Happy Father's Day

" A good father is one of the most unsung , unpraised, unnoticed and yet one of the most valuable assets in the society . "- Billy Graham 

Growing up the parenting scene in my house was mainly dominated by my mom . It was like mom was solely responsible for all the child rearing . Being a working mom my mom was a supermom then and still is . Cooking, entertaining, work responsibilities and child rearing . There was not even occasional help from my dad back then . 

Today when I look at my family dynamics the scenario is very different . I am a working mom and do try to be a supermom at times. But I have the best help I can ever imagine . My husband is the superdad , a true superhero to my kids . I work night shifts and weekends too . When I am at work he is the dad and their mom as well. He has no complaints changing a soiled diaper or giving kids a bath . He juggles the hardest task of putting the kids to sleep at night with a smile and some bedtime stories . He loves taking them to a nearby park for fun filled evenings so I can catch up on my to do work list or wrap up all household chores . Yes I get the work done at twice the speed with no kids playing or riding toys in between interrupting me . And he is indeed a superdad to do this all after a long and busy day at his work . 

Currently with my parents visiting me I see a whole new dimension of my dad's personality which I had never witnessed growing up . My kids adore my dad . They love listening to stories from their granddad . They sit on his lap and play with him, clapping and learning new songs . They learn yoga poses from him in the morning and sleep on his shoulders at times in the afternoon . My little one interacts the most with my dad . My kids love to build a tower with blocks. What better partner to play with than their granddad . And the best part is knocking off granddad's tower or lego creation with a naughty smile . 

Tomorrow June 21st being father's day we plan to celebrate it with 3 generations under the same roof . I believe that father's day is not just for dads . It should also honor grandfathers, step fathers, single fathers and all the men who act as a father figure . 

So take a moment and let's hear it for all of them .

Happy father's day !

Chutney Cravings - Ginger Chutney

I have been ordering groceries online these days given the Corona pandemic . I am sure most of you are doing the same as well . But many times I find it tricky to identify the exact quantity of ingredients until delivered to my doorstep.  Once I ended up with just one apple instead of a pound of apples that I was banking on for a recipe . My neighbor currently has 6lb bananas instead of the 6 she meant to have . Last week I literally had a small heap of ginger when all I wanted was an ounce of this herb . I know ginger has healing and medicinal properties . Heard about it always from my grandmother while growing up . But what do I do with a heap of this medicianl herb  ? So I turned to my saviour - the google search  . While looking for recipes using ginger I came across several recipes to make ginger chutney . After couple of trials and finalizing on the taste here is the one I approve of . And yes I finished rest of the heap by adding it to my chai daily . No wasting food folks .

Ingredients - 

1.5'' ginger ( washed, peeled and cut into large pieces )

3/4th medium sized onion (diced into big pieces )

2 tbsp chana daal

1 tbsp white urad daal

2-3 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp cumin seeds 

1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate 

1.5 tbsp shredded jaggery 

salt to taste 

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Instructions  - 

1. Roast chana daal, urad daal and red chillies in hot oil till the daals turn golden brown . Set aside .

2. In hot oil saute roughly chopped ginger and onion pieces till the onion is translucent .

3. Add 1/2tsp cumin seeds once you turn off the stove .

4. Once cool blend all the above with tamarind concentrate, jaggery and salt . Flavorful and smooth chutney is ready to serve .

Tips -

1. You can skip urad daal if you wish .

2. Do not add water while blending as it will reduce the shelf life . It will also change the texture of the chutney .

3. Add a tempering with mustards seeds, asfoetida and curry leaves if you wish . I personally love the pungent taste of ginger . So I prefer the chutney as it is without the tempering .

4. Do not over fry the ginger in oil . Else it will taste bitter .

5. If ginger is chopped too finely it elevates the pungent and bitter taste. Stick to big chopped pieces of ginger for balanced flavor .

My family devoured this chutney with pesarattu . What will you eat it with ? 

Chutney Cravings - 3 Different Ways to Make Cilantro Chutney

What can you do with few minutes of time and a bunch of cilantro ? I say a number of things . And trust me all results are equally delicious. Bright green, zingy and flavorful chutney recipes here for you all . Enjoy the chutneys with dosa, idli, roti, rice, dhokla , chips or even a sandwich . Just yummy !

Method 1

Blend half a bunch of cilantro leaves (washed and roughly chopped ), 4 small square pieces of green bell pepper, 1/2 inch ginger ,dash of lime, 1tbsp peanuts , 1 green chilli . Add salt and sugar to taste . 

Method 2 

Blend a bunch of cilantro leaves (washed and roughly chopped ), 1/3rd cup wet shredded coconut, 1/2 inch ginger, 1 green chilli, 1.5 tsp cumin seeds , 1/4th  cup yogurt . Add salt to taste. Yogurt and coconut give it a creamy texture . 

Method 3

Blend a bunch of cilantro leaves ( washed and roughly chopped ),  8-10 mint leaves  (washed and roughly chopped ) , 3 tbsp  of roasted gram (also called phutana or dala in marathi ) , 1 green chilli, 1 tsp cumin seeds . Add 1tbsp of water as needed to blend smooth . Lastly add salt and sugar  to taste . 

Tips -

1. Bell pepper is the secret ingredient . Given its very small quantity you wont taste its individual flavor . Surely it takes the chutney to just another level of yumminess . 

2. Adding yogurt and wet coconut to the chutney reduces its shelf life. But hey I can assure you there will be no leftovers for long .

3. Mint leaves add a distinct flavor to the chutney . Trust me the flavor goes very well with that of cilantro leaves . 

4. Always thoroughly wash the leaves . You can skip the chopping part if you wish . 

So all in all chutney is an integral part of my daily meal. Which version is your favorite ? Do try and let me know . 

Chutney Cravings - Cilantro Stem Chutney

I love chutney . Who doesn't ? Chutney is a staple in Indian cooking. I find all chutneys versatile in a way . You can eat chutney with rotis, add it to sandwiches , use as a dip with fritters and even with chips . It goes well with pretty much anything and everything . Sometimes I add leftover chutney to sabjis or curry while cooking . There are several versions of cilantro or coriander chutney . Here is my favorite one with the stems of cilantro bunch . Yes you read it right - the stems and not the leaves . I learnt this one from my mother in law . She is big on not wasting food, cooked or uncooked . She uses every single ingredient from the pantry. And of course makes the most of fresh produce too . She always saves the stems of cilantro and makes this chutney . So without any further discussion here is the recipe .

Ingredients -

Stems of cilantro leaves 

Green chillies

Garlic 

Cumin seeds

Salt to taste 

Instructions -

1. Wash and roughly chop the stems of cilantro leaves . Add them to a blender . I used stems from 2 cilantro bunches .

2. Add very little garlic, just half of one small garlic clove for the above stems .

3. Add green chilly . Depending on what kind of chillies you use adjust the amount of chillies. Thai chillies are very hot . I used one small thai chilly for the above amount of stems . 

4. Add 1/2 tsp cumin seeds and salt to taste . Blend all these to a coarse texture. Your flavorful beautiful green colored chutney is ready . 

Tips -

1.This is a strong flavorful chutney . Use very little garlic to balance the flavor .Too much garlic will ruin its taste .

2. Add yogurt while eating to mellow down the punch if you wish .

3. Use this while cooking lentils especially black eyed peas , moth beans and green moong . 

Pandemic Pantry - Pesto Panini Sandwich

I had cooked an elaborate lunch yesterday . Perfect 4 course weekend lunch menu . I had assumed it will suffice for dinner as well. However to my surprise ( and a bit disappointment in anticipation of more cooking for dinner ) we had hardly any leftovers. Everyone loved it so much that it was all gone . I was not looking forward to cook again for dinner . I was so tired . My inspiration to cook for dinner was running a little dry . Alas I glanced at my pantry . I was like mehhhh . But then the loaf of bread grabbed my attention . Given the massive surplus of pesto I had I decided to make this panini sandwich . Perfect way to make use of the George Foreman Panini Press .Worked like a charm . Very little efforts and this awesome delicious cheesy goodness was ready . Ten minutes later our whole family was enjoying these panini sandwiches around the kitchen island . Glad i had another quick weeknight dinner menu to add to my list . What is your favorite panini recipe ?

Ingredients - 

 Bread

 Butter

 Basil Pesto

 Mozzarella Cheese sliced

 Onion cut into rings 

 Tomato sliced into circular rings

Instructions - 

1. Spread thin layer of butter on one side of each slice of bread .

2. Spread basil pesto on the other side of each slice of bread . 

3. Layer two slices of bread with onion, tomato and mozarella cheese inbetween them  .

4. Preheat panini maker . Place sandwiches in maker and press down . Cook for 3-4 minutes until golden . Serve immediately .

Tips - 

1. Use a skillet instead of panini press. You will still get exact same sandwich minus the        grill marks .

2. Add sliced avocado for a creamy flavor .

3. Switch up the basil pesto with spinach pesto . You can add couple basil leaves in the sandwich just for its flavor .