Grape Raita

Winter is my favourite season. Even when I was in North India - when it seemed a herculean task to get out of the confines of quilts and blankets in the morning - I still loved the winter months. But as I moved to the western parts of the country, the season became quite mild. In my current city, we have already started using the fans during the day, while my parents and in - laws in the north have not witnessed sunlight for the past 3 days.

But temperatures aside, winter still has its charms in terms of the fruits and vegetables it offers. Fresh green peas, cauliflowers, red juicy carrots, oranges, grapes, strawberries - the vendor's cart seems quite tempting. It is fun to shop for vegetables. My mind instantly associates each purchase with a recipe I would like to try.

This week we bought green grapes for the first time in the season. And after reaching home, I realised that the quantity was a bit too much for just the two of us. What I experimented with, and which was an instant success, was this Grape Raita. It is adapted from Sanjeev Kapoor's recipe of Grape & Walnut Raita. I skipped the walnuts since I did not have any, and substituted the mint with coriander.

The raita works well with pulaos and biryanis, and can also be had on its own. We had it with Coriander Mint Rice and the combination was just awesome.

Ingredients:

Curd / Yoghurt: 2 cups

Seedless grapes: 20 - 25, halved lengthwise

Fresh Coriander, finely chopped: 2 - 3 tsp

Sugar (preferably powdered): 1/2 - 3/4 tsp

Cumin powder: 1 tsp

Rock Salt (Kala namak): 1/4 tsp

Salt: To taste

Method:

- Whisk the curd to a smooth consistency

- Add the sugar, rock salt, cumin powder and salt. Adjust to taste

- Add the grapes and coriander

- Cool it in a refrigerator before serving

This recipe goes to Monthly Mingle, the event organized by Meeta of What's for Lunch, Honey? This month's mingle features Winter fruits and vegetables, and is hosted by Sudeshna of Cook like a Bong.

Green & Pink: Coriander Mint Rice and Pomegranate Raita

Yes! I have finally returned after my more than a month long break from the blogging world. Well not the blogging world – because I have started a new blog. Making My Day Brighter is my hobby blog and it would be great if you could visit it sometime. Your views are welcome.
Coming back to the break from this blog – the reasons are several. My hubby was / is on a restricted diet due to health reasons and a few changes at the workplace were keeping me occupied as well.
But since November is ending today, I did not really want to have a complete month of inactivity – technically speaking. Plus I did cook something exciting yesterday which I surely want to share with the world! And with D of India Shoes.

But before we come to the actual recipe, here are a few (abridged and approximate) snippets of conversation:

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Time: Sunday noon. On phone with D.
Me: I am hungry. I want to have Pudina Pulao
D: Pudina Pulao? Why? I have never had it before. And then why don’t you go ahead and make it?
Me: Because there is a power cut since morning. Which means I cannot use the Mixer to grind the leaves.
D: (Laughing) Why don’t you use the old fashioned Imam Dasta (traditional mortar and pestle)?
Me: Humph! #%#@%

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Time: Sunday evening. Returning with Hubby after grocery shopping.
Me: I want to have Pudina Pulao.
Hubby: I have been hearing you say this since morning. What’s stopped you?
Me: The power cut
Hubby: Now that the electricity is restored, why don’t you go ahead and make it?

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Time: Sunday Night. On phone with Mom.
Me: What is the recipe for the pudina pulao you used to prepare?
Mom: I never used Pudina!
Me: Then what was the green pulao?
Mom: That’s coriander pulao.
Me: (Disappointed) Oh! What’s the recipe?

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So, even though the recipe called only for coriander, I went ahead and used mint. Generously. After all, the craving had to be satisfied. Even though it called for modifying my Mom’s recipe – a bit.
I served it with Pomegranate Raita. It is adapted from Nigella Lawson’s recipe which was telecast on one of her shows last year, sometime during Christmas.

For the Coriander Mint Rice:

Ingredients:
Rice (Basmati or any other variety): 1 Cup
Coriander & Mint: a small bunch each, cleaned and washed
Green Chili: 1 – 2 (Optional)
Onion: 1 medium, sliced
Peanuts: ¼ - ½ cup, roasted and coarsely ground
Cumin Seeds: ½ tsp
Bayleaf: 1
Juice of half a lemon
Oil: 2 tbsp
Salt: To taste

Method:
- In a blender, ground the coriander and mint leaves, and the green chilies, to a smooth paste. Add a tsp or 2 of water if required.
- Heat Oil in a heavy bottomed pan / pressure cooker
- Add the cumin seeds and the bay leaf. Once the seeds begin to splutter, add the onions. Sauté on low heat till the onions turn golden brown.
- Add the rice and the coriander – mint paste. Mix well. Add salt to taste.
- If cooking in a pressure cooker: Add 1 ¾ cups of water. Cook on high heat for 2 subsequent “whistles” plus around a minute on low heat. Turn off heat. Let the steam subside before opening the lid.
- If cooking without a pressure cooker: Add 2 cups of water. Cover and cook on low heat till the rice is cooked. Add more water if required.
- Once the rice is cooked add the juice of half a lemon. Mix.
- Add the peanuts before serving.
Verdict: The flavor enhancer is undoubtedly the lemon juice. It complements the coriander and mint flavor beautifully. The peanuts add a nice crunch to each bite.

Pomegranate Raita

- Whisk around 2 cups of curd / yoghurt.
- Add the seeds of half pomegranate. Mix well
- You can add a bit of sugar / salt as per your taste. I did not add any seasoning which worked very well with the pulao.

Layered Dessert – Mango Special

For me, the biggest inspirations come when I am alone. Like yesterday, when my hubby was to attend the marriage of a colleague, and I was not accompanying him, and had the Sunday evening all to myself. We had bought mangoes in the afternoon, and as always, my husband insisted that we have Mango Shake once he returns from the function. I had other plans though. Since I started this food blog, and before that as well, I had always been impressed with the trifles that a Google Image Search always yielded. Yummy!
So, I decided to try out a Mango Trifle myself. But did I have all the ingredients? Actually, no. I did not have a sponge cake to begin with, nor any whipped cream. I finally created something with whatever ingredients I could lay my hands on and ended up with what I can safely label as Mango Layered Dessert.
The verdict? Hubby was pleasantly surprised, and at the end said “This is really tasty. You can make it again” Yay!
Okay, the image is not as professional as I would have wanted it to be, but like my friend D said: "Go ahead and post it. You can always replace the picture later"

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
Thick custard (made with 250 ml milk, 1 ½ tbs custard powder and 2 tbs sugar)
Ripe Mango: 1
Vanilla Ice cream: 2 scoops
Plum: 1

Method:
- Peel the mango and cut it in small cubes
- Take a tall glass (or a bowl) and put a few cubes of mango. Pour a ladle of custard on it
- Alternate again with mangoes and custard, till the glass is nearly full
- Chill in the refrigerator - Before serving, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top, and garnish with pieces of plum, or strawberries
This is also my entry to the Mango Mela hosted by Srivalli.