the difference.

Anyhow, to get ready for school today last evening I stuck to cooking something simple and practical but quite flavorful. I have realized that keeping something on the stove just a little bit longer can make a huge difference in terms of the flavoring of things. The fish pretty much cooked by itself into a nice flavorful gravy, that we ate with chapatis.

Codfish in a tomato and capsicum gravy

Prep/Cook Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

1 lbs codfish fillets, cut into medium sized pieces

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 lime

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons mustard or olive oil

1 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalo jire)

1 red onion, cut into a very fine dice

1 tablespoon, finely grated ginger

1 green bell pepper cut into thin slices

1-2 slit green chilles

1 cup fresh diced tomatoes ( 3 medium sized tomatoes)

1 teaspoon sugar

Extra salt if needed

1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Rub the fish with salt and turmeric and squeeze with the lime juice and set aside.

2. Heat the oil and add nigella seeds and wait for them to sizzle. Add the onion and ginger and cook on low heat for about 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. The onions should be fairly soft and well browned by now.

3. Add the green bell pepper and green chillies and cook for 1-2 more minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes and cook stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are fairly soft, (about 3-4 minutes).

5. Stir in the sugar and taste for salt. Gently add in the fish and extra salt if needed and simmer for 5 minutes until the fish is cooked through.

6. Stir in the cilantro and eat with rice or chappattis.

Small Plates and an Interesting Wine Store

We recently went for first grade breakfast at my daughter's school. They have an interesting
exercise that they do before school

starts to familiarize the kids with

their new class rooms, drop off supplies, meet their new teacher.

I remember doing this just a year back. For some reason I was so emotional this year. My daughter was so confident and seemed so much more grown up. I never saw myself as the kind of mother who would cry at any excuse but I did spend the rest of the week feeling really teary.

As always, there is certainly a sure fire way to console oneself. For me this consolation starts and ends with food. One of my many weaknesses is good Dim Sum. The destination was Aberdeen on Barker Ave in White Plains. We have been to this place several times, a couple of instances for dinner but most for Dim Sum.

The first interesting feature of this place is that it is located within a hotel, in my mind at least this is a somewhat unusual place for a Chinese restaurant.
But then again, what do I know about such things? It certainly looks quite spacious and "typical" once you enter. Something that I find rather interesting is that they have a display of artificial flowers in their waiting area.

The usual fish tank, this used to interest
the kids more a few months back, now they are somewhat less interested. The manager is very

pleasant and prompt. One of the good things about a meal with several options is that you are bound to find something that will appeal to little palates. My two do very well with the Shu mai. Actually, the older one has become quite the "foodie in the making". She seemed rather startled to hear that I could not effectively handle chopsticks until I was well into my teens. We had an assortment of dumplings, both the shrimp shu mai and the shrimp dumplings had the right touch. The carts moved around effectively without overwelmning us but offering us just the right amount of replenishment. We went on a weekday this time so the carts had the usual staples, but they promptly brought us the items like leek chive patties and stuffed peppers upon request.

They also have an assortment of bubble tea, which I sometimes find a lot of fun! We are looking at a few more exciting months. I cannot wait to get through another year to Aadi starting, "school school".

My daughter has just figured out the joys of opening and reading the fortune in a fortune cookie, she discovered this on father's day, actually. Well, now she can read this herself, the pithy meanings for some of those rare cookies that extend beyond - you like chinese food! actually might be food for thought!

Well all of this actually gave me a reason to feel saintly about drinking wine, ok I don't really need a reason, but just wanted to try out a store that I was hearing good things about. The Wine Geeks,

located in Armonk, Ny is a really nice little store to visit.
A remodeled store, this shop has a very warm and cosy feel. It actually

reminded me of a bookstore. The set-up was minimalistic. What I loved was their fairly wide selection of organic and bio-dynamic wines. They also had a large number of South American wines that tend to be my favorite. One of their value selections that actually intringued me was this selection yellow + blue actually packed in a tetra pack. This wine I think is going to be a household favorite.

Actually, this store with the nice table in the center, made me want to come with my favorite book and sample the wonderful selection in small doses.