Something new something fresh–part 2

Welcome back to my "Something new something fresh" – Wednesday series. Got a good response from my last week’s posting and Iam back with my second post for the series. Read more about part 1 here.



Today’s Chef is Vandana- one of my closest friends.Here's a little testimonial I had written for her once "Smart, pretty, confident, friendly ,caring and a great cook, V is a friend I would custom order, but didn’t have to because I got lucky enough to find her one fine day. One of the most genuine people I know, she’s a terrific mix of traditional and the modern……."And this was 2 yrs ago. Since then our friendship has only grown and she’s like family.


Vandana and I at Durga Puja ,2007


Vandana and I at Durga Puja,2008

Vandana is a Bombay girl(I prefer Bombay to Mumbai:)and loves her spicy street food. She comes from a close knit family and also loves corn, diamonds and Abhishek Bachchan (in no specific order) and claims that she did not cook at all before she moved to the US of A.Haha..Right!! I love her scrumptious dosas and rajasthani food. Finally, here’s the recipe I would like to share from V’s Pandora’s Box- Corn Bhel (an excellent appetizer, mid day snack and very healthy).She made it last yr at a get together and it was finger licking good.

You need
1.5 cups corn–(she used frozen corn)
1 large onion-chopped
2 large potatoes–(she used Yukon gold potatoes)
2-4 green Thai chilies finely chopped(Use 4 if you like it spicy)
2 chopped tomatoes-(optional -she doesn't use it because of allergies)
2 tablespoon cilantro chutney (recipe given below)
2 tablespoon tamarind/date chutney(she used store bought chutneys)
1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves
Lemon juice to taste
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon Chaat Masala
1 teaspoon Sandwich Masala (she gets it from Bombay)
1/4 teaspoon Amchur Powder - optional
Sev(Indian crispy noodles) for garnishing-(bought at any Indian grocery store)

Cilantro chutney
4 cups of cilantro leaves
2-3 cloves of garlic.
2-3 green thai chillies.
1 teaspoon (cumin) seeds
Salt to taste
Lemon juice to taste

This is how you make it
For Cilantro chutney:
Grind all the ingredients together and add a little bit of water for consistency. Add salt and lemon juice to taste.
Corn Bhel
Boil the corn with a little salt and turmeric. Drain the water & keep aside.
Boil the potatoes and peel and mash.
In a bowl, mix all the ingredients thoroughly and keep aside. This bhel can be served either hot or cold. When you are ready to serve, garnish with the sev.ENJOY!!


Corn Bhel

Soup for the soul

The Weather's been terrible here in Seattle lately but then its almost always bad (seriously,we Seattlites never know if it will rain,snow or be overcast the next hour.The Sun is always playing peek-a-boo,titillating us with occasional appearances through a cloud ridden sky and and then mysteriously disappearing on us for days on end.We are always prepared for the worst).

But even we, were not prepared for the snow storm in Dec'08 when it snowed continuously for week and we were forced to be under house arrest.Our state government was not equipped to handle all the chaos that ensued and all freeways and roads turned into free for all ski resorts.Though all that pristine snow is a sight to behold, its not fun after a week when one runs out of movies to watch,food to cook and people to call.A week then feels like a year.Arrgh, I never want to be in house arrest again with the weather holding me prisoner in my own home. For more pictures of how unforgiving snow in Seattle can be go here:)

Its almost April and we are still getting snow.As if that's not enough....the economic climate makes you want to throw up your hands in despair.With more 650,000 jobs lost in Feb'09 alone and the unemployment steadily climbing up(8.1%),we are learning to reach out for that comfort food,self soothe and just hang in there and hope it will get better.Or will It?

Its for times like this ,that I make my vegetable and turkey soup.A bowl of that, and I am instantly filled with a sense of well being and hope that all will right with the world again, for a few hours at least :) Try it, its good and did I say HEALTHY?

You need
1 tablespoon Canola Oil
1 cup chopped medium onion
2 cups ground turkey
4 cups water (you can use chicken or vegetable stock too)
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped Carrots
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms(any kind are fine)
1/2 cup Corn(fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
2 medium chopped Tomatoes
1 18oz can of black beans
1 cup Cooked baby shrimp ( I added them just for fun)
1 teaspoon cumin
2 Bay leaves
2 tablespoons Parsley
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Salt and Pepper -- to taste

This is how you make it
In a large pot,heat oil and add cumin and bay leaves.When they splutter add onions, mushrooms,carrots,bell peppers,zucchini,corn,black beans and ground turkey.Saute till the vegetables are soft and turkey looks cooked.Add diced tomatoes and saute till they are soft and done.Add salt ,pepper,cumin powder and water.When the soup begins to boil,add the cooked baby shrimp. Cook for a few minutes and stir in parsley.Simmer until done.Take off the soup and serve hot,as is or with bread. You can add a dash of lime juice to the soup.Feel better already? Mission accomplished :))



Vegetable and turkey soup

Something new something fresh

Cooking for family, friends and fun is integral to my blog, this is where I publish stories and recipes around the three:).Today I begin, a weekly feature on my blog called "Cooking with friends" Every Wednesday, I will feature a friend of mine and her wonderful recipe:)).Iam very excited and hope you all enjoy reading it as well.



Today's chef is my friend Joyeeta, a sweet and wonderful person she's also a wonderful cook(though she doesn't want to admit to being one.)We met after she came across my blog and we started talking to each other:Joyeeta is inspired by her mom's cooking,and literally cooks up a storm everytime she hosts a party.I have been to many of her parties and you can only imagine,how much good food I have tucked in because of her.Recently,I went to another of her awesome parties and she had yet again outdone herself.Joyeeta has been a sweetheart to share all those recipes from the party and one by one I will feature them all .


Joyeeta and I at the Husky Stadium

Here's one of her many recipes,"chicken Satay with Peanut sauce". Try it, its really yummy:)

You need
For Chicken Satay
Chicken Breast cut lengthwise into strips
Wooden Skewers soaked in cold water for 1/2 hr or more
Marinade
1 can coconut milk
2 tbsp Thai red curry paste (eyeball the measurement)
Siracha chilli sauce (1 tsp)
salt
Cumin powder (1 tsp)
Corriander power (1tsp)
Garlic
Minced Shallots (2 tbsp)
Dark Soy Sauce (2 tbsp)
Brown Sugar (1 tbsp or more depending on taste)
1 tbsp oil

For peanut sauce(Courtesy of the Joy of Cooking)
1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbsps firmly packed light brown sugar ( i just used dark)
1 tbsp fish sauce (i used a little)
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp canned Thai Massaman Curry Paste (i used Thai red curry paste)
1/2 tsp curry powder

This is how you make it
Chicken satay :Mix all the ingredients of the marinade and taste it to adjust any of the ingredients before adding the chicken.
You can also puree the marinade.Put the washed chicken strips into the marinade and let it sit for 2hrs to 4 hrs.Thread the skewer with each chicken strip.Hi Broil for 10 mins on one side,5 mins on the other.Time varies with each oven so keep checking to see if it's cooked, it should have a nice golden brown color. Garnish with basil leaves.

Peanut sauce :Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan.Whisk in a 1/2 cup hot water thoroughly.Simmer, stirring occasionally, over low heat until the flavors are well blended, 15 to 20mins. Stir in:Fresh lime juice.Serve it warm with the chicken satay!

Holi Hai

Happy Holi everyone :)) For my non Indian readers who want to know what Holi is , here is some info(Holi).Every time around Holi and Diwali,I miss home so much its almost painful. My mind is flooded with good times and memories-friends and family hanging out,mom's superlative cooking,dad's organizing a community dinner and us kids helping organize and being mom's side kicks in the kitchen.

Holi was always such a blast.We started the day in our old clothes because we knew that they would be unrecognizable at the end of the day ,so why bother.White was the color of choice since it showcased all the other colors we would play with,so well.Some of us were more adventurous and wore new white and paid the price for it:))

Mom would start preparing all the goodies on Holi eve -gujhia, mathi, chaat, kachoris, gulabjamuns ,other sweets and a lunch menu(gosh, the woman never tired).Come Holi morning and we had a stream of visitors-applying dry colors on each others face and exchange holi goodies-funnn!!The ritual continued with us visiting more friends.After we had played dry holi for a few hours,the kids would graduate to the wet holi(mixing dry colors with water,the more adventurous tried to mix colors that would not come off for many days).We would splash that colored water one each other, over and over again on each other till we could not tell who the other person was .It was hilarious to return to school next day with pink ears or purple hands.Ofcourse none of us gave any thought to how all that color would come off. Let me just tell you, it took hours of cleaning just to look normal again, but always worth it.


The dry colors

And now to the Yummy part.We had our traditional Holi lunch of rajma(kidney beans), dahi bada/dahi vada/dahi bhalley( fried,salted lentil donuts in spicy yogurt),pulao(basmati rice with seasoning),poori(fried Indian flat bread),other side dishes that varied and kheer(stove top pudding made with rice, milk and sugar).Mom made sure, she passed on her recipes to her 3 kids and we proudly carry on the tradition to this day.The day ended with more friends visiting and before we knew it the day was over and we were already waiting for Next year.I still do:)

Holi in the US of A can be a lot of fun with the right people and Iam lucky to have the right people in my life. Though mom and dad can't be here all the way from India , I always feel their presence and blessings in all festivities and my celebrations with freinds.Here's one of my previous holi posts.(Holi 2007)and one of my holi recipes here(Tomato Paneer)


Holi 2008

Here are pictures from one of my host fun holi ever ..Holi 2005,we organized a get together and had about 20 friends over


just to give you an idea of the physical transformation


and how colorful too


What's holi without some singing?

So what's cooking in my kitchen for Holi 2009 How about some dahi vada(or dahi bhalley)?Dahi vada is popular street food and also is a great side dish to many an Indian dinner/lunch parties.Its essentially vadas(fried,salted lentil donuts) in thick,spicy yogurt sauce.
You need:
1 cup urad dal( washed, soaked overnight and ground to a fine paste.Dont add too much water or the vadas will not hold their shape)
2 inch piece of ginger grated
2-3 green chillies finely chopped
salt to taste
oil for deep frying(I use canola oil, you can use what you want)
2 cups yogurt
4 cups water
Red chili powder to taste
Tamarind chutney(you can pickup ready made chutney at the Indian store)
some lukewarm water to soak the vadas for a few minutes

For garnish
2 teaspoon cumin powder
2 teaspoon dahi vada masala(available at Indian grocery stores)
1 teaspoon red chili powder
chopped coriander leaves

This is how you make it
Fold in the grated ginger, green chillies and salt to the urad dal paste and salt.
Pre-heat oil for fryingand roll up your sleeves:)wet your palm with some water and place some urad dal batter on it.Shape it like a donut,then dip your finger in water and poke a penny sized hole into the donut.Gently drop it into the hot oil.(often times, the donut looks done from the outside but actually isn't cooked on the inside.The key is to have the oil at the right temperature and fry it till it turns a golden brown.Dont leave it in the oil too long, it turns dark and hard very fast).Now place these vadas into the lukewarm water you had kept aside. Let them soak for a few minutes and watch them .Dont let them turn all soggy. Take them out,remove the excess water by pressing between both your palms and keep aside.Now, prepare the yogurt with water,and salt(to taste). Blend into a smooth consistency. Divide into two parts. Add the vadas to the first part.Once that's done,pour the second part of the yogurt on top of the vadas.You can perform this step in a nice serving dish or you could do it seperately and then transfer it to a serving dish. Once in the serving dish,add the tamarind chutney in pretty patterns, then repeat the pattern with red chillies, dahi vada masala and cumin powder. In the end add some chopped coriander for that pop of color.(My picture doesn't have the coriander , I know ..I forgot)
There you go. Enjoy this colorful , sweet and savory dish.I look forward to posting more pictures from Holi 2009 celebrations on the weekend


This recipe is dedicated my family and friends

Falafel

Hello everyone, I know I haven't posted in ages but I have cooked like crazy all this while..There just hasn't been time.I took pictures,thinking all the time of posting them here but...if wishes were horses ,I would be flying by now ..

Things have changed and happened and those I will talk of another time but today I wanted to post my falafel recipe here :)

Falafel also known in Egypt and Sudan as ta'meya,is a fried ball or patty made from spiced fava beans and/or chickpeas. It is a popular form of fast food in the Middle East, where it is also served as a mezze (snack or tapas).

The word "falafel" is the plural of the Arabic word(filfil),meaning pepper.Variant spellings in English include falafel and filafil.

Falafel is generally served in pita bread, either inside the pita, which acts as a pocket, or wrapped in a flat pita. In many countries, falafel is a popular street food or fast food. The falafel balls, whole or crushed, may be topped with salads, pickled vegetables and hot sauce, and drizzled with tehina (tahini). Falafel balls may also be eaten alone as a snack or served as part of a mezze. During Ramadan, they are sometimes eaten as part of an iftar, the meal which breaks the daily fast after sunset. find more info here..So , ready for some felafel??

You need
1 cup dried chickpeas or 16 oz. can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans.
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons of fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons flour
Salt to taste
Pepper
Oil for frying

This is how you make it:
Soak dried chickpeas in a bowl,overnight.After soaking overnight , boil them. If using canned beans, no need for this step.Combine chickpeas, garlic, onion, coriander,cumin,salt and pepper(to taste) in medium bowl. Add flour.Mash chickpeas, mixing all the ingredients thoroughly.Feel free to mix everything in a food processor to get a thick paste.

Form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a ping pong ball and flatten slightly.Deep fry in oil until golden brown.

Serve hot with hummus or tahini .

Fruit Tray and Devilled Eggs

Thankyou for the appreciation and leaving some wonderful comments on my last 2 entries .I was humbled and hugely flattered. Its now time to share the recipes .Let's start with recipes from the superbowl sunday entry .

How about we begin with the Fruit Tray with peanut butter-honey dip and Devilled Eggs ?

Fruit Tray with peanut butter -honey dip

You need :
1/2 cup smooth or chunky peanut butter (I chose chunky)
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp water
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
2 cups melonballs
1 banana peeled and thickly sliced
1 apple sliced
4 strawberries sliced
1 small bunch- green seedless grapes

This is how you make it
1. Place peanut butter in small bowl , gradually stir in milk and honey until blended .Stir in water and cinnamon until mixture is smooth
2. Served the dip with fruits which has been arranged on a serving dish .
You can use green salad leaves to cover the serving dish before you arrange the fruits on it .


Fruit tray with peanut butter-honey dip


Peanut butter -Honey Dip

Devilled (or Deviled) Eggs

I always wanted to how this dish got its name. Here's a bit of trivia for those are curious about the name .

"The devil in this particular dish is definitely in the details. In this context, "deviled" refers to the process of highly seasoning a food. Linda's culinary dictionary explains further:

deviled - (1) A term describing food that is dark, rich, chocolate, spicily piquant or stimulating it is "deviled." Means a highly seasoned, chopped, ground, or whole mixture that is served hot or cold. Many foods, including eggs and crab, are served "deviled."

Deviled can also refer to spiced, potted meats such as William Underwood's famous deviled hams and sardines.

Some say the name of the dish originated in Great Britain in 1786, while the oldest known recipe for stuffed eggs appeared in a 15th-century Italian cookbook. Another source claims that the dish originated in ancient Rome.

As for the name, one food historian believes the names for foods such as deviled eggs or Devil's food cake stem from the belief that "healthy foods such as eggs, ham, and cake have been modified to thus become unhealthy." Hence they came under the influence of the evil one and are "deviled." Deviled foods are usually hot with spices, and anything hot is associated with the devil. (Source http://ask.yahoo.com)

You need :
12 Eggs, hard boiled and shelled
8 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
Chopped fresh Parsley

This is how you make it
Slice the eggs in half lengthwise.
Remove the yolks and mash them with the mayonnaise, mustard, until smooth and velvety.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place equal amounts into hollows of each egg half.
Garnish with chopped parsley.

Devilled Eggs

There you go , Two easy and delicious recipes ready in almost no time at all. Both recipes are great as appetizers or to bring to a pot-luck, and perfect for Atkins and low carb diets.

Enjoy .

Upma

Sorry folks ..No post for almost 2 weeks . I was busy and then I was sick .Now Iam feeling much better and raring to go . For those of you , who cared to ask , thanks a ton :)

The recipe I post today was something I was hoping to enter into Meenakshi's " From my rasoi - breakfast series" but could not because I was sick last week and couldnt make the deadline on time . Meenakshi of "Hooked on Heat" fame has been doing a great job and I hope to enter her feb series .

Today's recipe is Upma .Like all dishes upma, has a history behind it .It originated in the South of India and is mighty popular there .Called "Upma" in tamil ,"Uppindi" in Telugu and "Uppittu" in Kannada , its basically a wholesome indian dish made of Wheat Rava or sooji(also called semolina) .There are so many different ways to prepare Upma.

Indeed, every south Indian woman will impart a small difference in flavour when making her Upma. This variation is obtained by varying or emphasising some particular spice, thereby making for variation. Apart from rava,upma is widely made with vermicelli and cous-cous also. These dishes are sometimes not regarded as being Upma, and are known in many regions by other names.

Upma used to be one of the many sunday breakfast items my ma used to make when I was back in India .Sunday breakfasts were always special and elaborate.recently I made upma and my mind jsut went back to those good ole times when I used to watch my ma fiddling with her pots and pans , spices ...........a bit of this , a bit of that ..some stirr and whoosh ....recipe upon delicious recipe appeared in front of me.She made it effortless , as simple as brushing your teeth and unknowingly instilled a love of cooking in me . Let me start with the recipe before I go mushy on you guys and start uttering gibberish :-)

You need
Sooji - upma Rava 1 Cup
Ginger 1 " inch piece chopped
finelyChilies red or Green 2 Nos
Onion medium size 1 chopped
Boiled peas- 1/2 cup
Chopped carrots -1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Oil 4 tbsp.
Water 2 Cups

For Seasoning
Mustard Seeds 1 tsp
Urad dal 1 tsp
Channa dal 1 tsp
Hing 1 pinch
dry red chillies 2
Curry leaves few.

This is how you cook it
Dry roast sooji in 2 tablespoon oil for few minutes & keep aside.Take care not to brown it .
Heat oil in the same pan & add the seasoning.
Add chilies, ginger & Onion ,fry till translucent.Then add chopped carrots and boiled peas .Cover the pan with a lid for atleast 5-10 minutes while the carrots soften and cook
Add salt,water & let it come to boil at whichpoint add the sooji gradually.
Keep stirring& take care as not to form lumps.
Simmer the stove,cover & let it cook for 5 minutes.
Switch off the stove. Your upma is ready .& Serve hot with a steaming cup of tea or coffee.

What a delicious beginning to a day .Try it .

Aloo Tikki

The ubitquitous potato.There's nothing one can not make with it .Everything from appetisers to desserts can be made with this humble looking, brown, oblong ,smooth and sometimes rough skinned vegetable.

So from the vast array of possible appetisers ,sides, main course dishes and desserts ,I decided to make aloo tikki the other day .Aloo tikki is one of the items from amongst a collection of hot and spicy snacks that is called chaat.(Others being golgappa, bhalle, papdi etc) .Each of these items are particularly spicy and induce a "kick" into a boring day:)

I used to visit the local ‘chaat walla (street hawker) to eat aloo tikki and chaat when I visited the local market with ma and dad .His shop would be abuzz with customers at any given time and his tikkis and chaat always sold like hot cakes . He fried fresh aloo tikkies on a hot griddle or tava .The wonderfully aroma was often enough to set my stomach churning with hunger .
Standing in the line always paid off in the end because the taste made up for everything .

The best part is , one can always make them at home , they are very easy ,delicious and serve as a wonderful appetiser. Let's get started .

You need:
7-8 potatoes boiled, peeled, mashed
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
3 green chillies grouned1/2 tsp.
garam masala
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt to taste
chilli flakes/powder to taste
oil for shallow frying

This is how you cook it
Mix all the ingredients thoroughly
Press gently into rounded flattish patties.
Shallow fry on a griddle, drizzling oil to crispen crust.
Serve hot with tamarind chutney and green chutney. or with tomato ketchup

(you can do an optional filling with boiled chana dal or paneer& peas .This mixture is made with mixing either chana or paneer& peas with ginger, corriander seeds , cumin seed powder, salt and chilli .Take a tbspful of potato mixture, spread on palm and place a tspful of dal mixture in centre.Roll so as to keep dal mixture inside and potato out. Press gently into rounded flattish patties)

Seekh Kebab

I haven't tried making seekh kabab at home before , and yesterday I wondered why ..

There was no satisfactory answer other than the fact that I don't have a nice big grill .."So what, don't you have an oven , you silly girl?" My inner voice chided me ...and I started laughing .It was time to make some kebabs .

The compliments at my friend's place were all I needed ,to tell me that my experiment turned out very well .And ofcourse hubby dear has always been an ardent admirer of my cooking (Now that's love for you)

Here's how I made it
Took some lean turkey meat to which I added some vegetable oil and spices(salt, red chilly flakes, worchestor sauce , garam masala , dhania powder)

Made long sausage shaped rolls and inserted a skewer stick in each kebab. and put them on a baking tray which had been lightly sprayed with oil . (dip the skewer sticks for about 20 minutes in cold water to prevent burning in the oven)

The I put the tray in the oven which had been preheated at 350 degree F .Turned them skewers over periodically till the meat turned deep brown (While baking ,test the level of cooking by stickg a fork inside the meat and see if the prongs have any wet, sticky residue on them .If not then the meat is cooked and ready to serve )

Served it with a cooling yogurt sauce to which I added mint chutney .

Christmas with an indian flavor

Yay!!!

Iam back again to my food blog after a month and it feels good :-) to be writing about food once again .No long breaks this time.

Last friday , we had a christmas party at work (actually at someone's home after work) and we were all asked to get what we thought we would like to share from our culture .Me, I chose kesar pulao, butter chicken , vegetable cutlets (for appetisers) and saag paneer .

Butter chicken is a north indian chicken dish made with chicken cubes cooked in a spicy onion-tomato sauce to which almond-cashewnut paste is added for consistency and thickness .Usually food color is added but I did not add any and jsut stuck with turmeric .

Kesar pulao is an aromatic basmati rice cooked with clarified butter and salt to which raisins, cashewnuts and kesar (saffron) is added .YUM-O

Saag Paneer is a very popular North Indian dish as well .To prepare this I usually fry paneer( cottage cheese , this is not the cottage cheese in America .At the party I was telling what paneer is and how to make it .Here goes, squeeze a lemon in hot milk and let it seperate .Take the white residue and tie it up in a muslin cloth and let all the water drip .What remains is, paneer.You can crumble this or cut it up in cubes....I buy mine from the Indian store)

Vegetable cutlets are well, cutlets . Boil and mash potatoes and add peas, breadcrumbs, salt , black pepper and amchoor .Make little balls , flatten them and shallow fry them .Have them with corriander and/or turmeric chutney .

For dessert I took pumpkin pie .(and everyone knows what pumpkin pie is ).

All of the above were popular and here are some pictures .Enjoy


The Indian Twist


Kesar Pulao


Butter Chicken


Saag Paneer


Vegetable Cutlets


Pumpkin Pie


Merry Christmas every one :-)