Raspberry lassi/smoothie

Pretty in Pink

frozen organic raspberries
organic sugar
cardamom powder
organic vanilla yogurt
water and/or milk

Blend and chill if needed.(strain to remove seeds- optional)

drumstick-tomato dal

1/2c moong dal
turmeric
Boil until cooked in sufficient water, skim off the foam.
Add tomato puree, salt, frozen drumsticks
Add tadka and boil for 5 mins

Tadka:
heat * peanut oil
add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, pinch of hing, pinch of methi powder, crushed ginger, and chopped green chilies.

*I found a wonderful peanut oil at "Whole foods market", which is unrefined and cold pressed. Its Spectrum brand and they have a wide range of oils that are less processed. The scent is so yummy. It really smells like groundnuts!

Barley Bean Soup

This is similar to the other one I made but with some changes and a really different taste.

Barley Bean Soup




1can cannelini beans (white kidney beans)
1/2 cup barley
3 small carrots
3 fingerling potatoes
3 shallots sliced thin
2 garlic cloves sliced
2t chicken boullion (or veg)
1 tomato
1 dried red chili, broken
olive oil
salt pepper
thyme
dried basil
cumin, coriander powder
pinch of hing

First boil some water and cover the barley with it. Let soak while you chop the other vegs, etc.
Add 1t olive oil to pressure cooker, heat it and add the red chili, hing, garlic, and shallots in that order. cook till translucent. Add in other spices, and then the veggies.
Add drained and rinsed beans, and 3c or more of water. Then stir in barley and chicken stock. Pressure cook abt 10 mins.

*you could add almost anything to this... coriander leaves, spinach, corn, lima beans, etc.....
*can substitute spices for rasam powder

Watermelon radish!

I had heard about the watermelon radish online, but never found it until last week at Whole Foods Market. Very Exciting.

This cute little radish looks like a watermelon only when you slice it. Slightly green on the outside but red inside.

So I bought it and then couldnt decide what to do with it. I wanted
something that will show off the pretty red colour, not the usual sambhar. Then I stumbled upon Shilpa's moolangi ambat. She has so many wonderful recipes to try. But this time, here is the moolangi ambat. Along with RED rice :) Happy valentines day.

More about watermelon radish:
Its a spring radish, an heirloom variety of the daikon.
It tends to be stronger in flavour towards the outer part, and sweeter toward the center.
Also called Rose heart or beauty heart radish.
It remains very lightly pink when cooked.

Raspberry scones

I wanted to make something pink for valentines day... I considered a yogurt panna cotta with raspberry puree, but I was too lazy and Ive never tried panna cotta before. So I fell back to my old standby, the scone. Made up this recipe.

measurements are approximate!


1c raspberries, frozen( I used cascadian farms organic)
1big spoon of yogurt
1 egg(optional)
2c maida flour
1T baking powder
pinch of salt
pinch of cardamom
splash of vanilla extract
4T COLD butter, cut into small pieces

Preheat oven to 400
Blend the berries with yogurt and minimal water(or milk). I also blended in the egg and the spices. You can control the liquid better if u dont mix the egg in, or leave out the egg altogether.
In a large bowl mix flour, baking powder, salt. Crumble in the butter until it becomes like crumbs. Add the wet mixture into this till it forms a very soft dough. Dont over knead the dough!
Form into 1-2 round circles on baking sheet, pat down to about 1 inch. Use flour o n your hand if the dough is sticky. Cut, like a pizza, into 6-8 triangles. separate loosely.
Bake for 10-15 mins until slightly golden brown on top. Dont overbake. top with more raspberries if desired.

Best enjoyed warm!!!

Nippattu

1/2c Maida
1c Rice flour
1/4c Besan
Chili powder
Salt
Dried kari patta
Sesame seeds
Dalia/pottukadalai
Cashews(or peanuts) ground coarsely

Mix dry ingredients well. This can also be stored for later use.

Mix with a bit of butter then add cold water to make a stiff dough. Roll into marble sized balls and press with hands/fingers to thin flat disks. Deep fry.

Chicken 65

I made Revathi's Chicken 65 baked and of course made a couple small changes. Wanted to write that down before I forgot (too late but, anyway)

Organic chicken breast cut into pieces
1 spoon peanut oil
kashmiri chili powder(for colour)
regular chili powder
turmeric, coriander, cumin, and (I think a pinch of mil's masala) powders.

Marinade at least 1-2 hrs. Add salt right before baking, otherwise it draws the moisture from the chicken!

Bake at 400 for 10-15 min per side.
In a pan heat 1t oil and pop mustard seeds, curry leaves, and chopped green chili. Add chicken to the pan and stir. Squeeze lime juice on top before serving.

Kara boondi recipe(by request :) )

1/2c(or more) besan flour
1 spoon rice flour
pinch of baking soda(optional)
salt
chili powder
(oil to fry in)

Stir together in a bowl, try to remove lumps. Stir in water until it becomes smooth, but thick. Should be able to pour from the spoon. Beat well.

Using a ladle with many round holes, pour a small amt of batter onto the ladle while holding it above hot oil. The batter will drip into the oil, forming round balls. Otherwise use a spoon to press the batter through the holes. Also, you can tap the ladle to cause the drops, but sometimes this forms stick shaped boondi :) Stir boondi in the oil, fry until golden brown. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels.

For Raita,
Beat yogurt and add a little water to thin it. Soak the boondi in warm water for a couple mins(not too long!). Remove from the water. Add to the yogurt. Sprinkle with chaat masala.

Rajma, Garlic-dill potatoes

I made this simpler than usual.
Rajma:
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic
ginger paste
coriander, cumin powder
turmeric
kashmiri chili powder
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 can rajma, drained, rinsed

Add to pan in that order. After adding tomatoes and salt, close lid till tomatoes are mushed. Add rajma and water and cook on low another 5-10 mins. Add 1 cube of butter.

Potatoes:
pressure cook (I used organic russian banana potatoes)
Cut them into slices.
in a pan, heat butter and saute sliced garlic. Add potatoes, then salt, pepper and dill. Thats it!

Bhatura recipe

2 c maida
1/2t baking powder
salt
1/2c yogurt/curd
enough milk to make a nice dough

Keep dough covered with a wet cloth for 1-2 hrs.
Roll like puri, slightly thicker, and fry

Cooking from other blogs: Superbowl menu!

I do Not like football, not at all. But my husband loves to watch. So I made some special treats for the Superbowl, which Ive been planning to try out for a long, long time. I guess this was my motivation :)

Egg Puffs from Injimanga

Chicken 65, baked! from Revathi's ulagam

Roasted channa from Priya's kitchen. For this I used (black) kala channa and mixed it with Shaan murgh chole masala and a little olive oil. Baked at 400 for abt 15 mins.


They were all excellent! You can view my photos at
http://corianderandthyme.blogspot.com/2007/02/superbowl-snack-1.html
http://corianderandthyme.blogspot.com/2007/02/superbowl-snack-2_05.html
http://corianderandthyme.blogspot.com/2007/02/superbowl-snack-3.html