the conflicted cook

Oatmeal Upma

2009-12-17T15:42:00.004-05:00

I've been trying to use oatmeal a lot these days. I have trouble with it as a cereal and I have 2 whole packets that I wanted to use up one way or the other. I tried dosa, which came out ok, so I moved on to upma. It was pretty good. I've tried it a few times now and it was consistently good, giving me a chance to post it. It follows the standard recipe for upma, just substituting the sooji with coarsely powdered oatmeal. I topped it off with some toasted nuts. You can use peanuts, cashews, walnuts or almonds. I made this a while ago and I'm not totally sure about the proportion of water and oatmeal. It might be off by about half a cup, so need to adjust it depending on the consistency.

Ingredients:

Oatmeal, coarsely powdered in a blender - 1 and half cups
Water - 3 cups
Onion, chopped - 1
Green chilies, chopped -2
Ginger, a small piece, about an inch, chopped
Salt - 1 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1tsp
Chana dal - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, curry leaves. Saute for a minute. Add chopped onions, green chilies, ginger. Saute until the onions turn translucent.
Add water, salt and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low.
Add oatmeal in a steady stream, with constant stirring to prevent any lumps. Cover, turn up the heat to medium and cook until the oatmeal is set and cooked.
Garnish with toasted nuts and serve hot with chutney.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-11-24T09:53:00.003-05:00

This is just the classic Nestle Toll House recipe that's on the bag of chocolate chips. There isn't really anything new to say about this; they are just great, are chewy when baked for the right number of minutes, are crunchy when baked for a few minutes longer. I used half the amount of ingredients to get about 2 dozen cookies.

Here's the recipe.

Paneer Butter Masala

2009-11-23T11:05:00.003-05:00

Growing up, I've never liked paneer. I thought it was chalky and didn't care for it much. I revisited it recently when I bought it on an impulse. I let it sit in the fridge for a few days until it came to the point where I had to cook it or throw it away. So came about the Paneer butter masala. While I religiously avoided all kinds of paneer dishes at Indian restaurants, from Palak Paneer to Paneer Tikka Masala, I found to my surprise, that I actually liked it when I cooked it. But G still doesn't care for it much and I rarely cook anything for myself, so I don't know if I'll be using paneer that often. I made paneer burji with the remaining paneer, which I ate all by myself as G wouldn't touch it. I can't decide if that's a good thing or not.

Ingredients:

Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese) - 1 and 1/2 cups
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Butter - 1 tbsp
Milk - 1 cup + 1/2 cup
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Onions, fine choppped - 1
Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Cut the paneer into cubes. Heat oil in a skillet and saute the paneer cubes until they are lightly browned. Drain and keep aside.
Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add chopped onions and saute until tender. Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for few more minutes.
Add tomato paste, cumin powder, coriander powder. Add milk, stir to mix thoroughly and simmer until the gravy thickens.
Add the paneer cubes, salt and red chili powder. Add more milk to adjust the consistency of the gravy. Simmer for additional 5-7 minutes. Can add cream instead of milk.
Garnish with cilantro and serve warm with roti.

Paratha With Squash/ Flat Bread With Squash

2009-11-22T20:44:00.004-05:00

Ingredients:

Wheat flour/ Atta - 3 and 1/2 cups
Opo Squash, peeled, grated - 1 and 1/2 cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Coriander powder - 1tsp
Oil - 1 tsp to the dough
PAM - spray, to fry the parathas

Preparation:

In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, grated squash and the rest of the ingredients and knead to make a dough. Do not add any water. Knead again and let the dough rest for 3o minutes.
When ready, pull small pieces from the dough and make small balls, about the size of a golf ball. Lightly dust the work surface and roll out each ball into a circular shape with a rolling pin.
Heat the griddle. Place the paratha and spray with PAM lightly at the edges and at the center. Flip it after about 3 minutes when dark brown spots appear. Let cook for 2 more minutes until brown spots appear on the other side as well. Serve hot with any curry, rice or pickle.

Thai Red Curry

2009-11-21T11:27:00.005-05:00

We love Thai curries, and while I've tried versions of those with coconut milk, I never got around to buying lemon grass and making those pastes myself. I've tried making the green curry paste but it didn't quite turn out alright. I've postponed making the pastes myself this time and instead went with the store bought one. The only drawback with this one was that, we didn't find it spicy/hot enough. I guess that's easily remediable by adding a little bit of cayenne pepper or more chillies. I also can't figure out why I get a mottled/spot like appearance of the coconut milk if I let it simmer for longer than 10 minutes. Otherwise, it's a keeper and a quick recipe. I used assorted vegetables ( whatever I had at that time) and didn't use fish sauce. Since I used potato and it got slightly overcooked, the gravy was thicker and creamy.

Ingredients:

Thai Red Curry Paste - 1 tbsp
Chinese Eggplant, small - 1
Potato, small - 1
Beans - handful
Carrot - 1
Peas - handful
Light Cocconut Milk - 1 can
Brown sugar -1/2tsp
Oil - 1/2tbsp

Preparation:

Chop the vegetables and keep them aside.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add red curry paste and saute until fragrant, for about 2-3 minutes.
Add the chopped vegetables. Add just a little bit of water to immerse the vegetables. Cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes until they are almost cooked.
Add coconut milk. Add brown sugar. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

Omelette Rolls

2009-10-28T13:14:00.003-04:00

I bought my very own cook book for the first time, and while I was going through it I came across Thai Omelette Rolls. I didn't have most of the ingredients it called for, so I just went with whatever I had. It wasn't very different from how I normally make the omelette. The only major difference was to make it very thin, so it can be rolled over and cut into small rolls. I added onions in one omelette and obviously that made it heavier, with thicker rolls. I omitted all the optional items for the litte one.

This takes up a little bit more oil than I normally use for a simple omelette because it is thinner, and needs to slide off the pan.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Salt - to season
Pepper - to season
Soy sauce - few drops
Cilantro, fresh, finely chopped - 1tbsp
Green chillies, finely chopped - 2 (optional)
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Curry leaves, finely chopped - 3-4(optional)
Onion, finely chopped - 2 tbsp (optional)
Oil - 1tbsp

Preparation:

Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add all the other ingredients to the eggs except the oil and mix thoroughly.
Heat oil in a pan. Pour the eggs and swirl the pan so that it is coated with the eggs, thinly and evenly. Cook for a few minutes until it is browned. If you are able to flip it without breaking it, do it and let cook for a couple of minutes, and then gently slide it off the pan onto a plate.
If it is too thin to be flipped, just ease it off onto a plate and flip the plate onto the pan. Cook for another 2 minutes, then slide it onto the plate again.
Let the omelette cool for a few minutes. Roll it and cut diagonally into 2 inch rolls. Serve warm with any favorite dip or sauce.

Pan Fried Tilapia With Sauteed Onions

2009-10-25T13:40:00.007-04:00

I think the title is self-explanatory and the recipe is pretty easy. I'm a little wary of grilling or baking the fish as I can never get the exact level of doneness; they are usually too hard or not done right. I simply wanted to pan fry it, which I did initially, but then went on to saute the onions and just add whatever I could find. The result was pretty good but G complained that it was a bit bland. He likes everything fiery hot, so I am guessing they would be okay for most people. I just need to add more green chillies and red chilli powder for him next time, and maybe do away with the yougurt

Ingredients:

Tilapia fillets - 2
Salt - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder - pinch
Ginger- garlic paste -1 tbsp
All purpose flour - 1/2 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

For the onion saute:

Onions, large, chopped - 1
Green chillies, slit vertically - 4
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Garlic cloves, chopped coarsely -2
Salt -1/4 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Soy sauce - 1/8tsp
Hot sauce - 1/8tsp
Yogurt - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tsp

Preparation:

Cut the fish fillets into small rectangular pieces. Each fillet yielded about 6-7 pieces.
Place the pieces in a mixing bowl. Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste and combine well to coat the pieces. Adjust the seasoning to desired spice level. Add all purpose flour and combine well.
Heat oil in a skillet and pan fry the fish in batches, until browned and done. Remove from the skillet and keep them aside.
Wipe the skillet with a paper towel and heat a little oil again. Add curry leaves, onions and green chillies, chopped garlic. Saute and let the onions fry until they get to a deeper shade of brown and not just translucent.
Add salt, red chili powder, soy sauce, hot sauce and stir well. Add yogurt, stir and let cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Return the fish pieces to the skillet. Stir gently and let cook for another 3-4 minutes. Serve hot, with a side of vegetables or steamed rice.

Egg Masala

2009-10-24T10:48:00.007-04:00

I usually cook the egg curry more often than this, with onions, tamarind or tomatoes, which is a curry with lots of gravy. This is more a saute/ stir fry of hard boiled eggs. I like this and can manage to eat the eggs which I otherwise avoid. It is pretty easy to make and is a good side dish to dals, rasam or sambar. I can eat as is too, if it's not too spicy.

Ingredients: (make about 2 servings)

Hard boiled eggs, cut into quarters - 3
Onions, finely chopped, medium sized - 2
Green chillies, chopped - 3
Salt - 1tsp
Red chilli powder - 1tsp
Turmeric powder (optional) - pinch
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Coriander powder -1tsp
Oil -1tbsp
Water - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add chopped onions, green chillies. Saute until the onions turn translucent. Add salt, red chilli powder, turmeric powder.
Add water and let simmer for a few minutes until it dries up
Add egg quarters. Add cumin powder, coriander powder. Season with more salt and red chilli powder if necessary. Stir gently trying not to separate egg whites from yellows. Some of them will anyway, and some will pop too. Saute until the eggs are browned, for about 7-8 minutes. Serve hot.

The 'I don't want to cook' phase!

2009-10-11T14:08:00.003-04:00

Back from a busy and exhausting vacation to India. In no mood to cook and I suspect the 'I hate cooking' phase is going to set in and might last a little while. Will have to wait and see. Meanwhile, the recipes and posts I made before leaving are languishing in drafts. Sigh!

Kheema/ Ground Lamb

2009-09-02T22:04:00.009-04:00

I used to love kheema back home. I really didn't know how to cook it and tried the standard recipe I use for most meats, with ginger-garlic paste and garam masala. It tasted dramatically different from what I had in mind. It wasn't bad but nothing like what my mother used to make. It is only weeks after I made this that I got the recipe from my mother. She usually marinates it in yogurt and cooks in a pressure cooker. She then sautes it with the spices. I guess I'll just have to try that recipe later on.

Ingredients:

Ground lamb - 2lbs
Onion, large, chopped finely - 1
Green chilies, chopped - 3
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick, broken into halves - 1
Cloves - 4
Oil - 2tbsp
Salt - 2 tsp
Red chili powder - 2tbsp
Cilantro - to garnish

Preparation:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add cloves and cinnamon stick.
Add chopped onions and green chilies. Saute until tender.
Add ginger-garlic paste and saute for about 5-8 minutes.
Add ground lamb. Cover with a tight lid and cook with frequent stirring, as it tends to stick to the pan. Cook for about 15-20 minutes. Add salt, red chili powder and garam masala. Stir and add oil if necessary, to keep from sticking to the pan. As I didn't add any water, it took longer for the meat to get cooked. It's also a bit dry. Cook until done.

Vegetable Cutlets

2009-08-31T13:27:00.008-04:00

This is one more among the childhood favorites. These usually taste terrible in Indian restaurants here, I am not sure why. I guess they might be using frozen patties. But when made fresh, they are really good. They make a great appetizer for parties and when you have people over...as long as you don't care about the calories. The ingredients here made about 15 - 18, depending on the size.

I once had potato and cheese puffs at a Bavarian restaurant and they tasted quite similar to these even though there is no cheese in this recipe. I wanted try those for a long time but ended up making these, as I didn't have any cheese at that point. I couldn't tell whether they were baked or deep fried. I think I'm going to add some cheese to these patties and bake them next time, and see how they turn out.

Ingredients:

Potatoes, medium sized - 3
Peas -1/2 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Cumin powder -1 tsp
Coriander powder - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Green chilies, finely chopped - 2-3 (optional)
Cilantro, finely chopped- 1/4 cup (optional)
Egg - 1
All purpose flour - 2 tbsp
Bread crumbs - approximately 1/2 cup
Oil - to deep fry

Preparation:

Wash the potatoes, cut each into about 4 pieces. Boil the potaoes. Peel them and let cool. Mash them.
Add salt, pepper, red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, green chilies, cilantro.
Add egg. Add all purpose flour and mix to form a dough.
Make small balls from the dough, flatten them to either circular or oval patties. Roll each patty in bread crumbs to coat lightly. Shake excess crumbs off, else they tend to burn and darken sooner than the patties fry.
Deep fry in oil, on medium flame, in batches, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Serve hot with chutney or ketch up.

Scrambled Egg/ Egg Porutu

2009-08-29T15:16:00.006-04:00

I used to love this when I was a kid. It was a family favorite and so easy to prepare, as a quick fix for a dinner. These days though, I take out the yellow from most eggs and just add one or two token yellows. It doesn't taste the same when made with only egg whites. So I don't make this as often and when I do, I try to sneak in as many whole eggs as I can. My mom adds milk to this recipe but I've noticed that it doesn't really make a difference. I could eat this by itself, as a side, without any rice, roti or anything else. It tastes great in a sandwich too, when you use the sandwich maker.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 5-6
Onions, finely chopped - 1 large or 2 medium sized
Green chilies, chopped - 3
Turmeric (optional) - a pinch
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add chopped onions and green chilies. Add turmeric powder. Saute until the onions turn translucent.
Add salt and red chili powder. Add 2 tbsp of water and saute for another 5 minutes.
Add eggs and stir. Scramble the eggs as much or as little, depending on how big or small you want the pieces of scrambled egg to be. I like it to be thoroughly mixed with the onion where as G likes them to be chunky. Cook until the egg is cooked through, almost browned and starts separating from the pan, along with oil. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Cornmeal Mush/ Cornmeal Upma

2009-08-27T21:07:00.003-04:00

I saw the recipe for cornmeal mush on the box for corn meal, and thought it seemed exactly like upma, except that it didn't have the spices. It doesn't exactly taste like upma made with sooji but it's close. I wanted to try the recipe for mexican corn bread which was also on the box, but this seemed faster for a quick breakfast and went with this.

Ingredients:

Cornmeal - 1 cup
Onion, chopped, small -1
Green chilies, chopped -2
Ginger, chopped -1tbsp
Peas - 1/4 cup
Salt -1/2 tbsp

Oil - 1-2 tbsp
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Chana dal - 1tsp
Curry leaves - 1 sprig

Water - 1 cup+ 3 cups

Preparation:

Soak cornmeal in 1 cup water and keep aside.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add curry leaves, mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal. Saute for a couple of minutes until the dals are browned.
Add onion, green chilies, ginger. Saute until the onions turn translucent. Add peas.
Add 3 cups of water and salt. Bring to a boil.
Add cornmeal slowly with constant stirring to prevent any lumps from being formed. Cover and cook on low to medium heat until the cornmeal is cooked, with frequent stirring. Serve with chutney, sugar or as is.

Chicken Kabab/ Murgh Malai Kabab

2009-08-26T14:54:00.007-04:00

I got this recipe from youtube, vahrehvah.com. The recipe included meat tenderizer and heavy cream which I didn't have and I cooked the kababs without them. I noticed that the kababs were burning when I initially had the temperature of the oven at 450, so I dialed it down. I think my problem was too much moisture with the marinade. I tried to leave the marinade on some chicken pieces, thinking it would taste good but it tends to burn sooner than the chicken is cooked or browned. So it is just better to shake it off before putting it in the oven. Mine were slightly overdone on one side because of that. They were pretty good and I think if I had used the meat tenderizer, they would have been even better and more evenly cooked. I was also very careless when cutting chicken cubes, with all of them in various sizes and shapes.
Note to self: Pay more attention next time, if you want to put up the pictures!

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless, chicken breasts - 1 lb
Salt - to season
Pepper - to season
Ginger-garlic paste - 2 tsp
Mozarella cheese - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 2 tbsp
Green chilies, finely chopped - 2-3
Cilantro, finely chopped - 1/4 cup
Yogurt -1/4 cup

Preparation:

Cut the chicken into medium sized cubes. Pat them with paper towels to make them dry and remove any excess moisture.
Add salt and pepper. Squeeze the water out of ginger-garlic paste and mix it with the chicken cubes. Let sit for about an hour in the fridge.
Prepare the marinade. Crumble the mozarella cheese, mix and roll it as though making a dough out of it. Add yogurt and all purpose flour. Season with a pinch of salt. Add green chilies and cilantro.
Add the chicken cubes to the marinade and mix thoroughly. Let sit for a couple of hours in the fridge. Soak the bamboo skewers for 3o minutes
Preheat oven to 400F. Thread the chicken cubes onto the skewers after removing any excess marinade dripping from them. Broil for about 20-30 minutes checking frequently after the first 20 minutes. Rotate the skewers mid way.

Hummus

2009-08-24T15:42:00.002-04:00

I've tried this a few times but could never duplicate the taste at restaurants. I never get it as smooth and I think the problem is with my blender. I used the sesame seed paste that I made myself rather than the store bought tahini. That accounts for the difference in taste too. I finally managed to buy tahini from a Middle Eastern store and I'll probably use it next time. I made this along with some chicken kababs and I had some multigrain flat bread from Costco that I wanted to use up. I also tried garlic sauce along with this, but that was almost a disaster with way too much garlic. I had doubled up on the amount of garlic to keep the blender going, which I really shoudn't have. I just love garlic sauce and hummus with kababs, I'll just have to give it another try later on.

Ingredients:

Chick peas - 1 can
Tahini ( Sesame seed paste) - 1/4 cup
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Garlic cloves -3
Salt -1/2 tsp
Extra virgin olive oil - 1-2 tbsp
Paprika - to garnish
Parsley - to garnish.

Preparation:

Drain the chick peas and rinse gently.
Put the chick peas, tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic cloves in a blender or a food processor and grind to a smooth paste. Add salt and 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.
Remove into a serving bowl or a plate and garnish with paprika and parsley. Drizzle the remaining olive oil. Serve with pita bread, chips, as a dip, spread or a side item.

Egg Puffs

2009-08-21T20:29:00.021-04:00

I've made potato puffs and vegetable puffs but never tried these until now. They are surprisingly easy, much easier than the veggie puffs. They take up lesser time, look better than those. I never liked eggs much and that was the main reason for keeping away from these all along. But now that I've figured they taste pretty good, I think potato puffs are going to take a back seat for quite a while. I used to find the process of filling up potato/vegetable stuffing into the pastries, tedious. But it took just about 5 minutes to get egg puffs ready which is a big plus in my book.

I had always baked veggie puffs at 375F for 20- 25 minutes but I tried at 400F and they were done in about 10 minutes with the edges slightly overdone. I'd rather do them at 375 for a few minutes longer and get them perfect next time.

I actually had a part of pastry sheet left over with no eggs, potato or vegetables left. So I decided to try something like turnovers although I had no clue how to and didn't feel like googling at that time. So I filled them with a spoonful of jam and baked them. All the jam oozed out of them, probably because I made slits on top, but they tasted good and I had them as desserts.

Ingredients:

Hard boiled eggs - 6
Puff Pastry Sheets (Pepperridge Farm) - 1
Salt, Pepper, Cayenne Pepper - to season

Preparation:

Boil the eggs. Cut the eggs in half vertically. Season with salt, pepper, cayenne pepper.
Thaw the pastry sheet per instructions on the pack.
Roll out the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Pepperridge farm pastry sheet has three vertical strips with perforations. Cut them along the dotted line. Roll out each vertical strip with a rolling pin to stretch it further vertically. Cut each strip into four equal rectangles.
Place each half of the egg in the center of each rectangle diagonally with the yellow facing down. Fold the opposite ends by bringing them to the center, onto the top of the egg and seal them by pressing together. Leave the other ends open. Do this with all the egg halves until the pastry sheet is used up.
Place the puffs on a baking tray and bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.

Broccoli with Lentils

2009-08-18T10:08:00.005-04:00

I used to hate broccoli with a vengeance. For a long period I couldn't understand how people could eat it. Like a lot of things related to food, I made a total about turn on this one too. I've come to like it and have been trying to incorporate it into our diet as much as possible. Apart from steaming it, I tried cooking it with moong dal and it turned out really well. It is a pretty generic recipe that we use, to cook a lot of green, leafy vegetables. I use this for spinach, tomatoes etc. except that I use toor dal for all of those. I don't use moong dal that much at all and I wanted to try and use a variety of dals. Like most dals, it tastes best when eaten fresh and hot, so I usually cook only small quantities of this. This is in contrast to tomato dal made with toor dal, which I make in large quantities, to last a few days.

Ingredients:

Broccoli, cut into florets - Half a head
Moong dal - 1 cup
Green chillies, chopped - 2-3
Tamarind extract - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1 tsp
Red chili powder - 1tsp
Water - 2 cups

For tempering:
Garlic cloves, chopped into halves - 2
Dried red chilies, broken into halves - 2
Mustard seeds -1/2 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

Preparation:

Place the moong dal in a container that can be placed inside a pressure cooker. Add water. Add broccoli, green chilies on top. Sprinkle the red chili powder. Place the container in the pressure cooker and cook for three whistles. Let cool.
Seperate or gently push the broccoli florets aside after taking the container out from the pressure cooker. Mash the lentils. Then stir in broccoli, salt, tamarind extract gently, so as not to mash the broccoli.
In a sauce pan, heat oil. Add the garlic cloves. Saute for a couple of minutes until they are browned. Add the rest of the tempering ingredients one after the other. When they begin to splutter, add the broccoli - dal mixture. Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 5 minutes until the flavors meld. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Urad dal Laddo/ Sunniundalu

2009-08-17T14:25:00.009-04:00

This is a pretty easy recipe for Indian sweets. Or so I thought until I tried it. It still is, but being an amateur and trying it for the first time had it pitfals. It is a straight forward recipe as all one had to do was roast the urad dal, add sugar and ghee and make small rounded balls. The sugar added is white granulated sugar, run through a blender to make it fine. I guess one could just use superfine sugar or powdered sugar and save oneself some trouble.

I had run out of sugar and I was trying to figure out some way to use jaggery, so I went with that instead. That's where I ran into problems. Once I added the melted jaggery to urad dal powder, it became lumpy, and I had to put the whole thing through the blender again. I use a really old and battered blender, so the ural dal wasn't ground as smooth as I would have liked it to be. The powder was not supposed to be too smooth either as it tends to stick in your throat if it is. It had to be a a little bit grainy/ sandy in texture.

The sugar is supposed to be in equal parts to urad dal but I don't like them too sweet, so I cut it down considerably.

The ingredients here made about 2o medium sized ladoos.

Ingredients:

Urad dal - 2 cups
Rice - handful
Jaggery, broken into small pieces and packed - 1 cup
Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 cup + 1/2 cup
Water - 2 tbsp to melt the jaggery

Preparation:

Dry roast the urad dal and rice in a skillet on medium flame until golden brown.
Mix the roasted urad dal and rice, put the mixture in a blender and grind on high to a sandy textured powder.
Heat the jaggery with water in a sauce pan and make a syrup
Mix the jaggery syrup and urad dal powder, making sure there are no lumps. Run through a blender if necesary to get a smooth powder.
Add ghee a little bit at a time and mix thoroughly. Take a small amount of the mixture and make small, rounded balls. Add more ghee if the mixture doesn't hold together. Let the laddoos stand for 30 minutes, so they retain their shape.

I think if you use sugar, the problem with lumpy mixture can be avoided. You don't have to make a syrup with sugar either, you can just mix the sugar, urad dal powder and ghee and you can be done in considerably lesser time.

Bagara Baingan (Baby Eggplant Curry)

2009-08-11T14:26:00.004-04:00

This is very similar to Mirchi ka Salan where Green peppers are cooked in a spicy sauce/ gravy. I use the same recipe except that I don't add yogurt to this curry. Traditionally, the eggplants are deep fried but I just pan fry them. Deep fried eggplants retain their shape and sheen where as the panfried ones become a little bit shrivelled and wrinkled and lose their texture. I think that's just a small price to pay to avoid deep frying. Tastewise, I don't think there is a whole lot of difference. Some people stuff the eggplants before adding them to the gravy, but I don't think that makes much of a difference either, as they are practically immersed in the gravy. It's just a personal preference, to avoid another step in the cooking process. I don't make this very often just like mirchi ka salan, as it takes quite a bit of time to come together.

It is often served with biryanis and fried rice but goes very well with rotis. It used to be the standard fare at weddings and other festivities back home.

Ingredients:

For the paste:

Peanuts -1/3 cup
Dry Coconut powder/dessicated coconut -1/4 cup
Sesame seeds - 2tbsp

Other :

Baby Eggplants -7-9
Cloves -2
Cardamom -2
Cinnamon stick -1
Onions, chopped -1 cup
Green chillies, chopped -2
Ginger-garlic paste -2 tbsp
Tamarind extract, (tamarind soaked, squeezed) – ½ cup
Salt -1 tbsp
Turmeric powder -1 tsp
Red Chilli powder -1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Water - about 1 cup.
Oil -2 tbsp

Preparation:

With the stalk intact, slice the eggplants crosswise, about 3/4ths of the way, making sure not to get too close to the stalk. Heat about 1 tbsp oil in a skillet, place the eggplants, season with salt and cook until they are almost tender, adding spoonfuls of water at a time if they start sticking to the pan. Turn them around with a tong carefully to make sure all sides are evenly cooked.
Roast peanuts, coconut powder, sesame seeds one after the other. Mix and grind to a smooth paste in a blender.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add dry red chilies, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick.
Add onion, green chilies and sauté until tender.
Add ginger garlic paste. Sauté for a few minutes until brown.
Add peanut, coconut, sesame seed paste. Sauté and add about ¼ cup water when the paste starts sticking to the pan.
Add tamarind juice and let cook for few more minutes.
Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala. Cook for at least 10 minutes with frequent stirring.
Add eggplants.
Add remaining water. Cover and cook until done and oil starts to separate. Garnish with cilantro.

Spaghetti Fritters

2009-08-09T20:21:00.007-04:00

I made this so many times and I think it tasted the best when I didn't take the pictures! The first time I made them a few weeks ago, the fritters wouldn't hold together and kept falling apart. I couldn't figure out why. I had uploaded the photos and was going over the recipe in my brain when it stuck me - I had forgotten to add the egg to bind them! So I made them again a week later, of course, remembering to add the egg this time. They tasted pretty good but I thought the ones without the egg were better, even though they kept falling apart. I made them again, to confirm my findings and my verdict is 'go without the egg'. I fried them on medium to high heat and also patted and pressed them down with a spatula which made them stay together. They tasted great and were much crunchier.

This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver's book. I don't have the book but the recipe was listed in food and wine magazine a few years ago. I googled for the recipe to attribute it and to link it but I could not find it. There are slight changes to the original recipe, there is no pesto and crushed red peppers in that. It was also highly recommended to use freshly grated parmesan cheese and to avoid pre grated cheese, with a warning that it would taste horrible. I used shaved parmesan cheese but just a small handful, and it tasted good. May be it would have tasted even better if had used fresh cheese, but I don't want to try it yet another time to just figure that out.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti - about 6 oz
Egg - 1 (optional, see notes above)
Basil Pesto - 1/2 tbsp
Freshly ground pepper - to season
Crushed red peppers - 1/4 tsp
Garlic cloves, minced - 2
Parmesan cheese - 1 tbsp
Fresh Parsley, chopped - handful

Preparation:

Cook spaghetti per instructions on pack in salted, boiling water until aldente. Drain and keep aside. With a scissorrs, snip spaghetti into three inch pieces.
In a bowl, mix spaghetti with all the ingredients except the egg. Mix thoroughly and then add the egg.
Heat oil in a skillet just enough to coat the pan. With a fork, drop the spaghetti strands and press them down and together gently with a spatula. Cook until they are browned and are crispy, turning them once after a few minutes. They taste better when they are really crunchy. Cook them in batches until done. Serve hot. I had some marinara sauce to dip into.

This last picture is the one without the egg (the first time), they look a little bit fragile and were not as crispy. I was cautious and had cooked them on low-medium heat.

Spaghetti With Creamy Alfredo Sauce

2009-08-08T14:36:00.007-04:00

My experiments with spaghetti started when I started reading the book ' The Spaghetti Party' to the little one. She would take her time staring at the pictures, point to the spaghetti strands and the bright red tomato sauce on the noses of the characters and ask me repeatedly what they were. I figured the easiest way to resolve her doubt, was to cook and feed it to her, so she can relate to it. And she loved it! I guess there's really not a whole lot to not like it when it's made of butter, cream and cheese. I thought it was a teeny bit sour when it cooled a little bit but was great when it was hot. The ingredients here made about 2-3 servings.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti - about 6-8 oz
Butter - 2 tbsp
Whipping cream - half pint
Parmesan Cheese - handful
Garlic cloves, minced - 2
Salt- to season
Pepper- to season
Fresh Parsley, chopped- handful

Preparation:

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add garlic and saute for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
Add whipping cream and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Stir in parmesan cheese, parsley. Turn off the heat and season with salt and pepper.
Cook spaghetti per instructions on pack in boiling, salted water until aldente. Drain and transfer to a serving plate.
Pour alfredo sauce over it and serve.

Potato - Green Pepper Fry

2009-08-06T22:31:00.004-04:00

No story for this recipe. This is a very common combination just like potatoes - peas, potatoes - cauliflower or potatoes with any kind of peppers. My freezer is loaded with all kinds of peppers and I have no room for anything else at all. When I opened it the other day, all the bags of peppers tumbled out and I had a hard time putting them back, they just wouldn't fit! Time to use them up and make some room. Come to think of it, I think I need to empty my fridge and pantry before I buy anything new. Sigh.

Ingredients:

Potatoes, medium sized, cut into cubes - 2
Green Peppers, cut - 2
Onion, small - 1
Green chilies, chopped -2
Turmeric powder -a pinch
Salt - 1-2 tsp (adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1-2 tsp
Dry Coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 2tbsp

For tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Dried red chilies, broken in halves -2

Preparation:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the tempering ingredients and saute for a minute. When they begin to splutter, add onions and green chilies. Saute until the onions turn translucent.
Add the potato cubes. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 5- 10 minutes until they soften. Add the chopped green pepper after the potatoes are partially cooked.
Add salt, coconut powder, cumin powder. Stir and let cook for a few more minutes, about 5-7 minutes. Add red chili powder; stir and cook until the peppers and potatoes are cooked through. Serve with rice or roti, good by itself too as a side dish.

Lamb Fry (With Left Over Curry)

2009-08-05T22:14:00.008-04:00

What do I do with left over lamb curry or chicken curry? I fry it. Curries get boring especially if I make in large quantities. So I end up frying them and it gets used up faster. And it tastes very, very good. It tastes different from when I just fry them straight up. There was a time when I had a little bit more patience (and had nothing better to do), when I would cook the curry and then fry it just because I liked it better that way. I don't do that anymore and just do it at times when I don't want to waste food. The recipe itself is pretty simple because it's already cooked, but it does take quite a bit of time, as the gravy has to dry up and the meat has to be fried.

Lamb Curry cooked per this recipe.

Additional Ingredients:

Onions - 1 large or 2 medium, diced
Salt - 1tsp
Red chili powder -1 tsp
Oil - 2tbsp

Preparation:

Heat oil in wide skillet. Add onions. Add salt and saute until translucent. Add red chili powder. Add the lamb curry. Cook uncovered, with frequent stirring, until the gravy and the lamb pieces are fried. Add a little bit more oil if necessary.

You can let it fry until the gravy dries up completely or a have a little bit left if you like it that way. I like the taste of fried onions and usually make sure there is a little left at the end. I left them out of the pictures though.

Lamb Curry

2009-08-04T16:17:00.005-04:00

I usually don't cook lamb this way. I don't use coconut at all but my mother never cooked meat dishes without it while growing up. On every saturday, she did this pooja and had to break a coconut at that time. While most of it was used up for chutneys, a part of it went into the meat dishes she prepared on every sunday. She has become more health conscious too and has given up doing that for the past few years. I never really had the patience to cook this way and never bought coconut. I prefered peanuts for chutneys and didn't really miss it that much. Last week, I bought a coconut on a whim, mainly to let the little one taste the coconut water. I let it sit around for a few days ignoring it, as I really couldn't figure out a way to break it. Finally I made G do the deed and when the little one took a sip of the water, she spit it right out! I couldn't make her try it again no matter how much I tried. I cut the coconut and left it in the freezer and ended up using it here.

Ingredients:

Lamb, cut into cubes, with bones - about 2 lbs
Onion, large, diced - 1
Green chilies, chopped - 3
Fresh coconut, cup into cubes - 1 cup
Poppy seeds -2 tbsp
Ginger - garlic paste - 3 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick, broken into halves - 1
Cloves - 4
Oil - 2 tbsp
Turmeric powder - a pinch
Salt - 1 tbsp (adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1 tbsp
Water
Cilantro - to garnish

Preparation:

Dry roast the poppy seeds for a few minutes until they are slighly browned. In a blender, powder them. Add the coconut and a little bit of water to the powdered poppy seeds and grind to make a paste. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a big saucepan. Add cinnamon sticks, cloves. Saute for a minute. Add diced onions and green chilies. Saute until the onions turn translucent.
Add the ginger- garlic paste and saute for about 5-7 minutes until the paste is browned and starts sticking to the pan.
Add the coconut- poppy seed paste and saute for about 15 minutes until the rawness is gone and the paste separates from the pan. It might take a little bit more or less time than 15 minutes.
Add the meat. Add turmeric and salt. Cook for about 10-15 minutes uncovered and with periodic stirring, until the meat changes color.
Add garam masala, red chili powder and stir. Add enough water to immerse the contents of the pan. Cover with a tight lid and cook until the meat is completely cooked through, about 30- 50 minues. Stir occassionaly and keep checking after the first 30- 40 minutes to see if the meat is cooked, either with a fork for tenderness or with the spatula, by trying to pry it off the bone.
Garnish with cilantro.

Melon Cooler

2009-08-03T12:43:00.005-04:00

Let me get this out - I'm not a fruit person. At all. Which is really not good now that I have little ones. How am I going to instill healthy food habits in them when I am such a poor eater myself. The stuff or the list of things that I have avoided for no reason other than that I simply didn't like the look, smell, sight, sweetness, was too busy growing up/giggling/working is pretty big. It includes milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, fruits, meat, beverages of any kind, sweets, desserts except of course ice cream. I was almost a vegan without ever realizing it and without consciously deciding to be so. Fortunately, pregnancy changed things a little bit. I made myself drink milk, eat fruit, and gave them up promptly after delivery!

Meat is a whole different issue. I would nibble a piece of chicken once in a while back then, without ever caring for it much. Now I've come to cook and appreciate chicken, lamb, shrimp and fish. My main concern though is fruits and vegetables. I want to be able to eat them more and often. G is the absolute opposite of me in dietary habits and very much a fruit person. He eats just any kind of fruit and I think he might even exceed the daily dietary recommendations by a good margin. So I've tried to keep up and make myself eat a little bit of fruit every day. And I have a hard time doing it. They just don't appeal to me. But I've made a little progress. After all these years, I had strawberry for the first time this year. Yeah.. I know. It's strange. It's like I'm discovering new food along with my little one. I also had cherries with her. Rainier cherries are awesome. I've made some more mundane discoveries but I won't shock anyone with those.

So the point is, I'm getting tired of fruit, just looking at them in the fridge, without even eating them. And making them into juices or putting them in a blender. I'm glad it's still summer.

Ingredients:

Honeydew melon, cut into small cubes - 1 cup
Lime juice - 1/2 tbsp
Ice cubes
Small slice/cube of melon for garnish

Preparation:

Mix the melon cubes, lime juice in a blender and blend on high. Pour the mixture through a fine sieve and discard the pulp. Pour it over ice cubes in a serving glass and garnish with a melon slice.

Tamarind Rice

2009-08-03T11:06:00.004-04:00

I've never made tamarind rice until now. Now, that is a surprise considering I'm from South India and this was routinely made by my mother for all the festivals. And also considering how easy it is to make it and how rice is our staple diet. For some reason I've never liked it and G also doesn't care much for any rice dishes.

However it all changed with my India trip last year. I had bought this pre-made paste for tamarind rice. All you had to do was to just heat it up and mix in the rice. Well.. so you see it's not that much different than the actual recipe itself! But when you are crunched for time, cutting down one or two steps can make a lot of difference. We had also moved at that time and the paste came in really handy. Before we unpacked everything, I used it up over a period of 3-4 days and sorta liked it.

Probably because we had stubbornly refused to cook or eat it for years, we had almost forgotten how it used to taste and were surprised to discover it wasn't so bad after all. Added to that, were the samples of small boxes filled with pulihora, that were sent by the little one's babysitter that left us craving for more. So I decided to go ahead and make it.

Ingredients:

Rice, cooked, cooled - about 4 cups
Tamarind extract, tamarind soaked and squeezed to the consistency of fluid
but not too thin and the pulp discarded. - 1 cup
Roasted peanuts - 1/2 cup
Green chilies,slit lengthwise - 4-6
Dry red chilies - 3-4
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Mustard seeds - 1/2 tbsp
Urad dal - 2 tbsp
Chana dal - 3 tbsp
Salt- 1 tbsp (adjust to taste)
Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
Oil- 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Cook rice. Place it in a large mixing bowl or a wide platter and let cool completely.
Add salt, pinch of tumeric powder, 1tsp oil to the rice and mix.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds, urad dal, chana dal, green chilies, dry red chilies, curry leaves. When the dals start to brown, in about 2 minutes, add tamarind extract. Add about 2tbsp of water and let simmer for about 10-15 minutes until it thickens. Take the skillet off the stove and cool completely.
Mix the tamarind sauce and rice thoroughly. Mix in roasted peanuts. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Let sit for a couple of hours before serving.

Chocolate Cupcakes

2009-07-29T17:32:00.009-04:00

I am not sure of the difference between chocolate cupcakes and muffins. We used to have chocolate muffins in the cafeteria that were absolutely delicious. I used to have it as a dessert and wonder why they would have that for breakfast. Anyway, after a little bit of research, it seems the major difference is the way the batter is mixed, either beaten or just mixed to incorporate.

I want to try different kinds of muffins, cakes and cupcakes but the sheer amount of sugar, flour, butter and eggs that go into these makes me pause and rethink if I really need to be baking those. Now that I found an excuse i.e.. to make them for the little nephew that I was visiting last week, I could make them without much guilt. I made them plain without any frosting. I really don't like the frosting on cakes and cupcakes and usually end up putting it aside before eating. It was also easier to pack and carry them around too without the frosting. I'll probably try something pretty next time.

After checking out several recipes, I decided to give the easiest one a try..i.e.. the one that I found on the box for cocoa. I finally managed to locate the hand mixer which I had been putting off for months. I figured I could go nowhere without a mixer. All the recipes called for it and there was really no way I could try any of these recipes without it.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients :

Sugar - 2 cups
All purpose flour -1- 3/4 cup
Hershey's cocoa, natural, unsweetened - 3/4 cup
Baking powder - 1-1/2 tsp
Baking soda - 1-1/2 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp

wet ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Milk - 1 cup
Vegetable oil - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 2 tsp
Boiling water - 1 cup

Preparation:

Heat oven to 350F.
Line 2 1/2 inch muffin cups with bake cups.
Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add eggs, milk, oil, vanilla extract and beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water. Batter will be thin.
Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 22-25 minutes. Cool and frost if desired.

The batter makes about 30 cupcakes. I only had a 12 cup muffin tin, so I used the mini muffin pan too, which gave cute, tiny chocolate cups. They sort of look bald and a little bit scary and dark without the frosting but they were so easy to gobble up.

Spaghetti With Basil Pesto

2009-07-27T15:21:00.004-04:00

I had this store bought pesto that I wanted to use up. I've wanted to make a pesto myself for a while now but really couldn't until I've used up the one I had. I think I'm going to be using it quite a bit in the next few days but hopefully I won't get too tired of it. I don't like pasta with pesto as much as I like it with the marinara sauce but it is an option I wouldn't totally put aside. I might add meat or veggies the next time around to avoid the rather plain taste.

Ingredients:

Spaghetti - 1/2 lb
Basil Pesto - 2 tbsp
Salt
Fresh Parsley, chopped - 1/2 cup
Parmesan cheese - 2 tbsp
Water - 2 quarts

Preparation:

Cook the spaghetti per instructions on the package until al dente in boiling, salted water. Drain.
Add the drained spaghetti to a skillet on low to medium heat. Stir in basil pesto, parsley and parmesan cheese. Stir and let cook for a couple of minutes. Serve hot.

Baked and Pan Fried Falafel

2009-07-22T21:59:00.009-04:00

BAKED FALAFEL PATTIES

I've been trying to get away without deep frying the falafel for too long. I've decided to go ahead post these as they've been sitting around for too long and I think I can't move forward without getting them out of the way. And also now I can tell myself I've tried many options before reaching for that deep fryer.

They are not bad at all. They are acceptable substitutes for the real one when eaten hot and immediately after making them. But I won't lie. They are not like the fried ones. The baked ones are better than the pan fried ones. So on this spectrum, fried falafel patties > baked > pan fried.

I'm not even sure if I should call them falafel. Except for the chick pea part, they taste or look nothing like them. That's probably because I deviated from the recipe quite a bit. I used the canned chickpeas, I didn't refrigerate the dough and I flattened the balls so they get cooked easier since I wasn't frying them. Recipe adapted from epicurious.

PAN FRIED FALAFEL PATTIES

Ingredients:

Canned chickpeas, drained - 1
Onion, small, chopped - 1
Green chilies, choppped - 2
Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tsp
Cumin powder - 1tsp
Salt - 1 tsp
Red chili powder -1 tsp
Cilantro, chopped - 1/4 cup
All purpose flour - 2-4 tbsp
Baking powder - 1 tsp (I didn't use this for panfried patties)
Oil
PAM spray

Preparation:

Place the chickpeas,onions, green chilies in a food processor/blender and pulse them.
Add the ginger garlic paste, cumin powder, salt and red chili powder, cilantro and pulse again.
Add the all purpose flour to make a dough. Mine was rather sticky and I had trouble making balls. So I think it is important to refrigirate and add enough flour.
Make small balls and flatten them a little bit. Place them on a baking sheet sprayed with PAM. Spray the patties with PAM and bake at 375F for about 45 minutes until they are browned, flipping them once in between. Alternately, pan fry them in a little bit of oil on medium heat. They tend to brown faster with the inside still being soft, so I let them fry longer to a deeper shade of brown. Serve hot with hummus.

PAN FRIED FALAFEL PATTIES

Tomato Dal

2009-07-20T16:21:00.005-04:00

Sometimes the simplest recipes are the hardest ones to post...like the white wine spritzer. White wine + soda... that's it. So why post? I don't know. Tomato dal. I used to look at food blogs and wonder as to why people post the most obvious things. And then I remember once googling for grilled cheese sandwich, and while I was at it, I found 'how to boil water', 'how to dice onions'. I quickly retraced my steps back, sorta ashamed to be put in that category. But I guess there are always beginners and some like me who've been cooking for a few years but rarely ventured out of their comfort zones. What's easy and obvious for me is probably not for others. I remember googling all sorts of things in the past few months related to cooking, baking. So I've come to the conclusion that short of 'turn on the stove, place a pot of water ...' everything else is fair game. That doesn't mean I'll have an easy time posting them. :).

Ingredients:

Tomatoes, cut into big chunks, medium sized -2
Toor dal - 1 cup
Green chilies, chopped - 2
Tamarind - about the size of a small lemon
Red chili powder - 1-2tsp
Salt - 1-2 tsp
Water -2 cups

For tempering:
Mustard seeds - 1/2tsp
Cumin seeds - 1/2tsp
Urad dal - 1 tsp
Dried red chilies, broken into halves - 2
Garlic cloves, chopped coarsely - 2
Curry leaves - 1 sprig
Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Preparation :

Place the dal in a pressure cooker and add water. Add the chopped tomatoes, green chilies, tamarind, red chili powder. Cover and cook for upto 3 whistles. Turn the stove off and let cool.
Mash/mix the dal and the rest of the contents after opening the cooker. Add salt.
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic cloves. When they start to brown, add the rest of the tempering ingredients. When they start to splutter, add the dal. Stir and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Serve with rice or roti.

White Wine Spritzer

2009-07-18T21:53:00.007-04:00

Here's the deal. I need to use up club soda and free up some refrigerator space. Of course, it's hot outside, the regular old wine got boring, etc. etc. What else can I write for this post? Hmm.... really...nothing. So here it is.

Ingredients:

White wine - 2 oz
Club soda
Ice cubes - 6
Lemon wheel -1
Lime wheel - 1

Preparation:

Place the ice cubes in a tall wine glass or highball glass. Pour white wine over it. Top it with club soda. Add lemon and lime wheels. Stir gently and serve.

Vegetable Sheek Kebab

2009-07-17T16:55:00.006-04:00

I love sheek and shami kebabs but specifically just made the way they do back home. They are a bit spicier and not as bland as the authentic ones in the Middle Eastern restaurants. Don't get me wrong...kebabs are not meant to be spicy, they are meant to be relished for the flavor of the meat. But once you get used to certain spices even if they are probably not meant to be in kebabs, it's hard to do without them. We have a few favorite spots for just the kababs back in Hyderabad where we go in, order just the appetizers (also called dry items), around 3 different kinds of kebabs, pepper chicken and some tikkas. We don't bother with the soups, salads, main course, desserts, nothing. Just go in very hungry, munch around until bloated and go to a second show (the late night movie shows as they are called) or go home and sleep.

This compares nothing to any of those but is a good/healthy alternative (or so I tell myself).

G prefers lamb, I prefer chicken and since we didn't have any except a plantain at hand, I decided to give this a try. It's pretty easy, the only downside being... all my kababs fell off the skewers! I then proceeded to shape them on the handle of a wooden spoon and placed them on a baking tray. I don't think it matters much because it is just the veggies and they get cooked pretty easily unlike the meat.

The other problem was that I used the larger holes to grate but on hindsight, should have used the smaller ones. And buy the sheek kebab skewers instead of the thinner bamboo skewers.

Ingredients:

Green plantain - 1
Potato, medium sized - 1
Carrot - 1
Cilantro, chopped - 1/4 cup
Green chilies, finely chopped -3
Ginger - Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt - 1 tsp (adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1 tsp
Cumin powder -1/2 tsp
All purpose flour - 1-2 tbsp
Oil -1 tsp
PAM/cooking spray

Preparation:

Boil the plantain and potato until done but making sure that they are not mushy. I checked very frequently after about 1o minutes and removed as soon as the plantains were done. Peel them and let them cool.
Preheat the oven to 400F.
Grate the plantain and potato. Use smaller holes on the grater. Peel the carrot and grate it too. In a mixing bowl, mix the grated carrot, plantain, potato, green chillies, cilantro.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Knead as though you would knead a dough. Adjust the all purpose flour to make small balls out of the dough.
Shape the balls on a wooden spoon, flattening them into a cylindrical shape and gently ease them off the spoon onto the baking tray. If you can shape them and let them stick to a skewer, even better.
Spray with PAM. Bake them for about 15-20 minutes until done. Flip them after the first 10 minutes. They might be a tiny bit on the drier side. But the alternative is to deep fry them, so I don't mind that. Serve hot with any dip, sprinkling with lime juice if you prefer.

A Case Of Premature Blogger's Block

2009-07-16T11:14:00.006-04:00

Too early perhaps. I've been only blogging for about 3 months now, I can't even bring myself to refer self as a blogger. Bloggers are other people, I just post my recipes. I've been thinking a little bit about what made me start a blog and what I seek to accomplish or derive from it. It's always been clear to me but a little introspection and laying down your thoughts never hurts.
Two things that positively made me take up this:

1.) I started enjoying cooking, trying out different things which I didn't before. I wasn't sure it would last but 6 months is a good enough indicator that this is for keeps. A good enough hobby in the absence of anything else that stuck around. A lot of food blogs to keep me inspired too.
2.) Kids - although they are still little, my maternal instincts kicked in strong and hard in the cooking department. I keep comparing myself to my mother constantly and wonder whether I'm doing the same for my kids. Growing up, we also had our grand mother pamper us and I regret that my little ones will not get to experience that as much as we did. She was the one who made assorted snacks for us in summer holidays. Even at an advanced age with health issues, I remember her taking ingredients that weren't available at the small village she lived at, from the the city she was visiting us at, to try out something new.
3.) I want to chronicle my recipes so I can look back at them at some point in the future.

A few things that keep me pulling back:

1.) I am not particularly interested in the presentation/ taking photos part. I can't be bothered much in garnishing the dishes I prepare but I realize that aesthetics is important.
2.) I find it really hard to write a post for the recipe. I'm not a writer at all, never having written more than 2 sentences ( that too probably in an email). For the most part, I've found myself just wanting to post the recipe and log out. :D
3.) I thought there were a lot of things that I didn't like about the whole exercise but after I began jotting them down, the number only shows two, so I guess it's not bad after all. I really don't have that many excuses.

Eggplant With Shrimp

2009-07-14T15:15:00.004-04:00

My mother used to do this often, that is, mix shrimp and vegetables. Although it was more common to use dried prawns/shrimp or the other kind of prawns that were dried and preserved, called pappu royyalu. They were really small like salad shrimp and were added in handfuls to some vegetables like Opo Squash (bottle gourd), Sin qua (ridge gourd) or some leafy vegetables. G really likes these mixed vegetable curries and more with the eggplant than anything else. I think the shrimp available here are much larger than the prawns available in India and overwhelm the veggies. The dried, preserved prawns however impart a suble taste and flavor and are almost invisible in the curry. I have to ask my mom and get that method of preservation so I could try it sometime in the future, maybe with the salad shrimp. My list of to-get-from-mom-and-save or try recipes has been growing rapidly. She seems a little bit puzzled these days when I ask for recipes.

I used the shrimp that I had left over after I made the shrimp au gratin. The quantity that one can use is really upto personal preference....I use any where from just a couple of shrimp for just the flavor to upto a pound.

Ingredients:

Shrimp,peeled and deveined - 1/2 lb
Eggplant(Indian/Chinese) - 2
Onion, small, diced - 1
Green chilies,chopped -2
Salt - 1tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1tsp
Oil -1/2 tbsp

For tempering:
Mustard seeds -1/4tsp
Cumin seeds -1/4tsp
Urad dal -1/2 tsp
Dried red chilies -2

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the tempering ingredients. When they start to splutter, add the diced onion and green chilies. Saute for a couple of minutes.
Add the shrimp. Season with salt and saute for about 10 minutes until the shrimp are cooked through.
Add the cut eggplant pieces. Add salt. Cover and cook for about 5-10 minutes.
Add the red chili powder and cover and cook until the eggplant is cooked through.
Ganish with cilantro and serve with rice or roti.

Virgin Watermelon Margarita

2009-07-12T15:08:00.006-04:00

This summer has me going at the mocktails with a vengeance. I'm sorta tired of the smoothies and juices and just plain fruit. These are so easy to make and refreshing. I am just going to keep this simple with a short post just like the recipe. The ingredients here made about 3 glasses more or less.

Ingredients:

Watermelon, seedless, cut into cubes - 2 cups
Ice cubes - 2 cups
Lime juice - 3 tbsp
Splenda - 1 packet
Salt - a pinch ( half of 1/8 tsp, if you can measure that!)
Lime wheel for garnish.

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients in a blender on high until smooth.
Divide between the margarita glasses.
Garnish with lime wheel.

Simple Vegetable Stir Fry

2009-07-11T16:33:00.009-04:00

I had returned from a trip for the long weekend and returned home to a fridge with a single Chinese/Indian eggplant, a roma tomato and a handful of okra and pearl onions. So this came about and it turned out surprisingly good. I have used pearl onions mainly in stews and sambar and wasn't sure how they would be in a stir fry. But it was so good that I got couple more bags of them to use them in pretty much every thing. We get them at the local produce store and they are pretty cheap compared to the frozen ones and they taste better too. The only problem with them though is peeling them!

Ingredients:

Eggplant, Indian/Chinese variety - 1
Okra - 5-6
Roma tomato - 1
Pearl Onions - 8-10
Jalapeno pepper - 1/2
Oil -1/2 tbsp
Salt - to season
Red chili powder - 1/4 tsp

For tempering:
Mustard seeds -1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Urad dal -1/2 tsp
Dried red chilies - 2

Preparation:

Wash and chop the eggplant and okra. Cut the eggplant into 2 inch discs and then slice them lenght wise. Place them in a bowl of water so that they don't change color and develop a rancid taste. Cut the okra into small cubes. Cut the tomato into small cubes too and keep aside.
In a sauce pan, heat the oil. Add the tempering, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, broked red chili halves. When they start to splutter, add the pearl onions.
Saute the onions for a few minutes, about 3-5. Then add the egg plant and okra.
Cook uncovered on medium heat with periodic stirring, about 10-12 minutes until the eggplant is tender,changes color and is cooked thorough.
Add the tomato cubes. Add salt, red chili powder.
Cook uncovered for about 2-3 minutes. Then cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes but not longer than that as you don't want everything to become too mushy. Remove the lid and cook until the tomatoes are cooked through. Leave it uncovered for a few more minutes after done so that it dries up a little bit.

Shrimp au Gratin

2009-07-09T21:56:00.011-04:00

This is one of those recipes that is loaded with fat; rich, creamy, mouth watering stuff. Even though I had wanted to try this for a long time I kept postponing it for the same reason. We tried it for the first time years ago as we were driving thorough Louisiana and we've never forgotten it after that. We always looked for it in seafood restaurants. Most of the times, it was never on the menu and the couple of times we found it, it tasted nothing like what we had tasted the first time. I don't know if we built our expectations up or if they were really not up to the mark.

We had it on a hot summer afternoon, after driving around quite a bit and were very hungry when we stopped at the first decent looking place - on a boat-like restaurant right next to a lake. So we always look back and wonder if it was really that good or whether we were just starving and thought it was incredible.

Anyway, after searching around a little bit for the recipe, I settled on a recipe from Emeril Lagasse. It seemed like it would taste good and probably close to what we had. And boy was I right! We absolutely loved it. We were done eating it within minutes we took it out of the oven. I barely managed to take pictures. This recipe is a keeper and will probably remain a treat once in a while. It didn't take too long to get it together either. The recipe was meant for 8 servings and I wanted it for 2, so I kept crunching numbers ( obviously terrible at math). Other slight changes based on the ingredients I had or didn't have.

Ingredients :

Vegetable oil - 1/2 tbsp
Unsalted butter - 2 1/2 tbsp
Shrimp, peeled, deveined - 1/2 lb.
(I used about 15 medium sized shrimp).
Essence - 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Ground white pepper - 1/4 tsp
Minced shallots - 3 tbsp
Garlic clove, minced - 1
All purpose flour - 1 tbsp + 1tsp
Milk - 1/2 cup
Heavy cream - 1/3 cup
Lemon juice - 1 tsp
Shredded Monterey jack and Colby cheese - 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup
Bread crumbs - 1/4 cup

Essence:

1 tbsp paprika, 1/2 tbsp salt, 1/2 tbsp garlic powder, 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1 tsp dried oregano, 1 tsp dried thyme.
Combine all these thoroughly. Need to use only 1/2 tsp for this recipe. I saved the rest.

Preparation:

Pre heat oven to 400F. Lightly grease two shallow ramekins or au gratin dishes.
Season the shrimp with the essence, 1/8 tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper.
Heat the vegetable oil and 1/2 tbsp butter in a skillet on medium high heat. Add the seasoned shrimp to the hot pan. Cook quickly, turning once, until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes on each side. Divide the shrimp evenly among the ramekins and keep aside.

At this point, G wanted to end the process and just eat as they looked very apetizing. He thought this was good enough and it was a waste of time to add all the other stuff. I some how managed to convince him that it would be worth the wait.

In a small sauce pan, melt 1 tbsp butter. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for a minute.
Add the flour and whisk to combine. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
While whisking constantly, add milk and cream in a thin, steady stream until the mixture is smooth. Cook, stirring, until the sauce comes to a gentle boil, thickens, about 5 minutes.
Add the lemom juice, 1/2 cup cheese, the remaining 1/8tsp salt, 1/8 tsp pepper.
Remove from the heat. Spoon the sauce evenly over the shrimp in the ramekins.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the sauce in the ramekins
In a sauce pan, melt the remaining butter. Remove from the heat and mix the bread crumbs and butter. Sprinkle the buttered crumbs evenly among the tops of the ramekins.
Place the ramekins in the oven and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 15-18 minutes.

Vegetable Fried Rice

2009-07-08T16:53:00.003-04:00

I make this at least once a week or so as I always have left over rice. As much as we try to cut down on our rice consumption, it still is our staple. And the most thrown away item in the kitchen. When my mother was visiting me, she would be horrified at me throwing away pots and pots of cooked rice. I hated to refrigerate and reheat it as does G. A while ago, I started adding veggies and stir frying the rice and it consistently turned out so good that I managed to cut down the rice wastage. I guess I also learned to cook just enough and in smaller quantities after all these years.

Although any kind of veggies can be added, I prefer carrots, peas and spring/green onions. I've added broccoli, cauliflower, potato, green and red peppers but I personally prefer the above combination. I sometimes microwave carrots and peas for 3 minutes to reduce cooking time on stove top.

I almost forgot to mention the most important thing about this recipe.. it turns out best with cooked rice, left over rice or rice cooked at least several hours before and cooled completely. I did cook with freshly cooked rice but it comes out too soft, mushy and just doesn't taste right.

Ingredients:

Cooked rice - 2-3 cups
Carrots, medium sized,diced - 1
Peas - 1/2 cup
Egg - 1
Salt - to season
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Crushed, dry, red peppers/red pepper flakes - 1 tsp
Soy sauce
Oil - 1/2 tbsp

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Crack an egg and add to the oil. Scramble it and cook for a couple of minutes. Add pepper.
Add the vegetables. Add salt. Cover with a lid and cook until the vegetables are cooked thorough. Don't add any water. Stir frequently. Since I microwave them, they get cooked in about 1o minutes.
Add crushed red peppers and a dash of soy sauce and stir.
Add cooked rice. Stir thoroughly and add additional salt to season. Taste and adjust. Cover with a lid and let cook for about 10-15 minutes to let the flavors meld. Serve hot.

Pizza

2009-07-02T14:47:00.013-04:00

There was a certain period in my life when the sight of pizza would make me nauseated and make me groan. We had pizza for lunch almost every other day; stale, soggy, brick like, nasty, left over slices. And then there was a time when I had cravings for it and still do, from time to time. I've wanted to try it at home for a long time but it always seems easier to pick up the phone and order it for 15 bucks rather than go through the whole process. But I've been checking out smitten kitchen for a while now and the recipe over there seemed easy enough and finally, I gained enough confidence to give it a try.

I had one problem though after I got started (as usual). I realized the yeast I had was rapid rise yeast and not active dry yeast which the recipe called for. I went ahead as I had already started. To my dismay, the dough didn't double in size in 2 hours. It was exactly the same size as I had left it! I was able to roll out to a small sized pizza. It turned out okay but I really didn't get a chance to evaluate it further. I thought the crust was a little bit chewy but beyond that I really couldn't tell the difference.

I was on phone when I asked G to cut the pizza, which he did and handed me a slice. After I absent-mindedly chewed on it, finished my phone call and returned, there was nothing left! So no 'after' pictures, had to make do with before pics. I couldn't even remember how it tasted.
Sigh! I'll just have to make it one more time.

Recipe for pizza dough from smitten kitchen.

Ingredients:

For the dough:
All purpose flour - 1 1/2 cups
Active dry yeast -3/4 tsp
Salt - 1tsp
Olive oil - 1 tbsp
lukewarm water - 1/2 cup + 1-2 tbsp

For the tomato sauce:
Tomato paste : 1 can
Garlic cloves, minced - 2
Dry basil - 1 tsp
Dry Oregano - 1tsp
Salt - to season
Red pepper flakes

For topping:
any combination of:
Mozarella cheese
Monterey and Colby jack cheese
Red peppers, onions, jalapenos, mushrooms, olives.

Preparation:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl including yeast. Add olive oil and water and make a dough.
Knead the dough for a couple of minutes. Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in it, turn it over so all sides are coated. Cover it with a plastic wrap and leave it undisturbed for 2 hours until it doubles in size.
Place it on a floured counter and gently press the air out of it with the palm. Fold it into a ball shape and let it sit under the plastic wrap for another 20 minutes.
Pre-heat oven to 400F. Get the toppings and seasoning ready in the mean time.
In a skillet, heat a few drops of olive oil. Add the tomato paste, mined garlic, basil, oregano, salt. Add a few tablespoons of water and let simmer.
Chop the vegetables - onions, jalapenos, red peppers. Sprinkle the baking pan with corn meal.
Roll out the pizza. Top with tomato sauce, cheese and vegetables. Bake for about 10- 15 minutes.

Strawberry Daiquiri - Non Alcoholic

2009-07-01T10:59:00.007-04:00

First of all, I think I should stop making any beverages/drinks until I go shopping for glassware. I have them all wrong...but these hot summer afternoons find me reaching for the freezer and blender more often than I can bring myself to go shopping. On one of such days I found myself with 3 strawberries and a bottle of club soda. So here it is.

Ingredients:

Strawberries, medium sized - 3
Lime juice - 2 tbsp
Sugar -1 tsp
Ice cubes - 3-6
Club soda - 3/4 cup

Preparation:

Blend the strawberries, lemon juice, sugar and about 3-4 crushed ice cubes. Pour in a serving glass.
Add the club soda, remaining ice cubes. Stir and serve. Garnish with sliced strawberries. I, of course, didn't have any left.

Chicken Fry

2009-06-29T10:50:00.005-04:00

I am sorta tired of cooking with the same ingredients over and over again for all the meat dishes but am always slightly amazed at how different it can turn out each time with just some minor variations in techniques, as in adjusting the amount of water, cooking times and temperatures. And even with using a lid to cover while cooking. I usually add water, cover with a lid and it becomes a curry with lots of gravy. I don't do either of those and let it cook on medium flame with constant stirring and it becomes a fry. Since the little one has taken a liking to chicken, I've tried to cook it more often too.

Ingredients:

Chicken - about 2 lbs. I use whole chicken, skinless, with bones, cut into small cubes.
Red Peppers - 1
Onion, chopped, medium sized - 1
Green chillies/ Jalapenos, chopped - 1-2
Ginger- Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves - 2
Cardamom - 2
Salt - 2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red Chili powder - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 - 3 tbsp

Preparation:

Heat oil in skillet. Add cloves, broken cinnamon stick, cardamom. Saute for a couple of minutes.
Add chopped onions and green chillies. Saute until onions turn translucent.
Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute for about 5 minutes until the paste starts sticking to the pan.
Add red peppers. Saute for another 5 minutes.
Add chicken cubes. Stir and let cook without covering for about 10 minutes. Add salt.
Continue to stir periodically and cook until the chicken is almost cooked thorough on medium flame.
Add red chili powder and garam masala. Cover with a lid for about 5 minutes so the flavors meld but not too long. Also because, once the red chili powder is added, it tends to dry up soon and burn, if uncovered. Once it regains a little bit of moisture, cook uncovered on low to medium flame for a few more minutes ( about 5-10 mins).

Bran Mini Muffins

2009-06-24T16:57:00.007-04:00

I think I've mentioned before that I've tried many recipes from Sheela's delectable-victuals. This is one of those and have actually repeated it several times too. I don't like to use too much flour and sugar and have consciously tried to stay away from many types of muffins and other recipes that call for them. I followed the recipe without any modifications, just added more walnuts and raisins. The original recipe is here.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients:

All purpose flour -1 and 1/2 cup
Bran - 1 cup
Brown sugar -1/3 cup
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda -1/2 tsp
Baking powder - 1 tbsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp

Wet ingredients:

Milk -1/2 cup
Unsweetened apple sauce - 1 cup
Banana, ripe, mashed - 1
Vegetable oil -1/3cup
Egg -1
Chopped walnuts -1/2 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup

Preparation:

Combine all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center.
Combine all the wet ingredients in another bowl and gradually pour into the well made in the dry ingredients. Gently fold them together until well incorporated.
Pour into mini muffin pans. Fill in just half full as the batter tends to rise.
Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes or till done. Toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

If the recipe seems an exact copy, it IS. I have it memorized word to word and have taken the picture the same way when I baked it the first time a few months ago!

I am sending this to Divya's Show me your Breakfast.

Spinach and Tomato Curry

2009-06-23T19:11:00.005-04:00

I make this so often as we get Spinach almost year round around these parts. Also this was one among four veggies or so that I survived on for a few years. That was at a time in my life when I lived in an area where I didn't get to buy Indian vegetables and I sorta hated all the other options available and hadn't developed a taste and tolerance to other kinds yet. Now I can't believe I get excited at going to the local produce store and marvel at all the things I overlooked and wasn't even willing to try.

Anyway the only thing that I decidedly noticed about this after cooking this over and over again is that it tastes significantly different when cooked in canola oil and olive oil with the former being much tastier. So I make it a point to remember to use canola oil with spinach. Other than that, it is a pretty generic recipe.

Ingredients:

Spinach - about 1o oz, washed, trimmed, chopped.
Tomatoes , medium sized, chopped - 2
Onion, diced, small - 1
Green chilies, finely chopped - 2
Canola oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - 1-2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chilli powder - 1-2 tsp

For tempering:

Mustard seeds -1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Dry red chilies- 2

Preparation:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add broken dried red chilies. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal.
When they splutter, add chopped onions and green chilies. Saute until the onions turn translucent.
Add chopped spinach. Cook uncovered until it wilts and is reduced to half.
Add chopped tomatoes. Add salt. Cover and cook until the tomatoes are almost cooked through.
Add red chilli powder. Cover and cook for a few more minutes, about 5 minutes until every thing is reduced to a green gooey mass and the tomatoes are indistinguishable. (It still tastes good though...appearances can be deceptive). I usually remove the lid and let simmer for a few more minutes to let any remaining water evaporate and thicken a little bit.

Triple Fruit Mousse

2009-06-22T15:59:00.007-04:00

I made this a couple of weeks ago and the draft has just been sitting there as I try to decide whether to delete it or wait until I give the recipe another try. I liked the recipe but I think I liked it more for the fact that it looked so colorful and pretty. I had a hard time taking a decent picture and I gave up after a couple of attempts. I think the pics look horrible and absolutely do no justice to how it really looked.

Having said that, I also had a little problem with the mousse itself. It didn't set/ firm up enough and was sorta semi solid. I didn't have superfine sugar and used regular sugar instead. Also, there's no gelatin in the recipe and that could have been one of the reasons too. I googled after I was done and I figured that if I had added in confectioners sugar while whipping cream, it would have helped stabilize the whipping cream. I could have also added vanilla. I plan to use either one of those next time and see if they make a difference.

I looked for substitutes for gelatin and agar agar seems to be the next best option but I couldn't find it at the grocery store.

I found the recipe here while I was searching for mousse recipes on internet. It seems like I try more recipes from food blogs than anywhere else, probably because I know some one has tried them and have proof with pictures!

Ingredients:

Strawberries, fresh - 8
Banana - 1
Kiwis, fresh - 3
Whipping cream, whipped - 200 ml
Confectioners' sugar - 2 tbsp
Lemon, fresh - 1

Preparation:

Peel the banana. Cut 1/3 rd of it into rounds. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice and set aside. Blend the remaining banana with the remaining lemon juice and set aside.
Blend 6 strawberries with 1 tbsp confectioner' sugar and keep aside.
Blend 2 and half kiwis with 1 tbsp confectioner' sugar and keep aside.
Divide the whipped cream into three seperate bowls.
Pour the banana puree into one bowl, kiwi puree into the second bowl, strawberry puree into the third and mix well to the color of the whipping cream.
Spoon by spoonfuls the strawberry cream, then banana cream, then kiwi cream into the serving glasses.
Decorate with fruits kept apart. Sprinkle with a little bit of confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate for about 2 hours and serve.

Salsa and Chips

2009-06-20T16:48:00.007-04:00

I've been using pita bread quite a bit these days and was sorta bored of eating it and decided to make some chips out of it. And of course salsa to go with it. It seems like the season for salsa as I found it where ever I looked. I was at a doctors office and it seemed like all the magazines had a recipe for it. I was browsing some cook books at the grocery store and the first thing I picked up was a Betty Crocker book explaining how to make salsa and guacomole. MSN had it the other day. So there was no other way other than to make it and be done with it.

I rarely get anything right the first time no matter how simple it is. So I had to throw away the first batch of chips as they got burnt! I had left them for 10 minutes and I smelt something burning. I didn't realize they could burn in such a short time. I really shouldn't be blogging about food but I can't help it these days.

Salsa fared slightly better initially with just a little bit of extra salt. I added a little bit more chopped tomatoes and onions and everything turned alright. phew!

G thinks I should wait for some time (probably few years) before I blog but that makes me want to keep up with this.

Salsa :

Ingredients:

Tomatoes,chopped - 2. I used 2 ripe roma tomatoes.
Onion, small, finely chopped - 1
Jalapeno pepper, finely chopped - 1
Cilantro, finely chopped - 1/4 cup, loosely packed
Lime juice - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Freshly ground pepper - to taste

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients - tomatoes, onion, peppers, cilantro in a bowl. Sprinkle with lime juice. Add salt and pepper. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Let sit for an hour in the refrigerator for the flavors to combine.

Pita Chips:

Ingredients:

Pita Bread - 2 loaves
PAM spray
Salt - 1tsp
Pepper - 1tsp
Garlic powder - 1tsp
Dry Oregano - 1tsp
Dry Basil - 1 tsp

Preparation:

Pre heat oven to 375F.
Fold the pita bread and cut into into 2 halves. Cut each crescent into two halves again. Cut each half into triangular pieces or into bite sized pieces.
Line them in a baking tray and spray PAM
In a bowl combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil.
Sprinkle this mixture on the chips.
Bake for about 5-7 minutes. Serve with salsa.

Opo Squash/ Bottle gourd with Milk

2009-06-19T15:59:00.009-04:00

This is so easy to cook and goes well with rice or rotis. Pretty straight forward, temper, stir and cook until done. I like this vegetable because I can use it in dals/lentils, stews or by itself.

Ingredients:

Opo Squash - 1
Onion, small, diced - 1
Green chilies, chopped - 2
Salt - 1-2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1-2 tsp
Turmeric powder -1/2 tsp
Oil - 1-2 tbsp
Milk - 2% or whole milk - 1/4 cup

For tempering:

Dried red chilies -2, broken into halves.
Mustard seeds -1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/4 tsp
Urad dal -1/2 tsp

Preparation:

Peel the Squash and dice into very small cubes. If the seeds are too large, remove them
Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the tempering ingredients. When they start to crackle, add chopped onions and green chilies and saute until the onions become translucent.
Add turmeric powder.
Add the chopped squash. Add salt. Cover with a lid and cook until they are almost cooked through on medium heat. Do not add any water.
Add red chili powder. Cook covered for about 5 more minutes.
Remove the lid and let any remaining water/moisture evaporate and let it dry.
Add 1/4 cup 2% or whole milk and stir. Doesn't taste good at all with 1% or skim milk. Better not to add any milk in that case. Cover and let simmer for about 7-10 minutes on low to medium heat. Remove the lid after that and let simmer for a few more minutes until it thickens.

Zucchini Pie

2009-06-18T11:35:00.004-04:00

I've never been fond of pies but so wanted to try this. I have been searching for recipes based on what I needed to use up in my fridge and I found this in a food blog a while ago. The images looked so good that I book marked it to try it. These days it seems like I try a recipe based on the images.

The one big mistake I did though with this one is to use regular yogurt instead of the Greek yogurt. The recipe suggested straining the regular yogurt in a cheese cloth but it was impossible to do that. I wasn't particularly happy with the result and assign the blame completely on the yogurt part. Otherwise I followed the recipe to the T. Recipe from h ere.
There are step by step instructions with pictures.

I used half portions for the ingredients but still ended up with about 12 slices.

Ingredients:

Zucchinis - 2. one and half diced and the other half sliced into rounds for finishing.
Onion, finely chopped -1/2 cup
Olive oil - 1/4 cup. I used EVOO.
Eggs, large - 3
Greek Yogurt -1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Baking powder -1 and 1/2 tsp
Feta cheese, crumbled - 1/2 cup
Mild cheddar cheese, grated - 1/2 cup
Fresh parsley, chopped -1/2 cup
Salt - to taste
Ground pepper - to taste
Sweet paprika - to taste

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the chopped onions and zucchini, sprinkle some salt and saute until tender. Don't cook until mushy. Take off the heat and reserve.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
Grease a 15X10 baking tray.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs.
Add the yogurt and mix well.
Add the flour, baking powder and mix.
Add the feta and cheddar cheeses. Add the sauteed vegetables and mix to incorporate.
Add some ground pepper and sweet paprika. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Stir in chopped parsley.
Pour the batter in the baking tray.
Top with round slices of zucchini and sprinkle paprika over the entire mixture.
Bake for approximately 1 hour or golden on top. Cool for 15 minutes and then cut into slices.

Vegetable Stew

2009-06-17T22:44:00.008-04:00

This is such a simple one to cook and I really threw in whatever I could find in the fridge. I had a few green peppers, one eggplant and some tomatoes. While I was looking in there for veggies, I discovered some dry coconut powder that had been sitting in there for God knows how long. I decided to use it up in the next few days and added a little bit of that too. I wanted to add some lentils too but felt too lazy to cook that again separately or use a pressure cooker.

The traditional stew that I learnt from my mother has vegetables, lentils, tamarind and sugar.But I rarely include all of those.

Ingredients:

Green Peppers - 3
Eggplant ( Indian/ Chinese) - 1
Tomatoes, medium sized - 2. I used 3 Roma tomatoes.
Onion, medium sized, chopped - 1
Green chilies, chopped - 2
Dry coconut powder - 2 tbsp
Tamarind - about the size of a thumb. soak in water, microwave for 20 -30 seconds and squeeze the juice.
Salt - 1-2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 1-2tsp
Turmeric powder -1/4 tsp
Sugar - 1tsp ( optional)
Oil - 1tbsp
Water - 1-2 cups

For tempering:

Dry red chilies - 2, broken into halves
Curry leaves -2
Mustard seeds -1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/8 tsp
Urad dal - 1tsp
Garlic - 1-2 cloves, crushed.

Preparation:

Chop all the vegetables and keep them aside. If the eggplant is cut and you are yet to begin, keep them in a bowl of water.
Heat oil and add the tempering ingredients. When they begin to splutter, add the chopped onions and green chilies. Saute until the onions are tender.
Add dry coconut powder and saute for about 3 minutes.
Add vegetables, adding the veggies that take longer to cook first, followed by the others. I added the green peppers, followed a few minutes later by the eggplant and when they are partially cooked, I add the tomatoes.
Add salt and turmeric powder. Cook for a few minutes.
Add red chili powder. Add tamarind juice and a cup of water. Add enough water to just about immerse the vegetables.
Cover and cook until done.

Lamb with Red Peppers

2009-06-15T16:26:00.003-04:00

I could have just called this lamb curry. But the red peppers have become such an important ingredient of this recipe that I don't cook lamb without them anymore. I stock them in the freezer so I can use them with meat. They give such a nice and different flavor. And to think this combination happened by accident. Since we've cut down or rather given up on coconut while cooking meat, we've been on the look out for substitutes. By this I don't mean to say it tastes any thing similar to coconut but that it also gives a different texture and gravy to the meat.

We had tried adding tomatoes, more water, yogurt and assorted other things before we settled on this. I had tried yellow peppers, green, orange peppers but none of them taste the same or taste terrible. I personally think it's hard to cook lamb. Not only does it take long for the lamb to cook, it has so many variables. It really depends on how fresh the meat is, how much water has been added to make them cook, the exact time in the cooking process when the ingredients are added etc. , how hard or soft you want the meat to be, so on and so forth. I guess you could say the same for any good recipe involving anything but I'm comparing with chicken which really is easy to cook and it can't taste horrible even if one messes up a little bit.

If it were just me, I'd toss everything in the pressure cooker and be done with it. Or just give up lamb. I don't care for it enough. But I'm with some one who just loves lamb. Or lamb chops. Just done right, the middle eastern way. Or cooked to exact specifications. So there's no other way except to slog at it for a few hours once a week or so.

Also I can update with better pictures later on. That is, if I can manage to take them. I'm horrible with this food- photography business but hopefully I might improve.

Ingredients:

Lamb - about 2 lbs. (with bones), cut into small cubes. Very important that they are small pieces. We usually end up cutting them again to our desired size even when we get them cut from the local Indian grocery store. We occasionally get them from a local Middle Eastern store and we do the same with that meat too.

Red Peppers, medium sized - 2, cut into medium sized pieces.
Onion, large, finely chopped -2
Green chillies, finely chopped - 2
Ginger - garlic paste - 3 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbs[
Yogurt - 1/2 cup
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves - 4
Salt - 1/2 tbsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chili powder -1/2 tbsp
Oil - 3tbsp
Water - 1- 2 cups
Cilantro - to garnish

Preparation:

Heat oil in a big/deep saucepan. Break the cinnamon stick in to two halves and add it to the oil. Add cloves. Saute for a couple of minutes.
Add chopped onions and green chilies. Saute until the onions are tender.
Add the ginger-garlic paste.Saute until the paste browns and starts sticking to the pan.
Add chopped red peppers. Saute until the peppers start oozing and are tender.
Add lamb cubes. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, then add salt. Continue to cook without covering and frequent stirring for about 15 minutes until the lamb pieces start changing color and are partially cooked.
Add red chili powder and garam masala. Stir and cook without covering with a lid for another 10-15 minutes. Requires fairly constant stirring and close monitoring to prevent burning as there is no water added until this point and the meat cooks in its own juices.
Add water at this point and stir. The amount depends on how thick or dry one wants the gravy. If you have it with rice or roti, probably more water and if it is to be had as a main course, then a little less water ( along with going easy on the red chili powder). Regardless, it needs atleast, 1 cup of water. I add anwhere between 1- 2 cups, adjusting as I go by.
NOW, we can cover with a lid and leave it alone for a few minutes. But just for a few minutes. Keep an eye on it and keep stirring occassionally. I tend to sneak in a few spoofuls of water as I fear it might burn, which G absolutely resents and banishes me from the kitchen at this point. He likes it very dry, with nothing but the meat visible.
Cook until done. But we are not done yet. Add the yogurt after everything is completely cooked. Cover with a lid and let simmer for about 5-7 minutes on mediun flame. If it looks too 'saucy' ( yeah, I can't think of the right word now), remove the lid and let simmer until it thickens/ evaporates.
Garnish with cilantro.

All those couple of minutes plus 5-7s, 10 -15s add upto more than an hour right next to the stove top.

Disclaimer: This post, by no means, is meant to discourage any one from cooking lamb.
I have nothing against it and have acknowledged at times that it is the best possible meat for making a biryani.

Chickpea Snack

2009-06-13T08:22:00.006-04:00

I had some chickpeas left over after I made the pulao and this was an obvious thing to do. This was a more of a street food back home for us and I remember having it at parks and fairs. The more common one though was one that had puffed rice, chopped tomatoes, onions etc. I hadn't had this in years and felt sorta nostalgic when I made this. It seems such a healthy snack and I wondered why I don't make this often.

Ingredients:

Black chickpeas - 1/2 cup
Onions, finely chopped - 1/4 cup
Oil -1/2 tsp

Red chillies- 1-2
Curry leaves - 2
Salt - to season, about 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder -1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp

Urad dal - 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/8 tsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp.

Preparation:

Soak the black chickpeas overnight. Cook them immersed in water in a pressure cooker. Alternately, cook them in water in a covered saucepan until done. Drain the water, keep them aside and let cool.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add red chillies, curry leaves. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal.
When they start to splutter, add chickpeas and stir.
Sprinkle salt and chilli powder and toss to coat the chickpeas evenly; let cook for a few minutes, about 5 minutes.
Turn off heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. Add chopped onions.
Sprinkle the lemon juice and toss.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

This is for old times sake! It was sold in paper cones or paper cups back home.

Black Chickpea Pulao

2009-06-11T15:32:00.009-04:00

G: What's for lunch? I'm starving.
TCC: Black chickpea Pulao.
G: What's that?
TCC: huh? You know,... chickpeas and pulao.
G: What's in it? It's just rice, right?
TCC: Yeah.
G: Big deal. It's just rice no matter how you cook it. How can it taste dramatically different from all the other varieties of rice?
TCC: But I used to like this a lot and eat it frequently at my friend's place. Her mom made it really spicy and I got the recipe from her recently.
G: But it's just rice and chickpeas. What do you need a recipe for?
TCC: Whatever!
G: What's the curry?
TCC: You eat it with raitha.
G: That's it?
TCC: Yes.
G: But...
TCC: Cold stare.
G: mutters something under the breath...pulls out the left over eggplant curry from the fridge.
TCC: What....?
G: Nothing!

Sigh! The hater of all kinds of rice except plain old boring white rice! Not even Biryani....THE Hyderabadi biryani makes a difference to this guy. And he has to go and marry the ultimate biryani lover. Now THAT would have been the most appropriate title for my blog. Now why didn't I think of this before.

Anyways, I have used the white chickpeas many times, both for chole and curries but had never used the black chickpeas. I tried cooking a pulao with white chickpeas but it really didn't taste good at all. The reason for using those more often is because I didn't have to soak and steam/cook them before. I get the canned variety which tastes pretty good for curries.

As for the black chickpeas, I soaked them overnight and cooked them in a pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

Black chickpeas: 1/2 cup
Basmati rice - 2 cups
Onion, finely chopped, medium - 1
Greeen chillies, finely chopped - 2
Ginger- Garlic paste - 2 tbsp
Garam masala - 1 tbsp
Powdered cloves - 1 tsp
( I add this in addition to the garam masala. I roast the cloves and grind them in a coffee bean grinder)
Cinnamon stick, broken into halves - 1
Cloves - 3
Cardamom, crushed - 2
Salt - 2 tsp + 2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chili powder - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Heat oil in a sauce pan. Add cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick.
Add onion and green chillies and saute until onions are tender.
Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute until fragrant and the paste browns ( I know, it's already in brown color; but let it get to a darker shade of brown)
Add cooked chickpeas.
Add 2 tsp salt, red chilli powder, garam masala, powdered clove. Stir, cover and cook for a few more minutes until the flavors meld. Turn off heat and let cool.
Measure and add rice and water in an electric rice cooker. I usually add 2 cups of water for each cup of basmati rice. Add salt.
Add the chickpea mixture to rice and water and turn on the cooker. Stir and let cook. Stir once before the rice is almost done.
Garnish with cilantro or mint.

I am sending this to meeta's monthly mingle hosted by nags with the theme, 'ravishing rice recipes'. I expect major eye rollage if G sees this.

Cherry Pudding/ Clafoutis aux Cerises

2009-06-09T14:31:00.015-04:00

I discovered a book that had been laying around for a few years and decided to try a few recipes from that. I had a complimentary subscription for a monthly food magazine a few years ago and I guess it was from that I got this. It had recipes from different cuisines and apparently this was a favorite of the French during the cherry season, around the region Limousin. The recipe was attributed to Sarah Woodward from her book " The Food of France". The picture in the book looked so appealing that I was waiting for the cherries so I could try this recipe. And of course the exotic sounding name had as big a part to it too.

I love cherries and it didn't make sense to add more sugar and other stuff to it but I still wanted to try it.

Ingredients:

Cherries - one and half pound
All purpose flour - one and half cups
Superfine sugar - 1/2 cup
Salt - a pinch
Whole milk - 1 cup
Unsalted Butter - 4 tbsp
Eggs, large, beaten well - 4

Preparation:

Boil Milk taking care not to boil over. As soon as it starts to fizz up, take off the heat and leave to cool slightly. Remove the skin.
Melt the butter and remove any scum.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Butter a deep oven proof dish and scatter the cherries over the base making sure they are evenly distributed.
In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, salt and sugar.
Make a well the center of the flour and whisk the beaten eggs, then slowly, the melted butter, followed by the milk. Whisk thoroughly to make a smooth batter.
Pour the batter over the cherries.
Bake until the batter rises and the top browns, about 40-45 minutes. Leave the oven door slightly open for the last 5 minutes of baking, so that the batter doesn't sink the minute it is taken out of heat.
Serve warm. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar if you like.

I ran into a few problems once I got started and after I was done (as usual).

a.) I only had 3 eggs instead of 4 that the recipe called for.
b.) I used a too deep a container to bake. I still can't figure out most of the times how much the batter is going to rise.
c.)I googled for the recipe after I was done and most of them had baking powder which wasn't included in the book's recipe. I think that would have made a lot of difference.
d.) Although the recipe suggested one and half pounds of cherries, after spreading them at the bottom of the baking dish, I thought it looked too crowded and removed quite a few. I just left enough to cover the base. I wish I had let them be.
e.) The recipe explicitly suggested using unpitted cherries but I found it a hassle to remove the seeds while eating.
f.) The recipes called for unpitted cherries, but they still bled a little bit. I didn't mind though, I thought it looked nice.
g.) I baked for 45 minutes but later felt I should have left it in for another 5-10 minutes and let it brown a little bit more.

So there. There's always a next time, hence the notes to self. I didn't feel like finishing up my slice but couldn't let the cherries go waste. Not pretty but what the heck.

Tomato and Celery Soup with Rice

2009-06-08T21:53:00.007-04:00

I've wanted to try this soup for a few months now and before I could get to it, winter this year has become a memory and summer is here. It's been raining since this morning and this gave me an excuse to try a soup. I also had some celery that I needed to use up.

I had bookmarked a recipe from the NewYork Times to try a while ago. However, my picture looks nothing like the one from them. Once I got started, I realized I didn't have canned tomatoes as well as the tomato paste that the recipe called for. I used the regular tomatoes instead and gave a miss to the tomato paste. I also forgot to add sugar; didn't have parmesan, thyme and bay leaf. The end result was a much clearer soup that tasted like a vegtable soup with a less discernable tomato taste.

I also used previously cooked rice instead of letting the rice cook in the soup.

Ingredients:

Extra virgin olive oil - 1 tbsp
Onion, medium sized, chopped - 1
Carrot, diced - 1
Celery stalks, diced - 4
Garlic cloves, minced - 3
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Tomatoes, large, chopped - 1
Water - 1 1/2 quart
Cooked rice - 3/4 cup
Dried oregano - 1 tsp
Dried thyme - 1tsp
Parsley, fresh, chopped - 1/4 cup
Celery, very thinly sliced, for garnish

Preparation:

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, celery. Cook until the onions are tender.
Add minced garlic and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
Add chopped tomatoes and cook, stirring often until they have cooked down.
Add water. Add salt to taste. Add oregano and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.
Stir in rice. Simmer for about another 15 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
Stir in parsley. Add freshly ground pepper.
Garnish with thinly sliced celery and serve.

Plantain Stir-fry

2009-06-05T13:02:00.010-04:00

I never liked plantains, no matter how they are cooked. I've been trying to cook all kinds of veggies these days whether I like them or not. I figured that if I cook different kinds, i don't have to eat any one variety very often, even the ones that I like. I can get tired of vegetables a lot easily. Anyway, I tried cooking this a couple of ways but am not very enthusiastic about those. It won't make me grab plantains at the produce market. I look for other stuff and if I can't find them, I go back and get these. I also cook these with some masalas like meat or fry them. I've also tried a different kind of recipe from Sheela's delectable-victuals where she boiled them, grated and fried it with some coconut.

I think the main problem with this though is that it has to be really hot off the stove for it to taste really good, like potato fries. If it cools, it hardens and can taste like cardboard. But it can be as good as fries when hot. Ok, I guess I've made my point.

Ingredients:

Plantains – 2

Onions, chopped finely, small – 1

Green chillies, chopped – 2

Salt – 1 tsp

Red chilli powder – 1 tsp

Oil – 4 tbsp

Water – as needed

For tempering :

Curry leaves – 4-5

Urad dal –1/4 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/8 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1/8 tsp

Preparation :

Peel the plantains and cut into small cubes.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a skillet. Add curry leaves, urad dal, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.
When the urad dal becomes browned and the other seeds start to splutter, add onions and green chillies.
When the onions become translucent, add the plantain cubes.
Stir-fry the plantain cubes. When they start sticking to the pan, add 2 tbsp water. and 2 tbsp oil. Cover with a lid and let simmer for a few minutes. Keep stirring periodically. When the water evaporates and the plantains start sticking to the pan again, add a little bit of water (1-2 tbsp). Don’t add all the water at the same time. Keep doing this until the plantains are cooked. Drizzle a little bit more oil if necessary.
Add salt and red chilli powder. Sautee for a few more minutes until the plantains are completely cooked through.

Raw Tamarind Rasam

2009-06-03T14:33:00.007-04:00

This is really simpler than a rasam. The onions give some crunchiness as they are not cooked. Sugar decreases the tartness of tamarind. One can always adjust the amount of water added to suit the taste even after it is prepared.

I'm never sure how to quantify tamarind! I see people mentioning it in terms of golf balls, thumbs, lemons etc. but if one has never used tamarind, I guess it's going to be difficult to go by those.

Ingredients:

Tamarind- here it goes...about the size of a thumb.
Water - about 2 and half cups
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Onion, small, finely chopped - 1
(please don't go by the picture, I got lazy. It's much better to chew on small pieces of onion, especially when not cooked)
Green chillies, finely chopped) - 2

For tempering:

Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 3-4
Mustard seeds - 1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/8 tsp
Urad dal -1/4 tsp
Dried red chillies - 2

Preparation:

Soak the tamarind in about a cup of water for a few minutes and squeeze the juice. I micro wave it for about 30 seconds in water and then extract the juice.
Add about two and half cups of water to the juice and stir it a little bit so they mix thoroughly.
Add sugar and salt.
Add chopped onions.
Heat oil in a skillet. Sautee the green chillies for a couple of minutes. Remove and add the sauteed green chillies to the water-tamarind juice-onion mix.
In the same skillet, add the curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, urad dal, broken red chilli halves to the oil. When they start to splutter, add them to the tamarind-water-onion-green chilli mix and stir throughly.

Here's a lesson for anybody out there who is trying to learn taking food pictures. They keep talking about focal length, apertures, lighting, cameras, angles but no one mentioned this:

'watch out for your reflection on shiny silverware, spoons or food, especially if you are still in your pjs.'

I bet that's something you'll never learn in any other blog.

Khichidi

2009-06-03T13:37:00.008-04:00

This used to be my favorite comfort food. It still is but so many things got added along the way that I find it hard to keep track of things I like. I think I've begun to appreciate food more as I got older. I usually make the very basic version without the vegetables or any other add-ons. I try to add veggies to everything else, so I try to keep this rather plain. I also don't make it as mushy. I usually put everything in the electric rice cooker which sort of doesn't make the lentils that soft. Pressure cooker is probably better for the really soft and mushy version.

This used to be served as breakfast one day of the week in our dorm menu. I was probably the only one who looked forward to it. People hated it with a vengeance and most missed breakfast that day. I used to get teased quite a bit for this. Even now, I make it exclusively for myself. It was served with chutney and raw tamarind juice, also called pacchi pulusu, roughly translated to raw soup/gravy.

Ingredients:

Rice - 1 cup
Moong dal/ masoor dal -1/4 cup
Cumin seeds -1/8 tsp
Black Peppercorns - 8-10
Dried Bay leaves - 2
Salt -1 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Green chillies, finely chopped - 2
Oil - 1 tbsp
Water - 2 and 1/2 cups. Need to adjust depending on the type of rice.

Preparation:

Heat oil in a saucepan. Add cumin seeds, peppercorns, Bay leaves.
Add green chillies and sautee for a couple of minutes.
Add rice and moong dal.
Add salt. Stir and let cook for about 5 minutes.
Add water. Cover and cook until rice and lentils are cooked. Alternately, transfer everything to a pressure cooker or a rice cooker and cook until done. Serve with chutney, pickle, yogurt, raw tamarind rasam (recipe to follow, here, if one can call it a recipe) or really any curry or just by itself.

I am sending this to monthly mingle for ravishing rice recipes that I chanced upon while checking out some food blogs.

Eggplant Saute

2009-06-02T10:23:00.007-04:00

I used to like eggplant curry back in India but somehow disliked it here even when I used the Chinese eggplants which are similar to the Indian variety. For a long time, I had to stick to the the plump, globe variety as the other varieties weren't available where I lived, which intensified my dislike. I still love the baby eggplants when cooked in salan style in lots of peanut-coconut gravy with all the spices. I just saute all kinds for the most part and they taste good when hot off the stove. This one was made with eggplants that were called baby eggplants at the local produce market but they looked nothing like them. They were much larger and were somewhere between baby eggplants, globe eggplants and the chinese eggplants. The thing I like the most about them though is that they get cooked pretty quickly and the cutting/chopping part is easy too.

Ingredients:

Eggplants, cut to small pieces, about the size of an inch - 5-6
Onion, medium sized, chopped - 1
Green chillies - 2-3, finely chopped
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder -1/tsp
Mustard seeds -1/8 tsp
Cumin seeds -1/8 tsp
Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
Garlic, chopped - 2 cloves
Oil - 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Cut the eggplant to small pieces. Place them in a bowl of water as soon as they are cut and while you are slicing other eggplants.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, garlic. When they start to splutter, add onions and green chillies.
When the onions become translucent, add eggplant.
Saute and cover with a lid for a few minutes.
Add salt and red chilli powder. Stir and let cook for a few more minutes until done. If you like it more mushy, cover with a lid while cooking; if you rather like a stir fry, don't cover with a lid.

Peanut Chutney

2009-06-01T21:53:00.008-04:00

I love this chutney! In my book, there's really nothing else that beats this. Not the coconut chutney which is pretty much considered the standard chutney that goes with all the idlis, dosas and snacks, not the assorted other chutneys. The picture above doesn't look half as good as it tastes. That's also probably because I added some dalia ( ? roasted chana dal) as I didn't have enough peanuts.

Ingredients:

Peanuts (unsalted) - 1 cup
Green chillies, chopped - 3
Tamarind - about the size of a thumb
Cumin seeds - 1/8 tsp
Garlic - 2 cloves
Salt -1/2 tsp (adjust to taste)

For tempering:

Mustard seeds- 1/8tsp
Cumin seeds -1/8 tsp
Urad dal -1/4 tsp
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Curry leaves - 2-3

Preparation:

Roast the peanuts in about 1/2 tsp oil. Keep them aside.
In the same pan, roast the other ingredients one after the other, cumin seeds, green chillies, garlic and tamarind. Roast the tamarind until it changes color making sure not to roast too much.
Grind all of these together along with the peanuts in a blender to a smooth paste adding water as necessary to keep the blender going.
Add salt.
For tempering, heat about 1/2 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin seeds, urad dal. When they start to splutter, add the chutney and simmer for a few minutes.

Rava Dosa

2009-05-12T14:07:00.007-04:00

I have been sticking to the tried and tested recipes for now as I haven't been out much for grocery shopping. I also have something coming up that I needed to focus on. Hopefully, I could try more in a couple of weeks. This dosa is a favorite at all times and it took me a little bit of practice over time to get them right. It doesn't seem like rava dosa if it doesn't have that meshed appearance, even if it tastes the same. It doesn't need too much of preparation either, which is probably why I make this quite often.

That bright red chutney in the pic is ginger chutney and you will probably see that in all the pics that need chutney! Because that is the only one I have handy at ALL times. If I'm too lazy to make other chutneys, this is what I use as my back up.

Ingredients:

Sooji - 1 cup
Rice flour - 1/2 cup
Maida/ all purpose flour -1/2 cup
(I use atta or wheat flour)
Cumin seeds - 1/4 tsp
Onion, finely chopped - 1/2 cup
Green chillies, finely chopped -2-3
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Oil / PAM
Water

Preparation:

Mix sooji, rice flour, maida/APF and soak in water for anywhere between 1-4 hours.
Stir in salt, onions, green chiliies, cumin seeds.
Add additional water to make a batter; batter should be runny. Sooji tends to settle down at the bottom, so need to stir and add water as necessary before ladling on to the griddle
Heat the griddle.
Ladle the batter. The batter will not be spreadable, so I just splatter it in a circular motion, starting at the periphery and then at the center.
Spray PAM at the edges and the center of the dosa. Flip it when browned. (I like it very crispy and stiff, so really cook it on high heat. Can't stand it if it is limp). Remove when slightly browned on the other side too.
Serve with chutney.

Dessert shells with Ice cream & Strawberry

2009-05-07T16:13:00.008-04:00

This is really not a recipe but I was tickled by the colorful picture and about discovering these. I was walking by the aisle that had strawberries at the local produce store and these dessert shells were placed right next to them. I was surprised at not noticing those before and picked them up for after dinner dessert that night. I sliced the strawberries real thin, placed them around the shell with a scoop of ice cream at the center.

I later googled to see if I could do anything else with those. It didn't show much else except some thing similar to what I had done. I was planning to use whipping cream but just went with the ice cream.

Oh and I also wanted to practice taking pictures!

Dosa with moong dal

2009-05-06T17:02:00.012-04:00

It some how seems pointless to post recipes for some things I cook frequently. But here's one of those. Of all the different kinds of dosa, this is the one I like the least. Unless I have some good chutney to go with it. Or upma. The major factor in its favor though is that it doesn't need too much preparation. I can wake up in the morning during the weekends and decide to have it for breakfast. I soak the dal for about a couple of hours. The batter however seems to give better tasting dosas the next day.

Ingredients:

Moogdal - 2 cups
Green chillies, chopped - 4
Ginger, cut/grated - 1/2 tbsp
Salt - 1 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Onions - finely chopped- 1
Oil

Preparation:

1. Soak the moong dal for atleast 2 hours.
2. Grind the moongdal, ginger and green chillies to a smooth batter.
3. Add salt.
4. Add a little bit of water to the batter if necessary so that it can be ladled on to the griddle.
5. Heat the griddle. Grease it a little bit, pour the batter with ladle and spread it in a circular motion. Sprinkle some onions.
6. When the dosa starts to brown, flip it. Let it brown on the other side for a couple of minutes, then fold it and remove.
7. Serve with chutney, sambar.

We had it with some ginger chutney and potato curry. I usually like to make this with upma, but didn't do it this time.

Fish curry- Tilapia

2009-05-05T13:45:00.013-04:00

I don't cook fish that often, and even when I did, I had only used catfish in the past. I had tried Salmon a couple of times but apart from taking a couple of bites I didn't develop a liking to it. Since it is considered healthy, I tried it a few times before giving up. I moved on to Tilapia which I grilled and pan fried a few times before deciding to make a curry out of it. It turned out pretty good. I used a very generic recipe that is used for all types fish in our home. Fish is usually cooked 2 ways by my mother, either fried (deep fried) or made into a curry with lots of gravy, with the fish pieces practically floating in it.

The most important aspect of cooking this is to find the right skillet. Growing up, we used to have seperate utensils to cook fish, usually a very wide, shallow skillet. Since the fish pieces break easily when cooked, one has to be careful and not stir too often. It helps to have such a skillet so you can just kinda rotate gently using the handle to let the contents mix and not use a spatula.

Ingredients:

Tilapia filets- 5-6
Onions- medium sized, diced - 2
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 3
Ginger-Garlic paste - 3 tbsp
Tamarind juice - 1/2 cup
Salt - 1-2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Red chilli powder/ cayenne pepper - 1 -2 tsp ( adjust to taste)
Cinnamon stick - 1
Cloves - 3
Oil - 3 tbsp
Cilantro - to garnish
Water - about 1-2 cups.

Preparation:

1. Cut each filet into two halves.
2. Heat oil in a skillet. Add cinnamon stick and cloves.
3. Add onions and green chillies and saute until the onions turn translucent.
4. Add ginger-garlic paste. Saute until it browns and starts sticking to the pan.
5. Add the Tilapia filets. Cook for a few minutes and when start changing color and start sticking to the pan, add tamarind juice. ( For this, soak the tamaind, about half the size of golf ball, in water and microwave for 30 seconds. Just so that it softens and you can squeeze the juice. If not sure about the amount of tamarind, just squeeze enough concentrated juice to fill half a cup).
6. Add water to almost immerse the filets.
7. Add salt and red chilli powder.
8. Cook until the half the water evaporates, gravy becomes concentrated and oil starts to seperate. Add a little bit more oil if necessary. I usually like a thin film of oil on top when done.
9. Garnish with cilantro.

Cheese Pennies/Crackers

2009-05-04T15:41:00.010-04:00

I found this recipe while I was looking for recipes for snacks at one hot stove.com. The recipe was attributed to Maida Heatters. Since then I checked out the original recipe and also some other blogs that seemed to have tried this. It seemed pretty easy to make, not to mention the short list of ingredients, which is always a big plus. Never mind the ingredients themselves which pack enough calories to last a while. I decided to make a small batch before deciding to use the proportions suggested in the original recipe which yields about 50-60 crackers.

Speaking of ingredients, I rarely use butter and cheese. I bought cheese for the first time in the past couple of months. Except for one time that I made grilled cheese sandwich long time ago. I do eat cheese outside, it's just that I don't stock it at home. I don't use it at all in my regular cooking and these days I'm wondering about the calories each time I buy it. It's the same dilemma with all purpose flour. And sugar. Except for a couple of spoofuls for the morning coffee, I barely had any use for it. Now I watch myself in horror, as I measure it in cups!

Any way, my experimental batch yielded about 15, which were gone in about 2 minutes. I made about 4-5 times as many for a dinner party which had tons of other snacks, so I have most of them left. I am some what horrified at the thought that I'm going to eat them all by myself. They had about 4 cups of cheese and a cup of butter in all. waaahhh!

Ingredients:

Finely shredded Cheddar cheese - 2 cups
Butter, softened - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Red chilli powder/ cayenne pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Toasted sesame seeds.

Just to let it out there to show how much of an amateur cook I am, I had to google when the recipe suggested to cream the butter. I looked at the butter and it looked already creamy to me. Then I realized I had the spreadable butter in a tub. I then beat it for a few minutes and realized how creamy it can get. Well, I'm learning. One thing at a time.

I don't have an electric mixer(yet), so I guess that's the reason why the cheese didn't mix thoroughly and is apparent in the final result. I'm going to try this again after I get an electric mixer, so they won't have that mottled appearance.

Preparation:

1. Mix the dry ingredients- all purpose flour, salt and cayenne pepper in a bowl.
2. In another bowl, cream the butter.
3. Stir in the cheese into the butter and beat until blended.
4. Stir in flour mixture little bit at a time until incorporated.
5. Divide the dough in two halves and shape each into a circular or recatangular log,
approximately 7-8 inches long.
6. Wrap them in plastic wraps and refrigerate for 5-6 hours to 2-3 days.
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
8. Lighltly dust a board, place the logs, slice them into quarter inch thick slices.
9. Place them on a baking sheet.
10. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
11. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown. Keep checking after the first 10 minutes
to make sure the cheese doesn't burn.

Oh and such a long post for a simple recipe!

Banana -Walnut bread

2009-04-30T15:21:00.007-04:00

I've started out with trying simple recipes for the most part, so I that I can get encouraged. It seems like there is not a food blog out there without some variation of the basic banana bread recipe. I used about a cup of sugar for this one but thought it was a bit too sweet. I will probably use only 3/4 cup next time. I didn't expect much out of this one and I was pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients:

Bananas, medium sized - 3
Eggs - 2
All-Purpose Flour – 1 ¼ cup
Sugar – 1 cup
Butter, melted – ½ cup
Salt, to taste (about 1/2 tsp)
Baking Soda – 1tsp
Walnuts, chopped – ½ cup

Preparation:

1.Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
2.In a bowl, combine the sugar and butter until creamy.
3. Mash the bananas and add them to the above.
4. Add the eggs, all purpose flour, salt and baking soda and mix well till combined.
5.Add the chopped walnuts.
6. Pour into loaf pans. Bake for about 50 mins; tooth pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Yeah.. and this is the attitude I get for the most part regarding my various experiments these days. But that was the last remaining piece of bread which was all gone pretty fast. I regretted giving one loaf away to neighbours!

Mirchi ka Salan ( Green Pepper Curry/Sauce)

2009-04-30T14:14:00.009-04:00

This is usually given as an accompaniment to biryani in Hyderabad. It can be runny, without the peppers, just served as a gravy or made thick as a curry to go with rice or roti. It is typically made with the Indian variety of green peppers but obviously it can be made with other varieties too. I've used the Hungarian hot peppers more often than others. Long, thin banana peppers might work too.

The Jalapeno and Serrano peppers might be too hot for it. I guess one could deseed and use them but it might be too much work.

The same ingredients and the method are used to make egg plant curry too. Just sustitute peppers with baby egg plants.

Some add a little bit of sugar too but I usually don't. As much as I like this, I don't cook this as often, as it takes quite a bit of time for the curry to come together. Not to mention the long list of ingredients. Although all of them are standard fixtures in an Indian pantry, I'm always out of something or the other, to keep myself from cooking this.

Ingredients:

For the paste:

Peanuts - 1/3 cup

Dry Coconut powder/ dessicated coconut - ¼ cup

Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp

Other :

Dry red chillies -2

Cloves -2

Cardamom -2

Cinnamon stick -1

Onions, chopped -1 cup

Green chillies, chopped -2

Ginger-garlic paste -2 tbsp

Tamarind juice, soaked, squeezed – ½ cup

Yogurt - ½ cup

Salt -1 tbsp

Turmeric powder -1 tsp

Red Chilli powder -1 tsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Green peppers, slit - 6

Water - about 2 cups

Oil -2 tbsp

Preparation:

Roast peanuts, coconut powder, sesame seeds one after the other. Mix and grind to a smooth paste in a blender.
Heat oil in a skillet. Add dry red chilies, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick.
Add onion, green chilies and sauté until tender.
Add ginger garlic paste. Sauté for a few minutes until brown.
Add peanut, coconut, sesame seed paste. Sauté and add about ¼ cup water when the paste starts sticking to the pan.
Add tamarind juice and let cook for few more minutes.
Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, garam masala. Cook for at least 10 minutes with frequent stirring.
Add yogurt.
Add green peppers.
Add water. Cover and cook until the peppers are done and oil starts to separate. Add more water depending on the consistency.

Stuffed Brussel sprouts

2009-04-28T16:28:00.007-04:00

This recipe was adapted from http://delectable-victuals.blogspot.com/2007/02/brussel-sprouts-curry.html with some changes.

Ingredients:

Brussel sprouts - about 6-8
Canola oil - 2 Tbsp
Salt - 1tsp
Chilli powder/cayenne pepper - 1tsp(optional)

Stuffing:

3 Tbsp urad dal
3 Tbsp chana dal
3 red chillies
3 Tbsp dry coconut/ grated coconut
1 Tbsp tamarind paste/ concentrate.

Preparation:

1.Dry roast all the stuffing ingredients except tamarind paste, powder them in a blender/ coffee grinder.
2.Add tamarind paste to make a powdery paste.
3.Wash the brussel sprouts and pat them dry. Slit them length wise.
Stuff the paste.
4.Pan fry in 2 Tbsp oil.
5.Any remaining stuffing can be added to the oil while frying brussel sprouts
6.Sprinkle/season with salt and chilli powder.

Carrot Halwa

2009-04-28T14:55:00.015-04:00

This must be the most common dessert served in buffets in Indian restaurants along with Gulab jamun probably because it's very east to prepare. Growing up, I never had a sweet tooth and would probably take a bite or two at my mother's insistence. However after reading somewhere that a pregnant woman's diet plays a role in developing the unborn child's tastes and that it was important to expose the baby to all kinds of food, I put aside my strong dislike for Indian sweets and desserts and forced myself to eat those.

To my surprise, I enjoyed them very much and also developed cravings for those, long after the delivery and the second birthday of the baby!

I am almost getting back to the point of my previous adolescent disdain, but not quite yet.

Ingredients:

Ghee/Butter - 2 tbsp

Nuts - cashews, almonds, raisins - ¼ cup

Carrots (grated) - 4 cups

Milk - 3 cups

Sugar - ¾ cup

Cardamom powder – 1 tsp

Preparation:

Heat ghee in a skillet.
Add the nuts and roast them until brown and the raisins puff up.
Add grated carrots. Combine milk and stir. Continue with periodic stirring until carrots are cooked and the milk has evaporated completely.
Add sugar. Sugar is to be added only after the milk has evaporated.
Continue cooking for another 10 minutes or more until the ghee separates.
Add cardamom powder.

Vada/ Deep-fried lentil fritters

2009-04-27T14:35:00.014-04:00

I can't believe I've never made these until now. My mom has always led me to believe that I needed a wet grinder to make this batter. While this is still true, and you run the risk of getting a batter too runny with the run of the mill blenders, I've managed to pull this off this time. I was told to add a little bit of rice flour if that happens but I didn't. But I plan to do that the next time around for just a little extra crispiness.

Ingredients:

Urad dal - 1 cup
Salt - 1 Tsp
Pepper - 1 tsp
Asafoetida - pinch
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Onion - 1 medium sized (finely chopped)
Green chillies - 1 (finely chopped)
Cilantro - ¼ cup (finely chopped)
Curry leaves -1/4 cup ( finely chopped)
Vegetable Oil for deep frying

Preparation :

1. Soak Urad dal for 6 hours.
2. Wash and grind urad dal to a smooth batter with as little water as possible.
3. Add salt, pepper, asafoetida, cumin powder.
4. Beat the batter for about 10 mins. Drop a small ball into a bowl of water. If the ball floats, the batter is ready. If not, beat the batter for a few more minutes.
5. Add onions, green chillies, cilantro and curry leaves.
6. Heat the oil for deep frying.
7. Moisten the palm of the right hand. Do this before making each ball with the batter.
8. Make a small ball with the batter with the hand, then flatten it a little and make a hole with the thumb. Drop it into the oil and fry until golden brown.
9. Repeat with the remaining batter until done.
10. Serve with chutney or chicken curry or on its own.

Chicken in Champagne-Cream Sauce

2009-04-27T10:53:00.009-04:00

I once had this for lunch brought from an unknown restaurant. It was a complimentary lunch and none of the office staff knew where it was from but it was so good that I always keep looking for it in restaurant menus. It was incredibly creamy, soft and melt in the mouth tender and good. I decided to try it out myself but am still not sure if I have the right recipe.

Ingredients:

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – 2

All purpose flour – ¼ cup

Champagne – 1 cup

Heavy whipping cream – 1-1/2 cup

Salt – 1 tsp

Pepper –1 tsp

Butter –1 tbsp

Olive oil – 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Place the chicken breast halves in between a plastic wrap. Pound and flatten to ¼ inch thickness without tearing. Cut each piece into two halves.
Mix all purpose flour, salt and pepper.
Dredge each piece of chicken in the flour. Put them aside.
Heat the butter and oil in a saucepan or a skillet. Place the chicken in pan and cook for about 5 mins, flip them and cook until done or browned. Cook chicken in batches if necessary. Remove and place them in a plate, cover with foil.
Add 1 cup of champagne to the pan. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer. Return chicken to pan. Cover and cook until chicken is completely cooked through, for about 10 mins.
Remove chicken and place in a plate when done.
Add 1 ½ cup of heavy cream to the pan. Simmer until it thickens and reduces to half.
Pour over chicken and serve. Season with salt and pepper as desired.

Spinach and Cheese mini tarts

2009-04-24T14:19:00.010-04:00

As the title of my blog indicates, I’m not that much into cooking. Over the years, my attitude towards it has ranged from indifference to occasional spurts of interest and curiosity, to annoyance at being forced to indulge in it to keep myself alive. I sort of considered it as a necessary evil.

Looking back, it also seems that my feelings were in direct proportion to the time I had to invest in it. Now, having had some free time, and after being inspired by several food blogs, I am ready to explore further and see where this goes. I tried about 20 recipes that I hadn’t tried before in the past month and a half, and obviously I think enough of myself now, to start blogging about it. :)

One of the first blogs that I tried recipes from was www.delectable-victulas.blogspot.com. I tried about 7-8 recipes from that site alone and am amazed at how organized the blog is and how stunning the pics are. So without much ado, here is one from there.

http://delectable-victuals.blogspot.com/2007/10/spinach-cheese-mini-tarts.html

They don't quite look similar to the ones in the link because

1. I didn't have a mini muffin tin and used a regular sized one. Obviously the dough rounds were too small for them and became a bit shallow in spite stretching them to the max. Yes and I did buy a mini muffin tin for next time.
2. The cheese was clumped and didn't melt enough. I don't know much about cheese and this was the first time I actually bought ricotta cheese.
3. I am a bad photographer and I took the pic with a....well.. a phone.
4. I'm sure you'll notice other differences but it doesn't matter because they tasted pretty good.

I did it!

2009-04-24T11:34:00.001-04:00

I did it! Having followed umpteen blogs and resisting the temptation to have one of my own for years, I have finally succumbed to it. I'm not sure what I am going to do with it yet but for now it's going to be about my recipes.

I was surprised to discover what a minimalist cook I was in spite of cooking for years. I had very basic kitchen utensils and when I started trying out some recipes, I was left googling for pretty much everything. And when I say everything, it was EVERYTHING. That included finding out how much a quart is, what IS lemongrass, ...kale, where to find springroll wraps, bran, where to find recipes, where to watch the recipes that I wanted, how to take food pics etc.

It also made me realize how little we really need to get by.

So I made some purchases for my cooking adventures. That included my very first set of measuring cups and spoons. And a muffin tin and a loaf pan. And a basting brush. As you can see, I only had bare essentials in my kitchen. Every time I wanted to try a recipe, I had to make a trip to the grocery store not only to buy the ingredients but to buy the tools!

But it has been fun learning some basic stuff and discovering new things to cook with. Google has been my friend through out this.