DAY 34: My "Indian kitchen"- BHEL PURI

BHEL PURI is a common Indian street food (chaat) whose main ingredient is BHEL MIX, made of puffed rice, lentils, gram four crackers and chickpea vermicelli.

This bag came from BOMBAY BAZAAR, 3140 S. Parker Rd.

Here's a version I made last night that was fantastic!  If you do try it, timing is everything.  Like cold cereal, if you don't eat it right after mixing it together, the BHEL turns soggy.  

You don't want soggy BHEL.

The recipe follows--

5 cups bhel mix

1/3 cup chopped boiled potatoes

1/3 cup diced tomatoes

3 tbs. minced jalapenos

8 tbs. tamarind date chutney

4 tbs. cilantro chutney

2 tbs. chopped cilantro

1 tsp. chaat masala 

juice of 1/2 lemon

Just mix it all together and eat it right away!

DAY 33: My "Korean" kitchen-YUBUCHOBAP from Maangchi.com

For a very easy, very tasty Korean snack, try YUBUCHOBAP, seasoned tofu pockets stuffed with rice.

This recipe can be found on www.maangchi.com

You can find the YUBUCHOBAP kit, rice seasoning and yellow pickled radish at 

M-MART, 2000 S. HAVANA

A MOST DELICIOUS SNACK!

addictive....

Yubuchobap (Seasoned tofu pockets stuffed with rice: 유부초밥)

DAY 32: my "not-so-Korean" kitchen--Kimchi stew

An experiment using bean threads, kimchi, savoy cabbage and shitaake mushrooms, all purchased at H-MART, 2751 S. Parker Rd.

the Mollie Katzen recipe I based it on--

www.molliekatzen.com/recipes/recipe.php?id=1022

DAY 31: PHO 75, next to M-MART, 2000 S. Havana

lunch--good.  cheap.

Cooking Silkworm Larvae in South Korea

DAY 30: More shopping at M-MART, 2000 S. Havana--Silkworm larvae, etc..

M-MART is a small Korean-Japanese market specializing more on foods specific to Korea.

packaged, prepared pickled stuffs way beyond kimchi..shelves of various kimchis (locally made?) canned stuffs, dried stuffs...fish, etc..some produce..

somewhat intimidating to the uninitiated..

  

I am unfamiliar with Korean food, so I had a lot of questions--which was a bit challenging as many items possessed a very little English on their labels and the English spoken by those working was very limited.  But, very interesting, needless to say, and I will research!

 A popular Korean street food, cans of silkworm larvae were on special

I found a website on Korean cooking that I like:

www.maangchi.com

It's a sort-of K-popish primer friendly to those who don't know a thing about Korean food.

The above items are for a recipe for "Seasoned tofu pockets stuffed with rice" or YUBUCHOBAP.  YUBUCHOBAP can be made from a ready-made kit, which are common in modern Korean and Japanese cooking.  In the photo is a YUBUCHOBAP kit, consisting of tofu pockets, seasoning and a vinegar based sauce.  The recipe from Maangchi calls for julienned pickled yellow radish, which is also in the photo.  On the left is a shaker of YASAI FUMI FURIKAKE (rice seasoning), that I will sprinkle on my finished YUBUCHOBAP.

DAY 29: shopping at M-MART, 2000 S. Havana--finding seeds for this year's Asian vegetable garden

I wasn't searching for garden seeds while at M-Mart, a smaller Korean/Japanese grocery store on S. Havana, but look what I found!  Aren't they beautiful?

As Spring approaches, that will be something else that I keep my eyes peeled for in Aurora--seeds for this year's garden.

DAY 28: Shopping at BOMBAY BAZAAR, 3140 S. Parker Rd., for Academy Awards snacks

BOMBAY BAZAAR, 3140 S. Parker Rd., is a great market for those seeking culinary specialties from all regions of India.  

One section of the store is devoted to coolers filled with frozen vegetables, breads, ready-to-cook meals and snacks.  Here you will also find paneer (fresh curd cheese) and Kulfi (ice cream) in an assortment of flavors.

Other areas are packed with boxed items of all kinds--mixes, spices, beauty products, toiletries, etc., and a HUGE selection of basmati rices, flours (gram!) and legumes. Large quantities of all are available..

 

 I came in search for an interesting alternative to popcorn for an Academy Awards party--NAMKEENS (fried, crunchy snack mixes made of a combination of varietal grams (legumes), peanuts, popped rices, toasted vermacelli, etc.)

 BOMBAY BAZAAR has isles and isles of namkeen offerings; most mild, many spicy (printed warnings).  They are very delicious and high in protein!  The mix on the plate is of a lentil flour pasta and MOOTH GRAM.

 A selection of what I purchased.  The DESI CHICKPEAS are actually not a chickpea at all, but it's own gram.  The owner, A Sikh from the Punjab region, told me that the skins of the desi chickpea are known to have beneficial qualities for diabetics--they help to balance blood sugar levels.

Bhel mix.  This is an interesting puffed rice mix that is often used in making "chaat"--Indian street food.  I'll be making "Bhel Puri" with it...