Coconut rice

This is one good way to use day old left over rice. It would taste better with freshly grated coconut but I don't have the patience or the tools to grate a coconut so I use frozen grated coconut.To go along with it I cubed a mango and sprinkled some paprika and salt.

 Ingredients

 2cups cooked rice

1 onion finely sliced

3/4 cup grated coconut

1/2 tsp grated ginger

a few cashews or peanuts

1 sprig of curry patta

1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, urad dal and chana dal

1-2 tbsp dried cranberries or raisins

3-4 dried red chillies

2-3 green chillies 

1 red or orange bell pepper sliced

1/2 tsp asafoetida (optional)

salt to taste

cilantro 

Oil as required

Method

Heat oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, chana dal, urad dal and asafoetida. Let the mustard seeds splutter then add the dried and green chillies, curry leaves, cashews, ginger and onion. Keep stirring and cook till the onions turn golden brown. Mix in the bell peppers and add the grated coconut and raisins and cook till the edges of coconut start getting golden. The coconut will become more fragrant as it roasts. Now add the rice and salt and mix everything well. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

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Beetroot stew

I had made this stew/soup last month to chase the sniffles away. It was very comforting and nourishing.

Ingredients

(All the vegetables finely chopped)

1 turnip

1 parsnip

1 beetroot

1 onion

4 cloves of garlic

2 medium carrots

1 green stem of leek

1 small celery stick

dill, parsley, cilantro

1 stick of cinnamon and 1 bay leaf
half cup cubed tofu

salt and white pepper to taste

1 tbsp sugar 

Mixed italian herbs (optional)

Juice of 1 lemon

4- cups of water (or as needed)

olive oil

Method

Heat some oil in a pressure cooker and add onion. Cook for a few minutes then add the garlic, cinnamon and bay leaf. Cook for a little while and then add the rest of the vegetables, salt, sugar and herbs. Cover the lid of the pressure cooker and let it cook for a while ( I cooked it for 2 whistles).  When it is done add the tofu and juice of lemon.

Bell peppers and potato (Aloo shimla mirch)

Capsicum with potatoes and ajwain paratha (flatbread with carom seeds) is like staple food. It is homely simple everyday food. Ajwain paratha is made by adding some carom or ajwain seeds to the wheat flour along with some salt and a little oil and making a dough by adding water. I never use any measurements for making the dough. I add little water at a time till it is perfect for rolling.

Ingredients

2 medium bell peppers sliced

2 potatoes sliced

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp asafoetida

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp red chili powder

3-4 tbsp roasted peanuts (crushed)

salt to taste

Oil as required

Method

Heat little oil and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and asafoetida and let them pop and splutter. Now add the potatoes and cook till the edges start getting slightly brown and potatoes are almost done. Add the turmeric powder, bell peppers and salt. Cover and cook for a little while. Do not over cook. Once done sprinkle the chili powder and peanuts. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with paratha.

Molten chocolate cake

 This is a Martha Stewart recipe and has very good reviews about it being just perfect. I thought of giving it a try for Valentine's day. It is a guilty pleasure, truly decadent and rich but high in fat and calories!! I think it is worth trying and the batter can be prepared in advance and baking time is only 10 minutes.

Ingredients 

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for muffin tins

1/3 cup granulated sugar, plus more for muffin tins

3 large eggs ( I used egg whites instead)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter 6 cups of a standard muffin tin. Dust with granulated sugar, and tap out excess. Set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixer on low speed, beat in flour and salt until just combined. Beat in chocolate until just combined. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups.
3. Place muffin tin on a baking sheet; bake just until tops of the cakes no longer jiggle when the pan is lightly shaken, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let stand 10 minutes.

Snow flakes

Sweet corn vegetable soup

It is the year of the rabbit and the the celebrations for the Chinese new year are still ongoing. It made me think of all the delicious Chinese food and I thought of making one of my all time favorite Chinese soups. ( I am not sure if it is authentic Chinese but it is definitely Indian Chinese!) Sweet corn soup! It is simple to make and really tasty.

Ingredients

 2 cans of cream style corn

4 carrots (cubed)

1/2 cup each of red and green bell peppers

5-6 scallions (greens and white separately chopped)

11/2 tbsp finely chopped ginger

1/2 cup diced mushrooms

2-3 cups vegetable stock or water

white pepper and salt to taste

2-3 tbsp vinegar

1tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp corn flour mixed with a little water

1/2 tbsp toasted sesame oil (optional)

a few green chillies (for chili vinegar)

Method

Heat some peanut oil in a pot and cook ginger and scallion whites for a few seconds. Add the chopped carrots and stir well. After a minute add the vegetable stock or water and the cream style corn. Add more water if needed and bring it to a boil. Now mix in the corn flour paste, add the pepper and salt. Let it boil for a few minutes. Pour the vinegar, sesame oil and soy sauce and turn off the heat. Add the rest of the vegetables and cover the pot with a lid. Just before serving garnish with scallion greens and cilantro. I like to add a little chili vinegar in mine which is just green chillies and vinegar.

Stuffed Peppers

When I saw the book "The accidental vegetarian" by Simon Rimmer I just had to buy it. The cover page had a tempting picture of sweet peppers stuffed with ricotta cheese. Inside there were some other delicious looking recipes that I just had to read over and over again and savour them by  looking at the pictures. Ever since I bought the book I have been thinking of trying the recipe. I finally got down to making it today. I changed it a little bit by adding a few more ingredients like olives, pine nuts, lemon zest and chipotle seasoning and I baked the cheese and peppers. It turned out to be delicious!
 

Ingredients

4 large sweet peppers

Ricotta cheese

2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

6-7 sliced olives

Zest of lemon 1 tsp

Juice of one lemon

1-2 tbsp thyme leaves

a few basil leaves (roughly chopped)

Ground pepper and salt

Chipotle seasoning

Chili oil

Oil of cooking

Method

Heat some oil in a pan till smoking hot and grill the peppers  till slightly charred. To prepare the filling mix all the other ingredients except the chili oil. Fill the peppers with the ricotta mix. It can be served just like this as a side dish.

Or.....

  
After filling the peppers with the cheese mix place it in a baking dish and drizzle some chili oil over it. Bake at 450 degrees F for about 10 minutes. Serve.