“Dear, love is a burning fire. Stay, cause then the flames grow higher”

Friday, May 4, 2007

You're no good, can't you see Brother Louie, Louie, Louie
I'm in love - set you free
Oh, she's only looking to me
Only love breaks her heart Brother Louie, Louie, Louie
Only love's paradise
Oh - she's only looking to me

If you were born in the early 80’s or even before (Late 70’s), were raised in India or anywhere in Europe and were into Euro pop you will definitely know the song on my blog. I was randomly going through some old tapes (yea that’s right magnetic old school tapes) at my parent’s house and found this tape from the 80’s that my sister and I used to listen too. Sigh! Memories.....
YAY Its Friday! And Bhatji will be done with his finals tomorrow evening. Yes folks, I will finally see what my husband looks like without a book attached to his face. And trust you me, I will be planning dinners and couples time out of the house. I just gotta be patient tonight. I know the NBA playoffs are in session and I have been following the western conference (since the Wizards lost all hope when Arenas and Butler were hurt) but tomorrow I hope that Bhatji and I don’t get bogged down at home in front of the TV. The weather is going to be absolutely amazing and I wanna do something outdoorsy :o)
Last week my mom gave me homemade idlis (Indian steamed rice cakes). Now I don’t know how to make idlis from scratch just yet, because the idli batter requires lots of patience and time…neither of which I have; Especially when I have a husband who walks in and starts rummaging through the fridge and doesn’t want to wait for any batter to set. So I use the idli mixes by MTR or Priya. I also have this nifty plastic idli maker. It has round moulds and it can be used in the microwave. That’s right! You can make idlis in a microwave. Now I know most of you (especially southies) are probably thinking “How authentic or good can these idlis taste?” Honestly they taste the same. It’s amazing how technology can help us novice cooks to make quick meals. I do want to learn the authentic way of making idlis and dosas, but for now I am content with short cuts :o) Anyway, since my mom gave me those yummy idlis, I decided to make a simple chutney that both Bhatji and I love. This is my mom’s recipe…not sure if it is Konkani or an Andhra recipe but it tastes great with idlis and even dosas. So I wanted to share the simple recipe for Chanapeeta chutney (Besan/Chickpea flour chutney)
Ingredients:
One small onion chopped
3 green chilies
½ tsp of mustard seeds
2 tsp of Urad Dhaal
¼ tsp of methi seeds
1tsp of tamarind paste
1 tsp of haldi
2 tbl spns of Sambhar powder
2 tbl spns of besan/chickpea flour
2tbl spns of oil
A pinch of hing
3 cups of water divided
Salt to taste
Coriander leaves for garnish

To Make:
Heat oil and add the mustard seeds, when they start to splutter add urad dhaal, methi seeds and the hing. When they start to splutter and they is a strong aroma add the onions, green chilies and fry for about 4-5 mins. Add one cup of water and cook for about a min. Add the tamarind paste, haldi, salt, sambhar powder and one more cup of water. While this is cooking, take another bowl and add one cup of water to the 2 tbsl spns of besan. Use a whisk and mix together and make sure there are no lumps. Add this mixture to the heated pan with all the other ingredients and bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat and add coriander for garnish.


This was such an easy chutney/sambhar type of dish. It took me all of 10 mins to make and it was gone in about 10 mins too! Bhatji and I must have ravenous. Or the chuntney looked so good that we couldn’t contain ourselves. Either way it was excellent and I have more idli secrets to share…but in my next blog. Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. Happy Friday!

P.S (Thank you wonderful people for the “your not fat” compliments. I promise I am done with the fat madness…well at least for today :o)