45 replies to this topic

[shanta]

One for the lotus-eaters

[shanta]

Ammini, on Jul 25 2005, 05:26 AM, said:

shanta, on Jul 23 2005, 12:35 AM, said:

Devi's Lotus Root Chips! Yummm! Now I have to get some lotus roots and try making'em

Shanta:
They certainly are yummm And the phool makhane kee sabzi of Devi is one of my favorites.

Made Lotus root chips, yummm!

Ammini, I never expected it to be so delicious! The taste reminds me of some other chips I had a long time ago, arrowroot or tapioca maybe? Did you notice any similarities?

Would love to try phool makhane kee sabzi of Devi - is this in Suvir's cookbook? Can someone please share the recipe?

[shanta]

Made some Bhein Masala a few weeks back, didn't like the taste(well, there was no taste ) I guess I'll stick to chips from now on

[Wildflower]

Pratibha, on Feb 23 2007, 04:46 PM, said:

peacockeyes, on Feb 22 2007, 06:43 PM, said:

wildflower, will you post the recipe for this salad?

OK, so this salad is nothing but evidence of my profound laziness (compare and contrast to all the other labor intensive works of art produced that day).  It is a sort of kosambari -- chop ingredients, light taDka, done.  I make similar salads with all sorts of juicy, crisp fruit.  The success or failure depends entirely on the sprightliness of the fruit and curry leaves.

The only twist in it was the lotus rootlets. These are not the fat, brown, mature roots (what we know as kamal kakDi).  They are the very young, semi translucent, white, rootlets.  I'm sort of fixated on them right now.  You get them in stores that sell Vietnamese stuff. The rootlets are packed in jars of brine or pickling liquid.  I have about 6 different brands on my kitchen counter, still trying to work out which one is best.   The problem is that some brands have a lot of sulfites in the brine -- can create headaches, worse problems for asthmatics.  Some rootlets have too much fibre (think banana stem type fibre).  I used a pickled variety for the salad that day.  The pickling liquid had a bunch of thai red chillies in it, so the first rootlet just about blew off the top of my head.  So I washed them off and stuck them in some cold water before I used them.  BTW, I have not managed to find fresh lotus rootlets yet.

This was an improvised concoction so I didn't measure anything, this is my best recollection of what I did that day.  It is forgiving, mess around as you like.

Pineapple Cucumber Lotus Rootlet Quasi-Kosambari

Crunchy Stuff: Approx 8 cups of small diced pineapple, 4-5 cups of small diced small persian cucumber,
3 cups of 1.5 inch pickled lotus rootlet pieces;
The TaDka: 1 green chilli in pieces, 1.5 inch piece dry red chilli or equivalent,  2 stalks worth of curry leaves, 2 tsp mustard seeds, large pinch hing, 1.25 tbsp peanut oil.

Toss the chopped fruit and veg together.  Make the taDka -- heat peanut oil, add dry red chilli, wait a few moments, add mustard seed, when they start to pop, add green chilli and curry leaves. Take off the heat as curry leaves just start to crimp up.  Pour tadka over fruit etc, toss. Go back to full time lazing.  Add v. little salt just before serving.  Garnish with scary look Thai red chillis.

Ed to add: hing is terrific in versions with oranges, pomelo, pineapple, not so nice in versions with nectarines, kiwi etc.

Edited by Wildflower, 24 February 2007 - 07:53 AM.

[Pratibha]

Wildflower, on Feb 23 2007, 06:11 PM, said:

Ed to add: hing is terrific in versions with oranges, pomelo, pineapple, not so nice in versions with nectarines, kiwi etc.

Thanks wildflower for the recipe.
Have you tired it with mango?

[Wildflower]

Pratibha, on Feb 24 2007, 05:50 AM, said:

Wildflower, on Feb 23 2007, 06:11 PM, said:

Ed to add: hing is terrific in versions with oranges, pomelo, pineapple, not so nice in versions with nectarines, kiwi etc.

Thanks wildflower for the recipe.
Have you tired it with mango?

Yes, practically any juicy (though not soft) fruit.  I've used pears only as counterpoint to other things.

[moonstruck]

Thanks wildflower and Shanta. I didn't know anything about lotus root.

Edited by moonstruck, 25 February 2007 - 05:25 AM.

[Pratibha]

Wildflower, on Feb 24 2007, 11:15 AM, said:

Yes, practically any juicy (though not soft) fruit.  I've used pears only as counterpoint to other things.

shukriyaa wf-ji.

[Wildflower]

da_coolestofall, on Mar 4 2010, 06:22 AM, said:

Yesterday for lunch I had some leftover kamal kakdi (lotus root) sabzi and rotis

Dacoolest, do you mind posting a recipe for your kamal kakdi subzi?  Also, we must persuade you to share more of your mother's Meerut style recipes.

[da_coolestofall]

Wildflower, on Mar 4 2010, 03:25 PM, said:

da_coolestofall, on Mar 4 2010, 06:22 AM, said:

Yesterday for lunch I had some leftover kamal kakdi (lotus root) sabzi and rotis

Dacoolest, do you mind posting a recipe for your kamal kakdi subzi?  Also, we must persuade you to share more of your mother's Meerut style recipes.

Wilflower, I'd be glad to share this recipe. However, I think this is a little more punjabi than Meerut styled baniya eating. My grandmother's ancestors would never use so much onion and garlic . Must be the years of Delhi living that made my mom cook it like this (however she cooks a mean Thai curry as well and from what I know she has never lived in Thailand, so there goes that   theory )

Ingredients:

1. 1 pound lotus roots, peeled and cleaned and cut into 1/2 inch wide roundels
2. 3 inch ginger, finely chopped
3. 2 medium onions, finely chopped
4. 5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5. 1 medium potato, pealed and 1 inch thick cubes
8. 1 cup of diced tomatoes
7. 2 tsp red chilli powder
8. 1/2 tsp turmeric
9. 1.5 tsp coriander powder
10. 1 tsp garam masala
11. 1/2 cup of yogurt
12. 1 green chilli and coriander, finely chopped

Process

1. In a pressure cooker add oil and once heated add the onions. Sautee till translucent
2. add garlic and sautee till slightly browned
3. Add ginger and the dry masalas except garam masala, stir quickly for 30 seconds
4. Add the tomatoes and cook will stirring for 3 minutes
5. Add garam masala and potatoes, stir to coat the potatoes and cook for 1 minutes
6. Add the lotus root and 1 cup of water and salt to taste.
7. Close the lid and let it steam for 4 whistles.
8. Release pressure and opent he lid and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Check to see that the lotus root shoud still be a bit crunchly but not raw feeling
9. add the green chillis and the beaten yougurt adn turn off the heat. Stir and cover for 5 minutes.
10. Garnish with chopped coriander (I skipped this cuz I didnt have that) and serve.

I really hope the measurements are accurate

[Wildflower]

da_coolestofall, on Mar 5 2010, 04:04 PM, said:

Wildflower, on Mar 4 2010, 03:25 PM, said:

da_coolestofall, on Mar 4 2010, 06:22 AM, said:

Yesterday for lunch I had some leftover kamal kakdi (lotus root) sabzi and rotis

Dacoolest, do you mind posting a recipe for your kamal kakdi subzi?  Also, we must persuade you to share more of your mother's Meerut style recipes.

I'd be glad to share this recipe. However, I think this is a little more punjabi than Meerut styled baniya eating. My grandmother's ancestors would never use so much onion and garlic .

Thank you for the recipe, Dacoolest. Looking forward to those Meerut style baniya recipes too!

[hima]

When I was in India my MIL made a salad with soaked "makhana" - apparently these are dried lotus seeds. It was delicious! I saw a packet of it at an Indian grocery store the other day. I'm interested to know how else it's prepared. Any recipes to share?

[Jenni]

Hima, they are not just the dried seeds (you can get them in Chinese stores and they do not look the same - they are not puffy), I think they are also puffed, perhaps in hot sand. This is just a guess.

One restaurant in Allahabad puts a few in their dal navratri. I don't know if they fry them with the tadka or what.

Also, my landlady made a dish during navratri when she was keeping vrat that was rather good. As far as I could tell, she had had done a tadka of cumin seeds and green chillies and then added cubed (peeled) potato and makhana and maybe a tiny bit of turmeric (cannot now remember if the dish was very slightly yellow...maybe not, maybe just my imagination) plus salt (sendha namak for vrat of course). That was it. I don't know if the potatoes were parboiled or even fully cooked before, but the contrast of the crisp makhana and the tender potatoes was delicious.

[hima]

Mmmm. that sounds good, Jenni! Yes you are probably right - they are puffed. I'm loving your Allahabad snippets.

[Jenni]

Made a delicious sabzi tonight: lotus root with dill. Vague method as follows:

Peel and slice lotus root. I like to do it on a bit of an angle as I think it looks nice. Doesn't have to be paper thin, maybe 1cm or so (I am guessing wildly). Then boil with a pinch of salt for 5-10 minutes. I do this to cook them a bit and also to ward off any nasties as they are grown in water. Drain.

Meanwhile, chop up some dill. Doesn't have to be fine. In terms of quantities, I think I used roughly equal, in terms of weight that is. Also finely chop green chillies and garlic to taste.

Heat some ghee in a pan. Add methi seeds and jeera (don't ask me for quantities here!), followed by a pinch of hing. When they sizzle and the methi turns a shade darker, add the chillies and garlic. Stir a bit, then add the lotus root. Stir and fry to mix, then add the dill. Stir again to mix thoroughly. Then add coriander powder and salt to taste. Add a splash of water, then cover and cook until tender. Uncover and cook to get rid of excess liquid as necessary.

This is utterly divine with rice, but I guess it would be lovely with roti too. It would also probably be delicious when cooked in mustard oil instead of ghee.

ETA: By the way the lotus root we get here is quite slim and not the big thick kind.

Edited by Jenni, 18 October 2012 - 07:56 PM.

[Jenni]

Hmmm, I have now been reminded of some other lotus-y things. In August I took some pics of a couple of makhana desserts that I made. First of all makhana kheer:


I think this was a litre of milk reduced to 1/3-1/2 of original quantity. Cook the milk with some cardamom pods. 2 cups of lotus seeds roasted in a bit of ghee, then crushed up a bit. You want some of it to be powdery to help thicken, but most should be in just 2 or 3 pieces. Add to the milk with sugar to taste and cook for a bit, maybe 10-15 minutes. Then turn off the heat and add a couple of tablespoons of blanched and slivered almonds, and a couple of tablespoons of raisins, plus cardamom powder to your taste (cannot remember if I added this on top of cooking cardamom in the milk...). I think I chopped the raisins? Can't remember. I like to eat this chilled. Be sure to slightly over do the sugar if you want to do this, as it tastes less sweet when cold. You can get fancy with nut garnishes if you like. I feel this is a very healthy kheer, as makhana are very light and naturally sweetish too so less sugar can be used. It's actually one of my favourite desserts ever.

Then I also made a makhana halwa, taking some notes from hereand other similar recipes on the web. For this I roasted some makhana in a very small bit of ghee, then ground them to a powder. The roasting is just to get them hard so they grind nicely. I measured out one cup of this "flour". I then roasted this with ghee (not sure how much - a few tablespoons) until a bit golden. To this I added sugar, I used the finely ground "bura" because it dissolves so easily. I cannot remember exactly what quantity. The recipes say 1 cup and I almost certain I basically did this much, maybe a tiny tiny bit less. It seems a lot, but the sugar quantity makes it halwa-able. I mixed well, then added some water (can't remember how much), then cooked it until thick. I spread it on a lightly greased plate and garnished it with slivered almonds (skin on, for colour):


I know it looks weird and grey, but ignore that. I chilled it until firm and cool all the way through.


Then it is possible to cut it into nice slices. Since the makhana already have a sweetish note to them, this is quite sweet indeed. But a moderately sized slice is a cool and sweet treat for when it's a bit hot (please note I avoided saying "heat" and making a rhyme!). It doesn't have a particularly complex flavour, but it was fun to try and like china grass desserts it has an appealingly soothing texture, especially when super super chilled.

Hope the quantities and methods are right for these, August seems a long time ago!

Edited by Jenni, 18 October 2012 - 08:24 PM.