Bimboli pickle

Before we left Sangatya Farm, I had the really fun opportunity to participate in the making of bimboli pickle. Bimboli is a small, green, extremely sour and bitter fruit that has the consistency of apple and is white inside. It's in season now, so on the farm it's all we eat for pickle -- and we eat pickle with lunch and dinner every day. The first time I had bimboli pickle, I didn't like it at all, finding it much too strong. Now I can't believe that. Something sour really, really adds to the overall experience of this food, and now I savor every bite of bimboli pickle.





The bimboli experience starts with this tree. Unfortunately I failed to get a photo of it before or during the harvest. Harvesting bimboli consisted of watching Milan climb WAY up this tree, picking bimboli clusters as he went and tossing them down to me. I caught most in a big striped bag. The rest I collected from the ground. It was incredible watching this little boy scurry up this tree so easily and pick the bimboli.





Next, I washed and chopped the fruit. It took over two hours in all, and I only did maybe two-thirds of it (Svetlana and Max helped.) I put the bimboli in jars.







All the jars of bimboli:



Next, Ranjana added salt and let the pickle sit overnight. It reduces in size considerably and you can consolidate the bimboli.



Then Ranjana made the masala. I did get to watch her do this, and I wrote down the recipe, but now I don't have it with me and I don't remember it exactly. I will, however, do my best. First, you toast, dry, 3 tbsp each whole cumin and whole fenugreek seeds in a frying pan. After they are brown, remove from heat and grind to a fine powder. Heat about 4 tbsp oil in a frying pan, and add mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the spices you just ground as well as three tsp chili powder. Wait for the mixture to cool (at least an hour.)

Finished bimboli pickle. Notice the jar's already half-empty. Bimboli is yummy.



I have enjoyed making pickle in the past, but once I go home, I will definitely expand my repertoire! Pickle goes so well with everything, even just curry and rice. That sour flavor adds something really essential to a meal, I think. (Same is true for sauerkraut. It makes a sandwich about 100% better.) Ranjana recommended that I substitute green chilis slit in half. But she said that chili pickle should be made with about twice as much oil. Other ideas: garlic, onion?

ranjana

ranjana is the chef who we have been learning from. she has been very kind in taking the time to explain to us how she makes each dish. she is from east india but does not stick to a specific cooking style of any region in india.

we think she considers us as really goofy people writing down all the recipes that she knows from memory. we don't mind, it is completely worth it. a lot of the recipes and spice mixes she makes up on the spot, and usually we are there to write it down.

she is a really great person, she is sort of the glue of this community and her work seems to be done in the background. she cooks pretty much all the meals with the aid of us and shree kumar. she also does gardening, farm work, and in the afternoon during resting time she is often spinning cotton.

although many of us work out in the field under the blazing sun we would not be there without ranjana feeding us so well. i come across a guilt feeling quite often because she is usually out in the field with us. the amount of work she does is absolutely incredible.

Making coffee

We have made coffee three times so far. The first time we used the coffee we found on the farm, which came out a bit strange and definitely too weak. However, no one on the farm could drink it because they found it so unbelievably strong! And unsweetened, even though we put plenty of maple syrup in.

We set up our shiny red filter-holder:





What could improve such terrible coffee?



Maple syrup, clearly.



The set-up (note the lumpy milk):

Simple dal and cabbage curry

We ate these together for lunch today, but they can also be eaten separately with different dishes. The cabbage curry (a dry dish) should be paired with a wet one like simple dal, and vice versa.

I cooked both of these this morning, starting at seven, with Max and Shreekumar. Usually all the cooking for lunch is done in the morning so that we can use the breakfast fire, and then the dishes sit until lunchtime.

Simple dal:

Ingredients:

2 cups toor dal or chana dal
2 green chilis, slit in half lengthwise
1 2-inch-by-2-inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped very finely
3 tbsp coarse salt, or to taste
About 2 tbsp oil
3 tsp mustard seeds
2 dried red chilis, broken into pieces
30 curry leaves
1 heaping tsp turmeric powder
2 medium tomatoes, chopped

First, boil the dal in 4 cups of water with the green chilis and ginger until it's soft and there's no water left. Add salt and stir.

In a small frying pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the red chilis, curry leaves, turmeric, and tomatoes. After the tomatoes have cooked down a little, add this mixture and 2 cups of water to the dal. Add more water if necessary -- it should be relatively thin, like soup rather than stew. Bring to a boil and cook until amount of water has reduced to your liking.


Cabbage curry:

This is a rather dry dish, so I doubt that the word "curry" is accurate -- usually "curry" refers to a sauce. It's really flavorful and yummy and is one of our favorites. Ranjana makes it slightly differently from Shreekumar -- if we get a chance to observe her, we will note the variations.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp oil
3 tsp mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
2 tsp chana dal
2 tsp urad dal
1 2-inch-by-2-inch piece of ginger, chopped very finely
3 dried red chilis, broken into pieces
1 heaping tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
5 small potatoes, cut into small chunks
One large white cabbage, cut into very thin shreds
2 tbsp coarse salt, or to taste
2 1/2 cups grated coconut

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok. Add the mustard seeds, and when they begin to pop, add the curry leaves, chana dal, urad dal, ginger, and red chilis. Cook until everything is browned. Add the turmeric powder, cumin seeds, potatoes, and about 2/3 cup water. Cook about 5 minutes, or until potatoes are slightly soft. Add the cabbage and cook about 5 more minutes. Add salt, coconut, and 1 cup of water. Cover and cook 5-10 more minutes, or until potatoes and cabbage are really soft and most of the water is gone.


These two dishes can be served together with rice and pickle if you've got it. They make a pleasant lunch.

dosas in the indian countryside

dosas are so awesome. especially here on the farm for breakfast; we eat them probably twice a week.

i want to first explain this is not like the crispy restaurant dosa you are used to. these are smaller (8-12 inches in diameter.) in western terms i can only describe them as big soft crepes. they do not need to have a sambar or masala filling. they are really great with coconut chutney, but can be served with many different things.

to begin, you want short grain white rice at a ratio of 3 to 1 with urad dal. here, they were each soaked in water in separate pans, but i am not sure if that is necessary. soak them for at least 8 hours. drain the water before you grind them both together. we use our handy 500-pound stone grinder powered by none other than the sweat of a human being. a food processor would work too.

add water as necessary. continue the process of grinding the rice and dal together and adding water until it is like a loose pudding. when you finish, put it in a bowl and let it ferment for at least 12 hours. when fermentation is done, add a good amount of salt after (you will ruin the fermentation process otherwise.)

to cook:

find a nice big flat pan and heat it up. make sure it is well oiled and lightly oil it again after every dosa. have a good spoon that can pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the pan. use the back of the spoon in a spiraling motion out to spread the batter to about a 8-12 inch circle. make sure it is even. put a lid on top and wait a good 30 seconds.

the best way to tell when it needs to be flipped is when the batter on top looks dry. i think you will know what i mean when you do it for yourself. so flip the dosa when ready; it should cook on this side for about half the time it cooked on the first side. remember to keep oiling the pan. store them in a place that will keep them warm and enjoy.

mung curry

For lunch and dinner, we normally have rice and either a sambar OR a dal and a vegetable. A sambar is a hearty curry with chunks of vegetables and/or legumes in it. A dal is a split lentil, bean, or pea. The vegetable is either served in a sauce or cooked fairly dry with spices, usually the later.

Mung curry might be my favorite dal. It is very hearty and yummy, like bean soup. Today I helped Ranjana make it and I wrote down the recipe:

Ingredients:

Masala paste:
1/2 a coconut, grated (about 2-3 cups)
3 dried red chilis
1 heaping tsp cumin seeds
1 heaping tsp whole black peppercorns

Dal:
2 1/2 cups mung dal
3 tbsp oil
2 heaping tsp mustard seeds
20 curry leaves
2 medium tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp coarse salt (or to taste)


Cook the mung dal. I didn't actually see this part. If I were to make mung curry at home, I would just cook the dal according to the package directions, in a pot of boiling water. After it's done, set aside.

Grind the ingredients for the masala paste together, along with 1 cup of water, either in a 500-lb stone hand-grinder or a food processor. Add another cup of water and stir. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil and add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the curry leaves, tomatoes, chili powder, and turmeric. After the tomatoes have cooked down a little, add the cooked mung dal and masala paste along with about 2 more cups of water and salt. Use your best judgement when it comes to how watery you're making it -- at this point, before cooking down, it should look like a runny stew. Bring the curry to a boil, and let it really boil for at least five minutes. Then reduce the heat and cook until the amount of liquid has diminished significantly, almost by half. Eventually, it should look like, well, runny beans.

Serve with rice, pickle, and a vegetable.

coconut chutney

this is a basic coconut chutney recipe. there are all sorts of variations on coconut chutney. this one we made we ate with dosas.

1 coconut, shredded
4 green chillies or however spicy you want it
2 tablespoons of salt (we use big chunky salt; i'm sure it is less in fine salt)
1 small chunk of ginger (a bit larger than a grape, but i personally wouldn't hesitate to put in a tad more)
(i've seen a small tomato thrown in before, but not this time)

now take your 500lb. stone grinder and mash them all together. or a food processor might work -- anybody have any suggestions? it should end up all mashed up and kind of like a soft play-dough. when you finish, put it in a bowl and add about a cup and a half of water, mixing well until it's like a runny oatmeal. you can play around with how much water. less would mean more intense flavor, but you do want to achieve a runny texture.

then in a hot pan:

2 tablespoons of oil
2 heaping teaspoons of mustard seed
2 dried red chillies, broken in half
15 curry leaves

once it has been slightly browned, add to your coconut mess in a bowl and mix well.

you're done! enjoy, eat with some dosas or anything. coconut chutney is probably my favorite, though mango season is coming up, so who knows....

coming soon:
dosa recipe