Raita is a yogurt dish used as a sauce or dip. The yogurt is usually seasoned with ground red mustard seeds, ground cumin, coriander (cilantro), salt and optionally sugar. Vegetables such as cucumber and carrot and even fruits like grapes and banana are used. The mixture is served chilled. Raita has a cooling effect on the palate that makes it a good neutralizer for spicy Indian dishes. In this recipe we will be using cucumber and grapes and adding sugar for sweetness.

Ingredients

2 cups yogurt
3/4 cucumber peeled and grated
1/2 cup grapes chopped into quarters
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp ground red mustard seeds
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Directions

1. To an empty medium sized mixing bowl, add 2 cups of yogurt. Mix lightly just until the yogurt is of smooth consistency.
2. Squeeze all the water from the grated cucumber. Add to the yogurt. Mix gently. Avoid mixing too much or too rigorously as this will cause any remaining water to be released from the cucumber making for a watery raita!
3. Add the spices – salt, sugar, ground red mustard seeds, ground cumin. Mix gently.
4. Add the grapes, mix gently. Garnish with cilantro.

We want the raita to be a nice balance of sweet and sour. Upon tasting if you feel one over powers the other feel free to make some adjustments.

Enjoy!

Greek salad (or village salad) is one of the most common dishes found throughout Greece.  These salads are a great way of using your garden tomatoes, especially in late August when they are so plentiful.  To make a truly great salad you really should invest in a good quality olive oil.  Sprinkle this wonderful salad with feta cheese and oregano and you’ll experience a truly authentic Greek experience!

4 tomatoes cut in wedges
½ cucumber sliced
½ red onion thinly sliced
A large slice of feta cheese
A handful of kalamata olives
About 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil
Season with dried oregano, salt and pepper (to taste)

Cut the vegetables and place in medium bowl.  Add the thinly sliced feta cheese and olives.  Drizzle with olive oil and season with oregano, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

Enjoy!

This recipe makes 4 servings.

Rizogalo is one of my favourite desserts. When making rizogalo, you can’t stray too far away from the kitchen, as this dish requires constant stirring otherwise the milk will burn. You may add raisins if you like, although Eva prefers this recipe without the raisins. Rizogalo can be served either warm or cold. This recipe provides 8 servings.

1 cup of Italian rice (washed and strained well)
4 cups of milk
1 cup of sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 tsp of cornstarch
Ground cinnamon for sprinkling

In a medium pot, bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of rice and turn the heat to medium-low. Allow to cook, stirring occasionally, until all of the water has evaporated.

Add 4 cups of milk and continue to stir (in the video Eva added 3 cups of milk but later added another cup of milk). Turn the heat up and add the sugar and stir. Add the vanilla and the egg yolks. Once the liquid has come to a boil, turn the heat to low and allow it to simmer. Allow the liquid to reduce, stirring often. This may take between 30 to 45 minutes.

To thicken the pudding, add 1 tsp of cornstarch (diluted with water). Continue to stir and allow it to simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes.

To serve, pour the pudding into individual cups and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Enjoy!

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Rice balls are fabulous as a side dish or an entrée. This dish can be modified in various ways; for a healthier version opt for ground turkey or chicken rather than beef, or if you are a vegetarian omit the meat altogether. We hope you enjoy our first Italian recipe!

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef / turkey / chicken
1 jar of tomato sauce
2 tsp salt
1 bag sticky rice
½ bag frozen peas
1 small brick of mozzarella cheese
2 tsp parmesan cheese
1 small onion chopped
1 tbsp garlic finely chopped
1 package of bread crumbs
Vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Sauté the onions and garlic for a couple of minutes with a little oil, then add the ground meat. Sauté the meat until it is fully cooked. Season the meat with a pinch of salt.

In the meantime, begin to boil the frozen peas in a pot of water on the stovetop.

Cook the rice on the stovetop. Be sure to follow the instructions on the package. Once the rice is cooked, add some tomato sauce a little at a time to ensure that the rice remains sticky. Then add the parmesan cheese and mix well. Let the rice cool for 5 minutes. The rice needs to be fairly hot to make it easier to work with when forming the rice balls.

Place the bread crumbs into a large casserole dish. Cut up the mozzarella into small cubes and place into a bowl. Place the cooked meat and peas into two separate bowls.

Form a ball of rice in the palm of your hand. Insert your finger into the ball, and place a small amount of peas, ground meat, and 1-2 cubs of cheese into the middle of the ball. Close the ball by adding more rice.

Roll the ball into the bread crumbs until the ball is completely covered.

Fill the deep fryer pot with vegetable oil and place the rice balls into the oil until the ball becomes a light brown colour, approx 5-8 minutes.

Heat up the tomato sauce and generously slather some sauce on each ball before you serve.

ENJOY!

Hey everyone, we hope you are all enjoying the first weeks of summer. The past few weeks have been hectic for us, but now everything has calmed down and we are definitely ready to start posting our videos more consistently. So please stayed tuned, we’ve got some really delicious video blogs coming including Cypriot style dolmathes, rice pudding, karidopita, and rice balls, among many others. See you on Thursday!

This is a very simple reciepe to make a delicious potato curry or sabji. This sabji can be slightly modified to be made with or without a gravy. With a gravy, this dish goes great with rice, roti or even some toast. Without a gravy, this dish makes a great replacement for roasted or mashed potatoes usually had with dinner. Today we will be making this potato sabji with a tomato based gravy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 large potatoes peeled and cubed
1 tomato diced
4 cups water
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 chunk jaggery (see video for visual)
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp shredded ginger
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp ground corriander and cumin powder mixture
handful cilantro
pinch asofotedia powder (Hing)

Steps

1. In a pot, heat oil on high.
2. Add the mustard seeds into the oil and allow them sizzle. Turn the stove down to medium.
3. Add the asofotedia powder and turmeric.
4. Add the potatoes and water (Note – I have estimated 4 cups, ideally, you want enough water so that the potatoes are almost completely covered). Turn the stove up on high.
5. Add the salt, jaggery, chilli powder, ginger, corriander/cumin mixture and tomatoes. Stir.
   Leave the stove on high and the pot uncovered, bring to a boil.
6. Once at a boil, turn the stove down to low-medium, bring it down to a simmer and partially cover. Allow about 20 minutes to pass, stirring occassionally.
7. Pick up a piece of potato with a spoon, and check to see that it is tender and cooked through.
8. Turn off the stove and add the lemon and cilantro to garnish.

This has been a busy couple weeks. There was a wedding last weekend, a charity event we’re organizing on Saturday and an engagement on Sunday. We’ll be back next week with a fresh video!

Eggplant Parmesan makes a wonderful vegetarian side dish. Rather than fry the eggplant, Eva prefers to bake them in the oven with a little olive oil for about 20 minutes. It is delicious and a much healthier alternative to the traditional recipe.

To prepare the eggplant:
4 eggplants (Eva uses the long slender eggplant, but you could use the larger type if you prefer)
Salt
1/3 cup of olive oil
About 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (shredded)
About ½ a cup of parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon of breadcrumbs

To prepare the sauce:
1 small onion (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
3 tablespoons of olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 cup of tomato juice
½ teaspoon of basil

Clean the eggplants well and cut them in ¼ inch slices. Salt the sliced eggplant and allow the bitter juices to sweat out. Wash the eggplant under running water and drain them well. Place the sliced eggplants on a pan and brush each piece with olive oil. Bake the eggplant in the oven for 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion and garlic with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and add 1 cup of tomato juice. Turn the heat to low and allow the sauce to thicken (about 10 minutes). When the sauce is just about finished add the basil.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To assemble the dish, begin by putting a small amount of sauce on the bottom of your pan. Spread a layer of eggplants on the sauce, and add another small spoonful of sauce. Add a handful of mozzarella cheese and sprinkle some parmesan cheese. Add another small spoonful of sauce on the cheese. Repeat until you have used up all of the eggplant slices. Add the remaining tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs.

Bake the dish in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Allow the dish to cool for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!

A ton of work and the great Toronto weather have teamed up to prevent us from putting a video up this week. We’ll be back next week with a great video!