Chocolate Ice Cream Philadelphia Style

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Off lately I haven’t been too blog social.

Besides writing the occasional blog post, I haven’t been spending too much time online, (except for prying on other people’s lives on Facebook, but that doesn’t count, does it?)

Anyway, I haven’t been able to visit the lovely blogs on blogosphere and telling the oh-so-many talented bloggers out there how much I love their recipes and posts. I am sorry. I truly am. I also have been very lazy with replying to the lovely people who have been leaving comments on my blog. I know its the rudest thing possible, but please know each and every comment you leave makes my day.

I am just bad at all this.

That’s one of the biggest reasons why I don’t have a facebook fan page (besides the obvious- the fear of not having anyone to like my fan page!). I know fan pages require constant updates and interactions. And even though I would like to be interactive, I am very lazy with such things.

That’s also why I have no twitter account. Keeping up with my own personal facebook page can be a task, I don’t think I would be able to manage twitter as well.

Maybe I should have a ghost writer too! Maybe that way NY times would talk about me too!

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Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Even before you are in front of a Cinnabon outlet in a mall, you know its near you with the cinnamon aroma hovering all around it. When that cinnamon air hits you, there is no looking back. You are already opening your wallet, taking your credit card or cash out, and in a trance, walking towards the origin of the smell of cinnamon mixed with yeasty goodness.

Now, Cinnabon did not come to India till a little over two years back. Had it not been for my friend the Pious Hippie from college I would not have been introduced to Cinnabon’s cinnamon rolls for a long time. I would have for long still been unaware of their ooey, gooey, incredible cinnamon buns with the most addictive smothering of frosting.

Once I was hooked, there was no return. Since there was no place in India then, where we could get cinnabon style cinnamon rolls, I took to making them at home. This was more than 4 years back. I think I found a recipe on allrecipes.com. Not sure though, because I just noted down the recipe in my diary; back then The Novice Housewife did not exist, it was just a diary with recipes scribbled in it.

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Garam Masala Tuesdays: Punj Rattani Dal

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Dals are an integral part of Indian meals. In some form or the other, they are eaten daily in almost every Indian home.

Dals- lentils or pulses- are varieties of dried beans and peas. They are the main source of proteins for the average vegetarian Indian. Although dal generally refers to split pulses, in actuality there are two types of dal. Whole pulses are known as sabūt dal and split pulses as dhuli dal. The hulling of a pulse is intended to improve digestibility and palatability, but as with milling of whole grains into refined grains, this affects the nutrition provided by the dish, reducing dietary fiber content

Each state in India cooks its dal in different ways.  In south, dal is mostly eaten in the form of sambhar. People of Uttar Pradesh swear by toovar dal which is tempered with asafoetida, cumin seeds and sometimes garlic. Punjabis love their dal whole and unhulled, in the form of the delicious dal makhani, or rajma to accompany their rice or chole with their bhaturas.

When I have to describe dal to people in America who haven’t eaten it, the easiest way is to give them a picture of a lentil soup, although dal is a far cry from just a simple soup. The dal that we have is not as watery as soup, generally being creamier (without necessarily adding cream). A well cooked dal is generally quite thick, but sometimes just to keep it light, people thin it down a bit, such being the case for some of the dals that are cooked in southern India.

The tadka or the tempering is what gives a dal its distinct flavor, and is probably what distinguishes it from soups.

Tempering involves heating oil/ ghee in a small pan, to which whole spices are added, which in turn is poured over the cooked dal. Tempering can be simple with a little asafoetida and cumin seeds being tempered in some ghee/or oil, and then mixed in with the cooked dal. Or it can be elaborate by tempering some onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes in ghee/oil, before adding to the cooked dal.

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