Okra Fried Rice

     
          Everybody loves okra (lady'sfinger or vendikkai) at home, at least in mine, add it to a sambar or make a curry, I have no complaints. But,I never thought that I could make a rice with it, okra being the slimy one. I had jotted down this recipe very long time back and totally forgot about it. When I pulled it out today, I noted that I didn't have a couple of ingredients needed for the dish, but that didn't hold me back. My mind was made up to make it, one way or the other, and so finally I ended up making my own version, it's a very simple and easy one, all those okra lovers out there should definitely give this a try..

Need To Have

• Basmati Rice - 1 + 1/2 cup
• Okra - 2 cups sliced
• Scallions Or Spring Onions - 10 to 12 stalks
• Garlic - 4 pods grated
• Sambal Paste - 2 tablespoons
• Soy Sauce - 5 tablespoons
• Roasted Peanuts - 1/2 cup
• Salt And Pepper - to taste

Saute the okra well

Add the spring onions and sambal paste

Add the rice and the peanuts

Method 
          Cook the rice with little salt and oil and cool it, the rice should not be mushy. Chop the scallions and keep the green and white part separately. Heat oil, add the garlic, saute for a few mins, add okra, saute well uncovered, till it is cooked but crunchy and crispy. Now add the sambal paste, soy sauce and the chopped  spring onions, saving some green part of it for garnish, saute some more time. Now add the cooked rice and peanuts, mix everything up, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm, garnished with the scallions, some more peanuts with some soy sauce on the side.

Sending it off to Let's Cook - Rice event at Radhika's Tickling Palates.

Note
Can add some shallow fried tofu or even some scrambled eggs, will definitely make it more tastier. I didn't add because I served it with a tofu curry.
If you don't have the sambal paste, which is basically red chilliies ground coarsely, add some chilli flakes.

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Cauliflower And Methi Paratha

   
          I try to make parathas at least once in two weeks, an ideal weekend lunch or brunch. As the parathas  have some kind of vegetable stuffed with, I usually serve it with some pickle, curd and a salad on the side. I've never tried anything other than aloo parthas or radish parathas, this is my first attempt to make these cauliflower parathas, the thought of grating the cauliflower so finely had put me off, but my new food processor made the job easier. I added methi for the extra flavor, and for a first try they turned out to be too good..


For The Stuffing

• Cauliflower - 1 small grated
• Methi - 3/4 cup chopped very finely
• Onion - 1 medium finely minced
• Garlic - 3 pods grated
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chilli Powder - 2 teaspoon
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Amchur Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

For the Outer Layer

• Whole Wheat Atta - 3 cups
• Turmeric - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curd - 1/4 cup
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 teaspoon

Grated cauliflower, minced onion and chopped methi

Saute the onion and garlic

Add the methi and the powders

Add the cauliflower

The stuffing

Method 
           Prepare the dough for the outer layer mixing up all the ingredients and enough water. For the stuffing, heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, once the spluttering stops, add the garlic and onion, saute for at least 5 mins, add the chopped methi, chilli powder, turmeric powder, salt, saute for few more mins. Now, add the cauliflower, mix well and cook till dry, then add the cumin and amchur powders and mix well.

Place the stuffing

Fold the dough over the stuffing

Roll the parathas

Cook it on both sides

To Make The Parathas
          Take a big lemon size ball of the dough, roll it slightly, keep a big marble size filling, close the dough over and make a ball one more time, then using some flour, roll it out carefully into parathas. Put them on a hot tawa, adding some oil cook them on both sides for a couple of mins, till you see brown spots. Serve them hot with some pickle and curd.

Sending this to Vardhini who is guest hosting Healing Foods - Cauliflower Event for Siri.

Note 
This is how I rolled out the parathas, after making the ball with the stuffing, roll it first halfway on the side which we closed the dough over the filling, then flip it over, apply some flour and roll it on the other side, this way I got to make thin parathas without much mess.

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'Only' Series Event Announcement For February & Giveaway

Hi all!

We are finishing this month with 'Only'-Sprouts and have started off the new year on a healthy note. The month of February brings in another health conscious theme at  'Only' series.

We all know that heart is an extremely important organ in our body and a healthy heart indicates a healthy body. An important cereal grain which has now become a common household name especially because of its healthful properties is surely Oats.

Oats is believed to have cholesterol reducing properties and is commonly used and eaten as Oats meal, Oats flour or as rolled Oats. Oat bran is the outer casing of the oat. Its consumption is believed to lower LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and possibly to reduce the risk of Heart disease.Oats are the only cereal containing a Globulin or legume-like protein, Avenalin, as the major (80%) storage protein.

With such huge health benefit that this grain shows, I thought of having an entire event on this marvelous cereal grain. So, the event for February is 'Only' Oats. One can cook any course of the meal and send it to the event.

This event will run through February and anyone can be a part of this event. There will be two giveaway books, 'Healthy Starters' and 'Top10 Healthy Foods' sponsored by www.tarladalal.com  which will be shipped only in India to the winning blogger as long as he/she has been following my blog, which I feel would be an ethical criteria to pick up a winner as I surely feel people who are interested in my blog should get the win. I would appreciate that you follow my blog publicly as this helps me know you and your blog better. 










If you like my blog and the work I do, I would surely appreciate that you like my space on the face book. An increasing number of readers and fans is surely a big motivation for me and tells me that I'm heading the right way. It surely pushes me to try more and achieve better.

FOODELICIOUS on Facebook

Directives For Participating In The Event

• Please leave your entries in the linky tool below.  There are two linky tools, for India and for other countries. 
• The winner for giveaway will be chosen from the Indian entries (followers) only and by a random method. People living in other countries who want to participate in the giveaway and can provide an address in India, should also post their entries under heading 'Indian, only.
• Before you post your entries in the linky tool, please make sure that in you have linked your post to this page and used the logo as that helps spreading word. 
• Only Vegetarian entries will be accepted (eggs are allowed).
• One can post any number of fresh entries and up to two entries from the archives provided that the entry is re-posted in the correct format.
• If rules are not followed, I will have no alternative but to remove the entry.
• In case you are not able to use the linky tool, send the entry to cookingoodfood@gmail.com.
• Non-bloggers can also participate, simply mail me your recipe along with a picture and I will post it on your behalf.

The linky will open on 1st Feb at 00:00hrs Indian time.

Pls link your entries here.

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Bottlegourd In Peanut Sauce

          Bottlegourd or Sorakkai in Tamil, is a very bland vegetable, because of that, it can blend itself into any kind of dish, be it sweet or savory, it gets it taste from the other ingredients. Usually I make a kootu or dal or more kuzhambu with it, today for a change I made a peanut gravy with the vegetable. I was not too sure of the finished dish, but it turned out to be really rich and delicious..


Need To Have

• Bottlegourd - 2 cups chopped
• Capsicum - 1/2 chopped
• Tomato - 1 big chopped
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - a sprig
• Coriander Leaves - to garnish

Roast And Grind

• Peanuts - 1/4 cup
• Coriander Seeds - 1 + 1/2 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sesame Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon 
• Green Chillies - 4 or 5
• Ginger - 1 tablespoon chopped

Grind the ingredients under roast and grind

Add the paste and saute

Add the bottlegourd and tomatoes

Method
          Dry roast the peanuts separately and the green chillies and ginger separately in a drop of oil. Roast the remaining ingredients, adding the sesame seeds last, grind everything into paste. Heat oil in a pressure pan, add the mustard and cumin seeds, once they stop spluttering, add the curry leaves, followed by the capsicum, saute for 3 mins, add the ground paste, mix for few mins. Now add the bottlegourd and the tomato, mix everything for some more time, add enough water (3 cups or more), close the lid. After one whistle, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 7 mins. Remove, garnish with the chopped coriander and serve warm with rotis or any kind of mixed rice, we had ours with ragi rotis.

Sending this to Veggie/ Fruit A Month Event created by Priya of Mharo Rajasthan and hosted by Raji of Vegetarian Tastebuds.

Note
Do not avoid the capsicum, that gives a nice flavor.
If your tomatoes are very tart, reduce them accordingly.

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Chana Thakkali Kuzhambu

          Only very few dishes go well with everything, like idlis, dosas, rotis, puris, pulaos or just mixed with plain white rice, this is one such, usually I make it without even adding the chana, just with some small onions. Today I added chana and made it protein-rich, you can make it with brinjals, potatoes and even with mushrooms. This definitely tastes different from the usual chana masala, so try this, I am sure you'll like it..


Need To Have

• Chana - 1 + 1/2 cups
• Tomato Puree - 2 + 1/2 cups
• Manathakkali Vathal - 2 teaspoons
• Turmeric Powder - 1/2 teaspoon
• Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Curry Leaves - a sprig

Roast And Grind

• Coriander Seeds - 1 + 1/2 tablespoons
• Mustard - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Sesame Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chana Dal - 1 teaspoon
• Urad Dal - 1 teaspoon
• Black Peppercorns - 1 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 2

Method
          Soak the chana overnight and pressure cook them. Roast all the ingredients given under roast-and-grind and make a paste with the coconut and  2 tablespoons of the cooked chana. Take the tomato puree, add the paste, turmeric powder, salt and enough water, mix well and keep. Heat oil, add the manathakkali vathal and the curry leaves, when the sizzling stops, pour in the tomato mixture and the chana, boil and simmer for 7 to 10 mins. Remove and serve with whatever you are planning to have that day, idli, dosa, etc..

Sending this to Saffron Streaks who is hosting the Cooking With Seeds event this month, which was started by Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes.

Note 
For those who are not familiar with manathakkali vathal, it is the sun dried seeds of the manathakkali plant, it is available in the grocery stores in India, it looks like peppercorns ( a little lighter shade), but not as hard. If you don't find them, just do the seasoning with mustard and fenugreek seeds.
The tomatoes available here are never very sour, use the fleshy tomatoes, not the small tart ones.
 Adjust the red chillies to your taste, mine are very spicy, so I use only two.

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Chocolate And Carrot Cupcakes

   
          I am a novice when it comes to baking, have not yet tried my hand in anything fancy yet. The most I have done, is some brownies, muffins and some simple cakes. These cupcakes are again very easy and a no-fail recipe,  if I can do it, then anyone can do it. My daughter loves anything with chocolate, a dark chocolate lover, so I made it a chocolate cupcake and I added some grated carrots, just like that. It turned out very spongy and yummy..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour Or Maida - 1 cup
• Unsweetened Cocoa Powder - 1/2 cup
• Grated Carrot - 1 cup
• Brown Sugar - 1 cup, packed
• Curd - 1/2 cup
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Egg - 1
• Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon
• Vanilla Extract - 1 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/4 teaspoon

Method
          Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Beat the one egg well, add the sugar, mix one more time, add the oil and the curd and the vanilla extract, mix them all well. Now add the flour, cocoa powder mix, fold everything in, making sure that there are no lumps, finally add the grated carrot, give one final stir. Line the muffin pans with muffin liners, spoon the batter in and bake it at 350F for 15 mins. I used mini-muffin pans and I got 24 of them and I left out the frosting part.

Sending them to Srav's Culinary Concepts for the Chocolate Fest.

Also sending them to Kid's Delight event guest hosted by Kavi of Edible Entertainment for Srivalli.

Note
Keep a watch on the cakes after 10 mins, if you are using the mini muffin pans.
Our cakes were not very sweet, it was perfect for us, you can increase the sugar by another half cup if you want it really sweet.
There was no carrots to be seen, they blended well with the brown chocolaty color.

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Beetroot Soup

          The cold weather here makes one crave for some kind of soup, either the creamier version or the lighter soups. Personally I like the clear soups, spiced up with lots of pepper, sometimes even the hot rasam is more than welcome. As a kid I used to like beets just for the color, loved the tongue turning pink after eating them, liked to have them with curd rice, just to see the white rice become pink. Usually it's the beetroot poriyal and on occasions the beetroot halwa, especially when my amma made it and gave me hot, hot. Today's soup is the husband's favorite, it's one simple and easy soup with literally very few ingredients..
Need To Have

• Grated Beetroot - 2 cups
• Chopped Tomatoes - 2 cups
• Salt & Pepper - to taste
• Lemon Juice - to taste

Method
          Take the beetroot and the tomatoes in a big pan, add 7 to 8 cups of water and bring it to boil with some salt. Simmer it for about 10 mins, mashing down the tomatoes, to bring out all the juice. Remove and strain, add some pepper, and serve it with a squeeze of lemon and some bread croutons.

Sending it to Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes to take part in the Healthy Diet-Warm Soups event.

Also sending to Taste Of Pearl City for the Any One Can Cook event.

Note
The tomatoes that we get here are never sour enough, adjust the amount of tomatoes accordingly.
Don't avoid the lemon juice, that gives an extra punch.

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Cracked Wheat And Spinach Idli

          I was telling my daughter the other day, that when I was in school, most of the days my breakfast used to be idlis and some days I had taken that for lunch too, and how I used to be bored with them. My daughter replied, saying that I was very lucky, that I had idlis every day, she's one big idli fan, she even went one step further, saying that she would go on an idli marathon for a week. This being the case, I make idlis very often, but try to make some variation in them, one such is this cracked wheat idli. I added some spinach and chana dal to make it more interesting and more nutritious..

Need To Have

• Cracked Wheat - 2 + 1/2 cups
• Curd - 2 cups
• Spinach - chopped 2 cups, packed
• Ginger - 1 tablespoon, grated 
• Chana Dal - 1/4 cup
• Mustard Seed - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 1 sprig

Roast the Cracked Wheat

Saute the spinach and the chana dal

Add it to the soaked cracked wheat

Pour the batter in idli moulds

Method
          Soak the chana dal in water for an hour. Roast the cracked wheat in a little oil and soak it in the curd and a cup of water for 45 mins to an hour. Heat oil, add the mustard and the cumin seeds, once they stop spluttering, add the asafoetida and the curry leaves. Now add the drained chana dal, stir for a minute or two and add the spinach, salt and grated ginger, mix well for a couple of mins. Remove and add this to the soaked cracked wheat, mix everything well, the batter should be thick like rava idli batter. Pour this into idli moulds and steam them for 20 mins. Enjoy them warm with the chutney of your choice, we had ours with Peanut Mint Chutney.

Sending them off to Vardhini of Zesty Palette to take part in the New "U" event.

Also sending it to Krithi's Kitchen for the Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking event she is guest hosting for Sanjeeta.

Note
Use the very fine variety of cracked wheat to make these idlis.
Wait for a couple of mins before removing the cooked idlis from the idli mould.
I used frozen spinach, you can use fresh or for people in India you can try with other keerais too.

     

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Beans And Chow-Chow Curry

          The other day, I was making some rotis and dal for dinner, and, coming to the vegetable part, I had a chow-chow and some beans in the refrigerator. Not wanting to make another dal or kootu with the chow-chow or a beans poriyal, I made this curry putting together both the vegetables, not really knowing what the end result would be. But, it turned out to be good and even worthy enough to be blogged here..

Need To Have

• Chow - Chow or Chayote - 1 small chopped
• Beans - 1 cup chopped
• Onion -1 chopped
• Tomato - 1 chopped
• Mustard Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Urad Dal - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - a sprig

Roast And Grind

• Chana Dal - 1 + 1/2 tablespoon
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chilli - 1 or 2 depending on your spice level

Method 

          Cook the beans and chow-chow either on stove top or in a microwave. Roast and powder the ingredients given under roast&grind. Heat oil, season with the mustard and urad dal and asafoetida and curry leaves, once spluttering stops add the onion, saute till it turns tranparent. Now add the cooked vegetables, saute till water dries up, then add the ground powder, saute for few more minutes. Now add the chopped tomato, mix, cover and cook for another five mins. This goes well with rotis or can even be had mixed with plain rice. 

Note

Can even add some dry or fresh coconut or peanuts while making the powder.

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Pasta in Roasted Veggie Sauce..a hit with my kid and his friends

Hi.

Making an interesting lunch box for children is an ever daunting task we all mothers have. We all know that the kids love eating junk food and snacks and will finish that easily  as compared to the meals and my kid is surely and easily one of them. So it’s always challenging and interesting to innovate dishes which appear fast food but still are very healthy.

 

There are times when the vegetables go unused and show signs of aging on the skin, especially the delicate ones like the capsicum. I’m surely not one of them who will get intimidated by such things, I always take it up as a challenge and come up with something more interesting by using them wisely.  On one such  occasion I roasted them to make an interesting sauce and brought them to good use and using the sauce and with a few additional vegetables, made a pasta. The kid surely loved it but more than him his school friends freaked out, and it became an ‘ON DEMAND’ item. Then on, I started making the sauce frequently and once in two weeks I would give the pasta in his lunch box. I always use durum wheat pasta as it’s much more healthier to eat and digest.

Pasta made this way ensured a good intake of vegetables by the kid and he was happy that he could eat fast food in school, his palate was pampered and satiated. I was more than happy as the kid was satisfied eating his lunch box and was eating a diet rich in fibre and minerals.

Ingredients

(serves 1)

For Roasted Veggie Sauce

1 red capsicum

1 green capsicum

6-7 shallots

2-3 green chillies

2 garlic pods

14-15 cherry tomatoes

For cooking

3/4 cup dry pasta

1/2 yellow capsicum, sliced

3-4 florets of broccoli chopped

3-4 cherry tomatoes, halved

1tsp oregano

1tbsp butter

1tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

2tbsp grated cheese

 

Method

 

Chop all the vegetables and bake at 180C for half an hour or more  till the surface starts wilting and develops roast spots. Grind together using water. This makes about a cup and half of sauce. The sauce can be cooked in advance and be used as and when required.It can be frozen till then.

Boil about 3/4 cups of pasta in 4-5cups of water with  2tsp salt and 1tsp oil. Cook pasta al dente and  immediately strain and pour cold water on it to prevent further cooking.

Heat oil and butter together and sauté the broccoli and cheery tomatoes.

Put oregano and add the yellow capsicum. Do not overcook the veggies.

Mix in about 1-1/4cups (about 2handfuls) of boiled pasta (I used fusilli) and toss in the oil and veggies.

Mix  about 9-10tsp of  roasted veggie sauce and mix in a little salt.

Add the grated cheese (I used tomato flavoured cheddar) and mix. Serve hot. Garnish with sliced yellow capsicum and cherry tomatoes.

Sending it to Vardhini’s New U

Priya Mahadevan’s event guest hosted by Priya Sreeram

Indrani’s

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