Mushroom pilaf with toasted nuts and cranberries

 I love rice based dishes and therefore the mushrooms that I had bought to make a soup ended up in this pilaf. Mushrooms and rice go together very well but I did not want to cook the mushrooms along with the rice as it makes the mushrooms soggy and the rice mushy. So I cooked the rice seperately and then mixed it with the rest of the ingredients.

Caramelized onions, toasted pistachios, cashews, dried cranberries and mushrooms make this rice extremely flavorful and delicious. I decided to serve the rice by filling them in poblano peppers and then grilled it in the oven for about 15 minutes.

 

Ingredients

1 cup long grained rice like basmati

1 red onion thinly sliced

about 4 cups sliced baby portabella mushrooms

1/4 cup mixed nuts (raw cashews and pistachios)

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 bay leaf

2-3 black cardamom

1 teaspoon black garam masala (I like to use shan's zafrani masala)

salt and pepper to taste

Olive oil to cook

1 teaspoon ghee or butter for flavor (optional)

Cilantro for garnishing

1/4 cup feta cheese

2 poblano peppers

 Method

Wash and soak the rice for about half and hour. Then boil it with about two and a half cups of salted water until done. Each type of rice cooks differently so cook in a way so that the rice gets cooked but the grains do not stick to one another.

Heat some olive oil and cook the onion on low or medium heat till they are caramelized. Keep aside. Now in the same pan add the sliced mushrooms bay leaf and cardamom. Let them cook for about 10 minutes till the mushrooms get slightly brown. Add the nuts and more oil if needed or a teaspoon of ghee/butter. That gives it a very nice fragrance and flavor. Once the mushrooms have browned add the salt, pepper,  garam masala and dried cranberries.

Now fluff the rice and mix it with the cooked mushrooms and nuts. Add the caramelized onion and chopped cilantro. It can be served just like this or would be great with a cup of tomato soup. I filled the rice in poblano peppers and baked it in the oven at 450 degrees for about 10 minutes, then topped it with feta and baked again for 5 minutes.

 

I later thought that a drizzle of balsamic vinegar would be wonderful over the rice and peppers. I did not have that at home but next time I would definitely try it.

Diwali recipes: Poori sabzi and kalakand (milk fudge) made with condensed milk

 




Happy Diwali to all!
Diwali is a fun time except, the noise and pollution in India seems to be getting worse every year. The fun part for me is the food, lighting diyas (lamps) and making rangoli. I usually make snacks at home. This time I made two types of mithai (sweets) and a simple diwali meal, consisting of masoor dal, urad and peas poori and to go along with that potato and peas vegetable.  Today I am sharing the recipes of kalakand and poori sabzi. Kalakand is a milk cake or fudge and this is an easy way to make it using ricotta cheese and condensed milk. It takes about 15 minutes to make it in the microwave which also makes for a quick cleanup. The poori and sabzi are my nani's (grandmother) recipe. She would make these on special occassions and I learned to make it form her. I  love the slightly crunchy poori with urad dal and the simple and spicy potato sabzi.

Coconut laddu and kalakand barfi

 Kalakand recipe
1 can condensed milk
1cup ricotta cheese (I think it can be substituted with fresh homemade paneer, but I have not yet tried it)
3/4 cup dry milk powder
1 cup mixed dry fruits (cashews, roasted almonds, pistachios) roughly chopped
1 teaspoon cardamon powder


Method
Take a deep microwave proof dish and pour the condensed milk, ricotta cheese, and dry milk powder. Mix everything well.  Heat for 3- 4 minutes. Stir and heat again. Keep repeating this till the mixture starts getting thick and grainy. Let it sit for a few minute in between. It will start solidifying soon . Once the mixture gets thick add the dry fruits and cardamom. Heat again till you get the desired consistency. Once it cools cut it into sqaures.




 

 

 

Urad dal and peas poori

3 cups whole wheat flour (aata)
1 cup frozen peas (thawed and coarsely ground)
1 cup urad dal soaked in water for at least 2-3 hours (coarsely ground)
1 heaped tablespoon fennel seeds
1 heaped tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon dry ginger powder (saunth)
1 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
1 teaspoon black pepper
salt to taste.
oil and water to bind the dough.

Method

 Grind the fennel and coriander seeds coarsely. Mix all the above ingredients, including the fennel and coriander seeds powder. Add water and make a stiff dough. Add some oil and knead it well again. Cover with a wet paper towel or cloth. Let it sit for about half and hour. Now heat oil in a kadhai.  Roll the dough to make pooris and deep fry the. Serve with potato sabzi.

Potato sabzi recipe
Ingredients:
3-4  boiled and crushed potatoes
1 cup frozen peas
2 teaspoon fennel seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon methi seeds
1 tablespoon dry mango powder (amchoor)
1-2 teaspoons dry ginger powder (saunth
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2-3 crushed green chilies
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black salt
salt to tast
2 cups water (or as needed)
chopped cilantro
1 -2 tablespoons oil

Method

Heat oil, add cumin seeds and asafoetida. After a few seconds add the ground coriander, fenugreek and fennel seeds. Quickly add the green chilies and turmeric. Add the crushed potatoes and peas. Now add the dry ginger powder, mango powder, black pepper and salt. Mix everything well. Pour about 2 cups of water. Cover and let it simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the chopped cilantro and serve with the dal pooris.

V8 Rasam

I love this time of the year. Growing up in India I could only dream of seeing autumn with leaves changing to beautiful colors and the air cool and crisp with the right kind of nip. Some days do get unusually cold like the last weekend when the temperatures dipped to the low 30s. I remembered some of my close friends and family who have stood by me through the years and wished I could meet them more often. Weather always affects my mood and this one was in a pleasant way!

 To go with the cool temperature I decided to make some hot rasam and I often make it using the vegetable juice (V8). I like the spicy one. It takes less than a minute and tastes great. A side of lemon rice and pappadums would be wonderful with this bowl of soup.

 

Ingredients

(For one person)

2 small cans of V8 juice 

1 teaspooon mustard seeds

3-4 leaves of curry patta

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds (methi)

1 teaspoon red chili powder

2 teaspoons rasam powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

a pinch or turmeric

1 cup water

half a lime

salt as required

1 teaspoon oil

         Method

1. Heat oil in a pot.
2. Drop the mustard seeds, methi and asafoetida.
3. Add the curry leaves and cover the pot.
4. Quickly add the rasam powder and chili powder
5.  Pour the V8 juice,water and sugar
6. Cover and let it come to a boil.
7. Adjust salt according to taste. 
8. Squirt juice of half a lime just before serving.

Egg and cheese sandwich

Here is a delicious and quick sandwich for busy mornings. I made it with egg whites and sweet peppers. It is my version of dunkin donuts flatbread sandwich.

Ingredients

3/4 cup egg white

2 tbsp chopped sweet peppers or capsicum

salt and pepper to taste

chopped cilantro as much as desired

oil for cooking

whole wheat flat bread for serving

Method

Mix all the ingredients together. Do not beat the eggs, just mix everything in together.

Pour into a mini fried egg pan and cover. Cook till the top looks firm. Flip and cook the other side.

Take the flat bread and apply pesto or mayonnaise on one side. Keep a slice of cheese on the other and keep it under the broiler for a minute till it melts a little. Slide the prepared egg on the bread.

Fresh mint and peas pulao: Cucumber raita with fried onions and garlic

While I boiled rice for this pulao, I was not quite sure what I was going to do with it.  I love the smell of rice boiling that fills the air. It made me think of the versatility of rice. From biryani, pulao, khichdi, to idli, dhokla, rice kheer are all favorites. With thoughts of rice based dishes filling my head, I decided to make a quick fresh mint and peas pualo. It was simple with lots of flavor from the fresh mint and some garam masala. I accompanied the pulao with cucumber raita seasoned with fried onion and garlic. The seasoning is optional as cucumber raita tastes great even without additional seasoning with just a little salt and and roasted cumin powder, but I love garlic and enjoyed the taste of caramelized onion and garlic in the yogurt.

 

Ingredients

For the pulao

1 cup rice

1and a half cup frozen peas

1 large onion

chopped mint leaves

bay leaf, black cardamom, cumin seeds, cloves, black pepper

 garam masala

cashews, raisins

cilatnro

salt

ghee

Method

Boil rice with salt. Keep aside

Heat ghee, add the bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and cumin seeds. Let it splutter. Add the sliced onion and cashews. Cook on medium heat till the onions start turning brown. Now add the frozen peas, mint leaves, salt and garam masala. Mix this with the rice. Add some fresh mint and cilantro

Raita

2-3 small seedless cucumbers

red chilli powder

1 green chilli

1 clove of garlic

half an onion sliced

1 cup yogurt

salt and sugar to taste
 

Method

Whisk yogurt along with salt and a pinch of sugar. Now grate the cucumbers, squeeze them to remove excess water and mix in the yogurt. Heat oil in a pot and add cumin seeds. Once they splutter add the onion and garlic. Let it cook till golden brown. Add one chopped green chilli. Pour this over the yogurt and mix. Sprinkle some red chilli powder before serving.

Serve along the peas and mint pulao.

Moong dal pakoda with arugula and avocado salad (Lentil fritters and salad)

 

 It is great to be back to blogging after a break of more three months!

Today I am posting something that I love to eat but do not make it at home too often. Dal vada/pakoda or deep fried lentil fritters. I love these simple yet delicious pakodas with a cup of tea and chutney . To go along with these I made a salad with crisp and peppery arugula. Raw onions and green chillies are a staple with most fried food and I added some avocado and sweet peppers that gave a nice color and texture to the salad.

 

 Ingredients

(For pakodas)

2 cup yellow moong dal

1 inch piece of ginger

6-5 plump garlic cloves

3 green chillies

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 teaspoons turmeric powder

a pinch of asafoetida (hing)

Salt to taste

Oil for deep frying

          

(Salad)

2 cups arugula leaves

half avocado sliced

half red onion thinly sliced

4-5 sweet peppers sliced

1 cucumber cut into roundels

salt and pepper to taste

spritz of lemon juice

(Yogurt dressing)

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup sour cream

pinch of sugar

pinch of chaat masala

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon red chilli powder

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro and mint leaves

half a garlic grated (optional)

 

 

 Method

Wash and soak the dal for 2-3 hours. Coarsely grind the dal along with the ginger and garlic. Add chopped green chillies, turmeric powder, asafoetida, salt, cumin and fennel seeds. Mix everything well. Heat oil and pour spoonfuls of batter in hot oil. Deep fry till golden brown. Drain on paper towels. 

Serve with favorite chutney or dip. I like cilantro and mint chutney to go along with pakodas but I made a cool yogurt dip that served as a dressing for my salad too.

For the salad, combine arugula leaves with onion rings, cucumber, sweet peppers and avocado. Add a little salt and pepper to it. Place a few lentil fritters and pour the yogurt dressing on top.

 

To make the yogurt  dressing combine all the ingredients listed above and serve along with the salad and fritters.

 

 

Scrambled tofu with peanuts

This scrambled tofu is flavored with Indian spices, making the bland tasting bean curd more interesting. Lots of onion, garlic and garam masala make it delicious. The same recipe can be used to make scrambled paneer. I used this as a filling for a grilled sandwich .

Ingredients

1 block of firm tofu

1 large red onion
2-3 large garlic cloves

kitchen king masala

Garam masala

1 jalapeno

bunch of cilantro

Salt, turmeric, red chilli powder (according to taste)

1 large tomato

half a green pepper

1 tablespoon ketchup

Method

Heat some oil add onion and let the edges get slightly brown, without stirring too much. Add the garlic, jalapenos, salt, turmeric, red chili powder and the tomatoes. Mix everything and add the kitchen king masala, garam masala and green pepper.  Drain and crumble the tofu. Keep it on a kitchen cloth or paper towel to drain as much water out as possible.  Mix the tofu with the onions and tomatoes, add ketchup and cook for 5-10 minutes till it becomes dry. Top with crushed  peanuts, cilantro and halved cherry tomatoes.