Dhodi Potatoes

Now you must be wondering at the name of this recipe. I know it sounds quite odd and unheard of. That is because the name is derived from the community to which the recipe belongs. It is very difficult to name a recipe in India, especially when it has anything to do with a potato, because honestly, the potato is everywhere in the Indian cuisine! Aloo gobhi, aloo bhindi, aloo matar and not to forget the stand alone stir fried, deep fried or boiled potato recipes. The list is a never ending one and the reason behind that is quite simple. We all love potatoes! No matter what the scientists or the nutritionists may say, I don't think we'll ever be able to part with our beloved potato!

I came across this recipe when i was visiting a friend of mine, who happens to live at the southern tip of Gujarat. yes you guessed it right. The small tapering tail end that you see on the map. They belong to the DHODI community and their cuisine is nothing like the gujarati cuisine that we are accustomed to or familiar with. It is not at all sweet or oily, on the contrary it is more spicy than most Indian cuisines. The reason behind that, as told to me by my friend's grandmother is the proximity of the region to both the states, Gujarat and Maharashtra. They have inculcated major nuances from both the cuisines and have developed one of their own, over a period of time. The community mostly lives on farms and in villages where fresh supplies are abundant, be it the veg ingredients or otherwise. The city dwellers have modernized with time but those living in the villages still use wood fired stoves more so for the rustic taste than for anything else. And I had the opportunity to try several dishes cooked at the farm on a wood fired stove and at my friend's plush city apartment kitchen. To be honest, i preferred the wood fired stove! 

This is one of the simplest dishes that I have ever come across. Once the potatoes are boiled and diced, it hardly takes 5 minutes to finish up the rest of the recipe and we all know how quickly the potatoes can boil! So here we go.

                                                                                                                                      

                                                                                                                                         2 - 3 servings

2 tbsp Oil

1 tbsp Butter

1 tsp Cumin seeds

5-6 Curry leaves

6 Green Chilies finely chopped

1 inch Ginger finely chopped

4 tbsp Peanuts, roasted and crushed coarsely

1 cup Coriander chopped

5 large Potatoes, salted, boiled and chopped into 1/4" cubes

Salt to taste

 Add the green chilies, coriander, ginger, peanuts and salt to a bowl and keep it aside.

·         Heat the Oil and Butter in a no stick pan.

·         Add the cumin seeds and curry leaves and let them splutter.

·         Then add a mixture of green chilies, coriander, ginger, peanuts and salt and cook that over a medium heat for about 2 minutes stirring frequently.

·         Then add the potatoes and mix well.

·         Finish with fresh coriander after checking for the seasonings.

There you have it! A quick and simple potato recipe that can be served in multiple ways and I'll tell you a few!

With hot Phulka rotis / Puris

As a stuffing for a Dosa

As a side dish with Khichdi

As a spread over a toast 

As a sandwich filling

And these are the combinations that i have tried. Now that you have the recipe, let your imagination run riot!

Vegans can skip the butter and enjoy this crazy dish all by itself! :)

Bon Apetit!

P.S. Dont forget to tell me about the new combinations that you try in the comments below :)

You can find the quick recipe card on YouTube here:
https://youtu.be/9PP-UpYHlSs

Dakshinayan - Ahmedabad

The satellite outlet of Dakshinayan has always been one of our favorites. So when one day we were passing by the St. Xavier's corner and saw a second outlet being opened there, we were elated. And we did go there on a sunday. The ambiance and seating is quite similar to the satellite outlet. You'll get the traditional feel looking at all the art and decor they've placed there. The seating is comfortable and nicely spaced out. The staff majestic and gracious as usual. The menu however is not very different which we had hoped it would be but no complaints there.

We are ardent fans of the southern cuisine and so our staples at dakshinayan are always some kind of rasam, accompanied by vada or rice or even vermicelli. And uttapam and dosa for the mains. Basically one dish from each section! (Chuckles) So that day we ordered as per the ritual. The tomato rasam however was a tad spicy that day. But the vermicelli was spot on! Perfectly spiced and Al dente. Then arrived the uttapam and the mysore masala dosa and as expected, they too were spot on! The taste is very similar to their first outlet and that means, no complaints there. And I dont think i need to say anything about their sambar and chutneys!

Also, a major plus for this outlet would be the ample parking space availability. I know how much that has become a deciding factor these days when it comes to eating out, especially on a weekday. All in all a very good aaddition to the city's food space especially for the lovers of the southern cuisine! Go there and you wont be disappointed.
P.S. The prices have actually reduced after the arrival of GST!

Bon Apetit!

        

Ratatouille - Ahmedabad

When I first heard of the name, it instantly reminded me of the famous dish after which this placed takes it name but also the Disney Classic which was such a treat to watch! But to be honest, I thought they must have been inspired more by the former than by the latter. But then as I opened the menu in the restaurant, their very first page proclaimed that they too were in awe of the Disney masterpiece. Who would have thought that we would see such a restaurant here in ahmedabad. so that's that.

Coming to the decor and the ambiance. The seating is quite comfortable and very spaced out. The place too is large and breaks the monotony using the different sections for different seating arrangements and the wall decor too was quite exquisite. The lamps perched over each table added to the feel of a European style setting. The staff was quick and efficient but lacked the in-depth knowledge of the wide array of menu that the restaurant is providing. Now I don't blame them but a little training goes a long way. Hopefully, they'll get there.

Coming to the food. They have quite a detailed and long menu stretched over many a different cuisines. Some might appreciate that and some may feel that they are being confused. Nonetheless, it is quite something , their menu! We started as usual with a soup and turned out to be very exceptional. We really liked how they had managed to infuse such intricate flavors maintaining their depth into the broth. But we were very confused as to what we should order for the mains and sooo we asked the waiter and he suggested us some dishes that are popular. We went for the baked ratatouille vegetable tart as we thought lets test the very dish the restaurant is named after. It looked spectacular when it arrived and we were quite impressed. But as we dug in, fluids started to ooze out as soon as the tart shell was pierced. Also, for the ratatouille we were expecting thinly sliced vegetables but instead it had chunks of veggies in it. The sauce was quite runny or wasn't properly set. The taste of the filling was good as a whole but did not go with the crumbly texture of the tart.

The next dish was spinach and ricotta cheese cannelloni. Again, we knew how long and cylindrical this pasta is. So when it arrived, it was disappointing to see the small tubular structures. However, the pasta was cooked perfectly and the spinach stuffing was delicious. So all in all I would say that it is a decent place to go on big family dinners or with a large party of friends. You'll have to try their menu out to really see what you like given the long list of components that are included therein. But for the portion sizes they serve, you might feel a pinch in your pocket if you do go there in large numbers.

Bon Apetit!

        

Ice Cream Works - Ahmedabad

The place has opened up in a mall that is notorious for many a popular restaurants have packed up and left it's premises. Now i have visited them and they're really good so i do not wish the same fate on them. :)

By now, everybody knows that i am not a fan of sugar. Harsh as it may sound but i am not. So i wasn't as excited when i heard of these guys. For me it was just another ice cream "vendeur" in the town. And had we not paid them a visit, i would have still thought the same. It seemed like a nice bright spot with good lighting and i wouldn't say plush but decent interiors for an ice cream place. It isn't a very huge place but decent enough to accommodate around 10 to 12 people at a time. Makes sense cause you usually just get take aways at an ice cream place.

Now my friend who accompanied me there is s great fan of desserts so i was sure we would get a good review. And so we did! He ordered a Black on Black ice cream which is essentially a dark chocolate ice cream served in a cone that is entirely engulfed by chocolate. It was a delight to look at and  he even loved the taste. I on the other hand, look for sour or salty notes in a dessert and so when the owner suggested that i try their pink guava, i was quite reluctant to be honest. And i was correct, when he did hand me a tasting spoon, it was a bit too sweet for my liking. Then he asked me to wait. He picked up another spoonful and sprinkled something on top of it and asked me to try it again. To my surprise, the taste was superlative this time and i loved it! I asked him what he had added and to my utter bewilderment he said, "Sir, red chilli powder and Chaat masala!" The combination was so good that i ended up ordering the same flavor.

They have a variety of flavors that are quite new and innovative. They let you taste all of them if you so desire, before placing your order. And i think that is great, because that way you can be a bit more adventurous with the flavors. Tell them what you want and they'll suggest you try one or two flavors accordingly. They're good and have priced the portions very smartly. Visit them once and you're sure to like their product! I mean if I can, people with a sweet tooth, definitely would ! :)

Bon Apetit!       

Spinach and Potato Soup

Now, when you think of a soup, you'd instantly imagine something that is creamy or super rich and fine served to you at a great restaurant or cafe with cream drizzled over the top. It is all very good when it comes to taste but does it really have any nutritional value? I think not! These soups that are served to us when we go out to eat have been refined so much that we forget the basic essence and flavors of the ingredients that are used to make this soup and only savor the heavy ingredients that have been used to mask their flavor and make it more rich.

Here is a tried and tested recipe that you can make even on weekdays for your family and even the kids would love it. Now i know that soup is something that isn't usually included as a part of the house meal unless we have a sick person in the family but every once in a while, when you are bored of the usual, or maybe it is a weekend afternoon and you want to try something new which both, tastes good and is good for health, this is the recipe you need to try. And trust me, the prep is really simple.

Now a kilo of spinach may seem like a lot to you but then it reduces drastically in volume when it is cooked and given it serves 4, it would hardly amount to anything. You will also notice that the recipe does not call for any flour to thicken the soup as is usually done. That is because the soup is made with potatoes and they would release their starch as they cook which would thicken the soup to our desired consistency.          

Hope you like this recipe and come back with your comments after you've tried it. 

P.S. It is vegan friendly. :)

Bon appetit!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              3 – 4 Servings

1 kg. Spinach

3 tbsp. Olive oil

1 tbsp. Butter

1 Onion, chopped

5 medium  Potatoes, cut into ¼ inch slices

1 lt. boiling Water

2 Garlic cloves, chopped

2 stems of Coriander

Salt

Pepper
2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice 

·         Wash and trim the spinach, cook in boiling water for 5 minutes, cool, drain and squeeze with your hand to remove the excess water, then chop it fine. Do not throw the water away.

·         Place the oil and butter in a casserole and heat it, add the onions and fry them a for 8 - 10 minutes over a medium high flame before adding the spinach.

·         Once the spinach is dry, add the potatoes, water, garlic, coriander stems and seasonings.

·         Cook uncovered over a low flame. it would take around 15 minutes for the potatoes to soften and cook completely. you want them to hold their shape so do not overcook them or they will fall apart. Add the lemon juice just as you turn the heat off.

·         Serve either hot or lukewarm.

You can find the quick recipe card on youtube here:
https://youtu.be/KR-lxNl40Bo

Hola Readers!

Now i know that i have been gone for a very very long time but then i had so much to do and so many places to be and i know that it is not an excuse to completely avoid my blog but i couldn't have helped it really! Trust me, if you knew what i have been through during the past few years, you would sympathize. having said that i would like to tell you all that i am back and for good this time. i have tons of new recipes. All tried and tested by me so that you don't have to fidget through the measurements or worry about how it would turn up in your kitchen. If you follow the instructions and recipes as is, i don't think you'll have any problems there. Now i'll try to be as precise as one can be but if i ever miss out on any detail that you think is trivial for someone who's making the dish out of the recipe, feel free to ask that in the comment section.