I googled, I saw, I cooked

Spinach Potato Frittata

2010-09-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's the routine in life that makes it interesting. Wouldn't you agree that there is a thrill accompanying the comfort in looking forward to your daily routine: like for me I know that after a hectic day of teaching, I can look forward to my favorite show Parenting every Tuesday night, I know that lil Nikky is usually tired and ready to sleep everyday at 8.00 pm every nite (yay!) and that a busy week will always be followed by the weekend. I also know on Sunday mornings I will be making my potato spinach frittata. I look forward to this every week as I know that once the eggs are baking in the oven, I can relax with my cup of tea and a warm tasty breakfast will ready soon. Ah the bliss of routine!

I make my frittata with potatoes, spinach, onions and sometimes a tomato, along with shredded cheese I have on hand, some chopped jalapenos and some cilantro. I use 2 eggs per person and adjust the veggies accordingly. If I am feeling too cheeky I throw in a asparagus or broccoli.

This is not a recipe but just a general guideline of how to make a fritatta.

In a skillet pour a tbsp of olive oil, add chopped onions and fry till translucent. Toss in some sliced jalapenos. Then add chopped, peeled potatoes( no need to boil) to your skillet and fry till potatoes begin to soften. Throw in a handful of spinach at this time and let it wilt for a few mins. Remove skillet from stove. Meanwhile beat 2 - 4 eggs gently. Stir in the potatoes-spinach mixture along with a handful of cheese. I use pepper jack or sharp cheddar but almost anything is fine.Top with some sliced tomatoes if desired. Flavor with some salt and garnish with cilantro.

Take a baking dish, grease the bottom with some olive oil. Pour in the egg mixture.

Oh, I forgot to mention that you need to preheat your oven to 350 F while you are doing all this. Place the baking dish in the oven and let it bake for 30 - 40 minutes. You know it is done when a knife inserted comes out clean. I typically bake upto 40 mins, over baking causes the eggs to harden. Enjoy!

Update on Nikky

My baby is now walking! I have to admit that he is walking like a zombie - hands out, face scrunched and serious, stepping gingerely taking care not to fall. He is such a cautious dude. It is such a pleasure to experience these milestones. He can say tata, duck, yuck and along with mamma and dada. He is beginning to understand instructions and takes care NOT to follow them! He is a little stingy with his 'kissies' and you really have to make him laugh before you get one, although it is generously doled out to things that light up and sing or things that have pretty pics. I am thinking I really need to improve my singing skills or maybe dress in brighter colors to get more kissies, eh? He is still an early bird, waking up at 5.00 am every morning. Any ladies out there know when that will change? Okay, that's all for now.

Roasted Vegetable Panini

2010-08-22T19:23:00.000-07:00

Ah summer! Is almost over! I have been super busy, finishing up my post doc and transitioning into a new job this summer. Little baby N aka Paapu is little no more. He has turned one and behaving all of it! Its super fun though to watch him achieve his milestones - no greater pleasure than watching those chubby fingers grab a cheerio and aim correctly into the mouth, and then ofcourse spit it one second later because he is bored!
Coming home after a long day of work and putting together a tasty dinner is no simple feat. Not the actual process itself but taking the decision of what to make seems to be the hardest. I am still trying to shed those baby pounds, so last week's menu was healthy. One among that being the roasted vegetable panini. I kind of got the idea from the Passionate Eater but changed the recipe to suit my palate.

The recipe is quick and easy. Just have fun while making this!

I sliced an eggplant, red pepper, squash and onions into long thin pieces. I drizzled the veggies with some olive oil, sprinkled lots of salt and pepper. I laid them to roast at 350 F on a cookie tray for about 30 - 40 minutes. I turned the veggies once in between. You know they are done if they start charring or getting too crisp.

I then toasted some crusty bread with olive oil on a tava. You could use butter too.
Then I spread one side of the bread with hummus. Other options are pesto or marinara sauce. I then laid out some slices of mozarrela on the warm bread......its get a little gooey when the bread is warm and holds the sandwich together. Assemble the veggies and layer the other bread on top. Done!

Hardly took me any time. While the veggies were roasting I was able to feed Paapu and get him ready for his bath. A perfect summer meal. Also perfectly suited for Nupur's BB6. This is perfect for a potluck because the recipe does not take too much assembling time. The sandwiches can also be served cold. So you could roast the veggies the previous day and assemble it on the day of the party. Enjoy!

Cranberry out of the pantry!

2010-06-15T11:02:00.000-07:00

When Nupur announced her BB4 event to help clean the pantry, the first thing that came to mind was the bag of craisins - dried cranberries- that has been hibernating in my pantry for a really long time ! After the baby, we have turned into big fans of Costco aka anything-we-sell-is-cheap-but-you-buy-sacks-of-it store, I tend to grab bags of dried fruits and nuts whenever I visit there. Just because they are cheap and make a nice healthy snack. But I pretty soon got bored of munching on cranberries and tossed it into a deep dark corner. So to clean my pantry, here are three goodies using cranberries. I don't have a picture of the last one since I munched on it as I made it and the leftovers where not pretty. Two of the three recipes were inspired from the hostess Nupur, they can be found here and here. The first site I look for anything as I find her recipes simple and delicious.

1. Cranberry quick bread

I set my oven to preheat at 350 degrees. I then soaked 2 cups of dried cranberries in some warm apple juice for 30 minutes. I did not add any sugar as the cranberries were already sweetened.

I then mixed together 2 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1⁄2 tsp. baking soda, 1⁄2 tsp. cinnamon powder and 1⁄2 tsp. salt.

Then whisked together the wet ingredients: 2 large eggs, 1/4 cup butter and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. I folded the wet and dry ingredients gently. Added the soaked now plump cranberries along with the juice. Baked it for 45 mins

Voila! The cranberry bread is ready! The bread turned out very moist and tasty!

2. Cranberry Pecan Granola

I have been making this very regularly since I made it for the first time. I make a big batch that lasts for two weeks. Hubby loves it and so do I. A great start to the day!

I follow Nupur's recipe to the tee except that I skip the molasses as I don't have any. I add pecans or almonds just to change it up a little every week. The next few weeks I will be substituting the raisins with cranberries. Add some chopped fresh berries in there to give a more summery flavor.

3. Cranberry Peanut Trail Mix

This one is not from a blog but from a patient of mine. We were chatting one day and she mentioned how she makes her trail mix with peanuts and cranberries. I have 2 big bottles of peanuts (Costco again!) in my pantry. So they got thrown together with cranberries, M and Ms, raisins and almonds. What a healthy and satisfying snack! I carry these in a ziplock in a purse and they come very handy.

Phew! That almost cleaned my pantry of cranberries

Chettinadu Gobi

2010-06-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

Its been busy! Work, home, play ....everything is keeping me very happily occupied. And lil N is growing so fast. He is 10 months old already. He has started crawling and does so many cute things that I am almost thinking of converting this into a baby blog. Atleast, will have lots of pictures to show for it :). So indulge me dear readers if I do chat about my boy now and then. Oh and he just got his two front teeth! Can't wait to make cookies for him!

Without any further ramblings, I am going to jump to the dish. I have always been a big fan of Chettinadu cuisine. Though I never ate much Chettinadu dishes growing up, they have a nice niche in my heart (or is it tummy?) due to their rich use of spices and vibrant colors. Chettinadu is known for its chicken dishes and here I attempted to replicate one of them using cauliflower. It is a perfect side dish for rice or roti. The dish is adapted from Solai's True Chettinadu Kitchen.
As I followed the recipe to the tee, I am not going to post it here. I marinated cauliflower florets instead of the chicken. You could deep fry the cauliflower to make it more ~~sinful~~ yummier. Do not sober the dish down using less chillies as it will not be chettinadu then! The dish tasted great and will be something that will be cooked in my kitchen often.

Hotel Sambhar

2010-04-10T12:01:00.000-07:00

I make sambhar in many different ways. Depends on my mood if I want to freshly grind the spices or if I want to add coconut or if I want to add many different vegetables or just one. As I was on a roll making idlis, I decided to make hotel sambhar to go with it. The slurpy bowl of goodness served with dosa and idly in hotels! Makes you want to dunk and dunk the idly and also drink up the bowl in the end. I am talking about hotels back in Chennai, definitely not in the US (on a vain note, I think I can make better sambhar that what I get here, don't you too?!).

I have been trying to find the secret ingredient that gives the hotel sambhar a taste above the home made ones (I love the homemade sambhar but once in a while need the 'hotelness' in it....). ''That's because it has sweat in it' (yuck!), my mom used to dryly remark to us kids when we used to pester her to make sambhar like the hotel . Maybe more oil? Different vegetables? My theory is that the sambhar sits on the stove almost all day long that it gives it a different flavor. So I adapted this recipe from Beyond the Usual to make hotel sambar. This was one of the very few recipes I found that was a little different when I was looking for hotel sambhar. I let the sambhar slow cook to infuse all the flavors. Here's what I exactly did:

I pressure cooked 1 cup toor dal with a pinch of turmeric and asfoetida.
Meanwhile I chopped 1 onion into fine pieces. I diced 1 carrot and 1 capsicum. You could use more veggies if you like. Almost anything goes in a sambhar, especially squash, pumpkin, potatoes and cauliflower. For idlis and dosas I prefer not to have too many veggies. When I making sambhar for rice then I add everything in. I also make that a different way which would be another post.
I set 5 cups of water on low heat. I added 2 tbsp of thick tamarind pulp. I soaked dry tamarind in hot water for 10 minutes to make the pulp. Store bought tubs work too. If using store bought, use only 1 tbsp.
I added the onions and veggies to the tamarind water. I boiled for approx 10 - 15 mins (remember I am cooking on low heat so longer time to cook) or till the raw smell of the tamarind disappears.
Now I added 2 tbsp of sambhar powder.
Optional : grind 5 garlic pods, one tiny piece of ginger, 2 tsp dhania (coriander seeds) and 2 tsp jeera (cumin seeds). Add to the boiling sambhar.
Then I added the tur dal. I let boil for another 10 - 15 mins.
For tempering: In another pan, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add mustard seeds. Wait till mustard seeds splutter. Now add curry leaves. Mix with the sambhar.

My verdict: This sambhar was more close to hotel sambhar than any other sambhars I have made so far. What is different with this recipe than other sambhar recipes is that you do not the fy the vegetables first but just boil everything. I made mine slow cook. You could speed up the process by using a pressure cooker or increasing the heat. But it still lacks the za-za-zu of the mystical hotel sambhar. Any other ideas?

Now I am off to Nupur's to join her Blog bites: Copycat edition. See you there!

Tale of two idlis

2010-03-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue. The words have been formed in my mind for a long time but never got time to put them on paper err.. web I mean. I made the most amazing find...well it is really amazing atleast to me because I now make idlis and dosas from scratch in a jiffy (minus the fermenting time). As you would know idlis are a traditional part of the South Indian meal. We would make a big batch of batter every week waiting to be made into dosai, idli or uthappam. Its usually idlis the first two days, I guess that's when the batter is most fresh, then dosas for the rest of the week, and finally uthappam when there is very little batter because then you can add all the veggies into it to make up. I remember my grandmother using this mammoth device, the ammi kal, to make the batter. Little wonder she is still fit (God bless he heart!) even at this age. The way this apparatus worked is you use your sheer arm strength to rotate the oblong stone in circular motion grind the soaked rice and dal into batter. It takes hours but results in the most fantastic crispy dosas and fluffy idlis. The ammi kal was a permament fixture in our kitchen when I was in grade school.

Then came the era of wet grinders (the late 80s I think). It automated the batter making process but it was quite a challenge to remove the batter from the grinder as you had to do it by hand.

Then in the 90s came the tilt and table top grinders. These were compact little things and you could clean them very easily.

Now in this millennium in India you don't have to grind the batter at home anymore. You get ready made batters at the corner of every street. They make good idlis and dosas that taste home made.

Now in the US its a different story. As a grad student you hardly make idlis as you know it is a lot of work. Dosas don't need much work - you could mix wheat flour, maida and rava to make a good dosa .Ofcourse as a student you are also relying on the blender to grind the batter. It results in stony idlis and sticky potholed dosas. If you are lucky enough you may posses the table top grinder. The result of a kind parent agreeing to substitute the grinder for one piece of their allowed 23 kg baggage.

In our house we are not big idli eaters. We still don't have a grinder and I hate to use my prized Sumeet mixie/blender for the batter. Because it gets heated very fast and crash out on you. Sometimes we get the readymade batter from Devon street but ummm.... its not the real thing. Also you get the Gits mix but again way way far from the real deal. So we don't make idlis. With my parents here and now my my mother in law we are back on a dosa idle schedule just like childhood days. But alas no wet grinder still! We made my Sumeet work. Also it is quite a challenge because you cannot grind when the baby is sleeping. Also you cannot grind when he is awake because he does not like the noise. So you can grind only when he is out of the house which is not very often because he is only 8 months old and still pretty dependent :).

As you already know smart reader, idli/dosai is made from whole urad dal and rice. So I put two and two together and said why not try with urad flour and rice flour? Duh! there must be other people who have tried this. I googled and googled and found lotsa recipes for dosa (ofcourse - because it is easy to make as I pointed out earlier) but never idlis. Why? Because the batter never ferments well, many say. The Phd in me was now challenged. Hey! This is not rocket science so why not give it a try? And so I did. With help from fellow bloggers who gave me good tips what not to do. See Jugalbandhi's post on a primer for idli making. And here's the result of my experiments with just urad and rice flours. Voila! Fluffy white idlis. Just like Saravana Bhavan's. I did try different tricks and now presenting the steps that worked.

Take 1 cup of urad flour and 3 cups of rice flour in a steel vessel. Add 1/4 tsp of active yeast in warm water. Add required water to get a smooth batter. The batter should be close to a thick cake batter (before you put in the oven). Better err on the side of thicker batter than watery one. It is important to use a small spatula or better yet your hand to mix. Because this helps aerate the batter which is key for yeast formation. Do not add salt now.
Now preheat the oven to the lowest setting ~180 F. Once oven preheats, turn off and place the steel container inside. If you are in a hot climate you can skip this step. If your room temperature is below 70F I would advise you to do this.
After 3-4 hours repeat step 2 again. You can leave the container inside while oven preheats.
I repeated step 2 a third time. I live in Chicago where the temperature ranges between 10 - 40 F during winter, so I needed to do the oven heating atleast 3 times. I also keep the oven light on to maintain some warmth.
After 12 - 18 hours you should find the batter risen to double the original.
If it does not here is what you can do the next time:

Increase the amount of yeast.
Add a tablespoon of cooked rice or bread to the mix. Same thing - helps yeast gets started.
If that does not work add a spoon of Eno salt to the batter just before making the idlis. I do this every time. Makes idli fluffy!

So here's to a new era of no-grind idlis!

p.s: Wish I had more pics of the batter and the process. But my camera is always filled with photos of the lil one and no place for blog pictures :). Will update as I make more batter next week.

North African Spiced Soup

2010-03-09T09:22:00.000-08:00

I hardly buy cookbooks. One, because I never seem to follow their instructions, ever! Two, I prefer looking up recipes from my favorite blogs, umm... at work, than come home and search in a book. Three, I improvise with ingredients on hand than wait and buy the required list. But a couple of weeks back while browsing at Border's, I couldn't resist the glossy pictures in this book, temptation triumphed and I came home with the '400 Best Ever Soups' by Anne Sheasby. The book was on sale for, believe it or no USD 4.99!!! I would highly recommend this book it has tons of vegetarian recipes, clear instructions and a good collection.

Here's a soup recipe I tested from this book. North African Spiced Soup. Its a simple recipe that can be made with daily ingredients in your kitchen. I followed out almost all the steps in the book. The soup turned out perfect. I posted it on the Great Vega'N Vegetarian Project. Check out the recipe here.

Sauteed Brussel Sprouts and Radish

2010-02-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, I opened my crisper to find a packet of brussel sprouts and radishes nestling cosliy together. And I thought why not make make a marriage, err I mean a sabzi of both? This dish is my first post in the at The Great Vega'N Vegetarian Project. Check it out here.

The vegetables complemented each other very well. I sauteed them in butter with some onions and spices. other combinations can include balsamic vinegar or asian dressings (sesame oil, ginger, soy sauce and sugar) or just salt and pepper with some parmesan. This can be served with rice, roti or rolled up in a pita. Enjoy!

A new venture

2010-02-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

Cynthia of Tastes like Home came up with this fabulous idea of bringing together all vegan n vegetarian recipes under one umbrella, aptly named The Great Vega'n Vegetarian Project. I am proud to be a contributor on this. I quickly jumped on the bandwagon for many reasons. Mainly because I have been asked many times by well meaning friends if I am not bored of eating vegetarian, translated salads and sandwiches, every single day! I want to use this opportunity to showcase the different varieties of tasty and sumptuous vegetarian and vegan food that one can prepare obliterating the need to crave meat (atleast for me). Definitely check out this blog for some interesting and creative ideas to cook for vegetarian friends. Cheers to my new venture!

Tom Yum Stoup

2010-01-22T13:38:00.000-08:00

Thats right! Its a sToup, with a T and not a silly typo from a sleep deprived new mommy. With a 6 month old baby and a big research grant due in 20 days, I have decided to blog again! I guess I really need the pressure from all sides to escape into my virtual world. Being very time pressed these days, of late I have been cooking up dishes that will take only 30 minutes or so. And if possible I aim for one pot meals that would make a nice leftover for lunch.

Peeking into my fridge last night, I noticed a lot of vegetables that badly needed to be used. I opened my pantry to find boxes of noodles and cans of coconut milk begging for a release.
Ta da! The tom-yum sToup!

This is different from the soup because I made it hearty by adding more noodles to it, so it can be the main course and not an appetizer. This recipe may not be traditional but is definitely delicious.

Assemble:

1/2 package of any noodles ~ approximating atleast 2 cups of cooked noodles.
* I used 1/2 box of spaghetti*
1 cup coconut milk
1 medium onion chopped
2 cups of diced vegtables (carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, peas, zucchini, green, pepper)
1/2 cup diced tofu
Handful of cherry tomatoes
2 tbsp red curry paste * I used store bought Thai curry*
Few basil leaves
One or 2 stalks of lemon grass * I did not have this, so skipped it* Cilantro to garnish
1 tbsp Oil, soy sauce and chilli sauce to taste

Method:

Heat oil in in a big pot. Add the chopped onions and let them fry till transparent.
Add the diced vegetables. Sweat them out on medium heat till they are partially cook (especially if you are using potatoes)
Add teh curry paste and saute for a few minutes.
Add the raw noodles.
Now add 4 - 5 cups of water. More or less depending on how thick or thin you want the soup to be. Let the water boil for 7 - 10 minutes.
Add the seasonings - soy sauce and chilli sauce (my curry paste was HOT, so i skipped the chilli sauce)
Now toss in the cherry tomatoes and tofu. Boil for a few more minutes or till your noodles are al dente.
Add the basil and lemon grass.
Add the coconut milk and immediately turn off heat. You don't want the coconut milk to get watered.
Garnish with cilantro.

The result was a beautiful bowl of steaming hot sToup that was very filling but healthy.

The list continues

2009-12-11T10:19:00.001-08:00

With a new baby and a full time job, I don't have time to experiment. If I do experiment, I don't have time to take pictures.... as it is my camera is always full of pics of the little one. So in my previous post, I decided to start a list of things I have tried or wish to cook. I am dedicating this post exclusively for the list. If you try anything from here, post me a small note.

Spaghetti with Chocolate Sauce

Baked Tofu Indian style

Simple Granola - simple awesome! I made it and have been hooked since then.

Fruit cake - in my travail of other food blogs, Sailu's seems to be a very favorite recipe.

Bundle of joy! And a list....

2009-09-19T17:18:00.000-07:00

On August 1st, arrived our beautiful and healthy baby boy. The last few weeks have been challenging but very exciting. I am yet to fully savor the joy of motherhood as the sleepless nights have left me pretty dazed. There has been no time to cook let alone blog anything.
But since last week, I am actually finding 10 - 15 minutes of spare time, letting me browse all my favorite blogs. The recipes are so attractive but there is no time to experiment. So I am planning to bookmark some of these interesting posts here as a reminder to try them later. So here's the to-be-frequently-updated list:

Spaghetti with Chocolate Sauce

Baked Tofu Indian style

Simple Granola - simple awesome! I made it and have been hooked since then.

Fruit cake - in my travail of other food blogs, Sailu's seems to be a very favorite recipe.

Waiting for the stork to arrive.....

2009-07-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

I will be missing in action for sometime. I am in the very last stretch and eagerly waiting.......twiddling my thumbs. I may not have time to experiment with recipes for the next couple of months as I will be busy cultivating my child nurturing skills. But I will be definitely be following your blogs.
So long till then!

Pad Thai

2009-06-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

Pad Thai is always a safe bet at any Thai restaurant. Each restaurant has its own version of curry dishes, and if you are like me (picky that is) then you are not easily satisfied when the dish does not meet to the standards of your fave Thai place. With Pad Thai, it is very hard to go wrong. This recipe hits the right spot when you are sick of take out but still want to eat Thai. This recipe is inspired from here .

I tweaked the recipe a bit to use the ingredients that I had in my fridge (cabbage, eggs and spring onions). You could add more veggies if you like (shredded carrots, purple cabbage, bean sprouts can be used). I used rice vermicelli noodles instead of the thick flat noodles that is commonly used.

Assemble

8 oz. Pad Thai rice noodles
2 eggs or tofu
8 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup of cabbage, thinly chopped
1/2 cup red or white onions thinly sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1/3 cup fresh coriander/cilantro
1/4 cup ground peanuts
3-4 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying

For the sauce:

3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste
1/4 cup hot water
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/2 to 2 tsp. chili sauce (to taste) or chilly flakes
3 Tbsp. brown sugar

Method

Bring a pot of water to boil and remove from heat. Soak noodles in hot water for 7 -10 mins. Drain and rinse with cold water. Noodles are ready when they become soft with a bite.
Dissolve the tamarind sauce in warm water. Mix the rest of the ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
In the mean time, place a wok over medium heat. In 1 -2 tbsp oil, scramble the eggs and set aside.
Set the wok on heat again. In 2 tbsp oil, fry garlic for a minute. This will be the right time to add the chilli flakes if you are using them instead of chilli sauce.
Add the onions and stir fry till they turn translucent.
Add the cabbage and stir fry for a minute. Add the more veggies if you are using any.
Add 1/2 of the sauce and the noodles. Mix everything together while on the stove.
Add more of the sauce according to taste.
Turn off the heat. Add the green onions and ground peanuts.
Garnish with cilantro.
Serve with a lime wedge.

I was really impressed with the flavors of this simple recipe. Also found that using more peanuts holds the noodles together and gives it a great taste.

Khaw Hai Jarern Aharn! (Bon Appetit! in Thai)

Update: I just came across this link in Nupur's blog - Pim's Incredible Pad Thai. Fascinatingly detailed.

Cheese and Bean Enchiladas

2009-04-16T17:42:00.000-07:00

Enchiladas need no introduction. Its the perfect choice perfect for those weeknights where I can let my oven do most of the work while I relax with a book. Chicago has a lot of good authentic Mexican restaurants but I prefer Tex-Mex with its cheesy-spicy flavours. My recipe is inspired from here with various modifications. Enchiladas can be stuffed with a few different things - black beans, pinto beans, refried beans, veggies like capsicum, onions, green and red peppers etc and also with different meats. I always keep a can of beans and a packet of shredded cheese handy to satisfy those Mexican cravings. I prefer to use store bought enchilada sauce and they work as well as anything prepared from scratch.

Assemble

1 - 2 cups of beans (I prefer refried or pinto)
A packet of tortillas - corn, flour or wheat
6 ounces shredded cheese (cheddar or assorted Mexican)
Enchilada sauce (spicier the better)
2 tbsp oil
Salsa to serve
Cilantro to garnish

Spices (optional)
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
Red Chili Powder
Taco/ Fajita seasoning

Method

For the black bean stuffing, heat 1 tbsp of oil in wide skillet. Season with the spices. Then add the canned beans with a little water so its not too thick. Allow the beans to simmer for 1o minutes till the flavor of the spices have settled in. Sometimes at this point I also add some salsa to give it a extra zing. Mash the beans around a little so it forms a runny paste.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray oil on a baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, bring out bean mixture, enchilada sauce, cheese and tortillas. Heat a non stick pan on the stove. Soften a tortilla on the pan 10 seconds on each side with a little brushing of oil. Spread a spoonful of bean sauce in the center of the tortilla, with 2 tsp enchilada sauce and a sprinkling of grated cheese. Fold long ends of tortilla and place on the baking dish with seam side down. Repeat with other tortillas.

Once all the tortillas have been assembled, sprinkle some more enchilada sauce on the top (more if you want it spicy) and sprinkle the rest of the cheese till it covers the top of all the tortillas. Uncovered pockets cause the tortillas to dry and become hard.

Cover with a foil and bake in the oven for 30 - 40 minutes until the cheese is bubbling. Remove the foil in the last 10 minutes to you know when the cheese starts to bubble.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with salsa.

Variations : You could saute onions, green peppers etc along with beans to give it bit of a crunch.

A simple South Indian meal

2009-01-17T09:15:00.000-08:00

Its been a while, hasn't it? Maybe it was the post Diwali sugar high or the unbearable cold which makes coming into the cold kitchen to cook a meal very difficult. And to click pictures on top of that?!!! But finally on this chilly sub zero winter weekend, with nowhere to go, I gathered the energy to cook and blog. Looking back, I realized I have not really blogged about any of food that we eat regularly. Its been almost a year since I started this blog, so to commensurate this occasion I am going to blog about something simple and close to my heart - a Tamil Nadu lunch.

A daily South Indian or I should be more specific and say Tamil meal would be rice, sambhar (or kuzhambu), rasam with one or two vegetables (one of them being mostly spinach in my house). It is a wholesome meal with the right amount of carbs, protiens and vegetables and very les fat as there is not much oil involved. So today's recipe is about moru kuzhambu and kovakkai kari.( I will keep the rasam for nother cold day!) Kuzhambu is like sambhar but without the lentils. Moru means buttermilk (diluted yogurt). Kovakki is also known as tindora (in Hindi) or Ivy gourd. Kari refers to dry vegetable (without gravy) sauteed in a little oil with some spices. This meal can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.

Kovakkai Kari

Assemble

Kovakkai - 2 cups, sliced length wise (I used frozen precut kovakkai)
Oil - 1 tbsp
To season - mustard seeds (kadugu), curry leaves
Salt and chilli powder as needed

Method

Heat oil in a round frying pan. Once the oil is hot, season with the mustard seeds. Wait till they sputter before adding the curry leaves. Add the cut kovakkai and cook for 10 -12 minutes sauteing regularly. Once the kovakkai becomes a little soft, add the salt and chilli powder. Saute till the kovakkai turns a little brown. If you want it more crispy fry for a longer time with a little more oil.

Moru Kuzhambu

Assemble

Buttermilk - 2 cups (I usually whisk yogurt with a little water as this less sour and more thicker than store bought buttermilk; if you want a more richer taste, add some sour cream to the yogurt)
Diced pumpkin/lady's finger/potatoes - 1/2 cup
Seasonings - mustard seeds, curry leaves

To grind
Grated Coconut - 1/2 cup
Green chillies - 4-5
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 2 tsp
Coriander seeds - 1 tsp
Tur dal - 1 tbsp , soaked in water for 15 mins
Ginger - 1/2 inch piece

Grind all the above ingredients to a smooth paste.

Method

Heat oil in a flat bottomed vessel. Season with mustard seeds. Once they splutter, add the curry leaves. Now add the diced vegetables. Usually only one kind of vegetable is used. Add a little water to cover the vegetables and let boil till the vegetables are tender. Add the ground coconut paste with a little more water (1/2 cup). Season with salt and let boil for 10 minutes. Once the raw smell of the paste goes away, sim the heat to low. Add the buttermilk, stir and turn off the stove at once. It is important not to boil the buttermilk as this will cause it to curdle and the water to separate.

Serve with hot rice.

The moru kuzhambu is mixed with the rice and the kovakai kari is used as a side dish.

I am contributing this recipe to the Monthly Mingle which is about Healthy Family Meals this month. Some may disagree about coconut being 'healthy' but nutritionists suggest that although coconut is high in saturated fatty acids, it is actually beneficial because of its high content of lauric acid which has potent antiviral and antibacterial properties, and is believed to increase metabolic rate. So here's to many more simple healthy meals!

Diwali treats

2008-11-04T17:59:00.000-08:00

Happy Diwali to all of you! Although the greetings are a tad belated, the Diwali spirit still prevails a week later in our home with the yummy sweets and snacks that mark the occasion. Diwali to me is glamorized by new clothes, fireworks and sweets (not necessarily in that order) and of course, the triumph of good over evil (not to pique my teeny spiritual side!). After coming to the US, with Diwali almost always falling on a work day, wearing new clothes or 'bursting' fireworks is not really possible. So my tradition has been to make the bakshanam (sweets and savories) at home and consume them in all glory on the festive day. And yes, I do share with friends! This year I made the traditional gothumai (wheat) halwa and ribbon pakoda. On previous occasions, I have tried to take the easy route and have made the halwa with store bought atta (wheat flour). But this never matches the real deal. This year I took traditional route, soaking whole wheat overnight and removing the 'milk' by grinding it the next day. The process is not as arduous as it sounds and the results make the efforts worth it. The savory 'Ribbon' pakoda is a kind of chakli/murukku, shaped like a ribbon as the name suggests. You need the typical achu (press) to make this. It can be compared to an icing cone with a long thin perforation.

Here are the recipes!

Halwa

Assemble

1 cup Whole wheat (wheat grains)
1 1/2 - 2 cups Sugar (can add more -upto 3 cups- to suit your taste)
5 -6 Elaichis (cardamom) - gently powdered with a pestle
1/2 cup Ghee (Increase if you like)
Saffron color - 1 pinch

For garnishing - 1/2 cup chopped dry fruits (cashew, almonds or pista) lightly fried in 2 teaspoon ghee

Method

Wash and soak the wheat overnight for atleast 12 hours.
Grind the wheat in a blender with a cup of water. Then strain the mixture to dilute the thick milk.
Add one more cup of water and grind again. Repeat the straining process. You will be left with only the husk.
Pour the milk in a thick bottomed vessel on low heat. Add the sugar..
Keep stirring continuously. This is the difficult part as even a little settling of the contents can cause the halwa to burn.
Once the halwa starts to thicken, add the ghee. Keep stirring.
Add the elaichi powder and saffron color. Keep stirring till the halwa leaves the side of the vessel and stirs with the ladle as one big mass. Then you know its done. Alternatively you could roll a piece of the halwa into a ball to see if its done.
Add the dry fruits.Spread on a greased plate. Cut into desired shape when cool.

Ribbon Pakoda

Assemble

2 cups besan (gram flour)
1 cup rice flour
1 tbsp ghee
3 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp salt
A pinch of asfoetida
Oil to deep fry

Method

Add all the ingredients together and make a soft dough with water (1/2 cup)as you would make for rotis. If the dough is too soft, the ribbon pakoda will not turn out to be crisp. If it too hard, then it will be very difficult to squeeze the press.
Heat oil in a big wok for deep frying.
Put the dough into the achu and squeeze over the hot oil ino big circles. The shape does not matter coz you will break them into strips after frying.
Remove and drain oil once the ribbon pakodas turn golden brown.
Store in air tight containers.

Paneer Tikka Pizza

2008-10-19T15:09:00.000-07:00

If you ever lived in Nungambakkam you would definitely remember 'Pizza time', a small pizza delivery store with an amazing selection at very low prices. This was almost 10 years ago. We could have medium pizzas delivered for just Rs 30 (less than a dollar!), the same costing more than 10 times now in Chennai. The specialty of this store was their unique Indian touch to pizza, namely the Paneer Pizza. Paneer does not melt when baked, and therefore gives a very unique zing to the regular pizza. For the base, I followed a recipe I found on Food Network.

Pizza Dough

1/2 cup warm water
2 teaspoons dry yeast (you can find these as small pouches in any grocery store)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil

To make pizza base

Mix the warm water and yeast in a small bowl to blend. Let stand until the yeast dissolves, about 5 minutes. Mix the flour and salt. Blend in the oil. Add the yeast mixture and mix just until the dough forms (like chapatti atta). Turn the dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer the dough to a large oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm draft-free area until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch the down dough and divide into 2 equal balls.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Sprinkle some flour over 2 rimless baking sheets or pizza stone if you have one. Remember to preheat the pizza stone by placing it in the cold oven first otherwise it would crack when exposed to sudden heat. Roll out each piece of pizza dough into a 10 to 11-inch-diameter round.You can use a rolling pin first and then smooth with your fingers. Transfer 1 dough to each prepared baking sheet.

Topping

Marinated Paneer cubes
Marinate the paneer cubes for 2 hours in a mixture of yogurt, red chilli powder, salt, cilantro chutney and some garlic pieces. You can find a more detailed recipe for marinade here. If you are pressed for time, you could skip the marination step and add the paneer pieces as is.

Onions slit long
Capsicum, long pieces
Shredded mozzarella cheese (handful or more)

Pizza sauce

5 tbsp crushed tomatoes (from can)
Italian herb seasoning
Crushed garlic cloves
Olive oil

Saute the garlic cloves in 2 tsp of olive oil. Add the crushed tomatoes. Sesaon with salt, crushed chilli flakes and Italian herbs (basil, oregano, thyme or any thing you have on hand). Keep the sauce on heat until it starts to boil.

To assemble pizza

Brush the tomato paste generously over the pizza base taking care to keep away from the corners. Arrange the paneer pieces, onions and capsicum over the sauce. Top with the mozzarella cheese.Bake the pizzas until the crusts are crisp and brown on the bottom and the mozzarella cheese is melted on top, about 15 minutes.

My verdict: I realized that pizza from scratch is not too hard to make. Best of all, home made pizzas are definitely more healthier as you can ration the oil and cheese, and also you can make the crust as thin as you would like it to be. I would give the pizza base a "4 star" rating (on a scale of 5 ). I felt it could have been more crispier. I am on the look out for better techniques to handle the dough which is an integral part of making the pizza.

Sizzling Pakodas

2008-09-30T13:05:00.000-07:00

The winter is fast approaching. With it arrive the days of bundling up in heavy coats and scarves, wearing boots everyday, going to and coming back from work in the dark, forgetting how it feels to wear a light shirt and jeans and ( atlast the silver lining ...) drinking lots of garam garam (hot) chai or suda suda (hot) coffee. Chai and coffee kinda make up for the bitter cold days, don't you think? And what makes it even more enjoyable is when the hot beverage is accompanied by karu-muru (crunchy) pakodas. Thoughts of rainy days, the only time when the weather gets a little chilly, in Madras bring back to me memories of freshly fried pakodas laced with onions and chillies. When the temperature dipped very slightly here a few days back, my rantings about the cold started. But on a positive note, I decided to fry some pakodas.

Pakodas are very simple to make. They are made of besan (gram flour) and usually have spinach or onions in them. Bhajjis, which are similar to pakodas are made with more vegetables (brinjal, plantain, potato); the difference between them being that pakodas are bite sized and bhajjis are made with thick slices of vegetables. So here's the recipes for onion pakodas. If you want to maje spinach pakodas, substitute spinach instead of onions.

Assemble

1 cup of gram flour
1 small onion chopped in thin long slices
2 green chillies (jalapenos) finely chopped
Handful of cilantro leaves, finely chopped
Salt to season
Oil for deep frying (canola or vegetable oil not olive oil)

Method

Mix the onions,gram flour and salt (to taste) in a bowl and let sit for 5 - 10 mins. The salt dehydrates the onions, so when you later add water it ensures that the mix does not end up very watery.

Add the green chillies and cilantro and pour 2-3 tbsp of water and mix everything into a crumbly paste. The consistency should neither be too dry or too watery. You should be able to make clumps out of the mixture with your hand. If the mix is too dry it will usually disintegrate when added to the oil.

In the meantime, heat oil in a shallow kadai. To test if the oil is ready for frying, add a little bit of the besan-onion mix to the oil, you will know the oil is ready if the mix rises up immediately with a sizzle.

Make small clumps (do not have to be equal size or shape) and deep fry till golden.

The pakodas can be stored for a few days in air tight containers. You could reheat in the oven or eat it at room temperature. Is this not the best way to welcome the winter with some spice?!

Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

2008-09-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

The football is season is here. With the TV remote being monopolized by hubby dear, my precious TV watching time is now free for me to use constructively, maybe get some work done..... or maybe not. As I hover around to watch my favorite shows during commercial breaks (usually re-runs that I have watched a 100 times), I end up being drawn into the game. Although I am not a big fan, I must admit that I prefer watching American football to other sports (yes, even over cricket!). And the game is made more interesting if there is food to chomp on. Is it the game or the food I wonder now that keeps me near the couch?
The usual spread is chips, salsa ,soda, cookies and more chips. We had some friends over last nite to watch the Florida Miami game and I decided to kick it up a notch. Made my all time favorite dip with artichokes and spinach. This dish is always my first choice at Olive Garden. And googling, which I have great talent for, found me 3 different recipes which claimed to be the exact the copy cat recipe as Olive Garden. I chose the best ingredients from the three, made some adjustments of my own and was really pleased with my success. Thick toasted French bread dipped in cheesy spinach and artichokes definetely made the Gators win more enjoyable.

Assemble
1 (8 oz.) pkg Cream Cheese
1 can Artichoke Hearts, drained, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped Spinach (I used fresh, frozen should do too)
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1/4 cup Mozzarella Cheese grated
Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature. Combine together the cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, garlic and basil. Mix well. Add the artichoke hearts and spinach (careful to drain this well), and mix until blended. You could refrigerate this until you are ready to use. Spray a pan with cooking spray, pour in the dip, and top with Mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top is browned. Serve with toasted bread, chips or pita.
.

Pineapple Basil Fried Rice

2008-08-12T10:44:00.000-07:00

I order pineapple fried rice almost every other time I go to a Thai restaurant (my alternate dish being the delicious Pad Thai ). The yellow pineapple chunks (which absorb the sweet and spicy flavors of the dish) mixed with cashew nuts and other crisp vegetables in the fragrant rice seasoned with basil is simply irresistible. I woke up last weekend with a craving for this and decided to cook up my own recipe to make it at home.

I boiled 1 cup of jasmine rice with 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of coconut milk. I used the idea of adding coconut milk from my mom who used this while making 'pulao'. This gives the rice an added fragrance.

I then scrambled some eggs and set them aside. In a large heated wok, I added some oil and fried some thinly sliced spirng onions with 1 tbsp of ginger garlic paste. I then tossed in some shredded carrots, baby corn, shredded cabbage and thinly sliced green pepper. I would have liked to add some tofu but did not have it in hand that day. I sauted all the vegetables for roughly 5 minutes so as not to loose their crispness.
While the veggies were stir-frying I mixed together some soya sauce, sugar, rice vinegar, chilli sauce and tomato ketchup with little water. I do not use any definite measurements but propotion them to the taste I crave at the moment (always salty and spicy!). I then added the sauce, pineapple chunks (I used the tinned cut pineapples) and cooked rice to the vegetables and mixed them gently. I seasoned the rice with some fresh basil leaves plucked right out of my garden. I usually add the basil right at the end so they do not cook too much. The final touch was to garnish with some fried cashew nuts and few sprigs of cilantro.

This recipe is toss-this-in-toss-that-in kinda recipe but if you need specific measurements, do let me know and I can provide you with an estimate.
I am sending this recipe off to Ammalu for the Herb Mania event featuring Basil for this month.

I have Thai basil which is an easy plant to grow (atleast it has managed to survive with me so far!). The only requirement is plenty of sunlight and regular watering. It is very easy maintainence. I really like the convenience of having fresh basil at hand. It is a simple joy to be able to flavor my dishes with this fresh herb any time.

Brunch Pizza-Toast

2008-07-06T07:56:00.000-07:00

Although the title says pizza, this dish is far from that. It contains nearly the same ingredients - bread, vegetables and cheese minus the tomato sauce minus the lengthy preparation time. Or should I say its more like bruschetta plus the cheese. Or maybe like toast plus veggies plus cheese. Enough with the equations, I hear you say! Uncanny eh?
I was wondering how I can use up the big loaf of Italian bread I bought a few days back before it went stale. We are not big breakfast eaters, a bowl of cereal or a cereal bar at most...maybe an omelette on weekends, if we manage to get up early enough for breakfast that is. So this was perfect for brunch, easy to make and mostly with ingredients that you can find in your fridge.

You will need
Bread (the thick crusty kind will work better)
Thinly sliced vegetables (onions, carrots, capsicum, tomatoes, garlic)
Olive oil
Seasoning - salt, pepper, herbs you like - mint, oregano, basil
Shredded Cheese (I used fresh mozzarella)

Method

Preheat your oven to 350 deg.
Brush olive oil on both sides of the bread and toss in the oven till it turns light golden.
Meanwhile, drizzle some olive oil in a hot pan, and lightly fry the vegetables. Starting with the garlic, follow with the onions and tomatoes and then the sliced vegetables. Do not fry too long, make sure the vegetables still have a crunch.
Take the veggies off the stove and season with the herbs, salt and pepper.
Now, remove your bread from the oven and top with the vegetables, followed by the shredded cheese.
Turn the oven to broil and place the 'pizza' under the grill, till the cheese melts.
Serve while hot.

Prepared with fresh summer vegetables and herbs, this dish reflects the summer spirit and also cuts your time of cooking near the stove. This is my contribution for the WBB-Summer
Feast hosted by Monsoon Spice.

Shrikhand

2008-06-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a dessert recipe, that is simple to make. My sweet-finale to dinner has always been the semiya payasam (vermicelli kheer) and I was itching for a change. Shrikhand fit my expectations very nicely. And it requires only less than 5 ingredients which make it eligible for the Less is More event hosted by Nupur.

The rules of this event are that the dish should contain only 5 or less ingredients and should be from another blog. Bookmark the event page as I am sure it going to be fabulous to have a collection of dishes which require only less than 5 ingredients to make.

Browsing through some blogs, I was surprised to find different varieties of this dish - the traditional Shrikhand, Mango Shrikhand and even Strawberry shrikhand. Yum!!! I am so tempted to make raspberry shrikhand (raspberry being my favorite berry) but for this time stuck to the traditional way. You can find the original recipes here and here. If you are interested in fruit shrikhands, check out - Mango, Strawberry and Blackberry shrikhand.

Assemble

1 tub of plain yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
A pinch of ground cardamom seeds
Few saffron threads
Almonds to garnish

Method

Strain the yogurt over muslin or cheese cloth or dupatta till all the water drains. I tied my yogurt in a cheese cloth and laid it in a large strainer. I placed this strainer over a big bowl and let is sit in the fridge overnight. Even 4 -5 hours of straining should do if you are pressed for time.
Remove the strained yogurt and whisk it in a bowl till creamy. Add the sugar slowly and keep whisking till sugar dissolves. You could increase or decrease the quantity of sugar according to how sweet you would like it to be.
Dissolve the saffron threads in a few drops of warm milk and add to the creamy yogurt.
Add the ground cardamom.
Garnish with almonds. Keep chill until serving.

As simple as that! Makes the perfect guilt free dessert for summer.

Summer Rolls

2008-06-15T16:27:00.000-07:00

'Thai Spring rolls' as these are popularly known, make the perfect snack/appetizer for these hot sultry days when I definitely do not want to be sweating near the stove, but still want to eat something home cooked and healthy in an attempt to compensate for all the gelatos and ice creams that I devoured with the heat as an excuse. Actually I end up eating a bunch of these as dinner rather as appetizers......makes you wonder where the healthy part went, huh?!! Well, I do try atleast in thought!
I found them quick and easy to make once I got the hang of how to roll the wrappers without damaging them. The trick is not to overheat the water; the water should be at the temperature where you can comfortably work with your hands in. Also not soaking the rice wrap for too long helps. Although the instructions on the package usually says a minute, I find them ready in less than 30 seconds.
If you are not familiar with how to roll these wraps, you can find a photo tutorial that may be helpful. This how I make it:

Ingredients:
Rice wraps (available in the ethnic food section in most grocery stores)
Tofu - cut into 2 inch rectangular pieces, baked at 350 C till edges are brown, approximately 20 - 30 ins
Spring onions - chopped
Lettuce (long shreds)
Carrots (thinly sliced)
Basil and cilantro ( a handful, finely chopped)
Optional: ground peanuts, thin noodles

Make the rice wrappers as per instructions on the packet or in the photo tutorial. Fold with a handful of the above ingredients. I usually season the filling with some soya sauce and chilli flakes before wrapping.

Peanut sauce:
Grated peanuts/peanut butter
Soya sauce
Chilli flakes
One crushed garlic
Tiny bit of vinegar
Sugar

Whisk the above ingredients in a bowl. Adjust to your taste by playing with the proportions of soya sauce, chili flakes and sugar.

Brinjal Masala

2008-06-03T17:58:00.000-07:00

After a long hiatus I finally found the inspiration to blog again. The inspiration (or rather the lack of you will soon realize) came from the show "The Next Food Network Star" on Food Network. I was very thrilled to find that a desi - Nipa Bhatt - is one of the contestants in this show. But I was soon disappointed when the dish she prepared for her challenge was "Sukhi Bhaaji" which she translated as Curried Potatoes (??!). The ingredients were simply potatoes, curry powder and salt. Come on Nipa, there's so much more to Indian cooking than sprinkling curry powder on fried aloo! I hope you do us proud in the next episode and give Indian cooking its due!

Our move across the country completed, and with the house finally furnished to habit, I decided do some cooking. Its really hard to cook when you are tempted by so many nice places to eat out right outside your door. Good for the palate but not for the wallet!!! However I am very excited that this city offers me all varieties of Indian produce....and so brinjals, okra, drumsticks and tinda which were rarities for me have become a regular part of my meals.

I really love the Indian eggplant - it can be fried (simple curry) or roasted (as in Baigan Bartha) or mashed (as in masiyal) and always tastes delightful in any form. My spice tooth (if one exists) led me to come up with this brinjal side dish which can be prepared quick and goes with rice and rotis.

Assemble
1 onion
1 tomato
6 medium sized brinjals
curry leaves for tadka
cilantro to garnish

Grind to a fine paste
3 stalks of mint leaves
3 tbsps of fresh grated coconut
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
4-5 dried red chillies
3 cloves garlic

Method

Slit each brinjal into 8 long pieces. Fry the brinjals in little oil till the brinjal becomes soft and beings to change color. Remove from heat and set aside.
Finely chop the onions and tomatoes.
Take 1 tbsp oil in a wok, add some cumin seeds and curry leaves for tadka and then add the onions. Fry till transparent.
Now add the tomatoes and fry till soft.
Add the ground paste to the onions and tomatoes and fry till the raw smell of the masala fades (approx 5 -7 mins).
Add the half cooked brinjals to the masala and season with salt.
Saute the brinjals for another 10 - 15 mins till they are well cooked.
Garnish with cilantro.

Forced break!

2008-04-08T16:10:00.000-07:00

I left balmy warm Florida to move to the rainy cold MidWest. Although it looks bleak here, I am excited as this almost feels like coming home. I have to unpack, settle in at home and at work, all these forcing me to take a brief hiatus from cooking. I will be back as soon as I can find my utensils, spices and my camera. Stay in touch!

Mango Salsa

2008-04-01T18:18:00.000-07:00

T'is the time of the mango mania in India. The season starts around March and goes on till May or June. The sweetness of this kingly fruit makes the hot humid summers almost delightful. There is the alphonso, malgova, banganapally, rumani, neelam, raspuri and a variety of others that I am not familar with. We used to have this huge mango tree in our house, and one summer there were a huge hurricane (yes that was the time when it used to actually pour cats and dogs in drought ridden Madras!) and many branches loaded with the ripe mangoes came crashing down. What a treat it was for us kids to pick the fruit off the ground and eat them!!!

I can go on and on about mangoes but this post is about the salsa made from the Mexican mango. You can find these mangoes almost all year round at your local grocery store. I find that these mangoes are neither sweet nor sour and are perfect to make salsa. Atleast something healthy to have with your chips right?

I tossed one finely cut ripe mango, one small chopped onion, chopped green chillies/jalapenoes, a handful of baby corn into a bowl. Drizzled some freshly squeezed juice of a lemon and added a dahs of salt. Mix to coat well, garnish with few sprigs of cilantro and serve chilled.

Bonda with coconut chutney

2008-03-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

Bonda, a typical South Indian snack, is spicy potato filling dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried in oil. On a lighter note, the term bonda is also used to refer to someone with a chubby physique - (although I would not use it on a Tamilian you do not know that well :) )!!! Coming back to the topic on hand, bonda in Tamil Nadu is usually made of potatoes. Kannadigas make a different version - the Mysore bonda- which mainly consists of gram flour balls deep fried in oil. In Madras, bondas are commonly served for 'tiffin' with coconut chutney and sambhar on the side. In Mahrashtra, the potato bonda is known as the batata wada and is served like a sandwich with bread and some spicy chutneys.

To satisfy our spicy-fried-starch craving we decided to make it last night. (Ahhh! who is going to look like a bonda now?, I can hear you smirk!)

For the filling:
I boiled 4-5 large potatoes in my pressure cooker. I peeled the boiled potatoes and mashed them, letting some chunks remain. Next, I took 2 -3 tbsp of oil in a kadai (wok). When the oil was hot, I added some mustard seeds (2 tsp). I let the mustard seeds splutter and then added 2 -3 tsp of urad dal. Urad dal can burn quickly, so be careful there. In went some some finely chopped green chillies and 1 finely cut onion. I sauted till onions were transparent and then added the mashed boiled potatoes. I seasoned the potato filling with salt, turmeric powder and some grated ginger and let it cook for 5 - 10 mins. If necessary you could add some water so the filling does not crumble. I made small ping pong sized balls with the potato mixture.

For the batter:
I mixed 2 cups of besan/kadalai maavu/gram flour, 1/2 cup of maida/all purpose flour and a pinch of salt with water. Add water little by little so the batter remains sufficiently thick to coat the potato balls (almost like umm... maybe custard conistency).

Making the bondas:
Heat some oil in a shallow thick bottomed vessel. The oil shoud be able to cover atleast half of each bonda. Once the oil is hot enough, coat the potato balls with the batter and deep fry (in batches)till a golden crust forms.

For coconut chutney:
I ground together a handful of freshly grated coconut, 2 green chillies, few peanuts and some fresh cilantro with salt, in a blender with little water. Took 1 tbsp of oil for the tadka. When the oil was hot, I let some mustard seeds splutter and added the tadka to the chutney.

Serve the bondas with chutney. Bondas can also make great appetizers.

Chocolate Biscotti

2008-03-14T20:15:00.000-07:00

I am no baker. I hesitate when I have to bake anything except for the quick cake out of the box, since for some reason making cookies or other goodies from scratch does not appeal to me as much as cooking. This could be because when I grew up, we did not bake much at home, other than the occasional cake and we bought our good old "biscuits" or cookies as they are called here from the store. Then came my affair with the biscotti. These crunchy yet mellow pleasures left a void that needed to be filled frequently. One biscotti for $2.50 at Starbucks? Thats a rip off! And thats when I stumbled across this recipe at Smita's and decided to try making them at home. I never realized that making biscotti was this quick, simple and cheap. I followed this recipe here, modified it a little bit by adding chocolate chips instead of cinnamon and hazelnuts. They turned out as good as you would get them outside. Nothing better on a lazy evening like a book and a biscotti!

Vegetable Couscous

2008-03-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

I have usually eaten couscous outside but never made it at home. Couscous is a coarsely ground semolina wheat, a staple food of many North African countries. It is eaten as breakfast cereal, salad, main entree or even dessert. Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time but there are tonnes of instant couscous available in every grocery store which take only minutes to prepare. I am not a big fan of this healthy dish which reminds of rava upuma, which I categorize as 'blah', but after AJ's repeated hints about making couscous at home, I finally gave in and decided to test the waters.
The results were very tasty, even if I say so myself, thanks to Rachel Ray's basic recipe with modifications of my own. I had expected it to turn out bland but the different spices and the veggies blended well with it and made it very flavorful and satisfying enough to be a wholesome meal on its own. This is my contribution to the Monthly Mingle's One Dish Dinner.

Assemble
2 tbsp olive oil/butter
1 bay leaf
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 yellow squash, diced
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 tsp cumin powder
2 tsp coriander powder
2/3 cups couscous
1 cup water
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Some sliced almonds to garnish
Salt and pepper to season

Method
Heat the oil/butter over medium heat. Add the bay leaf and onion, saute till the onions turn transparent. Add the squash and carrots and saute till cooked. Now add the cumin and coriander powder, fry till you loose the raw smell. The total saute time, from when the oil is heated, should take approximately 10 minutes. Add water and bring to a boil. (I used an Express couscous mix which specified 1 cup of water to 2/3 cups of couscous. Make sure to use water as directed on the box). Add couscous to the water, stir in salt and pepper, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Remove lid from the pot and fluff couscous with a fork. Add the chopped tomato, cilantro and almonds; toss again with fork to combine. The couscous is ready to serve.

Creamy Tomato Soup

2008-02-22T16:04:00.000-08:00

I have been making a lot of soup the last few weeks due to the slight dip in temperature here.....the stress here is on "slight " in reverence to my readers who are braving much colder weathers than the cool weather here in the south. But it does get chilly sometimes, you know and the soul longs for hot soup. I am very conservative when it comes to soup. I prefer the classic tomato soup, with its smooth texture and vibrant color. My recipe here is inspired from Emeril's recipe that I saw on his show with a few modifications of my own.

Assemble

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup chopped yellow onions
1/2 cup shredded carrots
2 garlic cloves minced
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup crushed tomato (canned)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups finely chopped tomatoes
3 cups vegetable stock
1/3 cup heavy cream
Cilantro to garnish
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

Melt the butter over medium-high heat in a large saucepan. Add the onions, garlic, and bay leaf and cook, stirring, until the onions turn transparent, about 3 minutes. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Stir in the flour, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Make sure you do not let lumps form here. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir well. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add the cream and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and discard the bay leaf. Garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

I vouch for....

2008-02-18T17:26:00.000-08:00

One Hot Stove's - Pav Bhaji

Photo courtesy: Siliconers

My pav bhaji usually turns out okay but never great. I came across this recipe by Nupur for the ultimate pav bhaji -Mumbai style. She calls it "heaven on a plate" and you cannot but agree. This recipe delivers what it promises. I followed the recipe to the tee and my pav bhaji came out perfect (ask AJ)! Look for the recipe here.

Healthy Gobi 65

2008-02-15T15:36:00.001-08:00

There are days when I want to eat something tasty but do not want to toil for it.......these are the times when I prefer baking instead of cooking over the hot stove. Gobi (cauliflower) 65 - I am not sure why it is called that...if you know the reason kindly do let me know - is a dry curry, where marinated cauliflower florets are deep fried . I consider it as a modest version of its cousin the Gobi manchurian. My version of it calls for broiling instead of frying making it healthy as well as crispy. It makes for a good snack or goes well with rice or rotis.

Assemble
1 head of cauliflower
3 tbsps cornstarch
1 tbsp chilli powder - i like it extra hot!
1 tbsp garlic ginger paste
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 cup thick yogurt
Salt to taste
Cooking oil spray

Method

Cut cauliflower into small florets and soak in hot water for 10 minutes
Combine the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and marinate the florets in the yogurt mixture for 20 - 30 minutes
Preheat the oven to "broil" (this is the highest setting that most ovens go to)
Take an oven safe tray, spray with some cooking oil and transfer the marinated cauliflower minus the yogurt. Do not filter the yogurt as you will filter the spices too - just do not add the extra yogurt that does not coat the cauliflower. Spray the top with a coating of oil too
Broil for 10 -15 minutes or till crispy checking on it regularly. Usually there is no necessity to turn over the florets if a shallow pan is used.
Garnish with cilantro when done.
Serve with ketchup for a snack or with rice/rotis as side dish

Chole Chaat

2008-02-12T15:50:00.000-08:00

I am always in a fix as to what to make when invited to work parties where everybody brings a covered dish. I am not expected to bring Indian food but like to do so because it not only gives me a chance to show off my Indian cooking but I can also be 99% sure everybody is going to like it since there is a high chance that they have not tasted it before (or maybe I have really polite friends) !!! So it works well for me (evil grin)! The last time when such an event came up, I was not prepared beforehand so I decided to throw together a simple "chaat" made of chole (garbanzo beans). This dish is simple to make as it does not require much cooking and is sure to be a hit because the variety of flavors it has is sure to hit atleast one spot on everybody's tongue. I made it with mostly store bought ingredients which I always keep at home........ to make it more authentic you could make your own chutneys too.

Assemble
2 cans of garbanzo beans
1 big potato (boiled and chopped) -optional
1 big onion (chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
2 tbsps green chutney (recipe follows)
2 tbsps tamarind date chutney (recipe follows)
10 papdi's (broken)
1/2 cup sev
2 tsp red chilli powder
2 tsp Chaat masala

Green Chutney

2 cups cilantro leaves
1/2 cup mint leaves
3 - 4 green chilies
Salt to taste

Grind the above items to a paste using water as necessary

Tamarind Date Chutney

2 tbsp of tamarind paste or coin size tamarind lump
1/2 cup dates
3/4 cup jaggery or brown sugar
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp salt

Boil together the above ingredients with 1 cup water till the mixture becomes a little thick (atleast 10 minutes). Filter the residue and use.

Method
Mix together all these ingredients except for the cilantro and sev. Garnish with the cilantro and sev in the end. Add more or less of the chutneys according to taste. If you are not able to find the papdi's and sev, you could exclude them - the chaat will lack a crunch but rises up on the nutrient scale to become a healthy wholesome guilt free chole salad!

Paneer Tikka

2008-02-05T17:27:00.000-08:00

I came upon this ad on YouTube on Shana's Paneer Tikka Masala. Did not think that that they actually make ads for such products. The ad raves about the authentic taste of the curry ........you and I know how "authentic" it really tastes!!! Although here I must admit that these packets did come in handy during the good old grad student life, however it tasted like paneer in a bowl of tomato ketchup! And digressing a little from the current topic, a word of caution : never ever buy the Navaratna Korma. However attractive the picture on the front looks, the inside always tastes, literally, like feet (as Ross would say!)

Okay, coming back to the topic on hand, Paneer Tikka is actually pretty simple to make. Here a step by step video recipe for Paneer Tikka. Kudos to Hetal and Anuja for making cooking so easy to follow.
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* I mostly followed the recipe except that I also marinated some onions, cherry tomatoes and capsicum to add some colour to the tikka. Do consider the marinating time of atleast 2 hours if you are making it for a party.
* I also cheated a little by adding some store brought tikka masala to my marinade instead of the tandoori masala. It made it a little more spicy and flavorful.

* Keep a watchful eye on the oven as the tikkas can burn pretty quickly. Sprinkle with some chat powder and enjoy!

What kind of food are you?

2008-02-03T10:56:00.001-08:00

You Are Chinese Food

Exotic yet ordinary.
People think they've had enough of you, but they're back for more in an hour.

What Kind of Food Are You?

I tried this questionnaire for fun...... I do like Chinese food although I am not sure if I want to be categorized that way!! One of my favourite Chinese recipes that I make pretty often is Rachel Ray's Everything Lo Mein. I make it vegetarian ofcourse. For the Indo-Chinese version, I add lots of garlic and red chilli flakes, and tomato ketchup (to the sauce). It always turns out "de-lish"!

Morkali

2008-02-01T12:17:00.000-08:00

For the last few days I have been trying to think of something smart to say about this not-my most-favourite yet desirable dish and I have come up with nothing. For those of you who are not familiar with this dish, morkali or moru kali is kind of like 'dhokla' made of rice flour and buttermilk (moru). It is a very traditional Tamizhar tiffin. It hosts a variety of flavors in one pot - sour, tart and spicy. And it is very simple to make. Without further adieu, here's the recipe:

Assemble
Rice cup - 1 flour
Buttermilk - 2 cups
More milaga (Curd chillies) - 5 (substitute green chillies if you have none)
Mustard , channa dal and curry leaves for seasoning
Oil - as you wish

Cook up
In a large bowl, mix the buttermilk and rice till lumps dissolve. Season with salt to taste. Heat the oil in a pan and splutter the mustard, dal, chillies and curry leaves. Now add the buttermilk mixture to the oil. Keep stirring until the mixture becomes thick (almost to a halwa consistency). This takes about 5 - 10 mins. Pour onto a plate/pan and let cool. Cut into cubes and serve. Can be eaten plain.
* Can also be made in the microwave instead of the stove. After the tadka, you could transfer to a micrwaveable bowl and thicken the mixture in the MW for 4 - 8 mins.

Free Rice

2008-01-31T15:50:00.000-08:00

Play a word game and donate free rice. Its fun, challenging and for charity!

Definitely check out http://www.freerice.com/index.php

My quest for the perfect kaapi

2008-01-26T14:37:00.000-08:00

When I was young, I woke up every morning in Madras (as I still like to call it) to the smell of filter coffee. We would , as we said it at home, have the first dose at 6.00 am, second dose at 7.00 am and an afternoon dose around 2.00 pm. (These doses were really teeny weeny when compared to the "small" sizes you get at StarBucks!) So when I came to the US of A, it was natural that I carry my stainless steel coffee filter with me and also 2 kgs of Kerala Coffee powder ground with chicory, which was said to last awhile if stored in the freezer. The filter is a simple gadget consisting of 3 pieces - perforated top, the bottom and the press. However, my inherent laziness to get up 30 mins early to make the decotion soon overcame my desire to have fresh koffee and I converted to instant coffee.Although on some days, I would proudly bring my coffee filter out on demand to brew my friends the tasty madraasi kaapi.

And time rolled by until recently, on my trip to Miami I had a taste of "cafe con leche" at Little Havana, a Cuban coffee which made me very nostalgic abt filter kaapi and I decided to convert back. My coffee filter nowhere to be found, I started my quest for the perfect electric coffee maker. I started with looking for an Italian stove top espresso maker which is said to make a similar brew. A what? was the answer to my queries at the local mall. Being skeptical about buying it online, I now focussed on the electric espresso maker. The $$$ price tag made me scurry a couple of steps back and after ruling out the French coffee press, I finally gave in and bought the simple electric coffee maker + a packet of Bru roasted coffee which has chicory in it.
I put my researcher skills to good use and finally came up with a satisfactory coffee powder:water ratio - 2 heaped tbsps of coffee powder for 1 cup of water - this decotion can be used for 2 cups of coffee ( 1/4 cup decotion and 3/4 cup milk), and only stove boiled milk works right. My taste buds have finally won over my lethargy and I am back to having my purrfecttt morning cuppa! "Coffee na filter coffee thaan....Bhesh bhesh! Romba nanna irruku!!"

Tiramisu Cake

2008-01-20T13:44:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Tiramisu in Italian literally means "pick me up"? This tasty creamy Italian dessert lives upto its name and is actually simple to prepare. The original recipe calls for savoiardi, commonly known as ladyfingers, which are soft finger shaped sponge cakes, along with mascarpone cheese and egg yolks. The history of tiramisu and its different recipes can be found here.

The ladyfingers can be hard to find....so I always substitute pound cake or sponge cake to gratify my tiramisu craving. I also like using whipped cream instead of egg yolks (MJ's idea). Here's a recipe of a Tiramisu cake I made.

Ingredients

1/3 espresso, strongly brewed (Instant coffee works well too)

4 oz whipped cream (you could whip your own cream from heavy cream)

8oz mascarpone cheese, softened to room temperature

1pack imported or domestic ladyfingers or store bought pound cake or sponge cake (I made pound cake from a mix ; follow direction on the box)

some cocoa powder (I used Ghirardelli's. sweet cocoa......yum!)

Method

Fold in the mascrapone cheese and whipped cream and set aside.
If you want to make a Tiramisu cake, make 4 one inch thick cakes in 9 inch round pans following the directions on the box. If using store bought pound cake, layer the cake slices in a rectangular pan.
Brush the bottom layer with 1/4 of the espresso.
Spread with 1/4 of the filling.
Repeat the same with other 3 layers - cake, espresso, cheese -cream mixture - spreading the top and sides smoothly with the cheese-cream mixture.
Sprinkle the chocolate powder with a strainer lightly on top or if you are more artsy, go ahead and decorate.
Refrigerate for atleast 2 hours before serving.