Ribbon Bakoda

Besan - 3 cups
Rice flour - 1 cup
Salt - to taste (3 tsp approximately)
Chilli powder - to taste
Butter - 1/4 cup
Water

Before adding water, mix in the butter and knead a little bit.
Then make a fairly stiff dough with the above ingredients.
Use ribbon press and fry in oil.

More Kolambu-Tamil Nadu Style

Ingredients:
Soak:
1.Cumin seeds-1 tbsp
2.Toor dhal-1 tbsp
3.Channa dal- 1 tbsp
4.Ginger-a chunk
Other:
1.Buttermilk
2.Grated Coconut flakes
3.Red chillies-1 or 2
4.Coconut oil
5.Mustard seeds
6.Vegetable of your choice-Okra,white pumpkin,lauki or pakodas
7.Curry leaves and cilantro leaves
8.Turmeric powder,coriander seeds powder,chilli powder
9.Asafoetida
10.Onions-Thinly sliced is optional(hotels use them but traditionally not)
11.Green chillies-4 or 5
Procedure:
1.Grind coconut flakes and green chillies and the soaked ingredients to a smooth paste
2.In a pan with oil(I mix normal oil with coconut oil),add red chillies, mustard seeds,curry leaves,onions(optional),asafoetida,vegetables and fry well.
3.Once done,add the ground coconut-chilly paste we ground before.
4.Let it come to a boil. Add buttermilk and allow to boil a little bit. Do NOT overcook the kolambu,then the coconut taste is gone. All you need to check for is the ends of the pot/pan,the kolambu should come to a boil and bubbles should move to the center. Switch off immediately.
5.Pour coconut oil after cooking for extra flavor and garnish with very little cilantro leaves.

Note:I am not able to exactly give measurement of buttermilk and coconut since I always eyeball.Its equal parts.

Non Brahmin version of Peerkankai Thovaiyal/chutney

We had this chutney with rice in one of our neighbours house. It was amazing. I got the recipe from them. From then on,Vignesh absolutely hogs on this whenever I make it. Its excellent with dosas and hot rice with sesame oil.Pretty easy too.

Ingredients:
Peerkankai/Ridge Gourd-Peeled
Garlic cloves-2 or 3
Red chillies- 5-6
Channa dal-1 tsp
Mint leaves- A handful
Tomato-1 medium optinal
Tamarind-1/2 tsp
Asafoetida
Procedure:
1.In a pan of little oil,add the peerkankai peel,red chillies and saute well till it almost loses its rawness.
2.Add asafoetida,garlic cloves,channa dal,mint leaves, tomato and saute them too along with the peerkankai peels.Make sure that the peerkankai peel is completely done or the taste is not that good.
3.Once its done ,switch off the stove and add salt and tamarind paste to the pan and let it cool.
4. Use mixie and dry grind the above with little or no water as possible. There will not be a need to add water if you add tomatoes.The chutney should be thick/solid and not watery.Its more like a thovaiyal and is meant to be thick.
5.Garnish with a few curry leaves and pour little sesame oil on top and eat with either plain hot rice or dosas.

Vegetable Semiya Biriyani

Ingredients:

Onions-1/2 medium sliced well

Carrots,peas,bell peppers

Tomato-1 medium cut roughly

Ginger garlic paste-1/2 tbsp

True or Bambino brand Vermicilli-2 cups

Green chillies- 2 split

Cumin seeds-1/2 tsp

Turmeric Powder, Chilli powder, Coriander powder, Saunf or Fenugreek powder, Garam masala Powder

Frozen Mixed Vegetables-1/4 packet

Water-4 cups

Procedure:

1.In a pan with little oil, saute the vermicelli until the raw smell is gone and keep aside.

2.Now add oil, add cumin seeds,onions, green chillies, ginger & garlic, vegetables and mix well till cooked well. Now add all the masala powders and then pour water in 1:2 ratio and bring to a boil.

3. Add the vermicelli and cook covered until done.

4.Garnish with mint leaves and cilantro leaves.

5.Serve with chutney.

Kuzhi paniyaram

Ingredients:

Sour idly batter

Season:
Onions-1/2 medium chopped fine
Red chillies-3
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Split urad dal-1/4 tsp
Channa dal-1/8 tsp
Asafoetida
Curry leaves

Procedure:

1. Make sure the idly batter is sour.
2.In a small pan,fry onions,tadka and mix this with the idly batter.
3.Pour in kuzhi paniyaram pans.
4.Serve with coconut chutney or idly podi.

Adai

Ingredients:

Grind to paste:
Toor dal-1/2 cup
Channa dal-1/2 cup
Urad dal- a little less than 1/2 cup
Rice- 1 cup
Red chillies-6-8
Green chillies- 1 or 2 depending on size and spice

Season:
Onion-1 small or 1/2 medium-chopped
Mustard seeds-1/4 tsp
Asafoetida-few puffs
Curry leaves-chopped

Garnish:
Mint leaves,Cilantro-chopped fine

Procedure:

1. Soak all the grinding ingredients for about 2 hrs and grind fine.
2.After grinding to a paste,season and mix well and garnish with fresh cilantro and mint leaves .
3.Once the dosa pan is hot,pour and cook on both side.
4.Serve with sugar,pickle,idly podi or coconut chutney.You can also add a dollop of butter for extra taste.

Optional:
1.You can add equal proportion of moong dal if you prefer your adai to be smoothe. I dont use it though.

Quinoa Patties

Patties are my new favorite thing to eat! The possibilities are endless. You can eat them with a sandwich, make a burger, serve as a side with pasta, serve over a salad, or just gobble up with ketchup! Yummy!

This is my latest effort to include Quinoa in our diet. Its is a complete protien, very healthy etc etc etc. I am sure you can get all the good qualities of this super grain online. So let me jump straight to the recipe

For about 8 patties you'll need:
1 cup white/red uncooked quinoa
2 cups water/stock/water + buillion to cook the quinoa
1 big potato
Lots of cilantro
2 Green chillis finely chopped
Cumin powder
chilli powder
or just use a mexican Chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil

Wash the quinoa well. Bring it to a boil with 2 cups of water. I use stock or add a bullion cube into the water to give it more flavor. Once the water is bubbling through the quinoa, lower the heat , cover the pot and cook for another 10 mins or so. Turn the heat off and let it sit for 5 mins or so.

Meanwhile microwave/boil the potato.

Mix the potato and quinoa and mash the two togeather. Add spices, cilantro, salt. You can get very creative here. Add vegetables, chopped walnuts, zucchini goes especially well. Or add spinach, beans. The list is endless.

Divide into 8 parts. Shape each part. Coat with breadcrumbs. Roast it on a skillet with a tsp or oil on each side. You can do with even lesser.

The quinoa cooks into a nice crunchy golden brown crust.

Thats it, patties done!

I also tried patties with quinoa, black beans and chopped zuccnini. Very good!

Brussel Sprouts Salad

Sounds unappetizing? Are you in for a big surprise or what!

Until less than a week back, I had never tasted Brussels sprouts. They were just some small little cabbage looking mundane things. I am surprised it took me soo long to try them out. Eons back, my dad had to spend a whole year or so in Germany. My vegetarian teetotaller dad had more than his share of trouble finding food (& water) there. He says what worked best for him was walking into a restaurant and asking the chef to cook a little bit of every kind of vegetable he had on hand and serve it with bread and butter. I remember him describe small little tender cabbages that used to be oh so tasty. Now that I think of it, I think those tiny cabbages he so enjoyed were in fact Brussels sprouts!

Last week, I discovered Brussels sprouts while in CA. My very health conscious friend forced me into trying just a bite of her salad while I was busy wharfing down a pizza. It was like an epiphany. It was delicious, sweet and salty at the same time. Yummy. I then looked for recipes on the web that will help me recreate what I had tasted. The recipe I came up with is based on http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/roasted-brussels-sprouts-recipe2/index.html

It may sound weird, but take my word for it. It is delicious.

For two people you'll need:
- About 20 fresh small tight looking Brussels sprouts.
- Good olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- Balsamic vinegar
- (Sea) salt
- Pepper
- Walnuts (or pecans, or pine nuts)
- Croutons (optional)
- Chopped Boiled egg (optional. Supposed to be very good with this)


- Heat oven to 400F.
- Start on the caramelized onions. Slice onions leastwise. Add about a tbsp of olive oil in a pan. Add onions. Make sure to alter the heat so that the onions brown but not burn. They'll take a while. Keep an eye on them.
- Cut the Brussels sprouts lengthwise into halves. Discard the tough stems. In a bowl combine the chopped sprouts with some olive oil (1tbsp?), salt and pepper. Place sprouts flat side down on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 mins and then broil for 2. Times vary from oven to oven. Make sure its not overcooked. Will taste terrible if overcooked. They should be tender, but still have a bite.
- Once done, toss the Brussels sprouts and the onions together with a splash of balsamic vinegar, and a handful of toasted walnuts. Grate some parmesan reggiano on top. And viola. A tasty side!

Idly Podi

Ingredients:
Red chillies-2 cups
Urad dal-1 cup
Chana dal-1/2 cup
Asafoetida-Lots
Curry leaves
Pepper corns-optional

Procedure:
1.In a very little oil,add red chillies,pepper corns (optional),fry the channa dal,then add urad dal till golden brown and salt (preferrably rock salt) and then add curry leaves and keep aside to cool down.
2.Grind dry in mixie.

Bisi bela Baath

The interesting story to this recipe is that I never liked Bisibellahbaath when I was in India until I had it here. Although I wouldnt want to eat it regularly,I absolutely had times when I craved for it a lot. Then I got a variety of recipes from friends and online and finally tried it at home as a combination and thankfully I loved it and it was all done.Stories apart here is the recipe I tried:

Ingredients:

Dry Roast and Grind:

Pepper corns-1 tsp
Red chillies-4 or 5 or desired
Coriander seeds- A palmful
Channa dal- 1 tsp
Methi seeds- 1/4 tsp
Gaza gaza-1/4 tsp
Elaichi,Cloves-2 ,max 3
Cinnamon stick
Jeera-1 tsp
Asafoetida- Few puffs
Flaked Coconut-1 1/2 tbsp- add coconut in the last minute and make sure not to over roast them

Cooker:
Toor dal-3/4 cup
Rice-1 cup
Tomato -1 big
Vegetables of your desire

Saute Ingredients:
Green chillies-1 sliced optional
Onions-1/2 sliced thin,pearl onions are a good option too
Curry Leaves

Jaggery-1 tsp for extra taste.

Tamarind paste-1 tbsp or more according to the tartness you like.

Procedure:

1,Boil the Toor dal with rice and vegetables and the saute ingredients in a pressure cooker.Add a little bit more water to allow the vegetables to cook.
2. Once the cooker is done. Take a separate kadai, add ghee/oil with cashew nuts and then add the pressure cooker contents,some jaggery and the dry powder that is being roasted and ground and mix well. Add tamarind paste to the mixture.(I personally liked this because I am not adding tamarind water and making the rice too mushy).
3. Garnish with a lot of cilantro. Eat HOT!!

Mirchi Salan

I love Hyderabadi gravies since they are a tad different from the typical onion-tomato gravies and go well with rotis and possibly with biryani and other rice dishes.
Serves 6 or more

4 anaheim peppers
4 bell peppers

Roast and Dry grind:
peanuts -1/4 - 1/2 cup
sesame seeds - 1/4 - 1/2 cup
 jeera - 1/4 cup

Wet grind:
onion - 1 large
tomato - 2 medium
coconut - 1/4 cup
Ginger - 1 piece
garlic - 3 cloves
tamarind - 1 marble - sized piece or 1-2 tsp of extract.

For seasoning:
Mustard seeds - 2 tsp
1 cumin seeds - 2 tsp
nigella seeds - 1 tsp
fenugreek (methi) seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
oil - depends on method of cooking

chilli powder - 1 tsp
coriander powder - 1 tsp
cumin powder - 1/2 tsp
salt to taste
chopped coriander - garnish

Chop the peppers into thick slices You can use all Anaheim peppers and skip the bell peppers or vice versa.

Dry roast peanuts cumin and sesame seeds and transfer to your spice grinder.
In as little or as much oil as you like, saute the peppers till they are cooked and have brown/white spots. (I have got this done with as little as 1 tsp of oil). This step is important. The peppers need to be cooked well at this stage.

Now comes a choice:
If you don't mind using an obscene amount of oil but want to cook traditionally, grind the onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, tamarind and coconut together. Keep the peppers aside and in the same oil (or more) add the seasonings (cumin, mustard, nigella, fenugreek  seeds and curry leaves) to sputter.  Then cook the ground  mixture along with ground peanuts, sesame and cumin seeds, chilli powder, coriander-cumin powder with copious amounts of oil until you start to see oil leaking out of the paste and the raw smell is replaced by an aroma.

Else, if oil freaks you out, saute the onions, garlic and ginger followed by the tomatoes until cooked in a tsp of oil and then grind it with tamarind.
Add the seasonings (mustard, nigella, cumin, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves) in a tsp of oil followed by the dry ground and wet ground mixture, chilli and cumin-coriander powders and cook  till the mixture sputters (Since the ingredients are precooked this method does not need any additional oil)

Regardless of method used for above,
Add the sauteed peppers, salt and 2 cups of water and remove from flame once the dish boils a bit. Garnish with coriander leaves (cilantro)

Taste differences between methods: Maybe the flavors blend a little better in the liberal oil method but am not sure the difference is significant enough to warrant the sinfulness) Try and let me know!

Asparagus Stir-Fry

This is the only recipe I have tried whose only main ingredient is Asparagus and I love it. I am not sure what I would pair it with since I always finish it by munching away. 

This is based off of a Tarla Dalal recipe

Asparagus -1 bunch

sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

corn flour - 2 tsp

water - 1/2 cup

grated ginger - 2 tsp

minced garlic/ garlic powder - 1 -2 tsp

soy sauce - 1 tsp

sesame oil - 1 tbsp

salt - to taste

Cut the asparagus into 2 inch long pieces. If chopping is hard (meaning there is resistance) discard those pieces. It usually happens with the end-pieces which are too fibrous to chew on.

Toast the sesame seeds in a pan. Add the sesame oil and ginger and garlic followed by the cut asparagus. Saute for a few minutes before adding the corn flour dissolved in half a cup of water. Stir vigorously as the corn flour-water mixture boils so that it coats all the asparagus pieces. This helps the sesame seeds to also be coated on the asparagus. Soon the water evaporates and it is now time to add soy sauce and salt. Adjust salt according to the saltiness of soy sauce. The dish is ready to be served.

A word on Soy Sauce:

Soy sauce is an item worth buying from a health food store after a careful look at the ingredients. The most common ones have more corn syrup and other yuck than there is soybeans in it posing health risks. The one I have has only 4 or 5 ingredients - water soya bean, wheat etc and is pretty good.

Roasted sweet potato

I absolutely love this recipe. I serve these roasted sweet potatoes as a side with burgers, vegetable stew, pasta or just as a snack on a cold day. Sweet potatoes with a glass of milk makes a great filling breakfast too.

Sweet potatoes are very healthy. They are high in fiber, protein, vitamins A, C and B6, iron and calcium. This recipes uses very little oil and is really easy. So here we go.

For two good sized portions, you'll need:
2 sweet potatoes.
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp red chilli flakes (more if you like it spicy)
Salt to taste
Olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F. Peel and dice sweet potatoes. In a baking tray or cake tin, mix sweet potatoes, oregano, chilli flakes and salt. Spray with olive oil. Alternately, add 1 tbsp olive oil and toss until well distributed. Bake for twenty minutes to half an hour until cooked. Keep flipping them even 10 minutes or so to cook uniformly. Once done, change oven setting to broil. Flip even 1 minute to get a nice char on all sides of the cubes. The broiling part is optional. I broil for about 2-3 minutes total.

That's it. You could drizzle some lime juice just before serving. I like it without the lime juice. This keeps well in the fridge and tastes good hot or cold.

Enjoy!

Black Bean burger patties

With the big "3" "0" lurking around the corner, I am finally beginning to realize that my body ain't what it used to be. It used to be this wonderful calorie cruncher. Dump a yummy fried potato cutlet in and its gone. But as years went by, more and more of that cutlet found its ways to places I'd rather have hidden from it. I saw the jean sizes go higher and higher. But no more!

But, I refuse to eat tasteless healthy food. I will beat the system. Here is one of my earliest attempts at something healthy and very tasty. I prefer this to any of the veggie burger patties out there.

For 4 patties you'll need:

1 can black beans (or soak black beans and cook)
1/2 an onion chopped fine
cilantro chopped fine
1/2 bell pepper chopped fine
1 chilli/serrano pepper chopped fine
salt to taste
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp flour/atta
Add cheese (optional, I don't)

Preheat oven to 450F. Drain the black beans. Mash and add rest of the listed ingredients. Divide into four parts. Shape each part into a patty. Dip each patty into a bowl full of bread crumbs until the patty is well coated. Place patties on a greased cookie sheet. Spray with oil. Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and make for 15 more minutes. Done!

I usually add some roasted mushrooms, sliced tomato, chopped lettuce, and ketchup to the burger.Jalapeno peppers and pickles will taste pretty good too. I serve it with a side of roasted sweet potato (recipe coming soon).

Enjoy!

Garbanzo Beans Sundal

Garbanzo Beans - 1 cup
Salt to taste
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - a spring
asafoetida - 1/2 tsp
oil - 1 tsp

To grind together:
shredded Coconut - 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Dhaniya (coriander) seeds - 1/4 cup
Dried Red chillies - 10-12 small or to taste
 

Optional Step:
Sprout Garbanzo Beans - http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/garbanzo.html

If not sprouting, soak the beans overnight.
Pressure cook (un)sprouted beams till cooked but not mashed up.
Grind Shredded coconut with dhaniya seeds and dried red chillies.

In a pan, sputter mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil and add asafoetida and the ground mixture and roast till raw dhaniya seeds smell is gone. Then add the cooked garbanzo beans and salt.Cook till the beans are all al dente and dry. Enjoy the protein-rich snack.

Momo with Tomato Achaar

Momo? Yes Momo! Those hot, juicy, straight out of the steamer, healthy, spicy, and oh so heavenlyNepalese dumplings. Oh those things you get at the Boulder farmers marker, the Viatnamese veggie dumplings. Well, yeah, but this is served with a spicy, fiery tomato chutney. Trust me, much better!

I had some Nepalese friends in Grad school. One of them introduced me to Momo's. Well, when I say introduced, I mean, she made them, and I devoured them. Did I learn how to make it from a true blue 100% Nepalese who would be more than willing to demonstrate the art of Momo making? Nope. (Duh! I know!) No I did not.

Now, with zero access to a "willing to demonstrate" Nepali, I had to rely on recipes online, youtube and what not. But viola! the Momo's turned out absolutely delicious! Without further ado, let me jump straight into the steamer... I mean the recipe.

For about, 24 Momo's (They disappear fast, so 24 is not that much), you'll need:

Momo wrapper:
1 cup Maida (or atta)
salt
1 tbsp oil
Water

Knead well with as little water as possible. Then cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for half an hour.

Filling:
About 2 cups of very finely chopped (I used a chopper) veggies. I used carrots, cabbage, bell pepper and (crimini) mushrooms.
Onion
Green chilli
Cilantro
Ginger
Garlic
cumin

Chop the onions, ginger, garlic, and green chilli very fine in a chopper. Heat a little oil, roast the onion etc etc. Once cooked (does not have to be brown), add all the other veggies. turn the heat off. Roast for 1-2 minutes. turn the heat off. Add salt, cilantro, cumin powder (optional), and keep aside. The veggies should not be fully cooked and dry.

Tomato Achaar:
3 tomatos
1 inch ginger
1-2 garlic cloves
4 green chillies (I used 4 serrano peppers with 3 tomatoes)
Salt
Cilantro.

Bake tomatoes in oven at 450F for about half hour. You could also just boil them, but I feel baking gives them a more concentrated flavor. Get them out. Peel them, and puree them with the green chillies. In a pan add a little oil, add chopped ginger & garlic. Once roasted, add the tomato puree. Add salt. Heat for about 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro.

Assembling the Momo's
After the dough has rested for half an hour, knead it again for about a minute. Then make small little balls out of it. Probably half the size of a poori ball. Roll it thin (as thin as a wonton wrapper). Make sure the edges are thinner than the center. This is very important.

Once rolled out, keep about 1 tsp full of the filling at its center. Wet the edges with a little water, and then seal shut (half moon shape). You could also close them like you close paranthas before rolling them out, like a little pouch. The key thing is that it better be sealed. You dont want all your filling pouring out of it mid way through steaming.

Make sure to keep them under a damp cloth as you go to the next one. Make your husbands part of the assembly line ladies , or else you'll take forever.

Once you are done, grease your idli maker. Make sure to grease it well. You dont want your momo's sticking to the idli stand and tearing open. I placed a cabbage leaf so that I didnt have to use too much oil.

Steam for about 10 minutes.

Thats it! All done. Enjoy with the spicy tomato achaar.

You could also pan roast them once they are cooked, or deep fry them.

Enjoy!

Kale leaves pesarettu

I am in love with this dish right now for its protein content and the tasty use of Kale leaves. It is so similar to murungai keerai adai (drumstick leaves adai)

Makes 10 pesarettus

For the batter:
sprouted Mung beans - 4 cups(can substitute soaked mung beans 2-3 cups)
Soaked Rice (1/3 cup) or rice flour (1/4 cup)
green chillies - to taste
salt to taste

Kale leaves - half a bunch
 sesame oil

Instructions for sprouting:
http://www.sproutpeople.com/seed/mung.html

I use the jar method - I fill yogurt containers with mung bean and soak in water for 8-12 hours. If seeds are soaked more than required time, they may 'drown' and will not sprout. Then I cover the container with cheesecloth fitted with a rubber band and drain out the water. Rest the inverted container in a colander or plate (if using plate tilt the container so the seeds don't rest in water that may have pooled in the plate) I keep filling and draining water every 12 hours to keep the seeds moist. Sprouts are ready in 2-3 days.  Grind the ingredients together.The batter should be of pouring consistency but should not at all be runny.

Chop up the kale leaves fine enough to allow spreading of batter and add to batter. The stems are crunchy and tasty as well but chop up real fine to allow them to be cooked and for easy spreading of batter. Add to batter and spread on tava or pan. Thinner the spread, it is crispier and cooks faster. However pesarettu does not spread as evenly or as thinly as dosas do. Add sesame oil to the edges and flip to cook the other side.  Press down the thick portions with a flat flipping spoon to for crispier results only after the pesarettu is flipped.  The leaves may smell super raw and 'green' while chopping but they transform to a tasty cooked addition to the pesarettu and truly enhances it (just like drumstick leaves)

Troubleshooting:

If the pesarettu is too soft, and hard to work with on the tava, add more rice flour. if the pesarettu is too dry and cracks on the tava, rice flour is too much.

Let me know your favorite side dishes for pesarettu. I like Grand Sweets Kothamalli thokku and green chutney.

Use the rest of kale leaves to make very yum parathas by adding it to roti dough and (rolling like radish parathas)

STRAWBERRY JELLO PRETZEL DESSERT

Hello Ladies!
This recipe is from cooks.com
These are the changes I made to it:
- I used very thinly sliced fresh strawberries instead of frozen ones. Worked out pretty fine.
- Also, I used those really thick big pretzels instead of the small ones. Figured less salt on the bigger ones for the amount of pretzel powder you get.
- I tried setting it in small cups instead of a pan. Was a lot easier to serve. (Baked layer 1 in a pan and spread the baked stuff in small glass cups and did the other 2 layers on top as usual)

LAYER #1:

2 c. crushed pretzels (grate in food processor)
3/4 c. butter, melted
3 tbsp. sugar

Mix above ingredients into 9 x 13 inch pan. Press flat onto bottom of pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. Let cool.

LAYER #2:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
8 oz. Cool Whip

Mix together until smooth. Spoon over pretzel layer.

LAYER #3:

2 (3 oz.) pkg. strawberry Jello
2 c. boiling water
2 (10 oz.) pkg. frozen strawberries

Mix strawberry Jello and boiling water together. Add sliced strawberries. Refrigerate for about 1 hour until slightly jelled. Pour carefully over cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate.

Agra ki Kachodi with Aaloo ki Subji

Karnataka express used to chug into Agra Cantt. at about 7:50AM. A quick cycle rickshaw ride later, there I was, in my Nani's Koti (Bunglow), savoring Garama Garam Kachodi, aaloo ki subji and Jalebi for breakfast while my Nani lovingly piled more on my plate. Sinful? yes, but absolutely delicious.

Here I am now, In Denver, on the other side of the globe from Agra and those hevenly Kachodi's. The only thing that keeps me going? I can make them now! And no, its not that hard.

In this post, the recipe of the standard, no frills Kachodi with Aaloo ki Subji. This is what you'll see most people eat in Uttar Pradesh. The stuffing is with urad daal. The subji is very spicy, and has more green chillies in it then potato. It is not served with chutney. Just kachodi & subji. Enjoy kachodi the Agra way!

Servings: 10 Kachodi's
Dough:
Maida (All purpose flour) - 1cup
Oil for kneading - 3tbsp
Salt - 1tsp
Water - 1/3 cup

Stuffing:
Washed urad daal - 1/4 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - To taste
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Dhaniya powder - 1tsp
Amchoor powder - 1tsp
Ginger powder - 1tsp (or 1tbsp grated ginger)
Fennel powder - 1.5tsp
Hing - pinch

Prep Work:
1. To begin, soak the urad daal for a couple of hours.

2. Mix salt into the flour. Rub salt into the flour. At this stage if you try to bind the flour with your fist and then release your fist, the flour should retain shape. Note: More the oil rubbed into the flour, lesser the water needed to knead it, more flaky the kachodis will be. The same holds true for Samosa's. Now start adding water into this slowly, while stirring & mixing with your hand the whole time. In a few minutes you'll have a soft dough. cover it with a wet cloth and keep it aside.

3. Once the urad daal is soaked enough, grind it to a very coarse paste. Now, heat one Tbsp oil in a pan, and add all the dry masalas and ginger (powder or fresh) to it. Then add the daal and salt. Roast it for sometime. If its too dry, sprinkle some water. Make sure to roast it until the daal does not taste raw anymore.

Now for Making the kachodi:

Take a small ball of dough. (Size of a ball for poori's). Flatten it slightly. Fill 1 tbsp of stuffing in it and close it like you would close a parantha. Keep it aside for a few minutes while the dough relaxes a bit. Stuff all the balls you have. Then one by one, flatten them either with a rolling pin or by hand. Make sure to not put too much pressure on it, or else, the dal may make holes in the dough and then you'll have oil filling up in your kachdi's when you fry them.

Now comes frying:

A few things to remember: First, with both kachodi's and samosa's, the oil should NOT be too hot. I usually fry it at 4 or so. If you put the kachodi in the oil, it should not start coming up and bubbling and hizzing as soon as you put it in. Second, keep the oil on low heat until the very end. Once they look done (should not be soft), then turn the heat to high and brown them.

So start adding kachodi's to the oil. Don't pile them on top of each other. And then sit and wait patiently until they get done. You'll see them puff up around the 2 min mark. Turn them over and continue frying.

Once they look done (cooked , but not brown), turn up the heat. Fry them till they are brown.
Thats it!
Now, the alloo ki sabji is really simple. Boil potatoes. Heat ghee/oil in a pan, add hing, jeera, grated ginger, as many green chillies (finely chopped) as you can tolerate. Then some red chilli powder, dhaniya powder, Amchoor (dry mango powder).
Add one finely chopped tomato (this is optional. They dont really add this, but I like it). Roast for a minute or so, Add about 2 cups of water and the boiled potatoes (slightly mashed).
Boil for 2-3 minutes. Then add a good amount of garam - masala. Garnish with cilantro and done!
Amazing amazing kachodi aur aloo ki sabji tayyaaar!

Ragi puttu/Ragi upma

I have always loved ragi dosai but ended up with a bag of roasted ragi flour which makes really bad dry dosas. So my search brought me to ragi puttu recipes.I have a puttu maker in which I can fill water in the bottom part while filling the puttu mix in the pipe above so steam can cook the mix.

roasted ragi flour - 1 cup
salt - very less (1/2 a tsp) (flour doesn't take much salt)
water - 1/4 cup
coconut - optional

for upma
onion - chopped (1/2 a cup)
green chillies - 2
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
urad dal, chana dal - 1 tsp each
curry leaves - 1sprig
oil - 1 tsp

Knead the ragi flour with salt and water (little by little) until the mix has a bread crumb consistency without any lumps. It should hold its shape when pressed and disintegrate when pressure is applied. Remember that the pipe is open from both sides. So press the mix firmly and drop into the puttu pipe so that it does not just leak through the bottom. Keep adding the puttu mix and affix the pipe to the bottom vessel filled with water (half-filled). Steam for 10 minutes (start keeping time once steam escapes from the top) Remove puttu from pipe using the stick provided. It is amazing what the right recipe can do to a lump of flour.

Coconut can be added to the puttu either when steaming or after cooking.

If proceeding to make upma, skip the coconut, sputter mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal, saute onions and green chillies and add crumbled steamed puttu. Remove from heat and serve. Is very similar to idli upma.

Enjoy!

No fry Batata vadas/Mysore Bondas

Potatoes - Boiled and mashed(5-6 or as per requirements)
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
green chillies - chopped fine - 3-4 or to taste
ginger, grated fine - 1-2 tsp or to taste
asafoetida - a few pinches
cilantro (coriander) leaves, chopped - for garnish
garlic minced (optional)
salt - to taste
turmeric powder - 1/2 a tsp
lime juice of 1 lime
oil - 1 -2 tsp

Besan (chana dal flour) - about a cup
salt
turmeric powder

Sputter mustard seeds in oil and add asafoetida, garlic, chillies and ginger in that order. When chillies are fried enough, add the mashed potatoes, salt and turmeric powder and stir well. Remove from fire and add chopped cilantro and lime juice and mix.

Make a very thick paste of besan, with water in the consistency of idli batter or thick yogurt so that it sticks to the potato balls. Add turmeric powder and salt and keep aside.

Heat an appam/paniyaram pan and add a little oil to every appam mould in the pan. If you have a nonstick like mine (or a seasoned cast iron pan), no oil is required. When the potatoes have cooled down enough for handling comfort, make small balls of the potato bhaaji (curry) and dip in besan batter and place them on the moulds of the pan. Once the batter does not stick to the pan and has brown spots, turn over and cook again. Depending on oil used and shape of the bondas/vadas they may not be brown all over but will still be cooked and taste good.

Serve with chutney of choice (green and sweet chutney or coconut chutney) or with pav as vada pav with green, sweet and dry garlic chutney.

korivi karam (ripe red chilly pickle)

I have always loved this Andhra pickle ever since I tasted it in my Aunt's place. So I had to try it when I saw red ripe chillies interspersed with the green ones in the Indian grocery store. So I spent quite some time picking out a pound of just the red ones. After reading a few recipes here and here, this is what worked for me. It was quite easy to make and the most painstaking task was wiping the washed chillies to ensure that they are dry.

ripe red chillies (the slightly long ones would be less spicy) - 1 pound
tamarind (wet Indian variety) - .5 pounds
salt - .25 pounds or to taste
fenugreek powder - 2 tsp
asafoetida - 1/ a tsp
gingelly (sesame) oil - 1/2 a cup (approximately)

Wash and dry the chillies (by drying out in the sun or wiping each one of them). Remove the stems and add to a blender/mixer. Grind with tamarind and salt without adding water. (Add oil if needed). Marinate for 3 days before adding fenugreek powder and heated sesame oil with asafoetida. Mix well and let it stand for a week or 2 before the spice level tones down and it is ready for consumption. Stir with a ladle occasionally.Will store well for a really long time.

Goes well with curd rice (of course) and idlis (add sesame oil to it to combat the heat). Enjoy if you are sucker for spice and heat!

Note: Only RIPE chillies work well for this recipe.

Rava pongal

Ingredients:

Rava - 1 cup
Moong dal (pasi paruppu) - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1/2 cup substituitional if not you can add water instead of milk.
Cashew nuts - 10
Pepper corns -1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
Ginger - (minced)
Ghee - as you wish
Oil - The more oil the better it is
Curry leaves - a few

Procedure:

1.Pressure cook the dal, strain and save the stock and set aside the dal.
2.Roast the rava in a tsp of ghee and set aside.
3.In the same pan, add the remaining ghee and oil and season with pepper corns and cumin seeds.
4.Then add the cashews, ginger and curry leaves and fry until cashews turn golden brown.
5.Add two and half cups of the following mixture - water, milk.
6.Add salt and let the mixture boil. Then add the roasted rava and stir in medium heat until the rava is well cooked and reaches a semi solid consistency.
8.Now add the cooked dal, mix and cover in low heat for 5 mins.
9.Add some ghee on the top and mix well.
Serve hot with coconut chutney, sambar.

Coconut quinoa

Quinoa is a very interesting grain and a nutrition storehouse .. Lot of the recipes I have found online have a western tinge to them. A lot of the entrees and preparations didn't seem to naturally belong with quinoa as they would with rice or bread for example.

This recipe feels like it has arrived as far as quinoa was concerned.

quinoa - 1 cup
coconut (shredded frozen/fresh) - 1/2 cup
mustard seeds - 1 tsp
urad dal (black gram lentils) - 1 tsp
Peanuts - 1/4 cup
dried red chillies - 2-3
curry leaves - few
oil - 1 tsp
salt to taste

To cook quinoa add 2 cups of water, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes until completely dry and al dente. (If using half a cup of quinoa add 1 cup of water and cook for 10-15 minutes).
In a pan, add the oil, mustard seeds, black lentils, peanuts, chillies and curry leaves and let it sputter.
Add coconut and fry till it is dry and browned a little bit.
Add cooked quinoa and salt and toss. Serve by itself or with kadhi/kootu.

Penne Pasta with Broccoli pesto on the fly

I had basil growing at home and yesterday felt like pasta night. As I was just confirming the recipe of basil pesto online, I chanced on this recipe for a broccoli pesto. I was curious and cynical at the same time. So the recipe evolved depending on what I was feeling when!

First I went ahead and made a classic basil pesto.
pinenuts - 1/2 a cup
basil - I harvested two cups but used maybe half a cup.
olive oil - 2 tbsp
garlic powder - 1 tsp
cayenne (dried) red chilly - 2

Blend all the ingredients together. Add enough olive oil to make a paste to facilitate blending. I do not like the leafy pesto they serve in some restaurants. I just added enough basil leaves to make the pesto green but left it in the creamy state that the pinenuts and olive oil contribute to.

I wanted to make a white sauce but didn't have any butter in the house. Loads of cream sitting in my freezer (from the Farmers All Natural Creamery milk) just wouldn't thaw fast enough so I could whip some butter. In comes the broccoli.

Broccoli cream sauce (serves 2-3)
Broccoli stalks - 1 small head
Milk/Cream or a combination - 1.5 - 2 cups
Pesto - 1 tsp (from above)
leaf oregano - to taste
Fresh ground pepper
salt

Cut up the stalks of broccoli and keep the broccoli florets aside. Add water to stalks to submerge and simmer till soft. Blend the cooked broccoli stalks and simmer and stir with the milk till the sauce thickens. Remove from fire a little before the desired consistency is achieved since the sauce thickens further on cooling. Add freshly ground pepper, salt, oregano or other herbs, and 1 tsp of the pesto. By the time you finish you would hardly taste the stalks in the sauce. The sauce tastes very much like the basil pesto cream sauce you find in restaurants.

Roasted vegetables:
Bake vegetables of your choice (I used 1 small head broccoli chopped, 1 sliced onion, 1 bell pepper and 1 tomato deseeded) tossed in olive oil, salt and crushed red clilli flakes at 450 F for around 15 minutes. To our surprise, broccoli tasted the best with the pasta.

Make a pasta bowl with penne cooked with olive oil and salt, the roasted vegetables and sauce. Granish with basil leaves and even basil flowers (found out that they were very much edible)
Enjoy!

Update: tried the same with cauliflower (I liked it but G thought the broccoli sauce was better)
To do: try with squash

I am never throwing lauki peel away again!

My mom makes a chutney out of Lauki peel. I was very apprehensive and hence added a lot of other ingredients but still the wonderful flavor of the peel stood out and appealed.

Skin (peel) of 1 lauki (soraikkai, dhoodhi)
coconut and cilantro to taste
1 tbsp ural dal (black gram lentils)
tamarind to taste (1 spoon)
red chillies to taste
salt

Dry roast urad dal and red chillies and saute the lauki peel.
Grind all ingredients with coconut, cilantro and tamarind. Serve with rice/paniyaram etc.

butternut squash fries

A very good substitute for Kerela style jackfruit chips.

Peel and cut butternut squash into thick french fry style pieces. Spray(coat) with (olive) oil, salt and chilli powder. Roast in the oven at 450 F for 15-20 minutes on a greased roasting plate.
If not using a roasting plate ( with slits on its surface) you may have to turn the fries once in the oven.

Remove from oven when done and enjoy.
Recipe works with winter squashes. (i have tried acorn squash as well and prefer the butternut variety)

Pepper Mushroom

For people who love mushrooms in anyway,here is one you will really enjoy if made right.

INGREDIENTS:

Onion- 1 Medium or big sliced..
Mushroom- 1 box bought in King Soopers
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp
Garlic- 2 cloves minced fine(people who dont like it,can skip)
Curry leaves adds good taste- 1 bunch
Turmeric powder, Chilli powder, Danya powder, Garam Masala,Pepper powder, Salt
Cilantro to garnish

PROCEDURE:

1. In a pan,heat oil and add sliced onions and minced garlic till golden brown and curry leaves.Add ginger garlic paste.
2.Add Sliced mushrooms along with onions and add turmeric powder, danya powder, chilli powder and fry well. Do not add salt till end to avoid mushrooms giving out water too much.
3. After sauteeing for a 10-15 mins and the mushrooms looks well done, add pepper powder,garam masala powder,salt and sautee for 5 more minutes.
4.Add cilantro for garnish and switch off. Simple but yumm.

Green Chutney recipe

@tKe's recipe
cilantro - 2 bunches with all the green stems
mint - 1 bunch with all the green stems
roasted peanuts - 2 handfuls (1/2 cup)
cumin seeds - 1-2 tsp
lime juice (1.5 limes)
kala namak - 1 tsp
green chillies - 3 large
grated ginger - 1-2 tsp (if using powder limit to 1 tsp)
salt to taste

Grind together and add lime juice in the end.

Paruppu poli

For the filling:
jaggery - 3 cups
chana dal - 2 cups
coconut - 1 cup

Dough:
maida (all purpose flour) - 2 cups
turmeric - 1/2 spoon
salt - 1 pinch

oil and ghee

Filling:
Soak chana dal overnight and boil in pressure cooker with water at half the level of the dal (8-10 whistles). Grind dal with coconut and litle water and add jaggery and blend. Heat the mixture with 2 spoons of ghee till it balls up and comes together like a dough.

Dough:
To prepare the dough, mix flour, turmeric and salt with water and add oil until it is non-stick and comes together.

Take marble size dough and a ping ball size of filling and stuff and stretch with oil greased hands. Cook in tava till brown patches appear.

Alternate filling:
Bring coconut and jaggery together in a heated pan until they reach ball consistency.

Thattai

Makes 10-12 thattais

rice flour - 1 cup
roasted urad flour 1/4 cup
sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
soaked bengal gram (chana dal) to taste
asafoetida - to taste
chilli powder and salt - to taste
butter - 1 tbsp

Make a stiff dough and flatten to palm size discs on cloth. The cloth removes some moisture to enable easy frying. Fry till cooked, stiff and crisp in medium-low flame.

Aapam

Makes 20-25 Aapams

Ingredients:
Raw rice (2 cups)
parboiled rice - 1 cup
Poha (flattened rice) - 1 cup
cooked rice (1/2 to 1 cup)
whole urad dal (black gram lentils) - 1/4 cup
fenugreek - 1/2 tsp
coconut - 1 tbsp - 1/4 cup (optional)
salt to taste

Grind to a very smooth paste in the grinder. Ferment until it at least doubles in volume.
Swirl in hot rounded pan and close with lid to steam.

Serve with coconut milk/stew/kurma/vadai curry

Quick dinner??

I know. I know. Miracles do happen and I will have a recipe to share every so often.
Alright. This dish was a total experiment and I think it turned out OK(or I was very hungry). It is super quick to make, has a decent amount of vegetables, not overcooked and is yummy.

To make rice, start cooking basmati rice in a cooker and when it is half cooked add a lot of chopped green onions, some lime juice and a couple of pinches of salt.

Chop baby carrots, red potatoes, cauliflower and string beans. Cook for potatoes thoroughly in microwave but half cook everything else in microwave.
Add very little olive oil in a pan, some italian seasoning add the veggies and eggs (optional). Let egg got cooked around the veggies or cook till veggies are hot if you didn't add eggs. Add salt and pepper. Add some paste sauce. (I bought something is Safeway called tomato, herb and parmesan. the fresh type not the bottles ones)
Done!

Just Serve over rice.

Pudina (Mint) Dal

This is a simple recipe but I wanted to catalog it just so I remember that pudina goes well with split green mung dal.

1 cup split mung dal with skin
1 tsp fenugreek (methi) seeds (optional)
1 green chilly, slit

1-2 tsp ghee/oil
1 tsp nigella seeds (kalonji)
2 tsp jeera (cumin) seeds
5-7 curry leaves
ginger grated 1 tsp

1/4 - 1/2 cup pudina (mint) leaves
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 small tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp jeera (cumin) powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste

juice of half a lemon
cilantro (coriander) leaves for garnish

Soak split mung dal for a couple hours with the fenugreek seeds. (This step is optional)
Boil the dal, fenugreek seeds and 1 green chilly until cooked or slightly mashed.
Heat oil/ghee in a pan and fry the jeera seeds, nigela seeds, curry leaves and ginger.
Add onions, mint leaves and turmeric powder and fry.
When onions and mint leaves are done (translucent and wilted respectively) add chopped tomatoes and cook.
When tomatoes lose their raw smell and are pulped up, add the cooked dal, cumin powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and salt. Let it boil so that the flavors blend. Remove from heat, add lemon juice and garnish with cialntro (coriander) leaves.

Notes:
1. Dal takes in more salt than you would expect.
2. Fenugreek seeds do not add to the taste as they taste bitter. But I add them just for the health factor as I don't get to use it much. They blend in with the dal and I seldom notice it in the dish.
3. Freeze ginger for easy grating.

pav and bhaji from scratch

While the original author and I call this pav and it did go well with bhaji, if you are searching for an authentic pav recipe, this is not it. The recipe is based off of this wonderful whole wheat bread recipe.
The bread is like French bread (crisp crust with a very soft non crumbly inside). The recipe asks for bread flour and whole wheat flour (the kind available in the US). I had neither and the bread still turned out great with my substitutions. The bread is very heavy and 1-2 large pavs will suffice for most people.
So here goes my first experience with the yeasty bread beasties.

Serves 6
Kneading time: 30 min
1st rise: 2 hours to even overnight
2nd rise: 30 minutes - 2 hours
baking time :10 - 15 minutes

3 cups atta (Indian whole wheat flour)
1.5 cups cake flour/all purpose flour
3 tblsp melted butter
2.5 cups milk ( I used skim milk)
2-2.5 tsp salt
1.5 tbsp sugar
6 tsp active dry yeast
2 tbsp butter for brushing

Warm the milk and set aside. Add salt to a large mixing bowl followed by the flour and melted butter. In a small bowl (say a half cup measure bowl or similar) add the sugar, yeast and a few tbsp of milk, mix and blend with the dough. Now while adding the rest of the milk little by little, make a dough similar in consistency to roti dough (a dough which comes together nicely without sticking). If you feel like you need more liquid, either more milk or water would work. Since the dough uses milk, it might feel a little sticky but carpel-tunnel inducing kneading should get you a good dough without the addition of more flour or milk than stated. A man's hands in this final stage of kneading will work wonders while breaking less sweat. (This is my way of saying thanks to G !)


Close the bowl with a plate/lid/wrap and leave in a warm place (an oven with the lights on) for atleast 2 hours or till it doubles in volume. Now for the second stage of preparing the bread rounds I followed the original recipe exactly.

Divide the dough into 12 equal parts. Make a ball of 1 portion of the dough, flick a drop of water onto the surface of the dough and ball it up some more before placing on a greased pan. Repeat for other portions and place them an inch apart. I was not sure what a floured tea towel was - so just use a clean towel to cover the pan and place it back in the oven/warm place for the second rise.

Give it a couple hours (or until they double in volume), remove the towel and bake at 375 F for 10-12 minutes. Stick a toothpick and if it comes out clean, the bread is done. Remove from oven, and brush with butter. I used a butter knife which worked very well and place back in the oven for 5 minutes at 375 F. Place in a cooling rack (or colander).


Notes:
1. Add milk little by little. Adding a lot of milk at once makes the dough hard to knead.
2. The exact duration you let the dough rise does not seem to matter. In fact the more the better.
3. Using a baking sheet may have given better results than my almost burnt(= very brown but tasty) bread base.
4. This bread is very heavy. If you make 12 with this amount of dough, 1 bread is equal to 1 cup of rice in weight watcher points.
5. I left the dough overnight for 1 batch (picture 1) and a couple of hours for another (picture 3). I did like the overnight batch better but the shorter rise batch was tasty as well.
6. 2 tsp salt makes a slightly bland bread while 3 tsp makes a slightly salty bread - bread which G says has character.
7. Naan made from leftover dough comes out soft and tasty. (except that it stills smells like bread :-()

While my quest for authentic pav continues, this recipe would sure make a reappearance in my kitchen.
Happy baking !

Bhaji:

Of course I tried the blog-world famous Bombay style Bhaji recipe from here. While I liked it, I am unable to say that this is the best bhaji ever. Before I go critiquing the recipe I should add that I did not follow the proportions exactly but I did stick to the ingredients mentioned. Also made my own pav bhaji masala spice blend.

Notes on Bhaji making:
1. I like my bhaji as smooth as possible. In this regard, I did not care for the bell peppers as they are impossible to mash up completely. In the end, I guess they added a nice dimension.
2. I missed the onions :-( .. Specifically the onion tomato mixed flavor.
3. Next time I try this recipe I would stick to the proportions mentioned and see if it yields better results. Mine had more potatoes I think. (7 potatoes for a medium head and 1 frozen packet of cauliflower, 2 bell peppers)

It bothers me that even cookbooks take the liberty of saying 'Add Pav Bhaji masala powder available in stores', as if Everest and MDH have patented the blend. So in my quest for a home-made blend, I found this one recipe - pav bhaji masala powder. This serves the purpose quite well.

rice roti with left over khichadi/pongal or rice

I have always had mixed success with akki rotis/rice rotis. Once the dough became so dry that the rotis were as crisp as papads. The recipes that have worked involved adding rice flour to boiling water, vigorous kneading and patting the dough on a greased aluminum foil. So here goes a recipe for rice rotis with left over pongal.

left over pongal - measured
rice flour - around 1.5 times the amount of pongal
salt as needed
aluminum foil - 2 sheets (slightly bigger than the size of rotis)
oil, for greasing

Add water to pongal enough to immerse it and 1 cup more and set to boil.
Keep stirring to remove lumps from the pongal.
Once water starts boiling, add rice flour little by little until all the water is absorbed. (which will only take a minute)
Turn off the gas and let it cool until you can handle this mix with your hands. The salt in the pongal may not suffice. Add a little more. (maybe a 1/2 tsp for 1 cup of rice flour)

While still hot, take 1 ladle of the mix in a mixing bowl and work it with your hands. It will most likely be a sticky unworkable mass. Keep adding rice flour while kneading. Also keep adding more of the boiled mix.

Knead and add rice flour so that the mix becomes one mass of dough and not much of it sticks to your hands. (Similar to wheat rotis though wheat roti dough does not stick AT ALL).

Take a sheet of foil, grease withe sesame/coconut oil for flavor. Take a US lemon size ball of dough and pat it with your hands into a round as thin as possible. Invert the foil on a heated tava. Once the roti has heated up a little bit, you can peel the foil off the roti. Cook both sides till brown spots appear.

In the meanwhile, you can grease the second foil and have the second round ready for cooking.

This tastes pretty good (sort of similar to having kozhkattai's (modak's) outer covering). Try with coconut chutney or similar.

Notes:
1. Too much rice flour will cause the roti to dry out and be brittle. Just add enough to make a soft workable dough.
2. If you are wondering if it will be okay with brown rice, I made it with brown rice. It was perfectly fine except that cosmetically there was some bran visible in the rounds.
3. You don't have to re-grease the foil every time.
4. For even more thinner rotis, after patting, cover the round with the second foil and roll it once. peel away the second foil and place on tava.
5. If you let the mix cool down too much before adding rice flour you may not get a soft dough.

Veg Cutlet

Ingredients:
Carrots,Beetroot,Cabbage,peas-grated
Potato-Boiled and smashed
Turmeric powder,Danya powder,garam masala,chilli powder,chat masala,saunf powder,cumin powder
Ginger garlic paste
cilantro,mint leaves-chopped fine
onion- little bit grated
Rice flour,corn flour or besan flour
bread crumbs

Procedure:
Grate all the veggies and green chillies in a chopper
Add potatoes and all the powders and mix well
Add grated onions,cilantro,mint leaves,salt,rice flour and besan flour or corn flour to get a solid consistency
Roll in bread crumbs and shallow fry till dark

Sorry no exact proportion. Depends on how much veggies you have in hand.

Veg Pulao

Ingredients:
Cloves,Cinnamon stick,bay leaf- for flavor
Onions-1/2 medium sliced
green chillies-2 to 3 sliced
ginger garlic paste- 1 tsp to as much desired
Carrot peas(frozen)-1/4 cup
capsicum optional
Mint leaves,Coriander leaves- chopped to garnish
Cashews,raisins(optional)
Rice-1.5 cups

Procedure:
In a pan with little oil,add cloves,cinnamon sticks,bay leaf
Once they pop,add sliced onions,green chillies and ginger garlic paste
Add frozen carrot,peas(or just peas) and saute well
Add some cumin powder and garam masala powder.
Add the washed rice and fry till dry.
Add 1: 2 ratio water with 1/2 a cup extra for the veggies
Once cooked add cashews,raisins sauteed in ghee and add chopped cilantro and mint leaves

Tip:
You can add little milk for flavor. If you add too much it will come out of the cooker and you will end up cleaning.

Fennel Motley Dal

I had some left over fennel from yesterday ... So today's post is another recipe of a surprisingly delectable dish with fennel. It includes all portions of the fennel - the white bulb, green shoots and the dill-like leaves. (They taste similar to dill as well without Dill's strong flavor). I would go as far as saying I prefer fennel leaves to Dill.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chana dal
1/4 cup split green mung dal
1/2 cup toor dal
1/4 cup masoor dal
1 tsp fenugreek/methi seeds

1 fennel bulb (more or less)

tadka:
1 tsp jeera
1/2 tsp nigella/onion seeds
1 green chilly

seasoning:
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp oil/ghee

Boil the dals and fenugreek seeds together in a pressure cooker until completed cooked and mashed up. keep aside.
Chop the fennel bulb, and shoots. The shoots may have some fibrous portions that may need to be stringed/removed. How I did that was if my knife did not go through a portion of the shoot, I just peeled it away and discarded it. While cutting the shoots, the leaves separate as well eliminating the need for any other prepping.


Heat oil/ghee and sputter the cumin seeds and nigella seeds along with a slit green chilly. Add the chopped fennel and saute lightly.
Once the fennel pieces soften, add the boiled dal with the spices (chilly powder, turmeric). I even added left over rasam. Boil and then simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve with roti.


Footnote:
Nigella seeds/onions seeds have a wonderful flavor but it can be quite strong. Need only 1/2 tsp at the most to season a dish.
The greener and the more tender leaves and shoots of the fennel can be added at the end for fresher flavor.
I would NOT add onions or cilantro to the dish to maintain fennel's unique flavor.

Fennel Bell Pepper chutney (thogaiyal)

What I wanted to make was this - Bellpepper chutney. But I had gotten a fennel bulb and wanted to use it. Surprisingly it has a nice crunchy taste even eaten raw. Once I sauteed it, it morphed into a slightly sweet tender interesting vegetable. The original plan was to make chutney just with the fennel. I tried that but it tasted a tad sweet and mostly bland and lacked the chutney's 'together' texture. So sauteed a bell pepper and blended with very little coconut and some cilantro. The end result was quite tasty with chawal ki rotis which were more like papads than rotis (was okay taste-wise though). So no point posting that recipe.



Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper, chopped (roughly)
equal amount of fennel (fennel bulb) chopped (roughly)
1 tblp ural dal
2 tbsp chana dal
3-4 dried red chillies
2 tbsp coconut
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tsp dry tamarind/ 1/3 tsp tamarind paste
2 tsp oil

Dry roast urad dal, chana dal, red chillies and transfer to blender/mixie.
Add a tsp of oil and saute the bell pepper and fennel till slightly tender (until they start browning a little bit and release the flavors)
Blend the sauteed vegetables with the dry roasted ingredients, coconut, cilantro, tamarind and salt and water as required.
Transfer back to pan with a tsp of oil and cook till any raw flavor is gone. (just for a few minutes)

Enjoy with rice, dosa or rice roti.


My guess is the fennel tempered the bell pepper's 'peppery' flavor and sweetness while imparting a very subtle 'celery' like favor to the dish.

Tomato sevai(semiya)

Ingredients:

Onions- 1 medium
Tomato- 2 medium
Cloves,bayleaf,cinnamon stick
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder,danya powder,chilli powder,cumin powder,garam masala
Tomato paste or tamarind paste(if the tomatoes arent tart enough)
Mustard seeds,split urad dhal and chana dal for seasoning.
Cilantro for garnish.Mint leaves/curry leaves optional
Sevai- 1.5 cups


Procedure:

Fry the semiya/sevai separately till a little brown and set aside.
In a pan with oil, add mustard seeds,urad dal,chana dal,curry leaves.
Add onions sliced and some green chillies and saute.Add ginger garlic paste.
Add all the spice powders and add tomato either by grinding in mixie or in a chopper.
Let boil till it thickens.
Add the semolina and fry well. Add 2-2.5 cups of boiling water to the pan and mix well.
Garnish with cashewnuts,cilantro.Adding ghee ofcourse brings good taste.

Tip 1: Always use only boiling water when cooking sevai or the sevai will be one big mass.
Tip 2: Always use less than 1 : 1.5-1.75 ratio cos sevai needs less water to cook than rava(sooji).
Tip 3: you can add tomate paste or tamarind paste if the tomatoes arent tart enough.Best when served right from the stove.
Tip 4: You can use the same recipe for semiya and iddiyappam. Sorry guys I dont know the english name for both. If someone knows ,please add in the comments section.

Kurma version 2

Ingredients:

Cloves,cinnamon sticks
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Green chillies- 4 sliced
Onions -1 medium sliced
Green peas
Cauliflower
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
Chilli powder
Danya powder
Garma masala
Coconut flakes dessicated- 3 tbsp
Milk
Sour cream - 1 tbsp

Procedure:

In a pan add oil. Add cloves and cinnamon sticks.

After it splatter add cumin seeds. The add sliced onions and saute. Add ginger garlic paste and saute till golden brown.

Now add green peas,cauliflower and fry.Add all spices and salt.

Now add milk and sour cream. Add coconut flakes. Keep stirring till it boils.

After it boils well,add cilantro for garnishing.

Tip: Very good with paratha.

kurma version 1

This is a very hotel style tamil recipe.

Ingredients:

Coconut
Gaza gaza
cumin seeds
Green chillies
Onions-1 medium sliced
Tamarind paste or tomato- ur choice
Potatoes
cauilflower
peas
Cloves,cinnamon
Turmeric powder,little bit chilli powder,danya powder
Ginger garlic paste
Cilantro for seasoning
Saunf optional

Procedure:

Lightly fry coconut,gaza gaza and cumin and saunf and grind with 2 green chillies to a fine paste

In a pan add oil,cloves and cinnamon. After it pops add onions and 2 slit green chillies and all the veggies and ginger garlic paste and saute.

Then add all the spice powders and then the coconut paste.Let boil till it bubbles.

Keep it for 3-4 whistles and its done.

Garnish with cilantro

Tip 1: You can add cashews and pottu kadalai for nice texture.
Tip 2: You can also add butter beans. I love it.

Onion tomato chutney version 2

Ingredients:

Onions- 1 big
Tomatoes- 2 small
Tamarind paste
Red chillies
Asafoetida

Procedure:

Grind all ingredients without frying to a smooth paste.

Then fry the gravy/paste in a pan till the raw taste disappears and it thickens.

Fry in sesame oil for added flavor.

Tips:

Try with small red onions.Amazing with soft fluffy idlies.

Onion tomato chutney version 1

Ingredients:

Onions- 1 big
Tomato- 2 medium or 1 big
Garlic- 2 cloves
Red chillies- 5 pieces
Asafoetida

Regular thadka

Fry everything in oil,cool,grind and season.

Tip: Onions and tomatoes must be equal proportion.

Coconut chutney-Tamil nadu style

Ingredients for chutney:

Coconut flakes- 1.5 cups
Roasted chana dal( Pottu kadalai)- 0.75 cups
Green chillies-3-5
Coriander stems/leaves- to disguise the yukky brown color of dry coconut
Asafoetida- 3 puffs
tamarind paste

Ingredients for seasoning(thadka)

Mustard seeds
chana dal
split urad dal-more urad dal the crunchier
curry leaves

Tip: You can soak some almonds for sometime and grind along with the chutney for some extra texture and health.

You can also add a little bit of sesame oil after grinding for extra taste.

Mushroom Biriyani

Ingredients required:

Rice- 1 1/2 cups
Mushrooms(slit) - 1 box
Ginger garlic paste- 1 tbsp
Onion-1 medium
Coconut - 2 tbsp
Gaza gaza (Poppy seeds)-1 tbsp
Green chillies-4-6 depending on individual's spice level
Turmeric powder
Chilli powder
Coriander powder
Garam masala
Cloves,cardamom,bay leaf,cinnamon sticks(optional for garam masala)
Yougurt- 2 tbsp
Mint leaves
Coriander leaves
Cashew nuts
Oil/ghee

Method:

In a pan,add desired oil and fry the spices.Add sliced onions and saute till golden brown. Add ginger garlic paste,3 green chillies slit and mushrooms cut into small pieces and fry till mushrooms leaves water and browns well.

Then add turmeric powder and all the powders according to your taste and fry.

Meanwhile, grind coconut,gaza gaza,2 green chillies,yougurt and mint leaves and add to the mushrooms after its fried well.

Let it boil till its thick and oil floats on top.

Now add the rice to the gravy and mix well.

Add water and cook and garnish with cilantro and fried cashews.

Tip: Fry the rice in a little bit of ghee/oil and set aside before adding to the gravy.
Tip 2: Add half a cup extra water for cooking well.
Tip 3: Add extra salt cos mushrooms pull all the salt.. weird but true

This is an approximate measurement. Please dont blame me if it doesnt come out well.

Breakfast beginnings - Cooking Steel-cut oats

While all oatmeal available is a "whole grain", rolled oats, oatmeal are all pre-cooked/steamed/rolled and dried with the husk of course. What makes steel cut oats different is that it is the whole grain machine-cut into 3 pieces with no other pre-processing.


While there are many great tips out there to cook steel cut oats, I needed one using a pressure cooker. So after some trial and error, here is how I cook it ...

Soak 1/4 cup of steel-cut oats in 1 cup of water(1:4 = oats:water) for any length of time from 2 hours to 24 hours. If you choose to skip this step, oats tend to cook like par-boiled rice - (semi cooked separate grains) with a crunchy texture that doesn't blend well with milk/yogurt. Some like it this way though. I prefer mine mushier. So I never skip this step.

Fill the cooker with some water and pressure cook the soaked oats in a stainless-steel vessel placed in the cooker upto 2-3 whistles. This set up avoid burning the food that is pressure cooked. Make sure the vessel is only half-filled with the oats-water mixture as oats tends to bubble out of the vessel.

Also if you want to pressure-cook oats and say rice which may require more whistles (in separate vessels placed in the cooker at the same time) the extra time will not hurt the oats as long the vessel is big enough for the oats to bubble up.

I tried oats with milk and stevia (natural leaf - sugar substitute) and not having the sweet tooth for a sugary breakfast I switched to having oats with yogurt like a runny 'thayir saadham' with a tiny dollop of my favourite pickle (anything from mango pickle to carrot thogaiyal). Love my breakfast now.
Have a hearty healthy Beginning everyday :-)

Carrot salad to freshen up your meal ...

The first recipe is a simple one but maybe the simplicity appeals ?
Serves 6-8.
Ingredients:
5-6 carrots
1 -2 serrano peppers (or similar)
juice of 1 lemon
cilantro (coriander leaves) chopped.
1 tsp oil to sputter mustard seeds (1 tsp)
salt to taste

Method:
Grate carrots (I like the coarser grater so that the grated pieces are dry and separate. A fine grater separates the juice a lot more and brings out the sweetness. If you do grate it finely you can add a little more lemon juice and green chillies to compensate for the sweetness)

Add finely chopped green chillies, cilantro, salt and mix with the lemon juice.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a tadka ladle (or the smallest cooking vessel you can find) and sputter mustard seeds and mix with the carrot. A flavorful oil would be great( like sesame oil) but most of these oils do not handle the heat well. I now use canola/peanut oil. If you are not super calorie conscious you can add a little more of a flavorful oil (sesame, olive or even mustard oil if you like its pungent taste) directly to the carrot salad.

The salad is a good complement to sambhar, rasam and a "kizhangu" curry. (example potato fry).