Curried Red Swiss Chard and Chick Pea Soup and some quick Kitchen art :)

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First the kitchen art :)  I have a narrow wall in my kitchen that needed something to pretty it up a little. I had been searching for something appropriate but most of the art I came across, either did not fit the space or looked generic.  Last week I came across this idea and this idea for wall art that really appealed to me. Loved the simplicity of the idea and the use of silverware in the art pieces, made me think that it might a great fit for my kitchen space.

Since there is no way to know than to try it out,  I  did !! This is the first time I have seen an idea and tried it out within a week. Usually my home decor projects take much longer than that. Anyway it did not take too long to get the art work ready, it actually took longer to finalize on the frames and the fabric I would use. I decided not to spray paint the silverware and the frames, thought their original colors would work better for my space. Hung the frames as soon as I completed it and took pictures too, this is how it looks in my kitchen :) We definitely love it and every time I enter the kitchen now, my eyes are automatically drawn to that wall and I keep turning to look at it even while I am cooking :)

Moving on, I use red swiss chard frequently, mostly in curries, occasionally in this adai and sometimes in this roti. This time I decided to use it in a soup. I based my soup roughly on this recipe and tweaked it to bit by adding Indian spices and  finished it with some lemon juice for a hint of tartness.  The soup turned out well, the addition of lentils and chickpeas makes this very filling and it works well as a one dish meal with some bread on the side. We thoroughly enjoyed it and I am happy to have one more recipe that I can regularly make that uses red swiss chard :) Okay this has been one long post, so I am going to end it now. Enjoy your weekend everyone and I will see you all in this space next week :)

 

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Ingredients and Method to make Red Swiss chard and Chickpeas soup
1 cup dry chickpeas soaked for 6 to 8 hours in sufficient water with a pinch of soda (soda optional)
1 1/2 cup split red lentils (masoor dhal)
1 large bunch red swiss chard cut finely (remove tough stalks)
1 large red onion cut fine
2 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut fine
1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste/ can be substituted with cayenne )
1 tsp garam masala (or  to taste/ can be substituted with any other curry powder)
 Water or Vegetable stock as needed ( I used approx 4 cups)
Juice of 2 small lemons ( or to taste)

Drain soaked chickpeas, fill with fresh water and cook either in the pressure cooker or stove top until soft.(I used the pressure cooker)

Rinse split red lentils and keep aside.

In a large heavy bottomed pan heat oil. When hot add onions and stir until the onions are transparent. Add green chilies and stir a couple of times. Add rinsed lentils and water/ stock and allow the lentils to simmer until it is half cooked.
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Add chopped red swiss chard, salt to taste, chili powder, garam masala, adjust water/ stock as required and let it simmer until the chard and lentils are both cooked. Add cooked chickpeas and simmer for a few minutes until the flavors mingle.

Remove from heat, add lemon juice and mix well.

Serve with bread of choice ( I served this with some jalapeno bread ) 

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Thai Inspired Pasta and an update :)

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First the update :) Regular readers of this site may have noticed that the share on twitter and facebook buttons at the top right of each post have disappeared since the last week. Well they haven't actually disappeared they have just been relocated. You will now find these buttons just below the title of each post. In addition to the usual share on facebook and twitter buttons I have also added a couple of new ones. One is the like on facebook that wasn't available before. The second is the pin it button for those of you who are on pinterest and wish to add any recipe to your pinterest board. The pin it button is not visible on the home page, but if you select the post or specific recipe that you want to pin, you will find the button to the right of the facebook share and like button.

Moving on to the pasta. This Thai inspired pasta is inspired by another pasta with the same name on this very site :) This version uses peanut butter, but does not use any coconut milk or thai curry paste. Instead it is a simple combination of ginger, peanut butter and soy sauce among other things to give this pasta a more Thai inspired flavor. This one's is becoming quite a favorite with us and I have been making this fairly frequently the last few months.  I mean what's not to like, it is easy to make, tastes delicious and is very quick to put together too :)  Perfect for those rushed weekdays or weekends when you do not want to spend too much time in the kitchen and yet want something light and nutritious :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Thai Inspired Pasta

For the peanut butter pasta sauce
3 tbsp honey (use agave nectar for a vegan version)
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
3 tbsp oil
2 tbsp vinegar
6 tbsp smooth peanut butter
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or to taste)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup packed finely cut cilantro (coriander leaves)

For the pasta
14 oz multi grain angel hair pasta prepared as per manufacturer's directions
4 spring onions (green onions) cut fine both white and green parts (can be substituted with 1 finely cut onion in a pinch )
1 green bell pepper (capsicum) deseeded and cut fine
1 large or 2 medium sized carrots grated
salt to taste
crushed red pepper to taste
1 tbsp oil
1 inch ginger minced fine
peanut butter sauce (recipe follows)

For the sauce
In a small bowl mix together all the ingredients mentioned under sauce except cilantro and blend together or whisk together until it blends well. Add finely cut cilantro to the sauce and mix well. Keep sauce aside.

For the pasta.
Prepare pasta as per manufacturer's instruction, drain and keep aside. In a heavy bottomed pan, heat oil, add spring onions to it and saute until cooked to a tender crisp. Add ginger and stir a few times.
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Add bell pepper, carrots, salt to taste and stir until cooked to a tender crisp. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, assemble cooked and drained pasta, peanut butter sauce and sauteed vegetables. Toss together to mix well. Sprinkle crushed red pepper to taste (if using) and serve immediately.

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Palak Raita (Spinach with yogurt salad)

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Since spinach is so super healthy I am always looking for ways to include it in our regular diet. Usually spinach makes its way into soups, curries, rice dishes, dhals, rotis and adai/ dosai in our kitchen. Pretty much all kinds of food huh ? Well the one thing I haven't tried with spinach is raita, that is until now :)   Raita is a yogurt based salad originating from north Indian cuisine, it's a perfect side dish to spicy rice dishes or parathas (Stuffed Indian flat bread).

A few weeks back my father in law mentioned that he saw a version of spinach raita on a cookery show that he thought was interesting and he immediately shared the recipe with me because he thought we might like it too. The raita sounded really good and the very next week I gave it a try. I tweaked the recipe a tad bit and found that the raita was very quick and simple to make.

The best word I can think of to describe the taste of this raita is "subtle". Every flavor in this raita is so very subtle, there is no one flavor that overwhelms the other flavors or which is glaringly obvious. We absolutely loved it, the cool, subtle flavors of the raita complemented the flavors of the rice I served it with perfectly. This one is definitely a keeper and I plan to make it much more often, especially during summer :)

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Ingredients and Method to make Spinach Raita
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves (Palak/ keerai) (see notes)
2 cups plain yogurt (Curds/ Dahi/ Thayir)
1 tsp sugar (Shakkar/ sakkarai)
1/2 tsp salt + additional salt to taste (namak/ uppu)
1 and 1/2 Thai or Indian green chili (or according to taste)

Seasoning
1/2 tsp oil
1/2 to 3/4 tsp cumin seeds

Add sugar and 1/2 tsp salt to plain yogurt, whisk together until it mixes well. Then place yogurt in the refrigerator to chill.

Fill a large bowl with sufficient cold water to submerge spinach leaves then add ice cubes to the cold water and keep aside. Place another pan with enough water to submerge the leaves on heat. When the water gets hot, remove from heat, place spinach leaves in the hot water. As soon as the leaves begin to wilt remove the spinach leaves with a spatula or spoon, drain excess water and place in the bowl containing cold water with ice cubes in it. This step ensures that the spinach retains its color.
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Puree the spinach along with a little bit of chilled yogurt and green chili until smooth. Mix it with the rest of the yogurt, adjust salt to taste.

In a small pan, heat oil. Add cumin seeds to it, when the seeds sizzle pour the entire seasoning on the raita.
Mix well and chill raita.
Serve chilled with flavored rice, pulao, biryani or paratha

Notes
In case baby spinach is not available, this recipe can be made with equal quantity of mature spinach leaves without the stem.

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Vegan Italian Lentil Soup

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Buying anything other than fruits and veggies seems to require quite a bit of time spent in reading labels these days. And labels have become so much more complicated haven't they? There are so many new ingredients used in each type of food that you feel like you need a degree in chemistry to figure out what is really used in the food. When I read about instances such as this one, it doesn't help much either and makes me feel like  I really need to learn much more about a lot of ingredients I see in labels of different foods.

One of the ingredients I see frequently is something called carrageenan. I have seen it in some ice cream labels and fruit flavored yogurt packs too. I knew carrageenan was used in place of gelatin but did not know anything about what it was made of, whether it is vegan or vegetarian, that kind of thing. Finally a few days back I got around to looking it up and found that carrageenan is a kind of  seaweed extract. There are several types of it that are used in baking and cooking, some have a gelatinous property and some don't. It is said to be a vegetarian and vegan substitute for gelatin. If you want to get more details, here is the wiki entry for it.

I was relieved to learn that carrageenan was vegan/vegetarian. I have been avoiding buying anything with it because I did not have any information about it. That said I am still a little on the fence about it and would like to know more about it before I start to buy stuff that has this ingredient. If you have come across this ingredient and know more about it do share the information below, I would love to hear your opinions on this ingredient :)

Moving on, usually whenever I plan to make some soup I start to think of which bread will be good with it. This time it happened the other way around :)  I wanted to make rosemary foccacia bread and I wondered which soup would taste good with it. After taking stock of my pantry and vegetable bin, I decided upon this lentil soup that seemed quick and simple. I tweaked the recipe a little, skipped the cheese to make this a vegan soup and changed out the herbs a bit. The result was this hearty delicious soup that tasted very good with the wheat foccacia bread I made to go with it. We loved the soup so much I have already made this a few times now and I am sure will make it frequently in the future too :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Italian lentil soup

1 1/2 cups whole dry lentils (whole masoor dhal)  soaked for 30 mins in sufficient water (the same kind used in this salad)
1 medium onion cut fine
1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
2 large carrots cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3 celery sticks cut very fine
3/4 cup dry multi grain elbow pasta (or any other small pasta)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (optional)
salt to taste
pepper powder to taste

Soak lentils in sufficient water for about 30 minutes.

In a large heavy bottomed pan heat oil, add onions and saute until transparent. Add minced garlic and stir a couple of times. Add  diced tomatoes, carrots, celery, soaked and drained lentils and water (or vegetable stock) as required and allow the vegetables and lentils to cook until almost done.
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Add elbow pasta, salt to taste, Italian seasoning, dried rosemary, pepper to taste and allow the soup to simmer until pasta is cooked. Adjust water/ stock if required and simmer for a few more minutes until the flavors mingle.

Serve hot with bread of choice. I served this with rosemary foccacia bread.

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Vegan Chewy Orange Oatmeal Cookies

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Before going on to the post, have you seen this clip?  I just saw this on my local news, this 7 year old boy tosses the pizza dough amazingly well. It was so fascinating to watch how he deftly manages to toss the dough without dropping it even once. It's a real fun watch, so if you have a couple of minutes do hop on over to the clip and take a peek

Moving on, ever since I started to make this ginger orange salad dressing, the pulp I get after straining out the juice is leftover. And since I do not like to throw it away, I  had to think up of ways to use up the leftover pulp. Since we love orange flavored bakes very much, whether it is cookies, oatmeal bars, muffins, breads or cakes, the first thing that came to mind when I was wondering what to do with the leftover pulp was to use them in some kind of bakes. This time I decided to make cookies with it. This is one of the simplest cookies I have made, with a minimum of  ingredients and yet it tasted delicious. So if you like orange flavored bakes too, whip up a batch of these and enjoy them :)


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Ingredients and Method to make Orange Oatmeal Cookies
Dry Ingredients
1 1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar (according to taste)

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup strained orange pulp (see notes)
1 tsp orange extract
2 tbsp flax seed meal (powdered flax seeds/alsi/ali virai)  + 6 tbsp water
2 tbsp oil

Pre heat oven to 375 deg F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and keep aside

In a large bowl assemble all the dry ingredients and mix well.

Whisk flax seed meal and water together for a few seconds until it turns gelatinous and keep aside.

Add the pulp, flax seed meal +water mixture and oil to the dry ingredients and mix together.
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Finally add orange extract and mix again. Spoon mixture onto the pre lined cookie sheet about  a couple of inches apart and place in oven.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from oven, cool to room temperature and store in an airtight container. Tastes best within a few days of baking :)

Yielded approximately 18 to 20 medium sized cookie.

Notes:
For the pulp, I pureed 2 cara cara oranges and strained out the juice which I used to make this salad dressing. I got 1/2  a cup of strained orange pulp which I used entirely in these cookies.

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