WHAT DO I MAKE...

Happy navaratri everyone! I am sure most of our readers need no introduction to this festival but for all others,  navaratri ( "nava" means 9, "ratri" means night ) is a Hindu festival that celebrates the 9 forms of Shakti  - the female divine force in Hinduism. While the festival is celebrated all over India, each region and each community has it's own traditions. From Durga Puja in the east to Kolu in the south, from Gharba in the west to Dussehra in the north, the rituals are quite varied!  Our Kolu for this year is all ready and I decided to make a sweet dish to mark the beginning of navaratri today. Maha and I are veterans at combined cooking through the phone, 3000 miles apart! We usually pick South Indian dishes that are complicated or simple/common recipes that we haven't tried or been able to master yet. Our pick for today was Kesari.  Kesari (or  sojji ) is also known as Sheera in Maharashtra and Sooji ka Halwa in North India. Kesari 

Nothing like a crispy, flaky, buttery shortbread cookie, my favorite pairing for a hot cup of  cafe con leche ! The classic shortbread is a very simple recipe with just 3 main ingredients: sugar, flour and butter. Yet, it took me quite some time to bake a batch of perfect shortbread cookies. From  Sandra Lee's  to a bunch of other recipes, my experiments have been disastrous flops! The cookies either flattened out like a chip or turned too brown too fast. I wrote to several expert bakers, read a million baking blogs, did a zillion Google searches and then finally shelved the cookie project! After 1.5 years, I came across Brady Evans' shortbread cookies last week on  Honest Cooking . I decided to give this one more chance and flagged it for a Sunday project. Success! at last!! Victory is (indeed) "sweetest" when you've known defeat! :))  Apricot Shortbread Cookies Recipe courtesy: Brady Evans Ingredients: All purpose flour - 2 cups, sifted Confectioner&

The traditional South Indian vendakkai roast is probably Madhav's THE most favorite dish and that's all I have made with okra in the last 2.5 years! Today I wanted to try something different (of course, somebody was very disappointed with the idea!) and dahi-bhindi has always been on my list, I remembered a recipe from one of my all time favorites - Monsoon Spice! Hyderabadi Dahi-Bhindi Adapted from Sia's Hyderabadi Dahi Bhindi Masala @ Monsoon Spice Ingredients: Bhindi/Okra/Vendakkai - 30-40, chopped into 1/2" discs Onion - 1/2 of a medium, finely chopped Tomato - 1/2 of a medium, finely chopped Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp Yogurt - 1/2 cup Sugar - 1/4 tsp Salt to taste Seasoning - mustard seeds (1/2tsp), urad daal (1/2 tsp), jeera seeds (1/2 tsp), heeng powder (1/4 tsp), dry red chilis (2, halved), fresh curry leaves (1 sprig) Masalas - Turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala, dhania powder, kasuri methi - according to your taste, tamari

A simple mint chutney to go with your idli or dosai! Ingredients: Fresh mint leaves  - 1/2 cup (or 2 handfulls) Fresh coriander leaves - 1/4 cup (leaves from about 4 sprigs) Urad dal - 2 tbsp Red chilis - 3 Fresh grated coconut - 2-3 tbsp Heeng - 2 pinches (I used a small piece of the whole heeng bar) Curry leaves - 3-4 leaves Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp Salt - to taste! Oil - 1-2 tbsp Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan and roast the dal+red chilis+heeng till the dal is golden brown. Remove on to a plate and roast the fresh leaves till they wilt. Turn the stove off and add the coconut and the roasted dal mix, add salt to taste and let it cool. Add some water (depending on how thick or runny you want it) and grind it in a blender and take it out in your serving bowl. In a small pan, heat some oil and splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves and add to the chutney. You can also add 1/2 tsp of sesame oil over for a good taste and smell :)