Rajgira Puri / Deep fried Indian bread, gluten free

Rajgira / Amaranth Flour - 2 cups
If you want the puris to be crispy, add a tbsp of brown rice flour
Salt - 2 pinches
Warm Water - 1 cup (may require less or a little more)
Oil - 1 tsp
Peanut oil for deep frying

Mix rajgira flour with salt. Slowly add warm water and make a soft dough.

Knead the dough well. When the dough forms a round ball, add 1 tsp oil and knead for a minute more. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 10 minutes.

Heat peanut oil in a wok / kadai over medium high heat.

Remove the damp cloth and knead the dough once. Make small balls of the dough. Place each ball between two oiled plastic sheets and using a rolling pin roll into small round shape.

Deep fry on both sides till golden brown. Remove on paper towel to soak excess oil. Serve with your favourite vegetable curry.

Sauteed Mushroom with White Wine

Sliced Shitake Mushroom - 1 cup
Sweet onion - 1 small, thinly sliced
Garlic Cloves - 3, minced
Red pepper Flakes - 1/4 tsp
Salt
Olive Oil - 2 tsp
White Wine - 1 tbsp (I used Chardonnay)
Fresh basil for garnishing

Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for a few seconds.

Add the thinly sliced onion and salt. Cook on low flame till the onion caramelises.

Add the chopped shitake mushroom  and mix well. Saute for a few minutes till the mushroom gets soft.

Now add the chardonnay and cook for a minute more. Remove from fire, garnish with fresh basil leaves and serve.

Kumro Bharta / Spicy Mashed Butternut Squash

Butternut Squash - 1 small
Kala Chana Sprouts / Black Chickpea Sprouts - 1 cup
Oil - 1 tbsp
Paanch Phoron - 1 tsp (a mix of cumin, fennel, nigella, fenugreek, mustard seeds)
Hing / Asafoetida - 1/4 tsp
Green Chili - 2, chopped
Garlic - 1 clove, grated
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Salt

Place the kala chana sprouts in a sauce pan, cover with an inch of water and bring to boil. Reduce the flame and simmer for around 30 minutes till the chana gets soft. Remove from heat and drain the remaining liquid.

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut the butternut squash  into 2 pieces, lengthwise. Remove the seeds from inside. Take a baking sheet / dish and add 1/4 inch water. Place the squash cut sides down and bake for around an hour till the squash is fork soft. Cool and remove the skin and coarsely mash.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the panch phoron and hing. Then add the green chili, grated garlic and chopped onion and cook till the onion gets soft.

Add cooked kala chana, mashed squash, cayenne pepper and salt. Mix well and cook for a few minutes more till the spices mix together. Serve hot.

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Adapted from http://www.eatingrules.com/2011/10/how-to-make-fluffy-quinoa/

Quinoa - 3/4 cup
Water / Homemade Vegetable Stock - 1 cup
Olive Oil - 1 tbsp
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Salt
Pepper
Red Onion - 1/4 cup, chopped
Tomato - 1 small, chopped
Cucumber - 1/2, chopped
Parsley / Cilantro - a handful, chopped

Place the quinoa in a strainer and wash well under running water. Leave in the strainer for sometime so that all the water drains out.

Dry roast the quinoa in a pan on low flame for 5 minutes till it begins to smell nutty.

take a cup of water in a saucepan and bring it to boil. Add the quinoa, reduce the heat to medium low, cover the pan(but leave a little opening for the steam to escape) and simmer till all the liquid is absorbed. Cool down a little and fluff with fork and keep aside.

Mix olive lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil to make a simple vinaigrette.

Mix cucumber, red onion, tomato, cilantro together. Add the cooked quinoa. Pour the vinaigrette on top and mix well. Serve as a salad.

Double Chocolate Torte, with almond flour

Blanched Almond Flour - 1/2 cup
Dark Chocolate Chips - 1/2 cup + 1/2 cup
Cocoa Powder - 1/4 cup
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Large Eggs - 3
Raw Honey / Turbinado Sugar - 1/2 cup
Melted Butter - 1/2 cup
Pure Vanilla Extract - 1 tsp

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put ½ cup chocolate chips in a food processor and pulse until coarsely ground to the texture of gravel

Mix in almond flour, cocoa powder and salt and pulse for 10 seconds to combine everything well.

Add 3 eggs and vanilla to the food processor and pulse again.  Then add raw honey and butter. Pulse all ingredients together until smooth

Add ½ cup of chocolate chips to the mix.

Transfer the batter into a well buttered round cake pan.

Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool and cut into triangles and enjoy this rich, dense, moist, decadent slice of cake.

Sending this recipe to the following event http://culinaryvibes.blogspot.com/2012/08/event-cook-eat-delicious-desserts.html

 

Black and White Wednesday - Sprouts - Beginning of a new Life

This picture is my entry to Susan's Black & White Wednesday - Culinary photos.

Urad Dal Papdi / Lentil Crackers

Adapted from http://www.sailusfood.com/2011/10/04/navratri-special-chitti-budagalu-recipe/

Brown Rice Flour - 1 cup
Urad Dal / Black Gram Flour - 1 cup
Water
Cayenne Pepper - 1/2 tsp
Salt
Nigella Seeds - 1/2 tsp

Extra Brown Rice Flour for rolling the papdis
Peanut Oil for deep frying

Mix brown rice flour, urad dal flour, salt, cayenne and nigella seeds together.

Add water little by little and knead to make a soft dough. Cover with a damp cloth and keep aside for 15 minutes.

Apply a little oil to the palms and knead the dough again. Make marble sized balls out of the dough.

Heat peanut oil in a kadai on medium low flame for deep frying. Take 2 plastic sheets, apply a little oil and sprinkle a little brown flour. Take each ball and place it between the 2 sheets. Press with the back of a small tumbler to make a small round. Prick with a fork all around.

Remove the top plastic sheet and drop the round papdi in the hot oil. Repeat this for the other balls. Fry around 10 papdis per batch till golden brown on both sides and remove on a paper towel. Once cooled, store in an airtight container.

These crispy gluten free papdis taste like Bengali nimkis and can be had as it is as a snack or can be used as a base for papdi chat.

Layered Brown Rice, Chickpeas and Eggplant

Adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/melissa-darabian/layered-picnic-in-a-jar-recipe/index.html

For Rice Layer :
Brown Rice - 1 cup, cooked
Lemon Juice - 1 tbsp
Cilantro - a handful, chopped
Salt

For Chickpea Layer :
Chickpeas - 1 cup, cooked
Yellow Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Oil - 1/2 tbsp
Garlic - 2 pods, grated
Ginger - 1/2 inch, grated
Turmeric - a pinch
Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt

For Eggplant layer :
Baby Eggplant - 10, cut into quarters
Mustard Seeds - 1/4 tsp
Onion - 1/2 cup, chopped
Garlic - 2 cloves, grated
Curry Leaves - 5
Cayenne Pepper - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Tomato - 1, chopped
Jaggery / Palm Sugar - 1 tsp

Mix a little salt, lemon juice and chopped cilantro to the cooked brown rice and keep aside.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the onion and garlic. Cook till soft. Then add chickpeas, ginger, salt, turmeric, cayenne, cinnamon and cook for a few minutes till the spices mix together. Sprinkle a little water if the spices start sticking to the bottom of the pan. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds and once they begin to pop, add curry leaves, onion and garlic and cook till soft. Then add the sliced eggplants, salt, turmeric and cayenne. Mix well and cover and cook on low flame till the eggplants are cooked. Midway, lift the cover and add chopped tomato and grated jaggery.

To assemble, layer a jam bottle first with rice, then chickpeas and then eggplant. To serve on a plate, serve rice, chickpeas and eggplant side by side.

Capsicum Zunka / Bell Pepper with roasted chickpea powder

Green Bell Pepper - 2 small, cut into small cubes
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Green Chili - 2, finely chopped
Yellow Onion - 1 small, chopped
Salt
Turmeric - a pinch
Paprika - 1/2 tsp
Spicy Chickpea Powder - 1 tbsp

Heat oil in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds and once they begin to splutter add the hing, green chili and chopped onion. Saute till the onion gets soft.

Add the chopped bell pepper, salt and turmeric. Mix well. Cover and cook on low fire for around 7 minutes till the capsicum is cooked.

Add the spicy chickpea powder and paprika. Cook for a few minutes more till the spices mix together.

Serve hot with steamed brown rice.

Mixed Beans Sundal

Dried Beans - 2 cups ( I used a mix of chickpeas, kidney beans, pinto beans, black beans. Cooking the black beans along with the other beans turn all the beans to a dark color. Doesnt alter the taste though. If you want the beans to retain their original color, avoid black beans)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1 tsp
Hing / Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Green Chili - 2, finely chopped
Urad Dal / Black Gram- 2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10
Dessicated Coconut - 2 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Salt

Soak the beans ovenight. Drain and wash once, add 2 cups of water and cook in a pressure cooker for 5 whistles. Do not overcook as we want the beans to retain their shape well and not get mushy.

Heat oil in a skillet. Add mustard seeds. Once the seeds start popping, add chopped green chili, hing, and urad dal. Saute till the urad dal gets slightly brown.

Then add the curry leaves and the coconut. Saute for a minute more.

Add the cooked beans, turmeric and salt. Toss well and cook for a few minutes. Can be served hot or at room temperature.

Spicy Eggplant with Chana Dal

Adapted from http://tongueticklers.com/2011/09/kathrikkai-curry-roasted-eggplants/

Eggplants - 10, small, (I used a mix of small purple and green eggplants)
Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Curry Leaves - 10
Chana Dal / Bengal Gram - 1 tbsp
Sesame Seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - a pinch
Red Chili Powder - 1/2 tsp
Asafoetida / Hing - a pinch
Tamarind extract - 1 tsp
Jaggery - 1 tsp
Salt
Cilantro - a handful (optional)

Spice Mix :
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Chana Dal - 1 tbsp
Roasted Coriander Powder - 1 tsp
Fenugreek Seeds / Methi - 10
Hing - a pinch

Dry roast the urad dal and chana dal. Once the dal gets slightly brown, add the fenugreek seeds, hing and coriander powder. Roast for a minute more. Cool and grind to a coarse powder. Keep aside.

Cut each eggplant into 4 quarters. Heat oil in a pan. Add the mustard seeds. Once the seeds start spluttering, add chana dal and sesame seeds. saute till the dal turns light brown.

Now add the eggplants, curry leaves, salt, turmeric and red chili powder. Mix well. Cover and cook on medium low heat till the eggplant gets slightly brown and is cooked.

Mix the spice powder, a tsp of tamarind extract and jaggery and toss well. The original recipe didnt have tamarind and jaggery in it but I added because I like the slightly sweet and sour taste they bring. Cook for a few minute more. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and serve hot.

Tomato Rasam

Oil - 1 tbsp
Mustard Seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green Chili - 2, chopped
Hing / Asafoetida - 2 pinches
Curry Leaves - 10
Turmeric - a pinch
Ripe Toamto - 3 big, grated
Tur Dal / Split Pigeon Peas - 1 tbsp
Water - 4 cups
Homemade Rasam Powder - 1 tsp
salt

Heat oil in a pressure cooker pan. Temper with mustard seeds. Once the seeds start popping, add green chili, hing and curry leaves and saute for a few seconds.

Add the grated tomato and turmeric. Cook on medium low heat till the tomato becomes mushy and the paste becomes oily.

Add a tbsp of tur dal, salt, 4 cups water and rasam powder, close the pressure cooker and cook under full pressure upto 5 whistles.

Serve as a hot and spicy soup or with steamed brown rice and a vegetable curry.

Bonde aar Muri - breakfast on Mahalaya

Processed white sugar is something which we have completely eliminated from our diet but there are few occasions in a year when we indulge a little and break this rule. This is one such occasion.

Besan /Chickpea Flour - 2 cups, heaped
Water - 2 cups

Sugar - 2 cups
Water - 2 cups
Saffron - a pinch
Cardamom Powder - 1/4 tsp

Ghee - 1 tbsp
Peanut Oil for deep frying
Ladle with small holes

Sift the besan with a sifter. Add water slowly and make a batter by mixing simultaneously using a wire whisk. The batter should not be too watery and should be of dosa batter consistency.

Mix oil and ghee in a kadai and heat over medium heat. The oil should be sufficiently hot before dropping the batter. This can be tested by putting a drop of batter in the oil. The drop should immediately bubble up.

Now hold the ladle over the kadai and pour some batter on it. The drops of batter will fall on the oil and immediately bubble up. Remove the boondis after 10 seconds. The boondis should not get dark in color and should not be crisp. If a boondi is pressed between 2 fingers, it should get squeezed in and not crumble. Leave the boondis on a paper towel to soak excess oil.

Before frying the next batch of boondis, wipe the ladle completely clean. If the ladle has some batter clinging to it, the next batch of boondis will not be round and they will have an elongated shape. Continue frying like this for the entire batter.

Make a sugar syrup of 2 cups sugar and 2 cups water. Boil till the syrup for a couple of minutes. Add saffron and some cardamom powder. Add all the fried boondis and mix well. Now put the syrup along with the boondis back on heat for a few minutes till all the syrup is soaked. Leave the mixture to cool down for  a few minutes before serving. We had ours with some crisp brown rice muri.

Black and White Wednesday - Cast Iron Skillet

My most precious possession in the kitchen - well seasoned cast iron skillet.

This picture is my entry to Susan's Black & White Wednesday - Culinary photos.

Banana Muffins with Almond Flour, gluten free

These gluten free processed sugar free muffins are light, fluffy and so guilt free. Once you have these muffins you will never go back to the greasy and heavy white flour muffins sold in most bakeries.

Almond Flour - 1 cup (pyrex measuring cup)
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - a pinch
Walnuts - a handful, chopped
Raisins - a handful
Egg - 1, beaten well
Pure Vanilla Extract - 1/2 tsp
Raw Honey - 3 tbsp or more depending on how sweet you want the muffins
Ripe Banana - 1, mashed

Melted Butter  - 2 tbsp or 1/3rd stick
Nutmeg powder - 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon Powder - 1/4 tsp

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix together almond flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl. Mix in the walnuts and raisins.


Combine beaten egg, honey, butter, vanilla, spices in a separate bowl and add the well mashed banana. Mix wet ingredients into dry.

Grease 2 mini muffin trays with a little butter or oil and put 1 tbsp in each muffin cup.
Bake at 350° for 20 minutes

Remove from oven and cool. Makes about 24 mini muffins.