Amle ka Murabba : a simple recipe

Almost as much as I miss her, I miss my grandmother's cooking. If I ever eat something that tastes like her food, I get tears in my eyes.
For my grandmother, food was equivalent to love. Food had to be hot, it had to look colourful, and the person eating had to be hungry. This, she would say, is the secret to good food.
Till she was alive, I believed her.
Now, I know better.
The secret to good food?
My grandmother's touch.

This particular recipe is my father's discovery. The amla is not boiled, so he claims that the vitamin content must be ten times more. In fact, he wanted to patent it so I called him and asked for permission to publish.

Here it is.

Kacche Amle ka Murabba:

Buy 2 or 3 Kg's of fresh amlas, they are available right now. (You don't have to buy less for trial, this wont go wrong.) Stuff them in the freezer overnight. Next day, they will have gone soft. Remove them from the fridge, and after an hour, cut them into halves, and take out the seeds. Put it in a glass jar. Mix in some sugar or organic jaggery, till the amlas are totally drenched in the sweetness.

Shake the bottle, keep it in the sun for a day. Your nutritous, yummy amle ka murabba or amle ka jam is ready. No need to boil the amlas, or the sugar.

Try not to overeat, too much vitamin C can give you a cold. This is also a remedy for constipation, so you can imagine the result if you overeat. Me talks from experiance only. :)

An advatin's dream

I dreamt last night that I am cooking tehri, (a khichdi with vegetables thrown in), for Ramesh, in his home.

For some reason he wasn't talking, and the satsang crowd slowly dispersed. I stuck on, and he called me to him and told me that he was hungry.

I have never cooked for him, although I have wanted to.

'This is delicious.' he said, in the dream, 'Blogit.'

I must ask Ramesh, next time I meet him, if he knows what is blogging. He probably does.

Anyway, dream or real, Guruadnya is an order one gets when one is lucky.

So here is the recipe:

Tehri : A nutritious, quickly made, complete meal.

1. Wash and soak half a bowl of rice and half a bowl of lentils. (arahar dal works best)

2. Take a pressure cooker and pour two spoonfuls of oil into it and turn on the flame.

3. Start chopping the onion, tomato, capsicum, spinach, fenugreek, potatoes, carots, beetroot, etc, in this order.

4. Put in a few ground nuts as the oil gets hot and fry them on a low flame for three minutes.

5. Put in half spoon of jeera and black rai in the hot oil and let it splutter. Add the onions and fry on a low flame. Add half a spoon of turmeric, cumin powder, garam masala, black pepper, salt, jaggery, and mix.

6. After onions are done, add the vegetables as and when they are cut. Tomatoes and potatoes can be cut in big pieces. Keep mixing.

7. Put in the soaked rice dal inside the cooker. Add twice the amount of water (two bowls) , shut the lid and let cook on a low flame for fifteen to eighteen minutes. If your cooker works like a traditional, then two whistles, I suppose.

8. Serve hot with ghee, or milk, or curd,with lemon pickle, papad, and salad.

Play this video and say thanks to the Guru for making sure you do not forget him. Bonapetit.

Parantha batter for sale!

Since my fantastik business idea got vetoed by my ungrateful hubby (he loves my paranthas), I am putting it up here, sacrificing my own interest for the common good.

How long does a peice of bread last? Three days? Four? And is it even accepted as a health food? Not by the naturalists, nor the yogis. Certainly not by Ramdev baba.

And this idli dosa mixture, how long can you keep it in the fridge? And you cant even use it when it is cold, it has to be thawed. Which means it cant be used early in the morning when you make the dabbaa.

So, for night birds like us who cant sleep without blogging, it makes sense to pre-prepare something that can go on a hot tawaa and be ready in five minutes.

Its called Methi or Palak ka Parantha batter. Needs no preservatives, accept the fridge.

Here's the recipie: 

Wash and chop Spinach or fenugreek (or both ) leaves into very small pieces.

Grate an onion and a few pods of garlic. (Optional)

Cut a couple of green chillies in very small pieces. (Optional)

Add one spoon of Ajwain.

One spoon of black til (seasame seeds).

One spoon salt.

One spoon oil. (Optional)

Knead the dough into this mixture, use the new seven grains Pillsbury atta if you are bored with mere wheat atta. Use less water than you would normally use, because the green leaves have their own water which makes the dough sticky later on.

Keep in an airtight container, in the fridge. Will last for five days, minimum.

And I suppose you know how to roll out the paranthas and heat them? If you want me to post how to make traditional (grandmother's) triangular paranthas, you must ask. I shall do a photo blog.

Oh, I forgot to add the number of calories : Lots.

I cook

Ever since the family reunited, I have been after the OA to buy me a big pressure cooker.
The one which will make dal, rice, and potatoes in one go. Yes, I said potatoes. Nutrition be dammed. After all, I have to reorganize my life to suit the needs of a mouse potato.

The OA just now read my post and asked me what's an OA?
Other Adult, I said.
'So write that', he said, 'tell people what it means.'

He might not be familiar with bloggers lingo, but he has given me a good option for a cooker. Any of you, mommas, cooks, chefs, if anyone has tried this cooker, please let me know.

Its called EcoCooker, this is the link.

Its supposed to save fuel, save effort, and improves taste.