Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Indian recipes

[ 1 cup= 250ml ]

Coconut Pongal

Ingredients for Pongal:

  • 1kg Rice (Colam preferred, but you can use any type of rice)
  • 250g of yellow moong lentil
  • 100g clarified butter (ghee)
Ingredients for Tempering:
  • 50g clarified butter (ghee)
  • 4 pieces of whole black pepper
  • 5g cumin seed
  • 5g cashew nut (broken) 
  • 2g kari leaves
  • 5g asafetida powder
  • 50g coconut (freshly grated)
Preparations for Coconut Pongal:

  1. Mix lentil and rice together and wash properly. Boil until cooked
  2. Add clarified butter
  3. (for tempering) Heat clarified butter in a pan, add black pepper, cumin see, cashew nut, curry leaves, and asafetida powder. Once is starts to crack, put tempering in rice and lentil mix
  4. In a separate pan, heat clarified butter and roast grated coconut properly
  5. Add in the Pongal and serve hot
Oat Granola Bar 

Ingredients:
  • Oats
  • Honey
  • Raisin
  • Almond slices
Preparation:
  1. In a pan carmalize honey until it turns golden dark
  2. Roast oats, almonds, and raisins in a separate pan and combine with home
  3. Spread the mixture in a food pan and let it sit overnight
  4. Serve room temperature
Masala Dosa 

[[ The basic (plain) dosa recipe calls for soaking urad dal/skinned black lentils and rice. The soaked lentils and rice are then finely ground and fermented overnight. Warm temperature is important for the idli-dosa batter to ferment well.  ]]

Ingredients for Dosa batter:

  • 1 cup rice
  • 1 cup ukda chawal (parboiled rice)
  • 1/2 cup urad dal (split black lentils) 
  • 1/4 cup poha (flattened rice)
  • 1/4 tsp methi (fenugreek seeds)
  • salt to taste
  • water as required
Ingredients for Masala (Potato filling):
  • 4-5 potatoes
  • 10-12 cashew nuts
  • 10-12 curry leaves
  • 1 tbsp bengal gram
  • 3 onions chopped
  • 1/2 tsp mustard seed
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 or 2 chopped green chilies
  • 1 or 1.5 tsp chopped ginger
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • a pinch of asafetida
  • 3 tsp oil
  • salt
Preparations for the Dosa batter:
  1. Rinse rice and urad dal separately 
  2. Soak the parboiled rice, regular rice, and poha in a bowl 
  3. In another bowl soak the urad dal & methi in enough water
  4. Grind the urad dal with methi to a fine, fluffy batter
  5. Grind the rice and poha to a smooth batter
  6. Mix both the rice and urad dal batter with salt
  7. Cover and let batter ferment for 8-9 hours
Preparation for potato filling (Sabzi):
  1. Soak the chana dal in hot water for 30 minutes; then drain and keep aside
  2. Heat oil, fry cashew nuts and keep aside
  3. Splutter the mustard seeds. Add cumin seeds and drained chana dal
  4. Fry the chana dal well
  5. Now add the onions and curry leaves
  6. Fry the onions till they become soft. Add the green chilies and ginger
  7. Add the turmeric powder and asafoetida. Mix well
  8. Now add the boiled chopped potatoes. Add the fried cashew nuts and salt
  9. Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring well
  10. Add chopped coriander leaves, stir, and keep aside
Preparation for Masala Dosa:

  1. Heat a non-stick flat pan (smear oil if using an iron pan or griddle)
  2. Spread dosa batter in a circular way on the pan, add some oil on top
  3. Flip and cook other side; flip back over
  4. Spread potato (Sabzi) filling on on side of the dosa
  5. Cover with the other half and let dosa cook for 15-30 seconds
  6. Serve Masala Dosa hot with Coconut Chutney and Sambar
NOTES:
If you are unable to spread the batter on the pan, then add some water to the dosa batter. this will help you in spreading the batter evenly on the pan.

To get golden brown dosa, the pan should be hot. But the flip side is that if the pan is very hot, then you cannot spread the dosa batter nicely. Either sprinkle water on the pan and then wipe it. This brings down the temperature of the pan.

If using a non stick pan than as soon as one dosa is done, reduce the flame. Spread the dosa batter on the pan. now increase the flame and let the dosa cook.

Sambar Recipe
INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
Ingredients for the Sambar Recipe:
·         1 cup tuvar or arhar dal/pigeon pea lentils
·         1 to 1.5 cups, cleaned and chopped vegetables - okra, french beans, potatoes, shallots or onions, small round brinjals, tomatoes
·         1 tbsp seedless tamarind/imli soaked in ½ cup water
·         1 to 1.5 tbsp sambar powder
·         ½ tsp red chilli powder
·         ½ tsp turmeric/haldi powder
·         a pinch of asafoetida/hing
·         2.5 to 3 cups water for pressure cooking the dal
·         2 cups water to be added later
·         salt as required
for the tempering (tadka/chaunk) of sambar
·         2-3 tbsp oil
·         2 to 3 dry red chillies
·         1 tsp mustard seeds/rai
·         ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds/methi seeds (optional)
·         a pinch or two of asfoetida/hing
·         2 to 3 cloves garlic - crushed lightly with the peels (optional)
·         12 to 15 curry leaves
INSTRUCTIONS
1.      first soak the tamarind in warm water for 30 mins. pick and rinse the dal in water well.
2.      boil dal in 2.5 to 3 cups water in the pressure cooker for 8-9 whistles on medium to high flame. the dal should become soft and mushy.
3.      once the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid.
4.      now add the chopped veggies, turmeric powder, red chili powder, asafoetida and salt. add 2 cup water and stir well.
5.      pressure cook again for 1 whistle on medium to high flame. once the pressure settles down on its own, remove the lid.
6.      add the sambar powder and tamarind pulp. if the consistency of sambar is thick, then add some water.
7.      keep the cooker on the stove and and then simmer the sambar for 10-12 minutes on a low flame.
8.      keep on stirring at intervals so that the dal does not stick to the bottom. switch off and keep the sambar covered.
9.      in a small pan, heat oil. crackle the mustard seeds first.
10.  then add the fenugreek seeds, garlic, red chilies, asafoetida and curry leaves.
11.  fry till the garlic turns a light brown and the red chilies change color. pour the whole tempering in the steaming hot sambar. close with a lid so that the flavors infuse for about 5-6 minutes.
12.  later stir and then serve the vegetable sambar with steamed rice or idli or dosa or medu vada.
NOTES
1.      For faster cooking you can soak the lentils in water for 30-45 mins before cooking them.
2. Usually the vegetables are not cooked in a pressure cooker but in another pan. But cooking the vegetables in the pressure cooker saves a lot of time and also preserves the nutrients of the vegetables.
3: You can also add about ¼ or ½ tsp garam masala powder to the sambar when you add the veggies. The use of garam masala powder gives a spicy flavour and taste to sambar.

                                    Coconut Chutney
INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
·         ½ cup grated fresh or frozen coconut
·         ¼ cup roasted chana dal/bengal gram
·         ½ inch ginger/adrak, chopped
·         1 green chili/hari mirch, chopped
·         15-20 curry leaves/kadi patta
·         2 tsp oil (sunflower or coconut oil)
·         salt as required
INSTRUCTIONS
1.    wash and rinse the curry leaves. dry them on a kitchen towel.
2.    heat oil in a small pan. add the curry leaves and fry till they become crisp.
3.    let the curry leaves-oil mixture become warm.
4.    add the rest of the ingredients along with the curry leaves and oil in a chutney grinder or small blender.
5.    add some water, about ½ to ¾ cup (depends on what consistency of chutney you want) and blend to a smooth chutney.
6.    check the salt and add more if required.
7.    serve the hotel style coconut chutney with idli, dosa, medu vada or uttapam.
Tomato Chutney
INGREDIENTS (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)
Main ingredients:
·         2 large tomatoes, 1 cup tightly packed chopped tomatoes, 225 to 250 gms
·         ½ inch ginger/adrak, chopped
·         2 to 3 dry red chilies, broken and deseeded
·         1 tsp urad dal/split & husked black gram
·         4-5 black pepper/sabut kali mirch
·         2-3 cloves/lavang
·         a pinch of asafoetida (optional)
·         2 tbsp water for grinding, add 1 or 2 tbsp more if required
·         ½ tbsp oil
·         salt as required
for tempering:
·         ½ tbsp oil
·         1 dry red chili, halved and deseeded
·         7 to 8 curry leaves/kadi patta
·         ½ tsp mustard seeds
·         2 to 3 fenugreek seeds/methi seeds
·         a pinch of asafoetida/hing
INSTRUCTIONS
1.    heat oil and add urad dal. on a low flame, saute the urad dal till they start turning maroonish.
2.    once the lentils get a maroonish brown color, add broken dry red chilies, cloves, black pepper and ginger. stir for till the red chilies change their color.
3.    then add chopped tomatoes and asafoetida. add salt.
4.    stir and saute till the tomatoes soften. about 6 to 7 minutes on a low flame.
5.    once the tomato mixture cools, add them to a chutney grinder or small blender.
6.    add 2 tbsp water and grind to a smooth paste.
7.    in the same pan or different pan, heat 1 tbsp oil.
8.    add the mustard seeds and crackle them.
9.    then add curry leaves, methi seeds, asafoetida and one broken red chili. saute till the curry leaves become crisp.
10. then add the ground tomato paste. stir well.
11. saute for 3 to 4 minutes on a low flame. check the taste and add more salt if required.
12. stir again. the tomato chutney is done and ready to be served.


Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Dallas, TX

Katy Trail Ice House 


Jalepeno Agave Margarita



Cold cut oatmeal from Corner Bakery (oatmeal, apples, & yogurt)





Damn, Dallas you are doing everything right. So happy my last week of on-boarding was located here. I fell so in love with you, I could picture myself relocating there for good! I didn't even mind the 100+degree weather after suffering in India. Tex-Mex is definitely the best Mexican I ever had