Cooking&more

This post is not about food, but rather the lack of it. While, we the privileged few, are inundated with ch oices ranging from what to cook? (will it be healthy paleo Buddha bowl or or a comfortable bowl of warm c reamy pasta) whether to eat out or cook at home? and where to eat out? (will it be Chinese, Vietnamese, Mexican, Indian or Thai?) , thousands of our fellow humans are struggling from malnutrition and starvation and do not have access to the most basic and fundamental necessity -food. Wars, famines, political unrest and climate change, all have taken their toil on the agricultural  productivity of the world. There is a serious shortage of food across the globe. The hunger map published by the World food programme, shows how rampant the problem is. To download hunger map click here Quoting from the world food programme, " In 2015, 795 million people across the world did not get enough food to lead a normal, active life.  This translates to one in nine of the wor

The other day my active seven year old, who is too busy battling zombies and creepers on mine craft and building superstructures with Legos, and whizzing by on his scooter at the speed of light, to even think about food, unless I shove it right under his nose, Actually   actually  came and asked me to make a pizza for him!!! Now that's one request that's not going to be ignored. So I decided. pizza it is !!! And what's more no store bought pizza sauce with unpronounceable ingredients . I am going to make my own authentic Italian mama pizza sauce.  But sadly I do not know any Italian mamas or Nonnas for that matter, I looked up the internet for recipes, and found so many that I really didn't know which one to use, so I went ahead and boldly came up with one of my own. A recipe both simple to prepare (but be warned- it's not fast) and delicious. It's also versatile. You can use it on a pizza or toss it with some pasta, or even in a sandwich or a wrap. You

Here in Hyderabad shopping for vegetables is a breeze. A genial old man comes with a cart laden with a variety of seasonal vegetables right up to my doorstep. All I have to do is select what I want, specify the quantity and he will weigh it and sell it to me. A nice and easy way to shop for veggies However, the flipside is I often end up buying more than I need, either because the vegetables look so fresh and tempting or because the vegetable seller sweet talks me into buying them. Once bought, I often cook a small batch once, then relegate the rest to the bottom of the crisper, fully intending to cook them after a few days. However I forget all about them, and the next time I come across them, during my weekly pantry cleaning sessions, they are a shrivelled and misshapen mess thats good for nothing but a bowl of soup!! Your  story too? I am guessing yes!! Because no matter, whether we buy food in a supermarket or in a local farmers market we tend to buy more than we need, we don

There was this family tradition we followed since I was a kid, and which me and my husband have continued with our children too and that is to cut a cake and eat it so we eat something sweet to welcome the new year.It has always been our my fond hope and belief that in so doing we are ensuring sweetness and joy for each and every moment for the rest of the new year. Optimistic much?? I guess so!!  Idealistic?? Definitely Surely in all the twenty plus years, of  carrying on this tradition, even I, a self styled incurable romantic and stubborn idealist should have realized that this trick doesn’t work, that you cannot bribe the fates with cake, that every year will bring its share of joys and sorrow, and as thousands of  internet memes going around, and the cynic in me say,  “ A new year is just a change in date and no big deal. Circumstances don’t drastically change because it’s a new year, and the resolutions (making resolutions on new years is so passé) can be made at any tim

The last time my in laws came to visit, my father in law  gave us  the best gift possible-the gift of health and well being!  He planted this holy basil plant in our yard. Holy basil also known as Tulsi  in Sanskrit, is the most revered plant in India, enjoying an exalted status as the consort of  Lord Vishnu . The plant has been attributed to have various medicinal properties so much so that having a Tulsi plant in your yard is considered akin to having a second medicine chest in your house.  I remember as a child, my mother giving us a herbal decoction with Tulsi leaves and other herbs at a the slightest hint of a cold, and more recently, when my own little girl was down with a bad cough my MIL plucked a few leaves from the Tulsi plant, extracted their juice, mixed it with a bit of honey and gave it to her for soothing relief. Also having a Tulsi in the yard is a bonus beauty booster as it comes in handy to fight dandruff or fix that pesky pimple!! So here are some home rem

Mung bean pancake (Peserattu) Mung bean or moong dal pancakes known as cheelas in hindi or pesserattu in telugu are an easy and popular dish in India. Many varieties abound, with whole or split mung beans and with or without filling. For our Saturday dinner, I chose to make them with split mung beans because they take the minimum effort and soaking time, and because I am lazy like that and because I would rather just read a novel or watch a movie with DH on a Saturday evening than spend hours in the kitchen preparing dinner  :) To make the pancakes (makes approximately 6 pancakes of 8 inch diameter each) Take  1/4 cup of rice to 1 cup of split mung dal Soak them in enough water to cover  Along with 3 dried red chillies and a shake/pinch of asafotedia powder (also known as hing this powder is easily available in Indian grocery stores. Its totally optional but I would totally recommend it) Soak for two hours-(this is where using split mung gives me a maj

Eggplant in cilantro gravy This is one dish that definitely took its time to get into my list of most-loved. I absolutely love it now, I love it for the soft on the inside crispy on the outside texture of the eggplants. I love it for the smooth creamy pungent flavor of the gravy, and most of all I love it for how absolutely insanely easy it is to make when compared to how impressive it looks when served at a party. The very first time I tasted this dish at a friends home, however, I did not quite fall in love with it. In fact, it was an affront to my delicate taste buds, which had hiterto been zealously protected from anything bordering on pungent. But the way it often happens, DH loved it and my dear friend gave me the recipe for it and it became a regular at our dinner table and slowly worked its way into my heart.  And the moral of the story is, if you don't like something the first time, don't give up on it, keep trying it and you may develop a taste for it.