Brown Lentils, Pearl Barley, and Pearl Millet Dosai

What's not to love about flatbreads, right? It is a perfect universal food - for soaking up delicious dips and curries and chutneys; for loading up with veggies and wrapping up for easy consumption; for relishing the simple earthy goodness.

Dosai, a south Indian flat bread, is traditionally made from rice and urad dal. I have taken liberties with it making variations such as Brown Rice Dosai, Soy Bean Dosai, Adai Dosai Waffles, while relishing the simple and sumptuous traditional Mysore Masala Dosai, Adai Dosai, and Onion Rava.

Of course, there's the Ragi Dosai, (ragi is finger millet), which by itself is lovely for its rich color and flavor. But, this time, I went with a combination of brown lentils, pearl barley and pearl millet to make the dosai batter.

Dosai batter is typically allowed to naturally ferment before it is ready for cooking in the griddle into flat breads, crispy or spongy. To help it along, I add a dollop of home-fed, home-grown starter.

Grape Starter: A few grapes from the garden tossed into a mix of flour and water has been doing the magic for us. Wild yeast abounds in late summer early fall and it seemed like a great way to keep a bit of it to last us through the winter. So, since late summer this year, we have fed the starter and kept it going, in between periods of leaving it dormant in the fridge.

Using this grape sour dough starter to ferment the dosai, idli, injera batters adds a pleasantly sour taste and surprisingly quick results for fermentation.

Ingredients
¼ cup pearl millet
½ cup pearl barley
¼ cup brown lentils
¼ cup moong dal
¼ cup urad dal
1½ cups short grain brown rice
1 tablespoon fenugreek seeds
1 tablespoon grape sour dough starter

Combine all the ingredients except for the starter; soak overnight; grind to a smooth fine batter; add in the starter, cover and leave in a warm place for a few hours, or overnight. Stir every few hours to see if it is fermented to your liking. I like it bubbly and sour.

Salt the batter before making crepe or pancake like dosai on the griddle. Add finely diced onions, grated carrots, chopped chilies, chopped cilantro, even chopped kale to boost the dosai.

Enjoy with chutneys, sambar, curries.

Lemon Fruit Bread

My dear pal Sig sent me some starter for the Amish Friendship Bread so I decided to make this Lemon Fruit Bread with it. Not only was she nice enough to send the starter, she actually sent me a bread book! Thanks a bunch, Sig, you know how much I appreciate it.

Unlike the yeast-leavened traditional earthy breads (like the Ciabatta Olive bread with a Biga)which need to rise, and maybe rise again a few times, this bread is along the lines of banana bread and zucchini bread and such which are closer to cake recipes, using beaten eggs, baking powder and baking soda for the rise and fluffiness.

The starter came with the traditional Amish Friendship Bread recipe so I decided to try it out, with a few simple substitutions.

It turned out moist, fluffy and moderately sweet (just the way I like it - not too sweet). I've passed along the starter to some of my friends who don't have a food blog to pass along the goodwill...

Ingredients

wet: 1 cup starter 1 cup oil 1/2 cup milk 3 eggs 1 tsp vanilla

dry: 2 cups flour 1 cup sugar 1½ tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda 2 tsp cinnamon 1 - (5.1 oz) box instant lemon pudding mix 1/2 tsp salt

additional: 1 cup chopped prunes, figs, dates, apples 1 Tbsp lemon zest (optional) 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)

Preparation

1. Beat the eggs till fluffy
2. Heat the oven to 325°F ; Grease two bread pans and keep handy
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a plastic or ceramic bowl, make a well in the center
4. add the wet ingredients and mix gently with a spatula till well incorporated, do not over beat
5. stir in the additional ingredients, if using
6. Pour the batter into the two bread pans equally, spread a bit to fill the corners and bake in the 325°F oven for about one hour, or till done
7. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, slice and enjoy!

cornmeal rava idlee

I've been making minor variations of my regular recipes, nothing spectacular to post, but, I was quite surprised by this batch of experimental idlee batter that I decided to note it down here.

It is a variation of the rava idlee, with cornmeal and rice idlee rava, plus some starter for fermenting the batter. The starter is optional. I had it handy from the Lemon Fruit Cake recipe and wanted to see if it would stay active and ferment this batch of batter. And it did! In about 24 hours.

The idlees came out quite fluffy and mildly sour, just the way I like it:)

Serve warm with chutneys of your choice, or even sambar.

Ingredients
1 cup bread starter* (optional)
1 cup rosated coarse sooji rava
1 cup rice idlee rava
1 cup coarse cornmeal or cornbread mix
1 cup buttermilk
½ tsp sugar (only if using the starter)
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
plus water as needed to make a fairly thick batter

tempering: 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp urad dal, 1 tsp chana dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds

*if not using the starter, can use 1 Tbsp rapid rise yeast instead; or, simply leave out the yeast and allow for natural fermentation, which might take longer than 24 hours depending on where you live.

Preparation

1. combine the batter ingredients, (all except baking soda and salt) in a ceramic or plastic bowl, the batter can be thick at this point, stay conservative with the water till ready to cook; cover and set aside in a warm place to ferment overnight or for 24 hours
2. when ready to make the idlees, get the tempering ready: heat the oil in a pan, add the chana dal, when it turns golden brown add the urad dal and when it turns golden brown add the mustard seeds, when mustard seeds pop turn off the heat and add it to the batter, stir well
3. taste the batter and add salt as needed; stir in the baking soda and add water to desired idlee consistency
4. grease the idlee moulds, pour the batter and steam till done

Rye Spelt Injera

Over the last few years, I have started incorporating more of buckwheat, rye and spelt flours in my recipes.

Pizza, injera, and even some earthy breads seemed to turn out fine. The trick was to experiment and find the right balance with all purpose flour and gluten when using spelt or rye or buckwheat flours. Many of my breads and naans with spelt and rye flours turned out a disaster - dense and stiff like cardboard.

Spelt especially can be difficult to work with as it doesn't have as much gluten as whole wheat, so, it won't rise as much and tends to stay dense, but tastes pretty good. And precisely for this reason of low gluten it is preferred by many who have gluten-intolerance.

Even now, I can't say I have any sure-fire way of success... am still experimenting and documenting all the successful ones here :)

A while back, Sig sent me some starter which I have been feeding and using in a few other recipes. This injera recipe is one of them. I started the fermentation on a Sunday night and the batter was ready for dinner following Wednesday.

If starter is not handy, I am sure my usual recipe with rapid rise yeast would work just fine.

The only main difference I found between rye-spelt injera and all-purpose flour injera is that I had to make these a little thicker than normal else they fell apart easily. Plus they had a more wholesome earthy flavor than the all-purpose injeras.

This time, I served the injera with some steamed spinach (with spices similar to y'abesah gomen), a mushroom and bell pepper curry, and some kohlrabi dal ... not quite the traditional Ethiopian sides, but, I had them handy and it made a sumptuous weeknight meal.

Ingredients
1 cup yeast starter
1 cup rye flour
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups water (plus more as needed)
½ cup spelt flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Mix the starter, rye, spelt, all purpose flour with the water, stir well, cover and allow to rise in a warm place for about 2-3 days, stirring once each day
2. I usually mix them in a ceramic bowl, heat the oven to about 175°F, turn it off and leave the bowl in there to start the fermenting process
3. When batter is well fermented, it will acquire a pleasant sour odor and be a little gooey with sort of latex paint consistency, and when stirred, gets quite bubbly
4. When ready to make the injeras, add the baking powder, salt, stir well, add water as needed to make a thin crepe-like batter
5. Heat a pan, brush or spray with oil as needed, ladle some batter and swirl it around to form a thin layer; bubbles/holes will form at the top surface and as it gets cooked the batter will set and no longer look wet; can remove from pan at this time - no need to flip and cook the second side

Kohlrabi Greens with Home-garden Chard Coconut Cumin Kalonji Mung Bean Koottu

The kohlrabi greens along with fleshy, juicy kohlrabi bulbs came together with some home garden chard and mung beans for this simple koottu with cumin, Nigella sativa seeds, coconut and chilies as the primary flavoring.

Although it looks pretty involved with a lot of ingredients, it is actually a very simple, earthy dish. As always, flavors and spices can be adjusted to taste. Since the greens and kohlrabi are fairly bland, the layering of flavors helps develop this dish. The starter flavor of garlic, chilies and mint brings an appetizing aroma, and the finish with the flavoring coconut+cumin+nigella paste rounds out the dish.


Ingredients
1 kohlrabi plus a small bunch of kohlrabi greens with stems
6 to 8 large chard leaves with stems
1 medium vine tomato, diced
½ cup split yellow mung beans
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tablespoon coconut oil

1 whole lemon
salt to taste

Flavoring Paste:
1 Tablespoon Nigella sativa (aka kalonji) seeds
1 Tablespoon cumin seeds
4 Tablespoons dry grated coconut

Starter flavor to be crushed in mortar/pestle:
3 green chilies
12 mint leaves
3 garlic cloves

Tempering:
1 teaspoon coconut oil
½ teaspoon urad dal
½ teaspoon mustard seeds

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the Starter flavors crushed, a pinch of salt and turmeric, and saute till aromatic
2. Add the mung beans, 4 cups of water, chopped kohlrabi, tomatoes plus the greens
3. Sprinkle salt, stir well, cover and simmer till kohlrabi and mung beans are cooked
4. Meanwhile, combine the Flavoring Paste ingredients and grind into a fine powdery mixture
5. Optional Tempering: heat the oil in a small pan, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown, add the mustard seeds, when mustard seeds pop remove from heat
6. When kohlrabi and mung beans are cooked, stir in the Flavoring paste, stir in freshly squeezed lemon juice, top with tempering, and serve warm with basmati rice or naan

Slow Cooker Chicken with Vegetable Mash

Nothing extraordinary about this recipe, but I still wanted to share it here because it's one of my favorite ways to use up bits and pieces of veggies that are left over at the end of the week.

Half a zucchini, a small wedge of red cabbage, half a red onion, a bunch of celery bottoms, and half a bell pepper were waiting to be used. Simply chop them up, grind them into thick paste-like consistency, sauté to use as a starter for the curry.

Add this veggie-medley starter, some stock, cut chicken breasts, potatoes and carrots to the slow cooker and allow to simmer gently for 6 to 8 hours. Usually, I start this curry the previous night and serve it for dinner the following night.

Rub the chicken pieces with garam masala or curry powder before tossing into the slow cooker for an Indian style curry. Or rub it with achiote and adobo sauce with some cumin and oregano for a Mexican style dish. Adjust spices, herbs, seasoning to taste.

Tangy Tuscan Dressing

It goes in cycles - the craving for a certain type of dressing, I mean. Since salad is an every day affair,  a variety of dressing and vinaigrette makes it enticing for me.

And, depending on my mood and ingredients, some combination of ingredients I make-up manages to deliver the perfect dressing while others are just so-so, still good but not enough to become a temporary obsession.

This Tangy Tuscan Dressing, inspired by the typically Tuscan flavors of tomatoes, oregano, basil, red peppers and garlic, is a recent obsession favorite.

Of course, Fusion Cuisine being my signature, I do bring together flavors from other cuisines to personalize this dressing - especially Sambal Oelek, a prominent staple.

Adjust vinegar to oil ratio as preferred - the measurements below are just a start, an approximation. I usually taste the basic blend and then add a dash more of vinegar or salt or anything else as my taste directs. Add more water to make a thinner dressing; I prefer it thick and rich.

 A bed of fresh crisp Romaine hearts or even good old green leaf lettuce dotted with goat cheese and Tangy Tuscan Dressing has been a favorite meal starter for a couple of weeks now, urging me to record this concoction.

Ingredients
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil (drain the oil)
¼ cup Pomegranate Red Wine Vinegar
2 to 3 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 to 3 Tbsp Wheat Germ
6 to 8 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 to 2 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
¼ cup Kalamata Olives
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp Smoked Paprika powder
¼ tsp Cumin powder
4 Tbsp chopped roasted red bell peppers
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (more, if preferred)
¼ cup water (more or less)

Paruppusili: Warm Vegetable Salad with Lentils

Growing up on staple South Indian vegetarian cuisine - vegetables and legumes and grams along with rice and yogurt and a variety of pickles - I find that these still offer the comfort of sumptuous yet quick-fix meals.

Over the last decade, rather than white rice, I opt for quinoa or brown Basmati rice, sometimes millet or barley, with barley being more of a soup additive by preference than a rice alternative.

Combining vegetables with lentils for the protein boost is one of my favorite side dish or starter, if not the main course. The classic example is the Paruppusili dishes I make on and off and can't have enough of.

Just about any vegetable lends itself to this method of presentation, except the squashes (summer and winter) and  bittergourd and beets and greens, according to my mom. And, Kovakkai/Tindora Paruppusili used to be a very special treat during season.

Of course, I beg to differ... Beets+Potatoes Paruppusili is quite delicious with a unique combination of textures and tastes. And there is nothing like the crunch and nutrition of Kale Paruppusili.

The typical method is to soak the toor dal with some cumin and  dry red chilies and then grind it into a coarse paste, steam it, then pan fry it before tossing it with the cooked vegetables. Seems elaborate, but after arriving at some short-cuts and alternatives over the years, this is something I enjoy making on and off.

An alternative to the typical paruppusili is to roast and coarse-grind lentils and stir it into to finish the cooking vegetables:

Simply toast some Urad dal and chana dal till golden brown, along with some dry red chilies, asafoetida and cumin seeds and grind it in a spice-grinder to a coarse powder. Toss in some roasted peanuts, if preferred, while grinding.

I start with tempering for these dishes first - heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan, when it is shimmering add mustard seeds and when they pop add some curry leaves if available, then add the chopped vegetable, a pinch of salt and water as needed to cook the vegetables. Finish off the dish by stirring in the ground dal mixture. And for want of a better word, since 'paruppu' means lentils/dals, I still call this style of dish as Paruppusili.

Chayote Squash, Carrots and Cabbage Paruppusili

Easy Eggplant Bake

Eggplant Parmesan involves breading the eggplant slices and frying them before baking them. To make it a bit quicker and healthier without losing a lot of the flavors for a weeknight meal, I decided to skip the breading and frying/pan-frying the eggplant, and go light on the cheese.

This can be a meal in itself, or can be served along with a starter salad to round out the meal. I used home-made marinara sauce that I had canned from last summer's yield of tomatoes from our garden.

Large globe or black beauty eggplants work well for this recipe, but any favorite variety can be used. I like to cut them into discs as it makes it easy to layer them and overlap them for baking, but again, long slices is an option.

It is no secret that I love eggplant as quite a few of the recipes collected here seem to feature it :)

Ingredients
1-2 globe eggplant, cut into ¼ inch thick discs
2-3 cups of marinara sauce or any other favorite tomato sauce
2-3 cups freshly grated part-skim mozzarella cheese
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
4-6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced thin
2-3 Tbsp olive oil, or any cooking spray
salt to taste
chopped fresh rosemary, oregano, spring onions for garnish

Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 375°F;
2. Grease a roasting pan or casserole lightly with cooking spray (or brush with olive oil) and arrange a layer of eggplant slices at the bottom
3. Spread some sauce in a thin layer over the eggplant, sprinkle some some sliced garlic and some mozzarella
4. Add another layer of eggplant, sauce, garlic cheese and so on till all eggplant is used up, making sure to slightly overlap the eggplant in each layer, and top with some extra cheese if preferred
5. Bake in the 375°F oven for about 10-15 minutes, checking to make sure cheese doesn't burn; reduce the heat to 350°F and finish cooking till eggplant is done to your liking and the cheese is melted
6. Garnish with fresh herbs and serve warm

Citrus Fresh Buckwheat Soba Salad

The crisp freshness of lemon and lime are perfect for cold summer salads. This recipe is inspired by a Japanese friend of mine with whom I exchange cooking tips on and off, among other things.

Dashi is sold in most Asian stores - either made from kombu or different types of fish. Salty Dashi, with some sesame oil, plus the tartness from lime juice and lemon zest makes this salad quite addictive.

Get the dressing ready, mix in the salad vegetables and let it sit while the soba cooks. The recipe here makes enough starter salad for two, or a huge meal for one.

Ingredients for the vinaigrette:
½ cup Seaweed Dashi or strong vegetable stock
½ tsp sesame oil
1 lime - freshly squeeze for lime juice
zest of one lemon
juice of ½ lemon, for additional tang

2 cups Salad Vegetables: For a quick meal, I use packaged kale salad mix plus scallions. Otherwise, whatever is handy -- radish, julienned carrots, sauteed cremini, slivered broccoli stems or other stems like I use for kinpira, ribboned greens, radicchio, purple cabbage...

Cook one bundle of the buckwheat soba per package directions, drain, and rinse in cold water, drain well. Toss in with the dressed vegetables, adjust the dressing as needed.

Served with some vegetable spring rolls and vegetable dumplings, this makes a filling weeknight meal.

Beet & Carrot Salad with Agave Nectar & Ginger Vinaigrette

Sometimes as a starter, sometimes as a snack, sometimes as a meal in itself. Sometimes layered and drizzled with freshly made vinaigrette, sometimes well-tossed with a rich creamy dressing... anywhichway we make it, we love salads.

This Beet and Carrot salad with Spring Greens is one of our favorites: the combination of freshly grated beets and carrots, plus the simple vinaigrette on the slightly sweet side enhancing the beet and carrot flavors seems to make this almost addictive.

Pictured here is this salad served with a small sandwich made of: home-made buckwheat buns (recipe to come) toasted with some Swiss cheese, black bean burger (made very much like the Mock Kibbeh recipe but with black beans instead of chickpeas), some pepperoncini, onions and sun-dried tomatoes.

Ingredients
Salad:
Organic Baby Spring Greens
Raw Carrots and Beets, finely grated or shredded
Onion or Alfalfa Sprouts
Toasted Sunflower Seeds

Agave Nectar, Ginger, Chili Vinaigrette:
50 ml raspberry or pomegranate red wine vinegar; or plain red wine vinegar
50 ml Agave nectar
25 ml Sambal Oelek or any favorite Chili paste
150 ml Hazelnut Oil or Olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely grated or crushed
1 - 2 tsp of freshly grated ginger, to taste
¼ tsp each salt and black pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk or beat well, adjust flavors to taste
2. Layer the salad items, top with sunflower seeds, drizzle some dressing

Alternately, use Romaine hearts or any favorite greens, julienne the carrots and finely grate the beets, garnish with avacado if preferred, sprinkle slivered almonds instead of sunflower seeds... this is a flexible and versatile salad with the agave-nectar-ginger vinaigrette pulling the elements together :)

rosemary potato bread

I have some starter that I have been feeding and using over a few months now. I wanted to make a simple rosemary potato loaf. The rosemary in our garden is still fine and thriving and so I decided the make this rosemary potato bread using a recipe I found at recipezaar.

Ingredients:
as listed in the recipezaar recipe, except:
instead of melted butter, I used canola oil
and about 4-6 Tbsp of chopped fresh rosemary

The dough does need to be left alone to rise overnight, per the recipe. And, spraying with water every 15 minutes while baking just like the recipe says was quite a bit of fun and I think it also gave a nice crust.

Toasting a few slices with some herbed garlic butter made this a good accompaniment to a simple pasta meal. And, it was great with soups as well... plus the bread made a good earthy bruschetta snack.

Simple Roti

Roti or Chappathi, along with vegetable sides, usually served as a light and satisfying supper when we were growing up. And, a couple of rotis served as starter/appetizer for lunch/dinner made the meal sumptuous and wholesome somehow.

There are several tried and tested alterations to the basic roti recipe; what I share here is just one of them. Start cooking some side-dish like curry or koottu or dal for serving with these rotis in the back-burner first, and by the time rotis are done so is the the side-dish.

These simple rotis are best when cooked right before sitting down for the meal. Sometimes referred to as Sukha/Sookha Roti meaning Dry Roti, these use little or no butter or oil. But, if preferred, can spread some butter or home-made flavored ghee.



Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour (or, chappathi flour)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp canola oil (or ghee)
extra flour for dusting
hot water (amount varies a bit)
salt to taste
some oil for cooking

Preparation:

1. combine the flours, salt and ghee in a bowl; add a little hot water at a time and start kneading the dough; keep adding a little water at a time till a soft, pliable, slightly sticky dough is formed; cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 5 minutes or so
2. divide the dough to form 2" or 3" diameter balls - number varies - but usually i make about a dozen or so with 3 cups of flour - not all of them the same exact size...
3. dust the work surface generously with some flour (either all purpose or whole wheat is fine); roll the balls into thin rounds about 5"-6" in diameter; try not to stack them on top of each other - just lay them out handy on the counter top*
4. heat a pan or griddle to pretty high temperature; cook both sides of the rolled out rotis on the hot pan - adding oil if needed
5. alternately, i like to cook them over open flame on my gas stove, by placing the raw roti on a contraption my mom gave me - a round wire-work with handle - and cook both sides till it puffs up a bit and forms tiny char spots on the surface :-)
6. at this point the rotis are ready to be eaten, straight off the griddle; but, sometimes, i brush it with some ghee or butter and wrap them with a kitchen towel till the whole batch is done; this helps keep them moist and warm till we all sit down for the meal

Serve with any of the curries, or chutneys, or koottus, or even indian pickles (achars):ridge gourd curry
egg curry
soya chunks curry
baby eggplant curry
ridge gourd peel chutney
mint chutney
green tomato dal
chayote squash koottu


*Alternately, after rolling out the balls in step 3 above, fold it in half to form a semi-circle, and fold again to form a sort of triangular shape, and then roll it out again to about 4"-5" diameter to form a slightly thicker but layered and fluffy rotis.

Sprouted Moong Bean Salad

I like sprouting beans and seeds - something magical about the way the shoots emerge, reaffirming the beauty of life.

Last week I sprouted some moong beans (aka green gram). Very simple method, nothing fancy - it has worked for me so far, so, I stick to it:
--Soak the whole green moong beans for an hour or so in lukewarm water.
--Drain.
--Place in a canning jar
--Cover the jar with a piece of cheesecloth (or any thin porous cotton fabric, or netting fabric) to allow breathing, and screw the ring on the jar
--Rinse once a day and leave it in a cool dark place for a few days
--Voila!


Sprouted moong beans can be refrigerated and used for about 5-7 days. I like to add a handful to salads and vegetable dishes for the crunch and nutrition.

Ingredients:
1 cup sprouted moong beans
2 cups grated carrot
1-2 green chilies chopped fine
3-4 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup diced raw green mango (optional)
salt to taste

tempering:
1 Tbsp chana dal
1 Tbsp urad dal
1 tsp mustard seeds
4-5 fresh curry leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp oil for tempering

Preparation:

1. heat oil in a smallish pan/ladle till the oil starts to shimmer; add the tempering: chana dal first, when it turns golden brown, add urad dal and when it is golden brown, add mustard seeds; keep a screen lid handy as mustard seeds will try to jump out of the pan; when mustard seeds splutter and die down, off heat add the curry leaves and set aside
2. combine all the salad ingredients; raw green mango adds a certain zing to this salad, so, if i have it handy, i just throw some in
3. adjust salt and lemon juice to taste; garnish with the tempering from step 1
4. serve cold or at room temperature, with roti or rice; or, simply enjoy it as a starter salad :-)

Alternately, just omit the carrots, sauté the sprouted moong beans and add lemon juice and salt to taste; garnish with the tempering and Ta-Da! Another healthy salad/side ready:


Sometime I just throw a handful in any of my curries or even in sambar to up the nutritional value.

Nigiri-zushi: Sushi mini logs

Not liking raw fish or much of sea food, I feel constantly challenged about making Sushi. I guess I love the combination of rice and vinegar, and the whole idea of putting together a quick and filling meal, with fresh ingredients for the toppings.


Ingredients
for the rice balls/logs:
1 cup raw sushi rice
1-2 Tbsp sushi vinegar

for the marinated toppings
1/2 medium cucumber seeded and diced
1 medium firm tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 medium red onion diced finely
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sushi vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil

for garnish:
1-2 cups pan-fried tofu cubes, the more the better:-)

Preparation

1. cook the sushi rice per package directions, remove from heat, stir in the sushi vinegar and spread it out on a flat plate or cookie sheet to cool, preferably in front of a fan
2. marinate the diced vegetables in the mirin+sushi vinegar+sesame oil 'vinaigrette' for about 5 to 10 mins ;dicing and marinating the veggies can be done right after starting to cook the rice; you can add tomatoes, yellow bell peppers or any other veggies you like for the topping
   
3. to pan fry the tofu: dice the required amount of tofu into smallish cubes; heat about 1 Tbsp oil in a non-stick pan, add the tofu cubes and let them sit on medium heat; add some flavoring like black bean and garlic paste, or just soy sauce to the pan and toss the tofu cubes well; keep turning the tofu cubes till all sides seem coated with flavoring condiments and fried
   
4. when sushi rice is cool enough to handle, hand shape them into oblong clumps (nigiri-zushi) or use a mold for the same
5. lay the nigiri-zushi on a serving platter, top with marinated vegetables, and garnish with pan-fried tofu cubes
6. serve warm or cold; i usually like hot miso soup as a starter when serving this dish warm
7. if you have avacado handy, sushi tower should be fun to do as well :-)