Date and nut roll

There are many versions of this popular dessert made with dates and nuts. I tasted this at a friends place and absolutely loved it. So I requested her to share her recipe and she gladly did.
It looks elegant and can be considered healthier as compared to other desserts as it gets most of its sweetness from dates.  It has the nice crunch of nuts with a subtle flavor of vanilla. The condensed milk gives it the richness and makes it extra special. Once the hard work of chopping the dates and nuts is done it is quite easy to put it together.

Ingredients

Dates – 2 lbs  chopped into small pieces
Condensed milk – 1 can
1tsp vanilla essence
Nuts – Broken cashews, slivered almonds, chopped pistachios– 1 cup each
Grated dessicated coconut - to roll

 Method

Take a pan, add dates and stir on medium low flame.
Add vanilla essence, condensed milk and stir till it gets mushy and leaves sides of the pan.
Meanwhile, lightly roast all nut on stove or oven for 5 minutes.
Add chopped nuts to the date and condensed milk mix everything well.
Make a roll and roll it on the coconut flakes.
Put it in the foil and freeze it.
Remove and thaw in refrigerator overnight and cut in rounds.
You will get about 6-7 rolls and each roll can be cut into 10-15 pieces.

Okra/bhindi with roasted peanuts and sesame seeds

Here's a delicious way to prepare okra/bhindi with roasted and coarsely powdered peanuts and sesame seeds.


 

Ingredients

250 grams okra (sliced lengthwise)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

2 tablespoons coriander and cumin powder

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 teaspoons chilli powder

2 teaspoons dry mango powder (amchur)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup roasted peanuts

2 heaped tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

1 tablespoon besan

chopped cilantro for garnish

salt to taste

Method

Roast the besan (chickpea flour) and grind the peanuts and roasted sesame seeds coarsely and keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan and drop the mustard seeds, once they start popping add the cumin seeds and asafoetida. Quickly slide in the sliced okra and stir. Keep stirring till the okra is not sticky anymore. This can take about 5-7 minutes. Now add the dry masalas and salt (turmeric, garam masala, red chili powder, dry mango powder, coriander and cumin powder). Sprinkle the roasted besan, sugar, ground peanuts and sesame seeds and mix well. It should coat the okra slices. If it looks too dry sprinkle a few drops of water. Cover and let it cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Just before serving garnish with cilantro leaves.

 

Dhaba style dal (Smoky whole green lentils)

Who doesn't like dhaba food? And for those who do not know what are dhabas....Dhabas are roadside restaurants found all over India.They serve mostly local and fresh food which is delicious. I especially love the dal that is cooked to perfection, flavored with onions, garlic and tomatoes, sometimes fresh cream is added to it and it  has a nice smokey flavor. Usually the dal that is used is urad and rajma (kidney beans). Here I have used whole green moong and tur dal.

I adapted the recipe from Taj Magazine *Taj vegetarian Fare.

Ingredients

1 cup green moong dal
1/4 cup toor dal
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 sprig curry leaves
2 green chillies chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
2 teaspoon grated ginger and garlic
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon clove powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1 bay leaf
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
a few sprigs of cilantro for garnish
1 charcoal
1 tablespoon ghee

Method

Soak the moong dal overnight in water. Wash the toor dal and boil it along with the soaked moong and turmeric powder. It should not become too mushy. Heat oil in a separate pan and crackle the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Add the bay leaf and black cardamom and cook for a few seconds. Now add the chopped onion and green chillies. Cook till the onions get golden brown then add the ginger garlic paste. Stir for about a minute then add the garam masala,clove powder, salt and chopped tomatoes. Once the tomatoes start wilting pour the cooked dal, along with 3/4 cup of milk. Cover and let it simmer for about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

Now to give the smoke flavor, take melted ghee in a small bowl and place it on the surface of the cooked lentils. Take a piece of charcoal and light it on fire. Now carefully transfer in the the bowl of ghee. Immediately cover the pan. The smoke from ghee and hot coal will flavor the dal.

Once the smoke disappears. Take the bowl out of the pan and discard the coal and ghee. Garnish the dal with chopped cilantro and squeeze some lemon juice if desired. Serve with rice.

Vegetables and noodle salad with spicy peanut butter dressing

 Here is another salad! This is such a versatile salad that can be made with any type of pasta, mixed up with a good serving of crunchy vegetables. I love using broccoli slaw, grated red and green cabbage, carrots, snap peas. I usually get a bag of mixed slaw and throw in some broccoli florets in it. But other vegetables like mushrooms, bean sprouts, chestnuts would be great too. What makes it really good is the  creamy, delicious and bursting with flavor peanut butter dressing. Home made peanut butter would taste great, but store bought is just fine. This salad is always a winner and I like the fact that it does not really take much time to prepare. Sometimes I prepare the peanut butter dressing in advance and when I want to make this salad I just boil the pasta, add in the veggies and just before serving mix the dressing.
Recently I made it for a potluck dinner, so I went easy on the heat and used penne pasta as it is much easier to eat than spaghetti. Here is the recipe.






 Ingredients

4 cups boiled penne pasta
1 bag of mixed slaw (red and white cabbage, broccoli, carrots)
 bunch of chopped cilantro
4-6 green onions chopped (white and green parts)
1/4 cup roughly chopped roasted peanuts or cashews
boiled chickpeas or sauteed tofu (optional)

For the peanut butter dressing/sauce

1/4 cup tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoon hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoon maple syrup/honey or agave nectar
2 teaspoon or more sriracha sauce
3 tablespoons chili oil or peanut oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 fat cloves of grated garlic
1/4 cup water (add less or more water depending on the consistency you like)
Optional
(1 tablespoon major grey mango chutney Indian mango chunda works well too)

Method

Take the boiled pasta and add a splash of oil so that it does not stick to each other. Toss in the vegetables. To prepare the dressing just mix all the ingredients listed above. If it is too thick then add a tablespoon of hot water and stir. I do not measure everything when I cook, so feel free to add less or more of whatever suits your taste. Pour the dressing over the pasta and mix. Garnish with cilantro, green onions and roasted peanuts or cashews.

Green chickpeas and heirloom tomato salad

Made this salad last month when I found these beautiful heirloom cherry tomatoes at the local store. This is not the season for tomatoes and probably this was one of the last batches of the season that looked so tempting. I made a colorful salad mixing it up with sprouted green gram, corn and cucumber to make a filling lunch with a side of warm olive bread.







Ingredients
1 cup green chickpeas
1 cup mini heirloom tomatoes
1 small red onioin
2 small seedless cucumbers
3-4 mini sweet peppers
1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen)
a tablespoon of toasted sesame seeds or peanuts 
a few cilantro leaves for garnish

Dressing
Salt and pepper to taste
one tablespoon olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
drizzle of honey
one clove grated garlic
red pepper flakes.

Method

Soak green chickpeas in water for 8-10 hours. Drain the water and let them sprout.

Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, peppers and add the corn. Transfer to a bowl. Mix the ingredients for the dressing and drizzle over the salad.
Instead of sesame seed toasted crushed peanuts would taste great too. The salad can also be served on a bed of chopped lettuce, spinach or arugula leaves.

Green beans with besan (chickpea flour) dumplings

 I am all for cooking with garlic and onions but I also enjoy simple flavors of fresh vegetables with minimum seasonings. This recipe for green beans is one of them. I have added besan (chickpea flour) dumplings which makes the dish more interesting. It is seasoned with carom seeds or bishops weeds (ajwain). It compliments the flavor of green beans and is known for its digestive benefits. Carom seeds have medicinal value and are often used as a home remedy to relieve stomach ache or indigestion. I like to keep some roasted seeds mixed with black salt to chew after a heavy meal.

Here is the recipe.



 

 Ingredients

2 cups chopped green beans

1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain) 

1teaspoon mustard seeds

1teaspoon turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika or red chili powder

salt to taste

For the dumplings

1/2 cup besan

1/4 teaspoon carom seeds

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida

1/2 black pepper powder

1 tablespoon crushed dry fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)

water to make a dough 
salt 

Method

Heat oil in a pan and drop the mustard seeds. As soon as they pop add the carom seeds, asafoetida, turmeric powder and chili powder. Now add the chopped green beans. Add salt and mix everything well. Pour one cup water and cover.

To make the dumplings mix everything listed above and use water as required to make a stiff dough. It will be sticky so keep some oil in a bowl and dip your fingers in it while making the dough. Drop lumps of this dough in the pot along with the beans. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Check the see if the dumplings are cooked through. Just before serving add some lemon juice.

Mung dal and badam laddu (Split yellow lentils and almond balls)

This is my version of mung dal halwa, a popular Indian dessert.Yellow split mung dal (lentils) are known for their nutritional value. They are easy to digest and cook much faster than other lentils, often used to make khichdi or soups when someone is sick and needs to eat light, but a healthy meal. But this description does not hold true when you make these sweet laddus with it! The traditional halwa recipe is laden with sugar and fat but is delicious. This is the first time I tried to make it but reduced the amount of fat by cooking in a non stick pan. I think it was still delicious. I really liked the end result and would be making it more often now. This can be a good alternative to other sweets for kids. It is also rich in protein. I added ground almond powder to it and made it with jaggery instead of sugar.

Ingredients

1 cup yellow mung dal

1/2 cup powdered almonds 

(I used store bought almond meal)

1/4 cup ghee

One and a half cup jaggery 

1/4 cup very thinly sliced pistachios and almonds

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

a few strands of saffron

3 cups water

Method

Wash and soak the mung dal for about 3-4 hours. Drain all the water and grind the dal, adding just a little water if needed. Take a heavy non stick pan and add the ghee and ground dal in it. Keep the heat to low or medium and let the dal and ghee roast. This is the hard part as it requires time and patience. Keep stirring the mixture till the dal gets deep golden in color and roasted. It should not smell raw. This might take about 15-20 minutes. If you need add more ghee to the dal.Meanwhile boil 3 cups water with jaggery and saffron strands. Keep it covered. Once the dal is well roasted slowly add the water. It will start bubbling and spluttering so be careful. Stir everything and then add the ground almond meal. Taste for sweetness and add more jaggery if required. Stir and cook till the water evaporates and the texture is grainy. Add the cardamom powder and mixed nuts. 

Once it cools a little shape into balls or serve it in bowls just as it is. This dessert usually tastes good slightly warm.