Cooking like my mother

Mummy was always adding new pans, pots and cooking gadgets to her kitchen collection. Sometimes she discovered a new recipe needing that special gadget and other times she simply found a better, newer version of a gadget she alredy possesed. Whatever was the reason for her new purchase, we always benefited from it. She either bought the new gadgets for us or passed on the older version. Idli stand to make choti (small) idlies was one such purchase she made while visiting my brother in Surat. She bought several of these stands, keeping one for herself and giving others to my sister, sister in law and me. Idli, sambhar and chutney were standard fare for the parties at home. Idlies were considered light yet falvorful and festive, a departure from usual fried stuff like poories, bhatura served at parties. Making idlies was a ritual requiring lot of planning and multiple steps stating from soaking the dal, rice and then grinding and waiting for the batter to ferment. Recreating same taste ...

Mummy made this sweet chutney using amiya, hindi name for unripe, green mangoes. Amiya's tart flavour makes it a good choice for pickles and chutneys. Every year, when amiya was available in the market, the sweet chutney is amongst one of the many pickles/chutneys mummy prepared. After making a big batch of chutney, she stored it in several clean glass bottles. One of those bottles used to find a permanent place on the dining table because we consumed the chutney in variety of ways almost whole day. Sometimes we spread it on top of a toasted bread for breakfast or snack, other times we ate it with roti/paratha with the regular meal, and then there were times we will scoop it on top of mathari or crackers or eat it plain like it was a dessert. 'Radha, now why does the picture shows apples and not mangoes?' you ask. If I were to pick one food related thing I have missed most about India, I will have to pick mango (atually there may be a tie between guava and mango). Ripe man...

"Mixture" was the name given to the stew like mixed vegetables mummy prepared when root vegetables are in season. I must confess that I did not like this as a kid but grew up to appreciate the simpicity of the dish and the natural flavours of the vegetables it highlighted. The combinations of the vegetables work very well together, providing different textures, flavors and color to the dish. This was also one or Papa's favorite thing. The success of this recipe is dependent on finding the freshest vegetables and adding lots of garlic and hot green chillies. This definitely deserves a trip to the farmer's market. Ingredients ------------- 1 tbsp oil (i used olive oil) 1 tsp cumin seeds 4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced in small pieces 2-3 green chillies, cut in small pieces 2 tomatoes cut in small pieces 1 mooli (asian white radish) diced 1 medium size turnip diced 1 carrot diced 2 cups spinach chopped 4 small eggplants (indian eggplant) diced Recipe ---------- 1. Hea...

If ever I were to plan whole week's menu, I always add making soup to the list. But by the time I am done making the dinner, making soup feels too much work and there is no time left to execute the multiple steps required. Mummy had broken down the steps and simplified the process so in winter months, we could have soup every day. She prepared a big batch of concentrated concoction for the soup, boiled vegetables blended and strained, ready to be served by just adding water and spices. One batch lasted her couple of days and next batch was prepared when the previous one got over. The soup was almost always tomato based and was referred to as simply "Soup". Mummy added vegetables like Lauki, carrots, spinach, depending on what was available. She took delight in secretly feeding these vegetables in soup, especially to kids. Sometimes she served fried bread croutons along with the soup. In the evening, an hour or so before dinner, the soup was served in small tea cups or sma...

Bajare ka pua is one of those things that Mummy made and I always enjoyed but never got around to cooking it on my own. Bajare Ka Pua also turned out to be one of the last things Mummy made that we were fortunate enough to try. It is always going to hold a special place in my heart for that reason. Best way to describe a pua is to call it a sweet fried bread. It has the sweetness from gur (jaggery) and slightly bitter (but sweet) after taste from the millet flour. In winter months, when millet flour is available, Mummy made the puas to be enjoyed by us kids and my father. She had a special snack cupboard in the house where all the special treats were kept. One of my favortie thing to do when I visited her was to check the snack cupboard. It was a delight to find some of the items I had not tasted for a long time. So how did I got around to making the pua? 1st March was the festival of Holi and I wondered about what to prepare. I decided to make puas. I felt nervous because even though ...

In our house (as in most houses in India), it was common to serve raw 'salad type vegetables' with the meals. We called it 'salad' though we ate it more like a relish along with all other food. The choice of vegetable to serve as 'salad' depended on what was in the season. Cucumbers, tomatoes in summer and radishes, carrots in winter. I love the one mummy made with radish and tomatoes. It is visually very appealing and very falvorful and her special touch was to grate the radish instead of just cutting it. Grating the radish allows flavors to get mingled with tomato very nicely. The recipe is so simple that one can not go wrong with it. I use daikon, the type of radish available in India in winter months. You start with peeling and grating the radish, squeezing grated radish between your hands to take out the juice and mixing it with chopped tomatoes, chopped cilantro and green chillies if you can handle the heat. Then you add a litle bit of salt and lime juice ...