I'm back

 Well, it's been a while.  Our Indian food adventure formally concluded in June, but we still like to eat good stuff.  I will be posting Indian and non-Indian inspired things.  Things such as this Chia Seed Delight.   An oxymoron, you say?  Well, the picture of our daughter the picky eater doesn't lie.  This is a sweet treat that you can feel good about giving the kids and yourself.  Made with chia seeds, raisins, walnuts, orange juice and coco powder, and covered in a thin layer of vegan chocolate.  So easy.  Lots of omega fatty acids, iron, protein, vitamin C, etc.   The texture inside is like Turkish Delight, kind of gummy and soft.  I am thinking this could be done with lemon or lime juice, eliminate the coco powder, use cashews or almonds or any kind of nut.  Lots of variations.  Let me know if you make a variation.

This is slightly adapted from this recipe I saw at Gone Raw, my go-to raw foods website. I'll blog some about doing raw foods in the near future.

So, we are going Gluten Free here.  Just got a new Zojirushi breadmaker and a GF loaf is cooking right now. I'll let you know in the next post how it turned out.  Meanwhile enjoy the:

Chia Seed Delight

4 T of ground chia seeds (I used Salba brand already ground, but you can grind your own in a coffee or spice mill)
Enough orange juice to make a thick sludge when added to the seeds.  I juiced four mandarins, but one orange should do it.
Zest of the aforementioned orange.

3/4 - 1 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup of vegan chocolate chips (I used the Enjoy Life brand, allergen free) with just a splash of soy or nut milk.

Place the ground seeds in a bowl and add the zest and juice.  Mix well and let stand for about half an hour until the seeds absorb all the juice and become jelly-like. 

In a food processor, grind the walnuts until they are a coarse meal.  Add the raisins and process until all is combined into a paste.  Add the chia jell and process further until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.  At this point, it does not look appetizing and you will begin to doubt whether this will turn out.

Wet your hands and roll the mix into bon-bon sized balls.  Place in a container and refrigerate for an hour or so.  Then melt the chocolate chips.  I just pop them in a Pyrex measuring cup with a splash of soy milk and microwave for 20 seconds.  Stir until smooth.  Then use this to coat the chilled bon-bons.  Put back in the fridge for the coating to harden up. 

The Octopus and The Hot Dog

 We are very excited to announce our son Sol (8) has just published his book, The Octopus and the Hot Dog.  It is a fun Summer adventure read.  We hope you will enjoy it.  There is no tie in here to Indian food unless of course either Octopus or Hot Dogs are popular in Indian cuisine. You can find it on Amazon

Cambridge Graduation Weekend & New Food Aventures

After a long journey I've graduated with my masters from Cambridge. This was a truly transformational experience.  I managed to have one last Indian meal at the curry house the weekend of May 14th.  It did not disappoint.  There are a number of things that will be missed about this adventure.  The group projects, pre-eating before the Friday night college meals, MCS modeling, runs and walks along the Cam and passing my friends the cows, the long formal suppers, excellent academic exposure, the town and its architecture, and on and on.  Our group of friends and network will surely continue on after this two years and I expect we'll all achieve quite a bit in industry and not for profit ventures.  Lisa and I will now be looking at non-Indian food experiences. although I'm certain Indian foods will still play a central role in our diets.  Just this morning Lisa made herself a dosa for breakfast and I caught myself wondering why, now that the project is "over."  But the truth is it will never be over and we'll continue to explore the many avenues different cuisines of India have to offer.  Our new focus may become that of the south pacific/Asia Pac - we'll see shortly.  Cheers.

Indian Food Up in the Sky

Yes, over this project we've encountered all types of Indian food in a lot of strange places. Last week we took a cross country trip to Philly and Upstate NY. On the way out and back Sol ordered the vegetarian option - a Hindu meal. The offering came with traditional rice, spinach saag, a tomato based curry, and a plain paratha with packaged yogurt on the side.

I'm not a huge fan of saag but if you are interested in trying to make it the following is a promising recipe.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 teaspoons cumin seed
• 1 green chile pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tablespoons ground turmeric
• 1 pound chopped fresh mustard greens
• 1 pound chopped fresh spinach
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. In a large skillet or wok, melt butter over medium-high heat, and cook and stir cumin seed, chile pepper, garlic, and turmeric until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the chopped mustard greens and spinach a little at a time, adding the tougher parts first (the stems and thicker leaves). Continue to add greens, and cook and stir until all greens have been added and all are thoroughly wilted. Stir in the cumin, coriander, and salt. Cover; reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender, about 10 minutes, adding water as needed to keep the greens moist.

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.