Morkhali

Have you ever had the experience of hating something as a kid and growing to love it as an adult?? This is one of them. As a kid I would skip this tiffen - used to hate the texture and the peculiar flavor & smell. And now I love it enough to make amma teach me!!

* 1 Cup Rice Powder
* 2 Cups sour yoghurt
* hing
* salt
* 1 coconut grated
* 2 slit green chilly
* Mor malazhai (dry chilly's)
* 2 ladle ginglee oil (preferably Idhayam)
* 1 tsp mustard seeds
* 4 dry red chilly
* 1 tbsp channa dal
* 1 tsp urad dal
* clutch curry leaves
* Boiling water

1. Soak rice powder in sour curd together with hing and salt for an hour
2. Grind coconut and green chilly and set aside
3. Dilute rice powder with water so its runny
4. Fry mor molazhai and set aside
5. In the same oil roast mustard, channa dal, urad dal, dry red chilly & curry leaves
6.Add the soaked rice a little at a time. Add the coconut & green chilly mix . 7. Add boiling water a little at a time if necessary and keep stirring till it becomes glossy & glass like.
8. Consistency can be semi-solid as it will solidify on cooling. Season with crumbled dry fried chilly

Enjoy!

Lettuce, Feta and Garlic Salad

I grew up in a house were garlic was sacrilegious! O.K. I exaggerate....I was well into adulthood (or at least my late teens) when I first tasted garlic. Imagine that??? And I fell in love with it. My father detested garlic on the grounds it smelt...on his last visit late one evening we were sitting on the stone steps outside the monument in beautiful Lodhi Gardens...and he suddenly turned around & asked me if I had garlic for lunch?? Funnily enough he used to rave about a garlic bread in this restaurant in California which I hope to discover some day...here's a recipe that Suja taught me which is finger licking yummy but wouldn't advise you to make/have it on a first date or before a business meeting!!

* 3-4 cloves garlic (more if you are feeling daring)
* 1/3 cup Feta
* 1 tsp olive oil or a generous splash
* 1-2 tbsp water
* Lettuce leaves washed and dried
* 1 pear in thin slivers

1. In a pestle and mortar pound the garlic cloves till they are a fine paste.
2. Add the feta & oil and mix. Works best if you are not queasy about using your hands instead of a spoon.
3. Add water to make it smooth and mushy (not runny).
4. Smear the dressing on the lettuce leaves and arrange on the salad plate
5. Smear pear with the dressing and pile on the lettuce