So, what's cooking?

I believe the world economy is designed to disadvantage singles. You might wonder why? Well, when you're single, you often pay a premium for a single apartment or buy things for yourself. All these definitely frustrate me to some extend. However, WHY DO GROCERY STORES WANT ME TO BUY VEGETABLES IN BULK?

When my colleague sees my never ending lunches with beans and go, 'You really like beans, huh? Three days in a row.', I silently scream in my mind, 'NO ANITA! THE SUPERMARKET WANTS ME TO CONSUME AS MUCH AS A FAMILY OF 4. I WISH I COULD STOP.'

Perhaps I'm exaggerating a bit, but it's true that many times, vegetables and certain kitchen staples are only available in bulk. In my case, it was the pearl onions. Last week, I decided to make sambar with pearl onions for the first time to accompany the soft, spongy idli's I prepare. I couldn't believe I had been missing out on idli-sambar with pearl onions. It was a game changer. Fast forward to today, as I started packing for my move to a new place, I noticed the pearl onions were still fresh with looming doom's day. I was determined to make something out of them. After a lot of meticulous research and reading through every recipe online..... ummm okay fine. I found it with a single Google search, I stumbled upon Ulli Theeyal. Surprisingly, even though I am from Southern India, I had never heard of it and decided to give it a try.

I read through the entire recipe, but as usual, I threw it out the window (figuratively. No littering. I promise) and added ingredients as I wished. Even my overconfidence was questioning my choices, considering I had never tasted the dish. I created a fiery and spicy gravy as I overestimated the number of chilies required. But fear not, my overconfidence has provided me with plenty of opportunities to learn how to fix my culinary mistakes. I quickly made a paste with cashews, tamarind, and sugar, and added it to the boiling gravy with its spicy fumes. The gravy no longer felt like it was choking my throat when I inhaled its aroma like Remy from Ratatouille. As Auguste Gusteau famously said, 'Anyone can cook.' And so did I, though he forgot to mention if the food will be edible.

Gathering some courage, I took the first bite, and it was a refreshing. The roasted coconut added depth to the flavor. Theeyal reference the roasted coconut in the dish. Typically, I end my dinner with one serving and grab a piece of fruit. But today, I couldn't resist having more; it felt like it had filled my soul. 

PS : A moment of silence for the vegetables that rot away in silence, never getting to be admired as they watch their lives end with no purpose on the counter, in the containers, in the refrigerator. Wait, am I still talking about the vegetables or the people who don't get to reach their full potential? 

A Weekend with Jigsaw Puzzles and a Creative Twist

I was curious about Jigsaw puzzles as a child. However, I never had the opportunity to play with one. A while back, I received a jigsaw puzzle set as a birthday present. It is still very cold outside, and television feels less entertaining. I decided to use this opportunity to finally try solving a jigsaw puzzle. 

I always wondered about the origin story of jigsaw puzzles. Is it because of the shape ? They do not look like jigsaw tools. It turns out jigsaw puzzles were created in the 1760s by a British engraver and cartographer, John Spilsbury. They were built as an educational tool to teach geography. What a marvelous idea! I would have survived geography class if we had these puzzles. The name "Jigsaw" was adopted because fine tooth blades, which resembled jigsaw tools, were used to create these puzzles. 

Unlike other games, jigsaw puzzles have always been popular. However, it saw a surge in popularity during the mid 20th century during the great depression. These were an inexpensive form of entertainment for people of all ages. Fast forward to 2020, and puzzles found themselves at the center of lockdown living rooms worldwide. You could call it the game for difficult times I guess.

When I started assembling the puzzle, it felt like I was meditating. The solved part of the puzzle quickly took over my coffee table. However, I quickly realized I needed more space to complete the puzzle, which led me to explore puzzle board options. I was surprised to see so many varieties of boards, including ones that can save upto 3 concurrent puzzles. As an anti-consumerist, I decided to build my own jigsaw board with Dollar Tree Readi Boards. 

I found that most 1000 pieces jigsaw puzzles are smaller than 30"x26". I got 2 Readi Boards of size 30"x20". I had to keep 3 design elements in mind. 

It should be slanted so the puzzle is visible and I do not get back pain.

The board should have raised edges so pieces don't fall off when I am putting it away.

It should have some surface friction so pieces don't slide off.

Making this board was not as easy I thought. I found issues which I had to work through. The board was ready in 40 minutes. I took my time to solve the puzzle over the next few days. 

After using the board for a bit, I would make some of changes to my design:

1. It still needs more resistance. I might add a layer of felt cloth to increase friction and prevent the pieces from sliding.
2. Readi Boards are really light and prone to damage. If I were to do it again, I would use cardboard boxes instead.
3. Instead of gluing the side and bottom pieces, I would design the main board with slots so that the side and bottom pieces can be slid into place when needed.

As with all my projects, solving the jigsaw puzzle was only part of the experience. I also loved reading about its history and enjoyed the problem solving to design the board.

Healing power of spices: Sugar-free drinks for cough and cold.

Disclaimer : Modern science does not consider Ayurvedic medicines to be reliable as large scale scientific studies are yet to be concluded. Despite using turmeric for medicines in Ayurveda for 5000 years, it was not used in modern medicines until recently. Please use caution and use at your own discretion. 

Lemon Tea

I cannot remember when but I was introduced to lemon tea by my mom many years ago when I was very young. Growing up, I was susceptible to cold and often end up with a nasty cough. It was always severe and would last several weeks. Among all the common illness, cold was my nemesis. I could hardly sleep and create a havoc all night waking everyone up in the house. Who needs sleep when their child is sick, right? My mother would empathize while I growled. She would turn to her book "GruhaSangati" which is a collection of home hacks and home remedies for common illness. Among the many remedies she tried, my father and I have grown to like lemon tea a lot. As it turns out, many ingredients used helps to fight the symptoms of cold and also reduce the inflammation. And if science is to be believed, vitamin C from lemon should help with your cold too.  

Over the years of conducting experiments to make the best lemon tea, I have a favorite version now. It is sugar free and perfect for any cozy evenings.

Ingredients: 

1. 1 inch of mace
2. 1/2 inch of ginger
3. 1 cardamom pod
4. 1 teaspoon of your favorite tea leaves.
5. 1/2 of lemon
6. 4-5 mint leaves
7. 200-250 ml of water. 

Directions: 

• In a pot, bring water to boil. 
• Grind the ginger, cardamom, mace in a mortar pestle and add to the boiling water. Let it simmer. 
• Brew for 30 seconds. Add tea leaves of your choice to the mix and simmer for a short period to avoid the bitter taste. 
  
• Remove the mixture out of the heat and strain the mixture. 
• Squeeze in juice from 1/2 lemon. Use atleast a tablespoon if you have store bought lemon juice. The amount can be adjusted to personal taste
• Add mint leaves to the strained syrup. It is now ready to serve! 

Turmeric Latte

I discovered this drink at plantiful superfoods for the first time in 2021. I have been a fan ever since. Since it was not pocket friendly, I tried to recreate this at home. Among the many variations, I prefer the one presented her. The plantiful version has more coconuty flavor which I really enjoy. I have not tried using coconut milk powder (Does it exist?). I serve this when I have guests and is certainly a crowd pleaser. 

Ingredients:

1. 1 pod of cardamom

2. 1 clove
3. 1/2 inch cinnamon
4. 3 peppercorns
5. 1/4 tablespoon turmeric
6. 1/2 inch ginger
7. Optional 1 tablespoon grated/desiccated coconut.
8. 200 ml of Non-diary milk (I prefer Chobani Original oatmilk or Oatsome oatmilk. Coconut milk is a good option if you know what brand to buy. If you are using any low consistency milk, then reduce the turmeric amount to avoid the overpowering flavors of turmeric.)

Directions:

• In a pan, bring your favorite non-diary milk to a boil. 
• Grind cardamom, cinnamon, clove, peppercorns, ginger, desiccated coconut in a mortar grinder and mix with the milk. You can alternatively use a coffee grinder for the spices.
• Add turmeric along with the spices and let it simmer. Turmeric has a bitter flavor which blends and subsides once boiled in the milk. Adding too much can make it bitter. Adjust according to personal preference.
• Once the milk has been boiling for a bit, remove it from the heat. Strain the golden, delicious drink and is now ready to serve. 

Points to note : 

1. You can choose to substitute fresh ginger, pepper, cardamom, clove with their respective ground versions. Grinding the whole fresh spices releases volatile oils giving more depth and flavor.

2. I prefer using cardamom and mace in my drinks for their sweet and aromatic flavor. This allows me to eliminate sugar. Coconut milk also provides a very sweet base. I have not tried using it as the base and coconut has strong flavors but have added it in small quantities to many drinks. Give it a try if you get a chance and let me know :) 

Makara Sankrati

Before I write about the food and festive experience around Sankranti, I have to tell you about Sankranti. In the US, it is not particularly famous unlike Diwali and Holi. It does not get as much fanfare. Sankranti is a Hindu festival that signifies the transition of the sun into makara aka Capricorn. Hindu festivals are determined by the hindu calendar which is based on astronomical transitions. This festival generally occurs in January. This is also the time for first harvest. India has always been an agricultural country. So the festival is celebrated across many states in different forms. In Andra Pradesh and many north Indian states, it is celebrated by performing rituals and taking holy dips in the river to pay homage to the Sun God. In Gujarat and Mahasrastra, the festival is marked by bright colorful kite flying.  In Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, Sankranti is celebrated by decorating the house and preparing sweet and savory dish from freshly harvested rice and daal along with some spices, called pongal. Farmers offer their first harvest to Sun as sign of gratitude and pray for successful crops. If internet is to be believed, the festival also signifies the end of Winter Solstice and beginning of Spring Equinox.

This festival brings back a lot of joyous, nostalgic memories with my family from my childhood (Bangalore and Jog). On the day of the festival, we would wake up early in the morning and take a head-shower. The doors are decorated with freshly prepared torana (aka bunting) made from new leaves of mango tree. This was followed by a small ritual with sun salutations which would last until noon. By then, family and I would be eagerly waiting for our festival brunch usually consisting of sweet and savory pongal, rave unde (samolina balls) and drink gasagase paysa (a poppy seeds dessert). The poppy seeds dessert and full stomach would put us to a good sleep. We would then watch a movie together as a family. Back in the days, new movies would get released on India festivals when families would sit together and watch the newly released movies. In the evening, neighbors and extended families visit each other to wish and also share yellu with acchu. Yellu is traditionally prepared with white sesame, sugar mould cubes/jaggery pieces, dry coconut, roasted peanuts and sometimes bengal grams. Acchu is made by pouring hot sugar syrup into intricately carved wooden or metallic molds and left to cool to harden. It is not only a way to welcome spring and pray to sun god but also a great social event to meet friends and family. 

For the last 3 years, I have been celebrating Makara Sankranti in US by preparing pongal and nucchina unde along with peanut chutney. I would also make gasgase paysa or yellu-unde (powdered black sesame with jaggery and coconut made into a ball) on Sankranti but missed out this year. 

Here is what I made this Makara Sankranti. I made coconut chutney since I ran out of peanuts. It was good but nothing beats peanut chutney.

Unlike baking, cooking is to be learnt from experience. There are certainly tips and tricks for cooking better but to cook with flavors and understand the depth, one must experiment a few times. Humans have taste receptors on their tongue that respond to sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory tastes. But sensitivity varies from person to person. And sometimes food preferences are based on cultural influence one grew up in. Here is my preferred recipe for Pongal, Nuccinunde and Chutney.

Pongal: This dish has references to it in the Tamil literature which dates back to 300BCE to 300 CE and is traditional dish done in South India. Typically made from rice and lentil, I enjoy the variation made with  avarekai (also known as Hyacinth beans in English). 

Nucchinunde : This is also a traditional dish, a type of dumping made from mixture of different daal. There is no literature around it. Has been passed down through generations. I enjoy the texture and the subtle flavor variation which makes this dish hearty and healthy.

Chutney although seems like an add-on, plays a vital role in the overall experience of a dish. It can add more flavors, provide a contrast in texture and balance the flavors. In a lot of ways, it can make or break a dish. 

Avarekai Pongal recipe : 

(Requires a pressure cooker/some vessel that can be used to cook rice)

Ingredients

• 1 cup raw rice, washed
• 1 cup moong dal, washed (equal parts with rice)
• 1 tbsp of cumin (jeera)
• 1/2 cup avarekai (separated from the pods)
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 tbsp of ginger-garlic paste (not added during festivals)
• 5 cups of water
• Salt to taste. 
• 1 tbsp of coarsely powdered pepper corns.
• 1/2 cup finely chopped roasted cashews.

Directions

1. In a pressure cooker or insta pot, heat up oil in medium heat. Once hot, add cumin and saute for a bit. Then add ginger-garlic paste, crushed pepper corns and saute for a bit. Ensure not to burn any ingredients.

2. Add moong dal to the pot and saute for a bit. You can optionally use soaked moong dal too.

3. Add rice and avarekai to the pot and continue to saute for 30 seconds..

4. Add water and salt to the pot and pressure cook it until rice and dal is fully cooked. The mixture should become thick and porridge-like. Do not overcook as it will become mushy. 

5. Garnish it with roasted cashews and serve hot with Chutney

My personal favorite chutney is peanut chutney which goes well with dose, idli and other south Indian delicacies. The sweet flavor from peanut balances out the herby flavor from coriander. 

Nucchinunde recipe:

(Requires a steamer/steaming pots. Indian cooker works well too)

Just like pongal, there are many variations. I personally love the one with tur daal. 

Ingredients

• 1 cup tur dal (Soaked in water overnight)
• 1/2 cup chenna dal (Soaked in water overnight)
• 1/2 cup moong dal (Soaked in water overnight)
• 1 cup chopped coconuts. Chunky coconuts preferred.
• 1 inch ginger finely chopped. Would recommend chopping instead of grating to get the gingery bite
• 1 tsp cumin seeds 
• 1/4 cup chopped dill
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp salt ( salt to taste)

Directions

1. After rinsing the soaked dal, add all the ingredients above to a blender, except for dill, to coarsely blend

2. Once it is blended, add dill to the mixture.

3. Make small round balls of the mixture in your hands and place it in the steamer. Steam cooking takes about 8-10 minutes. 

4. Once done, take the dumplings out and let it cool. The outer surface hardens a bit. 

5. Serve it hot with the Chutney of your choice. 

Chutney recipe : 

Ingredients

• 1 cup roasted peanuts*
• 1/2 cup Cilantro
• 1 tsp jeera
• 1 green chilly - I use frozen chilly. you can use fresh ones and adjust according to your flavor profile
• 1/2 inch of finally chopped ginger.
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 cup water (vary amount based on desired consistency

Directions

1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender to a paste-like consistency. Add water slowly while blending and check for desired consistency. 

2. To enhance the flavors, saute half cup onion with a half cup tomato. Also, sdd a few roasted cashew to the mix. It gives a base of sweet flavor and slight tanginess. 

3. To top it up, add a tadka or tampering. Heat a few spoons of oil in a small pan, add a handful of urad dal and a few curry leaves. Wait until urad dal is lightly brown. Top your chutney with this delicious tampering which adds additional texture and flavor.

*Roasting peanuts is important to remove the raw taste. 

Unexpected Adventures: My unplanned road trip with Costanza

Holiday season is one of the most boring times for a Single Indian like me. As December 2022 rolled around, I found myself with nothing to do at work until January 2023.  To break from the monotony of life, I decided to take a few days off for self-healing and a road trip. I have always wanted to take on an unplanned roadtrip and see where the journey takes me. My friend Costanza (nicknamed after the character George Costanza from Seinfeld, due to her round glasses) was excited to make this road trip happen. She had many interesting prepositions. 

After much deliberation and failed attempt to plan a trip, we decided to go island hopping nearby without any solid plan. I have always wanted to checkout these islands but never got around to it.  With less an hour to pack, I randomly threw items into my backpack and set off in Costanza's car at 10AM. One important aspect of a successful roadtrip is packing all essentials such as water, a charger, some tasty snacks, a waterproof jacket for the year round rainy season in Washington. Even more important is a good playlist and friends with amazing sense of humor. We created our mashup playlist from Bollywood, Sandalwood to Pop music to keep us entertained.

Our first stop of the trip was Bainbridge island which is a short ferry ride away from Seattle terminal located at Colman dock. We parked our car at the bottom deck of the ferry and made our way upstairs to take in the beautiful views of Seattle skyline and Olympic mountains. The ferry, operated by Washington State Ferries (WSF), is one of the largest ferry system in the united states and carries nearly 200 cars and 2500 passengers per ride. Our 35 minute journey flew by as we chatted, took pictures and enjoyed the view.

Bainbridge terminal is located in the charming town of Winslow. It has many shops, restaurants and art galleries which is right up our alley. We grabbed food at Emmy's Vege House, an all Vegan takeout restaurant. I could not resist the crispy rolls and curry noodles, while Costanza tried the sesame chicken. Once we were well fed, we explored some local shops and got recommendations for our onward journey. We then took a walk to the nearby docking area, which accessible to public and is a nice place to walk around. You can see the Seattle skyline from this docking area too. Our next stop was Bainbridge Island Museum of Art (BIMA). This museum, which has free entry, is dedicated to showcasing contemporary art from Pacific Northwest region and hosts a wide variety of exhibitions. We admired some of the art work including a series of embroidered Valentine's day gift from an artist to her husband, which I found to be very sweet. Below is an artwork from a hispanic artist. 

         

We made one final stop on Bainbridge at the Bainbridge Apothecary and tea shop. This cosy tea shop offers a wide variety of interesting tea blends and carries unique gifts and accessories. Costanza chose a fancy, princess-y tea cup, while I chose a footed tea cup to drink our herbal blend tea. We took a moment to discuss the onward journey and admired the decor of the place.   

          

Bainbridge has many more things to offer which we will go back to checkout again in future. At 4:30PM, we started the next leg of our journey to Port Townsend. The drive from Bainbridge to Port Townsend is scenic and picturesque. The Hood Canal Bridge which spans the Hood canal offers breathtaking views of the water and the surrounding mountains. We drove across the historic village Town Gamble and reached our Airbnb by 5:30PM. We were greeted with a beautiful Victorian-style three-story house from the 1891, The Starrett house which Costanza had discovered. Build by James Starrett who was a prominent local businessman and civic leader, the house is well preserved and features intricate woodwork, stained-glass windows, and a large central tower. The former parlor is converted to rental units that accommodates 4-8 guests on the first floor. The room we stayed was very unique with a bathtub in the middle of the bedroom and was the only place to shower.  The room also had a wonderful ocean view which was perfect for relaxing and enjoying a book. We spent some time winding down by playing Bananagrams and headed out to grab some dinner at Banana Leaf Thai Bistro. The food was scrumptious, so we ordered a mango coconut rice pudding takeout to eat while we watched People of Earth on Hulu cozyied up in our bed. The show is not something I would volunteer to watch but got invested as the series progressed. We finished watching the first season and called it a day. 

Day 2 started off on a relaxed note, as I slept in a bit in the morning. Costanza grabbed some delicious bakery goods, coffee from Pane d'Amore Artisan Bakery. We then proceeded to Better living through coffee cafe to grab some vegan food and coffee. The shop has a beautiful waterview bustling with locals enjoying their morning. I saw many elderly enjoying their time with their loved ones. I got vegan lentil soup, which was an unexpected breakfast option, a vegan cookie and coffee. We spent the rest of the morning exploring the town. The town has many antique shops and cute boutiques. I could spend an entire day, if my wallet got bigger. Costanza got pizza from this well known pizza place, waterfront pizza, which according to her was palatable. We spent our last few moments in this town by Bounty of the bay. 

In the afternoon, we started our journey to Whidbey island by taking the ferry from Port Townsend to Coupeville. We headed straight to the sculpture park in Coupeville, which had interesting artworks. We spotted a variety of mushrooms and birds here. From there we made our way to the town of Coupeville which has an idyllic Wharf and a historic museum showcasing the beaded artwork describing the Whidbey island and its habitat. The waterfront is lined up with many gift shops, of which many are closed during winter months. But we found Kingfisher bookstore which was open, it is a beautiful two-storied bookstore.

Our last stop on our trip was Langley, and it was a destination Costanza was particularly excited about. We arrived at 5PM, but to our disappointment, we found that most shops were closed. Costanza and I had hoped to buy matching bracelets. We saw this jewelry store Soleil open from where we had parked. Although we did not buy anything, this shop has interesting jewelry collection. We checked out other open stores before we made our way to get dinner.

Costanza wanted to try Ramen from Ultrahouse, which she swore had the best Ramen. I have tried ramen a few times before and have always been disappointed. At this point, I was convinced that I do not like Ramen. While we waited for our reservation, we stopped by a nearby bar. We joined some wonderful people from Langley by the fire pit and introduced ourselves with an alter-ego story. The weather was pretty cold and the cold water I was sipping on, did not help much. For a brief moment, I missed the chaiwala (tea vendor) back home in India, where tea stalls can be spotted every few miles and are open all night. And the chai (tea) tastes so amazing. It's magical to sip on a hot cup on cold nights, sometimes accompanied with Maggi (Instant noodles). 

Finally, our reservation was up and we headed to Ultra house. It's an eclectic place that serves hearty ramen soups and sake. They also have a cute gift shop with various Japanese souvenirs. While we waited for our food, we grabbed onto the boxes of anime themed stickers at the gift counter. I searched through the pile to find all the One Piece Characters, while I snacked on the edamame. Unfortunately, I couldn't find Luffy! Just then, our food arrived. I wondered if I could eat so much Ramen. My bowl was filled to the brim. I spotted a few things I liked and tasted the broth. It was packed with flavors and I was blown away. The texture, taste, and warm, soupy ramen was just too perfect to end our trip.

We drove to Clinton to catch our ferry to mainland, Mukilteo terminal. This is the one of the few WSF routes that has managed to turn a profit. As we got onboarded to the ferry, the darkness enveloped us. So we took a moment to reflect on the journey. From natural beauty to antique store shopping, the islands offered a lot of things to do and explore. 

Overall, the trip was a great experience. If I have a chance to do this again, I would carry a pair of binoculars. layer up as island can get chilly in the night, go on a bike ride from Bainbridge to Port Townsend and certainly bargain at antiques stores. Last but not the least Costanza drove all the way for 2 continuous days and got ideas for the trip as the trip progressed. So a big thanks to her  <3.