Sunday 22 January 2017

Chitoi Pithe


I dedicate this post to my Dida (my granny). I always wanted to cook any types of Pithe and this is my first time.Though the commonly known pithe's are Patishaptha and Doodh Puli , I am sharing the recipe of Chitoi Pithe in thickened milk gravy which is my favorite and not at all time consuming to prepare.

Whenever I think of pithe I always remember my childhood days were my granny use to prepare many kinds of pithes during Makar Sankranti. I never came across  the same taste, in my memories the taste was saved somewhere. I really miss my granny , it has been almost 16 years we have lost her. Chitoi pithe is one of my favorite which Dida used to prepare.
My family really enjoyed this preparation specially my mom and aunt reminisced Dida's pithe. One thing I could not help think is the effort Dida had to make in those days with minimal or no appliances. We are thankful to technology that which help us to reduce a lot of time and energy. That's why I wanted to dedicate this post to my Dida.

Sunday 15 January 2017

Chicken Dumplings - Momo


Beginning this year with a recipe for "Dumplings", hugely popular in many parts of Asia and has now made it's place as one of the world's most favorite snack. Dumplings are always a crowd pleaser and is a kind of food one can have almost at any time of the day. There are various kinds and types of Dumplings from different countries like China, Nepal, Japan, Korea etc. India is mostly exposed to the dumplings from Nepal called "Momo". This was the only face of dumpling known to me until I moved to Shanghai in 2012.
I came to know Dumplings originated in China. It was there that I got exposed to the world of Dumplings from Steamed Dumplings "Jiaozi" to Potstickers to Wantons and its variation the Wanton soup and my Soupy dumpling -"Xiao long bao"  and Crystal Shrimp dumpling to name a renowned few. In China during occasions preparing Dumpling at home is a family affair where everyone contributes in the preparation of the dish. 
I learnt to make dumplings from Ni Su Mai, our housekeeper in Shanghai.Though there was a language barrier but we could manage to understand with mix of broken sentences, hand gestures and a lot of guess work 😊
What I understood that even home cooks are extremely proficient in making dumplings and the output was no less professional then a commercial establishment.

In a lot countries readymade dumpling wrappers are available to buy, but in India I have not come across them thus including the recipe for the same with the basic dumpling recipe.
I am sharing the basic recipe of Dumplings. 

Food made with love at home is incomparable with anything we find outside, although it might look rustic but the mix of love and flavour is what we always remember