Soul Food

[deliad]

What is your favorite "Soul Food" and Why??

Even though dictionary.com defines soul food as food eaten by Southern African Americans, but to me the definition is more deep and global. It is essentially one's favourite food that you typically grow with and that will do one or more of the following:

- Food that will cheer you up, when you are feeling down!!

- Food that you can always eat (some) whether hungry or not!!

- Food that reminds you of some "good old times"

- Food that will satisfy you to the very core (In Hindi we say "Aatma prasann ho gayi")

Please share the details, recipes, pics etc, so that other members can try and learn.

I'll start wil mine:

1. Most savoury snack dishes made from Besan (Chana Dal flour) like besan cheelas (pancakes), pakoras (fritters), besan missi roti, and dhokla.

This is not to say that the other foods that I eat are not satisfying but the ones above are always more satisfying than the others.

Give me these any time and I am a happy camper.

Cheers!

[Monica Bhide]

I did this piece a while ago.. hope you will enjoy it

Indian Soul Food

I have to admit, as much as I love the holiday season, I get just as depressed when its over. I get terribly homesick. During the holidays, our family is busy with all the social obligations. Regifting, I mean gifting, and partying, eating and drinking. I never know where the time goes. Its like being on stage 24 hours a day for the whole week.

Then comes the quiet time. The last champagne has been drunk, the last gift has been opened and finally the last dish has been rinsed.

As I sit in my kitchen, on the morning of January 2nd, I am overcome by sadness. I feel homesick. I miss my family, I miss my mom and my dad. All of a sudden, this place seems too far away. The snow makes the land look alien, I grew up in the dessert.

I call my father. His kind and reassuring voice on the phone, brings a smile back to my face. I talk to my mom, recovering from a major illness. "You sound sad", she says, "make yourself some khichri, it will make you feel better". They are on the speakerphone. My dad adds, "Yes, yes, eat Khichri and don t forget her chaar yaar ( chaar - 4, yaar - friends)." Ah yes!! Khichri and her chaar yaar . they bring back memories of a time that seems so long gone.

Growing up, this was my soul food. In India, there is nothing that ails you, apparently, that cannot get cured by eating khichri. Add my dad s four friends, Achaar (pickle), Dahi (yogurt), Papad (Lentil wafers) and a teaspoon of warmed ghee as sides to each serving and you have the perfect meal.

So I went about preparing Khichri and set the table for lunch. My son, my husband and I were ready to eat. As I sat down, my husband looked at me and said, "my family had five friends for the Khichri, the fifth one is shredded coconut." So we added coconut. My preschooler, was watching and listening very carefully. "Mom," he said, " we forgot to add my friend." Well we did, to each his own. Now I serve my Khichri with 6 friends Pickle, yogurt, papad, ghee, coconut and Tomato Ketchup!

I present you my mothers recipe of Ghar Ki Khichri or Home made Khichri.. enjoy!

"kedgeree, kitchery, s. Hind. khichri, a mixtures of rice, cooked with butter and dal (lentils) and flavored with a little spice, shredded onion, and the like; a common dish all over India, and often served at Indian breakfast tables"

Ghar Ki Khichri

serves 4

4 Tablespoon vegetable oil or ghee

Pinch of ground asafetida

1 tsp. whole cumin seeds

1 small onion, peeled, cut in half length wise, then sliced into fine half rounds

1 inch piece fresh ginger

2 black cardamoms

2 cloves

Pinch of Garam masala

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup whole mung beans, picked over, washed, and drained

1/2 cup long grain rice, washed and drained

Salt to taste

About 5 cups of water

Heat oil or ghee in heavy bottomed casserole on medium flame. Make sure your casserole dish is large enough to hold the rice and dal, as quantity will close to double when it is cooked. Add asafetida, add whole cumin seeds. As soon as you smell the fragrance of the cumin seeds, add the onions and ginger. Stir fry until onion begins to turn brown at edges. Add black cardamom, cloves, turmeric and garam masala. Stir and fry for 1 minute.

Add the mung and rice. Sauté for about a minute or two. Add salt. Add the water and bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and cook gently for 1/2 hour, stirring now and then to prevent sticking. Uncover and check to ensure that the rice and lentils have cooked completely. They should be soft to touch and mash easily. The finished dish should have the consistency of a thick porridge. (TIP: Add more or less water depending on the consistency you desire)

Serve with the four yaar or as many as you please!

[tryska]

condensed milk.

hee.

ok seriosurly funny this should come up, because i'm in an email convo with my mom right now discussing what dishes she should make when i come to visit in a couple weeks.

so far on the list (not jsut from me, lest you think i'm greedy for making my mother slave over a hot stove):

pooris and kofta curry

dosais and peanut chutney

white radish dhal and rice with lots of ghee and mango pickle.

[mongo_jones]

for me nothing hits the spot like a thin gravy, almost soupy, chicken curry with potatoes and carrots--eaten with rice.

alu parathas with hot mango achar comes close. as does rajma-chawal.

there's another thing that starts with "m" and ends with "ngo", but it cannot be named.

[tryska]

mongo?

[Monica Bhide]

mongo?

mango

[tryska]

manchego.

Monica you said the forbidden word! *lol*

Edited May 5, 2004 by tryska (log)

[deliad]

Ghar Ki Khichri

Nice piece Monica,

Surprising thing about Khichri is that depending on when you serve and what lentils you use in it, it can become from a class item to an item only for sick people(not feeling well types).

But it is soul satisfying for sure in all cases!!

In our family we make 4 types of khichri

- with moong daal

- with chana daal (porridge type)

- with chana daal (dry type)

- with moong chilka

[andiesenji]

For me it would be smothered pork chops, fried potatoes, string beans and real corn bread.

By that I mean corn bread that is made without flour, without sugar, without baking powder.

A dense slab that is baked in a cast iron skillet, cut into wedges and is firm enough to hold together when dipped into bean soup. Bread pudding for dessert.

[Peppertrail]

- Food that will cheer you up, when you are feeling down!!

- Food that you can always eat (some) whether hungry or not!!

- Food that reminds you of some "good old times"

- Food that will satisfy you to the very core (In Hindi we say "Aatma prasann ho gayi")

On top of the list plantain banana chips and jackfruit chips.

Most savoury snack dishes made from Besan, rice flour and urad flour (that covers a whole lot- murukku, kara mixture, thattai, ribbon pakkoda, cheeda and more)

Crispy dosas with fresh coconut chutney and dosa podi.

I am getting hungry writing this. Let me stop and go make some dosas.

[tryska]

mmm..banana chips! i forgot about that.

oh and fresh tamarind too.

[mongo_jones]

piping hot gulab jamuns

[tryska]

jalebis are better.

[mongo_jones]

yo mama

[tryska]

them's fightin' words....

[mongo_jones]

do you really like jalebis more than gulab jamuns? good g-j's have that great combination of sweetness, almost-bitter caramelization and that great texture. i love jalebis too but there's something far more comforting to me about gulab jamuns. to each her own.

[tryska]

well no. i can't say i like jalebis more. it's sort of neck in neck. i was mainly just being antagonistic.

[afoodnut]

do you really like jalebis more than gulab jamuns? good g-j's have that great combination of sweetness, almost-bitter caramelization and that great texture. i love jalebis too but there's something far more comforting to me about gulab jamuns. to each her own.

One of the recurring themes in my experimentation with food is trying recipes that I find for Jewish versions of regional/ethnic (oh, how I'm trying to avoid these labels) cuisines. Some years ago, I found a recipe for gulab jamun, as interpreted by the Bene-Israel in India (in The Jewish Holiday Cookbook, by Gloria Kaufer Greene). It was enticingly described as fried pastry balls soaked in cardamom syrup. The recipe, unfortunately, was pretty awful. But ever since, I've hoped to learn of a good one. So, once again...

could you share a recipe?

Edited May 5, 2004 by afoodnut (log)

[Edward]

Enjoyed reading the article, Monica. For me, kitcheree definitely tops the list. I like a very moist kitcheree made from moong dal and either basmati or jasmine rice with cauliflower and green peas. The seasonings are usually just cumin seeds, dried chilies, turmeric, and a healthy pinch of hing. All this, of course, is fried in lots of ghee.

[mongo_jones]

do you really like jalebis more than gulab jamuns? good g-j's have that great combination of sweetness, almost-bitter caramelization and that great texture. i love jalebis too but there's something far more comforting to me about gulab jamuns. to each her own.

One of the recurring themes in my experimentation with food is trying recipes that I find for Jewish versions of regional/ethnic (oh, how I'm trying to avoid these labels) cuisines. Some years ago, I found a recipe for gulab jamun, as interpreted by the Bene-Israel in India (in The Jewish Holiday Cookbook, by Gloria Kaufer Greene). It was enticingly described as fried pastry balls soaked in cardamom syrup. The recipe, unfortunately, was pretty awful. But ever since, I've hoped to learn of a good one. So, once again...

could you share a recipe?

i don't even try to make gulab jamuns--i am resigned to eating otherworldly ones on my trips home every couple of years.

but here's a plausible site on making indian sweets (including the gulab jamun):

http://kurma.net/essays/e16.html

the rest of the site seems interesting too, though i haven't browsed it all: an english hare-krishna devotee of apparently indian descent who emigrated to australia and made it big (?) as a vegetarian chef.

[rajsuman]

Not in any particular order:

Aloo Samosa/Tikki

Kachoris

Fried Fish (esp. the one my Mom makes)

Rajma, Ma ki Daal, Konkani Bean ghashi with bamboo shoots

Idlis, but only if they match certain standards

Suman

[bague25]

For me it's

- Dal-rice & Fried fish (made by mom)

- Puran poli

- Sorpatel (that has been stored in an earthen pot for a week waiting to be eaten)

- THE M unmentionable word (by the way, I just got myself a couple of dozen and they are WOW!)

- Any Bombay street food : Bhelpuri, dahi batata puri, pani puri, ragda pattice, pav bhaji, pav vada....This is only a very small list but if I continue, I'm gonna be seriously depressed

[Monica Bhide]

piping hot gulab jamuns

a man after my own heart.. these are the reason I put on weight .. not my lack of will power mind you!

[Monica Bhide]

- Any Bombay street food : Bhelpuri, dahi batata puri, pani puri, ragda pattice, pav bhaji, pav vada....This is only a very small list but if I continue, I'm gonna be seriously depressed

I miss Bombay

[deliad]

Wow!!

Those are some good eats... Gulab jamuns and Jalebis...

While there is nothing to beat original GJs made in Delhi / UP / Punjab etc., here in the US, after trying various packets / cans etc, the best ones still come out of Gits powder.

We had to experiment and vary the recipe a bit to get better results but they come pretty close to the ones we enjoyed in Delhi halwai shops.

The trick is to make the dough using milk instead of water and we tend to make them real big, we typically make about 9 or 10 per packet, and fry them on medium heat till they are dark brown.

Kids love them..

My family does not have the patience like Mongo to wait 2 -3 years and eat 'em back in India.

Mongo, Try them again..