Mishti Doi- a Bengali delicacy

This year I wanted to make something different for Holi... the festival of colors. A very good friend of mine  gifted me this kulad set (small earthenware cups), she carried this from India, in her handbag ...since they are breakable. I know, she's amazing... and just too sweet.

I was almost startled with the ease with which I churned out this bengali delicacy. I was pretty certain I had missed a major step and was subconsciously thinking of way to rework the recipe so the doi does not see itself going down the garbage disposal. The next morning, I rushed to see if the doi had set and was nice and firm...and I could not help myself, tasting a spoonful. I must add that my other half thought I was a bit crazy to taste mishti doi at 6 am... even before my morning cup of coffee (and morning coffee is sacrosanct for me), my repeated plea to have him taste it at 6 am being ignored. I hate being ignored, so I threatened to eat it up myself... still no reaction. Well, I did not eat it all up...and the other half loved it... two thumbs up! Most times I like my food to have its own identity and  ask my family if it tasted different, but this time I was obsessive and I did NOT want it to taste different:
"Is it like misti doi? Is it how misti doi tastes? Did you know it was mishti doi?"
the response:  "YES, simi I know it is misti doi and it tastes awesome." :)))) hehe!

Well, not everything is rocket science and just because it is simple, it does not meant it is not exotic. Happy Holi !!

Baked spinach curry

I love greens and if you tell me to eat them everyday - I certainly can ! As a matter of fact, I love all veggies and was never really a picky eater...I need my food to look good and yes taste good  (duh!). Am glad I don't have picky eaters at home, but very critical people ( raising an eyebrow) by very I mean very....!! They ( I mean both of you two people, who read my blog and live with me - yes BOTH  ) critical only in the context of food. The bright side, when something is super delicious, they shower me with compliments that could last for weeks and it get's embarrassing when we are outside and even after repeated pleas to dial in down ...they don't ! I know it's cute but a bit embarrassing when we are out.  Yesterday, when I baked them the spinach n eggs, they loved it - just makes me so happy.  I was a bit skeptical at first ...as finally teen said "I love it, am not sure dad will"  but looks like this baked dish is here to stay in my household, hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did and they are going to rave about it for days or even weeks :)

Spicy pickled veggies

Pickle making is a fancy fair in India. I remember when my mother would see the first crop of raw mangoes hit the street veggie vendors, she would plan elaborately. Spotless green mangoes, washed and wiped clean, cut with the cleanest of knives with precision and then bottled into big mustard and cream pickle jar and during the process, we were told to stay away from the  kitchen and keep our filthy hands to ourselves for fear of soiling the 'batch' of pickle. The mouth of the jar always tied with a cloth and the lid would go on it, it would be kept in a warm draft free area of the kitchen.  God forbid, a batch was ever spoilt, the blame would almost always be on me...I was often seen lurking in the kitchen, in the late afternoons and when I did not have any business in there, so there was no one else to point fingers at. I don't think I have ever dug my finger into the pickle jar ...hmm maybe just once or twice ;) 

Most of the oil based pickles do not need refrigeration and takes anywhere form a month to three to mature, some of the brine based pickles are long-term too and does not need refrigeration. However the instant pickles like this one only needs 24 hours to ferment and needs refrigeration after 24 hours and can last only for a couple of months. 

Picking has gone through an evolution with time....apparently we have traded off good old fashion taste and natural pickling resulting in healthy micro nutrients in the pickles to a longer shelf life and pickles that have more preservatives than nutrients. Traditionally instant pickles like this one was fermented in basic whey (tie kefir yogurt in a cheesecloth, the water from the yogurt is whey) or just salt with some acid like lemon or vinegar ( acid often helps in preventing spoilage) thus, resulting in better taste and full of micro nutrients but a very short shelf life and  of-course a need for refrigeration. However, most of the pickles that we buy has been pasteurized for longer shelf life. 

It's hard for me to stop myself from sharing all the nerd facts about fermentation...from all the books I have read ....did you not notice the halo around me!! 

Creative writing n some crunchy Jalapeño

In the last 2 weeks I have received a few emails about my writing style (good stuff). Hmmm! do I even have a style ? Am not sure, most times its rambling, sometimes ranting. Secretly I was very happy, and read the mails many times. Almost felt I had won the Oscars ! But the fact is,  I don't know how to write prose...I did write poems when I was in high school and one day I might even share one of them, i.e if I get brave. For sometime, I thought, no one reads what I write, they just ogle at the pictures and read the recipe...well am glad I am wrong. 

This whole conversation about writing, led me to start reading a bit about writing and all the talk about  'having a voice' specially in an age where there is so much noise and chatter.  Like you, I want to be heard and I don't want my voice  lost or engulfed in the noise. Nothing like being differentiated for quality of your content. 

That led me to think, is it all about the right brain being more imaginative  ... " Is writing an art that you can nurture or is it an acquired skill ?" 

So I asked some of my blogger/non-blogger friends what they thought about writing and specifically creative writing.  Here is what some of them had to say .... oh! before that, my thoughts " you are born with the talent and can nurture it to some extent"

Monica Bhide "Hey.. tough question. I teach people the technical side of writing and I think this helps them write better. But at the heart of it, writing is an art. And I don't think that can be taught. It comes from somewhere instead. It is the reason why you gravitate towards the writing of one writer versus another.
The technical skills can be taught and so perhaps you can teach someone to write but I don't think you can teach someone to be a writer.. if that makes sense. The art comes from within."

Dawn Legier - "Such a great question, Simi. I had to think about it for awhile. In my (uneducated) opinion, it depends on the type of writing. For creative writing, I would lean more toward art and natural ability that can be nurtured and improved; while I think technical writing (instructions, procedure manuals, etc.) can be taught. Does that make sense?"

Bart  Luczak - "In my opinion it's an inborn thing, of course you can acquire and learn how to write better with time, but for talented individuals it comes sort of naturally...well dunno just my humble opinion..."

Marc Hurwitz - "Good question: I believe that writing is both--much like music, you can get better at it with practice, but the really good writers have that certain innate gift, in my opinion.
Thanks for getting in touch about this!"

Sudha Rao - "Interesting question.  ... When it comes to being creative, narrative and descriptive writing.. It's something one has it in their blood but can learn from different channels to hone the skill and improve the art of writing. The rest yes... You can acquire ... (it)"

Nivedita Sharma - "I guess it is a gift but you can hone and nurture it"

My findings -  creative art (writing) needs a seed and you are born with it and unless you nurture it, it does not go anywhere. Grammar is a big put off for many readers and thankfully I have grammar police at home and some of us do need to buy Wren and Martin. But...the catch, you might have the perfect grammar but boring content, no one is going to read it. Well seems obvious but apparently not ! Never over use your adjectives or your adverbs ....hmmm I think I have been guilty of using hmm over using ! Be conversational and don't have 8-10 posts in a week....it is a turn off, (I did not know that). My thoughts now "you are born with it, but you hone most of it " If a few hours can give me this much insight and learning, imagine if I put some effort. Just be yourself, write with your heart not your head. And yes this is not the time for the philosophical question " who am I ?"I do hope this post will help some of us ( me included) get out of our shell and write/share more. For those of you blessed with the gift of the gab ( in this case the gift of the pen), do share with us some tips and secrets :)

Am tempted to post this without a recipe, but then I don't want you to tell me that I invited you over and had nothing more to offer than "words" So here is some baked jalapeño and tomatoes and don't, just don't forget to let me know your thoughts....not about the jalapeño ( I know it's good) ...about your thoughts on writing, For some reason if  you do not want to share it on the blog, email me - turmeric53@gmail.com. 

Thanks to all of you who responded to my question and took the effort in communicating your thoughts. 

Everyday tomato soup

I had a complete different post in mind today and I had written it up, all I had to do was put some pictures and the recipe....but wait ....! We are expecting 10-12 inches of snow....school is off and we are snowed in. So...naturally it calls for a warm hearty n  all time favorite tomato soup in a picture story ! Well spring might be around the corner, somewhere but here........

Warning - photo heavy post 

Inspiration from the blogging community - Jerry Deutsch

 A couple of  months back, Bart Luczak of K&L food blog started a food photo critique club, a gathering of like minded people who love to share their passion for food photography and a great place to learn. Some of the members are professional photographers and some of them chefs - most of them masters in their own field. I am so glad to be part of it as I have learned a lot and it is a lot of fun. Jerry is a professional still life and product photographer specializing in food photography. He is part of the food photography club and I have learned some valuable lessons and gotten some great tips from him.  Jerry has a very keen eye, and trust me, there is not a teeny tiny shadow that he will miss. I think he is the tech wiz as far as photography is concerned and he knows the science behind the art. I think some of us (and that totally includes me) are driving him nuts with our endless questions. Hope we don't drive you away!  Thanks Jerry and thanks to all of you at the photo club for the critique, feedback and encouragement.

My first lesson was: there is always one hero and that is your subject - food! Am never going to forget that lesson. There is so much to learn from him that I thought it would be great to have him over at TnS. Welcome Jerry,  hope you enjoy your stay as much as we enjoy having you over. For his complete portfolio you can visit him here or on his blog : photography by Jerry . 

What inspired you to food photography? Where did you study photography or are you self-taught?

I am neither self-taught nor did I get a photography education in college. I was trained as an assistant/apprentice. (Now they call them interns.) I did take classes online and attend seminars.

I was first exposed to photography in high school (a long time ago) and fell in love with it. It gave me an opportunity to be artistic even though I couldn’t draw, paint or sculpt. Photography was my hobby through high school and college. One day we had a speaker at our photo club at college – a wedding photographer from a local studio. He told us about becoming a photographer’s assistant and I jumped at the opportunity. I did that for over two years and finally went out on my own as a wedding and bar mitzvah photographer. During that time, I had graduated from college started a career as a chemist and switched to become a science teacher. 

As a teacher, I had the summers off and saw an opportunity to become a summer assistant for a commercial still life photographer in New York City. I did that for two summers for one photographer and for a third summer at a different studio. This last summer was for a food photographer. I fell in love with it.