October 2014 – onesmallpot

Diwali, Coconut & Quinoa Kheer and Win Flights to India!

Posted on October 13, 2014October 18, 2014 by Deepa

Of all of the stories that are associated with Diwali, the tale of Lord Rama, his wife Sita and brother Lakshman has to be the one that is dearest to my heart. It is a tale of honour, exile, self-control and eventually, triumph. This part of the epic Ramayana begins with the self-imposed exile of Rama after an administration bungle involving his stepmother and the throne. Despite the pleas of his father the King, honour drives Rama into the forest, where he is willingly followed by Sita and Lakshman to begin what is to be an adventure-filled, fourteen year camping trip.

And what of Sita? Her adoptive father, also a King, discovered baby Sita in the fields (one assumes she was discovered by one of his staff as what King would toil the fields?). He is delighted with his find, which if you ask me is a refreshing change in the attitude of that time, when female babies were generally considered a consolation prize to sons. He raises her as his own and when she is of marriageable age, hosts the equivalent of a celestial weight lifting championship to filter out the men from the mice. Thus, Rama is found. He is known in Hindu mythology as Purushottama, literally the Supreme Being, or Perfect Man (thereby confirming that on Earth, one may find Mr. Right but can forget any hopes of finding Mr. Perfect).

So after having to suffer through watching keen suitor after keen suitor attempt to lift the heaviest bow in the world, the Princess Sita finds her perfect man, marries him and is rewarded with a honeymoon of more than a decade in the woods with no mobile phone connection and barely a hairdryer to her name. As if having to wander around in the forest with your husband and ~~the third wheel~~ his brother wasn’t trying enough for the poor lady, she manages to get herself kidnapped by Ravana, an obnoxious demon with appalling table manners.

So Diwali marks the return from exile of the trio, after Rama proves his perfection by slaying the evil Ravana, rescuing his wife and bringing her back to civilisation before she can get herself into any more trouble. Known as the Festival of Lights, an important feature of Diwali is the lighting of lamps and of firecrackers. The flames and bursts are a symbol of good triumphing over evil, of light obscuring the darkness.

Coconut Quinoa Kheer Pudding (1 of 5)

In Sydney, the law dictates that we be content with the lighting of sparklers and of small oil filled lamps, or diyas. When I was in Mumbai as a child however, it was a different story. Weeks before the much anticipated festival, we would stock up on firecrackers of all shapes, sizes and colours. Then the day would come and after the religious rituals were duly observed and obscene amounts of food eaten, all of the inhabitants would gather in front of the apartment block, the youngest kids hoisted safely onto their fathers’ shoulders.

We would often start softly, with flower pots that would spray a bouquet of light upwards and chakkars (wheels) that would spin madly when lit, spraying colourful sparks unpredictably in all directions. Some of the braver boys would venture onto rockets, placing them in used soda bottles. These had to be lit quickly, legs in take-off position, so that the mad dash to safety could be done before they launched. The grand finale would be strings of tiny ‘Dum Dum’ crackers, named so for the deafening cavalcade of explosions that began when they were lit, leaving ears ringing till Christmas. When the boxes of firecrackers had all been systematically reduced to burnt paper and the air was heavy with the strangely intoxicating scent of over-done popcorn, we would all head back into our homes (or each others’) to enjoy a vast array of sweets for dessert.

Firecrackers and sweets jostle for first place among the highlights of Diwali and in Australia, where the law is limiting, sweets win every time. There are no rules against sugary, milky gratification and indulge we do, with at least three different types of sweets every year. This year, I played with a variation on kheer, a popular condensed milk and rice pudding. In this version, the quinoa lends a nuttiness which cuts through its creamy, mildly sweet coconut vehicle. There is a pleasant coating of the tongue of thickened coconut milk and the delicate balance of the cardamom, saffron and vanilla that it carries. Jaggery lends a warm, caramel sweetness, but you could use brown sugar if you don’t have any on hand. An abundant drizzle of toasted, crushed nuts is mandatory and gives the molars something to work on in an otherwise soft world. I chose almonds and also used some Persian fairy floss that I happened to find strutting around in the pantry. From a nutrition perspective, quinoa is mostly protein and therefore a healthier option to rice. Also, the natural sweetness of coconut products means that only a small amount of sweetener is required. Serve in small bowls, as both quinoa and coconut milk are filling entities and the last thing we all need is dessert fatigue*.

Now onto the competition! St.George Bank is giving away 2 tickets to India this Diwali (see the video below), and if I hadn’t spent my leave galavanting around Tuscany and the UK, I’d be entering. To enter, all you have to do is snap a pic of some aspect of your Diwali celebrations. Post the pic on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram, with the #StGeorgeDiwali by 12 noon Sunday, October 26. The best entry will win flights for 2 to India! The competition is open to NSW, ACT and QLD residents. For further info, including T & C’s, head to http://www.stgeorgediwali.com.au/

So whether your Diwali consists of Dum-Dums and squealing children, or quiet rituals and too much food, may it be filled with light, love and sweetness. Happy Diwali!

Looking for other eggless sweet options? Try these chocolate burfi. or this raw mint slice, or these truffles or these ones.

This is a sponsored post, but words, opinions and ramblings are my own.

Coconut and Quinoa Kheer (Pudding)

Makes 8-10 serves

Get:

1/2 cup quinoa
1 tin coconut milk
1 tin coconut cream
50-70g jaggery, powdered, or brown sugar (depending on how sweet you like it)
The insides of 6-8 cardamom pods, roughly powdered
1/8 tsp (generous pinch) saffron strands
1/2 or 1 whole vanilla bean
About 1/4 cup crushed, toasted nuts of your choice

Make:

Boil the quinoa in plenty of water for 6-8 mins. Drain and rinse the quinoa well.

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, place the drained quinoa, coconut milk, coconut cream, powdered jaggery or brown sugar, powdered cardamom seeds and saffron. Split the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Place the seeds and the bean into the pan.

Bring gently to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, stirring every few minutes, until the pudding has thickened to a porridge consistency. Crush and toast the nuts in another pan while this is happening. Serve topped with crushed nuts and whatever else happens to be serving a purely decorative purpose in your pantry.

Notes:

*We all know dessert fatigue is a myth, but the weak amongst us claim it exists. Also, I may have made way too much of this and eaten it for breakfast 3 days in a row.

Jaggery is an unrefined Indian brown sugar that you can pick up at Indian grocery stores.

If you don’t have vanilla beans, you can substitute with vanilla extract or paste.

Mum’s Natural Cough Remedy

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Deepa

For the past week I’ve been struck down with bronchitis, resulting in a pesky, guttural cough that is as unsavoury as it is exhausting. To say that I’m not great at being a patient is putting it mildly. It took me several days to see the doctor for some antibiotics, and a whole lot of parental coaxing to convince me to take time off work to recuperate. Having time on my hands is something I always crave, but time combined with a physical inability to do things I want to do is not quite what I had in mind. After almost a week at home, I am truly insufferable and yet this tiresome cough lingers.

All this whining has a purpose, I promise. There is a natural relief for coughing and head colds that I want to share with you, something that my mother forces into me at times like this. A few days ago I was home alone with Cookie the pooch, and on my second consecutive night of incessant coughing, an activity that seems to be incompatible with sleep. Sometime around three am, I had had enough and was feeling borderline murderous. When I got out of bed and turned the light on for the third time that night, (ignoring an exasperated gaze from the long-suffering Cookie who had the misfortune of sleeping in my room) I knew that a solution had to be found.

So the stove was lit, milk poured, pepper ground and white yellowed with turmeric. A short boil later, I was sipping my mother’s medicine for the first time without her insistence. To say it worked, the cough subsided and I enjoyed a few hours sleep for the first time in what felt like forever would be an admission that my mother is right. That she told me so, and that I would’ve done well to listen earlier. And we know, you and I, that we never admit such a thing, regardless of how old or supposedly mature we are.

There are no pretensions about this milk. It may be, at least initially, one of the worst things you’ve ever put in your mouth. I don’t sweeten mine anymore, but you can and I suggest you do the first few times. Honey would be the obvious choice because of its soothing properties. You could also use a nut milk or soy milk. Be sure to drink it as hot as you can possibly manage. I think it works partly because turmeric has known anti-inflammatory properties which have long been recognised in Ayurvedic medicine. Pepper was thought to have the ability to clear congestion but my personal theory is that in such a high concentration, it just annihilates the sensation in the nerve endings in the throat. For whatever reason, this concoction, while unappealing in taste, seems to work well as a natural cough suppressant, and will provide some flu relief also.

Please don’t tell my mother I said that.

So tell me, what natural remedies do your family members swear by?

Milk with Turmeric and Pepper

Makes 1 serve

Get:

1 cup milk
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp turmeric powder
Sweetener of your choice, to taste (optional)

Make:

Place all ingredients in a small, heavy bottomed saucepan and stir to disperse the turmeric. Bring slowly to the boil and simmer on low heat for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and drink as hot as you can handle.

Sleep well and allow those around you to do the same.

Mocha Tartlets

Posted on October 8, 2014October 28, 2014 by Deepa

It took me a long time after university to stop associating coffee with the torture of exams. Despite being an over-achiever at school, it took me quite a few years to get my groove at uni. And so frantic, caffeine fuelled all-nighters were the rule rather than the exception during vet school, much to the surprise of those who knew me in high-school. Couple that with the academically, physically and emotionally demanding nature of a vet degree, and it was a sure formula for one hot mess of a vet student come exam time. That year that we had 10 exams to complete in a two week period is particularly memorable, and I think it was after that year that I resolved to get my act together so that I wouldn’t have to sit important papers on two hours of sleep and a whole lot of liquid stimulation.

A forced wake-up from an unfairly short sleep wasn’t even the worst of it. The kicker was the mind-fog through which I would command the answers to surface as I tried to focus on the words on the page. Finally, there was the fumble of a bus ride home, when my brain was too numb with lack of sleep to even process whether I had performed adequately in the exam. Even to this day, looking at an energy drink brings back the faint nausea of those delirious, desperate and disillusioned all-nighters that I and my friends (yes, I had company in this silly behaviour) subjected ourselves to for 2 weeks every semester.

In the last few years I have felt that I am adult enough and forgetful enough to be able to savour the taste of coffee without the bone-chilling memories that my disorganised uni student self had attached to it. Good coffee, made well, truly is a wonderful thing. Those first few sips whose aromas fill the nostrils and which leave a trail of warmth down the oesophagus are a comfort and a wake-up call in one.

I take mine without sugar, always have, and find it is actually an offense to the coffee if sugar masks any of its flavour. On days when I’m feeling a bit decadent, I will also dip a piece of dark chocolate into it, holding it in there for a few seconds so that I can inelegantly suck off the top layer of melted chocolate before dipping it back in. Occasionally I will also drop a cube of chocolate in while the coffee is still very hot, so that I have something lovely to scoop out with a spoon after my last swig.

I don’t think there’s any uncertainty that I am all for the marriage of coffee and chocolate. These mocha tarts combine those two great lovers, and the nutty, gluten-free base does much to ground the whole thing and cut through the bittersweetness.

Mocha Tartlets (Gluten-free, refined sugar free)

Makes 18-20

Get:

For the Crust:
3 cups almond meal
115g butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
1 tbsp rice syrup or honey
1 pinch salt

For the filling:
2 cups raw cashews
1/3 cup strongly brewed, good quality coffee
1/3 cup Rice Syrup or honey
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
150 g 70% dark chocolate
1/3 cup double cream

Special Equipment:
Mini tart cases or a muffin tin, greased well
A high speed food processor

Method:

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees Celsius. Spread the cashews out on an oven tray and bake for 4-5 mins until just starting to gain colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.

To make the crust, cut the butter into cubes and place in a large mixing bowl with the other crust ingredients. Using clean hands, rub the butter into the other ingredients to form a dough that you can knead. Knead for 2-3 minutes.

Pinch off portions of the dough the size of ping-pong balls (23-25g each). Flatten each ball between the palms and press into the tart cases or cups of the muffin tin. Press the dough evenly at the base and sides of the tins to a 3-4mm thickness. Place the tins on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 10-15 mins until the cases are an even golden brown colour. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing the cases from the tins. Use the tip of a sharp knife to gently loosen the tart cases and facilitate removal from the tins.

While the tart cases are baking, make the filling. Place the cooled cashews in the bowl of the food processor and blitz on high speed, stopping intermittently, until a smooth butter is formed. Initially a meal will form, then a thick dough, then a smooth butter. Add the coffee, cinnamon and honey or rice syrup and blitz until an even mixture forms, stopping to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure all the nut butter is incorporated.

When all the tart cases are baked, cooled and removed from the tins, fill each one 1/2 to 2/3 with the filling. Place them in the freezer for an hour or so until they are firmly set.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave in 20 to 30 second bursts. Take off the heat and add the cream, stirring quickly to form a smooth ganache. When the coffee filling has set, spoon small amounts (about a tsp) of the ganache onto the top of each tart and spread out a little with the back of the spoon.

Refrigerate until the ganache is firm. Serve as is or with a dollop of cream.

Leftover chocolate and coffee filling? Mix them together, firm up in the fridge and roll into balls to make mocha truffles!

Notes:

You could probably make 1 large tart in a standard sized tart tin if you prefer, although I have not tried that with this recipe.

Spinach, Baby Corn and Mung Dhal Curry + Nourishing Spinach Broth

Posted on October 1, 2014October 2, 2014 by Deepa

The young man always set his stall up just outside the main gate. He would line the steel canisters up on the cheap plastic table, leaving the lids on until the first few walkers would trickle past. The gate behind him led into a paved path, which encircled a large man-made lake called Sankey Tank. Every morning, the sweetly smiling, crisp shirted young man would peddle his wares to the local residents who walked or jogged the popular Bangalore path.

Two large signs rested against the front row of vessels.

Nutritious and Healthy Hot Soups are Available Here explained the first one.

Next to it, the other sign went on to list the options: Hot Ragi (millet). Palak and Methi (Spinach and Fenugreek). Vegetable. Baby Corn. Aloe Vera and Wheat Grass.

In the earlier part of the morning, it was mainly the office-goers he served, confidently ladling hot liquids until he achieved the mixture that each customer looked forward to. They would drink quickly, blowing into their cups between sips, then rush off with a wave to begin a new day. Later in the morning came the housewives and retirees, often in pairs or threes. There was no air of urgency about this bunch and they would linger a little longer around his stall, sipping the spiced, healthful broth and exchanging news.

He wore no watch, but guessed the time according to the regulars. The old man who fed the pigeons arrived at precisely eight am, and left at nine fifteen. There was the trickle of school children that would begin at around 8.30 and trail off around nine. And the aunty who always wore a woollen beanie, regardless of the weather, usually arrived around ten.

Then, at around ten thirty, when all the walkers had walked, joggers had jogged and soup drinkers had drunk, the young man would meticulously pack away his things and head home. Every day he would take pleasure in the lightness of the canisters at the end of the morning. It made him happy that people liked his soup, so full of nourishment. And it made him even happier that the cycle home from Sankey Tank at the end of his shift was always easier than the one he had done in the wee hours of the morning.

Spinach, Baby Corn and Mung Dhal curry

Get:

2 large bunches English spinach, leaves and tender stems only, finely chopped
8-10 fresh baby corns, sliced to 2-3mm pieces
1/3 cup dried split mung dhal
Salt
Lemon juice
Boiling water
Small handful coriander, roughly chopped

For the Tempering:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilly powder
2-3 dried red chillies, broken into large pieces

Make:

Boil the spinach in 2-3 cups salted water (enough to submerge it) for 5-7 minutes. Drain and reserve the water.

In a large non-stick saucepan, dry roast the mung dhal, stirring continuously until they have gained a little colour and are fragrant. Remove from the saucepan and set aside.

Boil the sliced baby corn in plenty of salted water until they are starting to become tender. Then add the roasted mung dhal and cook until the dhal is mostly but not completely cooked. Drain and reserve the water.

In the non-stick saucepan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When the seeds have popped (adjust the heat to prevent burning them), add the other tempering ingredients. Add the spinach and cook for a few minutes, then add the baby corn and mung dhal. If the mixture is a bit dry, add a little of the spinach water. Add salt to taste- start with 1/2 tsp. Stir through, taste and add more salt if needed. Cook, covered, until the baby corn is fairly tender and until any excess water has evaporated (you may have to cook uncovered for a few minutes at the end).

Squeeze in a generous about of lemon juice (start with a tbsp, add more according to taste) and stir through just before serving. Enjoy with your favourite Indian flatbread.

Nourishing Spinach Broth:

Get:

The spinach and baby corn water from the previous recipe
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 green chilli, split down the middle
1-2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt and lemon juice to taste

For the Tempering:
2 tsp vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
Make:

Boil all the ingredients (apart from the oil, cumin and lemon juice) in a pot for about 15-20 mins. Add salt only if needed after tasting. Strain the broth to remove the garlic and chilly. In a separate small non-stick pan, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. When they have popped, add the mixture to the broth and stir. Add lemon juice to taste.

Notes:

Mung Dhal, dry red chillies and all the spices are readily available in Indian grocery stores.

Month: October 2014

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