Carrot Raitha

          Raitha is a must in my home, whenever I make parathas or briyanis, even otherwise my daughter  loves to have cucumber raitha just like that. We can make it with almost all vegetables and it's a healthy accompaniment to any meal. For today's raitha, I have used grated carrots and chopped tomatoes, very simple to make and the extra flavor comes from the seasoning..

Need To Have

• Carrot - 1 cup grated
• Tomato - 1 medium, chopped
• Grated Ginger - 2 teaspoons
• Coriander - 1 tablespoon, chopped
• Curd/ Yogurt - 1 cup
• Green chilli - 1, deseeded  and chopped finely
• Nigella seeds/ Onion seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Take the grated carrots, ginger, tomatoes and coriander in a bowl. Add the curd and salt and mix well.

          Heat some oil, add the nigella seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the chopped green chilli, stir for a few seconds and mix it with the carrot and curd mixture.

Note
Can add 2 teaspoons of grated coconut, if you don't like or don't have nigella or onion seeds, you can do the seasoning with black mustard seeds, but onion seeds definitely gives a different flavor to this raitha. 

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Tomato Raitha/ Tomato With Yogurt And Spices

          Enjoying our stay here in the US, especially my daughter, she's having a nice time, visiting her friends and cousins. Now then, when we go back to India after a month, it's going to be again, ''oh I miss this and that and that " for sometime. Coming to today's post, since I am not cooking here, it's also from draft, a very simple and delicious raitha with tomatoes, just, the way I made it is slightly different. This goes very well with parathas, pilafs, or I can have it just like that, try it, am sure you'll like it..

Need To Have

• Tomatoes - 2, medium
• Yogurt/ curd - 6 tablespoons
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal/ Husked Black Gram - 1 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/8 teaspoon
• Green Chilly - 1, chopped
• Curry Leaves - 5

Method

          Boil water and add the tomatoes to the boiling water, keep cooking till you see the skin splitting on the tomatoes. Remove, cool, peel the skin, mash it well and keep.

          Mix in the grated ginger and yogurt with the mashed tomatoes. Heat some oil, add the urad dal, mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, followed by the green chilly and curry leaves. Saute for a minute and add it to tomato-curd mixture and serve.

Note
Use nice ripe tomatoes for this, otherwise it'll take a very long time for the skin to split when boiling in hot water.
If you want to use crushed or peeled can tomatoes, cook it a little and then proceed, otherwise it'll have a raw smell. 

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Sliced Cucumbers With Pepper And Cumin/ Cucumber Salad

          After doing a long post on Tiramisu, I thought I'll keep this one simple and short, well the recipe ( if you can call this as one) is also very simple, Sliced Cucumbers With Pepper And Cumin. This is a perfect accompaniment to any meal, or also, a healthy snack for hot summers, very mildly spiced and refreshing with a slight hint of lemon..

Need To Have

• Cucumbers - sliced
• Black Pepper Powder
• Roasted Cumin Powder
• Red Chilly Powder/ Paprika
• Lemon Juice
• Salt

Method
          Well, as you can see, I have not given any measurements for the ingredients, because I think it's individual preference, adding more or less of any ingredient. Take the cucumber slices, sprinkle some black pepper powder, chilly powder and roasted cumin powder and salt. Add a dash of lemon juice and you are ready to go.

Note
I prefer the seedless cucumbers for this, but it's up to you.
Add the spices and salt just before serving.
For roasted cumin powder, roast the cumin seeds slightly, then powder it.

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Cucumber Raitha/ Cucumber With Curds

          Cucumber Raitha, this is the most common raitha that's served with Briyanis and Pilafs. Very simple to put together with grated cucumber and curds, so refreshing especially in this hot Indian summer. My daughter just loves this, another reason, I make this very often..

Need To Have

• Grated Cucumber - 1/4 cup
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Curd/ Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          There's no big procedure, just mix everything together and serve it with your favorite rice or just have it as such, like my daughter.

Note
The ginger gives a nice flavor to the raitha, leave it only if you don't like it, you can also add some chopped green chillies and tomatoes to this.

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Grilled Corn Salad

          Everybody at home likes fresh corn, so when I see them in the market, can't resist myself from picking some. I usually boil it or grill it directly on stove top, both ways they taste very good. But the problem with corn on the cob, is the fiber that gets stuck in the tooth and if you are wearing braces, then it's a big 'No'. So I thought of using the grilled corn in a salad along with other vegetables and made a mint-ginger dressing to go with it. It turned out really good, you can also add some cooked pasta to it and make it a complete meal..

Need To Have
Fresh Corn - 1
Capsicum - 1/4 cup, chopped
Cucumber - 1/2 cup, peeled and chopped
Tomato - 1/4 cup, chopped

For The Dressing

• Olive Oil - 1/2 teaspoon
• Honey - 1/2 teaspoon
• Lemon Juice - 1 tablespoon
• Finely Chopped Mint - 1 tablespoon
• Grated Ginger - 1 teaspoon
• Black Pepper Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Grill the corn on stove top, as shown or on a outdoor or indoor grill. Slice the grilled corn kernels off the cob using a knife or a corn peeler, it came to about 1 cup. Mix the corn with all the other chopped vegetables. Mix together all the ingredients given for the salad dressing. Add it to the vegetables and serve.

Note
This salad tastes equally good when had at room temperature or chilled.
Add the salad dressing just before serving, the cucumber and the tomatoes will ooze out water.

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Vazhaithandu Thayir Pachadi/ Banana Stem With Yogurt

          Vazhaithandu/ Banana Stem, this is one of the vegetables that I missed back in the US. Though we got raw bananas and banana flower, we never got this, so while visiting India, this used to be a delicacy for us. The vegetable, as such is very rich in fiber and is supposed to be good for kidney stones. I make a couple of dishes with it, one of them is this Thayir Pachadi, a very easy and healthy preparation. The cooking part is very simple, but preparing the vazhaithandu is what is more important. I have given the step by step pictures for preparing this vegetable for cooking. Try this out as part of a healthy meal when you get a chance to find this vegetable..

Need to Have

• Vazhaithandu - 11/2 cups, chopped
• Yogurt/ Curd - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 6 or 7

To Grind

• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon
• Chopped Ginger - 1/2 tablespoon
• Green Chillies - 2

Method

          The banana stem looks like a white log, with layers of rind surrounding the smooth interior, we can just make slits and remove the rinds easily, till you get a smooth log.

          Now slice it, after each slice, wipe and remove with your finger, the fiber that comes after each slice. Keep the slices immersed in water.

           Boil some water and cook the vazhaithandu pieces for just 5 minutes, drain and cool it.

          Grind all the ingredients given under 'to grind', adding some yogurt, don't add water.

          Add the ground paste to the vazhaithandu pieces, beat the yogurt and add, mix everything well along with some salt.

          Heat a little oil, add the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering add the asafoetida followed by the curry leaves, mix for a few seconds and switch off. Add it to the yogurt and vegetable mixture, mix and serve.

Note
You can prepare the vegetable the previous day, soak it to some thin buttermilk and refrigerate, adding buttermilk prevents the vegetable from changing its color.
Do not cook the vegetable for more than 5 minutes, it should have a light crunch to it.

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Taboule ( Couscous Salad )

          I am on a two weeks trip to the US, we haven't yet completely moved back to India. I was checking in the pantry for something that'll make up for a light lunch and found this box of whole wheat couscous. While checking the packet, I found the recipe for this salad ( Taboule) on it, and since I had all the ingredients in hand, went ahead and made it. Try it, it's so easy, ready in minutes and very healthy too..

Need To Have

• Couscous - 1/2 cup
• Capsicum - 3 tablespoons chopped
• Tomato - 1/2 chopped
• Onion - 1/2 small chopped
• Cooked Corn - 2 tablespoons
• Chopped Walnuts - 2 tablespoon
• Chopped Coriander - 2 tablespoons
• Lemon Juice - 3 tablespoons
• Olive Oil - 1 + 1/2 tablespoon
• Salt - to taste
• Ground Black Pepper - to taste

Method

          Take the couscous in a bowl, add 1/2 cup boiling water, the lemon juice and oil, mix, cover and leave for 10 to 15 minutes.

          Then fluff it with a fork, add the capsicum, tomatoes, onions, coriander, corn, walnuts, salt and pepper. Toss it all together and serve chilled ( keep in the refrigerator for 15 mins, I skipped this step, the salad was already cold).

Note
The original recipe called for 3 tablespoon of oil, which I felt was a little too much, so I reduced to one and a half tablespoon.
Also, there was no corn or walnuts in the original one, I added for the extra crunch.
And also the amount of boiling water added was only 1/4 cup, I added 1/2 cup, since I didn't want to eat undercooked couscous, and also I replaced parsley with coriander since I had that only in hand.

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Chickpeas (Chana) Raitha

          I have been a little busy the last few days, couldn't spend much time with my blog, and today's dish is also a very simple one. A simple raitha that would go well with any briyani or mixed rice, or if you are on a diet, this could be a complete meal by itself..

Need To Have

• Cooked Chickpeas - 1/2 cup
• Chopped Capsicum - 1/4 cup
• Chopped Tomatoes - 1/4 cup
• Curd Or Yogurt - 1/2 cup
• Salt - to taste

Method
          Beat the curd well, mix in the chickpeas, capsicum, tomatoes and salt, that's it. I have not added any other flavoring ingredients, this raitha gets all its flavor from the crunchy chopped capsicum (green pepper).

Note
You can also add some chopped green chillies if you want it a little spicy.
If you want some other flavor, then add some roasted cumin powder, personally I liked the flavor from the capsicum.

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Vendikkai Thayir Pachadi ( Okra With Yogurt )

          Well, today I am feeling a little lazy, might be it's the end of the week or the beginning of the weekend, whatever the reason, I have chosen a very easy dish today. A simple thayir pachadi or raitha and I love this particular one with vendikkai or okra or lady's finger, I like the ones that we get here in Chennai, they definitely justify the name lady's finger, so slim and long. It's so easy to prepare, serve it as side dish with rice or rotis or parathas..

Need to Have

• Diced Okra - 1 cup
• Curd Or Yogurt - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Or Black Gram Dal - 1/2 teaspoon
• Fenugreek Seeds - 1/8 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - a pinch
• Turmeric Powder - 1/8 teaspoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method

          Heat oil, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal, once it starts spluttering add the fenugreek seeds and the asafoetida followed by the chopped okra. Saute on reduced heat for about 5 mins, till the stickiness from the okra is gone.

         Then add the salt, turmeric and chilly powders, mix and cook till crisp and done. Cool, then mix in the curd and serve.

Note
Use a flat bottom pan, the okra will come out very crispy and crunchy, and let it turn black here and there, the raitha is more tasty that way.
Use chilly powder according to your taste, or you can add chopped green chillies along with the okra and fry till crispy, also you can add some fresh grated coconut to the raitha.
Do not let the fenugreek seeds turn black, it'll taste bitter.

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Chayote Raitha

          Chayote, also known as chow-chow or vegetable pear, belongs to the gourd family. It's used widely in Indian cooking, cooked either with lentils (dal or kootu) or as a curry or even in salads and raithas. Usually when I make parathas, I serve it with some raitha ( a vegetable and yogurt preparation) and some spicy pickle. Last week when I made beet-root parathas (recipe coming soon), I made this raitha with chayote,  it tasted delicious, a very simple dish that anybody can do..

Need To Have

• Chayote - 1 grated
• Green Chilly - 1 sliced lengthwise
• Mustard Seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
• Urad Dal (Black Gram) - 1/2 teaspoon
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 5 to 10
• Yogurt (Curd) - 1 cup

Method
          The grated chayote came to about one cup. Heat oil, add the urad dal and mustard seeds, when it starts spluttering, add the asafoetida, green chilly and curry leaves, followed by the grated chayote and salt. Saute well, till the vegetable is half cooked and becomes dry, remove and cool. Beat the yogurt slightly and add it to the vegetable and mix well. Serve it as a side to rotis or any pilaf or briyani.

Note
Can also add some chopped chillies at the end for extra spiciness.
Can also add some grated ginger while sauteing for extra flavor.      

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Black-Eyed Peas & Pineapple Salad

        With the hot weather outside, you don't feel like eating anything heavy, salads seem to be perfect for these days. I had some cooked black-eyed peas, made a salad with it along with some pineapple and cucumber, it is a very refreshing salad, wholesome enough for a light lunch..

Need To Have

• Cooked Black-Eyed Peas - 1/2 cup
• Chopped Cucumber - 1/2 cup
• Chopped Tomatoes - 1/4 cup
• Pineapple Pieces - 1/4 cup
• Lime Juice - 1/2 teaspoon 
• Chopped Coriander - 1 tablespoon
• Salt & Pepper - to taste

Method
          Mix together the black-eyed peas, cucumber, pineapples, tomatoes. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper and serve garnished with the coriander leaves.

Note
Serve it as a cold salad or even as a salsa or dip with some corn chips.
Can also add some chopped green chillies for more spiciness.

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Quinoa Salad

          After all the heavy festival and party food we'd been having, thought of doing something healthy with quinoa. Quinoa is a grain-like crop whose seeds are edible, it can be cooked like rice and can replace rice in many dishes, can read more about it on the web. We usually have it with sambar or any curry or even with plain curd. Today I just made a simple salad with it, making it a complete meal..

Need To Have

• Quinoa - 1/2 cup
• Sprouted Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 small
• Onion - 1 small chopped
• Capsicum or Green Pepper - 1/2 cup chopped
• Sweetened Cranberries - 1 tablespoon 
• Roasted Peanuts - 1 tablespoon
• Coriander Leaves - 1 tablespoon chopped
• Lemon - 1/2
• Pepper & Salt - to taste

Method

          Take the quinoa with 1 cup of water, when it is boiling, reduce heat and cook till done, cool it. Chop the onion and tomatoes. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil, add the onion, saute till transparent. You can add the sprouted moong dal as such or cook it for a few mins with little salt either in the microwave or on stove-top and add. To the cooked and cooled quinoa, add the sprouts, onion, tomato, capsicum, mix well, add salt and pepper, squeeze the lemon, give one final mix. Garnish with the peanuts, cranberries and coriander leaves, healthy and tasty salad is ready to serve.

Note
Can add chopped cucumber, lettuce ,celery, raisins and apricots.
If you don't find quinoa, can do the same salad with cracked wheat.
If you like garlic, can one chopped while sauteing the onion.

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