Bored of eating eggs for breakfast and yearning for something sweet but not sinful to start your day…these ‘Pear Bran Agave Muffins’ are your best bet. Made with whole wheat flour with an additional flavor boost from the wheat bran, these muffins pack a ton of nutriton and fiber. They are also tender, moist and tasty – just like any muffin should be.

I had bookmarked this recipe from the South Beach Diet Cookbook, but the same recipe can be found here. I have modified the original recipe by using Agave Nectar in place of sugar substitute. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:(Makes 12 muffins)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour(can use chapati flour as well)
1 cup wheat bran
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tbsp agave nectar
1 1/4 cups low fat buttermilk
2 large eggs
3 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pear, peeled, cored, chopped into bite sized pieces
non stick cooking spray

Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray a 12 cup muffin tray with non stick cooking spray.

In a bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, bran, baking soda and cinnamon.

In another bowl, whisk together the eggs. Add the oil, agave nectar and vanilla extract. Whisk again to combine. Also, add the buttermilk and combine.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix to combine, but only until you don’t see any dry flour. Do not overmix. Stir in the chopped pear.

Spoon into muffin cups and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Verdict: These muffins were awesome, it freezes well, can be reheated in the microwave. The buttermilk makes these muffins so tender, the agave nectar adds to the tenderness of the muffins. With only 20g carbs, 5g fiber and 5g protein, this is a perfect breakfast to have.

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Off late, I have been trying a lot of things for the first time. My last post was my first ‘Jam’ recipe. This post is my first post, roasting my own red peppers. I did it over an open flame and it is so easy. A jar of roasted red peppers costs about $4 at the grocery store, and it has approximately two bell peppers only, maybe even less. It is preserved in water, but this one is fresh and can be kept in the fridge for a week or so if needed. You can use the roasted red peppers in any way, use it in salads, toppings for pizza, make hummus or pesto etc. Here, I have used it in a healthy soup with chickpeas.

To make Roasted Red Peppers:
If you have a gas stove, you can do this over an open flame, if not use the broil mode in the oven, or a grill. The method is the same: Char the skin of the red pepper. Hold it with tongs and keep turning to ensure an ever char. Once the outer skin is completely blackened(I know, it doesnt look very palatable right now, but trust me.), place it in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Set aside to cool completely. When cool take a paper towel and rub it on the pepper to remove the charred outer skin leaving you the flesh of the roasted pepper. Cut into strips, removing the seeds and the stem. Place in a bowl and cover with olive oil, or place in a ziploc bag and freeze for later use.

Roasted Red Pepper Chickpea Soup
Ingredients
2 roasted red peppers(using method above)
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cups chicken/vegetable broth
1 cup cooked chickpeas(canned or cooked fresh)
salt to taste
Dollop of yogurt/sprigs of cilantro, for garnish

Method:
Heat the oil in a pan, over medium heat. Add the red pepper flakes and let it steep in the oil. Add the onion and the garlic, until translucent and cooked. Add the roasted red peppers, the cooked chickpeas and the broth. Bring this to a boil.

Puree this mixture in batches. Return to the pan and let it come to a simmer.

Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt and a sprig of cilantro.

Verdict: This is an extremely easy soup to make if you pre-cook the chickpeas and pre-roast the peppers. Even if you dont prep these before hand, it is still a quick meal to put together. The soup is spicy – thanks to the red pepper flakes and has a vibrant bright red color. It is thickened beautifully by the chickpeas and is a hearty and filling soup. There is a mild smoky – almost tandoori flavor to this soup, which I absolutely loved. Perfect for SBD Phase 1.

Related posts:

1. Pasta in a creamy Roasted Pepper Hummus sauce
2. Red kidney bean salad with sun dried tomatoes and mini peppers
3. Chipotle Corn Tomato Soup

Jam….the word reminds me of days as a kid, where the only jam we had in India was ‘Kissan Mixed Fruit Jam’. Having it for breakfast with Amul butter was one of the childhood food memories I cherish. It was the ‘meal’ I made for my little brother when my parents where out and I was very proud of it. Fast forward several years, and I make Jam sandwiches for my little one, whose favorite fruit is strawberry. He would eat strawberries like it were a meal, devouring pounds at a time. Due to this love for strawberries, we always have a stock at hand, and sometimes even an over abundance.

With summer here, the stores are overflowing with really good fresh strawberries, and for a very good price. I picked up a few boxes for my son, and also with the hope of making Strawberry Jam. This is a 100% natural, no preservatives, no pectin, no artificial colors or flavors – Jam. And, it is so easy to make it. I was skeptical about trying out something like Jam first, but looking at the different options, I am converted. Jam making is by far the easiest and fun things you can do.

I have listed out the steps, such that even if you are a Jam novice like me, you will find it easy. Hope it helps..

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh strawberries, washed
1 lemon
2 cups sugar
a clean, sterilized bottle to store the jam

Method:
Place a small plate in the freezer.

Take a big pot(3-4 quart) for making the jam. Although the quantity of the jam/strawberries is less, there is some foaming/boiling involved – so safe to use a big pot – preferably NOT non-stick.

Place 1 1/2 cups of sugar, the zest of the lemon and the juice of the entire lemon(ensure you don’t get the seeds) in the pot. Set this over low heat and let cook until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a boil. (This took about 6-8 minutes for me.)

Place a wooden spoon in the pan to help stir and also prevent spill overs.

While the sugar mixture boils, chop the strawberries and place them in a bowl. I divided the strawberries into three batches – each batch was cut to different sizes. I chopped one batch very small pieces(the size of corn/peas), one batch was coarsely chopped, and the last were just quartered. This is because I wanted some texture to the jam. If you want your jam to be smooth, chop all of them in the same size, use a hand blender/food processor to crush them. I would suggest not using a blender, coss you will end with just strawberry juice.

Sprinkle the 1/2 cup of sugar over the strawberries and gently mash with a fork. The mixture is still chunky – but mashed and juicy.

Add the strawberries to the sugar mixture. Turn the heat up to medium high. Wait for the mixture to come to a rolling boil. It will bubble and foam up. At this point, set your timer to 10 minutes. Keep stirring, until the foam/bubble dies down and the mixture thickens a bit. At the end of 10 minutes, the mixture is still runny, but it is time for the test. Take the plate out of the freezer and pour about a tsp of the mixture onto the cold plate. Run your finger through the middle of the puddle of jam, drawing a straight line. If the line you drew, stays clear, it means the jam has gelled. If it doesn’t and the liquid comes together to close on the line, then it means you have to let the jam cook a bit longer. Repeat the same test, to confirm. It took exactly 10 minutes for me.

Switch off the stove. Let the jam cool completely and bottle in a sterilized jar.
Traditionally, the sterilization process is followed for the bottle and the lid, but I was planning to keep it in the refrigerator, and it would last there for at least 2 months.

Verdict: The taste of home made fresh jam is incomparable to the store bought varieties. It was sweet, tart, tangy ands full of strawberry goodness. I am so glad I tried it out, a slice of bread smeared with warm jam – was just heavenly! If you’re planning to have guests over for brunch/breakfast, make some homemade jam, it will blow them out of this world!

Sending this to our very own – ‘Serve it – Preserved’ event by me and Krithi.
Also to:
Kids Delight – Fruits
Lets cook – Fruits
Pickles and Preserves Fest

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Collard  greens…sound foreign? Sure is. Or was, to me, when I first came her to the US. I slowly ventured to trying to new types of greens native to the American region and immediately loved Collard. It tastes very similarr and doesn’t have any bitter taste. It is packed with nutrition which is an added benefit. I made a poriyal or stir fry with it as with SBD stir fries and Greek yogurt are a staple for me. This stir fry is made more nutritious with the addition of black chickpeas. It was a wonderful combo and we absolutely loved it. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 bunch collard greens
1/2 cup brown garbanzo beans
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 red chillies, broken
2 tbsp coconut, grated(fresh or frozen)
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp mustard
1 tsp urad dal
2 tsp channa dal

Method:
Soak the garbanzo beans for atleast 8 hours and pressure cook the beans, taking care not to make it mushy. Set aside.

Wash and dry the collard greens. Remove the tough rib in the center and chop the greens fine. I have also chopped the ribs fine and added it along with the greens. It is important to remove the ribs and chop them seperately to aid to fast cooking.

Heat oil in a pan, add mustard seeds, let splutter. Add urad dal and channa dal, followed by the broken red chillies. Add the chopped onions and saute until soft and wilted. Add the chopped collard greens and salt to taste. Saute until the greens are cooked. Finally, add the cooked garbanzo beans and saute for a couple of minutes, letting the flavors meld. Switch off stove and sprinkle the coconut.

This makes a great side dish to rice with sambar, kara kuzhambu or can be eaten as is, with a side of yogurt.

Verdict: This was a very filling and nutrition packed dish that I had as part of my SBD Phase 1 meal plan. It takes just minutes to put together. If you don’t have collard greens, you can also try the same recipe with spinach or any other greens you have on hand.

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It was a summer tradition at our grandmother’s house to make loads of preserved foods. All the grandkids were gathered for the summer holidays and the women of the household were also busy with a preserved specialty of her own. My grandmother was the vathal/vadagam queen – she made so many varieties and of such large quantity – and packed them all for us, as we left her house after a fun filled vacation.

Grandma would elaborately plan the varieties of vathals to be made, with a week long schedule. This would involve murukku vathal, javvarisi vathal, koozh vadagam, vengaya vadagam and vegetable variations such as kothavaranga vathal, sundaikkai vathal, maa vathal etc. The cooking of the vathal batter was done early in the morning and while we woke up lazily during the holidays, we would hear her putting out the vathals/vadagams in large cloths/plastic sheets on the terrace for it to dry in the scorching sun.

While it was vathals for grandma, it was pickles/puli kachal/thokku for my aunt and jams/squash for my mom.While being treated to delicious drinks, spicy pickles the kids were given only one task: watch for crows coming to eat the drying vathals, and drive them away. The irony of it is that the drying vathals were eaten by the kids more than they were by the crows. Somehow the taste of half dried vathals, still lingers in my mind.

In memory of  many such good times in summer, we have dedicated this Month of May for  ”Preserved” entries.

Do check out our summer theme of 2011: ‘Serve it – Chilled‘ and also last month’s theme of ‘Pressure cooked/Slow Cooked’

Here are the guidelines for the event:
1. You may send in any entry that is  PRESERVED. The dictionary defines preserved as: “to prepare food or any perishable substance so as to resist decomposition or fermentation”. Your entry MUST meet this definition.
2. Examples include Jams, marmalades, Squash, Sherbet (not to be confused with sorbet), Pickles, Thokkus, Puli-Kaichal (ready to make tamarind rice mix), Sauces, Salsas, Sambal, Pesto, Home made ready to fry-Fryums (Vathals/Vadagams), dried fruits/veggies. Recipes for canned fruits/veggies and posts explaining the canning process are welcome.
3. Dry Spice powders are not allowed in this theme.
4. The entries should have a shelf life or refrigerator life of minimum 2 months.
5. Both Vegetarian and Non-vegetarian entries are allowed.
6. Please link back to this announcement page and also to Krithi’s page here.
7. New entries are appreciated, however if you are sending archived entries, please re-post as latest (with a date in May 2012) and update with both the links to the announcement page and logo.
8. Usage of links and logo is mandatory.
9. Last date for submission of your entries is May 31, 2012.
10. To submit your entries, just link your entries using the linky tool below.
11. Non-bloggers also can send their entries with a picture to the below email-id.
12. If you have a problem in linking email us your problem to serveit[dot]series[at]gmail[dot]com. We will try to resolve it.
Note: If the entries are inappropriate to the theme, we would have to remove the entries from the linky sans notification. If there are other issues like link or logo missing we would definitely notify through email.

Related posts:

1. Announcing Serve it Series – Serve it: Stir Fried
2. Announcing Serve it series & Serve – it: Chilled
3. Announcing Serve it Series – Baked(Sweets)

Dum Aloo is a creamy curry, usually made with baby potatoes, were the potatoes are slow cooked in a spicy sauce in a sealed vessel. This cooking method is referred to as ‘dum’. The vessel is closed with a tight lid and sealed with a dough made of wheat flour and water, hence making the vessel airtight. The steam created in the dish condensates into water, thereby cooking the potatoes and the slow cooking process lets the potatoes absorb all the flavor from the curry.

I had planned on making this dish for quite a while now, but I didn’t want to go through the dough making/sealing process, and decided to use a slow cooker instead. I secured the lid of the slow cooker with pieces of tape, so that it was air tight. Traditionally, the potatoes are fried prior to being cooked in dum, either shallow fried or deep fried. But I added the potatoes raw, since I cooked it on low heat for about 8 hours. Yes, I set it up at night, before I went to bed and had it ready next morning. Packed it for lunch with some rotis and it was yummy.

The process is very simple and literally hands free. The slow cooker is my best friend to make atleast one meal during the weekday. I make all kinds of things using it. Here are some ideas for using a slow cooker to make Indian meals.

• Dals/Legume based curries
• Sambar
• BisibeleBaath – one of my favorite recipes for slow cooker
• Arisi paruppu sadham – a cousin of bisi bele bath
• Paruppu Payasam(Lentil jiggery dessert)
• Carrot halwa

I will post the recipes for these very soon. But here is the recipe for dum aloo using slow cooker:

Ingredients:
10-12 baby potatoes(or as many as can fit your slow cooker in one layer)
1 large onion, sliced
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp raisins(optional)
1 tbsp kasoori methi
4 green chillies, slit
1 tsp oil(optional)
1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp asafetida/hing
1/ 3cup water
1/2 cup yogurt
Salt to taste
Cilantro, chopped for garnish.

Method:
Scrub and peel the baby potatoes. Prick all over with a fork. This step is important so that the potatoes absorb all the flavors of the curry.

Add a tsp of oil to the base of your crock pot and brush it on all the bottom and sides. This is optional  – to prevent the curry from sticking and to aid the potatoes in getting a sear. You can spray with a non stick cooking spray instead, or just omit this step. Add the potatoes in a single layer on to the bottom of the crock pot. Turn the crock pot on HIGH and leave it on until you prep the rest of the ingredients.

Slice the onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies. Layer this on top of the potaotes. Top this with the whole garam masala: cinnamon, cloves bay leaf. Top this with the spice powders: garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric powder and asafetida. Add 1/3 cup of water and top.

Close the lid of slow cooker, set it to low, tape the lid such that it is airtight and cook for 8-10 hours.

Switch off the slow cooker and carefully remove the lid. Add the raisins, kasoori methi and the yogurt and mix to combine. The residual heat from the crockpot will cook the yogurt. No need to keep it on. If kept on, the yogurt may curdle when added. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and serve with roti or pulav.

Verdict: The curry was creamy and potatoes were cooked to perfection. The potatoes had absorbed every bit of flavor from the spices during the slow cooking  of 8 hours and tasted fabulous. The taste of the curry itself was well balanced with the tartness of the yogurt with the sweet bite from raisins and the mild bitterness from the kasoori methi. A easy dish to place on a table for a party. 

Related posts:

1. Slow cooker Dal Banjari
2. Announcing Serve it Series – Serve it Pressure Cooked/Slow cooked
3. Aloo Bhindi