Peas Pulao

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Simple home style meals never go out of fashion. I find it difficult to whip up a full fledged meal on weekdays after a 10+ hour work day. And on days like these when I would still want a home cooked meal with minimum effort, I make this peas pulao.

My special touch is only the kasuri methi i.e. dried fenugreek leaves, I usually use the roasted ones. They tend to be less bitter and enhance the flavor.

I put all ingredients in a pressure cooker and 15 minutes later can settle for dinner. Even on rushed mornings, I make this and brown bag it for lunch.

Cooking Time : 15-20 minutes including prep
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice
1 3/4 cup water
1 stick cinnamon broken in half
5-6 cloves
2 bay leaves
4-5 peppercorns
2 star anise
2 tsp kasuri methi
3 tsp canola oil
1/4 cup green peas
1 medium sized onion thinly sliced
1 tsp coriander powder
Salt to taste

In a pressure cooker, heat some oil and add all dry spices on very low heat so that the spices do not burn.

Spices

Let it sizzle for a while so as the oil absorbs the flavors. Add sized onions, cook until translucent.

Add peas, salt and coriander powder and sauté well.

Add soaked (optional) basmati rice to the mixture and mix it well for a few minutes. This help the flavors to seep in.

Add water and kasuri methi and pressure cook the pulao until 3 whistles or 15 minutes.

Take it off heat and let it rest before you open the lid for the pressure cooker.

Peas Pulao

Serve it with a simple salad, pickle, dal tadka and cumber mint raita.

Until next time, happy cooking! 🙂

Very Berry Smoothie

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My husband does not believe that I used to give my mum a really hard time having fruits as a kid. I used to hate every fruit, with strawberries and mangoes being an exception.

As a teen, I took a liking to oranges, sweet limes and kiwis mainly because my friends at college were obsessed with orange juice with chilly cheese toast to be had on an almost daily basis post our tuitions. I gave in due to peer pressure and my mum could not thank my friends enough.

Fast forward to last 6-7 years and I love fruits. In fact I look forward to having smoothies, fruit juices with breakfast and fruit based sorbets and frozen fruit yoghurts as desserts. A transformation of sorts!

With Dubai summers having dawned on us, smoothies are a staple breakfast accompaniment these days. Last weekend I was quite nostalgic about my college days back in Mumbai and as an ode to the chilly cheese toast and juice days, I made the same for breakfast.

Breakfast

Sahil loved the smoothie. I used bottled Lacanor mixed fruit juice since I was not keen on yoghurt based smoothie that day. Below is the recipe for the smoothie loaded with the goodness of antioxidants and all essential vitamin C and E. This is low in fat and offer high fiber and mineral content.

Ingredients
2 Zespri Kiwis
1 cup chopped srawberries
1/2 cup blueberry
400 ml Lacanor mixed fruit juice
Juice and pulp of 2 fresh oranges
1tsp flax seed-super seed powder
1 tsp runny honey (optional)
A few ice cubes (optional)

In a blender, add all the fruits, juice and seed powder and mix well.

Fruits

At my place, I usually powder flax seeds and super seeds in a spice grinder and keep it in an airtight jar.

I use this mixture in smoothies, muesli, granola parfaits, cookie and cake mixtures. Flaxseeds and other super seeds are great source of getting iron, fiber, folic acid, Omega 3 fatty acids and Vitamin B. I do not support taking supplements, I much prefer getting these essential nutrients by natural sources.

I skipped the honey this time since the berries were sweet enough for our liking.

Berry Smoothie

I hope you enjoy this smoothie as much as I did. Until next time may the Sun God be kind to us in this part of the world! 🙂

Disclaimer : This is not a paid post. I have not collaborated with Zespri or Lacanor brands in specific. I prefer them over others and hence the mention.

Vegetable Daliya / Bulgur Porridge

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Breakfast 1

I am always on the look out for healthy recipes which are quick to make and are comforting as well. Past few weeks have not been great health wise and thus comes the focus on nutritious food packed with goodness of essential nutrients.

I love having couscous in my salads but this time around I was running out of it hence decided to go for a porridge like dish made of bulgur or broken wheat. I was bored with oats so did not opt for it.

It is a diabetic friendly dish which is high on fibre and protein. Easy to make and something which you can lay on the table in 20 minutes.

Daliya 1

Cooking Time : 20 minutes
Serves : 4

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup daliya / broken wheat / bulgur
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped tomato
1 finely chopped capsicum
1/4 cup shredded carrot (optional)
1/4 cup peas
2 finely chopped green chillies
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 tsp carrom seeds
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 cups water
Salt to taste

In a pressure cooker, heat some oil and add cumin seeds followed by carom seeds.

Once they sizzle, add some green chillies followed by onions.

Cook them until translucent, add tomatoes and cook them for a minute.

Add capsicum, peas and sautee them well. You could also add broccoli, sweet corn to the mixture.

Add all the dry spices and mix well and season it with salt as required.

Vegetables

Add bulgur to this mixture and roast it well until the spices are coated well with it.

Daliya

Add 3 cup warm water to the mixture, mix well and close the lid of the pressure cooker.

Pressure cook until 3 whistles and turn off the heat.

Breakfast

I served this with mango milkshake on a weekend taking in the views from my balcony. Until next time happy cooking!

Mango Milkshake

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April was a great month, I had extended family over and my parents also paid me a visit. I did all the touristy things by taking a week off from work, stayed home, shopped till I literally dropped and ate out most of the time.

My parents brought in a carton of my favorite Alphonso mangoes and me and hubby squealed with joy. This meant we had access to our favorite fruit. We knew gulping down tall glasses of mango milkshake would be the norm for the next week or so.

Fresh Mangoes

Mango is the national fruit of India and Alphonso mangoes are supposed to the best of all the varieties when it comes to flavor and texture. It is widely grown in Ratnagiri region and it is commonly known as “Hapoos” in Maharashtra, a state in India from where I belong. Mangoes are rich in Vitamin A and C and also strengthens the immune system.

In my parent’s house, summers meant making the most of the seasonal produce. Mango Milkshake, Home made mango ice cream, Smoothies, Aamras puri, Mango Shrikhand, chopping up raw mangoes to make pickles and using the semi ripe variety to make mango chutney, the many ways in which my mom and grandmother used to incorporate this wonderful fruit in our daily routine.

I have fond memories of eating raw and semi-ripe mango cut in chunks and seasoned with rock salt and a pinch of red chilly powder outside my school from a vendor. But my favorite part was mango milkshake, many people use vanilla ice-cream in the milkshake to make the texture creamier but me and Sahil love mango to be the hero of the drink. Here’s how we make mango milkshake at our place.

Ingredients
3 ripe Alphonso Mangoes
500 ml Full Fat Milk
4 tsp white sugar
A few drops of vanilla essence (optional)
A few ice cubes

Peel and chop up the beautiful juicy ripe mangoes. Just look at how pretty they are, don’t be tempted to dig in! 😛

Cut Mangoes

I always submerge mangoes in cold water for a few hours before using them. This also lowers the heat quotient in the fruit.

Add the cut mangoes with sugar in a blender.

Mango + Sugar

Reduce or increase the amount of sugar as required depending on how sweet the mangoes on hand are. I have experimented with substituting the sugar with honey and brown sugar but did not like the taste hence chose to stick to the classic.

Manho Pulp

Blend it well and then add milk. You may add vanilla essence or crushed cardamom powder to enhance the flavor towards the end. I keep alternating between one of these as per my liking.

Mango Milkshake

Blend well and add few ice cubes. Give it a mix again and serve it chilled and top it with some cut mango pieces or chopped nuts. I used cashews and a few raisins.

Mango Milkshake 1

Serve with a smile!

Spicy & Tangy Chickpeas

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I discussed following a high protein diet for the last few weeks and in continuation to the same I decided to blog about this Spicy & Tangy Chickpeas recipe.

Chickpeas Masala1

Again this is a quick dish I make for office lunches with chapattis. It comes together quickly in 15 minutes and sees me out of the door with a brown bag in hand.

Living in Dubai, opting for take aways and ordering in food regularly at work is often the easy way out. But even if you spend a minimum of AED 20 on lunch everyday, the amount can dig up a hole in your pockets by month end. I rather treat myself to a new cookbook or a massage from the money saved by carrying lunch.

It’s a habit I try to keep at and constantly look of recipes which do not see me in kitchen for long on work day mornings.

In this recipe, I have substituted the chaat masala with sumac powder and I can say that I am not going back. This was a good call.

Sumac is a popular spice used in Middle Eastern cooking. A few spices which I discovered after coming to Dubai and which fascinated me were Zaatar, Sumac and Dried Loomi powder while strolling in the spice souks of Global Village and Union Co-op shelves.

Sumac is a good source of Vitamin C, Omega 3 fatty acids and is an antioxidant. It has a very subtle lemony and tart flavour and I love sprinkling it to on my salads, hummus and chaats.

Serves : 4
Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 can chickpeas
2 medium sized onions finely chopped
2 medium sized tomatoes finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chilly powder
1stick cinnamon
2 star anise
1 green chilly finely chopped (You can add 2 if you can handle the spice)
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp tomato paste (optional)
3 tsp canola oil
1 1/4 tsp sumac powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
Salt to taste
A handful of finely chopped coriander leaves

In a wok, heat oil and add cumin seeds. Once they sizzle, add green chillies and ginger garlic paste.

Let it cook for a minute and add onions.

Add tomatoes once onions have browned. Cook tomatoes with the dry spices until they leave a ring of oil on the sides of the wok.

Add salt to taste and drained and rinsed chickpeas and sauté them with the mixture well.

Cook for a few minutes, take off heat and garnish some freshly chopped coriander leaves and slit green chillies.

Chickpeas Masala

Until next time let me know you quick fix recipes!

Vrat Wali Kadhi

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In continuation with last few posts on food to be eaten during fasts, here’s a recipe for Kadhi. Kadhi is a North Indian dish made with buttermilk and tempered with spices.

Everyone has a different approach to making kadhi, here’s how I make it. I like the consistency to be really thick. Unlike the usual kadhi made with gram flour, since I made this during Navratris, this one is with rajgira flour and added peanut powder to give the kadhi a smooth creamy texture.

Kadhi

Prep Time : 5 minutes
Cooking Time : 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup full fat yoghurt
4-5 cups water
3 tsp rajgira aata / Amarnath grain flour
1/4 cup powdered penut powder
5 tsp oil
10 curry leaves
2 green chillies finely chopped
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
a pinch of turmeric (optional)
Rock salt to taste

In a bowl, whisk yoghurt and add rajgira flour and rock salt to taste with water and mix well.

Add turmeric if you use turmeric during fasting.

On medium heat, take oil in a wok and add cumin seeds followed by curry leaves and green chillies. Let them sizzle for a minute.

Add peanut powder and roast it well on low heat for 2 minutes.

Add coriander and cumin powder and mix it well.

Add the yoghurt mixture to the wok and keep stirring it till the mixture thickens.

This should take 10-15 minutes. Take off heat and serve with rajgira roti and potato sabzi.

I once had 2 boiled potatoes on hand. I just diced them and shallow fried on a pan, seasoned them and added the potatoes to this kadhi. The result was good enough!

Garnish with roasted cumin powder and serve with a smile!

Rajgira Roti

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I am sharing the recipe for the very simple to make Rajgira roti / flatbread. It is again recipe which can be had while you are fasting.

Rajgira is also known as Amarnath grain flour. In Dubai, the flour is easily available in Al Adil supermarkets.

Rajgira Roti

Serves : 4

Ingredients
3 large potatoes boiled and mashed
2 cups rajgira aata / Amarnath grain flour
2 tsp roasted peanut powde
2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp carrom seeds
1 tsp finely chopped green chillies (optional)
1 tsp cumin powder
Water as required
1 tsp oil

Boil potatoes in salted water. Ensure to use rock salt since it is a fasting recipe.

Let the potatoes cool for a while and then just mash them with a fork.

Add rajgira flour, peanut powder, coriander powder, green chillies, carrom seeds, cumin powder and mix well.

Use some water as need be and bind the dough. It should be a stiff dough.

Add oil once the dough is come together and knead for a bit.

Rajgira Roti

Let the dough rest for 10-15 mins. The texture of the dough is too crumbly hence you would not get perfectly round rotis.

Make small balls of the dough and flatten it out on a well floured surface.

On a hot tawa (Indian griddle) cook the roti on each side on medium heat for a few minutes.

You will be required to brush the roti with a little oil so that it does not stick to the tawa.

Once the roti has acquired a nice brown even color, take off heat.

Serve with Vrat Kadhi or Potato Sabzi.

Sabudana Khichdi

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A quick post in continuation to the previous post. Food for fasting souls. Sabudana i.e sago or tapioca seeds are quite filling due to their high starch content. Sago seed powder also acts as a good thickener for stews and soups.

The recipe below is for Sabudana Khichdi, a simple assembly of modest ingredients to keep the hunger pangs away while fasting. Serve with plain yoghurt topped with roast cumin powder with side of freshly cut fruits.

Sabudana Khichdi

250 grams sago seeds
2 tsp coriander powder
3 tsp canola oil
6 tsp powdered peanut powder
1 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 green chillies finely chopped
Rock Salt to taste
8-10 curry leaves

Soak sago seeds in water overnight or at least 4-6 hours.

By morning, the sago seeds should be soft and should have absorbed the water.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder and rock salt to the sago seeds and mix it well.

Pour oil on a wok on medium heat, add cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies and let it sizzle.

Add powdered peanut powder, you can buy the readily available powdered peanut from Al Adil or roast peanuts and give them a mix in the spice jar.

Let it cook for a minute or so and add the sago seeds mixture.

You can also add diced boiled potato cubes to this to give the khichdi more body and make it more filling.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with chilled yoghurt.

Kaju Peda – Cashew Truffles

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CP
It’s the eighth day of Chaitra Navratri today. Navratri is a festival of nine nights, “Nav” means nine and “Ratri” means night.
The beginning of spring and the beginning of autumn are considered to be important junctions of climatic and solar influences hence it is observed as an auspicious period of worship for Hindus.
During this period, people fast and do not eat non-vegeterian food and avoid onions and garlic. We ended our fast today with prayers in the morning and made the ‘bhog’ i.e. offerings of poori, Semolina Halwa and Kale Chane.
 
I have featured here a recipe for Kaju peda, it’s a traditional Indian cashew nut fudge recipe. It’s very simple to assemble and easy to make as well. I made this for Diwali last and again on Gudi Padwa.
Gudi Padwa is celebrated on the first day of Navratris and marks the start of a Marati new year.  Gudi Padwa is mainly celebrated in the Indian state of Maharashtra where I was brought up.
Cashew Pedas
 
Makes Approximately: 20 pedas
 
Ingredients
200 grams cashew nuts
2 tsp clarified butter / ghee
1/2 to 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp cardamom powder
Few tsp of full fat milk
Slivered Pistachios to garnish (optional)
Soak the cashews in warm water for 2-3 hours. Once the cashews are soft, drain them and blend with very little water in a blender.
Pulse the cashews until they are creamy.
Cashew Mixture
In a thick bottom wok on low heat, heat ghee and add the cashew mixture. I usually oil the wok so that the cashew mixture does not stick to the wok.
Add powdered sugar, cardamom powder and full fat milk to this mixture and keep blending it well until the sugar dissolves.
Cooking
After a few minutes, the mixture will start leaving the sides of the wok. Turn off the heat at this point.
Cooling the Mixture
Let the mixture cool until it is ok to handle the mixture. Make bite sized balls from the cashew mixture. Let me show you my attempt previously around Diwali which I was not quite happy with.
Diwali
Result this time, the difference just adding 2-3 tsp of milk to the mixture so that it does not dry out. Also I did grease my palms well and hence you see the sheen on the peda this time around. Win!
Cashew Peda2
Press down a pistachio sliver in the cashew ball and roll it well.
You can also use silver vark easily available in Al Adil stores to add a nice festive touch to the pedas.
I will bring you some Navratri recipes over this week before it’s too late. Happy Cooking! 🙂

Cottage Cheese & Spinach Falafel Bites

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Throwing in a get together can be exhausting especially when you are clocking in a 10 hour work days and have a crowd to feed and every one has a very specific palette. A little planning goes a long way and making a to-do list for all the prep can ease off any anxiety.

I threw a Holi dinner party for my newly wed brother-in-law and the extended family. Now this is a traditional Punjabi family set up and while we might be Indo-Chinese style Spring Roll, Momos and Pav Bhaji loving folks, on festivals we like to belong where our roots are and so I braced myself to make an out and out Punjabi feast. I took some liberty to tweak only the starters and appetizers.

We thought of bringing in some variety and playing with flavors which are not quite alien to them. My mum-in-law said why not marry a version of palak paneer (spinach & cottage cheese) and chana masala (chickpeas) for them. I remembered this recipe for Spinach & Feta Falafel Balls from BBC Good Food website and adapted the same to my family’s liking.

The result was great! Two recipes which I would keep handy for future get togethers will be this one and my Spicy Peanut Balls recipe served with Tomato Thokku. The textures and flavor combinations are great.

Platter

Serves : 6
Makes about : 30-35 bite sized balls
Prep Time : 10 minutes
Cooking Time : 10 Minutes

Ingredients
200 grams baby spinach
1 can chickpeas
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
50 grams Cottage Cheese
2 tsp roasted cumin powder
1 green chilly
1 tsp coriander powder
4 tsp plain flour
4 tsp herbed breadcrumbs
2 tsp chaat masala
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
Salt to taste

The original recipe called for blanching the spinach by poring boiling water over it. I just sautéed the spinach with onions just until it was soft.

In a food processor, add the onion spinach mixture along with the chickpeas. Rinse and pat dry the chickpeas to avoid more moisture in the mix.

Add cottage cheese, coriander leaves, roasted cumin powder, coriander powder, chat masala, green chilly and salt to taste and pulse well.

Once the mixture is grainy, add flour and breadcrumbs and blend well.

Remove from the food processor, grease your hands and make roll bite sized balls.

IMG_5756

Deep fry over medium heat until they have a pretty brown color. I really wish that I had some pictures for this post.

Cottage Cheese & Spinach Falafel

Serve with tzatziki and hummus.