Write Food

Best 2 Copycat Recipes!

2012-01-23T13:12:00.001-05:00

Cheese cake factory's avocado rolls

Fettuccine with spaghetti sauce? Something I just tried for fun and came out great. I had to try the spaghetti sauce recipe that I saw in the No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain show. I wanted a lovely appetizer to go with it and it had to be Cheese cake factory's avocado rolls. I googled for a copycat recipe and to my surprise, it did come out just like the original one. My mom who is not very fond of Italian cuisine, surprisingly loved it. This meal was a big change after all the south Indian food we have been having past a week. The cashew dip turned out so very close to the one at the restaurant. I was simply thrilled. The only mistake I did was to grind a tad bit more of the coriander leaves than need, hence the green hue instead of the transparent white-ish color.

These two are the best copycat recipes that did not disappoint me. They were simply spot on!

Tony Bourdain's Spaghetti Sauce

The spaghetti sauce was simply awesome. Avi hates anything that is close to marinara and he said this was the best tomato based sauce ever! Thanks to Anthony for the lovely recipe and a wonderful show. I even love his new show, The layovers. One should see to learn what one can do during a layover at airports. I loved the Singapore, Changi airport episode. Being from Singapore, I was overwhelmed with a lot of nostalgia.Singapore is one country where in you can see most of the place in a day's time and eat awesome food.

Here is the best spaghetti sauce recipe from Tony Bourdain

Pindi Chole Biryani after being locked out!

2012-01-12T11:59:00.000-05:00

Yes! I got locked out of my own car. Silly, I know, but scary sure it is. I have been coveting about this Jen Lopez hobo for quite sometime. It was the right time to go and treat myself with some fine shopping. It was a lousy weather; Oh common, I had to get this for Christmas! A woman needs to have high heels, gloss and an awesome handbag! Sorry for digressing, Yes, I locked my self out with my car keys, mobile and my handbag in the car. I promise, I just don't know how the "all lock" button got pressed and I by mistake left the keys on my front seat to take some bags out of the back seat car. I got out of the car and closed the door and tried opening the back seat door and there, it just wouldn't. None, of them would. Thanks to the lady, Helen, at Kohls who lent her mobile so that I could frantically call Avi. Listening to my frantic voice, he cooled me down. He called AAA and asked me to stand outside Kohls. Waited for 15 mins to get my car opened. Got my bag. Raced home in the rain. Sat down for a cuppa tea on my recliner. Had warm tea with some yummy chocolate truffles. I needed the Lindt truffle to calm my nerves.

Have to be back on my diet and exercise after all the holiday treats!

Feeds one hungry soul.

Ingredients:
1 cup of warm pindi chole (should be thick, should not run water. A day old is ideal)
1 cup of cooked basmati rice with some saffron threads.
1/4 red onion sliced
Coriander leaves for garnishing
1 tsp ghee
1 tbl spn of cashews and raisins
Method:-
fry the cashews and rains in ghee
Deep fry the red onions
Spread the layers in a bowl.
Layer half of the rice. Spread a layer of pindi chole. Finish with a layer of rice again.
Garnish with the fried onions, cashews, raisins and fresh coriander.
Enjoy

Soul 'Full' Soup : A complete meal for a dieting soul

2011-12-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

"One only understands the things that one tames,"
said the fox.

~ The Little Prince.

One understands the things one tames- Whip your mind to learn and make it do what you want it to do. I have learnt that the only reason don't get something in life is because you haven't desired it enough and to desire something, you need to tame your demons. I have tamed some of my demons tonight. I have found time, peace and happiness within myself. I have realized that the more one delves into people to find happiness, the more he feels disappointed. In my own quite time tonight, I have learnt to be happy with myself yet again.I have learnt to keep my thoughts confined to myself again.

I have to be myself-giving it all I can to come to my healthy form and I want to do this being happy. No more frustration and no more tears. I have come out with a nice plan for my days to come. I have already started to work on being healthy and fit. I have to practice keeping my mind calm. I need so much encouragement to do that. I can't let go on my food. Many thanks to my mom- she is the anchor in my life, every time putting me before her. Making the right kind of food, pepping me to go to the gym and helping with the chores. This soup is a complete meal for the dieting soul. It is soulful and most importantly filling with nutrients. This recipe is dedicated my dear mommy. For the lovely time we had drinking this soup one afternoon with pearls of laughter on the side :)

Ingredients:-
1/3 cup of cabbage
1/3 cup of cauliflower
1/3 cup of corn
1/4 cup of celery
fist full of green beans
fist full of carrots
1/2 cup of cooked rice noodles
1 tsp of vinegar
2 pods of garlic
1/2 a tsp of low sodium soya sauce
2 cloves
2 green chillies
1 inch of cinnamon stick
few pieces of firm tofu
pepper and salt to taste

Method:-
In a pan cook all vegetables in 4 cups of water except for green beans.
Simmer and cook closed until the water boils down to 2 1/2 cups. Don't let the vegetables loose their color.
Strain and grind the vegetables thick with the green chillies.
In a pan add 1/2 tsp of olive oil. Fry the cinnamon and cloves.Add the green beans and chopped garlic pods. Saute well.
Add the vegetable broth (the strained water) and ground vegetables with the noodles and tofu. Cook in medium for 5 mins.
Add the vinegar, soya, pepper and salt to taste.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve Hot!

Peanut Chutney

2011-12-06T21:06:00.001-05:00

It has been a long time since I have said a Hi. Yes, my hands have been very busy and full :). Hope you guys have been enjoying the holiday season and the SALES!!!! With loads of toys and baby gears, Avi and myself sometimes start behaving like kids. Amogh has gotten out the child in us and we now realize how much we have missed being kids. Loads of changes have been noticed in Amogh. He makes an eye contact and smiles at looking at my face now. He is learning to touch and hold things now like his bottle, my hands, my clothes and my hair. hehe. I am enjoying every bit of it!!! Such big and bright eyes my boy has that he never ceases to fill me with joy. I can't wait to cook for him.

After 6 weeks of healthy pregnant diet that my mom made me have, I wanted to have some idlies and peanut chutney. This chutney is Shobha auntie's recipe whom I really really miss a lot.

Ingredients:-
1 cup of peanuts
2 big pods of garlic
3 dried red chillies
1 tsp of tamarind paste
1-2 tsp of jaggery powder
1 onion sliced
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of urad dal/black gram
1 sprig of curry leaves
4 tsp of oil
salt to taste
Water as needed

Method:-
Heat 2 tsp of oil and roast the peanuts, onion slices and red chillies. The onions should get translucent and red chillies shouldd darken.
Grind the above with some water, salt, jaggery tamarind and garlic pods to make a thick smooth paste.
For temper, Heat 2 tsp of oil and add mustard seeds and wait till they pop. Add the black gram and curry leaves. Fry for 30 secs- 1 min.
Add to the chutney.

A Special Introduction

2011-10-22T16:37:00.002-04:00

Last weekend we welcomed a new addition to our tiny family: Amogh. A tiny lil peanut that he is; is taking away all my time for now. That does not mean I will abandon you readers. Do have some patience. When ever I can, I will pop up with new stories, relishing recipes and gourmet travel. Thanks for all wishes and prayers for me through your lovely emails and comments.

Quince and Apple Sweet, Sour n Spicy Chutney

2011-10-09T23:41:00.000-04:00

Last week's trip to the farmer's market was quite a joy. I found my favorite cereal (a post on that will be coming soon); I found the fractal romanesco broccoli that I always wanted to try and I found my fav: Asian quince. After the chuk wangun , I have been on a hunt for these and finally got them. This recipe came out due to my craving to have something chatpata (Something edible that gives you a tingling sensation: usually something sweet and sour).

A natural fractal : Romanesco Broccoli

With the surprise breakout of sun this weekend, life has been comfortable and the want of summer sandwiches came again. This chutney is a mean accomplice to sandwich breads, paninis and each chapatis. Make them and refrigerate them for a week.

mom inspecting the veggies

This recipe is under copyright. Please link my name with site/page details when you reuse the recipe or any modified version of it.

Ingredients:-
2 medium sized asian quince grated
1 juicy red apple grated
2 tbl spns of olive oil
1.5 tsp of red chili powder (as desired)
2 tsp of sugar
1.5 tsp of tamarind paste
1 tsp of jeera/cumin seeds
salt to taste

Method:-
Keep the flame at medium (level 6 out of 10 levels)
Heat oil in a pan and add jeera. Wait for them to sizzle.
Add the grated fruits with the rest of the ingredients. Stir and blend well for about a min.
Lower the heat to low. Out of 10 levels I kept at 4. Keep the vessel closed for another 2 mins.
Remove and serve at room temperature.

Low Fat: Paneer Makai Gravy

2011-10-07T12:46:00.000-04:00

My friend, Niriha for a long time has been requesting me to add some yummies to a new category: Low Fat. With my pregnancy weight to be lost, this is the best time to start this category. I will try to add simple, yummy and nutritious dishes in this category when ever possible. Some of my dishes that I have posted earlier might be low fat, but this time I am making a conscious effort in making yummy food low fat. Who likes to have a low fat upma??? I certainly do not. I want healthy coveted dishes to be low fat.

Most paneer dishes are laden with cream, cashew nuts (high in cholesterol) and butter. Hence, for my first recipe, I had to make a paneer dish (Paneer: the most coveted ingredient by all Indians) lighter and healthier. I have been hunting for an inspiration for quite some time now and lo! I found it with Kanchana. She posted this awesome corn gravy dish called Makai Bhari Mirchi. I did leave out the heavy components like butter and cream. To make it a powerful vegetable packed side dish, I added some green peppers/capcisum as well. The capsicum added the crunch and some color to the dish.

Ingredients:-
3/4 cup of paneer (try tofu if you do not want to add paneer)
1/2 cup of diced capsicum
1 cup of corn kernels
2 green chillies
1 tsp of ginger-garlic paste
1 medium sized onion chopped
1 tsp of coriander powder
2 tsp of red chilli powder
pinch of pepper powder (or more)
2 tsp of garam masala
pinch of turmeric powder
1 tsp of jeera/cumin seeds
3 tsp of oil
1/4 cup of low fat milk (optional-could be avoided)
1 tsp of kasoori methi
Method:-
Add 1 tsp of oil and fry the onions and corn kernels for 10 mins in medium flame.
Grind the above with the green chillies and keep aside.
Heat the other 2 tsp of oil in the pan and add jeera. Wait for them to sizzle in hot oil.
Add the capcisum, ginger-garlic paste, red chilli powder, garam masala and coriander powder. Fry well in medium heat by stirring every min. Do this for about 8 mins or until the capsicum is well cooked.
Add the turmeric powder and the gravy. Cook closed in low-medium for about 5 mins.
Add the paneer and milk. Cook for about a min in low heat. Add kasoori methi and mix well.
Serve hot.
Tada!

Avi and my parents absolutely loved it!
Do try this recipe and let me know how u like it or any other changes that can be made to make it taste better!

Amma's Pal Thirattipal (Milk Halwa)

2011-10-05T14:14:00.002-04:00

It has been quite a while I relished this sweet and requested my mom to make it for my favorite festival, Navarathiri. Being saraswati puja today, could there be a better occasion to learn it from my mom? (Rhetoric).

The past attempts of making this sweet turned into a series of disaster. First of all, I was apprehensive making it as the process seemed to be endless. Secondly, a coiled electric stove tends to burn the milk solids faster than the flame stove. I also tried using different cookers (Hawkins and prestige), but both tend to burn even if you keep the flame at medium initially. So vexed, I got a brand new slow cooker and tried making it slowly as someone had blogged about it being a successful method. Being the persistent ant I am, I decided to try yet once more. Inference you may ask? Well here it is: After 8 hrs, the darn milk got spoiled and smelled curdled early in the morning. Yuck! It was like waking up to a blocked or leaking drainage. So I proficiently packed the slow cooker and it is in hibernation inside my storage room. Hence, along with the milk, I burnt my wallet on the slow cooker and the pack of incense sticks I had light to up to put the smell away.

When my mom made this for my room-mates and friends while I was at Leeds, they all loved it! We were a diaspora of Indian roots in Leeds and regardless from which corner of India we came from, all of us loved this sweet. It is so simple in its composition and yet so tasty without any fuss. It is almost a paradox.

My mom's quick tips: Keep a wide base pan or cooker (the pan type) to make this dish. It has be a heavy bottom vessel as well. A wide base ensures it gets done faster as you increase the surface area of the milk and decrease the depth. The heavy bottom ensures you do not burn the settled milk solids at the bottom.

Do not add any saffron or cardamom to this dish as they over power the subtle flavors of the milk solids.

So here is a detailed description of the method:-

Ingredients:-
1/2 a gallon of whole milk
1/2 cup of sugar or more (as desired)
A wide base heavy pan
Method:-
1. Bring the milk to a boil in medium flame.
2. Reduce the heat at low (out of 10 levels, I keep at 4-5) and reduce the milk for about an hour until it reaches the below stage where in the color changes to a shade of beige. Stir every 1 min. Go on scraping the solids stuck on the sides as the milk goes on reducing so that they do not burn in due course of time.

3. Mix the sugar and stir it in well.
4. Once it reaches a semi solid structure, where there is hardly any milk but the mixture is still wet, turn off the gas. It will solidify more as time goes by or when you keep it in fridge.

5. Serve it hot or cold. I like it cold :)

Eggless Strawberry Banana Muffins

2011-09-26T11:00:00.000-04:00

I hate condensed milk in eggless baking recipes as it simply overpowers the subtle flavors of the cake/muffins/cuppies. Hence, I decided to try out with some low fat yogurt to make the perfect breakfast fruit muffins.

Since, my appa (Dad) is coming to visit us for a month tomorrow, I decided to treat him with some eggless breakfast and what can be better than some hot hot muesli, warm breakfast fruit muffins and buttered toast with marmalade.

I added a ripe banana to reduce the amount of sugar and added olive oil to make the muffins moist instead of butter. This way, I decrease the trans fat that butter contains and there is no fuss of creaming the butter. This is a super quick recipe that u can make in 10 mins apart from the baking time. All you need to do is to mix the wet ingredients with the dry ones. Yogurt binds the dough perfectly. I made a small batch to test so that I don't waste too much of my ingredients.

The end result: The muffins were fluffy and super moist!

This recipe is under copyright. Please link my name with site/page details when you reuse the recipe or any modified version of it.

So here is the recipe:- Makes 6-8 muffins
Ingredients:-
1 1/2 cups of flour
7-8 strawberries,cut into small pieces.
1 ripe banana
1tsp of baking soda
1 tsp of baking powder
1/3 cup + 1 tble spn of light/pure olive oil
3/4 cup of sugar (or less- as desired)
2 tble spns of yogurt
Method:-
Preheat to 350 F
Puree the banana without adding anything to it.
Mix all the dry ingredients well in a big bowl.
Add the banana puree, oil and yogurt. Bind them well. Do not over mix as it will make your muffins rubbery.
Add the strawberry pieces and mix once or twice. Make sure the pieces aren't too big or else they will all tend to settle at the bottom of the muffins. This batter will be a thick batter (dropping consistency).
Fill the cup cake liners to half the capacity. I used 1 full ice cream scoop of batter for each liner.
Bake for 25-35mins or until the tooth pick comes out clean.

My mom who is already here loved the muffins and avi's verdict was: "Perfect!". They felt the muffins came out much better than the ones with eggs and butter. So yipeeee! Another successful recipe!

Last couple of weeks have been busy crochet weeks as I had nothing much to do.Lucky for me as my mother is there to help with all the home chores. I am just too big to do anything elaborate! Hence, I made 3 hots pads, a winter cap and a beautiful scarf for Avi.

MLLA-38 Round up part-2

2011-09-14T12:21:00.000-04:00

Time for round up-2 and the announcement of the prize winner!!!! Hoping you guys have tried out some yummies from round-up-1 and waiting to try the ones below.

Richa from Hobby and More has won MLLA-38 both the prizes this time. She gets Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables: A Common Sense Guide by Elizabeth Schneider and her choice of six bags of Hurst Bean products. Richa, please do contact Susan with you address and other details.

23. Peanut, Mango and Cucumber Salad from Soma, Texas

24. French Lentil Salad from Madhu, USA

Denny from Seatle, USA sends the following

25. Coconut milk dal

26. Whole wheat adai

27. Grilled Portobello Mushrooms with a Garlic-Thyme White Bean Puree from Janet, Toronto

28. Purple wax beans and tomato salad from Simona, North California

29. Channa Masala from Deepika, USA

30. Spicy Sweet Moroccan Chickpea Spread With Blood Orange & Chipotle from Eve Fox, Woodstock, NY

31. Daal-e-Maharaani from vaishali sabnani, Gujarat, India

32. Paruppu Podi (Mixed lentils spice powder) from Kalyani,

33. Green Moong Veggie Pulao from Kaveri, Hyderabad, India

34. GREEN GARBANZO BEANS IN GINGER DRESSING from Taruna Deepak, Mumbai, India

35. SATTU KA PARANTHA (TANGY BLACK GRAM POWDER STUFFED FLAT BREAD) from Taruna Deepak, Mumbai, India

36. Malabar Spinach Dal from Harini, Michigan, USA

37. Microwave Molaga Podi from Srivalli, India

38. Channa Tondak from Kaveri, Hyderabad, India

39. Lentil salad with zucchini & cheese from Brii, Italy

40. Chickpea and chard curry from Mandira, MI

41. Chickpeas Salad from Usha, USA

42. Beet Garbanzo Bean and Oats mini burgers from Richa , Seatle, USA

43. Curried Quinoa Salad with Lentils from Valerie, USA

44. My Contribution: Kadhi with Aragula Pakodi

46. Susan's Contribution: Corn, White Beans, and Squash Blossom Chowder

MLLA-38 Round Up part-1

2011-09-08T12:08:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone for sending yummy dishes to make this event a success. Salads, dals, soups and curries with lentils galore!; It is indeed time to party. With such a gamut of yummies to try out, MLLA-38 has been yet again such a lentil blessing.

Sorry for the delay in publishing the round-up. With water flooding and car repairs, life got a little busy. Hope folks hit by Irene and Lee have recovered as well.

The second round-up and the prize announcement will happen in another 2 days. Do come back and check out the rest of the yummies.

Susan's Guest: Saveur's warm lentil and swiss chard salad

1. No Pig - 'Meat free 'Bacon' from Shaheen, West of Scotland

2. Panch legume curry from Nirmala

3. Spiced Mango Lentil Salad from Janet, Toronto

4. Lentils and aubergine salad from Vanessa, Switzerland

5. Moog/Mung Bean Salad from Snehal, San Diego

Rajani from My Kitchen Trials sends the following

6. Sweet and Sour Tamarind Chutney

7. Rice with lentils - Mujadara

8. Lentil Rice from Deepti Bhogle, San Diego

9. Palak kay Pakoray( Spinach Fritters) from Ambreen

10. Sprouted Masoor Masala from Raksha Kamat, Bangalore

11. Festive Peanut Butter Burfi from R&R, USA

12. Black eyed Peas Fritters from Harini-Jaya

13. Sambhar- Spicy South Indian Lentil and Vegetable stew from Rose of Magpie's Recipes San Francisco Bay Area

14. Potage St Germain (split pea soup) from Joanna, Melbourne

vaishali sabnani from Gujrat, India sends the following

15. Chaataka

16. Raajma Galouti Kebab

17. Spiced soup rasam from Akheela, Toronto

18. Ridge gourd with kale chane/black chickpeas from Richa, Bangalore

19. Horse gram pancakes from Sra

20. Pachai Payiru Kootu (Mung Bean Curry) from Rudra, India

21. Lentil Salad with Pickled Turnips from Kalinda, St. Louis, MO, USA.

22. Spicy Brown Lentils from Madhu, USA

Korean Vegetarian?- HanGawi

2011-08-17T16:43:00.001-04:00

HanGawi- Eating with Conscience, is the answer for all vegetarians visiting NYC!

I went to NYC this time not only to sight see but to have the real essence of NYC and at the same time find myself a place in the city in a spiritual way. HanGawi completed this essence by tying me to NYC city in a unique way. I have always lived out of a suitcase my entire life. I have understood in my travels and escapades that the best ways to feel a city/place is sight see while walking, visiting its local markets and eating at the right places. After a tired walk around the city for six hours with my baby bump, I wanted to sit somewhere, feel welcomed and eat good, healthy and fresh food. Thanks a million to Susan for suggesting this place. I so wanted to have this trip just between Avi and myself before we become 3 and HanGawi gave us a fine dining experience that will always be special and close to my heart.

We were welcomed warmly and thank God for the custom of removing one's shoes before entering ; my feet were numb with all the walking (I am 7 months preggy and walking for 6 hrs!!!). They take away our shoes before we are shown to our seats.We sat down to eat (the Asian way: on a floor cushion) with our bare feet dangling inside a small trench under the table. We ordered the vegetarian dumplings, sweet and sour mushrooms, Kimchi stone bowl rice and some rose tea to sooth us out. It was heavenly! Hot spicy vegetable laden rice with sweet and sour mushroom deserved a standing ovation.

This place is a must visit. Do remember to reserve your table as this place is usually crowded and go on a day where in you want to find peace and harmony at some corner of the busy and madning 5th Ave!

The below is something I normally leave along with a an abnormally huge tip :)-it was well deserved. I totally cleaned my plate.

Thanks to Susan for the lovely suggestion and the Complimentary Kimchi pic had to make it to her BWW event next week.

Kadhi with Cabbage-Arugula Pakodi

2011-08-09T16:06:00.002-04:00

My mind is too restless for my hands to be free. I have a half a dozen lists prepared on my desk top. I am constantly on the net surfing for baby gears and clothes. I am confident, yet I need to get well prepared. My body and mind is keeping me super busy-Sleepless nights and busy mornings. I am tired, cranky, eager, happy and cannot sleep. This recipe always soothes me and hence, I made a healthy and light version of it this time with much less oil (No deep frying for pakodis).

I do have loads to update; My NYC trip, an all vegetarian hotel review, shopping, meeting up with old friends and what not. All coming soon in due course of time when I learn to relax and breathe! As all of you know that I am hosting MLLA this month, please send me in your recipes and we can have a grainy-greeny legume party!!! Thanks to Susan for giving me this wonderful opportunity. As besan (chickpea flour is a mandatory ingredient in both-the kadhi and pokadi, I decided to submit this to Susan's MLLA.

Here is the recipe of the Kadhi.

For the healthy cabbage-Arugula Pakode:-

Ingredients:- 1 cup of chopped cabbage1 cup of chopped arugula2 1/2 tbl spns of besan1 tsp jeera2 tsp red chilli powdersalt to taste1 tsp olive oil for each of the pakodewarm water to sprinkle
Method:-Mix all of the above to bind them together in a thick sticky mixture.Heat the paniyaaram pan/puff pancake pan to medium heat.Add 1 tsp of oil in each of the holes in the pan.Once the oil is hot, spoon the mixture and cook closed for about 3 mins.Flip them and cook for another 3 mins or till they are cooked and crispy.Drain the excess oil with a paper towel and add them to the kadhi and serve immediately.Serve with hot rice.

Chettinad Urali : Kongu Memories

2011-08-03T11:23:00.001-04:00

Coimbatore has a beautiful charm to it. For instance, the respectful Kongu dialect (tamil), Kongu Gounders even refer to a baby with at most respect. The peppery curries, extra dash of sour tamarind in their gravies and the ilanir payasam (kheer made up of tender coconut water) are difficult to avoid. Not to forget the soothing rains, evening breeze from Palakkad and the sweet Siruvani water. I miss having a home there. Nevertheless, it was a blessing to have Vasanthi aunty in Coimbatore (I have known her since I was 2 yrs). It was so much of fun loitering in her garden on bare foot in the evening while smelling each one of her flowers plants among the plethora of fauna. I still remember how we gossiped while drinking her adrak chai (ginger tea) sitting on the steps at the entrance of the veranda (we south Indians enjoy doing this), enjoying the cool breeze disturbing our beautifully layered hair bangs. Every now and then pearls of laughter would ensue and sometimes we would get bit serious and discuss our favorite topic -food as well. This recipe is a result of one such twilight conversations. The perfect Chettinad urali according to me is explained below; As I had memorized while sipping some chai at leisure.

Ingredients:-
10 baby potatoes cooked and peeled (do not over boil, or else they tend to break)2 pods of garlic grated4-5 coriander leaves chopped1 large onion chopped (medium size)1/4tsp turmeric powder4 tbl spn oil1 tsp mustard seeds
To powder:-2-3 curry leaves1/2tsp of jeera1/2 tsp peppercons1 tsp urad dal/black gram1tsp chana dal/bengal gram1 tsp coriander seeds3 red chillies (according to taste)salt to taste

Method:-
Cook the potatoes and peel the skin carefully.
Heat 4 tbl spns oil in a pan. Add mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle. Add the onions and garlic.
Add the potatoes,salt, turmeric powder and the ground mixture. Toss them carefully so as to make sure the powder covers all the potatoes uniformly.
Keep the heat at medium and toss every 2 mins so that the potatoes get roasted well on all sides.
Garnish with coriander leaves.
Serve Hot .

MLLA EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!

2011-08-01T11:26:00.004-04:00

Hope all of you are enjoying the summer with cool splashes in the pool, regular visits to the farmer's market, BBQ-grilling and loads of picnics! Well, it has been a great summer for us doing all of the above and living life to the fullest.

I have known Susan through this event. In fact, this was my very first event when I started out in the blogosphere. I was welcomed warmly and since then, Susan has always been an inspiration and a source of help whenever needed. She guided me with my very own event, "Green Gourmet" a year back. MLLA is the best platform for all those food bloggers who are new and ready to meet other food bloggers around the world (just like how I started off). I have met so many bloggers and online friends and I am sure others have too, thanks to MLLA.

MLLA- My love affair with legumes, is of course a legume event.

According to wiki,

"A legume (pronounced /ˈlɛɡ(j)uːm/) in botanical writing is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae). English borrowed the term from the French "légume," which, however, has a wider meaning in the modern language and refers to any kind of vegetable; the English word legume being translated in French by the word légumineuse."-Wikipedia

By a legume,we refer to a family of fresh or dried pulses, beans, lentils and/or the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds. We also widen the range by allowing products derived from legumes like including chickpea flour (Besan) and Tofu. Tamarind, fenugreek, carob, peanuts, etc. are among some of the other edible plants in the legume family which ARE included in the event. But ingredients like fenugreek seeds and tamarind are normally used in only spoon fulls; Please do not submit a recipe where in the legume is an auxiliary ingredient.The recipes you post need to have legumes as the main and indispensable ingredient to your dish.

The rules are simple:-

The recipes you post need to have legumes as the main and indispensable ingredient to your dish.
The recipes are to be vegetarian (Eggs are allowed).
You can submit as many entries as you like, but please limit them to ten (10) per participant. You will only be entered into the prize draw once.
Only entries in English will be accepted.
All entries must be received by 31 August ’11 and please note that late entries will not be included in the round-up.
Your post must link to this announcement as well as to Susan's MLLA event page. Use of the MLLA logo in your post is optional.
I will accept recipes that have also been submitted to other events. Recipes from your archives or not specifically created for this event will only be accepted if they are re-posted with a link to this announcement page and Susan’s MLLA event page.
If you don’t have a blog but would like to participate, send an email with the recipe and the above-mentioned details and your entry will be included in the prize draw.
Once you have posted your recipe, please send an e-mail with MLLA in the subject line to writefood[at]live[dot]com and include the following:

Your name
Your location (optional)
Your blog name and URL
Title of the entry/recipe
URL of your post
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There is a gamut of legumes; So let your mind loose and go wild with your imagination. Make sure you follow all of the rules to be eligible for the lovely prizes given out by Susan and Hurst Beans.Susan's friends and family, as well as mine, aren't eligible to win these prizes.

The prizes:-

1) Uncommon Fruits and Vegetables: A Common Sense Guide by Elizabeth Schneider. (Selected for purchase and shipment by Susan without influence. F.T.C. Notice: Susan does not receive any compensation from Amazon.)

2) Hurst Bean Box - A case of six bags of the winner's choice of Hurst Bean products, suitable for every diet, sponsored by Hurst Bean. (Due to shipping restrictions, this prize can only be awarded if the winner is a U.S. resident.) F.T.C. Notice: In May 2010, Susan, at her request, received two Hurst Bean complimentary products which are not available for purchase in her local markets. Susan does not generally accept free products from Hurst Bean nor is she financially compensated by them.

3) Drawing Structure - If the winner is a U.S. resident, she/he will be the recipient of both Prizes 1 and 2 above. In the event that an international winner is drawn, a second drawing will be conducted from the U.S. pool of entrants to ensure that the Hurst Prize is awarded every month. In these instances, the international winner will receive the book, and the U.S. winner will receive the Hurst Prize.

Thanks to Susan, for giving me the opportunity to host this wonderful event.

Warm Wishes,
Preeti
Writefood@live.com

Eggless Microwave Chocolate Cake in 8 mins!

2011-07-13T15:28:00.001-04:00

I have tried a billion recipes to make a quickie chocolate cake! Either they tasted nothing like cake or the microwave was smoking all over:). This one is for keeps. It was a perfect tea/coffee cake to be had at afternoons.

Lots seems to have changed since I went on a break. The weather is hotter than India (We had a heat wave yesterday), we have new neighbors, there are splashing sounds heard at the nearby pool until late evenings, the ice-cream truck visits often, Google plus is the new FB and even the look of blogger is changed.

While coping with all the home bound changes, I was thrilled to bits when the cake worked. It was quick and perfect for the eggless fussies. I felt the cake was very light, fluffy and soft. So don't bother icing these cakes, they are sure to break.

This recipe is from LG recipe book (the one you get with the microwave). Thanks to Shanta Aunty for lending the book to me.

Ingredients:-
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of sugar (add accd to taste)
1/2 cup of curds/plain yogurt
1/2 cup of white butter cream or malai
1 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
5 tble spns of milk
2 tble spns of coco powder

Method:-
Beat the curd,cream and sugar until fluffy.
Sieve flour,baking soda, baking powder, coco powder and mix well.
Mix the above into the cream mixture slowly with milk. Stir gradually.
Microwave for 8mins at 60% power or until the tooth pick comes clean
Cool on Wire rack. Serve with tea/coffee.

Here and there on Gobhi Paratha!

2011-06-06T04:57:00.000-04:00

Unlike many others, I gorge on gobhi parathas more than aloo parathas. Of course, we bloggers have tried our hands on broccoli parathas as well and the reviews have been pretty healthy. Although these grated parathas are a relish, making them is a pain for more than 4 people. They are time consuming and a toiling business. It is great if you have a cook to belofy (roll out) the parathas or else you have to put them under 'nuclear family" category. I totally avoid making them, but my mom makes them for me without a grumble every time I am home.

School season has started. With 4 schools near my house, mornings are busy with children in different uniforms getting dropped off by their parents. Dropped off without much fuss actually- no seat belts, child seats or even cars. Most of them come triples on a bike!....I miss my school days. I have changed so many schools that I have had different modes of transportation while getting dropped off. I have waited for school buses...even trucks, cars, vans, scooter, cycle and even resorted to walk. The most interesting being a boat in West Bengal!

So here is a great recipe children after school, Gobhi Paratha. It is too hectic to send them for lunch but after school seems great!

Ingredients:-

For the stuffing
One small grated gobhi/cauliflower
1 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1 tsp of anardana powder
Some coriander leaves chopped finely
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
Salt to taste

For the Dough
2 cups of whole wheat flour
warm water
1 tbl spn of oil
salt to taste

1 tsp of oil/Butter for smearing and cooking per paratha

Method:-
Knead the dough so that the it is pliable and easy to roll. Keep it aside for 15 mins.
Mix the ingredients for stuffing and check the taste.
Take 2 golf ball sized dough balls and roll them into equal sized circular discs.
Spread the stuffing on one disc and cover it with the other. Seal the circumference by slightly pressing with greased fingers.
Cook both sides using oil/butter in low-medium flame until the dough and the stuffing is cooked well.
Serve hot with pickle and raita.

You may even make the parathas by stuffing the center of a golf sized dough ball and then rolling it. But yes, the amount of gobhi that you taste will be every less compared to the method above.

Indian Summer!!!

2011-05-22T21:04:00.000-04:00

There is nothing like home!

The season every Indian dreads turned out to be quite a blessing for me. I landed in India to a full day current cut due to some maintenance at the electricity board. We didn't loose hope. We planned an awesome lunch get together at my aunt P's personal terrace. We kids played cricket (Yes, we always are kids!!!!) in the evening with tea breaks in between the noisy game. We gossiped, pulled each others leg and had loads of neer mor (buttermilk) to keep the heat away. I finally realized that happiness is in one's own hand. This is what 2011 has given me: Patience and happiness no matter what. After a heavy dinner, my mom also made some kashayam (herbal drink, usually bitter-sweet) to ease the digestion for all of us which was surprisingly gulped down by all of us in seconds. In midst of all the laughter, we forgot how bitter the kashayam was.

Not to forget my aunt L's magical fingers; the heavenly oil massage before bath and applying vicks before I go to sleep made me just forget the whole world! I no longer needed any TV, music or books to relax. She does have magical fingers...or may be it is just love :).

Grandma S's Kashayam

What is summer without mangoes? Some diced mangoes with thair sadam (curd rice) and avakkai (mango)
pickle is an elixir for all. I just can't wait to start shopping next week when my jet lag is all gone. India is a shopping paradise now and some shopping does a lot for my good health :P. Thanks to my aunt L and uncle R's nice-nice goodies. One unique sweet I tasted this time is called, "sweet idli" from K C Das. It so much looked like idlies rubbed with molagai/milagai podi but was a reminiscent to rosagulla in taste.

Not to forget the old n gold bonds. My grandma M's repertoire of advices while feeding me badam halwa everyday and Grandma S's crotchet tips are so very special. My aunt R's unquestioning support, love and friendship tempts me to pretend to be sick so that she would stay a tad bit longer :P. I have decided to buy an Indian food processor to take to US. I would love to know which one you guys would recommend. I recently saw a prestige maestro that looked great. Nevertheless, do let me know . I would love something with good motor speed.

Aunt R and Myself :)

To all those away from home: make a trip ASAP! It is totally worth every bit of it!Not to forget amma's home made Pani puri feast at tea time. Yummmmm. Try adding healthy ingredients like sprouted moong, cooked lentils and vegetables as filling. Thanks to appa's temple trips and timely jokes to make us laugh during the evenings.

Mini's Golgappe Treat!

There is nothing like home and home is truly heaven, even with its imperfections like slow internet, bad traffic and load shedding. I am in love with it for all the love, joy and fun it showers on me. I would kill to eat these gol gappe's everyday made in a jiffy by amma and I am sure you guys feel the same with different stories to share. Waiting to hear from your side.

Finger Food: Namak Paara/Paare

2011-05-11T19:36:00.000-04:00

With pollen in the air and sun shinning bright, life is sunny and busy. With more job to be done, the finger food demand is on too. I think the finger food and work have an exponential increase relation. So this is my favorite finger food with ginger chai: Namak Para. Make it extra spicy so that with a sip of tea the taste enhances.

Namak para is quite been a hit at home since college days when my mom would pack a load some for hostel in an airtight container.It remained fresh for a month at least.

So here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:

1 cup of All Purpose Flour
red chilli powder- acc to taste
1/4 tsp of Carom Seeds (Ajwain)
2 tbsp of Clarified Butter (Ghee)
1/4 cup of Water
1 tbl spn of fine sooji/rava
salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

Method:

Mix flour, salt, rava, red chili powder ghee and ajwain.
Add a little water to form a stiff dough.
Smear a little ghee on the dough ball and leave it for about 10 mins.
Heat Oil for deep-frying. Keep the heat at medium high.
Grease the rolling surface and the rolling pin with oil.
Take some dough and form a ball and roll it into a round.
Grease a sharp knife (not serrated) with oil. and cut into thin strips
Fry once the oil is hot until golden brown/cooked.
Serve at room temperature and store in air tight containers.

My new tote is out and I can't stop adoring how pretty it looks! This is for my mom for Mother's day!

Mushroom Parsley Quiche

2011-05-04T20:31:00.002-04:00

At the Kashyaps, We always have much-room for mushrooms :) and baby bella being a hot favorite, I had to make this quiche. My love for quiche started in Bombay. A nice evening walk at the bandra promenade with a friend always made me hungry. It was the typical hungry time between 6-7 PM, when mom is still making dinner and the good old rusks are so boring. So I normally bought sev puri on the road and shared it with my she-friend, D on the way back home. But one fine day, chaat bhaiya decided to give us a skip and hence, we were forced to go to Candies, a block away from home. As I was going to utter my usual candies thing-the cold coffee, Kareena Kapoor (yes!, the same person you are thinking of) hopped in for some to-go coffee and softly suggested, "Try the tomato quiche,it is out of the world". Well, me being my calm self said, "Really? Thanks!". So I did order the quiche and have been since then. Avi is an ardent quiche fan too now.

Here is the recipe from Helen Aitken's Vegetarian (changed it a tad!) :-

Pastry:-
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
3 oz of cold butter
1 egg yolk

Filling:-
1 cup of diced Bella Mushrooms
1 oz of butter
1 red onion chopped
1 tsp of lime juice
1/2 cup of chopped parsley
1 egg beaten with 1/3 cup of cream
salt and pepper to taste

Method:-
Combine the ingredients needed for the pastry with the help of very little water (just to make the crumbs come together). Cover it with plastic wrap and freeze it for 20 mins.
Roll out the dough into a a thin sheet and line it to any quiche mold. Refrigerate the mold for 10 mins.
Preheat the oven at 375 and heat the mold with the dough sheet for 15 mins/until the pastry sheet look cooked (usually golden brown).
Meanwhile saute all the ingredients for the filling in butter. Add lime juice at the very end.
Fill in the mold and add the egg-cream on top of the filling. Bake for another 15-20 mins.
Enjoy Hot!

This week has been very productive creatively. I made a nice mobile pouch for my phone and an awesome bag is on its way. My migraines are back again but not as severe as they used to be, but I am managing the cooking front pretty good.

A Rainy Mélange

2011-04-28T14:18:00.001-04:00

My George Foreman mini grill has been staring at me for quite sometime now. With the rain setting in, I thought it was a perfect time to grill. I simply love rain, I have been out in the balcony past 4 hrs enjoying its sound, smell and sight. As I am allowed to wet only my feet and hands this year, I am missing the usual getting wet in the rain routine. Well, making good use of the available opportunity, I have been dangling my feet though the balcony railings.

My beautiful view past 4 hrs. I am truly blessed and so thankful for this little rainy surprise. Reading a book, drinking chai and occasionally taking a click makes a complete happy rainy day for me. One really enjoys spring only after a long winter and this winter seemed never ending. I am really happy to see the sun, green leaves and the birds chirping. I even get occasional company during the afternoons for some peanuts.

I always had a special place for sandwich and who doesn't? I am sure each one of you have your own fav sandwich, be it a gourmet entree' or just a midnight cook up. I love my concoction: light, healthy and flavorful.

So this is what I did:-

I grilled potato and eggplant slices with salt and pepper until they are cooked well with minimum amount of olive oil. I also grilled lightly some red peppers and carrot, but made sure they don't soften too much and have a slight crunch to them. I buttered two slices of whole wheat bread.On one, I spread some green chutney and the other had a tinge of Indian tomato pickle. I arranged the vegetables on the slice with some mint leaves thrown in at random. I grilled the sandwich until crispy.

The Mango Rains: Manga Kootan

2011-04-21T13:56:00.002-04:00

I am quite fond of rains. We wait eagerly for monsoons in India to wash away the dirt and make the summer heat calm and pleasant. Well, the start of monsoons is usually the end of summer which in-turn ends the mango season. Nevertheless, I still used to wait for the pre-monsoon showers as my mother fretted over the disappearing good mangoes; My mother's fav fruit. She is actually surprised how one cannot be fond of the juicy golden fruit.Well, she was supposed to have gorged on them throughout her pregnancy and hence, I have no doubt in believing that I got bored of sweet smelling fruit even before I was born. To my mother's dismay,I always told her that the damn fruit is so much over rated. Nevertheless, I found a Kerala recipe that uses mangoes in my MIL's repertoire of delicacies that I totally loved! So after all, I did somewhere down the line make peace with the fruit. Oh and by the way, it did rain today! As you all know sweet and sour is so my thing now a days :).

Manga Kootan:-

Ingredients:-
2 tbl spns of curds
3-4 (red chillies + 5-6 seeds of fenugreek seeds) roasted in 1 tsp of oil
1/3 cup of medium sized diced raw mango/sour mango peeled
2/3 cup grated coconut
2 tsp of jaggery (Do not make it too sweet)
1 tsp turmeric powder
4-5curry leaves
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of oil to temper

Method:-
Boil the mango with 1/2 cup of water for 15 mins or until soft with salt and turmeric. Mango pieces should be squashed completely.
Add jaggery little by little and see the taste.
Grind the coconut and red chillies and fenugreek seeds (roasted in oil).
Add to the curry and cook for a min in medium heat
Temper the curry with curry leaves and mustard seeds.
Once the curry cools, add the curds and mix well.
Serve with rice and a dollop of ghee.

My lil escapade just before it rained. I loved the cool breeze.

Ulundu Vadai and Thayir Vadai (Lentil Savoury Donuts)

2011-04-14T15:27:00.003-04:00

The last time I posted about ulundu vadai was two years back. The no holes post is right here. I could never get the holes in between to make them look like fluffy donuts. The vadai always turned up to be a something that was a reminiscent of its twin: Bonda. Nevertheless, they were tasty though. Since that time, I have constantly tried to perfect this art and lo! I got it perfect this time. I got the holes, the texture and the taste. It just takes practice I guess,but once you get the knack of it, you have it for life.

To all my readers : Happy Vishu

I made some kesari to go with it today. 'Some kesari' is an understatement. While I was on the phone with my MIL, I lost count of the cups of rava I put in and made tons of it. I can actually feed 10 people today. So me and Avi are heading to the temple to give some to the devotees today. Thank God that I was a little attentive while making the Vadai. I exactly had 15 vadais (medium size). Thanks to Raji of Rak's kitchen for the help with her instructional video.

Recipe for Ulundu Vadai:-

Ingredients:-
1 cup of whole husked black gram/lentil (soaked for 2 hrs)
chopped green chillies as desired
Some curry leaves for flavor
salt to taste
1 tbl spn of grated ginger
Oil to deep fry.

Chopped onions and peppercorns are optional.

Method:-
Grind the soaked lentil with as little water as possible in a grinder for about 15 mins.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Wet you hands and take a golf ball sized batter and shape the donut on the four fingers with the help of your thumb (of the same hand.You use only one of you hands/palm to shape the vadais)
Fry them till light brown.
Serve with any chutney you like.

Recipe for Thai Vadais:-

Ingredients:-
4 vadais (Newly made)
1 cup of whisked curds/ plain yogurt (pouring consistency.Keep it chilled until the last minute)
1/4 cup of grated coconut
1-2 green chillies
coriander leaves
grated carrot
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp of oil for tempering
2-3 curry leaves
pinch of sugar
salt to taste

You could add some boondi for extra crunch as well. But it is optional.

Method:-
Once the vadais are out of the oil, dunk them into warm water for about 1 min.
Squeeze well and place them on a plate.
Grind the coconut and green chillies.Mix the paste with the whisked curds, salt,sugar and grated ginger.
Pour the curd mixture on the vadais.
Garnish with chopped coriander and grated carrot.
Temper the mustard seeds in hot oil.Wait till they start to crackle and add the curry leaves.
Add the tempering on top of the vadais and serve immediately.

Happy New Year:Pineapple Pulisseri

2011-04-13T17:09:00.001-04:00

I was wondering where to start and what to start with; its been 3months since I last updated my blog. I was in a real bad health and was totally enervated to do anything at all. Thanks to all my lovely readers for remembering and inquiring where I had gone. By God's grace, I am totally fine now and finally have realized I have loads of killing kitchen work to do. I was looking for some inspiration and thanks to Sarah for this exciting recipe:Pineapple Pulisseri. It seemed easy and something very unusual. I really wanted to surprise Avi with a palakkad recipe as he is from that region. Being Vishu tomorrow, this sadya (Kerala Vishu feast) item seemed like the perfect recipe to start with. I tweaked the recipe a tad but the end result was so tasty. Sweet and sour is so my thing now a days.

Ingredients:-

10 pineapple cubes (1.5 inches)
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1.5 cups of curds
salt to taste

Gound Paste:-
2/3rd cup of grated coconut
2 green chillies
1 tsp of cumin seeds

Tempering:-
1 tsp of mustard seeds
5 fenugreek seeds
4 curry leaves
1 tsp of oil
3 dried red chillies

Method:-
Boil the pineapple chunks with 1/2 cup of water with turmeric and red chilli powder.
Once the chunks are soft and most of the water is evaporated, add the ground paste to the pineapples and mix well. Let the mixture cook in medium flame for about 5 mins.
Keep the heat at low and slowly add the curds so that it doesn't curdle.
Cook at low heat for about 2 mins. Do not let it boil.
Take it off the heat. Heat the oil for tempering in another pan and add the mustard seeds. Wait till the mustard seeds crackle and then add the other tempering ingredients.Fry well for a few seconds and pour it into the curd mixture.
Serve hot.

See you soon with other specials :). Happy New Year to every one! This recipe goes to Fruit of the Month event hosted by RecipeGrabBag and is the brainchild of Priya of Mharo Rajasthan’s Recipes.

I want some more! - Aloo- Matar-Paneer (Potato-Peas-Cottage Cheese)

2011-01-24T20:44:00.003-05:00

I love aloo matar as well as matar paneer and I didn't mix the left overs of these two :P. I wanted to make something simple and yet, different. So here it is, Aloo-Matar-Paneer! Tell me something I can't do and I will pursue it to no end. I made dhokla for 3 successive days until I was successful. Avi made the mistake of telling me that he can't eat green peas for nuts, I made him have matar paneer, methi-matar-malai, peas masala and now this one. Not only did he have his serving, but he asked for two more. He went ahead and told the same about eggplants and now he requests them every now and then. Call me persistent or simply, a woman- I do exactly opposite of what is told to me. I think I am a mean bit of both. ;)

It is -29 Deg C here and some warm carbs doesn't do any bad :) . My latest crochet project:- Hook Case.

Ingredients:-
1/3 cup of green peas
1 cup of diced potato
1/2 cup of diced 1" paneer cubes
1/3 cup of curds
1 tsp of jeera
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp of garam masala
1/2 tsp of coriander powder
4 slit green chillies (or more)
1/4 cup of coriander leaves
1 tbl spn of oil
salt to taste

Method:-
Heat the oil and add the jeera.
Add the green chillies, green peas and ginger-garlic paste. Fry for about 1 min.
Add the potatoes, garam masala, salt and coriander powder. Fry well for about 2 min.
Add the curds and cook closed for 10 mins. Stir every 2 mins.
Once the curds is almost soaked in by the potato, add the fried paneer pieces and cook closed in low flame for about 2 mins.
Garnish with coriander leaves.