Sanzari's Painted Violin project

first coat of colours

 

 colours

 

 some painting done on the front and now putting jewels on the side

 what should I do next?

 

 Painting in the front 

 

 "Peace on Earth" is the title.

 

front is done now

 

 with auntie Jami

 

This is what the back looks like... day and night

Posted via email from Kaberi's stream of (un)consciousness

Eggplant

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Chile rellenos

I have been meaning to cook chile rellenos for a while especially since I had the best one in my friend Alma's house last time almost a year ago. I thought of experimenting with different kind of chiles and  different stuffings since relleno in Spanish means stuffing. My  another favorite  chile rellenos is from Restaurant Mexico in Tempe Arizona just outside ASU campus. They stuff their chiles with ground meat  and it used to be in their lunch menu once a week.  Here I tried with two different chiles. Poblanos ( the dark, blackish green chile) and hatch (long lighter green) chile from New Mexico.  It is better to do with poblano because th eskin is thick enough and not fall apart after you roast them. I am sure you can make it with bell paper too.  used mexican cheese called queso fresco which is similar to Indian paneer (queso  fresco is little salty).  One can use Monterey Jack as a substitute. Chiles are stuffed and then fried in batter of egg and then boiled in a tomato based sauce. Again one can experiment with the sauce and make it different. So here is the recipe that I got from my friend Alma. I had it with mexican rice and Alma's salsa as a side dish. 

I used 8 chiles for this one. 

Poblano and hatch chiles: 8

Queso fresco: 1/2 lb

eggs: 4 large

flour: 4 tbsp

oil: to deep fry the chiles and to cook the sauce

tomatoes: 3 roma or any other tomatoes

garlic: 3 cloves

white onions:  2 tbsp chopped finely 

salt to taste 

chicken bullion: 2 tsp

Chiles: 

Broil them in the oven for a few minutes both sides or roast them stove top or in the grill. Peel the skins. cut open the with a slit and remove  the seeds. Slice the cheese into thin long strips. Stuff them in the chile and be careful about not the tear the chiles. To hold them together I used cooking threads and tied it in the middle. Separate the egg whites from the yolks. Take the egg whites and stirr it well until it becomes still add  two yolks and then mix it well.  Meanwhile, put a thin layer of flour on a plate and then put  the chiles on top and roll them.  Put the chiles one at a time in the egg batter. Heat oil in a pan to deep fry. Put  one chile at a time in the hot oil. They will fry quickly. Now set them aside.

The sauce: 

grind the tomatoes in a grinder.

Put little oil in a hot kadhai, casserole or dutch oven.  Fry the minced garlic and onions together. Add the tomatoes and then add water and add the buillon. Let it boil. Now add the chiles and simmer them for about 10 minutes.  you are done! 

Mexican rice: 

Take two tomatoes and grind them. Heat a little oil add garlic. Add the rice and water that you need to cook 1: 2 measure. Add bullion and  little salt if you want and let it cook until the rice is done.

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Posted via email from Kaberi's stream of (un)consciousness

Rasogolla!

Making rasogollas sounds really easy if you just look at the recipe that I have received from my friend Shagufta. And I have made it several times in the past... although I have not made it in 4 years! I had somewhat forgotten how tricky it is to make the perfect rossogolla! Well, if you wonder what a rasogolla or rasgulla is... let me explain here. Rasogolla's actual translation would be cheese balls in syrup:-). That may not sound appetizing to you but they are the most popular sweets in the Indian subcontinent! Mostly bought in the corner sweet shops and their origin is controversial! The current form if rasogolla was first created and marketed by Nabin Chandra Das of Kolkata in 1868 whose profession was sweet making!

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Posted via email from Kaberi's stream of (un)consciousness

Happy New Year!

Posted via email from Kaberi's stream of (un)consciousness

Steamed persimmon pudding

persimmon pudding, originally uploaded by lorises.

I have been trying to get hold of a good persimmon pudding for a while. Persimmons are so abundant in the central valley of California in the winter and they are perhaps one of the best seasonal fruits apart from mango and jackfruits! Well, here comes by asian bias...:-). Finally, I got a recipe from my friend Kathryn Whitehouse who actually got it from her late mother. She gave me a copy of the recipe typed in an actual typewriter. You have to use the soft hachiya ones for the reicpe. Here in the recipe she talks about filling up a kettle large enough to hold two quart pudding mold. In most places outside USA, kettle refers to a metal pot or stewing pot or a dutch oven or a big sauce pan. I used a pressure cooker without the whistle for cooking and a tightly lided indian stainless steel tiffin box instead of a pudding mold.

Here is the recipe that she had written:

1 cup pureed persimon (about 3 persimmon peeled, seeded, then pureed).
2 tsp of baking powder
1/4 pound of butter, at room temparature
1 and1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp rum ( I substituted with plum brandy)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 broken walnuts or pecans (I substituted that with sliced almonds)
1/2 cup raisins

Fill a kettle that is large enough to hold to a 2 quart pudding mold with enough water to come halfway up the sides of the mold. Let the water come to a boil over medium heat whiel you are mixing the pudding batter. The mold must have a lid or be snugly covered with a tin foil while steaming a 3 lb coffee can with a plastic lid works well). Also, there must be a rack under the mold to allow the water to circulate freely while the pudding is steaming.

Grease the mold.

Put the persimmon puree in a small bowl and stir in the baking soda set aside while mixing the other ingredients (persimmon mixtrue may become quite stiff). Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, lemon juice and rum and beat well. Add the flour, cinnamon and salt and stir to blend.

Add the persimmon mixture and bat until weel mixed. Stir in the nuts and raisins.

Spoon the batter into the mold, cover and steam for 2 hours. Remove from kettle and let rest for 5 minutes. Turn onto a rack or cool just little and serve warm with unsweetende whipped cream or lemon sauce. Freezes well.

Lemon Sauce:

1 cup sugar
2 heaping tbsps corn starch
2 cups water
Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick and clear.

Stir in: 4 tbsp of butter
2 or more tbsp of lemon juice
1 tbsp or more grated lemon peel.

Stuffed Eggplant/brinjal/aubergine