Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls) Khichdi

Hello, boys and girls,

Welcome to cooking with Varun! Not long before I left Solihull, England to head back to India, one of my roommates from Antrim, Northern Ireland, the big talking UPite (or Roommate #2 from previous stories, if you prefer), moved to a town not far away. After a few failed attempts at making a plan, we finally cobbled something together and I headed to his (and his new bride's) home to spend a Saturday. I took a train from Solihull in the morning and less than 30 minutes later, I was standing outside Leamington Spa station, squinting in the sunlight as I waited for him to come pick me up. He arrived a few minutes later and we drove the 10 minute drive to his place and climbed up the stairs to his apartment. After a little chat, it was down to business; breakfast. I had spoken to him the night prior and told him I wanted sabudana khichdi, so he had the sabudana all soaked and ready to go. As he cooked, I chatted with his (significantly) better half since this was the first time we had met in person, and pretty soon we were all sitting down to big plates of piping hot sabudana khichdi that went down a treat!

After breakfast, Roommate #2 and I popped out so I could see the sights and sounds of Leamington Spa, and we spent the next couple of hours walking around the town and checking out the museum. Upon our return, we put a movie on for background noise, and were joined shortly by 2 of his friends, Quiet Guy, and Pompous Scab. After the customary introductions, handshakes, and idle chit-chat Pompous Scab suggested that Roommate #2 break out the whiskey, and we play monopoly, the game fabled to end even the best of friendships. I hadn't played a lot of monopoly in the past so I wasn't too keen, but it was infinitely easier to play than listen to Pompous Scab's complaining, so I consented and pretty soon we were all heavily involved in our make-believe world. Since I was quite green, I got the occasional tip from Quiet Guy and Roommate #2 on how I should invest, and once I was comfortable, my competitive streak kicked in and I started dealing and trading with the others to further my cause. One such deal involved a setup with Quiet Guy and Roommate #2 that would effectively shut out Pompous Scab and drain him of his resources until he'd have to stop playing. Old Scabby, who was obviously furious at the prospect of losing (and tipsy from guzzling all that whiskey), proceeded to throw an absolutely phenomenal hissy fit, complete with stomping and cursing. Now, I'm no angel either, and because it amused me, I continued to goad him with comments like how when I win, I like to decimate my opponents, which I had effectively done to him. Even more incensed, he slammed his glass down and started moved threateningly towards where I was sitting. As I contemplated the best angle to hit him with Edge's finishing move in the WWE, a spear (in self defense of course), without breaking any furniture, the others stepped in and calmed him down. Once peace was restored, Scabby pointedly avoided me (not that I complained), and I busied myself tucking into a dozen dosas and chutney that Mrs. Roommate #2 was doling out at an astonishing pace.

As the light started to fade, it was time to go back to Solihull, and a short drive and train ride later, I was back home.

This recipe, is the recipe to that excellent sabudana khichdi that we polished off, and is really quite simple.

For my Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls) Khichdi, you will need the following:

Sabudana	300 gms
Potato	1 medium
Peanuts	2 big handfuls
Curry leaves	small handful
Green chillies	2
Salt	to taste
Sugar	to taste
Oil	big splash
Lemon

Prep: 

1. Wash and soak the sabudana overnight.
2. Roast the peanuts.
3. Grind/pound the peanuts into tiny pieces. (Don't powder them.)
4. Boil and peel the potato.
5. Chop the chillies.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in the oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Roll in the chillies.
6. Float in the curry leaves. 
7. Pop in the potato.
8. Fry for a couple of minutes.
9. Take the pan off the heat for a minute. (This is because sabudana gets sticky if you put it in a really hot pan.)
10. Drain and bounce in the sadudana.
11. Shake in the peanuts.
12. Add salt to taste.
13. Pinch in sugar to taste.
14. Mix well.
15. Cook for a few minutes. (Toss it occasionally like the chef at a Chinese restaurant.)
16. Taste test.
17. Adjust the seasoning and cook some more if required.
18. Turn off the gas.
19. Serve with a squeeze of lemon and a lemon wedge.
20. Stuff face.
21. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Wash the sabudana well to get all the starch off and don't skimp on the peanuts, or you'll end up with a sticky, chunky, mess. It'll taste fine, but it doesn't look so pretty.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!

Kofta Pulao

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! On a Sunday evening not long ago, I had some extra time on my hands so I decided to cook ahead for Monday and Tuesday. I had keema (mince) in the freezer and I figured a nice spicy kofta (meatball) curry was the way to go. I marinated and rolled the meatballs, made the masala, and pretty soon I had a simmering saucepan bubbling away merrily as the koftas cooked. Once they were done, I let them cool, and stuck them in the fridge to eat the next day.

As luck would have it, on Monday morning, I was asked to travel from Istanbul to Antalya for a battery of meetings for work for the rest of the week, that very afternoon! I rushed home, packed a bag, and with a heavy heart, put my koftas in the freezer to await my return. I was driving down with a couple of the client guys (I say we, I meant they, I sat in the back reading my book, and napping) and we made the 12 hour trip, to arrive at our hotel a little past 3 am. The rest of the work week was just full day meetings, punctuated by breaks for lunch and the occasional trip to the beach in the evenings (and a romantic moonlight swim in the warm waters of the Mediterranean sea with 4 Turkish blokes). Since Antalya is a very popular tourist destination, I decided to hang back for the weekend to do a little touring, and fly back to Istanbul on Sunday evening. I booked myself a tour for Saturday and planned to wing it on Sunday. Early Saturday morning, I was picked up from my hotel by the tour bus taking me to the ancient city of Perge with its magnificently preserved columns and artefacts, the 1800 year old theatre of Aspendos which even after a millennium still has perfect acoustics, and the ruins and the Temple of Apollo of Side with a little stop at the Kurşunlu waterfall along the way. The tour group was small; a couple of Americans, 3 Chinese people, a bloke from Brazil, a Kurd, an always smiling Japanese lady, and a Japanese family with a young boy who's primary focus was to find a shady spot and sit down. We made our introductions as we boarded and spent the rest of the day quite harmoniously, making chit-chat and requesting each other to take pictures. When the tour ended I was dropped off at my hotel, and a quick shower and change later, I popped out for dinner at a pizzeria across the street. After polishing off a large pizza (served by a very cute waitress), I headed back to my room and crashed.

The next day I checked out of my hotel and took a tram from Hadrian's gate to the archaeological museum to look at some of the recovered artefacts from Perge and spent the next couple of hours taking in some fantastic marble sculptures, among several other objects on display, some dating back to 5500 B.C.. For my last stop before my flight out, I went to the Sefa hamam. A 600 year old hamam in the old city, where I was peeled, soaped, and massaged until my body felt quite boneless (like it had been on the receiving end of Gilderoy Lockhart's bone repairing spells). From there it was a taxi ride to the airport, and a short, delayed, flight later, found me back home in Istanbul.

Monday was a usual run-of-the-mill day, the highlight of which was my long awaited kofta dinner, and the next day, because I had a hankering for rice, I fashioned a pulao with the leftovers, and with a few choice add-ons, this kofta pulao was born.

For my kofta pulao, you will need the following:

Left over kofta curry (meat of choice)	2 person portion (about 6 koftas)
Rice	2 cups
Onion	1 small
Tomato puree	2 tbsp
Green chillies	1-2
Ginger garlic paste	1 tsp
Peppercorns	small handful
Cardamom pod	1
Cloves	2
Bayleaf	1
Cinammmon	small piece
Jeera (cumin seeds)	1 tsp
Coriander powder	1 tsp
Red chilli powder	1 tsp
Jeera (cumin) powder	1/2 tsp
Garam masala	1/2 tsp
Biryani masala	1 tsp
Boiled eggs	2
Lemon juice	big squeeze
Salt	to taste
Oil

Prep:

1. Slice the onion.
2. Chop the chillies.
3. Rinse the rice with cold water 3-4 times. 
4. Hard boil the eggs. 
5. Peel the eggs.
6. Make about 5 slits around the circumference of each egg.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan/kadhai on.
3. Splash in some oil.
4. Count to 20. 
5. Toss in the jeera.
6. Float in the bayleaf.
7. Plonk in the cinammon.
8. Pop in the cardamom pods.
9. Drop in the cloves.
10. Bounce in the peppercorns.
11. Cook for a minute until you can smell the aroma of the cooking spices.
12. Pop in the onion.
13. Roll in the chillies.
14. Cook until the onions are translucent.
15. Put in the ginger garlic paste.
16. Cook until the onions go brown. (Like me after a day in the sun.)
17. Sprinkle in the coriander powder, cumin powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and the biryani powder.
18. Mix.
19. Cook for a couple of minutes.
20. Squirt in the tomato puree.
21. Mix.
22. Cook until the oil separates from the mixture.
23. Add in your left over kofta curry.
24. Plop in the boiled eggs.
25. Mix.
26. Scoop in the rice.
27. Add in 4 cups of water.
28. Squeeze in the lemon juice.
29. Add salt to taste.
30. Mix.
31. Drop the heat to low.
32. Pop a lid on.
33. Let it cook for about 20 mins until the water has all gone and the rice is cooked.
34. Turn the gas off.
35. Garnish with coriander leaves.
36. Serve with raita.
37. Stuff face.
38. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish. 

Tip: For super soft koftas, as you are marinating them, add in a slice of bread that has been smooshed up in a splash of milk.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!