Healthy Baked Vegetable With Broccoli & Cauliflower

Hi!

Blogging has made me quite a passionate baker, whether it’s baking bread, cake or a vegetable, I surely get hooked. With winter hitting our bones in this part of India, cooking can be torturous at times especially when the tap water is at the freezing point, one does not feel like touching it.

I indulge in quick cooking using a lot of vegetables these days as I am surely overwhelmed looking at the variety available and one such vegetable surely is broccoli which has finally come to a rate where common man can buy it easily and use in abundance.

It was quite some time that my family had a baked vegetable so thought of making a baked vegetable using broccoli. A soup, garlic bread and baked vegetable was on the menu. I just loved the idea that my kids would eat so many vegetables.

I made a healthy white sauce to make my baked vegetable, I call this sauce healthy as I used low fat butter, whole wheat flour to make it. Believe me one does not miss out using APF here, I find this sauce quite tasty. I personally love the white sauce less thick, one can make a thicker version. So here goes the recipe..

Ingredients

1/2 large cauliflower separated into florets

1/2 large broccoli separated into florets

a handful of peas

handful of corn

2 tomatoes sliced

mozzarella + cheddar cheese grated

1/2 tsp mustard pwd

1/2 tsp white pepper pwd

1 tbsp chili flakes

1 tsp mixed herbs

4-6 tbsp whole wheat flour

6 tbsp low fat butter

about 2-1/2 cups toned milk

salt to taste

Method

Blanch both the florets in salted water for 2-3 minutes, drain.

Melt the butter and roast the flour without letting the colour change and then gradually add the milk, stirring continuously. Add the mustard powder, mixed herbs, pepper powder and chili flakes. Season with salt. Let the sauce thicken.

Mix the florets into the sauce and also add the peas and corn.

Transfer the contents into a baking dish and layer the top with tomato slices.

Spread the cheese on the top.

Bake it on 220C for 10-15 minutes or till the cheese melts.

Serve immediately.

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Elephant Foot Yam Kabab – Veg Shami Kabab

About 2-3 days back I got a call from Sangeeta from Banaras Ka Khana. We chit chatted for some time and then she asked me what are you cooking? I told her I am making Yam Kababs  and then we discussed about Yams. Yam is a term used generally to describe underground tuberous roots  of genus Dioscorea, many of which are edible. They are available in various shape, colour and size. Sangeeta mentioned that she has seen Yam as big as 2-3 feet long when she lived in Jharkhand. I have never seen those but surely would like to see them.

This particular Yam, that is the Elephant Foot yam,  whitespot giant arum or Stink lily, Amorphophallus paeoniifolius. In India it is grown mostly in Kerala, Orissa, Maharashtra and A.P. In India it is popularly known as Jimmikand or Suran or Chenna.

This picture I have taken is from Google Images. For more info on yam check here.

I tried making Kababs with them, and was happily surprised with the result. I used minimal oil for shallow frying. The Kababs had a nice crispy crust and  were very soft inside.

I had made them for dinner and had served them with oil toasted whole wheat bread, pudina dip and onions. Made a light but filling dinner for all of us.

Ingredients
500gms yam cut into cubes
5-6 garlic cloves
3-4 green chilies
an inch of ginger
a very small bunch of cilantro
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 tsp lemon juice
2-3 tsp cumin pwd
4 tsp coriander pwd
1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chili pwd
salt to taste
bread crumbs

Method

Oil  the hands and then peel and cut the yams (they can cause itching). Boil them in water added with turmeric till soft. Drain the water completely.

In a food processor put the cooked and cooled yam, ginger, garlic, coriander leaves, lemon juice, all spices and grind to a fine paste. Remove in a plate, adjust the salt and then gradually add bread crumbs till you get a binding texture.

Make 2inch flat Kababs and shallow fry in low oil on a medium flame till the outer crust is nicely crisp and golden brown in colour on either side. These are very delicate and need to be handled gently, especially while flipping.

A perfect veg version of  Shami Kabab.

Serve with pudina dip, raw onions and tava toasted bread. I already have a  demand from my younger one to make them again.

For the Pudina dip

3-4 tsp mint laves

an equal quantity cilantro leaves

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

2-3 green chilies

4-5 tbsp yogurt

salt to taste

Grind all the ingredients together. Adjust the consistency later with water.

Sending this to WYF : Light Meal hosted by EC at Simple Indian Food
and to
 Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.

Tips-

Add a sour agent like tamarind/ curds/ lime juice while cooking the yam, this helps remove the itching caused by the yam.

The Kababs can be used to make Burgers for kids. Just place in some lettuce and mayo in the burger buns along with the Kababs.

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Khatti Arbi / Arvi Ka Salan…Taro cooked in tangy Curry

 
What is Arbi?

Arbi or Taro Root is a is a starchy tuber of a widely cultivated tropical Asian plant (Colocasia esculenta) having broad leaves. It’s a vegetable  that looks like, and can be used similar to a potato. It does, however, have a hairy outer coating on its surface that is similar to the coating on a coconut. Because of this, when preparing to use a taro root, the root's outer skin must first be removed. This procedure is easy to do. However, some individual's can acquire a skin irritation towards the juices that are secreted by the taro root as its skin is being removed. Therefore, to be on the safe side, when peeling a taro root's skin, use protective rubber gloves or apply oil  to the hands.

Nutritional facts about Arbi

Taro roots or Arbi as it is known in India are extremely nutritious as they provide a good source of fiber, contain a high amount of protein, calcium, and phosphorus, and supply approximately 95 calories per adult serving. Another reason that the taro root has gained in popularity for cooking purposes is because its starch is easily digestible.

How to Use them in cooking

Taro roots can be used as an alternative to potatoes. They do, however, have somewhat of a nut-like flavor when cooked. Common uses for taro roots include frying, baking, roasting, boiling, or steaming them. They are also often used in soups or stews. Additionally, the vegetarians have found the cooked taro root to be a delicious addition to meals such as antipasto salads  that include endives, peppers, tomatoes, chicory, and fresh herbs. 

I have largely used them in making curries for the main course. In this post I am sharing another delectable curry made in Hyderabadi style. I had read this preparation in Chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s book and have modified it here and there to make it suitable for my kitchen. The resultant curry was wonderful and I personally liked it very much. If you like spicy and tangy curry, this is a good choice to make. This goes well with rice but I would like to eat this with Kerala Paratha. How much I miss those ..….

Ingredients For Salan

250-300gms colocasia/arvi/taro peeled and sliced

2 onions chopped finely

3 tomatoes chopped finely

1 green chili sliced

3 garlic pods crushed

a small piece ginger crushed

tsp red chili pwd

1 tsp coriander pwd

1/2 tsp turmeric pwd

1 tbsp tamarind pulp

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Method

Heat oil and add onions and saute till brown in color.

Add in ginger-garlic and saute further.

Now add the tomatoes, sliced chilies, salt and all the powders. Mix thoroughly and cook till the tomatoes are done.

Add the Arbi/Taro and mix properly. Adjust the consistency by adding water. Let the curry boil  covered on low flame till the Taro is completely cooked. Add tamarind pulp and mix just before it is removed from fire. I avoided adding the curry leaves to the Salan as I wanted just the basic  and minimum spices to it.

Serve hot with rice/ paratha.

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Crispy Colocasia

Hi friends!

In my attempt to make my day to day vegetables more interesting and to bring about a variation I tried this. This is a very simple to try preparation and goes very well with parathas or with some daal and rice.

The preparation hardly has an technicalities in it except that one has to take precaution that the colocasia is not overcooked. It’s a simple to try recipe made with minimum spices and to add more flavour it is cooked in mustard oil. For people who do not enjoy eating this oil, they could use any vegetable oil. It is a Jain recipe so uses no onion or garlic.

Ingredients

about 500-600gms Colocasia

mustard oil for cooking

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp asafetida

salt to taste

To be mixed together

2 tsp red chili pwd

3/4 tsp turmeric pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

1 tbsp amchoor pwd

1 tbsp cumin pwd

1/2 tsp rock salt

Method

Pressure cook the colocasia for one whistle, peel and keep aside. Flatten each piece of colocasia by pressing between the two palms.

Heat about 3-4 tbsp oil in  a flat pan and add the mustard seeds, followed by cumin and fennel. Add some asafetida.

Now arrange the flattened pieces in the pan and sprinkle some salt over it.

Spread half the spice mix on the top and then turn the pieces and cook on low flame till the bottom side turns crisp.Now spread the remaining spice mix over the colocasia and turn it again so that the other side can be cooked till crisp.

 

Once crisp from both the sides serve hot along with rice and lentils.

Sending it to Divya's 'Show me your curry' event.

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Vegetarian Crab Cake

Hi friends!

I am happy to tell you all, that I finally managed to make this dish which I had book marked in October’08 from Mansi’s space. I was attracted to this preparation by it’s name and when I read it, I was determined to try it and then I just postponed it and postponed it till today.  When I finally made it, I said to myself, YES, I DID IT!!!!

But as you all know I can not follow a recipe completely, so understanding from her space that zucchini is a good substitute to crab meat, gives a texture similar to the meat,  I went ahead to understand what exactly is a crab cake…

The wiki says that crab cake is an American dish composed of crab meat and various other ingredients like bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs, onions and seasonings. Occasionally other ingredients like radish or peppers are also added. Now, I do not know how an original crab cake tastes but I can  assure you surely that the vegan version does taste good.

I read a few other recipes and then understanding the concept and method concocted my own recipe. This cake is extremely delicate to handle and gives you a melt in mouth experience but at no cost this recipe is for beginners, as it needs very delicate handling of the cake, I feel like mentioning  the quote here “ extremely fragile, handle with care”. The cake can be grilled, baked, shallow fried…. is completely to your choice.

Let’s read the recipe..

Ingredients

Makes 8

about 3 cups grated zucchini ( I used 3 medium)

2 handful of instant potato flakes

4-5 tbsp fried onion

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/4 cup soya milk

3 tbsp aioli sauce or mayonnaise

3 tbsp green chili sauce

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

3-4 tbsp finely chopped capsicum

3 tbsp chili flakes

1 tsp white pepper pwd

salt to taste

APF flour for coating

Method

Squeeze out as much water possible from the zucchini.

Add fried onion, chopped onion and capsicum to it.

 

Add in the  aioli sauce, chili flakes, white pepper, chopped cilantro. I used aioli sauce but original crab cakes use mayonnaise and chili- garlic sauce but as aioli has garlic in it  I used plain chili sauce.

Mix and add green chili sauce, soya milk and salt to taste.

Mix and add instant potato flakes ( you can also use bread crumbs and potato flakes mix). I avoided using boiled potato and preferred the flakes as they absorb the excess moisture easily.

Mix thoroughly and make patties. Here, one must note that the mixture is not at all firm, as a matter of fact it’s quite wet, so needs to be handled carefully.

Wrap with a cling film and refrigerate for an hour, this helps in handling them  a little easily there after.

Dust them lightly with APF, remove the extra flour.

Shallow fry with a tsp of olive oil or butter on a low flame on either side. While flipping use two spatulas.

Serve hot with some salad or coleslaw,  with a dip of your choice.

These surely will make an extremely good starter for a formal dinner as they need fork and knife for eating them in  a delicate and sophisticated manner.
Sending it to to my event ‘Only’- Kids delight

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Restaurant Style Bhindi Do Pyaaza

Hi Friends.

We all crave to eat in restaurant once in a while and wish to make similar food at home. Whenever I like any dish I try to understand the flavors and ingredients gone into it and surely do some ‘Mind Cooking’ and then try making it at home. Many a times I am successful and sometimes I am not.

I had bhindi do pyaaza long time back in a restaurant and I loved it, now this was ages back but that flavor surely had set somewhere in my mind. Recently, I did some mind cooking with this preparation and then tried it in my kitchen and was quite happy with the end result. I was surely very close to what I had liked so thought of sharing it with all of you.

Bhindi or Lady’s Finger/Okra is a vegetable liked by many and this used to be my favorite vegetable during childhood days. During summer holidays when I used to visit my grandmother, she used to pluck fresh Okra from her garden everyday and cook it for me. Over a period of time I tried many other vegetables but Okra surely has a special place in my heart for all the fond memories associated with it.

So this recipe is surely an attraction for all Okra/Bhindi and spice lovers . As far as Do Pyaaza is concerned, Pyaaz means onion, so when the onion is used in a double quantity than normal it is called Do Pyaaza. So, bhindi do pyaaza is a version of Okra with lots of onions…

Ingredients

5 cups sliced okra

3 large onions sliced

1 small tomato

1/2-3/4 cup yogurt

3 green chilies chopped

2 tbsp poppy seed paste

3 tbsp ginger-garlic paste

a mix of ghee and oil for cooking

salt to taste

Spices-

1 tsp kashmiri mirch

1/2 tsp lal mirch

1/2  tsp turmeric pwd

2 tbsp coriander pwd

1 tsp cumin pwd

1 tsp tandoori masala

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2tsp amchoor pwd

1/2 tsp anardana pwd

Method

Heat oil and add ginger- garlic paste, saute it till the raw smell disappears.

Add the sliced onions and green chilies and saute till the onions get a light brownish color.

Add the sliced okra and salt to taste, cook till half done.

 

In the curds mix all spices.

Mix the spiced curds in the half done Okra. Keep the flame low.

 

Mix the poppy paste and cook the okra completely.

 

Add sliced tomatoes and mix thoroughly.

 

Serve hot with Ajwain paratha or Naan.

As you all know that I have started a new event series called “ONLY”. I am inviting fellow bloggers to host it. The details about the event and the themes of next few months are provided here, pls check it out and in case you are interested in hosting it email me to cookingoodfood@gmail.com

Sending it to Divya's 'Show me your curry' event.

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