Sepen- Tibetian Hot spicy sauce

  Spicy raw sauce made as a sidedish , goes well with tingmo. 

Sepen  is a Tibetan hot sauce made with chilles as the  main ingredient and other spices. It can be made on a tomato base  or can include vegetables like onion and celery.

 Sepen can be thick and chunky or smooth. It is served with all meals and is used to spice the usually mild Tibetan food.

Requirements :

1 cup whole dried small red chilli peppers

1 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns ( optional )

½ cup chopped fresh cliantro ( coriander ) leaves

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

Method :

 If planed a day before , soak the chili pepper in cold water overnight.

 For instant preparation , soak chili in boiling water for 20 minutes.

 Drain the chillis and discard the water.

Combine all the ingredients along with 2 tbs of water and grind until smooth.

Serve along with Tingmomo.

Baba Ghanoush / Smoked Aubergine Dip #Bahrainicuisine

 This Bahrain baba ghanoush goes well with the Bahraini bread – Khubz . This smoked aubergine dip is so delicious.we had this dip with the khubz.

 The Arabic preparation is either the eggplant to be baked or broiled  over an open flame. So the pulp is soft and had a smoky taste.

Requirements :

1 large eggplant

2 cloves of garlic

2 tbs tahini ( sesame paste )

½ cup greek yogurt

¼ tsp salt

3 tbs olive oil

1 tbs lemon juice

½ tsp paprika

Method :

I applied little oil on the eggplant and broiled on direct flame , for 5 – 10 minutes or till the skin blackens.

 If you want to bake in oven preheat  to 200* C and place the eggplant on the baking tray and bake for an hour or until the skin is crisp and inside is soft.

When the eggplant cools , remove the skin and chop the flesh.

Add this flesh to the food processor along with the tahini , salt , paprika , lemon juice and yogurt.

 Puree till soft and creamy.

Spoon into serving dish  and place a parsley and drizzle olive oil. 

 Serve with khubz or vegetables.

Hummus (Chickpea Dip) #Bahrainicuisine

Hummus is the well known dip made from chickpea. We all liked this dip , as the fresh garlic and sesame paste gives a unique taste. We thought the taste was very familiar to our palate.

Requirements :

1 cup garbanzo beans / chickpeas

½ cup tahini ( sesame seed paste )

Juice of 1 ½ lemon

2 cloves of garlic / 1 tsp garlic powder

salt to taste

olive oil to drizzle on top

Method :

 If using canned beans you can proceed directly.

As I used dry chickpeas , I soaked overnight and cooked on my own.

 Grind together chickpea , tahini , lemon juice  , garlic and salt.

Pour into serving dish and drizzle olive oil.

Sprinkle a little paprika for decoration.

Serve chilled or at room temperature  along with pita bread.

The Udupi Kitchen – Cookbook Review - Sihi Kumbalkai Raita

   Cookbooks were my favorite . I am having a bookshelf full of cookbooks and I should say I spend my leisure time with my cookbook collection.

   This was the first time I am posting a review about the cookbook . I thank Westland Limited for sending me this wonderful cookbook The Udupi Kitchen by  Malati Srinivasan  and Geetha Rao.

               

About the Publisher :

 Westland  Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Trent Limited , the retail arm of the Tata group , the large diversified industrial group in India.

 They have a huge array of books in every category.

 

About the Authors :

  The Authors of this book are Malati Srinivasan and her daughter , Geetha Roa.

I should mention here the famous Indian cook  Madhur Jaffrey’s words on the authors  “ Both mother and daughter are wonderful cooks. They have the ability to explain udupi cookery with clarity and depth.

About the Book :

 As the title itself reveals , the book is about the udupi cuisine. Yes, it is a book with wonderful recipes of udupi cuisine.

  Though I had heard about udupi  ( a coastal town in Karnataka ) which is famous for its LORD KRISHNA Temple. The cuisine  being vegetarian as the cuisine belongs to the Madhwa Brahmins.

  The front page of the book depicts the picture of  Hayagreeva with a sprig of  Tulsi ( holy basil ) – a famous sweet offering to god.  It was so divine and wonderful  as we Indians start our meal  after offering to god.

    The first few pages were for both author’s notes about how they learnt cooking and their culinary journey. Next , three pages explains about the udupi cuisine. Another two pages for Handy tips. I  am sharing few tips here…..

 

1.     unsalted butter makes the savoury snacks crisper.

2.     Store the homemade masalas filled  in Zip lock packs in the freezer.

 

 The contents of the book were split into 12 sections……

1.    Masala Pudi ( spice powders)

2.   Anna ( Rice)

3.    Beles ( Lentils )

4.   Gojjus ( vegetables in sweet , sour and spicy gravies )

5.    Palyas ( Dry vegetables )

6.   Raitas and yogurt Gravies

7.    Kosambaris ( salads ) and chutneys

8.    Tiffin

9.   Thindi ( savoury snacks )

10.Desserts Payasas

11. Halwas

12.         Sihi Thindi ( confections )

 

Before each section , all the recipes in the section were mentioned in a page.

Few of the recipes from the book  I want to mention here were

 Gojju pudi – Spice powder for Gojju

Bisi Bele Hulianna – Famous rice recipe of Karnataka

Sandige Huli – Red gram Dumplings in spicy gravy

Drakshi Gojju -  Raisins in spicy gravy

Matwade Palya – Fenugreek leaves and lentil crumble

Dindu Raita – yogurt with banana stem

Akki Rotti – Rice flour flatbread

Appe Payasa – milk pudding with fried semolina fritters

Hayagreeva – Bengal  Gram Halwa

 

I will be sharing a recipe from the book which I made on the same day I received

 

                        

 

Overall , the book is worth the price  and a must for those who want to explore various cuisine…….

  You can buy from the Westland publishing’s site directly

www .westlandbooks.in

 or through other online bookstores and in leading bookstores around the world.