Catching Up

As you might have noticed, we updated our blog for the first time yesterday in more than 4 months. So we had a lot of catching up to do. When we cook, we usually make sure that we take enough pictures so that we can post them here. But posting the blog entries itself is something we are unable to do as frequently as we would like.

We had a bunch of recipes ready. Some with pictures, some without. We just posted all of them. The pictures will be up soon for most of them.

Enjoy the food.

Tomato Rasam

Ingredients:

For Rasam:

1. Tomatoes - 5 medium
2. Tamarind Paste - 1 tbsp
3. Rasam Powder - 2 tsp
4. Turmeric Powder - 1 pinch
5. Jaggery - a small piece (say a size of a grape)
6. Salt
7. Curry Leaves - 1 stalk

For Rasam Powder:

1. Dhania (Coriander Seeds) - 4 cup
2. Dry Red Chillies - 1/2 cup
3. Jeera (Cumin Seeds) - 1 cup
4. Methi (Fenugreek Seeds) - 1/4 cup
5. Black Pepper - 1/2 cup

For Seasoning:

1. Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
2. Ghee - 1 tbsp - You could use cooking oil, but ghee gives an amazing flavor and aroma to the Rasam. And, 1 tbsp won't do you any harm.
3. Hing - a pinch

Preparation:

For Rasam Powder:

Roast all the ingredients with 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil. Cool the mixture and finely powder it.

For Tomato Rasam:

1. Cut tomatoes into small pieces and use a blender to make a thin puree.
2. In a sauce pan, add the puree, some water and bring the mixture to boil. The puree-water mixture quantity should be about 6-7 cups.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low, and add Rasam Powder, turmeric, salt and jaggery.
4. Add curry leaves and let the rasam slow boil for 10 mins.
5. Now add the tamarind paste and continue to slow boil the rasam for another 5-10 mins, and switch off the stove.

Seasoning:

1. Heat ghee. Add mustard seeds and hing to make the tadka.
2. Add the tadka to the Rasam.
3. Cover it.

Enjoy it with rice, or idlis.

Capsicum Potato Curry (with panchpuran)

Ingredients:

Potatoes - 4
Capsicums - 2
Onion - 1

For seasoning

Oil - 3 tsps
Cumin seeds (Jeera) - 1/2 tsp
Panchpuran - 2 tsps (You will find this in Indian grocery stores. You can get it in powdered form or as roasted whole ingredients that you can powder yourself.)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tsp or depending on spice
Aamchur Powder (dried mango powder) - 1 tsp

Preparation:

1. Chop onions. Cut Potatoes and capscums to bite sized pieces.
2. Heat oil in a wok. Add cumin. Saute for a few seconds (not long. cumin chars very quickly).
3. Add Onions. Saute till they are transparent.


4. Add capscicums and saute for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add potatoes, saute for a minute.

6. Add salt to taste. Turn the heat to medium-low and close the lid to cook the vegetables. Stir occasionally to prevent charring. If needed sprinkle some water too.
7. Add the chilli powder, aamchur powder and panchpuran powder. Mix well.

8. Close the lid for 5 minutes till the raw smell of chilli powder is gone.
9. You may garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

Serve with rotis, parathas or naan.

Carribean Vegetable Soup

This is a mixed vegetable soup made with lot of starchy vegetables, lentils and pasta/noodles/rice. You can use all of the vegetables below or any combination of those.

Ingredients:

Onion - 1
Garlic - 1 clove or 1/2 tsp paste
Carrots - 3
Potatoes - 2
Yam(yucca) or Sweet potato

Rajma (Red kidney beans) - 1 can or 1 cup raw beans soaked overnight and pressure cooked

Black eyed peas - 1 cup ( I use frozen)
Celery - 2 sticks

Green Bananas - 1
Squash - Chayote or Acorn
Zucchini - 1

Vegetable stock - 2-3 cups (optional)
Pasta - 1/2 cup (optional)
Noodles - 1 cup (optional)
Rice - 1/2 cup (optional)

For Seasoning:

Butter - 1/2 stick
Bay leaves - 2 -3
Thyme - 2 sprigs
Rosemary - 1/2 spoon dried
Oregano - 1/2 tsp dried powder
Black Pepper - crushed /whole. About 1/2 tsp or depending on spice level
Chipotle adobo or adobados sauce - 1 tsp

Preparation

1. Cut all vegetables to bite sized pieces. When cutting green bananas, peel the skin and as you are cutting, put the pieces into a bowl of water to prevent them from turning black. For acorn squash, you can keep the skin. But remove the seeds inside. For other vegetables, it is up to you to peel the skin or keep it.

2. Melt butter in a pot. Add pepper. Saute for a minute.

3. Add the other spices under seasoning above and saute for a minute.
4. Add onions and saute till onions are transparent. Add all the vegetables. Saute for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add the vegetable stock and/or 2-3 cups of water. You can add more later if the soup is too thick.
6. Add bay leaves and salt to taste.
7. Close the lid and cook the vegetables under medium heat. Keep stirring occasionally.
8. When the vegetables are almost cooked, add the cooked rajma and either pasta or noodles or rice and let it cook.

9. Add the adobo sauce. You can find the can of chipotle style adobo sauce in the mexican isle in almost all grocery stores. This sauce has roasted red peppers. So it is on the spicier side. Add depending on spice level desired.
10. Mix well and boil for a while. The starchy vegetables and pasta give the soup a thick consistency. Add more water if desired and bring it to boil.

The soup in itself is very filling. It can also be served with bread.

Poha (Atukulu) Upma

Ingredients:

Poha (Thick) - 3 cups
Onions - 1 medium sized chopped
Potato - 1 medium sized cut into pieces (optional)
Tomato - 1 medium sized chopped (optional)

For tadka:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Hing - a pinch
Turmeric - a pinch
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies: 1-2 (depending on spice level)
Curry leaves - 4-5

Preparation:

Remember to use ONLY thick poha for this upma. Do NOT use thin poha, as it will become a paste, and you will not like the consistency of the upma at all.

1. Soak poha in water for 1 minute. Drain all the water and keep it aside.
2. Heat 2-3 tsps of oil in a wok.
3. Add mustard seeds. Let them splutter. Add hing, turmeric, urad dal, channa dal, green chillies, curry leaves and fry till the dal starts to turn brown.
4. Add onions and saute till it turns almost transparent.
5. Add potatoes. Saute for 2 mts.
6. Add tomatoes. Saute for a min.
7 Add salt to taste and close the lid, and turn the heat to medium. Keep stirring in between to prevent charring.
8. Once the potatoes are cooked, add the soaked poha and mix well.
9. Garnish with finely chopped coriander.

Serve it alone or with Yogurt. You may add the juice of half a lime at the very end.

PS: Photos to follow.

Semia Upma

Ingredients:

Semia - 2 cups (pre-fried or not)
Onion - 1 chopped
Potatoes - 1 cut into small pieces
Ghee - 1 tsp
Oil - 2-3 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5

For tadka:

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
Urad dal - 1/2 tsp
Channa dal - 1/2 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Hing - a pinch
Green chillies - 2-3 (depending on spice level)

Prepapration

1. Shallow fry semia (if it is not pre-fried) in a tsp of ghee till the semia starts to turn brown and you smell the aroma. You can fry it in oil too. Ghee gives a better aroma and taste.
2. Spread it on to a plate to cool.
3. In the meantime, heat oil in a wok. Add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add hing, green chillies, channa dal, urad dal, curry leaves and turmeric. Saute for a minute till the dal starts to turn brown.
4. Add chopped onions and saute till onions turn almost transparent.
5. Add potatoes. saute for a few minutes.
6. Add 4 cups of water (proportion: 1 cup semia = 2 cups water) and salt to taste.
7. When water starts boiling (and potatoes are pretty much cooked), turn the heat to medium and add the fried semia stirring constantly to prevent lumps. If the semia is fried well, it won't usually form lumps.
8. Mix it well and close the lid (keep the heat at medium low) till all the water is absorbed and you get a solid consistency.
9. You may garnish with fresh grated coconut and/or chopped coriander if you like.

Serve with coconut chutney and/or mango pickle and/or sour yogurt.

PS: Photos to follow.