Edible Garden

Maida Puri Recipe - Poori or Luchi with Maida - Step by Step

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:39:00 +0000

Maida Puri, as the name suggests, is Poori made with Maida or plain flour instead of the usual atta or whole wheat flour. The taste and texture differ quite a bit and maida puri is best served hot with a spicy curry whereas regular puris make great tiffin box items and taste great even with a spoonful of sugar. To me, these maida puris are a great instant bhatura since bhatura dough takes some time to ferment before you can make them. The taste is obviously not the same but Maida Puri will work as a substitute in a pinch if I am in a hurry.

Last weekend, I had this sudden urge to make the Bengali-style puris or luchi and did some research for a good recipe. Turns out it's very similar to the maida puri I made a couple months back except that I had added some rava or semolina to mine and luchi doesn't necessarily have that.

Maida Puri and Chana Masala

In any case, I don't claim any authenticity to this recipe so if you are a staunch Bengali food lover, please don't yell.

MAIDA PURI RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Makes 10 puris

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of maida or plain flour
2 tbsp of rava or semolina
3 tbsp of curd or plain yogurt (optional)
1/2 tsp of salt
1 tsp of oil, for the dough
2-3 cups of oil, for deep frying

How to Make Maida Puri:

1. Mix all the ingredients together except the oils.

2. Add water a little at a time and knead into a soft and pliable dough. Don't over-work the dough, just knead enough to bring it all together. Add the 1 tsp oil to the bowl and turn the dough to coat it well. I used my Kitchenaid to make the dough.

3, Keep covered for 10-15 mins.

4. Pinch off a lemon-sized ball of dough, form a ball between your palms, dust generously wtih flour, and roll into a circle of about 3" diameter and 1/4" thickness.

5. As you work on the puris, heat the oil for deep frying until it just begins to smoke.

6. Once all the puris are rolled out and the oil is has heated up, drop each gently into the oil. Using a slotted spoon, make sure the puri is dunked into the oil well for frying.

It will puff up completely in about 5-8 seconds.

7. Turn it to cook the other side.

Maida puris won't turn very golden or brown like regular puris and bhatura do so once both sides have been fried for 5-8 seconds after puffing, you can drain and set them aside. Repeat with the rest of the rolled puris.

Serve immediately with any spicy bhaji like chana masala, potato masala, or vegetable kurma.

Notes:

Serve hot, otherwise the puris turn a bit rubbery and hard
The semolina helps the puris puff up and stay crisp for longer. I added curd to give them more of a bhatura taste, it's purely optional

Featured Props:
Ikea 365+ Side Plate
Steel katori from the 1970s that belonged to my grandfather
The kadai is a Hawkins anodised deep fry pan

Blueberry Lemonade Recipe - Guest post for my Sister's Spicy Chilly

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Wed, 15 May 2013 08:58:00 +0000

I have a sister. She has a food blog too and it's been in neglect for a while so I am hoping to revive it for a bit with this gorgeous blueberry lemonade I made over the weekend. I am usually at a loss on what to make with blueberries after adding using them in blueberry streusel muffins, eggless pancakes, and blueberry coulis. Well, drinks and juices, of course! I had initially planned a strawberry lemonade for her but couldn't find strawberries that were pretty enough. I didn't want to drop the idea of making a lemonade so instead picked up these gorgeous blueberries instead.

I had a pretty busy weekend with quite a lot of cooking, slicing vegetables for the coming week, visiting family and new born babies, dinners with friends, a movie (Star Trek - it's good, go watch), trying out a new restaurant, you know, packing life into 2 days! So this drink was photographed in a hurry under an overcast sky. Nevertheless, Singapore is hot and humid this time of the year whether it's raining or shining so it's always a perfect time to enjoy some lemonade.

Blueberry lemonade has a lovely texture and has a nice sweetness from the berries and tartness from the lemon. You can help it along by adding some honey or sugar, especially if the berries are not sweet enough. I did add some raw sugar to my lemonade. Some ice cubes would have been nice but I didn't have any ready so I just made do. Use chilled water if you don't have ice cubes, or better yet, make sure you have some in hand before you start making it!

Have I rambled enough? Over to my sister's lovely blog for the Blueberry Lemonade Recipe.

Sesame Tofu Recipe with Hot & Sweet Sauce - Step by Step

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Mon, 13 May 2013 09:34:00 +0000

TH and I both like tofu so I really have no excuses for not cooking with it more often. For the longest time, I wasn't able to recognize extra firm tofu in the Singapore supermarkets but finally figured out that it's labeled Tau Kwa. Tofu is super absorbent and takes in flavours beautifully no matter what you cook with it or cook it in. When we go out, especially for a non-Indian meal, we find ourselves with some side dish with tofu in it, especially in a Thai meal.

The moment I saw this gorgeous sesame tofu recipe, I wanted to try it. Some of the original ingredients are not always what I have in hand or use much so I substituted with my own variations and it still tasted great. Generally, I am not a fan of mixing sweet in a savoury dish but honey-based sauces are always an exception.

I am positive this would taste just as fabulous with paneer substituted for tofu and and as a side dish for vegetable fried rice or egg fried rice. Yum!

HOT & SWEET SESAME TOFU RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 2
Recipe and photo adapted from: Use Real Butter

Ingredients:

1 block of firm tofu
1/4 cup of cornflour / corn starch
A pinch of salt
2 tbsp of white sesame seeds
A small bunch of spring onions/green onions

For the sauce:

3 tbsp of honey
1 tsp of soya sauce
1 tsp of vinegar
2 tsp of red chilli flakes
1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
1 tsp of freshly grated garlic
2 tsp of sesame oil
1/2 cup of oil, more or less, for shallow frying

How to Make Sesame Tofu:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a pan.

Simmer on low heat until it starts to bubble up a bit. Continue to simmer for 2-3 mins and then turn off flame.

3. Now we need to fry up the tofu. If your tofu came packed in water, drain completely and press between kitchen towels to extract extra moisture. Cut into bite-sized cubes and dredge in the corn flour until fully coated.

4. Heat oil for shallow frying in a pan and add the tofu pieces in small batches making sure they don't overlap at all. Fry until light golden brown, drain and continue until you are done with the entire lot. Drain on kitchen towels to absorb the extra oil.

5. Add the fried tofu to a wide bowl and pour the sauce on top.

6. Top off with the sesame seeds and chopped spring onions.

Toss well to coat.

Sesame tofu is best served hot and immediately. If you expect it to be a while until you can serve it, keep the fried tofu and sauce separately, warm the sauce, and then do the mixing and tossing. The tofu pieces will remain crisp and the sauce gives a lovely sweet, hot, tangy, crunch to the entire dish.

Note:
The original recipe called for tamari instead of soya sauce I used, rice wine vinegar instead of the regular white vinegar I used, and Chinese sesame oil whereas I used gingelly oil or Indian sesame oil. As mentioned, I still loved the end product although my sauce was thicker since I added lesser honey.

Featured Props:
Brown flat plate and dark peach bowl both from Kappabashi Street, Tokyo.

Instant Tomato Rasam Recipe - Easy South Indian Tomato Rasam

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Sun, 12 May 2013 15:06:00 +0000

Tomato Rasam or thakkali rasam usually tops the list when people think of rasam so I was quite surprised when a friend wrote to me last week asking for a simple tomato rasam recipe and I realised I haven't shared it in the blog yet! Let me assure you that it's just an oversight and not because it's not part of my lunch menu regularly. I do prefer the no-tamarind tomato juice rasam to a regular tomato rasam but still end up making it 3-4 times a month. The only thing I'd insist on for making tomato rasam is that you have ripe tomatoes in hand. The rest is all easy and straightforward. Oh, and also, this is one of those rasam recipes that uses no readymade rasam powder. All you need are some basic spices which are sure to be in your pantry already.

As I have mentioned many times already, my favourite combinations with rasam is paruppu usili and I make large portions of it because TH and I can never get enough of it. This was a terrific lunch combination - plain rice, tomato rasam, paruppu usili, and roasted coriander chutney with some vadaam on the side!

Other South Indian Rasam Recipes we love:
Pepper Rasam
Tomato Juice Rasam
Lemon Rasam
Coconut Milk Rasam
Paruppu Rasam
Garlic Rasam

INSTANT TOMATO RASAM RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 ripe tomatoes
1 lime-sized ball of tamarind
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp of roasted cumin (jeera), powdered or crushed
1 tsp of black pepper, crushed
1 tsp of red chilli powder
3 tbsp of cooked and mashed toor dal (optional)
1 tsp of ghee
1/4 tsp of black mustard seeds
A pinch of turmeric powder
A pinch of salt
1/4 tsp of hing / asafoetida powder
A pinch of sugar
2 tbsp of chopped coriander leaves, for garnish

How to Make Tomato Rasam:

Soak the tamarind in one cup warm water for 15 mins. Extract juice and discard seeds and pulp, if any.
Place this in a pan and add chopped tomatoes and crushed garlic to it
Add 2 more cups of water and bring to boil. Then lower flame to simmer
Add the crushed cumin and pepper along with the chilli powder, turmeric and some salt
Continue to simmer until the tomatoes are completely cooked and the tamarind has lots its raw smell (about 12-15 mins)
Add the dal, if using, and the coriander leaves along with the sugar. Mix well and remove from fire
Heat the ghee in a smaller pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the hing and switch off flame. Dunk this mixture into the rasam and stir well

Serve hot with rice or drink it up like a soup.

Notes:

You can add more pepper powder towards the end if you prefer
You can add 2 tsp rasam powder instead of pepper, cumin, and chilli powder
You can crush the garlic and add it to the oil while tempering to give the thakkali rasam a roasted garlic flavour
Add curry leaves if you prefer. I like the combination of coriander leaves and tomatoes so I prefer to avoid curry leaves. There are better uses for it anyway!

Eggless Brownies - Eggless Chocolate Brownie Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Thu, 09 May 2013 08:00:00 +0000

I like brownies no matter what texture or form they come in. I've tried them all - chewy, cake-y, sponge-y, moist, dense, light, you name it. One of my favourite kinds to make at home is the softer cake-like brownies. I usually use my easy basic brownie recipe with different variations when I bake brownies at home but a couple of months back, I needed to bake some eggless brownies for a friend. A quick search brought me to this wonderful recipe, truly no-fail and super easy to make.

Since my oven has hotspots, I usually cover my baking tray loosely with some aluminium foil and leave a small slit on top. I did the same while baking these brownies and feel that it made the top a bit too moist and more cake-like, without that crinkly cracked top usually found on brownies. Fret not! They tasted great and much like brownies!

This is yet another brownie recipe you can adapt to your heart's content. Add some chopped walnuts or other nuts, throw in some chocolate chips, add some chocolate ganache on top and make it richer, go crazy! I just chose to add some chopped walnuts on top for texture, packed them up to give away, and they were good to go!

Other Brownie Recipes you may like:
Plain Chocolate Brownies (with egg)
Katherine Hepburn Brownies
Triple Chocolate Brownies
Twix Brownies
Eggless Biscuit Brownies (no oven or baking needed)

EGGLESS CHOCOLATE BROWNIE RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Makes ~12 squares
Recipe adapted from: Food for 7 Stages of Life

Ingredients:

1 cup of all-purpose flour or maida
1/2 cup of cocoa powder (I use and love Valrhona)
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp of powdered sugar (measure after powdering)
1 tsp of baking soda (soda bi carb)
A pinch of salt
1/3 cup of oil (I used vegetable oil)
1 cup of milk
1 tsp of vinegar
1/2 tsp of instant coffee powder
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
A fistful of walnuts, chopped

To Make the Brownies:

Pre-heat oven to 350F / 180C. How to pre-heat an oven.
Mix the milk at room temperature with the vinegar and set aside (Side-note: if a recipe calls for buttermilk and you don't have any in hand, this milk + vinegar mixture acts as a great substitute for buttermilk)
In a bowl, sift together the flour, soda, cocoa powder, coffee powder, and salt. Mix the powdered sugar with this and stir well to combine
Mix the oil and vanilla to the milk + vinegar mixture that's been set aside
Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently fold to combine until there are no more streaks of flour left
Transfer the batter to a greased 8X8 pan and add chopped walnuts on top
Bake for 25-30 mins until a skewer inserted into the brownie comes out with crumbs
Let the baked brownies sit in the pan and cool completely before you cut into squares
Keeps well for up to 2 days outside or 4 days refrigerated

Notes:

You can add chocolate chips, caramel chips, chocolate chunks, other nuts, pretty much anything you prefer to change up the flavour of the brownies
Adding a layer of chocolate ganache would really fancy up the brownies
You can replace the oil with melted butter
You can replace the milk+vinegar mixture with buttermilk

Featured in the pictures:
Chicago Metallic Brownie Pan (I can't seem to find the same colour online anymore) from Sur La Table
Tasting Square Plates from Costplus World Market

Coconut Coriander Chutney for Rice (Cilantro Chutney Recipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:00:00 +0000

Coconut Coriander Chutney (kothamalli thogayal or malliyila chammanthi) is one of my absolute favourties chutney with rice. It goes great with both rasam sadam and curd rice, lending its perfect flavour to the combination. Growing up, I hated the generous garnish of coriander or cilantro amma used to grace all dishes with and would painstakingly pick it out of sambar and such. At some point, I grew to love it and now, I can't do without some fresh coriander leaves in my refrigerator.

TH loves paruppu thogayal and I love kothamalli thogayal so usually there's a toss up between which chutney to make for rice. On days when I have leftover kuzhambu from the previous day, I just make a vegetable side dish and a chutney to complete our meal. Easy, tasty, and balanced!

Other Chutney (Thogayal) Recipes for Rice:
Chow Chow Chutney
Paruppu Thogayal
Curry Leaves Chutney
Peanut Chutney
Pudina Coconut Chutney
Tomato Mint Chutney (no coconut)
Ridge Gourd Sesame Chutney

I like my chutneys and thogayal a bit on the thicker side so I don't add much water while grinding. Its up to you on how you want the consistency of this coriander chutney but adding too much water will dilute the flavours so be careful about that.

COCONUT CORIANDER CHUTNEY (CILANTRO THOGAYAL)

Preparation time: 3 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

3/4 cup of grated coconut (thawed if frozen)
1 cup of packed coriander leaves (cilantro)
2 red chillies
1 green chilli
A small piece of tamarind
1/2 tsp of urad dal (ulutham paruppu)
1 tsp of oil

How to Make Coriander Chutney:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the urad dal. Fry until golden brown.

2. Add the chopped coriander leaves and saute until wilted.

3. Then add the red chillies, green chilli, and coconut along with some salt. Sautè until the coconut loses much of its moisture (about 3-4 mins). Turn off flame, add the tamarind, and let it cool down completely.

4. Grind to a smooth chutney using only as much water as required for the grinding.

Serve coconut coriander chutney (cilantro thogayal) with rice and any kuzhambu or rasam of choice.

How to Make Chicken Biryani - Layered Chicken Biryani Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Tue, 07 May 2013 03:16:00 +0000

Amma makes amazing chicken biryani. Her recipe has evolved and changed over years and now she has two versions, one is the more homely one-pot chicken biryani and the other is a layered chicken biryani, the recipe of which she got from a caterer in our local club and adapted over the years to suit our tastebuds. She often claims that biryani is the easiest thing to make because she doesn't have to make rice and then a kuzhambu or pulusu and then two side dishes, etc etc. Even a simple vegetable pulao needs some sort of a side dish but a biryani doesn't need much else except a simple onion raita and papad on the side. Also, everyone loves a GOOD chicken biryani!

Well, maybe not everyone, because we do have some vegetarians in the family. Which is another reason why she developed this layered chicken biryani recipe. You can cook the biryani rice separately and the chicken gravy separately, to be mixed at the time of serving, or like in my case, I do it on my plate directly! She also adds some vegetables to the rice so that it's more wholesome for the vegetarians. So take this recipe as just a base or an idea and adapt it to suit your needs.

These pictures are almost 2 years old and I had been meaning to take step by step pictures but amma makes this over 2 days sometimes and it's nearly impossible to be around all the time when she's doing a small step here or there. I've tried to make up for the lack of step by step pictures through the detailed instructions.

As Amma does, some work for the biryani can be done in advance. She usually makes the chicken gravy the day before, makes the rice on the day, and then layers them up before serving. This way, you get to control how much spice you have in your biryani, set aside some for the kids/vegetarians and be in control.

Amma's recipe notes have all quantities in bulk to serve the large family gatherings this is usually made for. I have scaled the recipe down to serve 4 people so any obvious mistakes in quantities are mine. As always, the list of ingredients for a biryani will always be long but the entire cooking process is not hard, just more time-consuming than normal dishes.

AMMA'S CHICKEN BIRYANI RECIPE (LAYERED CHICKEN BIRYANI)

Preparation time: 1 hour
Cooking time: 2 hours
Serves 4
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:

For the Rice:
2 cups of basmati rice
2 onions, sliced
1 tsp of crushed ginger
1 tsp of crushed garlic
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
A small piace of cinnamon
3 star anise
1 tsp of cumin / jeera
1/2 cup of carrots, cut into small cubes (optional)
10 cashew nuts
10 raisins

For the Chicken Gravy:

1 kg of chicken pieces, with bones
3 of large onions, sliced
1 tsp of minced ginger
1 tsp of minced garlic
2 tsp of coriander powder
1/2 tsp of powdered fennel seeds
2 tsp of chicken masala
1/2 tsp of garam masala (optional)
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
2 tomatoes
A small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
A fistful of mint leaves
1/2 tsp of sugar
5-6 green chillies
3 tbsp of ghee or oil
1 tsp of pepper powder

How to Make Chicken Biryani:

For the Rice:

Soak the rice for 30 mins.

Meanwhile, heat the ghee or oil in a wide pan and add the sliced onions along with the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, bay leaf, cardamom, star anise). Fry the onions stirring frequently.

Grind or crush the garlic and ginger together. Add this to the frying onions and fry until the onions turn a dark golden brown. Drain and set aside. (If using carrots, add along with the ginger, etc and cook together).

In the same pan, fry the cashew nuts and raisins until golden. Drain and set aside with the fried onions.

Once the rice is done, mix it with our onion mixture, add the fried raisins and cashew nuts on top and set aside.

Cook the rice following whichever method you prefer. We usually cook the rice for biryani in an open pan but you can use the rice cooker or pressure cooker too. Just make sure the rice doesn't get overcooked. The grains need to remain separate.

For the Chicken Gravy

Grind or crush ginger + garlic + green chillies

Heat the ghee or oil and add onions. Fry until golden brown and add the ginger-garlic-chillies paste. Fry for another minute and then add the spice powders chicken masala + coriander powder + fennel powder + pepper + turmeric. Saute for a minute.

Then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until they turn soft. At this stage, the mixture will turn mushy and gravy-ish.

Add the washed and cleaned chicken pieces + salt + sugar + 1 cup water and mix well. Bring to boil and cook closed until the chicken is completely cooked. The meat will let out water so don't add too much. Cook on a low flame until done. Then, garnish with garam masala, coriander leaves, mint leaves and more pepper powder. Mix well and set aside.

The chicken gravy should be a bit watery as you see below. If not, add more water and cook further for a bit longer.

Layering the Chicken Biryani

About an hour before serving, take a large serving dish and add a layer of rice. Top off with some chicken and gravy. Add more rice. Repeat this 2 more times. Keep the dish closed and at the time of serving, gently mix and transfer to plates.

Serve chicken biryani with tomato cucumber raita or onion raita and papad.

Red Coconut Chutney for Idli, Dosa (Kerala-Style Chutney Recipe)

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Mon, 06 May 2013 06:39:00 +0000

The red colour in red coconut chutney is from the dry red chillies used in the chutney so that's the basic different between a red coconut chutney and the green coconut chutney that uses fresh green chillies. This red chutney is a Kerala recipe since it doesn't use roasted gram or kadala paruppu as Tamilnadu coconut chutneys do. The chutneys in Kerala also use a generous amount of small onions or shallots (ulli, chinna vengayam) which I love.

In my version of red coconut chutney, I use ginger, shallots, and garlic when grinding the coconut. This gives a lot of flavour to the chutney but if you prefer to keep it simpler or want to serve it with pongal or some dish that has a lot of flavour of its own, then you can choose ginger or garlic and add just one to the chutney. I'm just trying to say, experiment and adapt the chutney to your taste. Also, if serving this at night, omit the garlic because raw garlic in the chutney really gives it a kick and you don't want to go to bed and wake up with garlic breath, do you? ;)

This red coconut chutney goes best with Idli and Dosa or Uthappam. If you are looking for a red chutney without coconut, then check out this red chilli chutney recipe. Love chutneys? Here's a list of all Chutney Recipes in Edible Garden.

RED COCONUT CHUTNEY RECIPE (FOR IDLI, DOSA)

Preparation time: 4 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 cup of grated coconut (thawed if frozen)
1 tsp of red chilli powder (or 3 red chillies), adjust to taste
4 shallots or pearl onion (ulli, chinna vengayam)
1 clove of garlic
1 small piece of ginger
For tempering:
1 tsp of oil (I use coconut oil)
1/4 tsp of black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of split urad dal (uzhunnu parippu, ulutham paruppu)
A few curry leaves
3 shallots, sliced

How to Make Red Coconut Chutney:

1. Grind coconut + shallots + garlic + ginger + chilli powder + salt + water to make a smooth chutney. Start with a few tbsp of water and adjust as you go

2. Heat oil for tempering, add the mustard seeds and when they pop, add the urad dal. When the urad dal turns golden brown, add the sliced shallots and curry leaves. Fry until shallots turn brown.

3. Remove from flame and dunk into the ground chutney. Mix well.

Red chutney is a fabulous side dish for dosa and idli and I make it often, especially when I run out of fresh green chillies.

Try it in your kitchen and let me know what you thought? If you have a version of red coconut chutney that's much different, do let me know in the comments section below :)

Paneer Shashlik Recipe - Stovetop Paneer Shashlik Sizzler - Step by Step

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:01:00 +0000

Learn how to make restaurant-style Paneer Shashlik, a sizzler-special paneer starter, at home using this easy recipe. Paneer Shashlik is similar to Paneer Tikka and usually made in a tandoor or on a sizzler plate. This is an easier version we can make at home without any special equipment.

Paneer Shashlik is a slightly lesser known paneer starter that's usually served on a sizzler plate on skewers. I have tasted Paneer Shashlik sizzlers many times but never attempted to make it at home until my brother happened to sign me up for a cooking demo by "big chef Naushad", who is a popular chef and caterer in Kerala known for his original recipes, especially biryani. He demo'ed 4 tandoor starter recipes that were easy to make on a griddle on the stovetop at home. We loved this Paneer Shashlik and the very next day, amma made a fresh batch of homemade paner and I got cracking.

You need to marinate the paneer pieces just like you do for Paneer Tikka recipe, to let the flavours incorporate into the otherwise bland paneer. Since we used fresh homemade paneer, it was more crumbly and soft than frozen paneer but you can use whatever you have in hand. The capsicum and onions add a lovely flavour too. So here's a step by step on how to make Paneer Shashlik at home using this easy recipe from Chef Naushad.

More Paneer Recipes on Edible Garden

STOVETOP PANEER SHASHLIK RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Serves 4 as a starter
Recipe source: Chef Naushad

Ingredients:

2 cups of cubed paneer (I used homemade paneer)
1 large onion, cubed
1/2 of a capsicum, cubed
1 tomato, insides scooped out and cubed
4 tbsp of thick plain curd / yogurt
1/2 tsp of crushed ginger
1 tsp of crushed garlic
1/4 tsp of roasted cumin powder
1/2 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp + 2 tsp of oil (chef recommended mustard oil and that's what we used)
1 tsp of kasuri methi / dried fenugreek leaves
1/2 tsp of chaat masala
1 tsp of butter (optional)

How to Make Paneer Shashlik:

1. Marinate the paneer cubes in curd + ginger + garlic + pepper + cumin + salt + 1 tsp oil. Set aside for 5-10 mins.

2. Meanwhile, cube your vegetables evenly and set aside (Sidenote: I LOVE the light in my mom's kitchen!)

3. Heat the 2 tsp oil (in an iron skillet if you have one) and swirl until the pan is well coated. Gently place the paneer pieces on the heated pan without overlapping. Keep flame at medium and let one side brown.

4. Add the onions, tomatoes, and capsicum and gently flip the paneer to cook the other side. The vegetables will also get flipped around, that's fine.

5. When the paneer looks almost done (nicely browned and sizzling) and the vegetables are softer, add the kasuri methi, some more salt if needed, and chaat masala. Gently mix until combined.

6. Cook for 2 more mins, turn off flame and add butter on top (if using). We added some homemade butter for flavour. Transfer to a plate and serve hot.

Notes:

This is an easy way to make Paneer Shashlik at home without skewers, a sizzler plate, or any other special equipment. If you want to make it look more authentic, you can thread the marinated paneer and vegetables on a skewer and then cook it. Or, you can thread the cooked paneer and vegetables on skewers before serving. I would probably go with the latter option if I really wanted to serve these on skewers.
You can also use some fresh coriander leaves (cilantro) for garnish to enhance the taste and flavour.

Palak Pulao Recipe - Indian Spinach Rice - Step by Step Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 11:03:00 +0000

My mom-in-law made this amazing Palak Pualo (Keerai Sadam or Spinach Rice) when we had gone back to India last year. I very diligently took pictures as she cooked and then duly forgot to take a picture of the final dish. The palak pulao taste lingered in my mind for a long time and I finally made it a few days back. Spinach rice is a great one pot meal and doesn't need any elaborate side dishes as it's balanced and nutritious on its own. Also, since we use the pressure cooker for making this spinach rice, it makes our job much quicker and easier.

What I loved about her spinach rice recipe is the ground coconut-coriander leaves paste that adds a wonderful flavour and makes the rice delicious. Since spinach is a bit bland on its own, I highly recommend adding all the ingredients mentioned so that you can serve it as a one-pot meal.

Since TH and I love spinach in pretty much any form - his favour dish ever is Palak Paneer - this rice is a welcome lunch for us. You can use any variety of spinach that's available, just make sure to use green spinach and fresh leaves if you can.

PALAK PULAO RECIPE (SPINACH RICE)

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe source: Mom-in-law

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of rice, washed
1 large bunch of spinach, washed and coarsely chopped
1 tomato, cubed
1 onion, sliced
2 green chillies (optional)
2 tsp ghee or oil
1/2 tsp jeera or cumin
10 roasted cashew nuts, for garnish (optional)

To grind:

1/4 cup of grated coconut
1 small bunch of coriander leaves (cilantro)
1 onion or a few shallots (chinna vengayam)
1 tsp of red chilli powder
1 tsp of garam masala

How to make Spinach Rice:

1. Heat the ghee in your pressure cooker pan (we used a wider pan to make it easier to take pictures). Add the sliced onions and saute until it lightly browns.

2. Then add the cubed tomatoes and the green chillies, slit lengthwise (if using).

3. Add the chopped spinach and mix well.

Let it cook for a while. The spinach will let out water so there's no need to add any more at this time.

5. In the meantime, grind the ingredients under "to grind" with some water to a smooth paste.

6. Add this to the spinach mixture and mix well.

Next, add the rice and some salt and mix again (we transferred the spinach rice mixture to the pressure pan now to finish the cooking process. As mentioned, you can do all the steps in a pressure cooker pan since this is a one-pot rice dish). Add about 2.5 cups water, close the pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles or about 15 mins. The amount of water required will depend on the type of rice you are using.

Once done, garnish with roasted cashew nuts and serve hot with curd / cucumber raita and appalam / vadaam.

Notes:

Add a fistful of mint leaves to the paste while grinding for some added flavour
If you don't want to use garam masala, use biryani masala, or even some coriander powder. The flavours will be different and more subtle/pronounced depending on your choice
You can omit the coconut but the pulao will definitely lack in some flavour.
If you don't want to use a pressure cooker, use a wide pan and cook closed on low flame until the rice is cooked and soft.
Add a clove of garlic to the paste. Try it!

Paneer Paratha Recipe - Punjabi Paneer Paratha - Step by Step Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 05:21:00 +0000

Paneer Paratha is a popular Punjabi paratha recipe. A delicious double-layer of paratha filled with spiced paneer or cottage cheese is our idea of bliss for a weekend meal. Learn how to make easy Punjabi paneer parathas using this easy step by step recipe.

I learnt how to make parathas quite late in life - especially the stuffed parathas like aloo paratha. When I tried gobi paratha for the first time, I used a different technique (check the post to see what I did) since I was worried my parathas will tear and all the filling will spill out, ruining my parathas and so, dinner for that night. So yeah, it does take practice to get paratha right but once you have done it a few times, parathas become much easier to make.

Paneer parathas are delicious and definitely work the extra time if you decide to use homemade paneer for the parathas. The filling can be spiced the way you like and there are different varations. I decided to keep it simple since anything too large in the filling can cause a tear in the paratha and I am quite paranoid about that.

I figured out, thanks to quite a few blogs and books out there, that one of the tricks to making smooth parathas without them tearing while rolling is to add some maida or plain flour to the atta while making the paratha dough. The extra elasticity that plain flour gives is truly magical and gives you a very pliable dough that's more forgiving of a novice trying to make parathas at home.

You can adjust the proportions and go 100% atta if you'd like but if you are new to making parathas, then I highly recommend adding some plain flour to your dough and make your life a bit easier. It's especially useful for Paneer Parathas since the filling will be a big grainy.

The good part about making parathas for lunch or dinner is that you don't need very elaborate side dishes for them. Just a bowl of plain curd (you can make curd at home) and some spicy pickle will make the meal complete. I had some pudalangai kootu which I felt went fabulously with the paratha but I think that's a bit of an abomination so don't be like me and mix Punjabi parathas with South Indian kootu. Unless, of course, you really want to.

PS: I love paneer. Here's a list of all Paneer Recipes on Edible Garden.

PANEER PARATHA RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes ~7 parathas

Ingredients:
For the dough:

1 cup of atta or Indian whole wheat flour (chapati flour)
1/2 cup of maida or all-purpose flour
1 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
1-2 tsp of ghee or oil

For the filling:

2 cups of paneer cubes (how to make paneer at home)
3/4 tsp of red chilli powder (or use finely chopped green chillies)
1 large pinch of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1/2 tsp of powdered cumin or jeera
A small pinch of omam or kalonji seeds
A pinch of salt
1 tsp of oil

How to Make Paneer Paratha:

First make the dough by mixing all the ingredients for dough in a bowl. Add about 1 cup water in intervals until a soft non-sticky dough is formed. I use my kitchen to make paratha dough and it works fabulous. Cover and set the dough aside for about 30 mins and make the filling in the meantime.
For the filling: grate the paneer into a wide bowl. You can also crumble it with your fingertips but grating is best for making filling for paneer paratha.
Add the rest of the ingredients for filling to the paneer and mix well. Cover and set aside.
To make the parathas: pull out a lime-sized ball of dough and roll between palms into a smooth ball.
Using the palm of your left hand and the fingertips of your right hand, form an even-sized 'cup' with the dough that can hold the filling. The process is very similar to how we make modak (see pics below).
Add a lime-sized amount of filling in the centre of the cup and cover with the dough.
Dust generously and roll gently into a 1/4" thick circle
Heat a pan or griddle and cook the paratha on medium flame until puffy and both sides have brown flecks
Just before removing from the pan, brush both sides with ghee and transfer to a plate.
Make the rest of the paratha and stack them up on top of each other
Serve hot with plain curd and pickles.

Step by Step PIctures for making Paneer Paratha:

1. Mix the ingredients for dough with about 1 cup water and form a smooth yet non-sticky dough. Cover and set aside.

2. For filling, start by grating the paneer

3. And add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well.

4. When ready to make the parathas, make a smooth ball out of a lime-sized amount of dough. Gently use your palm and finger tips to flatten it into a "cup".

5. Place an equal amount of filling (equal to the size of the dough you used) in the centre

and seal with the dough.

6. Flatten between palms and dust generously.

7. Roll into a 1/4" circle. If there are air pockets while rolling, prick with a fork and continue to roll.

8. Transfer to a heated pan and cook both sides until it's puffy

and brown flecks appear on both sides. Keep flame at medium and take care not to burn the parathas.

9. Brush the cooked parathas generously with ghee and stack them on a plate to serve.

Notes:

Take the extra time to grate the paneer, please.
You can add any spices of your choice to the filling. While I love the flavour of green chillies, they may cause the dough to tear as you roll, and also, biting into spicy pieces of green chillies is not our idea of a pleasant surprise.
You can also lightly saute the filling in some oil and cool before using it. I think the parathas are delicious without that step so why bother. But that's just me. You may want to try it.
Adding some minced onions to the filling would be yum too.
If using homemade paneer, it will be more moist than store bought ones. Make sure you freeze them for a while before grating, and if it's very moist, squeeze out the excess water completely. You don't want a soggy filling to work with, trust me. Sauteeing may help in this case, especially.

Torcetti Cookies Recipe - Mini Torcetti or Italian Twisted Cookies Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Yeasted cookies! Who would've thunk? I mean, I never even gave yeasted cookies any thought until Aparna introduced these Torcetti Cookies as the bake for April in our We Knead to Bake group. I loved the idea of these cute little Torcetti cookies, or Torcettinis, a yeasted cookie from Italy that's made with a dough of flour, butter and yeast and rolled in sugar before baking.

What we baked this month are actually Torcettini or mini Torcetti cookies, meaning small twists. They were extremely fun and easy to bake and tasted great with a chilled glass of milk (Singapore is too hot now to even think of a hot drink at 3pm) but the traditional combination for Torcetti cookies is espresso.

As with a lot of recipes, Torcetti took shape (quite literally) when a baker had leftover bread dough from making bread sticks and dipped them in sugar and created a different twisted shape to tell them apart from the bread sticks and create something different. The result is a lovely crusty cookie with a soft doughy interior. I found that serving them on the same day as they are baked is best but a few leftovers for the next day can't hurt. They don't smell or taste of yeast at all but I did sense a very faint sour taste the next day.

I halved the recipe below and got ~18 small torcetti cookies.

TORCETTI COOKIES RECIPE

Preparation time: 3 hours
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Makes ~ 30 small cookies
Recipe source: A Baker's Tour by Nick Malgieri

Ingredients:

1.5 cups of plain flour (maida or all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup of warm water (check notes)
1 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast (or 1 tsp instant yeast)
1/4 tsp of salt
1 tsp of lime or lemon zest
40 gm of unsalted butter, cold and cut into small pieces
1/3 cup of sugar, for rolling cookies in

How to Make Torcetti Cookies:

1. Add the yeast to the warm water and set aside for 10-15 mins until mildly frothy and bubbly

2. Mix the flour and salt together until well combined. This dough doesn't need much kneading so you can use your hands the entire way. I used my Kitchenaid because I feel guilty if I don't use it often enough. We all have our problems, eh?

3. Add the cold butter and mix on low speed or gently with fingertips.

The dough will look like coarse sand at this point.

4. Add the lemon zest and mix some more.

5. Pour in the yeast mixture and gently mix (on low speed if using a mixer) until the dough comes together in a ball.

It will be soft and moist and does not need any kneading.

6. Transfer dough to a well-oiled bowl and turn to coat it well. Keep closed (I just used a plate) for an hour.

After an hour - the dough will be puffed up quite a bit and when you pinch off some dough, the inside will look like a honeycomb. This is perfect.

7. Punch down the dough and cover with clingwrap. Refrigerate atleast an hour or up to 24 hours.

8. When you are ready to make the cookies, take the dough out and let it rest for about 10 mins until it becomes soft enough to work with.

9. Roll out into a square (or if you are not that good with rolling dough into geometric shapes, any shape like mine will do, your cookies won't be even-sized, that's all) and cut into smaller portions equally. Each square should be roughly 2x2 inches.

10. Take each small square of dough and roll between your palms into a long rope (see below). Then shape them each into a knot by twisting the rope.

11. Liberally coat each cookie in sugar and plate on a line baking tray.

12. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 160C/325F for about 20 mins. The cookies didn't change colour much but the sugar will get beautifully caramelised. I used raw sugar so this was harder to see but with white sugar, you can see the difference.

Serve warm for best results and ideally on the same day as baking although they can be stored in an airtight container for up to 2 days.

Notes:

To check the warmth of water to proof yeast, I always do this test. Once you have warmed the water, insert your pinkie or index finger in the water and see if you can hold it for 10 seconds comfortably without getting burnt. When you take your finger out, it should be warm to touch
To make chocolate-flavoured torcetti cookies, remove 2 tbsp flour and replace with 2 tbsp cocoa powder in the above recipe. Also, replace lime zest with orange zest
Torcetti Cookies are #4 in the list of 12 things we are baking as part of the We Knead to Bake group initiated by Aparna

Green Chilli Chicken Recipe - Andhra Chilli Chicken Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 06:00:00 +0000

I love Chilli Chicken. Or wait, I should say I loved Chilli Chicken. I have been vegetarian for the past 2 months and going strong so far. It's easier than I thought and although I didn't want to talk about this too soon, 2 months is a good milestone. I know it's ironic I am "celebrating" by posting a Chilli Chicken Recipe but this one is from a couple months back and this Green Chilli Chicken came out so good that I couldn't keep it away from some of chicken lovers out there.

I had bookmarked Sig's Green Chilli Chicken Recipe ages ago and made it for a few friends finally. I didn't have enough green chillies to maker her super fiery version so compromised by adding some red chilli powder as well. The colour was beautiful and it was probably one of the easiest Indian chicken recipe I have made. A friend commented that this is how Andhra Chilli Chicken tastes so in case anyone is looking for a recipe for Andhra Chilli Chicken, well, here you go!

ANDHRA-STYLE GREEN CHILLI CHICKEN RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe adapted from: Live to Eat

Ingredients:

400 gm of boneless chicken pieces, cubed
1/2 cup of sliced shallots or onions
4 green chillies, sliced
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1 tsp of ginger garlic paste (ideally freshly made)
A few of curry leaves
1 tsp of coriander powder
1/4 tsp of fennel powder
3 tbsp of oil
2 tsp of lemon juice
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder

How to Make Green Chilli Chicken:

Heat oil in a large pan and sauté the shallots till soft and slightly browned
Add the chicken pieces and some salt and sauté on medium-high heat stirring frequently till the chicken pieces turn white on all sides. The chicken will give out water at this point
Cook covered on low heat for about 12 mins until the chicken pieces are tender
Uncover and stir in the green chilies, chilli powder, turmeric, ginger-garlic paste, coriander, fennel, and curry leaves
Sautè on medium high heat for a few minutes, stirring frequently till the chicken pieces are cooked through and the pieces start to brown
Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and garnish with chopped coriander leaves if desired

Gajar ka Halwa Recipe: Condensed Milk Carrot Halwa in Pressure Cooker

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Gajar ka Halwa or Indian Carrot Halwa is one of the most popular desserts I know from our country. Gulab Jamun is a strong competitor but I see Gajar ka Halwa being served in pretty much all Indian buffet here, usually with a scoop of ice-cream. I've detailed the easy method of making it - Gajar ka Halwa made in the pressure cooker with condensed milk. It took about 30 mins from start to finish and is really easy, especially if you get someone else to grate the carrots for you!

One thing I love about Singapore is the availability of Indian seasonal vegetables. There's no way I could have had access to these gorgeous red winter carrots from Delhi if I were in Kerala but here, you get them throughout the season time in India. Using these red carrots gives the Carrot Halwa a lovely depth in colour and flavour. If you can't find Delhi carrots where you live or they are not in season, you can substitute regular carrots in a pinch.

Winter Carrots

Before I started making this batch of gajar ka halwa, I had a distinct idea how I wanted it to taste. I wanted the carrots to play main character, for the flavour of ghee to shine through, for the sweetness to be an undertone, and for there to be a nice crunch and texture from the nuts and raisins. I eyeballed measurements and added as I went, so consider the recipe below an approximation (as you should every recipe in here, actually). It's hard to mess up gajar ka halwa, trust me.

Serve warm or cold, it's up to you. I personally don't like gajar ka halwa with vanilla ice cream but it seems like a popular combination so go for it if it pleases you.

{You may also like this carrot kheer recipe}

GAJAR KA HALWA (CARROT HALWA) RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 cups of grated carrots, packed
2 cups of milk
1.5 cups of water
1/3 cup of sweetened condensed milk
1 tbsp of ghee
12 cashew nuts
10 raisins
3 pods of cardamom, powdered

How to Make Gajar ka Halwa:

1. Add the grated carrots, milk and water to a pressure cooker pan. Mix well and pressure cook for 2 whistles - about 7-8 mins. Turn off flame and let the steam release on its own.

2. Meanwhile, heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts and raisins until golden. Set aside.

3. Once the pressure cooker is ready to be opened, turn on flame again and keep it on low. Bring the carrot milk mixture to boil again and continue to cook on low flame for 10-15 mins...

... until the mixture thickens and the milk becomes a bit grainy.

4. Add the condensed milk and mix well. Let it cook for another 2-3 mins. Adjust the amount of condensed milk to suit your sweetness levels. I didn't add any sugar or other sweeteners beyond this.

5. Next add the roasted cashew nuts and raisins and the ghee it was roasted in. Top up with the cardamom powder. Mix well. Taste test and make sure all is ok and remove from fire.

Notes:

You can make gajar ka halwa in a rice cooker too using same measurements and method. It will take longer to cook than a pressure cooker
Much of the milk+water will still remain after pressure cooking. This is great because you can reduce it easier than starting from scratch in a pan and the halwa tastes great as a result
You can add grated khoya / mawa to the carrot halwa to make it richer. In this case, omit the condensed milk and add sugar to taste
Adding a few drops of vanilla instead of the cardamom would give it a different flavour that you may like
Cool completely and chill if you want to serve it cold. The halwa stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to two days
Adding pistachios instead of cashew nuts is a great option too.

Roasted Coriander Chutney Recipe - A Guest Post for Divya of Easy Cooking

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:45:00 +0000

This roasted coriander chutney or malli chammanthi is a favourite from my childhood. I have many memories of enjoying this chutney along with some flavoured rice - usually lemon rice - wrapped in banana leaves for an overnight train journey

I don't do guest posts very often simply because it's hard enough to manage my own blog and cook, click, download, edit, upload, compose, and publish 3-4 recipes in this here blog per week. But earlier this year, I found myself with a bunch of recipes that were all quite similar and photographed in a very similar manner and I took that chance to do a couple of guest posts for folks. Divya of Easy Cooking is more popular for her bakes and brownies but we have been in touch since the beginning of her our blogging days. She lives in Cochin and often posts Kerala recipes that make me terribly homesick.

So anyway, back to the roasted coriander chutney. This is more of a thuvayal than a chutney which means it goes better with rice and rasam / kuzhambu than tiffin items like dosa, idli. Use the freshest coconut that's available to you and your heart will sing with the simple flavours of the chutney.

So without much more yada yada from me, check out the recipe at Divya's blog.

Chicken Fried Rice Recipe: Indian-Chinese Style Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:14:00 +0000

This is a quick chicken fried rice recipe that I tried at a friend's place almost a year back. We had vegetarians in the group so I made vegetable fried rice and some chicken fried rice to mix things up a bit. You can make a very quick chicken fried rice if you have cooked or boiled chicken in hand. I generally add a vegetable or two like I do for egg fried rice - carrots, beans and capsicum being favourites - but this is entirely optional.

The chicken fried rice from my childhood was almost always take-out or eaten out. I remember the delicious chicken fried rice at Anjali Hotel, one of our favourite and pretty much only nice restaurant back in the day in Kottayam. Their fried rice was almost white but had a lovely flavour. Since i add ketchup to mine, it does have a darker colour but this is my almost-perfected fried rice recipe which I absolutely love! This is very similar to my egg fried rice recipe, except that we need to saute the chicken before adding it to the rice. So let's go make some chicken fried rice, shall we?

To see how to make fried rice step by step, please check out the vegetable fried rice recipe post.

CHICKEN FRIED RICE RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4-6
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:

4 cups of cooked rice (here's how to cook rice for fried rice)
1 cup of mixed vegetables, chopped fine (I used carrots and beans), optional
1 cup of cubed boneless chicken pieces, boiled for 10 mins
1 small bunch of celery stalks, chopped fine (discard the leaves)
1 small bunch of spring onions, chopped fine
2 tsp of soya sauce
1 tsp of green chilli sauce
2 tsp of tomato sauce or ketchup
1 tbsp of freshly minced ginger + garlic
2 onions, sliced
1 tsp of freshly cracked black pepper
1-2 tbsp of oil

How to Make Chicken Fried Rice:

0. Boil the cubed chicken pieces in water for about 10-12 mins until the flesh turns opaque and you are able to shred it to pieces. Mix this with 1 tsp pepper powder, some salt, and 1/2 tsp ginger garlic paste. Let marinate for for 10 mins and lightly saute in some oil. Drain and set aside.

1. Heat some more oil in the same pan and add the onions. Let them fry on medium heat until light golden brown, don't let them brown too much. Then, add the ginger + garlic and fry for 2 mins.

2. Add the finely chopped vegetables (if using) and celery and mix well. Cook for 2-3 mins until they wilt just a bit. Then add the soya sauce, tomato sauce, and green chilli sauce. Fry on high heat until the sauces bubble and reduce flame to medium-high, stirring constantly. Continue to stir-fry for another 2-3 mins. The vegetables should be cooked yet crunchy and not mushy or soft. If you are not using vegetables, you can skip to the next step after adding the sauces but I recommend adding atleast some carrots or capsicum to chicken fried rice to give it a more interesting look and flavour.

3. Add the cooked rice and chicken pieces and stir well to combine. Remove from fire, check for salt and add more if required. Add the pepper powder and spring onions and mix well. Pat down into a tight mound and keep partially covered for 30 mins before serving.

Note: If you want to add some eggs to the chicken fried rice, scramble a couple eggs with salt and pepper and mix into the fried rice at the very end. This would make a pretty complete meal in itself and you don't need to go crazy making side dishes for your chicken fried rice.

If you do want side dish ideas for fried rice, may I suggest Gobi Manchurian, Szhechuan Eggplant, or Chilli Paneer?

Enjoy!

Vegetarian Lasagna Recipe - Spinach & Mushroom Lasagna Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:29:00 +0000

A vegetarian spinach and mushroom lasagna has been on my mind for ages now. Yes, I knew the lasagna had to have spinach and mushroom in it and be vegetarian since TH enjoys lasagna too so I can't be selfish with it. One of the major reasons for postponing the making of said lasagna is the fact that ricotta cheese is awfully hard to find in Singapore. It's available in select supermarkets across the island but mostly the ones near the city. Since I do all my cooking for the blog over weekends and usually grocery shopping happens on a Friday evening, this was hard. I bought milk thinking I'll make ricotta cheese at home but that didn't end up happening either.

But, I made it happen one weekend. I made TH trudge along with me all the way to the Cold Storage in Great World City Mall and I bought a tub of ricotta. I had all other ingredients for my spinach mushroom lasagna so, yay! Of course, you can skip the mushrooms if you don't like them, make a mixed vegetable lasagna with zucchini, eggplant, capsicum, etc. The choices and creative flexibility for a lasagna is quite endless.

Now, the thing with making a lasagna is, you do need a bunch of ingredients. But it's more assembly and baking than actually cooking so it's not as time-consuming as you'd think. Being Indian and primarily cooking Indian food, I found it amazing that I could pull some ingredients together, layer then in a baking tray, stick the tray in the oven, and chill by the TV while my dinner got cooked. Try it, it's amazing!

The leftover lasagna freezes well (if you don't want to eat it two days in a row - otherwise just refrigerate and re-heat the next day) and you can pull it out on one of those days you don't feel like cooking. Win!

This Golden Onion Mushroom Quiche is another great and easy recipe you can try.

VEGETARIAN SPINACH MUSHROOM LASAGNA RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

6 lasagna sheets
1 bunch of spinach
12 button mushrooms
3-4 cloves of garlic, chopped
3/4 cup of ricotta cheese
3/4 cup of grated mozarella + cheddar (or use pizza cheese)
1.5 cups of canned tomato sauce (use pizza or pasta sauce for a different flavour)
1 of onion, sliced
1 tsp of dried herbs like basil, chives, oregano, or a mix
2 tsp of olive oil

How to Make Mushroom Spinach Lasagna:

1. Cook the lasagna sheets according to the packet instructions and set aside.

2. Heat the oil and add the sliced onion and garlic.

Saute until soft and then add the mushrooms...

... and spinach

Add some salt and cook until the water given out by the vegetables is absorbed and they are cooked. Set aside.

3. Mix the dried herbs and some salt with the ricotta.

4. Take our your baking tray - you can use metal or glass but I recommend glass. I used my pyrex rectangular baking/storage tray which also has a lid for easy storing later. Add a few drops of oil in the tray and spread evenly. Spread about 1/4 cup tomato sauce at the bottom evenly.

5. Lay two cooked lasagna sheets over the sauce. You may need more or less depending on the size of your lasagna sheets and your tray. It's okay if they overlap a bit but no gaps please.

6. Spread half the ricotta cheese mixture over this evenly

7. Top it off with the cooked mushroom spinach mixture.

8. Lay more lasagana sheets over this. You can add the tomato sauce over the lasagne sheets this time and proceed with the rest of the layers.

9. I did a total of 2 layers, ending with the lasagne sheets. So I spread the remaining tomato sauce over this and added the mozzarella cheddar mixture on top. Thrown in some dried herbs and pepper over this too.

10. Cover the tray with aluminium foil and bake in a 180C / 350F oven for 30 mins. Then, remove the foil and bake for a further 10 mins. The cheese on top will bubble up nicely and the edges will start to curl away slightly from the tray. Remove and let cool down a bit before you slice it. Serve hot.

Cabbage Thoran Recipe - Kerala Cabbage Curry with Coconut for Onam Sadya

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 05:13:00 +0000

Cabbage Thoran, or rather, Thoran in general, is an everyday dry curry for rice made in Kerala using any vegetable of choice, grated coconut, shallots, cumin, and chillies or chilli powder. Thoran is a mild and very lightly spiced with the flavours of the vegetables shining through. In northern Kerala, thoran is referred to as upperi but to us, upperi refers to the Kerala Banana Chips.

When we were newly-weds, it used to irk me that TH refers to every vegetable side dish as "curry". So he'd call Cabbage Thoran cabbage curry! I would keep correcting him and finally he can recognise a thoran. Mission accomplished! To balance our tastes, I always add lesser coconut in a thoran than what someone living in Kerala or has access to lots and lots of fresh coconut would. Even then, Thoran is soul-food for me, and I love cooking up different versions depending on the vegetables in hand.

Cabbage Thoran is a pretty standard dish in any Kerala Sadya Recipe List since it's easy to make and goes well with the Parippu Curry and Kerala Sambar served at a Sadya. Also, if you are someone who dreads the nasty smell of cooking cabbage, fear not. The shallots and cumin seeds in thoran make it go away completely. Trust me on this.

Amma cooks certain types of thoran in a very no-hassle way. Just mix up all the ingredients, add it to the kadai and sort of steam cook it until done. You can leave the thoran to cook and go about the rest of your cooking for the day. We also cook Raw Papaya Thoran in a similar way. Also, here's the recipe for Tamil-Style Cabbage Poriyal, which is made slightly differently.

CABBAGE THORAN RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4 as a side
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:

2 cups of finely shredded cabbage (I use one of my fave kitchen gadgets for this)
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
2 green chillies, chopped
4-5 of shallots, ulli - chopped fine
1/2 cup of grated coconut
3/4 tsp of cumin seeds, jeera, slightly crushed
A few of curry leaves, roughtly torn
2 tsp of coconut oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds

How to Make Cabbage Thoran:

1. In a wide bowl or plate, mix the cabbage, turmeric, curry leaves, shallots, cumin, coconut, and salt. Let it sit for 5 mins - the cabbage will let out some water.

2. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. The bubbles are because of the coconut oil.

3. When they pop, add the cabbage mixture and stir well to coat the oil and the ingredients well. Pat down tightly and close the pan. Cook on very low heat for 12-15 mins. You can check in between to make sure that the bottom is not getting burned but if you keep the flame super low, you should be fine.

4. Uncover, stir through to make sure the cabbage is cooked (if not, cook for a while longer) and adjust salt if required.

That's it. No-fuss, hands-free Cabbage Thoran is ready!

Vishu Sadya Recipes - List of Kerala Sadya Recipes for Vishu 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:18:00 +0000

VISHU SADYA RECIPES - 2013

Vishu 2013 falls on April 14th, Sunday, and I am sure many like me are preparing to cook up a sadya. Here's a handy list of Vishu Sadya recipes with Payasam Recipes at the end, which I hope you'll find useful. Kaalan, Olan, Pradhaman, Pappadam - it's all in here. Click on the image thumbnail to go to the recipe. Have a wonderful Vishu 2013, you all.

Banana Chips	Inji Curry	Mango Pickle	Vendakka Pachadi
Beetroot Pachadi	Parippu Curry	Sambar	Pulissery
Moru Curry	Olan	Kaalan	Pumpkin Erissery
Chena Erissery	Aviyal	Beetroot Thoran	Jackfruit Aviyal
Payar Thoran	Beans Fry	Chena Fry	Papaya Thoran
Cabbage Thoran Payasam Recipes
Paal Payasam	Parippu Payasam	Payar Payasam	Palada Pradhaman
Semiya Payasam	Carrot Payasam

Kerala Banana Chips Recipe - Ethakka Upperi Recipe for Onam, Vishu

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 11:00:00 +0000

Banana Chips or Ethakka Upperi is arguably the most popular snack in Kerala that also finds its place in all Kerala Sadya. You need to use unripe plaintains (ethakka, the raw form of ethappazham used to make Pazham Pori, which is not the same as vazhakka) to make these banana chips and frying them in anything other than coconut oil is as good as not bothering to make them, really. When I was growing up, Amma always made banana chips at home and didn't even consider it an additional task because they aren't really hard to make at all. Some planning and readiness to get hands sticky and dirty is required though.

While In Kottayam we call banana chips upperi, in northern Kerala, upperi refers to thoran (check out Cabbage Thoran Recipe here), a Kerala dish made with vegetables and a ground coconut mixture. Call it what you want, these crunchy, delicious snacks are addictive and moreish.

The banana chips or upperi served at Kerala sadya is usually not cut into circles but further quartered into smaller pieces and they tend to be thicker. The thickness of the chips really depends on the slicer you have. Amma has had a very basic mandoline slicer for years which slices quite thin and it's been used to make many many batches of delicious banana chips over the years. You can find step by step pictures for Ethakka Upperi in my sister's blog here.

KERALA BANANA CHIPS - ETHAKKA UPPERI RECIPE

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Recipe Source: Amma

Ingredients:

3 unripe plaintain (ethakka)
1 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of salt
4-5 cups of coconut oil

How to Make Kerala Banana Chips:

Make grooves into the skin of the plaintain and peel it off gently. Save the skin for a thoran (waste not!)
Mix the turmeric powder in a bowl of water and immerse the peeled plaintain in this. Let it rest for 30 mins
Heat oil in a pan and let it reach almost-smoking point
Pat the soaked plaintain dry using kitchen towels, it's ok if it's a bit moist
Using a slicer, slice the plaintain into thin discs. You can directly do this into the hot oil (which needs more practise) or do this into another bowl and then add it to the hot oil
The chips will sizzle A LOT and then start to brown a bit. Don't let it turn too red, that will spoil the taste. The sizziling will almost subside when the chips are ready
Mix the salt in about 2 cups water and keep ready
Sprinkle this salt water over the chips when they are still in the oil but ready. Be careful while doing this since the oil is hot - just sprinkle, don't pour
Give it a mix and then drain the chips to a kitchen towel to soak up the excess oil
Fry all the banana pieces, let cool, and store in airtight containers. Since coconut oil tends to go rancid pretty quickly, finish off the chips within 2-3 days or store in the refrigerator for up to a month

Capsicum Masala Recipe - Capsicum (Bell Pepper) Stir Fry Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 02:23:00 +0000

Both TH and I love capsicum (or bell pepper) and this Capsicum Masala Recipe is my quick go-to on weeknights when I need a side dish for rice or roti that can also be packed in TH's lunch box the next day. Capsicum Masala works great because although the vegetable cooks up very quickly, it doesn't get all mushy. Also, the inherent sweetness in capsicum is very appealing.

I mix up three different colours of capsicum for this dish usually just to make it more appealing and also, the peppers all have different levels of sweetness, the red being the sweetest. You can choose the spices you want to add, I keep it minimal just letting the capsicum shine through as much as possible.

Use the freshest capsicum you can find and use it on the same day as buying it for best results. The juicier and crunchier the peppers, the better.

CAPSICUM MASALA - BELL PEPPER STIR FRY RECIPE

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 capsicum, any colour or a mix, sliced long
3 cloves of sliced garlic
1 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
2-3 green chillies (or 1/2 tsp red chilli powder)
1 tsp of curry powder or garam masala (or add coriander powder, jeera, anything you prefer)
A few curry leaves, optional

How to Make Capsicum Masala:

1. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the sliced garlic and fry for 5 seconds.

2. Add the sliced capsicum and slit green chillies to this and mix well. Add salt and cook until the capsicum turns soft - about 6-8 mins.

3. Next, add the turmeric powder and the spices of your choice. Mix well and add curry leaves.

4. Cook for another 3-4 mins until fragrant. Adjust salt and remove from flame.

Serve hot with steamed rice and kuzhambu or rotis.

Notes:

You can add onions and ginger if you prefer. I wanted to make capsicum masala as simple and easy as possible
You can add in one more vegetable like brinjal or potato to this to give it more texture. I tried it with brinjal once and we loved it

Palada Pradhaman Recipe - Kerala Palada Payasam Recipe for Onam, Vishu

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:16:00 +0000

Ada Pradhaman is probably my favourite payasam recipe after Parippu Payasam. You can make Ada Pradhaman with milk (and so called Palada Pradhaman) or with coconut milk and jaggery which I prefer to milk-based payasams. However, Palada Pradhaman is easier and quicker to make than jaggery-based Ada Pradhaman so hope this is a useful payasam recipe for Vishu and Onam for you folks.

Ada Pradhaman involves cooking ada pieces in the base of your choice and adding the necessary spices to flavour it up. Traditionally, this ada is made from scratch but now you get to buy them readymade in the stores and that's what I did. You get two types of ada - ada made with maida or plain flour and ada made with rice flour. Amma recommended the rice flour ada so that's what I used. The maida ada becomes more pasty and thickens your pradhaman a bit giving it a different consistency. What kind you use is entirely up to you.

Uncooked Rice Ada for Palada Pradhaman

Since Payasam is a necessary part of any Kerala sadya, it's good to have some quick and easy payasam recipes in your repertoire. Amma usually makes some payasam for Vishu along with some basic sadya dishes.

While you can make Ada Pradhaman in a pressure cooker and add condensed milk for added taste and quicker cooking, I made this the slower way by reducing milk in an open pot because I had time and that's what the way to make a perfect batch of Palada Pradhaman taste the best.

Check out 6 more Easy Payasam Recipes for Vishu

PALADA PRADHAMAN RECIPE: KERALA-STYLE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe Source: Amma

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of ada (I used store-bought rice ada)
500 ml of milk
250 ml of water
1/2 cup of sugar (adjust to taste)
4 pods of cardamom, crushed
2 tsp of ghee
10 cashew nuts
10 raisins

How to Make Palada Pradhaman:

1. Check the package instructions on how to cook the ada for pradhaman. Generally, you need to par-boil it in boiling water for about 3-4 mins and then drain and set side before proceeding.

Make sure our ada pieces are not too large. If they are, break them into smaller pieces for quicker cooking.

2. Add the milk and water to a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to boil. Add the semi-cooked ada and simmer on low flame stirring frequently.

In about 15-20 mins, it will reduce to half the quantity. Continue to stir and cook the payasam.

4. Soon you will see the ada starting to show on the surface of the payasam. This will depend on the size of the pan you are using so don't go by this along, just make sure the milk is reduced to more than half of original quantity and the ada is soft.

Add sugar at this stage and mix well (I use raw sugar for all my cooking and drinks but white sugar works perfect too).

5. Cook for another 3-4 mins and switch off flame. Add the crushed cardamom and mix well. Remove from stove and set aside.

6. Heat the ghee in a small pan and add the cashew nuts and raisins. Fry until the nuts turn golden brown and add to the payasam. Stir well to combine.

Serve Palada Pradhaman warm or cold. I like it chilled.

Notes:

You can add the milk + water + washed ada + condensed milk in a pressure cooker and cook for 2 whistles to make the process faster. If the payasam is still too watery, cook in an open pan until desired thickness is reached. Then add cardamom powder and ghee + nuts, etc. This is a quick method for making palada pradhaman in pressure cooker
The raisins and cashew nuts are optional but recommended. Don't skip the cardamom though

Beans Aloo Sabzi Recipe - Potato Beans Stir-Fry Recipe - Step by Step

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 08:00:00 +0000

Beans Aloo Sabzi or stir-fry is one of my favourites to go with rice and a coconut-based kuzhambu or curry. Adding potato (aka aloo) to a vegetable side dish makes it more hearty and gives it body, and while my recipe has equal amounts of beans and aloo, you can adjust the proportions the way you wish, add another vegetable, pretty much take it your way and work with it.

One important thing I learnt from Amma's method of cooking is this - don't cook a vegetable in water unless you have to. Potatoes, for example. It's easy to just pressure cook it or par-boil it before making a roasted side dish with it but this changes the flavour of the potato significantly. It does take longer to cook if you add it raw to a pan and start stir-frying it but if you regulate the temperature correctly and have some patience, you will be rewarded for it. I rarely pressure cook potatoes unless I need to mash them or I am making something like a potato korma or potato masala for puri. Same story for beans. Don't boil it in water and waste all its nutrients before making a curry with it (steaming is fine though).

On that preachy note, let's take a look at how to make Aloo Beans Sabji, shall we?

ALOO BEANS SABJI (POTATO BEANS STIR-FRY RECIPE)

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 large potato, peeled, washed and cut into small cubes
15-20 beans, stringed, washed, and cut into same-sized small pieces as the potato
1 onion, sliced
1 tbsp of oil
1/4 tsp of mustard seeds
1/4 tsp of urad dal
2-3 of cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of sambar powder
A few of curry leaves or a small bunch of coriander leaves, for garnish

How to Make Aloo Beans Sabji:

1. Heat oil and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the cumin and let them sizzle and turn brown. Then add the chopped garlic and saute until fragrant.

2. Add the onions and saute until it begins to brown.

3. Add the cubed potato and beans.

Stir stir stir.

4. Keeping flame very low, cook covered for 5-7 mins, opening every 2 mins and giving it a mix, just to make sure the bottom is not burning. The potato will begin to brown and the beans should be soft by now. If not, cook longer until done.

5. Once the vegetables are cooked, add the turmeric powder and sambar powder along with salt. Give it a good mix, the sabji will turn dry and fragrant in about 2 mins.

Don't cook for too long, otherwise the masala will start to burn. Add curry leaves or coriander leaves at this point and remove from fire.

Serve hot with rice and any coconut based gravy or kuzhambu like Tomato Saaru.

Chilli Fish Recipe - Indian Chinese Chilli Fish Recipe

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 10:18:00 +0000

Chilli Fish is one of amma's specialty Indo-Chinese Recipes. Like I mentioned in the fried rice recipe post, amma is an expert in making manchurian and related recipes. There's really no secret sauce (literally!) to her recipes, they just work excellently and this Chilli Fish is no exception. Maybe those of you who are off lent tomorrow can try Chilli Fish for Easter lunch?

We also make the same dish with Prawns and call it Chinese Fried Prawns. That's a dish from my childhood that I have fond memories of. You can serve the batter-fried prawns with ketchup as a starter or go on to make Chilli Prawns with it following the recipe below. Either ways, it's delicious. PS: the pic above is of Chilli Prawns.

Although Indo-Chinese sauces are easily available in Singapore, I find that the Indian brands like Sil or Ching's Secret (I am guessing that's an Indian brand) seem to work better for me and taste more "authentic" like you get in Indo-Chinese restaurants in India.

I have had a few failures when making manchurian and chilli something but after this Gobi Manchurian recipe, flops are history. I learnt from the best (my sister makes amazing manchurian too) after all!

Interested in a Chilli Chicken Recipe instead?

INDIAN CHINESE CHILLI FISH RECIPE

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4
Recipe source: Amma

Ingredients:

250 gm of cut into small cubes, deboned fish (any fish with a firm flesh would do, or use deveined prawns)
3 tbsp + 1 tsp of cornflour / corn starch
3 tbsp of maida / plain flour
1 tsp + 1 tsp of ginger garlic paste
1 tsp of black pepper powder
1 capsicum / bell pepper, cubed
1 onion, cubed
1/2 to 1 tbsp of soya sauce
1 tsp of green chilli sauce
1 tsp of tomato sauce
A small bunch of spring onions or coriander leaves, chopped fine

How to Make Chilli Fish

Make a thick batter of 3 tbsp cornflour + flour + 1 tsp ginger garlic paste + salt + pepper powder + water
Dip the fish pieces in this and shallow fry in oil until golden brown (in small batches without crowding the pan)
Drain and set aside
In the same oil, add the onions and capsicum. When the onions start to turn pink, add the ginger garlic paste and saute until fragrant
Turn heat to high and add the soya sauce, chilli sauce and tomato sauce (keep them ready by your side to prevent the rest of the dish burning)
Mix well and reduce heat. Add the fried fish pieces
Mix well and cook on low heat. Meanwhile, mix the 1 tsp cornflour in 4 tbsp water without lumps. Add to the fish mixture and cook until the sauce thickens and coats the fish
Add chopped coriander leaves or spring onions and remove from stove
Serve hot with fried rice

Baby Corn Masala Recipe - Indian Baby Corn Masala Recipe - Step by Step

noreply@blogger.com (Nagalakshmi V) — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 03:17:00 +0000

Baby Corn is this wonderfully crunchy, light vegetable that both The Husband and I love and so this Baby Corn Masala Recipe was an instant hit. Baby Corn is available in packs of 6-7 here and I mostly add them to fried rice, make baby corn manchurian, or make a baby corn stir-fry. Recently, my uncle was visiting us and I wanted to cook with something that is not easily available back in Kottayam. That's how this Baby Corn Masala happened one weekend for lunch.

I pretty much threw in whatever masala I felt like but the end result was well-balanced and we loved it with some Peas Pulao made in my rice cooker (recipe coming soon) and homemade vadaam, courtesy The Husband's G Perima. Paired with a simple cucumber raita, this was a lovely meal that all came together in less than an hour. Baby Corn Masala is a great side dish for roti (chapati) too.

Generally, baby corn is cooked or par-boiled before using in any dish but since we love the crunch and texture, I didn't want to make it soft and soggy. Also, this makes for a quick dish rather than having to follow multiple steps. If you prefer your baby corn more cooked and softer, I'd recommend cooking it in a pot of boiling water until just soft and then proceeding with the Baby Corn Masala Recipe.

Also, I often get questions on the colour of my dishes and how some people who try my recipes get the taste pat down but sometimes not the colour. A few reasons for this could be that I almost exclusively use Kashmiri Chilli Powder for my cooking. It is much more vibrant and has less heat then regular chilli powder. Also, I use canned tomato paste to substitute a tomato or two in some of my cooking. This gives the dish a deep red colour which fresh tomatoes won't give. I don't enhance or change the colour in my pictures except to make it brighter in some cases, and I most definitely don't add any food colour to my regular dishes - not even to this restaurant-style paneer butter masala. Hope this helps! :)

INDIAN-STYLE BABY CORN MASALA RECIPE

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:

20 spears of baby corn, cut into 1" pieces
2 onions, sliced thin
1 large tomato, chopped or 1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp of minced garlic
1/2 tsp of minced ginger
2-3 green chillies, slit
1/2 tsp of red chilli powder
1/2 tsp of jeera powder (cumin powder)
2 tsp of coriander powder
1/4 tsp of turmeric powder
1/2 cup of milk or coconut milk
1 tsp of garam masala powder (optional)
1 tsp of salt (adjust to taste)
1 small bunch of coriander leaves, for garnish (cilantro)
1 tbsp of oil
1/2 tsp of black mustard seeds

How to Make Baby Corn Masala:

1. Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the onions and fry until golden brown. Add the green chillies, ginger, garlic, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric and some salt and saute for a few seconds

2. Then add the tomato paste or chopped tomato and cook until it turns soft

3. Add the baby corn and milk (or thin coconut milk) and more water and bring to boil

4. Cook covered for about 5 mins

5. Uncover, stir well and switch off flame. Add garam masala and chopped coriander leaves. Adjust salt

Serve hot with jeera rice, peas pulao, or chapati.

Notes:

I kept the gravy a bit thick and added more baby corn. If you want a looser gravy, either lessen the amount of baby corn or puree the tomato-onion gravy after step 2 and add more water/milk for the gravy
You can use the same base for any vegetable you prefer
I also add a pinch of sugar to the gravy but this is totally optional