Yogurt and BlueBerry Compote Cake

Hello all you wonderful people. Today I am so thankful to all you folks who wished us both for our 4th anniversary. Its already 4 years and hardly believable. I remember getting tensed for the first time while meeting parents and now our journey has come far along. Life has been a great adventure just like a video game where we are taking everything that comes along and enjoying it.

So I made this cake as that one sweet for celebrating this milestone. I know that most of you there are health conscious and I am proud to say that I fall in the same list. So a cake that is full of sugar, cream and fats is an absolute no no. Thank god for this new experiment, I found a healthier way. The difference is, I am using whole wheat flour instead of Maida or All purpose flour and sugar substitute for actual sugar. This substitute is the most natural one obtained from Stevia leaves. I have cut the oil in half and the milk and yogurt I have used is non fat.

When it comes to frosting, traditionally I use cream cheese, whipping cream, butter and sugar. For this cake though, I am using nonfat yogurt and brown organic sugar. Also for decoration, I have used natural blue berries to make a compote (similar to sauce) and used very minimal brown sugar instead of making sugary jams or jellies.

Please enjoy making this guilt free cake and for the first time, "You can have the cake and eat it too" :). Also note that this is good to eat after chilling in refrigerator for 2-3 hours, but try eating it with in a day or two.

Serves: 6-8

Preparation Time: 25 mins baking time + 10 mins Frosting + 20 for compote and mixing

Ingredients for Cake:

• 1 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup + 1 and 1/2 tbsp sugar substitute ( I used stevia sweetener, or use 1 cup ordinary sugar)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp vanilla essence 
• 1/2 cup oil ( any non pungent oil would do, I used vegetable oil)
• 1 cup 1%, 2% or fat free milk
• 1/2 cup water
• A pinch of Saffron
• 1 tsp orange zest (grate orange peel using a small eyed grater)

Ingredients for Frosting:

• 1 and 1/2 cup set curd or any low fat yogurt
• 3 tbsp normal or brown sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Ingredients for Compote:

• 2 cup blueberries or grapes
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Method for Cake baking:

• Preheat the oven at 350F or 180C.
• In a mixing bowl add all dry ingredients - flour, sugar, soda, salt , saffron and orange zest and mix well.
• Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture - vinegar, vanilla essence , oil, milk and water and mix well using a hand beater or hand mixer. It will be little running, don't panic.
• In a 9 inch round pan, add 2 tsp oil and coat the pan uniformly, add parchment paper cut to fit the bottom of the pan.
• Add the batter into the pan and bake it for 25-30 mins.
• Let it cool of half an hour after baking and place it on the rack for further cooling. Cake is ready to be decorated. At this point add parchment paper on a turn table for cake and reverse cake on rack to sit on turn table.

Method for Cake frosting:

• In a mixing bowl, add yogurt, lemon juice and sugar. 
• Using a manual beater, beat this yogurt mixture to form a thick, creamy uniform coating.
• Check for sweetness, add more sugar if needed, or add more lemon juice in case its too sweet.
• Dump this yogurt mixture on the cooled cake, spread it uniformly, its ok if its little runny and messy. Place the cake along with turn table in the top most compartment of fridge, closest to freezer, but not inside freezer.

Method for Blueberry Compote:

• In a small sauce pan, add water and blueberries (or grapes) , heat this first on a medium high flame for about 5 minutes.
• Add sugar and lemon juice and cook it on a medium low flame for about 15 minutes.
• Switch off the stove and let this compote cool completely, you can also keep it in fridge for 15 minutes to let it chill.
• After the compote has cooled and yogurt has set, add this compote on the yogurt frosting in any design you like and viola, the cake is ready to be served.

Tomato Ash Gourd Chutney

Hello everyone. I bring a new recipe with me. Something unheard of but turns of great! who knew.

This idea came from my mom, she just had a casual dinner with my dad and told me about ash gourd (boothkumblakayi) chutney. She told it was very sour but that didn't stop me from thinking in that direction.

So I came up with some simple and basic ingredients which worked. Be careful though, ash gourd has very delicate  taste and cannot take much of heat or sourness. So I have barely added one green chili and little bit of tamarind paste. In case the tomato you use is too sour, you can entirely skip the tamarind. I am sure these two ingredients are available everywhere so please try it and do let me know how it turned out for you.

You need to use it the same day as the taste changes drastically after 9-10 hours. Best is to use it immediately. Since its mild, Use it with something spicy like nucchinunde (spicy lentil balls) or Adai dose.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/8 Ash gourd cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 tomato seeded and chopped roughly
• 1 green chili
• 2 tbsp coconut grated
• 1/2 tsp tamarind paste
• Salt as needed
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 dry red chili
• 1 cup water

Method:

• In a sauce pan add a cup of water and bring it to boil. Add the ash gourd pieces, salt, tamarind paste and cover and cook for about 10 minutes on high to medium high.
• In a mixer grinder, add the cooked ash gourd (after draining water), tomato, grated coconut and green chili. Grind it without any water into a fine paste. Check for salt and mix well.
• For tempering use a small spatula add oil and heat. Once hot add mustard seeds, hing and cumin seeds, after hearing couple of splatters add in the red chili and switch off the stove. Enjoy!

Bell Pepper Teriyaki StirFry

Hello friends and family. Its been wonderful here. The weather here is such a warm gentleman and its perfectly treating us here on East coast.

Aah, summer is here and it is that time of the year where the streets are filled with such sweet scents and sights of colorful flowers and lavish greens. I am a complete outdoorsy person. And yay, we will be visiting India soon. I am counting days and completely excited. We are doing our last minute shoppings, the chocolates especially. Hope they don't melt by the time we reach there (In case it survives us munching on them).

I am off juice fast and must say I lost around 8 pounds. Which is not nearly as good as the glow in my skin. For the first time I have this flawless skin, so never underestimate the power of natural fruits and veggies.

This time it was my own experiment that became successful. I was craving for something Japanese style, so I came up with this. And what better veggies to use in summer than bell peppers from the local farmers market. I was completely smitten by the colors of these babies.

Since Bangalore days, I know of only two Japanese styles, Terikayi and Teppanyaki. Teriyaki is any dish with sauce - a sweet and tangy one and teppanyaki is a dish made on grill or iron plate. I had lots of Teppanyaki veggies with bread which tasted real good but had never tried the Teriyaki. So when in need, better to cook it. You can have this with any kind of bread or on its own. Trust me it will be finger licking good, once you do it with love!!

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 of red, yellow and orange bell peppers, diced into 1" squares
• 1 large onion diced to 1" cubes and layers separated
• 1 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp Sriracha or hot sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp brown sugar or organic sugar
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar or apple juice
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp pepper powder

Method:

• On a flat skillet add a tsp of oil and let it heat over a high flame.
• Add onions and bell peppers with little bit of salt and roast on this high flame for about 5 minutes and switch off the stove. Do not over cook it. It should retain the crunchy texture.
• In a sauce pan, add the remaining oil and heat in a medium flame. Once hot add the fennel seeds and fry for 2 seconds. 
• To this add the ginger and garlic paste and fry till there is no raw smell, for about 2 minutes. 
• Now add the sriracha, soy sauce, tamarind paste and brown sugar, stirring continuously until it forms a saucy concoction for about 5 minutes.
• Add in the Rice vinegar and again stir it for 5 minutes until it combines with the sauce.
• Finally, add the roasted bell peppers and onions to this sauce and mix it for 2 minutes adding required salt and pepper. Then switch off the stove. Bell pepper stir fry teriyaki style is ready to eat.

Palak gojju - Spinach Curry

Hello People. I am taking my own time for this blog. Not because I am lazy, just that I am not making many new recipes nowadays. As I look forward to go to Bangalore, I am more interested in picturing what all I can eat rather than what I can make. Somehow this made so much sense in my mind than in writing :).

I am a person who loves my greens. I can eat them raw or cooked or any other form. Specially spinach. Life is full of irony cos my husband used to hate greens, it was a few difficult months. But now, he likes it and is ready to eat anywhere. Looks like he didn't like overcooked lifeless greens. For me, greens are like super foods. They contain all sorts of essential vitamins and minerals and also iron. Lots of women are iron deficit and many wouldn't have noticed yet. Iron is essential for your basic metabolism and if you feel you are putting on weight without eating much, please get your haemoglobin checked. I know since I have faced it before and even had blood transmitted to me, twice.

Well, coming to this recipe. Usually my mother makes it using another green called Black nightshade or European Black nightshade. No no, we never went to Europe to get it. It is called kaachi soppu or ganke soppu in kannada. It is known for its traditional medicinal uses and is also edible. A bit bitter for raw green, but once cooked you won't believe the taste. Anyways, long story short, I have extended the same masalas to spinach and it tastes real yum!!

Serves: 2-3

Preparation Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 3-4 cups spinach or baby spinach leaves, washed thoroughly
• one quarter of onion roughly chopped
• 2 heaped tbsp grated coconut
• 1 and 1/2 tsp chana dal dry
• 1 and 1/2 tsp urad dal dry
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp + a drop of oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of asafetida or hing
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a microwavable bowl add 1 cup of water and cook the spinach leaves for 90 secs and then stir and cook again for other 90 secs.
• Using a sieve drain cooked spinach under cold running water.
• In a pan, dry roast chana dal and urad dal separately.
• Remove the roasted dals and add it to mixer. Do not grind just yet, let it cool.
• In the same pan, add a drop of oil and then add the red chilies, cumin and coriander seeds and roast it until you get a good aroma and add it to mixer.
• Grind these dry ingredients coarsely and then add grated coconut, onions and the cooked spinach along with some water  and grind it into a fairly smooth paste
• In a skillet, heat oil. Once hot ad mustard seeds and hing, let the mustard seeds crackle. 
• Add in the ground mixture with little water to get the desired curry consistency. Add salt and cook until it boils. Switch off and serve hot with rice or roti.

Gobi (Cauliflower) Curry

Hiya people. Now, I am aware that I have been absconding for a week or so. Apologies for that. I have been busy working out and catching my breath later on. Also my candy crush game is taking so much time since I finished stage 100. I am completely hooked towards playing it.

Cauliflower is not used that much at my home. Might be because of the worms in it. But soaking in hot water gets rid of all those bugs. And yes, Gobhi Manchuri is in my to-eat list when I get to Bangalore.  I must tell you this, I have tasted the actual Manchurian (they don't use only cauliflower), it is almost like a ball of vegetables and tastes nothing like our Indianized version. I am in love with the Indian version of it. We don't over use garlic which is the top reason why I love it.

Anyways, for past 2 weeks, the mister and I are having juice for dinner. Nutritious, light and healthy way to loose weight. Our juice has 20% fruit and 80% veggies. So I buy most of the vegetables available in market. We also bought a juicer (different from mixer) for this purpose. That is why I chose cauliflower. It has most of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that we need to build a strong immunity. Also it is anti-inflammatory and is excellent for heart health. Not only does it fight diseases, it also boosts brain health. Go figure!

This recipe is also one of my experiments, which actually turned out delish! and I am sure you guys will enjoy as well.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 1/2 Cauliflower, chopped into equal sized florets
• 1 can tomato sauce or 1 cup tomato sauce
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1/2 big onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp red chili powder (1/2 tsp if its too spicy for you)
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• Salt

Method:

• Soak the cauliflower flowers in hot water with turmeric and salt for 5 minutes
• Drain and cook the cauliflower in fresh water for 4 minutes in a microwave oven or in a pot.
• In a skillet, add oil and let it heat. Once hot add in cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Add the fenugreek seeds and fry till you can smell the aroma.
• Spoon in the ginger garlic paste and then add chopped onions.
• Now add the tomato sauce and required amount of water (half or more depending on thickness of your choice)
• Bring it to boil and then add in the masalas - chili powder, pepper powder, garam masala and coriander powder and again let it boil for 5 more minutes.
• To this add milk and while stirring continuously and finally add the cooked cauliflower florets.
• Cook this mixture for another 5 minutes and turn off thetas. Serve hot with rice or roti.

Kattu Saaru - Lentil Soup

Hello ppl. Hope you are fine. Its a real bliss, this lovely weather. All you hear is the wind howling and the birds having a dialogue or two with their beloveds. Seems like the nature is at its best and assuring of all the good things to come. Gives hope and enthusiasm to all humans.

This is one such recipe which can be used while healthy or sick. It is like the best medicine and a kick start to your digestive system. Almost the vegetarian version for chicken soup. WhileI had my fair share of flu, all I had was soft brown rice and this. Believe me I was in heaven and it helped me to recover soon. I would have it any day, in sickness or in health :). There is not much heat from the chilies since its only split and thrown off after boiling, and not much salty or oily, its the best form of having your vegetarian protein. Make sure to have it hot, really hot.

Well if you are perfectly ok and want to just try this, I suggest eating with something spicy. It goes really well. You can adjust the water quantity. If you add more water use it with rice, if less, have it with chapati.

Serves: 3 - 4

Preparation Time: 20 mins to cook the lentils + 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup split dry yellow pigeon peas
• 1-2 green chili slit lengthwise
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped ( you can use stems as well)
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp black pepper corns
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• Salt as needed
• 1 tbsp coconut shredded (optional)

Method:

• Cook the lentil in pressure cooker for 3-4 whistle with almost 1 to 2 and half cups water, salt and turmeric, with a closed lid.
• In a sauce pan, heat oil. Once hot, add in the hing and mustard seeds, let it crackle.
• Crush the cumin and pepper corn coarsely using a pestle and mortar and add it to the tempering.
• To this add the slit chilies and curry leaves and fry for 2 seconds.
• Add in the cooked lentil along with its stock and more water as you like your soup to be. Let it boil for 5 minutes. Check for salt.
• Switch off the stove, add chopped coriander, lemon juice and coconut and give it a mix. Let it stand for 2 mins then serve hot.

Avalakki Oggarane - Tempered Flatten Rice

Hello and good morning. Had nice sleep yesterday, in the middle I woke up to birds chirping at 3:20 AM. Who knew they woke up so early. I just crawled back in my bed and continued to sleep and had the worst nightmare. Gosh, I wish I don't see those faces again in my life.

So this is a traditional avalakki oggarne recipe. My mom made it and her in-laws made it and their in-laws and so on. Hope you get the picture. Of course there are small additions and changes. But the roots are still the same.

If there is one dish I want my mom to make, when I see her in Bangalore, it is this dish. There are many varieties of avalakki made in my house, which will be duly made and posted in my future adventures.  Note that you can add other veggies to it like carrot, beans , peas and so on. I actually prefer it like this. It goes well alone or with yogurt. Try to eat it hot, poha tends to get rubbery when cold.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time 15 - 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups gatti avalakki or dagdi poha 
• 1 medium onion chopped finely
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 1-2 green or red chili chopped finely
• 1/2-1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 inch ginger grated or 1/2 tsp ginger paste
• 2 tbsp grated coconut
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp chana dal dry
• 1 tsp urad dal dry
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Using a sieve wash the poha with cold running water, repeat it thrice and drain. Add a tsp of salt and mix well. 
• In a deep skillet, add oil and heat. Once hot add hing and mustard seeds, let it crackle.
• Add in the chana dal and urad dal and fry till golden brown.
• To this add curry leaves, ginger, onion, chilies and turmeric powder and fry till onions turn translucent.
• Now add sugar and gently mix it until the sugar dissolves.
• To this add the drained poha and mix well and cook for 2-3 mins. Add in the lemon juice, again give it a mix and switch off the stove.
• Finally garnish with coriander leaves and coconut. Serve hot.

Southekayi Gojju - Cucumber curry

Hi folks, welcome to my blog. Hope you are all doing fine. Another weekend has passed. I am sure all of you had fun. Before I forget, Happy mother's day to all you moms. Anything I am today, I owe it to my mom. I remember her being there always for me, putting up with my tantrums, making me happy and giving me a strong shoulder whenever I was down. She is my rock. I would also like to remember my mom's mom. She managed 10 children, cooked for them and worked in fields for large part of her life. She was like super hero to me and her words oozed out wisdom. My only regret is that she couldn't see my marriage. Miss you Ammamma. Also I would like to wish my Mother in law.   She is the coolest mom in law to have and she brings out the fun part of me.

This is actually a recipe of my Aunt and is dedicated to her. She took good care of me in my childhood along with my mom. Though she doesn't have any child of her own, she is one of my moms and I am blessed to have her in my life.

This is one of the easiest, uncooked curry ever. Since you are not cooking cucumber, you are still retaining all nutrients. In case your cucumber doesn't have a waxy outer layer like I did, no need to peel. It is best suited for summers and can be eaten with rice or chapati or heck! can be eaten just like that, which is how I love to eat. But in case you live it warm places, don't keep it for long. Savor the flavor soon :)

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 10-15 mins

Ingredients: 

• 1 cucumber peeled and diced into less than 1/4th inch pieces (See pic for approximate size)
• 2-3 tbsp grated coconut
• 2 dried red chilies
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds 
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2-1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1/2 tsp jaggery powder
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• Salt to taste

Method:

• In a spatula, dry roast fenugreek seeds and cumin seeds separately. Also roast red chilies with a drop of oil.
• In a mixer, add the roasted fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, red chilies and grind it coarsely.
• To this add grated coconut, tamarind paste, jaggery and salt and again grind it adding little water to desired curry consistency. Remember cucumber also secretes water.
• In a spatula, heat oil. Once hot add hing and mustard seeds and let it crackle. Switch off the stove. Your tempering is ready.
• In a serving bowl add the raw cucumber, the tempering and the ground masala and mix well. Check for taste.

Avarekayi Akki Rotti - Val Beans Rice flour bread

Good Morning all you beautiful people. It continues to be good day in terms of weather and my health. Hope you all are doing fine there. I heard from my cousins that weather is the same even in Bangalore. This is what I call as twinzies :).

As told previously in my post, people do various items using val beans. This recipe is not one of those crazy foods. Its almost found in everyone's house during the cold season. I love to eat it when my mom makes it at home, extra crispy and extra brown. It goes best with yogurt and pickle. But can be eaten with any chutney.

I wouldn't recommend this recipe when you have more than 5-6 people at home. Yes, my mom managed it, but its really tough to pat for so many people and takes long time and extra strong hand, specially if there is only one wok at home. It might also take many tries to get a perfect rotti, so just be patient and you will see the worth of hard work.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 5 mins to mix the flour + 10 mins per rotti

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup val beans cooked in microwave oven with salt and water for 5 mins on high
• 3 cups rice flour
• 1-2 green chilies chopped
• 1 tbsp grated coconut (optional)
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• Warm water
• Salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder (optional)
• Oil

Method:

• In a mixing bowl, add all the ingredients except water and oil and mix it gently, check for salt.
• To this flour mixture, add a tsp of oil and again mix it. 
• Now add warm water in increments such that the flour mixture when held in your fist must hold the shape of your fist even after releasing. Let it rest for 15 mins. Make 3 large balls or 4 medium ones using the flour mixture.
• In a deep wok (preferably round base), add a tbsp oil at center and spread it around the wok.
• Take one ball made of the flour mixture into the wok and start patting it from center towards the edges, spreading it along the circumference of the wok. Dip your hands in water and then continue patting in case it becomes difficult to spread.
• Make sure that the flour is evenly spread, make 3 holes at the center. This helps to cook the most thickest part of rotti - the base. Add a tsp of oil in across the holes and cook it on medium high with lid closed.
• You will be able to see water droplets all over the lid followed by hissing sounds. After 5 mins remove the lid. The color difference will be visible compared to raw flour, in case there are still raw spots visible, cover and cook again for a minute.
• Once you remove the lid cook again for 5 mins until you can see little golden brown edges.
• Remove the cooked rotti using a sturdy spatula. Switch off the stove. Using tongs reverse the wok under cold running water to cool it down. Continue the whole process again for rest of the flour balls. 

Aloo Fry - Potato stir fry

Hello again. Today I am doing much better. Woke up late and didn't have to worry about a thing. How I wish all mornings would be this lazy. On the other hand, weather here is same as in Ooty today, wet, chill and perfect. Just makes me want to snuggle and sleep again.

Aloo or potato is not one of my favorite veggies. This has been a problem since childhood. I remember taking masala dosa and my brother or father eating the aloo palya in it. I just wanted that red chutney inside the masala dosa. One of the greatest irony is that my husband loves potatoes. So we have come to an understanding that once a week I would incorporate his favorite veggie in my cooking.

So if you love or have mixed feeling about aloo, I am sure you will love this recipe. It tastes very much like french fries in terms of crispiness. Yes, it takes a bit more oil and bit more effort since it needs to be dry before going in the frying pan, but method is actually very easy.

Serves: 1-2

Preparation Time: 25 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 large Idaho potatoes peeled and cut into 1/4 inch cubes added in water
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Drain chopped potatoes and dry it gently using a paper towel.
• In a frying pan, add oil and heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and hing and let it crackle.
• Add in the potatoes and fry for 5 minutes, then add turmeric powder and salt.
• Fry on medium high for 10-15 minutes frying in between so that it doesn't burn.
• Now add all the remaining masalas - chili powder, chaat masala, cumin powder and coriander powder.
• Fry again for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Serve hot.

Hurli Saaru & Palya - horse gram stew and stir fry

Still trying to fight the viral infection, so I am not posting regularly. Pardon me for that. I hope all you people have learnt a lesson from me and have got your flu shots, if not, what are you waiting for, get your shots now!

This recipe is my grandmother's and it is in the family. So in a way I am letting out a family secret :).
It goes best with Ragi mudde or rice. This was sunday special cooking for my mom. I feel nostalgic remembering those days where Doordarshan was the only channel in India and Sundays had cartoons like Duck Tails, Tailspin and Jungle book. We used to even watch those regional movies which came at 2 PM, just because there was no other channel. Those were such simple days. All we had was one day holiday per week and that was more than enough. Now we have two and still keeps us wanting for more. I belong to that generation which has seen good old days of 90s and this crazy 21st century - at least a bit of it.

Back to this recipe, it is most nutritious food if you are a vegetarian. This provides all those proteins which we lack compared to our meat eating friends. It takes getting used to these pulses though. If it is for the first time you are eating this, make sure it is hot and savor it quickly.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation Time: 35-40 mins + Overnight Soaking + cooking horse gram

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup horse gram soaked over night
• 2 tbsp red chickpeas dry soaked over night
• 1 tsp rasam powder
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp jaggery powder
• 2 tsp mustard seeds divided
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• 1 green chili chopped
• 1 small onion chopped
• 2 tbsp oil divided
• A pinch of asafetida or hing
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves chopped
• 1 tsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp shredded coconut
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Cook the horse gram and chickpea in pressure cooker with 2 cups water and some salt for 3 whistles. Separate the cooked pulses and water using a sieve. Do not discard the water.
• In a deep sauce pan, add 1 tbsp oil and let it heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and hing and let it crackle. 
• Add the cooked water, if you feel its too concentrated, add more water to get the rasam consistency.
• To this add the rasam powder, jaggery, tamarind paste and some salt. Reduce the flame to medium low and let it boil well. Check for taste. Add some coriander leaves and switch off the flame.
• In a frying pan, add 1 tbsp oil and  let it heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and hing and let it crackle. 
• Then add chana dal and urad dal and fry until golden brown.
• Add the chopped green chili and onion and fry till onions are translucent .
• To this add the cooked horse gram and chickpeas and let it mix well with the tempering and onions.
• Add lime juice and switch off the stove. Garnish with coriander leaves and coconut.

Bread Umpa

Hello people. Sorry I haven't been posting that often. Viral fever has got me down. I am just resting and eating very humble food which do not have much spice or oil. The good for health, bad for tongue diet.

We brought bread, the whole wheat one, few weeks back before our vacation and since it was nearing expiry and more than half a loaf was remaining, I used it to make bread upma. It uses little more oil than normal upma, however if you sprinkle a bit of water, you can adjust with same amount of oil.

This was fun food at my home while growing up, since bread was almost the thing you buy when you were sick or have loose stools, lol. You can also make it with normal white bread. At our house, we have banned some of the maida or all purpose flour stuff that we consume. Just a small effort towards healthy eating.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 12-14 slices of bread. Each bread cut into 9 pieces
• 1 onion chopped lengthwise
• 2 green chilies chopped finely
• 1 string of curry leaves
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp chana dal or split bengal gram
• 1 tsp urad dal or black gram
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• 1-2 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a sauce pan, heat oil. Once hot add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• To this add hing and fry for 2 secs, then add chana dal and urad dal and fry till golden brown.
• Now add in onion, curry leaves, green chilies, ginger, garlic and turmeric powder and fry until onions turn translucent
• To this add bread pieces and fry for 5 mins.
• Add lime juice and sprinkle some water and again fry for 5 minutes.
• Add salt and check for taste.
• Finally switch off the stove and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Fried Brown Rice

So our vacations are over, at least until last week of June. We had a good time in Florida and will definitely visit again after a few years.

Yesterday was a tiring day. Caught up on all that sleep and was lazy to do anything. So I made myself brown rice fried rice. It is similar to the regular fried rice in terms of preparation, but tastes awesome. I made this rice first thing in the morning and kept it out (not in fridge) and used it for lunch. This is because fried rice usually uses left over rice.

Brown rice is high in potassium, fiber, Iron, Magnesium, compared to regular rice and is low in carbs and calories. It keeps you full until long time because of sustained release of energy.

It also reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes. Brown rice is nothing but unpolished rice. It has the germ and bran intact which makes it more nutritional. It does take more time to cook though. The fiber content helps promote digestion. It has naturally occurring oils, is whole grain and promotes weight loss. It also makes good baby food.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20 mins to cook brown rice + 15 mins 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw brown rice
• 1 onion finely chopped
• 3/4 cup mixed vegetable like carrot, beans, peas and corn, chopped into small pieces
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 tsp ginger grated
• 1 tsp garlic grated
• 1 tsp red chili flakes
• 1-2 tbsp sriracha
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• A pinch of sugar 
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 3-4 tbsp oil
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Cook brown rice in pressure cooker or stove top or in a rice cooker according to instructions given on the packet. Usually 1 cup of uncooked rice needs 2 and 1/2 cup of water. Let the rice cool properly. you can also keep cooked rice in fridge for 30 mins.
• In a frying pan add oil and heat, once hot add chili flakes, onion, green chili, ginger and garlic, frying at medium high to high flame.
• Add in the mixed veggie and cook until 75% done, it should still be crunchy.
• To this add sriracha or hot sauce, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar and stir it of a minute.
• Finally add brown rice and increase the flame to highest and mix thoroughly.
• Add salt at this point and check for taste. Serve hot

Methya Soppina Chutney - Fenugreek leaves chutney

We are at the airport now feeling awful to go back to our routine. We had great fun on our 5 day vacation. I really don't like to go back to the cold NY.

Well I take back some of the best memories we made here. Next time we come here, we are just going to Key West and no where else. It was such a great place and demands all your time in your visit.

Will catch you all back in my place with more recipes. Adiós for now.

As you guys know, I am a big fan of Fenugreek leaves. This chutney is my mother's recipe. Some of the best taste come from the most simplest of the recipes and this is one of those.

Serves: 3-4

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups fenugreek leaves chopped
• 1 tsp oil
• 2-3 dry red chilies
• 1/2 cup grated coconut
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• salt as needed
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing

Method:

• In a pan heat oil, once hot add red chilies and remove only the chilies and keep it aside. 
• To the same oil add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• Add hing and fry for a second, then add the fenugreek leaves and fry for 2 mins.
• Now add tamarind paste and again fry for 5 mins. Let this cool down.
• To a blender add this cooked fenugreek leaves, red chilies and coconut and grind it with little water to get a chutney consistency. Check for salt and serve with rotti, dosa, chapati or rice.

Oats Veggie Dosa (Crepe)

So I am still in Miami till tomorrow and the weather gets better every time we step out. Yesterday we did nothing till late afternoon and then when to the most bustling place in Miami, the South Beach. You can find all kinds of people here and and they swim, drink, dance and dine all day long.

We just went to the beach, caught the roaring waves for a while, had a mixed fruit yogurt and walked a long way along the Ocean Drive. We went to dine at an Indian restaurant called the Guru. The food there is overrated with more emphasis on decoration rather than taste and is pricy as well.

We returned to our hotel after that and this morning we went to the Gator Safari in Everglades area. We went on an airboat ride and caught glimpses of many alligators. There was also a small show where a man literally played with his croc pals. The birds there are not shy at all and one of them stole ice cream from my hand deceitfully. We are planning to go for a spa before doing our last adventure here, shopping :)

This dosa recipe is best eaten with tangy or spicy chutney and does not need any coconut. I have used quick cooking oats here and it can be replaced with traditional rolled oats as well. With this dosa batter, you can easily make dosas on an iron skillet or non stick Tava, as the dosas come out easily if the Tava is at the right temperature and not too hot.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 10 mins + 1 min per dosa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup Rava or fine semolina
• 1/4 cup rice flour
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 grated carrot
• 1 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp urad dal or black gram
• A pinch of hing
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
• 3 and 1/2 cups water
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder

Method:

• Add oats, rava and rice flour in a microwave safe bowl and heat it for 2 mins on high.
• Coarsely grind this flour mixture in a food processor or blender in pulse mode.
• Remove it to a mixing bowl, add salt, onion, grated carrot, green chili and coriander leaves and pepper powder and mix well.
• To this dry mixture add water and give it a stir. Keep it aside from 15-20 mins.
• In a small spatula, heat oil. Once hot, add mustard and cumin seeds, let it crackle.
• Now add hing and fry for a second and then add urad dal and fry till golden brown.
• Add this tempering to the flour batter and stir again.
• On a hot flat skillet, pour this batter using a round spatula as measurement, circularly in the clockwise direction.
• Add oil on to the outer part of the dosa and roast it. Once roasted turn in over to roast the other side. Continue until the batter finishes. You can also store this batter in a refrigerator.

French Bean Stir Fry

I lay here on the South Beach aka SoBe in Miami, as I write this blog. This recipe was prepared previously.

Yesterday we had been to Key West, utlimate tip of Florida Keys. Reached there at lunch time after the most beautiful drive ever surrounded by crystal clear water on both sides. Had the most wonderful Thai food at a floating restaurant, the reviews to be followed in a few days.

We cycled around the island and went to the beach for a while and floated in lazy refreshing waters on Higgs Beach.

Like this was not enough, we went to the coral reef in a glass bottom cruise and watched the most beautiful sunset of my life. As I told my husband, now I don't have any regrets in life :)

This recipe is a different stir fried method which can be enjoyed with chapatis or rice. Enjoy life folks!

Serves: 2-3

Preparation time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 pound french beans cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 dry red chilies
• A pinch of turmeric
• A pinch of hing
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp grated coconut1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Grind dry red chilies, ginger, coriander seeds and coconut in a blender with very little water.
• In a pan, add oil and heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• Now add hing to this and fry for 2 seconds.
• Add in the french beans and fry for 10 mins until almost done but still crunchy.
• To the beans add turmeric and fry for another minute.
• Now add the ground masala to it and fry it until there is no moisture left.
• Add salt and check for taste and serve.

Quinoa Sweet potato Salad

Hello and good morning. Yesterday, we landed in Miami, Florida. The temperature is so good that it made up for a 7 month long cold winter. Our hotel has a full equipped kitchen in it, yey! So more cooking coming along.

We got Kia Optima car for our rental, a free upgrade, talk bout getting lucky. The drive was smooth and haven't seen any interesting places yet. Today we are planning to see Key West the entire day. It is about 3 hrs drive from Miami.

Coming to this recipe. Quinoa is one of the super foods like oats. It is packed with rich protein and fibers. It is a South American based grain and is now available everywhere in the world. Every once a week I see to it that we have healthy, whole grain only food. So made quinoa salad. This is one of the basic items of quinoa and as you can see I am exploring the possibilities with this new grain.

It cooks with same amount of water as rice, that is, for 1 cup quinoa, 2 cups of water. It has a distinctive nutty flavor to it goes well with all veggies. This time you will see the continental and mostly Chinese side of usage. Next time I will stick to my South Indian roots :) mom says it resembles a grain called Navane to look at, though Navane is called foxtail millet.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation time: 15 mins to cook Quinoa + 30 mins to roast all Veggies + 5 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato cut into 1 inch cubes
• 1 lb french beans cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 green bell pepper cut lengthwise
• 1/2 big onion cut length wise
• 1 big carrot peeled and finely shredded
• 1 cup Quinoa
• 2 and 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp lime juice or lemon juice
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Rinse thoroughly and cook quinoa in a pressure cooker or rice cooker or stove top with given amount of water.
• Preheat the oven to 400K.
• In a plastic zipper bag, add 1 tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper and sweet potato pieces. Close the zipper and shake well.
• Transfer the sweet potato along with seasoning to a baking sheet lines with parchment paper and bake it for 20 mins, stirring after 10 mins.
• Do to switch off the oven, bring out the sweet potatoes and add the cut beans and bake for another 5 mins.
• Now bring out the baking tray again and add the bell pepper and onion and bake for other 5 mins.
• In a mixing bowl, add red wine vinegar, sriracha, soy, lemon juice, left over olive oil and salt, and whisk it well.
• To this add the cooked quinoa, roasted vegetables and shredded carrot, give a gentle mix. Check for taste and serve.

Seemebadnekayi mosru sasve - Chayote yougurt sauce

Hello all you beautiful people out there. First of all, thank you for your encouragement, this is my 27th post. I hope one day I publish my own recipe book with my own food photography. Too ambitious isn't it :), a girl can dream. This beats any desk job any day!

So you all remember my boothkumblakayi majjigehuli? This is similar but different in that we don't cook the sauce or the stew, though we use yogurt for both the dishes. As white pumpkin, chayote has high degree of water content, it is easier to cook.

Chayote is used as a common vegetable in Asia, South America and parts of Africa and Australia. There is a striking difference in usage. In India usually it is cooked and in Latin American cuisine, it is used raw for salads mostly. In Thai and Taiwanese cuisine, shoots are used in Stir fries. All in all, this veggie can be baked, fried, stuffed, pickled or can be eaten raw.

Some of the health benefits of chayote are:

1. The fruit, stem and leaves have multiple nutrients.
2. Anti-inflammatory property of chayote reduces blood pressure, kidney stones and indigestion.
3. High in dietary fibers, so they help to normalize motion.
4. Lowers cholesterol and helps to obtain a healthy cardio vascular system.
5. It is low in calorie and fat.
6. Helps to regulate blood sugar levels.
7. Excellent source of Vitamin C and folate.
8. Provides healthy metabolism and immunity.
9. Helps in weight loss due to high water content.
10. Helps to build strong bones, healthy nerve and muscle system.

Serves: 31 tsp 

Preparation time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 chayote chopped into quarter inch cubes
• 1 tsp ghee or clarified butter
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 5-6 curry leaves
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1/2 cup yogurt with enough water to have saucy consistency
• Salt as needed

Ingredients to grind:

• A pinch of turmeric
• 2-3 strings of coriander leaves 
• 1 tbsp roasted bengal gram or hurigadle
• 2 tbsp shredded coconut
• 1-2 green chilies
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

Method:

• Grind the ingredients in the to grind section with very little water, in a blender.
• In a small sauce pan, add ghee and let it heat. 
• Once hot add mustard seeds and let it crackle. 
• To this, add hing and curry leaves and fry for 2 seconds.
• Add the chopped chayote, sprinkle some salt and water and cook with a closed lid for 5-8 mins.
• Switch off the gas, add the ground masala to this and slowly add in yogurt stirring constantly.
• Finally, add the salt and check for taste.

Kotthu Parotta

The first time I ate this dish was in Saravana Bhavan restaurant in Edison, NJ. I never knew parotta came like this. I was expecting a round bread, what I got was shredded stuff, not appetizing to look at, but great to taste.

I did some research on this and came to know it was first conceived in Trivandrum, Kerala. Usually this contains egg, but the one I ate at the restaurants didn't have any. So I made eggless and in my style. I have used Marinara sauce here as I had some left over stored.

This is a great dish for kids and healthy too. You can use those left over rotis in this recipe. This is specially good when you are done with same old chapati and want to eat a variety food or when you don't want to prepare any side dish for chapati exclusively.

Serves: 2 -3 

Preparation Time: 10 mins to make 3 parottas + 15 mins 

Ingredients:

• 3 Parotta (or thick rotis or chapatis) cut into 1 inch squares
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp grated garlic
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 cup tomato puree/tomato sauce/marinara sauce
• 2 tbsp oil
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 1 tsp chana dal or split bengal gram
• 1 tsp urad dal or black gram
• 1 small onion sliced lengthwise
• 1 capsicum sliced lengthwise approximately to onion size
• A pinch of turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a wok, add oil and heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and wait till they crackle
• Add hing and curry leaves and fry for 2 seconds.
• Now add the chana dal and urad dal and fry till golden brown.
• To this add onion, ginger, garlic and green chili and fry till the onion turn translucent.
• Now add capsicum to this and fry for not more than 5 mins. 
• Add the 5 spice powder to this - turmeric, red chili, garam masala, cumin and coriander powder.
• To this mixture add in the tomato puree and fry until there is no rawness. Add salt and check for taste.
• Finally add the sliced parottas to this and stir for 4-5 mins. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot.

Lauki Kadhi - Bottle gourd curry

I got to know from my readers that they didn't know the benefits of Bottle gourd until they read in my previous post on this veggie. So I am posting yet another recipe using this veggie.

I remember eating this Punjabi dish called Kadhi Pakodi long back in 2010 in Ista restaurant, Bangalore. It is essentially fried onion pakodas dipped in yogurt curry. My recipe is similar to this version, at least the curry part of it.

Instead of deep frying the pakodas in oil, I am shallow frying patties made out of grated bottle gourd.
These patties are so good, I swear I have no idea how much i ate before making curry sauce. So if you ever feel like making an appetizer, stop at the lauki patty.

The curry tend to get thick after becoming cold. Just add hot water before eating and it will still taste yummy. You can eat it with roti, rice or just like that :)

Serves: 3-4

Preparation Time: 15 mins to make Bottle Gourd patties + 15 mins for curry

Ingredients for Patties:

• 1 grated Bottle Gourd
• 1/2 cup Besan or gram flour
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp rice flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2-3 tbsp oil

Ingredients for Curry:

• 1 tsp lime juice (optional)
• 1 tbsp mustard oil
• 1/2 cup curd
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp garam masala
• Salt as needed
• 1/2 cup besan or gram flour
• Water as needed
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1 green chili
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves

Method for Patties:

• Mix all the ingredients except oil in a mixing bowl.
• Make lemon sized balls and press with both the palms to make flat patties.
• In a flat pan add oil and let it heat. Once hot add all the patties equally spaced next to one another and roast until golden brown.
• Cut each patties into four equal pieces.

Method:

• In a bowl add curd and beat it until smooth.
• To this add chili powder, turmeric powder, garam masala and salt and mix it well.
• Add lime juice in case the curd is not sour.
• To this mixture add gram flour and gently fold it in the curd mixture so that no lumps are formed.
• Add water to this to get the curry consistency as much needed. I added about 2 cups.
• In a sauce pan, add oil and heat it. Once hot add mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Now add the green chilies, curry leaves and ginger garlic paste and fry until there is no raw smell.
• To this add the yogurt and gram flour mixture and bring it to boil.
• Once you see bubbles, check for salt and taste. Now switch off the stove, add the patties in the curry and garnish with coriander leaves.

Heerekayi Thovve - Ridge Gourd and Lentil Stew

Heerekayi or Ridge Gourd is a commonly used veggie in India, China and Malaysia. The Bhajjis made out of it is really yummy. People prepare chutney, sambar, kootu and sir fry using Ridge Gourd. It is also known as Chinese or Taiwanese Okra. It belongs to the cucumber family.

Usually it has a sweet taste while cooked. Be carful though, some grown in soil having bones in it, tend to be bitter. So choose wisely. Next time you are in the market trying to purchase this vegetable, count the number of ridges on it. An even number of ridges assures you that the soil was good and the veggie it self is not bitter.

They are natural remedy for jaundice. The other health benefits of ridge gourd are:

1. They are rich in fiber, vitamin C, iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc.
2. It is a natural blood purifier.
3. They are rich in antioxidants and are helpful to lower blood and urine glucose.
4. They rich in Beta Carotine for good nails, eyesight and hair.
5. Helps in ease of motion and relieves constipation.
6. Helps in weight loss.
7. Helps to cure piles.
8. Renders good liver health.
9. Improves immunity against diseases.
10. Helps to provide great skin care.

This recipe is best eaten with roti or rice. Found it exceptionally good with rice :)

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 20 mins to cook lentils + 15 mins

Ingredients:

• 1 Ridge Gourd, peeled near ridges and cut to 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup moog dal or split yellow gram cooked
• 1/4 cup toor dal or split pigeon peas cooked
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1 green chili slit lengthwise
• 10-12 curry leaves
• 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• A pinch of turmeric 
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves chopped (optional)
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a deep sauce pan, add oil and let it heat. Once hot add mustard and cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Now add in hing, slit green chili and curry leaves and fry for a second.
• Add the cut ridge gourd and sprinkle half cup of water and add a bit of salt and let it cook for 5 minutes with the lid closed.
• Stir in the ginger garlic paste and give it a rough mix.
• Add all the 5 spices - turmeric, chili, garam masala, cumin and coriander powders and let it come to a boil.
• Add both of the cooked dal and cook for 5 more minutes with water as needed. (To use with rice you might want to add more water than used with Chapati).
• Add salt and check for taste. Switch of the stove and garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Methi Matar Malai

Before I proceed, I promise this will be the last in cream series, at least for a while, since I have run out of cream and not planning to buy any soon.

This is one of the dishes you find in the entree section of any Indian restaurant. Though this is a different version, it essentially includes all basic elements - methi or fenugreek leaves, matar or peas and malai or cream. It can be eaten with rotis or rice.

This dish was pretty challenging, literally. When we went to Indian street, my husband almost picked up ready mix of this dish, thank god I saw it. It doesn't make difference to him if it is home cooked or store bought. Men and their way of thinking is too simple in these things. Anything that can be eaten during meals is all they need. No matter where they come from or how much effort you put in making them :) Anyways, he challenged me to make it restaurant like, at home, and then he wouldn't buy anymore ready dishes. And guess who won it :) Moi!

In other news, all these recipes are making my mom angry. Yes, she is, since my dad demands her to prepare these every time they come to know I have posted a new recipe in my blog. He loves rich foods and he is a heart patient with diabetes. According to him, never regret about eating something when you actually can eat it with your own teeth. Lols! he never likes any healthy food. On the hind side, my father-in-law eats only healthy food (well most of the time).

So we as children (at least to them) are mixed breed. We enjoy anything we eat and are adjusted to all kinds of food, Vegetarian food.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time: 20 mins

Ingredients to grind:

• 3 tbsp cashew nuts soaked in water for 30 mins
• 3-4 green chilies
• 1 tsp poppy seeds
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 3-4 garlic pods grated
• 1/4 onion chopped roughly
• 1 tomato de-seeded
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 3-4 cloves
• 3-4 cardamom pods
• 4-5 black pepper corn
• 1 tsp cumin seeds

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 3/4 onion finely chopped
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 cup green peas
• 2 cups chopped fenugreek leaves (add salt to chopped leaves and keep it for 10 mins and drain to remove bitterness)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Grind all the ingredients with little water given under to grind section.
• In a sauce pan, add oil and let it heat, once hot, add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Add onion and fry until translucent.
• Then add peas and fry for 2 mins and then add fenugreek leaves and fry for another 5 minutes.
• To this add the ground masala and add water to get curry consistency and bring it to boil.
• Add cream slowly giving a gentle stir simultaneously and then add milk to it.
• Add in sugar and then salt and check for taste. Serve hot.

Rava Upma / Khichdi

Today was such a laid back day, it was awesome. Hence my post is this late. My workouts gave me a bad body ache when I got up. Both my husband and I did our Sunday chores, vacuuming, sweeping, washing and folding clothes and regular cooking.

After a long time we had a good afternoon nap. Spoke to our cousin and his to be fiancee and prepared for the week ahead. As usual we had our heavy Sunday lunch, an evening coffee and snacks, and wanted a delicious dinner.

Rava khichdi or upma is very famous in South India. It is what you usually find in any functions for breakfast or when a guy visits a girl's home for the first time while meeting parents and vice versa. There are many ways to do it. Today, I have made this using Avarekayi or Val Beans. Right now, val beans are not in season, so I have used frozen ones but without any preservatives. It can be prepared without any veggies or the usual beans, carrot, peas, potatoes and so on.

Val beans or field beans are considered exotic in some parts of India. They are available in the cold season and since its cooked and eaten, it brings warmth to the body during cold days. Back in Bangalore, people make all kinds of food using these beans. I love trying them.

Though I am not that crazy about upma, my husband and my father-in-law are biggest fans of it. They can eat it for any or all three meals for the day and with curd or rasam.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 5 mins to cook Val beans + 15 mins preparation time

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• 1 tbsp chana dal or split bengal gram
• 1 tbsp urad dal or black gram
• 10 curry leaves
• 1 inch ginger shredded
• 2 green chilies finely chopped
• 1/2 cup avarekayi or val beans cooked in microwave for 5 mins on high
• 1 and 1/2 cups Roasted Bhansi Rava (Thick Semolina)
• 3 cups water
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1-2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2-1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp curd
• 1 tsp ghee or clarified butter
• 1 tbsp coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp coconut shredded
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a wok add oil and let it heat. Once hot add mustard seeds and allow it to crackle.
• Then add in asafetida, chana dal and urad dal and fry until golden brown.
• Now add curry leaves, ginger and green chilies and fry for a minute.
• Add in cooked val beans and turmeric and fry for 2 minutes.
• Now add water and let it come to a boil.
• To the water add salt, sugar, curd and lime juice and give it a stir checking for taste.
• Add in the roasted semolina and mix it well with water until it thickens and the grains of semolina are smooth. It takes five minutes.
• Switch of the stove and garnish with ghee, coriander leaves and shredded coconut. Serve hot.

Note: Always add coconut and coriander at the end so that it does not get cooked much and to retain all the flavor. Ghee is added at the end just to get a good taste.

Salsa Cruda Bruschetta

We had been to Houlihan's in Weehawken, NJ last Saturday. Though it was not the first time in that restaurant, it was first in that area. It was long time since we had been to Houlihan's and my husband was longing to eat their Veggie Burger.

We have a few options there for vegetarian entrees. In particular, we like the veggie club sandwich and the Burger with a green peas patty. This time we ordered Salsa Cruda Bruschetta for appetizer course. I was simply mesmerized by its taste. It felt like I didn't want to eat anything else for my entire lifetime. Yes, it was that great. So if my attempt to recreate this Bruschetta is even 10% close, then I would consider myself successful.

Salsa, simply put is tomato sauce. But it is somehow extended to include anything which has more tomatoes. Salsa can be cooked or raw. Uncooked salsa is known as Salsa Cruda. Anyways I found this page very interesting to understand different types of salsa.

I have used garlic infused butter instead of using garlic directly since I don't like to get garlic pieces in my mouth. Also used is vegetable cream cheese spread. You can use any type of cream cheese, in case you can't find it, you can add cheese while toasting bread to melt it directly on bread.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation Time: 10 mins prep time + 10 mins baking time + 10 mins for assembling

Ingredients:

• 1 French Baguette bread slit into half and cut into approximately 8 inch pieces
• 1/4 stick of butter or 1/4 cup of butter
• 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 3 firm tomatoes finely chopped
• 1/2 onion finely chopped
• 8 to 10 basil leaves shredded
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt as needed
• Black pepper powder as needed
• 3 wedges of cream cheese spread
• Grated parmesan for garnishing

Method:

• In a sauce pan add garlic and butter and let it melt . Once melt switch off the stove.
• Using a brush, rub the garlic butter on top of the baguette pieces evenly.
• Bake them in a conventional oven at 425K for 10 mins or until they crisp up.
• In a mixing bowl add chopped onions, tomatoes basil, olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix it together gently folding in to make salsa.
• Once the bread has toasted spread the cream cheese on top of each bread.
• Add the salsa prepared on top of each bread.
• Sprinkle parmesan on top and serve.

Malai Kabul Channa - Garbanzo/Chick peas cream curry

I had some left over shredded cabbage, a cup or more, stored in a plastic zipper bag. I decided to use it with garbanzo beans. Both combine very well. I used traditional method of soaking on boiling instead of using canned ones.

Nowadays I am in mood to make cream based curry. Not that its too rich, but the flavor is really good, if used in right amounts. As mentioned before in previous blogs, if you don't have cream, use equal amount of milk.

So I gave this curry for my husband's lunch this week and for the first time, without me asking, he told it tasted superb. If you know my husband, you know that he is not that vocal about anything. So it was real pat on my back.

This is not a spicy curry but it goes very well with rice as well as chapati. It is good while hot but carries well.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: Overnight Soaking for chick peas + Cooking chick peas + 20 mins 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup finely shredded cabbage
• 1 cup chick peas soaked and cooked
• 1-2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp chana dal
• 1 tsp urad dal
• A pinch of hing (asafetida)
• A pinch of turmeric
• 2 tsp chana masala
• 1 tsp red chili powder
• 1 tsp tamarind paste
• 1/4 cup cream
• 2 tbsp coriander leaves finely chopped
• Salt as needed

Method:

• In a sauce pan, heat oil, once hot add mustard seeds and hing and let the mustard seeds crackle.
• Then add in chana dal and urad dal and fry until golden brown.
• Now add in the shredded cabbage and fry for 5 mins.
• Add the turmeric, channa masala powder and chili powder and  fry until the raw smell is no more evident.
• To this add the cooked chick peas and tamarind paste and mix it a bit to even out the paste.
• To this add cream and some water to give it a curry consistency, let it come to a boil.
• Once it boils add salt and check for taste. 
• Switch off the stove and add chopped coriander and mix well.

Bhindi Masala - Okra Marsala Fry

So as I told I wasn't that well yesterday. So my husband took on the job of cooking, which includes anything that is kept on a stove, including water :). Though he told he would come back from office and cook something for dinner and next day's lunch, I knew he would be the happiest if I did it all before he can. Sometimes happiness is all you feel when your life partner or best friend is happy. In my case he is both.

Coming to this recipe, I have mentioned before that Ladies Finger or Okra is my favorite vegetable any day. There are numerous traditional methods that can be used to cook Okra, but today my technique is to do a filling method. In this case I have used curd, instead you can also leave the curd and use oil and masalas instead.

There are numerous health benefits of okra, some are:

1. The slime of okra reduce blood glucose levels.
2. It is rich in Vitamin B and folate for safe pregnancy.
3. Helps to reduce kidney problems.
4. Helps with respiration.
5. Promotes healthy skin.
6. Eases motion and aids for digestive health.
7. They are low in calorie and can be eaten as a part of any diet.
8. Rich source of antioxidants and Vitamin C.
9. Rich in Vitamin A for eye health.
10. Rich in fibers, vitamins and minerals.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 30 mins resting time and 30 mins cooking time

Ingredients:

• 1 lb or 1/2 kg okra cut into 2 inch pieces, slit till 3/4th of length 
• 2-3 tbsp curd
• A pinch of turmeric
• A pinch of fenugreek powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 1/2 tsp chaat masala
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• salt as needed
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• 1 onion cut lengthwise
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 green chili finely chopped

Method:

• In a small bowl, add curd, to this add turmeric, fenugreek, chaat masala, red chili, cumin and coriander powders along with salt and mix well
• Fill this curd mixture into every piece of slit okra and after filling all okra let it rest in a bowl for 30 mins.
• Discard the clear slime, if any, left in the bowl after 30 mins
• In a sauce pan, heat oil. Once hot add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• To this add onions and green chillies and fry until translucent.
• Add in the Okra and fry on medium high without closing the lid. It takes at least 20 mins to fry so be patient.
• Keep turning the okra occasionally and take care so that it is not burnt.
• Finally when there is no more sliminess, add salt and check for taste. 

Review - Payless Shoe Source

As most of you know, Payless is a famous shoe store chain in USA. It is known for affordable shoes. They also sell handbags and other accessories like socks, stockings, small jewelry, winter wears like gloves, hands and scarfs.

Though the store has good collection for women and girls collection, not much in the boys and men section.

So we had been to Payless Shoe Store in 34th street NYC. It was a small but charming store. Not much help offered by the staff. But I was impressed by the collection. There were nice designer shoes for less than $30 a pair. Also there is always a sale any time in Payless.

Sites like Retailmenot and Promocodes carry the latest coupons, with which sometimes you can save up to 50%. The best time to shop is during the start or end of seasons and festivals. Around the time that I purchased, it was Easter (Easter is on 20th April this year). They had brilliant colors and designs. I have purchased before in this chain but there is a drastic change in terms of designs.

They are fresh and in fashion, specially the flats and the wedges. The canvas shoes are totally cute and comfortable with style. The new thing though is their booties, half boots and half sandals. They have complete collection of summer essentials including the good old flip flops. They are stocked up with pastel shades as well.

Below are the 4 pairs I took. The blue sandal looks great on jeans and khaki shorts, the black gladiators are great looks for Capri, the olive booties almost go with everything and can be worn in winter and summer and looks chic, and finally the off white wedge is that one light color shoe which is essential for a Western or Easter wardrobe. I got it billed for $112 but since it was my birthday month I got an extra 25% off, which I almost forgot when I got it billed, but the lady at the counter was kind enough to re-bill this discount and we got enough savings. And my husband quoted the infamous line "Happy wife, happy life" :)

Brown Rice and Lentil Savory crepe - Ade Dose

So though I am all sick today, I was pretty OK when I decided to do Ade Dose yesterday for dinner. Since it requires soaking of ingredients, I could do the preparation yesterday morning itself.

I am using organic rice for this, also known as brown rice. It is very nutritious and beats the boring white rice any day. Brown rice takes longer to cook and to soak. So I soaked brown rice in hot water so that it softens easily.

This recipe uses 3 different lentils as well. They are chana dal or split bengal gram, toor dal or yellow pigeon peas and moong dal or split green gram. All three are used in equal proportion and soaked as well. The version which my mom makes has urad dal (black gram) as well. But this is mom-in-laws recipe and she never uses that.

This dosa is heavy in nutrition and does not necessarily require a chutney as condiment. At home, we eat it with curd, jaggery or molgai pudi (spicier version of chutney powder) with oil. We add hing or asafetida and ginger to reduce the gassiness of lentils.

Serves: 4

Preparation Time:  5 hours soaking time + 15 mins blending time + 1 or 2 mins per dosa

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chana dal soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 1/2 cup moong dal soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 1/2 cup toor dal soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 1 and 1/2 cups brown rice soaked overnight or for 5 hours
• 2 green chilies
• 3 dry red chilies
• 1 inch grated ginger
• 2-3 tsp salt
• A pinch of hing or asafetida
• A pinch of turmeric

Ingredients for tempering:

• Oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 10 curry leaves
• A pinch of hing

Method:

• Grind soaked chana dal, moong dal and toor dal with little water along with both red and green chilies, ginger, hing and turmeric.
• Grind soaked brown rice separately with  little water into a fine paste.
• Add salt to it and mix both the batter until you get an even consistency.
• In a small spatula heat a tsp of oil, once hot add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• Add hing and curry leaves and fry it for a second or two.
• Add this tempering to the batter and mix it.
• On a hot flat pan or tava add this batter to the center using a spatula and spread it in increasing clockwise direction until it is a rough circle and the dosa is spread thin.
• Add 1/4 tsp of oil around this dosa and let it cook for a minute or two.
• Roast the opposite side as well and fold and remove. Continue this for the rest of batter.

Excess batter can be stored in the fridge and used whenever needed. Once it starts smelling of sourness, its time to discard.

Cabbage Peas Kofta Curry

So yesterday we had been to Indian street on Journal Square, NJ. It was the usual Sunday crowd. Our main purpose was to buy grocery and to look for a travel agent. We had no clue that travel agencies come in such small places and inside of garment shops. But for our luck, all these agencies were closed on Sunday, for which we were thankful. We took some contact numbers and decided we would call on weekdays. What a bummer!

Usually I make lunch for my husband every morning, but yesterday I had too much time in hand and an itch to do something crazy. So I opened the fridge and saw an evident cabbage sitting all alone. Now I didn't want to do the same old stir fry or palya. So decided to do kofta. However, I decided not to fry in oil or roast in oven, but to shallow fry on the stove top.

Some of the benefits of cabbage are:

1. Did you know cabbage is lowest in terms of calories, cooked or raw. A cup of cooked cabbage is just 44 calories, go figure! 
2. They are rich in Keratin for beautiful hair and nails. 
3. Cabbage is a great source of folic acid necessary for DNA specially during pregnancy.
4. It acts like a multivitamin, has multiple vitamins and minerals along with Iron.
5. It has Ketamine (vitamin K), essential for brain function
6. Has sulphur for good skin.
7. Detoxifies blood.
8. Helps to reduce blood pressure and blood glucose levels.
9. It has possible cancer preventive compounds.
10. Cure headaches and hangovers.

In case you are hyper thyroid patient then replace cabbage with other veggies like Bottle Gourd.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 40 mins

Ingredients for Koftas:

• 2 cups finely grated cabbage
• 1 cup boiled and mashed peas 
• 3-4 tbsp corn starch or corn flour
• Rice flour for dipping
• Salt as needed
• 1/4 tsp red chili powder
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1/4 tsp chaat masala
• 1/4 tsp cumin powder
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 2 tomatoes or 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 onion divided and chopped finely
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 green chili finely chopped
• 1 tsp kasuri methi (Dry Fenugreek Leaves)
• 1 tsp Pav Bhaji Masala
• 2-3 tbsp cream or milk
• Salt as needed

Method to make Koftas:

• Mix all the ingredients listed in for Kofta section except rice flour.
• Make small lime sized balls and roll it over rice four
• In a flat pan add a tsp of oil and spread over the pan, let it heat.
• Once you see hot air, add all the kofta balls on it and roast all the sides to a golden brown color.
• Once done collect all the koftas on a plate and keep it aside.

Method:

• Boil the tomatoes with 1/2 onion in microwave for 3 minutes along with 1 cup of water and little salt.
• Do not drain and add this to a blender and blend until it comes to a sauce consistency.
• In a sauce pan, add oil, let it heat.
• Once hot add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Add in chopped onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and fry until translucent.
• Using palm of your hand, rub kasuri methi while adding it to the pan.
• Now add the Pav Bhaji Masala.
• Add cream and water as required and bring the curry to a boil.
• Add salt and check for taste.
• Finally add the roasted koftas and boil for a minute and switch off the stove and let it rest for a while in the sauce.

French Bean Curry

Most of the time I have an exact idea of what I want to prepare, so I bring those veggies home which I plan to use in a day or two. But this day, I had weird combination for a curry - French beans, sweet peppers and tomatoes. While they are perfectly OK for a pasta sauce, they are really not a great for a curry. It was rather a brave move, which surprisingly worked.

I do not use anything called Curry powder cause in India, we never make curry out of one powder all the time. I think it was created to trick the tastebuds to think a dish is curry, since curry powder is used.

A dish should have right amount of 5 basic tastes - saltiness, spiciness, sweetness, bitterness and sourness. I have used salt for saltiness (obviously), honey and milk for sweetness, various spices for spiciness, fenugreek powder for bitterness and tomatoes and yogurt for sourness.

This curry is best for chapati and rice. It carries well so its a definite lunch box item.

Serves: 2

Preparation Time: 25 - 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups french beans cut to 2" pieces
• 1 Bell pepper any color cut into 1" pieces (I used yellow ones)
• 1 large Plum tomato cut into 1/2" pieces
• 1/2 tsp honey
• 2 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp curd
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dry mango powder
• 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek powder
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp oil
• salt as needed

Method:

• Cook french beans with 2-3 tbsp water and some salt in a microwave oven for 3 mins.
• In a saucepan, add oil and let it heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let it crackle.
• Add the cut bell peppers and fry for a few minutes.
• Add in tomatoes and the cooked french beans along with its water.
• Add honey and all the spices one by one  (turmeric, chili, dry mango, fenugreek, garam masala and coriander powders) and give a mix every time a spice is added.
• Stir the entire concoction until everything blends well.
• Add the milk and again stir for a while.
• Mix in the curds slowly making sure it does not curdle. Let this boil for at least 5 mins (the more you boil, the more taste seeps in).
• Finally add salt and check for taste.

Boiling French Bean Curry