Arusuvai Friendship Chain - Star Anise - Part 3

Like all good stories this comes to an end too. I like to finish my ode to Star Anise with one statement ...and that too not original ...Taare Zameen Par !!!

Its been fun participating in the Arusuvai chain and cooking up new things. Unfortunately this last post cannot make it to Sunita's Think Spice event of the month. So after a great Appetizer and a spiced up main course (though their orders of posting was in the reverse), lets round up with a great dessert.
There has been a little addendum since I started with this Star Anise trilogy. I made a nice easy dessert to round up, by grilling bananas with Star Anise but as I waited to post all the three recipes, a new idea slowly started to take shape which culminated in the tasty Indian Dessert which well tasted good. At first I thought, the sweet and cardamom would overpower the star anise, but it did not happen, instead the marriage of cardamom and star anise produced a nice after taste which lingered on and made me want more.
The dessert in question here is the north Indian winter favorite called Gajjar Ka Halwa. I love the dessert and is my all-time favorite request whenever I visit my mom or she visits me. Over the Years my wife has taken to making it just perfectly, and I end up piling this request on her.

Gajjar Ka Halwa with Star Anise ( Carrot Halwa with a hint of Star Anise)

Ingredients:

1 kg Carrots, the red ones
1 litre Milk
1 teaspoon Cardamom seeds
3/4 cup Water
3 tablespoons Ghee
2 tablespoons Raisins
2 tablespoons Almonds
2 tablespoons Powdered Star Anise
450 grams Sugar

Method: Pre-preparation
1. Wash and grate the carrots.
2. Soak the raisins in water for 30 minutes.
3. Shred the almonds.

Preparation
1. Put the water to boil, add in the carrots the moment it starts boiling. Cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the milk. Cook on a low flame for 1 hour stirring occasionally. Add sugar, mix well and cook till the sugar has dissolved and all the milk has been absorbed by the carrots.
3. Add ghee and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add the crushed cardamoms, shredded almonds, powdered star anise and the raisins. Mix well.
4. Remove the gajjar halwa from heat.
5. Serve cold, hot or at room temperature.

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Arusuvai Friendship Chain - Star Anise - Part 2

Moving on to the second part of my three part special dedicated to the star spice - star anise and Arusuvai (actually, I'm prolonging till the secret spice reaches Jayasree :D), this time I had decided to try out something different and while searching for ideas, I stumbled upon a recipe for a recipe of Hummus with ginger-garlic. Hummus as most of us will be knowing is an integral part of mid-east cuisine. It is a dip made of chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice & garlic and is eaten with pita bread, falafel and even crackers. It can also be served with carrot or celery sticks and is a great appetizer. It is also something my wife loves. One of the reasons, we frequent the Mediterranean restaurant in the city too often. It was easy to make and believe you me it took lesser time to disappear. My son who runs away on the mere mention of the word food, relished it and it actually turned out to be the only thing he ate for his meal. Star Anise added a wonderful flavor to the otherwise pungent and spicy concoction. Falafel can traditionally be made in two ways. One, the way it is still made by the Egyptians, using Fava Beans, Chickpeas and Bulgur or the way it is made in Israel, using chickpeas alone. Since, some of the ingredients are a pain to find in the local supermarket, I decided to do it the Israeli way...make it with chickpeas alone.

Cilantro Falafel with Star Anise Flavored Soy Garlic Hummus

Cilantro Falafel

Ingredients:

Chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained - 1 Cup
Cilantro ( Corriander ), Chopped - 3 Tblsp
Onion, roughly chopped - 1
Dried Red Chilly - 2 No.
Cumin, powdered - 1 Tsp
Garlic Cloves - 2-3
Baking Powder - 1 Tsp
Refined Flour - 4 Tblsp
Salt - To Taste
Oil for frying - 20 Ml.

Method:
1. Place the drained chickpeas and the onions in a food processor. Add the Cilantro, salt, red chillies, garlic, and cumin. Process until coarse mix is formed.
2. Add the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and mix.Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.
3. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts, flatten to form a patty.
4. Heat Oil in a pan and shallow fry till they turn golden brown.
5. Drain on paper towels to take out excess oil. Serve hot with Tahini or Hummus.

Note: Take more flour to ensure the mixture does not stick to your hands.
Traditionally the falafel may not be turned into patties and just fried as balls.

Star Anise Flavored Soy Garlic Hummus

Ingredients:

4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 Cup chickpeas soaked overnight in water, drained, liquid reserved
20 gm White Sesame seeds powdered
3 tblsp unseasoned vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp red chili sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground star anise
2 Tsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 white onion, made into a paste
1 Tsp Worcestershire Sauce

Method:

1. Mince garlic in a processor.
2. Add Chickpeas, reserved liquid, sesame seeds, vinegar, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, chilli sauce and ground anise. Process to coarse puree.
3. Add Cilantro and onion. Combine.
4. Serve garnished with whole star anise and a sprig of cilantro.

To Be Continued ...

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Arusuvai Friendship Chain - Star Anise - Part 1

The friendship Chain has been doing its rounds for quite some time, and I was supposed to get my mystery ingredient from Arundati. Srivalli had been regularly checking with both of us on when I would receive it. I was also reguarly in touch with Arundati on its delivery and she was a little caught up ( like I have been ...looks like this is a damn busy year for everyone).

Must say I had been a little nervous on what it might be and whether I will be able to recognise it and use it or I will have to get back to Arundati to find out the mystery. Luckily, when it arrived I heaved a sigh of relief ...it was but something that is always there with me in my kitchen cupboard, for it is an amazing spice, that can turn ordinary fruits into magical grilled/poached delicacies and is also used in making the tasty Andhra Biryani. It is something that the local populace has just started discovering over the last 2-3 years, thanks to the grocery store boom and the availability of stuff that was unheard of in the old kirana store days.

This also happened to be my 50th post. It had to be special. I was mulling over whether to post my Chennai travails or something else. Arusuvai proved to be the perfect one for the ocassion. For all who do not know about Arusuvai, you can go over here and read all over it. ( Arundati, thanks a ton ...the letter though is pending :D)
Now its my turn to send over a mystery ingredient to an unsuspecting blogger. Mulled over whether to send some wasabi or ratan jog ...but then decided to go easy. Jayasree, will be receiving the secret ingredient. All the best to you ... hope you work wonders with it.
Now getting back to my secret ingredient ...Star Anise. It is called Anasphool/Dagphool in hindi, Badian in Marathi, Anaspuvu in Telugu and Anashuppu/Anasipu in Tamil. A traditional ingredient of the chinese five spice powder and also traditionally used in many indian dishes. You can read more about Star Anise in this wikipedia post ranging from its traditional uses to its recent uses in Baking to its medicinal properties.

I had already posted a pineapple dish sometime back in November where I had used Star Anise, so I couldn't do it again. For nostalgia sakes I'm adding a hyperlink for all those who missed it out. This time it had to be different, bigger and better. Afterall it was Arusuvai and it was my 50th post. So, here it is, a combination of 3 different dishes, 3 different courses of a meal, a starter, a main course and a dessert, 3 different cuisines, Indian, Mediterranean and western. Of course not all in one, though they were all tried out in a single day. This is my first trilogy, one after another ..an ode to Star Anise, A big thumbs up to Arusuvai ...may the chain, go on and on ( well, that reminds me, I still need to send the stuff to Jayasree ), and last but not the least, kudos to this blog ( never thought it will last this long and see so many pour in). For some time, my Chennai travails and the Iyer delicacies will have to wait.

Mutton Chops Kozhambu

Chettinaad cuisine from Tamilnadu brings the lifestyle of Chettiars ( the merchant banker class) to the forefront. Coming from the driest regions of the state, they make full uses of all that is available to them. Kozhambus are gravy dishes made of a variety of spices, predominantly using, Marathi Mogga, Star Anise and but of course peppercorns. Meat, Chicken, Fish & Vegetables can be added to these gravies and cooked.
I made a typical Mutton Kozhambu, but instead of using mutton pieces or chunks, I used Mutton Rib Chops.

Some ingredients that I did not add, but you can try it out with them like, drumsticks and shallots. I wanted to keep it simple rather than a medley of different flavors. Must say, the addition of star anise makes the dish come out fabulous.

Ingredients:
Mutton Rib Chops - 150 gm
Onions, made into paste - 200 gm
Tomatoes, made into paste - 150 gm
Star Anise - 2 No.
Marathi Mogga - 1 No
Cloves - 5 gm
Whole Red Chillies - 3 No.
Fennel - 5 gm
Ginger Garlic Paste - 3 Tsp
Turmeric - 1 Tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 4 Tsp
Corriander Powder - 2 Tsp
Cumin Powder, roasted - 2 Tsp
Coconut, grated - 2 Tblsp
Curry Leaves - 5-6
Lemon Juice - 3 Tblsp
Pepper Corns - 5 gm
Black Pepper Powder - 1 Tsp
Oil - 20 ml
Salt - To Taste

Method:
Pre-Preparation
1. Marinate Mutton Chops in oil, lemon juice, 1 Tblsp Red Chilli Powder, Black Pepper Powder 50 gm Onion paste and salt. Keep aside for 30 minutes.
2. Heat Oil in a pan. Sear the mutton chops. Add in the remaining marinade. Take out chops once half done and keep aside.
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a Wok. Add in the remaining oil and marinade from the chops.
2. Put fennel then whole red chillies, Star anise, Marati mogga and cloves.
3. Saute it till light brown and add onions, followed by ginger garlic paste.
4. Once paste startes to turn golden brown add in the mutton chops. Saute for 5 mins.
5. Put turmeric, red chilly powder, coriander powder, roasted cumin powder, coconut, salt and pepper corns.
6. Add water and cover and keep in slow flame.
7. When chops are almost cooked add tomatoes and cook till done.
8. Serve Hot.

To Be Continued ...



Addendum: Sleepy brain ...missed out another part. Srivalli had mentioned to me ( when I disclosed my secret ingredient to her) that I could send this entry to Sunita's Think Spice event of the month, for Star Anise was the star for Feb'08. So here it goes ...this post is my entry. You can go and check out the Think Spice Event here.

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A feast fit for a president - Article from ABC News

While I was away vacationing in Chennai and soaking the sun ( it was hot there ), I had this mail come in from Scott Mayerowitz on an article he had written on the ABC news portal. It was about the Waldorf Astoria launching a menu based on dishes that had been created for past presidents.
It made a good read and some of the dishes also have their recipes listed.
Without much ado, please read the article and try out some of the dishes. If you are feeling a little rich ...well go over to the Waldorf Astoria and try them out. :)

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Who Pickled my Mushrooms ???

This blog is slowly becoming a one post a month thing and let me assure everyone that it is not by design. 2008 has been fairly busy with the new arrival, travel, work pressures and family commitments. I just returned from a 7 day trip to Chennai and am still recovering from the Simbly Southern experience. I will write more about it alongwith photographs in my next post.Also, there are some interesting posts that I received from readers to put up on my blog that will soon find a mention in the coming few days.

Continuing my affair with mushrooms, I tried out another dish with the mushrooms, something that you find commonly done with Potatoes. Yes, I tried doing a 'Achari' thing with them and they came out absolutely finger licking. As I was in the process of making the Achari Khumb, the idea of doing a 'Dum' came up. Contrary to opinions and fears, doing a Dum is fairly easy and does not require a rocket science knowledge of culinary arts. Translated to English, Dum means to cook in its own steam. Voila, ensure the pot is sealed, so that the steam does not escape and the food is cooked on a slow fire till its done.
All in all, the dish was fairly easy to make and the best part, it was liked by one and all in the family.

Dum Achari Khumb ( Pickled Mushrooms cooked in their own steam/juices - The Dum Way)

Ingredients
Mushrooms, cleaned and cut into squares - 200 gm
Onions, finely chopped - 1
Ginger-Garlic Paste - 20 gm
Fenugreek Seeds - 5 gm
Nigella Seeds ( Kalonji) - 10 gm
Mustard Seeds - 10 gm
Peppercorns, freshly crushed - 10 gm
Red Chilli Powder - 5 gm
Mustard Oil - 50 ml
Yoghurt - 1/2 cup
Tomato Paste - 1/2 Cup
Salt - To Taste

Method:
1. Heat Oil. Add in the Mustard Seeds. As soon as they crackle, add in the nigella seeds & the fenugreek seeds.
2. Add the Onion paste alongwith the ginger-garlic paste. Cook till they turn translucent.
3. Add in the mushrooms andcook them for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the red chilli powder,salt and peppercorns, followed by the tomato paste. Cook for 3 minutes.
5. Add whisked yoghurt slowly into the already cooking mixture and stir well to mix everything up.
6. Cover and seal the pan. Let it cook on a slow flame for 10 minutes. ideally, put a tawa on the slow flame, and put the sealed pot on top of the tawa. This will prevent the dish from over cooking (read burning) and sticking to the bottom.
7. After 10 minutes, take the pan off the flame and remove the seal. Mix well and serve garnished with ginger juliennes or a sprig of corriander.

Note:
1. Do not cook the fenugreek seeds too much or add too much of fenugreek seeds or they will turn the dish bitter.
2. To seal the pan, make a basic dough and roll it out into a long snake shape. Cover the dish with this dough and press to seal. To read more about the art of Dum cooking read this article. FYI, the guy shown in the article is Chef Irfan . I have had the pleasure or good fortune of working with his father, often regarded as the father of Dum cooking or the person who bought the dum cooking to the masses, Chef Imtiaz Qureshi.
3. If you are feeling extra experimental. try adding some hot coals on top of the sealed dish while it is on the flame.

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