Dabbu's Recipes

Surali Chi Wadi or Khandvi

2011-07-19T14:20:00.001-07:00

I recently tried my hand at making khandvi (gujarati) or surali chi wadi (marathi). For some reason, I always assumed that this was a very difficult dish to make. Thanks to Nupur of One Hot Stove for inspiring me to make it. I used her recipe here. My verdict is that it is easy to make, quick and tasty as a snack or appetizer. One item that I would love to try making is patra but I am not even sure where I would get the ingredients. So I stick to the frozen version which is good enough :) Dhokla, khandvi and papdi were staple munchies at my place whenever we could go to the gujju sweet shops in King Kothi and get them. Thanks to my parents for my exposure to gujju food. As I made friends with other gujjus, I learnt more about other delicacies like undhiyu, khichdi, kadhi. A lot of the dishes are close to marathi food yet different in many ways. Its a cuisine I love to explore especially due to the wide variety of vegetarian options. So more to come here as I try more gujju recipe.

Vegetable Hakka Noodles And Chilli Paneer

2011-07-18T23:04:00.000-07:00

Every now and then, I have this craving for Indo-Chinese and sadly there are just one or two places in the bay area where I can get something very close to what you get in India. So at times, I slog it out in the kitchen to recreate some of my favorite dishes. The first ever taste of noodles I had was from a Restaurant in Hyderabad near my home called Reddy's and they used to pack these awesome hakka moodles with a salan-like gravy. I know you are probably thinking gravy with noodles??? But trust me, this was the tastiest accompaniment to the noodles and it tasted even better when reheated the next day. Sadly that place closed down and I have never found an equivalent of it since then. I didn't fathom it back then but that was my first taste of fusion food :) . Another tasty haunt for indo chinese is the road side stalls where they cook up the food with fire rising from the wok. The downside to these places is that you never really know what you are eating and the upside is that whatever is on your plate will please your taste buds. My initiative of cooking Indo-Chinese food started with my desire to get my mom to taste some of it since she is a hard core vegetarian and very apprehensive about trying chinese food. So I started with fried rice and vegetable manchurian and was delighted when she ate it and loved it. The recipe I have in this post for Chilli Paneer was an outcome of a weekend I spent at my friend Renuka's place in Chicago. She introduced me to mushroom soy sauce which is a thick and rich variety of soy sauce and adds wonderful flavor to all chinese food. It is high in sodium but then you cannot afford to pay much attention to the sodium and oil content of Indo-Chinese food if you don't want it bland. I have used this sauce for making alu 65 with tater tots as my friend did and it is a very easy and tasty dish to make for a pot luck. The chilli paneer version with this sauce is easy as well and a perfect accompaniment to any fried rice or noodle dish that you whip up. I could go on and on about Indo-Chinese food but I should probably stop here so that I have more to write next time:)

Vegetable Hakka Noodles Recipe:

Ingredients:

Hakka Egg Noodles - 1 packet, boiled and strained (I get this pack in the India store)
Ginger - 2 inch piece chopped finely
Garlic - 10 cloves, finely chopped
Carrot - 1 cup, cut into thin long strips
Beans - 1 cup cut diagonally and thin
Cabbage - 1 cup, chopped long
Spring onion - 1 cup
Salt
Black pepper powder - 1/2 tsp
Vinegar - 1/t tsp
Mushroom soy sauce - 1 tsp
MSG or ajinomoto - 1/4 tsp
Red chilli flakes - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Directions:

Heat oil in a wok and when it gets very hot, add the ginger and garlic.
Once the ginger and garlic are fried, add the sprint onions and cabbage.
Saute on high heet for a min and then add the carrot and beans.
Once the veggies are cooked slightly (don't let them overcook), add the noodles, salt, pepper, chilli flakes, msg, vinegar, soy sauce and mix well.
Let the noodles cook on high heat for a couple of mins and they are done.

Chilli Paneer Recipe:

Ingredients:

Oil - 1 tsp
Ginger - 2 inch piece, finely chopped
Garlic - 10 cloves, finely chopped
Spring onion - 1 cup, chopped
Jalapenos - 2 , sliced diagonally
Paneer cubes - 1.5 cup
Mushroom soy sauce - 1/2 cup or more as needed

Directions:

Heat oil in a wok and when really hot, add the ginger and garlic. Let it cook for a couple of mins.
Add the spring onions and paneer and stir fry until the paneer browns lightly and starts turning crisp.
Add the jalapenos and cook for a couple of mins. Add the mushroom soy sauce and cook for 2 mins.
Add more soy sauce if you want a little sauce in the dish. Garnish with some sprint onion and enjoy hot.

Dum Aloo

2011-06-21T09:00:00.000-07:00

My visit to the farmer's market led me to buy a bag of multi colored mini potatoes. I was contemplating various options of consuming them and ended up with Dum Aloo for dinner one fine day. Here is the recipe -

Ingredients:

Baby potatoes - 10, boiled until the alu is slightly cooked
Yellow onions - 2, finely chopped
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds - 1 tsp
Grated coconut - 2 tbsps
Jeera - 1 tsp
Dhania - 1 tsp
Cardamom pods - 2 or 3
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Dried red chillies - 3
Garam masala - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Corriander - 1 cup, freshly chopped
Kasuri methi - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1 big, blanched and pureed

Directions:

Roast the poppy seeds, jeera, dhania, red chillies, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom separately and grind together with the ginger, garlic, turmeric, grated coconut and salt to make a fine paste.
Heat oil and saute onions in it till golden brown.
Add the paste and the tomato puree and cook till you see a uniform consistency and some oil separated on the sides.
Add the yogurt and mix into the gravy.
Add the potatoes and kasuri methi and a enough water to cover the potatoes.
Place a lid and steam till the gravy and potatoes are fully cooked.
Garnish with fresh chopped coriander.

Crispy Onion Pakoda

2011-04-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

I never really thought about blogging this recipe until last week. As I was making this with my sister in her kitchen and walking her through it, I realized that not everything involved in it is intuitive and simple and its worth a blog post. This recipe evolved over the last 3 years and prior to that I used to make simple soggy onion pakoda. Some of it was inspired by this post by Asha of Foodie's hope and others are techniques I learned over time.

Ingredients:

Red onion - 2 large onion, thinly sliced
Besan - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1 cup
Corriander seeds - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 10, finely chopped
Corriander - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Salt
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Fresh ginger paste - 1 tsp
Fresh garlic paste - 1 tsp
Oil for frying
Chat masala

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients above without any water. Add more besan or rice flour if needed. The end result should be onions that are mildly moist and coated slightly with the flours. You should see more onions than flour.Do not add water unless the mixture is too dry. Take 1 tsp of the heated oil and add it to the mixture. This and the less water help make the pakodas very crispy. Heat oil in the pan and use two forks to drop the onions and separate them in the pan. Try not to drop lumps but each onion piece separately. This makes a huge difference. Fry until golden brown and sprinkle with chat masala as soon as the pakoda is out of the oil and serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Vegetable Kurma

2011-04-22T16:43:00.000-07:00

I wanted to recreate the vegetable kurma they serve in south indian restaurants with puri or parotta forever! I finally got to it last weekend after scouting the internet for recipes and here is the outcome. Some recipes called for cauliflower also but I stuck to the usual suspects of potato, carrot, beans and peas since that is all I had in my fridge. This is a great dish if you want to get rid of your aging staples.

Ingredients:

Khus khus - 2 tsps
Jeera - 2 tsps
Green cardamom - 2
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
Ginger - 1/2 inch pieces
Garlic cloves - 4
Green chillies - 2
Coconut - fresh or frozen, 1/2 cup
Cashews - 10
Oil
Bay leaf - 1
Salt
Onion - 1 big, chopped finely
Carrots - 1.5 cups, cubed
Potato - 1 cup, cubed
Beans - 1 cup, chopped
Peas - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup or cream 1/4 th cup

Directions:

Roast ingredients 1 through 5 and grind together with ingredients from 6 to 10 to make a fine paste.
Heat oil in a pan and add the bay leaf to it.
Once you smell the aroma of the bay leaf, add the onion and saute till golden brown.
Add the paste and saute till the rawness in the spices is gone.
Add the potato, peas, carrot, beans, salt and enough water to cover all the veggies and cook on medium heat until the water reduces to form a gravy and the veggies are thoroughly cooked.
Add the milk or cream and cook some more.
Serve hot with puri or parotta. This kurma tastes better as it ages.

Pulikachal Recipe and Neer More, Panagam, Kheer, Payasam and Beans Curry for Sri Rama Navami

2011-04-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Ram Navami and I made the usual fare of panagam and neer more. I have posted the recipes for these previously here. I also changed it up by making semiya payasam (kheer), puliyogare with homemade pulikachal and beans curry.

Tamarind rice is a very interesting dish to me and I have spent extensive time researching the nuances in the different versions. My love for it started from the tamarind rice given as prasadam in the temples in Hyd and during Ganesh Chaturti. It took me many years to replicate this version in my kitchen. It is called Pulihora in Andhra. This version is based purely on the flavor of tamarind and its sourness with some auxiliary things like chana dal giving added flavor. This tastes best a few hours after it has been made because rice then has enough time to soak in the tamarind's sourness. Puliyogare which is probably the kannada version uses some added spices which give it a darker color and enhances the flavor even more. I have not yet made this on my own. I use MTR's Puliyogare powder or paste and it turns our fine. This is a quick fix for a busy weekday night or when you have leftover rice. Pulikachal, which is the tamilian version, is mixed into rice to make Puli Chadam. What you see in the picture above is this. Pulikachal ends up being a thick tamarind pulp, reduces over a medium flame, with a spice powder added to it. My MIL's version also has kabuli chana which I usually add but for a change I added black chana. This definitely ups the protein content of the dish and give you something interesting to chew besides rice in this dish:). To help make the cooking process quick, I usually make the spice powder in bulk and freeze.

Pulihora Recipe: The beauty of this recipe is in its simplicity. You can add soaked and boiled black chana to this as well. Add anything more and you lose the authentic taste. I reached this conclusion after many trial and error recipes.

Ingredients:

Rice - 2 cups
Tamarind pulp - 1-1.5 cup (depends on how sour your tamarind is)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 3 or 4
Dried red chillies - 4 or 5
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 2 tsp
Groundnuts - 1 cup
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 8

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and turmeric to it.
Once the mustard seeds have sputtered, add urad dal, chana dal, peanuts, green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and roast these until urad dal and chana dal is golden brown. You may want to roast the peanuts separately and then add as they take longer.
Add the rice, tamarind pulp and salt and mix well.
Taste to check the sourness and add more tamarind pulp if needed.
Place a lid and let the rice steam so that the rawness of tamarind goes away.

Puliyogare Recipe: I dont really have an authentic recipe for this one. My friend promised me one and hasn't given it to me yet (you know who you are :) ). I promise to blog once I have it. I use the MTR puliyogare powder. I make tadka with mustard, peanuts, red chillies and add the mix followed by rice.

Pulikachal Recipe: This recipe is split into 3 parts - recipe for the spice powder, recipe for the pulikachal and directions to make puli chadam.

Pulikachal spice powder recipe: This is an adaptation from my MIL's recipe with some changes.

Ingredients:

Gingelly oil - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Black sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Urad dal - 1 tbsp
Methi seeds - 1/2 tsp
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 5/6
Coconut - grated, 1 cup
Curry leaves - 5/6

Directions: Roast all the above ingredients individually in the oil and grind together to form a powder. The coconut should be roasted until it is golden brown. This can be made in bulk using cups for measurement instead of tsps as long as you keep the proportions.

Pulikachal Recipe: Pulikachal can used as a pickle or as a quick mix with rice to make puli chadam. It can be stored in an airtight jar in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Ingredients:

Tamarind pulp - 3 cups
Water - 3 cups
Gingelly oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Black chana dal soaked and boiled or kabuli chana soaked and boiled - 1.5 cups
Red chillies - 4/5
Curry leaves - 8/10
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Pulikachal spice powder - 4/5 tbsps

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, turmeric and hing. Once they sputter, add urad dal and roast till golden brown.
Add red chillies and curry leaves and roast till you can smell their aroma.
Add the black chana or kabuli chana and roast well for about 15 mins.
Add the tamarind pulp, water and salt and boil this mixture until it reduces and becomes a thick pulp. This usually takes 30-45mins.
Add the spice powder and mix well. Pulikachal is ready.

Directions to make puli chadam: Take a few teaspoons of the pulikachal and add it to 2 cups of rice. Add some gingelly oil and jump into the bowl with your hands like a true tamilian and mix away:). Serve this with papad and you have reached tamilian heaven:)

Shrikhand-Puri, Amti, Dhodkya Chi Bhaji, Varan Bhat, Koshimbir, Chitranna, Batatyachi Bhajji for Gudi Padwa

2011-04-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

I made a lot of dishes for this Gudi Padwa but the star of the day was Shrikhand which is the ambrosia of Maharashtrians. Its a creamy dessert made from yogurt and flavored with cardamom and saffron. If you want to make a fat free light version of this, I'll tell you right away that it is simply not worth it. The delight of this dish lies in its creamy richness and you just cannot do away with using full fat yogurt. It is best enjoyed when you let it sit for at least half a day so that the flavors get absorbed and be sure to chill it before devouring it with hot puris. My dad is a connoisseur of Shrikhand and I got specific instructions( more like questions) from him when I was making this dish. His expression and happiness when he eats this dish always reminds me of a cat that eats the cream and purrs with pleasure and has cream dangling from its whiskers:D:D This post and dish is dedicated to my gourmand dad from whom I inherited my enthusiasm for food and thereby honed my talent in the kitchen.

In the picture above from left to right, starting with puri I have Puri, Shrikahnd, Amti, Dhodkya Chi Bhaji, Varan-Bhat, Koshimbir, Chitranna, Batatyachi Bhajji. Here are some of the recipes that I haven't blogged before -

Shrikhand

Ingredients:

Full fat yogurt - 8-10 cups
Sugar - I used about 1 cup but it could vary based on how sweet you like it. I suggest adding 1 spoon at a time and doing a taste test until it feels just right.
Green cardamom - 8/10 pods, peeled and powdered
Saffrom - 2 pinches

Directions:

Drain the water from the yogurt by tying it in a thin cloth or cheese cloth and hanging it a little above the ground so that gravity can aid with this. I usually hang it on my tap and suspend it in my sink. You may have to do this overnight for the liquid to be completely drained out.
What you are left with is a thick creamy residue. If you feel that this is grainy, you can send it through a sieve but I find that for the yogurt in USA you don't need to do this.
Add sugar, cardamom powder and saffron and mix really well into this yogurt.
Do this a day before serving for better results. It always tastes yummier the next day. Thats pretty much it. You can add some dried fruits to this if you like but it tastes heavenly as is.
Another variation of this called 'Amrakhand' is made by adding mango pulp to the shrikhand. You can make it the same way as above with lesser sugar since you have the mango pulp for sweetness.

Koshimbir: The name of this dish applies to all raita-like dishes made with tomato, cucumber, carrot, onion or a combination of them and even guava. What distinguishes the maharashtrian way of making this is the distinct flavor of peanut powder in it.

Ingredients

Tomatoes - 2, chopped
Yogurt - 2 cups, beaten
Roasted peanut powder - 3 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4th tsp
Green chillies - 2 chopped fine
Curry leaves - 4/5
Salt
Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Directions

Mix the tomatoes, rogurt, salt, sugar and peanut powder together.
Heat oil and add the mustard, jeera, hing, green chillies and curry leaves to it.
Once the mustard seeds sputter, add it to the tomato mixture and mix well.
The same can be done with cucumbers and grated carrot instead of tomatoes.

Dodkya Chi Bhaji (Ridge Gourd):

Ingredients

Ridge gourd - 2, chopped into 1 inch pieces
Chana dal - 1 cup, soaked for 1 hour
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1 pinch
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Kala masala (maharashtrian masala)
Water - 2-3 cups
Jaggery - 1/2 inc piece
Fresh corriander - 1 cup, fnely chopped

Directions

Heat oil and add jeera, mustard, hing and turmeric powder
Add the dal and cut ridge gourd pieces, salt, kala masala, red chilli powder, jaggery and water and once mixed, place a lid on the pan and let it all steam until the water reduces a little and the veggies are cooked.
Garnish with fresh corriander.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Bell Pepper Panini on Sourdough Bread

2011-03-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

I am in love with Trader Joe's 99% fat free whole wheat sourdough bread. Its been a staple in my kitchen for the last month. It tastes yummy and toasts really well. It makes an interesting base for sandwiches and tastes even better for breakfast with butter and orange marmalade. I whipped up this quick sandwich on a weekday when I had all the ingredients at hand and felt like eating a panini. It was a very tasty and quick dinner.

Ingredients:

Sourdough bread slices
Goat cheese
Pesto
Roasted bell peppers (I get a jar of this from Trader Joe's)
Sun dried tomatoes
Fresh basil leaves
Freshly ground pepper powder
Olive oil
Salt

Directions:

Take two slices of sourdough bread. Layer one with the goat cheese and other with the pesto.
Layer the sun dried tomatoes, roasted bell pepper and basil leaves.
Sprinkle salt and pepper as needed and sandwich the two slices of bread.
Brush on both external sides with olive oil and grill in a panini press.
Cut the sandwich into two halves if it is too big and enjoy with soup or a salad.

Leftovers Heaven - Fodni Chi Chappati and Fodni Cha Bhat

2011-03-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

Leftovers are ingredients for a whole range of yummy dishes and some so good that you deliberately keep food aside to enjoy them in a new form the next day. Two of my favorite leftover dishes are fodni chi chappati (translated as tadka chappati) and fodni cha bhat (translated as fodni cha bhat). As a kid, I would avidly wait for there to be leftover chappati and rice so that mom could make these dishes the next day. I was always advised not to eat them as fresh food is more nutritious and that made these dishes all the more inviting:D. My eagerness to eat these made me try them with fresh ingredients instead of leftovers the next day and trust me they do taste better with leftovers. I was watching a Khana Khazaana episode dedicated to reusing leftovers and there were some lovely recipes like spinach rice, rice fritters which I am definitely going to try the next time if I can have enough of these two:). I have also made curd rice with tadka, pulihora and tamarind rice with leftovers before and they taste good too. Chappati is really a luxury for me today. I make it sometimes but most times I bring it from outside. So to save it for this dish is hard sometimes and I don't get to make it as often. I now really admire the effort my mom took to fresh food especially the chappatis on the dinner table and that too with 3 kids. Whew! These women of the older generations really were super women. On that thought, here are the recipes -

Fodni Chi Chappati:

Ingredients:

4 or 5 stale chappatis - cut into small 1/2 inch size pieces, if possible do this by hand instead of a knife
Yellow onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
Curry leaves - 10
Fresh corriander - 2 cupes finely chopped
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 pinch
Green chillies - 1 finely chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil and add mustard, jeera and turmeric.
Once the mustard seed sputter, add the green chillies and curry leaves.
After a min, add the onion and saute till well done
Add the chappati, chilli powder and salt and cook till well done and the chappati start becoming a little crisp.
Add the coriander and lemon juice and mix well. Take the pan off the gas.

Fodni Cha Bhaat:

Ingredients:

2 cups leftover rice
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1 medium, chopped
Green capsicum - 1, cubed
Green chilli - 1 finely chopped
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander - 1 cup, chopped
Lemon juice - 2 tsps
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil in the pan and add mustard, jeera, turmeric and hing.
Once the mustard seed sputter, add the green chillies.
After a min, add the onions until they are not totally cooked and slightly underdone.
Add capsicum and saute for 2 mins.
Add the rice, chilli powder and salt. Mix well and let the rice steam and get cooked thoroughly for a few mins.
Add the corriander and lemon juice and the dish is ready.

Note: When cooking with stale food, it is always important to make sure the dish is heated and cooked well.

Roasted Butternut Squash

2011-02-22T13:47:00.000-08:00

Feb is the month of anniversary and Valentine's day celebrations and gives me an excuse to cook special stuff. I have been planning to re-create this roasted butternut squash dish we had a while ago while on holiday in Maui at this restaurant called 'Penne Pasta' . It is half a butternut squash loaded with butter, sage and slivered almonds and oven roasted till it is soft and delicious. Mine turned out to be close to it except I could not get myself to add as much butter. This dish holds very romantic memories of the good time we had in Maui. Incidentally, if you look at the cavity in the squash, its a heart shape:)

Ingredients:

Butternut squash - 1/2 sliced down the middle
Butter - 1.5 tbsps
Salt
Fresh black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli flakes - 1/2 tsp
Fresh sage - 4/5 leaves, chopped into ribbons
Slivered almonds - 1/2 cup

Directions:

Smother the butternut squash with 1 tbsp melted butter, salt, pepper and stick it in the over at 350 F. I had to bake it for almost 45 mins to get it soft but the bake time might vary depending on the oven. Use a fork to check the done-ness frequently after 30 mins have elapsed.
Toast the slivered almonds either in a pan or an oven until golden brown.
Take 1/4 tbsp of butter and sautee the chopped sage leave for 5 mins.
Top the bakes butternut squash with chilli flakes, toasted slivered almonds, sage leaves and the remaining butter while its still hot and enjoy.

Note: You may use parsley to flavor instead of sage if you are averse to its smell.

We re-did another dining experience by celebrating Valentine's day at Tigelleria which we discovered on our anniversary 2 years ago. We ordered a pear stuffed ravioli with walnut sauce, a cheese platter, a very pretentious salad and pesto fusili pasta. The dessert was pistaschio pannacotta which was served with a heart shaped spoon. A very satisfactory meal indeed!

Paneer Methi Matar Malai and Til Wale Baingan

2011-01-20T11:04:00.001-08:00

I have been in an extremely creative mode with cooking lately and these two dishes were what I conjured up for dinner in 30 mins. The recipe for Paneer Methi Matar Malai was based on numerous recipes online that I modified to be healthier and the baingan was a healthier version of Begun Bhaja with sesame. Both were unique in flavors and yummy with the rotis.

Recipe for Paneer Methi Matar Malai:I read several recipes for methi matar malai which called for cream. I just used low fat milk instead and some flour paste for thickening and it works just as well.

Ingredients:

Oil - 1 tsp
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Green chilli - 1, finely chopped
White onion - 1, finely chopped
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Frozen methi - 1 block/cube
Frozen peas - 1 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1 pinch
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Paneer - 10 small cubes, deep fried, pan friend or fresh
All purpose flour or maida - 1 tsp, mix in water to make a paste

Directions:

Heat oil in a skillet and add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and green chilli. Roast until you can smell the spices.
Add finely chopped onions and saute until well done and slightly browned.
Add ginger paste and garlic paste and saute until the paste is well mixed into the onions and well cooked.
Thaw the methi, microwave for 2 minutes and then add to the onions.
Mix and cook for 10 minutes until the methi is thoroughly cooked.
Add the salt, red chilli powder, jeera dhania powder, garam masala and mix well.
Add the peas, milk, sugar and flour paste and bring the liquid to a boil.
Add paneer at the end and heat till it softens.

Recipe for Til Wale Baingan: Brinjals usually absorb a lot of oil. The key to this recipe is to use very little oil and cook it in a non stick skillet with a lid so that the brinjals are well done.

Ingredients:

Brinjals - 6/7 small ones, cut into discs
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1 1/2 tsp (yes thats a lot but it adds to the flavor)
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Til/Sesame seeds - 1/2 cup
Salt
Corriander - handful, finely chopped
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet and add mustard seeds, jeera and hing.
Once the mustard seeds sputter, add the brinjal slices, salt, red chilli powder, turmeric, ginger paste, garlic paste and mix them all together.
Cook on high flame for 5 minutes until the brinjal start roasting and then top with a lid. Allow the brinjals to cook well and become soft.
Toast the sesame seeds in a pan until golden brown.
Once the brinjals cook thoroughly, add the sesame seeds, corriander and lemon juice and mix together.

2011 - The first thing I tasted, a very chocolaty brownie and a TamBhram soul food

2011-01-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

Happy new year all! What was the first thing you ate/drank in 2011. I started mine with champagne at 12:00AM and a very well done mocha in the morning. We had an excellent brunch at Hobbee's with my hubby gobbling down a poached egg on english muffin with country hash browns and me devouring the usual scrambled tofu and rye toast. A very satisfactory start to the year indeed.

I also made these yummy chocolate brownies (baked in a muffin pan to get the crisp edge on each one) from this recipe. The only modification I made was to reduce the sugar a little. We had this for dessert with vanilla ice cream and it was a chocolate lover's delight.

Next up is a dish which is tam-bhram soul food. In combination with rasam and rice, this makes a protein rich healthy meal if made the low fat way.

Ingredients:

Chana dal - 1 cup
Toor dal - 1 cup
Dried red chillies - 7/8
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Beans - 2 cups, chopped into 1/2 inch size
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5/6
Salt
Lemon juice - 1 tsp

Directions -

Soak the chana dal and toor dal for 2-3 hours
Grind the chana dal and toor dal with half the red chillies, salt and hing with very little water.
Cook the beans and the ground dal mixture for 2 whistles in the cooker. The dal mixture can also be steamed in idly pans or cooked in the microwave for a few minutes.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds, haldi, curry leaves. One the mustard seeds break open, add the beans.
Break the cooked dal mixture into small pieces and add to the beans.
Add salt and saute until the beans and dal come together and are well cooked.
Top with lemon juice and enjoy with rasam and rice for an authentic Tamilian meal:)

Christmas, Presents, Tree, Cake and Cheese Fondue

2010-12-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

A cold day, the christmas tree all lit up and decorated by the fireplace, presents all wrapped and ready to be opened below the tree, a cake baking in the oven spreading the aroma of vanilla in the kitchen, a warm throw, 'A Christmas Story' playing on TV - that just about describes the best and the most perfect Christmas morning I have ever had. My christmas present from my hubby this year was a Cuisinart electric fondue maker and I tried the most basic fondue recipe right away with great enthusiasm. The outcome was a delectable cheese fondue which my hubby and I devoured in no time. Who would ever imagine that two people could consume so much cheese in less than 20 mins! Here is the recipe with a promise of many more fondue recipes to come.

Ingredients:

Aged Gruyere cheese - 0.5 lbs, grated
Emmental (swiss) cheese - 0.5 lbs, grated
White wine - 1 1/2 cups (any dry wine should do. I looked for a cooking white wine and got a Chablis)
Lemon juices - 1tsp
Black pepper - 1 tsp
Crushed red pepper - 1/2 tsp
Papprika - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves, finely chopped
Nutmeg - 1 pinch
Celery, green peppers, red peppers, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, sourdough bread as accompaniments

Directions:

Add the wine, lemon juice and garlic to the fondue maker and cook till the wine starts simmering
Add the cheese a little at a time until it melts.
Add the black pepper, crushed red pepper, paprika, and nutmeg and mix into the cheese thoroughly.
Cook till the cheese starts gently bubbling and then turn down the heat/setting.
Dip the veggies/bread and enjoy the fondue. Be careful not to burn your tongue.

Alu Methi Matar

2010-12-21T09:57:00.000-08:00

Hot alu methi matar with chappati and dahi is a very satisfactory easy meal on lazy winter days. This sabji is easy to make, healthy and a good travel dish if you want to carry food with you. Here goes the recipe -

Ingredients:

Red potatoes - 6 potatoes, roughly 3 inches in length
Frozen methi - 1 cube
Frozen peas - 1cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 3/4
Sambhar masala - 1 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Haldi powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Lemon

Directions:

Cut the potatoes into cubes along with the skip and cook in microwave for 7-8 mins until the potatoes are cooked a little but not mushy.
Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, jeera, haldi, hing and red chillies. Let the mustard seeds pop.
Defrost the methi by microwaving for 1 min and add to the pan.
Sautee until the methi is cooked.
Add the potatoes, salt, chilli powder, sambhar masala and cook on high flame for 5-10 mins and then leave it on low flame until the potatoes have a crust.
Add the peas and cook for 2 mins.
Garnish with lemon juice and serve hot.

Rosemary Potatoes

2010-09-22T15:22:00.000-07:00

The rosemary plant in my garden is overflowing from the pot and I simply had to put it to good use. What better than to bake the classic combination of rosemary and potatoes! My kitchen was smelling like heaven when I popped them out of the oven. This makes an excellent side dish to go with any Italian salad or pasta.

Ingredients:

Red skinned potatoes - 2, washed and cut into any desired french-fry-like shape
Rosemary - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Salt
Coarsely crushed black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp

Directions:

Toss the potatoes with the rosemary, salt, pepper and olive oil.
Spread thinly on a baking sheet and bake at 400F for 20 minutes
Turn the oven to broil and broil on each side for 5-7 minutes or until the potatoes turn brown.
Let it cool for 5 mins and you are done!

Instant Mango Pickle / Ambyacha Loncha

2010-09-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

This is a very simple and easy mango pickle that my mom used to make during summers when the raw mangoes were plentiful. It needs very few basic ingredients but the flavor of the mango makes up for everything and gives it a unique taste. It is best when enjoyed with ghee and rice.

Ingredients:

Raw mango - 1 cut into small cubes
Red chilli powder - 4 tsps (Try the one that is made for pickles specifically)
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsps
Mustard seeds - 2 tsps
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Haldi - 1/4th tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsps

Directions:

Mix the mango pieces, salt, red chilli powder.
Heat oil and add mustard, green chillies, hing and haldi. Heat it until all the mustard seeds have spluttered but not burnt.
Add the oil mixture to the mango along with the lemon juice. Mix thoroughly and let it sit for an hour. You will see the mangoes releasing a lot of juices.
This pickle is best stored in the fridge after a day of sitting outside.

Arachuvitta Sambhar

2010-09-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

Arachuvitta sambhar is a very traditional and typical tamilian sambhar, the ultimate comfort food for any tamilian or for that matter any south Indian:). - a fresh ground powder/paste is added to this sambhar and the aroma of that sets it apart from a regular sambhar. You can add any vegetable to this one. I chose to use white pumpkin. Thanks to my SIL for the recipe.

Ingredients:

Chana dal - 2 tbsps
Toor dal - 2 tbsps
Corriander seeds - 4 tbsps
Red chillies - 10
Frozen/fresh grated coconut - 1 cup
Tamarind pulp - 2 cups
White pumpkin - 1/4th piece, peeled and subed
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Methi seeds - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/4th tsp
Curry leaves - 8 or 10
Toor dal boiled - 2 cups
Haldi - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Dry roast ingredients 1 through 5 and grind to a smooth powder/paste.
Heat oil in a skillet and add mustard, methi, haldi, curry leaves, red chillies, hing and let the mustard seeds splutter.
Add the pumpkin pieces and sautee for 5 mins.
Add the tamarind pulp, salt and enough water and boil the pumpkin until cooked.
Add the dal and boil until all ingredients are well cooked.
Add the ground paste/powder and boil for a min or so and take it off the heat. Serve hot with rice.

Begun Bhaja

2010-09-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

It feels like the cook in me is getting resurrected and that is not necessarily a good thing because it also means that my diet and focus on eating healthy goes for a toss :). Ah heck! Who cares!!! Today I was inspired to make a Bengali meal and perused several blogs for the recipe of Begun Bhaja. I finally used this one. My first taste of this dish was during my last India trip when my sister's cook make this. It seemed so simply yet tasted so good. I know it is my BIL's favorite dish and I can see why. To go with this, I made a simple dal with panch phoran masala which added to the Bengali theme of the evening:).

Ingredients:

One big eggplant - cut into discs 1/2 inch thick
Turmeric - 2 tsps (I used it liberally but you can use less too)
Red chilli powder - 2 tsps
Salt
Oil - 3 tbsps
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp

Directions:

Rub the turmeric, salt and red chilli powder on both sides of the eggplant and let it sit for a few minutes

2. In a pan, add the oil and let it heat up for a min. Add the eggplant slices and let it cook and brown on one side. Then flip and let it cook well on the other side. By the time it is done, the eggplant should be really soft and the skin on the sides should have changed color.

3. Drizzle a little lemon juice and enjoy hot with khichdi or with roti and dal like I did.

Samosas

2010-08-23T11:48:00.001-07:00

Samosa - a stuffed pastry is how wikipedia describes it. This is probably one of India's most popular and versatile dishes. Its an every occasion dish and you can see so many variations of it as you go from south to north and east to west in India. My personal favorite is the Irani samosa that you get at these Irani Cafes in Hyderabad. It is stuffed mostly with onion and sometimes a little carrot/beans. The samosa itself is a mini size and extremely crisp and flavorful. I have so many memories associated with samosa -

This small shop in a shopping center that used to sell these small irani samosas and a fruit drink called Soma (that goes back to my first ever memories of my home and family in Hyderabad as a kid),

Sunday evenings when this queer dude would come on his bicycle and sell hot samosas, of vendors outside my school selling samosas for 25 paise each,

This sweet shop near my place where dad would bring samosas, pakodas and it would transform into an entire meal paired with maggie ketchup and bread,

I had hot samosas (called singhara in north east India) in this small tea shop in Darjeeling while it was raining outside,

The time when I first started making samosas for my hubby out of wonton wrappers during our dating days,

The hot hot Bharat bazaar samosas my hubby would bring home on his way from work for my folks and sister when we were engaged

I can go on forever:)

This recipe is for a slightly different stuffing than the usual potato filling. It was arrived at in an effort to emulate my favorite Irani samosa but tasted nothing like it. It still tasted pretty good but my taste buds that have memory cells refused to like it. According to my hubby it was still very tasty and is worth a blog post. So here goes -

Ingredients:

Yellow onion - thinly sliced, 1
Carrot - 1, grated
Peas - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - 4/5
Green chillies - 2, finely chopped
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Jeera-dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Corriander leaves - 1 cup finely chopped
Mint leaves - 1/2 cup finely chopped
Oil - 1 tsp for the filling and a wok full for deep frying
Milk - 2 tsps
Wonton wrappers

Directions:

Heat 1 tsp oil in a pan and add the curry leaves and chopped chillies.
Add sliced onions and saute until well done.
Add ginger garlic paste and after 2 mins, add the grated carrots, peas, chilli powder, salt, jeera dhania powder, garam masala and cook until well done.
Add the corriander leaves, mint leaves and lemon juice and cook for 2 more mins.
Take a wonton wrapper and cut into half diagonally (This is for the big square wonton wrappers. You can also try the smaller ones).
Fill in the center with the stuffing made above and use milk to seal the corners.
Heat oil for deep frying and drop the samosas when hot. It only takes a min for each samosa to get done. Enjoy hot with ketchup:)

Cauliflower Pulao/Khichdi/Biryani

2010-08-22T23:44:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by this recipe one evening and attempted to make cauliflower biryani for dinner. Unfortunately I am trying a new brand of basmati rice and it became really sticky and mushy. It tasted excellent though and made a very nice lunch the next day too. Lately I have been having a lot of rice cravings and been on a rice binge. There is no other comfort food as a rice dish for an Indian and I have been in my comfort zone a lot these days. :) Need to get back to my no rice restriction again and watch those inches but meanwhile I am sure I will be blogging about more rice dishes.

Appe With Chutney and Sambhar

2010-08-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

Tonight's dinner reminds me of this song because appe is what you get when you have excess dosa batter. You don't even want to know the actual parody I was humming. Appe is a a dish made in a dutch muffin style pan(below) with leftover dosa batter.
All you do is oil the pan lightly and drop the dosa batter. Flip them using a fork or a skewer and cook on other side. Enjoy hot with sambhar or chutney.

Summer Tomatoes and A Simple Pasta

2010-08-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

Its been an unusual summer for me this year. Not as many outdoor activities as I would have liked but have been enjoying my home a lot more. I started my spring cleaning in summer this week and accomplished a lot. Purging all the unwanted things in your life gives you such a good feeling and organizes your life and thoughts. My garden has bloomed wonderfully. Check out the cherry tomatoes and chillies in the pic below. Besides this I have rosemary, basil, thyme and mint which I use from time to time. The feeling of using herbs/veggies from your garden is awesome.

The simple pasta I made to use the cherry tomatoes was nothing more than boiled whole wheat pasta, pesto, pepper, crushed red pepper and tomatoes tossed together. The simplicity of the ingredients brought out the best flavor from the tomatoes.

Pear/Apple Crumble/Crisp

2010-06-07T11:17:00.000-07:00

This is a rather easy dessert that I make very frequently when I don't have the patience to make an elaborate dessert. It also provides a good way to use up apples or pears that you have lying around ready to spoil. When paired with vanilla bean ice cream (note, vanilla bean and not just vanilla), it proves to be a super elegant dessert.

Ingredients:

Pears/Apples - 3 semi ripe, sliced lengthwise
Cinnamon powder - 1/4th tsp
Brown sugar - 1 tsp
Lemon zest - 1/4th tsp
Apple crisp mix - you can get this in the store and usually it is a mix of oats, flour, sugar and some spices
Instant oats - 1 cup
Butter - 1 stick

Directions:

Add the cinnamon, brown sugar, zest to the sliced pears and give them a quick toss to mix together.
Place in a buttered and floured baking dish.
Mix the oats, apple crisp mix, melted butter and add to the top of the dish as shown in the picture.
Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes until the top turns brown.
Serve hot with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Recipe for the crisp/crumble topping: Mix together 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1 cup of instant oats, 1/3rd cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 stick of melted butter and use this as a topping.

Paneer 65

2010-06-04T11:02:00.000-07:00

Its been a long break since my last blog post and the primary reason is laziness:D:D. I know people complain about lack of time and I would too except that I know myself only too well and I know that if I wanted to make time for something, I will. Work has been exceptionally crazy and I haven't been a very creative cook recently either. Hence for the lack of a better dish, I am posting this quick Paneer 65 recipe that relies solely on the magic masala called aachi masala which Vidya akka recommended to me. Its really tasty and gives you that flavor that you get at restaurants. Here goes -

Ingredients :

1 slab of paneer - chopped into small cubes
1 cup yogurt
2 tsps chicken 65 aachi masala (or more if you want it spicier and saltier...A word of warning - the masala itself has a lot of salt, so don't add any more. Although the masala is for chicken 65, the ingredients are all vegetarian)
Curry leaves - 10
Oil - 1 tsp
Geen chillies -3, slit lengthwise
Garlic - 2 pods, finely chopped
Lemon juice - 2 tsps
Corriander - 1 cup finely chopped

Directions:

Mix the yogurt and the masala and marinate the paneer cubes in it for 2 hours
Heat oil and sautee the garlic, curry leaves and chillies in it
Add the paneer without the excess liquid and stir fry until the paneer gets well roasted and has brown edges.
Sprinkle lemon juice and corriander and enjoy hot!

Comfort Food - Rajma Chawal

2010-04-26T11:36:00.001-07:00

I know the pictures are terrible but in my defense it was a lazy Sunday evening with the smell of comforting Rajma and Jeera rice filling my kitchen and I did not have the motivation to go and grab my camera or improve the lighting before I clicked it with my IPhone. Thanks to Neha for inspiring me to make this Rajma Chawal. I declare her Rajma as the best I have ever tasted on this earth and this was my attempt to recreate it in my own way.

Rajma Recipe

Ingredients:

Kidney Beans - 2 cups, soaked overnight
Yellow Onion - 1 large, finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2, finely chopped
Oil - 2 tsps
Cloves - 2-3
Cardamom - 2
Star Anise - 1
Cinnamon - 1/4th inch piece
Bay leaf - 1
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Jeera powder - 2 tsps
Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Corriander - 2 cups, chopped
Green chillies - 2 slit whole
Curry leaves - 4/5
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil in a pressure pan and add the cloves, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom and bay leaves. Roast until you can smell the aroma.
Add the green chillies and curry leaves and saute for q min.
Add the onions and saute until they are soft.
Add the ginger paste and garlic paste and cook for 2 mins.
Now add tomatoes and the jeera powder, dhania powder, red chilli powder, garam masala and salt. Cook until the tomatoes soften.
Now add the rajma and water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles (more if you have not soaked for long).
Top off with the fresh corrainder and enjoy with jeera rice.

For jeera rice, refer to my previous post here.

Homemade Chai Masala Recipe and Chinese Blossom Tea

2010-04-06T21:24:00.000-07:00

What can be better than a hot cup of masala chai when it is raining outside and you can smell the fresh scent of the earth when you open your windows! I got this chai masala recipe from my dear friend Hetvi and I am the biggest fan of her tea:) I make this in huge batches so that I can share the love with my friends:)

Chai Masala Recipe:

Ingredients:

Green Cardamom - 1 cup
Whole black pepper - 1 cup
Ginger powder - 2 cups
Cinnamon sticks - 1/4th cup
Cloves - 1/4th cup

Directions:

Grind all the above ingredients and mix them. Store in an airtight jar.

While we are on the topic of tea, I tasted some Chinese blossom tea at House of Nanking in SF this weekend. It was very weird at first. It is a green colored liquid with a flower bud dropped inside. The bud slowly opens up as it absorbs the heat and blossoms into a full blown flower. Its beautiful:)

I also had an amazing cup of cappuccino at Steps of Rome, one of my favorite dessert places in the city. This cup was paired with some espresso creme brulee.

Sriram Navami - Panagam, Neer More, Kosumali

2010-03-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Sriram Navami and this one holds a special place in my house as my hubby's name is Sriram:). I made the usual menu which I posted previously but I never posted the recipes. So here goes -

Panagam

Ingredients:

Water - cold, 2 cups
Jaggery - 3/4th cup
Ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
Elaichi powder - 1/4th tsp

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients above and enjoy cold:)

Neer More

Ingredients:

Butter milk - 4 cups
Corriander - chopped finely, handful
Oil - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 6/7
Green chillies - 2
Hing - 1/4th tsp
Ginger - 1 tsp, finely chopped
Mustard seeds
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil and add the mustard seed. Once they sputter, add the curry leaves, ginger, hing and green chillies.
Once the ginger and other ingredients are friend well and crisp, add it to the buttermilk.
Add salt and mix well. Enjoy chilled!

Cucumber Kosumali

Ingredients:

Cucumbers - 3 medium sized, finely chopped
Moong dal - 1 cup, soaked for 3 hours
Grated coconut - fresh/frozen, 1/2 cup
Salt
Lemon juice - 3 tbsps
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 4/5
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 7/8
ginger - 1/2 tsp, finely chopped

Directions:

Mix the cucumber, moong dal, coconut, lemon and salt together.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds and let them sputter.
Now add the urad dal and cook until it is golden brown.
Add the ginger, curry leaves, red chillies and hing and saute until done.
Add this tempering to the cucumber mixture and blend it.
This is almost like a salad and very refreshing.

This weekend I had the opportunity of trying out a paratha like Afghani dish, called Bolani, at a mom and pop store in Fremont. It is basically bread stuffed with boiled potatoes, leeks and spices and it is served with homemade yogurt. Thanks to my sister for recommending this dish and place. It was awesome!

Carrot Kosambari and Dosa Love

2010-03-17T08:23:00.000-07:00

I made a very healthy carrot kosambari/salad last night along with a lot of other heavy duty items. This one stood out in its simplicity and freshness along all the other festive foods.

Ingredients:

Carrots - 5 grated
Moong dal - 1 cup soaked for 3 hours
Oil - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Curry leaves - 5-6
Corriander - handful, finely chopped
Lemon juice - 3 tbsps
Salt
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4th tsp
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece, finely chopped

Directions:

Heat oil and add mustard seeds, jeera, hing, curry leaves, green chillies, ginger. Saute until all the aromas are enahnced and mustard seeds sputter.
Add to grated carrot and mix in moong dal, lemon juice, salt, corriander. Toss everything together and let it sit for 30 mins and its ready to devour.

We ate some yummy food at Anjappar Chettinad last week. Do you remember ordering a cone dosa like above when you were a kid and lunging to break the top off and eat it? That is exactly what my hubby did:D:D

Lauki Dal And Funny Lemons

2010-03-10T20:57:00.001-08:00

When life gives you lemons......Well, if they are anything like the one above then I'd laugh my guts out! :D:D A co-worker got some lemons from his backyard and I loved this one. I simply had to pick up this poor deformed thing. :)

I made a very simple yet tasty bengali style lauki dal. The panch puran masala gives it a very unique flavor. It was so good to have this after 5 days of eating out.

Ingredients:

3 spoons panch puran masala
1 small lauki (bottle gourd)
Tomato - 1, finely chopped
Split masoor dal - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Jeera powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
Tamarind pulp - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10

Directions:

Take a pressure pan and heat the oil.
Add the curry leaves, haldi and the panch puran masala.
Add the tomatoes and dal and saute for 5 minutes.
Add the the rest of the ingredients - tamarind pulp, salt, chilli powder, dhania powder, jeera powder and enough water to soak them.
Pressure cook for two whistles and enjoy steaming hot.

We ate at saravana bhavan last weekend and enjoyed the falooda and filter coffee.

Egg Curry

2010-02-24T22:26:00.000-08:00

I made this egg curry for dinner with plain rice. It was inspired by this recipe from Asha's blog Foodie's Hope.

Egg Prep:

Hard boil 8-10 eggs. Shallow fry them with 2 tbsps oil until they crisp a little on the outside. Cut 1 inch vertical slits around the egg.

Ingredients for Gravy:

Onions - 3 large, chopped finely
Tomatoes - 4 chopped finely
Tomato sauce - 1 can
Bay leaves - 2
Elaichi - 2
Cloves - 4
Star anise - 1
Garam masala - 1/2 tsp
Jeera Dhania powder - 1.5 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Tandoori masala - 1/2 tsp
Kasoori methi - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2 slit lengthwise
Curry leaves - 7/8
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tsp
Salt
Water - 3 cups
Corriander - 1 cup chopped

Directions:

Heat the oil and add the cloves, elaichi, bay leaves, star anise, green chillies and curry leaves. Sautee until well fried.
Add the onions and sautee until soft, golden brown and well done.
Add the ginger garlic paste and cook for 1 min.
Add the tomatoes and cook until soft.
Add the tomato sauce, garam masala, tandoori masala, red chilli powder, kasoori methi, jerra dhania powder and mix well.
Cook until the raw taste of the masalas and tomato sauce goes away.
Add the water and tamarind paste and cook until you see the oil separate.
Add salt if required.
Add the fried and slit eggs and mix well. Cover with lid for 10 minutes and allow to cook and steam.
Garnish with chopped coriander and enjoy with hot rice.

Simple Dinners, Take 2 - Tomato Moong Dal and Cabbage Sabji

2010-02-24T11:51:00.000-08:00

I had a lovely and simple dinner last night after a few days of binging on outside food. It feels really good to eat such simple food.

The moong dal was inspired by this recipe from Saffron Trail and I followed it all the way except the dried mint. It was really tasty and very easy to make.

The cabbage curry was very simple too and it was slightly tamilian style.

Ingredients:

5 cups of chopped cabbage
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 5
Hing - 1/4th tsp
Curry leaves - 7/8
Chilli powder - 1/4th tsp
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil and add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, red chillies and hing. Fry until you can smell all the aromas.
Add the cabbage and stir fry until well cooked.
Add the salt and red chilli powder and mix well. Heat for 5 mins.

Gulla-Malai by Smita-Ram's

2010-02-21T22:30:00.001-08:00

Are you baffled with the name? Hehe...I don't blame you. The credit goes to my husband for coming up with the name. This recipe is my dear friend Hetvi's and it is one of the smartest semi-homemade recipes I have come across. The recipe uses canned Haldiram rasgulla's as the rasmalai and the milk is from badam milk mix with some dry fruits thrown in - hence the name. It is fool proof and really easy to make for those challenged in the desert making department. I simply had to try it out after I ate it at my friend's place recently. Needless to say it was a hit with my dinner guests. Thanks Hetvi for the lovely recipe!

Ingredients:

Two cans of Haldiram's rasgullas
1/2 gallon fat free or low fat or whole milk
Condensed milk - 1/4th can
MTR badam milk mix - 3 spoons
Slivered almonds, toasted - 3 tbsps
Slivered pistachios, toasted - 2 tbsps
Saffron strands - 1/4th tsp

Directions:

Open the rasgulla cans and squeeze all the syrup out of the rasgullas and set aside. Do not use the syrup otherwise it will get very sweet.
Heat the half gallon of milk for 30 minutes on low flame until it thickens.
Add the badam milk mix and condensed milk and bring the milk to a boil.
Add the almonds, pistachios and saffron and stir.
Pour over the rasgullas while hot and allow it to come to room temperature before popping in the fridge and your dessert is ready. This tastes even better if you make it the day before as the rasgullas then have enough time to absorb the flavorful milk.

Simple dinners and gourmet chocolates...

2010-02-16T20:43:00.000-08:00

I am having a pretty eventful Feb, what with our anniversary and Valentine's day and friend's visiting and trip to Napa. Ever since my India trip and all the sickness, I am more and more inclined to very simple dinners during weekdays and I avoid eating out too much. Not sure if these recipes are exciting but they are surely very simple and comforting.

Moong dal:

Ingredients:

Two cups moong dal, soaked overnight
One small onion, chopped fine
One tomato, chopped
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Goda masala - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Take a pressure pan and heat the oil. Add the mustard, curry leaves and jeera and let it sputter.
Add the onions and tomatoes and sautee until soft.
Add the soaked moong dal, chilli powder, goda masala, salt and pressure cook for two whistles.

Pumpkin Sabji:

Ingredients:

2 cups of chopped yellow pumpkin
Oil - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 4/5 chopped fine
Jeera - 1 tsp
Salt

Directions:

HEat the oil in a pan and add the jeera and green chillies.
Once the jeera turns dark brown, add the pumpkin and salt and cook until soft. This is a simple yet tasty recipe and goes well with rotis.

We stopped by a place called bittersweet chocolate cafe and it had an amazing variety of chocolates from all over the world. I got my hands on a few, thanks to my hubby's generosity on Valentines day.

I also tasted the best coffee I have had in recent times at the same place and the latte art there just made my day:)

Going forward I will be adding tidbits of my life to each post as the recipe blogging is getting kinda monotonous:)

I ♡ My Food Processor

2010-02-01T10:50:00.000-08:00

I love my food processor:)...I have had it for 3 years sitting in my garage and finally I opened it this year (one of my new year resolutions)...It is awesome and cuts my veggies so fine...I mostly use it when I have a lot of veggies to cut and I want them chopped fine or grated like beans, tindora, carrot, cabbage, karela, etc.
Another change I made starting Oct last year is to start making fresh rotis. I have survived the last 5 years on store bought rotis and that wasn't cutting it for me. We would end up eating stale rotis or rotis which had preservatives or just resort to rice if we were out of rotis. I was inspired by my friend Hetvi and I tried my hand at making phulkas and it has been such a welcome change to our eating habits. Phulkas with 0% oil are so healthy and light and a godsend to our digestive system. My hubby is a great help and kneads the dough for me. I tried all the different flours in the market and have decided that Pillsbury is the best. The rotis come out super soft and light. Now when I do this, I cannot imagine why I never did this all these years. Agreed its an additional effort but totally worth it. To all you people who have store bought roti land rotis and parathas, I highly recommend making your own.

Sabudana Vada

2010-01-18T22:26:00.000-08:00

Sabudana vada is a delicacy enjoyed during upvas days by Maharashtrians. How we eat sabudana, potatoes, peanuts and still claim it is upvas is beyond my understanding but I love all dishes made on upvas days all the same:). The issue with sabudana is that it really depends on it quality how the dishes turn out. Luckily the one I get works just as well as the one my mom used in India.

Ingredients:

Sabudana - 3 cups
Green chilies - 8-10
Jeera - 4 tsps
Roasted peanut powder - 2 cups
Potatoes - 2
Salt
Oil for frying

Directions:

Wash the sabudana in water and drain all the water. Leave it overnight with very little water at the bottom of the vessel. Make sure the sabudana is light and fluffed up, otherwise sprinkle some water every few hours until you see it soaked.
Boil the potatoes, mash then and add then to the sabudana.
Add peanut powder, jeera, salt and green chilli paste and make a dough.
Heat the oil in the fryer.
Make small patties of the sabudana and deep fry until they turn a little dark. Enjoy with green chutney or ketchup.

Happy New Year

2010-01-04T11:47:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to all! This year I pray for peace, health and happiness for everyone. I hope I will be able to post a lot more recipes this year and try out a lot of new dishes. :)

Kolhapuri Rassa

2009-10-27T11:05:00.001-07:00

This is a very traditional and typical Kolhapuri dish that all of us at home used to relish with puris when my mom made it. Typically rassa's are made with meat in them but this is a vegetarian version and its yum o! (ss Rachel Ray would put it). It is really spice (if you choose to make it I did not take a pic this time but will update as soon as I make it again.

Ingredients:

Yellow onion - 1, finely chopped
Tomato - 1, finely chopped
Potato - 2 medium sized, cubed
Cauliflower - 1 whole, cut into small pieces
Ginger - 2 inch piece, chopped
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Green chillies - 7-8
Fresh corrriander - 1 bunch
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Haldi - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4th tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Salt
Red chilli powder

Directions:

Make a paste with the ginger, garlic, green chillies, salt, red chilli powder, jeera, corriander and set aside.
Heat oil and add mustard, haldi, hing and let the mustard seed splutter
Add onions and sautee until soft. Add the potatoes, cauliflower and tomatoes and sautee for 10 mins.
Add enough water to soak all the vegetables and add the paste to them and mix well.
Close the lid of the pan and let the vegetables steam and get cooked in the water and paste until well done. Add water as needed.
Garnish with fresh corriander and serve hot with puris for the ultimate comfort meal:)

Baked Cabbage Palak Kofta

2009-09-15T23:37:00.001-07:00

I tried this recipe based on some recipes I found online. I made my own changes and customizations as usual. The most interesting one was that to make the gravy thicker and healthier, instead of cream I pureed cooked toor dal and added it to the gravy. It turned out to be yummy and I was happy that I used very little oil.

Kofta:

Ingredients:

Half a medium sized cabbage chopped finely
2 cups spinach roughly chopped
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Corriander - 1 cup chopped
Jeera dhania powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Haldi - 1/4 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Garam Masala or goda masala - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 lemon
Salt
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Green chilli paste - 1 tsp
Besan - 2 cups
Rice flour - 4 tbsps
Water
Oil to spray on pan and top

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients above and add just enough water to bring everything together into a dough like consistency. It should not be of a batter consistency.
Roll into kofta balls.
Spray oil on a pan and on the koftas and bake at 450 for 20 mins and then broil to brown the outside.

Gravy: This is the usual onions and tomatoes gravy with a cup of ground cooked toor dal to thicken it instead of cream.

Dal Baati

2009-08-19T08:32:00.000-07:00

I tried my hand at this Rajasthani recipe after having heard so much about it. I think I had tried it ata Rajasthani restaurant once very long ago and it was yummy. I wouldn't say it is very healthy if made the way traditional recipes suggest. My version is slightly healthier. I totally gave in to my dark side by making this healthy version and then topping it with ghee before devouring it. :D . It was delicious and nutritious and I can see how it can be a comfort food to Rajasthanis. Yummy dish and I will definitely make to again. I will repost with better pictures soon once I download from my camera.

Ingredients:

For Dal:

Toor dal - 1 cup
Chana dal - 1/3 cup
Yellow moong dal - 3/4 cup
Urad dal - 2 tbsps
Whole moong dal - 2 tbsps
Turmeric - 1 tsp
Green chilli paste - 1 tsp
Cloves - 3
Bay leaf - 1
Ghee 1 tsp
Jeera - 2 tsps
Dhania-jeera powder - 1 tsp
Red chillie powder - 1 tsp
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5/6
Salt
Lemon - 1
Corriander - 1 cup chopped

For Bati:

Wheat flour - 1 cup
Besan - 1/2 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil - 1 tsp

Directions:

For the bati, mix the ingredients except oil and add enough water to make a soft consistency dough. Let the dough rest for an hour.
Roll into balls and flatten.
Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 for 15 mins.
Brush oil on top and broil a little till you see a slight brown color.
For the dal, pressure cook all the dals with a little turmeric and salt.
Heat ghee in the pan and add haldi, hing, jeera, cloves, bay leaf, chilli paste, ginger paste, red chilli powder, jeera-dhania powder, garam masala one by one and sautee until u can see a blended masala and smell all the aromas.
Add the cooked dal and salt to the paste and some water and bring to a boil.
To serve, pour the hot dal into a bowl, add the bakes bati whole or broken into two and garnish with lemon juice and corriander.

Unniappam

2009-08-14T11:12:00.000-07:00

This is a favorite sweet of mine. I have very fond memories of hogging many of these for Onam and Vishu at my friend Vimi's place along with an elaborate n course meals. I made these yesterday for Janmashtami. We also laid out footsteps of Krishna entering the homeand going all the way to the pooja room.
The picture is not very great and I will replace it with a better one whenever I make it next. This recipe is really easy and you need that vessel with the appam indentations to make it. Thansk to my SIL Bhargavi for the recipe. I have a nonstick version which is a bliss.

Ingredients:

Wheat flour - 3/4th cup
Rice flour - 1/4th cup
Jaggery - 3/4th cup
Elaichi powder - 1/4th tsp
Cut coconut pieces - 1/4th cup
Ripe Banana - 1 mashed
Water
Oil

Directions:

Mix the wheat flour, rice flour, elaichi, coconut pieces, banana.
Heat jaggery with a little water and add it to the mixture above. Add just enough to form a thick batter.
Heat the pan with a little oil in each compartment and pour the batter. Heat unti one side is done and flip with a pointy stick (I use skewers). Heat on other side until well done and remove to drain on a paper towel.

Kothimbir Vadi

2009-08-12T15:32:00.001-07:00

Kothimbir vadi is supposedly a very popular and typical Maharashtrian dish although I don't remember my mom making it of eating it too much. It is the maharashtrian equivalent of dhokla and quite tasty. This is a relatively healthier version of the dish. I follow Nupur's recipe closely with a few variations and was very happy with the outcome.

Ingredients:

Besan - 1 cup
Rice flour - 2 tbsps
Wheat flour - 2 tbsps
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Jeera-dhania powder - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 4 or 5 ground into a paste + 4-5 sliced thinly
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Salt
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Lemon - 1
Olive oil - 1 tsp + 3-4 tsps
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/tsp+1/2tsp
Corriander - 2 cups finely chopped
Curry leaves - 10
Water

Directions:

Mix the flours, corriander, 1/2 tsp hing, green chilli paste, red chilli powder, ginger garlic paste, sesame seeds, salt, jeera dhania powder, 1/2 lemon's juice, 1/2 tsp hing and water to make a smooth thick batter.
Pour the batter into a greased pan and steam for 15 minutes until it is cooked. Let it cool and cut into small pieces.
Heat oil in a pan and sautee the pieces a little on each side, lightly till they turn brown and crisp. Drain on a paper towel.
Heat 1 tsp oil and to it add mustard seeds, jeera, hing, green chillies and curry leaves and let them turn crisp. Sprinkle over the cut and fried pieces and sprinkle some corriander and lemon juice and serve hot.

Venn Pongal, Kathrikai Gotsu and Coconut Milk Payasam

2009-07-29T10:53:00.000-07:00

With the beginning of the Adi month, I receive email reminders from my in-laws about the different auspicious dates and food associated with each. This definitely brings some spice to the daily routine and prompts me to break away from my regular menu. I recently made pongal, gotsu and coconut milk payasam and it was really yummy. I heard my hubby thank his dad profusely for sending these emails which lead to my culinary presentations before the god and finally end up in his tummy:D. On the first day of Adi you are support to make coconut milk payasam and feed your husband, which I did. To add to the festive spirit I made the classic combination of venn pongal and kathrikai gotsu and it was all very satisfying and yummy. Here go the recipes -

I had previously posted the recipe for Venn Pongal here.

Gotsu :

Ingredients:

Onion - 1 large finely chopped
Tomatoes - 2 chopped
Brinjal - 6/7 small ones chopped
Tamarind pulp - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tsp
Mustard - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Hing - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 10
Red chillies - 4
Sambhar powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil and temper the mustard, curry leaves, turmeric, sambhar powder and red chillies and add hing to it.
Add the onions and saute till golden brown. Then add tomatoes and cook till soft.
Add the brinjal and cook for 10 mins.
Add some water and the tamarind, salt and cook till the brinjal is soft. Serve hot with pongal.

Coconut payasam:

Ingredients:

Coconut milk - 1 can
Fresh or frozen shredded coconut - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup
Elaichi powder - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp
Cashews - 2 tsps
Kismis - 2 tsps

Directions:

Bring the coconut milk to a boil and add the coconut and jaggery to it. Heat till they all blend well and turn off the gas.
Add elachi powder.
Fry the cashews and kismis in the ghee and add to the payasam. Enjoy steaming hot!

Chocolate Cake With Raspberry Filling and Chocolate Ganache Icing

2009-07-10T16:29:00.000-07:00

This cake I made for my darling hubby's birthday who is slowly getting converted to a choc-a-holic...Well good for me and it only works in my favor to push him over the edge on this one into chocolate bliss, being a chocolate lover myself. Many thanks to Nupur of OneHotStove for this recipe. I followed it closely except I had to add 1/2 a cup less of water and all her other directions were perfect:) This chocolate cake recipe is definitely a keeper and I hope to make it many many more times.
I kep some of the raspberry filling aside before it thickened , it use it as a side sauce for the cake and its tarness matched the chocolate perfectly. Fresh raspberries only make the deal sweeter:)

Almond Cake With Strawberry Filling and Almond Flavored Whipped Icing

2009-07-10T16:22:00.000-07:00

I made this cake for my friend Vindhya's birthday following my yearly ritual. The cake layer could have definitely been software and more moist and I am on the look out for the perfect sponge cake recipe that I can hack at for birthday cake. For this cake, I pretty much used the standard vanialla cake recipe and added almond essence to the cake as well as the whipped cream. The filling was fresh strawberries. Hopefully I will find the recipe I am looking for soon:) For decoration, I topped the cake with slivered almonds and strawberries.

Tomato Rice

2009-06-17T10:16:00.001-07:00

I make tomato rice in two different ways and here is the recipe for both -

Recipe 1: This is a very very simple recipe with few ingredients. I had tasted this at my sister-in-law's place and loved the simplicity of the fresh flavors.

Ingredients:

Oil - 2 tsps
Urad dal - 2tsps
Chana dal - 2 tsps
Curry leaves - 10
Fresh ginger garlic paste - 1.5 tsp
Tomatoes - 7/8 chopped
Cooked rice - 3 cups
Salt
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
hing - 1/2 tsp

Directions:

Heat the oil and temper mustard seeds. Add the urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves, haldi, hing and sautee until the daals are golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and fry for 2 mins
Add the chopped tomatoes, salt, chilli powder and cook with lid closed until they disintegrate and become a uniform gravy-like consistency.
Add the rice and mix in. Steam until the flavors are well blended.

Recipe 2: This is a slightly more elaborate recipe that Renuka and I used to make as roommates. Definitely more fun than the previous because it has aloo:)

Ingredients:

Oil - 2 tsps
Urad dal - 2tsps
Chana dal - 2 tsps
Curry leaves - 10
Garlic - 7/8 cloves chopped
Potato - 1 big, chopped into small cubes
Tomatoes paste - 3 tbsps
Cooked rice - 3 cups
Salt
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Jeera Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Rasam powder - 1/2 tsp
Corriander - 1/2 cup chopped

Directions:

heat the oil and temper the mustard seed. Add urad dal, chana dal, garlic, curry leaves, haldi, hing and fry until the dals and garlic is golden browns.
Add the chopped potatoes and fry until the potatoes are wel done and crisp.
Add the tomato paste, salt, red chilli powder, jeera dhania powder, rasam powder and add 2 spoons of water and cook until the raw smell of the tomato paste goes away.
Add the rice and mix. Steam until well blended and garnish with cilantro.

Note: Tomato rice is an easy dish for picnics and potluck and you can enjoy it with chips.

Alu - 65

2009-06-15T11:05:00.000-07:00

This is an amazingly simple recipe that my friend Renuka introduced me to during my recent trip to Chicago. It is a shortcut recipe which cooks really quick because you use tater tots instead of taking raw alu and cooking it. This recipe is slightly high on salt but it is yum yum yummy. Thanks Renu!

Ingredients:

Tater tots - 1/2 a bag
Olive oil - 2 tsps
Garlic - 7-8 pods chopped
Green chillies - 3-4 chopped
Soy sauce or mushroom - 3 tbsps (you can use low sodium)
Red chillie paste - 2 tsps
Cilantro - 2 tbsps chopped
Lemon - 1/2

Directions:

Thaw the tater tots and bake them at 350 for 20 mins. Then broil then to make then darker in color.
Heat the olive oil and add the garlic and chillies until the garlic turns brown.
Add the tater tots, soy sauce, chilli paste and sautee on high heat until the potatoes are coated well with the sauce.
Garnish with chopped cilantra and lemon juice and enjoy!

Paneer and Vegetable Tikka

2009-05-18T11:16:00.000-07:00

I have tried paneer and veggies barbecue a couple of times now and I think I have the marinade perfected:). I use two different marinades - one tandoori and one mint. If I don't have a grill I have also tried to bake and then broil in the oven and it comes out just as fine. I use paneer, capsicum (all colors), yellow onion, zucchini and any combination of these will taste good. Here are the recipes -

Tandoori Marinade:

Ingredients:

Yogurt - 3 cups
Fresh ginger paste - 1/2 tsp
Fresh garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Tandoori masala - 3 tsps
Jeera dhania powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
Salt
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Haldi - 1/4th tsp

Directions:

Mix all the above ingredients and beat the yogurt until smooth. Add paneer and veggies and store in a ziploc bag. Refrigerate overnight for maximum flavor. Right before setting on the grill, sprinkle salt and tandoori masala for added flavor. After grilling sprinkle lemon juice.

You can also create a dry tandoori marinade with the same ingredients and by skipping the yogurt. You can also add some kasoori methi for added flavour.

Mint Marinade:

Ingredients:

Mint leaves - 1 bunch
Corriander leaves - 2 bunches
Green chillies - 3/4
Ginger - 1 inch piece
Salt
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Water - enough to make the paste fine

Directions:

Grind all the above ingredients into a fine paste and coat the paneer ad veggies evenly with it. Refrigerate for a couple of hours and then grill. Sprinkle with lime and sale before serving. Yogurt can also be added to this marinade if desired.

Sabudana Khichdi

2009-05-11T08:59:00.001-07:00

This is a Maharashtrian staple for days when you are fasting. Although I never understood how it is called fasting with such high carb diet on the day, but I am not complaining:). This is my mom's recipe and I sometimes combine a little ghee with oil to make it healthier but nothing can beat the taste and flavour when it is cooked in ghee. We eat it with raw green or red chillies and a little salt. Others eat it with yogurt.

Ingredients:

Sabudana - 3 cups (wash in water and soak with a little water overnight)
Potatoes - 2, sliced into small pieces
Roasted peanut powder - 1.5 cup
Green chillies - 7/8 chopped
Ghee - 2 tsps
Jeera - 1.2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Salt
Sugar - 1/4th tsp
Lemon - 1/2

Directions:

Heat the ghee in a pan and add the jeera and chillies. Roast until done and add the sliced potatoes.
Add some salt to the potatoes and cook until well roasted.
Add the sabudana, peanut powder, salt and sugar and mix in. Add a little of the milk to soften if required.
Mix well and cook until it steams well. Sprinkle lemon juice and enjoy with chillies or yogurt.

Tawa Pulao

2009-05-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is supposedly a roadside recipe popular in Mumbai. I have never heard of it before this and never ate it before but it sounded quick and interesting. I think the pav bhaji masala makes all the difference and gives it a unique taste. So I tried it out. I used this recipe as a reference. I just added onions, tomatoes and carrot because that is all I had at hand but you can add any number of veggies to this dish and make it healthier. This is some thing I would make when I have leftover rice and some veggies that I want to get rid of:)

Ingredients:

Cooked basmati rice - 2 cups
Onion - 1 chopped
Tomatoes - Chopped 1 cup
Carrot - 3 julienne cut
Beans - Chopped into 1/2 inch long pieces, 1 cup
Potatoes - 1/2 cup small cubes
Peas - 1 cup
Ginger garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Pav bhaji masala - 2 tsps
Oil - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Cardamom - 2 pods
Cloves - 3
Cinnamon - 1/2 inch long
Bay leaf - 1
Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Corriander - chopped 1/2 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan and add the cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, jeera and sautee until you can smell the spices.
Add the onions and cook until golden brown. Then add the ginger garlic paste and cook for a min. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are well done.
Add the veggies and salt and cook until the veggies are done. You can microwave the potatoes in advance to cook it fast.
Add the pav bhaji masala and rice and mix well.
Garnish with corriander and lemon juice. and enjoy with boondi raita.

Adai

2009-04-27T09:50:00.000-07:00

I was inspired by Sindhu's lunch last week and ended up making adai over the weekend. I used Sindhu's base recipes and added tweaks that my mom-in-law uses. The result was very nutritious and yummy. Btw I know this is a really bad picture but its better than nothing:) ...Here is the recipe -

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup
Toor dal - 3/4th cup
Chana dal - 3/4th cup
Urad dal - 1 cup
Red chillies - 8-10
Hing - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1inch piece
Curry Leaves - 10
Coarsely crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
Grated carrot - 1 cup
Chopped cabbage - 1.5 cup
Salt

Directions:

Soak the 4 dals for 2-3 hours. Grind them to a fine paste along with 8 red chillies, hing, ginger and salt.
Add the cabbage, carrot, chopped curry leaves, black pepper, chopped red chillies (remaining 2).
Spread on a flat pan like dosas and cook on either side. Add a little oil if required. This adai tastes good by itself or with any of the usual dosa chutneys. We at it with ginger pickle and it was awesome.

These days I have acquired a new hobby of making jewelery. I have a friend who shares my passion for jewelery and its great fun to shop for beads and make stuff to match the clothes we have:). Here are some samples of what I have made so far -

Tomato Pappu

2009-04-06T11:25:00.001-07:00

I had made this dish last night and my friend really liked it. It is a very simple Andhra dal that can be eaten hot with white rice or rotis. I didn't take a pic but will update this post with a pic next time I make it.

Ingredients:

2 cups toor dal
Methi seeds - 1 tsp
Haldi - 1 tsp
Tomatoes - 3 or 4 chopped
Garlic - 3 pods chopped
Jeera dhania powder - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 1 chopped finely
Dried red chillies - 2
Corriander leaves - a handful, finely chopped
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Salt
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 8-10
Asafoetida - 2 pinches

Directions:

Pressure cook the toor dal with 1/2 tsp of methi seeds and 1/2 tsp of haldi until it is soft. Mash it until it is of an even consistency
Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds and let them sputter. Then add the garlic, curry leaves, green chillies, red chillies, remaining methi seeds and hing (in this order) and let the ingrediets fry until you can smell all the aromas.
Add chopped tomatoes and sautee until they are mushy and fully cooked.
Add the jeera dhania powder, red chilly powder, salt and dal and cook until well mixed. Add a little water if you want the dal to be runnier.
Top off with lemon juice and corriander before serving. The smells in the kitchen will draw everyone to it once it is done:)

Masala Vada

2009-04-01T16:12:00.000-07:00

I have very fond memories of my dad bringing masala vadas from the streed vendors in Hyderabad along with the hot spicy mirchi bhajjis. I have always meant to try making them at home but only got around to it now. The outcome was authentic especially after sprinkling a little bit of chaat powder on top. I only wish I had a nice coconut or peanut chutney to go with it but I was too lazy to make it after frying these vadas. I searched online for the recipe and also asked my friend Sindhu and arrived at this one. Here goes -

Ingredients:

Chana dal - 2 cups (soaked overnight)
Ginger - 2 inch piece
Corriander leaves- handful
Red chillies - 3/4
Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 10/12 chopped
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Garlic - 2 pods (optional)
Onion - 1 medium sized, finely chopped
Salt
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions:

Set aside a few spoons of the chana dal and grind the rest with, ginger, corriander, red chillies, black pepper, hing, garlic (optional) and salt with very little water until coarsely ground.
Mix the chopped onions and curry leaves with the ground mixture.
Heat the vegetable oil in a pan
Now take about 2 tsps of batter on a wet palm and use wet hands to flatten it. SLide it into the oil and fry until golden brown. If you are not able to get it off your palms, you can also use cling wrap for the same. Enjoy hot with chutney or as is!

Homemade Pizza Base

2009-04-01T15:58:00.000-07:00

I used this recipe from my friend Vinitha's blog to make the pizza base and was delighted with how easy it was:) . One half of the pizza I topped with onions, capsicum, mozzarella cheese and mariana sauce and the other half was pesto, cherry tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheeses and I obviously liked the pesto half better. I am definitely going to make more of the homemade base going forward and do away with the frozen crust I use.

Gudi Padwa

2009-04-01T15:38:00.000-07:00

I made the usual gudi padwa spread this year except for the gulab jamuns that I usually make. I posted the recipes before on my Gudi Padwa Recipes post. Happy new year to all of you:)

Baked Broccoli

2009-04-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

This picture may not look as appealing but it sure tasted good. I read some recipe online a while back but cannot remember where. So I may fail to link to the right blog/website but the credit certainly goes to whoever blogged about this first. It is very simple and the result is very flavorful. I did make some changes like adding crushed red pepper which made it yummier and I will take the credit for that;)

Ingredients:

Small Broccoli florets (about 2 inches each) - 15/20
Salt
Freshly crushed black pepper - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 3 tsps
Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp
Lemon zest - 1 tsp
Dried oregano - 1/4th tsp
Italian bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Parsesan cheese (I use regiano) - 1/2 cup

Directions:

Add 2 tsps of olive oil, salt, pepper, oragano and crushed red pepper to the broccoli florets and mix well. Lay it out on a baking sheet and bake for 15 mins at 350 degrees.
Once you see the broccoli crisping on the outside but still having the crunch remove it from the oven.
Mix in lemon zest with the baked broccoli and top with mizture of bread crumbs, parmesan cheese and olive oil.
Broil for 2 minutes until the cheese melts and bred crumbs become brown.

Enjoy this as a side dish or just by itself. It is really tasty :)

Pineapple cake

2009-03-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

This cake was inspired by the Indian style pineapple pastries. It came pretty close to that and I was very happy with the outcome. It was light and yummy. I made this for my sister's birthday. I would have liked to use a proper sponge cake recipe for the cake layers but could not find a good reliable one and since I have never tried it before, I decided not to take a chance with a birthday cake. But I will try it some other time. I was also inspired by a video on youtube and even used the combing technique that he recommends. For the basic cake layers I doubled the recipe here and skipped the nuts in it to bake two 8 inch round cakes. If you have pineapple essence, add 1 tsp for each layer of the cake batter. I did not have it and had to skip and it didn't make much difference. This recipe is relatively easy and hassle free.

Ingredients:

Canned pineapple - 1 can
Whipped cream- 4 cups
Powdered sugar - 2 tsps
Sugar syrup - 1 cup (not very thick)
Maraschino cherries - 7/8 to decorate

Directions:

Drain the pineapples and save some for topping and chop the rest into fine pieces. Save the drained liquid and mix it with the sugar syrup.
Place one layer of cake on the cake stand. Slice it into half across if the layer is too thick. Sprinkle the cake with the syrup and pineapple preservative liquid mixture until it is moist. It takes about 3-4 tbsps.
Drop a blob of the whipped cream in the middle and spread evenly with a spatula or butter knife.
Layer with the crushed pineapples and place the next layer of cake on top. Conitnue this till the topmost layer and for that skip the crushed pineapple.
Spread the whipped cream evenly on the top and sides of the cake. Now take a small piece of cardboard and cut one side like the teeth of a comb and used that to finish the sides. Use something smoother to finish the top.
Take the remaining whipped cream in a ziploc bag and cut a piece in the corner to use as an icing bag. Or if you have a proper icicing bag, go with that. Decorate with the pineapple chunks and cherries as desired.

I would recommend making this cake a day in advance so that all the goodness soaks in to make it taste even better:).

Directions for whipped cream: Take 2 cups of heavy whipping cream in a mixer bowl and to it add 2 tsps of powdered sugar (more if you want it sweeter). Gradually increase whipping speed from 2 to 8 and stop when stiff peaks start forming. A little before that add 1 tsp of vanilla essence. Its as simple as that!!

Roasted Eggplant and Red Pepper Panini

2009-02-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

Here comes yet another panini recipe. This was inspired by a goat cheese sandwich recipe I saw on Barefoot Contessa on food network. It does need a few special ingredients but the end result is really yummy.

Ingredients:

Ciabatta bread
Kalamata olive spread - 2 tsps
Red pepper - 1 sliced thin
Eggplant - 1 cup of small chopped cubes
Dried oregano - 1 tsp
Dried thyme - 1/2 tsp
Olive oil - 2tsp
Balsamic vinegar - 2 tsps
Mozzarella - 3 slices per panini
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Mix the red peppers and eggplant with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme and drizzle of olive oil and spread on a tray lined with aluminum foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 mins.
Slice the ciabatta bread through the middle and spead the kalamata olive spread on both the slices.
Layer on slice with the cheese, eggplant and red pepper. Sprinkle salt and black pepper and top with other slice. Heat in panini press until done.
Prepare a vinegarette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Once the panini is done, open the sandwich slightly and drizzle with the balsamic vinegarette. Eat while it is hot and it lasts :)

Italian Pesto-Veggie Panini

2009-02-17T16:25:00.000-08:00

My hubby got me a panini press for our anniversary and valentine's day and I have been obsessed with paninis ever since. I can now make a panini that tastes exactly like the ones they serve in those Italian bistros. This was the first one that I tried out of my most favorite Italian ingredients and its was super yummy! This panini press (the brand is Bella Cucina) is simply awesome and I look forward to trying out a lot many recipes. I already have a dessert panini recipe lined up alongside roasted eggplant panini. Yay!!!

Ingredients:

Focassia bread (I had a herb focassia but any other baguette or ciabatta should also be just as good)
Pesto sauce - 3 tsps per panini
Grape tomatoes - 10 per panini
Fresh mozzarella cheese
Sun dried tomatoes (julienned) - 1 tbsp per panini
Fresh basil leaves - 3 per panini
Kalamata olives - 1 tbsp chopped per panini
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper

Directions:

Slice the focassia all the way through the center and spread the pesto on the cut side of both slices.
Sprinkle salt and pepper to garnish.
Layer one slice with the mozzarella, tomatoes, olives, sun dried tomatoes and basil leaves and top with the other slice.
Pre-heat the panini grill.
Brush the outer sides with olive oil and press using panini grill so that you have enough grill marks.

6. Cook the panini until done and slice into two pieces. Enjoy hot!!!

Hyderabadi Dum Ki Biryani

2009-01-30T10:29:00.000-08:00

No one but a hyderabadi can appreciate this nawabi style biryani. We hyderabadis rant and rave about the flavors and aromas associated with this dish and could go on and about the biryani from Paradise or Hyderabad Biryani House and talk you to death about the layers of fluffy basmati rice and spiced veggies or meat. We are so much in love with this dish not only because it is yummy but bring back memories of good old days in Hyderabad. Everytime there is a new restaurant in the bay area that promises to serve up a good version of this dish, it becomes an instant hit with this audience. This recipe is one that I arrived at over the years and is totally infallible in pleasing crowds. I won't say this is simple or easy because it needs quite a few ingredients and is a little elaborate to assemble. I practiced and perfected this with Renuka during my Master's so a lot of credit goes to her. A funny incident I remember is when I had some friends over and one of them who wasn't familiar with the whole layered biryani concept, ended up mixing it all up before serving himself and boy I made him jump out of his skin when I screamed. The best accompaniments to this biryani are mirchi ka salan and raita. I made a boondi raita to go with this and it works well too. This recipe is for a veggie version but you can always use marinated meat with a similar recipe.

Ingredients:

Onions - 2 finely chopped
Ginger paste - 1 tbsp
Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Cauliflower - 1 small head chopped into big chunks
Carrot - 2 chopped into small cubes or long slices
Beans - 12-15 chopped into small pieces
Green peas - 1 cup
Potatoes - 2 peeled and chopped
Cloves - 5
Green Elaichi - 3
Black Elaichi - 2
Shahi Jeera - 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch
Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Star anise - 1
Bay leaves - 2
Everest biryani/pulao - 2 tbsp
Jeera Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Chilli powder - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Yogurt - 1 cup
Basmati rice - 3 cups
Water
Salt
Saffron - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Lemon - 2
Mint - 10 leaves
Vegetable oil - 3 tbsp (You can use ghee for added flavor)
Cashewnuts - 10, fried in ghee

Directions:

Mix the basmati rice with about 6 cups of water and cook it.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a thick bottomed pan and sautee the potatoes, cauliflower, carrot and beans one after another until they are semi cooked and start browning on the edges. I like them charred a bit and sautee them until crispy. Remove the vegetables onto a paper napkin to soak the oil out.
Heat the rest of the oil and to it add the cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardomom, shahi jeera, black pepper and bay leaves. Once you smell the aroma, add the onions and fry them until they are golden brown.
Add the ginger garlic paste and stir for 5 mins. Add in the vegetables and peas, biryani masala, salt, jeera dhania powder, red chilli powder, turmeric and mix it all up. Once the masalas are blended, add the yogurt and mix it in. Place the lid on the pan and cook the veggies until they soften a little. Do not cook them until they are mushy. We still want a little crunch to them.

5.Turn off the gas and add the chopped mint leaves to the veggies.

6. Microwave the saffron for 15 seconds and add the milk to it. Make sure the strands all dissolve in the milk to give it a nice yellow/orange color.

7. Now start layering the rice and veggies in either a rice cooked or an oven friendly tray - alternate one layer of rice with a layer of the veggie gravy and top each rice layer with a couple of spoons of the saffron milk. This is a painstaking but very rewarding step. Shown in the pic below -

8. If using a rice cooker just set the rice to cook again and since it is already warm it will finish up in 10-15 mins. If using the oven, cover the tray/dish with aluminum foil and steam for 20 mins at 300.

9. Before serving, squeeze the lemon juice over the top and garnish with some chopped mint and the fried cashews. This dish tastes even better the next day.

Venn Pongal, Chakkarai Pongal and Ullunda Vadai

2009-01-15T15:44:00.000-08:00

Image Credit: Sriram (my hubby)

Sankranthi was one of my favorite festivals as a kid and I spent hours and hours many days prior to and after the festival flying and chasing kites. I have very fond memories of this festival and wish I can go back to Hyderabad for one Sankranthi to relive the excitement. The Sankranthis I celebrate here have been reduced to cooking and eating festive fare. Typical maharashtrian fare for Sankranthi is the Tila Chi Vadi that I have blogged about previously. My husband and sister both enjoy this immensely and it does not survive very long in my pantry when I make it. Typical tamilian food is venn pongal which is a savoury pongal, chakkarai pongal which is a sweet version and ullunda vadai. The credit for these recipes goes to my in laws and the lovely Meenakshi Ammal cookbook that they gifted me. I am sending these recipes to three events -

Venn pongal, chakkarai pongal and ullunda vadai to Festive Food: Makara Sankranthi hosted by Indian Khana

2. Venn Pongal and Chakkarai pongal to Harvest: The Festival of Rice hosted by Bengali Cuisine

3. Venn pongal and vadai to FIC Yellow event hosted by TumYumTreats

Thanks to Asha of foodieshope for pointing me to all these fun events that I could participate in:)

Venn Pongal:

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp
Green chillies - 4 finely chopped
Curry leaves - 10
Cumin/jeera - 1 tsp
Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped
Water - 5 cups
Salt

Directions

Boil the rice and moong dal with 4 cups of water in pressure cooker until it is soft.
Heat the ghee and add the ginger, green chillies, curry leaves, cumin and black pepper and roast until you can smell all the flavours.
Add the cooked rice and dal and salt and more water (depending on the consistency of the cooked rice and dal) and mix thoroughly.
Allow the mixture to steam and top off with a little more ghee if you like. Enjoy hot with sambhar or gotsu or just as is.

Chakkarai Pongal:

Ingredients

Rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1 cup
Jaggery - 1 cup grated
Elaichi powder - 1/2 tsp
Milk - 1 cup
Cashews - 10-15
Ghee - 2 tbsps
Raisins - 10

Directions

Boil the rice and moon dal in the pressure cooker.
Heat a pan and boil the cooked rice and moong dal with the milk and some water if required until soft.
Add the jaggery and 1 tbsp ghee and allow it to melt.
Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and add to the mixture above. Chakkari pongal is ready to be devoured with the vada.

Ullunda Vadai:

Ingredients

Split urad dal - 2 cups
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Dried red chillies - 3 finely chopped
Ginger - 1 inch piece finely chopped
Curry leaves - 10 finely chopped
Coconut slivers - 1/2 cup
Salt
Black pepper - 1 tbsp roughly crushed
Oil for deep frying

Directions

Soak the urad dal with water for 2 hours and then grind it with very little water and salt to taste.
Add the green chillies, red chillies, ginger, curry leaves, coconut slivers, black pepper to the urad dal batter and mix well.
Wet your palms and place a tbsp of batter on the palm. Use wet hands to pat it flat and make a hole in the center.
Heat oil and drop the vada and deep fry until golden brown. Enjoy hot!!!

Vada Pav

2008-12-31T16:28:00.000-08:00

Vada Pav, a bombay roadside delicacy that is the most favourite snack of my mum's. There are several variants of the vada itself and this recipe is of course what my mom makes. Pair a hot vada with a well toasted pav, mint and tamarind chutney and the chilli-garlic powder and trust me it can beat any pizza or pasta. To me the chilli-garlic chutney (kandya lasnachi chutney) is an essential ingredient and my folks got it for me from India. Vada pav isn't the same without this:D:D

Ingredients:

For chilli chutney that goes in the vada filling

Green chillies - 10
Corriander leaves - 1 bunch
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 3/4 pods
Salt

For filling

Potatoes - 3/4 big, boiled and mashed
Onions - 1, finely chopped
Chilli chutney - 3 tbsps
Salt

For batter

Besan - 1 1/2 cup
Chilli powder - 1 tbsp
Salt
Water

For frying

A frying pan full of vegetable oil

For final assembly

Pav - slit into half and toasted with a little butter
Mint chutney
Tamarind chutney
Chilli-garlic powder

Directions:

Grind all the ingredients for the green chilli chutney together

2. Mix the ingredients for the filling together and make into small balls

3. Mix the ingredients for the batter together and dip the potato ball in it and then deep fry until golden brown

4. Put the fried vada in between the slit pav along with the chutneys and eat hot!!

Masala Macaroni

2008-12-08T14:47:00.000-08:00

I call this the desi version of mac and cheese. Typical to desi food it has a lot of spices and just a little cheese to retain the Italian effect. The cheese again is Amul cheese which is as desi as cheese can get:). I used to make this a lot when I was in India and I think the origin was something similar that my friend used to bring for lunch. My mom likes this much better than the authentic versions and I love making this for her:) This is also an easy way to feed veggies to kids as they have an inexplicable bond with mac'n'cheese.

Ingredients:

Elbow macaroni - 1 packet
Carrots - 2 chopped into small pieces
Beans - ~25 chopped into small pieces
Onion - 1 big sliced
Peas - 1 cup
Ginger - 1 inch piece chopped fine
Garlic - 3 pods chopped fine
Amul cheese slices - 3 or 4 chopped into small pieces
Garam masala - 1/4th tsp
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 8
Lemon
Oil - 1 tsp
Salt

Directions:

Boil the elbow macaroni in hot water until it is a little underdone. Drain and keep aside.
Heat oil and add the curry leaves, dried chillies, ginger and garlic and let it cook for 1 min.
Add the sliced onion and cook until golden brown.
Add the rest of the veggies and cook until a little soft.
Add the garam masala, salt and chilli powder and the cooked macaroni. Mix well and place a lid and let it cook for 2 mins.
Turn off the gas and add half the cheese and mix in. Squeeze some lemon juice and mix in. Use the rest as a garnish before serving and enjoy hot!

Note: If you want this dish healthier, you can skip the cheese altogether and this dish would still taste yummy. You can also use a whole wheat version of the macaroni.

Paneer Capsicum

2008-12-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

The inspiration for this dish came from a paneer tikka recipe that I have used previously. It is pretty simple to make if you have the mint chutney. I usually buy it frozen and use and it comes out really well. Good to ear with hot rotis.

Ingredients:

Slab of paneer cut into cubes
Mint chutney - 1 cup
Yogurt - 1cup
Ginger paste - 1 tsp
Garlic paste - 1tsp
Tandoori Masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Capsicum - 2/3 chopped
Oil - 1tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1tsp
Haldi - 1/4th tsp
Curry leaves - 8
Green Chillies - 4 slit lengthwise

Directions:

Mix the yogurt, mint chutney, tandoori masala, ginger paste, garlic paste, chilli powder and salt and marinate the paneer cubes in it for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Overnight is even better.
Heat oil in a pan and add murtard seeds, jeera, turmeric and let it sputter.
Add the green chillies and curry leaves and sautee for some time.
Add the marinated paneer cubes after draining away the liquid and stir fry until they brown around the edges. Save the marinade.
Add the capsicum and stir until they are a little cook. They do not need to be soft and fully cooked so that there is some crunch to the dish.
Add the left over marinade and cook on high heat for 2 mins and turn off the gas. Enjoy with rotis or just by itself. Trust me its yummy!

Avial

2008-10-14T11:51:00.000-07:00

I have extremely fond memories of Avial from childhood. Every year I would get invited twice to my friend Vimi's home for Onam and Vishu. They would have elaborate n course meals on banana leaf and I would eat until I could eat no more. The dishes I remember the most are the Avial, Kootu Curry, Payasam and Sambhar. We would eat the entire meal and then take a break of a couple of hours before her mom gave us piping hot payasam or pradhavan to fill the very small gap created in our tummies from an hour of activity. Those days of high metabolism were sheer bliss when I could eat without bothering about the weight I would put on ;). Sigh....:)...The credit for this recipe goes to my MIL and FIL who sent me elaborate emails on the process of this dish. Part of the credit also goes to my friend's mom who explained the recipe to me several times when I was a kid:D:D

Ingredients:

White pumpkin - 8 inch piece
Yellow pumpkin - 8 inch piece
Raw banana - 3
Beans - 15-20
Carrot - 2 medium sized ones
Peas - 1 cup
Drum sticks - 2/3
Potato - 1 big
Brinjal
Fresh grated coconut - 1.5 cup
Coconut milk - 1 cup
Jeera - 4 tbsps
Green chillies - 7/8 (or as spicy as you like)
Curry leaves - 7/8
Coconut oil - 1 tbsp
Yogurt - 2 cups
Salt

Directions:

Cut each of the veggies the length of a matchstick and width of ~ .3 inch (hehe)
Boil them in water until they are a little under done. The veggies that have similar cooking times can be cooked together but I just cooked each of them separately.
Grind the green chillies, jeera and cucunot together into a fine paste.
Heat the coconut oil and add the curry leaves to it.
Add the cooked veggies, salt and the paste and mix together well. Once it is all blended together take it off the gas.
Add the beaten yogurt (as much as required) and mix everything together. Enjoy with hot rice!!!

Navarathri Golu 2008 - My 3rd year:)

2008-10-03T11:37:00.000-07:00

This is my 3rd Navarathri Golu, as I have already gushed about before, and I am so in love with it. Since I had more time this year to focus on peripheral development I did a lot of stuff besides the main padis. We reused the padis from last year and my in-laws brought me a lot of more dolls. I also discovered this amazing Japanese store in Mountain View where everything sells for $1.50 and bought loads of dolls and stuff for gifts. Here are the pics -

This is the mail golu with the kalash and marapachi on the 5th step. Priya mentioned that the traditional dolls, kalash and marapachi can also be kept on the second step and we will probably do that next year. This year my second and third step had the international dolls and the 5th step had the new wedding set and chettiar set. The 4th step was dedicated to Astalakshmi and Dasavathar sets.

This is the national park I made with a felt bloth for the base and fake grass that my in-laws got from India. The animals were from Michaels and for the fun of it I called it "Jim Corbett National Park".

This is Rampur village with a pen containing pigs, geese and hens, a bullock cart, a well and few huts.

This "piece of art" is called pebble beach - the logic being that pebble beach is surrounded by golf courses and that explains the grass:D:D. The sea is simulated by using blue times at the bottom of a plastic box and water and there is some frogs dressed for a day at the beach.

This is my bedroom set with a lady looking into the miniature dresser and a guy sleeping on the bed with a pillow and comforter which I made out of paper napkin and gift wrapping paper.

I am already thinking of ideas for my next one and excited about it. Cannot wait until then:) I also made truck loads of food the last two days for all the families that came home for the haldi-kumkum. The menu was curd rice, puliodarai, sundal and kesari. I think I missed taking pictures of all of these. But it was yummy and I am bored of it already:D. Anyways, thats until next Navarathri. Looking forward to all the Diwali goodies now.

Happy Navarathri

2008-09-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

Wish you all a very Happy Navarathri! I am very excited about my third Navarathri golu and I have put in a lot of effort into doing things differently this year. :) I will post all the pictures of my golu after Navarathri.

Traditionally we are supposed to make one variety of sundal every day and I try and do a different one everyday but by far my most favourite is the Kabuli Chana sundal and the Kala Chana sundal. These two will be repeated atleast once during these nine days. Sundal is very healthy (if made the right way) dish high in protein. So I enjoy it immensely and even make it regularly on other ocassions.

I will be updating this blog with pictures of all the sundals I made over the span of 9 days.

Kabuli Chana/Konda Kadalai Sundal

Kala Chana / Karuppu Konda Kadalai Sundal

Moong Dal / Payatham Paruppu Sundal

Lobiya Sundal / Karamani Sundal

The rest of the days I ended up repeating some. My mom also made Soybean sundal but I forgot to take the pic. I soaked the soybean assuming it is yellow peas but when I looked at it the next day, it had grown oblong:D But this was a good one too.

General ingredients and directions for any type of sundal are -

Ingredients:

Pulses or beans - 2 cups soaked and cooked until a little soft but still retain a little bite
Grated coconut - 3 tbsps
Dried red chillies - 8
Curry Leaves - 10
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Urad dal - 2 tsps
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Gingelly oil or any vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Salt

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds. Once they have popped add the urad dal and stir until golden brown.
Add the red chillies and curry leaves and sautee until you can smell the aroma.
Add the hing, salt and beans and coconut and mix well.
Place a lid and steam until done and enjoy hot!

Vegetable Cheese Toast

2008-09-25T10:50:00.000-07:00

This recipe was inspired by Nupur's (of One Hot Stove) Cheese Toast Recipe. I came home after an evening of shopping and had to think of something quick to finish the bread that was going to expire in two days and without too many ingredients and I thought of this. I changed the way the veggies were made although the basic idea is the same as Nupur's recipe. It is a really quick and easy snack or meal when you have bread on your hand and some frozen veggies.

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 2 small cut into small cubes
Frozen or fresh mixed vegetables
Kitchen king masala - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1/2 tsps
Chilli powder - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Oil - 1 tsp
Whole wheat bread slices - 8
Mozzarella or any low fat cheese - 1 cup grated
Red chilli flakes
Dried oregano
Tomato ketchup

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and add jeera, mustard, turmeric, curry leaves and let the mustard seeds sputter.
Add the potato cubes and let them turn a little brown at the edges.
Now add the frozen vegetables, kitchen king masala, chilliw powder, garam masala, salt and about a half cup of water and steam it all until it is well blended and well done.
Toast slices of bread until well done. Apply a layer of ketchup and then a layer of the cooked veggies.
Top with some cheese and red chilli flakes and oregano and broil it until the cheese melts. Serve hot with ketchup or any chutney and enjoy!

Spicy & Healthy Palak Pulao

2008-09-24T11:47:00.000-07:00

I came up with this recipe based on several that I read online and also used part of my mom's recipe for cauliflower pulao. I was also inspired by Sindhu's methi pulao to try and make something different with palak. The trick is to add as much palak as you can and make people eat it without knowing that it is healthy:)

Ingredients:

Red Onion - 1 large chopped finely

Garlic - 4-5 pods

Ginger - 2 inch piece

Green chillies - 7/8

Palak - 2 packs of fresh of 1 pack frozen (thawed)

Potato - 1 cubed

Carrots - 2 big roughly chopped

Beans - 1 cup chopped

Peas - 1 cup

Olive oil - 2tsps

Cardomom whole - 5/6

Cloves - 5/6

Bay Leaf - 1

Jeera Dhania powder - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Curd - 1/2 cup beaten'

Basmati rice - 2 cups

Water - 4 cups

Salt

Directions:

Heat olive oil and add the bay leaf, cardomom and cloves and let them turn a little brown

Add the onions and sautee until they turn brown

Make a paste out of the ginger, garlic, green chillies and salt

Add this paste to the onions and sautee until the raw smell goes away

Add the potatoes, carrot and beans and sautee until the edges brown

Add the peas and palak and let the palak wilt down

Add the rice and mix it up well with the veggies

Add the jeera dhania powder, red chilli powder and curd and mix it well with the veggies and rice

Add the water and let the whole thing cook until rice is soft. Or just dump it all in a rice cooker and let it cook. Enjoy hot with raita!

Cabbage Kootu

2008-09-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

This is a very healthy version of cabbage kootu as I do not use any coconut and very little oil for the tempering. Its a yummy dish of its own to be had with hot steaming rice and a simple way of making the boring cabbage exciting. Again, I don't have a picture yet but will try to click one soon. The proportions here make a big potful.

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 1 small or 3/4th medium sized
Moong dal - 2 cups
Curry Leaves - 8
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Red chillies - 3
Oil - 1tbsp
Salt

For the masala:

Chana dal - 3 tbsp
Black pepper - 3 tbsp
Red chillies - 8
Urad Dal - 3 tbsp
Grated coconut - 1 tbsp

Directions:

Heat the oil and temper the mustard seeds
Add roughly chopped cabbage and saute for 10 mins
Add the moong dal and roast for 10 mins
Add enough water to soak the moong dal and cabbage, salt to taste and let it cook until soft.
Dry roast all the ingredients for the masala until the aroma comes out and grind in a mixer to a fine powder.
Once the cabbage and dal is cooked, turn off the heat and add enough masala to make it spicy and stir it in. Enjoy hot with rice:)

Peerkangai Thogayal

2008-09-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

This is a really simply and yummy tamilian recipe for ridge gourd chutney. I do not have a picture at the moment but will update once I have it. It should be eaten with hot rice and ghee to really understand the full extent of its taste:).

Ingredients:

Ridge Gourd or Peerkangai(Tamil) or Beerakai9Telugu) or Dodka(Marathi) - 5, medium sized
Tamarind - 1.5 inch piece
Black pepper - 1 tbsp
Dried red chillies -10
Salt 1/2tsp
Urad dal - 3 tbsps
Hing - 1/2 tsp
Sesame seed oil or any vegetable oil - 1.5 tbsp
Curry Leaves - 8
Mustard seeds - 1tbsp

Directions:

In a pan heat 1/2 tbsp of oil and saute the black pepper, red chillies(7) and urad dal(only 2 tbsps) separately until well roasted and keep aside.
Peel the ridge gourd a little to remove some rough edges but not all the peel and chop into small pieces. The smaller you chop, the faster this will get done.
Saute the ridge gourd in the same pan until it is soft and cooked.
In a mixer grind together the roasted spices, ridge gourd (after cooling), salt, hing and tamarind until it is a smooth paste.
Heat the rest of the oil and temper mustard seeds, remaining red chillies and urad dal and curry leaves.
Garnish the chutney with the tempered mixture and enjoy!

Mexican Veggie Burrito/Fajita

2008-08-21T10:55:00.001-07:00

This is my own (healthier) version of the mexican veggie burrito/fajita. I have tips to make the unhealthier version as well at the bottom. The key ingredient to bring the taste together for this one is, believe it or not, Sriracha sauce (Vietnamese/Thai hot sauce). I know it sounds a little weird but trust me on this one:). This dish was inspired by all the burritos and fajitas I ate and wished they were done a little differently. The spiciness thats comes out of the recommend ingredients might be a little too much for some of you. But you can always tone that down by using less of the peppers. This is really easy to make for a crowd as you can just make all the ingredients in advance and place it out in front of them and let them assemble it as they like it. I do not have pictures for this one yet but promise to post one soon. Here goes -

Ingredients:

Black beans - 2 cans
Onion - 1 medium size cut into thin slices
Bell peppers - 1 each of red/yellow/green thinly sliced
Tomato - 1 big finely chopped
Cilantro - 1 bunch finely chopped
Avocado - 1 cut and smashed with lemon juice
Chopped lettuce
Chopped spring onions
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
Paprika - 1 tsp
Dried oregano - 2 pinches
Dried thyme - 2 pinches
Dried parsley - 2 pinches
Dried rosemary - 1 pinch
Dried sage - 1 pinch
Freshly ground pepper - 2 pinches
Spinach or sun-dried tomato tortillas
Sriracha sauce
Crushed red pepper - 1 tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
Salt

Directions:

Beans:

Drain the water from the beans and wash them thoroughly in water. This is to drain all the salt that comes with it.
Heat in a pan and add cumin powder, half the cayenne, paprika, black pepper and salt to taste.
Boil until the beans are thoroughly cooked and spices are blended and keep aside.

Sauteed Veggies:

Heat 1 tsp of olive oil and add the sliced onions, bell pepper, oregano, thyme, rosemary, sage, parsley, paprika, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, black pepper and salt.
Saute on high heat until the onion is a little cooked but do not overcook the bell peppers. They need to retains some crunch. Alternatively you can cook the onions first and then add the bell peppers.

Tortilla:

Heat a pancake pan or any flat pan.
Brush the tortilla on both sides with very little olive oil and toast it on the pan until it browns a little on both sides.
Do not roast too much if you want to eat a wrap as it will become stiff. I personally like it well done and toast ti really well and it tastes awesome.

Assembly:

Place the tortilla on a cutting board
Spread the cooked beans evenly.
Top with the sauteed veggies, avocado, tomato, lettuce, spring onions, cilantro
Garnish with Sriracha sauce and wrap it up.
You could also just service all the above as sides with the well done tortilla.

Tips to make it unhealthy:

While toasting the tortilla, do one side first and then flip. Sprinkle cheddar cheese and cover with a lid and toast until the cheese melts and then follow the assembly process.
Add a dollop of sour cream on top to make it yummier and unhealthier:)

Other Substitutions:

You can use a whole wheat tortilla instead of the spinach and sun-dried ones
The black beans can be substituted with pinto beans
You can also add rice cooked with tomato paste and vegetable broth and stuff that in this wrap to make it authentic mexican
You can replace the Sriracha sauce with salsa to make it less spicier
You can add grilled or sauteed marinated paneer to make this taste meatier.

Black Forest Cake

2008-07-09T16:36:00.001-07:00

I made this black forest cake for my hubby's birthday . I use Nupur's recipes as posted here . Nupur thank you so much for this awesome recipe. It worked wonderfully and brought back memories of the cakes in India.

I must say this cake tasted mind blowing two days after it was baked. So the next time I will make this way in advance of the event. I did not make any modifications to the recipe except using a little less sugar and a little less of the instant espresso powder. I did feel like my cake layers came out a little hard and that is probably because I did not drizzle enough syrup. But after two days of soaking who cares!!! The taste is just out of this world!!!

In case you are wondering why the cake has the chocolate shavings only on the side, the origical plan was to ice "Happy Birthday" but the brilliant person that I am, I bought the red icing tube but not the front piping attachment for it!! So hubby had to make do with colorful candles on the top!!:)

Coconut cake with coconut cream cheese icing

2008-06-23T14:07:00.000-07:00

This was my second attempt at a "real" cake with icing and I chose my dear friend Vindhya's birthday for this because my first attempt was a simple cake with whipped cream icing for her birthday last year. That was when I first got my stand mixer and I am in love with it ever since. I chose a coconut cake with coconut cream cheese icing because she is not a big fan of chocolate. A lot of things wen wrong with this one - the cakes had an uneven surface that I did not bother sawing off, the icing technique left much to be desired which meant that I had to cover it up with coconut flakes and that did not leave me any open space to ice "Happy Birthday" :( but the cake did taste ok and I hope she liked it:). Thankfully the candles made it look a little festive and the end product was passable.

I used this recipe for the cake and this one for the icing. The modification I made were -

I added coconut milk to the cake instead of regular milk to give it a coconut flavor and did not blend in the fresh coconut.
I also added 1tsp of coconut extract to the cake batter.
I added only one cup of sugar to the cake batter and and two cups of powdered sugar to the icing instead of the amounts prescribed.
The icing was made with low fat cream cheese instead of regular cream cheeses.

My next attempt will be the black forest cake using Nupur's (One Hot Stove) recipe for my hubby's birthday this weekend. I have my fingers crossed and I hope it turns out well.

Vegetarian Chili

2008-05-27T15:12:00.000-07:00

Being a spice lover I have always been unhappy about not being able to eat "Chili" and this inspired a vegetarian version of the same. I would say that this is a hipper cousin of Indian Rajma with jazzier stuff thrown in and gets better tasting the longer you keep it although when I made the chili, it only lasted one evening. Needless to say it was a hit! I have drawn this recipe from several different versions online but was especially inspired by the Emeril Lagassa version here . I used 4 kinds of beans instead of just one and did not use as much tomato in the recipe otherwise it over powers other flavors.

Ingredients:

Can of black beans - 1
Can of kidney beans - 1
Can of pinto beans - 1
Can of white beans - 1
Zucchini - 1, chopped finely
Yellow onion - 1, chopped finely
Red/green/yellow bell peppers 1/2 each
Crushed Tomatoes - 1 can
Jalapenos - 1, finely chopped
Serrano peppers - 2 finely chopped
Mushrooms - 10-15 or 3 portabello mushrooms
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Vegetable stock - 1 cup
Cayenne pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 2 tsps
Paprika - 1 tsp
Cilantro - 3 tbsps finely chopped
Sour cream - 3-4 spoons for garnish
Lemon - 1

Directions:

Heat oil in a pan and saute the onions until golden brown.
Add the finger garlic paste and stir for 1 min. Add in the tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers and let them cook for 15 mins or so.
When the veggies are cooked well add the chopped chillies, cayenne pepper, paprika and cumin powder and mix well.
Add in the cans of beans and vegetable stock and let it all cook evenly and come to a boil.
Garnish with cilantro, lemon juice, paprika and sour cream (not shown in pic) and serve hot with some garlic bread or brown rice.

Pudina Sandwich

2008-05-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

My love for this sandwich goes back to the days when we had "Sandwich Dinner Days" at home when mom and dad would make this Pudina Chutney and we would gorge on them like we hadn't eaten for days! The fun part of me was that I would get to make my own sandwich as a kid.:) Then there came a time when they started making these sandwiches at the chat thelas all over in Hyderabad which was pretty similar to what we had at home but also had a "chat" element to it with onions, sev and chat masala. I love both versions immensely and they make very good tea time snacks as well as full fledged meals when you don't have much time. It gets even easier if you make the pudina chutney recipe in advance and store it in the refrigerator. A friend of mine asked me to post some more quick and different dinner recipes like the Paneer pizza and this definitely falls in the category:)

Pudina Chutney

Ingredients:

Mint leaves - 2 bunches
Green chillies - 4/5 (depending on your spice tolerance)
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Ginger - 1 inch long piece
Lemon - 1
Salt
Yogurt (optional)

Directions:

Grind all the ingredients together except lemon/yogurt.
If using yogurt, beat some and mix with the ground chutney.
If not using yogurt, squeeze fresh lemon juice into the ground chutney.

Toasted Pudina Sandwich

Ingredients:

Bread slices ( Any white bread is fine. I use buttermilk bread) - toasted
Butter (I use "I can't believe its not butter")
Ketchup (I use Maggie hot and sweet tomato sauce)
Tomatoes - 2 sliced
Cucumber - 1, peeled and sliced
Carrot - 1, thinly sliced
Pudina Chutney
Salt
Crushed black pepper

Directions:

On one slice, apply some butter and ketchup and on the other slice apply the pudina chutney.
Layer one slice with the tomato, cucumber and carrot slices.
Garnish with salt and black pepper. Top it with the other slice
Cut into triangles and serve with kethcup.

Pudina Sandwich Chat Style:

Ingredients:

White bread - With edges trimmed off
Tomatoes - 2, sliced
Cucumber - 1, sliced
Pudina chutney
Amul Butter
Maggie hot and sweet tomato chilli sauce
Onion - 1, finely chopped
Sev - 1 cup
Corriander leaves - 1/2 bunch finely chopped
Salt
Crushed black pepper
Chaat Masala

Directions:

One one slice apply the butter and sauce and on the other spread the pudina chutney.
Layer one slice with cucumber and tomato slices. Sprinkle some salt, black pepper and chaat masala.
Top it up with the other slice and cut into 4 square pieces.
Place on a palce and garnish with onions, sev and cilantro and enjoy!

Note: If you plan on serving this sandwich after some time, do not garnish with sev before hand. It gets soggy. So add the garnish right before serving.

Gatte Ki Kadhi and Guvar Sabji - RCI Rajasthan

2008-05-14T11:10:00.000-07:00

Gatte Ki Kadhi Recipe:

This is my first entry ever to any RCI event:)...This entry is for the RCI Rajasthan event. Unfortunately, I don't have any Rajasthani/Marwadi friends and the only influence of Rajasthani food I have had is from eating at those thali places in Hyd (kothi area and Dhola Ri Dhani) but I have enjoyed it immensely everytime I have had it.......This recipe was a mish mash of several recipes that I looked up online and personalized according to my taste. The kadhi was yummy and I would have loved to serve it with Bajra roti but did not have the time for it.

Ingredients:

For Gatte -

2 cups besan
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
Jeera-Dhania powder - 1 tsp
Ajwain 1 tsp - crushed slightly
Curry leaves - 4/5 chopped finely
Handful of corriander leaves - finely chopped
Fresh ginger paste- 1tsp
Fresh garlic paste - 1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 2 pinches
Oil - 2 tbsps

For Kadhi

4 cups of non fat yogurt
Turmeric 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Jeera Dhania Powder 1 tsp
Salt
Walter
Curry Leaves - 4/5
Ajwain - 1/2 tsp finely crushed
Oil - 1 tbsp
Ginger paste - 1tsp
Besan - 2tbsps

Directions:

For the gatte, mix together together all the ingredients and then add enough water to get it into the consistency of dough. Do not knead it too much.

Make 1/2 inch wide and 5 inch long cylinders out of the dough.

Boil enough water in a pot and once it is bubbling drop in the cylinders and cook until the cylinders float up and look fully cooked.

Cut the cylinders in to 1/2 inch pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and saute the pieces until they brown a bit. Usually these are deep fried but I only saute-ed them and it works well. Must healthier too.

For the Kadhi, make a paste of besan and water and beat it into the yogurt with some water.

Mix in the turmeric, jeera-dhania powder, red chilli powder, ajwain and salt to taste

Heat oil and add cumin/jeera, curry leaves, ginger paste and saute for 1 minute.

Now add in the yogurt and the gatte and simmer on low heat until it is evenly heated.

Serve hot with rotis!

My variations: The changes I made was to add the ginger paste, garlic paste, ajwain, jeera powder, corriander, curry leaves and to saute the gatte instead of deep fry and it made a world of difference

Guvar Sabji :

This is a recipe that is very simple and I have often seen it served this way in Rajasthani thalis. I arrived at the recipe only from tasting it and hopefully it is how ti is made by Rajasthan:)

Ingredients:

Guvar - 3 cups, cut into inch long pieces

Oil - 2 tsps

Mustard seeds - 1 tsp

Jeera - 1tsp

Salt

Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp

Jeera-dhania powder - 1 tsp

Jeera powder - 1 tsp

Yogurt - 1 cup

Water 1/4 cup

Directions:

Heat oil and add jeera and mustard seeds and let them pop.

Add the guvar and let is cook until a little soft.

Add the spices and water and steam until raw smell of spices goes away.

Once cooked, beat the yogurt and add it in. Take the dish off the stove and serve with rotis!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Penne

2008-05-06T15:05:00.000-07:00

This is a yummy dish inspired by Nupur's (of One Hot Stove) lovely recipe of Roasted Squash-Onion Lasagna

I made the following modifications -

Instead of lasagna sheets I used a whole wheat penne. This is purely because I did not have lasagna sheets on hand when I made it but the whole wheat penne went really well with the butternut squash and the bechamel and gave it an earthy flavour and good bite.
I rubbed some dry italian herbs like thyme, rosemary, sage, oregano on the butternut squash and onion before roasting.
Before baking I topped the whole thing with a mixture of grated Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs instead of just the Parmesan cheese.
While making the bechamel sauce, I added some chopped garlic to the butter before the flour to give a garlicky flavor to the sauce.
I also shallow fried some sage leaves in olive oil and added it to the mixture before baking.

Thanks Nupur for this lovely recipe! i really enjoyed making it and eating it:)

Bhel Puri Chowpati Style

2008-04-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

I can't really remember the taste of bhel puri I ate at the Chowpati beach but I do remember detesting the beach because it was so filthy. Yet, I always associate bhel puri with Chowpati. This is a very simple "semi-homemade" (as in Sandra Lee's show) version. Its a deliciously healthy snack for a weekend evening with chai:)

The other place I associate with bhel is this really famous bhel stall in Kolhapur called "Rajabhau Bhel". The bhel here is simply mind blowing and you really get spicy when you ask for spicy. I am drooling even as I write about this place.

Again, credit goes to my mommy dearest for the excellent bhel puri she always made for us customized according to individual likes and dislikes. :D:D Also another crazy fan of this dish is my sis Rashmi, ensuring that this is regularly made no matter where she is. There is nothing great about this recipe here except putting the right things together. So it is really easy to make.

To start off with I use an instant bhel puri mix which contains puffed rice, papdi, sev and some other yummy stuff. This is a shortcut to the way my mom used to make it with bhadang from scratch and other stuff bought individually from the Gujarati store.

The above pic shows the chutneys I use for the bhel. The one on the left is a sweet/sour tamarind chutney. Now this can be bought in the store and it is called tamarind-date chutney. The homemade version I make is slightly different and its recipe is below. The one on the right is a mint, green chillies and cilantro chutney. You get this in store too but I made this one at home and recipe is below.

The above picture shows the rest of the ingredients.

Ingredients:

1 packet bhel puri mix
Cucumber - 2, chopped finely
Red onion - 1, finely chopped
Tomate - 1 large, finely chopped
Raw Mango - 1/2, finely chopped and a few long slices for garnishing
Cilantro - 1 bunch, finely chopped
Tamarind chutney - 1 cup
Mint/Cilantro Chutney - 1 cup
Salt
Red chilli powder
Sev for garnish

Directions:

The bhel can be mixed in batches of 2- cups each. In one large bowls, take 2 cups of bhel mix.
Add in as much of the cilantro, onions, tomatoes, cucumber and mango as desired (according to taste, I usually take less of onions and more of everything else).
Add in salt, red chilli powder (I add lots of this to make it spicy), tamarind chutney (1-2 tsps), mint/cilantro chutney (1-2 tbsps) and mix everything thoroughly.
Serve in smaller bowls and garnish with cilantro, mango slices, sev and green chillies:).

Tamarind Chutney Recipe:

Ingredients:

Tamarind - 2 inch ball
1 1/2 cup water
Jaggery - 2 tbsps
Salt
Red chilli powder - 1/1 tsp
Jeera - 1tsp, roughly powdered

Directions:

Soak tamarind in the water and extract all the pulp.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pulp and boil until it thickens into desired consistency.

Mint/Cilantro Chutney Recipe:

Ingredients:

Mint - 1 bunch
Cilantro - 1 bunch
Green chillies - 2,3
Salt
Ginger - 1 inch

Directions:

Grind the above into a soft paste with enough water to make the chutney into a runny consistency

Alu Poha / Pohe

2008-04-22T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is a very typical Maharashtrian snack/breakfast that is healthy and yummy. It is made from poha which is essentially flattened rice. Health freaks can also make this with brown poha which is high in fiber and olive oil and can skip the potato. This can also be relished with roasted peanuts and a raw green chilli for those who enjoy spice. I sometimes add ginger in the tadka but that is optional too. I do not have a pic for this yet simply because I never thought of posting this recipe assuming that it is something everyone would already know. This recipe is in response to a request from a special friend who remembers my mom making it and would love to have the recipe...;)...Good luck Vinitha!

Ingredients:

Thick poha - 2 cups
Potato - 1 big or 2 small ones - Diced into thin slices about 1 inch long
Onion - 1 small one - finely diced into slices - not chopped
Ginger - 1 tsp chopped (optional)
Tomato - 1 - chopped
Vegetable oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2/3 finely chopped
Curry leaves - 5/6
Lemon - 1
Salt
Turmeric - 1/4th tsp
Cilantro - 2 tbsps finely chopped

Directions:

Wash the poha in water and keep aside. Make sure you drain the excess water
Heat oil and to it add the mustard seeds, jeera, turmeric, green chillies and curry leaves and let the mustard seeds sputter.
Add the oinions and saute until golden brown.
Saute the potato until soft and cooked.
Add in the tomato and saute until cooked.
Now add in the poha, which should be soft by now and salt and mix well.
Let this steam until the smell of raw poha goes away.
Sprinkle lemon juice, garnish with cilantro and enjoy hot!

Vepam Poo Pachadi

2008-04-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

A belated happy tamil new year to all of you. I had fun this tamil new year because my in-laws were around and it was a proper family affair. I also had to cook less because we split up the dishes. I got Pushnika Sambhar, Vepampoo Pachchadi and Aama Vadai. The recipe of Aama Vadai I have already posted here. The pic above is from last year -

Vepam Poo Pachadi: This is a traditional tamilian dish made on new years day. It has all the tastes possible - bitter/sweet/sour/spicy and I guess the idea is to start your year with all these tastes including bitter which is a result of the neem flowers or vepam poo.

Ingredients:

Tamarind - 1 hand full
Jaggery - 2 tsps
Salt
Dried red chillies - 2 or 3
Gingelly oil - 1 tsp
Rice flour - 1 1/2 tsp
Neem flowers - 2 tsps
Curry leaves - 4 or 5

Directions:

Soak tamarind in 1 1/2 cup of water and extract the pulp.
Roast the neem flowers in a little spray of oil until brown. Let it cool and grind it roughly into a powder in a pestle and mortar or just using a spoon
Heat gingelly oil and to it add mustard seeds, red chillies, curry leaves. Let the mustard seeds sputter and to it add the tamarind pulp and boil until the smell of raw tamarind goes away.
Add the salt and jaggery to the boiling pulp and bring to a simmer.
Mix the rice flour in 2 tbsps of water and add to the mixture above. Boil until the it reaches a thicker consistency and bring it off the stove.
Mix in the crushed neem flowers and enjoy hot!

Gudi Padwa Recipes - Neem Chutney, Amti, Cauliflower-Peas Sabji and Mango Rice

2008-04-03T13:06:00.000-07:00

Gudi Padwa is coming up and this will my first one in the new house. I am looking forward to celebrating it grandly. There are some very typical recipes associated with the festival and will be posting there here soon:)

---- Follow up ( Pics will get added once I locate my camera charger)---------

Recipe 1 - Neem chutney

Ingredients:

Chana dal - 1 cup
Green chillies
Curry leaves - 4 or 5
Dried red chillies - 2 or 3
Tender neem leaves or neem flowers - 2 teaspoons
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Salt
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Corriander leaves - handful

Directions:

Soak the chana dal overnight
Grind the dal with green chillies, salt, corriander leaves
Heat oil and put in mustard seeds, curry leaves and red chillies. Garnish chutney with this.
I usually separate out a little chutney and add the tender neem leaves or fried neem flowers to it. The rest can be enjoyed without the bitterness.

Recipe 2 - Amti : Amti is a traditional maharashtrian dal which is a staple part of every meal.

Ingredients:

Toor dal - 2 cups
Turmeric - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 tablespoon
Amsol or Kokam - 3-4 (This is a very typical ingredients used in some Maharashtrian and Konkani dishes )
Corriander leaves - handful, chopped
Red chilli powder - 1/2 teaspoon
Kala Masala - 1 teaspoon (This is again a very typical Marathi masala. I use the Joshi brand )
Salt
Asafoetida - 1 pinch

Directions:

Pressure cook the toor dal and keep aside.
Heat oil in and add mustard seeds, jeera, turmeric, asafoetida and wait until the mustard sputters.
Add the cooked toor dal, kokum, salt, chilli powder, kala masala and let the dal boil for 15 mins.
Garnish with corriander and serve with hot rice!

Tips: Variations of this amti are yummy too - I love the addition of brinjal, drumsticks and my favourtie is the one with pressure cooked jackfruit seeds.

Recipe 3 - Cauliflower/Peas sabji : This is a very simple sabji that I make on a regular basis.

Ingredients:

Medium sized cauliflower - cut into small chunks
Green chillies - 2 finely chopped
Frozen peas - 1 cup
Salt
Chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1 pinch
Vegetable oil - 1 tsp

Directions:

Heat oil and add mustard seeds, jeera, turmeric, green chillies and let the mustard seeds sputter.
Add the cauliflower and salt and saute until soft.
Add peas and chilli powder and let it cook for 5 more mins.
Garnish with lemon and corriander leaves.

Recipe 4 - Mango Rice (Chitranna): This is basically "lemon rice meets raw mango". A very simple yet delightful way of enjoying summer's arrival.

Ingredients:

Basmati rice - 1 cup (any rice is ok)
Raw mango - 1, grated
Lemons - 1 or 2
Salt
Green chillies - 2
Red dried chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 7 or 8
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Urad Dal - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 1/2 tsp

Directions:

Cook rice and keep aside. Make sure it is not over cooked and grains are separate.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds, turmeric, green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves, urad dal and chana dal and stir fry until the urad dal turns golden brown.
Add the cooked rice, grated mango and salt and let it steam.
Take the rice off the stove and sprinkle lemon juice. Enjoy with raita!

Cinnamon Sticks

2008-01-22T22:28:00.000-08:00

Oh yum!!! That is all I can say after having just munched on these delectable cinnamon sticks. They can beat any cinnabon chain at their own game. A very easy and crowd pleasing recipe:) I cannot remember what I read recently that inspired this recipe but I do remember looking up several blogs. Sadly I do not remember which ones and I cannot give credit to a single one. But thanks to whosoever's blog inspired this!!!:)

Ingredients:

Puff pastry sheets
Sugar 3-4 teaspoons
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
A dollop of butter - melted

Directions:

Cut the pastry sheet into 3 inch X 1 inch strips. Pull each strip a bit and twist along the length of it.
Mix the sugar and cinnamon powder
Brush with melted butter on both sides and sprinkle generously with the cinnamon sugar on both sides.
Pre-heat oven to 350 F and bake the sticks for about 25 mins until they are well done. Allow it to cool just a but and enjoy them warm!

Pesarettu with Peanut Chutney

2008-01-22T22:07:00.000-08:00

In hyderabad, near my home, there is this little shack that my dad brings the breakfast from very often. This grub has become our favorite for every time we visit and we always look forward to the idly, vada and most of all the pesarettu from this place. This was an attempt to capture that taste although it incomplete without the green ginger chutney that we get. Will try that next time but now here is what I have.

I am really glad I bought this non stick pancake pan. It allows me to make rotis and dosas without a single drop of oil. :)

Pesarettu Recipe: This recipe makes a lot but can be altered by just keeping the proportions same.

Ingredients:

Whole moong dal - 4 cups
Rice - 1 cup
Red chillies 5-6
Curry leaves 10-12
Ginger 5-6 stalks about an inch long
salt to taste
Asafoetida - 2 pinches
One medium size onion - finely chopped
2 green chillies

Directions:

Soak the moong dal and rice overnight.
Grind the above with the red chillies, half the ginger, salt, curry leaves with enough water to make a dosa batter consistency
Finely chop remaining ginger, onion and green chillies
Spread on heated pan like a dosa and sprikle some onions, ginger and green chillies
When the pesarettu seems done on one side, pressing in the onions so that they don't fall off when it is overturned. Roast on other side too thoroughly.
Serve hot with the chutney.

Peanut-Coconut Chutney Recipe:

Ingredients:

One cup roasted peanuts
One cup fresh/frozen grated coconut
1/2 onion chopped
2 pods garlic
One inch piece of seedless tamarind
4-5 dried red chillies
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon urad dal
4-5 curry leaves
One tablespoon gingelly oil
One pinch asafoetida

Directions:

In a little bit of oil, saute the onion and garlic
Grind the peanuts, coconut, onion, garlic, tamarind, 2 red chillies, curry leaves into a fine paste
In a small pan, heat the gingelly oil and make a tadka with the mustard seeds, urad dal, asafoetida, red chillies and curry leaves. Pour this over the ground paste. Enjoy with hot dosas or pesarettus!!

Jeera Rice

2008-01-20T11:26:00.000-08:00

Jeera rice is a perfect end to an Indian meal when you do not have the patience to make a pulao or biryani. I have had it in several dhabas in India and I must say that it tastes the best in the roadside dhabas than in any plush restaurant.

Ingredients:

2 cups basmati rice
3 1/2 cups of water
1 cup frozen peas
2-3 cloves
2 green cardomom pods
4-5 whole black peppers
2-3 bay leaves
1 inch small cinnamon stick
Any other dry masalas that you add for pulao
Jeera dhania powder - 1 teaspoon
3 tablespoon jeera
1 teaspoon ghee
1 teaspoon oil
2-3 long green chillies split in the middle
7-8 curry leaves
Salt to taste

Directions:

Cook the rice in water just enough so that it is cooked but does not stick together much.
In a pan heat the oil and ghee.
Add the cinnamon, bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, jeera, black pepper and other pulao spices and roast until you can smell the spices.
Add the green chillies and curry leaves and fry until well done.
Add the green peas and jeera dhania powder. Once done., add the rice and stir s that all the spices and peas are blended well with the rice. Add salt to taste and steam the rice a bit. Once done, serve with raita.

Palak Paneer

2008-01-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Ooh palak paneer! There are very few restaurants that can get this right and make it taste as yummy as red gravy based paneer dish. I simply love it because it is healthy (if made right) and goes well with rotis or rice. THis is a very simple recipe that I came up with in grad school and was very happy with. My friend Vindhya makes a variation of this by adding some pudina/mint leaves along with palak which gives this a great flavor. I haven't tried this yet but I can imagine that it would be awesome. I use frozen palak for this because it is much easier but you could use fresh palak too. Although, fresh palak reduces a lot in quantity when boiled and you would need to use tonnes of it to make a decent quantity. The ghee can be substituted with oil but making the garlic-ginger tadka with ghee makes a world of difference in flavor. As an alternative, use a tiny hint of ghee mixed in oil. So here goes -

Ingredients:

Frozen palak (About two boxes)
Paneer - about 15-20 cubes
Ginger - 1 inch
Garlic - 2-3 pods
Green chillies - 4-5
Jeera - 1 teaspoon
Cream - 1 teaspoon
Ghee - 1 tablespoon
Vegetable oil - 1 tablespoon
Salt to taste

Directions:

Boil the palak in water with a little bit water with some salt and puree it with a hand blender.
In one tablespoon of oil, saute the paneer cubes until they are well browned and form a nice rust on the sides.
Make a paste of ginger, garlic, green chillies and jeera.
In a pan heat ghee and add the paste once it melts
When the ginger garlic paste is golden brown, add the palak puree and boil until the flavor of the ginger and garlic has seeped into the palak and you cannot taste raw palak anymore.
Add the fried paneer cubes and heat until the cubes soften in the palak.
Once it is done, take it off the heat and garnish with cream. Enjoy with hot rotis or biryani/pulav.

Bagara Baingan - Hyderabad Isshhtyle

2008-01-17T18:14:00.000-08:00

Bagara Baingan is this amazing dish that will turn you into an eggplant lover. This is a very typical hyderabadi dish often served with Biryani or just plan white rice. With a rich gravy made of peanuts and sesame seeds, it gets tastier the day after it is made. So here goes -

Ingredients:

1 cup peanuts
1/4th cup sesame seeds
2 spoons poppy seeds
3-4 cloves
1/2 inch long piece of cinnamon (This is optional and won't make much difference)
2 inch piece of ginger
2-3 garlic pods
half cup fresh grated or frozen coconut
1 spoon chilli powder
2 pinches of turmeric
10-12 small eggplants
a small ball of tamarind soaked and pulped
mustard and jeera seeds for the tadka
4-5 long green chillies
5-6 curry leaves
2 large onions - finely chopped
salt to taste
corriander
vegetable oil - 2 tablespoons

Directions:

Roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, cloves and cinnamon separately.
Grind them along with the coconut, chilli powder, haldi, salt, ginger and garlic to a fine paste
Cut slits in the eggplants, making a cross on the top. Stuff them with the paste. Make sure you have 2-3 tablespoons of paste left over after stuffing
Heat oil and add mustard seeds, jeera, green chillies (cut lengthwise), curry leaves. Once the mustard seeds start sputtering, add onions and saute until golden brown
Add the stuffed eggplants and saute until the skin of the eggplants changes color a little
Add the remaining paste, a little water, the tamarind pulp and mix well
Cook for 20-25mins with the lid covered until you no longer can smell/taste raw peanuts, the eggplants are cooked thoroughly and the you have a good consistency gravy.
Top off with chopped corriander and enjoy!!!

Tila Chi Vadi

2008-01-16T14:54:00.000-08:00

"Tilgul ghya ani god god bola"....Happy Sankranti to all of you!!! This is a special sweet made for Sankranti and the recipe is of course my mums. My sis and hubby loved it and hogged on it though it didn't come out to be perfect.

Ingredients:

1 cup peanuts

1 cup sesame seeds

1 cup dry coconut

1 cup jaggery

Green cardamom powder - 1 teaspoon

Directions:

Roast the peanuts, sesame seeds and dry coconut separately until golden brown.

Grind the peanuts to a fine powder and the sesame seeds to a coarse powder.

Heat the jaggery with couple of tablespoons of water until you get a thick syrup.

Grease a shallow plate to set the vadi in.

Mix in the peanut powder, coarsely ground sesame seeds and coconut into the syrup. Add cardamom powder and mix thoroughly.

Spread mixture evenly onto the place and cut diamond shapes before it cools down.

Allow it to cool and set and enjoy.

Note: The way this turns out depends a lot on what kind of jaggery you use. If you use less sticky one, it comes out better. The one I used wasn't the right one and it didnt really set well but who cares!!! :D:D Also, make sure your syrup is really thick before you add in the mixture otherwise it will stay moist and not harden enough.

Basic Vanilla and Nut Cake

2008-01-02T14:36:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, I decided to bring out my stand mixer and bake a simple cake like my mom used to for all our birthdays. I must say the result was very yummy and we all loved it but it still couldn't beat my mother's cake:). This post goes to all moms who take the effort to make their kid's bdays special by baking for them.....

Ingredients:

1 stick of butter
1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 spoons vanilla essence
2 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4th cup sugar - you can use 1 cup if you like it sweeter
nuts of your choice - I use cashews and almonds

Directions:

Beat the butter and sugar together until creamy.
Add eggs one by one and continue beating until you form a smooth fluffy mixture
Beat the milk into the mixture along with the vanilla essence
Sift the flour and baking powder together. This step is very important to keep the cake mixture free of lumps.
Slowly beat the flour into the eggs, butter and milk mixture until the batter is smooth and well mixed. Add nuts and fold in. Save some to top off the cake.
Grease and flour an 8 inch round pan and fill it up with the batter. Top with remaining nuts.
Pre-heat oven to 350 and bake for 20-30mins or until the cake is well browned on the sides. Allow it to cool and enjoy!!! :)

Happy New Year!

2008-01-02T14:34:00.000-08:00

Happy new year to everyone who bothers to visit this blog. This year's resolution is to blog every new recipe I try out - with or without pics:) Have a great year ahead!

My Navarathri Golu

2007-10-22T14:53:00.000-07:00

These are pics of my Golu this year. My hubby was very nice and built the golu padis after multiple trips to home depot this year. We didnt really get much time to do other stuff like park and other peripheral decorations but hopefully next year. I also bought some dolls from Michaels (Thanksgiving couple, birds, halloween pumpkin garden, etc) :) .... The rangoli on the side is done with rice flour mixed with some water and comes out really well on the hardwood floor but as you can see I had alignment issues ;) .....Oh well you always learn something new! The Japanese dolls on the third step from the top were a gift from my friend Vindhya and I loved how well they went with the rest of my international souvenirs that I put up to fill up the steps. I called that my international step. So far I have "Ashtalakshmi set", Karthikeyan, "Marapachi" couple and some others. I plan to buy some more in India this year.

Paneer Pizza

2007-10-07T21:01:00.000-07:00

Credit/Thanks: I must give the credit for this recipe to a friend/cousin Kanaka who made this for our potluck and got me hooked to the idea of desi style pizza. I remember having paneer pizza in India but hadn't really tasted it in US until she made it for us. So, thanks Kanaka!

Ingredients:

Store bought pizza base ( I used Boboli brand)
Marinara sauce
Paneer (about 15 small cubes)
Red onions (diced small)
Capsicum - red, green, yellow - whatever you have on hand (diced small)
Cilantr0 - finely chopped
Lemon -1/2
Garam masala - 1/4th teaspoon
Tandoori masala - 1/4th teaspoon
Chilli powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Haldi - 1 pinch
Mustard seeds and jeera seeds for tadka
1 table spoon oil - vegetable or olive

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan and do the tadka. Add 3/4th the onions and paneer and saute.
Add all the masala and marinara or any pizza base sauce and some water to get the right consistency.
Spread on the pizza base evenly and sprinkle the bell peppers and cheese on top
Preheat oven to 350 and bake for about 20min (15min if you don't like it too crisp)
Once out, sprinkle the chopped corriander and lemon juice and enjoy!!

Ukadiche Modak / Kozhakattai

2007-09-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

Come Ganesh Chaturti and my hubby starts fantasizing about modaks or kozhakattai as they call it in Tamil. My mom makes them with a sugar-coconut stuffing but my MIL makes it with a jaggery-coconut stuffing. So, i eventually end up making both :) .....More modaks were never a bad thing eh! :D Enjoy the recipe.

Stuffing:

Ingredients:

1) 1 cup grated fresh/frozen coconut (not dried coconut)
2) 3/4th cup sugar/jaggery
3) 1/2 teaspoon cardomom powder

Directions:

Heat a pan and start warming up the coconut. Once it is warmed up (not screaming hot/burning), add the sugar/jaggery and heat till it melts and mixes with the coconut. Turn off the gas/burner and add in the cardamom powder and mizx thoroughly. Let it rest for a few minutes

Modak Covering :

Ingredients:

1) 1 cup rice flour
2) 1 cup water
3) 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Add salt to water and boil. Once it is boiling with bubbles rising, add the rice flour to it and stir continuously while the heat is still on. The objective is to cook the rice flour a little and you can see that it is cooked when it stop looking like four and starts looking more like dough. Get the dough off the heat and dump it onto a working surface. The trick is to start kneading it while it is still hot. If you are scared of burning it wait a couple of minutes. Oil yours hands a little before you start kneading to prevent it from sticking to your hands.

Modak making procedure: Make a ball half the size of a tt ball and flatten it into a circular disk. Place a spoonful of the coconut mixture into the dish and try closing in the ends of the circular disk. Once you have them together, mould the top to be pointy and place aside. Keep your hands well oiled to prevent sticking.

Now place all the modaks into a steamer and steam until the outer covering turns translucent. Eat with some ghee if you aren't on a diet. Enjoy!!!

Posts without pics

2007-09-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

I am going to start posting recipes without pics mainly because its better than not blogging at all!!!! My laziness and the loss of my camera charger have made this blog go really stale. So, look forward to a lot of recipes going forward.........:)

Baked Ravioli

2007-05-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

This recipe was a by product of my need to finish up a huge packet of frozen spincach ravioli from Costco. The first time I made it with a tomato basil base but the use of pesto for this dish, like any other, improves it phenomenally. Now my hubby loves this so much that I always make excess and it also recently won the title of "Best Veggie Dish" and "Best Comfort Food" in my office potluck. So here goes.....

Ingredients:

Frozen or fresh spinach ravioli or any ravioli of your choice - 20/25 ravioli pieces
Cherry tomatoes - 15-20
Bell peppers julienne cut- all colors and any number you like
Sun dried tomatoes
Olives (chopped)
Pine nuts - handful
Pesto Sauce - 1 cup (I user Trader's Joe's pesto but you could make your own)
Basil leaves julienne cut- 5/6 (optional)
Mozarella cheese grated - 1 cup
Parmesan cheese grated - 1 cup
Sale to taste
Crushed red pepper
Crushed black pepper
Olive oil
Whole Garlic

Directions:

Heat water with some salt and boil the ravioli until al-dente (not too soft and still has some bite left to it)
In a pan, heat some olive oil and toast the pinenuts and garlic until brown
Saute the bell pepper, cherry tomatoes, olives and sun dried tomatoes until semi cooked
Add the pesto sauce, crushed black and red pepper and some salt to taste to the cooked veggies
In a baking pan, layer the bottom with the ravioli. Top it with a layer of the veggies with pesto and a light layer of mozarella chese , parmesan cheese and basil leaves
Add another layer of ravioli and veggies
Top with mozarella first and then parmesan. When broiled the parmesan will harden up on the top giving a crispy crust.
Stick the baking pan in the oven preheated at 350F for 15-20 mins or until you see a golden brown crust on top
Serve with fresh grated parmesan cheese and chopped basil on top.

Pepper Rasam

2007-03-11T14:08:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

One big lump of tamarind
Pepper corns - 1 teaspoon
Corriander seeds (dhania) - 1 teaspoon
Urad daal - 1 tea spoon
Red chillies - 3 or 4
Cumin seeds - 1 teaspoon
Curry Leaves - 7 or 8
Jaggery (optional)
Ghee - 1 teaspoon
Oil - 1 teaspoon
Mustard seeds
Salt

Directions:

1) In the oil lightly roast the pepper corns, red chillies, dhania seeds and urad dal until golden brown. Grind and make a paste.
2) Grind the cumin seeds and currey leaves without roasting
3) Soak tamarind in water to make pulp and mix the above two with the pulp and a couple of cups of water
4) Bring it to a boil till the smell of raw tamarind goes away.
5) Add salt to taste and a little bit of jaggery (optional)
6) Temper mustard seeds, 1 red chilly and a couple of curry leaves in ghee and top off the boiling rasam. Serve hot as soup of with some rice.

Note: This rasam is extremely good for colds, sore throats and sinus congestions.

French Onion Soup & Spicy Asparagus

2007-02-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

French Onion Soup

I was inspired to try this recipe after having an amazing bowl of french onion soup at a French/Italian restaurant called "The Vans on the Hill". Its a cozy little place on top of a small hill with a great view. So I did a little research online (specifically the recipe on this blog- http://foodieshope.blogspot.com/ - helped me a lot) and mixed and matched a couple of recipes to come up with this -

Ingredients:

1) One medium sized white onion (thinly sliced into 1 inch pieces)
2) A bunch of green(spring) onions (finely chopped)
3) An inch wide cube of butter (You could use margarine if you like)
4) A tea spoon of all purpose flour
5) Salt & pepper to season
6) Vegetable broth
7) Fresh thyme
8) Crushed garlic
9) A mini french baguette of any bread of your choice
10) Grated mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1) In a pan, melt the butter and saute the white onions until golden brown. For extra flavor saute until the edges are a little burnt.
2) Set some chopped green onions aside for garnishing. Add the rest of the green onions, crushed garlic and thyme and saute for 2 minutes.
3) Add the all purpose flour and let it brown for a minute.
4) Pour in the vegetable broth and season with salt and pepper.
5) While the soup comes to a simmer, cut the french baguette into slices big enough to cover the bowl that you will be serving the soup in. Place these under the browler until the edges are golden brown. Top them with the grated cheese and shove them under the broiler again until the cheese melts.
6) Dish out the bubbling soup into a bowl and top it with the slice of bread so that it is half soaked. Sprinkle the green onions set aside and enjoy!!!!

Note: If you want to spice this up a bit you could add some red chilli flakes or flavour it with a couple of drops of soy sauce.

Spicy Asparagus

This recipe was inspired by a couple of shows on food network and I have seen Rachael and Giada make amazing variations of Asparagus. This is my own version:)

Ingredients:

1) 10-15 stalks of asparagus
2) 5-10 cloves of garlic
3) Olive oil
4) Sale and pepper
5) Red chili flakes

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Break the bottoms off the asparagus stalks. A great trick suggestion by a cook on the food network is to bend the asparagus until the unwanted part splits away from the tender part.
2) Spread out the asparagus on a cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil (to make clean up easier)
3) Spray or brush olive oil to coat the asparagus and sprinkle salt, pepper, red chili flakes and finely chopped garlic on top of the asparagus.
4) Bake the asparagus for 10 minutes and flip over the asparagus stalks and bake again for 10 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy!

Note: You may season with some lemon juice before serving to get a citrus tang to the asparagus:)

I promise to make a comeback!

2007-02-06T11:58:00.000-08:00

I am extremely excited to be back to the blog world. I look forward to trying out some exciting recipes and posting them here.....Coming soon........................:)

Vada (Aama Vadai) and Coconut Rice (Narali Bhat)

2006-08-20T19:49:00.000-07:00

Aama Vadai

Ingredients:

1) Chana Dal - 1 cup
2) Toor Dal - 1/2 cup
3) Urad Dal - 1/2 cup
4) Ginger - 1 inch long
5) Green chillies - 5-6 (or more if you like it spicy)
6) Curry leaves - 10
7) Salt
8) Oil to deep fry

Directions:

1) Soak the toor dal and urad dal together and the chana dal separately for a few hours (overnight).
2) Grind the toor dal and urad dal together to a fine paste in the mixer along with the ginger and green chillies. The mixture should be thick with less water. Now grind part of the chana dal with this mixture and mix in the rest of chana dal as it is.
3) Chop the curry leaves finely and mix it in. Add salt to taste.
4) Heat oil and deep fry vada shaped balls of the mixture. (The shape should be flatter than what you see in the pictures, kind of like medu vada)
Enjoy this hot with ketchup or chatni!

Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

1) Basmati Rice - 1 cup
2) Jaggery - 3/4th cup
3) Elaichi pods - 3 or 4
4) Cloves - 3 or 4
5) Peppercorns - 5 or 6
6) Ghee - 1 or 2 spoons
7) Cashews - 10 to 15
8) Raisins - 10 to 15
9) Freshly grated coconut - 1 cup

Directions:

1) Heat the ghee and saute the cashews in it till light brown and keep aside.
2) Start cooking the rice separately until it is almost done but not too well done.
3) In the same ghee saute the elaichi, cloves and peppercorns. When you feel the flavour rising from them add the coconut and jaggery and saute till all the jaggery melts.
4) Add this mixture to the almost done rice, along with cashews and raisins and mix it up well so that the jaggery gels in with all the rice.
5) Steam it for 15 minutes and serve with something spicy to contrast the sweetness.

Note: I have never had the combination of vada and coconut rice together before. This was the first and they make a good combo especially if you don't have a sweet tooth. The sweet coconut rice can also be eaten with a pickle.

Tamil New Year

2006-06-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

These are the dishes that I made for the tamill new year

1) Payasam
2) Pongal
3) Mango pachchadi
4) Neem pachchadi

Ram Namavi

2006-06-14T17:36:00.000-07:00

What you see above is the stuff that i made for Ram Navami
1) Neer Moar
2) Panagam
3) Sundal