The Mysterious Aroma- South Indian Style

Going on the lines of favourite ingredients, here is another one. This is not a vegetable as such, but there is almost no cooking possible without it. It is one ingredient i simply can't survive without. But its a tricky one. If you overdo it even a little, that's it. Your entire cooking is a waste. If you add it in the correct quantity, your recipe is a clear winner. The funny thing about this ingredient although people don't realise, is that it is 80% to do only with its aroma. The actual taste is only secondary or sometimes even tertiary. It is almost never considered as a main or key ingredient, but it makes the difference between a brilliant dish and a good dish. We mostly don't realise all these specialities while cooking with it, but blindly add it as one of the other ingredients. This mystery ingredient is... Garlic, the master flavour enhancer.

This recipe is a dedication to my long time love for garlic. It is a mouth- watering South Indian dish, one of the very few which use it as the main ingredient. The Garlic Rasam.

Ingredients:
For grinding into a paste:
12 cloves of garlic,
a small lime size tamarind ball,
3 tsp of coriander seed,
3 tsp of toor dal,
2 dried red chillies,
2 tsp of black pepper.

For boiling:
8 cloves of garlic,
a pinch of turmeric,
few curry leaves,
salt to taste.

For garnishing:
2 tsp of ghee,
1 dried red chilli,
chopped coriander leaves,
2 tsp mustard seeds.

Method:

                      
First soak all the ingredients to be ground into a paste in about, 1/4 cup of water.  Let it soak for at least 10-15 minutes.
In the mean time, add the garlic, turmeric powder, curry leaves and salt to 2 cups(aprx) of water and bring to a boil. By this time the ingredients soaked in water would become more soft and read to be ground. So filter the water and grind the ingredients to quite a thick paste. When the turmeric and water mix comes to a boil, and this paste and mix well. On top add the chopped coriander leaves and let it boil. After some time you will see that the coriander leaves come together, and it starts to boil up. That brings us almost to the end.

                      
But no recipe is complete without garnishing. So, now in a small pan, heat the ghee and add mustard seeds and dried chilli. Let it splutter and add it on top of the rasam. You can also use oil instead of ghee, but the ghee adds a great deal to the aroma. Nobody would complain about that!!!!

So, whats next? Just grab a plate of rice, and relax in the light aromatic splendour of the crowning glory of Indian cooking, garlic...

The Express Potato Comeback!

I am finally back too the ONE THING i love doing the most in my life. After four months of torturous studies, life is finally back to some sanity, and i am back to my cooking. It would be a very very difficult task to put in words how much i have missed cooking and blogging during these months, especially when everybody else can still continue with their usual hobbies during exam days. But its not the same for me. My cooking has a very special place, and it deserves a lot more time and affection than people normally give their hobbies. So i am not going to waste anymore of my precious time.

I am going to start off once again, this time focusing more on the intricacies of cooking. Those things about cooking that i love so much, but don't seem to share that often.

This recipe is a very simple but extremely tasty vegetable. It has been cooked time and again in many many hundreds of styles. Every cook has their own idea of this Vegetable. This i would say is one of the plenty successful experiments i have had with the same vegetable. According to me, this is an express way of making it, and believe me it does not loose out any of its glories. Say hello to this weeks version of POTATO!

Cooking potatoes can be classified into two types in the Indian style. One would be the type which you cook for chapathis. The second is the type you make for rice. But this recipe on the other hand goes perfectly with both.

Ingredients:
5 potatoes- diced about 3 inches in size,
3 onions- diced,
red chilli powder- 1 tsp,
turmeric- 1/4 tsp,
mustard seed- 1 tsp,
oil- 3 tbsp,
salt to taste,

Method:
Heat oil in a frying pan, and add some mustard seeds. Let them splutter.
                  
                   
Now add the onions. Wait till it turns really transparent.

                   
Now add the diced potatoes. Add the turmeric and salt and mix well. Now close the pan and leave it for 3 or 4 minutes.

                  
When you open, you will see that your potato is already semi cooked.
Now the common mistake that everybody makes is add the chilli powder before it is semi cooked. This does not allow it to be crunchy and crisp. So you add the chilli powder after it is semi cooked. Now close the pan after mixing well, and let it fry for 3 minutes or so.
                             
                  
Now your potato is ready in a matter of  a few minutes. You can also add a pinch of chaat masala if you like. This would be a subtle garnish for the crunchy potatoes.

Sit back and enjoy the express crunchy potatoes.