Palak Raita / Spinach and Yogurt Dip

Palak Raita is one of my favourites. It's also very easy to make. Most of the times I manage to keep a handful of spinach leaves aside from the whole bag before making it for dinner and then a couple of days later I make this Palak Raita.

Ingredients
Handful of Spinach leaves
1 Small Onion
1" piece Ginger chopped fine
1  clove Garlic minced fine
2-3 Green Chillies chopped fine
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tsp Roasted Cumin and Pepper powder
Salt
1&1/2 Cup Dahi /Plain Yogurt

Method
1. Blanch spinach by putting it in a pan of boiling water and letting it cook for 3-4 minutes. Strain the spinach and immerse in cold water so that it retains its green colour.
2. Chop onion into fine cubes, chop spinach roughly.

3. In a pan, heat a teaspoon of oil, add cumin seeds for tempering. Once cumin sizzles add onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies and cook till onion is translucent.
4. To this add spinach, salt, jeera-miri powder and saute for a couple of minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside to cool. If you add the hot mixture to the curd, your curd will become very sour.

Warning: If you are a spinach lover like me, at this point you will be tempted to eat this just like that ;)

5. In the meantime, beat the curd, add salt. Now add the cooled down spinach masala, garnish as desired and put your raita in the refrigerator to chill. .

Serve Chilled

Rajma

This post has been sitting in my drafts since June. I had not taken the pictures of Rajma then and did not want to post this recipe without the pics. So without much ado I will head straight to the recipe this time.

Ingredients
1 Cup Rajma /Kidney Beans rinsed and soaked overnight
1&1/2 Large Red Onion * These are easily equivalent to 3-4 Med. Indian Onions
3-4 Tomatoes Pureed
2" piece Ginger
5-6 Garlic Cloves
4-5 Green Chillies
2-3Tej Patta / Bay Leaves
1    Elaichi / Green Cardamom
1    Black Cardamom
1" piece Cinnamon
3-4 Black Peppercorns
1 tsp Corriander Powder
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder * Optional
1 tsp Roasted Cumin and Pepper powder
1&1/2 tsp Garam Masala powder
pinch of Turmeric
1 tsp Kasuri Methi
1 tsp Dried Mint * You can use 8 to 10 finely chopped fresh mint leaves instead
1 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste

Method
1. Chop the onions very fine or grate them. Grind ginger, garlic and green chillies to a paste.
2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker, add bay leaves, cinnamon, green and black cardamom and peppercorns.
3. Now add onions and keep stirring occasionally till they start to turn brown and the raw onion smell has gone away.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, green chilli paste and cook for a couple of minutes, before adding tomato puree. Let this mixture cook till the tomato is cooked and the raw smell of tomatoes is not there.
5. Add salt, red chilli powder, cumin-pepper powder, corriander powder, turmeric and garam masala. Mix and let cook for a couple of minutes.
6. Now add Rajma and some water if required, close the lid and let it whistle atleast 4-5 times.
7. Open the cooker after the steam has escaped, add crushed kasuri methi and dried pudina. Also, mash some Rajma with the back of the spoon to thicken the gravy.

8. Transfer to a serving bowl, garnish as desired and serve with Chawal (Rice) or Roti.

Enjoy !!!

Yummylicious Dark Chocolate Brownie

I  got hit with a huge craving for chocolate brownie complete with visions of warm chocolate brownie served with vanilla ice-cream. Since I am off eggs for the month of Shravan I had no option but to try and bake an eggless one if I wanted to fulfill my craving. I decided to do just that. Here's what I conjured up

Wet Ingredients
1 Cup Homemade Yogurt (Dahi)
1/4 tsp Vanilla Essence
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp Honey
4 Tbsp Butter Melted

Dry Ingredients
1 Cup All Purpose Flour
1 Tsp Corn Starch
1/4 Cup + 1 heaped Tbsp Baking Cocoa
1/4 Cup 60% Dark Chocolate Chips + some for decoration * I used Ghirardeli
3 Tbsp Sugar
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
2 Pkts 1 Cup Instant Coffee Powder ~ approx 1 Tbsp
5-8 Walnuts roughly crushed for decoration

Implements
2 Mixing Bowls
Whisk
Measuring Cups and Spoons
9" Baking Tray

Method
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and dust your cake pan.
2. In one mixing bowl mix together all dry ingredients including chocolate chips.
3. In another bowl, mix together all wet ingredients except honey.
4. Now add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in 2 or max 3 additions and mix with a whisk till the flour is mixed thoroughly.
5. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and decorate with crushed walnuts and chocolate chips. Drizzle one tablespoon honey on the walnuts.

6. Bake at 350 F for 25 mins.

7. Remove from oven and let them cool for a few minutes.

8. Cut into pieces and serve.

 

Notes:

Next time I would probably use a little more sugar

Adrakwale Gobhi Matar / Gingery Cauliflower and Peas

Cauliflower is one of my husband's favourite vegetable. He will be more than happy if I make cauliflower for him daily and that too Tamatewari Gobhi ( Cauliflower in Tomato sauce). However, I am not posting that recipe. I am posting here instead a very simple and quick to put together subzi with very limited ingredients. The pre-dominant flavor in this subzi is that of Ginger.

This is the entry that I will be sending to Radhika's blog Tickling Palates for her event "Let's Cook Subzi's". This is the very first time I am participating in a blog event and I am excited. So read on and you will be tempted to recreate this one in your own kitchens.

Adrakwale Gobhi Matar
Ingredients
1 Medium Cauliflower cut into florets
1 Cup Green Peas * Frozen will do although fresh peas taste divine
2" piece Ginger cut into half and then into lengthwise strips
4-5 Green Chillies - slit in the middle
2 tsp Dhania Powder (Dried Corriander Powder)
1 tsp Jeera - Miri Powder(Roasted Cumin and Black Pepper Powder)
1 tsp Haldi (Turmeric)
1/2 tsp Sabut Jeera (Cumin Seeds)
pinch of hing
1 Tbsp Oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp Lemon Juice **Optional
Corriander / Cilantro leaves for the garnish

Implements
Kadhai
Thali (Plate with edges preferably same size as your kadhai)

Method
1. Wash and cut the cauliflower into big florets. I like to separate them by hand. Julienne the ginger, slit green chillies, defrost the green peas.

2. In a kadhai, heat oil add jeera after it sizzles add hing, then add adrak and green chillies. Give it a quick stir and add the cauliflower.
3. Now add salt and haldi and cover the kadhai with the plate filled with water. Leave this for 5-7 mins on medium heat. You will start getting the aroma of cooked cauliflower. Carefully remove the plate and test cauliflower for doneness. At this point, it should have reached the consistency for subzi with just a little bite.
4. Now add green peas, and dhania powder, jeera-miri powder and leave it for 5 minutes till peas get cooked but do not change color.
5. Switch of the heat. Add lemon juice if using. Transfer to serving bowl and garnish with corriander leaves.

6. Enjoy with Chapati, Phulka or any bread.

Gluten Free Focaccia / Sorghum / Jowar Focaccia

Yet another invention for a Gluten Free Dairy Free detox. I had a sudden craving for Focaccia bread studded with olives and jalapeno peppers and red juicy tomatoes ... well that was ruled out due to All - Purpose flour. Not to be put down, I started my hunt on the Internet for gluten free focaccia recipes - yet another hurdle they all had some kind of egg replacers, or Xanthan gum and or almond meal or flax seed meal. I didn't have any of these so I just decided to do it my way. Believe me it turned out to be really yummy and hubby says it could become our all time recipe for Focaccia. Now that is the best compliment I could hope for. So read on to recreate the magic in your own kitchen's.

Jowar (Sorghum) Focaccia

(Oh heck!!! I just can't get this pic to appear horizontal. Will try tomorrow)
Ingredients
1.5 Cup Jowar / Sorghum Flour
0.5 Cup White Rice Flour
0.5 Cup Corn Starch
4 Cloves Garlic pounded
Quarter onion minced really fine / pounded along with garlic * Optional
Rosemary sprigs a few
Salt as per taste
1/4 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Baking Soda
4 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tsp Honey / Agave Nectar
2 Tbsp Lemon juice
1 Pkt Active Dry Yeast
1 & 1/4 Cup Warm Water
a Pinch of Raw Sugar

For the Topping
1 Tomato sliced
1 Jalapeno Pepper Sliced
2 Tbsp Chopped Olives
Rosemary
Sea Salt
Black Pepper

Implements / Utensils
2 Mixing Bowls
1 Baking Sheet

Method
1. In the small mixing bowl, add 1 and 1/4 Cup warm water, pinch of sugar and empty the yeast packet and leave to proof as per packet instructions. The proofed yeast mixture will start forming bubbles and rise up.
2. In another mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients, pounded garlic, onion.
3. Now add honey, olive oil, lemon juice and the proofed yeast mixture to the rest of the ingredients.
4. Dough should feel sticky more like a thick muffin batter or bhakri dough.
5. Lightly knead the dough. Using wet palms shape the dough and place it on a baking sheet dusted with dry jowar flour. I spread it entirely on my sheet pan.
6.  Top with sliced tomatoes, jalapeno pepper, olives sprinkle a bit of sea salt, crushed pepper and rosemary.
7. Place in warm draft free place and allow it to rise for 20 to 30 mins. I usually leave it in a warm oven.
8. Heat the oven to 375 F and once the oven reaches the temperature bake for 25 minutes until golden and firm.
9. Bring it out of the oven. Brush with a coat of olive oil if needed. ( I didn't do it to mine)
10. Enjoy warm with Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar or Olive Oil seasoned with some rosemary, garlic and black pepper  or eat it just like that ;)

Jowar Roti / Sorghum Flour Flatbread

We started on a 21 day cleanse as described in Kathy Freston's book Quantum Wellness. There are primarily five things that are a strict no-no in this diet:  Alchohol, Animal Products, Caffeine, Gluten and Sugar. Oh my what do we eat then? Well a lot of vegetables and fruits and pulses and legumes. Being Indians and vegetarians for most part no meat part is fine. The part that is tough is no GLUTEN. We eat roti's or chapati's or phulkas made with whole wheat flour practically with every meal. So how do we manage without Atta (whole wheat flour)? Our mothers and grandmothers used to use a variety of whole grain flours like Jowar, Bajra, White Rice Flour, Red or Wild Rice Flour and make roti's or what we Sindhi's call "Mani" of these. So taking a walk down the memory lane and remembering the way it was done in good old days when the kitchen and cooking were for mothers under the watchful eyes of my grandmother, here's my version of Jowar Roti or Juvar ji Mani straight from my blog to your homes ...

Juvar Ji Mani / Jowar Roti / Sorghum Flour Flatbread

Ingredients
1 Cup Jowar Flour / Sorghum Flour + some for dusting
1 Cup Hot Water (near boiling)
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Crushed Black Pepper * Optional
Ghee / Oil / Butter

Implements
1 Ziplock bag two sides cut to make a rectangle
Tava / Griddle

Method
1. In a bowl, mix flour, salt and pepper. To this add one cup of hot water, set aside for 8-10 minutes till it is cool enough to handle.
2. Knead the dough, unlike chapati flour this dough is less sticky since it does not have gluten and hence does not require heavy kneading. Add more water if the dough is very hard. When you tear of a ball you should be able to pat it without cracking. If it cracks add a little more water - a teaspoon at a time

3. Now on the ziplock bag apply a very little ghee, sprinkle some dry flour. Tear off a small portion and roll it into a round.

4. Now get ready to shape it into a round with your palm and fingers as shown below

5. Once you have a uniformly thin roti to your desired thickness, gently lift the ziplock bag a remove the roti onto your other hand or directly on the hot griddle taking care not to burn the plastic.

6. Cook on both sides, apply ghee and serve hot with any of your favourite vegetables.

Enjoy this gluten free, dairy free, whole grain delight with some hot pickle, some slices of raw onion and garlic chutney.

Simple Everyday Meals ...

Many of my American or shall I say non - Indian friends love the restaurant served "Indian" food. Often times I get asked if we eat Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan as everyday food? Well logical question since these are a few of the most popular dishes served universally in "Indian" restaurants. I try my best to explain to them the difference between the Indian food served in the restaurants versus simple home cooked Indian meals. But as they say "Pictures speak louder than words" ... I post below some pics of everyday meals.

Dal, Rice, Aloo Methi and Homemade Mango Pickle (Anna Mangai)

 Cabbage, Green Peas and Carrot subzi, Chapatis and Vegetable Raita

Cauliflower In Tomato Sauce (Tamate wari Gobhi) usually served with Chapati.