Bhutte ka kees - My take on a spicy sweet corn snack from Indore Madhya Pradesh

Though I haven't visited the foodie destination of Indore in Madhya Pradesh, I have heard so much about its magical chaats that it was time I tried my hand at some traditional Indori street food. I picked something that called for ingredients which I had easy access to. Jersey like much of the rest of the US has bushels of fresh sweet corn on sale and the famed 'Sarafa' special "Bhutte ka kees" (Grated spicy corn) came to mind. 'Sarafa' Bazaar is this street of jewellery shops which morphs into a foodie street selling tasty wonders that are exclusive to Indore. Of course, having never tasted the original I had to give it my own take! So, do be aware this may be a complete variation on the Sarafa original.

Ingredients :

1/2 inch piece of ginger-grated

4 small green chillies - finely chopped

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 cloves powdered

5-6 curry leaves (roughly chopped)

4 cobs of corn - grated or kernels coarsely chopped in chopper

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp oil

1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

salt to taste

Garnish :

2 tbsp corainder leaves - finely chopped

1 small onion - finely chopped

4 quarters of lemon

1/2 cup of fine sev (crispy gram flour vermicilli)

1/4 tsp of chaat masala or pani-puri masala

Optional :

Green chutney (used for bhel/sev-puri or any other chaats),

shredded coconut

Method :

Heat oil and ghee and add all ingredients other than corn, milk and salt. Cook the ginger for 1/2 minute and then add grated corn. Add salt and milk and cover. Cook for 15 minutes till corn is soft and cooked completely.

Garnish with all the accompaniments and serve hot. If you like fresh green coriander chutney (used in chats), serve on the side with the "bhutte ka kees".

Enjoy!!!

Lakruwana - Sri Lankan in Staten Island

Having watched Tony Bourdain tour and gorge all over Sri Lanka on the Travel Channel, it brought back faint memories of a trip to the Emerald Isle ages ago. Then a cousin tasted his first Sri Lankan curry and proclaimed 'This is nothing like Indian... Its totally different!', the refrain that Bourdain himself declared on his Ceylon episode. We had to go seek Lankan cuisine. Googling up 'Sri Lankan food' revealed a rather surprising snippet of information - Staten Island, that bastion of Italian American immigrants, was also home to a huge Sri Lankan community and to some of the best Sri Lankan in the area. Amongst the recommended ones were Lakruwana/Sanrasa and New Asha. We decided on the former, having read that New Asha has more of a take-out joint feel. Despite proximity of Staten Island to the Jersey shore, we decided to take the quintessential approach into SI. Why fret it when there is a free ferry ride offering grand views of lower Manhattan, the east river bridges and of course a closeup of Lady Liberty; one of the few places where tourists and locals alike, stand shoulder to shoulder taking in the sweeping views of the Big Apple.

The 30 minute ride across the bay drops you off at the Staten Island ferry terminal. From here, its a short walk along Victory Blvd until you hit Bay St. At the corner of Bay and Victory is this tiny looking but easy to spot restaurant entrance. Step in and the restaurant is quite roomy; pleasantly decorated with photos and artifacts from what was erstwhile Ceylon.

Weekend lunch at Asian restaurants often mean buffets. While we are normally rather wary of such lunch buffets that offer about 20 odd dishes; each one undistinguishable from the other; we had heard good things about this buffet.

On offer was a nice choice of assorted Sri Lankan dishes all with distinct and varied flavors. There was a Chicken Curry and a curried Kingfish both in a coconut milk base, a nice rice vermicelli stir fried with vegetables kind of like the singapore noodles and a Sri Lankan vegetable biryani. But most of these were quite similar to dishes in a Indian buffet.

What was different were the 'Sambols' or spicy chutneys. Whether it was the 'Lunu Miris' - a bright red fiery looking onion and red chili paste or the milder 'Pol Sambola' - an orange colored coconut based onion green chilli spiked chutney which resembled some south Indian chutney- they were both extremely fresh and flavorful. The french beans sauteed in a slight coconut milk base were great too; normally we aren't fans of coconut milk based curried vegetables; besides its quite easy to overcook green beans into a dull gloopy mess. However, these beans held their own with lots of crunch and the slightest hint of coconut milk and spice. Then, there was the bright green mallung (mallum?) - a salad of lightly sauteed greens tossed together with chopped red onion, green chillis and shredded fresh coconut; like a cross between a 'Kosambari' (a salad) and 'Upkari' (green beans stir fried with shredded coconut) - 2 Konkani dishes we grew up eating. The dish that would take the prize for the oddest was one that was made of garlic. No garlic wasn't one of the ingredients. It was THE MAIN ingredient. This would have to be an addition to the menu at 'The Stinking Rose' and similar restaurants. Later, a quick search revealed that South Indian Chettinad cuisine features a somewhat similar dish called 'Mullagu Poondu Kozhambu'; a must try for all garlic lovers. There were other dishes; a dry potato curry and a eggplant one; both quite uncharacteristic in taste and flavor and completely avoidable.

We had to try the exclusively Sri Lankan Dutch influenced dish called the 'Lamprais' or 'Lampijst'. This "special occasion" dish of flavored rice served with lamb, fish cutlet, ash plantains and egg is wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in a low oven. At Lakruwana, it came wrapped in a banana leaf and was served on a traditional rice sieve. Opening up the banana leaf revealed a steaming dish full of cashews, fried baby eggplants, sauteed browned onions and boiled eggs on top of a fragrant biryani stewed with meats of your choice all capped off with a rather tasty fish cutlet. Mix all toppings into the biryani and enjoy.

Finally on offer was a desert unique to Sri Lanka called 'Kiri Peni' - regular yoghurt served with a brown palm sugar treacle on the side. The yoghurt was like any traditional Indian 'Dahi'.. the treacle was inoffensive but not necessarily something we'd go in search of.

The walk back to the ferry terminal and the breezy ferry ride back to Manhattan was a much required respite that helped with all of the buffet eating stupor and made for a nice epicurean cum 'siteseeing' day trip.

Kouign Aman and brownies from Connecticut

We were out on a weekend trip to New Haven CT; home to Yale University, the Wooster street family pizzerias and Louie's Lunch - the inventor of the hamburger. Wooster Street and Wooster Square lay claim to being the Little Italy of New Haven. Decked out in traditional Italian colors of red, white and green flags, the street lives up to its billing with American-Italian restaurants and shops sporting signs of traditional Italian ice, cannoli and other Italian treats lining the street.

Off one of the side streets, we spotted a Saturday farm market (http://www.cityseed.org/) with stalls selling everything from fresh organically grown vegetables, fresh cheeses, jams and jellies to cured meats and neighborhood bakeries selling their goodies.
Wedged in between was a large stall from SoNo Bakery of Norwalk CT, vending pastries, confections, cookies, fresh fruit turnovers, breads, muffins and lots more.
Bewildered by the choices, we were attempting to navigate through the assortment of turnovers, muffins, tarts and pies on offer when we spotted this odd looking pastry with a even odder name 'Kouign Aman'. 'Kouign Aman' (pronounced KOO-ine ah-MAHN) is a pastry from the Brittany region in France. "Its pretty rare in the area and is one of our hot sellers" the man at the counter prompted us.

Apparently, it translates to “cake with butter” in Breton. Coming from the same family as the brioche, the croissant or the danish, it actually looked like a croissant gone wrong. It sports a rich inviting crisp golden shell studded with sugar crystals . Turn it over and you notice a glistening sticky underside thanks to a caramelized layer of sugar at the bottom.

Bite through the crunchy coating and the rich buttery taste comes surging through. The insides are not as hollow as a croissant; almost as flaky; but just a little denser than its famous crescent shaped sibling.

The crunchy caramelized sugar crust gives way to a softer breadlike inside. The sweetness from the caramel is well balanced by a mildly sour flavor from the yeast. In fact, the fermentation brings to mind, flavors of a Maharashtrian sweet called 'Anarsay'.
Apparently, the key difference between Kouign Aman and other baked pastries is that with every fold of the dough, sugar is layered on allowing it to meld and caramelize into the bready dough as the pastry bakes.

Surprisingly, there is none of the excessively cloying sweetness that one would expect from the sugar.Yes, all you 'Pain Au Chocolats' and 'Almond Croissants', you have a new challenger to the sweet puff pastry throne.

We picked one up to go; but couldn't resist tasting it by the time we got back to the car. One bite and we went back for more..

And how could we stop with at one treat? The chocolate brownie looked absolutely divine and longing to be picked up. It came home with us and opening up the neatly packaged sweet revealed a rich, dark, decadent, moist and messy chocolate nirvana.

SoNo Baking

101 S Water St

Norwalk, CT 06856

(203) 847-7666

sonobaking.com

Quesadillas

A quesadilla recipe with a little inspiration from our friends 'MadSan'.

Ingredients

10 soft taco flour or corn tortillas

1 pack of Mexican blend shredded cheese (substitute with any cheese that melts well - Monterrey / PepperJack / Colby or a decent Cheddar)

2 tbsp taco seasoning

1/4 tsp red chilli flakes

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1 chopped 'chipotle pepper in adobo sauce' (optional - imparts a smoky flavor - available in Mex aisle)

1 can of pickled jalapeno peppers (small cans available in Mex aisle)

1/4 tsp of garlic powder (else substitute with fresh chopped garlic)

1/4 tsp oregano seasoning

1 green pepper sliced

1 red pepper sliced

2 medium sized red onions sliced

8-9 sliced mushrooms (optional)

2 cups baby spinach leaves (optional)

Note: This can be made non-vegetarian by adding a few slices of grilled chicken ( grill chicken breasts adding cumin powder, red chilli flakes, oregano and salt)

Method:

Stir fry the sliced onions adding the spices (taco seasoning, pepper flakes, chipotle pepper, cumin powder and oregano) for a couple of minutes.

Add sliced peppers and mushrooms and cook on medium heat for a couple of minutes more.

Ensure that you don't overcook any of the vegetables so that they retain their crunch.

Toss in the spinach leaves just before you turn off the heat. The remainder of the heat is enough to wilt the leaves slightly.

Lightly butter or oil both sides of the tortilla and warm on the griddle for about 30 seconds.

Place about 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese on 1 half of the tortilla. Arrange a couple of tablespoons of vegetables over the cheese on the same half of the tortilla. Add a couple of slices of canned jalapeno.

Spread some more shredded cheese over the top.

Fold over the empty half of the tortilla so that it covers the half with the cheese and vegetables.

Grill the tortilla till the cheese melts and the tortilla browns lightly. Use a spatula to press down on the tortilla. Now, flip over the folded tortilla and brown the other half too.

Once both sides are nice and crisp, remove from pan and cut into 2 wedges with a pizza cutter.

Serve with a side of sour cream, corn tortilla chips and bottled salsa or fresh Pico de Gallo.

* Fresh Pico de Gallo

2 finely diced tomatoes

1 finely chopped medium red onion

1 finely chopped green chilli

1 tblspoon chopped cilantro (coriander)

Juice of half a lime.

Salt to taste.

Toss above ingredients together and serve with the quesadilla quarters.