Your Akshaypatra brimmeth over!

Rajgira (Amaranthus/ Chaurai) and Moong Dal

This dish is privileged to be the impetus behind  two very interesting poems -one funny, cute and lighthearted and the other very sombre and thought provoking -  by my blogger and Facebook friend Suranga Date on her blog http://kavitalihi.blogspot.in/2012/08/the-life-and-times-of-chawli-rajgire.html.

And in two languages! The Akshaypatra truly brimmeth over!
 

...Draupadi was worried, she had had dinner and cleaned up. The Akshayapatra had been washed up and had lost its prowess and bounty per Surya Dev’s boon!

(So was the Akshayapatra a solar cooker that allowed the banished family to be fed without the need to light a fire? How nifty!

Did they eat before sundown? How healthy!

Or was it because the Akshaypatra didn’t have rechargeable built-in Lithium Polymer batteries?)

She prayed to Lord Krishna, her brother, her saviour!

(Did she sent him an SMS ? Telepathy... telephony... teleporty...)

Lord Krishna came to her rescue, yet again! He asked to see the Akhsaypatra and found a piece of vegetable stuck to the sides. He ate it and burped in satisfaction and appreciation!

(Yuck! How inefficiently was the dish washed! She only had that one pot to wash! And how could Krishna eat an encrusted morsel... remember your food hygiene! Where was HACCP!)

Sage Durvasa and his men emerged from their dip in the river, strangely full and sated. Embarrassed and fearing Draupadi’s wrath, they left without returning to the ashram for dinner...

(Why on earth was a sage in such a rage- anger management classes, rewuired much?)

Didn’t they have cottages with ensuite bathrooms?

If they decided to take a rain check, they should have had the grace to let their hostess know...)

Draupadi heaved a sigh of relief, her reputation saved, the second time over!

(This time not by the endless supply of sarees- LOL! that was another Akshaypatra! LOL! what is this with the endless supply of sarees, food, hubbies...some people are indeed blessed!)

(What green/saag do you think it was? Was it amaranthus- essentially a weed, but very nutritious and tasty?! Can you imagine your delicate darling spinach and methi growing in the forests?)

Was it Druapadi’s culinary skills, the magic of the Akshaypatra, or simply the flavourful green veggie that filled Krishna? Surely he was God enough to teach the sage brat pack a lesson?

Hmmm... that’s it! The vegetable was so tasty that the Lord was tempted to pick the encrusted leaf!

So, the leafy and unsuspecting protagonist of this tale comes to the forefront.

Amaranthus, rajgira, Chinese spinach... an Akshaypatra of flavour, nutrition, dietary fiber, and sustainability!

Rajgira (Amaranthus/ Chaurai) and Moong Dal

This is a simple bhaji or saag - almost a stir fry in a style that is very typically Marathi. My mother made a whole lot of combinations with moong dal, so I know the Rajgira leaves can be substituted with any greens, or even mooli and all gourds –I especially love it with snake gourd with some coconut and cumin ground together!

The stir frying / quick cooking retains the nutritional values of the greens and dal and the dish can go well with rice, chapattis, phulkas or jowar/bajra rotis. Tastes great as an accompaniment to dahi chawal, kadhi chawal or rasam-rice and also is a nutritional complement to these combinations of meals.

Ingredients

2 cups rajgira leaves and tender stalks, picked, washed and chopped
¾ cup chopped onion
½ cup split yellow moong dal soaked for at least an hour (will yield a larger volume after soaking)
1 teaspoon chopped garlic (or more)
2 dry red chillies (or more)
½ teaspoon rai seeds
½ teaspoon jeera
¼ teaspoon haldi
Salt to taste
A pinch of sugar (optional)
1 tablespoon oil

Method

Heat oil in a kadhai and add the rai to splutter and jeera a few seconds later. Add the red chillies and fry for a few seconds. Add the onions, garlic and haldi and sauté just a bit. Add the chopped rajgira and stir for a few seconds. Drain the moong dal and sprinkle it evenly on top of the rajgira. The moisture from the chopped leaves will allow the dal to cook without burning or sticking to the bottom. Sprinkle some of the water in which the dal was soaked if required. Cover and cook on low heat for a few minutes until you see white steam escaping from under the lid. Remove the lid and stir the bhaji till most of the moisture is absorbed. Add salt to taste and the pinch of sugar (optional). Stir for a minute and remove from fire.

Serve hot or cold. You could even use sprouted moong beans- it’ll make the dish even more nutritious!

 

They also serve...

Bottle Gourd and Chana Dal Subji ( Lauki and Chana Dal)

 

In his sonnet ‘On His Blindness’ John Milton laments his inability to fully exploit his talent and fulfil what he thinks is his purpose in life- to serve God. Patience murmurs to him ‘Who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best’.

Sitting in Dr. Nagarajan’s office and listening enrapt to the brilliant scholar’s discourse on justifying the ways of God to men, I have been oblivious to the hunger pangs.

Sitting with friends during the break, I hand around my lunch box of bottle gourd and chana dal subji and chapatis freshly made that morning. My friends grab my box and pass it, er, toss it around like piranhas while I wait patiently to reclaim my lunch. As the only married girl in the class, I prepare my own lunch and whatever I cook gets polished off by the motley crowd I call friends. Two boys who live in the university hostel and two girls who think it isn’t hip to bring lunch in a stainless steel tiffin box. I get the box back and look at half of a torn chapati and a spoonful of lauki and chana dal subji with an indulgent smile…

Back in Dr. N’ office, we listen to his heavily accented but sonorous voice chant over and over again, ‘They also serve who only stand and wait.’. Various nuances explained, interpretations invited from us students, insights that come with age and experience shared … in the midst of this charged atmosphere, my stomach rumbles the most embarrassing sounds of hunger. There is no way I can stymie the gurgling. I am hungry. I am reminded of my foiled plans for the lauki bhaji and chapati…

That is the moment of realisation, the dénouement- this humble vegetable in the tame rendition of bhaji with asafoetida, turmeric, fresh curry leaves from the garden and one small chilli has a special providence in the scheme of things!

Its silky mildness will give any spicy, onion-ginger-garlic-garam masala- curry very stiff competition. The lauki subji will not stand out and demand attention on a table laden with exotic spicy gravies, but anyone who is in need of comfort and succour will reach out and find this soul food. Battered palates and ulcer-sore stomachs will crave the doodhi- quite literally the vegetable full of the milk of human kindness. The lauki is never in our face, we seek it out.

Dr. N is reciting, and I zone out. All I can see in the eye of my mind is the tender and soothing lauki, patiently bearing its mild yoke.

It also serves as it stands and waits…

Lauki and Chana Dal Subji

1 small and tender bottle gourd, peeled and diced small

2 table spoons chana dal, soaked for 30 minutes

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

A generous pinch of hing

½ tsp turmeric

1 red/green chilli (or more)

A few curry leaves

1 tsp sugar/sweetener (optional)

Salt to taste

1 tbsp grated coconut or powdered and roasted peanuts (optional)

1 tbsp chopped coriander to garnish

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds to splutter. Add the chilli, curry leaves, hing, and turmeric and add the diced bottle gourd. Drain and add the chana dal. Cook covered. If the bottle gourd lets out a lot of water, it will cook in it and also cook the chana dal. But if it doesn’t, you will need to add a little water or a few tablespoons of milk. Another idea is to add the water in which the dal was soaked. Stir a few times, but replace the lid each time. In the last few minutes, let the subji cook without the lid to evaporate any excess liquid. Add salt, sugar, coconut or ground peanuts.

Remove from heat when you see the bottle gourd translucent and done.

Serve- garnished with coriander and with chapati!

Roots and Shoots- Nature's special bargain!

Radish roots and shoots stir fry

Nothing is more annoying than seeing shoppers tearing out leaves of vegetables like radish, kholrabi, beetroot and turnip. Some do it to weigh in more of the vegetable to get VFM while others don’t want to carry home rubbish! Little do they realise they are spurning a genuine BOGOF offer, nay gift, from Mother Nature!

Our modern lives are to be blamed for this bald, arid existence sans leaves. In our increasingly busy lives many of us prefer to shop in supermarkets for green grocery packaged in attractive but leafless ways. How often do we go to the vegetable mandi or farmer’s markets to shop locally for locally grown produce? How often do we think of the buying local produce for the variety of umbrella reasons -to eat fresh and healthy organically grown food; to reduce the carbon foot print by not patronising out of season, cold stored produce that needs transport or storage; to promote local economies and trade and agriculture? And wouldn’t it be nice to chat with local grocers and vendors, get tips from them and connect with the produce of the soil.

Leaves of most root vegetables are a store house of nutrients and fibre. They are at times more nutritious than the roots themselves and are a significant source of calcium, iron, magnesium, folate, vitamin A, C and K. And they taste great too!

Using a mooli in a pulao may seem ridiculous and unbelievable, but a friend of mine taught me to grind mooli leaves into a coarse paste and add to vegetable pulao- the  taste is unbelievingly rich!

My mother used to pick bunches of moolis and kohlrabis with the maximum amount of foliage and use the leaves either in dals or stir fries along with sprouts, dals or with the roots themselves. I follow her suit and in my home, any vegetable with leaves is venerated as if it is a special bonus.

Here is a radish or mooli roots and shoot stir fry subji, a dish from my mother’s repertoire!

Ingredients

1 large radish (we get huge ones in Melbourne) or 4-5 small with the leaves (you should get about 2 ½ cups of slices and up to 1 cup of good leaves)

1 tablespoon oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder (or to taste)

1 dry red chili (optional)

2 tablespoon fresh grated coconut

½ teaspoon cumin powder

Salt to taste

Pinch of sugar (optional)

A few tablespoons water if required

Method

Cut the radish leaves out at the base. Pick and select the best leaves discarding hard stems. Wash the leaves and tender stems thoroughly in water. Chop finely and keep aside. Lightly peel the radish, wash and cut each radish lengthwise into four and then slice them into slices.

Heat a pan with the oil. Add mustard seeds and when they start spluttering, add the hing, turmeric, chili powder and the dry red chilly. Add the sliced radish and the chopped leaves. Sauté for a minute and add a few tablespoons of water if required. Sometimes if the radish has a lot of water content, it will let out its own juices which can help cook the leaves and the radish. Cook covered until almost done. Add coconut, cumin powder and salt to taste and the pinch of sugar. Remember, radish leaves are salty. Finish it by cooking some more, this time uncovered to dry any liquid the radish may have let out. 

Serve hot with phulkas or dal and rice.