Thanjavur style Sambar Powder

This recipe belongs to my grandmother, who has been giving us unlimited supply of the sambar powder every year. We did try to break down the formula, but could not get the right flavour for the sambar with the home made blend of the guessed spices. Finally, we had to ask grandma for the recipe, and here it is.

The measurement given here is for one kilogram of Sambar Powder.

Ingredients:

Turmeric long 100 gms
Red Chilli 1 kg
Coriander seeds 2 kg
Black Peppercorns 100 gms
Toor Dhal 250 gms
Chana Dhal 25 gms
Urad dhal 1 teaspoon
Fenugreek seeds 1 big heaped tablespoon
Mustard seeds 1 spoonful

Take the above ingredients separately and sun dry them for three days, preferable season would be the hot summers, April, May and June. The spices and dhals should be crispy and should have zero moisture after sun drying. If not able to sun dry, you can roast the spices and dhals on a low heat pan, keeping the consistency and colour in mind. The colour and consistency should not change at all. All that we need is the ingredients to be dry and crispy. It is preferred to sun dry them individually. Once dried, mix all of them in a large box and dry grind the spices and dhals tougher to a fine powder. It is better to use a fine grinder or a dry spice grinder to grind the spices and get a fine smooth powder.

One kilogram of this sambar powder can be stored for up to two years in a airtight container.

How to prepare authentic Brahmin style sambar ?? Keep watching this space for the next post.

Peace!!

Mixed Vegetable Curry - Iyer Style

Good evening peeps!

As usual, we started our dinner plans for today and all that we wanted was to avoid Idli and Dosa, which is almost our everyday breakfast and dinner. The ultimate destination is the Chapathi and Mixed Vegetable curry. A curry is normally prepared with the set of fixed ingredients, but, some of these ingredients are not suitable for some people's taste and liking, like my better half. This led to a small research and made me to come up with an Iyer version of the Mixed Vegetable Curry. 

We have avoided most fragrant spices and those that provide a hint of sweetness or overpowering taste. Normally, the spices for curry include Bay Leaves. Nutmeg, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Fennel seeds, Cardamom, cloves etc., but here we keep it simple, just to give the hint of heat, body and volume to the curry. 

Dry Spice mix:

Chana Dal

Coriander Seeds

Black peppercorns

Cumin seeds

Red Chilli

Ginger

Everyone has a preference of their spice grind technique. Normally the spice mix gets a dry roast and then a coarse grind in the pestle and mortar, which is then added to the sauteed Onions and tomatoes. There are others who prefer to grind the spices without roasting them and then cook it down to infuse the flavours to the curry. 

Here I roast the spices in a bit of oil until golden brown and keep them aside to cool. This brings out the flavours well and the spices go roasted and golden, which releases a smoky yet crunchy texture. 

Next step is to saute the Onions and Tomatoes, sweat them and then grind the spice mix with the Onions and Tomatoes to get a paste. 

Now lets get the vegetables ready. You can have any choice of fresh or frozen vegetables. My choice of vegetables include:

Carrots

French Beans

Green Capsicum

Flat Beans

Peeled Corn

Frozen Peas

Get all vegetables in a pressure cooker with some oil and fry them till the oil coats all vegetables. The vegetables need to get a mild cook in oil before the spice paste is added. Once the vegetables get a good cook on them, add the spice paste and some water to get a gravy consistency. Do not forget to add Salt at all times. Boil this for a minute and then close the pressure cooker and cook on high up to five whistles. This will cook the vegetables and get the thick gravy consistency. 

Remember we have added Chana dal in the spice mix, which will add to the thickness of the gravy and hence does not need any corn flour or thickening agent. The no. of whistles also varies on the pressure cooker and the flame. Normally, five to six whistles are preferred to get a very good cook on the vegetables and a mixed consistency of the gravy. 

Mixed Vegetable curry tastes good with Chapathi, Roti or any Indian bread. Those who prefer to have a filling meal can pair this with Rice as well. 

A disclaimer here is that this is the Iyer style which I have cooked a couple of times. The taste is to suite those who would like to have a curry without the over powering smell of Garam Masala and other fragrant spices. You may add the other spices as well and try the vegetable curry. Experimentation is the key for a good taste. 

Do try this and let me know how it comes up. Leave a comment if you liked this. 

Peace !!!!

A Sunday in Chennai ...

I have been to Chennai loads of times but never wanted or felt the need to write about it because it was there in my travel list atleast five to six time in a year. But why do I need to write about it now? It's because I do not make much chances to go there. Now that I have started writing and planned to make this blog a regular one, let me give you my experience of a Sunday in Chennai.

An early morning, woke up by 630 AM to the sound of Suprabadham in my granny's house, well, she is an early bird even at 80 and prepares food quite quickly. It's her cooking sound and the aroma of a good sambar that woke me up early and got me tempted to start the day eating without brushing my teeth. And as usual, granny denies food or coffee without a bath. What else to do, get freshed up, bath and be ready for the day, imagine, all of this done before 7 AM. I had a preference to go to the Vadapalani Murugan temple in the morning, so told grandma that I will have a little breakfast before going there and then come back for more hogging.

So I got off the house and took an auto to the Vadapalani Murugan temple and there you go, it started raining. Raining both people and raining from the clouds... It is not a festival day or any auspicious Murugan day for that reason, was really not sure why this huge crowd. In order to beat the crowd, I had a master plan to step into the Saravana Bhavan hotel nearby and have a quick bite, a small one, a mini tiffin of course. Now please don't come to me saying that I did have something to eat and then I am here again for food, common, it's Chennai, and there are no Saravana Bhavan s in Bangalore. So I ought to exploit this time in hand and go for the big tummy fill and tongue pleasure. I went ahead and ordered the mini tiffin and happily asked for extra sambar to down the Pongal and Masala Dosa. 

Stomach happy, rains down, yet people rain has not reduced. What was really happening there? "Inikki Muhurtha naal saar" said a local there, translates to "today is an auspicious day for weddings". And there you go, the crowd is all for the 10 weddings happening separately together in the same temple. Weird right?? Looks like the couples decided to have their wed lock done in a really crowded environment, but nothing better than exchanging marriage woes and trying the nuptial knot in front of Lord Murugan. It seemed like an endless line for the darshan, but got there real quick. I had my prayers said, got out and picked up my footwear from the free footwear stand and raced back home, as it was already 10 AM. Time flies you see, it's Chennai, your day is supposed to be like this.

What did I do next, had a quick bite again at granny's, made sure that I would not go hungry the rest of the day and started off to Pondy Bazaar, the shopaholics one ultimate destination. My uncle and me went to Pothys to buy some clothes, and as usual, the crowd never comes down there. It's raining people all around Panagal Park and Pondy bazaar area. My question is just this, where do all you people stay ?? It's a never ending crowd there. I headed to the ladies section, got some dresses for my wife, went to the kids section, got some for my son as well, paid the bill off and got out of the shop. Whadda time there man !! It was like I got pushed into and pushed out all my someone else and I made no effort there. Huge crowd and remember, it's not festive season yet. Christmas is on the way, another 20 days more to go.

You would not believe that all this shopping got me more hungry, and what best to do in Chennai rather have a good dosa and coffee. We went to Balaji Bhavan in Pondy Bazaar and had two dosas to my hearts content. Topped all this with a filter coffee and set out for my next destination, Chennai central. Why ?? Because it's time for my train and I need to get back to work. Over all, it's been an amazingly good time in Chennai and all that I would like to do is come back for more.

Chennai ... The land of Opportunities

Ahh !! It's been a year since we had seen Chennai bleed water from all its directions and has made such a tremendous progress in all aspects, be it social, ecological, economical, political, health and cleanliness .. U name it .. Chennai has succeeded there.

I can date my memory back to 2015 the same day where I had to meet my grandmother here and travel back to bangalore, but most of them asked me to postpone the travel, as I was travelling with my five month old kid. Had I stayed back, I would have stayed back for more than two weeks there, as the rains were really heavy and had a flooded the city to its maximum capacity. 

This time, the date and time were just the same as last year and hence all of my family and friends were enthusiastic and asked me to cancel my much awaited business trip to Chennai But cyclone Nadal had other plans. She had planned not to damage the city this time but to keep all inmates alert at all times and prevent any catastrophe. 

Why is then Chennai called the land of opportunities?? It's because for now, my business trip is as successful as ever and I am with all hopes that the new  business will be to its best.

Long live and a safe life to the land of opportunities.

Regards

Mahesh

Corn and Tomato pasta - Tirunelveli Style

Good Evening peeps !!

Today had prepared my wife's favourite Corn and tomato pasta, indianised to suit the spice and heat, maybe I can call this a true Tirunelveli style pasta .. ROFL!!

My version of this vegan pasta does not include Parmigiano Riggiano, Thyme, Rosemary,  Extra Virgin Olive oil, etc .. This is a pure Red chilli based pasta.

I can share the recipe, but I believe this is just my version and there are hopefully many Indian versions with Indianised spices that every household prepare their pasta with.

Every pasta starts with a good pot of boiling water and lots of salt added there.

Although Italians prefer their pasta cooked to Al Dente, which translates to the pasta having a bite or crunch to it, giving importance to the texture, we normally go for a well cooked pasta and it should turn mushy when crushed with the finger. The final boiled pasta should be smooth and non sticky. To achieve this, the water should be salted enough and boiling. While draining the pasta, be sure to wash with cold water which prevents the pasta from sticking to each other.

Here I have used a mix of Penne, Fusilli and Conchiglie:

The next step is to get our vegetables prepared. Diced Onions, diced tomatoes, sliced Green peppers and boiled Corn. Add these vegetables as per the number of servings. I have 4 serving portions here and have used the ingredients:

6 Tomatoes (large)

6 medium sized Onions

One large Green pepper

2 Cobs of Corn, peeled and boiled

Saute Onions in Sunflower oil (you can use Olive Oil as well to have the hybrid Indian and Italian flavour). I would recommend Indian spice powders to be added while the Onions are sauteed to maintain authentic Indian heat and kick to the palette. I have used Red Chilli powder, All Spice mix and Turmeric powder. 

One technique that I have learnt from many TV chefs and pasta experts is that the pasta water that is boiling should not be wasted and a decent portion can be used to Bhuna(Indian technique used to fry the spices in Oil and a little bit of water to form a thick paste) the Onion and spices, which release more flavours. Add the Tomato, Green Peppers and boiled Corn, some more pasta water and simmer for 15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft and a mixed consistency is obtained.

Its now time for the Pasta to get married to the spiced Vegetables. They both exchange taste wows and finally, they are pronounced Husband and Wife. The marriage is a match made in heaven and makes all hungry people happy and drooling and are left craving for more of this heavenly mixture. 

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Calories: Who cares, just eat ... 

Suggestions: Pair this pasta with a nice glass of Chaas (Butter Milk with green chilli, jeera, chat masala, black salt) 

Try this and let me know how your version turned up. Do share your recipe as well so that I can try some more. 

Peace!!!

The Flush.. smiley

Its so fascinating when the coffee vending machine at office and the nature's call both request the same thing ... the Flush ... 

Nature call needs a flush and the coffee machine needs a flush as well .. what a good time to laugh out loud ... 

See the picture below and have a hearty laugh ... 

Visit to Subramanya Temple, Ulsoor

We had a devotional Sunday planned today morning and had visited the Subramanya Temple at Ulsoor. This is one of the Murugan temples in Bangalore that is in the tamil style of worship and has a divine feel of a Murugan Temple as one worships in any Mururgan temple in Tamil Nadu.

The temple is located a few meters from Ulsoor Metro station and is on the main road alongside Ulsoor Police station. The feel inside the temple is divine and is dated to be a eight hundred (800) years old. The main deity is Lord Muruga and also has a dedicated sanctity to Naga Devathai(Snake God). This is one of those temples in Bangalore where I have seen the Snake gods taking individuality. The scenario of temples dedicated to Snake Gods is a common sight around temples in Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada districts of Karnataka, but a first one here in Bangalore.

The temple entrance and timings:

The temple inside view:

The rear entrance, or I believe this looks like the exact main entrance to Murugan sannithi. 

Temple Location: 

Kalyanotsavam at Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwaraswamy Temple, GPR Royale Layout

Good Evening!!

Kalyanotsavam was conducted today at Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwaraswamy temple, GPR Royale Layout, Bangalore. Some photos attached:

Ananth Nagar - A cool Saturday morning

Hi there !!

Nothing new about the morning hours that we enjoy especially during the weekend. No office rush, no morning traffic honking, no need to get off the bed early and feel the morning biting chill, no need to wake up with the frown of having your manager send out text messages asking your status update that needs to go out before your office swipe in .. and so on ..

Whats awesome about the Saturday morning is the smell of fresh coffee brewed at home and enjoy a sip with a bite of your favourite cookie, the morning paper in hand with the latest hot news sizzling and the smell of fresh puris fried in oil along with some potato bhaji gets anyone going on their feet on a cold Saturday morning.

As for me, the day started as usual, with all details embossed in my second paragraph above along with a heavy hitting from my 18 month old son, Aniv, who forced me out of bed and pushed me to clean myself and got me active in seconds. His daily task, wake me up and pester me to take him to the nearest grocery store and have a look at the fresh veggies that get delivered early morning.

As usual, we had a walk to the local grocers and on the way, we passed through the building whose construction is in progress and this building hosts a new hallmark store for Ananth Nagar, the Star Bazaar. According to the sources here, the building is at full face and working to get the electrical connections completed for every house so that they can get their electricity up and running and the store can be fully operational.

Coming to our walk, we had a walk to the grocer and found fresh veggies delivered. My son especially was attracted to the bright red tomatoes and jumped with joy when he saw them by the bunch. We picked around 20 of the fresh tomatoes, got along other staples like milk and bread and got hopping back home, happy with the fresh start we are about to experience for the day!