Tag: Veggie

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Palak Pakoras: The Snack That's Good For You!

Of course, they’re great when made from scratch, but what if you don’t have the time but are still craving some super-crispy Palak Pakoras?  Well, then what you’d want to do, is what I do:  pull out my a bag of the frozen stuff, lay them out onto a baking sheet, and pop them into the oven for 15 minutes.  Then, you turn off the oven from the bake-mode to the broil-mode so that the heat is only from the top in order to crisp them even more.  Watch them for about four minutes, then pull out and serve with chutneys and ketchup.  They’ll be as good as if you bought them at that dhaba down the road. 

Palak Pakoras, for the uninitiated, are deep-fried fritters made with spinach and gramflour. Spinach-anything is good for you, you know that!  The frozen kind are already fried, which is why baking/broiling works just fine.

Here’s what mine looked like yesterday!  Oh, and the perfect beverage for the perfect snack?  Why, chai, of course!

Pp
Pp1
Pp2
Pp3

See the full gallery on Posterous

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Indian-Style Skillet-Fried Potatoes: Kicking it up a Notch!

Well, okay, may be two notches, but that’s only because I use the reddest and hottest chili powder.  And the other two ingredients are turmeric and salt.  That’s it. Fry away until golden crispy.  Serve as a side dish or the star dish. 

Friedpotatoes1
Friedpotatoes2

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Big Peas, Mini Peas: They're All Good For You!

Well, if you don’t eat your peas, you can’t have any pudding!  All PF fans will know that I’m taking some liberties with those famous lyrics, of course, but then again, why ever not?  It makes good sense, doesn’t it?  You MUST eat your peas– they’re so good, and you already know that they’re so good for you!

And so, here I am today to encourage you to eat those peas any which way you wish.  And you can certainly cook them any which way you wish.  Here’s how I made some the other day: I braised these in a hot skillet with a seasoning of fresh cumin and onion powder in salted butter.  And the huge peas that are scattered around, they’re brussel sprouts, of course!  Big peas, mini peas, all the same! 

Serve as a side dish, or the star dish!

Peasandbs

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To Pressure-Cook or NOT to Pressure-Cook: That Is the Question!

Well, if you know what a pressure-cooker is, you most likely are from the Indian subcontinent.  Simple as dal!  No Indian kitchen worth its salt would be without one– seriously!  And if it doesn’t have one, then I am here to tell you right here and right now, that such an Indian kitchen is an ill-equipped one, nay, it couldn’t be Indian at all!

A pressure-cooker in an Indian kitchen is just one of those utensils that is used for everything from cooking lentils to meats, and sometimes even veggies.  So, yes, of course, I have a pressure-cooker, and of course, I use it most flamboyantly, but the fact is that I don’t use it so much for cooking my vegetable dishes, or subzis, as they are called.  The reason for this is because there’s a fine line between cooking your veggies to be fork-tender, to rendering them into a mush– the latter being altogether undesirable! 

And so, a much experienced user of the pressure-cooker would know just how to cook those veggies to the right texture– soft and tender, and flavorful with all the seasonings without  so much as letting a single piece fall apart.

Which is what I did yesterday.  This delectable subzi of baby eggplant, baby carrots and yukon gold potatoes went into a seasoning of onions, garlic, aamchur, and some garam masala to be stir-fried for a bit, before a cup of hot water was added to it, and the lid of the pressure-cooker firmly put into place for exactly seven minutes.  Turn off the fire, let it sit for another ten minutes before you open the lid, and when you do, prepare to be assaulted by an aroma so fragrant and delicious that you will want to get started with dinner rightaway, whether or not its time!   

Bainganalugazar

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Twice Baked Potatoes with Poached Eggs and Other Goodies

I happen to share a roof with three very creative individuals, two of whom are exceptionally bold and creative in the kitchen.  (Hmmm, I wonder where they get that from?!)  So, this is a post that is late by a couple of weeks, but is one that is no less a jewel of a post for two reasons:  first, it happens to be made by two of the most adorable creatures I know (aforementioned super-creative beings), and second, because these two creatures practically created this out of their imagination– inspired by a chance viewing of a somewhat similar dish on a TV-show. 

So, what these are, are Twice Baked Potatoes with Poached Eggs and Other Goodies.  Take a look at the slideshow below for how these were put together:

Tbp

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Coconut Milk Matar Pulao (Fried Rice): A Recipe, For a Change!

So, I visited with an old friend over the weekend, and brought her some Coconut Milk Matar Pulao (Fried Rice) that I’d made the night before.  Leftovers, really, that I took her, but she’s been raving about it and has asked for a recipe, so I thought I’d put down some approximations that will, I hope, translate to a half-decent recipe. 

3 cups Basmati
1 can of Coconut Milk
1 frozen bag of Peas & Carrots
Cooking Oil – Canola is good

For the tempered seasoning:  Cumin (teaspoonful), Cardomom (4-5 small green ones), Cinnamon Sticks (a couple will do); two Bay Leaves; Salt to taste

Get a nice broad flat-bottomed pot.  Place on stove, get it somewhat hot, then pour about 3 tablespoons of oil.  In moments the oil will be hot enough (but not smoking-hot!).  Add the ingredients in the order listed to create your tempered seasoning.  Everything should be done real fast and the cumin must instantly start to sputter, and the fragrance of the other spices should fill the air around you instantly.  Next, add your three cups of dry rice to this seasoning and stir away; within moments they’ll look toasted.  Next, open your bag of frozen veggies and add it to the rice.  Stir some more; reduce your heat a bit, if necessary, because you do not want to let the rice stick to the bottom.

Now:  put your coconut milk into a measuring cup (I use a large 4-cup measure), and to this add boiling-hot water to make a full-six cups.  Add this coconut-milk liquid to the pot, and it will come to a rolling-boil almost instantly.  Stir for a few minutes until the rice begins to cook and the liquid begins to disappear.  In a few minutes, cover the pot (lid should be secure), reduce heat to a complete simmer, and forget about it for fifteen minutes.  Do not open the lid for any reason whatsover until the fifteen minutes are up! 

When you do open the lid, you ought to be able to see each individual grain of the Basmati rice separate.  Needless to say, it mustn’t be sticky in the least.  You’ve got your Coconut Milk Matar Pulao ready to serve with anything you wish, or just as is!  Yeh Hui Na Baat!

Cocopeaspulao

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Parippu Vada: Goes With Both Chai and Chianti

Well, if you are of South-Indian origin, you’ll recognize the name of this dish:  Parripu Vada.  If you’re not, but still simply of Indian origin (of any region), you’ll at least recognize the vada part of that.  So, what these are, are fried lentil fritters.  But these aren’t you’re ordinary vadas:  they’re crunchy and chewy and crispy and spicy.  Because they’re packed with all kinds of goodness:  the dal (chana or even arhar) is soaked overnight and processed with ginger, onion, kari patta, and green chillies.  Then, they’re fried until they pop up golden crisp like this. 

And then here’s the thing: you thought you needed to serve them only with tea or coffee?  Of course, you could do that, but then, if you’re in my house, you might very well find them paired with a glass of the finest Chianti. Like last evening.   I suppose the Italians might say Buon Appetito, but around these parts, we say Yeh Hui Na Baat!

Parripu_vada

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UppuMau, aka, Upma: The Food of the Gods

So, you take the humble cream-of-wheat or the farina flour, or sooji as it is called in several regional languages in India, and make what with it?  Well, you could do anything you want, of course, but if you wish to make something truly delectable and leave an indelible impression on the minds, hearts, and tongues of your loved ones, well then, you would make only one thing:  Upma.

Over the years, I have made this dish called upma many a time, and over the years, I do believe I have perfected it to the point that I have bestowed upon myself the title Queen of Upma.  Well, I made it for breakfast this morning, but this time, I did what I have never done before:  taken pictures of the making of it–step by step–in order to document visually the ingredients and methods that go into making this impossibly satisfying dish for any time of day, but most especially in the mornings. 

The word Upma, I was told a very long time ago, by my husband, is a derivative of two words:  Uppu (salt) and Mau (Flour/Batter).  Being married to a Tamilian has its benefits for sure:  you learn of the etymology of one of the most common and popular dishes that you always thought was a random word!  In fact, the correct pronunciation, I am told is not ‘upma‘ but ‘upmau’ where the ‘uppu’ is abbreviated to ‘up’ (as in ‘look’) and the ‘ma’ is elongated to ‘mau’.  I found a wiki entry on this, btw:  Upma (Tamil: உப்புமா), is a south Indian dish made of rava. The name is an amalgam of two words : “salt” and “flour. E.g., In Tamil, “uppu” (உப்பு) + “maa(vu)” (மா(வு)).

At any rate, see for yourself the slideshow below on my style of making upma.  Take one bite, and you too will say that it is indeed a food fit for the gods!  For your viewing, and hopefully, experimenting pleasure.

Upma