My First Onam - Happy ONAM

Wish all Readers a Very Happy Onam.

This onam was really special to me, We just visited india and i got my first precious Saree ( typical kerela saree )from my hubby . M-i-l Really wanted us to stay back for onam but we really couldnt. Hubby dear was already done with his leaves and had to return back at the earliest, we went for just 10 days but 35 days just flew by and we couldnt ask for more. Onam on day one followed by rakhsha bandhan ! that was a treat we missed ! Anyways back home i prepared my first onam meal, thanks for fellow bloggers it was easy .. ! Sharing some of my special moments with you all in this Virtual world !!

Dal Pakwaan- Traditional Sindhi Breakfast

An extremely popular Sunday breakfast delicacy in Sindhi homes.not that we have this every sunday but its one of the items that figues in our list .

i love eating dal pakwaan , brings back memoies of Granny and me together . My parents were working ever since i was 6 mths old , its been my granny whose spoilt me thoroughly in every way !!

I was her first Grandchild and she loved me a lot . Anyways i can go on and on talking abt her , but whenevr we eat dal pakwaan , i miss her the most.

Ok coming back to dal pakwaan , its basically Chana dal served with crispy pakwans. The dal is thick, creamy and spicy. The pakwans, though the name sounds intimidating, use the same doughmade in maida rolled out in a round shape and deep fried until crisp.

Seyal Bhendi

Bhendi Mela is back ... this was the board at the Indian Grocery this weekend ... wonder why all of a sudden he had a Bhendi mela ... Walked in and picked a nice pack of fresh Green Bhendi !! We were anyways moving from Illinois to Tennessee . My worst fear is - No Indian Vegetables !! So I picked all I could ... Bhendi, Toorai and Brinjal ..Not to forget Methi , Tondli ... and some more tidbits here and there ... Sure the guy made a lot of money that day ..thanx to my fear of staying without food !! GOD never !! Hubby Dear was WILD as ever lookin at the bags i kept popping out of the car ! ARE WE GOING TO SOME VILLAGE !! Whats with you ! You’ve lost it !! WOW !! he went on till he cracked the toorai into 2 ... poor baby !! not him the Toorai (Ridge Gourd ) ... i treat my veggies as if they r my kids ... Wash , Wipe , Wrap and Store them ... !! Anyways ... we reached Tennessee and hubby dear was busy with work from 8 to 11 P.M ... busy busy and v v busy ... no time to take me even to the closest Wal-Mart !! I had packed almost every bit of masala and jars i had at home .. hubby dear has a simple solution - throw it , well buy later ... but i and throw food ..NEVER !!
After a few days of eating home made food , Mr H was thankful tohis wife(ME) that i had packed all this food.. final comment - " u always do the right thing " i never say you are wrong !! ha-ha wish i could have taped it !!
Anyways Day 3 of our stay in Smyrna ( Tennessee ) i picked some Cilantro from Wal-Mart .. i knew it i wanted to eat Bhendi !! We call this "Seyal Bhendi " in Sindhi !Seyal meaning Green Masala !
Here goes my all time fav recipe !!

1/2 bunch of coriander-finely chopped .
4 green chilies
1 teaspoon(s) each of cumin, coriander and red chili powders
1 tablespoon(s) G-G paste (ginger garlic )
finely chopped 2 tomatoes chopped
½ teaspoon(s) turmeric powder
1 medium onion
salt to taste finely
Grind onion , cilantro , Green chilies , GG paste and salt .in a mixer .Don ‘t overdo the masala , it should be in a coarse form not too much of a paste .. you can add a bit of coconut if require but i usually do that when i make fish this way . Just to give it a mallu touch :)

Add the oil in a kadai or a large frying pan. Add the wet masala masala. Add the dry spices and tomatoes & salt. Cook it for 15 minutes on slow flame.

On the side , take the fresh Bhendi and slit the Bhendi in the Centre (lengthwise ) so that you have an opening for the masala .

Once the masala is cooked ( that’s when u find the masala getting dry and it sticks to the bottom of the pan ) . Take around 2 spoons of the masala in a separate plate and stuff it in the bhendi !

Add some water say 1 cup to the Pan and let it boil , add the bhendi and let it cook for another 10 mins on sim .

If you have small onion at home .. just take 2 of them ( u can opt for around 10-12 sambhar onions also ) peel the skil and let the onion go into the pan ..round ! don’t cut it let it cook !

that’s it ... Seyal bhendi masala is done !! Eat it hot hot with Rice or roti !! Every time i make this ... i don’t have to wash the pan ... hubby dear sees to it that’s its spic and shiny thanx to him scraping every inch or bit of masala he spies in that!!

To add a sindhi flavor - Serve papad too !!

Teeny Tiny Fried Fish /Smelt Fish Fry

Tiny Fried Fish What is this!! Are these snakes! Oh gods don’t tell me we are going to eat this now … Petrified was poor me. Huuby dear as relaxed as ever places the packet in my hand (with all his luv) and says “ This is Smelt fish , I saw it in the supermarket and thought we’d have this , its easy to make ,just like any of the thorans of kerela ".
Poor me ,I had just grasped the art of kerela cooking-the thorans ,pacchadis were way to away from thesai bhaji, curry chawal that found in most sindhi homes, coming from a house where we just ate green vegetables this was all new to me.
Poor ME: I can’t eat snakes!
Hubby dear: “chill dear, this is not snakes these are fish.
Poor me: they look like snakes but …. Are you sure …
Hubby dear: They are silvery fish called Smelt, We eat this in kerela.

Fish – Oh god these looked like snakes, I was so terrified, and the look on my face was good enough for A to insist he would make it…. I was more than willing . Eccentricity... is what hubby dearest relation to fish is! I was very happy with the salmons; Tilapias and king fish but smelt … what a name! not that the fish smelled but still … just to enlighten those who are as blank as me -
Smelt is the name of a family of silvery fishes found in cool waters. Most measure less than 8 inches (20 centimeters) long. Smelts have a small, fleshy fin behind the dorsal fin on the back like trout and salmon. Smelt, also called eulachon or oolichan by Native Americans, are small, silver fish the size of herring (approximately 6 to 10 inches )

Ganpati Bappa Morya !!!

The crowd was thicker than any I had ever seen, the air was filled with a smoky red haze, and the sharp impact of high-velocity drumming echoed off the surrounding buildings. A brass band on another street corner added to the soundscape; hundreds of bright red people and red air flowed around me in all directions. Hurriedly I tired to keep my glasses intact and oh boy there ...They just fell and hit the ground ..And there I woke up ..Wow wat a start to the day . Oh how I miss all this . Nevertheless my belief and faith in Lord Ganesha kept me motivated to perform the puja at home. This was my first year away from home , first year to manage all the decoration ,rituals etc all by myself. Dear hubby was zapped with my high spirits , so zapped that he didn't utter a word till we reached home..However he helped me organize everything. Here is a view of the festive at home , my very own home at Bloomington,IL.