Idli Upma

At times I get stuck and just don't know what to write in a post.
As a result, inspite of having photos, I don't get around to making one.

And the fact that I had surrendered myself to a lengthy book did not help matters. 

Oh ... but it did help me a lot.
Having spent enough time with myself and in the far away land and times that my book took me to, I am much saner now than what I was in the past fortnight.

I did throw in a little retail therapy too ... which helps immensely I must say 😊

Even though it was just curtains and linens for the house.

Women need to shop once in a while .... even if I am not a big impulsive shopper ... I do agree to this line.

My mind is back to its clockwork decisions ... especially when it comes to hot and fresh  breakfast recipes . 

And I love nothing more than a South indian breakfast .
Especially the Idli .

And my favourite way of eating idlis is the idli upma .

I love it so much that I make idlis in excess and store them in the fridge so that I can make this at least once a week.

I made this on last Thursday but did not post because I was stuck in a rut.

This beautiful, fluffy , mildly tangy thing never fails to lift up my mood.

I often add vegetables too but this time I did not. 

Maybe I will make another post again. 

Need : 

Leftover Idli
Chopped onions 

Chopped green chillies 

Hing 

Curry leaves 
Mustard seeds 
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder

Sambar masala powder ( optional ) 
Lemon juice - if your idlis are not sour / tangy 

Salt

Sugar

Ghee / Oil 

How to : 

Cut  half of the idlis into little pieces. 
Crumble the rest half into loose grains. 
Heat ghee or oil. 

Add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. 

Add a pinch of hing and then the curry leaves.
Then add the onions and the green chillies.

Fry on low heat till the onions are translucent. 

Now add the idli and stir well. 
Add turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt and mix well. 

Add the lemon juice and the sambar masala and stir fry till everything comes together. 

Serve hot. 
You may add peanuts or roasted chana dal too. 

Enjoy!

 Hope all of you are doing well.
I will be back with my meal plates later.

Stay well and stay safe ❤️

Tikkis from leftover Upma

Last and the week last to that have been filled with disappointments. Which left me with a lack of enthusiasm to come over and write anything. The morose feeling was so deep settled that I still have not been able to come out of it.
Disappointments are a way of life and I am used to dealing with them.
But people, who otherwise walk about in life with and appear to be warm, friendly and sincere, actually show their ignorance or neglect or whatever it is, it hurts.
When you know them as persons who care and as friends and then find them to be actually cold and selfish.
They will be around when they need a human handkerchief .... someone to dump their woes on.
And then disappear .... giving nary a thought to how you are faring or a simple line of goodwill.
I enquire because I care; I try to stay in touch because I want to; not because I have nothing else to do; not because I am never bogged down by the unfair ways of life.

Which is why I have finally decided to give away a little less of myself away ; henceforth.

Anyway, a couple of weeks back, we went for the movie Padmavati or Padmavat or whatever. Pushing aside the still hanging heavy fracas all around regarding the movie, we went.
Or rather I went; dragging B along.
We were fully aware of the kind of movies the guy makes and so had kept all our logic, better judgements and expectations at home.
I had watched Bajirao Mastani earlier and had actually liked it ( which B attributes to my lack of knowledge regarding the real story ... and which I agree to ) ;
and have actually sat through Devdas the whole length through ( which again B attributes to have nothing to do with the movie but his company ) ... to which I agree too.
And had wondered just how bad can this new one be.

Well , we were not even halfway through the movie and I had already started to plead 'let's leave'.
B grinned and stayed put.
He had actually given me a look when I had said that I wanted to see the movie for the sets and grandeur that its maker is so known for.
Even if I am not one to be so frivolous.
So, that is what I was expected to do ... sit through the movie and all its 'grandeur'.

To top it, the stale samosas and lukewarm cold drink did not help at all.
Inox, Bund Garden Road, Pune, has been our favourite haunt for watching movies. 
But not anymore.
Maintenence is zero , the food is appalling and the screen lighting is way too poor.
The whole movie was such a disappointment just because of that dim lit screen.
And the cherry on the cake was Inox's latest hobby ... cutting scenes.
This is worse during weekdays when a whole movie starts and ends within an hour and a half ... including breaks.
As well as advertisements .... which are innumerable during half time ... so much so that one actually wonders if someone has forgotten to restart the movie.

With a heavy heart I promised never to visit Inox Bund garden, ever again.

The third disappointment came this weekend when we, for lack of doing anything better, decided to drive down the old Pune Mumbai highway for a lunch in one of the dhabas on the roadsides.
Pune's spring is fabulous.
And this weather is to be outdoors .... in the bright sun, cool breeze that has a hint of summer and beautiful evenings that have started to tarry a wee little longer before turning dark.
So off we went.

While we had already tried the food at Sunny da dhaba and Toni da dhaba, we hadn't tried Babbi da dhaba.
To be very honest, there isn't much difference between the three ... foodwise.
All of them serve the same, red coloured tandoori chicken.
I have been on the lookout for a good Butter chicken ever since I left home ... where we got the best butter chicken ever in the Punjabi dhabas on the highways.... and have tried umpteen number of places, risking health.
Only to be disappointed, as always.
This time too was not an exception.
The Butter chicken that came was bloody red in colour, with strips of boneless chicken in the overly sweet gravy, that promptly stained my fingers with a colour that refused to go till the next day.
B's dal makhni was full of Rajma and had the strong smell of raw turmeric.
The dry Chole was however good .... just stir fried Pindi Chole with onions and some masalas.
And I loved the crisp tandoori rotis .... made of maida though.

And that was not the end of the story.
Exactly five minutes into our return journey, I could feel that familiar soreness in my throat and the feeling of choking.
The darned food had ajinomoto / monosodium glutamate in it !!
It is usual for small eateries to add ajinomoto to dals and gravies as taste enhancer .... for that special, smoky flavour, these  days.
Most people do not know, or not notice or don't care.
But I do because I am allergic to ajinomoto .... hence no better tester than me.
And since eating in small joints is now a thing of past for us, the ajinomoto thing had completely skipped my mind.

The only saving grace that evening was the evening itself.
As we drove homewards by the beautiful, dark grey hillocks against the setting sun, we talked about the old days when we would hop on our trusty old bike and zoom off towards the highways, with hardly any traffic to deal with on the way, and sit beside the road at any eatery or dhaba and enjoy a good meal of hot rotis and a fragrant, simple dal.
Life sure has changed.
And so has Pune; drastically.

Coming to today's recipe, it is not much of one.
Long back, during the monsoon months, I had made Upma one day, for breakfast.
And had a bulk of leftover.
Asked my blogger friends and got varied recipes out of which I took a little from all and made these tikkis or patties.

My Upma already had onions and grated coconut, so all I did was add some boiled potatoes and used some dal water (from the chana dal / Bengal gram lentils that I had boiled for later use ) to soften it.
Plain water would have diluted the taste; also the water from the boiled dal added to the flavour too.

Threw in some chopped, fresh green chillies and a spoonful of Maharashtrian peanuts chutney for some zing.
Rolled them in breadcrumbs seasoned with chilli flakes and fried them with very few drops of oil in my well seasoned iron tawa / skillet.
Some ketchup and adrakwali chai ( ginger tea ) on the side and we happily welcomed the dark skies and the drizzle that day. 

I had clicked the photos on my phone ... so I know they are not much to write home about.
But do try these crisp on the outside and soft, 'melt in the mouth' inside  tikkis the next time you have some leftover Upma.
I know you will love them.

Make for perfect snacks anytime of the day ... especially during winter and the cool monsoon months.

Cheerio all!!

Rawa Upma

( Vegans just skip the ghee )

Upma! pooh!
Why make a post on Upma, of all things? What does it take to make an Upma after all?! Some rawa, some vegetables thrown in, a dollop of ghee maybe ... nothing special or out of this world ... right?
Wrong.
Ask me.
My answer would be patience ... the time would span a good number of years; some memories ... wrack the brain to remember all kinds of upma I have ever tasted;  prayers ... every time I tried making this one dish I have prayed to the almighty real faithfully, and of course keeping my fingers crossed every time ... fingers and toes and everything.

Yeah ... making an Upma has been the biggest challenges I have ever faced ever since I started to cook. I can cook up a good Rajasthani spread or a good full course Bengali meal without a frown on my brows. But when it came to making the upma I got the jitters, the butterflies, the hibijis ... and still come up with something that would resemble a coagulated something.
Yet I would keep at it ... just because I love the darned dish so much. 

Jethima would make us upma some days as an evening snack, when we were young. She was a wonderful cook but the upma was definitely not her forte. I remember it was so oily it would happily slide down our throats ... if you discount the one stray thick slice of onion that one unlucky kid would end up with.
Ma has always gloated on her version of the less oil and fluffy version. Honestly, it used to be so dry it used to turn into a lump in our mouths ... that we kids could neither swallow nor throw up.
I wonder if the elders ever got 'round to wonder why we kids always demanded a little of the evening tea ... which we were never allowed to have ... on the evenings we were served the upma.

But I did not stop at trying to make that perfect upma, even if  it kept eluding me.

Recently, however, I have found that the texture is getting better and better.
And that is when I decided that I can put it on my blog now.

This is my version ... the way I make it these days. It is moist without being lumpy.
Most you must be experts at making this ... if you have any tips, please do share them with me.

Need :
Rawa / Sooji - A little more than ½ katori ( or a small sized coffee mug )
Vermicelli ( I use the pre-roasted ones) - ¼ katori
Cooking oil - 2 tbsp
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - ½tsp
Onion - 1 medium
Ginger - 1 tsp, , chopped
Green chillies - chopped
Mustard seeds
Curry leaves
Carrots - chopped into very small pieces
Cauliflower - chopped into very small pieces
Green peas
Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Water - 1 and ½ katoris
(Use the same katori that you have used to measure the rawa)

How to:
Dry roast the rawa/sooji  till the 'just before brown' stage, in a thick bottomed open pan.
Remove from heat and stir in the vermicelli and stir around for a while in the same pan, but away from
the heat.

Heat the water on another burner or in the microwave oven.

Heat oil+ghee in a kadahi.
Add mustard seeds, curry leaves.
When they start to splutter, add the urad dal.
Next add the onions+ginger+green chillies.
Fry on low heat. Add a little salt ... just for these three.

When the onions turn translucent, add the vegetables.
Add some more salt ... just for the vegetables.
Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.
Remove cover and add the tomatoes. Stir and cover.
Cook till the tomatoes are done.

Now add the rawa+vermicelli to the vegetables.
Add salt to taste and sugar. Fry well on low heat for a good while... the rawa should soak up the ghee
and also the moisture from the vegetables.

Add the hot water and keep stirring well.
Toss and turn till all water is soaked up.
Give some more turns with the spatula, cover and let it rest for ... say ... 3 minutes.

Remove cover and fluff it up with a fork.

Serve hot.
Enjoy!!

This is my 270th post.
I have tried hard to keep Kichu Khonn going on, inspite of all the setbacks I have faced so far.
It has been possible only because of your love and encouragement. I have had to take many breaks, but each time was deluged with affectionate and encouraging mails and messages.
I have never felt alone ... even when I could not open my blog or FB.
I do not count the number of posts now ... the fact that I can make a post at all and you, my dear readers coming back here to write in, is reward enough for me.

Thank you all for your love and support.
I and Kichu Khonn hope that you will stay by us, as always.
Much love to all of you.

Roti ka Poha / Snack made from leftover rotis

 I have always wondered what is it with people when comes to waiting in queues. 

Especially long ones. 

Everybody is restless, fidgety.

Keep bending to their side and try to look ahead.

 Look here and there.

As if the rest of the world has stopped moving just because that one person has to stand and wait.

And the one behind you, given the chance, will climb on your shoulder and crawl down to stand in front of you.

You can hear his/her mumblings of impatience.

And get poked with whatever things s/he is holding.

As if it is your fault the line is not moving ahead.

If it is a counter for tickets or bill payment, the person managing it is declared as the most inefficient worker. 

If it is a traffic line, it is even bad.

If it is a narrow two way lane, it is worse.

People will honk horns as if they had just discovered their vehicle had one.

And will surely overtake those already waiting in line, giving them a look that says "what duffers!"

In the process blocking the whole road.

Nobody can come from the front and nobody from this side can move.

Deed done, despite getting stuck themselves,
will still look smugly around. 

It is worse at the airports.

I recently made a trip home and was waiting to board.

People had gathered and filled up every possible seat at the waiting area with themselves, their kids, their hand luggage ...
which interestingly varied from a book
to several small bundles of things
to two plastic mugs and a kadahi,
their kids' luggage ... if a small rucksack and a water bottle can be called that.

Well ... they have the tickets ... so they'll use the seats.

And wait.

That waiting keeps building their restlessness.

Nothing helps ... not talking on phones, reading papers,
getting up importantly to get a coffee and then deciding against it
and turning around to grab back their chair again ...

nothing helps.

When finally the boarding gate is readied to let you through,

you see the rush!

Everybody scrambles to get up, collect their belongings, grab the kids, jump over people

 and run to stand in the line.

I just sit back and watch ... fascinated.

The line forms.

A very long line.

With the last person standing far, far away from the actual gate.

And they keep jostling
so that the they can move a wee little more ahead.

I still sit and watch.

And get looks of pity.

They talk to themselves or wonder ... poor girl, travelling alone.

Doesn't know boarding has started.

The line moves painfully slow.

The people finally get to board the bus in batches.

Those who get to have a look of triumph on their faces.

Those who cannot and have to wait for the next bus to move forward, have a look of defeat.

And they keep glancing at me.

The line has grown shorter ... what is she doing?

She'll miss the flight!

When there are exactly three people left to move through, I get up.

Board the last bus with the final group.

Just when I enter the plane, I glance around.

And see the disapproving looks and frowns.
After all, they'd been in the queue first!
And had to wait!

And hear a stage whisper ... "Itna late karenge toh desh kya hoga?"

!!!!

This is a wonderful way of using up leftover rotis from last night's dinner.

I wanted to  call this the upma but decided against it as upma has water added to it
while this is a very
dryish dish.

You can add some water to this if you want it very soft ...
but that too will be just a sprinkle.

I love this dry.
So dry that some pieces of the crushed roti will be crispy.

But it still won't be too dry as the onions and tomatoes add some softness to it.

And if you are like me ... have to have some egg  for breakfast,

you can just scramble up some and mix it in.

 Need

 Left over rotis

Onions - chopped

Tomatoes - chopped

Green chillies - chopped

Curry leaves

Mustard seeds - for tempering

Cooking oil

Salt - to taste

Sugar - to taste 

Tumeric powder - a pinch

How to 

Lightly crumble the rotis, rubbing them between your palms.

The pieces should be coarse and not too fine.

Heat some cooking oil.

Add the mustard seeds and wait for them to start spluttering.

Add the onions and the chilles and stir fry for a while.

Add the curry leaves.

Add the tomatoes and fry well till cooked.

Next add the roti and mix well.

Add the tumeric powder, salt and sugar.

Stir fry for a while and mix well.
If you want it soft and not crispy, sprinkle some water and cover it for a while. 

Serve hot with a steaming cup of tea.

Enjoy !!

Bread Upma

I do not know why I get affected by things so easily (see previous post) ... but it is true that the zing has gone out my enthusiasm to post.

The weather could not have been lovelier .... dark, wet days with the light consistent rain this city is so famous for. And am rustling up some real hot delicacies in the kitchen.
Am happy to share these with hubby ... and sometimes close friends ..... cozying up in my crocheted throws .... (aaahhh .... got to add them too in my handiwork blog) .... watching across the huge bay windows of our flat ... which gives an excellent view of as far as eyes can see ..... we can see the rain approaching from the far off hills .... and with a hot cuppa .... and some good music ..... am in heaven. :-)
But much as I enjoy these snacks and meals ... I do not feel like sharing them anymore. Maybe I'll recover my trust again soon. Till then let this stay for posterity.
So am starting off again with a common breakfast dish. The bread upma is made in my house only to use up left over bread. Earlier I used make a sweet dish like shahi bread .... but since that takes a lot of deep frying .... and also uses a lot of sugar ... have completely stopped making it.
Need : Crumbled bread pieces, sliced onions,mustard seeds, curry leaves, a pinch of haldi powder, juice of half a lemon, a pinch of sugar, 1 tbsp cooking oil and salt to taste.
Whenever possible (read available in the fridge) I add vegetables like green peas, carrots, cauliflower, etc etc.
How to: Heat oil in a kadhai. Add the mustard seeds. When they start to splutter add the curry leaves and the onions. Fry well.
If adding vegetables add them now. Fry them well ... if needed cover and cook.
Now add the bread and haldi powder and salt. Keep tossing and add the sugar and lemon juice.
If needed sprinkle some water ... just to make the whole thing mix well.
Serve hot.

Sewayi Upma

Upma is one thing that I cannot make .... I mean sooji upma. No....I can't. Have tried so many times... was never once successful.So I make do with sewayi upma.This turns out well enough. Better if there is a variety of vegetables ....say carrots,green peas,fresh beans,capsicum...etc. And if the sewayi is boiled and stored in the fridge ....faster.

Need : Sewayi (the thick variety), mustard seeds, cooking oil, chopped vegetables of your choice, chopped onions and tomatoes, curry leaves, green chillies, salt and lemon juice.

How to : Boil enough water and cook the sewayi with a pinch of salt. Drain and run under cold water. Then apply a spoonfull of oil to prevent them from sticking together.

Heat oil in a kadhai. Add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering add the onions and cook for sometime. Now add the curry leaves (they don't get burnt this way) and the chopped green chillies. Now add the rest of the vegetables and a pinch of salt. Cover and cook till vegetables are done.

Now add the sewayi and toss well. Adjust salt and add lemon juice. Serve hot.

Updated : The next time I made it there was better natural light ... so clicked it. This time I added a little sweet corn too. :-)