In this post I would like to write a little about the place we live. We live in a small town called Barrow in Alaska, which is north of Arctic circle. This is the northmost town in America. The town is very small with population of about 5-6 thousand people. During summer there will be 24hrs sunlight for about 4 months. Summer is almost over here and we already had a few snow showers. During winter there will be complete darkness(no sunrise) for about 2 months, which is the hardest time for me.
We are the only Indian family here (myself, my husband and our 17 months daughter). We have just one general grocery store. Being vegetarians, we mostly depend on fresh produce. The availability and selection of fresh produce is very limited. Most of our Indian grocery we order through Internet and shipping costs are usually more than the grocery itself. We stock up about 6 months supply. Shall write more about the place later in some post......
So few days back when I saw fresh coconut at the store, I couldn't wait to get home and make coconut chutney. So I made Idly and coconut chutney over the weekend. It felt like some celebration using fresh coconut after so long.
I am very excited to post this recipe of channa dal and coconut chutney. Yesterday I made Red rice flour rotti to go with channa dal and coconut chutney.
So here is the recipe
Channa dal - 4 tsp
Coconut fresh - 1/2 cup
Cilantro - few strands
Fresh Ginger - About 1 inch
Green chillies - 2
Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp
Salt as per taste.
Dry roast channa dal until it turns golden brown. When its cooled add all the above ingredints along with channa dal add enough water to make smooth paste. Now its ready to be served.
We had it with Red rice flour rotti. For rice flour rotti click here.
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Dear Ruchii,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your blog and your recipes very much. I am really surprised that you live in a place where you dont have an Indian store & just one store... and still manage to cook so many Indian recipes. Hat's off to you.
By the way I am really curious to know why you are staying in Barrow, Alaska.How do you manage during winters especially when there is no Sun light.... please write a post about your winter experiences...
I am in NYC and I feel it is too much cold here during winter and I definitely want to hear from you about Alaskan winter.
T.....
Preeti.
@ Preethi
ReplyDeleteThanks Preethi for you kind words, Yes it hard to get Indian groceries but i stock up 6 months worth of groceies and mostly buy them online so get to my doorsteps. Winter is very hard as you know, just spent most time staying inside or travel back home to India.
You should come by and visit alaska, you seem interested about places. Something different, southern part of Alaska is very beautiful Summer is best time to visit though.
Appreciate your time to leave a comment.
Ruchii,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your invitation to Alaska.
I also lived in some places where I did not have an Indian store. I cooked only the veggies available in general stores (am a vegetarian too). However, I now am very much inspired by your blog and would try your recipes as many as I can.
The chanadal+onion chutney you mentioned in one of posts with Dosa is totally new to me, I would try that first. I know toordal chutney ( we call it kandi pachadi in Andhra) but never ate chanadal chutney.
Take care,
Preeti.