Beetroot & Beans Curry

When our state became the second one in US to issue a 'stay at home ' order, I thought now I am going to have plenty of time on my hands. I don't even know why the thought crossed my mind since as a stay at home mom, my life seems to be under a perpetual quarantine as half of our family are not home most of the time and I wasn't planning to make any drastic changes to my current life style. Fast forward a month, I don't even know how the time has been running except that I get to sleep a tad more and I seem to spend more and more time in our kitchen. However the situation has presented an opportunity for the four of us to be under one roof after a long time, at a stretch. 

It turns out however that I was not able to cook anything new for the blog inspite of all the cooking I have been doing. My son hasn't spent this much of time at home in the past four years and my husband who is mostly away on weekdays has been enjoying his stay as well. All we are craving are simple home style Indian  meals with rice / roti, vegetables and lentil based dishes. This curry is a part of one such simple meal that is filling and nutritious. I have combined chopped beets and beans here. Feel free to substitute any other vegetables that you have on hand. You can omit one of these vegetables and replace it with carrots. Cabbage and green peas, potato with cauliflower or bell pepper or eggplant are some of the popular combos. Or can make a curry combining more vegetables like carrot, beans, chayote, potatoes and cabbage. It goes good with either plain rice and a dollop of ghee or rotis.

Ingredients:
1 cup peeled and chopped beetroot cubes
1 cup stringed and finely chopped beans
2 tsp. oil
1 tsp. split chickpeas / chana dal
1 tsp skinned black gram / urad dal
1 tsp. mustard seeds
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/8 tsp. turmeric powder
1 sprig of curry leaves
1/4 - 1/2 cup of shredded fresh / frozen coconut
Salt to taste
Red chili powder to taste

Directions:
* Pressure cook the vegetables adding a little water, for 3 whistles.
* Heat oil in a pan and add split chick peas, black gram, mustard seeds and cumin seeds in that order. When the split chickpeas and black gram start to turn reddish, add turmeric and curry leaves. (If the vegetables are not pressure cooked, they can be added now along with the salt. Cover and cook on low flame, stirring in between until the vegetables are tender. A little water can be sprinkled in between if needed.)
* Saute once and add the cooked vegetables, coconut, salt and chili powder. (I add the water used to pressure cook the vegetables as well if it is little in quantity.)
* Mix the ingredients well once and taste to adjust any seasoning if needed. Cook on low flame for about 4 to 5 minutes or until all the water evaporates and turn off the stove.
* Serve it along with rice or rotis and any leftovers can be refrigerated.

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Bengali Veg Chop / Vegetable Chop / Bhejetebil Chop

Today marks the last day of this mega marathon featuring 'Indian sweets and snacks' and day after tomorrow, I am going to post a round up of the dishes I posted this month. The last one in the series is a Bengali street food called vegetable chop or in colloquial terms, bhejetebil chop. It is a Bengali take on the cutlet recipe and the croquettes are oblong shaped. The vegetables used here are beets, carrot and potatoes. Some fry onions and add them as well. The prepared vegetable mixture is well seasoned with a local spice powder called bhaja masala, coated in a flour slurry and seasoned bread crumbs and then deep fried. The resulting chops are very delicious, crispy from outside and soft from inside. The chops are served along with ketchup and onion- cucumber salad but they go good with any spicy chutney. 

I am not into deep frying honestly speaking and as my husband points out I deep fry something only when the blog recipe demands but not upon his requests, which happens to be a fact. My both kids are not at all tempted and don't touch deep fried foods, especially the vadas / bahjias kind of stuff and my mother keeps telling me that it's all my doing. I tell her that it's a blessing in disguise. 😉 And so, I kept postponing this recipe until last month only ending up trying it twice because I was not very happy with the recipe and also the pictures I took. 

I followed Sandeepa's recipe for these chops. The first time I followed the method of boiling and grating vegetables and then cooking to dry up any moisture present. I felt the mixture was on a softer side at that time though on hindsight I realize it was perfect and I did not do two things which would have given me the perfect chops. She mentioned adding some bread crumbs / flour if the mixture appeared to be in need of binding. I did not do it. The second thing was I did not coat the rolls generously with bread crumbs which made some of the rolls to fall apart while deep frying. I shallow fried the remaining chops that time. The second time I chose to grate carrots and beets and saute in a pan, without any water added. I cooked the potatoes separately and dried them thoroughly. The resulting mixture I made for rolls was on a drier side and made perfect rolls. I choose to deep fry the first time going the authentic way but the second time I chose to opt for shallow frying. I coated with seasoned bread crumbs lightly since I was shallow frying but coat generously if deep frying. My husband suggested to try air frying them since everything in the rolls except the slurry was cooked so that I can avoid the hassle of frying. I wasn't sure and went ahead with shallow frying. Also here is an important tip to note. Taste the mixture used to prepare chops before hand and keep it on a spicier side since the vegetables used here are naturally sweet. Otherwise the chops end up being sweeter and one may not enjoy if expecting some chatpata cutlets.

Ingredients for bhaja masala:
1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
6 cloves
12 peppercorns
3 green cardamom
1/2 inch cinnamon piece
2 or 3 dried red chillies
1 tiny bay leaf

Ingredients for the rolls:
2 big sized carrots
2 medium sized beetroot
2 big sized potatoes
2 tbsp. oil
1 tbsp. minced ginger
2 to 4 finely minced green chillies (Adjust the quantity as needed.)
Salt to taste
Red chili powder to taste
1/4 cup toasted, skinned and halved peanuts
1 tbsp. finely minced cilantro
Bread crumbs / all purpose flour (optional)
Oil for frying

Ingredients for the slurry:
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup water or more

Step 1 - Directions for preparing bhaja masala:
* Saute the spices individually on low flame without burning. One can make bhaja masala just with cumin seeds and red chillies.

* Let them cool and then grind them together finely.

Step 2 - Directions for preparing the mixture for chops:

The vegetables used are beetroot, carrot and potato. Either you can boil them and then grate / mash them. Or grate and cook beets and carrots while boiling and mashing the potatoes separately. I have tried both the methods and thought the second method makes the veggie mixture firmer compared to the first method. If one is trying these chops for the first time, then I recommend to grate and cook the vegetables. Or if following the first method, drain the cooked vegetables thoroughly and use some binding if needed.

Method 1:

* Peel and pressure cook the vegetables (without chopping) adding enough water for one / two whistles. When the valve pressure is gone, remove the lid and drain the vegetables.

* Mash potatoes. Grate beets and also carrot if you can or mash the latter. The vegetables don't need to be finely mashed. It is ok if they are grainy.

 

* Heat a tsp. of oil and add ginger, green chillies, prepared vegetables, 1 heaped tbsp. of bhaja masala, salt, chili powder. Saute them together until the excess water dries up and the mixture comes together. Add the roasted peanuts and coriander and mix. If needed 2 tbsp. of bread crumbs or all purpose flour can be added for binding. (My mixture still was loose and I did not notice the tip of adding flour or crumbs to bind which is crucial, I guess. Also I sauteed just the vegetables and added other ingredients just to combine.)

Method 2: (I halved the recipe the second time.) 

* Peel, chop and boil potatoes in a microwave or on stove-top and drain completely. Mash and keep it aside.

* Peel and grate beets, carrots and ginger. Chop the green chillies finely.

* Heat oil in a pan and add green chillies and ginger. Saute them for about 30 seconds and add the grated carrot and beets. 

* Cover and cook on low medium flame until the vegetables are done.

* Add bhaja masala, salt, chili powder to the pan and mix. Turn off the stove and add peanuts, and coriander leaves. Taste and add chili powder more if needed. Keep the mixture spicier since the carrots and beets are on the sweet side. 

Step 3 -  Directions for shaping and coating the chops:
* Mix all the ingredients well to combine and shape them into the traditional oblong shapes or as discs. (These rolls were from the first time and the second time, they were very firm. )

* Sieve chickpea flour and make a lump-free slurry adding water. All purpose flour / cornstarch can be added instead of chickpea flour.

* Take a roll gently and dip it in the chickpea flour slurry coating it's entire surface.

* Gently lift the roll and let any extra liquid coating it drip into the flour slurry bowl. Immediately roll in seasoned bread crumbs. Repeat the steps of dipping the roll in slurry and coating them in bread crumbs with all the vegetable rolls. If deep frying, coat them with bread crumbs a little more than my rolls shown below. I have coated them lightly. Refrigerate them for about an hour. The rolls at this step can be refrigerated for 3 - 4 days and can be fried later when needed. Or can even be frozen for a longer period of time given that they are thawed before frying them. (These rolls were made following the second method where beets and carrots were grated and then cooked. The rolls were easy to shape and they held the shape even after dipping in slurry.) 

* I coated a batch of rolls in semolina since the bread crumbs were garlic flavored which I don't prefer. (These rolls were made the first time, from boiled and then grated vegetables. They held the shape but after dipping them in slurry, I had to reshape a few rolls and were not perfect looking.)

Step 4 - Frying the chops:
* Heat oil in a frying pan without bringing it to smoking point. The quantity of oil depends upon whether one is deep frying or shallow frying the rolls. When the oil is hot, add the prepared rolls to the pan. 

* Keep rotating and fry them to golden brown. Remove them with a slotted spoon, draining as much oil as possible. Transfer them to a plate covered with a paper towel. Repeat the frying step with the remaining rolls. Serve them immediately sprinkling some chaat masala and ketchup / spicy chutney.

So far my recipes in the series of 'Indian Snacks and Sweets' are below.

First week - Indian Traditional Sweets
Malaadu / Hurigadale Unde
Dry Gulab Jamun
Coconut Burfi / Kobbari Mithai
Almond Halwa / Badam Halwa
Elaneer Payasam
Godhuma Sojjappalu

Second week - Snacks from Gujarat, India
Damni Dhokla
Doodhi Muthia / Lauki Muthia
Dal Pandoli

Sev Khamani

Methi Khakhra
Pressure Cooker Khandvi

Third Week - Snacks
Bafauri
Soy Beans Guggillu / Sundal

Jhal Muri

Roasted Phool Makhana
Kalmi Vada Chaat
Spicy Corn Chaat

Fourth Week - Regional Snacks 
Aakukoora Pappu Chekkalu
Millet Handvo (Baked Version)
Ratlami Sev

Jowar Kothimbir Vadi
Kalmi Vada

Ooty Varkey
Dahi Gujiya

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#104

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

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Beetroot Parathas / Spicy Stuffed Beetroot Flatbreads

My second one in the 'Flatbreads' series this week is going to be these Indian style spicy flatbreads with a beetroot stuffing. Potato, radish, cauliflower, lentils or paneer (milk based Indian cheese) are the most commonly used ingredients to stuff the unleavened Indian breads called parathas / paranthas. These parathas with a spicy stuffing do not need any other side dishes to go with and are served with a pat of butter, yogurt and a hot pickle if needed. Beetroot filling though not a conventional one, offers a healthy alternative and these parathas are one more way to include the iron and folic acid rich root vegetable in the diet.

I love the earthy flavor of beets and usually prefer to retain it in a dish by not overly masking it in spices. These parathas are no exception and only ginger and chili powder add the heat factor here. I sometimes tend to add garam masala but not particular about it in these parathas. A dash of ground coriander and cumin or amchur may be an interesting addition too though I prefer to keep the filling simple as mentioned above. I had made them spicy and so, a cup of yogurt was all I needed to enjoy them.

Ingredients: (Yield 6 parathas)
1 cup wheat flour / atta + extra for dusting
1 peeled and grated beetroot (about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 tsp. red chili powder (or as per taste)
1/4 tsp. garam masala (optional)
Salt & oil as needed

Method:
* Combine wheat flour and 1/4 tsp. salt in a mixing bowl. Add water and mix working with your fingers to for a firm, pliable dough. (6 to 7 tbsp. water would be needed for this quantity flour.) Add a tsp. of oil and knead the dough for a minute or two. Cover and leave the dough to rest for at least 30 minutes. I usually leave the dough to rest for about two hours as I don't knead.
* Meanwhile, prepare the stuffing for parathas. Heat 2 tsp. of oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add the grated beetroot and salt. Mix with a spatula, cover and cook on low flame until the beet gratings are cooked. Add chili powder and any other seasonings if using and mix well. Cook for a minute more and turn off the stove. Let this stuffing come to room temperature before preparing the parathas.
* Knead the dough again for few seconds and divide it into 6 or 12 portions depending upon which method mentioned below you are going to use to roll out the stuffed parathas. Roll each dough portion into a smooth ball. Work on one portion at a time and keep the remaining covered. 
* There are two ways to stuff and roll the parathas. The first method requires some amount of expertise to stuff and roll without spilling. In this case, a dough ball is rolled into a circle and the stuffing is placed at the center. Then the edges are brought together encasing the stuffing in a disc form and rolled again. 
The second method is the easiest one where you roll out two dough circles for each paratha. Spoon out the stuffing over one circle, place another circle over it, join the edges and then roll them together. Check my aloo paratha post for a detailed explanation with pictures. 
* Heat an iron griddle or a shallow, non stick pan and place the rolled out paratha. Toast the paratha, brushing generously with oil until both sides are cooked well and brown spots appear.
* Repeat the steps of rolling and toasting the parathas with the remaining dough balls and the stuffing. Serve them hot with yogurt and a spicy pickle.
 
This goes to Blogging marathon #69, under the theme 'Flatbreads'. Check here to find out what the other marathoners are cooking as part of the BM.

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Tri colored Multi Grain Flour Roti

 
I am pretty sure that mothers with school age kids across the globe constantly face the 'lunch box' conundrum. In an ideal world or in a food commercial, a mother lovingly packs a substantial, healthy meal for the kids and they return home with empty boxes and happy faces. In reality, the scenario would be quite the opposite. The kids sometimes come home with untouched boxes and sour faces, giving lame excuses. 'The most favorite food in the world' keeps on changing for every few days. The conundrum turns nightmarish especially when the kids are picky eaters and moms have to wreck their heads for creativity. 

Probably all mothers agree with me when I say that packing a nutritious meal that appeals to kids' senses can get quite challenging sometimes. I have been packing my kids' lunch boxes for more than a decade now but it is still hard to please my younger one sometimes. These rotis are for kids like her who do not prefer carrying a side dish along with rotis or refuse to touch stuffed parathas. These colorful rotis are prepared with multi grain flour and vegetable puree to make them more nutritious and healthy. You can of course pack a side dish / yogurt / ketchup for kids if they prefer or add spices directly to the dough so that little ones can just roll them and eat. Three different kinds of vegetable based doughs are prepared. A small portion of each one is rolled into a log and then coiled tight to form a disc. It is rolled into a thin circle and toasted like regular rotis. These patterned colorful rotis are visually very much appealing to little ones and may not even realize that they are eating vegetables with the surprise thrown at them. Of course one need not go with my choice of vegetables and substitute them with their favorite vegetables. 

Ingredients: (Yield about 7 large rotis or about a dozen small rotis)
3 cups multi grain flour (See the notes below)
Salt to taste
Chili powder to taste
1/2 tsp. coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp garam masala  
1/2 cup peeled and chopped carrot cubes
1/2 cup peeled and cubed beetroot
1/2 cup spinach puree
Milk / yogurt / water to grind the vegetables
Canola / vegetable oil 
Extra wheat flour for dusting
(The quantities of spices can be changed or omitted according to one's choice).

Method:

* Combine the flour, salt and spices if using in a mixing bowl. Divide the mixture into three parts.
*  Add carrots to a blender and grind finely using as little liquid as possible. (I use milk / yogurt for grinding, to make the rotis more nutritious and keep them softer.)
* Similarly grind beetroot pieces separately and keep it aside.
* Blanch the spinach if using fresh leaves or thaw in the microwave for 4 -5 minutes if using frozen spinach. Grind it into a fine puree and keep it aside. If you don't prefer the strong flavor of ground spinach, just wash and chop the spinach leaves finely.
* To one part of the flour add carrot puree and about 1 tbsp of oil. Combine to form a firm, pliable dough. (If the dough appears to be sticky, add some extra flour and if the dough is too dry then add some extra liquid.)
* To the second part of the dough, add beetroot puree and a tbsp. of oil. Again form a firm dough and keep it aside.
* To the third part of the flour add the spinach puree / finely chopped spinach and a tbsp. of oil and prepare the dough.

* Keep the dough balls covered for minimum 30 minutes. I left it on my counter-top for about an hour. 
* Pinch small lime sized balls from each colored dough.

* If you want to make small sized rotis, you can make still smaller sized balls. Roll each ball into a log of about 6 inches long and 1/2 inch wide. 

* Bring the logs together and twist them together to form a disc.

* Flatten the disc lightly with your fingers and gently roll it into a thin circle, dusting intermittently with flour if necessary.

* Transfer the rolled out disc onto a hot griddle. Flip after about 30 seconds and pour 1/2 tsp of oil around the edges and 1/2 tsp on the surface. Gently press down with a flat spatula and cook until golden spots appear on both sides. Remove the cooked roti and transfer onto a plate.

* Repeat the steps of rolling and frying with the remaining dough. Work with one portion at a time and keep the rest of the dough covered. Keep covered the toasted rotis in a towel or in a covered box or a hot pack box.

* Serve with a side dish if serving adults. For kids, ketchup / a small box of yogurt can be packed.

Notes:
1. Multi grain atta can be store bought or home made. For home made versions, try to keep the ratio of wheat to the other grains combined 5:1 or 4:1. If you are lucky enough to have a local flour mill, you can grind wheat kernels along with ragi, oats, barley, soya beans, maize and chana dal and store the flour in an airtight container. 
After learning what is present in the store bought flour, I instead started to combine the flours I have at home just like this dosa flour. For today's version, I combined 2 & 1/2 cups of atta / wheat flour, 2 tbsp. each of besan / garbanzo flour, corn flour, finely ground oats, and 1 tbsp. each of ragi flour and soy flour.
2. If planning to make the rotis for lunch boxes, this dough can be prepared the previous night itself. Cover and store it in the refrigerator until ready to use in the morning. Just before making the rotis, thaw the dough in the microwave. Place the dough covered in the microwave and heat for about 30 to 60 seconds depending upon the quantity of dough you have. and then proceed with the recipe as usual.
3. Other vegetables can be substituted. 

This is my contribution to Indusladies Recipe book with the theme "Kids Lunch Box".



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Beetroot Curry

My kids are well behaved ones - the older one almost all the times while the younger one until she sees any one of us, her family. For the outside world, she is an angel with a cheery disposition who can bring a smile on even a gloomy adult's face. However at home, it is totally a different story. She whines and wails over things that are not going her away, with no traces of embarrassment. The only respite being that happens behind closed doors of ours. Besides she have a strong mind of her own with preconceived notions about everything, including food.
Obviously, I have to deal with the "lunch box" terror like all mothers. I can cajole or threaten my daughter to eat anything for the rest of the meals at home but lunch at school is totally under her control. If I pack something that she doesn't prefer, the lunchbox comes home untouched under the pretext that she was not hungry. And so over the years, through trial & error and considering her likes and dislikes, I have settled at the moment with few dishes for her lunch box. Macaroni & cheese being the most favorite of hers. Next comes parathas or rice with a south Indian style curry of her preference.
This healthy and yummy south Indian style beetroot curry is one of her favorite ones and gets packed 2 -3 times per month for her lunch box along with steamed rice.

 

Ingredients:

3 cups, peeled and cubed beetroot

1/4 cup shredded fresh coconut

Salt to taste

Chili powder to taste

1 tsp sugar (optional)

 

For tadka:

1 - 2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp chana dal / Bengal gram

1 tsp urad dal / black gram

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

Few curry leaves

1/8 tsp turmeric powder

 

Method:

* Heat oil in a pan and all the tadka ingredients. When the dals turn reddish, add the beetroot. Cover and cook until beet cubes turn tender.

Or add a couple of Tbsp of water to beetroot and cook in a pressure cooker. Drain and add the cooked beetroot cubes to the tadka.

* After beetroot is done, add salt, chili powder and coconut to the pan. Some beetroots don't have the natural sweetness and they 

taste bland. In that case, I add a little sugar to the curry but the addition of sugar is optional. Mix the curry well and cook for 2 - 3 minutes more.

* Serve with rice / rotis.

 

This is my entry to

1. Srivalli's "Kids' Delight" event, hosted this month by PJ, with the theme "Lunch Box Recipes"

2. Blogging marathon #25.

 

Check what other marathoners of BM#25 are cooking.

 

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Simple Subzis ~ Beets & Carrots with Toordal

The first round of BM#15 ends today and my posts under "accompaniments" theme so far have been
1. Peanut - Roasted Chickpeas Powder
2. Cabbage - Moongdal Curry
3. Eggplant - Tomato - Cilantro Chutney
4. Idli Milagai Podi
5. Beans - Carrot with Sesame Powder
6. Chayote Peels Chutney

And coming to today's post, this is a typical example of everyday simple home cooking from Andhra region. A koora, dry vegetable preparation is mandatory in most of the homes and addition of dals like toor, moong or chana to them is common. This style curry usually does not include coconut / onion in a typical Brahmin household.
Beans, cabbage, snake gourd, beetroot are some of the vegetables where toor dal is added. The dal needs to be cooked until firm before adding to the curry and sauteed for a few minutes.

Ingredients for about 4 servings:
1 beetroot & 2 carrots - peeled and cubed (about 2 cups)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 cup cooked toordal / lentils
1/4 cup shredded, fresh coconut (Optional but recommended)
1 tsp chili powder
Salt to taste
For tadka: 1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp each - mustard seeds, Bengal gram / chana dal, skinned, split black gram / urad dal and cumin seeds, few curry leaves

Method:

* Heat oil in a pan add the tadka ingredients. When the dals turn reddish, add the chopped carrot, beetroot, turmeric and salt. Stir, cover and cook on low flame until done. Keep stirring in between.

* Meanwhile cook toordal in a saucepan adding water. The dal needs to be cooked but still should hold the shape. It should not turn mushy.

* Add coconut, cooked toordal and chili powder to the cooked veggies. Stir to combine and cook for a couple of minutes more.

* Serve hot with rotis / rice.

Check what other marathoners are cooking during BM#15.

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Some Entries for the Events - Breakfast Juice, Eggless Latkes, Apple Sauce & Spinach - Tomatillo Masoor dal

It's been a while since I posted multiple recipes in a single post. I usually do it when I am in a last minute rush to send my entries for  events I want to participate in. And so here I am today with a few recipes that are going to be a part of some wonderful events. :)



 My mom is well known for her breakfast dishes in our family circles. Naturally, hoping to learn some new dishes from her, I mentioned about the Jihva - Breakfast event that I am hosting this month. I was in a surprise when she told that she rarely prepares breakfast now a days as there are only two adults at home. They mostly opt for healthy breakfast drinks or fruits instead of going through the hassles of breakfast preparation.
 And here I am with her 'Under 5 minutes, Veggie Juice' which is going to be my mother's entry for the Jihva - Breakfast event. I am posting this because she doesn't know the ways of blogging. My mother mentioned that this healthy, simple Carrot - Beet - Tomato Juice doesn't need any additional sweeteners and sometimes she adds a little honey if she feels like having it.
Just blend 1 carrot (peeled & cubed) + 1 tomato (deseeded) + a small bit of beetroot in your blender / mixer. If you don't deseed the tomatoes, you can pass the juice through a sieve. Add water if needed. Also using beetroot is optional.

Jihva is the brain child of  Indira.

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Latkes

Latkes are Jewish potato pancakes. That's what I thought until a peek into the wiki world.



According to it, potato pancakes are popular through out the European nations and infact it is the national dish of Belarus.  Didn't know that there were natinal dishes and now wondering what would be a national dish in the case of India. Sure there would be a clash among the regional ones. Now back to latkes.
The name of the potato pancakes keep changing depending upon where you live. In Yiddish, they are known as latkes or latkas and are traditionally eaten by Ashkenazi Jews during the Jewish Hanukkah festival.
Latkes are shallow-fried pancakes of grated potato, flour and egg, often flavored with grated onion or garlic and seasoning. Potato pancakes may be topped with condiments like sour cream, sugar or applesauce or they may be served ungarnished.
Here I am presenting my way, the egg less version.

Ingredients for about 5, small sized latkes:
2 potatoes - peeled & grated (we had about 2 cups)
1 onion - finely minced
4 Tbsp pancake mix (used Bisquick)
3 Tbsp rice flour
Salt & pepper to taste
1/8-cup oil to shallow fry

Making Latkes:
Squeeze out the water from potato. Mix the other ingredients except oil and form into a mass. You can adjust the quantities of flours if needed. Divide the dough into 5 portions and shape them into balls.
Gently heat the oil in a shallow pan. Place one dough ball in the center. Pat it into a circle using either your fingers or the back of a spatula. It doesn't need to be very thin. Cook on low flame till the bottom portion appears golden brown. Then flip and cook the other side till it browns as well. Drain them on paper towels. Low flame ensures that latkes are cooked through out perfect and attains that golden brown hue.
Since the pancakes are primarily made out of potatoes, there is nothing not to like about them. :)
I served them with applesauce to kids for their after school snack and they really enjoyed them.

They go to Priya's Pancakes event.

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Apple Sauce:

Applesauce is one of those basic things to prepare in a kitchen. You can serve it as a snack for little ones or use a fat substitute in baking. Since I mentioned that it is a basic thing, preparation is obviously a simple one.



I used a golden delicious apple since that's what I had in my refrigerator. I tried substituting cardamom powder for cinnamon this time and I enjoyed it. Increase the quantities of ingredients to make a large batch.
First step is to cook the apple till it softens. Peel and cube an apple. Cook it in the microwave covered, for 2 minutes on high. Check once in between. Add a tsp of water if needed.
Then puree it with 2 tsp of brown sugar and a little cinnamon powder using a blender.
Serve as needed.

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Spinach - Tomatillo Masoor Dal:

Now moving to lunch / dinner. Here is a healthy, substantial and simple dal which can be served with rice / rotis. This one qualifies for 'under 30 minute meals' or 'bachelor friendly dishes' because it is pressure cooked along with rice in another container.
A well-prepared dal - greens combination never disappoints and today's recipe is one such combo. Nutritious spinach and tart tomatillos are paired with filling masoor dal.



Our meal today - Rice - Spinach dal, Orange slices and homemade fatfree yogurt

Ingredients needed for 6 -8 servings:
1 cup masoor dal
1 bunch spinach leaves or 8 - 10 oz / 250 gms frozen spinach
2 tomatillos, chopped
A pinch of turmeric powder
A small lemon sized tamarind
3-4 green chillies, chopped (I used Serrano variety. Adjust the quantity if using other variety.)
Salt to taste

For tadka: 2 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 10 curry leaves and a little asafoetida powder

Preparation of the dal:
Wash the masoor dal twice and throw away the water. Wash and chop the spinach and the tender stalks.
Add the masoor dal, spinach, tomatillos, turmeric powder,chilies, tamarind and 2 cups of water to a container and cook it in a pressure cooker till done. Or cook on stove top adding water as needed.
When the valve pressure is gone, remove the container. Mash the dal with the back of  ladle and add the salt.
For tadka, heat oil in a small pan. Add the mustard and cumin seeds. When they start to splutter, add curry leaves and asafoetida powder and turn off the stove.
Mix the tadka ingredients to the dal and mix well.

This goes to Healing Foods - Spinach hosted by Divya and Siri being the creator of the event.

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Happy Ugadi & Microwave Beetroot - Dates Halwa

Before proceeding to recipe, I would like to wish my friends & readers a happy Ugadi.

ఉగాది శుభాకాంక్షలు.

ಯುಗಾದಿ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು.



I go on stuffing my favorites folder with recipes I find online or keep jotting down in my journal whenever something catches my attention. There are only a few occasions when I again look back  and really use those recipes.
Last week there was such an occasion. I saw Mahima's sugarless beetroot halwa and wanted to give it a try immediately. I didn't have to note down the recipe this time since it appeared familiar. However, it was a sugarless version and natural sweetener, dates played the sweetener part.
I did try and fell in love with it. I prefer microwave to prepare halwas thses days since it can be done in a jiffy, there is less stirring and after clean up is simple as nothing sticks to the cooking bowl.
It was a simple, yummy dessert, which could be prepared under 20 minutes in a MW.

To make about 2 cups halwa, you need:
2 cups - peeled and grated beetroot
1 cup - chopped seedless dates (This quantity gives moderate sweetness which I prefer. If a sweeter version is preferred, use 1/2 cup more.)
1 cup milk (I used whole milk. Half & half, cream, evaporated milk or less fat milk can be substituted)
1/8 tsp cardamom powder
2 Tbsp melted ghee
2 Tbsp cashews (optional)

Method:
Add the ghee and cashews to a microwave safe bowl and put it in the microwave. Toast the cashews till they turn golden brown. Remove the cashews with a slotted spoon and keep aside.
Then fry the beet and dates in the same ghee for about three minutes stirring once in between.
Remove the bowl from MW, add milk and mix well. Again put back the bowl in MW and cook till done. Remember to stir 2 or 3 times in between to avoid burning. At the final stages add cardamom powder and mix well. Add toasted cashews after the cooking part is done.
Serve warm or cold. Leftovers ( :) if any) can be refrigerated.

It took about 10 minutes in my MW to cook the beets after adding milk. I would like to mention to novice cooks that the cooking time might vary depending upon the strength of your MW and keep an eye while using the MW.

This healthy dessert is going to be a part of
1. Kid's Delight - Snacks hosted by Srivalli.
2. MEC - Celebrating bloggers guest hosted by Jayashree and the event creator being Srivalli.

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Beetroot Sambhar

Everyone may have umpteen number of favorite vegetables to pair with sambhar, but probably not beets. Beets and sambhar - the combination is somewhat out of the norm. A red sambhar? That's what I thought when I first encountered it. Though very unusual, my MIL prepares beetroot sambhar, which I must admit is delectable. Beetroot generously lends it's color to the dish and hence we end up with a red -maroonish hued sambhar. Serve this beet sambhar with rice and a dash of ghee, for an irresistable dish.

Ingredients:
Toor dal - 1 cup
Beetroot, peeled and chopped into cubes - 1 cup
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Chili powder - 2 tsp
Sambhar powder - 1 tsp, heaped
Jaggery powdered - 1 Tbsp (optional)
Tamarind juice - 1/4 cup (tamarind soaked in water and juice extracted)
Salt

For tadka:

Oil - 1 or 2 tsp

Mustard and cumin seeds - 1 tsp each

A few pinches of asafoetida and a few curry leaves

Cooking:

Cook dal, beetroot and turmeric powder with sufficient water in a pressure cooker till you hear two or three whistles. (Alternatively, you can cook them in a sauce pan until the dal reaches fall apart stage). Turn off the stove and wait till all the valve pressure is gone. Then remove the lid and add tamarind, chili and sambhar powders, salt and jaggery. Add needed (around 2 cups) water for the dal to reach sambhar consistency and adjust the spices, if required. Turn on the stove and then let the sambhar come to a rolling boil and leave it for a couple of minutes more. Turn off the stove.

Heat oil in a small pan and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida and curry leaves to it. When mustard seeds start to pop, turn off the stove and add this tadka mixture to the sambhar and mix well.

Serve hot with rice and a tsp of ghee or rotis.

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