Red Bean Buns

I simply couldn't resist to bake something while I was away from home recently. My hand was so itchy that just couldn't stop touching those utensil in the kitchen of my mother-in-law. She had ready made red bean paste so we decided to make some red bean buns together using her new bread machine. I felt so good after the baking as the bread turn out quite pretty, soft and tasty.

Bun recipe:

(A) 200g bread flour / 20g plain flour / 25g sugar / 1/4 teaspoon salt / 1/2 tsp + 1/4 tsp yeast / 15g milk powder / 25g eggs / 115g water / 15g butter

(B) 200g red bean paste (divide into 8 portions) / 20g white sesame

How we do it:

1. Mix ingredients (A) with bread machine for 30 minutes until it become a smooth and elastic dough.
2. Place the dough into a clean bowl and cover with cling wrap to proof for 60 minutes.
3. Divide the dough into 8 portions and round them into small balls. Then fill the doughs with red bean and shape it into a smooth balls. Let the dough proof for 15 minutes.
4. Slightly flatten each dough and use a scissor to cut the edges into 8 flower pedals. Continue to proof for 10 minutes.
5. Egg wash the doughs then top with some sesame. Bake at 190'C preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown.

tool storage

It’s great that we have the finished basement and third floor, but this leaves little room for storage of things like tools.  As you might imagine, the collection is big, unruly and always growing.  Can I get a “That’s what she said”?  Fortunately, there is a large built-in closet/tv unit in the basement with some extra room – this is after the first coat of primer.

We stole one of the closets and added pegboard.  If you don’t LOVE pegboard, you’re not invited.  It makes for great organization and I’m digging the fact that right now, I know exactly where my plumb-bob is (don’t you love that name?)

No, that is not everything.  We also had to convert this Harry Potter under-the-stairs-room into additional storage with some utility shelves, more pegboard and an overhead flourescent light.

 Notice the brass knuckles to the left.  I have no explanation.

Rukmini's Chettinadu Takkali Rasam - Thin Tomato Soup

Rukmini's Chettinadu Takkali Rasam - A Thin Tomato Soup bursting with Flavour!

Rukmini is an excellent host and she pampers us with a lavish spread of delicious dishes whenever we went to our native village Seeplaputhur. Her meticulously prepared Chettinadu style puttus, idiappams, paniarams, and kummayam (will share these recipes later!) are our favourite dishes. Her piping hot vegetable biriani and vazha poo (banana flower) curry usually brings out the glutton in us, and we end up tucking in far more than is good for us!

The Takkali Rasam she prepares acts in a three fold manner – as an appetizer , as the second course of the meal with hot rice, and finally as a digestive at the end of the meal as well! After noticing our capacity for imbibing her rasam, she started preparing it in a huge ‘pittalai adukku’.

A Pittalai adukku is a brass vessel which is coated with a tin layer inside, and was commonly used for cooking in the by-gone days. They came in sets of various sizes which could be fitted one inside another thus demanding less storage space. The sizes start from the smallest one- the size of a glass, and it would go up to the size of a huge cauldron. These sets were given to a new bride by her parents to enable her to start her own kitchen at her new home.

Unlike most young children my, grand daughter relishes and appreciates flavourful and spicy food! On a recent visit to our village, she spoke out our thoughts as she licked her fingers “Rukmini’s rasam is too good and I feel like going on and on eating!”

INGREDIENTS:
Red ripe tomatoes – 4
Tamarind – one small lime size
Salt – 2 tsps
Asafoetida – 1 pinch
Rasam powder – 1 tsp ( I use my sambar powder)
Tur dal (Red gram dal) – 4tbsps
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Curry leaves – a few
Fresh coriander leaves – for garnishing
Black pepper – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Garlic – 4 pods
Ghee – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – ¼ tsp

METHOD:
1. Wash and cut tomatoes into cubes, and soak it along with the tamarind in boiling water.

2. Meanwhile, pressure cook dal and turmeric powder, with one glass of water, to get a watery dal (paruppu kattu).
Note: If you are planning to make Sambhar as well, add additional water to the dal, and just pour out the liquid into a separate vessel, leaving behind the heavy dal. The liquid is called paruppu kattu – or a dal stock) 3. Squeeze the tomatoes and the tamarind together and extract the juice.
4. Add salt, asafoetida, rasam powder and curry leaves to the extract, and boil it till the raw smell disappears.
5. Now add the paruppu kattu, to the extract. Pour in more water to make up a volume of four glasses of rasam (one litre). You may see some froth beginning to develop on the top.
6. Turn down to low flame.
7. Crush pepper, cumin seeds and the garlic pods coarsely (preferably using a mortar and pestle, else use your mixie) and add it to the rasam. 8. Add fresh coriander leaves and leave the rasam on low flame till it gathers a lot of foam on top. 9. A critical step - DO NOT ALLOW THE RASAM TO BOIL as it will lose its flavour. As rasam reaches boiling point, it will rise to the top, similar to milk. At that point switch off the stove and keep the rasam covered to seal in the flavours.
10. To season the rasam, heat ghee and add mustard seeds.
11. When mustard splutters, add it to the Takkali Rasam.
Enjoy the aroma and relish rasam glass after glass!
This post goes to the RCI Chettinad an event that was started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisines, and is currently hosted by Srimathi at Few Minute Wonders.