An 'Innocent' Helping of Boondi

Hello Folks!!!

“I’m starving, thought Horrid Henry. I’ll just eat a few biscuits really, really, really quietly”.

Last afternoon, my sister wanted me to watch her cartoon shows with her. Before we settle down to watch TV, we always make sure we have some really good munchies.  She quickly switched on the television and we made ourselves cosy on the sofa. This time, she wanted to watch “Horrid Henry” and both of us agreed to watch it for some time, after which we would watch a show of my choice.

A few minutes into the programe, Henry said “I’m starving. I’ll just eat a few biscuits really, really, really quietly”.  As soon as I heard it, I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. It reminded me of a similar incident that took place just a year ago, but it was not just one girl, there were three hungry girls who planned a master plan to nick a snack from the kitchen.

It was a normal week day, when everyone was hungry at 5pm; the time we expect to munch on 2 thin biscuits and tea with our friends. Nobody in the hostel was ever happy with the idea of being underfed at tea time. There were even instances of my friends’ treasured ice-creams and cakes being stolen from the fridge.

That hot afternoon, my friends and I shared money to buy a packet of curd (yoghurt), our favourite snack that we ate with Boondi. All the students kept their food in the fridge in the kitchen. We hid our packet of curd perfectly well in the fridge because whenever we bought it, it was always stolen.

Two of my friends and I planned to take revenge on the ice-cream, cake and curd thief. The very thought of teaching that person a lesson was so thrilling and exciting.  We drew a blueprint in our heads. The positions of all three of us- one will stand in front of the room near the kitchen, where the cook sleeps. The other will stand just on the first floor, facing the kitchen to monitor all sorts of suspicious movements  and the last one, will stand near the fridge to check for any missing food. The plan was to be executed at sharp 11:00pm that night, when everyone was asleep.

Just like JK Rowling's famous trio that sneaked out of their dorms with an invisibility cloak, we three sneaked out with a lot of determination. It was our very first time and it definitely was scary.

It was me who stood near the fridge that night. I carefully opened the door, praying to be as quiet as possible. The slightest of sounds would wake the cook and land us into great trouble. With great relief, I managed to open it and found that everything was still inside, just like how we had left it in the afternoon. But then, to our greatest shock, our packet of curd was missing!!!

As soon as we started searching for the curd, the cook’s door opened. In the pitch darkness, I froze into stone, but my heart was beating so hard and fast, in a way to run away and save itself. It was then that we found the biggest thief of all! The cook threw the empty packet of curd and returned to her room. We were filled with so much anger and wanted to teach her a lesson.

The next day onwards, whenever we wanted to have some curd, we took the cook’s curd and silently ate it. Seeing her surprised face was the best thing ever. She would buy 4 packets of curd in the afternoon, and by the next morning, there would only be 3 left.

Only the three of us and now you know where the 4^th packet of goodness went😇!

It was a short-term adventure, since we left that hostel very soon!

Boondi Surprises!

Why not try some golden laddoos.....

Laddoos are a popular Indian sweet shared with family and friends. We mostly find it at celebrations and exchange laddoos with friends during festivals. There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to food and that's why we even eat it as desert at home😉.

Check the recipe for Spicy Boondi and Laddoo below..

RECIPE      (Spicy Boondi)                                                                                                                             

INGREDIENTS

1.Gram flour- 3 cups

2.Rice flour – 6tbsp

3. Chilli powder – 1 ½ tsp

4. Turmeric powder – ¾ tsp

5.Baking soda – ¾ tsp

6.Salt – 1 ½ tsp

7.Asafoetida – a pinch

8.Water – for mixing

9. Oil- for deep frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1.In a large mixing bowl, add gram flour and rice flour with turmeric, chilli powder, asafoetida, baking soda and salt.

2. Now, add water and mix it into a thick batter.

3. Pour the batter into a perforated ladle with circular holes held just above the hot oil. Fry the boondi pearls until golden brown and crispy.

4.Fry some curry leaves and cashews to garnish the boondi

5. Once cooled, you can either eat it directly or mix it in curd and eat it like my friends and I do.

 RECIPE ( Laddoo)

INGREDIENTS

For the Laddoo Batter

1.Gram flour – 1 ½ cups

2.Water – 1 cup

3.Oil – for deep frying

For the Sugar Syrup

1.Sugar – 1 ½ cup

2.Water – ¾ cup

For the Laddoo

1.Powdered green Cardamom – 6

2.Black Cardamom – 2 (husk removed)

3.Cashew nuts and raisins – as required

 

INSTRUCTIONS

For the Laddoo Batter

1.In a mixing bowl, add gram flour and water. Mix to make a smooth consistency.

2. Pour the batter into a perforated ladle with circular holes held just above the hot oil. Fry the boondi pearls until they are cooked. Don’t fry until crispy.

3.Fry some cashew nuts and then fry some raisins until they become plump.

For the Sugar Syrup

1.In a pan, mix sugar and water on low heat.

2.Cook until 1 string consistency

For the Laddoo

1.Strain the fried boondi well and add them directly to hot sugar syrup.

2.Add Cardamom powder, and black cardamom seeds.

3.Mix well and shape into laddoos.

4.Garnish with cashew nuts and raisins.

5.Serve when it has cooled.