All Posts, Mains

Fried rice and falafel

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It was my husband’s idea to have fried rice ad falafel for lunch. I was not sure how the combination is going to be, but it was awesome. Usually he needs ketchup with fried rice, but he was so happy with the falafel, he didn’t have the ketchup!

Fried rice

 

Ingredients

 

2 cups cooked rice

½ cup cut cabbage

½ cup green peas

½ cup sprouts

½ cup cut carrots

1 tbsp pickled olives

2 tbsps oil

1 tbsp white vinegar

1 tbsp soya sauce

Salt to taste

Instruction

 

  • Heat the oil in a pan, add the green peas and cut carrot. Keep the flame high and keep stirring the vegetables for about half a minute
  • Now add the sprouts, then the cabbage. You need to stir continuously and let the vegetables cook on high flame. When they are cooked, but still crunchy, reduce the flame.
  • Add the soya sauce, vinegar and then the rice and salt. Mix well and remove from the fire. Now mix in the olives.

 

Falafel

Ingredients

 

1 cup Bengal gram or chick peas, soaked overnight and drained

1 onion cut into small pieces

4 cloves of garlic

1 tsp jeera (cumin)

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ tsp red chilli powder

1 tsp coriander powder

8 black pepper corns

¼ tsp cardamom powder

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Instruction

 

  • Put the soaked, drained chick peas in a grinder and do pulse grinding twice.
  • Add all other ingredients and grind, it should not become a paste, but slightly rough in consistency. I did this in the morning and had to prepare the falafel for lunch, so I kept the ground mix in the refrigerator for about three hours.
  • Heat oil in a kadai. When it starts smoking, keep the flame medium.
  • Take a small quantity of the chick pea mix in your palm, squeeze it and remove any excess water, roll into a ball and lightly flatten it.
  • Gently slip it into the hot oil and deep fry, turning it upside down, to cook from both sides. You have to slip it into the oil carefully, or it may break.
  • It still it breaks, you can mix in a small amount of flour for better binding. I did not have to do this.
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Beet root sabzi

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This is a quick and delicious preparation that goes well with steamed rice or chapatis.

Ingredients:

1 large beet root
1 small onion
5 flakes of garlic
1 sprig of curry leaf
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp udad dal
1/3 tsp red chilli powder
1/3 tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
2 tbsp grated coconut

Instruction:

  • Peel and cut the beet root into rectangular pieces. Chop the onion and crush the garlic flakes after removing the skin.
  • Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add udad dal.
  • When the dal turns light brown in color, add the cut onion and curry leaves. Sauté for a minute, add the crushed garlic flakes and stir for a few seconds.
  • Add the beet root pieces, mix well on high flame, add salt, reduce the flame, cover and cook for about six minutes. Open and check in between, sprinkle some water if needed.
  • Add the red chilli powder, garam masala powder and grated coconut. Stir well and remove from fire.
All Posts, Sides

Kadai vegetables

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Kadai is a small wok like vessel that is used for a lot of Indian cooking.  When I wanted to make a sabzi with different types of vegetables lying in my refrigerator, I searched for the recipe of ‘kadai vegetable’. I modified it a bit and prepared it for a Sunday lunch.

Ingredients

1 medium sized Cauliflower separated into flowerets
1 cup shelled green peas
1 carrot cut into small pieces
3 green capsicums deseeded and cut into small pieces
1 onion sliced
8 flakes of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
2 tomatoes chopped
2 tbsps of oil
½ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala powder
Salt to taste
¼ cup water

Instruction

  • Grind half of the ginger and garlic into a paste. Cut half of the ginger into juliennes.
  • Heat oil in a kadai, add the sliced onion and let them brown.
  • Add the ginger garlic paste and stir for a few seconds.
  • Add the turmeric powder, red chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and mix well
  • Add the chopped tomatoes, cauliflower, green peas, carrot, salt and mix well on high heat. Pour ¼ cup of water, put salt and cook for about six minutes on low flame till the carrots are done.
  • Now mix in the capsicum pieces and cook for another four minutes. Add the garam masala powder and remove from fire.
  • Garnish with the ginger juliennes while serving.
All Posts, Sides

Cabbage Thoran

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This is a Kerala dish that is fast and easy to prepare, and an awesome accompaniment with steamed rice and dal. It took just 6 minutes to get cooked.

Ingredients

2 cups of cabbage cut very fine
¾ cup grated coconut
½ tsp cumin seeds
3 flakes of garlic
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1/3 tsp red chilli powder
1 tbsp oil
½ tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp udad dal
1 sprig curry leaf
Salt to taste
¼ cup water

Instructions

  • Grind the coconut with cumin seeds, garlic, turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
  • Heat the oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds. When they splutter, add the udad dal and when they brown lightly, add the cut cabbage and curry leaves.
  • Stir for a minute on high flame, add the salt and water, reduce the flame to low, cover and cook for five minutes.
  • Now add the ground coconut mixture, cover and cook for a minute.
  • Mix everything nicely and remove from the fire.
All Posts, Sides

Carrot Kanji

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In the North of India, as the winter sets in, carrot kanji (a fermented drink with carrots and mustard seeds) will be prepared in the houses.  It has a unique taste that is tangy, and an exotic color.  Fermented vegetables are potential healers. They can enhance the immune system, treat irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and reduce systemic allergic responses.

Ingredients:

 

250 gms red(or orange) carrots peeled and cut into 1 inch long  pieces

7 cups of water

3 tbsps mustard seeds roughly ground

Salt to taste

½ tsp black salt

A pinch of asafoetida

¼ tsp red chilli powder

Instructions:

 

  • Mix in the ground mustard seeds, salt, black salt, red chilli powder and asafoetida into the water.
  • Add the cut carrots. Pour into a glass jar; cover the mouth of the jar with a cloth.
  • Keep in the sun during day time for 4 to 5 days. Stir it well in the evenings.
  • It can be taken as a drink or served along with lunch.
All Posts, Desserts

Carrot Halwa

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During winter time in the North of India, there will be red carrots available in the vegetable market, and in all sweet shops, one will see warm carrot halwa in big flat vessels. We used to enjoy the sweet in Lucknow. The red carrots are available in Belgaum during December/January. They are awesome for making halwa, though it can be prepared with orange colour carrots too. I always follow the typical north Indian recipe, which I learned from my husband’s mamiji three decades back.  Yesterday my husband spotted the red carrots; he promptly brought them home along with mawa (khoya or khawa). And I prepared his favourite dish, which took 50 minutes.

Ingredients:

700gms grated carrot

500 ml milk

250 gms sugar

250 gms grated  mawa

3 tbsps kismis

1 tsp cardamom powder

3 tbsps broken cashews fried in ghee

Method:

  • Put the milk and grated carrot in a thick bottomed pan and keep on medium fire. Keep stirring in between

  • When the milk is almost dried up, add the sugar and kismis. It becomes watery now. Keep stirring till it dries up again.

  • Now add mawa and reduce the flame to low and stir till it is halwa consistency. Add the cardamom powder and mix well. Remove from fire.

  • Add the cashews fried in ghee.
  • Serve hot, and enjoy the delicacy!
All Posts, Easy Recipes, Salads

Warm Potato Salad

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While I love the cold German potato salads, the heart craves something warm on winter nights. This salad, filling and warm, can be an entire dinner by itself. Add some roasted cod or mackerel for extra zing.

Ingredients:
350 gm new potatoes
2 eggs, hard boiled
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp cream
1 tbsp finely chopped chives or spring onions
Salt, pepper

Method:

  • Cut the new potatoes in half and boil them until done. Optionally, toss the boiled potatoes in olive oil and herbs, and bake them for 10 min to dry out the water
  • Mix the oil, mayonnaise, and cream as the potatoes are cooking, and season with herbs, salt and pepper.
  • Toss the potatoes and chopped eggs with the sauce.
  • Garnish with chives and serve immediately while still warm.
  • Serve with garlic bread
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Baby corn, ladies finger sabzi

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I had some left over baby corns and searched the net to make something with them. Came across this website  (http://food.ndtv.com/recipe-okra-with-baby-corn-99155) and saw the recipe of okra with baby corn. There were some ladies fingers also at home. I modified the recipe and made this sabzi, which tasted good.

baby-corn

Ingredients:

8 baby corns cut in s slanting fashion

10 ladies fingers cut similarly

ingredients

1 tbsp oil

¼ tsp mustard seeds

½ tsp onion seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

1 onion cut fine

1 red chilli cut into small pieces.

6 flakes of garlic cut into two or three

2 tbsps peanut chutney (made by powdering roasted skinned peanut, salt, garlic and red chilli powder)

Instructions:

– Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan, add mustard seeds. When they splutter, add onion seeds and saunf.

– Add cut onion, stir till they become transparent, and add cut garlic and red chilli.

– When the onion becomes lightly brown, add the cut baby corn and sauté

– Add the cut ladies fingers and  salt. Keep the flame medium, and partly cover the pan.  Stir in between and sprinkle water if needed.

– When it is cooked, add the peanut chutney, stir, keep on low flame for two minutes and remove from fire

-Serve with chapatis or steamed rice.

All Posts, Sides

Bali vegetable curry

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bali-veg-curry

I had Bali vegetable curry and rice for the first time at the Jimbaran beach. Sitting on the beach on a warm day and having this lunch was so soothing that I wanted to prepare it at home. And I succeeded in getting the exact taste. The flavor of this curry comes from garlic, galangal (which I brought from Bali), lime leaves, lemon grass bulb and stem portion, and of course coconut milk.

A wide variety of vegetables, sprouts and leaves can be added in this curry. You have to keep sautéing the vegetables starting with the one that needs maximum time to cook (like potatoes and carrots), gradually adding others one by one, and finally the leaves.

Ingredients:

 

  • 1 Potato, 1 carrot, ½ cup green peas, ½ cup cauliflower pieces , 1 capsicum, ½ cup cut cabbage, 2 tbsps sprouts, ½ cup cut spring onion
  • 1 inch piece of galangal cut into small pieces
  • 6 flakes of garlic cut into pieces
  • 3 pieces of 2 inch size lemon grass bulb and stem
  • 2 lime leaves cut fine

ingredients

  • 1 tbsp oil
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 ½ cups of coconut milk

Instructions

 

  • Heat the oil, add galangal and garlic. Sauté for some time and add lemon grass and lime leaves.
  • Start adding vegetables one by one- potato, carrot, green peas, cauliflower, capsicum, cabbage, sprouts, and finally the cut spring onion.
  • Add salt and coconut milk, stir well.
  • Cover and cook for about 6 minutes.
  • Serve with rice.
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Sabudana Khichdi

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A Maharashtrian favourite, this dish is typically eaten during fasting. It also makes a good snack, and can be eaten for breakfast as well.

Serves 4
Time taken: 20 min (Overnight Soaking Required)

Ingredients

1½ cup sago (sabudana)
1 large potato
1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
3-4 green chillies finely chopped.
1 cup roasted peanuts, crushed
½ cup grated coconut (desiccated coconut could also be used)
2 tsp lime juice
3 tbsp coriander or cilantro
3 tbsp ghee
1 tsp sugar
Salt

Instructions

  • Wash and drain the sago and keep covered over night (about 3 hours would also be enough).
  • Chop the potato into small cubes
  • Heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds and potatoes. Cook on a low flame until the potatoes are cooked.
  • Add the peanuts and green chilies and stir for a minute.
  • Add the sago, salt and sugar. Stir occasionally until cooked.
  • Add the lemon juice a minute before taking it off the heat.
  • Garnish with coriander and coconut and serve with sweetened curds and/ or sweet tamarind chutney