My Web Address has Changed!

Dear All,

My web address has changed to :

http://romasharma.com/

Please visit this site for further posts. My new feedlink is :

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Please change your feedlinks in Google reader if you have added me.

See you there,

Roma

 

Apple Cinnamon Muffins

 

 

I found this cake to be particularly soft! Since applesauce is used as an egg substitute it has all the qualities that make a cake soft and spongy. Add a few eggs and now you have a cake thats even softer, yet well bound. 

Apples and cinnmon are a match made in heaven. Its rare to find a apple dessert that doesnt contain cinnamon. Its advisable to freshly prepare any spice powder by roasting and grinding the spice. This when added at the very last stage of bread making results in a lasting aroma. I tried roasting the cinnamon but didnt know that it burns so fast. I threw those poor charred sticks away and started again, very cautiously. This time I tossed them around constantly and turned off the gas as soon I got the fragrance of roasted cinnamon. The resultant cakes were soft and brown with a hint of cinnamon in them.

I have adapted this recipe from Mansi’s Apple Bread Recipe. Thanks Mansi, for sharing this delicious recipe with us.

I made a few changes to the original recipe :

1. I made it as a muffin since my baby likes small round portions
2. I didnt add nutmeg powder and nuts
3. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder to the flour while seiving
4. I baked muffins at 175 °C for 25 mins

 

Back from Dehra Dun

Dehra Dun is the place I visit every summer since childhood days.  My maternal Grandparents have been there for decades now. DD is situated on the foot hills of Himalayas. Its amongst the most laid back and scenic cities I have seen. Mussorie is uphill and only 30 kms away from DD, they are almost like twin cities.

As you drive out of the house you are surrounded by huge mountains that envelope DD. The air is pure due to the high density of trees. If you drive slightly out of the town you can find deer walking by the side of the road, just like that! Breathing the fresh air for a week can make you addicted to the land.

Almost everyone in DD has a big beautiful garden outside their home. This makes the environment colorful and aromatic. If you set out on the road you will find mostly bungalows and villas artistically laced with blooms. Something about the soil and air of DD, flowers grow extremely well even if left uncared for.

Here are some snaps I brought back with me. The break at Dehra Dun was so rejuvenating. Not to mention how light my pockets feel after all the shopping.

Company Garden, Mussorie

 

My baby turns Kashmiri

 

View from Maal Road, Mussorie

 

Sky scraping bougainvillea outside our house

 

Swing in our backyard

 

 

Flowers from Grandma's Garden

 

Dehra Dun is the capital of Uttaranchal

Travel Mode : You first to need to get to Delhi after which you can -

1) Take a taxi to DD, travel time 7 hrs

2) Catch a train, Jan Shatabdi takes  6hrs

 

JFI, April ‘09 , Celebrating Wheat – Round Up

I’ve received a mind-boggling response for the JFI-Wheat event. A big Thanks to you all for taking out time from your over marked calendars to participate in this event.

Jihva for Ingredients or JFI was started 3 years ago by Indira of Mahanandi. She needs no introduction, she has inspired many bloggers like me to actually start a blog of our own. JFI was primarily started so foodies could share their culinary expertise on a monthly basis. Today it has become one of the most awaited events of the month. Thanks Indira, for providing us with this platform.

Thanks Mayank for automating the Round-up process.  As and when I received the entries I stored it in a specific format and just ran a python application to upload the entries as a batch process.  I will blog about it shortly, so we can all use the application whenever required.

Ok Friends, I am going on a 10 day break! Off to my Grandmother’s house in Dehra Dun. In case I have missed your entry out or made any other mistake please do mail me – romaspace(at)gmail(dot)com. I will fix the issue after the 12th of April, 2009. 

I have received a whooping 90 entries for JFI-Wheat!  Thanks to all once again for for making this event a huge success. Presenting to you the Round up for JFI-Wheat April ‘09

 

Biscuits n Gravy by A&N	Whole Wheat Focaccia by AJ
Quick Bread by Aparna	Cracked Wheat & Mint Salad by Archana
Dill and Dabeli masala Parathas by Asha	Oatmeal Wheat Bread by Divya Vikram
Eggless Savory cheese muffins by Cham	Chunky Veg and Pasta Soup by Deepika
Cucumber Pepper Idli by Deepika	Aloo Paratha by Divya Kudua
Dill Roti by DK	Barley Roti by DK
Sweet Potato Roti by DK	Oats Roti by DK
Persimmon walnut bread by DK	Wholegrain milk and cheese bread by DK
Wholemeal banana walnut muffins by DK	wheat berries by DK
Wholemeal Cranberry and Almond Bread by DK	Broken wheat bisibela bhath by EC
Eggless Orange Almond Cake by Gopi Shah	Godhumai Pradhaman by Jayasree
Whole Wheat Quick bread by Jayasree Satish	Creamy wheat berry and honey dessert by Katie Northcutt
Cracked Wheat Kesari by Lakshmi AP	Broken wheat with lentils & vegetables by Lakshmi
Wheat halwa by Madhu	Cracked-wheat Idlies by Madhu S
Aloo Paratha by Manjusha	Broken Wheat Idli by Meera
Atta Mathri by Meeta Madan	Paneer Wrap by Nalapaka
CrackedWheat and Rice Khichdi by Pallavi	Godhuma Rawa Halwa by Pavani
Cracked wheat upma by Phanita	Coriander Paratha by PJ
Wheat rava idli by PJ	Wheat-Jowar Salad by prathibha garre
Ukadpendi by Preeti	Gavhacha Cheek by Preeti
Kakdi Thalpith by Preeti Nilesh Biniwale	Besan N Methi Paratha by Priya Suresh
Soya Flour Paratha by Priya Suresh	Beets N Broken Wheat Kheer by Priya Suresh
Ragi N Wheat Coconut Noodles by Priya Suresh	Wheat Dosa with Sambar by Priya Sriram
Urad Kachodi by Priyanka	Chapathi by Priyanka Srivastava
crispy urad dal paratha by Priyanka Srivastava	Lilva Kachori by Purva Desai
Roasted Bell Pepper & Egg Tarts by Raaga	Cracked Wheat with Tomato by Rajee
Stuffed Paratha by Renuka	Cracked Wheat Pongal by Sangeetha Vasudevan
Vadai Curry & Chapathi by Sanghi	Wheat Dosai by Sanghi
http://swap-swapi.blogspot.com/2008/05/khaproili-wheat-flour-jaggary-pancakes.html by Sanika N	http://swap-swapi.blogspot.com/2008/12/simple-sultana-muffins.html by Sanika N
http://swap-swapi.blogspot.com/2008/12/atte-ka-sheera-wheatflour-sheera.html by Sanika N	http://swap-swapi.blogspot.com/2009/03/methi-poori.html by Sanika N
Dal Greens Wheat Dosa by shama nagarajan	Roomali Roti by Shama Nagarajan
Soft Pooris by Shoba Shrinivasan	Tortilla Rolls by Shree Rao
Wheat Dosa by Shri	Pumpkin Puris by Shubhada
Paneer-Matar Paratha by Sia	Vegan Banana Orange Nut Loaf by Soma Rathore
Whole wheat eggless dates cake by SpicesEtc	Wheat Naan & Matar Methi by Shree Rao
Wheat Puran Poli by Sukanya	Spice Pumpkin Chocolate Bread by Sweatha
Cucumber Wheat Dosa by Trupti Pawar	Wheat Dosa by Uma
Eggless Cardamom flavored Banana Oat Wheat bread by Usha	Rye Dosai / Crepes by Usha
Pesto Pizza with Oat Wheat Crust by Usha	Eggless date Wheat cake by Varuna Sai
Tofu Paratha and Sandwich by Vibaas	Potato Parathas with a Healthy Twist by Vibaas
Aloo Paratha by Vidhas	Poori Masala by Vidhas
Wheat Veg Mamoos by Vidhas	Broken Wheat Pulao by Vidhas
Chickpea Paratha by Vidhas	Paneer Paratha by Vidhas
Mix Vegetable paratha by Vidhas	Broken Wheat Porridge by Vidhas
Godhumai Ravai Pongal by Vidya	Eggless Bottlegourd Chocolate Cake by Madhuram
Chana dal and bulgur sundal by Madhuram	Bulgur Upma by Madhuram
Wheat flour laddus by Maya Shanbhag	Wheat Dosa by Pranella

 

Happy Ugadi ‘09

Ugadi Special Lunch '09

 

Happy Ugadi to you all! Just finished a sumptuous lunch. I am so stuffed and sleepy. Although Ugadi is not a part of the festivals we celebrate we manage to have a feast just to catch up with the festive spirit around us. I saw lots of little girls today wearing their traditional langa-blouse making the environment so colorful. Mayank took half a day off so he could be with us for lunch. Our lunch comprised of :

Radish Sambar, Bhindi Sabzi, tamarind rice, kosumbari, papad, payasam and vobattu.

(vobattu was not made at home. the Hot Chips guy owed me some money from last month,  I settled it today. Rest of the food is home-made guys, I didnt make him work all the way)

You can check out last years Ugadi Special Lunch here : Ugadi Lunch ‘08

 

OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell– A Review

Outliers is an interesting book that makes you stop and think about all the successful people you know and analyze the reasons behind their success. Traditionally, most autobiographies of successful people have their hero emerging out of modest circumstances , climbing his way to the top of the ladder, thanks to his talent. This book however shows us that just by being talented he could never have made it to the top. There are several other deciding factors that worked in in his favor and helped him reach there.

What are the other factors besides your IQ that could have made you successful? Factors like your age as compared to your peers, what kind of talent you had Versus what the economy needed at that point of time, the number of hours of practice that went into your work, what your parents did for a living, your degree of practical intelligence as against your general IQ. The author, Malcolm Gladwell provides us with examples from the lives of celebrities ranging from Sport Stars to Dressmakers, Ace Law Firms to Business Magnets who have become Outliers due to a cumulative set of advantages they have had over a period of time.

Gladwell has calculated a magic number for the number of hours of practice a person needs to achieve the highest level of skill. All successful people have had 10,000 hours of practice before they actually became successful or famous for their skill. To attain these hours of practice you also need the opportunity. Your family should have that much income that leaves you  free to practice your line of interest, you should have the facilities like machines/ tools that you might need in order to practice, etc; The magic number holds good for several successful people such as Bill Gates, Mozart, Beatles and more.

We all know that upbringing of an individual plays a major role in his success, but how exactly? What children are taught in their growing years by their parents varies in different sections of society. Gladwell suggests that Children belonging to middle class families learn a sense of entitlement. They are groomed during summer vacation, sent away to courses besides what they are taught academically, encouraged to speak up to figures of authority (teachers, doctors, etc;) and even question them where necessary. However, children of poor homes were found to be characterized by a sense of distrust and constraint. Parents left education as the school’s responsibility and did not involve themselves actively in it. This translated into the child’s inability to fight for his rights and in turn made him lose opportunities that could have paved the path to his success.

Lets move one step above parenting and look at the culture of country as a whole. There are countries where a group of people belonging to the upper strata of society assume power and the lower levels give them this authority , respect and power. Citizens of these countries are unable to communicate with countries where this distance does not exist, again leading to failures. The author provides statistical data that indicates that maximum number of plane crashes took place from countries where this power distance index was high. Black boxes from plane remnants indicate that in most cases First officers were fully aware of the fatal mistake but were unable to clearly communicate this to the Captain or Air Traffic Control (Ground Station). They used Mitigated Speech , which is downplaying what you are trying to say, may be out of fear of speaking up to a higher authority. Again a recipe for disaster.

Gladwell also creates a link between a person’s traditional occupation and his being academically sound. If you want to know why Asians are good at Maths you will need to understand the painstaking procedure of growing rice first. Wondering what the relation between paddy fields and maths is? Meditate on it till you reach the closing chapter of the book. I’m sure you can join the dots by the time you reach there.

What can make you happy enough with your job to make you work endlessly? Gladwell refers to 3 things here : Firstly you should be autonomous, secondly the work should be complex and finally you should be able to clearly see the relation between effort and reward. This statement will make you think for a minute if there is something you do that fits the bill.

So when you meet a successful man next instead of asking who he is it will make more sense to ask where he is from. Its probably just a series of advantages that he has had over a period that has helped him reach there. 

This book helped me view success from a different perspective. Only drawback is that at certain points I started feeling like we were reading too much into the statistical data provided by psychologists. That way probably we might end up seeing only what we are trying to see. That apart, this book is a must-read because although they are talking about top guns all along somewhere you can relate it to your daily life. A big thanks to the author for writing this book in simple English. I did not have to re-read sentences to make them meaningful.

 

Black Magic Cake

As you might have guessed by the name its a chocolate cake, in taste and appearance its a close cousin of the Deep Dark Chocolate Cake. The main difference being that Black Magic Cake contains a magic potion, coffee.

The procedure of making this cake is fairly simple. Since we dont use any butter there is not much beating, the baking soda and oil does the softening part for you. Only one thing you need to take care of, when you mix hot water to the egg mixture you need to whisk constantly else the eggs could scramble. The hot water combines with the eggs to result in a sticky kind of cake hence you really must wait for the cake to cool off before trying to demold it otherwise the cake could stick to the mold and detach.

I have so far found recipes from Hershey’s website fairly simple and with reliable results. I keep going back for more, I’m sure my doctor wont be very happy with this.

You can find the recipe for Black Magic Cake here.  Indulge!

 

JFI – Wheat

 

Jihva for Ingredients  is a monthly food blog event that has become immensely popular over time. This event, started by Indira of Mahanandi, created a meeting point where food bloggers could share their expertise on a regular basis.

Its been an eventful 3 years since JFI has been around and its my priviledge to be hosting it for you this month. It also happens to be the birthday of a special person in my life, my baby doll turns two on 1st March. Its double celebration time for me.

I remember last year around this time I was running a bit late for the birthday preparations and I could not make the lemon tarts I wanted to send for JFI-Lemon. Speedily one year has gone by. We had the birthday celebrations yesterday.  About 50 kids running around and my dear friends helping me make some sense of it all.  Anyway, it was good fun, thankfully baby had completed her afternoon nap and enjoyed herself through the party.

Coming back to the ingredient of the month. Since JFI primarily focusses on Indian Ingredients I thought of picking Wheat, the staple food of Northern India. India is the second largest producer of wheat, first being China. We produce an average of 70 million tonnes of wheat per year! Now thats some serious food for thought. Either we provide that much internationally or we just eat that much

 

Rules :

1. Prepare a recipe featuring wheat or wheat based products

You can choose any of wheat’s forms :

• Wheat grass
• Wheat grains
• Coarsely ground wheat
• Broken wheat
• Wheat flour

Lets leave its refined version maida out.

2. Post the recipe on your blog by March 31st, 2009  ( sorry to shorten the deadline, I will be on vacation between Apr 1st – Apr 12th, 2009 )

3. Please link your entry back to the event announcement. You can use the logo provided.

4. Old posts can be re-posted and linked back to the event announcement. 

5. Please email – the link to your post and a photo of the entry , 175 pixels in width to romaspace@gmail.com with the  subject “JFI- Wheat“

You can find the nutrition value of this Golden Crop at Wheat Foods Council, interestingly Wheat is also used for decoration

 

Homemade Lemon Squash

About a few weeks ago Mayank planned a party with his friends. He asked me if I would be interested in making a welcome drink for the party and I agreed. The best drink to beat the heat these days is a chilled lemonade, flavored with fresh mint leaves and ginger juice.

Mayank asked me the ingredients required for the drink and I gave him a list. He ran the errand rather promptly and in an hours time our house was fragrant with a whole lot of mint leaves. In the evening he told me that there was a change in plans. We wont have to make the beverage as an arrangement had already been made. Hmmmm….. what was I to do with the mint leaves, ginger and whole lot of lemon that was chilling in my fridge?

Mint leaves are versatile and can be used to make pudina chutney and pulao. So that wasnt a problem and thankfully ginger also has a rather long shelf but lemon doesnt survive that way and how long can you eat tangy food in order to finish the lime juice? A week went by and every time I opened the fridge 12 angry big lemons would stare at me and I would look away, promising myself that someday I would put them to good use.

At this point my mom came up with a good solution. She asked me to make lemon squash so in the upcoming summer months we can drink refreshing lemonade whenever we want.

The procedure was simple. I bought a lemon squeezer so it would hasten the process. Once the squash was ready I added PMS to give it a shelf life of one year! Unlike the market-made squash it doesnt contain essence and food color. It has the flavor of freshly squeezed lime juice in every glass. Now I am happy that managed to preserve my 12 angry lemons for one year without really putting them in a pickle

 

Glass Painted the Squash Bottle

Glass Paint dried up, awaiting the Squash

Lets start Cooking. Besides the ingredients mentioned in the picture below please make sure you have a lemon squeezer and a funnel (to pour the squash into a bottle).

 

Procedure :

1. Heat sugar with water in a heavy bottom pan till it boils.
2. Turn off the heat and add citric acid. If you find froth on the surface extract and discard it. Thats the impurity in sugar that citric acid helps to collect.
3. Once the sugar syrup is cool add the lime juice, PMS and mix well.
4. Store in clean, dry bottle. 
5. When you want to have a glass of lemonade mix the syrup with the desired quantity of water and enjoy it with ice. If you find the sweetness to be less you can add sugar to the syrup even after its made.

 

Variation

You can add strands of kesar to the squash once its ready. This will add kesar flavor and color to the lemonade.

You can mix this syrup in ice tea or fuzzy apple drink to get delicious mocktails.

 

Pineapple Gojju

 

I tasted this delicacy for the first time at a Kannadiga wedding. I was amazed at how creative people can get with pineapple. I was sure someday I would crack the code and make it for myself. Then years went by, lots more weddings and lots more Gojju. I just couldnt seem to have enough of it. Finally I decided to find out the recipe to this mid-boggling taste and set off to speak to some ladies in my apartment who have mastered the art of Gojju-making. 

I must say you need lots of patience in cleaning and cutting the pineapple, not to mention the bruised fingers at the end of it. The time taken to get the pineapple ready was nearly half of the entire time taken to make the Gojju. 

Anyway, I must say I was very happy with the end result. I made just one small change. I should have thrown away some excess water after boiling the pineapple but I didnt have the heart to waste delicious pineapple juice. So I went ahead and used it up. Unlike the original recipe it became a bit watery but somehow the taste was not diluted. I just loved the khatta-meetha flavors that were exploding in my mouth with every spoonful of this dish. 

You can also make Gojju with other Sweet N Sour fruits like grapes. It compliments best the taste of plain dal and rice. You can choose to make tur dal or better still yellow moong dal. Just ensure that the dal is given the most simple and basic tempering. Any masalas in your dal could fight with the flavor of the Gojju. 

I had saved the pricky flower head of the pineapple to dress up the Gojju for a snap but my maid thew it away saying it looked dirty. Ok, so feast your eyes on the Gojju without distractions.

Gojju was then on made frequently

 

 

One big dollop of tempering!

 

Ingredients :

• 1 cup Pineapple pieces
• 1 tablespoon Tamarind juice
• 2 teaspoons Jaggery (change as per sweetness of pineapple and your taste)
• Salt (to taste)

For the Masala :

• 2 teaspoons Coriander seeds (optional)
• 1.5 tablespoons Channa dal
• 1/2 teaspoon Methi seeds
• 4-5 Byadige red chillies
• 1.5 tablespoons grated Dry coconut
• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds

For the Tempering :

• 1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds
• Few Curry leaves

 

Procedure :

1. Wash and cut pineapple into small pieces (this is the toughest part, if someone cuts it for you half the work is done)
2. Boil pineapple pieces till they are soft.
3. Heat oil. Add Channa dal, coriander seeds, meethi seeds, rai, byadige chillies and roast till golden brown.
4. Now take out the roasted masala into a mixie jar. Cool and grind into a powder.
5. Dry roast the grated dry coconut for a few minutes.
6. Add to the mixie and grind further (grinding with the masalas initially itself wont give you a fine powder)
7. Add tamarind juice and jaggery to the boiling pineapple pieces. 
8. Now add ground masala and boil till mixture thickens.
9. Heat oil in a wok. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves.
10. Once they splutter add tempering to the pineapple Gojju.
11. Serve hot with rotis or plain dal & rice.

 

Variation

• You can also add til/ sesame seeds to the masalas while roasting.
• You can make Gojju out of Urad dal instead of Channa Dal.

 

Please NOTE :

Try to buy a pineapple from a vendor who cuts and sells it. In India, you find hand cart chaatwalas or guys who sell pineapple slices by the plate. You can buy a whole pineapple from him. It will cost you a premium price but it will definitely be very sweet.