Anu Chenji

“Wow, what an exciting life! Lucky bug – he doesn’t thave to write a Physics exam tomorrow…and NO ONE tells him what to do!”

“Can you imagine – he never has to have an oil bath unless he wants to?!” 

“He can sleep where he wants, when he wants”.

“No homework!”

The subject of all these envious comments is nonchalently building a small fire over a few sticks and sets a pot of water on it. Once it starts boiling, he adds in a few scraps of carrot, beans, eggplant, a handful of rice and throws in some salt. There’s a bunch of half a dozen small children clustered around this scene – common enough when we were growing up. The object of our envy was a beggar – cooking his evening meal with the scraps he’d gathered – in a corner of the maidan in which we were playing. Being rather small, it didn’t cross our minds that it was anything but an enviable life.

The food he cooked was also exotic – everything in one pot – open air, under the tamarind tree! Now, this tamarind tree was a source of many superstitions in our lives. If you went to sleep under one, the ghosts were sure to get you in the night;  if you yawned under one, a ghost would fly down your gullet and give your tummy a very uncomfortable time indeed – till it tore your belly open and came out…..urrrr….horror! As our dinner time neared, the beggar’s food would begin to smell more and more delicious – and all the small fry would scurry home – another superstition – “if you smell something delicious in the evening, ignore it or the ghost will catch you”!

I always think that beggar’s food – a medley of everything – must have been the rudiments of the first biryani. The history of the biryani is a bit confused but there is some agreement that it originated with the army in medieval India. Armies, unable to cook elaborate meals, would make a one-pot dish where they cooked meat with whatever meat and vegetables and spices were available. And maybe, that is why the beggar’s meal smelt so delicious to us!

Here’s a biryani that will make you reel – promise! 

Biryani:

Please note the marinade section requires 4 hrs – so start that before everything. This serves eight good trenchermen or 10 picky eaters!

·         2 large onions, finely sliced, deep fry on medium.heat till brown and crisp. Set aside.

·         A handful of cashewnuts, almonds, raisins – fry in 2 table spoons of ghee, drain & set aside.

·         1 cup of mint leaves & half cup of fresh coriander – wash, chop & set aside.

·         2 large tomatoes – slice finely & set aside.      

Rice

·         3 cups of  Basmati rice – wash & soak in 5 1/2 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Set aside

Vegetables for marinading:

·         Peel and cut 1/2 kg potato into 1inch cubes.

·         1 1/2 cups of beans & carrot (cut into 1 inch long pieces ).

·         1  cup peas

·         1 cup bell pepper (green )

Marinade in:

·         750 gms of yogurt

·         3  whole  star anise

·         3 inch-long pieces of cinnamon

·         6 cloves

·         2 green cardamom

·         2 black cardamoms

·         3 dried plums (alubukhara)

·         1/2 tea spoons grated nutmeg

·         2 inch long pieces of ginger ground with 10 pods of garlic

·         1 teaspoon red chili powder, jeera powder, whole jeera.

Marinade for 4 hrs.

Soak 1 large pinch of saffron in 2 tablespoon of warm milk. Set aside.

To start the cooking:

·         1 tbsp shahijeera

·         3 green chilies

·         1 cup finely sliced onions

·         3 tbsp olive oil

·         3 tbsp ghee

Now in a large saucepan with lid, heat 3 tablespoon of olive oil and 3 tablespoon of ghee. Add  shahijeera,  green chillies and sliced onions. Fry till brown – lower heat. Add marinade & vegetables and approximately 2 teaspoon of salt . Cook on low heat (45 mins) till marinade is thick & vegetables are tender.

In the meantime cook the rice in the water it was soaked adding 1.5 teaspoons salt.

When the rice is just done, take  off the heat. To one half of the cooked rice, add the saffron milk and stir gently with fork. To the other half, add either kewda essence or biryani essence if available. Otherwise ditch.

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To assemble:

1 layer of saffron rice

1 layer of vegetable gravy

sprinkle reserved fried onions, sliced tomatoes, mint & coriander,  fried nuts & raisins.

Add 1 layer of white rice and continue the layering till done, finishing with a layer of fried onions & coriander & nuts on the top. Garnish with whole boiled eggs – if you like them.

 This is a dish fit for a king – even a beggar king!

 (pic courtesy internet)

Pitter patter goes the sound of small feet and then the sound of  said feet trying to jump. the squeak of a stool as it is dragged. then the sound of  feet pattering away at double speed and then in an attempt at a whisper which doesn’t succeed too well thanks to the excited squeakiness in the voice –  “Naans, Anu atha is making some manchi annam”! Naans is his nickname for my mother – his grandmother – naanamma in Telugu and since all food in his two-year old life so far has been referred to as some “annam” (rice with ‘manchi annam’ being ‘nice rice’) or the other, that’s what he gathers from the smells emanating from my oven – just above his head – so no amount of jumping helps to get an eye-level view. Not to be deterred by such small things, Parshu has dragged a footstool from the bathroom all the way to the kitchen so he can peek into the oven and see – PIZZA!

Much excitement among all the little kids – cousins and friends – as they wait for the “manchi annam” to get done – nothing quite like the fragrance of a home baked pizza – even for the slightly older kids who’ve grown out of “pappannam”(the highly mashed up dal-rice with ghee that little kids are fed) and “perugannam” (ditto for yogurt and rice) stage, home made pizza is still serious excitement. Like my mother, my culinary philosophy too has been that whatever can be eaten in a restaurant can be replicated at home – and is ALWAYS better! Pizzas and burgers – including the burger buns – and vegetarian paellas and anything that be baked, rolled, kneaded, steamed, stirred, fried and iced – have all been grist to my kitchen mill – to great delight and to occasional consternation as family has had to put up with the random disaster….altogether it’s been an exciting journey…

Here’s Pizza for Parshu!

For the pizza base:

• 1.5 cups maida or plain flour. I also use a mixture of plain flour and wholewheat flour (atta) for a healthier version
• 1 tsp dried yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• water – 3/4 cup
• honey – 1 tbsp

Prove the yeast by sprinkling over 2 tbsp of the water – warmed up. Knead the dough by mixing all the ingredients and adding the water a little by little till you get an elastic dough – about ten minutes. If you’re using a mixture of wholewheat and plain flours, you will need to knead it for a couple more minutes. Cover and set aside to rise – about an hour. Knock back and shape into two large rectangles about 3 mm thick – on two greased baking trays. Cover and set aside in a warm place till it rises again – about ten minutes.

For basic pizza sauce:

• 1 medium onion – chopped
• 8 flakes of garlic – chopped
• 10 – 12 large tomatoes – chopped
• Tomato puree – 1/2 cup
• Salt
• Sugar – 1 tsp
• Oregano- dried – 1 tsp
• Basil leaves – 2 tbsp
• Olive oil – 2 tbsp

Heat the oil in a saucepan and add the sugar. Let it caramelise as you stir. Add the onion and stir fry till it turns translucent. Add the garlic and fry till the whole mixture is golden brown. Add the tomatoes and paste, cover and cook till soft. Crush with the back of a spoon or a bar blender till coarsely ground. Add the chopped herbs and salt and switch off. 

For the toppings, use any or a combo of these:

• Capsicum slices – fried or grilled
• Pineapple cubes
• Mozzarella – if very fresh, just tear into lumps and drop on top. If not, grate
• Cottage cheese or feta – crumbled 
• Jalapenos and ground pepper
• Olives
• Basil leaves – 10-12
• Olive oil
• anything else you feel like!

Preheat the oven to 225 C. Prick the pizza bases all over witha  fork and smear the basic pizza topping on top of both the bases.  Pop both trays into the oven and bake at 225 C for 5 minutes. Swap the trays around and bake for a further 5 minutes. Remove and add the toppings. Bake again for 3 to 4 minutes till cheese is melted  and the fragrance of “manchi annam” gets all feet – big and small – heading to the kitchen! Can also use round trays!

Take out, slice and serve!

 (pic courtesy internet)

“No, no left over right. NOW, right over left. Loop…loop…LOOOOP! NOOOO!! AIYOOO!!!

This was my right-handed grandmother trying to teach my left handed cousin Devi to knit! At the end of ten minutes, in the interests of BOTH of them NOT killing each other, her brother Naresh volunteered to learn and then teach his sister to do the knit-purl routine! He learnt and he tried. As far as i know, to this day, it is Naresh who still knows the knit – purl stuff and Devi who never picked it up!

Devi has had many hilarious adventures in cooking – including once, in a fit of pique, putting several pieces of ‘aavakai’ (fiery hot Andhra mango pickle)  in a cake because her dad asked her why she couldn’t bake a ‘savoury’ cake!

So, when i asked Devi for a guest post, i was pretty sure that something funny would come up – given her penchant for burning things up or generally making them upside down!!

Here’s Devi’s contribution:

“Funny you should ak for food stories. Just this weekend i had promised Sandeep Bajjila koora and this capsicum koora recipe from Appamma. I had dug up the original she sent me 31 years ago! so here’s the story. Edit at will :)) Hurriedly took a pic of the capsicum, not sure if you can use it.

“Aren’t houses made of wood in America? She can burn the house down while cooking, she’s so absent-minded” Appamma says to my mother-in-law 30 plus years ago as i was preparing to come to the US. Accompanied by her inimitable chortle and that flashing dimple.

While I was known to burn every pan i touched, I’ve never burnt down a house so far. Appamma used to make this koora with Kakarkaya that had an amazing gravy. I hate kakarkaya so she modified it for capsicum. She sent me the recipe in Telugu so I would not forget to read in Telugu. A much loved recipe that went with me to various wooden houses!

Appamma’s Capsicum Koora (curry)

Capsicum/Bell Pepper – 4 big/6 small

To be roasted in a bit of oil and powdered

Chana dal – 2 tbsp

Urad dal – 2tbsp

red chilis – 5/6

Hing

Methi seeds – 1/4 tsp

White sesame seeds – 1tsp

Dry coconut grated – 1tbsp

Dhaniya seeds – 1tbsp

Tamarind – lime sized ball soaked and pindufied

Jaggery – 2 tbsp

karepaku (curry leaves, salt and kothmir (fresh coriander)

Cut capsicum into 1 inch pieces. Heat 2 tbsp oil in pan and put tadka of rai, jeera, urad dal, 2 red chilis and karepak. add capsicum and cook till softened. Add the powder, tamarind pulp and jaggery. Cover and cook on medium for 10 min, stirring often.

It is truly yum!”

(Phot courtesy of the curry : internet. Photo courtesy of my grandmom’s recipe written in Telugu – grandmom and Devika!)

“Looks a bit dry, doesn’t it? Let’s add more water” and in goes another cup – my aunt to her cook.

A few minutes later, the cook checks the pot once more and decides that it really isn’t looking as though it’s cooked – “methukulu, methukulugaa undamma” (it looks like the rice grains are uncooked) and adds in his share of two more cups of water. 

This goes on for a while – till they have a greenish mess which definitely looks cooked – very, very cooked!! My uncle has invited some guests over for dinner – his new bride – my aunt – is supposed to be a super cook and he’s been raving about her food at the factory! My aunt, rising to the challenge, has decided that she will attempt something she’s not made before – pulao! Unfortunately, neither she nor the cook has the faintest clue about how much water to cook the pulao rice in and as the grains are long and look “uncooked” – the resultant gooey green mess! 

After a few seconds of dismay, my aunt proves her mettle ! She rolls up her sleeves, mashes up the pulao even more till it’s not recognisable as a rice dish, adds some spices and boiled potatoes, whips up a batter and proceeds to make the most delicious “pulao bondas” ever!! Many  “wah-re-wahs” follow and her reputation stays intact!

This same aunt – Kalyani pinni – has been responsible for teaching me a whole load of unfamiliar traditional dishes and to rarely give up on a dish that’s “flopped”! Only once have i actually had to throw out a dish but that’s another story! Here’s a fail-safe pulao – even for NRI students who might otherwise have to resort to “pulao bondas”!

Easy corn pulao

• Basmati rice – 1.5 cups – washed and soaked in 3 cups water for 15 minutes
• Frozen corn – 1 cup
• Bay leaf – 1
• Onion – sliced – 1 large
• Cloves – 4
• Cinnamon – 1″ stick
• Cardamom – 2
• Black cardamom – 1
• Jeera – cumin – 1/2 tsp
• Peppercorns – 8-9
• Ghee – 2 tbsp
• Turmeric – 1 large pinch
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Biryani ke phool (kalpasi/stone flower) – 1/2 tsp

Heat the ghee in a pan. Add all the spices together and fry for a few seconds. Add the onions and fry stirring constantly till golden brown. Add the corn and rice with the water and the salt.Cover and cook till the rice is done – 7-8 minutes. Plain yogurt or raitha as an accompaniment is great. If you’re feeling particularly energetic, make a curry! This is a favourite weeknight dinner at home – easy and quick and exotic – like “outside food”!