So I’ll be AFK for the holidays, which for me means about a week and a half. There will be some scheduled posts put up during that time (however, we’re unfortunately skipping the Wind-Up next week), but I won’t actually be about. Make sure you all have a fantastic holiday yourselves, won’t you, and don’t eat the yellow snow.

I’d also like to let Tam know that I’ll be writing about holiday achievements for him after I get back. He should therefore beware, because there might be a topic waiting for him himself, when he least expects it…

Be right back,

Vel.

Time has come again for streets to exhibit their most creative decorations, showing off to all those scrambling in search of the ultimate gift.
Time has come again for houses to set up beautiful Christmas trees with lights a shine and ornaments a glitter while the wood is crackling in the fireplace.
Time has come again for what is considered to be one of the most important family times of the year by many.
Time has come again for the host to work on the Christmas dinner menu and impress the guests.

Time has come again for Christmas. Whether you like it or not.
Some will wonder why there is so much fuss over something that doesn’t really mean anything to them or that may bring up bad memories.
Others will be looking forward to enjoying a glass of mulled wine while listening to Christmas carols.

Surely enough, rushing through stores to find the perfect gift may not be the most enjoyable aspect of this time of year but Christmas isn’t just a painful experience: Christmas gives us the chance to put a smile on people’s faces, when they see the festive colours in which our houses are decorated; Christmas is the good excuse to do something good for people who are in a need; Christmas is one of the rare opportunities to share a meal with 30 people joking and laughing around a table.

At Taste of Christmas, it was time for food producers and restaurants to showcase their best ingredients and menus to the attendees looking for the solution that would turn their dinner party into a feast.

Not as big and appealing as its big brother ‘Taste Of London’, the Christmas edition was however a good opportunity to see how Christmas was going to taste for the exhibitors – Their worst Christmas nightmare, the ingredient that they will always use for Christmas or where they would like to be for Christmas. Points of view can be so very similar and yet so very different!

Brendan Fyles – Bentley’s
“My worst Christmas nightmare would be to have a ruined turkey for lunch. On the other side, I will always go for Port and Stilton to share at home with my family.”

The fish pie was the star of the menu at Taste. Rich with full of flavours, one of the best fish pies I  have ever tasted.

11-15 Swallow Street
London
W1B 4DG
020 7734 4756
www.bentleys.org

Alfred Prasad – Tamarind
“When I was a young boy, my mom put me in charge of looking after the plum cake in the oven. But our oven didn’t have a timer at that time and the turkey burnt in it. This Christmas nightmare will stay in my mind forever! As I come from a Christian family, we can’t celebrate Christmas without a good roast Turkey. For Christmas, I will be in India with my parents as the weather is too hot for me to go back home during summer.”

The tree dishes showcased at Taste gave a very good introduction of what Tamarind features on its menu: an intense, tasty and yet delicate Indian cuisine.

20-22 Queen Street
London, W1J 5PR
020 7629 3561
www.tamarindrestaurant.com

Francesco Mazzei – L’Anima
“I had my worst Christmas nightmare last year in Disneyland where we went with my family. The food was absolutely horrible and the staff didn’t know how to look after the kids. Such a nightmare!
My favourite ingredient for Christmas? Baccalà (salt cod). For Christmas, I would like to cook for people who can’t afford a Christmas dinner and who are in the street.”

The first spoonful of the creamy Panettone served with melted dark chocolate was a ‘délice’ and a true revelation for the palate. The risotto was rich and well-cooked in the true Italian way.

1 Snowden Street
London, EC2A 2DQ
020 7422 7000
www.lanima.co.uk

Mustapha Laaziz – Jom Makan
“Fortunately, I have never experienced a Christmas nightmare and I’m very happy like this! In Malaysian cuisine, you will always find ginger, lemongrass, chilli paste and tamarind in Christmas meals. We can’t live without it!
For Christmas, I’m looking forward to going to France and spend some time with my fiancée.”

The Malaysian cuisine can’t live without the magic ingredients and Jom Makan managed to combine all of them to create an interesting combination of flavours.

5-7 Pall Mall East
Trafalgar Square
London, SW1Y 5BA
020 7925 2402
www.jommakan.co.uk

Danny Russel - Freedom Food
“My worst Christmas nightmare would be to have a white Turkey for lunch! For Christmas, I’ll be in Switzerland with my family, treating myself with the ultimate ingredient for this time of the year:  Wagyu beef.”

Wagyu beef had been a reference amongst food bloggers for a while and everybody is in love with it. Tender and  tasty, it goes very well on a piece of bread with a slice of foie gras.

Unit 43, London Stone Business Estate
Broughton St
London, SW8 3QR
020 7720 4520
www.freedownfood.co.uk

Roelof Le Roux - Nudo
“The worst Christmas nightmare? That all the Nudo trees don’t find a home! The Nudo thyme oil adds a great flavour to roast potatoes, games and butternut and it should be the ingredient to have in every home for Christmas!
I will go to Cape Town to spend Christmas with my family, where it’s hot and sunny.”

Nudo’s olive oils come in different flavours and really add a good flavour to the dishes. The idea of adopting a tree and receive all the produce from it is a creative gift for someone looking for a unique Christmas present.

020 7617 7235
www.nudo-italia.com

Joanna Plumb - Edible Ornamentals
“I think the worst thing that can happen at Christmas will be to spend the day by myself but hopefully, I will be in Sicily with my family, spicing up the dishes with some fresh chilli!”

Hot, hot, hot are the chilis that Joanna and the Edible Onarmentals team look after everyday in their nursery. Provider of the mexican restaurant Wahaca, the team spend all their time and efforts to produce the best chilis for spicy food fans.

Cherwood Nursery
Blue Bells, Chawston
Beds MK44 3BL
01480 405663
www.edibleornamentals.co.uk

Alison Lea-Wilson – Halen Mön
“Spoiling the Christmas dinner would be the worst thing to do at Christmas. However, with some Halen Mön spicy salt that adds a great flavour to the Christmas meal, people should have a great time! On my side, I will be at home with my family.”

The story started 10 years ago when the company to supply their local butcher and since then, the sea salt from Wales has become a real success, being distributed in 22 countries and used in ones of the best restaurants all around the world.

Brynsiency
Isle of Anglesey
Wales
LL61 6TQ
www.seasalt.co.uk

And the time has come to wish you … a Merry Christmas!

Ingredients
Small onion
Red chillies  2
Tamarind a very small piece
Ginger  a dash
Salt
Lime

Get grinding!

1. Clean the ingredients.
2. Grind all ingredients except lime.
3. Squeeze some lime juice, mix it up and enjoy

Note:
This is also called Mother-in-law’s chutney as it has all the different flavours. Some even add a bit of sugar in this

Naive was so good we went there twice in a month, a rarity considering how promiscuous we are with our food places. This post is an amalgamation of both visits. At the start of the meal, a waiter will bring round a mortar and pestle filled with black and white sesame seeds for a wellness ritual of sorts. It was quite a nice start grinding up the seeds for sprinkling onto our food later.

We started off with the excellent and almost unbelievably good brown olive rice. With the savoury olive paste inside, it was tasty enough to eat on its own. The kaffir lime leaf strips on the top brought it up a notch so much so that it was almost a waste to eat the rice with the dishes!

The tamarind tofu cake was flavourful and the firm tofu tasting almost meaty. It really didn’t taste at all like I was eating a vegetarian dish. I liked how the seaweed wrapping the tofu gave it plenty of umami flavour that went well with the spicy tangy sauce.

My favourite dishes were the monkeyhead mushroom ones. I can’t decide which is better, the braised version (Enchanted Forest) or the slivered and fried version (can’t remember the name).

Both versions tasted fairly similar, they probably used the same sauce. It was made from good stock nonetheless and I’ll definitely have it again. I liked the texture of both versions. The fried version had a very nice crisp-chewy texture while the braised version was somehow firm and again, almost meaty. It certainly didn’t feel like I was eating vegetarian here.

There were quite a few dishes that didn’t work for me. DC liked the golden oats (it’s his soft spot), but I felt that it was too pedestrian. The tofu in the dish didn’t shine at all. There was also the rendang tofu paired with mantou. That flopped because the taste was neither here nor there and the mantou gave the wrong taste associations: tongue was expecting darkly savoury and sweet, but got spicy instead. A big no-no.

I also didn’t like the steamed tofu with water chestnut and orange sauce. It didn’t help that the service is a bit odd: our waitress was this “I know better than your mum” type who didn’t get her recommendations right. She told us that the special of the day was two kinds of steamed tofu, one was orange and watercress and the other something I can’t remember. I expected that it would be a pairing of tofu, which would be rather interesting, but we were disappointed. It was also a bit annoying to find that the portions were really small. At first, we ordered only one olive rice and asked for a bowl so we could share. When the food arrived, we realised that we needed extra. At this point, the server took away the empty bowl, meaning that we couldn’t even share out the first bowl of rice and start eating. Sure, the second rice arrived very soon, but befuddling moments like these punctuated our entire meal.

Last gripe: the bowls are pretty but hopelessly impractical. The sloping sides made it impossible to rest our chopsticks  naturally in between bites. I kept trying to put my chopsticks down only to realise belatedly that I had to angle them 90 degrees before it would work. Eat there and you’ll realise it.

Final verdict: the cooking at this place is very good, if they fail it’s because of the flavour profile falls flat, not the textures or cooking technique. There are some dishes that work really well, especially the signature monkeyhead mushroom and tofu cake dishes, as well as the olive rice. Other dishes aren’t so good, so be careful of the side-ish dishes. The place is too expensive for what you get and the service is very odd! (See above, plus they don’t take reservations for groups of less than five. I don’t see what’s stopping people from making reservations for five, turning up with three and telling the restaurant that the others didn’t want to go because of their odd requirements.)

99 East Coast Road
Tel: 6348 0668

Perfection is what I desire, so when we stumbled across these, I knew I needed nothing more in life. The snow-cup, you might call it, comes with your choice of flavors: Strawberry (fresa), Mango, Tamerind, Guanábana, Mint, Piña, Limón (Lime). Forget about those High Fructose corn syrup mixed with some kind of chemical snow cones of your past, Dante’s has only fresh squeezed freshly pureed freshly sugared tasty goodness.



We met Dante for the first time near the beach when contemplating the ice cream in the ice cream shop across the street. I said, “Jessie, we should stop eating all of this ice cream, it is bad for our health.” So, we called on Dante and a Woman, who seemed to be running the show, to fulfill our needs. Dante did the scoopin’ and She did the pourin’. Jessie remembered seeing their cart being painted and fixed in the street near our appartment, and then so did I. They seemed busy, so I ordered a Fresa solo and Jessie experimented with a Mango and Coconut, telling ourselves that we must return and maybe write about it. Interesting.



Yesterday, I snuck out under the pretext of “Internet cafe/photo upload” and sampled their goods again, Fresa with Coco. And it was good.



Today we stopped by their permanent location across from the city Municipality. Dante was working solo, but there always seems to be a good group of people hanging out whenever we walk by. It quickly became obvious that Dante’s spot was the spot for locals and expats alike to re-fresh in a very fresh-fruit way. He told us his Mother has been doing this same thing for 40 Years. 40 Years, that is a lot to think about for a traveler. Back to the Solo Fresa for me and a Mango Coco for Jessie and just for fun a Limón (Lime) and Coconut for us (me.) They were great. And so is the sugar high.

Grated coconut 1 cup

Tamarind 3 scales

Red chillies 4 or 5

Peppercorns 6-8 (optional)

Chana dal 2 tbsp

Urad dal 3 tbsp

oil 1 tsp

Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp

Asafotida 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves 6 sprigs

Salt 1 tsp

Soak the tamarind i hot water to soften it.

Add a few drops of oil to a frying pan and roast the chilies on slow fire till the color changes and it gives out an aroma. Add the peppercorns and when they are done add the dals and roast till golden in color. Add the grated coconut and the curry leaves till a good aroma is given.

Cool the mix and transfer to the blender gwith the tamarind scales. Add minimal water and grind to a fine paste. Add slat and mix well.

Transfer the thogaiyal to a bowl and temper with mustard seeds and asafotida. Mix with rice and enjoy!

Red Salmon Soup © Clare Richards 2009

I am in the throes of an intense stretch of food photography with my photographer Ali George.  From now until the end of December when she zips off on an international assignment, we are immersed in completing the photography for Tropical Cuisine: Cooking in Clare’s Kitchen.  This also means I’m very busy sourcing produce and constantly shopping (at least it seems that way).  Yesterday while buying seafood for the BBQ shots we’re doing, I spied bags of fresh Atlantic Salmon off cuts, gleaming in the way that only very fresh seafood does.  When I found out they had been filleted that morning from fish straight from Tasmania, and that the 1 kg bag was all of $2, I nabbed a bag immediately and went home and cooked this soup.  I generally buy local Queensland Catch seafood, but $2 for 1 kg of fresh salmon can’t be passed by:

Red Salmon soup

about 1 kg Atlantic Salmon off cuts (head, wings, backbone, etc.)

800g tin diced tomato

800ml water

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

3 tbsp chilli sambal (mine is mild so you may want to start with 1 tbsp of commercial types and taste)

1 lime leaf, torn along each side

1 kaffir lime leaf, torn along each side

4 fine slices of galangal

Put tomato and water into a wide large saucepan, add salmon pieces and all other ingredients, taking care to under use the chilli sambal as extra can be added later if needed.  Bring the whole to the boil then reduce to a low simmer and allow to cook for 1 hour.  Taste for salt and chilli and add a little extra of each if needed.  This soup is supposed to have just a hint of chilli so don’t overdo it.  Strain the contents through a colander sitting over a large bowl and return the liquid to the saucepan.  Sit the colander in the sink and pick through the solids, removing tomato chunks and good meat to the large bowl, taking care to locate and remove bones.  Return the meat and tomato chunks to the liquid in the saucepan and reheat for 5 minutes or so before serving.  Serve with a generous sprinkling of fresh garlic chives.  Makes 3 generous serves.

© Clare Richards 2009

Mullangi VK

Tamarind lemon-sized ball 11/2

Sambhar powder 2 tsp

Radish 2 (sliced as thin rings)

Salt 1 tbsp

Oil 2 tbsp

Asafotida 1/4 tsp

Jaggery 1 small piece (optional)

Rice flour 1 tsp

Crushed fenugreek seeds 1/2 tsp

Soak the tamarind in hot water and get a thick pulp of the same.

Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pan and add mustard seeds. When they splutter add crushed fenugreek seeds and the sliced radish rings. After sauteing for a few minutes, add the tamarind pulp, sambhar powder, salt and jaggery.

Let the mix boil on low flame till the gravy  thickens and the volume is reduced by 40% or so.

Mix the rice flour in 2 spoons of water to make a paste and add it to the mix. Boil for a minute nad remove from fire.

Cooking tip: In case the kuzhambu is thick enough no need to add the rice flour paste. Corn flour can also be used in place of rice flour.

Tamarind 1lemon-sized ball

Chana dal 11/2 tbsp

Toor dal 2 tbsp

Jeera 1 tsp

Peppercorns 1/2 tsp

Tomato 1 medium-sized

Salt 1 tbsp

Red chillies 4

Curry leaves  3 sprigs

Ghee 1 tsp Mustard seeds 1 tsp

Asafotida 1/4 tsp

Soak the dals and jeera for 30 minutes. Soak the tamarind in hot watewr and extrct the pulp in heavy bottomed vessel.

Roast the chilies and peppercorns in a few drops of ghee till it gives aroma.

Grind the soaked dal, jeera, roasted chilies and peppercorns along with the curry leaves to a paste. Mix the paste in tamarind extract till blended well. Add alt sand the toamto puree till a fine aroma is given out and the dal gets cooked.

Temper the mustard seed in ghee and add asafotida to the rasam.

Serve hot.

For south Indians, tamarind is a must for making sambar. Locallly called puli (L as in lion, if L is pronounced lightly as in love, it means tiger!), it is extensively used in pulisatham, rice mixed with tamarind, in travels, as it remains fresh for two or three days.

Some chemical in tamarind dissolves excess fluoride in the bones and allows it to pass through urine, according to today’s Indian Express!

Salt obtained from the sea (containing iodine, calcium, potassium etc. in traces), turmeric, asafoetida, curry leaves, green dhanya leaves, green chillis, mint leaves, lemon, curd etc., routinely used by Indians, are all healthy food ingredients.

Some useful tip for our Western brothers.

Rice 1/2 cups

Toor dal 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

Tamarind  1 lemon-sized ball

Onion 1 big

Capsicum 1 medium-sized

Carrot  2 medium-sized

Beans  150 gm

Yellow pumpkin 100 g

Drum sticks 4-5 pieces

Chow chow 1 small

Tomatoes 3 medium-sized

Shelled peas/peanut 1/2 cup

For the masala:

Red chillies 5 or 6

Coriander seeds 2 tbsp

Chana dal 2 tbsp

Cloves 5

Cinnamon 2″

Cardamom 2

Grated coconut  3  tbsp

Curry leaves 3 or 4 sprigs

Saunf 1 tsp (optional)

Salt 1 tbsp

Oil 4 tbsp

Ghee 1tbsp

Cut the onions fine and cut the vegetables into 1/2 inch pieces.

Pressure cook the rice and dal together after adding the turmeric powder to the vessel. Add a little excess water than normal and cook it a little extra. On cooling mash the dal/rice to give it a porridge-like texture.

In a large heavy-bottomed vessel, add the oil and temper the mustard seeds. As soon as they start spluttering, add the onion and saute till they are translucent. In case peanuts are added, saute the peanuts till tender. Add the capsicum, saute a little; add tomatoes and saute till done.

Add the remaining vegetables, stir for 2 minutes and add the tamarind extract. Add enough salt and let the vegetables cook till don.

In a frying pan, add a few drops of ghee and roast the spices –cinnamon, cardamom,  cloves and saunf.  Add a few more drops of oil to this and roast the red chilies first and then coriander seed followed by chana dal. When the dal starts changing color add the coconut and curry leaves.  Cool the ingredients and powder the masala ingredients well and add the masala to the cooked vegetables.

Simmer the flame, add the mashed rice and stir well till all are blended well.

Add the ghee and serve hot.

]]> http://vibhaganesan.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/onion-sambhar-with-ground-masala-4-servings/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 04:00:21 +0000 vibhaganesan http://vibhaganesan.wordpress.com/2009/11/20/onion-sambhar-with-ground-masala-4-servings/

Peeled Sambhar onions 200 gm

Lemon-sized tamarind soaked in hot water

Toor dal 1/2 cup

Turmeric powder 1/4 tsp

Salt 1 tbsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds 1 tsp

For the masala:

Red chillis (long)  5

Coriander seeds  2 tbsp

Chana dal 2tbsp

Urd dal 1 tsp

Grated coconut 1/3 cup

Curry leaves  3 sprigs

Pressure cook the toor dal after adding sufficient water to it and also the turmeric powder. On cooling mash the dal to a fine blend.

While the dal is getting cooked, prepare the masals by roasting the ingredients over slow fire. Add a few drops of oil in the frying pan and as it gets heated add the chillis. Whe n the chillis strt changing color, add the coriander seeds and stir tilll it gives out a good aroma. Add the dal and roast tilll done.Add the coconut and curry leaves and switch off the flame.  Whenb cool enough, grind to a fine paste.

In a heavy-bottomed vessel add the oil for tempering. As the oil gets heated add the mustard seeds and as they start spluttering, add the onions and saute till they change color. Extract a thick pulp from the soaked tamarind and add to the sauteed onions. Add the salt also and let the onions get cooked. As soon as the onions are done add the masala paste ans as it starts boiling add the mashed dal and let it just boil. Remove from fire and serve hot.

Cooking Tip: In case you like  to add the sambhar powder for favor, reduce the chillis to 3 and add 1/2 tsp sambhar powder to the tmarind extract when it is boiling and wait for 5 min before adding tha masala.

When I was thinking about making loaded mashed potatoes for this week’s Food Network Friday (hosted by Tami of Vegan Appetite) I was a little bummed.  I love mashed potatoes, but after just having gone through a 10 lb bag of potatoes from Costco I really wasn’t feeling creamy “bacon”-y mash… so I pulled out some sweet potatoes instead.  My contribution is simple–no recipe needed.  You’ll need a  few sweet potatoes or yams; some coconut milk for creaminess; chopped cilantro and scallions; and tamarind paste to taste for a little bite.  Roast the sweet potatoes at 400 degrees for about an hour. Then scoop out the flesh and mash with the remaining ingredients, garnish with a little cilantro, and go to town.  (Okay, I suppose that was a bit of recipe, but I really didn’t use any set amounts.)  Enjoy!

yesterday was a great day!  11/11/2009   all of those elevens swirling around just injected some pep in my step, some luck on my side too!  i scored a spirooli spiralizer for $6.99 at value village!  you’d better believe i was snatching that up, i needed an upgrade (see below, my new baby is the white one)

anyhow, so what to do with a spiralizer but, get to making some zuuddles!  last night i enjoyed the zuuddles with two different sauces (not at once!)  the late lunch meal was a sweet soy dressing and late dinner meal was a savoury pesto.  i ate off the first meal without a chance to take a picture of it, but i did take a picture of the pesto dish.

pesto sauce

raw pistachios, olive oil, cilantro, salt, collard greens (note:  i wouldn’t suggest doing collard green leaves in pesto if you can’t take the bitterness – stick to basil or cilantro), tomatoes, garlic

add ingredients (all except tomatoes and extra olive oil) to food processor until smooth, then add tomatoes and extra oil

after tossing the pesto into the zuuddles, garnish with:  hemp seeds, olives, cherry tomatoes, parsley and sun dried tomatoes

or

the sweet soy sauce

nama shoyu, lemon, olive oil, garlic & ginger grated, agave, hot chili peppers

after tossing your zuuddles, garnish with:  hemp seeds and sprouted black sesame seeds

***

now last night my nightmare inspired my dinner.  i dreamt that i was eating mcdonald’s french fries and hashbrowns (i haven’t eaten anything – not even a salad – from mcdonald’s for almost 10 years)  in anycase, i decided to make some jicama frys with fresh ketchup.

jicama frys

cutting through this is a little difficult, but i’d suggest peeling it first (which can be difficult as well)

so cut the jicama into frys (however you want, chunky or lean) toss with a little olive oil, sea salt & ground pepper

ketchup

1 tomato, handful of sundried tomatoes, basil, splash of apple cider vinegar, small handful of raisins, a spoon of tamarind paste – blend (in the blender) and enjoy!

k…i need to sleep…workout in the morning!

Picture courtesy of: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/archives/2009/01/doubles_trouble.php

This morning was the first time I have ever been to A&A Bake and Doubles Shop at 481 Nostrand Ave. in Brooklyn. I know, I know, I should have gone there AGES ago, but I am so happy I haven’t waited any longer. Always a long line and idling vehicles curbside waiting for A&A’s warm and spicy little snacks. Just two doubles for me today, and lots of napkins! After I demolished the treats in a matter of seconds (sticky tamarind sauce is now all over my keyboard), I decided to do a little internet search on the “Doubles King”, and besides the copious amounts of Yelp!  and other food related sites (vegguide.org and even other blogs, just to name two), I found this great article, albeit from 2003, in the Village Voice about A&A … so famous and I didn’t even know!

Now I am keeping my eyes peeled for other little hidden gems around the neighborhood.

Unlike any dessert you've ever tasted.

Head Pastry Chef Amanda Moreno blows our minds with her creativity this season. Her Fall Dessert Menu is a bounty of unexpected seasonal flavors executed with perfect technique. From Chinese five-spice semifreddo (an intriguing Asian take on a traditional Italian iced dessert) to Ovaltine ice cream (doesn’t just the sound of that appeal to your inner child?), her offerings add a playful and exciting conclusion to dinner at Michael’s.

We love the olive oil pancakes she serves with vanilla poached pears, tamarind butter, rosemary frozen yogurt, and green apple sorbet. The combination of vivid and subtle flavors is a totally new experience for the palate.  The smooth, creamy, tangy yogurt with its enticing scent of rosemary and the icy sorbet that sings with the flavor of fresh green apple are balanced by the earthy, rich taste of olive oil in the miniature pancakes. You’ve just got to come in and give it a try!

Vilken given och trist rubrik. Undrar hur många matbloggar som skrivit om soppa som har haft den? Alla? Soppan som värmde oss denna bitterkalla första dag i november var i alla fall mycket god.

Grunden var buljongen efter fläskläggskoket till nybörjarsurkålen. Buljongen som var milt smaksatt med svartpeppar, kryddpeppar, timjan, lagerblad och morot fick reducera ihop tills jag hade en mild sälta och cirka 2 liter vätska. Hällde i 3 dl halva, torkade ärter som fick koka cirka 30 minuter. Fyllde därefter på med ett par skivade morötter, grovt tärnad fast potatis och bitar av den överblivna fläskläggen. Jag adderade också små klyftor av gul lök som jag brynt nästan svarta på snittytorna i torr stekpanna. Smaksatte med en matsked tamarindkoncentrat och några matskedar tomatpuré. Tomaten behövdes för att bättra på färgen som blev ganska dassigt brun av tamarinden. Sist lyfte jag smaken flera hack med en halv deciliter finosherry och några rejäla tag med pepparkvarnen.

Smakrik, och fyllig med den matiga och lite grönt jordiga smaken av ärtorna som balanserades av den syrligt fruktiga tamarinden. En knäckemacka med ost och lyckan var fullständig.

MAYAN RIVIERA, MEXICO–It took some dedicated research, but it is indeed possible to get tired of Margaritas. Mexico’s signature cocktail – white or silver tequila, a splash of orange-flavoured triple sec, fresh lime and lots of ice served in a glass rimmed with salt – is a simple and refreshing drink. The problem is, far too many resort bartenders use pre-mixed lime juice.

I didn’t taste much of the freshly squeezed stuff. A far more interesting way to sip tequila is to follow the local custom of enjoying a leisurely glass of briefly aged tequila, called Reposado, with alternate sips of ice-cold sangrita (not to be confused with the red wine and fruit-based Spanish drink called sangria) made from tomato juice or mashed tomatoes, fresh orange and lime juices, finely chopped onion, salt and minced chili peppers.

I was hankering for a tequila cocktail before dinner during a Mexican adventure last week, and the old standby Margarita, with apologies to the señora, wasn’t going to cut it.

The bartender said he had just the thing: “Tamarind.”

I’m used to seeing tamarind on South Asian and Thai menus in Toronto, but the sour and slightly salty brick red-coloured fruit surrounding large seeds is also very popular in Latin America, especially Mexico. Instead of using lime, the Tamarind Margarita gets its acidic kick from the tamarind, which mellows nicely with a hefty shot of simple syrup and triple sec.

The tequila seems subtler in this cocktail than the traditional Margarita, but it makes its presence known quickly.

I grew quite fond of this elegant drink during my time in Mexico and there was no way I planned to pack it away with my flip-flops.

Tamarind is easy to find in Toronto. I get mine in the grocery stores at the Gerrard Indian Bazaar, on Gerrard St. E., where a 250-gram jar of tamarind paste costs about $2.50. The Mexican bartender used tamarind syrup, so I did some experimenting to replicate the taste for today’s recipe.

You’ll need a blender for this cocktail.

INGREDIENTS

Few dashes salt and sweet (not hot) paprika in a saucer

Fresh ice

1 tbsp tamarind paste

1 or 2 oz simple syrup (boil equal parts sugar and water; let cool) to taste

1-1/2 oz white or silver tequila

1/2 oz triple sec

A quick wikipedia search yields:

“Sambar is a vegetable stew or chowder based on a broth made with tamarind and toovar dal, and is very popular in the cooking of southern regions of India especially in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

South Indian food, people and culture are inextricably linked to a ubiquitous dish as in idli and sambhar, sambhar and rice and so on. Each state in the South prepares it with a typical variation, adapted to its taste and environment.”

Can’t really argue with much of that. Sambar is indeed a vegetable stew or chowder based broth made with tamarind and dal and is very popular within the cuisine of southern India. There are several “strains” of sambar, and south Indians tend to link sambar to several other main components of their meal – dosais, idlis, rice, etc.

Before I begin, let me be honest. Frankly, I am no sambar expert. I cannot cook sambar whatsoever. However, my speciality lies in eating sambar. I can distinguish one sambar from the next effortlessly, and understand the consistency, texture, aromatic smells well made sambars should possess.

To me, sambar is best eaten piping hot, in its most classic form – sambar satham. Sambar over some well cooked basmati rice and a little bit of ghee (purified butter, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee) cannot be beat. Adding a curry and perhaps some banana chips to the plate adds to the taste of course, but is also quick to induce a coma.

Although sambar can be eaten over rice, and that is generally the case – sambar satham remains a staple south Indian dish throughout – south Indians love to throw sambar on all sorts of stuff. A Dosai (a thin rice crepe filled with a potato curry) , for example is often accompanied by a chutney of some sort, and a nice small bowl of sambar. Idlis (soft rice cakes – seeing a pattern here?) are served especially with sambar, making the two foods almost one, hyphenated word – “idli-sambar” or “sambar-idli”.

To me however, there remains only one sambar that mesmerizes me each time I indulge myself in its smell. And that sambar onion sambar. Onion sambar – also known to those familiar with the language as “vengaya sambar” is the king of all sambars – in my books, at least.  There is simply something about the mixture of flavors found within the sambar and onions that causes the tip of my tongue to salivate. The strong, spicy, smell along with a crisp, distinct taste have caused me to return to this classic time and time again. Only on one condition however – that coconuts are ground up and tossed in, and tiny onions are used. See: http://srefoodblog.blogspot.com/2006/03/arachuvitta-vengaya-sambar-onion.html – notice Saffron’s post:

“shammi, ahh arachu vitta chinna vengaya sambar. It was a treat reserved only for special occasions and special guests!! Here in the US, I get red pearl onions that are a reasonable substitute. I have even used frozen pearl onions in cases of culinary emergencies.
You have brought back memories of sunday afternoon siestas after a meal of sambar and roasted potatoes and paal payasam “

Perhaps I should have chosen blogspot instead. I have yet to stumble upon a sambar related wordpress Just kidding, of course. So there you have it I suppose – the method to my madness – why my wordpress is prefixed with words most cannot pronounce. It’s simply my favorite south Indian dish. Memories of cool afternoons spent in Chennai eating my grandmothers sambar enliven my senses. Ahh.

Does it get much better than this?

Jai Nitai!

On the surface, Vrindavan is changing.  I feel a bit sad when I see cold marble being laid, loudspeakers being installed and general disharmony with nature and the old architechtural styles.  But I love the new look of Imlitala.  New brightly-colored gaura-lila-vishayak relief sculptures cover the temple inside and out.  Unfortunately we aren´t allowed to take photos inside, but I took a walk around the courtyard of the temple and took some photos.  Please allow me to share some of my favorites with you.

view from seva kunj gali

Seva kunj side entrance

Gaura-Vishnupriya Vivaha

Shadabhuj darshan

On the path through Jharikhanda

Radharani annointed as Queen of Vrindavan (from Sri Jiva Gosvami´s Madhava Mahotsava)

Imlitala´s Nitai-Gaura are said to have been worshipped by Sri Sanatan Gosvami

When a neighbor cut an intruding branch of the holy imli, the tree bled.

Mahaprabhu´s sitting place

Apsaras at the gates?

View from the parikrama marg (Yamuna side)