I’ve been crazy busy, and no time to blog. Crazy busy doing among other things, a lot more cooking than usual, – but yeah, ridiculous as it sounds, still no time for my food blog, duh!
But last Sunday I came across a delightful ‘foodie’ article in the Indian Express by Rama Bijapurkar that needs the 5 minutes it will take to mention here. The Food Factor is an interesting discussion on vegetarian and non-vegetarian habits in this country. Since it’s a subject that interests me too, and I have come to the conclusion that it is probably only we Indian’s who use the term “non-vegetarian”, here goes…

A couple of excerpts…
“But keeping a balance between the vegetarian side of my family and the non-vegetarian side has always been a bit of a challenge, and I constantly struggle to figure my position on issues that arise as a result. Is it fair to deprive one part of the family of food that they like when elders of the other side come visiting? Or is it a non-negotiable mark of respect, does it build character and everyone has to learn to adjust? How many months of such character building is too much? If your child is eating kebabs off the street because it can’t be made at home, is she being a spoilt brat, or should one treat it the same as going to a bhelpuriwallah? “ 

“It is always interesting to think about how Brahmins everywhere are enjoined to be vegetarian but in Bengal they can eat fish, presumably because there fish is a vegetable of the sea. I guess the word that works best for many of us Indians is that we are neither vegetarian, nor non-vegetarian — we are “choosetarian”. “

Enjoy! I did.

I mentioned recently about They Cook & Draw. Well, a few days back I came across a recipe that I scribbled down and that was held up by magnets on my refrigerator since. This morning I actually woke early enough to try the Supreme Orange Sponge Cake. For a change, I actually had every single ingredient – not that there are many, in my kitchen. It was simple and it turned out wonderful! There’s nothing quite like the tangy flavor of orange wafting round your kitchen on a summer morning! Mmmmmmmm!

This is the recipe, almost ditto, but I added some milk and butter, simply because at one point the batter was just too thick to stir! I think I would have liked double the orange juice too but I had no more. And the walnuts are my addition too.
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SUPREME ORANGE SPONGE CAKE Serves 8
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INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour (maida)
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
5 tablespoons orange juice ( 1 small orange should be enough)
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoons baking soda
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon salted butter
7-8 walnuts. 4 whole for the top, the rest crumbled (optional)

PREPARATION
Turn your oven on high and grease your baking tin. (more…)

This is one on a list of comfort foods if there’s one. Though I admit, the only time I think of making it is when I have excess milk in the fridge.

More inportantly, I’d decided I was going to follow a recipe from one of my numerous cookbooks and so started searching for the ideal Kheer recipe. Ideal for ingredients in my cupboards. I found it in The Food of India from Periplus World Cookbooks, a book with beautiful photographs, and recipes written for westerners, and those who know more than a little cooking. For example it said ‘Bruise the cardamoms’. Basically that means crush them slightly so they’re open but the seeds don’t fall out. I had to look it up!Ultimately though, I ended up doing my own thing, loosely based on what was in the cookbook. Below is my slight adaptation.
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RICE KHEER. Sweet Rice Pudding Serves 6
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Ingredients
1 cup rice
6 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
6 cardamom pods, bruised
10 almonds, blanched and slivered
20 raisins
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

PREPARATION
I’ve made kheer before and frankly I prefer the rice well cooked.
So this time I washed the rice, then cooked it for about 7 minutes in 1 cup of water.

After this, add milk, bring to a boil and then let it simmer. Stir occasionally so it doesn’t start burning at the bottom.

When the rice is almost done, add the sugar, cardamoms, essence, and almonds. Cook until it reaches the consistency you’d like, but ideally the rice, though a little mushy, should not have reached a point of blending with the milk.

If your milk is drying out add more, or even add water.

Remove from heat and eat either hot or chilled. Enjoy!

This is an ancient recipe from my mother, who got it from her aunt. It requires a bit of jugglery, and moving like you have 6 hands instead of just 2 but, and frankly I’ve never tasted a cold, sweet, dessert souffle as good as this one. Give it a try.

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LEMON SOUFFLE Serves 8
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INGREDIENTS
2 cups milk
2 flat tablespoons Custard Powder (vanilla or lemon flavored)
1 flat tablespoon gelatin (Soaked in 1/4 cup water)
3 egg whites
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup sugar
2 limes juiced
Keep ice available.

PREPARATION
Mix together sugar, egg yolk and custard powder. Add just 1/2 cup milk and mix till it is totally smooth.

Add the remaining milk and heat them on a low flame to blend. Stir constantly, don’t let it reach a boil, until it just begins to thicken slightly.

Use a large tray and fill with ice cubes. Place the hot vessel over this to cool as soon as possible. Stir occasionally.

Meanwhile quickly melt the gelatin completely in a double boiler. Then bring to room temperature by taking it off the stove and stirring vigorously.

Quickly whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl till absolutely stiff.

Add the cooled gelatin to the cooled custard mixture, mix thoroughly and add the lime juice. Quickly fold in the beaten egg whites. our into serving dishes and put in the refrigerator.
Serve cold when set.

This one is my filler recipe. If someone drops in suddenly and it doesn’t look like there might be enough to go round, this is a favorite of mine. Or sometimes, just because I don’t find what’s for dinner satisfying enough. The best thing about it is it tastes almost as good if you don’t have the time for the oven and baking, and if it’s just for myself, I often dispense with the baking.

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SPICY BAKED POTATOES Serves 2
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Ingredients
4 large potatoes scrubbed clean
2 green chillies
1 large tomato
3/4 cup grated cheese, cheddar will do.
2 tablespoons soya sauce
1 tablespoon ketchup
2 tablespoons lemon juice squeezes
1 tablesppon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon butter
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon
Salt to taste
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