Green Omelette

                      The truth is I hate omelette. I love scrambled eggs, but not omelette. My idea of omelette for many years, was to break an egg on a hot tawa and sprinkle some salt and pepper, definitely not my kind of food. That’s what I did when I was told to make an omelette in the college canteen, by a senior in college, during post graduation, as part of ragging. He sat there questioning me if this is what I call an omelette and told me to eat it. Since, I wasn’t happy with his attitude, I walked off, clearly making it a point that, I don’t like omelettes and since he asked for it, he can either eat it or throw it, leaving him behind speechless. A week later, the same guy, came asking for vote in the college election and sheepishly smiled, when he told me to forget the omelette issue and vote for him. Did I ?...

                     I love travelling by trains and it has always intrigued me as there is something mystical about the whole thing, the train, the journey and the people from all walks of life, always seem to convey some message and I love to observe, this myriad of feelings expressed among these people, happiness, sadness, excitement, emptiness and although they all have different reasons to travel, it is a journey filled with  hope for all.

                     I love train journey, because, it is comfortable ( if the seat is reserved!), free to move around, can have a good view of the country side, I can stretch my legs - yes, that’s very important, can take a good nap with gentle wind on my face( If the seat is not close to the toilet!), can read a book, chat, play, what not? Train journeys are not complete and it won’t be interesting without the multitude of vendors who pass by every few minutes selling drinks, food, key chains, toys and knick knacks. The most popular food being coffee and tea, bread omelette, cutlets, samosa and soup, during one of his train journey as a child, my son was very attracted to these foods, especially, bread omelette, just the sound of it was very tempting to me as well. Neither the food nor the drink sold in trains is of good standard or taste, true to this, the bread omelette made with whipped eggs, cooked with some onions, was so bland and tasteless and once again I hated omelette!

                                                                               The egg beater that makes fluffy omelette in minutes

                   This recipe for the green omelette is based on a spicy french toast recipe that I happened to watch on T.V a decade ago, since the toast was not received well, I never made it again. When I was thinking of ways to make a spicy omelette, I decided to twist the recipe to make this green omelette, which always surprises everyone with its flavour.

                     I taste all the food that I prepare to make adjustments or whatsoever, but not an omelette, even with this green omelette, that I have been making, for quite some time, I relied totally upon my son and better half’s opinion. But, last sunday, I had my first taste of this green omelette, when I made this for breakfast, just a little bit, but later wished I could have had more. An omelette that I finally like, but still, I would prefer scrambled eggs with onions!

Ingredients
Eggs                                                2
Shallots                                          1/4 cup
Garlic                                             2 cloves
Ginger                                            1 inch piece
Coriander leaves/mint leaves    1 1/2 tbsp ( finely chopped) or say, a little less than 1/4 cup
Green chilly                                   1
Turmeric powder                          a pinch
Tomato                                           1 (small)
Chilly powder or Paprika            to taste (optional)

Method
Cut the tomato into two halves, scoop out the pulp and discard. Chop the remaining tomato in small squares. Keep it aside.
Combine shallots, garlic, ginger, coriander leaves, green chilly in a processor and mince finely ( do not make a paste)
Beat the eggs until double in volume.
Add the turmeric powder, salt, the minced shallot mixture and mix gently.
Heat a tawa, transfer the egg mixture onto the tawa, drizzle 1/4 tsp of oil around the omelette, close it with a lid and cook on low heat for a minute or so. If you want only one side of the omelette to be browned, then sprinkle the chopped tomato and paprika/chilly powder ( if using), close with the lid and cook until the bottom and the top of the omelette is cooked.
If not, when the bottom is cooked, sprinkle the chopped tomato and chilly powder or paprika,  flip to over to cook on the other side.
Serve with bread and have with more chopped tomatoes and coriander leaves or may be some cheese too, if desired.

Hooked to the hook and an introduction to Ginger Jam

                                 Yarns and needle, this is what is keeping me occupied, when I am not cooking. I did my first shawl when I was 13, thanks to the nuns in school who taught us how to stitch, crochet and knit. Since last winter, I have been hooked to this craft after a long gap and these are the bags, that had me hooked to the hook for the past two weeks or so. Constantly seeing me with needle and yarn in hand, I am teased by my son that, at 36, I am already behaving like an old lady! So what?

Ginger jam
No, not a recipe, but a product from Ambasamudhram sarvodhya sangam, which I thought I should let you all know, as I have benefitted from this concoction of natural ingredients.
From my experience, this ginger jam from sarvodhya works wonders to cure indigestion. I have already mentioned this in my 'food is medicine page' and I would strongly recommend this to everyone, as it works magic when it comes to any digestion related problems. A small teaspoon of this jam, which is mixture of honey, ginger, dates, cashews and almonds is good enough to relieve discomfort. I bought my first jar, many years back during one of my visit to kuralagam, during navarathri kolu festival and though I mentioned about its benefit to many, no one bothered until they experienced themselves.

You can get it from khadi stores or the next time you visit Thirunelveli make sure to stock up this jam along with halwa and chips. I decided to bring it up to the blog because, so many people, who reach out for tablets and medicine regardless of its effects, will find this jam useful. Recently my son who was sick from food poisoning complained of vomiting sensation and uneasiness, but got cured with this jam, which I gave him in small doses. He was also on complete rest and a mild diet of rasam and curds brought him to normal in two days, without any tablets and my mother in law who benefited from this jam when she was constantly belching after a restaurant food she had failed to digest, without fail made her sister -in - law, who was visiting from palayankottai to buy some jars. If you can’t  buy one, try making yourself with the above said ingredients.  Even if not for curing any ailments, this jam can be had regularly for general good health and to stimulate hunger.

Hibiscus Syrup, Hibiscus Sherbet

                                 Chemistry lab, pretty purple coloured potassium permanganate in glass beakers and the pipette, hits my nostalgia, every time, when the red hibiscus flowers boils down to a purple colour liquid and on the addition of an acid, magically turns to a beautiful, dark red syrup. Almost all our first lab experience in school starts with this purple coloured chemical and the enthusiasm associated with using the pipette and watching the colour change from puple to colourless is a magical moment. During school, when there wasn’t anyone to monitor, a group of us will turn into scientists or to be precise, monkeys let loose, mixing different chemicals in test tubes, to see  who gets the best colour combinations and we even named a beautiful creation, that had at least four to five layers of different colours one above the other, as ‘chandini', a saree design that was very popular in the 90’s. When sulphuric acid caused mini explosions during our trial, it taught us, never to mess up with the acid family. Surely, learning is fun if it involves a lot of practical classes.

Hibiscus flowers are said to be good for a healthy heart, so consider yourself lucky if you have a garden with hibiscus plants, as this sherbet makes a wonderful refreshing drink too.

Ingredients
Sugar                       1/2 cup
Water                      1/2 cup
Hibiscus flowers    30
Lemon juice            2 tsp

Method
Combine sugar and water in a pan and on medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves.
Add the flowers, stir and let it boil to a syrup, for about 3-4 minutes.
Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and let it cool.
Strain the syrup ( press the flowers to squeeze out the soaked syrup).
To make hibiscus sherbet, take one part of the syrup and add two parts of water.
Mix well and serve with some ice cubes.

Note:
Can use dried flowers too.
Can add soda to make a fizzy drink, but you will need less than two parts of soda for one part of the syrup.

Massaman Curry -Thai Cuisine

                                          I chanced upon a jar of 'massaman curry’ paste and bought it, without even the slightest idea of how I was going to use it. Neither have I tasted a thai cuisine, nor I have cooked one before, but the very first thai food I made has topped our list of favourite chicken curries. It is said that massaman curry was introduced in Thailand by the muslim traders from India who visited there and I certainly don’t doubt it, as it tastes and smells exactly the way it is prepared here in muslim households. My understanding of their cuisine is the result of my very close association with a muslim family during my childhood days, which was a decade old relationship. I have watched with fear and pity,  the old man of the house, pray and slit the throat of the chickens and throw them on the street, head and body apart with life still lingering on to the body, shaking. During festival time, the sight of the men sewing the left over lamb meat, marinated in salt and turmeric powder and hang them across to sun dry, would leave every passerby drooling at the smell and sight. I have constantly been surrounded by the smell of dhal and mutton cooking from their kitchen, watched the ladies sincerely read the Quran, along with a frail and pretty looking old lady, with heavy wrinkles, clad in pristine white sari who came to teach them daily, which was sometimes interesting and sometimes boring. This family got the first Tv set in the entire area and I remember the days we all gathered everyday precisely at 5 pm to watch 'vikram and Vethal' and the historical year, when the big house was completely blocked by hundreds of people who flooded in to watch the funeral of Mrs. Indira Gandhi. I can go on forever rambling, as 'Food' brings back a lot of memories !

 I don’t usually favour store bought ready made mixes, but in this case, ingredients like shrimp paste, galangal, lemongrass are hard to come across here and hence I have used the curry paste bought from the store, if you can, I would suggest to make your own curry paste. Once the contents of the jar gets over, I am planning to give it a try, substituting ginger for galangal, lemon juice for lemon grass and so on. The recipe is adapted from realthairecipes.com, I skipped, few of the ingredients given in the original to make the curry, ( some of the ingredients like adding peanuts to mutton curry did not suit our taste and it is not done here either) Though, I used a curry paste from a jar, I have listed the ingredients for the curry paste exactly, as given in the original recipe.

Ingredients
Chicken                               500 gms
Shallots                               1 cup
Potato                                  1 medium sized ( about 1 cup)
Cardamom                          4
Cinnamon                            1
Oil                                        2 Tbsp
Massaman curry paste      2 Tbsp
Thick Coconut milk           1/2 cup( 1st extraction)
Thin Coconut milk             1 cup ( 2nd extraction)
Fish sauce                            1/2 tbsp (optional)
Dark brown sugar              1/2 tbsp ( use less if you prefer a spicy curry)

Method
Heat oil in a pan, add the massaman curry paste and sauté for a couple of minutes.
Add the chicken and stir for a few minutes until the masala coats well to the chicken.
Add the shallots, cubed potatoes, cardamom, cinnamon, thin coconut milk and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cook for about 20 minutes.
Add the thick coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, stir well and cook on low heat, closed for about 5 minutes.
Serve with rice or roti.

For the massaman curry paste
Dried red chillies     10  ( roasted, soaked and deseeded)
Pepper                       1/2 tsp ( roasted )
Cumin                        1 tsp ( roasted )
Cloves                        2 ( roasted )
Cardamom                2 ( roasted )
Shrimp paste            1 tsp  ( roasted )
Nutmeg                      1/2 tsp
Salt                             1 tsp
Galangal                    1 tsp
Coriander roots        1 tsp
Lemon grass              1 Tbsp
Sallots                         1/4 cup
Garlic                          2 Tbsp

For a spicy curry use about 4 Tbsp of curry paste and upto 750gms of chicken can be used. In that case, use about 4 tbsp of oil to stir the paste.
I can assure you that you will make this curry more than once, if you were to try.