My DIY Spice Blend

Dear Foodies,

Yet again its been a silent few months here though I most certainly promised myself it wouldn't be that way. I've still been cooking a lot for myself and friends every chance I get. Oddly enough, pausing to take photos started to takeaway from the food experience...that's my story for being lazy. I even have a hard drive full of unused photos to find their way here anyway. It's not that I got busier but time that I previously spent updating my blog now got used reading many others. My bookmark list just keeps growing and keeping track of my to-try recipe list is seemingly impossible. I find new blogs almost every other day filled with photographs fit for a magazine spread. We don't even have to go into cookbooks authored by bloggers that are on my library list. I must admit it did put a damper on my spirit, questioning the need for continuing my little space here. I'm keen on shaking that feeling off though and will continue to journal my favorites here leaving the eye candy as an added bonus, if it happens.

Last year I spent quite a few weeks at by brother's place during summer and that meant having plenty of occasions to grill outdoors on their patio. I experimented with cooking on the grill -  pizza's, summer corn, grilled paneer and veggies and of course all with had an Indian twist. I was also trying out different spice blends and ended up with one that was a clear winner and versatile enough to go with paneer, veggies or even meat.

Every few weeks I make a batch of cumin, coriander and fennel powders just enough to half fill those bottles you see in the photos. I put together this spice blend as well and have them ready to go.This lasts me a month or so and ensures that they remain fragrant and potent for when I need them.

When I don't want an overly spiced dish but just something to accentuate the flavor of fresh ingredients this is the mix I go to. Its a mild blend with lots of citrusy, fresh notes from coriander and fennel. Roasted cumin and turmeric add a earthy note while the chaat masala brings more brightness and twang. This is blend that works for me and I encourage you to play with it and make it your own too. If you don't like much heat replace some of the red chilli powder with mild paprika or even smoked paprika. On occasion I've added freshly ground cardamom for added citrusy notes when using it in long simmered gravy curries. Use some powdered cloves or allspice for a warm, spicy kick without direct chili heat.

Roasted vegetables

I find this masala goes really well for roasting veggies. Here I have a rainbow of peppers, carrots, summer squash, red onions and Brussels sprouts. You could use cauliflower, eggplant, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, fennel and pretty much any other hearty vegetable of your choice. Coat evenly with your spice blend, some oil and roast in a 450F pre-heated oven for 25-30 mins tossing 1-2 twice in between. I used about 2 tsp of masala for the tray of veggies shown.

On an episode of Jamie at home he insists on using vinegar or citrus juice when roasting veggies and I became an instant believer after the first time I tried it. It immediately brightens the flavor and gives them a finger licking quality. I add a splash of vinegar in the last 5-10 mins of cooking instead of at the beginning though. I'll share more about my technique and how I re-purpose these roasted veggies to make multiple meals in a separate blog post.

Masala roti

Combine 1 tsp of spice blend with 2 tsp of oil and lightly brush the mixture over roti or tortillas before toasting them on medium-low heat for an instant flavor boost! Go ahead and use your spiced up roti/tortilla to make wraps and tacos and sit back to receive compliments :) Apply the same technique when using up tortillas to make homemade chips. I do this with plain appalams for a chatpata version that can then be used as chips or topped up with a mix of chopped onions-tomatoes-cilantro turning it into masala papad.

I don't have photos but can tell you it makes for a great marinade when combined with thick plain yogurt. If you have time go a step further and cook down pureed onions, ginger+garlic paste and our spice blend with a bit of oil until caramelized. Add some sour yogurt to this mix and cook a little further to end up with a thick paste that when cooled can coat the paneer/veg cubes. A few hours of this marination does wonders to the final flavor. Mildly sweet from the caramelized onions, slightly sour from the yogurt and combined with the mix of spices will make it an instant party favorite.

Go ahead, make your own spice blend and come back to share your recipe with me :)

Color Splash - Farmers Market

Dear Foodies,

These are a few photos I took with my phone while walking around the Saturday morning market in Little Italy. This is one of the larger farmer's markets in San Diego county with a great selection of fresh and artisanal products. Just sampling the produce and snacks ends up being my brunch for the day :) I went back home with a bunch of these carrots and roasted them whole with some salt and pepper. Finished it off with squeeze of lemon and enjoyed them over tart sorrel greens and slivered almonds. I was surprised by how substantial the carrots felt and they tasted great. I was tasting sorrel for the first time and liked the tartness in them, they reminded me of some other green, may be chintha chiguru - tamarind leaves.

See the colorful cauliflower in the background ? Stunning, right. I have a recipe with them coming up soon.

Fresh Onions

Rainbow Chard

A multitude of colored beets

Berry nice! and of course there were a lot of fresh strawberries too

Chamomile tea anyone ?

Friday Frames | Summer Colors

Dear Foodies,

Don't you love that yellow ? It's a piece of sunshine you can hold in your palm

Jewel colored radishes, almost too pretty to eat, almost...

With nature doing all the work for us, I only did the assembling. No cooking needed. I got a huge bunch of basil and made pesto with a punch of lemon zest. This platter is my very poor interpretation of a veggie sampler plate I had at Burlap.

ending the meal with some sweet cherries.

Aratikaya Vepudu/Stir-fried Raw Plantain

Dear Foodies,

Vegetables don't really need much done to them in order to taste good. Most of the veggie sides that my mom cooks are easy to make, subtly spiced and are more about showcasing the flavor of the vegetable. Lesser ingredients mean lesser prep time and this is something that is common in almost all regional cuisines.

I'm cooking many more proper meals these days, not many experimental salads or cereals for dinner now :D In the process, when I run out of ideas I ask my mom and mil for their recipes for certain vegetables and try them out. Though both our families are from the same state, our meals could not have been more different. The cooking methods, the daily meal format and the choice of spices are all different. So there is a lot more variety to choose from now. I've decided to explore the two styles and will continue to share these family recipes with you here.

Having moved to San Diego, I have access to a well stocked Indian grocery store and I am thankful for it since the Indian restaurant scene is pitiful. I found some good raw plantains on my last trip to the store, and this simple stir fry is one of my favorites ways to cook it. The least time consuming too. Green Plantains are not raw banana's but a variety in themselves. Ripe plantains are used to make desserts, but the unripe ones are what I prefer to cook with. They can be turned into scrumptious chips, sauteed with basic seasonings, or steamed and seasoned with mustard, cumin, grated coconut, curry leaves and a squeeze of lime. More about the last one in a future post.

Fresh spring rolls & citrusy dipping sauce

Dear foodies,

So all of you have your dipping sauces ready right ? Good. Last week, I was going through those Thai cookbooks, I browsed through the appetizers & snacks section too. There were a variety of offerings, from steamed dumplings and lettuce rolls to deep fried spring rolls and even samosa's, inspired by the Indian snack. Thai spring rolls are filled with noodles, veggies, shrimp/meat and rolled in rice wrappers and deep fried. The moment I saw the title spring roll, for some reason fresh spring rolls came to my mind. I know, there must be something wrong with the wiring in my brain! And no matter how many times I saw the word ' deep fried' in the end of the recipe, my mind had decided it was going to be fresh rolls. So I used similar ingredients for the fillings and made these fresh rolls that seem to perfectly compliment the spring time that's blossoming around me. And to my credit, an online search did result in some hits for 'fresh Thai spring rolls' ;)
Before we get started with the rolls though, I made a quick sauce to drizzle over the rolls. Its a very simple citrusy sauce that perks up your taste buds and is very refreshing with the spring rolls. I meant to make this post earlier, but I could not find the source for this recipe :( I jotted down the recipe in my book, but did not note down where I got it from :( I will continue looking for it and update this post once I track it down, promise!

For the dipping sauce, mix together -

• 1 nos - Thai bird chili, minced
• 1/4 tsp - Salt
• 1/2 tsp - Jaggery/ Palm sugar
• 1/4 cup - Orange juice
• 1/4 cup - Lime juice
• 1 Tbsp - Peanuts, dry roasted & skinned

Fresh spring rolls are part of Vietnamese cuisine. They need almost no cooking and can be the perfect platform to showcase fresh vegetables. You can serve them as an appetizer/snack, but with a combination of vegetables & protein they can easily stand on their own for a light meal. The cellophane noodles used in this recipe have the shortest ingredient list - mung bean starch and water. They are also called glass noodles or bean thread noodles. You should be able to find them in the Asian foods section in the grocery store. They need to be soaked in warm water to soften up, same is the case with the rice roll wrappers, no other cooking involved.

The choice of filling for these spring rolls is limited only by your imagination. You can include veggies, a protein, herbs, seasonings/dressings. I used carrots, savoy cabbage, red & purple radishes and asparagus. Other options could be mung bean sprouts, cucumber, blanched broccoli, avocado, lettuce, spinach or any other greens of your choice.

Fresh Spring rolls

Ingredients

• Rice roll wrappers

Filling: the quantities for each are dictated by how much of it you like in the spring roll.

• Extra firm tofu - cut into matchsticks
• Cellophane noodles - soaked in warm water for 8-10mins
  
• Carrots, cut into match sticks
  
• Savoy cabbage, thinly sliced/shredded
• Red/purple radishes, sliced thinly
• Asparagus
• Cilantro/mint, chives/scallions & Basil leaves
• Peanuts, dry roasted and skinned
• Salt and pepper to taste
• dipping sauce

Method:

1. Grease a baking sheet with some oil, and coat the tofu matchsticks with the same. Broil on 'low' for 5-7mins until the outer layer starts to blister and has brown spots. If using asparagus, bring some water to a boil, salt it and blanch the asparagus for 1-2mins. Prep the rest of your veggies and have them ready to go, the dipping sauces too.
2. Fill a shallow vessel, wide enough to hold the rice roll wrappers, with some warm water. You will be dipping your hands in it, so don't make it too hot :-) I work on one roll at a time. Soak the wrapper in water, depending on how warm the water is and the thickness of the wrapper it might take 30sec to 1min to soften and become flexible. A little longer and they will turn to a mush.
   
3. Place it on your work surface, layer the filling, horizontally, on the bottom 1/3 rd portion of the circular wrapper, leaving just enough wrapper area to fold it over the filling. Don't overdo the filling, use a couple of pieces of each and sprinkle some salt and pepper. Top with fresh herbs, peanuts and dipping sauce. I alternated between the grilled salsa, peanut sauce and the one above. Fold the bottom part of the wrapper over the filling, roll it once, and fold over the left & right portions of the wrapper onto it. Holding the filling tightly together, roll it till you reach the end of the wrapper. Try to remove as much air as possible while rolling, it makes it easier to eat.
   
4. Repeat the steps to make as many rolls as needed and line them up with a little room between each other so they don't end up sticking to each other.

I am sure you will mess up the first wrapper while soaking it ( a few more for me :-P) but, once you get the hang of it, nothing can be easier. For a wrapper that thin, they are pretty sturdy and can be easily filled and rolled. Its so much fun to play around with flavors and fillings for these rolls. I can surely say you will make them often after the first time, there is no real recipe here, so you cannot really dislike it! Keep experimenting till you find the one you like, and then... move on to the next combination :) The citrusy dipping sauce brightens the flavor of the veggies. The slight heat from the grilled salsa, crunch from the veggies and peanuts, and protein from the tofu and noodles make these a complete package. Oh, and did I mention its healthy ?!

P.S: Puthandu nalvazhthukkal to all the Tamilians reading this, Happy Vishu, and Happy New year to everyone else welcoming a new year today :-) Have a wonderful day all!

Pasta with roasted veggies

Dear foodies,

Pasta's are my go-to dishes most nights. Simple to prepare and they hold well until next day's lunch too. There is no fixed recipe that I follow for it, I toss in vegetables and spices in random depending on my mood that night and its ready. Most often its a warm and spicy dish but sometimes I turn it into a cold salad too, especially when using orzo or cous cous. The only time I looked for a recipe was when I made lasagna for the first time I guess. But even with that, once you know the method you can start experimenting.

I am not a fan of pasta's drowned in sauces though, specially in a bland & boring tomato sauce. If I buy marinara style sauces I use them over pizza's or other dishes but never with pasta. Spaghetti and marinara is known to be such a classic combo, but I have it stuck in my brain that the combo sucks :D When I order pasta in the restaurants I have it either with a flavorful pesto or with roasted veggies where you can taste each ingredient and not have to go fishing for it in a sauce and making a mess around you :) I know I am exaggerating, but still :D I prefer to make my pasta dry, with loads of veggies in it. A very convenient way to incorporate them into my daily quota when its a one-pot dish that I am making. As an added bonus the resulting dish is much more colorful.

Pasta with roasted vegetables

Ingredients:

• 2 cups - dry Pasta, I used chiocciole
• 1 cup - Chickpeas, pre-cooked or canned
• 1 cup - Red bell pepper, diced
• 1 no - medium sized Yellow squash, cubed
• 1/2 cup - Onions, cubed
• 1/4 tsp - Garlic, chopped
• 1/2 tsp - Red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin powder
• 1 Tbsp - Olive oil
  
• Salt to taste
• Cilantro/coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Boil water for the pasta, add salt, pasta and cook until al dente. Don't salt the water until it comes to a boil or it will never come to a 'boil'. Meanwhile, heat a wide pan with the oil, add the garlic and red pepper flakes when the oil is still cold. This infuses the oil with their flavors as it heats up.
2. Drain and pat the chickpeas dry with a tissue. Add it to the oil and saute on medium high heat until the chickpeas start to brown. Add the onions and red bell pepper next and saute a little longer until the soften and also start to char around the corners.
3. The yellow squash goes in next as it takes lesser time to cook. Also add needed salt and cumin powder now. Adjust the amount of cumin to your liking, it gives the veggies a warm and smoky flavor.
4. When the pasta is done, drain it well. Reserve about a 1/4th of the cooking liquid and add it to the veggies. Toss in the cooked pasta and combine, the added liquid will help bring them together and flavor the pasta as well. Mix well to incorporate the veggies and then cooked undisturbed for a couple of minutes so the pasta gets a slight char too. Turn off the heat and garnish with cilantro and serve warm :)

I totally enjoyed eating this pasta dish and like how it turned out. Whenever I add chickpeas to a dish I cook it this way so it has a little crunch to it and is not a complete mush. The charred veggies along with the smoky cumin were an excellent pairing. The slight browning on the pasta worked really well too and it gave it a different texture. The shape of the pasta I used is called chiocciole, meaning shells in Italian. It added to the fun of the dish cos the chickpeas found a cozy corner to nestle into. Do you see them peeking out of the pasta ? :D

With spring coming right up with its bounty of vegetables, you can play around with the combination. I am sure some roasted asparagus would be really good in this. You could conveniently use the oven to roast the veggies and finish it off in a pan on the stove top. I went to a Italian cooking class yesterday and got this interesting tidbit about selecting red peppers. Look on the side of the red pepper opposite to the stem, select one that has 4 or more points. The more points it has the sweeter the pepper is supposed to be. So next time you visit the store, start counting, I surely will :D



This dish is off to Soma who is hosting HHDD this month at her blog. Its an event facilitated by Bron and she was the winner last month :) Its time for all of you to come out with your delicious pasta recipes now :)

Faux fried rice

Dear foodies,

This is a no-fuss weekday quickie meal that I whipped up a few nights back. Not much of a recipe here, just throwing together of a bunch of ready made, quick cooking ingredients to make something tasty. I usually try to avoid rice and stick to whole grains or light dinners during the night. But sometimes you just feel like eating rice, its a comfort issue. I've been enjoying it all my life and its tough to totally remove it from my menu and I definitely don't intend to do any such thing either. Now and then its possible to trick your mind though. All your senses play a role in the act of eating and its not just the taste-buds going on a overdrive. So by substituting rice with rice shaped pasta, orzo, I can get myself to think it is rice, if only for a few moments before I taste it :)

I use orzo quite often, any pasta for that matter, because I love it and sometimes I am just too lazy to cook rice and a side dish separately. With pasta you can toss together some veggies, a mix of spices and end up with a wholesome meal. Its a lot quicker and offers much more flexibility to me, I get to use up a lot of veggies- fresh, frozen or leftovers, and use a mix of condiments that I would otherwise not use with white rice. Here I used a Nasi goreng curry paste, its a condiment used for making Malaysian style fried rice with the word itself meaning 'fried rice' in Malay. My grandmother lived in Malaysia and Singapore for quite a few years and I have heard many stories from her of her life there. Part of those stories was also the food she enjoyed and Nasi Goreng featured prominently, atleast it was one of the words that stuck. The moment I saw this curry paste on the grocery store aisle, I picked it up so I could try it out and tell her about it. So here's the faux fried rice I made with it, faux, since there is no rice involved :)

Ingredients:

• 1 cups - Orzo
• 3/4 cup - Mixed vegetables - I used frozen thai style veggies: beans, sprouts, chestnuts, carrots and broccoli
• 1/2 tsp - Oil
• 1 tsp - Nasi goreng paste or any Thai curry paste
• 1 tsp - Soy sauce (optional)
• 1/2 tsp - thai chilli paste (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

1. Bring some water to a boil, add salt and orzo and cook till the pasta is al dente.
2. Meanwhile, thaw the frozen vegetables, either in the microwave or by placing them at room temp for sometime. Heat a pan with the oil on medium heat, add the curry paste and saute for 30secs. Add the veggies, increase the heat and saute trying to retain some crunch in the veggies. Next add the soy sauce, chilli paste and freshly ground pepper.
3. Drain the cooked pasta and add it to the vegetables, stir well, check for seasonings and serve hot!

This fried rice pasta was extremely flavorful. The curry paste was not overwhelming, and I just love freshly ground pepper in my fried rice recipes and this was no exception. The pasta paired really well with all the other ingredients and made for a enjoyable meal. Other recipes that I have used orzo in are this soup and salad and this other time that I used a thai curry paste instead. Now out with your quick fixes? What ready made condiments do you use, if any ?

A full serving of vegetables

Dear foodies,

There are evenings when I get back from office and am in no mood to cook anything and I blankly stare at the pantry shelves and the refrigerator trying to look for inspiration. Most days its a pasta tossed with a lots of veggies. I am really conscious about the quantity of vegetables I use on a daily basis. Since I cook only one dish per meal unlike my mom, I try and add as many as possible. I've noticed that there always has to be a red and green component; carrots, tomatoes, roasted red-peppers, sun-dried tomatoes help with the red, while peas, lima beans, edamame, capsicum, zuchini, green leafy vegetables take care of the green. Corn, chickpeas/canned beans, cauliflower and cabbage then join the party to form the final dish. I always have one from each group in my kitchen, and am trying to spread out a little since this assortment is getting a little boring now!

One such evening I did not want to eat any pasta or rice and decided on a soup. I had a couple of yellow and orange carrots and tomatoes in the fridge and a lone can of vegetable juice and capers in the pantry, so I set out making this delicious and hearty soup that tasted great even the next day with some chunky bread. My friend had bought a bunch of the vegetable juice cans and left before this lone guys turn came up, I just cannot bring myself to drink a can of vegetable juice ...no! and hence its role in the soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - diced Carrots
• 1 cup - chopped tomatoes (~2-3 vine ripe tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup - Edamame
• 1 nos - medium Onion, diced
• 1 nos - large clove of Garlic, coarsely chopped
• 1 Tbsp - Capers
  
• 1 5.5oz can - Vegetable juice
• 1/2 Tbsp -Olive oil
• 1 tsp - roasted Cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp - Cayenne powder/red chilli flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup - small pasta (optional) eg: orzo, elbow macaroni, orecchiette, pin wheels
• 1/3 cup - Lentils (optional) eg: yellow/green lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans (from Rads comment)

Method:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan on medium setting, add the garlic and let it soften for a minute, don't allow it to brown though. Next add the onions, some salt and let them cook, about 2-3mins.
2. Add chopped tomatoes, cover and cook until they soften up. 
3. Now add the vegetable juice, carrots, edamame (I added frozen ones and let them thaw directly in the soup), cumin powder and cayenne pepper. Check for seasonings and simmer until the carrots cook through. Add water only if its too thick as there is no thickening agent in this recipe.If using pasta, you can add them at this stage along with a little additional water.
   
4. Toss in the capers a few minutes before switching off the heat.
   
5. Serve warm with crusty bread or a light salad.

This soup was surprisingly warm and delicious. There is a slight heat from the cumin powder, capers and the celery in the vegetable juice which is very comforting and yet not 'spicy'. The soup is a little chunky and the edamame holds a little bite even after being cooked. I did not add pasta to it the first time I made it, but a bowl of soup was filling enough for dinner. The excuse for using up that can of juice turned out to be such a delicious one, I am definitely holding onto this idea. You can go ahead and add any combo of veggies you have at home, this recipe is perfect for the day you decide to clean up that crisper full of odd numbered veggies.

Enjoy your day!

Upma with wheat rava

Dear foodies,

I might have mentioned it before, but I always disliked upma made from the semolina rava, the normal rava upma. I don't know why. My mom would make maggi for me whenever she was making this for tiffin or dinner. But I would eat upma made from broken/cracked wheat aka , wheat rava and I also loved bambino and poha upma, the semolina rava was the only one detested.

But even that changed after I came to the US. My roomie Pari, loves upma and she made it quite a few times for us. The first time she made it, I was kinda uncomfortable to say I did not like it and make something else for myself, well, who wants to cook when its not your cooking turn :P. But after I tasted it, things changed. It tasted great and I even learnt her method for cooking it ( I did not take the recipe from my mother before coming here thinking I would never ever make it :D). Since then I have had bowlfuls of her upma and even started making some for myself after we moved out.

But hey, we were talking about the wheat rava upma here, lets not steal its thunder. Wheat rava, or broken wheat is rich in carbohydrates and fiber and less refined when compared to semolina rava. The way its sold in the market, the grains are a little coarse and when cooked they fluff up quite a bit. It could easily be served for a light dinner as opposed to being just a tiffin item. I posted a recipe that my mom sent to me earlier...err 2yrs back, that was in August too! Its been a loooong time since I started this blog then!!


I made this upma a few weeks back. I totally miscalculated the amount though. I used 2-21/2 cups of rava, and ended up with 1/2 a huge cooker full of it. I had it for countless meals before having to throw away a tiny portion cos I could not take it any longer!

Here is the recipe to make the upma, my additions to this were

• 1/2 cup - Edamame, shelled soybean or substitute with peas/lima beans/tuvar lilva/chickpeas
• 1 ea - golden beetroot and kohlrabi (only because I had them, you can use other vegetables like carrots, potatoes, tomatoes)
• 1/2 cup - thawed, frozen spinach
• 1 tsp - chopped ginger

I used lesser oil (1 Tbsp) and used the cooker just like my mother shows in her recipe. After turning off the heat, fluff up the upma with a fork or spoon and serve warm. I had mine with fresh cut-mango pickle and curds, sprinkled some idli podi. This upma is really flavorful and hearty, with the rava having a nice texture. If you haven't tried this yet I recommend that you do. The options are endless and you can spice it up anyway you like with the vegetables in your pantry. You could also add peanuts or cashews to it.

A couple of days after Suganya posted her fiercely red tomato soup, I bought a few vine ripe tomatoes and made it at home. My intention was to have it last for a couple of dinners, but I found myself having two cups of it for dinner that night and the rest for lunch the next day! It was super delicious and damn easy to make. Its the most perfect tomato soup I've had. If you don't believe me, give it a try and you will know :D I topped it with some grated beets and it was really yummy.

Hope this Monday is treating you right? and hey, did you guys watch the Olympics opening ceremony on the 8th, wasn't it just fabulous ?

Avial - a vegetable superpower!

Dear foodies,

This is one dish I truly grew up too, Avial. From avoiding it every single time it made its way to the table... to craving it. I was just like the stereotypical kid I guess, hating avial only because it had sooo many vegetables in one dish :)) Only later recently did I started appreciating it for its flavor.

Avial is a subtly flavored dish that holds its beauty in the medley of vegetables which are steam cooked and later simmered in a coconut based gravy, bringing the whole dish together. The recipe for this dish is fairly uncomplicated but you hardly find good avials in the restaurants. Even the Udipi restaurant's, known to specialize in South Indian cuisine, fail to get it spot on. Infact the Udipi frozen packs are better than that! By the way, I love their frozen masala dosa, totally unhealthy I agree, but its good!

Avial - Vegetables simmered in a mild coconut curry

Ingredients:

• 3 cups cubed vegetables

         Common vegetables used in Avial are white pumpkin, (yellow pumpkin is not a substitute), yam, potato, raw banana, beans, cluster beans, drumsticks, peas, brinjal (eggplant), carrot and raw mango. No cauliflower or cabbage or capsicums here! You could substitute the white pumpkin with bottle gourd (sorakaya) and the raw mango with some sour curds or tamarind. 

Grind to paste:

• 1 Tbsp raw/uncooked rice (soaked in water for 15mins)
  
• 1 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1/2 cup freshly, grated coconut
• 2 green chillies (no red ones here)
  

• 1/2 cup sour curds
• 11/2 tsp coconut oil
• 4-5 curry leaves
• Salt to taste
  

Method:

• Boil the vegetables till done adding just enough water. You could add them all to the cooker one after the other based on cooking times. The potatoes, yam, raw banana, drumstick and pumpkin go in first, carrots, beans and raw mango a few minutes later, lastly brinjal and peas.
• Once they are close to done, add the ground coconut paste and salt. Simmer for 5-8 mins and turn off the heat. Then add the curds making sure the vegetables are luke warm to avoid curdling.
  
• Top it off with chopped curry leaves and 1tsp of coconut oil. Serve with warm rice/venn-pongal/puri/chapathi or just have a bowlful :)

It was wonderful having my mom do the cooking. Perfectly blended flavors, right what I was craving, there is definitely magic in those hands! No matter how closely I follow her recipes, I can never make it the way she does it, and her's happen to be my benchmark for perfection :( I have a lot more of her recipes coming up. The pumpkin or the bottle gourd is essential I think, they add the juicy bites to the dish and do not let the heavier' potatoes and yam take over. The coconut oil in the end might seem a little to strong if its your first time, but do give it a try, it adds a really nice touch to the dish. But be careful with the amt you add, a little goes a looong way here :) No tadka's required, but you could heat the oil a little bit to mellow out the taste if needed.

Primo Veggie Burger

Dear foodies,

Finding a good veggie burger is soo tough, isn't it? Not many places even have them on their menu. During my Masters, I survived on the Wendy's veggie burger, which had a slice of cheese, onions, cucumber and couple of pickles inside a bun, for well more than three months. And it still remains a favorite because of lack of better options around. Except for Burger King I haven't seen a fast food place serve veggie burgers and well, and I haven't seen it at the restaurants I have been too either. The only way you can take a easy route to having a veggie burger is by grabbing a pack of frozen Boca burger patties or veggie patties at the grocery stores and making your own burger at home. I've made my own burger patties at home inspired by the masala burger patty from Trader Joe's and the delectable recipes from Bee & Jai, but I don't make and stock them that often.

So when I went to this local deli near my office and saw that they have a veggie burger with a spicy black bean patty I was shocked! Is that really on their menu?? I just had to try it and was hooked to it. Our team goes there for lunch may be once or twice a month and I have to have it every single time. Its loaded with crunchy grilled vegetables and the bread has the perfect texture. Now the lunches have stopped but my liking for the burger is far from over. A few weeks back my brother suggested I try the frozen black bean burger patties from the grocery store. I haven't liked any frozen patty until now and was skeptical about this one too, but I was wrong this time. Filled with all the fresh vegetables that spring has to over, this is a perfect way to enjoy them. I ate these burgers for breakfast, lunch and dinner a few weekends back :))

The main specialty of this deli is they make their own bread. Theres something purely magical about the aroma and flavor of freshly baked bread and these guys have mastered it. They use a hard kaiser roll for this burger and thats what I used. This is how I assemble the Primo burger, highly inspired by the burger served at the deli which goes by the same name. Their rolls are bigger and the burgers are filled with a lot more veggies.


Ingredients:

• Snow peas, Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Bell peppers (any color), fresh Spinach/bok choy, Onions (optional), Cucumber - no quantities here, you can use as much as you want
• hard Kaiser rolls
• Salt and pepper for seasoning
• Hummus, ketchup (optional)

Method:

1. Heat a grill pan or a cast iron pan on medium high heat. Spray some oil and line thin slices (0.5 cm) of zucchini and yellow squash. Cut the bell peppers into thick match sticks and slice the onions. Line them up as well if your pan can accommodate them. Once they brown on one side turn them over and brown the other side too. Cooking on low heat with soften them, which is not what we want here, the veggies need to retain their crunch.
2. Boil some water in another pan, salt it and add the snow peas. Blanch them for a minute until the green color brightens up and transfer them on to a plate to drain. Once the veggies are out of the pan/griddle toss the snow peas too and saute for a 1-2 minutes along with the greens.
3. Thaw the burger patty, I usually microwave it for a minute and then pat it with a paper towel to absorb the fat coming out of it. Place it on the pan to crisp the exterior. Cut the kaiser rolls in half and toast them on the pan too. I don't find the need to add any oil or butter for the rolls, the initial oil spray will suffice.
4. Layer a few slices of zucchini, yellow squash and the greens on the bottom half of the roll, next goes the burger patty a few more slices of zucchini and squash, snow peas and bell peppers. Season the veggie layers with some salt and pepper and top it with the other half of the roll.
   

There, you are all set to have a scrumptious veggie burger now. You will surely love this one! It has soo many veggies with none of the usual onion/lettuce/tomato combo. The kaiser rolls are sturdy enough to hold all of them, and the spiciness in the black bean burger is enough to balance the rest of the veggies. I was cooking with yellow squash for the first time and I really like it. It has a very different flavor from zucchini (well, I thought it was just a yellow colored zucchini until then!!) with a slight peppery or may be jalapeño'ish twist to it (!). The grilled veggies are extremely good for munching on their own too, so definitely make extras. They are surely my most favorite part of the burger!

This burger does not need any ketchup or hummus but you can surely spread a little of it for a change of taste, try it without them first though. I like the spicy black bean burger for this one since it closely resembles the deli burger, but you can surely try it with any burger patty. I had the burger with a few fresh strawberries and some orange juice for my weekend brunch. (Did you notice that the hungry photographer drank a lil of the juice even before the shoot was over ? :D) Oh, and the deli serves it with some melted provolone slices on top of the veggies, I skipped that part, but you can surely add a cheese of your liking.

Happy Wednesday!

Dondakaya vepudu/Ivy gourd stir fry

Dear Foodies,

How many of you like dondakaya/tindora/ivy gourd ? I know I love it! But this vegetable has such a tarnished reputation and powerful lobbyists who saw to it that it never showed up at any home with school going kids, atleast in Andhra they succeeded. It was told to induce dullness as opposed to the ladysfinger which could turn you into a Math wiz (!!). So every mother would sneak in bhendakaya/ladysfinger as often as she probably could and relegate the dondakaya to an occasional day far far away from any Math exam. The poor guy could not fight all that bad energy :( But now that I am done with all schooling, I am going to enjoy this dish in peace :) (and hey! its actually not bad for you)

The ivy gourd is a very versatile vegetable and it cooks in a jiffy. You can use it in a simple stir-fry like I did, or go for an elaborate stuffed version or an usli preparation. you can either use it in a traditional kootu or in a masala gravy or even in a fried rice, the options are just endless. In Hyderabad, you are most certain to find the dondakaya vepudu with a good amount of cashews thrown in, at every wedding menu.

My mom usually made the stir-fry/vepudu with it and thats my favorite way of eating it too. She would cut them into discs and not length-wise. I think the shape you cut it does change the texture of the dish. The discs cook faster, evenly and are crisp and tender at the same time. When cut length wise I think the chances of thicker pieces are more and I just hate biting into an undercooked piece, okay, I am just biased towards the discs (Mom's always rule) :) and so the frozen tindora is not something that I like. Whenever I get access to fresh dondakaya this is how I cook it,

Ingredients:

• 3 cups - Dondakaya/Tindora/kovakkai
• 1/2 Tbsp - Oil
• 2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 2 tsp - Channa dal and urad dal (I like the crunch they give, you can adjust the qty accordingly)
• Pinch of Asafoetida/Hing/Inguva
  
• 1 tsp - Turmeric powder
• 2 tsp - Chilli powder or to taste
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and dice the ivy gourd as per your preference :D. Place a wide pan with the oil on medium heat.
   
2. Splutter the mustard seeds, add the dals and allow them to brown. Add the hing, turmeric and the cut gourd to the pan and saute.
3. Add the salt and cover and cook for about 6-8mins. Stir in between to avoid burning any of the pieces.
4. Once they are tender to the touch, uncover the pan and cook for 5 more minutes to crisp up the pieces. Add the chilli powder towards the end and mix well.

Serve hot with rice or chapati. I had it with rice and iruvili kuzhambu, the recipe for which I got from my friend Jaya (while you are there check out her travelogue). Its her mom's recipe, so no doubts there about how it turned out... absolutely fantastic! Kuzhambu is nothing but pulusu, for the telugu speaking. Its a dish that has a tamarind base and has no lentils added to it as is the case in sambar. It mostly has an addition of lightly sauted fresh or dried vegetables. (I used onions)

I love anything that is tangy and my personal favorite is an onion pulusu that my mom makes using sambar powder. This one is very similar to that but the freshly ground spices lend the kuzhambu a nice texture and taste..yummmy. The combo of the kuzhambu and vepudu was great. I was actually planning on taking this for lunch the next day, but once I tasted the tangy kuzhambu I had to serve myself some immediately. Do try it out!

Happy Thursday and have a great weekend !