Domestic Devotion, Hare Krishna Style

Saturday, May 29, 2010

plum chutney

8 c plums, pitted and sliced into quarters
2 T ghee
1 t fresh ginger, grated
1-2 red dried chilies, crushed
2 t ground coriander
½ t ground cardamom or anise (optional)
1 1/2 cups sugar

1. Puree the plum pieces in a blender or food grinder.
2. Make a chaunce with ghee, ginger and crushed chilies. Stir-fry until ginger is a a little brown.
3. Add the coriander and cardamom and quickly add the plum puree.
4. Add sugar, bring to a boil, then cook on low heat, stirring often until thick. It will thicken more as it cools.

Cool and offer to Krishna with some piping hot pakoras.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

vegetarian nutloaf

It was hard to write this down, because I didn't make it personally. It's my husband's favorite that he makes for Govinda's buffet. This recipe originated from the Higher Taste cookbook.

INGREDIENTS
1/3 c chopped green pepper
½ c walnuts
½ c cashews
½ c almonds
1 ¾ c cooked rice (medium grain)
1 ½ c grated mozarella cheese
salt
¼ t hing
1 t black pepper
tomato sauce (recipe below)

TOMATO SAUCE
6 c blended tomatoes
¼ c ghee
1 t black pepper
pinch of hing
salt
1 T Italian seasoning
1 t sugar

PREPARATION SAUCE:
In a saucepan add ghee. When hot add black pepper and hing. Quickly add tomato puree. Add sugar, salt, and Italian seasoning. Cook until thickened.

FOR THE NUT LOAF:
Preheat oven to 350°.
Grind nuts together with a Champion food grinder or food processor. Combine ground nuts and rice and seasoning. Add 1 c grated cheese and chopped vegetable. Add 1 cup tomato sauce. Mix well.

Mold ingredients into a greased loaf pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 50 minutes. Uncover and top with remaining tomato sauce and cheese. Bake for 10 more minutes. Serve hot.

Serves 4.

Mendhi Designs

So feminine, and part of a worldwide culture. Check out the links here.

Know a friend about to get married?

Mendhi design could become an interesting hobby or a way to make some extra cash. Check out some basic patterns here.

Special thanks to my kind young friend, Najma, for putting this together at OD and granting me opportunity to post here also.

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

bananas 'n cream

Slice and saute several ripe bananas in butter. Add a little sugar (optional). Cool and mix with thick cream. Serve between pancakes. Healthier since no extra syrup is needed. Also makes a nice snack or dessert on its own.

BANANA CREAM PURI
Another favorite is sliced ripe banana folded into lightly sweetened and whipped cream and then stuffed into the center of cooked puris (since puris naturally puff up). We call it "banana cream puri", a faster edition of the traditional banana cream pie.

chidwa

There are many variations of this, the Indian version of "trail mix".

INGREDIENTS
Potato straws
chopped almonds
chopped roasted cashews
golden raisins
grated dried coconut
sugar
salt
cinnamon

cayenne pepper

PREPARATION
Potato straws are made by peeling a potato and then grating through a large holed grater. Grate as many as desired. Rinse and soak these in cold water about ten minutes. Drain and pat dry. Deep fry in ghee until golden brown. Drain excess ghee
Add remaining ingredients as desired.

paneer patties

Once you know how to make these (also known as tikkis), it is super quick and easy and delicious. Serve with tomato, plum or tamarind chutney.

INGREDIENTS
paneer from 1 gallon of milk
salt
pepper
chopped fresh green chilis (optional)
roasted ground cumin powder
fresh lemon juice (optional)
turmeric (optional)
fresh chopped coriander or coriander powder
ghee or vegetable oil (ghee gives the best flavor, it's clarified butter and cheaper to make your own)

PREPARATION
Knead the paneer on a clean surface until smooth. Add seasonings suggested above, as desired.
Shape into patties and fry on each side on a hot griddle with ghee until nicely browned.
Offer to Krishna first.

cucumber raita

INGREDIENTS
3 medium cucumbers, peeled, grated and drained
1 c thick yogurt (drain it in a cheese cloth if watery) or sour cream
1/8-1/4 t cayenne pepper, or as desired
1 t roasted and ground cumin seed
1/2 t ground black pepper
salt, as desired

PREPARATION
Stir seasonings into the yogurt and then add cucumber and salt. Mix well

Sunday, May 23, 2010

free food

Updated 12/2021

COMMON MALLOW

AKA Cheeseplant because of the seeds, also edible, shaped like round cheeses. More info here: Malva neglecta,,Origins of Marshmallows,, Common Mallow. Cooked, smells and tastes like spinach!

GOOSE FOOT or LAMB'S QUARTER

A powdery wild spinach, first given to us by a neighbor in Mississippi. Grows abundantly. For more info: Wild Spinach and Chenopodium Album and Foraging Goosefoot

Update: Lambsquarter has become a favorite; it grows so easily and so abundantly! And we think it tastes better than regular spinach.

DANDELION

What to do with those "annoying dandelions"? Aside from what is a pretty flower, in my opinion, the dandelion leaves can be used in cooking and salads. Or sauté in ghee with a pinch of hing and a little salt and sprinkle of lemon juice, then serve as a healthy side dish.

Tips:
1.Only pick from unsprayed lawns and areas away from traffic.
2.Avoid stems as they are particularly bitter.

Check out health benefits here.
Here's a recipe for "Dandelion Chai".

CHICKWEED

I just added these to a salad. Chickweed has also become a beloved vegetable in the late winter and early springtime here. So abundant.

PURSLANE
Cooked or raw, has a faint lemony taste and is good for the liver, eyesight...is used as a spinach in India. Found a large bunch growing in my neighbors garden. She thought it was just another weed, but now knows better. It does have a slightly similar look-alike plant called scourge that is toxic, so do some research to make sure you have the real thing. I think they are easy to tell apart however. If you break a stem of scourge milky white fluid emerges. Not so with purslane. Also scourge leaves appear more thin and flat while purslane are more succulent. Fortunately, I had a knowledgeable person point out purslane to me initially, so that I easily recognized a patch of scourge later on. Here are some photos of the purslane that was harvested and added to a subji. The seeds I am saving to plant in my own yard.

(tiny black purslane seeds. I'm taking these home with me for my own garden. Later note: So happy to discover that it grows like crazy where we now live.

(And here is part of the harvest from the purslane seeds pictured above.)

WILD ASPARAGUS

Was given a sample back sometime around June of this 2020. Planning to locate the same next time and learn more. Delicious taste!

STINGING NETTLE

FIrst meeting was painful but helped immediately with the identification. A highly nutritious plant used as a vegetable or tea. Good for hair, too.

TO BE CONTINUED...

carob peanut butter halava

Exact measurements of farina and water are crucial for a cake like result. To ensure this, use the same measuring cup, because some cups are a little different. My husband's recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 c butter
1 c farina
carob powder (about 4-6 T)
2 c water
1 c natural sugar
a generous pinch of salt
peanut butter (about 1/4 c, preferably homemade, unsalted)

PREPARATION:
1. Melt butter and add farina and carob. Cook on low-medium heat, stirring constantly until very hot.
2. Meanwhile, bring water to a boil along with, sugar, salt and peanut butter.
3. Pour boiling liquid into the toasted farina. Stir well and turn off heat. Cover and let stand about ten minutes so that the farina can absorb all the water.

Now don't forget to offer it to Krishna first.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

vandanam

Two Kinds of Prayer

Mama Mana Mandire
Lyrics to nectarean prayer by Acarya Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Ar Koto Kal?
Hearfelt lyrics by Mirabhai. Look for recording by Vaiyasaki prabhu for melody.

Sri Nanda-nandanastakam

Collected Prayers
From various sources.

Dear Srila Prabhupada
Vyasa puja, another chance to offer prayers.

Dalalera Gita
Offered to the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda.

Jaya Nrsimhadeva!

Prayer to Lord Jagannatha

Evening Prayer

Remembering the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda

Prayers to Narasimhadeva

Bhaja Bhakata Vatsala Sri Gaura Hari
The Bhoga Arati Song

Radha Krishna Prana Mora

Akrodha Paramananda Nityananda Raya

Jagannathastakam

Vyasa puja offering 2016