Power packed Sprouted Mung Chaat.

 

 

 

 

Being a vegetarian & a snack lover, I find it tricky to eat a snack & be guilt free. This chaat does both. Gives Nutrition, & satiates the soul. A cup of Sprouted mung bean gives mere 31 calories & is loaded with minerals like Manganese, Vtamins like Vit. K, Vitamin C, folate.  It also  contains small quantities of  Niacin,Thiamin, riboflavin, Fe, Zinc, Mag, Copper. Added in this recipe are Spinach & red pepper, adding antioxidants, Iron & Fiber. Mixed with a dressing made of tamarind & Lime juice adds more Vitamin C that helps to absorb iron. All in all,  as balanced as a vegetarian snack could be. Here is the recipe: 

 

Ingredients:

1 cup sprouted Mung (see method below).

1 cup ( packed) washed whole leaf spinach.

1/4cup of boiled potatoes , crumbled coarse with its skin on.

1/2 cup of  Diced shallots, tomatoes, red pepper.

2 Tbsp. fine chopped papadew peppers.

Pita to go as a side.
 

Dressing:

1tsp tamarind paste ( Tamarind/date chutney goes best & is a quick substitute, but in lieu of that the paste will do).

1tsp lime juice.

1tsp crushed dates,

red pepper flakes, salt,



 

 

Method:

1. To sprout the Mung bean, soak a  cup of washed Mung beans in water for 6-8 hour. Tie them in cheese cloth & keep in warm place (e.g.oven with lit bulb) for 4-6 hours. Beans will soon sprout. Once sprouted, wash them under gentle running water.

2. Mix all other listed ingredients for salad in a bowl along with Mung Beans.

3. Make the dressing to the consistency that is not too thick & not too runny.

4. Add to salad. This can be prepared few hours prior to serving. Just keep it refrigerated.

Serve it with side of Pita. Voila, a crunchy, healthy, power packed salad. Enjoy it guilt free.

 

 

 

Let Festivities Begin!

Apple Kheer

 

As we begin this season of festivals, I wanted to try something new. I had been thinking about this dessert for a while.  I call it a contemporary & healthier version of an old recipe.

The dessert Kheer is truly a dessert that reflects that migration pattern of humans from Persia to Asia. This dessert is known as Falooda in Persia, Sheer Khurma in Pakistan & Afghanistan, Kheer in Northern India & Payasam in South India. No matter what you call it, it's simply yummy!

My Mom had enjoyed this particular Kheer at my in-Law's home. You see, my father-in-law, who is a Surgeon by profession, loves cooking. When he is not teaching or watching TV, he is in the kitchen cooking up some new recipes. He would always have one secret, unexpected ingredient & would quiz you until you admit how wonderful it tastes & you have no idea what it is! It's wonderfully annoying, if there is such a thing. You are relishing the dish, you know it has something familiar but you just can't figure it out!

Well, I won't quiz you & just share the recipe:

 

Ingredients:

1/2 gallon 1% milk 

4 red delicious apples- grated with skin.

7 oz. Condensed milk.

Dry Ingredients:

1/4cup shredded fresh coconut

1/4cup chopped dates

1/4cup Taalmakhana (optional), available in Indian grocery stores.

1/4cup chopped almonds/ pistachio

Few threads of Saffron

A pinch of Cardamom.

 

Method:
Bring milk to a rolling boil in a nonstick heavy bottom pan. Add all the dry ingredients. Let it boil on medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep stirring to avoid sticking at the bottom. Add condensed milk & mix it well.  Once mixed, take it off of stove, transfer in the serving container & keep it to cool. Once it cools down, put it in refrigerator.  While the milk is cooling, grate apples with the skin, squeeze the juice out & immediately sauté it in a nonstick pan on low-medium heat. It should soften in few minutes. Once softened, transfer it another bowl to cool & put it in refrigerator as well.
About half hour before serving, mix sautéed apple to milk. Garnish with pistachio before you serve. Voila, Apple Kheer is ready to be served!! This dessert tastes best when served chilled & can be paired with French Vanilla Ice cream for an even richer experience.

 



Quick recipe for Waldorf Salad

Waldorf Salad dates back to late 1800s, when a hotel in New York named, of course, Waldorf was famous for its salad that consisted of Apple, Celery & walnut with  dressing made with Mayonnaise. Here I have a little twist to the same  salad with lots of kale, walnut, & cranberries adding a punch of superfood in it  with a dressing made with feta cheese, cumin & Olive oil. Hope you enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Ingredients: 

2 red delicious apple : chopped fine

3 leaves of Dark green kale, trimmed & chopped fine

3 stems of celery: diced fine.

3-4 stems of green onion: diced fine

3/4 cup of cranberry.

1/2 Cup of roasted Walnut chopped in small pieces.

 

Dressing :

1/4 cup feta cheese
couple cloves of garlic

3 Tbsp. olive oil

3 tsp. red wine vinegar

2 tsp. Fresh Lemon  juice

1/2 tsp. Lemon zest

1/4 tsp. Cumin powder

1 clove garlic

salt, black pepper to taste

 

Method : Add all ingredient for dressing in a food processor, pulse it to mix well. Keep it aside.  Make sure that all fruits & vegetables are chopped fine. Mix them in a salad bowl. Add dressing & mix well.  Voila , Waldorf Salad is ready!!! Cumin powder with feta cheese add a kick to this salad that matches none.

 



 

 

 

Date & Almond Smoothie

 

 

 

Last week as I was making Date & nut coins, I  shared a very fond memory from my childhood with my daughter. A memory where my Grandma would make this yum milk shake on cold days of winter. She would chop the dates really fine, soak them in hot milk  that was lightly sweetened , sprinkle that with almond slivers and a pinch of cardemom. The sweetness of that shake was her love. As I shared those memeories, my daughter who loves to listen to such stories, just said Awww, as if she could taste that sweetness. Well, a few days later she asked me to make that shake for her, except that outside temperature was 78, not 32. Looking at her, I could see, she was not asking for shake, she was trying to create memories of her own.  So on that nice warm day, I came up with this recipe & since then she can't have enough of it. So I thought to share it with world. Hope you will try. Here is the recipe :

 

 

Ingredients:

4-5 pitted dates,

3/4th cup of skim milk/ almond milk,

Frozen banana: Half

handful of Almond,

pinch of cardemom

Chopped Pistachio & rose hips ( missing from picture)  to garnish.

Serves 2 small cups.

 

How to : Blend Dates, Frozen Banana, Cardemom & Milk in a blender. Run for 2-3 minutes so that dates & banana can blend well. (Frozen banana helps to keep the smoothie cool while its blending on high speed). Pour it in a cup, garnish with pistachio and rose hips.

Voila, Date & almond smoothie is ready! Enjoy & create your own memories!!



Plate of dessert for circle of life around me!

Date coins with nuts & poppyseed.

 

 

Last week, driving back from upstate NewYork with van full of High school kids who were chatting, laughing, giggling while listening to their music, I couldn't help but think about the circle around my life. A circle that I often take for granted, but a circle that has always been there for me.  After that long tiring trip, making this dessert seemed therapeutic as it remineded me of nothing but purity, simplicity & sweetness of folks in my life. A helping hand, a strong shoulder, a sweet smile, a  phone call that said, " I'm here, just let me know what you need".  What else one could ask for! So here is this recipe reflecting the richness, sweetness & their simplicty. Enjoy!

 

Ingredients:

1 cup of chopped, pitted dates

1/4th cup of mixed nutes : chopped almonds, walnuts, pecan, pistachio etc

3 Tsp Poppy seed ( can be replaced with Coconut Flakes).

1 tsp butter/ Ghee ( Optional)

 

Method:

Chop the pitted dates in a food processor at  medium speed. Once chopped, saute them in non stick pan on medium heat. You may add Ghee to the pan, if you choose, but it's really not needed. As dates begin to soften, turn the the heat to low. Dates will start forming small lumps. At this point add nuts to the pan. Mix well. The dates & nutes will start turning in a  ball. Take the ball off of pan & put it on a cutting board. I find it helpful to have a sheet of wax paper underneath the ball.  Make smaller lumps, about  3-4" diameter. Roll them in logs. Once the logs is nice & smooth, roll it in poppyseed to get well covered. Wrap the log in aluminum foil & keep in freezer for 8-10 minutes. Once it hardens a little, cut the rings. Voilà. Date coins  are ready!!

A trip to Mediterranean on a Saturday morning!

"What should we have for lunch today", I asked. "Why don't make one of your paninis. We love those", responded my husband. I was tired of making same old pesto panini so I opened the fridge for some ideas & here in front of my eyes were the ingredients looking at me! Chick peas that my crockpot got ready last night & Piquante peppers that I needed to use up in next few days & that's how this panini was born. I used my favorite early bird multiseed whole grain bread that rendered its finest nutty flavor. I put the spread that I had just made ( recipe given below), layered with roasted red peppers, sliced olives with feta cheese chunks. Put it in the panini maker & Voila, we were on a culinary trip to Mediterannean! Served with arugula salad with sweet pepper drizzeled with olive oil, it quickly became one more favorite in my kitchen. Hope you enjoy it as well.

 Ingredients for Zesty Chickpea spread:

1/3rd cup of cooked chick peas, 6-8 Piquante peppers (I used hot variety, but they come in mild as well), 5-6 slices of sun dried tomaroes, salt to taste. Pulse them in food precessor & the spread is ready!



Mediterranean style Spiced Couscous with vegetables & black beans

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On some terribly busy mornings of the weekends when  I have no time to make a meal with five things on plate & I wouldn't give in to eat at a fast food place, this is one recipe that comes to my rescue. This is such a forgiving dish that you can change it in many ways & still tastes great. Just keep the basics. That is to flavor the couscous with right spices. That's it! & all it needs is one pan. How simple is that :). So, here is the recipe :

 

Ingredients :

1 cup Couscous.

1 can of Black beans or Red kidney beans.

1 diced medium shallot.

1/2 cup Chopped mixed vegetables : Red pepper, green peas, zucchini etc.

1/2 cup fresh greens OR 1/4 cup Frozen Greens: Spinach/Kale/ collards/ Swiss chard.

1/4 cup Black Pitted Olives

1/4tsp Cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp Cumin powder, Few Bay leaves.

1Tbsp Vegetable oil.

2 & half cup water.        

1 Tbsp toasted pine nuts.                   

Feta cheese to garnish.                                                   

 

 

Warm the vegetable oil. Add cinnamon powder, bay leaves & diced shallots. Immediately add couscous & saute. Once couscous is coated with oil, add cumin powder & saute again. Keep stirring to avoid charring. Keep it on low to medium heat till couscous is golden in color.  Add water & the vegetables at hand. Make sure you have greens in there as well. As the list shows you can use any one that you have at hand. Fresh or frozen, any will do. Add salt & cover. As couscous gets cooked, it will absorb the water. If it starts becoming lumpy, open the lid & let water evaporate. Drain the water from beans & add them to the pan. You can replace black bean with Red kidney beans  Add Olives. Stir all the ingredients gently & Voila, Couscous is ready! Oops, I mean a whole meal is ready. Serve it with toasted pine nuts on top. You can choose to add Feta cheese on top or serve with a side of Greek yogurt favored with powdered cumin.  Here you have it. A complete meal with carbs, proteins, Vegetables, PUFA & MUFA all in it, cooked in one pan with delicious flavors.

Long forgotten ingredient : Guar Beans

Ajwain flavored sauted Guar Beans



 

Guar Beans, also known as Cluster beans have been used in Indian culinary for  long time.  Growing up I remember,  Mom would say, "Eat some at least. "I hate it" would be my perennial response. But today I make it at least once a fortnight, if not once a week. May be that's because not only I have found few delicious recipes but also discovered how good it is for health. Low in calories, it packs in plenty of Folate, Vitamin A, K and C, Manganese, Iron and Potassium. Its pods are high in protein which is better available if the pods are toasted. But its biggest health secret lies in its very high fibre content which is  unique in many senses. It slows the absorption of food thus makes you feel full sooner thus helps in weight loss & also lowers the glycemic index of your meal  thus a very useful adjunct to the diet for diabetics.

 

This bean, a cousin of French beans,  is a native of Africa but now mostly cultivated in India. With world being as flat & small as it is, this is now easily available in frozen section of Indian Grocery stores. As opposed to french bean, this one is somewhat bitter in taste resulting in the disliking of many & hence makes it critical to cook with  just the right flavors.

In this recipe,  I have used Ajwain aka Carom seeds or Bishop Weed & lime juice to balance the bitterness. Last night, I served it as side with Lentil Soup & Roti.
 

Here is the recipe :
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of Chopped Guar beans
1 diced Roma tomato,
1/4 tsp Carom seed (Ajwain),
1/4 tsp Cumin seeds,
1/4tsp Garam Masala,
1/2 tsp Coriander powder,
Pinch of Cumin,
Juice of half lime.
Salt to taste
1Tbsp Olive oil / Vegetable oil

Method: Heat oil in a saute pan. When warm, add cumin & carom seeds. When seeds splutter, add Beans, salt and cumin & cook it on medium heat for about 10-15 minutes. Stir to avoid charring. Once beans are a bit softened, about rest of spices & lime juice. Cover & let is absorb the flavors for about 5-10 minutes. Add Tomatoes & cover. Turn the heat off & let it sit. Another 5 minutes, Voila, it's ready to be served. Hope you give it a try & enjoy.



Plantains on a hitchhike!

Plantains on a hitchhike with Haricort Verts in Ginger Tomato Sauce.

 

Years ago, I lived in another town & made some very special friends. Most of them were from Southern part of India & introduced me to their style of cooking, a style that was very different from what I was used to and so were the ingredients.  Even within that region, flavors & ingredients used can vary tremendously depending on how close to coast you lived.

One such ingredient is Plantain. This vegetable looks like unripe Banana, but it's not. Unlike banana, it's a vegetable.It is a very rich source of Vitamin C, Vitamin A, Vitamin B complex, especially B6, and Potassium. It also provides abundant Magnesium, Iron, and Phosphorus, and daily fiber. Needless to say as compared to Banana, it also packs more calories but It can easily replace Potatoes. In fact, Jain Community from India uses it in all sorts of dishes as a replacement to Potato.

As I had never cooked with Plantains & am so used to my own flavors, I came up with my own recipe. I paired it with Haricort Vert beans &  filled with flavors I chose. One can use green beans or Chinese beans instead of Haricort verts. It can be served with Indian roti, naan, tortilla or on a bed of rice. Here is the recipe:

 

Ingredients:

3 Plantains firm, peeled & cut in big chunks.

8 oz Haricort vert beans, chopped.

8oz Diced tomatoes,

1/2" ginger peeled & mashed in morsel,

few finely chopped green chili, if desired,

3Tbsp Coriander powder,

1tsp Garam masala,

1/4 tsp Turmeric,

1/4 tsp Green Mango Powder aka Amchur (can be replaced with juice of 1 lime),

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds.

a Pinch of asafoetida aka Heeng (optional)

1Tbsp Olive oil,

Salt to taste.

 

Method : Heat olive oil in a saute pan. When warm add heeng & cumin seeds. As seeds splutter add green chili, ginger, tomatoes with turmeric, and green mango powder. Once tomatoes look cooked & give a consistency of coarse sauce, add Plantains, Beans &  rest of spices with salt. Cover & let it cook for about 15-20 minutes depending on firmness of Plantains.  Cook it such that Plantains are just tender but not mushy. As plantains soften, it would soak up the flavors of spices. Pair it with Naan or Brown rice & Voila, Plantains are ready to be served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Roasted Okra with Chunky Tomatoes

 

 

Roasted Okra with Chunky Tomatoes.

 

Growing up, I hated to eat Okras while my sister relished them dearly. If allowed, she could have it with each meals. Now, that she lives thousands of miles away whenever I make this recipe, I think about her, wishing to make it for her one day when she would visit or may be next time when I'm home. Until then, I can enjoy it with my friends. So for all of you Okra lovers,  here is the recipe. Happy Cooking!

 

Ingredients:



1 lb cut Okra, cap discarded. (Secret: I have successfully used Whole Foods Frozen Okra. Contrary to belief, it works just as beautifully).

3 Medium Roma Tomatoes, cut in Chunks.

1Tbsp Olive Oil,

1Tbsp Fennel Seeds,

1tsp Cumin seeds,

1/4th tsp turmuric,

1/2 tsp Chilli pwder/ Cayenne

1/2 tsp Garam Masal / curry powder.

2Tbsp Coriander powder.

Zest of 1 lime.

Juice of half lime.

Salt to taste

 

Heat oil in a saute pan. When warm, add Cumin & fennel seeds. When seeds splutter, add Okra, turmeric, zest of lime and lime juice.  DO NOT COVER THE LID. As Okra cooks, it will loose water & become quite sticky. Don't worry & Let it be. Gently suate it few times while it's cooking to prevent charring at the bottom. As it cooks, it will soak the water back up & will start becoming crispier. Add rest of the spice masala & saute. Cook for couple more minutes and then add chunks of Tomato & salt. Gently saute it all together.

 Garnish with Cilantro, if you want & Voila, Okra is ready to be served!