Eggless Apple Cake

1 big red apple cut into chunks or 2 medium

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup milk

1 and 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda (soda bicarb)

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/4 cup walnuts

2 tbsp tutti-frutti

Preheat oven at 350 F or 180 C.

Grease a loaf tin and keep aside.

Cook the apples in the microwave for about 3 to 5 minutes till soft.

Blend the apples in a blender till smooth.

Pour this into a mixing bowl.

Add sugar, oil, and milk and blend till mixed.

Sift flour, baking soda, and garam masala pwd.

Add to the apple mixture and mix lightly.

Add walnuts and tutti-frutti.

Pour into the loaf tin and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cool for five minutes and then turn out of tin and cool an a wire rack.

Palak Paneer/ Saag Paneer

To make the paneer-

Boil about 4 cups of milk add 3 to 4 tbsps of lemon juice.

The curds will separate from the whey.

Then pour into a colander lined with a cheesecloth.

Pour cold water to cool the paneer down.

Place something heavy on the paneer to let it set.

This should take about 30 minutes.

Remove the cheesecloth and cut the paneer into cubes.

For the Palak Paneer-

4 cups of palak chopped or a 10 oz packet of frozen chopped spinach thawed

1 tomato

1 inch piece of ginger

2 green chillies

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp malai (top of milk)/cream

1 cloves

1 cardamon

1/4 inch piece of cinnamon

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 red onion chopped

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

salt

2 tbsp ghee or more

Method-

Cook the palak with little water.

Grind in a Blender with the tomato, ginger, green chillies, garlic, malai, cloves, cardamon, and cinnamon.

Heat ghee, and pan fry the paneer till golden, add the fried paneer to half a cup of warm water and salt. This will keep them tender.

Using the remaining ghee, add more ghee if needed, add cumin seeds, add onions.

Saute till well browned, add the chilli pwd and then add the palak mixture and salt.

Cook till the palak mixture reduces and gets thick and creamy.

Squeeze the paneer out of the water, add to palak, stir well and remove from heat.

Serve with any kind of Indian bread.

Palak Pulao (Spinach Rice)

Pushpa Chechi this recipe is for you, I'm sorry it took me this long to put it up.

This is a nutritious rice dish, you can add other greens too, but spinach is so convenient to use and easily available. This pulao is not the fluffy dry kind of a pulao, its more like a rissotto I want to say, the rice does not get mushy or anything, but the whole thing stays together, very comforting to eat.

1 cup Basmati Rice washed and drained

2 cups chopped spinach/ palak

1/2 onion chopped fine

1/4 tsp turmeric pwd

1/2 tsp chilli pwd

salt to taste

2 tbsp oil or ghee

Grind to a paste: 1 tomato, 1/2 inch ginger, 1 clove garlic, 1 green chilli, 2 tbsp mint leaves, 1/2 inch cinnamon, 2 cloves, 3 cardamom pods.

Method:

Heat oil or ghee, add onion, fry till well browned.

Add ground paste, turmeric pwd, and chilli pwd.

Fry till mixture is browned and thick.

Add rice, saute for a minute.

Add spinach, saute for a minute, and add salt.

Add 2 and1/2 cup water, and cook in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle.

If not using a pressure cooker, just cover and cook till done about 20 minutes.

Once the pressure cooker cools, open and serve with raita.

I served mine with Beetroot Pachadi.

Aloo Rasedar

Aloo Rasedar is a different kind of side dish to eat with puris, especially if you get tired of eating it with the usual Aloo Sabji. This is a popular dish usually served for breakfast, in places like the Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Actually good to serve for brunch, lunch or even dinner.

1 Potato boiled and broken into big chunks

1 large tomato chopped fine

1/2 inch ginger minced

2 green chillies minced

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

a pinch of hing

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli pwd

1/2 tsp coriander pwd

1/4 tsp mango pwd

1/4 tsp garam masala

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

salt to taste

1 tbsp oil

Method:

Heat oil add cumin seeds and hing, let it splutter.

Add tomatoes, grated ginger, green chillies, saute for a minute.

Add turmeric, chilli pwd, coriander pwd, and mango pwd.

Keep stirring the tomatoes, add a little water if it starts sticking to the bottom or gets too dry.

Once the tomatoes are soft and the mixture looks like it's blended well add potatoes, salt and 1 cup of water, if you want a really watery gravy add more water.

I usually put this whole thing in the pressure cooker and cook for 1 whistle, but you can just cover it up and cook on low to medium heat and let it come together.

Once done add garam masala and coriander leaves, remove from heat.

Serve with puris, this will easily serve 2 to 3 people.

Broken Wheat and Rava Idlis

I'm in Mumbai right now and enjoying the monsoons and the food. We wanted a quick breakfast this morning and came across rava idlis with potatoes, they looked really soft and delicious and so tried them with some variations. I used dalia or lapsi or fine broken wheat and semolina and just a tinge of baking soda to help them rise a bit. Rava idlis are ideal when you don't want to grind or ferment the batter, or when you are stumped about what to make for breakfast. Rava Idlis are steamed rounds of semolina, almost like a quick bread but steamed instead of baked and a very popular breakfast item in South India.

1 cup broken wheat(fine variety)

1/2 cup rava/semolina

3 tsps oil

1and1/2 cup yogurt

1 cup water

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 raw potato chopped fine

2 green chillies

1/2 inch ginger grated

2 tbsps coriander leaves

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

In a bowl mix the wheat and semolina add the oil mix and keep aside for a few minutes.

Add the yogurt, water, chopped potato, green chilli, ginger, cilantro and cumin seeds.

Add the baking soda and salt.

Keep aside for a few minutes.

Steam the idlis for 10 to 12 minutes, serve with chutney.

Elissery- Pumpkin and Black Chana Curry

This is for you Rana, Sumitha and Seema, for enjoying all the Kerala dishes that I make. This is a dish that you would find at any Sadya or feast.

Yellow Pumpkin peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes, I used a big wedge about 2 to 3 cups when cut up.

Black Chana 1 cup soaked for a few hours and cooked till tender or use canned Chickpeas

Turmeric 1/2 tsp

Chilli pwd/ Cayenne Pepper 1/2 tsp

Salt to taste

To Grind-:1/2 cup, 3 green chilles, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Tempering-: 2 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, 1/2 tsp udad dal, 2 red chillies,

3 tbsp grated coconut and curry leaves

Method:

• Cook the pumpkin with chilli pwd, turmeric, and salt.
• When half cooked add the cooked black chana.
• Once the pumpkin is cooked, add the ground paste.
• Cook for a few more minutes, it should be a thick gravy not too watery and not too dry.
• Heat oil for seasoning, add mustard seeds, once they splutter add red chillies and urad dal, once they are golden add curry leaves and coconut.
• Brown the coconut till it's golden brown but be careful not to burn it.
• This is the most important part, once the coconut is the right color add to the pumpkin.
• Serve with rice or chapatis.

Savory Kozhakatta (Steamed Rice Dumplings)

These dumplings are eaten in Kerala for a snack, in other parts it's also served as a prasadam, during Navratri, Ganesh Puja, VijayDashmi etc. There are different kinds of kozhakattas, they could be sweet filled with coconut and jaggery or made with different ingredients like coconut or carrot.
I made these for Navrathri, as I was feeling a little homesick missing all the fun that was going on in India, in the US all the holidays just go by, I have to keep asking my mom 'when's Diwali', no clue when any holiday is going on. Anyways for once I knew Navrathri was ending tomorrow, and hence the dish.

Dough:
2 cups Rice Flour
2 cups water
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
1/4 cup coconut grated

Grind:
4 Green chillies
1/4 tsp hing
1/4 cup water

Seasoning;
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
2 red chilles
a few curry leaves

Method:
1.Roast the rice flour on low heat for about 5 minutes, this gives a nice flavor to the rice.
2.Heat water, add salt and oil.
3.Grind the green chillies and hing with water.
4.Add the boiling water to the rice flour, add the ground up green chillies, and coconut.
5. Stir well, don't worry about the clumps.
6.Once the dough can be handled, knead it well and make a smooth dough.
7.Heat a steamer with water, spray the plate or steamer stand with oil.
8. Make about one inch balls, they don't have to be perfect rounds, just press themm together to make dumplings.
9.Place on the steamer tray, and steam for about 6 minutes.
10. For seasoning, heat oil, add mustard seeds, red chillies and curry leaves.
11. Add the steamed kozhukatta, and stir well for a few minutes till dry.
12. Serve with chutney podi or chutney.

Cauliflower and Peas Stew

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 red onion chopped fine

1 medium potato cut into small cubes

1 tbsp ginger grated

2 cloves garlic crushed

1 green chilli minced

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp sambar pwd( use curry pwd as a substitute)

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp tomato paste

2 tomatoes blended

salt

1/2 tsp sugar

2 cups cauliflower cut into medium florets

1/2 cup frozen carrots and beans (optional add fresh if you have)

1 cup water

2 tbsp sour cream

2 tbsp coconut milk

2 tbsp cilantro leaves chopped

1 cup frozen peas

Don't be put off by the long list of ingredients, I think coconut milk might be the only ingredient not in your pantry, use coconut milk powder instead. Most Indian home will have all these ingredients, because these are things you need when making any kind of Indian food. Sambar powder might be another ingredient that you might not have, just add curry pwd or a mixture of cayenne pwd and coriander powder. I had some frozen carrots and beans mixture so I threw those in too.

This dish was for a Potluck Dinner for a friend's baby shower. I was also taking some steamed rice and a raita with it.

So once you have assembled all your ingredients, this is what you do,

Heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

Once they splutter, add onions stir for a few minutes add potatoes, and cook till brown on medium heat.

Then add ginger, garlic, green chilli, tomato paste, turmeric pwd, sambar pwd, garam masala and cayenne pepper.

Stir for a couple of minutes.

Add the blended tomatoes, stir well.

Add cauliflower, frozen carrots and beans if using, salt and sugar.

Add 1 cup of water, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or so or until cauliflower is tender.

Add sour cream and coconut milk, cilantro and frozen peas.

Stir well, and remove from heat.

You should have a thick gravy, taste and season if required.

Serve the stew with rice and raita, or any Indian bread.

Veggie Club Sandwich

A club sandwich is usually toasted bread with mayo and bacon, lettuce, and tomato. A traditional club used to be two slices, now it's usually three slices with two layers of fillings. I'm breaking all the rules, by using two slices, losing the mayo and the meat. This is actually a traditional sandwich filling that's used in India, a chutney or a pesto made out of cilantro leaves. The sandwich is usually slathered with butter to keep the bread from gettin soggy especially if you're packing it up for a picnic or eating it later. Mine I would like to think is a healthier version and you could make it low carb too, by using low cal bread. I'm tired of eating low cal, so I went all out and made it with potato bread.

I make the green chutney beforehand it's a handful of cilantro leaves, add mint too if you like, green chillies, ginger, garlic, cumin seeds, salt, sugar and lemon juice. Blend this and keep in the fridge it lasts for a few days.

2 slices bread

a smidgen of butter if not eating right away

green chutney

1 tbsp shredded carrot

cucumber slices

red onion slices

feta cheese(optional)

tomato slices

Toast the bread, apply butter if you're packing it up to eat later or if you just like butter.

Spread a tsp of chutney on the bread slices.

Layer with carrots, cucumbers, red onions, feta, tomato and toast.

Cut diagonally and serve.

Grilled Corn Indian Style (Roasted Bhutta)

Grilling or roasting corn this way transports me back to Mumbai, this is the time you'll see vendors everywhere roasting corn. The vendor usually roasts the corn on a charcoal grill. I used my stove top instead but you can use your grill for this too. I like the convenience of doing it inside, so I can multitask a the same time. To be honest I used to want a gas stove top, but I'm finding out, that it's easier to use the electric stove top as the heat is a little slower and you can leave whatever you're roasting on the griddle and work on other things simultaneously.

Corn on the cob

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

Lime or Lemon cut into half

Remove the husks off the corn.

Place the corn on a wire cooling rack or the contraption I have is like a little griddle or roaster with holes, which I place on my stove top.

Cook or roast the corn evenly and keep rotating the corn till it is brown all over.

Mix the salt and cayenne pepper, dip the lemon half into this mixture and apply on the corn.

Enjoy the hot and sour flavor of corn.

Crispy Mushroom and Onion Pizza

I had seen this on Everyday Food, and adapted it to whatever I had in my pantry. This was my dinner tonight, can be used as a appetizer too, very quick and no fuss meal. I used rotis which I lightly cooked on the skillet. The original recipe used Ricotta cheese and Asiago cheese. You could also add green peppers and olives or any other veggie.

2 whole wheat Tortillas 6 inch/Rotis

2 tsps olive oil

1/4 cup of cheddar cheese grated

2 tbsps of goat cheese crumbled

1/2 cup mushrooms thinly sliced

1/4 red onion thinly sliced

salt

pepper

red chilli flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Place the tortillas on a lined cookie sheet. (If using Rotis cook lightly on both sides on a skillet)

Brush the tortillas with the olive oil.

Sprinkle the cheese evenly.

Add mushrooms and onions.

Sprinkle salt and pepper on the veggies.

Bake for about 10 minutes, mine were done in 8 minutes, or till crisp and brown.

Remove and cut into quarters and serve sprinkled with red chilli flakes.

Ravioli Stuffed w/ Spinach and Cheese

Ingredients:
1 2 lb package of the Stuffed Ravioli
2 mini peppers minced
2 scallions minced
4 olives sliced
Basil leaves

Dressing:
3 tbsp EVOO
6 tbsp lime juice
1 garlic clove crushed
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper



I bought these from Costco, you get two packages of 2 lbs each, I used just one package for this recipe. You can freeze the other packet if not using right away.

Cook Ravioli as per package instructions. Meanwhile make the dressing with the Olive oil, lime juice, garlic clove, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Add the dressing to the cooked Ravioli, add the rest of ingredients. Stir gently and serve.

Carrot and Onion Rice Adai

This adai tastes like a rava dosa and a onion uthappa, and is so easy to make as there is no fermentation.

2 cups raw rice

3 tbsp besan (chickpea flour)

1 tbsp cooked rice

2 tbsps onions finely chopped

1 carrot finely grated

1/2 green chilli finely minced

1 tbsp ginger grated

1 tbsp cilantro minced

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp salt

a pinch of hing

oil for making the adais

Soak rice for a few hours or overnight, grind smoothly with 1/2 cup water add cooked rice and besan and blend well.

Add all the other ingredients to the batter.

Make adais and serve with chutney powder and yogurt.

Unniappam/Neyappam

1 cup rice flour

1/2 cup wheat flour

1 cup jaggery

1/2 cup water

1 banana mashed to a smooth paste

4 green cardamons powdered

1/2 tsp ginger powder

Canola Oil

Method:

Heat jaggery with water and cook till melted completely.

Leave it aside to cool.

Add both flours to the cooled jaggery mixture.

Add the mashed banana and cardamon and ginger powder..

Mix well and keep aside for 2 hours.

Heat the Appakara(a pan with indentations in them), add oil about halfway upto the indentations.

Meanwhile stir the batter add a little water if it's too thick.

Add a tbsp of batter in each cook for about or so then turn and cook both sides.

Remove add more oil if required and cook all the unniappams.

Makes about 20 unniappams.

Instant noodles

1/2 cup cabbage sliced thin

1 carrot sliced into thin shreds

a few green beans sliced thin

1/2 onion sliced

1 garlic clove crushed

1 green chilli minced

1 tsp ginger minced

1tbsp oil

1/4 tsp red chilli flakes

1 tsp soy sauce

1tbsp tomato ketchup

1 tsp red chilli sauce

2 packets ramen noodles or any instant noodles

2 cups water

1tsp sesame oil

1tbsp cilantro minced

salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Microwave beans with 1 tsp of water to for 2 minutes.

Heat oil, add red chilli pepper flakes, onions garlic, green chilli, and ginger.

Saute till light brown.

Add vegetables and a little salt and pepper,and cook for a few minutes.

Add soy sauce, tomato ketchup, and red chilli sauce.

Add water, break noodles into half and cook till dry add sesame oil and cilantro, stir well.

Serve hot or cold.

murukku

rice flour 2 cups

urad flour 1/2 cup

jeera seeds 1/2 tsp

sesame seeds 1/2 tsp

ajwain 1/4 tsp

pepper pwd 1/2 tsp

soft butter 1/2 stick

salt 2 tsps

hing 1/4 tsp

water 1 cup approx

Method:

Mix flours butter, ajwain seeds, sesame seeds, cumin seeds and pepper pwd.

Add hing and salt to water.

Add this water little by little to make to a soft dough. You might not need all the water or you might need more.

Use a Murukku Press to make murukku.

Fry on medium heat till golden.

Sprouted Mung Bean Curry

This is a nice and spicy dish especially in the winter months to warm one up.

Soak whole mung beans for about 8 hours in cold water, once they get plump, drain off the water and cover with a wet paper towel and keep for a couple of days. The ones in the picture took 4 days to sprout that long. I kept rinsing them with fresh water everyday.

1 cup dry mung beans soaked and sprouted

2 tbsps oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 red chillies

1/2 tsp hing

1/2 onion minced fine

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

1 tsp green chillies paste

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp sambar powder

1/2 tsp garam masala powder

1 tsp tamarind paste

Salt

Heat oil add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, and hing, once they splutter,

add onion and saute till golden brown.

Add the ginger paste, garlic and green chillies paste.

Stir for a minute add the spices, chilli powder, turmeric powder, sambar powder and garam masala powder.

Add about 2 cups of water and the mung beans.

Once it comes to a boil, lower the heat, cover and cook till the beans are tender and the gravy has reduced.

Add tamarind paste and salt, Cook for a few minutes.

Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serve with rice, rotis or any bread.

This recipe is an entry to two events one is to Suganya @ Tasty Palettes who is hosting the Sixth Helping of My Legume Love Affair - Hot & Spicy ,created by Susan of Well Seasoned Cook, and the other event is JFI Sprouts hosted by http://www.ammaluskitchen.infovegan/.

Enjoy!!!

Veggie Enchiladas

My family loves this dish,I store the leftovers in single servings to take for lunch the next day. This recipe was on Everyday Food, I changed some ingredients and added more heat as I like it spicy. You can halve the ingredients and make it in a 8 inch dish but I find it easier to make it in one big casserole dish and freeze the rest if there are any leftovers.

Filling
1 can (15 oz) black beans rinsed and drained

1 box (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 can (8 .75 oz) corn kernels

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 garlic clove crushed

Salt
Pepper

Sauce
4 tbsps oil
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp cayenne powder
2 chipotle chillies in adobo sauce minced and 1 tbsp adobo sauce from the can
2 tbsp tomato ketchup or tomato puree
Salt and pepper to taste

16 corn tortillas
2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

To make the filling-
Heat oil, add cumin seeds, red pepper flakes, minced garlic stir for a minute add the beans, spinach and corn kernels.

Add salt and pepper.

Stir for 2 minutes remove from heat and keep aside to cool.

To make the sauce-

Heat oil add flour and cook for a minute.

Add 2 and 1/2 cups of water and whisk.

Add cumin powder, cayenne powder, and the minced adobo chillies,.

Add salt and pepper and the tomato ketchup or tomato puree and cook sauce till thickened.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Stack corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute on high.
Put 2 ladles of sauce in a baking dish about 16 inch baking dish or a casserole dish.
To make the enchiladas, add 2 tablespoons of veggie filling a tsp or less of cheese on the tortilla. Roll and place seam side down in the baking dish over the sauce.
Pour sauce over the tortillas. Sprinkle the cheese and bake for 20 minutes till bubbly.

Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Brinjal Roast (Cooking At Home With Pedatha)

I have been trying out various recipes from this cookery book, Cooking At Home With Pedatha, and have had great success. This Brinjal Roast has been a favorite with everyone at home, I have just changed the recipe a little bit by adding sambar powder with the chilli powder, another variation I have made is, I use Japanese eggplants instead of the round variety as they are easily available in any supermarket, and then I steam these in the microwave for 5 minutes, and hence I use less oil and it cooks faster. These changes I have made are due to the fact that this is how I have always made Brinjal Roast or Fry as I call it by adding sambar powder before I got the cookbook.

5 Japanese Eggplants look for the slim thin ones

salt to taste

1/2 tsp red chilli pwd

1 tsp sambar powder

To Season:

2 tbsps oil

1 tsp Mustard seeds

1/2 tsp udad dal

1/4 tsp hing

1/4 tsp turmeric

a few curry leaves

Method:

Cut the brinjals into 2 inch pieces and then halve them in the middle.

Steam them in a microwave for 5 minutes.

Heat oil add seasoning ingredients once the mustard seeds splutter add the brinjals and let it brown on a medium flame.

Then add salt chilli pwd, and the sambar pwd.

Cook until done.

Serve with rice as a side dish.

Note:She used round brinjals, did not microwave it and did not use sambar powder. I also changed the quantities to suit my palate.

Beetroot Pachadi ( Asianet Cookery Show)

I saw this on Asianet TV, a Cookery Show on a Malayalam TV channel. I have always made Pachadi or Kichadi with tomatoes, white pumpkin and cucumbers, but never with beetroots. Pachadi is a good side dish with different Dal based curries or even as a Raita with a Pulao or Biryani.

1 small beetroot peeled

salt to taste

1/2 cup yogurt whisked

To Grind:

1/2 cup coconut

3 green chillies

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 cup water

To Season:

1 tsp coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp udad dal

1 red chilli

a few curry leaves

Method:

Steam beetroot and grate.

Simmer with salt and 1/4 cup water.

Meanwhile grind to a fine paste the masala and add to simmering beetroot.

Simmer for a few minutes.

Heat oil for seasoning add mustrad seeds, udad dal, and red chilli, once the mustard splutters add curry leaves and pour over the beetroot.

After it cools down add the whisked yogurt and serve.

Moru Kootan with Raw Mango (Yogurt Based Sauce)

Moru means buttermilk or thinned and whisked yogurt and kootan means a gravy or curry in Malyalam.

1 cup cubed white pumpkin

1/2 of a raw mango sliced lengthwise

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli pwd

1 cup yogurt whisked

2 tbsp sour cream optional

Grind to a paste:

1 1/2 cup grated coconut

10 green chillies or according to your spice level

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

Seasoning:

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 red chilli

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

a few curry leaves

Cook pumpkin and raw mango with salt, turmeric, and chilli pwd and 1 cup of water till tender.

Meanwhile grind the ingredients to a fine paste with 1 cup of water.

Once the vegetables are cooked add the ground paste and let it come to a simmer.

Remove from heat add the whisked yogurt, and sour cream.

Put it back on low heat, and let it come to a simmer. Remove right way do not let it boil as the yogurt could curdle. Check for salt add if required.

Heat oil for seasoning add mustard seeds, red chilli, fenugreek seeds once they splutter add curry leaves, and pour over Moru Kootan.

Enjoy with rice.

NOTE: I use sour cream to give it a little better consistency as I use homemade yogurt made with lowfat milk. This yogurt does not withsatand heat well, hence the sour cream. But if you are using store bought yogurt or whole milk yogurt you can eleminate the sour cream.

Sambar

1/2 cup Tuar Dal

Brinjal, Okra, Pumpkin, Drumsticks all together cubed about 2 cups

1/2 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

1 tsp tamarind paste

1/2 tsp jaggery

2 tbsps chopped coriander leaves

Masala for grinding:

1 tsp oil

1 tsp fenugreek

1 tbsp coriander seeds

2 red chillies

1/2 tsp hing

1/2 cup grated coconut

2 tsp sambar powder( I use 777 Sambar Pwd)

Seasoning

1 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1 red chilly

1/2 tsp hing

1 tbsp shallots minced

a few curry leaves

Cook the dal till tender, I use a pressure cooker.

Cook the vegetables with salt and turmeric and 1 cup of water, once cooked add tamarind paste.

Let it boil well.

Meanwhile make the ground masala, heat oil add fenugreek seeds, coriander seeds, red chillies, and hing, stir till golden, do not burn.

Add coconut, stir for a few minutes add sambar powder, and remove from heat.

Grind to a fine paste with about 1/2 cup water.

Add this paste to the boiling vegetables.

Add the cooked dal, and about 1/2 cup water check the consistency add more water if required.

Remove from heat once the sambar comes together, add coriander leaves.

Heat oil for the seasoning, add the mustard seeds, red chilly, hing, curry leaves, and shallots.

Fry till golden brown, pour over sambar.

Serve with rice.

EAT FRESH - Wonderful Winter

This is my entry for EAT FRESH - Wonderful Winter which is being hosted by Meeta.

Here is what's in my grocery bag from Denver, Colorado.

I usually shop at H Mart which is an Asian market, and has a huge variety of vegetables especially Indian veggies compared to the local grocery store, and far more cheaper too.

The Farmer''s markets don't start until summer here, so I make do with H Mart.

I have red pumpkin, green mango, broccoli florets, carrots, french beans, cucumber, cabbage, green plantains, and white pumpkin in my picture. I'm bummed I have could not get curry leaves, there is some kind of curry leaf crisis, hopefully we will get some soon.

Vegetable Kuzhambu

I decided to make Vegetable Kuzhambu to clean out my fridge, as I had bits and pieces of different vegetables. This curry is easy to make no coconut to grind or dal to be cooked. The prep work is in cutting the vegetables.

A mixture of whatever vegetables you have cut into cubes, I used:-

White Pumpkin

Carrots

French beans

Suran/Yam frozen

Drumsticks frozen

Padwal/Snake Gourd frozen

all together I would say about 2 cups of vegetables

4 pearl onions cut into half

3 green chillies slit

1 small tomatoes chopped

1 tsp tamarind paste

1/4 tsp hing

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli pwd

2 tsp coriander pwd

1 tsp cumin seed pwd

1 tsp sambar pwd

salt to taste

1 tsp gingelly oil

1tsp rice flour mixed in 1/4 cup of water

Tadka:

1 tsp gingelly oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

2 red chillies

1/2 tsp udad dal

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp methi seeds

Curry leaves

Heat 1 tsp oil, add the pearl onions and green chillies.

Saute for a few minutes.

Add all the dry spices, hing, turmeric pwd, chilli pwd, coriander pwd, cumin seeds pwd, and sambar pwd.

Stir then add all the vegetables and the tomatoes.

Stir well for a few minutes then tamarind paste and some water.

Add salt and cook the vegetables, I just cook it in the pressure cooker as it's faster.

Once the vegetables are cooked add the riceflour paste and cook till there is a nice gravy.

Then get the tadka ready:-

Heat oil, add mustard seeds, red chillies, udad dal, cumin seeds, and methi seeds,

once the mustard seeds splutter add the curry leaves.

Pour this over the kuzhambu.

Goes well with rice of course, or chapathi or dosa.

I served mine with rosemata rice and cabbage thoran.

Pakodas with leftover besan batter

I had some besan batter left after making the Batata Vadas,maybe a 1/4 cup of batter.

Iadded 1 small grated raw potato, 1 scallion, 1/2 tsp green chutney, 1/4 tsp red chilli pwd, a little salt, and a little more besan pwd, add only if needed.

Drop a few spoonfuls add fry till golden brown and crisp.

Batata Vada/ Aloo Bonda

It's spring but there is a chill in the air still feels like winter, and I'm craving batata vadas. If I was in Mumbai, I would just step out and get batata vadas at any nook and corner. They taste heavenly with pav a kind of dinner roll, lots of garlic chutney and green chutney. Well I'm not in Mumbai, but in the US of A, and when I get these cravings, what do I do, just prepare them myself.

2 medium potatoes

1 tbsp cilantro leaves

1 tsp lime juice

salt to taste

oil for frying

Grind to a coarse paste

1/4 inch piece ginger

1 clove garlic

3 green chillies

2 tbsp cilantro leaves

For the Tadka

1 tsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp udad dal

1/4 tsp hing

1/2 tsp turmeric

For the Batter

1/2 cup besan

1/4 cup rice flour

1/2 tsp chilli pwd

1/4 tsp hing

1/2 tsp salt

a pinch of soda bicarb

Boil the potatoes. Peel them and break them into medium chunks.

Heat oil for the tadka, add mustard seeds, once they splutter add udad dal, hing and turmeric.

Add the paste, saute for a minute add the potatoes, stir well add salt to taste.

Once everything is blended add cilantro leaves and lime juice.

Remove from heat and let it cool.

Then make into 2 inch balls, it makes about 12 vadas.

Heat oil for frying.

Then make the batter, mix the besan, rice flour, salt, chilli powder, hing, salt, and a pinch of soda bicarb.

Add water to make a batter, it should not be too thick or too watery.

Once the oil is hot, dip the vadas in the batter and drop them carefully a few at a time.

Fry these till golden brown and crisp.

Serve hot with green chutney or ketchup.

Idli Fry

I'm on a leftover cooking frenzy, I don't like throwing any leftover food, my waist will confirm that. My fridge had two idlis just two for a week just sitting there, and I did not have the heart to throw them out, and nobody would eat it either. So today I had this brainwave of pan frying them, I remember eating Idli Fry when I was little at Vishwa Bharti a little Udupi restaurant in Mumbai. They were deep fried obviously and served with a sweet yogurt. But I went with pan frying.





Leftover Idlis definitely a couple of days old, as it gets harder

Chilli powder

Cumin Powder

Salt

Gingelly oil/ Canola oil



Cut the idlis into long strips, I cut one idli into four long pieces.

Sprinkle chilli powder and cumin powder on the idlis and mix well.

Heat 1 tsp oil, add the idlis.

Brown the idlis and let it form a crust.

Sprinkle a teeny bit of salt on the fried idlis.

Serve with ketchup, chutney or curds.



I made these and they were gone in a minute, and I was left craving for more. Go figure!!

Carrot Cake

I had a ton of flour, and dry fruits leftover from my christmas cake making saga. I had planned to make another batch of the cake for my friends as this cake is hard to come by in the US, one cannot just go buy it in a store. Anyway I was trying to get myself into a mood to make it, as I had a couple of dinner invitations, and this would make a good hostess gift, as this cake gets better the longer it is stored. But then I skipped the whole idea and decided to make a carrot cake instead after watching Ina Garten's Carrot and Pineapple Cake, here is the recipe, I followed it to the letter except did not use vanilla or cinnamon, as I did not have both of these ingredients.

1 pound carrots
1/2 cup fresh pineapple
2 cups sugar
1/1/3 cups oil
3 extra large eggs
2 1/2 cups flour plus 1 tbsp for mixing with the raisins and flour
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts chopped

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


• Butter 2 cake tins, I used a loaf tin and a 8 inch round tin. Line with parchment paper and butter and flour the tins.



• Grate the carrots using a box grater, do not use a food processor as this will make the cake too wet, and it won't hold it's shape.


• Chop pineapple finely.



• I used a hand mixer, beat the sugar and oil well.



• Add the eggs and beat till until light yellow.



• Sift together, the 21/2 cups flour with garam masala, baking soda, and salt.



• Add to the egg mixture and mix on slow speed.



• Toss the raisins and walnuts with the 1 tbsp of flour.



• Add to the cake mixture


• Then add the carrots and pineapple, stir well.



• Divide between the two pans, lace on a cookie sheet, and bake for 55 to 60 mins according to the recipe.
• But it took me 65 minutes maybe because of the high altitude. Check with a toothpick.


• Once baked place them over a wire rack to cool.


• The cakes were really tender even though the batter felt very heavy and dense while I was mixing it. The cake tasted like carrot muffin, yummy!!!