Collaborative Curry

Apple Tea Cake With Lemon Glaze

2012-01-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

The weather is getting warmer in Colorado, well, most of the days. As I type this, I see the snow flakes falling on the trees,like floating feathers. But still, it is unusually warm for a January in this ski country. As I have told you before, winter is my favorite excuse to bake something nice. This tea cake is no exception !

This is a nice, flavorful, tangy, sweet buttermilk pound cake that goes well with your afternoon coffee or tea. The layers in the picture made me want to try it, as soon as I opened this beautiful book I received from a giveaway. Isn't that a lovely presentation,with those surprise layers showing up ?

Though the kids didn't like it much, the adults in the house really loved it. My kids are the pickiest eaters ever! Sometimes I think that I'm giving them way more choices than they should really have ! You will understand what I am trying to say ,once you read this whole story. As a kid I used to gobble up anything from a bakery,since I loved anything back then . My little sister and I, used to look for any baked goodies my mom might have brought and kept in her bag ,on the way back from her office. There was a really good bakery near to her office and sometimes when she, along with her friends, would just drop in to have some tea and the bakery owner would tempt her with the new items she could possibly buy for her kids. One of the things I still remember is these small pieces of tea cakes, wrapped like candies, in thin parchment paper. I do not know whether they still sell those cuties, I will definitely find it out during my next trip to Kerala.And if they are there-I'll buy them right away!

Don't misconcieve the story I was trying to tell you. This buying goodies used to happen only once in a blue moon. But still we used to grab her tote and thoroughly search, hoping for a bounty or a little something everyday she comes back from work. We used to cherish and eat every little treat we used to get, unlike my super duper picky little fellows. Now tell me, didn't I spoil my kids? This cake is nothing like the cake in this story. But the name of this cake reminded me about those cute tea cakes I used to relish ages ago,as a kid.

Have a great weekend all !!

Ingredients:

Unsalted Butter, at room temp- 1/2 cup
Granulated Sugar- 1 cup
All purpose Flour- 1 1/2 cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Baking Powder- 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda- 1/4 tsp
Eggs- 2 large +one yolk
Lemon Zest(optional)- 1/4 tsp
Buttermilk- 1/2 cup
Apple- 1 small firm-sweet or half of a big one
Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp,divided

For the glaze:

Confectioner's sugar- 1 cup
Lemon juice- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 350 degree F. Grease a loaf pan preferably a 8.5 inch by 4.5 inch. (I used a bigger one and my cake is more flattened than it is supposed to be !)
2.Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.Slice the cored and unpeeled apple using a mandoline, lengthwise
3.Beat the butter and sugar on high speed, till it turns pale, fluffy and almost mousse-like.This takes about 7-8 minutes.
4.Add the eggs and yolk, one at a time and beat well to mix in.
5.Add about a third of the flour mixture into this and mix on low speed.
6.Pour in half of the butter milk and mix well.Repeat till the flour is over.Do not over mix.
7.Spoon in a third of the batter in the pan.Layer with half of the apple slices and top with 1/4 tsp of cinnamon.
8.Pour 1/3 rd of the batter on top and level with a spatula. Arrange the remaining apple slices, topped with rest of the cinnamon.
9.Top with the rest of the batter, level it and bake for about 45 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean.
10.remove cake from the oven and cool for about 5 minutes on a wire rack ,in the pan.
11.Meanwhile mix the confectioner's sugar and the lemon juice to make the glaze.
13.Poke the cake with a toothpick inserted all the way.Pour over about half of the glaze on the cake and let it soak.
14.After 10 minutes turn the cake on a wire rack and let cool. Pour the remaining glaze over the cake, let it set and serve with tea/coffee.

Notes:

1.The original recipe didn't call for any lemon zest in the recipe.
2.The author suggests to use a apple that has lemon flavors in it, like Ginger gold or Gravenstein. I used Honey Crisp apples.
3.The cake is sticky, so I would recommend lining the pan with a parchment paper.

Recipe Adapted From:The Apple Lover's Cookbook

Tapioca Chips

2012-01-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

I wasn't quite sure about posting this while I was frying these chips. There is nothing much to be explained about this dish. Then I thought about the people who may not be familiar or comftorble with frying the chips and decided to post it here to teach all ! So the experts out there, please bear with me !

I 'm sure all the Malayalees or most of those from South India are quite familiar with Tapioca (aka kappa,maracheeni,kolli or cheenikkizhangu) chips. This is the second most favorite type of chips in my family,without any doubt the top most favorite is banana chips. All the bakeries in Kerala has packets of these chips for sale, and the interesting part is,they come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes a thinner version of shoe laces, sometimes round and circular like this,sometimes with little bit chili added,but they all taste scrumptious !!!.I can finish one whole packet in one go (I am not kidding,I really can!) Yes, I warn you that these chips are dangerously addictive. You will totally agree with me, if you have had them before.

I have told you in this earlier post that tapioca is a staple in most of the houses in Kerala. There are so many dishes you can prepare using tapioca. I have posted about kappa puzhukku and kappa biryani earlier. But I have never told you about how we use all the parts of tapioca quite efficiently,almost leaving no part behind. After the harvest,the stem will be saved for planting in next season,the leaves will be fed to the cows, after they loose the freshness.They do this to avoid the cattle getting sick from the milk that oozes out from the leaves.The tapioca is preserved after making small chunks and boiling them till completely cooked and drying out completely in sun.This is called unakku kappa (dried tapioca). This is used when the tapioca is not in season,but nowadays,raw tapioca is imported to Kerala from the neighboring states, so it's available year round-leaving this teqniuque almost deserted.Once I get some unakku kappa, I'll explain how to make some great dishes using that,for I have many recipies for it.

Where do you buy your tapioca in US ? I mostly get them from the Chinese/Asian grocery store.Sometimes they turn to be bad, but most of the time, very good because of one secret I will tell you- sometimes we pinch the skin to see whether the inside is black, from the fungus! Shhhh,it's a secret !! :-D

Ingredients:

Tapioca, skinned - 2-3 large pieces
Salt
Oil- for deep frying

Method:

1.Peel out the skin from tapioca and wash well. Dry it using a kitchen tissue paper.This helps to hold it properly, without slipping, while you use a mandolin.
2.Using a mandolin cut the tapioca into thin slices.
3.Meanwhile heat the oil on medium high.Make a really strong solution of salt in couple of spoons of water and keep aside.Also keep a lid in handy.
4.Carefully ,put the tapioca pieces in the oil.Do not stir for the first 45 seconds to 1 minutes.This is to let the tapioca get cooked and not to break them while stirring.
5.After that start stirring the chips, till they start to turn light golden brown.
6.Sprinkle a few drops of salt solution into the oil using one hand ,while closing the pan with the lid using the other hand immediately. This helps you to prevent any oil splattering on the stove and surroundings.Be really careful with this step. If you think that it is really scary, you can sprinkle the salt solution right after you take the chips out from the oil.
7.Once the salt is completely dried,take out the chips from the oil using a sieved ladle.
8.Let the chips cool completely before you transfer it into an airtight container.

Notes:

1.Traditionally these chips are made in coconut oil.
2.Be careful when you use the mandolin.Sometimes tapioca can be really big to handle like this. So my suggestion is to get medium sized tapioca when you want to make chips.

Dry-roasted Coconut Chutney (Thenga chuttaracha chammanthi)

2012-01-12T07:47:00.000-07:00

This is a recipe that has nostalgia as a main ingredient ! As a Malayalee, I love anything coconut and a chutney like this, is a part of everyday diet, back in Kerala.We have this with our breakfast, as a side for puzhukku (mashed yuca or jackfruit mostly),with our lunch (rice, thoran etc) and also with our dinner (if it is kanji aka rice porridge). I guess you got how much we, Keralaites, love these semi-dry chutneys,because they match with almost everything we eat.

Thenga chuttaracha chammanthi holds a very special place among all the chutneys, mostly for the method it is prepared and the distinct taste from the dry-roasted coconut.Traditionally this is made after roasting the coconut in the wood burning fire-herth. You toss in the coconut pieces and the red chilies in the ashes and the coal pieces left after you burn the wood and let them roast. I cannot guarantee you that the method I explained here will give you the chutney with the exact same taste,but I gaurantee it will taste delicious! The coconut gets a smoky flavor from the wood fire-herth, whereas sadly we cannot replicate that on the stove top.But still this tastes good and quench my taste buds when I'm in a mood to have some chuttaracha chammanthi.

Another major difference from the traditional one ,is the way it is ground.As most of you know, we used to grind everything using stone. Ammikkallu, for semi wet grinding, aattukallu for wet grinding and ural for dry grinding. Still I have them in my parent's house, though they don't use them much anymore, maybe ammikkallu/arakallu being an exception. Guess I should take some pictures of those when I visit Kerala next time, since my kids won't even know what these are, when they grow up.The chutneys made on ammikkallu is definitely different from what we make using a mixer grinder.

Many people ask me where I get my fresh coconuts from. I always get them from the Asian/Chinese market place instead of a local grocer,since they have really fresh coconuts. I rarely use frozen coconut, because fresh makes a huge difference especially in dishes like, this chutney.So I hope you all enjoy making this delicious yet spicy chammanthi at home.I wish everyone in US a great 3-day weekend filled with endless fun!!

Ingredients:

Coconut pieces- from 1/4th of a coconut
Dried Red Chilies- 4-5
Tamarind- gooseberry size (around 1 tsp)
Salt- To taste
Shallots- 2-3 small
Curry leaves- 2-3

Method:

1.Dry roast the coconut pieces in a large non sticky pan, on medium heat.Turn the sides when they turn brown.Once both the sides are done take them out from the pan.The coconut shouldn't burn, but there shouldn't be any white left on them.
2.Dry roast the red chilies too,turning the sides in between, till they change the color.
3.Let the coconut and chilies cool down a bit.
4.Grind them with the other ingredients in a mixie/grinder.Sprinkle a couple of spoons of water to let the chutney come together.I don't grind it fine, we prefer it to be a bit coarse.
5.Serve with warm rice and any other side dishes of your choice.

Mocha Cake With Mocha Buttercream Frosting

2012-01-05T10:30:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year, beloved readers ! Hope you all had a wonderful New Year week end. We had a fun time with some great friends and lots of good food. The weather here is unusually hot for January in Colorado.Though I am relieved that I don't have to drive on icy roads, I'm a bit concerned about this weird weather change.

Now, am I worried about apocalypse and the end of the world in this year ? How can a January day in Colorado be in upper 60s ? How does it rain so hard even in December back in Kerala? Sure the weather changes in the entire world hints that something is going to be different in the upcoming future.Don't you think so? Hope whatever happens will be for good !Or like some says, why worry so much about tomorrow when you have a beautiful today lying in front of you, to live to the fullest, and you can make the best of it by this mocha cake:)

This is the cake I made to welcome 2012. Everyone in my small family loves it and so do I.This is not the first time I'm making this cake.Though the flavors of cocoa is subtle in this, it creates pure magic with the coffee flavor. Even the people who are not crazy about coffee will love this, since the coffee in the cake is not overpowering or edgy.You could imagine how good it is, when I say that even my 3 1/2 year old, who is super picky on cakes, loves this.I hope you will try it,and wishing your family will love it too,and if you love it like me, it will sure be a keeper recipe.

I wish you all remain happy and peaceful in this new year . Like lil M says : "Mamma, be happy because that is good for your heart". Have no clue where he got this scientific connection ! Happy 2012, folks !

Ingredients:
For Cake:

Egg yolks- 6
Granulated sugar- 1 cup
Espresso/Instant coffee granules (I used Nescafe)- 2 tsp
Cocoa powder- 2 tsp
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Warm water- 2 tsp
Canola/Vegetable Oil- 1/2 cup
Cake flour- 1 cup
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Egg Whites, at room temperature- 6
Cream of tartar- 1 tsp

For Frosting:

Butter- 1 cup
Confectioner's sugar- 2 1/2 cup
Coffee Granules/Kahlua- 2 tsp
Cocoa Powder- 1 tsp
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 375 degree F.Line two 9 inch round pans with parchment paper and grease them by spraying oil on the bottom and sides.
2.Cream the sugar and egg yolks until you get a creamy light yellow mixture.
2a..Whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar till stiff peaks are formed.
3.Mix the coffee granules with cocoa powder and add the warm water. Mix well and get rid of lumps, if any.
4.Pour this into the egg sugar mixture along with the oil and beat well to mix.
5.Sift the flour and baking powder over this bowl with sugar mixture. Stir using a wooden spatula until everything is blended well.
6.Fold in the egg whites into this mocha batter until no traces of whites are seen.
7.Divide this among the pans and bake for 18-20 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean.
8.Cool the cakes in the pan for a few minutes and then turn them on to a wire rack and cool completely before frosting.
9.To make the frosting, beat the butter and sugar until smooth.Start with a cup of sugar and gradually add the rest of it to incorporate.
10.Mix the cocoa powder,kahlua/coffee granules(mix with a tsp of water if using granules) and vanilla extract with the frosting.
11.Place one cake on the plate and spread 1/3rd of the frosting on the top.Keep the other cake on top and spread the frosting using a spatula/ butter knife. Frost the sides too.
12.I have decorated just like the original recipe suggests.

Noes:

1.If you do not have cream of tartar you could substitute with either white vinegar or lemon juice, but you must use about 2 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice. I have tried that once.

Recipe Adapted from here

Besan Ladoo and Happy 2012 !

2011-12-30T11:15:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is in the best of their spirits and health. What are the plans to welcome the new year? Midnight party with some dancing ? Preparing a list of new year resolutions? Whatever your plans are,I wish you a year filled with love,happiness,hope,and cheer! May the New Year gives the power and courage to make your dreams come true !

This ladoo recipe has been lying in my drafts for a while now. I quite didn't like the pictures and kept on postponing the post. I couldn't make or take new pictures of this, but I have to do the last post of this year with a sweet ending and here it is.

When I made besan ladoo for the first time, the results were terrible.As most of you know, if besan is not cooked enough,it tastes bitter, and foul-tasting.Then, for a long time, I wouldn't dare myself to cook this again, but I knew I had to perfect this recipie,because everyone in my family loves ladoos.

Then I came across Ria's post on Besan ladoo and she mentioned how the post and video in "Show me The curry" has helped her make a better Besan Ladoo. I bookmarked Hetal and Anuja's post, tried it after some time and I made the best ladoos ever ! Thanks Ria ,for inspiring and thanks Hetal and Anuja for making a fool proof recipe !

So this post is dedicated to all those who have failed in their attempts to make besan ladoo :-)
Have a wonderful 2012 !!!

Ingredients:

Besan- 1 1/2 cup
Warm Ghee- 1 1/2 tsp
Warm Milk- 1 1/2 Tbsp

For Ladoo:
Ghee- 1/2 cup
Sugar- 3/4 cup
Cardamom- 1/2 tsp
Slivered Almonds- 2-3 Tbsp

Method:

1.Mix the warm ghee and warm milk in a small bowl.Mix the besan with this mixture and keep aside for about 5 minutes.You will get small granulated mixture.
2.Sieve it through a sieve that has medium size hole.
3.Heat 1/2 cup ghee in a large non stick frying pan.
4.Add the granulated besan into this and mix well. Keep the ehat on medium and stir it continuously till the besan is fried well.The kitchen will be filed with a nice aroma and the color changes slightly. This will take around 12-15 minutes.
5.Turn off the ehat. Add the sugar, cardamom and sliced almonds. Mix well.
6.When the mixture is just warm enough to handle, shape them into ladoos using your palm.
7.cool completely and store in an airtight container.

Notes:

1.It is ok if you use a little less ghee. But the ladoos get dried a bit faster.
2.If you could get some ladoo besan from the Indian Grocery store, you could skip the step where we make the besan granulated.

Recipe Adapted from : Here and Here

Merry X'mas and a note on Kerala Fruit cake

2011-12-23T09:23:00.000-07:00

Wishing you the joy of family, the happiness of friends, and the love of Christmas!

I get a lot of doubts and questions about the Kerala Fruit/Plum cake every year and I thought I should note them down here for any future reference.

The color of the fruit cake is important too and the secret is the perfect caramel syrup. This is the picture of the prepared syrup to give you an idea about the color !

Merry Christmas to all the readers of Collaborative Curry !

For a perfect Fruit cake:
While making the cake:

1.Keep butter and eggs on the counter top and let it reach room temperature before you begin.
2.If you forget to keep the eggs well in advance, put them in some hot water (not too hot,you don't want to end up with boiled eggs)
3.If you don't have enough time or you are in a cold country, just cut the butter into a few pieces, so that it will soften faster.
4.The color of caramelized sugar is the key to the color of the cake. If you don't caramelize well, you will not get the dark color.
5.If your candied orange peel is too big,just add them along with the granulated sugar in a blender and process it.
6.When you fold in the egg whites, there may be a small part of whites that is not whipped well at the bottom. Do not add that as such.Whip that part again before adding in to the batter.
7.Line the cake pan with a parchment paper or grease the pan really well.The soaked fruits and caramel syrup is notoriously sticky.
8.Toss the soaked fruits and nuts in a tablespoon of flour.Save at least 1/4th of the fruits for spreading on the top.
9.Level the top after you pour the batter and sprinkle the saved fruits on the top, in the cake pan.
10.Cool the cake in the pan for a few minutes and turn the cake on a wire rack and cool completely.
11.Once the cake is cooled, brush all over with some rum and cover the cake well using a parchment paper.Let it ripe for a few days, before you cut the cake.

Plan ahead:

1.Soak your dried fruits and nuts in rum, at least a few months before.Or you can do it now, for making the cakes next year.
2.See that the jar you use for soaking the fruits is free of any water and has a tight lid. You could leave it at room temperature and shake the jar at least once in a week.
3.Make the candied orange peel and store in an airtight container.
4.You could make the caramel syrup a few days early and store in an airtight container.

Pfefferneusse

2011-12-20T08:56:00.001-07:00

Christmas is just around the corner,yeah ! I love every single thing about the holiday season-the snow, the festive lights,the presents, the scrumptious smells,and most of all,the magic of the season.Hope everyone is geared up for the big,festive day.Here is another magnificent type of cookie,full of christmas spirit and spice.

I love these beautiful cookies, and I for one, had finished up a batch of my own at home. This is the absolute first time I am baking these cookies,and I am pleased that I did. This classic German cookie has all the Christmas flavors in it and has a few nuts,which is a mouth-watering combination.The name 'Pfeffernusse' , translates to 'peppernut',since it has pepper in it, but with less a sting of pepper, if you follow accordingly to the recipe .When I bake these cookies again(I definetly will),I'll add a bit more pepper,because I love the zest of it.

This is another recipe I tried from Rose's Christmas cookies. This is a great book, I must say. I borrowed it from the local library and now I feel like getting a copy of my own. I want to make each and every cookie in this book and I already tried 3 of them. Do you remember my last post,the Crescent cookies, also adapted from this wonderful book.

If you are a health nut and would like to try these cookies - good news! They are free of butter,which makes a healthy treat for the kids,if you are a mom.Another plus factor about it, it keeps good for ages ! Make sure that you age these cookies with a slice of an apple in the container or they will break your teeth if you don't! Be sure to put a apple slice in a small bowl, and put it in the jar where the cookies are stored.After a couple of days, be sure to change them or you wouldn't want a moldy,mushy,gooey apple slice getting on your container.

A perfect time to bake !! Have a fun holiday season everyone !

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 3 cups
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
White pepper- 1/4 tsp
Ground cinnamon- 1 tsp
Ground cloves- 1/8 tsp
Chopped candied lemon/orange peel- 1/2 cup
Unblanched sliced almonds- >1/2 cup
Granulated sugar- scant 1 cup
Eggs- 3

For topping:

Confectioner's sugar- 1 cup

Method:

1.In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder,salt, pepper,cinnamon and cloves.
2.In a food processor,process the candied lemon peel, almonds and sugar until fine.
3.In a mixing bowl beat the eggs lightly.Add the sugar mixture into it and mix well.
4.At low speed gradually beat in the flour mixture, till everything has come together.
5.Scrape the dough onto a plastic wrap, flatten into a disc and wrap tightly. Chill for an hour (and not longer).
6.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F.Line 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper.
7.Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface to 1/4- 1/3 inch thickness.
8.Cut the dough with a 1 inch round cookie cutter.Place them on a cookie sheet an inch apart.
9.Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly browned.
10.Cool them in the baking sheet for a few minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool them completely.
11.Take the powdered sugar in a plastic bag and add the cookies, a few at a time ,in the bag and shake well to coat with sugar.
12.Store in an airtight container with an apple slice placed in a small bowl.

Notes:

1.Traditionally these cookies are not cut using a cookie cutter, but are orbs. Rose suggests these nontraditional shapes are easy to consume :-).
2.I used candied orange peel, though the recipe calls for lemon peel.
3.Keeping the apple slice in the jar is very important,and do keep that in a bowl (I've just kept the apple slice directly on cookies to see the cookies more clearly !)
4.Rose says it keeps good even for a year.
5. I used back pepper. You may use white if you want only less a sting.

Recipe adapted from: Rose's Christmas cookies

Crescent Cookies

2011-12-09T10:30:00.000-07:00

It is cold in Colorado. Last week we had a few snow showers and the mercury levels remain low ever since. So I decided to do what I love to do in this weather-baking.December is always a bake-a-thon time for me and this year is no exception.

I have started with some sugar cookies and these beautiful Crescent cookies. Then I baked a couple more cookies, the recipes coming soon. Seems like I will have to bake another batch of crescent cookies for the goodies bags I share with friends, for these cookies will be gone in a couple of days.These will just melt in your mouth and the nutty-cinnamon flavor is irresistible. Everyone loves it and the cookie tin is almost nearly empty now.I love it when the kids like what I make/bake because the time went into it, is really worth it.If my son likes one cookie ,my daughter will probably love the other one. This is a great thing,because at the end of the day, I will have no leftovers !

We are really enjoying the 3 year old and the hysterical things he shares. He is the funniest little guy I've ever met. Those who read this blog regularly will nod their head in agreement, I swear.For those who do not know a lot much about him, here is a teaser.After coming back form preschool ,Lil M started to narrate all the stories from that day. He asked me "Mamma do you know what letter starts with "A" ? (He meant the opposite, which words start with A). I said "I don't know, can you please tell me ? " He said " apple and ants". The Mamma got really excited and asked what are the other words he knows. He got excited too and asked me " Mamma, do you know a word that starts with "B" ? I said "no". He told me "arm", but I heard it as "balm" or "yam". He got really upset and replied "Mamma, don't you know "arm" as in L-I-A-O !! He was just trying to spell it out for me. I couldn't laugh well thinking that he might get mad at me and stop eating his lunch !

The story doesn't end there. When his father came home, he started repeating all the words starting like, A for apple. He was quite successful this time in telling almost all the words correct and when he reached "M" he said, "M for Mac". I coudn't help myself from laughing this time.If Steve Jobs was alive, he would be real proud to hear this !

Ingredients:

Blanched sliced almonds- 2/3 cup
Sugar- 1/3 cup
Unsalted Butter- 1 cup
All purpose flour- 1 2/3 cups
Salt- 1/4tsp

For topping:

Superfine sugar/powdered sugar- 1/2 cup
Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1.In a food processor, process the almonds and sugar until almonds are ground very finely.
2.Soften the butter.Add the almond mixture into this and combine well.Beat until light and fluffy.
3.Stir together the flour and salt and beat them into the butter mixture,on low speed,until fully incorporated.
4.Scrape down the dough onto a plastic wrap.Press it into a thick disc,wrap it and refrigerate about a couple of hours or until the dough is firm.
5.Preheat oven at 325 degree F.Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
6.Divide the dough into 8 portions.
7.Work with one portion at a time, keeping the remaining dough in the fridge.
8.Knead the dough between floured hands until smooth and malleable.
9.Pinch off a portion of the dough and make a ball that is about 3/4 inch round.
10On a lightly floured surface roll the ball into a cylinder that is 3 inches long and 1/2 inch thick.
10.Shape each cylinder into a crescent and place on the cookie sheet about an inch apart.
11.Shape the remaining part of the dough. Each portion will give you 8-10 number of cookies.
12.Bake for 14-16 minutes or until set and not brown.
13.If you are placing both the cookie sheets, rotate them from top to bottom , half way through the baking period.
14.Cool the cookies on the sheets for 10 minutes.
15.Mix the cinnamon and sugar until you see no traces of cinnamon.Dip the cookies,using a pancake turner, one at a time, in the cinnamon sugar and coat them all over.
16.Cool the cookies completely on a wire rack and store in an airtight container.
17.This keeps good for one month at room temperature.

Recipe source: Rose's Christmas Cookies by Rose Levy Beranbaum

Mango Fool

2011-12-09T10:23:00.000-07:00

I really missed the happenings in the blogosphere ,the last few days. My laptop crashed and the kids didn't let me use their desktop much. Only then I realized ,how much I love my own computer ! Anyways glad to be back in business.

How was your week ? Started baking all the goodies for Christmas? Is your tree up and lights on ? Usually I bake some cookies and Kerala Plum cake and share it with friends, during this time of the year. I have started the preparations and by next week, I'll be able to share some of them with you all. Meanwhile have a look at all the great cookies we have already posted on Collaborative Curry by clicking here.

The kids are all excited about the big holiday season and my daughter will have an instrumental concert in her class coming week, how exciting. The lil imp is participating in his first ever concert on Monday ! Can't wait to hear him and his friends. Even after repeated requests from us and his big sister he wouldn't sing it for us, saying "the song is only for the concert"

Coming to today's recipe: one of the simplest dessert ever, the irresistible combo of mango and cardamom, do I need to say more ? Mangoes are my most favorite fruits and this is what I would do when they are not in season, get a can and make some mango fool or some other dessert that calls for mango pulp. Here is the recipe for a simple mango fool and I hope you'll enjoy this little sunshine in winter !

I'm so happy to share this news: My Whole wheat Apple muffins won CED-Desserts-Apple, a great event hosted by Nayna of Simply food ,a brain child of Raven from Cookeatdelicious.com. I won this lovely cookbook.You should be able to see some recipes from this real soon ! Have a great weekend folks !

Ingredients:

Mango pulp- 2 cups
Heavy cream- 1 cup
Confectioner's sugar- 3-4 Tbsp/to your taste
Lemon zest- 1/4tsp
Cardamom powdered- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1.Mix the mango pulp with the lemon zest and cardamom. Keep aside.
2.In a chilled mixing bowl, beat the cream.When the soft peaks start to form, add the confectioner's sugar/powdered sugar and beat well until stiff peaks are formed.
3.Fold into the mango pulp mixture.You could decide how much you should fold in. I love to see the white streaks of cream in it :-)
4.Chill and serve with some mango slices, if they are in season or with any dried fruits or nuts of your choice.

Notes:

1.The sweetness of the above recipe is not on the higher side.You could add more sugar if you like that.
2.This recipe serves 4 to 5.

Chutney Powder for Dosa/Idli

2011-11-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

How was Thanksgiving break and the Black Friday shopping ? All set for welcoming the biggest festival of the season? We had a wonderful week with sumptuous food and good friends.The weather seems to be nice, well maybe only till today.It is going to snow tomorrow,better it be, since this is almost December and it is Colorado !

This post has been in the my draft for a long long time. I didn't post it since I didn't like the pictures I took that day except the pictures of the chillies. Even now I'm not satisfied with the pictures.Dull colors are always a challenge, would love to hear your experiences.

This is a must in my house and I don't know why it took me so long to blog about it ! My kids like this too and they prefer this over the coconut chutney I make.If you haven't tried this yet,I tell you, it's so easy and simple.There are hundreds of versions available on the net, this is how we make it in our home, back in Kerala.I am so happy to share with you, one more recipe, handed over by my mom-in-law.Hope you will try out this version and enjoy it !

Ingredients:

Dried Red chillies- 8-10
Black Pepper corns- ~20
Urad Dal/Black Gram- 1 cup

Method:

1.Heat a pan on medium flame/heat.Dry roast the red chilies and the black pepper.This is the only hard part especially if you are sensitive to spicy things.The heated red chilies may make you sneeze, so if you have a mask in handy ,use that.
2.Take the chilies and pepper out and roast the urad dal.Keep the heat on medium and stir continuously.Do not burn the dal.Turn off the heat when the dal chnages to a slight brown color and you start getting the roasted dal smell.
3.Let this cool down a bit.
4.Throw everything in the blender/dry grinder when the dal is still warm enough to hold in your hand.Grind it till you get a slightly coarse powder.
5.Serve a Tbsp or two with some oil (coconut,vegetable, canola or olive0 of your preference as a side for Idli/Dosa.
6.You can store this in an airtight container for several weeks.

Notes:

1.You can change the number of chilies and pepper corn according to your spice level. The measurements I gave will give you a medium spicy chutney powder.
2.Coconut oil is the best with this powder, but it is a personal preference.

Pumpkin Puree and Happy Thanksgiving !

2011-11-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone is doing great and getting into the holiday mood.The shops are already full of X'mas decors and holiday goodies. Those who are in US will be planning and preparing for Thanksgiving,which will be on this Thursday.I would love to hear about your menu plans. Are you planning an Indian spread or a traditional feast or a mixture of both ?

We celebrate Thanksgiving in our friends' house.This has been going on for the past several years and we are loving this sweet tradition.It will be a potluck dinner and our friend, L, always insist that I bring something Indian to the table.In her own words "Thanksgiving is a time for building traditions, sharing family heirlooms. I love to savor foods that my friends like to cook, foods they enjoy. So please, bring a little India to the table". Thanks L, now I know what I am going to cook :-)

Every year I make a pie for Thanksgiving, and last year I told you that I would like to try and make pumpkin puree at home, for my pie. Here I am., though a bit late, to keep my promise and share my story of pureeing pumpkin at home.

I am planning to bake a pie with this and with the left overs, a pumpkin bread and some other goodies.Just by the look of this puree I can tell you this much : I will never ever buy canned pumpkin puree from a store any more !

Wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving day, with your loved ones and friends,filled with lot of love and laughter ! Hope you will savor lots of good food and have lots of fun ! Have a great holiday season folks !

Ingredients:

A pie Pumpkin

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 375 degree F.
2.Wash and dry the pumpkin you are going to puree.
3.Remove the top/the stem part using a sharp knife or preferably a saw.Scrape out the inside and seeds.
4.Cut the pumpkin into 4 equal halves and then cut each part into halves.
5.Bake with the cut side facing up, for about 35-40 minutes or till the pumpkin is fork tender and the skin is burnt a bit.(See the pictures)
6.Peel off the skin and save the flesh.
7.Puree the flesh using a food processor.Add a spoon of water if necessary.
8.Store in ziploc bags in the freezer, if you are planning to use later.Otherwise store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Notes:

1.I have read in some places about spraying the pumpkin with olive oil. I didn't do that.
2.I did not add any water wile pureeing, since I wanted to have thick puree.
3.If you think that the puree is too watery, just seive to get thicker puree.

Recipe courtesy: Various internet sites

Whipped Cream Cake

2011-11-10T09:43:00.000-07:00

Hope those in US had a great long weekend.We had a warm week end and all the snow got melted away.So glad that we are getting some warm days before the freezing winter.

To continue with the story of my son's preschool adventures, I have to tell you this. Nowadays he knows the names of some of his friends and tells us what happens in the school everyday. One day he started telling how one of his friends,Kai, had to go back home after an accident. He said "Levi (another friend) put a truck on the way. Kai tripped over it and fell down. He hurt his knees so bad, but he didn't die, so his Mamma came and took him home" !! That cracked us, the listeners and he got mad and told us "Stop funnying(means make fun of me, in his dictionary !) me". We couldn't control the laughter and Lil M left the room wondering why everyone is laughing at a serious matter like this.

Stories apart, this recipe is adapted from two "Roses". One is Rose Levy Beranbanm and the other one is the Rose who writes at "Magpies Recipes". I saw this recipe in Real Baking, Rose B's blog and bookmarked it,but wasn't sure how it will turn out since she doesn't have any picture of it. A week later Magpies Recipes posted it in her blog.I was so excited to see that, though I am not sure whether I left her a message.Anyways some kind of telepathy plays between me and Magpies when it comes to cake baking, at least a few times for sure :-) I remember posting the Pear cake in the blog and she doing a similar Apple cake in her blog at the same time.

The verdict from my family and friends :a really wonderful cake. One of the cakes that disappeared from my kitchen in no time. But I must warn you, though the recipe doesn't call for butter directly, the heavy cream that you use contains more than enough butter ! So it is calorie rich,like any other cake,and for the same reason,very very tasty ;-)

Ingredients:

Cake flour- 2 1/4 cup, sieved
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/2 tsp
Heavy cream -1 1/2 cup
Eggs- 3
Pure vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Superfine sugar- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 350 degree F, if you are using a dark color tube pan or 375 degree F, if you are using a light color pan. ( something I learned from Beranbaum )
2.Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
3.Whip the cream until stiff peaks are formed.
4.In another bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla until just combined.
5.Gradually beat this mixture into the cream ,on medium speed.
6.Add the sugar, gradually and mix in.
7.Add half the flour mixture into the cream mixture and with the whisk attachment stir and fold in, until it is mixed.
8.Do the same with the rest of the flour mixture, fold in till all the traces of flour disappears and pour into the greased tube pan.
9.Run a small spatula or butter knife through the batter to get rid of large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan.
10.Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
11.Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then on a greased wire rack.
12.Serve with whipped cream or with the dusted powdered sugar on top.

Notes:

1.You could replace the cake flour with all purpose flour, but then you have to use only 2 cups of AP flour.
2.Rose says, if you could get high butter fat heavy cream,you will get a more finer crumb.
3.She also warns that you shouldn't chill the bowl for whipping heavy cream in this recipe, since it will be really difficult to mix in the eggs then.

Recipe adapted from : Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

Whole Wheat Apple Muffins

2011-11-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

Hello ! I am not going to tell you a sorry this time, since I am not going to be irregular here,any more:-) Did I tell you that my little one is a preschooler now ? Time sure flies and in no time he will be in school ! How I wish I could freeze time ! No, I am not complaining,every age is great as a kid. Lil M loves preschool and he is learning a lot new things too. Mamma is happy that she gets some me time and to see that he is getting some new friends. In the beginning when the I asked him whether he has some friends, he told me yes, but when I asked for names,he answered they don't have names,they are all "friends".

This is a post I was thinking to do last month. The Fall is all over in my part of the world and the place is almost covered by snow. We already had a couple of snowstorms and seems like this winter is going to be a big one. I am the only one in my family who doesn't like winter that much,well I don't hate it mainly because of all the great holidays.

The thing I like the most about Fall is the colors. And of course the Apples ! The Honey crisp is a favorite in my house and the colors blend so well with the fall leaves,isn't it? I used these beauties in this recipe and you can use any apples that you like.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour- 1 cup
All purpose flour- 1 cup
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Baking soda- 1 tsp
Salt- a pinch
Cinnamon- 1 Tbsp
Unsalted Butter- 1/2 cup,at room temperature
White granulated sugar- 1/2 cup
Brown sugar, packed,divided- 1/2 cup
Egg- 1, lightly beaten
Buttermilk- 1 cup
Apples- 1 large, peeled,cored and chopped coarsely
Walnuts- 1 cup, chopped coarsely

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 450 degree F.Line muffin pans with paper liners and set aside.
2.Whisk together the flours,baking powder,baking soda,salt and cinnamon and keep aside.
3.Beat the butter and white sugar and 1/4cup brown sugar until creamy.
4.Add the egg and mix well.
5.Gradually add the buttermilk and beat to mix in.
6.Add the flour mixture and mix gently.
7.Fold in the apple pieces and walnuts.
8.Spoon out in the muffin pan.Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar on top and bake for 10 minutes.Turn the heat down to 400 F and bake for another 5-8 minutes.
9.Cool the muffins in the pan for 5 minutes and then turn them on a wire rack and cool completely.

Notes:

1.Adding walnuts is optional. You could add one more apple or raisins or any dried fruits or nuts instead of that.
2.These muffins keep well for several days (well, if you have any left overs !)

Sending this to Cook Eat Delicious-desserts , a wonderful event with a great giveaway in Nayna's blog,Simply Food which is the brain child of Raven from Cookeatdelicious.com. Do check out this cool event here.

Recipe adapted from : Smitten Kitchen

Rasmalai and 2 years of blogging

2011-09-28T17:21:00.000-06:00

HELLO everybody! It's been a long time, isn't it? I know that for sure, because words don't flow anymore, and my fingers feel like lead as I type these words. Gosh! It's been long. Just in case you were wondering what kept us away, Sunitha made her big move to Canada, yoohoo! I am happy for her, and I got real busy with the kids. You know how summer holidays can be, right?! Swimming and day trips, hikes, shopping, just feeding them kids and all the other things that come with the territory. But behind all the chaos of our lives Collaborative Curry quietly turned 2 ! Are we proud! It's been a great journey so far in the blogging world and we love all our readers for staying tuned to this site. I read all the lovely messages you left me, and felt quite touched that you remembered and thought about us while we were away. Love you guys!

Today as we make a come back I will share an Indian sweet much loved, rasmalai. It's only been a couple of years since I started making Rasmalai. Infact, i never tried it while I was living in India. You know how you crave a piece of your country or hometown when you are far from it, right. That is how I made this one day. It goes without saying that I have a sweet tooth and this is one of my favorites. The 'mithai' shops in India sell these and they are awesome. If you haven't made this at home before don't shy away from trying, it's as a breeze. Watch this video from Manjula's kitchen it is really helpful to take your fears off.

And here is a picture of "Colorado Gold" for you all :-) Happy Fall everyone !

Ingredients:

Milk- 4 cups
Lemon juice- 1/4 cup
Sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Water- 4 1/2 cups

For the milk syrup

Milk- 3 cups
Sugar- 1/4 cup/ to taste
Powdered cardamom- 1/2 tsp
Saffron- a pinch, soaked in a Tablespoon of warm milk
Pistachios/Almonds slivered- for garnish

Method:

1.Boil 4 cups of milk, stirring in between.
2.Meanwhile mix the lemon juice with half cup of hot water.
3.When the milk starts to boil,slowly add the lemon juice mixed with water and stir gently.Turn off the heat and you should be able to see the curd and whey starting to separate.
4.Wait for a couple of minutes.Strain this using a strainer,lined with cheese cloth.
5.Wrap the paneer in the muslin cloth and hold it under running cold tap water for a few minutes.
6.Take out the excess water by squeezing the muslin cloth or by hanging the paneer in the muslin cloth for sometime till all the water drips off.
7.You could check whether the paneer is ready by taking a small piece onto your palm and rubbing with your fingers. After about 15-20 seconds of rubbing, if you are able to make a firm and smooth ball9without any cracks) out of the paneer,it is ready.
8.If the paneer is ready, place it on a surface where you can knead it. Knead the paneer for about 5-6 minutes or till it becomes smooth.
9.Make small lemon sized balls out of this and smooth them. (There shouldn't be any cracks)Press them between the palms to give them the shape of rasmalai.
10. Boil 4 cups of water in a big pressure cooker.Add 1 1/2 cup sugar and mix it.
11.Add the rasmalai patties and close the lid of the cooker.Keep it on medium high heat.
12.When the steam starts coming turn the heat to medium and cook for about 7 minutes.
13.Turn off the heat and wait for a few minutes before you open the cooker.
14.While you wait, boil the milk for the syrup in a non sticky pan and boil it till it reduces to almost half.Stir in between.
15.After opening the cooker carefully, take out the patties and gently squeeze them to get rid of excess water.
16.Throw in the sugar into the evaporated milk and mix well.Add the patties that you kept ready and cook for a few minutes.
17.Mix the soaked saffron and the powdered cardamom.
18.Pour the rasmalai into a serving dish, garnish with pistachios/almonds. Serve chilled.

Recipe courtesy: Manjula's kitchen

Pineapple Crunch Cake With Lemon Glaze

2011-08-04T10:30:00.000-06:00

Hope everything is going great with you. Summer is really a busy time for all of us, isn’t it? It surely is for me! I was super busy juggling too many things, and decided to forget about blogging for a few days.

While I was away from blogging and talking to you guys a few good things happened on the personal side. I finally got hold of some long due documents including my driver's license, and did our first camping of the season. Some of you might already know that I also won the giveaway Vijitha was hosting. Beginning last Sunday, I have been on a roll with only great things happening to me, and the upbeat mood continues.

Meanwhile lil M turned 3, but that doesn't stop him from being more naughty and silly. During a play his sister poked into his eyes accidentally, and he exclaimed rubbing his eyes "Oh, I got to buy some new eyes !" I wish things were as simple as he thinks :-)

Coming to the topic of the day, the Pineapple crunch cake, the story goes like this: During our last trip to the local grocery store, we tasted a Pineapple crunch cake and we loved it! You will know if you are a blogger that once we taste something interesting we feel this urge to replicate it in our own kitchen. I am no different! I decided that I should make this myself, and started searching for recipes. I could't find anything that satisfied me, so I ended up twisting a recipe to add more flavor. Result : A better tasting cake with less sugar than we tasted from the shop. This is a huge hit with my folks, and we will be making it again soon!

Ingredients:

All Purpose Flour- 2 cups
Baking Soda- 2 tsp
Chopped Walnuts(Optional)- 1 cup
Eggs- 2 large
Granulated Sugar- 1 1/2 cup
Light Brown Sugar- 1/4 cup, packed
Pure Vanilla Extract- 2 tsp
Lemon Juice- 1 Tbsp
Lemon Zest- a pinch/more
Pineapple Crushed with juice- 1 big can(20oz)

For the Lemon Glaze:

Confectioner's sugar- 1/2 cup
Lemon juice- 2 Tbsp/ little more

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F.Grease a 9 by 13 inch pan.
2.Whisk together the flour, baking soda and nuts.
3.In a mixing bowl beat together the eggs and sugars.
4.Add the vanilla and lemon juice and zest. Mix well.
5.Open the crushed pineapple can and pour in everything including the juice and mix again.
6.Mix in the flour mixture until everything is mixed.
7.Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 35- 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.(It took me 37 minutes)
8.Cool on a wire rack.
9.Prepare the glaze by mixing everything together and pour over the cool cake.
10.Let the glaze set. Cut into squares and serve.

Notes:

1. You don't have to make the glaze if you want the cake to be less sweet.
2.You could also dust the cake with some powdered sugar if you are not making a glaze.
3.This is just perfectly sweet for us.If you want your cake to be really sweet, use more sugar.
4.As you can see from the ingredient list, this is a butter-less cake. But it is not dry, though a little dense

Recipe Adapted from : here

Berrybarb Jam/Preserve- With Blueberries, Strawberries and Rhubarb

2011-07-26T12:15:00.000-06:00

This summer has been beastly hot! But it hasn't stopped us from having some outdoor fun. Only problem is you get dead tired by the end of the day and that does not apply to the kids! Even after a full day of activities they don't go to bed even at 9.30. It's always a wonder, how much energy they have!

I had mentioned earlier that one of my summer activities will be to make jams. After tasting a Blueberry-Rhubarb jam at the farmers maket I was hooked. I knew I will have to incorporate rhubard when I made jam at home. And for the recipe today, I have a combination of blueberries and strawberries with rhubarb and it turned out so well that I need to make it again soon.

Now if you don't believe me ask Sunitha, she tasted this when she visited us.

This jam has my favorite berries and Rhubarb gives it a nice and tangy twist.

Ingredients:

Blueberries- 1 cup
Strawberries,hulled- 2 cup
Rhubarb-1 inch pieces- 1 cup
Lemon juice- 2 tsp
Lemon zest- a pinch
Water/Apple juice- 1/3 cup
Sugar- 1 1/4 cup

Method:

1.In a large thick bottom pot, mix the berries, rhubarb and apple juice/water.
2.Cook covered on medium heat until the everything is cooked and rhubarb becomes soft and tender. Stir frequently.This takes about 12-15 minutes.
3.Add the sugar and lemon juice.Mix everything and continue cooking uncovered, stirring continuously. Skim off and discard any foam that comes on the top.
4.Continue this until the jam thickens and passes the freezer test(see notes) or when it starts to run together when you pour it with a spoon.
5.Turn off the heat and transfer into a clean jar.
6.Cool completely in the refrigerator.This keeps well for 3-4 weeks in a refrigerator.

Notes:

1.Freezer test : keep a small plate in the freezer when you start making the jam. Place a drop of the jam when you think that it done. Put back in the freezer for 30 seconds. If the jam is set well it is done.If you think it is still liquidy , continue cooking for another 5 minutes and repeat the test.
2. The amount of sugar can be changed according to your liking.
3.If you want to preserve this for longer time, use a canning method.
4.As you have already noticed, this doesn't have any added pectin. The apple juice and Strawberries have lots of natural pectin in them.
5. If you are making jam for the first time,be careful.Use a big pot and a long spoon for stirring. It splutters a lot, don't get any burns.

Recipe adapted from : Here

Apple Rabdi/Rabri- Evaporated milk based Apple dessert

2011-07-20T11:57:00.000-06:00

A big HELLO to everyone ! It has been a long time since we updated a post here. So much has been going on in our personal lives that the blog sort of took second seat. Although, one of the highlights during this time was that Sunitha and I visited after 13 long years. Those of you, who are our friends in Facebook might already know about that reunion. I was so busy with the preparations and planning. Sunitha is in the middle of a move and that is why off the blogging scene for a while. Sorry about that !

Today's post has been in my drafts for a while now. Hopefully, I will be back in the swing of things as far as blogging goes soon. I am waiting for my children to finish summer vacation, general visiting, travelling and holidaying the family is involved in right now. Coming back to the recipe, the whole inspiration behind making this dessert was Kulsum from Journey Kitchen. She did a guest post on it. I have combined her recipe and the traditional one but I must thank her for tempting me with her beautiful pictures.

The preparation is very much similar to that of Basundi, if you haven't noticed.The main difference here is the presence of Apples.So if you love Basundi, just like me, you must try this !

Ingredients:

Milk- 4 cups/1 liter
Condensed milk-2 Tbsp
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Apples,peeled and grated- 3
Cardamom powdered- 1 tsp
Saffron- a pinch soaked in a Tbsp warm milk
Pistachios, blanched and slivered- 2-3 Tbsp

Method:

1.Boil milk in a thick bottom pan and cook until it is reduced to about half the quantity.
2.Add sugar and condensed milk and stir continuously for 4-5 minutes.
3.Add the grated apple and cook for about 4 minutes.
4.Add the cardamom and saffron. Mix well and switch off the heat.
5.Throw in the pistachios.Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

1.You could use condensed milk as a sweetener instead of sugar, just like Kulsum says.
2.It is better to use a sweet variety of apple for this preparation.
3.You could replace pistachios with almonds if you like.

Cream Cheese Pecan Cookies

2011-07-05T08:21:00.001-06:00

Hello ! Hope everyone in the US had a great July 4th week end. We had fun ,watching fireworks with friends. The fireworks reminded me of the Temple festivals in Kerala, though it was not even close to any of that. But I have no complaints, at least they are doing this much in a highly fire prone area.

It is getting really warm here and already the mountains had some fires. Last year Boulder had a couple of really bad wild fires. I hope this year will be much better. Because of the scorching heat, we cannot go out as much as we want to.So kids are home most of the afternoon and I need to engage them with something or the other and make a lot of snacks.Here is a recipe for kids,if you are a mom like me and for adults,if you do not care about the number of calories.

This is so easy to whip up, maybe a fun project for your elder kids.

Ingredients:

Butter softened- 1/3 cup
Cream Cheese- 3 ounces
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Flour- 1 cup+ 2 Tbsp
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Finely chopped Pecans- 1/2 cup

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2.Mix the butter and cheese together.
3.Add the sugar and mix until it is creamy.
4.Mix the vanilla and add the flour. Beat until everything is combined and comes together.
5.Fold in the pecans.
6.Make 1 inch balls out of the dough, press between your palms and keep on the baking sheet.
7.Bake for 10-12 minutes.
8.Cool in the sheet for 5-6 minutes and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
9.Store in an air tight container for a week.

Notes:

1.The sugar in this recipe is to my liking. You could add more sugar if you wish.
2.?When you take them out of the oven they are very soft. But they get firm on cooling.

Adapted from : Here

Forelle Pear Cake

2011-06-30T17:51:00.000-06:00

How is your Summer coming along? What are your plans for the long week end and July 4th ? July is a special month for my family too. The youngest one the family is born in this month. I can't believe that he is going to be 3 in a few days ! Time sure flies. We already miss his early years ! He sure is a handful ,but sometimes I wish I could freeze the time ,just to enjoy all his cuteness forever.

The other day he was doing something really naughty and his father raised his voice to let him know how mad is he. He turned around and told his father "Acha,turn down the volume". We always ask him to turn down the volume of the TV ,which he never watches, but always keeps switched on for his favorite cartoon as a back ground !

Stories apart, coming to today's recipe.You will agree with me on the fact that these Forelle Pears are an absolute beauty to look at.Also they are very sweet.These are best served as it is, since they are too good as they are. But I had some really ripe Forelle Pears with me and we couldn't finish all of it. So I searched the net for recipes that uses this kind of pears and came across this buttery cake recipe. I went through the reviews and everyone seems to agree on the taste. I tried it and am happy that I did.

The lemon zest and my favorite spice cardamom gives a great flavor to this cake.I loved it when I had a warm slice and the cake was best on the same day I baked.

Ingredients:

Forelle pears/Any small size pears- 5
Orange Juice- 1 Tbsp
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Granulated Sugar- 2 Tbsp
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1/2 tsp

All Purpose Flour- 1 1/4 Cup
Baking Powder- 1 tsp
Cardamom- 1/2 tsp
Salt- a pinch
Unsalted Butter- 6 Tbsp
Sugar- Little less than 1 cup
Eggs- 2
Zest of 2 lemons
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

1.Slice the pears lengthwise into thin pieces.This is optional. You could core and slice lengthwise too.
2.Toss these slices with the juices,sugar and vanilla extract.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F and line a 9 inch Spring foam pan with parchment paper.
3.Whisk together the flour,baking powder,salt and cardamom powder.
4.In a mixing bowl beat together the butter and sugar until it is creamy.
5.Add eggs one at a time and mix well.
6.Add the zest and vanilla extract and mix again.
7.Add the dry mixture into the wet one in 2 additions, mixing each time to combine everything. Do not over mix.
8.Spread about half the batter evenly onto the bottom of the prepared pan.
9.Spread the 3/4th of the pear slices on top.
10.Spread the remaining batter on top. It might not be enough to cover completely, but once the cake starts baking up, it spreads out well.
11.Place the remaining slices on the top in a layer.You could arrange it in a pattern, which I didn't,but it looks ok :-)
12.Bake for about 50-60 minutes or until the top starts to brown and the skewer inserted comes out clean.
13.Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack.
14.Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

1.The original recipe uses cognac instead of orange juice for tossing the pears. I didn't do it since I have kids at home.
2. Also the recipe calls for Turbinado sugar for sprinkling on top. This will give a nice caramelization. Unfortunately I didn't have any at home so I did not use any.
3.The cake is best on the same day. Keep any leftovers in the fridge.
4.You could serve this with some Vanilla ice cream.
5.You could use Apples or Peaches instead of Pears in this recipe.

Recipe Adapted from :Here

Summer Salad

2011-06-28T11:03:00.000-06:00

Today there is no real recipe to share. It is just about how I make radish salad and lemonade. It is a refreshing lunch option. Easy to put together and good on your love handles it is great to take a break from heavy food.

The other day on facebook, there was a discussion on “bloggers putting on weight.” I am in the category of people who do. It is probably because of so much cooking. And to top it, when something does not turn out well you still end up eating it and making the dish again. Assuming these repeated dishes are calorie rich you end up consume way more than your body can take.

When things are out of hand I resort to salad for some time. But then creamier dressings are more fun so I don’t know how far it really helps. Finally, when I have abused my stomach enough I resort to a lighter salad and what follows is how I put it together

Salad:
1. Scrub clean a bunch of radishes. Trim the roots and leaves off. Slice the radish into thin rounds and place in a bowl and immediately squeeze half a lime over it. Add salt to taste. Serve it over a medley of spring greens. I prefer to buy the mixed greens to plain lettuce. It packs more flavor into the salad.
2. Radish has a bite to it. It was not my favorite flavor but with lemon it is pretty good and it reminds of red onions. It is not the same but I am saying it has this bite but overall it is a pretty looking salad and I quite like it now.

Lemonade:
1. Squeeze a lime into a jar, grate ¼ inch of ginger in, add a dash of salt, sugar to taste and mix well. Strain to remove shreds of ginger or lime and pour over ice. Make small cubes of watermelon and top the drink. Slice an lemon rind and place on glass.
2. The color is pretty and a great drink. This entire meal is quite good for your stomach. Go easy on the sugar to make it even better. With one like you should be able to make 2 glasses of lemonade. If anybody needs more lemon flavor you can always squeeze the rind used as garnish.

Carrot Kheer/Payasam- Carrot dessert in milk spiced up with Cardamom

2011-06-24T16:06:00.000-06:00

Some flavors blend so well you cannot tell them apart when together. Yet, together they are a flavor to reckon with. In the same way, if I served you the golden sunshine in the bowl below, and asked to describe its taste, you will be torn unable to decide if it is carrot halwa or semiya payasam.

The answer is right here on this page so please read on. You will agree with me on this when you go through the recipe. In the same breath I have to admit that it is better or equally good as carrot halwa or a payasam

I made this a month back and decided to post it only when I had some fresh carrot pictures to post alongside. Obviously, that never happened. The farmer's market doesn't have a good variety of veggies yet, and the carrots that I've planted this season are not ready for harvesting. Then again, when I remembered the bunnies that frequent my vegetable patch, I doubt they will leave any carrots for me to photograph. Everything considered, I decided today was the day to share this pleasantly surprising sweet delicacy with you. At a later time, provided the regular visitors in our yard, the Bunnies, leave some carrots for me to enjoy I shall share some pictures with you.

Speaking of carrots, did you know that most of the baby carrots we get in the US is processed, and "not so baby" carrots? I didn't know this until Sunitha mentioned it once. But there are some varieties that is "baby carrots, " albeit too expensive. The stats shows how consumption of carrots have grown exponentially post marketing baby carrots. And surely consumption shall soar once everyone knows how to make kheer or carrot halwa :-) You will agree 100 % after you have tasted some kheer yourself!

Ingredients:

Ghee- 2 Tbsp
Carrot grated- 2 cups
Milk- 2+1 cup
Sugar- 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder- 1 tsp
Almond slivers- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1.Heat 2 Tsp ghee in a deep and thick bottom pan.Throw in the grated carrots and fry till it is cooked through.
2. Pour in 2 cups of milk and allow to boil.
3.Lower the heat and let the carrot get cooked well.Stir in between. It takes almost 10-12 minutes.
4.By this time almost all the water content will be dried, do not add more milk at this point.
5.Add sugar and start stirring continuously, on low heat.Continue this till all the water gets evaporated and the mixture gets thickened.While stirring if you are able to see the path of the spoon/spatula without the mixture running over there immediately, it is done. This takes ~10- 12 minutes on medium low heat.
6.Slowly add the remaining milk into it. The point is that the boiling shouldn't get stopped while you pour the cold milk.This can be done on high heat and stirring continuously, while you add around 1/3 cup of milk at a time.
7.Once you added the milk, it should be boiled well.Pour more milk to get the desired consistency.Add the cardamom powder. Switch off the heat.
8.Garnish with slivered almonds. Serve warm or cold.

Notes:

1. You could reduce the sugar and add some condensed milk instead.
2.Also you could add some evaporated milk along with the normal milk after you boil with the sugar.

Water Melon Agua Fresca

2011-06-22T14:07:00.000-06:00

I got this huge watermelon home the other day. We cut it open, gushed over how bright and red it looked, took the first bite and gushed again, but this time about how sweet it is. Then reality about most of it may go waste hit us. It would be a shame to waste such goodness, I knew! I looked online for recipes with watermelon. Wow! From a couple of ideas in my head to what variety I was received with. Drunk watermelon (infusing watermelon with liquor) to salsa , the works!

Another instance which made me realize how I was hooked to the net: Last night we had a power outage, and it was only reset this noon. This morning without internet I realized how a fish might feel out of water. I have to agree without the internet connection I am clueless as to occupy myself for the most part. I read some of ‘water for elephants’ it’s a good book and kept me engaged but as soon as the power came on I set about getting the internet ready and had to google a thousand things. I was behaving like a wife meeting her husband back from the war.

Okay exaggerations aside, don’t we all love the net? You will love this watermelon agua fresco as much too. It’s a popular Mexican drink and inspired by recipe from bon apetit I added some ginger too. Delicious!

Ingredients:
Watermelon – 1/8th
Sugar/Honey – to taste
Ginger – ¼ tspn grated
Lime 1/2

Method:
Blend the water melon, 1/4 cup water, ginger and lime and sieve. Serve it over ice and garnish with lime and mint.

Agua fresca in Spanish means fresh water. This drink was popularized in Mexico. The drink should be light and hence strained to give that watery feel when you drink it yet infused with the flavor of watermelon.

For me, just the addition of lime and ginger gave this drink a great feel and I would drink it even if it is not strained and enjoy it too.

Berry-Banana-Oats Breakfast Smoothie & 301 posts !

2011-06-20T14:08:00.000-06:00

This is our 301^st post, and I can’t believe it myself! Neither Sunitha or I realized we had covered 300 posts with the last one. We feel a great sense of achievement, and are thankful to all our readers for your love and support through the last one and a half years. One exciting day after the other is making me quite delighted as I write this post. I mean exciting Father’s day yesterday.

How was it for you? I spoke to my Dad, who was clueless about Father’s day, but I spoke to him and enjoyed our visit. It was definitely more exciting for my daughter. She has been planning the day for weeks and wanted to do something special for her dad. It all worked out well through the course of the day. We went hiking in the foot hills of Rocky Mountain which is a great pass time of this family. On the walk, my daughter got to do something different for her dad from the usual self painted Father’s day card she has been giving him for years. She carefully picked up wild flowers through her walk and gave it to her Dad. She was very pleased and so was he. These moments of simple pride and happiness are so priceless.

Not so much fun for my lil imp because he got excited and grabbed the bouquet from his Dad spoiling the bouquet and upsetting his sister. But on our walk back, the whole family picked flowers and brought home a fantastic wildflower bouquet. It’s sitting pretty on the windowsill. I wish I could take a close up picture to show you but it's a dreary day and hardly any light.

Coming to the recipe of the day - everyone hereabouts must be enjoying the berry bounty of summer. We are no exception. The farmer's market is brimming with greens not so much berries, but I got some from Costco. I think it is fitting to have some berry shake or preserve in summer. I stock a lot of fruits/berries in this season and right now if you open my refrigerator you will see Blueberries and Strawberries aplenty. The days are getting hotter and when you wake up to a warm sultry morning you cannot resist a cool breakfast smoothie. Anyways, some people here don’t like a lot of berries so a refreshing smoothie is always good. It gets the berries from spoiling and at least some respite from the heat.

I have plans of baking these berries and making preserves too. In fact, I already made a small batch of Strawberry jam. This year as I experriment with various flavors and combinations I hope you will be tuned into this space.

After my long winded post, here is a simple yet rich breakfast smoothie. The measurements are only a guideline, add or subtract as you go along but make delicious smoothies. Some things to keep in mind are the ingredients - obviously, it not only affects the flavor but also the color. When you need a softer, brighter color step up on strawberries. It always renders an exciting color :-)

Ingredients:

Blueberries- 1 cup
Strawberries- 10-12
Banana- 1 really ripe Banana
Cooked Oats- 1/2 cup
Honey- To taste
Milk/Yogurt/Soy milk- 1 cup
Ice cubes- a few

Method:

1.Cook the oats in water/milk and cool.
2.Mix everything well using a blender and serve immediately.

Notes:

1.If you want it super thick, leave the ice cubes and blend.
2.You could use any nut milk(for eg: almond milk) instead of milk, which will be great,since that makes this smoothie protein rich.
3,.This serves 2.

Brined and Baked Chicken

2011-06-17T15:24:00.000-06:00

Have you been told your baked chicken is dry and tasteless inside? If you have then brining is your answer. I bake chicken and fish after marinating for hours and get good results. No doubt! But after brining and baking chicken, I am amazed how juicy even simple chicken bake can be. It’s a wonderful process for poultry and shrim. Works great when grilling them too.

Every time we eat a store bought rotisserie or baked chicken my husband and I would be amazed how the inside is juicy and tasty without any visible masala or obvious marinade flavors. Trying to find out how the hotels get prawns and chicken to taste good inside and outside was always a challenge until recently I tried brining chicken and am totally in love with the outcome.

I am totally sold on brining poultry and shrimp before cooking now. Read about it here and here. Especially since we all sort to refrigerated / frozen chicken the taste is never like in a restaurant. But after trying this method I am sure you will think differently.

I recommend reading the highlighted sites in the previous paragraph to know more about the proces and different combinations. The chemistry of how things work is explained well in these sites. Basically, through osmosis salt and water travels through muscles of the poultry or fish and lodges within making the cooked meat soft and juicy. For a gallon of water the recommended salt is ½ cup but depending on the amount of time you have you can decrease the amount of salt but follow the measurement of 1/2 cup salt to 1 gallon water. Sugar is added and caramalization while grilling gives a better color. I avoid sugar but it you like , go for it.

The recommended measurement for brining as per the blogs mentioned above are given below.

½ cup kosher salt

½ cup sugar

1 gallon water

What I did and it worked for me is as follows:

For Brining

Chicken – 3 breasts bone in

Water – 8 cups

Kosher Salt – ½ C

Dry Red Chillies – 8

Bay Leaf – 1

Garlic cloves with skin – 4

Metho:

1. In 1 cup of water, boil the red chilies, bay leaf and garlic cloves. While hot, add the salt and mix. Cool and add to the remaining water. You may add ice cubes and cool it down quickly. It is very important to cool the brine before you immerse the chicken.

2. If you have read the sites I have mentioned, it clearly states that warm water stimulates growth of bacteria so make sure you add the chicken only to cool water.

3. Add chicken to the spiced brine and refrigerate for 4 hours

5. Take them out of the water pat dry with tissue paper and rub it with any rub used for grilling or even the masala of your choice.

6. Drizzle oil over it and in a oiled baking pan place them with bone down and bake at 350 D F for 40 – 50 minutes. If you have a thermometer then the internal temperature of chicken should be 170 D

7. I add diced potato, carrots, and celery while baking and squeeze a wedge of lime over.

8. You will have some juices in the pan after the chicken is cooked.

9. To brown the chicken - after it cooks for 40 – 45 minutes change the oven setting to broil and broil on high flipping sides until you have the desired results. Do not overdo cooking time, as it may result in a dry chicken. Even though with brining there is some room for error since the brined chicken is flush with water.

Rubs I use:

Weber's Kickin chicken
Cajun spices

For sides:

You can bake vegetables and yesterday I made some roasted beets.

1. Wash, peel and dice the beets. Make sure the beet is dry of water before you start roasting.
2. Add salt, pepper, thyme and drizzle some olive oil and bake in a pan for 45 minutes or a fork goes through easily. It will cook with the chicken, this way you can stay hand free while everythign just cooks in the oven.

Great to cook over weekends while you can enjoy a movie with you loved ones on the couch.. bliss!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cooikies

2011-06-13T13:23:00.000-06:00

Do your children like oreo cookies? Or are chocolate chip cookies their favorites? If you answered yes, to any of the above questions, what about both cookies in one? Yes? Yeah! I thought you would like it. Double bonanza, isn’t it?! Or at least that’s what I thought.

It was a brave decision to try this recipe considering - my daughter, though a chocolate fanatic, do not like Oreo cookies. But she loves chocolate chip cookies! I thought it will be fun to try this recipe even if it was only to see my daughter’s expression. Another of her mother’s conniving to get her to eat what she hates.

It is the way things work around this house. My children are extreme opposites in their likes of flavors. Sometimes it is good and otherwise a big challenge for me. Like, when I buy a packet of yogurt tubes with equal parts strawberry and blueberry flavor, the lil one picks the strawberry and my daughter blueberry - this is cool – we make for one big happy family! On the other hand, if it is a fruit where they are choosing one for the other then the mother steps in. I blend the two to make smoothies or crumb bars, where the taste is camouflaged enough, that both of them will feast on it happily.

Things did not go as well in the case of the cookies. My daughter treated the cookies like she would a fruit, where the outer flesh is consumed and seed discarded. She ate the chocolate chip cookie outside and left behind the oreo cookie! Huh! I know, kids!

But, what is great though is my son loves oreo cookies - he carefully went around and ate all the oreo cookies his sister had discarded. My precious little boy! You would agree then at the end the cookies are a success. Because the majority at home liked it. And what my daughter was ready to throw was not wasted by my son. After all, "all’s well that ends well!”

I am sure every mother is challenged daily by their kids. But like they say "necessity is the mother of invention." Mothers out there keep on you thinking caps – and let’s keep inventing. I had great fun making these cookies.

Ingredients:

Butter- 1/2 cup (1 stick)
Light brown sugar- 1/3 cup,packed
Granulated white sugar- 1/3 cup
Egg- 1
Pure vanilla extract-1 1/2 tsp
All Purpose flour- 1 3/4 cup
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Baking Soda- 1/2 tsp
Chocolate chips- 5oz.
Oreo Cookies- 12

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2.In a mixing bowl,beat the butter and sugars until well combined.
3.Add in the egg and vanilla extract and mix well.
4.In another mixing bowl whisk together the flour, salt and baking soda.
5.Gradually add this dry mixture into the wet mixture ,along with chocolate chips, until combined.
6.Take a scoop of the dough and place on top of the oreo cookie.Take another scoop and place on the bottom of the oreo cookie.
7.Press lightly between your palms and seal the edges together by pressing and cupping the cookie on your palm.The oreo cookie should be completely inside the dough with all the edges sealed.(Look in Picky palate for a beautiful picture demonstration)
8.Place the cookies on the prepared baking pan,an inch apart.
9.Cool in the refrigerator for 5-10 minutes if you don't want the cookie to get spread a lot.But this step is quite optional.
10.Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the sides start turning brown.
11.Cool in the baking pan for at least 5 minutes, since the cookies will be really soft when you take out them from the oven.
12.Transfer them to a wire rack and cool completely before you store them in an air tight container.

Makes: 12 cookies
Adapted from : Picky Palate
Contributor: Namitha

Prawns and Mango in coconut gravy (Chemmenum Maangayum)

2011-06-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

After the sweltering heat over the first half of this week, we are enjoying some cool weather in Chicago land. Today it’s cloudy, and murky outside, but a great weather to have prawns in coconut gravy with piping hot rice. Yum! My heart warms over just talking about it. I made some of this curry yesterday, and you can find the recipe below.

My sister-in-law had her first baby, and we are enjoying this new born in the family. Also, a very dear friend had her baby recently which makes double the fun. I am enjoying listening to the gushing new mothers gush and thrill at the wonderment of new life. Joyful!

I am also getting ready for another move in the near future. Soon, packing and other travel nuisances shall take over my life. Until then I continue to enjoy all your news on facebook and pretty photographs as usual. I hope you will enjoy this curry I have for you today. Have a pleasant weekend my blogger friends.

Ingredients:

Prawns – 1 lb

Coconut – 1 cup

Raw Mango – 1 big

Green chili – 4

Chili Powder – 2 tspn

Coriander Powder – 2 tspn

Turmeric – ½ tspn

Shallots – 2

Garlic cloves – 4

Ingredients for Tempering:

Oil (Preferably coconut oil) – 2 tspn

Mustard Seeds – ½ tspn

Curry Leaves – 1 spring

Shallots – 1-2

Method:

1. Cut mango into big pieces and cook in 1 cup of water with the green chilis till half done

2. Add the prawns and cook for about 7 to 8 minutes depending on the size of each prawn.

3. Grind coconut, shallots, garlic cloves, chili powder, coriander powder and turmeric to a paste and pour over the cooked prawns and mango add water to your desired consistency and let the curry heat through

4. Once done, take off the heat and temper.

5. For tempering – heat oil in a pan let the mustard splutter, add shallots followed by curry leaves and pour over the curry

Sending this to Kerala Kitchen at Magpies Recipes

Whole Wheat Flax meal Chocolate chip Walnut Cookies

2011-06-06T15:36:00.000-06:00

Hello everyone! How are you all? I know it's been a while since I wrote a post on this page. I have been really busy with the children home on holiday, and some other personal matters which called for time away from blogging. I am back now and hope to catch up with you all soon.

The mercury is soaring up! It feels like we went right into the middle of summer skipping spring entirely. Some of you might have read about the big wild fire in Arizona. As a result of the fire we have a smoke cloud here in Colorado! I cannot imagine how bad it must be for people in Arizona, and hope and pray it will be contained soon.

Coming to today’s recipe, it has been lying in the drafts for a couple of weeks now. I got the book ‘Good to the Grains,’ by Kim Boyce from our library, and as soon as I saw these cookies I knew I had to try them. Coincidently, I saw a post in Swapna's blog on the same and decided to give the recipe a twist with the combination of flours and oatmeal. Good to the Grains is a wonderful book with so many whole grain recipes and ideas. I have already bookmarked some other recipes from the book, including the Olive oil cake. I bet you will love this cookie too.

I made some black currant walnut cookies too using the same recipe, versatile recipe indeed!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour- 3/4 cup
Flax meal- 1/4 cup
Rolled oats- 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 3/4 tsp
Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Vegetable oil/Oil of your preference- 1/4 cup
Dark Brown sugar- 1/3 cup
Granulated white sugar- 1/3 cup
Egg- 1
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Chocolate chips- 1/2 cup
Chopped walnuts/Any dried fruits or nuts- 1/2 cup

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it ready.
2. In a large bowl mix the flours, oats, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In another bowl mix well the oil, sugars, egg and vanilla extract.
4. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula together with chocochips and the chopped nuts.
5. Place small scoops of the dough in the prepared baking pan, one inch apart.
6. Bake for about 10-12 minutes or until the sides start turning brown.
7. Cool in the pan for a couple of minutes before you transfer them onto a wire rack and cool them completely. When you take out from the oven the cookies will be soft, but they will become firm once they cool down.

Notes:

1. The flax meal and oats can be replaced by whole wheat flour. I replaced the whole wheat with this combo following Swapna's example.
2. The original recipe calls for butter, but I replaced it that with oil.
3. I have tried this with black currants too. You could mix and match with any dried fruits and nuts of your choice.

Adapted from : Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
And Eat Good 4 life

Breakfast Eggs!

2011-06-03T16:32:00.000-06:00

Weekends I wake up late. This is one reason I need an easy recipe which will work up quickly to make brunch. And then of course it should be tasty and filling enough to tide me over till supper. That is why an omelette is great and this recipe is a close relative of an omelette.

Well, you don't beat the eggs here so maybe not an omelette then what is it? It's a sunny side up on a bed of veggies. Fantatic! I make sunny side up and drop it over a bowl of noodles like you see in American chopsuey. But when I came across Sneh's blog I loved how she made this fantastic egg and I encourage you to check her blog to see the different names for similar dishes like this. Loved the pictures and recipes on her blog but here is how I made it.

Ingredients:
1. Eggs – 2
2. Bell Pepper – ½
3. Mushrooms – 6 - 8
4. Onions - ½
5. Carrots - 1
6. Black pepper - to taste
7. Olive Oil - 1 tbspn
8. Garlic – 2 cloves
9. Oregano – sprinkle

Method:
1. Sauté onions - followed by garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper and season it with black pepper and oregano.
2. Reduce heat to low, and break two eggs over the vegetables, cover and cook until eggs are done like you would sunny-side-up

Enjoy with a cup of coffee or tea!

Contributor: Sunitha

Cilantro Lemon Rice

2011-05-31T10:44:00.000-06:00

Hope our friends in U.S enjoyed the long weekend. I did. We visited friends and even hit the malls to check the Memorial Day sale. By the crowd in the malls, I could see most people were making good use of the discount sales. I did not find anything I wanted so came back empty handed but had fun nevertheless being out and about.

I made some cilantro rice on Friday and had it with chicken curry. I always enjoy the Chipotle burrito, especially the rice they pack in it. To have a change from the usual white rice, I decided to try my hand at cilantro rice and what do you know, it was pretty good! When you have guests over and have too many things to cook, this rice will make be easy enough to put together, and yet keep the festivity alive because this rice has the zing of lemon and a burst of cilantro flavor.

I have seen recipes which calls for lemon zest and I say go ahead and do that if you like. I have not used it in the recipe below but I can see it will be fun to add some lemon zest to add more punch. You can play with the amount of lemon juice to make it suite your palette. Lemon and cilantro cannot go wrong in the coming summer months. Don't you agree?

The possibility of mixing this rice in your salads and wraps is endless. It's also great with chicken or any other curry.

Ingredients:
Basmati Rice – 2 C
Bay Leaf – 1
Salt – to taste
Lemon juice – 2 Tbspn
Soya sauce - 1 Tbspn (optional)
Cilantro - 1/2 C
Canola Oil - 1 Tbspn

Method:
1. Wash and soak rice for about ½ hour
2. Bring about 10 cups of water to a boil. Strain the water from the soaked rice and slip it into the boiling water along with bay leaves, and enough salt. Taste the water to make sure there is enough salt. Cook the rice al dente.
3.Chop the cilantro fine and mix it with lemon juice, soya sauce, and oil in a serving bowl which will hold all the cooked rice. Add a couple of spoons of rice and mix with the cilantro-lemon mix. Add the remaining rice on top and using a fork fluff the rice until well mixed with cilantro and lemon.

Notes:

1. If the cooked rice is not salted well enough, add more along with the lemon juice - preferably, dissolved in the lemon juice to have it evenly mix in the rice.
2. If you like the rice to be white in color avoid the soya sauce and replace it with lemon juice.

Beef Cutlets

2011-05-25T08:07:00.000-06:00

This is a recipe that Sunitha had mentioned in her chicken cutlet post about a month ago. Which means today’s recipe has been in the drafts for quite a long time. I haven’t been cooking anything time consuming of late mainly because of laziness. But I continue to blame the weather for my lethargy !

Meat cutlets are a hot selling snack in Kerala bakeries. We have a couple of bakeries, near my parents ‘ home, where they sell the most delicious cutlets. Some days, the demand was so high the bakeries would run out of cutlets way before tea time, which is when we would have stopped by to buy some. Oh! the disappointment!
Another place and time from when cutlets got registered in my mind as a fantastic food was the hostel. Especially the one I stayed in while doing my pre-degree course. This hostel is in fact one of the best hostels where I stayed which served good food. I can say this with certainty because I have stayed in quite a few hostels during my college days. And beef cutlets in this place served was tremendous. Hm… I can almost taste it, writing about it.

Thursday lunch is when they served cutlets and Thursdays were always when the hostelites felt the hunger pangs the most. Well, hunger and a dying desire to eat the marvelous cutlets, of course. The hostel is about 5 minutes from the college campus but on Thursdays we would reach it in a minute. One cutlet per person, a dry dish with moru kachiyathu was the menu. Now, you will agree one cutlet for a person is never enough. For the first year, most of us savored every bite of this one piece we were doled out and remained sated. But the second year, we were bolder and demanding. With more friends, gangs had been formed and the human pack behavior was at it’s best. Some of us meat eaters had vegetarian friends and we plotted a plan. On Thursdays, we managed to get these poor souls to lunch at our table. I remember one girl a vegetarian by choice who sometimes enjoyed chicken but otherwise remained a vegetarian. We connived and pleaded with her to lunch at our table. She was a sweet heart and foregoing her special vegetarian food agreed to lunch with us. The lady who serve us, unaware of our antics would serve everyone at our table a cutlet each and as (The vegetarians and non vegetarians are encouraged to sit at their preferred place so that food can be served accordingly on each table). The unsuspecting served would serve this vegetarian friend a cutlet and the rest of us would hide our smile and wait for her to move on. As soon as the server was out of sight we would grab the cutlet from our friend’s plate. The ensuing fight for this one lone beef cutlet is too gory to let you in on the details. We never persuaded this friend to taste the cutlets ever , fearing she might turn over and be a fan herself. We were wicked!

But I have to tell you, the time in college and the hostels were the best times. I am still in touch with friends from that time but have lost contact with the sweet friend who let us rob her of the beef cutlet. I wonder how she is fairing without cutlets but as for me and most of my other friends we all still love cutlets! Whenever I make beef cutlets memories pour in from those days. Oh jeez! I am all nostalgic now, and I want some beef cutlets !

Ingredients:

Onions finely chopped- 1/2 cup
Ginger grated- 3 Tbsp
Garlic grated- 1 Tbsp
Garam masala- 2 tsp
Green chilies finely chopped- 4-5
Black pepper powder- 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves, chopped- 5-6leaves
Ground Beef- 1 lb
Boiled potatoes- 2
Oil- 2 Tbsp + for deep frying
Bread crumbs from 2-3 slices
Slightly beaten egg- 1

Method:

1.Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wide frying pan. Saute the onions till translucent.
2.Add the chopped green chillies, ginger and garlic and saute for a few minutes.
3.Also add the garam masala and chopped curry leaves and saute.
4.Add the ground beef and mix everything well. Add a little bit (maybe 1/4 cup) water, cover and cook till the meat is done and all the water is absorbed.
5.Mash the boiled potatoes and mix with the beef mixture.
6.Heat the oil for frying the cutlets. When it is almost ready start shaping the cutlets.
7.Make small lemon size balls out of the mixture and press between the palms and make your preferred shapes, like oval, round,heart etc.
8.Dip them in the egg and roll in the bread crumbs and deep fry till both the sides are brown.
9.Serve warm with ketchup.

Notes:

1. You could use any meat of your choice.
2.If you don't have curry leaves, add some chopped coriander leaves instead.
3.Do not keep the shaped cutlets after dipping in egg for a long time. Fry them as soon as you can.
4.If you want to shape them and store for frying after a while, do not dip them in egg or roll in crumbs, do this step just before you fry them in oil.
5.The amount and flavor of ginger gives it the authentic taste. If you are using great quality ginger, use lesser than I mentioned in the recipe.(I never get ginger that has a flavor anywhere close to the ones we get in Kerala :(

I am sending these cutlets to this month's Kerala Kitchen hosted at Spoonful of Delight

Contributor: Namitha

Lettuce Wrap

2011-05-23T10:56:00.000-06:00

Everybody needs finger food these days. Maybe it is because it allows tasting a variety without over indulging. Small bites of different taste. I get the feeling the future generations will only be eating finger foods. Which will make sense with so many people doing desk jobs and portion control of our meals are being a requiste to keep a healthy lifestyle. Have you heard of 5 course dinners recently. No, right? Exactly my point, it's the age of finger foods. So keeping with the trend, here is something easy, fun and colorful for your next party.

You can wrap the lettuce in a host of ways. Cut each leaf into four, take the mid rib out and make cones of each part, hold it together with tooth picks and fill with your choice of meat or vegetables.

If you are just having it with your family then thin the mid rib of the leaf and wrap meat or vegetables in each romaine lettuce leaf.

Ingredients for the filling:

Chicken breast - 1 lb
Soya bean sauce - 3 Tbspn
Thail chilli - 1
Ginger - 1/4 tspn chopped or grated fine
Garlic - 2 cloves chopped fine
Sesame seeds - 1 tspn
Oil - 2 tbspn

Wrap
Romaine Lettuce - 6 leaves

Optional:
Onion - to taste
Tomato - 1/2

Method:

1. Chop the chicken breast into small pieces. Marinate with 2 tbspn of soya sauce and refrigerate overnight or at least marinate for 2 hours
2. After chicken has marinated it's ready to stir fry.
3. Heat oil in a pan, add ginger, garlic and green chilies - saute till the raw smell turns to aromatic.
4. Add the marinated chicken with juices and stir fry on high for 8 to 10 minutes or until cooked through
5. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and stir again. Alternately, toast the sesame seed and add to the cooked chicken and toss
6. Add the remaining 1 tbspn of soya sauce to the chicken towards the end of the cooking. Some soya sauce comes with a lot of salt therefore make sure you test for salt and taste before adding the last spoon of soya sauce.
7. Once the meat has cooled wrap it in a whole lettuce leaf. Or else, cut each leaf into four, make a cone shape of it and fill the chicken and hold the leaf together using tooth pick.

You can use a soya vingear dip or peanut sauce.

Contributor: Sunitha

Chocolate Walnut Fudge

2011-05-18T12:44:00.000-06:00

The weather is not very good for spending time outdoors, but I still managed to clean my yard yesterday. What I learned in the process - rains are not only good for plants and the lawn but also for weeds. When my finger tips start to get numb, and my back hurts, a part of me says spray the weed killer! But the other part of me says - it’s unnatural. Even if the weed killer is organic I can’t get myself to use it. Old habits die hard. I have to break my back laboring away plucking out one weed at at me. And thus continues my never ending confusion of weeding the weeds or spraying the weed killer.

Now with the yard weed-free, and an aching body, you will agree that I truly deserve a treat. Then again, who will make it? Since the answer is ‘me’ I decided on a smart, easy, quick and yet delicious dessert. Extremely delicious chocolate fudge! This can be made in 5 minutes, and you only need simple ingredients that most will have handy in their pantry. If you haven't tried this sinfully delicious fudge yet, do it right now. One bite and you'll be hooked for ever!

These are quite addictive; don't blame me for not warning you. ;-)

Ingredients:

Semisweet Chocolate morsels- 2 full cups
Sweetened Condensed milk, fat-free/regular- 1 14oz can
Salt- a pinch
Pure Vanilla extract- 1 tsp
Chopped Walnuts/any nuts of your choice- 1 cup

Method:

1. Line a baking pan that is preferably 8 by 8 inch square, with a parchment paper.
2. Gently heat the condensed milk and chocolate chips together in a thick bottom pan on very low heat. Continuously stir till all the chocolate is melted.
3. Turn off the heat, add vanilla and mix in well.
4. Throw in the chopped walnuts and fold in.
5. Spoon out into the prepared pan and level the top with a spoon or butter knife.
6. Let it cool for an hour, cover with cling paper and refrigerate for a couple of hours.
7. Cut into squares and serve. Store the left-over in the refrigerator.

Recipe adapted from: internet and Eagle brand condensed milk cover
Contributor: Namitha

Kati/Kathi or Egg Rolls

2011-05-16T12:53:00.000-06:00

After 34 years of communist rule in West Bengal, Tiranmool Congress won the recent elections. Of course, I will not be covering all of the news here, but with so much talk about Bengal, when we called home (parents) last night, and recently connecting with a long lost Bengali friend of mine, I suddenly felt closer to that place.

At one point in my life, I was talking with a lot more people from West Bengal than anywhere else. They were classmates in college, and sometimes hostel mates, but I soaked up a lot of their stories and culture from Calcutta - the street food, Durga Pooja, Bhang, the food in general, game of cards and so on and so forth. One of my friend’s Dad wrote this book ‘Paye paye prithvi’ which was written in Bengali, and we would always talk about translating it to English. I have heard that story page to page about her father’s life in Europe. How he travelled by feet from Italy to Denmark in the 1960’s I think.

In all this, being away from home, and living in hostels, food is remembered by all of us most vividly. As we suffered with badly cooked rice, roti or curry we reminisced about our favorite foods back home. Another friend’s eyes would light up every time she was back from her vacation in Calcutta. She would talk about street food, ogling guys, wearing the latest trend, and eating street food like nobody’s business. If someone knew to romanticize a place she knew it best. That is how I first heard about egg rolls. I learned to make it much later.

When I was working in Hyderabad, and living in a flat with my cousins, our neighbors happened to be a newly married Bengali couple. Of course, I got on with them famously! I was excited to share everything I know about Calcutta with my new friends. I think secretly the lady of the house encouraged me to talk half- baked information because she was away from her mother for the first time and obviously missing her hometown. When her husband traveled, we would go out on walks and share stories. By then, I was cooking quite regularly and learned to make kitchidi, potato bajji, kheer, etc. from this friend. She is the one who also taught me egg rolls. Every time we made this at home, she would keep telling me it could never be as good as the ones they brought from the street vendor. But of course, I never wrote down any of her recipes, but I would watch her cook and learn. Here is what she taught me and you will need to know how to make rotis or buy frozen parathas to make this.

Rotis/ Parathas – 2
Eggs - 2
Onions - ¼ thinly sliced
Green Chilies - 1 chopped
Cucumber - 1 peeled, seeded and finely chopped
Lemon/vinegar – a little for taste
Tomato Ketchup
Salt
Oil – 1 tbspn
Method:
1. Heat oil in a pan. Beat 1 egg and pour in. Reduce the flame or heat to medium low.
2. Once the egg starts cooking, and is still wet on top place a cooked roti or chapatti over it. Continue cooking till egg is not runny. To test, I gently press a pan cake flipper over the roti and look if the egg is runny. Do the same with the remaining roti and eggs.
Filling:
1. In a bowl mix together onions, chilies and cucumber. Add a sqeeze of lime or a little vinegar and salt for taste.
2. Sqeeze a line of tomato ketchup on the roti with the egg side up. .
3. Add a spoon or two of the filling and roll
4. Using butter paper or foil, wrap it and then you can enjoy them hand held. The tomato ketchup and cucumber will make it soggy so it is recommended to eat them as they are made.

Contributor: Sunitha

Herbed Focaccia

2011-05-13T17:48:00.000-06:00

"Mamma Mamma,I broke my hair". Little M was trying to grab my attention by pulling my trousers and I looked down saying "oh, it's ok! How did you break the hair? What happened?" Lil M looked at me confused as if he was wondering why his mother was not taking him seriously. He persisted and explained how he pulled his hair. But what made my jaw drop is when he said " I need to see a doctor". "What!" I thought in my head, but trying hard hard not to crack up said, "It's ok buddy!. You don't need to see a doctor if you broke a hair. It is fine". He looked evern more perplexed with my calm and dolefully said "Ok, so can I have a Bandaid then?" This time I couldn't stop laughing out loud. Now, you help me understand, am I dealing with a dumb or a smart boy at home?

Stories apart, today I want to share the recipe for a focaccia. A simple and easy method,which I have been following successfully at home. Are you intimidated about yeast/yeast breads? If yes, then this is a perfect recipe to start with. You could never go wrong with a Focaccia recipe,like this. I have tried it several times and it always turned out perfect.

The texture is great and the taste is wonderful !

Ingredients:

Lukewarm water- 1 3/4 cups,divided
Sugar- 1 tsp
Active dry yeast- 2 tsp
Bread flour- 3 cups
A P flour- 3/4 cup
Salt- 2 tsp
extra virgin olive oil- 1 Tbsp

For Olive Oil topping:

Warm Olive oil- 3 Tbsp
Optional herbs/spices:(You can combine your favorites)
Freshly ground black pepper - 1/2 tsp
Dried oregano- 2 tsp
Dried basil- 1 tsp
Dried sage
Fresh Rosemary- 2 Tbsp (1 tsp if dried)
Garlic powder- 1 tsp

Method:

1.Take 1/4 cup of lukewarm water and mix yeast and sugar and set aside for a couple of minutes or until its frothy.
2.In the bowl of your electric mixer - mix the flour, and salt together.
3.Add to it a tablespoon of oil and mix again.
4.Start pouring in the rest of the lukewarm water into the dough and start mixing.
5. Follow it with frothy yeast and continue mixing the dough.
6.Slowly add the rest of the water and mix until the dough comes together and leave the sides of the bowl.
7.Continue kneading for 5-6 minutes or until the kneading is done. (you can test this by pushing down the dough with your finer and if it is done, the dough will bounce back).
8.The dough shouldn't be too tight. It is better if it's on the stickier side.
9.Take out the dough from the bowl and make a smooth ball out of it.Spoon over some olive oil to coat the dough ball and the bottom of the bowl.Cover this and keep in a warm place to rise to double. This may take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
19.Take out the dough from the bowl and knead on a lightly floured work surface.
20.Prepare a baking pan by greasing and place the dough in it and flatten the dough till it is about an inch thick.
21.Cover it and let it rest for 30-40 minutes.
22.Preheat the oven at 400 degree F.
23.Make the herb oil by warming the oil in a microwave safe bowl/to be on a safer side, keep in a thick bottom pan that is small and warming the oil. If you are using a microwave, be very careful, do not burn yourself or the oil :-) Keep the oil for 15 seconds and check and keep another 15 seconds until it is warm enough.
24.Mix the herbs in the warm oil and mix well.
25.When the dough is ready, risen double, dimple it with your finger tips and brush with this herb oil.
26.Bake on the center rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes or until it is slightly browned on top.
27.Cool on a wire rack before you slice it.

Sending this bread to Yeastspotting.

Notes:

1.You could use any pizza recipe to make this bread.
2.The herb toppings is up to your imagination. You could use any combo of your choice.
3.You could add more olive oil on the top if you wish.

Adapted from : Flavored breads by Mark Miller and Andrew Maclauchlan
and Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
Contributor: Namitha

Baked Omelette

2011-05-11T11:33:00.000-06:00

I thought I will totally crazy after last night. The temperature went as high as it goes in the Chicago area, and the A/C unit in our apartment went kaput! Sleep less night and woke up cranky. But we are not here to talk about my sleepless nights, right! Here is a recipe for baked omelette, which I am sure you will like. If someone as cranky as I was ate it with relish today, anybody will.

The peppers, oregano and cheddar flavors the egg to make a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner. The recipe today will serve two.

I am having a party with all these blue painted bits and pieces of a tableware I picked up in Holland, Michigan.

Ingredients:

Eggs - 2
Onions - 2 tbspn finely chopped
Bell pepper - 1 cup chopped
Serrano Pepper - 1/2 optional
Garlic - 1 clove
Oregano - 1/2 tspn (if you don't like it too reduce the quantity)
Fine Bread crumbs - 2 Tbspn
Cheddar Cheese - 1 cup
Salt - 1/8 tspn
Butter - 1/2 tbspn

Method:

1. Beat egg lightly and set aside
2. Heat butter in a pan and saute the onions, garlic and oregano followed by the peppers.
3. After adding peppers saute for a minute or two. Slid it into the egg with juices if any and mix
4. Add the bread crumbs mix to combine and pour this into a casserole and bake at 325 D F for 30 minutes
5. I used 1 1/2 quart casserole round pan to bake this. The mixture will remain way down at the bottom so you could use a smaller casserole if you like.

Contributor: Sunitha
Adapted from Paula Deens recipe

Funfetti Cupcakes

2011-05-09T16:37:00.000-06:00

Hope all the moms out there had a wonderful Mother's day. I had a terrific one, thanks to my family. They are the best! They brought me breakfast in bed, took me out hiking, barbecued and made daiquiri in my honor. Hm…may every day be Mother’s day!

The weather was extremely good for a hike, and there was no way we could pass it up. It has been a custom of 4 years for us to get out and hike as soon as the temperature rises. And we are lucky to be living in the right place to make it possible, the foothills of Rocky Mountains. We love exploring the mountains, both by driving and hiking. To my husband and my great excitement our kids share the same passion. They both walk/hike without complaining and my 2 ½ year old son did us proud by doing ¾ th of a mile without complaining. Precious! Now we are itching to do mountain exploring with him. Kids really have fun on these trips. What with elks, moose, snakes and birds to spot and keep an eye out for. Fantastic!

And for us parents children never fail to add to the entertainment. I had packed snacks for us all and my little boy claimed the goldfish crackers. A whole packet! Of course, his sister wanted some. But he was not giving any. I know for sure because he made it clear through his expression, speech and manner. Now, I love both kids equally and decided my precious daughter deserved some goldfish crackers too. He had a tight grip on that packet except when he gave it to me in exchange for his water bottle. On one occasion, when I knew he was not looking. I can vouch for this anywhere - he was not looking! I snatched a handful and passed it on to his sister. I returned him the packet and was about to walk on when I heard the lil imp say - "Mamma robbed me." Some one tell me, how do we keep a straight face? He looked at his father and said again -"My crackers are missing and Mamma did it" I was going crackers by then!

Such is life! And in the mean time, I had promised my little one that I will make him cupcakes during Easter. He had spotted the Sprinkle cupcakes. I finally made good of that promise and here is the recipe for you too.

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 1 1/4 cup
Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Sugar- 3/4 cup
Butter,at room temp- 6 Tbsp
Egg- 1 large and 1 egg white
Pure vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Milk- 1/2 cup
Rainbow Sprinkles- 2 Tbsp

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 350 degree F. Grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
2.Sift together the flour,salt and baking powder.
3.Beat the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.
4.Add the egg and egg white one after the other and mix until everything is combined.
5.Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
6.Mix in the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with milk, staring andhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif ending with flour mixture.
7.Fold in the sprinkles and spoon out into the prepared pan.
8.Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
9.Cool on a wire rack and do the frosting of your preferred choice.

Notes:

1.You could use any white cake/vanilla cake recipe for making this.
2.I used whipped cream frosting. You can find the recipe here.
3.This makes 12 cupcakes.

Recipe adapted from: Here
Contributor: Namitha

Drumstick in thick coconut gravy

2011-05-06T12:29:00.000-06:00

The name drumstick owes to the triangular, long seed-pods of Genus Moringa. Huh?!? I am not convinced with this etymology, but who am I to say! What I am proud of is we call it muringakay which is definitely closer to the scientific name Moringa. Full points to the Indian name of this vegetable!

Did you know that the drumstick tree is said to be one of the most useful trees on earth? Surprised? Me too! Wikipedia says “It is considered one of the world’s most useful trees, as almost every part of the Moringa tree can be used for food or has some other beneficial property.” This is phenomenal. So, let’s not waste any more time, but jump straight in- to learning how to cook this vegetable.

This curry is generally made with drumsticks and mango, where mango gives the tartness. I did not have any handy, so decided to make it without, and what do you know – not bad! Obviously the tartness is missing, but the addition of jeera, and a generous amount of cloves, packs the curry with enough flavor. A mango pickle to go with it will be perfect.

Ingredients:
Drumsticks – 14, 2-inch pieces
Thai Green Chilies – 4
Turmeric – 1/2 tspn
Chili Powder - 1/2 tspn

For Grinding
Coconut – 1 cup
Jeera – 1 tspn
Garlic Cloves - 4

Tempering
Coconut oil – 2 Tbspn
Shallots – 3
Curry Leaves – 1 sprig
Dry red chilies – 2 broken into 4 pieces

Method:
1. Cook drumsticks in 1 cup or enough water to immerse them together with turmeric, ¼ tspn salt and green chilies. Cooked to done but not falling apart. That will be about 10 minutes. Note that I have used frozen drumsticks.
2. Grind coconut, jeera and garlic cloves to a fine paste, and add to the cooked drumsticks. Use water to make a thin or thick gravy to your preference. Take the pan off the heat as soon as the curry heats through. Check for salt and add to taste.
3. Heat coconut oil in a small pan splutter the mustard. Follow it with shallots, red chilies, and curry leaves, and pour over the curry.

Serves: 4
Serve with rice.

Oatmeal Walnuts Dates and Raisins Muffin

2011-05-04T14:54:00.000-06:00

I am always trying to get my kids to put on weight. They are on the lower end of a growth chart, when it comes to weight. Knowing this, whenever I make something they like, I try to incorporate as much calories as possible. Of course, in a healthy way! Recently, my daughter started taking to oatmeal porridge. I grab on to small clues like that. And then I decided to take our oatmeal cookies, which everyone in the family loves, to the next level. While searching for recipes that have oatmeal, I came across this title and immediately knew what to do next. Oatmeal muffins!

Extremely good breakfast muffin! It works well as a snack for the kids too. The mild flavor of cinnamon and vanilla - with a bite of nuts, dates, and raisins will definitely make you want to eat more. I will make this over and over again.

If you have picky eaters at home, try these muffins on them. Highly recommend!

Ingredients:

Rolled Oats- 1 cup
Whole wheat atta flour/AP flour- 1 cup
Brown sugar- 1/2 cup, packed
Baking powder- 1 tsp
Baking soda- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp
Toasted Walnuts- 1/2 cup chopped
Raisins- 1/3 cup
Chopped Dates- 1/3 cup
Butter- 1/2 cup/1 stick, melted and cooled
Milk/Buttermilk- 1 cup
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Egg- 1 large, slightly beaten

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 400 degree F and grease or line a muffin pan with paper liners.
1a. Whisk together the dry ingredients( oats, flour, sugar, salt,baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, walnuts, raisins and dates) in a large bowl.
2.Beat together the butter, milk,egg and vanilla in another bowl.
3.Mix in the wet mixture into the dry mixture. Fold in lightly, not over mixing. Just mix for 10-15 seconds and not more than that. By this time almost everything will be wet.
4.Spoon into the muffin pan and sprinkle with some oats if you want.
5.Bake for about 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6.Cool on a wire rack completely before storing in an air tight container.

Notes:

1.The original recipe calls for all purpose flour, but I use whole wheat atta, that we use for making rotis.
2.Also I didn't have buttermilk, so I used milk instead.

Recipe Adapted from: Simply Recipes
Contributor: Namitha

Unnakai - Ripe plantain filled with dates and nuts

2011-05-02T15:59:00.000-06:00

I had given up dreams of wearing flip flops. Then Saturday happened. Glorious sunlight and suddenly everything seemed possible. We found out state parks and walkways near by and marauded them. Breathed fresh air and drank in the verdant beauty all around. Hm...! Nice. Am I glad or am I glad! I wore my flip flops too.

The fruity treat today called unnakai is a Malabar specialty. I have seen it in many blogs and had to try it myself. We are huge fans of plantains at home so decided it won't go waste. Making a sweet treat is quite a hefty decision these days. It's no good for me but my husband loves them. The only balance I can strike is to make only for him and resist it myself but that is asking a lot. But with plantains I decided its going to be okay. And it sure is. I have stayed away from the coconut filling which traditionally is the filling and instead used dates and cashews.

They are delectable

They are irresistible. If I say so myself!

Ingredients:

Plantain – 2, cut into four pieces, skin on.
Dates – 15
Water – ¼ cup
Cashews – 10 – 15
Brown sugar – ¼ cup
Butter – 1 tspn
Oil – to shallow fry

Method:
1. Make slits over the plantain peel randomly making sure the gashes are ‘skin deep’
2. Steam it to soften
3. Cool, peel and cut each piece lengthwise and seed them.
4. Mash to a pulp
5. Stew the dates for about 5 minutes. Remove from the liquid and chop into fine pieces.
6. Chop the cashew and sauté in 1 tspn butter and add the dates and brown sugar and switch off the heat. Set it aside
7. Make 8 equal parts of the mashed plantain.
8. Grease your hands with oil, take one part plantain into your hand, flatten it, and fill with enough date and cover over the plantain to make cylindrical shapes. Follow with the rest of the plantain and set aside
9. Heat a pan for shallow frying, add about 4 tbspn of oil, and slide in the shaped plantain. Turning carefully brown on all sides. Serve as a dessert.

Eggless Chocolate Mousse

2011-04-28T11:27:00.000-06:00

I have finally managed to come say hello. How have you been? Blame it on the virus cycle doing the rounds in my house! It started with my husband and I am the last victim. You know how it can be when flu starts in a family. Chaos! Someone is sick when the other is recovering. Everybody needs different kinds of food or treatment and it is mayhem. Now, I am feeling better and once my nasty throat and running rose decides to be well too things will be okay.

But then again drafts are a boon during these times. And what can be a better way to get back with you all than a chocolate treat. So here is to compensate my absence from blogger and Facebook a decadent eggless chocolate mousse:-)

This is the best among all the eggless chocolate mousse I've tried !

Ingredients:

Mini Marshmallows- 1 cup

Unsalted Butter- 2 Tbsp

Semisweet Chocolate baking squares- 4 ounces

Boiling Water- 3 Tbsp

Heavy cream- 1/2 cup

Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp

Method:

1 1 .Chop the chocolate bars coarsely.

2.Take a thick bottomed pan and throw in the marshmallows, butter, chopped chocolate, and boiling water. Stir well to mix. On medium low heat continue stirring till everything is melted and mixed together.

3. 3.Once done, keep the pan in the freezer/refrigerator to cool while you whip the cream.

4. 4.Place a bowl, chilled in the freezer for 5 minutes or chilled in the refrigerator, in a cold water bath (water mixed with ice cubes). Whip the cream with vanilla till stiff peaks form.

5. 5. .Now fold in the whipped cream into the chilled chocolate mixture.

6. 6.Spoon out into the glasses and chill again before serving.Cover them with cling wrap before chilling.

Notes:

1T 1.This serves 2 to 3.

In 2.In step 2, be careful not to overheat.

Disclaimer: There has a been a misunderstanding about "eggless" vs "vegetarian". Nowhere in the post have I suggested that this dish is vegetarian.Marshmallows generally contain gelatin which is an animal product. But if you are looking for a vegan marshmallow, you can find it in the market.

Recipe adapted from : Nigella Lawson

Contributor: Namitha

Artichoke

2011-04-26T13:46:00.000-06:00

Artichokes were my perennial curiosity. I would see them on shelves in stores - hold them, ponder about how the hell to cook it, see the price, and walk away. Well, if I am paying all that money, I need to know I can cook it, and what I cook will be edible. Fair enough? A couple of weeks ago I let go of reason, and picked up a few. After all, the internet is an oasis of information. I was not wrong. I found simply recipes where she beautifully gives step-by-step version of cooking, as well as eating artichokes. I followed her method to a tee.

It is rather simple once you know how to go about it. The taste is difficult to explain, but similar to somewhere around the area of peas, avocado, etc. I think. A rich vegetable protein is the best I can do. You can read about artichokes in wikipedia here

It is described as a perennial thistle, and I couldn't help but smile. My second year in Tennessee, a friend and I drove down to Mississippi on the Natchez Trace. Fantastic times! Both of us being wild flower enthusiasts, we closely looked out for them, and sighed 'oohs and aahs' at every spotting - including dandelions and thistles too. My friend, Marilyn, would forgive me liking dandelions, but when it came to thistles I had something else coming. The minute I started photographing them, she would say with fervor - repeatedly, constantly "it is a weed, a farmer's nightmare!" Otherwise excited about stopping for pictures - if my target were thistles, she would not be budged. Apparently, in her gardening days, she said she had ghastly experiences trying to weed these, and she hated it with passion. It is kind of a joke between us - how I like thistles, and how she hates them. She now sends me birthday cards with thistle pictures on it :)

Therefore from thistles to artichokes, it's a love that cannot be explained. I love the way they look. I guess it's time to send Marilyn a card picturing an artichoke!

Ingredients:
Artichoke – 2
Bay Leaf – 1
Garlic – 2- 3 pods
Lemon – 1
Salt – to taste

Method:
1. Chop off the pointed end of artichoke globe and rub lemon juice to avoid blackening while you work on the scales
2. Snip off the pointed edge of each scale and boil it in enough water with bay leaf, garlic, lemon juice and salt
3. Once cooked you can eat the fleshy end of each leaf/scale. When you get to the heart of the globe, the base is covered with hairy choke which should be spooned off before you enjoy the fleshy base.
4. You can dip it in mayonnaise and enjoy.
5. It took me about 45 minutes to cook.

Veal Stew

2011-04-23T12:36:00.000-06:00

Mummy, did you know Easter falls on a Sunday this year?

Huh! My dear didn’t you really know it always does?!

This was one of the jokes my brother and his friends would pull on me. I might not have said anything like this, but they would improvise a story around the above joke and tell anybody listening for a laugh. I wonder if he or any of his friends knew Easter was a ‘moveable feast' and that is why it always falls on Sunday

Happy Easter to you! I am sure you always knew it falls on Sunday.

Resurrection of Jesus on the 3rd day from his crucifixion. This is the most significant festival for Christians, in fact, bigger than Christmas. Thankfully, it is not as commercialized as Christmas and the gravity and seriousness is honored.

You must be familiar with Easter eggs as a common feature in the celebrations here in the U.S. But growing up, I do not remember it to be important. Over the summer holidays, which fall now in India, we would color egg shells and place it on plants but that was not to celebrate Easter. We don't even consider cooking eggs on this day in a special way.

Then what do we do? The most important thing to do was to eat a lot of meat and fish. It starts off with breakfast with appam and stew. Today, I will share veal stew with you which goes well with appam or white bread. Hope you enjoy it.

Stewing as a cooking term means to cook meat and vegetables by simmering and thickening by reducing the juices or thickening the gravy with flour or any other thickening agent. In Kerala, most cooking is slow and on stove stop, and what we call stew is slow cooked, no doubt, but generally to mean a mildly spiced meat or vegetable in coconut milk.

Stew

Ingredients:

Veal – 1.5 Lb

Garam Masala – ½ tspn

Vinegar – ½ tsp optional

Potato – 1 cubed

Pepper corns – 10

Cloves – 10

Cinnamon stick – ½ inch piece

Elachi – 3

Onions – ½

Ginger – 1 Tbspn

Garlic – 3 pods

Green Chili – 6 or as per taste

Coriander Powder – 1 tspn

Coconut Milk – 1 Can

Tomato – 4 or 5 round pieces for garnish

Oil – 2 Tbspn

Salt - to taste

Method:

1. 1. Make bite size pieces of veal. Take it with 1/4 tspn salt, vinegar, garam masala and ½ cup water in a pressure cooker and cook for one whistle.

2. 2. Heat oil in a pan, add pepper corn, cloves, cardamom and cinnamon stick and fry

3. 3. Add onions and sauté for a couple of minutes. (the onions should not be browed in this curry and hence you should not sauté it for too long before you add the following. )

4. 4. Add ginger and garlic followed by green chilies and saute.

5. 5. Slide in cooked meat with all its juices, potatoes and 1 cup of thin coconut milk. (1/2 C coconut milk + ½ C Water) and cook on low-medium heat till the potato is cooked.

6. 6. Pour the remaining coconut milk and heat through. Top the gravy with 4 or 5 slices of tomatoes and switch off the fire

Notes:

1. 1. I thin the coconut milk further ever before I add at the final stage because I like the gravy thin. However, traditionally the cream of coconut milk is added at the end to keep the flavor rich and gravy thick.

2. 2. Play with the consistency to your liking. If you feel you should not add too much water fearing the curry will spoil. It will be a good practice to boil about 2 cups of water and how much you need to thin the coconut milk to your liking.

3. 3. Stew is served with appam or white bread

Contributor: Sunitha

Chocolate Vanilla Marble cake

2011-04-19T15:23:00.000-06:00

Cakes are cosmopolitan. Some of the earliest references of cakes are found in ancient Roman history, making it obvious that cakes have been around for a long while. Therefore, it should not have surprised me when I saw marble cake, a regular feature from Kerala bakeries, doing the rounds in blogosphere. Where this cake originated is probably like the age old dispute of ‘What came first, the egg or the chick.’ If Someone asked where did marble cake originate, we will all probably have a different answer. But if one of you have a genuine answer I will be interested to hear from you.

The universality of cakes, and how far and wide it has reached, continues to fascinate me. I mean, I can’t get over that I grew up seeing marble cakes in bakeries in Kottayam, Kerala? In fact, this fancy looking cake is the most commonly available one in bakeries back home. I remember how the marble pattern caught my attention first, and it continues to get my heart go skippy. Actually, the cakes from the bakeries are overly sweet and over-powered with vanilla flavor,but the pattern was eye-catching and I still remember them because of it. I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally be able to bake a perfect marble cake which tastes as good as it looks. Below you will find the recipe to make this cake with a blend of sugar and vanilla which is proportionate to keeping your tongue swirling around more than what your body needs.

I tried different recipes from the internet before reaching the recipe I like most. One of the greatest inspirations and the best recipe I found was from Archana's blog

A little, but significant something else that I have to say about marble cake is it is quite fancy even without frosting. This is especially a blessing for a busy mom like me. For example, if I want to bake a cake for a special occasion birthday, anniversary or festival and have not enough time, I can whip up a marble cake which will hold its own to any decorated fancy- pansy cake.

With Easter around the corner, you will agree it’s most appropriate to share something special with you! Have it with tea or as a dessert, but remember to say ‘gosh this pattern is so pretty!’ Well, at least for my sake.

Ingredients:

Butter- 1/2 cup(110-115grams )

Cake flour(not self rising)- 1 3/4 cup

Baking powder- 1 1/2 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Sugar- 1 cup

Eggs- 3

Pure vanilla extract- 2 tsp

Buttermilk/Milk- 3/4 cup

Boiling water- 4 Tbsp

Dark (dutch processed) cocoa powder-1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp

Method:

1. Preheat the oven t0 350 degree F. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.

2. Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Beat butter and sugar well, until it turns light and fluffy.

4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

5. Add vanilla extract and mix again. Scrape down the sides as needed.

6. Add flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with milk, starting and ending with flour, and mix well after each addition.

7. Mix boiling water and cocoa powder to blend without lumps.

8. Take out 1/4 th of the batter mixture into another bowl. Mix cocoa into it.

9. Spoon both the batters alternatively making a checkerboard. Pour them in 2 layers. (Just like Archana suggested use a big spoon for the white batter and small spoon for the chocolate batter)

10. When you are done tap the pan a couple of times on the counter to get rid of the air bubbles trapped inside and to remove the space between the batters.

11. For making the marbling effect make a couple of swirls from the top of the pan to the other end.

12. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean.

13. Take out the cake and cool it while still in the pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to cool on a wire rack.

14. This cake can be stored in an air tight container for up to 3 days at room temperature.

Contributor: Namitha

Recipe adapted from : Archana's blog and here

Challah

2011-04-18T12:00:00.000-06:00

I had a fantastic weekend with friends. I hope you had a good time as well. Isn’t spring about new birth and hope of wonderful things to come? And so is a get together for a baby shower! That was the high point of my weekend. My friend, the mother-to-be, was glowing and happy to see us all gather in her honor. We played games, ate a lot of food and generally had a good time.

Some of the games were a little distressing because it made me painfully aware how inept I am. For example the game - of unscrambling words. One of the words to unscramble was ‘emtipan’ and I kept thinking that must be ‘emit pan’ confusing the meaning to that of ‘slop jar.’ Yeah, I know! Strange indeed are the patterns of my brain! But finally, when I was told it meant ‘nap time’ I could only put up my hands in defeat, shake my head and hang it low. But not for long. There were these adorable children! Just cute enough you could eat them. Delicious kinds! They kept running and playing around the room. Oh boy, how they make my insides turn into mush with their dimpled smiles and outrageous pranks. Had a real good time with them children! That made everything else seem trivial.

Let’s get to the more important reason we are all here, the recipe - Challah. A Jewish bread that is delicious! Some of you may disagree because it has a pronounced taste of egg. But as for me, I love it. It is also very pretty to simply lay it out on your table, and see your guests gush out in surprise. And when you tell them you baked it - priceless!

Ingredients:
Water – 1 cup
Yeast - 1 packet active dry yeast
Sugar – 1/4 cup + 1 tspn
Eggs – 3
Bread Flour – 3 ½ - 4 cups
Salt – 1 ½ tspn
Oil – ¼ cup + 2 Tbspn

Method:
1. Take a big bowl in which you can knead the dough. Pour 1 cup of warm (110 D F) and add the yeast and about 1 tspn of the sugar. Stir and let it stand. It will froth in about 5 – 10 minutes.
2. Add salt and the remaining sugar to 3 1/2 cups of flour and set aside.
3. Beat the egg lightly and reserve about 2 tbspn to brush the bread later.
4. Add the beaten eggs and oil into the bowl, mix well and add the flour, sugar and salt mixture.
5. Using the hook of your hand blender or stand mixer, beat the bread until it leaves the sides of the pan and come together. This should take about 5 to 6 minutes.
6. Dust a clean surface with flour and slide over the dough. Knead until you get a smooth and supple dough
7. Cover and set aside to rise for about 2 hours.
8. Once it has doubled in size, punch down and tucking in the edges make a round smooth dough.
9. Cut them evenly into 6 pieces.
10. Roll them using a little flour if you need to make long strands.
11. Lay all the six strands side by side and join one end, seal and tuck in.
12. Now you braid and tuck the other end.
13. Brush the bread with egg and lay it on a cookie sheet covered to rise. For about 1/2 an hour to 1.
14. Once it doubles brush them with another coating of the egg, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake at 375 D F for 35 – 40 minutes.
15. To test if the bread is done knock over the bread and it should sound hollow.
To learn how to braid the bread see a video here.

Contributor: Sunitha

Kurukku Kalan/Boiled and Thickened Yogurt gravy & Happy Vishu

2011-04-14T13:05:00.000-06:00

I have shared many stories about Vishu on this site and you can read about it here. For me, the best thing about Vishu, as a grown up, is the fresh morning after a rain because it always rains in Kerala during this time. The smell of fresh earth, the lush green scenery outside, and to wake up looking at a beautifully decorated room with pictures of my favorite gods, light from an oil lamp and oodles of yellow flowers. Tell you what - it’s a fantastic way to kick start a day!

My experience here in US this year will be kind of similar because it's been raining here. The rain is setting the stage for me to experience all of the above. There may be less green, but overall I am feeling very good about it this year, and in some ways I will experience my hometown here in the US too. The daffodils, dandelions and tulips have already started showing off their vibrant colors. I will miss konnapoo, but these flowers in my yard are a great stand by. I will decorate a 'vishukkani" with some of these flowers and the "Krishnan" I got from Guruvayur. Here is a picture from last year, and the first look I will have tomorrow will be the same.

The recipe for today in celebration of this festival is Kurukku Kalan - a part of the ‘sadya.’ I promised to post it here long back, but couldn't do it until now. Kalan is often confused with "pulissery", because the basic ingredients are the same. However, kalan is made after boiling and thickening the yogurt, which is more delicate and time consuming when compared to pulissery. But I must tell you, all the efforts are worth it, if you like this dish. Here is a recipe from both my families, mine and my in-laws. The variations will be clear to you from my notes at the end.

Collaborative Curry wishes it's readers a very Happy Vishu/ Tamil New year to all.

Ingredients:

Coconut oil- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
Green Chillies,slit in the middle- 3-4
Raw Banana(Nendran)/Elephant foot yam(chena),cubed- 1/3 cup
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Red chili powder- a pinch
Salt- to taste
Sour Curd/yogurt- Half liter/~500g
Coconut grated- 3 Tbsp
Cumin seeds/Jeera- 1/4 tsp
Dry roasted and powdered Methi/Fenugreek seeds- a big pinch

For Seasoning:

Coconut oil- 2 tsp
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
Dried red chilies, broken into halves- 2
Curry leaves- 1 sprig

Method:

1. Peel off the banana skin and chop into 1/4 inch pieces.
2. Grind the coconut with the cumin seeds to a fine paste, without adding any or very little water and transfer it into a small pan/plate. (Keep this close at hand while cooking the vegetable in the following step.)
3. Beat the yogurt/curd well and do not add any water.
4. Heat 2tsp of coconut oil in a deep, thick bottom pan. Add the slit green chilies and sauté till it changes color, at medium-low-heat.
5. Reduce the heat or take out the pan from the stove and add the turmeric powder and chili powder and mix well. Care should be taken not to burn.
6. Bring the pan back over the stove or increase the heat and add a cup of water (enough water to cook the vegetable). Slide in the chopped banana/yam and mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to cook. This took about 20 minutes for me.
7. When the vegetables are cooked and yield to a fork add salt and mix slowly without mashing the vegetables. Boil all the water dry.
8. Add beaten curd/yogurt and stir well. Bring the mixture to a boil while stirring continuously.
9. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and continue to stir.
10. Foam starts forming at this point. Spoon it out and pour over the ground-coconut mixture you should have handy at the side. This process helps the coconut to be lightly cooked. Set the coconut mixture aside and continue to stir the yogurt.
11. In about 20 – 30 minutes the yogurt will start to thicken. Now, add the coconut mixture with the foam you collected and mix well and heat through.
13. Switch off the heat. Be careful not to heat the mixture after adding the coconut mixture or else it will curdle.
14. Remove the pan from the stove, sprinkle the methi powder and mix well.
15. For seasoning; take a small pan and heat the oil. Splutter the mustard seeds and add the red chilies. Switch off the heat and add the curry leaves. Pour this over the kalan.

Notes:

1. You can use yam or raw banana (nendran) for making this. If you don't have any of the vegetables it is fine. Avoid the cooking step for vegetables and start with the cooking the yogurt.
2. My sis-in-law (fantastic cook) uses slightly ripened banana (nendran) for making kalan, especially if the curd is sour. The sour-sweet combo is good.
3. When the yogurt mixture starts thickening, you have to decide about the consistency of the end product. If you like a pouring consistency you can stop a little earlier than I have mentioned. Remember, adding the coconut mixture will thicken the curry and when once it cools down it thickens further therefore decide on the consistency early on in the cooking. I like to make kalan thick and that is how I have timed and measured my recipe.
4. You may avoid adding coconut mixture for this curry. If so, the curry can be kept at room temperature for longer. For weeks! Alternatively, the coconut mixture can be added in small portions on the days you serve this. However, you may add coconut like I have given the method and it the curry will keep for several days in the refrigerator.
5. If you are not adding coconut mixture you can ground cumin and mix into the beaten yogurt. This method is mostly preferred by cooks while making large quantities for sadya. Like I have already mentioned the adding and deleting of coconut mixture more than taste is also to prolong the shelf life of this curry.
6. If you think that your curd/yogurt is not sour enough (especially when you have store-bought yogurt) leave it on the counter top overnight. This will definitely make the yogurt sour. Obviously!

Contributor: Namitha

Strawberry Lassi

2011-04-11T12:49:00.000-06:00

The freshness of Spring is in the air! It’s difficult for me not to bring spring into every conversation these days. One reason is the obvious, spring comes and flees so soon you want to savor every moment. Another darn reason is it continues to snow intermittently in Colorado! This makes me want to repeat every so often that it’s spring and not winter. I guess the strategy is more talk will hopefully get winter flying off and spring harnessed. Day dreaming! I mean, somehow, can this snow go away?! On a cheery note the snowing is not as much as I make it out to be. My son and I are enjoying long walks and trips to the parks which is after all the best part of spring and summer. Long walks outside and to breathe fresh air is sublime. And talking about freshness, here is something that lives the meaning of the word, strawberry lassi! Yum!

These are flowers from my yard(You will agree the color is just like that of strawberries). Pretty, aren’t they?

This is one of my favorite coolers. Tell me what is yours :-)

Ingredients:

Strawberries- 8-10
Yogurt- 1 cup
Ice cubes- 5-6
Sugar/Honey- to taste

Method:

Blend everything together and serve.

Serves 3

Contributor: Namitha

Kadai Vegetable

2011-04-09T13:39:00.000-06:00

Indian cuisine is rich with vegetarian curries. But sometimes you get so used to making the same old sambar and rice it is an effort to break away and embrace variety. Also, when you try to incorporate different cuisine there is only so much one can make and eat, right? Everything said and done, today I decided it was about time to spin something different and put together a vegetable curry.

The subject of gravies as far as I can see can be contented. What goes into a korma as against a kadai? A korma can have cashews and cream while a 'kadai' will not. And if you are from the South of India then you probably make the korma with coconut gravy. Therefore, if one of you feel that this recipe has too many cashews for a kadai curry you are probably right. But I like a rich gravy and added a generous portion.

Spicy hot curry.

Ingredients:

Beans – 20

Carrot – 2

Bell Pepper – ½

Tomato – 1 medium

Onions – 1/2 of one large onion

For Gravy:

Cashew nuts - 25

Dry Chili - 6

Onions - 1/2 chopped fine

Ginger - 1/2 inch piece chopped fine

Garlic - 5 or 6 pods chopped fine
Tomato - 1 medium

Chili Powder - 1/2 tspn

Turmeric - 1/2 tspn

Coriander Powder - 2 tspn heaped

Kasturi Methi - 1 pinch
Tamarind - 1 marble size ball soaked in about 1/2 cup water

Oil - 2 - 3 Tbspn

Method:

Preparing the Vegetables:

1. Boil about a cup of water and slide in the carrots and beans. When they are tender and yet crisp remove using a slotted spoon from the broth and set aside. Reserve broth for later.

2. Line a cookie sheet and place the capsicum, onions and tomato and broil on hi for about 15 minutes. Alternately, in a skillet heat about a teaspoon of oil and on high saute onions, tomato and capsicum one at a time till the edges of the vegetables are browned. Remember to keep all the vegetables crisp, never over cooked.

For Gravy:

1.Fry cashews in a tablespoon of oil until golden brown and spoon it out to cool

2. In the same oil fry the dry chilies making sure you don't burn it. You will get a distinct smell of fried chilies when you can slot it out to join the cashews.

3. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan, and saute ginger, garlic and onions till onions are golden brown.

4. Add turmeric, chili and coriander powder and saute until the fresh smell of coriander turns aromatic.

5. Add tomato and saute until all of the tomato blends in to a pulp.

6. Cool this mixture and make a paste using a blender.

7. Bring it back into the same pan and cook until oil clears the pan.

8. Add tamarind juice and salt to taste. Add the vegetable broth to adjust the consistency of the gray. Make sure to use only as much tamarind juice as you need.

9. Powder kasturi methi between your palms and add to the gravy.

10. Once the mixture boils add all the vegetables, mix and let it heat through.

11. Serve hot with rotis or jeera rice.

Notes:

1. Peas, cauliflower and mushrooms go well for this curry. I have just used what I had on hand but if you are making for a party you will definitely want to add these vegetables like most restaurants serve.

Contributor: Sunitha

Poached Pears

2011-04-06T13:48:00.000-06:00

I have always loved photographs of pears; especially the one’s that are poached. But I have never had poached pears before. The only form of cooked pear that I have ever tried are grilled ones. Therefore, yesterday I decided it was time I poached some and what do you know it was not bad! Have you seen some of the pictures online of desserts with pears. Hm.. they are delicious to even look at. I may still be leaning towards grilled pears but I am sure when I master this art by adding sherry like Nisha has done here or add chocolate and ice-cream like Helene, you can see pictures here, my leanings may be flipped.

This far, what I have loved most about poaching pears is the aroma. It permeated every bit of my apartment yesterday and it was delicious! The combination of cinnamon, ginger, lime, cloves and pepper corn boiling and simmering with pears releases an aroma that cannot be explained. It was sublime, believe me!

Yes! Surely, the biggest high for me from poaching pears is the fragrance so far. And I will do it again, and again even if it is only to get the house smelling like the way it did yesterday. But the next time I will add wine or orange while simmering and serve it with chocolate and vanilla ice-cream. Either ways, I have arrived in the poaching business. If you are interested in poaching read on to know how I did this.

I also tried the chocolate-cake-in-a-mug yesterday and loved it. It was easy peasy like it suggests and for a microwave anything it was soft, moist and delicious. You can find the recipe here on our site.

To Poach Pears You will Need:

Pears – 4 peeled with stem on (Bosc is the best variety to poach but I used comice)

Sugar – 1 Cup

Water - 4 Cups

Cloves – ½ tspn

Cinnamon Stick – 1 inch piece

Pepper corns – 6 – 8

Ginger – ½ inch piece

Lime – 1

Method:

1. Heat water and sugar in a pan which can hold 4 pears.

2. When the sugar dissolves slide in the pears and all the spices. Squeeze the lime in as well.

3. Reduce the heat and leave it to simmer

4. Cook like this for about 20 minutes and pears should be poached. You may check insert a fork to make sure the fruit is cooked.

5. Serve with ice-cream or cake.
Contributor: Sunitha

Chocolate Cake in a Mug- Ready in a Minute

2011-04-04T12:37:00.000-06:00

You must be familiar with ‘chocolate-cake-in-a-mug’ having already been featured in umpteen blogs and sites. It is delicious and comes together quickly which is great!. After having baked brownies over the weekend I didn’t need any more cakes, but then India won the Cricket World Cup. It’s not everyday that this happens and you will agree that calls for celebration, right? If you have been following this blog or know me personally, you also know I am an ardent fan of cricket. I have been on cloud nine ever since Saturday when India won the World Cup after a long gap of 28 years. I don't even remember the 1983 world cup, when we last won the cup. It was considered a miracle of sorts at that time, and people even today fondly remember and narrate how Kapil Dev (then captain of the Indian team) and his army brought home the cup. Surely I need to celebrate this win.

The match played on Saturday was tough. The Sri Lankan team has seasoned players and is great on the field. The Indian cricket captain, Dhoni, and his team fought hard to win this game. And the victory was sweet.
We needed this break.

In India, cricket is more famous today than even our national game of hockey. Cricket players like Sachin are sometimes referred by people and papers as gods, even if exaggerated it shows how much the game and players are revered. An article in New York Times says cricket in India has the same effect like monsoon rains permeating into the soil. Therefore, it is no secret nor surprise that all Indians wherever they are, celebrated India's win, and I'm no exception. I had every reason to celebrate and having some more brownies left over a small, but deliciously sweet reason to celebrate this victory.

So here is chocolate goodness for TEAM INDIA ! Oh! How my heart swells with pride :)

A special thanks to all my friends on Facebook. I want to especially share this virtual treat with you for watching the match and sharing the emotions via FB.

Happy Ugadi!

Ingredients:

All purpose flour- 5 Tbsp
Granulated sugar- 5 Tbsp
Cocoa- 2 Tbsp
Salt- a pinch
Baking powder- 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Egg- 1 large
Milk- 4 Tbsp
Vegetable oil- 4 Tbsp
Pure vanilla extract- a dash
2 microwave-safe coffee mugs

Method:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients in a coffee mug to make the cake.
2. Beat the eggs slightly in a small mixing bowl and add the rest of the wet ingredients and mix well with a fork.
3. Add in the dry mixture and mix well.
4. Pour out half of the batter into each coffee mug.
5. Microwave the coffee mugs,one at a time, half- filled with the batter, on high, for a minute. If it does not get done in a minute, keep for another 20-30 seconds. Do not overcook, you might end up with a dry cake. (I kept it for 1 minute and 20seconds)
6. Let it cool and dig in.
7. It will be wonderful if you can top with vanilla ice cream

Notes:

1.The baking powder makes it less dense and more soft when compared to the original recipe.(thanks for the idea "not quite Nigellla" !)
2.The top of the cake looks a bit gooey when you take it out from the microwave after a minute. But it will be done already and do not over cook.
3.If you living in a place which is at sea level you could add a little more baking powder.
4.The cake rises up while cooking, but when you take it out it comes down. So a tall mug/microwave safe utensil is recommended.
5.The original recipe calls for 4 Tbsp each of flour and sugar and 3 Tbsp each of oil and milk. When I made it I added the above amount by mistake and it turned out to be better than the original .(later I tried once with the original measurements too !)

Recipe adapted from here (mostly) and here
Contributor: Namitha

Rocky Road Brownies

2011-04-02T08:06:00.000-06:00

Today is another big day for Indian Cricket. India is playing the World cup finals for the third time in history and I wish our team all the luck. Hopefully they will bring the home the cup and if they do that will be one which we are getting after a long 28 year gap. Fingers crossed.

I still remember the first time I learned the game. I was in primary school and this was the time before TV and Cable. My father ,uncle and grandfather all ardent fans would be listening to the commentaries on radio. It was fascinating, and I wondered why otherwise sober people would scream and make funny noises of exhilaration or disappointment. It was enough to pique my interest. Now my noise was in the mix asking them what is going on. They tactically explained only the major details like wicket and runs. It was enough for me then, I suppose. But after a year or so while I was visiting my cousins over summer vacation I got more information. One of my elder cousins was totally into the game and therefore everyone else in the family. Once when the game was going on my cousin needed company to go the neighbors, since only they had TV at that time. I was an easy sport at that time and accompanied her. That's when the rules of the game was cleared and my enthusiasm was fueled by my dear cousin. I had arrived in the cricket scene so to speak. What about you? I would love to hear your story of how you got into watching cricket matches.

When you have a game to watch it's always nice to have snacks and goodies handy. Though I still have some aval pori/ Beaten rice snack, I decided to make some brownies as well. Also, I wanted to join Ria and the rest of the blogging world, who is participating, in an event where everyone is making finger-foods especially for cricket time. So here is a recipe for a beautiful Rocky Road Brownie. Best part is you can enjoy these even when there is not game going on.

Oh, I have to tell you this, the selection of a blue background was completely by chance. Now I realized that we all bleed blue today :-)

Ingredients:

Butter- 3/4 cup
Granulated sugar- 1 cup
Light brown sugar- 1 cup
Cocoa powder- 3/4 cup
Hot water- 3 Tbsp
Eggs- 2
Pure Vanilla extract- 2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
All purpose flour- 1 1/3 cup
Baking powder- 1/4 tsp
Chopped walnuts- 2 cups
Miniature marshmallows-2 cups
Semisweet/Bittersweet Chocolate chips- 1/2 to 3/4 cup

Method:

1.Preheat oven at 350 degree F. Grease and flour a 9 by 13 inch rectangular pan.
2.In a heat proof bowl combine the cocoa powder and butter.keep it in a boiling water-bath and mix well.Or mix them and keep in the microwave in a microwave safe bowl and keep on high for half a minute to one minute or until everything is combined together.Take out in between and whisk together.
3.Add the hot water into this and mix well.
4.Mix the sugars and salt with egg in another bowl.Add vanilla extract and mix again.
5.When the cocoa mixture is cool enough add it into the sugar mixture and mix well.
6.Stir in the flour and baking powder.
7.Fold in half the nuts.
8.Pour into the prepared pan and bake until done, for about 25 minutes.
9.Take out from the oven. Sprinkle the chocolate chips and the marshmallows.
10.Meanwhile keep your oven on broil option.Keep the pan back into the oven and keep it for half a minute or until the marshmallows have puffed up and slightly browned.
11.Cool completely before cutting into squares.

Notes:

Adapted from Here and Here
Contributor: Namitha

Aval/Beaten Rice Savory Snack

2011-03-30T16:09:00.000-06:00

Woohoo! What a day, what a day! India won the cricket match and what a match it was! Very proud to be an Indian!
It is definitely a good day for more than one reason. I am back to blogging! My back aches are gone, and I am feeling well. I thank you all for sending me your get well soon notes. It was very nice and I feel quite loved.

I can’t seem to keep my trail of thought today. It must be all the excitement from the “India winning cricket match.” My mind is so much on it that I fear I might keep going on unless someone gags me. Please allow me to say just one more thing around the topic of cricket. Thank you facebook buddies for keeping me company in cheering the Indian team! I had a terrific time! It almost felt like you guys were sitting next to me on the sofa, laughing and punching the air every time India scored or got a wicket. Thank you ;)

Again, where was I on the cooking scene!? Yes, I am back to blogging and I have Aval/poha recipe for you. It is another favorite snack. I still remember the first time I had it. Yes, I am big on everything first time, like how today was my first time watching cricket with virtual friends. I warned you I cannot keep cricket out. Focusing! I was saying, my friend brought this poha snack on a family outing and since then I have been hooked. And thankfully it is easy to make and I make them a lot now. Believe me when I say it’s good!

Is there a phrase or idiom to explain having a good time close on the heels of another? I can’t think of any but that is how I feel right now. At the risk of being repetitive India won, I am back to blogging and spring is tangible. The trees and plants are all bursting out their verdant glory. Can it get any better!? As for you, try this recipe that will be the icing on the cake for an otherwise perfect day you are having. Love! J

Ingredients:

Aval/Beaten rice- 3 cups
Peanuts- 1/4 cup
Dalia/ chana dal- 2 tbsp
Curry leaves- 1 sprig
Red chili powder- 1 tsp/to your taste
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida- a pinch

A strainer similar to the one in the picture
Oil for frying

Method:

1.Heat oil in a thick bottom deep pan.
2.Place the beaten rice 1/2 cup at a time on the strainer and dip it in the hot oil. It will be done in a couple of seconds.
3.Take out the fried beaten rice and spread on a paper towel.Repeat the same with the rest of the beaten rice.
4.In a similar way fry the peanuts and the channa dal.
5.Switch off the heat and keep the hot oil in a safe place.
6.Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wide pan,on low heat.
7.Throw in the curry leaves (or you could fry them in the same oil you fried the aval and nuts after switching off the heat, but if you are scared about them spluttering then you could do like this) and saute. Add in the chili powder,turmeic powder and asafoetida.Saute for a minute.
8.Throw in the fried aval,channa dal and peanuts and mix everything well.Switch off the heat and let it cool before you store in an airtight container.

Notes:

1.I used the brown aval and that explains the color :-)
2.If you don't have a strainer,don't try this method. Because by the time you take all of it from the oil, it will be over-done.

Contributor: Namitha

Asparagus and Sweet Pepper Roasted

2011-03-28T14:57:00.000-06:00

Who said vegetarian has to be boring? Maybe nobody did, but sometimes I sure feel like it is. For example, this morning , my brain just couldn’t process any new ideas for a vegetarian meal. Therefore, I decided to have coke and chips for lunch. (Terrible, I know!!) Having settled on that, I proceeded to photograph raw vegetables and fruit, which is my latest interest. Everything was going well until my stomach decided to groan its displeasure. I kept going on with my business and ignored my stomach completely. Finally, when photography started frustrating me and my stomach was not letting up, my brain processed an idea. I grabbed all the asparagus I was photographing and snapped off its end. It was going into the oven.

As I bent over to replace half of the asparagus, which is for another recipe, I spotted the sweet peppers. Grabbed some, washed, and added it to the asparagus. And then, sprinkled sea salt, a generous amount of pepper and olive oil over the vegetables and picked up the cookie sheet. Lined it with foil and dropped the oil bathed vegetables on it. Feeling a little whimsical, I threw in a couple slices of lime. Cranked up the oven to 425 D F, waited for about 10 minutes to let it heat up, and then slid the cookie tray laden with veggies in. Baked for 10 minutes and I picked out the asparagus and placed on a platter. Turned the oven setting to broil and charred both sides of the pepper, takes only a few minutes on both sides.

As they all came out of the oven and was placed on a platter, I topped it with a handful of cheddar cheese and let it melt. Grabbed my glass of water melon juice and have to say enjoyed a fantastic lunch. No more groaning stomach but a blissful siesta invites me.

All is well in this part of the world, hope yours is too.

Ingredients:

Asparagus – 20
Sweet Pepper – 8
Pepper – to taste
Sea Salt – to taste
Olive Oil – 1 Tbspn
Cheddar Cheese – to taste

Method:
1. Snap the ends of the asparagus and place it on a cookie sheet lined with foil
2. Add the sweet peppers
3. Sprinkle pepper, salt and drizzle the olive oil over.
4. Bake at 425 D F for about 10- 12 minutes. Remove the asparagus into a plate.
5. Change the oven setting to broil and blacken both sides of the pepper about a minute or two on both sides.
6. Place the peppers in the serving plate and sprinkle cheddar cheese over and let it melt

This is not an original idea, of course you know that. I am just saying I just decided to eat this as lunch which is new for me.

Contributor: Sunitha

Mixed Lentil Soup

2011-03-25T13:46:00.000-06:00

Here is a hearty winter soup just before the start of spring. Mixed lentils can be bought at any food store. It is both pretty and healthy at once and you don't want to miss that combination. Lentils, beans and barley! As much as it is good to look at, they make a tasty protein rich fare. The benefits continue. They freeze well and also keeps in the refrigerator for at least three or four days. If you are planning to make a big batch, like I have done, then make sure you separate the soup into smaller containers, cool and then refrigerate or freeze.

I like this soup because of all the above reasons and also because they are not too cumbersome to prepare. I agree that the the cooking time can be a little much, but preparation (chopping, peeling etc) and the time you need to stand by the stove is considerably less. I hope you will enjoy this soup as much I did.

Dunk in some toasted French bread for more fun. You deserve some carbohydrates when you are good enough to eat only a lentil soup. Right?

Ingredients: (Serves 8)

Mixed Lentils - 1 1/2 cups (Soak overnight)
Onions           - 1 big chopped
Garlic            - 4 - 5 cloves
Chili Powder - 1 tspn
Cajun Seasonings - 1 tspn
Oregano       - 1 tspn
Basil             - a dash
Bell Pepper - 1 chopped
Tomato in garlic and onion - 14 oz (blend to make small chunks)
Parsley - to garnish
Yogurt - to garnish
Lime or Lemon Wedges - to garnish
French Bread or garlic bread to go with the soup

Method:

1. Pressure cook the soaked lentils with 1/2 tspn of salt and 4 cups of water. Wait for one whistle and shut off the fire/heat. Set aside until all pressure has been released.
2. In a large pot saute onions followed with garlic until the onions are translucent.
3. Add all the spices. Chili powder, Cajun seasoning and oregano and saute for a minute. Add the chopped bell pepper and saute for 2 minutes
4. Add the crushed tomatoes, stir and cook for 2 minutes. .
5. Add about 6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
6. Add the pressure cooked lentils in and cook for about 45 minutes.
7. Soups are always better when it cooks a while on the stove. Therefore, simmer for as long as possible. If you need the soup to be thin after it has cooked through add boiling water and bring the soup to a boil again.
8. Serve into soup bowls and top with a small scoop of plain yogurt and finely chopped parsley. You may also use lime wedges instead of the yogurt.

Contributor: Sunitha

Kolache/Kolacki/Kolacky

2011-03-23T14:01:00.000-06:00

Kolache (also spelled kolace, kolach, or kolacky, from the Czech and Slovak plural koláče) is a traditional Czech bread stuffed with dried fruits or cheese compote. I preferred a dried fruit filling for this recipe. This was made a while back and is from my drafts. It is an apt time to use recipes from my drafts, because I am not keeping well. No, there is no serious illness, but some aches and pains that need resting.

This recipe is from the book ‘Bread Bible’ by Beth Hensperger. I read a lot of good reviews about her book; the only criticisms perhaps is that the book does not feature whole wheat breads. It encouraged me to pick up the book and when I flipped through its pages, I was sure hooked. The pages took me down memory lane- good times in Germany to be precise. If you are from Germany or have been there, you will know how wonderful the rolls from the bakeries are. I was thrilled to find this book which reminded me of some of those rolls. The recipes definitely hold their own when compared to the authentic recipes I am sure. Now I am no expert in Czech nor German cooking but I am just saying I could follow the recipes from Bread Bible quite well and they give good results.

Also the impression when I read the recipe was ‘daunting,’ but soon my fears were laid to rest because once you start getting practical it works like a charm. It really does! Hope you are encouraged enough to try them yourselves.

Ingredients: (Makes12 rolls)

For the Rolls:
Active Dry yeast- 2 tsp
Sugar- 1 1/2 Tbsp
Warm water- 1/4 cup
Warm Milk- 3/4 cup
Grated zest of one Lemon
Egg- 1
Salt- 3/4 tsp
All purpose flour- 3 to 3 1/4 cup
Unsalted Butter- 4 Tbsp, at room temp, cut into pieces

For Dried fruit filling:

Dried fruit of your choice (Peaches,sour cherries,apricots,prunes etc)- 4 oz
Fruit Brandy- 2 Tbsp (optional)
Sugar- 1/4 cup
Grated zest and juice of half a lemon
Unsalted butter- 1 Tbsp

Method:

1. Mix the yeast, warm water and bit of sugar, from the 1.5 Tbspn mentioned under rolls, in a small bowl. Stir to mix well and let it stand till it's frothy.
2. In a large bowl mix the rest of the sugar, warm milk, lemon zest, egg, salt and 1 cup of flour. You could either mix using an electric mixer or whisk by hand.
3. Beat well for one minute. Add the yeast mixture and ½ cup more of the flour. Beat for another minute.
4. Now add the butter pieces and beat until incorporated. Add the remaining flour, 1/4 cup at a time and after 3 cups a tablespoon at a time, until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl is formed.
5. If you are using hands, turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 2 minutes. If kneading by machine, change to the dough hook and knead for 2 minutes. Do not add too much flour, or you may end up with dry dough.
6. Place the dough in a greased deep container. Grease the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours or until the dough has doubled.
7. Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Combine the dry fruit, fruit bandy and enough water to cover the fruits. Boil, reduce the heat and cook for about 20 minutes or until the fruit is tender.
8. Drain if there is a lot of liquid, reserving 2 tablespoons. Mix the warm fruit, lemon zest and juice, butter and reserved liquid in a food processor and blend until smooth. Set aside or cover and refrigerate until needed.
9. Deflate the dough by punching down and turn onto a lightly floured surface. Prepare a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
10. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and divide each part into 6, making 12 rolls.
11. Cover and let rise for abut 30 minutes.
12. Preheat the oven at least 20 minutes before you start baking at 350 degree F.
13. When the rolls have risen well, make an indentation with your thumb or back of a wooden spoon.
14. Fill with the prepared dry fruit filling and bake for about 18-20 minutes or until the rolls have turned slight brown.
15. Cool on a wire rack.

Sending this to Yeastspotting

Notes:

1.These mildly sweet rolls are light and delicious.
2.You could also use a cheese filling for this. Unfortunately I don't have a recipe to share right now.
3.These are also called Bohemian Sweet rolls
Recipe from: The Bread Bible by Beth Hensperger
Contributor: Namitha

Lauki aur Chana Dal/ Bottle Gourd and Split Chick Peas Curry

2011-03-21T12:51:00.000-06:00

Curry has to be lip-smacking good. When I first tried bottle gourd though, I did not get that impression. The decision was instant to never try it again. Then something wonderful happened, and I had some exquisitely- made lauki aur chana dal. Well, not exquisite because it was too salty, but the potential with this vegetable was clear. I did not lose any time. I bought some bottle gourd and made some myself. Yum! Light, delectable, easy dish, I should say. I read some recipes online and checked with friends who have cooked them before and I knew what I had to do. The curry is so good, that if you are not careful, you will never get to eat it with rotis or rice because you would already have had it as soup. Mmm…!

I am kind of enjoying the vegetarian dishes I am trying these days. Next in line is something to do with spinach and hopefully it will turn out well. Other than food, I am still waiting for spring, and in the mean time, I am tinkering with craft projects like making gunny bags, as you can see in the second picture. I have totally lost it! Over the weekend, I moseyed around some culinary stores like Crate and Barrel , and got an eyeful of designs, textures and possibilities for photography. How far I will succeed in transitioning this idea from my mind to my computer has yet to be seen. While I try and grasp my fingers around these trivial things, you make some curry and enjoy it with warm rice or hot rotis.

Ingredients:
Bottle Gourd – 1 small (about 3 cups when chopped)
Chana Dal - ½ cup (soaked for 2 hours)
Oil – 1 Tbspn
Asafoetida (Hing) – a pinch
Cumin Seeds – ½ tspn
Turmeric Powder – ¼ tspn
Onions - 1 medium chopped fine
Green Chilies - 4 chopped
Tomato - 1 or 2 chopped (depending on the kind of tomato. If it’s Roma then use 2 and plum tomato on the vine use just 1)
Coriander Powder – 2 tspn
Chili Powder - 1 tspn
Coriander Leaves – a small bunch
Garam Masala – ½ tspn
Lemon Juice of ½ a lemon
Method:
1. Clean and cook chopped bottle gourd and chana dal in a pressure cooker for 1 whistle. Pressure cookers differ, so make sure you cook the dal so that it retains it’s shape .
2. Heat oil in a pot which can hold all the curry. Start by adding asafetida and then splutter the cumin seeds. Follow these with onions and green chilies.
3. Once the onions are translucent, add turmeric, coriander powder and chili powder. Fry until you get the cooked aroma of the powder, about a minute of frying should do.
4. Add tomatoes and sauté. Once it’s cooked, about 2 or 3 minutes, add cooked dal and bottle gourd. If you like the texture of this curry to be thick gently mash part of the vegetables and leave the rest to retain its shape.
5. Add water depending on desired consistency.
6. Tip in a ½ tspn of garam masala, mix and garnish with coriander leaves
7. Serve hot with rice or rotis.

Contributor: Sunitha

Bok Choy and Portabella Mushrooms

2011-03-18T12:10:00.000-06:00

I read some methods of cooking bok choy, and then decided to mix it up with some portabella mushrooms. I have to say I was not disappointed. I am skeptical about buying new vegetables and trying them at home. Alternatively, if it’s from a restaurant, I am more receptive. Since Chinese cuisine is one of my favorites, I decided to go out and pick up some Chinese cabbage, fancy mushrooms, and sprouts. So the first one to make the list was bok choy, and I am glad about this decision.

Sautéing was the first option, but then I added some vegetable stock to make it wet. I like this since I can eat it even with plain rice. It will also be a great accompaniment with a meat dinner.

When trying new vegetables or meats, I try to stick with familiar flavors to begin with. Even though pairing every vegetable or meat with the same flavor may not be the right approach, when it’s Chinese cuisine I hope you will agree ginger and garlic won’t be too wrong. Also, ginger and garlic is a personal favorite so I decided to go all out and try.

Bok choy and mushrooms flavored with soyabean sauce, chilies, ginger and garlic. I hope you will enjoy this simple dish. A simple dish, but the earthy mushrooms and bok choy will make you forget how simple, and every mouthful will be a delight. I have used portabella mushrooms, which according to me, is far superior in taste from the regular white ones.
This dish is spicy hot!

Ingredients:
Baby Bok Choy - 5, split in two
Baby Portabella Mushrooms - 20, split in two or four
White vinegar - 2 Tbspn
Water - 2 Tbspn
Dry Red Chilies - 6
Garlic - 3 – 4 cloves
Ginger - ½ inch piece
Shallots - 2
Soya Bean Sauce - 2 Tbspn (you may add more if you want to make the taste prominent)
Vegetable Stock - ¼ cup
Oil - 1 Tbspn
Salt - to taste
Sesame Seeds - 1 tspn or if you like more you may toast and add 2 tspn full.

Method:

1. Mix white vinegar and water in a small bowl
2. Soak chilies, ginger and garlic in this mixture for at least an hour
3. Drain and grind this to a coarse paste with a pestle and mortar
4. Heat 1 Tbspn of oil in a wok or pan wide enough to stir the bok choy and mushrooms
5. Add the ground mixture and stir for a minute or two or until the chilies and garlic release their cooked aroma. Add bok choy and mushrooms and sauté
6. When edges of the bok choy turn light brown, add soyabean sauce and stir for a minute
7. Add vegetable stock, close and cook till bok choy is tender. This will not take long since we have already sautéed the vegetables.
8. Toast sesame seeds and sprinkle before serving.

Contributor: sunitha

Rainbow Cupcakes for St.Patrick's Day

2011-03-16T13:04:00.000-06:00

St Patrick’s Day is new to even my Christian friends from India. Then again, I have not checked with any Catholic friends of mine to see if they celebrated it while growing up. Sunitha says - she had no clue until she landed in the U.S.

When you have children, everything colorful and vibrant catches your eyes. It could be the grocery store, department store, out in nature, everywhere. And if you have young ones going to school, they will definitely regale about every colorful experience they have in school! Well, at least until they are teenagers, I hope. Therefore, it must have either been the bakery which first made me curious about the colorful cupcakes, or my daughter’s animated description of some fantastic cupcake her friend shared with her. Whichever way, my interest was piqued and I participated in St Patrick ’s Day in my own way.

Historically, this is a festival in honor of the patron Saint of Ireland and celebrated on March 17th. The festivities started with the Catholics in Ireland, but have now taken a secular swing, spreading far and wide. I can confirm this is secular and gone beyond the boundaries of Ireland because even a mother from a small town in Kerala now fully participates by baking rainbow cupcakes on this special day.

For some people, St Patrick’s day is about coloring lakes green, wearing green attires or getting pinched for not wearing green, drinking a lot of green drinks, and even spotting funky hats. Others may call this an eyesore and decide not to participate. But as for me, it is another reason to celebrate in the middle of March! The beautiful color green signifies the arrival of spring. You know I will take spring for anything. In short, ‘have a great time’ is written all over this festival and I have decided not to shy away.

Baking fancy cupcakes is one of the ways I celebrate. For this one, the process was painstaking, with half a tablespoon different color batter being poured alternatively into each cupcake mold. But when baked, and my little boy exclaimed ‘rainbow’ with his hands clutching his wide-open-mouth it was priceless. Color your day green!

I have to tell you this - the first time I got excited about rainbow cupcakes is when Sangeetha shared it on her blog Kothiyavunu. Thank you Sangee for inspiring.

Ingredients:

Flour: 1 cup
Baking powder- 1 to 1 1/2 tsp
Vegetable oil- 1/2 cup
Sugar- 1/2 cup (plus 2 Tbsp if you are not using a frosting)
Eggs- 2
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 1/2 tsp
Milk/Buttermilk- 1/2 cup
Food colors-Yellow,Red,Blue,Green

To Make more Colors:

Violet - 9 red + 6 blue drops
Orange - 12 yellow + 4 red drops.

Method:

1.Line a muffin pan to make 10 cupcakes. Beat together sugar and oil, follow up by add eggs one at a time.
2.Now mix in the vanilla extract.
3.Whisk together flour and baking powder in a separate bowl.
4.Gradually add flour into the wet mixture alternating with milk or buttermilk to make the batter.
5. Take 6 bowls and pour equal quantity of the batter into each of them. (It will be about 1/3 cup in each bowl) Preheat oven at 350 degree F.
6. Color the batter in each bowl with the food colors mentioned above. Stir well without any streaks making a uniform color. It will take about 10-12 drops of color. I know it's a lot of color but you will need to make vibrant cupcakes.
7. Now is the time consuming part. Carefully pour about 1/2 Tbsp of each color into all the prepared cups.(Be accurate, if you add more than 1/2 Tbsp, you will run out of batter !)
11.Starting with either blue or red finish all the rainbow colors. Each time make sure that you cover the bottom layer color with the one you are pouring on top. Do not spread the batter. Keep pouring each spoon of batter in the center every time and batter will spread itself.
12.Bake for about 15 minutes or until the tester comes out clean.
16.Cool on a wire rack and then the cakes are ready for frosting.

Notes:

1.This recipe yields the most moist and delicious Vanilla cupcakes I've ever tasted!
2.Using the same recipe you may choose to use just 4 or 5 colors. This will make each colored portion broader.
3.You don't have to worry about taking time to pour in each color, the cupcakes will come out perfect.
4.If you add only 1/2 cup sugar, the cake is not too sweet. This will give you enough incentive to frost without feeling guilty. I used whipped cream to frost some of the cup cakes.

Adapted from: Baking bites and Kothiyavunu

Chicken Cutlet

2011-03-14T12:50:00.000-06:00

I cannot ignore what is happening in Japan as I write. It’s devastating, and my prayers are with everyone affected by this tragedy.

I had company last week. It was great to have someone home, to talk and share lunch with. It was even better to cook for more than two people. And it’s a darn miracle to myself, how such simple things in life have started becoming a treasure to me. Maybe the overdue maturing is finally happening! You will agree, being far away from one's homeland visits from family and friends become more meaningful. You miss them as soon as they are gone. The house is silent, and suddenly there is a huge void to fill.

Anyways, cutlets are a great snack when you have company or otherwise. Growing up, I could polish off a good number of them at a sitting. A snack every child will love! Talking about children, it was Namitha who initially decided to make cutlets last week. I took her cue, and made some with my friend M who was visiting and she and I photographed them. Thanks to Namitha for inspiring me to cook some myself last week and M for lending me you hand, literally for the photos. Sorry for jumping the gun on this one Nami :) Namitha's recipe will soon follow.

Back again to the topic of cutlets; good company and good food go together; good company and cutlets, now, that rocks! This snack will have your guests asking for more and you children, well they will not ask they will finish them all. A winner with young and old alike, I hope you enjoy it too.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breast - 3 (About 1 Lbs)
Cinnamon Stick - 1 inch piece
Cardamom - 2
Cloves - 4
Potato - ½ lbs
Onions - 2 big (chopped fine)
Ginger - 2 inch piece (chopped fine)
Garlic - 4 pods (chopped fine)
Curry Leaves - 1 sprig
Green Chilies - 8 (chopped fine) (reduce if it’s too hot for your taste)
Eggs - 2
Bread crumbs - ½ cup
Flour - ½ cup
Salt - to taste
Vegetable Oil - 1 Tbspn + enough for deep frying

Method:
1. Cut the chicken breast into big chunks. In a deep pan, cook the chicken with ¼ cup of water, ½ tspn salt, 2 green chilies cut, 1 garlic pod, about 1 tbspn of the chopped onions, whole cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom. Cook till all the water is completely drained and chicken is cooked through. Set this aside to cool. Once cool, pick out the whole garam masala and grind the remaining in your food processor until it resembles a coarse nut meal.
2. Simultaneously, pressure cooker potatoes with enough water to just cover them. Wait for two whistles and switch off the stove. Once all the steam has escaped open the cooker, drain water and let the potato cool.
3. Heat oil in a pan and sauté finely chopped onions till translucent. Add finely chopped ginger, garlic, green chilies and curry leaves and sauté till the garlic and ginger gives off the cooked aroma.
4. Once the potato cools, powder it using a fork. Mix all the cooked, boiled and sauteed ingredients together. Check for salt and adjust according to taste. Form small balls of equal size, press it on a spoon to form oval shapes.
5. Take flour and bread crumbs in two separate plates. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl big enough to dip each of the cutlets. Grab another dinner plate to keep the prepared cutlets, and make yourself comfortable on a chair. I prefer sitting at the dining table with all these things in front of me before I start dusting, moistening and rolling the cutlets to make them ready for deep frying.
6. Take each shaped cutlet, roll in flour, dip in egg, roll again in bread crumbs and place them on a plate.
7. Once all the cutlets have been prepared as stated above, deep fry till both sides are golden brown.
8. Make sure heat is at medium low and since all ingredients are cooked you do not have to over do the frying.
Enjoy with ketchup as a snack or have them as a side dish with rice or rotis.

Contributor: Sunitha

Spinach Dal

2011-03-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

Dal curry awakens fond memories from my early days of marriage. Yes, I know that I have talked about this on our site before. When I write about dal curry, it’s difficult not to mention my Telugu friend and colleague from Hyderabad who made a mean dal curry - so to speak. Though a little too spicy, it was delicious!. Being unable to eat as much as I would like with the heat, I asked her once how many chilies she put in the curry and she said “a handful.” Wow! No wonder, I would exclaim. It was a joke between us how much I would still eat in spite of the heat in the curry. I have learned a lot from her, and when I started cooking this curry myself she would caution me - you better go easy on the chilies having a kid at home!

Dal, in most Indian cuisines, is a side dish that goes both with rice and roti. As most dishes, it is cooked differently from state to state. However, it is a must have in a ‘Thali.’ My mouth waters whenever I think of a good lunch thali from my favorite vegetarian restaurant. I have tried to recreate some of that magic with this dish myself and hope you will enjoy it too.

Ingredients:

Tur Dal/Tuvar/Toor daal- ~1 cup
Tomato- 1 chopped finely
Turmeric Powder- 1/4 tsp
Salt- to your taste
Spinach- one bunch,chopped
Tamarind pulp- from a lime sized ball or to your taste

Tempering:

Oil- 1 Tbsp
Mustard seeds- 1/4 tsp
Chana dal- 1 tsp
Red chilies, broken into halves- 3
Garlic grated- 1 1/2 tsp
Red chili powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Pressure-cook all the ingredients listed, except for tempering and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a pan, add the mustard seeds and let it splutter. Follow it with chana dal and when it changes color to a light brown, add the grated garlic and red chilies. Saute` until the raw smell leaves.
3. Switch off the heat and add chili powder. Keep stirring until the chili powder is heated through. Be careful not to burn the chili powder. Pour the tempering over the cooked dal and mix.
4. Serve with rice.

Notes:
1. You can add green chilies when you cook the dal, and skip adding the red chili powder in the tempering.
2. For the amount of dal given in this recipe, 3-4 green chilies would make the dish medium hot (spicy).
3. Sometimes, I cook the dal with salt and turmeric and add the remaining ingredients along with the tempering - sautéing after each addition until they are all cooked and mix into the dal.

Sending this to My Legume Love affair at Ammalu's Kitchen,barinchild of Susan from The well seasoned cook
Contributor: Namitha

Paczki (Pounchki/Punchki)

2011-03-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

The Lenten Season starts today on Ash Wednesday. Yesterday was Fat Tuesday-the day when all rich and fatty foods in the house is to be finished. This concept falls under the European culture. I am drawing a blank as to what Christians in India traditionally would make on Fat Tuesday. Back home my family did not make a big deal of it but we all stuffed ourselves with meat and fish before lent starts. Yes, for lent we give up only meat and fish, not sweets nor rich food.

As such, I decided to go with the European tradition on Fat Tuesday this year. With a little snooping around on the web found a recipe for paczki. Simply put, packzki is a polish doughnut. Deep fried with stuffing and dusted with sugar- it's decadent. It is also very filling, but then again that’s the whole point of having this on Shrove Tuesday/Fat Tuesday. The recipe is from here. All I have done is halve the quantity and skip the step of layering and filling before frying.

Ingredients:
Eggs – 3 Whole or 6 egg yolks
Salt – ½ tspn
Dry Yeast – 1/8 ounce (half of a sachet is what I used)
Water – 2 Tbspn
Butter – 1/3 C at room temperature
Sugar – ¼ C
Bread Flour – 2 ¼ C
Brandy or Rum – 8 tspn (I eye-balled about half of 1/3 C)
Whipping Cream – ½ C scalded
Preserve – to fill (I used Smuckers, apricot preserve)
Oil – for deep frying

Method:
1. Beat eggs for about 5 minutes or until frothy. If you are using only egg yolks(which is recommended) beat till it is thick and soft, and set aside
2. Dissolve yeast in luke warm water 110 D C
3. In a separate bowl Cream butter and add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy
4. Using the lowest speed on your egg beater beat in the yeast
5. Add about 1/8th cup of flour into the above mixture
6. Follow up with your choice of rum or brandy and half the cream
7. Beat in ¼ cup of flour
8. Beat in the remaining cream
9. Add ½ of the remaining flour and the egg and beat for 2 minutes
10. By now I changed the blade on my hand mixer to the hook which is used to knead dough
11. Gradually beat in the remaining flour until it comes together as a ball
12. Cover and let it rise. It will take about an hour.
13. When doubled, takes about an hour punch it down, cover and let it rise again
14. After another hour or so, punch down again, and on a floured surface (you will need some flour since the dough is sloppy) use a rolling pin to roll the dough out to about 2 inch thickness
15. Cut using a cookie cutter or glass
16. Deep fry on low medium until both sides are golden brown.
17. Break a punchki and make sure the insides are cooked. This will help to gauge if you have the heat on the right setting.
18. Serve with cream or fruit preserve filling.

Submitted to Yeast Spotting

Contributor: Sunitha

Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake

2011-03-07T02:21:00.000-07:00

Spring is around the corner, its official! Though Coloradans expect a few more snow showers, it's almost pleasant in some parts of the country. The winter was quite dry this year in Colorado, which is unusual. The wiles of nature seem to have confused the plants and trees so much, that some of them flowered before time! You can see proof of these strange happenings in the exhibit below-of the yellow darlings. These beauties were in my back yard looking perky and pretty until a little busy body in my family decided to change things around a wee bit.

As soon as I spotted these flowers, it reminded me how the weather is unpredictable, and it may start snowing the next day. Which meant the doom of these flowers was pretty close! I didn’t know how soon. Before I could engage in such thoughts of the future of these flower, my lil imp had decided their fate. He had followed me while I photographed them, and when I finished taking the picture, plucked them, and gave it to me. What a sweet thing to do right? I know! It is one of those moments when you are not sure if your child should be punished or appreciated. Anyways, I decided to make the most of the situation. I took pictures of this wonderful pound cake and made the hand-picked flowers a prop. That is the story of the cruel end of the flowers. As for the lemon pound cake, their fate ended inside four big tummies.

I loved the texture and mild lemon flavor in this cake

Ingredients:

For a 9 by 5 inch loaf:

All purpose flour- 1 1/2 cup
Baking soda- 1/4 tsp
Baking powder- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Butter- 1/2 cup
Vegetable Shortening- 1/4 cup
Granulated white sugar- 1 cup
Eggs- 2
Buttermilk- 1/2 cup
Pure Vanilla Extract- 1 tsp
Zest and juice from one Lemon

For Glaze:

Confectioner's sugar- 1/2 cup
Lemon juice

Method:

1.Preheat the oven at 350 degree F. Grease a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan.
2.Cream the butter and shortening together.
3.Add sugar,a little at a time and beat well till its creamy.
4.Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.
5.Now add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well.
6.Whisk together the dry ingredients in another bowl.
7.Add the dry mixture into the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk. Starting and ending with the flour and mixing everything well.
8.Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a tester inserted comes out clean.
9.Cool on wire rack.
10. Make the glazing by mixing together the lemon juice into the sugar, until you get the required consistency.
11.Pour over the cooled cake and wait for some time till it sets.

Sending this and Almond cookies to Vaishali's event Spring

Notes:

1.You could make a bundt cake if you double the recipe.
2.If you cut down the butter or shortening your cake will be dry.
3.Deeba has made her cake in a 8 inch round pan, so could you if you want a round cake. :-)

Contributor: Namitha
Recipe Adapted from : Deebas blog ,Food network and All recipes

Breaded Chicken

2011-03-04T13:50:00.000-07:00

I love breaded chicken! Of course, the deep fried version is my favorite but the skillet fried version is a close second. Then again, skillet fried being healthier maybe we should bump it up to numero uno. What do you say?

This recipe is inspired by 'barefoot contessa.' Recently, I saw her on TV featuring zesty lemon breaded chicken. It looked terrific, and seeing that it was skillet fried I decided to give it a whirl myself. Not disappointed at all, and will definitely keep making it with or without lemon zest.

Having not used any lemon zest, I made a lemon vinaigrette with juice of one lemon and double the quantity of extra virgin olive oil. Spice up the vinaigrette with freshly ground black pepper, and a shallot or two, and you have a fantastic dinner.

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast - 3
All-purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Bread crumbs - 1/2 cup
Parmesan Cheese - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/2 tspn
Pepper - generous amount
Egg - 1
Cajun Spice - 1/2 tspn
Butter - for skillet frying
Olive oil - for frying

Method:

1. Take each chicken breast in a zip lock bag and without closing it pound the chicken with a mallet or rolling pin
2. Mix flour, Cajun spice, salt and pepper and keep it in a dinner plate
3. In another plate take bread flour and parmesan cheese
4. Beat one egg in a bowl in which you can dip the chicken breast
5. Coat each chicken breast in the flour mixture followed by the egg and lastly coat it with the bread crumbs.
6. Heat the butter and olive oil in a skillet and fry the chicken for 3 to 4 minutes on each side

Contributor: Sunitha
Inspired by Barefoot Contessa's recipe

Chicken Tacos

2011-03-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

Do you like Mexican cuisine? How about a delicious meal that can be put together in less than an hour? Now, I am sure I have your full attention. Who after all can say no to less time in the kitchen, and yet tasty food on the table! Thriving fast food joints everywhere are a sure proof to this fact.

I am no different! Once I found out that tacos put together at home can hold it’s own to tacos from my favorite joint, there was no stopping me. With fresh ingredients, and chicken that is cooked at home this recipe is healthier. More over, children love this stuff and indulge and for once you don’t have to curtail them from having an extra bite or two.

And now, with cricket being my latest distraction, I am thinking it won’t be a bad idea to have some tacos while enjoying the game too. Please agree with me!

Ingredients:

Taco shells- 12

Chicken breast- 1 lbs, cut into bite size pieces
Pepper- 1 tsp
Salt
Olive oil- 1 tbsp
Lemon juice- 1 tsp
Garlic powder- 2 tsp
Jalapenos finely chopped- 1/2/to your taste
Chicken stock- 1 cup

Bell pepper julienne- 1/4 cup
Lettuce finely chopped- 1/4 cup
Guacamole- from 2 avocados(find the recipe here)
Mexican cheese- 1/2 cup (A Mixture of Monterey Jack, Mild Cheddar, Queso Quesadilla and Asadero cheese)
Sour cream- 1/4cup (optional)
Salsa/chopped tomatoes- 1/4 cup

Method:

1.Marinate the chicken with pepper, oil,salt,lemon juice and garlic powder and keep aside for at least 15 minutes.
2.Boil the stock and add the marinated chicken into it.
3.After 3-4 minutes add the jalapeno slices and continue cooking till chicken is almost done.
4.Increase the heat and cook till all the water is absorbed.
5.Switch off when there is still a little water left, just enough to moisten the chicken.
6.Prepare the shells according to package instructions.
7.Fill them with cooked chicken,sour cream,salsa and veggies sprinkle the cheese over.
8.Place them on a baking sheet/microwave safe plate and warm in an oven at 400 degree F/on high in a microwave for 30-45 seconds, till the cheese is melted.
9.Serve with guacamole and some Mexican cumin rice or as it is.

Linking this to Anyone can cook

Notes:

1.The fillings are completely versatile, as many of you know.
2.This is how my family likes it.You could make it vegetarian by using tofu and vegetable stock.And maybe add some bean chili for filling

Contributor: Namitha

Breadfruit/Kadachakka Thoran

2011-03-01T10:46:00.000-07:00

   Collaborative curry was on a roll last weekend. We were featured in the prestigious Hindu Newspaper. Huh! Can you imagine the thrill. We are mighty pleased and want to thank you all for supporting and being there to cheer us on.If you haven't got a chance to take a peek, here is a link A special thanks to Rachel of Tangerine's Kitchen, the lovely lady who brought the published feature to our attention.

Mostly, the news paper highlighted our Kerala Cuisine and we are proud of it. I decided there is no better way to concur with this sentiment than to give you one more of our favorite recipe from Kottayam. This recipe is Namitha's, but since I got access to frozen breadfruit before her, I cooked it. It is quite different from the regular thoran but very good by its own right.

Ingredients:

Bread Fruit              - 1   Lb
Shallots                   - 2   nos
Coriander Powder - 2 tspn or to taste
Chili Powder           - 1 tspn or to taste
Turmeric Powder    - 1/2 tspn
Coconut                  - 1/3 rd Cup

For tempering:
Mustard                  - 1/2 tspn
Shallots,finely chopped- 2
Curry Leaves          - 1    sprig
Dry red chilies         - 3   broken

Method:

1. Cook the breadfruit with water at par with the vegetables in the pot.
2. The cooking time for the breadfruit varies. Check frequently to make sure it does not overcook.
3. Once the vegetable is almost cooked add coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder and cover the vessel
4. Give the coconut and shallots a whirl in your mixer to lightly crush
5. Add this mixture and salt and stir
6. Temper in coconut oil or oil of preference. (Heat oil, add mustard and wait till it splutter, follow up with shallots, curry leaves and dry red chilies and when they are fried and aromatic pour over the vegetable)
7. Serve it with rice and curry

Note:
1. Bread fruit like I mentioned earlier have varied cooking time and some time you might have to pressure cook it.

Contributor: Sunitha

Walnut Date Muffin

2011-02-25T10:08:00.000-07:00

Who knew even chopping walnuts for this muffin could bring out quite the drama. My son Milan (LM) loves walnuts. Foreseeing I will not be able to chop up the walnuts, I need for the recipe, without appeasing him first, I counted out a few into his palms, tilted his face to make eye contact, and lovingly but certainly said “No more for today!”

It was about his lunch time, and if I am not stern enough, walnuts will be his lunch. He seemed to be taking it well. Ate what I gave him, pulled up a chair, and stationed next to me. Peering curiously onto the cutting board, while I chopped the walnuts, he asked:

LM: "Amme, What is this?" (Pointing at the walnuts)
Aaah! All sweetness! My mommy guard was up. I knew where this question was going. I did not answer that question directly for obvious reasons.
Me: LM, it's your lunch time. I'll soon give you rice, so you cannot have any more walnuts!
He seemed unaffected and continued to stare at the cutting board.
LM: Ooook! (With his dragging ‘o,’ the accent he picked up from his sister.)
Me: Don’t stand so close to the board kunje (endearment), what if the knife hurts you?
LM: Amme, what is this? (Now, pointing out to dates I was chopping)
Me: These are chopped dates. I am going to try and make some yummy muffins with walnuts and dates.
LM: Oh, Muffan! (No accent anymore it comes out with a rounded ‘an’ at the end and resonant. It’s quite cute the way he says it, if I may say so myself!)
Me: Right.
LM: Amme, can I have more walnuts?
Me: I already told you. That's it! (Mildly amused and exasperated, thinking how tenacious children can be, I handed him one more) “This is the "last-last" one.
He coined last-last, which essentially means my "last" is not his "last") You figure!
LM: Ooook! (Dragging himself off the chair.)

Having reached an agreement with my son, I continued chopping the rest of the walnuts. Mostly in a hurry, thinking about getting his lunch ready.
I turned around to check on him and he was out of sight. Being a mother, looking instinctively at unlikely places for my children is second nature to me. Within seconds my eyes caught his shirt behind the counter. I bent down to see what he was up to. LM looked back with eyes filled with guilt. I searched him with my eyes:

LM: Here we go! Pushed his hand in front of me, opened his palms and counted out a couple of walnuts into my hands.

Children! I have no idea how he nicked those from under my nose.

His middle name is the synonym for Krishna. If Lord Krishna stole butter from his mother my LM steals walnuts and every thing else that is forbidden. The proverbial joy of eating the forbidden fruit!

As for the muffins, they are far from forbidden. Make a whole batch and enjoy them to your heart’s content.

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour- 3/4 cup
All purpose flour- 3/4 cup
Brown sugar- 1/3 cup
Baking soda- 1 tsp
Nutmeg powder- 1/8 tsp
Cloves powdered- 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon powdered- 1 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Milk- 1/2 cup
Unsulphured Molasses- 1/3 cup
Olive oil- 6Tbsp
Eggs- 2 large
Walnuts chopped- 1 1/4 cup
Dates pitted and chopped- 1 cup

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Line muffin pan with paper liners and grease them.
2.Whisk together the flours,salt,spice powders and baking soda.
3.In another bowl mix molasses, milk,sugar,oil and eggs.
4.Mix the wet mixture into the dry mixture along with the chopped walnuts and dates, only until combined.Do not over mix.
5.Spoon into the muffin pan , till it is 3/4th full and bake for 15-16 minutes or until done.

Notes:

1.As the original recipe suggests you could use pumpkin pie spice mix instead of all the spices.
2.I got 18 medium sized muffins.

Contributor: Namitha
Recipe adapted from :here

Almond Cookies

2011-02-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

I was on a cooking spree yesterday with some mishaps and triumphs. I would call the recipe I am sharing today, which is Martha Stewart's, a huge success! The cookies are buttery with a refreshing orange zest flavor. Loved it!

Success in the kitchen always puts me in a good mood. But there are more reasons why I am jaunty. ‘Life of Pi’ by Yann Martel. The book has been around for a while. It won the Booker Prize in 2002 to be precise. Since I am the kind who takes books from the library, I read most of them after everyone else has. At the risk of sounding outdated, let me just say the book is quite inspiring and I am enjoying every word in it Just like we pick every morsel from a plate of deliciousness, I am lapping up every word in this book. What fun it is when you can have a cup of coffee and have a good book to keep you company. Oh, yes and let's not forget the cookies. Yum!

Plenty of orange juice for me today having cut open the oranges in the name of photography.

Ingredients:
Almond – 1 cup
All purpose flour – 1 cup
Unsalted Butter – ½ cup
Orange zest – of one navel orange
Egg – 1 whole and 1 white
Sugar – ¾ cup
Baking Soda – ½ tspn
Salt – ½ tspn
Method:
1. Boil about 2 or 3 cups of water and add the almond in and cook for 1 to 2 minutes
2. Strain the water and cool the almonds off under tap water
3. Peel the skin of almonds and dry off on a tissue paper
4. Microwave the almonds for a minute on high
5. Set aside about 28 whole almonds and grind the remaining to make almond meal. Neither too fine nor coarse
6. Use your hand blender to beat sugar and butter (at room temperature) until fluffy
7. Continue beating after adding 1 whole egg and the orange zest
8. Mix all purpose flour, salt and baking soda and gradually add it to the above mixture continuing to beat to form the dough
9. Once that comes together, which will only take about 2 to 3 minutes, mix in the almond meal. Do not beat the almond in but only mix
10. Preheat the oven to 350 D F
11. Form small balls of dough, as much as will fit a tablespoon, and set on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper
12. Press the whole almonds in the center
13. Beat the egg white and brush it over the cookies and bake at 350D F for 12 to 15 minutes

Notes:
1. You can keep the egg yolk for the extra egg you will break open and once you are finished with egg white there will be enough remaining to mix them up and make an omelet.

2. Nothing to do with the recipe: I can write 'omelet' and still be right because I am in the US. It's a blessing some of these spellings have been simplified! If you are in Britain or India, please correct the spelling to 'omelette.'

Courtesy: Martha Stewart
Contributed by: Sunitha

Peter Reinhart's Buttermilk White Bread

2011-02-18T14:09:00.000-07:00

White bread always reminds me of freshly-baked breads in bakeries, back in my hometown, Kottayam. I think most families have their own favorite bakeries, where they pick up their goodies. Like white breads, rusk and cup cakes were some of our favorites which we always brought. Talking about which, I remember vendors carrying baked buns and dilkhush in bamboo baskets, and selling them door-to-door. My granny would buy us children whatever we point at! You know, the things most parents would stir away from. Grandparents are like that! They are here to pamper grand kids and spoil them! Right? I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I have tried several bread recipes, some of them are posted on this site. But I have never tried baking white bread, so far. We (my family and I) do not like the usual store-brought white bread. Then again, when you bake them, it is a different story. This is why I started searching for a white bread recipe, and yet not the usual, but something different, something special! Bingo! I found it in the recipe I am sharing with you today. The butter, buttermilk and egg that goes into this recipe gives the bread a die-for-it flavor nobody can resist. I saw this recipe was recommended by many other sites when I decided to give it a go myself. I would not talk about the recipe to you unless everyone in my family loved it. Great recipe!

I made buns using half the dough and they came out great as well !

Serve it with your favorite spread or with soup

Ingredients:

Bread flour- 4 cups +1/4 cup if necessary
Salt- 1 1/2 tsp
Sugar- 3 Tbsp
Active dry yeast- 2 tsp (approx 1 packet)
Butter- 1/4 cup at room temperature
Buttermilk- 1 1/2 cup
Egg,slightly beaten- 1

Method:

1.Stir together the 4 cups of flour,salt,sugar and yeast using a spatula or your mixer.(yes,you don't have to dissolve the yeast in anything)
2.Add the softened butter,buttermilk and lightly beaten egg and mix well, till the dough comes together.
3.Knead well for 6-7 minutes using your kitchenaid.
4.If you are using hands, then transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead well for at least 10 minutes.(the dough is a little bit on harder side )
5.Spray or coat with oil and cover the dough. Keep in a warm place to rise for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size.
6.Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and divide the dough into 2 equal parts, if you are making bread and cover with a towel and let rest for 20 minutes.(I divided one part into 6 and made some buns too)
7.Divide the dough into 12 equal parts if you are making buns .
8.Shape them and cover with a towel and let rise for about 90 minutes or until doubled.
9.Meanwhile preheat the oven at 350 degree F, if you are making bread,400 for rolls and 450 for buns.
10.Give an egg wash, using an egg beaten lightly with some water or use some milk, just like me, to brush on the top.
11.You could use sesame or poppy seeds to sprinkle on the top.
12.Bake the bread loaves for about 35-40 minutes or until the top turns golden brown.Bake the buns for about 15 minutes
13.Cool on a wire rack.Serve with the spread of your choice

Sending this for Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast
and Foodpaltette series Brown at Torview

Contributor: Namitha
Recipe Courtesy:Mainly from here.But basically it's from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart.

Naadan Pork Vattichathu / Kerala-Style Pork Curry - Dry

2011-02-18T09:55:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you have a considerable amount of fat deposited around your waist, and find yourself dancing to lady Ga Ga’s tune in a pub/club passé? I would work on that waist again! No, not to lose it but to get it all rounded up like a ‘muffin top’ as Elizabeth Gilbert says in her book ‘Eat Pray Love.’ And the best way to do it is enjoy your friend’s home cooked pork. Deliciously pungent and nicely fatty, it is most appropriate for a Friday evening. Let’s kick start this party with food, food and more food.

It’s rare for me to look at weekends so happily in advance. Most often, I feel the weekend only by Saturday afternoon. And then I am whining“OMG! Weekend is over!" Once the words are out, that's it! It get’s all melancholy! The remaining 1 ½ days are wasted.

Does this happen to you? You have something in hand; don’t realize its worth until it is too late. Of course! Everybody knows such things, it’s a cliché. But then remember what I told you earlier, take this weekend head on and enjoy. Don’t listen to me whatever age we are, we can still swing to the beats of Lady Ga Ga or Justin Timberlake. Let’s get this thing rolling!

By the way, don’t cook this recipe by yourself. Print it out on a nice card and gift it to your friend. Remember what I said, it tastes best when another makes it for you. Have fun!

Pork shoulders - 2 lb
Coriander Powder - 5 Tbspn
Turmeric Powder - 1 Tspn
Chili Powder - 2 Tbspn
Garam Masala - 1/2 tspn
Onions - 3 medium size
Ginger paste - 1 Tbspn
Garlic - 1 Tbspn
Coconut milk- 1 Tbspn
Green chilies - 5 nos
Curry Leaves
Oil
Salt

Method:
1. Chop pork shoulders into small cubes and set aside
2. Take coriander, turmeric, chili and garam masala in a small wok or skillet and heat it stirring to make sure it does not get burned but until the mixture give off its aroma. Switch off stove transfer the mixture instantly onto any dish to avoid further cooking of the powder.
3. Chop onions and saute followed with slit green chilies
4. Follow up with ginger, garlic, curry leaves and once this express the cooked aroma add the toasted powder. Once oil expresses add the coconut milk which will help to soothe the pungent masala and then add the tomatoes and cook until they are soft.
5. Take your time with the above step, it's best when the masala is slowly cooked and oil clears the pan.
6. Slide in the pork and stir to coat the masala. Cook on a low heat, the pork will cook in it's own water but if you find it difficult add some water about 1/2 cup and cook on low heat until pork is soft.
7. After about 15 minutes make sure you stir the mixture well to avoid burning the masala.
8. Garnish with Curry leaves and serve.

Note:
1. The dish is pungent and have a concentrated flavor of coriander powder. It pairs well with idiyappams, sannas, appam etc which have a sweet flavor.
2. This recipe is also my friend Jaya's. Thank you!

Contributor: Sunitha
Recipe Courtesy: Jaya

Chinese Chicken/Vegetables Noodle Soup

2011-02-16T10:47:00.000-07:00

Keeping with the talk on love, these days my two- and- a- half year old lil imp comes first for me. Our regular readers need no introduction to my little boy since you have heard so much about him on this site. It is such an exciting age! The things a 2 year old comes up with can be funny to downright pull-out- your-hair types of things.

I am crossing my fingers and hoping you won’t mind another episode with my little guy. My boy has learned some numbers and mama is very proud. It is thanks to the cartoons that he watches religiously. And now, he loves to use this new found wisdom quite often. So much so, that my daughter prophecy’s that the whole family will forget to say numbers in the correct order in the near future. Yes, my son knows his numbers but for now, they are in random order, not in sequence. Can you see what little knowledge can do?

I know this too will pass, but not before he had his dad tearing out his hair. He and his dad have started taking the Parent-tot swimming class. This program is to familiarize children with the water, pool and swimming subsequently. One of the suggested ways, to make this program work, is for the children to jump from the bleachers, while a parent waits below in the pool to catch them. It’s great fun! His father is making up for time spent away during the week from his dear son. But this does not come easily when numbers are swimming in my son’s head. The stage is set - his Dad is in the water, my son on the bleacher and then the inevitable….
My son starts counting, “one, three, eight, and five...and then jumps! You should have seen his Dad’s concentration; he looks like the batsman waiting for the curve ball. While my husband is paying the price for the entire googly (a spin ball, term used in Cricket) he threw his own Dad, I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead.

Stories apart, this noodle soup is a very comforting meal that my family loves.'s. By the way, these are wheat noodles and very healthy too. It's very easy to concoct, believe me! What is even better is that you can make it all vegetarian; if you don't eat meat. Therefore, here we are, easy and versatile noodle soup recipe only for you. :)

Ingredients:

Wheat Noodles- 250gm
Chicken breast/Tofu- 1 lb
Salt- To taste
Chicken/Veg stock- 1 packet(4 cups)
Sesame oil- 1 Tbsp
Ginger grated- 1 tsp
Garlic grated- 1 1/2 tsp

Soy sauce- 1 tbsp
Chilli sauce- 2 tsp
Black pepper powder- 1 tsp
White vinegar- 1 tsp
Carrot julienne- 1/4 cup
Broccoli pieces- 1/4 cup
Bell pepper julienne- 1/4 cup
Cabbage julienne- 1/4 cup
Spring onions- white part chopped from 1 bunch

Method:

1.Marinate the chicken cubes with salt.
2Heat the sesame oil in a pan. Add the grated ginger and garlic and saute till the raw smell leaves..
3.Pour and boil the stock and add the chicken and other seasonings.
3.After 5 minutes add the vegetables and cook until done.
6.Cook the noodles in boiling water with salt for 5-6 minutes or until done.
7.Serve the noodles topped with the chicken soup.Garnish with chopped green onions.

Notes:

1.As I've already mentioned, if you are a vegetarian,you could replace chicken with tofu and add vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.
2.The choice of vegetables is also up to you.
3.When you add chicken, you don't have to add a lot of veggies, if you want to get more flavor from chicken. My family prefers with all the veggies in it :-)

Contributor: Namitha

Sanna

2011-02-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine’s Day to you! I have a South Indian rice-cake recipe for you today. These will surely flood some of my college mate’s minds with memories of great times. Sanna’s. A Mangalorean favorite which also comes under the Goan cuisine.

For me these are a key to a treasure trove of memories. My college, as you might already have read before was in Mangalore, and we were fed on a good many of these both in the hostel and otherwise. Never thought much of it then, but have always missed since. Recently, my friend served this for dinner and it had that delicious, spongy taste which brought a smile to my face with an avalanche of memories. The recipe is my friend Jaya’s and I think it is great to write something borrowed today, especially from a dear, dear friend.

Ps- Even if you have no idea of Mangalore, or have no idea where it is (in the state of Karnataka, India), this rice cake will surely bring a smile to your face.

Spongy, melt-in-your mouth sanna's.

Sanna's served with smoking good pork, recipe for which will come soon.

Eat one and you will keep asking for more!

Ingredients:

Basmati Rice - 5 cups
Cooked Rice - 1 cup
Coconut Milk - 1 Can
Yeast - 3 tspn
Sugar - 1 tspn
Water - 1/2 cup

Method:
1. Grind basmati rice and cooked rice with 1 can coconut milk to a fine paste.
2. With as little water as possible clean the grinder of all the ground rice and keep the ground mixture aside
3. Take the 3 tsp yeast, 1 tsp sugar and 1/2 cup luke warm water and mix well and set aside until the yeast froth, showing it's active.
4. Add the the yeast, sugar, water mixture into the ground batter and salt to taste and let it rest to ferment. The dough will rise in about 2 to 3 hours.
5. Ladle the frothy dough without mixing but only scooping from the top into greased idli makers and steam till done.

Notes:
1. This quantity will feed upto 8 people.
2. The dough is traditionally fermented with toddy but since it's not easily available yeast is becoming more popular.
3. If you add more sugar and add some ground cardamom this can be had a sweet snack with tea.