Crunchy Makhana

Let me take this opportunity to share with you my favorite crunchy and super simple snack known as Makhana. Also known as Phool Makhanas.You get this wonderful beauties at most of the Indian stores. They are basically lotus seeds. Makhanas are very healthy, rich in iron, calcium and protein. I came across this crunchy treat in a book called, "Women and Weight loss Tamasha"- by Rujuta Diwekar. I am a great fan of her work and follow her suggestions as much as possible. A separate post on the diet she suggests(which works wonders), my experiences with that is in my TO DO list and stay tuned for that..:)

Coming back to Makhanas. I find them better than popcorn, full of nutrients and super simple to make.

You will need-:

1. Phool Makhanas- as many as you want to make.
2. Desi ghee
3. Salt 
4. freshly ground black pepper.

Heat desi ghee in kadai/pan , add makhanas to kadai, season them with salt and pepper. On low to medium flame, toss everything together until they get crunchy.

This is how they will change the color after roasting.

 Usually it takes me 6-7 minutes depending on the quantity. If they are not crunchy enough, let them stay in for couple more minutes. Turn off the gas and let them cool. Store them in an airtight container.

Oh..and did I mention? 

They have anti-aging properties.

Don't forget to scoop out some for you on a great afternoon..:)

 I am sending this recipe to Sweet Karam Kapi and to Rekha's Event.

Enjoy!!!

Flax-Seed Chutney

What a great way to have your daily source of omega-3, if you include a spoonful of chutney in your dinner!
Flax-seeds - back in India we call these 'Javas'. It's mostly made in winter for it's heat properties. Flax-seeds are also great source of dietary fiber.
It is a dry chutney. This is the quickest chutney I have ever made. Here is all you need-:

• Organic sprouted ground flax-seed
• Garlic cloves
• Red chilly powder
• Salt to taste
• A pinch of sugar.

Chop the garlic in to 2- 3 pieces, and toss everything together into a blender. Grind until powdered. You can enjoy this chutney with any Indian bread. Works very well with any kind of parathas.

You can certainly use the whole flax-seeds and roast them before grinding them in the mixer. But I think using ground flax-seeds gives a nice texture to the chutney and it also saves the time of roasting the seeds.

If you use ground  seeds, the chutney hardly takes 2 minutes to get ready. I mean it. TWO minutes only! Try it yourself and let me know..:)

Green Tomato Chutney

Simple and delicious chutney made from homemade green tomatoes tastes yummy! All you need is 6 simple ingredients to make this super delicious chutney.

• Green tomatoes - finely chopped
• Garlic - finely chopped
• Cumin seeds - half tbsp
• Onion - finely chopped.
• Salt to taste. 
• Canola oil for tadka

Heat some oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds when the oil is hot. Once they start sizzling add chopped garlic and let them play around for a minute. Add onion and stir them until they are soft, add chopped green tomatoes. Cover and keep for about 10 minutes keep stirring in between. Once everything becomes soft, add salt as per taste. Add red chilly powder if you want to make it spicy or you can also add chopped green chilly.

Enjoy with hot Indian bread(Roti/ naan) or just use it as a spread over bread. Top it off with Cilantro. You can also use this as a stuffing in to vegetable like bell pepper.

I am sending this recipe to LGSS "Tomato" November 05 to December 05 event. Vatsala of Show and tell has announced this event on her blog. Thanks to both of them for hosting the event.

Modak- A steamed version.

On the occasion of Ganapati, here is the re-post.




Modak for me is party in itself. These delicious mouth watering traditional Maharashtrian dessert with a drizzle ( and I mean a really spoonful of drizzle) of homemade ghee makes my day more special. Modak preparation is associated with Hindu god 'Ganesha'. Modak is believed to be his favorite food. The cover ( also called Ukad in marathi) is made up of rice flour and filled with coconut and jaggery, topped with hot ghee(sajuk tup) and a couple of strands of saffron is just additional touch.


Making modaks is a hard job. It takes years and years of experience for the perfection.
But there is always a room for improvement so nothing should stop you from trying.


Final product should look something like this-

Here is what you will need-:


For the covering-: (Ukad)

• 1 cup of rice flour    

• 1 cup of water
• A pinch of salt 
• 1 teaspoon of oil.

For the stuffing-:

• 1 cup of shredded coconut.( Easily available in the frozen section of Indian store)
• 3/4 cup of Jaggery ( cut in pieces)
• Cardamom powder- A pinch
• Poppy seeds- 1 teaspoon

For garnish-: 

• Few strands of saffron
• Ghee

This is how you prepare-:

The covering- Ukad

• In a sauce pan, heat the water. Add salt, and oil while heating the water. Let the water bubble.                       

                           

• When water bubbles, add the rice flour. Keep mixing well while you add the flour.

• Lumps will be formed as you keep stirring the flour and the water mixture. If the mixture gets dry, add a tablespoon of water.

• While the mixture is hot take some part of the prepared mixture out, keep rest of the flour covered, so that it won't dry on you.

• Using your hands, and some ghee , kneed the dough to a smooth texture.

For the stuffing-:

• Mix coconut, jaggery in a sauce pan. Heat the mixture until the jaggery starts to melt. It usually takes about 10-15 minutes on a low flame.Add cardamom powder and poppy seeds.

Putting them together-:

• Take a little quantity of the prepared dough in your hands, give that a round shape.

• With your fingers, press the dough evenly from all the sides. Flatten the dough keeping it round.

• Press the edges with your thumb and the index finger. Press it equidistantly. 
• Take a spoonful of mixture and stuff it inside the flatten dough you just made.

• With the palm and the fingers, and maintaining it's round shape, pull the edges together towards the center.

• Join the edges at the top.

For steaming-:

You can use any kind of steamer. I used a soft wet muslin cloth over the colander. 

Then I put all the modak's in the colander.

and then placed the colander in to large pot filled with water at the bottom. I used the pan as a steamer. 

You can also use idli stand or pressure cooker. Steam the modaks for about 15 minutes.

To prevent modaks from cracking, dip them in water for few seconds and then steam them.

When the modaks gets steamed properly, serve them hot with ghee (sajuk tup). Do not cut down on ghee as the ghee makes the modak more tastier. Garnish with a couple of strands of saffron on each modak.


Here is a picture of hot modak with the steam coming right out of it. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much I did while taking the clicks, and eating as well....:)

Palak Paneer (Cottage cheese in pureed spinach)

I think Palak Paneer doesn't need a description! So I am going to jump into the ingredients and the recipe.

Ingredients-:

Oh yeah....we need some help from the spices..!!

• Oil
• Whole garam masala (Cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaf, black peppercorns- 2 each)
• Cumin seeds - 1 tbsp
• Garlic- minced -1 big clove
• Onions- finely chopped- 1 medium
• Ginger Garlic paste- 1 tbsp
• Turmeric - a pinch
• Tomatoes- 1 medium diced 
• Cumin powder - 1 tsp
• Chilli powder - 1 tsp
• Kasuri methi - 1 tsp
• green chili - 1 small
• Palak (spinach) - A bunch
• Paneer- cubed - as much as you like.
• Salt

Recipe-:

• Wash spinach leaves 3-4 times in water, drain all the water and add leaves to a hot pot of boiling water. To retain the nice green color of the spinach, boil the leaves only for 2-3 minutes, drain them and keep aside.Do not throw the water. You can use the water for the gravy.
• Blend the boiled leaves into a blender and make them into nice puree. Keep aside.
• Heat oil in a pan. Add whole garam masala . Saute for a minute.
• Add cumin seeds and as they start spluttering, add chopped garlic.
• After the raw smell of garlic goes away, add chopped onions, salt and saute them well until onion changes it's color. This takes about 4-5 minutes on a medium flame or sometimes even more. Be patient.
• Add ginger garlic paste. Saute couple more minutes and add turmeric powder.
• Add tomatoes, and saute until they become soft and oil starts to separate from them. Be patient..:)
• Add cumin powder, chili powder and kasuri methi. Mix well.
• Add green chili if you want a spicier version.
• Add pureed spinach and mix, add salt as per taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, add water that you kept aside and make it to a consistency you like.
• Add paneer cubes and let it come to a boil again. Turn off the stove.

Remember, this preparation takes time. It only tastes better, if you take time for every step and keep your patience. 

Palak paneer goes along very well with Roti, rice, paratha, or bread.

Oh.. and did I mention?

Palak being rich in iron and paneer being rich in calcium, gives this dish a great nutritional boost.

In case, If you are wondering, that's the bay leaf.  Don't eat that.... :)

 I am sending this to  Sweet Heat challenge hosted by Food and Football and Baby.




Enjoy!!!

Peanut- Garlic Chutney

Peanut- Garlic Chutney
(Note- Those red chilies are just to add the brightness in the picture- don't eat them just like that..:)))

After I wrote Red chard (pale bhaji) post, I could not wait to try some kind of chutney. I made this nice blend of peanuts and garlic with shredded coconut ,red chillies, salt, sugar and a hint of tamarind. It is the best chutney I have ever made. Hope you like it too.

Here are the ingredients-:

1. Peanuts- 1/4 cup
2. Garlic cloves- 4 big
3. Dry coconut- shredded - 1/4 cup
4. 1 red chili
5. Tamarind- add as per your taste, I added couple of small pieces of deseeded tamarind
6. Salt to taste
7. sugar to taste.

You can certainly change the quantity of red chili and garlic as much as you like. That will only make it spicier or milder depending on whether you increase or decrease the quantity.  I wanted  a medium version, so I only  used 1 red chilly and 4 cloves of garlic.

Dry roast shredded coconut, peanuts, garlic cloves and red chili separately  and then add them into a blender. Add salt, sugar and tamarind. Grind everything very well. Give it a stir in between and grind again. Grind the mixture to a consistency as seen in the picture above.

Store in an airtight container. Enjoy with paratha/ scallion pancakes, roti, bhakari, or rice.  Or simply just layer the chutney along with Desi ghee( tup) on a slice of whole grain bread for the breakfast. Good mix of protein (Peanuts) ,good carbs (Whole grain bread) and good fat (Desi ghee) to kick off your day..:)

Have fun.:)

Goodies from Remlinger Farms, Seattle

We Had a great day at Remlinger Farms today. It's a very happening place for the kids. I enjoyed our time in hay maze and hay jump and the marketplace which was full of fresh produce along with different spices and syrups, toys for kids and such.
I bought a bottle of plain queen olives and a packet of 17 bean soup mix. I am very excited about the 17 bean soup mix..:) Can't wait to try..:)

Here is a pic-:

17 bean soup mix and Plain Queen Olive

Red Chard (Palebhaji)

Are these beautiful greens missing from your diet? The way to get them on your plate is easier than you think.

 Here is what you will need-:

1. Red Chard chopped-  A bunch.
2. Chopped Onions- 1 medium
3. Chopped tomato- 1 medium
4. Minced Garlic- 3 large cloves
5. Salt to taste
6. Turmeric powder
7. Red chili powder
8. Peanut oil/ canola oil
9. Cumin seeds
10. Mustard seeds

Heat oil in a pan. Add mustard and cumin seeds. Wait until they splutter. Add garlic, saute them until the raw smell of garlic goes away. Then add onions, saute them for 2-3 minutes and add turmeric powder .Add tomatoes. Saute tomatoes until soft. Time to add the red chard. mix well. Cover with lid, and let it cook for about 5- 7minutes or so. The leaves should start wilting down. Add red chili powder  and salt to taste. Mix well and add a pinch of sugar, just to bring out all the good flavors. Cover and cook few more minutes if needed.
Ready to indulge..:)

Usually leafy vegetables do not take much time to cook, so watch out, make sure you don't overcook. Overcooking takes away all the nutrients that these colorful leaves have in them. So enjoy this homemade goodness of red chard with a bhakri/ chapati (poli) . You can also stuff the vegetable inside the bread and make a sandwich if you like.

Sauteed Red Chard with Jowar Bhakri

I usually use spinach in place of red chard. Using red chard is just a variation I came up with, and it turned out to be a great one...:) 

Blogoversary!!

My blog is 3 years old Today!!!! Yipeeeeee :)

Looking forward to the next year..:)

Baked sweet potato fries

Delicious evening snack for my little one! Sweet potato, cut in to wedges and roasted in the oven to the perfection!

Here is my little bunny, all ready with the sweet potato.

Ingredients-:

Sweet Potato
Olive Oil
Salt

Skin the sweet potato and cut it in to wedges. Make the wedges thin if you want the fries to be crispy. Thick wedges does not get the crunch that is usually expected from the fries. I make them thick so that they are easier on the little teeth.

Line a baking pan with the aluminium foil and spread some Olive oil on the foil. They need a very little oil. Arrange the wedges on the foil and sprinkle salt. Toss them together.You can also season them with other spices as per your taste like, pepper, basil, oregano, cumin powder, garlic powder, red chili powder etc.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Roast the wedges for about 25 minutes. Turn them over after 15 minutes.
Enjoy..:)