Kabir Das Doha

Bada hua to kya hua, jaisay ped khajoor,
Panthi ko chhaya nahin, phal laagen ati door

There is no point growing big, like a date tree,
Which gives no shade to travellers, and fruit is hard to reach.

In this doha Kabir Das has explained that we should not be like the date tree. This tree is huge and majestic to look at, but does not give any shade to people and its fruits are too far away to reach and pluck.

Our life has no meaning if we just try to earn more money or power, and don't use it for helping others. Whatever our skills are, we should use them to help others in need. People will remember you not by the amount of money, or the size of your house, but by how helpful you were to them in their time of need.

Re: recipes from other blogs mushroom chettinad and Pavakka curry and a big thanks to Indira and Mathy

Hi everyone,

Yesterday I made Mushroom Chettinad from Nupur's blog One Hot stove and Pavakka curry (karela in yogurt ) from Shaheen's blog malluspice and it turned out wonderful. The curry with rice tasted lip smacking good. I don't have my home computer installed till now, so could not take and post photos. But do try these.

And I would like to take this opportunity to thank Indira for her search engine and Indira and Mathy for Foodblogdesam. These have provided us with ready tools to search and blog recipes. You have made it really easy.

Thanks a ton.

Kabir Das Dohas and their explanation

Saint Kabir Das born in Year 1398 A.D.(71 years before Guru Nanak). Kabirpanthis (followers of Kabir) say that he lived upto the age of 120 years and give date of his death as 1518, but relying on the research of Hazari Prased Dwivedi, a British Scholar has said that 1448 is probably the correct date of Saint Kabir's demise.

I have been moved by his Dohas since childhood. Doha means 2 lines and all his teachings about life and this world come in the form of Dohas. I loved reading the Dohas and explanation on the website Boloji.com. I will try to present one Doha at a time with its explanation and would love to hear from you all what your thoughts are.

DUKH MEIN SIMRAN SAB KAREN, SUKH MEIN KARE NA KOI,
JO SUKH MEIN SIMRAN KAREN, TOH DUKH KAHE KO HOI.


Kabirji has in this Doha tried to explain to us that everyone remembers God when ever there is a problem, but not during our good times. But if we were to remember him even in our good times, then we would not have bad times at all.

Whenever we have some problem in our life, we immediately turn to God for a solution and an end to our misery. But very rarely do we remember to Thank Him when good things happen to us. Many of us pray everyday but sometimes it just becomes like a part of our routine. I think what he means to tell us that if we remember God all the time, we will have fewer problems, we will have more strength to deal with our problems, and they would not appear to be as big as they seem.

Pancake Fest

We have never been too fond of IHOP, and find it too sweet for our taste. Recently, Samir, Rudra and I hade been to Costco. There we had a sampling of theirr waffles. And Rudra, who was 20 months old at that time, loved it. This started a weekend ritual at our house. Samir and Rudra go swimming on the weekend and I make brunch. Pancakes with maple syrup, chicken sausage and eggs.

I get Aunt Jemima pancake mix. We use real maple syrup, which is a little expensive, but lasts a long time and is really yummy.




Ingredients
For pancakes
1 cup aunt Jemima pancake mix
1 egg
1 tblsp oil
3/4 cup milk

Mix the above and keep aside for 10 mins. Make the pancakes.

Chicken sausage
We get the sausage from costco or wegmans. We generally use the sundried tomato and herb chicken sausage.
Heat 1/2 cup water in a non stick pan. Prick the sausage with a fork and add to the water.. Cook on medium heat till all water dries up and the sausage becomes brown from the outside. Sausages come fully cooked but you just have to heat them completely.

We also have sunny side up eggs and freshly sqeezed juice with this.

The only problem is that after this meal, its realy difficult to do anything other than sleep.

Lobia masala

I have loved lobia (black eyed peas) since childhood. My nani loved them too. So whenever we went to stay with our nanaji naniji, lobia would make a regular appearance. It doesn’t take much time to cook and is really tasty with rotis and raita.

Ingredients
1 cup lobia
2 medium onions finely chopped
1 large tomato finely chopped
12 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp red chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
1 tblsp oil
Salt to taste
Chopped coriander for garnish


Method
Wash and soak the lobia in water for an hour.
Heat oil in a pressure cooker.
Add cumin seeds and when they change color, add onions. Fry till onions become brown. Then add ginger garlic paste and fry for a min.
Add turmeric, chili and coriander powders and fry for 30 sec.
Add tomato and fry till the masala gets cooked and oil separates from the masala.
Then add the lobia, mix well with the masala, add 1 ½ cup water and salt.
Close the cooker, and after first whistle, reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 10 mins.
Open the cooker after the pressure drops, add garam masala and cook for 4-5 mins.
Garnish with green coriander.

Linguini with marinara sauce

Linguini with marinara sauce

Preparation time 5 mins
Cooking time 15 mins

Pasta has become one of our favorite Wednesday meals. Why Wednesday?
After the weekends go by, spent in lazing round, eating lots of yummy food and having fun, the week just drags. By Wednesday, I am in a mid week crisis. I get bored of the roti, sabji, dal, chawal routine (both cooking and eating it) and crave some thing fun. And Samir just loves the fact that he can have wine during the mid week. So pasta it is. And the best part is – its ready in 15 mins. I have seen this recipe on Food TV, though I do not remember the show.

Ingredients (for 2)

½ pound dry linguini
½ jar (app. 1 ½ cups) of tomato basil marinara sauce (I use trader Joes organic sauce)
½ small onion chopped
2-3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp chili flakes
1 Tblsp maggi hot and sweet chili sauce – it’s different (optional)
1 Tblsp good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil – EVOO
2 Tblsp grated parmesan cheese
2 Tblsp salt
Chopped parsley for garnnish




Method
Heat lots of water in a big pan and add 2 tblsp salt. When the water comes to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 9-10 mins, according to the directions on the package.

In the mean time, heat olive oil in another pan. Add chopped onions, garlic and chili flakes and cook on low heat for 4-5 mins. Do not let the onions or garlic brown.
Then add the marinara sauce and maggi sauce and cook 5 mins.
Drain the pasta, reserving ¼ cup liquid. Add the drained pasta and liquid to the sauce. Add the parmesan cheese. Mix well and serve, garnished with parsley.

It’s really easy to make the sauce at home, but it’s just more convenient to use a readymade one.
I use the magi sauce to give the sauce a kick and a bit if sweetness. I love magi.
Our regional libraries have a lot of cookbooks. Do check them out if you have the time.
I get many of my pasta recipes from these books.

kolhapuri chicken

My mom-in-law is the best cook in the whole world. My husband is from Goa, and Aayi makes the most amazing fish and chicken I have ever tasted. I feel I still have a long way to go before I can cook like her. Here is a recipe that turns out really great. It’s different from Aayi’s chicken saguti recipe, but tasty nonetheless.





Ingredients
1 full chicken cut up, around 2 ½ pounds (we get ours from halal store, so it tastes like the one back home)
8 cloves garlic - grated
1 inch piece ginger - grated
2 big onions – sliced, keeping aside 1 table spoon chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
½ cup dry grated coconut
2 inch piece cinnamon
2 green cardamoms
5 cloves
1 black cardamom
10 black peppers
2 tablespoon kolhapuri masala
1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder
1 tbl sp Green coriander
½ tsp tamarind paste
Salt to taste
2-3 tbl sp oil





Wash the chicken well. Marinate with salt, kolhapuri masala, ginger, garlic and kashmiri chili powder... Keep aside at least for 1 hour.

Heat 1 tbls sp oil. Add sliced onions and fry till brown. Add the cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and dry coconut. Fry on slow flame till coconut turns brown. Then cool and grind to a fine paste, using a little water.

Heat oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and fry. Add the marinated chicken and fry for 10 mins.
Then add the chopped tomatoes and fry for 10 more mins.
Add the ground masala, a little salt and mix well. Add 1 cup water and cover and cook for about 30 mins, till the chicken is done. You can add more water if required. Garnish with green coriander.

Traditionally, all the masalas are roasted separately, and then coconut and onions are also fried separately. But that takes too much time and so I just fry everything together.
If you do not have kolhapuri masala, then you can use 1 tbls sp coriander powder, ½ tsp turmeric powder, 2 tsp chili powder and a little garam masala powder. And while frying the onions and coconut, add 1 tsp sesame seeds and 1 tsp poppy seeds. It will taste a bit different but still be good.

bharwaan karele

Stuffed karela is a dish that even karela haters will like. Dal, chawal and stuffed karela are a whole meal by itself. It does take some time for the preparation because you have to make the stuffing and then fill the karelas and fry them. But they keep well in the fridge for upto a week and so I tend to make about 8-10 at one time and we have them everyday till they are gone. My husband is a goan but he loves these karelas as much as fish. So that's saying some thing about them. Just try them once and you will be hooked.




Ingredients

6 small sized tender karelas
1 jumbo onion
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kalonji or onion seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/s tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp amchoor powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1-2 tsp Punjabi pickle masala
1 tbl sp green coriander or cilantro
1-2 tbl sp oil
Salt to taste





Peel the karelas and slit them and remove all the seeds.
Apply salt liberally both inside and outside. Keep aside for at least 1 hour.
In the meantime, prepare the stuffing.
Heat oil, add jeera and onion seeds.
Add finely chopped onion and fry till brownish in color.
Add turmeric powder, chili powder, amchoor, coriander powder, pickle masala, fennel seeds, salt and cilantro.
Fry for 1-2 mins and the stuffing is ready.
Wash the karela very well and dry them.
Stuff the above mixture in each one, filling them completely and then tie each karela with a thread so that the stuffing won’t ooze out when you fry them.
Heat oil, put the karelas in a single layer and fry on low heat uncovered, turning them every 10-15 mins, so that they brown up on all sides.
Remove the threads a serve.

My mom makes the mango pickle at home and it has fennel seeds, mustard oil, methi seeds and other spices. We take a tsp of this masala and add to the stuffing. Here in the USA I generally use either Pachranga mix pickle or Sanjeev Kapoor’s Punjabi pickle and use that masala. You can use any mango pickle or mix pickle for this. Just use the masala and do not use any pieces of mango etc in the stuffing.

Gobhi Aloo

My mom makes very delicious aloo gobhi. She deep fries the aloo and gobhi, and then prepares the masala. Our generation shies away from deep fried stuff. So I just shallow fry the aloo and gobhi. The rest of the recipe is similar to my mom’s. Enjoy.

















Ingredients
½ cauliflower cut into small florets
1 potato cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium sized onion chopped finely
1 medium sized tomato chopped finely
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
1 ½ tsp coriander powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp garam masala
1 tbls sp yogurt
1 tsp kasoori methi
¼ tsp garam masala
1-2 tbl sp oil
Salt to taste
Green coriander to garnish

Cut the cauliflower into florets and soak in salted warm water for 10 mins.
Heat 1 tbl sp oil. Add the cauliflower florets and shallow fry them till they are golden brown in color.
Shallow fry the potatoes till golden brown. Remove them on tissue paper to drain off excess oil.
Heat 1 tbl sp oil and add cumin seeds.
When they become brown, add onions and fry till brown.
Add ginger garlic paste and fry for 1 min.
Add turmeric, chili and corriender powders and fry for 30 secs.
Add tomatoes and fry till oil seperates.
Then add yogurt and mix well.
Add potatoes and salt and 1 tbl sp of water and cover and cook till potatoes are ½ way cooked.
Add the cauliflower and salt, mix well, add some more water and cover and cook till done.
Sprinkle with garam masala and green coriander.


Soaking the gobhi in warm water helps clean the florets.
Adding yogurt to the masala gives a very good color and terxture to the dish and makes it creamy.

Punjabi Rajma

Growing up, Rajma chawal or kadhi chawal were a staple meal for us on Saturday afternoons. Sundays were reserved for Mutton/ chicken. Nowadays, with so many varieties to choose from, Rajma or kadhi make a very rare appearance. But when they do, they are very welcome.





Ingredients:

1 cup Rajma
1 very large onion
3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 inch piece cinnamon
4 cloves
1 back cardamom
10 black pepper
4 tablespoon tomato puree or 2 large tomatoes
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
2 tbls spoon fresh coriander
Oil
Salt to taste

Soak the rajma overnight
Grind onion, garlic and ginger to a fine paste
If using tomatoes, grind them separately.
Heat oil in a non stick pan; add cumin seeds, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and black pepper. Cook till they change color.
Add onion paste and fry for about 15 mins till the paste turns brownish in color and oil separates.
Add tomato puree and fry for 10 mins till the oil separates and masala looks cooked.
Then add turmeric, chili and coriander powder and fry for 1 min
Add rajma and salt and fry 2-3 mins.
Add 2 cups water, put the full thing in a pressure cooker, close the cooker and put it on high heat. After the first whistle, lower the heat and cook for 20 mins.
After the pressure subsides, open the cooker, return to the heat, and add garam masala and green dhania and cook 5 mins. It you want a thicker gravy, cook some more time. For thinner gravy add a little more water.

I use non stick pan so that the masala does not stick while frying. You can directly fry the masala in a cooker. In that case add a little water while frying if the masala starts sticking. Serve the rajma with basmati rice and sliced onions.

Introduction

Hi Everyone,

My name is Vimmi. I am new to the blogging world. Well I have been visiting blogs for a long time and have decided to create my own, primarily dedicated to Indian recipes. I first came across Anthony's blog when I was searching for some recipe. From there I got a link to Indira's blog and a new world opened up for me.

I love reading all your blogs and some of them just crack me up. I am not so witty but do have some good recipes which I would like to share with you all.

I presently live in Virginia with my best friend, my lover and the father of my child (who also happens to be my hubby) Samir and my 22 month toddler Rudra.

Blogging has opened up a world of possiblities for me - to read and try new recipes, to share my recipes with everyone and to make new friends.

The possibilities are endless in creating extraordinary food from ordinary ingrediants.