Yellow Squash with Mung Bean Curry (Kootu) and an update !!

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First the update :) For the last few weeks I have been diligently updating pictures on some of my older posts. If you want to take a quick peek at some of the pictures, these are the posts that I have recently updated....
Oat Upma made with Steel cut oats
Mor Kozhambu (Okra in buttermilk gravy curry)
Low Fat Cranberry cookies
Carrot Halwa (Indian dessert made with carrots) 
Milaguishyam( Medley vegetables in a lentil gravy curry)
Am planning to update some more pictures soon, will keep you all posted when I get around to doing it :)

Moving on, every time I go grocery shopping these days, my eyes are drawn to the variety of colorful squashes in the vegetable section.  I like all kinds of squash, they are versatile, low in calories and taste great in all kinds of curries.  This time I ended up buying yellow squash and combined it with mung bean to make kootu (a south Indian curry with coconut paste) This is the first time I have combined mung bean with yellow squash and I loved the combination, I kept the flavors in this curry simple, nothing too fancy or exotic. Yet this humble curry tasted fantastic with both rice and phulkas. It is perfect for a quick meal, it does not take too long to make and it is both nourishing and satisfying at the same time.


 
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Ingredients and Method to make Squash with Mung Bean Curry
1 cup mung beans (green gram/moong beans/pachai payaru) soaked for 8 hours
6 medium yellow squash ends cut off and peeled (see notes)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste

Grind to a smooth paste
1/2 heaped cup of fresh grated coconut (or frozen) (If using frozen thaw to room temperature)
5 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste)

Garnish with
1 tbsp coconut oil
7 to 8 curry leaves broken to small pieces

Cut the ends, peel the skin of the squash and cut lengthwise, then cut each half lengthwise again, then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Yielded approx 4 1/2 cups of cut pieces.

Drain the soaked mung beans, place them in a large pot and sufficient water and allow the beans to cook until almost soft.

When almost done, add squash, turmeric powder, salt to taste and water if required and allow the squash to cook until soft.

Grind coconut and green chilies to a smooth paste and keep aside. If using frozen and thawed coconut, use warm water while grinding.

When the squash is cooked add coconut paste, allow to simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.
Finally remove from heat, add coconut oil and mix well. Then garnish with curry leaves.
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Serve hot on a bed of plain steamed rice or with some phulkas/ chapathis / rotis

Notes:
Yellow squash can be substituted with zucchini or bottle gourd (doodhi/lauki)

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Mixed Vegetable Paratha (Stuffed Indian flatbread) and a DIY beaded Mirror

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First the beaded mirror :) I know I have to absolutely stop with the mirrors, but as I mentioned in this earlier post, I really do think I have mirror fever on my brain and it seems I have to get it out of my system. So I been making mirrors every chance I get.  Since I have taken up making jewelry with beads as a hobby  I always have beads around my home. After I made this sunburst mirror with some rope to frame the mirror, I wondered how it would have looked with beads instead of rope to frame the mirror. Since I had some beads that I had bought in bulk that were not getting used in any other way I decided to try using it in a mirror and satisfy my curiosity. The first one looks like this.....



I have posted the picture of the second one and all the DIY steps in this post on Bead creationz.  If you are interested in this kind of thing, take a peek into the post and let me know what you think about it :)



 In the meanwhile let me move on to the mixed vegetable paratha. This one is a classic from north Indian cuisine. Paratha is essentially an Indian flat bread with stuffing in it, in this instance a stuffing made of mixed vegetables. It is simple, hearty and satisfying dish. Pair this with a curry/ dhal and some plain yogurt and a little pickle on the side if you like it and you can enjoy a delicious satisfying meal :)



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Mixed Vegetable Paratha
For the dough
2 cups whole wheat flour
Approx 3/4 cup water
Salt to taste (I used approx  1 1/4 tsp)
2 to 3 tsp oil

For the filling
1 small red onion cut very fine
1 small potato cooked until soft and peeled, cooled and grated fine.
2 small carrots grated fine
7 to 8 mini peppers cut very fine (or half a bell pepper/capsicum cut very fine)
1/4 head of a medium cauliflower cut very fine
4 Thai or Indian variety green chilies cut very fine ( or to taste)
1 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 to 3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves)
salt to taste

A little clarified butter (ghee) or any oil to shallow fry the paratha (use oil for a vegan version)

For the dough
Place the flour and salt in a large bowl and mix well. Add water and oil and knead till it becomes a soft , pliable and non sticky dough. Keep covered and let sit for at least 30 minutes.

Prep all the vegetables by cutting/grating them separately as mentioned above. A chopper or food processor is handy for this since it gives evenly finely cut vegetables. 

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds. When the seeds sizzle and green chilies and stir a couple of times. Then add onion and stir for a few minutes until the onions turn transparent.

Add all the other vegetables, turmeric powder, salt to taste and stir for a few minutes until the vegetables are cooked but not mushy.
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Roll the dough into equal large lemon sized balls and keep aside.

With the help of a little flour if required, roll the dough into a small pancake sized circle. Place a little of the cooked vegetable mixture on the center of the dough. Pull together the ends of the dough, join and flatten gently. Refer to this post for pictures of this process. With the help of a little flour roll out the dough into a small circle of desired thickness and keep aside.

Heat a griddle/ tawa/ flat pan on medium high and place the stuffed rolled out dough on it and cook for a minute.
Flip it over and cook the other side, apply a little clarified butter (ghee) on the side facing upwards, turn over and apply clarified butter on the other side and cook for an additional minute until light brown spots start to appear on the bread.
Remove and serve hot with plain yogurt / pickle or dhal / curry of choice.

 Proceed with the rest of the dough and the spice mixture in the same manner

This quantity yielded approx 8- 10 parathas. 

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Sprouted White Peas Misal Pav (Sprouted curry with Indian bread)

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Misal pav is a kind of curry that is served with pav (an Indian bread). It is usually made with sprouts, either moth beans, white peas or even chickpeas and is served topped with some raw onions, crunchy fried snacks like farsan or chivda or sev (Indian fried noodles). This curry originates from  Maharashtrian cuisine (Maharashtra is a state on the west coast of India). As is often seen with many dishes, this dish too has many regional variances and different parts of Maharashtra make different versions of this dish. 



The first time I tasted misal was surprisingly at a cafeteria during an audit. Not quite the place I would have ever expected to find a new dish, much less like it :) My friends were all excited even before getting to the cafeteria because they knew that misal was being served that day and their behavior had me wondering what all the fuss was about and made me curious to try the dish that seemed to have them so excited :) Obviously once I tasted the misal I was inclined to agree with my friends that this dish definitely is worth the fuss:)

Now this is a family favorite and it features regularly in our kitchen. To make it more of a healthy meal, I use less fried toppings, even avoid it on occasion. I also serve this with wheat pav, oat pav or as I did this time with wheat flax pav so that I can avoid the apf.  Often misal is served as a breakfast item, but in our home we love it so much that we welcome this anytime of the day. It does not matter if we have this for breakfast, lunch or dinner, just so long as we get to have it:)



Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Sprouted misal  (Adapted from Priya's recipe)
1 1/2 cups dry white peas (matar) soaked for 8 hours, drained then allowed to sprout (see notes)
3 small to medium onions cut fine
3 medium tomatoes cut fine
4 Thai or Indian green chilies (or to taste)
1 inch piece of ginger minced
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp oil ( I used coconut)
1/4 cup grated fresh coconut (if using frozen thaw to room temperature)

salt to taste
1/4 tsp cumin powder (jeera)
1/4 tsp coriander powder (dhania)
1/2 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chili powder (or to taste)

Garnish with
handful cilantro (coriander leaves) cut fine

Serve misal topped with
farsan/ mixture/ sev (crunchy Indian deep fried snacks)
Raw onions cut fine (optional)

and some pav (a rustic Indian bread) on the side to mop up the curry (Here is the recipe for pav and oat pav)

Soak the peas for 8 hours, drain then add to sprout maker and allow to sprout. I allowed mine to sprout for a little longer than 24 hours I think. Then cook the peas with sufficient water in a pressure cooker until soft. Alternatively these peas can be cooked on the stove top, just takes a little longer :) If you do not want to sprout the peas then the peas can be cooked after being soaked for 8 hours.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add onions and saute until onions are transparent. Then add minced ginger and garlic and stir a few times

Then add tomatoes and cook until soft and mushy. Then add grated coconut and saute for a bit.

Remove, cool this mixture then puree it in the blender/ mixer until smooth.

Add the pureed mixture back to the heavy bottomed pan, add cooked beans and all the spices. Add water to achieve required consistency and simmer the mixture for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.
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Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot topped with farsan/ mixture/sev( crunchy Indian deep fried snacks) and raw onions (if using) along with pav (Rustic Indian bread) on the side.

Notes:
If you do not want to sprout the peas you can soak white peas for 8 hours, drain, fill with fresh water and cook in the pressure cooker or the stove top until soft yet not mushy. 

Ideally misal tastes best with pav. But if you do not have pav, you can also serve this with any other kind of non sweet bread like sandwich bread/ or any kind of rustic Italian bread or even plain Indian flat bread like chapathi/ phulka

White peas can also be substituted with chickpeas too.

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Raw Banana /Plantain curry with cumin (Jeera Vazhakkai curry)

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During my recent trip to India I ended up acquiring a bunch of cookbooks that I hope I will get a chance to try from soon. One of the books called  " Classic Lunches" by Mallika Bhadrinath is the first one that I have been browsing through. This interesting book contains a lot of simple classic lunch recipes from Tamil and Andhra cuisines. The very first one that caught my eye was a simple plantain curry that was very minimally spiced with cumin seeds and coconut. This is the first recipe that I tried from the book. It's fascinating how small variations in spices and ingredients can result in something so different. I have made many kinds of plantain curries but this is the first time I tried plantain curry with cumin flavoring and I have to say it works very well.
 


I have made this curry a few times and have tweaked the recipe a little bit from the first time I made it. It is a very simple curry, can be made quite quickly and I love the simple cumin and coconut flavor for this curry. It is perfect for the days when all I crave is a simple lunch with a curry, maybe some rasam or mor kozhambu on the side with some plain steamed rice. Nothing fancy or elaborate :)  If you are craving something simple too, and plantains are something you like, give this curry a try. You might just be surprised how awesome this simple curry tastes :)

 

Click here for a printable view of this recipe

Ingredients and Method to make Raw banana curry
9 small plantains / raw bananas peeled, cut lengthwise then cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
salt to taste
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
a pinch of asafoetida (hing/perungayam) (optional but recommended)

To grind to a fine paste
1/3 cup grated fresh coconut (or frozen) (if using frozen thaw to room temperature)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 whole dry red chilies (or to taste)

Garnish
1 sprig of curry leaves broken into small pieces

Cut the two ends of the plantains and peel them. Cut lengthwise once, then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. If the plantains are very wide and large, cut lengthwise once, the cut the halves lengthwise again, then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. Mine were small and not too thick so I just cut lengthwise once and then cut into 1/4 inch pieces. It yielded me approx 5 cups of cut pieces.

In a heavy bottomed pan/ kadai heat oil. When hot, add mustard seeds, when the seeds splutter add a pinch of asafoetida powder. When it sizzles slightly add cut pieces, turmeric powder and 1/2 cup of water. Lower heat to medium/ medium low, mix well, close with a lid and allow the plantains to cook. Turn gently and frequently to ensure the plantain cooks evenly. I didn't need it but if needed sprinkle a little more water if the plantains aren't cooked yet.

In the meanwhile grind coconut, cumin seeds and dry red chilies, adding water as required to a fine paste. If using frozen and thawed coconut, add a little warm water while grinding the paste. Keep this paste aside.
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When plantains are cooked add the paste to it and mix well. Add salt to taste and mix again. On low heat allow the curry to cook until the moisture from the paste evaporates completely and the curry becomes dry.

Garnish with broken curry leaves. Remove from heat and serve hot with plain steamed rice and some rasam or mor kozhambu on the side.

This curry is off to the " I must make that " event being hosted by Pallavi

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Aloo Palak ~ Baked Potatoes in spinach gravy curry

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Recently I purchased a large box of organic baby spinach and as a result had somewhat of a spinach fest in my home for the next week or so until I used up all the spinach.  What I love about spinach is that it is so very versatile, it works perfectly in so many types of cuisine and tastes good in all its variations. Whether used in soups,  roti (Indian flat bread), curries, south Indian kootus,  flavored rice or even raita, this healthy green just seems to work in everything. One of the curries I made with spinach this time was aloo palak that was on the menu for lunch one weekend :)

Aloo palak, a north Indian curry with potatoes and spinach, is a very popular curry. Most restaurants offering north Indian cuisine offer this item on their menu. I have tasted and made many variations of this curry. But this version with baked potatoes added to spinach gravy is my most favored version. It is definitely simple and doesn't take very much time to make either :)  If spinach is on your menu give this version a try and as usual, do give me your feedback on it :) 




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Ingredients and Method to make Aloo Palak
3 1/2 cups of packed spinach leaves (Palak/ Keerai)
3 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed (Aloo/ Batata/Urilakizhangu)
1 large red onion cut fine (pyaaz/vengayam)
2 large tomatoes cut fine (Tamatar/thakkali)
1 to 2 Tbsp oil and a little extra to brush on the potatoes

1/2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/jeeragam)
1/2 tsp minced ginger (adrak/inji)
1/2 tsp minced garlic (lehsun/poondu)
3 Thai or Indian variety green chilies (or to taste) (hara mirch/pachai molagai)
2/3 tsp garam masala (or any other curry powder) (or to taste)
1 tsp sugar(shakkar/sakkarai)
Salt to taste (namak/uppu)

Pre heat oven to 425 deg F. Prepare a tray by lining it with parchment paper and keep aside.

Peel and cube potatoes and place on pre lined tray a making sure they are not over lapping. Brush on a little oil on top of the potatoes and place in the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes turning once or twice in between to ensure even baking. Remove when the potatoes turn light golden in color.

Place spinach leaves in a bowl of hot water for a couple of minutes. When the leaves begin to wilt remove with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl of cold water.  Drain this spinach and puree along with green chilies.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds. When the seeds begin to splutter, add onions and saute until transparent. Then add minced ginger and minced garlic and stir a few times

Add tomatoes and stir until tomatoes are cooked, soft and mushy.

Add garam masala, spinach puree, salt to taste, sugar (this helps in retaining color of the spinach) and baked potatoes. Add water if required to achieve required consistency and simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to mingle.

Remove from heat and serve hot with phulkas/ rotis/ parathas/ or any kind of Indian flatbread or with plain steamed rice/ jeera rice/ or any kind of pulao or flavored rice.
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Notes:
In case you do not have an oven or do not want to use one, the potatoes can be shallow fried on the stove top with a few drops of oil. Alternatively you can cook the potatoes, then peel then cube and use it as is in the curry. I have tried all three methods and and my order of preference is first, this version where the potatoes are baked in the oven, second to shallow fry potatoes and last cooked potatoes cubed and added to the curry. All three taste very good, don't get me wrong but that is just how I prefer it :) 

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Saffron and cardamom flavored sprouted wheat cookies and DIY sunburst mirror

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Let me begin with the Sunburst mirror first :) Ever since I made this chrysanthemum mirror  I have had mirror fever on my brain and I have been wanting to make a few more. Finally this week I got a chance and conveniently happened to have all the material I needed on hand.  This mirror unlike the first one that I made was really quick to put together and my only issue with it is that the color I used seems a little light, would probably use a darker color next time. Other than that I loved it :) If you want to check out the step by step tutorial for this mirror check out this link



Moving on.... I think I have mentioned earlier that my cousin Sandhya and I regularly exchange health and nutrition tips with each other on our phone chats. During one such conversation she mentioned that she has now gotten hooked on to using sprouted whole wheat flour. Since I am always keen to try new and healthy ingredients this one went right on top of my shopping list and on my very next visit to Whole foods I picked it up.  



Since then I have used sprouted wheat flour in everything from chapathis/ phulkas (Indian flat bread) to pizza base to cookies and enjoyed it in all forms. When comparing sprouted wheat flour and regular wheat flour I do not see any significant difference in taste and texture.  These cookies with saffron, cardamom and pistachios are something I have begun to make regularly  with sprouted wheat flour. You could easily use whole wheat flour in this recipe if you do not want to use sprouted wheat or do not have it on hand. This cookie has a very Indian kind of flavor, it turns out consistently delicious and is a perfect quick treat to go with a cup of chai :)




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Ingredients and Method to make Sprouted wheat cookies
3/4 cup sprouted wheat flour (can be substituted with regular whole wheat flour/atta)
3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour (maida)
3/4 tsp baking powder
5 green cardamom seeds powdered fine (elaichi/ elakkai)
1 1/2 tbsp finely cut pistachios (optional) (see notes)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup clarified butter (ghee/nei)
2 tsp milk + 2 generous pinches saffron
1/2 cup cold whole milk

Pre heat oven to 350 deg F. Line a tray with parchment paper and keep aside.

In a small bowl assemble the wheat flour, apf, baking powder, cardamom seed powder and pistachios and mix well.

Warm 2 tsp milk slightly and add 2 generous pinches of saffron to it  and keep aside for a few minutes

Cream clarified butter + sugar until it comes together. Add the flour mixture to it and mix well.

Add cold milk a little at a time and mix well. Finally add the saffron + milk and mix well.

Pinch a little dough, roll and flatten and place in the pre lined tray about an inch apart. Score with the tines of a fork if you wish.
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Place tray in the oven and bake for approx 15 to 20 minutes or until the cookies turn a creamy brown.

Remove and cool, store in an airtight container and enjoy :)

Notes:
Pistachios are optional, I have made these cookies both with and without the pistachios and these cookies taste awesome either way :)

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