Shades of Gray + Banana Blossoms Pakoda/Pakora

Day7of BM#10: I am very emotional today. Emotional, bleak, hopeless and utterly bereft.Color me Gray-Thundercloud Gray.. Tornado Funnel Gray.. Gloomy Day Gray. Here is why -
Today, a few minutes before noon, a half-an-hour before lunch -- I get a phone call from my buddy. I didn't pick up the first time. She gives me a buzz again. As I pick up my cell to attend her call,I was wondering why someone who is at work seemed so intent on reaching me..There was a reason.She then dropped a bomb on me -- That our closest friend's toddler is dead.  A million questions arise on my mind- What? Who? When? Why? Why god why? Hell no..NO NO NO NO..She couldn't have lost her precious son..a son for whom she almost knocked at death's door delivering him to the world. A child who was her hope for a "brighter tomorrow"..I was in a complete daze. I continued work like an automaton while my mind was wondering if I heard it right. When my brain finally unfroze a multitude of emotions assault me.. brutally!!!

First came the anger - Anger at the gods, the unfairness and the way my buddy was dealt with such a cruel cruel blow.The kind of anger that makes one shaky like a leaf caught at crosswinds... an anger that makes every nerve of a being twitch uncontrollably. Second came the hatred -- Hatred, intense yet a "fleeting" hatred at the buddy who delivered me the news-she who burst the perfect bubble of mine called "Sweet November, Post Thanksgiving"- the harbinger of melancholy that soon followed . Next came the tears, like a dam burst. I ordered my brain to control it...to keep it in check until lunch break and then lose it. Cause at work, emotions don't come to play.

Lunchtime came and I headed to the restroom. I gave in to what my heart and mind wanted.. seek comfort by shedding tears. Then I took a walk. The cold and crisp air kissing my face was a poor poor consolation. But it composed and calmed the turmoil that was running rife inside of me and I went back to work. Evening came and grief promptly descended on me with its swift wings. I was a big mess..as I drove back home, I was cursing the fate for messing with the order of things -- parents losing a child is a big NO NO. Just thinking of what my friend must be going through was enough to break my heart anew.

Lastly came acceptance -- Acceptance that the pattern in the fabric of our life is intricately woven by a much higher power and things don't always happen in a favorable way.Especially for us mere mortals who are at the receiving end.But I tell you that I do come to that conclusion with a bleeding heart. A heart that sincerely wishes for a safe deliverance of the precious and innocent little soul, snatched wayyy before it had a chance to flourish and take root, into the safe hands of the Almighty. A heart that prays to God to give strength and courage to my friend and her family to overcome this unimaginable loss. Lil S, Rest in Peace. 

Please love your family like there is no tomorrow..especially the kids, cause they are the real asset to the parents, a true apple of one's eye(s).

I wasn't in the mood to blog as it was the last thing on my mind but this was already ready in the draft and I wanted to pour my emotions somewhere that were like a bubbling cauldron inside of me -

Anyways here is what I made for BM#10:

• Day1 - Vegan Pumpkin,Applesauce and Double Chocolate Muffins
• Day2 - Baked Tandoori Chicken from scratch
• Day3 - Spicy Apple and Red Pepper Chutney
• Day4 - Paneer and Veggies Kofta Curry
• Day5 - Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread
• Day6 - Pan Fried Masala Salmon
• Day7 - Crispy Banana Blossoms Pakora/Pakoda

On a lighter note - Way7 To Maintain A Healthy Level of Insanity (and a bonus):

• When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking Lot, Yelling "Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"
• Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Split Chickpea/Bengal Gram, soaked for 3-4 hours prior to grinding
• 3/4 Cup Cleaned Banana Blossoms
• 2-3 Medium Garlic Cloves
• ¼ inch Ginger, peeled
• ½ Cup Cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp Mint, finely chopped
• 2 Stalks Curry Leaves, finely chopped
• 6-7 or less/more Green Chili, finely sliced
• 1/4 Tsp Fennel Seeds, roughly ground
• Salt for taste
• Vegtable Oil for deep frying

Learn how to clean the Banana Blossoms here.

Procedure:

• Soak the split chick pea in little water along with garlic cloves and ginger.Grind to a coarse/gritty paste without water.

• Soak the cleaned Banana Blossoms in little Buttermilk and Water mixture. This delays the discoloration of the blossoms. Completely drain it of moisture and add it to a bowl.

• Add the drained banana blossoms, ground split chickpea, finely chopped cilantro, mint, chilies, fennel seeds and salt.

• Combine all of them together. Heat the oil in a wok/kadai/dutch oven.

• Drop small lumps of the mixture into the hot oil using hands.

• Deep fry until its light brown.

• Drain the Pakora/Pakoda on a paper-towel lined plate.

• Move it to a serving bowl and have it as a snack or appetizer.

Similar Recipes @PGKC, FYI -

Banana Blossoms Fritters:

Cabbage Pakora/Pakoda:

 

Enjoy!

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Banana Blossoms and Lentil Fritters

Day5 of BM8:  Today we had plans.Plans of going to Cape Cod for Whale Watching. All ruined by Hurricane Irene.Now everyone is grounded in the house with nothing much to do rather than talk about the weather and watch TV. I am annoyed! I was so looking forward to seeing those majestic whales.

The Humpback Whales come to Cape Cod around this time to feed and breed. Last year when MIL alone came for a visit we had taken her to Provincetown(all the way to the tip of Cape Cod) and she enjoyed the trip to the fullest. That day alone the sonar detected 33 whales. One whale came up close and I was able to see the inside of its mouth. It was as big as a camping tent! Seeing such a splendid creature up-close was a humbling experience!

This is what we might have seen had we gone to Cape Cod today(picture from last year):

How to clean a Banana Blossom: A banana blossom has a dozens of flappy purplish layers called "bracts" under which there are rows and rows of Banana Blossoms/Banana Flowers which would eventually grow into bananas. You discard the bracts and gently pry the banana blossoms. Keep going until you remove all the flower and you end up with a small spear(the core). The core is edible. Just chop it into tiny chunks and use it along with the Blossoms in making the fritters/curry/soup etc etc. But before that, oil your hands or use a glove before cleaning the flowers.

A single banana blossom looks like the ones in the picture below- The left most picture is the full blossom. The middle one is the edible one and the right most are the inedible portions - Sepal and the Stamen. The one that looks like a matchstick is the "stamen"(anther +  filament) and the translucent plasticky pink-hued portion is a sepal. These two portions MUST be removed cause you can chew them till the cows come home and still they won't disintegrate! Picture inspiration: Viki's Kitchen.

The flowers removed from the bracts:

The flowers minus the inedible portions:

The chopped flowers soaking in buttermilk and water before being used. This soaking step prevents discoloration of the flowers.

How to make Banana Blossoms and Lentil Fritters: Ingredients:

• 1 Cup(heaped)Bengal Gram, soaked in warm water for 1-2 hours.
• 1 Cup(packed) Banana Blossoms, chopped
• 1" Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2-3 Cloves Garlic
• 1/4 Cup packed Cilantro, finely chopped
• 1/2 Cup Red Onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 Green Chilies or less/more, finely chopped
• Salt for taste
• Corn Oil for deep frying

Tool:

• A wok/kadai or dutch oven for deep frying

Procedure:

• Soak the lentils in water for 1-2 hours.

• Grind it to a coarse paste with NO/Very Less water along with ginger and garlic.

• Mix the onion, salt, chilies and cilantro to the ground lentil.

• Add the chopped Banana Blossoms to the bowl and mix gently.

• Roll them into 15-16 even balls.

• Heat the oil in the Wok/Kadai. Flatten the balls to patties and deep fry in oil until they are browned on one side. Gently flip and brown the other side. Takes ~2 minutes per side.

• Drain the fritters on paper towel.

• Enjoy with a cup of hot tea or coffee.

Note: If you are a fan of spicy deep-fried delicacies, you may want to give these a shot:

• Cabbage, Onion and Black-Gram Fritters:

• Channa Dhal Fritters/Masala Vadai:

• Cabbage Pakora/Pakoda:

 

Enjoy!

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Cabbage, Onion And Blackgram Fritters "Doughnut Vadai"

Day4 of BM#4: My neighbors, a gay couple sold their house last week and moved out. I mean why would anyone want to sell their house when its not a seller's market?? Found a bigger house?? Can't afford to pay the mortgage?? Don't know what the reason was but I am sad to see them go.I will especially miss "hubby#2" cause he was a true example of perseverance and discipline. There wasn't much of an interaction between us except for an occasional hi and bye..But I used to watch him..Don't take it wrong, I wasn't ogling but I liked watching him go about his business.You see,my kitchen overlooks his garage and since I spend most of my time washing and cleaning in the kitchen I couldn't escape clapping eyes on him, whether I liked it or not. Oh, I liked.
So "hubby#2" drives a blue beetle. I have never seen someone care of their car like he did. Rain or shine, hell or high-water, he would clean his car the old-fashioned way - with a pail of water and a soapy sponge exactly 2 times a week. No more, no less. Even when there was snow on the ground he carried on. Nothing would deter him from his car-cleaning obligation. That kind of dogged determination certainly impressed me and I rejoiced that I had found "my muse for discipline". He had recently adopted an uber cute Chihuahua puppy that he would take for a walk right after he comes from work.Now my loss is two-fold -- I will miss my neighbor "hubby#two" and his puppy too.
Speaking of discipline and perseverance, you will need it both if you want to make this deliciously deep-fried fritter. The texture and consistency of the batter is important if you want the fritters to have that perfect hole in the center to resemble a doughnut and there is no easy way out. The batter is indeed unforgiving..if it is too runny it will end up like these. So if you fail to achieve this perfection first time, try it again and again. Its totally worth it. Addition of cabbage in this "Doughnut Vadai" was a new for me.
I first saw this at Kathy's space, The Colors of Indian Cooking,  about 2 months ago. Kathy is an extremely talented Hollywood writer and an equally talented cook whose Momo recipe, Pizza recipe, Vietnamese drip coffee recipe and definitely this Cabbage fritter recipe have made me go mad with wanting. I made this Fritters(Vadai) for my hubby's potluck party at work and he said they were gone in a matter of minutes. Its totally irresistible and definitely not to be missed out. Even my 3-yr old who doesn't care for hot, spicy food but certainly loves deep-fried goodies, asks for seconds.He is equally crazy about Masala Vadai too.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup Whole Black Lentil/Black Gram minus the shell
• 1 Medium Yellow Onion, finely chopped
• 1-1/2 Cup Finely Shredded Cabbage
• 1/8 Cup Finely Chopped Cilantro
• 4-6 Hot Green Chilies or More/Less 
• 1/2" Ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/8 Cup Fresh or Frozen Green-peas (Optional)
• Canola Oil for deep-frying

Tool:

• Kadai or a dutch oven for deep frying

Procedure:

• Soak the Black Lentils in water for about 2-3 hours.

• Drain it completely and grind it to a fine paste with very-less/no water either in a food processor or a blender.

• Remove the seeds of the hot green chili, finely chop and add to the lentil paste.

• Add the chopped cabbage, onion, cilantro, salt to the batter. I did not grind the onions because it leaves water and that is bad for the batter. The batter has to be relatively thick to make a doughnut shaped fritter.

• Place a Ziploc plastic bag on a flat surface, smear it with oil and add a golf-ball size batter. Press it down gently to form a Pattie. Using the forefinger put a hole in the center.

• Pick up the Ziploc bag with your left hand, transfer the doughnut to your right hand and drop it gently into the oil. Repeat for the remaining batter. Deep fry fritters in batches until they are browned evenly on both sides.

• Fish them out of the oil using a skimmer and drain them on paper towel and serve it hot and crispy with a cup of Masala Chai/Tea.

Makes ~ 20 Doughnut Fritters.

Note:

• It is extremely important that you grind the batter with as less water as possible(no more than 2-3 tbsp). The dough has to be relatively thick to form a perfect doughnut shaped fritter.
• Do not let the batter rest. The salt in the batter will make the cabbage and onion shed water thereby making it soggy.Ergo, no perfect doughnut and no crispy fritter.

Check out the Blogging Marathoners doing (Group 3) BM#4 along with me-
Diabetes Diet/Management: Kamalika, Smitha, Suma
Kid Friendly Recipes: Anusha, Cool Lassi(e)
Seven Days of Soup: Priya Suresh
Seven Days of Indian Bread: Jayasree, Pavani
Seven Days of Cakes:  Priya Vasu
Seven Days of Preserves: Gayathri Kumar, Vaishali
30 Minutes Meals: Priya Mahadevan, Sriv

Enjoy!

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Stuffed Deep Fried Italian Peppers

Happy and Prosperous Diwali to all my Hindu, Jain And Sikh Readers.

Diwali in a nutshell -- Diwali, festival of lights,is one of the biggest festival of Hindus,Jains and Sikhs, celebrated with great enthusiasm and happiness in India. Deepvali or Diwali translates to "Rows of lights".The festival is celebrated for five continuous days, where the third days is celebrated as the main Diwali festival or 'Festival of lights'. Different colorful varieties of fireworks are always associated with this festival. On this auspicious day, people light up diyas(oil lamp made from clay) and candles all around their house. They perform Laxmi Puja in the evening and seek divine blessings of Goddess of Wealth. The festival of Diwali is never complete without exchange of gifts. People present diwali gifts to all near and dear ones.
**I am going to be busy chilling in front of the TV watching Diwali special in the Sun Network and eating the goodies MIL is going to make. :). I have more coming my way from mom and dad who are coming for a visit. Can't wait**
Day5 of Stuffed Delicacies -- Stuffed Deep Fried Italian Peppers. A few days ago, I saw piles and piles of these gorgeous peppers in the grocery. People were buying it by bagfuls and I made a beeline for it too. I knew what I wanted to make with these little beauties the minute I saw it. Soon-after I put MIL to the task by asking her to make me a plateful of stuffed deep-fried snack to go with my evening tea. She was only too happy to oblige.

Ingredients:

• 6 Italian Peppers
• Corn Oil for deep frying

For the Stuffing:

• 4 Tbsp Finely Chopped Onions
• 3 Tbsp Seasoned Italian BreadCrumbs
• 2 Tsp "Indian Head" Yellow Cornmeal
• 1/2 Tsp Chickpea Flour(sold as "Besan" in Indian Stores)
• 1/2 Tsp Cumin Powder
• A pinch of Salt

For the Coating/Batter:

• 3 Tbsp Besan Flour
• 1-1/2 Tbsp Rice Flour
• 1 Tbsp All-purpose Flour
• A pinch of Asafoetida(sold as "Hing" in Indian Stores)
• A pinch of Baking Soda

Procedure:

• Mix all the ingredients under "For the Coating" with little water to make a slightly thick paste. Else it won't stick to the peppers.

• Mix all the ingredients under "For the Stuffing" with very little water just until the mixture comes together. It shouldn't be a paste.

• Clean and dry the Peppers.

• Slit the peppers vertically to make pockets without cutting through.Using a small spoon scoop out the membranes and seeds as much as possible.Divide the filling mixture into 6 parts and stuff the peppers generously without packing them.

• Heat the oil for deep frying.
• Dunk the stuffed peppers into the coating/batter and deep fry till until they are golden brown.

• Enjoy it with a cup of coffee. Here, take a bite.

Makes 3 Servings.

Notes:

• Large curvy peppers may be halved horizontally to facilitate scooping seeds and stuffing the filling.

Enjoy!

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FromFamilyNFriends: Cabbage Fritters

This is from my Mother-In-Law. She is an accomplished cook and I am in awe of her culinary talent. Lets just say that her cooking experience and knowledge far exceeds my age. This cabbage fritters are one of her specialty.Be sure to give them a try and have it with a cup of coffee/tea. Umm delectable.

 

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small cabbage, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp curry leaves, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
• 3 hot green chillies, thinly sliced
• 4-5 tbsp rice flour
• 6 tbsp chickpea flour(sold as 'Besan' flour in Indian stores)
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cracked pepper
• Salt for taste
• 4-5 cups Corn Oil for deep frying

Procedure:

• Wash the cabbage leaves after cutting. Drain and add it to a wide bowl.
• Add all the other ingredients and mix it thoroughly(for at-least 2 minutes) with hands. The moisture in the cabbage leaves will suffice. No need to add water.The mixture should look something similar to the one in the picture:
 
• Heat the corn oil  in a thick bottomed pan and add the thick cabbage mixture to it in batches.
• Remove from pan once it is evenly browned on all sides.
• Serve as is or with a steaming cup of tea/coffee.

Makes 4-5 mid-sized servings.

 

Enjoy!

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