Sunday, February 26, 2017

Comfort Food

A few weeks ago on a Saturday. It was 3 in the afternoon. Raining. Cold.
 
Did not feel hungry. But wanted to have some comfort food. Felt lazy to cook anything,
 
Opened and looked in the Fridge. There was not any cooked and stored food available.
 
Opened the freezer section. Ahh. I found one. Onion Pakoda I made about 3 weeks ago and I have stored about 20 pakodas in a freezer bag.
 
Took the bag out. Turned on the oven to 350 degrees. Wrapped the pakodas in an aluminium foil and placed inside the oven for 30 minutes.
 
Bingo. Hot crispy pakodas were ready. Ate all of them with a hot cup of tea.
 
Cooked food can be stored in the freezer section up to 3 months. It has to be stored in an air tight freezer box or freezer bag. Some say we should not put yogurt based gravy (Punjabi Kadhi or South Indian Morekuzhambu) in a freezer. But, to me, it works out OK. No probs.
 
Until 1 year ago, we stored the food in the freezer section only when we were getting ready to go on a vacation. We stored some cooked dishes to take it out and eat during the first few days after our return from vacation. But now, me in charge of cooking, I use the freezer a lot.
 
One word of caution: Please do not try this (storing food in the freezer section up to 3 months) in those countries where there is voltage fluctuation and/or frequent power cut.
 
PS: Only after eating all the pakodas I realized I did not take a picture to show them here.

PPS: Is the plural for pakoda is pakodas?

25 comments:

  1. Yes, it should be pakodas. As you said, we can't try it here esp. when we are not home.

    I can imagine how you felt when you saw the treasure bag:)

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sandhya. It felt very good.

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  2. Perfect tiffen for a cold rainy day.Wifey not in town or what?

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    1. I am really sorry, I have been going through your blogs off and on,but somehow missed the part which recounted your first meeting. I have no words to tell you how I feel.

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    2. Thanks for your comments Rama. I appreciate.

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  3. Ah! Pakode! You made them!? Super!

    Pakoda is a Hindi word, isn't it? I think, Pakode is the plural form in Hindi. In Dakshina Kannada, Baje/bonda is the term we use for pakoda. How about the usage in Tamil Nadu?

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    1. Thanks for your comments Sindhu. I think in Tamil Nadu, they use the word Pakoda. It is different from Bajji which is entirely different from Bonda.

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  4. Hi SG

    I love onion and spinach pakodas (I think the plural is pakodas) and prefer them piping hot! you are so correct, in India the voltage fluctuations renders most eatables useless and rotten before time.

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    1. voltage fluctuations render*

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    2. Thanks for your comments Ankita. I also love onion and spinach pakodas.

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  5. I feel, especially in times when we are hungry, it may also be a good idea to prepare our favorite food freshly. It will taste better because of all the efforts we put in :)

    Destination Infinity

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    1. Thanks for your comments Rajesh. We all like freshly prepared food. This is only Plan B.

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  6. Somehow I am not a huge fan of freezing my food- Still living as per Indian habits (old habits die hard). Though after reading your post I crave for pakodas, I wish I them had in freezer too. Its snowing outside since morning and its beautiful!

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    1. Thanks for your comments Shesha. We all like freshly prepared food. This is only Plan B. I am glad you are enjoying the snow.

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  7. Interesting , but I don't think I will store in the freezer even if there are no fluctuations ! Eat healthy n stay fit !

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  8. But this pakoda got into my head now , I m
    Planning to make some tomorrow or at least buy it from venkateswara boli stall :)

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  9. Isn't it better to get fresh hot pakodas from outside (Indian restaurant or store) instead of eating such old ones? Will they really stay good for 3 months in freezer? I am skeptical of even keeping coconut in freezer for that long.

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    1. Thanks for your comments Ash, We all like freshly cooked food. This is only Plan B and not for every day.

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  10. Am all for frozen food, they are best for 'rainy days'.
    I love onion pakodas and am craving for them now!! :)

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  11. Invention of freezer is a boon for the busy people of present era.
    One can understand how far your mind has travelled while chewing the pakodas.Life is that.
    An interesting piece. You make simple topics interesting,SG.Nice.

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  12. Its pakode, in hinfi. But to add english version it becomes pakodas..haha.

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  13. As long as you enjoyed the food without major health concerns, it should not matter how old it was.

    Also, I don't care what the plural of a 'pakoda' is as long as it makes my mouth water

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  14. Oh and I always thought it was not very healthy to do that.
    But yes given your situation it is a necessity

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