It's been a busy weekend with the concluding of Navarathri - lots of cooking and friends over - I have a bunch of recipes to share with you all, including Milagu Thenkuzhal - for my American friends these are a south Indian savoury which we make during the 10 days of Dussera - it's a delicious crunchy snack, not necessarily very healthy, but aren't all holidays and festivals about food binges??
Anyway, that's not all, we also made coconut Barfi our Indian version coconut macaroons, beetroot rasam - a tomato based lentil soup, wheat appam, and peanut sundal, dal vadai and payasam.
I am quite exhausted tonight, but I hope to churn out some good recipes for y'all over the course of the week so look for it!
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Homemade, Gourmet whole wheat Pizzas - get some!
This weekend, the whole family was craving true Italian style pizza. It was a long weekend and it seemed a good idea to make this a family project. I knew I wanted to make it with whole wheat, so I decided to use our very own Chakki whole wheat atta flour. Also, almost always, I waste most of the crust, either because it can be too thick and/or quite doughy and tasteless!!! So I decided to make the crust an Italian masala crust. By which i mean I used a bunch of Italian spices to make the crust a stand-alone dish - much like our masala parathas.
It came out better than I expected and it was a pleasure to make - Anything done for the first time can be quite a challenge. I made personal pizzas for each of us and put personal topping/sauce choices -
This entire preparation only required 3 teaspoons of olive oil -total! My son said it tasted very much like the gourmet pizzas we had in Italy - high praise, given he is best critic :-)
The crux of the matter is a tasty crust, besides a good sauce, of course!
Let me start with the ingredients and preparation of the crust
3 cups of Chakki atta in which I added dry ground 1 teaspoonful each of black pepper; basil; oregano; rosemary; garlic; 3 red cayenne dry peppers; I also used a spoon full of pesto and wild garlic powders.
In a food processor, add the flour, the ground spices, 1-1/2 pouches of yeast, and three teaspoons of olive oil. Dry spin ingredients around for a minute to evenly mix the spices and yeast into the flour. Then add (about 2 cups of water) - I just poured as I kneaded (pun intended) Remove from the processor, and put it on a clean counter and knead some more! Put it in a bowl and keep closed for 10 minutes, allowing the dough to rise.
Now for the sauce:
2 cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes ground.
Add a little salt, fresh garlic and basil to the sauce and allow it to cook. Keep ready
I also used Classico's Alfredo sauce for a couple of them
Toppings
Fresh Mozzarella - 12 slices halved can be subbed with paneer)
1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
2 green bell peppers
1 red onion
3 green chillies
1 pack of fresh white mushrooms
1 pack of green leaf spinach
on the rise...
felt light and good!
folding the jagged edges to give it a pie look :-)
close up of masala crust
white sauce pizza for Samyuktha!
First one!
Shreya's pizza :-)
The ingredients
I think she likes it ;-))
For me and Mani - everything on it pizzas
It came out better than I expected and it was a pleasure to make - Anything done for the first time can be quite a challenge. I made personal pizzas for each of us and put personal topping/sauce choices -
This entire preparation only required 3 teaspoons of olive oil -total! My son said it tasted very much like the gourmet pizzas we had in Italy - high praise, given he is best critic :-)
The crux of the matter is a tasty crust, besides a good sauce, of course!
Let me start with the ingredients and preparation of the crust
3 cups of Chakki atta in which I added dry ground 1 teaspoonful each of black pepper; basil; oregano; rosemary; garlic; 3 red cayenne dry peppers; I also used a spoon full of pesto and wild garlic powders.
In a food processor, add the flour, the ground spices, 1-1/2 pouches of yeast, and three teaspoons of olive oil. Dry spin ingredients around for a minute to evenly mix the spices and yeast into the flour. Then add (about 2 cups of water) - I just poured as I kneaded (pun intended) Remove from the processor, and put it on a clean counter and knead some more! Put it in a bowl and keep closed for 10 minutes, allowing the dough to rise.
Now for the sauce:
2 cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes ground.
Add a little salt, fresh garlic and basil to the sauce and allow it to cook. Keep ready
I also used Classico's Alfredo sauce for a couple of them
Toppings
Fresh Mozzarella - 12 slices halved can be subbed with paneer)
1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
2 green bell peppers
1 red onion
3 green chillies
1 pack of fresh white mushrooms
1 pack of green leaf spinach
Preheat oven to 425 degrees and cook for 12-15 minutes
I will let the pictures tell you how it came out :-)
felt light and good!
For me and Mani - everything on it pizzas
Monday, October 11, 2010
Simply Sun-delicious Lima Beans
Sorry I have not posted my sundals of the day over the weekend - But I made a black-eyed peas sundal and a pasiparuppu (moong dal) sundal. Today I went green and made a lima beans sundal with a green salad. Yep - following the healthy trend! This turned out to be the most enjoyed sundal.
Sundals are no big deal and usually, the simpler kept the better - I used frozen Lima beans - I believe it is mochakottai in Tamil.
Ingredients:
2 bags of frozen lima beans or 2 cups of fresh lima beans
1/4 cup of fresh grated or frozen grated coconut
Salt
Preparation:
Steam cook frozen pack in microwave (or)
fresh beans on stove top with just enough water covering the beans
Beans should be green and tender - this may require tweaking amount of water used to steam. Add the required amount of salt to the water. The trick is not not allow the beans to get dry and hard! Besides from a taste point of view, you all lose all the goodness of the bean by overcooking to dryness! Sprinkle coconut over tender beans and stir for a couple of minutes
Slightly dry roast the coconut.
Tadka with 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
2 dry red cayenne peppers
a pinch of asafoetida and
a few curry leaves.
Serve hot :-)
Sundals are no big deal and usually, the simpler kept the better - I used frozen Lima beans - I believe it is mochakottai in Tamil.
Ingredients:
2 bags of frozen lima beans or 2 cups of fresh lima beans
1/4 cup of fresh grated or frozen grated coconut
Salt
Preparation:
Steam cook frozen pack in microwave (or)
fresh beans on stove top with just enough water covering the beans
Beans should be green and tender - this may require tweaking amount of water used to steam. Add the required amount of salt to the water. The trick is not not allow the beans to get dry and hard! Besides from a taste point of view, you all lose all the goodness of the bean by overcooking to dryness! Sprinkle coconut over tender beans and stir for a couple of minutes
Slightly dry roast the coconut.
Tadka with 1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
2 dry red cayenne peppers
a pinch of asafoetida and
a few curry leaves.
Serve hot :-)
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Quinoa and Oats Idlis
Has it ever happened to you that you are churning out recipes in your head in your sleep or in the middle of the night, and you can't wait for dawn so that after a good cup of coffee you can get going on those creative juices that were engulfing your brain and made you lose sleep? It starting to happen a lot nowadays, thanks to y'alls encouragement :-)
You might think that oats is the flavor of the month and you'd be right - RICE is the big no-no for many people for weight reasons and also not a good one for diabetics - brown rice is an option but not too many people go for it. But we want our idlis - why not make some healthy life style changes and start making this wonderfully comforting food in a different way? So my journey in search of different idlis - I've made them with ragi, oats and rava and now quinoa and oats, you get your protein and fiber and you are guilt-free as you down these softies. When you've made them and eaten them, you deserve to give yourself a pat on your backs - Good call - AND, the biggest advantage is you can make these idlis in 20 minutes flat start to finish ---How do you like that?!
Quinoa-Oats idlis
Oats Cereal and Qunioa in a bowl
Dry grind
add yogurt
thadka
add to mix
pour the batter in
And you have yourself some soft and tasty idlis
You might think that oats is the flavor of the month and you'd be right - RICE is the big no-no for many people for weight reasons and also not a good one for diabetics - brown rice is an option but not too many people go for it. But we want our idlis - why not make some healthy life style changes and start making this wonderfully comforting food in a different way? So my journey in search of different idlis - I've made them with ragi, oats and rava and now quinoa and oats, you get your protein and fiber and you are guilt-free as you down these softies. When you've made them and eaten them, you deserve to give yourself a pat on your backs - Good call - AND, the biggest advantage is you can make these idlis in 20 minutes flat start to finish ---How do you like that?!
This is my first time. I went online to get some recipes and there were none that did not include rice or urad and you know those things need to be soaked, ground and allowed to ferment over night...But I wanted my Idlis now...So I decided to put things that I think are healthy together and got going with my imagination!
Presenting...
Ingredients
1 cup of instant oats
1 cup of quinoa flakes
2 to 2-1/2 cups of yogurt
all our usual thadka items - your call
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds,
2 chillies,
a pinch of asafoetida
curry leaves
a pinch of urad dal
Salt a pinch
And get this...
2 teaspoons of Rasa Podi
Preparation
Get your cereals together mix them and in a small blender, grind half of it coarsely and add to the rest
take a fork and start stirring in the yogurt until all of the cereal is nicely soaked in the yogurt and looks like the picture below
Thadka/garnish in 1 teaspoon of oil all the other ingredients
Pour on top of the batter and mix in well
Get your idli steamer ready
Grease your plates and scoop 1 tablespoon of the batter into each cup
You can make approx 22-24 idlis with this amount
Cook for 10-11 minutes
Remove and serve hot by itself or with chutney.
Secret tip If you want to make it more festive, add 1 tablespoon of grated coconut into the batter
Enjoy this healthy treat.
Last Word: Don't forget to add a good measure of LOVE to this recipe :-)
Friday, October 8, 2010
Navarathri = Sundal time!
Happy Navarathri to all - this is a good time to sundalize our lives. Today I made channa dal sundal (kadalai parruppu sundal) I've heard this can be challenge, because the dal has to be cooked just so - so that it does not go mushy on you or on the flip side, be undercooked.
Sundals are easy and nutritious, high in fiber - Sundal can easily substitute rice or wheat and can be enjoyed with rasam or plain curd (yogurt)
Very simple and traditional preparation
Ingredients
1-2 cups of channa dal pressured cooked - once the the rocker starts moving, turn off in exactly 3 minutes. For whistling cookers, I'll suggest you go one or two less than you normally allow for cooking your dal. Dal:Water proportion is 1:3/4 cup
1/2 cup of freshly grates/ grated frozen coconut
1/4 spoon of ginger powder
3-4 chillies
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 teaspoon of olive oil
curry leaves
salt
Preparation
Pressure cook dal and let cool. Remove and drain any water remnants - In a pan heat oil and pop mustard seeds; add the asafoetida, cut chillies, curry leaves and ginger powder. Add the dal and salt it and turn it a few times. Dry roast the coconut in a separate pan and add to the sundal - so that it does not go bad. Serve hot.
Happy first day of Navarathri
Sundals are easy and nutritious, high in fiber - Sundal can easily substitute rice or wheat and can be enjoyed with rasam or plain curd (yogurt)
Very simple and traditional preparation
Ingredients
1-2 cups of channa dal pressured cooked - once the the rocker starts moving, turn off in exactly 3 minutes. For whistling cookers, I'll suggest you go one or two less than you normally allow for cooking your dal. Dal:Water proportion is 1:3/4 cup
1/2 cup of freshly grates/ grated frozen coconut
1/4 spoon of ginger powder
3-4 chillies
1/2 teaspoon of mustard seeds
1 pinch of asafoetida
1 teaspoon of olive oil
curry leaves
salt
Preparation
Pressure cook dal and let cool. Remove and drain any water remnants - In a pan heat oil and pop mustard seeds; add the asafoetida, cut chillies, curry leaves and ginger powder. Add the dal and salt it and turn it a few times. Dry roast the coconut in a separate pan and add to the sundal - so that it does not go bad. Serve hot.
Happy first day of Navarathri
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Any time Stir Fry
Change of pace - going oriental on you with this one!
Feel in the mood for something, sweet/sour/salty/and spicy? Here is my super quick stir fry recipe - I made and had this in under 20 minutes, literally....
Ingredients:
The beauty about this dish is you can throw in any veggie of your choice - I included cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and onions - Would have LOVED to add mushrooms, but did not have any :-( Red and Yellow bell peppers will go work well too.
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of grated ginger
3 tablespoons of Stir Fry Szechwan spicy sauce
12/ teaspoon of Asian spice mix
2 - 3 green chillies
Olive Oil - 2 teaspoons
Preparation:
Shred the cabbage on a cheese grater
Cut broccoli and cauliflower into small florets
Onions chopped finely - TIP: put your onions (I always use red) in the fridge a couple of hours before cutting - You can avoid teary and burning eyes this way.
Grate ginger and use garlic press, if you have one or cut garlic cloves finely
Cut the green chillies down the middle
Add some olive oil to a wok - let it heat up some; then throw in your veggies and let them cook for a couple of minutes or until they are half cooked -
Add the sauce and mix it in and let it cook for a couple more minutes
sprinkle Asian spice mix before removing from flame.
Serve with rice or noodles
Feel in the mood for something, sweet/sour/salty/and spicy? Here is my super quick stir fry recipe - I made and had this in under 20 minutes, literally....
Ingredients:
The beauty about this dish is you can throw in any veggie of your choice - I included cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and onions - Would have LOVED to add mushrooms, but did not have any :-( Red and Yellow bell peppers will go work well too.
2 cloves of garlic
2 tsp of grated ginger
3 tablespoons of Stir Fry Szechwan spicy sauce
12/ teaspoon of Asian spice mix
2 - 3 green chillies
Olive Oil - 2 teaspoons
Preparation:
Shred the cabbage on a cheese grater
Cut broccoli and cauliflower into small florets
Onions chopped finely - TIP: put your onions (I always use red) in the fridge a couple of hours before cutting - You can avoid teary and burning eyes this way.
Grate ginger and use garlic press, if you have one or cut garlic cloves finely
Cut the green chillies down the middle
Add some olive oil to a wok - let it heat up some; then throw in your veggies and let them cook for a couple of minutes or until they are half cooked -
Add the sauce and mix it in and let it cook for a couple more minutes
sprinkle Asian spice mix before removing from flame.
Serve with rice or noodles
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Vetha Kozhambu
My sister, whom I love and respect dearly wanted me to make my food blog more anecdotal - so here I go!
A typical fall day outside - overcast and nippy. But the birds seem to frolic in the yard - Shrey and I watched the blue jays and cardinals swooping in and out of the trees, playing tag or peek-a-boo with each other - The clouds are hanging heavily over the house, ready to rid themselves of their bloating - like any minute. I went down to my studio to practice the dance I am learning while Shrey found a pair of dandiya sticks to play around with. We are all still getting over the Endhiran experience - to say it like my brother's good friend used to- a flap! as in flop!
Shrey is now down for a nap and here is my time to churn out a new, quick and easy recipe for you.
I'm am sure most of you out there will agree that the most difficult part of preparing a meal is coming up with a menu! At least for me, it is so much easier if the kids ask for something as opposed to coming up with an idea - On days like these, when ideas are not raging and the weather is kinda ugly, nothing like a Murungakai vetha kozhambu to liven up things. With keerai kootu - it is a favorite combo in our home.
There are SO many way to skin this cat - Vetha Kozhambu is a dish that many people take different approaches too and most often, they are all quite delicious, but I am sticking with my mom's recipe. My father's unforgettable comment is, the test of a seasoned chef is if they can fix a good vetha kozhambu and rava upma! Well, he is not around to pass the verdict on mine, but has left another Leo actually two Leo men - my husband and son - who are equally discerning. I will have them comment :-)
Ingredients
Frozen drumsticks (or fresh for the lucky ones in India and elsewhere) about 10 pieces or 2 drumsticks
2 spoons of tamarind puree/paste (Lakshmi Brand)
1 table spoon of fenugreek seeds or 1tsp of powdered fenugreek
2 1/2 -3 teaspoons of Sambar powder (or vetha kozhambu powder)
1/2 cup raw peanuts
Thaduka - (sautee)
1tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 spoon of mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
Optional (1/2 teaspoon of turmeric)
Preparation:
Mix the tamarind past in 3 cups of warm water. Also mix in the sambar powder, salt and fenugreek, if your are using the powder.
Using sufficient water, cook the drumsticks in the microwave or cook top for about 5 minutes and keep ready
In a deep dish, heat half the oil and then add asafoetida, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Wait for Fenurgreek seeds to darken to red, and the mustard seeds to pop.
Add the tamarind mix and let it boil
Then add drumsticks to the tamarind mix and let it cook some more in the mixture. Add the peanuts and allow it to cook as well.
When the water evaporates and the kozhambu starts to thicken slightly (it will still be thin) switch off. heat up the rest of the oil, add the curry leaves and pour over the kozhambu
Secret tip: Mom used to always put a cherry sized ball of jaggery towards the end of the boil - As I've mentioned in other recipes, a little sweet brings together all the other flavors nicely.
A typical fall day outside - overcast and nippy. But the birds seem to frolic in the yard - Shrey and I watched the blue jays and cardinals swooping in and out of the trees, playing tag or peek-a-boo with each other - The clouds are hanging heavily over the house, ready to rid themselves of their bloating - like any minute. I went down to my studio to practice the dance I am learning while Shrey found a pair of dandiya sticks to play around with. We are all still getting over the Endhiran experience - to say it like my brother's good friend used to- a flap! as in flop!
Shrey is now down for a nap and here is my time to churn out a new, quick and easy recipe for you.
I'm am sure most of you out there will agree that the most difficult part of preparing a meal is coming up with a menu! At least for me, it is so much easier if the kids ask for something as opposed to coming up with an idea - On days like these, when ideas are not raging and the weather is kinda ugly, nothing like a Murungakai vetha kozhambu to liven up things. With keerai kootu - it is a favorite combo in our home.
There are SO many way to skin this cat - Vetha Kozhambu is a dish that many people take different approaches too and most often, they are all quite delicious, but I am sticking with my mom's recipe. My father's unforgettable comment is, the test of a seasoned chef is if they can fix a good vetha kozhambu and rava upma! Well, he is not around to pass the verdict on mine, but has left another Leo actually two Leo men - my husband and son - who are equally discerning. I will have them comment :-)
Ingredients
Frozen drumsticks (or fresh for the lucky ones in India and elsewhere) about 10 pieces or 2 drumsticks
2 spoons of tamarind puree/paste (Lakshmi Brand)
1 table spoon of fenugreek seeds or 1tsp of powdered fenugreek
2 1/2 -3 teaspoons of Sambar powder (or vetha kozhambu powder)
1/2 cup raw peanuts
Thaduka - (sautee)
1tablespoon of sesame oil
1/2 spoon of mustard seeds
4-5 curry leaves
a pinch of asafoetida
Optional (1/2 teaspoon of turmeric)
Preparation:
Mix the tamarind past in 3 cups of warm water. Also mix in the sambar powder, salt and fenugreek, if your are using the powder.
Using sufficient water, cook the drumsticks in the microwave or cook top for about 5 minutes and keep ready
In a deep dish, heat half the oil and then add asafoetida, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. Wait for Fenurgreek seeds to darken to red, and the mustard seeds to pop.
Add the tamarind mix and let it boil
Then add drumsticks to the tamarind mix and let it cook some more in the mixture. Add the peanuts and allow it to cook as well.
When the water evaporates and the kozhambu starts to thicken slightly (it will still be thin) switch off. heat up the rest of the oil, add the curry leaves and pour over the kozhambu
Secret tip: Mom used to always put a cherry sized ball of jaggery towards the end of the boil - As I've mentioned in other recipes, a little sweet brings together all the other flavors nicely.
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