Whole Green Gram And Potato Curry

          Whole Green Gram also known as whole moong beans is even more nutritious than the split, husked moong dal since it has more fiber from the skin which is not removed. It finds its way in a variety of dishes in the Indian cuisine, from a simple dal to the delicious pesarattu ( a crepe made from ground moong beans). I always have a stock of it in my pantry, and it doesn't require any soaking. Whole green gram and potatoes go very well together, and the best part of today's dish, everything is done in one pot, the pressure pan, so less cleaning later. It goes well with both rice and rotis..

Need To Have

• Whole Green Gram - 1 cup
• Potatoes - 4 medium diced
• Tomato - 1 chopped
• Tomato Puree - 5 tablespoons
• Chilli Powder - 1 + 1/2 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 10

Method
          Wash the green gram. Heat some oil, add the mustard and the cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering, reduce the heat, add the asafoetida, turmeric and chilli powders, mix and then add the curry leaves. Then add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree, saute for 3 to 5 minutes. Finally add the potatoes and the moong beans and 4 to 5 cups water, Cover and pressure cook it for 13 mins.Let the pressure settle down, remove and serve it with rotis, rice or even with plain bread.
Sending it to Cuisine Delights for the Spotlight - Curries/Gravies event.

Note
This dish gets all its flavors from the curry leaves and the chilli and turmeric powders added directly to the oil.
If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak the beans overnight and cook, it'll take less time to cook.
You can also saute some ginger and garlic along with the mustard and cumin seeds for more flavor.
Can cook the beans and potato first and then add the sauteed spices and tomatoes to it, mix and serve.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

‘Only’ Event For July & A Cookbook Giveaway

Hi All!

The month of July brings in monsoon, that means rains, overflowing canals and rivers, streets filled with water, clothes not drying, cloudy days and so on..Monsoon also demands frying fritters, eating chaat and sipping hot tea. But with all the water around it causes a lot of germs to grow and here’s when one needs to eat and live healthy to shove away the diseases. Hence, I thought of heating up our kitchen using the microwave. Yes, you got me correct, this month’s ONLY theme is Microwave Cooking.

A microwave oven, or simply a microwave, is a kitchen appliance that cooks or heats food by dielectric heating. This is accomplished by using microwave radiation to heat water and other polarized molecules within the food. There’s always a debate on how safe microwave cooking is or whether nutritional value of food diminishes by cooking in microwave..and I’ll not get into that. It is definitely one’s personal choice. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve found microwave cooking very useful and have never faced any health concerned problems because of that.

I’ve found microwave cooking a fast, low oil cooking method. There are some important things to be taken care of while using a microwave..

•  Cover and cook so that the bacteria is killed.
•  Mix the food half way through cooking or heating.
•  After the microwave stops, let the food sit as it, as it will still be cooking under heat, like in a pressure cooker.
•  Use microwave safe vessels and do not use plastics that may melt if used. The harmful substances in plastic may leak into the food.
•  Cook vegetables until just done (not overcooked) to retain nutritive value.
• Avoid cooking shelled eggs in a microwave as they tend to explode.

For a detailed read on microwave cooking read here and here.
Please make a note that, we are going to focus largely on the 'Microwave'feature of the Microwave oven. Grill and Oven can also be used.


So send me your vegetarian  entries before 1st August. There’s a giveaway cookbook called, Microwave Recipes, new edition, authored by Tarla Dalal and is sponsored by www.tarladalal.com.

The winner of the giveaway will be selected from the Indian Entries only as the book gets shipped only in India. However, anyone, who can provide an address in India can add their entries to Indian entries linky. The book is given only to the followers of my blog.

Rules of the event

• The event runs through the month of July.
• There are two linky tools, one for India and the second for ‘Other Countries’. Post your entry in any one of the linkys.
• Only Vegetarian entries accepted, however, eggs are allowed.
• Link your post to this event announcement page.
• Use of logo is mandatory, as it gives a clear visual message and thus helps spread the word.
• Any number of fresh entries can be sent but only two entries from the archives are allowed. For archived entry, please repost the archived link in one of your current month’s post.
  
  In case you have a difficulty linking up, please mail me your entry to cookingoodfood@gmail.com and I will do the needful.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Zucchini Stir Fry

          This is yet another simple yet tasty curry, anyone can make this, and zucchini being a vegetable that cooks faster and can be easily chopped, it's one of my favorite curry too. It goes very well with rotis, can use it as a filling for a sandwich or even as a side dish with rice and dal..

Need To Have

• Zucchinis - 6 medium ones
• Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5 to 10 leaves

Method
          Chop the zucchini into 1" cubes. Heat some oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds, when they start spluttering, remove the pan from the stove and add the asafoetida, turmeric and chilli powder, give it a mix. Put it back on the stove and add the curry leaves and the zucchini. Mix well, cover and cook for 3 mins on medium heat. Then remove the lid and cook it on high for few more minutes till almost dry.

Note
Remove the pan from the stove when you add the powders or reduce the heat, you don't want to burn the powders.
You can also add 1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin powder for more flavor.
Don't overcook the vegetable, it will become a mushy mess.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

A Delicious Cucumber & Tomato Raita, With a Simple Twist, Step Wise

 

Hi All!

I had promised myself that I’ll blog more regularly, I mean 2-3 posts a week and I was working towards it until I picked a novel to read. Yes,  a novel by Danielle Steel was the culprit behind me not posting or reading any other blogs. I’m addicted to reading and that’s the reason I avoid it many a times, as I can disappear into the book for hours without eating, sleeping or doing any other activity. Any free time available will go towards the book, till it gets over. I can miss out watching my favorite serials on the TV too when it comes to reading a good book!!!

Anyways, today I finished reading the book and I quickly cooked a Tofu pilaf and made some boondi raita for the dinner. While making the boondi raita I suddenly remembered that I did not post my favorite Cucumber and Tomato Raita till date. Now, one would ask me what’s the big deal in making this raita? My answer to that is, Wait till you try this one.. Believe me, it’s different!!!

I love the color of this raita and definitely the taste and flavor. It can make a simple meal quite happening by it’s mere presence. I make this quite frequently as a side dish for pilafs and parathas. It has a South Indian flavor and has a few ingredients cooked and others raw. Chill the raita and serve it as a side dish with hot accompaniments.

Cucumber & Tomato Raita

Preparation Time:5mins

Cooling Time:5mins

Cooking Time:5mins

Serves:4

To be served chilled

 

Ingredients

1 English Cucumber, finely chopped

2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped

3 dry red chilies

a pinch of turmeric

1/4tsp mustard seeds

1/2tsp cumin seeds

3-4seeds of fenugreek

salt to taste

5-6 curry leaves

1cup curds

1/2tsp sugar

2tsp oil

For tempering

2tsp oil

1/2tsp mustard seeds

1tbsp urad-chana daal

5-6curry leaves

Method

Heat 2tsp oil in a pan and add cumin, mustard, red chilies and curry leaves.

Add tomatoes, turmeric and salt to taste. Cook till mushy.

Cool the tomatoes and grind to a paste.

Beat the curds with sugar and salt to taste. Mix the tomato paste in that.

In a bowl take the chopped cucumber. Pour the curds with tomato paste over it, mix.

Make the tempering using the ingredients given under the heading ‘for tempering’. Pour it over the raita. Chill and serve.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Watermelonade

         Adding a little lemon juice to many fruit juices gives a nice taste to the juice, in fact it is way of increasing the sweetness of a juice without actually adding more sugar. But for today's watermelonade, I didn't add lemon juice to the watermelon juice, instead I added some frozen water melon cubes to the regular lemonade, this made it more interesting..

Need To Have 

• Watermelon Pieces - 1 cup
• Lemon -1 
• Sugar - as desired
• Water - 1 to 2 cups

Method
         Blend the watermelon pieces in a blender to get the juice, you can use this juice just like that or strain and use it. Pour the juice into ice cube trays and freeze them. Then squeeze the lemon juice, add the water and the sugar, mix well and chill it. To serve, pour the lemonade, top with the watermelon cubes, the dissolving watermelon cubes will start making the lemonade pink

Note
I didn't add any sugar to the watermelon cubes, it was sweet enough, if needed add some sugar.
Also you can add some ginger while blending the watermelon, this will give a nice kick to the drink.
Increase or decrease the amount of water for the lemonade, depending on the sourness of the lemon.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Vegan Orange Cranberry Cake

         The first time, I tried baking a vegan bake, it didn't come out well, was too dense to be called a cake. This was my second attempt, orange cranberry cake and was I satisfied, absolutely, it was the perfect cake, got the beautiful texture. Very simple to make, you can have it either as a simple tea cake or do some frosting and have it as a delicious dessert, whichever way, you'll be completely satisfied..

Need To Have

• All Purpose Flour - 1 + 1/4 cup
• Sugar - 1/2 cup
• Dried Cranberries - 1/4 cup
• Fresh Orange Juice - 3/4 cup
• Oil - 1/4 cup
• Baking Soda - 1 teaspoon
• Baking Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Vanilla Extract - 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - 1/8 teaspoon

Method 
         Preheat the oven to 350F. Sift the flour with the baking powder and baking soda. Mix the cranberries with a little amount of the sifted flour ( so that they do not sink to the bottom of the cake while baking). Beat the orange juice, oil, vanilla extract and the sugar, to this add the salt and the sifted flour ( a little at a time) and mix well. Finally fold in the cranberries. Pour into a greased baking dish and bake it for 25 minutes. Cool and remove the cake. I used a square pan, sliced the cake and dusted some confectioners sugar on top.
Sending it to Tickling Palates for the I Love Baking event and
                to Daily Cuppa for Vardhini's Bake Fest event.

Note
Oven temperatures vary and also depending on the baking pan the baking time could vary, so keep an eye.
Cool the cake well before removing (I removed it before it cooled completely and a little bit of the cake(in the center) stuck to the pan.
You can place a paper stencil in the center of the cake and then dust the sugar to make it a little more prettier.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Rice Kheer (Pudding)

          Rice kheer is one of the few Indian desserts that my daughter likes, she likes it the way it's done in a nearby Indian restaurant (back in the US). I had wanted to make this at home but had been putting it off, thinking that it would be a very time consuming task. But then, I made it for her, last month on her birthday, it came out very well and I was wrong, it was not at all difficult to make. I would definitely do this again and again..

Need To Have

• Basmati Rice - 1/2 cup
• Milk - 4 cups
• Sugar - 6 tablespoons
• Cardamom - 3 crushed

Method
          Wash and cook the basmati rice in the 4 cups of milk. Once it starts boiling, reduce the heat and cook till the rice is cooked well, stirring in between so that it doesn't stick to the bottom of the vessel. When the rice is cooked completely, mash it slightly and switch off the stove. Now, add the sugar and the cardamom powder and mix it well. Serve it chilled. See to that the final consistency is not too thick, add little more milk or some water if needed, so that it does not become a thick mass after you refrigerate it.

Note
You can use slightly broken rice for this, so you need not mash at the end.
Important, that you add the sugar after switching off the stove, otherwise, you will not get the pure white color, it will become a light cream color, if sugar gets cooked.
Use a heavy bottom vessel like a pressure pan.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Maavinkaayi Touvve...a Lentil Preparation From Karnataka

Hi all!!

This is a very tasty and traditional preparation from Karnataka, which is very commonly seen in summers on any festive occasion, when the complete spread of food is served on a banana leaf. During my recent visit to S’s hometown, where I attended my nephew’s thread ceremony, in one of the elaborate meals, this version of touvve was also served.

Touvve is nothing but a thick daal which is tempered with mustard seeds and Bengal gram. The addition of the word Maavinkaayi to the Touvve simply indicates the addition of raw mango to the cooked lentils. The raw mango adds a nice tang to the preparation.

S, loves the touvve and so do I. A regular daal when is served thick tastes much better and the best example to that is the touvve.

The city where I live in, getting raw mango with a good sourness is a tedious task. What’s usually seen is the ‘Totapari’ Mango. On one such rare occasion, I got hold of really sour raw mango and I decided to make Panha, green chutney and the touvve. My kids love the sour taste and they had a great feast eating these simple delicacies using the raw mango…

While making the touvve the lentils after cooking are not completely mashed and the grainy texture is retained, however, I had completely mashed my lentils, but I can assure you, there was no compromise on the taste!!! S, loved the preparation to the core and finished a bowl of it without any rice or chapati.

Maavinkaayi Touvve

Preparation Time:10mins

Cooking Time:30mins

Serves:4

 

Ingredients

1 cup Grated raw mango (adjust as per the sourness)

6-7green chilies,finely chopped

1/4tsp fenugreek seed/ methi dana

2-1/2cups cooked pigeon peas/ toor daal

1/2tsp turmeric pwd

2-3tbsp bengal gram/chana dal

2tsp chopped coriander stem

a pinch of heeng /asafoetida (optional)

4-5tbsp oil

1tsp mustard seeds

salt to taste

Method

Heat oil and splutter mustard seeds.

Reduce the flame and add the fenugreek seeds and Bengal gram, else they burn easily. Once the color deepens, add the green chilies and heeng.

Add the raw mango and saute.

Add the cooked lentils,turmeric and adjust the consistency with water. This preparation is a semi dry version.

Add coriander stem  and cook. Season with salt.

Serve hot with rice or chapati.

Sending it to my event ‘Only’ Mango, guest hosted by Anu.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cabbage Rice

          With all the initial settling down process, I've not been able to do a post or visit my blogger friends regularly, might be in another couple of days, will be able to do so. This is one other dish that I had made earlier, cabbage rice. The main ingredient is of course cabbage, with some fresh ground masala, a very flavorful and tasty one pot meal..

Need To Have

• Basmati Rice - 2 cups
• Shredded Cabbage - 6 cups
• Capsicum - 1 big chopped
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Black Gram Or Urad Dal - 1 tablespoon
• Curry Leaves - a handful to garnish

To Powder

• Roasted Peanuts - 3 tablespoons
• Coriander Seeds - 1 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Sesame Seeds - 1 teaspoon
• Chana Dal - 1 tablespoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Dried Red Chillies - 5

Method
          Cook the basmati rice and cool it. Roast all the ingredients given under 'to powder' and grind it with the roasted peanuts into a coarse powder. Heat some oil, add the mustard and cumin seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the urad dal, fry till it turns golden. Now add the cabbage, capsicum and salt, cover and cook till done, now add the curry leaves and the ground masala and mix it well. Reduce the heat to minimum, add the cooked rice and mix it well till slightly warm. Serve it with some pappads or chips and any raitha.

Note
Do not overcook the vegetable, the cabbage should have a slight crunch.
Chana Dal is split black chickpeas without the skin.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Soft Mango Ice Cream With Tucmaria & Menthol Sauce

 

Hi All!

Let me start by thanking all of you for appreciating my previous post, Braided Corn and Coriander Puff. I’m glad to tell you that this post got the highest number of hits till date, on the first day of posting, here on Foodelicious.

Everyone in India is thoroughly enjoying the mango season and I’m no exception. I have made use of mango in various ways like chutney, panha, milkshake and so on.. Recently I got hold of very good quality Alphonso mango and  decided to make Ice Cream. I made a very basic Ice Cream using the condensed milk. The condensed milk provides good flavor, thickness, creaminess and volume to the Ice Cream.

To go along with the Ice cream, I made a Tucmaria and Menthol sauce. Tucmaria or Subja are seeds of holy basil. These seeds do not have a flavor of their own but are good digestive in this heat. I added menthol extract to add the cooling flavor to the sauce. The menthol itself is very good in this heat at the same time it reduces throat irritation.

 

This particular method of making ice cream is very quick, does not require the use of heat or any form of cooking. It’s slightly lower in calories as compared to regular ice creams, since toned milk is used. The only difficulty I faced was clicking the pictures as it was very hot and the ice cream was melting.

The ice cream turned out soft and creamy with a smooth texture. My kids and S said that it’s better than any market ice cream.The Ice-cream and sauce make a good combination. The mango ice cream with the subtle cool effect of menthol and the digestive properties of subja  is something worth trying in this heat..

Mango Ice Cream With Menthol & Subja Sauce

 

Preparation Time:10mins

Making Time: 30mins

Freezing Time: 2hrs

Serves:6

 

Ingredients For Mango Ice Cream Mix

1cup milk (toned)

1/5cup  condensed milk

1-1/2cup alphonso crushed

1-1/2tsp sugar

Ingredients for Subja Sauce

2tsp Subja

a very small crystal of menthol

corn starch slurry

1-1/2cup water

3-4tsp sugar

Method Of making Ice Cream Mix

Dissolve sugar in the milk.

Blend the fresh Alphonso crush to remove any lumps.

Add condensed milk and and milk to it and mix to make a smooth mixture.

If using an ice cream maker, transfer at this stage into the machine for half an hour and then freeze for 2hrs else remove in a plastic air tight container, freeze for 2hrs and then run the hand blender into the ice cream to remove any ice formed and cream the ice cream. Repeat this process 3-4 times and then freeze for 8hrs before serving. (I used the ice cream maker)

Remove the ice cream from the freezer 10mins before serving. Scoop the ice cream and pour the sauce over it.

Method of Making Subja Sauce

Wash the subja and soak it in 1/2cup water for 2hrs. The seed will bloom.

Transfer it into 1more cup water and put the container on fire. Add the sugar and stir. Gradually add the cornstarch slurry, it takes 2-3spoons of thin slurry.

When the sauce cools down, add the menthol and mix. Menthol has peppermint oil which is quite volatile so add it only in a cooled sauce.

Use it with ice cream and desserts. This sauce stays good for 15-20 days, if refrigerated.

Sending it to my event ‘Only’ Mango, guest hosted by Anu.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad