Simple Lunches ~ Potato - Peas Pulao

Today is the last day of the blogging marathon #13 and here is another simple rice recipe. I got this recipe from a family member and is like a cross between pulao (because of the spices) and lemon rice. 
Here is a recap of what I blogged so far this week under the theme "Kids' Lunches - Rice".
Spinach - Soya Rice
Lima Beans Pulao
Paneer - Dryfruit Rice
Plantain Rice
Carrot - Beans Rice
Chana Pulao     

Ingredients:
1 cup Basmati rice
2 big sized potatoes
1/2 cup peas (I used frozen)
Salt to taste
Juice from a small lime
Cilantro to garnish
For tadka:
2 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 one inch cinnamon pieces, 2 - 3 cloves, 2-3 green chillies slit lengthwise, 1 bay leaf, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder (optional)

Preparation:
* Cook rice adding 2 cups water.
* Peel, cube and cook the potatoes. Potatoes should still hold their shape without turning mushy.

Method:
Heat oil and add all the tadka ingredients. Fry them and add the vegetables. Saute them for a few seconds and then add rice and salt. Mix well and turn off the stove. Add lemon/ lime juice, mix well and garnish with cilantro leaves. It can be served on its own or with yogurt.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Chana Pulao

On the sixth day of  BM#13, here is one more protein packed lunch box idea. Any beans can be substituted for chickpeas.

Ingredients: (4 servings)
1 cup Basmati Rice
3/4 cup chickpeas (chana) soaked overnight / canned chickpeas (Rinse chickpeas if using canned ones.)
Salt to taste
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, sliced lengthwise
2 tomatoes
To grind: 1 inch piece ginger, 2 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon piece, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 green chillie, 1 red chillie and 2 Tbsp shredded coconut

Preparation:
* Cook rice adding 2 cups of water. Let cool.
* Pressure cook chickpeas.
* Add all the ingredients mentioned under "to grind" and grind to a paste adding a few Tbsp of water if needed.

Method:
* Heat oil and add  cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add onion and fry until golden brown. Then add tomatoes and cook until mushy. Add the ground paste and saute for a few minutes.
* Add chickpeas and salt and give it a stir.
* Next add the rice and mix well.
Serve with raita or plain yogurt.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Carrot - Beans Rice

One more no fuss, quick rice idea for kids' lunchboxes. Substitute any other vegetables like capsicum / corn instead of beans. If desired, add cashews / peanuts for some crunch.

Ingredients: (2 servings)
1/2 cup Basmati rice
1/2 cup each - chopped beans and carrot
Salt & pepper to taste
2 - 3 Tbsp fresh, grated coconut
For tadka: 2 Tbsp oil / ghee, 1 tsp each - chana dal, urad dal, mustard seeds & cumin seeds, 1 red chili and few curry leaves

Preparation:
Cook rice adding a cup of water and let cool.
Cook beans and carrot in a microwave.

Method:
Heat oil / ghee in a pan. Add the tadka ingredients in the order mentioned. Add carrot, beans, coconut, salt and pepper. Give it a stir and add rice. Mix well and serve.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Plantain Rice

This plantain rice recipe comes from my mother's kitchen and obviously is a favorite of mine. :) This one is simple and quick yet yummy. This rice dish uses a spicy lentil - coconut powder that can be prepared ahead and refrigerated. We use a slightly different version of this powder but I simplified the ingredients to suit kids' palates. It is usually used to go with plantains, potatoes and eggplant. However it works fine with most of the vegetables.

Ingredients for 4 Servings:
1 cup Basmati rice / Sona Masuri rice (Any rice that doesn't turn mushy after cooking can be substituted.)
1 plantain - peeled and cubed
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp chana dal / Bengal gram
1 Tbsp urad dal / skinned, split black gram
3 Tbsp grated, dried coconut
5 - 6 red chillies (Adjust the quantity as preferred.)
Salt to taste
Juice from a small lime (optional)
For tadka:
2 -3 Tbsp oil / ghee, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal/ skinned black gram, 1tsp chanadal / Bengal gram, few curry leaves

Preparation:
1. Wash the rice and drain. Add 2 cups of water and pressure cook. Let cool.
2. Pressure cook the plantain cubes adding turmeric powder and about a cup of water. They should be firm and not turn mushy. Drain and keep aside.
3. Toast on medium flame 1 Tbsp each of chanadal and uraddal until they start turning reddish. Then add the red chillies and toast for few seconds. Turn off the stove and let cool. Grind together finely the toasted ingredients and coconut in a mixer.

Method:
Heat oil in a saute pan and add the tadka ingredients. When mustard starts to pop, add the cooked plantain cubes, ground powder and salt. Saute for a few seconds until the cubes are coated well with the powder and then add rice. Mix well and turn off the stove. Next add the lime juice if using and mix one more time.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Paneer - Dry Fruit Rice

This is my neighborhood after yesterday's winter storm. Doesn't it look picturesque? I enjoy every bit of it until it dawns on me that I am the one who needs to cleanup our driveway. :) Still I shouldn't be complaining as this winter has been mild and this is only third major storm this season.
Now coming to the third day of BM#13, here is one more quick and easy protein packed rice dish meant for a kid's lunchbox.  Recently I have become a big fan of a cook show that comes on a Telugu TV channel. I like the chef's style of cooking and  has started to note down interesting recipes that I come across. This was one of those and I tried it last week. It's very simple, apt for the morning rush hours and if your kids love paneer, then this is a dish to try.

Ingredients: (2 servings)
1/2 cup Basmati rice (Cook adding a cup of water and keep aside.)
1 Tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp shah jeera / cumin seeds
1 or 2 green chillies
1/4 cup dry fruits (raisins, cashews and almonds)
1/4 cup paneer cubes
2 Tbsp yogurt
1 tsp amchur powder
Salt to taste
Cilantro to garnish

Method:
* Heat ghee in a pan and add shah jeera. When it starts to brown add green chillies, cashews and almonds. Saute them for about 30 seconds and add raisins.
* Next add paneer and saute until golden brown.
* Next add the yogurt, amchur powder and salt. Fry until the mixture thickens. Add rice and mix well. Garnish with cilantro.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Lima Beans Pulao

Lima beans pulao - another protein packed, delicious rice dish is my second day entry for Blogging Marathon # 13. If rice dishes are meant for kids' lunch boxes, I try adding protein in one form or another and this lima bean pulao is an example. My older one is 13 and can handle spicy food better than me and so this recipe works for older kids like him. If serving younger ones, reduce the green chillies or omit the cloves / ginger or whatever changes suit you to make this rice dish milder.

Ingredients (Yield 3 servings)
1 cup Basmati rice
Soaked baby lima beans - 3/4 cup (Soak lima beans over night.)*
2 handfuls cilantro / fresh coriander leaves
2 - 3 Tbsp coconut
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon piece
1 inch piece ginger
2 green chillies (Adjust accordingly.)
salt to taste
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
* If using canned beans, add 1 & 1/2 cups lima beans. Rinse well before using and add along with the cilantro paste.

Method:
* Cook rice and lima beans adding 2 cups of water. Keep aside and let cool.
* Grind cilantro, coconut, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and green chillies together to a paste.
* Heat oil in a pan / kadai and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add the ground paste and saute until the raw smell is gone.
* Add salt and the rice - bean mixture to the pan and mix well so that rice is coated uniformly with the sauteed paste. Turn off the stove.
* This can be served plain or with yogurt / raita.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Spinach - Soya Rice

We are into second week of Blogging Marathon # 13 and I am going with "Easy Lunchbox Recipes for Kids - Rice" as my theme. I am supposed to post quick, easy and kid friendly rice dishes this whole week. My younger one never carries rice to school and the older one rarely does but still this week should be a breeze considering the fact that I come from a region where rice is grown and consumed predominantly.
The first one among the series is going to be this easy, healthy, protein packed spinach - soy chunks rice that I once saw on a television cook show. The green chillies are the only ingredient here that decides whether this dish is going to be "adult friendly" or "kid friendly" and so use them accordingly. My kids love this dish and I do it too. If your family doesn't like soy chunks, substitute peas or any other beans that may work for you.

Ingredients: (Yield 3 servings)
1 cup Basmati rice 1 to 1.5 cups chopped spinach (I used 10 oz frozen spinach and thawed it in the microwave before using it.)
1/2 cup soy(a) chunks
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 green chilies (3 is perfect for grownups. If serving young kids, 1 or 2 chilies will do.)
1 onion
1 tsp amchur powder (or a little more)

Preparation:
1. Cook rice adding 2 cups of water. Keep aside and let cool.
2. Soak soy chunks in hot water for about 5 minutes or as needed and then squeeze out the water.

Method:
* Heat oil and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add chillies and minced onion. Fry until it turns translucent.
* Add minced spinach next and cook until done. (If you prefer a green hued rice, grind the spinach and saute.) Add salt and soy chunks and saute for a couple of minutes.
* Then add the amchur powder and rice to the spinach mixture. Mix well and turn off the stove.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Eggless Banana - Walnut Bread

Doesn't it seem magical when overripe bananas fit to trash turn into a wonderful treat?

Today is the last day for my "Eggless / Vegan Baking" themed posts in BM#13 and I have saved my best for the last. I had a low calorie eggless banana bread recipe for years but still never cared to bake one until I saw Madhuram's recipe. I think the image she posted tempted me to try her recipe and honestly, our whole family instantly fell in love with this utterly delicious, eggless version of banana nut bread. It has somehow become a cherished recipe and I have baked this bread countless times in the past year. This is such a fool proof recipe that it had turned out perfect every time I have baked it and so I don't prefer to meddle with the recipe. Thanks to Madhu, friends and other family members who have tasted it always have showered me with praises and I am not going to search for another banana bread recipe in my life. I also assure you that you forget about calories and such trivial things once you taste this. :)
The original recipe is a vegan one and I have tried both vegan / non vegan versions.

Recipe Source: Eggless Cooking
Baking pan: The original recipe uses a 8x4 inch pan. I usually bake it in my 10x5 inch loaf pan.

Ingredients:
2 cups all purpose flour / maida
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp allspice powder / cardamom powder
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar (or substitute regular white sugar)
1/2 cup butter / margarine
3 medium sized bananas, mashed well
1/4 cup milk (non dairy milk for vegan version)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 cup chopped walnuts (Save some to sprinkle on top.)

Method:
1. Combine the milk and vinegar in a small bowl and keep aside.
2. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and allspice / cardamom in another bowl.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 175 deg C.
4. Cream together the sugar and butter in another bowl. Add milk - vinegar mixture, banana puree and vanilla to it and mix.
5. Stir in walnuts and the dry ingredients from step 2. Combine well.
6. Pour the batter into a greased baking pan. Sprinkle walnuts on top.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean or about 60 - 70 minutes.
8. Transfer the bread from pan after completely cooling. I usually bake it at night, leave it overnight and slice in the morning.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Almond Shortbread Cookies

I know it seems like over dosage of cookies this week but each one is different and delicious in it's own way. I had planned and baked something else but could not let go without posting these crunchy, buttery, shortbread cookies that have become our recent favorite.

Ingredients: (yield about 22 cookies)

1 cup almond flour (or just grind almonds in a food processor.)

1 & 1/2 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup melted butter (vegan margarine for vegan version)

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

A pinch of salt

Method:

* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 175 deg C.

* Add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until dough is formed. Or work the dough with hand in a mixing bowl.

* Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Divide the mixture into 20 (more or less) equal portions. Roll each one to a ball and flatten it slightly.

* Arrange them on an ungreased cooking sheet.

* Bake until golden or for about 15 minutes.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Eggless & Whole Wheat Banana - Walnut Muffins

I was oblivious to the word "muffin" until late 90s. That was when we first moved here from India. Up until then, India was almost free from foreign food chains and majority of the homes did not have these economically affordable double duty microwaves that work as conventional ovens as well. Only a small percentage of housewives baked at home and we knew only about the stuff sold in our local bakeries. I had never come across muffins and I don't think I even had heard about cupcakes though we enjoyed succulent, mouthwatering single serving cakes.

Now the baking scenario in India has pretty much changed. Majority of the homes now have microwaves and home baking has become a norm to enthusiastic cooks though getting hold of the baking stuff in small towns is still tougher. It is another thing that that there are many Indian housewives like my mother for instance who are not adventurous as bloggers and use their microwaves only to reheat leftover stuff, however expensive their MWs may be. 

Now moving on to the recipe. Banana muffins need no introduction and are probably the most popular stuff with a novice baker. Usually the left over bananas in my home go towards these muffins or banana bread for my kids' snacking. I have been using this low fat recipe for years now and it yields good muffins. The original recipe was egg and flour based one but I go with wheat flour instead.

Ingredients: (Make 6)
Dry ingredients:
3/4 cup wheat flour (I use chapathi flour. All purpose flour can be substituted. Or use 6 Tbsp wheat flour + 6 Tbsp all purpose flour.)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
2 Tbsp walnut pieces + 2 Tbsp for sprinkling on top
Wet Ingredients:
2 bananas
1/4 cup sugar
3 Tbsp melted butter

Method:
* Preheat oven to 375 deg F / 190 deg C.
* Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.
* Mash bananas in another bowl. Add sugar and mix well. Stir in melted butter.
* Stir in dry ingredients except the walnuts used for sprinkling.
* Grease or line the muffin pan with paper cups. Spoon the batter into cups so that it fills up to 3/4th of each cup. Sprinkle walnuts.
* Bake until a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean or for about 30 - 35 minutes.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.
Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Eggless Brownies

I don't fuss about calories and such when I come across a good brownie. I have been in love with brownies since the first time I ate them 14 years ago and don't mind eating a whole piece when offered. My kids too love it and so thought of trying them this marathon when I am posting under "Eggless / Vegan Baking" theme. My son has been raving about the awesome brownies his friend's mom makes but since I have to yet get her recipe, I thought of trying them from here in the meantime since they were eggless.

I don't own a brownie pan and so I increased the quantity of the ingredients by 50% more and baked in a loaf pan and got chunky brownies. After trying them, we felt that the brownies need to be more moist though it is hard to figure it out from the images. I skipped the jam and not sure whether it has to do anything with the final outcome. The recipe needs a little tweaking to suit our tatsebuds, if I try it the next time.

Ingredients:
1 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour / maida
1/3 cup cocoa powder (I used Hershey's brand.)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 Tbsp coarsely chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp yogurt
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F / 190 deg C.
* Sieve together flour, cocoa and baking powder.
* Cream butter and sugar in a bowl. Add milk, yogurt, vanilla essence to the sugar-butter mixture and mix well. Then add the sieved dry ingredients and half of the walnut pieces and mix well.
* Grease and dust a brownie pan with flour. Add the batter to it and sprinkle the remaining walnuts on the top.
* Bake until a toothpick inserted at the centre inserted comes out clean or for about 35 - 40 minutes.
* Cool and cut into squares.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.
Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Whole Wheat - Almond Cookies

I had received these cookies as entries from fellow food bloggers when I  hosted CWS - Wheat and was planning to try them since then. At last I got to try them recently and was happy with the result. The process is simple and yields quite delicious and flavorful cookies. They are addictive, even to kids. Feel free to substitute any other nuts for almonds.

Ingredients: (Yield 16 cookies)
1 cup whole wheat flour 
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
A pinch of salt
1/4 cup sliced almonds
6 Tbsp butter (at room temperature)
3 Tbsp milk or as needed

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F.
* Combine the first five ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then add the butter and sugar and mix them to form the dough.

* Divide the balls into 16 portions (less or more depending upon the size). Roll each portion into a ball and slightly flatten them.
* Arrange the flattened balls on baking sheet leaving some space in between. They don't spread much. Bake them for about 18 minutes or until they are slightly golden.
Let them cool and store in an airtight container.

Note:
They quite firm up after cooling and so don't be tempted to bake longer or leave them in the oven until they turn crisper. If you do , they would be good substitutes for paperweights. 

Linking this to 
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Eggless Raisin Scones

Here are eggless and delicious scones on the second day of blogging marathon #13. Raisins could be easily replaced by any other dry fruits / nuts or even chocolate chips. Even though my younger one would have been glad if I went with the latter one,  I did not want to overdose this week with chocolate based recipes. And so here we go with raisin based ones. My son happily devoured these scones while the daughter was sulking that they were not chocolate chip version. :)

Ingredients: (8 scones)
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup butter (vegan margarine for vegan version)
1/3 cup milk (or any non dairy milk for vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup raisins (I used dark & golden raisins.)

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 375 deg F. Grease the baking sheet and keep aside.
* Combine the first five dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Then add the remaining ingredients and just stir until blended. Do not overmix. 
* Transfer the dough onto a working surface and shape it into one inch thick circle.

* Slice the dough into eight wedges and place them on the baking sheet. I don't bother to seperate the wedges before baking since they come off easily after baking.
* Bake until golden brown or for about 20 minutes.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.

Comments

Eggless Chocolate Chip Cookies

Blogging Marathon # 13 starts from today and I chose to go with "Eggless / Vegan Baking" as the theme. This week long, I am going to post some of my kids' favorite stuff that I regularly bake in my kitchen.
Chocolate, cheese and olives are my daughter's favorite foods. She doesn't prefer any sweet stuff on her plate but the whole scenario changes when it comes to chocolate. The girl somehow had to force herself to eat even a tiny portion of her own birthday cake but the magical chocolate makes her forget the fact that she is in no love with sweet stuff. :) And these chocolate chip cookies top her favorite "chocolate" stuff.

Though I don't remember the source, this recipe comes from a  cookbook and yield very yummy cookies. The ingredients yield about 3 dozen cookies, if made in small size. 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup softened butter (vegan margarine for vegan version)
2 Tbsp honey (pure maple syrup for vegan version)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (vegan choc. chips for vegan version)

Method:
* Preheat the oven to 350 deg F / 180 deg C.
* Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Stir in the honey and vanilla and mix well.
* In another mixing bowl, add flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
* Add the dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Stir well to combine and fold in chocolate chips.
* Drop the dough on ungreased cookie sheets by tablespoons (half or full depending upon the size you prefer). You can flatten them a little if you wish. Bake until slightly browned around the edges, about 15 minutes. (I baked 3 - 4 minutes more.) Remember that they firm up a little after cooling.
* Cool and store in an airtight container.

Linking this to
1. Srivalli's "Kid's Delight" event, guest hosted by Priya this month with the theme "Eggless / Vegan Bakes".
2. Anjali's "Cakes, Cookies & Desserts" event.

Check here to find out what the other marathoners participating in this BM are cooking.

Comments

Vennai Puttu for ICC January

Srivalli chose vennai puttu, a traditional dish from Tamilnadu for this month's Indian cooking Challenge. Recipe source is Priya Suresh who shared her grandmother's recipe.
I would say that it was an interesting sweet dish and was more closer to halwa in consistency. 

Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1/2 cup jaggery powder (Check the notes.)
1/2 tsp cardamom powder
2 Tbsp shredded or sliced fresh coconut pieces
1/4 cup cooked chana dal
Few cashew nuts to garnish (I used almonds)

Method:
* Soak rice overnight or at least for three hours. Throw away the water used to soak. Grind the rice finely adding a little water. It should be somewhat like idli batter.
* Meanwhile cook chana dal in a pressure cooker or in a sauce pan just until cooked. The dal should hold the shape and not turn mushy.
* Add 1/4 cup of water to jaggery and boil until it starts to turn foamy. There is no need to reach any threaded consistency. Strain the syrup and keep it aside.
* Boil 2 cups of water in a nonstick pan / heavy bottomed vessel. Add the ground rice paste to the water slowly and keep stirring continuously through the process. It starts to form lumps and so keep stirring to avoid it. Try to break the lumps any formed with the back of the ladle. Cook on medium flame until the rice paste is well cooked. You may have to continue to stir through out the process.
* Now add the jaggery syrup, cooked chana dal, cardamom powder and coconut to the cooked rice paste and stir well. Continue to cook until it turns into a solid mass and starts to leave the sides of the pan.
(I used a non stick pan and so, the paste was never stuck to the pan. And so this tip of the cooked puttu leaving the sides of the pan that  helps to determine the final stages may not work if using nonstick pan.)
* Pour this puttu on a greased plate and garnish with ghee toasted cashew pieces. I garnished with almonds and coconut. Let it cool completely and cut into slices.
* Refrigerate the leftovers. It will stay fresh only for a day if left at room temperature.

Note:
1. The quantity of jaggery powder mentioned was way too low for us. The dish had only a hint of sweetness and probably the jaggery powder should be somewhere between 3/4 - 1 cup.
2. I was not able to slice the puttu into pieces and so popped the puttu in the freezer for a few minutes and then sliced them.

Comments

Baby Lima Beans in Spicy Almond Sauce

Kalyani has posed an interesting challenge of Almond & Ginger for this month's Magic Mingle and I was eyeing some baked recipes using the above mentioned ingredients. In the mean time, the box of Hurst bean bags I won for the MLLA arrived and I decided to create a recipe of my own utilizing the beans as well. And so was born this delicious lima beans curry in spicy almond sauce which garnered appreciation from my kids. I consider this experiment a success since after coming from school, my kids remembered to tell me that the curry I packed for their lunch was very yummy. :)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dried baby lima beans - soaked overnight (or 1.5 cup soaked or canned lima beans)
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
a pinch of turmeric powder
1 big onion, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste
To grind:
6 Tbsp almonds
a handful of cilantro leaves
2 green chillies (I used hot Serrano Peppers. Adjust the quantity as needed.)
a small piece of ginger



Method:
* Pressure cook the soaked beans. If using canned beans, rinse thoroughly and keep aside. 
* Heat oil and add cumin seeds. When they start to brown, add onion and cook until translucent. Then add tomatoes and cook until mushy.
* Mean while, grind the ingredients mentioned under "to grind" adding a little water.
* Add the cooked / canned lima beans, ground paste, salt and coriander powder to the cooked tomato - onion mixture. Cook the mixture on low flame until the raw smell of the almond paste is gone. Turn off  the stove and serve warm with rotis.

Comments

CEDD 6 - Fresh Produce Roundup & Announcement of the Winner

Desserts are an integral part of all cuisines and celebrations. Even a festive platter without desserts would come across as a humdrum meal, wouldn't it? For me, the dessert is the best part of a meal and so when Raven inquired whether I would be interested to host Cook.Eat.Delicious.Desserts event, I immediately had to say yes. :) Fellow food bloggers as usual showed their support by sending in delectable entries and making this event a fruitful one. :) :) Thank you gals for all your wonderful entries and thanks Raven for the hosting opportunity. Now here is the CEDD - Fresh produce roundup for you to enjoy. They have been posted in the order in which I received them.

Before proceeding to the roundup, here is the exciting part of the event. Raven has chosen randomly Cool Lassie of Pan Gravy Kadai Curry to be the winner of the giveaway and she will receive a copy of 500 seasonal recipes. Congrats Cool Lassie.

 Sweet Corn - Vermicelli Kheer by me

Bottle Gourd Chocolate Cake by Raji

 Fruit Frangipane Tart by Rathai

 Berry Souffle by Pradnya

Healthy Chocolate Mousse by Jacqueline

Milky Carrot Fudge by Anjali Shukla

Carrot Cake by Rathai

Eggless Carrot - Apple Muffins by me

Apple Crumble by Pradnya

Banofee Pie by Ayeesha Riaz

Beetroot Halwa By Rasya Srinath

 Blueberry Pielets by Pradnya

Microwave Apple Crisp by me

Blackberry Cobbler by me

Banana Halwa by Chandrani Banerjee

 Banana Malpuas by Shobha

 Peach & Strawberry Cake by Shobha

Dates - Coconut Kheer by me

Banana Sekarni by Hema

Eggless Semolina - Banana Cake by me

Nayna's Coconut Milk Pudding

Nayna's Pisang Goreng- Banana Fritters

Mango Kulfi by Shobha

Eggless Orange Corn Muffins by Harini

 Carrot Poli by Harini

Vegan Sweet Potato Kheer by Harini

Vegan Pumpkin Scones by Harini

Mango Kulfi - An Easier Way by Harini

 Zucchini & Chocolate Muffins by Priya Suresh

Orange Kheer by Priya Suresh

 Steamed Eggless Banana Cake by Nithu Bala

 Pineapple Jelly by Shoba 

 Apple Pie with Summer BerriesTwist by Chitra

Raspberry Crostata by Rathai

Strawberry - Apple Milkshake by Gayathri

 Pumpkin Kheer by Gayathri

Lauki Ki Kheer by Kaveri

Pradnya's Anjeer Icecream

Sweet & Spicy Fruit Kebabs by Vaishali

Eggless Pumpkin Tart by Cool Lassie

Avocado Pound Cake by Cool Lassie

GingerBread Man Cookies with Fresh Ginger by Cool Lassie

Italian Plum Cake by Cool Lassie

Cocoa Berry Kesari by Cool Lassie

Apple Sauce Halwa by Cool Lassie

Comments