Roselle

My husband and I have been able have enough this beautiful flower, Hibiscus Rosa-Sinesis. I had a fairly large shrub of this back in Bangalore which bore white flowers. Now, here I have them in three colours - the traditional red, orange and yellow. All of them, giving a pretty sight every time I walk into the tiny garden of mine. Above here, I have displayed one of those beauties.

Tomato and Beet Mocktail

This is a dish inspired by a television cookery show. It was not a bad idea afterall to make a mocktail entirely using vegetable juices, although Tomato isn't strictly a vegetable but a fruit. Going simply by the taste, my husband called it a liquid salad :-)

Ingredients:

Serves Two

1/2 a large Beet cut into quarters
3-4 tomatoes
7-8 Basil leaves
salt to taste
1 tsp pepper powder
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Method:

Puree the beets and keep aside. Now blend smoothly the tomatoes and basil seperately with some salt. In a mocktail glass, first add the beet juice to about half of it. Now with a spoon gently add the tomato-basil juice to form a layer on top of the beet. Now drizzle some lemon juice on top and sprinkle some pepper powder. Garnish it with a basil leaf in the centre and some castor sugar on the rims of the glass.

Spicy Eggplant and Chickpea Kuzhambu/ Stew

This is nothing but a variation of the traditional Kara Kuzhambu.

Ingredients:

Serves Two

1 cup Chickpeas - the variety that's deskinned and split (kadala Paruppu/ Chana dal)
1 cup tamarind pulp
5-6 medium sized Eggplants cut into quaters
1 cup shallots
2 tomatoes finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp sambar powder
7-8 curry leaves
3-4 dried red chillies
1 tsp mustard seeds
5-6 fenugreek seeds
2-3 tbsps of Sesame oil

Method:

Add sesame oil to a saucepan, and let rhe mustard seeds crackle once the oil is ready. Add teh chickpeas and fry till golden brown. Now add the fenugreek seeds, red chillies, aesofatida and curry leaves. Once the chillies redden, add the shallots and saute till they turn transparent. Throw in the chopped tomatoes and saute till they liquify. Add the Eggplants and tos briefly. Now add the tamarin pulp, water, turmeric powder, chilli powder, sambar powder, salt to taste and mix well. Simmer till the oil seperates on top, stirring in between. Check for the desired consistency. If you want it to be thicker, then keep simmering until the excess water is absorbed. Traditionally, it is supposed to be in a semi-thick stew-like consistency. It shouldn't run.

It is best had with a bland steamed or coconut based dry curry or a thick chutney (thovayal) and deep fried or toasted Papad.

The picture above has the kuzhambu described in the recipe on steamed raw rice with steamed and tempered cabbage on a bed of Parsley, mint-coriander-green chilli-cocnut chutney and deep fried papad.