1940's Chocolate Cake | Valentine Special

Today being Valentines Day and red roses and heart shapes everywhere, I thought I too would contribute a little with a chocolate cake I had bookmarked for the occasion. Now whats in a chocolate cake ? Its a 1940s Wartime Chocolate Cake when there were restrictions imposed on the use of milk, eggs, butter etc as most of the countries were involved in war and it was tough to procure items. 

But necessity being the mother of inventions, goodtimes were celebrated with a chocolate cake that was eggless and dairy free.. in other worlds perfectly Vegan. And also a one pot chocolate cake. I had adapted a healthier version from CanolaInfo made with canola oil and whole wheat flour which can be enjoyed guilt free with your loved ones..

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Flour: 3/4 cup

All Purpose Flour: 3/4 cup

Granulated Sugar: 1 cup

Cocoa Powder: 1/3 cup (5 tbsp + 1 tsp) I went for heaped 3 tbsp

Baking Soda: 1 tsp

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Canola Oil: 1/3 cup

Vanilla Extract: 1tsp

Cold Water: 1 cup (250ml)

Cider Vinegar: 1 tbsp

Preparation:

In a round baking pan, whisk together the flours, sugar,cocoa, soda and salt.

Make a well in the center and pour in oil and vanilla .

In a small measuring cup combine water and vinegar.

Pour this over the flour mix and stir well to blend all the ingredients.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F for about 30-35 minutes, until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Take out and let it cool in the pan itself on a wirerack. Unmold and place it in a cake table or dessert plate after garnishing with confectioners sugar

Slice and Serve to your loved ones...

A simple one pot cake which is butter free, egg free and healthy with the addition of whole wheat flour and canola oil. Its a quick mix cake and one bowl too. By the time the oven is preheating, mix the ingredients and under 40 minutes yum... enjoy your slice of chocolate heaven.

Slighlty crumbly and moist and sweetened just right for your Valentine..

Sweet Rice Pudding | Happy 2016/ Makar Sankranthi/ Pongal

Makar Sankranthi/ Pongal is being celebrated today in several states across India. Makar Sankranthi marks the start of the journey of the Sun  northwards or "Uttarayan" or when the sun enters the 10th house of Makar or Capricorn. Basically a harvest festival, it indicates the arrival of spring in India and falls usually with Jan 13-15. In South India it is celebrated as Pongal which almost a week long festival. 

Christmas came, New Year came and it started on a good or rather musical note. After travelling, after working after lazing around, I  thought atleast now I should start blogging for the year. Today  Makar Sankranthi/ Pongal being celebrated  in some parts of India I thought I should start with a simple healthy traditional and also different dish. 

Now Pongal is a festival celebrated worldwide by all Tamilians. Each region and sometimes each family have their own recipe with slight adjustments and adaptations. This time I thought I could try a slightly different Sri Lankan Tamil version adapted from here. Its easy, healthy and vegan too if you avoid the drizzling of ghee while serving

Ingredients:

Raw rice/ white rice/sona masuri : around 1 cup

Moong Dal / Split yellow gram: 1/4 cup

Jaggery: grated around 2-3 cups made into a syrup(adjust as per taste)

Clove powder: 1/2 tsp

Coconut Milk: 1/4 -1/2 cup medium thick

Raisins/ dried prunes/currants: handful

Cashew nuts: handful 

Ghee (optional) : for roasting the nusts and raisins and also drizzling on top.

Preparation:

Dry roast the moong dal lightly in a pan until the raw smell goes and it starts browning. Add it to rice.

Cook together rice,roasted dal and clove powder in enough water until its done. I prefer my pongal slightly mushy or overcooked but its your choice.

Add jaggery syrup to this mixture and continue cooking, stirring in between so that it doesn't burn. Do the taste test and add more jaggery syrup incase you want it to be more sweet. 

Add in the coconut milk and continue cooking for few more minutes on low heat. Once it thickens or reaches your consistency then remove from heat.

Serve warm in bowls as a dessert garnished optionally with ghee roasted nuts and raisins.

The measurements are guesstimates and feel free to change as per your needs. Pongal is usually made with cow's milk  and cardamom powder and I just twisted it to make a defferent yet same Lankan one which is vegan if you close your eyes to the garnishes. 

Hope you'll enjoy the dish as much as you enjoy the festival.

Sweet Potato Peanut Bisque | Soup Saga Continues

Now that rains have decided to show up (better late than never!) , I thought I would post another soup or bisque. A bisque is a creamy and thick pureed soup made using seafood and these days even vegetables or fruit. Bisque is usually a term associated with seafood though the veggie ones are not behind in taste and wholesomeness.

This time I tried out another bisque made using sweetpotato and peanutbutter. I was searching for African recipes when I chanced upon this recipe here which sounded good and though sceptical I tried it out without much changes and found it very filling and warm.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potato : around 3-4 cups chopped

Olive Oil: 2 tsp +
Onion: 1 small chopped
Garlic: 2 small cloves  minced

Green Chillies: 1-2 medium size chopped

Fresh Ginger: 2 tsp minced
Allspice: 1/2 tsp ground

Vegetable Stock/ Water: 1 cup +as needed
Peanut Butter: 6-8 tbsp as per preference

Salt &Pepper: as per taste

Preparation:
Cook the sweetpotatoes either in steamer or microwave. You can even roast the sweetpotato and then chop it. Choose the sweetpotato accordingly to get roughly 3-4 cups.Peel and chop the sweet potatoes  and keep aside.

Heat oil in a deep bowl and saute onion until its transparent and start to brown. Add in minced garlic and saute till raw smell goes. Then add in the green chillies, ginger, allspice and the tomato juice. Bring the mix  to boil and let it cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat.

Add half of the cooked sweetpotato to the pot and continue  cooking. Add the rest to a blender or food processer along with peanut butter and veg stock/water and puree until smooth. Add this puree to tho the soup pot and let it continue to simmer for few more minutes.

Adjust salt and pepper and other seasonings and serve warm optionally garnished.

A simple soup which is very filling. You can thin it down with more stock/water or even tomato juice as per taste.Peanut butter leaves a hint of taste in it and never overpowers. We get a mix of sweet potato and peanut flavour from the soup.Maybe you can add more peanut butter if you so prefer as per your taste.

 The sweetpotato pieces added  give something to chew or bite into. But its my opinion that you can actually puree the whole of the cooked sweet potato and add to the soup.The soup will be very thick though. Instead of peanut butter you can go with peanuts also though I am yet to try it.

Roasted Butter Nut Squash Apple Soup | Bye Bye wintry Nights

Sometimes I buy ingredients and then wonder how to cook it. This used to happen on a regular and by the time I decide from a list of recipe, the vegetable would have said bye bye to this world.  Finally I purposefully stopped buying such vegetables and even different types of lentils and this worked well and I was happy that one headache was dealt with.

Till a  few days ago when my hand accidentally picked up a lovely butternut squash from the grocery store near home. Now my mind wandered from soup, snacks,breads and even kheers!. I know, some of you might have started laughing already about how undecisive I am . But this status went on till  I chanced upon  a cookery show on TV where the host - a lovely model turned chef/restaurateur was cooking a roasted pumpkin soup. It looked soooo hassle free  that I decided to try it with butternut squash. 

And not just that a little search in my cooking bible FoodNetwork and up popped Ina Garten's roasted apple and butternut squash soup. Both recipes are almost similar and I incorporated the easier methods from both and got a perfect soup to beat the chills.

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash/ Pumpkin : 1 medium -large size 

Onion: 1 big one

Apple: 1 medium- big 

Garlic: 1-2 cloves

Salt , Pepper : as per taste

Fresh/Frozen Thyme : as much as u want

Chilli Flakes: as per taste

Olive Oil: for drizzling

Vegetable Stock: 3 cups +

Roasted Cashews / Other nuts/Scallion greens : for garnishing (optional)

Preparation:

Halve the squash lengthwise, remove the seeds and other fleshy things, slash it lightly with knife  and keep it ready for baking in a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle salt and pepper and chilli flakes and also add as much thyme in and around the squash. Drizzle with oil and make sure the oil and spices go deep inside the marks made. 

Drizzle onion and apple with olive oil and add to the baking sheet. Cover garlic cloves with foil and place in baking sheet. 

Roast the items in a preheated oven at 200 C for about 25-35 minutes until the juices burst out of the apple

and the squash becomes fork tender. In between make sure to check the garlic within the first 10-15 minutes and remove it from the oven as it might burn. You can even roast the garlic directly above the gas flame or saute it as you like.

Take out the roasted items and let these cool a bit. Scoop out the fleshy tender part of the squash onto a blender jar. Squeeze out the onion and garlic from the skins and ad it to the jar. Apple you can either remove the peel or simply deseed and add to the blender.

Once the items are ready in the blender/mixer/ food processor bowl, add in enough vegetable stock and blend to a fine puree.

Add the puree to a deep bowl and add more stock and heat it on medium. Bring it to a slight boil and then let it simmer till your choice of consistency is reached. Adjust the salt and spices or add more seasonings of your choice. The soup thickens on sitting. 

Warm it little if serving at a later time. Serve garnished with more thyme, roasted nuts, scallion greens etc.

A hearty soup to beat the chills. Its very filling and you can do more to this basic simple recipe. Like adding your choice of spices, additional ingredients like oats, rice etc and turn it into a hearty meal itself. You can avoid apple and instead add honey or stevia or your choice of sweetner and even cream .

Savoury Modaks for Ganesha | Ammini Kozhukattai

Ganesha Chathurthi was celebrated two days back with pomp all over India and in some parts the celebrations are still going on. Festivities that celebrate the Birthday of Modak-loving, Elephant Faced Indian  God Ganesha or Ganpati end with the immersion of the Ganesh idol and this can take upto 1 week. At homes different types of offerings are made -usually sweet modaks and sometimes savoury as well. This time I preferred savoury modaks or ammini kozhukkattai - riceflour based steamed balls whick are then tempered to the taste. These are speciailities of Tamil Nadu though popular in all Southern states in India  and they turned out perfect as an offering snack. I have adapted the recipe from Sailus Kitchen and its given below.

Ingredients:

Rice Flour: 1/2 cup

Hot water: 1cup +

Salt: 1/4 tsp

Ghee/oil: 1/2 tsp

Grated Coconut: few tbsp

Tempering:

Oil: 1 tbsp

Mustard seeds: 1/2 tsp

Cumin seeds: 1 tsp

Channa dal: 1.5 tsp

Urad Dal: 1 tsp

Green Chillies: 1-2 slit

Red Chillies: 1-2 chopped into pieces

Hing/Asafoetida: 1/4 tsp

Curry Leaves: few or 1 sprig

Preparation:

Mix salt rice flour together and add in ghee/oil. Add in hot water and knead the flour to get a smooth dough. You can first boil water with salt and ghee/oil and add in the rice flour and stir in to get a lump free dough. 

Whatever the method you use the dough should be smooth and lump free and let it sit for sometime so that it becomes easy to handle.

With greased hands pinch off small pieces from the dough and place in a greased steamer/ idly plates.

Place these plates in a steamer or pressure cooker and steam for 10-15 minutes (without weight if using cooker) until the balls are cooked and turn little light. Remove from heat and keep aside .

In a pan, Heat oil for tempering and add in the mustard. When it splutters, add in cumin and the  dals. Once the dals brown and the cumin sizzles, add in the red and green chillies, curry leaves and hing. Once the hing toasts and curryleaves sizzles add in the grated coconut followed by steamed rice balls. Mix well and take it off heat.

Serve in bowls as a breakfast or snack etc based on your choice.

Simple easy to make and savoury snack. You can make it along with sweet modaks and offer it during your pooja.

Bagels, Bagels, Bagels | Baking Partners Aug '15

It was so long since I baked bagels. I had baked wholewheat bagels long back and since then the original has always been on my to-do list. I regretted not making these earlier when I tasted the perfect bagels all thanks to Baking Partners August challenge given by Swathi. The recipe is adapted from Peter Reinhart's artisan Bread Everyday.

Ingredients:

Honey : 1 tbsp

Instant Yeast: 1 tsp

Coarse Kosher Salt: 1.5 tsp ( or 1 tsp regular salt)

Lukewarm water: 1 cup + 2 tbsp

Bread Flour: 3.5 cups (3.5 cups All purpose Flour + 3.5 tsp of Vital wheat gluten)

Poaching liquid

Water: 4-6 cups

Honey (optional) : 1.5 tbsp

Baking Soda: 1 tbsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Preparation:

Day 1

Stir in the honey, yeast and salt into water in a small bowl.

Place the flour in a big/deep bowl and add in the wet mix.

Stir in with a sturdy spoon for about 3 minutes until well blended to form a wet coarse dough mass. 

Rest for 5 minutes.

Transfer to a lightly dusted surface and knead by hand for another 3 minutes to  smooth out the dough.

Place the dough in a clean, lightly greased bowl, and let it rise for an hour at room temperature covered tightly with a plastic wrap.

After this you can refrigerate it overnight or shape into bagels and then refrigerate.For shaping bagels read below

While the dough is rising, prepare a baking sheet with lining and lightly grease the lining.

Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Take each piece and shape into a loose ball with a cupped hand on wet surfeace and not floured unlike the first kneading. Water will help provide the enough traction for the dough to form into a ball. 

Poke a hole through the centre of the ball to create a donut shape.

Holding the dough with both thumbs in the hole. rotate the dough with your hands, gradually stretching it to create a hole 2" in diameter.

Place the bagel on prepared sheet, spray the top lightly with oil. Repeat the process until all bagels are ready. Cover the pan with a plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight or for upto 2 days.

Day 2: Baking Day:

Remove the bagels 1.5 hours before you plan to bake them. If you had chilled as a whole dough then shape it into bagels and let them proof before rising.This proofing is optional and you can directly go to the next step.

Check immediately whether they are ready for baking using the float test. : Place a bagel in a small bowl of cold water.

If it sinks and doesn't float back to the surface, shake it off, return to the baking and let it rest/proof for another 30 minute before repeating the test again.

One bagel passing indicates all bagel passing. Now they all are ready to be boiled and baked.

If you are not ready for baking then return them to the refrigerator so that they don't overproof.

When you are about to bake the bagels, bring the water to boil, reduce to simmer, stir in honey, baking soda and salt. 

Gently lower each bagel into the simmering poaching liquid adding as many as will fit the pot, they should all float to the surface withing 15 seconds. After a minute,use a slotted spoon to turn each bagel over. Poach for another 30-60 seconds,then use the slotted spoon to transfer it back to the pan, domed side up.Mine were done within 15 seconds per side. 

Sprinkle on a genourous amount of toppings as soon as they are out of the water.I used regular white and black sesame seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven (preheat the oven to 500F/260 C 30 minutes prior to baking, transfer the bagel to oven,reduce the temp to 450F/ 232C) for 8 minutes.Then rotate the pan and also check the underside of bagels. If they are getting too dark, double the baking pan. Bake for another 8-12 minutes until they are golden brown.

My max oven temperature was 250C and I preheated the oven at this temperature. Then placed the baking tray and reduced it to 220 and then cooked for 7 minutes as they started browning at this stage.

Then rotated the pan and reduced the temperature to 200,doubled/insulated with another baking tray  and then continued for another 5-6 minutes before they started burning.

Take out and let these cool on wirerack atleast for another 30 minutes before slicing and serving them with your choice of spreads or as such.

Perfect bagel. I loved it as such. Serve it for breakfast or if you don't mind as anytime snack with your choice of dip or spread.

The texture was not too soft crumb with a firmer crust. similar to sandwich bread but firmer/thicker and it had perfect soda aroma that makes sure its different from other breads.

Lets see who all  baked bagels this time with us. Hop over to Swathis Post grabbing a bagel...

Vishu Kanji | Happy Vishu for all the God's Own People

They say in olden days people used to guess the moods of nature. Time was known from suns position and same goes for seasons. As for me I used to guess vacations when I used to see flowering  'Konna Tree' or the golden shower tree with yellow flowers near my house in Thiruvananthapuram. The tree turning yellow/golden indicated summer and end of annual exams and two lovely dreamy months ahead. They also indicated Vishu - first day of Malayalam Zodiac / Kerala New Year. These flowers are important during Vishu/ Kerala New Year Celebrations which falls today this year. 

Vishu is celebrated during April second week in Kerala  normally 14th or 15th April based on Sun's transit to Aries  (Medam in Malayalam) and is the first day of the Malayalam Zodiac or Kerala New Year. So the  thing we see first in the morning - called 'Vishu kani'- is considered to have importance throughout the year as a good auspicious kani indicates your wellness and prosperity.There are rituals and customs on how to arrange a good kani.

The kani is followed by 'Vishu Kaineettam' where the elders of the family shower blessings on the younger ones by giving them coins/sovereigns or in general money and new set of clothes. Vishu Sadya (feast) which is a regular part of all other festivals follows and has items based on regional tastes.

I am not big on festival feasts but till now remember the taste of Vishu Sadya I had in Kochi at Bharat Hotel. We were given coupons from the office I working in at that time and Ijoined the gang deciding that I am going to hate it. But it turned out otherwise.. 

Anyways when I came across Vishu kanji - a rice and lentil porridge in coconut milk- in a magazine I wondered how come I missed it in the sadya that day. I am assuming it was because it is not a part of  Vishu menu in Kochi where crackers were more important than 'kaineettam' or maybe they didn't think it met the restaurant standards. But whatever it is I tried it and loved it. 

Ingredients:

Raw Rice : 500g (2.5 cups)

Moong Dal/Split yellow lentils : 300 gm

Thin Coconut milk: 2-3 cups + as needed

Thick Coconut milk/coconut cream: 1 cup +/- as per taste

Salt: as per taste

Preparation:

Roast moong dal  in a deep pan for few minutes till the raw smell goes. Add it to cleaned rice and thin coconut milk and bring it to a slow boil on medium flame stirring occassionally. The coconut milk might curdle if boiled on a high flame. 

Reduce to a simmer and let the rice and lentil cook till done -and even mushy works. The word kanji means porridge and even mushy texture is ok. 

Once done, remove from fire and stir in the thick coconut milk. Keep aside. 

Add salt just before serving. The porridge thickens on sitting and you can gently heat through before serving adding more coconut milk if needed. 

Serve with papad or pickle or your choice of gravy. 

 An easy to prepare yet delicious dish.It is meant to liquidy or pourable consistency. But at the end its your choice. This is a very simple version. I have seen different versions in other sites as well. Each region has its own recipes. This version is something that will be easy to prepare.

The coconut flavour is having upperhand in this dish. You can make your own coconut milk by pulsing water and coconut together in a blkender and then filtering out. The first milk will be thick one whereas the second extraction will give thin. You can also go for readymade coconut powders to be mixed with water or even coocnut milk in carton. If too thick feel free to add water to it to thin it down.

Spinach Bolani with Minty Chakkah |Stuffed Afghani Flatbread with Minty Yogurt

A few days back we were talking about our neighbour Lanka's cuisine. Now lets jump to another country with close ties with ours Afghanisthan. As a bookworm I sometime reread the same book and most times end up getting something new from it. The Kite Runner by Khalid Hosseini is one such that wisens me up each time I read it. I know the story, I know what is going to happen at what time but still I love revisiting the book and complete it or rather live the book. This time around apart from the emotions it invoked in me, the mentions of cooking and bread and especially the 'frying of spinach bolani' set the ball rolling for me.

Bolani / Boulani or Borekai in Pashto is a non leavened Afghani flatbread baked or fried with a vegetable filling. Its similar to Indian stuffed parathas yet has its own identity.I have adapted the recipe from MyDiverseKitchen where Aparna has written a wonderful stepwise post on making Potato Bolani. I had spinach in hand and went for a spinach filling.

Ingredients:

Dough:

All Purpose Flour: 3.5 cup

Olive Oil: 1 tsp

Salt: 1 tsp

Water: 1.5 cups +/ - as needed

Filling:

Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

Spinach : 1 bunch chopped

Green Chilli: 1 small as per taste

Spices/Seasonings & Salt: as per taste

Preparation:

Mix together the flour,salt and oil and knead into a dough adding enough water to form a  smooth and elastic dough. This can be done in a food processor bowl or by hand as you wish.

Turn the dough into a round and let it rest in an oiled bowl for an hour or so covered with a wrap.

Meanwhile prepare the filling. Heat oil in a deep pan and add in the onion. Saute till transparent and then add the chilli and spinach along with any other spices/seasonings ypu prefer. Saute for a few minutes till the flavours are mixed and spinach is just cooked and whole filling is dry. You can also blanch and use spinach instead of chopping and sauteeing.

Bolani:

Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time, transfer it to a floured/dusted surface and roll it out into a circle as thin as possible to you. Divide the filling into 8 equal portions as well. Place one filling portion into the half of the rolled out bread in a semi circle fashion. Cover with other half to get a crescent shaped stuffed flatbread. Press the edges with your fingers to seal well. You can also use the tines of a fork to press the edges to make them look pretty. 

Repeat the same process with rest of the dough portions as well. In a shallow frying pan heat about 2 tbsp of oil and shallow fry one bolani at a time. The oil should around the bolani should be very hot and sizzle and cook both sides until golden brown pressing down occasionally with a spatula so that it flattens some more.

Drain on paper towels and repeat the process for other bolanis adding more oil if needed.Serve with Minty Chakkah.

Minty Chakkah or Minty Yogurt Sauce

It is actually thick creamy yogurt seasoned with garlic and mint. Its easy to make and is usually served as a side dip to meat or veg dishes and bolani ofcourse.

Ingredients:

Thick creamy Yogurt / Greek yogurt: 1 cup

Garlic: 1 small clove

Fresh Mint: 2 -3 tbsp chopped

Salt: as per taste

Preparation:

Gently mix in the yogurt and garlic. Do not beat else it will be all liquidy. Chill in the fridge till serving time. 

Few minutes before serving take out, mix in the salt and half of the mint. Garnish with the other half and serve with a bolani.

Bolani dough is vegan and stuffing is vegan as well.It can be made with stuffing of pumpkin, leeks, lentils, greens ,potatoes or combination. Thanks to the Afghanistan serving as a bridge between Europe and India, its cuisine is highly influenced by India, Persia etc and has choicest vegetarian dishes as well and bolani can be called Afghan cousin of Indian parathas.

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Point Pedro Vadai - ParuthithuraiVadai | Sri Lankan Festive Fritters

January, the first month of the year also brings in the harvesting season. Almost entire India celebrates the beginning of harvesting season which falls in the middle of the month as Lohri, Sankranthi, and Pongal. This is actually a celebration of the Sun God- which provides the energy needed for agriculture -as it starts its journey northwards.  Pongal which is a Tamil harvest festival is celebrated not just in Tamil Nadu, India but also in our neighbouring country Sri Lanka. It is Sri Lanks'a national festival celebrated with the offerings of Pongal and variety of snacks one of them being PointPedro Vadai or Paruthithurai Vadai. 

A little googling on Lankan Cuisine gave me this name and led me to a few sites that had the recipe. I was under the impression that it is same as our 'Vada /Vadai'- savoury ground & deep fried  lentil dumplings that are very common here. But I  was surprised by the recipe from Ahila's site which involved no grinding and used wheat flour for the dough. 

The vadais are  a speciality from the town of Paruthithurai or Point Pedro  - anglicised name for the same.or Peduru Thuduwa in Sanhala - in Jaffna. They are also known as Jaffna Vadai. 

Ingredients:

 Skinless Split Urad Dal : 1 cup

Steamed Wheat flour: 1 cup 

Regular Wheat Flour: 1 cup + as needed 

Salt: as per taste

Onion: 1/2- 1 cup minced

Green Chillies: 1-2 minced  (as per taste)

Fennel Seeds: 1 tbsp

Curry Leaves: few chopped finely

Water: just little as needed to form a dough

Oil: for deep frying

Preparation:

Soak the dal in enough water for 6 hours or overnight. 

Mix together drained dal and all the other ingredients except oil with just enough water to form a little tight dough. You can take regular wheat flour and steam it or use wheat puttu flour available in market.Steaming regular wheat flour may involve extra steps and time and I went for the wheat puttu flour which is already steamed, sifted and ready to use.

Divide the dough into small balls - it comes around 60 or more. And flatten each piece into a thin circle. This is the traditional way of making them. 

Else divide the dough into half or quarter. And roll out each piece into a rectangle as thin as possible.The dough is little drier compared to the Indian medu vadai. Use cookie cutters and cut the dough into circles. This was the technique I followed as it gave same shape and thinness to most of the pieces. Thinner the vadas crunchier they are.

While the vadas are getting ready, heat the oil for deep frying. Once the vadais are ready make sure they don't sit out a long time before frying. 

Deep fry the vadai few at a time until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve with your choice of dip/chutney.

The texture is very crunchy ie the thinner you roll out/flatten crunchier they will be. The texture is similar to thattai vadai  for those who are familiar with the Tamil cuisine. 

If slightly thick in width then they turn softer after sometime. Both ways they tasted perfect with a cuppa.

Kashmiri Kahwa | December 15 - International Tea Day

As the winter sets in we spend more times indoors. Its too cooold to go outside. Its colder in Bangalore but nothing beats a cup of hot tea to blow away the chills. 

In my apartment complex, there is a commercial part and one section is mostly food joints - be it street food, chinese , vada pav, pizzas, bakeries etc. We can definitely pick and choose if we decide not to cook one/any time. The most popular among these is a tea point . Its always full and we have to wait in queue for our turn. 
But yes, the cutting chai or adrakwali kulhad chai with a plate of pakodas and company of friends makes life warm. 

Speaking of tea, it is topmost beverage consumed in India. Though South India has traditional and patented filter coffee and beautiful coffee plantations, there is a sizeable portion of tea drinkers also. 

As for myself, I am the only tea drinking child born to coffee consuming parents and married off in a tea drinking family -is it karma !? 

Well whatever it is I enjoy a hot cup of masala chai in the morning and occasional hot/iced green teas and of course a cuppa with friends too. 

Recently I tried and liked  the Kashmiri Kahwa and thought of posting it today being the International Tea Day. 

Kahwah/Kahwa is a traditional green tea consumed in Afghanistan,northern Pakistan and Kashmir Valley. Its rich in anti oxidants and is a popular breakfast tea along with breads. Its is made in big brass "Samovars" by boiling tea leaves along with spices and saffron and also roses and served with sugar/honey and crushed/chopped walnuts/almonds. 

Ingredients:

Water: 3 cups

Cardamoms: 3

Cloves: 2-3

Cinnamon: 1 inch piece

Sugar: 3 tsp + as per taste

Green Tea Leaves: 2 tsp

Saffron: few strands

Almonds: 3-4 chopped/flaked 

Preparation:

Bring water to boil in a saucepan.

Add the spices and sugar. Reduce the heat and stir until the sugar dissolves.

Cover with a lid and let it simmer for few minutes. 

Add the tea leaves and take it off heat. Let the tea leaves steep in the water for a minute atleast or more if you prefer a stronger taste. 

In small serving cups, add safrron strands and chopped almonds. Strain the hot tea into these cup and serve the tea hot.

You can sea the tea turning into a fresh yellow as the saffron flavours it. You can also add saffron strands while boiling tea along with dried rose petals.

Its perfect to beat the winter chills as well. Make sure you serve it warm. More more details you can check out the original source here. I had simply loved the detailed post and have followed the recipe verbatim.I had used Chinese gunpowder/ green tea. It will be more authentic if you could get the Kashmiri green tea. 

Meanwhile sip on...

Black Pepper Breadsticks | Peppery Winter Charm

I love breadsticks. My family too. But for past one year or so we buy our breadsticks. This happened after I tried one particular recipe and it came out nought. Ofcourse I can go for tried and tasted Grissini but somehow I keep on trying new recipes and once they flop then I become disheartened and give up completely. This was until I came across this peppery breadsticks and now yeah, I wont be buying these again but baking them.

Ingredients:

Warm Water: 1 cup

Yeast: 1 tbsp

Bread Flour 3 cup + 2 tbsp 

Solid shortening / Vanaspati : 3/4 cup or 12tbsp

Salt:  4 tsp 

Fresh ground Pepper: 2-2.5 tsp 

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. 

Combine water, yeast and 2 tbsp of flour and let it stand till foamy. If you do not have breadflour you can go for all purpose itself or make your own bread flour by adding 1 tsp of vital wheat gluten to 1 cup of flour to get 1 cup of bread flour.

Add the remaining flour mixed with salt and pepper along with shortening, and knead at medium speed till we get a smooth elastic dough. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and let it sit for 15 mnts. You can reduce the salt a bit if you like. 3.75 tsp works well 

Turn the dough onto an unfloured counter and divide into quarters or 4. Cut each portion into 8 pieces. Roll each into a 9 inch  x 1/2 inch rope. 

Arrange on a bakingsheets and adjust the length of each portion to 8". This is to keep all the sticks at the same length.Bake for 45 minutes in a preheated oven at 350F/175 until golden and firm shifting the pans halfway through baking. You can bake one tray at a time and turn/spin the tray so that the breadsticks are equally brown.

Transfer the breadsticks to racks and cool completely before serving. You can serve these as snack with/without dip and/or along with soup.

Crunchy breadsticks full of pepper. You can play around with different spices and create your own snack stick.You can also check a wheat version of thin grissini as well.

Cashew Mayonnaise | Healthy Mayo, Vegan too

Mayo or Mayonnaise is a thick creamy sauce made by emulsifying egg yolks with olive oil and vinegar or lemon juice. It can be given a makeover or enhanced by adding seasonings or spices. I familiarised with the word mayo when I heard of coleslaw. Being made with eggs it was offlimits for my conservative family. From then on,I associated with Russian cuisine, though it originated from Spain or places in Europe where eggs and olive oil were in abundance.Even Italian aioli is another version of mayo. 

History apart, these days we are flooded with eggless mayos. So its available to all the people though ofcourse original is original. I prefer an eggless mayo and have tasted few of these and most of them are based on nuts or  olive oil. On googling I even saw a weird recipe for eggless mayo made using condensed milk, though I steered clear of it. Few days back the Russian apple salad posted here used vegan cashew mayo  and me being me made the vegan mayo at home by adapting this recipe from savvyvegetarian and it turned out perfecto. 

Ingredients:

Cashews : 1/2 cup

Water: 2 tbsp

Lemon Juice: 2 tbsp

Seedless soft Dates: 1 chopped

Salt: 1/2 tsp

Onion Powder: 1/2 tsp (homemade or store bought)

Garlic Powder: 1/2 tsp (homemade or store bought)

Fresh ground pepper : as per taste

Extra Virgin Olive oil: 2 tbsp

Preparation:

Soak cashews in water for 2 hours, drain and add to the blender bowl. Combine all other ingredients except oil and blend till smooth.

Add  in the oil while the blender is running and let it emulsify.

Add more water if too thick.

Refrigerate and use within a week. 

You can make coleslaw or pasta salad or healthy apple salad. Or use it as a healthy dip for crackers and veggies of your choice.

Healthy and vegan mayo. If you have a problem with fatty cashews you can go for other low fat nuts like almonds, soy mixed nuts etc. or even go for a tofu version. Each version might be tasting slightly different due the nuts used.

The cashew one I made tasted similar to the eggless mayos I have been using though ofcourse without the preservatives. May be those who love the original eggy sauce might have a different opinion. 

Vegan Russian Salad | Go healthy with Washington Apples

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away.  

Today its not just a proverb but a proven fact.

The mystical or forbidden fruit is actually good to you.Rather its not forbidden anymore. It is said that an apple or atleast three a day gives you the full benefits of apples and help you live life healthy and beautiful.

They raise the good cholesterol, lower the bad one and supports weight loss. In general it keeps you and your family healthy. They reduce the chances of heart diseases and cancer and keeps lungs healthy.

So go healthy with  the best apples a.k.a. Washington Apples

To increase the awareness about the goodness of apples, the SCS group and Washington State Apple commission had held an interactive session where renowned nutritionist Sheela Krishnaswamy shared tips on healthy eating and answered queries.

Washington State Apple Commission  is a state owned but self governing body from the prominent apple state of Washington. SCS group is a Gurgaon based agri business firm that helps bring the healthy apples from Washington state in USA to your homes and on your plate.

Though unable to attend the show, I got to review the apples and try out the interesting recipes that were demonstrated at the vegan restaurant Carrots in Koramangala, Bengaluru where the talk was held. Especially the Vegan Russian Salad with Cashew Mayonnaise.

I am posting the recipe verbatim though you can definitely play around with the quantities of the ingredients based on your taste as I did .

Ingredients:
 Red Delicious Apple: cubed 30 gms

Sweet Potato: cubed 20 gms
Carrot: cubed 20gms
Green Peas: 20 gms

Cashew Mayonnaise: 100 gms

Preparation:
Steam/boil the sweet potatoes, carrot and peas.
Mix these with cashew mayonnaise and apple cubes.

Chill for an hour atleast and serve as a delicious salad.

The recipe is simple and quick but healthy and yum.You can go for your choice of mayo but I preferred the cashew mayonnaise the recipe suggested.

I made my own cashew mayo but more on that later..

Now get healthy by munching a Washington Apple as no other apple comes close.

Corn Bhel | Perfect Summer Snack

I remember seeing two or three bhuttewallas in Bangalore when I came first. It was my first winter here and was seeing a streetside grilled corn and vendor was very new. But definitely times change. I remember the steam corn vendor stall at a popular supermarket that I frequented and these days I also see ready to eat corn packets  and even instant steamed corn on cob in a nice packaging. 

I know they are timesavers. I too have enjoyed them . But all it takes is just few minutes for you to steam your frozen corn and add salt and seasonings of your own rather than buy preservative laden ready to eat ones. Even frozen sweet corn now comes in various spiced up versions.

The lure of such things is very big though most of the time (truthfully) I prefer to steam corn in my own kitchen anytime. Recently I tried out corn bhel and it was pretty easy and very filling. You can actually add whatever items you need with the spices you like. 

Ingredients:

Frozen Corn : atleast 1 cup
Tomatoes: 1 medium size deseeded and chopped into smaller than bite sizes
Onion: 1 medium finely chopped

Lemon juice :as per taste (avoid if using dried mango powder or raw mango pieces)

Spice Powders as per taste:
Chaat Masala: 1/2 tsp +/-
Salt & Black salt: as per taste
Chilli Powder: 1/4 tsp +/-
Cumin Powder: a pinch (optional)

Additions:

Raw Mango: few pieces based on taste
Potaotes: boiled peeled and chopped
Sprouts: raw/lightly blanched

Preparation:
Steam corn in a steamer or other appropriate dish for 5-10 minutes while you get other ingredients chopped and ready. You can also blanch corn in salted water for few minutes instead of steaming but I prefer steaming.Else microwaving for 3 minutes also works wonders.

Add to it tomatoes -deseeded and chopped, finely chopped onions and other additions as you prefer. I added chopped raw mango pieces after lightly peeling the mango. This adds a touch of colour and tang. Add salt, chilli powder and chaat masala as per taste and mix well. Do add the cumin powder and black salt based on how spicy you want your chaat.

On the other hand if you do not have chaat masala, definitely add black salt, cumin powder and even a pinch of amchur or dried mango powder.

Add lemon juice, mix well ,taste again,adjust the spices and serve as a healthy snack or side.

This is very filling snack and perfect for those tetimes when you crave for something and dinner is a long time away. You can add several optional ingredients like sprouts, potatoes etc and even experiment with different seasonings and the regulation chutneys that are a part of bhelpuri, the popular streetside snack.

As always there are several versions for several tastes but make sure you make your own version and given here is my way. I suppose being a salad this qualifies for Lisa's NCR: Vegetarian soup,stew & salads this month.

Sweet Potato Bites | Healthy & Tasty

As most of you who follow this blog might know that I love spuds. And I should also add the sweet potatoes in that list. If I have to choose between the two I would definitely choose the spuds. But the sweet potato also is one of my favourites. One major eye opener for me in US was that the sweet potatoes were orange compared to the paler counterparts in India. And Thanksgiving was like sweet potato festival. I got 5 lb bags of these and turned into varieties. Anyways, recently I tried this recipe from Vanilla & Spice and they were superb for tea time sweet cravings. Its a simple and sweet recipe and within 30-40 minutes you are done.

Ingredients:

Sweet Potatoes: 2 medium 

Maple syrup: 2 tbsp

Cinnamon, Cayenne: one or few pinches as per taste

Walnuts: finely chopped: 3-4 tbsp

Rolled Oats: 3-4 tbsp

Shredded Fresh/dry coconut flakes: 1-2 tbsp

Brown Sugar: 1tbp + as per the sweetness required.

Preparation:

Roast/steam/microwave the sweet potatoes. Once cooked and cool enough to handle peel and mash them.Add in the maple syrup, cayenne and cinnamon to this and mash well.

Mix well the chopped walnuts, oats,coconut and brown sugar.

Pinch palmful of the mash mixture and roll it in into a round ball . Roll the ball in the oats mixture and place it a lined baking sheet. repeat this till the mash mixture is fully used. Depending on the size you may get 6-12 balls.

Bake in a preheated oven for about 20 -25 minutes or more until the topping is brown. 

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Simple and tasty tea time sweet bite.Mine were not orange in colour but were definitely tasty. I suppose we can even turn them into savoury bites as well. Or even use potatoes instead of sweet potatoes. ;) What say?

Irio | Comfort Kenyan Style

Now I know we all have our own comfort foods. Sometimes we try to add a twist here and there and make them taste more comforting. A little extra spice/seasoning, sometimes replacing an element with another. All these jazzes up our comfort food. 

Exactly the same I felt when I made irio. This is actually Kenyan style mashed potatoes with corn and peas. Atleast thats what I have googled and found. The basic recipe is supposed to be made using dried peas and usually takes hours if done stovetop.

But the wonders of frozen peas and corn have reduced this time. Thats what I understood and made use of when I made this from here. A jazzed up mashed potato with a greenish tinge. Perfect as a side and usually served with steak.

Ingredients:

Potato: 1-2 medium-big 

Frozen peas: 1/2 cup

Frozen corn: 1/2 cup

Salt & Pepper: as per taste

Butter: 1 tbsp (optional) I have not used any

Preparation:

Peel and chop the potatoes into smaller cubes and cook them in boiling water until fork tender.Few minutes before the potatoes are done, add in the thawed peas as well. Drain this together reserving a small cup of the boiling liquid incase it is needed.

Simmer the corn in salted water for few minutes and keep aside.

In a wide vessel mash together peas and potatoes to get a greenish tinged puree. Stir in corn along with little of the reserved liquid. Adjust salt & pepper and serve as a comforting side.You can even add in a tablespoon of soft butter while mashing. This will definitely make it more rich but then its not vegan.So you can make your choice. I went for vegan all the way without adding butter.

A simple jazzed up spud salad which takes it to all the more comforting. If  you have any leftover mash then you can even turn it into tikkis or cutlets the next day.

Terong Balado - Indonesian Style Eggplant in Chili Sauce

When I made my sambal oelek, I was actually wondering how it could be of more use to me. It appears now that I was wrong. I have started using it on a regular basis and keep on accidentally finding such recipes as well. One such was when I came across Terong Belado in a magazine. A little googling as always and there I  made it. The name is quiet interesting actually. Terong is for eggplants and Balado is the spicy chili sauce. The dish is quiet simple. Sauteed/pan fried eggplants served/stirfried  with balado sauce. The dish can be served as a dry side unless you really want a liquidy sauce. 

The balado sauce or sambal balado is another variety of sambal from Indonesia.It is also a ground/chunky thick paste of fresh red chilies along with tomatoes,shallots, garlic,sugar and salt.Now how does sambal oelek comes into play here? Instead of grinding chilies fresh use the sambal oelek and major part of the work is done. Read through the recipe..

Ingredients:

Eggplants: 2 -3 purple eggplants

Garlic: 2-3 small cloves finely minced

Shallot/small onions: 2-3 finely chopped

Tomato: 1 medium -big chopped 

Sambal oelek : 1-2 tbsp as per taste

Brown Sugar: 1-2 tsp as per taste

Salt: as per taste

Lime Juice: 1-2 tsp 

Preparation:

Chop the eggplants into small pieces and salt them and keep aside for atleast 15 minutes. This will remove bitterness from them if any. Saute them in little oil in a wok till they cook. Keep aisde. Instead of sauteeing you can grill/pan fry/fry/bake them.

In the same wok, sautee garlic and shallots till aromatic and then add in the sambal oelek and chopped tomatoes.Let it cook until the tomatoes start to become mushy. Add little water if  needed and simmer until it reduces down to a thick sauce.  Add and adjust salt,sugar and lemon juice to this. This is our balado sauce.

To the sauce add it the sauteed eggplants. Mix well and stirfry for another 12 minutes and its ready to be dished out with Nasi Uduk  aka coconut rice or even plain white rice.

An umami dish perfect with rice or breads. Make it to savour it. I am off to make another batch of sambal oelek.  If you do not have homemade or store bought sambal oelek, use fresh red chillies while making the sauce and grind the whole thing together into a paste before sauteeing with eggplants.