Cooking like my mother

If you have read my last post here , you have the background of how Nimona needs fresh peas. Now I want to fast forward 10 years. To this date, I have not made Nimona myself. I have had the urge to make Nimona with what is easily available (frozen peas) several times, but I have let it pass. But then I have been craving Nimona for some time and yesterday I decided to make it using frozen peas. After I put all the spices and closed the pressure cooker lid for nimona to get cooked, I came downstairs to do some work. As I went back upstairs after couple of minutes , right kind of nimona smells were coming out of my kitchen. I was very excited. I immediately put some rice and had a nice nimona - chawal meal the moment rice was done. In conclusion I can say that somebody who has craved nimona all this time but eaten it only couple of times in last 10 years, it was a big treat. I am sure it will be better with fresh peas. Recipe 3 cups peas 2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used musta...

When mummy spent couple of months with us 10 years ago, it was a big opportunity for me to watch and learn from her. I would ask her to cook my favorite things as kids, things that I did not eat as kid but had grown to like, and even things that you hardly ever make at home in India (like jalebi, boondi, dal ka samosa) since they are easily available in the market. She prepared everything I sked for. But every time I asked her for Nimona, a childhood favorite of mine, she asked for fresh peas. I pointed to the big frozen bag of peas in my fridge and she simply said you cant make nimona unless you have fresh peas. One time we did find shelling peas in the market and we ended up buying 1-2 lbs but the peas that came out were little and we hardly filled a cup. So she just gave me the recipe and asked me to make it with fresh peas. Nimona, a spicy green pea curry, was prepared at our house in winter months when peas are in abundance. After you buy the peas in their pods, there w...

It has been sometime since I posted anything. But the good news (for me) is that I have cooked and collected material for lot of recipes. Let me start with one that has become a staple for weekend breakfast at our house. Namkeen sevanyee simply means savory vermicelli. When I was growing up, only way we ate vermicelli was in kheer (pudding). Mummy must have acquired the savory recipe from somewhere - don't exactly remember when and where. It was always a big hit served with any chutney and was part of breakfast rotation for mummy. Mummy made the vermicelli with vegetables on hand - cauliflower, potato, carrots, peas being the main ones. I have also used cabbage, green beans, bell pepper at times. Only trick here is to cook the vermicelli in boiling water and then run it under cold water. This little trick prevents vermicelli noodles from becoming one sticky mass. Mummy boiled the vegetables separately as well, sometimes the night before. This makes preparing this dish a snap. I do...

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...