Brown rice Burrito bowl

Dear Foodies,

I cannot count the number of times I had a veggie burrito bowl from Chipotle during my Masters. The place was really close to the University, the food tasty and filling, at a good cost too. You can't beat that combo when you are looking for something quick and easy to fill you up. When it was not the burrito bowl, it was the veggie taco salad from the food court. Mexican food with its use of chilli peppers, rice and beans endears the Indian palate to it immediately. The familiarity of ingredients is what draws you in initially, but soon the flavors take over, and you realize you are hooked to it. I can love the cuisine just for their liberal use of coriander/cilantro leaves :D With the salsa's and dips you savor fruits and vegetables showcased in their freshest forms, and the rice and beans can be mixed together in various combinations that will keep you coming back for more.

A few weeks back I was craving a burrito bowl but I had a bad stomachache the last few times I order it outside. I wasn't sure what was causing it and was in no mood of experimenting on myself. So I headed to the grocery store instead and bought some ripe avocados and fragrant cilantro to make it at home. I used brown rice to make it more healthier and filling.

Brown rice Burrito Bowl

Brown Rice

• Cook about 1-2 cups of Brown rice ( or white, if you so choose)

Tomato Salsa

• 1 cup - ripe Tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup - Red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup - Cilantro
• 1 tsp - Jalapeno, minced
• 1/4 tsp - Garlic, minced
  
• Salt and lemon juice to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl. Using a spoon slightly mash the tomaotes to release their juices. Cover and set aside for about 30mins to allow the flavors to blend.

Corn & black bean salsa

• 1 cup - Corn kernels, I used thawed, frozen corn
• 1/2 Cup - Black beans, again a shortcut, rinsed beans from a can
• 1/4 cup - Red onion, diced
• 1/4 cup - Cilantro
• 1/4 tsp - roasted Cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp - Jalapeño, minced
• Salt and lemon juice to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and check for seasonings. Set aside for about 30mins to allow the flavors to blend.

Guacamole

• 1 nos - ripe Avocado (The ripe ones are more brown in color and ever so slightly yield to pressure)
• 1/4 cup - Red onions, diced
• 1/2 tsp - Jalapeño, minced
• 1/4 tsp - Garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup - Cilantro, washed and roughly chopped
• juice of one lemon
• Salt to taste

Halve the avacado, de-seed and scoop the pulp with a spoon. Dice it into rough chunks and drizzle the lemon juice all over it to avoid discoloration. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. I mash some of the chunks with the spoon, retaining the rest. Taste and season to get the right balance.

Sautéed Bell pepper & Onions

• 1 cup - Red onion, sliced
• 3/4 cup - Green bell pepper, sliced length-wise
• Salt to taste
• 1/2 + 1/2 Tbsp - Olive oil

Use a skillet wide enough to hold the onions and peppers in the single layer. On medium heat, drizzle some olive oil and when hot, layer the onions and cook for 3-4 mins, toss and repeat until they start to brown and char around the edges. Salt them and set aside on a plate. Add the bell peppers next and saute until they soften and get a slight char as well. Salt and set aside.

Assembly
Once all the trimmings are done, grab a bowl and you are all set to create the burrito bowl. Add the rice first, top it with warm fajitas and the salsa's. You could also add some chopped lettuce and if you are not sticking to a vegan menu, add a dollop of sour cream. Sit back and enjoy your very Mexican delight.

Do I even need to say if I liked making and eating this dish!! It has just a Tbsp of oil used for sautéing the peppers, no cheese or sour cream and a whole grain in the form of brown rice. The rest are just an assortment of veggies, get started on your bowl soon :)

And if you have some of the salsa left and don't feel like eating a burrito bowl the next day, you do the most obvious thing, make bhel puri! :D Yes, the most perfect chaat. Heat about a tsp of oil in a pan, add some chilli powder, turmeric (for the gorgeous color) and some asafoetida. Toss in the puffed rice/murmura and roast for a few minutes to make them crisp. Combine together a spoon of pudina chutney & Maggi hot n sweet ketchup. Toss in the corn & bean salsa, tomato salsa, diced cucumber and the chutney along with the puffed rice. Garnish it with some aloo bhujia and enjoy a perfect bowl of bhel ready in minutes :) It has all the flavors you use in a traditional bhel, but in a slightly different package.

Off this goes to dear Vaishali, who is hosting 'Its a Vegan world: Mexican' this month. You can already find quite a few delicious Mexican creations springing up in the blogs. If you haven't joined the party yet, you have until the end of this month. I'll be your host next, so be sure to drop by next week :-)

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!

Happy Holi!

Dear Foodies,

Its Holi today, and I miss it so dearly every year that I am away from home and can't celebrate it. Its been a long time since I played with colors!

I had a blast when I was kid, we were about 10-12 kids on our street and by the end of the day we would be so fully covered in colors that even we couldn't recognize each other. The first few hours were for allocated for dry colors and going around the neighborhood wishing everyone we knew. The second part, the most fun part, was playing with colored water. Our house was the place we all gathered up for it. My mom would fill two huge drums with water and we would add colors to it and start drowning each other :)) Not all of us had the pichkari's or hand-held water pumps and we would use mugs and buckets and whatever else we could lay our dirty hands on. It was just sooo much fun and feel lucky for it now :)

The rest of the day though would be lost in scrubbing the color off our skin. It was my mom's worst nightmare I guess. She would bring out the best from her arsenal - oil, shikakai, soapnuts (kunkudikaya), shampoos etc, and the scrubbing process would take for ever and just barely reduce the color at the end of it :)) The next day we would be off to school with pink cheeks or ears (the toughest part) and hands, and it would turn inta a competition among friends :)) Those were good memories, of days of complete abandon, no worries about water shortage or chemical laden colors, but just about having fun and enjoying it with those you love.

A very colorful and safe Holi to all of you. If you are using colors, make sure you use chemical free ones and be conscious of the people around you. Enjoy!

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 :)

Potato and Bell Pepper hash

Dear foodies,

I usually tend to buy most of my vegetables fresh, specially the ones on this list. I just love the taste and flavor of fresh produce, well, I can't help myself when I see their pretty colors in the store. And for the most part I enjoy the prep work too. Bringing out the big wooden cutting board, my dear santoku knife and going chop chop like a pro is soo much fun :) I have a small stock of canned beans in my pantry (note-to-self: start buying dried beans instead!) and the freezer usually has frozen corn, peas, lima beans, edamame and Indian vegetables which I don't usually get in their fresh form. The only ready to eat, processed item will be a pack of frozen parathas and a box of burger patties for a lazy day. Recently an intruder stepped in..... a bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, the grated kind.

I don't cook much with potatoes, but I love making hash browns. They are mighty easy to put together with fresh potatoes. I used to make them often during the last few months in school. Those were the days of 'no-routine', my roomie and I would come home late from the lab and watch some silly comedy show on TV. And ofcourse we would be attacked by those midnight snack monsters. This is how I made them - heat a pan with a spray of oil, grate and lightly squeeze the water out of the potatoes, toss in some salt, chilli powder and turmeric. Layer them on the pan and press together like a pancake. Leave it alone for 3-4 mins so they get crisp, spray oil on the other side and flip. Let that roast and crisp up too. Mean while get the plate ready with a huge dollop of ketchup and settle down with the warm hash's. So with the same intention I had a small bag of potatoes sitting in my pantry these past months. The hash cravings are so rare now though and potatoes grow eyes and ears and some times rot by the time I get to them! The smell of which is the worst ever, a good contestant for WMD's. And so... I sneaked in a bag of frozen hash browns on my last grocery trip. Here's how I used them,

Potato and Bell pepper hash

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1/4 cup - green & red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/4 tsp - Turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp - Red pepper flakes
• 1/4 tsp - Garlic, grated
• 1/4 tsp - Chaat masala (optional)
• 2 tsp - Olive oil
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Thaw the frozen potatoes, I usually microwave them for a minute or two. Heat a shallow pan, with the oil, on medium high heat. Add the diced bell peppers, garlic, and red pepper flakes and saute for a few minutes.
2. Once they slightly soften, add the hash brown potatoes and salt. Cook undisturbed for 4 mins so the potatoes roast and get a crisp golden exterior, stir to toos/flip them around and cook for 3-4 more mins (or until you are satisfied with the texture, half the dish vanished at this point :D )
3. Garnish with chopped cilantro, a pinch of chaat masala and a dollop of hot & sweet tomato ketchup on the side.

I also toasted acouple of slices of bread, drizzled with a lil olive oil. When they are still hot rub them with a clove of garlic. I had some roasted red bell pepper chutney to spread over it and a bowl of grapes to join the party. Settled into my couch with this plate, I was ready for a movie marathon :) Its quick to put together and the veggie and spice combination is upto you. It could also serve as a perfect weekend breakfast/brunch.

Whats your favorite movie night meal ?

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.

Sabudana Upma/Kichidi

Dear Foodies,

I've talked a lot about upma's here - wheat rava/dalia, beaten rice/atukulu, bambino and even maggi upma style have found a cozy spot. So here is yet another yummy tiffin item to add to that list, Sabudana/Sago Upma.

Upma's are mostly sought out when you need something quick, healthy and nutritious on the plate. I usually make them when I don't have any veggies at home, atleast not the quantity that can serve as a stand alone dish. The odd carrot, capsicum, beans, peas or a few handfuls of greens dutifully find their way into the upma. It helps perk up the upma, making it more satisfying and closer to a whole meal. Sabudana upma though, stands out from the group in a few aspects. This upma doesn't exactly fit into the 'fast-food' tag. It needs a few hours of prep time and so cannot be whipped up in the last minute like the rest. Its also not derived from a grain like the rest, but is actually made from the starch extracted from a root vegetable called cassava, read more about it here. The tapioca flour is also used as a egg substitutes in a few recipes due to its starch content.

The pearls can be used in making delicious payasams and puddings or in savory dishes like vada/cutlet and this upma. My mom also makes yummy sundried goodies called javvarsi vadiyalu with these. A couple of weeks a year would be dedicated to making an assortment of papads and vadiyam to last through the year. It was soo much fun! Cooked with ground green chillies, cumin seeds & salt, we spooned them out onto huge sheets of plastic during the summer months to dry. We would then have a scrumptious supply of treats for the rest of the year. I also love the ones stored in the stores, they are round and colored with food colors. We made a few of these at home using bottle lids to act as moulds for the round shape.

Sago upma is just as easy to make but with one tricky step, the soaking of the sago pearls. Its the difference between a good upma and a chewy, gummy, unpalatable mess! I've made that too, more than once! And its impossible to salvage the dish once that happens. It turns into such a gooey, gummy mess that you might loose your teeth trying to chew on it. It sticks to everything, infact it might make a good industrial glue base I think!

I've tried a few methods for soaking and finally found the one that works the best for me (touchwood :P). Wash and drain the sago pearls thoroughly, like you would rice, in 2-3 changes of water. Just as in the case of rice, washing wipes out a little of the starchy overcoat, which helps in keeping the grains fluffier & separated when cooked. Spread them out in a wide dish and sprinkle a few handfuls of water on top, so that they are barely moist but NOT swimming in water. Let it sit overnight. The next morning use your hand to break any clumps and you should have a pretty bunch of pure white pearls waiting to be made into a delicious upma. Be sure to buy a fresh stock of these by checking the packaging date. They do store well in the pantry but batches that are more than 8-10 months old will ruin the upma no matter how well you soak it.

anti-clockwise from top left - sabudana pearls left for soaking, after soaking overnight, added to the sauted onions.

Sabudana/Sago Upma
(2 medium servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup - Sabudana, before soaking
• 1/4 cup - Peanuts
• 1/2 cup - Onions, diced
• 2 -3 nos - Green chillies, slit lengthwise
• 1/2 tsp - Mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp - Cumin seeds/Jeera
• 1 tsp - Channa dal
• a pinch of hing/asafoetida
• 1 Tbsp - Oil
• 4-5 - Curry leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• optional - 1 medium potato, diced and boiled in salted water

Method:

1. Wash, drain and soak the sabudana as mentioned above. They will plump up a bit, run your hand through them and break any clumps.
2. Heat oil in a skillet and add the mustard and cumin seeds. Once they begin to pop add the chana dal, as it starts to change color add green chillies, curry leaves and a pinch of hing.
3. Add the onions next and saute till they turn translucent. In the meantime, dry roast the peanuts, cool and coarsely grind them. A few pulses in the blender will do, the coarse bits add the needed crunch to the upma while the finer ones soak up the moisture and keep the upma dry. (If using cubed potatoes, add them now and saute for a couple of minutes)
4. Add the sago pearls and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the peanut powder & salt, stir carefully and cook for a few more minutes. The pearls are initially white and opaque, but turn slightly translucent as they cook. Turn off the heat, cover with a lid and allow it to rest for 5 mins. Serve with a dollop of yogurt on the side.

I love peanuts, and...I love this upma :D This is one of my favorite weekend brunches, if I remember to soak the sabudana the previous night that is :) Its fun to eat this upma, the sago is slightly chewy and the peanuts crunchy, giving this dish a perfect balance of textures. Its a very simple dish with just two main components apart from the tadka/seasoning. Once you have the pre-soaked sabudana it hardly takes more than 15-20 mins to put the dish together. I bought some organic, roasted peanuts (unsalted) from the bulk bins of my local store and that shortened the prep time even more. If roasting them, make extra and store them for later use.

Gifted...

Dear foodies,

Meet my newest friend - Gund(U), clutching sweet treats for me.

Isn't he adorable!

From my most dearest Valentine in the whole wide world, my brother, the real gift.
Love you!

Happy Valentines Day! Hope all you have a fun & laughter filled day with your loved ones, Enjoy!

Rustic bread salad - Panzanella

Dear foodies,

I would call this a bhel puri made with bread instead, its that good. Now I love my bhel puri and would not give such a comment lightly :D Every time I make bread at home, the enthusiasm with which I consume it keeps decreasing with each vanishing slice, and the last few are the toughest. So I always have a problem using them up in ways other than a sandwich or toast. Sometimes I might make a upma or use the crumbs as a topping for another dish, but I'm stumped most times. I discovered that you can store bread in the refrigerator/freezer early last year, but even then its the same problem, just that it gets pushed by a few days (or weeks!). I watched a show on food network a few months back where, I don't remember who, was making a bread salad called Panzanella. Panzanella is a Tuscan dish whipped up by yet another enterprising cook, who like me might have had loads of
stale
day old bread lying around. (stale just doesn't sound appetizing)

Traditionally, Panzanella is a salad made with day old bread, juicy ripe tomatoes & generous amounts of basil - a classic Italian combination. But soon each cook added his/her own flair to it and so you will now find Panzanella having onions, capers, garlic, anchovy, olives, cucumber, colored bell peppers & cheese in addition to the basic ingredients. My additions were avocado, and some juicy oranges, it brightens up the flavors and is a treat to bite into. This salad either is a smart way to use up day old bread, or an even smarter trick to get fresh vegetables on the dinner table :) And its just as delicious as this hearty Tuscan bean soup, another innovative dish to use up day old bread.

Tuscan recipes are known for their simplicity and choice of flavorful, fresh ingredients. No matter which combination of vegetables you choose, use the freshest produce you can find, preferably in season, local and organic. The bread can be any Italian style bread, sour dough, rye/ whole wheat bread. I had a loaf of Bee & Jai's Sundried tomato & Peppercorn bread. It definitely is one of the most flavorful breads I've made to date, second would be the potato focaccia. I was wimp while adding pepper though and might bump up the quantity next time. And just as they said, it works really well in sandwiches but is great to simply snack on too. Thanks for the recipe guys.

Panzanella - Bread salad
(serves 2-3)

Ingredients:

• 2-3 thick slices of bread, cut into 1" cubes
I used JB's Sundried tomato & peppercorn bread
• 1/2 cup - Red onions, diced
• 3/4 cup - Cherry Tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup - Cucumber, diced
I used English cucumbers and retained their skin
• 1  - ripe Avocado, diced
• 1  - Jalapeno, finely chopped (optional)
  
• 1  - Orange
• 1/4 cup - Cilantro
• 2 tsp - Lemon juice, freshly squeezed
  
• 2 tsp - Olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Method:

1. Set the oven on Broil (low). Toss the bread cubes on a baking sheet and season with salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Broil for about 3-4 mins till they start browning and turn crunchy. Alternatively, you can toast them on a pan or use a toaster.
   
2. In a large bowl, toss the rest of the ingredients together, making sure to coat the avocado chunks with the lemon juice, so they don't discolor. Section an orange like shown here. The fiber will still have some pulp holding on to it, squeeze it between your hands to extract all the juice. Taste and adjust the salad for seasonings.
3. Toss the bread cubes with the salad just a few minutes before serving. If its allowed to sit for too long, the bread will soak up all the juices and turn soggy! You can store the salad separately in the fridge for a day in a covered bowl/plastic container.

I absolutely loved this salad and the bread had a major contribution in it, being slightly chewy & slightly crunchy. The stale bread can directly be used too but I love the crunch and enhanced flavor that broiling it with olive oil gives. The bread immediately soaks up the delicious juices from the vegetables but still retains a little crunch. I enjoyed eating it and picked a different assortment of veggies with each forkful...yummm.

The salad is great on its own too and you could easily add some puffed rice and turn it into the ever so popular bhel. Once you have this salad you will start storing fresh bread to use in it :) Coming to that, fresh bread can also be used in this recipe if that is all you have at home and can't wait to try it out :) Broiling dries it up (might take a little longer though) and so it is just as good at soaking up the flavors.

This salad is off to Vaishali's 'Its a Vegan World - Italian' event, visit her blog for more information about the event. You have until the end of this month to send her your vegan Italian creations.

How do you use up bread ? Any go-to sandwich fillers/combos and how do you pack it up for lunch ?

Black eyed peas shorva

Dear foodies,

I have been drawn towards black eyed peas (alasandhalu/karaamani) offlate. Every time I open my pantry or pass by the canned food aisle in the grocery store it beckons me towards it. I've bought 3 cans of it in the past month. They have a very earthy, subtle flavor that endears them to me more than the regular chickpeas or kidney beans. They can take upon complex spices, like in the dish, or shine in a simple sundal preparation. I have been trying out different gravy combination's with them lately and think I hit the spot with this one. The flavor combo is exactly what I was looking for in all my past attempts. Sometimes you just have a weird image in your mind about how you want the dish to taste and feel, but its vague. Its not a recipe idea but just a teaser image, you know what I mean right ? Okay...I'll stop before you think I am crazy and head straight to the recipe. This dish so good and hearty that you would want to eat bowlfuls of it just by itself. The recipe might look long and daunting, but it uses ingredients most your pantries stock and isn't too tough to put together either...

Black eyed peas in spicy gravy/kurma

Ingredients:

Soak
• 2 Tbsp - dessicated Coconut
• 1 Tbsp - white Poppy seeds/khus khus
• 1 Tbsp - broken Cashew pieces
  
• 1/2 cup - Water
  

Dry Roast
• 1/2 tsp - Fennel seeds/saunf
• 1 tsp - Cumin seeds/jeera
• 1 Tbsp - Coriander seeds/dhania
• 1 inch piece - Cinnamon stick
• 4 nos - Cloves/laung
• 1 Tbsp - Sesame seeds/til/nuvvulu
• 1 nos - dry Red chilli

Saute
• 1 nos - big Garlic clove
• 1/2 cup - red Onions, cubed

Saute
• 1 Tbsp - Olive oil, divided
  
• 2 nos - Garlic cloves, lightly crushed
• 1/2 cup - red Onion, finely chopped
• 1 nos - medium size vine ripe tomato, finely chopped
  
• 1 tsp - Turmeric powder
• 1 tsp - Red chilli powder
• 1 tsp - Tamarind extract
  
• 1/3 cup - Water
• 1 can - Black eyed peas, washed & drained
• 1/4 tsp - Sugar
• Salt to taste

Method:

1. Warm 1/2 cup of water in the microwave and soak the first three ingredients for 15-20mins.
2. In a wok/skillet dry roast the next set of ingredients except the sesame seeds, on medium heat. When the spices are fragrant, add the sesame seeds and lower the heat. Keep a lid handy to trap the popping sesame seeds. Transfer to a plate and cool.
3. Add 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil to the pan and toast a lightly crushed clove of garlic. When it starts to brown add the cubed onions and saute until translucent. Add these to the 1st set of ingredients soaking in water. When cooled, grind them together with the whole spices into a smooth paste.
4. Add the rest of the oil to the skillet and saute the finely chopped onions and lightly crushed garlic cloves. When the onions turn translucent and begin to brown add the tomatoes and cook until they soften and loose shape, 4-5mins. Add the turmeric and red chilli powders too. (The turmeric adds a lovely, rich color)
5. Next carefully add the masala paste, tamarind extract and a little salt. If the paste is too thick it will begin to bubble violently in the pan so add 1/3 cup water. Cover with a lid and cook for about 8-10 mins on medium-low heat until the rawness is cooked out and oil starts to slightly separate. Stir at regular intervals as the masala tends to settle to the bottom and burn.
6. Wash and drain the canned beans and add it to the gravy (along with extra water if needed). Check for salt and a bit more if needed, the beans will soak up a little as they cook. Simmer for 8-10 more mins, stir in 1/4 tsp of sugar to balance out the flavors and check for seasonings.
7. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, lemon wedges (slivered ginger might be good too) and serve hot with rice/roti/bread.

The moment the aroma of the masala paste hit my nose I knew I had it right this time. With the excuse of checking for seasonings I ate quite a few spoonfuls right from the wok. Ya wok, I bought a new one this week and have been cooking with it everyday even if the dish does not 'need' it :D. In one of my previous trails I added a little too much of fennel seeds and cinnamon, and that gave the whole dish a bitter background. Not appealing at all and masking it was tough too. I tried adding yogurt to mellow out the taste but that didn't work out so well. So this time I was very cautious and the result was a yummy dish.

This is a dish that is fit to be on the menu of a good restaurant. Its rich and creamy, spicy and not 'spicy hot'. Though it has 3 cloves of garlic on the whole, it does not taste too garlicky'. Two of those are only lightly crushed and add a mild flavor to the gravy. This dish has as much gravy as there are beans in it. It uses just a Tbsp of oil, but I wouldn't call it low fat cos of the first three ingredients, but you can surely indulge once in a while, right?

I had this with pita bread since I was lazy to make fresh rotis. I made 1/2 cup of rice y'day just so I could enjoy that combo too. It tasted even better the next day since the spices had a little longer to get to know each other. This is definitely on the list of my fav dishes now and I can't wait to take it to a potluck to show it off. How do you cook black eyed peas? I've heard they make good fritters/vada, need to bring out the appam pan for that to use up the third can :D