Allam Pacchadi, for pesarattu

I love allam pacchadi (ginger pickle), and I have always eaten Pesarattu with this, so much so that I cannot imagine eating pesarattu with anything else. I always ensure we have a big bottle of this in the fridge so we can eat pesarattu anytime we want. 

Long ago, I worked along with Mom to come up with this recipe, this is her's and she is a total boss with her kickass allam pacchadi. 

However, over the years, using her recipe as a based, I have come up with my own method, to suit my kitchen and cooking style. Here it goes... 

1. Tamarind (1C, tightly packed) - soak in water and set aside.
2. Jaggery (1C) - Chop or powder and set aside.
3. Ginger (350gm) - Wash, dry and chop ginger. Shallow roast in some oil, set aside to cool. Once cooled, grind with some tamarind-paste or water to a paste.
4. Mustard & Fenugreek seeds (1/4 C each) - Dry roast these together. Cool and dry grind them to a powder.
5. Red Chillies , dry (roughly 2C in their dry state; half and half of regular and Kashmiri chillies) - take the tips off and shallow roast in oil. Set aside to cool. Dry grind to a powder.
6. Hing - 1Tbsp, Turmeric powder - 1Tbsp, Salt - to taste.
7. Mix all the dry ingredients - the roasted chili powder, hing, turmeric and salt - together and keep aside.
8. Mix the ginger paste, tamarind paste and jaggery together.
9. Now mix the dry and wet ingredients together to a paste.
10. Curry leaves & Red chillis (to taste) - Heat some oil, sauté the curry leaves and red chillies. Add the mixed ginger paste to this and mix well. Keep mixing till the ginger paste leaves oil in the pan.
11. Take off heat and set aside to cool.
12. Keep in an airtight container. Can be eaten for upto 6 months if refrigerated.
13. Serve with Pesarattu

Mirchi ka theccha

A friend of ours always has Mirchi ka Theccha in her fridge and she pulls it out like a superpower when she is making anything desi. This is where I first discovered this amazing dish and have since kept it ready in my fridge too. We eat it for many things - spread inside grilled cheese, toppings on dips and with roti. 

Here's the recipe - 

Ingredients

Green chillies
Garlic cloves
Cumin
Coriander
Sesame seeds
Cooking oil

All the quantities for the ingredients are per your taste.

Method

1. Wash and dry the green chillies
2. Heat the pan with oil in it. Put the green chillies and sauté well. The chillies will blister and get charred in places. Once all the sides of the chillies are blistered well and it looks like they are cooked, keep aside.
3. In the remaining oil, sauté the garlic cloves. They can be charred a bit too. Take off heat and put aside
4. Coarsely grind the charred chillies and garlic together. Take care to not make them into a paste, the texture retains some of the taste.
5. Dry roast the cumin, coriander and sesame seeds, together or separately. Take care not to burn them. Dry grind once they are cold.
6. Mix the ground powder with the coarse chilli and garlic mixture well.
7. Store in a glass container. Keep refrigerated, should stay good for at least a month.

Optional

1. You can add asafoetida while dry roasting the spices and grind them all together for additional flavor
2. While storing the theccha, cover it with lemon juice to preserve it and for a tangy taste

Where to use

1. Spread for grilled cheese sandwich
2. Any Indian dish that is lacking in spice, for that oomph factor
3. Topping for hummus and other Mediterranean dips
4. Along with Roti or Thepla

Laksa Noodles

 I figured an easier, quicker way to make Laksa Noodles, or at least a version of them.