Bela Panaa

The Bela Panaa is a drink made out of the pulp of the wood apple . This is a fruit that one can find in abundance in Odisha as the leaves are an important part of the ritual worship of Lord Shiva. While the pulp ranges in color from a pale yellow (almost whitish) to a robust orange, the flavour of the flesh also varies widely. Some are sweet while others can be quite astringent with hints of bitterness.

Inspite of all the variations,  the fruit is widely consumed due to its medicinal properties. It is an excellent coolant and is supposed to prevent heatstroke. Apart from that, it is good for the bowels and alleviates any sort of gastro-intestinal distress during the hot months. Most people consume it in the form of a plain sherbat with just the deseeded pulp, some sugar and a tinge of souring agent like curd or lemon. But for the Maha Bisubha sankranti or the Odia new year, a more opulent version called the 'Bela Panaa' is prepared in most homes.

Read on for the traditional recipe -

Preparation Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients:

• Ripened Bela/Wood apple/Elephant apple ( 1 no)
• curd ( 1 cup )
• chenna/curdled milk ( 1 cup ) or 3 rosogullas
• ripe banana ( 1 no)
• sugar ( 3 tbs )
• ice-cubes
• black pepper powder ( 1/4 tsp )

Preparation: Break the shell of the wood apple on a hard surface and scoop out the

yellow flesh.

Put the yellow flesh in a mixing bowl and add 2 cups of cold water. Mix the flesh with the water using your fingers to extract the juice.

Strain the juice using a sieve. Transfer the remaining pulp back to the mixing bowl and add 1 cup cold water and extract any remaining juice.

Strain the juice and throw away the pulp.

Add sugar, banana, chenna/rosogulla, curd and black pepper. Mix well using your fingers.

Pour into glasses & top up with ice-cubes. Serve chilled.

Note: Bela ( also called Bel) pannaa is very popular in Orissa during the summer months.

It is offered to Lord Shiva on Panaa Sankranti day which falls on 14th of April.

The leaves of this plant are also offered to Lord Shiva along with milk. Consuming a fistful of these leaves is supposed to reduce blood pressure & diabetes.

Spaghetti Alla Marinara

Recent showers have cooled down Bangalore and given a respite from the sweltering afternoons. And it has also given me the chance to indulge in some of my favorite dishes which I had given up as I did not feel like spending time in the kitchen.

Spaghetti Alla Marinara is an Italian style tomato sauce which makes use of tomatoes, onions, garlic and some herbs like oregano, basil and parsley. It is mostly used in combination with seafood and pasta. Literally it means 'Mariner's spaghetti but the original recipe had nothing to do with seafood. It was just a dry preparation which relied heavily on the acidity of the tomatoes to preserve the dish for a few days while the menfolk were at sea. It also uses wine (which is also a preservative) to add some sweetness to the dish. Quite easy but requires about 15-20 mins of cooking to get the sauce right. Choosing the right vessel is also important for this dish. Use a thick bottomed skillet/frying pan instead of a saucepan while cooking the sauce.

One of the simplest paste sauces I have ever come across, this makes me wonder why people believe in drowning their paste by adding so much cheese and cream. Read on for the yummy recipe:

Preparation Time - 25 mins


Ingredients -

• 100 gm spaghetti
• 2 large ripe tomatoes (blanched)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste (one can use a little ketchup instead)
• 2 tbsp+1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 medium sized red onion (chopped into small thin pieces but i left them long)
• 3-4 garlic flakes (chopped or crushed)
• 1/2 - 1 tsp chilli flakes
• 1 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp parsley
• a few fresh basil leaves (optional)
• 1/2 tsp white wine vinegar (optional)
• salt to taste

Preparation - Crush the tomatoes.

Cooking - Heat a skillet or frying pan. Add 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil is warm, add the garlic. Fry till it turns light brown.

Add the crushed tomatoes along with the dried herbs and chilli flakes. Add salt.

In a separate pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add the onions and fry till translucent. Add the fried onions to the skillet/frying pan containing the tomatoes. Cook the sauce on medium heat.

Boil water in a large saucepan. Once the bubbles start showing, add salt generously. As soon as it gets to a rolling boil, add the spaghetti.

Boil for 12-13 minutes till al-dente. Drain excess water. Add 1 tsp of olive oil, toss gently and keep aside.

By this time, the sauce would be ready. Stir in the white wine vinegar. (If you find it too dry add some hot water by the teaspoon. If it is too watery turn up the heat for 2-3 minutes.)

Transfer the pasta to a plate/dish. Put some sauce over it and dig it . (No fancy plating/garnishing required for this recipe. Just plain old good food.)

Note - Normally the tomatoes are peeled and pureed after blanching to get a smooth paste. But as I like the coarse texture of this sauce, I have omitted this step.

One can also add some sauteed prawns/octopus/squid to this recipe if you prefer seafood pasta.

Apple, Celery and Leeks Salad

Time for yet another salad recipe!! I made this as a 4 o'clock fix for myself last week. Had a light lunch at 1 o' clock and hence was feeling quite hungry. But I realized that I had forgotten to soak any pulses for making a 'sundal'. So opted for an easy salad with whatever I found in the fridge. Turned out to a quite filling.

Made an Indian-style dressing for this one with fresh yogurt, lime juice, anardana powder, amchur, red chilli powder and salt. The sweetness of the apples complimented the tang provided by the dressing. And the celery and leeks gave it quite a chewy texture  (all that chomping down actually helps to burn more calories). Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 10-12 mins

Ingredients -

• 1/2 cup diced apples (skin left on)
• 1/3 cup diced potatoes (boiled)
• 1/2 cup diced cucumber (peeled)
• 1-2 stalk of celery ( white and light green parts only )
• 1-2 stalks of leeks (white and light green parts only )
• 3 tsp thick yogurt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp anardana powder (dried pomegranate powder)
• 2 pinch amchur powder (dried mango powder)
• a pinch of red chilli powder (or to taste)
• salt to taste

Preparation - Wash and clean the leeks and celery with sufficient water else the sand particles present in them will make the salad inedible. Chop off the roots.

Cut into small bite sized pieces.

Take the yogurt, lime juice, anardana powder, amchur, red chilli powder and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly and the salad dressing is ready.

Add the rest of the ingredients and coat them with the salad dressing. Pop into the fridge for 5-10 mins.

Serve chilled.

Paan and Gulkand Kheer

Most festive(read 'Heavy') meals in India are considered incomplete with a serving of paan. Paan is said to aid in digestion, suppress gas formation in the stomach and freshen up the mouth. Many a varieties of 'paan' are available in the shops, ranging from sharp bitter ones to sweet sugary ones. One is supposed to chew up the paan, swallow its juice and spit out the solids. But these days one gets sweet paans (without the betel nuts) which can be consumed in its entirety. However the paan leaves do leave a slight tingling in the mouth which everyone may not like.

So, the last time when I made kheer for dessert, I decided to infuse it with the flavors of a 'meetha paan'. Had a jar of gulkand lying in my cupboard as I am using it liberally during summers to reduce body heat. I only had to purchase a few betel leaves from the corner paan-shop. One word of caution while selecting the leaves. Avoid the bitter ones and go for the mild ones else it will ruin the dish.

Since it was hot at the time, I decided to use condensed milk and khoya to cut down on the cooking time.Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 45-50 mins

Ingredients -

• 1/2 liter milk
• 1/3 cup soaked rice ( i used Jeera rice but you can also use Basmati)
• 3/4 cup khoya
• 3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk
• 3 tbsp sugar ( I prefer medium sweet, but you can add a little more )
• 1/3 cup cashews
• 2 pinch cardamom
• 1 1/2 tbsp Gulkand
• 2-3 Betel leaves
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp ghee

Preparation - Wash and clean the betel leaves. Remove the veins and tear into small pieces. Grind with 1/4 cup milk and keep it aside. ( We do not want a fine paste so very small pieces of the betel leaf should remain. )

Wash and soak the rice for 1-2 hours. Strain to remove excess water.


Cooking - Heat the ghee in a pressure cooker. Add the soaked rice and fry for 3-4 minutes.

Next add 1/3 cup water, half of the milk, sugar and cashews to the cooker. Close lid and cook for 3-4 whistles. Remove from flame.

Open the lid as soon as the steam escapes. Use a heavy spoon to whisk the contents and try to break down the rice grains( Else use a good quality hand blender for this step). We need to do this when the mixture is veryhot so be careful not to splash any liquid onto ones hands.

Add the remaining milk to the pressure cooker along with 1/4 cup water. Close lid and cook for another 2-3 whistles. Remove from flame.

Allow steam to escape. Open the lid and put it back on the flame.

Add the crumbled khoya ( i used store bought one), condensed milk and cardamom. Stir continuously till the khoya dissolves and mixture reaches desired thickness. (Took 7-8 mins for me)

Switch off the flame.

Stir in the Gulkand. Next add the betel leaf mixture little by little building up the flavour till you get it right.

Keep it in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Garnish with betel leaf, rose petals and serve chilled.

Maseladar Baingan (Spicy Eggplant Curry)

Eggplant is perhaps the most used vegetable in our house. So I try to make various combinations and permutations so that we do not get bored of it. That is why when i saw this recipe in the Sunday edition of TOI, I added it to my To-Do list.

It turned out to be very nice and spicy. Goes great with rotis!!! Read on for the very easy recipe:

Preparation Time - 20-25 mins

Ingredients -

• Sliced brinjal/eggplant ( 4 cups )
• Finely chopped onion ( 2 medium )
• Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1/3 tsp
• Chili powder - 1/3 tsp
• Coriander powder - 1/4 tsp
• Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
• Garam Masala Powder - 1/4 tsp
• Amchur - 1/4 tsp ( But I used 1/2 tsp anardana powder instead )
• Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Lemon juice - 1 tsp
• Oil - 4 tbsp
• salt to taste

For the paste -

• Peanuts - 2 tbsp
• Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
• Mustard seeds - 1/3 tsp
• Green chillis - 2-3 nos
• Coriander leaves - 1/3 cup

Preparation - Make a fine paste out of the ingredients listed under 'For the paste'.

Cooking - Add 1 tbsp oil to a wok. Add and fry the eggplant slices for 4-5 minutes. Remove and keep aside.

Add the remaining oil to the wok. Add cumin seeds and allow to crackle.

Add chopped onions and allow to turn translucent. Add the ginger garlic paste and cook till raw smell goes away.

Add all the powdered spices. Fry for 1 min.

Add the masala paste along with salt and fry for 3-4 mins.

Add the beaten curd along with the eggplant slices. Fry for 2-3 mins on medium flame.

Add 1 1/2 cup water slowly. Cover with lid and allow to cook for 6-7 mins.

Remove from wok. Add lemon juice and coriander leaves. Mix well.

Serve hot with rotis.

Note - The original recipe made use of the raw eggplant pieces but I choose to stir fry them as it tastes different ( I like it better this way).

Raisin and Saffron Muffins

Its quite hot these days and on top of it, my oven has been acting up. But I still had the persistence to bake another batch of muffins. Had to rotate the tray quite a few times to avoid getting those dreaded burn spots but still could not manage to get them to brown evenly on top. The yummy taste and fluffy texture saved it for me and my son really liked it. Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 35 mins

Ingredients -

• All purpose flour ( 1 cup)
• butter ( 1/2 cup )
• sugar ( 1/2 cup, powdered )
• egg ( 1 no)
• chopped raisins ( 1/3 cup )
• milk ( 1/4 cup )
• baking powder ( 1/2 level tsp )
• saffron ( 1/5 tsp)
• cardamom powder (1 pinch)

Preparation - Heat the milk. Add the saffron strands to it and allow to soak for 20 mins.

Take the butter  in a mixing bowl. Add the powdered sugar and beat well for 5 mins or till the mixture turns a few shades lighter.

Break egg into a separate bowl and beat well such that stiff peaks can be formed.
Stir gently into the butter-sugar mix. Add the saffron milk also.( do not panic if you find a slight curdling at this stage )
Mix the flour and baking powder together. Use a sieve to gently sift it into the batter in small batches. Mix gently till no lumps remain. Stir in the raisins keeping aside a few to sprinkle on top.

Grease a non-stick muffin tray. Pour into the molds till 2/3 full. Sprinkle chopped raisins on top.

Cooking - Preheat oven to 170 degrees. Put the tray inside and turn down heat to 160 degrees after 5 minutes. Bake for another 10 mins.

Insert a toothpick at the center of muffin and check if it comes out clean. Else bake for another 2-3 mins.

Remove from oven and keep on a cooling rack. Overturn the tray to remove the muffins while still warm (easy to come out).

Serve immediately or store in a airtight container for 2-3 days.

Note - Roll the raisins in a little all-purpose flour before sprinkling on top. This prevents them from sinking into the muffins.

Neer Mor / Spiced Buttermilk / Masala Chaas (Detox Monday Recipe)

(A Big Sorry for being late by a whole day!!!!)

Surprised. How can buttermilk be classified as detox food ???? It is just another dairy product.

But that's the magic of this humdrum ingredient (Don't they say the most common/easy solutions are often the most overlooked ones) . Even though it is derived from milk, it is strong cleansing properties. Much revered in Ayurveda, buttermilk has more of lactic acid than milk and hence it is loaded with gastrointestinal benefits. With the digestion process improving, the excretion or throwing out of toxins from the body is increased. A glass of buttermilk with 1-2 teaspoons of coriander juice serves as a very good detox drink.

Now that you know where to search when looking for a quick detox, making some buttermilk is quite easy. Just add a cup of yogurt with 3 cups of water in your blender and buzz away for a few minutes. Voila....homemade buttermilk is ready. Most Indian homes use a hand churner for making buttermilk. It is a long steel/wooden rod with circular blades at the bottom. But a blender will do as well. (In fact we can make it using our hands too but it takes long time)

Read on for the recipe:

Preparation Time - 10 mins

Ingredients -


2 glass buttermilk
1/2 tsp finely chopped coriander
1/4 tsp finely chopped curry leaves
1/5 of grated ginger
1/4 tsp finely chopped green chilli
a pinch of pepper powder
a pinch of roasted cumin powder
salt to taste


Preparation - Take all the ingredients in a bowl. Mix well.

Pop it into the fridge for 1/2 hour. Remove and mix once again.

Pour into glasses and served chilled.

Note - This can also be consumed by all those who are fasting for Shri Ram Navami .