Recipe 35 - Sweet Potato Rings

Sweet Potato Rings (Kids Special!)

Sweet Potato based rings with rice flour & Similac (Infant formula). Kids love to wear edible rings!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 sweet potato (tomato sized qty is required)
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 1/2 cup Similac infant formula (or any other brand)
• salt

Method:

• pressure cook 1/2 sweet potato
• once done, peel its skin off, & mash it well
• To a bowl, add the mashed sweet potato, 1/2 cup rice flour, 1/2 cup Similac infant formula (or any other brand), salt for taste & get it to dough consistency (you might not require any additional water given that the pressure cooked sweet potato will already have sufficient amount)
• make tiny rings with the dough (like shown in the above pic) & steam cook them for like 15-20 minutes
• cool it down to room temperature & serve

Recipe 32 - Fresh Falafel Salad

Falafel Balls

Chickpeas based croquettes served with cucumber & lettuce.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chickpeas
• 2 chopped garlics
• 1 chopped onion
• 1/4 cup parsley
• 1/2 cup corn flour
• 1 teaspoon cummin seeds
• 1/2 cup corn (optional)
• 1/2 cup cilantro
• cooking oil
• salt
• pepper
• water

Method:

• soak 1 cup chickpeas to a bowl of water, set aside for atleast 2 hours (READ NOTES below)
• then, add the chickpeas to a mixer/blender & grind partially (just about minced)
• separately, add 2 chopped garlics, 1 chopped onion, 1/4 cup parsley, 1 teaspoon cummin seeds, 1/2 cup corn (optional), 1/2 cup cilantro to a mixer/blender & grind partially
• add results of previous 2 steps to a bowl, add 1/2 cup corn flour, pepper & salt for taste and mix well
• make small balls out of this & deep fry them in cooking oil
• for salad, serve with chopped tomatoes, cucumber & lettuce
• as an alternate to tahini sauce, I served with ranch

Notes:

• the soaked chickpeas tends to absorb water & get enlarged. So the more you soak it, the better
• although I didn't try it, as an alternate, to avoid any wait time, you may want to directly pressure cook the chickpeas & possibly get a similar result

Recipe 34 - SJC Basundi

SJC Basundi

Milk based sweet blended with cardamon & cocoa.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups milk
• 1.5 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamon powder
• few cashews
• few raisins

Method:

• in low heat, boil 4 cups milk in a pan & keep stirring at frequent intervals
• add 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon baking powder (optional), 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1.5 cups white sugar & stir well (for atleast 45 mins or until you see the milk getting thicker. READ NOTES below)
• after getting condensed milk, add 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon cardamon powder, few cashews, few raisins & continue to simmer for 10 more mins
• transfer to another vessel & allow it to cool down
• serve hot/cold

Notes:

• just my 2 cents: Wider the pan, quicker the milk gets condensed (like 2" tall, around 4" radius)
• remember that you might get just a cup of condensed milk when you attempt to condense 4 cups of milk

Recipe 33 - Cucumber Lassi

Cucumber Lassi

Fresh cucumbers blended with yogurt and seasoned with cummins seeds & cilantro.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 chopped cucumber
• 1 cup plain yogurt (curd)
• 1 teaspoon cummin seeds
• few curry leaves
• few cilantro
• asafetida
• pepper
• salt

Method:

• mix all the ingredients in a mixer/blender & garnish with cilantro
• serve cold

Recipe 6 - Honey Lemon Chili Dip

Honey Lemon Chili Dip

Hot meets cold! Edible chillies topped with honey lemon syrup served along with homemade tomato sauce.

Ingredients:

• 6-8 jalapeños (or other hot peppers/chillies)
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• 2-3 chopped green chillies
• ranch sauce
• sugar
• honey
• pepper
• salt
• water

Method:

• heat up a pan, pour 1 cup water & add 2 chopped tomatoes
• once the water gets evaporated & you get a squashy consistency, add it along with 2-3 chopped green chillies (depending upon your hotness endurance), pepper & salt for taste and 1 teaspoon ranch sauce to a mixer/blender & grind well
• in a bowl, add 3 teaspoons honey, a teaspoon sugar & a teaspoon water & mix well and set aside
• cut the jalapeños into half as shown in the above picture & remove all the seeds (or atleast most of them)
• boil them in hot water for a short duration
• remove from heat & pour the honey syrup on top of these jalapeños
• serve alongside the tomato sauce

Notes:

• Caution: this recipe is quite on the hotter side
• to decrease the hotness:
  • use lesser green chillies
  • remove maximum seeds from jalapeños
  • boil in hot water for a longer duration (to an extent you don't lose its shape)

Recipe 20 - Oats Laddu

Oats Laddu

Here's presenting an oats, brown sugar version of this traditional Indian sweet.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cardamon powder
• 3/4 cup ghee
• few cashewnuts
• ice cream essence (optional)

Method:

• saute cashews, set aside
• partially roast the oats in a pan/bowl adding like 1/2 cup ghee, stir nicely to mix ghee evenly throughout
• remove the oats, add it to a mixer/blender & grind partially (to an extent where oats are not completely powdered)
• add it back to the pan/bowl & heat it in low
• add 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 teaspoons cardamon powder, a spoon of ice cream essence, the sauted cashewnuts, remaining ghee & stir well
• Remove from heat, make round balls (please read notes below) & serve

Notes:

• If you are unable to get it ball shaped, don't give up :).. as the temperature goes down, the mixture will help better in shaping, but don't wait until it gets too cold, then it might become to hard
• After making the balls, set aside for a few minutes while it gets harder & then erve

Recipe 16 - Pineapple Mudding

Pineapple Mudding

Pineapple M.. N.. O.. Pudding. Close but not there yet!

Ingredients:

• 1-inch pineapple slice
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon caramel sauce
• 1 teaspoon milkmaid
• 1/2 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup milk
• few raisins
• sugar
• few red cherries
• whipped cream

Method:

• chop the pineapple slice into smaller pieces
• add the chopped pineapples, 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon caramel sauce, 1 teaspoon milkmaid, 1/2 teaspoon honey, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1/2 cup milk, few raisins, sugar for taste & few red cherries into a mixer/blender & grind them thoroughly
• decorate it with whipped cream & red cherries
• serve cold/room temperature

Recipe 17 - Pineapple & Potato Curry

Pineapple & Potato Curry

A spicy blend of potato & pineapple, served with rice.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup chopped pineapples
• 1 finely chopped potato
• 1/4 cup chopped onions
• 1/4 cup minced spring onions
• 1/4 cup corn
• 1/2 tomato, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons cooking oil
• masala powder
• turmeric powder
• chilly powder
• salt
• water
• ghee

Method:

• add 2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, 1 finely chopped tomato & water in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
• saute 1/4 cup chopped onions and 1 finely chopped potato in cooking oil
• add the spice mixture prepared in the first step, 1/4 cup corn & required amount of water to soak the pan contents
• add masala powder, chilly powder, pinch of turmeric powder, salt & ghee for taste
• add 1 cup chopped pineapples & 1/4 cup minced spring onions
• cook until all the water gets evaporated
• Serve with rice.

Notes:

• modified this recipe that I found in http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/r/pinepotatocurry.htm

Recipe 10 - Black meets Red!

Black meets Red!

A blend of black beans, red peppadew peppers, millet, parsley & chives.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup black beans
• 6-8 red peppadew peppers (I got them from whole foods)
• 1/2 cup millet
• 1/2 cup minced parsley
• 1/2 cup minced chives
• 2-3 minced garlics
• cooking oil
• black pepper powder
• salt
• water
• few cilantro

Method:

• pressure cook 1/2 cup millet & 1 cup black beans separately
• once cooked, in a pan, pour 1/2 cup minced parsley, 1/2 cup minced chives, 2-3 minced garlics, 4-6 red peppadew peppers & saute in 2-3 teaspoons of cooking oil
• add black pepper powder & salt for taste
• add the cooked black beans & millet & mix nicely
• garnish with cilantro & leftover red peppadew peppers
• serve hot

Recipe 12 - Khaman Dhokla

Khaman Dhokla

Gujju, here I come... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dhokla

Ingredients:

• 1 cup gram flour
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• green chilly paste
• sugar
• salt
• turmeric powder
• water
• mustard seeds
• cooking oil
• curry leaves
• cilantro
• seasame seeds

Method:

• to a bowl, add 1 cup gram flour, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice & desired amount of water to get it to batter consistency & set it aside for an hour
• then add turmeric powder, sugar, salt & green chilly paste for taste and mix thoroughly
• steam cook this for like 20 minutes or until the batter has hardened up well enough with no existence of raw batter
• separately, heat up a pan, add 2 teaspoons cooking oil, add mustard seeds & wait until it pops
• then add curry leaves, cilantro, seasame seeds & pour it on top of the cooked batter
• cut it into square/diamond shaped pieces (just the way you'd cut a birthday cake) before serving

Recipe 14 - Subramaniapuram Idly

Subramaniapuram Idly

A savory cake made of semolina & a variety of vegetables (in other words, cousin of Kancheepuram idly :P)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Semolina
• 1 cup yogurt
• 2 minced green chillies
• 1/2 cup minced red cabbage (or white)
• 1/4 cup minced chives
• 1/4 cup minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon urad dal
• 1 teaspoon moong dal
• pepper
• salt
• asafetida
• water
• cooking oil

Method:

• To a bowl, add 1 cup Semolina, 1 cup yogurt, 2 minced green chillies, 1/2 cup minced red cabbage (or white), 1/4 cup minced chives, 1/4 cup minced parsley, 1 teaspoon urad dal, 1 teaspoon moong dal & desired amount of water to get it to batter consistency; mix well
• add salt, pepper & asafetida for taste & continue mixing
• apply oil to the idly plates & pour the batter into each idly dip
• steam cook for like 20 minutes or until you find the idlies thoroughly cooked & there are no signs of raw batter still
• serve hot

Notes:

• Feel free to use other veggies if you don't have the ones specified here; eg. tomato, corn, cilantro, green peppers, carrot

Recipe 15 - Sago Vadam

Sago Vadam

Sago based Papadum blended with spices & spring onions made in traditional oven.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sago
• 1/2 cup rice flour
• 2 green chillies
• 1/2 teaspoon cummin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon seasame seeds
• 1/4 cup minced spring onions
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
• asafetida
• salt
• water
• cooking oil

Method:

• soak sago in water for atleast 2 hours
• preheat oven to 250 degrees
• pressure cook or set sago to boil
• separately, in a cup, add 2 green chillies, 1/2 teaspoon cummin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon seasame seeds, salt, a teaspoon water and nicely mix/mash them
• add this mixture to the rice flour, add some more water to get it to a batter consistency
• once the sago has been cooked, pour the rice flour mixture into the pan containing sago
• add 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice, asafetida, add some more water if required & cook further until the water gets evaporated & you get a thick gummy solution
• in an oven sheet, pour 1 spoon of the gummy solution & flatten it nicely into an oval shape, the better you flatten, the better it gets baked; make several such papadums depending upon the size of your oven sheet
• keep it inside the oven for like 30 minutes; remove after papadums have been baked well (please read notes below)
• heat up oil in a pan, once heated, deep fry these papadums
• allow it to get to room temperature before serving

Notes:

• the time you need to bake largely depends on the size of papadums & its thickness, so my numbers above may not work for you
• oven heats up food using conduction, so the borders first get heated up & it slowly gets to its center; so make sure the center of the papadums have been baked well before removing it

Recipe 13 - Thai Pongal

Thai Pongal

Pongal made with Thai rice, coconut milk, urad dal, shredded coconut & pineapple. Happy Thai Pongal to you all :)!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Thai Jasmine rice
• 1/2 cup urad dal
• 3 1-inch jaggery cubes (more, the sweeter it is)
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 teaspoons ghee
• few pineapple slices, finely chopped
• few raisins for garnishing
• water

Method:

• add 1 cup jasmine rice, 1/2 cup urad dal, 1 1/2 cups of milk & 1 1/2 cups water into a vessel and set it to boil (or pressure cook)
• separately, heat up another vessel, add 3 cups of water & add the 3 1-inch jaggery cubes into it & keep stirring until the jaggeries have dissolved well & the water color has changed
• add the cooked rice/urad dal mixture into the jaggery water & mix well
• if you don't have coconut milk, grind 1/2 cup shredded coconut in a mixer along with 1/2 cup water, filter/squeeze it through a cloth to extract the coconut milk
• add few pineapple chops, 1/2 cup coconut milk & a teaspoon of shredded coconut & mix well
• once cooked, separately heat up 2 teaspoons ghee on a pan & add few raisins & pour it into the above mixture
• decorate with pineapples & shredded coconut before serving
• serve hot

Recipe 11 - Quinoa Payasam

Quinoa Payasam

Blending quinoa with traditional south Indian pudding.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 3/4 cup brown/raw sugar
• 3 cups milk
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamon powder
• 2 teaspoons ghee
• few cardamon seeds
• few cashews
• few raisins

Method:

• Pressure cook or set quinoa to boil
• separately, add 3 cups of milk to a pan & heat it up
• add 3/4 cup brown/raw sugar & stir well until it gets dissolved
• add the cooked quinoa & 1/4 teaspoon cardamon powder to the boiling milk & continue to stir
• saute few cashews & raisins in ghee & garnish the above solution
• serve hot/cold

Recipe 7 - Green Onions Pancake

Green Onions Pancake

A Chinese based flatbread sprinkled with green onions.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup finely chopped spring onions
• cooking oil
• salt
• water
• asafetida (optional)

Method:

• knead 2 cups of all purpose flour, 2-3 teaspoons of cooking oil, salt, asafetida & water into dough
• make small balls out of the dough, flatten each of them with a roller, sprinkle the finely chopped spring onions, roll them & flatten again
• shallow fry them in a pan
• serve hot

Recipe 9 - Chives and Parsley Pasta

Chives and Parsley Pasta

Pasta blended with parsley, chives, garlic & pepper topped with black olives.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pasta
• 1 cup minced chives
• 1 cup minced parsley
• 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste
• 2 teaspoons ranch sauce
• 3 teaspoons ghee
• cilantro
• few black olives
• water
• pepper
• salt

Method:

• add 1 cup pasta & 2 cups water into a vessel and set it to boil
• separately, heat up a pan & add 3 teaspoons ghee
• once heated, add 1 cup minced chives, 1 cup minced parsley, few cilantro into the ghee
• then add 1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste & if desired, few minced garlic pieces
• add 2 teaspoons ranch sauce
• add salt & pepper for taste
• once the pasta is well cooked, pour the semi-cooked chives/parsley mixture into it & mix well
• garnish with black olives & serve hot

Notes:

• I used ghee for taste, alternatively, you may want to use cooking oil
• the chives/parsley mixture is really semi-cooked only.. just make sure the pasta is properly cooked

Recipe 8 - Apple Kesari

Apple Kesari

Semolina & apple based sweet topped with chocolate sauce.

Kesari

Ingredients:

• 1 cup semolina (rava)
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 apple
• 1 cup milk
• few cashews
• few raisins
• 2 teaspoons ghee
• water

Method:

• heat up a pan, add 1 cup semolina & a teaspoon ghee; set aside after roasting it a little
• cut the apple into small pieces, set aside 4-5 pieces
• crush the remaining in a mixer adding 1/4 cup water; filter the crushed apple through a cloth, squeeze it & extract the juice; you should have atleast 1 cup of apple juice now
• separately, heat up 1 cup milk in a pan
• then, add sugar & stir well until it gets dissolved
• then add the roasted semolina, 1 cup apple juice & stir well; add desired amount of water to aid cooking
• separately, saute few cashews & raisins in 2 teaspoons ghee & pour into the above once the liquids get evaporated

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 1/4 teaspoon milk
• a pinch of baking powder

Method:

• add 1 teaspoon ghee into a pan
• once heated, add 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon vanilla essence, 1/4 teaspoon milk & a pinch of baking powder and stir well

Integration

• pour the chocolate sauce on top of the kesari & serve hot/cold

Notes:

• please note that semolina absorbs water very quickly & if you don't catch up to it while stirring, you might find hard lumps formed

Recipe 4 - Egg-atato

Egg-atato

Apt for non-eggatarians! A dumpling made with potato & rice flour blended with some spices

Egg-White Layer

Ingredients:

• 2 egg-sized potatoes
• 3/4 cup rice flour
• 1/4 cup yogurt
• salt
• water

Method:

• pressure cook 2 potatoes (to an extend where you can easily mash them up)
• peel potatoes & mash them nicely
• in a bowl, add the mashed potatoes, 3/4 cup rice flour, 1/4 cup yogurt, salt, water & make a dough out of this mixture (clay like)
• make oval egg-shaped balls out of this dough, leave one end opened to accommodate the yolk

Egg-Yolk Layer

Ingredients:

• 1 egg-sized potato
• 1/4 cup corn flour
• turmeric powder
• dal powder
• red chilly powder
• salt
• water

Method:

• pressure cook 1 potato (to an extend where you can easily mash them up)
• peel the potato & mash it nicely
• in a bowl, add the mashed potato, 1/4 cup corn flour, 2 pinches of turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon dal powder, 1/4 teaspoon of red chilly powder, salt & water
• mix it well & form a dough out of this mixture
• make small balls (yolk-sized) out of this dough

Integration:

• place the yolk balls inside the white layer & close it with more white dough; typically you should be able to make 4-5 eggs with the above ingredients
• steam cook the eggs for like 15 minutes
• voila! you have delicious spicy dumplings! serve hot!

Recipe 3 - Broccoli Salad

Broccoli Salad

A spicy mixture of broccoli, green peppers & onions

Ingredients:

• 2 (rice) cups chunked broccoli
• ½ an onion
• 2 green chillies
• ½ green pepper
• ½ cup chopped spring onions
• ginger garlic paste
• soya sauce
• maida or all purpose flour
• few curry leaves & cilantro
• cooking oil
• water
• salt
• powdered pepper

Method:

• chop onions, green peppers & green chillies into small chunks
• in a bowl, pour ½ cup of maida or all purpose flour, add broccoli, some salt, water & mix well (the mixture should be pasty, not too dry/watery)
• add 2 spoons of oil to a frying pan & heat it up
• add onions, allow it to fry for a while, once its color starts to change, add 2 green chillies, curry leaves, then spring onions & green pepper
• then add the flour mixture you had earlier prepared
• add 2 spoons of garlic paste, soya sauce, salt & pepper
• serve hot when semi-cooked
• top it with some cilantro

Recipe 2 - Corn Salsa

Corn Salsa

Corn based starter meal topped with shredded coconut dipped in a homemade tomato sauce

Ingredients:

• 1½ (rice) cup corn
• 1 tomato
• 1 green chilly
• ¼ or ½ an onion
• few curry leaves
• cilantro
• ¾ cup shredded coconut
• lime essence
• mustard
• cooking oil
• salt
• water

Method:

• pressure cook 1 cup of corn (just 1-2 whistles should do)
• grind 1 tomato, 1 green chilly, few curry leaves, cilantro, ¼ or ½ an onion, a pinch of salt & 1 teaspoon of water in a mixie. You’ll get a pasty solution
• add a teaspoon of cooking oil to a pan, add mustard.. after it starts bursting, add the 1 cup of cooked corn & the remaining ½ cup of uncooked corn & the above pasty solution
• mix them well for like 5 minutes
• add the shredded coconut & mix for another 2 minutes
• remove from stove, pour lime essence & mix well
• top it with shredded coconut & serve hot

Recipe 1 - Wild Wild Fest

Wild Wild Fest

Wild rice blended with jaggery, garnished with cashews & raisins

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup wild rice
• 3 1-inch jaggery cubes
• few cashewnuts, raisins
• water
• ghee
• salt

Method:

• pressure cook wild rice in the ratio 1:2.5. Add 1/2 teaspoon ghee & a pinch of salt.
• heat up another bowl, set 1 cup of water to boil, add the 3 jaggery cubes, keep stirring until the water color turns darker
• pour the cooked rice into the jaggery water & mix well
• heat another pan, add 2 teaspoons of ghee; once heated, add cashews; once cashews turn goldish, remove from fire & add raisins; pour this into the above rice & mix well
• serve hot/cold

Notes:

• Remember, wild rice takes more time to get cooked than regular white rice