National Pachidi – Cucumber & Carrot Curd Dip

NATIONAL PACHIDI

CUCUMBER & CARROT CURD DIP

Pachidi is prepared with raw vegetables and curd, and acts as cooling side dish, when served along with spicy food. Sometimes vegetables like pumpkin or potatoes are boiled before making the pachidi. Fried ladies finger (Okra) pachadi is a delicacy too. Cucumber Pachidi is the most commonly prepared pachadi and very easy to prepare.

Once when I added some grated carrot to the Cucumber Pachidi my little granddaughter exclaimed “National Pachidi”. She was just learning about everything national – national bird, national animal, national flower –at her play school. I was amazed at her sharpness when she identified the colours of the National Flag in this dish. I wish to dedicate this recipe to my cute little granddaughter who has also christened the dish as NATIONAL PACHIDI.

Ingredients:
Cucumber -1
Carrot -1
Curd -1 cup
Salt – ½ tsp
Coriander leaves – a few
Cooking oil – ½ tsp
Mustard seeds – 1 pinch

Method:
1. Grate cucumber along with the green skin, add salt and leave it aside.
2. Scrape and grate the carrot in another bowl.
3. Squeeze out the grated cucumber and add it to the carrot.
4. Add curd and blend well.
5. Season the Pachadi by spluttering mustard seeds in hot oil.
6. Decorate with coriander leaves.

I did not have the heart to spoil the 'National' effect by adding the seasoning for the photo. Refrigerate and serve if you want it really cool.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!

Re: Midwest Memo - The Kitchen Sink

In this nostalgic op-ed on The Kitchen Sink, Alan Shultz waxes poetic on the old wall-hung porcelain sinks of his grandmother's day.

He also has derogatory things to say about stainless steel sinks and dishwashers and Kitchen designers...ahem.

"Today's kitchen designers want us all to pretend dirty hands and dirty dishes aren't the norm and so all such unpleasantries must be hidden away."

Surprisingly, I too pine for the old porcelainized cast iron sinks of yesteryear. Unfortunately they went the way of the sinks of Alan's childhood.

Back in the 1970's, in response to concerns about health and safety, the lead was taken out of the formulations for coating cast iron sinks. The results have been disastrous for the genre. Today's cast iron sinks lose their shiny finish in a few short years with typical care and are dull and uncleanable after that.

The sinks I recommend for most of my clients are Corian and other high quality solid surface sinks, 18 gauge high-nickel stainless, or fireclay. These sinks will last the lifetime that the old cast iron sinks used to last, and be carefree their entire lives.

Most other sinks break down early and are not suitable for mounting underneath countertops.

Alan also pines for the days when families did their dishes together after a meal:

"As wonderful as the dishwasher is, I wonder what we have all sacrificed in sparing generations of children from the tradition of washing and drying the dishes. What lessons have gone untaught, what revelations have stayed untold because this post meal gathering has been done away?

More likely SOMEONE was stuck doing the dishes while the rest of the family lolled in the living room watching TV! Those family dishwashing sessions were a figment of Procter and Gamble's dreams and television commercials. I KNOW. I was that SOMEONE in a previous life!

It was labor saving appliances that freed women from the drudgery of endless housework and allowed them to consider a life outside the kitchen (I got out of the kitchen to get into kitchens).

Methinks Alan is really pining for the days when his wife was under his thumb. Methinks also that my clients would be really upset with me if I recommended a product out of nostalgia when it wouldn't perform for them.

Peggy

Tomato Ketchup/Sauce

Most of the time, its store bought ketchup at home. When tomatoes are in season and when I get them at throw-away price, I make ketchup and pickle using them. Though preparing ketchup is time consuming, if you get everything ready, then it is easy to prepare. And constant attention to the recipe is not required. So this can be done along with the other cooking, so that you can oversee the progress at intervals. This recipe is from the hand-written list of my mother-in-law. So the exact recipe source is unknown.

Select ripe, juicy tomatoes with less seeds. Blanch and peel the tomatoes. Make puree of it and strain. I don't have patience to do the blanching and peeling. I totally ignore this step. Still it comes out fine. I directly wash and put the tomatoes in the mixer grinder and make puree and strain.
If you use 2 Kg of tomatoes, you will get around 10 cups of juice. I prepared with 1.5 kg and I adjusted the ingredients.

The following ingredients are for 10 cups of tomato juice.

Sugar - 1 cup
Vinegar - 1/2 cup
salt - 1 tspn
To be tied in a cheese cloth
Garlic - 2 pods
Onion - 1 medium
Jeera - 1 tspn
Cardamom - 5 nos
Cloves - 3 nos
Pepper powder - 1/4 tsp
Cinnammon - 1 inch pc
Nutmeg powder- 1/2 tspn

Powder the spices. Mix it to chopped garlic and onion. Tie this mixture in a cheese cloth.

Take the juice with 3/4 cup of the sugar. Dip the cloth pouch in to the juice and cook till you can smell the aroma of spices.

This will take around 20 minutes. Just stir 2/3 times in between. By this time, the syrup will start thickening. Remove the tied pouch.
Add salt, vinegar and the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar.
Boil the mixture, till it reduces to 1/3 of the original quantity.
Remove from fire.

To preserve them for a longer period, add a pinch of sodiumbenzoate to it.
I don't usually add the preservative. It stays good for more than 2 weeks on refrigeration.

This goes to Roma's Long Live Shelf event

and to The 'Food in Colors ' event started by Sunshinemom. Sunshinemom has kick started a new event starting this month to celebrate the colors in food. And she has chosen Red for the month of August.