India Wins World Cup!

Lots to celebrate today and some inspiration for cooking this week. India has prevailed in the cricket world cup at home in Mumbai. This is their first win since '83 - with a six wicket triumph over Sri Lanka.

Spring Supper Party

Over the past weekend we hosted a small gathering to celebrate the project and enjoy some classic items we've made since we started. Tradtional dress, lots of bracelets, sandlewood incense, and music were good environmental adds. On the music side we dug out an older Anoushka Shankar album we had not listened to in a while. Oddly later in the evening during our clean-up we gravitated to a Norma Jones set of tracks that helps bring a relaxing warm mood to a room. A cosmic turn of events that we would vicariously join these two half sisters in our home without any design and then only realize afterwards that we'd staged a family renuin. We'll put on a onther fest and post the menu details and pictures in a short bit. Cheers.

Indian Baked Goods

If you enjoy desserts and finger-sized baked goods, exploring India's regional offerings is a must. Pictured at the left is the counter from India Sweets & Spices (on Los Feliz Blvd, LA) which has a broad variety. One of the more popular items is Badam (almond) Burfi. This is not so much a candy as it is a rich snack food that will hit your sweet spot without causing a sugar head-ache or the type of down one would feel after eating something processed. You can find a very fine recipe and discussion on Manjula's Kitchen site which we've reproduced below. A minor note of caution, many find these types of dishes bland or a bit starchy which is I think a question of adjusting one's palate. Enjoy.

http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/2007/09/24/badam-burfi-almond-candy/

Recipe makes 20 pieces.
Ingredients:
1 cup whole almonds
1 cup sugar
Pinch of Cardamom powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee (clear butter)
1/3 cup milk
Method
Soak the almonds in hot water for 30 minutes.
Peel the skin off the almonds. Blend the almonds into a fine paste using just enough milk as needed to blend.
Add the sugar and whip it for a couple of minutes.
Heat the ghee in the frying pan on low-medium heat.

As the ghee melts, add the almond paste and cook on medium heat, stirring continuously.

Continue stirring until the mixture thickens to the consistency of bread batter, and starts leaving the sides of the pan.

Add the cardamom powder. Remove the frying pan from the heat.
Whip the batter using a spoon in a circular motion for about two to three minutes.

Pour it into the prepared greased pan.
Smoothen the surface of the mixture to about a quarter inch thick.
Let cool for about 20 minutes until burfi is just look warm.
Cut into 1-inch squares or any shape you like.
Cool to the room temperature and store burfi in an airtight container.
Almond burfi has a long shelf life and can be kept outside for up to one week. When refrigerated, almond burfi will last a couple of months.
Suggestions:You can make burfi using almond meal or almond flour. If you are using almond meal, mix one cup almond meal with the sugar and milk and knead the mixture for two minutes. Let the mixture sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Then follow the directions above. The almond flour burfi will be a little chewy.

Annapurna Here We Come

Over the Summer we blogged about trying to find this place and getting stuck in the cross-hairs of a Culver City rave. We'll we were finally able to make our way over and it did not disappoint. All of the items on the menu are made from scratch. You know it is a good sign when you order a samosa and a few minutes later hear the food processor go on in the background. Pictured at the left is possible the world's best garlic naan. Not overly flaky or buttery. Also pictured below is a sampler plate we did not try out and which I'm sure will make for a nice future experience. We caught a look at it in a picture on the window on our way out and some self restraint was necessary so as not to go back in an eat a second meal. The staple of their menu has to be dosas (one shown below) which come in many varieties all at Flintsone-sized proportion. Lisa tells me hers was simply spectacular which is high praise indeed since she not only makes wonderful ones herself, she's a bit of a Russian judge when it comes to using superlatives and modifiers. The capstone of the meal was a carrot halva which we'll try and over under a separate post. Rich, rich, rich indeed. Cheers.

More Indian Food Trucks? The Dosa Truck

Hard to believe there is more than one Indian Food Truck in LA; but apparently there is at least one other, the Dosa Truck.  Thanks to one of our good friends and readers out near Pasadena we now know of this place and it will be on our list for sampling.  Dosa's as you may have read in prior posts look pretty much like American pancakes or fermented crepes which are typically made from black lentils or a fermented rice batter.  They are most common in Southern Indian states, think Kerala and Tamil Nadu.  Dosas come in a number of varieties and the masala dosa may look familiar to those that enjoy alu parathas.  The masala dosa normally is stuffed with fried onions, spices, and potatoes. 

The following is a basic recipe for dosas.  Lisa makes them all the time with interesting variations and we encourage you to look at the prior posts on this.

Ingredients:

3 cup rice (chawal)
1 cup split black gram lentil (urad ki dhuli dal)
1 tsp salt (namak)
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (dana methi)
oil as required

Steps:

• Soak rice, dal and dana methi for 6 hours.
• Then grind them to a fine thin batter by adding little water.
• Add salt to it and leave it covered for 12 hours for fermentation.
• Now heat a non stick tawa and spread 1 tbsp of the batter on the whole of the pan.
• Grease all the corners and then cook it on the other side also.
• Put little water on the tawa and wipe it with a clean cloth before making each dosa.
• Serve them hot with hot sambhar and chutney.

Culver City Food Truck Adventure

On Monday night Lisa and I ventured off to Culver City near the Sony Studio lot to check out a new trend here. Food Truck courts. The one in Culver City, The Westside Food Truck Central, is apparently run like a commune and has about 10 trucks. They offer fair from kabobs, sushi, fried chicken, to Indian Food - served by a group with a truck named India Jones (pictured below). With flexible hours, lower start-up costs, and mobility, gourmet food trucks are all the rage here. India Jones is best known for their "Frankie." (pictured above). You can buy one for $4.50 and experience a roti roll up with cilantro tamarind chutney and chopped onion, with an egg wash (they can be ordered with lamb, chicken, beef, shrimp, paneer and mushroom & cheese). If you are looking for something to do, exploring a food truck emporium is definately something worth experiencing at least once.

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

We recently took a local trip to the LA Flower Market, one of the oldest flower markets in the States (located reasonably/surprisingly close to down town LA). Now sadly many of the flowers are flown in from other parts of the world where historically most of the offering was locally grown. This got me to thinking about India and their floriculture; not just because of the food project - but also because we picked up a nice bunch of tropical flowers grown in remote parts of the world.

India has a rich history there with references to flowers in ancient Sanskrit classics like the Rig Veda (C 3000-2000 BC) and Mahabharata (prior to 4th Century BC). India's vast natural resources and wide ranging climate conditions allow for growth of tropical flowers virtually year round somewhere in India - very similar to California and the Pacific Coast. Most flowers these days are grown and sold for individual and bunch sales e.g. marigold, jasmine, chrysanthemum, aster, crossandra, tuberose etc. India's growing economy means the appetite for roses, carnations, orchids, etc. will likely grow. Not sure that means the imports we receive will be redirected to India or that red roses on Valentines Day will be the next big business opportunity in India. Something we'll look into a bit.