Answer to Dosa Dilema

The answer to Michael's observation that dosas can't be whipped up in a hurry is here. http://vahrehvah.com/Rava+Dosa+Quick+version:3281 Semolina dosas without the soaking and fermenting. The key is to have potatoes cooked up and in the fridge. If you want rice/dal dosas, just keep the batter on the counter or fridge at all times. You can always have a batch brewing and make dosas any time.

I also have been throwing together a quick stir fry of tofu and veggies with an almond meal sauce at breakfast time to eat with my dosas. Here is a picture and a recipe.

Lisa's tofu almond veggie

Amounts are up to you.

Extra Firm tofu, cut into cubes
veggies of your choice (zucchini, spinach, eggplant, carrots) cubed
Ginger, cut into matchsticks
Red pepper flakes
garam masala powder
water
almond meal

Heat oil in a saute pan, saute the ginger and red pepper for a minute. Put in tofu and toss and stir fry until slightly golden. Throw in the veggies and stir fry until tender. add garam masala and cook for a minute. Add some water (you want to make a little bit of a sauce) so maybe a half cup of water and deglaze your pan a bit. then stir in about two table spoons of almond meal and simmer lightly until the sauce is thick. That's it.
Eat it with rice or dosas or chapati.

Short Stack, Short Stack, Syrup on Top

Indian Breakfasts. Hmm. Griddle cakes with some type of sweet topping are nothing unique to the US. This morning a friend brought in some Rawa Dosas for me to sample at the work place. They were fantastic and served with sambhar although a bit of grade B maple syrup would have probably been delightful as well. The down-side to this treat is they are more labour intensive to make than the typical pancake. I've seen Lisa whip-up buckwheat pancakes in a few minutes. The recipe and ingredients for the Rawa Dosas are below. Something we'll give a go at over a weekend. I couldn't see doing this on a workday night/afternoon and putting them up for another day.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup semolina, 1 1/2 cup of rice, 1 1/2 cup split black gram lentil, 1 cup sour curd, 4 yukon gold potatos, handful of mustard seeds, 1/3 tsp tumeric powder, 1/3 teaspon chilli powder, curry leaves to taste, 1 tsp sea salt

Steps:
Soak the rice for a couple of hours, grind the rice to a batter and add H2O to make a paste, soak semolina in the curd for an hour and mix with batter and store for 2 hours. Add salt and ferment for 12 hours. Cut the potatos into small pieces. Heat 2 teaspons of oil in a pan, add potatos, salt, chilli powder, and tumeric and then mix in to dough. Oil pan and then spoon in pancake sized amounts and cook about 2 minutes (flipping between).

Are We Don Gorske?

Don Gorske of recent fame from the Morgan S. film Super Size Me reportedly ate at least one McDonald's Big Mac for the past 36 years, surpassing 23,000 in total (and apparently only missing 8 days during that streak). So what makes me think of Gorske. Today I was in a Starbucks coffee shop buying an iced Chai and it occurred to me that many of their patrons stop there every day for a cup of coffee/tea and perhaps some pastry. Is it an escape from the drudgery of their work-day, some type of routine, a guilty pleasure, or OCD of the Gorske type with perhaps less of a potential adverse health impact (by all reports Gorske is 6'2", 185 lbs, and in good health - so he's apparently beating the odds with his habit or addiction depending on your view). Given the chance I think I could easily drink a cup of decaf Chai (preferably iced) every day for 36 years; but I don't think anyone would want to write a story about it - even if I did keep the receipt for every cup like Gorske did for his Big Macs.

Then there is the concept of our project itself - making and eating at least one Indian meal a day for a year. There's a point behind this project of course. Something broadening and mind opening (we hope) about it with the upside of also providing us with a meaningful activity to do together and culturally enrich our lives. It is hard to say the same thing about the Big Macs and probably equally hard regarding the coffee and tea thing. When I came home tonight Lisa had a pot of Chai ready for consumption. A mixture of black peppercorns, fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamon, and decaf English Breakfast tea. It was easy enough to drink 2 small cups of it, which I did. I am no more a Don Gorske than the next Starbucks regular but something inside me has me wondering whether we should really care about the Big Mac guy and whether our blog will inspire others to try something new in the culinary field for a sustained period of time to break out of a rut, bring them closer together with someone, or expand their interests?

Chai Tea? Isn't that Redundant?

It is hard to believe we have gone this long without writing about Chai. I believe Chai translates to "tea." But, most commercial versions of it in the US call it "Chai Tea?" Huh, does that make sense? I reminds me of when people refer to tortellini as tortellinis - adding the "s" to an Italian name for a type of pasta that is already in the plural form. On Sunday the kids and I went for a city hike to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on North Robertson. I'm not much of a fan for the great outdoors; I like the scenery and exercise but the lack of an available/reliable/clean loo is often a deal killer for us.

Back to the Chai. We tried a decaf iced version of the CB&TL Chai that had a very delicate cinnamon undertone. Solly was particularly fond of it. Later in the day we played around with our own versions in the kitchen. There are hundreds of different recipes easily found on the web. The one we made had a cardamon seed base with cinnamon and a little black pepper to which we added some fresh clover honey. The first batch didn't come out well and we used it to water the garden. The second batch was a bit better and we'll experiment with it some more over the next few weeks. One limitation to our test - we didn't add any dairy or soy substitute to it which is probably a good thing since it meant there was no cover up for Chai. Our recipe is as follows:

Spices: 8 black peppercorns, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 cardamon seeds
Other: 1 1/2 cups of waters, 2 table spoons of clover honey, and 2 tea bags of strong black tea

We've attached a link below with some nice recipes to try out. Michael

http://www.chai-tea.org/recipes.html

Electric Karma on 3rd Street

Electric Karma. Modern Indian music, think Monsoon Wedding, with low sofas, and a pleasant and eclectic decor. We went with a tofu saag which Sol said was not only fantastic; but, that he had to stop eating because his stomach was going to explode. We sampled their breads as well. The garlic naan was to die for; the best we have seen in a long time. The kids started with a couple of samosas that were juicy and spiced just right. This is a place that does not go through the charade of trying to be high-end foo-foo cuisine. The dishes are appropriately proportioned, the staff friendly and informed, and the place down-to-earth and welcoming. It is a good place for a dinner get together, a party with old friends, or a family gathering. We are going to try and replicate the saag on Sunday. Michael

Cool Coconut Rice with Pistacios

Today was a day to experiment in the kitchen. We made a coconut rice with cinnamon, cardamon seeds, black pepper, and dry roasted pistachios. Saffron was added for some extra kick. We adapted this from the G. Ramsay book and some different traditional rice dishes profiled in the Krishna book. It came out OK. There is clearly a trick to cooking with basmati rice and I haven't gotten it down to perfection yet. I did a basic scrambled egg over the rice and shredded some pecorino ramano over the dish - kind of an Indian staple meats breakfast meets old school Italian meal. This is real comfort food and would go nicely as a breakfast with a copy of the New York Times Sunday paper and a good cup of tea.

On Saturday we are going to explore a place on the West Side called Electric Karma. The seating and decor look quite nice; and, our expectations are high it will be pretty authentic based upon some reviews we've read of it. Michael

Trader Joes' & Indian Food

Lisa is in Philly and South Jersey this week. Her father Jerry has passed at the age of 94. Solly suggested we take today to explore Trader Joes' and the type of Indian take and carry meal we could make. We tried putting together a tikki-tofu-rice meal from pre-packaged items. But it lacked a bite and had a mushy texture. The hit was something likely cooked up in the company's Pasadena lab; a masala tandori naan. We could not find a recipe for it anywhere on-line or in the classic cookbooks. A bit doughy but with plenty of spice. Cooks well at 450 degrees for 5 minutes - a few drops of water on top before re-heating will do wonders for it and the texture. Solly says it pairs best with cheddar cheese and pears.

Jerry your spirit, humor, sense of family, and friendship will be missed. Michael