Cranberry pickle

As the weather starts to cool down , the cooler breeze is a reminder of darker evenings and cloudier days. But on the flip side also a time to look forward to the winter days with Halloween right around the corner, and Thanksgiving peeing thru right behind, and of course fall colors has started to surround the neighborhood so it's  time to start cooking some fall vegetables.

Pickles have always been a absolute favorite of mine, the spicy , tangy taste that  gets your taste buds going is a perfect compliment to any simple food.

Usually I make a lemon, mango , and fish pickle the other day I crossed by some  good fresh red cranberry bag in the grocery store , a thought crossed my mind that sweet and tangy cranberry in a pickle form YUM !!
Next on my list was to stop my mouth from watering :) and on my way picked a bag and headed to the counter.
Now to the recipe

What you need :

Cranberry : half fresh and half dried (50% less sugar) is what I used

Ginger chopped : 2 tbsp

Green chillies chopped : 2 tsbp

Salt : to taste

Chilly pwd : 1 tsbp

Vinegar : 3 tsbp

Turmeric pwd : 1/2 tsp

Asafetida pwd : 1 tsp

Meethi pwd : 1 tsp

Olive oil : 2 tsp

Mustard seeds ; 1 tsp

Curry leaves - 5-10 leaves

Wash and clean the cranberries and let them dry. Cut the fresh cranberries into halves add some rock salt or regular salt with some turmeric , marinate for at least 1 hour.

Heat a pan add the olive oil , add the mustard seeds let them pop then add the chopped chilles, ginger, curry leaves and saute for 2 mins.

Add the dry spices , later add the cranberries both dried and fresh , saute for few mins add the vinegar , this makes the pickle a little loose let it cook for few mins then put the heat off.

Let the pickle cool before storing in a glass container , check the salt if needed .
Serve with hot rice and Dal Njoy !

Pav Bhaji

One of the things that I miss most about my homeland "India " is the street food , hands down so  Delish . Out on the busy streets through the hustle bustle of daily grind stalls of fast food lined up, spices being thrown in, oil splashed and the aroma is highly appetizing and inviting .

After living in a western country for long your body tends to change gets used to the food that you put in, so after years when we visit India the dilemma is always out there about should we eat street food. but that is the essence of traveling back home right ?  doing or reliving things you did with family and friends , even if it is just standing on a street side with shopping bags in one hand and a plate of yummy pav bhaji in other hand .

Pav bhaji is one of those street foods best enjoyed on the street standing in a crowded space watching the cook create the mouth watering delight. It is basically dinner rolls preferably not too soft with more texture that is accompanied with a mashed and  spiced version of veges like potatoes, peas, cauliflower,  well for the rest jus check the recipe.

What you need :

Dinner rolls : 1 pack

potatoes : 2 big ones 

tomatoes : 4 chopped

red onion: 2 big chopped

ginger garlic paste : 1 tablespoon

peas : 1/2 cup

cauliflower : 1/2 cup

bell peppers: 1 green chopped

lemon : 2 cub sized

cilantro : chopped fine

salt : to taste

oil : as needed

butter : optional

Pav bhajji masala : lots out there 

(sanjay kapoor and everest personal fav )

turmeric powder : 1 teaspoon

Boil the vegetables potatoes, peas, cauliflower , bell peppers till well cooked usually these are traditionally  cooked in a pressure cooker with one one whistle which works great. After the cooker has cooled down , open it and mash the veges up leaving some chunks in are totally fine.

Meanwhile cut the dinner rolls in halves and spread some butter or olive oil .

In a pan heat oil add the chopped onions sauté , then add ginger garlic paste to this cook for a  few mins till raw taste is gone, later 

add the chopped tomatoes cook on medium heat add salt , add the pav bhajji masala .

Add the mashed veges also if too thick add water if needed mix well .

Add salt as needed .

On a flat pan start toasting the rolls that have been buttered or oiled up till they are slightly brown .

Serve the rolls with the pav bhajji , garnish with cilantro and a cube of lemon , also can add chopped onions for added yuminess !

Last but not the least a small dallop of butter in the bhajji just takes it to the next level.

Njoy!

Spinach and Black eyed peas Thoran

Spinach and black eyed peas thoran

Growing up we all are told of how important it is to add greens to your diet, now being a mom  to two boys the responsibility of adding the greens to the daily cuisine has been passed on to my shoulders. As hard as It can be I have learnt that with kids you have to be creative , surprisingly my older son is  interested in the kitchen usually will come by to check on what's for dinner try to help if he can, ask about how I made the dish which is a good sign . 
So it is sometimes easy to slip in the greens to their plate without a meltdown  :)

Recently I joined the health nutrition programme where a nutritionist calls me every 4 weeks to help me get on the right track , not that I was on the wrong track but now a days insurance companies have decided to take some responsibility to share the burden of the unhealthy nation so it does not come back to bite them. A step in the right direction .

So I decided to choose the nutrition path , Stories aside I decided to incorporate a vegetable in  every day instead of 3 times a week  , at least one veggie a day Hurray :) so this is the result .

Lets see how far I can take this.

With this thoran U can make Spinach by itself but it can sometimes be too leafy , I prefer a little added bit of peas  I just added some black eyed peas for more texture and flavor .

NOW for the recipe

What U need :

Spinach - 2 cups finely chopped

Black eyes peas - 1/2 cup cooked usually found in the frozen aisle

Shallots - 2 finely chopped

Ginger- 1/2 inch chopped

Garlic 3 cloves chopped

Green chillies- 3-4 chopped

Coconut grated  - 1/2 cup

Curry leaves a few optional

Salt to taste

Olive oil- 1 tablespoon

Mustard seeds- 1 teaspoon

Red chillies optional

Heat  a pan add the oil after the oil heats up add the mustard seeds , they begin to pop in few mins add the chopped shallots and dried whole chillies , curry leaves, saute for some time.

Add chopped ginger and garlic with the green chillies toast this for few mins than add the black eyes peas is they are not cooked thoroughly add some water in a cup and microwave for 3-4 mins before adding to the pan . Add salt and coconut and then last add the spinach. the spinach cooks pretty quickly so hence is added last. 
Cover the dish for a few mins till the peas are well cooked and the spinach is all welted down .

Serve with rice or Rotis.

Njoy !





Appam and Chicken curry

Every home has its own special tradition some of it we grow up into so naturally adopted and some we create ourselves as a matter of convenience and also depending on our very own likes and dislikes.
One of those traditions that I love and grew up into is comfort breakfast as my regular visitors can easily point out there is a lil' too much emphasis on breakfast on my blog :)
who doesn't love a nice and hearty scrumptous breakfast just makes your day or sometimes the week too.
One of my absolute fav breakfast is appam and chicken, reminds me of Christmas and Easter mornings this was an absolute must, after the midnight mass my mom n dad would wake up and start the early preapartions of the breakfast ritual and by the time we kids would wake up thewhole house is turned is filled with warmth and appetising aromas, even now a days when I call  to wish my loved ones back home in India on Christmas eve the morning talk always comes around to ' SO WHAT DID U HAVE FOR BREAKFAST APPAM N CHICKEN?' and the obvious answer is always 'Yes'
There is something about this combination so comforting and appetising the soft appam  dipped in the coconut flavoured chicken curry bursting out with aromatic spices just melts in your mouth , kind of like a perfect match made in gastronomical heaven ;0

Now for the recipe:

What u need :

long grain basmati rice -2 cups

coconut grated frozen or fresh - 1cup

cooked basmati rice- 1/2 cup

active yeast - 1 teaspoon

sugar - 1 teaspoon for activation

water - as needed

salt- 1 teaspoon

Soak the rice for 6-8 hours or overnight, now wash the rice thoroughly and blend part of the rice , coconut, cooked rice with added enough water to a semi thick blend, the consistency should be not too grainy but on the smoother side .

The cooked rice plays a big role in this it makes the appams consideriably soft ,once the batter is ready take some warm water about a tablespoon add the yeast and sugar let it activate the yeast starts to mix in. Then add this to the batter let this sit for at least 6-8 hours to ferment , then the following day or after 8 hours add salt mix well if the batter is too thick u can add milk too. The next day the batter will look like it increased in size that is a sign that the fermentation has taken place.

Appam is usually made in a specific round pan easily available in Indian stores . 

Heat the pan on medium temperature control is a critical part towards soft appams add a laddle of the fermented batter and rotate in a clockwise fashion and let it cook for few mins cover the pan , appams is uasully cooked in the time as a pancake would.
You can also make appam on a normal non stick pan just make the batter a lil thick so it does not run all over the pan kind of the same way one would make pancakes only u donot need to turn just cook one side take it off the pan when it looks cooked from the top.
Enjoy this dish with any kind of gravy dish best goes with non vegetarian dishes!

Delhi Belly

A Little treat from my dear Bro!
and also a gastronomical gift from the  main land of India .
Since I have been blogging for the last 5 years which is  very seldom , but the pursuit has always been the same as my fellow bloggers to bring out the best in the world of cooking from what I see around or from what I cook around ,this time it happened that my brother who was travelling on a business trip to Delhi decided to let his camera lens go wild on the streets on 'Dilli' and the results were phenomenal . Thanks to him I could share all the fabulous pictures here ;)
North Indian food has been hailed to a pedestal and deserves to be there too as it has a colorful blend of spices that get ur taste buds taking a ride of their life.

Most photos posted down here are of street vendors and street food commonly sold  in India in this case specifically Delhi vegetarian and ample kinds of non vegetarian options too



The list is endless  believe me when I saw these pictures all I wanted to do is get on the first flight back home they are too tempting.

 

Like this one a perfect example of fast food breakfast street style , fast easy breakfast on the go and yum malicious.




Usually this is a very common sight on the streets of any busy Indian street be it Mumbai or Delhi you will come across quite a few vendors standing out in the open and frying food in hot pipping oil or puris frying in hot oil served as a snack usually accompanied with some kind of a veggie side commonly called as 'sabji' made of potatoes or garbanzo beans with spices to jazz it up.



Like they say a picture is worth thousand words hence the above one says it all !
And to sum it all saving the best for the last another very common snack the Indian answer to the burger own very own Vada pav .

Njoy and happy holidays!

Paneer Mattar Masala

 

Today was a wet day for us felt like cuddling under a warm blanket with a hot cuppa of chai with a good book :) but it was dinner time so I decided to make some thing a little more heavy and fulfilling as the weather was so calling  for it .
I usually have a block of paneer or in American terms 'cottage cheese'
 sitting in my freezer and staring at me along with that was the Malaysian parathas just side by side that made my dinner decision easy .Now Malaysian parathas are very similar to the maida rotis in India but not as hardy as the naan a little more on the soft and flakier side these are pre rolled frozen all that needs to be done is to cook on a non stick pan, but just make sure these are made right before you eat as these rotis do not taste that good if they sit for long time again easily found in Indian and also Asian stores. These rotis go great with any kind of gravy my kiddos love to have them rolled with honey too YUM ;0

What u need  for Paneer mattar masala
Paneer- 1 block cut in to cub sizes
small green peas-1/4 cup
onion - 1 cup paste form
tomato -1 finely chopped
ginger garlic paste - 2 teaspoon
green chillies- 3 chopped fine optional
cilantro-1/4 cup chopped
half n half -1 tablespoon optional
oil-2 tablespoon
salt- as needed
turmeric- 1 teaspoon
jeera - 1 teaspoon full
tikka masala or garam masala- 1/2 tablespoon

Heat non stick pan add the oil let it heat add the jeera when they start to spurt, add the onion paste cook well till the raw taste goes away and the oil separates. Add the ginger garlic paste to this paste cook for 5- 10 mins till the raw smell diminishes, add the chopped  tomatoes let this mixture cook for a few mins on low flame.
Meanwhile fry the paneer cubes in pan till all the sides are brown keep them separate in a  bowl after done with the frying. Add the garam masala or the tikka masala, turmeric  and salt to the tomato- onion paste by now this turns into a thick consistency ,add the Green chillies again this part is optional or u can substitute with paprika too. More color less spice :)
Add the fried paneer pieces and the small peas to this mix also add a little water if the mixture is too thick, last add the half n half as needed u can add more if needed. Make sure when u add the half n half the pan is on low flame so the the cream does not curdle.The consistency u should be looking for  of the gravy that is not too watery or not too thick .
Garnish with the chopped cilantro and have with Rice or rotis!
Njoy!