Holistic Living

Indian Borscht…fusion of love!
All of us have an equilibrium. A center point from where we operate. My equilibrium is dramatic, impossible optimism. I saw a natural spring today.. that’s what my equilibrium is.. happiness just gushing from someplace unknow. It takes a bunch for me to loose my equilibrium. But.. life has certain way of testing us. It has all the cards.. and it will test you, test you equilibrium, and push you off! Then, when you are lost, out of nowhere, will come a moment that shakes you out of your slumber, reminding you, that the spring still is here. The joy is still here.. the inspiration is still here… you are still you and you are still here! These moments, these surprises are the other side of life. That wants you to stand up.. feel energized… so it can mess with you again 😊. However, the game is that every time you stand back up again, you are harder to fall. Hopefully through this cycle of rising and falling you learn enough to go beyond the game itself. Till then.. I welcome the moments of inspiration that keep me sane.. keep me going.. keep me .. well.. me! One such moment I experienced recently. I was invited to a dinner by my Bulgarian colleague. In his house, I experienced love, passion for food and culture, the joy of growing enormous tomatoes and figs, the pain of Russian invasion of Ukraine, the will to go on, the need to serve and help, the experience and wisdom of life, the exuberance of youth and the delicious taste of Borscht! Borscht is a meat, cabbage and beet soup.. like nothing I have experienced before! The evening shook me. It woke me up.. I haven’t experienced so much love and life in a while. I don’t know if it was the warmth of the 45 year old brandy or the flavors of the food, but I came back inspired. The weight of life was a lot lighter. I was more me.. happy… inspired.. ready to serve! So today I try to create a fusion dish. Indian spices giving the color to the melody of flavors that are distant… And the fusion is a dramatic hit! My ask.. somebody around is needing that moment of inspiration. How about.. you be the one to give that moment.. try! May be in the trying.. you find your purpose, your balance!

Ginger garlic paste is integral to Indian cooking. I have surprisingly never made it! Last time when my mom visited me, she made a big batch and left for me. It was getting over... So from recollection of what she did.. and little bit of courage, I finally made my first batch of ginger garlic paste.. :)

To find inspiration and courage.. all you need is a mom!

She adds bit of her color to how she makes the paste. She adds some green chilies, tumeric and some white vinegar that helps with preservation. It also adds a bit of flavour to the food.

So.. I have a fresh.. mom inspired.. batch of ginger garlic paste! It should last me till when I see her again.. and she takes over the kitchen and start creating culinary magic!

Kimchi and long pauses....

Pauses... Give space for thoughts.. for reflections. Time sorts out things beyond what you can urself. Bigger intelligence takes over. It takes the experiences, the ingredients.. and works on it. Coming back with answers, clarity and formations that you couldn't.. how hard you try!
Same is true for fermentation. You put the effort, the ingredients.. and take a pause! Time and the higher intelligence turns simple ingredients into delicious super foods!

In life.. experiences shared, togetherness, brings back sweeter results. Same with fermentation..

The best ingredient for a positive result is togetherness.

Last weekend I had the pleasure of hosting a group kimchi making. It was an experience to remember... We shared cabbage, hot chilli peppers, veggies and love!
The end result is reflective of the awesomeness of the supreme intelligence and the raw ingredients that were made available!

Simple ingredients become extraordinary ... You are gifted with amazing kimchi and many new friends!
Ferment something... Do it together... And you will be rewarded!

It takes churning.. some stirring and beating.. to let the best in you come together. The best in you, when together, forms a formidable force that can pierce through the darkness, and let the light shine on your true self. May seem agressive, but the beating around truly works!

Same is true for milk. The best in milk, butter, takes some work! It takes some churning, some beating around, some hard work to get it out. Yes, you can get the butter by churning the cream, but that is the not the best. Milk, already a super food (raw), shines further when you ferment it! Fermented milk, yogurt.. and fermenetd cream, sour cream, when churned, brings out the best in milk... cultured butter!

Butter is already part of legends. It is superfood that is loaded with nutrition and is so so delicious! Now, add the goodness of fermentation and you take it to a different level. Making butter from sour cream and yogurt is easy. Add it to blender, and blend till the solids seperate from whey. Then, gently firm up the solids. Rinse in cold and clear water till the water runs clean. You have your cultured butter! If you want it flavoured, add some salt, herbs to the sour cream/yogurt before churning. The yogurt will be flavoured and will work as an awesome spread on your sourdoughs!

In olden days, the churning was done with hand. It was hard work. Like many things in modern times, churning is now super easy thanks to the blenders. Unfortunately, we focused on obvious and physical things.. and not for the knowledge and the culture. So we have the blenders, but we forgot the art of fermentation and butter making.

So, find a local dairy close to you, get raw milk and cream from grass fed cows. Then, get a heirloom yogurt culture. (If in Dallas area, I will be happy to share). Make your own sour cream and yogurt at home. Then, make butter and ghee .. and enjoy the best in milk!

Cheers and happy fermenting!

I always enjoy hosting Meetup on fermented foods! But hosting one.. with my mom.. now that's a different level of fun!
This weekend we hosted Meetup on Indian spices.. and fermented foods. We talked and experienced whole gamut of spices. From whole spices, dried species, spice mixes, to wet spices. It was so much fun finally being able to do the event in person. We could touch, smell and truly experience what we were talking about. It was most fun playing the role of translator as my mom answered qs and added color from our decades of experience cooking.
One thing that stood out to me was how different cultures have different priority and uses for the spices. I guess spices are like music instruments and different cultures have figured out how to create beautiful orchestra using different combinations of them

My mom made 'dahi bhale' a spicy Street side food made with fermented ingredients. Also.. 'kadhi' that is a curry which uses yogurt as the base. She also made few different kinds of dips and 'achars'. I made my delicious fermented melon and apple soda!

As always meeting old friends and making some new once.. is the highlight!

Cheers!