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Rajni Menon presents

Food Trends: As American as Dosa-Pie!

From Kerala to Jean-Georges to your Kitchen Table

South Indian delicacies like idli, dosa and sambar have long been a fixture of life in South India. The addiction has spread all over India and now it’s quite the normal thing to get your dosa fix anywhere in India, be it at a five-star hotel chain or a hole-in-the-wall in any city. American cities are not far behind, and Little Indias everywhere have their idli-dosa stop.

Now comes home chef Rajni Menon who plans to make these must-haves a part of American life and American homes. She feels these dishes have so much nutrition and health value and can easily be adapted to fit into American breakfasts, lunches and dinners. They don’t have to be in the same form but tweaked to give all the taste, benefits and an American avatar!

As American as dosa pie!

Menon should know for she grew up in Cochin with a mother and grandmother who were wonderful cooks. She herself has been a cook at the world-famous Jean-Georges restaurant, The Inn in Pound Ridge, Westchester, and is a much sought-after home chef and caterer as well as a cooking teacher. Yes, she’ s even cooked Malayali dishes for a dinner organized by  the iconic Martha Stewart. Bringing East and West together is something she does naturally under her brand name of Creative Rajni – Cooked with Love. Coming from an art and fashion background she loves bringing all these elements into the plate she puts before you.

So why and how did she decide to adapt South Indian cooking to make it a part of everyday American lifestyle?

“Cooking is meditation for me,” she says. “My main goal is to provide an intimate cultural experience through food inspired by South Indian cuisine – Kerala to be exact. I would like to educate people regarding South Indian delicacies that aren’t prevalent much here in the US.”

As she points out, Kerala cuisine is a simple cuisine and easy to prepare with some prep work and easily doable when time is tight.  It has several vegan and vegetarian options and medicinal properties as well and fits naturally into the current American trend for vegan, gluten-free and vegetarian diets: “Once people are open to trying new flavors and some key ingredients, and they realize how easy the recipes are, it’s a breeze!

Kerala cuisine or Malayali cuisine is all about using a few ingredients like curry leaves, coconut milk, coconut oil, spices like black pepper, different variety of chillies like Kaandaari. All the dishes are very veggie friendly like the Vegetable kurma and the Errissery (Veggies cooked in a spiced coconut gravy) Another option is Appam which is a lace like pancake with fermented rice batter. There are a variety of lentil pancakes, and can also be made from sprouted lentils.

South Indian specialties like idli dosa are gluten free and can be combined with a protein to make a flavorful dish. Dosa or idli batters can make a variety of dishes. For example, idli batter could be used to make a savory donut with a coconut chutney dip or a tomato onion dip. Dosa batters could be used as blinis with a variety of toppings like dry chicken with curry leaves or an assortment of grated vegetables or a simple coconut chutney with mustard seeds.

For those looking for gluten-free dishes, the use of coconut in various forms helps all vegan lovers.  Many vegetable dishes are made with just mustard seeds tempered in coconut oil. Rice is the staple form of carbs used in the cuisine and most of the savory dishes use coconut milk.

Rajni Menon is a Malayali food evangelist who is spreading the word through her cooking classes and private experience events for people of all races and communities, finding a rich new role for Indian food ingredients in new surroundings. She says, “I create an intimate and elevated cultural experience through food, presenting a 3-4 course plated dinner service in the comfort of your home. Everything is cooked fresh and served for small groups up to 12 people.”

As for her cooking classes, student Kathleen Gupta found her to be kind, organized and a patient teacher: “Most importantly, she was willing to share her secrets with me so that I would be successful in making that particular dish. My husband thanks her!”

Besides being a talented home cook, Menon also has the impressive experience of working at a Jean Georges Restaurant. She recalls, “ It was an amazing experience to work at the Michelin Star Chef’s restaurant. I learnt a lot from my mentor Chef Ron who had hired me. It was a tremendous learning experience for me from prep work to the final stylized plating.” She met the chef Jean-Georges himself and had a great conversation about Kerala which the chef had just visited.

Slowly, Americans are understanding the value and taking on her cooking classes, especially the ones for American seniors. She decided to start cooking classes since she got requests for birthday parties and graduations. She says, “It’s all about an experience with the culture and learning the different flavors while prepping and cooking the dishes. We cook together and have a lot of fun. Its therapeutic too to get away from everything to immerse yourself in my cooking class and relax.”

Michelle Stratman is a true believer after she took her cooking class. She says, “Not knowing Rajni or anything about her, really, I took a risk, and set up a retirement party for a friend who loves to cook. Since then I have set up two more dinners, and I have two more on the way, for parties of ten to fifteen people.”

She gives her an A + for artistic vision, details and elegance and for being an entertaining explainer of the process. “She listens closely to the client’s ideas and vision, provides unique flavors and broadens the culinary backgrounds of all the guests, all while serving an outstanding meal. Rajni does all of this with such grace that she makes every guest feel welcomed and cared for. I have never met anyone like her.”  The caring she shows everyone is an extension of her real passion – feeding orphans. She has done that in various settings. including her hometown in Kerala.

Creative Rajni learns something new wherever she goes. “My visit to Japan was a cultural and culinary experience for me. We went to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. The highlight was visiting the amazing temples and tasting the Japanese traditional meal-Kaiseki meal in Kyoto which was an extraordinary experience for all the senses. The food was incredible. I came back with a ton of ideas which I’ll be implementing to my catered dinner events.”

What’s the one magical ingredient Creative Rajni must always have up her sleeve?

“That would be coconut oil – I start a dish with coconut oil where mustard seeds are popped or where onions are roasted. It’s the fundamental ingredient for cooking up a savory dish.”

So now blinis and donuts made from lentils are all second cousins of dosas, appams, medhu vadas and idlis and can be eaten on any occasion! An uthappam is also not very different from a savory pancake. In a world which is becoming more aware of the value of vegetables, lentils and even seafood, Malayali food has an important role to fill for vegetarians, vegans and even seafood and chicken lovers.

America – with a Touch of Kerala  – Recipes

Here Rajni Menon shares recipes for her unique creations with Lassi with Lavina readers. Enjoy!

Mini Dosa Blinis with coconut chutney or Gluten-free savory pancakes

Ingredients:-

6 cups dosa batter (Rice and lentil batter)

a few dill leaves

1/2 cup beet puree

2-3 tbsp mustard seeds

2 tbsp coconut oil

1 cup grated coconut

1 serrano chilli

Method:-

1. Cook one beet until soft and puree it. Add 1 cup of dosa batter to it and mix well. Keep aside.

2. Pour a ladle of regular dosa batter onto a medium size hot griddle, add 1/2 cup of beet dosa batter and swirl it with a toothpick. Cook for a few minutes until bubbles appear on top. Flip it to cook the other side. Add in a few drops of safflower oil for crispy sides. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and its ready to be served.

3. Move it onto a cutting board and cut into squares or rounds. Top it off with coconut chutney, mustard seeds popped in coconut oil and a sprig of dill. This will make a great appetizer for a dinner party.

Coconut chutney- Grind together coconut, salt, serrano and lime juice from 1/2 a lime. Grind thoroughly until smooth

Potato Mash – Kerala Style

Ingredients:-

Russet potatoes, medium size, cut into cubes- 4
Salt-2 tspn
Turmeric powder-1 tspn
Kashmiri chilli powder-2 tspn
Shallots, thinly sliced-6-8
Coconut oil-3 tbsp
Black mustard seeds-1 tbspn
Curry leaves, julienned-12-14 curry leaves
Water-1 cup
ginger, julienned-2 tbspn

Method:-

1.     In a large saute pan, heat coconut oil, add in mustard seeds and curry leaves and stir for 5-6 seconds.

2.     Add in shallots and saute until light golden brown. Reduce the heat to very low and add in all spices. Stir for 5 seconds.

3.     Add in cubed potatoes and stir well to combine. Add in water and cover and cook on medium heat for about 10-15 min. Every 6 min please uncover and check to see if you need more water.

4.     Once the potatoes are soft add more fresh curry leaves and stir. Enjoy.