Multi Grain Masala Roti/ Phulkas ( Indian Flat Bread) with step by step Phulka pictures....

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 The first time I came across multi grain flour/ atta was in India on my last visit there. At that time I did not even think about buying it and bringing it with me because the packet was rather large and moreover I was on vacation and did not want to think about cooking at that time:-) Once I got here I looked for it in the Indian/ Ethnic groceries and found that the product hadn't made it to  the market here.

Recently I was happy to come across this item again at a local Indian grocery and I wasted no time in picking it up this time. This multi grain atta is made of  a combination of wheat, soy, maize, ragi (finger millet) , oats , barley and chana dhal (split yellow chick pea lentil). Isn't that cool, it really makes it easy to ramp up the health quotient in flat bread without too much effort. I have used this flour a few times, once in bread and the other times in flat bread. I liked the taste of it in all three although I preferred it in flat bread.

I made this as both rotis and phulkas and liked them in both forms. Phulkas are a type of flat bread that are made without oil to cook them, instead they are placed directly on the flame to puff them up. I believe phulkas have originated from Gujarati cuisine (Gujarat is a state in the western part of India). Phulkas are usually very soft and great for those on diet because they do not have any oil or fat in them. This is a staple in our home and we make it all the time to go with a variety of curries and dhals. I have included some step by step pictures here, they are not great because of the lighting but I hope it will give you an idea of the thickness needed to roll out the dough and the process of making phulkas.....



A stack of phulkas ready to be eaten..... :-)
 


Step by step pictures of the phulka making process....



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Mehod to make Multi Grain Masala Roti
2 cups multi grain flour (atta)
salt to taste
3/4 tsp red chili powder (or according to taste)

1 tsp cumin powder
water as required to knead into a soft and non sticky dough (I used approx 1 1/4 cup water for this quantity of flour)

a few drops of oil / ghee (clarified butter) to shallow fry if making rotis (for phulkas this is not needed)

In a large  bowl mix all the dry ingredients well. Then adding water slowly as required knead to form a soft and non sticky dough. Keep the dough covered and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into equal small lemon sized balls. With the help of some wheat flour or rice flour roll out the dough into even circles of desired thickness (A little thicker for rotis and a little thinner for phulkas)

For rotis,

Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa and place the rolled out dough on it. Cook one side until it starts to get light pink spots on the lower side, then flip over and cook the other side until it starts to get a few brown spots too. Apply a few drops of oil/ ghee on the side facing the top, flip over and cook for a few seconds, remove and serve hot with curry of choice.
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For phulkas,

Roll out the dough in a thin circle. Do remember that for phulkas the dough needs to be rolled out into circles thinner than roti but not transparent thin, otherwise the phulkas will not puff up.
Heat a flat pan/ griddle/ tawa and place the rolled out dough on it. When the lower side cooks slightly (not until it gets brown spots) and some bubbles begin to form on top, flip over and cook the other side, when the lower side gets brown spots, flip and place the other side directly on the flame . Once it puffs up completely like a puri, remove and serve hot with curry or dhal of choice

Notes
If you have an electric stove, to make phulkas, you will need to get a round metal grill that can sit on top of the stove, and you can place the flipped over phulka on the grill to puff up.

This is a picture of the multi grain flour that I purchased. I think it is under the brand of pillsbury in India. This find of multi grain atta and the roti are both off to Srimathi's MFF event for May.

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Chana Masala ~ Chick peas curry

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Chana Masala or Chick pea curry is such a popular and well known curry that it hardly needs any introduction at all. There are many variations of making this curry and the one below is my take on the curry. Among northern Indian cuisine chana masala has always been a favorite of mine. It is healthy, quick to make, delicious and very versatile, what more can you ask for from your curries :-)

Before moving on to the recipe, a couple of interesting facts I recently came across....did you know that chili peppers do more than add heat to your food. It seems chili peppers help in increasing metabolism which in turn helps us to burn more fat. Also it seems an average chili pepper contains more vitamin C than an orange, amazing isn't it? If you are interested in finding out more about the health benefits of chili pepper here is the entire article



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Chana Masala
2 cups dried chickpeas soaked overnight in sufficient water with a pinch of soda (the soda is optional)
2 medium onions cut fine (pyaaz/vengayam)
2 large tomatoes cut fine (tamatar/ thakkali)

2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste) (hara mirch/pachai molagai)
1 tsp chopped ginger (mince green chilies and ginger together) (adrak/inji)
1 1/2 tsp chole masala (or to taste) (available in most Indian groceries)
1/2 tsp red chili powder (lal mirch/molagai podi)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
salt to taste (namak/uppu)
2 tbsp oil

handful cilantro (coriander leaves/hara dhania/kothamalli) cut fine
1 1/2 tsp lemon  juice (or to taste) (nimbu ka ras)

Drain the chickpeas and discard the water in which chickpeas have soaked overnight. To know more about why I soak beans with a pinch of soda and why bean soak water needs to be drained read this post.

Place chickpeas along with fresh water in a container and pressure cook until soft. Or place chickpeas along with fresh water in a large heavy bottomed pan and cook on stove top until soft.

Mince ginger and green chilies together using the mortar and pestle or using a spice grinder attachment.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed container, add onions and saute until onions turn transparent, add minced ginger and green chilies and saute for about a minute or so.
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Add tomatoes and cook until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Add all the spices and stir for a few seconds. Now add the cooked chickpeas, salt to taste and water as required and allow the chickpeas to simmer until all the flavors blend together.

Using the back of the spatula, mash about a handful of chickpeas so that it allows the gravy to thicken a little and also adds some texture to the gravy.Adjust water as required at this point to achieve required consistency.

Garnish with cilantro and lemon juice just before serving.

Serve with plain rice or any Roti (Indian flat bread) of choice or puris or even wheat bread.

Serves approximately 3 to 4

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Mixed Vegetable Kurma

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In my giveaway post, the question I had asked was which vegetable you think you would not miss if you give it up and never see it again. Some of your responses really surprised me, I saw vegetables ranging from yam to cauliflower to eggplant, even onions (I would have never thought these vegetables would feature in anyone's "dislike these vegetables" list) The front runner at the time of writing this post for the most disliked vegetable seems to be turnip :-)

Personally my choice would have to be Brussels sprout. There is something just so uninspiring about this vegetable that I rarely use this vegetable at all. I tried it a couple of times, the first time in a curry, but no amount of spice I used seemed to disguise the taste of that vegetable. Then one of my friends suggested that I could probably try it in sambar and it taste would get disguised in sambar. I did and I believe that might be the last time I try sambar with brussel sprouts in it. I am pretty close to giving up on brussels sprouts at least at this time.....:-(    Maybe if one of you have some kind of amazing recipe with brussels sprouts, which disguises its tastes successfully, you could share it with me and I may give it a try again...

Anyway moving on, mixed vegetable kurma is a simple curry that is as easy to make as it is tasty and flavorful. This is great curry to make for Indian themed parties or even family  lunches/ dinners. It goes well with plain steamed rice and or Rotis (Indian flat bread). The list of ingredients may seem daunting but most items are usually found in most pantries and once assembled, putting together the curry is a breeze :-)



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Mixed Vegetable Kurma
6 cups mixed vegetables cut into even sized pieces ( I used a combination of cauliflower,carrots, peas, beans and corn kernels)
2 medium tomatoes
2 tbsp oil
salt to taste
water as required (I used approx 2 cups)

Grind together
1 small onion cut fine
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece of ginger
2 1/2 tsp coriander seeds (dhania)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/2 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
3 cardamoms seeds extracted (elaichi)
2 inches of cinnamon stick
1 star anise
1/2 tsp black peppercorns (kali miri)
1 dry red chili (or according to taste)
4 to 5 tbsp fresh or frozen grated coconut (if frozen thaw to room temperature)

Grind the ingredients mentioned under grind, adding just enough water to allow movement of blades into a smooth paste.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add the ground mixture and saute for about five minutes, or until it turns dryish and the raw smell from the onions disappears.

Add tomatoes and allow it to cook until it gets soft and mushy.
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Add the rest of the vegetables, salt to taste and water as required and allow to simmer until the vegetables are cooked.

Serve hot with plain steamed rice, or mixed vegetable rice, parathas, rotis or puris.

Serves approximately 2 to 3

Recently I came across a very funny video clip that had me in splits. If you are in the mood for some laughs, check out the clip here

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Giveaway (NOW CLOSED)

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It has been two years since I first started this blog. In fact, today is exactly two years since the day I first posted on Veg Inspirations. It has been a very interesting journey so far and one of the nicest things about blogging has been meeting so many wonderful people from all around the world. I really appreciate how so many of you take the time and leave encouraging comments and send me emails with your feedback.

It makes me doubly happy that the giveaway I  mentioned earlier coincided with this day. This giveaway is open to all, anyone of you can enter to try and win a $60 gift certificate from CSN stores which you can use to buy anything from their 200+ stores.




Here is how you can enter (this is the mandatory part and will earn you one entry)

Leave a comment below telling me which vegetable you think you will not miss, if you give it up and never see it again . 

Leave a valid email address where you can be contacted

Here is how you can increase your chances of winning this giveaway (each action earns you one additional entry, if you do more than one that will earn you more than one entry)

Blog about this giveaway with a link back to this post and leave me a separate comment with the link to your post so that I can find it.

Tweet about this giveaway and leave me a separate comment with your twitter id after you do it. (you can email me the id for privacy if you wish)

Become a fan of this page on facebook-Leave me a separate comment  to let me know you are and under what name (you can email me the name for privacy if you wish).

Subscribe to this site by email , activate the subscription and leave a comment to let me know you have and your email address used to subscribe (you can email me the email id for privacy if you wish).

Please note that CSN stores only ships to the US and Canada, so for those you living in other countries, please let your families and friends in the US and Canada know so that they can participate, or try and win it for them yourselves :-)

The giveaway will end on May 27,2010 at 12 midnight EST.
A lucky winner will be selected by random generator on May 28th

Giveaway is courtesy of CSN stores. No monetary or any other form of compensation is received by me

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Eggless Blueberry Oatmeal Bar and a prelude to a giveaway.

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I have some exciting news for my readers, recently Jason from CSN stores contacted me with an opportunity to host a giveaway on this site. Needless to say I was thrilled with the chance to do so.First to give you a little introduction to CSN stores,here is a brief description straight from their own site:

CSN Stores LLC is a fast-growing, privately-held company offering customers the best online shopping available for home and office goods. A $200 million company, CSN is made up of more than 200 online niche shops offering a huge selection of products ranging from barstools and bedroom sets to grills, greenhouses and gaming equipment. We have items for budget-minded shoppers, luxury seekers and everyone in between.

They have a fantastic range and collection of products. I cannot even begin to tell you all of the items they offer. Need some appliances for your kitchen, they have it. Need furniture, they have that too. Need lights for your home, they have everything from recessed lighting to lamps.

Anyway back to the giveaway, it will be happening here very soon. So keep watching this space :-)

Moving on, oatmeal bars are one of my favorites snacks to have on hand. In addition to being so handy, they are also a great way to include some super healthy oatmeal in our diet effortlessly. These  cranberry oatmeal bars  are among my favorite snacks and I make them often. But I have been wanting to experiment with different flavors for a while now and decided to give blueberry bars a try this time. These oatmeal bars were delicious, with just the right amount of chewiness on the inside and crispness on the outside. Give this a try, you may never want to go back to the store bought versions again :-)



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Blueberry Oatmeal Bar
Dry Ingredients
1 cup rolled oat flour (see notes)
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
1 level tsp baking soda

Wet Ingredients
2 tbsp flax seed meal + 6 tbsp water
1/4 cup oil
3 tbsp almond butter
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a few drops of oil to grease the baking dish

Pre heat oven to 350 deg F

Grease a baking dish with a few drops of oil and keep aside. ( I used an 8 inch round glass dish)

In a large bowl add all the ingredients mentioned in dry list and mix well.Keep aside

In a small bowl, whisk flax seed meal with water until it turns gelatinous. Add almond butter to this and whisk well until it the almond butter kind of blends with the flax meal with water mixture.

Add this flax seed meal mixture to the dry ingredients. Add oil, vanilla extract and milk to the dry mixture too and mix well until the mixture is well blended. It will be thick and have cookie dough consistency.
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Spoon this mixture on to the pre greased dish and spread it evenly.

Place in the pre heated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Remove from oven, cool thoroughly and cut into bars.

These bars do not require refrigeration and can be kept out for a few days. Tastes best fresh or within a few days of making it.

Notes
Baking times will vary depending on the size of the dish, material of the dish etc, so do keep an eye out to check regularly. I had about 3/4 of an inch in thickness when I spread the mixture, if you have spread it thinner than that, it may be ready in under 25 minutes itself.


I powdered rolled oats in my spice grinder to give me oat flour (you can use store bought oat flour too)

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Cardamom flavored Mango Popsicle and the winner of the giveaway...

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Just like the  last time, this time too I used random.org  to generate a random number to select the winner of  the giveaway. And the winner is..............Sowmya of Creative Saga. Sowmya, I hope you will enjoy this gift and I will be in touch with you to get the details of where to ship the gift

Moving on to the other reason for this post, since spring has all but  disappeared from our region and it feels more like summer here, I thought I might as well make some summer treats and enjoy them now. Who knows, maybe since spring feels more like summer, summer may  feel more like fall, one never really knows quite what to expect with the weather these days:-)  Anyway back to the frozen treat, I wanted to make something simple, quick, and fruity. Did I mention delicious......well that too, and this popsicle definitely qualifies on all fronts.If you are in the mood to make a fun treat then this popsicle might be something you are looking for....



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Mango Popsicles
1 large mango peeled, de-seeded and cut into 1/2 inch pieces (approximately 1 1/2 cups of cut mango pieces)
4 cardamom seeds powdered
1 cup milk
sugar according to taste ( I used approx 3 tbsp)(adjust according to sweetness of mango)

Blend the mango pieces along with milk, cardamom powder, sugar until smooth.
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Pour into Popsicle molds and freeze.
Remove from freezer, keep at room temperature for a few minutes or dip the molds in warm water to loosen the popsicle, remove and enjoy :-)

Notes
If you do not have these plastic molds you can use kulfi molds too for these, just pour the juice into kulfi molds and place in the freezer for about half an hour to an hour. When it is half frozen, insert a wooden stick in the center and keep back in the freezer to freeze fully. Remove and follow the steps above.

This frozen treat is off to the Thanda Mela event being hosted by Srivalli

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Healthy Inspirations Event-Salad Roundup Part 2

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Here is round two of the roundup of the healthy inspirations salad event.....


Umm Razeen makes Tofu and Sprouted Bean Salad , that is very simple to make and does not need a long list of exotic ingredients, and yet is packed with both taste and nutrition

Sowmya finds it difficult to ignore broccoli when she shops and decides to use it in this Broccoli with corn and peas salad, this salad is flavored with a very unique combination of tomato puree, ginger, garlic, soy, pepper and cumin.

My last contribution to this event is this Southwestern Style Pasta Salad . This simple and hearty salad has bell pepper, celery, corn kernels, red kidney beans and black beans in addition to pasta and is flavored with lime, paprika and a generous amount of cumin.






Akila Ganapathy says she is not much of a salad fan, but inspired by a salad on this site, she made a salad recently and decided to share it with us. Akila's salad combines crushed peanuts, lime and yogurt to form a versatile dressing which can be used with any combination of vegetables. Since she is a does not have a food blog, I am reproducing her recipe here entirely....


Ingredients:
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 cup roasted peanuts crushed
1/4 cup plain yogurt
lime juice - as needed
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in pan and put mustard seeds, asafoetida and fenugreek seeds. When mustard splutters, remove from heat and pour into salad bowl. Add yogurt, salt and pepper and mix well. Add peanuts and lime juice to this dressing. Pour this over salad mix (I used a store-bought mix of red cabbage, carrots, lettuce and added jalapenos, olives and tomatoes) and enjoy!

Salads are an eternal favorite with Ramya and she comes up with this Vegetable Salad with Strawberry Vinaigrette, that  is inspired by a recipe on Food Network.

Kiwi makes a surprising appearance in this simple, yet exotic Kiwi and Sweet Melon salad created by Umm Razeen

Chickpeas appears in yet another salad,this one is called  Minty Mixed Veggies and Chickpea Salad . This salad created by Priya, uses a touch of chaat masala and sesame seeds to lend the salad some flavor.

Vidhya makes this simple and colorful Salad with lettuce, broccoli, red, green and yellow bell pepper, carrots and flavored with a touch of lemon often.

Vaishali comes up with a very unique and one of a kind, Strawberry Avocado and Black bean salad . With a combination of fruits and some protein, this hearty salad is pretty complete.

Indrani shares four delightful and healthy salads with this event. The first, a Greek inspired Barley and Veggie Salad that combines vegetables and barley and has a simple dressing made of greek yogurt and lemon. The second a low fat Red Cabbage and Red Kidney Beans Salad that combines wholesome vegetables with some protein to complete it.

Indrani's third contribution is this Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Salad with Thai Dressing , a very colorful salad that combines fruits like watermelon, apple and oranges with vegetables like carrot, cabbage and spinach and is flavored with a very unique dressing made with coconut milk and finally this very Indian Green Moong and Tomato Kachumber that combines various vegetables with soaked green mung beans.

After discovering that jicamas are juicy and tender, Kalyani and Gayatri decide to use it in this Jicama Salad along with cucumbers, onions, bell pepper and giving it an intriguing twist by adding in some oranges as well.

Jyoti salad with cucumbers, onions and tomatoes is perfect for summers. It is light, quick and healthy. Check out her Cucumber Bhurji Salad

Summer fruits come together to form a beautiful colorful medley in Harini's Tropical Summer Salad shared with us by Srivalli and the Beyond curries group

Priya from Mharo Rajasthan Recipes sends in a super healthy Sprouted Moong Salad with sprouted moong, onions and tomatoes and flavored with chaat masala and lemon juice

Kiran sends in two very versatile salads for this event. The first, Red radish and chickpeas salad which very uniquely combines red radish and chickpeas. Kiran mentions that it can quickly be converted into an entree just by adding rice to it. The second Quick Vegetable Pasta that can be served as a salad or even an entree.




Here is the link to part 1 of the roundup for the salad event.
I will announce the winner of the giveaway tomorrow, so do remember to peek in then :-)

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Healthy Inspirations salad event roundup part 1 and a giveaway

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My sincere thanks to all of you who participated in this salad event.The responses have been overwhelming, so many creative and interesting salads from all of you.  Sorry about the delay in posting the roundup.As I mentioned earlier, my computer has been giving me a lot of trouble and this roundup got delayed as a result of that.

In the interest of keeping this post to a reasonable size I am breaking up this roundup in two parts and will publish part two tomorrow. One last thing before I go on to the roundup, so many of you have taken the time to send in your entries for this event, as a token of my appreciation I would like to give at least one randomly selected participant this handcrafted rice pearls bracelet and matching earrings.I will announce the winner of this giveaway in a post after the roundup is complete.



Alright now moving right on to the roundup, all recipes are mentioned in the order that I received them.......

Usha of My spicy kitchen kicks off the salad event with a very interesting Chick pea Salad  with chickpeas, lettuce, cucumbers, carrots and Usha's own vinaigrette

Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen makes this wonderful and refreshing  Fruit salad  with a touch of honey and lemon juice for flavor.

My first contribution to this event is this Indianized coleslaw that combines regular cabbage with red/purple cabbage, some crushed pineapple and carrots and is flavored with Indian spices mustard, green chilies and asafoetida.

Srimathi's combines some incredible flavors of cumin,pepper, lime and garlic in this flavorful Couscous Salad. She also gives this salad a very interesting twist by adding raisins, cranberries, mint and cilantro to it.

Priya Narsimhan makes a nutrient and fiber rich Chickpea (Chana) Chaat Salad  using sprouted chickpeas and then enhances the taste by using sweet date chutney, cilantro and chaat masala.

On a vacation to Greece, Nayna and her family found themselves liking couscous salad a lot, so Nayna wasted no time in recreating a similar and flavorful Couscous Salad at home with red and green bell pepper, some grapes, jalapeno and cilantro

Sumathi creates an exotic Apple Pear Walnut salad flavored with orange juice,orange zest, raisins and pepper, a perfect spring salad :-)

My second contribution to this event is this  Thai Salad with Peanut dressing, this salad combines lettuce, cucumbers and carrots with a simple dressing made with peanut butter.

Aruna shares her simple, wholesome and protein rich Sprouted Moong Salad made healthier and crunchier with the addition of peanuts to it.

Priya sends in half a dozen delightful salads for this event. She starts with a simple and unique Beets, Corn and Celery Salad,  that combines vibrant beets with sweet corn and crunchy celery simply flavored with apple cider vinegar and pepper. Her second creation, a Greek salad with an exotic sounding name of Pantzaria Salata is a simple combination of beets with garlic.

Her next Creamy Potato and Dill Salad combines potatoes, tomatoes, dill and mayonnaise resulting in a flavorful and creamy salad, and her next Simple Salad with Sesame Dressing, combines everyday vegetables flavored with a very unique dressing made out of sesame seeds, soy sauce and chili sauce

Her final two salads for this event are this Bell Pepper and Melon salad which she creates to beat the heat when summer presents them with an intense hot day and this Rajma with mixed veggies salad  that she created when she found herself with some leftover cooked red kidney beans and decided to combine it with other vegetables to come up with this hearty salad.

Sweatha from Tasty Curry Leaf sends in an intriguing sounding Chilled chickpea and Everything salad  that combines chickpeas with other vegetables, she says that any vegetables can be used in this salad, making this salad as versatile as it is delicious :-)

My third contribution to this event is this Pasta with carrots and asparagus , a simple salad made with pasta,carrots and asparagus and flavored with jalapeno mustard, olive oil and crushed red pepper.

Meena sends in two salads for the event, both that she says can be made in under ten minutes. The first a Vibrant Mixed Fruit and Veggie salad, the name says it all for this salad and the second an Easy Tangy Green Beans Salad with a crunch, this salad combines green beans with almonds which lend the crunch to the salad

Taste Tinkerer decides to recreate a vegetarian version of a Burmese salad she once tasted in a restaurant and makes this exotic Mango Salad which is bursting with flavor from raw mangoes, onions, tamarind and  soy sauce.



Remember we are not done yet, so do peek in tomorrow to have a look at more creative and healthy salads...

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Cumin seeds and a simple digestive aid.

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When I first started cooking, I never gave any thought to why particular ingredients were used in any recipe. If you had asked me, the most I might have guessed was flavor. But now I realize that so many of the ingredients used in traditional recipes offer so much more than just flavor to food. Take cumin seeds for example, I am sure you already know that cumin seeds are widely used in various types of cuisines from around the world. But did you know that these little seeds have a lot more to offer than just taste and flavor to food.

Cumin seeds have been found to be a great source of iron, and research shows that it has anti cancer properties too. Traditionally cumin seeds have always been recognized as an aid to digestion and recent research has shown that this is because cumin seeds stimulate the secretion of pancreatic enzymes. Pancreatic enzymes are compounds that are necessary for digestion and nutrient assimilation



I was surprised to know that cumin seeds are a good source of iron and have anti cancer properties. On the other hand, the part about cumin being a digestive aid does not surprise me at all. It has always been common wisdom in our home that cumin seeds are a great aid to digestion. My mother used to make jeera rasam whenever any of us were not feeling too well, because it was good for digestion. Jeera rasam is a light soup like dish made with tamarind and spices like cumin (I haven't posted the recipe for this yet, but plan to do so in the future)

In addition to jeera rasam, my mother in law also makes jeera/cumin water regularly. Especially when we have been traveling a lot, or when occasions like weddings or festivals come up or we have elderly visitors. This quick and effective remedy has now become part of some of the simple home remedies that I have come to depend on.......




Click here for a printable view of this entire article

Ingredients and Method to make Jeera/Cumin water
2 cups filtered/drinking water
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 pinches of  Carom seeds (ajwain/omam) (optional but recommended)
1/4 tsp ground ginger powder (sukku) (optional but recommended)

Bring the filtered water to a boil, add cumin seeds, carom seeds and ginger powder to it.
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Let it simmer for a minute or two. Remove from heat, cool to lukewarm. Strain and drink the water warm.

This can be had anytime of the day. This quantity serves 2 to 3 .

Reference links : WHFoods

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Cabbage in coconut gravy curry aka cabbage kootu and some humor...

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Here is something that's been sitting in one of my emails and I wanted to share it with my readers. Hope you enjoy it........

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A college student needed a small two-hour course to
fill his schedule and the only one available was
wildlife Zoology.

After one week, a test was held.

The professor passed out a sheet of paper divided into
four squares. In each square was a carefully drawn
picture of a bird's legs. No bodies, no feet, just
legs.
The test asked each student to identify the birds from
their legs.

The student sat and stared at the test getting angrier
every minute.
Finally, he stomped up to the front of the classroom
and threw the test on the teacher's desk. "This is the
worst test I have ever given."

The teacher looked up and said: "Young man, you have
flunked the test.What's your name?" 

The student pulled up his pant-legs showing his legs and said: "You tell me"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Funny huh ?...... Anyway without taking up more of your time, I will get straight to the recipe. Cabbage in coconut gravy curry is the best way I can think of to describe cabbage kootu.Kootu is a form of gravy curry made in southern India usually flavored with coconut, cumin and some chilies.  

I add some split chick pea lentils to this curry so that I can combine some protein along with the vegetable, making it more complete.This simple flavorful curry is quick to make and is versatile enough to work well with just plain steamed rice, or with steamed rice and rasam/sambar or even with some plain or flavored rotis (Indian flat bread)





Here is another view of this curry



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make cabbage kootu
1/2 cup split chick pea lentil (chana dhal) rinsed and drained
3/4 head of cabbage cut fine
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Grind together
6 tbsp grated coconut (either fresh or frozen) (if frozen thaw to room temperature)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp dried curry leaves (optional) (or replace with a fresh leaves from one stalk)
4 dry red chilies (or to taste)

Seasoning
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp split black gram lentil (udad dhal)
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder (hing/perungayam)

Place lentils in a large heavy bottomed pan and add sufficient water, enough to submerge it and turmeric powder and allow it to cook until it is almost fully cooked yet firm. Skim off the froth that forms on top of the lentils .

Add cabbage, salt to taste and more water if required and allow the cabbage to cook until soft.


In the meanwhile grind together coconut, cumin seeds, red chilies and curry leaves if using along with a little water into a smooth paste.

When cabbage is also cooked, add this ground coconut mixture to it and allow the curry to simmer for a few minutes until the flavors blend together.
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In a small pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds and split black gram lentil to it, when the mustard seeds begin to splutter and the split black gram lentil begins to turn pinkish/reddish, add asafoetida powder to it and stir once or twice, then quickly pour this entire seasoning on the curry.

Mix well and serve hot along with plain steamed rice and rasam/ sambar or with roti's (Indian flat bread)

Serves approximately 2 to 3

This kootu is off to the Green Gourmet Event being hosted by Preeti @ Write Food

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Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup and a picture of pretty daisies....

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Spring arrived here just about a month ago but you cannot make out it is still spring from the weather. We have been seeing temperatures consistently in the nineties and most days have the feel of summer rather than spring. But there is one feature of spring that I still get to enjoy, flowers. There are so many spring blooms all around me and it is such a beautiful sight.

Just the sight of a pretty flower is such a pick me up,isn't it ? No matter how busy I am, or what mood I am in, when I look at a pretty flower I feel nice. So when I got some blooming daisies I could not resist taking pictures of it and thought I would share them with my readers before moving on to the post...



I have already said a lot about Indo Chinese style cuisine in my past posts on this topic, so I will not get into it again. This sweet corn vegetable soup which comes under the category of Indo chinese cuisine too, is one of the quickest and simplest of soups. This is not a very hearty soup, it is a little on the lighter side, making it ideal for the type of hot/ warm days we are having these days.



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Ingredients and Method to make Sweet Corn Vegetable Soup
7 Spring onions (green onions) cut fine (both green and white parts)(reserve some green part for garnish)
2 carrots cut fine
2 cups sweet corn kernels (frozen) (see notes)
2 cups water or stock
1 can cream style corn (about 8.75 oz or 248 gms)
1/2 tsp vinegar
4 tsp green chili sauce (or to taste)
5 tsp low sodium soy sauce (or to taste)
1 tbsp corn starch (known as corn flour in India) mixed in 1/4 cup water
salt to taste
1 tbsp oil

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add white and green parts of spring onion to it (after reserving some green part for garnish) and saute until the white part is almost transparent.

Add carrots, corn kernels and water (or stock) and allow the vegetables to cook until soft (since the vegetables are cut fine, this does not take very long)
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Add cream style corn, chili sauce, soy sauce, salt to taste and allow to simmer for a few minutes. Add water if required to achieve required consistency.

Garnish with the green parts of the spring onion and serve hot as a starter to a complete Indo_Chinese meal

Notes
In case you want to use fresh corn kernels, then either pressure cook the corn kernels or separately cook it on a stove top before proceeding with the rest of the recipe

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Puli Itta Keerai ~ Tamarind flavored Spinach ~ Imli Palak ~ With Stepwise pictures

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Puli itta keerai (tamarind flavored spinach), a traditional dish from southern India, is a simple chutney/ dip style dish made with spinach, tamarind and some spices. Traditionally this dish is served as a side dish to go with Poricha kozhambu . 

Poricha kozhambu is more like a curry and is served on a bed of steamed rice, whereas puli itta keerai is more like a chutney or condiment and served in small quantities along with it.Since poricha kozhambu has no tartness to it at all, this puli itta keerai with its tart-spicy taste, becomes a perfect match for it.

 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Puli Itta Keerai

5 cups packed spinach leaves (Palak/ keerai)
1/2 tsp salt (or taste) (namak/ uppu)
4 inch piece of tamarind broken into small bits (imli/ puli)
1/2 cup water

Seasoning
1 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard seeds (rai/sarson/ kadagu)
1 tsp split black gram lentil (urad dhal/ udad dhal/ ulatham parappu)
3 dry red chilies (or to taste) broken into small pieces(lal mirch/ molagai vathal)
a pinch of asafoetida powder (hing/ perungayam)

In a heavy bottomed pan, place half the spinach leaves. Then place tamarind pieces and add the rest of the spinach leaves.
 

Add salt to taste and 1/2 cup of water and cook until the spinach and tamarind is well cooked.

Cool thoroughly and puree the spinach and tamarind, in short bursts until the spinach and tamarind are mashed well and blend together. Place this puree in a bowl and keep aside.

Heat oil, mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add split black gram lentil/ udad dhal and stir until it begins to turn reddish, add asafoetida powder and broken dry red chilies and stir a few times. Then pour the entire seasoning along with oil on the pureed spinach mixture. Mix well and serve hot along with Poricha Kozhambu and plain steamed rice to complete the meal.

Variation:
Instead of  1 tsp udad dhal in the seasoning, 1 tsp split yellow chick pea lentil (chana dhal/kadalai parappu) can also be used. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add chana dhal, stir until it turns reddish and proceed as above.

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