Besan Ke Laddoo

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun! It's common knowledge that India not only has a lot of people, it has people from different faiths and beliefs, so it is only natural that we have a lot of festivals as well. From colour to fireworks to dance to food, we've got it all covered. My favourite of all these, without a doubt, is Diwali (although I claimed it was Holi in school since it was easier to write an essay on).

Every year, on Diwali, my mum sets up the mandir and diyas, plugs in the fairy lights, makes the mithai, and in the evening, we all sit down with the door ajar for the pooja, after which we go out, set off fireworks, and then go to one in a series of Diwali parties at a family friend's house. Unfortunately, for a few years, I wasn't in the country and would miss out on the tradition (and the festivities), so as a workaround, I would call or Skype into the pooja at home, then try and do something traditional after. While in the UK, there were a lot of Indians around so we'd usually do something together; one year a group of us drove to Leicester for the celebrations where we pigged out on chaat and watched a fantastic fireworks display. Of course, it took us 20 minutes to walk 20 feet with all the people there, but it was Diwali, so we didn't really care. A couple of times I went to visit my close friends and spent time with their family so it was all good. While I was in Istanbul, Turkey, however, there was a very small group of us, and given the lack of Indians in Istanbul in general, there was no plan. So after my customary pooja Skype, I decided to make a mithai at home. Normally I'd make kheer or halwa, but this time I was determined to try something different. I looked through my (very large) stock of ingredients, and spied a packet of besan in the back, and figured I'd try some besan ke laddoo. So I cranked up the music, got cooking, and an hour later (it was my first time), I stood proudly over a plate of besan ke laddoos as I tried to ignore the burning in my palms from rolling the too-hot mixture. It was worth it though, since in my head, I had salvaged my Diwali with a good dish, and my colleagues who ate the laddoos the next day, seconded (or at least pretended to) my sentiments.

This is the recipe to my besan ke laddoo, may it serve you as well as it has me!

For my Besan Ke Laddoo, you will need the following:

Besan (gram flour)	4 cups
Ghee (clarified butter)	2 cups
Powdered sugar	2 cups
Almonds	handful
Cashewnuts	handful

Prep:

1. Crush/finely chop the almonds and cashews.
2. Sift the besan through a sieve to get the lumps out.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Pop in the besan.
4. Dry roast the besan for about 10 minutes until it browns and you get a warm nutty aroma. (Keep moving it or it will brown and burn faster than me at a beach!)
5. Stir in the ghee a little at a time until it's all in there. (You want a consistency that you can roll, so make sure it's not too dry or too wet.)
6. Sprinkle on the sugar.
7. Toss in the crushed almonds and cashews.
8. Mix well.
9. Cook for another 10 minutes. (Again, keep moving it so it doesn't burn.)
10. Turn the gas off.
11. Let the mixture cool just enough that you don't burn your hands while rolling it.
12. Begin rolling into laddoos.
13. Burn hands.
14. Curse.
15. Wait another few minutes.
16. Resume rolling.
17. Stick a cashew on top of each laddoo to make it look pretty.
18. Serve.
19. Stuff face.
20. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Taste the mixture as you're roasting it. If it tastes raw, roast it some more.

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

Spaghetti & Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Hello, boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun. My roommate in Solihull, UK, Ms. Popularity, while being reasonably intelligent, did some really silly things from time to time. Things like forgetting her keys and ringing the doorbell late at night, much to the ire of our landlady, my British mum, or not closing the fridge door after dinner one night only to find a puddle of water all over the floor the next day (not to mention the food we had to throw away). But these pale in comparison to her one shining moment of genius: washing out a tin of tomatoes before chucking it in the bin.

Usually I'd do the cooking, and she'd do the washing up (because let's face it, cooking is so much easier!), and this time was no different. I had cooked, and since we were out of fresh tomatoes, I'd used a tin instead. As was customary, I set the tin aside with the rest of the stuff to bin (peels and whatnot). We finished eating, and Ms. Popularity started cleaning up. As I lounged around, playing with cats, I heard a gasp followed by a whimper. I walked over to the sink to where Ms. Popularity had been doing the dishes and saw her holding up her right hand, which was starting to look increasingly scarlet. Realizing she had cut her hand, I did the first thing I could think of. I ran. Out of the kitchen and into the living room where my British mum was watching the telly; because who better to call for help in a crisis than a mother? We rushed into the kitchen to find Ms. Popularity still standing over the sink, this time in tears, as she struggled to stem the gentle stream of dark red that was dripping into the.. wait for it.. the tin that she was washing with her bare hands before tossing into the garbage! Part of me wanted to rant and rage at her (not) cleverness, because who washes something before throwing it away? Rinse it, sure, but wash? As my British mum tied her hand up with a bandage and bundled her into the car to take her to the emergency room, I put the rest of the things away and tried not to think of the bloodbath. 

She did recover eventually. It took a few weeks (and medical glue), and I even went to the hospital with her once to get the dressing changed (which is a big deal because I avoid hospitals like I avoid baingan, or like Superman avoids kryptonite). Still haven't stopped reminding her about it at every chance I get. This recipe needs a lot of tomatoes, and the tinned variety really gives it a lovely bright red colour, so if you do decide to use a tin, please be careful! Or just get a bottle of passata! You're less likely to end up going to the emergency room that way.

For my Spaghetti & Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs, you will need the following: 

Spaghetti	300 gms
Mince (meat of choice)	300 gms
Tomatoes	3-4 (or a tin)
Onion	1
Garlic	5-6 cloves
Mozzarella	100 gms (brilliant if you can get the little balls)
Rosemary	2-3 tsp
Oregano	2-3 tsp
Thyme	2-3 tsp
Paprika	2-3 tsp
Bread	2 slices (crust cut off)
Milk	splash
Pepper	to taste
Salt	to taste
Sugar	to taste
Olive oil

Prep:

1. Chop the onion. (Not too fine.)
2. Slice the garlic.
3. Blitz the tomatoes. (Please be careful, and don't cut your finger on the tin if you're using the canned variety.)
4. Grab a small bowl.
5. Break the bread into small pieces and pop it into the bowl.
6. Splash in the milk.
7. Mush it all together. (This will make your meatballs turn out soft.)
8. Grab a bigger bowl.
9. Plonk the mince in.
10. Sprinkle on some of the spices.
11. Add salt and pepper to taste.
12. Plop in the bread mush.
13. Mix. (Don't overwork the meat or pound it like you're kneading dough.)
14. Roll a meatball. (To decide on the size.)
15. Flatten it.
16. Place a mozzarella ball in the centre.
17. Roll the meat around it.
18. Repeat until all the meatballs have been rolled.

Method:

1. Turn on the gas.
2. Bung a pan on.
3. Splash in the olive oil.
4. Count to 20.
5. Toss in the onion.
6. Cook until translucent.
7. Pop in the garlic.
8. Pour in the pureed tomatoes.
9. Splash in some water (if it is too thick).
10. Sprinkle in the herbs.
11. Add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste. (The sugar is to balance the tang from the tomatoes.)
12. Mix.
13. Plop in the meatballs.
14. Gently mix until the sauce covers the meatballs.
15. Slap a lid on.
16. Cook for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are done.
17. Turn the gas off.
18. (In the meantime) Turn on another burner.
19. Crank up the heat to high.
20. Pop a saucepan on.
21. Fill it about 3/4 with water.
22. Splash in some olive oil.
23. Sprinkle in some salt.
24. Bring to a boil.
25. Drop the heat and bring the water to a simmer.
26. Pop in your spaghetti.
27. Cook until the spaghetti is al dente (cooked but has a slight bite).
28. Turn the gas off.
29. Drain the spaghetti.
30. Plop the drained spaghetti onto the meatball sauce.
31. Mix.
32. Serve with a glass of red.
33. Stuff face.
34. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Retain some of the starchy water from when you drain the spaghetti and stir it into the sauce to make it silky.

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