Beans Paruppu Usili - healthy south Indian dish...

This recipe is my mom's signature dish- Authentic south Indian dish with lentils and vegetables (paruppu usili). The lentils play a lead role and taste magical with green beans. Official verdict? It's healthy and sumptuous! It is generally made at home and hard to find in hotels/restaurants...If you love lentils and green beans, this dish is a must try- Beans Paruppu Usili (Tamil name for this dish)

Ingredients-
500 gms finely chopped green beans
3 red chillies (you can go with less spice and use 2)
1 medium cup Channa dal (yellow split chickpeas without seedcoat)
1 medium cup Toor dal (yellow pigeon peas)
asafoetida powder (pinch/dash)
mustard seeds (1 tsp)
curry leaves 4-5
salt (according to taste)
oil for cooking


Preparation-
The big fuss is on lentils here- You have to soak the lentils in warm water for at least half an hour. Coarsely grind the lentils in a mixer with red chillies and asafoetida powder. Make sure you don't puree it- it has to be lumpy and not a smooth paste. Steam the lentils paste for 5-8 minutes and set it aside. Allow the lentils to cool and crumble them with your hands/spoon. Steam the chopped beans separately. Heat oil in a pan and saute mustard seeds with curry leaves. As the mustard starts to sputter, add the crumbled lentils and saute it for 5 minutes. Add the cooked beans and fry it for 5 minutes. Adjust salt according to taste and enjoy! Some add grated coconut to enhance the taste....

Vegetable Paella

Paella is a Valencian rice dish generally made with vegetables, meat and sea food. I never thought that it will be equally enjoyable with only vegetables (minus meat). Vegetable Paella is so full of flavors that you will simply forget the absence of meat and enjoy it equally. It is quite a simple dish to prepare and for a hardcore vegetarian like me- it's divine. This dish is a must try if you have only eaten meat based paella- Plus, it's a one pot meal and can be prepared in short notice without much fuss-

Ingredients-

1 large onion chopped

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cups rice (paella/risotto rice)

4 medium tomatoes chopped

1 red bell pepper (cut in thin strips)

1 green bell pepper (cut in thin strips)

1 yellow bell pepper (cut in thin strips)

1 cup green peas

1 cup artichoke hearts (quartered)

1 lemon

How did I make it?

Heat olive oil and saute onion with garlic till the onions start changing color. Add the bell peppers, tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the paella/risotto rice and saute for about 5 minutes. In a separate pan, heat the broth till it starts to simmer. Add the simmering vegetable broth to the paella mixture and cook over medium flame for 15 minutes. Stir in the peas and artichokes before the liquid gets completely absorbed by the rice. Add some lemon juice. Continue to cook for another 5 minutes till the water is completely absorbed and the rice is cooked and tender. Serve hot!

Paneer Kathi rolls!

Saturday evenings before the telly always requires some kind of finger food- Yup, something finger looking good! Introducing, Paneer kathi rolls- Cottage cheese cooked with Indian spices and tucked in rotis/flat Indian bread. Well, to make things easier I used tortilla soft wrap and tucked my paneer for a quick snack.

What do we need?

1 cup paneer (cottage cheese)

one medium sized onion sliced

one green bell pepper (chopped)
1 tomato (chopped)
3-4 tortilla wraps

I gave it a twist by marinating my cottage cheese in a yoghurt base-

For marination, we need-

1/4 cup yoghurt
red chilli powder 1 tsp
turmeric powder 1/4 tsp
ginger-garlic paste (1 tsp)
garam masala (1 tsp)
kasoori methi leaves (1 tsp)- Dry fenugreek leaves
gram flour (1 tsbp)

How did I put together?


Mix all the ingredients for marinade and toss in the cottage cheese. Set it aside for half an hour till paneer absorbs the spices. In a wok saute onions, bell peppers and tomatoes. Add paneer mixture and adjust salt. Cook on a high flame for 5 to 8 minutes. Cook till the mixture is dry and set it aside. Spread the paneer mixture on tortilla wrap and roll up tightly. Enjoy! You can choose to just saute cottage cheese without the marination and use it in your wrap. Get creative and add ingredients according to your choice.

Rich and Flavorful- Dal Makhni (north Indian lentils recipe)

Dal Makhni is a very popular dish that is served in Indian restaurants. People generally assume that this lentil dish is healthy - The word "Makhni" means with butter and this lentil dish practically swims in butter and cream. But the taste is gorgeous and just melts into your mouth. It is assumed that if you can cook a good dal then you can manage the Indian cooking well. I like the dal without cream or butter and love to keep it simple. But when you crave for something rich and need that perfect restaurant dal then this dish is worth the effort.

What do we need?

Whole black gram (sabut urad dal)- 1 cup
Red kidney beans - 1/2 cup
Grated ginger- 2 inch piece
Butter- 4 tbsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Onion- 1 big sized (chopped)
3 medium sized tomatoes (chopped)
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Fresh cream - 1/2 cup
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Fresh coriander leaves for garnishing
Garlic - chopped (7-8 cloves)
Salt according to taste

How did I make it?


Soak urad dal (black gram) and red kidney beans in water overnight. The next day, drain and pressure cook it with half portion of the grated ginger till they become soft (reserve the other half portion of grated ginger for later use). Melt butter in a pan. Add cumin seeds. As they start to change color, add onions. Fry onions till they become golden brown. Add garlic, remaining ginger and tomatoes. Cook till the tomatoes are mashed and has mixed well with the rest of the ingredients. Add cooked dal to this. Add two cups of water and adjust salt according to your taste. Mix red chilli powder, garam masala powder and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add fresh cream and mix well. Cook your dal on a low flame for 5 minutes. Serve with rotis/rice. Works great with naan! Garnish with coriander leaves and decorate it with a bit of cream.

There are two versions of making this dal- with/without onions- I find it more flavorful with onions and it really adds that zing to your dal!

Lemon Vermicelli

Small black mustard seeds merrily bouncing in a pan- happy, carefree till they meet up with rough and hot green chilli pieces. A savory story unfolds in my kitchen with the main star as vermicelli (type of pasta, thinner than spaghetti) and carrot pieces, green peas, green beans acting in a supporting role. The story becomes vibrant with turmeric powder in a special role and of course one can't undermine the role of lemon juice which becomes the whole essence of our savory story. The story rocks the box office with every bit of vermicelli lapped up by the hungry audience :) -

Ingredients-

Vermicelli - 2cups

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup carrot (sliced)

1/2 cup peas

curry leaves (4-5 leaves)

mustard seeds 3/4 tsp

cumin seeds 1/4 tsp (omit if you want)

1 tbsp lemon juice

turmeric powder 1/2 tsp

grated ginger (1/4 tsp)

1/2 tsp gram dal (yellow lentils) 

green chillies (2 ) chopped

coriander leaves chopped for garnishing

**Generally this dish is made without the vegetables- but then my savory story had to be different! 

How did I make it?

Cook vermicelli in boiling water with a little bit of oil (so that it doesn't stick together). Once cooked, drain excess water and keep it aside. This removes the starch and makes it non sticky! Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds. As they begin to sputter, add gram dal (yellow lentils), ginger, curry leaves and green chilli pieces. Add turmeric powder and mix well. Toss in the vegetables and cook on a medium flame till the vegetables become soft and tender- sprinkle a bit of water to cook the vegetables. Once the vegetables are cooked, add lemon juice. Mix in the vermicelli and adjust salt according to taste. Garnish with coriander leaves!

Red quinoa & green beans medley!

I was late in joining the quinoa cult- though late, I am glad that I joined :)- The good thing is, working with quinoa is super easy and you can be really creative with it. It works great with Indian flavors and there isn't any spice I haven't tried with Quinoa. To be honest, when I purchased it for the first time I had no idea what to do with it. I kept staring at the packet for a long time...I cursed myself for the impulsive purchase and googled all the recipes that can be found on Quinoa. Finally, I decided to boil it and make it into a salad. I boiled it, mixed it with cucumber and tomatoes and made it into a salad- I will be lying if I wrote that I loved that damn dish. It was a disaster. Those were my initial days with Quinoa- Now, I can work magic with Quinoa and anyone who doesn't like quinoa will think twice if they tried it my way (with Indian spices).

Ingredients-

2 small cups red quinoa

1 cup green beans- 

1/2 cup carrots

1 medium sized onion (sliced)

1 tomato chopped finely

1 tsp cumin seeds

curry leaves- chopped

salt according to taste

asafoetida powder (dash of it will do- omit if you want)

chopped green chilli pieces (2 green chillies used)

2-3 tbsp grated coconut

1 tsp hot madras curry powder (alternatively, you can work with garam masala)

How did I make it?

Bring some water to boil and put your quinoa in it. Allow the quinoa to cook for 15 to 20 minutes (till it is soft and well cooked). Once your quinoa is cooked, keep it aside. In a separate wok, heat oil and add cumin seeds & dash of asafoetida powder. Allow the cumin seeds to sputter. Add onions and green chilli pieces, fry them till translucent. Toss in the tomatoes and cook for a couple of minutes. Mix green beans, carrots and toss well. Allow the vegetables to cook and become tender. Add salt, grated coconut, curry powder and curry leaves. Mix it thoroughly by adding a bit of oil. Blend in the cooked quinoa to this mixture. Cook for five minutes on a medium flame. Garnish with coriander leaves!

Spicy spinach strudel

Oh the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we have no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! I made some spicy spinach strudel and with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand I sat by my window to enjoy the snowy Christmas. It is a tasty tea time snack and you can get super creative with the dish!

Ingredients for filling


1 onion (chopped finely)
3 garlic cloves (crushed &chopped)
1 tomato (chopped finely)
1/2 tsp garam masala
Cumin seeds
Coriander leaves
Salt(according to taste)
1 big cup frozen spinach thawed
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1 tbsp butter

For the base-

4 frozen phyllo sheets thawed
Melted butter for brushing

Preparation-

In a wok add cooking oil and add the cumin seeds. As the cumin seeds begin to sputter sauté garlic and onions till translucent. Mix the tomatoes and fry them for a couple of minutes. Add thawed spinach and cook it till it blends well with the onion tomato mixture. Add garam masala, chilli powder and salt. Cook them for 5 minutes. Before removing from fire add butter and mix it well for a minute. Garnish with coriander leaves. Our stuffing is ready!

On a clean working surface lay one phyllo sheet and brush it completely with butter. Place another sheet on top of it and brush it again with butter. Repeat till you have a stack of four sheets. With the help of a spoon spread the spinach mixture. Fold and tuck the bottom edges over the mixture. Nicely roll it up with the filling inside so that it forms a log. With a knife make slits on top and brush it lightly with butter.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a oven (200 degree celsius)or till they become golden brown. Serve hot with garlic chilli sauce!

Five minutes easy Mozarella-pesto sandwich!

Ok, this dish might take more than five minutes to make but I guarantee it is really a tasty quick fix! When you are in no mood for cooking and can eat anything off your fridge then read on...

I always make it a point to eat some thing before stepping out for shopping- No point in going empty stomach! You land up buying all the stuff that your stomach doesn't need (your body can't take those calories). So here I am, hungry and rattling off things in my fridge for a perfect quickie and what do I land up doing? Tomato-Mozzarella sandwich with pesto for an extra zing!

What do we need?

Bread slices
Tomato pieces
Mozzarella pieces (go easy on it if you don't want extra calories)
Basil pesto for spreading over your bread slices
dash of crushed pepper
salt (optional)

How do you put it together?

Coat your bread slices with pesto and stack up tomato pieces and mozzarella pieces (coated/dabbed in crushed pepper/salt) in between two bread slices.Simple! grill it a bit till Mozzarella is oozy and enjoy-
ain't that a perfect quickie?

Veggie fried rice, anyone?

You take your brain that calculates the calories and just throw it out of the window on friday nights. Then you go make sumptuous food in the kitchen and eat it to your heart's content. After all, you slog the entire week in your office and you deserve a break? That is exactly what I did. The recipe is simple with no tedious work involved (except chopping the veggies, which I don't mind). Sit back and enjoy!

Ingredients-

3 cups water

1 1/2 cups rice

olive oil for cooking

1 onion chopped

1 bell pepper chopped

1 carrot chopped

1/2 cup green peas

2-3 garlic cloves (crushed and chopped)

red chilli flakes (1/4 tsp)

2 tsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Salt

Preparation- 

First step will be to cook your rice. Cooking your rice without getting it sticky is an art. You have to rinse your rice thoroughly and allow it to soak in water for 20 to 30 minutes. Boil 3 cups of water in a deep bottomed pan. As the water starts boiling, add the rice and cover the pan. Cook it in a low flame for about 20 minutes. In a separate pan, heat some oil and saute all the vegetables with garlic. Add chilli flakes, ground pepper and soy sauce. Cook on a medium flame till all the vegetables are crisp and not mushy. Add the cooked rice to this mixture. Adjust the salt according to your taste and cook the rice for a couple of minutes. Enjoy!

Fusilli pasta on the go...

Of late, I have been busy cooking and eating all unhealthy stuff that I realized it's time to wake up. So I am browsing for healthy options these days. This recipe has been adapted from a book called "Eat, shrink and be merry". I tweaked the recipe a bit and modified it to my taste. According to the book, this dish has only 331 calories per serving (the original recipe contains bacon  and chopped chicken breast which I omitted). I guess, the calories per serving should be lesser than 331 (if you omit cheese, it should be significantly less). Using wheat pasta would he a healthier option!

For the sauce-

2 tbsp basil pesto
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper.

Other ingredients-

2 cups fusilli pasta
1/2 cup blanched and chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup bell peppers (red)

Preparation- Just combine all the ingredients for sauce in a bowl and keep it aside. Cook the fusilli pasta till they are soft (but not mushy). In a wok, add olive oil and stir fry bell peppers and onions.  After 5 minutes add the chopped tomatoes. Add cooked fusilli, sauce and mix all the ingredients well.  Remove the wok from heat and serve immediately with ground pepper and parmesan cheese (optional).

Chaat time!

Something that is unique to India is Chaat- You might recreate all the masala food at home but nothing can beat the road side vendor's chaat items- Don't confuse chaat for chat...Chaat is nothing but savory snacks usually sold by street stalls in northern India. Delhi is so famous for chaat and once you are hooked then come 4 pm all you can think is chaat with chai (tea). Chaat varieties are different and if you are really interested in knowing the various types- here is a good read- Chaat (thanks to wikipedia!)

My all time favorite is Bhel puri- It's easy and simple to make-

What do we need?

1 cup puffed rice
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped corriander leaves
chopped green chilli pieces (2-3 green chillies)
lemon juice (1 tbsp)
tamarind chutney 2 tsp
1/2 cup boiled mashed potatoes
mint chutney 2 tsp
1/2 cup sev (fried lentils based noodles- readily available in the stores)
chopped ginger (1 tsp)
dash of garam masala

Tamarind chutney can be home made- Take about a small cup of tamarind (without seeds) and allow it to soak in warm water for half an hour. Extract the pulp. In a pan, add the tamarind pulp and around 1 cup of grated jaggery. Cook on a low flame. Add salt, roasted cumin powder (1 tsp), red chilli powder (1tsp). Cook till the jaggery disolves and the mixture becomes semi thick. Remove from fire and store in a tight container. Can be used as a dip for samosa and other savory snacks!

Mint chutney- Grind half cup of mint leaves with handful of coriander leaves with green chillies. Blend it to a smooth paste with salt and lemon juice.

Preparation-

Now for the Bhel puri- (You don't have to stick to the above list as a rule- You can use your own creativity and improvise the chaat)

Mix puffed rice, tomatoes and onions in a bowl
Add the mashed potatoes
Mix the mint chutney and tamarind chutney along with a dash of garam masala
Add the sev, ginger, chilli pieces and lemon juice- blend all the ingredients well.
Garnish with coriander leaves!

The best part is they will roll the bhel puri in a newspaper cone and give it to you- Really worth a try!

Vegetable stir fry Thai noodles

This is a simple recipe which can be cooked with no fuss- Ah, the hard part is chopping the vegetables...Especially, when someone like me becomes over ambitious and tries to add all known vegetables to mankind :P


Jokes apart, stir fry noodles can be made without much fuss and you can be super creative with it- 

Ingredients-

• 1 packet of noodles
• 1/2 red bell pepper (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper (chopped into thin strips)
• 1 medium sized onion (sliced)
• 1/2 zucchini (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/2 carrot (chopped into thin strips)
• 1/4 cup sweet corn (that comes in a tin)
• 5-6 pieces of mangetout or snap peas
• 1/4 cup sprouts
• 1/4 cup mushrooms (sliced)
• 1 spring onion (sliced)
• 1 small piece ginger (chopped into thin strips)
• 3 cloves garlic (crushed and chopped)- Needless to say, I am a huge fan of garlic!
• 2 tbsp mild soya sauce
• crushed black pepper
• 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• salt (according to taste)

Phew! now that's one long list of vegetables...In all the hassle, I forgot to include tofu pieces-

Preparation-

• Add the pack of noodles to a pan of boiling water. Allow it to simmer for five minutes. Don't over cook your noodles and keep loosening them with a fork to stop them from sticking together.
• Drain and refresh in a bowl of cold water. Keep it aside.
• Stir fry the vegetables in a wok. Add the ginger and garlic first. Allow the oil to take the flavor. 
• Saute the sliced onions.
• Add mushrooms, bell peppers, carrots, sprouts, spring onions and sweet corn. Keep stirring the vegetables.
• Add the zucchini, snap peas and continue stirring.
• As the vegetables start to get tender add the soya sauce, crushed black pepper and chilli flakes.
• Add salt according to your taste.
• Keep stirring till all the ingredients are well combined.
• Add the noodles to the wok and stir fry for five minutes. 
• Sprinkle some chopped coriander (optional) and serve immediately!

Flavorful quinoa!

It is small, red and very intimidating to look at! It will look at you from the package and dare you to come up with something innovative...Once you get to know it, you will be humbled by its sheer goodness- that's quinoa in a nutshell for me :) I spiked it up with some Indian flavors- Check out!

Ingredients-

Red quinoa- 2 cups

Bell peppers- 1/2 cup (preferably yellow one- color combination works great with red quinoa)

Broccoli (1/2 cup)

Onion - 1 medium sized (sliced)

Corriander leaves - chopped

Cumin seeds

Dry red chilli piece- broken in half (alternatively, you can use chopped green chillies)

2-3 tbsp grated coconut

Salt according to taste

Sambar powder (1/2 tsp)- completely optional (alternatively, you can use garam masala, curry masala powders)

** sambar powder is a spicy powder consisting of lentils, corriander seeds, mustard, black pepper, curry leaves, fenugreek seeds** (you will get it ready made from any Asian grocery shop)

Preparation-

Bring some water to boil and put the quinoa in. Allow the quinoa to cook for 15 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed. Keep it aside. In a seperate wok heat some oil. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sputter. Add the red chilli pieces and sliced onions. Fry them till they are translucent. Toss in the bell peppers, broccoli. Cook for few minutes before adding sambar powder and salt. Add the cooked quinoa and cook all the ingredients for a few minutes. For the finishing touch add the grated coconut and corriander leaves. 

Pizza for a rainy saturday afternoon?

Rain, rain come again coz I wanna eat pizza again...Lol! Yeah, that is my theme song for this afternoon after having eaten a sumptuous home-made pizza :) Pizza is my all time favorite. I have eaten almost every brand available in the market. Love all versions- thin, thick, stuffed. So, when a lovely saturday is ruined by rain gods, all you can do is wander around your kitchen thinking of all possible food items you can eat. Why not pizza? Why not make it from a scratch- dough, topping? Why not settle down on your couch with a good pizza and watch a slick flick? That is how the rest of my story unfolds....

Sound- pitter, patter...(Rain)
Characters-  (Base/ Main characters) All purpose flour, yeast, italian herbs, salt, water, sugar
Characters- (side role/toppings) - Tomato sauce, garlic, jalapenos, onion, baby corn, olive oil

** Warning- This is my first shot at pizza making (turned out pretty good)- Will improvise to a thin crust in my next attempt!

Action- mix, knead, roll, spread...

Pizza is all about the base! The base has to be perfect- Any one can spread the topping if you get the base ready made. How do you make a good base? I did a lot of research on net to learn about the base (courtesy- Youtube videos). This is what I did to get it correct-

Take about 300 ml of warm water and mix about 2 tsp of yeast. Allow the yeast to grow and ferment in the warm water for a few minutes. Add 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp Italian herb mix, 1 tsp salt and mix it with the yeast water. Dump about 2 cups of flour on a flat surface. With the help of yeast water knead the flour till it is soft and fluffy. Put the dough in a container and seal it with a cloth. Allow the dough to raise for an hour.

Once the dough has risen, with the help of your hands flatten the dough. You will really get a good pizza with a pizza stone- Unfortunately, I don't have a stone and had to use a deep pan to make it.  Put your flattened pizza in a pan-

For the tomato sauce- Saute chopped tomatoes in olive oil with some oregano, garlic, chilli flakes and salt. Simmer it on a low flame till it thickens to a sauce consistency!

Spread some olive oil on the base before spreading the tomato sauce. Spread some chopped onions, chopped red bell peppers, shredded pizza cheese, jalapenos and baby corn. Pop it in the oven for 20 minutes at 400°F. 

Not bad for a first attempt- I will be back next time with a thin crust...Watch out !

Guacamole dip with veggie tortilla

Gosh, guacamole is one recipe that has so many variations and you never get tired of trying different combinations of it! This one is slightly different and I gave it a twist with some ground cumin and pepper-

What do we need?


4 Avacados
about 2 tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves (4 for a stronger garlic flavor- I am a huge garlic fan)
1 tomato chopped (the fleshier it is the better it comes out)
cilantro/corriander leaves
1 medium sized onion chopped
1/4 tsp ground cumin (dry roast cumin seeds on a pan till light brown and then grind it)
green chillies (4) (serrano chillies are preferable, if not use the normal ones like I used in this recipe)
salt and dash of ground pepper (according to taste)

How did I put together?

Peel and mash your avacados in a bowl. In a mixer/food processor, blend the rest of the ingredients for about five seconds. Add your mashed avacados and again blend them for few seconds. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving- Popularly used as a dip, I used it for the tortilla wrap- You can store it in a tightly closed jar and keep in fridge for two to three days...

Simple veggie filling- for the tortilla

You can use any vegetables for the filling- (I used 4 medium sized potatoes and 2 carrots for the filling). Chop the carrots and potatoes into cubes and boil them for around 10 minutes (till they have softened a bit and not lost their shape). In a separate wok add oil and once it is hot, toss in some fennel seeds. Add the potatoes and carrots and fry for few minutes. Add 1/2 tsp of chilli powder and salt. Cook the vegetables on a low flame till they are golden brown. Add chopped coriander leaves for the extra flavor.

Final presentation- 

Take a wheat tortilla and spread your guacamole on it. Fill in the veggies and roll them to enjoy your evening!

You can be really creative with the filling- Instead of guacamole, you can use salsa or garlic sauce with the vegetables- Makes a great lunch box recipe!