Chocolate cookies

And with that, I'm back. Hopefully, for longer than just this one post. So yeah, a lot has happened in the last 4-6 months that we haven't done anything related to this blog. After a rather cheesy post (in retrospect) and several good wishes later, I have 4 months 19 days, 19 hours, 13 mins and 10 seconds to go as I write this line. My solitary cooking and eating habits have improved vastly thanks to some New Year resolutions. My resolution this year or at least for this semester is to cook at home and eat home cooked food only. I'm not eating any sugar or sugar substitutes (slowly cutting that down) and eating only brown rice/quinoa. I spent most of last year, from June, to be precise, eating only bulgur/couscous/quinoa with occasional rice indulgences. I don't quite regret it. I'm way fitter now and way stronger physically. However, I lost control a couple of times last year. Once, when I had Finals week breathing down my neck and cookies, random food and anything that made me happy and stuffed. Next, in December, I went to California for a cousin/sibling reunion. While I ate normally most of the time in LA/SFO, the last 4-5 days when we returned the car and did nothing but lie around watching TV, we lost it. In order to show sisterly love to our baby brother, we baked a lot. And ate a lot thanks to his emotional blackmail.

This cousin of mine stays an hour away from me. We didn't talk much to each other over the last so many years. Suddenly, we all seemed to bond on this mighty California trip. How, why and what happened is anyone's guess. While he likes to point out that we never spoke to him, I think I have the whole family nodding their heads in agreement when I say that he was a very quiet kid. It is also quite shocking these days for me to see kids like him and my youngest sister act like adults. Because they are adults now. I don't feel old or anything, but just that as this cousin of mine pointed out, I have become rather maami-like (like an aunt- very maternal; feminine version of avuncular, I suppose) So, anyway back to food. This kid loves food. I remembered all the times in my granny's house when we'd all stuff ourselves with food and eat dessert too. While some of us ate dessert much later or skipped it sometimes, he never did. He has a sweet tooth and everyone in the family knows that. My aunt, granny and my mum have been known to send sweets, bought or home-made through every other person who goes to Chennai. I remember the days we drove to my granny's house to pick up the 'bhakshanam' (snacks) and bought Chiroti from Subbamma's (an old store in Bangalore selling amazing snacks and delicacies. Sigh) for him.

So, when I came back from California, we started talking more. More emotional blackmail ensued from his side. And since he loves chocolate (and how!), I decided to bake him these. I saw them on Tastespotting and haven't stopped thinking about them ever since. I cut the recipe by half for the sake of good health and made them. While mine don't look like hers by any standards, I have to say that they were tasty. I didn't get the dark chocolate colour she got probably because of the difference in the kind of cocoa powder she used. I also cut down on the chocolate chips. My cousin may not be too happy about that!

All said and done, several of my friends on Twitter have been asking me to come back to blogging about food. And some of them ask for simple recipes, some just want to see pictures. I hope that this post is just the beginning and both A and I blog more regularly going forward. He is currently busy with his sister's wedding and I can't believe I'm missing the biggest event in my in laws' house after I got married. Calling them, hearing how much they miss me and all the noise behind makes me home sick. Terribly. But like someone pointed out to me on Facebook, this too shall pass and soon, I will be cooking and baking with A on my side (who'd have figured out a way to get that dark chocolate colour and wouldn't have skimped on ingredients!) I also don't have pictures for this post since my house is pretty dark thanks to the never-ending winter in Syracuse. I'm going to try to take pictures during the weekends to post with recipes going forward.

V, this one goes out in a mail to you on Monday. For Valentine's Day ;)

Kuzhi Paniyaram

I love recipes that salvage leftovers, or make more interesting stuff with leftovers than the 'main' dish. This is one such meal. While a lot of people actually make their dosa/idli/paniyaram batter for Kuzhi Paniyaram and make it regularly, we don't. Not because we don't like it. Just that I've never thought of it. We never had this, as kids at home. I mean, who had leftovers of Dosa! :)

However, I saw Cham's recipe for this and wondered about how cute they look! We tried it once. And I loved it. I mean, I'm obsessed that way. Obsessed about figuring out interesting recipes for what I think is leftovers :D Like the way I ruined a good lemonade by adding a highly concentrated 2 tbsp of strawberry syrup left over from a dessert experiment. All because I couldn't see it lying in the fridge. I love emptying the fridge. I feel efficient :D Which is why I can plan meals for the next two years and dream about an empty fridge. It gives me peace of mind when I plan and make a things-to-do list. Okay, I digressed. My OCDs don't end and this post isn't a forum for that!

Coming back, we met her and she fed us fat, juicy looking, crisp-on-the-outside-but-spongy-on-the-inside Gunta Panganaalu. I love this name :D Reminds me of Shetty uncles from my childhood in Bangalore. Anyway, I loved the recipe and decided to pester my mom-in-law to finally get me an abel-whatever pan from India. She got me a non stick pan which was small. I wanted a large cast-iron one dreaming of making rounds of Kuzhi Paniyaram to feed hungry people. I have this vision of my house being the abode of abundance with people forever coming over to eat and all that. Much like the old times in India used to be. Its a different thing that A thinks rather differently about this! He gets scared at these harmless dreams. Okay, again, I digress.

So, when my mom-in-law got me this, the time was opportune. Want to know why? I thought I will show her how efficient a home-maker I was and how well I fed her son who looks so scrawny that people thought I ate his share of food too! So, the day before she landed, I ground up TONS of Idli/Dosa batter, so my fridge will look like the classic South Indian housewife's fridge. Big utensils with nicely risen batter. To make anytime and everytime. Since the word efficient doesn't apply to me for any part of my life, let alone my home-maker self, the idlis turned red. Ya. Red. I threw a tantrum because now, I didn't know how to show I was a good wife. I didn't wake up at 4 AM like the mom-in-law. I didn't pack fresh lunch for my husband. He took leftovers because I believe food tastes better the next day :P, I didn't get up lovingly to watch him eat cereal in the morning. Now, this Idli batter also threw me off course!

In sheer anger, I threw a lot of batter and sat there waiting for her to come. Come, the next day, without any pretence of jet lag, my mom-in-law was up at 4 poking in the kitchen. She saw the rest of the batter and decided to make dosas for bfast. She realized something was awfully wrong with the batter in probably 10 seconds. So, then she made this. Her son, after 2 years, ate hot breakfast and left for work, happy! She made sure I had my fill since I'm the breakfast person and I snacked on these the whole day.

*scene change - time moves - a year later*

I come back from India to see old batter in the fridge. While I've become really efficient, my OCD hasn't really gone down. I decided to make a weekend breakfast out of this batter. I could've made Dosa, but, but, the memories of my mother in law rustling up some Kuzhi Paniyaram was too hard to forget. So, A got this for brunch one Saturday morning. It turned out to be brunch thanks to picture-taking. And may I say that it was brilliant! I loved the way it looked and how fast it cooked and how much less oil (oxymoron there!) it took.

Its a great idea of breakfast or even a snack and a great idea to finish up your batter. Add some onions and some coriander and ta-da, you have a spicy, filling meal ahead of you! I'm not posting a recipe since I've linked Cham's recipe to this. I make it more or less similarly and her recipe has worked wonderfully for me. Thank you, Cham :)

Korean Style Cucumber Salad

It feels great to get hold of the computer from N and write a post! She is busy baking for a Thanksgiving feast at a friend's place and so, I thought I should seize (literally!) this opportunity to redeem myself.

First of all, let me address my love for sports. Don't think that I don't check all those Facebook status messages where N tries to portray this sad picture where she has to watch sports with me to save our marriage and the plethora of sympathy that she garners as a result of that : P

All I have to say is that I'd love to be a sportsman. But once you choose to get into sciences, it is rather hard to do so. So I live my dreams vicariously through them. Like millions of us who hail from a country that didn't particularly encourage sports as a full-time career when I was growing up. I am not sure how much things have changed now. But yes, growing up, I'd rather salute to the waving Indian flags when Sachin raised his bat after scoring a fifty or a hundred than when a patriotic song was played on the TV or radio. I'd rather scream to defend Ganguly's decision to field first than when a bunch of politicians screwed up or debated over an issue. I'd rather demonstrate my boiling rage on Ponting or Waqar Younis or Shoaib Akhtar by booing them vehemently than over potholes on the streets or at a protest to oppose something :)

Being in the US, I'm naturally into college and professional sports big time. I am an AVID Yankees fan, a BIG Kobe Bryant fan, apart from a couple of college football and a few other NFL, NBA and MLB teams. But I was a cricket fanatic before coming to the U.S. I am one still ;) I go to great lengths defending Sachin Tendulkar when someone blames him solely for any loss that we incur. I provide them with useful statistics to support my arguments ;) Unfortunately, N is neither a fan of statistics, nor logic :P

Speaking of N, she went on this salad diet sometime ago. It took a lot of convincing on her own part to get on this regimen. She ate salad for lunch and dinner and spent one whole month criticizing my food habits. She hates cucumber and doesn't eat much of the cukes lying around though is one of the first few things we pick up at the Farmer's Market. Its a classic N situation. She has a list and her eyes dart up and down the Market looking for people ( she can identify and wave a huge hi and give this huge 'OMG, I've missed you' smile), then quickly turn into this efficient shopper - all with equal ease and aplomb. It was one such day when she spotted these English cukes like every week and gave herself a lecture on how one should eat healthy food.

N: You know what? We should really eat healthy. All the chocolate cakes you bake are going to be the end of me.

A: But you hate cukes!

N: So what? If you try to eat, I'd also feel like eating! So its your fault.

A: Great! Pick it up.

N: Tonite is this salad that I saw at Susan's blog. Remember?

A: (I have no clue, to be honest) Oh ya, sure! I hope its only for you. I'm looking forward to some Lasagna.

N: (very disapproving, School Principal look) - Well, if that's what you want. I mean, look who is going to put on weight, who is going to be really sick when we get old. Fine. Be like that.

When N says "Fine. Be like that" that is exactly the opposite of what she means!! It means that she would LOVE to be in a situation where she'd get to eat all the lasagna but not put on a attometer of waistline. She will talk about it forever ;) and point out how unhealthy my lifestyle is. Which she did, very very promptly for the whole salad month. Just to give you a little context, I eat normal food. 3 Rotis with sabzi, Rasam Saadam, Lasagna occasionally, Pasta more often, dessert every night. Of course, to me, dessert could mean cubed apples with a drizzle of honey and some roasted almonds. However, for one whole month, N sat next to me with her salad bowl and would purposely eat the salad with a crunch, ooh-aah it and claim that she can feel good health in her bones. She'd shake her head as I cooked 'regular food' and said: "Sigh, you do realize you are getting older? We should take care of ourselves. Look at me? So responsible!"

So that cucumber night, she made this salad with a lot of enthusiasm and ate it with equal drama. However, late in the night, she casually mentioned: "I hate salads, but this one was pretty good. Makes me want to stay on. Does cucumber taste the same in India too?" (She never ate much cucumber before this!) Here is the recipe for her latest cucumber obsession!

So, dear fellow food bloggers, I'm glad that this salad won my wife over and she's continued to make this every now and then and eat it regularly now. And likes cucumber ONLY in this salad and doesn't call this salad: Ghaas-Phoos (Leaves)!

Thai Crackers

It is a ritual for me and calms the restless me. I think when I drink chai, I make lists (I'm list obsessed. I make lists of lists), plan dinner, plan weekend baking and literally plan my life everyday for a good 15-30 minutes. It is also my last moment of peace before A returns home to potter around the kitchen, ask 101 geeky questions about what is being cooked, snicker at my lists and most importantly, when the TV is switched on for sports.

Chai is special for me not just because of all my obsessive-compulsive traits/husband, but more so for a ritual I followed for two short years at my hostel. Every evening at 5, most of us from the Ladies' Hostel would walk together to the mess -rain or shine. That was my 'adda,' literally. I'd sit there and talk, we'd discuss world issues, men, cute professors, issues plaguing the student community etc etc. The innumerable conversations, the 'pointing out at men who come out from the men's hostel and laughing at them,' making bills for the mess as a member, planning the student strike, chatting with the gang, laughing. All with endless cups of sweet, really sweet, over-elaichied chai. None of us really liked the chai, but it was a habit we all loved. In fact, even now, a close friend of mine from college, D and I chat everyday (almost!) during our chai time and make lists together. If we can't meet online during chai, we make the lists throughout the day. She is worse than me.

Anyway, as hostel students, with friends, just sparkling conversation was enough to enjoy chai. And there wasn't enough money to buy biscuits/cookies, crackers for everyday chai. However, now, I desperately crave for something to go with my chai. Cookie, a piece of cake, crackers - they add so much to chai. And to my reputation :D We have a patio in this new house and we put some chairs there. Since we don't have any friends (with A around, its no surprise, anyway!) I sit out like a Page 3 socialite sipping chai and holding a book or a pen and a book (so I look hep like a writer :P) and watching people ( no one to watch, really), some young girls who come out to play and are terrified of me (I foolishly offered them some cake!) and just spend time making umpteen lists. So!

One of my all time favorite blogs is Aparna's My Diverse Kitchen. Someone on Twitter called her 'grounded.' I thought, then, how apt this term was for Aparna and her efficient blog. I've always admired bloggers from India who try out different cuisines or use substitutions and make the dish as good as the original. And Aparna is one of them. I share one quality with her, that of drinking chai every evening. I was looking at her blog to see what she eats along with her Chai. (I'm very good at such time pass sleuthing and guessing things about people)

And I found these crackers. I decided to make them last week with a twist. We went to Georgia State Univ with a friend for a movie (When in Rome - releasing only in January. Don't waste money on it. Its a great watch if it comes free) one weekday. A gets cranky without food. So, I knew I had to carry something for him. He came in from work and couldn't keep his hands off these crackers!

The twist in this story is that instead of Kasuri Methi and vegetable oil, I added Kaffir Lime leaves and chilli oil to make these crackers Thai. A and I love, love Thai food and the only way to make A sit through this movie (Romantic Comedy) was to make something Thai-ey. So, I made these crackers. A enjoyed them thoroughly and my friend who came along loved them too! I did find the Kaffir Lime and the chilli oil flavours a bit overwhelming, but quite liked it. Do try it and you will keep making it. Again and Again.

I'm having chai again now. With these crackers that I made again. Love 'em, Aparna. Thanks!

UPDATE: I just found out through my Reader that Aparna's blog turns two! Congrats, Aparna.

Pancakes- Bookmarked at that!

Okay, I'm stealing Nupur's idea. Don't tell her, ok? I love her blog and have been following it even before I started food blogging. And she is an inspiration. Her A-Z series is a treasure and her regional recipes take the cake! Her recent endeavor to cook through her list of bookmarks has me hooked. So, I decided that I will steal the idea from her and cook and post it every Friday evening/weekend. I hope to finally cook the bookmarks. Since we very smartly formatted the computer without saving my bookmarks, thankfully, my bookmark list is more recent, and hopefully has less numbers. Yes, hopefully.

Also, I do think its important to post whatever you cook from someone else's blog. I haven't been posting what I cook from other blogs all these days and I'm ashamed of my selfishness :| So, going forward, I will be posting a lot of recipes from all your blogs :) Every weekend. Today, since this idea just struck me, I decided to go with SJ's pancakes, something I have pictures of since I planned to send them to her. As always, what enticed me was her picture of the pancake. Like I've mentioned before, I'm a sucker for breakfasts. Every weekend, I expect a large breakfast - Indian or International. I can eat breakfast all day and these pancakes (that she flicked from Alton Brown) fit the bill.

We made some orange compote to go with it and boy, were the pancakes good or what!

Ingredients

2 oranges, peeled and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cornstarch

1. Peel the oranges and chop into small pieces. Make sure to remove all the skin or fiber ( I forget the name of the process. Anyone?) Chop the peel into very fine pieces.

2. Add sugar and cornstarch to the oranges and cook until the juices flow out and it becomes a thick fruity mass. We made it in the microwave though. Unfortunately, I don't remember the time!

Serve warm with pancakes and top your pancakes with nuts and honey/maple syrup! I hate my pancakes doused in syrup unless its a chunky fruit sauce. So, this compote worked out brilliantly for me. A loves his pancakes drenched, so he made his bit of the compote thinner and watery.

We loved the pancakes and its a keeper of a recipe. And - my pictures aren't any good as hers. So, do check her pictures and get tempted! :)

We've cooked from almost all your blogs and I've probably even mentioned it to you sometimes. However, we want to go one step further like Nupur did and post the recipes from your blogs that have become our favourites! Also, if we miss out on acknowledging any of your recipes, please do let us know and we will immediately rectify that :) And a million thanks to Nupur for this brilliant idea.