America Eats

During the Great Depression, the Works Progress Administration hired writers to document the food traditions and rituals of America, a sort of Hidden Kitchens of the 1930s. Out-of-work authors--Eudora Welty, Saul Bellow, Richard Wright, Nelson Algren, Zora Neale Hurston, along with artists, anthropologists, librarians, and housewives fanned across the country to gather "an account of group eating as an important American social institution; its part in development of American cookery as an authentic art and the preservation of that art in the face of mass production of foodstuffs...."

The Kitchen Sisters chronicled this vast archive of American eating in the Hidden Kitchens series, in a story called "America Eats" that includes an interview with Mark Kurlansky, author of the new and fascinating book, "Food of a Younger Land: A Portrait of American Food--before the national highway system, before chain restaurants and before frozen food, when the nation's food was seasonal, regional, and traditional--from the lost WPA files."

You can listen to our story, "America Eats," here.

Durian Ice Cream

I've been very crazy making ice cream recently. The reason is either the weather is too hot or I need to finish all the cream before it expired. What a good excuse! Oh yes, I'm quite naughty recently. At first, I was inspired by Small Small Baker's mango ice cream and it was fantastic! Then, I read through a recipe book of "The Perfect Scoop" which had given very details explanation of making real ice cream. I followed exactly the recipe to make a matcha ice cream and dark chocolate ice cream, it's real good!

After trying three types of ice cream, I still had some left over cream so I make this durian ice cream since now is the durian season and it's quite cheap in the market.

I followed the mango ice cream recipe from SSB but using durian. As the sweetness from the durian is very strong, I cut down some sugar to balance the flavour. This is my first time having such a super rich durian ice cream, we find ourselves like eating the real durian and it's totally different from what I bought from the supermarket. It's so flavourful till you will find the smell stay in your mouth for the whole day (no kissing on that day) kekekeke.... :) One thing good about homemade ice cream is we could have the REAL flavour of ice cream!

Recipe:
300g durian, puree
60g sugar
130g plain yogurt
200g whipping cream

Remove the seeds from the durian meat, I know you're going to lick your finger but please do it after you remove all ok :) Place the durian meat and sugar in a food processor to make them in puree. Transfer the durian meat to a large bowl and mix into the yogurt. Whip the cream in another bowl until stiff and fold it into the durian mixture. The recipe from SSB noted that the mixture could be store in the freezer without process it in an ice cream maker. However, I still process it in the ice cream maker to have a better texture. The result was very creamy!
Either you put it directly into an ice cream container or process in an ice cream maker, it has to be chilled in the freezer for 5 hours or overnight. Enjoy and no kissing.... kekeke...

Mambhaza Kaalan - Mango pulp in yogurt, coconut gravy

Ripes mangoes are best, when eaten as it is. No second opinion about that. But when there is abundant mangoes, which cannot be finished just by eating them alone, it goes into gravy preparations. During my growing up years, in summer, the upstairs room will be filled with mangoes spread on a bed of hay to ripen. Those days, very rarely vegetables are purchased and my grandma always do with the veggies fresh from the garden. In summer, mangoes and jack fruit are the most repeated ones. They are cooked in their different stages. ripe mangoes (mambhazam) is added to sambhar, pachadi or morkootan. My favorite is mambazha kaalan. This is similar to morkootan. May be, it is referred as kaalan for its consistency. Call it any name you like, the dish is absolutely tasty.

You need
Medium sized ripe manges - 3 nos

Beaten curd/yogurt - 1 cup

Red chilli powder -1/2 tspn

salt

turmeric powder - 1/2 tspn

To grind

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup tightly packed

Green chilly - 3 nos

For Seasoning

Oil - 2 tspn

Mustard seeds- 1 tspn

Red chilly - 2 ( broken into 2)

Curry leaves

Methi seeds - 1/2 tspn

Method

Slice the mangoes into big pieces. Cook the mango pieces along with the seed in enough water. Add chilly powder, turmeric and salt to it. When the mango is cooked well, remove the pieces and seed to a plate and leave it to cool. Squeeze the pulp from the cooked mango, discarding the skin and seed. Mix the pulp into the drained water, used to cook the mangoes.

Grind the coconut and green chilly with little water to a smooth paste. Blend the ground paste into mango pulp mix. Mix in the beaten curd and blend everything well. Adjust salt. Bring to a boil. Remove immediately when it foams on the top, else it will become watery because of the yogurt added.
Do the seasoning and enjoy with hot rice and a side of papad.

Optionally you can add some ash gourd or vellarikkai to this. I have not added them. If you like the curry to be little sweet, you can add a piece of jaggery while cooking the mangoes.

This is off to Mango Mela hosted by Srivalli