Panfusine

Kumquats and Kale - an interesting combination which really do not have much in common except for the common first letter in their names. But when I opened up the box sent to me from Melissa's produce , the visual beauty of the colors just struck a chord, the bright golden kumquats and the regally purple Kale sprouts.

The 5th of January marked the auspicious day (according to the Hindu Calendar) of  'Vaikunth Ekadashi' (Vaikunth - Paradise, ekadashi.. The 11th day of the lunar cycle). As per Hindu tradition, this day signifies 'open house' in the Lord's abode when anyone leaving the mortal world to meet their Maker is assured of salvation, free of the cycle of birth & death. The day is marked by prayer and fasting. Perhaps the best way to explain the significance of this tradition is to refer to Devdutt Pattanaik's article on the topic . But unlike other occasions, the fast is not broken by decadent culinary offerings  but with a simple pepper flavored gravy, plain rice and a stir fry made with the leaves of the hummingbird tree ( Sesbania grandiflora ). Known as 'Agathi Keerai' in the Tamil language, it finds applications in Southern Indian & Thai cuisine. Image credit : indiagardening.blogspot.com The texture of the leaves is somewhat leathery an...

The flip side of festive days such as thanksgiving is this terrible sense of withdrawal symptoms that invariably strikes after the festivities are over.. Once the cleaning is done, the nice plates are put away and the last wine cork is located in the far corners of the kitchen counter & tossed out, a feeling of 'now what do I do?' sets in and no dish that the head conjures is ever good enough to beat. and no recipe that has been tried, tested & waiting to be posted seems to fit the bill ( Take home message: Its not worth making & banking good recipes way  too ahead of time ) When that happens I regress back to comfort foods that I know I'll regret stuffing my face with.. This time around it was deep fried 'Bhajia',  and a large mug of Masala Chai... at 10.00 am in the morning (doing this ought to rank with hitting the booze at 9.00 am, in terms of socio-culinary blasphemy), but it was delicious while it lasted. Weight watchers just got relegated to ...