 |
-
This snack is quiet popular in India and the crispy taste of this vada makes it special. It is served as a starter in feasts and on occasions. This snack is originally prepared with yellow split peas or channa dhal. This recipe uses split green peas instead.
Ingredients
- Split green peas- 2 cup
- Bell pepper (red and green) – ½ of each (diced finely)
- Spring onions- 1 bunch
- Red onion (large) – 1 (chopped finely)
- Garlic – 4 pods
- Ginger – 1 inch piece (chopped)
- Red chili – 5
- Cumin seeds- 2 tablespoons
- Fennel seeds- 3 tablespoons
- Baking soda- ¼ teaspoon
- Coriander leaves – ½ cup (chopped finely)
- Chick pea flour/ gram flour – 3 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
- Canola oil- 3 cups (for deep frying)
Directions
1. Soak the split green peas for 4 hours in 4 cups of water. Drain them and grind in a food processor along with red chili and ginger and garlic. Add very little water to facilitate the grinding process. Grind to a coarse texture.
2. Remove the split pea mixture from blender and place in a large bowl. Add chopped bell peppers, spring onions, chopped onion, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, coriander leaves, salt and baking soda. Blend thoroughly by hands.
3. Add chick pea flour to bind the ingredients well. Take a small portion of mixture in the palm and form into a ball. With fingers flatten into the shape of a small patty.
4. Set pan and heat oil. Drop patties in hot oil and deep fry them on medium high flame until golden brown. Drain in paper towels and serve.
-
This quick-fix meal is so versatile that it can be had for breakfast, dinner or as a snack.
Ingredients
- Flat rice (poha) -2 cups
- Onion -1 small (cut into length wise)
- Carrot -1(shredded)
- Green peas -1/2 cup
- Green chilly -2(slit length wise)
- Pepper – 1 teaspoon
- Ginger – 1 inch (grated)
- Turmeric – a dash
- Salt – to taste
- Lime or lemon juice -1 to 2 teaspoon
- Cilantro (to garnish)
- Coconut -1 tablespoon (to garnish)
- Oil – ½ tablespoon
Directions
1. Soak the flat rice in water for 5 minutes. Drain the water.
2. In a deep pan, add oil and sauté the onion, green chilly and ginger followed by vegetables and add the salt, turmeric powder one by one and stir-fry for few minutes.
3. Finally add the drained flat rice and mix well.
4. Now switch off the stove and add lime juice, pepper and cilantro and mix well and serve hot.
Notes:
1. For a rich flavor, add any nuts of your choice.
2. After soaking, drain as much water as possible from the flat rice.
-
My husband had been asking me to bake something for his office tea time break. What would be more welcome than banana chocolate bread? My over ripe bananas were handy and soon I was baking this exquisite bread.
Ingredients
- All purpose flour – 1 cup
- Whole wheat flour – ¾ cup
- Cocoa powder- ¼ cup
- Sugar – 1 cup
- Bananas – 3 (mashed)
- Non hydrogenated margarine – ½ cup
- Flax seed (ground) – 2 tablespoons (simmered in 6 tablespoons of water)
- Baking powder- 1 teaspoon
- Baking soda- ¼ teaspoon
- Walnuts – ¼ cup
- Silvered almonds- 3 tablespoons (for garnishing)
- Salt – ½ teaspoon
- Vanilla extract- 1 teaspoon
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease a 9 inch bread pan set aside.
2. Bring all the dry ingredients together first. Mix the all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt
3. Beat margarine and sugar in an electric mixer. Stir in simmered flaxseed and beat for a couple of minutes. Stir in mashed bananas and vanilla extract and beat for a couple of minutes more.
4. Now stir in the wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix well. Stir in chopped walnuts and mix well. Pour the batter into the greased bread pan and garnish with silvered almonds and bake for 55 to 60 minutes. Remove from oven once cake tester inserted comes out clean.
5. Cool in a wire rack and slice once cooled and enjoy!
This bread was very much enjoyed as a snack during tea time in my husband’s office. Try it, so will you!
-
I have been thinking for a while to make pilaf with three different kinds of beans. These beans have very different amino acid profiles and combining different beans with rice increases the quality of the protein. Ths pilaf tastes very good too. Here is the recipe.
Ingredients
- Brown rice – 2 cups (soaked for 2 hours and drained)
- Butter beans – ½ can (rinsed and drained)
- Garbanzo beans – ½ can (rinsed and drained)
- White beans – ½ can (rinsed and drained)
- Onion – 1 (chopped)
- Tomato – 1 (chopped)
- Garlic – 4 pods (minced)
- Ginger – ½ inch piece (chopped)
- Green chili- 4 (slit)
- Red chili powder – 1 teaspoon
- Coriander powder- 1 teaspoon
- Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
- Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Cinnamon stick – ½ inch
- Cardamom- 2 pods
- Cloves – 2
- Cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
- Salt to taste
- Olive oil – 3 tablespoons
Directions
1. Set a pan, add oil. Once hot, splutter cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cloves. Stir in onions, ginger and garlic. Cook till the onions turn translucent and stir in tomatoes.
2. Once the tomatoes turn mushy, add chili, coriander, cumin and turmeric powders. Mix well.
3. Stir in drained beans and stir fry for 5 more minutes. Add rice and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add 4 cups of water and bring it to boil. Add salt. Simmer the stove to medium low and cook the rice for 30 to 35 minutes until rice is done.
4. Switch off the stove and serve warm.
-
Usually kurma or “korma” is prepared with mixed vegetables and here I have altered the recipe to fully use the carrots. This vitmain rich kurma was very much enjoyed in my house.
Ingredients
- Carrots – 5 to 6(chopped )
- Tomatoes – 2 (chopped)
- Grated coconut – ½ cup
- Green chili – 4
- Ginger and garlic paste – 1 tablespoon
- Poppy seeds- 1 teaspoon
- Onion ( big)- 1 ( chopped)
- Cardamom – 2 pods
- Cinnamon – ½ inch piece
- Turmeric powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
- Salt to taste
Directions
1. Grind coconut, green chili, poppy seeds to a fine paste. Set aside.
2. Steam the chopped carrots for 10 to 15 minutes.
3. Set a pan, add oil. Once hot, add cinnamon stick, cardamom and onion along with ginger garlic paste. Cook until onion becomes translucent. Stir in tomatoes and cook till tomatoes turn mushy. Stir in steamed carrots and cook for 7 to 8 minutes.
4. Stir in ground paste and add enough water and bring it to boil. Cook till the kurma thickens. Switch off the stove.
-
This is my all time favorite recipe for zucchini bread. I have baked this bread many times and each time it has been welcomed with the same expectations. This is low in fat as I use just 1/3 cup of oil. You must definitely try this if you have kids who don’t prefer to eat zucchini. Deceptively you can make them eat this bread.
Ingredients
- Raw zucchini – 1 ½ cups (peeled and grated)
- Whole wheat flour – 1 cup
- All purpose flour- 1 cup
- Sugar – 1 ½ cups
- Apple sauce – 2/3 cup
- Canola oil- 1/3 cup
- Flax seed (ground) – 2 tablespoons (simmered in 6 tablespoons of water)
- Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
- Baking powder – 1 ½ teaspoon
- Baking soda- ½ teaspoon
- Salt – ½ teaspoon
- Ground cinnamon- ¼ teaspoon
- Nutmeg powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Clove powder – ¼ teaspoon
- Chocolate chips – ¼ cup
Directions
1. Pre heat oven to 350° F. grease an 9 inch loaf pan and set aside.
2. In a bowl mix whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, nutmeg powder, clove powder.
3. In another bowl, mix simmered flaxseed and apple sauce. Beat well. Stir in oil and vanilla extract. Beat well. Add sugar and beat to mix everything together.
4. Using a clean kitchen towel squeeze out the excess water from zucchini. Stir in zucchini and mix well. Gradually add the dry ingredients and chocolate chips and mix well.
5. Stir in the mixed cake batter into the loaf pan and bake at 350° F for 55 to 60 minutes until a cake tester inserted comes in clean.
6. Place on a wire rack to cool completely, and then remove from pan. Now slice your bread.
-
Eggplants are available all round the year. This time when I saw fresh green Thai eggplants I knew instantly what I was going to do with them. Here is my version of eggplant chutney.
Ingredients
- Eggplants (small sized) – 6 to 7
- Fresh coconut – ¼ cup (grated)
- Tomato- 1 (chopped)
- Dry red chili – 3 to 4
- Onion – 1 (medium sized- chopped)
- Asafoetida powder- ½ teaspoon
- urad dhal – 1 teaspoon
- Channa dhal – 1 teaspoon
- Tamarind paste- ¼ teaspoon (a small marble sized regular tamarind can be used in place of tamarind paste)
- Salt – 1 teaspoon
- Canola oil- 4 tablespoons (divided)
Directions
1. Cut the eggplants into chunks and immerse them in a bowl of water ( this helps eggplants not to discolor)
2. Set a pan and add 3 tablespoons of oil and stir fry until eggplants become soft. Transfer eggplants to a bowl and set aside.
3. In the same pan heat another tablespoon of oil and heat over medium heat. When oil is not smoking add red chili, fry for 20 seconds and remove from heat. Add channa dhal, urad dhal and fry until they become golden brown.
4. Add onion, tomato and stir fry for 3 to 5 minutes. Add asafetida and mix well. Stir in grated coconut and switch off the stove. Let them cool.
5. Once cooled place the ingredients (coconut, onions, tomato, dhal, fried chili) from pan in blender with tamarind paste and grind coarsely. Add very little water to facilitate grinding. Once the ingredients are coarsely ground add fried eggplants with salt until eggplants are coarsely ground.
This chutney can be served as an accompaniment with idli, dosa, rice and chappati.
Also serves as a dip with raw veggies, crackers, and chips.
A good spread for bread
-
The first ever dish I learnt to cook as a teenager was this tomato gravy. Needless to say, it is very easy to prepare and is well paired with idli, dosa, chapatti, rice and is also perfect as spread for bread.
Ingredients
- Tomatoes – 5 (chopped finely)
- Red onion – 1 (large sized- chopped)
- Garlic pods – 4 (chopped)
- Chili powder – 1 teaspoon
- Turmeric powder- ¼ teaspoon
- Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon
- Urad dhal – 1 teaspoon
- Red chili – 2
- Oil – 3 tablespoons
- Salt to taste
Directions
1. Set a pan. Add oil, once hot splutter mustard seeds and urad dhal. Add red chili, and stir in chopped garlic. Stir fry for 30 seconds until garlic gives off nice aroma. Stir in onions and red chili. Sauté those until onions become translucent.
2. Stir in chopped tomatoes and bring the flame down. Stir in chili and turmeric powder. Cover with lid. The juices of the tomatoes would have oozed out. Bring the flame to medium high and cook until tomatoes turn soft and mushy.
3. Stir occasionally and remove the lid. Cook until the juice evaporates and the gravy thickens.
4. Switch off the flame. Garnish with cilantro.
-
Semolina kesari is a very common Indian sweet and can be served for breakfast as well as a dessert.
Ingredients
- Semolina – 1 cup
- Sugar – 1 ½ cup
- Cashews – 4 tablespoons
- Raisins – 2 tablespoons
- Margarine – ¼ cup
- Cardamom- 2 pods (crushed)
- Water – 2 cups
- Food color – ¼ teaspoon
Directions
1. The first main step in this sweet treat is to roast semolina in non stick pan by adding 2 tablespoon of margarine in medium flame .Roast well till it changes the color. Switch off the flame. Transfer semolina to another bowl. Stir in 2 tablespoons of margarine and roast cashews and raisins to golden brown. Set aside.
2. In a separate wide pan bring two cups of water to boil. Add cardamom and food color (I used strawberry color) and sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved, bring the flame to simmer and add semolina gradually and stir vigorously as not to form any lumps.
3. Keep stirring until the semolina is cooked. Stir in roasted cashews and raisins. Switch off the flame. Serve warm.
-
Roti/ Chapati/ Phulka are unleavened bread and are had with curries or cooked vegetables. It is made from whole wheat flour using as less as fat possible. They are the staple food of India next to rice and are made in most of the Indian homes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. They are best eaten as soon as they are cooked although they can be kept warm, wrapped in foil and placed in warm oven.
Ingredients
- Whole wheat flour – 3 cups
- Salt- 1 teaspoon
- Water – ¾ cup (warm)
- Canola oil – 1 teaspoon
- Whole wheat flour – ½ cup (for dusting)
Directions
1. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center and slowly add small quantities of water until you have a smooth pliable dough. (knead the dough for approximately 8 to 10 minutes) cover the dough with lid or plastic wrap and set aside for 3o minutes.
2. Divide the dough into equal sized balls.
Take a dough ball, flatten with your hands, dust it with flour on both sides and roll it into a circle using a rolling pin.
3. Heat a nonstick pan and place the chappati on the pan and cook for 35 to 40 seconds, until soft bubbles form on top.
Press the edges down gently. Flip the chappati and cook for another 30 seconds. Do not brown them. Remove from pan and keep them warm. Oil can be brushed to keep them soft.
Notes
1. Can be served with chutney, gravy, curries or veggies.
2. It can be used as a wrap for sandwiches or any filling of your choice.
| Copyright (c) 2009 VeganOrbit LLC. All Rights Reserved. |
| | |
