New Recipes Archives - Page 11 of 13

Posted on February 28, 2014 February 17, 2015

Muli Paratha White Radish Bread

Muli Paratha, is bread stuffed with White Radish and spices. White Radish is also known as Daikon, meaning large root in Japan, the land it is suppose to originate from. It is also a winter vegetable and on researching I found it contains up to 27% of daily vitamin C. Some people can take the pungent taste of raw white radish, but I prefer the taste of white radish or Muli mixed with Bengal Gram flour. A lot of recipes details raw white radish with spices which I find difficult to roll, as water in the white radish makes it difficult. Hence I prefer the recipe with gram flour, which absorbs the excess water as well as makes the white radish easy to warm up to.

The addition of bengal gram flour makes it fulfilling and when it is accompanied with yogurt or boondi raita or pickle, it gives you the pleasure of consuming homely food! The leaves of white radish also taste well when cooked with bengal gram flour and often people make this as a side vegetable dish too. More on this next time I able to get some nice fresh green leaves along with the white radish. In Rajasthan, this is also used to make dhokli.

The credit of showing me this recipe goes to my mother in law, who first made Muil Parathas for me, and I still admire her soft, tasty Muli Parathas White Radish bread, as they are very delicious. Making Muli Paratha White Radish bread is easy, filling and can be a good variation to lunch meals or brunches or heavy breakfast on a weekend! Very little attention is needed while preparing the stuffing, so often this is my go to recipe when I am tied at various ends.

Recipe makes 8 parathas

Cooking time 40 min

Prep 10 min

Ingredients

3 cups grated white radish or white muli
6 heaped tbsp of gram flour
1/4 cup oil
1/8 tsp asofoetida
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp red chilli powder
5 pinches of dry samosa kachori masala or garam masala
salt to taste

Method

For the stuffing

In a broad pan heat oil on medium flame.
Add asofoetida first, then mustard seeds
When mustard seeds crackle, add grated white radish or muli
Add salt, turmeric, chilli powder and bengal gram and mix well.
Cover and cook on low simmer flame for about 20 min.
Open and sprinkle the garam masala or dry samosa kachori masala and remove from flame
Uncover and let it cool down for 15-20 min until completely cool.

For the bread

In a broad pan, mix wheat flour, pinch of salt and one cup of water and knead into a soft dough.
Cover and Refrigerate the dough for 30 min.

For rolling the paratha bread

Divide the white radish stuffing into eight parts.
Take a small golf ball size wheat dough. Make a round ball
Using a roller pin, flatten the ball in to a round circle about 5 inches round.
Put one part of white radish muli stuffing onto the flatten round.
Enclose the stuffing my covering from all sides towards the center.
Twist the closed stuffing and remove excess dough that protrudes beyond the round ball.
Flatten a bit with the hand and using a roller pin and dusting flour(wheat flout), roll the stuffed ball into 7 inches flat circle.
Grease a flat pan with oil and heat.
Cook the flattened circle on medium heat.
When brown spots appear, flip and pour a few drops of oil on the center and the side.
Cook the other side and also pour some drops of oil and flip.
Serve hot with boondi raita, plain yogurt or pickle.

TIps

Rolling the paratha with light hand and making sure that the middle of the paratha bread is not thick, will help in making the cooked paratha soft.

Instinct Factor

Even if some stuffing sticks out, while you roll the paratha bread, that is fine, as it will all get cooked and will look similar with the paratha. If the dough gets too sticky you may find it difficult to roll, so trust your instinct in preparing the dough and rolling it.

Feel Factor

A quick , easy dinner/lunch meal that is thoroughly enjoyed in the winter season as radish is a winter vegetable and when mixed with bengal gram and spices, gives you the quota of vitamin c and heat needed for facing cold winter days.

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Posted on February 20, 2014 August 30, 2015

Kheer Rice Pudding

Kheer, the traditional rice pudding is thoroughly enjoyed not only all over India, South East Asia, but closer to home, in New York City too. NYC boasts an upscale rice pudding Restaurant, known as Rice To Riches. When I first heard about a western version of traditional Indian Kheer, my interests perked up and I put it on my list of restaurants to be visited.The many flavours introduced in Rice to Riches encompass Cinnamon, Chocolate, and Valentine to name a few. It shows the popularity of rice pudding across nations and culture as it is a widely accepted and adapted rice dessert. Here is a link to their FB page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rice-to-Riches/115786161777086

Here, I present the traditional way of Indian Rice Pudding, or Kheer. There is something comforting when you mix rice, sugar, and milk, and garnish it with cardamom, saffron, and nuts of your choice. The texture could be creamy and thick or a bit liquidy. It depends on what you are eating it with. The way Rice and Riches sells it, it is a creamy texture, which is perfect to eat it solo. If you are eating this as a part of meal with Puri/Roti you want it a little liquidy. Traditionally this dish can be consumed warm, cold or chilled. I prefer the cold/chilled version. As a custom in Gujarat, people often make this on the full moon night in the autumn season ( Sharad) in October-November, the coolest nights. People will cook kheer, put in the terrace to chill by the moonlight, sing songs, play dandiya and enjoy this Kheer with friends and family.

This is a simpler, easier and less time consuming recipe. As a result, this recipe is kid friendly. Shortly, a group of kids are going to assist their parents and use this recipe to cook kheer and serve in a community kitchen project that they are part of. The recipe has been modified, based on Mrs. Dalal’s version. In my opinion, this probably could be one of the oldest Indian Desserts, whose reference is found in many mythological and religious texts, as also its two main ingredients , rice milk and sugar are farm related items. However the recipe detailed below does make use of sweetened condensed milk.

Recipe Makes 3 cups and serves 3 /4 people

Cooking time 15 min

Preparation 10 min

Ingredients

3 cups of whole milk
1 cup cooked rice (preferably pressure cooked) or 1/3 cup raw rice cooked with two times water
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk( Nestle Carnation Brand)
saffron strands 4-5
1 tbsp water

Method

How to cook rice: Wash and rinse 1/2 cup of uncooked rice three times in plenty of water, draining water every time. . Soak the rice for half an hour in 1 1/2 cups of water. Cook the rice in pressure cooker to four whistles on a medium flame. Alternatively, put rice in a rice cooker and cook. Cool and remove one cup of cooked rice for kheer.
In a deep pan( non-stick preferable), mix milk condensed sweetened milk, and cooked rice and put it to boil on a medium high flame.. Once it boils over, reduce it to medium. add sugar and cook for a total of 15 min.. Remember to stir the kheer every 2-3 min.
Remove from flame, add cardamom powder.
Heat 1 tbsp water in microwave. Add saffron, 6-7 strands to the water, mix it and add it to the kheer pudding.
You can serve this warm, or cool or chilled.

Tips

If you like the kheer, extremely thick and creamy like a pudding, use 2 1/2 cups of milk.

You can garnish it with some shelled pistachio, raisins also for a nut fruit flavor

Instinct Factor

While cooking rice, the softer the better! Overcooking rice helps over here in creating a creamy texture.

If you like a pudding texture which is thick and creamy, reduce the milk to 2 cups.

As the kheer rice pudding cools down, it becomes thicker in texture, as rice absorbs milk. So what you see when you remove from flame to what to you see when it is chilled, the texture would have changed a bit.

Sugar content needs to be adjusted based on the sweetness of the condensed milk, as non Nestle brand will have a different sweetness level to it.

Feel Factor

Comforting dessert for young and old, made of rice and milk that is extremely easy to make, can be garnished with toppings of your choice of nuts, to innovative toppings of chocolate, and cinnamon to name a few! Slurping this rice pudding is simply pure JOY for some! It is pretty heavy to digest, and heavy on calories, so be prepared to take a nap after consuming a bowl of this!!

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Posted on February 18, 2014 February 17, 2015

Grilled Paneer Cottage Cheese Toast

A breakfast and appetizer item that is extremely quick to make, is the open grilled paneer cottage cheese toast bread. It tastes delicious and looks very appetizing. The grilled paneer, flavored with green chillies and fenugreek has a unique flavour that gives a great start to the morning!

I was exposed to this highly nutritious breakfast at my in-laws, and since then, I often consider this as one of the highly appetizing breakfast item. It requires some effort in getting used to flipping the paneer, but now a days with non-stick griddle available, this is much easier. I always use to admire our cook(more like Man Friday) , Ramu, at my in-laws house, who use to get the perfect color and flip it without breaking the browning of the paneer in the middle! Unfortunately, he passed away too soon.. I have learnt a lot of easy tips on cooking from him.

The texture of the grilled bread is soft and the paneer also tastes soft with a slight crunch on the top. While making it, the green colors of chillies and coriander against white paneer looks attractive and when nicely cooked to an orang brown color, it looks also delicious! I also like the added spice from fresh black pepper and lemon in this mix.
This will also impress your guests suitably when you present them with another way to eat and enjoy the bread in the morning! Kids often love this and this was my valentine treat for my daughter!

Recipe makes 6 slices

Cooking time 15 min
Prep 5 min

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup of Fresh Paneer or about 7 cups of whole milk to make fresh paneer or cottage cheese
• 1 lemon juice to make fresh paneer or cottage cheese
• 1 tsp kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves(optional)
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander /cilantro leaves
• 8-9 hot green chillies finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp Fresh ground pepper –
• salt to taste
• 4-5 drops of lemon
• Ghee or clarified butter to grease
• 6 White or Wheat Bread slices

Method

To make fresh paneer, boil the milk in a deep vessel. Keep on medium high flame, and when it boils add juice of one lemon. If the milk does not curdle, add more lemon juice till it curdles. Remove from flame and strain the curdled milk . Leave the fresh paneer to drain for 10 min.
Once it cools down, mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.

•

Take about 1/6 portion of the mix, and put it on a bread slice and pack it down using the palm.

•

• Heat a flat griddle on a medium flame
• Grease 1/4 tsp ghee in the center and spread it.
• Flip the bread and put the paneer or cottage cheese side to grill on the flat griddle.
• Reduce the flame to slow – medium
• Pour some more ghee on the sides about 1/2 tsp.
• Wait for about 5 min.
• Using a flat spatula, gently flip the bread
• Add some more ghee and cook on the other side, till golden brown.

Cut into 2 or 4 triangles.
Repeat the process for all other slices of bread, till cottage cheese or paneer is used up.
Serve with ketchup or any other accompaniment of your choice.

Tips

If using frozen paneer, you may want to microwave it a bit, to get bigger chunks, and I would break a frozen paneer by hand. I prefer using fresh paneer for this, as it always taste soft and binds well.

Using a non-stick griddle, will help you flip better, though I prefer the taste of normal griddle.

The trick lies in packing it firm and round in the middle, and you will know that it is done grilling, once you see some rising in the middle.

You can make this as an appetizer or finger food, by cutting the bread slice with paneer into six rectangles, and serve it with toothpick in the center.

Instinct Factor

Trust your instinct to guide you if the paneer is grilled well . If it is cooked, it will easily scrape off. Patience helps over here!

Feel Factor

A warm cottage cheese paneer bread toast breakfast is such a healthy way to kick start your day, with calcium, grains and a few feel good spices of green chillies, black pepper, lemon and dried fenugreek leaves! When had warm, the nice grilled flavor of the cottage cheese, against the bread remains soft, which is a nice contrasting texture. Extremely easy to make, when fresh paneer is already pre made. And if you have a large griddle, you can make six slices at once!
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Posted on February 12, 2014 July 1, 2015

Chhole Bhatura Chick Peas with Puffed Bread

Chhole Bhatura Chick Peas with Puffed Bread is a rural delicacy of North India, with taste of this recipe changing every 100 km or so! It is the most commonly available food on the road side while travelling. In fact some towns specialize in this, with this dish carrying the Prefix of Amritsar Chhole or Rawal pindi Chhole. The one I am referring here is more like the Amritsar Chhole with Gravy. Rawal Pindi Chhole recipe, which is more dry, I will share it at a later point. I often alternate this two styles of making chhole. This is also the most commonly found in most Indian Restaurants and highly appreciated by all, including Non-Indians. Every house hold, has their version of making chhole, and I have finally been able to replicate the mouthwatering Chhole Bhature that we had in Edison, NJ.

There are variations of making Bhatura puffed bread, some people use potatoes, as leavening agent, some use baking soda, or yogurt. I have opted for baking soda over here. The litmus test here is, the softer and fluffier, the better !!

In Chhole Bhatura, the spicy gravy in the chickpeas chhole with the soft bread or bhatura is the quintessential north Indian delicacy treat right in front of you, that you cannot resist to dig in!! We cannot beat the taste of this awesome food that is available in street Dhabas(roadside restaurants) in Delhi or North India, but hope this is one more recipe of getting it right and brings you closer to the dhaba style experience of India.

Recipe Makes for 3 people

Cooking time: 40 min

Preparation time: 15 min

Soaking time 5 hours

Ingredients:

For the Chhole

1 1/3 cup kabuli chana chole (chickpeas/garbanzo beans)
pinch of baking soda
1/3 cup oil
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp pomegranate powder
1 1/2 tsp chana masala powder(MDH brand)
1 big bayleaf
1 1/3 cup onions diced
4 pods of garlic mashed
3 green chillies finely chopped
1 cubic inch ginger mashed
1 tbsp coriander to garnish
1/4 tsp asofoetida
salt to taste
one diced onion (optional for garnish)
slices of lemon ( optional for garnish)

For the Bhatura dough

1 cup all purpose or maida flour
salt to taste
1 1/2 tbsp oil
1 tbsp yogurt
pinch of baking soda
1/3 to 1/2 cup of water

Method

Wash thrice and rinse out the water each time.
Soak the chana in about 3 cups of water for 5-6 hours.
Add salt to taste to the quantity of chana and boil in a pressure cooker for upto 4-5 whistles.
Let the pressure cooker cool down.
In a broad pan, heat the oil.
Add asofoetida, then add the bay leaf.
As the bayleaf turns brown, add ginger and saute for 2 min.
Add diced onions and let it simmer on slow flame for 15 min.
Add green chillies and ginger and saute for 5 min.
Add 1 1/2 cup water, turmeric, salt, chana masala powder, chilli powder, pomegranate powder and simmer for 10 min on medium flame.
Blend the ingredients together with a hand blender.
Add the cooked chana along with its water to the gravy.
Simmer together for 12 min.
Garnish with coriander and 10-12 drops of lemon and serve hot. Alternatively you can serve this with a slice of lemon and some chopped onions on the side.

For the Bhatura dough

In a broad flat pan, mix the dough, salt, baking soda and oil.
Whisk the dough thoroughly with hand.
Add 1/3rd of half cup of water and mix into the flour.
Add additional 1/3rd of half cup of water and bind the flour together.
If the water amount is correct, the dough will bind perfectly, leaving no flour residue in your hand and the pan clean of any flour.
If the heat temperature is high, you may need more water or if your hands are too dry.
Cover it with a wet paper towel, napkin for 10 min.
Divide the dough into 7 equal round balls.
Roll the dough into a round circle about 3 inches round.
Roll this round circle into the dusting flour
Extend the circle to about 6 inches round.
Heat about 3 cups of oil in a frying pan.
Heat to high.
When the oil starts smoking, insert the flat dough circle into the oil.
Wait for it to rise like a ball with golden spots, and then flip it over using a large strainer.
Once you see the brown spots on the back side too, drain the excess oil and serve hot as an accompaniment to Chhole Chick Peas

TIps

Soaking can be done overnight for readily available to cook the next day.

If the chhole or chick peas have become too soft, you can cook only for half the time in the gravy or for 10 min max for it soak in the gravy.

Rolling perfect round circle comes with practice. For people new to rolling, I would use big round cookie cutters, and make circles from a big rectangle flat rolled dough.

Frying is ideally done in an open fryer with a frying slotted spoon with flat base, used to flip and strain

If you do not want to make Bhatura, this is equally enjoyed with ready to eat Kawan Parathas, easily available in Indian Grocery Stores.

Instinct Factor

Frying the Bhature requires some practice in flipping over, but when you see it rising in a big round ball, it makes you happy! The art lies in sliding in the oil. the side of bhatura that you worked on, face down, and then putting some pressure on the center, with the frying spatula. Advised to wear an apron while frying. Gauging if the bhatura is cooked needs you to rely on the instinct. Even if it becomes too brown, it will just become a bit crispier.

Feel Factor

An all time food that promises to bring sunny smiles every time! Eat it as a brunch, lunch, dinner or even super late night meal. I have fans of this in my family who prefer to eat one day over, as the taste just matures the next day. There is something about a big round ball of golden brown spot bread and chick peas, that warms the hearts of everyone Enjoyed best in the chilly cold weather days.with the spicy chickpeas and soft warm puffed up bread. There are simply so many versions of this, but this is our family favorite, based on the taste inspired from a famous restaurant Khasiyat, in Edison, NJ. And the name says it all, the Khasiyat( speciality) of Chhole Bhatura or Chick Peas with Puffed Bread is unparalleled in taste and texture!

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Posted on February 7, 2014 February 17, 2015

Khandvi Bengal Gram Rolls

Khandvi Bengal Gram Rolls is a delicacy from Gujarat. It is often a staple item in Jain Gujarati family for sure. This is often a part of the menu when a Jain household is observing its no vegetable day. On these days, items are often made from lentils. This is very easy to make, but looks quite complicated, and that is the cool part of this recipe. I have listed the traditional Jain way of making this, which does not use buttermilk, as often mentioned in other recipes. A Jain follower observes not to mix Bengal Gram and Buttermilk together, unless the buttermilk is cooked first. I’ve also seen my mother make this with lemon, as we observed this rule very strongly when growing up. I feel the lemon in it, and it gives it an ultra smooth and thin texture that looks more delicate and elegant, as compared to what is commercially available.

When I got married, this is one of the appetizers my in-laws were curious to know if I could make it! This delicacy is a signature hallmark of a Jain Gujarati family.

The texture of bengal gram rolls, is soft, smooth and the oil garnish on the top with mustard seeds crackling, gives it a slightly crunchy flavour over a smooth roll. Due justice can be done only by tasting this super yum delicacy. It is truly enjoyed by most people as kids like the roll look and adults will enjoy this finger food appetizer anytime.

Recipe makes 60 pieces about 1/2 inch in size.

Ingredients

For Khandvi Rolls

1 cup besan bengal gram flour
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/8 tsp asofoetida
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
1/4 tsp chilli powder
oil to grease

For Garnishing

1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asofoetida
2 tbsp coriander chopped
2 tbsp fresh/frozen coconut grated (or dry coconut can also be used)
3 tbsp oil
5 green chillies chopped(optional)
3-4 green curry leaves(optional)

4 flat dishes about 8-10 inches in diameter.

Method:

Grease the dishes with oil on the front and back of the dish with oil. Both the sides of the dishes can be used to spread the Bengal Gram Roll paste. If you do not feel comfortable using the back of the dish, you will need more dishes.
In a broad thick bottom pan, mix besan bengal gram flour, water, lemon juice, asofoetida, salt and turmeric powder till no lumps are left. This is the mix for making the khandvi bengal gram rolls.
Put it to heat on a medium flame, stirring constantly.
Keep stirring constantly until it thickens to a paste around 8-10 minutes later.
The paste will start leaving the edges of the vessel.

Remove from flame, and quickly spread the mixture evenly, using as much as is needed to evenly cover the diameter of the plate.
The paste cools quickly, so you need to spread this fast and quick.
Do this till all the paste is used up.
Cool for 15-20 min.
Spread some oil on the paste.
Sprinkle some red chilli powder
Using a knife, cut the circle into half.
Slightly release the edges of the paste from the plate, using your fingers, by pushing the paste inwards.
Start rolling into rolls, using one half of the circle, rolling it tight.
So every flat dish will give you two rolled circles.
Gently lift the rolls and put it on a cutting board or flat surface.
Cut the long rolls into 1/2 inch horizontal cuts.
Heat the oil in a pan on a medium flame.
Add asofoetida, mustard seeds.
When mustard seeds crackle, add cumin seeds.
When cumin seeds turn golden brown, remove from flame.
Using a spoon, spread this garnish over the cut khandvi bengal gram rolls.

Garnish it further with fresh/frozen coconut and coriander.

Tips

Remove the seeds from lemon juice. I use a tea strainer to strain the lemon juice,

Mixing the bengal gram flour properly is needed, so that no lumps are left.

Keep stirring so that no lumps are formed while cooking.

To cut the long rolls, into small pieces, I prefer to line them one below other, and then slice it vertically in 1/2 inch gaps across all rolls.

You can add green chillies to the oil garnish on the top if you prefer. I often make this on days where we avoid green vegetables, hence often dont use green chillies and coriander too on this recipe. But these toppings no doubt add more flavour to the recipe.

Instinct Factor

Spreading the bengal gram paste on the dish, comes with practice, but make sure you cover all the aspects of the plate.

If you see lumps on the top, that is fine, as this is going to be on the inside.

Feel Factor

A smooth, soft delicacy that just melts in your mouth. This is highly attractive, very quick to make appetizer that is simply YUM! The fresh coconut and coriander garnish atop the lemon flavored bengal gram rolls is a delicacy which will get a lot of WOW factor from your guests! And not to mention the feel good feeling you will have once you make this complicated looking easy appetizer.

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Posted on February 5, 2014 February 17, 2015

Cracked Wheat with Vegetables(Daliya Khichdi)

Cracked Wheat also known as Daliya or Lapsi in Hindi/Gujarati is a healthy form of eating daily nutritious food.Cracked wheat has many advantages for weight loss, hypertension amongst other things as elaborated in this article http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/cracked-wheat-benefits-5717.html Traditionally Indians are used to eating cracked wheat as a form of sweet item, but here it is presented with vegetables. This is a power breakfast with wheat, fibre and vegetables. The vegetables on the top have a nice tangy and refreshing taste due to lots of lemon and black pepper, which is the most delicious part for me. This can also be an alternative to daily routine of eating oats to assist metabolism and weight loss. It is a quick meal under half an hour and it is a complete breakfast/lunch meal. You can variate the toppings of vegetables to your liking.

This is also a very comfortable baby food, and the very first meal I gave to my daughter was this recipe without the vegetables. It is soft and nutritious and with lots of fibre, easy to eat, after just garnishing with some black pepper and salt. An Indian way of eating everyday oatmeal!

I like vegetables to have some crispiness when used as a topping on this, as it goes well with the softness of the pressure cooked cracked wheat, and adds a crunchy flavor through the crisp cabbage. It gives a fulfilling feeling when you have this complete meal and it is warm,colorful and tangy! The first time I was exposed to this, I had it as a breakfast, so I continue to enjoy this as a breakfast item, and truly so, as oats are normally considered as the best breakfast option by many. More commonly this recipe is also known as Daliya Khichdi.

Recipe makes for 3 people

Prep time : 10 min

Cooking time: 15 min

Ingredients

1 cup cracked wheat
1 1/2 tbsp ghee(clarified butter)
4 cups of cauliflower cut into small florets
3 cups of shredded cabbage
1/2 cup of peas
1/3rd cup oil
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
pinch of asofoetida
1/2 lemon
freshly crushed black pepper
salt to taste
2 tbsp coriander to garnish
1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Method

In a pressure cook heat the ghee.
Add the cracked wheat and stir for 4-5 min on medium flame, until it changes color to pinkish brown.
Add a pinch of salt and water.
Pressure cook that for 4 whistles on medium flame.
In a broad pan, put oil to heat.
When it heats, add asofoetida and cumin seeds(crushed in your palm)
Wait for it to become golden brown, and add turmeric.
Add the cauliflower and cook for 5 min. stirring in between.
Add cabbage and salt and cook for further 7 min . stirring in between.
Add peas and cook for 4 min.
Remove from flame.
Remove the cooked cracked wheat from the cooker.
In a plate, put the warm cracked wheat at the bottom, top it with vegetables.
Garnish with nice dose of lemon, black pepper and coriander.
Serve hot.

Tips

A lot of variation of vegetables is possible, such as carrots, spinach, but I prefer to have the above combination.

Cracked wheat can be alternated with bulgur wheat too, which will require less cooking time, as bulgur wheat is precooked. You may want to cook it to 2 whistles for bulgur wheat.

When you cook the cracked wheat and vegetables separately, you have the right texture for both of them, without overcooking either of them. And for this recipe, this is a crucial aspect.

Vegan Variation: Replace the ghee with oil and roast the cracked wheat.

Instinct Factor

Roasting of the cracked wheat to your desire, and enjoying the aroma of cracked wheat in ghee.

Feel Factor

When properly cooked, it has the perfect fluffy texture of cracked wheat, topped with the lemon yellow color of vegetables and green peas, with lots of lemon and black pepper. Inviting and fulfilling as well as extremely nutritious recipe for sure!

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Posted on February 2, 2014 February 17, 2015

Eggplant Dip with Tortilla Chips

Super Bowl fever in the air, the biggest sport of USA. Tradition for Americans to huddle in front of the TV with friends and family, and enjoy a round of good game, heated conversations, watch some truly memorable ads and look forward to the famous half time entertainment performances. This year’s match is being played in Rutherford, NJ, my home state for a long period of time. The biggest ad spending happens here, and the conversations of which ad was the best continues to be office and social conversation for sometime. I have slowly warmed up to this game, from my earlier interest of watching only half time performance. I have fond memories of watching this with friends, over various years, attending super bowl parties, to watching it on giant projector screen in my neighbourhood clubhouse. Super bowl generates a lot of interest in the community via the game, attention capturing TV ads which also gives you the glimpse of the new products being introduced. I often enjoy the car ads that are being shown, and top of my recall so far is the Maserati Ghibli ad and am looking forward to Bruno Mars halftime performance.

One food that is a traditional part of this game watching is Tortilla Chips with various assortment of dip including Salsa, Hummus and Guacomole. And so I made this Eggplant Dip, that has been a standard dip in my mother’s house , and I also wanted to relish the Tortilla chips with the Eggplant dip, and create a new combination to eating Tortilla chips, this Super Bowl. At my mother’s place, we use to mash this in the stone based mojavo pestle and bowl, as commonly used to make the Guacomole in western world. It must be something in the volcanic rocks that gives the flavor some edge.

Hope you enjoy this Eggplant Dip with your favorite Tortilla chips at a future sport watching event, as we enjoyed this at home and as far as the Super Bowl goes, looks like Seattle is in the winning seat!

Recipe Makes for 3 people

Cooking time `10 min

Preparation time 5 min

Ingredients

8 inch (medium sized) eggplant
3/4 cup yogurt
1/8 tsp asofoetida
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 1/2 tbsp chopped coriander
salt to taste

Method

Slice the eggplant into 8 or 4 long slices.
Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook them upto to 4 whistles on medium flame.
Let the pressure cooker cool down.
Remove the cooked eggplant and 1/2 cup of water from the pressure cooker into a prep bowl.
Add yogurt, salt, asofoetida, coriander powder, coriander and mix well.
You can use a mojavo mortar pestle, or whisk it, to blend well.
Chill the dip for about 15 min.

Garnish it with a sprig of coriander
Serve cold with chips of your choice.

Tips

If you like sea salt, replace ordinary salt with sea salt as it tastes well.

Yogurt should not be too sour, otherwise it will mar the taste.

Instinct Factor

The color of the eggplant dip to your liking. If you like a more darker shade, feel free to add some more of the water from the cooked eggplant.

Feel Factor

Mediterranean dip with a new flavor, quick and easy, with a taste that is refreshing due to the yogurt and chilling. Eggplant and yogurt is an interesting combination when flavoured with asofoetida, sea salt and cilantro!

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Posted on January 31, 2014 February 17, 2015

Khichu(Spicy Indian Doughnuts)

Khichu is a village food, in Gujarat, that is healthy, extremely quick and now is a widely appreciated rural delicacy in Gujarat. There are many variations in this, but traditionally it is made of rice flour or bajri millet flour. Some people also make it with grated corn or rice flakes. Though it is quick , it is a bit tricky and calls for getting the proportion right. The rice flour khichu is the base from which rice papads are made. Rice Papads or Pappadums as popularly known in restaurants, are made from this khichu dough. One rolls the khichu dough into flat circles and dry them in the sun for a few hours.

During my childhood days, we use to make fresh rice papads every fortnight or so. As a child, I would look forward to eating khichu. This was my incentive for helping my mother roll out the rice papads from this. The best way to enjoy this is to have it warm, and soaked in the accompanying oil. The texture of Khichu is smooth, flavored with spices, and extremely soft to eat. The garnish of oil and coriander gives it spicy and oily look and since it is steamed, it is healthy. The recipe here is made using the Khichi flour of Jalpar Brand. The traditional farming community of Gujarat often make the khichu with Bajri or Millet as it has a very high iron content and extremely nutritious.

My exposure to eating this in USA was only in Edison, New Jersey, as it has a high concentration of families from Gujarat,India. I was excited to see this being commercially available in USA, that I made it a point to have a friend of mine try it, and now whenever I get a chance to eat this , I would not want to miss out.

The doughnut shape is what attracted me as a young kid, and it is definitely worth giving it a try for a spicy flavored healthy doughnut made of rice/grains/lentins. Its attractive shape is ideal for a nice appetizers and the advantage of this recipe is, it is quick, easy to make, can be made in advanced and then re steamed or re heated for large group of parties. And because of its shape and texture it is highly appealing to children too!

I explored using the Khichi flour of Jalpar brand, thinking that this would be the Khichu flour, but to my surprise, it came out to be a mix of Green Bean, Rice, Sago Seeds & Cumin and the taste turned out to be quite delicious. The color difference from the original rice flour based khichu, is due to the use of different flour. I read the ingredients of Khichi flour only when I had to write this post!!

Recipe makes 12 pieces of khichu doughnuts about 3 inches in size

Preparation Time 5 min

Cooking time 15 min

Ingredients

1 cup khicchi flour ( Jalpar Brand) or plain rice flour or plain bajri flour
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/4 tsp asofoetida
1/2 tsp chopped green chillies
1/8 tsp bicarbonate soda
1 tbsp chopped coriander for garnish
2 1/3 cup water
salt to taste
For Flavoured oil accompaniment
1/4 cup oil to serve and grease(preferably peanut oil)
Black salt powder
Red chilli powder
salt to taste

Method

In a deep pan, heat the water to boil on medium flame
When the water boils, add, cumin seeds, salt, red pepper powder and bicarbonate soda, green chillies.

When the water reduces to about 2/3rd of its original volume, add slowly the khicchi flour, mixing it thoroughly so no lumps are left

Stir for a couple of minutes, till water is absorbed, and flour forms a lump.
Cover and steam and slow flame for a couple of min.
Remove from flame and let it cool for 3-4 min.
In a broad pan, add, a litre of water to boil.
Grease a steaming dish with oil.
Grease your palms with a bit of oil.
Take about 1/4 cup size dough and roll it on to a ball shape.
Flatten the ball a bit, and pinch it in the middle with the thumb or index finger.

Put it on the greased steaming dish.
When all dough is used up, put the greased dish on to the boiling water, cover and steam on high for 5 min.

Remove from flame and open.
Using flat spatula, lift the cooked doughnut shape khicchu.
If the texture is not extremely smooth on the top, you can flip it and serve.
Make the flavoured oil by mixing red chilli powder, black salt and salt to your desire.( at least 1/4 tsp of each of chilli and black salt powder)
Garnish it with the flavored oil and coriander
Serve hot.

Tips

If the khichu doughnuts spread out to flat shape, that means you have overcooked it, or the soda bi-carbonate is too much.Excess of bicarbonate soda also will give it a bitter taste.

If the water is less, khichu doughnuts will turn out to be stiff and not soft.

Special bicarbonate soda knowns as Papad Kharo available in Indian Grocery store, is used. This is specially used when you are making Papad, as it gives it the appropriate crispiness needed. I have used normal sodium bicarbonate only.

If you do not want to make doughnut shapes, cook it further, and after few minutes, you can mould it in a cup and serve it

Instinct Factor

Steaming the doughnuts,to the texture consistency of your choice as well as the shape of your choice.

Some people also add seasoning of sesame seeds , mustard seeds and green chillies, if that appeals to your taste!

Feel Factor

Comfort food, for me and one just relishes this soft, appetizing, warm and spicy doughnut that just melts in your mouth, when coated in the cayenne pepper and black salt flavored oil! And the new flour that I accidently used, seemed to appeal more to my daughter and I think that this mix was healthier too as it has green lentil and rice in this mix! This is any time quick meal, as an appetizer, snack or dinner!

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Posted on January 24, 2014 February 17, 2015

Vegetarian Pad Thai

Richmond. Virginia has lots of boutique restaurants that are not available up north. One such gem is Tara Thai, whose food has been enjoyed by us for a decade or so. This is one place where the price and the quality has remained consistent through the time. My first exposure to great Thai food and in particular Pad Thai was at Tara Thai. We used to travel a lot from north down to Richmond on vacations, at which time we use to make it a point to visit Tara Thai. But there were times when we felt like having Tara Thai pad thai when not in Richmond, and hence there was a need to create a home version of the Pad Thai. This version of mine has a bit of my personal touch via the ginger, green chillies and peppers and minus the tofu. It is spicier than Tara Thai and bit more refreshing with extra peanuts and added vegetables.

I have fondness of peanuts, probably as I come from Gujarat, where peanut farming was very high and peanut oil is the main cooking oil too. A friend’s birthday was the inspiration to make this dish, as that was one of her favorite meals of mine. Many a times we think of someone when we make a particular item and we remember them in our hearts. Food and feelings are closely linked, at least for me and makes true a statement I read somewhere,” I cook to show my love”. and this resonates with me a lot.

If you are peanut, tamarind and noodles lover, you will definitely enjoy this highly delicious Thai noodles that is extremely quick to make and uses sauted vegetables, which is highly nutritious. And to the frequent pasta noodles lover, this recipe offers a variation that is highly colorful too!

Recipe makes for 3 people

Cooking Time: 15 min

Preparation Time: 30 min

Ingredients by Volume

1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup red pepper diced
1/2 cup green pepper diced
1/2 cup carrots diced and boiled
1/2 cup green onions choppped
1 cup onions diced medium
1 tbsp green chillies or 7-8 green chillies finely chopped
1 tbsp ginger finely diced
1 tbsp coriander chopped
7 tbsp oil
salt to taste
1 tbsp tamarind paste
1/4 tsp chilli powder
2 1/2 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2cup roasted and crushed peanut powder
1/2 packet flat rice pad thai noodles
1 tbsp water
Few drops of lemon

Method

In about a litre of ice cold water, put the rice noodles to soak for 15 min.
In the broadest pan you have, heat 6 tbsp oil.
On high flame, add green chillies to the warm oil and saute for 1 min
Add diced onions and saute for 3 min. on high
Add salt to taste.
Add ginger and saute for a min.
Add broccoli florets and stir for amin.
Add red peppers and saute for two min.
Add green peppers and saute for a min.
Add green onions and saute for two min. and remove from flame.
Mix tamarind, one tbsp roasted crushed peanut powder, chilli powder and a tbsp water.
Boil a litre of water in a deep pan
Add a tbsp oil, salt to taste and pad thai noodles.
Boil on high for 5 min.

Remove from flame, drain the water.
Add the rice noodles and tamarind paste to the sauted vegetables.

Add 1 cup roasted and crushed peanuts, 3-4 drops of lemon and mix well .
Heat for a 2-3 min
Garnish it with fresh coriander and a sprinkle of peanuts powder and serve hot.

Tips

Roasted peanut crushed powder can be made in advance. Heat two cups of peanuts in a broad thick pan for 10 min on slow flame. Remove the skin and pulse it in a blender for a minute to get a crushed consistency. Excess powder can be stored for future used.

Using pasta utensils helps in lifting and mixing the noodles well with the vegetables. Alternatively you can run cold water to cooked noodles to cool them, so that they will not stick and mix well.

Jain Variation: Exclusion of onions, green onions ginger and carrots.

Variation: Add Fried Paneer cubes as an alternative to Tofu. I personally do not prefer Tofu, so have skipped both Paneer and Tofu.

Instinct Factor

Roasting the peanut powder to the brownness of your desire. I prefer the brown tint to it.

Cooking noodles to your perfection. Rice noodles are pretty soft so they cook fast.

Feel Factor

Tasty noodles with lots of veggies and the crunchy peanuts in between, flavoured with tamarind, ginger and chillies creates a delicious aromatic Thai meal being cooked and relished in your home. Visually I find the colors of vegetables against the brown of the noodles and tamarind sauce very attractive and I truly relish this asian flavoured Thai meal , whether its lunch or dinner time!

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Posted on January 21, 2014 February 17, 2015

Spicy Rajma Soup with Salad (Red Kidney Beans Soup Salad)

Waiting for snow, enjoying the cold, walking with my friend, feeling first round of snowflakes falling on me, is a pretty good description of my day! Weather and heart often influence the choice of food that is being cooked at my home. With such a cold, wintry or rainy day, I wanted to make something that is hot and piping, colorful and easy, something between a soup and salad and something that gives a happy and warm feeling to one and all.

A dish like this is the Spicy Rajma Soup Salad. Many of you having ties with Sudan will know this dish as ” Sudan na Phool”. This dish originated in Sudan. The Gujaratis living there have created this vegetarian entree of a Sudanese delicacy, and spread it amongst the community. There are special Sudanese kidney beans that are used to make this. But, due to lack of its availability on a regular basis, I often make this with Red Kidney Beans, and hence I would like to rename this as Spicy Rajma Soup Salad . The red kidney beans resemble in shape and color to the original Sudan Phool. Some Indian shops do keep the original Sudan Phool, according to a friend of mine.

This is easily a complete meal by itself and it is highly colorful, extremely easy, very nutritious and fulfilling too. It is delicious to taste and enjoyed by non- Indians too. As it is accompanied with bread, this can be a weekend menu or a great entree even if you have a party of ten at home. All it requires is some preparation work by chopping vegetables that can be prepared in advance. Personally, chopping vegetables is a highly therapeutic activity to me, as it brings my wandering mind to focus only on the activity I am doing, and forget about everything else. I enjoy the experience of chopping to the right size and shape, and when I see saw many different colors and varieties in front of me, the artistic mind of mine is highly satisfied via the vegetables color palette in front of me. Readers familiar with this dish are encouraged to add any variations, if I missed out!

What I like about this dish is that as a host, you can just present the various vegetables on the table, and the guests can choose the toppings that they want , giving the guests the choice of personalizing this dish to their taste, and reducing the work of the host. And not to mention the joy of seeing the spread of so many colorful items on the dinner table!

Recipe : For 4 people

Cooking time: 30 min

Preparation time: 15 min

Soaking time: 4-5 hours

Ingredients

1 1/3 cup diced tomatoes
2 cup shredded cabbage or thinly sliced
1/2 cup diced green peppers
1 cucumber diced
6 green hot or kashmiri chillies
1/2 cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1/3 cup lemon juice or one lemon juice
1/16 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp asofoetida
salt to taste
2/3rd cup oil
6 cups of water to cook rajma
4 whistles to cook rajma
2 more cups of water to be added later on
12 buns
Fine gram floursev for garnish ( optional)
Butter to grease the buns(optional)

Method:

Soak the rajma or red kidney beans, after washing thrice for 4-5 hours.
Add 1/2 tbsp salt and baking soda, 6 cups of water and put to cook in a pressure cooker for 4 whistles on a medium flame.
Remove from flame and let it cool.
As soon as the pressure is released, open and transfer to a broader container and put to heat.

Once it heats up, add asofoetida, turmeric, coriander powder, chilli powder, oil, salt and all the diced vegetables along with lemon juice.
Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes.
Garnish with sev.
Serve warm with buttered bread, plain bread or toasted buns.

Tips

If there is excess water after the red kidney beans are cooked, you can mash a few red kidney beans in the soup so that it will thicken the consistency.

Tomatoes are best, if sliced just before garnishing, as they tend to release the juice and become soft.

I often use V shaped slicer for shredding cabbage, as it makes it quicker and gives me a uniform thickness to cabbage.

Instinct Factor

If you are feeling more colorful, feel free to add some more sweet red and yellow peppers to red kidney beans soup. Since I am used to the taste from India, Green Capsicums were the only choice of capsicum at that point of time.

Look out for the aroma of boiled kidney beans in the whistles to indicate that is done!

Even if the kidney beans are overcooked, they will still taste great in this dish.

Feel Factor

Chases away the chill on a wet rainy or cold day, with the piping hot rajma kidney beans soup with colorful salad and spices. Its a complete meal for an evening with a buttered bread. Has a lot of wow factor when guests see so many colors together and experience the spicy and tangy taste of red kidney beans soup topped with almost raw salad vegetables. Its a happy feeling to relish a highly nutritious and colorful meal.

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