Recipe : Sheviyo Upma / Multigrain Vermicelli Upma - Vegan

I found a packet of dried multigrain vermicelli at the Indian store on our last trip. I had thought that I’d just steam it and serve it like sheviyos/idiyappam with coconut curry. But after the khao swey last week, this idea wasn’t as exciting and felt repetitive.

I remembered a dish that nana would make with leftover sheviyos and tried to recreate it. Not bad at all.

Ingredients:

200gms pack of multigrain or ragi vermicelli

1 tsp oil (coconut oil preferred, but any neutral oil works)

1 tbsp split channa dhal

2 tbsp split urad dhal

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1-2 sprigs fresh curry leaves

2 dried red chillies - broken

1/2 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut

1-3 chopped green chillies for taste

Salt to taste

A squeeze of lime

Sugar - optional

Method :

Multigrain or ragi vermicelli is different from regular maida vermicelli and needs slightly different treatment.

If you packet comes with instructions, follow those.

If it doesn't have instructions, soak the multigrain or ragi vermicelli in warm to hot (not boiling water for precisely 3 minutes.

Don't leave it too long, it will start to dissolve.

Now drain the multigrain / ragi vermicelli and steam for 5-6 minutes either in a steamer or in a covered bowl in the microwave

If using, leftover sheviyos/idiyappam, they can be given a light steam only if they have begun to dry out too much, they don't need soaking

Take a wide bottom vessel, heat it and add the oil.

To this add channa and urad dhal and let them crisp up (not burn)

Now add mustard seeds, curry leaves and the dried red chilli.

When they splutter, add the coconut and stir fry for a bit, to your level of doneness 30sec - 4 minutes.

To this add the steamed vermicelli and stir fry. If it is too dry, add little splashes of water at a time.

Add chopped green chillies and salt to taste.

Mix well and take it off the heat. The vermicelli does not cook for more than 2 minutes.

Squeeze a bit of lemon on top.

Serving Options :

* a sprinkling of sugar

* a coconut chutney

* a salty mango pickle with a bit of coconut oil

Recipe : Peach Sheera / Sooji Halwa / Rava Halwa / Sweet Upma / Semolina Pudding - (Vegan option)

Sooji halwa in Mangalore and around is called sheera.

Pineapple sheera / pineapple kesari / kesari bath  is the most common variant of this dish and Hotel Woodlands in Mangalore used to make an excellent version.  However in the recent season, mango sheera has been all over my social media feeds.

Friends and family know my aversion to fruits. The smell of most fruits makes me nauseous.

However, I do enjoy a few types of fruits and I do love a very select few. Preserved peaches are not really fresh fruit, but I Love them.

I found this brand called Brenda’s here in Johannesburg that are organic and low on added sugar that I really love, so I pick up a couple of jars each time.

This time instead of adding sugar to the sheera, I used the sweetness of the raisins and peaches with a little canning liquid.

I'm first going to give you the recipe of regular sheera, that is often served as breakfast or tiffin in Mangalore / Udupi. One of my uncles, loves pairing it with pooris for a more filling start to the day. Our Manglorean version of Poori + Shrikhand I guess.

Mum often gave us this for breakfast before heading off to school

Ingredients :

2 tbsp ghee

2 tbsp raisins - (optional)

1 tbsp broken cashewnuts - (optional)

1 cup fine sooji / Bombay rava / semolina

2 cups milk (or water or a mix of the 2 - the more milk, the richer the taste)

1/2 cup sugar

Method :

Soak raisins in a little water to rehydrate.

Heat your liquid component - milk / water / milk + water to boiling hot.

In a large pan or kadhai, heat the ghee.

Toast the nuts to golden brown if using and remove from the pan.

Roast the soji / rava / semolina on a medium flame until lightly browned.

Now add the raisins if using.

Add the boiling liquid and stir continuously to prevent lumps.

When it smells cooked and starts to come together, add the sugar and mix well.

When it starts to dry, turn off the heat, add cashewnuts and serve hot.

You can also set it on a greased plate and cut shapes when cooled and serve it at room temperature.

Variations & Tips :

You can add 2 pinches of cardamom powder / cinnamon powder / nutmeg powder at the end, for a more fragrant version.

Since the liquid in preserved fruit always seems to get leftover, instead of 2 cups milk + 1/2 cup sugar, I used 1/2 cup canning liquid and 1.5 cup milk.

I think the original recipe would call for about 1 cup sugar, that's way too much for us and I have found that 1/2 cup works well. You may want to adjust the sweetness to your personal preference.

If you are making a fruit version, then remember to account for the sweetness of the fruit.

Fruit Versions - Pineapple kesari / Mango sheera/ Peach sheera ...

For the above quantities, use 1/2 cup - 3/4 cup fruit chopped fine (or even pulped if you want a super smooth version)

If you are using an acidic /sour fruit like pineapple, then the liquid is only water, no milk.

Fruits that are traditionally added are bananas or pineapple, but you can use mangoes, peaches or any other fruit that you have on hand.

The fruit is added AFTER you turn off the gas, as it really doesn't need to cook. It will just be gently warmed in the residual heat of the halwa / sheera.

A Note on Udupi Tiffin Rooms Menus:

Pineapple sheera is called kesari bath - the kesar (saffron) colour often coming from turmeric rather than the more expensive herb.

Kesari bath could also be just a yellow coloured sheera without pineapple - but definitely sweet.

Upma is referred to as khara bath (salty)

So if you see a dish called chow chow bath on the menu, it means one serving of sweet sheera and one serving of salty upma.

Recipe : Pork Jalfrezi - Indian Pulled Pork

This is not the jalfrezi curry made “famous” in the “Indian” restaurants of London. Think of it as an Indian version of pulled pork.

Chef Atul Kocchar in his book Atul's Curries of the World writes that, "in the UK, the word 'jalfrezi' is commonly misunderstood to represent the heat level of a curry...it's thought of as a 'medium heat' curry...in fact, the word derives from the Bengali word 'jhal' meaning 'spicy' and 'jalfrezi' is the term for the original dish in which cooked meats are stir-fried over a high heat with vegetables such as pepper and onion.

Jalfrezi can be made with any meat of your choice including chicken, but red meat works better in texture for this dish.

This was a dish my nana cooked when there were leftover bits of meat (mostly beef) from a roast or if she felt the meat was “kisparla” - i.e. meat falling apart like pulled meat.

I had stewed pork in ginger, lemon and red chillies and was using the stock in other dishes, while the meat just kept getting more and more kisparla lending beautiful flavour, but too flimsy/fiddly to eat.

So I fried it up with onions, tomatoes, chillies, potatoes and spices - such a taste of eating at my grandparents home.

The recipe below is the way I made I made it this time, scroll to the end to see the way my nana would make it.

Ingredients:

250 gms leftover boneless cooked roast or stewed meat or meat leftover when making stock (see option at end of post)

3 tbsp mustard oil (can use regular oil, but mustard oil gives a nice bite)

2" cinnamon

1 star anise

1 large onion halved and sliced thin

2 tbsp chopped ginger

100 gms boiled potato skinned and chopped large (I used halved skin on baby potatoes this time)

2 large fully ripe tomatoes sliced thin

2-8 green chillies chopped (as per taste)

salt to taste

handful fresh corriander chopped

Method:

Pull the meat apart - so it forms threads / reshis.

Pork fat and skin or chicken skin can also be added chopped in small chunks.

Take a large frying pan on high heat.

When it is hot, add the oil.

When the oil is almost smoking, add the cinnamon and star anise.

As soon as the spices start releasing their aroma, add the sliced onions and fry until they start to caramelise.

From here on, the recipe needs constant monitoring and gentle stirring.

Now add the ginger and boiled potatoes and fry, till the edges of the potato start to crisp up.

Now add the tomatoes and turn the heat to medium.

Cook until the tomatoes release all their pulp and the tomato skins start to curl up on themselves. This will take a little time, but this caramelisation of the onion and tomatoes is where all the taste in this dish comes from.

Now add the chopped green chillies , give a quick stir, then add the shredded meat. You can increase the heat now, but keep an eye and keep stirring.

Adjust salt to taste (you would have most likely added salt when initially cooking the meat, so be cautious.)

Fry until the meat starts crisping up.

Garnish with corriander and serve hot with rice and dhal or rotis and dhal.

I served it with rice, leftover rajma madra and cabbage stir fried with crisped up garlic, topped with chilli oil.

Kim's Tip 1 : If you don't have leftover meat, slow cook 300 - 400 gms meat (bones extra if you want) with chopped onions, ginger, garlic, red chillies or spices and veggies of your choice in lots of water. Use the liquid as stock in any dish and use the meat for this recipe.

Kim's Tip 2 : If your tomatoes have no tartness at all, you may like to add a squeeze of lime and stir, once the meat is fried.

Kim's Tip 3 : Do not stint on the oil in this recipe. I rarely use a lot of oil, but this recipe needs the oil to fry the onions, the tomatoes, the potatoes and the meat. It will seperate at the end and you can remove it before serving.

Kim's Tip 4 : Do not make this in very large quantities, the meat needs space in the pan to cook properly.

Kim's Tip 5 : Garnish with sliced fresh onion rings for a stunning presentation

Nana's Version Ingredients:

250 gms leftover boneless cooked roast or stewed meat or meat leftover when making stock.

3 tbsp sunflower oil

2" cinnamon

3-4 cloves

1 large onion halved and sliced thin

2 tbsp chopped ginger

2 large fully ripe tomatoes sliced thin

2-8 green chillies chopped (as per taste)

salt to taste

100 gms boiled potato cut in slices and deep fried

handful fresh corriander chopped

Method :

Same as above, except the deep fried potatoes are added at the end just before serving.

Recipe : Sajjige Rotti / Rawa Rotti / Rulavanchi Bhakri / Thick Semolina Dosas

Sajjige rotti / rulavanchi bhakri / rava rotti / thick semolina dosas with 2 types of chutney.

I may have mentioned before, but weekend brunches are special. These are the only 2 days that the husband has time for a leisurely noonish meal - without being on a conference call or rushing for one.

While he loves eggs made any which way for a weekend brunch, I’m taking the opportunity during this lockdown to cook dishes from my childhood or other memories. I'm not a breakfast person at all. I normally have One Meal a Day, since long before OMAD was a thing. During our 5 years in London, weekends meant heading out to see / do  / experience something and breakfast / brunch was built into the day's schedule.

This is the first time, I'm actually cooking so many breakfast / brunches at home - albeit only on the weekends. This is also the 2 meals of the week that I enjoy a carb heavy meal (since its eaten so much earlier in the day) and a cup of coffee with sugar - during the week, its green tea without sugar.

Coming back to the sajjige rotti, the way I made today’s rotti was not the thinner crispy version that’s made like a crepe. This is a very rustic style thick batter (almost chapatti dough consistency) that is shaped by hand on the pan / tawa, so its much thicker like a bhakri.

Since I was doing the hand shaping for the first time, the first dosas / rotis were a bit uneven shaped. Once I got the hang of it, they became much rounder, but since they are slow fried on a low flame, we were gobbling them as soon as they came off the pan - so didn’t take a better picture.

Ingredients:

2 cups Bombay Rava - medium fine semolina

2 cups sour curd (slightly liquidy, not as thick as store bought yoghurt - for store yoghurt, make it 1.5 cups yoghurt + 1/2 cup water)

2 tbsp coconut / dessicated coconut (optional)

1 medium onion chopped

1-6 green chillies chopped (depending on spice tolerance)

2 sprigs curry leaves chopped (only leaf not stem)

2 sprigs corriander chopped - with stem

2 tsp chopped fresh ginger (don't use the stringy bits)

1 tsp jeera / cumin

salt to taste

oil to fry

Method:

Mix the Bombay rava, coconut if using and the curd / yoghurt.

Mix well and leave overnight.

You want a dough, that is much thicker than a dosa batter and actually comes together, but not as tight as a chapatti dough.

You can keep the dough for just 20-30 minutes too, but I like the way the flavour / sourness develops overnight.

It also means a tiny bit of extra sleep in the morning :)

If you have left it overnight, depending on the weather conditions, you may notice that your batter has become drier or wetter than the night before.

Don't adjust it at this stage.

Add  the onions, chillies, curry leaves, coriander leaves, ginger, jeera and mix well.

These are the traditional additions, feel free to experiment with flavours you like.  For eg. my chillies are now 3 weeks old (grocery run in the coming week), so I felt they weren't spicy enough, so I also added a 1/2 tbsp of crushed black pepper.

Mix well, preferably use your hands to get a more even mix. (be sure you have washed with soap and not just used santizer :) )

There will be some liquid content in the onions, ginger and herbs.

Now if the dough feels too dry, add a few drops of water.

If the dough feels too wet, add a little rava to the mix.

The picture above shows the consistency that you want.

Make portions. With the above quantities, I got about 10 portions.

The next step is shaping them.

Traditionally, the rottis are shaped on banana leaves or some other traditional leaves (I forget which ones my nana used) and flipped onto the pan.

Modern methods, involve shaping the rotti on a greased plate or on plastic sheets.

Personally, I found these methods very fiddly and also I was only cooking for 2, so I shaped them directly on the pan.

Take a flat frying pan  / crepe pan or dosa tawa.

Heat the pan on medium heat.

Grease the pan with a few drops of oil. The traditional method is to use a small onion or potato cut in half speared onto a fork (don't let the tines come all the way through, you will end up scraping your pan). I currently use a silicon pastry brush to grease the pan.

I made portions like above, popped one on the pan. Dipped hand in a bowl of water and then flattened  the dough directly on the pan itself.

You need wet hands to use this method, doughy hands will make the dough stick to your hands. So rinse hands in a bowl of water, before shaping the rotti.

Flatten the rotti evenly to between 1/2 - 1 cm thickness.

Don't make them too large or they will be very difficult to flip over.

Fry for a few minutes on each side until slightly browned.

I served it hot off the pan with 2 types of chutney, although I have to say that the coconut chutney went better with this dosa / rotti. The advantage of this rotti, is that it can even be eaten without chutney, making it a one pot meal.

A dab of white butter on top is also a perfect accompaniment.

Kim's Tip 1 : If you have just a little chutney left in the fridge, you can add it to the rotti dough.

Kim's Tip 2 : This recipe is an excellent way to use up curd / yoghurt that has turned a bit sour. If you don't have sour yoghurt, add a tsp of fresh lemon / lime juice to your yoghurt and use.

Let me know if you try this out.

We got a good warm bit of sun this winter noon.  So, after this meal, someone decided a nap was in order, followed by a cheery wake up with South Indian Filter Coffee.

While the other someone was out in the sun tending to the garden and feeding our sparrows, laughing doves, wagtails and other birds who have become extremely demanding. They chirrup loudly if the feeders are approaching empty to let me know it’s time for a top up.

Recipe : Green Coconut Chutney

In Manglorean / Udupi cuisine, chutneys are eaten with breakfast items - dosas, idlis , vadas, sometimes even with hot rice. They are a very essential condiment and there are multiple versions and variations of them. I have quite a few on this blog.  These chutneys do not resemble the bottled "chutneys" of the UK in any shape or form.

Also, its not just different from the UK chutneys. For eg : My mum-in-law who is from UP once tasted a mild coconut chutney I had made at home and her feedback was "iss mein khatai hi nahin hain" (there is no sourness in this). In their house in UP, a chutney has to be sour.

This chutney is one of those that will go well with any South Indian / Udupi / Tamilian type of snack or breakfast. In the picture above, I have served it with chattambade / dalvada.

Ingredients :

1 cup fresh/frozen coconut

1 cup tightly packed corriander leaves & stems (if you don't normally use stems, save them for this chutney)

1-2 cloves garlic

2-6 green chillies

salt to taste

Method:

Grind all the ingredients to a fine paste.

Do not add any water, unless absolutely necessary.

Adjust salt to taste.

If the coconut is too sweet for your taste or the garlic / chillies too sharp, a little squeeze of lime (<1/2 tsp), can help round up the flavours

Kim's Tip: If you do not have fresh/frozen coconut, you can substitute with good quality dessicated coconut as follows.

Take 3/4 cup of dessicated coconut, add warm water slowly and keep mixing. Do not go above the 1 cup level. Let is sit for at least 15-20 minutes, then use like regular coconut.

Recipe : Chattambade / Dalwada/ Parippu Vadai/ Masala Vada - Vegan

Chattambade/ Dalwada/ Parippu Vadai/ Masala Vada with Green Coconut Chutney.

This vegan fried snack made with split channa dhal / split Bengal gram / split chickpea lentils is made across India and is called different names across the country. Each household uses their own spicing and ratios. Some add a mix of different lentils to their wadas.

This one is my method and suits our tastebuds best.

Ingredients:

2 cups channa dhal / split chickpea lentils

1 chopped onion
2-10 chopped green chillies depending on spice tolerance
1 handful chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste

Oil to fry

Method:

Soak 2 cups channa dhal / split chickpea lentils overnight (8 hours at least)

Drain to remove as much of the water as possible.

Some people coarsely grind the entire lot. We like the crunch from the whole bits, so I coarsely grind 80% of the dhal and use 20% whole.

Mix the ground and whole lentils together.

Add all other ingredients except oil

The mix should be dry enough to form vadas/cutlets.

If it’s too wet, you can add besan/chickpea flour.

My batter was just a bit wet (I didn’t have time to leave the soaked dhal to dry), so I formed the wadas (slightly flattened balls) and left them on a sheet of kitchen roll to get rid of the slight excess.

Deep fry in hot oil on medium flame until golden.

Don't be tempted to increase the heat, you will get burnt outsides and raw insides.

Serve hot with chutney / ketchup.

Nana occasionally made these as a tea time snack, but we had these for brunch on a cold winter day.

Kim’s tip : If grinding fresh chutney, do that first and then grind the dhal in the same jar without rinsing/washing. The leftover chutney imparts good flavour to the dhal. 

Recipe : Nana Maggie's White Coconut Chutney

This is the traditional white coconut chutney that is served with snacks at Udupi / Manglorean restaurants.

It can be eaten with idlis / dosas/ vadas / hot rice - the options are endless.

This is my grandma's recipe. Her recipes were never precise, she was much worse than me at measuring stuff, these are my approximations.

Ingredients :
1 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen, not dessicated)
5 green chillies
1-2 cloves of garlic

Lime juice to taste (1/2tsp - 1 tsp)

Salt to taste (a pinch or so)

For Tempering:
1 tsp coconut oil (other oils can be used)

1/2 tsp urad dhal

1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Method:
Grind all the ingredients for the chutney together.
You want a bit of coarseness, not a very smooth paste.
You can add a few drops of water at a time, if it gets too dry.
Transfer to a heat proof bowl.

In a tempering pan, heat the coconut oil and add the urad dhal, followed by the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
When it splutters, add the tempering to the ground chutney.

Serve with idlis, vadas or dosas.

This chutney keeps well in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Consume at room temperature.

Kim's tip:

Add a pinch of sugar if your coconut isn't sweet enough.

Recipe : Mummy Lorna's Red Coconut Chutney

This is a Red Coconut chutney which is seen more in homes than in restaurants. Very few Udupi restaurants actually serve this chutney. This is not the chutney that is applied on the inside of the Mysore Masala Dosa.

This is my mum's recipe. Personally, I prefer this chutney to the regular white chutney.

Ingredients :
1/2 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen, not dessicated)
3 tsp channa dhal roasted
2 dry bedgi chillis (more colour than heat)
marble size ball of tamarind / 1 tsp tamarind paste
1/2" ginger
Salt to taste

For Tempering:
1 tsp coconut oil (other oils can be used)
grain of asafoetida / hing 

1 sprig curry leaves
1/4 tsp mustard seeds

Method:
Grind all the ingredients for the chutney together.
You want a bit of coarseness, not a very smooth paste.
You can add a few drops of water at a time, if it gets too dry.
Transfer to a heat proof bowl.

Heat the coconut oil and add the asafoetida, followed by the curry leaves and mustard seeds.
When it splutters, add the tempering to the ground chutney.

Serve with idlis, vadas or dosas.

This chutney keeps well in the fridge for 7-10 days.

Consume at room temperature.

Recipe : Haalu Menasina Saaru - Milk and Black Pepper Soup

I was craving some nice spicy home cooked soul food after returning from holiday.

Goan sausage chilli fry, egg masala, broccoli and bottle gourd with split Bengal gram and haalu menasina saaru (milk and black pepper soup - a Kannadiga Brahmin recipe)

Given the black pepper in it, this rasam / soup is great during winters and the monsoon season and is used to treat seasonal coughs and colds.

Dry roast

1 tsp - 1tbsp Black pepper,
2 tbsp dhal - I used channa, you can use channa & urad 50-50 and
2 tbsp grated coconut.

Cool & grind these ingredients in a dry grinder.

Fry this ground mixture in 1 tbsp ghee.

Add some water (from washing the grinder)

When it bubbles, add 1 cup room temperature or warm milk on medium to low flame.

Let it come to a boil and thicken a bit.

Keep stirring, so it doesn’t burn.

Season with ghee - methi, hing, jeera, whole red chilli, curry leaves

Before serving, garnish with fresh coriander.

We have it as soup, rasam, dunking dip for rotis, or poured over hot rice.

The final picture is my plate of rice with the milk soup and eggs.

Recipe : Nana Maggie's Mangalorean Pork Salad / Dohkhleih

Most Manglorean pork dishes are heavy with masalas and long cooking processes. This is one of the few lighter pork dishes which works especially well in summer, when we wanted pork, but in a lighter form.

Ingredients:

About 1 kg pork with a good balance of fat and meat - no bones.

Salt to taste

2 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1-2 tbsp lemon juice/vinegar

2-3 green chillies chopped

1 medium red onion chopped

2 tbsp chopped corriander

Method:

Boil the pork with salt, chopped ginger and lemon juice / vinegar to taste without any water.

Once it is cooked, remove the excess water (reserve for use later - for heating up the dish or as a stock) and let the meat fry a little bit.

Mix with chopped green chillies, onions and corriander.

Serve warm when freshly mixed or at room temperature.

This dish is not meant to be reheated.

This is one of the lightest pork dishes that is made in Mangalore and surprisingly I ate something very similar in Shillong where it is called dohkhleih.

Down Memory Lane : Cooking With Mum

My friend Michelle from The Tiffin Box has written a beautiful post on Cooking along with her Mom and so much of it holds true for me too.

I started to comment on her post, but I had so much to say, that I decided, that I should blog about it too and since mum's birthday is coming up, I've scheduled this post to go up for the 9th.

My mum's attitude to cooking is pretty much like Michelle's mums - it was more practical and necessary to start with, than a pleasure (like it is for me). I got my initial love of cooking more from my grandma than my mum, because mum was too busy managing 4 of us kids on her own (dad sails with the Merchant Navy) to be able to "enjoy" cooking - in those days it was more about serving up a healthy balanced nutritious meal on the table. So she mostly needed us out of the kitchen, so she could focus on the multiple things that she had going on simultaneously in the kitchen.

The rare exception was when she baked cakes for special occasions, then we were all allowed to lick the spoons clean and we used to fight over who got the pots/pans/spatulas that had the maximum amount of raw cake mix on it (I know a lot of people would scream "salmonella poisoning", but those were simpler days and if I can eat mayonnaise, I can eat cake batter) She would ask us to help with sieving the flour or managing the hand beater and constantly remind whoever was wielding the beater, not to change direction.

Mum makes excellent cakes (not just tastewise, but also decorative ones) and in those days of 100% home made birthday parties, mum's were some of the best cakes around town. Even today, when my sister travels back to Mangalore, her whole office, requests her to beg mum to bake her chocolate cake with fudge icing. She makes a mean date and walnut cake too. I got my brother who is currently at home in Mangalore on vacation, to dig out some of the pictures of the cakes she baked for our birthdays.

I on the other hand, hate baking and shy away from it, because I hate following instructions accurately, the rebel in me can be quite stubborn, but I'm trying to get over the mental block.

I did however learn to cook some things from my mom, because as the eldest, I would sometimes help her in the kitchen if she had to leave to attend one of my wailing siblings, this often just meant stirring the pot or keeping an eye on something to check if it was done and turn it off at the right time, it later graduated to turning fish over when it was fried on one side, so yes, I did learn a few tricks from her.

Strangely, now when I think back, it was always me whom mum would turn to, to check the "hult" (perfect balance of flavours?) of whatever was being cooked and she still does that to this day.

Mum had done her home science at Nazareth Convent (after an MA in Economics) and she had learned how to cook "Chinese" and other "exotic" stuff for those days, which were only cooked when there was a "dinner party" at home and we got rationed quantities as the food was for the guests! Oh how we resented those guests - we would get 1 large prawn each or half a nargisi kofta (Scotch Egg) and the guests would be plied with unlimited quantities "Have more, have more, otherwise how will I know that you have liked it?" So many of my friends share similar stories with me about our mums in those days.

Normal fare however included basic meat/lentil curries, a vegetable fugath (stir fried with coconut) or tel piyao (simply cooked with onions), fish curry if dad was around or fish fry for us. Dad doesn't like spicy food and the rest of us LOVE it, so it would also mean taking a portion aside for him and adding more chillies to the rest of the food.

A real treat for us would be when she made bacon fried rice or prawn pulao. Mum's repertoire was hugely wider than my grandma's and mum managed her kitchen alone (grandma had maids to help her with prep in the kitchen), so she also looked for quicker recipes when she could find them. The simplest and fastest meal she would cooked at home would be red rice, bimbli saar (dhal with a sour fruit) or chilli saar (a thin heavily spiced soup), fish fry and a vegetable fugath. Even to this day, when I go home to Mangalore, this is what I request her to cook for me for dinner (after a meal of pork and sannas for lunch)

What she cooked, also depended on the tight monthly budget that my dad restricted her to. As the eldest of 13 siblings and his own father almost retired, a lot of his salary was spent on the education, clothing and maintenance of his siblings and the ancestral house. Of course, this realisation came much later, mum never let us feel that we couldn't eat something because it was too expensive, she would buy cheaper cuts of meat or cheaper fish to balance her household budget. Today when she sees the way I buy ingredients from across the globe (when I travel, my shopping is restricted to souvenir magnets, books and food), she shakes her head smiles and says "kai taun aila yeh, tuka?" (where have you got this habit from?)

Nowadays she loves watching the food programs on TV and trying out some of the recipes. She prefers TV recipes to looking at recipe books (she normally uses recipe books only for trying out a new cake)

She recently baked a variety of breads whose recipes she got from different shows. She loves cooking in my house because I have loads of ingredients that are sometimes difficult to find in Mangalore (however, I rarely give up control of my kitchen to her).

All said and done, mum and I have extremely different styles of cooking. I can assist her in the kitchen, or I will sometimes ask for her help if I'm in a rush to pack B's lunch, but its difficult for me to cook simultaneously with her. If I'm cooking something (esp if its in my house) I let her finish whatever she wants to make or I have requested her to cook, and then I scrub down the kitchen and only then do I begin my own cooking.

In my first job in Bangalore, I remember mum coming to visit and then reorganising my kitchen (while I was at office) in an order she thought made more sense and then I would have to re-re-organise my whole kitchen after she left, to be able to find anything and achieve any speed at cooking.

As we kids have grown up and left the nest, Mum has slowly discovered the joy of cooking and enjoys cooking for us or anyone who is visiting. However she hates washing up, whereas for me washing up is extremely therapeutic and calming.

We have extremely different attitudes to cooking, but have the same attitude when it comes to feeding others - the more the merrier. While I may not copy my mom in her attitude and style of cooking, it is she who has shaped me into the cook I am today. Love you mommy and Very Happy Birthday to You :)

Recipe : Manglorean Style Rajma / Vegetable Stew (Vegan)

I had a couple of friends coming over for dinner and I was planning to make dosas (the thick variety that are eaten with coconut milk curries). However quite a few of them were vegetarian and since we hardly eat potatoes in this house anymore, I was wondering how to make a vegetarian coconut milk curry. (the standard Manglorean way to convert a meat curry into a vegetarian one, is to make it with potatoes or eggs)

Then, I remembered my friend Anju in Cairo, (who is from Kerala) had once made this lovely stew with rajma. Drawing on that as inspiration, I followed the Manglorean recipe for mutton stew but substituted the meat with rajma. Then I decided it needed some fresh veggies too and added a chopped carrot and a potato (stews need at least one potato to help thicken them up a bit). I was quite happy with the result.

This recipe results in a mild stew. If you want stronger flavours, double the ginger, chillies and stew powder.

Ingredients:
2 cups of rajma (kidney beans) - 1/2kg if you buy the pre-cooked variety
pinch of jeera
pinch of heeng (asafoetida)
pinch of methi seeds

1 tsp oil (coconut or any neutral oil)
2" cinnamon
6 green chillies slit in two
1" ginger julienned
8-10 curry leaves washed and wiped dry
1 medium onion chopped
1 tsp ginger garlic paste
1 large carrot chopped large
1 potato boiled (you can pressure cook it with the rajma to save time) and chopped large
1 tbsp Manglorean stew powder (you can use pepper powder, if you can't make any stew powder)
 200 ml Coconut milk (thick)


Method:
Soak the rajma overnight (8 hours) and pressure cook in enough water to cover it, till done with a pinch of heeng, methi and jeera (to help cut down the gassy effects of rajma).
Drain the water and set aside the cooked rajma (unlike other dried lentils and beans, the water in which rajma is pressure cooked, is not used in cooking, discard it)

In a large pan, heat the oil.
Season with cinnamon, ginger, green chillies and curry leaves till the leaves crisp up a bit.
Add onion, fry till translucent.
Add ginger garlic paste and mix well for a minute.

Add the cooked and drained rajma and saute for a minute while stirring, so everything blends.

Add the coconut milk and thin it down with some water, stir well, cover and cook till it is bubbling.
Once the stew is bubbling, lower the heat to sim, add the stew powder and cook till rajma has reached your desired level of softness (about 10 minutes), stirring in between if necessary to prevent it from burning.

Now add the carrots and boiled potatoes and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Serve hot with dosas or appams

You can garnish this with fresh chopped coriander of crisp fried ginger juliennes (tempering).

Kim's Note:
If you prefer your carrots well cooked, add them at the same stage as the rajma. We prefer to have them raw to the bite.

If you want a stronger coconut flavour or a thicker stew, double the coconut milk and reduce the water.

If you want stronger flavours, double the ginger, chillies and stew powder.

Recipe : Manglorean Snake Gourd (Podwole / Parwal) Sukke - Vegan

Snake Gourd / Podwole / Parwal is a lovely vegetable, that's low in calories and good for health.

This is a typical Manglorean Konkani way of preparing the vegetable. The distinctive taste comes from the Manglorean Vegetable Powder. But if you can't find Manglorean Vegetable Powder, you can use any other (red) Vegetable Powder.

Ingredients :
1/2 kg Snake Gourd / Podwole / Parwal
1 tsp coconut oil (regular oil will also be ok, coconut gives it a better flavour though)
1 tsp split black gram (urad dhal)
1 - 2 sprigs curry leaves (about 12 leaves)
2 - 4 dried red chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 - 3 tbsp vegetable powder (to your spice levels)
salt to taste
1/2 coconut grated
pulp extracted from a marble sized ball of tamarind (or juice of lemon to taste)


Method :
Clean the Snake Gourd / Podwole / Parwal, you can use the skin, you don't need to peel it.
Cut it in half down the length and deseed.
Make thin slices.

In a pan, heat the oil.
Temper with urad dhal, curry leaves, red chillies and mustard seeds.
Now add the Snake Gourd / Podwole / Parwal and fry lightly.
Add the vegetable powder, cover and cook on a low flame.
If it dries up, add water a tsp at a time.
When the Snake Gourd / Podwole / Parwal is almost cooked, add the coconut and tamarind pulp/lime juice. Stir well and cover and cook till done.
Serve hot with rice and dhal or a side with any poli.

In the picture above, I've served it with appams and a chicken coconut curry.

Recipe : Kadalekai Chatni / Peanut / Groundnut Chutney - Vegan

This is a chutney, I really loved as a child. It was a great break from the staple coconut chutneys and mum normally made this to accompany goli bajjes.

It was only after I started cooking on my own that I realised how much easier it is to grind a peanut chutney compared to a coconut chutney, so its practical and fast too.

Currently with all the diwali hampers coming home, we have also received quite a few packets of flavoured roasted peanuts (kadalekai) and most of these snacks are too salty for my taste. So on this occasion, I used half a cup of mixed flavoured peanuts, rather than fresh groundnuts and the rest of rhe ingredients balanced out the saltiness and the flavours added to the groundnuts, added to the chutney too.

This chutney can be served with idlis and dosas / poli like any other chutney. It also tastes great with rotis and its high in protein. Most kids love nuts, so they will love this chutney too and believe me when I say that it is much easier and faster to grind than coconut, even if you are using a food processor / mixi.

Ingredients :
1 cup peanuts / groundnuts (roasted and skinned or the flavoured roasted variety)
1/2 tsp oil (til/gingelly or sunflower)
1 cup chopped onions (normally we use the smaller sambhar onions/shallots, but regular onions will do)
4-8 dried red chillies (depending on spiciness and heat tolerance)
6 cloves of garlic (you can chose to omit this, if you prefer, chop them if they are large sized)
tamarind pulp to taste
salt to taste

Seasoning :
1 tsp oil (til/gingelly or sunflower)
a pinch of hing powder (asafoetida - aids in digestion of the heavy nuts)
1 tsp split black gram dhal (urad dhal)
1 tsp mustard seeds (sarson / rai)

1 sprig curry leaves


Method :
Roast the raw groundnuts in a hot pan till cooked and skin them (you can leave the skin on, but we don't like the taste)
If you are using roasted masala groundnuts, you can skip this step.
But if you have leftover roasted nuts that have gone a bit soft, then re-roasting them helps.

In 1/2 tsp oil saute the chopped onion, garlic and red chillies till slightly brown.Cool the fried mixture.

When cooled, add it to the mixi with the skinned peanuts and the tamarind pulp.
Whizz until it reaches your desired consistency. I like it slightly grainy, but some prefer it completely smooth.
You may need to add a little water to help the grinding process if it gets too dry.
Add salt to taste (if use flavoured groundnuts, remember they will already have salt, so adjust accordingly) and give it a quick spin.

Pour the chutney out in a bowl.

In a seasoning pan, heat 1 tsp oil.
Add the hing powder.
When it dissolves, add the urad dhal and fry till it turns light brown.
Add the mustard seeds and the curry leaves and let the seeds splutter.

Pour this tempering over the chutney.

Serve the chutney with idlis and dosas / poli or with phulkas and dhal.

The chutney keeps well in the fridge too for about a week.


Note: The pictures above show quantities for 1/2 cup peanuts

Kim's Tip : The water used to wash the mixi / grinding stone can't be added to the chutney as it will become too watery, but you can use it to knead atta for rotis and give your rotis a different flavour.

Recipe : Manglorean Style Pepper Pork

My friend May, over at The Chef is a great cook and a wonderful friend. We studied together for 5 years of college and we have now been friends for 20, yes TWENTY years! Wow, how the time flies!

Last month when I wanted to make Pork Indad, May's blog was one of the first ones that I visited to check on her version. Unfortunately, she has not yet uploaded her version of Pork Indad, but she did have a recipe for Pepper Pork, that I instantly bookmarked. Pepper Pork is not a dish that was cooked in our house while we were growing up, but it is cooked in a lot of Manglorean households.

May's recipe is more authentic, but I had my sister visiting and she hates seeing large pieces of onions in her pork (and to be honest, neither do I - large pieces of anything other than meat, in a meat curry tend to be pushed to the side on our plates), so I modified the recipe a bit and made it spicier for our taste. You can check May's Pepper Pork recipe on her blog My version takes a little longer to cook as I cook the cuttings (chopped ingredients) almost to a paste, so this also gives a thicker curry.

And if you don't eat pork, this recipe would be suitable to make a lovely pepper chicken too, you just need to cut down on the cooking time.

Ingredients:
1 kg pork with fat and skin
4 large onions chopped
1 pod garlic chopped
2" ginger chopped
6 green chillies chopped
5 tbsp pepper powder
pinch of turmeric powder
salt to taste
vinegar to taste 2-4 tbsp (I like my pork dishes on the sourer side and it also depends which vinegar you are using)
1 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1-2 tbsp oil

Method:
Wash the pork, mix with salt (little less as we add soya and tomato sauce in the end which have their own salt), pepper powder, vinegar and turmeric powder and keep aside.
In 1-2 tbsp oil, fry the finely chopped onion, ginger, garlic and 4 of the green chillies. (You can even just grind all these ingredients into a paste to avoid the chopping if you prefer)
Fry till the ingredients are completely cooked and mash together into a thickish paste.
Add the marinated pork and cook till done, stirring frequently (if not cooking in a pressure cooker) and adding a little water whenever necessary.
Once fully cooked, add the soya sauce and tomato sauce and adjust liquid content, salt and vinegar to taste.
Give it a final boil and serve hot with rice or poli.

I was so busy chatting away with my sister, that I forgot to take pictures, I just have this one that was clicked on the phone. But I'll definitely be cooking this again, so I'll upload more pictures when I do.

Recipe: Instant Apas / Appams / Hoppers

Manglorean Apas are called Appams in Kerala and Hoppers in Sri Lanka.

Normally the process to prepare the batter takes a fair amount of time and patience. This is an easy way to make instant appams.

This doesn't taste as yum as appams that are made with love and care, soaking, grinding, fermented with toddy etc etc. But if you want appams in a hurry and don't have a Manglorean/Kerala restaurant nearby who can deliver, this is a quick fix.

Ingredients:
1/2kg slightly grainy rice flour (not superfine)
4 tbsps sugar (adjust to taste)
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 200ml packet of Dabur coconut milk
water
eno (non flavoured) fruit salt

Special Equipment: appam chatti

Method:
Mix the rice flour, sugar, salt until well blended
Add coconut milk and mix together.
Add room temperature water until the batter reaches desired consistency - thinner than dosa batter, but thicker than neerdosa batter)
Mix well so that there are no lumps.
Let is stand for 10-15 minutes so sugar can dissolve and flavours even out.
Adjust salt and sugar to taste.

Heat the appam chatti and season the pan with a few drops of oil.
Add a little eno to the batter, so that it starts to froth up (aerate - this is a short cut to the fermenting process)

Mix well.
Pour half a ladle of batter into the center of the appam chatti.
Give the pan a quick swirl to leave behind a thin layer of batter around the thicker center.

Cover the pan and fry till done.

Do not turn over
The appam will start moving away from the sides of the pan when done.

The trick to making appams is the swirling of the pan so that you have a nice thin even circle around the thicker center and managing the heat, so that the sides crisp up and the center is cooked.

Serve hot with curry of your choice.

Kim's Note:
An appam chatti is similar in shape to a kadai, but much smaller.
It has handles on both ends that you need, to be able to swirl the pan.
The lid is also essential for proper cooking of an appam. (since it is only fried on one side and the center needs to steam cook)

Like any other dosa pan, do not use your appam chatti for frying anything other than appams.
Prestige has a good non stick appam chatti that does not even require greasing between appams


In the first picture, appams are served with Pork Indad and in the second, they have been served with mutton stew.