Passion Cooking

Kaaramani (Yard long Bean/Chori) Parupu Usili

2012-02-09T21:36:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Yard long Beans - 1 bunch (2-3 cups chopped)
Channa dhal - 1/2 cup or mixed dhals(channa:toor)soaked
Red Chili - 2
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt

To Temper

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Broken Red Chili - 1
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - few

Method
Coarsely grind channa dhal and red chili with little salt. Microwave the ground mixture for 1-2 minutes or you can steam it in idli cooker. Once it cools down, give few pulses in the mixer to crumble. Add turmeric and salt to the beans and cook with sprinkles of water and keep it aside. Take oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, urad dhal, hing and curry leaves. Add cooked beans to the pan and give a nice stir. Finally add the crumbled dhal , stir well and cook in simmer for few minutes.

Serve with hot rice and sambar.

Bottle Gourd- Yellow Moong Stir Fry ( Sorakai Payatham Parupu Poriyal)

2012-02-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

I tasted this dish at my friend's place and since then, I am hooked. It's very simple to make if you omit the methi.

Ingredients

Bottle Gourd - 1 (medium size- makes about 2-1/2 cups)
Yellow Moong Dhal- 1/2 cup (soaked in water for 1/2 hr)
Green Chili - 3-4(Slit Lengthwise)
Methi Leaves - 1 Bunch (optional)- Triple cleaned and chopped
Coconut - 3 tbs
Onion - 1 Chopped
Salt
Mustard Seeds
Curry Leaves
Hing
Oil

Method :-

First parboiled the moong beans and keep it aside. Heat oil in a pan and temper mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves and hing. Add the slit green chilies, chopped onions and sauté it for a minute. Add the diced bottle gourd pieces to the pan. Cover and cook till the vegetable is half done. Sprinkle water if necessary. Add parboiled moong, turmeric, chopped methi and salt. Cook for few more minutes. Add freshly grated coconut to the vegetables and give a nice stir. Switch off the heat and serve.

Garlic Pickle (Poondu Uroogai)

2012-02-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

I have stopped doing grocery shopping since November because of my lower back pains. Mr.B is now doing those errands for me. He buys a minimum of two rolls of garlic every time, though it's not in the list to buy. Last week when I checked my pantry there were several rolls of garlic, some started sprouting. I wanted to make something with garlic before the rest of the rolls turn to garlic greens. I ended up making garlic pickle which came out really nice.

Ingredients

Garlic - 2 heaped cups (peeled and cut lengthwise)
Coriander
Seeds - 1/4 cup
Chili powder - 3 tbs
Gingelly oil - 1/2 cup
Mustard Seeds - 1 tbs
Fenugreek - 1 tbs
Asafetida - 1 tsp
Lemon Juice - juice from 3 lemons
Salt - 1 tbs
Gud - 1 small piece

Method

Dry roast coriander seeds. Make a powder of the roasted seeds in a mixer. Dry roast fenugreek and mustard seeds one after another and pound them coarsely. Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic pieces and let it cook till it become soft (~5 min). Then add coriander powder, chili powder, gud and salt. Add lemon juice to the garlic and let it cook in simmer for another 5 minutes. When oil starts to oozes out to the pan, add the coarse mixture (fenugreek & mustard) and hing to the pan and switch off the stove.

Once it cools down, store it in a clean glass container.

~ A perfect combination with yogurt rice

Jal Jeera (Refreshing Summer Cooler)

2011-08-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

Refreshing cumin drink ready to be served

Enjoyed this drink several times during our summer vacation in Chennai

Moroccan Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

2011-06-11T19:38:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Couscous
Cumin Seeds
Italian Seasoning
Grilled Vegetables
Broth/water
Olive oil
Salt

Method

Boil water in a pot. Heat some olive oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds and slightly roast the couscous. Add hot water/broth to couscous. Add salt. Simmer it for few minutes till the water is absorbed . Fluff it with a fork. Add the Grilled Vegetables to the couscous. Add red chilli flakes if more spice is neccessary.

Sprouted Lentil Salad

2011-05-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Sprouted Lentils - 2 cups
Green Bell Pepper - 1 small, diced
Carrot - 1 diced
Tomato - 1 small( squeeze out the juice)
Avacado - 1
Red Onions - 1 small
Green Chilli - 2 small
Corriander Leaves

Dressing

Olive Oil - 1 tbs
Lemon Juice - 1 lemon
Salt
Pepper

Method

Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl. In a seperate bowl, combine the lentils with chopped vegetables and pour the dressing over the salad and toss.

Veggie Wrap - Raw and Grilled

2011-04-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Veggie Wrap - Raw

Ingredients

Peppers(green,yellow & red) -Julienned
Carrot- Julienned
Avocado
Baby Portabella Mushrooms
Mixed Salad Greens or Micro Greens
Spinach Tortillas
Chopped Walnuts (optional)

Dressing

Olive oil
Lemon Juice
Dry Herbs
Hot sauce(few drops)
Honey
Pepper
Salt

Method

Toss all the vegetables in a salad bowl. Whisk the dressing ingredients and mix it with the vegetables. Keep some oil dressing aside for brushing the wrap. Take a spinach wrap, brush it slightly with the dressing. Keep the vegetables in the center and roll the wrap up tightly and slice it in half crosswise and serve.

Grilled Veggie Wrap with Avocado and Yogurt-Sourcream Minty Dip

Marinate the vegetables with salt, pepper,lemon juice, olive oil and a dash of Tandoori Barbeque Masala for 15-20 mts. Grill the vegetables. Warm the spinach tortillas . Stuff the grilled veggies inside the tortilla and serve warm.

Divine Tea

2011-04-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Recently bought this tea from a shop called "Teavana". Though expensive, the taste is divine. It's worth giving a try.

Panchratan Dal

2011-04-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

I will try to post the recipe soon.

Homemade Italian Seasoning

2011-01-13T19:26:00.000-08:00

~ Best way to preserve homegrown herbs

Ingredients

Oregano - 2 cups (loosely measured)
Basil - 2 cups (loosely measured)
Rosemary - 1/3 cup (loosely measured)
Sea salt - 1/3 cup
Red Pepper
Flakes - 2 tsp
Black Pepper - 1 tbs

Method

Combine all the ingredients. Give a quick pulse in the food processor. Makes about a cup. Store them in airtight spice jars.

Rosemary Salt

2011-01-13T19:02:00.001-08:00

Ingredients:-

Sea salt - 1 cup
Rosemary - 1/2 cup (crushed)

Method:-
Combine salt and rosemary in a food processor and give a pulse or two until well combined. Keep in an airtight container. A perfect seasoning for grilled vegetables especially for grilled potatoes.

~ Christmas gift from my herb garden

Vazhaipoo Poriyal ( Banana Flower stir fry)

2010-12-14T19:42:00.000-08:00

Banana flower is considered a very common vegetable in South India, especially in Tamilnadu state. It has lot of nutritional values and it is used in treating bronchitis, stomach ulcers, diabetes and menstrual problems. It also increases hemoglobin cell levels in the blood.

~Banana Blossom

We use almost all parts of the Banana tree. We use the tender innermost banana trunk (Vazhaithandu), Banana, Banana flowers ( Vazhaipoo) in cooking. We serve food in banana leaves (Vazhai Elai). The fiber ( Vazhai Naaru) from the outermost trunk of the banana tree is used as strings to tie fresh flowers and garlands.

Banana plant grows from under ground stem called rhizome. After the plant bore fruits, the plant dies and another stem emerges from under ground as a new plant and this process goes on and on for years. That’s why elders bless anyone with the saying “Vazhayadi Vazhaiyaha Vazha Vazhthukkal”, meaning live long like a banana tree.

Though cooking banana blossom is a tedious process, the end result is a very tasty and nutritious one. First remove the purple outer cover called bracts and take out the strip of flowers (tiny immature bananas) inside.

Keep on removing the bracts until the tough ones are removed. I usually remove till the tip of the flower (very tender cream bract) is seen.

Also remove string in the middle that looks like matchstick with a white tip and a rubbery skin with the pink hue. Remove both from each floret.

~The bottom two should be removed as shown

Whenever my mom worked on banana flowers, I and my sister would patiently wait till my mom came to the last part of peeling to get the tender most part of the blossom that can be eaten raw.

Ingredients:

Banana Blossom - 1
Red chili - 3
Mustard Seeds - 1tsp
Urad Dhal - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Grated Coconut - 4 tbs
Salt

Method:

Chop the florets into tiny pieces. Place the chopped banana blossoms fully immersed in a bowl of buttermilk to prevent oxidization when exposed to air.

Pour oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds splutter, add urad dhal, red chili, hing and curry leaves. Add turmeric to the chopped florets and return the florets to the kadai and give a nice stir. Add salt and cover the pan with the lid. Cook until the florets become soft and tender. Add freshly grated coconut and mix well.

Serve with hot rice and sambar.

Notes:

Wear a glove when you work with banana blossoms to prevent the sap from sticking on to your hands. You can also add few tablespoons of boiled toor dhal (My mom usually adds it- may be to neutralize the bitterness?) along with the coconut.

White Pizza with Baby Arugula

2010-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

My son loves arugula. I grow arugula in my garden during summer and whenever I make pasta, I grab handful of leaves and add it to the dish. For my son, any pasta dish becomes a winner when arugula is added. Recently I bought a pack of organic baby arugula. This time for a change, I wanted to use it as a topping for Pizza, as the dough I made that weekend was lying in the fridge.

I have adapted this recipe from Ina Garten.

Ingredients

Home made Pizza dough
Garlic
Dried Basil Leaves
Olive Oil

Method:

To make Garlic Oil:-

Take olive oil, sliced garlic, dried basil leaves and red pepper flakes in a small saucepan and cook it over low heat. Make sure the garlic doesn't burn. Set this aside.

Toss the baby arugula with lemon, salt and pepper and keep it aside.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Stretch the dough into an 8-inch circle. Brush circles with the garlic oil.

Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Monterey Jack and Mozzarella cheese.

Bake the pizzas for 8 minutes until the cheeses begin to melt. Pull the pizza out from the oven; Sprinkle the seasoned arugula on top and bake for another 2 minutes.

Spicy Lentil Soup

2010-12-11T16:18:00.000-08:00

Ingredients :-

Lentils – 1 cup
Carrot - 1 diced
Onion - 2 chopped
Cumin – 1 tsp
Corriander Powder – ½ tsp
Chili Powder – ½ tsp
Garlic - 2 chopped
Ginger - 1 tbs chopped
Vegetable Stock – 4 cups
Water - 1 cup (optional)
Bay leaves - 2
Olive Oil – 3tbs
Crushed Pepper - 1 tbs
Salt – 1-1/4 tsp

Method

Soak the lentils for half hour and drain.

Pour oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and carrot and sauté until tender. Add bay leaf, lentils, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder. Add tomato puree and give a nice stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Add enough vegetable broth to cover the lentils. If needed add about a cup of water or broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook lentils until they are soft, 30 to 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaf.

Meanwhile, on a baking sheet, place the Ciabatta bread slices brushed with olive oil; Bake until golden brown.

Dunk the bread into the soup and enjoy! Perfect dish for a cold winter evening!

Hearty Lentil Soup and White Pizza

2010-12-08T19:10:00.000-08:00

Hearty Lentil Soup

White Pizza with Baby Arugula

~ Our dinner tonight

Crudité platter with Baba Ghanoush

2010-12-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

Baba Ghanoush is a yummy Middle Eastern spread/dip made of smoked eggplant and Tahini(sesame paste) paste. I prepared this healthy appetizer for Thanksgiving dinner.

Baba Ghanoush

Ingredients :

Eggplant : 1 (medium size)
Tahini : 2 tbs (Increase the amount if you like)
Chili powder : 1/4 tsp
Cumin Powder : 1/4 tsp
Roasted Garlic : 2
Lemon Juice : 1 tbs
Olive Oil : 1-2 tbs
Salt & Pepper

Step 1

Prick the eggplants in several places with a fork . Grill the Eggplants on the stovetop under low fire, rotating the eggplant few times until the skins are black and charred. You can also roast the eggplants in the oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Step 2

Once it cools down, peel the charred skin and scoop out the flesh.

Step 3

Add roasted garlic, tahini paste, lemon juice to the mushed eggplant and puree until smooth. Add cumin powder and chili powder and olive oil while pulsing. Season it with salt and pepper.

Serve with toasted bread or Pita squares. I served mine with raw vegetables(some vegetables are blanched).

Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes

2010-12-05T09:24:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Fingerling potatoes (Russian Banana, Purple Peruvian, Ruby Crescent & French ) - 1 lb
Garlic - 4
Dried Rosemary Leaves
Olive oil
Salt & Pepper

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Drop the garlic over potatoes. Brush lightly with olive oil and sprinkle crushed rosemary leaves, salt and pepper. Roast for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve hot with Yogurt-Sour Cream Minty dip.

Chinatakaya Sorakaya Pachadi (Green Tamarind-Bottle Gourd Chutney)

2010-12-05T08:51:00.001-08:00

Multigrain Roti with Val Dhal gravy

2010-12-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Ragi flour - 1 cup
Barley flour - 1 cup
Wheat flour - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Method:

Mix together all the flours and salt. Add water little by little and knead it into soft dough. Divide the dough into equal sized portions and press the dough alternatively with palm of your hands. Grease any polished surface (I used acrylic board) and stretch the dough further by using your palm of your hands slowly and steadily without breaking the circle. Remove the circle carefully and place it on a
hot tava. Cook both sides on a slow fire until brown spots appear on the surface.

Serve hot with your favorite gravy.

Val Dhal (Split Mochai) gravy

Ingredients

Val (Split Mochai) - 1 cup (Soaked for 1 hr)
Green Chili - 3
Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander Powder - 1/2 tsp
Tomato - 1
Onion - 1
Ginger - 1" piece
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Corriander leaves - 1 tbs (chopped)
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tbs

Method:

Pressure cook val(split mochai) with turmeric, half a tsp of salt and water for just one whistle and keep it aside. Make sure the dhal is soft not mushy. Heat oil in a pan. Splutter mustard seeds,cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add green chilies, onion and ginger and sauté till the onions become soft. Add tomatoes, chili powder and corriander powder and sauté till it becomes nice gravy. Add remaining salt to the gravy and add the cooked dhal and let it boil for few minutes. Squeeze some lemon juice and garnish with corriander leaves.

South Indian Thali

2010-12-04T20:29:00.001-08:00

~ South Indian Thali - Today's Lunch

Simple Maharastrian Thali - Pitla Bhakri

2010-12-04T14:05:00.000-08:00

I came to know about this simple yet yummy gravy very recently through my Maharastrian friend. I have already tried this twice in a week's time. It's a super-duper hit in my home.

Pitla

Ingredients

Besan - 1 cup
Shallots - 5
Green Chilies - 5 (medium)
Garlic - 4
Methi Leaves – Handful
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Hing - 1/4tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 2 tsp
Water - 4 - 4 1/2 cups

Seasoning

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Corriander leaves- 1 tbs

Method:

Crush green chilies and garlic with a pinch of salt in a mortar & pestle and keep it aside. Dry roast the besan flour in a kadai on a low fire, constantly stirring until the raw smell of besan is gone. Keep oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add onions, curry leaves and chili-garlic paste and sauté it well. Meanwhile make a smooth paste of besan by adding a cup of water, turmeric, chili powder and salt. Add the paste to the pan and add the rest of water. Let it cook in low flame, until the gravy thickens. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Bhakri

Ingredients

Jowar flour(Chola mavu) - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Water
Oil (optional)

Method:
Mix Jowar flour with salt. Add enough water and knead it into a soft dough. Divide the dough into equal lemon-sized portions. Roll it into circles with the palm of your hands. Use a plastic sheet to expand the circle so that the circle won't break. Heat a tava, place the rolled circle and cook on both the sides on a low fire.

Pitla Bhakri

2010-12-03T15:00:00.000-08:00

Pitla, Bhakri (Jowar Roti), Jeera Rice, Mirchi-Lasun Thecha ( Chili-Garlic Chutney), Raw onion and Pomegranate seeds. ~ A perfect winter comfort meal

Thanksgiving Party - Day3

2010-11-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

We got together on Saturday at my friends place for Thanksgiving Party. It was a potluck Mexican dinner.

I prepared the following dishes.

7 Layer Mexican Dip, Creamy Mint-Cilantro Dip, Spicy Salsa, Char-Grilled Poblanos and Grilled Vegetables.

7 layer Mexican Dip

Char grilled Poblano Peppers

Grilled Vegetables

(Red & Green Bell Peppers, Yellow Squash, Zucchini , Onions, Green Onions and Jalepenos)

My friends brought Enchiladas, Mexican Rice, Mexican Somosas....

Thanksgiving - 2010

2010-11-28T08:07:00.000-08:00

This year, we celebrated Thanksgiving for three consecutive days. That means lots of food and fun for three days. For the first day we had Italian, followed by Indian and culminated with Mexican feast.

Usually Mr.B and my son get so restless as soon as I take my camera. But somehow I managed to take some pictures .

Fruit Centerpiece

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Crudité Platter with Baba Ghanoush

Alfredo-Mushroom White Pizza

Oven Roasted Fingerling-Rosemary Potatoes

Vegetable Lasagne

Quinoa Kichadi

2010-11-20T05:14:00.000-08:00

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah), a pseudo grain originated in the Andean region (present Peru, Ecuador and Chile) of South America. The Incas, the native of Andean region called the seed "mother of all grains". It is gluten free and very easy to digest. Quinoa has high protein content and is considered to be a complete protein due to the presence of all 8 essential amino acids. It is exceptionally high in lysine(next to amaranth seeds) which is low in other grains.

When I cooked plain Quinoa sometime back, Mr.B and kids showed almost no interest in having it. This time, I bought a big pack of Organic Quinoa and wanted to make it differently with Indian spices. I made Quinoa kichadi yesterday instead of pongal (to avoid ghee) and it was a super-duper hit in my home. My little girl loved it and Mr. B really enjoyed eating the Kichadi and he wanted me to include Quinoa in our menu a lot hereafter.

Quinoa and Moong Dhal Kichadi

Organic Quinoa - 1 cup
Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup (I used split green moong dhal)
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Cumin seeds - ¼ tsp
Mustard seeds - ¼ tsp
Ginger - 1" piece
Salt - 1 tsp
Water - 3 ½ cups
Oil - 1 tbs

Method:

Rinse Quinoa several times until the water runs clear. This is to remove the bitter coating called saponin, a protective layer that keeps the insects and birds at bay. Most of the store bought Quinoa are pre-rinsed. Drain the water by placing the Quinoa in a fine-mesh sieve. Dry roast the moong dhal till you get the aroma. Add the quinoa and roast it for a minute or two. Add water, turmeric and salt. Meanwhile heat oil in a pan and splutter some mustard seeds. Add Green chilies, Ginger and Curry leaves and sauté it for a minute and add it to the quinoa-Moong mix. Pressure cook them for about 2 whistles and keep it low flame for 5 minutes and switch off the gas.

Serve hot!

We had our Kichadi with Chinatakaya Sorakaya Pachadi (Green Tamarind-Bottle gourd Chutney)

Notes:

Once cooked the grains will become translucent and you notice white spiral like threads attached to each grain. That is nothing but the outer germ around each grain twists outward forming a small spiral white tail.

Greens Harvest

2010-06-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Swiss Chard, Lettuce and Collard Greens

Sweet Potato Leaves Kootu

2010-05-29T11:39:00.000-07:00

I didn't know until recently that sweet potato leaves are edible. I thought they are poisonous like the regular potato leaves. My chinese friend told me that the leaves are edible and she brought me some sweet potato leaves from the chinese farm market.
She also told me that I can plant the stems after the leaves are removed as we would plant a mint . I removed all the leaves from the stems except the very tiny ones and I planted it deep into the soil leaving the very end tip above the soil.

When I googled and collected information about the leaves, I came to know they are good source of vitamins A and K .

I tried kootu (cooked with Moong in coconut+cumin+green chilli Masala) with the tender leaves. It came out really tasty and Iliked it better than spinach kootu.

Ingredient
Sweet Potato Leaves - 2 cups
Moong Dhal -1/4 cup

To Grind
Coconut - 2 tbs
Cumin seeds -1 tsp
Green chillies-2
Garlic cloves-1

For Tampering
Mustard seeds
Curry Leaves
Red Chili-1

Method.

Wash the greens and chop them. Boil the moong in little water. Once it gets half cooked add the chopped greens. Grind together the "to Grind " ingredients. Add the paste and turmeric to the greens and let it cook for few more minutes . Tamper the Mustard seeds in oil . Add broken red chili, curry leaves and hing to the pan and add it to the gravy.

A Peek into My Garden - 2010

2010-05-28T19:38:00.000-07:00

Spearmint

Oregano

Methi (Fenugreek Leaves)

Collard Greens and Lettuce

Hydrangeas

Beautiful Roses

Weekday Grilling

2010-05-21T15:28:00.001-07:00

Grilled vegetables in skewers

Grilled veggies with Creamy Avacado-Jalepeno dip

Beetroot Poriyal

2010-05-02T04:53:00.000-07:00

Harvested Fresh from my garden

Tender Beet Leaves

Home Made Almond Milk

2010-04-24T20:15:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Almonds - 1 cup
Water - about 5 cups (Fill the cup to the dotted line in the maker)
Sugar - Scant 1/3 of a cup
Vanilla essence - 2tsp

Method:

Soak the almonds overnight. Soaking makes the nuts plump up nicely and easier to digest. Drain the water and add the almonds to the mesh part of the soymilk maker. Add water and turn it on. Once the milk is extracted , you can sieve it through a cheese cloth (optional). Add sugar and vanilla extract. Enjoy warm or cold.

Notes:

You can extract the milk using the blender if you don't have the soymilk maker.

Collard Greens Poriyal

2010-04-24T20:01:00.000-07:00

My Garden Bounty

Poriyal

Parupu Urundai Kozhambu (Lentil Balls in Tamarind Gravy)

2010-04-24T19:52:00.000-07:00

I will try to post the recipe soon.

Spelt - Two in One

2010-02-19T13:45:00.000-08:00

Spelt is a comeback grain that is over 5000 years old and it is a very close relative to wheat. It has more fiber and protein than wheat. Spelt protein is easily digested by the body. It has earthy, nutty flavor and you can substitute spelt flour in recipes that call for wheat flour.

Spelt Methi Paratha

Last week I made spelt methi Paratha . I followed the same recipe as for the
Methi Paratha

Multi Grain Flat Bread/Roti/Chappathi:

Ingredients

Wheat flour :1 cup
Spelt flour :1/2 cup
Buckwheat flour: 1/2 cup
Salt

Method

Combine the flours and salt in a mixing bowl. Add water to the mix and knead it well to form soft dough. Divide the dough into small balls and roll it into a thin circle. Place the disc on a hot tawa. Cook it for a minute. Flip it and cook on the other side. Smear little butter or oil on the top.

Serve roti warm.

Sprouted Peas Chundal

2010-02-15T20:14:00.000-08:00

Recipe is same as Black Channa Recipe

Poondu Pulikozhambhu (Garlic in Tamarind Gravy)

2010-01-24T16:52:00.000-08:00

Pulikozhambhu is a typical Tamilnadu dish and it's popular especially in Tirunelveli homes. Pulikozhambu is a spicy and tangy gravy made mainly with the tamarind pulp and added ingredients.

Ingredients

Tamarind : Lemon Size (take pulp from dosai puzhi, no paste)
Garlic Cloves : 1 cup or Garlic from 3 bulbs
Gingelly Oil : 5 tbs
salt : 4 tsp

For the Masala Paste

Corriander Seeds - 3 tbs
Cumin - 1 tbs
Black Pepper - 2 tsp
Rice - 1 tbs
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp
Red Chili - 12
Grated Coconut - 2 tbs (optional)
Curry Leaves - few sprigs

Tempering

Mustard Seeds
Urad dal
Fenugreek
Curry Leaves
Asafedita

Method:

Prep:

Soak tamarind in water for 10-15 mts. Squeeze the pulp with the hands and filter it through a seive to avoid the fiber and small bits and pieces of the tamarind. Keep it aside. Peel off the skin from the garlic cloves. Roast all the masala ingredients in little oil and grind them to a fine paste using little water.

Take oil in a kadai. Temper the mustard seeds, urad dal, fenugreek, and hing. Add curry leaves and garlic cloves and saute them until the garlic becomes slightly soft. Meanwhile dissolve the ground paste along with salt in the tamarind liquid . Add the liquid to the pan and let it cook in medium heat for 30 to 40 mts till the liquid reduces to half. Add gingelly oil to the pan while the gravy is simmering. Adding gingelly oil is a must to this gravy as it imparts unique flavor to this dish.

You can make this gravy with dried vathal or cooked Mochai( Field beans). You can also add onion vadagams while tempering .

Pongal - The Harvest Festival

2010-01-16T08:03:00.000-08:00

Pongalo Pongal!

Pooja

Buckwheat - Two in One

2009-12-13T14:32:00.001-08:00

Lately, I have been extending my pantry's whole foods repertoire to a greater extent. Last weekend, I spent nearly an hour in Wegmans just exploring the whole foods section. I brought home some whole grains and flours from Wegmans.

Buckwheat Groats or Kasha :

Buckwheat doesn't belong to the wheat family and it's a seed that belongs to rhubarb family. It's gluten free and ideal for people who are allergic to wheat because of glutens. It helps prevent arteriosclerosis (the hardening of the arteries) because of its high rutin content. It is high in potassium, phosphorus, vitamin E and calcium. It's said to be good for diabetic people and for those who are having problems with digestion system. It has a nutty, earthy flavor.

Buckwheat husks or hulls are used as fillings for pillows.

I tried Adai with Buckwheat Groats. The taste was really good but I had hard time pouring as they didn't bind very well. Once I perfect the recipe, I will post it.

Buckwheat Flour:

Buckwheat is famous for its pancakes and Japanese Soba noodles.

I tried Buckwheat Pancakes and Buckwheat dosa. Both came out really good.

Ingredients

Pancake Mix - 1 Cup (or all purpose flour + 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and pinch of salt)
Buckwheat Flour - 1 Cup
Eggs - 2
Milk - 1 1/2 cup
Oil - 2 tbs

Method:

Combine both flours in a wide bowl. Whisk together eggs, milk and oil in a
separate bowl. Add the egg-milk mixture to the flour and stir gently to make a smooth batter. Heat a non-stick pan or a griddle over medium heat. Grease the pan with little oil. Ladle the batter onto the hot pan. Cook until the bottom side is golden and gently flip it to the other side and cook for another minute.
Serve immediately with maple syrup.

Multi Grain Dosa - Really a good thing!

Nowadays, I am trying to sneak in the whole grains (any form) in our regular diet so my kids doesn't feel much of a difference. When I grind batter for Idli , I make idli for the first day and make dosas the next day. If the batter stays for few more days it becomes uthapam or rava dosa with added ingredients. This time I added some whole grain flours to the sour batter to make multi grain dosa.

Buckwheat flour - 1/2 cup
Spelt flour - 1/2 cup
Dosa or Idli Batter - 3/4 cup
Salt

Method

Combine the flours, salt and mix with water to make a smooth batter. Mix it with the sour dosa or idli batter and make dosas.

Serve hot with Chutney.

Garlic Butter Asparagus

2009-11-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Asparagus - 1 bunch
Unsalter Butter- 1 tbs
Garlic cloves - 2 minced
Spice Powder - 1/4 tsp (Cumin, Black Pepper,Corriander seeds and chili flakes)
Salt

Method.

Wash and trim the asparagus. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped garlic and saute for a minute. Add asparagus spears and toss well to coat. Sprinkle spice powder and salt. Cook until the asparagus is tender.

Serve hot.

Sweet Potato Pancakes

2009-11-26T16:06:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato - 1 (large)
Rice Flour - 1/2 a cup
Sugar - 2 tbs
Cardamom - 1/4 tsp
Heavy Cream
or Milk - 1/4 cup

Method

Microwave the sweet potatoes at Potato setting (8-32 oz) or microwave it for 4-5 minutes. Mash the potatoes with a fork. Add in the rice flour and cardamom powder. Combine the ingredients well. Dissolve sugar in heavy cream and slowly add to the rice-potato mixture. The consistency should be like cookie dough not like a pancake batter. Roll out the dough in rectangular shape. Cut into desired shapes using cookie cutters.

Heat a nonstick griddle or large skillet over medium heat. Place the shaped pancakes on the pan. Pour clarified butter around the corner of each pancake as you do for dosa. Fry one side for a minute, turn it over and fry for another minute.

Serve it warm.

More than my kids, Mr.B enjoyed it so much. When I started making it, Mr.B told me not to compel him to eat as he is not a big fan of sweet potato. But he was the one who had it the most.

Handvo

2009-11-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

I will post the recipe soon.

Oondhiyu minus Muthia

2009-11-19T14:54:00.000-08:00

I used valor(avaraikai)in this recipe. Authentic recipe calls for surti papdi, sweet potato and eggplant.

Ingredients

Valor(Avaraikai) - 2 cups
Eggplant - 6 (small- Purple ones)
Potato - 2 (cut in Chunks)
Onion - 1
Surti Papdi Beans - Handful (frozen)
Garlic-Ginger paste - 2 tbs
Green chilli - 4 (minced finely or paste)
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Corriander Powder - 1 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Grated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Curry Leaves - 2 sprigs
Jaggery - bit
lemon juice - 1/2 a lemon
Corriander Leaves - 2 tbs (chopped)
Salt to taste

Method

Wash and string the beans. Don't break the beans. Heat oil in a pan. Add Mustard seeds, Ajwain, Curry leaves and Hing. Once the Mustard seeds splutter add the onion and fry till soft. Add Garlic-Ginger Paste, minced green chili , chili powder, cumin-corriander powder. Add the vegetables and salt. Add grated coconut and jaggery . Cover and cook the vegetables in very low flame. Squeeze lemon juice at the end and garnish with chopped corriander leaves.

Serve hot with Roti and Dal.

Last weekend , I made oondhiyu again. This time I made with valor, plantain, sweet potato, papdi beans and no eggplant. I didn't add coconut and jaggery. It came out good too.

Jasmine , Cindrella and a Thank You Note

2009-11-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

Good friend of us sent these lovely fragrant flowers, when Mr.B visited
Dallas. They are such a lovely couple. We felt so rejuvanated whever we visited them . I wish they live here in NJ so we can visit them often.

Traditional Silk Skirt weaved with fairy tale story Cindrella.

Thank you my friend for the lovely flowers and other goodies. My daughter really enjoyed wearing the flowers in her hair , clad in pattu pavadai(long silk skirt).

Sprouted Black Channa Chundal

2009-11-10T19:25:00.000-08:00

Ingredients

Black Channa - 1 cup
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Red chilies - 1
Curry Leaves - few
Grated coconut - 2 tbs (optional)
Hing - pinch
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp (optional)
salt to taste

Method

Soak the dry black channa overnight in enough water. Next day, drain the water and keep the channa in a sprout maker or in a colander for a day or two. Sprinkle water now and then to keep the channa wet while sprouting.

Pressure cook the channa with water and little salt . Just keep for one whistle. Once the pressure is released , drain the water. Keep oil in a pan. Splutter the mustard seeds , add red chillies, curry leaves and hing. Add cooked channa to the pan. Add freshly grated coconut and mix it well with the seasonings.

Enjoy it as a morning or an evening snack.

Chunky Avocado Salsa

2009-10-30T20:20:00.001-07:00

What this stack could be?

2009-10-01T14:56:00.001-07:00

Churma Ladoo ( Wheat Ladoo)

2009-09-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

We tasted this irresistable ladoos for the the first time in Swami Narayan temple in London. Since then, I and Mr.B are big fans of it. I didn't know what it is made of until my Gujarati friend brought this sweet.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 5 Cups
Sooji - 3/4 cup
Jaggery - 2 cups
Coconut - 1 cup (grated)
Sesame seeds - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1 cup
Cardomom - 1 tbs (powdered)

Mix wheat flour and sooji together. Add water and knead to make a stiff dough (as you would make for poori).

Roll the dough into small balls and make it little flat (Just press the ball in the middle with the thumb) .

Deep fry the mini rounds in oil.

Once it cools down a bit, powder them coarsley in the food processor or blender. Slightly roast the coconut and sesame seeds in a tablespoon of ghee. Add it to the ground mixture.

Mix the powdered jaggery with ghee and heat the mixture on low to medium heat. Add the melted mixture to the ground wheat and mix it together with the spatula as the added liquid is too hot.

Make small ladoos while it's hot(bearable hot).

Enjoy!!!!

Lesson learnt: Never try a new recipe for pooja as you can't taste. As my friend couldn't give the measurements, I got to make it twice to perfect it.

Bitter Gourd Curry

2009-09-09T23:00:00.000-07:00

This method of Bitter Gourd preparation doesn't need much oil compared to the Bitter Gourd chips recipe that I had posted earlier. Mr.B prefers this over the fry as it has less oil and it retains the bitterness till the end. Pairing Bitter Gourd with onions and tomatoes gives a sweet note to it.

Ingredients

Bitter Gourd - 5
Onions - 2 Big
Tomatoes - 1 Big
Chopped
Corriander Leaves- 3 tbs
Chili Powder
or Sambar Powder - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil

Coconut Paste (optional)

Grind together 2 tbs of freshly grated coconut with a tsp of cumin seeds to a fine paste

Method :

Cut the Bitter Gourd , Onions and Tomatoes into small pieces. Heat oil in a pan.
Tamper the mustard seeds. Add curry leaves then add Onions and Bitter Gourd pieces . Fry till it gets half cooked. Add tomatoes, chilli powder and salt and close the pan with the lid. Let it cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the ground coconut paste to the pan. Keep cooking for some more time. Toss some finely chopped Corriander leaves and give a nice stir and switch off the flame. Serve it with Rice.

Note.

This is my maiden online recipe that I sent to Bawarchi more than a decade back. It's still out there.

Home Made Pizza

2009-09-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour - 3 cups
Active dry yeast - 1 packet
Warm water - 1 cup (microwave for 30 secs)
Olive oil - 2 tbs
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Topping

Thinly sliced Bell Peppers,Onions and Jalepenos
Pizza Sauce

Method

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Wait for about 5 minutes until you see some bubbles. Combine the flour with the salt on a working surface. I did mine on a wide bottomed nonstick pan. Pour oil and the yeast mixture slowly to the flour and mix it well to blend .

Place the dough on a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic (as you would do for chappati). Sprinkle little flour if the dough is very sticky. Make it as a smooth ball. Keep the dough in a bowl . Cover it with the cling wrap and set it in a warm place till the dough doubled in volume, about an hour. If it's a sunny day the dough rises very quickly.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.

Divide the dough into two equal balls to make 12" thin crust pies. I kept the dough to sit again for another 40 minutes which is optional. Take one ball, flattened it with the rolling pin or with your fingers (I used both) into a disk. Stretch it gently to make a nice round pie. Transfer in to a pizza pan. Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce over the pie. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese or combination of cheeses on top. Spread the sliced vegetables on top.

Bake it for about 10 to 15 minutes or until is cheese is bubbly and the crust is crisp.

Slice the pie into 8 equal pieces using a pizza wheel and serve hot.

Enjoy with your loved ones.

Notes:
I find it very easy to stretch the home made dough than the store bought one. If your dough shrinks back while stretching, let it sit out for some time and then try stretching it out.

Pesky weed and Blood Pressure

2009-09-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

A long pending post that I planned to publish in April is finally here.

"A weed is just a plant whose virtues have not yet been discovered."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

It’s so true. Don’t you agree?

Wondering what am I talking about? , It's about the most annoying weed that grows in lawn, the Dandelion. Though it is considered as a pesky weed, it has lot of culinary and medicinal uses in Ayurvedic as well as in herbal treatments.

The name Dandelion is derived from its French name "Dents-De-Lion" given for its serrated leaves that resemble "Lion's Tooth".

Why to talk about this weed now? There's a reason. Mr.B was diagnosed with above-normal blood pressure and his better half is on the quest to find food that lowers it and dandelion green is one among them. I had never eaten dandelion or thought it's edible until I did research on food that lowers blood pressure. It is one of the natural diuretics (the only potassium-sparing diuretic) that help to get rid of excess fluids in the body without potassium loss, thus helps in lowering high blood pressure. They are also rich in Vitamins, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium.

There are several mythologies/folklore about Dandelions. It’s called Sheppard’s Clock as its flowers open about 5 am and closes at 8 pm. I have vivid memories about dandelions as a kid in elementary school. One, who succeeds in blowing all the seeds in one shot, would get the highest marks in the class and so forth.

Dandelion greens can be steamed or sautéed and the tender greens can be eaten raw in salads. My favorite farmer's market carries fresh Dandelion greens. I tried different dishes with Dandelion greens as I would cook any other greens.
Dandelions are mildly astringent and has slightly bitter flavor (we love bitter vegetables and greens) like arugula.

Ingredients

Dandelion - 1 bunch (washed and cut)
Toor dal - 1 cup
Tomato - 1 (quartered)
Onion - 1 (cut into big pieces)
Green chilies - 3
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 3 cloves
Ginger - 1" piece
Chili Powder - 1 tsp
Salt
Water - 3 cups
Tamarind
Puree - gooseberry size

For Tadka:

Oil - 1 tbs
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Channa Dal - 1 tsp
Dried Red Chilies- 3(broken into pieces)
Curry Leaves

Method

Wash the dandelions and chop them into pieces. Add toor dal, tomato, onion, ginger,
garlic and green chilies to the greens and pressure cook it for about 15 minutes. I usually keep one whistle that takes about 7 minutes and keep it in simmer for about 5minutes. Once the pressure is released, mash the dal with a wooden masher or hand blender. Add salt and tamarind puree and cook for few more minutes. Heat oil (add 1 tsp of ghee for flavor) in a pan, add mustard seeds and the rest of tadka ingredients. Add the hot seasoning to the dal.

Serve hot with Rice/ Roti.

Another Version:

Heat oil in the pan. Sauté the onions and dandelion. Add the cooked dal, chili powder and salt. Add little tamarind puree and water. Let it cook for some time. Do the tadka along with broken chilies and add the hot seasoning to the dal. I prefer this when I have already cooked dal in my fridge.

Our Garden - 2009

2009-05-25T16:35:00.000-07:00

Here is a glimpse of our garden this year. We have two garden beds, one for herbs and another for vegetables.

Rosemary, Sage, Oregano, Spring Onions, Spearmint, Peppermint , Arugula, Chinese Chives(taste garlicky) come back every year without planting them again. Arugula came back from dispersed seeds of last year. My new additions to my herb bed are Pineapple Sage, Pineaple Mint, Basil(Annual), African Blue Basil, Tarragon, Lavender and Mesclun lettuce( Wild or Baby Lettuce) .

Mesclun Lettuce

Healing Sage

Lushy Oregano

Encroacher
(Peppermint)

How can I reach you?

Spring Onion Flower Buds

Am I beautiful now?

Spring Onion Flower

We didn't have much yield of vegetables last year. It could have been due to lack of soil richness or rotation of the crops. This year Mr.B helped me in making raised bed (sort of) for the vegetables and made a decent fence with landscaping stones. It seems to be an easy job, but it took quiet a bit of our back and time. First he took out all the weeds from the bed. We dumped around 20 bags of top soil (Miracle grow) and few bags of potting mix before we planted the vegetables. Mr.B even tried spreading out the sheet (weed preventer) but we found it so difficult to plant the vegetables one by one digging the hole through the sheet. Got frustrated and took it off and planted directly . We sprinkled Preen (Organic weed preventer for vegetables) after we were done with the planting. Inspite of all these preventive measures, weeds are still coming up!.

I planted Bush Beans, Snap Peas, Eggplants, Tomatoes, Chilies, Beets & Collard greens
on the vegetable bed.

Bed dumped with Top soil and some Potting soil

After Planting

Please visit my blog for more garden updates.

Spring Onion - Aloo Paratha

2009-05-09T20:41:00.001-07:00

Bounty from my garden

Aloo - Spring Onion Stuffing

Parathas

Spring Onion Paratha-Mirch ka salaan- Cucumber-Onion Raitha

My Comfort Food

2009-05-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

Comfort Food on a Sunny Day

Yogurt Rice(with Homemade Yogurt)
Potato fry
Vengaya Vadagam
Chundakai vathal( Fried Dried Turkey Berry)

Baby Radishes

2009-04-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

Crispy Bitter Gourd Chips/Paavakaai Chips

2009-04-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Bitter Gourd? Yuck! I heard many people saying that . I admit that Bitter Gourd A.K.A Bitter Melon has an acquired taste. I liked it when I was young. As I grew older, I started loving it for its health benefits. Bitter Gourd is a must item in my weekly vegetable shopping list. Considering the health benefits (twice the calcium of spinach, twice the potassium of banana) that it provides one should consume at least once a week. It also helps to regulate Blood Sugar levels naturally.

My son likes it if I make Chips. (Tastes like crispy bitter pokoda). He loves to eat them with Yogurt rice.

Ingredients

Bitter gourd – 8 or 9 medium
Sambar Powder
Or Chili powder - 1 tsp
Fresh Lemon Juice -1tbs
Besan or Chick Pea flour – 4 to 5 tbs
Salt

Method:

Slice the Bitter gourd into thin rounds. Add Sambar powder or Chili powder, turmeric powder, lemon juice and salt to the bitter gourd and mix well. Let it sit for 10 minutes. Squeeze out the extra water from the vegetable. Then place it on a wide plate and sprinkle besan flour on top of the seasoned bitter gourd rounds. Adjust salt if needed. Deep fry in medium to low flame until it is crisp and slightly golden.

Baked Shells and Cheese

2009-03-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Shell Pasta - 1 pack (8 ounce)
Sharp Chedder Cheese - 2 cups
All purpose flour - 1 tbs
Djon Mustard -1/4 tsp
Turmeric -1/4 tsp
Milk -1 1/2 cups
Salt
Pepper

Method :

Cook the pasta according to package instructions and keep it aside. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add flour to the melted butter. Once the flour started to turn golden color, stir in milk, Dijon mustard, turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook the mixture, stirring, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese. Place the cooked pasta shells in a greased baking dish. Pour the Cheese mixture over the pasta. Bake about 20 minutes or until the cheese becomes bubbly .

Sprouted Moong Vada

2009-03-28T16:32:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:
Sprouted Moong - 2 cups
Green Chilli - 3
Ginger - small piece
Onion - 1 finely cut
Corriander Leaves (optional)
Salt

Method

Coarsely grind the sprouted moong along with green chilies and ginger. I did mine with a mortar and pestle. Add finely cut onions , salt and mix it well. Heat oil in a kadai. Once the oil is hot, take a small ball of moong; flatten it on the palm to form a small disc. Gently slide it into hot oil. Deep fry them in oil until it become golden brown.

Serve with chutney.

Pizza with Sweet Peppers and Jalapeño

2009-03-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

Sweet Mini Peppers

2009-03-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

Every week I try to buy one thing from the farmer's market which I never bought or tried before. Last week I bought these cutie sweet little peppers and still thinking of what dishes to make with them.

Red Bell Pepper Chutney

2009-02-21T20:34:00.000-08:00

Last week , I bought a big bag of red bell peppers from the farmers market. I used the peppers in pasta and salad but still a lot left in the fridge. Usually I make tomato-onion chutney (my daughter's favorite ) for idli. But for a change, I gave a twist to the chutney by adding roasted red bell pepper .

Ingredients

Red Bell Pepper- 2
Red Onion - 1
Tomato - 2
Red Chillies - 7
Sesame seeds - 1 tsp
Garlic Gloves - 2
Salt

Method

Cut the onions and tomatoes into big pieces. Wash the bell peppers, pat them dry and cut into pieces. Heat oil in a pan and fry the dry red chillies along with bell peppers, onion, tomato and garlic until the veggies become soft. Meanwhile add mustard seeds along with sesame in a tsp of oil and once it splutters add it to the blender at the last spin. Serve with Dosas or Idlis.

Notes:
I also used the chutney as a spread for the veggie wrap.

Kambu Dosa ( Pearl Millet Dosa)

2009-02-07T23:28:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Kambu (Pearl millet) – 1 1/2 cups
Rice - 1/2 cup
Urad dhal – 1/2 cup
Fenugreek seeds – 1 tsp
Salt – As required

Recipe:

Soak kambu+rice+methi and Urad dhal seperately in water for about 6-8 hrs. I usually soak them overnight and grind it in the morning. Grind kambu+rice and urad dhal seperately and mix both the batter thoroughly to combine. Add salt while mixing. Keep it at room temperature for about 8 hrs to ferment. Make sure the vessel size to store the batter is bigger than the batter amount as the latter will rise once it ferments. Pearl millet batter gives a unique flavor once it ferments. The batter will tend to become watery if it ferments too much. Refrigerate the batter, if you are not making dosas immedietly. Heat a non-stick tawa and pour a laddle of batter in the centre, spread out with the back of the laddle to a thin round. Pour a tsp. of oil over the dosa. Loosen the dosa with a spatula at the edges, turn and cook the other side.. Serve with chutney .

Tips: Use ice cold water while grinding urad dal.

Thanksgiving 2008

2008-12-02T18:47:00.000-08:00

Minestrone Soup

Previous day Preparations

Sides

Broiled-Buttered Asparagus & Beans

Onions and Shallots in Creamy Sauce

Oven Roasted/Broiled Squashes

Main Course

Baked Vegetable Lasagna

Stuffed Manicotti ready for Baking

Baked Manicotti

Dessert

Apple Pie and Coconut-Custard Pie

Breakfast and Lunch

2008-11-19T18:36:00.000-08:00

Here is the Breakfast and Lunch that I prepared on a classes-free Saturday.(No Soccer, No Ballet , No Theatre performance... Yippee! )

Breakfast

Kambu(Pearl Millet) Dosa
Chutneys(Coconut,onion-tomato)
Milagai Podi
Filter coffee

Lunch

Rice
Sambar
Vathakulambhu
Rasam
Cabbaga-Potato Kootu
Carrot Kosumbari
Broccoli-Beans Usili
Dhal
Yogurt
Sweet
Appalam

Diwali Sweets & Savories

2008-11-08T15:15:00.001-08:00

Without a doubt, INDIA is the land of many festivals and we celebrate festivals all year round. Out of all, Diwali and Pongal rank the top in Tamilnadu. I try to celebrate all our Indian festivals here in US as much as we do in INDIA. To me, Celebrations are one way to teach cultural values to our kids. I enjoyed lighting lot of diyas at home while kids enjoyed lighting sparklers with Mr.B outside.

Here are some of the sweets and savories I made for DIWALI.

Microwave Kalakand

Last month, my friend brought kalakand to the office and everyone liked it. I have to thank my friend who shared this recipe with me. I was really hooked to the recipe as it is so simple to make in a microwave.

Ingredients

Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese - 15 oz tub
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 1 can
Cardamom Powder - 1 tsp
Some Pistachios

Method

Grease a microwaveable square bowl (Pyrex) with little ghee at the bottom and the sides. Combine Ricotta cheese and Condensed milk in the ratio 1:1. Add the cardamom powder to the mixture and mix well. Microwave the contents for five minutes. Take it out, stir the mixture and microwave it again. Repeat this process
several times till the mixture turns to grainy texture and slight discoloration from white to light brown . Make sure the mixture doesn't become too dry. Cool the mixture and cut it into square pieces . Sprinkle chopped Pistachios on top and serve.

Notes: Make the ratio of cheese:milk to 2:1 if you prefer less sweet.

Gulab Jamun

Sweet Thukkada

Ribbon Pakoda or Cheeval

Spicy Thukada

Thenkuzhal

Ingredients:

Rice flour -4 cups
Urad flour -1 cup
Cumin seeds-1 tbs
Butter -3 tbs softened at room temperature
Salt - 1tbs+1/4 tsp
Oil for frying

Method

Combine Rice and Urad flour. Add cumin seeds, pinch of hing ,butter and mix itwell. Add little water and make it a soft dough . Keep oil in a kadai under medium heat. Take a portion of the dough and keep it inside the Muruku Press and press it directly into the oil in circles. Alternatively you can make circle on a greased-flat spatula and slide it into the oil. Deep fry them till it become golden or until the bubbles in the oil stops. Remove the murukku from the oil using a slotted spatula. Once cooled , store it in an air tight container and enjoy!

Notes.
My mom used to reserve the last batch of dough to make semi-cooked muruku for my grandma. I did the same this time for my father-in-law. I liked that too. Semi-cooked murukku is nothing but half cooked, non crsipy murukku. To make that, remove the murukku from the oil within few seconds after you slide it in the oil. This should be eaten hot.

Tips
Do not stuff the muruku press fully. Just fill 3/4th of its size. It makes hard to
press if you fill the press fully.

Sprouted Moong Bhel

2008-10-22T20:34:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Sprouted Moong - 2 cups
Puffed rice - 2 cups
Red onion - 1 finely chopped
Carrot - 1 grated
Tomato - 1 finely chopped
red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Fresh Lemon Juice - 1 tbs
Salt to taste
green chillies -3 chopped finely
Coriander leaves - 2 tbs finely chopped
Sev(thin) - 1 cup

For the Sprouts
Soak whole moong overnight in water . Drain it the next day and let it sprout either in a sprout maker or cheesecloth for a day.

Method.

Microwave sprouted moong for 5 minutes with very little water and keep it aside. Drain water if any . Heat a tablespoon of oil in a kadai. Temper the mustard seeds and add rice puffs,moong,grated carrot,onion,tomatoes, red chilli powder and salt . Give a quick toss and switch off the flame. Squeeze lemon juice. Garnish with finely chopped green chillies, thin sev and corriander leaves just before you serve.

Vegetarian Thali for Lunch

2008-10-21T06:48:00.000-07:00

My son has become so obsessed with vegetarian thali nowadays. When he was in India for summer vacation, he would go to restaurants several times a week just to have veg.thali. He told me over the phone very often that he had a big lunch for just a dollar(rs->$). Here is my version of the same .

Vegetarian Thali:

Ulunthamparuppu Saadham (Black gram Dhal & Rice),
Rasam,
Mulangi Poriyal(Raddish)
Collard Greens Kootu
Aviyal(Mixed Vegetables in Coconut gravy)
Coconut-Sesame chutney
Home-made yogurt
Gulab jamun
Gingelly oil
Appalam(papad)
Vadagam(sun dried onion&urad balls)

Peanut Cabbage Bhel

2008-10-16T20:49:00.001-07:00

Here is the second version of Healthy Bhel. This time I used boiled peanuts instead of sprouted moong. I savoured this snack many times during my recent vacation to Chennai,INDIA. The street vendors sell this snack in push carts in the beach , in front of shopping stores in T.Nagar...

Garlic Penne with Basil and Parsley

2008-07-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

Just got some time to publish this old post. I am too busy these days with my job, everyday cooking, running for the classes for both of my kids and the list is endless. I am too exhausted by the end of the day (11 p.m) and Mr.B doesn't let me blog after that.

It's been a while we had pasta at home since my son went to INDIA for vacation. We would make at least thrice a week when he is around.

Having totally fed up with idli,dosas and rice varieties, I made a simple pasta dinner yesterday with fresh herbs from my garden (I have plenty of herbs in my garden. I prune (harvest) them several times for giveaways and hang dry to have dried herbs and still it is growing rapidly).

Ingredients

Penne Pasta - 1 Box
Garlic - 2 Big cloves
Lime Juice - 1 tbs Freshly Squeezed
Chili Flakes - 1 tbs
Fresh Parsley - 2 tbs
Fresh Basil - 2 tbs
Salt - 1 tbs
Olive oil - 2 tbs
Parmesan Cheese

Method:
Bring a large pot of water with salt to a rolling boil. Add pasta and cook for 8-10minutes or until al dente. I cooked mine for just 6 minutes as it is small penne. Reserve a cup of pasta water, drain and return to pot. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic, sun-dried tomatoes , parsley-Basil for about a minute. Add red pepper flakes, lime juice and lime Zest. Add the pasta water and stir in the cooked pasta. Drizzle little olive oil over the pasta. Adjust the salt to the taste. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and serve.

Yummy Fried Plantains

2008-06-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sweet-Fried plantain is one of the favorite snacks of me and Mr. B . We enjoyed savoring this dish several times in Cuban Restaurants in Miami. They serve this dish in the name "Plátanos Maduros" meaning Ripened Plantains.

Ingredients

Plantains - 2 (Firm and Ripened)
Sugar - 4 to 5 tbs
Oil - for frying

Method :

Peel the plantains and slice them into 1/8" thin rounds. Fry the plantains in oil, turning occasionally, until they are caramalized or turned golden brown for about 2 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle the plantains with the confectioner's sugar and serve hot.

Notes:

I coated the plantains with little sugar before frying as the plantains weren't that ripe and I couldn't wait. Plantains will be very sweet if the skin is fully black and ripened. You can fry the plantains in Ghee too. I enjoyed this plantain (Nenthrapazham in TAMIL ) in the form of Ethakka Appam/Pazham Pori in Nagercoil.

Strawberry Pannacotta

2008-06-24T19:18:00.000-07:00

Panna Cotta is a luscious creamy dessert originated in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. Panna Cotta is an Italian phrase which literally means "Cooked Cream" made by cooking together cream and sugar, then adding gelatin and cooling it. I chose this recipe as I had the heavy cream and pick-your-own Strawberries from Stultsfarm in the fridge.

Ingredients

Strawberries - 1/2 cup (about 16)
Powdered Sugar - 1 cup
Heavy Cream - 1 1/4 cups
Gelatin packet - 2

Method
Sprinkle Gelatin powder in little cold milk , stir well and keep it aside. Blend the strawberry in the mixer with little milk until smooth, seive it through and discard the solids. Meanwhile heat a saucepan over medium heat. Combine heavy cream, sugar and strawberry liquid and cook it in low heat. Mix the hot cream into the gelatin. Mix it well. Pour the creamy gelatin mixture in equal amounts into four small ramekins. Refrigerate for 4 hrs . Top it with strawberry syrup and sprigs of mint before you serve .

Creamy pasta with Arugula and Parmesan cheese

2008-06-20T14:00:00.000-07:00

I usually cut the Arugula from my herb garden every other week and my son adores any dish made out of it. Here is the pasta dish which I made with heavy cream and loads of parmesan cheese.

I made the dish the same way I made
Lemony Cellentani with Arugula except that I omitted
the lemon and added heavy cream and cherry tomatoes.

Jicama with Home grown Dill

2008-06-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Jicama - 1 cup cubed
Dill - a small bunch
Chili powder - 1tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp (optional)
Salt

Method.

Microwave Jicama pieces for 5 minutes. Wash and chop the Dill weeds. Take a teaspoon of oil in a kadai, add the mustard seeds. Once the mustard seeds start to splutter, add Jicama pieces, turmeric, Chili and salt . Give a nice toss. Add the chopped dill weeds and cook for few more minutes.

Serve with roti and daal.

Verdict:
--------
Mr. B and Junior B enjoyed like a snack. I and my sister preferred the salad over this.

Refreshing Jicama(Pronounced hee-kah-mah) - Cucumber Salad

2008-06-20T00:00:00.000-07:00

Other Names: fan-ko (China), sankalu (India), sinkamas (Philippines)

Thank you all for your participation and guesses. It's nothing but JICAMA also called mexican potatoes or yam bean or Mexican turnip(Pachyrhizus erosus). It is a tuber that belongs to the morning glory family that hails from Mexico and South America. This vegetable is characterized as a cross between an apple and a potato. Jícama is very popular in Vietnam, known as 'cu dau' or 'cu san'.

Whenever I go for vegetable shopping (farmer's market, Wegman's, Shoprite) ,I have the habit of picking up some new stuff (could be anything) every time . I always wanted to buy this tuberous root in the grocery store but I was hesitant somehow to buy the odd rugged looking vegetable in the produce section. I never thought it could be eaten raw until recently. It's a great vegetable to serve raw on a crudité(raw) platter as it doesn't discolor like potatoes. It has crunchy white flesh inside tastes similar to that of water chestnuts, more aptly vaalaithandu (plantain stem) but sweeter. It can also be sautéed or boiled. I made couple of dishes using this.

Jicama has less starch and fewer calories than potatoe has. If you want to have a low carb and low calorie summer snack, go for Jicama-Cucumber salad. Jicama retains it's crispness even after it is boiled or sauteed. I think Jicama also belongs to the acquired taste vegetable category.

Ingredients

Jicama(Peeled and Julienned) - 1 cup
Cucumber(Peeled,seeded and Julienned) - 1 cup
lime Juice - 1 tsp -
chili powder - 1/4 tsp
corriander leaves(chopped) - 1 tsp
Kosher salt

Method

Toss together Jicama,Cucumber and chili powder. Add freshly squeezed lime juice, chopped corriander leaves and salt and give a nice toss. Let the salad sit for 15- 20minutes to absorb the flavor. Serve this crunchy and refreshing salad on a hot summer day.

You can make variations to the salad by adding shredded carrots, papaya, beets etc.

Can you guess what this could be?

2008-06-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

A closer view

Banana Nut Bread

2008-06-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

All my family members, except my husband, treat our tummies with Idli,Dosa and what not for breakfast . Mr.B sticks strictly with cereals in the morning. He loves to eat any cereal that has a hint of banana. His favorite one is Post Banana Nut Crunch. I decided to make the Banana nut bread (he loves it) as an alternate to his everyday (boring, to me at least) cereals. I think it's o.k to make this once a week though it's not that healthy as cereal because of the fat added. I made the bread this weekend with the help of my two lovely kids (they volunteered). I altered a bit of the recipe that my sister printed it from net. The recipe is very simple if you have the ingredients handy in your pantry. The bread came out really good and moist. Here is the recipe of my first ever successful baking.

Ingredients

All Purpose Flour : 2 cups
Sugar : 3/4 of a cup
Eggs : 2
Salt : 1/4 tsp
Butter : 1 stick(softened)
Bananas : 3 ripened
Almonds : 1/4 cup(chopped)
Baking Soda : 1 tsp
Pure Vanilla Essence: 1 tsp

Method:

Combine flour and baking soda . Mix it well. You can sift both together to mix evenly. Add salt and sugar to the flour. Mash the bananas roughly and add to the flour . Add slightly beaten eggs , vanilla essence, half of the almonds and butter and mix them thoroughly. Be gentle with the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with butter on the bottom and sides. Pour the batter into the pan and top it off with the remaining chopped almonds. Bake for an hour , or until the time when a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Set it to cool for 5 minutes. Turn the pan upside down gently and the bread slides off nicely from the pan. Enjoy the bread with a cup of tea.

Beetroot Jam

2008-05-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Beetroot Jam is one I always enjoy since my childhood. If you are from Tamilnadu, especially from south of it, you might have tasted this Jam several times during happy occasions.. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Beetroot - 3
Sugar - 1 1/2 cup
Honey - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 3 tbs
Dates -10 (Roughly chopped)
Vanilla Essence (optional)
Nuts (optional)

Method

Peel the skin of the beet and quarter them. Pressure cook the beet for one whistle. Purée the cooked beet in a blender. The beetroot bunch made 3 cups of Purée. Combine beetroot Purée and sugar in a deep bottomed vessel and boil over low to medium heat. Stir the Purée consistently so that it doesn't stick to the pan. You can add some ghee to avoid the puree sticking to the bottom. Add the honey to the Purée. The Purée will tend to turn again watery because of honey. Keep stirring until it has turned to thick consistency . At the end add chopped nuts and dates and give a nice stir. Allow it to cool.I didn't add any preservatives or essence. I like the flavor of beet as such.Use it as a spread for bread or crackers.

Semi-Homemade Pizza

2008-05-21T19:50:00.000-07:00

Who would ever dislike pizza, especially if made at home?. My family enjoyed the pizza that I made with the store bought dough this evening. Yes, it came out really yummizza! This is the second time I am trying with store bought dough. First time it didn't come out well. May be because I didn't let the dough sit to reach the room temperature before rolling it.

Ingredients

Pizza dough - 1 pack
Yellow Onion - 1 sliced in rounds
Jalapeño - 3 finely sliced in rounds
Shredded Mozzarella - 3/4 of a pack
Pizza Sauce - 1/4 cup

Method.

First roll out the pizza dough. To prevent the dough sticking to the surface, lightly dust the surface with flour. I just tried to imitate the professional pizza makers (roll out with both my hands) and I succeeded a bit. If you can't do that turn the pizza dough into a ball and using a rolling pin, roll the dough to a nice circle as you do for paratha.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the pan with oil. Place the rolled pizza dough on the pan. Smear pizza sauce evenly on top of the dough and sprinkle the Mozzarella cheese liberally (like an extra cheese topping). Finally top it of with onions and Jalapeño peppers and bake it for 15 mts or to perfection.

Lemony Cellentani with home grown Arugula

2008-05-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

Arugula the peppery, strong scented herb is the latest addition to my herb garden this year. Argula has slender toothed leaves that are rich in Vitamin A & C and an excellent source of folate. It also provides phyto-nutrients & beta-caratone that promotes healthy eyes, skin and immune function. Arugula is normally eaten raw in salads. It has an acquired taste meaning that you don't fall in love with the taste at the first time. But you could get used to the taste gradually. I picked the tender ones to make this dish as it has milder flavor compared to matured leaves that are very pungent.

INGREDIENTS

Cellentani Pasta - 2 Cups
(corkscrew shaped)
Arugula - 1 cup
Chili Flakes - 1 tbs
Lemon Zest (grated) - 1 tbs
Lemon Juice - 1 tbs
Garlic (Minced) - 3 cloves
Sun dried tomatoes - 7
Parmesan Cheese - 2 tbs
Olive oil
Salt

Method:

Cook pasta according to package directions with 1/2 tsp of salt and a tablespoon of oil. Drain well reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Meanwhile take out the arugula leaves from their stems. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté till it becomes golden brown. Add the sun dried tomatoes, arugula leaves and sauté the leaves until wilted. Add the reserved water,lemon zest and chili flakes. Stir in pasta and cook for a minute. Pour lemon juice over pasta. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese and serve immedietly.

Notes:

Sun dried tomatoes in oil tastes better than the simply dried ones. As I used latter, I soaked for a min in the water to plump it up.

Verdict:

I made this dish for the third time within a week as per my son's request and that shows the sure success of this dish. I altered the recipe little bit everytime. One time adding heavy cream along with the pasta water and next time adding fire roasted tomatoes.

Methi(Vendhayakeerai) Paratha

2008-05-07T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a very long time since I bought methi greens. We used to have methi every single week when we had Gujarati nanny at our home. She would either make methi-potato baaji or methi thepla. After she left , I would have hardly made couple of times in 2 years. Somehow I was never inclined to buy that. Something struk my mind this time to not ignore the lovely greens and I got a bunch.

Ingredients

Methi (fenugreek leaves) - a bunch (Triple washed and chopped finely)
Wheat Flour - 2 1/2 cups
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Chili Powder - 1 tbs
Cumin Seeds - 2 tsp
Yogurt - 3 tbs
Salt - 2 tsp
Oil - 1 tbs

Method

In a wide bowl, mix together wheat flour, chopped methi, cumin seeds, chili powder
and salt. Add yogurt and lukewarm water to the flour. Make sure you add the water little by little , keep mixing the flour and knead it to make a nice dough. Add a tablespoon of oil to the dough while kneading it. Let the dough sit for an hour or so. (I made the dough in the night, covered and kept it at room temperature. I made the parathas in the morning.)

Make equal sized balls out of the dough. Roll each ball into a nice circle with a rolling pin. If the dough is sticky, dust it with little flour and roll. Heat the pan and fry the parathas one at a time. Flip the paratha to the other side after 30 seconds. Once you flip it, smear a tsp of oil on the top and let it cook for one more min. Take the paratha out of the pan once you see golden brown spots started appearing on the surface.

Serve hot with plain yogurt and pickle.

Vazhakai (Plantain) Puttu

2008-05-04T18:48:00.000-07:00

This is a typical Tirunelveli recipe.

Ingredients

Raw Plantain - 3 (Choose Naatu Vazhakai)
Onion - 1
Green Chilies - 5-6
Freshly Grated
Coconut - 4-5 tbs
Curry Leaves - few
Mustard Seeds &
Urad shal - 1tsp
Salt

Method

Take a deep pan or a kadai and cook the plantain with skin in enough water without the lid. Cook until the skin becomes blackish green. Peel the skin and grate the plantain. Mix the grated Plantain with coconut and salt and keep it aside. Take a tbs of oil in a skillet. Tamper the mustard seeds , add green Chilies, onions and curry leaves. Saute the onion till it become golden brown and add the grated plantain. Give a nice stir for a minute or two and switch of the flame. It becomes dry if you cook for a long time.

Serve with rice-Pulikozhambu (spicy tamarind Gravy) combo.

Notes: Use small onions instead of big to get a nice flavor.

Chettinad Egg Curry

2008-04-30T23:00:00.000-07:00

This recipe is the outcome of our recent visit to Anjappar, a chettinad restaurant which is recently opened nearby our area. It's a restaurant chain in INDIA, but we had never been to that in INDIA. MR.B loved the food in Anjappar and he didn't seem to bother his profuse sweating as he was eating. My lips were burning and I tried to rim it with the table sugar that didn't help and finally ordered a mango lassi to cool it off. Real paradise for spicy food lovers. Whenever Mr.B and my son praise outside food (basically other than my cooking), I feel somewhat jealous inside and try to enhance the same dish at home to surprise them. But many got flopped too. That's a different story. As we don't cook non-veg at home, I decided to make Chettinad Egg-Curry.

Ingredients

Eggs - 8
Onion - 1 medium finely cut
Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves - 3 sprigs
Coconut Milk - 1/4 cup
Tamarind - Gooseberry size

Dry Roast the following:-
Coriander seeds - 3 tbs
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1 tsp
Black Pepper - 1 tsp

Grind the dry roasted ingredients with the following:-
Chili Powder - 2 1/2 tbs
Ginger piece - 2" piece
Garlic - 1
Shallots - 3
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Tomato - 1 small

Method
Hard boil the eggs, peel off the shell and make several slits on the egg with the bread knife and keep it aside. Take oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add fennel seeds, cinnamon stick to the pan and fry it for a min. Add the onions, curry leaves to the pan and Sauté till the onions become nice golden brown. Add the ground paste and salt to the pan and keep Sautéing till the oil oozes out to the sides. Add the tamarind pulp and water (added about 1/2 cup) according to your consistency
and let it boil for 5 mts or till the raw smell goes. Add the coconut milk to the gravy. Once the coconut milk blended to the gravy add the boiled eggs and let the gravy cook in simmer for few more minutes (3-5 minutes).
Add few more fresh curry leaves and switch off the stove.

Notes: Substitute fresh lime juice at the end if you don't like tamarind.

Verdict.
The dish was so egg-licious and my family enjoyed the dish.

Homemade Ghee

2008-04-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

My children love Ghee (Neii- Tamil)). It is a quintessential item in my home. Somehow I never liked the store-bought ghee. I always make it at home. It's a very simple process.

Melt the butter in a heavy bottomed pan on a medium heat. I usually use the 5 litre pressure cooker without the lid to avoid the melted butter boiling over and to limit sputtering outside. Do not cover the pan.

Once the butter got melted, reduce the flame and cook it in a low heat. Foam will star to form on top making splashes and sputters. Let it cook in simmer for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat once the bubbles and splashes stops and you see the golden color appearing. If you leave it on the flame for even a minute more, it will turn brown and it tastes awful.

Strain it immediately to a clean dry vessel (heavy bottomed vessel) to avoid cooking further. You have to be very careful while straining as the ghee will be real hot. Discard the milk solids that are golden brown color that settle at the bottom. Once it cools, transfer to an air tight container and store it in room temperature. Ghee needs no refrigeration.

Notes

Use always unsalted creamery butter . Never use salted ones to make ghee.
Make ghee always in low flame.
Multi tasking is strictly prohibited.
Few sprigs of Murungaikeerai (drumstick leaves) can be added at the end. My mom usually adds it after dipping the sprigs in buttermilk(don't know why she dips).

Though ghee is one of the healing foods in Ayurveda , it's a pure form of saturated fat. So I limit the intake of ghee. But as ghee is the only source of fat in our vegetarian diet , I give my kids rice&dhal mixed with ghee every day.

Weekend Acquisitions

2008-04-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my lovely son and daughter who patiently waited for two hours during my book buying spree in the Books Sale.

Winnowing Tray (Chata/Muram)

2008-04-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

These type of shallow trays are used to seperate the husks from the milled grains by tossing the grains into the air. People in Villages are real experts of winnowing the grains. As a kid, I used to admire people when they winnow the grains with a rhythm of tapping the trays on both the sides , blowing the lighter husks up in the air and bringing back the heavier grains to the tray. I guess it is a very good exercise to your arms and neck. These trays are first smeared with a coat of cow dung or paper Koozh (paper pulp & fenugreek paste) to give a smoother surface and to fill up any holes in the tray.

Yellow Cucumber (Dosakai /Dosakaya) Pulicurry

2008-04-15T19:27:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite gravies to go with rice. My Nagerkoil aunt makes awesome pulicurry. She makes atleast once in a week with different vegetable each time(Cucumber,Drumstick,Raw Jackfruit,Okra...). She prefers to make it in a clay pot and with the home grown tender coconut.

I enjoyed this dish almost every week during my stay at my Aunt's place when I did my Under Grad.

Last week I bought yellow cucumber from Indian Grocery. I wanted to make two dishes with that. I halved the cucumber and made Pulicurry with one half and cucumber pickle with the other.

Ingredients:
Dosakai/Yellow Cucumber - 1/2 (Cut in 1.5" pieces lengthwise makes about a cup)
Grated Coconut - 5 tbs
Red Chilies - 8
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Shallot - 1
Garlic - 1
Curry Leaves - few
Tamarind - Gooseberry Sized
Salt - 1 tbs (Use according to your taste)

For seasoning

Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Red Chili - 1 broken
Curry Leaves - few
Shallot - 1 finely cut

Method:

Peel, seed and cut the cucumber lengthwise. Take a cup of water in a pan and boil the cucumber pieces with little salt. Soak the tamrind in little water and extract the pulp. Add the pulp to the cucumber and let it cook till the cucumber becomes soft.

Grind coconut, cumin seeds, red chilies, turmeric powder, shallots & garlic to a fine paste. Add Shallot and Garlic to the final pulse. Add the ground paste and a cup of water to the vegetable and let it cook for 5 more mts.

Heat two tablespoons of oil in a pan. Add Mustard seeds and fenugreek to the pan . Once the seeds start to splutter, add the finely chopped shallots and curry leaves and fry till the shallots become soft and lightly browned. Add crushed vadagams (sun-dried onion and Urad dhal balls) if you don't have shallots. Return this seasoning to the pulicurry .

Enjoy this lip smacking gravy with steaming hot rice.

A dish that really wakes up your taste buds!

Yellow Cucumber (Dosakai/Dosakaya) Pickle

2008-04-15T18:37:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

Dosakai/cucmber : 1/2 (Cut in medium 1" pieces )
Chilli Powder : 1 1/2 tbs
Mustard Seeds : 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds : 1/2 tsp
Turmeric : 1/4 tsp
Asafedita : 1 tsp
Gingelly oil : 4 tbs

Method:

Scoop out the seeds and cut into 1" cubicle pieces(medium-cubed). Do not peel the skin. Pat the pieces dry with a tissue paper . Dry roast the mustard and fenugreek seeds and make a powder. Mix turmeric, salt, chili powder and mix it well with the cucumber pieces. Heat some oil in the pan ,add asafoetida (Hing in Hindi / Kayam in Tamil) and pour the oil onto the Cucumber pieces. Transfer to a clean dry jar. Pickle is ready to consume the next day.

Foxtail Millet Pongal(Thinai/Thina/Koralu)

2008-04-08T16:30:00.000-07:00

Once in a week, I shop at Farmer's market which is next to my son's piano school.
I love taking him to the class as I get to shop at farmer's market. Last week I happened to see the Foxtail Millet in the grain section of the store. I grabbed a pack just to have a taste of it. When I was as a kid, I had seen the farmers who worked in my Grandma's farmlands used to have Thinaimavu a power packed sweet, Kambanchoru (Pearl Millet)..that are cheap alternatives to rice. Foxtail Millet is a nutrient packed grain which is naturally mild sweet and nutty flavor gives lot of energy to the farmers who work from dawn to dusk. I read that a group of people who lives in the peak of Himalayas called Hunzas whose life expectancy is normally hundred and above include Millet as their staple diet. Typical Hunzas Bread is made of Millet flour.

When I brought it home, my mom cherished her memories of her father whose favorite snack is Thinaimavu Urundai. But my mom had never made any dishes at home with Foxtail millet. I wanted to make an item that everyone prefers in my home. Starting from my son to Mr. B, everybody loves venpongal. I fixed myself to make pongal with Foxtail Millet and Moong Dhal. It came out really well and needless to say not even a single morsel was left in my son's plate.

Ingredients

Foxtail Millet- 1 Cup
Moong Dhal - 1/3 cup
Water - 3 cups
Salt - 2 tsp
Ghee - 3 tbs
Cumin,Pepper - 2 tbs (crushed)
Curry leaves - few
Ginger - an inch piece slivered
Green Chili - 1-2 cut lenthwise (optional)

Method

Dry roast moong dhal in a pan till the aroma comes out. Make sure you don't brown them. Wash the millet once or twice and combine with moong in a pressure cooker. Give a quick saute to the chilies and ginger and add it to the cooker. Add salt, ghee and water and cook it over medium flame for one whistle. Reduce the flame and cook for 3 more minutes. Switch off the Gas. Fry some cashews, curry leaves and whole peppercorns and add it to the Pongal. Sprinkle the coarsely ground Jeera-Pepper powder and give a gentle toss to the pongal .

Serve hot with chutney.

Notes:

Thanks to my friend who corrected me to mention the specific millet name as millet in general refers to small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains cultivated for food and fodder(Animal feed). I used foxtail millet(Thinai) to make the above dish.

Saag & Maize Roti

2008-04-08T09:24:00.000-07:00

I had tried Broccoli Rabe subzi couple of times. The leaves are little
harder and it's slightly bitter in taste. Usually I make it with lot of onions and freshly grated coconut to enhance the taste. Mr.B had it as a healthy food but he is not a great fan of it.

Recently my friend's Punjabi nanny made saag and Makki ki roti and I liked it. I used three bunches of greens to make the Saag (Mustard Greens, Brocolli Rabe & Spinach)

Ingredients

sarson
(mustard greens) - 1 bunch
Spinach - 1 bunch
Brocolli Rabe - 1 bunch
Ginger - 1 inch grated
onion - 1 chopped
garlic - 2 grated
green chilies - 4-5
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
red chili powder - 1 tbs
Corn Flour - 1 tbs
Salt

Method

Wash all the greens and chop them roughly. Heat little oil in the Pressure pan(cooker). Add the green chillies, garlic & ginger and stir it for few seconds . Add greens and little salt (just to retain the color) to the pressure pan and add a cup of water and pressure cook the greens for one whistle. Mash it with a hand blender and keep it aside. Take some ghee in a skillet over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onions and fry them till golden brown. Add garam masala, chilli powder ,saag and salt to the pan. Mix the corn flour with water to make a paste( add more water if the saag is too thick) and add it to the saag and simmer it for 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with Makki Ki Roti.

Verdict :

I enjoyed having the dish with Makki Ki Roti. Mr.B hates corn in any form. So he had the saag with plain Roti. Just got 3 out of 5 stars.

Notes

Sarson greens(Mustard Leaves) and Brocolli Rabe(rabe or rapini)
are totally different. But you can use Broccoli rabe as a substitute for Mustard Greens . I guess the taste would have been better if I had omitted the Mustard greens and used Indian brand corn flour(BRAD) instead of Mexican brand Maseca.

Ennai Kathirikai (Baby Eggplant Fry)

2008-04-04T12:40:00.000-07:00

Ennai Kathrikai usually refers to the stuffed eggplants in gravy. But my mom always makes the stuffed eggplants minus the gravy. The stuffing is a no brainer, it's either chili powder or sambar powder stuffing. Last week, I made ennai kathirikai when I called my friends for dinner. My friend who is a good cook liked it so much and she asked me for the recipe. I was surprised to know that she never cooked eggplant that way. It's very easy to make. Choose baby eggplants of possibly same size to make this dish, as they cook evenly.

Ingredients

Baby Eggplants - 10 to 12
Chilli Powder - 3 tbs
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1 tbs

Method:

Make a paste of chili powder, turmeric and salt with little water. Lay the eggplant sideways on the cutting board and make a criss-cross cut starting from the bottom of the eggplant towards the cap. Make sure the slit doesn't split the eggplant into pieces. Take a bread knife and stuff the paste into the eggplant by sliding through the slits.

Take oil in a wide pan (use oil liberally). Place the eggplants in the pan and let it cook in a slow flame. After 5-7 minutes, flip them to the other side and cook. Handle them gently, otherwise the cooked eggplants fall apart. Cook in an open pan to get the roasted texture. Take the eggplants one by one with a spatula and arrange them in a plate.

Cook's Notes.

Patience is the key to this dish. Eggplants have to be roasted in a slow flame.
I like to leave the stem and cap on the eggplant. It helps in two ways. It holds the eggplant without falling apart and to gobble it holding the stem.

Chinese Fried Rice

2008-03-21T07:37:00.001-07:00

Ingredients

Basmati Rice : 2 cups (soaked for 10 minutes & drained)
Chilli Garlic Sauce : 1 tbs
Green Chilli Sauce : 2 tbs
Soy sauce : 2 tbs
White pepper powder : 1 tsp
Spring Onions : 4 nos (cut finely)
Capsicum : 1 (chopped)
Carrot : 1 (Chopped)
Cabbage : 2 cups (Chopped)
Vegetable Stock : 1 can
Salt : 1 1/2 tsp

Method:

Cook basmati rice in an electric rice-cooker. Give a quick stir to the rice with a tsp of oil before adding water . Add a can of vegetable stock and 1 1/2 cups of water. Remove rice from the cooker and set it to cool on a large plate and keep the grains seperated.

Heat a frying pan and add 2 tbs of oil. When the pan is really hot (before the smoking point), add half of the cut spring onions & chopped vegetables. Stir-fry it for a few minutes. Quickly add in the sauces, pepper powder and salt . Return this veg-sauce mix to the rice and make sure the all the grains are evenly coated with the sauce.

Garnish with remaining spring onions and serve.

Cook's Notes:

Make sure you stir fry the vegetables on a high flame. Adding Vegetable stock enhances the taste and the color of fried rice. Don't overcook the vegetables.

Achari Aloo (Aloo in Pickle Masala)

2008-03-17T11:37:00.000-07:00

Last saturday we went to Chinese Restaurant P.F Chang's. We went with
great expectations but the food was just o.k. I would not recommend this
when you go with kids and elder people as the wait time is toooooo long.
We had to wait for 2 hrs.

Wondering how achari aloo and P.F Chang related?. Just to pass the waiting
time, we entered the MARKET FAIR Shopping Mall and passed time in B&N
Booksellers housed inside the complex. When I was browsing through few
cookbooks there, one cookbook caught my eyes named "The Bollywood Cookbook"
by Bulbul Malkani. The book is about the favorite food recipes of Bollywood
Stars. It has the recipe of Mouth watering Achari Aloo which is Bachan's
favorite. I decided to make it on Sunday. I couldn't remember the full
Ingredients but I know for sure it has aloo and pickle masala.

Ingredients

Potatoes - 4 Peeled and Cubed
Onion - 1 chopped
Mango
Pickle Masala - 3 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red Chillies - 3 Broken
Home Made - 4 tbs
Yogurt

Method.

Heat oil in a pan. Toss in Cumin seeds and stir it quickly for a second and then add Mustard seeds to the pan. Once the Mustard seeds begins to pop, add broken red chillies,chopped onions and sauté till the onions become tender. Add the potatoes,turmeric,salt to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook till the potatoes are cooked. Add the Pickle masala and coat the masala nicely on to the potatoes. Finally add the yogurt and cook for a minute or two. Garnish with Corriander leaves.

Serve with Roti or Rice.

M.D Fridays- 03/14/2008 Mexican

2008-03-15T11:02:00.001-07:00

Tofu Peppers Sauté

2008-03-08T18:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a year now since I bought my Soy Milk maker. As Mr.B Commented earlier, I used only four times so far . Thought of making Tofu at home but I didn't have the Coagulant. My friend bought it for me last week. So last weekend I made Tofu at home with soy milk extracted using my soy milk maker.

I made Tofu Peppers Sauté that you can eat with roti or you can make a taco roll.

Tofu Pepper Sauté

Ingredients

Tofu - 1 block
Red Pepper - 1
GreenPepper - 1
Jalepeno - 1
Red Onion - 1
Tomato - 1
Corriander
Leaves - 2 tbs Chopped
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Chilli Powder- 1/2 tsp
Corriander
Powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp (optional)

Method :

Cut the Tofu block into cubes. Shallow fry them on a tava, till the tofu are evenly
browned and keep it aside. Take oil in a non stick skillet over medium flame. Add cumin seeds to the pan. Add ginger and onion to the pan and saute the onion till golden. Add the peppers and fry for two minutes till they become soften. I like to have it bit crunchy. Add Chilli powder, Corriander powder and salt . Add Tomatoes , Tofu to the pan and give a gentle toss with the peppers. Garnish with Corriander leaves.

Serve with Roti or Taco.

M.D Fridays- 03/07/2008 Chinese

2008-03-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

Here is the pictures of our Friday Night Dinner.

Easy Kuzhi Paniyaram

2008-02-23T16:30:00.001-08:00

Ingredients

Dosa Batter - 1 1/2 cups
Onion - 1 medium finely chopped
Green chillies - 2 finely Chopped
Ginger - 1/2 Inch grated
Corriander Leaves - 2 tbs chopped
Curry Leaves - few
Cooking Soda - a pinch(optional)

Tampering

Mustard seeds
Urad Daal
Hing

Method

Combine all the Ingredients with the left overdosa batter and mix well. Tamper the mustard seeds and add it to the batter. Grease the Panniyaram pan which is similar to the Aebleskiver pan available in Target Stores. Fill up the
moulds in half. Cook in Slow heat . Flip the panniyaram with a stick (I used the grill stick). Serve hot with Chutney.

Note: I used the leftover dosa batter. But my mom makes Paniyaram with a batter specially ground for it. I guess it has more urad dhal proportion to make it spongier.

Palak Paneer

2008-01-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Spinach - 2 bunches (triple washed at home)
Green chillies - 4
Paneer - 1 small block
Dhana-Jeera Powder - 1 tbs
Chilli Powder - 1 tbs
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 tsp
Garlic-Ginger Paste - 1 tbs
Tomato Puree - 1/4 cup or 2 medium Tomatoes
Onion - 1 Medium
Half&Half - 2 tbs
Salt to taste

Method:

Roughly break the washed spinach with hands. Quickly fry the Green Chillies in little oil , add Spinach leaves to it. There is no need to add water. Add a pinch of salt to the leaves to retain the green color. Cook for about 3 minutes and set to cool. Coarsely puree them using a Hand Blender.

Meanwhile Cube the paneer and fry them in oil till golden grown on both sides and keep it aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Fry the onions first and then add G-G paste. Once the raw smell goes add tomato puree, red chilli powder, Dhana-Jeera Powder, Turmeric Powder and salt. Cook them well till the oil oozes out to the ends of the pan. Now add the Coarsely pureed spinach to the pan and cook for few more minutes. Add the panner cubes and Half & Half(or Cream) at the end for a creamier taste.

Serve with Naan or Roti.

Vegetarian Chilli

2007-12-04T12:53:00.000-08:00

Bought the 16 bean packet from the store without deciding what to make with it. As it has to be soaked for making any dish, I just soaked overnight. I had a thought of making vada in my mind but I didn’t tell my mom why I soaked that for . She just pressure cooked the beans thinking that it would save time for me in the evening. I couldn’t make vada as it got cooked. The dark evening and the bitter cold outside sparkled an idea in me to make Simple Vegetarian Chilli to warm you from inside out.

Soups are always a comfort food to beat the cold and lift your spirits on a cold evening. I took out my slow cooker out to make the Chilli. Note: You can do it in the ordinary cooker itself. You can pressure cook the soaked beans for one whistle and you can do the rest in a regular saucepan.

Ingredients:

16 beans - 1 cup (Soaked overnight and cooked )
Vegetable Broth - 2 cans (No salt Added)
Chunky Salsa Sauce - 1 cup
Jalepeno - 1 sliced in thin rounds
Onion - 1 Finely Chopped
Tomato - 1 cut into medium pieces
Olive oil - 1 tbs
Pepper & Salt to
taste

Method :
Keep oil in a pan , Sautee the peppers and onions. Add the cooked beans to the pan and let the beans get a coat of oil. Make sure you don’t make the beans mushy. Return the sautéed stuff to the slow cooker . Add Vegetable broth, Chunky Salsa Sauce, Chilli powder , tomatoes and let it cook in High setting for 30 mts. Reduce the setting to low and let it simmer for about 20 mts. Add salt and pepper according to your taste.

Serve in individual bowls garnished with chopped Cilandro leaves and shredded chedder cheese.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2007-11-29T12:02:00.000-08:00

I was making plans to celebrate Thanksgiving Dinner for about two weeks. I must have wasted at least a notepad writing the menu and tearing it off. I planned to prepare so many items for Diwali, but I couldn't do any big way because of my neck pain. So Diwali plan ended with an ultra low profile climax. So I wanted to make the Thanksgiving Dinner a success. I was crazily shopping wherever I go, from Mexican to Indian without knowing what Cuisine I would Choose. Finally, I fixed myself on preparing Italian. Wondering the quantity of my shopping, my friend asked me about the number of people I had invited. She could not resist laughing when I replied her that it was just for my family.

Our Thanksgiving menu is without the traditional Turkey. Two weeks back MR.B told me that he left eating Non-Veg . I was surprised because he likes to eat non-veg whenever we go to restaurants/Friend's place as we don't cook at home. I am not sure what made him to decide. But I am proud of him as he did that for a good cause. If you have some time, Please read the post and see the video in the following link.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-maher/george-bush-pardon-all-t_b_73574.html

My menu was as follows

Apple pie and Garlic Bread were readymade and they needed just baking. Thanks to my sister who helped me in chores and Mr.B who took care of my kids. Here are some of the pictures I took that day.

Karthigai Celebrations

2007-11-28T07:44:00.000-08:00

Here are some of the photos we took on Karthigai day. The white diyas are edible . They are made of Rice flour.

Happy Thanksgiving

2007-11-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Planning to prepare Thanksgiving Dinner minus turkey just for my family. It's gonna be simply Italian. Please check back for the Photos and recipes.