Beluga Lentil Salad

If you are like me who likes the flavor of lentil curry but wish to have a dried version that gets carried well through the day or may be on a picnic day, you are in a right place. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Beluga lentils
• 1/2 medium red onion chopped
• 3/4 cup raisins
• 2 tbsp capers

Dressing

• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tbsp mustard
• 2 tsp salt or to taste
• 1 tsp crushed black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

Topping

• Baby arugula

INSTRUCTIONS

• Rinse the lentils and drain well, place it in a pan and cover 3-4 inches above with water. Bring to boil and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Make sure you don't overcook, they should still have a bite to it.
• While the lentils are cooking, mix all the dressing ingredients together and stir well
• When they are done cooking, run them through cold water to stop the cooking process.
• Add the dressing, chopped red onion, raisins and capers to the lentils.
• Add arugula or any other greens just before serving the salad.

Inspired from My New Roots.

Mung Bean Quinoa Wraps!

Sometime last month of the last year I posted Lettuce Wraps with Quinoa, Green Mung Bean Sprouts and Guacamole and back then I promised that I will be posting Mung Bean Quinoa chillas that you can use instead of lettuce leaves to wrap things in. So here it goes!!!

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup of sprouted whole green mung beans
• 1/2 cup of red or white quinoa soaked in water for 4 hours minimum
• 3 tbsp white rice flour (Just to add some crispiness, but you can totally skip it if you want.)
• 1/2 inch piece of ginger
• 1 small green chilly
• Salt to taste.

INSTRUCTIONS

• Drain all the water from quinoa and grind all the ingredients in a blender. Make sure you add just a little bit of water. The batter should be of a spreadable consistency, not too thick not to runny. Check and add more if needed.
• On a heated pan, start pouring a spoonful of batter and start spreading around to make a round. about 3 minutes on each side and it should have a nice golden red color.

They are also great with my Minty Guacamole Edemame Hummus or Beet Yogurt Dip or Simple Guacamole!

Sesame Jaggery Fudge - Tilachi Vadi

Makar Sankranti is the harvest festival and also marked as the arrival of spring in India. Sesame Jaggery Fudge is made on this occasion. This fudge (Tilachi vadi ) is made up of Sesame seeds, Jaggery, Ghee/ coconut oil. All of these ingredients adds tons of nutrition to the body especially in the time when it is made...the winter. A perfect combination of all these ingredients help lubricate the joints and nourish the brain while giving the warmth that is much needed during chilly winter month.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup shredded Jaggery
• 3/4 cup roasted white sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup roasted broken peanuts
• 2 tsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp water

INSTRUCTIONS

• Roast the sesame seeds on low to medium flame until they get nice golden color. Keep aside.
• Heat up coconut oil in a pan and add the jaggery into it. Let it melt and then add cardamom powder to it. Also add water and mix well. Turn off the heat.
• Add the sesame seeds and the broken peanuts into jaggery and mix well.
• Coat a plate with coconut oil and spread the above mixture on it.
• Take a glass bowl, grease the bottom of the bowl with some coconut oil and spread the mixture evenly across the plate making an even layer. 
• Mark the lines so that they will form nice squares. Let them sit for 30 minutes and then take the squares apart. You can also make them into diamonds but traditionally Tilachi vadi is made square shaped.

NOTES

• Traditionally these are made with ghee instead of coconut oil. You can't really make the difference between both versions. Both are just as delicious. The coconut oil version makes it perfect for vegans.
• Addition of water helps the fudge retain it's softness and chewiness.
• Make sure you use dark jaggery which is known as chikkicha gul in Marathi.

Happy Makar Sankranti to those who are celebrating!!!

Tilgul ghya goad bola....:)

Lettuce Wraps with Quinoa, Green Mung Bean Sprouts and Guacamole!

I hope you all had a great Christmas! Christmas is the time to enjoy with family and of course food. It is one of those occasions in a year where we all indulge a little or a little too much! 

Now that it's over why not nourish your body with some amazing lettuce wraps!

Here is what you will need-:

• Lettuce leaves as many as you need for the wraps
• 1 cup cooked quinoa- cook it as per instructions, add a pinch of red chilly powder and a pinch of salt while cooking.
• 1/2 cup green mung bean sprouts- steamed with a pinch of salty water.
• 2 avocados
• 5/6 cherry tomatoes halved
• Lemon Juice of 1/2 lemon or lime
• 1/2 white onion chopped
• 1 tbsp coriander powder
• Salt and crushed black pepper
• cilantro
• Organic GMO free Corn chips to top it off for some crunchiness

• Prepare guacamole- In a bowl, mix in chopped avocados, tomatoes, onion, coriander powder, lemon juice,  chopped cilantro, salt and pepper.  Mash them up. Set aside.
• That's it. Starting with quinoa, guacamole, bean sprouts, assemble everything on a lettuce leaf, roll and eat! Crack up some chips on the top.

Variations-:

If you are not a lettuce leaf fan, alternatively you can try making some quinoa and bean sprouts chillas shown in the picture. Chop some lettuce and mix in with the guacamole and other toppings. Please stay tuned for the recipe. In the mean time you can  try making Green Mung Bean Chillas or my Spring Onion/ Scallion Pancakes and use those as wraps as well.

Pick me up Please!!!

Roasted Caramelized Butternut Squash with Cinnamon

And..... here I am posting after almost a year and a half! A ton of things happened during this time which kept me away from blogging. Not that I didn't have time, but my priorities changed over time and the blogging took the back seat. The love for food and sharing amazing recipes however were somewhere deeply buried in my heart and so here I am bouncing back....:)

Fall/ Winter = Butternut Squash!

It is stormy, windy kinda day here in bay area and nothing feels better than a bowl of soup made up of local, seasonal produce. Soups are a nice and warm way to end the day but  sometimes I feel more satisfied if I get to chew instead of gulp down something. Tonight, felt like one of those days. So respecting my bodies needs, I went ahead and roasted an amazing butternut squash that I got from my farm-fresh delivery box.

• Super simple, sweet and super delicious!
• For those who have sweet tooth.
• For those who like to chew instead of gulp on a stormy night.
• For those who eat with eyes first...seriously I mean look at that gorgeous color! Who wouldn't want to eat that..??

Here is all you need-:

1. Butternut squash- peeled and cubed into 1-2 inches.
2. Brown sugar- 4 tbsp. More if you need it to be sweeter.
3. Cinnamon powder- 3 tsp. I like a lot you can adjust according to your taste. 
4. Ghee/ clarified butter- 2-3 tbsp. 

Some of my readers have asked if I have an easy way to cut the butternut squash without getting my fingers cut or breaking the knife...:) Unfortunately I haven't come across any easy way of cutting raw butternut squash. There is a way to microwave the whole squash before you cut it.  Now since I don't use microwave in my house (I don't have one anymore and here is why) I wouldn't go for this option. Alternatively you can roast the whole butternut squash in the oven and then peel and chop the cubes and sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar and ghee.

I am guessing that since microwave softens the squash and makes it easier to cut, the oven should do the same thing. I will be trying it out next time and will update.

Procedure-:

1. Place the cubed butternut squash on to the baking dish in a single layer.
2. Melt the ghee, remove from heat,  add sugar and cinnamon powder.
3. Mix well and pour on to the cubes. Toss well with your hands. Sugar helps to give it a nice caramelized color and flavor when finished. 
4. Place into a 400 degrees F preheated oven for about 20 minutes tossing once or twice in between.  They should caramelize nicely and should turn soft.

Grab a fork and enjoy while they are warm!

Green Mung Bean Chilla with Carrots and Radish Ribbons and Peas Tossed with Simple Lemon Dressing.

How colorful is your meal today?

While I was going through my pictures, I found this long pending picture of bright colors. I enjoyed preparing this meal as much as I enjoyed eating. The Green Mung Bean Chilla is my all time favorite. I always add different vegetables to the chilla batter like spinach, fenugreek leaves(methi), carrots, shredded cabbage, onions, zucchini, tomatoes, thinly sliced green beans and such. In this preparation I tried to balance the colors of the dish by mixing spinach in the batter and bright white and orange salad on the side.

Nutritional Benefits-:

Green Mung Beans- 

• They are also know as green gram. They are famous for the protein that they have in them, but apart from that, green mung beans are also awesome source of iron. 
• They are also high in folate, which is water soluble vitamin-B necessary in production of new cells, DNA and RNA. 
• It's even better to sprout and then use them, as vitamin C which is found in sprouts is missing in the beans.

Carrots-

• This crunchy and deliciously sweet root vegetable has ample amounts of  beta-carotene, vitamin -A, Vitamin K, minerals and anti- oxidants.
• Carrots have tons of nutritional value attached to it. Vision health, anti- cancer benefits, cardiovascular benefits to name a few.

Radish-:

• Another root vegetable high in Vitamin C.
• Radish is excellent for digestion as it stimulates digestive juices.
• They are beneficial for symptoms of flu, cold, cough, respiratory problem.
• Radishes can dissolve phlegm, reinforce energy as well as clear a stuffy nose.
• White radishes (the root and the leaves) work as natural antibiotics against some bacteria.
• Radish is a good mouth and breath freshener, laxative, regulates metabolism, improves blood circulation.

There is an old saying about radishes - "When radishes come to market, nobody will go to pharmacies."

Chilla is traditionally made up of besan (gram flour) and spices. In this recipe, I haven't added besan at all. The batter is made up of sprouted green mung daal and soaked rice ground together with some chopped spinach thrown in it.

I have also added some ginger and garlic paste along with cumin and coriander powder. 

Soaking time-:Overnight/ 5-6 hours at least

Sprouting time-8-10 hours, depending on the weather.

Preparation time-:15 minutes.

Cooking time-:15 minutes

Serves 3-4 people

Ingredients-:

For chilla-

1. Soaked sprouted green mung daal-1 cup
2. Soaked rice- 1/2 cup or more if you want your chilla to be crispy.
3. Ginger- 1/2 inch piece
4. Garlic-1/2 inch piece
5. Chilies-1small
6. Chopped spinach-3/4th cup
7. Cumin and coriander powder-1/2 tbsp each
8. Salt to taste
9. Oil for spraying 

For the salad-:

1. Carrots- 1 medium
2. White Radish-1 medium
3. Peas- a handful
4. Lemon juice-juice of half a lemon
5. Salt and black pepper to taste.

Procedure-:

• Add the soaked rice and sprouted mung beans to the blender. Add ginger, garlic, salt, chilies and blend everything well.
• Pour in to a pot and add cumin and coriander powder, chopped spinach to the batter and mix well.
• Heat a griddle / tawa over medium heat and once it is hot, with the help of a ladle start spreading a the batter on the tawa.
• Let it cook on one side for about 3 minutes and then flip and cook the other side.

Putting the salad together-:

• Peel the carrots and radish from all sides and make the ribbons out of them.
• Toss them together along with peas
• Mix some lemon juice with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour it on top of mixed radish, carrots and peas.

This is a perfect meal to eat with your eyes first!!!

The eye pleasing meal is headed to 2 events.

1. Dish it out- Lentils/legumes and vegetables
   
2. Breakfast recipes- from My Culinary Creations.

Nutritional Benefits Source-:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_Benefits_of_white_radish
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=21

Tawa Bhendi Masala

Who doesn't like Bhendi/Bhindi/ Okra/ Lady's fingers/ gumbo??? It has a pleasant, mild taste and so it can really take any kind of masalas you can think of. I make bhendi in 3 different ways-:

1. Bhendi fry- Which is stuffed with masalas and deep fried. I make it occasionally as it is deep fried.
2. Masala Bhendi- Cut okra in a slightly big pieces and then stuff it with gram flour along with bunch of other spices. Sometimes I also put potatoes in this preparation, when I am short on Bhindi.
3. Chinch gulachi bhendi- This is a very traditional maharashtrian version of preparing bhendi. It is kind of curry, which has jaggery (gul) and tamarind(chinch) in it. I am hoping to post this version in the near future.

Nutritional Benefits-:

• Bhendi contains healthy amounts of Vitamin A and flavonoid anti-oxidants such as beta carotine, xanthine and lutein. Our bodies convert beta-carotene to Vitamin A.We all need vitamin A for healthy skin, immune system,good eye health and vision. When it comes to vitamin A, it's always a good idea to have more beta- carotene rich food than to consume supplements. Excess amount of vitamin A from the supplements, makes our bodies toxic.
• They are also excellent source of Vitamin C.
• The pods are also good source of important minerals like iron, calcium, manganese and magnesium.

Today, the recipe I am going to share with you is a little twist to Masala Bhendi. Tawa Bhindi Masala. Tawa is a fry pan which is round in shape, you can find it in any Indian kitchen as it is used to make roti's (Indian Flatbread) everyday. This recipe is very simple to make, and that's why this is the recipe for someone who is a newbie and would love to get into adventures of Indian cooking.

Preparation Time-: 10 Minutes

Cooking Time-: 15 Minutes

Serves- 2 people as a side dish.

Ingredients-:

1. Fresh Okra/ Bhendi- 200 grams/ about 20-25 pods. Cut the top stem and discard and then slice the remaining into thin pieces.
2. Tomato- 1 medium sized diced
3. Onion- 1 small finely chopped
4. Cumin Powder- 2 tsp
5. Coriander Powder- 2 tsp
6. Turmeric- 1 tsp
7. Red chilly powder- 1/2- 1 tsp, depending on how spicy you like.
8. Cumin Seeds- 1tsp
9. Asafoetida- a pinch
10. Cilantro- for garnishing.
11. Salt to taste

Procedure-:

• Heat some oil on Tawa. Add Cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric and mix well.
• Add chopped onion, saute.
• Add chopped tomatoes, Saute.
• After about 5 minutes when the onions and tomatoes become translucent, add the sliced bhindi.
• When bhindi gets cooked, add the spices(cumin and coriander) and the salt.
• Garnish with cilantro.

If you want you can certainly put other masalas like Garam masala. I usually don't because I like the mild taste of cumin and coriander powder, which I think goes well with the Bhendi. 

If you want you can add tomatoes or add lemon for the sourness.

Few Things you have to keep in mind  while cooking bhindi-:

1. Never put a lid on bhindi while cooking as it will retain the moisture and will make it sticky.
2. Always add something sour to bhindi preparation, it helps to reduce the stickiness.
3. If you are adding lemon instead of tomatoes, always add at the end of the preparation when you turn off the stove.

You might have guessed by now that Bhindi is a sticky vegetable:) So stick with it and it will nourish you!

Oats Almond Chocolate-Chip Cookies

Back to back second sweet post! Hmm.....After all, it's the holiday season we are talking about..:) This is a wonderful idea for an edible holiday gift for your friends and family! Make sure you double or even triple the batch, if you are gifting them because you might gobble them even before packing them as a gift...:)

These chewy gooey cookies are super simple to make and you almost can't resist eating them when they are warm and just right out of the oven. They are filled with goodness, right from the flavor to the nutrition. The oat and the almond flour provides you the protein and the chocolate chips does their part of providing antioxidants without sacrificing the taste..:) If you keep the sugar part to minimum, (which I always do) eating a cookie in the morning in your breakfast, is not at all a bad idea.

These cookies make a great portable edible holiday gift...!



Of course I can't take credit for this delicious recipe. It goes to Richa of VeganRicha.

Ingredients-:
Makes 16-18 about 2 inch cookies.

• 1/2 cup raw almond flour
• 1/4 cup almond milk( add few tbsp more if you feel that the dough is dry and doesn't come together.)
• 1 cup oat flour
• 2-3 tbsp of lightly packed brown sugar
• 3/4 th tsp baking powder
• A pinch of salt
• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil.( optional if you want chewier cookies)
• Chocolate chips- as many as you want (I used vegan chocolate chips from Whole Foods.)
• Cinnamon powder- 2 tsp ( Any spice of your choice , ginger powder would also be great in this cold weather.)

Method-:

• In a bowl, mix almond flour, oat flour, salt, sugar, baking powder and the spices of your choice. Mix well.
• Add almond milk and coconut oil to the mixture and mix everything together for about couple of minutes until the mixture gets all wet and forms a slightly sticky dough. The mixture should also be sticky at the same time.
• Chill the dough for 10-15 minutes in the refrigerator.
• After 20 minutes, remove from the fridge and If the dough looks dry and doesn't come together, add a tsp of almond milk.roll the dough into balls, shape them like a cookie and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and bake for about 17-19 minutes depending how big you have shaped your cookies. 
• Cool ( if you can wait that long..:))and enjoy!!

These kiddos are going to Eggless Bakes and Treat event and to Let's cook edible gifts for Christmas event

Raw Almond Cacao Truffles

It will be almost a month since I have posted a  new recipe! I have been just cooking and cooking and not getting enough time to actually sit and type in front of computer. As a result I now have too many drafts sitting back there. I decided to break the long break with this delicious Raw Almond cacao Truffles. Vegan, delicious chewy brown balls are so fun to share this holiday season!

Since the holidays are in the air, I have been cooking a lot of sweet stuff lately. Not everything is worth landing up on the blog, since I have been experimenting a lot.

These cuties are our this year's holiday favorites and  I will be making at least  2 more batches before the holiday season ends just because they are so simple to make and are guilt-free at the same time. Almonds, cacao powder, dates and almond milk that's it!!

Let's dive in-:

Ingredients-: Makes about 24 pieces

• Raw almonds- 2 cups
• Medjool Dates(Deseeded)- 12  Soak them for 15 minutes
• 4-5 tbsp of Almond milk or any non-dairy milk
• 1/4th cup of cacao powder
• A pinch of salt.

Method-:

• In a food processor, blend in the almonds, salt and cacao powder to a fine flour like consistency.
• Add the dates and blend well by pulsing. 
• Add almond milk or the milk of your choice so that the mixture starts to come together.
• With the help of small spoons drop the mixture on to a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes.
• Remove from freezer and roll into round balls and then coat with the cacao powder.
• You can store in the refrigerator for upto 1 week if they can last that long..:)
• Serve at room temperature.

These truffles are going to Let's party- eggless bakes and treats, also linking CookCookandCook, and Thoushaltcook and also to grand festive feasts.

Thanks to my dear friend Swapna for the nice serving platter!

Recipe source- http://www.ohladycakes.com/2012/09/raw-cacao-truffles.html

Raw Mango with Chana Dal / Kairichi Dal

Raw mango is definitely not in season, but I found a really nice green raw mango at whole foods last week and couldn't resist myself from buying. On my way home I was thinking about delicious Kairichi dal( Raw mango with chana dal) that my mom used to make in summer. I am a big fan of raw mango, not the one we get here but the one that I used to eat back in India. Really tangy and tarty! Yum!!!
Without thinking twice, I came home and soaked chana dal and waited  for four hours to get started.:)

Ingredients-:

• 1 cup of chana dal soaked minimum 4 hours.
• 1/2 cup of shredded raw mango
• 1 green chilli- chopped
• 1 dried red chili
• 3 tbsp of shredded fresh coconut
• Few springs of cilantro
• salt to taste
• 1/2 tsp sugar

For tadka/ tempering

• Oil-1/4th cup
• Mustard seeds- 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds- 1 tsp
• Turmeric- 1/2 tsp
• A generous pinch of asafoetida
• 5-6 curry leaves

Method-:

• Drain the soaked chana dal and pat it with a paper towel to get rid of most of the moisture.
• In a blender, add the chana dal, green chilli, salt sugar and blend well.
• Add the shredded raw mango to the chana dal mixture and keep aside.
• Tadka/ tempering- In a kadai add oil, when heated add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, turmeric and curry leaves and dried red chilli. Turn off the heat.
• Pour the tadaka over the chana dal mixture and mix well.
• Sprinkle the chopped cilantro and shredded fresh coconut over the dal and serve.

Note:

• Since the dal is raw make sure you add a generous pinch of asafoetida to make the dish easy on your stomach. Also make sure to keep the portion right (light)..:)
• Also I have noticed that the raw mangoes you get here are not much sour in taste. So if you think, that you need the dal to be more on the sour side, please increase the quantity of raw mango.

Re-posting for the event hosted by Simply Food's Taste of Tropics- Mango and Chef Mirelle's Global Creation.

Split Pea Soup with Baby Kale

What a perfect cloudy day for a hot bowl of split pea soup and a crusty piece of bread! I don't think I need anything more from life at this moment. Just finished reading a book called Practicing Mind by Thomas M. Sterner. Extraordinary book that talks about living in present moment and enjoy all the small and big joy that each moment brings to us. Decide your goal, keep the focus on it, but don't think that achieving the goal would be the only thing that make you happy, rather enjoy the process of reaching toward the goal while living in every moment on the path. A must read you all!

I always have great time updating and posting my recipes here on my space, but more than that I enjoy taking pictures and adding them to my post. Here is one of such pics.

Here is how they look before jumping into pot!

As promised yesterday (my FB followers would know) here is a post while we all await for the election results!

This is a kind of recipe that you can work on while you watch CNN/ MSNBC or any of your fav news channel today. 

Here is what you will need-:

• 1/2 cup organic split peas( it would be great if you can soak them for a couple of hours. If you don't have time you can use them as is.)
• 2 cups of organic vegetable broth
• 2 cups of organic Baby kale
• 1/2 medium onion - chopped
• Garlic- 2-3 cloves
• Extra Virgin Olive oil- 1 tbsp
• All spice- 1 tsp
• Bay Leaf- 1
• Jalapeno- 1 cut into small pieces
• Turmeric- 1 tsp
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Paprika- 1-2 tsp
• Herbamare- to taste ( use it instead of salt. If you have never used it before, you should give it a try. It's a sea salt with a nice blend of organic herbs and vegetables)
• Vegetables of your choice- carrots, mushrooms, bok choy etc.
• Water as needed.

Method-:

• In a large pan, put Extra virgin olive oil. After it gets heat up add chopped onion and saute it for a minute and then add the garlic and bay leaf.
• In a minute add turmeric and jalapeno. Then add veggies and saute for about a minute. Add washed soaked split peas. If you haven't soaked them already, take it into account that you might have to cook them longer than if you would have soaked them.
• Add vegetable broth and some water if needed. Bring everything to a boil, lower down the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes until the peas get cooked. 
• Add in the super food- baby kale and mix well. Also add all spice, herbamare to taste and some more water or vegetable broth if it is too thick for a soupy consistency.
• Give a nice mix and let everything come together for 2-3 more minutes.
• If you want you can use a hand blender to puree the soup. Pour a few ladles aside and then puree the remaining soup and mix both together to get a nice consistency. For me I love the heartiness of the soup and like it as is.
• Ladle into a bowl and serve with a crusty bread...YUMM!!!

While the discussion/ polls heat up, ladle yourself a nice hearty bowl of this soup and a bread to go along! Having said that let me go back to the news and hope for the best next 4 years ahead as last 4..:) Fingers crossed!!!

Spooky Pumpkin Chocolate Bundt Cake

My first successful vegan cake ever! Yey...!!

I am sure you all have had lots of fun trick or treating last evening just like I did..:) To make your post Halloween day a little special here goes Pumpkin Chocolate Bundt Cake for all of you!!

Okay let me first admit that I am very very bad at baking. I mean really bad..:( The reason I love to cook is because most of the times you don't have to measure the ingredients and you can just eyeball stuff and adjust according to taste. I have always been cooking this way. After I started writing this blog, I got a little serious about measuring only because I realized that someone else (reader) other than me is probably going to try the same recipe. And so I had to be careful and responsible about what I put here.
Most of my friends or relatives who are good at baking have opposite point of view. They think baking is easiest, and there is no way you can go wrong with it. I attempted some serious baking but...no luck until this one...:)

Without further delay here are the ingredients-:
All Purpose Flour- 3 cups
Sugar- 2 cups
Cocoa- 1 tbsp
Cinnamon- 2 tbsp
Nutmeg Powder- 1 tsp
Cloves- 1/2 tsp
Salt -1 tsp
Baking soda- 2 tsp
Pumpkin puree- 1 can
water- 1and 1/2 cup
Vegetable oil- 1/2 cup
White Vinegar- 2 tbsp
Vanilla extract- 2 tsp

Glaze-:
Powdered sugar- 1/2 cup
Pure Maple syrup- 1/4th cup
Almond milk/ soy milk- 1 tsp
Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees

• In a large bowl add all the dry ingredients. Flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon,nutmeg, cloves, salt and baking soda.
• In another bowl whisk together pumpkin puree, water, oil, vinegar and vanilla.
• Mix the wet mixture into dry until thoroughly combined.
• Grease the bundt pan and pour the mixture into it and bake for about an hour. It took me an hour and 10 minutes. So check in an hour and let it sit in oven for few more minutes if needed.
• Place on a cooling rack after letting it hang in the pan itself for a few minutes.
• Mix the glaze ingredients together and pour over the cake.

Recipe Source- Veronica's Cornucopia.

Have A Nice Day Everyone!!

Quinoa-Oats crusted pizza with guacamole- edamame hummus topped with simple veggies!

I am calling it as a leftover pizza. For the dough I used Savory Coconutty Quinoa  that I cooked a day before, the spread was minty guacamole-edamame hummus and the toppings are any veggies of your choice. I used tomatoes, onions and green peppers.

I added about 3/4th cup of oats to coconutty quinoa and just grinded the everything before spreading it for the base. Add more oats if you feel the batter is still on the loose side. Also I added some more spices like garlic, garam masala and some more salt to taste.

Here is how the whole thing looked. A little more browned than I expected

This recipe is totally inspired from my lovely friend's blog.....Richa.. she writes at VeganRicha. For the whole month of October, she is super busy in making different types of pizzas crusts and spreads and toppings. Check her blog out. It's awesome. Some of my favs are -

• Chipotle Mac and Cheese Pizza with Kamut Wheat Cashew Crust. vegan recipe
• Tempeh Tikka Masala on Glutenfree Oat Rice Focaccia style Crust Pizza. gluten-free vegan recipe
• Deconstructed Gobi Paratha (Cauliflower Crust) Pizza with Cucumber and Yogurt Raita. vegan glutenfree grainfree recipe

• Thanks Richa for sharing all the great pizza recipes! You always inspire me to cook more and more and more..:)

DS loved it so much that only half of the whole left for me and DH..:)

Minty Guacamole-Edemame Hummus

Skip the garbanzo beans this time and make some delicious flavorful, colorful hummus with avocados, edamame and few springs of mint! Delish!!!
Use it as a dip or just spread it over a toasted whole wheat bread, you can also spread it over pizza or even a burger...really the options are endless.
Here is Sun dried tomato pesto that I posted earlier, which can also be enjoyed like hummus.

I will be posting quinoa+ oats crusted pizza spread with hummus as my next post. Take a peek into it.:)

quinoa+ oats crusted pizza spread with hummus topped with onions, tomatoes and peppers

Here is what you will need to make this hummus-:

• 1 large Avocado
• 1/2 Lemon juice
• 2 tbsp cumin seeds powder
• Springs of cilantro
• Frozen thawed edamame
• 1 small tomato
• 3 tbsp of olive oil
• 3-4 big cloves of garlic
• Few springs of mint
• Salt to taste

Method-:

_Chop the avocado,mash it and add lemon juice, cumin seeds powder, salt to taste. 
_Mix everything well and sprinkle cilantro on top which makes your guacamole. Set aside.
_In to a blender add chopped garlic, edamame, olive oil,  tomato, mint and salt. Blend well.   
  Add water if you need to adjust the consistency.Mine needed about 1/2 cup of water.
_Mix guacamole with this blended mixture of edamame. Taste.
_Adjust the seasoning as per your taste. You can add freshly ground black pepper, just for a 
  kick.
_Ready to be relished!

Pumpkin Puris (Bhoplyache gharge)

Chillier days and darker evenings, nice red, golden leaves, pumpkins everywhere, the ghosts and witches and spiders and bats peeking from every house! Oh..I love it. The fall is here..:)

Pumpkin has to be in your grocery list around this time of the year. It's that time of the year!!
These puris go very well with my Green Tomato Chutney, Matar Kurma or Scrambled tofu cauliflower. If you are looking for some rice to go with it, you can try Masalebhat- spiced rice. These sweet puris and Masalebhat really go very well together in one meal.

These puris are headed to Cuisine Delights Monthly Event- Festive Food and Kid's Delight potluck party

Here is what you will need for these gorgeous puris-:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree either canned or fresh, I made my first batch with fresh and the next one with canned puree. The pictured puris are made from canned puree.
• 1/2 cup jaggery/Gul grated
• 2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 tbsp Semolina/ rawa/sooji
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg powder
• 1/2 tbsp Fennel Seeds/ Badishop
• Oil to deep fry the puris- Canola oil/ peanut oil is an excellent choice.

_In a pan mix pumpkin puree and grated Jaggery and turn on the flame.Keep it low and keep stirring the    

  mixture.

_Keeps the mixture stirring until jaggery melts down properly and add nutmeg powder.

_Allow the mixture to cool down.

_After the mixture cools down, add 1/2 a cup of wheat flour and start kneading the dough.

_Add Semolina, fennel seeds and mix everything well.

_Keep adding the rest of the dough until it becomes not to soft and not to stiff. About moderately soft 

  consistency.

_Cover the dough and let it sit for about 15 minutes.

_Divide the dough after 15 minutes into tennis ball size rounds.

_Roll each ball into flat round and deep fry them in hot oil.

_After they cool down, store into air-tight container.

_These puris have a very good shelf life, can be easily stored for about8-10 days. Which means they are 

  great if you are travelling.

Enjoy the colorful fall you all!

Savory Coconutty Quinoa!

Excellent as a one pot meal- full of protein(Quinoa), good fat (coconut milk), vitamins and minerals(veggies)!

• 1/2 cup Quinoa
• 1 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup broccoli- cut into florets
• 1 carrot dices
• 8-10 green beans chopped
• 1 tsp coconut oil
• 1/2 can of coconut milk
• Red chilly flakes- optional if you want more heat
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• Salt to taste

_Add coconut oil into a pan and let it heat. Then Add chopped veggies and toss together.

_Cover the pan and let the veggies cook for a minute or two.

_Wash the quinoa and add to the pan with all the veggies.

_Mix well and add cumin powder and curry powder.

_Now add the coconut milk, cumin powder and curry powder and salt to taste. 

_Mix well and bring everything to a boil. Keep uncovered on medium heat for about 12-15 minutes or until all the liquid gets absorbed.

_Turn the heat off and cover for 5 minutes.

_Fluff up with a fork and serve hot.

Beet-Yogurt Dip- Dairy free, vegan recipe!

This recipe is a vegan version of a traditional Mahrashtrian recipe called Beetachi koshimbir/ Beet Raita.

• 1 medium sized Beet- cooked, peeled and grated.
• 1/2 cup coconut yogurt/ soy yogurt
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tbsp roasted peanut powder(danyache kut- Dry roast the peanuts, transfer to a blender and blend) 
• Salt to taste
• 1 small Chopped chilly(optional, if you need a little bit of kick)
• A few strands of Cilantro for garnishing

-Mix everything together except Cilantro

-Taste and adjust the ingredients as needed.

-Top it off with cilantro.

- Enjoy with a crusty bread or good old pita chips!

Stir Fried Kale with Caramelized Onions

Are you all looking for one more recipe that calls for Kale? Here it is- try eating this side dish with Bhakari(Indian flat bread) or Poli/ chapati (Other kind of Indian breads )or with rice.  The caramelized onions gives the dish a kick that goes well with the Kale, making it more palatable. 

All you need is-:

• A bunch of kale- Chopped
• A big onion sliced
• Ginger and garlic paste
• Peanut Oil for tempering- 1-2 tsp
• Cumin seeds
• Mustard seeds
• Asafoetida- hing powder
• Turmeric
• Salt to taste
• Red Chilly powder
• Amchur powder

Method-:

• Add  Peanut oil into a pan and let it heat well.
• Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds, after that goes in asafoetida. Then add the sliced onions, saute them on low flame.
• After a minute or so, add turmeric powder and let the onions caramelize on a low flame. Caramelizing is a process of slowly cooking for long time, which pulls out natural sugar in onions and the end result is intensely flavorful and richly brown in color.
• Once the onions get caramelize( it took about 15 minutes for me, but it depends on how low your flame is) add the ginger and garlic paste and mix everything well.
• After a couple more minutes add the chopped kale and mix well. The kale will start to wilt down. Add  red chilly powder, amchur powder and salt.
• Let all the flavors come together. Cover the pan until all the kale wilts down. Turn off the heat and done..:)

Entering into my thirties with juicing..:)

It was my 30th Birthday a few days back. I never thought that I will ever finish a glass full of green color! 

Now I can't believe that I spent 30 full years without this glass filled with all the goodness that my body always was asking for! (Almost screaming for..:(..)

I was very surprised with  the end result. It wasn't the best tasting juice ever (I won't lie.) But it is something that I can get up to every morning probably for rest of my life..:)

This is what I added in my first attempt of juicing!

The next day I added celery, and the next day I replaced celery with cucumber. You can experiment with it as much as you want. The options are endless and you don't really have to be creative for that. Just add one type of fruit and add any greens and other vegetables of your choice. What a great way to get your daily dose of nutrients in just one glass. Much better than popping that Multivitamin pill into your mouth!

So those of you who are afraid of getting started with juicing(like me), just take my word and dive into it. You will be happy that you took the first step.

I am glad that I realised the power of nutrients while entering in my thirties (Better late than never....right?)

HAPPY JUICING!!

Pasta with Veggies Topped with Vegan Cheese

You will need-:

• Whole wheat pasta
• Vegetables of your choice- I used carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, and sun-dried tomatoes
• Extra virgin olive oil - EVOO
• Daiya cheese- I used mozzarella style shreds
• Black pepper- freshly ground
• Salt if needed- I don't usually need salt when there is cheese in any preparation. So check the taste  after you add the cheese and then decide.

Method-:

• Prepare the pasta as per package instructions. Drain it and keep aside. 
• Pour some EVOO in a pan, when it heats up, add veggies except sun- dried tomatoes and saute them until they get just cooked.
• Then add cooked pasta  to it and mix everything. Keep everything folding in for a couple more minutes.
• Time to add sun- dried tomatoes and then the delicious dairy free Daiya cheese. 
• Turn off the stove and mix together.
• Serve and savor every bite..:)

HAVE A FUN WEEKEND EVERYONE!