Essence of PaniPuri Daal

This one is straight out of my head and an obsessive compulsion to use leftovers in the fridge!

Leftovers
500 ml Panipuri water (every locality in India has their own variation - make your own or try the Tarla Dalal one :))
1 Tablespoon Sweet Chutney (Raisins/Sultanas, Dates, Dried Figs, Tamarind paste, cumin seed powder, red chilli powder - pressure cooked and blended. Ingredients can be selected based on preference)
1 Tablespoon Panipuri masala (Combination of Red Chilli powder, Blacksalt, Coriander powder -equal parts)

Other Ingredients
1 Onion
4-5 Garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon Ginger finely chopped
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (canola, rice bran or peanut)
1 Cup (300 ml) Mixed Lentils (can also use left over panipuri stuffing)
3 Cups water

Method
1. Combine the mixed lentils and water in a pressure cooker and cook until 3 whistles and keep aside.
2. Heat the oil in a dish.
3. Add the chopped onions and cook till brown.
3. Add  chopped garlic and ginger and mix well for about 2 minutes.
4. Add the panipuri masala and mix well.
5. Add the Panipuri water and bring to boil.
6. Add the sweet chutney and stir well.
7. Add the cooked lentils.
8. Let it simmer for at least 5-10 minutes (or more until desired consistency is achieved).
9. There is so much flavour in this dish that you do not need a garnish or tadka.
10. Serving suggestion - this dish can be had on its own (very hearty like a shorba or soup) or with some plain rice.

Dhaba style Jeera Fried Rice

A dish that really stood out for me when I was back in Hyderabad was a Jeera rice that I had at the neighbourhood Dhaba. This dish for me epitomises a confluence of flavours. A north Indian dish with south Indian flavours cooked in a method inspired by the Chinese and served at a Punjabi joint!

Ingredients

Group 1

1 cup (300 ml) Rice - I prefer using basmati rice, but this could be any rice that isn't sticky.

1 1/2 cup water

A pinch of salt

A pinch of Ajinomoto (for that Chinese flavour) 

1 Teaspoon of sesame oil

--

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

4-5 Tablespoons sesame oil

5-10 chopped green chillies (to suit your spice level!)

2 Tablespoons Cumin (Jeera)

2 Tablespoons Garlic Powder (or chopped garlic)

1 Teaspoon Turmeric powder

1 Teaspoon curry leaf powder (or 5-6 fresh curry leaves)

Salt to taste

--

Garnish

3-4 Tablespoons finely chopped coriander (stocks and all)

1 half lemon juiced

Method

1. Cook Group 1 ingredients in a electric or pressure cooker. Once cooked, allow to cool and add 1 Tablespoon Soy sauce.

2. In a Wok add the sesame oil, wait until slightly warm, then add the chopped green chillies. Make sure your kitchen is well ventilated. When the chillies are frying, the fumes can make one very uncomfortable!

3. Wait until chillies have slightly browned, then add the cumin seeds.

4. Wait for about a minute, then add the turmeric powder, curry leaf powder and garlic. 

5. Wait for about a minute (slightly more if using fresh garlic - allow garlic to brown slightly).

6. Add in the rice and mix well.

7. Add salt and mix well.

8. Turn off, add chopped coriander and lemon juice and mix for one final time!

9. Serving suggestion - while the rice is very tasty on its own, it goes really well with a salad of onion, cucumber and carrot. 

Almond Friand

I always enjoy almond meal based baked desserts so thought I will put my thinking cap on. I generally enjoy desserts that aren't too fluffy or sugary and have fewer but stronger flavours. So, presented here is a Almond Friand/cake. The friand reference is an afterthought due to the similarity of the look and feel, and texture. I did not follow a recipe, this was purely a fluke based on ingredients I easily found in my pantry :)

Ingredients

Group 1
1 cup almond meal
1 cup self raising flour
3/4th cup castor sugar
1 pinch of salt

Group 2
200 ml mascarpone cheese
1 tbsp almond essence
1 tbsp vanilla paste
1 egg yolk

Fat
1 cup coconut oil (liquid form - microwaved)

Garnish
20 finely chopped almonds



Method
1. Gather Group 1 ingredients in a mixing bowl and keep aside.
2. In a small bowl, mix Group 2 ingredients well.
3 Microwave the coconut oil on high for 2 minutes or until it is liquiefed. Set aside for 30 seconds.
4. Pour the coconut oil into the mixing bowl, mixing well and add in the Group 2 ingredients. Whisk well for about 10-15 minutes.
5. Pre-heat fan enforced oven at 180 degrees.
6. Pour batter in mould (for the friand, I put roughly 1 tbsp of batter in to the mould).
7. Add chopped almonds on top.
8. Bake for about 30 mins until golden  brown.
9. Remove from oven and allow to set and cool.
10. Remove from mould and enjoy!

The Maggi ((R) - Nestle )) noodles tastemaker taste-alike

Maggi noodles used to be a "crave" food. It's combination of spices was irrestible. But as I grew up and became nutrition conscious, it automatically dropped out of favour. The taste however is still craved for. So following a brainwave, I made noodles with a combination of spices which, to me seemed like was as close as possible to the real thing and is supremely healthy. 

The spice combo

Turmeric Powder

Dried Ginger Powder

Dried Garlic Powder

Asafoetedia (LG or peringayam)

Red chilli powder

A pinch of soy sauce

Rice bran oil (or any other oil that is flavourless)

The primary ingredient is the Turmeric. I encourage you to discover your own combination that you enjoy the best. I suggest a slightly higher proportion of Turmeric. You can add additional spices to suit your taste for ex:

Sonf / Fennel (?) ( for a sweet nutty taste)

More Red Chilli ( to make it fiery)

Amchur / Anar Dana / Tamarind pulp (To make it sour)

Tomato sauce (For the tomaty feeling !!)

pancake madness 2

2-3 bananas

soy milk

jaggery or dark brown sugar (50-100gms)

wholemeal wheat flour

rice bran oil

blend to a nice thick semi solidy consistency (add soy milk accordingly)

grease the pan with the rice bran oil

pour the batter on a pan on the lowest possible flame

cook until bubbles form on the other side

turn over and cook the other side for 3-5 mins

take it off the pan and ENJOY with cream or butter/margie

pancake madness 1

eggless chocolate pancake

2-3 table spoons of pure cocoa

soy milk

5-7 pitted dates 

wholemeal wheat flour

rice bran oil

blend to a nice thick semi solidy consistency (add soy milk accordingly)

grease the pan with the rice bran oil

pour the batter on a pan on the lowest possible flame

cook until bubbles form on the other side

turn over and cook the other side for 3-5 mins

take it off the pan and ENJOY with a dab of butter/margarine and/or maple syrup/treacle

healthy biryani + the coolness raita

h.biryani

1 cup rice

1 cup toor dal

1 cup moong dal

1 cup masoor dal

chopped potatoes

3-5 teaspoons of biryani paste

cook the rice, dal combo upto 3/4ths in a microwave

in a pan boil the potatoes upto 3/4ths and add the biryani paste

add the 3/4 boiled rice dal combo to the pan

simmer until all the water is absorbed

it is preffered that rice/dal is not overcooked

c.raita

pure yoghurt (the kind with no cream/gelatin added. ideally, just milk solids and culture)

chopped onion

chopped cucumber

chopped coriander

salt

red chilli powder

a squeeze of lemon juice

mix 'em up !

Nzoi !!

pizza mexicana

wholemeal pizza base

refried beans

capsicum

mozarella

jalapenos

cumin powder

fresh coriander

cauliflower

broccoli

corn kernels

spread the refried beans on the pizza base

finely chop cauli, broc and fresh coriander

in a container mix chopped cauli, broc, coriander and corn with cumin, jalapenos and 1/2 of the grated mozarella

spread the the contents on the base evenly

top the rest of the grated mozarella evenly

Bake and Enjoy !

The forgotten Bean

I have been so obsessed with the Lentil kinda bean that I totally forgot about FRESH beans. I had remembered to buy some a week ago at the Farmers and I sighted them when scanning the fridge. Ideas started to flow and I got going:
Fresh beans finely chopped
Red/green Capsicum/chilli finely chopped
Frozen peas
Rice bran oil
Half a can of SPC chickpeas, but this can be subsituted with boiled chickpeas and a dash of tomato paste or Salsa
Coriander powder
Black soy suace
Salt

This was stir fried just enough for the vegetables to retain a semi cooked/crispy state.

A Minty Affair

Now this was on the spur, hey I have some mint leaves about to go, lets do something with it kinda moment !! The Ingredients:
A bunch of mint leaves
Cauliflower
Capsicum
Frozen cornGreen Chillies
A good squeeze of Tomato Paste
Some Garam Masala, Salt, cumin powder
Sesame Oil
A Cup of quick cooking brown rice
Boiling water

I just put this in a pot and let it simmer for 20 mins. What came out of it was sheer brilliance !!

Green ahoy! 3

Any mention of Green in food would be incomplete without the Italian behemoth, PESTO !!! That's right and the classic ingredients are tough to beat:

Bunch of Basil leaves
Pinenuts
Dash of Garlic
and then ...BLEND BABY BLEND !!

After that, throw in quite a bit of Olive oil in a pan and stir-fry/simmer the concoction to suit taste then add the pasta (on this occasion, it was Spirals!)

I also threw in some Feta to liven it up and that mission was achieved.

And that concludes a trip down the GREEN lane !! Other ingredients that would contribute to Greenery are:
Leaves/Herbs/Shallots of any kind: Mint, coriander, parsley, Garlic shallots and so on
Green Veg: Broccoli, Capsicum, Beans, Chillies etc

Green ahoy! 2

This was a simple soup that went well beyond its call of duty. The suspects were:
Frozen spinach in the fridge for about 3 months
Potatoes
Lentils
Green Chillies
Capsicum
Garlic
Salt
A dash of your favourite Butter/Butter substitute

I boiled them in huge big cauldron until they were soft and then ...BLEND BABY BLEND !!

It was beaut! The Garlic became slightly overpowering, but reducing it in proportion will allow the taste of all ingredients to come through quite nicely.

A nice way to welcome Winter indeed :)

Green ahoy!

Some of the best eats since the last post(s) have one thing in common: the colour of Envy, GREEN !!

Pesarettu is a very Andhra type dish. Fermented Mung Beans and Rice with lots of fresh green chillies and onion on the inside, served with Ginger pickle. That's traditional. My penchant to defy tradition takes me far. Here's my recipe for the batter:

1 cup Mung Beans
1 cup Brown Rice (the variety that usually is impossible to cook!!)

Stuff to add after the batter ferments but before blending:
1 Bunch of onion shallots (thats right!!!)
1 bunch of Spinach
Green Chillies, Salt to taste

After blending:
Cumin Seeds

Soak the beans+rice mixture overnight, or, even better, over 2 nights then on the morning of making this delightful green pancake, BLEND BABY BLEND !!!!

Glaze the saucepan slightly with oil, Sesame is my favourite, then pour the batter according to the consistency preferred (thick for uthappam/pancake style and thin for crispness)

I had this with some fat free youghurt and some Priya Ginger pickle. It lit up an otherwise mundane Saturday (and consequently Sunday) afternoon !!

Nutrition wise, it's got a lot of the good stuff:
-Fibre and wholegrain goodness from the Rice-Fibre, Protein, micronutrients and other wondrous things from the Mung Beans
-Usual vegetable goodness from the shallots/chillies
-Good fats from the Sesame oil

So there you go, green up your pesarettu even more ..and do it with ENVY..I mean GREEN-NESS :)

I use shallots instead of actual onions because I generally don't like cooking with onions too much because of their ability to overpower a dish. Shallots are a good compromise with a good taste of the flavour without taking over the whole experience IMO. Oh, they also add to the colour and therefore the Visual Delight !!!

Ola Mexicana !!!

This week has been the rekindling of my love with Mexican food.I started with an Avocado that was about to rot and turned in to somewhat of a Guacamole:

Avocado
Mexican Chilli Powder
Yoghurt

I had a can of refried mexican chilli beans and rehashed it:

1 can refried mexican chilli beans
Roasted onion+garlic tomato paste
Rice bran oil
Fresh Capsicum, green chilli
Frozen peas, corn
Fresh Coriander and Ginger as garnish

I had them with some Pita bread and it was niiiiiiiceeee !! The left overs of the bean rehash were stirred in with some Brown rice and potatoes to create some variant of Mexican rice. Microwaved with some low fat cheese and with Guacamole on the side, that was pretty good too !!!

Barring the ridiculously high amount of sodium in the refried beans, I would say it is bordering on healthy with good amounts of fibre and the goodness of whole grains and fresh vegetables/spices.

Thindipothu

Thindipothu in Telugu means anything between an admiration of fine food to just plain gluttony!!

This blog will outline my experiences of a culinary kind. It will include recollection of whats been downed in the recent past, flashbacks of some of the best eats and other stuff!