Chip in for Brianna

I was a little late to know about sweet Brianna of Figs with Bri and her fundraiser. By now all my fellow bloggers would have already done something for her. My blog has been inactive for a long time so I was wondering if I was having any visitors at all. But when I checked the stats, wow, there is still around 400 visitors per day, most of them are from google searches. So I thought I would use my little space and try to publicize Brianna’s fundraiser. I am delighted to see the support and care the food blogger community is already showing, and so happy to note that the fund raiser is almost close to the target. I would be happier if I could make a few of my visitors chip in to the fundraiser. If you haven’t done anything already, there are a few things you can do. Chip in to the widget in this page and contribute, every tiny bit counts. Talk to your friends and send the link to your email contacts. If you have web space, write about it. I am sure we will achieve the target way before July 15. Bee and Jai are doing a wonderful job organizing Click event exclusively for Brianna and their website, Jugalbandi, is the best place to read more about this.

I would also like to express my sincere support to Inji Pennu who is battling against plagiarism. She had enough harassment from kerals.com website. Read the whole story here. It's really disappointing to read what she is going through, but hats off to her for being so brave, and for taking a step forward against plagiarism which would benefit all of us.

Hmm..they have stolen my picture too! A screen shot of my puffs picture from Kerals.com website.

This was posted under my Cooking From the Blogs series. Here is a screen shot from my blog. Thanks to Mishmash for pointing this out.

Not in the mood of any recipe or food talks. But with several food pictures and incomplete recipes waiting in the drafts, I know I must come back soon.

Summer Squashes with Panch Phoron

Summer squashes are one of my favorite summertime delights. So pretty and colorful, they are irresistible during summer! Though there are many, zucchini and yellow squashes seem to be the most common varieties. I have been trying out various recipes using them, and this one turned out awesome.

This is an adaptation of Bengali style Summer Squash from Tigers & Strawberries. This recipe uses panch phoron. I am not comfortable yet to explain panch phoron as this is my first time using it. You may read about it here & here. The name panch phoron sounded intriguing when I first read about it a few months ago. When I saw the recipe and the ingredients, it seemed even more interesting as I had all the panch (five) ingredients ready in my pantry. As many of you might already know, the panch ingredients are mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds, and nigella seeds. Mix them in equal amounts and there you have it, panch phoron!

This is the simplest of all Indian spice mixes I have ever seen, I guess. You don't have to roast or grind the ingredients! You may mix the seeds in bigger quantities and save it in an airtight container for easiness.

To cook summer squashes with panch phoron:

Heat up 1 ½ tbsp oil in a frying pan.

Add ½ tsp each of mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, and nigella seeds. Cook for a minute, or until the mustard seeds splutter.

Now add one medium onion(thick slices), and fry until light brown.

Add crushed garlic(1 tsp), crushed ginger(1 tsp), and slit green chillies(1 or 2). Cook for a couple of minutes.

Add a pinch of turmeric powder.

Add sliced squash. (I used one yellow squash and one zucchini squash, cut into half moon shape).

Add salt, and one tomato cut into long slices (discard the seeds.)

Fry on a medium high heat until the squash pieces are cooked. Stir occasionally. This takes around 5 to 7 minutes. You may increase the frying time until the squash pieces turn light brown.

Add chopped green onions (about 2 tbsp), and remove from the stove.

Serve it as a side dish.

Baked Samosas (Samosa Pies with Peas & Potato Filling!)

I had always thought of Samosas as India’s own snack. But I was quite surprised to learn that they are not only India’s favorite, but a common snack in the neighboring countries as well. This must be one of the very popular Asian snacks liked by the whole world.

Samosa is a triangular shaped pastry with a spicy vegetable filling, usually peas and potatoes, but meat or fish also can be used. A typical Samosa is deep fried in a lot of oil. Here I have used pie crust like pastry for making the outer covering of the samosa, and I have baked it instead of frying.

To make the samosa covering, mix 1 ½ cups of flour(plus salt to taste) with 4 tbsp butter and mix it together using hands or a food processor until the mixture resembles like corn meal. Then add ice cold water one tbsp at a time and keep on mixing until it forms a stiff dough, about 4-6 tbsp water will be sufficient. Do not add too much water. Cover it with a plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator while you prepare the stuffing.

For the potato-peas filling, start out by heating up a large woke or shallow frying pan, and add 2 tbsp of oil.

Add 1 medium sized onion (chopped), and cook until light golden brown.

Add 1 tsp minced ginger, 1 finely chopped green chilli, and 1 tsp minced garlic(optional).

Add a cup of frozen green peas and fry until the water from the peas evaporates. Add one finely chopped carrot along with the peas if you wish. It is optional.

Crush 1 tsp of coriander seeds, 1 dried red chilli, and 1 tsp of cumin seeds together in a mortar and pestle and add to the wok. Alternatively, you may add coriander powder, cumin powder, and chilli powder or crushed red pepper flakes.

Add potatoes(boiled, peeled and cubed), about 2-3 cups.

Add a tsp of garam masala powder and salt to taste.

Add lemon juice(juice from a half big lemon).

Stir and cook for about 3-5 minutes.

Turn off the stove and let it cool.

Prepare egg wash by mixing one egg with 1 tbsp water.

Take out the dough from the refrigerator and knead again. Roll it into small chapathis and cut them in half. Stuff each half with about 1 tbsp filling (or more depending on the size of your pastry) and roll it in to a triangle shape. Seal the edges with water or egg wash.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and arrange the samosas. Brush egg wash over samosas. Bake it at 400 degree F for about 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm with tamarind dipping sauce.

This is my entry for Ode to Potato hosted by Sia of Monsoon Spice & The Potato Fe(a)st hosted by DK's Culinary Bazaar.

The real Samosa Pie!