Seema’s Food: From our kitchen to yours – A HEALTHY, HAPPY 2022

As we explore the different cuisines and then try experimenting with unknown ingredients, one gets a sense of contentment or achievement. Especially when the dish turns out the way you have imagined. It’s like playing with the ingredients and not knowing the outcome creating a complete surprise. Not all ventures turn out successful, but one knows only after trying. “Every brilliant experiment, like every great work of art, starts with an act of imagination.” – Jonah Lehrer

Well, that’s just what happened after getting my online-ordered waffle maker recently. These days it’s a trend of ordering online. Just two years ago I wouldn’t have thought of ordering anything online… Life is changing and then we follow suit. As they say, “isn’t change, the only constant in our life”! Using the waffle maker, I first made the traditional waffles and enjoyed them with maple syrup, mangoes, and cream.  While the waffles were being made, I was already thinking on what to next experiment with. Having the idli (rice+lentil) batter, I couldn’t miss the chance to enjoy some ‘modern appes’. Appes are like small pancakes cooked on both sides and enjoyed with chutney. So, the idlis (refer mega http://www.megamedia.fi/media/Mega_v3218_PDF_netti.pdf) were enjoyed in a different version.

Mangoes has always been a summer fruit for us, having grown up in India. Later, did enjoy the Australian mangoes in the winter months during our Malaysia stint. But then, temperatures at Kuala Lumpur have always been summery, so the mind accepted it easily. Now seeing mangoes here in the peak winters it’s a novelty and reminds me of the Swedish painter, Carl Larsson, his home in Sundborn and his, “An experiment of that made summer bloom in winter”.

As they say, looks can be deceptive. That’s what happened with the mangoes in my case. We got these relatively firm green mangoes, expecting it to be a bit raw but then upon chopping them up, realized they were neither too raw nor ripe. I am so glad we have a treasure trove of recipes. I went ahead and made ‘methamba’, The name is derived from methi, that’s fenugreek, so methi with amba (mango).

Brings back my food memories – the flavours of tempered methi in oil with mustard seeds, asafetida, then the cooked mangoes with the right amount of salt, chili & for more sweetness, some jaggery. This dish becomes a tasty addition on the sides for our lunches or dinners. Not only tangy to taste, but also good on stomach so it benefits both the gut and the taste buds too. And for our lunches now we had this pickle on the sides enhancing our taste buds along with our poli (the Indian flat bread) and veggie.

Next, as my mind was dwelling on the mango shakes or the lassi, it reminded me of the applesin-mango milk drink we used to get in Vaasa and that tasted so very much like our mango shake that it had become a part of our many morning breakfasts. Breakfast for us can be a sweet or savoury start to our mornings. I remember we had home stay Australian students at Kuala Lumpur and as I made the idli sambhar, one of them said it was like having dinner in the morning. Those words have stayed with me, but I am glad they enjoyed our savoury treats too.

Usually, we add in some almonds or cashewnuts to the chopped mango pieces and blend in with milk. To make the ‘lassi’ healthier I would also add ‘rahka’ to it and it would be a nice thick smoothie. Similarly take away mangoes, add strawberries or blue berries, that too works well. To make it vegan, almond milk could be used.

Then for those afternoons with corn tortilla chips, it’s always nice to enjoy a tangy sweet mango salsa bowl with finely chopped fresh coriander, or as, Americans call it, cilantro, adding the refreshing, tart, and citrusy flavours.

All this mango talk took me to the dessert -The Thai mango sticky rice; and I must say trying it for the first time I was apprehensive. But the rice cooked in coconut milk with chopped mangoes was too good and I have enjoyed it ever since then. In fact, in Nagpur, in India I have heard people enjoying aamras, (that is juicy mango extract) with rice but had never ever tried it. I was contented with just our flat bread or the puris with the aamras and enjoy it to this day.  Here, tried it with the Mexican Ataulfo mango variety and must say it turned out quite well.

“Pull up a chair. Take a taste. Come join us. Life is so endlessly delicious”. Echoing the sentiments of Ruth Reichl- an American chef, food writer.