Mixed vegetable salad with a tangy spicy dressing

Of the three salads that I've made for Blogging Marathon #58, this one is my favourite. Loaded with colorful vegetables and crunchy toasted peanuts, this salad hits the right notes with a dressing that is tangy, spicy and mildly sweet.

What you need :
Cucumber - 1, peeled and cut into long, thin strips
Carrot - 1, cut into thin long strips
Tomato - 1, cut into thin strips
Onion - 1/2 of a small one, sliced fine
Capsicum - different colors - sliced thin and long, 1/4 cup
Corriander - a handful, chopped fine
Salt - to taste

For the dressing :  (This dressing, in my opinion, is the best part of this salad. Make sure to spoon plenty of dressing over each individual serving of salad)


Tamarind - a gooseberry sized ball soaked in water. Extract 1/3 cup of thick juice from the soaked tamarind
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1 tsp

Mix the tamarind extract, sugar and chilli powder in a large bowl. Stir till sugar dissolves.
Add all the other ingredients to this and mix well.
Toast a handful of peanuts in half a spoon of oil. Add this to the salad and toss. Serve immediately to retain the crunch of the peanuts.

Spaghetti with no meat veggie balls in tomato sauce

I have often heard people talk about how good spaghetti and meat balls are together. Being a vegetarian, i decided to avoid the meat and cook vegetable balls to create Spaghetti and veggie balls. The vegetable balls are cooked in an aebelskiver/appam/paniyaram pan, thereby minimizing the use of oil.

What you need :
Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and run cold water over it and set aside.

To make the vggie balls :

Potato - 1, peeled and diced
Carrot - 1, diced
Cauliflower florets - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1, chopped fine
Bread slices - 4
Oil - a few tsp

Steam cook the potatoes, carrot and cauliflower and then mash well. Heat a tsp of oil and saute onions in it. Add the mashed veggies and saute until moisture is absorbed. Add soaked and squeezed bread slices and mix well. Shape into balls. Heat an appam/paniyaram pan with a few drops of oil in each depression. On a low flame, cook the balls, turning over once in a while until all sides are browned evenly.

For tomato sauce:
Tomato - large, juicy, ripe - 4
Onion - a small one, chopped fine
Salt - to taste

Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan. Saute onions till pink. Add the pureed tomatoes and salt. Cook on low flame until at least half of the moisture is evaporated and the sauce starts to thicken.

To serve :
Arrange some pasta on a serving plate. Place two veggie balls on it and top generously with sauce. Serve immediately.

Flour tortillas and vegetable fajitas

One of our favourite things to order at a Mexican restaurant nearby is their vegetable fajita. Fresh grilled vegetables, Spanish rice, refried beans,sour cream, guacamole and salsa are served with soft, freshly made tortillas and can be, based upon the individual's taste, be assembled at the table to make a wrap.
In my home made version, I have skipped the beans, guacamole and rice because I didn't have the ingredients for them on hand, but these fajitas were just as good the way we had them.
Until recently, I thought that all tortillas were made with corn flour. Only while looking for flat breads to make for the Blogging Marathon did I find out that in certain parts of Spain they make flour tortillas using All purpose flour. I have made mine with equal parts of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour. The authentic tortilla uses lard or shortening, which I have skipped and used a teaspoon of oil instead.

What you need:

 For the tortilla :
All purpose flour - 1 cup
Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Warm water - as needed

In a large mixing bowl, take the flours and salt. Add water, a little at a time, and knead into a pliable, smooth dough. Mix in the oil and knead. Cover and set aside for an hour.

To make tortillas :
Pinch out golf ball sized balls of dough and roll into a circle. Cook on a hot griddle until the bottom starts to brown. Turn over and cook until the tortilla puffs up a little and the other side also gets brown flecks. Store in a tortilla warmer or wrapped in a clean kitchen towel.

For the vegetable mix :
Mixed diced vegetables - 1 cup (I used green bell pepper, yellow and orange sweet peppers, carrot, beans, peas and corn)
Onion - a small one, diced
Garlic - 2 cloves, minced
Butter or oil - 1 tbsp
Salt
Lemon juice (optional)

Heat butter or oil in a sauce pan. Add the garlic and onion. Saute over high heat until slightly browned. Add in the rest of the vegetables and salt to taste. Stir well over high heat for a minute or two. Transfer to an oven safe dish. Grill at 450 degree Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until the vegetables look slightly charred and develop a smoky flavor. Squeeze some lemon juice over this if desired and set aside.

For the fajita :
Tortillas
Vegetable mix
Salsa
Sour cream

To assemble the fajita :
 Heap some of the mixed vegetables onto a tortilla. Spread a generous helping of sour cream and salsa over it. Roll up and enjoy!

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing this BM

Minimal oil vegetable koftas

Fall is a beautiful season. The heat of summer is gone, but the bone chilling cold of winter is not yet here. The changing colors of leaves on the trees - the gorgeous shades of yellow, orange and flaming red - these are testimonials of nature's artistry. The leaves have now started falling, a signal that fall is coming to an end and colder weather is imminent.

 While deep fried snacks are enjoyed by us, I do try every now and then, to see if a recipe can be tweaked to use less oil. These koftas were made to be used in a curry that I wanted to serve with rotis. However, we soon found that these made for a great tea time snack. Luckily, I had enough of these on hand to make a curry after we were done with our snacking binge.

What you need:
Potato - 1 large or 2 medium sized, boiled, peeled and mashed
Carrot - 1, grated
Green beans - 10, chopped very fine
Spring onion - 2, chopped fine
Green chilli - 2, minced
Bread - 4 slices
Ginger - one inch piece, skinned and chopped fine
Salt
Dhania/corrainder powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp

Add the carrot, beans spring onion, ginger and chilli to the mashed potatoes. Mix in salt, garam masala, red chilli powder, dhania powder and turmeric powder. Dip the bread in water, quickly squeeze out all the water and add it to the vegetables. Knead well and then divide into small balls.
Heat a paniyaram pan/aebelskiver pan with about 1/4 tsp of oil in each depression. On medium flame, fry these koftas, turning over until they are well browned and crisp on all sides. Do not rush this process. It will take time, but the end result will be worth it.
The recipe for the curry I made with these koftas in it, will be up next.
This is my third post for BM #45 under the theme healthy tea time snacks.
Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#45

Vegetarian momos

I never thought the day would come when I would make momos at home. I am very fond of momos - the soft, moist exterior and the juicy filling inside. The perfectly cooked and shiny looking momo is a complete meal in itself. However, I don't think I would have got around to making it if not for Blogging Marathon #31. The basic recipe that I have used is from Raks Kitchen and it came out so well that between the husband and me, we managed to polish off almost the entire batch of momos I made.

What you need: (Recipe source : Raks Kitchen)
For the outer cover :
All purpose flour/maida - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
Water - enough to knead into a smooth, pliable dough
Oil - 2 tsp

For the filling:

Cabbage - 1 cup, grated fine
Carrot - 1 large, grated
Onion - 1 large, thinly sliced
Garlic - 8 cloves, chopped fine
Ginger - 1 inch piece, julienned
Salt - to taste
Soya sauce - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp

To make the outer cover :
Take maida and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add water to it little by little and knead until you have a smooth, pliable, non-stickly dough. Add the oil and mix well. Cover and keep aside.

To make the filling:
Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger and garlic. Stir fry on a high flame for a minute. Add in the chopped onion and saute until translucent. Add the rest of the vegetables and saute on high flame for 2-3 minutes, stirring every now and then to prevent burning. Add salt and soya sauce. Mix well and saute until the moisture evaporates.

To make the momos:
Divide the dough into ping-pong ball sized balls. On an oiled surface, roll each ball of dough into a thin circle. Place a tbsp of filling and shape into a semi-circle or a dumpling. Place the momos in a steamer or an idli pan and steam cook for 8-10 minutes. When the momos are done, the outer cover will look shiny and translucent.

Serve hot with a spicy and tangy sauce.

Seven years of blogging and savoury muffins

This blog completed seven years of existence on June 30th. I remembered, but just didn't have the enthusiasm to sit down and type out a blog post to commemorate this milestone. Every now and then, I go through a stage where though I have a lot to say on the blog, I just don't feel like sitting and typing it all out. How I wish there was a software that would create a blog post just by listening to me speak. Now that would be truly something, wouldn't it?
I am hoping to shake off the inertia by participating in Blogging Marathon #31. The theme I have chosen is Non-Indian breakfasts and that is what you will see on the blog for the next three days. 
Breakfast, to me, has to be something filling and nutritious. No Chocos or Corn flakes for me - I cannot stand eating something sweet in the morning. These savoury muffins are nice to look at, soft and moist in texture, and taste really good. Your imagination is the limit when it comes to deciding what goes into this muffin. Here's a look at all that went into my muffins.

What you need:
All purpose flour/maida - 1.5 cups
Grated vegetables - 2 cups (I used cabbage, carrot and onion)
Curd - 3/4 cup
Olive oil - 1/3 cup
Salt - to taste
Cumin powder - 1 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp (or to taste)
Oregano - 1/2 tsp
Egg - 1
Baking powder - 3 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp

Take the flour, baking powder and grated vegetables in a large bowl. To this, add cumin powder, red chilli powder, oregano and salt
In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, curd and oil. Add this mixture to the flour mixture. Mix well. Add baking soda and mix gently but thoroughly.
Preheat oven to 175 degrees centigrade. Grease a muffin pan and spoon in some of the mixture into each depression. Sprinkle some sesame seeds or rolled oats on top of the batter and bake for 15-18 minutes.
These can be baked beforehand, refrigerated and then warmed up the next day for breakfast.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM#31

Tomato soup

I started this blogging marathon with a soup and today, on the last day of the marathon, I have another bowl of soup to serve.
My daughter, like many other kids her age, often gets cold and cough. When she falls ill, she refuses to eat rice. At these times, soup comes to the rescue. Lentils, vegetables, even a little bit of rice.....all these can be added to make a healthy soup. The soup that I have made today is a basic one that includes some vegetables. The vegetables can be changed according to your choice.

What you need:
1 large, juicy tomato
1 small carrot
Cabbage - a few large pieces
Pepper corns - to taste
Salt

Microwave the tomato, carrot and cabbage for 5 minutes or until well cooked. Let it cool. Add peppercorns and salt. Blend till smooth. I usually do not strain my soups or remove the skin of the tomatoes. You can do that if you choose to. Also, the soup I serve for my daughter is thicker in consistency than what I would make for myself because I feel that it is easier for her to drink and less messy.
Warm the soup up and serve topped with some butter or a dollop of cream.

Do take a look at my fellow marathoners' kitchens....Srivalli,
Azeema, Bhagi, Champa, Gayathri Anand, Gayathri Kumar, Harini, Kamalika, Meena, Mina, Padma,  Pavani,PJ, Priya Mahadevan, Priya Suresh, Priya Vasu, Rujuta, Santosh, Saraswathi, Savitha, Shanavi, Smitha, Sowmya, Suma, Usha, Veena

Restaurant style Kadai Vegetables

A very happy 2011 to all of you, my dear readers. I am going to start this year off by running a blogging marathon along with Valli.
Let's kick start the marathon with Kadai Vegetable, a popular restaurant dish. This recipe,from a professional chef, was featured on a TV show.

What you need:
Carrot - 2, chopped
Potato - 1, large, peeled and diced
Beans - a few, chopped
Capsicum - 1, chopped fine
Onion - 1, chopped fine & 2 cut into large chunks
Tomato - 3, diced
Cardamom - a few pods
Cinnamon - a small piece
Salt
For masala powder:
Jeera/cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Saunf - 1 tsp
Dhania/corriander seeds - 1 tsp
Red chilli - 3 or to taste
Fenugreek - 1/4 tsp

Dry fry all the ingredients for the masala powder in a kadai. Let it cool and then powder. Keep aside.
Heat a little oil in a pan. Fry the finely chopped onions till pink. Add diced capsicum and fry on low heat till soft. Keep this aside.
In the same pan, add some more oil. Add cardamom, cinnamon. Add onions and fry till pink. Add a teaspoon of ginger-garlic paste. Add diced tomatoes and fry for a few minutes. Let it cool and then grind to a smooth paste.
Cook the diced vegetables with salt. Add the ground paste to the vegetables and boil well. Add the masala powder and boil for two minutes. Mix in the fried onions and capsicum. Stir well. Serve hot.
This goes to PJ who is hosting Complete My Thali, an event started by Jagruti and themed this month on sabji.

I call it kurma

So, what's the difference between a kurma and a korma??? If you are like me, you just overlook the difference in the spelling and set about making it knowing that you can throw in a little bit of everything that you have and come out with a satisfying and tasty dish.

What you need:
Chopped veggies - 1 cup (I used carrot, beans, & potato. Other veggies that can be used are capsicum, cauliflower, beets, peas...)
Tomato - 2 large, ripe ones
Onion - 1 large
Ginger - a fairly large piece
Garlic - 4 or 5 cloves
Red chilli - 2 or 3
Cashew - a handful
Cardamom - 4 or 5 pods
Clove - 4
Star anise - 1
Cinnamon - a small piece
Corrainder - a handful for grinding and some chopped for garnishing
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Did you know there's a really, really easy way to peel garlic esp when u have to peel a lot of it? Just pop it in the microwave for 10 seconds and see how easily the peel comes off.
Also, make a few cuts on an onion and microwave it for 30 seconds to get rid of the raw smell and to escape watering eyes. This is especially useful in recipes like this one where the onion is ground without sauteing it first.
Cook the veggies with enough water in a microwave/stove top. Grind together all the other ingredients except turmeric powder and salt to a smooth mixture. Heat a tsp of oil in a pan. Add some cumin seeds to it. When the seeds sputter, pour in the ground mixture, reduce heat and stir for a few minutes until the raw smell goes away. Now add in the turmeric powder, salt and cooked veggies. Let it boil for few minutes until the flavours blend together well. Garnish with chopped corriander leaves.

Vegetable Fried Rice

If I were to list out my top ten favourite foods, fried rice would definitely figure quite high on that list. Special favourites like this and ulli sambar were usually made by my mother on Sundays so that we could all sit together and enjoy the food. I usually end up making it when I am stumped for ideas on what to make or low on time and high on hunger.

What you need:
Basmati rice - 1 cup (washed and soaked in water for 30 minutes)
Cardamom - 4 pods
Clove - 5
Cinnamon - a small piece
Star anise - 2
Pepper corns - 1/4 tsp
Chopped vegetables - 3/4 cup (use a mix of beans, carrot, cauliflower, peas, potato and beets)
Green chilli - 3 or 4 (adjust to taste), minced
Salt
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 6 tsp

Heat a tsp of ghee and fry all the spices in it until fragrant. Let it cool and then grind to a fine powder.
Drain water from the rice and then fry it in a tsp of ghee until it loses all the moisture and turns creamish in colour.
Heat the rest of the ghee, add the powdered spices, green chillies,chopped veggies, and turmeric powder. Stir fry for a few minutes. Transfer all the ingredients to a pressure cooker, add 1.5 cups of water, required amount of salt and cook until one whistle.
Enjoy with raita and papad.