Summer in my Garden and a PlayDate

Since I pestered all of you last week with my play date scheming tactics for my daughter I though it only fitting that I let you all know that I had finally called the mom of the little Asian girl my daughter had befriended. We got our message across and this Saturday morning a play date was set up. The little girl came and the two little ones had a fun time. They did puzzles, played with beads, Dora cards and stuff I don’t even know. Without even being asked both S and her friend J cleaned up the stuff they played with it. That I think was very commendable.

Then they went out and blew bubbles. Since J was not staying for lunch and her Mom insisted that she had a full breakfast, the two girls were served ice cream, melon balls, a small piece of cake and then lemonade. I did ask her Mom before she left if it was ok to give J snacks. You see I had read this

All in all S was happy and I guess little J was happy too and I was happy to see them happy…

Only D had his doubts, first he didn’t like the word “playdate”. Why “date” he kept on saying, a protective Daddy I say

Next he said it was much more fun to just holler out for friends and just play with them till your Mom hollers out for you again than arrange scheduled activities like “Play” ...ahem “date”.

Now my daughter does holler out for my neighbour’s daughter and that’s how they play but I see no other way than “PlayDates” to arrange play with school friends. So hoping to more such play days…

Sharing with you here are some pictures from my garden. I love Summer and love all the greenery that it brings along. I also have a penchant for untended wild gardens, I just love gardens like that much more than the prim gardens with manicured hedges. But wild gardens with an overgrowth need a considerable amount of land, maybe one day I will have something like that, with climbing bushes, and huge trees with creepers covering the trunk and a brook with clear water running through it.

For now this is all I have...

... the rose still safe from Japanese Beetles

...the Geraniums

...this is what we call "Nayan Tara" in Bengali, can't recall the English name

... the blooming bud

... the Nasturtium started from seeds finally got a foothold

... the bean plants started from seeds too

... the spinach, planted plenty of seeds but only few showed signs of life as these

We also have many tomato plants growing happily and they are proud to be part of Summer GBP. Maybe I should have screamed GBP at the spinach too or maybe they are just hard of hearing.

My "Corriander" seeds refuse to germinate. I sowed them directly in a pot. Any clues ?

Kashmiri Enchor for JFI

.. Enchor= Unripe Jackfruit in Bengali

So the name intrigues you, you think what does this Bong Girl have to do with Kashmir that too Kashmiri Jackfruit !!! To be truthful even I am clueless. I am a simple Bong girl who has spent about a quarter of her life in the Gangetic Plains. What do I know about the beautiful valley lying between the ranges of the Great Himalayas. More so what do I know about Kashmir and its Jackfruit ?

I know about the Dal Lake and had always dreamt of being on a shikara. I have read about Kashmir in my school geography books and know that it is the “Paradise on earth”. I know about the Pashmina and would love to own a pure Pashmina Shawl.
But that’s it, I had always wanted but somehow a trip to Kashmir never materialized. And my geography is not that fantastic that I would know about Jackfruits growing in Kashmir. Neither do I have any kashmiri friends who would invite me over and treat me to their way of making Jackfruit.

But Bee wanted a Jackfruit recipe different from the one I already have in my Blog. Now thats(Enchor er Dalna/Enchor Chingri or Jackfruit with Shrimp) the only Jackfruit recipe I really know. So I scratched my head and thought. After thinking hard, very hard I thought I would make the other Bengali Jackfruit delicacy called “Enchorer Chop”. Now that is really tasty but I didn’t have enough time because a friend was moving house and I had offered to cook a dinner for them. Making a recipe serve two Food Events is not really nice, (though I have done it several times) I agree but at least I can make the food I cook serve several purpose I thought. So I wanted to make something that could be served as a dish for dinner and also be sent to JFI Jackfruit

Flipping through my recipe book, the Bengali one which finds mention in my blog from time to time, I found this wonderful recipe called “Kashmiri Enchor” or "Kashmiri Jackfruit" I am not really sure if there is anything remotely “Kashmiri” to this but since the name sounded good I stuck to it. With some of my innovations thrown in this was one great tasting Jackfruit Dish. So heres Kashmiri Enchor for JFI Jackfruit hosted by Jugalbandi and created by Mahanadi

* If this is indeed a Kashmiri prep -- pat on my back
* If there is a different prep for Kashmiri Jackfruit -- my apologies


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Kashmiri Enchor/Jackfruit

What You Need

Green Jackfruit ~ I used two cans of Chaokoh Green Jackfruit. Each can is about 570 gm

For marinade


Onion Paste ~ 3 tbsp
Yogurt ~ 3 tbsp
Garlic paste ~ 1 tsp
Ginger Paste ~ 2 tsp
Sugar ~ 1 tsp heaped
Turmeric Powder ~ 1/4 tsp

The Gravy

For tempering

Shah Jeera/Black Cumin ~ 1 tsp loosely packed (not heaped). You can also use the regular White Jeera/Cumin
Bay Leaves ~ 2-3

For gravy

Onion Paste ~ 2 tbsp
Red Chilli Powder ~ 1 tsp or more. Since I like it hot I added more
Kitchen King masala ~ 1 tsp heaped . Kitchen King Masala is a spice blend used to enhance the flavor of Indian Dishes. Can be used instead of Garam masala in some occasions
Sugar ~ 2 tsp
Salt ~ according to taste
Oil ~ for cooking
Ghee ~ 1tsp (optional)

How I Did It

Since the jackfruit is canned in brine, it becomes a bit salty. So the night before you cook, open the can, drain the liquid, wash the jackfruit several times in fresh water and soak them in fresh water overnight
Cut the jackfruit pieces in cubes
Make a marinade with the ingredients listed under “For Marinade” and marinate the jackfruit for an hour.
Heat Oil in a Kadhai/Frying Pan
Temper with 2 – 3 Bay leaves and 1 tsp (loosely packed) of Shah Jeera/Black Cumin. You can also use the regular White Jeera/Cumin
Add about 2 tbsp of Onion Paste
Fry till the onion turns pinkish brown and you see the oil separate from the onion paste.
Lower the heat and Add the jackfruit along with the marinade
Sauté till the masala cooks. In Bengali we use the term “Kashano” which means you have to stir till the masala coats nicely and masala is cooked
Add the Red Chilli Powder, the 1 tsp of Kitchen King Masala and Salt and saute again
Do not add water but sprinkle a little as needed and cook till done. Stir intermittently. Tip:If you at all need to add water to make the jackfruit cook, remeber to dry off most of the water.
After the jackfruit is cooked add 2 tsp of sugar if you want and mix and cook for a couple more minutes. Since I am not very tuned to sourness in food and the canned jackfruit has a bit of sourness I added this step. If you don't want do not add sugar.
The canned jackfruit being tender will cook quickly. If you are using the fresh ones you should steam or pressure cook the jackfruit before.

The dish had very little gravy but was moist and was excellent with Rice or Chapati.For my friends I served this with Dal, Egg Curry and White Rice. They loved it and so did we. The best part is it did not take much of my time, fast and tasty.

Update on 22nd June, 2007: Yesterday I added a little ghee to this dish and it enhanced the taste. I also realized that a certain hotness of chillies makes it taste better, specially with the canned jackfruit. So if you wish add a little ghee at the end and don't scrimp on the chilli.

Also check the other Green Jackfruit with Shrimp recipe in my Blog -- Enchor Chingri ba Enchor er Dalna

Trivia: Jackfruit plays an important role in Indian agriculture and was cultivated in India 3000 to 6000 years ago.One of the earliest descriptions of the jackfruit is to be found in the 16th century memoirs of the Mughal Emperor Babar, who was not much enamored of it and said "The jackfruit is unbelievably ugly and bad tasting". Well we don't think so, do we.(Source:wiki)

Chicken Fry

Monday, my daughters pre-school had a Mothers Day tea bang at 9 in the morning. Maybe they thought Moms needed a break and should indulge in leisurely tea at 9 in the morning instead of slogging at work. So I gave work a miss and went for the tea, who would miss a hot cuppa that too with cute 3 year olds.

I went with a vision of meeting the other Moms, of bonding with them, of meeting with them over cups of coffee at the corner café. Somewhere at the back of my mind I had a picture of the Moms outside the gates of the nursery school near my home in India. Snacking on Jhal Muri and Phuchka(Gol Gappa) they would be busy discussing animatedly everything from the Universe to in-laws while the kids slogged inside. Though Jhal Muri would be sorely missed I thought something of a similar bonding would transpire here too.

I also wanted to make my daughters social life more happening at this new school by arranging some play dates with her class mates as suggested by some of my Mommy Blogger friends.

Armed with a cheery feeling and great ideas I went.
But things didn't turn out exactly the way I dreamed...

There were super Moms with their hair in place, their lipstick the right color and not something random dug out of the purse, the kind who would arrange play dates with a panache and probably had all such events already entered in their Blackberry. I was awed by their mere presence and dare not extend any thoughts of bonding with them ever.

And then there were Moms like me with their hairs not only out of place but sticking at all wrong directions. But they unlike me were totally wrapped up in their own offspring and while I surreptitiously prodded other kids to check play date materials, they were very contented with their own. They smiled at me benevolently with a hint of suspicion, holding on tightly to their children.

Then there was someone whom I kinda knew and could coerce her into setting up a play date even if the café meeting wouldn’t transpire, but S had no liking for that perfectly well behaved sweet child of hers.

Finally however I met the mother of the little girl towards whom S had taken a fancy too. She was a nice Asian lady but alas knew very little English. Neither of us understood what the other said but I still managed to wrench her phone number from her. Hope when I call her up she will not hang up on me and maybe even agree to sharing a cup of tea.

Its been 4 days and I haven't called and I am sure by next week I will loose the number scrawled on a piece of paper and thereby my daughter will loose an aranged social meet up and instead play with my neighbours daughter. If my daughter ends up an aniti-social like her Dad when grown up you know who gets the blame.

Tired at the end of the day with so much self inflicted pressure, I wanted to cook something that didn’t need my undivided attention and would spice up my life too. So I made Chicken Fry frameworked from Sumitha’s Kerala Chicken Fry recipe. Check her blog Kitchen Wonders for the original Recipe.I had tried this last week too with some of my twists thrown in. I also baked the chicken first and then fried them. It was very very tasty considering the little time you need to devote to it. The main thing which gives this Chicken fry a distinct flavor is Kari Patta, with its heady aroma. So heres Sumitha’s Chicken Fry a la Sandeepa Ishtyle

I am sending this for this weeks WHB Kalyn's brainchild, hosted this week by Rinku at CookingInWestChester, the herb in question is of course Curry leaves or Kari Patta. Highly aromatic the curry leaves are very popular for seasoning in Indian Cooking. While Bay leaves are more popular for seasoning in North and East Indian Cooking, Curry Leaves is the preferred darling in South Indian Cuisine. However the two leaves are very different and do not substitute one with the other. These leaves have several medicinal properties and are good for digestive disorders, eye disorders etc. as described here . But I have always used curry leaves for flavoring never really ate them, don't now why.


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Chicken Fry

What You Need

Skinless Chicken Drumsticks ~ 4-5

For Marinade
Plain Yogurt ~ 2/3 cup
Ginger Paste ~ 2 tsp heaped
Garlic Paste ~ 1 tsp heaped
Chicken Curry Powder ~ 2 tsp . This adds an oomph to the dish. I used Shan Brand. You can use Garam Masala instead
Corriander powder/Dhania Powder ~ 1 tsp
Salt
Red Chilli Powder ~ 1/2 tsp or according to your spice level

For Frying
Onion Paste ~ 1 tbsp OR Chopped Onion -- 1 small
Curry Leaves/Kari Patta ~ 6-7
Green Chillies ~ 6 chopped. I like it spicy hot, adjust the green chillies according to your spice level

Oil

How I Did It
I used Skinless Chicken Drumsticks. After cleaning them I made some slits on them
Mix together Yogurt, Ginger paste, Garlic paste, Corriander Powder, Chicken Curry Powder, Chilli Powder, Salt. Marinade the chicken pieces in this for at least 40-45 minutes. Use this time to play with your kid or soak in a bubble bath if you have the luxury to do so. No you might not chuck your kid out of the window for that bathRemove the drumsticks from the marinade, place them on a lightly greased baking tray and bake the chicken drumsticks at 350F for 30 mins. They will be slightly browned at the end of this. During this 30 mins pack next days lunch or curl on the couch with your newly acquired book.You can entice the hubby to pack lunch and the kid by telling him you are TECHNICALLY cooking now.
Heat Oil in a Frying Pan. Since the chicken has been baked now you don't need much oil so use little of it. Also I used Olive oil while for the authentic Kerala version you should use Coconut Oil as suggested by Sumitha
Add the Onion paste, 6-7 curry leaves and 6 chopped green chillies.
When the onion has turned a nice pinkish brown add the chicken drumsticks
Add about 1 – 2tbsp of the marinade and fry them. I covered and fried till they were browned and done. You can add a little more of the remaining marinade along the way but the result should be dry so remember to fry till dry. Mine were not uniformly browned like Sumitha's but they were a nice color and tasted awesome.
Serve with wedges of lime and slices of red onions

Trivia: Curry Leaves tree is a small tree, growing 4-6 m tall, with a trunk up to 40 cm diameter. The leaves are pinnate, with 11-21 leaflets, each leaflet 2-4 cm long and 1-2 cm broad. The flowers are small white, and fragrant. The small black, shiny berries are edible, but their seeds are poisonous.(Source: Wiki)