A foodie n her cooking hat - An Indian food blog!

FRUITY CHOCOLATE TOAST

Posted by VS November 21, 2009 1 comments

Jingle bell jingle bell jingle all the way… Yippee!

The season for shopping and sweets has arrived. It’s the time of the year to magnanimously let the sugar and fat add those extra pounds around the hips. A delicious dessert melting its way through the tongue creates a sinful feeling of addiction for anyone. Fruity chocolate toast is one such addition to the long lists of desserts.

Nutella is a pure heavenly bliss that puts a bright smile on almost everyone’s face and makes these small, triangular, sensuous bread slices an out of the world dish. A generous spoon of hazel nut spread topped with grilled fruits and a dollop of butter on fresh baked bread is a true delight to satisfy the sweet tooth. This is one of the irresistible desserts to create for someone special.

As you serve, roll your tongue with this crazy tongue twister ‘A cheeky chimp chucked cheap chocolate chips in the cheap chocolate chip shop’ and your guests will roll their eyes at this tantalizing treat. A true luscious chocolate sandwich to pep up anyone’s mood!

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 thick white bread
2 tablespoon Nutella (Hazel nut spread)
1 banana – ripen
2 strawberries – ripen
2 tsp butter
Whipped cream (optional)

Method

Chop the banana and strawberries into two halves. Grill the fruits in a skillet for 3-5 minutes on medium high. Remove and set aside.

Place the fresh white bread on a chopping board. Spread the nutella on one side of the bread. Place the one half of the banana and two halves of strawberry on chocolaty side and cover them with the other slice. Smear little butter on the sides. Grill them for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Cut them into two triangles and serve hot with a dollop of cream on top. It can also be served with scoops of vanilla or chocolate or strawberry ice cream.

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Banana, Bread, Chocolate, Desserts, Strawberry | |

CUCUMBER SALAD

Posted by VS November 19, 2009 21 comments

Lick. Bite. Suck. Chew. Keep going!
Lick. Bite. Suck. Chew. Keep going!
Lick. Bite. Suck. Chew. Keep going!

Take a slice; lick it - enjoy the lovely taste; bite a small chunk - suck the juice and finally chew it. Keep going for the next slice. No one can stop with one!

That’s how one will feel after munching these spicy salty crunchy cucumbers served with an Indian twist. The fleshy cucumbers have a succulent texture and they are the cheapest food to cool the body temperature in tropical countries, hence referred to as Poor Man’s Delight. A packet of five slices costs less than a dime. They are one of the famous Indian street food sold in the shopping malls, beaches, museums and theaters across the country.

Fresh cucumbers are peeled, sliced, sprinkled with salt and spice powder and served ice cold. Wrapped in a newspaper, they are good to go. The salt moistens the cucumber further and makes them juicier. The spicy mixture of turmeric, chili and coriander powder adds an extra kick in every bite. Simple yet heavenly in taste!

Makes 16 slices

Ingredients
2 large cucumbers – long slices
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon coriander powder
½ teaspoon salt

Method
Peel and wash the cucumbers thoroughly. Pat dry them with kitchen towels and cut them into long slices. Arrange them neatly on a baking tray.

Mix the turmeric powder, chili powder, coriander powder and salt in a small bowl. Sprinkle them on top and refrigerate them for 10minutes. Serve the spicy cucumber on a platter. Enjoy!

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Cucumber, Easy Indian Cooking Series, Snacks | |

PINEAPPLE JALAPENO DELIGHT

Posted by VS November 11, 2009 27 comments

During my school days, I was greatly influenced by the Monaco biscuit advertisement where the circular salty biscuits will be served with strawberry-whipped cream or jam or cheese or apple/pear on top. Even the biscuit wrapper will carry inspiring pictures of its wonderful plating. During weekends, I will try to recreate it for my dad who is a big junk food addict. One best thing about him is that he will finish the plate even if the dish was a disaster and will proudly appreciate me for making it for him. My mom is bit naggy who will criticize it as per the taste. These two wonderfully contradicting souls moulded me not only to cook better but also to live better!

Myself and S love pizza and we all the more love the pineapple and jalapenos topping on them. As I glanced through my snack box, I figured that wheat wafers bought from Costco remained untouched for weeks together. So I decided to pair our most favorite fruit and spicy veggie together with a hint of oregano and cheese. After being baked for fifteen minutes, the hardly sold wafers in my kitchen became so irresistible and it disappeared in no time. We liked it so much that I repeated it so many times in the past few weeks.This is one of the easiest snack that can be fixed in less than twenty minutes. I think my idea to fix this dish must have come from the famous Indian Monaco Ad.

The baked wafers were extra crispy and they resembled the pizza base in taste.The crunchy wafers jelled beautifully with the sweet yet tangy pineapple and the mildly spiced jalapenos. The lovely flavor of the oregano and salty cheese added a perfect Italian touch to these bite sized delight. A true heaven in every way!

Ingredients
30 Wheat wafers
30 Pineapple chunks
30 Jalapenos (pickled)
1cup Parmejano Rijano - grated
2 tbs oregano

Method
Preheat the oven to 350'F.

Place a parchment paper / aluminum foil on the baking tray.Line the wafers side by side, with a centimeter gap. Then place cheese, pineapple, jalapenos and finally sprinkle the oregano. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

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Baking, Cheese, Jalepeno, Pineapple, Snacks | |

GREEN GRAM MAKHANI

Posted by VS November 9, 2009 26 comments

Legumes are the base for most of the Indian dishes and they are a complete source of proteins for the body. Lentils like green grams, rajma, chickpeas are cooked into creamy puree and served with a "tadka" of spiced oil. Most of the Indian household will serve this dish almost every other day. North Indians eat the flavorful dhal cooked with cardamons, cinnamons and cloves with rotis/rice while the South Indians prepare a less spicier version called "Pappu" or "Thallicha paruppa" . It is a simple mixture of cooked dal with tempered mustard, asafoetida, curry leaves and dry red chilly.

I once ate dal makhani and roti at a local Indian restaurant in California, they were too clumpy in appearance and bland in taste. I couldn't enjoy the dish more than a spoonful serving. My home made version of the same dish was way better and tasted fresh with the lovely spices. Traditionally, Dal Makhani is made from rajma and black gram. But I tried the same recipe with Green gram and we ate it as a soup. The seductive kasuri meethi and the warm whole spices blended beautifully with the velvety green gram while the fairly browned onions and reduced tomatoes infused a lovely aroma and there was an explosion of flavors in every spoon. The green chillies added a extra heat to the entire dish perfectly. Do give it a try, it is super simple to cook and doubly tasteful to dig in. The recipe is easy to follow and all the ingredients are available at Indian grocery store around the corner.

As I stand next to my window gazing at the leaves of lovely tall trees that sway in the gentle autumn breeze, I lick through every spoon of this delicate soup with so much satisfaction; hardly realizing that my bowl went empty too quick - Was it the taste of my soup or the timeless beauty of the Mother Nature, the reason behind it? With those doubts in mind, I headed to refill my bowl. A complete warm meal for cold nights!

Ingredients
1/2 cup green gram - soaked overnight
1 cup onions - finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato - finely chopped
3 green chillies
1/4 tbs ginger-garlic paste
1/4 tbs red chilly powder
2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tbs coriander powder
1/2 tbs oil
1/2 tbs kasoori meethi
2 tsp amchur powder
1 cup semi-skimmed milk
1/2 cup water (optional)
Salt to taste
1/4 tbs whipped cream (optional)

Whole masalas
1tsp fennel seeds
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
4 cardamons
1/2'' cinnamon stick

Method
Soak the green gram in 2 cups of water overnight.

Heat the oil in a cooking pan. Once they get heated up, throw in the 'whole masalas' and let it crackle for couple of minutes.

Add the green chillies, onions and salt and cook until the onions brown, 5-8 minutes. Add the ginger-garlic paste and cook till the raw smell disappears. Add the tomato and cook, stirring, 5 minutes.

Drain the water and add the green gram, turmeric powder, chilly powder, coriander powder and amchur powder. Give it a complete mix and cook till the raw smell disappears. Pour in the milk , little water and salt. Cover the pan and cook for 5-6 whistles.

Once the pressure had dropped, open the pan and cook again at medium flame. Now add kasoori meethi (crushed between the palms) to the hot gravy. Taste for salt and add water, if the gravy is too thick for your requirement.

Since I served it as a soup, I added 100 ml water and let it cook for further 10 minutes. Garnish with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

Green gram makhani can be served with roti/ rice/

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Easy Indian Cooking Series, Legumes | |

ASAFOETIDA

Posted by VS November 6, 2009 9 comments

I hope that my previous post on Dry red chilly under "Indian Spices" was informative and thank you all for the lovely comments and emails.

One of the significantly used ingredient in a Indian kitchen is Asafoetida. "Asafoetida" is called as "Hing" in Hindi and "Perungayam" in Tamil. It is available in all the Indian Grocery shop sand the picture below displays a store-bought bottle.

History of its usage dates back to reign of Alexander, the famous Roman Emperor who had brought this exotic spice from Persia and introduced it into the Mediterranean cooking and this spice was primarily been used in European cuisine. Eventually in 16th century when the Roman Empire fell, it became rare in Europe but by then Indian Hindu's started to use them in every meal.

Most of the authentic vegetarian dishes in India will be flavored with this condiment. When smelt before adding to the hot oil, it gives out a pungent, unpleasant smell but when cooked, it transforms into a smoothing aromatic substance and beautifully enhances the taste of the dish. It has zero hotness and is used in minute quantity. Just like dry red chillies, a couple of teaspoon of asafoetida is added to sizzling hot oil and left to cook for a minute. It has to be carefully used in the dishes as any excess addition may turn the meal into a disaster. Indians generally use the rich and distinctively smelling asafoetida to temper the oil used for the preparation of raita, butter milk, rasam, sambhar, subjis, lentil dishes, pickles and soups.

Ferula Asafoetida is a perennial plant which belongs to the family Umbelliferae. It bears fine leaves and yellow flowers. Initially when the stalks are cut , they release milky liquid out of it which then dries in 2-3 months to sticky resins. My mother uses the sticky version while I use the powdered form for cooking. Both serves the same purpose. They are chiefly grown in Iran and Afghanistan and exported worldwide. In India, they are grown only in Kashmir, Northern India.

Apart from its use in cooking, asafoetida has great medicinal values too. When consumed with hot water it treats flatulence and also favors proper digestion, treats asthma, flu, yeast infections and has anti-microbial properties. It is believed that its foetid odor kills the germs.

PS: I read this article in NDTV news about how spicy Indian curry could prevent Swine flu. Interesting right?

I have noticed a steady increase in hype about Indian food and cooking among my friends, colleagues and also media for past couple of years. Infact, the previous episode of Next Iron Chef America (Cooking Competition in Food Network Channel), was on cooking a five-course Indian meal by multinational talented chefs. I have personally seen many non-Indian foodies talking about Naan and Chicken Tikka Masala but when Ms.Freitag, Executive Chef of The Harrison cooked "Thoran" ,a Kerala dish (also referred as "Poriyal" in Tamil), my eyes popped out and I was also happy to see that even a typical household dish is getting popular among International chefs and getting noticed worldwide. Kudos to the delicious Indian food and cooking!!!

Read the NDTV article here
http://www.ndtv.com/news/sci-tech/spicy_indian_curry_could_prevent_swine_flu.php

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Indian Spices | |

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