Shrikhand....food of the Gods !!!

श्रीखंड 

Once again made under Aai's supervision. This traditional Maharashtrian dessert is very easy to make. 

Ingredients :

Curd - 1.5 kgs (Made from 1.5 litres of milk)

Sugar (powdered) - 3/4 cup or to taste (I prefer less sugar)

Cardamom (powdered) - 1 tbsp

Nutmeg (powdered) - 1 tbsp

Safforn - A few strands + for garnishing

Milk - 1 tbsp

Method :

Hang the curd in a muslin cloth for a few hours. Wring out the excess water. Dissolve the saffron in 1 tbsp of warm milk. Add the saffron, sugar, cardamom and nutmeg to the drained curd and mix well. 

Stretch a piece of muslin over a clean vessel to form a sieve. This should not sag. Pass the curd mixture through this muslin sieve a little at a time. Transfer to a bowl and garnish with a few saffron strands. One may garnish with chopped dry fruits as well. 

Note : To make fruit flavoured Shrikhand, add about 1/4 cup of mashed ripe fruit to the curd mixture before sieving it. Adjust the powdered sugar based on the sweetness of the fruit you are adding.

Batatyacha Kees - Shredded Potatoes with Peanuts

बटाट्याचा कीस

Made under Aai's supervision. Easy breakfast / fast recipe. This is my mother's version. Serves 3-4 depending on their appetite.

Ingredients :

Potatoes (peeled and grated) - 6 medium
Ground Peanuts (Roast, peel and coarsely grind peanuts in a food processor) - 1/2 cup
Green chillies (roughly chopped) - 4/5
Cumin Seeds/Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Ghee/Clarified butter - 4 tbsp
Curd - 4 tbsp
Rock Salt - To taste


Method :


Heat ghee in a pan, and add the cumin seeds. Add the chopped green chillies after the cumin seeds turn dark. After about a minute, add the grated potatoes and the peanut powder. Mix well. Cook on medium heat while constantly shifting the mixture in the pan so that it does not stick. Add the curd and salt and mix once again. Cover and let the potatoes cook on low heat till they are done. Serve hot.

If you are not fasting, you may add chopped coriander to the potatoes. You may serve this with some whisked curd if you want an accompaniment.

Some things make more sense now...

Metaphors

I'm a riddle in nine syllables,
An elephant, a ponderous house,
A melon strolling on two tendrils.
O red fruit, ivory, fine timbers!
This loaf's big with its yeasty rising.
Money's new-minted in this fat purse.
I'm a means, a stage, a cow in calf.
I've eaten a bag of green apples,
Boarded the train there's no getting off.

Sylvia Plath

On "1984"....

It is indeed shameful that I should peruse this George Orwell classic at so advanced an age. It is particularly embarrassing to confess that I am a student/teacher of literature. After owning a copy of the book for almost half a decade I finally managed to trudge through it.

Trudge is a very apt word for a book which is resplendent in its stupidity. This dystopic dystopia strikes one as the ravings of a closet capitalist cowering behind his "Capitalist black top hat", presenting one with a monumental perversion of Marxist/Socialist/Communist ideology. The vapid and stereotypical delineation of girls/women further manages to make one cringe at the abysmal lack of insight exhibited by the text, and its blatant gender insensitivity.

So much for 1984...I am hoping that Running in the Family by Michael Ondatjee shall prove more fruitful reading.

Gratitude....

In the normal course of life, one generally takes many things for granted. It is only when circumstances are unusual that one realises who really cares. For my part, I've realised how invaluable a person my husband is, and I am ever so grateful that he is a part of my life.

Thank you God for that beautiful serendipity that introduced me to this affectionate and ever so caring human being. It could so easily have been a miss.

Thank you !!! Thank you !!! Thank you !!!

New innings....

It is that time of the year again...when you realise another "new" year has begun. This year shall bring an addition to the family, and resolutions or not, things are bound to change. There has been/is much anxiety, but I hope April shall bring things to a successful resolution. *Fingers crossed*

Otherwise, this post is my reminder that I need to write more. There is something about putting pen to paper (finger to keyboard) that sort of makes vague diaphanous ideas more cogent and comprehensible to oneself. A mirror to the mind so to speak. A rendering that reveals what is occupying the occipital. More reading, more listening and less speaking. Mantra for 2012.

Happy new year everyone !!!