#PeasCornPalakCurry #MyDoordarshanDays Before beginning with my first post of the new year 2015, let me first wish you all a very Happy New Year ! I am sure you all must have had a rocking new years’ party… Since my husband is away for work in Pune, I was at home yesterday, relishing on the yummy food my mom made for us and I spent most of the time surfing the innumerable T.V. channels. While engaging in that mindless activity, I was reminded of my good old ‘Doordarshan’ days. We had black and white ECTV then… it was there even before I was born. The colour TV (It was onida…. Remember the famous tagline ? “neighbour’s envy, owner’s pride !” ) came when I was in class IV. It was the summer of 1985. Our summer vacations had just begun. I remember two men walking into our house with a big cardboard box. Just like every other nine year old, I was curious to know what was inside the box. My imaginations yielded many a thoughts which included sweets, toys, a badminton or cricket kit for my brother or may be some wardrobe stuff. Finally when they opened the box and took the brand new TV, I remember jumping up and down. The two guys connected the TV to some wires and did something with an aluminium rod ( My dad later told that it is called as antenna). Then before starting the TV, my mom was called upon to perform a small ‘TV warming’ puja. She put some haldi-kumkum and placed a small flower on the TV and lighted an agarbatti (incense stick) in front of it. Being the ‘Lakshmi’ of the household, she inaugurated the TV by switching it on. In the meantime me and my brother had occupied strategic positions in front of the TV. When the TV started vertical rainbow coloured bars appeared on the screen… and then, I remember how thrilled I was to see the Doordarshan icon in colour … I just couldn’t help clapping my hands in sheer joy. :-) My favourite of all the programmes was Giant Robot. Karamchand, Phool khile hain gulshan gulshan, Chitrahaar, Rajani and Saptahiki were amongst the other favourites. I used to love the Marathi programmes too, especially Gajra. All through the week I would eagerly wait for the movies they showed on the weekend. A Marathi movie on Saturday evening and a Hindi one on Sunday. I still remember how me and my brother would finish off homework fast just so that we could enjoy the movie (this is because we were not allowed to watch the movie unless we finished the homework first). Those of our neighbours who didn’t have TV at their place would also join us in the weekend gala. Even watching news used to be such fun then… Any of you still remember the news reader Salma Sultan with her famous signature rose tucked in her hair under her left ear? She was my favourite news reader. I used to love her sarees and those matching beads necklaces she wore. I almost had a crush on her ! ;-) Days went by and Television has now been polluted with hundreds of new channels and thousands of programmes. Now everyone in the family has different programme tastes. Rarely do we watch one channel continuously for more than fifteen minutes. The interest with which I used to watch all my favorite programmes on doordarshan then has now ceased to exist. These days I seldom watch TV, let alone any particular channel. However, memories of our good old Onida colour TV have not faded away in any way. I still recollect and rejoice My doordarshan days. Now coming to our main topic, food ! My first recipe for 2015 is a yummy Peas Corn Palak Curry. I had tasted this when we were out for lunch at the Diva Maharashtracha at Mahim. This curry so appealed to my taste buds that I had to try it out at home and it turned out really well. So here is how I made it…. Peas Corn Palak Curry Ingredients – 1 bunch of Palak/Spinach (stems removed and thoroughly washed) ½ cup fresh Green Peas ½ cup American Sweet Corn 1 large Onion roughly chopped 1 large Tomato roughly chopped A handful of fresh Coriander ½ inch Ginger 10 Garlic Pods peeled 2-3 Green Chillies (the light green less hot ones. If using the dark green ‘lavangi mirchis’, use less) [+/- according to taste] 10-12 Cashewnuts 1 inch Cinnamon 1 Green Cardamom 1 clove 2 tsp Cumin Seeds 1 tbsp Kasuri Methi ¼ tsp Turmeric Powder ½ tsp Red Chilli Powder 1 tsp Garam Masala ½ tsp Amchur Powder 2-3 Dry Red Chillies 2 tsp Sugar Salt to taste 2 tbsp Fresh Cream or ½ cup Milk 1 tbsp Lemon Juice Oil Method – (1) Wash the spinach leaves thoroughly. Heat water in pan and add ¼ tsp salt. Once it starts boiling add in the spinach leaves. Cook till the leaves change colour and turn dark green and soft. Once they are done, transfer the contents to a colander, drain out the boiling water and immediately hold under running tap water. This ensures that the green colour of the spinach leaves remains intact. (2) Next, heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add the ginger, 5-6 garlic pods, green chillies and cashewnuts. Fry till the cashewnuts turn light golden in colour. Remove from oil and keep aside. (3) In the same oil, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom and clove. Fry, remove and keep aside. (4) Now in the same oil, add chopped onion and fry till they become translucent. Now add in the tomato and fry till they become mushy. (5) Remove from fire and transfer the ingredients fried at step nos. (2) to (4) to a mixer grinder. Let it cool down a bit. Then grind all the ingredients to make a smooth paste. Next, add in the blanched spinach and a handful of fresh coriander leaves and grind again to form a smooth paste. (6) Strain the puree with the help of a soup strainer. (7) In the meantime par boil the green peas and the sweet corn. You can do this either in a microwave or you can cook them in boiling water containing a pinch of salt or eating soda. (8) In a pan heat 1 tbsp oil and add cumin seeds. Once they splutter add in the boiled green peas and corn. Saute for a minute. Then add in the ground paste. Add little water to adjust the thickness. Add in the kasuri methi, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, amchur powder, garam masala, sugar and salt. Stir well and let the whole thing come to a boil. (9) While the curry is boiling, heat 1 tbsp oil in another small pan. Add the remaining chopped garlic and fry it lightly. Then add in whole red chillies and asafetida. Pour this tempering over the spinach curry. (10) Add fresh cream or milk and squeeze in the lemon juice. Stir well. Your peas corn palak curry is ready. Serve hot with phulkas / rotis. Goes well with rice too. The last picture shows how I served it. Peas corn palak curry with chapatis, bhindi fry and aamras. It was an awesome treat ! Once again wishing you all a happy new year... a year full of simplicity, love and lots of cooking at home. Believe me, nothing beats the joy and satisfaction of cooking simple home-made meals... its the best way to give and receive love ! Love you all...
Posted on: Fri, 02 Jan 2015 03:38:32 +0000
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