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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Mini Indulgences

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I haven't bothered to cook anything at my mom's what with all the delicious favorites she has been making for us so far...

Well, I take it back, I have been cooking - only the morning oatmeal and occasional ravioli for the kids. I sneak in Junior Horlicks™ (with DHA) into their morning Weikfield™ oatmeal, and some Maggie™ vegetable cube flavoring into their ravioli. And since neither is interested in any solid food intake so far during this visit, I am just throwing up my hands in frustration and letting them live on air and water, some milk and yogurt, till they come around.

Meanwhile, feeling a little guilty, I quietly appreciate the mini indulgences my mom presents, grateful for the respite from the kitchen duty I have back home.

Seen here is a simple meal of Mango fruit (mambazham) mor-kozhambu, lablab/hyacinth beans and snake-gourd poduthuval, usually served with plain white rice.

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Monday, June 29, 2009

Strawberry Shortcake

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Nothing special about this, just realized I hadn't posted my series of strawberry recipes that I made from the fresh strawberries we picked not too long ago.

Simply bake the shortcake, make strawberry compote (I like chunks and whole berries in it), serve topped with whipped cream :)

I just looked up the shortcake recipe on the web - didn't bother bookmarking, they are all pretty much the same. I cut back on sugar in the shortcake as well as compote, letting the natural sweetness of Hood strawberries steal the show.

Serve any way you like - shortcake topped with the compote and whipped cream, or slice the shortcake and fill it with compote as in picture. Enjoy!

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Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Thai Cucumber Salad

thai cucumber salad


Before my trip, D and I were trying to eat healthy by eating up the lettuce in our garden that got out of hand growing like weed and daring us to keep up the harvesting. So, I was looking for interesting ways to consume the bounty and this salad caught my attention in one of my Thai cook books (will add a link when available).

The idea is to marinate the cucumber, red onions, tomatoes and baby corn in a simple vinaigrette. This can be eaten as-is, which is typically the Thai cucumber salad recipe. However, to make it a meal, I added a few more veggies tossed together and served cool or at room temperature.

Of late, coconut vinegar has become one of my favorite ingredients and it is perfect in this dish. Also, if mirin is not handy, just use some favorite sweetening ingredient to balance the flavors.

Ingredients
Vinaigrette/marinade:
2 Tbsp coconut vinegar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp peanut oil or sesame oil

½ large cucumber sliced thinly
½ large red/purple onion, sliced thinly
1 medium tomato sliced or cut into wedges
1 red or green pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
8-10 baby corn, sliced
some toasted sesame seeds or, coarsely broken roasted peanuts
fresh crisp lettuce to form the bed for the salad
some cauliflower, broccoli; and pickled asparagus (optional) if handy, cut into bite-size pieces

Preparation
  1. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients, pour over the veggies and toss lightly; allow to sit for about 30 mins
  2. Heat a tiny bit of sesame oil in a wok, sauté the cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus with some soy sauce and coconut vinegar; remove from wok and allow to cool
  3. Prepare a bed of fresh crisp lettuce, pile the marinated veggies and the sautéed and cooled veggies, top with toasted sesame seeds or crushed roasted peanuts


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Saturday, June 20, 2009

Plateful of Heaven

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After a fairly harrowing journey, the first main meal at home, presented by my mom, is pictured above: Cabbage+Carrot poduthuval, Avial, Chaenai-Elavan Koottu, Chaenai fry and manga curry! With Muringakka sambar and tomato rasam, of course, and some pappadam, which are a given.

My recipes for these dishes are sort of improvised fusion, not necessarily authentic... maybe one of these days I can add my mom's own recipe here for my favorites.

For now, all I am worried about is how not to gain most of the baby weight back after struggling hard to lose some of it before this visit. My mom has promised that she will make just one dish a day, not this variety that I cannot resist, and will try to keep it light :)

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Monday, June 15, 2009

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

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Very much like spiced banana breakfast shake, this could be a simple and wholesome meal in itself, especially if you like savoring a full 16oz in one go :)

Now, I used soy milk and whey protein powder in this just for a boost, but, can leave it out. Frozen bananas are the key, in my book at least, to get the thick rich texture.

A few fresh strawberries from our garden was handy, so I used them for garnish and presentation here.

Instead of strawberries, either blueberries or chunks of mango (my favorite), or even raspberries(D's favorite) can be used.

This has become such a favorite with Ana, especially when I whip it up in no time at her request that it almost seems like she is taking it for granted. Well, no matter - what are mom's for, right?! And, since I don't have to shell out 5$ to 7$ for a tall 16oz., I am glad to make it at home in its simplest and most-satisfying form :)

Ingredients
1 pint freshly picked sweet Hood strawberries*
2 medium bananas, peeled and left in the freezer for about 30 minutes
1 Tbsp whey protein powder
2-3 cups soy milk (or skim milk)
1-2 Tbsp Agave nectar

*Or any kind is fine, just that Hood that we picked are incredibly sweet and juicy

Preparation
Simply combine the ingredients and blend, adjusting milk/soy milk to get desired consistency.

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Saturday, June 13, 2009

Strawberry Mango Salsa Fresca

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Since we recently picked a bunch of strawberries, I've been incorporating strawberries wherever it might prove delicious... and this strawberry mango salsa is one such.

Nothing very fancy or drastically different from my mango salsa, just added strawberries, and made a few adjustments that turned out tasty.

Ingredients
½ large cucumber, cored, diced
¼ medium red onion, diced
12 strawberries (or as many/little as you prefer)
1 ripe firm red tomato
½ ripe firm mango
3-5 pickled jalapeño, rings (seeded if preferred)
chopped cilantro, spring onions, chives for garnish

Dressing:
1-2 Tbsp lime juice
½ tsp brown sugar or agave nectar
salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil
½ Tbsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
a pinch coriander powder (optional)

Preparation
  1. Combine the dressing ingredients, stir well, toss in the cucumber and red onions and allow them to sit while getting the other ingredients ready
  2. Dice the strawberries, mango, tomato and jalapeño; throw them in with the cucumber-onion marinating in the dressing
  3. Adjust flavors to taste, garnish with freshly chopped chives, spring onions and cilantro and serve with favorite chips

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Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Tofu Curry



I love Paneer and this recipe is based on my favorite shahi-paneer curry (a rich, delicious Mughalai curry).

But, since paneer is rather rich, and since I like tofu and have been incorporating soy a lot more in my diet, this simple curry here features tofu instead of paneer. I vary the masala paste each time I make it, just to keep it interesting. This here is one of my favorite versions.

I use firm tofu for this, but extra firm tofu will be just as good. If using tofu blocks, carefully cut them into cubes and slide them into the simmering curry/gravy and do not stir, just cover and allow to simmer down, else it easily falls apart.

Ingredients
1 pkg firm (or extra firm) tofu
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
salt to taste
½ cup evaporated milk or half-and-half, as needed (or water)

Masala/Gravy Mix:
1 medium yellow onion,diced
2-3 medium tomatoes, diced
1 cup fresh mint leaves
4 cloves of garlic
2" piece of fresh ginger
3 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns
3 dry red chilies (more if you like the heat)
2 indian bay leaves
2 2" chinese cinnamon bark(Cinnamomum cassia(L.) Presl)
1 star anise
3-4 cloves

Preparation
  1. Toast the coriander, cumin, poppy seeds along with peppercorn, mint leaves and dry red chilies, allow to cool a bit
  2. When cool to the touch, combine the toasted spices with the rest of the Masala/Gravy ingredients and grind to a fine paste
  3. Heat 1 Tbsp of canola oil in a pan, add the ground masala paste, a pinch of salt, evaporated milk if using, stir well, cover, and allow to come to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat; stir in brown sugar and lemon juice
  4. Slide in the tofu cubes carefully, and immerse them in the gravy, or scoop and pour the gravy/curry over the tofu, cover and cook till the gravy reduces and thickens a bit
  5. Garnish with cilantro or mint or spring onions and serve warm with jasmine rice or roti

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Sunday, June 07, 2009

Chayote Squash Slivered and Pan-cooked



Chayote squash is quite watery and almost bland, so, it lends itself to a variety of treatments. I like it cooked up as a spicy side, or a blandish koottu, either way, it is great with rice and roti.

Mandolin slicer is one of my favorite kitchen tools, as long as I can make sure bits of my fingers don't end up with the sliced vegetables :) This recipe again just came about as I had Ras al Hanout handy and was getting addicted to its flavor...

Ingredients
2 chayote squash, peeled, julienned
1 small yellow onion, sliced thinly
½ to 1 Tbsp Ras al Hanout, adjust to taste
salt to taste
1 Tbsp canola oil

Preparation
  1. Heat oil in a pan, add the chayote squash matchsticks, sprinkle some salt and Ras al Hanout, stir well, cover and cook for a bit till chayote squash softens
  2. Since chayote squash is full of water, no extra water is needed to cook this; remove lid and pan fry to desired dryness


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Saturday, June 06, 2009

Home-garden Radish Tops Dal

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We harvested the white radishes from our garden. I didn't have the heart to throw away the radish tops/greens, so, decided to make a soupy dal out of it.

These are fairly bitter greens, so, adjust flavors to taste - I added lemon juice and brown sugar to balance and round out the bitterness, and some tomatoes. Plus, Ras al Hanout was handy, so, I added a generous amount of it to give this dal a unique flavor.

The dal recipe is not very different from my Kohlrabi dal recipe, except, I was low on moong dal, so, I used just a cup of dal for about 6 cups of chopped radish greens.

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Thursday, June 04, 2009

Cabbage with Mock Kibbeh

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I had a couple of patties left over from Mock Kibbeh with Ras al Hanout and thought it would make a good substitute for paruppusili, which is one of my favorites. I had cabbange handy, so I made a cabbage parruppusili-of-sorts using the crumbled mock kibbeh.

  1. Simply steam the cabbage so it still retains its crunch
  2. Crumble the leftover patties and add to the cabbage
  3. Pan sauté till well combined and serve with rice, or enjoy it as-is, as a snack

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Monday, June 01, 2009

Mock Kibbeh with Ras al Hanout

mock-kibbeh-with-ras-al-hanout


This recipe is again inspired by Kibbeh recipe in Moorish by Lucy and Greg Malouf. Kibbeh is traditionally made with lamb, but since we don't eat lamb, I decided to make it with chickpeas. In that sense this is more of a glorified falafel than a kibbeh :)

Essentially, this is an ordinary pan-fried patty. However, I had made a batch of Ras al Hanout, a Moroccan spice mix from the same book, and liked it a lot, so, was looking for ways to incorporate it in my cooking.

Ras al Hanout is sort of like Indian Garam masala blend of spices, sometimes having up to 30 ingredients some of which are exotic and hard to find. But, this recipe in the book presented a humbler version and I had all the ingredients needed for it. I did adjust the flavors a bit after the first batch which turned out a bit overpowering for my taste, so this is not an authentic spice blend.

ras-al-hanout


Ingredients for Ras al Hanout:
4 Tbsp cumin seeds
4 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp whole black pepper
6 cardamom pods
1 Tbsp fennel seeds
2 Tbsp sweet paprika powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
½ tsp allspice powder

Preparation
  1. Toast the first five ingredients lightly till aromatic, allow to cool a bit
  2. Combine all the ingredients and grind to a fine powder, allow to cool completely and store in an air tight container


For mock kibbeh, the texture of the mixture makes it retain its structural integrity, else it falls apart easily or gets dense. I've varied the ingredients a bit each time I've made it and it has all turned out okay so far. Adjust the ingredients below to suit your tastes.

Ingredients
½ cup cooked chick peas, drained and crushed to paste
3-4 Tbsp fine cornmeal, or tabbouleh mix if handy
1-2 shallots minced finely
1 Tbsp Ras al Hanout
salt to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
water as needed
some buckwheat flour or all-purpose flour, as needed, to bind

4-8 Tbsp canola oil for pan-cooking the patty

Preparation
  1. Combine the ingredients for the patty, knead it well so it can hold its shape; if not, refrigerate for about 30-45 minutes before pan-frying
  2. Heat some oil in a pan, cook the patties on both sides till well done on the inside; I usually "sacrifice" one patty - cut it open to see if it is done
  3. Allow to cool a bit before serving
  4. Drawing inspiration from Lucy & Greg's recipe, I serve it here with some salad made with mesclun greens from our garden

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