—Photo by Harini Prakash

I hope all of you celebrated a happy and peaceful Eid, amidst mouth watering sweets. For us this was immediately followed by Ganesh Chaturthi, which calls for region specific preparations.
 
Today, I am sharing with you one of delicacies that is prepared by my mother during the festival. Sugiyan is not as popular as kheer or halwa as it is made by a small community of people. Most of my friends don’t seem to have heard of it! Yet, I find that out of all the sweets I share with during Ganesh Chaturthi, it is ‘sugiyan’ whose recipe I have given out most often. Often some sweets get ‘scheduled’. We do not seem to make them unless the occasion demands, and the same goes with this one, but sugiyan is very easy to prepare and seems perfect for rainy days. It is deep fried! I am sure you will agree that one can indulge in a treat sometimes!
 
Sugiyan is a sweet, fried dumpling made of a filling of mung dal, jaggery and coconut, gathered into small balls, dipped in a batter of urad dal and rice flour and then fried. It is amazing how the savoury and sweet blend together to offer culinary nirvana! I recommend that you have it crisp and warm, but I have never heard anyone complain over the cold ones.
 
Last time I was requested to serve up dishes that use local ingredients. This delicacy uses items that can be easily sourced at your corner shop.
 
Dish: Sugiyan
Yield: 35 to 40, depending on size of portions
 
Ingredients:
 
Filling:
Mung bean split / Mung dal – ¼ cup
Coconut, freshly grated – ½ cup
Jaggery, powdered (preferably organic) – ½ cup
Cardamom / Elaichi, split and powdered – 4
Oil (Any neutral smelling oil like sunflower oil) – 2 tsps.
 
Dipping batter:
Black gram split lentils / Urad dal – ¾ cup, (soaked for 1 hour in warm water)
Rice, soaked for 1 hour in warm water – ½ cup
Salt to taste (I prefer a touch of salt)
 
Oil to fry the dumplings
 
Method:
 
Filling:
Cook moong dal with just enough water till soft. Grind the coconut to a coarse paste. Heat the oil in a wok/frying pan.
 
Mix the cooked dal, coconut and jaggery together along with the cardamom powder.
 
Add to the oil and keep cooking on reduced heat till it comes together as a thick paste. Initially the mixture will have some liquid as the jaggery melts, but it will later gather into a soft ball. The cooking should be done on reduced heat to prevent the jaggery from burning. This took me about 15 minutes. Do not leave the mixture in the wok. This needs constant stirring.
 
Cool the mixture till it comes to room temperature.
 
Dipping batter:
Grind the washed, rinsed and drained dal and rice together till you get a smooth paste, adding water sparingly. I have found that fine rice flour and urad dal flour give the same results. If the batter is very liquid, and sticky add some rice flour and beat till you get a batter similar to the one we use for bhajias (gram fritters). If the batter is thin but not sticky add urad dal flour and beat to get the right consistency.
 
Add salt, a tsp. of hot oil and beat well.
 
Preparing sugiyan:

Make small balls of the filling, about the size of ping-pong balls. I made about 40.
 
Heat oil for frying till moderately hot. The oil is ready when a drop of batter will sizzle and rise to the top immediately.
 
Dip each ball in the batter and deep fry in moderately hot oil. The batter may not stick all over. Some portions of the filling may remain visible. This is normal and will not disintegrate in the oil.
 
I fry about three dumplings at a time as my cast iron wok is a very small one. Turn over after two minutes when one side is done, so as to cook the other side. Fry till uniformly golden.  Drain on a tissue paper.  Set aside till warm enough to relish.
 
Serve immediately.
 
If you try it let us know whether you liked it!

Harini aka sunshinemom is a vegan food writer, food photographer and food stylist. To see her work, visit her blog or Flickr album.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

—Photo by Harini Prakash.

It’s rainy right now in Mumbai. It is time for soups, hot drinks and fried or baked snacks. I vacillate between snacks and soups on damp evenings, and mostly settle for soups. Soup is a fit prelude to a hot dinner, or serves as an early dinner if taken with crackers.  My soups are almost always unplanned and made with vegetables available in my refrigerator on that day.

Some days I am lucky, like today! I had a fresh fennel bulb, bought simply because I find its licorice aroma irresistible. I had some red cherry tomatoes that were to be made into pasta but lay there, forgotten. It was destined; I thought that the tomatoes and fennels would do a dance in my soup! And dance they did as they tickled our taste buds.

It is my pleasure to share the recipe with you. This was going to be a classic Italian soup until I remembered a suggestion made by my son sometime back. The Middle Eastern twist does wonders to the soup.

The amount of ingredients can be altered according to availability. The recipe is very flexible.

Dish: Roasted Tomato and Fennel Soup
Serves 2 generous bowlfuls

Ingredients:

Tomatoes – 600g halved
Cherry tomatoes – a handful (optional)
Fresh fennel bulb – 1
Onions – 1 cup, sliced thick
Half of a red bell pepper, chopped rough
Bay leaves – 2
Garlic, halved horizontally so that all the bulbs are held together but cut through
Salt – As per taste (I use a mixture of powdered rock salt and kala namak)
Olive oil – 2-3 tsps.
Extra virgin olive oil – A few drops to garnish
Black pepper, powdered – to taste (optional)
Harissa (the surprise Middle Eastern element) – 1 tsp.
Vegetable stock – ½ cup or more as needed

Oven temperature:

160 deg C. with fan.

Method:

Trim the fennel fronds and keep a few leaves for garnish. Cut lengthwise from the tip to the base of the bulb. Halve again and chop roughly. If the core is hard, remove it. Do not throw any of the trimmed fronds or the core. These can be used to make vegetable soup stock.

Pre-heat oven.

Quarter onions. Mix the onions and fennel pieces together in a baking tray. Place one half of the garlic in the center. Drizzle salt and one tsp. of olive oil. Toss and set aside.

Halve both varieties of tomatoes and arrange in another baking tray. Add bell peppers and keep the other half of the garlic in the center. Add bay leaves. Drizzle another 1tsp. of olive oil, sea salt and toss.

Place both baking trays in a pre-heated oven and bake for at least 20 minutes. Check whether the onions and fennel have browned. If not, bake for another ten minutes.  Re-check and remove the onion and fennel tray once browned.  The tomatoes will take more time, about 10 minutes.

Once roasted, let the trays cool. Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend to a uniform paste.

Sieve through a soup strainer. If needed add vegetable stock to bring the soup to right consistency. Warm the soup. Add the harissa paste, if using. If not, add chilli powder and a dash of lemon juice (very little) to adjust the sourness according to taste. If the tomatoes are sour enough do not add lemon. 

Taste and adjust salt and pepper. Serve hot, garnished with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil, or dotted with vegan yogurt, and serve with bread or by itself. 

I had it for a light lunch with some nuts. I grated some of the pistas on top for a different touch. You could add croutons if you like.

Harini aka sunshinemom is a vegan food writer, food photographer and food stylist. To see her work, visit her blog or Flickr album.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

—Photo by Harini Prakash.

As a habit I do not purchase breads. On the day I made this vegan cream cheese, in response to my own feeling that bread is tastier with any spread other than jam, I had to buy some whole wheat sandwich bread. The bread was secondary, as it was just needed to showcase the vegan cream cheese, which was the undisputed hero of the day.

I won’t go on to say that vegan cream cheese tastes exactly like cream cheese, because it does not. It tastes better, and is healthier, in comparison. It serves as a dip with vegetable sticks (raw cucumber and carrots), and makes a good base for a vegan wrap. It is versatile and allows adaptation as per taste.  You can leave out the parsley, substitute coriander, mint, add a touch of onions or carrots – your call. 

Dish: Vegan cream cheese with cashews and parsley

Yield: 1.5 – 2 cups

Ingredients:

Raw cashews, soaked for about 2-3 hrs or overnight – 1 cup
Curled parsley, trimmed – ½ cup + 1 tbsp. chopped fine
Peeled, garlic cloves – 5
Sea salt/Black salt or kala namak – to taste
Olive oil – 2-3 tbsps.
Chilli flakes – as per taste
Nutritional yeast flakes (optional) – ½ cup
Lime juice/apple cider vinegar – 1 tsp.
Brown sugar (if using apple cider vinegar, avoid this) – 1 generous pinch

Method:

Drain cashews and blitz in a mixer to chunky pieces.
Add the rest of the ingredients except oil.  Blitz more till the ingredients are well blended.
Adjust salt, and chilli as per taste.  If needed add a tbsp. of water to get a soft dip.
Remove and add olive oil and chopped parsley. Stir well.

Storage:

Pour a teaspoon of olive oil in a clean, air tight bottle and swirl to let it coat the base and sides.
Pour the dip. Top with another tsp. of olive oil. Keeps well for a month in the refrigerator.

Usage:

Use this as a sandwich spread in place of cream cheese or butter. Add cucumbers, onions and tomatoes, top with another bread slice coated with the vegan cream cheese.

Use as a base in for a whole wheat tortilla wrap/paratha: Spread the cream cheese dip generously over tortilla. Arrange a layer of tender, roasted vegetables such as carrots, red and yellow bell peppers. Top with more cream cheese spread and freshly chopped parsley/mint/coriander. Roll and serve.

Use as a dip with fresh, cut salad vegetables such as cucumbers and carrots.

Harini aka sunshinemom is a vegan food writer, food photographer and food stylist.  To see her work, visit her blog or Flickr album.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Photo by Harini Prakash.

It is said that complete food is one that has all six rasas or tastes – sweet, sour, salt, pungent, bitter and astringent. In a typical South Indian platter the first item served is a kheer (sweet) and the second is usually sour. This is represented by a digestive — usually a quick pickle. Pickle taken in small quantity along with food acts as an appetizer and digestive but overindulgence can lead to indigestion.

The pickle I am presenting today is known locally as ‘manga curry’. Manga curry can be prepared and consumed on the same day unlike other mango pickles that need to be sunned for a week before they can be consumed.

The best suited mango, irrespective of the variety used, should be bright green without any blemish, have smooth skin and should be hard and sour.

Dish: Manga curry (Quick mango pickle)

Ingredients:

Raw, hard mango, chopped into small even bits – 2 cups
Salt to taste (I use a mixture of pink and iodized white salt) – 1.5 tsps.
Chilli powder – 2 tbsps. (more if you like it very hot)
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp.
Mustard powder – ½ tsp.
Asafoetida powder – 1 generous pinch
Sesame Oil – 2 tbsps.

Method:

Add salt and chilli powder to the mango pieces and mix well so it is evenly distributed.

Heat oil till hot. Season with mustard seeds. Put off fire. Add mustard powder and asafetida powder. Mix and pour over the mangoes. Mix well till the spices are uniformly distributed.

Serve immediately with rice and gravy, preferably a mild dish such as kadhi or dal. It is generally prepared in small quantities as it does not last very long. If using for more than two days, refrigerate.

Tips:

This pickle is quite flexible as you can adjust the amount of chilli powder and salt as per taste. Addition of mustard powder is optional. I like the addition.

 
*If you want specific recipes for the next blog post, feel free to suggest in the comment box below and I will try my best to accommodate your requests.

Sunshinemom aka Harini is a vegan food writer, food photographer and food stylist.  To see her work, visit her blog or Flickr album.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Photo by Harini Prakash

Going through some of the comments on my earlier posts, I found a request for the recipe of a very popular South Indian breakfast dish – idli.  A few years of staying in a hostel and accosting stone-hard idlis soon made me appreciate my mother’s soft and pillowy idlis.  The time taken to steam a batch of idlis is about 10 minutes making it ideal for weekday breakfast or packed lunch when short of time.  However it is a plan-ahead dish as it needs to be soaked, ground and then fermented before it can be made.  There is no secret to the texture of idlis except the choice of quality ingredients and the fine texture of ingredients obtained after grinding.

Dish: Idli (Steamed rice and lentil cake – savoury)

Serves: 40 idlis

Ingredients:

De-husked black gram (Urad dal) – 1.25 cup
Fenugreek seeds (Methi dana) – 1 tsp.
Parboiled rice (Ukda chaawal) – 3 cups
Beaten rice flakes/flattened rice (thick, flat variety) – 1 cup (optional but recommended)
Oil, to brush the bowls or idli stand with depressions
Salt to taste

Utensils:

A steamer or pressure cooker
Small bowls/katoris or idli stand

Method:

Wash and rinse lentils and methi seeds together until the water runs clear.  Similarly, wash and rinse parboiled rice until water runs clear.  Soak the two in separate bowls in sufficient amount of water, about two and a half times in volume, for about five to six hours.

When you are ready to start grinding the lentils, soak the beaten rice flakes in sufficient water.  This is because rice flakes do not require much time to soften.

Meanwhile, the soaked lentils as well rice will have plumped up.  Drain water from the lentils and grind.  The lentils need to be ground until light and fluffy, to the consistency and feel of whipped cream, adding as little water as possible, about ½ cup to ¾ cup.  I use an electric stone grinder as I make idlis often and highly recommend it. Grinding takes quite some time, about 20 minutes.

Once it has achieved the above consistency, empty the batter in a big bowl, at least four times the capacity of the ground lentils.

Next drain the rice and rice flakes, and grind to almost fine, adding just enough water to get a thick batter, about ½ cup and more as needed.  Grinding should take about 30 minutes in an electric stone grinder, maybe even more sometimes.

Empty the batter into the bowl containing ground lentils.  Add about 4 teaspoons of salt and beat the rice and lentils well so that you get a uniform blend.

Cover the bowl, placing some weight on it and set aside the mixture to ferment for at least 8-9 hours or overnight.

After fermentation the batter should have risen to twice its original volume, and is ready to be steamed.  Do not mix it at this stage.

If you have a pressure cooker and an idli stand, then grease the depression in the idli stand lightly with sesame oil (or any neutral oil) and pour the batter into the depressions so that they fill three quarters of the well.  Steam for about 5 minutes on high flame without the whistle and reduce heat and steam for another 5 minutes.  Let the cooker cool for 5 minutes before opening.

If you do not have an idli stand, you can still make idlis in small bowls or katoris, as shown in the picture.  Heat water in a steamer instead and cook the idlis in small katoris for the same time as above.

Demoulding:

Sprinkle normal water over the hot idlis or let them cool under fan for about 10 minutes.  Remove with a sharp spoon.

Serving:

Serve hot with coconut chutney or sambar.

Tips:

- Do no mix the fermented batter before making idlis.

- Use cold, refrigerated water if grinding in a food processor.

*If you want specific recipes for the next blog post, feel free to suggest in the comment box below and I will try my best to accommodate your requests.

Sunshinemom aka Harini is a vegan food writer, food photographer and food stylist.  To see her work, visit her blog or Flickr album.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Photo Courtesy: Harini Prakash

Rice pudding is a universally loved dish and every country has its own variant. In India and Pakistan it is popularly known as kheer which though tasty, is also very sweet and contains copious amounts of full fat milk. The Western variation comes with a generous dose of cream and eggs in addition to the milk. The healthiest among the lot is the Thai version which is made with coconut milk. This is well suited for weight watchers as an occasional serving is definitely not as calorific as other versions. It has a fairly lower quantity of sugar and no cream, eggs or milk. Traditional Thai pudding is topped with mangoes, which I love to add when in season but during other times of the year, I prefer seasonal fruits, either poached or roasted.

The following recipe includes a topping my son loves best – candied dried fruits. Each variation comes with its own novelty. Do try them all, it won’t fail your expectations!

Coconut milk pudding
Yield: 3 servings

Ingredients:

For the pudding:

Rice (long grain) – ½ cup
Water – 1 cupCoconut milk (first extract if fresh or half a can if using store-bought) – ¾ cup + ½ cupGranulated sugar – ¼ cup
Vanilla stick – ½ stick, slit horizontally and scraped directly

For the topping:

Toasted cashew nuts and almonds, chopped into small bits – 3-4 tbsp.
Sugar – 3 tbsp.
Water – A little, to melt the sugar

Method:

The pudding:

Soak rice for 3 hours. Drain well and pound coarsely so that the grains become half their size.

Boil water and add the pounded rice. Cook until water is absorbed.

Add ¾ cup coconut milk, sugar and scrape vanilla seeds (or you may substitute with vanilla extract) into the pan.

Cook further, stirring well so that the mixture is evenly distributed throughout, until the milk is absorbed.

The topping:

Heat a saucepan with sugar and water, just enough to melt the sugar. When the sugar melts, add toasted nuts and keep stirring until the nuts are well coated with sugar and the pan becomes dry.

Serving:
In a bowl, pour some of the pudding, add a few tablespoons of fresh, thick coconut milk and top with candied fruits.

*If you want specific recipes for the next blog post, feel free to suggest in the comment box below and I will try my best to accommodate your requests.

Sunshinemom aka Harini is a vegan food writer, food photographer and food stylist. To see her work, visit her blog or Flickr album.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.