Ajeet Kalbag

Umami Bomb 💣💥

Fermented Garlic Oil

After a week of fermenting the amazing garlic from with some chilli, as I mentioned in my earlier post, today I cooked it through to make the garlic oil.

The aroma that filled the kitchen when the garlic hit the oil was something that cannot be described in words. I will share a clip of the garlic bubbling away in the oil in my story. If only I could share the aroma as well.

In my haste and excitement I forgot to remove half of it for the garlic butter as I had decided earlier. Nevertheless I have a lot more garlic. I also have some of the wild garlic from that picked up for me and sent. So I'll just make a fermented wild garlic butter next. What say?

Kheer Ghaariyo

The kheer, sevai kheer, and ghaariyo, savoury deep fried vadas, are the visarjan naivedya we offer every year after our Nompi Puja at home. I am told that it is made as a naivedya for all visarjan pujas in our community.

What amazed me is the name for the vadas. While we have other names for them as well they are specifically called ghaariyo in visarjan pujas. It is apparently a combination of two Konkani words, ghaar which means home and yo meaning come. So basically one is asking the deity to come home, again. It's like Ganpati Bappa Morya, pudhchya varshi lavkar ya. Isn't this amazing?

What baffles me and that I'm still trying to find out is this combination of sweet and savoury which is supposed to be eaten together, as in the ghaariyos are dipped in the kheer and eaten.. What would be the reason for serving something sweet with something savoury?

Fermented Garlic

I love garlic, I mean who doesn't? And also I have a lot of garlic 🧄. So I have decided to try and ferment garlic and preserve in as many ways as possible.

This is the first of my garlic experiments. A simple garlic ferment with a couple of green chilli, not just for the flavour but also to aid the fermentation, red chilli flakes and salt.

I was reading an article this morning which lead me to one about garlic oil. Just reading and imagining the flavours got me drooling and I knew I had to give it a shot. But ofcourse, I had to ferment it first 😁. My intention was to pulse the garlic and salt to finely chop it but as you can see, I went a bit overboard and chopped the garlic too finely, almost pureed it. But what the heck. It can still be fermented.

Now after seeing the consistency of the garlic after chopping, a new thought has struck me. One half of it can become a butter too na? So finally I might end with some garlic oil and some garlic butter.

If any of this comes out well I'm surely making more and putting it out. What would you want?

P.S. - the amazing garlic from is in here.

Apricot Liqueur

Last week I told you about the green apricots I got from and half of them went into making the marinated green apricots. Well this is what I did with the remaining half.

Every time I open the bottle of the fermenting I am just surprised by the aroma and the developing flavour. And this made me try another sugar fermentation experiment. So here I've layered the apricots with 50-50 brown and white sugar. I used brown sugar because I thought I'll add Brandy to steep the apricots after fermentation. It's been 5 days and the brown hue is coming out really nice. Will wait for a couple of more days before I add the liquor.

How should I finish this one off, add vodka or brandy to make the apricot liqueur?

Dhanva Phovu / White Poha

The dhanva or white poha is a quick and easy poha preparation in our community. Soaked poha tossed in a tadka of urad dal, rai, dried red chilli, green chilli, curry leaves and hing in coconut oil. Tossed with salt and sugar. Garnished with freshly grated coconut and chopped coriander.

This is one of those preparations that bring back many fond memories for me. This is what we used to have for breakfast when we used to be at my grandmother's place for Ganesh Chaturthi. It was always accompanied by home made sev, chakalis and even saath. I remember my Akka, as we all called my maternal grandmother, commanding the kitchen around the time of chavathi and making all these wonderful khaan - snacks in Konkani. The red coloured sev and the chakalis were always my favourites.

Today as we prepare to celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi, we again made the phovu for breakfast and it instantly took me back to those times.

I pray that Ganapati Bappa take away all our miseries, pains and evils and shower us all with blessings of love, good health and happiness. Ganapati Bappa Morya 🙏🏾

What are your food memories of Ganesh Chaturthi?

Doodh Pua

Last week me and were invited to judge a culinary competition by Akshata Shenoy{Born To Eat}] and rizvihmct] . It was by the second year students and the theme was Lost Recipes.

This was the runner up dish in the competition. It was cooked by Abhishek Singh. Doodh Pua is a recipe from Bihar and is made of rice pancakes soaked in sweetened milk. The most interesting part is the way the pua is cooked. The puas are cooked in a shallow clay pot with a clay lid. Without any oil. The rice batter is poured in the pot to form a pancake and then it is left to cook with the lid on. Once cooked the puas are soaked in sweetened milk and served.

Of course it tasted marvellous but what wowed me the most was the effort that Abhishek had put into this dish. Research, practice and ex*****on. All fantastic. In fact when he told me that the reason for using the clay lid was to absorb the steam and not allow condensation just amazed me.

Thank you Akshata Shenoy{Born To Eat}] and rizvihmct] for inviting us and kudos to Abhishek for this amazing effort.

Marinated Green Apricots

I was super excited when I saw green apricots come up on the Tons Valley Shop] and I quickly jumped at the opportunity and bought myself some. They arrived perfectly well too. Since I had already started the umeboshi and the umeshu, I was wondering what to do with these beauties. That's when I came across a few fermented or pickled green apricot recipes, a few from the Middle East and some from the Russian regions.

Here I have combined two recipes to make marinated green apricots. Basically green apricots being pickled with toddy vinegar, salt, garlic, green chilli and peppercorns. I'm wanting them to pickle like olives.

What's more special here is that there are two amazing Tons Valley Shop] products in that jar. The apricots and the garlic. There are still some apricots left and I think I'll just make some more of the umeshu or an apricot brandy with them.

I'm really looking forward to having a bite of those apricots once done. Maybe in a salad or maybe even an Apricot whisky sour.

Peppery Sichuan Tempeh

Last week the good folks at 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐲 | Tempeh] sent me some of their products to try. The entire past week has been very hectic and I was waiting for an easy day to try the products. I was very curious about tempeh as I haven't really worked with it much.

Today I decided to try the Peppery Sichuan Tempeh pack. I quickly got together some peppers, garlic, chillies and black pepper sauce. Wok flashed the veggies with the tempeh and the sauce. And it's come out really delicious. Really flavourful.

And no, tempeh is not an acquired taste. It's delicious. Well at least for me it is.

Thank you for the revelation 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨 𝐓𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐲 | Tempeh]

Turmeric Leaf Lime Cordial

We have a few turmeric plants and naturally have a lot of leaves too in abundance around this time of the year. While we always use them to make a lot during Ganesh Chaturthi to make patolis for prasad and later on the dried leaves while making ghee and bangdya doddak, a lot of the leaves still go to waste. I've been thinking of ways to try and preserve the flavour of the leaves, which is very distinct and amazing. This is my first experiment in doing so.

Since we also have a lot of lemons too I thought of making a lime cordial. That's when it struck me to try and infuse the cordial with turmeric leaves. So here it is, equal quantities of lemons and sugar with one turmeric leaf. The leaf is quite potent in flavour so I guess one should do the trick.

Next in line might be another Amshe Tikshe Chili Oil with Turmeric leaves or maybe also a fermented Bangdya Doddak paste infused with curry leaves. How does this sound? Also if you have any more ideas by which I could preserve the leaves or its flavour please be kind enough to share with me and if it comes out really well I will share some stash with you too. 😊

Umeboshi with Sanikatta Salt

While I told you yesterday about the Umeshu I made with one half of the fresh apricots I managed to get, today let me tell you what I did with the other half. I am attempting to make Umeboshi.

Umeboshi is a traditional Japanese preserved plum. “Ume” is the Japanese word for plum fruit and “boshi” means dry. So basically salt fermented plums, sun-dried and used or put back into the Umezu or pickle juices to mature more. It is often dyed red using purple Shiso perilla leaves. The Umezu can also be made into a vinegar, plum vinegar but I have to read up more about it.

All the apricots I had procured were greenish and were right for the Umeshu but the Umeboshi needed more ripened orangeish fruits. So I picked from the lot the best I could and layered them with the sanikatta salt. Also I am planning to use some beetroot to give it the purple shade instead of the shiso leaves.

100 days to go for this.

Thank you .love for the inspiration.

Recipe courtesy - . Thank you.

Umeshu

Japanese Plum Wine / Liqueur

Umeshu is a Japanese liqueur made by steeping ume plums in liquor and sugar. Umeshu is actually made with unripe green fruits from a tree called Prunus mume. The Japanese name for this tree and its fruit is ume. They are from the Prunus genus, the others in the same genus are nectarines, peaches, almonds, cherries, and apricots. So actually they aren't plums.

Getting Ume here is next to impossible but apricots should be easier. So I thought. But I have been struggling to find fresh apricots for more than a month now. Finally yesterday I got my hands on some. And immediately lapped them up.

I divided the lot into two. The first half is here layered with rock sugar or khadi sakhar. Rock sugar is used traditionally in this because it melts and dissolves over a longer period of time than normal sugar and apparently improves its flavour as well. I've also used a little bit of normal sugar at the bottom as I fell short of the quantity needed. The other variation is that I've not added the liquor yet, as the recipe said, but will allow some natural fermentation to happen for a couple of days and will then add.

I've never had Umeshu but I can imagine it to be nice and flavourful. Have you tried Umeshu?

Indrayani Sake

Today I started one of my most ambitious fermentation projects, Sake. My previous other ambitious project that I had posted many moons ago of making Shoyu bombed and I really hope this one doesn't. 🤞🏾

I started by soaking Indrayani rice and raisins in hot water with organic honey and some citric acid. This will undergo some natural fermentation for 2-3 days and after that I will pitch the yeast.

Have you ever tried making Sake? Please tell me if you have. And also wish me luck for this so this one doesn't bomb as well

P.S. - ever since I've thought of Indrayani Sake, a Bhimsen Joshi abhang has been playing on loop in my mind. Can you guess the song?

Peppery, pepperier, pepperiest.

Pepper Chicken

A Kerala style pepper chicken with some hot parottas can also qualify as a perfect rainy afternoon meal.

Actually this is a traditional recipe for a perfect dry chicken dish. Chicken is tossed in coconut oil with sliced onions, curry leaves, ginger, garlic, pounded black pepper and fennel seeds, and powdered masalas. But since I wanted it to have a bit of gravy, I added some tomato as well. Also I used chopped onions and ginger garlic paste instead. I should have added a lot more black pepper though. Will make the drier and more peppery version very soon.

Served it steaming hot with wheat parottas. What is your favourite pepper chicken recipe?

Jhatka

A jhatka, which literally means a shock or shake, in restaurant kitchen terms is a dish which is quickly assembled and cooked. It is a staple quick fix meal for cooks and can be made with any ingredients but most of the times it is made with offals and vegetable trimmings.

This is a Jhatka Chicken Jhol made with chicken and potato in a mustard oil gravy. This is the way I like it. Made the Bengali way. Simple and delicious. I just love the mustard oil jhonk and the potato which has soaked all the wonderful juices.

I got introduced to this amazing preparation very early in my career by one Bengali colleague. He used to make it with chicken wings. And since then it's always stayed with me. It's become a sort of a comfort meal for me and I like to eat it at the end of a very stressful and tiring day in the kitchen or even on these rainy days. The taste changes from kitchen to kitchen and hand to hand but the emotions stay the same. Always.

The jhol with some plain rice and sliced onions is my idea of a comforting working meal. What are yours?

Pearylicious

Pear Liqueur

Exactly a year ago Anand had sent me a box of some amazing and delicious mountain pears from his Tons Valley Shop] . We ate a few and I made a Pear Cider with a small lot as well. You'll have to go a year back on my timeline to see the cider 😊.

But there were still a couple of pears left and I had to do something with them before they went bad. So I put them in a jar with jaggery and let them juice out and also allowed them to ferment for about two months. And then poured in a bottle of vodka. Then it sat in the farthest corner of my fermentation rack till it caught my attention today and I strained and bottled it.

Pears and jaggery are truly a good pair. Really pearylicious.

PS - don't miss the beautiful produce on the Tons Valley Shop] . I missed getting their pears this season but their apples will be coming up soon. Go check them out and thank me later.

Pitti Chutney/ Pudi Chutney

I realised that I've made a huge error by not telling you about a pantry staple in all homes. Pitti Chutney, meaning powder in konkani.

It is a simple recipe of roasted chana dal, byadgi chillies, tamarind, curry leaves, hing and salt. Every family has their own recipes and versions handed down from generation to generation with some using whole roasted small chana and some using even the roasted big black chana both with the skin on. Many use coconut oil for roasting while some just dry roast all the ingredients and grind. I've also seen coconut being used but then since it stores well longer without the coconut, it is also optional.

We will always have it stocked, especially for those days when there is no other accompaniment with our idlis, dosas or even chapatis, its always pudi and toop or ghee that comes to our rescue. Everyone has their own ritual of taking a heap of the pudi, using the finger to make a hole in the centre of it, pouring melted toop into it and then using the same finger to nicely mix all the toop in till you get the desired consistency.

Forgive me and podi on!

When life gives you a lot of lemons...make lemon pickle.

Lemon, ginger and green chilli pickle.

Our lemon trees are literally throwing lemons at us everyday. We've been sharing and storing all this while but now our refrigerator is full too. Yesterday Dhanashree suggested we start pickling them. Also I already have a jar full of Moroccan style lemon preserve pickling away to glory since almost six months now.

Though the weather at the moment is not right for making pickles, we decided to make a light and easy to digest one without any oil or powdered spices. This typical loncha or pickle is had with plain rice and dal when one is down with fever and cold.

This pickle, like I mentioned earlier, is very simple to make. Big pieces of lemons, ginger and green chilli mixed with salt, bottled and left to let all the juices ooze and mingle. Oh yes and I've used the Sanikatta salt here as well.

Do give it a try whenever you end up with a lot of lemon too.

Perfect rainy day lunch

Chicken Mushroom Pot Rice

These dark and rainy afternoons call for a wholesome, warm and comforting meal. And a good Oriental one pot dish is the best thing to make on such occasions.

Soaked some long grain rice. Sliced some chicken breasts and marinated it with soy, rice wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Quickly chopped up garlic, ginger, celery and green chilli. Sliced mushrooms, pokchoy, capsicum and spring onion. Heated oil and added a few star anise, dry red chillies and the chopped vegetables. Added the chicken and sauteed. Then the strained rice and water. Then went in some oyster sauce and a dash of sesame oil. Let it boil and added the sliced veggies once the rice was half done. Once the rice was done checked the seasoning and added a dash of the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil again. That's it.

This was my quick fix pot rice. What is your favourite Oriental comfort meal?

Kokum Sharbat - Post 2

After almost two fortnights of allowing the Kokum to steep in sugar and a tad bit of fermentation, my Kokum syrup is ready.

The fresh Kokum which was layered with sugar has really come out beautiful. Can't thank you enough Rhea for giving me this idea and for your recipe. There was only a tad bit of fermentation and I had a few pops here and there. I think it was the high sugar content that didn't make it work on the fermentation front. I did give it a boil just in case to stop further fermentation and increase the shelf life. But overall the flavours and colour have come out really well.

Now I'm left with a lot of sugar laced fresh Kokum. I can either sun / oven dry them to make some nice candy or let them steep in vodka and try making a liqueur.

Candy or liqueur? What would you make?

Black Turmeric

Curcuma caesia or black turmeric is a cousin of the yellow turmeric and comes from a plant that is a perennial herb that has pale yellow flowers with reddish borders. It is also called black zedoary. It is widely cultivated in North Eastern India and in some parts of Madhya Pradesh.

It is known to have many medical and apparently also some magical properties. It is known to possess antioxidant and anti-fungal properties and may help in fighting inflammation in the body, as well as keep infections away.

We have got our hands on some black garlic and are now trying to grow some ourselves this time. So we will have a small patch of black turmeric along with the regular yellow turmeric and mango ginger.

While I have read a lot about its medicinal and other uses, I couldn't find any culinary references for it. I haven't come across any specific recipes that use it as its main ingredient.

Do you know of any recipes that use Black Turmeric? Please tell me and I will surely try making something with it.

P.S. - Thanks to I'm quite tempted to try fermenting some, very little of it. Ofcourse if doesn't kill me before doing it 😬.

My experiments with Jackfruit - Post 2

Jackfruit Liqueur

Like I told you yesterday, I made 3 things with the jackfruit I got. The jackfruit hot sauce was the first thing and this is next.

Sugar fermentation of fruits has started intriguing me for a while now and I have keenly taken to it. So obviously sugar fermented jackfruit had to be done. Once fermentation is done, I'll add this to vodka and allow the flavours to steep. At the end of it I'll have some sweet and sour jackfruit liqueur.

The aroma of the jackfruit, bottled! Will the aroma remain? That we'll have to wait and see.

Do you like the aroma of jackfruit?

Tell me you love Chindian food without saying it.

Schezwan Chutney / Sauce

The quintessential ingredient or component of Chindian or Indian influenced Chinese food is the Schezwan sauce. Most of our Chinese meals are incomplete with a spoonful of this spicy, garlicky and sour condiment. You will find this sauce in various avatars across India. Be it as a dip to chakhna in dark and stingy dive bars or as stir fried with rice and noodles. This is our version of the Sichuan Chilli Oil and we can now proclaim it as our very own.

Everyone has their own recipe and style for making this amazing sauce. Some add onions, some add Sichuan peppers and some add ketchup. But this is my version. Red chilli paste, garlic, ginger, celery, red chilli sauce and smoking hot oil.

But this time I have decided to give it a fermentation twist. So I've oven roasted some Byadgi chillies till crisp and then pulsed them with garlic, ginger, celery and salt ( Pic 2 ). I will ferment this for at least a fortnight and pour in smoking hot oil to make the chutney.

Let's see how this one comes about. Fingers crossed 🤞🏾🤞🏾.

Got featured on Zee Zest] today in an article on food and nostalgia penned by Medha Dutta Yadav]

Every time I think or talk about food and memories, I remember the beautiful article written by about food and grief. And the conversation we had over it. It helped me understand my dislike for certain foods and also gave me a sense of closure to some painful memories. And I can't thank her enough for this.
https://zeezest.com/food/food-nostalgia-and-the-magic-it-weaves-2068

Please do read and share your memories of food and nostalgia as well.

Thank you once again Medha Dutta Yadav] and Zee Zest]

Aromas of Summer

Jackfruit Liqueur

A month ago I had done some posts on my experiments with Jackfruit. This one was one of them.

The sugar fermented jackfruit, after a month of fermentation, smells awesome. Now I've added vodka to the pulpy fruit and will let it sit for a while before straining and bottling.

The best part is that unlike my hot sauce experiment, this time the aroma of the jackfruit has remained intact. In fact it has been accentuated more because of the sugar. I will taste it when I'm bottling and will only be able to share if it has retained the flavour at that time.

Till then, whenever I am tired of the rains, I'll take a whiff of the summer. Cheers.

Fermented Cherry Brandy

Exactly a year ago I bought some cherries which were quite sour. I decided to sugar ferment them and then either make a compote, like I had mentioned in my post of 24th July 2021, but then decided to go ahead and make a Cherry Brandy instead.

So after about a couple of months of the cherries fermenting with sugar and letting out all of its juices, I added brandy to it and let them steep. Today I strained the brandy and finally bottled it. You can see the cherries next to the bottle. Although the liqueur is looking cloudy it's flavour has come out awesome.

I think I will reserve those cherries for Christmas pudding or maybe I will just add them to my jar of Gluhwein which is fermenting to be ready in time for Christmas.