A Simple Masoor Dal Recipe

(Google   image)

On  Facebook   I  mentioned   that  I   made  Masoor   or  Red  Lentil  Dal (Soup) and  many  of  my  friends  wanted  the   recipe. I  shared  a  recipe  from   the  web  there  but  I  want  to  share  my  own  simple  home made recipe.So  here  it  is  for  anyone  who  wants  to  try  this  delicious  mildly  spicy  red  lentil  soup.

Ingredients
1 cup cleaned  and   washed  Red  Lentil  or  Masoor  dal
2 or  3  table  spoons  of  chopped  onions
2 tablespoons  of  vegetable oil  or  butter
1 teaspoon   peeled  and  finely  chopped  garlic
1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
1  or  2  dried  red  chili (optional)
salt to taste
fresh  cilantro leaves  for  garnish

Method

In a pan heat  the  vegetable  oil add the  red  chili (if you  are  using  it)  , chopped  onions  and  garlic.
Stir fry  for  2minutes  till  they  change  colour .
Add  the  red  lentil /masoor  dal and  mix  it  well  with  the  fried  onion  and  garlic.
Add  3 cups of  water .
Add  turmeric  powder  and  salt  to  taste.
Cook  dal on  medium  heat  for  15  or  20  minutes  until  soft  and  well   blended  with   the  water.
I  cook  my  dal  in  a  pressure  cooker  for  5  or  6  whistles.
Garnish  it  with  fresh  cilantro leaves.
Its  ready  to  serve. You  can  eat  it  with  plain white  rice   or  chapatis or nan. Rice  and  dal is  the  popular  lunch meal  in  India. It  can  be  eaten   with vegetables,  poppadoms  and  salads.

Baked Spinach with Corn

(Google  image)

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 cup Spinach (cooked, cooled and blended)
1-1/2 cup  boiled  corn
1 cup Cheese (grated)
3 tbsp Butter
3 tbsp Maida (White flour)
3 cups Milk
1 tsp cracked Black Pepper ( to taste)
Salt to taste


METHOD

Melt the butter. Add the white flour and stir constantly. Cook till the raw smell of the flour goes away. Be careful to see that the flour does not turn brown.

When the flour is done, add it to the milk and whisk it so as to do away with the lumps.
Add pepper powder. Stir the white sauce until it becomes thick.

Put spinach, boiled corn and cheese to the white sauce. Mix it well. Season it with salt. Simmer for 5-7 mins.

Place in an oven-proof dish. Top with some more grated cheese.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees until the cheese melts and is slightly brown in colour.

Tastes yummy. Enjoy it with toasted garlic bread!!
I  had  this  at  a  restaurant   and  it  was  delicious, I am  going  to  make  this   at home. You  can  add  boiled  grated  potatoes  to  it   if  you  like.

It  very  hot  and  humid  these  days 110*F / 40 plus  C.

Yesterday  I  spent  time  at  a  friend 's  house   who  has  air conditioning, it  was  so  good. As  an  added   blessing  they  sent  their  car  both  ways. On  the   way  back  I  went   with  my  friend (  a  pastor 's  wife) to  pray  with  a  family whose  Dad  is   critically  ill  in  a hospital.We  are  praying  for  his  healing, he  does not   know the  Lord.

I  had  some  anxious  moments  in  the  begining  of  the  week,  but   the Lord   took  care  of it.

We  learn patience  and persevererance   through  trials and  wisdom  and   self  control too  ,  such  riches.

One  night  I  pulled  out  an  old   chorus  book  from  the  80s  and  sang  lots  of  scripture  based  songs from  there. It was  so  comforting.

God  gave  me  songs  in  the  night and  lightness  to  my  soul.

P.S.

Just  2  hours hours  after I  posted  this blog I  received  news from  a  Pastor  that  the  man  named  Anand , for   whom  we  were  praying  has  accepted  Jesus  as  His   Saviour  on  his  hospital. What  great  rejoicing   both  in  heaven  and on  earth!

Street Food in a North Indian City

I  saw  this  video featuring  street  food  in  the  old  and  very  congested  part  of my  city (Allahabad) I  come  here   sometimes  to  buy  spices  and  groceries.  These  two  guys  from  the  TV  show,  Highway On  My Platter are  travelling  all over  India  exploring  all  kinds of   eating  places  from  roadside  dhabas  (kiosks) to  moderately  priced   restaurants. They  have  published  a  very  delectable   book by  the  same  name which I  wish  to  buy.
 This   is  the  famous  Loke-Nath  street.

Today' s newspaper  tells  me  that   eating  hot  spicy  curries can  help  one  lose weight.  Scientists   say  that  cayenne  pepper,  the   key  ingredient  in  hot  curries  raises    body  temperature which helps  burn  calories (Daily  Express). They   also  found  that  appetite  levels  decreased in  subsequent  meals.
Well  , I  like  a   hot  green  chili  or  two  with  my food.
Hope   that  helps me  shed  a  few pounds.
But  too   much  spicy  and hot   food  can  give  you   stomach  ulcers ,  moderation  should  be  exercised.
+++++++++++++++

We' ve  had  rain showers  now  and  then with stretches of  hot  and  humid  days.
Our   garden  and   church campus   is  sprouting wild  grass  and  shrubs.  Its  a  struggle  to  keep  it   clean and  under  control.

Sin  and  short comings  sprout  up  in  our  hearts  and  we  have to  spot  them  and  root  them out  before  they  take  root.

We  have   a promise  in the  BIBLE

For  sin  shall   not have dominion over  you;  for you  are  not  under  the  law  but  under  grace.

Romans 6:14

Upma recipe wins $100,000

Upma worth $100,000


Hindustan Times

New Delhi, June 17, 2011First Published: 17:06 IST(17/6/2011)


Upma is to south India what bread and butter is to the rest of the world, and yet it took New York chef Floyd Cardoz a handful of mushrooms, some coconut milk and chicken stock to make it win the popular US TV show, Top Chef Masters (season 3). The Mumbai-born chef, who bagged the $100,000 title on Wednesday, made the dish under the category of his first food memory. “I remember having upma at home with my family with with tea but I have to make a little bit of changes to it,” said Cardoz on the show.

Traditionally a semolina-ginger-onion breakfast staple, it is now trending on Twitter and has made the country sit up and take notice of how a simple dish, not even on the menu of most gourmet restaurants in India, could prove a jackpot winner.

Cardoz named his prize-winning version ‘Wild Mushroom Upma Polenta with Kokum & Coconut Milk’.


Floyd Cardoz’s winning upma recipe

Four servings

Ingredients

2 cups cream of wheat
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin
4 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shallots
1 tablespoon ginger
1 tablespoon chillies
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups coconut milk
Salt and pepper, to taste
Cilantro, as garnish
Pea shoots, as garnish

Mushrooms
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup oyster mushrooms
1/2 cup Maitake
1/2 cup king oyster mushrooms
2 shallots
1 chilli pepper
1 knob ginger
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup white port
1 tablespoons cilantro, chopped


Directions

1. Heat oil and cream of wheat and toast for 10 minutes on low heat. Remove from pan

2. Heat oil mixture then add mustard seeds and whisk until seeds pop. Add cumin and reserve

3. Heat pan. Add spice oil and butter. Add shallots, ginger, chillies, and cook for 2-4 minutes. Add cream of wheat and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add stock and coconut milk. Mix and cook. Simmer

4. Should be smooth.

Directions for mushrooms

1. Heat oil in sauté pan. Add mushrooms and cook with lightly coloured sear

2. Add butter, shallots, ginger and chilli

3. Deglaze with white port

4. Season with salt and pepper and cilantro.

What city chefs say

For us, upma scores high on nothing. It’s like a blob on a plate. Adding mushrooms and tomatoes to the original three-step recipe seems like an inspiration from its Italian variant, polenta

Chef Sabyasachi Gorai, Olive Bar & Kitchen


I think what made the dish click was the fusion spin. An upma made the traditional way may not have made such noise. He made the humble wheat dish look like gourmet

Chef Tarun Kapoor, The Metropolitan

While we go on aping the West, we tend to overlook our own dishes. It’s heartening that Floyd Cardoz chose to make something Indian. It must make all Indian chefs proud

Chef Debraj Halder, Suryaa

Treats and Preserves

Mr  Joseph from Man On The  Move
gave  me  this  gift.
Thank  you  Josephji.
I  enjoy  reading  your  colorful  and inspirational  blog.
Your  photography  and  prose  is  excellent.
Your  varied  topics and  vistas  of  life in South  India  is very  interesting and engaging.

Made  these  in the  past  few  days

Muffins

Mulberry cordial with  fruit   from  the  garden.

Really  refreshing  in  the  heat.

We got  lots  of  green mangoes from our  tree.

I  made sweet  mango  chutney

and pickle.

This  is  my  peanut  butter.

Tomato puree

with  our own tomatoes.

Watch  this  hilarious video..

This  could  be  Sheeba.

And  wants  special food  all the  time.

Easter Events in Pictures

On  Maundy  Thursday  the  V  family visited  us.

There  were  on  a short  holiday  in Allahabad.

T ,a younger  brother  in Christ studied, grew in

the Lord  and  worked  here for many years.

He  studied abroad, came   back and  married 

a lovely girl from  Germany.

T and  A  are  like family.

They  have  3  boys and

live in a  hill  town in  the  Himalayas.

They brought  us  Darjeeling Green  Tea

from there.

T & A left  Allahabad  about  10  years  ago.

Our  home  was  like a

refuelling and  relaxing  place  for  them.

Their  boys  are  doing   the  same.

They  enjoyed  playing with  Sheeba.

You should  have  seen them  eating sour

green mangoes  with  salt.

Their   mum  loved  our  grapefruit  and  lemons.

In  the  Thursday Communion Service

we  had a  special visitor.

An old  lady in  her  80s.

She  was  born in a Christian home,

but  married  a non Christian

and  adopted  his  religion.

Her  son  and  daughter in law

attend  our  church and were

recently baptized.

That  must  have  stirred this  old  lady 's 

spirit and she  came  to  church

after  decades.

Do pray for  her,

May she  make a  confession  of  faith.

We  call her  Ammaji

(mother ).

On Good Friday I spoke

on  the first  and fifth last

statements of Christ from

the  cross.

Preparing  the  messages

was a great  blessing  to  me.

 On Easter I wore  my  Grandma 's sari.
It  must  be  40 -50  years old.
After  church we  had  fellowship  with Easter buns
and cold drinks.

 My cousin and  her  kids  visited  on Easter  evening.

We are  praying  for  the  salvation

of  this  family.

We served  them  dessert of  cheesecake

and  ice cream.

Tonight I  made Korean pancakes.

I replaced  the  traditional Korean

ingredients with green onion,

fresh coriander and chicken.

Korean Pancakes  called Pajeon

Check recipe HERE

Aubergine Courgettes wuth Sudanese Tahini and Yogurt Dip

Last night   I made  aubergine  courgettes  with Sudanese   Tahini  and Yogurt  Dip.

All  of  it  made  from the  scratch

including  the  yogurt  and  tahini paste.

Tahini  paste  is  very  easy  to  make.

Last  month  Milka,  our  Pastor 's

daughter  celebrated  her  12th  birthday.

She came  to  see  Mama

dressed  in  her  birthday  finery.

They  brought  us dunner

of  chicken  and  vegetable  curries

puris (fried bread)

pea  pilaf

and rice  pudding.

Milka  is  studying  in Grade  7.

I help her  with  her English

related  subjects whenever

she  asks  for assistance.

Tomorrow  we  are  having  a half  day

Believers  Retreat  in  our  church

10 am  to 1 pm.

Closing  with  lunch.

40  to  50  people   are  expected.

We  are  looking   forward  to that.

All these  are  good  and  perfect

gifts  from God

Moonshine, Holi and Chaat

NEW DELHI: An exceptional celestial treat is in store for sky gazers as 'supermoon', the biggest and brightest full moon of the year which will be closest to Earth in 18 years, will be seen in the night sky on Saturday.

"The 'supermoon' will be closest to the Earth in 18 years today and will appear to be the biggest and brightest of 2011, Director of Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (SPACE) C B Devgun told PTI.

Saturday's full moon will be around 10 per cent bigger and 30 per cent brighter as compared to other full moons during the year, he said.
The term 'Supermoon' was first coined by Astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979. According to him, it is a situation when the moon is slightly closer to the Earth in its orbit than average, which is 90 per cent or more of its closest orbit, and the moon is a full or new moon.

Today, the moon will be only 3,56,577 kms away from the Earth, the closest while at the full moon phase in 18 years.

Earlier, there were supermoons in 1955, 1974, 1992 and 2005.

Regular situations of full moons coinciding with the moon's closest point to Earth in fact happen after about every one year, one month and 18 days when it is about 3,63,104 km away from the Earth, Devgun said.

"This is because the moon's orbit is an ellipse with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. In the language of astronomy, the two extremes are called 'apogee' (far away) and 'perigee' (nearby)," Devgun said.

At the closest, our natural satellite moon lies roughly 3,56,630 kms from the Earth compared to its average distance of 3,84,800 km from the planet.

"The moon will not only shine brighter but will also appear bigger as compared to other full moons during the year," he said.
The full moon will be at its best at around 3:30am, R C Kapoor, a retired professor of Indian Institute of Astrophysics said.
(story  from The  Times  of  India)

I  went  out  and took  some  photos  of   the  super  moon.  It  was  a wonderful  sight  enhanced  by  the  fact that we are  seeing it  after 18   years.I  wonder  what I  was   doing  on  a   night  like   this   18  years  ago .
In all  probability  I  was  curled  up  underneath  a heavy  quilt in  freezing  Mussoorie up  there in the Himalayas. Oh  I  loved  the  Himalayan moonlight - so  bright  and  sharp, reflecting off  the hillsides.

It   talked  back to  you when you  spoke  to it.

What  are  you doing  friends.
Take  out  your   cameras and  shoot  the moon  on  March  19th. Its  a  historic moon.
Its the  night  of  the  Hindu  festival of  Holi. People  are  celebrating around bonfires. There  is  music  , food and  gaiety. Followed   by  2  days  of   colored water sprinkling and  other  forms   of  celebrations.
 

I made White  Peas  Chaat tonight.

Click on the  name   for  the  recipe

it  goes  well  with  a  spicy,tangy, yogurt sauce.

You  can also add  boiled

potatoes  to it.

And  garnish  it  with  Indian  snack  mix and  tomatoes.

Yummy.

Now shoot  the  moon.

Are  you going  to  capture

astronomical history

and  share  it  on  your  blog?

Silver Pomfret with Pea Pilaf

For  Sunday  lunch I  made

fried  silver Pomfret  with

fresh  green  peas  pilaf.

I  cooked   the pomfret for   the  very   first  time.

It  is  a  sea  fish and  we  can only

get it  in  frozen  form.

My sister Anjali 's  mother-in-law

Aunty  Saro  used  to  make 

super delicious  pomfret in Mumbai  and  Chennai.

Pomfret   and  all  frozen  food

is  frightfully  expensive.

This  was  a gift from Ash and Megan.

I  visit  the  frozen  foods  store  very  rarely

and  buy  the  tiniest  packets.

Ash and  Megan  bought  me 

so  much. I  was  joking  later  on

The  guy  in the  store doesn 't  consider  me his 

most favourite  customer but   when  I 

went  with Ashish  and  Megan

he  must  have  thought;\Today she  has  come with 

the right  type  of customers LOL.

Thanks  guys.

PRAYER  REQUEST  FOR  ANJALI

Please  pray  for  my  sister  Anjali,

Asish' s  mom.

Tomorrow  , Thursday March 17th,

she  is  having  a  colonoscopy

and  upper  respiratory  scan.

The  doctors   found  her  highly anaemic.

Pray  the  results  may  come  out  clear..

Following  up  on  the Japan news

is  so  alarming and  worrying.

It seems  both  the  fury  of  nature  and

vulnerability of technology

(radiation leaks)

have unleashed  themselves

against  that  nation

and the  world  too.

The  whole  world  is  nervous.

We  can  only  say

On Christ  the  Solid  Rock

I  stand

All other  ground 

is  sinking  sand

Are  your  feet  firmly  planted

on  the Solid Rock?

Barbecued Kebabs and Tandoori Bread

Sometime back I stopped by a roadside kebab shop to take photos and buy some of Haji 's delectable food.

These are called seekh kebabs - barbecued over a charcoal fire. He had a table fan on to stoke the fire. Haji had just opened shop for the evening.

The kebabs are wrapped around iron skewers.

They used to be very spicy and hot but these days they have toned down the spices and chillies - customer request I suppose. I like that.
My late Aunt Marjorie used to make excellent seekh (skewer) kebabs at home . She used to also sell them at church, school and charity sales.

Next to Haji 's eatry is a shop selling freshly baked Tandoori bread (rotis - flat bread like nans). This is the earthen tandoori oven.

Whole wheat dough shaped into balls and rolled out like thin pizzas.

The rotis are stuck to sides of the hot oven where they take a few minutes to bake.

Tandoori bread goes well with all kinds of non-veg food and curry.

I took these photos with my cell phone - they are not very clear.

I like to read blog improvement posts to learn how I can better my blog . I found this entry by Michael Hyatt helpful - Anatomy of an Effrective Blog Post

Don 't know whether my posts are effective or not.

Gobi Manchurian for Premier Wen Ziabao

Chinese Premier Wen Ziabao is on a state visit to India. In his team there are 400 top businessmen and diplomats. Mr Obama ha d about 200 in his entourage.China is India 's largest neighbour and looms above us like a fire breathing dragon. We have border issues to settle with China also infiltration, claiming our North eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet. China has designed its own map of India, showing the whole of Kashmir as part of Pakistan and Arunachal Pradesh as South Tibet. The Tibetan nation in exile has found refuge in India. The Dragon is very chummy with Pakistan too. There is competition in the business and economy sector.After Independence we fought a war with China. It ended with the slogan Hindi -Chini bhai - bhai (brothers) but now it should be Hindi-Chini bye - bye.

Anyway, to celebrate the Chinese visit I decided to make Gobi Manchurian today. Actually our garden is yielding quite a lot of gobis or cauliflower so I wanted to try different gobi recipes instead of just one kind.Gobi Manchurian is an Indian invention. The Chinese have not even heard of it mind you. But its very popular in India. Try it. Its easy to make and can be eaten as a side dish.

Cauliflower/Gobi Manchurian

Ingredients for cauliflower Manchurian :

1 medium Gobhi (Cauliflower)

3/4 cup Flour (Maida)

1 tbsp Corn Flour

Salt to taste

1 Chopped green chili (omit it if you like)

11/2 tbsp Garlic Paste

11/2 tbsp Ginger Paste

1 cup finely Chopped Onions

Finely Chopped Coriander Leaves

1/4th tsp Ajinomoto (omit it if you want)

2 tbsp Soya Sauce

2-3 tbsp Tomato Ketchup

2 tbsp Oil

Preparation of gobhi manchurian :
Make a paste of maida, corn flour and salt using water.
Take a tsp. of ginger and garlic paste, add it to the paste.
Dip the gobi florets in the paste and deep fry till golden brown. Keep aside.
Heat oil in another pan and add the left ginger & garlic paste, chopped onions and green chili to it.
Now, mix aginomoto, soya sauce and tomato sauce to it.
Add fried Gobi kept aside and mix well. Garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve the gobi Manchurian hot.

Earlier I ha d made Quiche Lorraine, so I thought I' d share a photo here. My quiche was very simple -tomato and cheese with eggs. But it tasted just as nice. On the side is my home made cream of mushroom soup, another favorite .When I watch the arrogant chefs on Masterchef India, I am thankful I don' t have such superior and complicated tastes. I could be a ' honey and locust ' person like John the Baptist. LOL.

************************

I went all the way to the bank today to get my papers approved, but the manager was absent. He was in a meeting elsewhere and would be available after 2 pm. Disappointed I returned home. I called him on his cell phone at half past 2 but he was still not in his office.

I gave up!. Tomorrow I will call him to make sure he is in his office before traipsing all the way there.LOL.

*****************************

Painter Pradeep could only do one gate with the paint he had bought, he couldn 't afford any more.So I bought paint for the second gate. Just had to do it. God will provide for the expense.

Take care all of you. God bless you.

Try Making this Chicken Tikka Masala

I have never tried making Chiken Tikka Masala but this is an easy recipe I 'd like to try. I will perhaps add a few more spices.

This dish has replaced fish and chips in the UK, it has become its national dish. Here is what Wikipedia says-

Chicken tikka masala Hindi: चिकन टिक्का मसाला; Urdu: مرغ تکہ مصالحہ is a curry dish of roasted chicken chunks (tikka) served in a rich-tasting red or orange-coloured sauce. The sauce is usually creamy, lightly spiced and contains tomatoes. The origins of chicken tikka masala are disputed. An Indian expert on street food from Delhi, Rahul Verma, has stated that the dish originated (probably by accident with subsequent improvisations) in Punjab during the last 50 years[1] Another view is that it originated in the first Indian restaurants in Soho, London, during the 1970's.[2] In 2009, a Glasgow MP suggested it should be given EU Protected Geographical Status as a Scottish food. No application for such status was actually made.[3]
Surveys have found chicken tikka masala to be the most popular dish in British restaurants and it has been called "Britain's true national dish."[


Indian:
How To Make Chicken Tikka Masala