Chutney Pickle n Preserves

Vegetable Clear soup with rice vermicelli

1:34 AM

Its been raining here non stop for last couple of weeks. We hardly get to see the face of the sun these days. Hubby is irritated as the traffic jam keeps him on the road for a long long time, I feel frustrated as the clothes are not drying (with a 1 year something very active baby which is not less by any number) and the baby himself is annoyed for not being able to go out in the garden. Amidst all these stress simply love the weather. For me nothing is as good as being confined in the comfort of my house, watching the raindrops with a good book and a hot cup of coffee. Though these days I hardly get any chance to enjoy it by myself but I make most of the time when the baby takes his afternoon nap. Finished some long pending work of quilted bedspread and some paintings. The weather even inspired me so much that last week I even made some garden inspired cushion covers and also hand stitched some block printed curtains for our living room. Yes! Am feeling extra domestic these days. But its completely another story when the baby wakes up…then the only entertainment for me is to watch TV mostly my favourite cookery shows.

It’s a boon that we get to see channels like Discovery Travel and Living, Star world and NDTV good times. They air some real good shows on world culture, history and cuisine, which I love to watch. One such program is Kylie Kwong’s My China, which apart from showcasing some delectable dishes from Australia’s celebrity chef Kylie, also shows food cultures, habits and lifestyles of various provinces of China. I especially enjoyed the episode where Kylie visits her ancestral home in a remote village called Toishan, meets her distant relatives, cooks and eats with the fresh produce from family farm.   It’s a beautifully put together show that reveals the vast contrasts of China through the eye of an expatriate. Though this was her personal journey to discover China but at the end it almost takes the shape of a culinary travelogue spiced with many authentic Chinese dishes made in a modern way.

The dish that caught my eye was this soup stock or broth that she prepared from scratch and her choice of ingredients spelt ‘burst of flavour’ to me. My hands almost itched to try this one and when yesterday Hubby came home with a bag of fresh bok choy, celery and mushroom I instantly recognized the time. I had some rice vermicelli that Hubby bought from China. This soup is incredibly easy to put together all you need to do is, chop and boil. Within hardly 45 minutes we had two big bowlful of hot steaming aromatic soup ready in the table. The homemade chili oil accompanied it very well and we enjoyed our pleasing dinner watching the rain.


And rain reminds me of my favourite song by the ace singer Shubha Mudgal. This song beautifully depicts the essence of Indian Monsoon. Hope this will uplift your mood perfectly.


Chinese style Vegetable soup with rice vermicelli
(Serves 2)


Ingredients:
Onion: 1 medium
Ginger: 1” piece
Garlic: 2 flat cloves
Celery: chopped 1 cup
Carrot: 1
Capsicum: 1 small
Beans: 8-9
Coriander roots and stems: 1/3 cup
Bok choy: 1 (optional)
Spring onion: ½ bunch
Tofu: 1/3 cup (optional)
Seasoning:
Soy sauce: 3 tbsp
Vinegar: 2 tbsp
Stock cube: 1
Pepper powder: ½ tsp
Salt
Sugar
Oil: 1 tsp
Rice vermicelli: 2 bunch or any noodles. Even maggie and top ramen will work fine in this.

Method:
First we need to make the stock or broth. For that use the not so fresh vegetables and those parts which we generally do not use in cooking. Like stem and roots of coriander, the hard inner parts of celery, bok choy, mushroom, capsicum, old and hard beans, the thicker part of carrots etc. wash everything and cut them in thick slices.

Cut the onion in half moon shape, roughly chop ginger and garlic. Lop off the stem and leafy part of celery and keep the fresh soft portions for the soup, roughly chop the hard parts for the stock.

The stock should have minimum 2 cups (tightly packed) of chopped vegetables.

In a big pan heat the oil and add the ginger and garlic. Fry till they turn color and quickly add onion. Fry for a minute and then add all the other veggies. Add a little salt and keep frying for 2-3 minutes till a nice aroma comes through.

Add 1.5 liters of water. Bring it to boil and then add soy sauce, vinegar, stock cube and some pepper powder. Cover and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.

After that check the seasoning and strain the stock through a muslin cloth. (Don’t throw away the boiled veggies. nicely tuck them away in your fridge till next time I tell you what delectable monsoon goodies you can make with them.)

While the stock bubbles prepare the veggies for the soup. The major part of cooking Chinese dishes is the chopping. In whatever shape and size you decide to chop your veggies make sure they are all the same. I tried to cut them in julienne. Keep everything ready.

Now bring another pan full of water to boil. Add a little bit of salt to it and place the rice vermicelli bunches in them. Cover and let it soak and fluff for min 10 minutes. Before serving drain the excess water and serve at room temperature.

Once the stock is strained put it again on heat and bring to a gentle boil. Add the prepared veggies one by one. Start by the hardest veggies first like beans and carrot and end with tofu. Don’t over boil the vegetables should retain their crunch and texture.

If needed add more soy sauce. Check the seasoning and serve hot with rice vermicelli and chili oil

Spiced Chili oil
I don’t follow any recipe for this. I read the Chinese chili oil label and used the ingredients written there in my own way.

Tear and soak handful of dry red chillies in water for 10 minutes.
Drain and grind the chillies with 2 fat cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp vinegar and 2 tbsp of tomato puree.
In a pan take ½ cup of peanut, sesame or any cooking oil. Heat the oil to smoking point on very slow fire.
Switch off the heat and add the crushed spices. Mix and cover.
Keep aside for 2 hours till the oil absorbs all the aroma and heat.
Use as required.

A Homemaker's Note:








This is a very light but comforting soup. Please adjust the seasoning as per your choice.


Chicken Clear Soup: Hubby requested a chicken soup following the recipe which I made yesterday. it came out well. I boiled some chicken pieces (with bone) while making the stock and later fried the boiled shreds of chicken and added it to the soup. 


[Souper+Sundays2.JPG]
Events:
sending this soup to Souper Soup sundays at Kahakai Kitchen.










Tags:
Chinese soup, chinese vegetarian soup, chinese clear soup, vegetable clear soup, chinese tofu. chinese bok choy. vegetable broth, vegetable stock, bok choy, chinese cabbage, light meal, breakfast soup, light soup, homemade stock, broth, soy sauce, carrot, tofu, healthy soup, light dinner, capsicum, spring onion, vegetable soup, chili oil, homemade chili oil, soup with oil, 

Bread Paratha etc

Alu Methi de Parathe (Spicy Fenugreek Leaves and Potato Stuffed Indian Flat bread)

2:15 AM

It was a chilly January night in Delhi and I could not realize how late it was till I came out of the office. The time was just the day before leaving for a fair exhibition in abroad and as usual the preparation was hectic. Selecting the new designs, getting the prototypes made by the sample department, arranging them as per the requirement and the last minute talks with the buyer always kept us super busy for a couple of weeks before the fair. As a new trainee I was enjoying every bit of this freaking madness at work and dint understand how bad it could be to get out of the office so late at night.

Everyone except three of us in a specific department were left and all the office cars were on duty for the trip and the only one left was waiting for us to complete the work so that he could deliver the package to airport. Luckily all three of us lived nearby, they in a hostel and I in my small flat so we decided to share the car on its way to the airport. But when the car reached our locality from Noida it was quite late and the driver had to move fast to reach airport on time. Don’t know what got into me that I decided to get down at the crossing from where my flat was a km away. I only realized the blunder when the stark emptiness of the roads struck me hard. It was already 12 and not a single person was there in the vicinity.
Home Grown Methi
The quietness chilled my whole body and made me remember all those scary stories that numerous aunts told me before coming to Delhi. That sentence ‘Girls are not safe in Delhi’ that everyone advised, scared me to death and I almost could not move. But somehow I managed and started to walk at a fast pace. Suddenly I heard the sound of an auto stopping by me and when I looked I saw a turbaned old Sardarji enquiring about my destination. In nervousness I blabbered my situation and he asked me to get in. on the short drive he did not ask me any question and took the auto under my staircase. When I offered the money he smiled and said “bad me de dena” (give me later) and the frightened me could not even argue. When I started to climb the stairs he called up and said “beta, you will get many good jobs but life is very precious. Be careful” and stood there till I opened my door and found myself in the safety of the house.

That day I was so preoccupied and scared that I forgot to thank him...and I have no idea how I'd have thanked him then…May be should have touched his feet. Later I looked for him in almost all the auto stands around but never get to see him again. Till date whenever I think of that night I freeze to the thought of what could have happened to me if the Sardarji would not have saved me almost from a deserted road. Though he never gave me a chance to say a mere thanks but he has helped me to rekindle my faith in humanity, in good human beings who still exist, without whom the world could not have been the way it is. Till date whenever someone does something ill and I feel like losing my trust, I remember him. That Tall old, bearded, turban-clad Sardarji, belonging to a community known for their physical and mental strength and their chivalry. Who almost came to rescue me like a guardian angel and then disappeared. The incident still makes me feel guilt for not finding him but like many times, I today again pray to God for his well being. May God bless him and his loved ones with all the happiness of Heaven and Earth. Amen!

The alu paratha that I made yesterday for dinner was prepared with the homegrown methi leaves. Generally these types of parathas are made only with boiled potatoes but I wanted to increase the food value so incorporated the leaves and it lend its beautiful delicate aroma to the stuffing. It looked good with some green speckles and tasted even better with a bowl of boondi raita. Sometimes I even make them with leftover Alu Methi ki sabzi (potato fenugreek leaves curry).

Methi Alu de Parathe
(makes 6)


Ingredients:
For the stuffing:
Potatoes: 2 medium
Fenugreek leaves: 1 cup tightly packed
Onion: 1 medium; chopped
Ginger: 1” piece
Coriander seeds: 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds: 1 tsp
Dry red chilies: 3
Chat masala (optional): 1 tsp
Bhaja masala: 1 tsp
Salt
Turmeric
Oil: 1 tbsp

For the dough:
Whole-wheat flour: 2 cups
All purpose flour: 1 cup
Vegetable oil: 3 tsp
Salt
Warm water

Oil for frying: ½ tsp for frying every piece. You can also use ghee or butter to intensify the richness.

Method: 
first make the dough. Sieve in the salt and flours together. Add the caraway seeds, shortening and rub to get a crumb like consistency. Start adding warm water little by little to have firm dough. On a floured surface knead for 3-4 minutes to make it soft. Cover and set aside.


Boil the potatoes till soft. Peel and mash with little salt.


Pick and chop the fenugreek leaves. wash and drain the excess water.


Take the ginger, red chilies and coriander seeds in a blender and blend to have a slightly coarse paste.


Heat oil and temper with chopped green chilies and cumin seeds. When splutter add in the chopped onion and fry on low till lightly browned. Mix in the ginger paste, turmeric and salt and fry till oil separates at the sides.


Tip in the chopped fenugreek leaves and fry till a nice aroma comes through.


Now mix in the mashed potato and mix everything together. Check the seasoning and mix again to bring everything together.


Take off from heat and let it cool.


Once its cold add the bhaja masala and chaat masala and using your hand knead to get an even mixture.


Now make 6 equal balls from the dough and smoothen them by rolling between your palms. Pressing in the middle give it a bowl like shape and stuff a big spoonful of the potato stuffing. 

Bring the sides together at the center and seal to make a tightly packed round pouch.

repeat the same with the other doughs. keep covered.


Now take one stuffed pouch and flatten the stuffed pouch and roll on a floured surface. The paratha would be thick.


Now heat a non stick or cast iron tawa (griddle) and carefully trasfer one paratha. Cook on medium high till you see tiny bubbles appearing on the surface. Flip and cook again for another minute. 

Drizzle droplets of oil at the sides and also on the top. Flip again when the parathas are nicely cooked with little brown spots on the surface.

Keep covered.

Serve hot with raita and pickle of your choice.


We had ours with some Boondi Raita and homemade tomato pickle.

A Homemaker's Note:
you can also make the paratha with left over alu methi curry.

I dont like to add garlic whenever am using fresh fenugreek leaves as the delicate flavour of the greens are somehow lost that way. 

Events:
1. Think Spice;Think Fenugreek and event started by Sunita and this month hosted at Mahro Rajasthan's Recipe.

2. Global Kadai this month hosted at Sandhya's kitchen and the theme she chose is Indian flavored flat bread.A monthly event started by Cilantro.

3. Iftar Moments: Hijri 1431; a beautiful event started by Ayeesha to celebrate the feasts after the fast of Ramadhan.

4. Scrumptious delights from Leftovers at seduce your taste buds.

5. Dish name starts with 'A' a new event started at Akila's Learning to cook.


Tags:
Indian flat bread, Indian stuffed bread, Indian bread, Potato stuffed Indian Bread, stuffed Indian bread, North Indian stuffed flat bread, Indian breakfast bread, fenygreek stuffed bread, Spicy potato n greens flat bread, Punjabi cuisine, Indian cuisine, Spicy potato in paratha, paratha, stuffed paratha, spicy paratha, green paratha, alu paratha, paratha raita, how to make Indian stuffed bread, how to make dough for Indian bread, less oil paratha, butter free bread, potato bread.

Bread Paratha etc

Chicken n Veg Tikka- Tortilla Wraps

3:23 AM


I love to cook and guess that’s why am a food blogger. But more than cooking I love chatting and guess that’s pretty much evident in my blog posts too. Whenever I invite friends over meal I prefer to cook and arrange everything beforehand. Be it the food, the decoration, the utensils, the starter…I prefer to plan and arrange everything before my guest’s arrival. That way I get plenty of time to talk and catch up with and also I don’t have make several trips to the kitchen to pull a spoon from here or a plate from there. But the whole scheduling goes haywire if guests come without or with a very short notice. That way Hubby loves to taste me. For instance once just after our marriage he invited two of his friends with family for dinner. Then on another occasion when entire cooking for the day was done, he remembered to update that he had invited two of his childhood friends for lunch. The problem with such occasions is not ingredients as I always have a well-stacked pantry but it’s the time crunch that puzzled me.  Initially it freaked me out but with time and experience I have learnt to keep cool. These days I don’t go overboard and slave over in the kitchen chopping, grinding and cooking three-course meal with an eye fixed on the clock, rather settle for some elegant one-dish meal with an easy dessert to finish off the dinner. It provides me ample amount of time to spend quality time with friends.






A couple of weeks back at about 12 in the noon I got a call from Hubby informing that a very dear friend of ours was coming over to spend the night with us. They were going somewhere else and due to sudden cancellation had to stay with us as a stopover.  I was delighted, as they are the people whose company we enjoy and can relate to them in different levels. But then again a small gathering like this needed some food too and with Hubby in the office I had to make do on whatever I had in hand. Luckily for me previous night I freezed my first Ice Cream (recipe coming next) so dessert was done, the only worry was the meal. I decided to make my never failing chicken and veg tikkas with some whole-wheat tortillas for main meal and some Root vegetable soup as starter. Which are easy and needs minimum supervision. Thus gave Hubby a call to bring some fresh salad leaves, mushrooms and curd, and when the baby took his afternoon nap I ground the spice, marinated the chicken, chopped the veggies for soup, pressure-cooked and pureed them and made the green chutney with home grown mint and coriander. Everything was done under a little more than ½ an hour. Then I tidied up the guest room and was all set to have a gala evening. Just before dinnertime grilled the chicken for 30-45 minutes under the timer, without any supervision. In the meantime kneaded the dough and while cooking the tortillas on one burner, quickly heated the soup with onion, garlic and seasoning on another. Hubby washed and made the salad. The friends were glad to have such a lavish yet light spread. With a lively conversation and good company I was happy to spend a pleasant evening with them. La vie est belle! Life is Beautiful!
Chicken and Veg Tikka
Ingredients:
Boneless Chicken pieces: 500 gms; cut into bite size pieces
Capsicum: 1 large
Firm ripe tomato: 2 medium
Onion: 1 big
Mushroom: ½ cup
Lemon juice: 1/2 tbsp
salt

For the marinade:
Hung curd: ¾ cup
Onion: 1 big
Garlic: 8 fat cloves
Ginger: 2” piece
Black pepper: 1 tsp
Sattu/ Chatu: 11/2 tbsp (or substitute with dry roasted besan/chickpea flour)
Red Chili powder: 11/2 tsp
Ajwain: ½ tsp
Oil/ghee: 1 tbsp (I use either mustard oil or pure ghee)
Red food colour (optional): a pinch
a pinch of mustard (optional) but I like the little heat
salt; as per taste

Method
Wash the chicken pieces and then put them on kitchen paper to soak the excess water. Once they are dry mix in the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. keep aside for 10-15 minutes.

Grind everything under the marinade and make a coarse paste. Pour ½ of the marinade over the  chicken pieces and mix well to coat everything well. Cover and freeze for minimum 2 hours.


The vegetables don’t need much marination time. Just before mealtime soak them in the spice mix for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven at 225C.

Take a wooden skewer and arrange the vegetables and chicken pieces according to your preference. Baste with melted butter or ghee.

Line an oven safe tray with aluminum foil. Place the skewers over it and with another piece of foil wrap them to make a packet. This helps to cook the chicken pieces without drying them too much.  .

Grill for 15 minutes and then remove the upper layer of foil to expose the skewers. Baste with ghee/butter and remaining marinade and grill for another 10 minutes.

Flip the skewers, baste and again grill them for 10 minutes or till they are cooked and a little charred.

Serve with salad, sauce and tortillas or in itself with sauce for a pleasant snack.

For the veggies especially mushroom. Don’t cover them with foil. Just grill for 5 minutes, baste, flip and grill for another 5 minutes. Enjoy with a final sprinkling of lemon juice.
Tortillas
(Makes 6 pieces)

Ingredients:
Wholewheat flour (atta): 11/2 cups
Refined oil: 11/2 tsp
Baking powder: 1 tsp
Salt
Warm milk: ½ cup
Water: as required

Method:
Sieve the baking powder and flour and mix in the salt.

Pour in the shortening and rub to have coarse sand like texture. Mix in the warm milk and water. Knead on a floured surface to have soft and firm dough.

Cover with cling film and keep aside until used. If you intend to use it hours later, keep it in the freeze.

10 minutes before making the tortillas make small balls, smoothen them by rolling in your palms and again cover and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Roll out in uniform thickness to a circle.

Cook on tawa or pan for a minute on each side. Keep covered.

Serve hot with spicy Tikka, salad and sauce.

Salad
Fresh Lettuce
Cucumber
Onion

Was and cut the lettuce in big chinks.
Peel and cut cucumber and onion in half moon shape.
Serve with the tortilla and tikka.

Final Assembly

Serve the Tikka pieces with Tortilla, green chutney, tomato sauce, fresh salad, lemon wedges, salt and pepper powder. you could also include some finely chopped green chilies.

Take a tortilla place some salad, chicken tikka pieces, green chutney and sauce. Sprinkle some salt and pepper powder. squeeze some lemon juice.
Roll and enjoy your wraps.

Heaven!!!



Sending this to Umm Mymoonah's Iftar Moments; Hijri 1431 at Taste of Pearl City.

Global Kadai this month hosted at Sandhya's kitchen and the theme she chose is Indian flavored flat bread.A monthly event started by Cilantro.

Tags:
Chicken tikka, how to make chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, veg tikka, mushroom tikka, tandoori mushroom, grilled chicken, broiled chciken, chicken wraps, tortilla wraps, tortilla, atta tortilla, whole wheat tortilla, green chutney chicken, vegetable skewer, ajwain, tandoori masala, broiled chicken, fresh salad, party food, meat and poultry, Indian tandoor recipe, spicy grilled chicken, spicy chicken appetiser, chicken for snacks, grilled veggies, spicy veggies, chicken kebab. kabab, indian kabab, kabab in oven, chicken tikka recipe, murg tikka recipe, chicken tikka amritsari recipe, chicken tikka masala recipe, murg makhani recipe, 

Bread Paratha etc

Sprouted Mung and Ragi Adai (Savory Mix Lentil Pancake)

9:14 AM


I guess all the bloggers who have posted Adai recipes recently will remember me telling them how much I love this savory Indian pancakes. And they will also remember Commenting that I don’t make it, as Hubby does not like to have something so filling for breakfast. A couple of months ago when everyone was posting Ragi recipes for an event, I got inspired and bought a ½ kg packet of Ragi. I tried to sprout and mix it with our regular salad but honestly dint like the taste very much. So it was lying at one corner of the cupboard till I discovered these at Usha's Veg Inspiration.  She has some real good recipes, which are amazingly tasty and very very healthy. So I decided to give it a try with some more lentils. I wanted to reap the maximum benefit of the grains and planned to sprout them first and then make Adai or Indian lentil pancakes.
Adai is a kind of lentil and rice pancake just like dosa but is thicker and spicier. Apart from the regular rice and urad dal, which goes into the Dosa batter, Adai also requires South Indian staple legume Arhar. The best part of preparing Adai at home is it does not need any fermentation. Just soak the grains, grind and fry with little oil. Besides you don’t have to be a pro to spread batter on a sizzling hot pan like you do for thin Dosas, Adai is comparatively thick and two of the normal size pancake for breakfast will make you go through late afternoon. It’s awfully easy but incredibly delicious with some chutney or podi (powder) at the sides. I prefer to have them for a healthy light lunch with regular coconut chutney.This is the perfect Home alone meal that I can prepare  and enjoy for consecutive 3-4 days.
I was not sure of the exact quantities of lentils that go into the Adai batter and everyone seems to have their own version. So I just decided to follow my way, which included some udad dal to act as the binding agent and chana dal for extra taste.  Also finally called for the pack of Kerala rosematta rice, which was happy to sit and adorn my pantry shelf with her bright brown hue. And then it was time to grind and fry the pancakes. I used a non-stick Tawa and the urad in the batter made it very easy to spread the batter. The sizzling sound and the tempting aroma that wafted out of the pan comforted and tempted me all at the same time. I was amazed to see the crunchiness and the beautiful spotted texture that sprouted ragi lends it. My son who is very fond of South Indian food came again and again to me with an open mouth indicating that he needs some more and he made it clear by pointing at the chutney that he needs the condiment with the pancake as well. God only knows how this little kid can eat the red chilies that went into grinding the chutney but he loved it. Same with Husband. I just asked if he would like to have one as an after office snack to which he reluctantly agreed. But after the first bite he was delighted and enjoyed the taste. Now he wants me to make these for breakfast sometimes. This time my effort has been rewarded so thanks to all of you goodies for inspiring us in making better and healthy choices in life.
Sprouted Ragi and Mung Adai
(Yields 8 medium size pancakes)

Ingredients:
Mung bean (yellow lentil with skin): 1/3 cup
Ragi: 1/3 cup
Urad or black gram lentil: 1/3 cup
Chana dal (Bengal gram lentil): 1/4 cup
Uncooked rice: 1/3 cup
Dry red chilies: 5-6 pieces
Curry leaves: 2-3 sprigs
Ginger: 1" piece
Salt
Oil: 1/2 tsp for each of the pancakes.
Method:
The sprouting process needs a little bit of preparation if you want to make your own sprouts at home.
For this thoroughly wash the ragi and mung beans and then soak them overnight. Next day drain the water and again rinse under running water. Now wrap the grains in a muslin or thin fabric and keep on the kitchen counter. Every 6-8 hours rinse to keep them moist. After 24-36 hours the sprouts would be ready for grinding. For detailed home sprouting procedure please check THIS.
The rice and other lentils also need 2 hours of soaking so plan the process accordingly. I generally let the sprouts grow for 36 hours and then just 2 hours before the mealtime soak all other lentils and rice.
After all the grains are soft grind them in batches with all other ingredients except salt and oil. Don’t make a very smooth paste. Let it be a little coarse to have texture and crispiness.
Once the lentil-rice mixture is ready, mix in salt and give it a good stir.
Heat a pan and spread a little oil. I used a non-stick pan and just added a few drops oil in the beginning. Use a cut eggplant or onion piece to spread the oil uniformly on the pan. Alternatively a cooking spray would be great option.
Once the pan is sizzling hot place one big ladleful of batter in the center and swirl in a circular motion to spread the batter from center to the side. If the pan is not covered use more batter as required. Sprinkle drops of oil on the edges and the top of the pancake. Using a wooden spatula spread the oil uniformly.
Once the bottom side is roasted with a golden brown colour flip and roast the other side too.
Serve hot with any accompaniment of your choice.


A dish of healthy Adai, Coconut chutney and Coffee, my home alone Lunch.
A Homemaker's Notes:
Traditionally asafetida is also added while grinding the batter. I dint use as I had mine with some coconut chutney with little bit asafetida. 
other accompaniments could be tomato chutney, green chutney with mint and coriander, peanut chutney or gunpowder.
This recipe is very accommodative so just go ahead and use any mix of lentils. You can see This Adai from Saffron hut, which is made with 16-bean soup packet.

A version of Adai, which is only made with Mung beans, is called Pesarattu and is a popular breakfast item in Andhra Pradesh.


Always freeze the excess batter in a covered container. I store mine in a bowl wrapped in cling film. this stays good for a week.

Events:
to MLLA#25 started by Susan and at Siri's Corner this time.

To Lets sprout a new event started by Priya.

Tried and Tasted hosted this month at Taste space, originally created by . This month featuring our lovely Usha from Veg Inspiration

Tags:
South Indian breakfast, south indian cuisine, Indian savory pancake, rice lentil pancake, fried lentil pancake, south Indian pancake, light meal, Healthy lunch, cooking for yourself, healthy diet, mung bean, yellow lentil, urad dal, pesarattu, Andhra breakfast, Indian fried breakfast, crispy fried pancake, lentil dosa, ragi dosa, sprout dosa, rice and lentil dosa, sprouted ragi pancake, finger millet pancake, grain in meals, sprout lunch, ginger pancake, curry leaves, curry patta, easy savory meal, easy meal, easy healthy pancake, crunchy lentil dosa, crunchy adai, crunchy pancake.

One Pot meals

Quick Moroccan couscous salad

12:57 PM


I wanted to make Moroccan couscous salad for our anniversary this year but dint find any in the market at that time. So I created THIS with broken wheat or Dalia. Last month at Spar Hypermarket saw this in the soy granule shelf and without wasting much time included that to my basket. Yet again a big thanks to all you beautiful food bloggers out there who have given me courage to buy something totally new with a hopping price tag of RS.425 for a 500 gms packet. But am glad that I did that. Last Saturday after 1 hour 30 minutes of swimming session and another 2 hour visit to the Mother Earth showroom we were damn tired. Thought of ordering home delivery but then these days we really are not much into restaurant style food and both of us wanted a simple home cooked meal. So I thought of the couscous, which according to all bloggers and Nigella Lawson is the quickest possible filling and delicious meal. I already have this and this book marked from PJ and Pree’s lovely blogs. So thought of making something in the same line but a little bit spicier. Almost like Turkish Kisir or spicy form of tabbouleh cooked with bulgur.

So armed with some vegetables, canned olives, fresh mint from the garden I was all set to explore my favourite Mediterranean cuisine with a complete new ingredient. I wanted to make it super quick to hit the bed at the earliest. So just chopped the veggies, micro waved to make it little tender, soaked the couscous and churned the sauce and then just threw everything together. I did not realize what it taste like but when I tried to check the seasoning I was totally bowled over by the taste. It was by far one of the most amazing tasting one-dish meals I have ever tasted. So fresh, comforting, incredibly easy and the dinner was done in flat 15 minutes from start to finish.  What else does a girl after a super hectic day could possible has asked for. The rain outside and the extra time in hand made me a little romantic and I took out my finest china plates to serve the dinner. Hubby was blissfully amazed to sit around some flickering tea lights with the raindrops at the background to have his delicious meal and I almost felt like a domestic Diva…or should I say Nigella Lawson, to have successfully recreated such a scrumptious meal in minutes just by throwing this and that while flattering with the ingredients and gracefully roaming around the kitchen. Seems the dish looks good too as when I posted it on a social networking site friends scrapped and called to share the recipe. So, here it goes.

Super Quick Moroccan Couscous salad
(Serves 2)

Ingredients:
Couscous: 11/3 cups
Water 11/2 cups
Vegetable stock cube: 1 packet; I used magi cubes
Cumin powder: ½ tsp
Coriander powder: ½ tsp
Chopped vegetables: 2/3 cup; I used cauliflower, beans, carrots, peas
Cucumber: 1 medium
Onion: 1 small
Pitted Black olives: fistful

For the dressing:
Tomato: 1 small
Mint leaves: fistful
Coriander leaves: fistful
Garlic: 1 fat clove
Dry red chilies: 6
Salt

To garnish:
Mint leaves
Roasted almond: fistful

Method:
Place the couscous in a big bowl. Heat 11/2 cups of water with the stock cubes, vegetables and cumin-coriander powder. once the veggies are tender (without loosing the crunch) Switch of the gas. Pour the boiling water on the couscous. Cover and set aside for 3-4 minutes or as per the package instruction. Once they are soft and no water is left, fluff them with a fork. Your couscous is ready to be tossed.

In the mean time prepare the dressing. Rub little oil on the tomato and roast it on the gas flame for a couple of minutes. Then blend all the ingredients under the dressing till smooth. Keep aside.

Chop the cucumber in thin pieces. Cut the onion in half moon shape. Sprinkle salt and mash them lightly with your hand.

Roughly chop the mints, olives and almonds.

Now just add everything together. Check the seasoning.

Serve with a final sprinkling of chopped mint leaves and lemon wedges.

A Home Maker’s Note:
I again made it yesterday for a quick home alone lunch with some left over sauce, cucumber, peas, onion and olives. This time I topped it with a poached egg. Loved it to the last grain.

Hubby cherished his share with some quickly fried chicken sausage.

In morocco a simple version of this salad is eaten with Tazine, a meat dish prepared in a cone shaped earthen pot with dry fruits. Guess our good old chicken curry with a thin gravy would taste great too.

I added the stock cube for extra taste, similarly vegetable broth or chicken stock could be used.

you can also add some olive oil but I did not as the stock cube was little oily.

Next time am going to follow PJ's recipe with preserved lemon, chickpeas and sun dried tomatoes. 

Tags:
Couscous, Moroccan Couscous, Mediterranean couscous, mediterranean salad,bulgur, broken wheat, middle eastern cuisine, mediterranean cuisine, moroccan delicacy, quick meal, one pot meal, one dish meal, couscous with vegetables, olives, mint, fresh mint, kisir, tabbouleh, roasted tomato sauce, olives and mint, couscous in vegetable stock, healthy salad, Moroccan salad.

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