Inshallah

The meaning of Inshallah is ‘if God wills it’. Now that’s a word I’ve been hearing since toddlerhood. When I grew big enough to think on my own, I knew that when Uppa said Inshallah in response to one of our requests, he had no intentions of fulfilling it; he just didn’t want to disappoint us with an outright No.

  

Later in college, one of my friends, Abid used to mention Inshallah a lot. Whenever he said it, things worked out just the opposite to our wishes. So, Inshallah started being associated with ‘no chance’ or ‘hell freezing over is likelier’. The word got so unpopular that a few of our non-Muslim friends started referring to it as ‘the I word’.

  

 
I used to poke fun of the word, a lot. That was until 29^th Aug, 2008 happened.
  

Case in point:  17^th Sept, 2007 was Kashi’s birthday. In contrast to our usual low-profile birthdays, this time we had planned a dinner out with our cousins (maternal cousins who were in the UAE at that time). We were all walking to our cars when suddenly Kashi told us that we’d have to take a rain check on the dinner. Another cousin (paternal) was unwell and had called up my brother to take him to the doctor. All of us dispersed saying that the next time we’d have a big bash. Mind you, there were no Inshallahs mentioned. Alas! As tragic and spooky as things got, there was to be no next time.

  

Another case in point: In early 2009, I was window shopping and saw a Premium edition Scrabble set, the kind that we had since our Saudi days.  I knew right then that this was the perfect gift for my father, a Scrabble enthusiast. I also knew that it was not the right time to randomly buy it for Uppa as he wasn’t big on gifts. His 65^th birthday was fast approaching and that seemed like a good time to gift him the prized Scrabble set. Sadly, no Inshallahs occurred in my mind. As things would have been, God never willed for that 65^th birthday to happen.

  

So, no more mocking Inshallah. Now, I am scared about forgetting to say Inshallah when I wish for something. Inshallah, I’ll be more mindful of God’s intentions.

You never know how much you really believe anything until its truth or falsehood becomes a matter of life and death to you. ~ C.S. Lewis

Sin-Worthy Unnakaya

Just the other day, the tempting aroma of plantain fritters that my s-i-l was frying downstairs wafted through our house. My daughter thought it was the aroma of Unnakaya – a Malabar delicacy that makes you a glutton. The next thing I heard was, “Mommy, please make me some Kunnakaayams.” It was a hilarious moment hearing her pronounce it wrong, yet identifying the delicacy.

How about some Unnakaya with tea

How could I resist her sweet little request. That said, I had to muster up my patience to make this delicious snack. You’ll know why when you see the recipe.

Unnakaya

Ingredients:

2 kg plantain, not too ripe, not too raw

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cardamom

¼ cup coconut

½ cup milk

Nuts and raisins as much as you like

Ghee

Method:

1. Cut the ends off the plantains and steam them until just cooked. Take care not to overcook them.
2. Peel the skin and remove those fibrous things that run down the length of the plantain. Next, cut the plantain lengthwise and remove the black line of seeds from the center of the plantains. It is easier to do this when the plantain is still hot.
3. Pass the plantain through a sieve to mash the plantain well. You can also use a potato ricer; just make sure there are no lumps. Knead the mashed mass of plantain to form a dough. If the dough is a bit soft, you can refrigerate it for a bit.
4. For the filling, blend together eggs, sugar, milk, coconut and cardamom. Strain the mixture into a bowl to remove cardamom bits.
5. Heat a pan, pour some ghee and roast the nuts and raisins. To this, add the egg mixture and stir well like you would to scramble eggs. Take off the heat once the mixture cooks through and solidifies; make sure all the liquid has dried. Once the filling has cooled, you can proceed with shaping the unnakaya.
6. Apply a little ghee on your palm and fingers (the grease prevents the dough from sticking to your hands). Make balls about the size of a lemon. Flatten each ball on your palm to form a circle and place a teaspoon of the filling in the center. Now carefully fold the circle down the middle like you would close a book. You get a nice oval-shaped unnakaya. Smoothen the seams with your fingers.
7. Shallow fry the unnakayas in medium heat until golden brown. Take care not to burn them as the sugar in the plantain caramelizes quickly.
8. Enjoy this snack without an ounce of guilt – you deserve a treat for painstakingly making these unnakayas!

Wish I'd made some more!

This sweet dish is a real winner - even my husband, who hates the whole banana family, devours them.

Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the Titanic who waved off the dessert cart. ~ Erma Bombeck

You mean Meen?

Recently, while holidaying in Pondicherry, I was determined to try out as much seafood as possible because, at times, we get such rotten fish here in Bangalore. So, for lunch and dinner, I skipped the lamb and fowl and dived straight into the seafood platter, shrimp salad, fried fish and seafood creole (high on my to-cook list). I also tasted this very yummy Meen Kollumbu, a Tamil fish curry. Right then, right there I decided I had to recreate that seafood classic. Yesterday, after much searching, I found this recipe, and I followed it almost to the T.

Meen Kollumbu

Meen Kollumbu

Ingredients: 
Kingfish – 750 gm
Shallots – 1 cup (or 1 large red onion)
Coconut – ½ a coconut
Tamarind – extract of about a lemon-sized ball
Tomato – 1
Coriander powder – 4 tbsp
Chili powder – 2 tsp (I substituted it with Kashmiri chili powder)
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Salt
Fenugreek seeds – a few
Curry leaves – a few
Coconut oil – as required

Method:

1. Clean and pat dry the fish and rub some turmeric powder and salt on it.
2. Keep aside 6 shallots and chop the remaining. If using an onion, reserve a quarter.
3. Grind the coconut, tomato and the reserved shallots/onion to a fine paste. Add the powders and grind again. Add the tamarind extract to the ground paste.
4. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a manchatti (clay pot).  In Tamil Nadu, they use sesame oil for its distinct flavour.
5. Put a few fenugreek seeds in the hot oil. Once the seeds splutter, add the curry leaves and chopped shallots. Sauté till the shallots change colour.
6. Add the ground paste along with some water and mix well. Allow this mixture to bubble for at least 20 minutes. Add water if the curry is thick and add salt to taste.
7. Slowly slide in the fish and boil the curry till the fish is cooked, about 10 minutes for big fishes and 5 for small ones.
8. Once done, take the pot off the heat, drizzle some oil over the curry and close it with a lid. Serve warm with rice.

As with most puli-based fish curries, this curry tastes better when you rest it for a few hours; it tastes best the next day.

Tip: If you plan on making this curry often, you can grind a bigger batch of the coconut-masala paste and freeze it for later use.

Even my daughter
relished the curry with some fish fry.

No clock is more regular than the belly. ~ Francois Rabelais

Grab that Crab

I like cooking and experimenting new dishes, but I generally stay away from seafood. Every once in a while I feel like having mom’s Fish Molee or fried fish, and that’s about the only time I buy fish. Yesterday, I decided to buy some fish for my dear daughter who’s a content little kitty cat if she has fried fish for lunch. 
    

From my fish monger, I bought my usual - kingfish, mackerel and sardine - and to my utter surprise, I bought some crab too! I’ve always wanted to cook crab, but the mess of cleaning it inevitably puts me off. Luckily for me, I got the crab cleaned and ready to cook.

Nattu’s Crab Masala

I knew for sure that I had to make something really spicy if my hubby had to eat it. So I looked up the Internet and came up with this recipe. Of course, I had to do it my way - some tweaking here and there and the rest is history! 
   
Ingredients:

Crabs -  4-5 medium, cleaned and halved
Onion- 1 small, finely chopped
Ginger - 1” piece, finely chopped
Garlic - 5-6, finely chopped
Chili powder - 1 tsp ( I also added 2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder for the intense colour)
Coriander powder - 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
Fenugreek (uluva) powder - ½ tsp (I also added a pinch of powdered fennel seeds)
Tomato – 1 medium, finely chopped

Salt, Water, Curry leaves, Coconut oil
     
Method:

1. Heat some oil in a deep wok and add curry leaves.
2. Add the finely chopped ginger and garlic and sauté till light brown.
3. Add the chopped onion and sauté till golden.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add all the powders and sauté well.
5. Add the chopped tomato and sauté till the tomato turns mushy.
6. Add around 2 cups of water and salt to taste; bring to a boil.
7. Finally, add the crab, cook covered, mixing occasionally.
8. Cook for about 15 minutes, and then remove the lid and cook until the gravy is thick enough to coat the crab.
9. Pour some coconut oil and garnish with curry leaves. Serve hot with appam or rice.

Tip: Once the crab is cooked, let it rest for a few hours. This way the crab absorbs the spices in the gravy. You can later thicken the gravy before serving.

I made this before lunch and served it for dinner. Hubby liked it..not too bad for a first time!

  

I'm on a seafood diet - I see food, I eat it. ~ Dolly Parton

Gosh! Ganache

As part of my new-found culinary bravery, I decided to make some Chocolate Ganache. 

Decadent Chocolate Cake

  Making ganache is as simple* as making coffee.

1. Take one part chocolate and one part heavy cream.
2. Scald some heavy cream.
3. Pour it over chopped chocolate. 
4. Stir it. Ganache done.

Pour some  ganache over your cake and you get a rich, decadent chocolate cake. Yummm!!!

Forget love -- I'd rather fall in chocolate!!!

*Getting those two ingredients is not that simple.

Innovation or Laziness?

For all the pastas and pizzas that I've made, I've never made the Lasagna.
Some nagging fear factor has kept me from trying it this long. Yesterday, I finally took the plunge. I thought I'd start small, something mini, courtesy the Internet.

Lasagna Cupcakes

Lasagna Cupcakes

Things you need:

Olive oil
Onions, garlic, tomatoes and herbs
Chicken - boiled and shredded
Loads and loads of cheese - I used cheddar, mozzarella and sliced cheese
Samosa leaves
Muffin tray

Marinara Sauce, the lazy way:

1. Sweat some chopped onions and a handful of garlic in lots of olive oil. Weight-watchers needn't be as generous with the oil. Time-watchers can speed up the sauteing process by added a pinch of salt to the onions.
2. Next up, your herbs. My regular additive is oregano. Since rosemary is my new-found love, I added it too.
3. Squish some tomatoes and toss 'em in the pan. Well, I couldn't bother with the mess, so I just substituted it with tomato paste and Maggi pizza sauce (Maggi pizza sauce tends to overpower the rosemary and all the other subtle flavors).
4. Finally, chuck in the shredded chicken. Viola! Lazy Marinara sauce is ready.

Bechamel, rich and creamy:
I made no compromise making a panful of cheesy Bechamel sauce. Sorry weight-watchers. I already cut a lot of corners, couldn't cut back on the cheese.

Assembling the Lasagna:

1. Line your muffin tins with samosa squares. The original recipe for lasagna cupcakes replaced lasagna sheets with wanton wraps. I innovated the innovation one notch further and  used samosa leaves. Big mistake - they are too thin, I should've placed a couple of sheets for each layer. The flavor's ok though.
2. Pour some of the lazy marinara sauce over the samosa squares.
3. Next spoon some bechamel, and tear up some sliced cheese over it. 
4. Repeat the layers and bake it over medium heat for about 20 minutes or until you are through with an episode of Two and a Half Men.

PS: If you don't oil your muffin tins, you will end up eating it straight off the tray. Luckily for me, I also baked a batch in my silicone muffin tray.

You don't need a silver fork to eat good food.  ~ Paul Prudhomme

Why do people ask for recipes?

I keep hearing ladies asking for recipes of melt-in-the-mouth kebabs and delectable desserts. So why do they do that? That too when you can easily get recipes online or more traditionally, from cookbooks?

 Kladdkaka - A simple Swedish Gooey chocolate cake

Well, here’s what I think.

People are hesitant to go online and sift through hundreds of recipes for a simple Chocolate cake. It's too much of a pain to find a good recipe.  Here, good means eye-catching or easy-to-make. 

• You have to judge the recipe based on the techniques applied. Of course, your ability to execute those techniques is just as important. 
• You must have all the ingredients listed in the recipe ready at hand. Better yet, you already have them at home!

The other reason why people ask for recipes? 

Imagine this. You are at a dinner party and you've just had this mouthwatering lasagna. So you would love to get that recipe 'coz:

• Someone's tried it, and it's obviously turned out well.
• You've already taste-tested it and really liked it.

Kladdkaka - not much of a looker, but it sure tastes yum! 

I got this recipe from a Facebook friend who got it from her friend's blog. I tried it out 'coz I was in the mood to bake. More importantly, it was simple and I had all the ingredients with me. I posted this pic on Facebook, and it caught on like wild fire.

A few days later, I made another batch for my nephew as an incentive for him to fast. Well, he was very motivated - come sundown and he downed the whole thing.

 

PS: What got me thinking about all this? I was thinking about Seena's sinfully delightful cupcakes, not to mention they were cute and quaint. Had 'em about 2 years ago, and those were the best cupcakes I've ever had! Would really love to try it out myself :)

Age of Innocence

I was watching the classic 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' last night. It reminded me how graceful actresses of that time were and how much more clothes they all had on them. That apart, I was reminded of my school days, the times we spent playing Antakshari, where most songs of the aforementioned movie featured. Those were some great days - our only worries were about grades. Such great friends I was among - Saima, Sameera, Alham, Lavanya. Most of them were Pakistanis...what spunk and spirit they had, how lively our class used to be. I know for sure that their fervor for life and their don't-be-serious-all-the-time demeanor rubbed on to me. Time to look them up on FB.

Down the Memory Lane

I had serious intentions when I went hunting for older pics of mine, ones where I was comparatively fitter (read slimmer). I just wanted some inspiration to burn my blubber. Instead, I took an emotional trip down the memory lane.

These pictures were no more than seven years old and yet I couldn't but ponder over the multitude of changes 7 puny years brought about in my life...career change to status change to change of residence to change of attitude towards life and death...

Ordinarily, a family pic taken on one of the Eids would just elicit a smile. Now I smile, but I also sigh.
Melancholy takes the place of delight when I see a picture of us friends having a good time at the Hyatt Regency. A sense of homesickness (Sigh!)

On the plus side, today I made a black bean dip that reminded me of Foul Mudammas, a staple Friday morning dish in the Kannathpady household!


Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to.  ~John Ed Pearce

Tennis's Nemeses

The Australian Open Men's finals was epic! It was a pleasure to see Djokovic emerge as the winner.

I've never been a fan of Nadal-style tennis - the huffing, puffing and running all over the court. I've never found that scuttling enjoyable. Apart from the playing style, I have this deep-seated bias against the said player. Nadal is Federer's nemesis. I remembering calling Nadal a nemesis way back in 2005, long before I read it in the papers!

In the same note, I utterly dislike Amanda Coetzer because I've maintained that she was Steffi Graf's nemesis. Ah, the Golden days of Women's tennis :)

Going Great Guns

New blog. Check.
Fresh ideas. Check.
High energy. Check.

Yup, I’m finally all set to launch my new blog. Some eat to live; others live to eat. I belong to the second category. On days when I live to eat, I'll share my thoughts about food. On the occasional days when I eat only to live, I'll give you plenty of food for thought.

Until next time, some food for thought.

Recipe: A series of step-by-step instructions for preparing ingredients you forgot to buy, in utensils you don't own, to make a dish the dog wouldn't eat.