Culinary Xpress: October 2014

GREEN PAPAYA HALWA

11:44 PM

The papaya, once a exotic and rare fruit, is now readily available at most times of the year. Papayas grow in tropical climates and their sweet taste, vibrant color and wide variety of health benefits are just a few reasons for which I add them to our diet. Papaya is extremely rich in Vitamin C and has a wide range of health benefits. Green Papaya contains two of the most powerful plant proteolytic (the breaking down of proteins) enzymes: papain and chymopapain. These enzymes excel at breaking down proteins, fats and carbs, as well as aiding healthy digestion. Papain can only be found in the papaya fruit and is more effective than pepsin produced by our own stomachs.

Papaya is rich in fibre, Vitamin C and antioxidants which prevent cholesterol build up in your arteries
Helps in weight loss
Great immunity against various infections
Papaya is an excellent food option for diabetics as it has a low-sugar content even though it is sweet to taste
Papaya is rich in Vitamin A which helps protect your vision from degenerating
Eating papayas are good for your bones as they have anti-inflammatory properties along with Vitamin C which helps in keeping various forms of arthritis at bay
Papaya has a digestive enzyme known as papain along with fibre which helps improve your digestive health.
Papaya is a rich source of antioxidants, phytonutrients and flavonoids that prevent your cells from undergoing free radical damage

All of this makes papaya a wholesome fruit that is excellent for your entire body.

Ingredients:

Grated Green Papaya – 2 Cups

Fresh grated coconut – 2 to 3 tbsp

Sugar -1 and 1/4 cup

Milk – 1 cup

Green Cardamaom-4 nos

Nutmeg powder- a pinch

Pure ghee – 4 Tablespoons

Dry fruits – 2 tbsp

Procedure:

Peel and grate the green papaya and keep aside. Grate the coconut.

Pressure cook the grated papaya along with 1 cup of milk and 2 green cardamom till one whistle. Take away from heat. Keep aside to cool.

Heat 4tbsp ghee on pan, add dry fruits of your choice and fry lightly and take it out.

In the same pan add the boiled papaya, sugar and cook till the mixture leaves the side of the pan.

Now add dry fruits and nutmeg powder. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and take away from heat.

Serve hot.

breakfast

For fussy vegetable eating children.....Vermicelli Upma

7:27 PM

Fruits and vegetables may not top the list for kids' favorite foods, but good reasons exist to include more of these foods in your child's diet. At the same time, many children, are eating more junk foods . The best way to drop consumption of junk foods is to eat more fruits and vegetables –everyday. Children’s growing bodies require good nutrition, and fruits and vegetables contain a multitude of vitamins, minerals and other healthy compounds. Citrus fruits are rich in immune system-boosting vitamin C, helps the body defenses against infection and plays a vital role in bones, blood capillaries, cartilage, teeth and gums .carrots are loaded with eye-healthy vitamin A and spinach is a good source of iron, a mineral that helps prevent anemia. Eating fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colors will provide a wide range of nutrients that help keep kids healthy.

Fruits and vegetables are high in filling fiber, but low in fat and calories. This helps keep the intestine functioning well and slows down the rate at which foods are broken down to form glucose in the blood. Soluble fiber can also help control blood cholesterol levels. Encouraging kids to eat fruits and vegetables instead of sugary snacks and fat-laden fast food can help children avoid obesity.

It’s a good idea to eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables and to include some in every meal. There are lots of interesting and tasty ways to do this – fruit and vegetables can be served raw, baked, grated or diced. They can also be added to other ingredients.

Put sliced banana or strawberries on cereal.
Add chopped fruit to yoghurt.
Make a smoothie using fresh fruit.
Try vegetable kebabs with your dinner.
Top your pizza with sliced mushrooms and capsicum.

Eating fresh fruit is much better for you than a glass of fruit juice, which can have up to six teaspoons of sugar and very little dietary fiber. Establishing the habit of eating plenty of fruits and vegetables at an early age provides children and youth with a foundation for life-long healthy eating habits and reduces the risk of diet-related chronic diseases.

As a mother it is always a challenge for me how to make my child eat all kinds of fruits and vegetables, which leads me to try out different dishes with fruits and vegetables and on this endevour is trying to share my experiment with vegetables and fruits as both sweet and savory dish.

Vermicelli Upma

Ingredients:
Vermicelli ( Simei)- 1 cup
Assorted Vegetables of your choice-1 cup
Onion-1 finely chopped
Green Chilli- 1 finely chopped
Curry leaves- 5 to 6
cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Water- 2 cups
salt
Oil- 2 to 3 tbsp

Method:

Fry the vermicelli( Simei) with a little oil in the pan and keep aside.

Now in the same pan, put 2 tbsp of oil and once hot, put the cumin seeds.

Once it starts to crackle, add the green chillies, curry leaves, Onions and fry for 1 to 2 minutes.

Now, add the vegetables, salt and cook for another 2 minutes on slow flame.

Now add 2 cups of water and let it boil. Once the water boils, wait till it reduces to half of its quantity and then add the fried vermicelli along with 1 tbsp oil, so that the vermicelli do not stick with each other.

Cook till dry and serve hot with Tomato sauce. It smells really nice and kids will definitely adore this.

NB: I have used only potato, carrot and okra here as my son hardly eats this vegetable , but I am surprised this is getting to be his favorite snacks after coming from school.

Chicken

CRISPY GARLIC CHICKEN FINGERS

9:40 AM

Deserts

RASABALIS- FAMOUS SWEETS FROM THE LAND OF TULASI KHETRA.....KENDRAPADA

3:33 PM

Every state has its own special dish in different groupings. It can vary from sweet to sour to spicy, all combines with the climate and weather the region faces all through the year. When we talk about a cuisine, sweet dishes form an indispensable part of it. Especially in Odisha, where people are so much fond of sweet dishes Sweet dishes of odisha have been liked by people from across the country. Milk preparations like Rasgulla, Rasmalai, Khirmohan, Rasabali, Khirsagar, Chenapoda are just fabulous, once tasted- then it’s just irresistible.Most of the sweet dishes here are milk preparation with various ingredients like chhenna (cottage cheese), coconut, rice, and wheat flour. Dishes that are favorites among many are Chhenna Jalebi, Enduri Pitha and Chittau Pitha. These dishes are also considered as festival specials as they are made on the occasion of festivals.

Rasabali is a sweet dish from Odisha offered to Baladevjew, and originated in the Baladevjew Temple of Kendrapara. It is one of the Chapana bhoga of Jagannath temple also. I had fallen in love with this recipe in my first visit to Kendrapada after marriage and since then it has remained my all time favourite. Though the Rasabalis available in Kendrapada has it's unique taste but with practice I have manged to replicate the dish to near perfection.

Ingredients:

1 cup Homemade Chenna ( Made out of 1 litre of milk)

500 ml milk

1 tsp semolina

1 tsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1 tsp cardamom powder

A pinch of baking soda

Oil for frying

Method:

Bring ½ litre of milk to a boil. When the milk comes to a boil, turns off the heat. Wait for 3 to 4 minutes and then add lemon juice to the milk to make the milk curdle.
Drain the milk in a cotton cloth. Bring the sides of the cloth together and drain all the whey from the Paneer. Run the Paneer under fresh water to remove any trace of lemon from it. Hang in a place to remove excess water from it. Once done, you can start working on it. Make sure to drain all the water from the Chenna.
Mash the Paneer with your palms in an upward movement to make it smooth.

Add 1 tsp Semolina, 1 tsp Maida, a pinch of baking powder, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder and 2 tsp powdered sugar to it.

Knead well to make a smooth dough. Make small balls of the dough.

Take one ball on your left palm and spread it with the help of your right palm to give it a round shape.

Heat oil in a pan and deep-fry the round shaped rasabalis in it. take out and keep aside.

Boil 1/2 litre milk in a pan and add the remaining sugar to the boiled milk and stir well. mix well and add the 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder. reduce the milk to 1/2 of its quantity.

Then add the fried rasabalis to the milk and boil the rasabalis on slow flame for 5 to 10 minutes or untill soft.

This sweet delicacy of Kendrapara is now ready to be served.
Garnish with chopped almonds(optional) and serve chilled.

You can keep the fried Rasabali in the fridge and eat whenever you like,. You need to put them in Warm milk before serving.

customandtradition

DIPAVALI.....THE FESTIVAL OF LIGHT

8:32 AM

One of the most joyful and beautiful festivals to be celebrated in India is Diwali, the festival of lights. The very word Diwali conjures up the image of winking lights and flickering diyas.

Rangoli made of flowers

Not to forget the gorgeous array of sparkling colors emitted by the firecrackers that seems to awaken the night sky.

Traditional earthen Diya

Odisha is known as the land of festivals and as there is a proverb that "Bara Masare Tera Paraba" which means there are thirteen festivals celebrated in 12 months in Odisha.... With the advent of Winter, comes the festival of lights.......DIPAVALI or DIWALI.While Diwali is celebrated with much fanfare in different parts of India by lighting lamps and bursting crackers, traditionally in Odisha, it has been a day of invoking ancestors and performing the unique ritual performed with the ‘kaunria kathi’.

kaunria kathi

In Odisha people call it “PAYA SHRADHA” or “DWIPA DANA AMABASYA’ .People give expression to their happiness by lighting DEEPA ( lamp) , decorating the house, bursting fire crackers.

People in Odisha celebrate Diwali a little differently......Diwali, the festival of lights has its own charm and style. People in Odisha believed that the ancestors reside in heaven abode . People burns the stems of jute known as kaunria Kathi to invite the ancestors to descend from the spiritual sky and bestow blessings upon them . It is marked by calling the spirit of ancestor by lighting a lamp inside an earthen pot tied to a pole erected in front of the house. These poles act as a support to hold the pot. Within the earthen pot a lamp is placed to light up the dark. Once the spirits are called, jute stems are burnt to show light in the dark path. This light is believed to show the way to the spirits, when they traverse back to heaven in darkness.

Associated with Lord Jagannath, the ritual stand on the belief that by paying homage to our forefathers, we receive their blessings on this auspicious day. Although the tradition of lighting kaunria Kathi still exists in some parts of Chattisgarh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, it is religiously followed in Odisha. Kaunria kathi draws its significance from the religious tradition of the Jagannath culture. It is prepared from the Jute Plant. It is generally believed that Lord Jagannath had bestowed his blessings on eight plants. These plants are called the “ Asta Paata Sakhi” of the Lord. Jute being one of the eight, has its own importance in accentuating the Jagannath culture.

the evening members of the family gather after dusk. A rangoli pattern taking the shape of a sailboat is drawn on the ground. The sailboat has seven chambers and in each of the chamber several items are kept like cotton, mustard, salt, asparagus root, turmeric and a wild creeper.There is a central chamber in which Prasad is placed . On top of the prasad a beautiful jute stem with a cloth wick is placed which serves as the main diya.

There is a tradition of offering different kinds of prasads to our departed souls in this occasion. The offerings are mainly fruits and a special Pitha made on this occasion known as Khira Gaintha ( Rice ball dumplings in falvoured milk).

The diya is lit at the beginning of the puja. Each of the members gathered there and holds a bundle of jute stems in their hands. They light their respective bundles from the main flame on the rangoli and raise it towards the sky with the following chants.

PAYA SHRADHA

“Bada badua ho …..Ganga Jaa, Gaya Jaa, kasi jaa, Brindaban Jaa,

Jaha deithila ta Pai jaa,

Andhaara re Aasa, Aluwa re Jaa.

Baaisi pahaacha re gada gadau tha.”

which means “oh our ancestors, seers and gods you came on the dark night of Mahalaya, and now it is time for you to depart for heaven, so we are showing light, may you attain peace in abode of Jagannath & May you attain salvation on the chanting the above verse.

After the Puja, all the family members sit together to enjoy the stupendous meal prepared by the family.The meal majorly consist of vegetarian items prepared by the womenfolks of the family. it is a time of bonding, enjoying with family and in some families also perform the Laxmi Puja on the occasion of Dipavali.

Khira Gaintha ( Rice ball dumplings in flavored milk)

INGREDIENTS –

1 cup flavored rice powder

2 cups water

½ cup sugar for milk syrup and 2 tsp for the Gaintha

500ml milk

a pinch of salt

4 green cardamom ( seeds powdered)

1tsp pepper powder

15 to 20 Raisins

Method: -

Heat 2 cups of water in a wide base vessel. Add salt, pepper powder and 2 crushed cardamoms to the boiling water. Add 2 tsp sugar. Once the water starts boiling, then add the rice flour into it and keep stirring so that no lumps are formed. Keep stirring so at the rice is cooked perfectly and it leaves the side of the pan . It should feel like stiff dough. Allow to cool down completely.

Knead the dough till it becomes smooth .

Take small lumps out of the dough and roll into small balls with your hand. Press a single raisin inside this and roll into round ball shape and keep aside.

Bring the milk to boil in a deep vessel. Add the sugar and remaining cardamom.
Add the balls and Boil till the ball begin to rise to the surface. Take away from heat .