I am an analyst by day, star gazer by night, food blogger, fitness , travel and saree enthusiast in between. I am a die hard foodie and started documenting my learning based on feedback from friends and family. Hope you enjoy my blog and leave comments and feedback.
When I saw Jayasree`s posting announcing the Microwave Easy Cooking Event – Puddings,I really got thinking as to the kind of recipe I had to submit for the same. Instantly, my eyes fell on the ripe apples that I had bought at a farmer`s market this weekend…Incidentally, I also had apple butter, that I had purchased from “My Grandpa`s Farm” at Katy Trail, Augusta, MO. So I decided on quick fix microwaved version of my Apple Payasam. An apple a day keeps the doctor away is an old adage…but many times when I think back, I appreciate the truth behind such a saying and find that there are scientific evidences for this claim. Apples promotes digestion, cleans and strengthens gums, reduces the risk of certain types of cancer, lowers cholestrol and detoxifies the body. With all these inputs, lets proceed to Apple Kingdom!!!
INGREDIENTS:
1 ripe apple chopped in to pieces.
2 spoons Apple Butter/Apple Sauce.
3/4 cup 2% Reduced Fat Milk.
1/4 cup Condensed Milk.
1/2 cup Brown Sugar.
2 spoons Coconut Milk or Heavy Cream.
Cashews
Saffron Strands dissolved in milk.
A pinch of Cardamom
PREPARATION:
Pop the chopped apples in the microwave on HIGH for 3 mins and allow to cool.
Grind the apples with 2 spoons of coconut milk or heavy cream.
Add this ground apple puree to a large microwave safe mixing bowl.
From the 3/4 cup of milk, draw out a little to soak the saffron strands.
Add apple butter, milk, condensed milk,saffron milk and sugar to the pureed apples in the bowl and mix well.
Microwave on HIGH for ten minutes. After 7 mins, remove from microwave and add powdered cardamom.
Replace the bowl back in to the microwave and complete the remaining 3 minutes.
The milk should have slightly thickened to a “kheer” consistency. Depending on the make of the microwave, the capacity, power supply and the size of the container, this time could vary by about 2 mins ahead or after.
On personal preference, I like my kheer a little thick, so If you still want a little more thickness, pop it in the microwave for a couple mins more.
In a little glass dish, add 2 spoons of ghee and cashews and microwave it on HIGH for 1 minute. When its roasted well emitting fragrant aroma, add this to the kheer.
Sprinkle more saffron strands for a pretty garnish.
This simple recipe was an inspiration to me from Ritu…who makes this in a dash. Its a rice that can be made in literally a dash…Its wholesome, light and can be had on those days when you are really fed up of spicy masalas and heavily greasy dishes. The only suggestion is that this entree wholly depends on the lightness, flavour and aroma of the basmati rice, and the best one that brings out the covert essence of this simple delicacy is the Daawat Basmati Rice. No other basmati rice, is so aromatic in my opinion. I reserve the Daawat for special occasions and on other days use the other brand.
Here`s the minimalistic list of ingredients…and the modus operandi for this easy entree`.
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups basmati rice
1 cup peas
3 Green Chillis slit
2 tsp Coconut Milk
Chopped Cliantro to garnish.
Seasoning:
2 tsp Jeera
1 inch cinnamon
2 cloves.
1 star anise
2 bay leaves
curry leaves
PREPARATION:
Measure out 2 cups of Daawat basmati rice and cook in the rice cooker with 31/2-4 cups of water. Add 2 tsp of coconut milk and a spoon of oil to the rice in the cooker, to bring out the richness. Optionally, you may skip this part, if you are watching your calories.
When rice is cooked, spread it on a flat plate and allow to cool to avoid it from getting broken while stirring.
Take a flat bottomed pan, add 2 spoons of ghee/oil and add the seasoning ingredients one by one, all the while stirring it in so the oil soaks up the flavors of the spices.
Add the slit green chillis and curry leaves and pour in the fresh peas.
With a spatula, mix in the peas, add salt and allow to cook for 3-4 mins on a medium flame.
Finally, add the cooked rice, salt and and mix well.
Garnish with chopped cilantro and a dash of lime juice.
Cauliflowers are always a welcome addition to any dish I make as cauliflowers are an excellent source of Vitamin C and dietary fiber. I am a fiber freak and try to sneak in this element of our daily requirement in any dish I create. I also have this habit of immediately cleaning with salt water, drying and storing the florets in an air tight container, so I can scoop them and add them in to any dish I am making for the day. Cauliflowers are an excellent addition to any dry subzi preparation, mixed rices, bajjis, fillings and gravies. This is one of my entry for JFI Cauliflower hosted by Paajaka Recipes.
Cauliflower Subzi.
This is a quick and simple everyday recipe, known for its simplistic presentation and flavourful taste. A handful of peas could also be thrown in for added nutrition. It`s all about innovation in everyday cooking right???
INGREDIENTS:
Cauliflower: 2 cups. (cleaned and chopped in to florets)
Salt
Besan 1 spoon
Seasoning:
Mustard, Broken Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves, Hing.
Roast in Oil and Powder:
Toor Dhal – 2 spoons
Bengal Gram – 2 spoons
Dhania – 2 spoons
Pottu Kadalai – 1 spoon
Red Chillis – 5
Hing
Curry Leaves
PREPARATION:
Before you start, pop the cauliflower in to the microwave for 3 minutes so its almost halfway cooked. There is no need to add water, as the inherent water content in the cauliflower helps it to cook.
Place the tava in the stove, pour a spoon of oil,season with mustard, urad dhal, curry leaves and hing and immediately add the cauliflower.
Add turneric and salt according to taste and allow to cook for 5 mins or so until the raw smell is gone.
Add the ground powder, sprinkle besan and serve garnished with cilantro.
This subzi is quick and can be coupled with roti or rice. For added nutrition and colour, pop in peas or lilva beans.
Stuffed Brinjal is a delicacy that has a hundred different methods of preparation – influenced by the culture and changes over the times. My mother in law is an expert in this delicacy and she would make it often when we visited home in Srirangam. My husband loves eggplants and specially this particular dish and relishes it ,when its lovingly made by his mother.At his request, I learnt to make this dish from my mother in law. Over times, on account of lavish use of oil, I have concocted my own way of simplifying this dish to accommodate both counts of flavor and health. There are a number of little tips that are important for this delicacy to turn out the way its supposed to be presented. Care should be taken to buy fresh, tender, small brinjals, and prepare it in its freshest form, to minimize the effort involved as well as the oil used in its preparation.Most of the cooking is finished in the microwave oven, so that saves a lot of time, makes it a lot more simpler, and reduces the oil used. My recent addition of the Calphalon Sear Pan with its super wide base and sear bottom halves the cooking time and makes it fuss free.
INGREDIENTS: 15 – 18 tender and fresh Brinjals.
Salt
Curry Leaves
Hing
Roast in oil:
4 Tsp Dhania
2 Tsp Bengal Gram.
1 Tsp Toor Dhal
1 Tsp Pottu Kadalai .
1 Tsp Peanuts.
6 – 7 Red Chillis
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Coconut
5- 7 Curry Leaves
Hing
PREPARATION:
Clean the brinjals, dry them and slit them in horizontally and vertically until you just reach the stalk.
Roast the captioned ingredients in oil and powder them finely in a mixer. The ground powder already has salt which will help to flavor the brinjals.
Spray the eggplants with oil spray/ (spread gingely oil ) and sprinkle salt over them.
When the brinjals are cooled, stuff the powder inside the brinjals, and keep them closed again as if they were whole. Since they are sprayed with oil, the stuffing will stick to the sides of the brinjals.
Place inside a greased cooker and cook on HIGH for one whistle.
Take a wide mouthed pan, add oil, and season with mustard and curry leaves and slowly place the stuffed brinjals one by one, in to the pan.
Cover and cook on low flame for about twenty minutes. Keep adding a spoon or two of oil, if you think its getting dry.
If needed sprinkle a few drops of water and cook until the brinjals are soft and cooked to perfection.
When one side of the brinjal gets seared, tip them over with a spoon so they cook uniformly.
“Adai” is one of the most nutritious tiffin items loaded with nutrition and health. Traditionally, in our homes, adai is an come-home-after-school evening snack. But many days, its a filling dinner. Adai is a thick crepe like entree, serves with Avial in tamil nadu and other times with Idly Podi or tomato thokku. Its basically made with rice, bengal gram and toor dhal, but in the process of making it more healthier, I also add oats, flax, spinach, cabbage etc, to boost on the fibre intake. Many times, when I take stock of the daily food intake, what I miss at the most, is Fibre.
Fibre rich foods keeps the digestive system in good working order helps prevent a lot of lifestyle driven dieseases, and is packed with protiens and minerals. Its also important that one gradually increases the fibre intake and should be followed by a substantial increase in fluid intake, in order to assist the body to assimilate the fibre consumed.
Adai can be rehashed to include onions, or minus onions to include cabbage, or for those who find the aroma of cooked cabbage unagreeable, corriander and spinach, brocolli and collards etc. I also add two spoons of flax powder, which acts as a catalyst in increasing the fibre, but does not alter the taste even a wee bit.
This is a version with Oats, flax and onions.
Onion,Oats and flax Adai with Tomato Thokku.
INGREDIENTS:
Idli Rice/Boiled Rice – 1 cup.
Bengal Gram – 1/2 cup.
Toor Dhal – 1/2 cup.
Red Chillis – 6 or 7.
Curry Leaves – 6 or 7.
Oats Old fashioned – 1/2 cup
Flax Seed Powder – 2 tsp.
Salt – 1 and 1/2 tsp – 2tsp accd to taste
Corriander – 1/4 cup.
Hing – A pinch.
Onions chopped – 1.
PREPARATION:
Soak the boiled rice, and the dhals seperately and to this add the seven red chillis; Allow to soak for 3 hours. Add the oats to soak for ten minutes only.
Grind the rice, dhals, oats,red chillis, salt, hing, curry leaves and corriander to a coarse batter. The batter should be almost 80% ground, but not to a smooth paste. Do not make the batter watery – grind the batter with around 1/2 cup of water.
Keep the batter ready and add some more chopped curry leaves for added flavour.
If the batter is a little too thick, feel free to add a little water to make it in to a consistency easy to make in to a dosa form.
Keep the tava on the stove and when hot, grease with gingely oil.
Pour the batter on the tava, and circle to form a thick dosa. Make a little hole in the middle of the adai, with your dosa turner and pour some oil to allow uniform cooking. We do this, as the adai is packed with pulses, which needs to be cooked well.
Immediately add the chopped onion pieces.
When done on one side, turn over to cook on the other. Keep the stove on a medium flame.
Ahhh…the most loved anytime snack – the ribbon pakoda is a family favourite. Ribbon Pakodas are an inclusion to all festivals and occasions Those days Madurai amma would make a whole large aluminum tin, full of this delicious crunchy snack. Somehow, all of us cousins would invent reasons to visit the kitchen frequently and be extremely accommodating to the elders if they wanted us to get pickle or salt from the kitchen as it pronounced a chance to snack on the pakodas with a rock solid alibi!!!
These days, as is the family tradition, I also include it as a part of the “Bakshanam” for any festival, specially Deepavali. It`s a great snack to have on long drives or simply when the family gets together for a movie or a chat…My daughter loves it a lot, and I am sure you would too…
INGREDIENTS:
2 Cups Store Bought Rice Flour, sieved
1 Cup Besan, sieved.
2 Tsp Urad Flour.
1 and 3/4 Cups (approx) Water.
1 Heaped Tsp Chilli Powder.
2 Tsp Salt.
1/4 Tsp Hing .
1.5 Tbsp Butter.
PREPARATION:
Take a heavy flat bottomed vessel and pour in canola or refined oil and switch on the stove on medium low.
In a mixing bowl, add the butter, hing, red chilli powder and salt and cream/mix it together with your hands. This is the base of this snack so make sure that its creamed and mixed well.
If you overdo the butter, it gets too greasy that it does not get pressed out as ribbons. They would all fall out in little pieces…So more is not always good!
Measure out the flours and add them to the bowl of creamed spices. Mix it in dry for a couple seconds.
Add the water little by little and knead the dough in to a soft homogenous ball.
The ball should slightly soft and moist.
Dole out a big piece on to the hand press and when the oil is hot enough, slowly press out the dough on to the oil in to a circle.
Try to press them in to a flattened circle taking care not to clump them up at any time.
When one side is a done to a golden yellowish brown, turn over to fry the other side and place on a soft tissue to allow the excess oil to drain.
Store in an air tight container and enjoy lazy afternoons with hot coffee or chai!!!
HINTS:
The main hint for this snack is that it should be crisp but melt in the mouth.
One the oil needs to be hot when you put in the item to be fried. Keep your flame on medium high and put in the Ribbon Pakoda. When one side is well done, turn it over and fry on the other side too. Between putting the next bunch of ribbon pakoda to be fried, allow the oil to get heated again.
When you finish one bunch, drain it on a collander, allow it to come to room temperature, taste it, adjust salt, spice levels etc and then proceed to store it in an air tight container.
In case the “Acchu” has a thicker hole, allow it to cook well. but not brown. It is preferable to have thin crisp Ribbon Pakodas.
Brinjals are an all time favorite and render themselves to be cooked in a hundred different ways. It`s always been a pleasure for me to cook with good tender brinjals as they get done in minutes. I always pick up tender tiny brinjals from the Indian store or better still, use the Japanese Eggplant. You can make Yennai Kathirikkai, Kathirkkai Podimas, Brinjal Pepper Kuzhambu , Kathirikkai Curry with minimalistic masalas, vangibath, baingan bartha, baghara baingan, and Kathirikkai Poricha Kuzhambu. Each of them take a different taste because of the way they are concocted. My husband loves the way, brinjals are cooked slowly over a medium flame and slathered with the mix of roasted spices. It`s also a favorite among my friends and a regular addition to all potlucks and get-togethers.
Brinjal Podimas.
INGREDIENTS:
Brinjals/Eggplant – Medium (10-12) or 1 Big Japanese Eggplant.
Salt
Hing
Seasoning:
Mustard, Oil, Urad Dhal, Curry Leaves.
ROAST IN OIL:
Boiled Rice – 3 spoons
Bengal Gram – 2 spoons
Dhania – 1 spooon
Red Chillis – 4
Curry Leaves – 3-4
Hing – A pinch.
PREPARATION:
Chop the brinjals in to slightly longer pieces as they cook very fast and you dont want them to get mushy.
Slow roast the mentioned ingredients in a spoon of oil, allow to cool and grind them to coarse powder and set aside. You can proportionately increase the measurements two fold depending on the number of eggplants. Extra powder can always get stored in an air tight container doubly sealed with cling film to contain the freshness and aroma of the ground powder.
Pour 2 spoons of oil in a kadai, season with mustard , urad dhal and curry leaves and throw in the chopped brinjal pieces.
Add salt, turmeric and hing and cook on medium flame for about ten minutes till the brinjals are cooked well.
Switch off stove and add ground powder for flavouring.
Garnish with chopped cliantro and serve HOT with Lemon rasam or Spinach Morkuzhambu.
Exploring Katy Trail in Missouri was something that we always looked forward to, as many travelogues and magazine, waxed eloquence on the beauty of this place. When we sought out information, on the internet, we could not find any site, that gave us consolidated information on the facilities, views, points of interests etc. This blog, is an effort towards just that – A write up on the beauty of the Katy Trail, as seen through my eyes….
Katy Trail State Park is built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas (MKT) Railroad (better known as the Katy). When the railroad decided to cease operation on its route, it presented the chance to create an extraordinary recreational opportunity — a long-distance hiking and bicycling trail that would run almost 200 miles across the state. This was a completely ingenious idea as it presented itself as a milestone in hiking and bicycling for many nature enthusiasts. As this corridor, runs all along the banks of the River Missouri, its very scenic during all the seasons of the year. In summer, the trail bursts with wildflowers and the trees are filled with ripe fruits and leaves and its really a pleasure to walk or cycle along the trail. The visitors to this area, have many options to explore the beauty along the trail. One can drive up to Defiance, Missouri and rent bicycles at Katy Bike Rental. The cycles are well maintained and parents have options of child-carts and tag-a-longs for the kids. Thee are also kids bicycles which enables a full outing for the entire family. The tag-a-longs are closed so the child is protected from the sun and wind.
Tag-along for kids-Pic courtesy Katy Bike Rental.
The trail allows users to travel through some of the most scenic areas of the state. The majority of the trail closely follows the route of the Missouri River so hikers and bicyclists often find themselves with the river on one side and towering bluffs on the other. The trail travels through many types of landscapes including dense forests, wetlands, deep valleys, remnant prairies, open pastureland and gently rolling farm fields. In the spring, the trail is brightened with flowering dogwood and redbud, while the fall is colored with the rich reds and oranges of sugar maple, sumac and bittersweet. The summers are of course very beautiful where one can see all the forest areas in full bloom. You could also see scurrying bunnies and little baby turtles, walking along the trail, at their own pace. The Klondike State Park spread across 250 acres, between the cities of Defiance and Augusta, on the historic highway 94, is a place to be visited on its own. Once a site for silica sand quarry, now offers trail enthusiasts many options for family get-togethers, with a scenic lake, picnics, parks, tent camping, trekking, trails and play areas.
Ice frozen on the Klondike Park Lake.
Another of my favourite spots along the Katy Trail is “My Grandpa`s Farm”. Its a small quaint farm, originally owned by the Daniel Boone run by a couple, who live there. The farm runs all through spring from the 15`th of March up until Thanksgiving. In spring and summer, the farm supplies refreshments like” Sno-cones” – crushed ice flavoured with berry, lemon syrup to the parched bicyclists. They also serve quaint lunches and dinners. They grow organic tomatoes, pears, apples, raspberries, peaches and lemons. They also raise ponies, horses, chickens and hens and get fresh eggs from them.
My Grandpa`s Farm
They make Apple Butter, peach Butter and strawberry and raspberry preserves, which are bottled and sold at their lovely little store. The salas, made from the organic home grown tomatoes, are extremely tasty and also available to buy. A drive to Augusta, is never complete without a visit to “My grandpa`s Farm”, and we never miss the home made delicious hash browns served with Meduim Salsa.
Augusta also comes under the Missouri Wine Country, so the Highway 94 is filled with so many quaint lovely wine tasting outlets. A fall drive along this lovely highway, is a feast for the eyes, as one ambles across miles and miles of plains and hills dotted with trees, all coloured with fall foliage. On a drive along this wine country, during fall, you can see many grape vineyards, laden with bunches of juicy heavy grapes, ready to be picked, sorted and made in to wines. One wonders at the many lovely hues of orange, yelllow, amber and red, in a fall drive on this scenic road.
Grapes ready to be picked in a vineyard in Augusta, MO
Fall, again is the month of apple picking, so farms along this trail, get busy with this season. The Centennial farms, where we visitd for instance, claimed to grow 24 varieties of apples which ripen through August to September and get ready to be picked in fall. The farm also grows summer vegetables like squash, acorn, sweet potatoes and make them available for sale. Its also a place for family fun, during October, as they offer pumpkin mazes, hay ride, tractors etc for children and adults. There are a variety of nurseries along this region, which grow a multitude of flowers and plants like roses, hibiscus, jasmines, sunflowers, chrysanthemums etc. The Wine Country Gardens offer wine tasting, a lovely nursery and outdoor dining overlooking the lovely stretch of plains, filled with vineyards, trees and offering an uninterrupted view of the spectacular highway and beyond.
The Katy trail is a hitherto unexplored territory for me, in my one and a half year stint in Missouri, but every trip to Defiance and Augusta, bring with it, new experiences and newer insights to this scenic part of the state. We have made it a point to visit this place, as much as we can, as it brings so many opportunities of experiencing nature and being one with it. This region is almost beautiful. no matter what the season….Little did Lewis and Clark realise that their expedition opened the doors for so many more….today and everyday …
Bananas are one of the most commonly availabe fruit. It comes in a variety of colours green, yellow, red and in India ,a myriad of hybrids are now available. It also the most versatile fruit as its used in many different forms – fried, frittered, frozen, mashed, pureed, boiled to be made in to puddings, preserves, or in its original form. Bananas are rich in Vitamin C and also a good source of dietary fiber and potassium. Many times, when I buy even half a dozen, I always find I would have to throw at least one if I am not extremely careful. This time, I decided to make an egless cake with the over ripe bananas. I also threw in a little flax seed powder as it increases the fibre intake. It is also better to skim down the sugar a little bit, as bananas are high in sugar content on their own.
Banana Walnut Eggless Cake.
INGREDIENTS:
All Purpose flour – 1 cup
Sugar – Brown/White 1 cup.
Bananas – 2 ripe.
Oil – 1/2 cup (Only Canola/Mazola/ Vegetable Oil and not Olive Oil)
Baking Soda – 1 tsp
Walnuts – 1 /3 cup
Vanilla Extract – 1 tsp (Always use pure vanilla extract with no alcohol). For better flavor you can use Banana Extract too.
Flax seed – 2 tsp.
PREPARATION:
Preheat the oven to 350F and pour out the walnuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and toast for 5 mins or so.
Cool the nuts and chop them up roughly.
Measure out the flour, add the baking soda abd set aside. The dry ingredients are now ready.
In a mixing bowl, add the ripe bananas and mash it well with a masher or ladle. Add oil, sugar, extract and whisk briskly.
Slowly add the dry ingredients little by little and mix it in,. Do not overmix as this may rob the batter of air and the end result would not be a spongy cake.
Add the toasted chopped nuts and the flax seed and mix it in too. The toasting of the nuts is completely optional as it brings out the flavour of the nuts and makes it crunchy. You can also add them as they are.
Grease a 9 nch round cake pan or loaf pan with oil spray and slowly pour in the cake batter and lightly flatten with a spatula.
Banana Cake batter in the cake pan.
Bake at 350F for 30 mins or until a fork inserted comes out clean.
The best ever dhoklas that I remember having eaten are at The Saravana Bhavan – Gujrati Restaurant in T.Nagar, Chennai. They have the most amazingly soft dhoklas that can melt and come together in your mouth, along with the sweet chutney agog with tamarind and tang, and the green pudina chutney. Ever since, I ve always been on the lookout for recipes on how to make this easy snack. What I like about it, is the fac that it could be whipped up in a few minutes, with no need for prior planning. This is my version of this dish and I hope you will like it too. Posting for the Sweet Tamarind Chutney follows at a later post.
INGREDIENTS:
Besan – 1 1/4 cups
Buttermilk/Curd – 1 cup.
Ginger Paste – 1 tsp
Green Chilli Paste- 1 tsp
Eno Fruit Salt – 1 tsp.
Lemon Juice – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 tsp.
Turmeric Powder – A pinch
Seasoning:
Oil, Mustard Seeds, Slit Green Chillis (2), Curry Leaves, Hing.
Garnish:
Dry Coconut Powder, Chopped Corriander.
PREPARATION:
In a bowl, take the besan and use your hands to remove all the clumps. Add the buttermilk and gently whisk to mix. Now also add turmeric, salt, ginger paste, green chilli paste and mix them all together.
Mix a spoon of Eno Fruit salt with 1 spoon of lemon juice and mix it in to the besan batter.
Let is stand for 20 mins.
Take a low flat bottomed cooker vessel, resembling a 9 inch round cake pan and grease the insides with cooking spray or oil.
Pour the besan batter in to the cooking pan.
Fill the cooker with 1 cup of water and gently place the vessel in to the cooker.
Allow it to steam on high for 12-14 mins.
Switch off and wait for 5 mins and cool it for 20 mins or so.
Cut it in to diamond shape and season with mustard , chilli, hing and curry leaves.
Anubhavati -Tastes from my kitchen 