Black Chickpeas and Ivy Gourd Fugadh

Nutty black chickpeas cooked in spicy gravy; accompanied by the sweetish Ivy gourd and gently tempered with coconut and jaggery. This is one dish that is close to my heart, the one that takes me back to my childhood every single time, with the taste still lingering in my memory forever.

Though my mum makes this dish often, she confesses to learning it from her mother.  My dear grandmother at whose place I’ve spent many a happy holidays. Even to date, whenever my mum gets black chickpeas; I know for sure what’s on the menu. Every step of the recipe is magical, right from the moment when the chickpeas are pressure cooked to when the masalas are being sautéed and then finally the coconut garnish; food porn if I could call it that. And that’s not all, there is a bit of tradition involved as well.  The 8^th of September, is a special day; where Christians celebrate the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. This day, the menu is special and is called ‘Noven Jowaan’ roughly translated to ‘new meal’; the new signifying that the meal has been prepared from the new harvest as a thanksgiving to the almighty for his graces. The dishes are prepared in series of odd numbers and this one definitely makes it to that spread. 

Somehow, very honestly, I had long wanted to post this but somehow didn't get to do it. It was the only the other day when I headed to a meeting outside office and had to eat a restaurant. I ordered this one and believe me, the beauty of the dish had been massacred. Seriously, nothing pains me more than Manglorean food gone wrong. I decided to come home and  get it done. 

So then, here is a family recipe. Like its made at my home. Try it, garnish it with spices, temper it with coconut and serve it love. My family loves it, I'm sure yours would too.

Black Chickpeas and Ivy Gourd Fugadh

Ingredients:

• 200 grams, black chickpeas, refer cooking instructions below in the procedure
• 100 grams, Ivy gourd, cut length wise
• 50 grams fresh coconut, grated
• 50 grams jaggery, roughly chopped
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 5-8 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 large tomato, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons corriander seeds
• 1 tablespoons, black pepper corns
• 1 tablespoon, cummin seeds
• 1 teaspoon, mustard seeds
• 7-8 Whole red chillies
• 1 small teaspoon, turmeric powder
• 1 Sprig Curry leaves
• 3 tablespoons oil
• Salt to taste
• 300 ml water

Procedure:

• Soak the black chickpeas in 300 ml water overnight or atleast 6-8 hours. Wash them under running water till water runs clear.
• After washing, pressure cook for about 15 minutes or till you hear about 3 whistles. Retain the water if you wish to have some gravy
• Dry roast the corriander seeds, pepper corns, cummin seeds, and red chillies till they give out a nice aroma. Once done, cool for a while and then, grind to a fine powder. Keep aside.
• Heat the oil in a pan, add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Wait till the seeds splutter.
• Add the garlic and let it . Then add the onions and saute till the onions turns translucent.
• Now, add the coconut, turmeric and the powder. Saute, till the oil has started leaving the sides
• Now, add the chickpeas and the Ivy gourd and mix well.
• Add the salt, jaggery and tomatoes and give it a good mix. Cover and cook for about 7 minutes.
• If required, add some water from the boiled chickpeas.
• Serve hot with rice or chapattis.

Mango and Cottage Cheese Snowballs in Custard Sauce

“Stressed spelled backwards is desserts” goes a very popular quote. Couldn’t agree more since desserts somehow, have this innate ability to  transcend you into a fairy tale world. A world that has all things nice, mushy; a dream that has no end. Who can deny the mood lifting, luscious goodness of a chocolate cake , the delicate arrangement of a trifle pudding, the creamy goodness of a strawberry ice cream, the rich, silky smoothness of a custard with the caramel set on top. Sheer culinary pleasures!!

Traditionally, no Indian meal is ever complete if there are no desserts. And then there is the omnipresent  ‘mooh meetha kijiye’ (‘please have a sweet’) usually when there is happy occasion to celebrate.  I am not exaggerating when I say that in a country of the size of India; you would get a new variety of dessert may every 200 kms. At my place, desserts are a regular indulgence. The most regular one being the “kheer” or the very Mangalorean “payasam”; while the more extravagant being the custards and rich cream cakes or puddings. So, like I had mentioned in my post on the "Kheema Kofta Pulao”, when we had guest coming over for dinner and we had Mango and  Cottage Cheese Balls in Custard Sauce for desert. Long name ehh? Relax and don’t let it scare you. This recipe is a product of my mums eureka moment. Honestly, I am not much a mango lover. As a kid, and even to this day I ran a mile at the mention of mangoes and when my mum explained the dish; I tried my best to cajole her into making something else but I guess the king of fruits deserved his rightful debut on the blog. You could make the snowballs and custard earlier at your convenience and refrigerate; combine the two just as your about to serve. My guest who were expecting some of the routine stuff, gave out a loud cheer when I brought them out. I felt I just won the moon!!!

Go ahead and try these, the very regal mango given a makeover and perfectly complimented by the custard sauce. Your very own journey into the fabled land of desserts. I promise you mangoes and custard will never be the same anymore.

Ingredients:

To make the snowballs:

• 2 large and ripe alphonso mangoes, skinned and cubed into fine bits
• 125 grams cottage cheese, finely grated
• 50 grams powdered sugar
• 8-10 slices white bread, cut of the sides
• Sugar Syrup, for drizzling on the bread & 2 teaspoons for the cottage cheese and mango mix

To make the custard sauce:

• 400 ml milk.
• 4 teaspoons of custard powder (I used Vanilla Flavour)
• 6-8 teaspoons sugar.

For the Garnishing

• 1 ripe mango, pureed *Refer notes below
• Few glazed cherries

Procedure:

To make the snowballs:

• Grate the cottage cheese in a bowl and add the mango cubes & powdered sugar. Mix well.
• Cut the sides of the bread and drizzle with the sugar syrup till the slice is sufficiently moist. Do not wet the bread slice too much as it may be too soft and may not bind well.
• Now, place a spoonful of the mixture in the center of the bread slice and gently fold the slice into a sphere.
• Repeat the same for all the bread slices.
• Once you complete all the spheres, refrigerate for an hour

To make the custard sauce:

• Heat the milk in a saucepan over medium heat
• Combine the custard power in some water in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly so that there are no lumps.
• Add this mixture to boiling milk, stir continuously. 
• As the milk starts to thicken add the sugar. Continue stirring.
• Once the mixture has reached desired thickness, remove from the heat and allow it to cool thoroughly.
• Refrigerate for about half an hour.

To assemble:-

• Keep one snowball in each of the serving portions.
• Pour a generous quantity of the custard in each of the serving portions.
• Add a spoonful of the mango puree and the cherries.
• Serve chilled

Notes:

• To make the make mango puree, combine mango pulp, 1 teaspoon sugar and 1 teaspoon of milk. Blend using a hand mixer till all ingredients are combined well and the mixture is of a pouring consistency.

Chatpati Subzee Paneer (Tangy Cottage Cheese with Vegetables)

After celebrating Easter festivities, we were to attend three wedding in a span of four days. So then, with all those celebrations and festivities done, it was time to give the tummy a well-deserved break.  I thought it would be nice prepare a vegetarian dish  this week.

This is one such recipe that ticks all the check boxes when you are looking for a quick, high on taste, nutritious recipe and more importantly doesn’t give you that feeling of guilt even after you’ve had your fill. The ingredient that that holds everything together is the chaat masala. This tangy spice mix is perhaps the Amitabh Bachchan of the culinary world. Put in two tablespoons in a bland dish and presto, you have a taste blockbuster.

Paneer (cottage cheese), is something we prepare regularly for either lunch or dinner.  Once a North Indian staple, it is now readily available in stores and supermarkets; my mum though makes awesome paneer at home. The gentle texture and the ability to adapt itself to any ingredient or cooking technique like grilling, barbeque or even stir fry make it a chefs favorite. Pair it with the ever reliable bell peppers and you have a combination that’s finger licking good…

We had it with chappatis, but it makes a good combo with rice or naan. 

Chatpati Subzee Paneer

Ingredients:

• 250 grams Paneer (Cottage Cheese)
• 1 large Capsicum, cubed
• 2-3 baby corns, sliced
• 1 large onion, cubed
• 1 large tomato, cubed
• 1 tablespoon red chilli flakes
• 4-5 flakes garlic, minced
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 4 large tablespoons Chaat Masala (and some for garnishing)
• Few sprigs of corriander for garnishing
• 2 tablespoons oil
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

•  Heat oil in a pan and saute the garlic and ginger till the garlic is just about turns brown.
• Next, add the onions and saute till they caramelise. Once the onions caramelise, add the tomatoes and stir till the tomatoes are limp.
• Now, add the red chilli flakes, sliced baby corn and bell peppers and give it a good stir. Do not cook them  for long as the veggies would go soft.
• Add the paneer and stir well. Mix well. 
• Sprinkle the chaat masala well across the pan. Sprinkle some water in the pan and give it a good mix. The water will help the chaat masala to stick well on the veggies.
• Lastly, add the salt. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve hot.