Simple & Quick Subzis ~ Cabbage - Peas Curry / Cabbage - Batani Koora

I have a 'to do' list each day, not kept on paper but tucked away somewhere in my head that keeps constantly buzzing until I am done with it. And today, blogging was a part of that list. It was something that I had to take care of since even M started to notice that I have been not blogging lately. These past few days, I have been like a new kid going to school or the one who refuses to go back after a joyous break. In spite of having about 100 recipes in my drafts folder, I was somehow feeling clueless about what to post and where to start. And today finally after several weeks of hibernation, I decided to post this simple subzi. This one is prepared frequently in our homes or any south Indian home for that matter. Cabbage, peas and coconut together is a winning combination in this simple stir fry. Serve it along with hot steamed rice or rotis.

Ingredients:
For tadka: 1 - 2 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp chana dal (Bengal gram), 1 tsp urad dal (skinned black gram)), 1 tsp cumin seeds, 3 - 4 red chillies, few curry leaves and 1/8 tsp turmeric powder
4 cups chopped cabbage
1/4 cup peas (I used frozen peas.)
1/4 cup grated coconut
Salt to taste

Method:
Heat oil in a small wok or a non stick pan add all the tadka ingredients in the order mentioned. When the dals start to turn reddish, add the cabbage. Stir the contents once, cover and cook on low flame until the cabbage is done. Next add the peas, salt and coconut. Mix well and allow to cook for 3 - 4 minutes more, stirring in between. Turn off the stove and serve immediately.

Comments

Announcing "My Legume Love Affair" - 40

I know I have been missing from action for quite sometime now. An intentional weeklong break turned into a longer one, amidst the daily chaos of a normal life. :) Time flies by, isn't it? However cliched the statement may seem, it is the eternal truth. Susan assured me the same last March when I had requested for an earlier MLLA hosting opportunity. The earliest she could come up with was this month owing to the immense popularity of MLLA. :)
Thanks to Susan, her wonderful event "My Legume Love Affair" aka "MLLA" is stopping by veggieplatter, this month and I am requesting my fellow foodies to join me in celebrating this "legume love affair". As the name indicates, MLLA is all about legumes.

What is a legume?
" A legume is a plant in the family Fabaceae or Leguminosae, or a fruit of these specific plants. A legume fruit is a simple dry fruit that develops from a simple carpel and usually dehisces (opens along a seam) on two sides. A common name for this type of fruit is a pod, although the term "pod" is also applied to a few other fruit types, such as vanilla and radish. Well-known legumes include alfaalfa, clover, peas, beans, lentils, lupins, mesquite, carob, soy and peanuts." (Source - Wiki)

The eligible legumes for this event:
Fresh or dried beans, lentils, pulses, and/or the sometimes edible pods that contain these seeds, and derivative products like tofu or besan/chickpea flour all come under "legumes". Even tamarind, fenugreek, carob, peanuts, etc. are among some of the other edible plants in the legume family which are included in this event. MLLA is really about legumes of any sort as the main draw. In short, I accept an entry as long as the recipe showcases the legume primarily but not as an auxiliary ingredient.

Simple guidelines for participation in the event:
* Only vegetarian / vegan recipes with legume(s) as the star ingredient are eligible. A spoonful or soupcon of a legume is not quite enough to qualify. All courses and cuisines are welcome.
* Deadline for the event is 31st October, 2011. Please provide a link to this event announcement page and Susan's host lineup page.
* Please send me an email notifying about your entry to toveggieplatter@hotmail.com with these details - your name, your location, recipe name, recipe URL and a 400 pixel sized image of the final dish.
 * Multiple recipes are permitted but only one submission will be counted towards the random drawing/s.
* Recipes from archives are accepted only if updated and reposted as current. This is strictly mandatory.
* Recipes submitted to other events are also permitted.
* Recipes from nonbloggers are also welcome and make eligible the participants to win a prize.
* Use of logo is optional.

Prizes:
One of the exciting features of this event are the prizes by Susan, offered to winners chosen by random drawings. Please note that neither Susan's family/ friends nor mine are eligible to win these prizes.

1) The New Food Lover's Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst. This prize is offered by Susan without influence at her expense, and she will also absorb worldwide shipping charges. F.T.C. Notice: Susan does not receive any compensation from Amazon.
2) Hurst Bean Box - A case of six bags of the winner's choice of Hurst Bean products, suitable for every diet, sponsored by Hurst Bean. (Due to shipping restrictions, this prize can only be awarded if the winner is a U.S. resident.) F.T.C. Notice: In May 2010, Susan, at her request, received two Hurst Bean complimentary products which are not available for purchase in her local markets. Susan does not generally accept free products from Hurst Bean nor is she financially compensated by them.
Drawing Structure - If the winner is a U.S. resident, she/he will be the recipient of both Prizes 1 and 2 above. In the event that an international winner is drawn, a second drawing will be conducted from the U.S. pool of entrants to ensure that the Hurst Prize is awarded every month. In these instances, the international winner will receive the book, and the U.S. winner will receive the Hurst Prize.

I am looking forward to your wonderful entries. :)

Comments

Happy Ganesh Chaturthi

Our wishes to everyone who is celebrating Vinayaka Chavithi tomorrow!!

My computer is still behaving erratically and so occasionally I am using my husband's laptop to post here. I have no privilege of bloghopping until the computer gets fixed and in the meantime, I may have to miss all those wonderful posts from my fellow bloggers . :(

Comments

Millet Upma

When I went for my 'quinoa' shopping recently, M bagged some millet from the bulk bins of whole foods market. I had read somewhere earlier that millet is a whole grain like quinoa and has been grown even before rice was. It is rich in magnesium and is a vitamin B source and said to be good for heart patients and diabetics. Enough reasons to try a grain for the first time, I thought and so brought home some.

I was contemplating whether to cook it as rice or prepare a spicy khichdi but finally settled with this upma. It goes along the same lines as quinoa version but to quicken the process, I used a pressure pan today. Ours was served with a spicy sambhar for a wholesome meal.

Ingredients:

1 cup millet

2 small onions - finely chopped

1 tomato - chopped

Salt to taste (about 1.5 tsp)

For tadka:

1 Tbsp oil, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 3 Serrano peppers, and few curry leaves

Method:

1. Toast millet on medium flame for 3 - 4 minutes and keep aside. 

2. Heat oil directly in a small pressure cooker / pressure pan. Add the dals, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When the dals turn reddish, add chillies and curry leaves. Saute for few seconds and add onion. Fry on medium flame until they turn translucent. Next add tomatoes and cook until mush. 

3. Add about 1 & 3/4 cups of water to the mixture and bring it to a rolling boil. Add salt and the millet. 

4. Stir once and cover the cooker lid with the whistle on. Pressure cook until 3 whistles. After the valve pressure is gone, remove the lid, fluff and serve.

Note:

1. I used my pressure pan to cook this upma and this method is simple and quicker.

2. After step 3, the contents can be transferred to and cooked in a rice cooker.

3. The upma can be prepared in a regular sauce pan but it takes longer to cook millet (about 20 minutes).

My effort to focus only on the image in the background. :)

This is going to be my last day post of BM#8 with the theme "Cooking with five or less ingredients". Check what my fellow marathoners have come up with during this marathon. 

If you have missed any of my posts in this series, here is a recap.

1. Broccoli Parathas

2. Chukkakoora Pappu

3. Aamrakhand

4. Green Mango Rice

5. Quick & Easy Peanut Laddu

6. Sambhar Powder

Comments

Sambhar Powder

Sambhar powder is a mandatory pantry item of any south Indian kitchen. It is a blend of ground roasted spices that lend a unique flavor to sambhar - the split pigeon peas stew that appears on daily menus of majority homes. There is no standard recipe for sambhar powder and each family follows its own "favorite recipe", probably handed down from generations gone by. A sambhar powder / masala can use many ingredients or can be as simple as this one, from my mother's kitchen.

I like trying various versions of sambhar powder and make it a point to copy down any recipe that catches my attention. However the two recipes mostly I follow happens to be the one I posted earlier and this one which is perfectly apt for my "cooking with five ingredients or less" themed BM#8 post for today.

Check what my fellow marathoners have posted for today.  

Ingredients: (for 1 cup)

1/4 cup chanadal

3 Tbsp coriander seeds

2 Tbsp skinned black gram / urad dal

1/2 cup grated, dried coconut

8 red, dried chillies

Method:

* Toast chanadal and urad dal individually on medium flame until they turn reddish. Remove them onto a plate and add the coriander seeds and red chillies to the same pan and toast until they start changing color and you start to smell the aroma of the coriander. Let cool all the toasted ingredients.

* Finely grind the toasted ingredients and coconut together. Store in an airtight container.

Comments

Quick & Easy Peanut - Coconut Laddu

My "cooking with five or less ingredients" themed post for today in BM#8 is going to be these yummy laddus that can be prepared in a jiffy. I used to follow the Indian cooking website 'Bawarchi' almost religiously in my initial days of cooking. Not just following but used to try the recipes that caught my attention. Some of the recipes I learnt thus have found a permanent place in my kitchen. This delicious peanut laddu learnt a dozen years ago is one such recipe though I stay away from it now just because of the calories. :) It is simple and quick compared to the traditional version and just perfect one for a novice cook.

  

Ingredients: (For 15 small sized laddus)

1 cup roasted and skinned peanuts

1/4 - 1/2 cup fresh, grated coconut

1/2 cup jaggery powder

Method:

Combine all the ingredients and grind into a coarse mixture using a food processor. Take a fistful of ground mixture and shape it into a laddu (a round ball). Repeat the step with the remaining mixture.

Check what my fellow marathoners have come up with for today.

Comments

Easy Breezy Green Mango Rice ~ Mamidikaya Pulihora

On the fourth day of BM#8, here is a simple, tangy rice dish bursting with the unripe mango flavor. Green mango rice is commonly prepared in south India during the summer months when the mangoes are abundantly available. Cooked rice mixed with grated unripe mango and the crunchy tadka is surely a delightful meal on its own.

Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking today.

Ingredients: (4 - 6 servings)

2 cups rice (I used sonamasuri.)

2 green mangoes, peeled and grated (I had about 2.5 cups grated mango. Or adjust according to the tartness preferred.)

For tadka: 2 - 3 Tbsp oil, 1/4 cup peanuts, 2 tsp chanadal, 1 tsp skinned black dal / urad dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds, a pinch of asafoetida, few curry leaves, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and 4 green chillies (I used large Serrano peppers. Adjust the quantity as needed. Dried red chillies can be substituted for the green ones.)

Salt as needed (about 2.5 tsp)

Method:

* Wash the rice in several changes of water and drain. Cook adding about 4 cups of water. Take care that the grains are intact after cooking. Spread the rice in a wide plate or a bowl. Let cool.

* In the meanwhile, do the tadka in a sauté pan. Heat oil and add the peanuts. Fry them for a few seconds and then add the chana dal, urad dal and mustard seeds. When the dals turn reddish, add the curry leaves, asafoetida, turmeric powder and chillies. Sauté for a minute and then add the grated mango and salt. Mix well and turn off the stove. There is no need to cook the mango.

* Add this tadka to the rice and mix well.

Comments

Aamrakhand / Mango Shrikhand

For the uninitiated, shrikhand is a simple, no fuss dessert that is mostly popular in the Indian states of Gujarat and Maharashtra. The thick, creamy yogurt (obtained after straining) is sweetened with sugar and flavored with cardamom / saffron. It is then chilled and garnished with nuts before serving. A simple delight on a hot summer day. :) Apart from this plain Jane kind, there are fruity versions that are more flavorful, colorful and delicious like this aamrakhand aka mango shrikhand, where mango pulp is added to shrikhand.

I used homemade yogurt to make this aamrakhand. If you are in a hurry, use Greek yogurt instead which makes the preparation further simpler. And for people who are wondering how to prepare hung yogurt, this is how we go. Line a colander / sieve with a cheesecloth or a very thin cotton cloth. Place it over a bowl to catch the dripping whey. Pour the set yogurt into it and bring the ends of the cloth together and form a knot. Put the colander along with the bowl underneath, in the refrigerator overnight or until all the whey has been removed. This is the hung yogurt or the strained one that we are going to use to make shrikhand. Or skip this step and use Greek yogurt instead as I mentioned earlier.

Feel free to use your favorite fruits and  create new shrikhand versions as this peach shrikhand.

Ingredients: (for 2 servings)

1 cup hung yogurt / Greek yogurt

1/2 to 3/4 cup mango pulp (I used Kesar mango pulp.)

Powdered sugar to taste (The quantity depends upon the sweetness of the mango pulp. It is not mandatory to use powdered sugar but I use it since it melts quicker.)

1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder / saffron 

Crushed pistachios / sliced almonds to garnish 

Note: 
If using saffron, just soak 1/4 tsp saffron in a tsp of milk for about 15 minutes and add. I omitted the cardamom since I had to use 5 ingredients and just sprinkled some saffron for the photographic purpose.

Method:

Place all the ingredients except the pistachios / almonds in a bowl and whisk them together until a creamy texture is attained and everything is well combined. Chill for an hour or two before serving. Serve the chilled aamrakhand in individual bowls and garnish with pistachios / almonds. This can be served as a dessert or along with hot puris (or parathas) as they do in Gujarat.

This is my 3rd day BM#8 entry with the theme "cooking with five ingredients or less". Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking today.

Comment

Authentic Andhra ~ Chukkakoora Pappu

I think chukkakoora is 'an unheard entity' outside Andhra. As the famous gongura, these leafy greens are exclusive to that state, have a characteristic sourness to them and taste delicious. This pappu has become a rare treat for us since chukkakoora is not available locally. Fortunately, M remembered to get the seeds last time when he visited India and we could grow/enjoy our own chukkaku this summer. I used them to prepare this yummy pappu last week.

This authentic and quintessential Andhra dish is going to be my second day entry of BM#8 with the theme "cooking with five or less ingredients". Check what my fellow marathoners are cooking.

Ingredients:(For 3 - 4 servings)

1/2 cup toordal

1.5 cup chukkakoora leaves, washed and roughly chopped

1 Onion, minced

1 tsp Chilli powder

Salt to taste

For tadka: 2 -3 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, a pinch of asafoetida powder and 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Note:

1. Tadka / Seasoning + Salt together are considered as one ingredient according to the marathon rules.

2. Chukkakoora leaves are usually sour as gongura and so tamarind is not added usually while preparing this dal. Green chillies can be added, if preferred.

Method:

* Cook toordal in a pressure cooker / sauce pan and keep aside.

* Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds and cumin seeds. When mustard seeds start to splutter, add asafoetida, turmeric powder and onion.

* Fry until onion turns translucent and then add the chukkakoora leaves. Saute until the leaves are cooked.

* Next add the cooked dal, chili powder and salt to the cooked greens and mix well. Simmer for a couple of minutes more and turn off the stove.

* Serve with hot rice and ghee.

Comments

Broccoli Parathas

Another round of BM#8 starts from today and among the various interesting themes given, I chose to go with "Cooking with five or less ingredients" this week. That means the recipes I am going to post for the next seven days contain five or less ingredients. Srivalli however has given a concession that the seasonings / salt together can be considered as one ingredient. My first post under the above said theme is going to be broccoli parathas. And check what the other marathoners are cooking today.

My son has always been an easy going kid and so before I had my daughter, I thought raising kids was child's play. :) Oh boy, my daughter showed me practically how wrong I was. Everything turns into a fuss when dealing with her and of course it's more obvious when it comes to food. If anyone chooses to start a "picky eater club", my daughter would be the perfect president for it. She prefers to go hungry instead of eating something that is not appealing to her. Whenever she has to eat something, she has some standard lines to say - "I am not hungry" or "this looks gross / weird" or "I don't like it" or "I asked for that, not this" or "this is not my favorite" or "I asked for rotis" (particularly when I don't have dough handy) or "I will eat later" and the list goes on. I like the roti excuse more since I can sneak in whatever veggies I like and I know that she is going to like and eat some healthy food in the process. Over the years, my daughter has taught me that if a kid doesn't like any particular veggie / fruit, sneaking it in other forms works better than presenting it in the most obvious fashion. These parathas are one such example. No steamed broccoli / broccoli soup suits her and so I puree the broccoli and add it to the roti dough. Any faint smell that broccoli rotis have is masked by the side dish that goes along with them. I thank God that she likes rotis or otherwise it would have been a different story altogether. :)

Ingredients (for 20 parathas):

3 cups atta / wheat flour + extra for dusting

1.5 cup broccoli puree (Broccoli florets lightly cooked in microwave and pureed.)

Salt to taste

1 Tbsp oil (optional) + Oil to make rotis

(Green chilli - ginger paste can be added if preferred.)

Method:

* Combine atta, broccoli puree, salt and a Tbsp of oil in a mixing bowl. Gradually add water as needed to form a firm, pliable dough. If the dough becomes too sticky, add some extra flour. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes and shape it into a ball. Cover and allow it to rest at room temperature for at least an hour.

* Place a cast iron skillet or a low rim frying pan over medium heat. While the skillet is heating up, knead the rested dough for a minute. Divide the dough into 20 equal portions, roll each portion into a ball and flatten it between your palms. Take a flattened dough ball and keep the remaining ones covered. Dip both sides of the flattened dough ball into loose flour, place it on a flat rolling surface. Roll it into a thin circle of about 4 - 5 inches diameter.

* Place the rolled out circle on the hot skillet, cook for about 30 - 40 seconds and flip it using a spatula. There should be brown spots on the flipped side. Cook for another 30 seconds and flip again. Spread 1/4 tsp oil around the edges if desired. Press down on the bread with spatula while cooking to allow the bread to puff up. Remove it after it puffs up and you see brown spots on both sides.

Repeat the steps with the remaining dough.

Note:

If not using immediately, the dough may be refrigerated for a couple of days. Just remember to bring it back to room temperature. Or put in the microwave covered, for about 30 - 60 seconds depending upon the quantity of the dough.

Comments