Simple meals | Soba Noodle Salad

Dear Foodies,

The last few weeks our grocery shopping has been an exercise in self control, well, when is it not actually. On each trip, my dad and I come back with a couple of bags of fruit.  To get all our groceries we invariably end up going to a couple of stores in the area. And its extremely tough not getting tempted by the variety of fruits found in each. We seem to be at a perfect point in the season where summer berries are sharing the space with wonderful fall stone fruit. Mangoes and lychee's from the Asian market, plump raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries and melon at the neighborhood Sprouts and ripe peaches, nectarines, plums, plouts, plumcots(!) from Tarder Joe's. It's come to point where my mother has had to intervene and place a ban on fruit buying (huh!).  But we still sneak some in cos there's just too much fruit to pass up and not enough time to enjoy all of it. psst...mango is still the winner :)

We are also eating our way through the amazing produce from our trip to Suzie's farm a few weekends back. The ripe tomatoes went into a traditional South Indian pachadi/pickle (recipe soon), enchilada sauce (this too!), green tomato chutney, rasam, sandwiches, salads and many more. In fact, no matter what we cooked in the last few weeks, tomatoes and peppers found a way in. A few beets, eggplants and peppers are still hanging around and I want to give this gorgeous looking pickled slaw a try soon. But in the mean time, here is a super simple summer noodle salad. It does not need much cooking and is great at room temperature or cold. I start with soba noodles that are made from buckwheat and have a nutty flavor and a slight chewiness when cooked. Did I mention it barely takes 4 mins to cook them ? In the time it takes for the water to come to boil and cook the noodles, the veggies and dressing can be prepared. Quick, simple and flavorful.

Soba Noodle Bowl

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:-

• 2 bundles (3.1oz each) - Soba noodles
• 1/2 cup - Onions, sliced
• 1/2 - Red pepper, sliced lengthwise
• 10-15 - Snow peas, vein removed and sliced in half
• 1 Tbsp - Toasted sesame oil

Dressing:-

• 2 tsp - Toasted Sesame oil
• 11/2 Tbsp - Tamari sauce or Soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp - Tahini or Peanut butter or Almond butter
• 1 Tbsp - Lime juice or Rice Vinegar
• 1-inch knob of fresh Ginger, finely grated
• 1 tsp - Sriracha hot sauce or 1/2 tsp - Red chilli flakes (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp - Honey
• 1/3 -1/2 cup - Noodle cooking liquid 

Garnishes:-

• 2 stalks - Scallions, green and white parts sliced
• 1/2 cup - Cilantro, coarsely chopped 
• 2 tsp - Sesame seeds

Method:-

1. Bring water to boil in a pot deep enough to hold the noodles.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add all dressing ingredients and whisk to combine. If the tahini or nut butters are clumpy and the choice of pots allows it - carefully place the bowl on the pot of water to gently heat and loosen the dressing. Otherwise, microwave for 15-20 seconds. Taste test and adjust quantities to suit your taste. I tend to add more lime juice and ginger.
3. Blanch snow peas in the near boiling water for just a minute or two. Fish them out and add to the dressing bowl. Next add the noodles and cook to package instructions.
4. Heat sesame oil in a shallow, wide pan on medium-high heat. Add onions and peppers to it and stir fry until slightly tender yet crunchy. Transfer to the dressing bowl. Toast sesame seeds in the same pan until lightly browned. They'll start jumping out of the pan at this point anyway :) Reserve for the final garnish.
5. Once the noodles are ready, reserve 1/2 cup of water and drain the rest. Rinse noodles under cold running water and add to the dressing + veggies bowl. Toss gently to coat the noodles with the dressing, adding noodle cooking water as needed.
6. Garnish with chopped scallions, cilantro and toasted sesame seeds.

Note: Swap in other veggies but make sure pick a few that are crunchy. You can also add crushed, roasted peanuts for garnish. I've made this recipe with all three choices - tahini, peanut and almond butter and they all tasted good.

This has become one the recipes I go to when a quick, flavor packed meal is needed. Its fresh, colorful and has lots of textures and flavors that will keep you going back for more. I've become a huge fan of the ginger-soy combo after I made this for the first time and have used it in this salad recipe too. The ingredients in the dressing are things that I have begun to stock in my pantry and I always have a few packets of soba & udon noodles from the Asian market. With the addition of a few veggies its a quick lunch or dinner in the making. Since its good at room temperature or cold, and sans garlic, its a great lunch box dish as well.

Dondakaya Nuvvula Kura| Ivy Gourd with Sesame Seeds Powder

Dear Foodies,

I've written about ivy gourd being one of my favorite veggies in the past and how I'm trying to make up for all the lost opportunities to enjoy this dish. But looking at the recipes list I found just one recipe for it and was surprised they weren't more. The fast is I rarely find fresh, tender ivy gourd here and when I do I gravitate towards my mother's way of cooking them. After all the prep work to get the sliced, her recipe is quick and hits the spot. It's a wonderful side dish with chapati's or rice paired with sambar/rasam/pulusu.

More often that not, I slice them in rounds as they get really tender when cooked that way, almost melting away in your mouth. When sliced lengthwise though you get to enjoy a completely different texture of ivy gourd. It holds its shape over longer cooking times which lends to pilaf style rice dishes. Either way the prep time is probably the most time consuming part of cooking this vegetable. If you take the short-cut and buy the frozen pack instead, you'll just be wasting your time and ingredients.

Dondakaya Nuvvula Kura

Prep time: 15-20mins

Cook time: 20mins

Servings: 3-4 (side)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups - Ivy Gourd, washed & sliced lengthwise
• 1 Tbsp - Oil
• 1 tsp - Urad dal & Channa dal
• 1/4 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp - Cumin seeds
• 2 - Dried red chillies
• 6-8  Curry leaves
• 1/4 tsp - Turmeric Powder
• 1/8 tsp - Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva
• 2-4 Tbsp - Sesame powder (Nuvvula Podi)
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wide skillet, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad and channa dal. When the seeds begin to pop and the dals turn a deep red, add broken red chillies, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric. 
2. Add sliced ivy gourd next and sprinkle a little salt over them. Cover and steam for 8-10mins until tender, turning them over every few minutes. Sprinkle water if it the veggies look dry.
3. Once the pieces are tender to touch, sprinkle sesame powder starting with 2 Tbsp and adding more based on taste. Mix well to incorporate the spice mix and cook covered for a few more minutes on low heat.
4. Transfer to a serving dish with a garnish of cilantro. It goes really well as a side dish for roti's or warm rice.

Note: If you don't have pre-made sesame powder, make a quick version by toasting 1/4 cup sesame seeds, 1/4 tsp cumin seeds, 1-2 red chillies in 1 tsp oil and blend to a fine powder. -- To make the dish more special, add cashews along with the dals.  -- Adjust the amount of salt added in step 2 according to the saltiness of the sesame powder. -- The same cooking method can be used for potlakaya (snake gourd), beerakaya (ridge gourd), vankaya (eggplant) and sorakaya (bottle gourd).

I made tomato rasam and rice to complete the meal and it was a perfect Sunday lunch. Sesame powder adds a earthy flavor to the vegetable and its addictive. When I have a fresh batch of the podi I add it almost every dish I make. Its used as a staple seasoning used in many Andhra dishes and makes vegetables extra special. Fresh farm ripened tomatoes that are in season now are perfect for the rasam and you won't need any tamarind. Its good enough to have as a soup on its own and that's exactly what I did. If I stick to my plan I'll have another recipe for ivy gourd coming up next. Hope you've had a good start to your week.

Hyderabadi Bagara Baingan & Giveaway Winner

Dear Foodies,

A few who have read about my eggplant/brinjal love in the past will be surprised to see this recipe here. The truth is I belong to the 'eggplant haters' club, if such a thing does exist. I've never liked its texture and my mom always made an extra vegetable dish for me when she cooked brinjal at home. When I came here for my masters, my roomies did the same for me, or better yet, we never cooked with it, simple.

But there is never escaping the King, the eggplant's versatility lends itself to many many dishes. Almost every cuisine in the world uses eggplants and you can apply any cooking technique to them - roasted, deep-fried, sautéed, grilled, baked, mashed, stuffed, pickled - anything at all will work. V happens to love them too, so I couldn't get too far avoiding it the way I used too. His favorite way of enjoying the eggplant is in the quintessential Andhra guthi vankaya kura, apart from kalchina vankaya pachadi and vankaya pulusu pachadi, all of which are coming up really soon here :( :). But as for the hyderabadi in me, it has to be Bagara Baingan. The main component in the gravy are the peanuts, and if you've read the previous post, you know I love them :) My mother makes a variation of this dish by adding tomatoes or capsicum instead/along with the brinjals for us me. The ingredient list might seem long, but most of them are just roasted and ground up into a thick paste.

Tamarind Rice/Pulihora - Temple-style

Dear Foodies,

If I had to choose just one dish to eat the rest of my life, this might well be it. I l.o.v.e pulihora, every bit of it - the tangy tamarind, the crunchy peanuts and dals and rice, O rice! whats not to love in this divine combo. And rightly so it is served in all the temples in Southern India as the Lord's prasadam (gift). The play of textures and flavors plays a huge role in this simple dish. I used to love gobbling up the tiny handful that was passed on after the Darshan(offering prayers) at temples. I would eat up my share and then wait for my parents to give me their share too, the things parents will do for their kids! J) There is something magical about the pulihora served at temples which can never be found in the ones made at home. When I was in Cleveland, I got to visit the Shiva-Vishnu Temple at Pittsburgh quite often and after the wonderful darshan I would pick up a couple of pulihora boxes at the canteen. A perfect treat after the early morning 2hr drive and darshan.

Pulihora, simply put, is rice flavored with a tart/sour ingredient, tempered with mild spices, roasted peanuts & lentils. The main flavor component could come from tamarind, lemon, mango or sorrel leaves - they are all fabulous. Every cook has a special recipe for it, and doing the rounds during the festival time with my mom was fun as I would get to taste quite a few pulihara and sundal recipes. My mother makes a gojju/pulikachal first that she adds to the rice along with a roasted dal powder. I would always hoard the peanuts while serving myself competing with my brother for the larger share. I don't know if I like the rice better or if it is the peanuts that I'm after ;) Most festival or celebratory lunch/dinner menus feature atleast one form of pulihora or kalandha sadham, as it’s called in Tamil. The meal would feel incomplete without one of them. They are simple to make and use very humble ingredients, but the end product you get is much larger than the sum of its parts. I think the tangy component in the pulihora also tickles the taste buds and get the digestive fluids flowing so you are ready to attack the rest of the meal ;)

When I am in a pinch and need to make something quick I use the MTR instant puliyogare mix if I have it or make a near instant tamarind gravy. Heat up some sesame oil, toast mustard seeds, chana dal, peanuts, curry leaves and green chillies. Add turmeric, hing and a watery tamarind extract with salt, cook until the rawness is coaxed out of the tamarind and its ready to envelope the warm rice grains. This will take you less than 15 mins, just enough to have some rice going in the cooker. This is a quick and hits the spot, but when you have some extra time and want a hint of the magic that you savor at the temples start off by making a thick gojju, like my mother does. Sesame oil is the key to getting the flavor right, no other oil will work here. Roast the peanuts in the oil on medium or medium-low heat, it’ll take longer but you’ll achieve even browning that’s delicious and adds ten-fold to the flavor of the pulihora.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Salad

Dear Foodies,

Spring is almost here at our doorstep and with the longer brighter days I almost forget grabbing my winter coat on the way out :D And with that, I've begun counting down to the D-day too, just a month away from today!! Its exciting but I'm also restless, since there's hardly anything I can get done from here :(

A few weeks back I decided I was going to have hearty soups to tide me through the snowy winter, so I brought out the huge soup books that I bought when I first moved to this winterland. I had fun trying out many different soup recipes and also added in a bunch of salads in between. This sweet potato salad was one of them, and its the best form of salad I have ever eaten.

I vaguely remember eating sweet potato when I was kid, the memory is too distant. In the last couple of years since I started cooking, I always saw the tubers in the bins at the store but never really ventured into cooking with them. Sweet and savory just did not seem comfortable. A month back when we were driving through Virginia, my colleagues and I stopped at a diner to grab some lunch. They were serving baked regular/sweet potato with the buffet and I ordered the sweet potato. It came accompanied with a huge dollop of butter and a mound of brown sugar. The first few bites were divine! The warm, tender potato mixed with the butter and crunchy brown sugar melts in your mouth. But after the initial excitement the cloying sweetness takes over. The good thing though was I was now ready to start experimenting with the sweet tubers again.

While going through Molly's blog Orangette I came across this recipe for a warm butternut squash & chickpea salad. It was the savory dressing that drew me to the recipe, it was like no other vinaigrette I had seen and I finally found another use for the huge tub of tahini that I have in the pantry. So when I brought home the sweet potatoes this was the first recipe that struck me, may be it was because the diced potato resembled the butternut squash in color ?! Or I was trying to mask the sweetness of the potato under the savory tahini dressing. No matter what the reason, you guys just have to give this one a shot. I added some warm spices like coriander, cumin and five spice to the mix, and the result was out of the world.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea salad with Tahini dressing

(Serves 3-4 as a side)

Ingredients:

• 1nos - Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed into 1" pieces ~ 2 cups
• 1 cup - Chickpeas, pre-soaked and boiled (or) canned, rinse and pat dry
• 3/4 cup - Red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup - Cilantro, roughly chopped
• 4-5 nos - Mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 2-3 nos - Sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1Tbsp - Olive oil
• 1/4 tsp - Chinese five spice powder (or your fav spice mix)
• 1/4 tsp - Coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp - Smoked Paprika (or) regular paprika/chilli powder to taste
• Salt to taste

for the dressing:

• 3 Tbsp - Tahini
• 2-3 Tbsp - Lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp - Olive oil
• 1 nos - Garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/4 tsp - Cumin powder
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F
2. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. In a bowl toss the sweet potatoes with salt and spice powders. Drizzle the olive oil and mix to coat the cubes well. Spread them on the baking sheet and let the roast for about 25-30 mins. They will shrink a little in size and get soft and tender, yummm!
3. In the mean while, heat a wide skillet, add a tsp of olive oil and toast the chickpeas. You could also do this in the oven. Make sure that the chickpeas are dry when they hit the pan. Toast them for 5-6 mins till the skin starts to crisp a little.
4. Start making the dressing in the same bowl you used to toss the sweet potato. Whisk together the tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic and cumin powder. Adjust the amounts by tasting the dressing, some brands of tahini tend to be bitter (not good!) If the dressing is too thick, add a few spoons of warm water to loosen it.
5. Once the sweet potatoes are ready, try not to snack on them! Instead, toss them into the dressing bowl along with the toasted chickpeas, diced onions, sun dried tomatoes, cilantro and mint. (I used the sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, if using the dry kind, reconstitute them by soaking in warm water for a few minutes.) Mix well to blend all the flavors together and check for seasonings.
6. The salad can be served warm, but I liked it even at room temperature the next afternoon.

As you may have noticed, I ran out of red onions and used white ones here. Don't let any excuse of this sort stop you from trying this recipe! The nutty tahini with the warm tones of the cumin and coriander reminded me of bagara baingan. All the flavors mingle so well together in this salad that it will have you craving for more n more. Every bite is delicious and filled with so many different notes that seem perfect together. I made this about a month ago, and just writing this post makes me want to have some right now. Lucky me, I have a sweet potato waiting in veggie basket :D Most of the other ingredients in this salad are regular/pantry ingredients. So don't waste any more time, make some for yourself asap! :) O, Happy Womens day to all you gorgeous ladies :)

Bottle gourd & tomato curry

Dear foodies,

I simply can't wait for Spring to come and brighten up everything around here! It feels like it's been snowing forever now. I guess it takes a depressing winter to appreciate the sun peeping out of the white clouds and a perfectly blue sky. The snow does make the whole city look beautiful in pristine white, but its what it does to the roads that I hate. I am still just as terrified of driving in snow as I was two seasons ago. How do you get used to it? I really wish I knew. For now, I take the easy way out but staying in :D Brilliant idea ? Definitely not!

One of the things I cut in my travel list over the last few months was the trip to the Indian grocery store that is 30miles North of where I live. Its a nightmare to drive up there since its in the snow belt and it gets really bad when it snows. The local stores have had a good selection of winter veggies during these months, and since its a warm hearty soup that I crave most often, it has worked out, it had to ;) Early this month I visited my brother (or was it the Sun :P) in Houston, and sneaked in a little grocery shopping, yes a pack of urad dal and cumin seeds came all the way from Houston :))

Last weekend was a little better here and I spent nearly an hour at the Indian store going through all the aisles and looking for new products on the shelves. I bought some fresh vegetables like bottle gourd, bitter gourd and dondakaya/tindora. I also spotted a 5 lb bag of Sona masoori and just had to pick it up. Most of last year the stores here did not stock sona masoori, they only had basmati, which I prefer only for biryani's or pulaos and not for everyday cooking. I bought the US grown white/brown rice from the organic store here instead. So this weekend I decided on having a comforting meal to invite the dear grain back into the kitchen...I love its flavor and could actually eat it on its own :D

Bottle gourd & tomato curry

Ingredients:

• 11/2 cup - Bottle gourd/sorakaya/dudhi, peeled, de-seeded and cubed
• 1 cup - Ripe tomatoes, diced
Optional: 1/2 tsp - tamarind extract if tomatoes aren't tangy enough
• 1/2 cup - Onions, diced
• 11/2 Tbsp - Channa dal
• 2-3 nos - Green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 6-7 nos - Curry leaves, roughly chopped/torn
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
• 3/4 Tbsp - Oil
• Salt to taste
  
• 2 tsp - Sesame seeds/til/nuvvulu, toasted (I microwaved them for 11/2 mins in 30sec intervals)
• 1 Tbsp - Peanuts, dry roasted
• couple of sprigs of Cilantro
  

Method:

1. Heat a saucepan with oil, splutter the mustard and cumin seeds. Add the channa dal next, as it starts changing color add the green chillies, curry leaves and turmeric. Saute for 30sec until the chillies soften and the dal has a deep orange hue.
2. Add the onions and saute until they turn translucent. The tomatoes go in next along with some salt, cook for 5-7mins until they soften and turn to a mush.
   
3. Add the cubed bottle gourd to this along with a cup of water, cover and cook on medium heat until they soften and yield to a gentle press ~ 10-12mins. You could also microwave them separately for a few minutes before adding them to the onion-tomato mix.
4. Finally, coarsely powder the toasted sesame seeds and peanuts in a mortar and pestle and add it to the curry. Cook for 5-6 mins, allowing the flavors to blend and thicken the curry a little. Taste for seasonings & add more salt if needed.
   
5. Garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves and serve along with hot rice/chapathis and the quintessential Andhra avakaya and crispies on the side :)

I am feeling hungry just looking at the plate again! I had the curry for lunch and dinner over the weekend and was going for seconds each time, it was a very satisfying meal. I usually use the sorakaya in a sambar or kootu or steamed, but this time I did not want the dal to take over. I still needed the protein part though, and so increased the qty of channa dal in the tadka and let it soften along with the bottle gourd. The curry has a really nice tangy edge to it from the tomatoes. If the tomatoes you have aren't doing their job, add a little tamarind extract to help them along. The powdered peanuts and sesame and a subtle nutty flavor and texture to the curry, and also thicken it up a bit. On the whole it was delicious and I'm surely going to use this recipe again.

Kozhakattai - Sweet Rice dumplings

Dear Foodies,

My mother's entry to JFI-Flour hosted by Santhi

Kozhakattai/Modak are a must during Vinayaka Chathurthi naivedyam spread in Andhra. At my home, it also finds a place in the menu on Varalakshmi Vratam and Garuda Panchami. For the Varalakshmi Vratam puja my mother makes them in a oval shape similar to that of Kajjikayalu and for Vinayaka Chavithi it is modak, a small pouch like shape.

Last Sunday was Naga Panchami (also known as Garuda Panchami in our house) and my mother made the kozhakattai as part of the naivedyam. She has sent me the recipe and the photos on time for the JFI-FLOUR event hosted by Santhi. Garuda Panchami is similar to the Rakhi festival in North India with a slight twist, the sister prays for the well being of her brothers and ties a thread dipped in turmeric on her wrist unlike the Rakhi which is tied on the wrist of her brother. There is also a short story narrating the signifincance of this vratam, I will ask my mother to blog about it soon.

Now to the recipe,

Ingredients:

Filling/Poornam # 1 : coconut poornam

• 1 cup - Coconut, grated

• 1 ½ cup -Jaggery (2 if you want it even sweeter)

• 4-5 nos - Elaichi/Cardamom

Filling/Poornam # 2 : nuvvula poornam

• ½ cup - -Til/Sesame seeds/nuvvulu

• ½ cup - Jaggery

For the dough:

• 1 cup -Rice flour

• 2 cups - Water

• pinch of salt

• ½ tsp - Oil ( preferably sesame seed/gingili oil)

Procedure:

1. Coconut Poornam:

Freshly grated coconut is the best for making the coconut filling. Take a wide pan and toss in the coconut and jaggery and stir till the mixture thickens and starts leaving the sides of the pan. Add the elaichi powder and stir for another half a minute. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and allow it to cool. Freshly grated coconut gives this filling its best taste.

2. Nuvvula Poornam:

Dry roast the sesame seeds till they turn a slight brown. the seeds let out a winderful aroma as you roast them. Cool the sesame and coarsely powder it in a blender. Add fine pieces of jaggery to this and powder.

3. Dough:

In a kadai/vessel bring two cups of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and 3-4 drops of oil to the water. Once the water comes to a boil, gradually add the rice flour. Hold the ladle in the center of the vessel while adding the flour and then stir continuously for 3 mins on a low flame and then turn off the heat. When the dough is still hot, transfer it to a plate and cover with a wet cloth and knead well to remove any lumps. The wet cloth is to shield your palms from the heat.

4. Kozhakattai:

Have some oil in cup and grease your hands as you make the kozhakattai. Take a lime sized ball of the dough and shape it into a cup with your fingers. First slightly flatten the ball on your palm like a disk, place your thumbs at the center of the disk, and the fingers on the outside and shape like a cup by moving the dough between your fingers.

5. Put a spoon of the filling into the cups and seal it with the dough. You can either make them round or oval in shape.
6. Steam cook the dumplings and serve.

~ Sevai ~

The kozhakattai dough can also be used to make rice noodles or Sevai. Divide the dough into balls and steam cook it for 5-6 mins. When they are still hot, place them in a murukku maker with a fine holed mould and shape them like murukkus. Top them with the til poornam and some ghee.

You can also make lime and coconut sevai, recipe here. Follow the same method you use to make lime rice or coconut rice, but use the rice noodles instead. Sevai are a wonderful and very healthy breakfast/tiffin item. The variations you can try with them are clearly left to your imagination. Do try them out, I promise you will fall in love with them !!

For the Sevai, if you want to try them out with out getting into the dough making process you can look for rice noodles in the Indian grocery stores or in the pasta section in the stores. You just need to boil them in some water just like pasta, but for a shorter period of time. You can then flavor the noodles to your liking.

If you have extra filling, shape them into mini ladoo's for an additional neivedyam item.

This recipe is also my entry to Anthony's Curry Mela this week :-)