Recipe of the month: Badanekayi Ennegayi

I'm back with another regional speciality from my home state Karnataka 😁

Badanekayi ennegayi is a dish of stuffed eggplants (aka brinjal or aubergine) that has its origins in North Karnataka i.e. the districts of Bijapur, Dharwad, Gadag, Bellary among others. The base of this naturally vegan badanekayi ennegayi is a delectable blend of roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, onions, garlic, ginger, and dry red chilies. The eggplants are generously stuffed with this mixture and slow-cooked in a generous amount of oil until fork-tender. The eggplants absorb the myriad of flavors, resulting in a lip-smackingly delicious outcome. This dish can also be made using the local variety of green capsicum and it tastes fantastic too. 

There are other variations of similar stuffed eggplant dishes that can be attributed to other states within India. In Maharashtra this eggplant dish variant is called bharli vangi and in Andhra Pradesh this variant is known as gutti vankaya kura.

I tried badanekayi ennegayi for the first time during my childhood in Hubli when I had gone to visit my aunt. I had it with jolada rotti (jowar or sorghum bhakri) and I can still recall how much I loved it. I was bowled over by the depth of flavour and great texture which complimented the rottis perfectly. 

Having always had a fondness for eggplants, I appreciate any dish featuring this versatile vegetable. I love traditional dishes like badanekayi palya, badanekayi huli, an Udupi-speciality called mattu gulla bajji (gojju) and gulla dosa. I occasionally make baingan bhartha paired with rotis for quick weekday dinners. Mutabal or baba ganoush is an absolute must when we rustle up mezze platters at home. Roasted eggplant tastes amazing in sandwiches and salads too so I incorporate this vegetable whenever I get a chance. 

When preparing Badanekayi Ennegayi at home, my preferred pairing is with ukkarisida akki rotti, although it also goes well with rotis, chapatis or Malabar parotta. Jolada rotti is something I am yet to learn but I know that I'll get there some day. 

After fine-tuning the recipe through multiple iterations, I present my simplified rendition. I did away with aromatic spices as I found the recipe to be to my liking without them. Achieving the right balance of salty-sweet-sour-spicy is crucial for nailing the flavor profile. If you stay true to this recipe, I assure you will have a winner on your hands. Give it a try, folks! 😊

Blossoms, Broadway & Blissful Memories: Our Trip to New Jersey & New York

 
Hello readers,

First of all, let me wish you a Happy New Year 2024. May peace, love and prosperity follow you always. 

Yes, I know things have been uncharacteristically quiet around here. The past year saw me completely swamped by our relocation from Singapore to India, leaving little room for blogging on my agenda. Embarking on a brand new year, my primary resolution is to rekindle my presence in the blogging realm. I am one of the most stubborn people I know so rest assured, you'll be hearing more from me in this space 😁

For those who have been following my journey on Instagram, you might recall our family's extensive holiday across North America last spring. The trip served as a well-deserved break, painstakingly planned over several months. While my husband and I had previously holidayed in the United States, our visit to Canada marked a first for us, and it was a maiden voyage for our twin daughters to both countries. Eager to make the most of our time there, we curated an itinerary that was packed full of places to visit and activities to do. It turned out to be one of the best holidays we have had as a family and we came back rejuvenated with a treasure trove of experiences and memories. 

Given the number of photographs in my arsenal, consolidating them into a single blog post seemed rather impractical to me. Opting for a more reader-friendly approach, I've chosen to distribute them across multiple posts. This way, I can save you from being saturated with excess content while ensuring a sustained flow of material to keep the blog going for the next few weeks 😉

The last time I was in New Jersey and New York, it was the start of winter and I loved seeing New York dressed up in white for Christmas. I was able to witness the Christmas spirit in full swing and the city's transformation into a winter wonderland. This time, our visit coincided with the onset of spring and I was delighted to see all the flowering fruit trees in different hues of pinks and snowy white set against verdant green landscapes. 

We stayed at a relative's house and with that as our base, we blazed through our sightseeing itinerary.

Recipe of the month: Millet Bisibele Bhath

Hello Hello!

Yes I am very much alive and kicking. Given that we had a huge life event take place just a few months ago, I had to prioritize my to-do list and devote all my time to the more pressing demands of our new life. Now that I have finally started feeling less out of my depth, I felt it was time to revive my blog out of the self-induced coma that it was in. 

I think that it is rather premature for me to talk about the transition of moving back to India from abroad. I am aware that many NRIs (Non Resident Indians for the uninitiated) follow my posts and will be curious to know about my opinions and experiences. I feel like my perspective will have more credibility after at least a year of living in India. I will definitely talk about it when the time comes and you can count on me to be sincere and unfiltered 😊 

That said, I'm peppering this post with some images taken post-relocation. Also, you can follow me on Instagram (@meinblogland) for snippets of our daily life in India. 

My blog was born in 2010 (13 years ago) and living in Singapore at the time plus having traveled the world a fair bit by then, I was eager to experiment with global cuisines of the world. If you have been following my blog, you will know that I did that along with a fair share of Western-style sweet and savoury baking over the years. But now that I am living in India and back to my roots, culture and everything familiar and comforting, one of the things I really want to do is get better acquainted with the regional cuisine of my homeland. 

For most foreigners, Indian food is little more than mango lassi, samosa, curry, dal, naan, biryani and chai. It seems amusing to those of us who are privy to the country's mind-boggling culinary offerings. India is home to over 1.4 billion people, 120 languages, 9 major faiths, 28 states and 8 union territories each containing their own unique landscape, climate, customs and traditions. There is unimaginable culinary diversity and cooking styles throughout the subcontinent along with heavy influences from thousands of years of immigration, trade and conquest.  

I'm sure there are enough regional specialities to keep me occupied for the rest of my blogging lifespan but for my first post after relocation, it seems fitting that I pick a dish from my beloved native state KARNATAKA. 

Bisi bele bhath (Kannada: ಬಿಸಿ ಬೇಳೆ ಭಾತು) or bisi bele huliyanna (ಬಿಸಿಬೇಳೆಹುಳಿಯನ್ನ) literally translates to "hot lentil boiled rice". It is a spicy, rice-based dish that as I mentioned above, originated in the state of Karnataka, in South India. It is said to have first appeared in the Mysore Palace and it took 100 years for the dish to come out from the place and another 200 years to spread across the state of Karnataka.

The traditional preparation of this dish is quite elaborate and involves the use of spicy masala, toor dal, rice, ghee and vegetables. The masala is a mixture of coriander seeds, chana dal, urad dal, cumin, methi, sesame, poppy seeds, black pepper, cinnamon, dried red chilli, curry leaves, dry coconut, turmeric and hing among others. It is either freshly prepared in households or can be purchased off the shelf at Indian grocery stores. The unique taste comes from a delightful balance of salty, sweet, spicy and sour. Good bisibele bhath will have the tantalizing aroma of ghee and the unmistakable taste of aromatic spices, red chillies, tamarind and jaggery. Some versions of the dish are prepared with up to thirty ingredients!

Bisibele bhath is served hot and commonly eaten with savoury crunchy accompaniments like boondi, papad, or potato chips with a salad or raita on the side. This dish is commonly found in restaurants that serve Udupi cuisine. 

Having eaten this dish since childhood as a comfort food staple, I can tell you that the taste of bisibele bhath is largely dependent on the masala blend that is used. Homemade is obviously the best (and the fresher the better) but somehow I've never been motivated to make it myself. My mom and MIL make their own masala so when they have it, I get some for myself but most of the time, I use the bisibele bhath masala from a small family-run business in Bengaluru called ooTa tinDi. I store it in a glass bottle in the freezer so it stays fresh for quite long. I've not liked any of the reputed commercial brands available in the supermarket so far so it looks like I am sticking with this masala for the long haul. 

This is what a bisibele bhath lunch looks like in my household. We HAVE to have masala chips and raita as accompaniments and we love finishing off the meal with some cooling curd rice (mosranna). 

My version of bisibele bhath is a tad unconventional and I will tell you why,

1. I use millets instead of short-grain white rice because millets are more nutritious, easier to digest and give the bisibele bhath a porridge-like creamy consistency which I love. While on the subject of the grain, know that beaten rice (avalakki or poha) can be used to make bisibele bhath instead of rice and it works quite well. 

2. I use moong dal instead of toor dal because moong dal cooks faster, turns mushy, is mild in taste and lighter on the stomach. The combination of millets & moong dal means I can have a generous helping or two of bisibele bhath without feeling like I need to do lie down for a few hours after!

3. I use my Instant Pot to make the bisibele bhath. This isn't a big deal really because it is just pressure cooking done with a modern gadget. Feel free to use your trusty traditional pressure cooker. I have made a note at the end of the method section to let you know how to go about it. 

4. My family has very specific taste preferences for bisibele bhath so my version reflects that. We also prefer bisibele bhath to be a bit more on the runny side. Please refer the "Notes" section at the bottom for additional information. 

Ok folks, mom life beckons so I need to sign off now. Please try this recipe because I have tried and tested it umpteen times to get it the way my family loves it (even my somewhat fussy twins eat it without complaint). I hope it will become a family-favourite in your household too.

More later...

Goodbyes are hard....

We always knew this day was coming. What started off as a brief stint in Singapore unbelievably stretched into 17 years. Never in my wildest dreams had I envisioned that this tiny island would serve as our home for that long but it did and now this beautiful chapter of our lives has come to an end. 

I arrived here as a fresh graduate and newlywed, carefree and naïve. I’m leaving as a postgraduate, working professional, blogger & mother of two - older, wiser and full of life-affirming experiences. 

Like most people, I was (still am) weary of change. But isn’t change the only constant in life?

Moving overseas forced me to step out of my comfort zone. I moved mountains to lay the foundation for a major career shift. Of Singapore’s top two Universities, I consider myself fortunate to call NUS my alma mater and NTU, my workplace of the past 6 years. I have had the privilege of being mentored by distinguished scientists and working with intelligent and inspiring individuals. During my time in Singapore, I’ve armed myself with new skills and developed more confidence in my capabilities. I’ve adapted, built resilience and braved all the challenges that came my way. 

We have met so many wonderful people here, both locals and expats, most of whom I’m sure will continue to be a part of our lives. As a family, we have embraced many aspects of local culture and ways of life which will go on to become a permanent and uniquely Singaporean part of our Indian identity. 

We lived in two rental homes before buying a place of our own and we have indelible memories associated with each of them. But selling and eventually leaving our beloved nest of 12 years, the one we painstakingly did up, welcomed our babies into, forged so many precious memories, cooked countless meals and so lovingly looked after (and which looked after us in return!) has been expectedly hard 😢

My blog was born in Singapore and is in many ways, a love letter to the island. The safety, cleanliness and facilities in Singapore are unparalleled. With innumerable indoor play areas, sprawling green parks, leisurely bike routes, museums, restaurants and world-class attractions, there is so much to see and do. The learning infrastructure, pedagogy, sports resources, and public libraries are top notch as well. And having the option of affordable full-time domestic help so you don’t have to be a superhuman juggling it all is a luxury many developed countries simply don’t have. Neither my husband nor I had to sacrifice our careers or rely on our parents for childcare. Our children have had an unforgettable childhood here and I’m so grateful for it all 🙏🏻

Hand on heart, I can honestly say that we have made the absolute most of our Singapore experience.

That said, I don’t believe that happiness should be tied to any particular place or person. Happiness comes from within and with the right attitude, anyone can be happy anywhere. Family has always been hugely important to us. The pandemic made us re-evaluate our priorities and contributed to one of the many reasons we felt the time was right to head back to what matters the most and where we will always come first. 

But now that I’m leaving Singapore, I realize just how much I’ll miss (almost) everything about it. Years down the line when I’m still posting Singapore throwbacks and you ask me, “After all this time?”, my answer will be “ALWAYS” 🥹🥲

This will be my last blog post from Singapore and I want to say a gigantic heartfelt THANK YOU to this incredible country and everyone who has been an integral part of our Singapore story 🙏🏻❤️ 

And now it is time for us to write a new story. I believe that we can make it a good one 🤩 

Here’s to new beginnings! 🥂

P.S - Thank you to all my blog readers who kept up with my journey in Singapore. I sincerely hope you will stick around! Once I gather my bearings, I promise to be back with lots of recipes, reviews and ramblings with an extra dose of spice 😁