Week 12: Lashney Tambli

One of my all time favourite aamchi dishes since childhood, it is the perfect summer delight. Cool and tangy. Whenever I reminisce about my holidays in India, and the lovely sunny days, the thing I fondly remember is having lashney tambli with rice, and pappad!

Tambli or tambuli seems to be derived from the Kannada word 'thampu', which means cool or cold, and is made mostly from grinding raw ingredients and spices and then mixing it with yogurt. There are two main tamblis I know of, and they're simple to remember - green, and red/orange. The green tambli is made with tender greens (leafy vegetables) like cauliflower greens, and the red version with garlic (hence the 'lashne') and red chillies.

I made two versions of the red tambli - one with yogurt, which Anushree had, and one vegan version (using kokam) for my brother and myself. The rich orange-red colour is so appealing!

As you will have seen so far, aamchi dishes are just so simple - but this one takes simplicity to the next level. Tamblis are a great accompaniment to rice, but also to drink on its own!

I do have to say though, raw garlic breath is probably not the most ideal so you may want to consider making this dish on a day you're planning to stay at home, or just brush multiple times and eat lots of mints!

Ingredients:

6-8 garlic cloves (Note: It really depends how garlicky you want the tambli and so can use more or less)

4-5 dried red beydgi chillies

1 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 tsp hing/asafoetida

3-4 heaped tbsp yogurt (for the non-vegan version) OR

4-5 kokum peels (for the vegan version)

1-2 tsp salt (to taste)

Method:

1. Soak the kokum peels in a katori or small bowl of hot water if you want to make a vegan tambli- this enables the pulp to be extracted;

2. Chop the garlic gloves (but doesn't have to be too fine) to make it easier to grind;

3. Add the garlic, red chillies, coconut, hing and salt to the mixer-grinder. Add some water (not too much, but enough so that the ingredients grind well) and grind into a smooth paste.

4. Put the ground paste into a bowl and add either the kokum pulp (i.e. keep massaging the kokum in the water it was soaked in, and then use the water), or yogurt depending on whether it is to be vegan or not. Mix well adding a little bit more water to get a pouring consistency. Note: the consistency should be thin enough to pour easily as an accompaniment for rice (so it's not like thick chutney), but not too thin otherwise the water will separate from the rest of the paste, which you don't want.

Serve with rice and pappads!

Week 11: Kaairas/Kayaras

Trust us Aamchis to come up with a dish made with peanuts as the main ingredient. Kaairas/ Kayaras happens to be one of Anushree's favourite dishes, but only and only the way her ammama (maternal grandmother) makes it - with more (and more) peanuts, and less peppers or anything else. In fact, her amamma always warns her about eating too much of it in one go, for obvious reasons of what eating too many peanuts can do!

I'll be honest - I am not such a big fan of kaairas/kayaras, but I am trying to acquire a taste for it, especially as it's Anushree's demand every time we visit her grandmother (just as my standard request is tambli when we visit mine).

It is tangy, sweet and sour due to the jaggery and tamarind, with a nice crunch from the peanuts. As Anushree describes it, in addition to using lots of peanuts, she loves her amamma's kaairas/kayaras as she does not use a lot of coconut in the massol, unlike many other people. As a result, her kaairas turns out less dry and more smooth on the palate.

Anushree wouldn't allow me to make this any other way. So, here you are - Ammama's recipe (rather than the one in the Rasachandrika).

Ingredients

1 bell pepper/capsicum

1 cup of peanuts

1/4 cup of jaggery

1/2 cup of dessicated coconut (we forgot about when we took the photo of the ingredients!)

Tamarind (size of half a lemon)

1 tbsp chana dal

1 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp sesame seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

2 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp asafoetida/hing

4-5 fenugreek seeds

3 tsp coconut oil

5-6 curry leaves

Salt to taste

Method

1. Pressure cook the peanuts (with just enough water to cover the same) and 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/2 tsp of jaggery for 3-4 whistles, so they are almost cooked but not fully done.

2. Wash the bell pepper and then dice it into small cubes.

3. Soak the tamarind in hot water. Note: You can avoid this step if you are using ready tamarind paste and use 2-3 tbsp

4. Heat 1 tsp of coconut oil. Add a pinch of asafoetida/hing. Then add the chana dal, coriander seeds, dried red chilli, fenugreek seeds, sesame seeds and desiccated coconut until light brown/well roasted. Note: Don't add more than 4-5 fenugreek seeds, otherwise, you will get a bitter taste. Also, roast the ingredients on a low flame so that they don't burn.

5. Add the above ingredients into a mixer grinder and grind into a smooth paste.

6. In a saucepan, heat the remaining coconut oil, and add the remaining asafoetida. Add mustard seeds and once they splutter, add the red chilli and curry leaves. Now add the chopped peppers, salt, and around half the jaggery. Saute for about 3-4 minutes.

7. Add the boiled peanuts into the saucepan and mix well. Now squeeze the tamarind in the water it was soaked in and using a strainer, add the strained pulp to the pan.

8. Add the remaining jaggery. Note: you can alter the amount of jaggery, i.e. if you prefer it sweeter and more tangy, add more, otherwise stick with the half measure added in step 6.

9. Finally, add the ground massol and mix well. Note: at this point you can add more salt as per your taste. Now,let the kaairas simmer for about 10 minutes till the peanuts are nice and soft, and both, the peanuts and the peppers have absorbed the flavours of the massol.

Kaairas usually goes well with chapatis. If having with rice, it would be best to have it as a side, and make a non-massol based daal like thoy or aambat.

Did I say Anushree likes Kaairas but only and only the way her ammama makes it? Well, guess whose kaairas preparation (albeit amamma style) she polished off in one go? Wink wink.

Week 10: Jeere Meere Khadi

If you have been wondering (I hope you have) as to what has taken me long to publish my next blog, I have just one response. Sleep regression. Not mine, but my little one's. Ah, he was a pretty good sleeper, but has suddenly turned into this ninja warrior who fights sleep with all his might. I admire his perseverance and determination at resisting all his naps and night sleep, but obviously that has meant a teeny weeny bit of stress for us in managing a cranky, tired, and clingy dude. Anyhow, back to the challenge. It was not difficult thinking of a dish with J. While I have fond memories of the cold and refreshing Tambli from my summer holidays spent in India, its cold weather cousin - the Jeere Meere Kadhi, is a firm favourite providing comfort in the cold and wetness, i.e. typical British weather. Moreover, I have seldom come across a dish that simultaneously counters the “I should not have over indulged in my previous meal” by facilitating digestion. Simple ingredients. Simple recipe. Jeere (cumin) and Meere (pepper), alongside garlic, coconut, red chilli, and asafoetida. That's it!

Ingredients:

2 tsp cumin seeds

7-10 peppercorns

3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Tamarind (1/4th the size of a lime. Cleaned and de-seeded)

10 garlic cloves

1 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 tsp asafoetida/hing

Salt to taste

Method:

1. For the massol, heat the coconut oil and roast the cumin seeds and peppercorns until lightly brown. Add the hing, red chilli powder and coconut. Roast together for a couple of minutes. Note: Be really careful you don't roast the ingredients for too long as you will end up burning them. Transfer these contents into the mixer-grinder jar.

2. Finely chop, or grate the garlic and lightly roast it in the same pan in which you had roasted the massol ingredients. Add half of this sautéed garlic to the mixer jar and keep the other half aside.

3. Fine grind the roasted mixture with the garlic.

4. Now transfer the ground massol into the pan. Add water until the kadhi is like a smooth liquify texture - born too watery but no lumps either. Note: pour water first into the mixer jar to wash out the massol sticking to the sides, into the pan.

5.Add salt to taste, and the remaining roasted garlic to the kadhi. Stir to a boil.

And there you have it. Another very simple aamchi dish but just so incredibly delicious!