I don’t remember exactly how I got this idea of including mashed chickpeas in the idli batter. I guess I was inspired by Red Chillies’ soy bean dosa or my chickpeas poori. I decided to grind one can of chickpeas (15.5oz) into a smooth paste and mix it with the regular idli batter. A can of chickpeas has approximately 23-25 grams protein and fiber each. That’s a lot of nutrition. I do agree that to get the entire benefit one has to consume about 40 idlis which is not possible. But I believe that healthy additions like this even in small quantities if done on a daily basis would help us in achieving overall well being. Another bonus if you have kids who don’t eat their legumes this is a nice trick. My son couldn’t tell any difference and he ate more than usual.

I cook greens at least twice a week. Earlier it was only spinach and methi. Only recently I started using beet greens, swiss chard, turnip greens etc. Even though methi is bitter we all like it in our family. Our favorites are the methi theplas, sambar in the beet greens sambar method and another dry curry using channa daal and methi leaves.

Recently I saw a recipe for aloo methi subzi in Sailu’s blog. That day I was going to cook methi anyway, so I decided to try Sailu’s recipe itself. It was very simple to make and tasted awesome too. Very different from the methi recipes I make. I pretty much followed her recipe but for some minor changes.

I used around 2 cups of methi. The methi which we get here in US is not as tender as the ones which is available in India, it’s very big like curry leaves. Sometimes it can be very bitter. So my mother in law gave me this tip of frying the cleaned, rinsed and drained leaves in little ghee to reduce the bitterness. But Sailu’s idea of sprinkling salt and sugar on the methi leaves and squeezing out the liquids also works like a charm. I also fried the methi along with the tomatoes. Since the methi is not
tender, it will not be cooked properly if added in the end. The methi masala tasted very good with chapathis. This serves 2 adults.

The very same day I also saw another recipe for a methi chole in her blog. I bookmarked it immediately and tried it last week. This is yet another easy to prepare side dish for bhaturas and rotis. Another speciality of this dish is, it does not use onions or garlic, and yet it tastes great. If you use canned chick peas like me, this dish can be prepared in no time. In this recipe also I used more methi than specified (3 to 4 cups loosely packed). I used one 15.5oz can chick peas, which is approximately 1 and 1/2 cups of cooked beans. I also used oil instead of ghee for frying the spices. This measurement serves 2 adults.

My grandmother used to prepare a sambar using methi (fenugreek leaves) leaves called “Pulla Keera” meaning tangy greens. It requires little more tamarind than the regular sambar and a tempering of mustard seeds, fenugreek (methi seeds) and green chillies which gives this side dish an unique flavor. Toor daal rice mixed with ghee, spicy potato roast and this sambar is simply a heavenly combination.

I had a bunch of beets with the greens. So I decided to prepare the sambar using beet greens instead of methi. The beet leaves sambar tasted very good and comforting. Grandmothers’ recipes are always versatile and foolproof.

Cauliflower is my husband’s favorite vegetable, so I try to cook different dishes with it.  Nupur’s Cauliflower Soup has become such a hit in my house, these days even my mother is asking me to make it quite often.  While searching the net I came to know about oven roasted cauliflower and was so tempted to try it.  There are 1001 recipes available throughout the net for roasted cauliflower and this is my version. 

Ingredients:
Cauliflower, big – 1, cut into medium size florets
Oil – 1/4 cup
Sambar powder – 2 tablespoons
Red Chili powder – 1 teaspoon
Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon
Hing – 1/4 teaspoon
Salt – as per taste
Cornflour – 1 tablespoon

Procedure:
1.  Cut the cauliflower into medium size florets and clean it by soaking in a mixture of warm water and salt.

2.  In a large mixing bowl combine all the other ingredients and whisk it.

3.  Now add the cauliflower florets little by little and toss it well to coat thoroughly with the mixture.

4.  Spread it evenly on a greased baking sheet.

5.  Preheat the oven at 425F for 15 minutes.

6.  Roast the cauliflower for 25 minutes, tossing it once around 15 minutes.

7.  To get a crispy texture, turn the oven switch to broil mode for 3-5 minutes, again tossing once in the middle.  While doing this make sure that you keep the oven door open and keep your kids out of the kitchen.

Crispy oven roasted cauliflower is ready to be snacked on or as a side dish.

My Notes:
Using the same procedure you can experiment with different flavors like garam masala, curry powder or use a variety of herbs.

I was on a short break and am back with an easy recipe for zucchini kootu. I learnt it from my mother-in- law.  Using rice rinsed water, this simple and tasty side dish can be prepared in no time.  I guess this is similar to the Eriseri which is prepared in Kerala, using plain water.  Usually when I use an electric rice cooker I wash the rice and soak it for 30 minutes and then cook it, to get a soft texture.  So whenever I use my electric rice cooker, I make this kootu with the rice soaked water, because I don’t want to use the regular pressure cooker also just to cook daal for sambar/kootu.  My mother-in-law prepares this kootu with cucumber.  I had only zucchini that day, so I tried it for the first time and it tasted so good.

A very tasty kootu is ready to be served with steaming hot white rice!

Usually I add little sugar to the cooked beet water and give it to my son as juice. This time my mother gave the idea of preparing Rasam (Chaaru) using it. Back in India, my grandmother and mother used to prepare Goddu Chaaru, which does not require toor daal, rasam powder. It’s prepared when you want rasam immediately, or when you are not cooking daal that day. As simple as it may look, it’s very tasty though. I had some toor daal water so I used it in the rasam, but it’s not at all necessary for this rasam.

Ingredients
Beets cooked water
Tamarind – 2 teaspoons or sour tomatoes (I used 2 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes)
Salt
Turmeric powder – 1/2 teaspoon
Ghee – 1/2 tablespoon
Red Chillies – 1 (or as per your taste)
Mustard Seeds
Cumin – 1 teaspoon
Garlic cloves – 2

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

Ever since I came to know that beet greens were edible and prepared Beet Greens Daal, I have wanted to use it more often. Recently I prepared usili using beet greens and beets. Initially I thought of using beet greens alone, but once I cooked it, the quantity was very less, so proceeded using the beets also. I increased the quantity of chillies while grinding the daals, to offset the sweetness of the beets. This was the first time I was preparing beet usili and we all totally loved it.

Ingredients
Oil – 1 tablespoon
Mustard seeds
Urad Daal – 1 teaspoon
Channa Daal – 1 teaspoon
Beet Greens – 1 Bunch
Beets, small – 5
Usili – as required (procedure to prepare usili in My Notes)

My Notes
Half a cup of daal is enough for a family of 3. But I soak 1 cup of daal and prepare the usal as always and use it 2 days. Prepare the usili as per the instructions. Use as much as required and freeze the rest in a ziploc bag. When you want to use it, empty the contents in a microwave safe vessel and either defrost it or cook for a minute and fresh usili is ready.

How to prepare Usili?

Ingredients:
Channa Daal – 1/2 cup
Toor Daal – 1/4 cup
Masoor Daal – 1/4 cup
Green Chillies – 1 (or as per your taste)
Red Chillies – 2 (or as per your taste)
Hing – 1 teaspoon

Procedure:
1. Soak the daals and chillies in water for atleast an hour. (I usually soak it the previous night itself before going to bed.)

2. Now grind the above, adding salt and hing.

3. Grease 2 idli plates and divide the mixture among the 8 moulds.

4. Steam it, as you would do for idlis, maybe couple more extra minutes. A knife/toothpick inserted should come out clean.

5. Once it is done, remove the daal idlis, cut them into small pieces, keep it in a plate, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in freezer for 10 minutes. (Don’t forget that you have kept it in the freezer, then it will become rock hard)

6. After removing from the freezer, place the contents either in a blender or a food processor and powder it. The texture will be so good, if this method is followed. (Now you would understand why I have mentioned to keep it in the freezer. If it is ground as soon as it is steamed, it will have a lot of lumps)

7. This powder can either be used on the same day itself with vegetables of your choice (beans, carrots or a combo of both, in my case even beets) or it can be freezed for later use, so that you can have usili on a busy work day too.

Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it.

When I first came to know about the Jhiva for Love event, I couldn’t think of anybody other than my mother and grandmother.  Amma I love you very much, but I’m going to write about avva (grandmother) here.  She is my father’s mother.  She passed away last June at the age of 79.  Last year this time, I was happily describing to her about the spring blossoms here, my son’s mischiefs and she was also eagerly listening to me as always.  I still can’t believe that she is no more. It aches to write about her in past tense.

She was not orthodox and she was definitely broad minded and courageous, surprisingly for a person who was born in 1928.  The only difference we had, she was very protective of me and wouldn’t allow me to go out with my friends and do the regular cool stuff.  Her rule was I shouldn’t go out anywhere but all my friends, both girls and boys were welcome to our house anytime.  During the early years of my adoloscence this was really frustrating.  You know how it’s like right?  All your friends would go out for a movie, except you.  The next day they would discuss the previous day’s happenings in detail and you will be left alone without nothing to talk.  But I did have company, one of my friend’s grandparents also wouldn’t allow her anywhere, so we formed a mini group within our big group and we became very close.

When I mention about my grandmother, I should definitely mention about her contemporary fashion sense.  Nobody can imagine how many dresses she used to get me, both sarees and churidhars.  She used to buy 2-4 sets at a time.  95% of the sarees I have now were bought by her.  She had such an excellent taste.  She used to select sarees for my mother too and nobody would believe that it was selected by her.  Recently she had also started giving hair cuts for my mother,  to her colleagues disbelief.  They would ask her which beauty parlor?

How can I forget to mention how skilled she was in handicrafts?  She used to do a lot of embroidery.  That’s how I managed to pass the needle work subject in my school.  I was too lazy to do it and she would do it for me.  She loved working with different kinds of beads and has created masterpieces.  She used to get all worked up one month before Navarathiri (Dassera) and would start planning and creating things to keep a grand golu.  She was so creative. I definitely owe her for the little bit of creativity I have.  Did I mention that she was a very good packer?  It’s no joke, she can pack so efficiently,  whether it was a small suitcase for a two days journey or any other big stuff for that matter.

Although I wish she could have lived for some more time to see my son speak fluently and converse with him, I’m happy that she had a peaceful death.  I’m really fortunate to have had a grandmother like her.  Not only that I’m also proud of my mother for being with my grandmother (her mother-in-law) all these years.  My grandmother was really fortunate to have had a daughter-in-law like her.

When I write about my relationship with my grandmother, I can’t deny the fact that we (my husband and myself), are not giving that chance to my son and his grandmothers (my mother and mother-in-law).  My husband has also had his share of living with his grandparents and he cherishes those memories.  I really feel very bad about not being able to give my son that experience.   

My grandmother was also an excellent cook.  I think I have her cooking DNA in me, to some extent.  I last tasted her cooking back in 2006, when she was 78. It had not changed at all.  Her kootu (dal), sambar and koora (vegetable curry) tasted exactly the same as they tasted 20 years back.  She was especially a master in preparing sweets like lavanga latha, padhir peni and other elaborate Diwali snacks.

Out of all her recipes, 3 of them stand out, because they are simple yet tasty and unique.  It’s the fire roasted tomato chutney, spring onion (scallion) and mung dal side dish for chapathis and spring onion pakoras.  I would like to share the tomato chutney recipe here because it has become my husband’s favorite too.  This chutney is a very good accompaniment for dosas and idlis.

Ingredients:
Tomatoes medium size 2-3 nos./half a can of fire roasted tomatoes.
Urad dal 2 tablespoons
Channa dal 2 tablespoons
Red chilly 1 big
Salt 1/4 teaspoon
Tamarind very little (optional)
Oil 2 teaspoons to roast the dals (preferably sesame oil)

For Tempering:
Oil 1 teaspoon (preferably sesame oil)
Mustard seeds 1 teaspoon

Procedure:
1. If you have a gas stove, roast the tomatoes over the flame directly until the skin turns black and it starts to peel. It is going to be a little messy only. Then peel off the skin and cut the tomatoes and let it cool down.  If you have an electric range like me or not interested in roasting the tomatoes over flame, you can use the canned fire roasted tomatoes instead.  I got Hunter’s brand Fire roasted tomatoes diced with garlic (14.5 oz/411 gms).  In this case empty the contents of the can in a colander and drain the liquid and reserve the liquid for later use, for making rasam etc. Half a can of tomatoes is enough for the above measurement of dals.  Try to remove as much liquid as possible.

2. Meanwhile in a small saucepan add oil and after it heats add the dals and red chilly and fry until golden brown.  Transfer it to a plate and let it cool. If you use raw tamarind you can fry it with the dals.  I do not use tamarind while preparing the chutney.

3. After the dals cool, put the contents in a small mixer and pulse it a few times to get a coarse powder.  It should not be ground fine.  It should be like Idli Milagai Podi.

4. Now add the tomatoes and blend it 2-3 times until the dals and tomatoes mix together to form a chutney consistency. You can add little water at this stage if required.

5. Add another teaspoon of oil, after it heats add the mustard seeds and pour it over the chutney and mix it well.

6. Serve it with hot idlis or dosas and enjoy!

This is my entry to Pratibha and Pritya’s Jhiva for Love Event.

I love to create my own recipes. Since I’m a novice baker, I’m trying only other’s recipes for now. I just try to tweak it here and there. So for the time being my experiments are limited to Indian cooking only. That’s how I put together this recipe. May be some of you know this one already, but I’m very happy because, I tried it for the first time and it was very tasty.

I asked my husband to get 1 zucchini to try the oven baked zucchini fries, but he bought 4 instead. Anyway it worked out good because I was able to come up with 3 new recipes. They are zucchini pappu, chocolate chip zucchini bread and zucchini soup. I’ll be posting the other 2 very soon. I wanted to post the zucchini bread first, but when I mentioned about the zucchini recipes to my friend Laksh of Lakshmusings, she told that she would try zucchini pappu. So I thought I should post that one first.

Ingredients:
Zucchini 1 medium size, peeled and grated (don’t drain the water)
Tomato 1 medium size, cut into small pieces or 1/4 cup crushed tomatoes
Toor Dal 1/4 cup, pressure cooked
Sambar Powder 1 teaspoon
Green Chilli 1 medium, slit it
Salt 1/2-3/4ths of a teaspoon according to your taste
Water 1/4-1/2 cup as required

For Tempering:
Oil 2 teaspoons
Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon
Channa Dal and Urad Dal 1 teaspoon each
Curry leaves 3-5 leaves

Procedure:
1. In a sauce pan add the oil and after it heats add the rest of the tempering ingredients.
2. Once the dals turn golden brown add the grated zucchini, slit green chilly, tomato puree/tomato pieces and sambar powder,little water and close the lid. Zucchini itself has water content in it, so just add little water to make sure that the zucchini does not stick to the bottom of the vessel while cooking.
3. Once the zucchini is done add the cooked toor dal and let it boil for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Garnish it with cilantro.

Variation:
I have tried the exact same recipe with ridge gourd and bottle gourd too.  They also taste very good.  You may also add a teaspoon of tamarind extract with the zucchini, if you like it sour.

My Notes:
Nowadays I use crushed tomatoes a lot in my cooking. It’s very economical when you compare it with the price of fresh tomatoes and also saves you time in the kitchen. Once you open the can pour the contents into another jar/plastic box and store it in the refrigerator. One 32 ounce can lasts for 2 weeks for me and it’s only 79 cents, when a pound of fresh tomatoes is anywhere between $1.50 to $2.00 and they also rotten quickly. Moreover I came across one more fact that cooked and canned tomatoes have more lycopene than the fresh ones. Anyway I’m not telling “don’t buy fresh tomatoes”, it’s just my observation. I thought I can share it with everybody here.  Moreover my husband does not like too much of tomatoes in his diet, so this works for me.  His favorite dish with tomatoes is Tomato Rice, I use crushed tomatoes in that too.