Rushina

Okie here is my entry .... Ringna Masalla Bhaat //recipes.egullet.com/recipes/r1030.html will post a picture by days end. Rushina

Ringna Masalla Bhaat (Spiced Aubergine Rice) Serves 4 as Main Dish. Masalla Bhaat is a popular dish that most women in Maharashtra make. A collegue at work used to bring this spiced rice for "tiffin", along with a delicious egg curry. My mother - in - law spices eggplant with Fennel in everyday cooking, I liked the pairing immensly and combined the tow dishes to make this variation of the fragrant, slightly spiced rice dish. It can be served as it is with a riata as a light summer meal or along with vegetables and daal as a complete meal. Any form of Aubergine can be used. 2 c Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 1/2 huor 250 g Aubergine sliced fine 1 tsp Saunff (Fennel) salt to taste 1 c raw tomatoes, pureed in blender and strained 2 tsp ghee (clarified butter) 1 onions sliced fine 3 pieces green cardamom slightly bruised 1 T Kitchen King Masalla 3 c hot water 1/2 tsp sugar (optional) 1/2 tsp Hing (asefeotida) powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1. In a large heavy bottomed pan, melt the ghee. (To test - Put in one kernel of fennel, if it splutters the fat is hot enough. Drop in the cardamom pods and the Fennel. Stir fry till the color of the spices darkens a little and the aroma is released add the Hing powder and stir. 2. Add the onions, the sugar and salt to taste. Stir fry till the onions start browning at the edges. 3. Add the aubergines, and cook till they are almost done. add the tomato and cook till the oil seperates, Add the kitchen king and turmeric and stirfry for half a min. 4. Add in the rice and fry in the mixture till rice becomes transperant and any liquid from the vegetables has been absorbed. 5. Add the hot water. Stir well and let it cook on a high flame till the water is almost gone. At this stage cover the pan tightly and let it steam for 3 - 4 minutes on a low flame. Switch of flame and leave covered untill you are ready to serve. Hints tips and variations and accompaniments 1. Just before serving you could sprinkle a pinch of the Kitchen King over the dish. (the fragrance will precede the dish to the table) For a microwave version, at stage 3 combine the spice and vegetable mixture with the soaked rice, stir well and microwave on high till the rice is dry and transperant. add hot water and microwave till the water is almost gone. Cover and microwave for a further minute. Leave till ready to serve. 2 VariationsIn cold regions substitute the Fennel for Garam Masalla for a warming version of the same dish. Any vegetable other than aubergine can be used however saunff might not go well with all vegetables, and the appropriate spice must be verified. For a more fiery version add a chilli to the ghee before you add the whole spices or add more Kithen King Masalla. For the accompanying Raita slice an onion fine along with a green chilli and stir into cold natural yoghurt. Salt is optional. Making this in advane is a good idea since it allows the flavours to develop. Keywords: Main Dish, Indian, Rice, Vegetarian, Intermediate ( RG1030 )

Ringna Masalla Bhaat (Spiced Aubergine Rice) Serves 4 as Main Dish. Masalla Bhaat is a popular dish that most women in Maharashtra make. A collegue at work used to bring this spiced rice for "tiffin", along with a delicious egg curry. My mother - in - law spices eggplant with Fennel in everyday cooking, I liked the pairing immensly and combined the tow dishes to make this variation of the fragrant, slightly spiced rice dish. It can be served as it is with a riata as a light summer meal or along with vegetables and daal as a complete meal. Any form of Aubergine can be used. 2 c Basmati Rice washed and soaked for 1/2 huor 250 g Aubergine sliced fine 1 tsp Saunff (Fennel) salt to taste 1 c raw tomatoes, pureed in blender and strained 2 tsp ghee (clarified butter) 1 onions sliced fine 3 pieces green cardamom slightly bruised 1 T Kitchen King Masalla 3 c hot water 1/2 tsp sugar (optional) 1/2 tsp Hing (asefeotida) powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1. In a large heavy bottomed pan, melt the ghee. (To test - Put in one kernel of fennel, if it splutters the fat is hot enough. Drop in the cardamom pods and the Fennel. Stir fry till the color of the spices darkens a little and the aroma is released add the Hing powder and stir. 2. Add the onions, the sugar and salt to taste. Stir fry till the onions start browning at the edges. 3. Add the aubergines, and cook till they are almost done. add the tomato and cook till the oil seperates, Add the kitchen king and turmeric and stirfry for half a min. 4. Add in the rice and fry in the mixture till rice becomes transperant and any liquid from the vegetables has been absorbed. 5. Add the hot water. Stir well and let it cook on a high flame till the water is almost gone. At this stage cover the pan tightly and let it steam for 3 - 4 minutes on a low flame. Switch of flame and leave covered untill you are ready to serve. Hints tips and variations and accompaniments 1. Just before serving you could sprinkle a pinch of the Kitchen King over the dish. (the fragrance will precede the dish to the table) For a microwave version, at stage 3 combine the spice and vegetable mixture with the soaked rice, stir well and microwave on high till the rice is dry and transperant. add hot water and microwave till the water is almost gone. Cover and microwave for a further minute. Leave till ready to serve. 2 VariationsIn cold regions substitute the Fennel for Garam Masalla for a warming version of the same dish. Any vegetable other than aubergine can be used however saunff might not go well with all vegetables, and the appropriate spice must be verified. For a more fiery version add a chilli to the ghee before you add the whole spices or add more Kithen King Masalla. For the accompanying Raita slice an onion fine along with a green chilli and stir into cold natural yoghurt. Salt is optional. Making this in advane is a good idea since it allows the flavours to develop. Keywords: Main Dish, Indian, Rice, Vegetarian, Intermediate ( RG1030 )

Nutellla.... Its bloody expensive where I live! I resisted buying it the last three shopping trips.... Just went to the shelf EACH time looked longingly at the bottle, carressed ittt... then had to be dragged away! I am going to buy me a bottle this weekend! Rushina

1. In my family, I am the cook. Our family consists of My husband, two year old son and myself. I cook breakfast and Dinner every day. I juggle writting and my candle business with home and child so I have little time to spare. I have different weekly menus that I sat down and worked out a while ago. MONDAY TO THURSDAY - I cook breakfasts and dinners. Lunches are usually hastily put together between the end of my first session of work and my sons naptime. SATURDAY - Leftover day. We finish all the leftovers from the preceding week, also allowing me to clean the fridge before we refill it with the fresh vegetables to come. We shop for the coming week today. That evening I reorganise my menus for the coming week based on the fresh produce we have bought. Dinner is generally flexible it could be takeaway/ dinner out or even just maggi. Weekends are "off time" for me. SUNDAY - I prep for the week ahead, this would generally include a marathon session with my blender when I make a chutney, puree tomatoes, Make a stirfry sauce, mayonnaise,.... shred, chop, cut, mince garlic...etc. I also do a couple of desserts to serve after dinner for the coming week. All of this goes into the fridge to be brought out and cooked the rest of the week. I make one meal on Sunday which could be a breakfast with the works or (sausages, hash browns etc. / idli-sambhar or a full Lunch. We all eat together. Dinner is usually out (at my moms or grandmoms) 2.I determine what my family has for dinner, since I do all the cooking. I am open to requests though. THose are rare however since my husband likes the adventure of our mealtimes and my son has not reached that stage. Since I am the one who does the cooking it takes care of my likes and dislikes. My husband does have an aversion to certain things, he does not like very spicy food (I like spicy, which is why I make a chutney on saturdays or dip into the huge variety of pickles I make or collect from all over.) He also has an aversion to chickpea and Spinachj dal which I love but he generally eats it because I pair it with something he likes in the vegetable section. I will accomodate obvious requirements like alergies and reasonable requirements like vegetarianism but unreasonable requirements are not entertained and I expect everyone at my table to eat what I serve. (I usually also accomodate dishes that a guest loves) 3. MONDAYS - FRIDAYS are when I cook, I usually have menus that I rotate which are planned around the the nutritional need for each indivisual based on the food pyramyd, also keeping in mind the need for a low carb diet for me and a non spicy diet for my son. They include dishes from all over the world on alternating with Indian meals. I stick to a couple of cuisines in each menu to allow for similar ingrediants to be used. (Mexican week would be paired with North Indian since I make my taco fillings with Rajma. the same week would also include a breakfast of baked beans. All of this allowing me to cook enough beans at one go) FYI I also do chinese, thai, italian, american, lebanese and at the moment korean. The season also plays a role, Hot weather will have me using recipes from hot weather countries. Also hot weather will mean less eggs/meat/garam masalla... this is not to say that there is no flexibility, since i read so much about food i come accross recipes often that inspire me and if I have the ingrediants I will change the meal to accomodate it. (I recently came accross a recipe for Pan grilled chicken Korean style and since I had almost all the ingrediants I needed I made that instead of the chicken stirfry I had planned. As far as shopping is concerned, I am an impulse buyer as far as fresh produce is concerned but the rest of it is planned and bought at the beginning of the month. Sometimes if I just cannot wait, my weekly shopping might include something that I want to try out. 4.We generally talk about our days, things we have come accross, my husband and i are both trained animators, he is still in the field while I have moved on, however the fascination is still there so we are always tossing around ideas for the next great film / book/ whatever strikes our fancy. We also encourage our son to talk about his day. He is at the "What is that stage so we also answer that question a lot.) What we do not talk about are bodily excretions and the like. 5. My husband works long hours so I wait to have dinner with him, since my son is not going to nursery yet, I let him stay up till about 11 o clock. I try to stick to a meal time of about 8:30 for him however. Dinner and all eating happens at the table. The TV is OFF no matter what at dinner. I generally allow my son to watch cartoons at lunch. We have guests often, since our family is very large on both sides a lot of our friends are bachelors, my mothers home is strictly vegetarian so my siblings also drop by often for a dose of home cooked non vegetarian. We do not have parties but we have groups of people over, once a week, generally on Friday or Saturday, the day before a holiday. Our son is always involved. 6.EVERYDAY. I read about food all the time and constantly make new stuff. However if I suspect that my son is going to balk at something I make sure I have a fall back. He is a bit young to enforce the try everything once rule but we are trying... 7.I like to serve indian meals on steel plates and anything elso on china. Food comes to the table in serving dishes and not the utensils it has been cooked in. Not a table tradition but my husband helps with clean up. He used to cook but he says he has lost the knack since we got married. He makes up for the lack by helping with other chores and making sure I get "off time" from everything on weekends so I can curl up with a book or whtever. Wow this was fun.... Hope it makes for interesting reading... Rushina

Hi Richie111 Okie lots of proffesionals online here but I am not one of them. The benifits have already been underlined in earlier posts but Id like to add a couple of tips that I find help me in daily Indian cooking. Caramelising onions - I find that heating the pan up completely, and then the fat as well really makes for well cooked gravies. After this is done I drop in the onions and when they are transperant, I put in a a couple of pinches of salt and a bit of sugar. this would be say 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 kg onions. I find this helps the onions cook faster. Also in india we get thin layered purple/red onions that are very strong. In any which case I usually end up cryin even if I use a blender so what I do is prep for the week ahead on Sundays. While I am doing everything else I let a batch of onions cook down, which I then store in the fridge as and when I need them. (I even serve them as is with a little fresh cream and Kitchen King Massalla stirred in. (this normally is on days when i make Rajma Daal and Jeera Rice which are so loved that cooking a vegetable with them is a waste since noone touches it. ) As for the spices, I do buy ready blends for Sambhar masalla and Pav Bhaji and then there is Kitchen King that I feel handicapped without. I generrally make my own Garam Masalla but use that really rarely since it has heaty properties. Also when I grind masallas usually keep the bits that do not pass thru the sieve and use them in flavouring curries soups and gravies that I can strain. Hope this helps Rushina

I used to have the usual Gujerati stuff... Chakris, Laddus, Dhoklas, Ganthias When my maternal grandmother baby sat me I got Sugar Sandwiches or ketchup sandwiches. (drooling) They were basically White bread with Amul butter and sugar / ketchup. By the time i got to eating them sugar had melted into the butter. Going to make myself one after I post this! Indian Maggi Massalla flavour or chicken flavour with lots of pepper. I dropped soooo many pencils to sneak bites on days that I had maggi, that by the time lucnh came around the box was empty. I too went to boarding school and tiffin boxes were then over. Though the mess served decent food that i still get cravings for those were the years when we were always hungry! However my School Mayo Girls, was very strict and we were not allowed tuck or food from home. So we smuggled it in. some of the things we ate those days were raw maggi tossed in the masalla or a Nepali version of the same whose name I forget. Condensed milk baked beans and sweet corn out of cans with chapattis smuggled out of the mess. We could finish bottles of Bournvita or Pickle at one sitting.... Rushina

I just love cauliflower! I could it it in almost any form! I like mine just so, slightly stirfried till the stalks get a bit green, almost raw, tossed into salads sesame. I like the chinese way in the picture. I like it with peas in the Gujerati way. I also like it ing Gobi Aloo but I can never get that quite right. It involves using a lot of oil and I cannot do that. Cook with too much oil. Rushina

On the subject of Pasta in Indian Cuisine. When I was a child I remember eating Macaroni and alphabets in alphabet soups. Um Bambino is a local company and the pasta is made of processed flour. On cooking it results in a soft silky pasta and on overcooking it turns intoa stodgy mess. Bambino is what it was called and it came to the table as a "bakedish" Usually layers of this pasta with some boiled veges thrown in, smothered with white sauce and cheese. The white sauce was spiked with some green chillies. I still make it like that sometimes, when I am nostalgic. Pasta as I cook it today, where the pasta is cooked to al dente and then tossed with the sauce, was never made then. I look at Pasta as pasta and the furthest I have ever gotten to Indianising pasta is stiffrying Green Peppers, Onions and tomatoes, adding lots of Kitchen King masalla and tossing some pasta into it. This is quite yummy. I can post a recipe if anyone wants it. We used to have Kheema and Bambino at school. I liked it then and drool at the thought now, but have never had it since. Rushina

Has always wished I would have taken the time to talk to my Grandmothers and get their recipes firsthand...While my Mother has them written down, they never come out the same...They died before I really got into cooking... Bring the legacy to the next generation...learn from them...before long, it will be too late...Just the way life goes, I guess... I know what you mean. I started of this tradition in my family, I bought a beautiful diary for myself and passed it around to all the women in my house, My grandmother, mom, aunts etc and got them to write down their recipes for me in their own hand. So now I have a collection of recipes, with the added memory of it being in their own hand. Another bonus is most of them took the time out to add a little note of blessing or advise. My only regret is that i missed out on my Dadi - my paternal granmother. I was too busy being a teenager when she was alive. I never spent enough time with her. My grandkids will all get a copy one day, even the boys! Rushina

With mostly restaurants in India in mind.... Decor and presentation are only one of the aspects of atmosphere. The general rule of thumb is that I will go to eat at anyplace that is clean (i.e) i would rather not have cockroaches and the like running around. A hole in the wall is all right as long as it is hygenic. For me a large component of atmosphere are the people who make up the restaurant. I have found myself going back to places with only average food because it is brought to the table with a smile and genuine warmth. The attitude of the staff can make or break the experiance of dining out. Also while I do not ask for fancy I like well maintained. Torn linnen threadbare upholstry and carpets I can do without. It just gives the impression that the establishment does not care. Rushina

I think life changed for me the day i found Egullet. What other (if there are any) websites are out there worth checking out? Rushina

Well It started out as a curiosity about what and outsider would bring back, but I am now curious about both. Or is that being too greedy.... Rushina

you're welcome band girl I know you can't stand the smilies Mongo, but it's your own fault that I use them here. Poor you! Just when you wanted to forget all about mangoes.... Suman Okie it took me a minute to get this one but when I did I laughed loud and lon. (Sorry Mongo but it is these little typos that make life interesting - say what?) Rushina

recipes please my sentiments exactly

Now there is a detail i did not catch! Looking forward to the new Shah Rukh movie ... Main hoon na Rushina

If a list were to be made of the one ingredient a region/country was famous for what would be on it? For Eg. Truffles - Piedmont, Italy Rushina

Okie the million dollar question... WHEN IS THE NEXT ONE??? Rushina

Alphonsos have come to our house. I go into my kitchen innumerable times a day to just smell them! We weren't in Bombay for the last two mango seasons but this year we are back! In my mothers house we know Mango season has begun when "Hanuman Kairiwala" arrives. Hanuman is a mango wholeseller and he made contact with my mother some 10 years ago, when she sent out a whole lot of crates. Through us over the years he has gained a lot of regular clientelle. Ever since then he turns up when the rates are reasonable to peddle his mangoes. He is almost a family member now as can only happen in this country. Anyways he has the best mangoes, and they are always perfect, never bruised or rotten. He guarantees the quality and if there is anything wrong he replaces them. I have always adored Mangoes, but this year I have enjoyed them more than ever after watching my son have his taste of Alphonso. I have a video of him saying "nice mango nani" (nani - grandma) with his face plastered in mango juice. so I think that wil be my favourite video! A friend was just commenting the other day that she did not know what mangoes were till she ate an allphonso. I did not know that there was anything beyond an alphonso. The coming weekend I am going accross to my Grandmothers house, where four generations of women will get together to make mango pikles for the coming year. The pickles are Chunda - a sweet/hot grated green mango pikle, GolKairi - chunky sweet green mango pikle with a hint of red chilli, Murabba - cardamom spiced sweet green mango pikle and there is one more cant reacall the name. Vikram should I bottle some for you? Did you get my PM by the way? Rushina Edited to add soaking mangoes overnight in water is said to take away the heat. Also if you wash the mangoes and squeeze the bit that was attached to the stem, a little transperent liquid will a[ppear, doing this also removes that itchy stuff.

That's the one I was referring to as the Gujarati version. The reason why it's called amba haldi or as the gujaratis would call it- haldar, is because it tastes like a cross between fresh turmeric and raw mango. Thanks whippy! Episure, This is the recipe more or less. Proportions are equal on both haldis and salt and lemon juice are to taste. I sometimes spike it with green chillies. I often serve it as an accompaniment to Thai Curry though have never cooked the curry with it. I have posted a recipe on another thread on fresh turmeric on this forum a while back (when i first joined) I have used it chopped up in my daals and it is not much different from the powdered except the aroma is much stronger. Rushina

I just have to jump in here, THis is a recipe I developed after we had it for dinner at a hole-in-the-wall place in Mohali India that served it for Rs. 20 a plate under the name garlic noodles. It probably had a hefty dose of MSG too but I never used any and did not miss it. The ingredients for the sauce can be adjusted to taste. Since the advent of our son at the dinner table, the chilli quotient is low but since I am athe cook and I like Garlic that is always high. Chilli Flakes to taste Finely chopped corriander Juice of a quarter of lemon Smidgen of honey or sugar Garlic minced Olive oil (about half a cup to 250 gms uncooked pasta. Generally Spaghetti) Boil the pasta al dente strain and stick back into the same pot. Mix all the ingrediants for the sauce together and pour over stir so all the spaghetti is well coated. Cover and leave on low flame for a bit to aid absorbtion. Dont have a name for this one but When we moved to Bombay and I found Sun dried tomatoes at Crawford Market, here is the recipe I delivered to table... One cup olive oil 5-6 cloves garlic crushed with rolling pin Half cup of SD tomatoes, slivered 3-4 whole red chillies medium to hot, dry roasted. Salt to taste Heat the Olive oil to hot but not smoking, take off flame add all the other ingrediants, cover and leave overnight or bottle as is for later use. To have with pasta follow method as for Garlic noodles Rushina

Episure Please share the contact details of said supplier. I want a couple of those. Rushina

I need information on Indian restaurants in Egypt. Can anyone help? Rushina

What about Laddoos?? Beasn, Atta, Bajra, they all contain ghee though... Besan or Maghas laddoo are my fall back when my son does not eat. a couple of laddoos and a glass of milk and I am reassured that he has a full tummy. My husbands nani makes these amazing atta laddoos with raising and slivers of Almond... MMM Rushina

What about illustrations? What are the vies on those Rushina