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Boshi#31 ~ Nativity Feast Lunch!

September 8, 2015, 6:22 am
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Today's lunch was a festive meal prepared to celebrate the feast of the Nativity of Mary. This also coincides with the harvest feast celebrated with great gusto among the Mangalorean Catholic community. 

This pure vegetarian fare is made up of odd numbered dishes consisting usually of gourds, legumes and other locally grown vegetables like lady's finger, long beans, hog plums and cucumbers. Coconut is present in almost all the dishes.

After having the new crop of paddy is blessed in the church it is distributed among the people who then take it home, pound a few grains of tender, new rice and mix it along with coconut milk sweetened and flavoured with jaggery and cardamom. It is then symbolically sipped by every member of the family, pretty much like a toast to good health but mostly to thank God for His benevolence, mercy and providence. 

I wish all my readers a happy feast and may you be blessed with everything you desire!


So coming back to today's Lunch....Boshi or should I say 'Shirothi' :)
Managed to make 9 items - the highest I've made so far (single handedly) for the Nativity feast! (Phew!)

From Left to Right

Top Row

1. Gosalem Thel Piyao (Ridge Gourd Oil & Onion Style)
2. Sonay Sukhe (Black Garbanzo Beans Saute)
3. Moog Ani Keerl Sukho (Sprouted Green Gram Saute)
4. Karathe Sukhe (Bitter gourd Saute)

Bottom Row
5. Vorn (Moong dal Payasam)
6. Roce (Sweetened Coconut Milk)
7. Sanna (Steamed Rice Cakes)
8. Alun Dento (minus the alun) (Curry of Colocasia and Amaranth Stems)
9. Karamb (Cucumber Salad)

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Sambar ~ Mangalore Hotel Style ~ When The Hubby Cooks!

September 13, 2015, 11:55 pm
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On every trip to Mangalore we love to eat at the local restaurants. Some of the absolute must have's on our list are the Mangalore Buns and Goli Baje and sometimes we end up ordering multiple things which we totally love to eat as the entire experience can only be enjoyed at the hotel. One such item is the sambar which comes along with most snacks you order, especially the Mangalore buns. A few months ago, on a whim the husband decided to recreate this dish. After a couple of attempts I can say that he has figured it out and the taste and aroma is bang on! Since then I have made this sambar a zillion times. The beauty of this dish lies in its simplicity, especially because it is a lot simpler in terms of process than its other sambar counterparts and the best part is that you can make the sambar pudi (powder) in advance and use it as required. 
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Pork Pickle ~ When The Hubby Cooks!

September 21, 2015, 4:11 am
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Another classic Mangalorean recipe is here for you today - made by the Master of Pickles, Roshan himself :-) At home we have agreed to stick to our core competencies. While he makes the pickles, savoury preserves & condiments, I make the jams, wines & all kinds of sweet preserves. The first half of 2015 saw us making a lot of these (except for the wines) and I guess I still have to find the time to post those recipes. These days I keep busy with Project Declutter & Reorganization of my kitchen as I have amassed a lot of culinary junk - from ingredients to recipe books to gadgets and utensils to cook stuff that I no longer have the time to. Keeping up with the kids activities almost always takes up my time and then I am too lazy to blog. I fear that soon I will just go on a long break. I am perhaps experiencing the writers block (not that I am much of a writer). There are recipes but not enough inclination to think of fresh topics to write as there is barely any time to day dream and think of new things to say. By the way, day dreaming is said to be the creative person's fodder for thought (not that I am much of a creative person). Anyway, before I cease to make any sense I am off to finish off my reorganizing my kitchen (something I thoroughly enjoy these days)
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Ragi Shevai Usli ~ Seasoned Finger Millet String Hoppers

September 28, 2015, 5:45 am
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It's been ages since I posted a simple breakfast recipe. It's not that I no longer experiment with new recipes at home, it's just that they usually revolve around the main meals or snacks. To add to this the lack of time to blog results in the recipes being doled out slower than ever before. Sorry about that but it is just there are all kinds of challenges associated with raising kids most of which revolve around school and after school related activities. However, I am enjoying this new facet of my life very much. I welcome the change and look forward to getting out of the house almost on a daily basis. Being busy is enjoyable, not blogging all the time is refreshing, knocking off the Facebook app from my phone is priceless! There is so much time to do everything else now. So much time to actually sit up and take note of the creeper growing in my balcony garden. I have started to take a lot more interest in helping my herb garden flourish and hopefully the change of weather will also help. 
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Sungta Ani Deeviso Guzo - Mangalorean Style Prawn and Breadfruit Curry

September 29, 2015, 5:30 am
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In the past few weeks the blog has seen a surge in the number of prawn recipes, isn't it? I realised this when I was busy editing the pictures of this recipe which I had tried out a few months ago and forgotten to post. Thanks to the fact that I am now able to eat prawns without a hitch (thank God for that!) we bring prawns more often and the kids are enjoying them too. I have been trying out various recipes and it's like I am making up for all the years that I couldn't enjoy them. 

Combo curries are very popular in Mangalore, especially those that include fresh or dried prawns. Most of our curries are a way of getting some sort of protein and a vegetable together in a curry to be served with plain rice. Although in comparison to what today's generation is used to eating, these dishes are laborious, the taste is unmatched and truly an experience to be indulged in at least occasionally.
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Vaingan Pudi Sagle ~ Konkani Style Stuffed Baby Brinjals

October 3, 2015, 4:40 am
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Now that the kids are more 'restaurant friendly' and know how to behave even at a fine dining place we've started looking for places to enjoy our weekend meals, usually Friday evenings or Saturdays. Yesterday we went to a great place that served buffet meals over the weekends and we stuffed ourselves to the gills! I know gluttony is a great sin but we indulged ourselves anyways because every single dish on the menu was so fabulous! When we reached home we began to groan in agony. Well, no, the food wasn't bad, it's just that our stomachs were doing a somersault because of the excessive eating! I swore to myself never to get so greedy ever again, yeah but I will still visit that place and perhaps stick to tasting just a few (let's see how that resolution goes..hehe)
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Mangalorean Plated Meal Series - Boshi# 32 - Fish Vindaloo, Cucumber Salad, Moong Curry, Fish Fry & Rice

October 8, 2015, 4:12 am
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BOSHI#31


The Boshi is back after a really really long break this time. I've been so busy that I've hardly had time to try out new recipes in the past 2 weeks or so and cooking is limited to previous tried and tested, family favourites. I cook stuff that my kids will eat without fuss and since I have decided not to sweat the small stuff, I am letting them be and not making extravagant meals which they will not end up eating. However, it would be so unfair for us adults if we didn't have our share of proper 3 course meals at least once in a way right? So I went ahead and made something that both the husband and I thoroughly enjoyed. It was a complete meal that we had after ages!

Do check the complete Boshi series here

RECIPES:
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Mutton Stew - Mangalorean Muslim Style

October 8, 2015, 5:28 am
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Last week, on a whim I asked the hubby to buy some mutton when he was at the fish and meat market. I am a big mutton lover. To me it is at par with chicken (tastewise of course). I am not as fond of pork and beef so when I crave for some juicy mutton I make sure I source it somehow and cook it immediately. Surprisingly though I don't experiment a lot with the recipes and most times stick to whatever I've tried and tested before. So that should explain the fact that at present I have just 9 mutton recipes on the blog (which incidentally are more than half the combined recipes of beef and pork) - O.K, if all this math is making you dizzy just go and take a look at the red meat recipe section here
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Fruit Custard

October 11, 2015, 6:21 am
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During my growing up years in Mangalore, the fruit custard used to be such an integral part of any party menu. These were family parties, for the young and old and we never had such a thing as parties only for kids. Birthdays were rarely celebrated and even if they were, the whole jing bang was there to watch you cut your cake, sing the quintessential birthday song and then the men would go back to their drinks and deep discussions on politics or sport and the women would merrily gossip or exchange recipes while the hostess busied herself serving the food. After a typical Mangalorean spread of curried meats and pulaos and cutlets and salads the grand finale would always be this simple yet delicious fruit custard that was so much like the popula trifle pudding except that we didn't use a sponge in one of the several layers. 

Since this dessert was really easy to make most moms opted for it. I mean which busy mom doing a million things on the day of the party doesn't welcome the idea of a dessert that can be made ahead of time? The custard and the jelly could be made the previous day and the fruits could be chopped up in a jiffy before serving. I have seen many a dad who was dragged in at the last minute to cut up the apples or papaya or bananas or whatever that went into the dessert. 
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Schiacciata Con L’uva (Tuscan Style Grape, Olive and Goat Cheese Focaccia) No Knead Bread! ~ #Breadbakers

October 12, 2015, 10:58 pm
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Bread baking has been the biggest obsession of this year for me. I am glad that I have tried out several different kinds of bread and I am also glad to be back to baking with this lovely group of bread bakers where one member chooses the theme for the month and the rest of us pick from the multitude of bread recipes that conform to that theme. The theme for the month of October is 'Fall/Autumn Breads' hosted by Wendy Klik who blogs at A Day in the Life on the Farm. This is the part I like best as we have the freedom to select the kind of bread we want to bake. These days I like to bake breads that will my little ones will like. Imagine going through the whole process of bread baking if there are no takers! 

Over a period of time I have realised that savoury breads score higher over the sweet ones. I can always use up plain or savoury breads at home as my son likes to take some to school as well so when this month's theme was announced I was hesitant and decided I would wait till the last minute (which I usually never do) and participate in the challenge only if I could manage to find a suitable recipe. I had always wanted to bake a the famous Italian focaccia (pronounced as 'fo-ka-chya'), a flat bread similar to the pizza, seasoned with herbs, salt and olive oil and topped with a variety of toppings such as olives, meats, onions, cheese etc. The bread I have selected today is essentially a focaccia but is called as the Schiacciata Con L'uva (pronounced as 'Skiya-chya-tha Kon-Loova') which is a flatbread topped with grapes. This bread is usually made in Tuscany during the fall (autumn season, around September-October) to use up leftover grapes from the harvest. While small wine grapes are traditionally used here, any grapes work well.
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Moong & Karela Curry (Sprouted Mung Bean & Bitter Gourd Curry)

October 20, 2015, 12:36 am
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On my recent trip to Mangalore I had scheduled a health check up for myself. It's a routine thing that I do every year. I spend like half a day at the hospital getting all tests done just to help me relax and spend the next one year in Dubai in peace, or so I'd like to believe. When I went for the test this time I had to get the first round of blood tests (to check the fasting sugar) done on an empty stomach. After the test was done breakfast was provided and somehow I always enjoy breakfasts anywhere in Mangalore. Whether it's at home or a hotel or the hospital canteen. Haha! I'm such a glutton, I can eat anywhere. Anyway, this time on the menu was this really nice sprouted moong curry, chapathis and the standard stuff served by the canteen - boiled egg, bananas, bread and butter all to be washed down with tea or coffee. I eagerly reached out for the ultra soft chapathis placed in a casserole (hot box) and generously served myself some of that piping hot curry. Yum yum! Err, I know I was supposed to be eating a meagre meal if I didn't want a skewed report but when there is food (especially breakfast) in front of me I rarely think rationally. It's like I blank out and just dig in. 
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Lemon Polenta Cake ~ Gluten Free

October 20, 2015, 8:19 am
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Ever since we moved to Dubai I've had the wonderful opportunity to explore the different kinds of ingredients available here. Since baking is a great stress buster for me I bake at least once a month and more frequently during the festive season. On one of my first trips to the Organic store I had picked up a pack of polenta which simply put is the rawa made from dried corn kernels. Although I had no particular recipe in mind that day it was easily used up in the form of a cake and the rest of it was used up to dust baking trays on which homemade pizza was placed. I once tried to cook it up with some butter and dried herbs to be served up alongside some grilled chicken and veggies. Tasty!

The first cake that I had baked with it was at my brother's place and I remember the kids going for seconds as it was such a lovely one. Sadly, I lost that recipe and was on a hunt ever since. Recently when I picked up the Step-by-Step Baking Book by Caroline Bretherton at the local library I was thrilled to find a gluten free recipe which I almost ran to try out. The previous one that I had tried was with flour in it but I thought the gluten free version would be a good one to try as we have many people with special dietary needs in my family who could benefit from it.
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Savoury Tarts

October 26, 2015, 12:08 am
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Folks! Christmas is just 2 months away (I know, I know, its still a long time to go, but I just can't wait for it!) and there are so many recipes to be tried! Gosh! So many recipes and just one life! Time is just not enough what with all the school day madness that I find myself in. So this time, I have decided to take it easy and post as many festive recipes as I possibly can, well ahead of time so that those of you who like to try out recipes have ample time to do so. I am like that too. Imagine having to try out a new recipe on the day of a party - it's like taking a huge risk. I have been there, done that and sometimes things have backfired just too badly. So I always like to prepare ahead and get myself comfortable with the recipe and make changes if any. Planning ahead of any formal occasion or party is a must. What do you say?
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Podvolem Sukhe (Snake Gourd Sauté) ~When The Hubby Cooks!

October 26, 2015, 12:46 am
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Snake Gourd is vegetable that is usually disliked by many including my kids at home but since I am a huge lover of veggies, I bring all kinds of them on rotation. This recipe is my hubby's take on how you can make simple yet delicious vegetable that is low in calories but high in nutrients. It tastes great as an accompaniment to rice or chapathis is perfect for your weekday meal! 
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Simple Chicken Risotto

November 1, 2015, 4:34 am
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This risotto is the result of a few ingredients lying unclaimed in my fridge and pantry and the need for a simple weekend meal. I had bought the risotto rice over a year ago and had to use it up before the expiry date. I was really pleased with how simple yet delicious it turned out to be! Risotto is a typical Italian preparation made from rice and stock to which vegetables, meat or fish may be added. Since I had some homemade chicken stock and some boneless chicken in the fridge I decided to go ahead and make something really quick and simple. 

This is one recipe you can count on when you don't really have a lot of time. All you need to do is throw in the ingredients together and check on your one pot meal every now and then. 
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Nankhatai | Nan-Cut | Narayan Katar | Indian Shortbread Cookies (Eggless Cookies)

November 4, 2015, 3:47 am
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A couple of years ago my childhood friend Veda shared her recipe for the nankhatai, a lovely Indian sweet biscuit that is usually prepared during the festive season. In India we use the term 'biscuit' for cookies and these little melt-in-your-mouth wonders are pretty much like shortbread cookies but slightly differ in taste and texture owing to the use of ghee (clarified butter) instead of butter. During my growing up years the nankhatai was available at most bakeries in Mangalore and was prepared in homes especially during Deepavali and Christmas. Although the nankhatai is not a traditional item on the Kuswar (a Mangalorean collection of Christmas sweets & savouries) platter it is served in many homes along with other non traditional sweets such as coconut burfi and marzipan etc. While across India they are called as the 'nankhatai', in Mangalore they are also known as the Narayan Katar (in bakeries and such) and Nan Cuts (mostly by Catholics who make it during Christmas) 

Ok, so now coming back to the nankhatai, when I made these a few days ago I was wondering why I sat on the recipe for two whole years before trying it out. Since Veda and I are chaddi-buddies who cannot start the day without chatting with each other on Whatsapp, sharing recipes on a daily basis is a natural occurrence, pretty much like the rising and setting of the sun.
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Frozen Themed Fondant Covered Cake ~ Celebratory Cakes

November 7, 2015, 9:49 pm
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Last month as I was planning my daughter's birthday I suddenly, on a whim decided that I should bake her birthday cake this time. Despite the fact that I love baking and have baked a million cakes, I've never had the guts to bake a celebratory one, especially birthday cakes for my kids. I always thought that it was better to place the order for one and just be done with it - I mean, who wants to deal with the extra work and take the risk of decorating a cake that could badly flop leaving one with no backup at the last minute? The very thought of it would send shivers down my spine! 

But then we didn't plan to have a big party this time, just a small family get together that would have familiar faces and people who would never laugh at me (even if they wanted to). The very thought of having loving, encouraging and appreciative people around me gave me the confidence to seal the deal and lock this plan of baking a cake from scratch. Now, it was going to be a simple single tier cake with some simple, delicious, wholesome buttercream frosting. A few candles here and some store bought figurines there and I would be done with the cake, but you see, Pinterest can cast a spell on you and make you want to try out cakes beyond your culinary capacity. I shortlisted a few buttercream frosted cakes which the man vetoed and said it was my chance to try my hand at decorating with fondant. "Fondant?? Are you nuts?" I exclaimed, giving him a stare. He replied "yes, what's the harm in trying? You've got to start somewhere". These words sent me into a panic mode. Although last year my cousin Melissa had showed me how fondant was made I had absolutely no clue how to go about rolling it and practically how much time the whole fiasco would take me. 

"Just Google it" he said. The rest is history.
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Chocolate Bounty Hearts & Bars

November 8, 2015, 11:54 pm
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A few years ago, when I was still in Mumbai I went gallivanting to Crawford market in search of some baking tools. I came back not just with what I went in search for but plenty of other paraphernalia that included a chocolate mould. I was clueless about how I would make chocolates at home and so I put the project on a back burner until we shifted, bag, baggage and baby, to Dubai. Late last year the hubby happened to watch some videos on how to make homemade chocolate and he was all kicked up about it and said that I should attempt making them at home. I agreed that homemade chocolates would make for great festive gifts, however, it would require many ingredients and a good recipe which I didn't possess at that time so I put this off for a few more months.

This year I decided that even if I didn't make homemade chocolate (from scratch), I could always buy readymade cooking chocolate and remould it into something that everyone would enjoy. Plus, I could buy my favourite chocolate and remould it with whatever I wanted. 
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Mallorcan Ensaimadas ~ #Breadbakers

November 9, 2015, 10:09 pm
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I am back with another beautiful bread this month - the very Spanish Ensaimadas which is a sweet, spiral shaped pastry made with flour, eggs, milk and lard (replaced by butter in the modern version). 
This month avani Nandula of Cook's Hideout chose 'Family Feast Breads' as the theme for Bread Bakers, a group of bread enthusiasts with whom I bake every month. Pavani suggested that we bake loaves, rolls or any sort of bread that we'd like to bring to a family celebratory dinner or feast. Now since the festive season is on and Christmas is just around the corner I wanted to pick a bread that was celebratory enough but not too rich, complex or fancy as these breads are rarely eaten by my family. I had to choose something that would be enjoyed by them and could be made easily and I chanced upon this recipe in The Bread Bible by Christine Ingram & Jennie Shapter. I had bookmarked it a while ago simply because these rolls looked so beautiful. I am so glad that they turned out just as beautiful and delicious! These are definitely something I would make for a celebratory meal or eat for breakfast when I am in the mood to indulge. So yeah, it fits the theme so perfectly today! Thank you Pavani for this lovely theme! If you'd like to see what the other bakers are baking today, scroll down to the bottom of this post to access the links to their posts!

Ensaimada (pronounced as 'en-sai-ma-dha') is a popular breakfast/snack or a dessert bread that is pretty popular in countries that were prior Spanish colonies so you will find variants of the traditional pastry in Philippines and Puerto Rico as well. They are also called as Ensaïmada de Mallorca which means the sweet bread of Mallorca, an island off the coast of Spain. And by the way, Mallorca is also spelled as Majorca but is pronounced as 'mah-york-ah' as the as the double L in Spanish is pronounced like the English 'Y'. So now that I've given you your grammar/pronunciation lessons let's proceed :)
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Coconut Ice ~ Easy, No Cook Recipe

November 12, 2015, 4:22 am
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It's raining sweets everywhere thanks to Diwali, but this year we didn't partake in any celebration as such and didn't witness a single firecracker display so I couldn't help but miss the festivities back home. However, it's nothing short of a festive mood here as we still have Christmas and New Year's to look forward to so cooking and baking goodies is happening in full swing at my place. The last couple of months are the ones I look forward to the most every year. This year is no different. It helps that we don't plan to travel during the Christmas vacations as I am free to do what I please and yeah, despite warning myself every year I spend most of my days in the kitchen whipping up something new to be added to my festive repertoire. This year is no different but then I have promised myself that I will wind up much earlier than usual and keep a week before Christmas free to spend time with family and take the kids out.

So....the festivities will continue and the goodies will flow, on the blog of course, starting now! Right here, right now is the mantra. I will post as many recipes as I can till mid December after which I will vanish (hopefully) and resurface after I've gotten over the post party hangover! Let's see how much of this pre New Year resolution I am able to keep up with.
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