Food talk
 Jewel in the lotus

This white onion recipe, which can be enjoyed with dal-chawal or roti-subzi, is milder
and tastier than the usual pink stuff, says Pushpesh Pant

IT is the classic case of giving a dog a bad name and hanging it. Pyaaz`A0or onions are considered tamasik (included in the list of dark foods) that arouse lust and other base emotions, interfere with nobler thoughts and, at best, can play a subsidiary role in the resplendent (rajasik) repast. It is true that today not many in this land are bothered about traditional prescriptions and prohibitions but poor onions continue to suffer due to a plebeian image.

When nothing else is available or affordable, they are paired with roti and salt but seldom is the vegetable given its due. Onions used in masala remain mostly invisible and their contribution to taste and body of a dish is mostly overlooked in Indian cooking. Its pungency is well known but few are aware how sweet can it taste when embraced lovingly. As a matter of fact, in recipes like ishtoo that use up almost as much onions as meat, a tbsp or two of dahi must be added to reduce the sweet taste.

Scientist friends keep surprising us with the nutritional information that raises onions constantly in our esteem. Low in calories, high in water content and providing a rich supply of micro-nutrients and so on. Boiling or roasting, it seems, enhances the taste and so on. The joys of shallots, spring onions belong to a different realm.

All this and more was recalled when we came across a small sack full of marble white, perfectly spherical, onions in the mother dairy shop. When assured that this import from Nasik was milder and tastier than the usual pink stuff, we couldn’t resist buying a kilo and experimenting. Jewel in the Lotus sprang to the surface almost by itself from the recesses of sub-conscious. The form suggested the name that after a bite seemed perfectly justified.

Jewel  in  the  lotus

Ingredients

White onions (medium-sized) four

Tomatoes (freshly pureed or

finely chopped) 200 gm

(For a non-vegetarian option, the same quantity of cooked spicy mince may be substituted)

Processed cheese (grated) 100 gm

Bay leaf one

Cloves two

Brown cardamoms two

Black pepper ˝ tsp

Kashmiri red chilli ˝ tsp

Sugar 2 tsp

Oil 1 tbsp

Salt to taste

Method
Peel the onions. Wash and pat dry. Scorch lightly on open flame. Using a very sharp knife, make six sharp cuts ensuring that the segments remain joined at the base. Gently part — pushing outwards — to shape like a mini-lotus. Keep aside. Heat oil in a frying pan. Put the bay leaf and the whole spices in it and when these begin to change colour, add the tomatoes. Add sugar and salt. Stir in the cheese and simmer on low medium heat for four to five minutes till slightly thick. Scoop out with a spoon and fill in the space between the ‘petals’ of the onion ‘lotus’. Enjoy with dal chawal or roti-subzi — dispensing with the run-of-the-mill onion and tomato salad. There is nothing like being a lotus-eater and who knows when instant Nirvana may knock at the door?





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