Simple cauliflower mash - Gobhi bharta

Dear Readers,
I have managed to update the recipe index and the blog template after ages. Hope the index is helpful and the colours of the template are cheery enough for you to spend time on the blog.
Your constructive feedback is welcome.


Coming to this post, this is one of the simplest ways of preparing cauliflower, as I discovered only recently. A perfect recipe for a beginner and quick to prepare. Delicately spiced by way of a simple tadka (tempering) this mash is a good match for rotis, bread and as a low-carb filling for masala dosa alike. I served it with toasted bread for a light dinner and it tasted just right. 

All this onion-tomato-ginger-garlic fry up with lots of other spices works fine but sometimes you just crave the simple taste of veggies with some essential spices that gently lend their flavour to the dish without getting overwhelming. This is just that sort of recipe. If you are a newbie in the kitchen, I'd highly recommend you try this with the freshest cauliflower you can find and the results will surprise you.

Please choose fresh cauliflower with tightly bound florets and no discolouration as it is the star of this dish.

Ingredients

2 cups cauliflower florets (broken into medium size)

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed

 1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

2 tsp rice bran or any other cooking oil

Pinch of asafoetida

1 green chilli, finely minced

1 tsp finely minced ginger

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

Directions

1. Soak the cauliflower florets in salted water for 10-15 minutes while you cut the potatoes, chillies, ginger and get the ingredients ready.
2. In a pan with a lid, place 2 cups water with the salt and turmeric powder. Bring it to a boil. Drain the cauliflower and add this to the boiling water with the cubed potato. 
3. This will take around 8 minutes to be fork tender. Drain the boiled vegetables, transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork to a rough puree. Do not throw away the residual water. Use it in soup, rasam or dal.
4. In a small wok, heat the oil. Add the asafoetida,splutter the cumin and mustard seeds. Saute the chilli and ginger for a few seconds and transfer the tempering to the boiled, mashed vegetables.
5. Lightly mix around with a fork to flavour the vegetables evenly. Check for salt and adjust if required.

This tasted divine to my taste buds and the pure tastes of the vegetables came shining through, with the ginger giving the right spice hit.


Try this for your toddlers to go with rotis or soft bread, I'm sure they will like it too.


A lot of my bachelor friends on Twitter have been asking me to post bachelor-friendly recipes and this one is the first of many to come.

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The best ever cornbread baked in my kitchen

I have already been raving about my crush on Mexican food ever since I opened that tiny tin of Chipotle chillies that Nupur got me. I don't know if winter has officially set in, in Hyderabad or is it some random cyclone effect - but the mornings and evenings are chilly and the day is generally cloudy. I am not a big sun person, so this suits me just fine. More so, I can indulge in infinite cups of tea, drink big bowls of soup for dinner and my taste buds suddenly develop a liking for spicy stuff. "Bring back the Chili" said my tastebuds to me yesterday. And opposites attract, don't they. What better way to complement the hot and flavour blasting chili than this mildly sweet cornbread, scented with cumin and coriander leaves?

I have baked cornbread some 3-4 times and this was THE. BEST. EVER. I am not exaggerating.
Especially if you are someone who has shied away from baking this because you don't eat eggs, you are in for a pleasant surprise. My husband quit eating eggs a few years ago and I am constantly figuring out ways to turn out decent baked stuff with replacements for egg and yesterday I hit gold. Flaxseed which is one of the best sources of Omega-3 for a vegetarian. You can buy the seeds and powder the quantity required for each recipe in a coffee grinder / chutney jar of mixer.

For each egg to be replaced - use 1 tbsp flaxseed powder whisked into 3 tbsp of very hot water. You will get an emulsion like beaten eggs and use it at the stage of the recipe when it calls for eggs.

This was most perfect match for the chili and I must add that my toddler son loved this too - in fact he was making it extremely difficult for me to take a picture, by digging his tiny fingers into it!

Recipe for Eggless Cornbread
Serves 3-4
Loosely adapted from Alton Brown's Creamed Corn Cornbread recipe

In a large bowl, mix-
1 cup yellow cornmeal (Makkai ka atta)
1/2 cup all purpose flour (Maida)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk well-
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp flaxseed powder whisked into 6 tbsp hot water
1/2 cup milk

Extras
2 tbsp finely chopped pickled jalapenos or 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds for garnish (optional, but gives a nice look to the bread)
1/4 cup frozen corn kernels (gives a nice sweet crunch, but I did not have it on hand, so did not use)

Directions
Preheat the oven at 200C.
Grease a loaf tin or line with tin foil.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry - till just combined and stir in the jalapenos, coriander leaves and corn kernels. I added a few spoons of the brine from pickled jalapenos as I found the mix somewhat dry. This gave a big flavour boost to the bread.
Pour into greased loaf tin. Flatten lightly with wet fingers and bake for 20 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
Let it rest for 15-20 minutes outside, before slicing.
Serve warm with chili. Recipe for chili posted here.

Food shopping in Hyderabad

Flaxseed also called Alsi in Hindi and Tashi in Bengali (knowledge shared by my twitter friends) is available with most grocers nowadays.
In Hyderabad, you can buy it at -
Ratnadeep (Srinagar Colony / Madhapur)
Q Mart (Road no.2 Banjara Hills)
Hypercity (Inorbit Mall, Madhapur)
Fabindia outlets that stock food

Pickled Jalapenos are available in all supermarkets. American Garden, Frigata are some of the good brands.

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Ukrainian Honey Cake - Exotic and low-fat

When I saw this cake posted on Blondie's Cakes as an entry for the Foodbuzz Blogger Challenge, I knew this was just my kinda cake. Low on oil, lots of flavours and can be adapted to be made eggless.

A Ukrainian cake sounds so exotic. The ingredients however can be easily sourced on our kitchens. Addition of ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg make it a perfect warming cake with your morning cuppa tea and the addition of coffee gives it a depth of flavour. I substituted the two eggs in the original recipe with yogurt and the results were quite good. The icing with honey, sugar and lemon juice gives it that extra kick - making it perfect for your tea party.

Ukrainian Honey Cake

Adapted from Blondie's Cakes
Ingredients

1 1/2 cups atta (whole wheat flour)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp yogurt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup strong coffee (1 tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 1/2 cup hot water)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Icing:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp honey
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 175 C / 350F. 
2. Seive the flour, baking soda, baking powder, spice powders, and salt together into a large bowl. 
3. In another large bowl, whisk together yogurt, sugar, honey, coffee and oil.  Add the dry ingredients and whisk till combined. 
4. Pour into a greased 8" round pan and bake for around 30min, until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool a few minutes and unmould.
5. In a small bowl, beat well with a fork the ingredients for icing and drizzle over cake before slicing.

A cake with such regular kitchen ingredients and easy to put together in a jiffy, plus just 2 tbsp of oil is sure to be a hit with us. This recipe now resides in my iPhone notes so can make it just about anytime!

Though I used freshly grated nutmeg, I've tasted stuff made by my friend using Keya's Travencore Ground Nutmeg and the flavour is absolutely hard-hitting delicious. So I would totally recommend you use it if you like bold nutmeg flavours in desserts.

Thanks a lot Blondie for this superb family recipe.

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Cottage cheese cake - Paneer Cake : Perfect tea-time treat

A trip to Madras is incomplete without a drive to Pondicherry. Once, we took up a homestay and stayed over for a couple of nights - walking around the lovely streets in the French quarter, peering into some bookshops, boutiques, incense and candle shops while we were there. During a peek into one such bookshop I came across this little book on baking called Baking Delights by Aruna Sheth with the kind of recipes my mother's generation would make at home. The sections include breads, biscuits, cakes, multi-purpose meals, puddings & pies and snacks.

I have a liking for all things old-fashioned and so I got this home. After reading those quaint old recipes many a times - I fell in love with one Cottage cheese cake, the recipe of which had no butter or oil. With my slight modifications, I turned this into a faux mava cake, using the Mixed Fruit essence and some tutti frutti - a total 70s style cake, perfectly simple to make, and just right with that cup of tea / coffee - feels like a treat but not like a sinful indulgence.

So here is the recipe for Cottage cheese cake with Tutti Frutti

Ingredients

Makes 2 small square cakes or 1 loaf

1/2 litre milk, 1 tbsp white vinegar - to make paneer

1.5 cups atta

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup sugar, or slightly less, ground with seeds from 3 cardamoms

4 tbsp milkmaid

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp vinegar

1/4 cup tutti frutti in any colours

1/4 cup milk (if required)


Directions

1. Bring the milk to a boil, add the vinegar and stir till milk splits to give paneer and clear whey. Filter out paneer and save the whey.
2. Preheat oven at 180 C.
3. Line 2 square tins of 12 cmX12 cm with foil or a loaf tin. Grease the foil with some oil.
4. Sieve the flour with the baking soda and baking powder.
5. In a large bowl, mash the paneer well with the oil, milkmaid. Add 1 tbsp vinegar, sugar-cardamom mix to this and half the whey water.
6. Add the flour in batches into the whisked wet ingredients. Use the reserved whey water and extra milk if required to get a batter consistency.
7. Fold in most of the tutti frutti, reserving some to decorate on the top of the cake.
8. Divide the batter into the two square tins or a single loaf tin, sprinkle remaining tutti frutti on the top.
9. Bake for 30 minutes (in case of two small tins) or 45-50 minutes for loaf at 180 C reducing the temperature after 20 minutes to 160 or so in case of square tins to prevent excessive browning of the tops.
10. Remove, cool in the tin itself for 15 minutes and remove out with the foil. Slice and serve warm.

Food-shopping in Hyderabad

Where to buy Tutti-Frutti - Branches of Heritage- Fresh, QMart-Banjara Hills, branches of Ratnadeep

Disposable aluminium foil baking containers available at most supermarkets - eg. Balaji Grand Bazaar in Road.1

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Vegetarian chili made with black eyed peas and a Mexican Pizza

Ingredients inspire dishes. My sudden love for Mexican cuisine is totally inspired by the tins of Chipotle Chillies in Adobo sauce that Nupur (One Hot Stove) was so sweet enough to gift me when she was visiting us in Mumbai last year, among many other gifts including a handmade Eggplant cap for Atri :)

Having never cooked Mexican food before, they were just lying at the back of my kitchen shelf for many many months. The day I opened the can and took a teeny taste of the contents, I was sold on this. One tin goes a long way and the large chillies soaked in adobo sauce are bursting with heat and smoky flavours, giving any Mexican recipe an authentic touch.

This Chili dish is something you can serve as a stew to eat with soft tortillas, top slices of bread or make it thinner and have it as a hearty soup on a cold evening. Whichever way, this is guaranteed to be a sureshot crowd pleaser and the spicy flavours will easily agree with the Indian palate.

Vegetarian Chili with black eyed peas

serves 6

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil

4-5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

5-6 mushrooms

1 green capsicum

1 red capsicum

1 onion

6 medium tomatoes

2 cups boiled black eyed peas (Pressure cooked with enough water until very soft and mushy)

2 chipotle chillies in adobo sauce (or use regular green / red chillies finely chopped)

1/2 tsp red chilli powder or more as per preference

1 tsp dried ground oregano

1 tsp freshly ground cumin 

Preparation

Finely chop the garlic, onion, mushrooms and capsicums.

Fill a large pot with 2 L water. Score the tomatoes with a cross at the smooth end. Allow to come to a boil and drop the tomatoes. Once this comes to a simmer, turn off flame and cover for 2 minutes.

Fish out the tomatoes and place them in tap/cold water, until cool enough to handle. Peel off skins and chop to a medium dice, seeds included.

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large wok. Saute the garlic for 30 seconds, before adding the onions, capsicums and mushrooms. On a medium flame, let these cook for 7-10 minutes with a pinch of salt added towards the end.
2. Once the vegetables are nearly done, add the chopped blanched tomatoes, cooked black eyed peas, chopped chipotle / chillies and spice powders along with a tsp (or as per taste) of salt. Add 1/2-1 cup of water, cover with a lid and let it simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Check for spiciness and salt, adjust the taste according to your preference and remove into a serving bowl. This chilli should be quite dried out if using as a pizza topping or else the base will get soggy. If serving with tortillas or rice, you can leave some amount of liquid in the chili.

You can use black beans, kidney beans or any other beans instead of black eyed peas.

For Pizza

Ready pizza bases - 6

Black eyed peas chilli

Grated cheddar cheese - 1 cup

Dried oregano

Dried chilli flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 200C

Spread the chilli over the base. Top with grated cheese and bake for 5-7 minutes, till cheese melts.

Sprinkle oregano and if you like it really hot, then chilli flakes too.

Keep a chilled beer or iced water handy!

 We started the Mexican dinner with a bowl of guacamole and baked corn chips (Italia brand). It was the most fun dinner we had in a long time. Thank you Nupur!

If you happen to spot tinned chipotle chillies in a supermarket near you, please leave a comment and I shall include it in a note here, to help the readers.

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Homemade granola, at last - with homemade applesauce

 

 

I am not a big fan of store bought cereals. However I do stock whole wheat flakes and unsweetened cornflakes for breakfast in a hurry. Buying boxed cereals with sugar and salt overload are totally avoidable as the first meal of the day. Oats is another regular during breakfast hours. That is one thing the husband has mastered in microwave cooking - Oats, frozen peas, masalas of choice, water and microwave for 4 minutes or so - for a bowl full of fibre, protein and good carbs. I prefer my oats slightly sweetened with jaggery, cooked with milk and cinnamon. When I saw this recipe for granola on Nigella Lawson's show - combining cereals with nuts, seeds, spices - I knew I had to try this. But it turned out to be one of those ideas that keep sitting on the back burner - waiting for the right moment, to be explored. Early this week, sufficiently inspired, I went to the store and bought the necessary ingredients - Oats, cornflakes, apples, sesame seeds for the rest of the stuff I already had at home.

 

Ever since the waxed, coated and 'sitting in cold storage for god knows how long' apples from US and NZ have flooded the markets, I have totally given up apples. I hate the shiny waxy skin, I hate the pasty texture and total lack of taste. But Shimla apples are another breed altogether - they are the perfect combination of juicy, crisp and sweet and I bought 2 kilos. The timing was perfect as I could use a couple of them to make applesauce to hold the garnola together. [Recipe for applesauce at the end of the post]

The resultant breakfast in a bowl is very high in fibre from the whole grains and wheat germ, the sesame seeds are rich in calcium, iron, vitamin B1 and zinc. The taste is absolutely superlative with subtle sweetness from natural sugars in jaggery, honey, apple and the spicy sweetness of cinnamon. Try this once and I guarantee you will never buy the cardboard shards sold in the name of Muesli in supermarkets here.

 

 

Here's my recipe - adapted from Nigella Lawson's - Andy's Fairfield Granola

 

Special equipment
Pressure cooker if making applesauce at home (preferable for quickly stewing apples)
Two large baking trays atleast 9X9

 

Ingredients
500 g Rolled oats ( I used Saffola brand)
2 cups unsweetened corn flakes or wheat flakes
1 cup wheat bran ( I used Baggrey's )
100 g sesame seeds (or roughly 1/3rd cup)-lightly toasted in a wok for 1 minute
1/2 cup - mixture of almonds, sunflower seeds, walnuts, cashews - chopped in bits

 

1/2 cup jaggery dissolved in 1/2 cup water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp sunflower or any neutral oil
1 cup applesauce or make your own from 2-3 apples (Recipe below)
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp dried ginger powder
1 tsp salt

 

1 cup mix of dried apricot bits / raisins / sultananas or any other dried berries

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 200 C.
2. In the largest bowl you have, mix the oats, wheatflakes, nuts, toasted sesame seeds.
3. In a medium bowl, mix the jaggery water, honey, oil, applesauce, ground ginger and cinnamon and salt.
4. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients in the large bowl and mix with two serving spoons or with your hands, until the spices and liquids have thoroughly coated all of the cereals and nuts.
5. Line the baking trays with aluminium foil.
6. Distribute the granola mix between the two trays, pressing down well.
7. Bake each tray for around 30 minutes at 200 C - keeping a watch that the granola is not burning. If it is browning too fast, turn the tray and reduce the temperature to 175 and bake till quite crisp.
8. Once cool, break into bits or crumble, mix up the dried fruit and store in airtight container.

 

To serve
2 handfuls of granola or 1/2 cup with a cup of milk and some fresh fruit if you like

How to make applesauce

• Wash, peel and core 2-3 good apples.
• Chop into medium pieces and pressure cook with 1/2 cup water, either directly in the cooker or in a bowl for 5-7 minutes. ie. After three whistles, keep on sim for 5-7 minutes.
• After a few minutes, open cooker, remove the stewed apples and mash with a back of a ladle or in food processor.
• This will yield over a cup of applesauce.
• If you dont have a pressure cooker, follow the process in a saucepan with a fitting lid. Simmer for 20-30 minutes till apples are totally soft and then mash.

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Sunday night dinner - Chickpea Basil burgers

Whoever said TV dinners cannot be healthy? These burgers are perfect TV food to pile on a plate and curl up on the couch watching your favourite soap or movie. This recipe is another discovery in my quest for high protein vegetarian recipes. The food and dining section of NYTimes, Guardian, WashingtonPost is my regular haunt not only to see the food trends around the world, but invariably I stumble upon some interesting stuff. The recipe of Spinach and Chickpea burgers from The Washington Post is what inspired me to come up with this version.

We all love burgers, at least most of us. This one is way easier than the mixed vegetable burgers, where you have to clean, cut and prepare an assortment of veggies. This one has just two main ingredients - chickpeas and potatoes. Add to this your favourite greens and spices and you have some really filling burgers ready. Eat them as it is, or as an open sandwich or inside a burger bun. Choice is yours. Pair it with slices of fresh cucumber and tomatoes, lettuce if fresh ones are available - to make up for the lack of vegetables in the burger. I like it with a kick of sharp mustard like Coleman's but ketchup, barbeque sauce, pepper sauce, anything is fine.

Chickpeas are vegetarians' best friends to catch up with protein requirements. Not to mention how loaded in fibre and folic acid they are. Two of these patties provide 25% of your daily fibre requirement and 35% of your folic acid requirement. Combine chickpeas with rice or bread and you get a high quality protein from the meal from a combination of various amino acids. The fibre content not only keeps your full for longer but also helps lower bad cholesterol. Fibre also makes sure your sugar levels go up gradually and this is of special benefit for diabetics.

Ingredients
1/2-3/4 Cup dried chickpeas - soaked in lots of water overnight
1/2 cup mashed potato
1/3 cup chopped basil leaves or any other herbs / greens
1 tsp ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
Besan / gram flour if required

2 tsp olive oil or vegetable oil

To assemble
Bread of your choice (6 burger buns or 12 slices of bread)
Sliced tomatoes, cucumber, washed and dried lettuce leaves
6 cheese slices (optional)
Ketchup, mustard

Directions

• Pressure cook the chickpeas with 2 cups water for 8 minutes or so. (After 3 whistles, lower the flame and keep on sim for 7-8 minutes)
• Drain and mash with a heavy mortar or till coarsely mashed in a food processor.
• In a large bowl, mix mashed chickpeas, potatoes, chopped basil, pepper, salt, red chilli powder.
• Sprinkle gram flour or bread crumbs if the mixture is too wet.
• Divide this into six balls, flatten into thick patties and place on a lightly greased non-stick tava / skillet on a medium flame. Grill each side for 5-7 minutes, till golden brown using little olive oil.
• Remove and keep aside.

Lightly toast the bread for the burger on the same hot skillet. Apply mustard on both slices. Place the cucumber and tomato slices, cheese slice and place the hot burger on the top. Cover with more salad if you like and a slice of bread or the other half of burger bun.

Eat / serve immediately.

Note
If you mash the chickpeas in the food processor, make sure you use the 'pulse' function so it does not turn into a paste, after which it will be tough to shape them into burgers.
You can prepare these upto the 'shaping into patties' stage and freeze them keeping a layer of cling film / butter paper in between and directly grill them on the pan for a weekday dinner.

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