Art/ Heritage

LUCA SIGNORELLI: The Chapel of San Brizio, Orvieto

Beyond the touristy tumult of Rome, Florence, Milan and Pisa lies the Green Heart of Italy. Perched upon its tufa cliffs, is the ancient Etruscan capital of Orvieto. Riddled with history and mystery, at the heart of the town is tucked the breadth-taking, magnificent Gothic Duomo.

The Duomo of Orvieto is undoubtedly one of the best cathedrals in the world – famously called the Golden Lily of all the Italian Cathedrals. Its construction began in 1290 and was encouraged by the Eucharistic Miracle of Bolsena (1263) and the Institution of the feast of the Corpus Christi in 1264. The Cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of Assumption and boast of one of Italy’s liveliest Gothic façade. With every gaze one is embraced by a gentle breeze that beckons contemplation upon its crowning mystery, namely, the Corporal of the Eucharistic Miracle within its repository. The Duomo also houses a renowned gem in its right transept – the Chapel of San Brizio.

This splendid Chapel was built at the beginning of the 15th century. Initially called the Cappella Nuova or the New Chapel in 1622 it was dedicated to one of the first Bishop who evangelized the people of Orvieto – namely St. Brizio. Legends state that the Bishop left back a beautiful panel of the Madonna enthroned with Christ Child that continues to sit upon the high altar of the Chapel. At present the Chapel is separated from the rest of the Cathedral by two wrought iron gates. 

Beyond these gates, in the interiors, lies a paradise of art, history and faith. The Chapel boasts of a cycle of frescoes by some of the greatest geniuses of the Renaissance – Fra Angelico, Benozzo Gozzoli and finally Luca Signorelli, the Tuscan painter from Cortona. He is popularly recognised for having decorated the Sistine Chapel with a beautiful fresco illustrating the Testament and the Death of Moses. However, his greatest masterpiece to posterity was rendered within the serene hill-town of Orvieto.

Spread the love ♥
       
Continue Reading
Food

Beetroot cooked with curry leaves and coconut.

I grew up averse to eating this super food. At best I would eat it raw with a lime on it. Cooked in any form, this dish was always a pass for me. I then came across this recipe made by one of my parishioners. The style and ingredients are very South Indian and the balance they bring about on the palette is a exotic.

Ingredients:-

Beetroot – 250 grams or roughly one large beet cut brunoise  or fine dices

Oil – 30ml (2tbsp)

Garlic – 2 cloves finely chopped

Mustard Seeds – half a teaspoon

Curry leaves – two sprigs

Onion – one, finely chopped

Green chilli – 2 or 3 finely chopped

Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon

Cumin powder – 5 grams or ¾ teaspoon

Grated coconut – 50 grams

Method

Heat the Oil in a deep pan. Add chopped garlic and sauté till it turns light brown (on a medium flame). Add Mustard seeds and curry leaves and allow the mustard to crackle. Add Chopped onion and chillies sauté for a minute on low flame. Now add the chopped Beetroot and add salt to taste. Let this cook on low flame for 2 minutes and then add turmeric powder.

Continue the cooking process for one more minutes on a low flame. Finally add cumin powder which is the main flavouring agent. Turn off the gas and add grated coconuts and give this a stir and cover. Allow the beetroot to cook in its own heat. Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.

Comments are welcome and encouraged

Spread the love ♥
       
Continue Reading
Food

Vegetables cooked with chana dal in a roasted onion and spice gravy

I have been a great advocate of one pot meals. They are wholesome, often quick to make and can feed an army. While this dish is vegetarian you can always satisfy you meat craving by adding chicken along with the vegetables.

A few tips

  1. This is an onion based gravy with roasted spices. It has no coconut in it.

  2. Soak the chana dal or Bengal gram for at least two hours if not overnight.

  3. Use hardy vegetables to accompany the robust flavour of the gravy

  4. I used a combination of carrot, white pumpkin and ivy gourd or tendli. Another great combination is cauliflower, peat and potato or French bean, carrot and corn

  5. Avoid using vegetables which have a strong overpowering flavour, you want this gravy to show off a bit

  6. This dish requires your patience and is not one of those flashes in the pan and ready to eat

  7. The ingredients in this dish can feed at least eight people.

  8. Dice all your vegetables the same size and they will cook evenly. For this dish I cut the vegetables the size of my thumb nail. You want to be able to eat this comfortably and not stretch your mouth when eating.

Spread the love ♥
       
Continue Reading
Food

Bharwa(Stuffed) Bhindi – Okras stuffed with coconut, mango powder and spices

So Bhindi is every amateur chef’s worst nightmare. Perhaps the thought of this dish also makes you recoil for the many times it has been served to you slimy. Bhindi, lady finger or okra as it is called requires the chef’s patience but the end results are fantastic.

Here are a few tips for this dish

  1. Separate the bhindi according to its size so that when you cook them in the pan you cook them according to the same size and they cook evenly.

  2. Wash the bhindi the night before and then wipe them. Let them sit out on the kitchen counter overnight. If you don’t have the luxury to do this then simply wipe the dry before use but make sure they are dry.

  3. Make sure you have a large flat bottom nonstick pan for this dish.

  4. While frying, ensure that the bhindi sit on the pan and not one over the other. Don’t over stuff your pan.

  5. I have used onion powder and garlic powder. If you don’t have this in dry form (which is easy to make at home) then mince the two together and I mean mince it. Fresh onions also lend a nice sweetness to the dish

  6. I have used coconut powder but this dish tastes equally good with desiccated coconut

  7. You need aamchur for this dish if not use dried pomegranate seeds as a souring agent but you can’t skip the souring agent. Souring agents also help prevent the bhindi from going slimy.

  8. If you are using only dry ingredients for the stuffing then you can make it and store it for as long as you like.

  9. Finally make sure your pan and the oil in it are super-hot when adding the bhindi and then follow the instructions given in the method

Spread the love ♥
       
Continue Reading
Food

Spinach cooked with Moong Dal.

When most people think of spinach as a vegetable they think of a it in some pureed form with cottage cheese (paneer) or potatoes. Spinach can be added to chapatis and poori dough, batter fried or pan fried as a savoury, added to potato and turned into a cutlet or cooked with dal, as in this case. Raw spinach has a mild, sweet taste that can be refreshing when used in a salad. Its flavour becomes more acidic and robust when it is cooked. When pureeing it, always give it a light run in the mixture or else it tends to turn bitter.

This dish relies as much on the onions as it does on the spinach and dal. Do not reduce the quantity of onions as they provide a base and a bulk to the dish besides adding to a nice sweetness. Onions can be the Cinderella in your dish. Its strong pungent taste is transformed into a sweet flavourful component to any dish.  

Spinach – one large bunch

Moong Dal – one handful, soaked in water for two hours

Onions – two very large or four medium, and minced finely

Tomatoes – two very large or four medium, chopped finely

Green chillies – three to four

Garlic – four cloves

Turmeric – ¼ teaspoon

Jeera /cumin seeds– ½ teaspoon

Oil and salt as required

Spread the love ♥
       
Continue Reading