Category Archives: Food

Pressure Cookers: An indispensable gadget in the Kitchen

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The other day, when I was cooking, I started thinking about the ubiquitous kitchen aid in an Indian kitchen – the pressure cooker. Every household has at least one and many have multiple. I currently have two in different sizes and have over the years used different sizes depending on my need at that point.

In my extended family, we have almost to a person used pressure cookers from one particular brand, specifically those with a dome top which allows (according to me), slightly more items into the cooker than the other commonly available design which is slightly inserted into the pan.

For the uninitiated, pressure cooking is the process of cooking food under high-pressure steam, employing water or a water-based cooking liquid, in a sealed vessel known as a pressure cooker. High-pressure limits boiling and permit cooking temperatures well above 100 °C or 212 °F to be reached.

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The pressure cooker was invented in the seventeenth century by the physicist Denis Papin. It works by expelling air from the vessel and trapping the steam produced from the boiling liquid inside. This raises the internal pressures and permits high cooking temperatures and together with high thermal heat transfer from the steam, cooks food far more quickly, often cooking in between half and a quarter the time for conventional boiling. After cooking, the steam pressure is lowered back to ambient atmospheric pressure, so that the vessel can be opened safely. Almost any food that can be cooked in steam or water-based liquids can be cooked in a pressure cooker.

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In an Indian kitchen, a pressure cooker is an essential tool. An entire meal can be prepared in the cooker and many cooks including my mother do exactly that. Rice and the dal of the day are cooked together, saving both time and fuel. Many recipes, including mine, have the number of whistles from the pressure cooker as part of the recipe. For example, how many whistles to cook rice, dal or even chana is something a mother would impart to her child who is starting out using the pressure cooker. Every Indian child has memories of being woken up to the sounds of the cooker whistling or children and infants startled by the sounds. I remember BB & GG being so scared of the whistles from the cooker when they were infants and toddlers that I used to make sure I am around them to soothe them when this happened.

The early pressure cookers used to explode because of spurious spare parts and one of the original pressure cooker manufacturers in India, Prestige realised that while they could not counter the spurious spare parts sold by dealers across a country as large as India, they came up with a solution that would prevent the cookers from bursting even if spurious spare parts were used — the Gasket Release System. How this worked was whenever the cooker was overloaded or the safety valve blocked, the rubber ring or the gasket would be pushed out through a slot in the lid, thus releasing the excess steam.

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Pressure cookers have many benefits. Cooking in a pressure cooker ensures that food retains most of their nutrients and are tastier. This is because food is cooked quickly and on high heat using minimal liquids which means food is less likely to lose its colour and nutrients. Pressure cooking is far more efficient than using multiple pots on separate burners and can result in significant energy savings. They are also best for one-pot recipes. Cooking time is greatly reduced as foods cook up to 70% faster when a pressure cooker is used, making it a handy tool to quickly get the meal on the table. Because you can do one-pot cooking in a pressure cooker, it is easier for clean-ups as there are fewer utensils to clean.

There is even a Pressure Cooker Baba temple in Siachen, close to India’s borders. The story behind it says that a pressure cooker in an army post on the glacier attracted a Pakistani heat-seeking missile, saving the soldiers it was aimed at. In gratitude, they built a shrine at the spot.

Today electric pressure cookers are taking over and in the distant future, the ubiquitous pressure cooker, a staple in every Indian home may find itself extinct, but till then, let’s celebrate and enjoy this kitchen gadget that has made so many yummy dishes for us.

Recipes: Apple Chutney

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I love chutneys and regular readers will know by the number of chutney recipes in the recipes tab. Also, chutneys are extremely versatile and so easy to experiment with that I do make them because I like experimenting in the kitchen. Also chutneys go well with so many dishes – slather it on bread and make it a sandwich or eat it as an accompaniment to the myriad breads available in the Indian cuisine as well as rice.

I saw a version of this recipe on a local channel and was intrigued by the usage of apples. Though I have made a Green Apple Chutney, this chutney cooked the apples, which was different. I tried and twised it a bit as I am wont to do.

Apple Chutney

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  • 1 medium sized tomato, chopped
  • 1 red apple, chopped
  • 1 green apple, chopped
  • 1-inch piece of ginger
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 3-4 dried red chillies
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat oil in a pan and when it warms, fry the cumin seeds till they pop. Then add the ginger and garlic and fry them till they start to become slightly crispy. Then add the dried red chillies and let them cook for a minute or so.
  • Now add the onions and fry them till they become translucent. Next add the tomatoes and cook them till they start to become mushy.
  • Add add the chopped apples, and let them cook till they start to lose their shape.
  • Switch off the gas and let it cool completely.
  • Blend to a smooth paste, adding water as needed. Check for seasoning and salt as needed.

Eat this as a spread for sandwiches or as an accompaniment to Indian breads. This chutney was a huge hit at home and had a slight sweet undertones because of the red apples. By adding the green apple, it gave a slight tartness, which can be done away with if you want it as a sweet chutney. Just replace the green apple with a second red apple.

Recipes: Gujarati Khatta Mung aka Whole Green Gram Dal in a Buttermilk Gravy

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Dal is a staple in most indian households with some variety of the protein packed dish made across the country. So, in order that we don’t get bored with the same kind of dal, I am always on the lookout for interesting takes and variations.

I saw this dal in one of my friend’s Facebook posts and it looked interesting enough to try it. My version may not be the most authentic one, but I enjoyed making and eating the dal. This is a staple in most Gujarati households, but you won’t find this in most restaurants. So let’s see how this is made…

Gujarati Khatta Mung aka Whole Green Gram Dal in a Buttermilk Gravy

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup whole green moong dal, soaked for 4-6 hours
  • ½ to 1 cup yoghurt
  • 2-3 tbsp gram flour or besan
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 5-6 curry leaves
  • 1-inch piece of minced ginger
  • 2 green chillies, slit lengthwise
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves, finely chopped to garnish

Method:

  • Drain the soaked moong dal and in a large pan, cook the soaked and drained moong dal with just enough water to cover it for about 5-7 minutes until it is just cooked and tender. Make sure it does not get mushy.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the yoghurt well and add the gram flour, turmeric powder, asafoetida, some salt and about a cup of water and whisk till it is smooth with no lumps. Keep aside.
  • Heat oil in another pan and when the oil warms, add the mustard seeds and let the seeds crackle. Then add the cumin seeds and stir for a couple of seconds, followed by the curry leaves. Stir till the curry leaves start to become crisp. Then add the slit green chilles and the ginger and saute for about 30-40 seconds.
  • Now add the cooked moong dal into this tempering and then the yoghurt gram flour mixture and allow everything to come to a nice rolling boil. Let this simmer on a low flame for about 5 minutes.
  • Check for seasoning and add salt if needed.
  • Turn off the flame and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with rice and a simple vegetable stir fry for a homely lunch.

Recipes: Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Soup

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These days we don’t eat rice on Sundays and so I am constantly on the look-out for recipes which we eat, mostly western dishes. One weekend, with an almost bare fridge, I decided to make a cauliflower and potato soup and decided to kick it up a notch by roasting the cauliflower first.

The soup was incredibly creamy and so filling. It also seemed to me to have a slight taste of mushroom soup and this was corroborated by BB & GG who loved it! I will be making this again and this will be added to my repertoire.

Roasted Cauliflower and Potato Soup

Ingredients:

  • 1 head cauliflower, cut into florets and kept aside
  • 1 large potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped
  • 1 medium sized onion, chopped
  • 5-6 garlic cloves
  • 10-12 cashew nuts
  • Salt and Pepper to taste
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 2-3 tbsps Olive oil

Method:

  • Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celcius.
  • Line a large tray with either baking paper or aluminium foil and spread the chopped cauliflower in it. Drizzle about a tbsp of olive oil and then some salt and pepper and mix well. Pop it into the oven to roast for about 20-25 minutes or until the cauliflowers start to brown. Remove and keep aside.
  • Heat the balance oil and butter in a large saucepan and when warm, add the galic cloves. When the garlic starts to brown, add the cashew nuts and stir for a few minutes.
  • Then add the chopped onions and stir until the onions are translucent.
  • At that point, add the chopped potatoes, some salt and cook covered until the potatoes are done, stirring every few minutes.
  • Let everything cool down and then blend it to a smooth paste in a blender. This works best with a proper blender and an immersion blender may not make it as creamy as we want it to be.
  • Once it is smooth and creamy, bring this back to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Season as needed with salt and pepper and serve hot with bread croutons.

Recipes: Pune Style Maharashtrian Misal

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Misal is probably a quessiantial Maharashtrian dish, you will find it in every corner of the state and each city, town or district has their own variation of this dish. Misal pav consists of usal which is a spicy curry usually made from moth beans, which I think is called haricot beans and pavwhich is a type of an Indian bread roll. The final dish is topped with farsan which are dry snacks or sev, onions, lemon and coriander. It is served as a breakfast dish, as a snack and also as a full meal.

I have been wanting to try and make this for the longest time, but somehow the fact that this is quite a lengthy recipe to make always put me off. Then one Sunday, I finally decided to make it. I read up a few recipes and then did it my own way. Traditionally Misal is made with sprouted green gram or sprouted brown gram, but I decided to make this more healthy by incorporating many dried beans and also since this was a fairly last minute decision, I did not sprout the beans and just soaked them in water. The version I have made is in the Pune style which incorporates poha or flattened rice flakes, while the Nashik version is usually spicy and served with pav, curd, chopped coriander and onion.

Pune Style Maharashtrian Misal

Ingredients:

For the Usal

  • 1.5 – 2 cups mixed dried beans soaked in water overnight (I used a mixture of dried chickpeas, dried black-eyed peas, dried green peas, dried black beans and black chickpeas, but you can use what you have in the kitchen)
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 5-8 curry leaves
  • 2 medium sized onions, chopped finely
  • 3-4 medium sized tomatoes, chopped finely
  • 1 tbsp tamarind pulp
  • Kashmiri red chilli powder to taste
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • ¼ tsp turmeric powder
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida powder

For the dry masala paste

  • 1 tbsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds
  • 7-8 pepper corns
  • 5-6 dried red chillies
  • 1 inch piece of cinammom
  • 4-5 cloves
  • ¼ cup dessicated coconut

For the wet masala paste

  • 1 medium sized onion
  • 1 bulb garlic, peeled
  • 1 inch piece ginger

For the poha

  • 1 cup poha or flattened rice flakes
  • ¼ tsp plus a pinch turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ¼ tsp asafoetida powder
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tsp oil

To serve

  • 2-3 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 medium sized potatoes, boiled, peeled and chopped into small pieces
  • 1 cup mixed farsan
  • Date Tamarind chutney (optional)
  • Green Coriander chutney (optional)
  • 1 cup beaten yoghurt mixed with rock salt

Method:

  • Cook the soaked dals in a pressure cooker with a bit of salt and cook till the beans are soft, but not overcooked. Let it cool and keep aside. Don’t drain the water it has been cooked in.

For the dry masala

  • In a dry pan, heat the masala ingredients except the coconut and let them brown.
  • When the dry spices become brown and start to emit an aroma, add the desiccated coconut and continue stirring until the coconut becomes crisp and brown and loses its moisture.
  • Remove from the flame and keep aside till it becomes cool.
  • Then grind it to a fine powder and keep aside. If there is any left over after using it for the usal, you can use it to spice other stir fries.

For the wet masala

  • Grind together the ginger, garlic and onion to a smooth paste and keep aside.

For the Poha

  • Wash the poha in running water till it softens and then let the water drain.
  • Add some salt and the sugar plus a pinch of turmeric powder and mix well. Keep aside.
  • Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and when the oil heats up, add 1 tsp mustard seeds and let the mustard crackle. Next add the curry leaves and let the leaves become crisp.
  • Then add ¼ tsp turmeric powder and ¼ tsp asafoetida powder and stir for a few seconds.
  • Then add the finely chopped onions and a pinch of salt and let the onions soften.
  • When the onions soften and become translucent, add the soaked poha and mix well.
  • Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove into a serving dish and keep aside.

For the Usal

  • Heat oil in a large pan and when the oil heats up, add the mustard seeds and let it crackle.
  • When the mustard seeds crackle, add the curry leaves, turmeric powder and asafoetida and let the curry leaves crisp up.
  • Then add the finely chopped onions and let it cook for a while.
  • When the onions are translucent, add the wet masala paste and let it cook for a while.
  • Add the finely chopped tomatoes and cover and cook till the tomatoes become mushy and disintegrate.
  • Now add about 3-4 tbsps of the dry masala (or as much as you want) and then add the cooked beans along with the water it was cooked in.
  • Add in the dry spice powders – cumin powder, coriander powder as well as salt and cook covered for about five minutes.
  • Add in the tamarind paste and about 1 to 2 cups of water (you can make this as thick or thin as you like it) and continue cooking covered for about 10 minutes more.
  • Cover and keep aside till it’s time to assemble it.

To assemble the Misal Pav and Dahi Misal

  • In a bowl, layer some poha and pour in some usal above the poha.
  • Top with some of the onions and potatoes and finally add some farsan on top of it.
  • Add some of the green and tamarind chutney if you want and also a squeeze of lime.
  • You can eat it as it is or with some pav or bread.
  • To make dahi missal after you top the farsan, add some of the prepared yoghurt and tp with the chutneys and then eat as it is.

It’s a tad long to make and takes time, but the taste is totally worth it!