Going green - Swiss chard stir fry & Peas chapathi

Dear Foodies,

I am not sure when this happened, but from a stereotypical 'greens' hating kid, I became a person who loves having a leafy vegetable as part of my meal. As a kid I gave my mother a tough time finishing up the keerai dish. I don't think I even bothered to savor the taste, if it was green, I had to hate it, simple :D But that never effected the frequency or variety of greens that my mom used. We had a keerai lady who would come by nearly every other morning, selling fresh greens. She would have this huge round basket on her head, filled with a minimum of 6-7 varieties of greens and one of us would have to help her lower it down. If she had a rarely found variety, she was sure to market it the right way and leave us with more greens than we needed. Apart from the usual suspects - coriander, mint and spinach, she would have a variety of thotakura (amaranth), menthi kura, ponnaganti keera (water amaranth) and many others that I've forgotten! When it was exam time she was a lot more tough on us & there was no escaping her. But having someone come to your doorstep and sell you fresh greens on a daily basis is a luxury now.

Spinach is what I use the most, and because it was the only familiar one in the grocery store aisles here. But gradually I started trying out the other ones on the shelf. Cooking the new greens in a familiar Indian recipe is the safest way to introduce it. Collard greens & Kale take a little longer to cook, but can be used in simple stir fry's and substituted for other greens in most recipes. I add greens to soups, upmas, rice, dals, sambar, majjiga pulusu and even puffs. Mustard greens have a slightly stronger taste, and are a nice change from the usual. Swiss chard, with its choice of colors is fun to use and cooks in a jiffy.

So how about some green therapy for St. Patricks day ? Here's Swiss chard kura and green peas chapathi

Swiss chard kura/stir fry
(serves two as a side)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch - Swiss chard, washed
• 1/4 tsp - Mustard seeds/aavaalu
• 1/4 tsp - Cumin seeds/jeera
• 1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
• pinch of Asafoetida
• 3 nos - Green chillies (each chilli was hardly an inch long)
• 2 Tbsp - grated Coconut
• Salt to taste
• 2 tsp - Oil ( I used olive oil)

Method:

1. Wash the Swiss chard thoroughly and remove to thick rib running through the center of each leaf. The thinner portions closer to the tip of the leaf can be retained. Roll up the leaves and roughly slice them into strips.
2. Heat oil in a wok/wide skillet. When hot, splutter the mustard and cumin seeds. Add the turmeric, asafoetida and the chopped greens. Cover with a lid and cook and medium-low heat for 5-7 mins.
3. In the meantime, finely mince the green chillies, and thaw the grated coconut if using frozen. When greens looks wilted, add the chillies and coconut and cook for a few more minutes allowing the flavors to meld.
4. Finally season with salt and serve warm with chapathi's or rice.

For the peas paratha, I microwaved about half a cup of frozen green peas with a finely minced green chilli and salt for 2 mins. Cover and let it sit for a few more minutes. Mash it up with a fork and add 2 Tbsp of low-fat sour cream when cooled. You could also make a fine paste by using a blender, I was just too lazy. I added this to 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat atta, with a little more salt and 1/4 cup warm water. Knead it well until an impression of a finger pressed into the dough, holds for a second and slowly bounces back. Let the dough rest for about 30 mins before making the chapatis. This dough was softer than my usual dough and so were the chapathi's. I got about 10 chapathi's from this.

Simple ingredients => flavorful dishes, proved yet again. The delicate flavor of the chard isn't lost in the cooking process and is only complimented by the coconut. I ate half the stir fry right from the pan, it was that good. My usual spinach stir fry has red chillies and garlic in the tadka/poppu. They have a strong flavor and are more suited to heartier greens like spinach, collard greens and kale. The chapathi's were soft and look good with speckles of green running all through them. The peas though, do not contribute much flavor-wise, but it was just another way to include a veggie into my meal.

A cup of the stir fry along with a chapati, yogurt and an orange (aren't they at their juiciest best these days) was my dinner last night, what was yours ? Happy St.Patrick's!

Brownie Points

Dear Foodies,

Last weekend I was at a 'international cookout' hosted at the house of one of my colleagues. Going with the theme I made some potato-paneer puffs to give them a taste of Indian street food and I made a dessert. Now don't start guessing which one of these I made, because it was not Indian. I made brownies, decadent chocolate filled brownies!

Last year I was lucky enough to have tasted these fabulous brownies and have been wanting to have more ever since. The texture was exactly what I like, soft and gooey. I could make some, but the recipe called for 4 eggs and I had not started baking as much at that time and so I did not risk making it egg less. In the last few months I have used flax seeds quite successfully in baking cakes and muffins and my confidence level is a little better now. But I still wasn't sure it would be the right substitute in this recipe. Flax seeds lend a good support structure but not the soft, sponginess I wanted. That would have to come from a leavening agent like baking powder/soda. I was hesitant about the amount of those two that I would have to use in order to get a spongy feel and there was also the risk of making a chocolate cake instead of a dense brownie.

So well, I choose the easiest route, I conveniently forgot about them :D, But not until I saw the links in this post and then went on to read all the comments in the brownie post to see Bee mention 'silken tofu' as a substitute for eggs. Now that sounded good! And with the upcoming potluck I could make the full recipe and avoid any miscalculations too :)

I followed the exact same recipe except that I substituted for the eggs and also made them 'chocolate-almond' brownies. For convenience I am re-posting the recipe here with the additions I made. For the original go here.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces - fine-quality dark chocolate chopped
• 6 Tbsp - unsalted butter
• 6 Tbsp - unsweetened applesauce
I bought 2 4oz bottles of applesauce from the baby food section


• *1 cup - pureed, silken tofu
• 1 tbsp - coffee liqueur
• *3/4 tsp - pure vanilla extract
I did not have almond extract and so used a lil extra vanilla


• 3/4 cup - wholewheat pastry flour
• 1/4 cup - Almond flour
I used a spice grinder to powder about 1/3rd cup of raw almonds


• 1 tsp - unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp - instant coffee powder
• 1/2 tsp - salt
• *1/2 tsp - baking powder and baking soda
I might add more of each next time

• 1 cup - bittersweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup - slivered, Almonds
  

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 12×9 pan (a half cookie sheet) in one direction, and then the other to overhang the sheet on all sides. Then lightly oil the foil.
2. *In a microwave, melt the chocolate, butter and applesauce, stirring at 30sec intervals until the mixture is smooth. Stop microwaving when there are still a few chunks of chocolate left, the residual heat will melt the rest on stirring. Let the mixture cool until it is lukewarm.
   
3. *Blend the tofu, coffee liqueur, and the vanilla to a smooth puree in a processor.
4. *Add the tofu to the bowl with the melted chocolate and sift together the flours, salt, cocoa powder, coffee powder and baking powder/soda. Add the chocolate chips too and blend them all together with a spatula.
   
5. *Pour the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle some slivered almonds. Bake the mixture in the middle of a preheated 350° F oven for 25 minutes (check at 22), (Mine took 27mins) until a tester comes out clean. It is important to take them out as soon as they are done, and not let them dry out. Let the mixture cool a bit. Lift it out with the foil and place it on a rack to cool completely. Cut it into 24 bars. (With my cutting skills I got about 30 in different shapes and sizes :)) )
   

I am now reeling in the success of these brownies but that day I was definitely on a sugar high having tasted all the other desserts that were served too. These brownies are definitely for the chocolate lovers, pure, decadent, rich, dark chocolate lovers! Sorry milk chocolate fans, but this one's just not for you! The brownies were dense yet soft and really gooey. The only change I will make the next time I bake these is, to add a little more baking powder. I would have liked them to be a little less denser.

This recipe is off to lovely Zlamushka who is featuring Jugalbandi this month for her 'Tried & Tasted' event. I am not even going to attempt praising Jai & Bee, their website speaks for itself and I am happy to have found it. Thank you guys and you get 100 brownie points for this recipe :D

If you are reading this and don't already know about their blog, you better not waste any more time cos you have a looot of catching up to do!!

All in the US, enjoy your long weekend! :)

Bobatlu/Poli

Dear foodies,

The festive season has started in India, atleast at my home it has! Tomorrow, Friday, my mother will be performing the Varalakshmi vratam. Its a major puja at my home and my mother puts in a lot effort every year decorating the altar and getting all the neivedyam ready. You can see the photos from the year before last in this post. The alankaram for the Goddess is done with great detail including the pattu pavadai or saree, a handmade flower piece for the hair, jewelery and the flowers. My mother and I would usually sit the previous night and get all the decoration done, will I was only a sidekick, so is my father :) I miss home the most on these occassions, they have been part of my life for as long as I can remember. Every festival has its own pattern to follow and a set of customs unique to it. Its not so much about the religious aspect but more about the joy of celebrating as a family and sharing it with everyone around you. Festivals just perk up our moods and when everyone around you is that way, there is no room for conflict. I also feel that they set such deeply embedded memories in you that you will cherish for life, its tough to remember the years past otherwise :P I will post pictures from this year's puja once my father sends them over.

So since my mother is going to have a huge spread laid out for tomorrow, here is a tiny token for you and me to share. She made poli (or bobatlu or puran poli) one of my favorite sweets when she was here. I tried to take as many photos as I could while successfully irritating her in the process :D

Ingredients:

Filling:

• 1 cup - Channa dal
• 1 1/2 cup - Jaggery
• 1/2 cup - grated Coconut
• 2-3 nos - Elaichi/cardamom, powdered
• 1/4 tsp - dry Ginger powder

Method:

• Filling: Pressure cook the chana dal for one whistle (or in a saucepan). It should still hold its shape but yield under pressure when gently squeezed between your fingers. Drain and allow to cool for a while. Grind the dal with jaggery along with the elaichi and ginger powder(to fight all the channa dal, you don't want to be reading this later :D ) to a smooth paste.
  
• If you find that the filling is too watery, heat it on low flame and cook, stirring frequently until it dries up.

Dough:

• 1 cup - Maida/All purpose flour
• 1/2 cup - Wheat atta/flour
• 2 Tbsp+ - Oil
• a pinch of salt and turmeric
• Water
  

Method:

• Dough: Make a soft and pliable dough by mixing the flours, salt and turmeric with the oil and required amount of water. For a soft poli, use more oil than water to make the dough. The oil combined with the maida will result in the elastic dough which will hold more of the filling without tearing apart while rolling. Once kneaded, smear oil over the dough and cover loosely with a damp cloth to avoid drying.

• Assembly: Oil your palms, rolling pin and rolling surface well. (use as little flour as possible for lasting softness of the poli). Take a lime sized ball of the dough, flatten it into a ~5"dia circle and form it into a cup shape by placing it on your palm, place a slightly lesser sized ball of poornam into in and seal the opening with the dough. (ref. Photo above)
  
{To form the cup shape by hand, flatten the dough between your palms, hold it with both your hands, 4 fingers of each hand covering the base of the dough and the thumb placed inside. The dough is then rhythmically passed between the fingers with the thumb forming the cup. Very hard to explain with words and I don't have any good pics :( There is one on this post, step 4).

• Once you have the stuffed balls formed, take a wide plastic sheet, we used a ziploc bag cut open, smear it with a little oil and place a ball in the center, cover with another sheet on top and roll the dough it into a circle. Using the plastic sheet totally reduces the need for flour and makes the rolling a lot easier. (ref. Photo above)
• Heat a tawa/cast iron pan on medium heat, place a rolled poli and let it cook completely on one side before flipping it. (use the appearance of tiny brown spots as an indication to flip) Since there is enough oil in the dough you will not need any in this step.
  
• When cooked on both sides, smear them with a little ghee before taking it off the heat.
  

Poli is a decadent sweet treat and can be savored hot or at room temperature. I like to eat it with sugar sprinkled on top and some warm milk poured over it. My dad likes to have it with sugar dusted on top and a drizzle of honey all over, and my brother, well he'll have it anyway you give it to him :) This is a sweet that you might indulge in very rarely, so don't skimp on the oil or the ghee when you do or all the effort you put in will not be rewarded with the same amount of satisfaction.

Kozhakattai/Modak is a sweet made specifically on Varalakshmi vratam, for other Indian sweet recipes on my blog click here. Have a lovely puja at home if you follow this custom and drop me a comment sharing your experience.

Berry tasty pancakes!

Dear Foodies,

Here is a quick weekend/weekday breakfast recipe for you. I found the Moosewood restuarants cookbook on a visit to the library and got it home sincerely after having read about it from Bee & Jai and Suganya. I really loved reading the book cos its filled with loads of information and advice pertaining to ingredients, cooking methods and meal planning. Though there are very few photographs the book does a brilliant job in tempting you to try its recipes. Being a newbie at reading cookbooks its the photographs that I look for the most in them. But this one is surely much more than a coffee table read. Do pick it up if you get a chance...

I made these pancakes the night after I brought the book home, it was a Saturday and I was all set to have a leisurely breakfast/brunch :D I hate the frozen pancakes and the ones served at IHop and the like, since they are too eggy for my taste. This recipe is for a vegan pancake, and is filed as Vegan oatmeal-walnut pancakes in the book I think.

So here goes the recipe, I went back to the library y'day and looked it up as I forgot the proportions :)) I substituted the walnuts with berries as I forgot they were lying in my freezer! I really need to run a inventory check on my kitchen! I did not want to use oil as called for in the recipe and sub'd it with butter. It some how felt better, don't ask me why :))

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup - All purpose flour
• 1/4 cup - Whole wheat flour
  I reversed these amounts, using more whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp - Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp - Salt
• 1/4 tsp - powdered Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp - powdered Nutmeg
• 1/4 cup - quick cooking Oats or 1/4 cup - rolled oats flour
  
I used the latter by running the rolled oats I had for a minute in the spice grinder

• 1/4 cup - chopped Walnuts (toasted in the oven)
I used dried cranberries & goji berries soaked in warm water for 5mins and chopped fresh strawberries

• 1 Tbsp - Oil
I used melted butter

• 1-2 Tbsp - Maple syrup/honey or a sweetener of choice
• Soy milk - enough to make the pancake batter (cannot recollect the exact amt)

Method: Prepare the batter when you are all set to eat since it should not be left to rest for long

• This is as easy as it gets. Simply sift/mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl along with the nuts and berries (+ soaking water). Add the oil, sweetener and soymilk and bring all the ingredients together to form the pancake batter (idli batter consistency maybe). The book clearly asked that we DON't overmix the batter, a few folds of the spoon and turns of the bowl will do.
• Heat a griddle/non-stick pan on medium heat and scoop 1/4 cup of the batter onto it, don't spread the batter with the spoon, if needed swirl your pan around to spread it out a little. In about 1min you will see tiny bubbles forming on the pancake, slide a spatula under it and flip it to cook the other side. The second side took less than a minute to cook.

Serve immediately or arrange them in a single layer in a warm oven or covered with a kitchen towel for a short while.

I had these with some fresh peaches and strawberries. Instead of the usual maple syrup, I thinned out some mango jam by heating it in the microwave for 15 secs and used that as a sauce. This was a really good breakfast, I loved the berries in it and I was also left guilt free :)

From the comments to this post I realized I had a recipe that fits two events! Thank you Mansi and Srivalli :)

The first event is Mansi's own Healthy cooking event that also has a cookbook waiting for its winner. You can find the rules and guidelines for this event here. This recipe seems to fit the bill well due to the use of whole wheat flour and oats flour instead of all purpose flour alone. Paired with fresh fruit and with the absence of refined/processed sugars, its healthier too. Both, the walnuts given in the recipe and the berries I used, are rich in antioxidants. At a seminar I attended in my office, I learnt that walnuts are a recommended vegetarian/vegan alternative for fish oil capsules, (a known supplement for omega-3 fatty acids), flax seeds being another one. You can find more information on other dietary sources for these essential fatty acids here. The qty of walnuts though that you would have to consume on a daily basis is a lot more for the same amount of fatty acids got from fish oil capsules. Adding a spoon of whole or ground flax seeds would also be very nice in this recipe. Ground flax seeds do not contribute much flavor wise, so you can safely add them to salads and cereals. From the past month or two I have been adding a spoon of it to my morning cereal for my daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids. I find them to be the best egg substitute so far while baking (used it in sweet/savory cakes, cookies and cupcakes), because when heated with water and beaten, they have a beaten-egg consistency that lends a support structure to the baked product.

The other event is Nandita's WBB event which is now playing at Raaga's blog this month. This is one of the best thought out events because running out of breakfast ideas is O' so common for me, and trying to shove something into my mouth in the wee hours of the morning needs a lot of motivation and determination! Raaga made an excellent choice of theme this month, 'Express' breakfasts, which is the first criteria on my list. You can see that though I said it was a leisurely Saturday morning I still did not want to spend time in the kitchen, the leisure part is exclusively for the eating :)