Quinoa Upma

"A" aunty, our neighbor (yes we have an neighbor here in US who gets us food at times, isn't that awesome?) - came over with this Upma to our place. "Kinwa" - whats that I asked ? Then she spelled it out - Quinoa . She said it was one of the healthiest whole grains with high protein content, that doesn't spike the blood sugar levels. She is 70, looks 60 and is active like a 40 year old. Well if she eats it and says it is good for you - has to be! I bought a packet of this from the local grocery store and have been experimenting since... It is slightly tough to chew, and has a different tast to it, but takes on the flavors of the spices pretty well. I used it in place of Suji or Rava here to make upma... You can use it as a rice substitute too! So go ahead and try this unique cereal/grain and let me know how you like it. If you have any recipes using Quinoa, let me know and I will be happy to try them!


Ingredients

2/3 cup Quinoa
1 small Onion - finely chopped
1 carrot- diced
10-12 green beans cut into small pieces
1 boiled potato - diced
1/2 inch of ginger - grated

handful of peanuts
1-2 green chillies

1 tea spoon of mustard seeds
1 tea spoon of cumin seeds
1 tea spoon of urad dal
1 tea spoon of channa dal
1 table spoon of cooking oil
fresh curry leaves a bunch
Salt to taste


How to

Bring 1 and 1/2 cups of water to a boil, add salt and quinoa. Let it simmer covered in a pan for 15-18 mins. When completely cooked, fluff with a fork and set aside.

In a separate pan, heat oil, splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Add green chillies and curry leaves and peanuts and urad dal and channa dal and stir.

Add the chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables (carrots and beans) and some salt, cook it covered for a few minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, add grated ginger and the diced boiled potatoes and mix well.

When the vegetables are completely cooked add the boiled quinoa. Check for salt and mix well.

Let it stand on low flame for about 2 minutes. Turn off the stove and eat it warm. Squeeze half a lemon - will taste great too. Else sprinkle some coriander leaves. Make it yours!

Enjoy! I like mine with a little bit of coriander chutney !

Happy Holi with Methi Mathri

I called home and Mom was making preparations for  Holi. Usually she makes Dahi Vada and Aloo Dum and Spicy Bhujias for Holi... When I was young, my Papa's friends would come in huge groups of 10-15 to play Holi. Mom would have Dahi Vada and Aloo Dum prepared and ready for a group of 10. Once the 1st batch of men would leave, she and her team would quickly clean up the plates and get ready for the next batch of papa's friends. This would continue until noon. After noon, a big group of 10-15 ladies would come over with kids so that the moms could go play Holi. Holi was one colorful and Happy event! Happy Holi everyone - wherever you are! 

I made Methi Mathri to celebrate Holi. I am not brave enough to try Bhujias or Sevs and I did want to make something spicy and fried to keep the Holi spirit going. I called up Mom and took her recipe and tweaked it a little bit. It was really fun making (with Hindi music blasting in the background) these Mathris and remembering Happy Holi times...

Ingredients

1 cup Maida
1 cup Atta (whole wheat flour) 
1/3 cup sooji or rava
Salt to taste (I added about 1 tablespoon, but you can put a little bot more if you want it salty)
1 tablespoon of dried Kasoori methi (crumbled well with your hand)
1 tea spoon of ajwain seeds
1/2 tea spoon of black pepper powder
1/2 cup oil for making the dough
Additional oil for frying


How To

Start with mixing the dry ingredients (Atta, Maida, Sooji, Kasoori Methi, ajwain seeds, salt and black pepper powder) nicely in a large bowl.
Add a few tablespoons of oil to the mixture and mix well. Keep adding the oil in small quantities and kneading the mixture, until all the oil is incorporated and you get a mixture that looks like crumbs.



Add warm water and make a dough. Cover with a warm towel and leave aside for 15-20 min.
Make small bowls and roll out the dough (thick circles). I cant make circles, so I used a circular bottle cover to cut mine into shape.
Take a spoon/bread knife and prick the circles on both sides.
Now when you fry these circles in medium heat, they don't puff up like pooris.
Fry the circles in medium heat, until you get nice golden color Mathris.

Enjoy Mathris and have a Happy Holi!

My favorite drink for winter - Hot chocolate

Happy Valentine's day

The minute I reach India, I go looking for a Nescafe vending machine. But people's taste has changed in India I guess, I don't find a single Nescafe coffee machine, until I reach Bhubaneshwar airport! Well I do know there is no Nescafe machines here, so I stick to drinking hot chocolate. I love the Starbucks hot chocolate made from the sachet. I also stock up on the Hot Chocolate powder served in Williams Sonoma during Christmas! And so when I am home and want something to indulge on - its a piping hot cup of hot chocolate. Knowing my ever crazy love for chocolates and hot chocolates, I got these bars of chocolates as gifts this Christmas. So I had to try a yummy cuppa with this...





How To 


So its simple. Take some good quality chocolate and add some 1/4 cup milk and put in the microwave for 30 seconds. Take out, mix and put back in the microwave until the chocolate is melted. Add sugar per taste, add some milk and microwave for 1 more minute. Now enjoy your hot chocolate.

Add marshmallows if you want! Shave some chocolate on top if you want! Have fun - go ahead and indulge!

Spicy Mexican soup

 
It was yet another cold chilly evening. I came back from work with my mind set on this soup! Don't ask me how or why. I wanted to have a spicy soup. I searched on the web for a spicy soup and this soup  is a combination of several recipes I saw. I went to the grocery store and bought the canned stuff and the tortilla chips! I felt the chips would add a nice crunch to the spiciness of the soup. Unfortunately my son took a fancy to the chips and finished them all! Hey add the chips if you have them, the soup is great even without it.


 
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion diced
2-3 large green/yellow/orange peppers
3 cloves garlic, minced
2- chopped jalapenos
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes with chipotle peppers
1  whole corn cob boiled and then its kernels removed from the cob
salt and pepper to taste
handful of coriander leaves 

 
tortilla chips - as much needed  (optional)
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (optional)
dollop of sour cream (optional) 


How To

Turn on the broiler. Cut the green/yellow peppers and sprinkle oil and char in the broiler for 10 min. Let it cool and cut into small pieces (remove the black pieces if any on the peppers).
Heat about 1 table spoon oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and minced garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until onion is translucent. Add the charred peppers and the ground cumin.
Mix in the tomatoes with the chipotle from the can. Add the chopped jalapenos. Pour in about 2-3 cups of water, and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes.
Mix the corn into the soup, and continue cooking 5 minutes.


Serve in bowls and add coriander leaves and tortilla chips (if you have any). Top with cheese (if desired) or sour cream.

While you enjoy this spicy soup, I would like to thank Viki for sending over these lovely awards... Thanks Viki! Hop over to her blog to see the yummy treats she creates and shares...

See you again soon!

Happy New Year 2012

Here is wishing everyone a lovely New Year ahead! Also my toddling blog turns 3 today. I know I haven't been a regular here, but have to celebrate this blogging birthday with a cake today. I love mangoes and when I saw this cake at Evolving Tastes I knew I had to make it once. I love the taste of this cake, but it reminds me more of a rava mango halwa, than a mango cake... Hey but if you like sweets and like mangoes, you will enjoy it, after all whats in a name!

Ingredients

2 and 1/2 cup suji/rava
3 cups Mango pulp ( I used store bought Kesar Mango pulp)
1/2 cup Butter (melted)
1/2 cup sugar
2 and 1/2 tea spoon baking powder
1 tea spoon ground cardamom
handful of raisins and cashew nut (optional)



How To
This is a super easy recipe. Mix the dry ingredients separately from the wet ones initially. You don't need a mixie or a beater.
Then combine all the ingredients together and set aside for 10-15 min.
Pre heat oven to 375 F.
Pour the batter into a baking pan and bake the cake for 25-30 min.

Note 
This measurement made 1 big cake and 6 cup cakes.
As suggested by Evolving Tastes in the comments below, please use fine suji for a cake like texture.
My cake was over-baked and less sweet. So keep an eye on the cake, once done remove from the oven. It should be a nice golden yellow color cake.
My cake was slightly less sweet, so I sprinkled some powdered sugar. You can add an orange glaze.
I also tried mine with hazel nut spread! I found it divine - you tell me how you enjoyed it ?

My cup cake with icing sugar dusting and hazel nut spread

100th Post : Happy Diwali with sooji nadiya ladoos

Happy Diwali everyone. Hope you have a great and lovely year ahead, filled with health, wealth and happiness. I know I disappeared since months, but didn't want to not post for diwali! And yes it is double celebration time - my 100th post! Its nearly 3 years since I started and I am very happy to have reached this milestone. I couldn't do it without your support! Enjoy these simple and easy sooji-naadia ladoos or rawa-naariyal laddoos.

Ingredients

1/2 cup lightly roasted rawa or sooji
2 1/2 cups of fresh coconut
1 can of condensed milk (400 gm)
1/2 tea spoon of cardamom powder
handful of raisins

How To

Take a non stick pan and dry roast the sooji for 2-3 minutes on low fire, until it starts changing color. Take out of pan and keep aside.
Take the fresh grated coconut and again dry roast for 5-7 minutes on low heat. Once the wetness of the coconut reduces, remove about 1/2 cup of coconut and keep aside.
Add the condensed milk and keep mixing well to the rest of the coconut in the pan on low fire.
The misture forms a lump in 4-5 min. Add cardamom powder and raisins and remove from heat.
Make balls while still warm, roll in coconut flakes and keep aside. Keep in the refrigerator and enjoy for a week.

HAPPY DIWALI Everyone!

Dahi Baingan

Well I saw all these New Year resolutions posted I thought to myself - no resolutions, just good intentions - I will post regularly (at least 2 times a month). How difficult can that be ?  Hmmm Couldn't even post twice in the 1st month! Well the intentions are still good - so lets see...



Here is one of my favorite comfort food! I can eat Dahi Baingan anytime. The one here is the pure sinful one - deep fried version. I will post a guilt free version, later. While this dish is prepared in most states of India, the Oriya preparation is the one I make. It is very simple and amazingly forgiving - an additional pinch of this or that doesn't affect the overall taste of this dish!


Happy Saraswati Puja everyone!




Ingredients
1 Eggplant 
1 cup yogurt - well beaten


1 tea spoon Chili powder
1 tea spoon turmeric powder
1-2 tea spoon of Besan or Maida
1 tea spoon fried Jeera Powder
pinch of black salt (optional)
Salt to taste
1/2 inch grated ginger
1 tea spoon of mustard seeds
2-3 green chillies
sprig of curry leaves


How To
Cut the eggplant into thin long pieces. Sprinkle turmeric powder, chili powder, salt and Besan or Maida. (this prevents the eggplant from being too mushy when fried). Keep aside for 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan and fry the eggplant pieces to a golden brown color and drain onto a paper towel.
Pour the yogurt into a serving dish and add salt , black salt and fried Jeera powder and mix well. Add water based on the consistency you like. I like mine a little watery...
Heat little oil in a pan and splutter mustard seeds. Add green chillies and grated ginger and curry leaves. 
Pour the above fried contents into the yogurt mixture. Add the eggplants to the yogurt mixture. Sprinkle some fried Jeera powder and red chili powder on top and enjoy!