Project 21

Sometime during the 21 day lockdown that we went through here in India, there was a challenge posted by  Bombay Sapphire on Instagram. Stir Creativity. 

 The challenge required the use of 21 objects, 21 lines to create a drawing or painting, 21 cuts on a fabric to make a garment, or  a 21 words poem. Stir your creativity using 21 of anything.
I used 21 small brown paper envelopes and put into them prayers my mum had handwritten for me, recipes which I tried and had been shared during the lockdown, origami which I had done and other little things.   

25th March - prayer, 26th March - recipe for Lime pickle, 27th March - modules for an origami kusudama.

28th March -  shopping list, 29th March - my mother in law's recipe for Molaga Podi, 30th March - handwritten prayer.  

31st March - recipe for Pineapple Upside Down, 1st April - Origami hearts, 2nd April - handwritten prayer. 

3rd April - Recipe for sun dried tomato pickle, 4th April - modules for a pinwheel kusudama, 5th April - recipe for slider buns. Oops! forgot to stitch around the edges. 

6th April - sampler of Up and Down Buttonhole Stitch for week one of the community stitch challenge organised by TextileArtist.org and led by Sue Stone, 7th April - handwritten prayer, 8th April - a schoolmate's recipe for Krackjack biscuit pudding.

9th April - shopping list, 10th April - handwritten prayer, 11th April  recipe for green gram or pachai payaru payasam.

12th April - origami Easter chicks, 13th - my mum's recipe for pancakes, 14th - modules for an origami kusudama. Everything used for this challenge came from my stash.  

The little origami hearts were made for the Hearts for Hope. The challenge continues on instagram if you wish to join in and contribute an image of a heart you discover or create. it could be a heart shaped stone you find,  heart shaped cookies you bake or a heart tattoo someone you know has. You never know where you'll find a heart or like me create a heart using whatever you have on hand  - a length of wire perhaps?    Post your picture on Instagram and use the following hashtags #2020heartsofhope #mendingmayhem #isewlation   

This recipe is very special. I lost my mother in law to cancer on the 16th of April and this is one of two recipes I have from her. The other recipe is for dosa batter.Now each time I make either molaga podi or dosa batter I shall make it to honor her memory.Sorry about the spacing, can't seem to fix it. We continue to be in lockdown until May 3rd. The question now is whether it's going to be extended beyond that date or if there will be an easing of restrictions. 
 How are you coping with lockdowns and quarantines? I'm going to be participating in #MendMay, starts on the 1st of May. Check out @visiblemend on Instagram if you're interested. Until the next post
 stay home and stay safe.  

Chillies - Red and Green

This week I've had to replenish the Molaga Podi also known as Gun Powder ( for very obvious reasons). R loves to eat Adai with Molaga Podi mixed with curd ( yogurt) or oil. Molaga podi is made with dried red chillies and lentils and since I had a large supply of fresh green chillies ( I always have a Tupperware container of green chillies in the fridge) I decided I would make a bottle of Raisin Stuffed Chili Pepper Pickles which I came across at Zlamushka's Spicy Kitchen. I regularly visit this blog which is devoted to Chillies and all things spicy - how wonderful is that!

So without further ado here's the recipe for Molaga Podi

MOLAGA PODI

Ingredients:
Urad dal - 1 cup
Channa dal - 1 cup
Dry red chillies - 4 cups
Asofoetida - 1 tsp.
Salt to taste

Roast the dals with the asofoetida in a teaspoon or two of oil until the dals are golden brown in colour. Similarly roast the dry red chillies.
Grind the roasted dals and chillies until a powder and add salt to taste.
I like simple recipes that require local ingredients and the method is quick and straight forward.


I plan to translate simple recipes into embroidered pieces which I can frame and put up on a wall. I've made 4 and I think the Raisin Stuffed Chilli Pepper Pickles will lend itself to embroidery very well.

RAISIN STUFFED CHILI PEPPER PICKLES

Ingredients:
Green chillies
Raisins
Pickling solution (1:1:1) Water, Vinegar, Honey

Wash the green chillies and cut off the tops of the chillies. I used the tine of a fork to loosen the seeds in the chillies, then I rolled the chilly between my thumb and fore finger to get the seeds out. The chillies I used were terribly spicy because at the end of the exercise my fingers were tingling and burning like crazy! So if you have sensitive skin please wear gloves for the de-seeding process.
Next stuff the chillies with raisins, as Zlamushka suggested I used a chopstick to aid the process.Pack the stuffed chillies tightly into a steralised glass bottle which has a lid which screws on tight.
In the mean time combine the ingredients for the picking solution in a vessel and bring to the boil, take off the fire and allow to cool. Pour the solution into the jar with chillies.
Now the next bit was something new for me. Place the pickle jars in a big pot, cover with water and bring to the boil. Allow to cool, take the bottles out of the water and store in a cool dark place for about 3 weeks.
I think they will be great in a sandwich but that's going to take 3 weeks.

The bottle of Raisin Stuffed Chili Pepper Pickles.
I have a bottle of the pickling solution so I'm going to put in some raisin stuffed chillies and some sambar onions (shallots), that should be an interesting variation.