What to do with Spiny gourds

Kadam came home the other day with more strange vegetables from the farm. These tiny green spiny round fruit looked quite spooky - but apparently Spiny Gourd or Kartoli ( Marathi) is one of the most nutritious and medicinal vegetables growing wild in the tribal areas of Maharashtra. It apparently also grows in other parts of India but I am not sure of where. This creeper which belongs to the Pumpkin family grows unfettered in the monsoon and its pretty yellow flowers yield this fibre rich power house of vitamins and protein. No wonder then, that this vegetable is gaining currency in our local markets and selling for as high a price as Rs.40/kg!

Like most people confronted with weird vegetables, we had our reservations about eating it  and  we only ventured to eat it since it came from our very own land. But of course we didn't quite know what to do with it. So as usual, my Walk and Talk recipe exchange came to the rescue with Abha's tips on what to do with it.

See, she told me, just slice into thin roundels and sprinkle with salt. Then in a kadhai, you take some oil and add zeera ( Cumin) and dhania  (Coriander) powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, saunf ( Dill) and fry well. Then add the chopped vegetables and give it a good stir. Lower the heat and cover for around 5 minutes. Then when the vegetable is soft, uncover, raise the heat and keep stirring till the vegetables become crisp and crunchy.

Of course, this sounds very vague but I reckon you can use a teaspoon of each of the ground powders for around 250 g of Kartoli.

Round off the vegetable with a pinch of sugar sprinkled on top so that the slightly bitter and sour taste is tempered.

Of course this vegetable will be hard to find now since the monsoon clouds have bid us farewell but then, you could keep this recipe in mind for the next rains when Spiny Gourds will be available once again in the market!

In search of the perfect Okra

It all started with Alvaro wanting to know how to cook okra without the slime. At first I couldn't figure out what he meant because I have never had them cooked any  way other than crisp and yummy. So in  the week when he was around we had bhindi three days in a row because he simply loved the way we made it. Finally on the last day, I showed him how it was cooked and the mystery was finally unravelled. It was all the fault of the word "cook" in Dutch which is synonymous with boiling. Hence when Alvaro cooked his bhindi, he actually boiled it, which is why it always became a slimy mess. Now, thanks to his new found knowledge, Alvaro can have the perfect bhindi time after time.

Of course part of the secret is having the perfect bhindi like ours which is organically grown. Though this vegetable is found year round, it is particularly tender and tasty during the monsoon when it literally grows wild on some farms.

Like most vegetables, this too evokes extreme reactions - you either hate it or love it. I would like to think that most people like it especially when it is cooked to a crisp with plenty of chick pea flour coating it like a delicate bhajia. All you have to do is wash and pat dry the bhindi. Cut into fine strips lengthwise. Then mix some salt, turmeric and chili powder in chick pea flour and sprinkle generously onto cut bhindi to coat well. Heat up some oil in  a kadhai and deep fry in batches till the bhindi is all used up.

I can assure you that bhindi cooked this way is bound to please even the pickiest vegetable eaters

Bye Bye, Ganpati

Ten days of hectic festivity finally came to an end. Yesterday evening almost the whole of Mumbai was out on the sands of Chowpatty to bid farewell to Ganpati. From around two in the afternoon people began their trek to the sea. This wonderful idol of the Lord came striding down Marine Drive escorted by revelers dancing and singing in his wake.

The entire street was crowded with TV channel vans waiting to get a ringside view. Normally the buildings lease out their terraces for astronomical amounts but this year, they were discouraged from doing so by the police. Which is why the TV crew had no option but to line up the streets and check out the action.

As always the Mumbai Police actively participate in this festival including playing the drums and the traditional horn when the processions pass by their stall under the Beach side Police station.The traffic is surprisingly very well controlled and even though there are hundreds and thousands of revelers on the street, there are no disturbances and the traffic moves smoother than it normally does!

All through the evening the Ganeshas march on with truckloads of eager followers enthusiastically dancing and singing in his wake.Of course this does not always look dignified with several women actually jigglling and wiggling in the style of the latest Bollywood idol . While critics of this vulgar "pop" culture may frown on , you cannot deny the pleasure that they are deriving from this display of "devotion".. 

This little boy and his big brother wait alongside the Police Station on the beach and were busy dancing crazily to the beat. The glee on this young lad's face is uncontainable as he gets a ringside view of the Ganeshas. (Of course he is more than thrilled to be photographed by me)

While the rest of the family sits on the wall, this little girl dressed in her pink shiny best, finds her own way of enjoying the Ganpati festival by looking for shells in the sand.

Ganpatis are kept in every lane of Mumbai, sometimes two or three in a street with every housing society having its own unique idol. The majestic Khetwadi Ganpati makes its way towards the sea.

But amid all the big idols, there is still place for the small ones like these ............. brought along by worshippers with much devotion and care.

The beach offers lots of tiny entrepreneurs an opportunity to strike it rich.

Like these balloon vendors.







This little girl is waiting to sell her baby balloons . Once her mother fills up the big ones, the two girls will be off to make some money.

The spirit of the festival is exemplified in these colourful pinwheels.

And ultimately, the coolest of them all, the unperturbed sadhu who continues his drug induced rest under a bus. Completely unmindful of the noise and hullaballoo.

What to eat after a week of modaks

Now that the Ganesh festival is over ( well almost!) I am thankful that I won't have to eat any more sweet stuff.

Frankly, I think we overdo the sweets in our home: every celebration automatically revolves around eating and the sweeter it is the better. Which is why after any  festival or extended periods of festivity like a wedding or a family get together, I look forward to eating something different from the traditional food that we'd been seeing on our table for the past few days. Yet, after days of rich food, it is hard to get back to the basic daal roti, which is why I feel  my version of Paneer Makhanwalla,  is a great way to wean one's sweet buds away from a week's indulgence. This recipe, which is creamily sinful, has just the right amount of sweet and sour and a hint of spice .

You will need

• 500 g paneer
• 1/2 cup cream
• 2 tbspns tomato puree
• 2 tbspns oil
• 2 tbspns ghee
• 1/2 tspns kalonji
• 1/2 tspn turmeric
• 1 tbspn sugar
• For the masala paste
• 4 -6 almonds/cashews
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1/4 tspn methi seeds
• 2-3 curry patta leaves
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1" piece ginger
• 1 -2 red chillies
• 1 tspn garam masala

What to do:

• Soak the almonds and remove skin. Also soak the methi seeds.
• Make a fine paste of almonds, methi seeds,red chilly, garlic ginger onion and curry patta leaves.
• Heat the ghee and oil in a non-stick fry pan.
• Cut the paneer into thick wedges and lightly fry . Remove and keep aside.
• In the same pan, add the masala paste, turmeric, kalonji seeds and saute well till the masala turns gets a shiny glaze. ( on low heat to avoid burning)
• Add the tomato puree, sugar and salt to taste. Continue frying on low heat. Dilute with water if required.
• Add the fresh cream and cover and let simmer for 2-3 mins.
• Add the fried paneer and leave covered till ready to serve. Heat gently to warm up. Serve with chopped corriander.

Sometimes I even add wedges of tomato and leave them slightly under cooked.

I also put in slit green chillies if I want it more spicy.

You can vary the amount of red chillies, sugar, cream and salt,as per your taste. 

I even use this basic gravy recipe to make chicken makhanwala for which I fry pieces of boneless chicken made into cubes or left over tandoori chicken.

I also use this gravy to make vegetable makhanwala where I add steamed green beans, carrots, peas cauliflower and potato.

Hope you enjoy making this dish!!