Next to cauliflower and broccoli, tofu is my husband’s favorite. Actually he would eat anything vegetarian if it’s healthy. For me the criteria is, it has to taste good. So I experiment with tofu to satisfy both our needs. So far our favorite is tofu paratha. I drain the tofu well, grate it, add some Indian spices and divide the mixture into small balls. Then proceed to prepare the parathas as usual, using the tofu stuffing.

The Tofu Mango Pudding did not get his vote. The truth is he is not a “dessert” person. My son, my mother and myself loved it so much.

Recently I was going through Mallika Badrinath’s cookbook and found a recipe for paneer tikkis. Again paneer is my most favorite and his least favorite. He doesn’t eat it because of the fat content and calorific value. I wish I have the self control like him, I would be 30 pounds lighter! I remembered having a packet of extra firm tofu in my fridge, so decided to used it instead of paneer and changed the seasonings to suit our taste.

For long time now, I have wanted to prepare vegetarian burgers, or rather it was my husband’s long pending request and I finally made it yesterday from Jai and Bee’s blog. Their Spicy Kidney Bean Burgers is a fantastic recipe. I was able to prepare it for dinner in no time.

I used canned and drained kidney beans (2 cans, 15.5 oz each). It was also the “No Salt Added” store brand canned beans, this allowed me to control the sodium content in the burgers.

I don’t have a food processor, so at first I just drained one can and rinsed it well and mixed all the other ingredients listed in the recipe and blended it using my Indian mixer. And let me tell you, it was little tricky to get the right consistency. Initially it did not grind at all and once I added a little water it became very mushy. I was glad that I reserved the other can. Now I opened the 2nd can, drained and rinsed it and mashed the beans nicely with a potato masher and mixed the ground mixture to this. Even then I was not able to make balls out of it. So instead of adding flour to the mixture as they had mentioned, I added a handful of quick cooking oats and I got the desirable consistency to shape them into burgers.

I also used curry powder and Maggi’s tomato chili ketchup to give it a desi taste. The original recipe mentions to use either ajwain (omam) or cumin, but I strongly suggest to go with ajwain, because I felt that it gave a very good flavor and aroma to the burgers. I also did not have nutritional yeast, so used roasted chick pea flour (besan) instead. Also don’t forget to add the 1/4 cup of chopped almonds, because this gives a nice crunch to the burgers, which you don’t want to miss.

I used a stove top non stick griddle to cook the burgers. Sprayed the grill with non stick canola oil spray and placed the burgers on it. It took around 8 -10 minutes for one side. Let it cook completely on one side, don’t be in hurry and bother to turn them immediately, because it will lose it’s shape. After 8 minutes or so, slowly flip it over the other side and let it cook for another 7-8 minutes. For 2 cans of beans I got 8 medium size burgers.

For the buns, I used Arnold’s Select 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Thins. It is a mere 100 calories, with 6gm fiber and 5gm protein and it doesn’t taste like mulch also

We had our burgers on a bed of iceberg lettuce, grilled zucchini with a side of potato/sweet potato fries. (Ya I know, was trying to reproduce their original menu!)

Jai and Bee we loved them absolutely. Thank you very much for such an easy and healthy recipe. Your Recipe Rocks!

This is also my entry to Zlamushka’s Tried and Tasted event.

Food blogging has given me a lot of new friends.  One such very special person is Dee.  Sometime (actually very longtime) back she had sent me a BIG package for the Arusuvai Friendship Chain.  She had sent her delicious home made granola, koora podi, aam papad and a gorgeous Kitchen Aid Recipe Box.

The granola tasted unbelievably good, I was munching it on throughout the day and did not have anything left to prepare a dish using it. Sorry Dee it was not my fault that the granola was so delicious.  The koora podi is also so good, it enhances the flavor of any dish it’s added to.  It also tastes good by itself as a side dish for Idli/Dosa.  I use it in all my curries.  Above is the picture of the Potato Roast and and below is the Coconut Rice that I prepared using the podi.

Recently I also prepared her Broccoli Patoli/Usli.  It’s something I have never tried before, so I was really skeptical about the taste.  But I tried it anyhow because it’s my husband’s favorite vegetable.  We were not at all disappointed, because it tasted very good and I’m going to make this one regularly.

Thank you so much Dee for your recipes, friendship and more!

Uma has given me a Giant Bear Hug.  Thank you very much dear, hugs to you too. 

Hetal and Ranji have passed me the Friendship Award.  Thank you very much girls, I’m so happy that you thought of me. 

It’s very difficult to choose only a few people to extend my hugs and friendship.  Anyhow I extend it to

Dee
Akay
Roma
Laksh

Recently I also tried 2 other recipes from other blogs and this is going to be a regular in our house.  

Kalva’s Gongura Pachadi: It was my first try with gongura leaves and we loved the chutney very much.  Thank you Kalva.

Laavanya’s Bhindi Masala: Although I have prepared bhindi masala a lot of times earlier, the tip which Laavanya has given to microwave the okra for 5-7 minutes before sauteeing it is such a wonderful idea.  Try it out ladies, the okra does not get slimy at all.  Thank you very much Laavanya.  Can’t wait to try your oven baked Idli Manchurians.

This is a very simple side dish for chapathis/naan without lot of spices, yet very flavorful and healthy.

Ingredients:
Oil – 2 tablespoons
Garlic Cloves – 2, minced
Onion, medium size – 1, finely chopped
Salt – as per taste
Curry powder/garam masala – as per taste
Yogurt – 1 cup (I used low fat yogurt)
Milk – 1 cup (I used 2%)
Frozen chopped spinach (10 0z) – 1, thawed
Canned chickpeas (15 oz) – 1, drained and rinsed

Procedure:
1.  Heat oil in a skillet.
2.  Add the onion, salt and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.
3.  Now add the curry powder and cook for another 1 minute.
4.  Add yogurt, milk, thawed spinach and the drained chickpeas and let it simmer until all the flavors blend together.

My Notes:
1.  The dish was nice and creamy.  I actually added a mixture of full cream and milk, that definitely gave a richness to the gravy. 

2.  Be careful while adding salt because the canned chickpeas already has salt in it.

3.  Update:  I did not make the Naan.  It’s the frozen variety we get in US, Deep Brand.   Just heat it in the oven for 2 minutes, it’s ready to eat and you get a very nice fluffy naan.  I also broil it for another 1-2 minutes to get a crunchy texture.  The one in the picture is Garlic Naan and we absolutely love it.  It’s so handy while entertaining friends also.  But be sure to heat it just before eating and serve it immediately or else it tends to dry.

Dear Ranjeetha of Ranji’s Kitchen Corner has passed me the Nice Matters award.  My another friend Divya of Dil Se has passed me the Rocking Girl Blogger Award.  Thank you very much Ranji and Divya.

I would like to pass both the awards to my very good friend Dee of Ammalu’s Kitchen.