Whole wheat buns/Baatis and Litti Chokha – the two most rustic regional recipes from Indian invoke a mixed emotion in me. If the later brings back the memory of my carefree days the former reminds me of the insecurity I felt during my childhood. Unable to cope up with the work pressure and childcare my working parents arranged for a 60 something nanny to baby sit me. The most prominent features I could remember about her is her wrinkled face, bony rough hands and the white muslin Potli (pouch) she used to bring daily from her home for her lunch.

She brought these unevenly round whole-wheat buns/baatis neatly packed in a white muslin cloth or potli every day. Hand pound wheat flour to make the buns, firewood used to cook them and fresh ghee smeared over those baatis revealed the hard life of villagers. I used to get scared when she lifted me with her wrinkled hands but loved to bite on those savory buns she brought. The feeling of insecurity of taken care by a stranger was somewhat subsided with these delicacies she brought each day.

This regional recipe of Litti Cokha from India brings back the memory of my carefree childhood days. After living in a secured colony of central government quarters for many years, mom wanted to live in her own house and she bought a ground near a picturesque place in Udaipur. The place was very near to where we were currently staying and me and my brother used to visit the site every evening after school hours to  monitor the activities in the construction area.

Each day as soon as the clock struck 5 PM, all the workers would stop working, gather at a common place and begin their evening activities of fun and cooking food together. After freshening up with the water stored in a small tank, men folks cut wood to light the fire for cooking and the women share the work of kneading the dough for Litti and prepping for the Brinjal Chokha.

A pickle is to any meal what a smile is to a beautiful woman, both enhance the subject perfectly! If you happen to be in the colorful state of Rajasthan in India, your meal is incomplete without extra spoonfuls of ghee (clarified butter) and a dash of spicy pickle served by your generous host. Not to forget the yummy ghee laden sweets to wind up your hearty meal.

Pickled fenugreek seeds, Ker Sangari, Gum Berry, Athana green chilly, fresh whole green peas and the list of such unusual ingredients to make pickles is endless. Each pickle is unique for the spice mix that goes in it, by the way it is prepared or for the ingredients used to make it. Some of the food ingredients used to make these pickles are indigenous to Rajasthan and is difficult to get in other parts of India.

Versatile dips & spreads which could be made quickly and peps up a meal instantly are my all time favorite. Ubiquitous green chutney with fresh coriander & mint leaves in my refrigerator tops the chart by all means. Yes, I eat it with my flat breads, use as sandwich spread, on crackers, tarts, Khatti rolls, pizza topping…and so on.. Hummus is one another favorite of mine, a refreshing & healthy dip prepared with chickpeas or Garbanzo beans. The recipe is often twisted & tweaked to come up with yummy surprises..well..almost always

Pasta, noodles, pies, pizzas…no, these are not the food that I could relate my childhood memories with. I was introduced to these food quite late in life. It was when I started to work, living independently and cooking on my own that I craved for eating out during weekends. And these carbohydrate and calorie loaded food were quite a stress buster and a good remedy to homesickness.

That was a phase I suppose, as now when we are in our forties both me and hubby prefer eating simple and light Indian food. But wait…this was only till our children grew and joined us on the dinner table! Now the menu in my kitchen often drifts from Indian to global on weekends as I surrender more often to the demands of my children who love these carb food. Times change or rather we change for the sake of our children. Now that both mom & dad don’t mind an occasional binge and dig into Pastas or have a bite or two of that cheesy Pizza just to be one with their kids

Do you follow any particular recipe for making pilaf/pulav? I am afraid I don’t… If there is ample time and the cooking is for some special guests, my Pilaf will have a mix of home ground spices and some exotic ingredients such as poppy seeds, coconut & cashew paste. On a normal day it’s just a few whole spices, veggies, fluffy Basmati rice and my quick aromatic pilaf. And how versatile & flexible a recipe could get, you don’t need to follow any particular recipe and yet come out with some extraordinary results, yes such is the magic of Pilaf!

My favorite is always this simple and quick Pilaf or Pulav recipe, wherein the subtle flavors of Basmati rice, a mild punch of few whole spices and the real taste of fresh veggies could be enjoyed in best form.

“Write Potato on a paper and she will eat that too” mom warned him beforehand. And poor hubby was not prepared for this potato overdose in his life. Not a great fan of this starchy veggie he was grumpy to see tiny chunks of potatoes in everything that was served to him. But as they say, Love me, love my dog’ errr..potatoes, he started liking them for good

I could almost write a cook book on all the potato recipes I collected & cooked over the last few years. And in my quest to present my favorite veggie in better ways I am in constant search for some innovative ways to serve it. I adopted one of  mom’s favorite recipes ‘Potatoes in white gravy’ which we used to call ‘khus-khus wale aloo’.

I love my morning cup of steaming hot milk tea, grilled cheese sandwich and the crisp stuffed Paratha (Indian flat breads) with creamy yogurt Raita. Yes I heard it, so do you. But then hold on, if you are one with me you need to pause for a moment and read the following post from our AFBHLS guest Harini. Who knows this might change the way you look at your breakfast table as it did to mine. Now that my weekly grocery list has less of those extra cheese boxes and I have started loving my tea without milk.

‘With a few flowers in my garden, half a dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy’  ~ Lope De Vega.  And now with my garden not in good shape I no longer live without envying my friend who has a sprawling garden to boast.
Some days back when she presented me a few bundles of fresh green fenugreek and a couple of veggies from her farm this is what I cooked. Just as the Khichdi recipe in the previous post there is nothing spectacular in this recipe also, it has the least ingredients and cooks quickly.

Do you have a family dish which you prefer at times when you feel lazy to cook but do not wish to compromise on comfort and health quotient? Its Khichdi for my family. A hotch potch medley of wholegrain, millet, lentils and vegetables, Khichdi is an easy &  filling one pot meal and has all the necessary ingredients of a balanced diet which could be cooked quickly without much fuss. Carbohydrates from rice (or any grain), fiber from millet, protein form lentils and vitamins & minerals from veggies make this recipe a complete meal in itself.

Khichdi is the first solid food I was fed by mom and I followed the same meticulously with both my children barring a few days of formula food. This recipe is the one I often make when I am logger heads with time or just plain lazy and need an easy, quick fix meal.