Bengali Pomelo Salad | Batabi Lebu Makha

Pomelo in Bengali is called Batabi Lebu, and it is often misinterpreted as Grapefruit in English. It is a pity because Pomelo is quite different, not as sour as grapefruit, and a terrific fruit for salads.

This dish is so stunning made from pink pomelo. It is a common Bengali use for Pomelo – eating it with chilli, sugar and Indian rock salt (black salt, kala namak, which is strongly aromatic and actually pink in colour). It is the sort of recipe that could also be made with green mango, for example, or other fruits and vegetables, even grapefruit. Interestingly, it is also good with the more mild Jicama (Yam Bean tuber).

Pomelo is a common fruit in Bengal, and comes into its season after the monsoons. It is a winter ritual to eat the citrusy fruit after lunch while soaking in any sun. There is a pink fleshed variety and a yellow fleshed variety. It has a range of different names across India.

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Feta makes everything betta.

Feta must be the most useful of cheeses, the saltiness of the cheese adding spark to pizzas and salads, turning dips into treasured spreads, and baking into a gorgeous stuffing or filling or centrepiece.

❤️ #Feta

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Hawaiian Chilli Water

Oh my, the year I first made this it became my favourite drizzling sauce for Winter – over soups, vegetables, into dals, on tofu and paneer, on rice, in sandwiches and sauces, with lentils and bean dishes — anything! I even mixed it into amazing dressings.

It is a condiment or hot sauce that is very popular with Hawaiians and has a range of variations on the common base of chillies, garlic, vinegar, salt and water.

As well as a condiment, it is also used as a drink to sip, and as a sauce. Many Hawaiian homes keep Chilli Pepper Water on their table, and guest will bring a bottle of their own home made version to leave with the host.

Why does it work? We know that an acid or sour flavour – vinegar, lemon juice, bitters, tamarind etc – enlivens any dish. Chilli adds interest and heat. Salt brings out flavour. Garlic adds bite and deeper flavours. If you add bay leaf or soy sauce they provide grounded earthy flavours (umami). All of this in one bottle of sauce that is composed mostly of water!

Here's a recipe (there are lots online) https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/chili-pepper-recipes/hot-sauces/hawaiian-chili-pepper-water/ but note that you can add all sorts of things to vary the flavours and work with the seasons. I have added, at different times, turmeric, spring onions, herbs, black peppercorns, bay leaf, umaboshi, pinch or two of sugar, kaffir lime leaf and cumquat peel.

Each time you make it the flavour profile can change depending on what you have available at the time. In this way, it will also change with the seasons.

Right now I am making a fermented version which will be ready in about a week for drizzling this winter.

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I do love a good dipping sauce. Think – steamed vegetables, fried vegetables, dumplings, tofu, noodles, spring rolls, summer rolls, sizzling rice squares. The perfect sauce will lift a dish to new heights.

There are many varieties of dipping sauce, and the Japanese or Chinese style ones have their respective core set of ingredients. For Chinese it tends to be soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, Chinese vinegar perhaps, and some ginger and spring onions. Perhaps some chilli. This dipping sauce is another variation on that theme. So very very good.

A dipping sauce is perfect with these vegetable dumplings that I get from the Asian grocery in the freezer section – I put them in a flat pan with a little water and a little oil, and cover the pan. As the water simmers, the dumplings defrost and steam, and when the water evaporates they crisp on the bottom. Flip them over if you wish for a nice crispy top. They are also delicious steamed or even very gently microwaved.

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How most excellent is pesto and its cousin pistou swirled into vegetable soups! We do it in our 13 Treasure Happiness Soup, so called because it brings a sense of joy and happiness to anyone who eats it. More correctly it is a Provencale Vegetable Soup.

This soup, Minestrone alla Genovese aka Genoese Minestrone with Pesto (pic), is one of the Italian ones that combines pasta and dried beans, a classic soup pairing, with vegetables. The pasta used can be Vermicelli or Maltagliati – the irregular shapes of pasta designed to go into soups. A hand made pesto crowns the soup and is swirled through the soup before eating – a process that adds to the joy of hot soup on a cold day.

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Green Mango Rice - Mamidikaya Pulihora

India must be the country that has the most appreciation of rice. It boasts thousands of different rice varieties and many many more dishes that feature rice as the main ingredient. Rice is never ever relegated to a side dish, playing second fiddle to the main dish or dishes of the meal. There it is, front and centre, always. Pulaos, Kitcheri, Biryani, Bhats, Pongal and Mixed Rices are examples of well known rice dishes.

Pulihora is a South Indian rice which is usually made with tamarind. But the same dish can also be made with green mango or with lemon juice as the souring agent. It is a rice dish that plays homage to the love of sour tastes in Tamil Nadu and beyond. In this recipe, the tamarind is replaced with green mango, and some carrot adds a sweet counterbalance and colour.

This dish is also called mangai sadam and mavinakayi chitranna in different regions. The recipes vary a little, e.g. coconut might be added, but the base is essentially the same. In South India mango pulihora is made during certain auspicious occasions and festivals too.

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Saffron is an amazing spice. But how to use it? Some ways:

🫖 Put 2 threads into a cup of near-boiling water and sip slowly for a relaxing drink.

🍚 Make Saffron Rice - it’s a classic of the Middle East, and one that is so gorgeous. Toss some drained, rinsed and soaked rice in a little heated oil and butter in a pan, and then cook by the absorption method. Meanwhile take a generous pinch of saffron threads and soak it in 2 Tblspn near-boiling water for at least 20 mins.

Pour the saffron infusion into 3 different spots in the rice, cover the pot with a tea towel and replace the lid without stirring the rice. Leave it for 10 mins. Fork the rice gently to fluff it, and you will see you have 2 colours of rice. Gorgeous. Serve with any Middle Eastern or even Indian dish. You will love it.

🥂 Try crushing a tiny piece of saffron into a glass of champagne or sparkling apple cider, turning the drink into a golden elixir.

☕ And coffee spiced with saffron and cardamom is a wonderful, soothing drink.

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