Lunch at my Grandmother's

When we lived in Bombay, we would almost always have lunch at my grandmother's.  She would serve up some of the most delicious meals I have ever had, so much so that my mom, sister and I are still trying to recreate her dishes to this day. I must preface this entry by the fact that this meal is my meagre attempt to cook like my grandmother.

My family is from the provence of Sindh, which became part of Pakistan when the two countries drew borders.  With the move across to Bombay, my family was left Sindh with little in hand forced to build a new life.  I cannot speak the language or read the script, and there is very little of the Sindhi culture that I am familiar with, but the food remains strong in my mind and in my kitchen, and I am thrilled about that.

The eggplant dish is called baingan bussur or eggplant in onions.  It was served with a side of khichdee (at least at Nani's), and some yogurt.  The eggplant and onions are spread out in a wide pan until they are nicely caramelized.

 Baingan Bassar (Eggplant with onions) with Khichdee & Raita

Ingredients

For the khichdee

3/4 cup split green moong

3/4 cup basmati rice

2 cups water (if you are cooking in a pressure cooker) 3 cups water if you are cooking in a regular pot

salt to taste

Aloo Tikki or Potato Cutlet

When you live in India, and are part of some sort of community, you rarely invite people over for tea.  People just happen to stop by during their evening strolls, which would quickly turn into social visits.  And when are you sitting around chatting having just woken up from your afternoon nap, you need a little something to snack on.  During these expected but last minute visits, we would usually serve freshly fried aloo tikkis with cookies and chai.

I tried to lighten up the traditional tikkis a couple of different ways.  First, I do not deep fry, but pan fry them.  Also, instead of using mainly potatoes, I tend to use equal amounts of greens which doesn't really lose the effect of the traditional cutlets, but in turn adds a ton of flavor.

Ingredients

3 medium sized potatoes, boiled and skinned
1/2 cup green peas
1/4 cup of cilantro or parsley, roughly chopped
1/2 cup of dandelion greens or spinach or kale,  roughly chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp red chili powder or paprika

Cut the ends of the slice of bread, and soak it in 1/2 sup of water for a minute.  Take the bread out and squeeze the liquid out of it.  Place the boiled potatoes in a bowl.  Add the cilantro (or parsley), greens, jalapeno, soaked bread, salt, pepper, red chili powder and mash together with a fork. Put a teaspoon of oil in your palms, and take 1 Tablespoon of mixture and roll in your hands.  Repeat this until you use up all the mixture.

Childhood memories & homemade Nutella

Thanks to the wonderful David Lebovitz, I realized that yesterday was World Nutella Day and decided to make my own jar of it.  The boyfriend loves having it as a pre-surfing snack on crusty toast, and I have been having this nagging feeling in the back of my head that it is something I ought to make at home.  Not that the original is not one of the most delicious treats in the world, but I generally go by the philosophy that if it is homemade, it has to be better for you. Ha !

Traditionally Nutella is made from hazelnuts, but unfortunately none of the markets seemed to have hazelnuts yesterday, so I used a mixture of brazilnuts and almonds.  I also used a mixture of milk chocolate and bittersweet chocolate for this enchanting emulsion.  I made it in my food processor which actually chopped the nuts quite finely, although only to a point where it is not crunchy, but to the point where you can still taste the nuttiness.  The result is a gleaming glob of almost-smooth paste that when I tasted it reminded me of this chocolate nut fudge that we used to buy from a little hillside resort called Lonavla that we used to go as kids for a holiday.  It was a place surrounded by lush green scenery and known for its waterfalls not too far from Bombay, but far enough from the bustle of the city and to appreciate a little bit of nature.  We would visit for a weekend and almost always return with a couple of boxes of chocolate nut fudge that I have often dreamed about tasting again.  And now I am comforted by the fact that there is a jar and a half of this yummy stuff sitting in my refrigerator at this very moment.

Ingredients
1 cup of brazilnuts, or hazelnuts if you are lucky enough to find them
1/3 cup of almonds
1 cup of whole milk
2 Tablespoons of powdered milk
1.5 Tablespoons of honey
3 ounces of dark chocolate (I used some leftover 60% Valhrona & dark chocolate chips)
2.5 ounces of milk chocolate (I used Trader Joe's brand)
pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and put in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and removing once they have turned to a golden brown.  Remove to cool.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk, milk powder, honey and salt until just simmering and mixed well.  Remove from heat.

On top of a pot with simmering water (just enough so it covers about 1.5 inches from the bottom of a pan), place a bowl and add the chocolates, and let it melt.  Ensure that the water that is simmering does not touch the bottom of the bowl.

In a food processor add the nuts, and blitz until it is smooth (or as smooth as it gets).  It helps to scrape the sides in between pulses.  Add the melted chocolate and mix.  Add the milk mixture and mix again.  You are now ready to pour into jars!!

I like eating it with a slice of toasty bread.