Rainy days, and some random recipes

Last week was especially rainy, with parts of our city flooded. Luckily, the floods spared our part of town though we did get some rain.

I love a good rainshower. Feels like some bird within wakes up, stretches its wings, flutters them a bit to see if they still work - and takes flight. A little later, the bird perches somewhere - and sings...Literally :)

All Bollywood cliches are true. Rain does bring on an urge to sing, and hear music. The earth just seems to wake up, and come alive.

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It rained when I was leaving work yesterday....One of those quirky kind of showers where there is still sunlight, as though the sky cannot make up its mind. Came home hungry, with some cravings for strong flavors.

For many, a downpour - especially in the afternoon or evening - wakes up the tastebuds. Some swear by fried foods - a pakoda, or a bajji would be welcome, they would claim. I generally steer clear of fried foods, though a single bajji with chilli sauce would be pretty welcome, especially with hot chai.

On such days, I end up cooking savory, aromatic, but still pretty healthy food. Thogayal it is today, I decided, the thick chutney meant to be eaten with rice and ghee. Found a raw (green) mango still in the fridge, needing to be used up. Thought I might as well make mango pachadi, though I wondered how the combination would be.

The coconut-cilantro thogayal came out rather well, and the combination with mango pachadi was excellent. Wonder why I hadn't heard of this combination before. Posting both recipes here, for the inspired ones to make on a rainy, or simply a lazy day.

Coconut-cilantro thogayal

You will need:

half cup fresh grated unsweetened coconut
one cup chopped cilantro
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2.5 tablespoons channa dal
1 small red chilli
4-5 whole black pepper
tamarind - a small bit
salt to taste
Little oil for roasting

Method: Heat about a tablespoon of oil, and roast the channa dal in it. When half done, add the chilli and black pepper. When the channa dal is golden brown, add the garlic and roast that. Then add the coconut and roast till somewhat dry.

Allow the mixture to cool, and grind this with the fresh cilantro, tamarind and salt. That's it - thogayal is done.

Mango Pachadi

You will need:

One green mango (select a semisweet one, or one starting to ripen)
quarter tsp turmeric
Some jaggery (2-3 tsp or more as per taste)
salt to taste
1 tsp rice or corn flour for thickening
pinch of asafoetida (optional)
half tsp mustard
1 green/red chilli, cut into medium pieces
little oil for tempering

Peel the mango and cut into 1 inch by 1 inch square but thin slices. Boil some water (about a cup) in medium heat and add the mango. Add the turmeric also. Make sure the water is enough to cook the mango to near-softness. Cover and cook the mango. When almost done, add the jaggery and salt. (Pachadi is supposed to be sweet with a hint of sourness, so if the mango is a sour variety, you may have to add lots of jaggery). Allow to boil for 2-3 minutes. The pachadi's final consistency should be similar to sambhar, thick but pourable.

If not thick enough, prepare a thickener with the rice/corn flour and little bit of water. Add this to the pachadi, stir well, and let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the flame.

In a little oil, temper a pinch of asafoetida, some mustard, chilli and curry leaves and add this to the pachadi.

Mix some the thogayal with some hot steamed rice, and a teaspoon of ghee. Enjoy with a side of mango pachadi.

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Last, one of my blogger pals, Ginkgo, celebrated his birthday recently. Ginkgo, here's a sundae for you. I can only give you a recipe at this time, but as they say, its the thought that counts :)

Devil's Food Cake Sundae

You will need:

Devils food Cake mix (I used Pillsbury)
3 eggs
Oil as per package instructions (I used unsweetened applesauce, and 1 tbsp oil)
Water as per package instructions
Half cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Fresh strawberries
Vanilla ice cream
Chocolate syrup to drizzle (optional)
Chopped walnuts (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)

Bake cake as per package instructions. Would be nice to use a 13x9 inch pan, so it comes out like a sheet cake. Remove cake from oven and when still warm, spread the chocolate chips on it so that they stick on top and form a nice decoration. This is a semisweet cake, so no icing needed. Allow cake to cool.

To make sundae, serve cake in a bowl with a scoop of ice cream, and chopped fresh strawberries. Drizzle with chocolate syrup (if you can stand the sweetness). Sprinkle chopped walnuts or use butter pecan ice cream instead of vanilla. Decorate with whipped cream if you want it really fancy. Take a spoon, and dig in.

So Gingko, there's your birthday gift. Happy birthday!