Quinoa Upma/Pilaf

I'm on a healthy-eating spree! If you guys haven't tried quinoa yet, you are significantly missing out! It is a grain-like seed that can substitute any grain you use, and even rice. It is filled with lots of protein, and being the picky eater I am, even I love the taste of it :)

Quinoa upma is a fast go-to meal, filled with nutrients, that you can further add veggies as per your liking.

This recipe serves 4.

What you need:

• Quinoa - 1 cup
• Diced Mixed Veggies - 1 cup combined
• Favorites are carrots, potatoes, bell peppers, onions, corn, spinach
• Oil - 2 tbsp
• Mustard Seeds - 1tbsp
• Urad dal/ skinned black gram - 2 tbsp
• Turmeric powder - 1 tsp
• Serrano chili - 2
• Salt (as needed)

Method:

1. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, and when the splutter, add the urad dal.
2. When the dal begins to brown, add the chilis & veggies, and fry for 5 minutes or so.
3. Add salt & turmeric powder, followed by the quinoa.
4. In a couple of minutes, add 2.5 cups of water (ratio of quinoa to water is 1 : 2.5), and let simmer covered on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
5. Taste to make sure quinoa is al dente, and fluff up with fork.

Serve with chutney of choice or hot sauce and yogurt like I did :)

Basundi

I had basundi as a very young kid, and had forgotten about it for many years.  After about 15 years, the first time I had it was my own.  I usually try to make items with minimal ingredient needs but am willing to put in effort.  This is one of those simple yet time-consuming options.  Its appeal is from the richness of the ingredients, so definitely not for the calorie-counters.

Here's my version - This makes dessert quantity for 2.

What you need:

• Half & Half - 1 pint
• Milk (optional) - 1/2 cup
• Sugar - 6 Tbs
• Pistachios & Almonds - handful
• Cardamom/Elaichi - pinch

Method:

1. Simmer the half & half (and milk) on low heat in a big saucepan, while stirring often until it thickens further and the quantity reduces in half. (about 45 mins)
2. Add sugar and simmer for another 15 mins.
3. Add crushed/ground nuts and cardamom and remove from heat.

Tastes amazing warm or chilled.  I had one cup each way :P

 

Banana Date Sweet - Super Quick and Easy!!

I had about 10 minutes this morning to make a small amount of some sweet as offerings to God, and I ended up finishing it off in just 5 minutes.  Here's what I came up with.  It was quick, healthy, and yummy!!


What you need:

• Banana (ripe) - 1
• Pitted Dates - 5-6
• Ghee or butter - 1 Tbs
• Milk - splash
• Cardamon/elaichi - a pinch

Method:

Add chopped pieces of banana and dates to heated ghee/butter and fry for about 2 minutes.  Add the milk and mix for a couple more minutes until it all becomes mushy.  Add the cardamom, and enjoy!!

P.S. I have a bunch more pending recipes to post. Stay tuned :)

Kuzhi Paniyaram!

Kuzhi paniyaram sounds fancy, yeah?  Kuzhi Paniyaram is a actually a popular South Indian snack in which dosa batter is mixed with vegetables and seasoning, and shallow fried in special pans with little golf ball size holes (kuzhi in Tamil).  This pan is a necessity, but once invested, you'll be rewarded! 

My mom took a simple take on it this past weekend, and they turned out crispy and flavorful! This especially works well when you have dosa/idly batter that is a few days old and quite fermented (like uthappam consistency) .

Here's what you need:

• Dosa/Idly batter
• 1/4 cup minced onion
• 2 serrano chili - finely chopped
• 2 tbsp curry leaves - finely chopped
• 1/4 cup grated carrot - optional
• Salt
• Oil

Method:

• Mix all the vegetables and salt into the batter.
• Heat up the pan and spoon 1/2 tsp oil into each hole.
• Scoop one tablespoon of batter into each hole.
• Flip over after a couple of minutes, and pull them out when they are golden.
• Repeat for the rest of the batter, oiling the pan before each batch.

Serve with chutney/sambhar.  We had it with my paneer butter masala :P

 

Corn in Cashew Gravy

Don't you just love it when you barely put effort into something, but it exceeds your expectations?  This is what happened to me last night, after a tiring day. I decided to make a subji of corn in a creamy gravy sauce. You'd be surprised, as I was, how one ingredient can really take a recipe to the next level.  The paste of cashews adds such a creamy richness to this simple gravy.

What you need:

• 2 cups frozen corn (I used petite organic ones)
• 1 cup frozen green peas (I again used petite ones)
• Handful of raw cashews!
• 1 red onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• small piece of ginger
• 1 green chili
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chili powder or paprika
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 3-4 tbsp olive oil
• salt/black pepper to taste

Method:

1. Puree onion, garlic, ginger, and green chili, set aside
2. Puree the cashew nuts with about 1/4 cup of water, set aside.
3. Microwave corn and peas for 3-4 minutes until tender.
4. Heat the oil and fry the cumin seeds.
5. Add the onion paste and fry for 10 minutes.
6. Add the powders (turmeric, chili, cumin) and any other optional Indian spices (i.e. garam masala), and let cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add the cashew paste, and cook for another 5 minutes, adding water if needed.
8. Mix in the corn and peas, season with salt/pepper, and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Serve hot with any bread of choice.  I used masala naan, but it's definitely yummy and healthy enough on its own :)

Should serve 4.

Carrot Kheer for Krishna

Been preoccupied with stuff, but I've still been cooking.  Krishna Jayanthi was a couple of weeks back, and I decided to make yummy treats for Krishna.  The main item was carrot kheer, but I accompanied with Panchamritham (fruit salad in honey) and a butter/sugar mixture.

Carrot Kheer, I discovered is probably one of the easiest Indian desserts that is also so healthy.  I had it for dinner for the next few days, without any guilt, because it was basically just carrot milk :)  Also, I eyeballed all the quantities, so it's definitely an easy Indian sweet to start with.


Here's what you need:

• Carrots - 3
• Milk - about 2 cups
• Sugar - about 1/4 cup
• Unsalted raw Cashews - 10
• Elachi - 1/4 tsp
• Ghee - 2 tsp

Method :

1. Cut the carrot into large pieces (halves or thirds) and pressure cook for about 20 minutes.
2. Once it cools, the peel slides off so easily.  Peel & blend into a smooth paste.
3. In a small pan, add ghee to fry the cashews and set aside.
4. In a heavy bottom pot, heat the milk until it boils.
5. Add the carrot paste and sugar and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
6. Finish by adding the elachi powder and cashews.

It tastes yum warm, but even better chilled!

Indian Spinach & Cheese Swirls

I've been wanting to try the recipe from the package of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets, for a while, and since Appa's home, I wanted to finish most of my experiments while he's still here. I bought these pastry sheets for the first time ever to make Indian puffs a few weeks ago (which btw was delicious!!), and had one big sheet left. I didn't have a few suggested ingredients such as onion powder and garlic powder, so I substituted it with Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chili Sauce. This was the surprise ingredient that brought together all the flavors I wanted. It added the extra Indian spice that this snack would have otherwise lacked. Also, this could serve as a very quick and easy snack to enjoy after a long and tiring day.

Ingredients:
- 1 sheet (half package of) Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
- Half package of Frozen chopped spinach
- 8-9 tbsp Maggi Hot & Sweet Tomato Chili Sauce
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or any white cheese)
- Few tbsp Shaved parmesan cheese
- Salt (to taste)
- Butter (or 1 beaten egg if you prefer)

Directions:
1. Let the spinach thaw completely and squeeze out as much water as you can.
2. In a bowl, combine spinach, hot sauce, parmesan cheese, and salt well.
3. Unfold the thawed pastry sheet and spread a thin layer of butter all over.
4. Spread the spinach mixture in a thin and even layer over the pastry sheet.
5. Top with as much of the shredded cheese as you would like.
6. Roll tightly from one side to the other, and seal the corner with the remaining butter (or egg mixture).
7. Cut into 16-20 .5 inch slices. Place the slices, cut-side down, onto a lightly greased cookie sheet. Brush the tops with more of the egg mixture if you'd like.
8. Bake for 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven, flipping them at the 10 minute mark.
9. Let cool for 10 minutes before indulging in. I served mine with a side of hot salsa!