Rajasthani garlic chutney

Our home smells great today. I just made dal bati with the boldest lahsun-ki- chutney (garlic chutney) for lunch. The perfect compliments bati dal garlic chutney, are the weekend staples in any rajasthani home like mine. Though i'll confess , our global diet these days lends an empty slot for this favorite food from the rugged land of warriors, only once a month. I 'll share the circle of my rajasthani plate soon but today i wish to highlight this fiery , fully packed chutney recipe.

This chutney is made mostly in winters as large quantities of garlic in it keep you warm. But like rest of the things which are year round now, garlic chutney is a must must in any rajasthani's pantry. History has it that lahsun ki chutney formed the working lunch of peasants in rajasthan, along with bajra ki roti /millet bread and onions.

Mangoes and cream

Feels really long that i posted some love ! So here i am again.

Mangoes and many stories of summer embrace my mind . As a kid i remember the whole joint family sitting and eating mangoes by the buckets and yes literally. Water was stored overnight in big earthen pots and stood covered on our big terrace under the glittering  blanket of stars and moon. The cool water quenched our thirst like no refrigerated or iced water can or could back then too. Well continuing, the next morning, cartons of washed mangoes were immersed in the pot which were then shifted in shade. And done lunch, we all would sit and relish the super delicious mangoes around an appetizing platter of  family talks, jokes and gossip. Hmm summers could never be summers enough if not for our siblings cousins aunts uncles parents grandparents. Sitting far away from home, i feel cocooned,  to know i have a train of relatives to call mine and call anytime :)

Summer borscht

Borscht had been on my 'have to try ' recipe list for long. It comes in two variants - cold and hot. Summer borscht is akin to gazpacho or any other cold soup, a delicious variant in the latter pedigree, from parts of Central and Eastern Europe. 

Quoting from wikipedia , ''Borscht began its existence from trimmings of cellared vegetables consumed throughout the winter months. Most families had a container, usually a kettle or stove pot, kept outside to store those trimmings. Around the first spring thaw, that pot was placed on the fire and cooked into a soup-like meal. One of the primary vegetables of the Slavic diet consumed during the winter months was beets. Hence the recipe changed into what is traditionally known as a beet soup''

We try the cold version to fend of the heat today. So if u love yogurt and beets- look no further at all. And BTW i levitated towards the bright colors of this soup at first and now am totally hooked to the flavors too. The color pink reminds me of the dry colors we played with, during a festival called Holi in India. 

A good make ahead recipe which you can easily store in your refrigerator for 2-3 days. I feel it tastes better, sitting over a day definitely. 

Curried Indian yam / Suran ki sabji

Extreme heat in the helm and thus everything outdoorsy looked mundane and unexciting for the past 2-3 days. Sitting at home this whole weekend, i felt lethargic and bored. Before i noticed, my focus ,shifted inward- but one which meandered the full loop of my random day.

I started on the periphery, donning the shoes of the usual homemaker -cooked a meal, cleaned the closets, polished some furniture, vacuumed and re-arranged the rooms (pet peeves: unorganized, dirty space!!) Obvious next, it proceeded to a good soak for myself. Still more time on hand, i indulged at a near by salon. Back home, a light snack and I was immersed into the couch with the day's headlines and a business magazine. A slave to still more time, the question was on the horizon and it soon shone-- Where am i headed , what are my goals?? Grave question and one which settled steadily on me ,like the early twilight seducing the sun to rise. I tried to think , but could'nt concentrate. I pondered deep but my answers felt enveloped, as if in double shrines. I felt an impermeable wall within , for i cud'nt gain any sincere evocation. My mind drew an analogy, the purpose the goal that i strived for- was like the familiar but unlit foyer of an outhouse, deep in the yard, beside a bright cheerful home at night.

Dark banana bread

Disclaimer: This is a mushy post.

Mushy, because its banana bread for one.. LOL and mostly because its my sweetest friend's birthday today..my sole reason to bake this bread. She lives in India, across the ocean from where i live, but that does not stop a small celebration at home here. Reason to load up some extra calories perfectly :)  Best friends , BFFs? Well i think the concept is a bit archaic now ,with both of us on the other side of 30's ;) And yes, 'best' does not capture the higher superlatives at all , nomore!

Words are less as i try to pick some threads, from the remeries of a colorful tapestry, our friendship has been. 

A classical dancer by choice, she and i met during our post graduate program in Mumbai. A butter fingered me , met this prim and proper girl from the land of ghazals and ghalib. A poet too herself, i credit whatever i understand in urdu prose, to her. The first whiff of independence, just out of our respective homes then-  i endearingly remember siting and talking for hours on the edge of her building's uppermost terrace where she rented an apartment. Haven't called her yet to wish ,but frequently our birthday conversations start with what budding double digit the other is rollicking on. Its a tradition now, to tease and giggle. Talking of traditions, we made a pact to celebrate and host birthdays for each other at a restaurant called Pizzeria, facing the bright Marine drive, when in Mumbai.. and we did keep up to it too. The varied discussions later by the sea, on life love career choices .. i remember we totally discovered an algorithm on love .. naive certainly :)  And , how can i forget the ice cream sandwiches at rustomjee's on our way back to churchgate station, those were yum yum!

Hmm ,it's all so fresh ..even after a decade, just  like.. some wet mud on a potter's hand, feverishly working in his own barn.

We were starkly different, complete opposites.. but life has a way for setting up pieces in a jigsaw like one can never imagine.. and here we are today, so connected not literally but in our thoughts and well wishes, that a phone call or an email does not matter really. Wishing you a happy happy birthday my friend, hope u have a  long peaceful and an absolutely beautiful life..