Sweet & Spicy Strawberry Raita

This is a 2 minute recipe which serves as a stand alone dish or to be served with Dhoklas like I did (you have to try the combo) or with pulao - or any dish that will complement a good raita.

Serving for 1 or 2 persons
Ingredients and preparation
About 6-8 well washed Strawberries and hand cut or diced with the fruit cutter
Yogurt (I use Dannon's plain yogurt) (greek yogurt would work well too for that reason that it is whey free)
Ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Dribble some agave or honey on top
Place a mint or herb sprig of your preference and serve immediately
Very wholesome and incredibly satisfying :-)

Okie-Dokies - A recipe in pictures

Not endorsing any one brand, but for me the Gits brand works best for my dhoklas. There is just one packet which you open pour and follow instructions carefully and you can get yourself some super spongy dokies. I had some really good dhoklas that my sister-in-law had made over thanksgiving and it seemed like the perfect Saturday lunch idea...
I do make them also with my idli plates and have them a la idli style with molaga podi  and coconut chutney- that tastes great too. What I did end up doing this weekend is making it the conventional style and a few idlis that I served with sweet/sour and spicy strawberry raita which I will share as recipe next.


                                                                  Idli Dhoklas

with molaga podi

                                                         greasing the pan

                                           the batter mixed per packet instructions

                                           The traditional plate with thadka

                                            A slice garnished with coconut (optional)

                                          A side view to show how porous and soft it is

 Don't forget to dribble the lime juice on them - Mixing sugar in the juice is an option - I do not do that.

Eat as a light lunch, an afternoon snack with tea or weekend breakfast :-)                                                                    

Chugging towards Recipe # 50

I am excited to say that 5 recipes more and I will be at my 50th recipe post!  I am planning to hustle these recipes (already drafted) over the next few days since we are leaving on our trip to India. In the meantime, the cold cough, sore throat saga continues - now the little one is all stuffed up, again! India seems more appealing by the minute.. want to run away from this cold and all the bugs that come with it!

Here are what's in the pipeline

Dhoklas - Okie Dokies

Strawberry Raita

Pad Thai

Zealously Zucchini along with

Quinoa pasta in pink sauce

Cocktail veggies&paneer in time for Christmas

Don't know which to make my 50th - Ideas are welcome - If I don't hear back, I will let my gut guide me :-) I am leaning towards 2, 3 or 5 ....

Sepangkazhangu/Arvi or Arbi Roast/.satoimo (Taro Root roast)

If you like roasted potatoes, you'll likely love this too - I'll admit it - The boiled arbi is slimy and not aesthetically pleasing - When we were growing up and amma made this, I shunned it merely based on its texture - heck, when we first got married and I was making my first forays into cooking, I refused to touch potato eyes that had that nasty growth on them, like warts --Feel my shuddering revulsion! But like a well trained doctor who does not flinch at blood or other major stuff, i have now become almost oblivious to such triviality - But I still get my kids who seem to be SO crazy about this dish to peel those hairy nasties for me.

But get this - These are the most deadly delicious tasting roasts  (I like it way better than potatoes) _ Goes to show that the book should never be judged by the cover, when the inside of it can be made to look as appetizing as the picture below :-))

For greater insight into the Taro root, here is a wonderful website http://www.essortment.com/all/taroroottubers_relt.htm

Ingredients

2 lbs of Taro root 

3-5 spoons of curry powder (depending on how spicy you want it)

4 tablespoons of olive oil or oil of choice

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

For Thadka

1 teaspoon of mustard leaves

1 teaspoon of urad dal

1 stem of curry leaves

a good pinch of asafoetida

1 whole red chili (optional)

Preparation

Pressure cook Taro - 3 minutes after the whistle blows -or based on your cooker, when it starts hissing
Microwave - set to potato cooking
Peal  and cut into thin rounds
On your cutting board or in a separate bowl, add the veggie, pour 2 table spoons of oil, add all the spices and salt to taste and mix well tuning carefully so as to not break or mush the veggie

                                                                    Boiled and peeled

                                                                   All cut up!

                                                                    Adding the curry powder

                                                             Roasted and on your plate :-)

Take a non-stick pan, and add the rest of the oil
Splutter mustard seeds and other thadka ingredients
Add the marinated veggie and allow to roast
Takes a good 10 minutes to get to the level of the picture above

Secret tip marinating it before putting it on the stove and by using a non-stick pan, you use half the oil it normally takes to get it to brown and crisp :-)
Eat as a side with Rotis, chappatis. rice and lentils, more kozhambu, sambar, rasam, rasavangi  :-)

Kathirikai Rasavangi - Eggplant/Brinjal in Lentils

Hi everybody, Sorry about the Elmoesque greeting! I hope your weekend was good - ours was hectic with concerts (My older daughter looked radiant as she sang in the choir), shopping for our upcoming trip to India and more people succumbing to colds and coughs - The little one is coughing and "colding" again :-( - Have a doc appt in a couple of hours, but while she watches her daily dose of Elmo and Sesame Street, I thought I'd blog my recipe for the traditional favorite, Brinjal Rasavangi - I made this with Sepangkazhangu (tarro root) roast which i am getting set to blog as well - also I tend not to make them thick since it is not well like by my family, but you can always adjust the amount of water you use (including to wash the blender etc...)
It is very much like making Sambar the other Indian lentil soupy preparation (this explanation is for my non-Indian friends) - I have yet to put my sambar recipe on my blog and a few more rasam recipes ...all in good time

Ingredients

1 cup of split peas/ toor dal/ thoram paruppu
3- 4 cups of cubed eggplant (long or small round ones - NOT the Italian big guys that are too spongy and tend to disintegrate)
1/4 cup of black eyed peas
1/2 cup of moong Vadi  or any other Karu vadaam (optional) - these are crunchy lentil preparations that can be fried and added to the lentils when it is done cooking
1-1/2 cans of diced tomatoes (I do not use any tamarind)

For the Masala
1/4 cup of grated coconut
2 tablespoon of Coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
5-6 red chillies (dry cayenne)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon  Sambar powder ( if required)

Preparation of the Masala
In 1 teaspoon of sesame oil or oil of choice, fry all the ingredients for the Masala except the cialntro.
Grind all of it (the cilantro as well) finely and keep ready

Preparation of the lentils
Pressure cook the lentils (toor and black eyed peas) and the eggplant together - Add some turmeric and a very small dollop of oil before cooking)
Next swiftly run (literally one spin) the diced tomatoes through a blender making sure it is still textured.

Combining all elements
In a soup pot, add the ground masala gravy and let it cook
When it's boiling add the tomato puree and let it cook some more
When that is boiling, add the lentils and stir in
Allow that to boil, adding required amount of salt

In a couple of minutes, take off flame and keep

Splutter mustard seeds and the moong vadi (available in a Indian grocery stores) And some curry leaves in a tablespoon of butter.

Add to the dal. This is usually eaten with rice.

Banana Fondue

This was a totally off the cuff recipe after our recent visit to a fondue place called Melting Pot. They serve 4 course meals and by the time you come to dessert, your stomach literally feels stretched and ready to burst! Given this, I felt bad that I could not do justice to the dessert which was creme brule with a host of choices to dip with

But, the good thing that came out of it was,me, who is not really a dessert person, was curious to try this on my own .. People, I am telling you, it is SO easy to put this together, that if after dinner you've got the nagging sweet tooth, you can whip it up in no time at all - Literally in 15 minutes, esp if you are not planning to photograph every step of the way. Now that takes time! :-) ..And here's what I have to show - two ways of serving...

                                                                    Milk Chocolate

Ingredients (for 2 people, roughly)

1 ripe banana (nut not over ripe or too spotty) 

Your fondue melting pot or a small non-stick pot will work just fine

The following ingredients are for both white and milk chocolate fondues - in that split that amount between the 2 kinds

1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg (1/4 each)

1/2 teaspoon of cardamom (to bring an Indian element to it:-) but seriously more so for flavor

                                                                  Ingredients at a glance

For the Milk Chocolate                                          

1/2 cup of milk or dark chocolate cubes

1/2 cup of Red or Port wine for dissolving the cubes (I used Porto since I like its full-bodied  flavor and sweetness) 

                                                              Served on a platter

                                                        

For the White Chocolate

1/2 cup of white chocolate drops

1/2 cup of white wine ( I used a local Virginian fruit wine)

Preparation:

Use your fondue pot or non-stick pan (small) keep in low heat

Do these one kind at a time, preferably white first so that they remain that way if you plan on using the same pan for the other kind

Pour the wine in

Quickly follow it up with the chocolate

when it starts melting and becoming liquidy, add the nutmeg and cardamom an stir in

 Keep your bananas cut and ready

Using a spoon, dip the banana piece into the melting chocolate

Twirl and flip so both sides are evenly covered

Remove carefully and arrange on serving plate

For additional glamor, sprinkle some cocoa powder or coffee power on the top. Place a fresh mint leaf and ---Ta Da and Voila! 

The second variation, less formal is to keep the chocolate melting in your melting pot in the dining table - sit around and dip away....

                                                                    Dip m' eat from pot

                                                                                                                            !

This recipe I am sending to USmasala's Fruit of the Month event.

Adios and g'bye for now

Bountiful Black Bean Soup

Black bean soup is one of THE most favorite lunch or dinner ideas in my home - Luckily, it also happens to one THE best foods to eat - We have a win-win situation :-) The children (the little one included) seem to go for it in a big way and has been the summer savior when the kids were home and needed instant gratification and in need of a  hearty meal- this again is one of those, "have no ideas today - what can i make that is quick simple and delish, recipes. Talking to my sister the other night reminded me to put it on the blog.
Just can it - I mean that's all you need cans of black beans and diced tomatoes; and, a few spices and garnishing

To serve 4 people substantially:

Ingredients:

4 cans of black bean soup - Kroger brand works just fine

2 cans of Hunt's diced tomatoes with no added flavors

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

1or 2 green chilies (I used 3 because we like it HOT :-)

2 - 3 cloves of garlic

1 spoon of Rasam powderr

1 cup  of chopped cilantro  (most to cook with and some to garnish

Olive Oil - 1 teaspoon

Preparation:

Open cans and drain and wash the black beans thoroughly in a colander

In a pan, get the oil heating lightly, add the cumin seeds and allow them to pop, add the garlic and the green chili all uncut. 

When they are slightly browning, add the tomatoes and let it cook for couple of minutes - this is a good time to throw in the coriander powder.

Next add the washed beans and let it all boil together until you see the tomato sauce bubbling- salt as needed  - go easy on the salt because both the canned substances already have salt. 

Switch off the stove and let the soup cool down. Then put in a blender and blend well - Add warm water to rinse off the remaining beans in the blender and add to the soup. 

Put it back on the stove to warm it, stirring it frequently. 

Once it is the desired heat, garnish with cilantro and serve hot

Secret tips: set aside a 1/2 cup of beans or more if you like more texture and add to the blended soup

Add a small dollop of yogurt in your soup for extra pleasure - Avoid sour cream to keep it healthy.

Serve with warm bread or tortillas - Also good to serve with tortilla chips and cheddar cheese