seylabhu (radish pickle)

I am so happy to be writing this post for 2 reasons...firstly because I believe in this recipe wholeheartedly and secondly because I can do this 3 days earlier than I planned.

Seylabhu is a water based radish pickle which is similar in taste to kimchi. Simple and cheap, crunchy and sour, smelly yet healthy and my favourite form of palate cleansing!!

I am always on a lookout to share  recipes that students can try out, and this is perfect!!

Ingredients

• 1 kg of Pink radish (long ones or round ones)
• Half kg red onions
• Dried red chilli ( I have used 20 grams)
• Thumb size dried ginger(more if fresh ginger)
• Water 
• 2 tbsps of salt

Just follow this picture tutorial

Peel and quarter red onions.

Peel and slice ginger.

Remove the tops and soak the dried chillies

Slice the radish into similar sized discs and don't forget to wash them thoroughly before slicing.

Throw all of the above into an airtight jar and add 2 tbsps of salt.

Pour in cold drinking water till the brim covering all the ingredients.

Surprise** not surrise ...human error which cannot be edited(lol). The  temperature here ranges between 10 degrees and 14 degrees celcius... and it took 4 days for this seylabhu to become eatworthy ... may differ from place to place. Remember to keep it away from direct sunlight and look out for pink coloured water to know when it's ready!! Once it is perfect, store it in the fridge to prevent it from fermenting too quickly.

The radish will have lost it's beautiful pink pigment on the skin to the entire jar of crunchy and refreshing goodness. Beware of the smell...hajmola anyone? 

Best served with masubhat (rice and red meat curry) Enjoy making Seylabhu and remember to cook from your heart!!

delhi delights: golden bakery

Happy republic day!!
This is my first Review Post and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it!!
I decided to explore old Delhi today, curious about local bakeries that still bake goodies in makeshift coal ovens and though some have moved on to commercial ovens...they still manage to have an old world charm in taste and style.

The weather was particularly against an outing on the streets and light showers in the morning made it tough to navigate through the slush of kebab gali which opens up directly opposite gate number 1 of the famous Jama Masjid.

Among many others, I decided to taste something from this hole in the wall which called itself 'golden bakery' and  their tag line did indeed hold true!! The man at the counter seemed to be chatty and was generous enough to let me taste a variety of options before I decided on a few to take home with me... all in all, the experience was humbling.... and this I say because neither is this area clean nor do these bakeries have awesome state of the art bakeware and layout and still everyone seemed cheerful!!!

The coconut paratha

This is a sweet, flat bun that is close to a sweet focaccia. Best part of eating it was it's crunchy coconut crust and chewy sweet centre. 

Rs.25/- 

The cake rusk

All of us are familar with rusk and chai...especially elaichi rusk we find at every other stop in India. This is it's cousin, richer and softer because of the eggs and butter in it. This one had a perfect amount of sugar... actually just mildly sweetened. If you are a fan of home made plain cakes. ..you definitely need to try this.

Rs.300/kg

The plain cookie

This simple guy was selected for it's simplicity... don't you just want to dunk them in a glass of cold milk? 

Rs.200/Kg

The macaroon

I know ...I know... but the owner called them macaroons ...I had a good laugh, yet couldn't resist buying them for the sake of reliving old memories. These have coconut in them and are quite popular in my state...atleast they were around 10 years back when I was in middle school. You either love it or hate it... chewy and sweet with more than just a hint of coconut. 

Rs.200/kg

The nan khatai

These are different from the nan khatais you find on the streets all over delhi, especially at paharganj.

These here are makhan nan khatais and go very well with a large mug of coffee. The nan khatai is an Indian delight, sadly a dying art due to impacts of a post liberalised India which has resulted in a globalised food scene. This can very well be a reason for me to visit golden bakery once more before I leave Delhi !!

Rs. 300/kg

Sometimes you find the most amazing eats at the most unexpected places. I always associated old Delhi with mughlai food but I am glad I gave this bakery a shot, despite the terrible weather. It was an amusing experience and I am now lots of cookies richer!

Mac and Cheese and a twist !!

hello 2015!!

The first month is almost over and here I am with my first post of this beautiful year...indication that I have a life after all.

Macaroni and Cheese, an American classic not from a box but using fresh ingredients!!

First the pasta

• 200 grams elbow pasta (macaroni) 
• some water to boil it in.

bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add in your pasta. Follow the instructions on the packet for boiling time and reduce the time just a bit so that they don't overcook. Drain and place under cold running water in a colander to stop the cooking process. Keep them aside and start with the sauce.

• 
  

Bechamel sauce, is a basic sauce of french origin, easy to make and versatile in application.

• 70 grams of butter
• quarter cup plain flour
• 4 Cups of milk
• cheese mixture (I am using cheddar and parmesan ) 
• pinch of salt (to lift the flavours of the cheese)

In a saucepan, on low heat, throw in your butter making sure it doesn't burn. Once it's melted, gently add in the flour, whisking. Once the paste turns golden, add in some simmering warm milk (cold milk will result in a lumpy sauce). Keep over low heat for a while till you have the correct consistency you want. Remove from the heat and add in grated cheese (I find it easy to grate cheese using a potato peeler as there is less wastage and easier for the thin shavings to melt in the sauce.)

Whisk gently till the cheese melts in the hot sauce. Once you have a smooth sauce, add in your pasta to the hot sauce. I totally forgot to take pictures of these steps as I was using one hand to work and another to take pictures!!

Slice up some smoked chicken and fry them in a glug of oil...you can definitely replace this with bacon or even some smoked sausages!!

Give it a rough chop

Serve your mac and cheese with a drizzle of smoked chicken and some shavings of parmesan. If you have an oven, you can bake this dish with some bread crumbs on top, which is common american style of completing this comfort food!!

 I, however decided to bake them in spring roll pastry I bought last week which was waiting to be thawed and used in my freezer!!

• Pastry
• some water or an egg to seal the corners of the pastry while rolling
• cold mac and cheese.

Keeping one corner pf the pastry towards you, spoon in some mac and cheese

 fold as shown below and seal ussing eggwash or water.

After this step, it will look like an envelope, Give the last corner an eggwash and  just roll it away from you to make cute rolls.

These are generally deep fried, but I decided to bake them out of curiosity ,,, gave them each a lavish eggwash (bath more like) and baked them for 15 minutes at 250 degrees, turning them around for good colour as required.

They turned out to be a success... was happy with myself... light crunchy bites with gooey cheesy center... "need to fill these up with bananas and nutella, next time for sure" is what ran through my mind!!

 Enjoy them while they are hot !!

I hope this recipe makes you happy, hungry and motivates you to cook tonight. Enjoy, have a great 2015 and remember to cook from your heart!!