Friday, December 23, 2011

Podalangai (snake gourd) koottu

I can't believe I did not know how to make this dish till a few months ago. I always thought koottu involved using coconut and being the health conscious person that I am, I did not make koottu on a regular basis to avoid using coconut. Then, I was cooking in my mom's kitchen one day and she taught me how to make koottu (a vegetable side dish with gravy) without coconut. It tastes surprisingly good and is also super easy to make as it involves very minimal monitoring once on the stove.

So, these days, this has become my go to dish of choice when I do not have too much time to cook but would still like to eat a filling, healthy and tasty meal. Thus, my fridge's veggie drawer is now stocked with either podalangai (snake gourd) or chow-chow (chayote), both of which make good koottu.

Enough with the blah-blah and on to the recipe:

Podalangai Koottu
Podalangai Koottu

Ingredients (2 servings):
1 medium podalangai, white fleshy interior removed and chopped into pieces
1/2 cup moong dal, washed and soaked for about 10  minutes
1 medium onion, chopped
Water
Salt

For tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
2 dry red chilis, broken (can be less or more depending upon your taste
A pinch asafoetida
2 sprigs of curry leaves, torn
Oil

Method:
1. Take about a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Place on stove on medium heat and add mustard seeds and red chilis. When the mustard splutters, add the asafoetida and curry leaves in quick succession.
2. Toss in the onion pieces and a little salt and fry till the onion changes color.
3. Add in the soaked moong dal and enough water to cover and boil for about 5-10 minutes, till the moong dal is half-cooked.
4. Now, add in the podalangai pieces and stir well with the moong dal. Add some more water. Remember that you need enough water to cook the veggie as well as the dal - so be a little generous with the water.
5. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, till the veggie is done and the gravy has reached the consistency you like.
6. Adjust for salt.

Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Notes:
1. As I said earlier, chow chow can be used instead of podalangai. In fact, any veggie with high water content can be used (pumpkin, bottle gourd etc).
2. The moong dal should not cooked to a complete mush. The koottu tastes best when you are still able to just about taste the moong dal grains (cooked through but still slightly distinct).
2. To get the traditional kootu taste, grind a little fresh coconut with a little jeera and green chilis (adjust the red chili quantity accordingly). Add to the above dish towards the end and cook for about 5 minutes.


Carrot soup with peas

This recipe comes from mom who in turn got it from some magazine a long time ago. This carrot soup is perhaps my favorite vegetable soup. It only adds to its likeability factor that it takes only minimal time and effort to make.

Ingredients (2 big bowls of soup or about 4 cups of soup):
3-4 medium carrots, cut into rounds
1/2 cup peas
1 onion, chopped fine
1.5 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp butter
Milk 2 cups (skimmed is okay)
Water
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Add enough water to carrots in a dish to just cover them. Pressure cook for 7 minutes. Cool and grind into a fine puree with sufficient water.
2. If using fresh peas, add enough water to cover peas, then cook in microwave on high for about 7 minutes. If using frozen, just defrost peas.
3. On a stove, place a soup pan, add the butter and when it starts to melt, add in the onions. Add salt and fry onions till they begin to change color. Onions should be cooked but not to a crisp. Add pepper and stir.
4. Add corn flour to the onions and stir so that the flour mixture is well distributed.
5. Add in the milk a little at a time and stir so no lumps are formed. Bring milk to a boil once you have finished adding both the cups of milk.
6. Lower heat, add the carrot puree, mix well. Add sufficient water till the soup is at a consistency you like.
7. Add in the peas.
8. Bring the entire mixture to a boil, then let simmer for about 10 minutes.
9. Adjust for salt and pepper.

Serve hot with a side of toast. Or you can top with croutons. Use a dollop of butter on top for a buttery flavor.

Notes:
1. You can use 1/2 tbsp olive oil and 1/2 tbsp butter for the initial stir frying of carrots or substitute butter with olive oil completely.
2. You can add a boiled potato and grind it along with the carrot puree for a slightly different taste.

Friday, December 16, 2011

Mixed vegetable curry

Another vegetable curry recipe.
http://www.sailusfood.com/2010/10/28/mixed-vegetable-curry/
Both S and I enjoyed it.  I pretty much followed the same recipe with a few minor modifications. Here is my recipe:

Mixed Vegetable Curry:

Ingredients:
1 large carrot, peeled and cubed
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
25 french beans, chop into 1″ pieces
3/4 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 large onion, finely chopped2 tsp ginger garlic paste
2 tomatoes, blanch, peel and crush
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp amchur powder
1 tsp kitchen king masala
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
2 cups water
salt to taste

To Grind:
1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
1″ cinnamon stick
1 tbsp grated coconut
Roast the above with no oil

Roast with a little oil:
3 red chilies

Grind all of the above to a smooth paste.

For seasoning:
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp oil
2 green chilis, slit
2-3 sprigs curry leaves, torn

Method:

1. In a little oil in a wide base non-stick pan, add the seasoning ingredients. First the chillis and then the fennel seeds. When you get a nice aroma, add the curry leaves.
2. After curry leaves crackle, add the ginger-garlic paste and stir fry for 10 seconds. Do not let it burn.
3. Add the onions and salt and stir fry till the onions change color.
4. Add in the vegetables (other than tomato), the turmeric and a little water. Cover and cook till the vegetables are almost done.
5. Now add in the masala paste and crushed tomatoes. Add in the rest of the water, bring to a boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes.
6. Add in the amchur and kitchen king masala, mix well, bring to a boil again and then simmer for about 15-20 minutes till the mixture has reached the consitency you want
7. Adjust salt and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes:
1. You can use cauliflower as one of the vegetables. As usual, it is upto you to decide what vegetables and in what proportion you want them.
2. You can substitute the coconut with about 7-8 cashew nuts for a different taste.

Serve hot with rotis.


Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Vegetable Jalfrezi

I found this recipe in Woman's Era magazine and bookmarked it (or rather photographed it with my phone) just because it had a whole lot of veggies in it without the usual kurma base. The prep work is the time consuming part, the cooking is quite easy. The end result made for a healthy and satisfying meal. Here is how I made it:

Vegetable Jalfrezi

Ingredients
1 green chili, chopped fine
1/2 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, sliced fine
2 small carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
2/3 cup green beans, chopped into 1" pieces
1 medium potato, peeled and cut into sticks
1/3 cup fresh peas
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 capsicum, cut into long strips
1 tsp red chili powder
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1.5 tsp jeera powder
1/2 tsp aamchur powder
3 tbsp curd, beaten
A handful of coriander leaves, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil
A little water

Method
1. Coat base of a pan with oil. Toss in the ginger, garlic and green chilis and fry for a few seconds. Add in the onions, salt and fry till the onions turn light golden.
2. Add the carrots, potatoes, potatoes, peas. Add in all the spices (chili, coriander, jeera and aamchur powders) and mix well. Sprinkle a few teaspoons of water on top of the veggies, cover the pan and let the veggies cook till they are almost done (tender-crisp).
3. Add in the tomatoes, mix well, let cook covered for 3 minutes.
4. Add in the capsicum, mix well and let cook for 2 more minutes.
5. Add in the curd, mix well and cook on high flame till the liquid from the curd has evaporated.
6. Adjust salt, garnish with coriander leaves and take off heat.

Serve hot with rotis and raitha.

Notes:
1. You can use other kurma veggies like cauliflower too. The ratio and combo of veggies is upto you. However,capsicum is a must.

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Paneer Kathi Rolls

I have liked most versions of kathi rolls and have been wanting to try them out at home. I found this recipe and then found reference to another recipe in the comments section of the first recipe. So I came up with a kathi rolls recipe which was a combo of the two. The end result was quite tasty while being high on the health quotient. Here it is:

Paneer Kathi Rolls

Ingredients (makes 4 kathi rolls with generous stuffing):


Marinate
1/4 cup low fat curds, beaten
1 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
1/2 tsp ginger paste
1/4 tsp garlic  paste
1/4 tsp besan
1/2 tsp chaat masala
1/2 tsp kasuri methi
1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste

Mix the above ingredients well. To this add:
1 cup medium-small cubed paneer
1/2 cup finely chopped deseeded tomato


Mix well and keep aside for at least 10 minutes.

Vegetables
1 Medium capsicum chopped into medium sized cubes
1 medium onion peeled and chopped into medium sized cubes
 
Salad
1 medium onion cut into thin slices
1 long green chilli, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
1 small carrot shredded into large shreds (use the big-holed side of the grater)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp vinegar
Sea salt to taste

Mix together the onion, green chilis and vinegar. Keep aside for at least 10 minutes. Just before using, pour out any remaining liquid vinegar, pick out and toss the green chili pieces. Add in the carrot, cilantro and salt, mix well and use.

For the roll
4 ready-made whole-wheat chapathis

Other ingredients
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Heat a non-stick pan on high and pour in enough oil to coat the  base of the pan. Add in onions, capsicum, a little bit of salt (remember the marinade has salt so don't go overboard) and stir fry till they start changing color along the edges.
2. Add in the paneer-tomato marinade and stir fry on high-heat for 2-3 minutes.
3. Lower the heat to medium and continue cooking till the raw smell of the spices has disappeared and the paneer starts getting a nice brown crust on it. This can take about 10-15 minutes. You just need to stir it from time to time. Lower heat further if you think the dish is beginning to burn. Check for salt and keep aside.
3. Time to assemble! Heat both sides of the chapathi on a tawa. Place it on a plate.  Place the paneer filling across the diameter of the chapathi. Top it with the salad.
4. Roll the kathi roll and serve hot with tomato ketchup on the side.

Notes:
1. For efficient time utilization, follow this order of cooking: marinate the paneer and tomato first and keep aside. Then chop the onion and capsicum and start cooking them. By the time they are cooked, the paneer mix will be ready to add in. While the entire mixture is cooking, chop the onions for the salad and marinate it in vinegar. Finally work on the carrots and cilantro for the salad. By the time the salad is done, the paneer mix will be ready as well and hey presto, everything required for assembly is ready!
2. The filling can be made before hand. Just reheat it before assembly. Do not make the salad too much in advance else it will lose its freshness.
3. Instead of whole-wheat chapathis, you can use maida parathas to get a more professional taste (of course, you lose the benefits of whole-wheat flour then).


Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Green bean potato bake

I did not use to like green beans at all. With age comes wisdom and a wider taste palette. Thus I can stand and even some times enjoy eating green beans now. This bake is one of those instances when I thoroughly savored the green beans (most probably because its distinct taste was tempered by the yumminess of the potatoes, egg and bread crumbs!).

The recipe is heavily adapted from here.

Green bean potato bake

Ingredients (makes 4 portions for breakfast or 2 for lunch):
For the potato layer:
3 medium potatoes
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste

For the green bean layer:
1/4 kg green beans
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1 medium onion
1.5 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp jeera powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Oil
Salt to taste
Water to cook the beans


For the egg layer
1 egg
1 tbsp milk
Salt and pepper to taste


For the bread crumb layer
2 slices bread (preferably end bread for extra crunchiness)
1.5 tsp garlic powder (optional)
1.5 tsp onion powder (optional)
1 tbsp butter

Method:
1. Boil the potatoes and peel them. Add the flour, salt and pepper and mash with a light hand till the ingredients are just combined. Keep aside.
2. Destring and chop the beans into 1/4" pieces. Pour enough water to cover, add the turmeric and a little salt and cook till almost done.
3. In a frying pan, add a little oil and toss in the ginger-garlic paste when hot. Stir fry for a few seconds and add in the onions.
4. When onions change color, add all the masala powders and salt. Stir fry for a few seconds and toss in the beans. Cook till the beans are done and the raw taste of the masala powders is gone. Keep aside.
5. Beat the eggs with the milk, salt and pepper.
6. Grease a microwave safe baking dish (mine is a round dish about 7") with a little butter or olive oil. Take half of the potato mixture and pat down on the floor of the dish to form an even layer.
7. Spoon the beans mixture evenly on top of the potato layer. Now spread the remaining potato on top of the beans.
8. Pop the dish into your microwave and cook on high for 8  minutes (timing may vary depending on the microwave).
9. While it is cooking, process the bread in a food processor into crumbs. Mix in the onion and garlic powders if using.
10. Heat the butter in a pan and when it has just melted, add in the bread crumbs. Fry on medium-low heat till the crumbs are crunchy. Keep aside.
11. After 8 minutes are up, take out the baking dish and pour the egg mixture on top spreading it as much as you can. Put dish back into the microwave and cook for 1 minute on high.
12. Take the dish out again and top evenly with the bread crumbs. Pop the dish back into the microwave and cook for 2 minutes on high.

Serve hot! It reheats very well, so feel free to pop any leftovers (or even the just-made dish) into the fridge after it has cooled down.Reheat just before serving.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Chili chicken

This recipe for chili chicken must be the easiest ever. And it tastes great too. No wonder I always use this as my default chili chicken recipe!

http://mydhaba.blogspot.com/2005/12/chilly-chicken.html


Super easy and tasty chicken fry

You can also call this chicken dish SM chicken in honor of my cousin S's MIL who came up with this ultra easy recipe to make super yummy (but non-oily) chicken fry.

Below is the recipe in its original form. I have made notes regarding minor variations at the end. Please note that a non-stick pan is a must if you don't want to be hunched over your chicken while it is cooking and/or don't want to use copious amounts of oil.

Ingredients
Chicken 1/2 kg - cleaned and cut into medium sized pieces
Red chili powder 1.5 - 2 tsp (as per your spice tolerance level)
Dhania powder - 2 tsp

Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
Juice of 1/2 a medium-sized lemon
1" piece cinnamon stick
5 large pearls of garlic (or 7-8 small cloves)
Oil
Salt to taste

Method:
1. Take a wide non-stick pan and add enough oil to coat base of pan. Place on medium heat.
2. Add the cinnamon stick. Crush the garlic using a mortar-pestle (or the wide edge of a knife) and add.
3. When the garlic has cooked a bit and gives off a nice aroma, add the chicken pieces, chili powder, dhania powder and turmeric powder. Mix well so all the chicken pieces are coated with the spices.
4. Cover the pan with a lid, reduce heat to low.At this point, you can leave the chicken undisturbed and simply let it cook for 15-20 minutes. No necessity to add any water.
5. Check the chicken to see if it is done. If not, continue to cover and cook.
6. Else, add necessary salt, the yoghurt and lime juice. Mix well and cook without the lid till all the liquid from the yoghurt has evaporated and the chicken is mostly dry and has a nice coating to it.
7. Turn off heat and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Notes:
1. You can use 2-3 sprigs of curry leaves as seasoning along with the cinnamon and garlic to get a nice flavor.
2. There is no necessity to marinate the chicken beforehand. However, if you are so inclined, you can marinate the chicken with all the turmeric and about 1/2 of the chili powder you are planning to use and a little bit of salt. Adjust the ingredients accordingly while cooking.
3. The original recipe tastes great as is. Really, no tweaking is necessary.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Madurai style chicken kuzhambu

This is an easy recipe for chicken kuzhambu and is pretty tasty to make too.

http://websamayal.blogspot.com/2006/09/madurai-style-chicken-kuzhambu.html

These are the minor modifications I made to the recipe:

1. Added about a tablespoon of dhania powder and 1/2 tsp of black pepper powder to the chicken marinade.
2. Added 1 tsp of roasted fried gram (pottukadalai) to the dry ingredients to be ground.
3. I added 1.5 tbsp of coconut instead of 4 tbsp (I think no coconut shd also be fine).
4. Added a handful of curry leaves and 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds (sombu) as well for seasoning the oil used for tempering. I added only 1 cardamom instead of 3.
5. After opening the cooker, I added a  handful of chopped coriander leaves and let the liquid simmer for about 10 minutes before switching it off.







Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Oat muffin

This is an easy-to-make mildly sweet, tasty and healthy breakfast muffin. The oats make it very filling. I eat it as a quick energy booster before heading out for my morning walk.

Recipe adapted from here.

Oatmeal Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup quick-cooking oats
1 cup milk (fat free is ok)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 egg
1/4 cup white sugar (can substitute with brown sugar or honey)
1/2 cup apple sauce
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder (can substitute with 1 tsp pure vanilla essence)
1/2 tsp salt
Handful of chopped walnuts (or any other nut you fancy, optional)

Method (makes about 8 medium-sized muffins):
1.Start on the apple sauce if you are making it from scratch (recipe below). Make sure it cools completely before using it in the recipe.
2. Soak the oats in the milk for 15 minutes.
3. Pre-heat oven to 220C. Grease a muffin tray with cooking oil.
4. Sift together the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder. Mix in the sugar (if using) and set aside.
5. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs and apple sauce together. If using honey instead of sugar, mix it in.
6. Add in the oats-milk mixture to the eggs/apple-sauce mixture.
7. Add in the flour mix and chopped walnuts to the above mix till just combined.
8. Fill in the muffin cups till 2/3 of the way through with the above mixture.
9. Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 25 minutes or till a toothpick inserted into the middle of the muffin comes out clean.

I personally prefer the taste of the muffin after it has cooled down a bit rather than straight from the oven. Serve as is or with a light dab of jam in the middle of a muffin cut in half if you prefer a sweeter taste.

Applesauce recipe (makes about 1/2 cup of sauce):
Ingredients:
1 apple
1 tsp lemon juice
Enough water to cover the apple pieces

Method:
1. Peel and core the apple. Chop it into small pieces.
2. Add it to a narrow pan and add enough water to just completely cover the apple pieces.
3. Add in the the lemon juice.
4. Bring mixture to a boil. Then, cover and simmer for about 20-25 minutes.
5. Turn off heat when the apple pieces are easily mashable with the back of a spoon. Mash the pieces so that you have a chunky-smooth apple sauce mixture.

Ragada Patties

Ragada patties is a quintessential Indian street food. It is usually available in places serving chaat. What first drew me to the recipe was that the alu patties (also called alu tikki) seemed so easy to make. Of course, to go with the tikkis, I decided to make the ragada as well. What a filling, tasty dish!

My final dish was a hybrid of these two recipes:

The alu tikki (or alu patties) from here:
http://www.hawkinscookers.com/8.1.receipe.aspx?rcp_cd=112

1. I skipped mint leaves as I did not have them.
2. I used only two slices of bread (I used brown) as opposed to 4.

The ragada from here:
http://onehotstove.blogspot.com/2005/11/street-food-ragda-patties.html

1. I skipped the jaggery - I usually do not like sweetness in what I think of as "spicy" food.
2. I added more chili powder than specified (about 1.5-2 tsp). I love spicy!


To serve, I topped the tikkis with the ragada mixture and some freshly chopped onions and cilantro. Yummy! I would probably stop thinking healthy and make it even more yum with sev topping when serving guests!







Monday, September 5, 2011

Green Moong dal curry

This recipe is adapted from here. It is a quick and easy side dish to accompany rotis.

Ingredients:
Green moong dal - 1/2 cup (soak for a couple of hours or just pressure cook longer)
1/2 tbsp  ginger garlic paste
2 green chilis chopped fine
1 medium onion, chopped fine
1 medium tomato, chopped fine
1/2 cup milk (skim milk is okay)
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp turmeric
Juice of 1/2 a medium-sized lemon
Salt
Oil

For tempering:
1 tsp jeera
2 tsp ghee
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 tsp red chili powder (optional)

Method:
1. Pressure cook the moong dal with the milk and water on low for 10 minutes after the first whistle and keep aside.
2. In a pan, add oil to coat and place on medium heat.
3. Toss in the chillis and the ginger-garlic paste and stir fry for a few seconds.
4. Add the onions and fry till the onions change color.
5. Add in the tomatoes and cook till they turn mushy.
6. Add in the cooked moong dal, turmeric and salt and cook for on high for a few minutes till some of the liquid evaporates.
7. Lower the heat to medium, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Turn off heat.
8. In a separate pan, heat the ghee and toss in jeera. When it crackles, add in the curry leaves and chilli powder (if using) and pour onto the cooked dal.
9. Stir in the lemon juice.

Serve hot with rotis or perhaps, rice.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Soya chunks recipe

The recipe comes from this blog, which has been featured twice before here. Not surprisingly, this recipe is a winner as well. I followed the recipe almost as such with some substitutions. The resulting delicious soya curry made a lip-smacking combo with wheat parathas!

Soya Chunks Curry
Ingredients (enough for 3-4):
1 1/2 cup Nutrela soya chunks
1 big potato, peeled and chopped into medium-pieces
1 big onion, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
1 medium tomato, ground to a paste
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp kitchen king powder (or chicken masala powder or garam masala powder)
1/2 tsp jeera
1 green chilli, slit vertically
2 sprigs curry leaves
Fresh coriander leaves for garnish
Salt
Oil

Method:
Preparing the soya chunks:
1. Add sufficient water to a pan, add some salt and bring to a boil.
2. Add in the soya chunks to the boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the soya chunks, squeeze out the excess water and set aside.

Main dish:
1. Use enough oil to coat the base of a pressure cooker. Heat cooker on medium.
2. Toss in the jeera and green chilli. When jeera crackles, add in the curry leaves.
3. Add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for 10-15 seconds.
4. Add in the onions and salt and fry till onions turn translucent.
5. Add in the turmeric, coriander and chili powders and stir for a few seconds.
6. Add in the ground tomatoes and tomato sauce and let cook till tomato paste starts to separate from oil.
7. Boil 3 cups of water in a separate pan and add to the pressure cooker.
8. Close pressure cooker, let it whistle once, bring the flame down to simmer and cook for 8 minutes.
9. Let cooker cool down. Then open lid and add in the kitchen king masala.
10. Simmer for 7 minutes and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
11. Let the curry rest for some time before serving.


Monday, June 27, 2011

Dry Aloo Bhindi (Potato ladies finger)

When we were kids, my sister's favorite veggie was potato while mine was ladies finger (okra). Though I do like potatoes a lot, okra is still probably my most favorite vegetable. I was quite thrilled when I came across this delicious sounding recipe which had both.

Here is my slightly modified take on the recipe. Basically, I cut down on the oil. Non-stick pans and low heat are the friends of low-oil cooking! Quite a delicious side it turned out to be.

Aloo Bhindi


Ingredients (enough for two):
1/4 kg Okra/Ladies Finger/Bhindi
1 medium potato
1/2 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
1 tsp jeera
1 tsp mustard seeds
A pinch hing
Salt
Oil

For coating:
1/4 cup besan
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp kitchen king powder (optional)
1/4 tsp garam masala
3/4 tsp aamchoor
Salt

Mix all the powders above well and keep aside. Use lesser salt than you think is necessary because you will be adding a little salt while cooking the okra.

Method:
1. Wash and pat dry the okra. Remove the tops and ends and slice vertically into halves and then horizontally into halves. Wash and peel the potato and slice into 1 inch fingers.
2. Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a wide non-stick pan.
3. Add the okras to the pan and toss till the pieces are covered with a light film of oil. Spray on a little oil spray if the okra seems a little dry.
4. Toss in the sesame seeds and a little salt and stir well.
5. Spread okra in a single layer on the pan, lower the heat, cover pan with a lid and let okra cook for 5 minutes till it is almost cooked (not mushy).
6. Remove the lid and cook okra in the pan till it is completely done. Use only low heat. Set aside the cooked okra.
7. In the same pan, add enough oil to coat and toss in the mustard seeds and jeera. Add hing when they pop and immediately toss in the potatoes.
8. Cook potatoes the same way as the okra above.
9. When potatoes are done, toss in the cooked okra and mix well.
10. Now add in the coating-powder a few teaspoons at a time, gently stirring the veggies after each addition so that they are evenly coated. Use a little cooking oil spray if the powder seems too dry.
11. Cook on low heat in the uncovered pan till the coating powder loses its raw taste.
12. Adjust for salt and turn off heat.

Serve hot with rotis and dal/raita. Yummy.

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Egg roll

For me, egg rolls are the stars of Calcutta street food. When we lived in Calcutta, we used to buy egg rolls on Saturday nights as a weekend as a treat. I have never managed to get quite the same taste at home (obviously). Still, the egg roll recipe below makes a very satisfying and tasty dish with very little effort.

Using maida malabar parottas will take the taste of this dish to an entire new level. However, using wheat rotis is a not-too-bad healthy compromise.
Egg roll
Egg Roll

Ingredients (for one roll):
1 cooked wheat chapathi
1 egg
1/2 small onion, chopped
Lime juice, about 1 tsp
Tomato sauce
Green chilli sauce
Soy sauce
Pepper
Salt
All the ingredients

Method
1. Add the lime juice to the chopped onions and set aside.
2. Spray cooking oil on a tawa and place on medium heat.
3. Place chapathi on heated tawa. Break egg over the chapathi. Spread egg as much as you can over the surface of the chapathi.
4. Sprinkle pepper and salt on the egg (remember soy sauce is salty, so do not go over board with the salt).
5. Carefully flip the chapathi so that the egg side is facing down.
6. Continue cooking on medium heat. When the chapathi rises a bit, it means the eggs are cooked and are fluffing up.
7. Remove the egg coated chapathi from the tawa and place non-egg side down on a plate.
8. Sprinkle the onions in a vertical line across a diameter line of the chapathi.
9. Sprinkle all three sauces over the onions. The quantities of the sauces you use depends on your taste but in general, adding equal amounts of each (around 1-2 tsp each) tastes best.
10. Roll up the chapathi carefully so that the filling does not spill out.
11. If you want the roll to look professional, you can wrap a piece of wax paper or napkin paper around the lower half of the roll so that the filling does not fall out.

Serve hot!

Notes:
1. You can mince about 1/4-1/2 a green chilli and add it to the chopped onion/lime juice mixture. It enhances taste but could turn out to be very spicy if the chillis are fiery!

Friday, May 27, 2011

Applesauce cake

I used to like apples once upon a time. Then, I went to grad school. Apple was the cheapest fruit and as a poor Indian grad student, I ate one as my daily fruit quota religiously for close to 3 years. Then, not surprisingly, I got sick of it. Now, while I can tolerate fresh apples occasionally (read, once in 6 months or so), I cannot eat it on a regular basis. Thus, all apples lovingly brought by visitors took up more and more space on the refrigerator shelf.

So, when sis asked me to bake a cake, I immediately decided that apples would be the base. I first picked a recipe from Good Housekeeping magazine but was unsure of some of the ingredients. Besides, nowadays, unless a recipe has good reviews, I do not try it out (unless, of course, it looks too good even on paper).

Then, I luckily stumbled upon this recipe for applesauce cake. This blog usually features great recipes and this cake did not disappoint either. It was easy to make and the end result was moist, fluffy and delicious.

I adapted the recipe a little. Here it is:
Applesauce Cake
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1/2 cup butter (I used 1/4 cup butter and a little less than 1/4 cup oil - use non-flavorful oils like vegetable, canola or sunflower oil)
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup applesauce (recipe below)
1/4 cup yogurt (diluted with a little water and mixed well)
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 tbsp slivered almonds


Method
1. Pre-heat oven to 180C. Grease a baking pan and lightly flour it
2. Sift the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking soda together a couple of times. Keep aside.
3. Beat the sugar with butter/oil till light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs one by one, mixing well after adding each egg.
5. Add in the applesauce and the vanilla essence and mix well.
6. Add in half of the dry mixture from step 1 and mix till almost blended.
7. Now add in the yogurt and the rest of the dry mix and stir till just mixed.
8. Pour in the mixture into the prepared pan.
9. Sprinkle the slivered almonds over the top of the cake.
10. Bake immediately for 30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in various parts of the cake comes out clean.
11. Cool completely on a wire-rack.

Recipe for apple sauce:
Ingredients (makes about a cup)
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped into medium pieces
1 tsp lemon juice
Water

Method
1. Place apple pieces in a pan and pour enough water to cover.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil and add lemon juice.
3. Cover pan and cook on medium-low heat for about 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Applesauce is done when apples can be easily mashed with the back of a spoon. Water remaining in the pan is okay.
5. Mash the apples with a big spoon or masher till it forms a mixture with little lumps.
6. Applesauce is ready. Cool before using in the above recipe.

Notes
1. You can add sugar/cinnamon powder to the apple-sauce as per your taste. I did not add any for the applesauce I used for the cake.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Cucumber Yoghurt dip

This is a great recipe to beat the summer heat. Can use it as a dip for chips or pita bread or roti or simply eat spoonful by yummy spoonful by itself.

This recipe is loosely based it on the Greek tzatziki - though the ingredients used are fewer and more common in Indian households.

Cucumber Yoghurt Dip

Cucumber yoghurt dip

Ingredients (makes enough for 2):
1 medium cucumber
1/2-3/4 cup of thick yogurt (non-fatfree yogurt tastes best)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium green chili (or to taste)
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
Sea salt to taste

Method:
1. Mix all the ingredients other than the cucumbers well.
2. Peel and chop the cucumber into small pieces and mix well with the yogurt mixture.
3. Adjust salt and serve immediately.

Notes:
1. If you want to prepare the dip beforehand, make and refrigerate the yogurt mix. Stir in the cucumbers just before serving.
2. You can also deseed the cucumbers before chopping.
3. If using as a dip, make sure yoghurt is thick (you can even strain the yogurt to remove as much liquid as possible).

Monday, April 25, 2011

Cold cinnamon chai latte

Drinking hot tea in the hot summer evenings was getting to be a bit too hot for me. Hence the idea of drinking iced tea. Besides adding a delicious flavor to tea, cinnamon has several health benefits too. Thus cinnamon tea became the beverage of choice and me being me, I came up with the quickest and laziest method of making the drink. Only thing is, you need to start an hour before you actually want to drink the tea (or else follow the shortcut listed in notes).
Cinnamon chai latte
Cold cinnamon chai latte

Ingredients (makes 1 cup):
1 cup water
1 tea-bag (black tea like Taj Mahal or Lipton)
Sugar to taste
1/4 - 1/2 tsp of cinnamon powder (start with a quarter tsp and increase per taste)
Milk to taste

Method:
1. Place tea bag in a microwave safe mug and pour water.
2. Microwave for 2 minutes and steep tea for another 4 minutes.
3. Toss out the tea-bag, add in the sugar and stir to dissolve.
4. Place mug in the freezer section of refrigerator for an hour (or till it gets cold enough for you - but don't wait till it turns to ice)!
5. Add in milk, stir.
6. Add in cinnamon powder and stir.
7. If you have one of those hand-held espresso frothers, go ahead and whir it through your drink for about 10 seconds or till the froth forms. Else, simply stir vigorously with a spoon till a froth forms.

Refreshing iced cinnamon tea is ready.

Notes:
1. You could always go ahead and brew tea leaves in boiling water in a saucepan instead of step 1. Like I said, I am lazy.
2. If you are out of time, use only half a cup of water for brewing the tea and then add ice-cubes/very cold water for the rest (I prefer the original way though).
3. You also whiz the tea in a blender for a few seconds after step 6 if you don't have a frother. Again, I am lazy :-).
4. About 3-4 drops of pure vanilla essence can also be added to the tea if you like. Do not use artificial vanilla essence - it will leave a weird bitter aftertaste.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Bagara Baingan (Seasoned Brinjal)

With the advent of summer, cooking, especially in the afternoon is torture. Hence I have taken to either cooking earlier in the mornings or at nights. Today was an exception -I cooked in the late afternoon since I wanted to have a "proper" dinner with phulkas, a side dish and a salad.

Of course, five minutes after lighting the gas-stove and looking like I had just come out from standing under a waterfall, I started having second thoughts. However, I cooled myself with frequent stops under the dining room fan as my bagara baingan cooked.

The recipe is heavily adapted from here.


Bagara Baingan
Brinjals floating in bagara sauce
 Ingredients (makes enough for 3):
6 small brinjals
1 medium onion
2 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 tbsp sesame seeds
2 tbsp peanuts (skin on is ok)
1.5 tsp red chilli powder
1.5 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 cumin powder
1 gooseberry sized tamarind
Salt to taste
Oil
Water

Method (optimized to minimize both time and vessels required):
1. Soak tamarind in 1 cup of warm water.
2. In a wide pan, dry roast peanuts and sesame seeds separately and keep aside.
3. In the same pan, add oil to coat and place on medium heat. Make plus shaped cuts on the brinjals (keeping the stem side intact so that the brinjals are still whole). Add them to the pan, toss around so the brinjals are lightly coated with oil. Cover the pan with a lid and let cook on low heat.
4. In the meantime, grind the peanuts and sesame seeds into a smooth paste with a little water.
5. Chop onions into small sized pieces. Extract the tamarind juice.
6. Check on the brinjals. They should be mostly done (meaning, when pressed the back of a spoon, the spoon should sink in fairly easily. If not, add a tablespoon of water and continue to cover and cook till done. When done, take brinjals out and keep aside.
7. In the same pan, increase heat to medium and add some more oil if insufficient (note, if you had used water in the previous step, wait for it to completely evaporate before you add in any more oil). Toss in the ginger garlic paste and stir-fry for a few seconds.
8. Toss in the onions and salt and cook till onions turn golden brown.
9. Add in the peanut-sesame paste and fry till raw smell disappears.
10. Toss in the masala powders and stir fry for a few seconds.
11. Add in the extracted tamarind juice and 1 cup of water. Mix well.
12. Add in the brinjals gently (so they don't break).
13. Cover and cook for 5-10 minutes.
14. Adjust for salt and garnish with coriander leaves.
15. Let rest for atleast 10 minutes and serve hot with rotis or rice.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Quick masala egg scramble

When you don't have the time or the patience to cook, here is a simple recipe for a side-dish which goes well with rotis.

Ingredients (enough for a generous portion for 1):
1 egg
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 green chilli, slit vertically and then chopped into 2
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp aamchur (or chat masala)
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:
1. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat
2. Drop in the green chilli and toast till white spots appear on it.
3. Add in the onions and salt and fry till golden brown.
4. Toss in the tomatoes and cook till mostly mushy.
5. Add all the masala powders and stir for a minute.
6. Break in the egg and mix till egg is scrambled and mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Cook till eggs are done (about 1-2 minutes).
8. Adjust for salt, garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Surprisingly delicious!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Potato Kurma

The other day, before the weekly shopping round, I only had a few potatoes, onions and tomatoes which could respectably call themselves vegetables. I wanted to make kurma and hence potato-kurma was a no brainer. I got this recipe from the same blog that featured the tasty kadala curry in the previous post.
Potato Kurma
The potato kurma was easy to make. I once again reduced the amount of coconut. The green chillis I used turned out to be way too spicy but otherwise the kurma was yummy. The last bit of seasoning with the onions and the cilantro was a great touch! It made the kurma visually appealing besides adding a nice oniony crunch. And oh, I also added a couple of whole boiled eggs sauteed in a bit of salt and pepper. Made a plus shaped slit on top of the eggs reaching half way before adding them in.

Kadala curry

Puttu and kadala curry is a famous breakfast combo in Kerala. While I have never had these two items together, I have made kadala curry a couple of times. I found an awesome recipe here.
Kadala Curry
I just made a couple of changes to the recipe. I reduced the amount of coconut to about 1/3rd of a cup. Correspondingly I reduced the amount of peppercorns to about 3/4th of a teaspoon though in retrospect I think maybe 1/2 teaspoon would have been enough even. Everything else was exactly the same as given in the recipe.

In case you are wondering like I did, 1 cup of dried kale channa translates to about 3 cups of cooked kale channa. The original recipe calls f or 3 cups of cooked kale channa.

The recipe made a lip-smacking combo with aapam and dosa.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Easy chicken biryani

This recipe makes tasty chicken biryani. As an added bonus, it is quite easy to make. I was quite thrilled when I put the lid on the pan for the last bit of cooking and realized that I had not spent much time over the stove. The secret to that was using oil liberally (still not as liberal as the recipe suggested). Now I realize why restaurants have such a free hand with oil and ghee!

I followed the recipe exactly as is except for these alterations:
1. Added 1 slit green chilli to the seasoning items.
2. Cut down the recipe to use 2 cups of basmati rice rather than 3 cups and scaled the rest of the ingredients accordingly.
3. I cooked basmati rice till it started boiling in the electric rice cooker.I also added a bay leaf to the basmati rice along with the water and salt before cooking.
4. Since Indian gas-stoves do not have the "very low" temperature setting, I heated a tawa on high, then reduced the heat to the lowest setting and placed the dutch oven containing the layered chicken and the rice on top of the tawa for the last stage of cooking.
5. After turning off the stove, I left the dutch oven covered for 10 more minutes before opening the lid and mixing the chicken and rice together.

This recipe is dedicated to my sis who recently wrote about her rather interesting experience making chicken biryani :-).

Monday, March 21, 2011

Jackfruit seed(palakottai) Stir Fry

Now that summer is almost upon us, all summer fruits are beginning to show their faces. Watermelon, nongu (palmyra fruit), jackfruit ... Yumm! I am loving it!

The other day the husband bought ripe jackfruit pieces. They were yummy. We downed several and thus had quite a significant pile of jackfruit seeds leftover. I have eaten jackfruit seeds in my childhood - typically, they go into sambhar or kuzhambu. Though I would eat them (jackfruit seeds are very nutritious), I wasn't particularly fond of them and thus wanted to try a new recipe this time.

Tada! Jackfruit seed stir fry! The following recipe is adapted from here The first time I made it as is Now, after two more attempts, I have found the following recipe is the easiest way to make the stir fry without compromising on taste.

Palakottai (Jackfruit seed) Stir Fry
Palakottai fry

Ingredients (enough for two):
30 or so jackfruit seeds (the silky outer cover should be removed and the seeds washed)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1.5 tsp sambhar powder
Salt to taste
Water

For seasoning:
1.5 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp urad dal seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida

Method:
1. Chop each of the jackfruit seeds into two. This is kinda hard when the seeds are dry. However, you can soak the whole seeds+ for about 30 minutes before chopping. This softens the seeds a little. If any of the white covers come off during chopping, great, discard them. Else, don't worry, we will deal with them soon.
2. In a pan, thrown in the chopped seeds, the turmeric powder, chilli powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Add water to cover.
3. Bring the water to a boil, cover pan with a lid and cook on medium till the seeds are done (about 15-20 minutes). They should be soft but not mushy and still should have a crunch left in them.
4. Discard all the white covers which may have separated from the seeds. Then comes the tedious part: for all the seed-halves that still have the white cover on them, peel the white cover and discard. It does not matter if the brown cover is still on the seeds.
5. In a frying pan, add in the oil. Toss in urad-dal and when it changes color slightly, add in the mustard seeds. As soon as it pops, add in the hing and curry leaves.
6. Toss in the jackfruit-seed halves.
7. Sprinkle sambhar powder.
8. Add salt to taste (remember you already used some while cooking the seeds).
9. Toss till all the seeds are coated with sambhar powder and the raw smell of sambhar powder is gone.

Serve hot with rice, sambhar and/or rasam.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Chicken liver pepper fry

My husband is a liver-lover. I don't care much for it though.I had to be forced to eat it during childhood - liver was considered to be very nutritious and thus was one of the foods I had to eat compulsorily.

This recipe from Solai's kitchen made such delicious liver fry that I voluntarily ate a few spoonfuls. My husband polished off the entire dish. Try it out!
Chicken liver pepper fry
 I made the dish with chicken liver and halved the ingredients as eye-balling told me that I probably had closer to 100g of liver rather than 200g.



Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Potato Masala

Puri-masala is a very popular breakfast item in Tamilnadu. This dish usually makes an appearance when special guests come home or when the family wants a "treat".

I though, have always been at a loss when figuring out why this dish is so special. I mean, puri is bland, masala is bland - why would that make a good combination?

But, strike out the puri and instead add in dosa and coconut chutney. Then, we are so back in business! Masala dosa and coconut chutney is one of those made-for-each-other, to-die-for combos. It is possible to eat quite a lot of dosas with masala and coconut chutney in attendance.

Potato Masala
Potato masala is a very easy dish to make. It probably takes only about 20-25 minutes from start to finish, prep-work and cooking time included. Make sure you set the potatoes to boil before your start prepping the rest of the ingredients. This recipe is from Mom's blog and is very easy to follow and make.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Wheat (Godumai) Dosai

I love all things wheat. Wheat dosai is the latest in the long list of wheat-based dishes that I like. My husband absolutely detests wheat dosai - but hey, I am the cook :-P!

The following recipe is mostly from here with minor variations:
Godumai Dosai
Godumai dosai cooking on the tawa

Ingredients (makes 3 dosais)
Whole wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Rice flour - 2 tbsp
Green chilli - 1, chopped
Onion - 1, chopped (optional)
Curry leaves - 5, torn into small pieces
Jeera - 1 tsp
Water - 1 cup (adjust per requirement)
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:
1. Fry the jeera, chillis, curry leaves and onion together in a little oil till the onion turns golden. Cool the mixture completely.
2. In a separate bowl, mix the wheat flour, rice flour and salt.
3. Add water little by little to the wheat flour mixture while stirring so that no lumps are formed. The consistency should be slightly thinner than dosa batter.
4. Add in the cooled mixture from step 1 to the batter.
5. Let the batter rest for 15-30 minutes.
6. Heat a cast-iron griddle on medium and wipe the surface with a cloth dipped in oil.
7. Make the wheat dosai the same way that you would make rava dosa or adai (i.e. pour the batter from outside to inside in concentric circles and fill in the gaps).
8. Serve hot with sambhar or chutney or podi or all three!

Notes
1. You can add the ingredients in step 1 without frying too.
2. Wheat dosai takes longer to cook than regular dosai. Also, it tastes better when the dosai is browned a little rather when it is "just done".


Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Kovakkai (Tindora) Fry

I was never a kovakkai fan. In fact that was one of the vegetables on my "I will be excused from eating this vegetable" list (the other was pavakkai or bitter gourd. I was not allowed to have more than two veggies on that list).

To my surprise I started eating this vegetable in the US and in fact, even started liking it. It's true, your taste buds evolve as you grow. And oh, I have now taken pavakkai off my will not eat list too!

I tried this kovakkai fry recipe from Solai's kitchen and am happy to report that the end result is yummy, just like all the comments on that blog said it would be.
Kovakkai Poriyal
 I did not make any changes to the recipe. I made 1/2 kg of kovakkai though and hence doubled everything other than the water used to cook the kovakkai.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Tomato Salad

Tomatoes were on sale at the local grocery store and I wound up with quite a lot of them. The next step was to make a colorful tomato salad.
Tomato Salad

Ingredients (makes enough for 2-3):
Tomatoes - 4 large
Green capsicum - 1
Onion - 1 medium
Sea salt to taste

Dressing:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 3 cloves, grated
Black pepper - 1/2 tsp, freshly ground
Fresh lemon juice - 1 tsp

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and keep aside.

Method:
1. De-seed the tomatoes and chop into fairly big pieces. Place the cut pieces on a colander and sprinkle with sea salt. Keep aside for 15 minutes and discard any drained juice.
2. Chop the capsicum into medium-small pieces. Chop the onions into medium-small pieces as well and make sure the onion layers are separate.
3. Toss the chopped veggies together.
4. Add the dressing and toss again. Adjust salt and pepper as per taste.
5. Serve after letting the salad rest for at least 15 minutes.

Notes
1. You could refrigerate the salad before serving.
2. You could add a peeled and chopped cucumber to the salad as a variation.

Monday, March 7, 2011

Basic bhindi (okra/vendakkai/ladies finger) fry

Ladies finger is my most favorite vegetable. It is probably the only vegetable I can eat no matter how well or how badly it is cooked (I hate it when it is drenched in oil. When that happens, I grumble, squeeze out the oil and still eat it). I think ladies finger tastes best when it is tender and is cooked with minimal oil and mild spices just till the raw smell disappears.

Here is a basic ladies finger recipe which tastes good even when the ladies fingers aren't all that tender. It makes a great combo with rasam-rice though it tastes good with rotis and dal too.

Ladies finger fry

Ingredients (makes enough for 2-3):
Ladies finger (okra) - 1/2 kg (washed, dried and sliced into 1/8" thick rounds)
Onion - 1 big, finely chopped
Tomato - 1 big, finely chopped
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Dhania powder - 2 heaped tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste


To Season:
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Broken urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Red chillis - 2, broken
Asafoetida - a pinch
Curry leaves - a sprig
Oil

Method:
1. Coat the bottom of a wide, non-stick pan with about 1 tsp oil and place on medium heat.
2. Add the seasoning items: mustard seeds, urad dal and red chillis. When mustard begins to splutter, add asafoetida and curry leaves in quick succession.
3. Add onions and salt and fry till golden.
4. Add tomatoes and fry till it is more or less mashed.
5. Add the chilli, coriander and turmeric powders and fry for 30 seconds.
6. Add the okra a little at a time, stirring carefully after each addition so that the okra is mixed well with the onion-tomato mixture (use a light hand or you will mash the okra).
7. Spread okra over the bottom of the pan, lower the heat, cover with a lid and let cook for 6-8 minutes without disturbing
8. Uncover, stir okra, cover again and cook for 4-5 minutes.
9. Uncover, check for done-ness. If done, cook without the lid for 2-3 minutes. Else re-cover and cook in 2 minute additions
10. Check for salt and serve hot with rice or rotis.

Koottu Rasam

I am a big rasam lover. Rasam is the first "dish" I learnt to make. Which isn't a very big feat considering how easy rasam is to make usually. Nevermind that I only learnt later that it is possible to screw up making rasam too (some people really can't cook - such is life).

Anyhoo, the most time consuming part of making rasam is boiling the tur dal to put in it. It is only a small quantity of dal which goes into rasam but still I feel that it is a must for the rasam-y taste I like.

Thus, I was thrilled when I came upon this rasam recipe on my cousin's blog which included tur dal but did not require separate boiling of the same.

Brief digression (and plug) - that blog has authentic recipes from the Kumbakonam area of Tamilnadu. My cousin's mom is a great cook and my lucky cousin has inherited those genes. Furthermore, he has been patiently and painstakingly putting down the recipes (from paper and through the telephone) onto a blog. Check those out!

I made some minor changes to the original koottu rasam recipe. Here is my version.

Koottu Rasam
Steaming koottu rasam

Ingredients (enough rasam for 4-5):


To roast and grind:
Tur Dal, 2 tsp
Red chilies, 2
Whole black pepper, 1 tsp
Cumin, 1 tsp
Garlic, 2 cloves, peeled

Roast all of the above without oil and grind into a coarse powder.

Base:
Water, 4 cups
Tamarind, gooseberry sized ball
Turmeric powder, 1/2 tsp
Tomato, 1 medium, crushed into a pulp using hands
Salt to taste

Extract the tamarind and then mix with the rest of the base ingredients

To season
Mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp
Urad dal, 1/2 tsp
Green chilli, 1 small, split vertically
A pinch of asafoetida
Curry leaves, 1 sprig
Oil, 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves, 1 tbsp, chopped

Method:
1. Add the coarsely ground powder to the base and mix well.
2. Heat a sauce-pan on medium, add the mixture from step 1 and bring to a boil.
3. In a separate seasoning pan, add oil, urad dal, green chilli and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds begin to crackle, add asafoetida and curry leaves in quick succession and add the entire contents of the seasoning pan to the boiling mixture from step 2.
4. Turn off heat, check for salt, garnish with coriander leaves.

Serve hot with rice.

Notes
1. Coriander leaves give a lovely aroma to rasam. Try not to skip them unless you have to!


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Spicy Masala Shrimp (prawns)

We went to the fish-stall yesterday and bought shrimp as they looked quite fresh in their shells. The store-keeper was very helpful and offered to de-shell as well as de-vein the prawns. How nice! Obviously, we took up on the offer and brought home about a 1/4 kg of cleaned prawns.

Prawns sauteed in butter and seasoned with freshly ground pepper and salt tastes divine. However, it is not so healthy. But then, prawns being what they are, they taste quite divine when cooked with desi spices too.
Spicy Masala Prawns
Ingredients (makes enough for 2-3):
[Don't be daunted by the long list. The recipe is quite easy to make.]

Marinate:
1/4 kg cleaned prawns
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp red chili powder
3 tsp garlic powder (optional)

Mix all the ingredients together and leave in fridge overnight or outside for a couple of hours.

To Season:
Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 broken red chillis
1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
7-8 torn curry leaves

To cook:
1 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp garlic paste
1 long green chilli, chopped fine
25 shallots, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dhania powder
1/2 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder (optional)
1/2 tsp fennel powder
Oil
Salt

Method:

[Remember to bring prawns to room temperature before starting to cook.]
1. Put a wide non-stick pan on a stove on medium heat and add oil enough to coat base of the pan.
2. Add the seasoning ingredients in the following order: mustard seeds and red chilis. When mustard begins to crackle, add hing followed by curry leaves.
3. Add the ginger, garlic and green chilis. Stir all the while to make sure nothing burns.
4. When the above mixture begins to turn color, add chopped coriander leaves and stir for a couple of seconds.
5. Toss in the onions and sufficient salt (remember, you have already added some salt to the prawns).
6. Stir fry the onions till they turn golden-brown and then add in the masala powders other than fennel powder (chili, dhania, turmeric, pepper, garam masala, kashmiri chili).
7. Stir fry for a few seconds and then add in chopped tomatoes and mix in well.
8. Add about 2-3 tbsp of water, cover the pan, lower the heat and allow it to cook till the tomatoes turn mushy (about 2-3 minutes).
9. Increase the heat, uncover the pan and continue stir frying till all the water has almost evaporated
10. Toss in the prawns and spread them so each prawn has contact with base of the pan.
11. Once the prawns have changed color, flip them and cook the other side.
12. Prawns cook really fast - so steps 10 and 11 should be done in under 3 minutes. Do not overcook prawns or they will become rubbery.
13. Adjust salt as necessary. Sprinkle fennel powder and mix it in to spread it evenly.
14. Switch off heat and serve after 10 minutes or so. If you plan to serve later, when you reheat, try to do it on the stove and  reheat only till the prawns masala heats through (about 1-2 minutes).

Goes very well with hot, steamed rice or if you are feeding tongues of steel, as an appetizer by itself!

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Poha (aval upma)

Long before the very-similar-to-make Sabudana kichdi joined the list of quick-meals, poha was already a permanent member. I had never heard of poha till I went to grad school where a whole bunch of Maharashtrian friends swore by it. Seeing how easy it was to make and how satisfying the end result was, I was hooked. Poha has got me through many days of "I don't want to spend much time cooking but I want to eat a nice, hot meal".
A spoonful of poha

Ingredients (enough for two):
Poha (aval) - 1 cup
Onion - 1, medium-sized, chopped
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Red chilis - 3, broken
Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup, de-skinned and broken into halves
Jeera - 1 tsp
Lemon juice - 2 tsp (or to taste)
Coriander leaves - 2 tbsp, chopped
Oil - 1.5 tsp
Salt

Method:
1. Soak the poha by placing poha in a dish and pouring enough water to cover. Poha absorbs water pretty well and pretty fast so you will probably need a little more water beyond just covering the poha.
2. Place a pan on the stove on medium heat and add the red chillies and the jeera.
3. When jeera begins to crackle, add the onions and stir fry till the onions turn lightly golden.
4. Add the turmeric, salt and peanuts and continue stirring till the raw smell of turmeric disappears. Onions should only be lightly cooked, not roasted to a brown color.
5. Add the soaked poha (it should be soft but there should not be excess water) and gently stir till it is well mixed with the onion-peanut mixture.
6. Continue cooking on medium heat till the poha is heated through (about 4-5 minutes).
7. Turn off heat and add lime juice. Stir/toss, so that the juice spreads evenly.
8. Top with coriander leaves and serve hot.


Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sabudana Kichdi

Every time I get busy at work, cooking immediately takes a backseat. Don't even ask about blogging.

Sabudana kichdi is a tasty dish if you like the spongy, chewy texture of sabudana (variously called as sago or tapioca pearls or javvarisi). It requires a little bit of planning since you need to soak the sabudana beforehand but the actual making process is quite simple and quick - making it an ideal recipe for not-enough-time-to-cook times.
Sabudana Kichdi

Ingredients (makes enough for 2):
Sabudana - 1 cup
Potato - 1 medium-sized, chopped into small pieces
Green chillis - 2, split vertically
Roasted peanuts - 1/4 cup, de-skinned and lightly crushed
Jeera - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Lemon Juice - 2 tsp or per taste
Corriander leaves - 1 handful, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil

Method:
1. Soak the sabudana in water for 8 hours or overnight. The way I measure the amount of water needed is: Place the sabudana in a bowl, pour enough water to just cover. Then pour some more water so that the level of water is up to the first line-marking (from top) on the inside your index finger when it is placed on the top layer of sabudana. A friend taught me this and this method ensures that you do not use too much or too little water.
2. In case there is any water remaining with the soaked sabudana the next day, drain it and spread the sabudana on a plate to lightly dry. Too much water will result in a soggy mess.
3. Heat enough oil to coat in a non-stick pan on medium heat. Non stick is important if you want to avoid using copious quantities of oil and prevent sticking to the pan.
4. Toss in the jeera and the green chillis and lightly stir till the jeera crackles.
5. Add the chopped potato pieces and stir till they are evenly coated with oil/jeera.
6. Add the turmeric, stir again, then lower the heat and cover the pan.
7. When potatoes are almost done (about 4-5 minutes), add in the sabudana. Stir continuously with a light hand as you add the sabudana to prevent sticking.
8. From this point, DO NOT cover the pan at any time.
9. Add the crushed peanut pieces and salt. Continue stirring lightly from time to time.
10. When the sabudana pearls turn translucent (about 5-7 minutes), the kichdi is done.
11. Turn off heat, add the lemon juice and stir/toss the kichdi so the juice spreads evenly.
12. Top with coriander leaves and serve hot.

Notes:
1. The most important thing to get right for this recipe is the sabudana. They should be soaked but not soggy when you add them.
2. If your sabudana kichdi turns out to be a big sticky ball when it is done, check the following:
a) are you using a non-stick pan or sufficient oil in case of a regular pan? With a regular pan, you would easily be looking at 2-3 tbsp of oil to avoid stickiness.
b) are you cooking on too high heat? The kichdi should be cooked on medium-low to medium heat.
c) Are you stirring with a heavy hand? Stir lightly because you are only trying to make sure that the sabudana gets coated with mild spices, not because you are trying to dissolve it into a gruel.
d) As mentioned before, DO NOT cover the pan once you have added sabudana - a covered pan is the best way to ensure a sticky ball.
e) At no time should you be adding any water. If the kichdi seems to be sticking to the bottom of the pan, lower heat and drizzle some more oil into it.

Once you get the sabudana right, the recipe is a breeze to make. I know because I did make a couple of sticky balls before I started getting it consistently right. The effort was not wasted - now I have one more tasty dish on my quick-meal options!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Moroccan orange cake

I think I have been blowing my own trumpet too much about my baking abilities. Sis (who is not in my city and hence not one of the frequent recipients of my culinary output) is so impressed that she asked me to bake a cake and send it to her. So this cake is traveling all the way to Hong Kong now!

Sis picked orange cake and I Googled and got this recipe:

http://moroccanfood.about.com/od/dessertsandcookies/r/orange_cake.htm

The cake has simple ingredients and is easy to put together. However, contrary to what the comments in the link say, I could not detect any orangey flavor while baking. The cake did came out looking spongy.

I followed the recipe as is with the following modifications:

1. Halved the recipe - correspondingly the baking time was about 25 minutes.
2. I do not own a bundt pan, so used a regular round cake tin.
3. Sprinkled sliced almonds (or whatever version of sliced I could get using a knife, a chopping board and almonds) on top of the cake before baking.
4 . After cooling the cake for about 10 minutes, I dusted powdered sugar on top. You can skip this if you prefer milder sweetness.

Orange cake cooling on an improvised rack.
I have not tasted the cake. Will update the result of the taste test once I hear back from sis!

Update:
Verdict from sis: The cake is totally yummy. It is so spongy and soft.

Yeah, this recipe is a keeper!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Malabar parotta

Here is a great recipe and detailed steps for making the fluffy and layered Malabar parottas:

http://deepann.wordpress.com/2006/02/20/kerala-porotta/

Yes, it is easier to heat and eat the frozen parotta from the store, but this recipe lets you control the amount of oil going into the parotta and also has a delicious end-result!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

How to fry fish with minimal oil

Craving fried fish but not craving the extra calories? Here's how to fry the fish with minimal oil as learnt from my mom and aunts. This takes longer than simply dunking the fish in hot oil but the extra time is worth it.

Tawa fish fry
 You'll need:
Marinated fish pieces
A tawa
A lid to cover the entire tawa
Oil

Method:
1. Coat the entire tawa with a thin film of oil.
2. Place it on a stove at medium-high heat and heat it.
3. Place the fish slices without overlap on the tawa.
4. Cover the tawa with the lid and cook till the fish starts changing color (meaning it has gotten cooked). This will take 3-4 minutes. Medium high heat should not be burning the fish, but if it is, reduce the heat to medium. If the fish seems too dry, add a few drops of oil around the sides.
5. Flip the fish over and repeat step 4.
6. Now reduce the heat further to simmer and flip the fish again. This time cook without the lid for about 2-3 minutes.
7. Flip the fish and repeat step 6.

At this point, fish will be done. Serve hot!

Remember to heat up the tawa on medium-high heat and coat it with a thin film of oil before frying every batch of fish.

Fish Marinade:
Can be any combo of the following
Red chilli powder
Dhania seeds
Turmeric powder
Cumin seeds
Saunf seeds
Fenugreek seeds (only a little, say 5-7, too much will add a bitter taste)
A few fresh garlic cloves
A little tamarind

Grind all of the above with enough salt for the quantity of fish you have got and a little water to make a fine paste. Apply on all sides of the fish and marinate for a couple of hours outside or overnight in the refrigerator. Bring down to room temperature before cooking if you had placed the fish in the fridge.

No quantities are mentioned for the ingredients above on purpose. It varies depending on the quantity of fish and your palate.  In general, the chilli powder and dhania would form the base for the marinade while the rest of the ingredients act as accents.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Beetroot Cabbage Soup

I could eat different kinds of bread everyday for the rest of my life and still die happy (provided you feed me chicken biryani from time to time). I love bread! As a side effect, I like eating salads, sandwiches and soup too - since bread makes an awesome accompaniment to these dishes.

Today is one of those "I don't feel like cooking for lunch" days. While just eating bread would have been okay with me, with my new resolution to eat more healthy, I decided I should include some veggies for lunch. The quick and easy option was to concoct a soup using ingredients in the pantry. Thus was born this healthy cabbage-beetroot soup.


Ingredients (makes enough for two as a starter or for one as a whole meal):
1 medium beetroot, chopped
1/4 of a small cabbage, chopped
5 shallots or 1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 torn bay leaf
1 tsp dried rosemary (or any herb seasoning of your choice)
5 pepper corns
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Add all the ingredients to a pan and fill with water up to about one inch above the veggies.
2. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about an hour or until a beetroot piece can be mashed with a spoon.
3. Drain the excess water from the boiled mixture and reserve.
4. Fish out and toss the bay leaves from the boiled mixture and then cool the mixture. Grind to a fine paste (make sure the mixture is completely cooled before grinding. Otherwise you will wind up with a very clean kitchen. Because you would have wiped off the splattered mess from the walls, the ceiling, the counter-tops, the various kitchen apparatus and the floor. Trust me on this).
5. Add water from step 3 to the ground veggie mix to dilute the soup to the consistency you like.
6. Heat the soup through on the stove top or with a microwave.
7. Season with salt and pepper to taste. You can add a dollop of butter before serving, if you wish to.

Serve hot with toasted bread on the side.

A variation would be the "sweat" the vegetables before boiling them. Sweating refers to the process of adding butter/oil to a pan to coat, adding the veggies, stirring it a bit and then covering and cooking them on a low flame for about 5 minutes. This will get rid of the raw smell of the veggies. This is the tastier, albeit slightly less healthy variation of making the soup.

Raw Banana Stir fry

 This recipe is adapted from cookdtv. Ingredients 1 raw banana or 2 small bananas 2 tbsp sesame oil 1/2 tsp mustard 6 cloves crushed garlic ...