Watermelon curry- Tarbuz ki subzi

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Got curious when you saw the title of this post, didn't you ?  I definitely was, when I first saw a reference to watermelon curry in a Nita Mehta cookbook that I purchased recently. Unlike this watermelon curry that I tried out what feels like eons ago which used the rind part of the watermelon, this curry actually uses the red fruit part of the watermelon. So I have to admit I was kind of skeptical. I knew the rind part works well in curries mainly because it does not have a very strong sweetness, but the red part in a curry was not something I was sure about at all.



That said, I have to admit I was very, very curious and decided to try it one day. I made sure I had a back up plan in case this one did not work out the way I expected and started to make the curry. The first time I made the curry I pretty much followed the recipe I found in the cookbook. Since we liked it, I made this a few more times and have been modifying the recipe a little bit each time I made it. This version is the one I love the most. All the flavors in this curry are very subtle, yet together they work very well. This curry also has to be one of the simplest curry recipes ever, there is hardly much work involved in making this curry. Just season, simmer with spices, garnish and your done. If you are in the mood to experiment with watermelon, give this curry a try and as always do let me know your thoughts on the curry :)



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Ingredients and Method to make Watermelon curry
4 cups of cubed  ripe, seedless watermelon pieces (1/2 inch cubes)
1 cup of  ripe, seedless watermelon pieces pureed until smooth
2 tsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
a pinch of asafoetida (hing/perungayam)
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp coriander powder (dhania powder)
salt to taste (I used approx 1/2 tsp for this quantity)

Garnish
3 to 4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ hara dhania/ kothamalli)
1 tsp lemon juice

Cut watermelon into 1/2 inch cubes. Puree one cup of cubes until smooth. Keep both of these aside.

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds to it, when the seeds sizzle add asafoetida powder. Stir once or twice, then add turmeric powder, chili powder and coriander powder and stir a couple of times.
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Add cubed watermelon pieces, salt to taste and watermelon puree and allow to simmer for a few minutes until all the flavors mingle and the cubes are slightly softened.

Remove from heat and garnish with lemon juice and cilantro. Mix well, serve hot with any kind of Indian flat bread like roti/ phulkas  or on a bed of plain steamed rice.
This curry tastes best fresh or within a few hours of making, if refrigerated use within a day for freshest taste.

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Coffee Frozen Yogurt

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Some of you may be surprised to see  a coffee flavored frozen treat in this space, long time readers of this blog know that I am such an ardent tea lover that I actually have set a tradition of starting each year with a post in this space on tea rather than sweets and desserts as my friends normally do :) That said I do not hate coffee, I occasionally enjoy a hot or cold cup of coffee, especially when I travel.

My in laws are visiting us right now and seem to enjoy frozen yogurt quite a bit and love coffee as much as I love tea. I thought a coffee flavored frozen yogurt may be the perfect kind of treat for them.  I just went with my instincts in terms of proportions and this frozen yogurt turned out delicious. Perfect treat for the hot summer weather we are having these days and yes, my in laws are enjoying this frozen yogurt quite a bit too:) 

One quick update before I go, a lot of you on facebook are getting my updates on the older posts that are getting a new look with updated pics. But for the email subscribers, here is a list of a few of my older posts that have been updated recently with better pictures :
Mango Frozen Yogurt
Simple 2 ingredient Nutella Ice cream
Besan Kaju Burfi ( Indian fudge made with chick pea flour and cashewnuts)
Do take a peek at these and let me know what you think :)



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Ingredients and Method to make coffee frozen yogurt
1/2 cup hot almost boiling water
2 slightly rounded tsp of instant coffee ( I used folgers)
3 cups plain greek yogurt (non fat variety is fine) (see notes)
1 cup light cream
1 cup sugar

Mix the instant coffee with the hot water and keep aside to cool to room temperature.
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Whisk together greek yogurt, light cream and sugar until well mixed. Add the cooled instant coffee mix and mix well. Chill this mixture in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and churn in the ice cream maker as per manufacturers instructions. I usually churn for about 25 minutes to 30 minutes. Remove, freeze and enjoy.

Notes
If you do not get greek yogurt in your area, then you can make your own. Greek yogurt is just regular yogurt that has been strained. Line a colander with a muslin cloth, place regular yogurt in it and let it drain.(just as you would for making shrikhand if you have done that in the past)  For some more details and  pictures check out this post

If you do not have an ice cream maker than place the mixture in the freezer. When it begins to freeze around the edges, remove and stir it vigorously with a whisk or spatula. Return to freezer and continue this process every 30 or so minutes, stirring at least five to six times. Allow it to freeze and serve. If you want more details on this process check out this post

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Carrot Raisin Oat Bran Muffins (Egg Free and Butter free)

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Carrot cakes are my favorite kind of cake, and for a while now I have been wanting to make a carrot cake. I have some recipes that I have book marked and some ideas I want to try, yet somehow making the carrot cake seems to never quite happen. This week when I decided to make muffins with oat bran,  I decided to add some carrots and raisins to the muffins. I thought since I am not getting the chance and time to make the cake, and I was anyway planning to make some healthy breakfast kind of muffins, I might as well incorporate the flavors of a carrot cake that would at least partially satisfy my carrot cake cravings :)



Now here is the fun thing about these muffins, when you taste them, you would never suspect that these are egg free, butter free and filled with the goodness of whole wheat and oat bran. They taste pretty delicious. These are also great for breakfast or as a snack on the go, they are filled with both nutrition and taste. So give these a try and do let me know what you think of them :)


 

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Ingredients and Method to make Carrot Raisin Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour (atta)
1 cup oat bran (see notes)
1/4 cup all purpose flour (maida)
1 and 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon (cinnamon powder)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup dark raisins
1 and 1/2 cups grated carrots (I used about 4 medium sized carrots for this)

1/2 cup oil (I used almond oil)
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Curds/ dahi)
2 tbsp flax meal ( powdered flax seeds/ alsi/ ali virai)  + 6 tbsp water 

Pre heat oven to 350 deg F. Line a muffin pan with liners and keep aside.  
In a large bowl, mix together all the flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon and mix well.

Mix flax meal with water and whisk well until it begins to get gelatinous and keep aside.
Add sugar, dark raisins and grated carrots to the flour mix and mix well.

Add flax + water, mix into the flour mix. Add yogurt and mix slowly into the flour mixture. Finally add oil and mix slowly into the flour mixture.
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Spoon the mixture a little at a time into the pre lined muffins cups, until it is about 2/3 cup full. Place in pre heated oven and bake for about 17 to 20 mins or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven, cool a little and enjoy. Store the balance in an airtight container and enjoy within the next few days.

This quantity yielded me approximately 12 standard size muffins + 12 mini muffins (see notes).

Notes
If you do not have oat bran, you can also substitute it with equal quantity of whole wheat flour.
If you want to bake these as mini muffins, the baking time would be much less. It would take approx between 12 to 15 minutes, so do keep an eye on the muffins and check by inserting a toothpick or cake tester to see if it comes out clean a bit early.

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Black Eyed Peas Curry (Lobia/Chawli Curry)

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Cuisine from the region of Gujarat (a state in the western part of India) has a special place in my heart. The cuisine from that region has a very unique taste. A lot of the recipes I come across from this region have this typical combination of slightly sweet, slightly spicy and slightly tart that I find quite fascinating. Every time I visit India I make it a point to visit a Gujarati restaurant near our home that has become somewhat of a family favorite. All of us enjoy all the items on their menu and every time I  leave the restaurant I am drawing up a mental list of all the things I want to try in my own kitchen.

Sadly I do not end up trying as many dishes from this region as I would like, but from time to time I do make a few items that quickly becomes a new favorite and appears much more often in my kitchen. This black eyed peas curry definitely falls in that category. It is a simple, no fuss, quick curry that is perfect for weeknight dinners. All it needs is plain steamed rice, jeera rice or some flat bread/phulkas and you have a comforting and nutritious meal :)



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Ingredients and Method to make black eyed peas curry (Adapted from this recipe)
3 cups frozen black eyed peas (thawed to room temperature) (see notes)
1 large tomato cut fine (yielded 1 and 1/4 cup of cut pieces of tomato)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
1 tbsp oil
3 tbsp chick pea flour (besan/ gram flour/ kadalai maavu)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
salt to taste
1 tsp grated jaggery (or 1 tsp sugar)
3 to 4 tbsp finely chopped cilantro (coriander leaves/ dhania/kothamalli) for garnish

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan, add cumin seeds to it. When the seeds sizzle, add chick pea flour(besan) and stir on low to medium low heat until it emits a nice aroma and loses its raw smell. Take your time with this step and stir often so that the flour does not burn.

Once the flour is roasted nicely, add chopped tomatoes to it and cook on low heat until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and stir a few times.
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Add black eyed peas, salt to taste, sugar and water as required to achieve desired consistency and simmer for a few minutes  for the flavors to mingle. Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro.

Serve hot with plain steamed rice, any kind of pulao or jeera rice(cumin flavored rice) or with any flat bread (phulkas/rotis)

Notes:
I used frozen black eyed peas, but if you have dry black eyed peas, then soak in sufficient water overnight/ or for 7 to 8 hours.  Drain the water, add fresh water and cook in the pressure cooker or on the stove top until the peas are soft yet it retains the shape. Use in the recipe above.

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Corn Green bell pepper curry (Corn capsicum curry)

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When I am in a hurry and looking for something simple, quick and nourishing, simple curries paired with phulkas are my favorite menu choice. I never get tired of this simple comforting combination. On such days I only want to make curries that are really fast to make and do not involve any elaborate steps. This corn bell pepper curry definitely fits the bill.



This curry is inspired by this lemon flavored corn salad. Every time I made the salad, I kept thinking that the combination of corn and bell pepper would work great in a curry too and that I need to try it out one day. Once I did, this curry became a regular in my kitchen. This is a quick, flavorful and simple curry with a emphasis on the simple, no exotic spices or flavors. It tastes works very well with phulkas (Indian flat bread) but also tastes just as good in any Indian themed meal. This time I made it with some jeera brown rice (cumin flavored brown rice) and some dhal :)



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Ingredients and Method to make corn with green bell pepper curry
4 cups frozen corn kernels  (see notes)

1 green bell pepper (capsicum/ koda molagai) deseeded and cut fine
1 medium sized red onion cut fine
2 medium tomatoes cut fine
2 tsp clarified butter (ghee/nei) or oil (use oil for a vegan version)
3/4 tsp cumin seeds (jeera/ jeeragam)
1 thin sliver ginger grated fine or 1/2 tsp minced ginger
salt to taste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder (or to taste) (Can be substituted with cayenne pwd)
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp cumin powder

Heat oil in a large heavy bottomed pan. Add cumin seeds, when the seeds sizzle a little, add onions and saute until onions turns transparent.

Add ginger and stir a few times. Add tomatoes and stir until the tomatoes turn soft and mushy.

Add all the spices and stir a few times. Add bell pepper and corn kernels, salt to taste and water as required and cook until the corn is soft, yet retains its shape.
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Remove from heat and serve hot with phulkas/ rotis (flat bread) or as a side in any kind of Indian themed meal.

Notes:
I used frozen corn kernels, but you can easily use fresh corn kernels too, it might take a little longer to cook but not too much longer :)

Other easy curries that go well with phulkas/ Indian flat bread, or rice and dhal....

Dudhi/ Lauki sabzi ~ Bottlegourd in peanut gravy curry

Methi Baingan ~ Eggplant with fenugreek leaves curry

Potato Masala Curry ~ Aloo ki sabzi ~ Potato gravy curry

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