Lets talk food...

Yesterday I made butternut squash which looks like the pic. It tastes like pumpkin which we get in India. And I thought this is the best way to eat pumpkins. I saw on 'Highway on my plate' show that kaddu ki sabzi is very famous in UP. So I had asked Priya for the recipe a long time ago. And I just adapted from whatever I could remember of it. I wanted to note this down so that any-time I want to make it, I can follow this exactly. What I did was : Heat some oil in a pressure cooker and add a teaspoon of ghee to it. Add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add some jeera. Then add two nice pinches of asafoetida and half a teaspoon of methi seeds powder. Pic: Google

Then go in the usual suspects, half a teaspoon each of turmeric and chilli powder and some chopped green chillies. It shouldn't be overwhelmingly spicy but it must have that sharpness. Then add about 2-3 cups of the squash, chopped into cubes. I had mixed in a potato. I know, I love adding potatoes to everything. Then add a good 2 teaspoons of dhaniya powder and a teaspoon of dhaniya-jeera powder and a bit of garam masala. Add salt. I am sure this was not in the recipe but I added some dessicated coconut and kasuri methi for the added hint of sweetness and bitterness. The squash has some sweetness to it and we had already added methi seeds powder. But this is one curry where you wouldn't mind adding a bit of extra everything. I was worried at the amount of dhaniya powder I had added but something told me, nothing is too much, when doing this curry, specially the dhaniya pwd. Well, we are almost done. Just add water enough to cover the squash and pressure cook for 1 whistle. Let it cool down while you make rotis or parathas to go with this and you will be ready for a meal to remember. Be sure to make some extra curry and next day, add some dough to it and make pumpkin parathas.

In the middle of winter and a day of snowfall, I made mango icecream. Sitting inside a warm house all day long doesn't make you feel, "you cant eat icecream and not catch a cold". (Thats too many negatives in one sentence! If you understood it, then "nacho" - which is dance and its Chetan's favourite thing to say :) ) Back to icecream, It was the most easiest and the best recipe to make mango ice cream and It just takes a few minutes. I took the idea of using condensed milk from here and well, I didn't really measure out anything. I just poured out a tin of condensed milk and added some whipped cream and milk and some mango puree till I felt it had a good consistency and a good mango flavour. Freeze in a metal bowl which is wide rather than tall. I got this tip from here. I think using condensed milk doesn't create crystals and hard icecream. Otherwise following the process of beating the icecream at regular intervals as mentioned in the tips page needs to be followed.



I just made some methi na gotas (pakodas) for some guests at tea. It came out really good for a first attempt. The guests were surprised at the fluffiness. I mostly followed this recipe. But I used semolina instead of wheat flour, opted out of using peppercorns and coriander seeds. I also used Eno instead of baking soda. It is important to have sour curd and since the yogurt here is never sour, I added lemon juice just as the recipe says. Here's how they looked like.

I have recently started using balloon whisk. Its such a great kitchen tool. I am wondering how I managed all these years without it. :) Do buy one to make all your mixing a breeze.

By the way, aren't 'Delhi 6' songs great? I think its one of the best albums that has come out in recent times. I hope the movie is good. Unlike most movies these days, which are really bad. Specially the hyped and over-hyped ones. And I wonder if reviewers get paid to write good reviews for movies like Dostana and Ghajini or they write good reviews just coz there are Bollywood bigges involved. The last movie I enjoyed was 'Dasvidaniya'. I also saw 'The President is coming' which really doesn't have much of a story but is quite hilarious and a good watch.

If you are wondering, will this post ever end? You are in luck, the post is ending now.