Italian Jugaad!

Baked Arancini with Napoli sauce and salad

Jugaad, our trusted and foolproof Indian practice for managing a raft of sticky situations ranging from everyday problems to entrepreneurial practice, is fast capturing the imagination of a recession stricken western world as a growth formula.

Another ‘juggernaut’ sweeping the world?!

India should patent the concept before we have to defend it like we did turmeric! After all, the word owes its origin to the Sanskrit word ‘yukti’, meaning trick, and the practice has become second nature to Indians!

Now, I am sure it will meet all three legal criteria for patenting - of “Novelty, Non-Obviousness, and Utility”! For although the concept of jugaad is not new, every act  can be very novel! And the best cases of jugaad are non-obvious if you don’t tell, and every jugaad is just so useful.

Just like the jugaad I put into play, coming up with arancini balls with some leftover risotto.

You could actually cook some arborio rice with any stock and seasoning, and add some vegetables of your choice and some grated mozzarella cheese, or just used any cooked rice with seasoning!

For the arancini balls

2 cups leftover risotto (mine had some pumpkin, broccoli and mushrooms – and some white wine)

2 tbsp grated mozzarella cheese (or any other cheese- remember jugaad)

1 tbsp parmesan

Panko bread crumbs

Oil spray

Homemade panko crumbs

3 slices bread (I used multigrain bread) – use four if you have a small loaf

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp dried sage

½ tsp dried oregano

¼ tsp black pepper

½ tsp crushed red chillies

2 tsp grated Parmesan

Method

Place all the ingredients for the panko crumbs in a mixer and zap them roughly.

Remove onto a work surface.

Mix the risotto with the two cheeses. Make four equal portions and roll them with into a ball and then in the crumbs. Then shape them with both hands, adding crumbs to the hand and pressing them into the balls tightly. As you shape and press simultaneously, tilt one of your palms to give it a pear shape.

You can make small round balls to go as starters, too!

When the ball stops taking any more crumbs, place it on a tray lined with baking paper. Spray with an olive oil spray and bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C till golden crisp – about 25 minutes.

Serve hot with a salad and some Napoli sauce.

Shredded lettuce, finely sliced red onion, sliced pink lady apple, rocket leaves, walnuts and low salt creamy fetta cheese with a balsamic dressing made a great salad.

Napoli was a can of chopped Roma tomatoes cooked in olive oil with onions, garlic, fresh oregano and crushed chilli.

Now that’s a sustainable (no waste) and healthy (not fried) jugaad!

Prominent and popular blogger  Suranga Date writes interesting, funny, sweet, thought provoking and rich poems inspired by varied things that capture her imagination in her blog Strewn Ashes. I have the privilege of her friendship and of the fact that often one of my dishes or posts inspire her to write a poem or two! In English and Marathi!

Quipped Suranga on the risotto- 

जागतिक भात संमेलनाला
जमलेले अथिरथी महारथी,
शेठ बिर्याणी , पुलावराव , 
सर बिसिबेलेभात
सौ चित्रान्न , मसियर रिसोटो ,
श्रीमती खिचडी आणि चि .दहीभात,
मधल्या सुट्टीत फुशारक्या मारत बसले होते .....

एकीकडे जुना रीस्सोटो, साध्या भाताला म्हणाला ,
:"तुझा फोडणीचा भात तर फारच यमी असतो,
ह्या बड्या लोकांमध्ये माझा कसा निभाव लागणार ?"

"त्यात काय आहे ? मी सांगतो तसा कर" असे म्हणत
भाताने मागे लाग्लेया मिरचीकढी पत्ता मंडळींना पिटाळून लावले,
.चीज ला हाताशी घेतले ,
आणि रीस्सोटो मधल्या भाज्यांना समज दिली .
सर्वांना व्यवस्थीत एकत्र केलं ,
आणि
छोटे छोटे गोळे करून, 
चविष्ठ ब्रेड्क्रंब मध्ये घोळून,
जरा ओव्हन मध्ये ठेवलं ....

चीजच मन पाघळल,
बाहेरील आवरणाने आपले मन घट्ट केले ,
आणि थोड्याच वेळात हि मंडळी सभेत आली.

हिरवे सलाड , लाल टोमाटो सॉस ,
सगळे गडबडीने हा चमत्कार बघायला धावले ,
आणि
आपला फोडणीचा भात धन्य झाला !

सर्व अथिरथी महारथी थक्क होउन विचारू लागले,
"ह्याला काय म्हणायच ? हे क्कुठ्ले क्विझीन ?"
आणि
फोडणीच्या भाताने रीस्सोतो च्या हातावर टाळी दिली 
काधीपत्त्याला डोळा मारला,
आणि गात गात उत्तर दिले ,
"ये चीज बडी ही मस्त मस्त, ये चीज बडी ही मस्त !"

. 

The Pyramids of Koshari

Koshari on the streets of Melbourne!

Walking in search of a quick bite to eat in downtown Melbourne one lunch time, we  found ourselves being led by the nose into a newly opened Egyptian eatery. We were greeted by the owner, an effusive gentleman speaking with a very strong yet attractive Arabic rhotic accent. The deep baritone rolling the Rs added to the ambience of the little place that replicated a roadside Cairo restaurant, as did the plastic flowers, vinyl table covers and hubbly bubbly sheesha hookas.

Nodding enthusiastically at my rather timid but hopeful query,” What’s that aroma? Is it something vegetarian?” he proceeded to describe the dish that was giving out the tantalising aroma.

“ This is Kosharrri…the national dish of Egypt… it is rrrice and macarrrroni and chickpeas and lentils and tomato sauce with cumin and garlic and maybe a hot hot sauce with more garrrlic and chilli…you like chilli, eh-  you Indian? Raj Kapoor? Amitabacchan? Hahhaa! I know, see?… and frried onions... I make frrresh frrresh for you!” The singsong intonation continued, but I suddenly started worrying about what kind of a dish he was talking about. Even in my most zealous ‘let’s clean the fridge and finish all leftovers, there are starving people in India and here we are wasting so much food’ I had not dared to mix such disparate things together and present them with so much aplomb!

But hunger and curiosity both fuelled by the appetising smells, got the better of us and after my routine tick and flick check on ‘no meat or chicken stock, no fish sauce, use fresh pan, no contamination for religious reasons (this one works for sure)’, we succumbed to his very hospitable offer to sit down and wait for him to fix us a portion each of the mysterious dish that smelt so good.  

Bursting with curiosity and as is our wont with anything new, we googled ‘Koshari’ on our phones to discover that it was a national dish of Egypt, very traditional and popular, that is was a fast food, a street food, very cheap and filling and even read a theory that the Koshari could possibly be a cousin of the Indian khichdi introduced to Egypt by British troops in the early 20^th century - that makes sense, khichdi= hotchpotch= koshari! ………but then where does it leave the claim that the Koshari is a traditional Egyptian dish?

When the plates arrived, heaped like little pyramids with stuff covered with tomato sauce and crispy onions, the mystery (and apprehension) deepened… but once we began our dig and excavated the mound, we realised it tasted every bit as delicious as it smelt! The variety of textures, the chewy pasta, the fluffy rice, the perfectly salted and floury chickpeas and the thick skinned soft centred lentils set teeth and tongue to task. The tangy and garlicky tomato sauce drugged with cumin facilitated the movement of the hotchpotch around the mouth and the crunchy fried onion sent star bursts of taste in between. The hot sauce, of which we had dared take only a little, was most remarkable in its taste and heat of capsaicin.  

We just loved this dish koshari! And like all the dishes we love, I had to make this at home. So here it is…

Koshari is served as a mixture of the cooked ingredients smothered in the tomato sauce and topped with crispy fried onions. I have assembled the ingredients in this fashion to show them (off!)   :)

Ingredients

1 cup brown lentils (sabut or whole masoor) (soaked for 5-6 hours, cooked with salt until soft, excess liquid drained)

1 cup chickpeas soaked and cooked as above or 2 cans chicpeas (drain the brine)

1 cup long grain rice (cooked with a little salt)
1 cup macaroni (or any short pasta) cooked al dente as per package instructions
3 large onions, sliced into thin rings and fried in oil until crisp and brown

For the sauce

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons white vinegar

5-6 large cloves garlic (or more), crushed

1 heaped teaspoon roasted and ground cumin

1 teaspoon roasted and ground coriander (optional)

2 cups tomato paste (I used crushed tomatoes with seeds and blitzed them, so the colour wasn’t that great!)

Water to cook/dilute

5-6 dry red chilies (or more), seeds removed, roasted and ground into a powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1-2 teaspoons sugar to taste (optional)
Salt to taste

Chopped coriander or flat leaf parsley to garnish

Method

Sauté the chopped onions in the olive oil and add the vinegar to keep the onions crunchy. Add the garlic and sauté more. Add tomato paste or pureed tomatoes and some water to adjust to a flowing consistency and allowing for some reduction. Add the cumin powder, coriander powder (optional), prepared chili powder, pepper, salt and sugar (optional). Adjust the taste to your liking. The sauce should be really spicy and served hot.

Combine the cooked rice, lentils, chickpeas and macaroni in a large pot or in individual portions. Cover with the hot sauce and sprinkle generously with the crunchy fried onions and chopped coriander.

Serve as a snack, a main meal or even as breakfast as the Egyptians do!

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