by Priya | May 29, 2012 |
When first tasted it after making this rather incredible thokku, almost in unison, my hubby and I declared it was cherry kachal – let it be known he said pulikachal and gave me the idea to call it a cherry kachal. Memorial weekend and nothing to do – WRONG – we went to a beautiful orchard set in a very scenic place about 45 minutes from where we live – the weather was perfect and there we were, six of us, my little one leading the pack, all armed with plastic bags. Long story short, we got SO carried away, we ended up with 20 lbs of cherries- Since they expect you to buy all of the cherries you pick, we ended up buying $80 worth of cherries !!! Not an issue since my head was immediately buzzing with the different things I can make with them – The pie was the first of course. When we came home, we got busy washing and sorting them into grades of ripeness. Before we made our way to the actual trees with the dark fully ripened cherries, our enthusiasm had led us to pick not so ripe ones – My three year old went about it with clear intent and picked a bunch of red, pink and semi-rotten ones – all part of the deal folks. My kids, hubby and mother-in-law (who is visiting) took the lead role in washing, sorting, pitting process. While I got busy listening keenly to my good friend Stephanie from Joy of Baking, refreshing my pie-crust recipe. That will be a post to follow. The semi...
by Priya | Apr 24, 2012 |
A cold and dreary day with much needed rain – I’ve learnt to appreciate rain a lot more after we moved her to well water – every mm counts. We have had several summers where water curfews were imposed when watering the lawn was an indulgence not to be exercised. But a rainy day always makes me hungrier for some reason and I want to make something that warms the cockles – Steamed Sweet Potatoes was what I settled on – Hubby dear comes home and asks me what I plan to make with it – as a sort of spread – my mind sifts through the chutney spread files that are stored away in the brain, but I thought I’d make two chutneys – One I have made often – onion chutney and the other a variation of its more commonly prepared nut cousin, peanuts – And settled on cashews. Yes, that plan excited me. So I got to work and literally in 5-7 minutes, we were all smacking our lips after tasting this spicy, tongue-tickling oh-so nutty chutney – If you like nuts and cashews in particular, trust me my friends you will not be disappointed! Here is the recipe 3/4 cup of roasted cashews 5 green chilies 2 red chilies (dried) urad dal 1/4 cup olive oil- 2 tsp salt to taste Tempering with olive oil (1tsp), mustard seeds and curry leaves Preparation I first used 2 tsp to roast the urad dal and the chilies, like we normally do for any chutney and then threw in the cashews for a minute before removing from flame....
by Priya | Feb 10, 2012 |
Red Pepper chutney has always been a hot favorite in our home. But I was making a non- Indian sort of meal, and was looking to make something that was delicious that could at once be spread over toast bites, dipped with chips, steamed veggies or even pita and go well with dosais, in subsequent use. the versatility of chutney needs no elaboration from me. But let me just say that if I have a chutney around, lunch ideas become really simple – spread them over tortillas, throw some greens and or beans into it and sink your teeth in. My kids tend to do that when they come home hungry after school. Peppers have a beautiful flavor and are incredibly delicious as chutneys and spreads. The recipe without further ado Ingredients 1/2 each of red and orange peppers 1 fine red apple (I used pink lady) 1 tomato 1/2 red onion 2 red chilies 2tbps Porto (sweet Red wine) Optional 2 tsp of olive oil (1 to saute and one to drizzle over the finished chutney a small fistful of slivered almonds Preparation Roast all the ingredients – save the porto to add before griniding – do no cook it Grind adding NO water – Chill before serving Linking this to my own event – The Chutney Chow Down...
by Priya | Oct 20, 2011 |
Jayashree Satish of Kailas Kitchen Priya MahadevanJayasree Kailas Kitchen Hi Jayasree Kailas Kitchen, just read that you are from Pune – lots of family there and my base in India Like · · 29 July at 14:11 · Harini Rupanagudi my brother is currently posted in Pune too 29 July at 14:55 · Like Jayasree Kailas Kitchen Priya Mahadevan, Harini Rupanagudi – nice to know you have base/contacts in Pune. Its going to be a year since I moved to Pune. Hope to meet you both during your next visit to Pune. 30 July at 00:43 · Unlike · 2 people (that was me and Harini) The shock of reading of Jayashree’s passing on Niv Mani’s post really had me reeling in disbelief! I was very, very, very, distraught –I could not sleep from the shock and my husband and kids were so understanding, so sweet trying to console me! –We are not aware as we make new friendships, virtual though they may be nowadays, how close we become and how strongly an incident like this can affect and shake you up – besides drilling home the fact that life is so fleeting, it has you thinking about how to lead it and while you still have a chance to make sure that you have only spread sweetness and love to those around you and leave fond, lasting memories in the hearts and lives you’ve touched –Make the memories count! This is truly what Jayashree has done for me – Our interactions were not many, but from the get go, from loving the name of her blog, and her...
