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.

Thai Coconut Soup (Tom Kha)

I believe that we've mentioned about this 'shop-once-a month-for-groceries' challenge that we're on. Since the month's end is approaching, we feel pretty good about it. There is no flour/atta left, but we're scraping by :)

But at the same time, it is a TERRIBLE time to be following food blogs. That is because we don't have squat at home while all you folks keep churning out one amazing thing after another! So we can't try out most of the things!

But this particular event, to which this post is dedicated, was deemed too good to miss because we ourselves are trying to appreciate vegan cooking and eating lately. Personally, I just admire vegetarian/vegan daring bakers! Are you kidding me? How could you possibly make such artisan delicacies without using eggs?

Continuing along this vegan theme, this post goes to Priya of Akshayapaatram for ITVW-Thai, conceived by Vaishali of Holy Cow. Both the blogs are terrific.

As mentioned, due to a severe ingredient-crunch, we're sending this very simple Thai coconut soup called Tom Kha for the event. I don't think the name translates into 'coconut soup' but I guess that's what it is called!

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut milk
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup firm tofu, drained and cubed
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 big chunk of ginger (about the size of a tsp)
2 tsp chopped Kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp chopped Thai basil leaves
salt to taste
water to adjust consistency (about 1/4-1/3 cup)

1. Shallow fry the tofu cubes in oil. Set aside.

2. In a deep saucepan, heat the water. When it starts to simmer, add the lime leaves, ginger and Thai basil. Make sure that the heat does not exceed medium-low. Cook for about 5 mins.

2. Slowly add the coconut milk in small batches. Add the chilli flakes and salt. Cook for another 5 mins.

3. Add the fried tofu cubes and cook for another 5 mins.

That is it! A simple creamy soup with a great hint of citrusy flavor. I loved biting into the tofu pieces that were steeped in coconut. The ginger gives a slight zing to it. Obviously, you could vary the amount of spices to suit your palate.

It may sound light but it fills you up pretty good ;) After having this as a starter, we had some Jolada Roti (Sorghum Flour flatbread) with some improvised peanut-tomato chutney. Trust me, I am not very proud of the way I made the chutney but it tasted alright ;)

And since N is hopping behind me because she forgot about CLICK this month, we dug into our picture folder and came up with this. N will possibly not even read this post, but well, I can't win everything at the same time ;)

A Satay Saturday!

I think N and I have made it known that after Indian food, Thai and Italian are our favorite cuisines. Actually I'm proud of the fact that I converted N into liking Thai, just like she talked me into this whole food blog deal ;) Thai food stands out as unique, flavorful and quite nutritious at the same time. It offers terrific variety for vegetarians. And the amount of spiciness and 'hotness' could be varied to suit our taste-buds.

We have already posted a Green Thai curry which was more or less an improv based on the ingredients we had. But one fine day, N and I went to a bookstore called Borders and found this book on clearance. Its called Sauces, dips and salsas and is published by Bay Books. It has an eclectic collection of recipes from across the world. One of them being this wonderful Satay sauce. We modified the recipe and made it vegetarian, since the original one asked for shrimp paste, to suit us . Here's how it came out.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup broccoli cuts
1/2 cup carrot, julienned
1/4 cup edamame
1/4 cup snap peas
1/4 cup shiitake mushrooms
1/4 cup water chestnuts
1/4 cup green onions
1/4 cup red bell pepper
1 tbsp chilli oil
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 clove finely chopped garlic
3-4 dried crushed red chillies
1/2 cup coconut milk
Salt to taste
1 cup water
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds for garnishing

1. Heat cooking oil in a pan. Add the garlic.

2. Add the onions and the green onions before the garlic turns brown. Saute until onions are transparent and light brown.

3. Add the vegetables followed by chilli oil.

4. Add the salt, crushed red chillies, peanut butter and water. Bring it to a boil.

5. Add the coconut milk. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds. Serve with steamed or fried rice. We had ours with spring onion fried rice.

The curry tasted delicious, and we strongly recommend chilli oil. It adds a distinct, unmistakable 'Asian' flavor to the whole preparation. The choice of veggies is entirely up to you so you could decorate this curry YOUR way :)

Green Thai Curry - Off to Healthy Cooking!

While I racked my brains on what to submit to Mansi's Healthy cooking event, and almost gave up, Sireesha came along with an award for us (I cannot believe it, still, though) and I thought that we couldn't give up now! After all this! So, A and I concocted this Green Thai Curry for the event. Two days ago, we ate at Top Spice, a popular Thai-Malaysian restaurant here in Atlanta with my cousin and her family and I was a convert. I'm not the Thai food type while A pigs on Thai food. Tofu is his life saviour and I do not consider Tofu at all. Like, I do not think its food. Blame it on its colour or its texture!

Speaking of colour, I love colour in my food. I love chaat not just because of its taste, but because of the medley of colours on the plate. I love bright looking food than pale food. I like my food messy and colourful than neatly arranged and all that. Well, you get it. I'm not one of those perfect food blogga types ;) So, ya, getting back to the food! A came home from work and decided to make a Thai curry. I was game since I've started loving Thai food in the last two days :) Our fridge had remnants of veggies from a long-gone Farmer's Market trip. And this situation was perfect for a Thai dinner. So, here it is - the colours, the flavour, the richness, and all the proteins, vitamins that one can have on a plate, presenting to you the Green Thai Curry!

Ingredients (serves 2-3 people):

1lb (454g) Tofu

1 medium green bell pepper (capsicum)

1 medium red bell pepper

2 carrots

1/2 bunch spinach leaves

1 bunch spring onions

5-6 pieces dried red chillies

2-3 pieces of fresh green chillies

1 tbsp peanut butter (substitute with 20-25 pieces of peanut ground into a paste)

2 cups water

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp chopped ginger

1 tsp honey

1 tsp lemon juice

1. Divide the block of Tofu into two equal portions. Grind one half with the spinach leaves, half of the red chillies, all the green chillies, lemon juice and ginger. This forms the 'green' gravy or base.

2. Cut the other half into cubes and saute them in 1/2 tbsp oil until they are crisp and golden. Set aside.

3. In a pan, add 1 tbsp oil and saute the spring onions and all other vegetables in that order. You can choose to add different vegetables to create your own curry. Broccoli, baby corn, mushrooms, even potatoes! Add the remaining red chillies and let this cook for 10 mins. Add salt in between.

4. Add 1 tbsp peanut butter (or the peanut paste), water, honey and the gravy. Let this simmer for 15 mins.

5. Now add the crisp tofu cubes and let it cook for a few more minutes.

6. Finally, add the coconut milk/cream to the curry (take pictures ;)) and mix well and let it cook for a couple of mins. Once done, serve hot with steamed rice.

Thanks again Sireesha for the award! We received the 'Nice Matters' award from her and would like to pass it on to: Nags who is one of the inspirations behind this food blog and Mom's Cooking (another one I know personally!) and Sameera, two absolutely new bloggers like us :) So, there! Yes, I repeat again, this healthy Thai curry goes to Mansi's event - Healthy Cooking! Here is another picture of our wholesome dinner, little rice and loads of veggies: