Green Pepper Pickle & breathing Mylapore air!

Like Emeralds in the Sea!

Green Pepper, the spice "they" came to India for!

Want to soak in the spirit of Tamil Nadu, then simply soak in the atmosphere around the Kapalishwar Temple in Mylapore, “Tank” for the locals, because of the huge square water tank with steps leading down. It is the heart of the city, and there is something about the place that has a huge attraction for me. Every visit to Chennai, includes at least one to Mylapore. Often more. And there is always there is something new that I find in the place. And though I know it may not be easy to live there, I wish I could… such a hustle and bustle of business and spirituality, of the mundane and the divine. It encapsules life like nothing else does. Some of the stores have remained, for ages, unchanged. Time in fact stands still even as the atmosphere is dynamic, effervescent.

I always stop to buy coffee beans at Leo’s. And some little stuff at Vijaya Stores,where there is every dress and accessory that Hindu gods may want. This is where women converge to shop for their "navaratri " requirements.

I buy a  lot more from Ambika stores in the corner. Once known only for Appalams, now it has everything a South Indian kitchen would need, in terms of ingredients.

And I  never come back without one of the stainless steel vessels I can do without. I have tender coconut, and  the raw banana bajji outside the Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan. 

I peep into the Rasi Silks just to feast on the stuff, and also admire every piece of art and craft that Rasi has in a tiny, traditional house, restored a bit odd , in the shadow of the tall  and colourful gopuram of the temple.

The fragrance of fresh jasmine and desi roja raft in the air, alongside that of freshly roasted coffee, sambar and spices, supari and turmeric...all blending peacefully with each other.

I invariably go back home with some odd vegetables, they are fresh and lovely. This time it was green pepper, to pickle,that I decided to buy. It is what dries into what the world knows as black pepper.

 They look like pearl shaped emeralds, jewels indeed-- bunched beautifully, like grapes, perhaps with more detailed crafting. 

I am surprised fashionistas haven't strung the bunches to make an exotic, original and organic necklace -- it is that beautiful. 

No wonder the spice is a treasure exported from India. I missed it on a trip to Kochi because it was not in season.

 The women selling it, also sell everything else that goes into it-- lemon and ginger primarily. 

It is simple to make.

Wash and drain off water. Cut as many lemons  as you please, and ginger if you have. I used the lovely, huge, seedless and juicy lemons that I harvested from my  five-year old lime tree  in Chandigarh.

Toss them all in a clean dry glass jar, add four tablespoons of salt for four cups of the pickling material, top it with fresh lime juice.

 Rest the jar in the fridge for a few days, and it is ready !

Pickled Green Pepper or Kurumilagai

We eat it with curd rice, but toss some on a salad, and it will be out of this world!

Rajmah - Chawal, with a whiff of home!

Kidney beans that taste nice and spicy...

Rajmah and rice, with Papad and onion slivers on the side

Home means food, and in Punjab, the northern border state of India, rajmah-chawal means home food. In English, it is called  Kidney beans, because it is kidney shaped. I have many friends who make this, with a dollop of love thrown in, when their children are expected home, from hostel or work in a different city, or even country.

There are varieties of rajmah—from the light brownish, to a variegated variety to the deep maroon coloured beans. And there are shades in between!There are also rajmahs in different sizes, some being a third of the length of the more common variety. The kidney beans grown in Jammu –part of the Jammu and Kashmir state—is believed to be the best.

The protein rich beans, pressure cooked, and cooked some more  in a gravy of onions and tomatoes, some spices and finished off with a generous garnish of chopped coriander, with plain  steamed  Basmati rice is a complete , wholesome meal. For those who want more, it could be a papad, roasted directly on the burner. And perhaps some slices of crisp onion on the side. That description makes me want to wish myself in a roadside dhaba on the Chandigarh-Amritsar highway! Or even somewhere near Banihal pass on the Jammu-Srinagar road.

Here is the simplest way of making it, as would be done in any rural household of Punjab, but using a pressure cooker:

Kidney beans soaking in water

Ingredients

Rajmah-one cup

Onion -1 large

Tomatoes-2 medium sized

Ginger-1 inch piece

Garlic-three or four pods

Cardamom-two

Clove-3

Cinnamon- a 1 inch piece

Bay leaves-2

Vegetable oil-2 teaspoons

Dry fenugreek leaves,crushed(kasoori methi)-1 teaspoon

Powder of roasted coriander seeds and jeera-1 teaspoon heaped

Red chilly powder-one teaspoon

Chopped coriander- a tablespoon, heaped.

Green chillies-3 or 4

(Makes for a generous meal for two)

Cooking Time:  About 40 minutes, not including the soaking time--overnight.

Cooking Method

Wash and soak the kidney beans overnight.  Put them in a pressure cooker, and add water, to ensure there are  about four cups of water in all. Add all the whole spices—cardamom,clove,bay leaves, cinnamon, and pressure cook for about half an hour, without letting the steam escape. To do this, you reduce the flame to minimum the minute you hear the pressure cooker whistle going off.

Tempting and wholesome

While the rajmah is getting cooked, cut the onions and tomatoes roughly. Put them in a blender, along with the ginger and garlic, and puree them together.

In a frying pan, heat the oil, and gently pour the tomato-onion puree, and stir continuously for five minutes. Now add the red chilly powder, the dhania jeera powder and the  kasoori methi, and stir. If it looks like it will stick to the bottom of the frying pan, add a little water, and keep stirring, till the oil leaves the sides.

Add this masala to the pressure cooked rajmah, and let them simmer together for five minutes or so. Add salt to taste. Crush a few of the rajmah beans along the wall of the pressure cooker,with the ladle. This will ensure that the gravy  thickens, and the beans blend together.

Before emptying the cooked rajmah into a serving dish, remove the bayleaves.

Garnish with chopped green chillies and fresh coriander.

Rajmah Chawal @ Home

Vegetable stew--creamy and spicy, Kerala style

The perfect side dish to go with rice or roti, bread or idiyappam or palappam!

Vegetable Stew, Kerala style

I was always a huge fan of the spicy and coconut based creamy veg side dishes of Kerala. A recent visit had me converted totally into a palappam,veg stew and puttu person.

So, at the earliest opportunity, I tried out some of these dishes in my own kitchen! And that phase is likely to continue for a while..

The vegetable stew—which comes as “ishtew”  on some menu cards—can  be had just as well with plain rice, though I had it  with palappam for breakfast, with rice for lunch, and just by itself as a light dinner! The next day, I had it with idiyappam. J

And it hardly took me ten minutes to make it.

Cubed vegetables

Ingredients:

Uniformly chopped vegetables like beans,carrots, potatoes,brocli(I did not have this one) etc – 2 cups full

Onion—1 medium sized

Green chillies—4 or 5 chopped

Cloves – 3 or 4

Cinnamon-a 1 inch stick

Bay leaves-2

Mace—one or two

Star Anees-2

Coconut milk—extracted from one coconut

(I used coconut milk powder)

Milk- Half a cup

Rice flour- half a teaspoon

Salt—to taste

Coconut oil—1 teaspoon

Vegetable oil-1 teaspoon

Boil the vegetables till they are partly cooked, but crunchy—al dante. Keep aside.

Semi boiled vegetables simmering in coconut milk

Heat the oil in a sauce pan, add the spices, sauté.  Take in the aroma for a minute, and add the finely chopped onion, green chillies, and  sauté. Now add the boiled vegetables, and mix well. Two minutes later, add the coconut milk while the gas is on sim, use milk to get the right amount of gravy Now add the salt. Two minutes later, add the rice flour mixed with a table spoon of water. This is the thickening agent.

Top it up with a spoon of plain coconut oil for flavor. Curry leaves are optional.

Your stew is ready. Serve …with  rice, idiyappam or aappam…or even plain, fresh bread. Or even roti or  Punjabi parathas or Malabar parotas.