29 March

Pune is already sweltering at 40 degrees outside. And it is like 37 degrees in shade today and uncomfortably humid by Pune standards. But I am still thankful it is not as bad as Mumbai or Kolkata at this time of the year. I can still brave the whole summer season without an AC or a cooler. But still the fact remains that every year the summer is a little more harsh than the year before and the impact of rapid urbanization is very much visible on our fragile environment. 

For the uninitiated, Solkadi or Solkadhi or Kokum Curry is a refreshing summer drink from Maharashtra's Konkan region. It cools down your body and helps in digestion in addition to working as an appetizer. Though I am in Maharashtra for more than a decade, I had the first taste of this amazing drink after coming to Pune. The first thing that catches your fancy is the light pink color of the drink which makes it look like a strawberry milkshake and you might be deceived in believing that you are about to taste something sweet. But then the aroma of coconut and tempered spices make you curious about what this drink is all about. Eventually when you taste it you find a very interesting savory concoction of the tangy Kokum, sweet coconut milk and a hint of spiciness from chilly and ginger. Solkadi is almost a mandatory part of any fish thali you have at typical thali restaurants here in the city. And it acts as an excellent palate cleanser before you indulge yourself in the spicy fish curry rice. I think the first ever solkadi I had in Pune was at this famous restaurant called Masemari and absolutely loved it at the first sip. I think even more than the seafood I loved the drink.

There is also a  funny incident that happened once related to Solkadi. This was like 5-6 years ago. We used to frequently go out on team lunches from office and explore new eating joints. So one of our Marathi colleagues had suggested this small thali restaurant which served lovely seafood near the Peth area of Pune. Once we placed our orders the first thing we were served was this pink solkadi in small steel glasses. One of our colleagues was a south Indian guy who was a junior and didn't have much experience in Maharashtrian food. So when he was about to take a sip of this drink, the guy beside him tells, "don't drink that" and he obviously asks why so. The guy tells him, "it is a pink drink and it is only meant for ladies, guys cant drink it". He said it with such a serious face that this south Indian colleague believed him without a question and he didn't drink it! We all laughed at this but he didn't budge from his decision and actually we could not make him even taste the drink no matter how much we convinced! I think till date he believes that solkadi is only meant for ladies :D.

But my love for this drink continues and grows stronger. I actually like my solkadi a little sweet which most of the time comes form the natural sweetness of coconut milk itself. But if not, I like to add a little sweetener to balance the overall savory taste. So this time I tried converting them into these delicious popsicles which I could have instead of the store bought ice cream. You can also convert your leftover solkadis into popsicles and enjoy.

Please note that there are many ways to enhance the flavour of this coastal drink, sometimes people temper it with curry leaves or spices as well. But here I have used the very basic recipe of Solkadi for the popsicles.

Checkout other Summer Coolers from my blog:

• Mojito Popsicle
• Beetroot Rose Sorbet
• Persian Saffron Rose Milkshake
• Kokum Juice
• Beetroot Rose Granita
• Spicy Strawberry Ghol

Ingredients for garnish:

• Roasted cumin Powder

Equipment:

• Popsicle Mold
• Mixing Bowl
• Mixer
• Strainer 

Procedure: 

1.  Start by rinsing the dried kokum pods. Then soak them in a cup of hot warm water for about 30 to 45 minutes. 

2. Using your fingers mash the kokum pods in the water to extract the pulp from them. Now pass this mixture through a strainer and preserve the extracted water. Discard the remaining solids in the strainer.

Note: Color will depend on the quality of the Kokum used. It may vary from brownish to pink.

3. Take a blender jar and add chopped ginger, grated fresh coconut, chopped green chili and 1 cup of water. Blitz it to a smooth paste. 

4. Strain this mixture using a fine mesh strainer to get a thick liquid. 

5. Return the leftover pulp in the strainer back to the blender and add another cup of water. Blitz it again to get a smooth paste. Now strain this in the same bowl to get a thinner liquid this time. 

6. Add the kokum water into the bowl and mix everything well

7. Add salt and sugar as per taste.

Note: Coconut milk is already a little sweet, so if you don't want to add more sweetener you can skip the sugar. I like mine a little sweet.

8. Add water if you want a thinner consistency. Your solkadi is ready.

9. Now take the popsicle molds and pour the solkadi. Freeze it for at least 10-12 hours or overnight.

Serve the popsicles with a sprinkle of roasted cumin powder or have it as is.

Let me tell you a story first before I talk about today's recipe. When I was a kid, during the Durga Pujas many stalls would be setup around the puja premise in IIT Kharagpur. Food stalls would be setup by institute students or even wives of the IIT employees. Apart from the regular roll, moghlai paratha, fuchka, dahi vada stalls, there would be various book stalls. These were setup by different publishers or sellers. One of such stalls would have children books from around the world. 

At that time it was USSR and not Russia. That particular stall would brings many books especially written by the Soviet authors. They had hardbound fairytale books with vintage styled illustrations. The stories in those books were nothing like what we used to get in India. It talked about fairies, demons, forests, castles and it had opened up a whole new world of imagination for kids like me who loved to read. 

I used to really look forward to Durga Puja because of this stall. We didn't have Amazon or flipkart back then and these books were not available off the shelf. We had to patiently wait for a year to get hold of new storybooks. Every time I come to Kolkata, I browse through my childhood book collection. It feels like a Pandora's box when I leaf through them. The pages of those fairytale books were so good they still look crisp white. 

While most of the storybooks we got at that time were fairytales there is this one book which I am particularly fond of and it is not a fairytale. The book is named Rat-a-tat-tat and is a collection of children stories by the famous Russian author Nikolai Nosov. The book was translated from Russian and was published in 1989 by Raduga  Publishers. The absolutely amazing and heart touching illustrations are by Herman Ogorodnikov. It is hard not to fall in love with this book. The innocent stories makes you laugh and cry at the same time, and leaves behind a warm feeling every time you read it. I think this is something every kid should read. 

After USSR broke up, it felt like a heartbreak to us. We no longer got access to those wonderful books in India. Who ever has these books, they are like a rare treasure to them. 

My childhood favorite

I never heard any other kid in my known circle mention about this particular book. So I assumed that it was only me who was fascinated by the book. But long after that when I was in college, there was a junior of mine and one day I got to know its her favorite book as well. I couldn't believe that I would meet another person ever who even knew about the existence of this book, let alone love it. 

Right now the book is listed in Amazon at a whooping price of Rs. 25,888. We had bought it for about Rs 20 back then. Maybe as the days pass it would cost even more. But even if it becomes priceless, I do not think anyone of us who owns one of the hardcover version today, would like to part with it. The stories are so much embedded in us and is like an inseparable part of our growing up memories.

Now coming to the recipe for today. Its  a very simple fruit salad made with Pomelo. Pomelo is mainly known as Batabi Lebu in West Bengal. In Bangladesh and among Bengalis from Tripura, it is known as Jambura. While Bengalis refer to the Pomelo Salad as Batabi Lebu makha, in Bangladesh they call it Jambura Bhorta or Jambura Makha. In Assam, they call it Rebab Tenga.

I remember there was an aunty , a close friend of mom who used to bring these huge juicy Batabi Lebu for us from her garden. Mom would then remove the flesh form the pith, add seasoning and we would enjoy it mostly during the afternoons. The taste of the juicy, pulpy, tangy and spicy makha would linger on the tongue for quite some time. That memory of having batabi lebu makha remains ingrained in my memory till date. 

The next pomelo experience that I recently loved was in Meghalaya. The fruits in Meghalaya are really class apart. Street side vendors would prepare these batabi lebu makha, scoop them in small packets and give a toothpick along with the packet which can be used as a spoon. We had them whenever we were tired form any long hike. 

The pomelo in the picture was given to us by our uncle which he got from his own farm. It was calling out to be made into a makha and savored on a sunny (finally!) afternoon of December while reading my favorite book from childhood - Rat-a-tat-tat.

Preparation Time : 5 minutes

6 October

|| শুভ মহালয়া ||

Subho Mahalaya to all my readers!

We are just days away from the biggest festival of Bengalis - Durga Pujo. I was expecting a crystal clear Shorot er akash but all I got was a rain cloud dotted sky. It didn't rain today but it was quite windy. Weird weather in the month of October. By now the air usually smells like Durga Puja with all the shiuli flowers ground around. that's right even if I am in Pune we do have a few homes in the vicinity who have Shiuli flowers blossoming in their courtyards at this time of the air. 

To remind us of the victory of Goddess Durga over the evil Mahishashur, we celebrate the auspicious day of ‘Mahalaya’. Not only does this annual festivity hold a religious and spiritual significance, it also reminds us of the power of truth, of courage and of the universal fact that in the end, good will always triumph over evil.

On this day, Goddess Durga officially begins her journey from Mount Kailash — where she resides with her husband Lord Shiva — to her maternal home on Earth. Goddess Durga to Bengalis is like a daughter and hence to welcome her home the Bengalis make a plethora of delicious veg and non veg dishes. That is also the reason why non veg is made during the Durga Pujas in Bengali homes. 

Celebrating the day with one of the favorite Bengali snacks - Vegetable chop or vegetable croquettes. Made with a medley of veggies like beetroot, carrot and potatoes, the signature aroma of a vegetable chop comes from the freshly roasted bajha moshla, crunch from coconut chunks and toasted halved peanuts. Who can not fall in love with these chops when u have it with a dash of kashundi and tomato sauce on the side. It is one of the most loved snacks for a Bengali.

10 September

Ganpati Bappa Morya! Wishing you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi. May Lord Ganesha as the harbinger of happiness dispel all distress and obstacles from your lives and shower you with his blessings.

सुखकर्ता दुखहर्ता वार्ता विघ्नाची
 नूरवी पुरवी प्रेमा कृपा जयची
 सर्वांगी सुंदरा उति शेंदुराची
 कंठि झलके माला मुक्ताफलनि

 जय देव जय देवा जय मंगलमूर्ति
 दर्शनमत्रे मनकामना पूर्ति

Welcoming Bappa home is always a joy. Somehow the elephant headed god feels more like a family than a God figure. Amidst the pantheon of Indian deities, Gannu Baba is probably the only one who has an innate boyish cheekiness. You will really be hard put to find faults with a God who loves his ‘modak’ more than anything. The ever smiling God feels like the child of the household and we love spoiling him with an overdose of Modaks and all the goodies we can think of on his birthday. 

Ganapati Bappa has been a part and parcel of my life from the time I stepped into the soil of Maharashtra. He he simply omnipresent here. Be it the vehicle dashboard, office desks, temples in the nooks and corner of the streets, bollywood songs, restaurant names or in the grandeur of the iconic Dagduseth Mandir. Even in the most unexpected places you will find him in some form. That's how much he is loved in here.

When I first joined my workplace in Mumbai more than a decade and half ago, Mumbai was a unknown city for me. It was the first time I was going away from my home state. Everything seemed alien and scary at first. On top of that we had a very tight schedule during the training period. Infinite assignments, exams, long hours at the office, the local food made me feel the city of dreams was becoming a city of depression for me. I almost started feeling as if I needed to be back in my comfort zone away from all the craziness.

A month after I joined, it was the time of Ganesh Chaturthi. My company had a huge building in Mahape and they set up a big Ganpati Idol in our premise on the occasion. The office bus used to bring us to office at sharp 8.30 AM. We got out of bus and immediately used to line up before the Ganapati Idol as the aarti would start. Again before leaving office the evening aarti would happen at 8 PM sharp. The evening time felt more surreal, as the surrounding would be absolutely calm and the aarti would reverberate all around the premise creating a dolby effect. "Sukhkarta Dukhharta" - this aarti was the first one I learned during that time and while chanting the same with 100 other trainees in the same room it felt liberating. As if all the negative thoughts I was getting before vanished in that moment. I think it was those 10 days of Ganesh Chaturthi that helped me brave the hardships of the training phase in my company. After all these years, I fondly remember those evening aartis - they are embedded in my memories forever as one of the most cherished moments in Mumbai. This aarti still continues to be my favorite one. You feel so much power and positivity form inside when you chant this, even when you are alone. 

On this occasion today, I made Unniyappam for the naivedya. Unniyappam-Unniappam, is a traditional recipe and popular snack from Kerala. It is a fluffy deep-fried rice sweet fritter similar to Dutch Aebleskiver. Unni in Malayalam means small, Ney/Nei means ghee/clarified butter, and Appam means small rice cake. Unniyappam-Unniappam is also used as a ritual offering, in temples in Kerala (South India). Check out the recipe below. 

• Wheat Flour - 1 cup
• Rice Flour - 1 tbsp
• Banana - 1 medium size
• Baking Soda - a pinch
• Jaggery - 3/4 cup
• Salt - a pinch
• Grated Coconut - 2 tbsp
• Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Oil + Ghee - as required for frying

Garnish:

• Roasted sesame - 1 tsp

Equipment:

• Paniyaram Pan / appachatti
• Toothpick

Method

2. Now add the rice flour to the mixing bowl

3. Take the jaggery and break it into pieces or grate it using a grater. Add about 1/2 cup water or as required. Microwave it for about 30 seconds to one minute till the jaggery is completely melted. Strain it to remove impurities. 

Note: If you do not have microwave you can melt the jaggery in a pan over the gas as well.

4. Dry roast the grated coconut till slightly browned and fragrant.

5. Mash the banana with a fork.

6. Now add the mashed banana, melted jaggery, cardamom powder and grated coconut to the dry mix in the mixing bowl. Fold in and the batter should be of a idly or pancake consistency. Let the batter rest for 20 minutes or more.

Note: You can store the batter overnight in a fridge also at this point.

7. Now add the baking soda and salt and give it a stir.

8. Heat a Paniyaram pan and fill each cavity with about half oil + ghee mixture. When the oil is hot, add about 1 tbsp of batter into each cavity. At this point keep the gas at high heat for 1 minute. Then lower the flame to medium and cover the pan. Cook covered for another minute then turn the unniayappam while the center is still soft. This will ensure they have a full round shape. Cook for another minute till a toothpick inserted comes out clean and they have a nice brown color.

Tip: fill the cavity with batter leaving a little space at the top. Once the Unniyappam starts getting cooked it will fill the whole cavity and it will be difficult to turn if there is no space.

Note: Unniyappams store nicely in the refrigerator. You can store them for 2-3 days in the fridge.

Enjoy it hot or cold.