Panfusine

The Holiday season is officially upon us. As the manic 'shopping' season get underway, I just got over clearing out all the dishes from my food coma inducing Thanksgiving feast. Thanksgiving must be the most festive non-denominational holiday in the US, irrespective of religion, social status, geographic location, Everyone gathers around as a family to celebrate and eat. and eat, and then fill up on dessert and coffee!  For me, Its an opportunity to shift to high gear and get cracking on experimenting with the flavors of Fall ingredients - Pumpkins, cranberries, apples. This year, I volunteered to test a 10 cup stack n'snap food processor from Hamilton Beach and I received a package last Monday. While my kids had a little spat over what the packaging carton would be converted into, (a cloning machine vs. a car), I took the opportunity to explore the new gadget..  My first food processor was a Hamilton Beach which was a perfect workhorse until a little pi...

Its been a while since I did one of these baking projects. Lets see, I made the bread (Gibassier) for July but did not blog about it, and then completely skipped the next three sessions. Of course, there was a bit of ambiguity in the selections, so laziness got the better of me and I merrily skipped these. Aparna Balasubramanian's selection for this month was a recipe from Indian cuisine, a lesser known bread compared to the ubiquitous Naan & Kulchas. Sheermal traces its origins to Persian cuisine and is basically a leavened bread kneaded with milk instead of water. Its slightly sweetened and the primary flavors are the heady notes of Saffron, backed up with a supplementary floral flavoring, usually rose or screwpine /pandanus/kewra. The 'Sheer' apparently is the Persian word for milk and thats where the name originates, although the term also occurs with the same meaning in Sanskrit (Ksheer). It is traditional eaten as a breakfast dish along with tea or paired...

My 'burn out' from daily recipes is yet to dissipate, but I think I still plod on. Quickly scribbling down ideas as they pop into my head and before they disappear, like the same flash with which they crossed my train of thought. My support system comprising of fellow bloggers gave me a much need 'kick in the pants' last weekend when we met up at home for a casual lunch. Siri, the bubbly author of ' Cooking with Siri ',  Radhika   ( Food for 7 stages of life ) and Latha ( A Peek into my Kitchen ).  (L to R: Siri, Me, Radhika & Latha) As is with all the food bloggers I've met so far, there was no ice to break whatsoever, the conversation just flowed, along with the wine & food! Quinoa, roasted corn & Black bean tabbouleh with pomegranate Motivation all fired up, I decided that I was going to surprise my son by making him Pizza for Dinner. My standard go - to failproof recipe for the dough is from Food52 - in particula...

Seems like like just yesterday, when I was on the phone with my cousin Uma from Ohio and this seemingly scatterbrained idea came to my head of making a 'different' set of Diwali goodies. and just as a semi tipsy individual is bound to let loose a string of nonsensical ideas, there I was, doing something similar, thanks to the giddy euphoria that only a newbie blogger can possess. 'Lavender Badam Halwa, Lehiyam, no wait, Let me make that Lehiyam truffles' shot off my motor mouthed brain,  with little thought given to whether it was even possible.. But then, those very random thoughts are the kernels of what have turned out to be some of my favorite recipes that have become a part of my annual Diwali Tradition. Diwali is the jewel in the crown of all Indian Festivals, literally, the festival of lights, It signifies the return of Ram, the Prince of Ayodhya to claim his rightful place as king after defeating the demon King of Lanka, Ravana, who had abducted Sit...

I'm an ignoramus when it comes to the philosophical complexities of mythology, but the fact is that all these parables are completely applicable to social life as well as the laws of nature, provided you have the fortune of having it interpreted from various frames of reference. If not, all they will remain as, are tales to be amused by for an hour or two before dissipating from the cerebral cortex without ever having the fortune of getting registered as a memory. Even worse, if interpreted by someone with their own personal egoistic agenda, you're finished, what could have been a learning experience turns into a roiling puddle of fear that has the potential to turn into a cesspool of ignorance and hate. And so it is with these nine days of 'Navratri'. To me it represents the spirit and valor of the feminine aspect of nature, the same force that drives a girl to defend herself tooth and nail against those who seek to strip her of her dignity, a mother who would go ...

As the Festival of Navratri goes, this is the big day, the grand finale. Mythologically speaking, this was the day, the lascivious demons, Chanda, Munda & Mahishasura and the worlds first one man clone Raktabhija (from the sanskrit Rakta- blood, bija - seed. Legend has it that when each drop of his blood fell to the ground, an identical clone would rise. The goddess countered that by giving rise to Kali (the terrible one) who literally stuck her tongue out to drink every drop of Raktabija's blood before it hit the earth. Mahishasura put up quite a fight taking multiple forms before his final morph into a buffalo( Mahisha) at which point, the goddess pins him under the lion she is riding on and proceeds to eviscerate him. Who says Mythology is  dull? The prasad (offering) that I'm posting today is an edamame sundal. Edamame, like fresh green chickpeas has a delicate buttery texture that makes it ideal for South Indian stir fries. Its unlikely that you will easily st...

And before you know it, Navratri is almost over. Just 2 more days (or three, if you want to include the 10th day Vijaya Dashami) of celebrations, after which the festival season is officially open. The next three days are the most significant of Navratri. Ashtami (8th day) is regarded as especially auspicious, especially in the Eastern Indian states such as West Bengal. The last day of the festival, the ninth is regarded as a rest day when all implements & tools of the trade are worshiped as Saraswathy, the goddess of wisdom & knowledge. This was a favorite day for us as kids. It was one day when parents would actually tell us to skip studying! The last day is known as Vijaya Dashami (Vijaya means victory in Sanskrit), and is regarded as a favorable day to commence any new endeavor in life, be it music / dance lessons, or a new business, basically anything new endeavor in life.. Kind of puts a positive spin to life doesn't it Although religious in spirit, the extend...