Feast for a fast - Sheera

It's the first of the month already and time for another edition of JFI (Jihva for Ingredients). The ingredient chosen by Santhi this month was flour, which means I only had about a million dishes to choose from. Easy-breezy :-)

To help make the decision easier I decided to look at some of the more uncommon flours that are used in Indian cuisine. These as far as I know, are generally associated with fasts. I thought this would be appropriate also because it is the auspicious month of Shravan.

As a child I used to exasperate my mother with questions on why certain foods were allowed and others were not whenever she observed a fast; "why potato and not onion?", "why cumin and not garlic"? and on and on. Later I learnt the idealogy behind the ritual. Upvaas in Sanskrit is made up of two words - near (up) and residing (vaas). It suggests one becomes closer to God by practising austerity. So meals have to be as 'sathvik' as possible. Well at least that was how it was meant to be, but I suppose hunger overrode religious sentiment because the rules have relaxed a lot since!

In general flours such as buckwheat (kootu), samo (vari), water chestnut (shingada/ singoda) and amaranth seed (rajgira) are considered kosher whereas wholewheat, chickpea, rice and semolina are avoided. My original plan was to make 'upvaas thalipeeth'. My mother warned me over the phone that they weren't as easy as they sounded. "How difficult can they be?", I asked her. Umm, very very. Since these flours do not contain gluten, it makes rolling, shaping, in fact doing anything with them (except messing up your countertop) difficult!

A quick phone call back home and I got a better alternative, after the inevitable "I told you so" speech - sheera. Shingada flour even in its raw state smells so sweet that I knew the sheera would be delicious. There is nothing much to the recipe as you can see, it is the flour that is the star of this dish. The sheera has a nutty flavor like lapshi, only stronger. It reminded me of temples, poojas and prasad.

SHINGADA PEETHACHA SHEERA (Pudding made with chestnut flour)
(serves 2)
1 cup shingada flour
1/4 cup ghee
1/4 cup sugar or to taste*
a pinch of cardamom powder
a handful of chopped cashews/ almonds/ pistachios/ raisins
1 cup + a little more water

Put water to boil. Heat ghee in a pan, add flour and roast till it turns golden brown and becomes aromatic.

When the water comes to a boil, add to flour along with chopped nuts. Add sugar, mix well and cook for a few minutes. Add cardamom powder and mix again. Serve hot.
* Ladoos can also be made with shingada flour

Blogger Postcards from the World

In this age of email its fun to actually pick a card, write a note and mail it all the way across the world. Well mine isn't going all that far but its fun nevertheless.
I picked up this postcard on our trip to Edinburgh, a city I loved for its old world charm and beautiful architecture. The Edinburgh castle seemed to follow us like a protective chaperone wherever we went in the city, looming large and fairy tale like in the distance. This particular postcard is my favorite because it captures the castle's stony facade perfectly against the blue Scottish skies. Hope my blog buddy likes it too. Meanwhile I am eagerly waiting for my postcard.
Thanks Meeta for hosting this novel event.

Tags: upvaas sheera shingada peeth farali