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)