Machu Picchu - Peru trip

Sunset at Machu Picchu Image source: wikipidea

16 years of dreaming (From the time I read Tintin and Prisoners of the Sun) 6 months of researching & planning, and heightened anticipation later the day is finally here!!! We are setting off to Peru.

Here is our trip map:
We start at Lima, wander in and around Lima for 2 days and then set off to Cuzco where we acclimatize ourselves to the altitude before we set off on a 4 day trek on the Inca trail to Machu Picchu. We are then going to relax in the hot springs of Agues Calientes (Hot water literally!)

Back to Cusco and then To Arequipa where we are staying with a Peruvian family and from visit the Colca Canyon where we are absolutely looking forward to spot the Andean condors. We then head to relax in an oasis Huacachina where we will sand board and dune bug yoohooo. We then head to Nazca take an aerial gander at the Nazca lines, the famous and mysterious geoglyphs ( One of the theories of existence proposed by Eric Von Daniken's 'Chariot of God's?' ) We then set off to Pisco to get drunk on... what else Pisco!! A short trip to Ballestas Islands (mini Gallapagos) later we get back to Lima to fly home

We know we are going to chant Te amo Peru!!!

FEEDING OUR FACES
Although this trip is far from being gastronomic, we are looking forward to sampling everything we can, like:
chifa : Peruvian- chinese fusion food

Purple potatoes. Image source: chezpim

pota-tay-toes, po-tah-toes, potatoes and more potatoes. After all it started here: We are especially looking forward to eating the purple potatoes

Pizza: Pizzerias are hazaar famous in Agues Calientes especially

Peruvian Ceviche. Image source: wikipedia

Peruvian Ceviche: Though we don't eat meat on a regular basis, we definitely try it when we go to a different country to completely experience the culture. Peru is considered the birth place of ceviche and we simply have to try it

Roasted guinea pig. Image source: wikipedia

And lastly Roasted Guinea pig: The cute guinea pig cooked is quintessential Peruvian food. We are not sure if we have the bollocks to try it, but hey who knows, dare us and we just might do it!!

Have fun till then. See y'all later.

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Pav Bhaji

".... But the true king of Mumbai street cuisine has to be the Pav Bhaji.
It is impossible to escape the aroma of dollops of butter swimming in bhaji, a thick gravy of potatoes, tomatoes, peas and onions spiked with coriander and a special pav bhaji spice mix. Served with fresh pav, the bhaji is a staple Mumbai dish consumed heartily all round the clock. Step into, or rather jostle into, any one of the suburban railway stations on a hot, humid morning and you can catch a glimpse of several pav bhaji connoisseurs swarming around one of the platform snack stalls. And when the last bit of gravy has been scooped up with relish all you need to shell out is a meager ten to fifteen rupees ..."

Pav bhaji deconstructed

We often get Pav bhaji cravings, while I make the bhaji, we use store bought burger buns as pao. I can see some people cringing, but hey a cravers gotta do what a cravers gotta do.

Preparation time:10 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins (10 for boiling veggies + 20 for cooking)
Serves: 4-5

BHAJI
Boiled vegetables: (Boiled just till they are done, not to a mush, I do this in the microwave, whole potatoes separately and the rest of the veggies seperately)
5 med potatoes
1/2 med cauliflower
1 green bell pepper
1 cup of beans (I would have loved to add 1/2 cup beans and 1/2 cup peas)

1 cup of diced red onion
1 cup of diced tomatoes (you could us a tbsp of tomato paste)
8 thai green chillies
a pinch of turmeric
1/2 tsp of red chili powder (optional)
3 tbsp of oil
2 cups of water
3 tbsp of pre made Pav Bhaji Masala (I use Badshah's masala)

• In a 4Qt sauce pan heat the oil, add the onions and saute for 6 mins
• Add in the tomatoes, a pinch of salt and saute for another 4 mins
• Add in the masala, and the vegetables, 2 cups of water
• Simmer for 10 mins and turn off the heat
  

PAO / PAV
8 pairs of slider/burger buns
Pan toast the buns with tsp of 1/4 tsp of butter or margarine on each bun.

Garnish the bhaji with finely diced onions, splash of lime, and finely chopped cilantro and serve it with the buttered buns. Enjoy

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Tomato Olive Rotini Casserole

The only time I had anything resembling a casserole was a Mac and cheese casserole at an American Diner back in Oklahoma. Now I had a fridge to clean up, and finish up that odd one vegetable, a cup of cheese, and I remembered Hetal's tomato corn casserole. Although I could not follow her recipe because of the lack of availability of ingredients, her dish was an inspiration. I added all the ingredients that I could lay my hands on and intuition. We loved and hogged on it. This has been a good week, first J and B's Arvi patties, then Prissy Cook's prickly pear margarita and now the casserole which made a way into the staple list. Loving it.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 35 mins
Serves: 3-4

3 cups of Rotini pasta (7-8 oz)
2 litres of water + 1 tbsp of salt

3/4 cup of thinly sliced red onion / shallot
1 cup of quartered and sliced tomato
10 pitted black olives quartered
1 big clove of garlic grated
5 dried red chillies (you could also use about a tbsp of fresh chili flakes
2 tbsp of olive oil
2 cups of store bought marinara sauce
1/4 cup of mayonnaise (you could also use heavy cream or ricotta cheese)
1/2 tsp of dry Italian seasoning (I would have loved to use fresh herbs, basil or the likes)
salt to taste

1 cup of pre shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup of shredded Mexican blend of cheeses (It had cheddar, Monterey, Asadero, Queso Blanco)

• Boil the 2lt of water with salt and add in the pasta. Continue boiling for 10 - 11 mins.Drain the pasta and run it through cold water.
• In a saute pan heat the oil on low - med, add garlic and chili flakes saute for 10 secs
• Increase the heat t med add onions and saute for 4 mins
• Add the tomatoes, olives and cook for 4 mins
• (Start and set your oven to 350oC)
• Add in the marinara sauce and cook for another min
• Turn off the heat add the mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese and 1/2 of the Mexican cheese blend and the pasta.
• In a 2Qt baking dish, grease it with a tbsp of oil or margarine. Toss the pasta mix in there. Top it with tomato slices and few more chopped olives.
• Bake it at 350oC for 25 mins
  

Let it cool down and use a flat spoon to cut and serve. Garnishing it with fresh herbs would be wonderful.

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Prickly Pear Margarita / Cactus Pear Margarita

My first tryst with the prickly pear was when I watched Wile E Coyote chase Road runner. All Wil E Coyote wanted to do was eat the road runner. All Road runner did was made a jack ass off the coyote.

"Road runner the coyote's after you; Road runner if he catches you you are through"

Apart from Acme anvils dropping on the coyote. I distinctly remember two other things from the show, tumbleweed and cactus pear. Cactus pear was the Roadrunner's staple food. The real life road-runner loves them too

I did not think they were for human consumption until I saw George Duran demonstrate the way to eat it to a bunch of folks, in the show Ham on the street.

The culinary variety of prickly pear or cactus pear is the Indian Fig Opuntia. A.k.a cactus / tuna pear

So you could imagine how glad I was when found it in the market an year ago. We usually eat cactus pears just as they are. Check out this link for info on how to prep them. But Prissy cooks recipe for Prickly pear margarita caught my attention. We loved it and it will be a staple for sure.

Instead of the prickly pear syrup. I made juice off of fresh prickly pears, used three times as the syrup (I used 6oz fresh juice instead of 2oz of syrup) and added a teaspoon of sugar. I also used pitted frozen lychees along with ice cubes. they added a nice touch.

You could also make a a non alcoholic drink. I loved Ilva's flavor combination

This is my entry for Monthly Blog Patrol hosted by Aparna of My Diverse Kitchen. The theme of this month is Fruit fare.
This is my entry for another event Whats Your Favourite. This months theme Color in Food hosted by Easy Crafts . Although my fav color is red. Magenta and shades don't fall far behind. I loved this cocktails lovely magenta. Enjoy

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Arvi Patties - Tried & Tasted

I am absolutely thrilled to contribute to the Tried & Tasted event. Both Z and T&T require no introduction. But just in case you are new to this, (Isn't everybody at some point!) check out Zs spicy kitchen . This months featured blog is Jai and Bee's jugalbandi.
I tried and tasted and hearted their Arvi patties.

With all my love and wishes that they continue to rock on. Do try and taste it.
P.S: (Instead of the corn flour indicated in the recipe I added rice flour) We had it with the Blazng Inferno sauce that we brought back from Barbados last year and washed it down with Prickly pear Margarita

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Indian rice pudding/ Bellam Paravannam

Paravannam derived from Parama + annam literally means supreme rice or nectarean food. This rice pudding from India is considered just that. Often and almost always cooked as an offering to the God, this is quintessential naivedyam (offering).

An authentic way of doing this of course is boiling raw rice in milk. Today I used a cheat code, as I had to tend to other things. I loved the result.

1 cup of washed raw Sona masuri rice
2 cups of water
3 cups of whole milk
1.5 cups of peeled jaggery
6 green cardamom pods
1 tsp of sugar to help grind the cardamom seeds
1/4 cup of cashews
1/4 cup of golden raisins
2 tbsp of clarified ghee (clarified butter)

• Boil the rice with water in a pressure cooker for 20 mins(5 whistles). The rice should be a little gooey soft.
• Transfer this into a thick bottomed sauce pan. Add the milk and simmer for 10 mins, stirring continuously to make sure it does not burn
• Turn the heat to low and stir in the jaggery to cook and simmer for 10 mins more. Till all the jaggery dissolves. The milk by now thickens
• Meanwile in a small wok heat ghee and fry the cashews and raisins till golden brown
• In a mortar and pestle grind the cardamom seeds with sugar to a fine powder
• Stir the cashews, raisins, cardamom powder into the rice. (If you are making this as naivedyam you obviously cannot taste it before the offering, You can cook iwth your nose and smell how sweet it is. Or if you can taste it adjust the milk and the jaggery levels)
  

Serve it hot or cold. Some like it hot.

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Green Hyacinth Bean and Tomato stir fry / Tomato chikkudukaya koora

Tomato Chikkudukaya is my absolute favorite comfort food. Chikkudukaya i.e. Indian broad beans also known as Green Hyacinth Beans have an evil twin the Purple Hyacinth beans. Not that the purple variety is inedible, it just tends to be poisonous if not cooked properly.

Dolochis lablab from biology.missouri.edu

Here are the other names for this bean in other languages: Val, Egyptian, Bangalore, lablab in English. (Courtesy wiki) Amarapayaru in Malayalam, avarekalu in Kannada. Thanks elachi and InjiPennu
So back to our stir fry. I love this especially because the vegetables are not cooked to death or do not float in a gravy. They are just cooked till tender. Besides that beans are good for us and mother earth. Just like any other legume these pump the earth with loads of nitrogen. Are you falling asleep? Sorry lets get back to our recipe.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 15 mins
Serves: 4

6 cups of stringed Green hyacinth bean, cut into 2" pieces
1.5 cups of ,tomato thinly sliced along its length
2 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of black mustard seeds
1 tsp of urad dal
1 tsp of channa dal
4 dried red chillies
salt to taste

• Heat the oil in a saute pan and add the mustard seeds. Once they splutter add the red chillies and the dals.
• Add in the tomatoes, a pinch of salt, cover and cook for 5 mins
• Meanwhile in a microwavable bowl. Put in the beans with 4 tbsp of water and a pinch of salt, cover it slightly and steam for 5 mins. Stirring half way in between
• Add these to the cooked tomatoes and fry on med-hi heat for another 5 mins

Serve with rice or roti. Enjoy

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Yellow cucumber with Lentils / Dosakaya pappu

Pert as a pear-monger I’d be,
If Molly were but kind;
Cool as a cucumber could see
The rest of womankind
-New song of new similes John Gay

Yellow Cucumber is plain cool you see. You could add it to lentils, pickle it to enjoy later. Turn it into a dip or a chutney. Or if you are like me eat it raw just as is.

Yellow cucumber or dosa kaya is the Indian variety, which is the rotund cousin of the English cucumber. With a crispy skin and a fleshy interior this cucumber is perfect to take on as many avataars as possible. Warning: sometimes the cucumber can be bitter due to unhappy growing conditions. So take a small bite of your cucumber before starting to cook with it.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Serves: 4

2 cups of 1" cubed yellow cucumber
1 cup of toor dal
8 Thai green chillies
10 curry leaves
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
5 red chillies
1/8 tsp of turmeric
1/2 tsp of Swad tamarind paste optional
2 tbsp of oil
salt to taste
4 cups of water

• In a pressure cooker cook the lentils with 2 cups of water for 8 whistles. takes about 15 mins
• Meanwhile in a 3Qt sauce pan heat 2 tbsp of oil and add the black mustard seeds. Wait for them to splutter. Add in the red chillies, green chillies, curry leaves and saute for 30 secs
• Add in the cucumber, turmeric, salt,tamarind and 1/2 cup of water and close the lid. Let this cook on med -hi heat for 15 mins till the cucumber is soft
• Add in the cooked lentils and another 1 cup of water. Boil all of this together stirring in between for 10 mins till all the flavors come together
  

Serve this with roti or rice and crunchy yums. Enjoy.

Donate for a heart a campaign to heal Lakshmi a 28 yr old mother of two has a to undergo a critical heart surgery to survive. Please help however you can if possible. Visit Srivalli's blog for more details on how to.

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Festival platter

Clockwise from Bottom: Punugulu/Savory fried dough; Parvannam/Rice in sweetened milk; Pulagam / Lentils and rice cooked together; Dosakaya Pappu / Indian cucumber with lentils; Chikkudukaya tomato koora / Indian broad beans and tomato stir fry. In the center Nimmakaya pulihora / Lemon rice

This is a typical festival platter at our home. I made this for the Lakshmi Pooja on Shravana Pournima. Recipes to follow soon. Enjoy!

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Sour greens and Lentils / Gongura Pappu

Being an Andhra gal, craving for Gongura is genetically encoded in me.

Gongura (kenaf)leaf totally reminds me of Cannabis(hemp) and while you and I might be tempted to buddy with Harold and Kumar and start smoking it, note that it is better consumed like a regular green leaf.

So sticking to the tradition I made gongura with lentils.


Sorrel leaves are sour too, they would be a good substitute for gongura. So enjoy this sour lentils anyway you want to.

Preparation time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 30 mins
Serves: 4 people

3 cups tightly packed gongura
1 cup of toor dal
2 cloves of garlic
6 Thai green chillies
salt
4 cups of water

For tempering
2 tbsp of oil
1 tbsp of black mustard seeds
1 pinch of turmeric
3 dried red chillies
tiny pinch of asefotida
10 curry leaves

• Separate the leaves from its stalk and coarse chop them, slit the green chillies, and thinly slice the garlic cloves
• Put the lentils, leaves, garlic, water in a 3 quart bowl and cook it in the pressure cooker for 15 mins (7-8) whistles
• In a small wok heat the oil and add mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter
• Add the red chillies, asefotida, turmeric and turn off the heat
• Pour the tempering over the lentils
• Boil this for another 10 mins till the flavors come together
  

Serve it with rice, and oori merapakayalu (marinated, dried and fried chillies).

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Curried chick peas / Chana masala / Chole

Heres my thought process that ended up in craving for chole: New York in the night on Bravo TV -> Fairs and Giant wheels -> Hyderabad Numaish. I totally heart! if you go to Hyderabad around mid Jan through March you should not miss this fest. Eat, chill, shop get dizzy on the rides, do whatever ->
Image courtesy Bharats Telangana Utsav

Here are the actions that facilitated it : Peek in the fridge -> 2 tomatoes staring back and nothing else -> It is chole time!

This is my quintessential fair food, along with masala papad, lemon soda, cotton candy, popcorn, choco bar ice cream. Alright enough said. Lets get cooking.

Preparation time: 4 hrs soaking + 5 mins of veggie chopping
Cooking time: 45 mins
Serves: 4-5

2.25 cups of dried chick peas/ kabuli chana OR 5 cups of canned chick peas
1 cup of diced potato (3/4'' pieces)
1.5 cups of finely sliced onion (along the length)
1 clove of garlic finely grated or minced
1" of ginger finely grated or minced
1 cup of finely diced tomatoes
8 thai green chillies
1 tsp of cumin seeds
a pinch of turmeric
1 tsp of red chili powder
2 tbsp of premade chole masala
4 cloves
3 dried bay leaves
2 tbsp of chopped cilantro
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
salt to taste
4 cups of water

• Boil the chickpeas if you are using the dried variety. Boil them in a pressure cooker (3 whistles)
• Microwave the potatoes for 5 mins till they are just cooked
• In a 3-4Qt sauce pan heat 3 tbsp of oil on med-hi heat
• Add the in cumin seeds. Immediately add in the green chillies and saute for 10 secs.
• Add in the garlic and ginger and saute for 20 secs
• Add in the onion and saute for 6 mins until they are soft
• Add in the tomatoes, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar and close the lid to cook for another 4 mins
• Stir in 1 tbsp of chole masala, open the lid and cook for another 2 mins
• Turn of the heat, wait for it to come to room temperature. Add 1 cup of water process this in a food processor. Or use the wand mixer in which case you would not have to wait
• Come back to your sauce pan and add 1 tbsp of oil on med heat
• Add the cloves and bay leaves and saute for 30 secs
• Add in the gravy and 3 cups of water
• Add in the cooked chick peas and potatoes and 1 more tbsp of chole masala
• Close the lid and let it simmer for 25 mins
• Stir in the cilantro and cook for another 5 mins

Garnish it with cilantro and a dollop of yogurt and serve it with flat bread.

This is my entry to Sri's Curry Mela

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Tomato Yogurt Dip / Tomato raitha and Dark Knight

Our Sunday afternoons were a 'comfort routine'. Eating unlimited puri and tomato raitha, which mom doled out right from the pan to our plates and reading a stack of comics.

Speaking of comics did you watch Dark Knight?


Initially all I wanted to do was bite into Bale (oh so hot!), hug Ledger and run away as far as possible from him (oh so psychotic and brilliant!). And give a huge pat on Nolan's back. Bloody Brilliant!

Batman happens to be my favorite super hero, because he is the only super hero who never had any special powers. He is all human and is powered solely by his spirit. Of course the gadgets(Check out the sexy Bat Pod, I want me one!) helped him too. Well gadgets helped James bond too but come on. Rico Suave, womanizer James Bond vs Hot, hard working, ass kicking Batman? I would pick Batman any day. He is dark, he has to be as delirious as the criminals he is fighting.
Christopher Nolan's take on Batman will be a hard one to beat for a long time.

Batman of the future aka Batman and Beyond showed how a younger Terry takes on the role of Batman after Bruce Wayne ages and his fight dwindles. There is hope! if people like Bob Kane and Christopher Nolan continue what they are doing, I can make my kids read Batman just like my dad made us.

Back to our tomato raitha which used to fuel me, while I was busy nurturing my love for Batman. While Batman lived on in my heart pooris got dumped along the way. Deep frying dough is not my type of food exactly. But sometimes you need that comfort.

Preparation time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 3 mins
Serves: 4
Cost: 1$ 0.2$ for tomato + 0.2 for yogurt + 0.6$ for etcetera

1 cup of diced tomato(1/4" pieces)
1 cup of Greek / Indian Yogurt
1/4 cup of water
2 Thai green chillies chopped
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds
salt to taste
2 tbsp of chopped cilantro

• In a small sauce pan, heat the oil on med
• Add black mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter
• Add in green chillies and saute for 30 secs
• Add in tomatoes and salt and cover to cook for 2.5 mins just to take out the raw taste
• Take off the heat and bring this down to room temperate
• Beat in the yogurt and water

Serve it as a dip with toasted pita (in which case skip adding too much water) or with puris just the way I like it.

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How to make poori / Fried flat bread

Basic recipe for making pooris

Preparation time: 10 mins kneading + 30 mins resting
Serves: 4-5, Makes: 20 pooris

3 cups of wheat flour
1 1/4 cup of luke warm water
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tbsp of oil

• In a mixing bowl, dry mix the flour and salt
• Make a well and add the water
• Knead the flour together for 5 mins
• Add the oil and knead the flour for 5 mins again
• Put a lid on the dough and let it rest for 30 mins
• In a dutch oven, or a deep wok heat about 4 cups of oil on med-hi
• Meanwhile make 20 equal parts of the dough and roll into balls

• Flatten out each ball into 6" dia circle
• Drop one into the oil and fry for 20 secs
• Flip the poori and cook for another 30 secs
• Dole it out onto an absorbent tissue or a kitchen towel

Serve immediately. Poori is traditionally served with chole (curried chick peas); or with any potato curry. We had it with tomato raitha and potato bitter melon fry

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