Comfort food

Its fall and along with the leaves, our immune system seems to fall too. This year fall's given way to old man winter rather quickly..no wonder everybody's falling sick. I can almost feel a scratchy throat .. so nothing sounds better than some homemade medicinal preparations that also double as comfort food rendering some spunk & taste to the numb taste buds (which is the first clue that you are coming down with a cold/cough or fever).

Medicinal Rasam

Ingredients :

2 medium-large Tomato's, 1/2 cup Toor Dal( Red gram lentil), 3-4 pieces of Tippali (Piper Longum), 1/2 tsp Black Pepper , 2 tsp Cumin seeds , 2 swigs of Curry Leaves (kadi patta), Asafoetida, 2tsp Coriander seeds , 1tbs Chana Dal(Bengal Gram lentil), 1tbs Toor Dal, lemon size Tamarind (if Tamarind paste / concentrate is used, then 1tsp), 1 Hari Mirch (Green Chili Pepper), 1 Lal Mirch (Dried Red Chili Pepper), Salt to taste, 1tbs Ghee (clarified Butter), Turmeric, 1 tsp Ginger Garlic paste , 1 tsp Mustard seeds , Coriander leaves.

Method :

Soak Tamarind in 1 cup luke warm water for 15-20 mins. In a pressure cooker, cook the Toor dal with 1/4 tsp turmeric and keep aside. Squeeze out the Tamarind juice and pour the juice into a vessel. Add some more water to the Tamarind and repeat the process a couple of times until there is no more juice left in the tamarind.

Heat up a pan with 1tsp ghee and saute Toor dal, Chana dal, Coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, black pepper, Lal Mirch & Tippali. Add Hari Mirch and saute some more . Remove from flame and grind it with 1/2 tsp fresh cumin seeds ,a swig of curry leaves, ginger garlic paste and water to a pan cake batter consistency.

Boil the Tamarind water for 3-5 mins . Add Tomato's, Asafoetida and boil until the tomatoes cook add Salt and the ground paste to this water and let it froth for 5 mins. Now whisk the cooked toor dal and add to the boiling tamarind mixture. Let it boil for 5-10 mins. Rasam is ready. Saute Mustard and the remaining 1tsp of cumin seeds in ghee and drop it into the boiling Rasam. Let it simmer for a minute and remove from flame. Garnish with 1 swig of curry leaves and Coriander leaves. Serve Hot.

This Rasam can be had as a soup or alternatively mixed with cooked (preferably white) rice.

Khichdi

Ingredients :

1/4 cup Moong dal (Whole Green & Brown gram Dal), 1 cup Rice , 1 cup mixed vegetables (Cauliflower, Carrots, Green Peas, Bell Pepper, Beans, Corn, spinach), 1 small Red Onion cut to small pieces (optional), 1 tbs Ghee, 1/4 tsp Garam Masala or doda Masala (if available), 1 tsp ground Black Pepper, Salt to taste, 1/4 tsp ground Cumin Powder, 3-3.5 cups Water.

Method :

Rinse Rice and Dal. Add mixed vegetables, Onion, Salt, Ground Cumin Powder, Garam masala/ doda masala, Black Pepper, 1tsp Ghee and water to the rice and dal and pressure cook. When cooked, add the remaining ghee and mix well and serve hot with some Kadi.

Montreal

They say never judge a book by its cover .. and that is what I learnt during a recent trip to Montreal. We had heard some rather fabulous things about Montreal and the first impression we got on landing was nothing close to what we had heard.

Our journey (by VIA rail) from Toronto to Montreal was uneventful. We land in this city unlike any other American city we've been to (and trust me we have travelled the length and breath of the whole United States (although this was our 2nd in Canada). It was like landing in one of the cities in Europe. There are very few places in North America that are not tourist friendly and Montreal ranks no 1 in that list if you ask me. Most signs were in French and god forbid if u dint know French which was the case with us. To add to that I felt there was a snooty air about the whole place. I know many people that we know, would not agree with me on this but they have to experience the city as we did.. wholly by public transport and walking.
Anyways we trekked from the station to our hotel The Omni Mont-Royal -a luxurious hotel about a block from the foot of Mont-Royal. After refreshing we went down to the concierge service to get ideas on "what to do" in two days besides good recommendations on food. We got quite a few tips on the former and almost nothing on the latter. So we set out to explore the city with a plan to walk around the new city and that evening trek up Mont-Royal for a view of the city by night from the mountain. The following day was set aside for Old Montreal including le Notre-Dame an artificial island located in the Saint Lawrence River. It was created for Expo 67 to celebrate Canada's centennial.And then to Stadium olympique before heading back to Old Montreal to kick back for the evening, before heading back to our hotel, in the new part of the town.
Day three was set aside for Biodome, Park Olympique, Insectarium and Montreal Botanical garden. We did not do justice to the botanical garden and hope to return there someday as it requires a decent amount of time to explore the whole place. If you are pressed for time as we were, then I would recommend the Japanese and Chinese garden in the Montreal botanical Garden. The Biodome ,can also be given a pass unless you are an animal lover like me and don't mind spending a few hours seeing very few animals.. I would give insectarium a pass but am sure children would love the place. All in all, I would call Montreal an interesting place .

Toronto

Traveling to exciting locales has been our passion as a couple. And even though Toronto is as touristy as it gets, there was so much to the city than the "fast paced financial capital of Canada" that we believed it to be. The only put off was the driving need of the Torontonians to size themselves alongside NYC despite the Old & the new charm of their own city.

Anyways when you land here, the most striking thing is that the people here are calm and friendly. Everything and everybody moves in deliberate harmony. Despite being a big financial capital like NYC in the US and Mumbai in India, we did not see any urgency in the air. In NY and Mumbai, people are always running around lost in their own thoughts and world, as the events and the market dictates the mood of everyone in the city. Toronto seemed different in this regard. This got me to summarize that people in colder regions are more tolerant and patient than those in warmer climates. Due to their hardships in colder months, they know that things take time and that there is no point fretting about anything. Hence, Torontonians are tolerant than New Yorkers that are waaaay more tolerant than Mumbaikars.

Our stay was at the Delta Chelsea -a Mammoth hotel with some 1500-1600 rooms , in the heart of Toronto downtown. Their in-house restaurant is a little pricey but all in all its a decent place if all u need is a room to crash for the night. Our room was on the 25th floor with excellent views of Yonge and Dundas. For those of you that have never been to Toronto, this is the Toronto equivalent of Times Square in Manhatten.

A few must do's in Toronto.. The CN tower ofcourse . There is an adrenaline boost when you jump on the glass floor at 1122ft looking down at the ground below..or Edge walk at 1168 ft around the periphery of the tower. Their (City Sightseeing Toronto) hop on hop off Double decker tour bus is another must do (The tickets are valid for a week so hold onto it or hand it over to a friend if you are gonna be staying there for a shorter time). Casa Loma, one of the stops on the tour is beautiful but don't know if its worth the extra bucks to see the castle. Yorkville is another good hangout place especially if you are looking for designer boutiques and /or there for celebrity spotting. If you are a bargain hunter then Kensington is the place to be. Eaton center, off of Dundas is definitely worth a visit.

The combined boat/free ride on the harbor and island cruise is worth the time to relax and take in the city from a distance. And while you are at the harbor and if you would like some peace and solitude then, Toronto Music Garden on the harbor front facing the Toronto Island airport on Queens Quay West, between Dan Leckie Way and Lower Spadina Avenue, is the lesser known attraction.

Whatever your interests in the city, I would definitely recommend a breakfast, lunch or dinner at Marche' near the financial district. After a visit to the Distillery district, an evening post dinner on the Dundas Square, Spring through Fall is time well spent. Two things to try while you are in Toronto if you like ethnic food .. Indian (Punjabi Fare) and Srilankan cuisine. And for vegetarians there are always plenty of options in Lebanese, Egyptian , Thai & Indian food besides the usual Italian.

Proteins for Vegetarians

Being vegetarians we are limited by the amount of protein in our diet.. or so we used to think until we started consciously looking up the nutrition fact of each and every thing that went into our mouth. All this started when we changed our lifestyle to an active one involving exercises to our routine. With passing days and weeks we found that instead of feeling charged up we were feeling more spent than we did before the exercises. We were unable to build the muscle mass despite the exercise regimen. And all along our doctors , nurses and gym instructors screamed "Protein" Protein" !! The proteins they were referring to, were from meat sources and for vegetarians that we are, it was a big No No..

Did I mention, we are technically Eggitarians (Vegetarians who are ok with eggs but not meat or seafood), but I have some reservations about consuming eggs on every day of the week.. Besides, eggs by themselves are not enough..Thats when we started looking out for proteins from natural plant sources.

Buying is totally different from fashioning it into something good enough to eat and enjoy at that. Thus started my experiments and the following blogs are the protein & fibre rich recipes I conceived with all the ingredients known to be a rich source of Protein and Fibre.

Protein Kanji (Breakfast Porridge)

Before we can make the Porridge, we have to make the Porridge Mix, the recipes for which is as follows.There are two multiple methods to prepare the Porridge Mix . I've listed here the two methods I personally use. There's a slight variation in ingredients between the two methods. The second method is has additional ingredients rich in heart healthy fiber, anti oxidants and Omega-3 fatty acids.

Method 1

Ingredients : 

3 heaped tablespoons each of the following grains Amaranth, Regular Quinoa (pronounced Keen Wah) , Red Quinoa, Rye, Spelt, Oats (old Fashioned) , Ragi (finger millet) and Almonds. 1/2 tsp of seeds of cardamom ,2 tsp of Khus khus ( poppy seeds),  1/4 pinch cooking camphor ( optional)

Method :

Dry Roast all the above ingredients in a heavy bottom vessel except Oats, Camphor and Cardamom. When its roasted let it sit for 5 minutes. Grind all the ingredients along with Oat, Camphor and Cardamom into a powder consistency. Store in an airtight container.

Method 2

Ingredients : 

3 heaped tsps each of the following grains Amaranth (7.1g),   Regular Quinoa (pronounced Keen Wah)(6g),  Red Quinoa(6g),  Rye(5.77g),  Spelt(15.12), Oats (old Fashioned)(5g), Ragi (finger millet) (7.7g), Whole Wheat(5.61g), Pearl Sago/ Tapioca (sabudaana)(0.1g), ground Flax seeds (3g) and Almonds(7.62g) . 1/4 tsp of seeds of Cardamom (0g),  2 tsp of Khus khus(2g),  1/4 pinch cooking Camphor(0g).

Method :

Dry Roast all the above ingredients in a heavy bottom vessel except Oats, Ground Flax Seeds, Camphor and Cardamom. When its roasted let it sit for 5 minutes. Grind all the ingredients along with Oat, ground Flax Seeds, Camphor and Cardamom into a powder consistency. Store in an airtight container.

To Make Kanji or porridge :

Method :

Take 1-2 tablespoons of the Porridge mix in a mixing cup add 1/4 cup water to make a runny paste without any lumps. In another vessel boil 1/2 cup water. When the water starts boiling, add the runny paste to the boiling water mixing and making sure it doesn't lump. Let it simmer for few minutes when the porridge starts to thicken, add 1 glass of milk and 1 heaped tsp. of sugar. Let it boil once. Remove from flame and serve the "Protein Kanji" hot or at room temperature.