Vadakari

Vadakari is a popular side dish in Tamilnadu. It is a gravy dish cooked with masala vadas. It is 
commonly served with spongy dosas known as set dosas. My mom and sister watch this cooking show on TV every week where the chef teaches food from different regions in Tamil Nadu. My sister for one makes the dish immediately. This week they featured Vadakari and sure enough she made it yesterday and inspired me to make it too. We had it for dinner. I made it for the first time, boy was it good!

Ingredients:
For Vada
1 Cup Channa dal, soaked
1 Onion,chopped
2  Red chili
1 teaspoon saunf
salt to taste
For Gravy:
2 Tablespoon oil
1 Onion, chopped
1 Small tomato, chopped
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 green chili,chopped
curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 Tablespoon grated coconut
1 teaspoon poppy seeds, soaked in little water
1 teaspoon saunf
salt to taste
1 Tablespoon chopped cilantro for garnish

Method:
1. Drain channa dal and grind coarsely with red chili, saunf and salt.
2. Mix chopped onion to it.

 

 

 

3. Heat oil in a pan, dropbig pinches of vada and fry to golden brown. They don't have to be vada shape.
4.Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a saucepan. Add saunf, green chili, garlic and ginger and saute for a minute. Throw in curry leaves. Add onion and saute till golden. Add tomato and cook for a couple minutes. Add turmeric powder,salt, and chili powder(optional). Pour enough water and cook for a few minutes.

5. Add the fried vadas to the gravy. crumble some vadas and add to the gravy. Let it simmer on low heat for a few minutes.

Add water as necessary. Make sure the gravy is liquidy. Vada will absorb a lot of water. Grind coconut and poppy seeds and stir into the saucepan. Cook for a couple minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve hot with dosa.

Note:
A healthier version of the dish can be made by steaming the vada batter on a greased plate in pressure cooker for 12-15 minutes. Steamed vada can be made in small balls and cooked in the gravy.

Sweet Sticky Red Rice

Red Rice is a special variety of rice grown in Asia. It is usually unhulled or partially hulled, having a red husk. It is very nutritious and has a nutty flavor. People in South India make a special kind of sweet with this rice.

Ingredients:
1 Cup uncooked red rice
1 Cup water
1Cup coconut milk
1/2 Cup fresh grated coconut
1/4 Cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method:
1. Wash rice and cook with water and coconut milk in a saucepan on medium heat. Add more water if necessary.
2. Stir in brown sugar when the all the liquid is absorbed and rice is well done. Lower the heat. Add grated coconut. Mix well. Mix in cardamom powder.
3. Serve warm.

Mediteranian Bean Salad

Costco, a wholesale club in US offers a variety of new food products. I love walking through the aisles to check out everything while shopping. Last week I saw fresh Mediterranean Bean Salad. I'm not a big fan of buying processed food. I like to make my own. Inspired by this I created my own version of this salad for lunch today. It was delicious and very filling.

Ingredients:
1 Cup cooked garbanzo beans
1 Cup cooked black beans
1 onion chopped
1 jalapeno chopped(optional)
few grape tomatoes chopped
2-3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 mini cucumber chopped
2 colored mini peppers chopped
Dressing:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 Cup white balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice
crushed red pepper
ground black pepper
Place the ingredients for salad in a large bowl.
Make the salad dressing and mix it into the bean salad and toss gently.
Note:
I found sprouted dry lentils in Costco. I cooked 1/2 Cup of it in boiling water for 4 minutes,drained and added to the salad. I also added 1/2 avocado to the salad.

Nasi Goreng (Indonesian fried rice)

I have a soft spot for Asian food. I love to look up on recipes and try vegetarian versions of them all the time. Not knowing what to do with all the Thai basil from my back yard,I called my sister in California for some suggestion. She suggested to make Indonesian rice. Nasi Goreng is Indonesian fried rice made with meat and vegetables. I decided to substitute meat with tofu and mushroom. It turned out to be a big hit wit my son. It is spicy and sweet, made with a sweet soy sauce and sambal.

Ingredients:
1 Cup cooked Basmati or Jasmine Rice(cold)
1/2 Cup soy chicken(Smoked baked tofu,cubed)
1/2 Cup shallots,sliced
1 Jalapeno, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. oil
2 Green onion, sliced
1/4 Cup mushroom, sliced
1/4 Cup edamame, shelled
1-2 Tablespoon vegetable broth

Sauce: 
1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek or chili garlic sauce
1/2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
salt to taste
white ground pepper,to taste

Method:
1.Loosen cold rice with fingers. Set aside.
2. Heat wok on medium heat. Add oil. saute onion, garlic and chili,stir fry till shallots are brown.

3. Stir in cubed tofu for a couple minutes. Add mushroom and edamame and stir fry for a few minutes. Stir  in the broth.

4. Combine the sauces and stir them to the vegetable. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine well.

5. Gradually add rice and stir gently. Garnish with fried shallots and sliced green onion.

6. Serve hot topped with fried egg.

Katchori

It's been a very long time friends. Not that I've not been cooking, just haven't had the time to upload recipes. Now that its summer time.. you'll see more of me ;-)
While talking to my friend last week I heard that she made katchori. I've always thought it was hard to make. Anyway, when she told me how she got the recipe from a Lucknow friend I wanted to try making it too.
Katchori is a savory dish found in   Uttar Pradesh, Rajastan,Gujrat and Delhi. It is usually made by stuffing urad dal or mung dal in flour dough and fried. Sweet version of Katchori is also popular in Gujrat.
I made my katchori with urad dal stuffing.

Ingredients:

For the filling:
1 Cup urad dal soaked
1 Table spoon oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon dhaniya powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste
1 pinch asafoetida

For the dough:
1 Cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
enough oil for the dough

Method:
1. Coarsely grind urad dal without water. Mix enough salt.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds. Add the remaining spices. Lower the heat. Stir in the urad dal mixture and cook till it becomes dry without any lumps. Add oil as necessary. Set aside.
3. Add 1 to 2 Tablespoons oil, enough water salt to flour and knead to a soft dough.

4. Take a small ball of dough, roll it into a a thick round. Drop a spoonful of filling in the center. Bring the edges over the filling covering it. Flatten with your hand. Repeat with the remaining dough.
5. Heat enough oil in a frying pan. Drop the puri in oil and fry on both sides until golden. Serve with green chutney and sweet chutney.

Apam

Apam is  a pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It is a typical breakfast item in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. It is slightly sweet and usually eaten with sweetened coconut milk or chutney or meat gravy. I like it with coconut milk, that is the best combination.
There are different ways to make Apam, depending on the geographical location. Some people add toddy* to the batter to make it soft and for a "kick" as well. In Kerala coconut may be ground along with rice for the batter. In Tamil Nadu some people grind cooked rice for the batter. No matter what variation, Apam is a wonderful dish which can be addictive while eating.A special pan called Apam kadai is used to make Apam.
The other day we were discussing different food that we used to eat for breakfast in India. I cannot even dream to eat some of those in the morning now. Imagine we used to have Puri and potato for breakfast!
Anyway, I invited couple of my neighbors for breakfast this morning, because on of the uncles I had invited has never had Apam in his life. Now he can go to India and say that he had his first Apam In USA!
This is the recipe that I have been using for a long time.

Ingredients:
2 C raw rice
2 C par boiled rice
1/2 C de husked black gram
coconut extract from 1 large coconut
1/2 t baking soda
6 T sugar

Method:
1. Soak rice and dal together for 3 hours.
2. Grind to thick, smooth batter. Add salt at the end. Allow to ferment for 18-20 hours.
3. Next day, grate coconut and take extract using 1-1/2 cups water. Strain well and pour on top of batter with sugar and baking soda. Let it stand for 2 minutes before mixing well. Batter should be thin.
4. Heat the Apam pan to medium heat high heat. There is no oil required if using non-stick pan.
5. Pour one cup of batter in the center of the pan. Hold the pan by the ears away from the heat and swirl it around so that a thin layer outside and thicker in the middle. Cover with the lid and lower heat to medium. Remove the cooked Apam when the sides are golden brown.

6. Repeat the process with remaining batter. Serve warm with sweetened coconut milk or chutney.

Notes:
* Toddy is palm wine also known as "Kallu" in Tamil. It is alcohol taken from Palm tree.
Be sure to add the right amount of coconut milk. Excess of it can cause Apam to stick to the bottom.
The pan should be hot before pouring the batter. Reduce the flame after pouring. For best result avoid using Apam pan for any other purpose.

Vazhakai Puli Kootu(Plantain stew with tamarind)

Every part of Banana tree is used in South Indian kitchens,from the trunk of the plant to fruit. A good friend of mine gave me her mother's recipe using plantain. It is a stew made with tamarind and can be had with rice. I made this kootu couple days ago for dinner. My son who usually doesn't like any kootu ate it 3 times. It was that good!

Ingredients:

2 Plantain,peeled and diced 

1/2C tamarind extract(gooseberry size tamarind)

1/4 C black eyed peas, cooked and drained

1/2 C cooked toor dal

1/4 t turmeric powder

salt to taste

Masala:

1 t channa dal

1/2 t urad dal

3 red chili

1/4 t rice

asafotida

For tempering:

1/2 t mustard seeds

1/4 t urad dal

2 red chili

2 t coconut oil

Method:

1. Place plantain, tamarind extract, turmeric powder, salt, asafotida and enough water in a medium saucepan and cook till plantain is soft.

2. Meanwhile, roast all the ingredients for masala with 1 teaspoon oil. Allow to cool and powder it. Keep it aside.

3. Add cooked dal and black eyed peas to cooked plantain. Stir in powdered masala. Cook          for 2 minutes. Remove from heat. 

4. Heat coconut oil and temper mustard and urad dal and red chili. Add it to the kootu. Serve hot with cooked rice.          

Vazhakai Podimas(Plantain Curry)

I had 3 plantains left in my refridgerator for a week. My mom suggested that I should use

1 potato with it and make this dry side dish for bitter gourd sambar. I used a lot of onion and green chilies for this dish.

Ingredients:

3 plantain and 1 potaoto, cooked

2 onions, chopped

3-4 green chillies,chopped

mustard seeds,urad dal,channa dal for seasoning

1 t turmeric powder

salt to taste

1t chopped cilantro

lemon juice to taste

Method:

1. Peel cooked vegetables and mash.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds, urad dal and channa dal; stir till  they splutter. Add chopped chili and onion; stir till onion is cooked. Stir in turmeric powder and salt. Add mashed vegetables; stir everything for 2 minutes.  Check for salt. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve as side dish with rice and sambar.   

Vegetable Stir-Fry

Chinese food incorporates a lot vegetables in the dishes. Their food looks very colorful. Atleast once a week I make some Chinese dish. Yesterday I made Stir-fry for my husband. He had it for lunch with some white rice.

Ingredients:
1 carrot
1/4 pepper (any color)
5 sugar snaps
4 string beans
4 broccoli florets
3 mushrooms
2 spring onion, chopped
2 pods garlic, minced
1/2 inch ginger, chopped
2 green chilies, chopped
1 t chili sauce
1 t coriander-cumin seeds powder
2 t soy sauce
1 t rice c vinegar
Salt to taste
1 T corn starch
3 T water

Method:
1. Cut vegetables (except sugar snaps) into 2 inch strips. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a wok to medium heat. Saute chili, garlic and ginger for a few seconds. Stir in the vegetables quickly for a few minutes.  Add tofu strips and continue to stir some more.
2. Add cumin-coriander powder, chili sauce, vinegar and salt and continue to stir.  Mix corn starch with water. Stir this in along with soy sauce for 2 minutes.  A
Garnish with chopped spring onion.  Serve hot with white rice or sticky rice or brown rice.

Mung Dal Paratha

I never knew that Mung dal can be used to make Parathas. Heard about this from a friend recently and tried it out yesterday. Wow! It was too good and very filling. It tasted like eating roti with dal.

Ingredients for the stuffing:
1 C mung dal, cooked
2 greeen chili, chopped
chili powder, to taste
1/4 t turmeric powder
salt to taste
1 t pomegranate seeds(optional)
1/2 t aamchur powder(mango powder)
1 t fresh cilantro, chopped

For Paratha:
3 C whole wheat flour
enough hot water
1 t oil
1/2 t salt

Method:
1. In a large bowl, mix the ingredients for paratha together to make soft dough. Cover and keep aside.
2. Cook mung dal with enough water. Make sure not to over cook dal. Let it cool; add remaining ingredients for stuffing and mix gently.
3. Divide dough into big balls(15). Flatten each ball with rolling pin. Spoon 1 spoon of stuffing in the center; cover by folding edges for outside and roll again to make somewhat thick paratha. Repeat the process with remaining dough.

4. Heat griddle to medium; cook paratha on both sides. Drizzle oil and cook again on both sides till golden brown. Serve with any vegetable or plain with yogurt.