THE RECIPE LARDER

Radish Salad

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I detest radish! It’s bitter, pungent and according to me serves no purpose in the culinary world. The Japanese use a lot of radish in their cuisine, and I always wondered what they do to it to make that pungent and mouth twisting bitter taste, disappear ?! Even after tasting that kind of radish, I could still not lift a piece of raw radish from a salad! Until – this lady made me taste her concoction.

made with raw radish, mustard, peanuts and spices

She heard us cribbing about what to do with the sacks and sacks of radish that our farm in Mahabaleshwar threw up this season. She waltzed into my kitchen and waltzed out 10 minutes later with the radish looking .. um! .. radically changed !

I tentatively put a spoon in my mouth, (i give everything a try once!) and I think my eyebrows shot into my hair and came down only after I had excitedly lifted a second mouthful into my now salivating mouth.

The salad uses the radish leaves as well. Since I do not (sorry – did not!) like radish, I had never bothered to handle one whilst cooking. When I picked it up for this recipe, I went all gung – ho and tried to pry out some leaves, only to howl in pain. I learnt that radish leaves, the ones that are on the verge of drying up – have thorns. Gentle ones but they exist. As since this is an essential part of the recipe, you will have to find the more softer leaves with no thorns. Once you taste this salad I can guarantee, you will run to the market, and buy radishes to make this salad more often.

Do give it a try, and send me pics!!

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Cheers and Ciao!

 

PS: you can see the video of the making of this salad here

Radish Salad
Print Recipe
A super easy recipe which turns bitter, pungent radish into a very palatable and tasty salad.
Servings Prep Time
3-4 pax 10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3-4 pax 10 minutes
Radish Salad
Print Recipe
A super easy recipe which turns bitter, pungent radish into a very palatable and tasty salad.
Servings Prep Time
3-4 pax 10 minutes
Servings Prep Time
3-4 pax 10 minutes
Ingredients
Servings: pax
Instructions
  1. Mix all the ingredients, one by one.
  2. Mix and toss so that all the ingredients incorporate together.
  3. Serve chilled.
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Corn Pulao

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There is something about the farm  in full bloom, the birds happy with themselves, bees humming, butterflies swarming around, and our two dogs furtively chasing away the monkeys (who want to uproot our vegetable patches!). The entire happy cycle of nature makes my soul sigh in satisfaction.

This season we got bushels and bushels of corn from our farm in Mahabaleshwar. And strawberries. And radish.  And beans. And cauliflower!! And so many other small batches of pure organic vegetables. The taste and inherent sweetness of the freshly plucked organic vegetables is a  world apart from what we get in cities.

We had freshly plucked corn, and we all decided to have Corn  Pulao.

Fresh corn, fragrant rice, a one pot marvel.

This is a really simple recipe, very easy prep and damn tasty to boot! Just before adding the rice, you will realise that the corn looks so good, and it tastes and smells good too. At this point you can easily not add the rice and serve it as a veggies with any kind of roti! (we almost did that, as the smell was making us go crazy – and we were fast loosing patience).

Serve it with yoghurt and papad! Or eat it plain! You can easily increase or decrease the spices. What I have written in my recipe is not a very spicy version. The yoghurt, balances the spices.

Fresh rice Pulao, made with organic corn.

I hope you like the recipe as much as all of us did!

PS: here is the link to the youtube video to make your life a tad easier!

Cheers and Ciao!

 

 

Corn Pulao
Print Recipe
Easy one pot Corn Pulao, full of fragrant spices.
Servings Prep Time
4 Pax 15 min
Cook Time Passive Time
25 min 30 min
Servings Prep Time
4 Pax 15 min
Cook Time Passive Time
25 min 30 min
Corn Pulao
Print Recipe
Easy one pot Corn Pulao, full of fragrant spices.
Servings Prep Time
4 Pax 15 min
Cook Time Passive Time
25 min 30 min
Servings Prep Time
4 Pax 15 min
Cook Time Passive Time
25 min 30 min
Ingredients
Servings: Pax
Instructions
  1. Take the corn grains off the cob.
  2. Heat oil. When spluttering add the cinnamon, green cardamoms, cloves, black pepper(optional), and bay leaves one by one.
  3. Roast well, then add chopped onions.
  4. When translucent and semi brown, add the garlic and ginger.
  5. After a minute, add the green chillies.
  6. Now add the turmeric and red chilli powder.
  7. Fry for a while till the (spices) masalas all mix together.
  8. Add the corn and toss and mix well.
  9. Now add the hing water and mix it all together.
  10. Add salt and fresh corriander.
  11. Add the yoghurt, and mix into the corn.
  12. When well mixed and small bubbles appear, add the soaked raw rice.
  13. Mix all together and add the water.
  14. Mix, and cover with well fitted lid, to cook. Medium flame.
  15. Keep checking the contents so that it does not burn and catch at the bottom.
  16. If water reduces, and rice has not cooked, add a 1/4th cup rice and then add slowly as needed.
  17. When cooked, garnish and serve immediately.
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Masaledar Aloo (A family recipe)

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Rich blend of spices – sookhi aloo ki sabji

Lot of good things happen in Mahabaleshwar. One of the finest things is – something about that place makes people want to cook.

The kitchen is airy and has huge windows opening out to our kitchen garden. The fact that it’s a biggish sized kitchen also makes it easier to have people milling around and experimenting with various home grown and organic ingredients.

I had my cousin uncle and aunt over. The fact that he is my age does not deter me from calling him uncle. Some childhood habits just don’t get out of your system….

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One Pot Chole Chawal

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one pot chole rice.

My grand mom made the best Chole in the world. It was a hand me down recipe from her mother who was according to me was an un hailed, un acclaimed legendary cook worth atleast a couple of Michelin Stars. Not only did she cook like her hands were blessed by the gods, but she also remembered amongst the dozens of grand and great grand children, who thronged at her home each summer, what each of us loved to eat. Our stomachs and souls were in heaven when at her home. Every morning, no matter how early we woke up, we would find her tinkering in the kitchen, singing bhajans to her beloved Krishna. I asked her one day if she has any recipes written down – and she looked at me like I was asking her if Krishna liked dance music. Every single recipe, and there were thousands in her repertoire, was stored in her head. And not once was there a variation in what we ate. Each and every time over the years the dishes tasted the same – tasty, heartwarming and soul stirring.

My nani, handed me this recipe of Chole, very casually over dinner one day. I scrambled up and wrote it down. Over the years, I have also perfected this recipe with trials and error. And while it still does not taste like how she or her mom made it, it stills holds good on it’s own….

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Rum Wale Aloo – a la Ajit.

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My friend Ajit invented this absolutely unusual recipe on the spot.

 

the husband and Ajit

We were all in Mahabaleshwar, wondering about the dinner menu. Naan and Kaali Dal were already in the picture, and he volunteered to make an Aloo (Potato) veggie. This jovial, happy – go – lucky, man waltzed into the kitchen at 10 am, fiddled around with pots and pans, and waltzed back out. Then at 7 pm, he took a stiff drink of whisky in his hand, asked for a bottle of rum, (leaving me wondering, as to how we will get him off the kitchen floor and into bed!!) and marched into the kitchen again. I confess to taking a few peeks into the kitchen, just to check if he was still standing. The one time I peeped in, I saw him drain the bottle of Rum into the pan of simmering potatoes. I heaved a sigh of relief, and went about my business grinning, impatiently waiting to taste these crazy Rum laden potatoes.

Rum Wale Aloo – a la Ajit

I really don’t need to tell you how good it was, because I know as soon as you read the recipe you will definitely want to try it at least once. After that, you will be hooked. And all those who eat it with you will be hooked. I have already made it thrice in a span of three weeks, and I am a very very happy person when mealtime arrives.

This dish takes a little bit of planning, a little bit of sweat and a great deal of Rum. I really suggest you make it just the way I have mentioned. Everything that Ajit, has put into this Rum Wale Aloo – a la Ajit – has a purpose and imparts some sort of flavour.

Get hold of the smallest potatoes you can. And please see that all of them are approximately the same size. This way, they will all cook uniformly.

Marinate it for an at least 6 hours. I did a huge boo boo, last week. I was asked to make this recipe for a friend’s party and so I marinated the potatoes, a night before to make it next morning, only to realise that I have miscalculated the dates. It was not due for yet another day. I just said a fervent prayer and popped the potatoes into the fridge and let it marinate for yet another 24 hours. So in all – 36 hours of deep marination. Whoa! It cooked faster, tasted bloody good and it did not smell like over worn socks.

So yay!! Go for it – marinate it for as long as you can.

Besides a long marinating time, it also takes a little while to cook. I would suggest good Jazz music in the background (Why Jazz? – well it just seems to set the right tone for this dish! All sultry and seductive. Something good waiting to happen!) A good drink in the hand, and a happy go – lucky nature like the inventor of this dish.

 

Oye Ajit – Cheers!!

Enjoying a Cigar, after hard days work.

 

 

 

Rum Wale Aloo - a la Ajit
Print Recipe
Marinated for hours, drenched in black rum, cooked patiently on slow fire - to be eaten with grins and smiles!
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 20 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1 hour 8 + hours
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 20 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1 hour 8 + hours
Rum Wale Aloo - a la Ajit
Print Recipe
Marinated for hours, drenched in black rum, cooked patiently on slow fire - to be eaten with grins and smiles!
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 20 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1 hour 8 + hours
Servings Prep Time
6 pax 20 minutes
Cook Time Passive Time
1 hour 8 + hours
Ingredients
Marinade for Potato
Initial Tempering
Final Tempering and Ingredients
Garnish
Servings: pax
Instructions
  1. Wash the potatoes very well. Poke holes in all the pcs, with a fork. Please see to it that all sides of the potato are poked
  2. Mix all the ingredients of the marinade into the curds. Mix well.
  3. Toss the potatoes into the marinade. Mix it well and keep covered in a refrigerator for 8 hours.
Making the final dish
  1. Pour the oil in a wok (kadhai), and set it on medium to high flame.
  2. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the ingredients of the intitial tempering. Cover it so that the flavours retain within the oil
  3. In exactly 30 to 40 seconds, open the lid and take all the tempering material out. Leave the oil inside the wok.
  4. Reduce the flame.
  5. Add the hing, and within seconds add the onions.
  6. Fry onions really well. Keep stirring. They should become brown but not burnt. This will take appx 25 to 30 minutes.
  7. Pound the garlic, ginger and green chillies in a mortar pestle, and add to the onions.
  8. Add the turmeric, corriander powder, salt and red chilli powder as well.
  9. Fry well.
  10. Drain the potatoes from the marinade. Keep the marinade aside.
  11. Add the potatoes. Mix well.
  12. Cover the wok, and leave the potatoes to steam. This should take appx 25 to 30 minutes again.
  13. Keep mixing once in a while so that it does not stick to the wok.
  14. When the potatoes are cooked, take off the cover and add the marinade.
  15. Mix well and let the marinade dry up.
  16. All this while the fire should be at medium to low. Keep it this way.
  17. When the marinade has cooked and dried up add the rum. (finally!!)
  18. Let it cook coating the potatoes by stirring and tossing.
  19. The colour will turn black.
  20. When the rum reduces to half, add the lime juice and tomato puree.
  21. Toss and mix well.
  22. When the tomato cooks, take off the fire. You will know its cooked when it does not smell raw anymore.
  23. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot with any form of Roti.
Recipe Notes

This dish requires patience. But your patience will be well rewarded when your palate tastes the punch of rum with the soft but spicy potatoes.

Use the hing liberally. If its very good quality you may reduce it a little, but its store bought use the entire specified amount.

Be careful with the salt. The marinade already has salt, then you add some more while cooking.

Please use all the ingredients as specified. The longer you marinate the potatoes, the faster it will cook. If you want some gravy (this is just coated in the rum and onion gravy - not a runny gravy), then add appx 1 Cup of water in the end, after the tomato cooks. Give it a good boil and you are ready to go.

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