Radhuni diye Parshe macher halka jhol

 Hello hello all!
I know I have been awol for some time now and 'truly beg to state that' I have not been upto much to be able to share here.
Yes, nothing happened much in the past month .... neither life nor recipes nor photos.
I have been in a pretty much zombie like state and have no idea how the days flew by.
Summer came and went by, people came and went by, travel came and went by, ... nothing actually could bring me out of my stupor.
It was like being encased in a shell of morbidity.
It was as if the whole world had stopped living.
It was as if I had stopped breathing.
I have no idea why I was so low since life was going on as usual otherwise.
I was cooking regularly; I had house guests for a while; a couple of road trips happened; paanto happened; mutton too happened; as did chingri .... but nothing could put that spark back into me.

And then a trip to the hills happened. And I was breathing again.
With every second person around me leaving for the mountains, I must say I was not surprised when B suggested a trip too.
And just like that, within a week, he had everything done .... bookings, tickets, et all.
I was a little overwhelmed at the pace but gave in a played along.
And end of the week saw us in the lap of the beautiful foothills of the Himalayas.

The fresh mountain air, the fresh local food, a little sightseeing and some shopping .... everything was like a dream. I was happy again.
We did not go too far into the hills .... we just wanted to unwind and rest.
And take long walks in the pine scented forests and roads.
And that was exactly what we did. ( I hope to update my travel blog soon ... fingers crossed. )

By the time we were back in the plains, we had enough fresh air in our lungs to last a year ( I hope to go back again in a few months though .... B has promised me snow in the mountains early next year ... let's see. 😄😄 )

Another good thing that happened is a long lost friend from school, who had lost her father around the same time as I did, as well as a sister, got back in touch.
So, right now, we are busy catching up on all the years that have passed by as well as old memories.
I am also looking forward to another trip to Rajasthan in the near future .... can't wait to see how Rajasthan behaves in the rains.

As for today's recipe ... it is an old one that I had cooked this last year I guess.
From euphoRHEA.
When I saw her plate on fb, I just had to make it.
It is a light jhol, perfect for summer and just my kind of food.
I have not made any changes to the recipe except for the fish.
All I had was some Parshe in the freezer and could not wait till I got my hands on some Rohu.
So used that.

And fell in love with it.
I have made it many more times after that but had somehow missed posting it.
Now that I have no more new photographs, I dug into my old folders and found these.


Do make this once and see how light, simple food is always the best kind of food.

Need :

Parshe fish - 2, cut , cleaned and marinated with turmeric powder + salt
Potatoes - 2, cut into long slices
Cauliflower - a few florets
Green chillies - 3
Kalo jeere / Nigella seeds - 1 tsp
Radhuni / Celery seeds - a pinch 
Jeera / Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Water - for gravy
Oil - 2 + 2 tbsp ( I use mustard oil )

How to :

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a kadahi.
When it starts to smoke, let in the fish pieces and fry on both sides.
Remove and keep aside.

Add the rest of the oil and add the kalo jeere + radhuni + green chilles.

Then add the vegetables and stir well.
Add salt + turmeric powder + jeera powder + water.
Cover and cook till the vegetables are done.

Remove cover and add the fish pieces, check water and add if necessary.
Check for salt.
Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Done.

Light, soupy, summery .... perfect with some plain rice.
Enjoy!!

Leaving you with a shot of the pines that I managed from inside the car.

I will try to be more regular here.
Till then ... cheerio all!!

Enchor bhaja / Stir fried raw Jackfruit

Summer is blooming here.
Blooming .... yes. Because I have no other word for what is going on outside right now.
Mid morning temperature starts with 32 degrees and rises as much as it wishes to by late afternoon.  And then decides it loves the city so much that it refuses to down with the sun.
Clings on to the air, making it difficult to breathe even after night falls.
The floor and the walls of my balcony radiate the heat off. My plants stay still ... almost as if fearing to move lest the heat increases again.
I spray them with water liberally, only to feel the steam off the floor tiles and the wet earth.
On days when there is no breeze, I look out to see the dark profiles of the trees standing sombrely.
The rooster that I see of the few branches on the top of the Eucalyptus too does not move ... on other days I love to see the branches that form the neck and head move in the breeze ... as if nodding.
It is only when the restless bats shift branches that it moves ... sometimes the head moving away eerily and sometimes the plume of the tail.
Depresses me more .... just like the heat does these days.

 I have a thousand and one things going on at the same time in my life right now.
Some happy; some not as much.
And then there are a thousand and one recipes  .... okay, a little less maybe ... running in my head too.
To try, to post and share with you here.
But this heat ... nah .... will have to wait for some cooler days.
Meals have been mostly light ... you know if you are following me on Instagram. So I had nothing much to make a post on.
And then, my green grocer has been gone for a while now on vacation.
He is the only guy I rely on these days for fresh vegetables. So when he mentioned that he will be away for a while and I should buy some of that very fresh raw Jackfruit, I gave in.
He does make it easy for me, or else dealing with Enchor / raw jackfruit is painful and deters even the most expert housewife from handling it.

My tip on how to deal with a raw jackfruit is - get your grocer to peel it ... they have that big chopper and is easy for them .... and then make medium cuts from the sides till the center ... without cutting the center.
All I do is wash it well under running water and dump the whole thing into a pressure cooker with some salt and turmeric powder.
And cook it for two whistles on low heat.
And then, after cooling it, I cut it into blocks and store it in the freezer ... ready to take out and cook whenever I want to.
Simple!!!
No oiling of hands, no sticky gum clinging to fingers, no messy jobs of papers and tissues and everything sticking together, etc. etc.

Try it ... and do remember to come back here and thank me. 😄😄

Now, to the recipe.
If you know me, if  you have tried my recipes, you will know by now how I am obsessed with simplifying recipes and cooking light.
So while the whole world has gone overboard with trying to cook the kathal / enchor / raw jackfruit with loads of masalas ... in keeping up with the idea of it being a vegetarian substitute to non vegetarian food .... I phoo the idea away and go ahead and cook it real light and flavourful. If you have not tried this recipe yet, you are surely missing something good this summer.
And then, today I made this light bhaja or stir fry.
I was so amazed and at the same time so happy the way it came out that forgetting hunger and mealtime, I clicked a few photos to share it here pronto.
You really do not have to do much here.
All you need is some pre boiled enchor and some onions and green chillies.
And some dry masalas.
That's all.

Need :

Raw jackfruit / Kathal / Enchor - boiled with salt and cut into medium pieces
Onions - chopped into big sizes
Garlic - chopped ( optional )
Green chilles - chopped
Turmeric powder
Red chilli powder
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Cooking oil ( I use mustard oil )
Lemon juice

How to :

In a heavy kadahi/ wok , heat the oil on low heat till smoking hot.

Add the jackfruit and toss on high heat for a minute ... searing it well.

Now add the onions + garlic + green chillies and keep tossing.

Add the turmeric + red chilli powder + salt + sugar.

Keep tossing till everything comes together.

Add a good dose of lemon juice and toss a little more.

Remove from heat and serve hot.

Since we were having it with rice and dal, I did not add any other masala and kept it simple like a bhaja should be.
If you are planning to eat it with rotis or parathas, then you may add garam masala as well as tomatoes too, to bring up the moisture quotient.

Enjoy!!
And a happy weekend all!!

Bharwa Tinda / Masala stuffed Apple gourd

Summer is officially here.
The morning breeze is heavy these days ... not as light and crisp as in winters.
Blows more languidly.
I still sit out in the swing in my little balcony in the early mornings .... after I have filled the bird bath and watered my plants.
The sun turns bright way too soon ... and the breeze touches me in a more lazy way. The plants feel the heat approaching and are already still.
The birds come hurrying ... the small ones have a quick drink and a dip, shake the water off themselves  vigorously  and are off ... all in a matter of a minute.
The bigger ones are more confident .... my sitting there do not bother them ever.
The swallows even scold me once or twice for shamelessly watching them have a bath.
A couple of crows have made a habit of demanding biscuit from me ... will actually sit on the railing and stare at me till I give up and go inside to get a biscuit.
I don't remember when did this ritual actually start ... but now they are so assertive that I hate to disappoint them.

Summer also means a lack of variety in vegetables.
We have to make do with the limited Lau / lauki, Bhindi / okra, sheem / broad beans and a few brinjals here and there.
I am talking of Pune, mind you. You might be the luckier ones who live in places that have beautiful, moisture laden vegetables and fruits and leafy greens.
Not here.
We really have to go to different places to get different ... read good .... vegetables.
We try to eat local ... that is one thing that ensures fresh vegetables.
Which also limits our access to varied produce.

We were at the Mandai a couple of weeks ago. After finishing our errands, we decided to explore the market a little ... me hoping against hope to get some fresh vegetables.
The sun was ruthless yet I walked around looking at stuff.
Nothing looked different from the once we get at our nearest supermarket.
So I just picked up a couple of fresh coconuts at the exorbitant price of Rs.45/- each and started our walk back to the parking lot.
And then I noticed these real small and good Tindas at a lady's stall.

Now, I have absolutely no regard for this vegetable. But B loves it.
The ones we get at the supermarket are usually huge in size and absolutely sham.
But these were good ... small, fresh with a light peel.
When bruised, they oozed water so promptly that I just had to pick them up.
Got them home and cooked them immediately ... fresh.

Since they were so tender, I did not have the heart to chop them.
Instead, decided to make them bharwan / stuffed.
Ma in law makes them this way ... I followed her recipe since I don't have much expertise with Tindas.

Need :

Tinda - 6 pieces, small and tender
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Tomato - 1 big, chopped
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Whole jeera / cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Dhaniya / coriander powder - 2 tbsp
Jeera / Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Punjabi garam masala powder - 1 tsp
Amchur / dry mango powder - 1 tsp
Mirchi / Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Haldi / Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Cooking oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Fresh coriander leaves - chopped

How to :

Wash the tindas , peel and make a cross half way across them.
Do not cut them into pieces ... they should be whole.

Make a mix of all the dry masalas with a little oil and salt.

Stuff the tindas with the masala paste.

Heat the rest of the oil in a flat, heavy bottomed pan.

Add the onions and cook on low heat till soft.

Add the grated ginger and the tomato.

Fry well till the tomato is cooked and mushy ... you may need to cover it to cook.
Do add a pinch of salt to hasten cooking.

Remove cover and arrange the tinda in the pan, add the residual masala paste.
Cover and cook till the tindas are soft and well done.
They should not break open ... so take care when turning them.
You may add a little water if you see the need.

Remove cover, sprinkle chopped coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rotis.

Enjoy!!