Delicious Vegetarian

Onion-Spinach Pakodas

2012-02-19T18:46:00.003-05:00

This season winter hit us a little too late. We practically did not have any snow and honestly it felt good to have warmer weather... no shoveling the snow or clearing the windshield. But somewhere deep inside, I was looking forward to at least a little bit of snow. So yesterday when I read about a winter storm with a few inches of snow accumulation, I got all excited. I absolutely love watching the snow and was thrilled with the weather we had today.

It had been snowing since this morning, and by afternoon it was just beautiful. The backyard and the leafless trees were all covered in a white blanket. A and I spent a lazy afternoon watching a movie followed by a hot cup of tea and some crispy pakodas.

Onion-Spinach Pakoda

I forgot to freeze leftover spinach puree from last week and it needed to be used at the earliest. So I just thought of using it along with onions to make pakodas. You need the following to make these pakodas -

1/2 medium onion (thinly sliced)

1/4 cup spinach puree

1/2 cup chickpea flour (more or less as needed in order to make a thick batter)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder (more or less as per your heat preference)

1/4 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp cumin powder

1/4 tsp carom seeds

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

1/8 tsp baking soda (optional)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

1. In a bowl, take thinly sliced onion and add all the spices along with salt. Rub the spices on onion and let rest for at least 15-20 minutes. This will release the juices and onions will soften.

2. Add spinach puree and chickpea flour, and make a thick batter.

3. Add baking soda to the batter and mix well.

4. Drop a spoonful of batter in oil and deep/shallow fry on a medium heat until golden brown.

Serve hot with the condiment of your choice(tomato ketchup/date-tamarind chutney/green chutney).

Prepping for Sankranti - Gul Poli

2012-01-14T21:59:00.002-05:00

Today I want to share with you my very first experience of making Gul Poli (Jaggery Flatbread). Over all these years, I have been making Tilgul every Makar Sankranti. Apart from Tilgul, a very popular dish made on occasion of Sankranti in Maharashtra is Gul Poli. I had been holding myself back from making it just because I always thought it to be something very difficult and time consuming. Unlike many other festive dishes, I had never actually seen the process of making these. So, in spite of knowing the recipe I never made it. This year I was determined to try these as my husband and I absolutely love this dish.

Gul Poli is a flatbread that is made by stuffing a mixture of jaggery, sesame seeds, and poppy seeds inside a dough. For me, the actual process of stuffing, rolling and cooking did not take very long, but the preparations took quite some time.

Gul Poli

(made 11 flatbreads of 6-7 inch diameter)

To make Gul Poli, you need the following ingredients -

For Dough:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp besan (chick pea flour)
3 tbsp hot oil
1/2 cup milk
A pinch of salt

For Stuffing:
1 cup jaggery (grated)
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup poppy seed powder
1/4 cup besan (chick pea flour)
1-1.5 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

Before you make the stuffing, make the dough. The dough needs to rest before you roll it out.

Making the dough:

1. First sift all flours and add a pinch of salt.

2. Heat oil in a pan. The oil should be very hot.

3. Add oil to the flour mixture and incorporate well with the flour. To make sure that oil is well incorporated in flour, take a fistful of flour and rub it with your fingers. Continue this process until the oil is well mixed. To make sure, take a small quantity of flour and squeeze it in your palm. If the flour holds together, you can start making the dough. If not, add some more hot oil.

4. Now make the dough by adding milk to the flour mixture. The dough should be medium soft.

5. Once the dough is formed, knead it well. Apply some oil and cover it. Let the dough rest for a couple of hours (I let mine rest for 2 hours).

Making the stuffing:

1. In a pan, heat about a tablespoon of ghee (clarified butter) and cook besan on it on low heat until golden brown. It took me about 5-7 minutes.

2. Dry roast sesame seeds, let them cool completely and then grind to a powder.

3. Mix cooled besan, jaggery, sesame seed powder, poppy seed powder and cardamom powder until well blended. This takes quite an effort, so I mixed them in a food processor. All you need to do is pulse all of these ingredients together. Once well mixed, the stuffing looks like this -

Making the Flatbreads:

1. Take a small ball of dough and roll it out about 3-4 inches in diameter (I divided my dough into 10 equal sized balls before I started).

2. Take some stuffing and put it in the center of rolled out dough (I used 1/8 cup measure to have the same amount of stuffing for each flatbread. Since there is nothing binding the stuffing, it is in a loose form. So, I packed the measuring cup with stuffing and it was easier to stuff that way).

3. Now gather all edges of the rolled dough around the stuffing (like you would do for a paratha) and remove the excess dough.

4. Dip the stuffed ball of dough in flour and start rolling it out (I rolled mine about 6-7 inches in diameter, and about 1/8" inch thick).

5. Cook on a medium heat until brown spots appear. Apply ghee on both sides as you cook.

6. Let cool completely before you store. These stay good at room temperature at least for a week, and even longer if refrigerated.

The polis turned out just wonderful and barely survived a day. Now, I am looking forward to making another batch in a day or two.

Jamaican Coconut Toto

2012-01-07T19:29:00.004-05:00

Hello there... We are already a week into the new year, but better late than never... so let me first wish all of you a very happy 2012!

Though I would like to blog more than I normally do, I have been very irregular at blogging. So naturally among many of my new year resolutions I have decided not to ignore my poor little blog, and I hope I live up to this resolution.

I read and watch a lot of food related stuff, and keep bookmarking the recipes I think I would definitely try. Now I honestly think that my bookmark is kinda of a mess. Let's see if that changes soon.

One such recipe is 'Jamaican Coconut Toto' which I have been wanting to try for over a year. My cousin had tried this recipe and had sent me a link. Finally I made it! Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand, so when DH was out with friends the entire evening yesterday, I spent the time cooking and baking.

Jamaican Coconut Toto

(from this Sanjeev Kapoor Recipe)

I made a few changes to the original recipe -

Used sweetened coconut flakes instead of fresh coconut.
Used 3/4 cup of sugar instead of 1 cup, since I used sweetened coconut.
Used coconut extract instead of vanilla extract.
Used cardamom instead of cinnamon (since I absolutely distaste cinnamon flavor in sweets).

To make coconut toto, I used -

1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp coconut extract
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

1. Cream butter and sugar; add eggs and beat until the mixture becomes light.

2. Add coconut extract.

3. Sift together - APF, baking powder, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder, and add it to the batter; mix well.

4. Fold in coconut flakes.

5. Lastly, add condensed milk and mix until well incorporated.

6. Transfer the mixture into a greased loaf tin and top off it with some coconut.

7. Bake at 325F for 50-60 minutes (I have had an experience with baking coconut in the past. The last time I tried baking a cake with coconut, it started browing too quickly at the suggested temperature and looked over browned by the time it was done. So this time I reduced the oven temperature, and let it cook longer).

8. Remove from the oven and let it cool completely. Cut into slices and serve.

The outcome is a delicious, nutty cake. However, I would like to mention a couple of things here. My cake was moist from inside, but I felt that the edges were a bit chewy. I don't know whether to attribute it to my modifications to the recipe (using coconut flakes instead of freshly grated coconut, which could have caused lack of moisture or baking at lower temperature for a longer time), or the use of condensed milk. I have never used condensed milk in baking, so I am really not sure if it makes your baked goodies slightly chewy. But, in spite of this the browned edges were the yummiest part of the toto!

Another B&W Wednesday

2011-08-10T10:19:00.001-04:00

Susan of 'The Well Seasoned Cook' has started a culinary photo event called 'Black and White Wednesday'. The event is in its fifth week now, and people have been sending some beautiful clicks in B&W. Here is another random cellphone click from me. The photo was taken one early morning as the tea was brewing.

A Corner in My Kitchen

(Click on the image for larger view)

Peach Relish

2011-08-08T15:18:00.003-04:00

Two day back, I happened to cut a peach that was under ripe. It was pretty tart and there was no way we could have eaten it by itself. I was thinking of ways to use it up and decided to make a peach relish similar to Methamba.

Methamba is a type of relish that was often made at my house during mango season. It is a relish made of raw mangoes and fenugreek seeds. The word Methamba is a combination of two words - methi (fenugreek seeds), and aamba (mango). It's a sweet and sour concoction mostly served as a condiment with rice, chapatis and the like. I followed mom's recipe of methamba and used peach instead of raw mango.

Peach Relish

To make Peach Relish you would need -

1 cup peaches (medium diced - make sure the peaches are unripe)
1.5 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp asafetida powder
A pinch of turmeric
3-4 dried red chillies (broken into pieces)
1 tbsp jaggery
Salt to taste
Water as needed

1. In a saucepan, heat oil and add mustard seeds. As soon as mustard seeds stop popping, add asafetida, fenugreek seeds, turmeric and red chillies (I accidentally added mustard seeds twice...oops! and that's why you see so much mustard seeds in the pic above).

2. Saute red chillies for a while, and then add diced peaches and water. Add just enough water in order for the peaches to remain submerged as they cook. Cover and let cook for 5 minutes or until peaches are tender.

3. Add salt and jaggery, and cook until the concoction cooks down to a medium consistency.

4. Turn the heat off and let relish cool down completely. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

The relish can last for about a week when stored in fridge.

Chutney for Idlis, and B&W Wednesday

2011-07-27T08:43:00.005-04:00

I love South Indian food since childhood. I grew up eating a lot of idli-dosa-uttappams as Mom would often make them for Sunday breakfasts. I am still big on these dishes and you will often find them on our weekend brunch menu.

Back in the late 90s, when I was still in college, I worked at a firm of Chartered Accountants. I had an awesome time working there as almost everyone who worked there was still in college (most of them pursuing their CA certification), and it was just like any other college group. There were a few south Indian ladies working there who would bring me and my friend G some delicious southern dishes for our love for the cuisine. Once they got us dosas with chutney that I had never eaten before. I loved it so much that I asked them for the recipe. I still make it sometimes to go with idlis.

Coconut Chutney with Peanuts & Onion

To make this chutney you would need -
3/4 C shredded coconut
1. 5 tbsp raw peanuts
1 small onion (roughly chopped)
2 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp tamarind (soaked for 5-10 mins)
5-6 dried red chillies (soaked for 5-10 mins)
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

For tempering-
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafetida
1 tsp urad dal
3-4 curry leaves
2 dried red chillies

1. Grind together coconut, tamarind, peanuts, garlic, onion and red chillies. Add salt and sugar.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil and add mustard seeds, asafetida, urad dal, curry leaves, and red chillies to it.

3. Pour this tempering over chutney and mix well.

Serve with idlis, dosas or uttappams.

***
Idlis in the Making!

A few days back, I came across a blog event by Susan of 'The Well Seasoned Cook'. She's hosting 'Black and White Wednesday'. It's a culinary photo event where people can send any food related photos that are clicked in B&W. I went through the first two roundups and was amazed to see how good those B&W pics looked. I was actually tempted to click a few B&W shots.

(Click on the image for larger view)

I clicked the photo above on Saturday when I was making Idlis for brunch. I was waiting for first batch to come out and quickly took a shot with my cellphone camera. It turned out pretty good.

Back to Basics: Essential Powders and Pastes

2011-06-15T18:26:00.006-04:00

Indian cooking is known for its extensive use of spices. There are certain spices that I use often in my cooking. Of these the most important for me are cumin and coriander powder, which find place in my everyday cooking.

I have been wanting to write this post for the longest time now. At last, I was able to get a picture (without forgetting) when I made a batch of powders and pastes last weekend. So finally the post is here.

Cumin & Coriander Powder

Nothing can be easier than making these powders. All you need to do is roast the seeds and then grind them. You can roast the seeds in a pan or simply microwave them for about 30 seconds. I prefer to roast mine on a medium heat in a pan. Once roasted, let them cool and then simply grind them. The powders are ready to be used. You can also sieve them if you like.

Ginger, Garlic and Green chilli Paste

The other things that I always have on hand are ginger, garlic and green chilli paste. I usually make these at the beginning of every month and they last for the entire month. Just like the most of us, I too initially used to buy bottled ginger-garlic paste. However, I always preferred the fresh pastes over the store bought ones and have been making these for a long time now. Making these pastes hardly takes any time. Here is how I make them.

Ginger Paste: Rough chop the ginger root and grind to a fine paste. You can leave the skin on or peel it off as per your preference. I always grind it with the skin on as it has the most flavor. A cup of chopped ginger yields about 4oz of paste.

Garlic Paste: Peel the garlic cloves and grind them to a fine paste. A cup yields about 4oz of paste.

Green Chilli Paste: Cut the chillies into 2-3 big pieces and grind them.

Storing the pastes: Since I use these pastes for over a month, I freeze them. However, freezing the pastes leads to formation of ice crystals. To avoid this, I add a lot of salt before freezing them. For a cup (of chopped ginger/garlic/green chillies), I add about 1-1.5 tbsp of salt. I know that's a lot of salt for so little quantity. However, salt prevents formation of ice crystals and you can directly use the pastes right from the freezer without thawing. Just remember that the pastes already have salt in them, so keep that in mind when you add salt to the dish you are cooking.

Panko Crusted Paneer Tikki

2011-03-14T21:26:00.004-04:00

I have always loved watching food shows and still continue to watch a lot of them. I did notice that a lot of chefs use panko bread crumbs. Since I first heard about panko bread crumbs a few years ago, I have been wanting to try those. It was some time in last December that I bought panko for the first time. I love the foods that are coated with bread crumbs and fried in some way. I had only heard that panko bread crumbs are crispier than the regular bread crumbs and they sure are.

I had a few paneer cubes leftover from earlier batch that were sitting in my freezer for about two weeks (yes I have made paneer quite a few times in the last month since I posted the recipe). I wanted to use paneer in something other than a curry. So I thought let's make some paneer tikkis for snacking. I already had panko on hand so I decided to use them as well. I used a simple yogurt based marinade for paneer and then rolled paneer cubes in panko.

Paneer Tikki

(serves 2)

Ingredients:
8-10 paneer cubes
Oil for shallow frying

For Marinade:
1/4 cup yogurt
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

1. In a bowl, mix together all ingredients for marinade.

2. Prick paneer cubes with a fork and coat all sides with marinade. Cover and let them sit in the fridge for 4-6 hours. Make sure to use firm paneer; this will prevent paneer from crumbling when you prick it.

3. Heat a pan and coat the bottom with oil. Coat paneer with panko bread crumbs from all sides.

4. Shallow fry all sides. Frying takes a little bit of patience as tikkis must be fried on a low to medium heat. Bread crumbs quickly turn brown if you use high heat and tikki will not cook all the way through.

5. Serve hot. Since tikki is marinated in the spice mix, it is tasty by itself. Of course you can serve it with tomato ketchup or any condiment of your choice.

I am sending this recipe to Nivedita of Nivedita's Kitchen for "Only Original Recipes" event. The "Only" event was originally started by Pari of Foodelicious. To find out more about the event, click here.

Homemade Paneer and Paneer Butter Masala

2011-02-08T18:17:00.012-05:00

It feels like it's been so long since I last wrote. There is really no reason why I wasn't writing. In fact I had cooked a lot during the last couple months of 2010 and tried quite a few dishes that I had been wanting to make for a long time.

There are certain things such as ghee, yogurt, paneer that I would always prefer homemade. There is definitely a great difference in taste as compared to store bought items. Plus you have total control over the quality of ingredients that go in making of these foods and of course freshness of final product. I have been making ghee since a few years now, and have been making yogurt at home since about a year. Paneer is one thing that I have been wanting to make for a really long time. Since A doesn't like paneer, I didn't pursue making it at home. Since about a week or so, thoughts of trying out paneer started creeping in and I knew that I would be making paneer very soon.

Making Paneer At Home:
Recipe for paneer is pretty straightforward. All you need is some milk and vinegar or lemon juice. Hundreds of bloggers have posted this recipe in the past. Add to it another few hundred websites that prescribe this method. So I guess this is the best way of making paneer. Detailed posts about paneer making can be found here and here. This is how I made my very first paneer -

1. In a heavy bottom pot, bring 4 cups milk to a boil (I used whole milk) and add 2 tbsp vinegar to it. You can add a little more if required.

2. As soon as the vinegar hits the milk, milk will start to curdle. Let it boil for another minute and then turn the heat off.

3. Strain the contents of pot. Make sure you collect whey as it is nutritious.

I did not use a muslin cloth as I don't have one. I simply strained the paneer, kept a dish on top of strained paneer and put a weight on it in order to remove excess water. I also used my food processor to smooth out paneer a bit (I wasn't sure if I should do it, but thankfully it turned out great). I then firmly pressed it in a plastic box and let it sit in the freezer for about an hour before cutting it into cubes.

Excluding the time in the freezer, all the time it took me to make paneer was about 30 minutes. The paneer turned out extremely soft. I am sure that I am going to make it often.

As it happens to me most of the times, I forgot to take a picture of paneer before I used it in the curry. May be I will add one next time I make it.

(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
12-15 paneer cubes
1 medium onion - diced
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2" fresh ginger
2 big cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (more or less as per your heat preference)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp kasuri methi
2 tbsp alomnd meal (optional)
1 tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp oil
3 tbsp butter (1 tbsp for frying paneer and 2 tbsp for gravy)
1 tbsp heavy cream or half and half (optional)
Salt to taste

1. Before you start with gravy, fry paneer cubes in butter and set aside. If you prefer, you can use paneer without frying as well.

2. Halve the tomatoes, put them skin side down in a bowl in little bit of water and microwave for about 2 minutes. Remove the skin and set aside.

3. In a pan take a teaspoon of oil and add onions, ginger and garlic to it. Saute until onions are tender.

4. Grind onions, ginger and garlic with tomatoes to a smooth paste. I happened to have some almond meal on hand and also added it while grinding for a rich and creamy texture. Alternatively, you can use some cashew paste.

5. In a pan melt 2 tbsp of butter and add tomato-onion paste. Add salt, red chilli powder, cumin-coriander powder, garam masala and sugar, and saute for 2 minutes. If the gravy is too thick, you can add some water to loosen it.

6. Add kasuri methi and simmer for 5-7 minutes. Add fried paneer and continue to simmer for another minute. Turn the heat off and add a touch of heavy cream if you like.

Top it off with some shredded paneer and chopped cilantro (I usually reserve a piece of paneer before frying and grate it directly over the curry). Serve with naan, paratha or steamed rice.

Almond Shortbread

2010-11-06T09:46:00.015-04:00

The Halloween celebrations last weekend have officially marked the beginning of holiday season. I love this last quarter of the year where you have all the celebrations, festive foods and lots of sales (read shopping) to look forward to. Considering the gigantic sweet tooth that I have, I love these sugar high holidays - A reason to eat more sweets and feel a little less guilty about it.

Almond Shortbread Cookies

(From this recipe, Makes 12 wedges)

I have a bunch of bookmarked recipes and have been wanting to make these shortbread cookies for a while now. This is probably the simplest baking recipe ever. You just cannot go wrong with it. The recipe calls for Almond Meal. This is an expensive ingredient. One pound packet costs about $12. I was very sure that I will not be able to use up so much quantity in a couple months. I was reading the label on the packet and it said "Almond meal is simply the blanched almonds ground..." So I thought why not make my own almond meal? All you need is blanched almonds.

(Almond Meal)

I used 1/2 lb blanched almonds which yielded 3 cups of ground almond. The recipe I followed for shortbread also mentions that adding sugar while grinding almonds helps absorb oils from the nuts.
1. Using a coffee grinder or Indian style mixer-grinder or mixie as many people call it, ground almonds in batches.
2. I divided half pound almonds in 4-5 batches. With every batch add a couple pinches of sugar and grind to a medium powder.
3. Voila, you almond meal is ready! Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

I followed the recipe from Joy of Baking word to word. The only change was instead of rice flour, I used corn flour.

In a bowl, beat together 1/2 cup butter (at room temperature) and 1/4 cup sugar. Add 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract.
In another bowl, mix 3/4 cup APF, 1/4 cup almond meal, 2 tbsp corn starch and 1/8 tsp salt.
Fold in the dry ingredients in butter-sugar mix. This forms into a soft, buttery and loose dough.
In an 8" round pan press the dough and score into wedges. Prick the dough with a fork so that it won't puff up.

Bake in a 300 F oven for about 50 minutes or until golden brown.
Let cool on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges and cool completely before storing.

The shortbread tasted great and we had it with evening tea for three days in a row. The next time I make it, I think I will use a square pan and cut it into sticks instead. I think powdered cashews will taste equally good and plan to use them next time.

This weekend celebrates Diwali, the festival of lights. Wish you all a very Happy Diwali and a wonderful year ahead!

One Pot Vegetable Stew

2010-10-25T18:30:00.009-04:00

I am a big fan of one dish meals. Who wouldn't like it if you could have all the flavors and nutrients in one dish instead of cooking a couple different dishes? These one pot wonders often cook in my kitchen. Though rice tops when it comes to one dish meals, stews and pastas are also the tough contenders when it comes to balanced meals.

One Hot Stove, the host for Blog Bites event is hosting its eighth edition this month, which by the way ends in a few hours. And I am gonna make it just in time :) The theme for this month's BB8 is One Dish Meals, and here is my entry.

Vegetable Stew

(adapted from this recipe)

This is a very simple and versatile stew. All you need is some veggies and spices of your choice. I used onion, potato, carrot, bell pepper, corn, tomato and black eyed peas.

1. In a pot heat 2 tsp oil and add a clove of garlic - grated or minced.

2. Add 1 small onion diced, and saute until translucent.

3. Next add half a carrot and 1 small potato and let them cook for a while.

4. Add pepper, corn, tomato and cooked beans of your choice along with 3 cups of water or vegetable stock.

5. Season with red chilli powder, cumin powder, a teaspoon of sugar (optional) and salt to taste. Feel free to use the spices of your choice. Let simmer for about 15-20 minutes on a medium heat.

6. Serve hot with a dollop of sour cream and toasted bread. Alternatively you can toss in some short cut pasta as the stew simmers.

With proteins from the beans; carbs, vitamins and fibers from veggies and whole grain bread/pasta, this one pot stew is a complete meal. And now off it goes to BB8!

Delicious Vegetarian turns One!

2010-10-20T18:30:00.008-04:00

Delicious Vegetarian turned ONE just a couple days back... YAY. I can't believe it's actually been a year. What started as a getaway from studying for CPA exam has become a fun activity for me (though I always thought I should write a blog, I was more than happy reading and enjoying what others wrote).

I'll take this opportunity to say "Thank you Mom" for teaching me the basics of cooking and being an inspiration. Thank you dad for trying my recipes in the times when I could barely call myself a cook. And a BIG thank you to A, my ever supportive husband. Oh by the way, he is also the designated photographer of this blog and often my sous chef too :)

I also want to thank all my friends who read my blog and email me their feedback, tips, comments etc etc. AND a thank you to all you readers. So let's celebrate the first birthday of my lil blog with something sweet.

But before I write any more, let me answer the question in my earlier post. The answer is PURPLE BASIL. It smelled so good. I thought it smelled like a combination of fennel and basil. How I wish I could cook with it. But with A being under the weather, I had no time for a few days and had to give away my basil before we went out of town. Hopefully I will get it again come next summer.

Gajar (Carrot) Poli

(adapted from this recipe)

Ever since I came across the recipe for Gajar Poli on Aayi's Recipes, I wanted to try it. I followed the recipe with some modifications.

1. For the carrot mix, I used a cup each of shredded carrots, milk and sugar. In a pan add a teaspoon of ghee (clarified butter) and saute carrots until slightly tender.
2. Add milk and cook until the mixture starts to thicken. Add sugar and mix well. The mix will loosen up after adding sugar.
3. Cook until the mixture thickens again. Add a teaspoon of cardamom powder and let cool.
4. To make poli, take a small ball of whole wheat dough and slightly roll it out. Stuff it with carrot mix and close all the edges as you would do for a dumpling.
5. Roll the stuffed ball and cook both sides on a pan, and serve.

Welcome to My Kitchen!

2010-09-23T11:41:00.002-04:00

Have you ever heard of a food blog event that doesn't ask you to cook at all? Wait till you read this. This week Nupur of One Hot Stove is hosting a real fun event which asks the participants to write about their own kitchens, how they organize it and post some snaps of their spaces.

The event is just for this week. I was out of town and wasn't sure until today if I would be able to participate. But now that I can, I am so glad. Every cook longs for a great looking, clutter free and well organized kitchen, and I am no exception. I just cannot work in a kitchen that is full of clutter and my biggest necessity is to have everything organized. But apartment living hardly offers you any options. I am not unhappy with my kitchen, I only wish it had more storage space.

(Left side of kitchen)

Mine is a 9x11 rectangular kitchen. On left side are cooking range, 2 counters, sink and a dishwasher. This side has a total of 4 overhead cabinets. 2 small square ones, and a full and a half cabinet. It also has a half cabinet under the first counter. The counter next to the stove is used the most, and drawer under it holds all the cooking tools.

The next counter has a corner rack for dinner plates, a caddy for forks & spoons, and a dish drainer. This counter is not used very often for prep purposes, and whenever I need it, I simply keep aside the dish drainer. Simple rods, a couple baskets and s-hooks from Ikea really helped organize things.

At the very end of left side is a small pantry that houses my groceries. The recycled pasta sauce and Bournvita bottles carry all dals, dried beans, and other items. They have really optimized the use of pantry. I also have some groceries in simple Rubbermaid take along containers just because of the fact that they are stackable.

(Pantry)

On the other side of the kitchen is the fridge and next to it is a counter. However, this counter is of no use since microwave takes almost the entire space. It also has a full overhead cabinet that holds extra spices and snacks.

(Right side of kitchen)

Next to this counter is some free space, where I have a bookshelf. Sounds odd... isn't it? I was looking for something which I could use for appliances and other stuff. I have spent a lot of time looking for storage solutions. I looked for baker's racks and kitchen cabinets, but they were too expensive. Then I bought a simple folding table, but had to return it as it was too big for the space. Then I had this thought of using a bookshelf and it worked just perfectly. Thankfully, it doesn't look that odd (or may be I am used to seeing it there).

The drawers under the microwave counter are full of steel bowls, knives, strainers, peelers and some other stuff.

I am very fond of storage bins as they prevent clutter. On the topmost shelves of overhead cabinets (which are accessible only with the use of a footstool) I have packets of snacks (like parle-G, granola bars), spices and the like put up in plastic baskets. I would hate to dump food packets on the shelves and then rummage through them to find what I need, so I bought these baskets from dollar shop - a simple and cheap solution. So far I am happy with my kitchen. It is totally functional, plus there is nothing more I can do to it even if I want to as there is no more space.

If you too want to share your kitchen spaces, join the "Kitchen Link Party" here.

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

2010-09-11T20:40:00.003-04:00

Wish you all a very happy Ganesh Chaturthi!

Homemade Puris for Panipuri

2010-08-30T20:34:00.005-04:00

My love for Panipuri is inexplicable. Known by different names such as golgappa, phuchka; panipuri is probably the most popular street food in India. Having good puris is the utmost requirement for a good panipuri. I usually use storebought puris, but most of the times they are not so fresh. And that is why I started making my own puris. Of course I don't always make them, as making them is quite a task. But believe me it is so worth it.

Puris for Panipuri are made with a semolina dough. The dough is then rolled and deep fried in oil. I have made these a few times now, and all I can say is they are way better than the puris we buy here at India grocery stores.

Puris for Panipuri

Making the dough is very simple, but what is difficult is rolling it out. To make this dough all you need is semolina, APF, salt and water. Most of the Indian stores carry panipuri flour. If you have that, all you need to do is form a dough. I normally use semolina, but this time I had some leftover panipuri flour from last time, so I used that instead.

Ingredients:
(makes about 12o puris of 1.5" diameter)
2 cups semolina
4-5 tbsp APF (more or less as needed to bind the dough together)
1/2 tsp salt
Warm water
Oil for deep frying
( If you use panipuri flour, skip APF)

1. In a bowl take semolina and salt, and soak it in little bit of water for about a minute. Now add APF and make a dough. Put about a quarter teaspoon of oil and knead until smooth. Make sure that the dough is firm.

2. Once dough is formed, let it rest for about 30 minutes.

3. To make puris, take some dough and roll it out very thin. Using a small cookie cutter cut it into individual puris.

4. Heat some oil and deep fry these puris on a medium heat until golden brown.

5. Let cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

Remember that this dough is very elastic and keeps stretching back. That is why it is very important to roll it out very thin. If you fry a thick dough, puris will be soft and not as hard as the ones needed for panipuri. If some of the puris don't puff up, don't worry - you can always use them for Ragda puri or Shev puri.

Before you store your puris, check if there are any soft puris in the batch. Sort them out, spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 180-200(F) degree oven for about 20-30 minutes. Enjoy the fruit of your hard work!

You can find the recipe for Panipuri here.

And now a little quiz time. Can you guess what this is? I got it from the Farmer's market.
I will be back with the answer and a recipe for the above in a couple of days. See you then!

A New Twist to Dahi Vada

2010-08-29T10:06:00.007-04:00

I have always loved watching cooking shows. Remember the 90's, when there were just a couple of food shows on Indian television? I never gave a miss to Sanjeev Kapoor's 'Khana Khazana'. Later when Tarla Dalal's show started I watched that too. If I found something interesting, I would grab whatever paper I could find and jot down the recipe. Later I started keeping a paper and a pen before the show started. Of course I don't need to tell you that I never tried those recipes :P

Then came the time when I developed more interest in cooking and decided that I would try the recipes soon enough. And I did a few actually. I have no memories of what they were or how they turned out. While going through my old recipe journal, I found a few recipes that I had jotted down from these cooking shows. And one such recipe is 'Low Cal Dahi vada'. It is from Tarla Dalal. The funny thing is, years later I found it online and realized how awfully I had written it in my journal :D

Moong Beans Dahi Vada

(adapted from this Tarla Dalal recipe )

Traditionally, Dahi Vada (which is a dumpling soaked in yogurt mix) is made with urad dal but this one is made with green moong. I had some leftover moong sprouts from the week, and I had been wanting to try this recipe since ages. I used the following to make these Dahi Vadas.

For making Vadas you need -
1 cup sprouted green moong beans
2 green chillies
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger root
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
A pinch of baking soda (optional)
Salt to taste

1. To make vadas, grind moong and chillies together into a fine paste.
2. Add ginger, cilantro, baking soda and salt, and mix well. The batter looks like this -
3. Now spray the sandwich toaster with oil and put a spoonful of batter into each of the four compartments of the toaster.

4. Once the top side starts to look dry, turn the vadas and let them cook for a couple more minutes. Take them out and put them in cold water for about 2-3 minutes.
5. Take vadas out of water, squeeze them between your palms and take the excess water out. Now put vadas in yogurt mixture.

To make yogurt mix, you would need -
1 cup yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
3 tbsp milk
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp dry mint leaves (optional)
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger root
salt to taste

In a deep bowl, mix the above ingredients. Make tempering of 1 tsp ghee, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/4 tsp asafetida and 4-5 curry leaves. Pour this tempering on the yogurt mixture and mix well. Put vadas in and let soak for about 30 minutes. Keep in the fridge to chill. Serve cold.

Sweet Coconut Rice

2010-08-26T12:55:00.015-04:00

I am back to blogging after two long months. I was studying the entire summer and am so glad that it is over. So no more studying for me now. The laziness really took over me for a couple weeks after the exam. My poor brain was so tired that I needed to relax for a while.

Over the past couple weeks I haven't been cooking anything much besides regular meals. I have spent those weeks watching movies and tv, going out shopping/window shopping, knitting and sleeping. Now I feel fresh and am all set to try those bookmarked recipes.

Two days back it was Narali Pournima and I thought I should make coconut rice at least this year. Narali Pournima is a Maharashtrian festival. A dish called 'Naralibhaat', which means coconut rice is a special preparation on this day. I remember celebrating even the tiniest festival as a kid. My grandmother used to make all those special dishes associated with each festival. Thinking of those days really makes me nostalgic. My granny made an awesome coconut rice. It's literally been ages since the last time I had it.

If you have a sweet tooth like I do, you would definitely love this rice. Another reason I like it is the combination of coconut and jaggery. I totally enjoy all those foods that have the coconut-jaggery combo. This rice is made by adding a mixture of coconut and jaggery to cooked rice.

Sweet Coconut Rice

To make this rice, you would need the following -
1 cup basmati rice
2 cups water
1.5 cups jaggery
1.5 cups shredded coconut, fresh or frozen (I used fresh)
A pinch of saffron threads soaked in a tablespoon of warm milk
1.5 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
5-6 pieces of cloves
1/4 cup mix of cashews and raisins (optional)
1/4 tsp cardamom powder

1. Before you start, wash the rice two to three times and keep it aside for about 30 minutes.

2. Cook the rice as you would normally do (1cup rice + 2cups water) and pour saffron milk over it. Now gently mix it with a fork. An alternative to making this rice is to saute washed rice on ghee and then cook it.

3. In a pan add about 1-2 tsp of ghee, jaggery and coconut. Let it simmer until coconut and jaggery are mixed well. Make sure that there are no lumps of jaggery. Once cooked, the mixture will look like this -

4. In another pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee and add cloves to it. Add cooked rice and saute for about a minute.

5. Now pour the mixture of jaggery and coconut over rice and gently mix everything together. Add nuts before mixing. Let it cook for another minute or so.

6. Add cardamom powder if you like. Serve hot or at room temperature.

I made this rice in a jiffy and forgot adding nuts to it. That is why you don't see any nuts peeking through the rice.

Kiwis and Limes

2010-06-26T21:31:00.005-04:00

Two months back, I was in India. My trip extended by ten days because of flight delays due to Icelandic volcano eruption. On my way to the airport, I was telling mom what all (of course food items) I wanted to take with me to US, but couldn't take for some reasons, and how she must get them when she visits me later this year.

With all those heavy-hearted goodbyes and the most annoying immigration procedures, I was finally at the gate, waiting for boarding to start. And suddenly comes the news that my flight has been canceled. Ughh... At first I was really very mad...you tell me who wouldn't. Mom was very happy that she got ten bonus days to spend with me, and so was I :p

In those ten days I bought all those food items that I had forgotten about...adjusting the weight of my bags, taking off items that I thought were okay not to carry etc etc. One of these days my cousin K and I were in a grocery store to buy stuff in my new list. As we were checking out, I noticed a Panha (which is a raw mango drink) concentrate. I so wanted to buy it, but it was available only in one kilogram cans, and no way I could have fit it in my luggage. I will make it this summer if I get good raw mangoes. I really miss having all these awesome concentrates which are used to make Sarbats; especially now that the temperatures are soaring up.

When I was visiting my brother in Mumbai, my SIL made us a Karvanda Sarbat from the concentrate they had just bought from their Konkan trip. It was extremely refreshing and tasty...beautiful pale pink color ,a little sweet and a little sour. A & I adore lemonade made from fresh limes and have lot of it every summer. With my busy schedule these days, I was planning to make some concentrate so that we can have lemonade instantly. Suddenly I remembered the Karvanda sarbat and thought what if I make a kiwi lemonade instead. I thought probably kiwis would give a similar taste as they too are sweet and sour.

Kiwi Lemonade
(Kiwi Lemonade Concentrate - Makes about 15 cups of Lemonade)

I was looking for Kiwi Lemonade recipes and found a lot of identical recipes, but they were not close to what I was looking for. I wanted to make a lemonade that tastes more like Sarbat. Mom gave me a recipe once for Lime sarbat concentrate, and I decided to make some modifications to incorporate kiwis into it. Here is how to make this concentrate.

1. In a pot mix 2 cups of sugar with 2 cups of water to make simple syrup. Once the sugar dissolves completely, let it boil for a minute, and then turn the heat off.

2. Peel 5 Kiwi fruits, cut them into big chunks and puree them. This will be about a cup.

3. Strain and mix kiwi pulp with half a cup of fresh lime juice, and add this to sugar syrup.

4. Let cool and store in an airtight jar in the fridge. This can be used in the next 5-6 days.

5. To make lemonade mix 2 tablespoons of concentrate with a cup of water. Add a pinch or two of salt and stir well. Serve very cold.

I used a colander to strain kiwis and that is why the seeds are also in the concentrate. If you don't want the seeds in your lemonade, strain in a regular strainer. The lemonade gets a nice pale green color because of kiwis and is very refreshing.

Green Tomato Chuteny

2010-06-20T22:24:00.006-04:00

I have been looking for green tomatoes all these years. Ours being a small town, the Farmer's market here is a tiny one. I was never able to get green tomatoes here.

Two months back I bought a membership to a farm co-operative located in some town nearby, which recently opened their store here. With one membership, you can buy a total of 120 pounds of organic veggies without paying a single penny over what you have paid for membership. Isn't that amazing? And yes the membership is dirt cheap. I am so happy this summer as I am getting fresh and luscious veggies. I go there every Saturday morning and get my week's stock of vegetables.

On my yesterday's trip I was very happy to see green tomatoes at the store and got a few of them. To my disbelief, some of them already started changing color by the time I was home. I was out for a long time and it was the crazy heat that was responsible for it. Thankfully it did spare a couple for my chutney. Huh...

I was planning to make this green tomato chutney for a while now. I always loved chutneys, especially the tangy ones. Mom used to make this chutney quite often and of course I follow her recipe.

Green Tomato Chutney

1. Cut 4 green tomatoes in big chunks and saute on a teaspoon of oil for a minute. I used 4 small tomatoes.
2. Lightly toast a teaspoon of sesame seeds, grind them to a coarse powder and set aside.
3. Grind together 4-5 green chillies, 1/2 tsp grated ginger and tomatoes into a paste.
4. Add a teaspoon of sugar, ground sesame seeds and salt, and pulse it a couple times.
5. Make tempering of 1 tsp oil, 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp asafetida and a pinch of turmeric. Pour this tempering on the ground mixture and mix well.

Add some cilantro if you like. Serve it as a side with rice or chapati, or slather on bread slices to make sandwiches.

Zucchini Flapjacks...Desi style

2010-06-11T19:47:00.007-04:00

Weekend is here and fridge looks deserted as it looks every weekend. There is a lone zucchini lying in the crisper and nothing else. It's been in the fridge for a week and I still haven't used it. Huh... A is out for his cricket practice and I am too bored to go out and shop (though it takes just 5 minutes of walking to go to the grocery store). I was thinking of what to cook for dinner with this single zucchini and it just clicked.

(serves 2)

1. In a bowl mix 2 cups grated zucchini, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 cup each of rice flour and gram flour and about a quarter cup of chopped onion.

2. Add a teaspoon each of red chilli powder, white sesame seeds (lightly toasted), and carom seeds. To toast the sesame seeds, simply microwave them for 30 seconds.

3. Also add 1/8 tsp turmeric powder, a pinch of asafetida, and salt to taste.

4. Mix all the above ingredients well by adding water as needed. You need about a quarter cup of water.

5. Coat the bottom of a pan with very little oil and add some batter on it. Spread the batter with your fingers.

6. Put the lid on and let it cook until you hear a sizzle. Now take the lid off and flip it to let the other side cook. Add some oil if needed. Don't put the lid on when the other side cooks

7. Serve hot with the condiment of your choice.

Mixed Fruit Sandwich

2010-06-02T18:15:00.002-04:00

I must confess... ever since I read the theme for Blog Bites#4 hosted at One Hot Stove, I have been thinking of using the long waiting ingredients in my kitchen. In fact I loved this concept so much that I now plan on looking for such lurkers once every month.

Here is a list of current lurkers in my kitchen. This is the same list from my previous post. The only difference is that I have striked out the items that I used or that I finally started using as a part of this challenge.
1. ~~APF~~ ( I have this for the longest time since I started using whole wheat flour as much as I could in baking). I still have a little more APF left.
2. ~~Chana dal which I don't use very often and which has not been used in almost 3 months~~
3. ~~1 packet of cake mix~~ - Totally forgot about it and it had expired a couple months back, so had to trash it- So what if it cost me just a dollar? Felt very bad for wasting it
4. ~~Baking cocoa~~
5. ~~In the fridge door- Red chilli sauce, Soy sauce~~
6. ~~Soyabean flour~~: I have started using this daily with whole wheat flour for making Chapatis
7. Found in my freezer- ~~half a packet of methi leaves, drumsticks, pineapple chunks, leftover tomatoes from can, paneer~~ ( I didn't even know it was there - just a few small cubes - but without even thinking about it, I trashed it - well if you don't know of something that you have you better not use it... right?) and of course frozen bananas-~~4 of them~~ 1 left
8. ~~3 carrots, half a cabbage, spinach packet~~
9. 6 4 Eggs which expire in a couple days
10. ~~About 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chunks~~

Wow... I am impressed :) that's a way better use of ingredients. I don't think I would have used them so quickly otherwise.

Well there is one more thing that I forgot to add to this list and that is strawberry jam... just about a tablespoon of it way down at the bottom of the bottle. And yes it expires in next 2 days... and I actually mean 2 days. I normally would have thought of having a regular bread butter jam sandwich for breakfast or would have trashed the bottle after realizing that it had expired and probably not felt bad for trashing it thinking it was just a tablespoon of jam after all. But wait...not at present, and that is because presently, I am going through 'Find ways to use lurkers' phase. So I had to use that last tablespoon.

Mixed fruit Sandwich

I was browsing Suma's blog and read this post where she mentions her family's favorite Banana sandwich. After reading it I thought wow... a Banana sandwich! I have never had a fruit sandwich before. Her sandwich (and that leftover jam in the bottle) actually compelled me to try this mixed fruit sandwich. I thought what if I try using different fruits and nuts instead of just Banana, and that is how I came up with this Mixed Fruit Sandwich.

1. Toast and butter bread slices.

2. Spread jam/ preserve of your choice.

3. Add whatever fruits and nuts you like and serve.

I used whole wheat bread; and banana, apple, dates, and coarsely chopped pistachios & cashews. The sandwich tasted really good with the crunchiness of nuts. There are a couple of things that I would like to share. Add bananas at the end so that they don't turn black and sandwich won't get soggy. The drawback of this sandwich is that unfortunately it can't be made ahead of time. You must immediately eat it to really enjoy the taste. I have no experience with kids, but I am positive that kids would love it.

I am sending this to Blog Bites# 4 as my second entry.

I am glad that I was able to use the perishable stuff as planned and did not waste it, which doesn't always happen.

Banana Bread for Chocolate Lovers

2010-05-30T10:43:00.009-04:00

The theme for this month's Blog Bites event hosted at One Hot Stove calls for using up the food and ingredients in the kitchen that are just waiting to be used. Hmmmm.... interesting! So get ready, it's time for stock taking of the pantry.

Okay, here goes the challenge... in Nupur's own words -
Look into your kitchen cupboards, your refrigerator and freezer and raise your hand if you see any of the following; And my response to each question follows.

Open bottles of jams and preserves that have not been touched for months: Yes
Ingredients bought for a specific recipe that you have not used again: Yes
Foods given to you as gifts but that you never get around to using: No
Food at the back of the freezer that you can't even get to: Yes
Bottles lined up in the fridge door filled with mysterious sauces: Yes
Leftovers in the fridge waiting to be used up before you forget about them and chuck them out next weekend: Yes
Ingredients that you buy because they are nutritious and you feel like you should be eating them, but you can't think of ways to use them, so they sit there, taking up space and mocking you: Yes
Foods that are dangerously close to or just past the expiration date: No
Overripe bananas that you are collecting in the freezer: YES
Spices that you bought in bulk because the price was right but are now rapidly losing their flavor: No
A bulk package of something that will last you until 2035: No
Ingredients that you are saving for a "special occasion" that never comes: No
Impulse purchases from grocery shopping trips that are sitting around 6 months later and making you feel guilty: No

Well as you see I said yes to more than half of these questions and realized how much stuff I have that seriously needed my attention. So thanks Nupur for coming up with this great idea.

To start with, I made a list of all those lurkers in my kitchen. Some of these need an immediate action, else they will have to go in the trash and others need to be used because they have not been used in a really long time. So here goes the list -
1. APF ( I have this for the longest time since I started using whole wheat flour as much as I could in baking)
2. Chana dal which I don't use very often and which has not been used in almost 3 months
3. 1 packet of cake mix - Totally forgot about it and it had expired a couple months back, so had to trash it- So what if it cost me just a dollar? Felt very bad for wasting it
4. Baking cocoa
5. In the fridge door- Red chilli sauce, Soy sauce
6. Soyabean flour
7. Found in my freezer- half a packet of methi leaves, drumsticks, pineapple chunks, leftover tomatoes from can, paneer ( I didn't even know it was there - just a few small cubes - but without even thinking about it, I trashed it - well if you don't know of something that you have you better not use it... right?) and of course frozen bananas-4 of them
8. 3 carrots, half a cabbage, spinach packet
9. 6 Eggs which expire in a couple days
10. About 1/2 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Surprisingly, the list is not as long as I thought it would be. I ended up using almost half of these items in the last two days and have plans for using a few of these in the next two days. I used methi leaves and some of chana dal by making Dal-Methi. Pineapple chunks were used as an additional topping on a takeout pizza yesterday.

Double Chocolate Banana Bread

We had friends over for cards night and I decided to make this double chocolate banana bread from the recipe that I read on The Sisters Cafe. I had all the ingredients that the recipe calls for and amazingly a lot of them were in the list above. Probably that was the main reason for making this chocolate banana bread.

I followed this recipe from The Sisters Cafe with a slight modification. I used butter instead of oil and baking powder in place of baking soda (since I did not have baking soda on hand). I did not use a lot of chocolate chips since I had just about half a cup of them. Everyone loved the ~~cake~~ bread. It was very moist and inspite of having so much chocolate, it still had that banana flavor.

This is my entry for Blog Bites # 4 hosted at One Hot Stove.

I plan to use carrots and drumsticks in Sambar (recipe is in the middle of the post) that I will make today to go with Idlis. The plan with the remaining carrots is to go in Manchurian along with cabbage, soy sauce and red chilli sauce. Some more chana dal will be used in Mixed Dal Appey sometime this month. And predictably enough spinach will be used for making Spinach parathas in the next 2-3 days. The last frozen banana, which can definitely sit a little longer in the freezer may be used in Sheera or Banana Pancakes.

I hope to use all of these as planned and not waste any. I also have one more kitchen cabinet left to check for any hidden packets. Thankfully I am not an impulsive shopper when it comes to groceries, so the chances of finding something mysterious are quite unlikely.

Methi in Chana Dal (Chana dal & Fenugreek curry)

2010-05-29T11:10:00.004-04:00

I am back after quite a long break from blogging. About 2 days back I was reading about the Blog Bites (BB) event that is hosted at One Hot Stove, and this month's theme had me thinking of all those lurkers in my kitchen. Just as I was reading about this blog bites event, the first thing that came to my mind was Chana Dal. This is one dal that I don't use on a regular basis and is sitting ignored in one corner of my pantry. I also have a packet of methi (fenugreek leaves) that is patiently waiting in the freezer. I have been planning to use them for quite a while now, but obviously haven't used them yet.

Mom makes this methi dal that I simply adore. It is a such simple recipe, something that I treat as a comfort food. A perfect recipe to use up the ingredients in my kitchen that have long been waiting to be used. However, is not from any other blog, so I can't send it to BB. But coincidentally, I learned of an event hosted at Suma's blog. The theme for the event is Delicious Dals from India and guess what this methi dal perfectly fits the bill :)

Dal-Methi

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1/2 cup chana dal
1 cup methi leaves (chopped)
Handful of raw peanuts (soaked for about 30 min)
1 tbsp gram flour
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coconut flakes
1 tbsp jaggery (more or less as needed)
4-5 dried kokum pieces
2-3 green chillies
Salt to taste
Tempering of 2 tsp oil

1. To start with, pressure cook methi, chana dal and peanuts.

2. Mash the cooked dal with the back of a ladle and then whisk in the gram flour to the mixture.

3. In another pot, make tempering and add to it chopped green chillies, kokum, the above mixture, salt, cumin, coconut flakes and jaggery.

4. Add about a cup of water (more if needed) and bring dal to a boil.

Serve with steamed rice or chapatis. The dal tastes the best when served hot. Now, I am sending this to off to Suma for the Delicious Dals from India event .

Time out!

2010-04-18T13:41:00.004-04:00

I have been MIA for over a month now. Last month was quite eventful. It was a last minute India trip to see my 13.5 year old ailing dog. Unfortunately he is no more. We had him right since the day he was born, and he was the baby of our house. It still feels nightmarish and I just can't get over with the fact. May his soul RIP.

I have an exam at the end of May and my studies took a back seat with the events unfolding. I was so depressed to even open my books. To add to this misery, my flight got canceled due to Iceland volcano eruption and I am stuck here in India :( I have already changed my reservation twice, and do not wish to go through this for the third time. I am looking forward to boarding the flight next week and am hoping that conditions don't deteriorate.

I really need to concentrate on my studies now and make good for the lost time. I will be gone for a while and will be back in June. Until then ciao!

Sweet Shankarpali

2010-03-05T15:42:00.016-05:00

I am leaving for India in a couple of days and wanted to keep some snacks ready to eat for DH. One of the snacks I made is Shankarpali, because they have a long shelf life and are quite filling.

Shankarpali is a Maharashtrian snack often made for Diwali. A dough for Shankarpali is formed by boiling together milk, ghee and sugar and then adding flour to it. Small squares are then cut and deep fried. All purpose flour is often used in making shankarpali, but shankarpali made with whole wheat flour are also popular. The process of making these is kind of similar to that of making Zeppole except for a few ingredients.

To make Shankarpali, simply follow these steps-
1. In a saucepan mix a cup each of milk, sugar and ghee (clarified butter) and bring to a boil. Add a quarter teaspoon of salt to the boiling mixture. You can also add oil instead of ghee, but according to me, ghee tastes much better.

2. Take the mixture off heat and add as much whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour) as needed to form a soft dough. Make sure that flour and milk mixture are properly combined. You probably would need about 3-3.5 cups of flour.

3. Let the dough cool. Once cool enough to handle, knead it well and let it rest for about 1.5-2 hours. Before making Shankarpali knead it once again.

4. To make Shankarpali, take a small ball of dough and roll it about quarter of an inch thick. Make sure that you don't roll out the dough very thin. This will make Shanarpali hard once they are fried.

Cut into squares (or diamond shape) with a traditional Shankarpali cutter (which is like a rotary cutter) or regular pizza cutter. Luckily I have a cutter that has multiple cutters attached to a rolling pin, which makes my job a lot easier. This is how it looks like -

5. Deep fry the cut squares in oil or ghee until golden brown. Let them cool. Store in an airtight container.

Appetizing Black Chana Salad

2010-03-05T12:31:00.003-05:00

About twelve years back, I traveled to Himachal for a trek. It was a long and boring journey as the train got delayed. On one of the stations, a guy hopped in the train just as it was about to leave, with a bamboo basket hanging by his neck. We were hungry and eager to see what was in there. He was selling some chana chaat. We were a little disappointed to see that it was only chana that he had. We had not tasted it before and decided to try it. As soon as I tasted it, I was in love with it. After that we kept on buying more one after the other. I can never forget the taste of that chaat. It had cooked black chana, onions, tomatoes, lime juice and some spices. Black chana is a type of chickpeas, but is smaller than chickpeas. It has a nutty taste and is high in iron and proteins.

After that trip, I have made black chana salad numerous times using the ingredients that were in the chaat. When I made it for the first time mom and dad both loved it. 'A' too loved it when he had it for the first time and now is a big fan of this salad. I make it often in summer. I generally use sprouted chana but soaked chana is totally fine.

To make chana salad you need -
2 cups black chana (cooked)
1 cup raw onion (chopped)
1 medium tomato (chopped)
Handful of minced cilantro
2-3 green chillies (cut in rounds or finely chopped)
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 tsp chaat masala
Salt to taste

To get chana ready for salad, soak it in water overnight. The next day pressure cook it until tender. If you want to use sprouted chana, drain the soaked chana and keep it in a sprout maker. After 6-8 hours you will have it ready. When you pressure cook chana, add some salt to it. For making salad, in a bowl mix cooked chana, onions, tomatoes, chillies, and cilantro. Add salt, chaat masala and fresh lime juice. Mix well. Salad is ready to be served. Serve it cold or at room temperature.

Just a couple more things - add green chillies according to your heat preference. Green chillies blend very well in the salad. If you cannot tolerate much heat, just add a green chilli, split open vertically, and take it out once all the ingredients are mixed well. That should give just enough kick to the salad.

Homemade Yogurt - Indian style

2010-03-01T18:31:00.006-05:00

Making yogurt at home is not a big deal in India. Setting the yogurt is a daily chore. It is a part of routine to boil milk and add a spoonful of the day's leftover yogurt to it before going to bed. The next day you have a perfectly creamy yogurt. I am a big fan of such homemade yogurt for its texture and taste. I truly missed it when I first tasted yogurt in the US. My yogurt consumption subsided noticeably. Though I missed the fresh yogurt that I was used to eating, I eventually got used to this new taste . I have tried setting the yogurt with plain store bought yogurt, but never got the results.

Some days back I read a post on One Hot Stove about making homemade yogurt. I was so excited to read it. Nupur mentioned that she used Yogourmet culture. I decided to give it a shot and went to the local organic grocery store. There were a couple of yogurt starters. As soon as I saw a packet of Yogourmet, I jumped on to it :) I simply followed the instructions on the packet and woke up to a perfect yogurt I was dreaming for.

I used the following -
4 cups whole milk
1 sachet of Yogourmet culture (5gm)

I boiled the milk and let it cool. Since I did not have a candy thermometer, I used my judgment to gauge the temperature of milk and added the culture to the warm milk. I let it sit for about 6-7 hours and got amazing results. You must read the original post by Nupur (and I strongly recommend it) where she has explained the process step by step in detail. I cannot thank her enough for letting us know about this yogurt culture. The only reason I am writing this post is because I am super excited to see the way this yogurt turned out.

Another thing that I did differently was that I did not remove the malai (skin that forms on the milk) before adding culture. That is the thick patch you see on yogurt in the picture above. It is all malai that happened to set on one side of the casserole. I wanted to see if I can churn any butter, but that did not succeed. Anyway I am happy that I can now eat fresh yogurt everyday :)

March 2: An update
Today I tried setting a new batch of yogurt with the leftover yogurt from previous batch and it worked beautifully :)

Happy Holi with Puranpoli

2010-02-28T17:14:00.013-05:00

It is Holi today. Holi or the Festival of colors is a widely celebrated festival in India. In Maharashtra, Holi is celebrated by burning a pyre of wood, which symbolizes triumph of good over evil. Holi means Puranpoli.

Except for last some years, there had never been a year when I did not eat Puranpoli on the day of Holi. Last time I made Puranpoli was 4 years back. But it was so much of work, that I did not make it after that. This year both A and I were craving for Puranpoli, so I decided to make it. I would like to dedicate this post to my Mami (aunt) who taught me how to make it. I was about 20-21 when I first tried my hand at Puranpoli and I definitely give her the credit for it. Thank you Mami!

But, before I write this post let me say this loud and clear that though I know the process of making Puranpolis, I am not an expert. I must tell you that I make very good Puran and I can make a very good poli (chapati), but I am not that good when it comes to making Puranpoli :) Those who have tasted a real Puranpoli should know what I mean. Anyway... I still keep on trying hoping that one day I too will master this art.

Puranpoli is made by stuffing Puran (which is a concoction of cooked chana dal and jaggery) inside a whole wheat dough.

Ingredients for Puran:
1 cup chana dal (pressure cooked until soft)
1 cup jaggery
1/2 tsp of nutmeg powder or cardamom powder

In a deep pan, mix cooked chana dal and jaggery and let it cook thoroughly. The mixture will start to thicken and will look dry. To check if Puran is ready, make the spatula/spoon stand in it. If it falls or leans, it means that you need to cook it more. If the spoon stands strong, your Puran is good to go. However, to use this Puran for making poli, you need to make it soft and free of lumps. You can use a food mill or simply your food processor. Once you have this soft puran, add nutmeg powder or cardamom powder to it as per your liking.

To make dough for Puranpoli, mix the following in a bowl -
1 cup whole wheat flour (sifted)
1 tbsp all purpose flour (sifted)
1 tbsp sooji/rawa (sifted)
A pinch of salt

To the above, add water to form a loose dough. Once you form a loose dough keep adding oil until it becomes soft and elastic. You probably would need about a quarter cup of oil. Let it sit for about half an hour. When ready, the dough will look like this -

To make Puranpoli, start by taking a small ball of dough, and roll it out a little just so that you can stuff the Puran in. Now, take a ball of Puran and put it inside the dough and close all sides. Roll it out and cook both sides on a pan. Puranpoli is ready to be served.

Serve it hot or at room temperature. Puranpoli is generally served with ghee, milk or Katachi amtee (a tamarind based curry); ghee being the most popular.

Wish you all a very happy Holi!

No cook event: Chutney Sandwiches

2010-02-25T21:41:00.004-05:00

There are a lot of different events hosted by food bloggers. There are some food bloggers who are extremely creative and come up with some fabulous ideas. Until now, I did not follow any particular food blog, but came across some posts that were entries to different blogging events. I am still very new to the world of blogging (read food blogs) and have never participated in any event before. Some time back I stumbled upon a blog called " One Hot Stove" by very talented and super-creative Nupur. She hosted a 7 day recipe marathon from December 25 to December 31 counting down to new year - One dish every day. Of course I came to know about it after it was over.

Last month I learnt about a recipe repost event by Jaya of "Desi Soccer Mom", but I was late again :( She told me about the "No Cook Event" this month hosted by "PJ". I thought it would be interesting to see what different dishes people come up with where there is zero cooking involved. I just went through my previous posts and was surprised to find quite a few dishes with no cooking at all. The dishes that could qualify for this event are -Swiss Rolls, Bhel, Mango Chutney and Shrikhand. But, I decided to post a new one for this event. Considering the little time that I have on hand, I thought Chutney Sandwiches would be a perfect dish for this event. So here is my very first entry to any food blog event.

Chutney Sandwiches:

I decided to go with chutney sandwiches as they can be ideal for breakfast or even brunch. Chutney can be made ahead of time and sandwiches can be assembled in absolutely no time. Apart from being very tasty, it is a healthy meal option.

Ingredients for chutney:
1 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
3/4 green chillies (or as per taste)
Handful of cilantro
Juice of half lime/lemon
1.5 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Grind together green chillies, coconut and cilantro into a fine paste. Take out in a bowl and add lime juice, sugar and salt. Chutney is ready. You can also add some mint leaves while grinding. Sometimes I also use spinach and grind it with other ingredients. Spinach gives chutney a nice green color. All you people who hate spinach, trust me - you wouldn't even taste it in the chutney.

To assemble the sandwiches, butter the bread and slather chutney onto it. Top it off with the veggies of your choice. I used only the tomato and cucumber this time.

I often make a multilayer sandwich with different veggies in different layers. You can also have one layer of chutney and another with a slice of cheese and veggies. It makes a great lunch too. It is also a very good option to take along for picnics.

And now off it goes to PJ's No cook Event!

Veggie Cutlets

2010-02-19T19:49:00.014-05:00

As a kid I loved everything that was coated with bread crumbs slightly fried on oil, and I still do. Mom used to make veggie cutlets quite a few times. My brother and I loved them for all the tasty reasons and mom loved making them because that way she made us eat all those veggies that we normally would not eat. She also made sure that those weren't too oily. If you don't like certain veggies, this is a good way to eat them. Potato is the important ingredient in this dish as it binds the veggies together.

Ingredients:
3 boiled potatoes (mashed)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 cups carrot (peeled & shredded)
1 cup green peas
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chilli powder (more or less as per taste)
Salt to taste
Oil
Bread crumbs for coating

1. In a pan saute the carrots and onions until tender. You can add the veggies of your choice. Shredded beets can be used instead of carrots.
2. Add mashed potato, peas, red chilli powder and salt, and mix very well. Make sure that potatoes you add aren't too mushy.
3. Take some of this mixture and form patties. Coat all sides of this patty with bread crumbs.
4. Coat the bottom of a skillet with some oil and fry both sides of the patty until bred crumbs turn golden-brown. Serve with tomato ketchup.

The above mix makes about 20-22 palm size cutlets.

Shrikhand

2010-02-12T22:00:00.008-05:00

There was no special occasion to make Shrikhand today. In India, sweet dishes like this one are made on some special occasions such as festivals. I bought this yogurt tub and totally forgot about it. I generally don't throw away yogurt containers but reuse them to store things in my fridge (they are especially very useful in storing Idli and Dosa batters in the freezer in small batches). So there were two more yogurt containers sitting beside this one and I didn't even realize that I have one unopened yogurt tub. Duh... I immediately checked the date on it and said to myself "Ah... I am glad I still can use it" (though it can still be usable for a couple days after the use by date, I strictly stick to the date on package and use it by that date). There was no way I could have used it in one day. A loves Shrikhand and so do I. Needless to say DH was very happy to see this on tonight's dinner menu :)

Shrikhand is made of strained yogurt. In India, the most common method to get rid of excess water in yogurt is to tie the yogurt in a cloth and hang it overnight. This makes the yogurt thick and creamy. Now you just need to add a few more ingredients and voila Shrikhand is ready! No cooking involved. It is just the assembling and mixing of different ingredients.

Ingredients:
1 tub yogurt (32 oz)
Sugar as needed
A few strands of saffron
Handful of slivered almonds or charoli nuts

1. Strain the yogurt. Initially I used the traditional "hang in a cloth" method, but now I don't use it any more. I think the best way to get thick yogurt is to use a colander or big strainer like this. Line with cheesecloth or a couple of sheets of paper towel, and dump in the yogurt. Cover the yogurt with paper towels and make the colander/strainer sit on a deep bowl in the fridge. After 3/4 hours you will get a thick yogurt.

2. Add sugar, saffron strand and nuts, and mix well. You will need about half the sugar of total yogurt(strained). Start by adding little less than half a cup and increase the quantity of sugar as required.
Traditionally Charoli is used in Shrikhand. But I always hated it :P, so I don't even bother to look for it in Indian stores. For me almonds work the best. I soak them in warm water for a few hours, take the skins off and finely cut them vertically.

Once your mixing is complete, Shrikhand is ready. Serve it with puri. There is no other combination that is as good as Shrikhand- Puri.

Hot n Sweet Tomato Saar

2010-02-10T21:55:00.006-05:00

Saar is one of the elements of a Maharashtrian meal. Tomato saar and Kokum saar are the most popular. Saar is similar to a soup but of a thinner consistency. Think of it as a consomme. However, unlike soups, it is served with the main course. It is usually served with rice, khichdi or by itself like a soup.

There are a couple different ways to make tomato saar, but I generally use the following method.

Ingredients:
(Serves 3-4)
5 ripe tomatoes
2 tsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp cumin powder (optional)
1/2 tsp asafoetida
3/4 green chillies (less if you want it to be too hot)
A couple of sprigs of cilantro (optional)

Start by boiling tomatoes for about 10 minutes. Remove the skin and puree them by adding some water. Strain this puree in a pot and add salt and sugar. Add water as needed and let the saar boil. In another pan temper ghee with cumin seeds, asafoetida and green chillies. Add cumin powder if you like. I generally use it because ghee infused with cumin gives saar a nice flavor. Now add this tempering to the boiling saar and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. You can also add some coarsely chopped cilantro if you like. Serve hot. The heat from chillies gives it a nice kick and natural sweetness of tomatoes coupled with sugar adds to the sweetness.

Masala Dosa & Uttappa

2010-02-07T20:12:00.017-05:00

It has been one crazy winter this time. Come every weekend and the weather ought to be bad. For the past few weekends there have been ridiculous amounts of snow. If at all snow showed any mercy, there has been this ruthless cold all through the weekend. Though cold can be manageable, there is nothing you can do when everything is snow packed. These are the times when food comes to comfort you. One of such comforting dishes is masala dosa served with hot sambar. I am a big fan of south indian food. I can literally have idlis and dosas everyday. Believe me it is heavenly to have dosa dunked in hot sambar.

Onion uttappa is another dish that I totally love. I use the same batter to make dosas and uttappas, so whenever I make dosas, uttappas come hand in hand. Masala dosa is made by putting some potato sabzi inside the dosa. I use the following to make dosa batter -

Ingredients:
3 cups rice
1 cup urad dal
1 tbsp chana dal
1 tbsp toor dal
1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
Handful of thick poha

To make the batter, soak all these ingredients separately (rice and lentils.. rest can be soaked in the same bowl)overnight or for 7-8 hours in warm water. I noticed that soaking in warm water speeds up the fermentation, so I generally use warm water. After they are soaked, grind them into a paste which should be slightly on a rough side. Now let the batter sit to ferment. It will take anywhere from 8-10 hours at the least for the batter to ferment. Add salt before you use the batter.

To make dosas, take a ladle full of batter and place it on the center of a pan. Spread it out in circular motion and let cook. Make sure that you spread a thin layer. Add some oil on it while it cooks. Dosa is ready to be served. Serve it with hot sambar and coconut chutney.

For Masala (potato sabzi) you need -
3 medium potatoes (boiled and diced)
1 large onion (cut into thick slices)
4/5 curry leaves
3/4 green chillies
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Tempering of 2 tsp oil

In a pan make tempering and add to it green chillies, curry leaves and onion. Saute the onion until tender. Add potatoes, salt and sugar, and mix well. Let it cook for a minute or two. Masala is ready for your dosa. You can also add about a teaspoon of grated ginger root if you like. Add it to the tempering just before you add onions.

For Sambar you need the following :
1 cup cooked toor dal
1 medium onion
1 medium tomato
1 cup veggies of your choice
1.5 tbsp sambar powder
3 tbsp tamarind pulp (or as required)
3/4 dried red chillies
Few curry leaves
1/4 tsp ground clove
Salt to taste

1. Make tempering of 1 tsp oil and add curry leaves and red chillies to it.
2. Add onions and tomatoes and saute until tender. Add other veggies of your choice and let them cook.
3. Add cooked toor dal, tamarind pulp, sambar powder (I use MTR brand), salt and water, and let it boil for some time. Add some ground clove at the end (optional).

Uttappa:
Put some dosa batter in the center of a pan and spread it out just as you would do for a dosa but slightly thicker. Add some chopped onions and green chillies on top while the batter is still wet.

Once one side cooks, flip it and let the other side cook. When you flip it the onions will caramelize giving uttappa a really nice taste.
Serve hot with sambar or coconut chutney.

Tangy Mango Chutney

2010-02-05T10:35:00.008-05:00

On yesterday's grocery trip I spotted some mangoes in one corner of the store. Every time I see mangoes, I look for the hardest and fully green mango and buy it hoping that it would be sour. And every time after cutting it I promise myself that I am never going to buy mangoes again. Well well well... that hasn't happened yet and I don't think it is going to happen any time soon. I am just being optimistic here that some day I will find a raw mango that tastes exactly like the raw mangoes in India.

I love raw mangoes and I am pretty sure that 99% of Indians love them too. So the moment I spot raw mangoes, I think of all those tangy dishes I can possibly make. But I have been so unfortunate...I never get tangy mangoes. Alright...enough of complaining. This time's mango was no exception, but I had so decided to make mango chutney that I didn't even bother that it wasn't sour. I somewhat achieved that slight tangy taste by adding amchur powder which basically is a dried mango powder.

To make mango chutney follow these steps-
1. Take mango and onion in 1:1 ratio (both grated - I used a total mix of 1/2 cup).
2. In a grinder, make some green chilli paste.
3. Add grated mango, onion, a couple of sprigs of cilantro (optional), a tablespoon of ground peanuts, salt and little bit of sugar, and churn it just a couple of times.

Rich and Creamy Naaral Wadi (Coconut fudge)

2010-01-31T18:17:00.013-05:00

Back in India, there is a huge coconut tree in our garden. My grandparents planted this tree in the early 60s and it is still standing strong. It always had a massive yield and still does today. We probably never had to buy coconuts. My grandmother had a sweet tooth... a real big one :) and she always made naaral wadi. It is such a delicious sweet. Naaral wadi or coconut fudge is made by boiling a mixture of coconut, sugar and milk. The mixture is then poured on to a cookie sheet and squares are cut once it cools down.

Ingredients:
(makes about 15-20 squares of 2"x2")
1 cup shredded coconut (frozen or fresh)
1 cup half and half/ whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
A few strands of saffron (optional)

To make naaral wadi, mix coconut, milk and sugar. You need to stir the mixture almost constantly until it cooks. As the mixture heats up, milk will start boiling. If you want to add saffron add it once the milk starts to boil. Saffron gives it a nice flavor and color. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thicker. As the milk starts to condense, the mixture becomes creamier. Just a heads up: As the milk starts to boil and mixture starts to thicken, it will start splattering vigorously.

Now turn the heat off , let the mixture cool down a little, and add powdered sugar and cardamom powder, and mix well. This will thicken the mix further. Grease the cookie sheet or place a plastic wrap on the sheet and pour the mixture. Roll it out or press it with your fingers to a desired uniform thickness and then cut into squares.

Street Food: Bhel

2010-01-30T23:45:00.008-05:00

Bhel, often called Bhelpuri, is a popular street food in India made with puffed rice and namkeen. Namkeen is a salty snack made of gram flour and is usually fried (not a healthy one I must say). In the US, Haldiram is one namkeen brand that you can find in most Indian grocery stores. Sometimes namkeen also comes in packets with names like punjabi mix or bombay mix. You can also get bhel mix which basically is a mix of puffed rice and namkeen. There are different varieties of Namkeen all over India. Besides these two, you also need some more ingredients.

Ingredients:
(serves 2)
2 cups puffed rice
1 cup namkeen
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped raw mango (optional)
Mint-green chilli chutney (as per taste)
Tamarind-date chutney (see link at the end of the post)
Shev
Handful of chopped cilantro
Salt to taste

To make mint chutney grind a handful of mint leaves and 4/5 green chillies into a fine paste. Add water as needed. You can also add some cilantro when you grind it. To the tamarind chutney add about a quarter teaspoon each of cumin powder, coriander powder and red chilli powder. In a large bowl mix puffed rice, namkeen, onions, tomatoes, raw mango, mint chutney and salt. Add tamarind chutney and mix really well. Top it off with some finely chopped cilantro, shev and serve.

Matar Usal (Green Peas Curry)

2010-01-24T19:54:00.009-05:00

Matar usal is another dish made with green peas that I totally love. It is a Maharashtrian style curry... A quick and easy to make dish mostly served with bread. Freshly ground masala of coconut, green chillies, ginger, garlic and cilantro gives it a nice taste. I totally follow my mom's recipe without even a slightest moidification as I simply love her dish. When I made it the first time I was so not happy. I was trying to find the taste of her dish but it did not taste the same. Now after making it so many times I am really happy the way it turns out.
Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 cups green peas
1/2 cup chopped onions
2 cups water (or as needed)
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tbsp tempering
For masala:
1/2 cup grated coconut
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
3/4 green chillies (more or less depending on taste)
Handful of cilantro

Before you start grind all the ingredients of masala to a fine paste and set aside. To make the curry start by making tempering. Add to it chopped onions and saute until tender. Add green peas, freshly ground masala, salt, sugar, water and mix well. Let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. This curry should be liquid enough so that you can dunk the bread in and enjoy the flavors. Squeeze in some fresh lemon/lime juice right before you serve it. Serve hot with the bread of your choice.

Back to Basics :Tempering

2010-01-24T19:18:00.009-05:00

Most of the recipes involving Indian food start with making tadka or tempering. Every time I wrote recipes involving tadka I thought of writing a post on how to make tempering.

Generally the base for tempering is oil, but sometimes ghee (clarified butter) is also used. There are different ways tempering can be made. Some use mustard seeds, some use cumin seeds, some use both. This is how a simple tempering is made - Heat some oil. Once the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds, asafoetida and turmeric powder.

Other ingredients or spices such as curry leaves, green chillies, red chillies, ginger, garlic are added while making the tempering depending on the recipe.

Happy Makar Sankrant!

2010-01-14T23:43:00.015-05:00

It is Makar Sankrant today. Sankrant as it is commonly called, is a harvest festival celebrated on January 14 every year. Til (sesame seeds) and gul (jaggery) are the star ingredients of this day. In Maharashtra, tilgul (sesame seeds and jaggery fudge) and gulpoli (jaggery filling stuffed inside whole wheat dough and then rolled out) are the two main preparations made on this day. We were lucky to always receive tilgul packets from India as some of our friends happened to be in India during December-January. This year there was no home delivery of Tilgul (pronounced: teel-gool) :( so I decided to make it myself.

Ingredients:
(makes about 20-25 squares of 1"x1")
1 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup coarsely ground peanuts (optional)
1 cup jaggery
2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)

Before you start, please note a couple of things. If you decide to use sesame seeds and peanuts the total mixture would be about 1 heaping cup. In this case use 1 cup flat of jaggery. You can totally skip the peanuts and use sesame seeds alone. In this case, use a heaping cup of sesame seeds and use exact one cup jaggery.

1. Toast sesame seeds in a pan and set aside.
2. Start melting the jaggery in a pan. Let it melt until it is of the consistency of thick sugar syrup.
3. Add ghee and stir well. Turn the heat off.
4. Mix in sesame seeds and peanuts.
5. Take out on a cookie sheet and roll out about a quarter to half of an inch thick.
6. Immediately cut it into squares while still hot, and then let the squares cool.

A couple more things to note: Put some ghee on the cookie sheet before pouring the mixture so that it will not stick. If you cover the mixture with a plastic wrap it will be easy to roll it out.

Happy Sankrant to everyone. "Tilgul ghya god bola" :) For those of you who celebrate Pongal... Happy Pongal!

Makai-Mutter-Palak

2010-01-13T18:20:00.003-05:00

I had never combined spinach with peas or corn. Last month, when I visited my friend M, she made this tasty sabzi using spinach and peas. Since A doesn't like paneer, I usually don't make palak paneer. So it was a good idea to combine corn or peas with spinach. Thank you M for this wonderful dish.

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
1 pkt spinach (10 0z pkt- chopped)
1 cup green peas
1/2 cup corn kernels
1 small tomato
1 small onion
1/2 tsp grated ginger root
1 tsp garam maasala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
A pinch of ground cloves (optional)
A pinch of cinnamon (optional)
2 tsp oil
Salt to taste
3-4 tbsp half & half or heavy cream (optional)

Before you start, cut tomato and onion into big chunks. Grind them into a paste. Take oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, turmeric, ginger, tomato-onion paste, garam masala, red chilli powder, ground cloves and cinnamon . Let sear for a minute and add spinach. After spinach wilts down, add peas, corn, salt and milk/cream. Let them cook for some time. The sabzi is now ready. Top it off with some cream (optional) and serve.

Potatoes for Fasting

2010-01-11T15:08:00.014-05:00

Fasting is such a common thing among Indians. Though fasting means voluntarily not eating food for varying lengths of time, fasting can be a feast. There are various reasons for fasting most of them being religious. In India, on a fasting day some people would not eat or drink at all, some will only drink water and some will only eat specific kind of food. For my grandmother fasting was a weekly thing and for us kids it was a weekly feast :) Foods that are typically eaten on fasting include sago, potatoes, sweet potatoes, shingada, fruits and nuts mainly peanuts. Ghee is used instead of oil in such preparations. Sabudana khichadi and shingada thalipeeth were the two dishes that my granny made often. Then there was this potato dish that we kids simply loved and always demanded. In Marathi it is called 'Upasachi Batata Bhaji'. Today I had two large boiled potatoes leftover from previous day and 'A' demanded :p this upasachi bhaji. So here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 large potatoes (boiled and diced)
1/4 cup coarsely ground peanuts
5-6 green chillies (cut into pieces)
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Making these potatoes is a simple two step process. First, heat ghee and add cumin seeds and green chillies. Then add potatoes, peanuts, salt and sugar. Mix well and let it cook for about a minute or so. Top it off with cilantro and serve.

Veggie Pasta

2010-01-07T13:20:00.013-05:00

For us pasta is a quick fix meal on any weeknight. I normally have some pasta sauce in my pantry. So whenever there is a need for a quick meal, this comes in handy. 98% of the times I make pasta using a store bought pasta sauce. Very few times I have made pasta using something other than the store bought sauces. I was watching a food show on Zee Marathi (Amhi Saare Khavayye) in which a pasta recipe was shown. It was a simple and a healthy recipe. The recipe calls for ingredients that we normally have on hand. I followed the recipe with a slight modification. This is how I made it.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 cups pasta
1 tbsp butter
2 cups veggies (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced or grated)
6 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp hot sauce
Mozzarella cheese
8-10 fresh mint leaves
1-2 pinches of oregano
Salt to taste

Cook the pasta, drain it and keep it aside. In a pan take butter and add garlic to it. Add veggies of your choice. I used onions, tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, and carrots. Add some salt and let them cook for a while. Add tomato ketchup and hot sauce and let them cook some more. You can substitute hot sauce with crushed pepper flakes or red chilli powder. Now add mint, oregano (or herbs of your choice) and cooked pasta. Mix well and add some cheese on top. Put the lid on and let the cheese melt. Top it off with fresh mint leaves if you like. Serve hot.

Bye bye 2009... with Panipuri & SPDP

2009-12-31T21:40:00.015-05:00

It is already the end of 2009. This time most of our friends are out of town, so there was no potluck and we sure did miss that. After being out of town for five days and eating quite a few take outs, I wanted to make something that I absolutely love. About a month back, I had bought a couple of packets of puris to make Panipuri, but did not get time to make them. Back in India my cousin K and I used to eat out at our favorite panipuri joint at least once a week. On couple of year end celebrations, we have had chaat nights, panipuri being the featuring dish and have enjoyed it very much. Considering the chaat fan that I am, I feel lucky if I get even one packet of puris when required. Ours is a small town with only two stores carrying Indian snacks and groceries, so I usually stock a couple of packets :)

Making panipuri takes a considerable amount of time. But if you keep paani (which is made by adding some tamarind paste and spices to water) readily available it is very easy to make. I usually make a large batch of paani and keep it in the fridge in glass jars. It stays fresh for as long as 1-1.5 months without going bad and that way we can have panipuris absolutely instantly. Paani is the most important preparation in making panipuri. This is how I make it. I have followed this method for years and absolutely love the outcome.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup tamarind
1/4 cup dates (optional)
1 inch fresh ginger
3/4 green chillies
Handful of fresh mint
Juice of half lime/lemon
1-1.5 cups jaggery
6 cups water
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp panipuri masala

Soak the tamarind in water for some time. In a grinder take the soaked tamarind(including water), dates, ginger, green chillies, lime juice and mint, and grind it into a fine paste. Take out this paste in a bowl, add salt, water and jaggery. Start by adding about a cup of jaggery and increase the amount as needed(depending on how you like your paani). Mix well until the jaggery is completely dissolved and strain this watery mix.

Panipuri

To make panipuri you need boiled potato (mashed) and moong beans(soaked and then pressure cooked). Take a puri and make a hole in the center. Fill the puri with potato, moong beans and paani and enjoy. If you like panipuri on a slightly sweeter side, you can add sweet tamarind-date chutney.

Shev Potato Dahi Puri a.k.a SPDP

If you have panipuri preparations on hand, you can make SPDP right away. Fill the puri with some potato, sweet chutney (optional) and paani. Sprinkle some salt and red chilli powder. Top it off with shev, yogurt and finely chopped onion. I generally add some sugar to the yogurt before using it in SPDP.

It will be 2010 in a couple of hours, so here is wishing you all a very happy and a prosperous new year.

Kacchi Dabeli

2009-12-21T21:45:00.021-05:00

Living in the US, street food is something that I really miss. Especially during summer when we go for long walks or may be sometimes when we are sitting in the park, I always say to myself "Ah...I wish there was a chaat vendor or a dabeli vendor". The cravings are so strong that within the next two days some chaat dish is in the making in my kitchen. Two days back while cleaning the freezer I noticed a bottle of dabeli masala. Last time I remember making dabeli was probably 2 years back. I was thinking... has it really been two years? Wow...that's a really long time. So I had to make this now. Of course I bought a new packet of masala :)

Kacchi dabeli is one of the popular street foods in Maharashtra. In Pune, there is practically one dabeli vendor at the corner of every main street or in every residential area. Dabeli is made by stuffing potato mixture inside bread (such as dinner rolls or hamburger buns) and lightly toasting both sides in butter. Here is how to make it.

Ingredients:
(Serves 4-6)
3 medium potatoes (boiled and mashed)
1 medium chopped onion
1.5 tsp dabeli masala (more or less as needed)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Handful of pomegranate arils
2-3 tbsp tutti-frutti(optional)
12 Dinner rolls or hamburger buns
Handful of salted/ masala peanuts (optional)
Tamarind-date chutney (sweet)
Thin shev (optional)
1 small onion - finely chopped
3-4 tbsp Butter/ vegetable spread
For tempering:
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida and turmeric
1. First step in the making of dabeli is to make potato stuffing. Make the tempering and add to it chopped onion. Saute until tender.
2. Add mashed potato, salt, red chilli powder and dabeli masala; and mix well.

3. Take a dinner roll and split it open. Slather the inside with sweet tamarind-date chutney.
4. Add some potato stuffing, peanuts, pomegranate arils, tutti frutti and finely chopped onion.
5. Heat the pan, add some butter and lightly toast the bread (both sides).
6. Sprinke some thin shev if you like and serve hot.

Sweet Tamarind-Date Chutney:
Take tamarind and dates (I use pitted dates) in the ratio of 1/2:2. Add some water to it and microwave for about a minute (this will make both tamarind and dates soft and easy to squish). Squish it and strain the pulp. Add some jaggery (taste for sweetness) and a pinch of salt. Also add cumin powder if you like. Sweet chutney is ready.

Whole wheat banana bread - A quick update

2009-12-19T17:36:00.009-05:00

Last week I made Banana bread using whole wheat flour. I used the exact same recipe as before, but used regular chapati flour (which is a whole wheat flour) instead of all purpose flour. I was slightly worried as to how it would taste, but still decided to give it a shot. To my surprise it tasted even better with whole wheat flour. I am so glad because now I have another healthy snack to make, and I pretty much see myself doing it very often.

Kanda Bhaji a.k.a. Onion Pakoda

2009-12-19T14:04:00.015-05:00

For me, onion pakodas are associated with the rainy days. Just as it starts to rain, the very first thing that comes to my mind is kanda bhaji a.k.a. onion pakodas. There is nothing like being at home, sitting by the window with a plate of pakodas and simply watch the rain, when it is pouring outside. It is so much fun to watch people and vehicles pass by, and kids play in the rain. When the weather is cloudy and gloomy, pakodas is the perfect dish to have. In fact onion pakodas are so tasty that you would want to eat them any time. But since it's a fried food, I just look for opportunities to make it (without feeling guilty about it :P). And this weekend's heavy snow just gave me the reason I was looking for :D. Pakodas are just like fritters. Onion pakoda is pretty simple to make. You need the following -

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
3 small onions
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1-1.5 tsp red chilli powder (as per your taste)
A pinch of turmeric
salt to taste
1/2 cup chickpea flour (more or less as needed)
Oil for frying

1. Thinly slice the onions and separate the layers.
2. In a bowl, take the sliced onions, add salt, turmeric, cumin, coriander and red chilli powders, mix well and leave for about 15-20 minutes. This will soften the onions releasing the juices.

3. Add chickpea flour (as needed) to the onions and start mixing until you have thick batter.
4. Heat oil and drop the batter into the oil and fry until golden brown.
5. Take the pakodas out on a paper towel (to drain the excess oil) and serve hot.

You can also serve them with tamrind chutney or any other condiment of your choice.

Dadpe Pohe

2009-12-14T10:43:00.016-05:00

Pohe is pressed rice. It is probably the most popular Maharashtrian dish often served for breakfast or as an evening snack. There are different methods Pohe can be made. Dadpe-pohe are made using thin pohe. As a kid I remember eating them numerous times since my brother and I both loved these rather than regular Pohe which were often eaten for breakfast. It was the most demanded evening snack in my house.

From what I gathered from my mom, this dish is from Konkan region of Maharashtra. It was made using thick pohe. Coconut water was added to raw pohe to make them soft and they were firmly pressed. Then, some weight was put on to them. The act of pressing and putting weight is called 'dadapne' in Marathi and so the name 'Dadpe-pohe'. Today most of the people use thin pohe to make this dish. The dish tastes delicious and is really simple to make without any cooking involved.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)
2 cups thin pohe
1 medium onion (chopped)
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut (can use frozen)
1 tsp grated ginger root
1 tbsp sugar
Handful of roasted unsalted peanuts
Handful of cilantro (finely chopped)
Juice of 1 lemon/lime
salt to taste
For tempering:
2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp asafoetida
4-5 green chillies (more or less as per taste)

Before you start, make tempering and keep it aside to cool. To make pohe start by taking pohe in a large bowl. This makes mixing easier. To pohe add onion, coconut, peanuts, cilantro, sugar, salt and lemon juice. Mix very well, occasionally squishing the pohe. Add tempering and mix well again. Dadpe-pohe are ready. You can top it off with some more coconut and cilantro. Tomatoes can also be used in this recipe along with the onions.

Weekend savior Dal-Dhokli

2009-12-13T22:45:00.026-05:00

Does it ever happen to you on a weekend that you want to have a home cooked meal and there is nothing left in the house...not a single veggie or a packet of pasta or even Maggie noodles? You just don't want to eat any take out food or even get out of the house for that matter. Well, we experience this quite a few times. Sometimes after a long busy week, all we want on a weekend is to be at home...watching movies, documentaries etc or simply sleep for long hours in the afternoon. On days like this Dal-Dhokli is a real savior. I always have the required ingredients on hand and can have a wholesome meal without much efforts.

Make dal the way you like and add dhokli, which basically is a dumpling made of whole wheat flour. To make it further nutritious, try filling it with some sauteed greens. Take a small piece of dough, roll it out and put the sauteed greens in the center. Roll out another piece and place it on top, press all sides firmly - like a ravioli(so that greens don't come out when dropped in dal). Then drop these dumplings in dal.

Since I am a Maharashtrian, my dal is a typical maharashtrian curry (called Amtee) to which I add a couple more spices. To this, add dhoklis and let the dal boil. Dhoklis will get cooked in dal.

Ingredients for Dal:
(Serves 2)
1/2 cup Toor dal (cooked until soft and mashed - Pressure cook in 1/2 cup water, add a pinch of turmeric and asafoetida while cooking)
2-3 green chillies (cut into couple of pieces)
5-6 curry leaves
1/2 tsp goda masala (a maharashtrian style masala made up of different indian spices)
1/4 tsp garam masala (optional)
2 tbsp tamrind puree (or less depending on how you like your curry)
1.5 tbsp jaggery
salt to taste
For tempering-
1 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional)
1/2 tsp grated ginger root

Ingredients for Dhokli (dumplings):
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (more or less as per taste)
1/4 tsp carom seeds (optional)

To make dough for dhoklis, mix all these ingredients and form a firm dough (not too tight). Add about a teaspoon of oil and knead the dough properly.

For dal (curry), make the tempering. Add to it green chillies, curry leaves, dal, spices and all the remaining ingredients. Let it simmer for a while. While dal is cooking, start making the dumplings. Grab a piece of dough and roll it out. Cut it into small squares. Follow the same procedure for the remaining dough. Now, drop these in dal and crank the heat up. Let the dal boil for about 10 minutes while the dumplings cook. Dal-dhokli is ready to eat.

Top it of with some ghee, chopped onion and tomato (optional...you can add just some ghee or eat without any toppings, which I normally do on such "empty-fridge" weekends), and sprinkle some sev if you like. Serve hot.

Please note- If you don't have green chillies or curry leaves, you can totally skip them, and add red chilli powder instead.

Healthy Spinach Paratha

2009-12-11T22:03:00.007-05:00

Importance of spinach cannot be emphasized enough. It is such a nutritious veggie. I really enjoy cooking different types of parathas and of course eating them too :) Spinach paratha is one of my favorites. Making spinach puree and seasoning it with the spices is the most common method used by many of my friends. However, I have never made parathas using spinach puree. I always finely chop the spinach, add spices to it and form a dough by adding whole wheat flour. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 pkt spinach - finely chopped
About 2 cups whole wheat flour or as needed
1 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
salt to taste
For tempering-
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
To make the dough for parathas, make tempering and add to it chopped spinach. After it wilts down, add red chilli, coriander and cumin powders and cook for about a minute. Turn the heat off. Add salt and whole wheat flour until it forms a dough. Add some oil and knead the dough. Take some dough, roll it out and cook both sides on a tawa. Your paratha is ready to eat.

It tastes equally good whether served hot or at room temperature. Serve it with butter, ketchup, yogurt or sour cream.

Anniversary special Pav-bhaji and Fruit salad

2009-12-10T15:59:00.025-05:00

We celebrated our wedding anniversary last week. The menu was pav-bhaji and fruit salad. 'A' is a big fan of pav-bhaji and I had not made it in a long long time. Needless to say his pick was pav-bhaji. I had two cans of evaporated milk sitting in my pantry for about a year :P and their expiration date wasn't that far. Luckily I had plenty of fruits and also a can of mango pulp, so the obvious choice for a dessert was fruit salad.

Pav-Bhaji

I generally use only six veggies - Potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cauliflower, green peas and peppers. Most of the times I use bell peppers, but I love the flavor of pablano peppers. Whenever I use pablanos, I roast them in the oven and take the skin off, and then finely chop them. I also add some tomato sauce/paste (basically some tomato puree).

To make bhaji simply follow these steps -
1. Peel potatoes and cut them into big chunks. Cut cauliflower and bell peppers. Put everything together along with green peas, cook until they become soft and then mash them.

2. In a pot add a couple of tablespoons of butter and about a teaspoon or two of regular cooking oil.

3. Add ginger-garlic paste and pav-bhaji masala (I use everest brand).

4. Add chopped onions, tomatoes and some tomato sauce, and let cook until tender. Add remaining veggies, salt, red chilli powder and mix well. Cook for another 10 minutes.

5. Top it off with finely chopped onion and cilantro. Add some fresh lemon juice if you like and serve with any bread of your choice.

I used the following ingredients to make bhaji (serves 4).
3 medium potatoes
2 cups cauliflower florets
1/2 cup green peas
2 pablano peppers (roasted, peeled and finely chopped)
2 medium onions
2 medium tomatoes
8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 Tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 Tsp red chilli powder
3 Tbsp pav-bhaji masala
We were in a mood for a chewy bread, so I served it with french bread. You can simply toast it in the oven or butter the bread and lightly toast it in a skillet until golden brown.

Fruit Salad

Fruit salad is probably the simplest dessert you can ever make. All you need to do is peel and cut fruits and drop them in the milk. I used the following ingredients.
2 cans of Nestle evaporated milk (12 oz cans)
1 cup half and half
3 cups Alphonso mango pulp
3 bananas
1 apple
2 cups grapes (each cut into half)
1 cup pomegranate arils
1 orange
1/2 cup sugar (or as needed)

Start by mixing evaporated milk, half and half, mango pulp and sugar. Then add the fruits, mix well and keep it in the fridge for about an hour. Serve cold.

Comforting Kadhi and Khichdi

2009-12-03T20:40:00.017-05:00

It was one of those evenings after a long day of being done with the loads of pending "to do things". I was so tired after all this work, I did not have any energy left. A has a sore throat after eating super-spicy food at an Indian restaurant earlier this week, so I wanted to keep it simple. I immediately thought of Kadhi-khichdi, it's a comfort food after all. There are different versions of khichdi all over India.

Kadhi brings back some childhood memories. I still can't forget when we were on a vacation in Himachal and reached our destination pretty late. We were supposed to be there by 9pm and reached there after midnight. It was very cold and everyone was extremely hungry. Since it was an arranged tour, their cooks immediately started cooking, and served us a steamy khichdi and screaming hot kadhi. The chillies in kadhi looked just like cherries. My brother got a couple of them in his kadhi and started teasing me that he alone was going to eat all the cherries. To his horror they were extremely hot chillies :P He started screaming and I burst out laughing :)

For kadhi you need-
1 cup plain yogurt
2 Tsp besan (gram flour)
1 Tsp grated ginger
2 Tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1-1.5 cups water (or as desired - if you want your kadhi on a thicker side, add less)

For tempering-
2 Tsp Ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 Tsp cumin seeds
1/4 Tsp asafoetida
1/4 Tsp turmeric
3/4 Dry red chillies
6-8 Curry leaves
Take yogurt in a bowl. Add to it besan, ginger, sugar and salt. Add water as needed. Whisk it, making sure that there are no lumps of besan. Heat some ghee and add to it cumin, asafoetida, turmeric, chillies and curry leaves. Add the yogurt mixture and stir well. Turn the heat off when kadhi starts boiling.

Ingredients for khichdi-
1 cup rice
1/2 cup moong dal
2 medium potatoes cut into cubes or any combination of veggies you like (optional)
1/2 Tsp red chilli powder
1 Tsp masala (one that you use for daily cooking)
1 Tbsp jaggery
Salt to taste
3 cups hot water

For tempering-
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 Tsp mustard and cumin seeds
1/4 Tsp asafoetida
1/4 Tsp turmeric
6-8 curry leaves
Before you start, rinse rice and dal, drain all water. Make some tempering (heat oil and add mustard,cumin, asafoetida, turmeric, curry leaves). Add diced potatoes or other veggies and little salt. Let it cook for a while. Now add rice, lentils, hot water, salt, red chilli powder, masala and jaggery. Stir well, put the lid on and let it cook. If you like, you can add about 1/4 tsp cumin powder and 1 tbsp unsweetened coconut flakes. Top it off with a dollop of ghee and serve with hot kadhi.

Banana -Date-Walnut Bread

2009-12-02T16:35:00.013-05:00

I got this really amazing book- The Encyclopedia of Creative Cooking from the library. It has tons of recipes from appetizers to desserts. It happens quite a lot of times that we end up with really ripe bananas. And it feels bad to just dump them in trash. So of the times I have them, nearly half the time I end up making Sheera just so that I don't have to throw them away. I always thought of making banana bread instead, but never actually made it because sometimes I did not have eggs and other times some other ingredient. Anyway... to cut the story short, while I was reading this book, I came across a recipe for banana bread and immediately thought of two ripe bananas that were sitting in the kitchen. So here is how I made it.

Ingredients:
1 and 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 eggs
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup chopped dates (optional)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Before your start, preheat oven to 350 F. Mix well all purpose flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl. In another bowl mix butter, sugar and eggs and beat until light and frothy. Next, add mashed bananas, dates and walnuts and mix well. Add the previously mixed dry ingredients slowly and in batches so that it doesn't form lumps. Mix until you get a smooth mixture. Grease a loaf pan and pour in the mixture. Bake for about 50-60 minutes until you have a golden brown and firm bread. Take out and let it sit for about 10 mins and then cool on a cooling rack before cutting. I followed the recipe from the book, but used butter instead of shortening.

I made this for the first time and it turned out great. I just wish I had added little more dates. But anyway it tastes great. May be next time I will try using whole wheat flour and see how it turns out.

These are a few of my favorite things...

2009-12-01T11:12:00.009-05:00

There are certain kitchen gadgets we all home cooks use extensively. I am sure everyone has a favorite gadget that is a must have in their kitchens. There are a few things I just can't do without. Here are some of my favorites.

1. Mixer-Grinder:
This one is probably the most commonly used gadget in Indian kitchens. When I came to US, I did not have one, and often felt so helpless without it. The first purchase I made in my India trip was this one. Ever since, I have been using it at least 3/4 times a week. I use it to grind dals and rice for making idli, dosa and wada batters and also use it extensively to make chutneys and milkshakes.

2. Salad spinner:
This one is my absolute favorite. It becomes so easy to dry your veggies, especially lettuce and greens. Sometimes, I also use it as a double duty sprout maker :)

3. Food processor:
Almost every household has a food processor. Though I normally use my mixer-grinder for making batters, food processor makes work a lot easier. It is such a savior when I need large quantities of dough to make purees and rotis. Of course, how can I forget shredding the carrots for carrot halwa.

Aloo-Methi Paratha

2009-11-29T13:18:00.020-05:00

I am kind of a picky eater when it comes to some greens. If not eating greens was an option, I wonder how many people would actually eat them. But if you can use greens to make something so delicious and tasty, you would definitely eat them :) I simply love aloo- methi(potato-fenugreek) parathas for this reason. You can eat them for breakfast, lunch, brunch, and even dinner. The stuffing can be made ahead of time. You can also make a little extra stuffing and may be use it again within 3/4 days for a hearty and healthy breakfast. So here is the recipe.

For the stuffing you need-
4 medium potatoes - boiled, peeled and mashed/ grated
1 bunch of methi (fenugreek leaves) coarsely chopped or 1 cup frozen methi(you can also use kasuri methi which is dried fenugreek leaves)
5/6 green chillies paste or finely chopped(more or less as per your taste)
Juice of one fresh lemon or less depending upon your taste
1 Tsp sugar
1/4 Tsp Ginger-garlic paste
Salt to taste
For tempering-
1/2 Tsp oil
1/4 Tsp mustard seeds
A pinch of asafoetida
A pinch of turmeric

In a pan add some oil and make tempering. Add chopped methi and saute it for a minute or two. Take the pan off heat and add mashed/grated potatoes, green chillies, ginger-garlic paste, lemon juice, sugar and salt. Mix it well. The stuffing will look like this -

For making the dough take some whole wheat flour and add to it a pinch of salt and a couple of pinches of turmeric. Add water and mix well until a soft ball is formed. Add some oil and kneed the dough properly. To make parathas, take a small ball of dough and roll it with the help of a rolling pin. Put the stuffing at the center and close all sides like you would do with a dumpling. Take some flour and roll out the paratha. It will look like this-

Now place it on a tawa and cook both sides until they are done. Paratha will become golden brown when done. When you flip it, add some oil on paratha. Your paratha is ready to eat.

Serve it with yogurt, ketchup or sour cream, or simply eat it without any condiment. It tastes even better when served hot.

Storing your curry leaves

2009-10-24T10:59:00.007-04:00

Curry leaves were never so precious. Back in India, almost everyone has a curry leaf plant or your vegetable vendor gives them for free when you buy other veggies. I realized the importance of curry leaves only after coming to US. I practically use them every single day and it is frustrating to know that your grocery store doesn't have it the day you want. The store I buy all my Indian groceries and veggies carries real big packets of curry leaves and I must say they are expensive. So when they start going black in about a week's time, you obviously feel bad.

Two weeks back I got a huge packet of curry leaves and was wondering how to save this precious commodity. My friend S told me that she just dumps them in a freezer and they stay really fresh. Long back I was searching for some recipe and I came across what I believe was some kind of food forum. There somebody mentioned that storing your curry leaves and herbs in an aluminum foil keeps them fresh. So I said let's try keeping them in an aluminum foil in the freezer, and believe me they are just as fresh as I bought them.

I put a sheet of foil inside a zip bag, put the leaves in it and just dumped it into the freezer. Thankfully, it worked. It's been over two weeks now and I am so glad, I never need to throw them away.

Aloo Tikki

2009-10-17T16:34:00.015-04:00

Diwali is here and we had a potluck dinner planned for this evening. I made a sweet dish and also a starter dish of Aloo tikki (potato patties). Who doesn't love potatoes? And this one is super-simple and super-yummy. All you need is just four ingredients right from your pantry - potatoes, red chilli powder, garam masala, and bread crumbs, and of course some salt.

Boil some potatoes and mash them with a fork, so that they retain their texture. Add salt, red chilli powder and some garam masala, and mix well. Divide the mixture into equal sized balls(so that tikki is about 2" in diameter). To make a tikki, press the ball between your palms and cover both sides in bread crumbs. Coat the bottom of a pan with oil and shallow fry the tikkis until golden brown. Serve it with tomato ketchup or sweet tamarind-date chutney.

I used 8-10 large potatoes which gave me 50 tikkis. I used plain bread crumbs, but you can use seasoned ones. I would suggest using red potatoes as they are less starchy and don't become very mushy.

Matar (Green peas) Rice

2009-10-17T11:21:00.009-04:00

I love green peas and this rice is one of my favourite dishes. It tastes delicious and is pretty simple to make. Main ingredients you need are rice, peas and some fresh masala, which basically is made of just four ingredients - coconut, corriander seeds, cumin seeds ad dried red chillies.

Ingredients:
2cups Basmati rice
1cup peas (you can always add more)
4cups water
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
4 Tsp corriander seeds
2 Tsp cumin seeds
6-8 red chillies (dried)
1.5-2 Tbsp jaggery
5-6 curry leaves
Oil
Salt to taste

Before you start wash the rice and drain all water, and keep the rice aside. Start by taking about a teaspoon of oil in the pan. Add coconut flakes, chillies, cumin and corriander seeds and saute it for about a minute or until the mixture color changes slightly. Take them out and grind them into a fine paste. Add about a tablespoon of oil in the same pan to make tempering. Now add rice to it and saute it for a minute. Add peas and saute for another minute and then add water (preferably hot). Now add salt, fresh masala and some jaggery. Put the lid on and let the rice cook. Serve it with some ghee (clarified butter), freshly grated coconut and cilantro.

Happy Diwali

2009-10-17T00:45:00.015-04:00

It's Diwali and this year I am busy studying for my exam. I did not get time to make any sweets or other Diwali specialties. They are pretty time consuming. Though I couldn't make anything this year, I was delighted to see the snap my mom sent me from her Diwali album. All these dishes look so festive :) I have been making them every year since I have been here in US. I definitely plan on making every single dish (well may be not Anarsa :P) sometime this year (once I get time) and will post the recipes as and when I make these dishes. For now, I will just post the snap. Hope you enjoy it too.

At Last...

2009-10-16T23:57:00.004-04:00

I love cooking and always wanted to write my own food blog. I want my blog to be a ready reference to the recipes I love and also to those I try. I used to write recipes in my own recipe book ( I have this same journal probably since I was 15-16, that is for more than 10 years now), but now it's old and I have to make sure that I don't lose any of the pages. Though I loved food, I hardly cooked when I was in India. I was either a full time student or was working full time and mom used to take care of everything. But even then I used to try out new recipes. I used to watch almost all food shows especially Sanjeev Kapoor's Khana-Khazana. After coming to US, I became a full time cook and realised that I really love and enjoy cooking. Whenever I try some new recipe, I always tell my mom about it and elaborately tell her how to make that dish. So this is a good way for her to access my cooking adventures :) Being a Maharashtrian, I think my initial posts will include a lot of Maharashtrian and Indian dishes, because that is what I cook on a daily basis. I look forward to jotting the recipes I love and also the new ones I try.