Salad, sabzi, or both and a weekend brunch idea :)

I am sure you are all familiar with the days, when you get back home tired and really hungry: the times when you don't have much energy to do some elaborate cooking, but would still love to have some yummy food! On one such day last week, i felt really lazy to cook much, yet craved something spicy and filling. In this bus, i had been dreaming about making some baked vegetables in some cilantro based marinade. When i got home, i checked out the vegetables in the fridge and wondered what all to use. Finally, i decided to go for some bell peppers, some mushrooms, a lil' paneer and some spring onions and marinate them in a cilantro based marinade. The cilantro chutney/marinade was made by simply blending together cilantro, green chillies, ginger, garlic salt, salt and lime juice. I mixed the marinade with the veggies in the baking dish and the whole thing looked really appetizing. I then wondered, if i should go for a salad, a sabzi or both :-D. I decided to take some in a bowl as a salad, which was yummy! and put the rest in the oven. As i feasted myself upon the lip-smacking chutney-vegetables combo, i simultaneously had been making some baked vegetables, which turned out to be equally delicious, if not more :-D. I am sure you all have your own variations on this theme, here's my version:

Baked vegetables in cilantro marinade:

We need:

• 1 big bell pepper (chopped into bite-sized pieces)
• 2 Roma tomatoes (sliced)
  
• 20 or so bite sized pieces of paneer
• 1/2 cup sliced crimini or baby bella mushrooms
• 1 bunch spring onions (chopped)

For marinade:

• 1 small bunch/3/4 th cup equivalent chopped cilantro
• 1 serrano pepper or 2 green chillies (adjust chillies to your taste)
• 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1 tsp. lime/lemon juice
• 1 tsp. garlic salt
• Salt to taste

Grind together the ingredients for the marinade. Mix these with the chopped vegetables. In case you are making the salad, leave the spring onions and chill the salad in the fridge. Mix the chopped spring onions before serving.

The salad :)

For making baked vegetables, mix the marinade with all the chopped vegetables and let rest for 15-20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F meanwhile. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes, mixing once in between (or till the bell peppers are tender-rest of the stuff doesn't take long to cook). The end result should have slightly crisped paneer and well done bell peppers, with some thick gravy. If you want grilled vegetables, add less marinade, and bake a lil' longer. Enjoy the baked vegetables with crispy toast :).

The sabzi :)

As i was having the salad, i wondered about all those laments that one gets to hear from time to time, as to how Indian food doesn't have much to do with salads! Indian cuisine boast of such an enormous variety of salads, from the lovely koshimbirs, to kosumbari, to the sundals, raitas and pachidis and the regular kheera-tamatar with lime, salt an pepper and many many more. Just that we don't label them as "salad" :-D.

Oh, and here's a quick weekend brunch idea. i am sure again that many of you make this in your own way as well. i am talking about the sandwich made with (aloo ki) sabzi :-D. i use left over aloo sabzi (dry) or any dry sabzi, stuff it in the sourdough or rye bread, along with a lil' skim mozzarella or five cheese blend and toast it on tava/griddle. i'll be honest with you, i use a lil' ghee (just a cpl. of drops) to toast :-D. It gives such a heavenly aroma!



Here's a quick aloo ki sabzi-a zero oil version:

We need:

• 1-2 potatoes (boiled/microwaved and mashed)
• 1/2 tsp jeera/cumin
• 1 ripe tomato
• 1 bunch spring onions (optional)
  
• 1 tsp. grated ginger
• 1 clove garlic (chopped fine, optional)
  
• 1 chopped green chilli
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp. lime juice or 1 tsp. sour curds
• Chopped cilantro for garnish
  

Wash the potatoes and keep them in the microwave for cooking. It takes about 4 minutes per potato, and 7 minutes for two potatoes in my micrwave. Alternatively you can boil the potatoes. Meanwhile, heat a pan and dry roast the cumin seeds till they release the aroma. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the grated ginger and onions and garlic, if using. Stir and cook for a cpl. of minutes. (By now the potatoes should be done. Quickly peel them and mash them roughly). Add the microwaved/boiled and mashed potatoes to the pan and mix. Add the salt and souring agent of your choice (lime juice or curds) and mix well. If the mixture is getting too dry or sticking to the pan, drizzle some water. Cook for another 5 minutes with occasional stirring. Add the green chillies and cilantro.

Enjoy as a sabzi/side dish or as a sandwich/parantha stuffing :). Don't go by the picture, it tastes really good :).

A chutney, strange lemons and a meme :)

A cpl. of days back, dear Mansi lovingly said, "Your next post better have some peach in it" :). So, here i am, with some peaches. I have a question for you, dear reader-how many people do you know who purposely pick sour/tangy/un-ripe peaches :-D. If you are reading this, you sure know atleast one: moi! I love peaches, actually i LOVE peaches. When i have peaches in my kitchen, i just have them as such-i don't even wait to cut them ;). I prefer yellow peaches and ectarines to white ones, because of their sweet n' tangy taste. To be honest, i don't have enough self-control to cook with fruits. The best dessert for me is to peel/cut a fruit and enjoy it. At the most i pair it up with some home-made frozen yoghurt/ice-cream. Mansi, then, had me real worried. I had to make something out of a fruit. That demanded a lot of self-control. Hence, i decided in favor of semi-ripe peaches/nectarines, hoping that i won't finish this dish even before i began making it, by gobbling up the fruit :-D.

The next worry was, what to make with tangy nectarines.....i looked up Google, and saw the words "Peach" and "Chutney". I felt grateful, immediately headed for the kitchen, prepared my version of the chutney (which included finishing up half of the fruit as i was dicing it!), got back, read the recipe from Google, decided to add a lovely ingredient (roasted walnuts) from it to jazz up my version a bit. The end result was great, a khatti-meethi (sweet and sour) chutney!

Here's the original recipe (It uses tomatoes, raisins, Vanilla syrup, and a lot of ground walnut-more sweet relish like chutney. Kids would really enjoy it). And the following is my version:

Nectarine chutney:

We need:

• 2 yellow nectarines, diced (i started with three, but ate one!)
• 1/4 onion (chopped)
  
• 1 tbsp. grated ginger
• 1-2 green chillies (chopped)
  
• 1/2 tsp. each cumin and coriander powder
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. lime juice (optional, to be used if you use really sweet peaches)
• 2 tbsp. coarsely ground walnuts
  
• 1 tsp. oil

In a pan, heat the oil and saute' onions and ginger. Add the cumin and coriander powders and the chopped green chillies. Stir and add 1/2 cup water. Now add the diced peaches and salt. Stir, cover and cook the peaches on low till they are tender.
Cool down the peaches (at this stage, it makes a nice side-dish too). Grind into a smooth paste. Add coarsely ground walnuts to the chutney, mix and enjoy :).


When i had a spoonful, the taste reminded of the traditional sweet aloobukhara/plum chutney.....which gets a lot of its flavor from the ground walnuts too. So plz. don't miss out on this ingedient. I thank the chef Mr. Frankenthaler for this ingredient. I finished this in one sitting :-D.

This goes to Mansi for AFAM:Peach/Nectarine. AFAM is a great, fruity get-together envisaged by Maheshwari from Beyond the Usual.

Now over to some interesting stuff from the supermarket:

I was at the Whole Foods Market in Westwood to pick up some vegetables when i sighted the following.....


Needless to say, it was spellbinding.....i looked around, with my cell phone ready to take a picture, trying to find someone to get permission for the same. One of the staff saw me, gave me a broad smile and said,"it is worth a picture, really" :). Now, i won't keep you guessing about it.....look right below to find the answer!


Buddha's hands.....thats the name for this grogeous beauty.....its actually a citron and apparently originated in northeastern India. I had never seen this one before, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.....

I also saw these cute looking fruits, the tamarillos. They really look like eggplants....(i actually did buy some golden eggplants y'day, will post pictures next time i write about eggplants). I think i'll buy them once to see how they taste. From what i read, seems like they would be great. Any ideas on this, anyone.


And now its time for a me-me :). Dear buddy Sra from "When my soup came alive" tagged me for the "life in fours" me-me.....so here's me, talking about me :-D.

Four places i've lived:

India (Amritsar, New Delhi, Bangalore), my beloved country
Boston
New York City
Los Angeles


Four jobs i (dream i) had:

Owner of the best cafe' and pastry shop in your neighbourhood (or your neighbourhood chai-wallah)
Cook ;) at your favorite bistro (or your favorite dhaba)
A loving and beloved teacher
Owner of a cute lil' book store


Four favorite places i've holidayed:

Home (thats blissful, i tell you: people cooking for you, caring for you) :-D
US, for the lovely cities on both East and West coasts
Goa and Kerala, for their breathtaking beauty
New Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad for the shopping sprees ;)


Four favorite foods (only four, not fair!):

Mom's Rajma chawal, namkeen churi and paranthas (how Punju!)
Kara baath, shavige and rave idli
Haak/dum olu/ kalan/ moong-masoor daal/ kadhi with plain rice
Chaat-pakodi: gol-gappas, tikkis, samosas, paav-bhaaji, khatte laddu, bhel-poori etc.


Four places i would rather be (as per my current mood):

Sitting outside in sun with a good book
Santa Monica-Third Street Promenade
My buddy Golden Girl's home, for a chai and upma that we would cook together
At a neighbourhood Indian restaurant, for lunch with MD


Four bloggers i would like to tag:

Richa@As Dear As Salt
Pel@Elaichi etcetera
Shweta @ Fresh Flavors
Tee@Bhaatukli

Please take it up at your leisure :). Enjoy :).

Ghiya kaddu vali chholyaan di daal and a lil' surprise :)

Its all about getting to enjoy the wonderful gifts the nature has to offer :). Besides turnips, all sorts of squashes and gourds made to my "no-no" list, when i was a child. Bottle gourd/doodhi/lauki/ghiya kaddu in all its green splendour was real fun to look at and play dumbells with, but i always kept it at an arms length when it came to edifying the same! Even the super-cute sounding names "Kaddu" and "Ghiya" didn't come to my rescue.....But real goodness is like magnet, it pulls you and hugs you :). So started my love-affair with the squashes.....and now i am a fan :).


Today, i'll make a very delectable and subtly flavored daal for all of us. This is a traditional Punjabi combination of Chana daal and ghiya kaddu. We Punjabis love Chana daal, though elsewhere, friends joke, it makes horse feed ;). Its called Chholiyaan di daal-daal made out of kaale chhole/Bengal gram. Punjabis also have a proclivity for gourds, especially the ghiya kaddu. This simple dish brings together the two widely loved flavors.

So, lets get going :).

We need:

• One cup Chana Daal (Chholiyaan di daal-Punjabi)
• One medium sized ghiya kaddu
• 1/4 onion-finely chopped
  
• 1 tomato-chopped
• 1/4 tsp. Dhaniya seeds/coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. Jeera/Cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. oil/ghee
• salt and red chilli powder to taste
• A pinch of garam masala (not more)

Wash the chana daal thoroughly, soak in warm water and set aside. Wash the ghiya, scrape off the peel and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. SAVE THE GHIYA PEEL SCRAPES :). Add the ghiya pieces to the daal and pressure cook (5-6 whistles) with lil' salt. The daal and ghiya should be thoroughly cooked resulting in a creamy texture with the ghiya pieces not sticking out too prominently. Take a deep breath and enjoy the warm and sweet aroma of ghiya and daal blend :). While the pressure cooker cools down-lets prepare a tadka. Splutter jeera and dhaniya in hot oil/ghee, saute onions, add tomatoes and cook. Add turmeric and chilli powder to taste (preferably very lil'). Add this tadka to the daal. Let the daal-ghiya mix cook slowly for the flavors to blend in. Add just a pinch of garam masala to enhance the flavor of daal. Thats it-a simple classic is ready :). No cilantro, no green chillies. Serve hot with rice or chapati.



Ghiya provides a subtle sweet flavor to the already mellow chana daal, while dhaniya and jeera enhance the aroma of daal-ghiya combo. The final product should have the aroma of jeera-dhaniya top note, ghiya as the middle note and daal as the base (you'll actually relish each layer when you take a spoon-full). You can see that i'm smitten. Hey, i have reason to be! Try this and you'll know what i mean. No frills, this is an all time favorite. I preferably make it with ghee in tadka. You can also top it with ghee for extra aroma. (Thanks Anita, for the lil' nudge). Served here with hot chapatis and home made nimboo-mirchi-adrak achaar (in oil-Manisha has two great posts on achaar without oil).


And now the lil' surprise :)

Whatever happened to those chhilkas/peels we saved ;). This is the other wonderful part of preparing a ghiya kaddu dish. Lets see: do you love chutneys! YES-i hear you all :)). Here's the lil' surprise of ghiya-moongphali chutney :). Golden Girl once treated to me to a Marathi recipe of ghia/doodhi cooked with ground moongphali and lots of cilantro (will post the recipe sometime)-which got me to make this chutney-sort of an instant version :)).

• Ghiya kaddu peels/scrapes-1 cup
• Roasted peanuts-a fistful
• One green chilli
• Chopped Cilantro/Coriander
• Salt to taste
• A spoonful lime/lemon juice

Grind these together for a really delish, subtle chutney/sandwich spread. It goes great with Middle-eastern style food too :).

Richa tells you here about another delicious recipe from Ghiya, the ghia ke kofte :)


More Squash-a-thon :Methi-Zucchini sabzi :)

Chai/Coffee and some snacks :)

You know how its in our culture-we welcome our guests with some chai/coffee and snacks :). So, this post is to share some chit-chat over chai.

So, Ji Aayain Noon (Respect to the visitors-literal, a popular Punjabi greeting).

I have prepared two of my favorite evening tea/brunch time eats: Vesan da pooda (besan ka cheela) and Rave idlis.
Poodas/Cheela are savory pancakes made out of besan/gram flour and are popular across different Indian cuisines. Sometimes this dish is also referred to as tomato omelette/vegetarian omlette :). Punjabi poodas use Anardana and dhaniya seeds-two ingredients that go hand in hand with other savory besan treats like pakodas.

Ingredient we need:

• Besan
• Jeera n' dhaniya seeds/ Cumin and coriander seeds
• Anardana/dried pomegranate seeds
  
• Finely chopped onions and tomatoes
• Chopped cilantro/coriander
  
• Chopped green chillies (optional)
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of garam masala (optional)
• Water to make the batter and a spoonful of sour yogurt for some tangy taste.

Sift besan to fluff the flour a bit and add the dried seeds, salt and garam masala. Mix again and add yogurt and enough water to make a utappam like batter, avoiding lumps (slightly thick, no too much-should flow easily still). Add the chopped onions, tomatoes, cilantro and chillies, mix and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Now, lets heat the tava/griddle (medium heat), sprinkle some oil and spread it-then add a ladle full of batter and spread it. Once the top side looks a bit cooked and set, drizzle a lil' oil and turn the pooda. Let this side cook too and we are ready to go. Indira has a fun post on besan dosa too :). You would also enjoy Trupti's bisquick poodas.

To serve: How about some kicked up ketchup (Jai n' Bee), or Dhaniya-pudina/Cilantro-mint (Punjabi:Dhaniya-poodna) chutney. For chutney:grind together the dhaniya and pudina leaves with a green chilli, salt , a pinch of sugar and some lemon/lime juice. Some people also add onions. This should all be good for tea-time. But what if you are hungry and made this for brunch time! Remember, this is a take on omlette :))-so we'll have it as a sandwich. Toast two whole-wheat/low-carb/flax bread slices (take your pick) crisp-layer one slice with half-pooda, chutney and a slice of tomato) and make a sandwich.

Tasty variations on Pooda:

• How about mixing some rave-idli flour (roasted rave with the condiments; see below) with besan to make poodas :). IT WORKS, and how! to give the most amazingly fluffy poodas.
• What if we made bite-size poodas :). In Punjab, we make these often-to be used in making chilladiyaan da raita (Chilladi-lil' cheela/pooda). Its amazing.

Rave idli: A cpl. of days back, i had a catch in the neck and was looking for some quick eat-happened to be reading Anita's Mad Tea Party and on the side bar spotted the words "Instant Gratification" :). Yes, thats what it is-Rave idli. A popular and quick eat. I had gotten my idea for dinner-it had been almost a cpl. of months since i had this fluffy goodness! She details a nice recipe here-so why am i writing about this-because i did something interesting by chance.

Having no home made sour yogurt (a result of my recent laziness), i reached for the store bought butter milk (home made lassi/majji would do as well) and made a batter with that instead. Just added some fried cashews, cilantro and green chillies to the batter. and this gave me the most amazing rave-idlis ever. Try this variation. Kinda' tangier and fluffier :). And it works well even without baking soda! That was the best part-because i made two batches one with and the other one without soda: and no difference! Ofcourse, the batter without soda rested a bit longer (20 minutes). And if you are in a mood for decorating the idlis a bit, then place a few peas/matar and grated carrots in the idli stand, before you add the batter (didn't do it this time). This is how rave-idlis were served in Bangalore, including my graduate school (Indian Institute of Science) mess and cafeterias, with a variety of yummy kurmas as a full meal(in an upcoming post).

For thindi/snack, lets make another quick chutney: In hot oil, splutter mustad seeds and urad daal (a pinch each), and saute chopped onions (1/2 onion), grated ginger (1 tsp.) and one chopped tomato. Saute for 5 minutes and cool. Now grind this with a fistful of grated fresh/frozen coconut, a green chilli, salt and some lime juice. Chatpati chutney :).

Chai n' Coffee: As we prepare these snacks-lemme share my bit on chai n' coffee. I am a convert :). You won't believe, but i never had much tea/coffee till my second year M.Sc., the barrier was crossed in the beginning of my graduate school-and now i love chai n' coffee :).

My chai usually has: Chhoti Elaichi (Green Cardamom), Dalchini (Cinnamon), Badiyun Khatai/Dagad-Phool (Star Anise) and ginger (i freeze the ginger root-so when you grate it, you get a fine powder). This is a great combination, or so say my friends. For coffee: i am so in love with what Golden Girl's Aayi makes: light coffee with ginger-and the lil' tip to freeze the ginger root is her idea :).

So, hope you had a fun time reading and enjoyed this chai time get together.

Whats next:

• Cheese paratha with quick sabzi
  
• Having fun with turnips :).