I did it!

I've been meaning to tell you...I donated my hair last week to Locks of Love. I feel so much lighter!



It's spring break and we're on the California Zephyr as you read this. I hope I get better pictures this time!

Dal Matters: Whole Moong Dal

Last weekend, my family celebrated Holi for the first time in the US. It isn't my favorite festival. I hated stepping out on Holi because I was a sure target for water balloons tossed from the 3rd or 4th floor. They hurt. People who refused to make eye contact through the year were suddenly pouring water all over me, touching me and plastering my face and clothes with color. No, thank you. I used to call it the "touch your neighbor's wife anywhere you want and get away with it" festival. This was Rangpanchami or Dhulivandan.

I did enjoy the real Holi. A lot. Mali-dada or the man who was the watchman-gardener-milkman for our little apartment complex would dig a large hole, fill it with twigs and dead leaves and set it ablaze. This, I later learned, was the funeral pyre for Holika, a demoness. The children would dance around the fire and chant:
Holi re Holi
Purana chi Poli

Mali-dada would crack open the coconuts we had given to him for prasad and then most of the women and kids would go to the terrace at the top of the building where much merriment would occur under the full moon, sans bhang.


We didn't partake of any celebrations in Chicagoland as it was always too cold and messing with powdered colors indoors was not something anyone was willing to take on in their homes. It was different last weekend: the weather held out at a breezy 60F with no rain or snow. Perfect for Holi.
We went armed with our Super Soaker but it was a little too breezy for that and Medha was disappointed. She's quite an ace when it comes to making sneak attacks and using the flash flood mode to douse her opponent with water. She made up for it by having a blast with the colors - apparently they smelled good, too. She was quite enthralled by her hair which soon had hues of purple and orange; a shower was the last thing she wanted to do once we got home.

Later in the week, she came home excited that the Time for Kids for that week had a picture of kids in Ahmedabad celebrating Holi.

Puran poli is the traditional food for Holi.

I don't celebrate Holi and I don't make Puran poli. Instead, I made whole moong dal. This recipe boasts a flavor that I had been trying to recreate from memory for what seems like forever. It is based on this recipe and is a keeper. There is no need to molly-coddle the whole moong with an overnight soak. A pressure cooker is all you need to ensure the soft creaminess of these beans.

Whole Moong Dal

• 1 cup whole green moong dal
• 2 tbsp ghee
• a pinch asafetida
• 1 tamalpatra bay leaf
• 1" cinnamon
• 3 cloves
• 1 whole red chilli, broken into pieces
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1 tbsp garlic, grated
• 2 green chillies, slit vertically
• 3-4 tbsp cilantro, chopped fine
• 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• salt to taste

1. Rinse the whole moong beans, drain and set aside.
2. Heat the ghee directly in the pan of the pressure cooker.
3. Add asafetida, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, and red chillies, followed by cumin seeds.
4. Add chopped onions and cook until they have softened some.
5. Add turmeric powder, green chillies, ginger, garlic, and tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes.
6. Add whole moong and approximately 4 cups of water.
7. Add red chilli powder and salt.
8. Add chopped cilantro.
9. Cook on a high flame for 2 whistles. Turn the flame to low and cook for about 45 minutes.
10. Do not release the built-up pressure; instead allow the pressure cooker to cool on its own.
11. When you can open the pressure cooker, adjust for seasonings, garnish with some cilantro and serve hot with rotis or steaming hot rice.

Notes:

1. What I love about this recipe, apart from its fabulous flavors, is that I don't need to plan a day ahead if I want to make this for dinner. One could soak the moong but it's not necessary.
2. Ghee adds a wonderful dimension to the phodni.
3. The original recipe suggests using some tomato paste to add an appealing color to the dish. It imparts no additional flavor so I skip that part.
4. To up the heat, increase the number of red chillies in the phodni and/or green chillies and/or red chilli powder.

Try it. It's a recipe you will want to make again and again.

Cheesy

I know you won't believe me but it's true! I have had a moong dal recipe lined up all month but the post never happened. Life has been hectic and weekends more so, with skiing and/or snowshoeing every weekend of January right through Valentine's Day.

Happy skier

Lots of fun is had out in the mountains but ski clothes a huge mound of laundry do make. Another huge pile, I should say, because I am never caught up with the week's laundry. Every day, I promise myself that today I shall run the washer and dryer until there is no piece of clothing or towel or rag left unwashed, but those darned Fabindia kurtis drive me nuts. They bleed and cannot be washed with other clothes. I hate wet bathroom floors so handwashing and line-drying is out of question, especially in winter. It's out of question in summer, too, because the powerful Colorado sun bleaches those vegetable dyes. That's my excuse anyway. If you have better excuses I could use, submit them as a comment and I'll try to design a suitable virtual badge as a prize for the best one.

In between never-ending laundry, I did manage to have some foodie and crafty fun with friends. Kitt did the honors with the food shots and I had fun with our tripods.

Are you my Mommy?

Now, why couldn't the Click theme have been wine? Or bottle? Or glass? Or something Australian? Or what Bee does best? Bitch would have been so perfect for any or all of these.

But, no! It had to be cheese. Le sigh.

So I made French Onion Soup instead. I had some aged Gruyere cheese that was begging to be used and the recipe from The Joy of Cooking didn't scare me too much with 2 tbsp of butter and 2 tbsp of olive oil. The soup was just fine but the pictures? Poo!


The only thing they lent themselves well to was a diptych. But poo there, too! (The smart ones will know what I am talking about.)

With the Gruyere gone, the aged handcrafted habanero cheddar cheese beginning to look slightly moldy and the deadline fast approaching, I decided I would 'phone it in' by sloshing some delectable HFCS-free store-bought Raspberry Chipotle sauce over a triangle of cream cheese and shoot it to death, while my child lay in bed shivering with high fever. Such is my addiction to this thing called Click.

To whomsoever it may concern, the picture directly above this paragraph and immediately below the preceding paragraph is my entry for this month's Click: Cheese.

Back to the sick child then. Yes, the poor child is sick but she had a really great week. Her school had its first play ever and it was the delightful You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Medha does not believe in being seen when she acts or dances or sings. She prefers to make a difference behind the scenes and so she, along with 3 other talented kids, did the music during scene changes. The cast was made up of about sixty 4th and 5th graders who practiced on Wednesday and Thursday mornings before school from September onwards. They had two main casts with three performances and boy, what a show they put on! It was hard to believe that these kids were between the ages of 9 and 11. Here's a short clip of Medha playing the Charlie Brown melody.

The moong dal recipe? It's coming. As soon as I finish making dinner for my famished and sick family, doing the dishes and the laundry, and my article for The Daily Tiffin that was due yesterday.

Jai Ho!

Late! Late! Late!

I know! The last date for Click Red was January 30 but I've been a little under the weather and so busy that I don't know which side is up or rather if it's still today or if today is now yesterday.

Life is still whizzing past me and I am in a perpetual state of trying to catch up. I feel old. I feel slow. Mostly, I am tired and overwhelmed. My lifeline has been these unassuming Goji berries or Chinese wolfberries that Manju of Three Tastes sent me a while ago.


I boil 1 tsp of these goji berries in 2 cups of water until the water boils down to 1 cup. I drink the water like one would herb tea. It has an earthy flavor which I find very comforting. The berries plump up and soften and get a texture almost like raisins. In fact, they taste like a less sugary version of raisins. I relish these as I sip my goji berry tea and I can feel my energy level being revived.


Goji berries should not be consumed raw. They can be cooked and then used as a substitute for other types of berries in cupcakes. I haven't yet done that as I am stuck on tea. I have added goji berry water to miso soup for an additional boost on cold wintry days.

I'm sorry I haven't replied to your comments on my last couple of posts. I promise you I have read them all and chuckled over them. You make my day when you leave me a comment, so thank you very much!

I'm sending the first pic to Click as my judge's entry. I have taken better pictures but lately time seems to be in short supply so this has to be it.

Sweet!

How many of you watched the inauguration without a tear in their eye or hope in their heart? It was a fabulous moment in history when Barack Obama was sworn in as President of the United States. Our local schools turned on their classroom TVs to let the children build their own memories. Medha tells me that after the crowd started shouting "No More Bush", her class had their own chant:
No more Bush,
Only Trees

What a great day, yes?!

There were more highlights to the day. The Daily Tiffin was nominated as one of the best group blogs on food! Voting is open until Saturday, January 24th at 8 pm EST. So hurry on over and cast your vote if you think since you know we are doing a good job at The Daily Tiffin.

Vote for The Daily Tiffin

Also, Jen's Use Real Butter has been nominated as one of the Best Food Blogs - Overall. How cool is that?! Jen's photography is mind blowing and her recipes are fantastic. She has a wicked sense of humor and is a real sweetheart. Plus she gives warm genuine hugs. So while you're over at Well Fed feeding their polls, please take a moment to stop by the Best Food Blog category and vote for Jen!

Vote for Use Real Butter

I thought that would be all I would need to make you wonderful readers do but there's one more clickety-click that I found about just now! Aimee of the hilarious and well-written Greeble Monkey holds a monthly Greeblepix competition where she gives away $250 in photo rentals from a local Denver photo shop. This is the first month that one of my pictures is in the top 10 finalists. Voting ends Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at midnight Mountain time so please go take a look and vote for the best picture from those 10 inspiring images.

I want to be free

And when you're done voting, please come back here to celebrate with my version of Saffron Hut's Coconut Burfi. This has been a hit every time I have made, once I mastered the art of making it, that is. My version is richer and creamier as that was the only solution to get the burfi to 'set'.

Coconut Burfi

Picture courtesy Jen of Use Real Butter

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup frozen unsweetened grated coconut, thawed
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream (1 pint)
  
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 2 tbsp sliced almonds
  

1. Combine sugar, cream and coconut and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently.
   
2. Reduce heat to simmer.
3. Cook until the coconut mixture comes together and is very thick. This takes about an hour for me at this altitude.
   
4. Grease an 8x8 inch tray with melted butter.
5. Transfer the coconut mixture to this tray and sprinkle with cardamom powder and sliced almonds.
   
6. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 8 hours.
   
7. Cut into 1 inch diamonds or squares and serve as dessert with vanilla ice-cream or by itself.

Notes:

• The original recipe calls for 1 cup of milk which I have substituted with heavy cream. No matter what I did, the burfi just would not set when I used milk. Also, I was usually left staring at half a carton of heavy whipping cream, wondering what to do with it especially since I do not make butter chicken as often as I make this burfi. Remember that 1 pint is about 2 cups so that little pint carton of heavy whipping cream is the right size to buy.
• Sometimes I cook the coconut mixture a few minutes too long. That results in a very firmly set burfi. In this case, warm it gently in a microwave for 20-30 seconds or leave it out on the counter for 15-20 minutes before serving it.
• This coconut burfi is different from the traditional Indian coconut burfi as it is more fudge-like in its texture and very moist.
  

I hope you enjoy my version of this Coconut Burfi as much as we do!

I went out for a bike ride yesterday - yes! On January 20, 2009! In winter! We had glorious weather - just as we do today with temps almost touching 70F. So I had to make another Obamicon to commemorate just what a great day it was yesterday.



I will leave you on that Obama-high and hope that the new President is able to help fix all that has been undone in the past eight years.