Berries and Basundi

If ever you travel to Mumbai or cities near Mumbai on any business between January and May, do take a detour to Mahabaleshwar for a couple of days.  Mahabaleshwar lies in the Sahyadri (aka Western Ghats) range of mountains along the western coast of India.   This mountain range is said to have formed from the separation of the Indian and Madagascar tectonic plates around ninety million years ago. 

Mahabaleshwar grows all kinds of berries but is particularly famous for its strawberries.  The soil here, I've seen, is a rich red fertile sort suitable for growing strawberries for commercial purposes.  The Mahabaleshwar strawberry might even get its own Geographical Index (GI) status whereby the fruit grown there will be known as Mahabaleshwari strawberries, a sort of branding that celebrates its quality.

The strawberry festival is celebrated more or less every year, around February or March, during the peak of the strawberry season.  You can see mounds of berries displayed everywhere on the streets and in every nook and corner.  Mulberries have now made their appearance too, best eaten when ripe and sweet, staining one's fingers and clothes with a lush purple.  

The berries are best bought straight from the mountains.  By the time they are brought into nearby cities, the berries wilt under the scorching summer sun, losing luster and flavor.  They are, naturally, cheaper when bought directly from source.  And their nutritional value too is preserved, giving you their full benefit.

Basundi is a milk-based dessert dish, prepared in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka states of India.  It's simple and wholesome, and when prepared from scratch at home can be nutritious too.  Unfortunately, I don't think you can substitute milk with any other product, even soy milk, if you are a vegan, as milk is needed for the flavor.  I've noticed one or two recipes using soy milk in other blogs, but even they use condensed milk for added taste, so it's not really vegan either.

For strawberry and mulberry basundi recipes, do visit my blog.  I've put up details of its preparation.

While in Mahabaleshwar, I would recommend that you take the time to enjoy the scenery, driving around from point to point.  The ancient mountain range is spectacular and can make you feel small and humble indeed.

I'm trying... with breakfast

Those of you who have been reading me for a while, know all too well that I am really not into breakfast. Since last summer I have been making a huge effort to eat breakfast and to do so regularly. To that end, I have been having oatbran and would interchange with cornmeal porridge but it gets soooooo boring after a while. Anyway, I will keep plodding on.

Earlier in the week I woke up hungry and eyed the 2 ripened plantains. I contemplated pan-frying them, they are sugary good when they are very ripe, but, I restrained myself and decided to boil them instead and have them with a pat of herb butter. Hey, it was the butter or frying!

To wash it all down, I made some bay leaf tea.

Ingredients

2 very ripe plantains (skin should be black in many places)
A pat of butter (optional)
Water

Directions

1. Cut off the top and bottom of each plantain leaving the skin intact
2. Place the plantains into a pot and fill with water until it comes half-way up the plantains. Cover the pot, place on high heat and bring to a boil
3. Let boil until the skin on the plantains burst. Drain
4. When cool enough to handle, remove skin, slice diagonally and pat with butter and chow down!

For the Bay Leaf Tea

4 - 5 fresh or dry bay leaves
1 + 1/2 cups water

1. Add the water and bay leaves to a pot, cover and bring to a boil. Let boil for 3 minutes
2. Leave the pot covered and let tea steep for another 3 minutes or longer if you want your tea stronger
3. Sweeten to taste with sugar and a splash of milk (sweetening is optional)

Pepper Roti

I first saw this Pepper Roti on Simply Trini Cooking back in November and bookmarked it to try. I made it today and it did not disappoint. Frankly speaking, I was not sure what to expect - cheese, potatoes, carrots and aromatics as a stuffing for a roti? Hmmmm. See, the recipe here with step by step photographs and please note the following:

• I used 3/4 teaspoon baking powder instead of the 3 teaspoons that the recipe calls for (Trinidadians and Guyanese use different ratios of flour to baking powder for their roti).
• Be sure to squeeze out the excess water from the potatoes
• I used 6 cloves of garlic instead of the 10 and that was just right for my taste
• Use coriander (cilantro) in place of chadon beni (culantro)
• Use hot pepper to suit your taste
• Once the pan or tawah is heated, reduce the heat to low; this roti takes about 20 - 25 mintues to cook so that the filling can cook through
• I have a 10-inch tawah and as a result made two of these instead of just one showed in the recipe; in other words, divide the dough into 4 instead of 2

Serve very warm or at room temperature. Enjoy!