simplefoodsforcomplicatedpeople

Cooking random dishes has become a destressing activity for me, to my utter disbelief! I cook because I need to eat, I have never loved cooking as such. Past couple of months, mother in law has been unwell, and in a lot of pain, in and out of hospitals; and that's when I found myself in the kitchen making pickles, or chutneys, or dishes that are not part of the usual meals in the house.  Today I got a big bunch of fresh mint leaves, cleaned them, washed and they are left for drying! I wonder what made me do that. Nobody is a fan of mint at home but I was like, "Oh, mint season will get over soon, so let me dry some and store in the fridge!" Same with fresh green garlic. I got that too and made a chutney of mint, coriander, garlic. I have made at least 5 pickles in last two months, three with lime and two with fresh turmeric and amla. Again, the same feeling of using up the winter vegetables and also the Sun! This was dinner tonight. Paneer parathas, leftover from lunch. ...

December is the month when juicy lemons are available cheap, so it's mandatory to make pickle. So are green chilies. Chili pickle This recipe is from a book called 'Hamkhas Paaksiddhi' by Jayashree Deshpande which was gifted to me by my Aai when my daughter was born. I often refer to this book. I took 250 gram green chilies, the normal ones, not the very hot ones. Washed, dried them and then chopped into small pieces. Heat a small tadka pan, take 2 tbs of oil, add one tbsp methi seeds, remove, then switch off the flame. Add 2 tbsp asafoetida powder to the oil and stir well. Heat half a cup of water and let it cool. Also heat half a cup of oil and let it cool. Add 1/4 cup mustard dal or split mustard, 1 tbsp turmeric powder and 1/4 cup of lemon juice in the mixer jar and make a paste. Keep adding the cooled water gradually and keep running the mixer. Stop when you get the heady smell of the mustard and the mixture has turned frothy and light. Add this to the lemon pie...

डिसेंबरात लिंबं चांगली येतात बाजारात, पातळ सालीची आणि स्वस्त. त्यामुळे लोणचं करायलाच हवं. मिरच्याही चांगल्या असतात, मग त्याचंही लोणचं करावं. खाराच्या मिरच्या खाराच्या मिरच्या हमखास पाकसिद्धी पुस्तकात आहेत तशा. त्या भन्नाट चविष्ट होतात, अनेक वर्षांचा अनुभव आहे. पाव किलाे मिरच्या चिरून घ्यायच्या. छोट्या कढल्यात एक चमचा तेलावर एक चमचा मेथीदाणे आणि नंतर २ चमचे हिंग पूड भाजून घ्यायची. एक वाटी लिंबाचा रस घ्यायचा. पाव वाटी मोहरीची डाळ, हळद, आणि थोडा लिंबाचा रस असं मिक्सरला एकदा फिरवून घ्यायचं. मग त्यात उकळून गार केलेलं पाणी थोडं थोडं करत घालत फेसून घ्यायचं मिक्सरमध्येच. हलकी झाली की हे मिश्रण मिरच्यांच्या फोडींवर घालायचं. त्यात उरलेला लिंबाचा रस, अर्धी वाटी मीठ, मेथीहिंग, घालून कालवायचं. मग अर्धी वाटी तेल गरम करून गार झाल्यावर ओतायचं. नीट कालवायचं. आठेक दिवस तरी रोज कालवावं लागतं. यात लिंबू, मीठ नंतर वाढवता येतं. इतकंच काय खार जास्त झाला तर मिरच्यांचे तुकडेही वाढवता येतात. मी सहसा छोटी बाटली रोज वापराला बाहेर ठेवते, बाकी फ्रिजात. वापरायला काढताना पुन्हा हवं असल्यास तेल घालता येतं. आमच्याकडे ...