PAGADA KURMA




PAGADA KURMA
This is a standard dish that my MIL makes during Krishna Jayanthi. She has been doing so for years now. She will be fasting throughout the day and will eat only after the pooja is over in the evening. Throughout the day, she will be making sweets and other savory items for the pooja. This was the first time I tried pagda kurma and it came out very well. This goes well with rice but the ideal combination for this kurma are idlis and dosas.

INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE PAGADAS:
Channa dhal, 1 cup, soaked for 2-3 hours.
Fennel seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Rice powder, 1 tablespoon.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Ginger small pieces.
Green chilies, 3.
Salt, as per taste.
Red onion, medium-sized, 1.
Curry leaves, a handful.
Cilantro, a handful.

FOR THE KURMA:
Onion, medium-sized, 1.
Tomato, 1.
Ginger-garlic paste, 1 teaspoon.
Cinnamon, 1 small stick.
Fennel seeds, ½ teaspoon.
Bay leaf, 1.
Coconut milk, 1 cup (or) fresh coconut ground with khus-khus into a smooth paste, 1 cup.
Chili powder, 2 teaspoons.
Coriander powder, 1 teaspoon.
Turmeric powder, 1 teaspoon.
Salt, as per taste.
Curry leaves and cilantro for seasoning.

PREPARATION:
FOR THE PAGADAS:
Wash the soaked channel dhal and set aside. Grind the channa dhal along with the fennel seeds, chilies, garlic, and ginger without water. Chop the onion, curry leaves, and cilantro into small pieces. Add the onion, curry leaves, cilantro, rice powder, and salt to the ground channa dhal and mix everything well. Heat a kadai with 1 cup of oil. When the oil is hot, take a small amount of the ground mixture and flatten it with the palm of the hand and drop into the hot oil. When the pagadas rise up and turns golden-brown, remove them from the oil and drain the excess oil with a paper towel. Keep them aside.


FOR THE KURMA:
Chop the onion and tomato into small pieces. Heat a pan with some oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the fennel seeds, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf and fry them for 1 minute. Add the chopped onion and tomato and sauté for few minutes. Then add ginger-garlic paste and sauté for a minute until everything is well blended. Add the chili powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and fry for a minute until the raw smell of the spices goes. Add 1 cup of coconut milk with ½ cup of water with salt and cook over a medium flame for 10 minutes.

When the kurma starts to thicken add the fried pagadas into the kurma one by one. Let them soak in the kurma for half-an-hour and garnish with curry leaves and cilantro on top. Serve hot with idlis, dosas, or rice.

Krishna Jayanthi Celebrations


This is my first Krishna Jayanthi celebration in the US. I did not have Lord Krishna idol with me, so I had do without it. These were the dishes I made during the day. I’ll post the recipes one by one soon.

DISHES FROM RIGHT: Pagada kurma, kesari, kaara seedai, muruku, idlis, baked vella seedai.

WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLA PIZZA WITH CILANTRO PESTO


WHOLE WHEAT TORTILLA PIZZA WITH CILANTRO PESTO
This is my entry for the "Weekend Herb Blogging Event" started by Kalyn from http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/, hosted this week by Srivalli from "Cooking 4 all seasons". I have chosen cilantro as the herb in the dish. Though a common herb used everyday in most kitchen, I was amazed by the benefits of cilantro when I searched the web. Here are a few benefits of cilantro:
· A great source of iron and magnesium, which women should get a good supply daily
· Rich in phytonutrients and flavonoids, which helps protect against disease
· Lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and raises good cholesterol (HDL)
· Is an anti-inflammatory that may alleviate symptoms of arthritis

Who knew that the humble cilantro had so many good characteristics? This is a healthy recipe too since I have used whole wheat tortilla as the pizza base and low-fat cheeses. A healthy and tasty way to enjoy pizza with less fat than the regular pizza.

FOR THE CILANTRO PESTO:
INGREDIENTS:
Cilantro, 1 big bunch.
Cashews, ¼ cup.
Grated parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons.
Garlic, 1 clove.
Salt as per taste.
Pepper, ¼ teaspoon.
Extra-virgin olive oil, ¼ cup.

PREPARATION:
This is a raw sauce, so extra-virgin olive oil is the best choice. The only difference of this sauce from a regular pesto sauce is that I have used cashews instead of pine nuts. The silkiness of the cashews goes very well with the cilantro in this case. It adds a good flavor to the sauce. Remove the leaves of the cilantro from the stems, wash them, and drain them. Take a blender and put the cilantro leaves along with ¼ cup cashews, 1 clove of garlic and give a few pulses until everything is ground coarsely. Add salt, pepper, grated parmesan cheese to the mixture. Then add the olive oil slowly and start blending everything together until a smooth paste is obtained. This pesto sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week. It can also be used for pastas.

FOR THE PIZZA:
INGREDIENTS:
Whole wheat tortilla wrap, 1.
Vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots, red onions, everything coming to about 2 cups.
Baby spinach leaves, ½ cup.
Combination of grated cheeses like fontina and mozzarella coming to about 1 cup together.
Red chili flakes, 1 teaspoon, (optional).
Parmesan cheese, 1 tablespoon.

PREPARATION:
Take a tortilla wrap and rub a little oil on both sides. Place the wrap on a baking plate and bake it at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Meanwhile cut the vegetables into long thin slices and keep them aside. After 10 minutes, take the plate from the oven. Apply the cilantro pesto on one side of the wrap. Then arrange the vegetable slices and baby spinach leaves all over the wrap. Cover it with grated fontina and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese and chili flakes if needed all over the top. Bake it for another 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees until the cheeses turn bubbly. Remove the pizza from the oven and cut it big slices and serve.

QUICK AND EASY MOONG DHAL WITH RED AMARANTH LEAVES


QUICK AND EASY MOONG DHAL WITH RED AMARANTH LEAVES

This recipe is from my MIL. She prepares kootu with moong dhal with vegetables like eggplant or sometimes with greens like amaranth for breakfast to go as a side dish for idlis and dosas. That was a new concept for me but I liked this combination. Her method is fast and easy with the total preparation time for the dhal taking only 10-15 minutes. The only variation that I have used here is to reduce the dhal a little bit and increased the greens since I like the red color of this green. The taste was also excellent this way. If needed the dhal content can also be increased to ½ cup. Here goes the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
Moong dhal, ½ to 1 cup. (I have used only ½ cup here).
Red amaranth leaves, 1 bunch.
Small onions, 1 cup.
Tomatoes, small, 2.
Green chilies, 3.
Garlic, 3 cloves.
Mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon.
Asafetida, 1 pinch.
Salt as per taste.
Vadakam ½ teaspoon, (optional).
Turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon.

PREPARATION:
Wash the moong dhal. Remove the amaranth leaves from the thick stems and rinse them to take out the dirt. Chop the greens into small pieces and keep aside. Peel the onions and keep aside. Chop the tomatoes and slit the green chilies into 2. Crush the garlic coarsely. Take a pressure cooker or a pressure pan and put the washed moong dhal, chopped greens, peeled onions, chopped tomatoes, slit green chilies, crushed garlic, turmeric powder, salt as per taste along with 1-1/2 cups of water. Pressure cook for about 10-15 minutes up to 3 whistles. Transfer the cooked dhal to a vessel when the pressure is released. Meanwhile heat a small pan with 1 teaspoon of oil. When the oil is hot enough, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the cumin seeds, vadakam, asafedtida let them fry for 30 seconds and switch off the stove. Add the seasonings to the dhal and mix everything well and serve hot with idlis, dosas, rotis, or rice.

WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY GLAZE


WHOLE WHEAT PANCAKES WITH STRAWBERRY GLAZE
I had this recipe from a cooking website (I don’t remember which one) for quite sometime now though I was a bit skeptical to try pancakes at home. Today I gave it a try and the result was excellent. I tweaked the recipe a little bit by adding cardamom powder to the strawberry glaze and adding jaggery instead of brown sugar (since I did not have brown sugar) to the pancake batter. These pancakes remind of grandma’s ragi adais with jaggery. This is a healthy recipe and a diabetic-friendly recipe since whole wheat is only used here. The only sugar used here is the jaggery. If needed, the jaggery can be omitted and 2 small packets of Splenda can be added here. I have also cut down the sugar in the glaze by adding Splenda instead of sugar for health reasons. Sugar can also be added here. Here goes the recipe:

FOR THE STRAWBERRY GLAZE:
Strawberry (fresh or frozen) 1 cup
1 tablespoon of sugar or 3 small packets of Splenda
1 teaspoon cardamom powder.

Preparation: If fresh strawberries are used, remove the thin stems from the berries. Take a small pan and put the strawberries along with the cardamom powder and sugar or Splenda. Keep the flame low and keep stirring until the strawberries breaks down and becomes into a pulpy consistency. Switch off the stove and keep aside.

FOR THE PANCAKES:
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 Tablespoon jaggery or 2 small packets of Splenda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons low-fat butter

Preparation: Mix the ingredients well. Heat a flat pan and pour onto griddle in pancake sized puddles. Flip the pancake after 20-30 seconds when bubbles start coming along the edges which indicates that one side is cooked. Let the other side cook for another 30 seconds and remove them from the pan. Serve the hot pancakes with butter and strawberry glaze.

KALE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP




KALE AND WHITE BEAN SOUP

I have never used kale before but after hearing a lot about these vibrant greens, I decided to try these. I had no idea how will they taste, so instead of using them with dhals, I decided to make a soup with them. I love the flavor and butteriness of the white beans in this soup and I topped it with alfalfa sprouts. They add a great taste to the soup. Any other beans or vegetables can also be added here. If needed chicken broth or vegetable broth can also be added instead of water for good flavor. This hearty soup makes a complete meal just by itself.

INGREDIENTS:
Kale, 1 big bunch.
White beans, 1 cup, soaked overnight.
Red onion, medium-sized, 1.
Tomato, 1.
Garlic, 2 cloves.
Chili powder, 1 teaspoon.
Cumin powder, ½ teaspoon (optional).
Salt, as per taste.
Alfalfa sprouts, handful.

PREPARATION:
Drain the white beans, wash them, and cook them on stove top until tender. Retain the beans with the cooking liquid. Take half of the cooked beans and purée it to a fine paste with the use of a blender. Wash the kale and chop it into small pieces and keep aside. Chop the onion and tomato into small pieces. Crush the garlic coarsely. Heat a pan and add 2 teaspoons of oil to the pan. Add the chopped onions, tomato and crushed garlic and sauté everything together for a few minutes until everything is well blended. Add a teaspoon of chili powder, ½ teaspoon of cumin powder, salt as per taste and fry everything together until the raw smell of the spices go. Then add the cooked beans along with its cooking liquid and the puréed white bean mixture with 3 cups of water. If chicken broth or vegetable broth is used, add 2 cups of broth along with 1 cup of water. Then add the chopped kale and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Then add the alfalfa sprouts and let it cook for another minute and serve the soup hot along with any toasts or crackers.