An Italian bake on a rainy day

It was a normal summer day in Delhi, hot and dusty. Evening brought in a dust storm and some unexpected but hugely welcomed showers.

After the rain petered out I quickly changed into my walking shoes for my evening walk, this is something which I thoroughly enjoy and so in spite of the not so pleasant weather it is still a regular feature. My walking track is usually Bengali Market where I am joined by a friend and we spend a couple of hours doing rounds of the park along with of course catching up on each other’s sundry news.

On the way back I popped across to Nathu's for their scrumptious garlic loaf, the cool weather was a perfect excuse to do away with the regular Indian supper and instead indulge in some baked. This dish is simply loved by everyone and I have made it often not only for family but also for guests and it always tastes amazing.The garlic bread  is the perfect accompaniment for this lovely dish and all that is needed is a  creamy tomato soup or a French onion soup and your meal is complete.

I forgot to buy corn but that is not such a major thing and so it still tasted wonderful though personally I love corn in the dish. This vegetable casserole can be prepared in advance and kept, needs to be baked just half an hour before serving.

This baked has been adapted from Tarla Dalal’s "Party Cooking" . It comes  high in my list of 'simple, quick to cook and great to eat'  dishes.

Corn and Aubergine (Eggplant) Bake

Serves 2

500 grams tomatoes

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 onion, chopped

1 capsicum, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1 teacup cooked corn

1 teacup fried aubergine (eggplant) pieces

1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

Salt to taste

1/2 teacup white sauce

4 tablespoon grated cheese

Blanch the tomatoes for 10 minute in hot water till the skin comes out easily. Peel the skin and chop the tomatoes .

frying the eggplant

Heat oil in a pan and sauté the onions and crushed garlic for a couple of minutes till they turn translucent. Add the capsicum and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the chilli powder and chopped tomatoes and cook the mixture till the tomatoes become mushy and the sauce reaches a slightly thickish consistency.  I like to add some sugar to balance the tartness of the tomatoes but it is totally a personal choice.

The vegetable casserole

Now add the corn, eggplant(aubergine) and salt and mix well. Layer a baking dish with the vegetable mixture, top it with the white sauce and finish off with cheese on top.

Bake in a hot oven at 200 degree C (400 degree F) for 20 minutes till the cheese melts and starts bubbling. Serve hot with bread of choice.

Kheer - traditional rice pudding

‘Rakshabandhan’ is a festival celebrated in India with a lot of enthusiasm. This festival is unique to this part of the world as it is a celebration of the special bond that exists between a brother and sister.

It’s that time of the year when you have a string of festivals lined up and there is a lot of festivity in the air. Bengali Market in my neighborhood was totally choc a bloc with people doing their last minute shopping. The shops were spilling over on to the pavement with their display of colorful 'rakhis' (sacred thread tied by sisters on the brother's wrist) and gifts and apart from the traditional rakhi designs there were quite a few funky ones too. Both the sweet shops, Nathu's and Bengali were also jam packed with people and one heaved a sigh of relief that even though the financial pundits might be shorting India, it has not dampened our spirit of joie de vivre.

All my memories of this festival are related to food - of how my mother would get busy in the kitchen from early morning preparing kachoris, kaddu ki sabji,methi ki launji and a whole lot of other dishes that went with it. For mitha (sweet) she always made kheer. My mother was an excellent cook and this western UP food was her specialty. We sisters would go light on the breakfast in anticipation of the yummy food that we were going to feast on. I have continued with the same tradition at my home too and when the children were around they both would be very agog about the goodies being made.

The kheer that I make is a very simple one. The milk along with the rice is put on a simmer for a couple of hours till it takes on a light creamish tinge. The whole essence of preparing  this traditional Indian dessert is to let it cook slowly so that it thickens to a nice creamy consistency and gets that kadha (condensed) flavor. The kheer tastes very good on its own and really does not need any added flavoring. But if one wishes then some cardamom powder can be added to it once it's cooked. Saffron strands can also be added by first soaking them in warm milk to release their flavor and then adding it to the whole milk.

Kheer

2 litres milk (full cream)

6 tablespoons long grained (basmati) rice soaked

11/2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon green cardamom (elaichi) powder

8-10 saffron (kesar) strands

Soak the saffron in one tablespoon warm milk. Bring the full cream milk to a boil in a pan with a thick base, add the rice and the saffron and cook on a low heat. Keep stirring the milk from time to time to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Let it simmer till the milk thickens and takes on a creamish hue.

When the kheer is almost done then add the sugar and mix well. Cook for a further 2-3 minutes and then switch off the burner. Now add the cardamom powder and mix.

Transfer the kheer to a bowl and serve either warm or cold.