Mushrooms & Peas Kurma

          Most of the days during the week, we have rotis or chappathis for dinner, and I have to come up with some side dish using any vegetable that's in hand. I had bought this pack of button mushrooms the previous day, I like to cook them when they are fresh and white and  since it's been a long time that I had cooked any kind of kurma, I made this one with the mushrooms. To add some color to the dish, I threw in some fresh green peas, the result was very satisfying, this goes well with any kind of bread or any pilaf or briyani..

Need To Have
Button Mushrooms - 200 gms, diced
Fresh Or Frozen Green Peas - 1/4 cup
Onion - 1 small chopped
Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
Cinnamon - 1" piece
Curry Leaves - 10
Coriander Leaves - to garnish

To Grind
Onion - 1 small
Tomato - 1
Grated Coconut - 1 + 1/2 tablespoon
Cashews - 4
Fennel Seeds - 1 teaspoon
Grated Ginger - 1 tablespoon
Garlic - 5 cloves
Red Chilly Powder - 3/4 teaspoon

Method
          Grind together all the ingredients given under to grind.

          Heat some oil, add the cinnamon piece, when it sizzles, add the chopped onion, saute till it turns pink. Then add the ground paste and turmeric powder and saute for about 5 minutes till the raw smell of onion, garlic and ginger goes away.

          Now add the mushrooms, mix and cook for 5 minutes, then add the green peas and the curry leaves, cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove, garnish with the coriander leaves and serve it warm with rotis or rice.

Note
While sauteing the ground paste, if it sticks to the pan sprinkle some water and continue sauteing.
Can cook the green peas separately in the microwave and add it at the end to maintain its bright green color.
You can add more coconut to the paste to have a more rich kurma, I have limited it for a healthier version, but it still tasted good.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Puffed Rice With Boiled Peanuts

          Anybody who has been to Indian beaches would be familiar with some kind of snack with Puffed rice.  I came across this one in Chennai, my daughter and niece, both wanted to have it, I was very reluctant to buy it for the fear of falling sick after having it. But finally got a single packet and shared among ourselves ( thinking, that the less we have, the lesser chance of food poisoning, well, nothing happened, we are all fine). I took a mental note of the ingredients and made it at home whenever we felt like having it. The snack itself is a very healthy one, no deep frying and a nice way of making kids have their veggies. Yeah, we add shredded cabbage in this, try it, I am sure you'll love it..

Need To Have

• Puffed Rice - 1 + 1/2 cup
• Boiled Peanuts - 1 cup
• Finely Shredded Cabbage - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 small chopped
• Red Onion - 1 small chopped
• Chopped Coriander - 2 tablespoons
• Red Chilly Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Lemon Juice - 2 teaspoons
• Salt - to taste

Method

       
          Mix in the peanuts, cabbage, onion, tomato and chopped coriander.

          Lastly add the salt, chilly powder, lemon juice and the puffed rice, give one final mix and serve immediately.

Note
You get dried peanuts throughout the year, pressure cook them with salt and little water (time needed to cook is 3/4 the time needed to cook rice), drain excess water and use, peanuts should have a slight crunch, not soft and mushy.
Feel free to play with the ingredients, add more or less as per your taste.
Some variations, can add chopped raw mangoes, grated carrot, coconut and some roasted cashews.
Make small batches and serve immediately, otherwise it'll turn soggy.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Keerai Masial (Mashed Spinach)

          Keerai Masial or Mashed Spinach, this is a very easy and healthy dish, and a favorite in my home. It's literally fat free, not even a drop of oil is used but still tastes really good. I have used sirukeerai ( a type of greens) available in India but you can do this with regular spinach too. Everybody has their own way of doing this masial, even I do it a couple of different ways, give this a try if you like the flavors of pepper and garlic..

Need To Have

• Keerai Or Spinach - 1 big bunch
• Garlic - 5 cloves, chopped
• Tuvar dal - 2 tablespoons
• Black Pepper - coarsely ground, 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt - to taste

Method
          Clean the keerai and wash it well, no need to chop them. Pressure cook the tuvar dal.

          Cook the keerai ( spinach) with the garlic, salt and a little water ( about 1/4 cup). Once the spinach is cooked, add the tuvar dal and the pepper powder, mix and switch off the stove. Cool and take it in a blender, pulse it a couple of times, do not grind it into a paste, there should be some texture. Remove and serve it with rice.

Note
I have chopped the garlic and coarsely ground the pepper before adding it to the spinach, so that I need not grind it longer later and end up with a spinach paste.
Do not overcook the spinach, it'll loose it's nice green color, you can cook it without covering it with a lid.
Traditionally we use a clay pot and a wooden masher to do this instead of the electric blender, and it tastes definitely even better that way.
If there is a lot of water after the spinach is cooked, let it evaporate a little before adding the dal, the final dish should have a spooning consistency. If you want to have this as a soup, then you can have it watery, adjust  the salt and pepper.
Tuvar dal is split pigeon peas.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

On A Blogging Break

 

 

This is just to inform my readers and friends that I'm travelling this month and hence on a blogging break till the end of this month. I will come back with a post on my travelogue..

Till then, see you.. and a Happy Navaratri & Vijayadashami.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Cauliflower Masala

          Cauliflower, I love this vegetable in any form, but my daughter, like many others can have this only in the manchurian or pakora form, now, I love them too but both the dishes are deep fried. Cauliflower Masala, well I gave it a name, I've tasted something similar to this long time back and I've tried reproducing it in my kitchen. It was a definite hit, tasted awesome, my daughter loved it so much. She had it with rotis for dinner and the next day, she had it just like that, as a snack, I should say, an healthy alternative to the manchurian and pakoras, give this a try, you'll love it..

Need To Have

• Cauliflower - 1 small
• Onions - 3 medium chopped finely
• Tomatoes - 3 medium chopped
• Grated Ginger - 1 tablespoon
• Red Chilly Powder - 1 teaspoon
• Turmeric Powder - 1/4 teaspoon
• Garam Masala - 1/2 teaspoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Chopped Coriander - 1/4 cup

Roast & Grind

• Coriander Seeds - 1/2 tablespoon
• Cumin Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon

Method

          Break big pieces of the cauliflower, wash well and then add to boiling water with salt, switch off and leave for 5 minutes, this way the cauliflower is cleaned well. Roast and grind ( coarsely pound) the given 2 ingredients. 

            Heat some oil, add the cumin seeds, when it starts sizzling, add the onions, saute till it turns pink, for 2 minutes. Then add the tomatoes, mix, then add the turmeric and chilly powder, the ground coriander-cumin powder and salt. Keep sauteing for another 3 to 5 minutes, till it is thick and looses all the raw smell. 

          Now add the cauliflower pieces and the grated ginger, mix, sprinkle some water, cover and cook till the cauliflower is done. Keep mixing in between and if it starts sticking to the pan, sprinkle some more water. Finally add the garam masala and the chopped coriander, mix and serve with rotis or even as an appetizer.

Note

If the cauliflower variety cooks faster (like in the US) be careful with the water, the cauliflower available in India, needs a few sprinkles of water.

But do not add all the water at one time, add as needed.

To serve, place a piece of cauliflower and then top it with the masala, this is a semi-dry dish.

Freshly roasted and pounded ( I use the mortar and pestle) coriander and cumin seeds has a nice flavor that's absent in the store bought powders. 

You can use big chunks of frozen cauliflower also for making this dish.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Chickpeas (Chana) Sundal

          Sundal, everybody from the southern part of India would be very familiar with it, there are a couple of festivals for which we make different varieties of it, especially during Navarathiri. It's one of the healthy snacks recommended for kids and adults including diabetics, a good source of protein and fiber, and very filling. I made this sundal with chickpeas on Ganesh Chaturthi, used the darker variety which is supposed to have more fiber content than its white counterpart. This is a basic sundal recipe, which goes well with most of the other bean varieties too..

Need To Have

• Chickpeas ( Dark One) - 1 cup
• Mustard Seeds - 1/2 teaspoon
• Curry Leaves - 15
• Asafoetida - 1/4 teaspoon
• Grated Coconut - 1 tablespoon

Method
         Soak the chickpeas overnight or at least for 12 hours and pressure cook it ( same time as for rice). Drain the excess water and keep.

          Heat some oil, add the mustard seeds, once it starts spluttering add the asafoetida and the curry leaves. After a few seconds, add the cooked chickpeas and salt, mix well.

          Lastly add the coconut and give one final mix, remove and serve warm.

Note
The chickpeas should be cooked well, the dark variety of chickpeas takes a little longer to cook compared to the light colored ones, you can use them too.
You can use the drained water in other curries or soups.
You can add a slit green chilli or a dried red chilly (broken into two) along with the asafoetida, before adding the curry leaves for a little spiciness.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Parc Naturel Marin

Diaporama projeté lors d'une réunion le 1 er septembre 2012 à Andernos les Bains.

Pour le consulter , cliquer sur le titre.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad