Oven Roasted Aloo Gobi

The other day I saw one my favorite modern Indian chefs in NYC, Suvir Saran, make this roasted cauliflower dish on the Martha Show. In my own home I do a similar dish, but with potatoes and a shortcut -- I skip grinding the spices. At other times and for many Indian dishes, I would do it all from scratch as that's why Indian dishes are so intense in flavor.

My Oven Roasted Aloo Gobi, however is soul food -- a tasty, every day side dish with no fuss and which doesn't need any fuss. You get the same slow-cooked Indian flavor without the grind ;) which to me is a big deal these days as I'm constantly running out of time. Who isn't!

We like this recipe so much. When you make it, the home smells so amazing that it may lead your neighbors or guests to think that you are making some complicated feast. Plus, I could never get my hubby to eat slices of onions in anything, but in this the onions perfectly caramelize in the oven, along with garam masala and oil. He loves it!

I used:
1 small head of cauliflower, cleaned and chopped into small chunks or florets
1 big yellow onion, thinly sliced
6 small red potatoes, chopped to approximately the same size chunks as the cauliflower (or try Yukon Golds!)
1.5 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon dhana-jeeru powder (a blend of ground cumin and coriander seeds)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 big black cardamom pods, whole
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, enough to drench everything
salt to taste
a handful of cilantro leaves to garnish

My method:
1. Turn the oven up to 400 F ( C)
2. Toss all the vegetables in the oil and spices
3. Lay everything evenly in a big baking pan, big enough to make sure nothing is over-lapping, else it won't cook well.
4. Stick the pan in the oven and shake it all up to move it around every 20 minutes or so. Keep an eye on it, as you don't want the onions to burn before your potatoes cook. It's finished when it looks like it: the potatoes will look nice and crispy, and onions will look the worst, but will taste great! It should all be finished in about 30-40 minutes.
5. Garnish with cilantro and serve right away, with whatever else your heart pleases. We recently had our Oven Roasted Aloo Gobi with rajma, rice, papad, pickle & raita -- and raita is the recipe I will publish next!

Baflo -- A Green Mango Drink

In the summertime in India, I grew up drinking baflo. It's popular in Gujarat and made from green mangoes. Baflo packs a fresh punch of flavor unlike anything else you'll taste. The raw mango is tempered with raw Indian sugar and cumin spices it up. It's a thick drink enjoyed cold which cools you off and helps prevent heat stroke, too. I finally found green mangoes here in Seattle, and the weather was warm, so the time was right!

Make sure your mango is green i.e. raw on the inside. Most Indians will use raw mangoes to make pickles -- Indian pickles that is, the delicious sweet, salty, & spicy relishes. Lots of mangoes can look green on the outside, but mango for baflo or for a pickle must be green when you cut it.

Baflo is made differently by different families, and measurements will vary based on the mango's size and tartness, too. Here is my approximation for baflo like I savored in the hot summer.

I used:
1 large green mango (1.5 lbs), nicely washed
9 oz jaggery (also called gud, i.e. Indian raw cane sugar)
1 teaspoon finely ground cumin
1.5 teaspoons salt
approximately 12 cups water

My method:
1. Boil the mango in a steamer or a pot, till it is completely cooked from inside. You can check by inserting a knife to see if it feels soft, else let it cook longer.
2. Let the mango cool for a few minutes, then take the peel off by hand and discard the peel.
3. Take all the pulp off the pit and put the pulp in a blender.
4. Heat up the jaggery in a cup of water, till it all melts nicely.
5. Add the jaggery syrup to the blender, then add salt, cumin, and purée.
6. Add the rest of the water, mix, then adjust the sugar and salt based on the tartness of the mango.
7. Once you have the taste you like, strain the mixture through a fine sieve or strainer.
8. Pour your baflo in a bottle or a jar which can close tightly, then chill it in the fridge.
9. Serve the drink once it's really cold and/or with ice cubes. It will have a thicker consistency than regular juices, so serve in small amounts. This drink should keep well in the fridge for 5-7 days.

A Dirty Bloody Pomtail

I'm feeling dirty-bloody full of anti-oxidants as I write this! Not that we don't eat enough vegetables, but it's always good to up your anti-oxidants in drinks too, right?! Oh whatever! the wonderful warm and sunny days have inspired me more than anything. I also have to say that all the lovely readers and fellow bloggers, who've left me some kind words, have kept me going. So we're drinking it up, to an early summer and all things good!

Kidding aside, all the nutrients you get from drinks like pomegranate juice are excellent for your body. I enjoy mixing my own drinks at home. In summer it's more fun to make juices from fresh fruit, but something like a pomegranate I don't know if I ever want to juice, so I'm using Pom, especially in summer slushies or cocktails. You can read all the wonderful health benefits and facts that yes, you should care about on their site. Now let me get more into the details of this drink.

The name, Dirty Bloody Pomtail comes from little more than Pom and Bloody Mary Sea Salt from my favorite local Secret Stash Sea Salts. I'm not a Bloody Mary kinda girl, but I love this salt because you can have the good flavor of a Bloody Mary in so many ways. It's made up of Fleur de Sel sea salt, sun-dried tomatoes, celery salt, cayenne pepper, and other spices. The Bloody Mary Sea Salt really kicks up this drink with uncommon layers of flavor. I've used Secret Stash sea salts to rim the glasses of many other drinks as well. You may have seen another of their salts featured here, I have to say they have turned me into quite a salty mouth :)

It's up to you if you want to add alcohol, one of us added a Russian vodka and the other one did not. I'm not telling you who had which :) but we both enjoyed our drinks.

I used:
8 0z. Pom pomegranate juice
12 oz. seltzer or plain club soda
a couple pinches of Bloody Mary sea salt
2-3 teaspoons of sugar (or a simple syrup, if you have it handy)
slices of lime and sprigs of fresh mint for garnish
2-4 oz. of your favorite vodka (optional, or spike it as you like)

Method:
1. I used a big measuring cup with a spout to dissolved sugar in the Pom first.
2. Add the salt, the vodka, and taste for sweetness. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar.
3. Add seltzer and serve right away with mint and lime. Or you can chill the above mixture then add, seltzer, salt, and garnish right before serving.

Rhubarb Tarts & Ratios

This all started out as experimentation, from my need to do something different with rhubarb every year! Rhubarb crisp and compote have been classic favorites in our house. I kinda did that again, starting with a rhubarb strawberry compote, then put one of my new books, Ratio by Ruhlman to good use. With his ratio, I mixed and improvised as usual and we ended up with a few too many pastries and tarts.

Ruhlman writes that pie, pastry, or tart dough is as easy as having the right ratio of flour:fat:water. Well, it was and it wasn't. You really have to be careful with the water, or the dough becomes tough to work with. Experience from making dough for rotis came in handy here. I found some first-of-the-season rhubarb a few weeks ago, and out came result #1.

Tart #1: 3-2-1 tart with rhubarb-berry compote filing and white chocolate. Ruhlman's Tart Ratio for simple crust. I used all purpose flour.

The next time we were at our market, I was compelled to buy more rhubarb. Not that I was itching to eat it this time, but it was something unfinished, I had to try another tart. The farmer was also closing his stand and wanted to get rid of the rest of his rhubarb. I took it all! and walked home with long stems sticking out of my tote bag as I wondered how I would improve the tart in taste & look.

Tart #2: Wholewheat and rye crust with a rhubarb and spicy nut filling. I improvised the 3-2-1 ratio from tart #1, to use half rye and half wholewheat flour, and added a bit of brown sugar to sweeten it up, so the pastry result is unique.

My filling included ground pistachios, almonds, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and ginger. For the filling, I found a recipe to inspire me on one of my all time favorite blogs, La Tartine Gourmande. I did not quite follow everything there, but I used dry ginger and cinnamon in the nut crumble and skipped the vanilla. The results were beautiful. Bea doesn't mess around when it comes to presentation and I am always inspired by her photos.

Tart #3: Aussie Bakery puff pastry with a white chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and rhubarb filling. For this, I used my trusty, local Aussie Bakery puff pastry. I sprinkled the rhubarb in sugar like the previous tart, and I let the strawberries sit in vanilla extract. I lined the puff pastry with white chocolate, let it melt for a few minutes, and lined up the rhubarb and strawberries to cover the chocolate, before baking. I am especially proud of this combination because it tastes delicious!

In Seattle, the best rhubarb pastry I've had this season has been at Honoré Artisan Bakery, one of my favorite local bakeries. Their rhubarb tarts (below) have a vanilla custard filling and amazing-looking rhubarb tops their pastries. Now, if I can only get them to teach me their tricks!

A Bowl of Spring Rice

The asparagus have been beautiful out here, and in Spring so have so many other things, like the Washington Park Arboretum! Pictures are always easier for me to share than words. Inspiration in words has been hard to find among tough times in life. I won't bore you with the details, that's life!

Aside from that, there is a disheartening drag I'd like to mention -- people stealing photos and other content, or saying nasty things based on the content here. The content thieves are just as likely to be big, for-profit businesses as they are to be other bloggers. These experiences are too common among bloggers, and they make you want to hold back, to stop sharing what you love and value. On the other hand, I also realize all the lovely, loyal readers and supporters of Mango Power Girl should not pay the price for the bad apples.

The bad apples have been getting me down a little, and it takes so much time to deal with them, but I still want to share what I do. I haven't stopped cooking and inventing and photographing! I just haven't been documenting it here at the same rate and may pace myself differently at times. Hope you won't mind!

Here's a meal one for those quick and easy nights, when you want a satisfying supper in a bowl without worrying about too many different pieces to put together.

I marinated tofu in harissa, tamarind paste, brown sugar, and oil for a short time, while I prepped asparagus, spinach, and garlic, and cooked my rice. I sautéed the tofu in its sauces and let it get a bit crispy. Then, I removed it from the pan, added spinach & asparagus & garlic to the same mix of sauce in the same pan, and let it all cook for a few minutes. I tossed in the cooked rice with the tofu and vegetables, then garnished it with fresh spring onions. Chives would have been great, too. We had a satisfying but simple meal in a bowl!

Handvo -- Indians have their tea cakes too!

My oven has been busy, but it helps keep the home warm and smelling great in this slow-coming Spring. Here's another cake to look at, but this time I picked something personal & unique to my native Gujarati cuisine and hence, not as widely known outside India and perhaps even Gujarat.

We call it handvo -- pronounced either "hahn-d-vo" or "ahn-d-vo" with a silent 'h'. Handvo was the perfect breakfast or snack to have with milk or tea growing up in Gujarat. It's a savory, sesame-coated tea cake, and a popular snack which can be made in many different ways. The most common method requires a bottle gourd which is hard to find here in Seattle, so what you see is made with zucchini.

I can eat this stuff all day long, and I can eat it hot or cold. The honest truth of the past is that when I was growing up back in India, I hated eating gourds and squashes of any kind. I related them to eggplant (If you've read this one interesting eggplant story, you'd know the extent of the dislike ;) -- the reason being that Indian gourds, like eggplants break down into mushy textures in Indian subzis, or vegetable dishes. Given my dislike of that texture when I was a kid, handvo was yet another great trick on my mom's part to get me eating more of the good old vegetables. Here's an interesting thing to ponder -- how many foods don't you like because of texture or smell, not just taste? I think I figured out my dislikes early in life, good because I avoided them but also not so good because I got a bit picky!

Now that I'm older, they don't have to force me to eat anything. In fact, gourds or squashes of any kind are one of my favorite things, and I can cook and eat them in different ways all year long! I can't even count how many ways I eat zucchini or other seasonal varieties of squash we have locally available. Squash is one of the most easily digested vegetables, and it can blend into so many flavors.

Handvo making, on the other hand, is a bit of a laborious process. It is traditionally made from scratch by grinding all the daals and so on, but who has the time when you have to spend so many waking hours grinding at work and commuting!

So, we start with handvo flour, which many Indian grocery stores carry. Handvo flour is usually a blend of rice, chana daal, and toor daal, and it does make handvo easier if you have it. You let the batter ferment, temper it with spices, and then finally get it to bake. Balancing flavors in this dish is the key and my mother is the queen of it. I've had handvos that were too sour or too sweet, but my mom gets it just right. Last time I prepared it, I was under her nose and hence, there was no assistant to write down the recipe.

The batch you see here was just right, but I still haven't managed a good enough approximation of mom's recipe because honestly, measurements are a bitch! I must say though, handvo is one of those dishes where perfection comes with practice, and I'm still waiting for it. I'll let you know, and share my recipe, when I achieve it myself!

Until then, just enjoy handvo with your eyes!

Molly's Chocolate Cupcakes

Ever since I read pages 44-45 in A Homemade Life by Molly Wizenberg, her Chocolate Cupcakes with Bittersweet Glaze were in my mind. More because I've been dying to eat chocolate cake so much lately, that's a normal craving right?

[Ferrania Solaris 400 film]

One day I started making the cupcakes only to realize I did not have enough chocolate for the glaze. I still had enough chocolate to make the cakes exactly by the book (surprise! I did not improvise that) but then I made a simple, buttercream frosting. You could say I made two frostings -- I colored some pink with beet powder, and some green with matcha, the fine Japanese green tea. As you all know, I've a growing aversion to artificial colors.

These made me feel ready for spring! I also photographed them in film, with admiration for such a wonderful local, Seattle film photographer like Molly. I find her photography so inspiring as I shoot film.

[Ferrania Solaris 400 film]

I cannot believe I am admitting this, but I made these cupcakes once and then 10 days later I made them again :) The second time, I just poured the batter into a square pan and baked a big cake! Both times, the cake had no problem vanishing from its containers, and I even had a few friends ask me for the recipe. The cake is amazingly light, moist, and easy to make. In fact, one of my cousins made something close to this for my birthday once, when I was a little girl back in India, but Molly's chocolate cake is unbeatable! Give it a try!

As far as her book, A Homemade Life goes, you won't be disappointed. For me it was the best kind of escapism. It's great to read her blog Orangette, too but we all agree there is something special to be said about books. I mean, we're a household full of techies but we still have a few thousand books. It was more fun to extend my lunch breaks while reading her book, and drooling over her recipes. I was pleasantly surprised to find so many vegetarian recipes, and I can't wait to try more. I smiled, I laughed, and I cried reading this book ... I imagined some of the stories in photos, wondering how Molly would've photographed them. The book was just as wonderful as I know the author to be personally, and I can only hope she is working on the next one already ... else I'm going to have to sit and read her first book again ... which I probably will!

Below is the synopsis of Molly's recipe for Chocolate Cupcakes ...

She uses:
1 oz semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/2 cup hot brewed coffee
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup well-stirred, plain, whole-milk yogurt (not low fat or nonfat)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Her method:
1. Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). Line the muffin tins with paper liners.
2. Put the semisweet chocolate in a medium bowl with hot coffee. Let it stand, stirring occasionally until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.
3. In another medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with whatever mixer you have or by hand, until it is pale yellow. Add the oil, yogurt, and vanilla, beating well.
5. Gradually pour the melted chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and beat till it combines thoroughly.
6. Add all the dry ingredients all at once, and beat on low speed until the batter is just combined. With a spatula, scrape down the sides of the bowl and briefly stir to make sure all the dry ingredients are absorbed.
7. Spoon the batter into the lined muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a cupcake comes out clean.
8. Let them cool completely before frosting, or eat a few warm with some coffee like we did. Store them in an air tight container at room temperature.

Molly had an important note in the book that I quickly remembered on day two of devouring these cupcakes: she said they get better on day two ... and she was not kidding!

Here is Molly at her first book signing and reading, in Seattle:

Cover Shot!

I've been dying to post this, but I hadn't received the official copy of the magazine until now. I'll cut to the chase -Italian architecture magazine, Il Giornale dell' Architettura, recently wanted to use my photo for the cover of their February issue. They did a cover story on John Arthur Morefield of Architecture 5 cents from Ballard Farmer's Market.

This shot was also featured in this month's Architectural Record online, where John was featured in a Newsmaker Interview. It will be in print in next month's issue.

Coming from a family of professional photographers, I was not planning to be a photographer, but it is the thing I have discovered to love the most in my life ... so here I am.

It is also time to share the first version of my portfolio: Mango Power Girl Photography 1.0