The word "khana" in Indian Khana Made Easy means food. So come on, let's explore and cook some easy Indian food together including gluten-free and vegan dishes.

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February 28, 2011

The "Other" Dosa Chutney

Masala Dosa at Chennai Garden, NYC
What a lovely sight, indeed! Above is a great example of a dosa. It is a kind of crepe which is most commonly made from fermented rice and urad dal batter. Usually, most South Indian restaurants serve dosas with sambar, fiery chutney powder, and coconut chutney.  In my experience, the sambar is usually too spicy and so is the chutney powder. The coconut chutney is okay if it's properly made and sometimes, it's too watery which ruins the taste of the dosa. And that is why I have to speak out. I know of another chutney that deserves to take center stage and push the coconut one aside. It's creamy, a little tangy and sweet and oh so flavorful. I used to think this chutney recipe was a well kept secret but my mom only told me recently that variations of it are served in restaurants in Southern India. I guess it's not a secret anymore.
Yummy Peanut Chutney!
Feast your eyes on the one and only chutney that should be accompanied with the rice and urad dal dosa. 

Ingredients: 
1 cup of Peanuts
2 Dry Red chillies (or 1 tsp crushed red chilies)
1" ball of Dry Tamarind or 1 tbsp of Tamarind Concentrate
1 tbsp of Jaggery or Brown sugar
½ Salt tsp or as needed
1 tsp of Vegetable oil

Procedure:
1) Fry peanuts and chillies in oil on medium heat to low heat until peanuts give out the roasted aroma. It should take about 6-7 minutes.

2)  If using tamarind, use sufficient water to cover it and microwave it for 15-20 seconds. Allow it to soak for 5 minutes; this will loosen it up so you can squeeze the juice out.


3) Blend peanuts and chillies to a fine powder. Then add salt and brown sugar. Squeeze the juice out of soaked tamarind and add the juice to the mixture. Next, add water to make the mixture wet and blend it to a smooth paste. Taste the chutney to adjust salt or brown sugar as needed and remove from the blender.




Quick Tips 
- You can also season the chutney with mustard seeds, jeera and curry leaves. It gives it that extra kick. 


I know you're dying to make dosas now, just so you can dip the dosa into this creamy and "nutty" chutney. Check out India on a Griddle: A Savory Dosa Recipe Worth the Effort



February 21, 2011

Our First Anniversary

Hoorah! This past weekend was marked by a couple of "First" moments for the year. First of, it was our blog's First Anniversary and it is customary on such an occasion to exchange paper made gifts. So we created business cards to hand them out to people and spread the word. Secondly, I went to my First Scandinavian dinner party. Would you believe that my eyes popped out of their sockets when I saw the food laid out in front of me...so many goodies I have never seen. Even though, many were non-vegetarian, I managed to eat some that weren't and they were delicious.



My favorites from the Smorgasbord were the Lefse (potato flat breads, left topmost corner), Norwegian Cheese platter, Curried deviled eggs (bottom left-hand corner), Janssons Frestelse (Made with grated potatoes and onions cooked in cream, right most of picture), Spiced Apple Wedges, and Knackebrod (Crispy bread). I went home feeling proud, having eaten a good portion of the food on the Smorgasbord.

On Sunday my friends and I drove to the city for our First Cultural Event of the year: The Anamika Navatman Brunch Performance Series - Emerging Artists Dance Program. 



They are trained in various types of Indian Classical dances such as Kathak, Kuchipudi, and Bharatanatyam for many years. The emerging artists and their dance descriptions are Srilekha Jayanthi (Kuchipudi solo about Shiva), Umesh Venkatesan (Bharatanatyam solo about Krishna), Melvin Varghese (Bharatanatyam solo about Ganeshanjali), and Mohip Joarder, Reena Shah, Ammr Vandal (Kathak group - members of the Parul Shah Dance Co). Illustrated below are two of the talented artists from the program:



I've attended dance programs mostly comprised of girls. I never had the opportunity to watch men dance. It was quite a treat; the movements and expressions were so captivating. 

Overall, the weekend was fantastic. We are happy to share our cooking and cultural insights with you. We feel that posting recipes is one thing but when you share the history behind a recipe or festival, it keeps the audience engaged in the content and makes them feel connected. We thank all of you for your support and hope to keep you coming back for MORE!