Kashmiri Kahwa

Kashmir is known to be a paradise on earth and  it's a popular tourist spot in the North of India. The valley is painted is varied colors by our creator.  Snow capped mountains of Sonmarg to beautiful Chandanwadi and Bettab valley near Pahalgam to gondola ride in Gulmarg, Kashmir is a pristine beauty.  Its flowering meadows to its sparkling  rivers everything is near perfect in Kashmir. 

Last week I took my dream vacation in Kashmir with a group of 25 ladies.  No matter where we went, we tried the traditional green tea called Kahwa and pretty much got hooked to it. 

When for the first time I had the Kahwa at the houseboat in Dal Lake I asked the guy who served, why there were no spices or almonds added to it. His answer surprised me as he said:”Only Kashmiri Pundits add those spices and almonds.”  I saw this as a cultural difference between not just two kinds of Kahwas but also in the culture of this beautiful valley.

Kahwa is a traditional green tea consumed here.  Making Kahwa is an art in itself which one can experiment with by adding the amount of spices.  For example saffron kahwa has a golden hue while cinnamon kahwa is little brown in color.  Here is the recipe for a  Kahwa.

Ingredients:

2 cups water,  ¾ tsp sugar,  1 small piece of cinnamon, 2 green cardamoms, 4 almonds cut into half,  3or 4 strands of saffron,  ½ tsp kahwa leaves.

Method:

Boil water in a pan, add cinnamon, 2 almonds and green cardamom.

Close the lid to contain the aroma.  Boil for 2 or 3 minutes.

Rub kahwa leaves between your palms and add to the boiling water.

Lower the flame to medium and let it boil for 2 more minutes.  Add saffron and turn off the flame.  Let the lid remain closed.

In the meanwhile crush two almonds and put them in a cup or glass.

After one minute pour tea or kahwa in this cup.

Enjoy the aroma and the taste of kahwa.

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone literally means big soup.  It is a thick soup of Italian origin made with seasonal vegetables by adding pasta or some other carbohydrate to make it more substantial. Common ingredients include beans, zucchini, onions, squash, celery, carrots, tomatoes and stock. There is no specific recipe for this soup as it varies from family to family. But one thing is common it is always made with seasonal vegetables.  It can be vegetarian as well as non vegetarian. In case of non-vegetarian soup, chicken broth is added while vegetable broth is used for vegetarian minestrone.  However, in Roman times the base of minestrone used to be bean broth.  Minestrone is one of the cornerstones of Italian cuisine and is almost as common as pasta or pizza.

As I was traveling North America for last two months, I discovered everyone in my family was a good cook.  In fact everyone made some or other dish with finesse and the result was very satisfying.  The Minestrone soup was made excellent by my sister in law.  She did not mind me sharing this recipe with the world.

Ingredients:

1 big onion, 1 big carrot, 1 stick of celery,  12 green beans, 1 whole zucchini, 3 tomatoes, 2 cloves of garlic, ½ bell pepper(optional), ¼ cup chopped parsley, ¼ cup pasta or barley,  1 bullion cube, 2 cups of vegetable stock, ½  tsp of pickling spices, ¼ tsp red pepper flakes,  1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

Heat oil in a big pan, put pickling spices, red pepper flakes and add chopped onion, chopped celery, carrots and crushed garlic.

Sauté these vegetables but make sure they do not turn brown.

Add green beans, one cube of bullion and vegetable stock.

If you want to add barley do it now but if you want to add pasta make sure that you boil the pasta and keep it aside.  Add pasta at the end so that it tastes better.

Let it simmer for a five-seven minutes and then add zucchini and bell pepper towards the end so that they do not turn mushy. Now give it a boil and then reduce heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Add chopped parsley and let it simmer for a couple of  minutes more.

Enjoy your soup with Italian bread dipped into extra virgin olive oil.

(Note: Pickling spice consists of bay leaf, black pepper, coriander seeds, fenugreek and dill seeds).

Kitty's Lamb and Chicken Burgers

For last two months I have been traveling.  My cousin, Kitty, who lives in North America is a very good cook.  Most of the time in our family they have been making red meat burgers but here my cousin told me her secret recipe of lamb and chicken burgers with right touch of spices.  Although I am a vegetarian, I could not resist watching her make these burgers, which turned out to be very yummy as per all the connoisseurs  of burgers present in her house. Here I would like to share Kitty’s secret recipe with all of you.

 Ingredients:

Lamb minced 1 lb., chicken minced 1 lb., 1 big onion, 9 cloves of garlic, 1 cup green coriander washed, and chopped, 1 tsp cumin, 2 tsp coriander seeds,1 medium size green chilly,  ½  bell pepper, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt to taste.

 Method:

Chop onion, green chilly and bell pepper finely.  Crush garlic. Ground cumin and coriander seeds.  Mix all these ingredients with minced lamb and chicken and mix very well. Add olive oil and salt.  Now make burger size patties.  Grill them on medium heat for 5 or 6 minutes.  If they are overcooked they will turn dry.  It makes  9 to10 patties.

You can eat these patties either in a burger bun with mayo, mustard and ketchup etc.  If you want to eat these as kababs you can enjoy them with green chutney.