Tomato Chutney

I love tomatoes in any form - stuffed tomato, raw in salads, soup, chutney ... This tomato chutney is a staple in my house. The smoky taste of the tomatoes, coupled with the slightly sharp mustard oil ... it is a dance session for the tastebuds.
2 juicy beefsteak tomatoes
1/4 red onion, chopped fine
1 green chilli, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp mustard oil

Wash the tomatoes and pat dry. Lightly coat the tomatoes with a couple of drops od mustard oil. Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan, place the tomatoes, cover and cook on medium low heat till the tomaotes are cooked, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.
In a bowl, add the chopped onion, chilli and salt. Add the cooked tomatoes and using a potato masher, mash to pulp. Add 1/2 tsp mustard oil and mix well. Serve as an accompaniment with Rice / Paratha. Enjoy !

Sweet Delight - K's Apple Pie

Apple Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream

Garlic Asparagus

The recipe is the same as the Lahsooni Tinda recipe that I posted earlier. Just substitute the Asparagus for the Tinda.

Kofta Curry

Recipe courtesy my Ma. She used to make Kofta curry with Jackfruit, Opo Squash, Plantain, Ground chicken/lamb ... pretty much anything. This recipe calls for few ingredients, and packs a flavor punch.
For the Kofta
1 lb ground chicken
1 onion, chopped fine
1" ginger, grated
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 egg (optional)
1 1/2 tbsp besan (chickpea flour)
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
Mix all the ingredients well. Heat oil in a pan. Make medium sized balls and deep fry on low heat till golden brown. Drain excess oil on paper towel(s) and keep aside.
For the Curry
2 onions, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1" ginger grated
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
Oil
Chooped coriander leaves, for garnish

Heat oil in a pan. Add the onions and cook till onions turn light brown. Add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, garam masala powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and cook till the masala and tomatoes are cook and the oil separates. Add about 3 cups of water and salt and bring to boil. Reduce heat, add the koftas and simmer on low heat for 15 minutes. garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with Rice / Paratha. Enjoy !

Birthday Lunch - Peas Pulao, Garlic Asparagus, Kofta Curry, Rich Chocolate Cake

It's K's birthday today. To celebrate, I made Peas Pulao, Garlic Asparagus, Meat Kofta curry and to finish off this great meal, dessert was a rich, moist chocolate cake. This was the first time I was baking a cake, and in all honesty I cannot take credit for this super good cake. Thanks to Pilsbury Cake Mix, the cake was superb and I got all the compliments :)


PEAS PULAO

2 cups Basmati Rice, cleaned and soaked in water
2-3 cloves
2 green cardamoms
1" cinnamon
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1 cup peas (I used the frozen ones)
Oil
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a pan and add the cloves, cardamom, cinnamon. When they begin to sizzle, add the sliced onion. Cook till translucent. Add the peas and salt. cook for a minute. Drain water from rice and add to pan. Mix gently. Add 4 cups water and bring to boil on high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover the pan and cook till the water has evaporated and rice is cooked. Remove from heat and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Fluff gently and serve hot with curry of your choice. Enjoy !

Weekend trip

Some pics from our weekend trip. Enjoy !

Giant Redwood tree

Food for my Honey - Methi Rice, Dal Makhni, Tandoori Chicken

Methi Rice

Dal Makhni

Tandoori Chicken

(Recipes will be posted later today)

Love, Pyaar, Ishq ....

To my family, friends, blog readers ...

Southern Delights : Idli & Tomato-Mint Chutney

K has been under the weather for the last couple of days and I wanted to do something special for him to make him feel better. "Why not make idlis", I decided - it would be a change from eating cereal and milk for breakfast. I am generally not this adventurous regarding breakfast on weekdays ... The smile that lit K's face more than made up for everything :)

1 cup urad dal, picked and washed
2 cups idli rice, picked and washed
1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
Salt to taste

Soak the rice and the urad dal in warm water separately. Add 1/2 tsp of methi seeds each with the rice and dal. In a food processor, grind the rice-methi seeds to a paste - the consistency should be like Rava/Semolina.
Grind the Urad dal to a smooth paste. Mix both the batters together in a large bowl and keep overnight to ferment. You know that the batter has fermented if the next day, the volume of the batter has doubled.
(Tip : When the weather is cold I generally put the batter mix in the oven and keep the oven light on. The heat from the lamp helps in the fermentation.)
Add salt to the batter and mix well. Lightly grease the idli molds and put the batter till 3/4 of the mold is covered. In a dutch oven heat about 1 glass of water. When it begins to boil, add the idli molds, cover and steam for about 15-20 minutes. (When you insert a toothpick, it should come out clean). Remove from heat, uncover and let sit for about 5 minutes. Using a butter knife, remove the idlis from the mold and serve hot with Chutney / Sambhar. Enjoy !!

Tomato-Mint Chutney ( Recipe courtesy Mythreyee)
4 tomatoes, chopped fine
10-12 mint leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tbsp Urad dal
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
A pinch of Hing
Salt to taste
Oil
Heat Oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. When the mustard begins to splutter, add the cumin seeds and Urad dal. Then add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomato is half cooked add the mint leaves, turmeric powder, chilli powder, Hing and salt. Cook till the tomatoes are cooked.
Remove from heat and cool. Grind to a smooth paste without any water. Serve with Idlis. Enjoy !!

MBP : Hare Chane ke Kebab - Green Garbanzo Kebabs

Superbowl came and went and I still hadn't posted the recipe for this dish. I was bone tired after driving all the way to Chico, CA, participating in the college recruitment session and then driving back home. Add to that, poor K was in such a miserable shape, thanks to the Allergy season. He has been under the weather this entire fortnight ... anyhu to cut a long story short. My apologies and here is the recipe.
My friends M & J had hosted the Superbowl party at their house on Sunday and this was my contribution. (Wonderful party and wonderful spread M & J).
This is my entry for the super MBP event that dear Coffee has organized. I was inspired by Indira Thanks Indira for this super delicious and easy to make finger food. :)


1 packet frozen green garbanzo. (Keep it outside for a little while, so that the garbanzo can thaw)
1/2 cup greek style 2% yogurt
3 Thai serrano chillies
2 fat cloves garlic
1" ginger
1 tbsp grated coconut
4-5 curry leaves
2 tbsp besan (Chickpea flour)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small red onion, finely chopped
Salt to taste
Oil
Cooking Spray

Grind to a paste together - chillies, coconut, curry leaves, garlic cloves, ginger.

Heat oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they begin to sizzle, add the chopped onion. Cook till the onion turns a light brown. Add the green garbanzo and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Add the yogurt and salt and mix well. Cook on low flame, constantly mashing the chickpeas with a potato masher, till it is of a paste consistency. Cook till the water evaporates. Now add the besan and mix well. Check and adjust the seasoning. Let cool.

Heat a flat bottomed pan and coat lightly with cooking spray. Take about 2 tbsp of the garbanzo mix and roll into a ball shape between your palms. Gently flatten it. Cook on low heat till both sides turn a nice brown. Serve with a chutney of your choice and enjoy !

Southern Comfort : Dosa, Okra Sambhar, Coriander-Coconut Chutney

Babuji ( my father) loves South Indian food. He can eat Sambhar and Dosa 365 days a year for lunch and dinner. Once a month on Sundays, he would pack Ma and us four kids into the car and we would head to this lovely restaurant to have our pick of a Thali / Dosa-Idli's / Idli-Vada's and the like for lunch. Satiated and content we would troop back home, counting the days to the next such food outing.
Ma would make Dosa, Idli, Sambhar, Chutney at home quite frequently. As much as Rice, Dal, Curry were a part of our diet, so was Pongal, Rasam, Sambhar. I tried making Dosas a couple of times and to say they were a disaster was putting it mildly. I finally asked Ma for her recipe for Dosa batter and my Father-in-law for the Chutney. The sambhar recipe is courtesy Indira of Mahanandi and tried my hand and these dishes. Much to my joy and to K's approval, they came out really good.

Dosa

1 cup split Urad Dal, picked and washed
2 cups rice (I used Basmati rice, since that was the only one I had in hand)
1 tsp Methi (Fenugreek) seeds
Salt to taste
1/2 onion
Oil
Soak the rice, dal and methi seeds in warm water for 6-8 hours. Grind to a paste. transfer to a large bowl, cover and keep in a warm place overnight to ferment. If it is cold, then put the bowl inside the oven and switch on the light. The heat from the light bulb will keep the bowl warm and enable fermentation. You know the batter has fermented if the volume is double. Add salt and water. Make sure that the batter is not watery.

Heat a flat bottomed pan. Take the cut onion, dip in a little oil and lightly rub all over the pan. Take a ladleful of the dosa batter and pour in the pan. Using the bottom of the ladle, gently spread the batter in a circular motion. Take 1/2 tsp oil and spread around the dosa. Cook till it turns a light brwon. Your Dosa is ready to enjoy with Sambhar and Chutney.

Okra (Bhindi) Sambhar

1 cup Tur Dal, pressure cooked in 2 cups water.
Lime sized tamarind soaked in 1/2 cup warm water
1/2 packet frozen cut okra
2 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
1/2 onion, sliced fine
1 tbsp sambhar powder
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
7-8 curry leaves
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste

In a Dutch oven, heat oil. Add the minced garlic, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the sliced onion and cook till light brown. Add the chopped tomatoes and okra. Now add the sambhar powder, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, salt, tamarind water and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook till the okra is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
Now add the cokked Dal, mix well and simmer another 10-15 minutes till all the flavors are blended. Serve hot with Dosa / Idli/ Rice.

Coriander-Coconut (Nariyal-Dhaniya) Chutney

1 bunch coriander, picked, cleaned and chopped coarsely
1 cup freshly grated coconut
4 green chillies
10-12 mint leaves, chopped coarsely
1/2 tsp cumin powder
5-6 curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
Salt to taste
In a food pocessor, make a smooth paste of the coriander leaves, mint leaves, coconut, green chillies, salt with 1/2 cup water. heat oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop add the curry leaves. Pour this oil over the chutney and serve with Dosa/Idli. Enjoy !