RICE PUDDING - FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Food for thought is a blog created by the wonderfully creative and talented Jain, of Once in a Blue Moon. It combines reading and food. The general idea is to read a book, cook a dish mentioned in the book, take photographs and write a review of the book. And finally post it and link.

So when Jain invited me to join in it was the highlight of my day. I could never imagine saying no to such an exciting and enthralling idea! So here I am with my first contribution to Food For Thought!

To find out more about Food For Thought just click here.

The Namesake

*** and a half

I would probably never undergo the trials and tribulations of being a new immigrant nor would I ever suffer the pain of despising the sound of my own name. On those two counts I've been blessed. And I hope my children feel as blessed as I do. Unfortunately this was not the case for Gogol Ganguli.

Like many children of immigrant parents, Gogol straddled two cultures painfully, petulantly and reluctantly; the one pulling him back in and the other cajoling. Add to that a strange sounding name that he detests Gogol struggles both in his search for an identity and in coming to terms with his own name.

The novel follows Gogol through his experiences, his frustrations, his love affairs, his marriage and finally the understanding and acceptance of his name. 

It also follows the lives of Ashoke and Ashima as immigrant parents, their heartaches and concern for their childrens' apathy for their Bengali culture and traditions.


This is The Namesake, a novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, author of the highly acclaimed Interpreter of Maladies, winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

The picture below shows Jhumpa Lahiri, author of The namesake. 

Although the theme appealed to me and I always love novels that deal with internal conflicts I did however feel that this book fell a little short of my expectations.

It didn't draw me in emotionally as I hoped it would so that I pained with them, so that they touched the very core of my nerves. But in spite of that I found it very readable. It kept me going because I did want to know how the story would end. 

But when it did The Namesake did not leave me with that lingering, meaningful and profound sensation or at the least a satisfied sigh. I guess it didn't quite do it for me.


But Lahiri writes beautifully, her prose fluid and her potrayal of emotions and details sharp and distinct. But many a time I wished that Lahiri would show rather than tell. And certain incidents in the story I found to be somewhat superficial.

I believe too that even in the most conflicting of moments life has its humour. In the Namesake there was none. How I would have loved to have laughed just a little.


To those who did love this book ~ please don't hit me.

For from each and every book that I have read, brilliant, good or mediocre, I have always either learnt something new or been reassured of a belief. 

I was reassured that nothing could be more precious or appreciated than the sincere love of a parent for a child. Regardless of challenges faced. And now I also know what a corbel is.

On the whole I would say that The Namesake is readable.

There is no lack of food vignettes in this book; or in the varieties of Indian food which I love. In fact the book starts the very first page with a recipe. 

My eyes widened in pleasant surprise and it was one of the reasons I decided to settle on this book as a first contribution to Food For Thought.

I had dog eared so many pages where the characters had either prepared food or ate them that I thought that I was going to go insanely indecisive again. However 'I did it'. I picked one.

Finally I chose a dish for it's simplicity and the occasion for its significance. It is a rice pudding or payesh.

It occurs early in the book and the occasion was Gogol's annaprasam or rice ceremony at the age of six months. 

This is the recipe that I have re-created for the rice pudding that Ashima had prepared......

1/2 cup basmati rice, washed and rinsed at least 5 times
1 1/2 cups of water
2-3 cups full cream milk
1/2 sugar or more
1 tsp saffron, soaked in 1 T warm milk

4 cardomom pods, shelled and seeds crushed a little
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 cinnamon stick
some crushed pistachios for garnish
cinnamon powder for garnish

Boil rice in water until it is cooked and is soft and fluffy. Add milk, sugar, cardomom seeds, cinnamon stick, chopped almonds and saffron and simmer for another 20- 30 minutes. You may add more water or milk if necessary.

Cook and reduce until the pudding is thick and pudding like. Serve in a bowl sprinkled with cinnamon powder and chopped pistachios, warm or cold.

NOODLES WITH PRAWNS AND SUN DRIED TOMATOES

This dish is like a book with three main characters, all equally important, interesting and with personality.

Noodles, sundried tomatoes and prawns. Each one different in flavour, texture and taste. I used whole wheat organic noodles which had a good bite to it, prawns that were full of flavour, succulent and juicy and sundried tomatoes that were quite intense, a little sour and with a sweetness of its own.

The little sidekicks were a couple of garlic cloves and some chillie paste to spice things up a little. And some sweet basil leaves to add interest and to humour me.

It turned out to be a very simple, interesting and delicious dish. And I loved it.

I first came across the use of sundried tomatoes in a noodle cookbook I had bought once upon a time long long ago. Yes ~ that long. 

And ever since then I have been meaning to try sundried tomatoes because it was an ingredient that was new to me and it sounded and looked really good. After many many years of meaning to-s I have in the end made it. 

And I'm glad I did. It's good. So very good. Like all simple things in life.

 

Here's the recipe by Kit Chan that I tweaked a little...........

6 oz dried noodles, boiled according to instructions, kept aside

7-8 large prawns, shelled  with tails left intact  and deveined

5-6 sundried tomatoes, sliced into strips

2 cloves garlic, pounded or grated to a paste

1-2 tsp chillie paste,fresh or bottled

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

some sweet basil leaves, washed and drained

2 T cooking oil

Season the prawns with soy sauce and sugar. Keep aside

Pound two pieces of the sundried tomato to a paste using a pestle and mortar. 

Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan. Saute the garlic and then add the prawns and saute until the prawns are just done and pink. Lift off the prawns and keep aside.

Add the remaining oil and saute the sundried tomato paste and the chillie paste for a minute. Add the noodles and mix well. Add a little stock or water if too dry. Sprinkle some salt and and mix well. 

Throw in the prawns and basil leaves and mix again. Serve.

PINEAPPLE JAM

I feel a little silly doing this again.......But here goes... 

The e-exchange...........

"Oh JU! i am making this tonight!!... LOL ~ I've had the jam in the fridge for a week...and tonight I'm making it ~ what a surprise when I came over and saw your tarts!!! we have the same same mind Ju! :)

~Zurin~

LOL!! Zurin, you must share your recipe with me!!! Looking forward to reading about your bake soon.

~Ju~

GONE Ju .....the tarts did not survive the night....LOL....i only made 25 pieces because I was craving them...i was hoping no one would ask for them but not so. Now I have nothing to blog about..well nothing decent ...unless I blog on my left over chicken curry from last night (before it's time for lunch)...

uh uh.. I don't think so ~.

Anyway I'll just go stick my head into my pantry, the fridge, the freezer ..whatever..and see what I can come up with for this very demanding blog of mine!

The things we do! SIGH 
~zurin~ 

Gone?! LOL!!! Must be really yummy! And er ... 25 pieces won't go very far considering there are more than 2 people in your house! ;) I think 25 pieces aren't enough for my 2 older kids, so you must have rationed your tarts? He he!
~Ju~"


Yes Ju ..only 25...which means..... I have left over pineapple jam!! Wooo hoo!


So the pineapple jam became an overnight star! 


That was my dear friend Ju, The Little Teochew up there :)

 
The recipe............ 

Contrary to what many people think making pineapple jam is as easy as pie. I lied. It's easier than pie. 

You just need to watch the pot and stir it once in a while. And it doesn't take long at all. I think I cooked this in half and hour. 

And I have to say that this is really good. The cinnamon makes all the difference.

1 small pineapple
50 - 60 gm of light brown sugar or more if you like it sweeter 
1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder
1 small cinnamon stick
2-3 cloves

pinch of salt

Peel and chop up the pineapple discarding the fibrous stem in the middle. 

Put all the pieces in food processor and pulse until very fine and mushy.

Place the pineapple mush, the sugar and the cinnamon stick in a thick based medium sized pot over a small flame.

Cook until the jam is dry or as moist as you like it. Add cinnamon powder and a little salt if using. Taste and make it just perfect for you.

Cool and store in a jam jar. Make pineapple tarts or spread on toast. YUM!

FISH FLOSS ~ SERUNDING IKAN

When a warm tropical thunderstorm ceases I'm happy. I feel as fresh as a cold, squirmy fish soaking in a sharp, chilly lake in the lush, mountain jungles of Borneo. With a camera. Snapping cheerfully at my bowl of fish floss. Knees in a puddle, slipping about on wet leaves.

It's the after rain feeling I'm having now. A little bouncy, blithe, light and gurgly. Its the ions. You know ~ the negetive ions~.

And strangely enough my fish floss look almost like fish food. Fish food fit for a Fish King. Or for the Queen of Fish. 

That's how gurgly I'm feeling right now.......pheash forgive me.

Tuna is what I used. 3 whole tunas, filleted, skinned, poached and crumbled. And spiced up with some chillie, coriander seeds, onions, garlic, ginger and tumeric. 

It's an appetizer, a side dish, a sandwich filler. It can be eaten as a topping for fried rice, with steamed glutinous rice or with bread for breakfast or as a snack. I love it. It's one of my favourite appetizers. If only it requires less time to make and if it lasts longer around the house.

This is one of those childhood food that I remember fondly of but rather vaguely because it was always presented to us or bought for special occasions but never made.

The light, airy flossed meat, fish or chicken that I remember is not something one can achieve at home. It usually looks like it has been shredded into strands and then beaten to a pulp until it's looks light and fluffy. Like it was done by a machine. Or a maniac.

But if you make it at home it will almost always look a little grainy not light and floss like.


Now..... Zurin here didn't want that. So to achieve that lightness that she does so covet I pulsed the cooked fish floss in the food processor until the little balls of fish floss became fine, light and airy. 


I thought it looked much better. You're welcome.

The recipe..................


650 gm of cooked fish meat (tuna, mackeral or any meaty fish) I used 3 whole tunas about 12 inches from tip to tail. You could also use an equal amount of minced beef or chicken.

6 medium onions
4 garlic
1 inch ginger
1/2 inch galangal
2 stalks lemon grass (white part only)
3 T coriander seed, pounded coarsely
1 T or more chillie paste (bottled or fresh)

2 tsp tumeric powder 
1 T sugar

250 ml coconut milk or cream
5 T any vegetable oil

salt

Poach the fillets of fish in pan of water until cooked. Drain and let cool. Remove bones and crumble the meat until it is as fine as you can get it....like breadcrumbs. Keep aside.


Peel onions, garlic ginger, galangal. Slice the white part of the lemon grass. Place them all in a food proccesor and process until quite fine.


Heat up the oil in a thick based medium pot. Saute the processed spices, while adding the chillie paste, tumeric powder and pounded coriander seeds, until fragrant and the paste turns a darker colour. About 10 to 15 minutes.



Put in the crumbled fish meat, pour in the coconut milk or cream and mix well. Let it cook on the stove on small to medium heat, stirring now and then to prevent burning. Ad sugar and salt. Stir and mix.


The mixture should not have any sauce or gravy but should be quite like a thick wet paste. Cook until it becomes slightly drier and it is no longer too wet.


Transfer the mixture to a large baking tray that has been lined with foil or baking paper for easier cleaning.

Bake in an oven at 170 C, checking and stirring every 15 minutes until the fish floss becomes golden all over. 


Stirring the floss as it bakes is important so that the floss browns evenly. I didn't time the baking but I think it took about an hour. 


Remove and let it cool completely. Pour half the floss into a food processor and pulse until the floss becomes fine, light and airy. Do the same for the rest of the floss.


Store in an airtight container and in the refrigerator.


Top or Snack.