Cereusly Awesome

I feel like I am in a time warp. Summer has been excruciatingly slow but it has also slipped by at an amazing pace. There aren't enough hours in the day and yet, at times, it feels like nothing is moving. When I look back, I wonder why I am left with that feeling when so much did, indeed, get done. Perhaps it's that time again, when every step forward requires enormous amounts of energy, willpower and dedication. Perhaps it's the relentless heat and the draft of cooled air that makes my bones ache, even though the cool is set at an ambient temperature of 80F, three degrees higher than what most people consider comfortable. Medha's been home forever and school starts in less than four weeks - not much left of summer!

But, you know, I feel that way about the last decade, too! Where did it go? While clearing up the house yesterday, we unearthed some old CDs that had audio files of Medha as a toddler - some people clean in spring and they're done; whereas I'm still cleaning from last spring and the spring before that and I can go back to the time that we moved to Colorado from Illinois. We don't have much stuff but we have piles and piles of paper, most of which cannot be recycled without scrutiny as they need to be shredded, but only after monumentous decision-making: to keep or not to keep. The same holds for CDs and DVDs. Wasn't it just yesterday that she was singing her ABCs backwards and belting out You are my Sunshine? Come mid-August, she's no longer going to be a pixie but instead she will be a 7th grader. Where did all those years go?

I may sound like I am complaining but a lot of awesome has also been happening at the same time. I think it is this that gets me through the uphill climb that most of my current tasks seem to take. Jen of the Butter fame gathered us together - was it just 10 days ago? - to watch her nightblooming cereus blossom into a huge flower from a shy bud.

Innards of the cereus

Blooms as big as your face

Jen humored me by setting up these shots for me while Marianne and her sister waited bleary eyed till we were done. It was well past midnight when Marianne drove us down the canyon. That's why I can be found saying over and over again that I have the best group of girlfriends ever! That link leads to another piece of awesome, an idli-chutney-dosa-sambar feast that we had at my house last week. The batter fermented beautifully, the idlis were just right and the dosas came off the tava like a dream! My batter could be more finely ground but that is the curse of having a weak blender. One of these days an idli batter grinder will make its way into my kitchen.

I always make a lot of batter. My friends will vouch for the number of pots I had filled with bubbling fermented goodness. Some batter went home with some of my friends while the rest sat in my refrigerator, waiting to be made into more dosas and uttapas. Until I hit on another slice of awesome.

Waffles

On the face of it, these may look like plain ol' regular waffles but they are not. They are crunchy Indian waffles made from leftover idli batter. While I would love to claim that this idea is the result of my cravings creativity, it's really the work of imaginative homecook, Iyer n Chef Wannabe or Panfusine on Facebook. Her writing is a treat to read and her experiments in applying techniques from world cuisines to everyday Indian food are wildly innovative. Would you have thought of adding blueberries to idlis? Would you have thought of steaming them in cupcake molds? Hey, Kitt! You don't need idli molds to make idlis, as long as you have cupcake molds and a steamer of sorts into which you can stack these molds. Or just make waffles, dammit!

I cooked my Indian waffles about 7 minutes for those who didn't want them to be crunchy and about 10 minutes for those who did. My waffles did not separate into two even if I opened the waffle iron before they were done. Maybe because I used idli batter and not medu vada batter? I'm not sure.

All my life I have used a ratio of 1 measure of urad to 2 measures of idli rava / parboiled rice / regular rice without any problem. Until we moved from sea-level to over a mile high to Louisville, Colorado. After experimenting with all various ratios, I have settled on the ratio of 1:2:1 of urad dal to parboiled rice to regular rice (even basmati will do). There were times when I used 1:4 of urad dal to idli rava with astonishing success but I much prefer the flavor and texture of the final ratio of 1:2:1. I do believe that the altitude and humidity do play a large role in the success of my idli batter. My local South Indian friends may scoff at the idea but I think they have the added advantage of wild yeast in their homes, which is another factor that my home lacks.

Given the prevailing atmospheric conditions in my home and the altitude, the waffles that were cooked for 7 minutes became a little chewy if they weren't eaten right away. The ones that were cooked for 10 minutes dried up further and became a little too crunchy. Nothing that a little bit of heat - in the waffle iron or on the tava - could not fix. A deep dunk in bowl of sambar also helps.

I liked them best slathered with the two coconut chutneys I always make with idlis.

Green and red coconut chutneys

Cilantro-Ginger Coconut Chutney aka Green Chutney

• Half a packet of frozen shredded coconut, about 2 cups
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1.5 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced
• 5-6 Thai chillies
• 1 cube frozen lemon juice (approx 1.75 tbsp)
• 10-12 mint leaves (optional)
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• salt to taste
• 1-1.5 cups water, or as needed

Optional seasoning:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• pinch asafetida
• 1-2 dried red chillies, broken into pieces
• 6-8 curry leaves, washed and dried
• 1 tsp urad dal

1. Put everything in your blender and blend until the coconut is finely ground, adding water as needed.
2. Pour out into a bowl.
3. If using optional seasoning, heat oil in the smallest saucepan you have.
4. Add mustard seeds and when they pop, add asafetida, followed by dried red chillies, curry leaves and urad dal. Keep a splatter screen ready as the oil will get all over your stove otherwise.
5. Turn off the heat and allow the flavors to meld until the urad dal has turned a reddish-gold color.
6. Pour this oil over the chutney and mix well.

Garlic Coconut Chutney aka Red Chutney

• Half a packet of frozen shredded coconut, about 2 cups
• 7-9 dried red chillies
• 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
• a small ball of fresh tamarind pulp, one that sits comfortably in a 1/2 tbsp measure
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• salt to taste
• 1-1.5 cups water, or as needed

1. Soften the skin of the dried red chillies by soaking them in warm water, at least 15-20 minutes. 
2. Put everything in your blender and blend until the coconut is finely ground, adding water as needed.
3. Pour out into a bowl and enjoy with idlis, dosas, Indian waffles, on toast, on crackers or just like that!

Awesomeness defined!

Notes:

• It helps to bring the frozen shredded coconut to room temperature as it will not separate into thick cream and fiber. I didn't have the luxury of getting it to room temperature this time so I let the blender warm it up as it did its thing. 
• Fresh grated coconut is the ideal ingredient for these chutneys but since coconut trees don't grow in the Rockies and my experience with fresh coconut has not been the best, I prefer to use frozen shredded coconut instead.
• If using fresh grated coconut, it must be the meat from a mature coconut. The flesh of a tender coconut is only to be slurped on and eaten as is. Yum! 
• You need to know how spicy your fresh green chillies and dried red chillies are and adjust the amount used accordingly. 
• In winter, use two bunches of cilantro as the size of a bunch becomes rather measly.
•  The green chutney is my mother's recipe and the red chutney is as close as I have been able to get to my Pushpamaushi's recipe.
• Use these recipes as a guideline and adjust the flavors to your tastes.
• As for those waffles? There's a world of possibilities there: add finely chopped green chillies, grated ginger, coarsely ground peppper, red chilli powder, oh my!