In My Hands Today…

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Queen of Dreams – Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

94667Rakhi, a young painter and single mother, is struggling to come to terms with her relationship with ex-husband Sonny, a hip Bay Area DJ, and with her dream-teller mother, who has rarely spoken about her past or her native India. Rakhi has her hands full, juggling a creative dry spell, raising her daughter, and trying to save the Berkeley teahouse she and her best friend Belle own. But greater challenges are to come. When a national tragedy turns her world upside down and Rakhi needs her mother’s strength and wisdom more than ever, she loses her in a freak car accident. But uncovering her mother’s dream journals allows Rakhi to discover her mother’s long-kept secrets and sacrifices–and ultimately to confront her fears, forge a new relationship with her father, and revisit Sonny’s place in her heart.

Recipe: Tamatar Dahi wale Bhindi or Okra in a Tomato Yoghurt Sauce

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I had some Ladies Fingers or Okra going bad and so wanted to make something with them. I wanted to make a gravy dish, but was bored of making a tomato gravy, so tried something different this time. The dish was super yummy and is a definite keeper for sure! I made this for lunch with Sweet Corn and Peas Pulao yesterday.

The recipe is slightly labour intensive, but very tasty and will be a keeper in your repertoire. It also uses more oil than I am wholly comfortable with, but is still ok as an occasional treat.

Tamatar Dahi wale Bhindi or Okra in a Tomato Yoghurt Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 kg ladies fingers or okra
  • 1 pod garlic
  • 1.5 inch piece of ginger
  • 4 medium sized onions
  • 4 medium sized tomatoes
  • 1 cup plain yoghurt
  • 4-5 tbsp oil
  • 1 tbsp ghee
  • 10 pieces of cashew nuts
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1-2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tbsp kasuri methi
  • Salt to taste
  • Coriander leaves to garnish

Method:

  • Wash and dry the ladies fingers throughly. Top and tail them and cut into 1-1.5 inch pieces. Keep aside.
  • Peel the garlic, peel and chop the ginger, slice the onions and tomatoes separately and keep everything aside.
  • Heat about 2 tsp of oil and when the oil heats up, put in the garlic and ginger in it and let it stir for a few minutes.
  • Then add the cashew nuts and stir for a couple of minutes.
  • When the cashews start to brown add in the sliced onions and sauté till it starts to brown. Then add the tomatoes plus about a teaspoon of salt and cook till the tomatoes are cooked, soft and mushy.
  • Let it cool completely and then blend into a smooth paste, using as much water as needed.
  • In the same pan, heat around 2-3 tbsp of oil and in batches cook the chopped okra. Sprinkle a pinch of salt each time. The okra should be shiny and dark green with a slight crispy taste to it. Remove the okra and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, heat the balance oil and fry the cumin and fennel seeds. When they pop, add the blended paste and cook it till the water evaporates.
  • In the meantime, beat the yoghurt well and when the paste becomes thick and oil starts to float in the edges, pour this yoghurt over the paste and stir well.
  • Now add the fried okra and stir well. Add water if needed to thin the gravy out.
  • Add in the spices now – red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder along with garam masala. You should also check salt and seasoning at this point and add if anything seems less.
  • Let it boil on a low to medium flame till it comes to a rolling boil. Crush the kasuri methi in your palms and sprinkle it over the gravy. Let it cook for around five minutes and then switch off the gas.
  • Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or an Indian flatbread.

Note: If you make this in advance and are heating it up before serving, you may notice that the gravy has thickened because of the cashew nuts. In that case, thin it with some thinned yoghurt or milk.

2018 Week 47 Ipdate

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Nothing really to update with regard to the children. Holidays are ongoing and I am on BB’s case to catch up on his sec 3 work before school starts and he gets overwhelmed again.

Yesterday, I volunteered in BB’s school to usher potential parents and children to choose this school as one of their options after the PSLE results which was declared earlier in the week. It’s always fun doing this and I enjoy speaking to potential parents and sharing my experiences in the school. BBs school, though a neighbourhood school, has a distinctive programme which is very tempting to some students (BB included) who make it their first choice of school.

I also had a fairly lazy week with not much happening. I’ve decided to focus on my freelance work more once the new year starts and have started to do research in that direction.

S is taking leave some days next week and I want us to do some activities as a family, especially since the children don’t get to spend much time with him, given his busy schedule. So I should start planning those too.

2018 is almost over and the new year will be here in the blink of an eye! What are your plans for the new year?

Have a wonderful Sunday and an awesome week!

In My Hands Today…

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The Impersonator – Mary Miley

17286830In 1917, Jessie Carr, fourteen years old and sole heiress to her family’s vast fortune, disappeared without a trace. Now, years later, her uncle Oliver Beckett thinks he’s found her: a young actress in a vaudeville playhouse is a dead ringer for his missing niece. But when Oliver confronts the girl, he learns he’s wrong. Orphaned young, Leah’s been acting since she was a toddler.

Oliver, never one to miss an opportunity, makes a proposition—with his coaching, Leah can impersonate Jessie, claim the fortune, and split it with him. The role of a lifetime, he says. A one-way ticket to Sing Sing, she hears. But when she’s let go from her job, Oliver’s offer looks a lot more appealing. Leah agrees to the con but secretly promises herself to try and find out what happened to the real Jessie. There’s only one problem: Leah’s act won’t fool the one person who knows the truth about Jessie’s disappearance.

Recipes: Masala Potatoes

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A very basic recipe, which can be modified to make it slightly richer as well as made with other vegetables and probably even meat, this gravy can also be made in advance and be frozen for when you need to make something in a hurry.

Masala Potatoes

Ingredients:

  • 4-5 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 3 medium-sized onions, chopped roughly
  • 3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped roughly
  • 5-6 cloves of garlic, peeled
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1/2 tsp Carom seeds
  • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
  • 4-5 almonds
  • 1 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 tbsp coriander powder
  • 1-2 tbsp garam masala powder
  • 1-2 tbsp Kasuri Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp oil

Method:

  • Keep the chopped potatoes in a pan of water so that it does not oxidise while you make the gravy.
  • In a pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and then add 1 tsp cumin seeds and let it splutter. Then add the fennel and carom seeds and stir for a few seconds each before adding the next spice.
  • When the spices splutter, add the garlic and ginger and saute it for a few seconds.
  • Then add the almonds and stir for a minute or so.
  • Now add the onions and saute till it turns translucent. When the onions turn translucent, add the chopped tomatoes and give it a good stir.
  • Add around a tsp of salt to let the onion and tomato become mushy. At the same time, add the red chilli powder, cumin powder and coriander powder and stir well.
  • Once the tomatoes are completely cooked and mushy, remove from the flame, let it cool down completely and then blend to a fine paste. You can add water as needed to thin it down while blending.
  • Drain the potatoes and keep aside.
  • In the same pan, use the balance oil and when it becomes warm, add the remaining cumin seeds. When the seeds start to splutter, add the turmeric powder and the asafoetida and then quickly add in the drained potatoes. Add a bit of salt, cover and cook on a low to medium flame till the potatoes are almost cooked.
  • At this point, pour in the prepared gravy and stir well, letting it come to a boil. Check the seasoning at this point and add what is missing.
  • Add the garam masala and crush the Kasuri Methi in the palms of your hands before sprinkling it over the gravy.
  • Let the gravy come to a nice rolling boil, reduce the flame and continue to boil for another five minutes.
  • Remove from the flame, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with any rice or Indian flatbread.

Notes:

  • This is a very basic gravy and if you want to make it richer, you can add cashew nuts along with almonds when cooking. Also adding cooking cream while the gravy is boiling (towards the end) will make it more rich and creamy.
  • I made this with only potatoes, but you can add any combination of vegetables, including paneer (or tofu), cauliflower, peas, carrots etc to make it more wholesome.