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!!!