Bhaja Muger Dal , Karaishuti diye

Moong Dal - 1 cup
Salt
Turmeric - a pinch
Water - 3 cups + 1 cup
Ghee - 1 tbsp. + 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Bay Leaf - 1
Hing - a few pinches
Dried Red chilli - 2
Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated
Frozen Green Peas - 1/2 cup

Dry roast the mung dal in a cast iron pan over low heat. Stir continuously to avoid the dal getting burnt. When the dal starts emitting an aroma and turns pinkish brown, remove from heat. Wash well.

Add a pinch of turmeric, salt, 4 cups of water and cook the dal in a pan till soft.

Heat ghee in a pan. Add cumin seeds, hing, bay leaf, dried red chilli. Saute for a minute. Then add the grated ginger and green peas and saute for another minute.

Add add the cooked dal about a cup of water and adjust the salt. Bring it to boil and to the desired consistency, add a tsp of ghee, mix well and remove from heat.

Spicy Aloo Gobi / Spicy Cauliflower

This is a dry spicy potato cauliflower curry, cooked without any water. This is not a dish which I can cook everyday ... it requires quite a bit of oil and some time in hand but the end result is absolutely fabulous. The simple homemade garam masala adds a nice spicy zing and gives a very sweet and nutty flavor

Cauliflower - 1/2 head, cut into thin long florets
Red Potato - 1, cut into flat long slices
Peanut oil - 2 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/2 tsp
Green Chilli - 2, sliced
Yellow Onion - 1/2, thinly sliced
Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated
Tomato - 1/2, thinly sliced
Salt
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Homemade Garam Masala - 1/4 tsp
Cilantro - a handful, chopped

Heat 2 tsp oil in a nonstick pan or a well seasoned cast iron skillet. Add the sliced potato, a little salt and a pinch of turmeric. Saute on medium low heat till the potato gets cooked and turns slightly brown. Remove and keep aside.

In the same pan, heat 1/2 tbsp oil and put a few cumin seeds. Then add the cauliflower florets, a pinch of turmeric and salt. Saute on medium heat till they get brown specks and are cooked. Remove and keep aside.

Heat the rest of the oil. Add cumin seeds and green chilli. Then add sliced onion, sugar and a little salt. Saute till the onion gets soft. Add sliced tomato and ginger. Cook for a few minutes.

Add the potato and cauliflower florets, sprinkle garam masala, mix well and cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top and serve.

Bengali Garam Masala

Cinnamon Sticks - 3 tbsp
Cloves - 2 tbsp
Cardamom Seeds - 1 tsp

Dry roast the above in an iron skillet over very low heat.

Remove and cool.

Pour into a grinder and grind until fine. Store in an airtight container.

Red Radish Sambar

Tur Dal / Yellow Split Pigeon Peas Lentil - 3/4 cup
Peanut Oil - 1/2 tbsp + 1/2 tsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Yellow Onion - 1/2, cut in chunks
Small Red Radish - 4, cut into thin slices along with chopped radish greens
Tomato - 1, chopped
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 5
Sambar Powder - 2 heaped tsp
Tamarind - 2 tsp
Salt

Soak the tamarind in 1/4 cup warm water for half an hour. Sqeeze the juice and discard the pulp.

Add 4 cups water, tur dal, 1/2 tsp oil, salt and a pinch of turmeric and cook the dal in a pressure cooker till it is soft. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds beging to crackle, add hing, curry leaves and onion. Cook till the onion begins to change color.

Add the sliced radish, salt, a pinch of turmeric. Saute till the radish is almost cooked but still crunchy. Add chopped tomato and cook for a minute more.

Now add the cooked dal, a little water, tamarind extract, sambar powder and bring it to boil. Cook till desired consistency is reached.

Serve hot with steamed brown rice and a dollop of homemade ghee.

Sambar Powder

Coriander Seeds - 9 tbsp 
Chana Dal - 3 tbsp
Tur Dal - 3 tbsp       
Cumin Seeds - 3 tbsp        
Fenugreek (Methi) Seeds - 1 tbsp
Black Peppercorns - 1 tbsp           
Dried Whole Red Chilies - 30
Asafoetida / Hing - 1 heaped tsp
Turmeric - 1 tsp

Dry roast all the above ingredients(except Hing) on slow fire one after another in an iron skillet until they change color and release their aroma.

Cool and grind to a fine powder. Mix with Hing and store in an airtight container.

Basil Pesto Pasta

Today I tried brown rice pasta for the first time. Unlike the nutty and slightly coarse whole wheat pasta, this pasta was light in taste and had the perfect texture and tasted a lot like the white flour pasta.

Brown Rice Shell Pasta - 1 cup (I used Tinkyada gluten free whole grain brown rice pasta)
Basil Leaves - 2 handfuls, reserve a couple of leaves for garnishing
Garlic Cloves - 4, grated
Pinenuts - 1 tbsp, lightly toasted
Pecorino Romano Cheese - 1 tbsp, grated and some more for garnishing
Green Chilli - 1
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp

Cook the pasta in water with lots of salt to the desired softness. Rinse with cold water, drain and keep aside. Reserve a cup of the pasta water. (Ideally we should cook the pasta and the sauce in such a way so that the noodles can be drained and directly added to the cooked sauce without waiting).

Add basil, garlic, pinenuts, green chilli, cheese and olive oil together and make a paste in the food processor or the grinder.

Mix the pesto with the pasta. If required add a little bit of the reserved pasta water. Add some shredded fresh basil leaves and grated cheese on top and serve with a side of salad.

Arisa Pithe from Orissa / Sweet Brown Rice Crisp

Adapted from http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2009/06/arisa-pitha.html

Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Grated Jaggery - 3/4 cup
Black Pepper - a pinch
Salt - a pinch
Ghee - 1 tsp
Fennel Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Sesame Seeds / Poppy Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Peanut Oil for deep frying
Water - 1/4 cup
Brown Rice Flour for dusting the patties

Heat the water in a big sauce pan. Add the jaggery and a pinch of salt  and cook on low fire till the jaggery is completely melted and the syrup begins to boil. Once the syrup reaches one thread consistency, remove from fire.

Add a tsp of ghee to the sauce and mix well. Add the pepper powder, fennel seeds and brown rice flour and continuously stir the mixture till there are no lumps.

Once the mixture comes together as a ball, keep aside to cool a little.

When the mixture has cooled just enough to handle, using dry brown rice flour and a little ghee applies to the palms, make small balls of the dough and press to form patties. Sprinkle some sesame seeds / poppy seeds on top and press them so that they slick to the patties firmly on top. The ball and the patties should be made when the mixture is still warm as the mixtures turns very hard when it cools down.

Heat oil in a kadai and deep fry the patties gently till brown. Remove them very carefully as the patties remain soft even if they turn brown and they break easily.

Leave them on paper towel to soak up excess oil. They turn hard and crunchy when cooled.

Dry Gobi Manchurian

Cauliflower - 1/2, cut into florets
Turmeric - a pinch
Soya Sauce - 1 tsp
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Cornstarch - 1/4 cup
Brown Rice Flour - 1/4 cup
Peanut Oil for deep frying

To make the sauce:
Soya Sauce - 1 tbsp
Tomato Ketchup - 1 tbsp
Cornstarch - 1 tsp
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Garlic - 4 cloves, thinly sliced
Ginger - 1/2 inch, thinly sliced
Green Chilli - 2, thinly sliced
Green Onion / Shallot - 1, sliced
Cilantro for garnishing

Put the cauliflower florets in a pan with sufficient water and a pinch of turmeric. Bring it to boil. As soon as the water starts boiling, remove from heat and drain the cauliflower well. Add a tsp of soya sauce to the florets and keep aside.

Make a thick paste of cornstarch, brown rice flour, red chilli powder and salt.

Heat oil in a kadai. Dip the florets in the cornstarch mixture and deep fry till golden brown. Remove on a paper towel to soak off excess oil.

 Make a mixture of soya sauce, tomato ketchup and one tsp cornstarch and keep aside. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add the green onion / shallot, ginger, garlic, green chilli and saute well for a couple of minutes. When the onion caramelises, add the soya sauce mixture. Cook for a minute and then add the fried florets. Mix well and once the liquid is absorbed by the florets, remove from heat.

 Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro.

Serve immediately along with egg fried rice.

Asparagus with Mushrooms and Onions

Asparagus - 1 bunch, edges trimmed and then cut into 2 inch long pieces
Onion - 1/2, cut into thick slices
Mushrooms - Shitake or Button - 4 oz, sliced
Soya Sauce - 2 tsp
Sriracha Hot Sauce / Red Chilli Flakes - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Cumin Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Olive Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add cumin seeds. Then add the onion and saute for a few minutes.

Add the asparagus and mushroom and mix well. Add soya sauce, sriracha sauce, salt and cover the pan and cook for 5 minutes.

Remove and squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and serve.

Baked Spicy Potato Fries

Adapted from http://ahaar.blogspot.com/2011/05/baked-sweet-potato-fries.html. I followed Mandira's recipe exactly and the potatoes turned out perfect.
These fries are not crispy and crunchy like my earlier recipe of Crispy Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries. These are the melt in the mouth types. Mixing the sweet potato with the ordinary potato and adding some spices is a nice variation to plain sweet potato fries.

Sweet Potato - 1, big
Red Potato / Yukon Gold Potato - 1, big
Olive Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Salt
Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp

Preheat oven to 400F.

Scrub the potatoes well and cut into medium sized cubes.

Mix all the spices, salt, oil together and rub the potato cubes well with this mixture.

Put the cubes on an foil wrapped baking sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes, then toss once and bake for another 10 minutes or so till the potatoes get soft and slightly caramelised at the edges.

Mango Lassi

Serves 2

Mangoes - 2, small sized, peeled and diced and chilled in the refrigerator
Greek Yogurt - 2 cups
Whole Milk - 1/2 cup, cold
Turbinado Sugar / Raw Honey - 2 tbsp
Crushed ice - 1/2 cup

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender till smooth and frothy. Serve immediately.

Brown Rice Pancakes

On Sunday morning, I was reading Nags' blog on blueberry pancakes and suddenly had the urge to have pancakes. We are not pancake eaters and one of the main reason is that we rarely have processed white flour (maida). I could use whole wheat flour but I am trying to go gluten free and as such didnt want to use it. Then I thought of using brown rice flour which is a staple in my pantry now. I kept the recipe very basic and simple and the result was fabulous. The pancakes turned out to be soft and fluffy and slightly crispy at the edges .... just the way I like it. We had them with some caramelised banana and pure maple syrup.

Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Whole Milk - 1 cup
Eggs - 1
Turbinado Sugar - 2 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Butter

Beat the egg well. Add milk and sugar and mix well.

Sieve the brown rice flour with baking soda and add to the egg mixture.

Mix gently till there are no lumps.

Heat a non stick pan over medium heat. Add half a tsp of butter.

Pour a ladle of the pancake mixture, cover and cook for a couple of minutes.

Once the bottom side has browned slightly, flip and cook on the other side. Add a tsp of butter. Cook till the other side also browns.

Remove and serve with pure maple syrup and some caramelised banana.

Sauteed Rainbow Chard

Leafy greens is a must in our diet once a day and this is one of the easiest ways of eating greens. I cook this atleast twice a week ...... from start to finish takes 10 minutes to cook, uses only 5 ingredients and surprisingly is very very tasty.

Organic Rainbow Chard - 1 bunch
Olive Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Black Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chilli Flakes - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt

Wash the chard well and chop finely along with the stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start crackling, add asafoetida, turmeric and chilli flakes(if using).

Immediately add the chopped chard and salt. Mix well and saute for a minute.

Lower the heat, cover the skillet tightly with a lid and cook for around 4 minutes.

Remove the lid, increase the flame and saute for a minute more. Serve hot.

Lentil & Mixed Veg Risotto / Mushurir Daler Khichudi

My favourite comfort food. What's better that a plate of screaming hot, soft and creamy khichudi with a dollop of homemade ghee on top? This is a well balanced one pot meal with almost equal quantities of whole grains, protein and vegetables.

Brown Rice - 3/4 cup
Masoor Dal / Red Lentils - 1 cup
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Green Chilli - 3, finely chopped
Onion - 1/2, chopped
Ginger - 1 inch, grated
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Roasted Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Roasted Cumin Powder - 1 tsp
Red Chili Powder - 1/4 tsp
Mixed Vegetables - Carrots, Green Beans, Cauliflower - 2 cups - cut into big chunks
Frozen Green Peas - 1/2 cup
Tomato - 1, chopped
Water - 6 cups
Salt

Wash the rice and lentils together and soak in water for a few minutes.
In the meanwhile, heat oil in a big pan. Add cumin seeds and green chillies and saute for a minute. Then add the chopped onion. Cook till onion gets slightly soft.

Add the mixed vegetables, grated ginger, turmeric, cumin coriander powder and salt. Toss the vegetables well and saute for a couple of minutes on high flame.

Add frozen peas, chopped tomato,  rice and lentil mixture.

Cook in the pressure cooker for 12 minutes after full pressure is reached.

Unlike the dry khichdi, this khichdi will have lots of liquid and the consistency will be very creamy.

Serve hot with a tsp of homemade ghee on top.

Cheese Pakoda

This is one of my mother's recipes. Whenever we had unexpected guests during teatime, my mother would serve these pakodas with hot tea. These can be made in a jiffy and need no special ingredients. We always had cubes of Amul cheese in the refrigerator and the rest of the ingredients like eggs, onion, green chilli, etc were always at hand. My mother used maida in the pakoda mix but since I am trying to go gluten free, I substituted it with cornstarch with the same results. The beauty of these pakodas is that unlike the besan pakodas, they are not heavy and infact very fluffy in texture and light in taste.

Grated Parmesan Cheese - 1/2 cup
Eggs - 2
Cornstarch - 1 to 2 tsp, depending on the size of the eggs
Red Onion - 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Green Chilli - 2, finely chopped
Cilantro - a handful, finely chopped
Red Chilli Powder - 1/4 tsp (optional)
Salt
Peanut Oil for deep frying

Break the eggs in a bowl and beat well along with a little salt.

Add grated cheese, chopped onion, green chilli, chilli powder, cilantro.

Sprinkle cornstarch to the mixture and mix well. Add only that much cornstarch which is required to thicken the mixture and make the consistency slightly thicker than a pakoda batter.

Heat oil in an iron kadai. Adding a tsp each of the mixture to the hot oil, fry on medium heat till golden brown on both sides. Serve hot with tomato ketchup.

Sending this recipe to the following event hosted by http://www.sizzlingtastebuds.com/2012/06/hosting-walk-through-memory-lane-wtml.html started by
http://gayathriscookspot.blogspot.in/p/wtml-round-up-and-host-lists.html