Wastage control as a philosophy of life

Wastage control as a philosophy of life

This event has occurred during the year 1969 in Ajmer , Rajasthan. When I was in Hindustan Machine Tools , two of us had set out to visit a couple of shops to raise funds for an upcoming Shiva Temple in our colony, as the organisers have allotted us, Ramganj in Ajmer. One evening, both of us were at a provision shop. Due to un-anticipated rain, power fluctuations were observed. One of the staff, has lighted the candle but forgot to extinguish the candle, when the electricity was restored. The shop owner shouted at the staff and advised him to save the candle when the electricity is restored. With a humble posture, the staff nodded and said that he will follow. After a couple of minutes, the electricity went off once again. The staff immediately seized a match stick and tried to light it. Again the shop owner shouted at him and said in a loud voice, “Wait for a couple seconds for the electricity to return . If it takes more time, then you can use the match stick. This way you can save one match stick.”  After hearing this conversation , I signaled to my friend that we should move on to the next prospective donor and not waste our time, as the shop owner seems to a miser of the first order. My friend nodded with a smile and told me to have little more patience. A little later, the electricity got stabilised and the shop owner turned to us and acknowledged that as we have come for a good cause to his shop, he will help us. The shop owner asked me how much I am donating. I told him that out of my first salary of Rs 400 , I have reserved Rs 50 for a good cause and kept it separate. I shall donate from that amount. He then turned to my friend and asked him the same question. He also said that he will also give Rs 50. The shop keeper took Rs 50 from my friend and gave us Rs 250/- as a donation and told us to make 2 receipts , one for Rs 50 for my friend and the other Rs 200 from his side as a donation. He further told me that I should pick up my first salary saving of Rs 50 from my house and donate in my name. I admired the elderely Marwadi Shop Owner’s approach in pooling Rs 300 from 3 different sources for the donation. I always remember this event. On those days one Kg of first quality of Paramel rice was sold for Rs 2.25.  I narrated the incidents which happenned during the last couple of minutes to the shop owner and requested him to explain his contribution to the temple donation. The owner kept his hands on my shoulder and then summed up.  “When a Paisa is to be saved , it must be saved. When a Rupee is to be saved, it is to be saved. When hundred rupees is to be spent, it must be spent”.

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Rangarajan Bangalore 18.07.2013 03:00 pm

Hinglish Breakfast from Left Over Vegetables

Hinglish Breakfast left over vegetables

The left over vegetables with the total quantity available for cooking for 2 persons. There is no list of ingredients .	Cut the available vegetables into small pieces and organise them in order. Enjoy the arrangement.	Mix all the cut pieces together and you will have an idea of the quantity available for cooking from the left over vegetables.	By the usual method indicated in my earlier posts, cook the vegetables properly keeping the ingredients mix in mind. Cooking is over.	Now get 2 loaves of un-sliced bread from the bakery and make 4 pieces out of the 2 loaves.
Slice about 1/2 inch from the top of each portion to be used as a lid. Now scoop out the middle portion of the remaining part using knife or by any other means and carve out a portion looking like a well. It is this well which will be used for stuffing the left over cooked vegetables. Now you have a well with a lid . Enjoy your carving for a while.	Use a spatula from the cooked stuffing and transfer it inside the well. Do not ram the stuffing , as it may open out from the thin wall. Fill the well to the brim and flaten the top of the stuffing with the spatula. You can smear the left over tomato sauce for the lid to cover the well.	I could get 3 wells filled with the available left over cooked vegetables and I have a ray of pride in making use of the small one off quantities of the vegetables. You can add warm milk to the scooped portion without added sugar and offer to the kids. Do not mix the scooped portion with the stuffing.	The exclusive moment to enjoy the dish with the satisfaction that nothing has been wasted.	Rangarajan Ramaswamy

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Rangarajan Ramaswamy Bangalore 18.07.2013 07:30 pm

Hinglish Breakfast from Left Overs

Hinglish Breakfast left over vegetables

A couple of days before , we had been to a newly opened fine dining restaurant in Raja Rajeshwari Nagar.  One Family in an adjacent table, had ordered for a couple of vegetable servings as side dishes for a few Roties. In the end , they have instructed the waiter to get the left over vegetable servings packed neatly and said they will pay for any packing charges. Somehow the act appeared strange to me. On observing my body language , the lady told me that she will use the left over side dishes for the early morning breakfast and make only a few chapaties , as she did not wish to waste the usable left overs.  Though their act appeared strange to me , I kept on pondering , as to , why not use the usable left over vegetables for the next day’s breakfast. A few days before, I had invited a couple for dinner and as there was a heavy downpour , they had informed me that they may be excused , as they do not wish to drive during the heavy downpour . I was left with the half cut and excess fresh vegetables to think of a way of  avoiding wastage.

I am interested. I wish to continue ?

No thanks . I am not worried about wastage.

Rangarajan Bangalore 18.07.2013 03:00 pm

Pillayar Kozhakattai- Ukdiche Modak

Pillayar Kozhakattai- Ukdiche Modak

Pillayar Kozhakattai – Ukdiche Modak – Steamed  Modak : Kozhakkattai | Ukadiche Modak is a festive sweet that is made for Lord Ganesha's Birthday also known as Vinayaka  or Ganesh Chaturthi that is observed in the month of August - September. The festival lasts for 10 days and is celebrated popularly across most regions of India. Every thing becomes simpler when attempted  in the right direction. An unique method is presented here for those first timers , as I proceed with the preparation, depicted through digital images and Grid Matrix. Best wishes and Happy Ganesh Chaturthi in advance .

From one coconut , we shall use one half for Modak and the other half for Kamarkat , which I have explained  in my earlier post. I prefer to use Maharashtra / Gujarat Jaggery as they are soft and  reddish in colour.	The grated coconut is white and it is better , we do not go deep and touch the shell . We shall again use one half for the Modak and the other half , we shall use for the kamarkat.	Pour 200 ml of water in a kadai and heat under simmer. Add one volume of shredded jagerry. When the Jaggery gets dissolved in the solution , decant  and seperate the concentrate from impurities. Clean the Kadai , ladle and put back the jagerry concentrate.	Add one volume of the grated coconut and turn them, till all the water evaporates and the mixture become thick. Now you can add finely ground cardamom powder and at the end add one teaspoon of ghee to smoothen the concentrate. Continue till the mixture is free from water, sticky and turns brown.	When still warm make  8 to 9 balls for the stuffing inside the modak. From one half of the coconut , I could make 8 balls. Do the rolling repeatedly till the balls become smooth and shiny. The ghee will play its part now. The balls should not break. This concludes the Stuffing or the Pooran part.
See below : Rice Flour- White covering for the Pooran	This is my method. Put a drop of oil at the centre of the Chapati Making stone. Slighly flatten the ball and still maintaining the round shape, place the ball at the centre.	I am practising this method after observing chefs from Thailand, China / Taiwan demostrating it. It is easy. Position the stainless steel lid over the ball and simply press uniformly, applying pressure from the top using both hands.	On removing the lid, you will get a circular spread like this. Practice a couple of times. You will get more and more confidence as you repeat. Believe me. It is practice. For removing similar to Dosa, you can use a flat knife or a steel spatula.	You can now place the Pooran ball at the centre. Fold the covering and roll over the ball , pinching at 4 - 5 places in the process , all the time rolling and shaping the ball. It is simply cooking with fun. Children will love to do this.
I use edge of the spoon to give the desired cleavages for the ever elusive pinched look. Slightly press the bottom of each modak for a good seating. I always use the colander GRN 004 for steaming applications, as detailed in Kitchen gadgets.	I use one small turmeric leaf. Cut into 4 pieces and drop it in the water kept for steaming. The pleasing aroma is to be experienced, after steaming. Steam without weight for 10 minutes and spare a good 15 to 20 minutes to cool. The modaks will not stick to each other.	I use the small left over coverings and position them to give the much needed support to the modak during steaming. The Colander will drain away all water particles from clogging around the modak. You can enjoy the emanating aroma of the turmeric leaf , as you open the lid of the cooker.	The moment to think of God Ganesh , offer with humility and pray for the betterment of all the living creatures of the Earth. Left Click with mouse on any image and you can view all the enlarged images one by one.	The quality test and the moment of truth. Using a good knife , split open 3 to 4 modaks and rate yourselves.  Best wishes in advance for the Ganesh Chaturthi. You have lots and lots of time to practice.

Rice Flour - White covering for the Pooran Take 3/4 cup of good raw rice and remove stones if any. Soak it in water for a few minutes and wash it 2 to 3 times to get rid of the starch. Decant and dry the rice in shade over some newspaper.  When dry , grind the rice in a dry grinder mixer and repeatedly sieve it till you get extremely fine graded rice flour. Add 1/2 cup of water , one teaspoon of ghee, one teaspoon of cooking oil and  a pinch of salt in a kadai and bring it to near boil. You can now add the sieved rice flour and within 2 minutes , the consistency improves. Switch off the heat . Knead the dough using a potato-masher GRN 028 indicated in my earlier post on Kitchen Gadgets. You can now cover the dough in a wet cloth for 15 to 20 minutes. The Pooran will last for atleast 3 weeks. This is the time for a much needed tea break.  Do not worry .After tea break you can make 8 to 9 balls out of the kneaded mix , touching cooking oil  with your fingers , in case it becomes sticky.

Ingredients	Kozhakattai_	Ukdiche Modak	Steamed  Modak
Rice outer covering		Pooran stuffing		Steaming Process
Rice	3/4 cup	Coconut grated	3/4 cup	Turmeric plant leaf	1 medium
Pure Ghee	1 table spoon	Jaggery -  shaved	1/2 cup
Salt	1 pinch	Cardamom powder	1/2 teaspoon
Cooking oil	1 teaspoon

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Rangarajan Bangalore 15.07.2013 03:00 pm  

Paruppu Urundai Kozhambu

Paruppu_Urundai_Kuzhambu

Make a lemon size ball from tamarind. A bit later you can shread into small pieces for soaking. For soaking use 200 ml warm water first. Then add another 100 ml and then another 100 ml squeezing the tamarind periodically. I am not elaborating this method , as almost all the housewives do this way.	Measure 1/4 cup each of Tur Dahl and Chena Dahl and keep it for soaking for around 1 to 2 hours.	After soaking , it is time for grinding in a mixi. Use the dry grinder to do the grinding without water. The red chillies are to be dry and 4 good lengths are enough for this. Use can be a little bit generous in adding Asafoetida.	First add a small quantity of soaked dahl and the red chillies for the first grind so that the red chillies are shredded properly.	Add sufficient quantity of Asafoetida to the mix. Course grinding is enough. Do not run the mixi for more than 5 to 10 seconds. Take out the paste and keep it aside.
Add the balance soaked dahl to the mixi. Separate the ground paste and add it to the previous one. Mix properly using fingers and with just sufficient salt enough for this mixture. Do not kneed the paste.	Make a  ball of the Dahl paste and admire the consistency of the paste. You should now be proud of your effort. Now divide this equally into 7 small balls .	Roll  the balls with a rotary motion without exerting any pressure and you will enjoy doing this. If there are cracks, do them over.	Now it is the turn for tamarind juice. Decant the juice using a fine filter and store it separately in a small stainless steel bowl. By now both the dahl and the tamarind juice are ready for cooking.	For making the Kozhambu Part.  For Saute .  Pour 2 table spoon of cooking oil in a kadai keeping the gas in a simmer. When hot, add mustard powder and when it stops cracking , add a teaspoon of Udal and Chena dahl together with curry leaves. You can an add Asafoetida in the end.

The most important aspect of fine cooking

Now it is time for the lentil balls to be slipped into the cooked Kozhambu. Keep a small amount of rice flour in the plate and roll the lentil balls one by one so that each one can have a thin coating of the rice flour. This will prevent the balls from sticking to each other.	When the Kozhambu is cooked properly , keep it under simmer. A very low heat will not give rise to bubbles. You can use the broad stainless steel hand shaped ladle for gently sliding each ball into the Kozhambu. Take one lentil ball inside the ladle and slowly slip it into the Kozhambu. A few seconds later, the ball will float. Now is time for slipping one more ball and do this slowly till all the balls are slipped. It is a pleasure doing this with ladle.	This is the moment of truth and hard work. The balls will float. Keep them floating for a good 15 to minutes and the soaked lentils will have an excellent taste. You will be surprised to note the lentils form a geometric pattern of their  own without touching each other, as you can see.    This is Cooks' pride.	I am sure that you are enjoying this method. Do not do anything in a hurry without a good preparation time. I normally soak the dahls and Tamarind before taking bath to give sufficient time for soaking.  Goes very well as a side dish with rice / chapati / Poori and the likes. Do not use any untested ingredients for the Urundai , as they may split the lentil balls.	Digital Images taken as the cooking progressed.               Rangarajan

Ingredients	Paruppu	Urundai	Kozhambu
Urundai		Kozambu		Sauteing
Chena dahl	1/4 cup	Tamarind	size of lemon	Cooking oil	2 teaspoon
Tuvar Dahl	1/4 cup	Water	400 ml	Udad Dahl Round	10 to 15 nos
Red Dried Chili	4 Nos	Sambar Powder	2 teaspoon	Chena Dahl	10 t0 15 nos
Rice Flour	2 teaspoon	Curry leaves	10 to 12	Curry leaves	10 to 12
Asafoetida	to taste	Cooking oil	2 table spoon	Asafoetida	to taste
Salt	to taste	Asafoetida	to taste	Salt	to taste
		Salt	to taste

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Rangarajan Bangalore 13.07.2013 03:00 pm